Evening star., 1924-12-17

tightly against these theoretic and
academic judgments.
America" he tells us, 1s a COM
position Of lights playing upon thou
sands Of planes. It's unity is only in
the eye of the spectator It's reality
Is q vast continent on which swarms
and spreads an aggregation of human
beings To limit 1t is to suffocate 1t.
To define 1t Is to weaken 1t. To give
1t an official spokesman is to con-
demn II to silence"
II l dared to borrow a metaphor
from my old profession, that of a
schoolmaster ] would have the ped
antry to say that in the world final
examinations the United States would
not win the first prize In every classi-
fication. but that, on the whole. 1t
would clearly win the first prize of
general excellence.
Is, this to say that the country Is
SO filled with abundance as to be
exempt from those difficulties which
weigh In these complicated times
upon all the states of the universe
An affirmative answer would show
little clairvoyance.
Americas strike Problem.
To speak only Of production-We
Will examine other problems later
the United States is as familiar as we
are with strikes. At the beginning
OF my visit President Coolidge was
preoccupied with possible trouble in
the anthracite mines, and the solu-
tion found by Gov. Pinchot seemed
to many to be little more than a
truce. The American mining indus
try demands stable basis. The public
complains of speculation. IN the
steel mills the adoption of the eight
cruit enough manual labor.
The United States complains espe-
cially Of an agricultural crisis. Re-
Gently wheat fell to below 81 a
bushel. Regions specializing in
wheat raising were so affected that
Secretary of Agriculture Wallace pre-
dicted the bankruptcy OF thousands
of farmers. In Minnesota the dis
content of the farmers resulted in the
election of radical Senators. such as
Shipstead and Magnus Johnson. They
demanded the creation of govern
ment corporation, with a capital OF
0o,o00,o0o, for the purchase Of wheat
at price fixed at $3.50 or $l.75 per
bushel.
War Blamed for Crisis.
The cause OF the crisis Is easily de-
termined. The war provoked an ex-
tension of wheat planting, which was
followed by a decrease in exporta-
tion. CWhat will II be when Russia
resumes her place in the world mar
ketO The American farmers will be
forced, 1t seems TO me. to reduce the
planting of wheat and vary their
crops. But while awaiting the crea-
tion of a new economic equilibrium
the country suffers from the increas-
Ing gap between the prices of agri-
cultural and manufactured products.
| They were already discussing at the
time of my visit the formation Of a
farmer-labor party in Minnesota
The question may very easily pass
| from the economic to the political
| field. That will be an evil for the
United States.
1t is to these difficulties that mus,
| be attributed a certain slackness In
all industries. including building
| iron and steel.
Russia Economic. Not Political,
| Menace.
These are only incidents, but l re-
| peat: What will happen when Russia
shall have approached normal pro-
| ductton? Our friends across the ses
showed me that they feared Russis
| politically. In that, think, they are
mistaken. If they feared her, how
| ever. from an economic point oi
| view they would be nearer right.
For the whole world the industrial
| problem is less a problem of produc-
| tion than one of markets.
| (Copyrizht 1924