Evening star., 1925-09-06
The Story the Week Has Told

that the strike Is flzzling out again in
Britain.
At last, after long delay, due, one
hears, to unwillingness of suitable
men to serve as commissioners. the
royal commission for investigating the
coal-mining industry, has been con-
stituted. Sir Herbert Louis Samuel
is chairman.
The cost of the government subsidy
to the British coal-mining industry for
August first month of the subsidy
was $780, 900.
The coal output fen off during Au-
gust.
The number of registered unem-
ployed in Britain increased by $4,000
during the week ended August %.
The total number of registered unem-
ployed is now about 100000.
4 * X x
Franee.--Our information concern
ing Moroccan developments of the
past week is meager. A somewhat
foggy communique issued by the
French government bids us discredit
all press reports of recent weeks con-
corning events in Syria. 1t vouchsafes
no positive information, except that
a column of Druses and Bedouins ad-
vancing to assault Damascus was
routed on August "a, Nevertheless. 1t
Is proper to notice q dispatch of Sep
tember 3, from the Jerusalem CORE
spondent of 1.-The London Evening
News which quotes an unofficial re-
port that the Hauran Druses. captured
the citadel of Suweda, Syria, and mas
sacred the French garrison thereof
and that thereafter French airplanes
destroyed the town of Suweda by
bombing.
China.-Our State Department has
made public the text of the identic
notes presented on Friday to the Pc
king government by the nine powers
of the Washington conference, in re-
ply to identic notes presented to those
governments by the Peking govern
ment on June "a, urging drastic re-
vision of the treaties between China
and the powers.
''The United States" says our note,
"is prepared to consider the Chinese
government proposal for the modi-
fication of existing treaties in meas
ure as the Chinese authorities demon
strate their Willingness and ability
to fulfill their obligations and to as
sumo the protection of foreign rights
and interests now Safeguarded by the
exceptional provisions of those trea-
ties
The note expresses profound SYM
pathy with Chinese aspirations for
fiscal autonomy, and abolition of ex-
Intentionally in China, but de-
clares that the best approach to solu-
tions to these problems would be by
way Of strict adherence 10 the pro-
cedure laid down by the Washington
conference: /. e., institution of and ac-
ton by the special conference on
Chinese tariff matters" provided for
by the treaty on the Chinese tariff,
and the commission to investigate the
administration of justice in China
provided for by resolution 5 of the
Washington conference.
The Chinese boycott is increa singly
disastrous to Lancashire.
y X X x
The Security Pact.-A committee of
legal experts representing the British,
French, German, Italian and Belgian
governments met in London on Sep
tember l, to draft a security pact, or,
perhaps, rather to try to reach COM
mon understanding on certain delicate
matters with which the pact must
deal, before the meeting of the big
wigs Ito include the foreign ministers
and perhaps even the premiers of the
several governmentsl to clear the
ground.
The Germans demand certain i'm