Evening star., 1925-07-12
Current News Events
Summary of Important National Foreign and
Local Affairs Specially Arranged for the
Convenience of Students

nose the diseases which destroy world
peace and to discover If there Is a |
possible contributing cause of war In !
the profits of war industry.
Economic.
Latvia, one of the republics born"
after the World War, last week opened ,
negotiations for the funding of her
debt of Sc 900, 900 to the United States. |
She becomes the seventh power now
holding discussions with the United
States toward paying their debts.
About As per cent of the total debt |
owed this country by 20 nations is now
in the process of repayment. Twelve |
out of the 20 debtor nations have
either completed their agreements or
have opened negotiations.
France, whose attitude toward the !
debt question has created more inter |
est than the other debtor nations, is |
about to appoint her commissioners to !
confer with members of the American
Debt-Funding Commission, and thus
initiate negotiations which will lead
to a funding of this debt. The COM
mission is expected to be appointed in !
the near future.
While the mass of the French peo- |
pie are opposed to the payment of /
the French debt to this country, the |
men of Importance in financial affairs |
of the country and the statesmen real |,
ize that 1t must be paid. and they are
making plans to this end. This was |
the impression brought back by Rep |
resentative Henry w. Watson of i
Pennsylvania, who returned to Wash.
ington last week from a visit to the
French capital.
The war cost Germany a loss of |
about II ,000. 900 population, according |
to preliminary census estimates made |
public last week. The population to- |
day was placed at about 81 500 900, |
about the same which existed in 1908 |
At the outbreak of the war the popu- |
lation was about 6S,000,000. 1t is esti- |
mated that Germany lost about 7,000,- |
600 by the cession of various terri |
tories through the Versailles treaty. !
another 2,750,0 900 from deaths during |
the war and another $500, 900 through |
the decreased birth rate during the |
war.
Another good sign for the burdened
taxpayer came from the President |
last week, who was represented as tell |
ing newspaper correspondents who in
terviewed him at the Summer White |
House" that he favored a general tay
reduction all along the line. The |
President has not set any amount.
waiting for the advice of Treasury ex-
perts before committing himself to the !
amount of reduction.
The effect of increasing the salaries |
of postal employees was indicated last !,
week, when Postmaster New esti- |
mated deficit os approximately s4O,- !
10000 for the Post ONCE Department |
for the fiscal year of 1925. The deficit |
was attributed to increased salaries |
for postal workers provided by the last |
Congress and the changed postal rates. |
The figures will be valuable as a work |
ing basis for a special joint congress |
sional committee, which soon will be- |
gin hearings In various parts of the !
country on postal rates, and which |
must submit its report to Congress the |
first week of its December session.
Australia expects to come to New
York soon to borrow about S10O, ,0OO,- |
900, partly needed to meet maturing |
bonds. This was indicated in dis |
patches last week, which declared that |
Australia had recently asked Great |
Britain whether there was any obtec-
ton to her borrowing the money in
New York. Great Britain said there |
was not. and that probably there |
would not be enough available in Lon
in bonds which mature this year.
The fate of the coal supply, as far |
as hard coal is concerned, depends on |
the result Of a conference of operators |
which opened last week at Atlantic |
City, following by a few days a con-
ference OF miners in Scranton, Pa |
The operators have appointed a sub |
committee to negotiate new agree |
he To faly 1a ,aIa
of the present one, which expires on |
August 81.
Before the negotiations started |
however, the miners openly declared !
that in case there is no agreement on |
renewing the contract by August 81 |
they will spurn arbitration and strike.
Affairs of the s26, ,OO0. 900 grain mar.
keting company, the greatest farmer
producer cooperative venture ever at
tempted, dissolved its affairs in Chi
cago last week, following an announce
ment by banker creditors of the COM !
pany that such would be the case
Gray Silver, president of the company.
said that 1t might continue to func-
tion in a limited way, which was in
terpreted to mean that 1t might reor-
attempt to do business on less ca pital. |
The United States Shipping Board |
has again run counter to the Emer- /
gency Fleet Corporation. this time in i
last week the bid of 81. .370,0 900 |
by the Boston Iron and Metal Com |
pany for the 200 ships offered by the !
board for scrapping some time ago. |
President Palmer of the Fleet Cor
poration had recommended that the !
bid be accepted. The bidding for the !
ships now must be repeated. 1t is |
not known whether Henry Ford. !
whose bid failed to reach the Shipping
Board, will make a new effort to OBJ /
tain the vessels. |
Political.