Askov American. [volume] (Askov, Pine County, Minn.) 1914-current, 1933-06-15
INTERNATIONAL
NEWS REVIEW
Continued from Page ~

nothing to discuss since just payments
have already been regulated by treat
| les, and that agreements, solemnly
entered into, are not subject to
change.
On the other hand, the European
nations insist that you cannot ex-
pect to cure the worlds economic ills
| without considering this rather i'm
portant item of II billion dollars
owed to America; for this reason,
Europe demands discussion at Lon
don. The United States does not
want it.
Conference Opens.
With this preliminary tug-of-war
going on unofficially behind the stage,
the grand show, known as the world
economic conference, was opened in
London Monday morning.
In regal splendor King George the
Fifth delivered in slow and measured
English and French his opening mes
sage before the conference, and it
may have been heard by more mil
lions than any other speech at any
other time, for it was said that the
most extensive radio hOok-up ever ar
ranged carried the royal voice to
every country on earth, to even the
remotest parts of the planet.
His Majesty made strong plea for
international cooperation, and eX-
pressed the fervent hope that the con-
ference would result in relieving
some of the sufferings of humanity.
Plan of Work.
| With gracious references to the
kings very brief speech, Prime Min
lister j. Ramsay Macdonald, president
of the conference, drew picture of
the misery which has been wrought
during the last three or four years,
and made it clear that there is no
time to lose in applying measures
that will check the crisis.
During the early part of the week,
delegates listened to plans as they
were unfolded in behalf of a large
number of countries, each contribut-
ing some pet idea or other to what
must ultimately become a concrete
| foundation of the discussions; COM
mittees were then organized, and it
| is their task to consider the most in
telligent and practical among the
plans submitted. When they have
done their work, the results will be
presented to the conference in plen-
airy session, and then-probably-
some decision will be arrived at.
CS<no%So,, D,I
Nowadays nobody tries to lie about
the seriousness of the economic world
crisis; the results are too evident to
be lied about. When more than 80
million people are out of work, it is
clear that something is seriously
wrong. Add to this the fact that
about IL million tons of shipping are
laid up, useless and Improbable, and
that international commodities trade
has gone down from a normal of SO
billion dollars to Is billion-and
then you have some of the outstanding
features of a very dark picture.
To let the light enter, it has been
found necessary to make attempts to
raise commodity prices, to stabilize
currency, and to remove high tariffs
and other international trade bar
riers. These will be the three prin-
in progress.
1t sounds rather simple and COM
mOnplace, but is is very cOmpli-
Gated because thousands upon thou
sands of considerations must enter
in, and still more technical details
have to be discussed before decisions
become possible.
Expectations.
In his opening speech, the king of
Great Britain emphasized an often OBJ
scured fact, namely this that the
League of Nations is the originator
and sponsor of the conference.
Also, the League is responsible for
the international disarmament con-
ference, proceeding jerkily at Geneva.
If one were to judge London by
Geneva, there would not be much to
hope from the world economic con-
ference, and there is-that cannot be
denied-a tendency to SO judge. There
is trend of opinion favoring the
theory that the London conference
is fore-ordained to become merely
gesture, and that it will result in
nothing very definite. This view is
held in many countries, especially in
France.
On the other hand, many feel that
something is bound to come out of