davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Washington times., 1936-12-24

1SOO bLOCk WYOMANG AVER
With the Christmas spirit every
where it's pretty hard to concen-
trate on the necessary things of
life, but if you are considering
moving around the first of the
year you better concentrate on it
now. On Wyoming Avenue, in an
attractively furnished and we'll
regulated house, is single room
that is available at once. Meals
will be served, breakfast and sup
per, at $40 month. If you know
how scarce single rooms are you
will do well to investigate at once.
GUEST HOUSE:
Tasty food, good surroundings
and a well-regulated house are
some Of the things we must look
into when considering place to
live. In this one I inspected yes
terday you will find all of these
features and many more not men
toned here. The lady who op-
crates the home has had years of
experience preparing delicious
meals and one could not help but
be satisfied in such pleasant en-
vironment. Rates are most rea-
Sonable.
GUEST HOUSE, BROOK
VILE ROAD:
This is one of the most charm
ing places have visited a
large residence set in the midst of
lovely Handicapped grounds with all
large outside sunny rooms. This
house is noted for its excellent
cuisine and splendid management.
It is seldom we find a house quite
as large and with so much ground
around it in the center of the city.
It is only about 10 minutes from the
heart of town, with bus and street
cars close by. It is a guest house
catering exclusively to high-type
men and women who are deSirous
of living where everything possible
The Washington times., 1936-12-24

18TH ST. N. E.. 315. Apt. So large rms
kit. and bath with Frigidaire; redecor-
ated; only $45. See ianitor or phone Mr..
Toms. District 2434 s to 8 p. m.
1920 ONTARIO RID. N. W.
Two rooms, kit. and bath. electrical re-
frigeration. Rental. S47.50 per month.
Investment Bldg. ME- 1897
The Washington times., 1936-12-24

OFFICE SPACE, unfurnished, in group of
offices with reception room. VIII lease
or suitcase Write Box E-31 Times Herald.
Evening star., 1936-03-29

are in a pint dry measure-and so on, till at last
he gets one. and then the world situation is
clarified"
A formula works wonders Take the Medter-
ranean Sea; they could do nothing with the place
AS to who should control 1t, etc-till they got
formula that said that While neither Italy nor
England Is willing to regard the Mediterranean
as mare clausum, they will both recognize it as
q reduction ad absurdum" That got It, World
opinion fro mthe "nadir Of last weeks de-
spondency."
I don't know where the "nadir" is. 1t seems to
be the place the diplomats come up from! think
1t used 10 be called hell.
Once a formula is found and things begin to
brighten up little, the next step is to make to
another diplomat the movement called gesture"
diplomat Is grateful as dog. Make gesture
to him and he comes and wags his tail A ges-
ture means any act speech to a which
makes him feel better pleased with himself. II 1
give a taximan 10 cents extra, that's gesture; If
I give him IS. that's noble gesture; If give him
so cents. that's world gesture but little dam
gerous-the Ballplatz might react to it.
But all the things the diplomats do-giving one
another lunch going grouse shooting visiting
Monte Carlo-all these are gestures" Don't think
a diplomat takes holiday-never. They're work
ing all the time You think that because the
British minister Of agriculture was reported as
visiting Madrid and attending bull fight, he was
there on holiday! ont at all! He was making
a gesture to the bulls The Escurial responded at
once.
Not that the diplomats can't get angry! Oh,
my! You should listen sometimes to the violent
language they use. You may not catch on to the
full deadlineSs of it If you not used to diplo-
macy. Diplomats can say only a small fraction
Of what they think. Often not that. But
to any one who understands their language their
threats send a shrudder down the spine.
Don't you remember last year when the Dutch
Ambassador was instructed to say that If Belgium
persisted in claiming jurisdiction over the east
end Of Sttendam, Sandbank, The Hague would be
compelled to realize that situation had arisen
which 1t would be compelled to realize? Or last
year, when his majestys government sent word to
Toxic that 1t was the opinion Of his majesty that
If the Japanese Navy kept on increasing, it would
get bigger?
Pretty cold raw stuff, that Diplomats are Just
like steel. Toxic had to look for formula which
would allow them to escape what looked for
minute like an inlpdSse, or even cul de sac.
Toxic in this case got out very nicely with the
formula that any increase in the japanese Navy
would be directed solely and only making 1t big
ger. Downing Street accepted this and the Ball
platz and the Yildz Kiosk and the Quirinal and
the Escurial were tickled to death. 1t lifted them
right out of the nadir.
A good illustration Of the value Of high class
diplomatic procedure and the folly Of breaking
Evening star., 1936-03-29

away from it is seen in the recent failure Of Mr..
Stanley Baldwin, British prime minister, and his
then foreign minister, Sir Samuel Hoare, to stop
the in Ethiopia. 1t is proper to speak OF it, as
the whole thing Is now over and is called already
the "Hoare-Laval incident" and may be diplo-
matically regarded as what is called a chose
jugee, which Is practically tdit accom- pli-one
might almost say ne plus ultra.
The affair was just bungle Of errors from start
to finish. Sir Samuel Hoare went straight over
to Paris. He didn't fly and didn't eat lunch: he
just sat crudely down with Prime Minister Laval
and drew up plan. This meant that the "atmos-
phere" was hopelessly wrong-too cold. If they'd
had lunch first and then turned on the grarno-
phone for a while and listened to Way Down
Upon the Tsana River" they would easily have
passed into what Is called Conversation" A
conversation to diplomat is as necessary as
trance to medium. What they say I don't know
but imagine it runs like this:
"HoU are you?"
First rate; ho1 are you?"
Fine. HoWs everything with the tamily7"
First rate. And how yours?"
AL. Our oldest boy is at Harvard"
We'll, ,CeH, time certainly goes along"
1T certainly does; met an old friend OF yours
in ST. Louis the other day. / don't recall his
name, but he iOas speaking OF you."
Well, tUell. it's a small ,uorld"
stead Of that Sir Samuel and Mr. Laval went right
at their proposal The plan they drafted was good
comprehensive and clear. They proposed to stop
Italy's war of conquest against Ethiopia by giving
Ethiopia to Italy. This is what Is called states
manlike 1t is 'defnitive''
But the fatal mistake was that they ought to
have called it a gesture" Then they should have
made a similar gesture to the emperor, Halle Sc
lassie. They should have found out privately what
he would Nke-just you do with Christmas pres
ents. He might have been offered corridor" or
"n,odus Uiuendi" or they might have given him
status quo. or three (horse) power guarantee"
Then on the strength Of these two gestures Mus
solini and Halle Selassie could have been brought
together round a table with a group Of experts"
in foreign capital, and they would have made a
different treaty altogether.
The great treaties all made that way by the
experts" while the head people go to moving pic
lures. and the final treaties never have any resem
blance to the gestures that started them.
The result of the blundering method adopted
was that the plan broke down and Sir Samuel had
to pay for his error with loss of ONCE. Stanley
Baldwin remained. His attitude had been "cor-
rect" 1t was reported, as negotiations
began, that he had gone to Caithness to shoot
grouse. That's the proper thing for British
prime minister to do in a national crisis. Baldwin
went north to shoot grouse and came back and said
he had hit one. The public was reassured and
kept him in ONCE. They say he's going rook-
shooting next time.
Evening star., 1936-03-29

"HESE diplomats are queer fellows. know,
Of course, that they are working for our
salvation, and grateful Their busi-
ness, 1 understand, is narrowly averting
a world confagration' and they keep narrowly
averting them. We had two averted last month.
We stand-as everybody readily admission the
brink of a world catastrophe" But for these
noble fellows, the diplomats we'd be over that
brink any time What's down at the bottom.
heaven only knows! But I suspect that there is
that terrible mixture. world chaos" world
soup something. Anyway, we'd be in it.
Observe that the diplomats deal only in world"
products. Anything else is too petty. They tell
U.s. for example, that world opinion is rapidly
cryStallizing itself around formula favoring The
Status Quo" When you read that you realize
that the only opinion you value is world opinion"
and that you want it 'crystallized" at all.
But all the same the diplomats queer lot.
In saving from the brink of world disaster all
their actions take on an extraordinary magnitude.
They live and move in sort of megalomana.
For example, suppose that Capt Anthony Eden
eats lunch in Paris with Mr.. Sarraut Can he just
eat it? Oh no; that would be too simple. Here
is how he eats it, as recorded in the world dis
patches in the world press:
ut is announced unofcially that Capt anthony
Eden tUiH lunch. semi-ofcinlly iptth NJ. Albert
Sarraut, prime minister OF France, at the Cercle
des Ambassadeurs Capt Eden ,0il fly from Lon
don to the lunch and Immediately after eating it
that tUM depend on ho,D he is teeling"
That's the first round of the lunch. The
ming papers then report that the Ballpatz and
Wilhelmstrasse have reacted favorably. That's
good.
Next day the idea is carried little further:
"A rumor that M. Lapal tUould serue spaghetti
at his lunch to Capt Eden caused sharp rise
in the italian Ira till an official contradiction
declared the rumor to be without adequate con-
frn,ation. THAT pretty well kills a rumor.l Mean
time London is much ercited oUer the report that
Mr.. Ldual has telegraphed to England for half
pound OF sausdgeS. The Qudi d'Orsdy denies that
the lunch has any meaning beyond food"
Meantime, No. 10 Do,0ning street is trying to
find formula to permit Mr.. Eden to eat lunch
Without admitting that he had enough"
That's another funny touch about the diplomats
the formula A diplomat has to think out what
he calls" formula for everything he does. He
will stand outside a saloon for hour thinking
up formula that will let him go in.
Every time diplomat gets dragged to the very
edge of world cataclysm' he stands rapidly
thinking out formula that will save him. He
runs over in his mind lot that he knows such as:
Enee menee n1inee
Catch q Niger by the toei
and the very well known formula that runs
(r + - = Z r ry r "
And then the other one about how many gills
Evening star., 1936-03-29
Four Factors Are Standing in Way
Of Outbreak of New European War

OF the three Little Entente nations,
Rumania has so far made no reserva-
tions regarding her obligations to
France, but Rumania alone could not
risk a war against Germany, with
whom she has no common frontiers.
This lukewarm attitude of the ma
tions on whom France has predicated
her entire European policy has Gained
down the enthusiasm of the French
government for any immediate action
because OF Germany's fragrant breach.
Hitler expected this. He knew that
Great Britain would admonish him,
but would go no further. He knew
that the Little Entente and Poland
would let France hold the bag. This
allowed him to be brutally frank and
adamant. He has no intention Of al
lowing international troops to police
the Rhineland-not even the token"
12-mile zone. The German engineers
have already started work on the for
tif1cation of Germany's militariZed
borders. Hitler still offers the olive
branch to the French, and hopes they
will pay no attention to the thorns
which it concealS-the Anschluss and
the war on the SovietS.
When Senator Hiram johnson in
troduced his bill forbidding defaulting
countries to float loans in the United
States, little did he realize that the
johnson bill would be more efficient
as a peace instrument than the Kel>
logg pact or the Covenant of the
League.
All the nations which might become
involved in another European conflict
are war-debt defaulters. During the
last war, without the help Of the
American bankers and the American
industrialists the war could not have
continued until 1917. This is un-
likely to occur again.
The powers which gathered in Lon.
don two weeks ago to punish Gers
many realized it. Their representa-
tives in the United States told them
that the chances of obtaining raw ma
terials on credit are nil
There are about IS ZOO, 900 1000 worth
of negotiable securities which Great
bTlCdln, FTdIlCc hIlO IleT dSSOSldIcS
could dump on the American market
to purchase the necessary materials
for the prosecution Of a war. What
the actual value of these securities
would be when sold in time of war
nobody knows; probably less than So
900 100000 This sum is sufficient to
carry on a modern war for less than
two months. And when the amount is
exhausted, the European governments
now know, there will be no buying 'on
the cuff" in the United States.
The experience of Italy has been
Illuminating. The efforts during the
last two weeks to obtain the Cooper
alton of certain banking firms for the
financing of another war have been
abortive. The answer, invariably, has
been the same: I'VE might consider
doing it but, you know, the
johnson actl"
The danger Of another European
war in the immediate future has been
removed. But the fuse Is still burn.
ing; the powder keg may still explode.
Copyright, 1936)
Evening star., 1936-03-29
Continued From First Page.)

government to create a war enthusiasm
in the country.
Yugoslavia, with the third best army
in Europe. until recently was consid-
cred the most valuable asset in the
French military combination. But
Yugoslavia is out Of sympathy with
France. since the day Foreign Minister
Barthou began to direct Frances for
eign policy toward an understanding
with Italy.
The policy of Yugoslavia Is exclus-
lively guided by Belgrade. And Bel
grade is only interested in two things:
The eventual conquest of Trieste and
Fiume and the control over Albania.
Yugoslavia can see only one enemy:
Italy. Her war machinery is directed
against only one country: Italy.
Even today, 18 months after the
assassination of King Alexander, there
are few in the Kingdom who do not
believe in the myth that the plot to
murder the King was Matched in Rome
during the first Mussolini- -Barthou
negotiations. They believe this was
the price Mussolini asked from the
French foreign minister for a better
Franco-Italian understanding With
Alexander out of the way" MusSolini
is alleged to have said, "Yugoslavia'S
unity would disappear in less than two
years" There is bitterness against
France-well exploited by the Reich's
diplomats-which does not appear on
the surface at international confer
ences at Geneva or in London, but
which exists nevertheless.
Yugoslavia is not refusing to sup
port France, but she refuses to be
rushed into a war which may not be
to her advantage. Gen. Goering and
Mininster Won Papen have made fire.
quent visits to Belgrade where they
have been received as true friends of
Yugoslavia. The results of these visits
have been that Yugoslavia no longer
looks upon the possibility Of an An
schluss of Austria and Germany as
calamity. The Belgrade rulers are
convinced that Austria becoming a
part Of Germany is a better solution
than Austria remaining dependency
Of Italy.
In London, Flandin has been told
that Yugoslavia does not intend to
renege, but in case Of a war between
France and Germany she will have to
see what Italy will do before she
sends her armies to Frances support.
Evening star., 1936-03-29

| without the consent Of the United
States, the United States was legally
and morally released from any obliga-
ton or liability to make the additional
payment Of $33.0o0,00o.
S12,167,e Advanced to Greece.
The World War Foreign Debt Com
nilsson, therefore, claimed that there
was no legal obligation for the United
States to make the additional advance
and that a proposal for such an ad-
vance would require authorization by
the Congress. On February 10, 1929,
the Congress passed the bill authoriz-
ing such an additional advance and
on May 10, 1929, $12,167 900 was act
ually advanced to Greece At the end
Of the calendar year 1929 the total in
debtedness of Greece to the United
States was $32.23l 900, representing
10 per cent Of the total foreign in
debtedness of Greece. Since that
time no payments have been made on
principal or interest.
Hence it caused considerable sur
prise when, on February S, 1896, the
press dispatches carried the item that
''the first break in the international
impasse created by the wholesale war
debt defaulting by European nations
two years ago, came yesterday when
the Treasury Department received an
offer from Greece of a partial settle
rnent of It's two 1896 installments.
Greece has expressed willingness to
pay 35 per cent of the coupon value
Of payments due May 10 and No
vember 10. Demetrios Sicilianos, the
Greek Minister, it was announced,
has communicated to the State De-
partment an offer to pay $76,272 Of
the $217,920 due on each of those
dates"
After mature consideration of this
substantial offer, Secretary Hull, on
February 8, accepted the Greek offer,
although announcement of the ac-
ceptance was not made for nearly two
weeks. An Associated Press dispatch
in the morning papers of February
81 reported that it was announced
on the preceding evening in au-
thoritative quarters that the United
States had accepted the Greek offer,
without prejudice to the contractual
rights Of the United States"
Hint at Ulterior Motives.
This reservation Of contractual
rights seems to hint at the possibility
of ulterior motives i'm the Greek offer.
At any rate, the question naturally
arises, whence comes this sudden
good feeling and good faith on the
part Of q debtor government which
has been In default for several years?
Has Greece Unexpectedly entered upon
an era Of prosperity; alone of all the
defaulting nations? Greece must
know that the johnson act Is still
on the statute books and that the
ruling Of the Attorney General on
token" payments still holds. Ger
tain 1t u that the United States
Evening star., 1936-03-29
Greek Debt Offer and Hint of New War

waived no "contractual rights" How
does it happen that, while the debtor
nations always excepting Finlan0
have generally followed the lead of
Great Britain in defaulting on the
payments due, now Greece takes the
lead In offering substantial payment
upon the installments due?
Is there any connection between
this Greek offer and the alleged secret
agreement concerning disposition of
the Dodecanese Islands somewhat IA
vorable to Greece, II military sanctions
become necessary against Italy and
Greece throws in her lot with Italy's
opponents? Do the great powers of
Europe feel the pinch of economic and
financial sanctions against Italy and
desire to have the entire debt question
reconsidered and settled in order to
make possible the floating of 'addi-
tional loans in the United States?
Is the offer by Greece, therefore.
merely the prelude to the reopening
of discussions with the United States
concerning a general settlement of all
the war debts?
Color Is lent to such a conclusion
by the fact that on February II Sem
ator w. Warren Barbour, Republican,
of New Jersey, introduced a bill Is.
403D Ito create a commission to en-
ter into negotiations with respect to
the refunding of certain obligations
of foreign governments held by the
United States,' which was referred
to the Committee on Finance. A lit
tie over two weeks later Senator Will
liam G. McAdoo, Democrat, of Cali
fornia, who was Secretary Of the
Treasury when many of the debts
were contracted, introduced joint
resolution Is. j. Res. 222), little
more carefully drafted, for the same
purpose, except that 1t was for "the
settlement of certain debts" Of these
foreign governments.
Provides Foreign Debt Board.
The McAdoo measure in many re-
spects follows the wording Of the Bar
bour measure. The chief differences
are that it provides for foreign debt
commission of nine members (three
Senators appointed by the Vice Presi-
dent. three Representatives appointed
by the Speaker and three members not
connected with the Government and
appointed by the President and con-
flrmed by the. Senate) instead Of a
World War debt refunding commits
sion of five members (the Secretary of
the Treasury and four members ap-
pointed by the President and con-
firmed by the Senate). The McAdoo
measure authorizes 100000 for the
expenses Of the commission and in
general provides for a more independ-
ent and more powerful commission, al
though both measures require that any
agreement reached with a foreign gov
ernment can become effective only
after approval by the Congress.
Neither measure has won much ap-
Evening star., 1936-03-29

proval. Senator Borah is known to
be opposed to any such measure, while
Senator Pittman. Chairman OF the
Committee on Foreign Relations, on
March 8, was reported as frankly mot
in favor of the resolution" He main
tanned that Great Britain was more
concerned over non-payment Of her
war obligations than the United States
because she realized she could not re-
gain her pre-war creditor position
while herself a delinquent. He repre-
sented 1t as the position of the United
States Government, with which he
was in agreement, that If there was
to be any further consideration of the
matter. it should be at the request Of
the debtors, not the creditor"
1t should be pointed out, in passing,
that the new Neutrality Law recently
enacted prohibits loans to any nation
at war, so that Italy would be effec-
lively restrained from floating new
loans in the United States, II Italy re-
moves herself from the operation Of
the johnson Act by meeting the pay
ments due on her debt at present or
even If new settlement of the exisit-
ing debts were made in the face of the
johnson Act. On this score, the Greek
offer might be considered the opening
wedge in q new financial sanction
against Italy, by opening to the sane
zionist nations the loan markets Of the
United States closed to Italy by the
Neutrality Law.
The real purpose, however, OF the
Greek offer was disclosed, when Greek
Minister Sicilianos let the cat out Of
the bag in an address before the Order
of Ahepa in Washington February "a.
In commenting on the friendly rela-
tions between the two governments, he
felt the necessity of giving some rea-
son for the unexpected action Of the
Greek Government. He said that the
Greek Government was prompted by
its capacity to pay" although it is q
notorious fact that Greece suffered
severely when Great Britain went off
the gold standard on September 81,
1881, that Greece herself was forced to
abandon the gold standard on April
Is, 1882, and that, as recently as May
10, 1885, the Greek Parliament tenn
porarily suspended the service on the
foreign and internal loans. Therefore
there is some reason to believe that
Greece is not appreciably more able to
pay now than formerly.
Gas a result Of the offer and ac-
ceptance," he continued, every May
and November of each year, and until
world conditions improve or q definite
settlement Is reached, Greece will pay
to the United States $4,000" Perhaps
ne said more than he intended when
he used the words until .. q definite
settlement Is reached" but at any
rate they show what was in the back
Of his mind-namely. "a definite set
tlement."
This Is not the place to discuss the
question Of whether the United States