Harrisburg telegraph. (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, August 30, 1919, Page 6, Image 6
6 TREATY AGAINST IRISH INTERESTS, COMMITTEE HEARS American Representatives of Freedom For Ireland Tes tify Before Senate Body By Associated Press. WMhlnidon, Aug. 30.—Asking tor rejection of the Peace Treaty. Amer ican representatives of the cause of Irish freedom told the Foreign Re lations Committee to-day that the Treaty would create a super-govern ment against Ireland's interests and would establish British naval supre macy so firmly as to menace the United Stutes. Daniel F. Cohalan, a Justice of the Supremo Court, of New York, Edward F. Dunne, former Governor of Illi nois; Frank P. Walsh, H. Burke Coch ran, and others representing various Irish organizations, appeared. They said they voiced the sentiment of more than 20,000,000 American citi zens of Irish blood. "We, citizens of the United States of Irish blood," said a memorial read to the commltte. "but attached above all things to this Republic and its constitution respectfully pray that the proposed Treaty now before you be rejected as a direct violation of ,the principles on which this war was fought, as they were defined by Pres ident Wilson. "Ireland has been asserting con tinuously lier claim to independence for eight centuries. One fifth of this entire population of the United States is of Irish extraction. We ask that Ireland be not the only nation ex cluded front the benefit of the glor ious principles enunciated by Mr. Wilson as those which the Great War was fought to establish. We es pecially denounce article ten of the proposed League of Nations as a de vise to stifle the conscience of civi lization and render it impotent to con demn and by condenmlng to end the oppression of weak nations enslaved by powerful neighbors. It impeaches the most creditable page in our his- ] tory and discredits the circumstances and conditions in which our republic was born and our liberty achieved. Must Hove Aid "The conscience of civilization, the only force to which the oppressed can appeal, would no longer be able to take effective jurisdiction of wrongs perpetrated by powerful na tions on weaker people. No strug gling nation has ever accomplished its independence except through the aid of other nations." ; Taking particular exceptions to the ; League of Nations proposal Justice j Cohalan declared it would be "in- 1 tolerable" to give Great Britain six votes in the League as against the ' Utjited States one. "We fought," he said, "to destroy I autocracy, which means not only mil- . itarism the control of the land, but j also navalism, the control of the sea. i We contend that the postion of the , British fleet is made such by this ! treaty that It can be used only against the United States. Germany and I Russia are in no position 'to contest \ it and Franco practically has been turned into a continual vassal of Eng- I land. To Give I p Doctrine "If we enter into a scheme which leaves to another country the mas tery of the seas, we place ourselves voluntarily in the position where we shall carry on commerce with other countries as a matter of providing instead of as matter of right. We are asked also under the proposed plan practically to give up the Mon- | roe Doctrine. "We insist that this is in no sense a ! League of Nations, but is simply a ! cover for an Anglo-American alliance! under which the Freedom of America I would be abridged and the power of I the governing classes in England per manently secured." Would Start Rebellion Mr. Walsh, chairman of the Amer ican commission on Irish independ ence declared the League would put more than half the world in rebel lion. He said he always had been a Democrat and "almost a pacifist," but that the best friend President Wilson has is the man who will stand up and "keep him from the great mistake he is about to make." Mr. Walsh offered to give the com- •ft iH ™ IUK At All Grocers SATURDAY EVENING, TYPICAL HEADQUARTERS OF A BELGIAN COMPANY IN THE CONGC ONE OF MANY THAT ARE , DEVELOPING THIS COLONYS GREAT NATURAL RESOURCES By ALBERT BRETON, i Vice President Guaranty Trust Co. of New York. "55HT HE Belgians are undertaking MB© ,helr country's reliabilita tlon with cliarneterlstlc courage and hope. In the beginning of Its great task Belgium's most urgent need Is for commercial and Industrial credits which will enable manufacturers promptly to restore and <qulp their devastated plnnts ana purchase raw materials. It Is to be expected that Govern ment credit will be utilized in the re development of the country's business In addition to further borrowing to meet the extraordinary national ex ! penses in the period of demobilization. Fortunately the financial condition of j the Belgian Government is particularly favorable. The gross debt of Belgium Is 13,422,- 000,000 francs, equivalent to about $2,- 000.000,000, and consists of a pre-war debt of 4,957,000,000 francs and a war debt of 8,465,000,000 francs. Offsets to this debt are In part: Investments in railways, telegraphs and telephones approximately 3,000,000,000 francs, and deposits of Relchsbank notes 2,000,- 000,000 marks. In view of the relatively small na tional debt, Belgium is In a favorable position in bidding for credit abroad. Moreover, the indemnities should ultl- | mittee "in executive session" reports ! of the interviews bewtene members of | the Irish American delegation sent to i Paris and President Wilson and other | peace delegates. At the suggestion I of Senator Johnson. Republican, Cali fornia. the committee voted to re ceive the records and print them for public circulation. Separated Forever When Ireland separated from Great Britain in the uprising during the war, Mr. Walsh said, "they separated forever." The Irish were willing to "fight to the death," he asserted, if it became necessary. Describing his experience at Paris, where his commission was refused a hearing at the Peace Conference. He head the names of a long list of dele- RUBBER GATHERERS ON A CONGO RAILROAD-THIS INDUSTRY PLAYS AN IMPORTANT PART IN BELGIUM S COLONIAL DEVELOPMENT mately more than offset the entire war debt. Meanwhile, even though not im mediately available In full, the indem nities, as enforclblo claims against Germany, may be made to lend addi tional support to the credit of Belgium In Its borrowings for Immediate needs. Besides, taxes have been light hither to and for the most part Indirect, leav ing a wide range of possible expansion gations frcm small nations who called on the Irish-Americans to ask "why the 14 points were being disregarded. He said he understood that the Peace Conference drew lines on the map by mistake" in several cases and got several nationalities into the wrong nation. He said he was present at the open meeting when the League covenant was approved and that various peo ple were jumping up over the hall to make suggestions, "but M. Clemen ceau blandly said 'there being no ob jection, the covenant is agreed to.' " Mr. Walsh's statements brought re peated laughter and cheers from the largest crowd of spectators that has attended any of the committee's hear ings. V HXRJRXSBURG TELEGRAPH of the State revenues from taxation without the Imposition of ex'cessive rates. Belgium's record of superior finan cial and Industrial achievements In the past Is her surest guarantee for the future. It Is the most densely populated country In the world. Hav ing an area of 11,373 square miles (somewhat larger than Vermont and a A. F. of L. Approves Cigarmakers' Strike Washington, Aug. 30.—Formal ap proval of the strike of cigarmakers over the country was given to-day by the executive council of the Ameri can Federation of Labor, in a tele gram sent to G. W. Perkins, of Chi cago. president of the union. The council announced it had concluded to 'appeal to all workers and friends for full moral and financial support" of the strikers. The telegram signed by President Samuel Gompers said: "The executive council of the Amer ican Federation of Labor havipg un- BELGIUM IS RAPIDLY CONVERTING HER WAR INDUSTRIES TO PEACE MANUFACTURING little smaller than Maryland), Belgium supported in well-dllfused comfort a population of more than 7,000,000 In 1914. An excess of Immigration over emigration In recent years Indicates that an nverage density of more than COO Inhabitants per square mile has der consideration the strikes of the large numbers of cigarmakers of the country, endorses the attitude of the Cigarmakers' International Union of America. The executive council has concluded to appeal to all workers and friends for full moral and finan cial support for the cigarmakers en gagejj. in their Justified contest. The executive council sends- fraternal greetings and test wishes for suc cess." Saving Stamps Sales in July Increased 10 Per Cent. Washington, Aug. 30. Officials who have urged that the surest way THE FAMOUS MOLE AT ZEE BRUGGE, PARTILLV DESTROYED BY THE BRITISH IN THEIR DESTRUCTIVE RAID AND SINCE BEBUHT BY THEM not produced undue pressure upon the country's resources. The kingdom stood eighth unions the nations, rank ed according to aggregate wealth, and sixth according to total foreign trade and iu commerce per capita was sur passed only by the Netherlands. Belgium's prosperity and Its high rank among the Industrial nations be fore the war had an especially sound basis in the country's highly developed agriculture. About three-11 ftbs of the total area was under cultivation. The to bring down the cost of living was to increase the savings and less en the expenditures of the people have taken hope in treasury reports that the sale cf savings stamps in July showed an increase ot" more than 10 per cent, over June, while for the same period the conversions of stamps into cash decreased 1G per cent. & it That there still is room for im provement was seen in the an nouncement that the first seven months of this year sales have aver aged only 9 5 cents for every person in the country, the total being $95,- 400,470. AUGUST 30, lSte. A VIENA ON THE CONGO RIVER, SHOWING ONE OF THE RICH PLANTATIONS OP BELGIUMS - COLONY average vnlne of tlie produce per acre was approximately $lOO, a yield equal-i ed by no other country. Although Belgians sold considerable quantities of foodstuffs abroad, the country Is not self-supporting as re gards food. The Imports of liquors and foodstuffs have regularly exceeded the total exports—in 1012 by $132,000,- 000. Nevertheless a domestic produc tion unnually of $53 worth of food stuffs for every person In the king dom contributed greatly to the strength and stability of the bases of Belgium's prosperity. Important as has been the unparal leled development of Belgium's agri culture, it is the manufacturing and related Industries, diversified and In tensively developed, that have given the country so prominent a place among the commercial nations. An Important key to a nation's in dustrial progress and possibilities Is Its coal supply. Tlltherts Belgium's domestic coal has come from the southern fields, which, with a single interruption of about four miles, ex tend across the kingdom. For some years before the war the output aver aged about 23,000,000 tons, and until 1009 Belgium exported au excess of coal. Since 1010, however, the In creased domestic consumption, due primarily to the very rapid growth of Broughton. Brandenburg Is Indicted For Larceny York, Aug. 30. Broughton Brandenburg, former newspaper writ- cr, who was acquitted in 1909 of a charge of grand larceny resulting from his sale to a newspaper of an article of which he said President Cleveland was the author was indict ed by a grand Jury here yesterday on a grand larceny and conspiracy charge. The indictment followed Investiga tion of an alleged attempt to exploit a stoap stone hill on Staten Island as an asbestos mine. the Industries, has brought about i reversal of trade conditions. The dU covery of twoi new con! fields, on® m Jacent to the Netherlands border an the other tn the southern part of th kingdom, promises to relieve the hi cesslty for reliance upon Imported cot In the near future. Along wltli the coal resources In th southern provinces arc rich deposits 4 iron ore, but owing In part to legal r| strictions governing the extraction 4 these deposits the production of ol has been small for a long time. Net ertheless Belgium's Ufty blast furnact produced In 1012, clilelly from Luxed burg ores, 2,300,000 tons of pig Iron. In keeping with the development 4 the Iron nnd steel industry, there ha been a significant expansion of varlot) related lines of manufacturing, espi cially machine and engine works am the construction of railwny equlpmc* and automobiles. The zinc, lead, chen leal, glass und textile Industries ai among the other more Important entel prises. The totnl mileage of the Belgial railways In 1912 was 5,399 —2,92 miles of stnndnrd gauge roads an 2.471 miles of light, or meter guagt roads. This was an average of 47J miles of line for each square mile o territory, the greatest railroad density as a whole In any country. The totnl foreign commerce, erclt sive of transit trade, averaged for tb four years Immediately preceding th war more than $1,500,000,000, the ava age value of the exports being $702 000,000 nnd that of the imports sSBfl 000,000. Of the Imports, more tha one-hnlf, as measured In value, col slsted of raw materials or seml-roant factured goods, und of the exports a) proximately 40 per cent, was inonufai tured products. In the Ilelginn Congo there Is q asset which will prove of lncreasln Importance In the future developmet •of Belgium's industries. In area tb colony is eighty times as large as Be gium Itself. Although situated In cqul torlal Africa, its climate Is on th whole much more salubrious than tin of most tropical countries, because tb greater part of the country Is a con paratively high plntcnu. The popult tion of the colony is variously est mated at from 10,000,000 to 15,000,001 Since the annexation of the Cong by Belgium In 1008 industrial entei prise there has been concerned chletl with preparation for a comprehensiv and well rounded development of tb colony through the exploitation of II resources agricultural, forest an mineral. In 1910 the Government began I comprehWislve program of agrlculturl education and experimentation oi which the Administration was to ej pend approximately $400,000 a yea for a period of ten years. Five full equipped laboratories were provide and various Government plantation were devoted to demonstration wort both in crop growing and In cattl raising. Particularly gratifying ha\ been the successful experiments wlti cotton and rice growing, and the Colt nlal Minister recently expressed th belief that In a comparatively shot time the colony would be supplying tl* factories of Belgium with all their rat cotton. i Frozen Fish in Storage Showed Decrease Aug. 15 WnxlilnKtnn, Aug. 30.—Frozen tlsh held In storage August 15 amounted to 67,710,173 pounds, compared to 82,- 554,798 pounds at the same time last year, the monthly report of the bu reau of markets of the department of agriculture shows. The holdings of cured herring amounted to 30,217,216 pounds, com pared to 27,290,409 pounds on August 15, 1918; and the holdings of mild cored saliror. amounted to 9,347,623 pounds, compared with 5, pounds last year.