Frost. Our Own San Francisco, Sept. 4.
'The Federal Trade Commission, for the first time in-the country' history, has recently been trying to'determine in dollars what the 'United States' national wealth is.
It has admittedly been no easy task. When a country's national wealth increases as the rate of 72 per cent, in a decade it is not sur prising that this should be so, for even Americans were somewhat swept off their fect when they Tearned that between 1912—that is going away back to "normaley"—to 1922, the year that the Commission's inventory closed, the total wealth increased from 205 billions of dollars to 353 billions!
Some outstanding features of the lions revelations may (a) It was found that the United States is richer than France and Great Britain combined.
(b) The total is recorded as $953 billions, The annual rate of increase $5 billions. (a) The following are el order of importance: was deceived into the belief that he was buying what the advertising matter plainly declared he was buying—namely, a.garment trimmed with Lace made in Ireland.
This sort of thing is very common, of course, and it, is high time that further investigation was undertaken, It speaks well for busi-Mess generally, however, that, when complained about, this sort of thing subjected to the most rigid investigation. Those of the older: hands who know anything about {the export of meats and meat pro-Jduets from Chin aware that! many a carcase has been sold in England bearing on its shank the legend "Prime-fed "English Pork," said pork never having see England until it came out of the cold storage chambers of the ship. Said pork, moreover, spent its early life somewhere in. Hunan, yet the British consumer probably paid the full price that he would for the real Home meat. The time if coming when "many other revelations will be made, but not until they are will the purchasers in Western countries be protected against Asiatic produce said to be something else.
Agriculture os...
Manufacturing' ind' dining iiways and. utilities". Government property. AMT other wealt property, Hing propert "Amazing as is this array figures thus stated," says the official organ of the National Chamber: of Commerce, "it is commonplace comparison with the fact, adduced by the Commission's investigations, that in ten years the total increased 72 per cent." will be' remembered that the year 1922 was what can be considered 'a subnormal year, for the country had scarcely recovered from the tremendous depression of 1921, the famous year of deflation. It is likely, therefore, that the total of 853 billions is lower than it would have been had there been no depression. It is also very probably materially lower than a—similar inventory for the current year would disclose. The time may come when the United States, to lapse into Biblical phraseology, may gain the whole world, but in'doing so might Just us conceivably lose her own Chinese Lace Isn't "Irish'
All lage exporters in China will Know that there vis a- good deal of, Chinese-made lace selling in the American market as "Irish." But Chinese lace is not Irish just for naming it so, and the point has just been thrashed out in New York, where a firm of importers complained of "unfair competition." By reason of the business practices revealed in the case, the order been issued by the Trade Commism requiring the firm to stop selling or offering for sale "as Irish Jace or Irish crochet any ace made in China or elsewhere than Ire-
Jand," and to "refrain from using the word 'Chinese'. or any other geographical designation in conjunction or association with the word 'Irish' or any other name or word suggestive of Ireland as the place manufacture, was shown that lace made in China is imported-by this firm and then sold to manufacturers of garments for the use in trimming women's and children's cloth describing its lace the firm question used the following signation: "Irish Lace," crochet," "Chinese, Irish and Laces," and "Chinese Filet and Irish Crochet." Pretty clever wording! These descriptions, the Commission says, originated with the firm cited and were passed on to the manufacturers, a practice which resulted wig the advertising of the finished garments as "Trimmed with Irish Lace,", which was of course by means the ease. The purchaser The Alien Question in the U.S.A.
On more than one occasion I have referred in these letters to the somewhat unsatisfactory status the "Alien" in the United States.
commence with, the very word has a peculiar twang about it, which is easily sensed if you say it out loud, There are large numbers of resident aliens in the coun-number is' probably larger than it will ever be. For there is a feeling leverywhore abroad that the alien should become a citizen, There are two sides to the question, Many aliens now in' the country will undoubtedly in time become citizens, and the residence here of others will prove beneficial alike to themselves and to the United States. But Americans generally' believe, and I suppose it is me evitable, that many questions will arise respecting individea! aliens who are within the country, and many official bodies believe that it is important that legal entry and presence should be clearly" esttablished. For example, the influential National Chamber of—Commerce recently passed a resolution to the effect that "we support the resent policy of issuing certificates of arrival to immigrants who have legally entered the country—since '30, 1924," and "we advocate wane of certificates of arrival to those aliens who entered the country before July 1, 1924, jand who can present satisfactory evidence that they are not subject. to deportation." The resolution then, goes on to say that the N. C. of C. opposes any project for ti compulsory registration of all aliens, J—which has been freely advocated fin certain sections of the Press—{for the chamber believes such a system would be accompanied by undue hardships for large numbers lof law-abiding aliens who are leading useful lives, and the objection also is made on the ground that this system would entail large Jexpenditures for the Federal Go-[vernment, and would be of doubt ful success for its chief purpose of establishing the facts as to aliens who may be offenders against the laws.
Nonetheless I believe it to be true that average Americans feel that aliens. who have elected to live in the United States, for business or Jother reasons, should of their own free-will take out their papers; and if they do not elect to do so, they should be extended the final i vitation either to become citizens or—get out. The American does not seem to be able to understand that many. people cannot lightly {relinquish their nationality. T have lived in China for many. years, but that is not to say that. I would may not wish to become an Ameri-jean citizen, though I may enjoy living in this country rather than jin my own.
A Matter of Force Majeure During the last two or three [years several cases have come. my knowledge where Britons: engaged in business here have. been practically: compelled to take-out' nationalization papers. I heard of, tone ease out here in the West where the British Consul quietly gave the the tip t5 a friend of mine®that unless.he became an American he would very likely have a hard time of it in the particular line of business he was engaged in.
With that point of view, perhaps, one cannot quarrel. Blodd is thicker than water, All things "being equal, it is natural that the American would rather give any advantage, in business or otherwise, hhis fellow-countryman. But when the alien is made to feel that he must become naturalized, it is, in my opinion, going a bit too far. Take the average Briton. If he thinking person, he will not, cannot, lightly throw overboard his British: nationality. He considers, moreover, that the contribution he brings to the United States is of value. He is law-abiding, respects the laws of the country, may and probably does ad much in American life that is new to him, feels that Britain could with prof to her economic life learn valuable Tessons from the United States, and cannot but see that probably during the whole of his lifetime, life generally will be easier in the United States for the masses of the people than it will be back home in hig own country. Notwithstanding" all this,.he prefers to retain his own nationality. No tone can blame him. He is British, and because of that, to him, outstandingly important fact, he wants to remain British, no matter where hho may elect to live.
But there is a growing percentage of Americans who argue that, if this alien—and the same reniarks can be applied to any alien irrespective. of nationality—wants to live in America he should become an American. It cannot, in fact, he understood why he should not desire to become one. The American cannot understand that, though a Briton, or a Frenchman, or any other person of European nationality may have lived away from home for more than half his life there is the natural yearning. to. "get back home" when the twi-ight of life begins. And so, I believe I am right in saying, that the average European in America jean not understand the American point of view. Why become American, he asks? The whole world cannot become American citizens, no matter how "Americanized" the force of economic influence may make it, Many believe that in course of time an addition wil be made to the immigration law to the effect that after a certain number of years' residence in this country, all aliens will be required either automatically to take out their first papers or return whence they came. Tt would be a hard law, however. Take a proud and canny' Scot. ig a most excellent Scot, but the chances are that he would not take too kindly to the changed type of civilization he finds here—the same with the Swede, the Finn, the Italian, or any other nationality. I dare say that if I were an American however, I could quite as state the case from the reverse angle, but I am an alien ud Would vigorously resent the idea that because I want to live for any length of time in the United States I must become an American subject.
The Other Side of the Story People who have been to London recently will not. need to be told' where "New York Avenue" is. It's Shaftesbury Avenue, of course. it. Raymond C. Willoughby, commenting on the popularity of American plays in London, says that people in England are, joking about this few York Avenue" because out. of the seven theatres on Shaftesbury Avenue "six are. giving American ys and all of them are, success-Bat that, he says,: should not be taken to mean that the American conquest of London's theatres i complete, and he quotes the "Man-
Beneficial Effect of the Recent Taxation Propésals on the Position of the Frane
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.