Preparations for a Visit

The President prepared last week to clasp hands with Premier Pierre Laval (see p. 18), a gentleman whose strong displeasure he incurred four months ago by asking that France accept at once the Hoover Moratorium (TIME, June 26 et seq.).

Guest Laval has not forgotten. Neither has Host Hoover. Every few days this month the State Department reassured French journalists that in Washington M. Laval would positively be confronted by no cut & dried proposal, by no fait accompli. Exquisitely anxious to return this courtesy Premier Laval, aboard the S. S. lie de France last week, declared:

"Any proposals which may be attributed to me are without foundation. In agreement with President Hoover, I will make public the nature and scope of our conversations only after our meetings in Washington."

Despite such elaborate double disclaimers, questions to be discussed by President & Premier undoubtedly included:

1) What steps the French and U. S. Governments will take to keep francs and dollars unshakably on the gold standard. (Frenchmen are stuffing socks with all kinds of gold coins which they bought in bags on the floor of the Paris Bourse last week. This helped to force the Federal Reserve Bank of New York rediscount rate up to 3 1/2% in an effort to check European withdrawals & hoarding of U. S. gold --see p. 43).

2) Mr. Hoover and M. Laval are understood to agree that further fiscal relief must be extended to Germany; but the President is supposed to favor a further moratorium, while the Premier inclines toward a temporary cut of 50% in War Debts.

3) Since fiscal relief to Germany & Europe must be largely at U. S. expense, the President is in a strong position to bargain with M. Laval for French support of drastic Hoover arms limitation proposals at the League's World Conference in Geneva next February.

But radios from the lie de France made clear that Premier Laval will urge the French plan of limiting only armament budgets; whereas the U. S. has always maintained that "Disarmament" or "Limitation" will prove a mockery if it is not based on scrapping actual war boats and guns, limiting actual trained reserves.

4) On the theoretical side (which Latins love, Anglo-Saxons dislike) looms the French thesis of "No Disarmament without Security," meaning that if a nation limits its arms all nations signatory to the

Kellogg (or some other) Pact should agree to aid that nation if it be attacked. An agreement in this sense would be called by M. Laval "implementing the Peace Pact." He is said to have dropped the original French plea for armed aid to the nation attacked, now urges economic boycott of the aggressor.

5) Finally President & Premier are expected to stand shoulder to shoulder against British efforts to promote a world conference for the distribution of gold to consider such expedients as bimetallism. M. Laval, thrifty butcher's son, is congenitally opposed to mixing silver with gold, likes his gold straight. President Hoover, onetime mining engineer, feels the same way.

> Over a network of 150 radio stations, last week President Hoover opened a five-week campaign to gather funds into the nation's community chests, to keep some 6,000,000 jobless from starving this winter. Said he: "No Governmental action, no economic doctrine, no economic plan or project can replace that God-im-posed responsibility of the individual man and woman to their neighbors."

> Last week President Hoover drove to Annapolis, Md. to board the U. S. S. Arkansas which would take him, via Fortress Monroe, to the sesquicentennial celebration of the American victory (thanks to France) at Yorktown. Mayor Walter E. Quenstedt of Annapolis hospitably went out to the city limits to greet the President. Through some slip up in arrangements, the President's entourage flashed heedlessly by, leaving Mayor Quenstedt & party stranded on the side of the road like a band of hitchhikers. The Mayor rode angrily back to town, wrote a letter to the White House demanding an explanation.

At Yorktown--where were gathered Marshal Henri Petain of France, General Pershing, Governors and representatives of the 13 original States, widows of three U. S. Presidents, the great-great-great nephew of Lord Cornwallis--President Hoover said: "No American can review this vast pageant of progress without confidence and faith, without courage, strength and resolution for the future."

> White House visitors of the week included: Secretary of the Navy Adams who told the President he had not found a way to cut the Navy's budget the desired $61,000,000, was told he must; Andre Citroen (Ford of France) to pay respects (see p. 48); Commander-in-Chief Harold D. Decoe of the Veterans of Foreign Wars to serve notice that his organization would continue to agitate an immediate cash settlement of the Bonus.

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