Current Events 
U. S. A. 
tjj Renewed interest in the United States joining more directly in 
European reconstruction is witnessed in many quarters. The Federal 
Council of Churches, after hearing reports from clergymen, college 
presidents and other educators, business men and women of prominence 
who had been commissioned by the Council to investigate the situation 
in Europe, declared in a statement that the situation can never be met 
unless this country takes a more active part in affairs overseas. 
<1 Judge Elbert H. Gary, chairman of the United States Steel Cor¬ 
poration, in an address before the Iron and Steel Institute, advocated 
a world-conference on economic problems, to be held in Washington, 
as necessary to arouse the public and the administration and carry 
forward the ideas expressed at the former disarmament gathering. 
CJ The British, French, and Italian Government requested the active 
participation of the United States in the Near East Peace Conference 
to be held in Lausanne, Switzerland. So far there are no indications 
that such participation will be other than through an “unofficial” 
observer. <1 With regard to Pan-American affairs, considerable sig¬ 
nificance attaches to the invitation of Secretary of State Hughes for 
the five Central American republics to send delegates to a Washing¬ 
ton conference in order to negotiate a new treaty of peace and friend¬ 
ship and to consider limitation of armaments. IJ The proposal is the 
outcome of the conference recently held on board the United States 
steamship Tacoma, in the Bay of Fonseca, by the Presidents of Hon¬ 
duras, Nicaragua, and Salvador. Later Costa Rica and Guatemala 
were invited to adhere to the agreement, but they declined on the ground 
that they found it unnecessary since they regarded the treaty of 1907 
as still in force. It is believed that the coming conference will have a 
considerable bearing on the relations of all the American republics. 
Pending final decision on the validity of the ruling by the United 
States Supreme Court regarding the enforcement of the national pro¬ 
hibition act as governing ships under foreign registry, the Treasury 
and the Department of Justice are co-operating in drafting new orders. 
In the meantime there has been a more liberal interpretation of the 
order as promulgated by Attorney General Daugherty. €J A nation¬ 
wide campaign to “sell” the League of Nations to the United States, 
as he expressed it, has been launched by John H. Clarke, who recently 
resigned from the Supreme Court in order to devote himself to public 
causes. Mr. Clarke declares that it may take two years or longer to 
popularize the movement, but he feels that there are many men and 
women “perfectly willing to hazard the prospect of failure in the hope 
of success.” 
