THE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE THE 'HE question of simplifying the calendar, which was the subject of a resolution at the Pan American Conference in Habana in 1928,2 was taken up last October at an international conference of government delegates at Geneva by invitation of the League of Nations. Forty-three governments accepted, including the Governments of Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Mexico, Peru, and Uruguay. Brazil had previously filed a report on the question. After a week of discussion the Conference made a recommendation to the churches in favor of fixing Easter on the first Sunday after the second Saturday in April, but as regards the general reform of the calendar, postponed action chiefly because of the disturbed world conditions. The delegates felt that the time was not opportune for immediate application of calendar reform. The Conference, however, drew up a survey of the question, including a discussion of the proposed plans of simplification, and sent it to all governments for consideration. This action leaves the question open until 1935, the date for the next quadrennial meeting of the General Conference on Communications and Transit, which is the League organization that has the question in charge. Meanwhile, the League will follow up the movement and keep the governments regularly informed of its further progress. Although the failure of the Conference to take conclusive action at this time was disappointing to some, the fact that calendar reform was for the first time officially placed before the governments for eventual decision may be taken as a substantial step forward when the progress of the movement is taken in perspective. "For the first time," as the Conference pointed out in its survey, "public opinion as a whole has begun to be in a position to discuss seriously the advantages and drawbacks of the simplification of the Gregorian calendar. It is also the first time that governments in 1 Mr. Stiles participated in the Conference as one of the representatives of the National Committee on Calendar Simplification for the United States. The resolution of the Sixth International Conference of American States on the Simplification of the Calendar adopted February 20, 1928, was as follows: That it be recommended to the countries members of the Pan American Union that they appoint a National Committee with a view to studying the proposal relative to the simplification of the calendar, and that they make the necessary preparation in order to participate in an International Conference to determine which is the best method of reform." general have been brought to regard the simplification of the calendar as a definite question capable of discussion between them in the course of official deliberations. The preparatory work and the discussions in the Conference, to which the governments will doubtless devote attention, will provide the competent government departments with the material necessary for a considered decision." As regards recommending a particular plan of calendar reform from among those submitted by the Preparatory Committee, which had met in June, the delegates deferred making a definite choice. Various of the delegates had been instructed not to commit their governments at this time, and were, therefore, obliged to maintain. an officially neutral attitude. The discussion as to the best plan to adopt was quite free, however, and developed a decided sentiment that if the calendar were to be reformed at all, it should be a thoroughgoing reform and correct all of the calendar's defects. The consensus was decidedly in favor of adopting a perpetual calendar that is, a calendar fixing the week days to unchanging dates-but the feeling was that, owing to certain religious opposition to such a calendar, it would be difficult if not impossible to introduce it in some countries without a greater demand for it than existed at present. The religious opposition referred to was that of leaders of Jewish religious bodies, also a Christian sect known as Seventh Day Adventists, whose representatives appeared at the Conference and made pleas for a rejection of a perpetual calendar. They said their people were unable to accept the annual one day's interruption of the seventh day sequence of their Saturday Sabbath, such as a perpetual calendar would involve, and that as a consequence the adoption of such a calendar would be injurious to their religions. No opposition was manifested by any other religious body. From the economic and social point of view, discussion of the merits of the two plans for a perpetual calendar, the one limited to the equalization of the quarters of the year, the other dividing the year into 13 equal months of 28 days each, developed a larger weight of opinion in favor of the 13-month division as preferable to the limited reform, which fails to remedy the defect of fractional weeks. In this connection, much consideration was given to the present use of the 13-period auxiliary calendar among business concerns. This was emphasized in the survey which the Conference submitted to Governments. Attention was called to the possibility that the 13-period business calendar might be officially recognized by Governments as an auxiliary calendar, and that eventually its increasing use among commercial and industrial organizations and its employment by public authorities would lead the public to a wider recognition of the advantages of simplifying the calendar. THE MEXICAN BALLET-SYMPHONY THE "H. P." By HARRY L. HEWES HE most ironic and whimsical commentary on the contrast and conflicts of life on the North American Continent ever produced on the lyric stage was seen in the Metropolitan Opera House in Philadelphia on March 31, 1932, when the widely publicized Mexican symphony H. P. was presented in its world première by the corps de ballet of the Philadelphia Grand Opera Company. The a udience which packed the great edifice to the doors was one of the most distinguished to gather in Philadelphia in recent years. The general idea of the work was conceived by Carlos Chávez in 1926, and worked out with Diego Rivera in its present form. The work was finished in 1927 and reorchestrated for a large symphony orchestra in 1931. The music, often humorous, occasionally brutal, and for fleeting moments directly in the romanticist vein, was written by Señor Chávez. Designs for décor and costumes were by Señor Rivera, Mexican painter, who has been described as the "world's foremost graphic artist." The whole impact of Señor Rivera's ironic wit was revealed in both settings and costumes. Leopold Stokowski was at the conductor's desk; before him in the pit was the entire orchestral personnel of 114 men. A desk telephone linked him with the electricians who operated the many-octaved light batteries back stage. It is of interest to note here that Mr. Stokowski returned in February from his second visit to Mexico to observe the ritualistic and symbolic dances of the Indians, the roots of which are lost in dim and unrecorded centuries; he brought back light and sound records for further study. With Señor Chávez he had lived in an isolated Indian village on the far southwestern coast. Both Señor Chávez and Señor Rivera went to Philadelphia early in March and assisted in staging rehearsals. The choreography was directed by Catherine Littlefield, première danseuse of the opera company. An immensely significant plastic imagination is revealed in the ballet, reaching brilliantly into the world of satirical fantasy. Its action is thus described in the program: H. P. The Ballet H. P. symbolizes the relations of the Northern Regions with those of the Tropics, and shows their interrelationship. The Tropics produce things Diego Rivera's sketch of the leading character in "H. P.," the Mexican symphony-ballet, by Carlos Chávez and Diego Rivera, which had its world première in Philadelphia, March 31, 1932. in their primitive state there are Pineapples, Cocoanuts, Bananas, and Fish. The North produces the machinery with which to manufacture from the products of the Tropics, the necessary material things of life. The Ballet depicts the fact that the North needs the Tropics, just as the Tropics need the machinery of the North, and attempts to harmonize the result. 1. Dance of the Man, H. P. The Man is in the plenitude of his intellect, sentiments, and physical power. He expresses in the dance, the energy contained in himself and discovers at his every step, the unknown forces surrounding him, which he seeks to subdue. 2. A Cargo Ship at Sea Symbolizing the Commerce between the North and the South. Here are interpreted the relations between diverse men and places of different resources. A gymnastic dance of Sailors denotes vigor, activity, and physical force. Mermaids of the tropical seas, followed by their train of fish, come over the side of the ship, expressing nonchalance, sensuality, and seduction. All are swept by the frantic pleasure of the rhythm, syncopation, and dance. 3. A Ship in the Tropics. Warmth and light. Plentiness to the earth and Fruits in abundance. Peace, quietness, and exotic coloring. A slight breeze causes the fruit trees to sway. The Fruits gradually grow more animated as the natives pass by, selling their wares. The Sailors from the ship arrive to take their cargo of fruit. The scene becomes more and more alive, as the final dance depicts the loading of the Fruits upon the vessel. 4. The City of Industry. The North, with its skyscrapers, machinery, and mechanical activity. Man collects the raw materials of the earth; gold, silver, cotton, tobacco, and the machinery which enables him to dominate his surroundings, and satisfy his desire and needs. The world at work, dominated by the stock ticker, denoting increasing wealth. Mankind's struggle for its welfare revolts against mere material values, reverting to an insatiable desire for the natural products of the earth. Men and raw materials dance and blend into the rhythm of H. P., as the Ballet ends. The score is as full of contrasts as life on the North American Continent. Señor Chávez has utilized as themes the Anglo-Saxon chanteys of the sea and the Indian-Spanish huapango, danza, corrido, and zandunga. The final dance is a sparkling composition holding together the suggestion of the various themes by a clear, strong, and decisive harmonic treatment. "Once again a musician has issued a formidable challenge to a dance composer," remarked The New York Times; "Mr. Chávez has filled his music to the brim with substance." And of the ballet the New York Herald Tribune said: "His [Señor Rivera's] fishes, mermaids, cocoanuts, sugarcane, bananas, cigars, and gasoline pumps provide something quite new and actually distinctive in ballet investiture and retain the qualities of sunlight and intense simplicity which always have been the secret of his success." Señor Rivera, who endeared himself to the people of Philadelphia because of his essentially humble devotion to his significant art and his personal courtesy and kindliness, saw in the performance of H. P. by the Philadelphia Opera Company the opening of another door to a more sympathetic cultural understanding between the United States and the Republics to the South. "There is undoubtedly a common destiny for all the men of America," he remarked. "The time will come when they will be held by a common bond in the achievements of art, beauty, and the mind." Señor Rivera also said: "H. P. is not an exposition of ideas of propaganda for or against this or that point of view, but the unfolding of plastic and musical incidents whose theme Courtesy of Harry Hewes "THE BANANA" One of the dancers in "H. P." as pictured by |