Show news review of current events the world over bru plans settlement of cuban debts to americans roosevelt says federal government should end child labor and starvation wa wages es by EDWARD W PICKARD Q western newspaper union FEDERICO LAREDO BRU the new president of cuba proposes to settle all cuban dobli obligations actions in the united states and is expected soon to invite the bankers and bondholders bond holders concerned to enter negotiations to that end credit for inducing bru to do 0 this is given to col fulgencio batista who appears to be I 1 I 1 resident president largely 3 1 in control of laredo cru bru affairs in the e island the obligations include about 75 owed to many americans who invested in public work gold bonds which were issued during the administration of president gerardo machado the new constitution which the cuban congress recently voted originally prohibited any such negotiations as those contemplated before 1940 but when it appeared in the official gazette that article had been radically altered it now orders the government to find a satisfactory way to settle all debts to the united states before 1940 and authorizes the president to open negotiations immediately this error in the gazettes composing room is supposed to have been ordered by colonel batista and though congress has the power to correct it a majority of congressmen after reading the art article in the gazette gave it their approval so president bru it seems is free to go ahead with the negotiations elimination of child labor long working hours and starvation wages is a necessity and must be carried out by the federal government since it cannot be done by state action so declared president roosevelt in his press conference ile he warned the correspondents not to say he was planning to revive the and insisted all he could say at present was that something should be done to fix maximum hours and minimum wages since the day of the said mr roosevelt there has been a steady decline in child labor grueling hours and starvation wages by 90 per cent of american business As for the other 10 per cent he said they were still failing to live vp up to the best standards since the death of the attorneys for the american federation of labor were reported to be about ready to submit to the president a bill designed to restore labor protective features lost in the death of it provides that congress catalogue unfair conduct which would be forbidden to employers and assure workers adequate protection violations would be punishable by a fine the federation is expected also to back federal licensing of interstate corporations po rations as provided by the bill efrom OM BERRY before retiring from the governorship of south dakota appointed herbert hitchcock of mitchell S D to fill out the term of the late senator senate r peter norbeck the new senator is democratic state chairman and his appointment brings the democratic membership in the senate to 76 the highest party total in history the republicans now number 16 mr hitchcock was born in ma qu oketa la ia in 1867 and was educated at anamosa davenport and chicago he went to mitchell in 1894 and was admitted to the bar two years later he was president of the school board in his home town for ten years and states attorney four years he served as state senator in 1909 1911 and 1929 A A S unicameral ix legislature unique in the united states was vas about to begin its first session gov R L cochran declared politics was out he discouraged cou raged party caucuses among the members and said he would have no spokesman in the legislature the governor pointed out that the constitution provides that the one house chamber shall be non parti san and that the voters had done don their part by electing on a nonpolitical ticket 22 democrats and 21 republicans ile he said he would continue personally and as governor all measures for new forms of taxation FINANCIAL status of american farmers may be much improved as reports of governmental agencies say but some of them still appear to need a lot of help senator F ryan duffy of wisconsin asked federal officials to allot to aid the wisconsin farmers who are suffering from the effects of the drouth this would be per farm tie he said and considering the high price of hay and other items of feed it would be difficult to make a smaller sum stun cover the needs which would develop during the winter season duffy estimated to wisconsin farmers would need assistance si in purchasing live stock this winter he said at least farmers in the drouth area and from to outside the drouth districts were in need of aid in addition he said between and farmers would need government aid in purchasing seed for the 1937 crop p G officials from the president down were anxious to prevent the export export of american airplanes to spain license for which was given perforce by the state department to robert cuse a jersey city airplane broker cuse proposes to send worth of planes to the spanish loyalists and his action was criticized in washington as legal but unpatriotic senator key pittman of nevada chairman of the foreign relations committee assailed the cuse deal as improper and dangerous and said it might embarrass not only the united states but also other nations in their efforts to enforce the hands off policy toward the spanish war congress may be able to rush through prohibitive legislation before the planes are shipped meantime pressure was being brought to bear on cuse to cancel the deal W HEN the german steamer palos w was captured by spanish n loyalists at bilbao because it carried war munitions supposedly destined for the franco forces the berlin government demanded its release under threat of reprisal the basque authorities when the german cruiser koenigsberg arrived at bilbao let the palos go but held on to the cargo and to one spanish citizen who was a passenger this did not satisfy the commander of the cruiser who insisted the cargo and the spaniard must be released the authorities defiantly refused this and several more german warships were ordered to the bilbao sector there was a report in berlin that hitler had been advised by mussolini to withdraw as gracefully as possible from the spanish ambrog lio and that il II duce himself had decided to cease supporting franco and the insurgents it was believed hitler would avoid war measures in this crisis and both great britain and france were hopeful that he would preserve peace because they have offered to help his economic and colonial needs in return for nonintervention in the spanish conflict however informed german sources said the an anglo 1 lo french note sent christmas urging a cessation of german volunteer enlistments for spain had come too late and that germany will permit and even encourage a continuance of such enlistments C CHIANG HIANG KAI SHEK generalissimo of china and its dictator is back in marshal chang who held him prisoner in for two weeks also is in the nationalist capital avowedly repentant and ready read y to submit to any punishment the danger of civil war has passed for the tt ak I 1 time the terms on which chang released chiang have not been made public the dictator is T TV V soong sued a statement directed to his kidnaper commending his change of heart and promising to use his influence to obtain leniency for him and chang also gave out a statement admitting his grievous fault these developments would seem to have quieted down the oriental situation but there is another matter that threatens continued trouble this is the prospect that chiang may decide to confine his attention largely to military affairs and to make dr T V soong his brother inlaw in law premier soong who used to be minister of finance stands high among those who favor a strong foreign policy including resistance si to further encroachments encroach ments by japan therefore it is easy to see that his elevation to the premiership mier ship would greatly annoy tokio and might easily bring about an open break between the two nations since marshal chang is is one of those demanding war with japan it is rumored that the appointment of soong was the specified reward for his release of chiang and submission to discipline FRANCE F RANCE took a census in 1936 and the figures just given out show the population of the republic on august 3 was this was an increase of over the last previous census taken in 1931 of the total are foreigners their number having decre decreased ased by SECRETARY OF agriculture WALLACE has just apportioned to the states for road improvement of this sum will go toward improvement of the federal aid highway system for improving secondary or farm to market roads and 50 for grade crossing elimination the fund is for use during the fiscal year beginning july 1 1937 and funds for improvement of roads must be matched by the states grade crossin crossing elimination funds need not be matched matched highway projects selected contracts and specifications are subject to federal approval after abter designation by state commissions A BRISBANE one of the 1 A foremost newspaper editors editor and writers of the time and the highest paid died in his new york residence of coronary thrombosis at the age of seventy two the millions of americans who have read faithfully his columns today and this week mourn his passing an indefatigable able and often brilliant worker he continued his journalistic labors almost to the hour of his death born in buff buffalo alo N Y mr brisbane at eighteen joined the staff of the new york sun as a reporter shortly after he went to europe for five years to complete his education and became the london correspondent spon dent of the sun from that time he advanced steadily in the profession for the last 39 years he was employed by william R hearst he had been ill for some time but characteristically concealed his condition from all but members of his family and died in the harness as he would have wished to do SILENT for two years mahatma t gandhi once more comes into public notice with a speech tending to increase the opposition to british rule in india he spoke at an industrial exposition held in in C connection with the annual session session of the AU all india national congress the members of which were already agitating in favor of independence p pen en dence said the holy man show me t the h e iiri mahatma Ia hatol way I 1 am prepared gandhi to go back to jail aga again in I 1 am prepared to be hanged if you do all I 1 want you to do lord linlithgow Lin lithgow british high commissioner for india will say 1 I am wrong I 1 thought you people were terrorists and if you like we Britis hers will go back on the next steamer we would then say to linlithgow Lin lithgow and the british india is big enough to hold you and more like you that is my self govern ment under native influence nehru in his presidential address to the congress warned the british his countrymen would not be parties to an imperialist war A NOTHER big air liner the third arx to meet disaster in a month crashed against the top of oak mountain twenty miles from burbank calif and hurtled down into a ravine ravine a mass of tangled wreckage the twelve persons aboard were all lulled killed three of the nine passengers were women the plane a twin motored boeing was operated by the united air lines and was on its way from san francisco to burbank PROGRESS p of the illness of pope plus pius was followed with great anxiety for it was admitted at the vatican that he was steadily growing worse and was suffering intense pain the paralysis was spreading along the left side and arm and one report said his physicians declared science could do nothing further for him gried GEN EN HANS VON who died in berlin at the age of seventy was one of the really capable commanders in the world war while acting as chief of staff t to field marshall von mackensen he was responsible for the great defeat of the russians at corlice Gor lice and he planned the campaigns that resulted in the collapse of serbia and rumania after the von kapp putsch of 1920 van heeckt was made commander man der in chief of the german army which he built into an efficient force later he helped to train the chinese national army AMONG MONG the numerous governmental reports at the years close that of M 1 I myers head of the farm credit administration is is interesting and encouraging showing that the outlook for the financial status of farmers for 1937 is bright during 1936 the total loans to farmers by the various agencies were compared to in 1935 the decline reflected a decrease in the emergency demand by farmers for assistance from federal agencies because they had no other source of credit after the depression myers said in the country as a whole farmers apparently had more money for equipment machinery farm buildings and repairs in 1936 than in any year since the depression myers said he added that this should continue next year because of increased purchasing power and the opportunity to get short term cash loans at the present reasonable rates |