Show weekly news analysis federal insurance supervision may follow committee probe by joseph W labine la bine J EDITORS NOTE when opinions jons are jr e expressed in these thes columns co aunins they are those of the news analyst and not necessarily of the A newspaper business As counsel for or a new york state legislative insurance committee charles evans hughes made a name for himself in 1906 uncovering what he thought to be irregularities the chief hughes fear that insurance company resources were so large as to make conservative re management increasingly difficult the hughes remedy federal supervision of insurance investments since 1906 mr hughes has risen to the U S supreme court and may have changed his mind at least x aai 04 Z k CHARLES EVANS HUGHES the sins arenow quadrupled nothing has been done about it and the vast insurance fund has quadrupled whereas mr hughes suggested limiting new policies to a year per company some now write a year today there are worth of policies in eff effect act and insurance investments cover a surprisingly singly wide field samples government securities railroads farm mortgages and corporation securities state county and city bonds if this business was worth investigating ti 23 years ago it is even more vulnerable today just started in washington is a 12 month probe by the temporary national economic committee headed by Wyo sen joseph C 0 mahoney Mahone yand and better known as the monopoly investigating vesti gating committee chiming in is william 0 douglas securities and exchange commission pertinent question marks incle include de kl cl what influenced influence in insurance aurance investments exert egeit or on i U S money markets banks railroads etc 2 hov insurance executives are chosen 3 possibility of interlocking diorec borates between insurance firm sand utilities wives in the news GANDHI mrs Kasturi bhai blia gandhi faithful silent wife of indias andias mohandas K gandhi has been arrested tor for participating in a civil disobedience campaign mrs arthur widow of new yorks late policy racketeer dutch schultz testified she saw her husband in conference with james J hines tammany leader who is accused of selling protection MOONEY mrs rena mooney wife of Cali fornias ex convict tom mooney promises to fight her husbands reported attempt to divorce her I 1 though the monopoly committee has hai often re reiterated iterated that it is not hunting witches and Eil although though mr Douglas maintains he only wants to bring the hughes report up to date there is a good chance of new legislation providing federal regulation over all interstate insurance business this would supplement state supervision effect adding to their discomfort is the denand demand by sen burton K wheeler that insurance companies I 1 take a greater hand in helping he lp reorganize U S railroads the wheeler charge that present insurance company negotiations with carriers feature repeated concessions to investment bankers at the expense expensed of bondholders bond holders but if rail aid presents as many obstacles as insurance men claim the probable solution of this problem will not be a federal whipping post tor for insurance companies but revision in the railroad reorganization statute spain the fate of britain and france M marched arched with rebel generalissimo francisco franco into barcelona tagging along as he pushed northward through the rest of catalonia to shut off an important sector in the two and one half year old civil war no sooner had loyalist president manuel azana fled to paris than peace rumors began the probability is that president azana was ready to surrender but not premier juan his terms 1 elimination of foreigners from spain 2 a plebiscite by the spanish people to decide their future form of government 3 no reprisals on either side those terms having apparently been rejected by the insurgents premier prepared to fight to the finish in the large southeastern section of spain his government still holds anglo french colbern concern over the spanish war may be expected to grow daily until that conflict is ended As a last chance for peace with security london and paris jumped anthe bandwagon for Ne grins plan realizing these terms held a scant promise that spain might emerge from the war as a sympathetic nation rather than as a tool too for italy and i germany but it would obviously be foolhardy for the fascist governments to accept peace with partial victory when a full victory is so near that accomplished france will have totalitarian tali neighbors on three sides spain italy germany Ger manyi and will be ripe for plucking by mussolini it is significant that italian territorial claims against france are being held up until the war is over but the approach of this french italian struggle draws paris closer to britain each aday before the house of commons british prime minister neville chamberlain has promised full military su support p port in case france is involved in war balkans on january 13 hungary joined the german italo jap anti commit ero ern pact undoubtedly the willing victim of rome berlin pressure dussias Rus sias unexpected retaliation was a virtual break off in diplomatic relations with hungary Hun iary on the excuse that budapest is now under a foreign thumb and has lost its independence pen dence to a considerable degree by tar far the smallest significance signi Acance of this step is that russia again shows an interest in world affairs breaking the painful silence that has kept europe guessing since the soviet was ignored at munich last september more important is the warning that moscow will take similar action against any other nation joining the anti pact observers now wonder if the slur concerning Hun garys lost independence pen dence may not revive antinazi anti nazi sentiment in that nation and throughout the balkans within a week after affer the soviets action three favorable signs could be seen martial law following explosion of a bomb in Buda pests largest jewish synagogue the nation went under tinder military law and two tw influential nazi newspapers were suspended pan balkan rumania and have signed an agreement to 1 defend their present borders 2 adopt a conciliatory attitude toward all balkan countries and 3 improve relations with hungary and bulgaria chief nazi conformists in the balkan area new premier at belgrade jugo sl avias pro nazi premier milan Stoya dinovitch resigned under pressure concerning the croatian autonomy move being succeeded by 46 year old dragisha Tsvetko labor leader and strong toe foe of dictatorships ator ships asia siberian border has seen repeated russian jap clashes during the past five years but not until last summer was this hostility publicized at that time several heated skirmishes took place over hill see map now pock marked and silent liter later in december tokyo and moscow had words over siberian fishing waters which japan intends to exploit despite soviet objections in january several high tokyo officials solemnly told their people to prepare for war not only a continuation of the wearying sino jap conflict but tor for war with russia what may be the touch off signal tor for this war has been reported from kili a good miles northwest of there in four days of almost continuous fighting japs claimed they threw back russian assaults while the soviet maintains its traditional silence I 1 1111 so T us I 1 1 1 anchutz 11 K a 11 pa r A q J harbin I 1 MR PEIPIN 0 SED U i tao U WAR IN map shows 1 site of latest border clashes 2 site of last summers summers hill incident except for diplomatic diplo matle protests in tokyo japan asserts the assaults were aimed to force a retreat from russian fishing grounds and well might japan throw back any attack in Manchu kuo because foreign observers report the isolated puppet state is manned not with easygoing easy going border guards but with veteran troops barracked bar racked along the siberian border to guard against the fatal day defense in dealing with international situation the U S government has its choice of two methods any citizen may hold to one or the other method with equal righteousness 1 strict neutrality and isolation Eu ropes affairs ahre are no business of ours we should have no arms secrets no secret alliances all U S activities should be strictly aboveboard because secrets are undemocratic and tend to create public doubt about the government 2 the antithesis in 1939 one hemispheres problems are adoth ers it the institution of democracy Js is worth saying saving we must join other nations in aggressive combat against dictators this need not mean war but constitutes favoritism to one group of nations with sanctions against others in post world war history not until the current winter have these two contrasting foreign policies found such ardent champions as to cause a marked rift in washington favoring isolation is practically every republican senator and congressman plus a formidable bloc of insurgent democrats administration forces favor internationalism as expressed in secretary of state cordell hulls reciprocal trade treaties contrariwise is the traditional republican tenet of high tariff walls and the isolation that inevitably accompanies them this winters foreign policy battle got its real start when a bombing plane crashed in california bouncing out a representative of the french air ministry whose presence in the U S had previously been kept secret the subsequent revelations that president roosevelt had approved brov ed sale of U S made warplanes war planes to france though army secrets were being carefully guarded from all foreigners A few days later the senates military affairs committee constituted itself a body of visiting firemen to call on the president and get the real facts about a rumored U S french military alliance two days later the president denied he had told committeemen that americas frontiers were in france instead he outlined the U S foreign policy which has not changed 1 I 1 no entanglements entangle ments 2 tree free world trade 3 international arms limitation 4 sympathy with world political economic and social independence but there remains little doubt that official washington looks with favor on france britain and china as opposed to italy germany and japan it if the white house has never made this a statement such developments as the pan american conference bear out the favoritism moreover most U S citizens agree with this stand as the only sensible way to safeguard democracy the net result will probably be open congressional revolt against secret a alliances bances against favoritism in military exports and even against the presidents emergency defense program which many legislators think is unjustified in view of the tax burden it would create tossed in along with other subjects of resentment sent ment will be a broadside against the treas highly secret stabilization liza tion fund which congress tears fears is being used to further monetary agreements with britain and france in the end a cumbersome loud voiced and highly opinionated congress may find itself incapable of taking a constructive hand band in foreign policy though rightfully in trend how the wind is blowing DEFICIT the U S treasury ended the first sever months of this fiscal year with a deficit having spent compared with in last years similar period RESERVES excess reserves of federal reserve member banks are declining after a steady discouraging cou raging rising trend in january EGGS officers from two italian cruisers were rotten egged while driving through panama city to visit government officials TAXES jewel tea company reports its taxes now cost per worker compared with in 1932 total against in 1932 a dinnant over a pan democracy alliance because future anglo french friendship is problematical massa mass chu sen david I 1 walsh summed up the entire exasperating situation quite well in effta name who are we thi the in U S sf determine where truth and justi justice asti a 9 exist when we attempt it we ww will find ourselves in trouble AV aviation bation V U S and british airliners have been hopping bopping the atlantic in test flights for two years planning to start london new york service simultaneously next summer last fall a reciprocal agreement was signed but the english piqued because the U S refused to let imperial airways ships land at honolulu shrank back in a pout anxious to start transatlantic service this year regardless of the british attitude the U S opened negotiations with paris and immediately arranged paris new york flights via the long azores route the british announced they w inaugurate independent next june but the americans showed themselves better diplomatic pilots thin than transatlantic CLIP CLIPPED PEli to london by march 31 I 1 their english friends anxious lest london be left off U S transatlantic schedules the british government has waived the treaty provision calling tor for a simultaneous start by U S and british planet planes this clears the way tor for pan ameri can airways ships to start between march 15 and 31 probable settlement now that the U S holds hold agreements with both britain and france is a service from new york to paris via london already undergoing observation nights flights for the civil aeronautics authority is one of pan americans american new 42 ton clipper boats largest practical ship yet built carrying more than 50 passengers complete even to a highly publicized bridal suite the new clippers clipper would make one flight a week in each direction at the start later with more ships and experience three weekly trips will be booked pan america german trade with brazil grew by leaps and bounds last year thanks to the barter system ta german purchases were paid axy with aski marks which could be redeemed only by taking german goods in return an upshot of decembers cem bers pan american conference was the realization that something must be done to safeguard U S trade with brazil crowded into second place by the aggressive reich in 1938 just arrived in washington is dr oswaldo aranha brazilian foreign minister for conversations conversation expected to have four significant results 1 U S financial assistance to brazil via congressional loan credits to american merchants or stabilization of brazilian currency 2 of the world cotton market 3 increase of U S sales sale to brazil 4 examination of mutual defense problems His miscellany cellany ca the year 1939 being baseballs baseball cl tennial postmaster general james jame A parley farley has announced plans tor for a special postage stamp first ever issued to commemorate a sport 0 western newspaper union |