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Show WEEKLY NEWS ANALYSIS BY JOSEPH W. LaBlISE New Deal Will Seek Re-election On 'More -of -Same' Platform; Compromise Seems Impossible (EDITOR S NOTE When opinions are expressed in these columns, they are those of the news analyst and not necessarily of this newspaper.) Tlplcagpri by Western Newspaper Union. LABOR: Borrowed Leaf In 1903 a Danbury, Conn., hatmak-ing hatmak-ing firm sued United Hatters of America for instituting a nationwide nation-wide boycott when denied a closed shop. After the U. S. Supreme court ruled the boycott was a restraint of trade under the Sherman act, a $74,000 verdict was awarded against the union, was trebled (as provided by the Clayton act), but finally dropped when a deputy marshal found 10 years later that he could collect nothing from the 197 laborite defendants. Last April 3 a federal court jury awarded Philadelphia's Apex Hosiery Ho-siery mills a $711,932 judgment against C. I. O.'s American Federation Federa-tion of Hosiery Workers for damages dam-ages suffered in a 48-day sitdown strike during 1937. Even as this case was being appealed, ap-pealed, Republic Steel corporation borrowed a leaf from hatters and POLITICS: Pronouncement "You cannot expect this administration administra-tion to alter the principles and objectives objec-tives for which tee have struggled the past six years!" This was a campaign speech, thought members of the American Retailers association who heard Franklin Roosevelt's first pronouncement pro-nouncement of New Deal policy in five months. Ordinarily such remarks re-marks are not surprising, but 1939 is a crucial legislative-political year in which the groundwork is laid for next year's election, and in which White House and congress must adopt and set in motion the program on which they will stand for reelection. re-election. The inevitable program: More spending, no concessions to business, no balancing of the budget. A big national debt is nothing to fear, said the President, because part of it is offset by debts owed to the government through loans made on a "business basis" by federal fed-eral lending agencies. Another part is invested in federally owned enterprises en-terprises (like Boulder dam) which will pay out over a period of years. Generally speaking, he thought that with national income increasing steadily, a $40,000,000 debt would not be big in relation to the country's assets. Mr. Roosevelt's speech proved a meaty bone on which New Dealers, conservatives and congress could gnaw, a timely White House state- lfcv....vtvi..o., .i.uU &bLxAy&r .j&A&Ax,ekii REPUBLIC'S TOM GIRDLEB Matched C. I. O. for 2yz million. $8,310,000,000 as against a direct debt of $40,229,000,000. Significance. Mr. Roosevelt's speech, resultant congressional spending, opposition to removal of alleged business deterrents and a rebirth of theorizing constitute the absolute antithesis of any effort to bring insurgent Democrats back to the fold in time for 1940. There can be no compromise; New Deal forces will carry the 1940 convention by forcing through a simple majority nomination rule, or they will strike out for themselves as a new party, leaving insurgent Democrats to put up their own candidate or join the Republicans. NAVY: Submarines Checking its records after rescuers rescu-ers had brought up 33 live and 26 dead passengers from the submarine subma-rine Squalis, the U. S. navy department depart-ment could be both proud and abashed over its record since the first underwater craft failed to come up 25 years ago. Reason for pride: Though 62 of her 90 odd submarines are over the accepted age limit, the U. S. has had no mishap since 1927 when the S-4 sank off Provincetown, Mass., with a loss of 40 lives. Another source of pride: U. S. submarine mishaps have been singularly fortunate for-tunate compared with those of other oth-er maritime powers. Total loss of life in five U. S. accidents is 139; in six British accidents, 217; three Japanese, 215; two French, 106; three Russian, 170. Reason for being abashed: Italy, the world's No. 1 submarine power, has experienced but one fatal accident, acci-dent, that in 1928 when her F-14 hit a destroyer. One good reason for Italy's luck is that 83 of her submarines are under age, four times more than the U. S. When all vessels being built or contracted con-tracted for are completed, II Duce's second-to-none U-boat fleet will total 129. MISSOURI: Nepheiv Jim Stone walls do not always make a prison. The walls of Alcatraz and Terminal island which have held Al Capone seven years did not stop his syndicate from. ruling Chicago's underworld. un-derworld. Nor will the 15-month sentence at Leavenworth facing Kansas City's "Boss" Tom Pender-gast Pender-gast keep that hearty away from Missouri politics. Convicted for evading federal income taxes, Tom Pendergast finds himself back where he started the day he inherited Kansas Kan-sas City's political machine from Brother Jim Pendergast. Today another an-other Jim Pendergast old Jim's son is running the show while his uncle languishes in prison. Looking ahead, Missouri politicians politi-cians find that 1940 brings elections for a governor to succeed Lloyd C. A- I P A." A 7 - Vi VIRGINIA'S SEN. BYRD ". . . inevitably lead to disaster." hosiery makers to enter the latest in a series of cross suits growing out of the "Little Steel" strike in 1937. As if to answer , one suit, which demands $2,500,000 in back wages and damages from Republic, Tom Girdler's company retaliated by demanding $2,500,000 damages, costs and attorneys' fees. Trebled under the Claypool act, the total suit runs to $7,500,000, which nobody expects ex-pects John Lewis, or his steel workers work-ers to pay. Chief values of the suit appear to be (1) neutralizing the damage claims made against Republic by C. I. O., and (2) focusing national attention at-tention on ineffectual employer-employee employer-employee relations at a time when congress would just as soon adjourn without amending the Wagner labor act. Though, he matched this setback set-back by signing up coal miners in Kentucky's heretofore unorganized bloody Harlan county, John Lewis healed no wounds by allowing 13,000 employees to strike at Detroit's Briggs body manufacturing plant. Within 24 hours 65,000 workmen in assembly lines dependent upon Briggs bodies were idle and the automobile industry wondered if 1937 had returned. EUROPE: Parallels Some 30 years ago was born 8 fearsome triple entente designed to safeguard peace. Its members: Russia, France and Britain. Meanwhile Mean-while Italy was joining the Austro-German Austro-German alliance and Europe's power pow-er seemed hanging in the balance. In 1939 the history that repeats itself it-self has popped up once more; Europe's Eu-rope's power division parallels that of pre-World war days except that part of the old Austrian-Hungarian empire is now independent. Italy and Germany are bound in military unity while France, Britain ari Russia are once more aligned side-by-side. Examining the new status quo in comparison with pre-war Europe, observers find the triple entente even stronger now than then, Adolf Hitler's trumpet-blasting to the contrary. con-trary. Devoid of colonies, befriended befriend-ed in Europe only by Italy and Hungary, the Reich is completely encircled by anti-aggression powers. If history repeats itself once more, Italy may find imperialistic Germany Ger-many threatening her Mediterranean Mediterran-ean security and be forced to desert Berlin. A less likely repetition of history is the bogging down of Russia's Rus-sia's smartly-trained military machine, ma-chine, which collapsed utterly the last time it marched westward. i i -y ,c ! ; - v . ; f 1 f, t . t A , 1 f - $ : i 1 . u 1 , t ment which gave direction to a heretofore vague political picture: Congress. A spending spree succeeded suc-ceeded the once highly vaunted economy campaign as house conferees con-ferees approved the $1,218,666,000 agricultural appropriations bill carrying car-rying $338,000,000 in unbudgeted grants to farmers. Sentiment rose high for a $500,000,000 public works appropriation, providing funds for another pump-priming program, which congressmen have found a far more effective vote-getting force for election years than the controversial contro-versial WPA. New Dealers. Since Mr. Roosevelt Roose-velt refused to alter his "principles and objectives" for the 1940 campaign, cam-paign, New Deal theorists felt safe in trying to sell unhappy U. S. business busi-ness on the wisdom of accepting the present relationship between government and private enterprise. Turning economist for the moment, Secretary of Agriculture Henry A. Wallace urged that idle money be started moving again. Simultaneously, before the senate's sen-ate's monopoly investigating committee, com-mittee, Assistant Secretary of State Adolf Berle Jr. not only scored idle dollars but suggested the U. S. do something about it. His plan: "Junk our "obsolete banking machinery" which leaves small business "starved," creating in its stead government-sponsored capital banks and government-insured loans for small business. Most revolutionary Berle comment: "The theory that a bank must 'make a profit' today has ceased to be valid except in an extremely limited case." Conservatives. A rebirth of spending spend-ing and theorizing gave disgruntled anti-New Dealers a field day. Chief antagonist was Virginia's Democratic Democrat-ic Sen. Harry F. Byrd, who com-. com-. mented on the next fiscal year's minimum total appropriation of $10,000,000,000 (a peacetime high): "We have not been able to purchase prosperity on borrowed money, and the continued effort to do this will inevitably lead to disaster." Mr. Byrd's chief complaint was against the President's minimizing of the national debt. Granting the money is owed domestically, Mr. Byrd thought most of it was held by banks, and consequently "the vast majority will be paying taxes to pay interest to the small number of families fam-ilies owning (government) bonds." Contradicting Mr. Roosevelt's claim that much of the debt is offset by debts owed to the government, Mr. Byrd figured that government lending lend-ing agencies have handed out only JIM PENDERGAST Boss pro tern. Stark (who, like all Missouri governors, gov-ernors, cannot be re-elected), a senator sen-ator for the post now held by Pen-dergast-supporled Harry S. Truman, 13 congressmen and a full slate of state officials. On good behavior Tom Pendergast Pen-dergast will be out of prison in 12 months, in time to plan defeat for Governor Stark should he seek Senator Sen-ator Truman's post in the August primaries. Reason for vengeance: The governor was a Pendergast protege pro-tege who turned on his sponsor after he learned about an alleged $440,000 payoff in Missouri's fire insurance rale compromise. Though he looks like the old man, Nephew Jim Pendergast is not so astute as his tutor and can only be trusted to hold the machine together until next year. Last time he ran an election, when Uncle Tom was ill in New York during the 193S vote, Jim won sweeping victories throughout Missouri. But 256 election elec-tion officials were convicted in the government's sensational vote fraud investigation which followed. |
