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Show I Weekly IVews Review ; 1 France Deserts Great Britain To Find Safety With Germany , Sy Joseph W. La ESsEie International Appreciating the potency of a strong Rome-Berlin axis, Great Britain Brit-ain and France have long sought to keep Germany and Italy divided. Now this clever trick of diplomacy has boomeranged. With Hitler and Mussolini on top of the heap since Munich's peace treaty, the Rome-Berlin Rome-Berlin axis is very successfully building a barrier between London and Paris. Until a few weeks ago Great Britain Brit-ain and Germany were comparatively compara-tively close friends, while Italy busied bus-ied herself hurling insults in the general direction of London. Now this is changed; the Anglo-Italian "friendship" treaty has been invoked in-voked and Prime Minister Chamberlain Cham-berlain is willing to grant belligerent belliger-ent rights to Fascist Spain. During this display of affection, shrewd S x - 1 , , ' i 1 s : - af-nen-j, f' f nn-fV n-- ("Wi NEVILLE CHAMBERLAIN France no oncer ncetlrd him. Adolf Hitler has found it convenient to abandon his Eritish friends and turn to France. Thus it was not entirely unexpected when France announced conclusion of a pact with Germany to outlaw war between the two nations and recognize the permanent per-manent integrity of present Franco-German Franco-German boundary lines. On the surface this appears to complement the Anglo-German "no war" treaty signed secretly by Hitler Hit-ler and Chamberlain at Munich. A more likely result is that it will cause bickering between France and Britain; by making peace with Berlin. Paris has figuratively abandoned aban-doned the protectorship of British aristocrats and financiers. At the same time, Britain's new peace with Mussolini arouses the indignation of Fascist-hating Frenchmen, who are now being vilified by the Roman press. All these things point to a continued con-tinued French and British policy of appeasing Hitler and Mussolini, even in the face of rising world resentment re-sentment against the current German Ger-man Jewish persecution. Still to come are French overtures for Italian Ital-ian friendship, probably to be paid for by the grant of new African colonies to Mussolini. Though both England and France deny it, observers ob-servers are quite certain both will return war-mandated colonies to Germany. The Only new development which does not fit into this appeasement program is the Anglo-French decision deci-sion to pool air forces and construct a fleet of 10.000 fighting planes by 19I0. This contradictory move only emphasizes how little faith any modern mod-ern European nation places in the sanctity of treaties, since the only reason for a "super" air fleet would be to combat Ihe combined threat of an Italo-Gerrnan licet Defense Though much talk has been heard of a multi-billion defense program in which the U. S. would place a steel ring around the entire Western hemisphere. President Roosevelt's armament requests are not expected expect-ed to be that big. Closest estimates esti-mates now available call for a $1,400,000,000 defense budget for the fiscal year starting next July 1. This would be $:ir,0.0f)0,000 more than the current armament appropriation, most of the boost to be spent fur irmy increases. Not only does the war department depart-ment want to lay plans for mobilizing mobiliz-ing an army of 1,200,000 men within i few weeks, but it also wanls to start storing away equipment for this army. Other plans call for industrial in-dustrial mobilization education in factories which would be converted to processing of war materials. Still i third phase of preparedness calls for Increasing our aviation force to 1,000 planes. Peace organizations are expected o rally gainst increased iinn- unenls within the next few weeks, irguing that great defense precau- ions might lead to olTenne, Therefore There-fore the President will probably dart publicizing the purpose of his emilitarization pmcram iinnie- lialely. Much more pertinent to Ihe aver-ii;e aver-ii;e U. S. citizen is the problem of laying for Increased armaments. Though Secretary of the Treasury ,'lenry Mnrgenlhau ailmils that new 'ax proposals lire being held up oenrl in I! cm 1 1 pi el ion of defense plans, t is expected the tolal budget, submitted to congress next January Janu-ary will run over $8,000,000,000. On this basis, and with anticipated revenues rev-enues approximating those of the fiscal year ending last June, a deficit defi-cit of about $1,000,000,000 may be expected during the government year starting next July. Armament's share of the new budget must be paid with new taxes, and many congressmen advocate a two-year emergency income tax. This would pile a 10 per cent levy on top of the present income tax and provide $260,000,000 a year. Already Al-ready trying to spike such plans, Utah's Sen. William H. King proposes pro-poses to substitute "war taxes" in the form of a "nuisance" levy on luxury and semi-luxury goods. Labor Throughout the U. S. are about 2,500 manufacturing firms who share profits or managerial responsibility respon-sibility with employees. Proctor & Gamble workers contribute 3 per cent of their wages against a 5 to 15 per cent contribution by the management man-agement (based on seniority) and from this fund employees buy stock. McCormick & Co., Baltimore importers, im-porters, not only share profits but organize workers to help run the business under a "multiple management" manage-ment" plan. Such firms, whose number is increasing in-creasing yearly, generally have little lit-tle labor trouble. Example: the American Rolling Mill company of Middletown, Ohio, has never experienced experi-enced a labor disagreement in its 38 years of operation. Even C. I. O., which organized the bulk of steel plants, was defeated 1,200 to 400 in one American Rolling Mill labor election. If profit-sharing could be extended, extend-ed, most U. S. industrialists believe employees would be better satisfied, satis-fied, employment would become less fluctuant, and our national financial picture would be improved. In Washington, a senate finance subcommittee sub-committee investigating the plan was recently told it would be "an unbeatable defense of the capitalistic capital-istic system." Members of this committee are Michigan's Sen. Arthur Vandenberg and Iowa's Sen. Clyde Herring. Their purpose is to unearth facts about profit-sharing merits and find methods of expanding it. The long range ambition is to make the working work-ing man more prosperous and more able to benr a share of the U. S. tax load. Thus, by splitting its profits, industry would help itself by winning win-ning a more equitable division of tax burden. But an expansion of profit-sharing must come either voluntarily or through government insistence, and voluntary adoption of the plan by industry would be a long, discouraging discour-aging battle of coaxing and education. educa-tion. Though neither committee A , ' " 1 : i L : J WALTER I). I I I.I.EK h'ur ilrprrciiltion, irelMlfirilc. member yet advocates it, both Senators Sen-ators Vandenberg and Herring have been feeling out sentiment on an "incenlive taxation" plan. Under it the government would give tax credits cred-its to profit-sharing concerns, meanwhile mean-while penalizing non-conforming firms. Tax credits might be given on employers' social security payments, pay-ments, though the mere mention of such tampering with social security lias already aroused protest. Most of the committee's witnesses wit-nesses have gone on record opposing oppos-ing the "incentive tax" because it would impose cilher reward or penalty pen-alty for an employer's decision on a matter which should be entirely voluntary. Loudest supporter has been Waller 1). Fuller, president of the Curtis Publishing company, who wants a more liberal tax treatment to slimulate re-employment. lie also thinks industrial plant expansion expan-sion will follow if employers are allowed al-lowed to charge olf more on depreciation depre-ciation than at present. Labor's opinion has been expressed ex-pressed by William Green, president presi-dent of the American Federation of Labor, who naturally favors profit-sharing profit-sharing provided il does not tend lo replace collective bargaining. This issue may be Hie battleground on which profit sharing plans rise or fall, since colleclive harg. lining is based on compulsion rather than Co operation. I'.efole adopting Ihe I in ill I sharing principle, many industrialists indus-trialists would demand that the Hire atoning club of orgauied labor be removed. Politics Since last summer the public has cringed under a barrage of insults and name-calling hurled back and forth between Rep. Martin Dies of the house un-Americanism committee commit-tee and members of the Roosevelt administration. Mr. Dies' favorite enemy in the cabinet has always been Madame Secretary of Labor Frances Perkins, but lately his appetite ap-petite has been whetted by conflict with Secretary of the Interior Harold Har-old L. Ickes. Alice Lee Jemison, a Yosemite Indian, In-dian, told Mr. Dies' committee that Mr. Ickes was a member of the Civil Liberties Union. She said that Roger Baldwin, head of the group, once told another congressional committee that the organization upheld up-held the rights of aliens to advocate advo-cate murder, assassination and the overthrow of the government by force and violence. This charge started the ball rolling. roll-ing. Admitting membership in the union, Mr. Ickes called Mr. Dies "the outstanding zany in our political politi-cal history." Answered Mr. Dies: "The secretary's most recent fit of uncontrollable rage only emphasizes his unfitness for the high position he holds. The secretary literally reeks with the venom of hatred. It flows from him as naturally and freely free-ly as water from a spring." As Mr. Dies prepared to release his selection for the "1938 all un-American un-American team," the average U. S. citizen was beginning to wonder if the committee's real purpose, to uncover un-cover evidence of subversive activities, activi-ties, was not being overlooked. Potential 1940 presidential nominees nomi-nees will be well mulled over before the nominating conventions roll around, but a few straws are already al-ready in the wind. First: Missouri's new Sen. Bennett Champ Clark, a "middle-of-the-road" Democrat whom many of his partisans would like to see nominated for 1940, hai inferred that his ambitions reach no higher than the senate, and that he will not run for the presidency. Second: Sec-ond: Republican Alf M. Landon, defeated de-feated in 193G, made the following comment at a New York luncheon: "The woods are full of Republicans, but I think there is one outstanding Democrat and that is the man just elected for the fourth time as governor gov-ernor of New York." But few politicians poli-ticians consider Gov. Herbert H. Lehman a serious possibility. Aviation Because a major U. S. airline has allegedly refused to accept delivery on a new type 33-seat plane, avia-! avia-! tion experts believe the advent of j substratosphere commercial air-; air-; craft will be delayed several years. I This happens despite the demon-I demon-I strated practicability of larger J ships. It results almost entirely ! from the public's slowness to accept j air travel. Whereas substratosphere ships have four motors and carry 42.000 pounds at a cruising speed of 2.")0 miles an hour, the present 21-passenger ships have but two motors mo-tors and accommodate a considerably considera-bly smaller tonnage. Yet airlines estimate only 55 per cent of all available space is being occupied on the smaller ships this year. There- fore they are not inclined to operate larger, more expensive aircraft on which the operating loss would be even greater. j j Foreign I The resignation of Premier Bela Imrodi's Hungarian cabinet is a direct di-rect result of his failure to obtain , the entire eastern half of Czechoslovakia, Czecho-slovakia, an aim which was opposed first by Germany, and now by Italy ' as well. Since Adolf Hitler has delivered de-livered fiat representations opposing : any Hungarian ambitions in the Slo-vakian Slo-vakian or Carpatho-Ukraine (Ru- I thenia) districts, the new cabinet is expected to be more closely allied to the German viewpoint. Hitler j naturally does not want Hungary to annex Czech territory which would give her a common border with Poland, Po-land, since that might block Germany's Ger-many's long-planned "drive to the southeast" through Chechoslovakia. Miscellany Since last congress' $l..r00.000,(Tu0 WPA appropriation was specified to last until March 1, 1939, Administrator Adminis-trator Harry Hopkins plans to drop thousands of "borderline" relief clients cli-ents In the hope that revived private industry will find jobs for them. Bombing Barcelona eight times in 22 hours, rebel planes killed 51 civilians and wounded an additional 153. |