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Show NEWS BEHIND THE NEWS i . Written for The) Telegram By Ray Tudor WASHINGTON America" s delegation to the Brussels conference confer-ence on the Sino-Japanese crisis highlights a new adventure in international in-ternational diplomacy. For the first time Uncle Sam has sent a small, compact committee of experts ex-perts instead of the usual political pntrioteers. The men now talking Thanksgiving Thanks-giving turkey at Belgium's capital capi-tal are Roving Ambassador Norman Nor-man H. Davis. Stanley K. Horn-berk, Horn-berk, the Roosevelt-Hull confidant confid-ant on Far Eastern problems, and Jay Pierrepont Moffatt, who knows his diplomatic way around western Europe. As professional diplomats and dickerers, they know or should know all the questions and answers. It is the first time that Uncle Sam has relied upon students instead of stooges. In past years our delegations to foreign parleys have consisted of senators, labor leaders, financiers and college presidents. The jobs were handed out like postmas-terships postmas-terships political patronage. But the Brussels talk, though nothing definite may come of it, looms so important that only guys who know their stuff were sent, Mr. Davis, a Tennessean, who talks in a slow southern drawl, heads our delegation. He has been the diplomatic handyman for almost al-most every administration since the World war and his slowness of speech is his chief asset, as it ia for his fellow Tennessean, Secretary of State Hull. A short, rolly-poly figure, Mr. Davis, holds the American record for attendance at world parleys since 1919. He haa won the friendship friend-ship of foreign statesmen, industrialists, indus-trialists, financiers, labor leaders, etc. He knows the foreign policies of other nations to the last detail, and he knows how far they can go in a certain direction. His reports re-ports are on file in the state department de-partment library, and they in-luenre in-luenre Mr. Hull's major and minor policies. Mr. Davis' drawl, which reflects a contemplative mind, enablea him to win diplomatic victoriea at international parleys. While talking slowly and haltingly, his mind is working quickly. He conceals con-ceals his thought and ferrets out the other guy's machiavellian idea while seeming to labor over his sentences. Actually he's drawling deliberately so aa to give himself time to think. It is doubtful if any American or European understands the Sino-Japanese problem more thoroughly thor-oughly than Mr. Hornbeck, Mr. Davis' chief aid at Brussels. Mr. Hornbeck has buried himself so deeply in the study of Far Eastern East-ern politics, economics, literature that, despite his fullback build, he looks like an oriental. " A Massachusetts Yankee, he conceived an interest in Chinese affairs early in life. He wrote and lectured on the subject when China attracted almost no attention atten-tion from the western world. He seemed 'to feel, as events now demonstrate, that the Far East would inevitably become the battleground bat-tleground between eastern and western civilations. When the state department, ten years ago, aought outsiders to head up vari oua political divisions (Far Eastern, East-ern, western European, South American), the only amateur who filled the bill was Mr. Horn-berk. Horn-berk. He's still filling it. What Brussels will do is still a guess. Bat if the conference socks Japan, you can blame or credit Mr. Hornbeck with an assist. as-sist. He is wholly anti-Japanefee, though he can't admit it. Physically and mentally, Mr. Moffatt is one of the most attractive at-tractive men In the atate department. depart-ment. He is getting ahead fast in spite of his Jay Pierrepont tag in thia anti-Morgan administration. administra-tion. 1 Although only 41 years old. Mr. Moffatt has served as consul general gen-eral or first secretary in at leaat ten countries European and Asiatic. Asi-atic. He is now he"ad of the western west-ern European division. Though tha Brussels conference chiefly involves China and Japan, many questions raised there affect our policies with respect to Spain, Germany, Italy. It will be Mr. Moffatt's job to insure that any Far Eastern settlement does not hamstring Uncle Sam's European program. Mr. Moffatt is tall, handsome and a brilliant conversationalist. He'a the classic, diplomatic type. Under Mr. Roosevelt's sponsorship of career men in the foreign service serv-ice you'll see the New Yorker in a high post one of these days-provided days-provided he doesn't stub his toe at Brussels. Two agents of the national bituminous bi-tuminous coal commission recently recent-ly dropped into a border town in southwestern Virginia to investi gate prices, wages, railroad rates. "Tom" Peters, erstwhile Farley aid. headed the two-man committee. com-mittee. First night at the hotel they visited the bar, as do all visiting firemen. While they were sipping sip-ping a beer, two gangling mountaineers moun-taineers sidled alongside and ordered or-dered "water." They couldn't afford af-ford anything stronger. Good-natured Good-natured "Tom." however, treated them to a few drinks, and introduced intro-duced himself as a "government man." "Hell!" replied his barroom bar-room friend, "I shot up a couple of you revenooers down in Kentucky Ken-tucky last week." Mr. Peters now informs strangers strang-ers in the moonshine country that he's interested in coal not liquor. Though a loyal new dealer, deal-er, "Tom" isn't willing to die for it. From midnight till breakfast John Edgar Haines receives and relays messages of death and destruction from Shanghai and Madrid. As the war department's radio operator, he breaks the bad news to President Roosevelt and Secretary Hull. But once he leaves his chair in the morning Haines beats it across the street to a cafe frequented fre-quented by White House secre-tariea secre-tariea and reporters. There he plays the piano through the morning morn-ing classical, jazz, patriotic and political music. He's a Paderew-skl Paderew-skl in short pants, though he never took a lesson. A high official recently Interested Inter-ested several radio clients in the war department pianist. One of these mornings you'll be listening listen-ing to his military chords at the breakfast table. Notes: Sizable opposition tn congress to giving federal trade commission jurisdiction over "deceptive" "de-ceptive" business practices. . . . One bloc fears attempt at censorship cen-sorship over advertising. . . . Shipbuilding halts because of maritime labor troubles. . . . Many neglected gold mines in California have resumed working work-ing modern methods and higher gold price. . . . American experts are helping to develop citrus fruit industry in southern Russia. . . . Move is on to "cover in" to civil service tens of thousands of political po-litical appointees in federal service. serv-ice. (Copyright. 1937, for The Telegram) |