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Show I NEWS BEHIND THE NEWS I Written for The Telegram By Ray Tuciee WASHINGTON P r e s 1 d ent Roosevelt's "quarantine threat may eventually lodge Japan In an international pesthouse, but temporarily It haa boosted sales of Nippon's products to the U. S. and other nations. Nobody, not even Secretary Hull, knows how far the nine-power nine-power aignatories and the president presi-dent will go In reproving Tokyo. But nobody is taking any chances. So numerous Industries and aev-eral aev-eral government departments are storking up with essential Japanese Japa-nese materials, chiefly silk, to guard against an economic boycott boy-cott or blockade. The army and navy, especially the latter arm, couldn't function without a plentiful plen-tiful aupply of silk. Sales have totaled aeveral million dollars already, al-ready, and will probably Increase within the next month. London, Paris, Berlin, Rome friends and foea are cabling or wirelessing orders to Tokyo. It may turn out to be "alarmist "alarm-ist buying." F. D. R. seems to be barking away from his Chicago promises. There he hinted at joint action against "the aggrea-aor aggrea-aor nation." In his fireside chat he Included both the warring nations na-tions among those which would be asked to "cooperate" for peace. In hia latest pronouncement he modified his program by suggesting suggest-ing "mediation." And Norman H. Davis, oar delegate to the Brussels Brus-sels conference, haa always counseled coun-seled restrained and peaceful action ac-tion at previous world parleys. The Roosevelt administration apparently harbors a private peeve against the Mellon Interests. Inter-ests. No proposition promising to profit corporations once controlled con-trolled by the late Coolldge-Hoover Coolldge-Hoover cabinet member has a ahow. An Arkansaa development company com-pany recently sought federal funds for promotion of an aluminum alumi-num deposit in that territory. P W A's engineers reported that it was a aound venture, and federal funds were about to be granted after the promoters gave assurances assur-ances the project was not a Mellon Mel-lon enterprise. Subsequently It waa discovered that the incorporators, incorpor-ators, including a Gulf Oil filling station employ, were "dummies" for the Pittsburgh family. Approval Ap-proval waa immediately withdrawn. with-drawn. The name "Mellon" is synonymous synony-mous to Kooseveltians with the corporate bignaaa and power which they despise. There seems to be nothing personal In the new deal'a attack on the so-called aluminum trust, the Mellon mil- ' lions and expansion program. They just don't like what the Mel-Ions Mel-Ions stand for In the American economic aystem. and they make no bones about showing how they feel. The president's scouts on Capitol Capi-tol Hill don't share his confidence that the special session will meekly meek-ly accept and pass his four-point program. They are almply scheming schem-ing to obtain enactment of enough of hia proposals to permit him to advertise a victory and regain prestige. Hardly a meaaure. in the opinion opin-ion of the wisest congressional heads, will get through in the form he wants. Instead of a eliding elid-ing wages-and-houra law to be administered ad-ministered by another federal board, the boya will aimply give him a 40-40 bill with fixed, unalterable un-alterable provisions a 40-hour week and 40-cent an hour minimum. mini-mum. They will fix up some sort of ever-normal granary measure provided he drops his demand for compulsory control of wheat and corn crops; they may let him restrict re-strict cotton acreage in a political politi-cal compromise. Two powerful lobbies farm and labor will cut mora congressional ice than F. D. R. on these fronts. They may it's not certain-let certain-let him increase government agencies, but they won't permit him to reorganise them. Outside prospect is thaj he may get two new departmenta welfare and conservation and three (not aix) new White House secretaries. They may establish seven new planning divisions, but he will obtain ob-tain no blanket authority to transform trans-form them into T V A's. In short, they'll hand him a fistful of beautiful beau-tiful blueprints. X ' Important taxpayers derive small comfort from repeated treasury assurances that any new tax bill will shift rather than Increase In-crease the burden of national taxation. tax-ation. They have reason to suspect sus-pect "shift" may be only another word for "sock." Their tax experts have furnished them with reports of ths new gross business tax applicable to firms and Individuals in the District Dis-trict of Columbia. Under this new levy those liable must pay two-fifths two-fifths of 1 per cent of all groaa business Income, whether they make any profits or not- It'a the same sort of tax with which Dr. Townsend proposed to finance hia old age pensions, for it appllea to the turnover of every penny. The inside underatanding ia that it will be given a workout here preliminary pre-liminary to trying it on ths na-tion'a na-tion'a pocketbook. Both District of Columbia committees com-mittees senate and house were willing to abandon the Idea as a result of violent protests by Washington Wash-ington interests. But White House leaders cracked the whip, demanding demand-ing the provision be retained as an "experiment." A "shift" to this sort of tax might permit elimination elimina-tion of certain nuisance and miscellaneous mis-cellaneous leviea or a reduction but In the long run It would be another blow at large acale business busi-ness and Industry. That'a the kind of tax revision they look for and fear. Democratic insiders have lost the harassed look that came over their countenancea when their idol packed the aupreme court with the appointment of Hugo L. Black. Their four-year drama has come true the G. O. P. bigwigs are talking and fighting among themselves. That Lowden - Hoover - Landon parley did not produce the personal per-sonal reconciliation or political harmony that waa advertised. The 1936 candidate virtually accused the 1932 nominee of attempting to steal whatever sunlight falls in the Republican camp these daya. He questioned Mr. Hoover's wisdomand wis-domand right in calling a midterm mid-term convention, especially without with-out consulting party leadera. Mr. Landon returned tha compliment com-pliment In arranging for hia recent re-cent radio address. He didn't notify no-tify the former president and not a whisper of his plan reached National Na-tional Chairman Hamilton In advance. ad-vance. The latter explained later that he had discussed tha idea with "the governor over the telephone," tele-phone," but that waa simply an attempt to prevent newa of internal inter-nal dissension and personal bickering bick-ering from leaking out. Mr. Hamilton Ham-ilton ia cloaer to Mr. Hoover than he Is to bis Kansas friend, which disc loses the degree of bitterness behind the scenes. Notes: John R. McCarl, former comptroller general, ia groomed (or chairman of the G. O. P. by Landon forces. , . . Strong effort by administration to bring two labor wlnga together before congress con-gress meets. . . . Rumpus will be raised in congress over large number of aliena on relief rolls. . . . Increased agitation looking to consumer at r Ikes. . , . Foreign envoys think Brussels conference will fail because the powers "have nothing to offer Japan." (Copyright, 193T, for The Telegram.) |