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Show NEWS BEHIND THE NEWS 1 Written for The Telegram By Ray Tucker 1 WASHINGTON Herbert Hoover's adoring but politically inept friends have raised a fresh dust storm in Republican circles by crowing over their defeat of the Iandon-Martin-Borah faction at the Chicago conference. Insiders Insid-ers here plod along under the impression im-pression that they licked the Hoovcrites. The former president's boosters are tonvtomming that he achieved both his objectives formation of a policy committee and holding of a 1938 convention to determine and proclaim party aims. In letters let-ters to politico and editorial writers writ-ers they insist a "promise" to hold a Hoover session was given. (3. O. I, bigwigs here nofe that the proposed "policy committee" was whittled down to a "national general gen-eral forum, conference or otherwise." other-wise." Its sole duty would be to publicize the program committee's decisions. The key word is "otherwise." "other-wise." Congressional Committee Chairman Chair-man Martin declines to be drawn tnio a damaging controversy, but he's anxious to know who gave the promise that a formal conference or convention would be staged next year. That was solely a device de-vice for saving Mr. Hoover's face. Now it appears that his friends don't want it to be saved. The same technique employed to land Mr. Hoover in the White House has been utilised to restore him to the post of party leadership. leader-ship. The prolific amanuensis Alison Reppy, New York University Univer-sity academe, tipped off the scheme in a recent letter that fell inta hostile hands. 41 Write letters to your local newspapers," advisee Professor Reppy, "suggesting the need of intellectual leadership and Mr. Hoover's availability. If there are any critical letters or articles concerning con-cerning Mr. Hoover in the local newspapers, write letters to those critics for publication in reply and aend us notices of some. If the notice Is favorable, we will write thanking the writer of the notice, but if it is unfavorable, we will , criticize it and show him by pre- I senting the facts that he is mistaken." mis-taken." J The idea is to represent the j movement as a liberal, antiboss revolt, as was successfully done in 1928. In another missive the propagandizing professor pre(iicts that it will succeed, "Senator Borah, Bo-rah, Governor Landon. Editor Knox and Congressman Martin to the contrary notwithstanding." Cr. O. P.-ers here surmise the party leadership won't be worth a nickel if Hoover hero-worshipers persist per-sist in these tactics. Great Britain's eagerness to grasp C'ordell Hull's showdown demand de-mand for negotiations of a trade agreement was 0 pathetic that it astonished our diplomats. After stalling for a year with the plea that the dominions must first be placated. 10 Downing Street caved In overnight. Slightly exasperated at British If-and-but notes. Mr. Hull requested request-ed Sir Ronald Lindsay to submit a forthright answer within a week. The seemingly naive secretary of state chose an opportune moment for the request the day after London offered Uncle Sam the leading role in any punitive move against Japan. Sir Ronald wasn't sure whether Premier 'Neville Chamberlain could give an cn-swer cn-swer in such short time the dominions, do-minions, you know. Three days later the ambassador notified Mr. Hull to write his own ticket. Politics rather than economics lies behind the almost hysterical acceptance. Beset by Hitler on the continent, by Mussolini in the Mediterranean, by Japan in the far east her trade routes in danger dan-ger everywhere Great Britain will make any sacrifice to cuddle up to the Roosevelt-Hull government. govern-ment. Hands will flutter frantically franti-cally across the sea henceforth. "Uncle Dan" Roper frequently Irritates the man in the White House by his untimely pronouncements pronounce-ments and departmental didoes, but every so often he bobs up with a neat coup. His latest trick may delight agricultural groups notably no-tably cool toward F. D. R. in recent re-cent months. For years a Norwegian corporation corpora-tion has shipped whale oil into the United States in tremendous amounts and duty-free, narrowing narrow-ing the market for domestic oils (cottonseed, butterfat. etc.t The agrarians have protested in va:n because he corporation's processing process-ing ships are under American registry, reg-istry, and the bureau of customs has ruled that the registration dodge lends legality to the dutyfree duty-free imports. No amount of argument argu-ment has wrested a contrary decision de-cision from Mr. Morgcnthau's men. Mr. Roper's seagoing lawyers now hold that since the whaling vessels fly the American flag, shipments of the finished article to this country constitutes coastwise coast-wise movement. In the ship-to-shore trade the Norwegians use a foreign vessel, which violates the law that only American craft can participate in this trade. A jl. 500, 000 cargo now en route will be seized if it is landed, and legal action may be started for deportation deporta-tion of 100.000.000 pounds now in American warehouses. The incident inci-dent depicts the commerce secretary secre-tary at his machiavellian smartesta smart-esta role he enjoys. The war department has barred doors to prevent any leads of military mili-tary secrets. Now the navy has caught the spy fever. The high command has ordered j the gradual substitution of American Ameri-can negroes for the adept Filipinos Filipi-nos who have served as the fleet's mess boys and valets for years and years. The offhald explanation is that the Philippines will eventually eventual-ly occupy an independent status, and it seems advisable to train a new sen-ice crew against that day. But the unpublished answer is that -the Philippine islands are infested in-fested with Japanese spies, and the admirals are taking no chances. On visits home or in letters to their families there lurks the possibility pos-sibility that the Filipino servants, in all innocence, might give valu-amle valu-amle data liable to fall into enemy hands. A mild epidemic of sabotage sa-botage of ships and sale of secrets has made the sailors extraordinarily extraordi-narily cautious these days. (Copyright, 1937, for The Telegram) |