OCR Text |
Show NEWS BEHIND THE NEWS I I Written for The Telegram - By Ray Tucker ' the president ngns the bill. If they wish to take a chance. Washington's attempt to reopen re-open negotiations with Canada on the St. Lawrence waterway shsrpens suspicion that the European Eu-ropean crisis will be capitalized to the utmost in the field of domestic legislation. For as long as it lasts, every proposal even routine measures will be advanced ad-vanced as necessary for the national na-tional defense. The president announced that Canadian industrial expansion resulting from foreign purchases I WASHINGTON Prospective ' passage of the arms embargo repeal re-peal has led to the .second and inevitable step In the administration adminis-tration program of rendering active military aid to Great Britain and France, though by methods "short of war." Details of the fresh reinforcement to be provided are being withheld, but they have been carefully worked out In high circles. When the allies begin their large-scale purchases they will have the dally advice of an army-navy munitions commission commis-sion operating in conjunction with advisers from the state and treasury departments. They will instruct foreign purchasing agents on where they should bav and what price they should payX Without this working arrangement, arrange-ment, American spokesmen say, the foreignscompetition would Jeopardize .the price and production pro-duction systems with respect to our own rearmament Washington Washing-ton would otherwiseflnd itself paying higher prices. The allies will be able to call on the treasury's treas-ury's procurement division! well as the agency mentioned. French operations in this country since the wars outbreak out-break reveal the reason for Senator Sen-ator John A. Danaher's amendment amend-ment proposing that the cash-payment cash-payment provision be made retroactive to the day the guns began to bark. The Connecticut Connecti-cut man's suggestion was howled down by the senate without even a voire vote. Great Britain has been careful care-ful about placing no orders until un-til after the revised neutrality bill became law. British purchasing pur-chasing agents remained in Canada, Can-ada, fearing display of their order or-der might be Interpreted as sn attempt to- Influence congress. But the French, not being so cautious, have ordered millions of dollars worth of stuff chiefly airplane engines since September Septem-ber 3, the day of war's declaration. declara-tion. One Connecticut factory Is building a new plant to fulfill these contracts But not a penny Involved in these transactions will be affected by the new bill requiring cash on the barrel head. Unlimited credit can be extended by the American manufacturers man-ufacturers to the very moment ' three months before the war also our own necessitates immediate im-mediate construction of the waterway wa-terway for power and shipping purposes He scrapped the do-nothing do-nothing International boundary commission because of the need of vigorous, aggressive builders. But he did not make public the fact that Secretary Hull put out feelers to Ottswa last June or that he asked for the commissioners' com-missioners' resignations In August Au-gust Fact Is that the waterway cannot be built In time or the power facilities Installed for this war, or possibly the next conflict, If any. Estimates of construction time range from seven to 12 years. Another fact not mentioned is that Canada is as bitterly opposed to the proposition propo-sition as it always has been. But the scheme did corral certain midwestern house members for the neutrslity act It also terrified terri-fied private power Interests Just after assurances from the White House of a "truce" had calmed them. Paul V. McNutt's presidential presiden-tial candidacy has been wrapped in mothballs for the moment with F. D. R. doing the wrapping. wrap-ping. But the handsome hero earlier learned that his campus-rushing tactics were antagonizing antag-onizing the very elements he had hoped to tempt into his political po-litical camp. At the recent American Legion Le-gion convention Mr. McNutt's political leaders Frsnk McHale and Miss Mary Hlggins of Indianaopened In-dianaopened McNutt-for-presi- dent headquarters. Such a procedure pro-cedure runs distinctly counter vtp the Legion's code that It is not a political organization and should not be used as such. Nobody cared to voice a formal for-mal protest But Legionnaire Hanford M"cNider, former G. O. P. assistant secretary of war, closed up thexMcNutt shop. Hanford announcecVthat he intended in-tended to stage a luncheon and rally for the RepublicahxService Men's league. That brqught loud squawks, but Mr. McNider pointed to the McNutt enacmiN. ment down the street. So Frank and Mary folded their flags and marched out Copyright, McClure Syndicate. |