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Show I NEWS BEHIND THE NEWS I Written for The Telegram By Ray Tucker ' support such a program, especially espe-cially If the president's peace gesture falls of success. Though sentiment is divided on Capitol hill as to the role Uncle Sam should play at the present moment, mo-ment, almost everybody favors a policy of preparedness for any eventuality. President Roosevelt, oddly enough, got his earliest Impressions Impres-sions of the horrors of war from Herbert Hoover. He literally sat at the feet of the former president when he was only a political neophyte as assistant navy secretary, and listened with lips and ears open while Mr. Hoover described harrowing scenes in Belgium. As servitors of Wood row Wilson, Wil-son, Mr. Roosevelt, Secretary of Interior Franklin Lane and Food Administrator Hoover were close friends; so were their wives and children. They lived In the WASHI NGTON President ' Roosevelt Is anxious to act as peacemaker In the European war. Despite White House protestations prot-estations to' the contrary, he is keeping himself in readiness to offer his good services when the moment seems opportune. His private advices convince him that all parties to the war are already sick of It, and reluctant re-luctant to undertake any activity ac-tivity which will prevent some sort of an early, peaceful solution. solu-tion. His foreign scouts are now sounding out the belligerents as to the terms on which they might be persuaded to lay down their arms and assemble around a peace table. Should the president presi-dent receive hopeful answers, he will notify the warring powers pow-ers that he is willing to Intervene. Inter-vene. F. D. R. will not propose another an-other league of nations as a possible pos-sible basis of permanent control, con-trol, for he would then be repeating re-peating the mistake of Wood row Wilson; he would be committing commit-ting this country to unhappy Involvement In-volvement In European affairs. Instead, his proposal will suggest that Europe settle It own affairs af-fairs by forming a continental federation of states. Should the nations reject the president's peace proposals, he will then ask the regular session ses-sion of congress in January to authorise creation of the mightiest mighti-est navy and army In American history. He will base his request re-quest on the need for Insuring that the United State must be ready to fight off any combination combi-nation of foreign powers. Mr. Roosevelt will demand the construction of the two-ocean navy so often metioned only in whispers as a sure defense sgainst possible attack on both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. It will be a definite hint to Hitler Hit-ler and Japan that Uncle Sam regards re-gards their attitude as aggressive. aggres-sive. There will also be a presidential pres-idential request for authorization of a standing army of 300,000 men, fully trained and equipped more than double the present regular force. A private canvass of house and senate Indicates that the majority of the members would 1 ' same neighborhood, and saw each other often during and after work hours. Several times a week the three men and their families adjourned to Rock Creek for a basket picnic luncheon. There the man who fed Belgium Bel-gium related his experiences, with Messrs. Roosevelt and Lane sprawled on the grass before him. The horror stories shocked F. D. R-. who was then a young and sensitive man. In those days the future president presi-dent exhibited no prejudice toward the Germans, nothisg of the superpatrlotic ardor which inspired Mr. Lane, for instance. He thought It was this country's duty to support the allies, but winning the war. In his opinion, was a Job to be done as quickly and as efficiently as pouible. American industrialists have professed a complete lack of interest in-terest in prospective war profits, quite unlike their 1914-1917 attitude. at-titude. But private stock market mar-ket tipsters In Washington. New York and elsewhere are seeking to whet the appetite of millions I of investors, thereby creating a war-conscious class of market speculators which did not exist 25 years ago. Here Is a sample prospectus distributed by several security houses to a list of customers: "Fabricated shapes for a multitude multi-tude of war needs can be produced pro-duced by company. During Dur-ing the World war company com-pany expanded tremendously owing ow-ing to production of shell cases and fuses. Profits Jumped from half a million dollars in 1914 to over 111,000,000 In 1916. . . . In view of the company's favorable favor-able position to benefit from rising Industrial activity and increased in-creased armament requirements, the capital stock is one of the more attractive speculations in the metal trades." Comparatively few laymen ventured into the market in the early deys of Warld war the first But the average American Ameri-can has become market-wise in the quarter of a century intervening, inter-vening, and Is betting a few chips on a long war embargo repeal possibly American involvement. in-volvement. Whether they realize real-ize it or not, these people are gambling against peace. Copyright, McClure Syndicate. i |