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Show News Review of Current Events the World Over Lobby Committees Quarrel Over Magnate Ilopson President Signs Social Security Act Tri-Power Conference on Italo-Etbiopian Question. By EDWARD W. PICKARD Western Newspaper Union. "IT ILL ROGERS, famous actor and humorist, and Wiley Post, one of the best known fliers In the world, crashed to their death In a plane while flying from Fairbanks to Point Barrow, Alaska. The two men, close friends, had been enjoying enjoy-ing an aerial vacation trip in the North, and Post Intended later to fly to Asia. News of the fatal accident acci-dent was sent to Seattle by Sergt. Stanley R. Morgan, signal corps operator op-erator at Point Barrow. lie said he had recovered the bodies from the wreckage. RIVALS In the matter of publicity, pub-licity, the house and senate committees on the activities of lobbyists lob-byists got Into a tangle that cer- . .. VxJ talnly didn't enhance en-hance their dignity. Howard C. Hop-son, Hop-son, the long sought head of the Associated Gas and Electric Utilities system, permitted the emissary of the house committee to find him, and Senator Sen-ator Hugo Black flew Into a rage H. C. Hopson an(J had hig com. mlttee threaten Hopson with contempt con-tempt proceedings unless he appeared ap-peared before it. Chairman O'Connor O'Con-nor of the house body was angered by-this and declared: "Hopson is in my custody. I've got him. Nobody No-body else has got him. Nobody else Is going to get him." So, resolutions resolu-tions were presented in both branches of congress authorizing the officers of the two chambers to take Hopson into custody. The elusive, chunky utilities magnate mag-nate told the house committee about his various companies and related the saga of his travels while he was being sought. But he politely po-litely refused to answer questions concerning the sources and amount of his Income. He testified that he "believed" the Associated Gas system sys-tem had spent "eight or nine hundred hun-dred thousand dollars" In opposition opposi-tion to the Wheeler-Rayburn utility control bill. . "That's just a small fraction of the $300,000,000 equity In our companies com-panies which would be destroyed If the bill becomes law and remains law," he declared. To one question by Cox of Georgia. Geor-gia. Hopson replied: "I resent that Inquiry. No gentleman would have asked it." Whereupon Cox threatened threat-ened to kick him out of the room unless he withdrew the answer, and Hopson mildly withdrew it. O'Connor introduced in the house a resolution that severely slammed the senate, but it dropped when word came that Senator Black would wait to take Hopson after O'Connor's bunch was through with him. However, it gave opportunity for a ridiculous quarrel between the 'New Yorker and Rankin of Texas. Late in the day Ilopson calmly walked into Black's committee room and asked : "Is some one here looking look-ing for me?" Black and his committee com-mittee then questioned the utilities man for an hour or two and got mighty little out of him except smooth sarcasm that made the chairman quite furious. At that time both Hopson and his attorney had been served with contempt citation. O URROUNDED by a group of no- tables and In the glare of photographers' pho-tographers' flashlights. President Roosevelt put his signature on the social security act of which he said: "If the senate and house of representatives In this long and arduous ar-duous session had done nothing more than pass this bill the session ses-sion would be regarded as historic for all time." Among those who were present were Senator Robert F. Wagner of New York and Representative John Lewis of Maryland, who jointly drafted the bill; Secretary of Later La-ter Frances Perkins, who had a hand in its making, and Senators Pat Harrison, William King and Edward P. Costigan. In a talk intended for reproduction repro-duction on the sound screens of the country, the President said: "This social security measure gives at least some protection to 30,000.000 of our citizens who will reap direct benefits through unem-cloyment unem-cloyment compensation, through old age pensions and through increased services for the protection of children chil-dren and the prevention of ill health. "We can never Insure 100 per cent of the population against 100 per pent of the hazards and vicissitudes of life but we have tried to frame a law which will give some measure meas-ure of protection to the average citizen and to his family against the loss of a job and against poverty-ridden old age. "Th law, too, represents a corner cor-ner stone In a structure which is being hu.'il. but Is by no means complete com-plete a structure Intended to les sen the force of possible future depressions, de-pressions, to act as a protection to future administrations of the government gov-ernment against the necessity of going go-ing deeply Into debt to furnish relief re-lief to the needy a law to flatten out the peaks and valleys of deflation defla-tion and of inflation in other words law that will take care of human needs and at the same time provide for the United States an economic structure of vastly greater great-er soundness." CAPT. ANTHONY EDEN of England, Eng-land, Premier Pierre Lava of France and Baron Pompel Aloisl of Italy met In Paris, as arranged, to see If they couldn't devise a way to avert the Italo-Ethiopian Italo-Ethiopian war, due to begin In September. Sep-tember. Eden had a plan all prepared and after outlining it to Laval he laid it before Baron Alois!. The latter, of course, had no power to assent but wfmsm ilfll m$mmm was compelled to Baron Aloisi submit the prosopai: to Premier Mussolini. That II Duce would accept ac-cept It without change was considered consid-ered unlikely, but it formed a basis for discussion. According to the best Information, Informa-tion, the Eden plan embraced these chief points: 1. Important economic concessions conces-sions for Italy in Ethiopia. 2. A proposal that Italy be given the right to colonize and exploit rich, sparsely inhabited portions of the Ethiopian uplands probably under un-der a League of Nations mandate as Is provided for former German colonies col-onies in article XXII of the League of Nations covenant. 3. The offer of an outlet direct to the sea for Ethiopia, as a measure meas-ure of compensation for its concessions. conces-sions. It was understood In Paris that Mussolini still demanded what would amount to a mandate over Ethiopia so that he would have political po-litical as well as economic control con-trol over the country. This Great Britain does not like, and France Is rather on the fence. The British insist that in any case there must be an immediate showdown. One correspondent said if Great Britain adhered to the policy at which Eden hinted in his conversation with Laval, it would mean either dissolution of the Leaguer of Nations Na-tions or else collective sanctions against Mussolini, involving the risk of a European war. XTOBODY liked the new tax bill that congress was working on, and the senate finance committee had hard work making up its mind as to the form it would recommend. First it altered almost al-most every provision provi-sion of the hill passed by the house and changed it from a "soak the rich" measure to one which would soak practically every one. This was done . oy lowering person- Senator Borah ; , al Income tax exemptions ex-emptions and starting the surtax Increases at. $3,000 instead of $50,-000. $50,-000. The latter feature was proposed by Senator La Follette and was adopted to keep him in line. Also, the inheritance taxes which President Pres-ident Roosevelt had asked for were eliminated. Protests against increasing the taxes on little incomes came Immediately, Im-mediately, from senators, representatives represen-tatives and the country at large. Senators Borah of Idaho and Nor-ris Nor-ris of Nebraska were among the "Independents" who expressed their disapproval. Mr. Borah especially was vocal in opposition. He could not see the justice or the wisdom of the proposition. So the committee suddenly reversed re-versed Itself abruptly, rejected the La Follette plan by a vote of 8 to 7, and saved the little incomes and perhaps a lot of house members who hope to be re-elected. The bill which the committee reported was passed by the senate by a vote of 57 to 22. It contains new provisions to compensate for those eliminated from the house bill and the estimated revenue is only $1,000,000 less. TT'OUR thousand striking employ-" employ-" ees of the New York Shipbuilding Shipbuild-ing corporation at Camden, N. J., appealed to President Roosevelt by wire to attempt a fair settlement of their 14-week-old strike which has tied up $50,000,000 worth of navy contracts. They said union recognition must be obtained before the walkout will be ended. The union also seeks wage Increases and other objectives. Q IX'RETAKY OF AGKICL'L-J AGKICL'L-J TURK WALLACE has changed his niiud about the reduction of wheat acreage for llttu. Instead of asking the fariuei for a cut of 15 per cent, as was announced an-nounced recently, the figure is now placed at 5 per cent. Wallace told reporters re-porters that the change was decided de-cided upon after the government s I j it ? August 1 survey of Wallace crop conditions indicated in-dicated that total wheat production produc-tion this year would amount to only eOS.000,000 bushels as compared with domestic require"101113 of 635'" 000,000 bushels. The step was tuken, he asserted, to assure ample supplies for domestic domes-tic consumers. He said that it was expected to place the country In a "strengthened position" in the export ex-port market. He added the change in policy will not result in any marked reduction in benefit payment pay-ment to farmers. He did not say what the exact reductions in the payments would amount to. AAA officials estimated that approximately ap-proximately 52,000,000 acres would be placed under contract this year. They asserted that the government is given "adequate powers" to deal with the situation If a bumper wheat harvest should result" In 193G. WHEN the President's social security se-curity bill was finally enacted enact-ed into law, the senate adopting adopt-ing the conference report already agreed to by the house, probably many thousands of men and women all over the country began figuring the pensions they would receive under Us terms. It is unlikely that one In a thousand has any clear idea of how the new program's pension pen-sion system will work, so we- reprint re-print here a neat summary prepared pre-pared by the Associated Press showing its operation as applied to "Bill Jones": "Suppose young Bill is twenty when the law goes into effect and makes an average monthly salary of $100 until he is sixty-five. He will get a monthly pension, until his death, of $53.75. "In detail, here is what will happen hap-pen to him : "In the calendar years 1937, 1938, and 1939 he will pay a salary tax of 1 per cent, or a total of $36 for the three years. In 1940, 1941, 1942 he will pay 1 per cent, or $54. In 1943, 1944, and 1945 the tax will be 2 per cent, or $72. In 1946, 1947, and 1948 the tax will be 2 per cent, or $90. From 1949 to 19S1, inclusive, the tax will be 3 per cent, or a total of $1,1S9 for those 33 years. "Thus, in 45 years, Bill Jones will have paid in $1,440. All the time his employer will have been matching match-ing his tax payments, so the total paid to the federal treasury will be $2,SS0. "At sixty-five Bill Jones can expect ex-pect to live perhaps 10 years more. If he does, he will get back $6,450. "When Bill Jones dies this is what will happen : " "His average annual salary will be multiplied by the number of years he paid taxes. In other words, if he dies after he has paid taxes for 45 years, $1,200 will be multiplied by 45 giving a total of $54,000. Arbitrarily, the bill stipulates stipu-lates that Bill Jones' estate shall be entitled to SVz per cent of that, or $1,S90 less any amount he received re-ceived in pensions before he died. "If Jones dies before he gets back $1,S90 in pensions, what he actually received is deducted from $1,S90 and the remainder paid to his hell's. If he lives until he gets back all of the $1,S90 and more, his heirs get nothing. "If Jones should die before he reaches sixty-five, his heirs would be entitled to a payment of 3 per cent of the total wages on which taxes had been paid. "For instance, if he died after ten years, he would have paid taxes on $12,000. His heirs would be entitled en-titled to 3'2 per cent of that, or $420." ADOLF HITLER'S silence during the recently renewed Nazi warfare war-fare on Jews and Catholics led many to think the movement was , hpinc lprl hv nffiQM v. But Der Fuehrer emerged from his country residence to make a speech at Rosenheim In which he made It clear he was backing back-ing the current "housecieaning" to the limit. He declared de-clared the Nazi . . ., party would smash Adolf Hitler Us oppoDentSj con tinuing: "Always stand to your flag, not' only In good days but even more In the bad ones. Keep It up when the storm lashes and clouds the firmament," Deep apprehension still prevails among Jews in Germany as to what the future has in store for them. After Count von Helldorf, Berlin police president, had forbidden individual in-dividual action against Jews, Wil-helm Wil-helm Frick, minister of interior, announced: an-nounced: "The Jewish question will siowly I but surely be gotten rid of, as the j Nazi program foresees." j I |
