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Show I Weekly News Analysis 1 Will Daladier Turn Dictator? Strike Defeat Arouses Fears I By Joseph W. La Bine I EDITOR'S NOTE When opinions are expressed in these columns, they are those ot the news analyst, and not necessarily ot the newspaper. Foreign French labor won a 40-hour week in 1936 under Premier Leon Blum's Socialist administration. One of Socialist So-cialist Blum's henchmen then was Edouard Daladier, who rose from war minister to become a premier himself. But Premier Daladier, though labeled a Radical Socialist, has been growing cooler towards labor's la-bor's left-wing Popular Front ever since Adolf Hitler became a leading force in European affairs. Reason: Labor and the Popular Front are communistic and Adolf Hitler hates Communists. Moreover, labor's 40-hour week has needed drastic modification since the September Sudeten crisis. Though anxious to appease the hi x I f - -t ! U LEON JOUHAUX M. Daladier remembered M. Driund. Reich, Daladier also realizes France must speed armament production to cope with the menace across the Rhine. When French labor first began be-gan protesting against increased hours, it became apparent that the ultimate showdown would have tremendous tre-mendous significance. The showdown show-down has now arrived, but the full significance will not be known for several weeks. Under Leon Jouhaux, French composite of America's John Lewis and William Green, 5.000,000 members mem-bers of the potent General Labor confederation announced a one-day strike. Its purpose: to protest against drastic decree laws which Premier Daladier and Finance Minister Min-ister Paul Reynard believe necessary neces-sary to stave off financial chaos. One protested decree, naturally, was that increasing work hours to 44 a week. Not even Labor Leader Jouhaux denied the strike was purely political, politi-cal, being simply a Popular Front attempt to test the power of Premier Pre-mier Daladier, who has steadfastly refused to assemble parliament for a showdown on his decree laws. But as the strike hour neared, the premier pre-mier remembered what another smart Frenchman, Aristide Briand, did under similar circumstances in 1910. To railroad workers and others oth-ers employed in essential utilities he sent conscription orders. Though they would strike as private citizens, citi-zens, they could not ignore a call to the colors without courting drastic dras-tic punishment. In the end, M. Jouhaux' Jou-haux' one-day strike was a failure. Immediate significance: a victory for Premier Daladier; failure for drastic French social changes such as the 40-hour week; probable success suc-cess of the cabinet's daring recovery recov-ery plan; defeat of the Popular Front; doom for Communism in western Europe. Long range significance: the possibility pos-sibility that Premier Daladier, swollen swol-len with confidence, may emerge a semi-Fascist dictator over his jittery jit-tery nation; the certainty that he will continue his policy of appeasing Herr Hitler. Treasury Mid-December Is a regular U. S. quarterly financing date, '.n recent years a favorite season for predicting pre-dicting (1) how much the national debt will rise during the current fiscal year, and (2) whether federal expenditures can be expected to rise or fall during the next few months. This year, as Secretary of the Treasury Treas-ury Henry Morgenthau Jr. prepares a $1,042,000,000 financing deal, observers ob-servers may safely predict that the national debt will rise from its current cur-rent mark of $3!),. TOO, 000, 000, to $40,-000,000,000 $40,-000,000,000 before the fiscal year ends next June 30. Itut they can also detect a downward trend in U. S. expenditures, temporarily at least. Although the government has spent $2 for every $1 collected since last July 1, although the fiscal year thus far shows expenditures ($:i,5!Hi,-157,000) ($:i,5!Hi,-157,000) slightly over the comparable compara-ble period last year and receipts ($2,204,520,000) slightly under last year's, Mr. Morgenthau cays he has "ample cash" on hand without any new borrowing ill the present time. During the current month, however, howev-er, ho is borrowing $7011,000.000 In "new money" and refinancing $041,-1113,000 $041,-1113,000 In notes maturing next March 15. I Jut. the oiillnnli still remains opti- ! mistic. Last summer the President and Mr. Morgenthau estimated the treasury would need $2,800,000,000 in new money before the fiscal year is ended. December's $700,000,000, plus $800,000,000 borrowed last September, Sep-tember, brings the total thus far to only $1,500,000,000. With business on the upgrade, with relief costs expected to drop as a result, and with federal receipts expected to begin increasing immediately, there is every prospect that part of the remaining $1,300,000,000 included in last summer's estimate will not be needed. Mr. Morgenthau has made no such prediction, however. His explanation explana-tion of current financing activities is this: "We don't have to raise money now, and we could get by until March with what we have. But we know what we will need between be-tween now and July 1. A reasonable reason-able way to do it would be not to do it all at one time, so we will do some of it now." International French-British fears to the contrary, con-trary, Europe's next war is not apt to involve western democracies versus ver-sus Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini. Musso-lini. When world-wide military threats are sifted down they appear more certain to center around Germany's Ger-many's drive to the southeast in which the clash will involve Nazi-Fascism Nazi-Fascism versus Communism. This theory even takes into consideration considera-tion the long-awaited Russ-Jap war, which observers do not believe immediately im-mediately serious. Japan is shattered shat-tered by her Chinese conquest and Russia dares not neglect her European Euro-pean frontier to throw military strength against Nippon. Today, as Reichsfuehrer Hitler transfers Austria and Czechoslovakia Czechoslo-vakia from his list of ambitions to his life of achievements, he finds the word Ukraine (see map) awaiting await-ing next attention. As self-pronounced ruler of Germans everywhere, every-where, as the covetous statesman whose heart bleeds for raw materials materi-als going unused, he can well smack his lips over this choice bit of Russian property. His alleged justification: Racial Interest. In the Ukraine and along the Volga live 1.000.000 Germans whose Russian background back-ground dates back to 17G3 when Catherine II invited colonization in the uncultivated steppes. In 1803 came a similar invitation from Alexander Al-exander I. Clannish Germans de- i f ti 1 JL J SOVIET y1 fXJi RUSSIA )vS7Si rtOit0y" V vi&UCK SLA EUKOI'E'S UKRAINE DISTRICT Is it nrt on Hitler's list? velopcd a thousand "colonics," became be-came wealthy and preserved their racial culture. When Russia's government gov-ernment collapsed during the World war, Germany made a separate peace with the Ukraine and dominated domi-nated the land until November, 1918. Resource Interest. In the Ukraine is enough anthracite to run German industry indefinitely, plus forests, wheat lands, Crimean oil, corn, cattle cat-tle and poultry. Also there Is land, which Adolf Hitler would like for colonization purposes because the Reich is now crowded. Though he bluffed his way to victorious vic-torious peace with France over the Ruhr basin and with Czechoslovakia over Sudctenland, Hitler cannot expect ex-pect to bluff Russia out of the Ukraine. Yet he plans to follow this course so far as possible, building build-ing up political and economic unity with the rest of southwest Europe in preparation for the day of conquest. con-quest. Already he has safeguarded his military, economic and propaganda propa-ganda path to the southeast by refusing re-fusing to give Hungary and Poland a common border at the expense of his new vassal slate, Czechoslovakia. Czechoslo-vakia. More Important still Is his new understanding with Rumania, which borders on the Ukraine and offers a convenient'., steprjing-uff place. Weighed against these advantages arc Poland's new hostility over the Czech border dispute, and the question ques-tion mark that Is named Russia. Will Moscow fight to retain the Ukraine, Or will Russia and Germany Ger-many reach a "sphere of inlluence" agreement whereby Berlin is left flee to exploit the Ukraine In return re-turn for Russian aggression privileges privi-leges in the Finland area? People. Capt. Hush T. Mclnlire, United States naval surgeon-general and personal physician to President Roosevelt, has been given a "jump" prninol ion to the rank of rear admiral, over Ihc heads nf a half -dozen captains who outrank him. Politics America's political pendulum swings periodically from conserva tism to liberalism and back again Coolidge-Hoover conservatism was followed by Roosevelt liberalism, but the return swing to conservatism conserva-tism that started last November 8 is more apt to stop in the middle of the road, than to veer violently back to rock-ribbed Republicanism. Washington observers, who claim President Roosevelt has discarded middle-road New Dealers in favor of "left-wingers" like Solicitor Gen. Robert H Jackson and WPA Administrator Ad-ministrator Harry Hopkins, predict the President must either abandon this policy or lose the support of Postmaster Gen. James J. Farley. The President's answer will come when he names a successor to Attorney At-torney Gen. Homer S. Cummings. If Mr. Jackson is appointed, Mr. Farley will interpret the move as a build-up leading to Mr. Jackson's 1 1 'U I t V . ! J v t' - ' i -- - 'i v " i , X i i OREGON'S HcNABX He made friends with Democrats. presidential nomination in 1940. He will place the same interpretation on any efforts to win Mr. Hopkins a cabinet post, Mr. Farley, casting about for a 1940 possibility, is reported to look favorably on Secretary of State Cor-dell Cor-dell Hull, the only cabinet member who has refrained from casting his lot with any factional element within the Democratic party. Mr. Roosevelt's Roose-velt's choice apparently lies between running for a third term or endorsing endors-ing some middle-grounder like Secretary Sec-retary Hull Evidence is already piling up testifying tes-tifying to the political expediency of this middle road position. Republicans, Republi-cans, who will at last make themselves them-selves heard in congress next month, are inclined to assume such an attitude rather than fight for a return to the traditional G. O. P. conservatism. In the senate, where Republicans now have 23 members, they need the support of only 26 Democrats. Farmer-Laborites. Progressives Pro-gressives or Independents to bold a majority. Cy catering to the middle-ground idea, the President can possibly forestall the rising tide of Republican Republi-can strength which is being built on this very platform. He can also avert a revolt in Democratic ranks, which otherwise will almost certainty certain-ty rise to the surface during next congress. A meeting of Republican and Democratic minds is already evident on curtailment of governmental govern-mental expenditures and a rtew policy pol-icy for administering relief. Oregon's Sen. Charles L. McNary, Republican minority leader, has announced an-nounced that "Republicans will join with other groups" on such a program. pro-gram. One of his plans, that of turning relief administration over to bipartisan state boards, finds expression ex-pression in the bill being drafted by North Carolina's Son. Josiah W. Bailey, Bai-ley, a Democrat. His political cohort. co-hort. Sen. Edward R. Burke of Nebraska, Ne-braska, has announced that although the Bailey proposal Is a "Democratic "Demo-cratic move," Republican support will be welcomed. Business Last spring congress gave business busi-ness a chill by appropriating $500,-000 $500,-000 for a "national economic committee" com-mittee" to investigate "competition, price-levels, unemployment, profits and consumption." Headed by Wyoming's Wyo-ming's Sen. Joseph C. O'Mahoney, the committee's 100 statisticians, economists and investigators have sjient the ensuing six months digging dig-ging out the past record of American Ameri-can business. Meanwhile business has frightened itself into believing the committee is an offshoot of the U. S. justice department's anti-monopoly drive. But true to Mr. O'Mahoncy's promise, the group's two-year investigation in-vestigation has opened minus any signs of a "witch hunt" or an effort ef-fort to make business the "goat." After spending three days Introducing Introduc-ing historical facts and figures to give the hearing a background, committeemen launched a quiz of patent pools In the automobile and glass Industr'cs. Observers considered consid-ered tills a good sign of no witch hunting, since the custom of pooling automobile patents has certainly kept that industry from becoming a monopoly. Unless the Investigation bogs down under its own tremendous size. It is expected that one of two trends will be visible within a few months. Either the hearings will point Ihe way to conlinued existence of business as a p"ivalo function un dor Ihe capitalistic system, or fears will arise that government Is to take cont ml. |