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Show THE LEHI SUN. LEIH. UTAH Bruchart Washington Digest Blame Absurd Relief Policies For Widespread WA Strikes Misguided Effort to Force Government Into Greater ! Gifts to Them; Yell Radical Accusations When Soft Snap Stops; Honest Distribution Congress' Aim. By WILLIAM BRUCKART VVNU Service, National Press Bid., Washington, D. C. ii i- ii i is mi ' . . WEEKLY NEWS ANALYSIS BY JOSEPH W. LaBlftE Charge Pittman Embargo Bill Constitutes Admission by U. &. Of Japans Belligerent Rights (EDITOR'S NOTE When opinions are expressed In these columns, they are those of the news analyst and not necessarily of this newspaper.) Released by Western Newspaper Union. . WASHINGTON.-It is sometimes possible, I believe, to find an excuse ex-cuse for violent action on the part of a man who is hungry. Likewise, that v.dividual's desperation may be explained when his children are near starvation. It is a social condition con-dition that perhaps merits sympathetic sympa-thetic understanding rather than harsh treatment When those individuals indi-viduals have had the specter of starvation star-vation removed by the generous hand of government, however, it strikes me that there can be no Justification for revolt against the government or the people which have been responsible for the charity. chari-ty. That la to say, neither the government gov-ernment nor the citizens can be held responsible for the hard luck ef any of us, nor does any one individual in-dividual have a divine right to such generosity. Yet, there exists in this country today an extraordinarily large number num-ber of persons who seem to feel the government must bend its knees to them. They have lately taken the position largely misguided by the lowest grade of leaders that they can dictate to their government govern-ment and their neighbors the terms upon which they will receive government gov-ernment relief. Thay have gone so far as to use the strike as a weapon to force, to coerce, their government govern-ment Into greater gifts to them, and It is one of the most dangerous trends to be noted on the horizon of our country. It is traceable, of course, to the utterly absurd relief policies that have been practiced, heretofore. To go back a bit for a review, the relief program enacted recently by congress for thr year that is now starting specified that all WPA workers must put in 130 hours per month in order to get the maximum government relief. It was included by congress as a part of the law upon recommendation by WPA Commissioner F. C. Harrington, and no right thinking persona can find reason to disagree. The purpose is most commendatory. The increase In the hours of labor was designed to weed out those who were receiv ing WPA checks who were satisfied to go on without any thought of ever obtaining a private job again. There is that type, you know. Confutes Sought to Set Up An Honest Distribution The rules that expired June 30 had made it possible for some workers to receive the maximum pay in as little as two weeks of work. Skilled workers were being paid wages that were equivalent to the rates in private pri-vate employment in the area where they were. So. some workers stayed on the Job two weeks and had their month's pay; others worked longer and were paid much less. Congress, therefore, tried to set up something like an honest distribution and it directed that everybody receiving the WrA checks had to work 130 hours in order to receive the full amount. There were some other provisions, too, that irked the WPA workers. One of them, for instance, makes it necessary for those who have been on WPA relief Jobs for 18 months, to take a layoff of one month. That was designed to give some other unemployed person a chance to get WPA reliet The third big change from last year and the earlier years of federal fed-eral relief was a specification as to wages. The legal language is too complex for me to understand, thoroughly, thor-oughly, but the intention is to make the rates of WPA wages have some relationship to the cost of living where the unemployed are given WPA jobs. These things are in the law, this time. In previous years, congress had been unable to break the grip of the professional relievers, like Harry Har-ry Hopkins and Aubrey Williams, and the rates of pay and conditions of work were determined largely by such men. Mr. Williams will be recalled re-called as the man who said in a speech to WPA workers they should use their numerical strength politically politi-cally and support only those officials offi-cials who turned loose the most money. Under the previous system, the WPA workers could attack rules and regulations laid down by individuals. indi-viduals. But now Mr. Hopkins and Mr. Williams are not in the picture, and a hard-boiled army officer heads up the WPA organization. Strike Against Government It What Confronts Country The condition that confronts the country, therefore, is a strike against the national government, because be-cause the elected representatives of the people as a whole laid down the rules, this time. Of course, the Constitution Con-stitution guarantees to all citizens the right to petition congress. It does not grant the right, however, to use force or violence to change the action of congress. The WPA workers who went out on strike, therefore, in my opinion, were right dose to the border line of a serious ... onense against the government It VyU on thing to strike, as a union does, against an employer: it is quite another thing tor a union to be organized to perpetuate government govern-ment charity and to use that union in a violent fashion as has been done in this Instance. And, speaking of unions, there are two of them rival organizations among wpa workers. There is the Workers Alliance of America and the Workers League of the United States. The first named is headed by David Lasscer and the second by Lloyd Leith. I do not know the background back-ground of either man, where they came from or what their mission in life may be. Of this, however. I am sure: very few men and women in this world of ours ever work for absolutely no pay. I wish that coneress would die Into those two organizations and ten how much these "leaders" are paid and find out where the money comes irom. it is difficult for me to believe be-lieve that either one of them or the several dozen "field men" and secretaries sec-retaries and others with titles are such lovers of humanity that they are not oeme well ra d for their work. To believe that these men are emulating Our Lord to that extent ex-tent is stretching my credulity too far. Why It a Union Necessary Among These Workers? One might also Inquire quite properly, prop-erly, I think, why it is necessary to have a union among these workers. I fail to see why they should spare any of the meager funds that the government gives them for living purposes to be used by union leaders. lead-ers. Those fellows cannot do anything any-thing to make congress change its mind. Oh! They can come to Washington Wash-ington and they do and issue statements and shout threats before congressional committees and sea their names in the newspapers, and accomplish nothing. That is, they get nowhere except that they are able to show the poor, wretched souls on relief that their "leaders" are great "fighters" in the cause. While there never was a chance of congress amending the law and anyone with a grain of sense must recognize it, these self-appointed. self-annointed saviors of the WPA workers did succeed In calling something like 40,000 workers off of their Jobs in various parts of the country. The result was that those workers lost Just that much money. They also ran afoul of the Harring ton determination, which many of them did not realize was not a Hopkins Hop-kins or Williams chin. Colonel Har rington promptly issued orders that those who stayed away five days would be replaced, because there were thousands willing to work and had no Jobs. Obviously, that brought a good many back to their Jobs. Some others, however, let their pas sion and unwise leadership of their unions put them in a position of cutting off their nose to spite their face. It is to be noted, In passing, that conditions now are somewhat differ ent than when the policies of the professional relievers were opera tive throughout the country. There were numerous Instances, it will be recalled, when Hopkins and Miss Perkins, secretary of labor, advised that sit-down strikers should be fed off of relief funds. State relief di rectors and state charity leaders seem generally to have taken a dif ferent view of the current situation, Seemt There Are Some Very Stupid Local Labor Leadert The national labor unions, like the American Federation of Labor and the Lewis organization, the C. X. O., came close to getting involved in this picture. I do not know whether the heads of those great unions were responsible for the general aloofness, aloof-ness, but they were quick to explain that strikes by any of their member- organizations in behalf of the WPA workers were "entirely local." If this be true, the explanation lies in the fact that there must be some very stupid local labor leaders. Surely, with union labor's prestige at its lowest ebb in many years, respectable re-spectable labor unions could hardly expect to gain in public esteem by participating in such ludicrous pro ceedings as a strike against the gov ernment of the United States. Notwithstanding the gloomy phases of the story told above, at tention should be drawn the mean while to the healthy aspect that can be found upon examination of the circumstance. Consider the courage that congress showed in taking a position which admits the existence of certain parasitic elements. That is to say. congress has taken a posi tive step toward placing relief on a basts that will reduce waste, to some extent It has made some gains in the direction of sweeping out a small part very small. It is true of the political influences that hitherto op erated. And. more important than the rest the congress over Presi- dent Roosevelt's opposition, has acted act-ed to compel greater local responsi bility for use of public money. (Released by Western Newsoaoer ITntm.l CONGRESS: Neutrality First guesses after the senate foreign for-eign relations committee tabled the Bloom-Hull measure held that neutrality neu-trality was a dead issue this session. Not counted upon were Sen. Key Pittman's enthusiasm and the White House's insistence. Because Presi dent Roosevelt evidently feared a European war after the harvest season, sea-son, he demanded that neutrality legislation be passed this session. Nor would congressional objection avail much; filibusters are a handy weapon for stalemating legislation, but the President's special session threat made it seem more desirable to act now than be called back from vacation. The President's program: (1) re tention of the munitions board; (2) barring of American ships from combat zones; (3) restriction of American travel in such zones; (4) transfer of title of goods sold to bel- KEY PITTMAN Japan would tuffer,also gain. ligerents before shipment; (5) continued con-tinued restrictions on loans and credits to warring nations; (6) regu lation of fund coUections in the U. S. for belligerents. Though all inclusive and appar ently carrying more tenacles with which American isolationists fear the U. S. might become involved abroad, the President's program carries far less potential dynamite than Senator Pittman's measure. Under this bill, the President would be forced to declare a munitions embargo against any nation violating violat-ing the 1922 nine-power Chinese non-aggression non-aggression treaty. The obvious target: tar-get: Japan. But what ?.lr. Pittman apparently forgot is that such declaration would constitute American admission that a state of war exists In China a fact Japan has never admitted. Japan Ja-pan would thus gain belligerent rights in China and U. S. interests would have to flee the war zone. Thus America's entire Oriental po sition would be toppled, and the embargo em-bargo would have little effect unless un-less Great Britain follows the unlikely un-likely course of adopting similar tactics. Most vital from a White House viewpoint is immediate repeal of the existing arms embargo, which the President and Secretary of State Cordell Hull believe gives encouragement encour-agement to Dictators Hitler and Mussolini, who know that in event of war with Britain and France the ban on U. S. arms shipments must be invoked against all belligerents. Isolationists, admitting this, think it would be a good idea. AGRICULTURE: More Trouble On July 1 the U. S. looked forward for-ward to a wheat crop of 716,655,000 bushels, comparatively small beside last year's 930.801.000 bushels and the 10-year (1928-37) average of 752,- 962,000 bushels. Obviously, wheat is not a source of worry for Secretary of Agriculture Henry A. Wallace this year. But a Job with more than its Just quota of worries has produced three others to take the place of wheat: Tobacco. Last year growers voted to remove strict marketing control provisions of the farm law, resulting result-ing in a big expansion of acreage this year. As of July 1 the tobacco forecast for this year was 1,654,622.-000 1,654,622.-000 pounds, compared with an average av-erage crop of 1,360,400,000 pounds. Ii estimates materialize, some experts ex-perts believe prices will be depressed de-pressed 25 per cent below last year; also that under law another referendum ref-erendum must be held on tobacco quotas. If approved the quotas would not become operative until the 1940 crop started to market Corn. Forecast now is a crop of around 2.570,795.000 bushels, compared com-pared with the 10-year average of 2,309,674.000 bushels. Reasons: 1) unusually favorable weather in June; (2) a sharp Increase in plantings plant-ings of high-yielding hybrid com. With a surplus of about 450,000,000 bushels from previous seasons already al-ready on hand, experts predict some governmental action will be necessary neces-sary to forestall undue price depression. de-pression. If marketing quotas result re-sult approved by two-thirds of corn-belt corn-belt farmers, growers would be re quired to store their share ol tne excess supply or pay a penalty tax of 10 cents a bushel. Cotton. With 14,350,000 bales of cotton hanging over his head, Sec retary Wallace persuaded congress to give him $928,000,000 for curing the surplus problem. Of this, a large part will go to cotton, distributing it amone U. S. relief families ana offsetting losses in selling cotton to foreign buyers at cut-rate prices, l.e., government subsidy. But in New York the Cotton Exchange serv ice moaned a few days ago that cotton exports this season may be the smallest in more than 50 years, not in spite of, but because of government gov-ernment aid. The factors: "First American cotton has been priced roughly at one cent a pound above competitive relationships witn foreign growths that can be readily substituted for American cotton. This, in turn, being due to the fact that American cotton prices have been largely pegged by government loans. "Second For several months foreign for-eign users of American cotton have not dared to make normal forward purchases of the American staple because they have not known to what extent the price of American cotton abroad will be lowered by the prospective subsidy payments on exports by the U. S." POLITICS: Yes or Aro? One good way of ruining an op ponent is to give him so much rope he hangs himself. When Indiana's one-time Gov. Paul V. McNutt re turned from his $18,000-a-year post as governor general of the Philippine Philip-pine islands, he became the nation's No. 1 outspoken seeker after 1940's Democratic nomination. What amazed onlookers was that he boldly walked into the lion's mouth, conferring con-ferring with President Roosevelt and his traditional enemy. Postmaster General James A. Farley. What amazed them still more was Paul McNutt's appointment a few days later as $12,000-a-year head of the newly created U. S. security agen cy. What did it mean? Was Paul McNutt the President's choice for 1940? Or was Mr. Roosevelt craftily plotting the political suicide of this ambitious Hoosier, thus insuring his own renomination for a third term? The pro and con: Buildup? "Liberalism" is a much worn-out word denoting the New Deal's objectives. The last few months it has been succeeded by "humanitarianism" as the keynote for 1940. Not to be forgotten is the "humanitarian" scope of Paul Mc Nutt's new Job, where he has charge of social security, the office of edu cation, National Youth administra tion and Civilian Conservation corps. HOUSING: Political Vogue? Periodically there arises a David who slays the wicked giant Goliath. Usually it sets a fashion until corruptness cor-ruptness again catches hold. Last year New York's racket-busting States Attorney Thomas E. Dewey became a David, captured public fancy, inspired radio programs and placed wicked politicians on the defensive. de-fensive. The public obviously wanted want-ed reform and no more rackets. When Tom Dewey began looming as a 1940 G. 0. P. presidential possibility, pos-sibility, reformation sounded like good strategy for any aspiring poli tician or party. By eany juiy, WHO'S NEWS THIS WEEK By LEMUEL F. PARTON P; M,,h; had xtew york-ncws ZZZ h!m an xceu record of proaching retirement oi r UIJll ...... r ' ' i immiu,id, In .sun! Enchanter! I nH.. wildfffl. smashing corrupt political machines (like Kansas City's Tom Pender-gast) Pender-gast) and tracking down income tax Gen. Harley B. Ferguson is a reminder re-minder that it was he who super vised the rais-RetiringCeneralmg rais-RetiringCeneralmg of the bat-CouldRegulate bat-CouldRegulate tleship Maine Xw t At to Havana har-Flow har-Flow of At ton br for the U. S. government in 1910 and 1911. In the service for 42 years in the engineering corps, he probably prob-ably has won more shirt-sleeve battles against all the disasters of the Anglican litany than any other army officer with a gift for achieving the impossible. He will be 64 years old on August 14 and there Is talk that he may be upped to the rank of major general before the bell rings on his finish fight against Pattern 6381. Quiltmaking's alwavs f3C:. ing but think of the fun to be Z when it's an Enchanted Cotv that rfpfnratoo sink vii. your gayest scraps for the i paten mat forms the house, fo uie bui uooery m a piam mfc iui cuctuve tonirast Finj with a bit of outline stitch. P- t i V I If " f ' I i i . V . 1 MANAGER McHALE Coming along fine. all strong talking points a smart politician can use to further his own cause. Neither should Paul McNutt's travel opportunities be forgotten; as head of the security agency his chances for speeches and political contacts are practically unlimited and he is expected to make the most of them. Breakdown? The security post is not all roses. Keen observers know Paul McNutt is in the limelight where both Democrats and Repub licans can take pot-shots at him between now and nomination day. They also know that his new Job may be a good place to build a man up personally, yet "humanitarian ism" should have nothing to do with politics; therefore Mr. McNutt must be discreet Meanwhile, in Indianapolis. Mc Nutt Manager Frank McHale could figure his campaign to date had been a success. His candidate, like young Lochinvar, had come out of the west after 2li years in Manila, where he could make no embarrassing entan gling alliances. More important he had returned to get what Frank Mc- naie rermca me resident's en dorsement as a candidate for 1940. RACKET BUSTER DEWEY Everybody't doing it. evaders. This was the signal for Scripps-Howard Columnist Raymond Clapper to charge that Frank Murphy Mur-phy was trying too hard to win the vice presidential nomination. Meanwhile there was arising an other administration racket-busting program under guidance of the jus tice department's Thurman W. Arnold. Ar-nold. Its aim: To drive trust practices, prac-tices, price-fixing and collusion out of the U. S. building industry. The day Mr. Arnold told his plans to the temporary national economic committee, Chicago Daily News' William H. Fort wrote from Washington Wash-ington that this was "obviously the New Deal's most ambitious trust- busting venture in its attempt to push young Tom Dewey's New York activities into the shade." Designing or not Thurman Ar nold's drive bids fair to accomplish something. With 140 lawyers and an enlarged appropriation, the Jus tice department expects to uncover plenty of reasons why a metropolitan metropoli-tan dweller runs into trouble when he wants to build a house. Alleged monopolistic devices: (1) fixing of prices by producers of building materials ma-terials and trade associations; (2) use of Joint selling agencies; (3) control of sales and limiting of quantities. TRADE: Penalties It is no coincidence that the world's topmost aggressive powers, Italy, Germany and Japan, must force exports to maintain a balance of trade. One primary reason is that peace-loving nations would sooner trade elsewhere; another. goods for which foreign markets are available must be kept at home to guarantee self-sufficiency in case of war and to build military machines. Therefore no deliberate anti-Nazi gesture was involved last spring when the U. S. began levying coun-tervailing coun-tervailing duties on goods imported for Germany. Though this move coincided with the Reich's absorp-tion absorp-tion of Czecho-Slovakia, treasury and state departments pointed out that Germany customarily forces exports through subsidy, thereby giving its manufacturers an unfair advantage. Similar reasoning was behind the countervailing duties recently im posed on Italian silk exports to the U. S., which treasury officials His. covered were being subsidized. Skipping next to aggressive Ja pan, the U. S. is investigating complaints com-plaints from domestic textile manufacturers man-ufacturers that NiDDonese enttnn goods makers are being given government gov-ernment subsidy, boosting still further fur-ther the natural world trade advantage advan-tage they gain by low operating costs. Result: Observers nrpHirt countervailing duties will soon be imposed on cotton imports from Japan. the elements. tern 6384 contains the Block Cl. rr 5e V, Warkpnsphmidt of flood ...n J -. -- - taici.uujr uiawu pattern Been grapplers, winning one fall after an- color schemes; directions I other against the Mississippi. He making the quilt; yardage ckf has been president of the Missis- illustration of Qt sippl River commission since 13.". To obtain this pattern member ol the Doara oi rivers ouu cent3 jn . coinS to The s harbors since 19.50 and is aiso a circle, Household Arts Dept i way ooara. Back in the days of "manifest destiny," starting in 1897, the young second lieutenant got his first practice workouts In the mud and miasma, floods and elemental and human catastrophe catastro-phe in the Philippines and Cuba, and with the army swampers tidying up China and providing relief after the Boxer uprising around the turn of the century. If the "destiny" involved getting get-ting things shipshape in a hurry, he always made it a lot more manifest than it might have been otherwise. He was chief engineer of the China expedition. He started fighting floods in Mont gomery, Ala., in 1907 and through the years commanded army engi- Watering Flowers TF WE would have the ftat of love blossom around u must plentifully water hem c the rain of appreciative mi and encourage them with the s- beams of sympathy, If the world is to find the rick treasures of genius and talent must learn to have a sympathei: faith. Religion is not only fc most powerful, but it is the delicate of the influences tt touch us; and that divine influe cannot thrive and increase k in us, to warm and inspire fc life, without it is nurtured by sd - '.LB aie according to our laiia- Frank Crane, e ""reciation. ine m neering works, defensive and ag- things of life love, peace, God- New Orleans, Vicksburg, Pittsburgh and Norfolk, Va, In the World war, he was chief engineer of the second army corps in France. He went to West Point from his home town, Waynesville, N. C. His son is a commander in the navy. He has two daughters, rR. PAUL POPENOK, geneticist, - biologist, and student of family relations, who has given much of bis interesting career to clinical studies of home life, discovers that , women are ag- w omen a l. lose Second to the N.W.Mountiet gressive pro posers and that 70 out of 85 get their man. This is his finding in his survey of this hitherto unexplored field of statis tics. Dr. Popenoe is director of the court of family relations at Los Angeles. A specialist in the daily squabbles of married life, he has been effective in settling many of them. He says it is a good idea to write down all your wife's faults, check them against your own, and then burn the paper. You should keep the family budget straight, refrain from nagging, and keep yourself and everybody else around the house interested and never bored. As a geneticist, he thinks it is a fair bet that we will become a race of "super- laiois, wnereas we could be super-Einsteins if we could use collectively the sense that God gave geese. He is a native of Topeka, Kan., educated at Occidental colleee and Topeka university. He was a newspaper news-paper reporter in Pasadena and Los Angeles before he became a biolo gist and sociologist te''oMi"t ROYAL If your dealer cannot suppu J send 20c with your dealer i foraTrial Package of 48 fg PE-KO Jar Kings; w r Trend How the wind is bloicing . . . LABOR Oregon's Supreme court has held constitutional the famous "anti-picketing" law adopted by referendum last November, No-vember, confining picketing to bona fide disputes between employers em-ployers and a majority of employees, em-ployees, prohibiting boycotts and outlawing minority strikes. BABIES Since both 1937 and 1938 found France's deaths exceeding ex-ceeding her births. Premier Ed-ousrd Ed-ousrd Daladier has announced decrees to reward large families and thus stimulate the birth rate. BUILDING Major U. S. engi neering construction awards for 1939 s first half reached the greatest great-est volume since 1930. DIG, ruddy John M. Carmody, known as "Powerhouse John " takes over 2,500 PWA employees under un-der the new arrangement by which New FW A Boss Z ? ... load compared neiMies Atlas to which Atlas With His Load would fce just toting a tennis ball. Leaving the Rural Electrifica tion administration, he heads the new Federal Works agency, which takes in both the PWA and the FWA; also the bureau of Dublie roads, the building operations of the treasury, the U. S. Housing author ity and many other Herculean en deavors. He is a rip-snorting Irishman with a booming voice, employ- ms secuon Doss technique in g-MIng things done. He was for many years an editor of the Mo-Graw Mo-Graw Hill Publications, makin- ii.s career in industrial engineer ing. In earlier years, he man aged coal companies, factories aaa steel mills. he has been with the New Dea six years, first with the NRA anc later with the NLRB. He has s - ennsyivania tarm background anc aaenaea t-olumbia university. L United States Bubber iwU United States Rubber (oca 601. HSO IroaMW. " 1 Salt Lake's NEWBjHOS n- V .g!flMitf"A- Jl&P f -ay-zsr PSULli TtMPUt Opposite MorB rf, HIGHLY EECOMJ0' of . .... L.nhful ar rnis -"'',,rrt;lL EKXESI C uo" J H-onsoaaated Features WNU Service.) |