| Show weekly news congress speeds U S defense Def eltSe ok okay a army bill billy plan big sit ships e by joseph W US la EDITORS whon opi cp chaon aon 0 ns r expressed la in ahw the columns th 1 F r those ol of th the news analyst tad and B not ot a t cossa rily ol 01 0 cho defense on january 1 1938 1930 japan scrapped her 5 5 3 naval tre treaty aty with tho the U S and britain subsequently on an arms race started on an both land and sea precipitated each time der fuehrer or 11 II duce made tin on aggressive ig gres sive step in the U S even loudmouthed loud mouthed congressmen were loathe to think of defense in terms of actual invasion until self right bous germany swiped czecho and memel two weeks later congress got down to talking cases passing nn an unprecedented army appropriations bill in jig time after war talk like this in the senate i oklahoman Okla homas thomas every nation must be ready every moment to defend itself kinat the only possible Is from and danger japan I 1 I 1 I 1 japan is beating her head against a stone wall in china even if ger 4 1 ll 11 I 1 1 I I 11 le V i k 4 V i U nil sa s1 SENATOR U LUNDEEN lie favored hitler bider technique many should defeat england I 1 the slightest idea that would would endanger us In dianas minton germany might obtain bermuda or part of canada minnesotan Min lundeen Lunde cn then let the united states seize bermuda and britaina Brit ains west indian possessions to force payment of her war debts andrew jackson set a precedent in collecting a debt from franco france by threatening to seize french territory in this hemi sphere In dianas indians million AI inton that would be adopting the technique of hitler 11 having boosted army funds over the current years year I 1 s appropriation congress had next to consider navy news from the white house admitting japans secret naval program was one reason president roosevelt approved two ton super suter super battleships to cost each bigger than any yet conceived and capable of squeezing through the panama canal with two feet to spare on either side one good reason dy by showing that the U S Is able to out cut arm any other nation japan might be forced back into a limitation treaty present U S strength includes 15 s capital ships one nearing obsolescence soles cence ranging from to tons six more are authorized britain has 15 capital ships in the same category plus the 42 ton hood and nine other boats underway last japanese report in 1930 showed 10 capital shop ships none over tons and three un ier der construction vague rumors since then indicate about five new super dreadnoughts of excessive tonnage treaty or not both britain and the U S feel obligated to maintain a 5 5 3 ratio even though the worlds third largest sea power sets the he pace agriculture though the house approved an agriculture appropriations bill of which is for soil conservation benefit payments the he measure was far more signify signi fl cant ant for two exclusions 1 parity not included in the trend how the wind is blowing WEALTH WESTWARD Fleeing g european war scares in gold largest consignment on record arrived in new york on the S S manhattan MATURING UNIONISM in 1938 U S labor strikes dropped 50 per cent and union membership hit a record high of reason given by the labor department transition in management employee relationship FARM HEADACHE more than 40 per cent of the U S farm income for 1938 went for debts and taxes agriculture department fugures show EARNINGS DOWN standard statistics company reports the net income of 1898 corporations was 42 per cent under algul a presidents original budget but tossed in anyway was a grant for or parity payments but no financing was provided and the house seemed economy bent rather nather than resort to unpopular processing taxes the tha house voted against parity winning disfavor of the potent farm bloc and a victory tor for the president who insists extra budgetary needs must be met with deft definite nite taxation agriculture lead ers hoped the senate would restore parity even so BO an embarrassing situation apparently lay ahead with no money glum dirt farmers saw only one way to pay off the govern ment loans on which they have pledged bushels of wheat the way to default making tho the U S the worlds largest wheat own owner e r 2 cotton another rejected amendment called for to develop domestic markets and sub foreign exports this obviously referred to the plan president t roosevelt broached a few hours earlier to spend between now naw and august I 1 by paying producers a bale on bales for releasing their govern ment held loan cotton for or sale on the world market though the 1939 1930 crop will otherwise swell govern ment held surpluses to bales congressional economy apparently won said virginias rep alff ton woodrum we might as well repeal tho the budget and the accounting ac count act and let pandemonium and at ad chaos reign meanwhile tar far in the future southern cotton farmers saw relief in the revolutionary cotton developed at texas A M colleges experimental college said to produce nn an overlarge over large oil rich seed without detracting from the grade of the th e lint the now new product made farmers wonder if cotton be raised exclusively for oil whose price Is fairly constant transportation among other things U V S railroads blame high taxes bad business and unfair competition from other media for their present plight labor blames the railroads themselves most people geiple blame a mixture of geographical economic and political factors in which every blodys hands are partially soiled when railroading reached a crisis cri sa last autumn and congressional aid became imperative a flock of panaceas arose ranging from the hastings plan to the substantial bills of burton K X wheeler and Cali fornias clarence F lea both management and labor pressed their particular cases and after two months of haggling the issue seemed little nearer a solution the latest voice is that of joseph 13 eastman interstate commerce as commissioner EASTMAN A guiding hand commissioner who told the house interstate commerce committee that the government must at least assume leadership and apply some form of compulsion whether mr eastmann East mans will be the guiding hand remains to be seen but his com ments menta were at least clarifying after attacking the apparent reluctance to consolidate or ordinate coordinate co as waste ful practices and after refusing to recognize any benefits from greater freedom to increase inc rense rates the member outlined a few high points for rail recovery 1 the government should give concessions in taxation and relief in connection with grade crossing elimination and reconstruction of bridges over navigable waters 2 elimination of rate concessions to the government would save about a year 3 all important forms of transportation por tation should receive equal and impartial regulation preferably ably under direction while the house sped passage of a bill to facilitate voluntary rail reorganizations mr eastman pointed out that creation of a new reorganization court would delay rather than facilitate matters ills his alternative give charge of reorganization duties people a douglas fairbanks ex movie star has been ordered to return refunded by the U S on income tax payments in 1927 17 28 23 29 europe few observers doubt that adolf hillers Hit litt lers ambition Is restoration of the prewar pre war hapsburg and empires most agree also that his next step will be capture of the free city of danzig now under league control and the adjacent corridor which Is polands bolands Po lands only outlet to the baltic sea that ger many will get these conc concessions concepsio essio ns without a fight Is further evident because danzig la is already 90 00 per cent c e n t N nazi a zi P poland ol 01 a n d moreover m or e 0 v e r apparently n p p patently a r ent ly y r recognizes eco g n lz e s h her er f futile u t il e po position s 1 and Is ready to move into the german orbit rather than join a french russ rusa alliance permitting soviet troops to cross clogs her soll BOIL though german ambassador hansi clivon ll Ivon von moltke has assured a assur e d po P 0 DANZIG ANZIO bah balk cS ea jW LITHUANIA y EAST PRUSSIA GERMANY W POLAND CORRIDOR 1 DANZIG AND POLISH CORRIDOR next on int 1111 lers list land of 0 germanys germanas Germ anys good intentions nazi press notes like these sound suspiciously like the start of another campaign field marshal goering Goerl Is essence national Zel tung polish attacks on germans in pole territory are an intolerable strain on the german polish treaty of friendship democracies pull tile the strings string sl similar allegations regarding german minorities nori ties preceded recent nazi invasions in austria and czecho slovakia deutsche Deutsc lio the paper advised poles to continue coll collaborating with germany and not to listen to foreign sirens lost lest the results not be advantageous the foreign sirens ll 11 are obviously france and britain whose failure to back up protection promises the post past year will undoubtedly force poland to seek german mercy labor the unhappy plight of U S employer employee relations may bo be due either to 1 the wagner labor relations act or 2 american federation of labors battle with congress of industrial organizations like an impatient school teacher both congress and the white house have resolved to end this squabble the white house by sponsoring A F ot of L LC C 1 I 0 pence peace talks congress by a amending mending the wagner act when april 11 was chosen starting date for senate committee hearings on wagner amendments labor peace talks were in full bloom but so strong are the work ingmans feelings about the proposed changes that many a peace advocate thought hearings might have been delayed until labors warring factions either make up or draw swords to amend the wagner act congress can pick from four sets of proposals all opposed by C 1 I 0 three of them submitted by coherent factions with special interests 1 by massachusetts sen david 1 I walsh obviously favored by A F of L which opposes all other proposals curtail the national nal labor relations boards power to invalidate union contracts require NLRB elections by craft rather than by industrial du units permit employer petitions for elections permit appeals appeal in representation cases 2 by Ne braskas son sen edward R burke and supported by the potent strike weary national Ass association ocla of manufacturers require that NLRB have representative from labor 0 1 management and the public outlaw deduction of union dues from pay envelopes outlaw coercion by either employers or unions establish code of unfair labor practices for unions as well as employers pl forbid strikes unless a majority of 0 employees approve require all union officials to be U S citizens permit transfer of unfair labor practice charges from NLRB to federal district court 3 by Or egons sen rufus hol hoi man to split duties administrative and power would be vested in a labor relations commissioner final decisions would be made by a nine member labor appeals board 4 by Kentuck ys sen M M logan supported by the national grange and other farm groups to extend exemption of agricultural workers under the wagner act to processors and packers of tarn farn produce miscellany figured by new yorks rep bruce barton that the stock market usually gains when president roosevelt goes or vacationing usually falls when he goes on a speak ing tour 0 willed by the late chicago jew harris goldman that his 32 year old congregational daughter will receive one seventh of his estate valued alfrom at from to if she marries in the jewish faith within r year that otherwise she will receive only 5 0 scheduled fur for congressional approval the highly controversial gov rn mental reorganization bill compromised to remove most of last years objection |
