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Show I WEEKLY NEWS ANALYSIS Truman Ignores Program Setback, Insists Congress Is Cooperating; Approval Seen for Vets' Pension (EDITOR'S NOTE: When opinions are expressed In these columns, they are those of Western Newspaper Union's news analysts and not necessarily of this newspaper.) MEMORY: Ours Is Short To manj who had experienced the horrors of war and who had met German foemen in battle, American policy in Germany was almost maddening. Official approval ap-proval of selection of a group of ex-Nazis ex-Nazis to manage the Ruhr Germany's Ger-many's greatest war-making potentialwas poten-tialwas bringing cries of protest from all over the nation. The grasp of the ex-Hitlerites was reaching farther and farther into Germany's vital affairs and the optimism of the group that their desires would be fulfilled was significant. sig-nificant. Latest manifestation of the trend was a statement by Hans Thomsen, who was the Nazis' last charge d'affaires d'af-faires in Washington, that he and other veteran Hitler diplomats expected ex-pected to resume their careers in the "new Germany." There was no lack of cockiness in Thomsen's stand. Said he: "The new German government cannot get along without the old Wilhelm-strasse Wilhelm-strasse men who know their business." busi-ness." He is now in the banking business in Hamburg. The old pattern was becoming increasingly clear. Smart diplomats, diplo-mats, seeking a rampart against communism, were using this same objective to re-create Germany as a European power a buffer against the Reds. SWALLOWS: Unfailing Legend The old, old legend was unfailing. Always the swallows had come back to Capistrano, and this time they came again. THE LEGEND was fulfilled to the day. Through the long, lazy centuries that the birds have always al-ways been coming back to San Juan Capistrano, their return has always been on the same day each year St. Joseph's day. And this year there was no deviation. devia-tion. On St. Joseph's day the birds came sweeping back at dawn to fly into their homes under the eaves of the historic old mission. "They do not come in huge swarms as some reports have it," an old padre said. "Instead they arrive in small contingents, 50 to 75 at a time." Father Hutchinson, pastor, said that the birds usually leave in July after their young can fly. They travel to nearby canyons to feed where insects are plentiful, he indicated. I Explains Pact " I - : . i Dean Acheson, secretary of state, explains north Atlantic pact at special press conference at the state department. PACT: Reds Burn The Kremlin and its satellites were literally burned up over the north Atlantic treaty alliance. To the Russians the pact was a "deceptive instrument of war aimed against" them. THE CONTROLLED Russian press and radio joined in the clamor, branding the pact as the work of war-mongers trying to wreck the United Nations. The general theme was that the alliance was the "main weapon of the aggressive policy of the ruling circles of the United States, Britain Brit-ain and France." The Russian stew was understandable. under-standable. By this diplomatic coup western powers had managed to abate somewhat the legend of Soviet invincibility among the smaller countries and at the same time to serve notice on the Russians that any further violence or aggression within the pact area would mean war. PRESIDENCY: 'Say It Isn't So' Was President Truman emulating emu-lating the ostrich with the old "head in the sand" technique, or was he naive enough to believe what he was saying? This seemed a fair question when Mr. Truman, despite multiple setbacks set-backs in congress for-his legislative legisla-tive program, declared he and the congress were cooperating and that only "troublemakers" talked of bad feeling between them. MR. TRUMAN had suffered three major setbacks in attempting to have his campaign pledges enacted en-acted into law. He had been blocked on rent controls, appointment appoint-ment of Mon C. Walgren as a key figure in the national defense setup, set-up, and civil rights proposals. But, the President shook off these reverses by ignoring them In a speech to the United States conference con-ference of mayors in Washington. Instead, he told the mayors: "Of course I differ with the congress on some points and where these differences are important I shall continue to urge the course I think is right. "BUT, BASICALLY, the congress and the President are working together to-gether and will continue to work together for the good of the whole country. We are going to agree on a lot more things than we disagree on." Many observers took the view that the President's remarks indicated in-dicated adoption of new strategy in dealing with congress that an attitude of "soft words" might be held more advisable than angry denunciations of the lawmakers. PENSIONS: Who Pays? It was beginning to appear that a veteran's pension bill in some form would be enacted by the 81st congress. Prodded by Rep: John Rankin (D., Miss.), of the house Teteran's affairs committee, the measure under consideration would give veterans of World Wars I and BOGEY MAN: Solons Defiant Figuratively thumbing its col-. col-. Iective nose at the "big man" the United States senate by a vote of 50 to 11 confirmed the appointment of Dr. James Boyd as director of the federal bureau of mines. THE "BIG MAN" was John L. Lewis, leader of the United Mine Workers of America, and he wanted no part of Dr. Boyd in the federal mine regulation setup. The senate action came while Lewis had the pressure on. Lewis' miners were in the second week of a 14-day shutdown ordered by Lewis who termed the stoppage a "memorial" to miners killed and injured last year. Chief speculation concerned the import of. the senate action. Did it mean that government, finally, was ready to clamp down on the dictatorial Lewis and abolish his power as a continuing threat to American industry? It could mean that, if Lewis' mine stoppage resulted in a reversal re-versal of labor sentiment among some members of congress and a really "get-tough" labor law were to be enacted. What Next? j 1 f . ' r - . I I . V' : f! i Coal operators and coal consumers con-sumers were wondering what would be the next move in John L. Lewis' campaign strategy. Lewis, above, had called the miners out in a two-week stoppage stop-page which be described as a "memorial" to miners killed and hurt in 1948. II automatic pensions of $90 a month at age 65. Budget bureau experts contend this would cost the nation upwards of 125 billion dollars dol-lars over the next 50 years, i WHO WOULD PAY the cost of i the pensions? American taxpapers, : of course, and among these would j be all the veterans who might some j day receive the bonus. As one young war veteran put it, "By the ' time I reached 65, I would have gone broke trying to pay taxes to grant me a pension." i That's the viewpoint of some veterans. There are many others : who honestly feel they are entitled to a pension and would readily accept an "installment" tax pay-; pay-; ment period between their present age and age 65 in order to get the i pension. SOME OPPONENTS of the pen-j pen-j sion measure favored restricting j pensions only to veterans of World ; War I, but it was obvious no such ; proposal as this would be enacted. ': There were too many World War II veterans who would oppose that simply on the principle of discrimi- aation, no matter how they might j feel basically about the pension proposal. ! On the first test of the measure, It was almost lost, but swift parliamentary par-liamentary maneuvering saved it from being returned to committee where it might have died a natural nat-ural death. DRAFT: Easing Off Military draft eligibles could relax re-lax Maj. Gen. John E. Dahl-quist, Dahl-quist, army personnel chief, said no more men will be inducted into i the army before July, 1950; and that's when the present peacetime draft act expires. SO. IT SEEMED that the peace-rime peace-rime draft was virtually over, except ex-cept for the possibility of enactment enact-ment of a new act or extension by congress of the present law. However, the national defense establishment es-tablishment hastened to state that General Dahlquist was giving only his opinion that no draft policy has been laid down, and that no one knows what the future holds. IT WAS REGARDED as significant signifi-cant that there have been no inductions induc-tions under the present law since the end of January because voluntary volun-tary enlistments have filled quotas, and army officials have said that budget reductions forced them to cut their proposed strength. THE TERMS OF the pact do not actually say that; but they say something which is the same. That is that pact nations shall construe an attack on any member as an attack upon them all, and even the dumbest Muscovite could understand under-stand what that meant. The treaty, however, was not without its critics at home. John Foster Dulles, slated to be secretary secre-tary of state had Dewey nabbed the presidency, was anything but enthusiastic about the alliance. In fact, Dulles observations on the subject were such as to raise the ire of Dean Acheson, secretary of state, who charged that Dulles was put out because he, Dulles, couldn't get over Dewey's defeat and how he might have been secretary of state himself but for that. RENT CURBS: Outlook Dim Overriding administration recommendations, recom-mendations, the senate voted to let town and city governments abolish rent controls in their areas if the state governors approve. THERE WERE MANY who would discern instantly the political implication im-plication inherent in such a move. In states where governors are permitted per-mitted under law to succeed themselves them-selves and even in states which do not permit this governors are usually concerned with re-election or with naming their successors. Abolition of rent control power could be used as a potent weapon with which to beat recalcitrant voters into line. As anyone familiar with legislative legisla-tive processes knows, organizations organiza-tions are always the most powerful power-ful and effective lobbyists. Landlords Land-lords have a national organization which already has been vociferously vocal at Washington. There has been no organization of renters and tenants, not even at the state or county level. Those who are heard in law-making assemblies are those who are organized and who know how to obtain hearings. And these organizations usually manage to do rather well for themselves. IN WHATEVER FORM the bill finally emerges from the senate, it must go to a conference committee In order to iron out differences between be-tween house and senate versions. States righters would herald the local option features of the control bill with elation and landlord groups would find it easier to attempt legislative pressure in their own back yards. |