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Show KAI Aft OREVrPEARSCN Washington, D. C. BRITISH WILL TRADE ISLAND Some of the most important conversations con-versations ever to take place with Great Britain in 150 years have been transpiring behind the scenes re- , cently. As this column has pointed out on several occasions, the support most desperately needed by Great Britain as of this moment is destroyers. To this end, conversations between be-tween representatives of the two governments have taken this course: If the United States will supply Britain with destroyers and small motor-torpedo boats, then the British Brit-ish will transfer to the United States any island possessions it desires any place in the Western hemisphere, and will also permit the United States the use of land, air and naval bases on any territory which it controls. In addition to this, the British have told American plenipotentiaries that the United States can write its own ticket. In other words, if this country coun-try wants other concessions from Britain in return for naval support, it can have them. These terms, transmitted to members mem-bers of the Roosevelt cabinet and to high Roosevelt advisers, have been received most favorably. This includes in-cludes the Republican members of the cabinet, Secretary of War Stim-son Stim-son and Secretary of the Navy Knox. In fact, the opinion inside the administration ad-ministration has been unanimous. However, the President himself has been loathe to move. POLLS UNRELIABLE THIS TEAR Psychological Corporation, one of the leading public poll organizations of the United States, is warning clients cli-ents privately about the reliability of public opinion polls under present unsettled conditions. Psychological Corporation is headed head-ed by Dr. Henry C. Link, who is the originator of the "P. Q." or Personality Quotient, and other psychological psy-chological tests. He is also connected connect-ed with a number of national business busi-ness concerns, including U. S. Rubber, Rub-ber, Lord & Taylor, and Gimbels department store. Psychological Corporation set up the original Fortune For-tune poll and has conducted numerous numer-ous polls in its own name. Despite its long experience, however, how-ever, P. C. will not conduct polls of general public opinion this year. Reason for this is that the war and public reaction to it have set up such rapid cross currents of opinion as to make established polling methods meth-ods unreliable. P. C. will continue to make any poll for which its services are employed, em-ployed, handling each job according to the individual requirements. But on polls where the war enters as a factor, or in regard to political opinion, opin-ion, P. C. will undertake them only on condition that definite predictions will not be made because of incalculable incal-culable rapid shifts of opinion. On polls not involving these factors, fac-tors, which it will conduct as it has similar ones in the past, P. C. makes no reservations. But it definitely is hedging on political polls and is frankly telling clients so. GERMAN PARTNERS Despite the intervention of Arthur V. Davis, chairman of the Aluminum Alumi-num Corporation of America, the justice department is going ahead with its grand jury proceedings against that company and the giant German chemical cartel, I. G. Far-benindustrie, Far-benindustrie, for alleged violation of the Sherman anti-trust law in the production of magnesium. Magnesium is an alloy even lighter light-er than aluminum and is used in the manufacture of airplanes. It was In such demand by Germany for Hitler's airplane program, that Germany paid cash for American magnesium, even when she was desperately des-perately hard up for exchange. Mr. Davis came into the Justice department and offered all sorts of co-operation to the government But the department's anti-trust experts ex-perts figure that it is too late. They have taken the position that when an American company co-operates with Germany to restrict production produc-tion of an important metal, it hampers ham-pers national defense by discouraging discourag-ing American industry in peacetime. The magnesium industry, they figure, fig-ure, should have been developed sufficiently suf-ficiently during peacetime so that it could be expanded very rapidly now in an emergency. It is also their contention that the restriction of magnesium production in normal peacetimes discourages airplane manufacturers from experimenting exper-imenting with this very important alloy and learning to make full use of it. So the grand jury investigation, now in progress in New York, will continue. OS CAPITOL HILL That 41-page symposium of news articles and editorials on Jim Farley Far-ley that Sen. Carter Glass, aged economy-minded Virginian, inserted in the Conpressional Record cost the taxpayers $1,845. The insertion was the largest ever placed in the Record. Rec-ord. Albert H. Losche, 14-year-old senate sen-ate page, has joined the ranks of Washington authors. He ha3 published pub-lished a book of his senatorial experiences ex-periences under the title "Washington "Washing-ton Memoires." |