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Show WEEKLY ISfWS ANALYSIS BY JOSEl'Il W. LaBIME Is 'Real War' Coming at Last? Hitler's Speech Viewed as Signal For Bitter Drive Against Allies (EDITOR'S NOTE When opinions are expressed In these columns, they are those of the news analyst and not necessarily of this newspaper.) by Western Newspaper Union 1 INTERNATIONAL: C J Large and Answer The comments ef a Catholic prU mate in late January seemed destined des-tined to touch off a one-two-three sequence that would lead Europe to a real war. At the Vatican, August Cardinal Illond reported that his primacy of Poland was the scene of mass shooting, shoot-ing, religious persecution and other atrocities by Nazi Germany. Adding Add-ing its two-bits worth, Poland-in-exile charged from Paris that Germany Ger-many had executed 18,000 Polish leaders. These things, true or not, made Berlin downright mad, insulted and vengeful. Diego von Bergen, ambassador am-bassador to the Holy See, protested two months of fighting, in addition to unestimated tanks, horses, trucks and miscellaneous supplies. Finland's Fin-land's first major aerial offensive was assigned to Italian pilots flying Savoia-Merchetti bombers, who raided raid-ed an unnamed Soviet naval base. (In Moscow, Italy was warned against joining the Anglo-French war bloc. Likewise, Norway and Sweden were warned not to aid the Finns. Nevertheless Never-theless every conceivable aid short of a declaration of war was being rushed from these countries. U. S. participation participa-tion was evidenced by (I) assignment of American volunteers to a legionnaire legion-naire unit, and (2) arrival in Norway of at least 11 American-made pursuit planes.) The Balkans In the Ealkans where Rumania, Turkey, Greece and Jugoslavia met to plan a mutual defense bloc, dissatisfied dis-satisfied Hungary opened a bitter press campaign for the return of Transylvania, ceded to Rumania after the World war. CONGRESS: Farm Fight Sped through the house were drastic dras-tic slashes in such items as postof-fice, postof-fice, treasury, emergency defense and independent offices. Reason: Congress would tickle an economy-minded economy-minded nation by avoiding new taxes or an increase in the national debt, thus safeguarding itself in an election elec-tion year. In the senate appropriations appropria-tions committee there was mild balking at these economies, but they were destined to pass with minor adjustments. But when congress struck the farm bill it found a hot potato. President Pres-ident Roosevelt asked $788,929,519 in his budget, making no mention of the much-demanded $225,000,000 for farm parity payments. Bluntly the house appropriations committee slashed $154,530,000 from the budget ($72,678,000 for surplus commodities. ' , ) .'( : VSCrl--,- '" , J I A" 1 r t I I - V'' 1 I il IILOND AND VON BERGEN Did the Vatican start something? In vain. German executives in Poland Po-land like Arthur Greiser, Arthur Seyss-Inquart and Hans Frank made speeches and gave interviews, the general theme being an admission of stern measures against "chauvinistic "chau-vinistic agitators" and sterner measures meas-ures against Polish Jews. But atrocities atroci-ties were denied; all reprimands, they asserted, were designed to make everybody happy. Adolf Hitler didn't bother to explain; ex-plain; he merely raved against his enemies. Occasion was the seventh anniversary of his rise to power. In his speech Der Fuehrer: (1) promised prom-ised continued friendship with Italy and Russia; (2) tried to "pep up" Germany's war morale; (3) attacked at-tacked Britain as usual; (4) attacked at-tacked France, which was not usual; (5) announced the "real war" was about to start. (London interpreted the speech as a surrender of hope that the allies might somehow be split. Italians heard Hitler Hit-ler with indifference, perturbed because be-cause he spent more time polishing apples ap-ples with Russia than with Italy.) Western War In Britain, where a cold wave and fuel shortage had made bigger news than the war, Adolf Hitler's declaration declara-tion suddenly struck home. Waves of Nazi bombers swept down the coasts for the second consecutive day, destroying (according to Berlin) Ber-lin) 19 ships. Just as France's Premier Pre-mier Daladier had warned a few hours earlier that total warfare would start soon, so did Britain's Neville Chamberlain indirectly hint at the same thing when he made a speech containing strong overtures toward neutrals like Japan and the U. S. (Japan was still protesting British seizure of 21 Nazi sailors from a Jap steamship. But she had more serious troubles closer home. Russo-ap boundary bound-ary discussions broke down, indicating the Manchukuoan-Mongolian war may start again soon. Also broken down was electric power. Reason: Fuel shortage.) Northern War In the Soviet-Finnish war, Russia's manpower and resources were being drained by defeat on five fronts. Helsingfors estimated officially that 250,000 Red troops had been lost in LABOR: Convention' s End Denounced were President Roosevelt, Roose-velt, Vice President Garner, Democratic Demo-cratic Hopeful Paul McNutt, Labor Secretary Frances Perkins, the Republican Re-publican party and Democratic majorities ma-jorities in both houses of congress. Flayed was the National Labor Relations Re-lations board and the house committee com-mittee now investigating it. Tabled were 47 resolutions endorsing President Pres-ident Roosevelt for a third term. Handed to the omnipotent union executive ex-ecutive board (whose powers remained re-mained uncurbed) was the right to endorse whatever Democratic presidential pres-idential candidate it chooses, and to support him with union funds. This done, John Lewis sent his United Mine Workers home from Columbus. They had served him well: They had given him an audience audi-ence for his startling speech denouncing de-nouncing the President; an opportunity oppor-tunity to launch his presidential . campaign for Montana's Sen. Burton Bur-ton K. Wheeler; a carte blanche to ladle U. M. W. campaign funds into whatever coffer will best serve his purpose. JUSTICE: Anti-Trust Restraint Since last autumn Trust Buster Thurman Arnold has secured indictments indict-ments against 519 persons, 124 corporations, cor-porations, five trade associations and 34 labor unions, carrying on a popular popu-lar campaign against combinations in restraint of trade. Considerably enlarged over last year, Arnold's division is operating on a $1,300,000 budget but is still too small to prosecute prose-cute all cases now scheduled. When budget estimates were prepared pre-pared last autumn he asked for $2,208,000 for the 1940-41 fiscal year. Instead the budget bureau granted $1,209,000 or $100,000 less than Arnold's Ar-nold's current appropriation. All efforts ef-forts to get the fund increased have met with opposition in the economy-minded economy-minded house appropriations committee, com-mittee, despite the fact that Arnold's division will probably collect $6,-000,000 $6,-000,000 in fines during the current year. Unless his fund is increased, observers believe the anti-trust campaign cam-paign is apt to bog down. PEOPLE: 'Glub' In New York John Barrymore celebrated cel-ebrated the Broadway opening of his play, "My Dear Children," with a night club party. When he found awaiting him both his daughter, Diana, and his estranged fourth wife, Elaine Barrie, he chose the latter. Stomping out angrily, Diana shouted denunciations on "that woman." When reporters asked Miss Barrie if this was a reconciliation, she answered: an-swered: "Ask John." Said the cocktail glass: "Glub." It was good publicity. PENSIONS: 3,700 Checks Mailed from Washington late last month were 3,700 checks to workers and their dependents in 48 states, constituting the first monthly benefits bene-fits from U. S. old age insurance. Recipients: Wage earners over 65 who have retired, their wives, wid ows, children or dependent parents Highest checks were $42 for mar ried couples 65 or over, though the average is $49 for married couplet id ?26 for unmarried workers. WALLACE AND JONES The patient was half dead. $49,975,000 for sugar benefits, $25,-000,000 $25,-000,000 for farm tenancy loans) and sent it to the floor. In the ensuing argument 1940's entire en-tire economy drive seemed destined to rise or falL Secretary of Agriculture Agri-culture Wallace was highly critical. He asked for a permanent scheme of subsidies, pointing his argument by suspending the cotton export program. pro-gram. Next he hinted the house could expect "political reprisals" if it dealt too severely with the farmers. farm-ers. Most incensed was Texas' Rep. Marvin Jones, who argued all afternoon after-noon after the appropriations committee com-mittee presented the revised bill unexpectedly, un-expectedly, giving the farm bloc no chance to prepare its defense. Said he: "It's pretty bad to perform that big an operation without letting us see the patient until he is half dead . . ." Failing in the house, farm leaders planned a fight in the senate to restore re-store the cuts. Also in congress: C. The senate foreign relations committee com-mittee heard Jesse Jones express doubt that private investors would subscribe to a Finnish bond issue, as suggested by Mississippi's Sen. Pat Harrison. Probable outcome: An Export-Import bank loan for non-milltary non-milltary supplies. C. House hearings: (1) Labor board committee, which heard NLRB defended de-fended by its chairman. Warren Madden; (2) ways and means, which discussed the reciprocal trade act. G. O. P. opponents of Secretary Hull, who fathered the act, dug back 11 years to prove he has changed his mind about tariffs. (Michigan's Senator Sen-ator V andenberg introduced a bill providing pro-viding for a foreign trade board to replace re-place both congress and the administration adminis-tration in framing trade treaties.) C Michigan's Rep. Frank Hook inserted in-serted statements in the Congressional Congres-sional Record purporting to show that Texas' Rep. Martin ("un-Amer-icanism") Dies had been in collusion collu-sion with a fascist "Silver Shirt" leader. When Hook's informer admitted ad-mitted the charges were based on forged papers, the house demanded an apology. C President Roosevelt celebrated his fifty-eighth birthday by asking congress con-gress for $7,500,000 to build 50 smalltown small-town hospitals as an experimental program to tetter the nation's health. |
