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Show Washington, D. C. APPEASEMENT MOVE It is no secret that for many months one of the foremost appeas-ers appeas-ers in Anglo-American circles was the ebullient and able Joseph Patrick Pat-rick Kennedy, U. S. ambassador to the court of St. James's. Joe has felt that if war continued, the present pres-ent capitalistic system would crack; that it would be better to accept a semi-defeat now than lose all later. Until recently, however. Ambassador Ambas-sador Kennedy has been pretty much alone. Now, however, reports have reached the war and navy departments de-partments of an appeasement move inside high British financial circles and inside the admiralty. How far this appeasement attitude atti-tude prevails is almost impossible to ascertain. However, the indisputable indis-putable fact is that such reports have been made officially, and here is the substance of what they contain: con-tain: 1. British naval officers, close up to the war, heartsick over losing vessels every day, struggling desperately des-perately to stave off invasion, are wondering whether they are not, after aft-er all, really fighting for the United States; whether after the Battle of Britain is over, England, even if un-invaded, un-invaded, will not be helpless, leaving leav-ing the United States with her navy intact ready to reap all the economic eco-nomic and strategic advantages of the war's aftermath. 2. Furthermore, even if England is able to prevent invasion this fall, British naval and military strategists strate-gists doubt very much, whether the United States will be willing to send bombers and attack planes to her help next spring when the fight will begin all over again. British Factories Damaged. 3. There has been much more damage to British factories than the news indicates. And as this destruction destruc-tion daily mounts into millions, British Brit-ish financial leaders figure it will take years for Britain to rebuild her economic empire. Meanwhile all markets will be lost to the United States. This is the sentiment which prevailed among Dutch bankers and which led to the surrender of Holland. Hol-land. 4. Furthermore, there have been talks in Wall Street by Nazi business emissaries which lead British business busi-ness men to believe that the United States may make a deal with Hitler. So some British tycoons wonder whether they should not do likewise, perhaps even get there first. 5. Finally there has been some underground criticism of Prime Minister Churchill for bartering away British bases in the Western hemisphere. But even more important, impor-tant, the admiralty was very impatient im-patient over the slowness in transferring trans-ferring 50 destroyers which the British Brit-ish sea-dogs believe are of no value to the United States and which spell life or death for England. The fact that these destroyers were delayed, when the British navy believes (and Willkie has virtually said) that it is fighting also for the safety of the United States, has caused deep resentment re-sentment in the admiralty. Churchill Will Fight On. To get the other side of the picture, pic-ture, however, it should be noted that none of this sentiment exists in the mind of Churchill or any of his cabinet. The Churchill government govern-ment has made it clear in conversations conver-sations with the Roosevelt administration adminis-tration that it is working toward long-term co-operation with the United States. Furthermore it is probable that about 90 per cent of the British publicperhaps pub-licperhaps even 99 per cent is determined de-termined to see the war through to the finish. They do not trust Hitler and figure that any half-way peace would only put them in the present desperate plight of France. WILLKIE AND PRESS Gifted with a keen news sense and not afraid to talk, Wendell Willkie Will-kie is popular with the reporters covering him. Now and then, however, how-ever, he speaks his mind regarding something written about him. Greeting one newsman, Willkie barked, "You've been writing some fiction about me." "Well," replied the reporter with a grin, "you're quite a fictional character." Willkie laughed and said no more. STENOGS In July of last year, the government govern-ment hired 430 "female" stenographers stenogra-phers and typists. In July of this year, the number was tripled 1,500. The various defense agencies are calling for stenographers so fast that old-line agencies are losing some of their best and speediest workers. Executives returning from August holidays find their stenogs in defense work at higher wages. The turnover is tremendous. The Civil Service commission "certified" no less than 3,000 stenographers and typists in a recent month. And more thousands are moving up on the Civil Service lists. When the lists were closed for one exam, at mid-August, the total of applicants had reached the amazing figure of 135,000. NOTE Salaries paid by the government gov-ernment are: for senior stenographer, stenogra-pher, $1,620; for junior stenographer $1,4-10; for senior typist, $1,4J0; for junior t.vpist. $1,2G0. |