| Show WEEKLY NEWS ANALYSIS BY JOSEPH IF labine U S ships may be registered under european neutral flags in effort to circumvent law EDITORS NOTE when opinions are expressed in these thee columns they are arc those of the news analyst and not necessarily of thi this is newspaper I 1 released by western newspaper union MARITIME neutrality having fought for and having won cash and carry neutrality the united states promptly sought ways to circumvent it while american vessels and seamen loafed along the waterfronts water fronts crafty minds were thinking up at least two ways of maintaining maritime traffic despite neutrality 1 chartering foreign ships a perfectly legal method used 4 A I 1 V MINISTER BRENNAN the president sympathized sympathised by black diamond lines inc 2 registering U S ships with other nations also legal but carrying a few potentially unpleasant implications with its next mec meeting ting still a week away the maritime commission was almost certain to refuse requests for transfer of some 90 U S vessels to central or south american registry when the idea was first broached president roosevelt supported it later after getting a ice lecture from secretary of state cordell hull he told reporters that the more he thought about it the more convinced he became that it right reason it would place sister american republics in a neutrality position different from our own loud as the complaints of american ship owners were vere those of lesser european neutrals whose thriving U S commerce was stopped by the neutrality law two loudest objectors were eire and belgium the former sent its minister robert brennan to tell the state department that eire should be excluded from the combat zone because she is neutral and will remain so because eire needs U S products because eire believe V U S ships would be endangered visiting her ports belgium sent her ambassador count robert van der ponthoz ponthou to inquire about transferring U S ships to belgian registry certainly commented the president objections to latin american transfers prevail in the case of european neutrals like ireland it was a pretty sate safe guess therefore that U S ships may soon sail under european flags EUROPE the war gone like sudden sunshine on a cloudy day was the belgian dutch effort to make peace between bet veen hitler and the allies and after the sun came threats of rain for it ended the last hope of armistice there was still much saber rattling such as winston Chur chills speech calling der fuehrer a cornered maniac but the foes were ready to start slaughtering sea and air warfare went ahead precipitously one day berlin announced by inference that henceforth all british french merchant men would be torpedoed reason all armed next day after a successful but pointless air attack on the shetland islands berlin warned it would show the british what it means to be at war var with germany in 72 hours 11 ships were sunk one a british destroyer britain for her part sank two nazi merchantmen merchantman merchant men and a U boat the weeks most thought ing news dispatch came from john T whitaker of the chicago daily news who cabled from rome that der Fuchre Fuehr ers rs position looked desperate said whitaker hitler had indecisively retreated after massing troops on the belgian dutch frontier he can pierce the maginot line only by wasting a million men he cant break the british blockade scandinavia opposes him and a strike at the balkans will bring down the wrath 0 of russia and italy ital each of which has his measure conclusion he finds tor for the first time that the cards are arc not stacked against his immediate foe and as he delays confusion and defeatism are inevitable at home finlandia Fin landia leaving moscow without customary diplomatic formalities finnish conferees returned to hel sing tors fors where ani awaiting ting officials already knew they hid had refused to grant russian demands immediately the soviet press began a withering anti finnish campaign which could only be a prelude to armed action first Mos cows claimed finland was on the brink of economic ruin but Helsing fors quietly replied the finns could get et along next the soviet news agency tass accused finnish ruling circles of fostering anti rus sian policy Helsing fors answered by announcing there would be no resumption of conversations CRIME capone who killed cock robin was never a greater ogreater mystery than who killed edward J chicago racetrack owner whose assassination in early november set off the biggest gangland witch hunt since alphonse Alphon sc capone went to prison in 1932 reasons the murder came just before capone was released and was known to have associations with capone two theories to date 1 that as interim manager of the capone gambling syndicate was rubbed out because he refused to turn back the reins when scarface al was to be released 2 that was slain by dissenting capone mobsters who feared feare d he would return the reins to scarface al the deeper federal and city in investigators vesti gators probed the mystery the more complex it became the more embarrassing too especially for one judge eugene J holland of chicago municipal court who was associated with in a real estate enterprise officials wondered if there could be any connection between this and the fact that only 28 of the chicago gambling cases JUDGE HOLLAND embarrassed handled by judge holland in the past 15 months had resulted in convictions vict ions two days before capones calones Ca pones mysterious release in philadelphia a 21 year old named russell stoddard was held by los angeles police after r a mysterious stabbing not only did lie he claim to be a former 0 hare bodyguard but officials found in his possessions a letter indicating that stoddard knew who killed COURTS 5 to 4 only two tivo years have passed since franklin roosevelt sent the senate his first nominee to the supreme court Alaba mas sen hugo L black since then one by one have come liberal stanley reed liberal felix frankfurter an and d liberal bill douglas with only four roosevelt appointees the nine man court was still theoretically anti new deal this month died justice pierce butler 73 acar old conservative a catholic from minnesota when his successor is named the new deal will vill have an undisputed liberal majority w which will last at least another generation among possible ie successors bors observers listed another mida midwest t Ct catholic holic frank murphy |
