Show weekly news analysis roosevelt peace bid may delay spread of european conflict by joseph W la bivie EDITORS NOTE when opinions lons are expressed in these columns th they e are those of the news analyst and n not at necessarily of tin this s newspaper international mounting trouble new war threats were spreading fast the day franklin roosevelt acted the situation was especially explosive in the balkans and th eNear east turkey had seized the ger man owned krupp shipyards at istanbul harbor see photo above s ousted more than nazis and announced a sabotage plot against the turkish navy had been nipped russia fortified her turkish bor border d er fear fearing ing a thrust against her oil resources greenes Gree ces premier jo john metaxas warned solemnly that his nation was being drawn into wars meshes making particular reference to the british french troop concentrations cent rations along dussias Rus sias near eastern frontier about colonial british troops from new zealand and australia originally bound for the western front were dropped instead at suez sues and dispersed to near eastern posts there seemed a general direct direction iod to this agitation even italy long an enemy of turkey was reported framing a trade pact with istanbul drawing rome closer to turkeys friends france and britain italy is already close to the balkan entente which over the week weekend end had wooed and won bulgaria away from russian influence it all meant that southeastern europe and the near east were being mobilized either 1 for defense against threatened soviet german aggression or 2 R A HOUSE AND WELLES A repetition of 1916 tor for an allied sponsored drive against the russian oil wells which are supplying germany supplies will come faster than ever now because the reich and soviet signed a trade pact whereby moscow will swap oil and ores for german machinery chiner jr peace bid peace was already in the air when franklin roosevelt acted A few days earlier there were persistent rumors that the reich would offer peace terms to the League of nations economic committee meeting in the hague but this was 2 lous compared to franklin roose belts action unexpectedly as is his publicity wise wont he announced that undersecretary of state sumner welles would leave immediately to visit berlin rome london paris and neutral centers seeking a meeting ground for peace presidential critics frowned remembering the last time a democratic chief executive deaths in the lord tweedsmuir governor general of canada and author of many books william E dodd former U S ambassador to germany ex pro fessor of history at university of chicago most rev dr edward J byrne archbishop of dublin and roman catholic primate of ireland henry gordon oldest alumnus who died five days after he passed the century mark 4 Y aa 4 0 GERMAN OWNED KRUPP SHIPYARDS AT ISTANBUL did this give the president an idea sent warring europe such an envoy that was in when woodrow wilsons Wil sons col edward house failed io win i I 1 a ce but brought home instead ste a d the makin makings of U S embroilment ment in tle the war the president did two more things he ordered his special envoy voy to the vatican steelman steel man myron C taylor to get g going 1 at once in the hope he could work tor for peace then he addressed the pinkish american youth congress for the first time denouncing publicly the soviet invasion of finland he also took a light slap at adolf hitler anti were quick to criticize this meant sumner welles would visit european capitals whose rulers already knew on which side of the fence the U S administration stood on the other hand however why was it sinful for the president of a christian democracy to criticize the rape of finland within a few days reactions began trickling in from europe most nations were interested france even expected adolf hitler to postpone his scheduled western front offensive until after peacemaker welles has come and gone the wars northern front united press webb miller left the finnish front for the first time in more than two months sending an uncensored dispatch from stockholm high points li 1 dussias Rus sias isthmus drive was at last bogging down 2 fast foreign planes were arriving in large numbers to aid the finns 3 plans are already underway to blackout the nation with bog fires next summer W 4 the russian army is not so slovenly as most of the world believes western front french frontier posts bombarded the germans with loudspeakers blasting propaganda CONGRESS new taxes Forwar forwarded dea to the president was the first evidence of congress rebellion an emergency national defense bill from which had been lopped about of six appropriations measures handled thus tar far a total of had been cut the latest being a item from the billion dollar naval expansion program but it was the same old story of house slashes and senate restorations the independent offices bill was passed by the senate after restoring of the approximate deducted by the house meanwhile agitation grew for senate additions to the farm bill from which the house had cut bOO not only did the farm bloc want this money restored it also wanted for parity payments an item from which the president has kept hands off it if these tactics continue leaders see little hope of avoiding the tax levy which will be necessary if the national debt limit is not to be raised also in congress C athe the reciprocal trade treaty act was approved tor for continuation by the house ways wayt and means committee tee II if passed it would let the administration retain the right t to 0 make trade pacts without congressional consent C the seriate senate foreign relations committee still working on a bill to aid finland by boosting the export im port banks working capital planned to pigeonhole pigeon hole proposals for an economic embargo against japan since china would also get a loan it if the export import bill were adopted japan would be slapped anyway sentiment also grew tor for the proposal to let finland purchase military supplies with the money she has paid on her war debt meanwhile ne braskas sen george W norris asked the nation to impose moral embargoes on japan and russia C L passed by the house and forwarded to the senate was a bill authorizing thor izing the president to place nearly federal patronage appointees poin tees under civil service fl testifying before the house committee mi investigating the national labor relations board chairman J warren madden of NLRB admitted he had given the boards regional directors a short course in how to influence congress against amendments in the wagner act as proposed by the A F of L agriculture tobacco ban sorely hurt were american tobacco farmers when great britain slapped a ban on imports of U S leaf reasons 1 britain needed her ships cargo space for war supplies 2 britain was wooing turkey which also had tobacco for sale after several weeks of negotiations secretary of commerce harry hopkins announced he thought the ban would soon be lifted britaina Brit ains action was no violation of the reciprocal trade treaty it was decided therefore no protest was possible on these grounds but mr hopkins figured the british government had to do something to halt the declining revenues from import duties and to replenish declining stocks in british warehouses whether this announcement was based on wishful thinking or actual negotiations no one but mr hopkins could tell but observers wondered how britain could be expected to turn against turkey at this stage of the diplomatic game POLITICS G 0 P up front having named chicago as their convention site democrats took a back seat to the republicans in mid february the G 0 P launching its attack with a coast to coast series of lincoln day speeches meanwhile washington hummed with ac as the republican national committee met to choose its convention site chances being to I 1 that chicago would get the bid possible convention dates G 0 P june 18 democrats july 2 providing a rousing july fourth celebration which might end in franklin roosevelt Roosevel ts I 1 s ASIA new crisis what may be the prelude to a new oriental crisis took place in tokyo during mid february japan government announced abrogation of its arbitration treaty with the netherlands leading observers to believe she ma may be contemplating expansion into dutch dominated south pacific moreover there was continued talk of abrogating the worthless nine power pact guaranteeing chinas cainas territorial integrity meanwhile japanese economists figured out the cost of war in china since this hapless conquest started july 7 1937 the government has spent most of it for the army with this news as a starter the fast growing peace bloc had other fodder to work with verified was the report that chinese artillery had sunk a japanese transport in the yangtze river killing men this took place within the japanese controlled part of china where a new chinese army based below the yangtze Yang tze is reported virtually unopposed RELIGION guild revival pope plus XI once recommended revival odthe of the guild system which governed european craftsmen during the middle ages this month 16 U S prelates pr elates of the catholic church tried it again in a 34 page statement men t titled the church and the social order the prelates pr elates asked for a guild system which will bind men together in society according to their respective occupations thus creating moral unity pungent comment it is manifestly impossible to expect good economic order it if wages pric prices es working conditions and the public good are left to chance or to the haphazard methods of so called free enterprise COURTS omnipotent NLRB earlier this winter the U S supreme court opined opened that the wagner labor acts chief trouble was not in its administration by NLRB but rather in the excessively broad scope of power delegated b liy y congress to NLRB this month without saying as much the high court intimated again that something ought to be done reviewed was a circuit court ot of appeals decision which reversed an NLRB ruling case involved the waterman steamship company and r was the outgrowth of A F of L C 1 I 0 friction it was the old story of company favoritism toward A F of L and NLRB favoritism toward C 1 I 0 but that was beside the point the supreme court ruled that federal courts have no right to substitute their own judgment for that of NLRB a decision which left NLRB so powerful that congress will probably be jarred into clipping wings YOUTH pinkish congress mrs franklin D roosevelt its best friend was in the audience when the american youth congress opened its convention in washing ton As the congress made news so did eleanor roosevelt first shock came when the convention ejected the first ladys first cousin young archibald Roosevelt Jr when he attempted to introduce a resolution condemning dussias Rus sias ih invasion of finland this gave credence to the common belief that the congress is pinkish but mrs roosevelt will not be 1 v 4 MRS ROOSEVELT her cousin was peculiar lieve it said she of her first cousin 41 1 I think it is peculiar to get up in a meeting with an arranged program and say 1 I want to speak next day the Roosevel ts began a two day campaign to straighten out their young friends the president denounced russia see international his wife said she knew all the arguments in favor of the soviet invasion having heard them theroa the from her communist friends V BH 1 she still thought americas thies should be with finland still true to its pinkish past the congress con congress giess adjourned amid cheers yells and stomping for continued american neutrality NAMES ibi the news fl 41 A syracuse N Y university student analyzed speeches of great men finding the pronoun 1 I used once every 53 words by adolf hitler once every 83 by benito mussolini once every words by franklin roosevelt once every words by neville chamberlain C 4 the senate approved president Roosevel ts nominations of marriner eccles as federal reserve board chairman and chester davis as a board member 41 fl at detroit it was reported archbishop mooney had warned rev charles E coughlin radio priest against controversial broadcasts on political and racial topics at the vatican it was admitted the development brought no displeasure 41 at cairo the egyptian government announced its queen farida is expecting the birth of a second child late in march fl L ex president herbert hoover addressing chicago jewry pictured the highlands of central africa as a refuge for victims of war and persecution fl L at miami humorist george ade reached 74 comment this birthday very welcome but I 1 guess it cant be avoided fl i at washington the justice delai 0 ment announced its civil liberties division would investigate jersey cites mayor frank hague fl L william dudley pelley anti silver shirt leader connected with the forged letters that were used in an attempt to smear rep martin dies un americanism investigation was jailed in washington for parole violation on request of north carolina fl sworn in as new assistant navy secretary was lewis compton ot of new jersey released by western newspaper union |