Newspaper Page Text
By Edwar
Pickard
© Western Kewspat>cr Union
Franco-British Peace Plan
Stirs Up a Big Row
P REMIER LAVAL of France and
Sir Samuel Hoare, British foreign
secretary, seem to have made an aw
ful mess of things with their plan to
end the Italo-Ethlopi-
an war. As was ex
plained last week, they
proposed that Italy
should he rewarded for
ceasing Its invasion ot
Ethiopia hy receiving
about two-thirds of
that hapless country,
in return for which
Emperor Halle Se
lassie was to be grant
ed a seaport. As the
callousness of this
plan dawned on the
world, angry protests were heard ev
erywhere. The English people were
so aroused that Prime Minister Bald
win’s government was threatened.
Still worse was the plight of Laval’s
ministry, for Eduard Herriot, leader
of the powerful Radical Socialists, at
tacked the premier’s policy as Inimical
to the League of Nations. His party,
Herriot declared, favors settlement of
the war by conciliation, hut only on
the following conditions: First, it must
be freely accepted by both parties, and
second, the method of conciliation
must be compatible with the covenant
of the league and the principles of
collective security and must he ac
ceptable to the league.
Placed before the league council, the
pence plan was assailed hy represent
atives of the smaller European nations
which fear they, too, might he similarly
sacrificed In the future; and Mexico
am*, other Latin American nations also
signified that they disapproved it.
Halle Selassie strategically demanded
that the league assembly pass upon the
proposals. Mussolini took them under
consideration, asking that they be
•‘clarified”; hut the Inspired Italian
press said the plan would give Italy
less than her armies have conquered
in the Tlgre, “only sand” in the East
and South and a zone or influence
where host I le Emperor Haile Selassie
would reign.
Throughout the whole matter ran
the mysterious threads of secret Eu
ropean diplomacy and one could only
guess at the real motives of those
concerned. It was supposed Baldwin
and his British cabinet were weaken
ing in the matter of sanctions against
Italy because they feared Mussolini
would resist hy force of arms and
would do tremendous damage to the
British fleet in the Mediterranean with
his powerful air force. Laval, of
course, was still trying to preserve
both his political position and the new
Franco Italian friendship. Mussolini
seemed satisfied for the present to
keep everyone else terribly worried.
A dispatch from the Italian front re
veals the Interesting fact that Henry
Ford can teled the contract for 800 cars
for tlu> Italian army and thereby, ac
cording to Gen. Rttdolfo Graziani,
greatly slowed up the Invaders on
their march toward Addis Ababa.
Republican Convention
Awarded to Cleveland
C LEVELAND Is the place and June
!) the date selected for the Repub
lican national convention of 1936. The
national committee heard arguments
on behalf of Chicago, Kansas City and
Cleveland, and then decided on the
Ohio city, largely for political reasons.
Gov. Alf London of Kansas and Col.
Frank Knox of Chicago both being po
tential candidates for the nomination,
It was thought wise to hold the con
vention In neutral territory. Ralph E.
Williams of Oregon, vice chairman of
the committee, was made chairman of
the committee on arrangements. Dele
gates to the convention will number
997, or 157 fewer than in 1932.
The national committee concluded its
session with an invitation to conserva
tive Democrats to join with the Repub
licans in the effort to oust the Roose
velt administration.
Gov. Talmadge Announces
His Candidacy
U NLESS Eugene Talmadge, the fiery
governor of Georgia, changes his
mind, the Democratic national conven
tion isn’t going to he the mere Roose
velt renomination love feast that ad
ministration supporters had intend
ed It should be. Talmadge went to
Washington and there boldly an
nounced that he would be a candidate
for the Presidential nomination. He
declared the Democrats would lose the
election If they put Roosevelt at the
head of their ticket again, and de
nounced the President as an “usurper”
in the party.
The governor also announced that
a convention of the “southern Jeffer
sonian Democracy" would bo held In
Atlanta the last week in January for
the purpose of formulating a program
to battle the New Deal and President
Roosevelt.
He added: “The southern and bor
der states have 300 votes in the Dem
ocratic national convention. It takes
hut 367 votes to block the nomination
of a President. We are going to bring
a lot of delegates to that convention."
Asked about his views on the Town
send plan, providing for the payment
Eduard
Herriot
of $200 monthly to all persons more
than sixty years old, the governor said
he was opposed to any pension plan
except one for Incapacitated veterans
of the World war. He favors pay
ments of the soldiers’ bonus out of the
$4,800,000,000 works relief appropria
tion, he added.
James A. Reed Bolts the
Roosevelt Camp
J AMES A. REED, former senator
from Missouri and long one of the
more prominent Democrats, Is an
other who will not support Franklin
D. Roosevelt for re-election. He said
in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, that if the
President were renominated he was
prepared to vote for the Republican
nominee provided the latter is pledged
to stand hy the Constitution and Amer
ican fundamentals.
“In so acting and voting,” said Mr.
Reed, “I shall continue to be a real
Democrat. My democracy shall not be
taken away hy any one man or group
of men who have attained office by
posing as Democrats and who have
turned out to he enemies of all the
Democratic party has advocated in the
past and which the real Democrats of
the United States still cherish.”
Senator Lewis Is Willing
to Be Re-Elected
S ENATOR JAMES HAMILTON
LEWIS, returned to his Chicago
home from a trip to Russia, during
which he was critically ill in Moscow,
appeared to be entirely recovered, and
declared he was willing to serve an
other term ns senator from Illinois if
his party wished if. He was emphatic
in classifying himself as “an independ
ent Democrat,” who had, on occasions,
opposed the will of the President and
some of the administration’s plans.
Senator Lewis disclosed his plans
for a personal campaign for reduction
of federal expenses hy drastic consoli
dation of governmental agencies. The
$30,000,000,000 federal debt Is a mat
ter of deep concern to him, he asserted.
Masaryk Wishes Benes to
Re His Successor
'T'HOMAS MASARYK, one of the
A really great figures brought out by
the World war, has resigned as presi
dent of the republic of Czechoslovakia
which he founded. He
is eighty-six years old
and wearied hy a life
time of work to re
vive and govern the
old Bohemian nation,
so In a solemn cere
mony in the historical
palace on a hill above
Prague he abdicated.
Masaryk declared lie
considered it his. duty
to help in the choice
of a new president,
known that he favored
for the post Foreign Minister Eduard
Benes, his close associate in the cam
paign for the independence of five
country.
The chief executive of Czechoslo
vakia has a difficult task, for he must
control the Nazis In the German mi
nority districts, the Fascists among
the Slovaks, the Hungarian irridentists
among the Hungarian minority and
the Communists who are agitating in
all the industrial centers of the coun
try. Mazaryk believes Benes could do
this better than anyone else.
Eduard Benes
and let it be
Calles Returns to Mexico
and Trouble Results
pi.UTARCO ELIAS CALLES, nne-
* time “iron man” of Mexico, has re
turned there from his exile in Califor
nia with the apparent intention of dis
puting the rule of the country with
President Lazaro Cardenas. In order
to prevent a military coup against the
government, Cardenas dismissed Gen.
Medina Veytla ns chief of the mili
tary zone of the Valley of Mexico and
Gen. Joaquin Amaro as director of the
national military school. Both were
among the supporters of Calles, as
were five senators who were previous
ly expelled on charges of rebellious
and seditious activities.
The administration's next move was
to oust four state governors.
Most leftist labor organizations lined
up with the president, more than two
score of them petitioning the gov
ernment to expel Calles as a “Fascist
threat."
Japanese Troops Seize
Another Chinese City
S TILL further tightening their grip
on North China, the Jnpanese sent a
big detachment of troops with machine
guns to Kalgen, Chahar province, the
interior gateway on the great wall. The
soldiers seized the vital railway yards
and closed all city gates. About the
same time armed forces of the east
Hopei autonomous state which Japan
supports took possession of Tanh.ku, the
strategic seaport of Tientsin. These
two movements gave Japanese and
Japanese-sponsored forces control of
both ends of a 2(X)-mile line extending
through Chahar and Hopei provinces,
from Kalgan down through Helping,
ancient capital of China, and Tientsin,
important commercial city, to Tangku
and the sea.
T.\ KVKRY town nml village
* The b«‘ll» do ring#
O’er woods and kvhhh and tillage.
Hoy dint? n ding,
ItiiiKliiK lor Joy to start the week attain.
And oall nil Christian inon
To pray and praise and siiiR*
Then pull your ropes with vlRor,
And wntch your ways
To tliread with strictest rlp,or
The noisy tnnsr.et
Keep in your heart the fire of youth
alittlit.
That lie who ring:* nrittht
May ring; in happy days.
And we «vho hear the hells ring
With all their nilttht*
As they do say the aiitt'els sing
Ilotli day and nlttht.
Praise we the men who built our belfries
hittli
That music from the sky
Mlttht sound for our delittht.
—Steuart Wilson In “The tiueen.**
BEGINNINGS §
AGAIN
By Maria Leonard, Dean of Woman,
University of Illinois
nwseweesess
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THE
NEWSBOY’S
GREETING
By FRANCES GRINSTEAD
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I T WAS a frosty morning in the days
of Franklin stoves. The paper
carrier, a small boy wrapped in
a red and black striped muffler, his
nose and eyes showing beneath a cast
off plush cap of tils father’s, and wear
ing a nondescript coat once big broth
er’s, slipped in the door of the hard
ware store with an armful of news
papers. He blew his cold breath in
the chill air ami held his hands to the
rapidly heating stove.
Only then did he muster nerve to
fish in the coat pocket hanging near
his knees, and to proffer, with the
morning paper, a New Year’s card
elaborately printed in two or three
colors of ink, and decorated with a
variety of borders, rules and sizes and
styles of type.
Tliis he offered shyly, with a re
treating motion toward the door. The
hardware dealer glanced over his
spectacles, looked at the greeting as
If surprised, and exclaimed: “Well,
well, Henry, but this is nice. Thank
you—and here’s a dime.”
Henry left the stove's Increasing
warmth with more haste than usual,
44 T WOULD love to live my life
I again,” said my dear little old
lady friend of ninety-four years,
during the last of my regular visits
to her, as she died within the month.
“Live almost a century again,” said I,
almost catching my breath at the
thought. “Yes," said she, “for I love
life, 1 love it dearly.”
Living our lives again—we cannot
make a brave new
start at the begin
ning of each year.
New Yenr's day is
inventory day,
when with mental
reserve we should
take physical, men
tal and spiritual
stock of ourselves.
At this time of cat
aloguing we must
not let discourage
ment nor conceit
look over our shoul
ders and over
shadow us, for
either brings our
balance wrong,
are measured eter-
goal. Our improve
ment, not our result, marks our prog
ress. The effort put forth in our striv
ings, measures us quite as much as the
things for which we are striving. Suc
cess in life must be estimated in this
way. Life is an expert bookkeeper; we
get back what we put in, our balanced
statements show, plus the dividends
of loving kindness and true understand
ing.
Our Cheerful Cherub knew the se
cret when he said:
One pave hie only coat away,
And his heart was like warm gold,
Another drew his fur coat close
But his heart grew still more cold.
“One true measure of success,” one
modern philosopher said, “Is the ratio
between what we might have been and
what we might have done, on the one
hand, and what we are and what we
are doing on the other.”
Let us watch ourselves throughout
the (new) year at our dally work,
whatever It be, to see that our Initia
tive does not lose Its creative spark,
and degenerate Into mere routine, for
this is the reason why the world is
mediocre and gray, Benjamin Frank
lin advises—“If you have two loaves of
bread, one under each arm, sell one
and buy a hyacinth for your soul.”
In a word, this coming New Year Is
a chance to begin again. "Expect every
thing, and some of it will happen.”
© Western New spaper LTnion.
He Glanced Over His Spectacles as
If in Surprise.
In order to make tils New Year’s call
upon Miss Mattie, milliner and deal
er in thread, needles and buttons
With her and with others on his route
—from the mayor to the grocer and
blacksmith—he left the daily paper
and a copy of the annual work of art
from his editor’s printshop, convey
ing in lines that rippled with eio
quence the paper carrier’s hope thm
his patrons would wax prosperous and
maintain a state of general good health
“throughout the glad New Year.”
Each of his customers would ex
press an agreeable surprise and e
gratifying knowledge of what was ex
peeted, responding with gifts tha
ranged from the hardware man’s dirm
to the mayor’s fifty cents.
Among the samples of work dom
which printing offices so seldom throv
away, there must rest many examples
of the carrier boy’s card of thirty f<
fifty years ago. It was a widespread
custom.
Under the dusty eavesof one printshoj
has lain a carrier's card that will sooi
round ont Its century of aging yellow
ness. The 120 lines of the “poem" it
bears deal with the fleeting charac
ter of Time, present the merits of
Henry Clay over William Henry Har
rison, and end with this verse:
The Ladies Fair! God bless them all.
Will raise the swelling lay
And help us onward roll the ball—
The ball for Henry Clay.
Thus when you revel In your hall.
Midst mirth and laugh and Joy,
At how you nobly "rolled the ball,"
Think of the Carrier Boy.
© Western Newspaper Union.
What the New Year Holds
The New Year has a lot in store for
us, if we can manage to get It out of
the store.
do, hut we can
Life’s purposes
nally, not by our
WASHINGTON
DIGEST/
BY WILLIAM BRUCKART
NATIONAL PRESS BLDG.
WASHINGTON. D.C
Washington.—In our discussion last
week of the problem facing the new
session of congress,
Bonus space was devoted
Will Pass to the Townsend
$200-a-month old age
pension plan. Next to the Townsend
plan, probably the hottest potato con
fronting the administration and con
gress is the soldiers’ bonus. It Is on
the doorstep and one not to be dodged.
Unless all signs fail, congress will pass
a bill providing for immediate cash
payment of the bonus—and I’resident
Roosevelt will sign it.
At the present time the total num
ber of bonus certificates in force is
approximately 3,500,000. They have an
aggregate value of about $3,500,000,000.
But from time to time congress has
enacted legislation permitting the vet
erans of the World war to borrow
money from the government on these
certificates and figures supplied by
the Veterans bureau here Indicate that
these loans total about $1,700,000,000.
Thus It is made to appear that if con
gress provides for immediate payment
of the bonus and the President ap
proves, there will be a new drain on
the treasury of approximately $1,800,-
000,000. While there is no connection
directly between the Townsend plan
and the soldiers’ bonus, the two pro
grams are linked in one way: each
proposes to take money out of the
federal treasury.
Withdrawal of further money from
the United States treasury for what
ever purpose becomes an important
question at this time because our na
tion now shoulders the greatest debt
it has ever known. Within the last
week, the treasury has borrowed an
additional $900,000,000 and at the samp
time it refunded about $480,000,000
more. Refunding is simply paying off
one bond by issuing another so that
the financial transaction in the middle
of December involved almost $1,400,-
000.000 and when that job was com
pleted the debt of the United States
reached a new peak of $30,500,000,000.
or $240 for every man, woman and
child of our 130,000,000 population.
Now, $240 may not seem like much
of a debt for each person to assume
but its payment—and debts have to be
paid—devolves not upon 130,000.000
people but upon a considerably less
number. The national debt, therefore,
must be considered from the stand
point of the burden it places upon a
comparably small number of people—
those who pay the taxes.
* * *
Payment of the bonus or the Town
send old age pensions necessarily must
...... . j, add to that debt.
Will Add While there are
to Debt many authorities
who insist that the
national debt can go much higher with
out impairing the value of the bonds
the government issues, the fact can
not be disputed that any additions to
the present financial burden reduce
the possibility of early payment of
that debt.
Then, the question of its mainte
nance becomes important. The debt
bears interest which must be paid
every year. On the present basis, the
interest on the national debt alone ap
proximates $750,000,000 per year and
that interest results from probably the
lowest rate we will see for many
years. Indeed, the chances are that
any future borrowings or refundings
will have to be accomplished at inter
est rates higher than the government
now is paying and that means, of
course, an increase in the annual in
terest charge.
Whatever the merits are of either
the Townsend old age pension plan
or the cash payment of the bonus,
the fact remains that congressional
approval of either one or both neces
sarily means the piling up of addi
tional debt. I know that the Town
send plan supporters contend that the
old age pension can be made self-sus
taining but it is a physical impossi
bility for it to be self-sustaining in the
first few years of its life and that obli
gation necessarily must be assumed by
the treasury. There is no provision
whatsoever for raising the money with
which to pay the soldiers’ bonus. It
will be simply a cash outlay by the
treasury if congress orders it done and
the treasury either must have new
taxes or must borrow the money. There
is no possibility now that either con
gress or the President will propose
seriously the laying of new taxes to
meet the bonus payment because,
after all, 1936 is an election year and
President Roosevelt is seeking re-elec
tion.
• • •
fight is one revealing consistent opp
r? , . , sition by Presiden
t ought by to lts paymei
4 Presidents From the time
was first proposed
congress in the administration of Prt
ident Harding, no President thus f
has been willing to support it. Hard
ing, Cooiidge, Hoover and Roosevelt,
up to this time, have fought payment
of I be bonus in a lump sum. Each had
his own reasons but each reached the
same conclusion, namely, that it
placed too much of a drain on the
treasury and consequently too mticn
of a burden on the taxpayers of the
country. Each President has held it
to be class legislation—appropriation
of funds of all for the benefit of a
few.
With the advent of the Roosevelt ad
ministration and its New Deal poli
cies many recommendations were made
and acted upon appropriating money
from the general treasury for the use
of a single class. The public works
and relief funds, appropriated to keep
people from starving, falls within that
category. No one disputes the neces
sity for feeding the destitute; no one
argues against providing food, clothing
and fuel for those unable to care for
themselves and no one can take issue
with the fact that when states and
cities were unable to care for their
destitute, the federal government was
compelled to step in. Nevertheless,
general funds were used for a limited
number of the population.
That fact is probably the most in
fluential at the present time when the
soldiers’ bonus and the Townsend old
age pension problems are before con
gress. With few exceptions, I have
found representatives and senators say
ing that it is difficult to reconcile sup
port for the gigantic relief appropria
tions and at the same time refusal of
support for the other two.
The Roosevelt administration like
wise finds itself in difficulties in ex
pressing any opposition to the soldiers’
bonus because of the admitted waste
that has gone on. It has added more
than $8,000,000,000 to the national
debt since March, 1933, and the most
friendly ol’ administration critics ad
mit the wastage has been substantial.
* * *
Speaking of the administration’s
political efforts to maintain or in-
, crease party strength,
Campaign Washington observ-
Plans ers are now con
vinced that the Pres
ident will depend upon the South and
tlie West for re-election. . L ’ these ob
servers are correct in their analysis of
the early campaign methods, Mr.
Roosevelt is trying to align agricul
ture and labor as the foundation stones
for a vote victory. It is a most inter
esting circumstance, politically. It is
the first time it has been attempted
by the “ins” and it will add some
thing to the knowledge of politicians
if it works satisfactorily.
Heretofore, attempts have been made
many times by the "outs” to align la
bor and agriculture to defeat the party
in power. It has always failed. So
that if it can be accomplished by the
party in power, there will have been
demonstrated how the use of public
money combined with favorable legisla
tion of a class character can be em
ployed to maintain control of the gov
ernment.
Tiiere is every reason to believe
that "Big Jim” Farley, postmaster gen
eral, chairman of the Democratic Na
tional committee and chairman of the
New York State Democratic commit
tee, is not hopeful of winning the East
with the possible exception of his
home state of New York. Of course,
Mr. Farley will not admit the truth of
this statement nor will any of his
subordinates make a confession that
the East is turning against the Presi
dent and the New Deal. Such an
admission would wreck state organiza
tions of his party, so he glibly insists
that Mr. Roosevelt will carry as many
states as he did In 1932 but the under
current of events and plans of the
Democratic national committee Indi
cate otherwise.
• * •
The success of the administration’s
plan to mold agriculture and labor
into a cohesive po-
Sleepy Rtieal framework is
Republicans going to turn large
ly on what the Re
publicans do. Thus far, it can be
said that the New Deal plans for align
ing labor and agriculture are moving
forward quite undisturbed. The rea
son is the sleepiness and cowardice of
Republican leadership. It has done
nothing on this score showing either
initiative or courage. Of course, the
Republican strategy appears to be one
of delay in order to avoid an early
counter attack irom the New Deal but
political observers here—men who have
studied politics for a quarter of a cen
tury and more—fail to understand why
tiie Republican National committee is
not active in raising money for the
forthcoming battle.
If the Republicans expect to make
an appreciable dent in the New Deal
armor, they must go to the country.
If they expect to hold the East where
business leaders admittedly are anti-
New Deal, the argments why they
should adhere to Republican policies
must be advanced continuously. If
they expect to make any gains in the
•Middle West or in the Pacific coast
area, their side of the story must be
told to the voters. As I said earlier,
little if anything is being done in this
direction—so little in fact that an un
biased observer fails to see how Mr.
Farley’s statement that Mr. Roosevelt
will carry as many states as he did in
1932 can be disproved.
It is generally understood ttiat a re
organization of the Republican Na
tional committee will take place very
soon.
© Western Newspaper Union.