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WEEKLY NEWS ANALYSIS BY JOSEPH W. LaBINE
Higher Liquor Tax Considered
To Finance Defense Program;
Election-Year Levy Unpopular
(EDITOR’S NOTE—When opinions are expressed in these columns, they
are those of the news analyst and not necessarily of this newspaper.)
Released by Western Newspaper Union.
CONGRESS:
Budget Blues
What Franklin Roosevelt’s budget
message tossed into the congression
al lap was a choice of following his
recommendations and getting a def
icit of only $1,716,000,000, or defy
ing him and making it about $3,000,-
000,000. Slashed were most items,
but boosted to a peacetime record
was national defense. If the Presi
dent’s ideas are followed, and if
previous authorizations are appro
priated, the cost will run well over
$2,000,000,000.
Very shallow was the hope that
an early European peace may obvi
ate the defense program. It ap
peared, instead, that congress must
enter an election year trance and
decide which plan the public would
swallow the easier: More taxes,
to raise $460,000,000 as the President
asked, or a boost in the national
debt limit?
Within a few days it was obvious
that good Democrats were sparring
for time. They gathered in huddles
to wonder where tax money might
be raised, tentatively settling on new
liquor taxes and a slight boost in in
come levies. Mississippi’s Pat Har
rison, chairman of the senate finance
FSHKMHL I w*
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PAT HARRISON
Will John Barleycorn pay?
Committee, publicly doubted wheth
er the defense program was justi
fied, yet he shied away from criti
cizing the President. Finally, with
White House blessing, he sought
more time by asking a joint legis
lative committee to study the Roose
veltian budget. But congress, ap
parently refusing, turned instead to
that hardy perennial, the anti
lynching bill.
Notes
In an election year, congress and
politics are intimately associated.
Many G. O. P. comments were
forthcoming after the President’s
budget message. Samples:
<L At Topeka, 1936 G. O. P. Candi
date Alf Landon thought this about
the slash in expenditures: “If the
President really is serious in his
budget plans, you will hear howls all
over the place. He couldn’t get the
nomination now if he wanted it. He
is too smart a politician to try it.”
C At Chicago, Ohio’s Sen. Robert
Taft accepted the President’s chal
lenge to submit a plan for balancing
the budget. The Taft Plan: (1) de
termination by the President to bal
ance it; (2) elimination of bureaus,
reduction of employees; (3) return
of relief to states, and changes in
housing, agriculture and loan agen
cies; (4) elimination of local works
grants, reduction of federal public
works and reduction of subsidies;
(5) elimination of budget “pets,”
like army and navy items.
NIBLETS
HERE’S WHY— At Moscow the
magazine Communist Internationale
explained, in answer to foreign re
ports that Russia had ambitions to
“Sovetize” Finland: “Russia’s only
aim is to free Finland from a gang
of oppressors and imperialistic war
mongers and to safeguard Finnish
democratic development.”
CASEY AT BAT— At Washington
and Canberra it was announced
simultaneously that the U. S. and
Australia will establish diplomatic
relations for the first time. (Pre
viously, Britain represented Austra
lia here.) First Australian minis
ter will be Richard G. Casey. Soon
to be named is the U. S. minister to
Canberra.
SPENDTHRIFT—Of her $25,750
personal allowance for 1939, the 16-
year-old Heiress Gloria Vanderbilt
spent only slo—for books.
BANQUET — While Democrats
wined and dined throughout the U.
S. in honor of President Andrew
Jackson’s birthday anniversary, Re
publicans at Indianapolis held a 25-
cent milk and cracker feast honor
ing Abe Lincoln.
SECRET — In Hollywood died
Flora Finch, co-player with John
Bunny in early movie comedies. Her
secret was her age, probably about
80. Her chieftains’ secret: The fact
that Flora Finch’s contract with M-
G-M was regarded by the bookkeep
ing department as a pension for
an old trouper.
BALKANS:
Squabbles
Before 1940 has gone its way the
brave nation of Rumania may see
trouble a-plenty. It started that
way. Bucharest heard that Bul
garia, its unfriendly southern neigh
bor, had signed a trade pact with
Russia, which wants the Rumanian
province of Bessarabia. Next King
Carol heard that Hungary’s Count
Stefan Csaky, whose nation will seize
Rumanian Transylvania if Russia
invades Bessarabia, was conferring
in Italy with Foreign Minister Ciano.
A political realist, Italy’s Benito
Mussolini knows the Balkans have
a better chance of blocking Russian
aggression (which would also hurt
Italy) if they settle their squabbles
in advance. Purpose of the Ciano-
Csaky conversations, therefore, was
to urge Hungary and Rumania to
settle their revisionist problem im
mediately. In so doing, Il Duce
took a hearty slap at the Soviet.
So did King Carol. Encouraged
to defend Bessarabia now that the
Finns are doing a remarkable job
against Russian aggression, Carol
and his retinue crossed into this dan
gerous province, defied Moscow and
smiled while Bessarabian minority
leaders shouted: “We pledge our
lives for our beloved Rumanian fa
therland.”
ASIA;
Wang’s Ready
“The time is now ripe for establish
ment of a new central government in
China. Careful study reveals that the ob
jectives of Wang Ching-wei are consonant
with Japan's manifest efforts toward help
ing in the formation and expansion of the
proposed new government.”
Thus, after much back-slapping,
brow-beating and tutoring, Puppet
Wang Ching-wei was announced
ready to take over Japan’s make
believe “government” in conquered
parts of China.
THE WARS:
Shakeup
Far bigger than the war on
France’s western front was the bat
tle of London. Called to a cabinet
meeting by Prime Minister Neville
Chamberlain was Leslie Hore-
Belisha, dynamic, Jewish minister
of war who has built the British
army from a stodgy and antiquated
organization into one of the world’s
smartest. Minister Hore-Belisha
was asked to sign his resignation.
Also fired was Lord MacMillan,
blundering minister of information.
Announced purpose of the shake
up was to establish national unity.
MT W V
HORE-BELISHA
Social grounds?
Neville Chamberlain did just that:
There was national unity, but it was
unity of opposition to the “sacking”
of an efficient war minister in fa
vor of Oliver Stanley, the 43-year
old board of trade president whose
father (seventeenth earl of Derby)
was a war minister in World war
days.
By next morning every British
paper, regardless of political lean
ings, was blasting against the gov
ernment. Typical was the London
Star: “If it is shown that Mr. Hore-
Belisha was thrown overboard to
satisfy a clique of generals who dis
liked him on social grounds, or be
cause he was pressing the pace of
democracy in the army too strongly,
then public resentment will be wide,
deep and lasting.”
To both Hore-Belisha and the
Prime Minister an opportunity for
rebuttal was coming, but it would
probably take place behind closed
doors in the house of commons.
Meanwhile it was rumored that
Winston Churchill, first lord of the
admiralty, would soon follow Stan
ley as war chief.
Other war news:
Western Front. Minor artillery
fire. Entertainment by the fabulous
Albert, French airman whose daring
antics along the Luxembourg fron
tier keep natives in stitches.
Northern Front. Finnish destruc
tion of still a third Russian divi
sion (the forty-fourth) near Suo
mussalmi at Finland’s waistline.
Fighting was stalemated in the far
north and on the Karelian isthmus,
but in the central part Finnish troops
penetrated Russ lines to dynamite
the Leningrad-Murmansk railroad,
thus isolating the northland.
BAKER COUNTY NEWS
NAVY —ls President Roose
velt’s $1,224,521,833 naval appro
priation request (See CONGRESS)
is adopted, the U. S. will become
the world’s No. 1 sea power, big
ger than Britain, twice as big as
Japan.
RAILROADS— DanieI Willard,
President of the B. & O. railroad,
said he wanted coach fares re
duced to two cents per mile,
thus meeting bus competition.
Present eastern rate: 2% cents.
AGRICULTURE - The tariff
commission was told that imports
of cheap Canadian wheat were
keeping the domestic crop price
below parity, thus threatening the
success of farm aid measures.
SHIPPING— The U. S. warned
Britain it will be held account
able for injuries to American ves
sels or crews taken into belliger
ent ports for searching.
LABOR:
A. F. of L. Damned
By receiving more votes than ei
ther of his fellow members, NLRB’s
William Leiserson was ranked
“least unpopular” in a poll by the
magazine Factory Management.
But all three members (Leiserson,
Warren Madden and Edwin S.
Smith) should be fired, said voters.
This contrasted with a Supreme
court ruling which held congress, not
NLRB, responsible by virtue of too
much power
* g
MRS. HERRICK
“How long, oh Lord ..."
for NLRB's
unpopular
decisions.
Coddled and
cursed by
such conflict
ing testi
mony, NLRB
went on trial
again before
the house
committee
appointed to
investigate
it. New evi
dence:
A discharged NLRB trial exam
iner said that Regional Director
Robert Cowdrill of Indianapolis al
ways speeded C. I. O. cases, but
tossed aside A. F. of L. cases with
the statement: “There’s another
damned A. F. of L. case.” Com
mented the witness: “The A. F. of
L. usually was referred to as the
damned A. F. of L.”
Next came a dramatic paper pre
pared by Mrs. Elinore M. Herrick,
New York regional NLRB director,
complaining about delays in proce
dure. Said her paper: “We must
wait! Wait! Wait! . . . How long,
oh Lord! How long must we wait!*
NAVY:
Netv Boss
<L Cannon roared aboard dread
naughts in San Pedro harbor. Final
ly, after much saluting, six-foot Ad
miral James Richardson from Paris,
Texas, strode down the Pennsyl
vania’s quarterdeck to shake hands
with Admiral Claude Bloch. Admi
ral Richardson stayed as command
er-in-chief of the U. S. navy; Ad
miral Bloch went ashore as a rear
admiral in retirement. Ahead lay
commandership of Pearl Harbor
naval base in Hawaii.
COMMERCE:
Game?
In far-away Buenos Aires took
place a show that may have been
staged for the benefit of the U. S.
congress. Broken off suddenly were
reciprocal trade treaty talks be
tween Ambassador Norman Armour
and President Roberto M. Ortiz.
Reasons given: (1) influence of Brit
ain, No. 1 importer of Argentine
beef; (2) a forthcoming election in
Argentina; (3) refusal of Argentina
to remove discriminations against U.
S. goods, and most important (4)
refusal of the U. S. to import Ar
gentine canned beef and flaxseed
from Argentina without quota lim
itations.
Maybe yes and maybe no, but it
was possible that U. S. insistence on
quota limitations, even at the price
of sacrificing the treaty, was de
signed to allay the fears of western
farmers and their congressmen. Up
for renewal this year is the recipro
cal trade act, basis of the adminis
tration’s entire low tariff program.
Already faced with enough opposi
tion to either destroy the act or give
ratification power back to the sen
ate, the state department is eager
to show farmers that the trade pro
gram won’t be allowed to hurt
them.
PEOPLE:
Datves Death
<L At Chicago died Rufus C. Dawes,
72, president of A Century of Prog
ress Exposition, financier, brother of
former Vice President Charles G.
Dawes.
Last November Son Elliott Roose
velt fathered the Transcontinental
Broadcasting System which first
planned to start operations with 100
stations on December 15, then Jan
uary 1, then February 1. In Fort
Worth, where he heads the Texas
State Radio network, Elliott an
nounced his resignation from TBS.
<L At Boston died Mrs. Effie I. Can
ning Carlton, about 84, who once
made up an impromptu tune to lull
to sleep the restless baby of a neigh
bor. The song: “Rock-a-bye Baby.”
<L At New York, W. Alton Jones was
named head of Cities Service Co.
Sparkle of Diamonds Latest
Fashion Tendency in Jewelry
4* ' ,
~ By CHERIE NICHOLAS
x _____
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'T'HIS should not be the winter of
A your discontent, not when you
can solve the major clothes problem
so simply and smartly as fashion
makes it possible for women of dis
criminating taste to do this season.
If your winter is composed of
many evenings when you like to
dress up a little and a few evenings
when you really must dress up a
Jgt, according to Muriel King, one
of our leading American designers,
the one-gown evening wardrobe
composed of a sheath in either
black or dark crepe or of satin if
you prefer, plus a number of flat
tering blouses will solve the prob
lem nicely. To glorify this costume
with distinctive accent, wear one
important piece of jewelry rather
than a bizarre display of jewels
en masse.
As approved and adopted by
ladies of fashion, the formula calls
for a well-fitted sheath gown (dark
crepe or satin) as decollette as your
most formal evening dates may re
quire. Supplement this with one or
more blouses, sleeves either long or
short, neckline either high or low,
whichever is more becoming. One
pair of slippers will serve several
costumes, but change your hair-do
according to mood and remember
that much depends upon the jewelry
you wear.
The costume centered in the il
lustration demonstrates the propo
sition of the basic sheath gown that
is styled with exquisite simplicity,
its extreme decollette tuning it to
most formal occasion. Accented, as
you see, by a single important jewel.
Brilliants are now used extensive-
Pastel Prints
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The new incoming silk prints
bring the message of soft, lovely,
pastel colorings. Shown here is a
silk spectator sports dress for re
sort wear printed in pale blues and
greens made with classic shirt top
and pleated skirt. This is nicely
contrasted by a wine and natural
colored straw hat.
Jewelry Contrasts
Jewelry in deep tones of the same
color is an effective contrast for
lame evening frocks.
ly, each tiny gem cut with 58 facets
or planes, to catch the light from
angle and focus all the radiance on
you.
For less formal occasion the
gown may be worn with a modish
over-blouse as pictured to the right.
And you don’t necessarily have to
abide by black, for this dinner dress,
by Muriel King, is in bottle green
for the sheath and soft pink for
the blouse. Note the new longer
length for this blouse. The clip
brooch on the bodice is really quite
a jewelry collection in itself, in that
it separates into a diamond-mounted
emerald brooch and two diamond
clips. There is much to be said in
favor of a three-way jewelry piece
like this in that it offers versatile
uses. For other occasions you can
wear a black lace bolero with your
sheath and endless other suggestions
could be offered.
The same sparkle of diamonds
that illumines by night on formal
clothes radiates by day on select
daytime costumes. An outstanding
gesture this season is a single piece
of worthwhile jewelry worn with
your best tailleur ensemble or
pinned at a vantage point on your
fur coat. We are going to describe
the handsome jewelry piece worn
by this smartly tailored debutante
pictured to the left. Here’s where
things are growing exciting for
there’s a watch in the picture and
the question is, where is it? You
suspect some part of the pendant
brooch? Right you are and the
place to look is on the smooth side
of the dangling diamond ball. This
ball reverses toward you on a pivot,
so that your eyes look right down
into the face of time.
The practical side of this pretty
ornament is the fact that you al
most never break your watch crys
tal. You just couldn’t. You’ll see
pendants pinned to all the best
lapels in spring suits.
(Released by Western Newspaper Union.)
Watch Pockets Are
Highly Important
In the realm of dress design
pockets are the center of attrac
tion this season. Now that they have
become the plaything of designers
don’t be surprised to find a pocket
or a whole flock of pockets posi
tioned anywhere on your new dress,
coat or blouse.
The list runs the gamut from huge
saddlebag pockets down to tiny dec
orative affairs that are cunningly
frivolous and whimsical. Then there
are the new peg-top pockets that add
so much style to the newer skirts.
The new pouch pockets are inter
esting, so are the patch-pocket types
in infinite variety. Kangaroo, sand
wich and a host of other type pock
ets you’ll be seeing too, so if you
would be style-alert, watch pockets!
Such fine handwork is being lav
ished on pockets as shirring, tuck
ing, intricate stitching, glamorous
glittering embroidery and so on.
The “pocket dress” (term recently
adopted in fashion vocabulary) has
become the popular theme of the
moment.
Cowl-Shaped Skirt
Late Style Touch
Cowl-like drapery is not limited
to necklines in the elaborately cut
gowns of this season. On an eve
ning frock of white silk jersey the
skirt is cowl-draped from waist to
floor. The bodice of the dress is
gathered in graceful folds slanting
from right shoulder to left waist
line, with the drapery caught at
the center of the bodice by a sweeu
ing wing embroidered in gilt beads
and gold sequins.
Leopard Sailor
The casual, sportsy appearance of
leopard fur is the basis for its selec
tion by a New York designer to
create both the crown and brim of
a trim sailor hat.
HOUSEHOLD
QUESTIONS
To prevent gowns slipping from
wooden coathangers, cover the
hangers with velvet.
* • •
Tips of canned asparagus may
be removed whole if the bottom in
stead of the top of can is opened.
• • •
Give house plants an occasional
feeding of a teaspoonful of bone
meal dug into the earth in flower
pots- * * *
Give your cacti plants all the
light possible during the winter.
Keep in a cool place and in a dry
atmosphere.
• • •
As chocolate burns easily, it is
safest to melt it over hot water.
• « •
When straining the pulp from
liquid such as orange juice, if a
piece of cheesecloth is placed in
side a strainer none of the pulp
can go through.
* • •
Grape Juice With Grapefruit
Two tablespoons of grape juice
added to a grapefruit after it
has been cut gives a delicious fla
vor and a pretty color.
• • •
To remove feathers from ducks,
first pick them dry. This leaves a
down all over the skin. To re
move the down, wring out a large
cloth in boiling water and wrap
it around the duck for five min
utes. Remove the cloth and the
down can be wiped off easily with
a dry cloth.
• * •
Creamy Fudge.— For a smooth
er and creamier fudge, add a tea
spoon of cornstarch to each cup of
sugar used in making it.
* • •
Crusty french rolls, cut diag
onally into slices a fourth of an
inch thick, buttered and toasted,
make a good salad accompani
ment.
Ferry’s I
Zinnia ’’W S
Gorgeous Blooms in
wealthy profusion. Your
yard aglow all summer.
Buy the convenient way
from your dealer’s display.
FERRY’S
, SEEDS
Within Walls
The noblest deeds of heroism
are done within walls, not before
the public gaze.—J. P. F. Richter.
A GREAT BARGAIN
VESPER TEA
PURE ORANGE PEKOE
50 Cups for IO Cents
■L Ask Your Grocer L
Kv ~- i
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^ORD
SAtTIHOIS, MAATIAHD