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WEEKLY NEWS ANALYSIS BY JOSEPH r. LaBINE
Balkans Safeguard Neutrality
As Nazi-Russian War Menace
Hovers Over Northern Europe
(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. _
Peace Moves in the Balkans—at a Glance
^^99
CIANO
Starter.
'T'WO unrelated but parallel ef
forts originating in London and
Rome are converging in Belgrade,
Jugoslavia, on February 2, when
Balkan states meet to discuss neu
trality and self-defense against Rus
sia. The efforts:
Roman. Count Stefan Csaky of
Hungary, which has revisionist
claims against Rumania, met re
cently with Italian Foreign Minister
Galeazzo Ciano, who urged Csaky
to seek peace with Rumania as a
defense against Russian aggression.
In answer Rumania said nothing,
but it was intimated King Carol
would be ready to cede land to Hun
gary after the European war. A
few days later he met secretly with
Prince Paul of Jugoslavia, whom
Italy has been encouraging to serve
as intermediary between Hungary
and Rumania.
j* ।
PAUL
Mediator.
THE WARS:
Two Into One?
Peace hovered over the Balkans
(see above), but it found little wel
come elsewhere. The “Oslo group”
(Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark,
Norway and Sweden) was in deeper
water than at any time since Sep
tember. Overnight close to a mil
lion Belgians and Dutchmen were
rushed to the 300-mile frontier, be
cause German troop concentrations
were reported on the other side.
No one doubted Adolf Hitler would
like these tiny lands; from Nether
lands he could bomb Britain at close
range, and from Belgium he could
throw a flank attack around the
Maginot line. Berlin scoffed at such
rumors, but why else had Nazi air
men made reconnaissance flights
over the -Low Countries?
Denmark was unmenaced for the
moment, but Joe Stalin was turning
the screws on Norway and Swe
den. Russian planes offered no apol
ogy for bombing a Swedish island;
in fact both Stockholm and Oslo
governments were warned against
violating their neutrality by aiding
Finland.
It was easy to see behind this
joint Russo-German action. For sev
eral months northern European neu
trals have been a thorn in the sides
of both Stalin and Hitler. They have
bothered Hitler by accepting the
British blockade and looking unkind
ly at Russia, whom the Nazis now
consider a “friend.” Scandinavia has
bothered the Soviet, in turn, by send
ing aid to beleaguered Finland. Ob
servers had good reason to fear,
therefore, that Europe’s two wars
may soon merge into one free-for
all.
In the West
Increased tension placed Britain
and France on guard. All leaves
were cancelled and air activity in
creased precipitously. Nazi planes
N AMES
in the news . . .
C. At New York, G-Man J. Edgar
Hoover announced seizure of 18
“Christian front” members charged
with “conspiracy to overthrow, put
down and destroy” the U. S. govern
ment.
<L At Washington, Minnesota’s 32-
year-old Gov. Harold E. Stassen was
boomed as keynoter for the 1940 G.
O. P. convention.
C, At New York, died Ralph Hitz,
famed chain hotel manager.
C. At Washington, Democratic Hope
ful Burton K. Wheeler (D., Mont.)
got a "kiss-of-death” invitation to
address John Lewis' United Mine
Workers at their anniversary con
vention in Columbus, Ohio.
<L At Mexico City, President Lazaro
Cardenas announced (1) his govern
ment's refusal to recognize the Mon
roe doctrine, and (2) its intention
to solve the oil problem (involving
expropriation of $400,000,000 in for
eign-owned oil properties) in its own
way.
<L At Topeka, Kansas’ Gov. Payne
' MU S
CSAKY
Complainer.
Allied. Should the western front
be permanently stalemated, France
and Britain might have to invade
Germany via the Balkans. Already
lined up is Turkey, and through that
nation the allies hope to win co
operation of other states. No. 1
problem child here is Bulgaria,
which, like Hungary, has revisionist
claims against Rumania. Even as
King Carol was talking with Prince
Paul, Turkey’s Foreign Minister
Sukru Saracoglu had an emissary
in Sofia discussing Balkan neutral
ity with Bulgaria’s Foreign Minister
George Kiosseivanoff.
Result: A European anti-Nazi,
anti-Soviet bloc may arise from
these carryings-on. First sign came
from Turkey, which has always sus
pected Italy. Suddenly Ankara pa
pers turned about-face and hailed
Mussolini.
| i
|o9Bk ’
SARACOGLU
Co-operator.
cruised 500 miles down the eastern
English coast on reconnaissance
flights that unnerved civilians. Next
day the allies claimed successful
flights over distant Prague and Vi
enna. But nothing happened to
break the quiet that hung over Sieg
fried and Maginot. Both sides, ap
parently, were waiting for the other
to slip.
In the North
There was no such polite warfare
between Finland and Russia. The
tide of victory, which superior land
activity has placed in Finnish hands
since last December, suddenly shift
ed as the Soviet began a systematic
bombing campaign to demoralize its
foe. Unless Italy, Britain and
France can rush more planes to Fin
land (which is exactly what Russia
and Germany are trying to stop),
the Finns will probably be defeated
by April 1.
UTILITIES:
Bonneville Steel
Critics of the New Deals power
program used to scoff when Secre
tary of the Interior Harold Ickes
told about the commercial electricity
prospects at such U. S. dams as the
Bonneville, Oregon, project. Last
month Harold Ickes made the critics
eat those words by signing Alumi
num Company of America to a 20-
year contract at Bonneville. Hardly
had this cooled before Bonneville
came forth with a new idea. Why
not establish a small iron and steel
plant in the Columbia river area,
producing iron and finished steel for
the west coast local market?
PAN AMERICA:
Neutrality
While U. S. naval officers were
grumbling about their patrol duties
in the winter-swept Atlantic, the in
ter-American neutrality committee
met at Rio de Janeiro. Purpose:
To make the 300-mile neutrality belt
around the Americas more effective,
preventing recurrence of the Graf
Spee, Columbus and Orion incidents.
Plans:
(1) An agreement to prevent bel
ligerent craft from obtaining sup
plies or making repairs in a Pan-
American port once they had com
mitted belligerent acts inside the
safety zone.
(2) An accord to keep submarines
outside the zone except under emer
gency, when they must rise to the
surface.
(3) A Pan-American code of neu
trality, to be followed by all nations.
Many Americans, who see their
government paying most of the
freight for the neutrality patrol,
viewed the entire proceedings as
rather futile and inequitable. But
not the department of commerce.
Released were figures showing the
gain in exports to Latin America,
last November having brought $38,-
986,000 in sales against $23,310,000 a
year earlier. This item was most in
teresting; if the U. S. continues
safeguarding hemispherical neutral
ity, will it continue upward? Equally
important, will this increase justify
the neutrality expense?
Hr”?- W'
1 * HI
bl jb
CAROL
Defender.
IMF' "91
|r'♦J
KIOSSEIVANOFF
Another complainer.
BAKER COUNTY NEWS
Winter Vacation Comes Into Its Own
As U. S. Succumbs to ‘January Blues’
By ARNOLD PETERS
(Released by Western Newspaper Union)
CHICAGO.— This is the sea
son when northerners —
from city and village alike—
look glumly at gray skies and
old snow. It’s the time when a
few southerners grow weary
of winter weather that is just a
repetition of summer.
There’s only one explanation: It’s
January.
And there’s only one sure cure:
A winter vacation!
Three strange and unrelated de
velopments have placed American
sand, sea and snow in the lime
light this year. It’s the biggest win
ter vacation year we’ve ever seen,
and that applies to the entire na
tion.
First there’s the war. Wealthy
vacationists who once wintered on
the Riviera and points east are stay
ing home this year. For the first
time they’ve discovered that to “see
America first” is really a practical
idea.
Two Weeks Off—With Pay.
Second, the winter vacation is no
longer a rich man’s luxury. Over
night John Public has discovered
(if he’s an office worker) that he
can take his two weeks off in Janu
ary as well as June, and with no
extra expense. If he’s a northern
farmer with just a few miscellane
ous chores around the homestead,
he’ll find it almost as economical to
head south for the winter. The va
cation spots are catering these days
to plain folks like you and me, who
haven’t a lot of money to spend.
Third, there’s a refreshing new in
terest in outdoor sports. Fishing,
horseback riding, swimming, skat
ing, skiing—all the thrills of a win
ter or summer vacation are acces
sible in January if you’ll look for
them.
Outdoor Sports Boom.
It isn’t many years since we holed
in for northern winters and envied
the southbound birds. Nowadays
the winter resorts do a thriving
trade all the way from New Hamp
shire’s hills to Oregon’s famed Tim
berline lodge on Mount Hood. The
swish of skiis vies with the ring of a
skater’s heel on crisply cold land
scapes whose silence is broken only
oy the shouts of happy sportsmen.
A great life, this, with its moon-
Billings Follows Trade
He Learned in Prison
SAN FRANCISCO. - A few
blocks along Market street from
the scene of the 1916 Prepared
ness day bombing which sent him
to prison, Warren K. Billings re
pairs watches today.
He recently opened a tiny
watchmaking shop to practice the
trade he learned while serving 23
years in prison for the explosion
which killed 10 persons and in
jured many.
Billings’ life sentence was com
muted by Gov. Culbert L. Olson.
Tom Mooney had been nardoned
nine months before.
With the first business he has
ever owned Billings, 46 years old,
hopes to support a home. He will
marry Miss Josephine Rudolph of
San Mateo.
light picnics and sleighrides, its
glowing cheeks and cheery firesides.
Great for some folks—but not for
the indolent. They’ll take Florida
in the winter, where a fellow can
just lie on a sun-baked beach and
forget.
Miami and other resort spots, both
on the east and west coasts of Flor
ida, report the biggest year in a
decade. You can get what you want
here: Millionaires, flowers and
glamour on the east; shells, strands,
oysters and mangrove trees on stilts
in the west. Or try the gulf coast,
just south of Dixie, which is a win
ter paradise in itself.
The Desert Is Bracing.
Only in the past five years has
the southwest vacationland come
into its own. Here, by contrast with
the northland’s exhilarating cold and
the southland’s soothing warmth, the
visitor finds a bracing quality in the
rare and dry desert air. It all de
pends on what you want.
Television May Help Generals
Fight the War of Tomorrow
NEW YORK. — Television
looms as a potent force
in the high-geared war of the
future, though World War II
has come too early in tele
vision’s development for any imme
diate use.
For the past few years military
experts have been scrutinizing tele
vision and its adaptation for war
purposes. It may become vitally
important in eliminating the time
lag in scouting and reconnaissance
activities.
At present, aviation and aerial
photography have speeded up rec
onnaissance to a tremendous de
gree. The most important thing
for an army’s general staff to know
in war is what the enemy is doing,
where it is located and in what
troop dispositions. The airplane
and camera provide the fastest pos
sible means of transmitting this in
formation, but it still takes time—
too much time for “lightning war.”
Television will make such infor
mation immediate. General staff
will see enemy locations and move
ments picked up and transmitted
from a reconnaissance plane, as
they are at the moment and will be
able to act without delay. There
will be no waiting for developing
and printing of aerial photographs,
during which the situation might
change, and there wouldn’t be,
harsh as it may seem, the abso
lute dependence on the reconnais
sance plane returning.
To determine when and how tele
vision can best be used for military
purposes, army chiefs are intensely
interested in the status of television
today.
What is that status?
According to engineers in the lab
oratories of Philco Radio & Tele
vision corporation, leaders in tele
vision development, general use of
television is some years away.
“This is an age of miracles,” was
their consensus, “but not of over
night miracles. There must be time
for orderly and sound development
in television. Philco’s television re
search engineers, for instance, have
worked out many basic advances in
the past 13 years and feel there
are as many more fundamental im
provements yet to be made, though
they can not be accomplished at a
faster pace.
“After all, the automotive indus
try took 20 years to attain a high
With the rest of the world at war,
America’s own folks are discovering its
diverse vacation opportunities for the
first time this winter. Hot, cold or dry
—what’ll you have? The United States
boasts all of them!
Like the North, the Southwest is a coun
try of vastness, only it’s a different kind.
Deserts that run on for miles suddenly
break into weird and colorful mountain
scenery. Nature, not bountiful here, has
left instead the stimulant she forgot to
leave elsewhere.
The Southwest is not expensive for your
winter vacation. It’s a country of dude
ranches and horseback riding, where na
tives lead the same kind of saddle life as
the visitors. AU you need is blue jeans, a
colored shirt and maybe a 10-gallon hat.
Indian pueblos, missions and sun-baked
houses give this ancient land a Latin-
American air that is almost like a
trip to old Mexico.
Cowboys Join the Dudes.
Fiestas, Indian tribal ceremonies
and rodeos are the big tourist at
tractions. Until rodeo day, dude
ranchers besport themselves on the
same level as the quiet cowboys
from the range. But when you see
a cowhand rope and tie a calf in
22 seconds flat you know there’s
still a lot to be learned.
For the vacationist who wants all
three—sand, snow and sun—Califor
nia remains the No. 1 winter tourist
mecca. As usual, the current sea
son is drawing thousands of visitors
to resort centers ranging from the
Pacific beaches to desert-dry places
like Death valley. In between, Cal
ifornia offers the highly accessible
snow slopes of Yosemite park, just
a few hours from tropical sunshine.
Better pack up your bags and get
going. It’s winter vacation time
and Dame Nature won’t be kept
waiting!
■Mr** WMC
Slow and inefficient aerial pho
tography in wartime may give way
to television—and it won’t make
much difference if the reconnais
sance plane is brought down behind
enemy lines.
degree of efficiency and widespread
usage. Although radio broadcast
ing was first accomplished as early
as 1906 it was many years before
it reached the network stage. There
has been a long interval of years
between the first flight of the Wright
brothers at Kitty Hawk and the reg
ular transcontinental and trans
oceanic passenger flights of today.”
According to these Philco engi
neers, “television can become the
most important means of communi
cation the world has ever known.”
Television receivers have already
reached a comparatively high stage
of efficiency, but there are several
important scientific obstacles to be
hurdled and goals to be achieved.
A new technique for production of
television programs must be found;
many sources of interference, such
as diathermy machines and auto
mobiles without suppressors, must
be corrected.
Then there is the problem of span
ning distance. Television waves are
now known to travel beyond the hori
zon but science has yet to find an
effective control over waves at such
a distance. Curvature of the earth
obstructs further vision.
Make an Heirloom
Crazypatch Quilt
By RUTH WYETH SPEARS
'T'HE oldest of quilt designs is
the crazypatch, yet there is
something amazingly modern in
its angular lines. A variety of em
broidery stitches join the pieces,
of plain and figured silks. Sev
eral colors of silk embroidery
thread are generaUy used. When
a number of patches have been
basted in place, sew them down
to the foundation with the embroid
ery stitches and then remove the
bastings. The backing is tied to
the front with silk embroidery
thread as comforters are tied.
Little or no padding may be used
and a plain band around the edge
is effective.
NOTE: Mrs. Spears has pre
pared patterns and directions for
making three of her favorite Early
American Quilt Blocks which she
wiU mail upon receipt of Jiame
and address and 10 cents coir) to
cover cost. Her Sewing Booklet
No. 2 contains illustrations for 42
embroidery stitches suitable for
patch work quilts; also pattern
with directions for making the
framed picture embroidery
sketched on the waU in illustration
above. Also numerous gift itemp:
mittens, neck ties; bags; table
decorations; and 5 ways to repair
fabrics. To get this book, send
10 cents in coin to Mrs. Spears,
Drawer 10, Bedford Hills, New
York.
Safety Quips
The two greatest errors in
driving are taking a blind curve
too fast and taking a curve that
isn’t there.
Better 10 minutes too late in
this world than 30. years too
soon in the next.
Keep your hands on the wheel
—soft shoulders are dangerous.
Some motorists can make 60
miles an hour a lot easier than
they can make 12 payments' on
the car.
The dullest drivers have the
brightest headlights.
After you get to the office, do
you tear into your work as fast
as you speeded there in your
automobile?
THROAT
Does your throat feel
prickly when you swallow
— due to a cold? Benefit j
from Luden’s special for- J
mula. Contains cooling j
menthol that helps bring
quick relief. Don’t suffer j
another second. Get
Luden’s for that "sand- ••
paper throat!” *••••**•’oV (
LUDEN’S 5*2
Menthol Cough Drops ■
Virtue’s Resources
Virtue has resources buried in
itself which we know not of till
the invading hour calls them from
their retreats.—Bulwer.
"W NERVES?
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Repeating Success
Nothing succeeds like success.—
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■*
Il MEW IDEAS ||
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