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BRISBANE THIS WEEK ^One Thing Important Paid for Not Doing $40 a Month What Do We Want of Japan? One piece of news Id the world la Important to the United States. If Washington doesn't know It, the gov ernments of -Europe and Asia do know It That news Is Amelia Earhart's Might, nonstop In eighteen hours, across 2,400 miles of the Pacific ocean, from Hawaii to the United States. All American citizens, especially those on the Pa cific coast, and elderly, out-of-date gen tlemen who are supposed to provide for the defense of this country, should ask themselves: If a young woman, entirely alone, without sleep, no assistant to help with navigation, can fly, unseen, across the Pacific ocean ami land In California to receive a bunch of roses, eighteen hours from Hawaii, what do you think five or ten thousand powerful bombing and swift pursuit planes could do, com ing from Asia or from Europe? Pennsylvania is an Important tobacco state. The government Is paying farm ers not to grow tobacco, Just as It pays them elsewhere not to grow cot ton or wheat and not to raise pigs. After you have spent your whole life driven by necessity's lash to pro duce the utmost possible, this brings sweet peace to have the government pay you for not doing It, even if you can't quite understand It. Nobody has yet arranged to pay newspaper publishers for not writing editorials, but that may come, in the glorious new era, and, here and there, it might be a great blessing. Washington reports that President Roosevelt's message to congress about pensions for the oh| suggest "only" $10 a month. The Washington correspondent who says "only" does not know what 940 a month would mean to millions of old people whose lives are made bitter not by deprivation, not by poverty, hunger or cold, but by the tact that they de pend upon the cold charity of others, particularly on the charity of relatives. Give $40 a month to the old that are dependent and you will bring hap piness into the last years of millions of lives, and that would be worthy of a great nation. The honorable Japanese chief of in formation in the foreign olllce says the United States Is planning an attack on Japan. Any Japanese who believes it lacks the usual intelligence for which you give all Japanese credit. NatTCWi' '??BUM wars because they want some thing. What does the United States want from Japan? Uncle Sam, in a mild fit of Idiocy, is now giving away the Philippines, Asi atic Islands richer in resources than the Japanese Islands. We got those islands from the Span ish war. Should we start another war, spend billions, kill many of our Jap anese friends and burn up their conn try by flre bombardment from airplanes merely to get more Asiatic islands, to be given away later? The thirst of the people means profit to the government. Uncle Sam during 1084 collected an average of more than $1,000,000 a day in liquor taxes, a total amount of $374,500,28*2. Beer alone yielded $200,000,000; spirits distilled In America, $121,000,000; Imported spirits, $15,000,000 ; Imported wines. $0,000,000. It is easy to understand why tens of millions follow the trial of Bruno Hauptmnnn for the kidnaping and kl'l Ing of the Lindbergh baby with such Intense Interest. The trial Is a mys tery In Itself. Oradunll.v unwound In court like the chapters In a detective story, It holds public attention, the horrible nature of the crime Increasing the ir.lerest tenfold. Eighty-nine Russian fishermen, liv ing on the edge of the Caspian s;a, ought to be grateful to the American "Wright brothers that Invented the alr pl ane. With their boats they had drift ed ten days on an Ice floe and were starving. Along came a big Russian plane, fly ing low, to drop tiny parachutes that brought food, tobacco and alcohol. Then the fishermen, hopelessly lost, out of sight of land, got In their boats and the airplane guided thein to the short est route to shore. This reporter sat next to Amelia Earhart at a dinner recently, did not recognize her, thought sho looked, ss the Krench say, "like so ire body," asked "Do yon write, fly, or what do yon do?" She said "I fly a little, and I write a little." Europe continues "edging along" to ward war. The Associated Press re porta Italian troops being concentrated along the Austrian border. Italy fears that Germany may start an attack on Austria, aiming at absorption, now the ftaar voting Is over. Italy call* this movement of troops along the Austrian ?> border "Winter maneuvers, H but Europe knows what It really la Frafic? probably will not be sur. prised, Mussolini for ftirty and I^aval for France recently had a very affec tionate conversation, of whl<*h the snb ?tance was "Keep Germany under con trol." ?, kin* F?Mur<* Syndic*!#, Ine. WNII B?tvI<>*. Gatun Locks "Dressed Up" After 20 Years .The Panama canal Is In the throes of a "house cleaning." Once every twenty years the locks and buildings of th? canal recel\e a thorough cleaning and painting, and the job has just beeu completed at Gatun locks. Array of Hauptmann Defense Writing Experts Handwriting experts, called by the defense in the Hauptmann trial. In conference with Hnuptnmnn's attorneys. Floods Inundate Parts of New York State lnun2tUedrr1flrreUnreanorChtlTVeled th?r0Ughfare' takes on a de8ol?te appearance after the overflow of Black creek Interned Strikers Are Happy Textile strikers who were arrested by Georgia National Guardsmen and Interned nt Atlanta are here shown enjoying the chow provided for them. Five Children Die in Bus Wreck tflve children were killed nnd 20 Injured when a bun and truck collided at Itapld City, 8. I). The picture ahowa a view of the wreck. R. DOUGLAS STUART Mr. Stunrl succeeds Oeorge II. Monti na clinlrinnn of Hip Industrial ndvlsory board of the Nit A. HENRY FORD TODAY Thin la tho latest portrait of llonrj Kord, tho automobile mngnnte, and if hnn bonn kIvoii >i In approval. SEEN--' HEARD around th? National Capital I T By CARTER FIELD-HH= Washington. ? A drive against "ruck eta" In so-culled protective committees of stock or bondholders of corpora tions, especially those In receiverships. Is about to begin us nn altogether un expected development of the securities and exchange commission activities. Every Investor lias realized for some time that there were grave abuses In these committees, that they ran up fees and charges even when they were legitimate, and that ull too often their muln purpose was to be bought off bv those really trying to revamp the cor poration In the interest of the stock holders. So far there Is no Indication that tho commission Is going any further, but its reports to congress, which will be made In a few months, will, accord ing to very reliable sources, at least start a move ? whether it gets very fur or not ? at doing something about the high cost of receiverships. For the present the commission is aiming chlelly at men who have made practically u business of gottlug un thinking stock and bondholders, al ready faced with the prospect of losing purt of their Investments, to go Into moves which benelltted the operators, but In the long run only Increased the loss of the investors. The next logical step, senators fa miliar with the plan declare, is to go after the perfectly exorbitant legal and other fees being charged for ail ministering financially crippled or ganizations. One senator cited a case where a hotel property Is being administered by three lawyers, no one of whom ever hail any experience in the hotel busi ness, but who are being paid $HUHX) a year each for their services In direct ing this property's operations. Actual ly, of course, no one of the three de votes very much time to the actual oi>eratiou of the hotel. Hits Bondholder The point this senator emphasized Is; what chance does a stock or bond holder have of getting anything when a property, already crippled or it would not be in receivership, has this additional load put upon It? More to the point Is the case of an otlice building where two lawyers, after performing a very minor le^al service for one of the bondholders' pro tective committees, sent bills for $15, 000 -each 1 It so happens that If this particular olllce building had possessed $30,000 at the time ? just the total of this lawyers' bill ? it would not have had to go Into receivership at all 1 And It so happens that there are sev eral other "protective" committees op erating at the moment In behalf, al legedly, of the bondholders of this par ticular enterprise. "The trouble about anything per manent being done, "the senator re marked, "is that there are too many lawyers In congress. 1 happen to be one myself, but the fnct Is ? and if you quote me by name 1 will deny I even had such a thought ? the boys do stick together. And the judges who appoint receivers nnd who pass on the fees of attorneys for protective committees, are all lawyers. 1 do not know Just what ought to be done about It, but certainly It bos approached the stage of a scandal. And beyond the shadow of a doubt the property of Investors who or'- unfortunate enough to have put their money in enterprises which get Into receiverships, is actually looted vby the present system. I hope that what the securities commis sion startB will bear fruit." New Dealers Fussed New Dealers are torn between pride and alarm over the actUm of New York state electric companies In proposing a substantial reduction In rates. They are proud that President Roosevelt's policy of doing everything possible to lessen the cost of electricity to con sumers Is meeting with such success. They are u little alarmed as rn what these particular cuts In this parMinhir territory may do to the fight ap|>n?a< li Ing In the senate over ratification <>f the St. Lawrence seaway treaty. Not that the votes of the New York senators are Involved. Hoih of them are strongly against the treaty, and are expected to stand firmly against It regardless of the power question. Their concern Is with the port of New York, and the railroads lending through New York state to It, arid with the Erie canal. The question of cheaper power Is very mild In im portance Indeed to them In contrast with the threat to the prosperity of their big port and the communication lines leading to It. Hut this cut In power rates In New York state, presupposing further cuts later on, hits h very serious blow at the project as n whole, so to speak. It makes far more difficult the problem of convincing other parts of the United States that the whole scheme Is eco notnicully sound. At present there are two sections of the country arrnyed against each ftthor on this treaty, for local reasons. All of the Atlantic and (Julf s<?a hoards nre against if for the same ren son that New York Is against It. Most of the Central and Northwestern States are for It on the theory that It would provide cheaper freight rates for their export products hv letting ocean going ships come Into tho (Jreat Lakes. Illinois Is nn exception. Its goo graphic position would nnturnlly mnko It for the Treaty Just ns Mich igan. Wisconsin nnd Mlnnosotn are for IL The canal would make Ohlcngo virtually nil ocean port. Hut this Is complicated by the fact that Illinois ami Chicago want to take more water out of Lake Michigan. Ami P^erldent Roosevelt has not rli *? slightest Inten tion of giving In to Illinois on this. Might Be Liability This leaves the Southwest and tho Pacific coast not directly Interested one way or the other except as the project may tend to prove an addi tional harden on their taxpayers. And there is where the possibilities 'of these rate cuts already planned, and those obviously In prospect, come Into the picture. For they mean that the current pro duced by the St. Lawrence seaway project may actually turn from what has been regarded as an asset, in con sideration of the project as an eco nomic whole. Into it liability. It Is even conceivable that the President may lose some of his keen Interest In the project, though he has said noth ing to Indicate this.. Hut If the proposed cuts of electric rate are followed shortly by such a program of future cuts as has been suggested, actually the chief reason for his being so strong for the treaty will ^a>e disappeared. He has never said so ? publicly ? hut ail his close friends know that since the beginning of Ids interest in the project his chief concern was not the seaway to mako cheaper freight rates to Europe for the Middle and Northwest, hut the power. It was part and parcel of his plan for forcing down electric rates all over the country. He never said so lor the simple rea son that the St. Lawrence seaway has been a very popular Issue ? as a sea way, not a hydroelectric scheme ? in the Middle and Northwest for many years. Hut the fact stands out that unless he pulls wires with really ex traordinary success, the treaty will he defeated again this year. And lie may just content himself with a strong public appeal, perhaps a vigorous mes sage, favoring the treaty, Instead of turning on the heat in private, which Is the only way the thing can possibly he gotten through the senate. President Optimistic President Loose wit is much more optimistic about the linancial future ol' this government, providing lie cau hold the bonus compromise down to a reasonable figure, than either his bud get message or his explanations of It to newspaper men, senators ami mem bers of the house Indicate. To begin with, there is a $ I.IHHJ.OOO, (HM> "kitty," to use his own word In conversations about it. Only he does not speak of ifl.tXM.OUO.lHHK ? he speaks of j $2,(KK),(HK),(RK). Which Is another indication of how his mind is working. For It will he recalled that in each of his budget messages he has gone out of his way to put the worst foot for ward, the aim always being to be able to make the picture look better ? by contrast ? at some future date. As a matter of fact, had his strategy been of a different variety ? bad he been trying to make the financial pic ture look Vosy instead of dark with doubt ? he could have [minted a rather optimistic picture. Instance: He could have made a fair calculation, say somewhere from 50 cents to SK) cents on the dollar, of the debts owed the Reconstruction Finance corpora tion. Actually the corporation expects a net profit when it finally winds up. This would have deducted a few bil lions from the total apparent debt to be reduced by the government by the end of the fiscal year 11).' 10 ? or July 1, 1037. He could have used the (XX) "kitty" as another offset. This "kitty" consists of $2,000, 000, (XX) profit made on the revaluation of gold, and ?2,000,000,tX)0 additional In the equal ization fund, which wao voted by con gress, and Is being administered In absolute secrecy by Secretary of the Treasury Morgenfhau. Profit in Silver Experts who tiave tried to figure, without inside Information which Is not obtainable, all agree that there Is a considerable profit already. On the silver purchase, for example. Some estimate It as being more than half a billion dollars profit right now, without calculating any further ad vance In the price of silver. i Hut the President did not want to make the budget statement any morn optimistic than he could help. Il? ' w noted us blue a picture as possible lor two reasons, ? >ne Is that the more rosy the bud get outlook, the greater difficulty ho would have restraining the bonus seekers. That Is fairly obvious. It fits In Willi Ills direct threat Unit If congress boosts the expenditures pro posed In the budget In any substantial particular, congress must provide the money by imposing additional taxation. The other, n:nl In n way the more Important, Is lor the effect at some time In the future There will be an other budget message one year from now, which will he in the year of a Presidential election. If things should not be so rosy for the administration nt that time as they are now. It might he very helpful to present a more op timistic picture to the country TIiIr Is not, however, a pari <>f tho present strategy Itoosevell l? looking further ahead than that,/ lie Is con cerned. not about the Election or lit,' tfi. for in the Judgment <)f KepnhlP n ns an well as Meritocrats as far as can be told now, there Is nothing to concern him In that, but with (lie future Mo does not want to Jeopardize the re forms the New Meal Is working. Ho wants If to look as bright as possible on the eve of HMO, when ii new admin istration will fie elected. He wants tho country to fie thoroughly won fo tlio New Meal then. Copyright. ? WNII Rfrvlc*.