Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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BRISBANE THIS WEEK Protection Impossible The Railroad Crossings Things Are Better When Russia Is Rich hurope seeks some network of "trentleR" to prevent a war, or bind armies ami uir Meets of each of those signing such trea ties to protect the others In oase of attack. Unfortunately, in the new war of the air, as in secret gangster war, no protection Is pos sible. Where one crim inal has an "auto matic" or "subma chine gun." agree ments anions law abiding citizens cyn Arthur Brlabnne not protect them. And while one na tion can secretly bulk! and suddenly launch airships with poison gas and ex plosive bombs, no city can consider it self safe. France and England, after elaborate experiments, announce that there is no possible way of protecting a modern city against air attacks, even though the city knew in advance when to ex pect them. The only safeguard is fear of re taliation. Deeply grieved by the killing of many school children at a public cross ing, the President plans extensive elimination of railroad grade crossings. Complete elimination of such crossings would involve spending hundreds of millions or billions. The work would be undertaken with careful concentra tion on the fact that railroading Itself is bound to change or disappear so far as transportation of passengers is con cerned. Railroads In the future must carry ' passengers more than one hundred miles an hour, on light railroad equip ment, uhle to climb steep grades as easily as automobiles do now. Elimi nation of grade crossings will take that into consideration and include elimina tion of existing sharp curves at cross ings. that the work may not be done twice. i Dun & Uradstreet, well informed j usually, say that a big business rise | Is coming. Their weekly survey in- j forms you that before the end of this < quarter business progress will have de veloped to a degree beyond the most sanguine estimates offered at the be- I ginning of the year. How rich will the Russians become, %lth their energetic development of na tional resources, all over Russia and far into Arctic regions? And what will be the efTect on Coin u-tinlsm, bolshevls/n and the proletariat When Russia becomes, as she may do, the richest nation on earth, and those that rule her become the world's rich est men, perhaps the first multiple bil lionaires in history? Expeditions sent. Into the Arctic have discovered coal, nickel, zinc, tin, cop per, gold and oil, all inside the Arctic circle. A regular line of freight ships has b#en established through the north west passage, gigantic Icebreakers go ing ahead of the freighters. Already Russia produces three times as much gold as the United States. What will be the psychological efTect on Commu nism when Russia produces more gold than any other nation tut earth? Gambling In silver, made Inevitable by this country pflshlng up the price, ! goes on nil over the world; poor old China Is buying back at double prices silver sold too cheap, and Britain must wish she had been In less of n hurry to unload below .'10 cents an ounce the hundreds of millions of ounces taken from India, when India, In a foolish moment, was put on t lie gold basis, only to fall off again. An old true saying tells you: "There Is some good In ail evil," and this ap plies even to the deadly venom of the cobra, or "hooded snake of India." A full discharge of the cobra's poison Into the liumnn body means death, while the scientific use of that poison supplies n superior substitute for morphine In diminishing pain. If you love your British cousins, re joice. Neville Chamberlain, chancel lor of the exchequer, says' Rrltish in come taxes will be cut becnuse British finances show a substantial surplus That surplus appears In spite of the fnct that Britain Is adding more than $r>'2,000,000 to the cost of armaments. Your satisfaction In this good new* may be Increased t?y your knowledge that the United Stntes had the pleas ure* of financing the surplus and the additional armament* to the tune of $.1,000,000,000 In war debts not pnld. Senator Wlieeler of Montana has In troduced ft bill ordering the national government to take over, own and op erate the railroad* of (ho nation be ginning January 1, lOftfl. There I* no doubt that railroad stock and bonfl holder* would *ay, "Amen,M If they could be aure of getting a fair prlc? for their property. Railroad manage ment, naturally, would grieve. T? give up powef la if#ay* unpleasant. A King VMtnrw Ayndleat* lw WNUJMrvto*. New U. S. Destroyer Makes Test Run 1 ? L'. S. S. Worden. first destroyer to be built at i'uget Sound navy yard, entering San Diego habor on Its shako down cruise to the Atlantic coast. 2 ? Vice President Garner and Speaker Byrnes signing the $4,880,000,000 work relief bill. 3 ? Military parade passing the Capitol during the celebration of Army day In Washington. Latest Craft Last Word in Efficiency Although the United States Is de termined to keep out of any dispute^ that may be brewing In Europe, the Navy department Is not going to be caught unprepared In case trouble should be forced on us. The newest sensation of t tie fleet, the destroyer Worden, shown above, Is considered the last word In efllciency. She has been sent on her test cruise from rhe I'uget Sound navy yard to the At. lantlc coast. The Worden Is the first of Its type to be built. It Is speedier than other vessels of this class, and Is equipped with guns and other flirhting equip ment of the newest design. Naval expansion will proceed rap idly under present [dans. The I'WA has allotted S27S,(KH)l()00 for new war ships, and In addition ro this th\? navy's budget has been Increased to more than half a billion dollars. HE INVENTED IT When the National Basketball Coaches' association held Its annual convention In Chicago, thw most dis tinguished man present was Dr. James Nalsmlth of the University of Kansns, for It was he who Invented the game. Mr. Garner Meets a Lord Mayor Vice President John M. Gnrner Is here seen with a distinguished vlslto"r from overseas who stopped Into the Capitol at Washington to chat with the gentleman from Uvalde. lie Is lit. Hon. Alderman Alfred Byrne, lord mayor of Dublin, Irlsli Free State. That the lord mayor Is not suffer- ( ing from an overdose of dignity was evidenced when he arrived In this country and was questioned by report ers as to how one In his position should be addressed. lie rather as tonished news hawks by telling them: "Just call me Alfie!" Bible Well Read Allentown, Pa. ? Mrs. Tlllie S. Butz celebrated her eightieth birth anniver sary by beginning to read the Bible for her one hundred and first time. She rends without glnsses. Ford Buys Anne Boleyn's Cottage Henry Ford Is reported to hnve bought for Rhlpment to America this cottage at Roreham, Essex, England. It was owned by Anne lioleyn, whom Henry VIII mar ried In ir?r>:i and beheaded three years later. FULL OF MISCHIEF Princess Josephine Charlotte, on1.? daughter of the king and qUeen of the llelglans, snapped ns she waR on her wiiy to the public school she attends In Itrussels. The sevenand-n-half-year old girl Is said by her toucher to he the most mischievous member of her clnss. Find Rare Albino Frog This albino frog, snld to be a greatoi rarity than quintuplets. Is being raised nt the American Museum of Natursl History In New York. It was found on a farm In Sr. Lawrence county. New York, and sent to Or. (I. Kings ley Noble, curator of herpetology and head of the department of experi mental biology nt the museum. The frog's color Is saffron Instead of green, and Its large bulging eyes are pink. It In being nursed with the grestest nr? by the museum ofTlclnla. SEEN--' HEARD 1 around the National Capital =By CARTER FIELD iSSaaS \\ ashlngton. ? With nature moving In to help extinguish the cotton surplus, as she had already on hogs, cuttle unci to-u lesser extent wheat, probabili ties for trouble In the future for cot ton growers In this country are not di minished, but Increased. ?lhe point Is that the dust storms In the big cotton producing areas of Texas and Oklahoma ? more than half of the cotton raised In the United - fates is grown west of the Mississippi esplte the prevailing opinion to the I contrary? have already boosted the ? price of cotton. Pressure on AAA Is expected to continue loans at around 1- con's, despite the desire to drop J them gradually. All of whi. h means that the price of cotton will !>,? main tained at this high level uex' year. So far, so good, but unfortunately It is impos^blo for tie United Stated to I keep such a situation secret. If this ?courtry could only do what Russia did a few years bad; with wheat, it could I make a killing on cotton ? perhaps ? j next year. lhe Russians. It may be recalled, cir culated stories that their wheat crop had failed, hack in the days of Secre tary of Agriculture Ilyde and the farm board. The farm board began buying wheat, and the Russians began selling. Hyde thought they were selling short, and actually denounced them in public speeches for such a nefarious practice. Rut the Russians delivered the wheat Whereupon the price collapsed, the Russians having been the only wheat farmers to got a real price for their product, and the money for that com ing out of the United States treasury. Rut the whole world knows about crops In the United States. Down In Rrazil they know about the dust storms that are wrecking cotton crop pros- j peels west of the Mississippi. They ! know about the agitation to continue the U-ient loans ?which means an ar tlfleluljy maintained 12-cent price next vear. And they know that in Rrazil they can produce cotton at a protlt at 0 cents a pouml ' Big Brazilian Crop So naturally Rra/.il will increase her cotton acreage next season bv every square yard possible. This "possible" amount is far from trivial. Tremen- : dous overnight expansion js impossible. ! of course, but Rrazil's agricultural ex- J l>erts figure that only about one-tenth I of the land capable of producing cot- I ton always with the cents, inclml j ing profit, in mind ? is now under cul- ' ti vat ion. So that the real problem is labor. Rut there Is enough labor for much more expansion. So it can safely be assumed that there will be a big Increase In the next Brazilian crop. Over in Kngland the cotton spinnln" people know about these dust storms" and about the prospect of the United States maintaining the 12-cent price Some of their big mills have made 'he change In their looms so as to spin the Rrazlllan cotton. More of them are now expected to do so. They will nat urally figure they can buy Rrazlllan cotton clnaper than United States cot ton. Over In the Japanese puppet state there are now .'{O.itOO.OOO acres In cot ton. Very small so far as world fig ures go, but there also the facts about the situation in the United States ?re known, and may be expected to have results, similarly In Kgypt and India. All of which point unerringly to the probability that throughout the world there will hp a mad rush to take ad vantage of the situation. This prom ises eventually to leave the United States treasury holding the bag. own ing millions of bales of cotton for which It paid 12 cents a pound, when the world market will be around 7 or ft cents at the most, and C. cents In all probability. Rut this Is ?nl.v part of the trouble Johnson and Johnson have already an nounced their plans for seftin?? up cot ton mills In Rra/.il, the Ide.i being not only to get cheaper cotton, hut to get away from the processing t:i\ I'md nets of this mill would he used in place of goods formerly exported r, t(l(, American mills of this big firm. Army Is Stirred Army and navy officers are terribly concerned over the oil) Just ,P|lfw? ,lV the house, and soon to be considered in the senate, for faking the profit out of wnr. They assure everyone who will listen to them, |n private, that if will also take national defense out of war which might be very serious indeed to fiie nation in the event of a conflict The pacifists bail the bill as : "A bill to keep the United States out of war by providing In advance that there will be (1) profits for none and U) confiscatory taxes for all, ,|inf It will be to every American's Interest to keep the Unlfed States at peace - Army and navy experts sav that It should be called: "A hill (1) to transfer the war mo "R Industry now In the United States, and which might be started here to foreign soil, (2) to provide for murderous delay In preparation In ense a war Is forced on this country (ft) tft conherlpt soldiers and employers but not workmen, and (4) to repeal the oldest low of military strategy that the best Offense is a vigorous ofTen Goaded by ? $2,000,000 bonus to Kugene 0. (Jrace. by screams of the pacifists, by complaints of soldier bonus lobbyists that "these boys fought and risked their lives while profiteers were "inking millions," the houM, vot<>(, down every qualifying amendment,. passed the bill, and privately hopes ths senate will write some sense into It. Tax on Profits ' More serious, from a preparedness standpoint. Is the tax provision on prof-, ,,alf of ?H profits up to G per cent and then loo per cent ls the house proMsion. Suppose, say army and navy o ters, the du Ponts had been (aeed with such a situation at the entry of the United States into the World war. ould they have dared expand their plants? Suppose, instead of a prelimi nary period of nearly three years dur ing which the allies were buying all the munitions they could get, and which naturally caused tremendous ex pansion of the (ill I'ont. Bethlehem Hud ether munition plants, the United States had been Involved from the tlrst. with sjuch restrictions on earnings as are now proposed. 1 he point made by the army and navy men is primarily that 110 manfac ttnvr would dare expand his plant to take care of a war need. Me would not be able to make enough to scrap the plant after the war. and he would have to take his chances with govern ment auditors <>n depredation charges^ Alto-et|l(T he would be inudi safer H his plant were located on foreign soil, where it would be welcomed as an ele ment of military strength. 'hat the natural development would he for foreign .?ountries to bene fit even In time of peace by the train ing of their workmen in the making of munitions, and in time of war by the possibility of big profits, which these foreign governments could tax to their heart's content and still leave some thing for the manufacturers. Nearly everyone agrees that the pro posed law would he repealed as the first act of emigres* after the next dec laration of war. Critics are not much worried about that. What really wor ries them is the prospect of American business enterprise moving abroad wholesale to escape such conditions, thus not only depriving the United States of this element of strength, but actually providing it for potential en emies. I lie bill would have no chance of enactment it the votes were by secret ballot, itut it is far simpler political ly to vote tor such a measure than to vote against it. and then try to explain why to one's constituents. Crimps lob bying for the measure are militant. And. almost to the last man and wom an. they would remember at the polls! See Long Session Congress is not going to he rushed to an early adjournment. It will he with us lor ,i long time yet. Almos; surely un til August. Probably until September/ Possibly longer than that. This |s t rue despite all the flat pre dictions by leaders that II must" items will he rushed through, and ev erything else will be abandoned. Many things lunv he "abandoned." F'ut they will not l>" abandoned because of the time element. They will be abandoned. If at nil, because actually thev are not wanted. Careful examination of the leftovers at the time of adjournment' Will reveal the truth of this statement. I tilit.v heads got nil pepped up 11 few days ago at this list of "must" measures, it did not Include the pub lic utility holding company bill. Now, despite all the statements, the proba bility of the moment Is that n holding company bill affecting the utilities wiU be passed. It will not be passed in the form desired by President Poosevelt. It will he much more moderate. Ft will actually be what some of the utility chiefs favored as much a? ten vearg ago. Hut its omission from the "must" list given out by house leaders is very amusing. It was a hit of intra-party strategy. 'I he house lenders in partic ular are goring very tired of the Pres ident's treating them the way he goes. Hence their public statement of a "pro gram which would be put through and then followed by speedy adjournment. I he legislative veterans were laughing In their sleeves at the time, but their statements made good newspaper copy. What they want Is for the President to lake them more into his confidence, and stop treating the house of representa tives like a stepchild. Soldier Bonus Nat urn II v . the soldier bonus was not on the "must" list. 'I I, e Pres.de, ,r does not want that Put It anyone thinks that It Is not going to t.d<<? ;t |,,f ,,f senates time, he Jm- no, know v er.v much about Hie v.enat>- Especial ly, as the best prediction-- now are that the bonus legislation, alter passing both houses, arid being vetoed, will be passed over the veto by (he house and then fail of passage In the senate. Tliis unofficial program calls for tv^| Ions of the mcasulV by the semi le ; That is not all. Very few administra tion leaders are optimistic enough to be lieve this congress will adjourn without giving the soldiers something. Which means that time must Intervene after a sufficient demonstration of strength to frighten the While House, and after a suflicicnt demonstration of weakness to frighten the American l.eglon for a compromise to he worked out. The President lias let It known to a few friends on Capitol HiM that he Is willing to go tr, a e..i, p'otnlse of about $ l.^?t,(KK>.(MM(. The ?? wins lead ers know (hat. and will kmc heaven and earth to obtain It If fhe\ fm,| f^at they are going to lose out or, |,)#. tI)R|n fight. Incidentally, there Is nothing on the "must" program about the AAA amend ments. nor about the growing move ment to rescind the cotton processing tax. Nor the corn nnd hog processing tax. Flat prediction Is hereby made that there will be n lot of oratory In the senate on both before the hnal gsvel taps. Oopvrtg ht? - WNtJ Sorvlf,*.