Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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BRISBANE THIS WEEK. A Rogers Highway Our Policy? Here It la Why Go to Town? To Discourage Vice From Tusla. Okla., In which state Will Rogers was born, J. D. tPmler- wood telegraphs suggesting' as “the highest tribute ajid a lasting memorial to Will Rogers,” thaj Highway (56, which runs from Rogers’ new home In California to his old home at Clare- more, Okla., be ex tended on to New York, and the whole road named “Will Rogers Highway.” If every Ameri can highway with Ar«k«r Brisbane f r | pn(l8 of VVIH Rog- erg living on both sides from one end to the other were named for him, there would be many “Will Rogers" highways. Thus run the headlines: “ITALY BARS ALL PEACE TALK.” “BRITAIN WEIGHS SANCTIONS. WANTS TO KNOW OUR POLICY." If she wants to know the policy of 90 out of a 100 ordinary Americans, and 100 per cent of all common sense Americans, It would be this: '•To mind our own business; let Eu ropean nations, alternately murdering each other and robbing Inferior na tions, attend to their business, in their way. Our policy now, with Italy swallow ing Ethiopia, should be exactly what It was when our British friends wer^ busy swallowing the lands of the Boers, absorbing that country with its valu able gold and diamond mines. We did nothing then. Why should we Invent a special policy for Mussolini now? France and England "fear Mussolini may Involve three continents in the Ethiopian war.” Has Europe heard of the New England farmer who said: “I’m on my way to town to get drunk, and Lord, how I dread It!” He need not have gone to town. European na tions need not be dragged Into a trl- continental war if they don’t want to be dragged. A very old poker player of the New York Press club, when he “raised the pot.” remarked usually: “The only way to discourage vice is to make it expensive.” That idea seems to be working in Germany. Doctor Schacht, head of the great German bank, lead ing financier of the Reich, warns Ger many that Nazi individuals Indulging themselves in the pleasure of treating defenseless Jews brutally, are endan gering German's prosperity. Such wan ton brutality constitutes a great menace to German trade everywhere, accord! ig to Doctor Schacht, who knows. News Review of Current " Events the World Over President’s Program Driven Through Congress Before Adjournment—Mussolini Refuses to Abandon His Projected Conquest of Ethiopia. v By EDWARD W. PICKARD O Western Newspaper Union. Senator Guffey Republicans report greatly Increased demand for the nomination of Senator Borah, since the announcement that. If nominated, he" will run. This will be mournful news for some Repub Ucan corporation-best minds. for whether they have to be “lashed with scorpions.” or with something else, would make little difference to some of them who consider Senator Borah dis tinctly In the “scorpion" class. An old gentleman of eighty-one strolled into a New York police sta tlon, remarking: “I have Just walked from Kansas City and shall walk back again tonight" He was removed to a psychopathic ward. If he had substl tuted the verb "fly” for “walk,” the police would not have disturbed him, for he could have flown in from Kan sas City during the day very easily and flown back again at night. If 25 years ago he had said, “I Just flew in from Kansas City,” he would have been sent to the dangerous ward. So there is progress. L egislative action in both bouse and senate was fast and furious during the closing days of the session. White House pressure was freely used; ftllbusters were start ed and stopped; sen ators and represenl tives* hot and both ered, were Inclined to be quarrelsome. But congress had Ua or ders and Jt wanted to go home, so the ad ministration program In general was pushed through. One of the* most controversial measures on that program, the Guffey coal bill, had been driven through the .house by orders from above and threats of a strike, and* when it was taken up by the senate every effort to kill it, by eliminating the tax feature, was defeated. Dur ing the debatf Senator -Walter F. George of Georgia, Democrat, created a sensation by denouncing the bill In these words: “Outside of political circles, It Is questionable whether there are five reputable lawyers in the United States who would declare this measure con stitutional. However, that Is not the worst feature of the bill. The worst feature Is the defect and infirmity in the legislative program that we #re developing. This nation cannot Re main free and happy, if we arell'o legislate for groups, and beyond all of that, If groups are to legislate for themselves the end of things is not very far distant. “That is the situation we have con fronting us. And to thls*kind of pro gram the Democratic party is willing to commit Itself 1" Senator George was assailing the proposal to set up district boards In the coal industry, which would make their own laws as to trade firactices and regulate wages and hours, allo cate tonnages and fix -prices, with re gard only for their own Interests. “This is the type,of absolutism from which we revolted to establish this Re public." he declared. The house gave up the tight against the "death sentence" in the utilities bill and Instructed conferees to accept a “compromise” that was pretty much one-sided. This means that all holding companies beyond the second degree are to be sentenced to death by the SEC promptly after January 1, 19.18. Even a holding company in the second degree would not escape unless its operations were confined to a single Integrated system wlffiih a state or within contiguous states. Both senate and house adopted a resolution taking mandatory the em bargo on munitions shipments to both belligerents in case of war. This was what the administration did not want, claiming It would tie the hands of the executive so that he could exert no Influence toward averting war. Senate and house accepted the con ferees’ report on the bill Increasing the powers of TVA and legalizing that body’s past actions and it was sent to- the White House. The senate passed without a record vote the railway bankruptcy amendments recommended by Coordinator Joseph B. Eastman, which are designed to prohibit minori ties from blocking reorganization plans. with- various former ministers, opposi tion, Jpaders and public men hot In- offlce. 'The situation was admittedly tense and fhq advice of stjch- men as Lloyd George, Lord Cecil and Winston Churchill was sought by the ogovern- ment. Sir Samuel Hoare, foreign sec retary, also called in representatives of all the self-governing dominions. It was understood the British govern ment would be prepared fully to honor its obligations under the League of Nations covenant, these including the denouncing of a nation that attacks another member of the league. Of course the air in 1/ondon was full of I N ONE of those sudden governmental upset* frequent In Latin America, President Jose M. Velasco Ibarra of' Ecuador was tlyrown out of office and Antohlo Pons, former premier, waa put in hla place. It all came about because Ibarra tried to make himself a dictator ( and Imprisoned the leaders of the opposition. Tl\e senate objected and Ibarra closed congress. Then the army got Into .action. Ibarra was ar rested by Col NIcanor Solis, Inspector general; the political prisoners were released, and Pons was Installed as president * ; rumors of war, but officials gave as-, surance that Great Britain would move with the greatest caution. Paris heartr unconfirmed,reports that Mussolini was trying to negotiate a secret military alliance with Hitler. If such a pact is signed It will greatly in crease the chances of another general European war. YITItL ROGERS and Wiley Post, * ' crushed to death In Alaska when their plane fell not far from Point Barrow, were brought back to the states for burial by Joe Crosson, their Intimate friend. .Idnan airplane. And all their countrymen stood figuratively with bared and bowed heads as the broken bodies were laid to rest. None was too great qnd none too lowly to pay tribute in words and action to those two fine Americans, one a be- lovedvcomedian, humorist and philos opher; the other a leader among the world’s aviators. They’ died as they had lived, adventuring gallantly, and the world is the poorer for their pass- ing. * % CAMUEL B. PETTENGILL, Demo ^ cratic representative from Indiana, aroused the house to wild cheering by a downright attack on Tom Corcoran, the White House lob byist who has been charged with trying to intimidate congress men. Pettengill ehal lenged the house lobby committee to summon Corcoran again and question him about his reported dealing In utility issues on the New York Stock ex change market at the same time he labored T ’ G ’ Co^cor * ,, for legislation against utilities at Wash ington. The Indiana representative thus brought out Into the open the rumors, whispered about the Capitol, that ad ministration lobbyists were profiting secretly by stock market deals in se curities affected by legislation for which they were exerting tremendous efforts. Corcoran once admitted to a com mittee that he had been a stock mar ket plunger and had made and lost a small fortune. "In view of this admission," Petten gill told the house, “the rules com mittee, Investigating lobbying, should summon Corcoran and question him as to whether he is now in the market with reference to utility stock.” Secretary Ropsr G RADUALLY.the President is bring ing all the alphabetical units of the New Deal directly under his con trol by bringing them under the budget and accounting act. Thirteen of them already have been treated thus by ex ecutive order, and more will fjRjow soon. They are required to 8ubmrf'‘ i to the budget bureau estimates covering ex|>endltures and to go on a month to month spending basis. At first the heads of these various administrations resented this and blamed Secretary Morgenthau, but when they learned that the President was strong for the plan they quietly gave in. P RESIDENT ROOSEVELT’S cotton textile committee submitted to him certain recommendations to better the Industry, and he passed them on to congress for future ac tion. Secretary of Com merce Daniel Roper heads the committee and the other mem bers are Secretary of Labor Perkins. Secre tary of Agriculture Wallace and Secretary of State Hull. The re port proposed that s friendly agreement be sought with Japan to limit the export of textiles to this coun try. • The committee found that, al though the Japanese Imports have been small, the American market has been disturbed, ^ith a resultant depression in the industry here. A continuance of the labor standards provided under the NRA code was sug gested. To this end it was recommend ed that the government supplement such voluntary efforts as are being made by administrative and legislative measures which may be feasible to aid workers. The committee recommended against discontinuance of the cotton processing tax “during the existing economic emergency as reflected by existing price Jisparitles.” It held that the tax In creases the purchasing power of farm ers and thus benefits workers in the cotton textile Industry. The government’s cotton loan policy was found .to be primarily im[>ortn>it to the textile industry through Its p<*sslble stabilizing effect. Various technical recommendations were made by the report, but the prop osition of representatives of the In dustry that the government virtually subsidize cotton textile exports by an allowance, of 7 cents per pound was disapproved. At Sverdlovsk, Russian government engineers, digging sewers under the city, find gold ore that Indicates a rich gold field underlying the town. The government owns practically all the city, and can easily take the rest, and a further Increase in Russia’s gold production, already more than three times as great as that of the United States, may be expected. Those that believe in the wicked ness of Russia may ask: “Why does Providence allow such wicked people to find so much gold?’ One answer is, “The quickest way to make them stop their wickedness Is to make them rich, and gold would do that" Gold might not change the existing government of Russia. But another generation will see another kind of government, and ownership of aucb S lump of gold, as we possess, might make that next Russian govern meat consider Lenin and Stalin “old fashioned.” Providence works mysteriously. Premier Mussolini Physicians at St. Vincent’s hospital In New York report the extraordinary case of a baby, that lived for 27 days, appearing almost normal hat pos ■easing no brain. Disgruntled “best minds” will tell you there are "babies” In Washington. mom of then fall-fledged professors, that have ttved longer than 27 days “without any brain.’’ ““T aervlee. M USSOLINI is determined to con quer Ethiopia, and all Europe Is trembling. 11 duce evidently feels that bis personal prestige is at stake, and to him that means the continuation of the Fascist regime. An thony Eden and Pierre Laval offered Italy what would amount to a mandate over Haile Selassie’s realm, but that was not enough, so the tri power conference In Paris was declared ad journed. The friend ship between France and Itafy must be ruptured. Great Britain will in sist on action by the League of Na tions council when it meets Septem ber 4. There is no reason to believe that the council will do more than it did in the case of Japan s seizure of Manchuria, but it seemingly will be forced to denounce .Italy’s action, and that would be enough to induce Mus solini to withdraw his country from the league. If and when Italy defies the league, that pretentious body, previously defied successfully by Japan and Germany, will amount to little. After Baron Pompel Alois! had sub mitted the Anglo-French proposition to Mussolini and had received trie duce’s reply, be tol^ Eden and Laval that bis master would be satisfied with nothing less than “annexation of Ethiopia in whole or In part” Laval was furious and directly accused Mussolini of breaking a personal promise made to him when he visited Rome. Eden abruptly brought the conferencs to a dote. Hurrying back to London, Captain Eden took part in conterencea held by Prims Minister Stanley Baldwin and tbs members of bis cabinet, together MM »Maj.G*n. Nolan \/fORE than 30,WK) troops of all branches of the armed service got well started in the great war maneu vers in northern New York which were organized and direct ed by MaJ. Gen. Den nis E. Nolan. The reg ular arjpy men of the first area and the Na tional Guardsmen of New England, New York and New Jersey participated, and in muddy fields, tangled pine forests, back- | woods roads, they had a series of “engage ments," troops oppos ing troops under conditions closely si mulating real warfare. An Interest ing feature was the use.of a big fleet of taxicabs from New'York city. Pine camp, just south of the Thousand Is lands region, was the center of oper ations. .Ranking high officers of the army and military attaches of foreign nation's observed the maneuvers. During the opening days the Twen ty-seventh New York division com manded by MaJ. Gen. William N. Has kell was pitted in the eastern portion of the 100 square mile maneuver area against the Forty-third New England division, commanded by MaJ. Gen. Mor ris B. Payne. In the western portion of the changing terrain th$ Forty- fourth New Jersey and New York di vision. commanded by MaJ. Gen. John J. Toffey, ’opposed the Twenty-sixth Massachusetts division. f A PAN has been offended by our navy on various occasions, especially by the staging of fleet maneuvers at Ha waii and the Alaskan coast Now the sensitive Islanders should be pleased, for Assistant Secretary of the Navy Henry L. Roosevelt has announced that the fleet maneuvers of 1936 will be held at the Panatne canal sad on tbs western coast of Central America. Mr. Roosevelt and the navy high command asserted, not very convincingly, that the shift was not mad* In response to unofficial Japanese criticism. - W HEN Charles Si Risk, the Rhode Island lawyer who defeatel the New Deal candidate for congress re cently, entered the house on the arm of Representative Bertrand; H. Snell, Republican leader,\and was escorted to the speaker’s rostrum to take the oath, he was vociferously greeted by the Republicans as a hero whose vic tory they thought presaged great things for the party nextyear. Mr. Risk took bli seat on his thirty-eighth birthday. of F LOYD B. OLSON, governor Minnesota, dn bis way to W ington, stopped in Chicago long eno to tell reporters that he Intended to be a candidate for the United Staten senate In 19.16. This was Interpreted as meaning that he would^ contest the re-election of Thomas D. * Schall, the blind Republican. ’* Governor Olson Is i Fsrmer-LaboiitSb kCfW'' Hvt It By WILLIAM BRUCKART & IONAL PRESS BLOG. WASHINGTON, D. C. NATIONAL PRESS BLOG. M INORITY members of the senate and house committees that are Investigating the doing of lobbyists started out the week with the deter mination to find out tiill ^ arv ' n H. MacIn tyre, secretary to the President; Lawrence W. Robert, Jr., as sistant secretary of the treasury. and Amon G. Carter of Fort Worth, publisher and friend of the Roosevelt family, were all found In the apart ment at the Shoreham hotel of Bernard B. Robinson of Chicago, chief lobbyist of | the Associated Gas and Electric com pany. Mr. Robinson himself also was there, and it was said when the door waa opened at the knock of the ser geant at arms of the senate a “scene of revelry" was disclosed. For a day or two the news of this affair was not sent out from Washington by the news associations, reportedly because of the efforts of Mr; Carter to have It sup pressed entirely. This, too, some of the investigators want explained. Republican members of- the house committee also said they would Insist on the Interrogation of Undersecretary of the Interior Charles West and JSmll Hurja, executive director of the Demo cratic national committee. West Is re putedly the President’a lobbyist and Hurja Bets” In a aimllar capacity for Postmaster General Fgrley. and both of them were involved with fom Cor coran in the utilities “death sentence” lobbying that started the whole In quiry. x Washington.—A plainly worded and simple announcement forthcoming the '• other day ^r*m the Plant Agricultural Adjust- More Wheat ment Administra tion, presented one of the sharpest reverses In policy yet promulgated under, t- ^he New DeaL Dozens of experiments have 6<i*en tried out slnc6 President Roosevelt titfme Into office and almost as many have run their course and have been abandoned. Mfiny of them were tried out with high enthusiasm but the en thusiasm died long before the recently of existence. Such was not the case, however, In the instance to which I re fer because the simple announcement by the AAA resulted In the addition of 5,200,000 acres to the wheat planting area of the United States for the 193G crop. Not alone did this announcement rep resent a change in administrattqn-agri- cultural policy. If one is to believe the undercurrent of Information available around Washington, one cannot escape the conclusion that the Increase In wheat acreage to be authorized repre sented something of an answer to the protests, even boycotts, that have been" evidenced In many sections of tfce country against an Increased cost of living. It is unnecessary to repeat here how hundreds of women have boycotted meat markets In Det$oit*afid how one delegation after another in other sec tions of the nation have written or tele graphed to the Department of Agricul ture or to their representatives and senators In congress in complaint against the high and ever Increasing food prices. Of course, boycotts and riots and demonstrations are rather silly. They Just don’t get anywhere successfully. About the only result one ever sees flowing from that sort of activity la a lot of publicity. s • • • So. when Secretary Wallace and Ag ricultural Adjustment Administrator Davis agreed to raise More Hoge the wheat acreage Comet Next from 85 to 95 per cent of the avail able acreage for the next crop, the consensus was that the administration felt It might have gone too far In Its crop reduction program. Prohably all restriction^ will be lifted on hogs verv soon because hog prices have sailed higher than a kite and the shortage of available lire stock for packing has come to be almost appalling. Certain ly, the city dwellers who constitute a big element In the market for pork products regard the shortage as appall ing and they are not to be appeased by any promises from Washington Secretary Wallace was rather an gered at published newspaper accounts from various cities to the effect that the AAA program was responsible for the high prices. He Insisted that the drouth of last year was responsible and that the destruction of several hundred thousand sows and several million pigs had not affected the market situation at the present time. x But Mr. Wallace’s statements did not go over so well. In the first Instance the bulk of the city dwellers simply will not believe that the drouth had resulted In killing off a sufficient num ber of hogs and cattle to cause the cur rent higk prices. In the second place, wiseacrdS aroqnd Washington who have a habit of blurting'out their thoughts without regard to feelings of others, 'proihptly Inquired what good had come from the AAA corn-hog con trol program If the drouth alone was responsible for .the price increase. These satfte individuals were mean enough to Inquire also why some ex perts in the Department of Agricul ture had released statements to the press to the effect that meat prices, es pecially pork, will continue to sky rocket until the summer of 1936. They pointed out that a great shortage In supplies existed and that it was to be expected the upward trend would con tinue until a new crop of hogs of pack- tag size Is marketed next year. Then, we here In Washington heard suggestions from men whose Job It Is to understand market conditions In which Imports of pork products were predicted for the forthcoming winter. Now, Importation of any commodity does not take place unless the domestic supply Is short of the requirements. Thus, crop control program or no crop control program, drouth effects or no drouth effects. It Is possible that this, oife of the greatest hog producing na tions In the world, may witness sub stantial imports of a food item for which It has always been noted as a producer. • • • As regards the reversal of form In the wheat control program, Mr. Wal- . lace said In his an- Explaint nouncement that the Reverted Increase had been authorised "primari ly to asaurt domestic consumers continued ample wheat supplies." ■aid that' the wheat carried over thls year was about 152,000,000 bushels and (bat on tha basis of prssent estl- produetloir for next year U seemed advisable “to use the flexibility of the Agricultural 'Adjustment Act at 'this time to’ provide f<^r somewhat larger production to assure adequate supplies of all types of milling wheat.” In theory, of course, the AAA control plan should permit production of suf* flclent wheat next year to take up the slack-OY left over requirements and should have the effectj of maintaining American stocks at about normal. Bu£ In practice, a different result is threat ening. This nation always has ex ported a considerable amount of wheat It has, therefore, had some Influence in the world market and to that ex tent has Influenced the domestic price. It happens, however, that the world wheat crop ahead of us is likely to boj smaller than usual. If the United States had the wheat, it Is pointed out variously, there could be a consider able return to the farmers from tha export market As It stands, possibili ties of taking advantage of that situa tion Just do not exist. Without further reference to tha practical operation ofjhls theory, soma experts have mentioned to me the fact that the 1936 American crop may not be as good as In times past. Then, not only wttl the American farmers be unable to take advantage of g foreign market, but they will not obtain tha maximum return possible for their domestic sales, because of their own shortage. In answer to this. AAA officials point out they can use the flexibility of tha Agricultural Adjustmenr Act as a ben efit to the farmers. Their view of tha situation is that the American wheat industry will be in a strong position, due 'to the shortage of world wheat, and can again exert its influence. ‘ The divergent opinions of those wha favor crop control and those who think the theory will not work have created many arguments even among officials. There are those who think only of tha farmer’s position and there are thosa who think only of the plight In wlilch' the city dwellers finds themselves when prices are high. The whole thing, when simmered down. Is simply an other way of stating the age old prob lem in which we find on the one hand those who produce the food and on tha other those who eat it. Adoption of the principle of crop control has not solved that problem nor does it bold any prospect of solving It. It seems to me as a matter of cold Judgment that the Agricultural Adjustment Ad ministration is not any more fair with the people as a whole than are thosa who promote boycotts or seek to tear down gains made by agriculture. Tha department officials have given out statements carrying only their side of the case. Those who attack higher prices have made only their side of tha argument Neither has added much to the sum total of human knowledge or human comfort. • • • The New Deal plans for giving em ployment may not have been so effee- .live outside of Wash- Feaeral Pay ington. but no ona Roll Crowt 0311 question the re sult in so far as tha federal pay roll is concerned. Late figures reveal that since (’resident Roosevelt came into office more than 150,000 persons have been added to tha federal Hat of employees. The total of workers on federal pay rolls In tha executive branch of the government at the end of the fiscal year, June 30, was 717,712, whereas the total was 506,986 at the end of March, 1933—the end of the first month after Mr. Roosevelt took office. It has always been tha claim of political parties that “to tha victor belong the spoils.’’ It Is trua under the Roosevelt administration to a remarkariie degree. This is shown by the fact that the civil service liar of employees In the federal government has gained very few while those ap pointed to Jobs without the necessity of passing a civil service examination account for the bulk of the new workera Much of the New Deal legislation has carried 8i^«riflc provisions that em ployees In TFie particular agency cre ated by the bill in question could be appointed without “regard to the civil service law." That Is the simple ex pedient used to provide spoils for the victor. But these new thousands are not at all secure in their jobs as distinguished from basic reason why a great many persons seek federal appointment through civil service examinations. An employee who has passed an examina tion and has received an appointment is supposed to be fairly secure In his job and as long as he does the work assigned to him there la scant possi bility of him being ousted. This la not true of tho political appointees. If and when there is a change of adminis tration and a political party of oppo site faith takes the reins, the work ers who came In by reason of political pluma have little chance of staying on the Job. Consequently, one fequently bean around Washington now discus sion as to what will happen to all sf these new workers If New Deal agon* clea blow op or Mr. Rodaevelt abooM fall of re-election. • WMUm WiMoapM Oalos.