University of South Carolina Libraries
McCORMICK MESSENGER. McCORMICK. S. C.. THURSDAY, DECEMBER 16, 1937 IVetra Review of Current Events CONGRESS CONFUSED President Returns to Find His "Must" Measures Are Facing Failure of Passage in the Present Session Pictured above from left to right are Senator William Borah of Idaho, Senator Edward R. Burke of Nebraska and Professor Henry W. Edgerton of Cornell university and formerly of the antitrust division of the De partment of Justice, as the professor was about to appear before a sub committee of the senate judiciary committee. The committee examined the professor to determine whether they believed him a fit appointee to the United States Court of Appeals of the District of Columbia. He was suspected of not believing in the right of courts to declare legislative enactments unconstitutional. But he declared he now regarded such judicial review as a legitimate part of our constitutional system. SUMMARIZES THE WORLD'S WEEK e Western Newspaper Union. Stormy Days m Capital T> ETURNING from his fishing trip in Florida waters with an in fected gum, President Roosevelt was confronted with a situation that was decidedly disconcerting. What has been called the Roosevelt depression was becoming still more depressed and congress seemingly couldn’t make up its mind what to do about it. The demand for tax revisions that would assist business out of the slump was insistent, and so was the necessity of balancing the budget. Passage of the four administration “must” measures appeared to' be impossible during the extraordinary session. All of them were opposed by various blocs of the majority party as well as by the Republican minority. The senate’s farm bill seemed to have the bfst chance to get through, but it differed so radically from the house measure that it was certain a conference committee would have to try to find a common ground. Secretary Wallace was reported dissatisfied with both senate and house bills. One official close to him said Wallace might urge Pres ident Roosevelt to veto any bill finally enacted which approximated either the senate or house measure. Democrats were so badly split over the wage-hour bill that hope of passing it before the regular session of congress* was about abandoned. Labor, too, was divided concerning this measure, the A. F. of La op posing it and the C. I. O. advocating its passage. The federation offered its own version, calling for a flat 40 cents an hour minimum wage -and a 40 hour maximum work week. The house bill was finally rescued from the rules committee by petition. House Majority Leader Sam Ray burn, Democrat, Texas, went ahead with plans to whip administration support behind the house measure. He said that fewer than 100 votes "vould be cast against the bill in its ^resent form but warned that unendments which would make its wage-hour provisions more rigid might shunt the measure back to the labor committee and delay a vote indefinitely. Tax Setup Needs Revision T^ANIEL C. ROPER, secretary of commerce, says the entire tax structure of the United States should be revised. He was speaking at a banquet of the Busi ness Advisory coun cil in Chicago, and his statements ap peared to meet with general approval. “A general revi sion is necessary to simplify determina tion of tax liability, to distribute the bur den of taxation more equitably, and to broaden the base of taxation to include a larger percents age of our earning population,” Sec retary Roper said. He asserted that the undistributed profits tax had not entirely fulfilled Its proponents’ expectations that it would “bring about a higher veloc ity of money through larger and more widespread distribution of cor porate earnings.” Mr. Roper expressed confidence that a “constructive approach will be found to the solution of the utili ties dilemma and that significant results will be forthcoming.” That this confidence has a sound basis was indicated by two an nouncements made the same day by prominent utility executives. Floyd L. Carlisle, chairman of the Consolidated Edison company, told the New York state public service commission that his company plans a $2f.000,000 expansion program. The development came during hear ings concerning a proposed $30,000,- 000 bond issue. Back from submitting to the Pres ident a formula for better under- Sec. Roper standing between utilities and the administration, Wendell L. Willkie, president of Commonwealth and Southern corporation, proposed a general truce between business and the Roosevelt administration. Will- kie’s company has been involved in some of the bitterest controversies with Washington. Lmdbergs Come Back A FTER two ye am of self- imposed exile in England, CoL and Mrs. Charles A. Lindbergh re turned to the United States. Pre sumably they came over to spend the holidays at the home of Mrs. Lindbergh’s mother, Mrs. Dwight Morrow, in Englewood, N. J. Dis patches from London said the colonel also had some business to transact in America. He is asso* ciated in an advisory capacity with Pan-American Airways. The landing of the Lindberghs at New York was accomplished with such secrecy that they almost es caped the notice of reporters and news photographers. One of the officers of the liner on which they came said they planned to return to England immediately after Christ mas. Infantry Comes First TN WAR operations on land the in- A fantry is still the most important branch of the service, says Gen. Malin Craig, chief of staff of the army, in his annual report. Lessons learned by skilled observers of the civ il war in Spain and the Chino-Japanese war have modified the American de fense program, but, says the general, it is still the infantry that renders the de cision in the final analysis. Airplanes and tanks are valu- uable auxiliaries to the infantry, but they cannot bring about a decision in land operations. Inventories of armament, motori zation, mechanization and equip ment, in the light of the lessons abroad, show several vital needs of the first line forces, General Craig declared. These include better weapons to combat aircraft and tanks, as well as more efficient guns for the planes and tanks. General Malin Craig Edgerton Backs Water CONFIRMATION of the appoint- ^ ment of Henry W. Edgerton of Cornell university as associate jus tice of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals was endangered because it was thought from his writ ings that he did not believe in judicial review. However, he appeared be fore the senate sub-committee, con sisting of Senators Borah, Burke and Van Nuys and repudiated his previ ous utterances. Of the power of courts to declare legislative enact ments unconstitutional he said:. ✓ “I regard it as not only thorough ly established as a legitimate part of our constitutional system, but which was intended by the great ma jority of the men who framed our Constitution. I think it was properly established by John Marshall and I haven’t the least criticism of any court for any declaration of the validity of that part of our consti tutional system.” Leviathan to Be Junked T APAN made a bid for the Levia- ** than, huge liner seized from Ger^ many in the World war, but the United States Lines rejected it and sold the vessel to Metal Industries, Ltd., of London for $800,000. It will go to England under its own power and will be junked. The Leviathan cost ten millions to build and the American govern ment spent more than eight millions to recondition it; and also paid Ger many $16,688,000 for its seizure. BORDER TROUBLES Prepared by National Geographic Society. Washington, D. C.—WNU Service. about Prehistoric Lore. D EL RIO, TEXAS.—Accord ing to the scientists, who have a great way of naming earthly phenomena without in quiring into the wishes of the phenomena, we are now living in a terrestrial era known as the Hollocene period. This will be news to a lot of peo ple who rather suspected we were living through a stage which might be called Chaos. Still, it’s no won der that the word hasn’t got around generally yet, be cause this present era is quite a young era as eras go. It’s merely a few mil lion years old, which, to our true geologist, is the iryin g. Cobb same as yesterday. Mention a few million years to him and he’ll say “phew!” and just snap his fingers—like that. I wonder if the authorities would pardon a suggestion from a poor ignoramus whose acquaintance with geology is largely limited to two of its surface phases, namely: Reg ular paved roads and those derned detours. When we consider most of the humorous illustrations and the bulk of the humorous text printed in the average smart magazine of today, and the even spicier lines heard in smart modern plays, wouldn’t it be more fitting to call it, not the Holocene, but the Ob scene period? • • • The Law’s Long Arm. HE long arm of the law—it’s a grand phrase, isn’t it? So mouth- filling, so satisfying to the honest citizen’s soul! It conjures up visions of unrelent ing warfare against crime, inevita ble punishment for the guilty. It’s the bunk! It’s the bunk because of crooked lawyers; venal policemen; compla cent prosecutors; soft-hearted or corrupted jurors; witnesses, bribed or intimidated; the law’s delays; reversals of fair verdicts on foolish technicalities; a false sentimentali ty which forgets the widow and or phan of the victim and thinks only of the family of the killer; most often of all, abuse of the powers to commute and to pardon and to pa role. These days, when I see a sen tenced offender handcuffed to an officer, I find myself saying to my self, “Chances are that fellow, lit erally or figuratively, is wearing that decoration only temporarily.” * * * The Passing Years. U'VERY newborn year is a rosy prospect just as nearly every dying year is a dun-colored dis appointment. But without revived hope what could we look forward to except being measured for a shroud? It seems only yesterday when 1937 was busting in, a radiant, bouncing baby-child, his arms burdened with promises, bless his little soul! After everal false starts, happy days were here again. Nobody was aim ing to remodel the Supreme court. Senator Ashurst told us so, and didn’t he know? He didn’t. Secretary Wallace, slightly assist ed by Divine Providence, would im mediately have the crop situation well in hand. Grass would grow only in the street leading to the almshouse. The Wall Street boys were expecting two suckers in ev ery pot. And the song of the Bulbul was heard in the land—ah, the bull- bull! Within the 12-month the Republi can party again would be a going concern. Well, if it’s a going con cern, the question is, where? And now, laden with future gifts, comes 1938. How time flies! Why, before you know it, Sistie will be old enough to take a job with the radio and Buzzie will be signing testimo nials. * * * Gambling Houses. ONCE famous card-sharp—not reformed, but retired—said to me: “Show me a professional gam bling house where the roulette wheel isn’t crooked, where any oth er mechanical device is on the square, where the operatives from the bosses on down won’t skin a customer—call him a sucker, if you want to; the terms are interchange able—and I’ll drop dead from shock, because no such outfit ever existed nor ever will, not so long as games can be tricked, as all of them can, and gamblers are out for the coin, as they naturally are, and the hand is quicker than the eye, which it is.” “But how about the mathematical percentage in favor of the bank— isn’t that enough?” I asked. “How about the mathematical percentage of crooked law-enforce ment officers who have to be bribed?” he countered. “There’s never enough coming in to satisfy those babies.” IRVIN S. COBB Copyright.—WNU Service. N OT many islands in the world have an interna tional border. One of this select group is Hispaniola, the big West Indian island which is shared by the Haitian and the Dominican republics. Recently this obscure boundary came into the news as a scene of out breaks in which Haitians were reported killed. The disorders were said to have been caused by heavy Haitian immigration into Dominican border towns. Hispaniola’s border divides more than governments. On one side of the line is the overcrowded, French- speaking, predominantly negro re public of Haiti, about the size of Vermont. On the other side is the Spanish-speaking and Caucasian- controlled Dominican republic, al most twice the size of its neighbor. The island was discovered by Christopher Columbus on his first voyage to America and at Cape Hait- ien his flagship, Santa Maria, was shipwrecked. Course of Boundary Line. Although the 193-mile boundary follows throughout much of its length a lofty chain of mountains which forms a natural wall, it cuts the island into two very unequal parts. The Dominican republic is almost twice as large as its neigh bor, Haiti. Yet smaUer Haiti has a population of about 3,000,000 as compared to the Dominican repub lic’s estimated 1,400,000. Haiti, in fact, is one of the most densely peo pled nations in the world, having some 275 persons per square mile. Beginning near the bay of Man zanillo, on the north, the border runs the gamut of nearly every type of natural obstacle known to geog raphers. At first it parallels the jungle-draped Copotillo river. Aft er a few miles the boundary takes to the hills, tumbling like a roller coaster over some of the highest peaks in the West Indies. In these mountains the frontier traverses a region of pines, oaks, and other temperate zone vegetation. Near Manneville it plunges into a dry, desertlike trough, which, at nearby Lake Enriquillo is 150 feet below sea level—one of the two such depressions in the Western Hem isphere, the other being in Califor nia. Continuing in a general southward direction the boundary next leaps over the rugged sierra de Bahorucof more than a mile high along the southern coast of Hispaniola, and finally picks up another small trop ical stream, the Rio Pedernales, be fore it ends in the Caribbean. Two Motor Roads Link Nations. No railroad crosses this frontier, but there are two motor roads. One, in the north, crosses the Rio Cop otillo at Dajabon. The other, about midway, pierces the mountain wall between the Haitian town of Las- cahobas and the Dominican village of Las Matas. A narrow-gauge rail way from Port-au-Prince, the Hai tian capital, reaches almost to the border at Manneville, where an un improved roadway connects with Ciudad Trujillo, the capital of the Dominican republic. While the two nations on the is land present sharp social contrasts, there is a great deal of similarity in the scenery and the economic re sources of each. Both raise sugar, tobacco, coffee and cacao (the source of chocolate) for export. Both have deposits of valuable min erals, largely unexploited. The Do minican republic, however, has less rainfall for crops but more grazing land for cattle, and greater timber wealth, including mahogany, cedar, lignum vitae and satinwood. Twice, in recent years, this sec ond largest of West Indian islands made news for map-makers. The first time was when the old name of Hispaniola given to it by Columbus, was restored. Previously the is land was termed either Haiti or Santo Domingo, which not only caused confusion among outsiders but resentment between the two countries on the island. Nicaragua and Honduras. In 1936 the name of the ancient capital of the Dominican republic, Santo Domingo, was changed to Ciu dad Trujillo in honor of the nation’s president, Gen. Rafael Leonidas Trujillo Molina. Threats of new trouble over the long-disputed boundary between Nicaragua and Honduras have fo cused attention again on these two Central American countries, closely related to the United States econom ically and historically. Each no larger than the state of New York, and with populations re spectively the size of Cleveland and San Francisco, Honduras and Nic aragua occupy the widest part of the Central American isthmus and have many similarities. Bananas are the leading export product of Honduras. Those raised for export are grown /chiefly on plan tations along the northern coast fronting on the Caribbean sea, and extending inland 50 to 75 miles. Mil lions of bunches of the yellow fruit are produced in this “banana belt.” Coffee is the most important export product of Nicaragua, and her prosperity rises and falls to a large extent with the price that cof fee brings. In the United States, however, Nicaragua in recent years has been best known for the canal which has been proposed through her territory as an auxiliary to the Panama canal. If the canal is built, its route probably will be along the southern border of Nicaragua just north of Costa Rica, following the course of the San Juan river from the At lantic to huge Lake ^ Nicaragua, then across the lake and through the narrow strip of land that sep arates the lake from the Pacific ocean. Have Much in Common. Both Honduras and Nicaragua have low, damp tropical regions along the coast, while the interior is made up of high mountains and plateaus with a cooler, more tem perate climate. Gold and silver are plentiful in the mountains of both' countries, but few mines now are worked. The boundary between the two countries follows the course of the Wanks or Segovia river from Cabo Gracias a Dios (“Cape Thanks to God”) on the Caribbean coast, far inland. Then it runs through the mountains of the interior to the Rio Negro which it follows down to the Pacific. Disputes between Hon duras and Nicaragua are not new. The two nations have had several disagreements over the boundary in the past, and were at war in 1907, 1897, 1884 and 1863. Internal dis turbances have caused United States marines to be landed in both coun tries at various times. Lack of roads through the thick jungles of the lowlands and the high mountains of the interior, some of which reach 10,000 feet in Honduras, has kept both countries from fully developing their resources. Teguc igalpa, capital of Honduras, is the only capital in Central America not reached by a railroad, but never theless is an up-to-date city, for regular airplane service operates between it and other Central Amer ican centers. Managua, capital of Nicaragua, was almost completely destroyed by a disastrous earthquake in March, 1931, but its people have returned and a new city has risen rapidly from the ruins. Extinct volcanoes are features of the skyline in the mountainous interior of both coun tries, and Nicaragua has an active volcano, Omotepe, forming an is land in Lake Nicaragua. People of Honduras and Nic aragua are largely a mixture of the original Indians and their Spanish conquerors, with small proportions of pure-blooded Indians and whites of unmixed Spanish descent. Ne groes, some descended from slaves and others brought in as contract laborers from the Y/est Indies, per form much of the labor in the banana-growing regions. Fine Swords Given Names Many centuries ago, when a fine sword was among man’s most cher ished possessions, these weapons were frequently given names, many of which are recorded in history, says a writer in Collier’s Weekly. “Crocea Mors” was owned by Cae sar, “A1 Battar” by Mohammed, “Famberge” by Charlemagne and “Curta’na” by Edward the Confes sor. Caffeine in Coffee and Tea According to the Encyclopedia Americana, coffee contains by weight about 1.5 per cent caffeine, while tea contains from 3 to 4 per cent. CLASSIFIED DEPARTMENT PAINTS Sell Roof Paint, house paint and aluminum paint, good proposition. Flanagan Bros. Co., 031-7 CaldweU St.. Youngstown. Ohio. Ask Me Another 0 A General Quiz 1. What are the freezing and boiling points of mercury? 2. Which is larger, the United States of Brazil or the United States of America? 3. What do the designs and col ors of Scotch plaids indicate? 4. What were the first messages sent by telegraph and telephone? 5. Does the use of veneer on furniture imply poor quality? 6. How much torn and defaced money is sent to the United States Treasury for redemption? 7. Is there a law which permits the United States government to withhold and conceal the existence of treaties between itself and for eign powers from its citizens dur ing the time of peace? 8. Who first referred to the Lost Battalion by that name? Answers 1. Its freezing point is —37.96 degrees F., and its boiling point, 675 degrees F. 2. The United States of Brazil, which is 272,000 square miles larger. 3. The clans or regiments to which their wearers belong. 4. The first by telegraph was, “What hath God wrought,” and by telephone, “Mr. Watson, please come here: I want you.” 5. It does not. It is the only method by which the grain or fig ure in some rare and beautiful woods can be displayed to advan tage. 6. Approximately thjree billion dollars a year in mutilated cur rency is turned in for redemption. 7. The United States cannot have secret treaties with other countries. 8. The name was given by Har old D. Jacobs, who at that time was cable editor of the United Press in New York city. Mr. Ja cobs now is editor of the Santa Barbara (Calif.) Morning Press. SmoJzesti. knot* tUat \ LUDEN'Sj Menthol Cough Drops 50 "...soothe a raw throat instantly." We Are Favored If you count up the sunny and cloudy days in a complete year, you will find that the fine day has come more often.—Ovid. For Chest Colds Distressing cold in chest or throat, never safe to neglect, generally eases up when soothing, warming Mua- terole is applied. Better than a mustard plaster, Musterole gets action because it’s NOT just a salve. It’s a u counter- irritant"—stimulating, penetrating, and helpful in drawing out local con gestion and pain. Used by millions for 30 years. Recommended by many doctors and nurses. All druggists'. In three strengths: Regular Strength, Chil dren’s (mild), and Extra Strong. Ap proved by Good Housekeeping. SMALL SIZE 60c LARGE SIZE $1.20 Brings Blessed Relief from aches and pains of RHEUMATISM NEURITIS and LUMBAGO Try a bottl. . . Why Suffer? AT ALL GOOD DRUG STORES WNU—7 60—37 Sentinels of Health Don’t Neglect Them I Nature designed the kidneys to do a marvelous job. Their task is to keep the flowing blood at ream free of an excess of toxic impuritiee. The act of living—Ufa itself—is constantly producing waate matter the kidneys muat remove from the blood if good health ia to endure. When the kidneys fail to function aa Nature intended, there is retention of waste that may cause body-wide dis tress. One may suffer nagging backache, persistent headache, attacks of dizziness, getting up nights, swelling, pufflneaa under the eyes—feel tired, nervous, all worn out. Frequent, scanty or burning passages may be further evidence of kidney or bladder disturbance. The recognized and proper treatment Is a diuretic medicine to help the kidneys get rid of excess poisonous body waste. Use Doan's Pills. They have had more than forty years of public approval. Arp endorsed tne country over. Insist on Doan’s. Sold at all drug stores. DOANS Pi US