Evening Star Newspaper, November 26, 1934, Page 2

A—2 .» HOUSING PURPOSE CONFLICT DENIED Moffett and Ickes Differ on Approaches to Recov- ery Problem. BY DAVID LAWRENCE. Two fundamentally different ap- proaches to the recovery problem, rather than any conflict of purpose, may be said to account for the ap- parent clash between Housing Ad- ministrator James Moffett and Pub- lic Works Administrator Harold Ickes. Both recognize that the heavier industries, such as construction and { building, must be revived and that America needs better homes, repair of old and erection of new, as well as a higher standard of living quar- ters for people receiving the lowest ‘wages. But the question of how to achieve the objectives causes a deviation of viewpoints, and it is most unfortunate that the differences are submerged or camouflaged rather than aired. Jobless Prevents Solution. For there’s a good deal to the con- tenions of each and, were it not for the existence of a vast body of un- employed workmen, it would be easy enough to resolve the dispute tradi- tionally and say that we should merely do what we have always done— keep building entirely within the do- main of private capital and let it go at that point. Mr. Ickes, however, is still conscious of an emergency atmosphere. He is impatient to see the construction drive accelerated. He feels that pri- vate capital may take up the slack in due time, but that it needs a pulmotor now. Mr. Moffett believes, on the other hand, that the construction and re- pair movement which is going on through the co-operation of the banks and lending agencies throughout the country is succeeding far beyond ex- pectations and that a volume of build- ing contracts is rolling up which will be cumulatively and progressively bigger with every month for the next several years. Moffett More Pleasing. There can be no doubt that Mr. ‘Moffett’s activities are more pleasing from an orthodox standpoint because they stimulate the private agencies and merely give a lift to those who would otherwise hesitate, or they modernize credit to permit of time payments for repairs and new con- struction, 3 But the Ickes plan for public hous- Ing subsidy and is plainly and frankly an emergency measure to tide the Na- tion over the transition period be- tween present-day conditions and the absorption of the unemployed millions. Mr. Ickes is as eager to see large relief expenditures cut down as he is anxious to see large-scale business operations begun which can at once re-employ millions of workmen. The danger in the Ickes plan is that low-cost heusing cannot be superim- posed upon any of our larger cities without bringing a certain amount of deflation in mortgages on existing property which would not have the benefit of local tax exemptions or low interest rates or other subsidies. Like T. V. A. Situation. It is very much like the T. V. A. situation, which permits Federal money to assist municipalities to build plants that give lower electric light and power rates than private com- panies. As a matter of fact, if Fed- eral funds are to be used at all to subsidize cities, it would help recovery far more to have the money go to build livable homes and apartments than to create more electric power | than the Nation can absorb. The problem is now to find a for- mula for cheap housing which will not break down surrounding values. Slum clearance projects are being studied by private capital and can be consummated as efficiently by private interests as by cities or by Federal authorities, if tax exemptions are allowed. There is a certain ground for re- conciliation of opposing viewpoints here, because cities might be willing to grant something that would not be exactly a tax exemption—for it would not be permanent—but a graduated scale of rebates on taxes because of the enhancement of certain sections of cities which have been more or less neglected and which are poor from the standpoint of producing tax revenues anyway. In other words, a slum clearance project which im- proved several city blocks would cor- respondingly give value to surround- ing blocks and neighborhoods; hence, cities woula be justified in giving reductions in taxes till the newly de- veloped property in future years showed a higher earning power. There is already under discussion here a plan to allow deductions on income taxes for money spent in construc- tion. Vacant Houses Cited. The argument that there are too many vacant homes now, and that these ought to be first occupied be- fore new building is done, is, of course, advanced often, but it only leads to a vicious circle. For unless more peo- ple are employed there will be no chance to rent these vacant places. Also, the figures of many housing sur- veys show that families are doubling up now and that when jobs return there will be an actual shortage of homes in many of our larger cities. Undoubtedly there’s plenty of work in the housing idea for the unem- ployed, but any plan which means outright subsidy, no consideration for surrounding properties and an arbi- trary interjection of Federal aid in our principal cities, without regard to effect on the existing mortgage or interest situation, is bound to do as much harm as good. Mr. Ickes wili find that Mr. Moffett is succeeding because he knows how to bring government and business together into active and trustful co- operation. The low-cost homes and rooms in apartment buildings spon- sored by Mr. Ickes are needed to im- prove the living conditions of the masses. There is scarcely a city that could not improve its appearance and the lives of its less fortunate citizens by better housing. There’s much, therefore, in the Ickes plan and much in the Moffett plan. Each has advantages and both ought to be pursued, for they mean better living accommodations for dif- ferent classes of wage earners. But both plans require meticulous co- operation between private interests and the Government, and this in- cludes a more co-ordinated relation- ship between the wages paid in build- ing trades and the amount of work that can be spread over the four sea- sons instead of a single season. Europe has had some sad experi- ences with government-owned housing projects, and even Russia found the idea to a certain extent impractical, so there’s an abundance of technical knowledge on the subject which un- questionably will be canvassed be- fore the administration commits itself to huge projects that cannot be self- liquidating, if the rentals are too low, or self-reimbursing to the Govern- ) involves a direct governmental | What’s What Behind News In Capital Japan Declared Aiming at Trade Expansion, Not at War. BY PAUL MALLON. | HE thing to remember about all | this new Japanese war talk is i that the Japanese do not want war and do not intend to have one. Our dipfomats are con- vinced of that. They know all that you have hea~d about Japanese sword rattling, and more, but they believe that they understand the inside of the Japanese game. Primarily, the Japanese want to be |a major power. They want to be in Asia what the United States is in America, only more so. They know that the one thing they must avoid is war. They could not defeat either | the United States or Britain now or | any time soon. War with either would set Japanese ambitions back 100 years. What they are trying to do is to erpand and build themselves up by tricky, threatening, aggressive di- plomacy, such as you have witnessed lately in the London naval con- versation. They are going to build, all right. Make no mistake about that. They know very well that the world is too busy with other things now and cannot step in for any co-ordinated action against them. The only way to offset their tactics is for us to build also. In that way we can peaceably maintain our pro- tective superiority. At least that is the way our people have figured it out for themselves. You will very probably see the trend of Pacific diplomacy follow along this line for the next few years. Much Scrap Iron Bought. It is true that the Japanese have | been taking a lot of scrap iron from |us recently. Our exports of scrap reached the unprecedented proportions of 1,275414 gross tons durirg the last nine months. This is two and cne- | half times the exports for the same period last year. And the Japanese took 61 per cent of this scrap. Italy and Poland took the bulk of the re- mainder. Authorities here have investigated quietly to find out what the Japanese are doing with all this scrap. They have learned that it is going into con- struction of a Japanese merchant ma- rine. The Japanese intend to domi- { nate Pacific trade if they can. Also these commercial vessels may easily be converted for war uses. It is also true that the Japanese are becoming our best cotton cus- tomer. They took about 25 per cent of our total cotton erports last year. They are taking around 35 per cent so far this year (although number of bales has de- creased a little). Our people suspect that much of this cotton is going into storage for the manufacture of gun cotton. But they also know that the Japanese are jusing most of it to manufacture textiles. They are underselling these lt(e)(tlles against us in the world mar- ets. ‘These two things should give you the secret of the Japancse scheme. On scrap iron and cotton their pri- mary aim is commercial expansion rather than war, as commonly sup- posed. The war angle is only the long-range secondary objective. Talk Declared Brake. For these reasons our best authori- ties are confident the Japanese will not let the dangerous game they are playing get out of hand. Publication of the amazingly unwarlike interview of ex-Premier Makoto Saitc was not a break, but a brake. Ambassador Hiroshi Saito has been working along similar soft-pedaling lines there. Don’t worry about them being assassinated in Japan. Their activities fit per- fectly within the Japanese diplomatic scheme—the mailed fist in a velvet glove. What has encouraged our officials so much lately is the fact that the Brit- ish withstood the strongest Japanese diplomatic efforts to drive a wedge between us at London. Also they noted the way Babe Ruth was received in Tokio and are talking about making him an Ambassador. He is the only American who seems to get anywhere with the Japanese. S The N. R. A. is digging a publicity grave for itself. You will hear about it being shoved in one of these days. One official there drew himself up to his full height of 3 feet 0 inches a few days ago and informed reporters that it, was against the rules to talk to a newsman. That attitude was sensa- tional in this New Deal era, when most newsmen have to go home through the alleys to get away from administration publicity men. Reporters at the N. R. A. banded together and threatened to publish the fact that the lid was being clamped on. This frightened the official and he shriveled to his natural size, promising that the N. R. A. would loosen up and tell what its board is doing. That promise was in vain. Daily meetings of the board have been held for weeks, but there has been no news. One reason is that the board has been fighting most of the time and has reached few conclusions. It cannot be expected to give that out. Johnson Knew His Stuff. The main cause of the difficulty seems to be that business men now are in control at the N. R. A. No class of people knows less about publicity than business men, unless it is bank- ers. They do not understand the gold- fish bowl technique under which Gen. Johnson worked. Johnson kept the goldfish bowl painted black on the in- side, but he took out & fish and showed it every now and then, which kept every one satisfied. As an example of the new lows for absurdity now being established in N. R. A, Deputy Administrator Dun- ning called another tobacco hearing and advised the interested parties not to tell newsmen so the reporters would not try to get in. (Covyright. 1934.) ment unless doles and subsidies are furnished by Federal or city govern- ment. And somebody has to pay these doles in the form of higher Fed- eral or city taxes. . (Copyrisht. 1934.) 4 THE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 1934 BIGU.S.HOUSING [SOLUTIONNEARER | PLAN'HIT BY DAY New York Realty Operator Fears Blow to Capital in Ickes’ Proposal. Attacking the proposed $2,000,000, 000 Federal housing program as & death blow at private capital and initiative in the building field, Joseph P. Day, wealthy New York real estate expert and operator, has sent a letter to President Roosevelt urging recon- sideration of the tentative schedule recently outlined by Secretary of In- terior Ickes. While approving the Government efforts to enlarge the gusr:{n;le of mortgages through the Federal Hous- ing e ministration, Day sets forth forcibly his reasons for opposing any plan whereby public funds would be invested in the construction of apart- ment houses and private residences. He asserts that the $5 per month per room rental sought by the housing planners carries “two terrible implica- tions.” Primarily, the rent level would be an unanswerable threat to private construction and financial interests, which could not meet the low cost competition. Rent Held Impossible. “It is an absolute impossibility to build any modern apartments to rent at $5 a room,” he says. “But the very talk of it as a possibility in the newspapers will fool the public into thinking it is possible, and will con- sider that the private owners who demand more are swindling them.” The second major fault, Day con- tends, is the necessity for tying up invested in the buildings. “Even granted that Mr. Ickes gets all he desires in the way of free land, free water, freedom from taxes, free playgrounds and free schooling im- mediately adjoined, vet on & $5-a- room plan they cannot pay interest on the Federal money invested and certainly cannot amortize the invest- ment,” he holds. Inclosed in the letter to President Roosevelt were several newspaper clip- pings, irom which Day said he un- derstood that Secretary Ickes is “con- vinced that private capital has shown itself either incapable or not inter- ested in building, that he is going to press for a huge low-cost Government housing program. and that he will use all his influence behind a move for Federal acquisition of land and build- ing operations in both urban and rural districts.” Challenges Comparison. Day challenges Secretary Ickes' comparison of housing with the utility fleld, asserting that “utilities are mat- ters affected by a public interest and are natural monopolies, and, in the majority of cases, interstate. Hous- ing is particularly, and always has been, a private matter and absolutely local. There is nothing whatever in the Constitution or our scheme of gov- ernment authorizing or indicating any Federal interest in the housing ques- tion. There is nothing in it even to warrant a State to build houses. The most that the State or municipality should do is to make regulations pro- viding for health and safety.” Secretary Ickes' reported statement that Government housing is needed because of lack of private enterprise “is a very grim joke” Day wrote. Raps Scare Talk. “We must bear in mind that for fully a year Secretary Ickes has been scaring private enterprise with his talk of public competition. We know that he has been demanding tax ex- emption and various free services from the municipalities. How would any private builder or lender dare com- pete with that, except on the very small and restricted scale that they have been doing?" In his opinion, Day states, the mort- gage lending situation is “clearing up very nicely” and there has been renewal of mortgage building loans by the large banks and insurance com- panies. ‘The Government is now faced, as Day pictures the situation, with the problem of rehabilitating the private building industry or embarking on a voyage “which I must frankly call ‘Communistic’ or ‘Socialistic.’ " In closing, Day paraphrases the famous expression, “This Union can- not persist half slave and half free,” declaring “This Union cannot pers half Communist and half Capitalist.” BODY FOUND IN CAR Employe of B. & 0. Believed Vic- tim of Natural Causes. Nimrod O. Barnhart, 53, of Bruns- wick, Md., an_employe of the Balti- more & Ohio Railroad, was found dead this morning in a camp car at Fourth and R streets northeast. Police said death was due to natural causes. Chairman TO COLLECT TOYS FOR POOR CHILDREN AT DANCE. JANIE McSWAIN. Christmas toys for needy Wash- ington children will be collected at a dance to be given by the Young Democrats’ Club of Washington on Friday night at the Carlton Hotel, and turned over to The Evening Star for distribution through the Council of Social Agencies Christ- mas Exchange. The council also has charge of the distribution of toys to be collected at The Star- Warner Bros.” Christmas toy mat- inees to be held on December 15. A Santa Claus at the Young Democrats’ Club dance will receive the toy contributions from those attending, and these will be placed around a large Christmas tree. Assistant Secretary of the Inte- rior Oscar Chapman will be patron and guest of honor of the dance and Miss Janie McSwain is chair- man of the Dance Committee, B A Y permanently such funds as would be ; INGIRLS'SLAYING Auto Sought as Clue—Three Partly Identified by Bus Driver. (Continued From Pirst Page.) after absent pupils—especially those of fair face and golden hair, as were the three whose bodies lie swathed in white linens in a funeral parlor here. Black-uniformed officers trudged through the dead leaves of the moun- tainside, 10 miles south of Carlisle, where the little bodies were found Saturday, sifting new clues. Bag Holds Attention. State police, led by Lieut. Harry L. McElroy, chief of detectives, centered found Thursday in the underbrush, |2 miles from the bodies. This bag, holding women’s and girls’ apparel which corresponded to the clothing worn by the children, as well as & man’s shirt, trousers and under- garment, the troopers hoped would lead to an identification of the three snub-nosed, freckled children. MCcElroy, a veteran of many bafling crime mysteries, also watched the de- velopments at Duncansville. The woman wore a red woolen skirt, but no jacket; the black bag found near the children’s bodies held a white woolen jacket with red trim- ming. The jacket apparently would have fitted the woman in the Altoona tragedy. The man’s apparel. officers sald, could have belonged to the man in the case. ‘A tentative clue to the identity of the slain woman collapsed when in- vestigators found Mrs. Leona Forcy, nee Davis, alive and well at her home in Lewistown. Mr. and Mrs. M. C. Oakes of Al- toona, at whose home Mrs. Forcy stayed recently, told authorities they believed the body of the woman found at Duncansville might be that of Mrs. Forcy. but she was unable to shed any light on the case. State police said they are con- vinced the bag, though found two days before the bodies, is connected with the death of the three children. Had Gone Foodless. Medical examination, it was dis- closed, indicated the children had nothing to eat for possibly 18 hours before they died. Some suggested the children were not dead when they were laid, with apparent tender- ness, in their blankets in the hills. These suggested the three might have died from hunger and exposure. Tracing this theory, officers visited tourist camps and hunting lodges in the heart of the deer country, not far from this old college town. Only & small lard can, containing a rust-stained washcloth, was picked up. It was pointed out the children had been carefully washed just be- fore their death. Army Angle Is Studied. Vaccinations on their shoulders, which officers of the United States j Army Medical Barracks here said ap- parently were performed by Army doctors, 'also were scrutinized after it was believed the man's shirt found in the black bag was handled through military agencies. All day yesterday thousands milled about the funeral parlors until per- mitted to pass through the hall into the death room. State police watched every face intently for some show | of recognition. Few stopped for more | than a curious glance, though several were questioned. D. C. LINK IS HINTED. | Shirt Found Near Bodies May Have Been Sold Here. NAPA, Calif, November 26 (#).— | W. H. Cameron, Napa manufacturer, said yesterday he was informed a shirt found near the bodies of three girls at Carlisle, Pa,, was a product of his concern. The manufacturer said if the in- formation was correct the garment must have come from some military post in the Atlantic States. He said he was informed the shirt bore the trade name of his company, “Cameron Camo-Dore Preshrunk.” “These shirts,” he said, “are sent in limited numbers for semi-military use to the East. It is safe to say that such a shirt would have come originally from United States Army stations either at Washington, D. C., or Middletown, N. Y. Except for a few minor accounts, records of which are not available at this time, these shirts would come almost certainly from one of those two stations.” STATION DEATHS PROBED, ALTOONA, Pa., November 26 (#).— Police cast about today for new clues to the identities of a man and woman found shot to death Saturday in a railroad flag station at Duncansville, near Altoona, but questioned the pos- sibility of their connection with the finding of three girls' bodies near Carlisle. | The woman, about 24 and the man, about 35, were dressed in clothing from which the maker's labels had been torn. Investigators said the man appar- ently shot the woman in the heart, and then turned the weapon upon himself. Mr. and Mrs. M. C. Oakes of Al- toona, tentatively identified the wom- an last night as a Lewistown woman, who lived with them several months 8go, but the woman was found alive at her home. Mrs. George Ficker of Altoona identified the couple as a “Mr. and | Mrs. J. C. Gardner” who spent Thurs- day night at her boarding house, after pleading they only had 48 cents. She said they left Friday noon. Police described the couple as “good looking, but poorly dressed.” Officers said the two apparently were hitch-hikers. They questioned the authenticity of the names given by Mrs. Ficker, P Lost Boat Located. NEW YORK, November 26 (#).— The Ketch Fayaway, object of an air and sea search by the Navy and Coast Guard, was found early today by a Coast Guard cutter 35 miles from the Chesapeake Light vessel, near Nor- folk, Va. ;!_ their attention on a small black bag Santa Instructs His Expert Toy Packers Santa Claus is shown in a corner of his great packing rooms telling his gnomes they must make haste in getting their packages ready for delivery, as Christmas is drawing near. ARGENTINANEXT | ON TREATY LIST Negotiations Started With Many Nations Expected to Gain Results Soon. By the Associated Press. Argentina, an authoritative source said today, is mext on the list of | new world nations with which the United States will start negotiations for a give-and-take trade treaty. The talks may begin early in January. The Government is now conduct- ing negotiations with a dozen na-| tions under powers given President Roosevelt to raise or lower tariffs by | as much as 50 per cent in reaching trade agreements. Concrete results | are expected within a few months. Discussions Deferred for Time. Trade talks with Argentina were | under way last October, when Mr. | Roosevelt decided to ask Congress | for the treaty powers. The conver- | sations were not immediately re- | newed. Instead, the United States | selected a group of nations in which | competitive trade products did not | present such a hazard to successful | negotiations. l These included Cuba, Brazil. Co- lombia, Haitl, the five Central Amer- | ican countries and Belgium, Sweden, Switzerland and Spain. The experts conducting the Latin American talks will clear their decks for further action late this year on | winding up the Brazlian treaty, now | approaching the drifting stage. The Colombian treaty has been finished ' and its announcement awaits only completion of the Brazilian act. treaty with Cuba, already in effect, has increased trade measurably. | Argentina's Case Difficult. In dealing with these countries the United States has the advantage of | an unfavorable trade balance, and products on the free list. to use in | bargaining. With Argentina the re- verse is true. Most of her exportable | goods are competitive with rnrmj products of this country, and Argen- | tina enjoys the bargaining position | of an unfavorable balance of trade. | For this reason observers see the | possibility of a major test of the reciprocal treaty idea. THANKSGIVING MASS St. Mary's Church to Honor Lady of Miraculous Medal. A solemn high mass of Thanksgiv- ing will be offered in honor of Our | Lady of the Miraculous Medal at St. Mary's Church, Fifth street between G and H streets, tomorrow at 12:10 | pm. ! Officiating at the service will be Rev. | Willilam H. Hoffman, pastor; Rev. Francis Kelly of St. Patrick’s Church, | Rev. Kasimir F. Keydash of St. Al- phonsus Church, Baltimore; Rev. John H. Zerhusen of St. Mary's and | Rev. Thomas F. Madden, C. M., who | will deliver the sermon. The music of | the mass will be sung by the choir of the Marist College, Brookland, D. C. 1 —Star Expedition Photo. Star Expedition Airplane Is Headed for Hudson Bay Covers First Leg of Homeward Flight‘ With Film of Santa Claus Land to Be Shown Here Thursday. Editor's note to the boys and girls of Washington: Yesterday The Star erpedition’s big airplane took off from its base in Eskimo- land after bidding good-by to Santa Claus and the, Eskimos. The party is headed for the Hudson Bay region in Northern Canada, where the plane will stop for fuel. It is bringing back the amazing moving pictures of the entire erpedition and the first “film ever made of Santa Claus’ palace and workshops, to be shown here beginning Thurs- day at the Warner Brothers’ Metro- politan Theater. The party plans to land at Minneola airfield in Long Island on Wednesday night, and the movies will be rushed to Washington by special train. Capt. Kleinschmidt tells of the flight back home in his message from the plane today. BY CAPT. F. E. KLEINSCHMIDT. By Wireless to The Star. N ROUTE, November 26.—Here we are on our way to Hudson Bay in Northern Canada. It has given me one of the big- gest thrills in my life and I | know it will be a sensation to all the boys and girls in Washington when | for the first time in history The Eve- ning Star will show the motion pic- tures of this expedition and the home life of Santa Claus. The films are being developed and prepared in our little dark room on | the plane and a print will be sent by special train to Washington imme- diately upon my arrival at the Min- | There will be an auto- | neola Airport. mobile and a motor cycle escort of police waiting at the airport to rush these films to the train. Sirens blow- ing, traffic will keep clear, and no time will be lost getting these treasured pictures to the station. Ralilroad offi- cials have promised to have a fast locomotive hitched up to The Star’s special car and to keep the signals green and give the train right of way to the Capital, so that the pictures will arrive on time for the opening of | the Metropolitan Theater on Thurs- day morning, where they will be shown. You can prepare for a real thrill, because I can tell you it will be one of the finest moving pictures vou have ever seen and should leave no doubt in your mind that Santa Claus is a very real person. When you see him trying out the new toys in his great factory—but, hold on, I'm telling you too much. Wait until you see the picture for yourself. Above the Clouds. Yesterday I told you about getting back to the Eskimo village where we had left our airplane all battened down and protected from the blizzards in its huge snow hangar. Today we are fiying high above a sea of billowy white clouds which look so much like the snowbound mountains below them that it is hard to tell them apart. ‘The plane is warm and cozy inside, and Mrs. Kleinschmidt is busy making Life’s Like That BY FRED NEHER. “WHY CHARGE ME FULL FARE YEARS OLD?” FOR HIM WHEN HE'S ONLY TWO (Copyright, 1034.) ’ ALL D. C. POOR CHILDREN TO GET NEW TOYS FROM CHRISTMAS MATINEES. On December 15 The Star and Warner Bros.” Theaters will hold their fourth annual Christmas toy matinees, to make sure that every needy child in Washington will receive a new Christmas gift. Last year 30,000 new toys and gifts for Washington's poor chil- dren were brought to the 12 theaters where the toy matinees were held. These were distrib- uted to the needy by the Christ- mas Planning Committee of the Council of Social Agencies. This year it is The Star'’s hope that the number of new toy contribu- tions will be greatly increased and that all children in the Dis- trict of Columbia will be made happy in the knowledge that Santa Claus will not pass them by. | us & cup of tea on our little electric stove. We can hear the big motors buzzing like huge wasps. Our in- struments tell us that we are making 160 miles an hour, and that our al- titude is over 10,000 feet. At this rate we should be back on schedule. We have to fiy fast and to keep ahead of time in fair weather, in | case a storm should slow us down, or in case some mishap should cause us to make a forced landing. Before I had a chance to finish this message to you from the plane we reached the Northern Hudson Bay | post on the banks of the Frozen Strait and have now landed at the Eskimo village where we stopped on our way up. ‘We have seen some wonderful things | since we were here only a short while. In fact, it is difficult to describe just how wonderful these scenes were. I will have to depend on the moving pictures to tell the story better than I can. | Just now I am too busy to do much but think about getting the plane | off again. The temperature is way | down today and when we stopped the plane at the Eskimo village here we | | had to place a little fire near the motor to keep the oil from getting so hard it would stop the machinery from | working. Intense Cold. You boys and girls who think your | fingers and toes and ears are freez- ing when it s down to zero, know very little about what cold really is. ‘The mercury in my thermometer was clear out of sight today. And when you consider that the thermometer | was made for cold countries, and | that it registers down to 70 degrees below zero, you can see that it was pretty cold. The Eskimos here in the village were delighted to welcome us back. They all are very much in love with Santa Claus, and wanted to know all about him, and it isn't any wonder, for he outdoes himself in kindness when they are around. He knows that they are loyai people, and since he knows what it is to live in this cold country, he realizes something of the hardships which they go through in making a living and carry- ing out their daily pursuits. I spent some time today checking over the plane and getting everything ready to continue the trip back to Ottawa. Ganada, our next stop. It is impossible for me to tell you just when we will arrive there, for there are hundreds and hundreds of miles of hard flying ahead of us. And the weather is not any too good. It looks like we might be in for a storm be- fore nightfall, and we may have head winds and hard going tomorrow. But I somehow feel sure that we will reach our destination on schedule. We must be there, and when you realize that something is absolutely necessary ldtuiurprlfln‘howel.luyywun o it. We are determined to have the films in Washington by Thursday morning —and storms or no, storms, we are not going to disappoint you. (Tomorrow Capt. Kleinschmidt promises to send another message r":om the plane on his flight to Ot- wa.) receive gifts this Christmas.” Santa Claus Editor of The Star. other awards. Jyout letter. third prise is $5. night of Saturday, E their letters, will be made one week in early. INSURED FACTORY LOANS PROPOSED U. S. Considers Plan to Ease Credit to Capital Goods Industries. By the Assoclated Press. Government economists, studying more reports of improving Ltusiness today, sought further ways to stimu- late capital goods industries, such as those supplying factory machinery and equipment. Assistance for these industries— which have displayed greater inertia than many others—is the aim of a tentative proposal, drawn in memo- randum form for the consideration of administration advisers. Specifically, it suggests that a Government agency be set up to insure private loans for the modernization of plants. With the Government providing in- surance against excess risk arising from the depression, it was said, many concerns would be able to embark on a program of modernizing plants which have deteriorated or gone out of date since 1929. Supporters of the suggestion say its potentialities for re-employment of labor compare with those of the housing drive now under way. Want Banks to Act. It is similar to the housing program in that, instead of lending its own money, the Government would seek to stimulate the flow of credit from private banks into modernization work. The Roosevelt administration, which now has $6,946,069,897 cutstanding in New Deal loans to a wide variety of borrowers, ranging from banks and businesses to farmers and home owners, has expressed the hope that private enterprise will take over some of the burden. The President has sald Government lending will taper off when private agencies assume the task. Officials who are hoping for a sub- stantial business pick-up noted a re- port of the Federal Reserve Board, which announced yesterday that in- dustrial production and factory em- ployment increased in October. This was welcome news, even though the increase was attributed to the end of the great textile strike. Steel Production Up. Industrial activity increased from 71 per cent of the 1923-1925 average in September to 73 per cent in October. Steel mill activity was 25 per cent of capacity. as against 23 in September, but lumber and automobiles declined. While eyeing business trends, offi- cials also were busy preparing for the shorter-work-week debates ex- | pected when Congress convenes in | January. At N. R. A supervisors of | some 400 manufacturing codes were | drafting recommendations for a uni- | form, 40-hour maximum. These rec- | ommendations will go to the National | Industrial Recovery Board and then perhaps to the White House. 30-Hour Week Feared. They are regarded as an attempt to meet the American Federation of Labor's drive for legislation to set the maximum at 30 hours a week ‘The unior: leaders say this is needed to put millions back to work and thus speed recovery. At N. R. A, many officials ap- | parently believe a 30-hour week would | push prices so high that is would seriously diminish consumption. High officials of the recovery agency hold that instead of blanket and drastic cuts in the work week, emphasis now should be placed on more production 8s 8 means of creating jobs. MOFFETT AND ICKES REPORTED REPROVED FOR HOUSING FIGHT (Continued From Pirst Page.) The upshot of the flareup may be & plan to merge all housing activities of the Government into one agency. Donald R. Richberg’s National Emergency Council is working on a program whereby housing activities, | now carried by 54 Federal agencies, may be lumped in one. MofTett, who is conducting a drive to stimulate the investment of private | money in home building, favors such | an idea. The opinion of Secretary | Ickes is not known. Government departments which en- gage in housing activities in one form or other include the Treasury, which | looks after the construction of Gov- ernment buildings; the War and Navy departments, which plan their own housing needs, and a long list ot others. Hopkins Project Watched. Observers watching housing devel- opments heard with interest today that Harry Hopkins, F. E. R. A. ad- ministrator, has tentatively approved 50 rural-industrial communities for the destitute unemployed. Controller General J. R. McCarl has ruled that relief money cannot be spent on a similar project in the District of Co- lumbia. The communities are settlements of inexpensive dwellings, with enough land for hcme farming, and centered around a private or Federal relief industrial plant, giving part-time work. Hopkins will not know whether McCarl will bar this use of relief grants in States until he goes to ar- range with the Treasury for Decem- ber allotments. RUMANIA BANS REDS Government Dissolves Organiza- tions and Confiscates Property. BUCHAREST, Rumania, November 26 (#).—All Communist organizations in Rumania wese dissolved and their property confiscated today by order of the military authorities. The action was regarded as & pre- ventive measure in view of the re- ported attempt of Communists to seize oil flelds. $30 IN PRIZES FOR WASHINGTON BOYS AND GIRLS. Now is the time, boys and girls, to write your letter, “Why I know there is a Santa Claus and why every poor child in Washington should DON'T DELAY, send it in NOW to the It will be fine to win that prize of $18 offered by The Star for the best letter. and maybe little brother or little sister will win one of the Don’t forget, you must not be more than 12 years old if you write The best letter will win & prize of $15, second prize is $10 and the Your letter must be at the office of The Star not later than mid- December 15. Anmouncements of the winners, with later. Please write on one side of the paper only, and get your letter