Evening Star Newspaper, October 6, 1936, Page 11

PropertyRight at Stake in T. V. A. Case President to Decide Course, but Final Ver- dict Is Court’s. Stopping off at Knozville, Tenn., headquarters of the T. V. A, to study the political and economic eflects of that huge Federal development, David Lawrence has learned the inside story of the yecent power conference at the White House, a hitherto unpub- lished narrative which has a bear- ing on the oft-asked question of whether President Roosevelt will turn to the “right” or the “left” if he is re-elected. BY DAVID LAWRENCE. NOXVILLE, Tenn., October 6. K —President Roosevelt is at the crossroads of his public career —shall he encourage the vir- tual confiscation of private property and put the Government into further eompetition with private industry, as the Socialists would have him do, or shall he co-oper- s ate with private 3 industry for the proper de velop- ment of natural resources? This is the ques- tion which was at the root of the recent conference at the White House of power company execu- tives, financiers, T. V. A. directors and members of the economic planning boards of the Government. Returning participants have told the story of the now famous conference to their friends and the story is spread- in gthrough the valley. Summed up, here are the high spots: 1. President Roosevelt s attempting to get an agreement upon s tempo- rary extension of the present contract whereby the T. V. A. has undertaken for a limited period to refrain from competition with or invasion of the territory of the private power com- panies. 2. The T. V. A. sought to persuade the power companies to drop their litigation but the power companies flatly refused, declaring that they would not sacrifice their constitutional rights. 3. Emphasis by the administration on a short-term agreement, to last just a few months beyond the Novem- ber election, has led to the impression that the President wished to have a public statement made before election which would indicate he was “con- servative” because of his effort to reach some form of accord with the power companies. The brief period of the agreement would not prevent him | from doing what he pleased shortly | after the November election in the event that he is re-elected. No Agreement Reached. The President revealed to his vis- itors a deep concern over what should be said to the press after the recent conference at the White House, and went so far, it is reported, as to indi- cate the words and phrases that should be used so as to give the public the ides that an understanding of some kind was in process which would rep- resent benefits to investors in securi- | ties of power companies. No actual | agreement was reached at the confer- | ence, or anything fundamental. David Lawrence, It ‘was merely decided to give “further | study” only to the question of poollnz]‘ transmission lines—not power re- sources. Meanwhile the truce was to be extended a few months. Actually what has developed is & fundsmental difference of opinion as to the function of the Federal Gov- ernment an no amount of confer- ences will settle this until the courts do it. There can be temporary agree- ments and debate in Congress as to. appropriations for further construc- tion, but the right of the Federal Government to build dams supposedly for flood control and navigation, but | actually to set up the Federal Gov- | ernment in the power business is something which the recent opinion by the Supreme Court did not pass | upon and which the pending litigation attempts to bring to a decisive stage. The law suit is not aimed at the | present T. V. A. plants that have been bullt, but against further construction. | Here we come to a vicious circle. Be it said to the credit of the men work- ing on the T. V. A.—and they are an | efficient, non-political group who are doing a fine job—they see enormous opportunities for development of a national policy of conservation of im- mense social benefit to the American people. They speak of the power side as “incidental.” They stress navi tion and flood control and the research into chemical processes that will help give the farmer phosphates and ferti- lizers and better plant food generally. Justice Hughes’ Decision. But while Chief Justice Hughes up- held the right of the Federal Govern- ment to build dams for national de- fense in war time, and to improve navigation and control floods in peace time and to sell whatever surplus power was generated, he did not say whether the Federal Government could engage primarily in the power business or use P. W. A. money to en- courage municipalicies to destroy pri- vate power systems and investments therein. The T. V. A. in a recent report to Oongress concedes that if it confined itaelt entirely to flood control or navi- gation it couldn’t get all the power it wants to generate for the so-called power needs of the area. Thus the T. V. A. report to Congress last March says: “A storage dam on & tributary in {tself has little value for power pur- poses when it is operated in the pri- mary interest of navigation and flood control.” In other words, to control floods and improve navigation, dams are built. When the dams are built the sur- plus power has to be sold. To sell the power a continuous sup- ply is necessary. To get a continuous supply tribu- taries of the rivers have to be de- veloped s0 that prime power will be available in dry as well as flush sea- sons. To accomplish continuity of flow an integrated power system has to be constructed. To sell the power emanating from such & system, transmission lines have to be built so as to convey the power to market. To get a market for the power, municipalities have to be persuaded to make war on private power com- panies and thresten to build compet- ing distribution systems which, of A THE EVENING STAR News Behind the News Hull Keeps Cool as Britain Points With Alarm to . Japanese in China. BY PAUL MALLON. HE Japanese have been marching and counter-marching up and I down the Yangtze River Valley, where Britain's major interests in China are located. The British are worried. They did not mueh cure when the Japanese took Manchuria in 1931. Their trade stood to gain by abolition of Chinese rule and misrule there. At that time they could not get interested in former State Secretary Stimson's threats against /apanese aggression. Now that the problem has moved right up against the British pocket- book, the situation is different. American newsmen in London lately Rave been obtaining unofficial interviews at the foreign office suggesting that Britain would like to use “strong pressure” on the Japanese in Shanghai and on up the Yangtze. The significance of these London dispatches was not lost here. State Secretary Hull has jound similar unoficial ways of letting it be known quietly that this time he is mot interested. It means that any prospect for Anglo -American-Chinese - Russian co-operation against Japan is lost. Every one will have to look out for his own pocketbook in the Far East. Time marches—back. Note.—President Roosevelt's now fully developed Far Eastern policy is based on that of T. R. without much change. Advocating an in- dependent foreign policy in Asia, Mr. Roosevelt, the first, once said: 3 “I believe that our future history will be more determined by our position on the Pacific, facing China, than by our position on the Atlantie, facing Europe.” » * * % % ‘When the whole inside story of the monetary negotiations comes out eventually, you will find other evidences that the general popular suspi- cion of another Anglo-American understanding is not justified. Morgen« thau's fancy rescue of the pound from degradation and despair was ap- preciated in London, but not in the way you surmised. The British would really have liked to have let the pound slide to get & world trade advan- tage. Some say they wanted to stabilize at $4.40 or $4.50. At any rate Morgenthau and the British are far from an agreeable figure. Many inner signs have hinted that we have a gentlemen's agreement with Britain on naval matters, but it is just as technical and narrow as the monetary agreement. ‘The current trend seems to be toward further United States shrinkage into its independent international shell. Senator “Silver Key” Pittman's recent swing through the silver States was made as a member of the Migratory Bird Commission. This is not the only indication that the silver policy is on the wing again. Equally significant was the action of Merico restoring silver coins to their pre-1935 fineness. This means the Merican govern- ment has decided the price of silver will not again reach the high levels of April, 1935, when her coins became too valuable to keep and were thrown into melting pots jor the purpose of recovering the silver from them. To any insider here it is inconceivable that Merico acted without knowing what the American Treasury intended to do. The Treasury has been diplomatically close to Mexico since its initial silver policy upset Mexican money. But why Mexidd should undertake such a costly step at this time is harder to explain. Two good guesses can be made. The action may reflect pressure from the Pittman group (the Senator still is the silver policy) to restore the social standing of silver and save its monetary face. Or it may be a preliminary move toward expanding the monetary market for silver in Latin America in con- nection with the forthcoming Pan~ American Conference. ® x * % The last tribute of the Navy to its World War leader, Admiral Sims, could have been greater. The man who criticized and loved the service with equal ardor was given all the honors due his rank. But the usual official invitations to other depart- ments were not issued. The War Départment finally moved without an invitation and sent a staff officer in full uniform. but the others did not. This gave encouragement to a story that the admirals still remember some of the strictures which descended upon them from Sims’ caustic pen and tongue. There is nothing in that. The Navy just not often have charge of such arrangements and did mot know what to do. When Agriculture Secretary Wallace and his first assistant were out of town during the last few weeks, all questions of agriculture policy were referred to a man who left the department months ago—the Federal Reserve Boarder, Chester Davis. Quile unobserved, Davis has taken & very active part in all the recent farm policy developments, He only uses the Federal Reserve Board as a more congenial place in which to hang his hat. (Copyright. 1936.) 'HE opinions of the writers on this page are their own, not necessarily The Star’s. Such opinions are presented in The Star’s eflort to give all sides of questions of interest to its readers, although such opinions may be contradictory among themselves and directly opposed to The Star’s. | in describing the T. V. A. has spoken of as the nearest thing to socialism course, means ruin to the investors in the private power companies. To help the municipalities, the Roosevelt administration by executive order through the P. W. A. can lend the funds to drive the power com- | panies out of business. ‘To prevent such & contingency from reaching a climax too soon and break down security values, temporary agreements are made between the Federal Government and the power companies while litigation to deter- mine constitutional rights proceeds. Effect of Election. But meanwhile a national election ensues. If the Government can lend money to put investments of a pri- vate power company in jeopardy it can do so for any other social purpose it desires. Such a program of public ownership, or what Norman Thomas, which the Roosevelt regime has un- dertaken, arouses constitutional Dem- ocrats especially in the Southland. Then when the conservative ele- | point of view. .. Enjoyment of Television. Television has "been available to millions of people in the London and Berlin metropolitan districts. The London broadcasts from the Crystal | Palace station of Baird Television, Ltd., have achieved a great deal of success in a radius of 30 miles. Two antennas are used by the London | station, one for sound and one for vision. WASHINGTON Party Shifts Make 1936 Unique Scrambling Under the Fence Going on For Greener ‘Fields. BY MARK SULLIVAN. HE election is exactly four weeks off. It sounds trite to say, but it is probably true, that not in any election within re- cent memory have so few observers, or so few politicians, been confident about the outcome. There are Demo- crats who bleleve their party will win by a big majority, there are Demo- crats who believe their party will win by & narrow margin, there are Demo- crats who believe their party will lose. And there are .. i Republicans hav- a o ing the corre- sponding shades of belief. The most for- midable straw vote' on & na- tional scale, that of the Literary Digest, points strongly toward Republican viec- 7 tory, and every one bears in mind that in previous elections the Di- gest barometer MarkBepven, has turned out uncannily sccurate. At the same time, some straw votes covering single States or smaller areas, thorough within their fields as the Literary Digest is on a national scale, point toward Democratic victory. One aspect of the Literary Digest poil is alone sufficient to account for current mystification and to justify the statement that this is an extraor- dinary campaign. The Digest in- quires of those to whom it sends straw ballots how they voted in 1932. The result of this part of the Digest com- pilation is itself unique. It turns out that apparently about 28 per cent of those who in 1932 voted Democratic will this year vote Republican. And it turns out that about 12 per cent of those who in 1932 voted Republican will this year vote Democratic. The shifts in the Republican direction are more than twice the shifts in the Democratic direction. Peculiar Condition. But let us omit any inference bear- ing on the outcome next November. Let us consider the simple phenom- enon that apparently 28 per cent of one party and 12 per cent of the other are this year shifting their allegiance. That is an extraordinary condition. It alone is enough to make this election unique. There have been occasions when large numbers of one party shifted. In 1932, for example, & large percentage of the Republican party shafted away from Mr. Hoover. In 1928 a large percentage of the Democratic party shifted, away from “Al" Smith. But never before, I think, has it happened that large percentages of both parties shifted their allegiance. This one condition is sufficient to make the outcome of next November’'s election confusing to predicters and estimaters. ‘The prevailing mystification about the outcome can be accounted for in part by some other developments which are new in this campaign. It is frequently stated that for the first time in America, or at least to a greater degree than ever before, the division of voters in this election is horizontal. That is, that persons in the middle and upper economic levels are prevailing for the Republican candidate, while persons in the lower economic levels, especially those on relief rolls, are prevailing for Mr. Roosevelt. Machine Votes Cities. In this assumption, there is prob- ably some substance. But it is sub- ject to some decidedly important qual- ifications. Many of the persons on | relief, or otherwise in the lower eco- ments show signs of rebellion, con- | nomic levels, are inhabitants of the | ferences are called to appease their | densely populated parts of large cities. As such they have in the past ha- | bitually been led in their voting by the city political machines. Some of the machines, as in New York, are Democratic. It follows that in New York most of those who this year will vote Democratic because théy are on relief would in any election vote Democratic as followers of Tammany. In some other large cities the most powerful machine is Republican. And in such cases it may be that the Republican machine will be superior to the Democratic relief organization D. C. in ability to comnmnd the votes'ef persons on relief. In some cities, such as Pittsburgh, where once s Repub- liean machine was dominant, & new Democratic machine now has the greater power. In cities where & Democratic machine is dominant and where also the Democratic leaders have control of relief funds, the per- sons on relief will almost certainly vote prevailingly for Mr, Roosevelt. In the country as s whole it is doubtful whether the relief funds are an unqualified asset for Mr. Roose- velt. Many on relief, for one reason or another, sullen against the party that js administering the relief. Either they feel that the relief is niggardly, or they hear that some are getting greater relief than others, or they lack heart for this kind of work. Or they resent the very exis- ce of & relief system, feeling that would prefer normal jobs in private employment. Some on relief are sullen against the pressure which Democratic officials put upon them to support Mr. Roosevelt and in the secrecy of the election booths will vote their resentment. Onlooker Has Another View. In one respect there is abundant testimony that the relief projects are & detriment to the Democrats. How- ever, the persons on relief may feel, the onlookers have & point of view of their own. They observe the waste and inefficiency which is probably in- separable from relief projects even if they were conducted in the best pos- sible way. Wherever relief projects exist, the neighbors and onlookers, the farmers and those engaged in|_ private employment, tend to take s strongly critical attitude toward the relief work, and toward the party re- sponsible for it. * It is expected that during the re- maining weeks of the campaign there will be exposures of Democratic man- agement ef relief work in at least one large State. If the exposures live up to what is charged, they may cause waste and maladministration to be- come a major factor in the campaign and result in & widespread disapproval which will cause the management of relief to become & serious liability to the Democrats. (Copyright, 1936.) —_— e MODEL BOAT CURES PARALYZED BOY OF 10 Lad Crippled for 5 Years Walks Firmly to Receive Prize for His Starter Job. By the Associated Press. IRVINGTON, N. J, October 6.— Admiration for model boats has re- stored the power to walk to the legs of 10-year-old Patrick Joseph Cava- naugh, jr. He was stricken with in- fantile paralysis five years ago. The boy’s parents, Mr. and Mrs. P. J. Cavanaugh of Newark, said yes- terday in telling about it that they gave the credit to the Irvington post of the American Legion, which spon- sored the model boat races and in- vited the crippled little boy in & wheel chair to act as starter. Patrick, inspired by his duties to practice walking at home, reached the climax Sunday. Robert Braun was presenting the prizes in Irvington Park and announced a special award, handsome model boat, for the starter. Instead of taking a few feeble steps as he had done at home, Patrick left his wheel chair and walked to Braun. TUESDAY, OCTOBER 6, 1936. We, the People Election Fever Makes Nation Peppery, But Cure Will Come November 3. ~ BY JAY FRANKLIN. ROM now on until November 3 the American people will be in the mo:.umumzdnm-m dementia known as “election Bober fathers of families will swear not to cut their hair or take a shave if Roosevelt is re-elected. Bosom friends will poke each other in the snoot and yell “Communist!” and “Tory!” at the dinner table. Men ‘whn have never paid s direct tax in their lives will grow goggle-eyed with despair st the thought of the national debt. Women who have no intention of indulging in offspring will demand that we save our grandchildren by voting for Alf. Public opinion will divide itself into the New Deal roar, “We want another touchdown!” while the Republicans chant, “Block that kick!” and start singing their elec- toral college hymn: “Our Country, 'Tis of Us!” The Democrats will retort with “You Ain't Gonna Reign No More!” and the number of lies which will be told would make Baron Munchausen resign his membership in the Ananias Club. National chairmen will an- nounce, without a blush or a quiver, that the G. O. P. stands an excellent chance of carrying Alabama or that the New Dealers will sweep Vermont. Nothing short of a landslide will be admitted by either side, while Lemke will prove that the Union party will carry enough States to throw the election into the House of Representatives.s The sad thing about this irrational malady is that it is incurable until the votes are counted. Then, amid & few final squawks of “Fraud!” and demands for a recount, it will go like @ s0ap budble. Until then, people actually believe their own nonsense. * % % % The “nicest people”—i.e. the wealthier section of our population— read the same newspapers, frequent the same clubs, dine in the same houses, commute on the same trains, work in the same offices and worship the same money fetish. Everywhere they go they run across nothing but sunflower seeds and Landon lullabies. ‘The poorer people have no real focus for their New Deal sympathies except, perhaps, the post office), but are sustained by the general incanta- tion that “Roosevelt is unbeatable” and that, anyhow, four thousand mil- lion relief dollars can’t be wrong in an American election. The thing to watch, from this point on, is the fact that a presidential election comes close to being government by American public opinion. The rival platforms and even the speeches of the rival candidates are almost entirely ignored and forgot. Thus in 1920 Harding really wanted business to go “back to nor- malcy,” but was not particularly hostile to American membership in the Lesgue of Nations. After the campaign, in which the Democrats made & great point of keeping faith with Wilson, it was pelitically impossible for Harding to do anything about our joining the League or even the ‘World Court. 8o in 1932 Herbert Hoover, far more than Roesevelt, laid the political foundations for the New Deal. Hoover even said that Roosevelt intended to tamper with the Su- preme Court. When Roosevelt was elected he had his mandate, not from his own party but from his opponents, to do what he did im 1933, * * * % The final month of this quadrennial orgy is, therefore, the time when one should read what the Republicans say about the New Deal and what the New Dealers say about Landon. Here will be jound the popular mandate for the mext four years of mational administration at Washington. For the final symptoms of “election fever” voice the fears of what the other side will do rather than your own hopes and good intentions, Thus, if Landon is elected he can turn the country over to the “economic royalists” with s clear conscience. If Roosevelt is re- elected he can do the many things which are now being used as polit- ical arguments sgainst the New Deal. ‘This column takes pride, though not pleasure, in announcing that it acknowledges the monumental er- ror in logic—not arithmetic—in jts discussion of the Liloyd's odds on the election. The error was accidental, an effort was made to stop the column, but the action taken was too late. On the other hand this column is still of the opinion that the facts were wrongly reported from London and that, at the time of its publica- tion, Lloyd's odds were actually better than 8 to 5 on Roosevelt. But that is no excuse for an error in reasoning, and an apology is due to my readers for having accidentally perpetrated a fallacious argument. (Copyright. 1936.) ] YOV VOTING RROTHERZ |() G ( ce ND THIS VOTER is figuring right. For a vote for The “American” Party means a vote for those two famous candidates—Amoco- Gas and Orange American Gas. % * Amoco-Gas is the only and original candidate in the special motor fuel field. It holds more official A.A.A. wotld’s records than any other gas or motor fuel. & % The choice of the “Regular” Party i Orange Amer- ican Gas—a clean-burning regular and the best buy at regular gas price. % % Join the “American” Party and ride for less. * ; $10,000.00 in cash prizes! Get official contest blank rom any American Oil Company dealer or station or Lord Baltimore Filling Station. From Maine to Florida--Stdp at The Sign of Greater Values! AMERICAN OIL COMPANY dlso maker of Amoco Motor Lubricants Headline Folk and What They Do Albert Andrews Played 14,000 Performances in 75 Years. BY LEMUEL F. PARTON. Albert G. Andrews, still playing on Broadway, celebrates the anniversary of 75 years on the stage. He has played more than 200 holes and 14.000 per~ formances. His father was an actor more than 100 years ago. His first appearance, at the age of 4, In Dublin, was with Mrs. Panny Sterling in “Masks and Faces.” Mrs. Sterling, he says today, was the best actress he ever saw, and he has sup- ported many of the greatest stars of the theater. William H. Chippendale he picks as the greatest actor of his time. Averaged $4,000 Yearly. He was born in a Buffalo hotel when his father, a British comedian, was playing there, and was taken to Eng- land in early infancy. His period of a full-fledged actor, not a juvenile, covers 60 years. In England he earned from $5 to $80 a week, and, in America, from $25 to $400. His average earn- ings, in his adult career, have been about $4,000 a year. If, at the Players’ Club bar, you should hear a booming voice above all the others saying, “I knocked 'em cold in that part,” it will not be Mr. An- drews. He is a quiet, personable citi~ zen, with a touch of British reserve and more than a touch of British speech and demeanor. Without make- up he would fit in nicely at any ime portant directors’ table. Away back in Dion Boucicault's day, he played in Mr. Boucicault'’s ripe roaring melodramas. For decades, he was exposed to ranting and fustian without succumbing to these occupa« tional diseases. He played with Richard Mansfield 17 years, 1,000 times in “Beau Brummel” With Henry Irving, he was the Dauphin in “Louis XI." He was and is a workmanlike actor, in character or straight roles. He is 8 master of good diction and knows how to behave like a human being. Seventy-five working years in a career which old age begins to dog men of 40! The answer may be found in the fact that he always has his back to the years. He never spins yarns. Tonight's play and his re hearsals for the next one fill his thoughts. Rev. Dr. Charles Francis Potter re- news an argument which William Allen White started years ago. Mr. | White handed New York City a | goose-egg on its general cultural showing. Dr. Potter seems to have the same idea. only more so. We are | & rather uncouth lot. Our librarians | earn less than sewer cleaners. In the | cultural workout, based mainly on | library usage, we rank twenty-fifth | among 37 cities of more than 200,000 | population. Dr. Potter became the founder and | leader of the first Humanist Society | of New York in 1929. Previously he | had been a Baptist and then a Unie tarian clergyman. (Copyright, 1938, 1 FIGURE A VOTE FOR THE AMERICAN’ PARTY IS A voTE FOrL MYSELF!