Evening Star Newspaper, January 8, 1937, Page 9

State of Union Queries Left Unanswered Message of Roosevelt Ignores Custom and Enlightenment. BY DAVID LAWRENCE. ARDLY observed in the dra- matic atmosphere in which President Roosevelt personally has just read his annual mes- sage to Congress was the fact that it no longer is a communication on the “state of the Union.” ‘Time was when the President ot the United States, as Congress as- sembled at the beginning of a regular session, woud address to ‘both houses a re- port on the state of the Union. Not so today. Mr. Roosevelt's message Was & discussion of the broad aspects of democracy. Hav- ing won control of both the executive and legislative branches of the Government at the polls last November, the President di- rected a lecture to the third branch of the Government, which he does not yet control. But the report on the state of the Union which used to be forthcoming with the annual messages to Congress could have this time been exceedingly informative. There were many sub- jects on which the American people would have appreciated an official re- port. For instance, answers to these questions would have made very inter- esting reading: 1. How many unemployed are there in the United States and what meas- ures are being taken to get jobs for them? David Lawrence. What of Strikes? 2. What is the status of the labor controversies which are sweeping the Nation, and what does the Federal Government intend to do about them, especially as the strikes seem to be threatening the recovery process in several major industries? 3. What is the economic condition of the varlous sections of the country where it is now proposed to withdraw or curtail subsidies? 4. What are the conditions of credit with respect to the banks and the Government and business generally, and to what extent is the expansion of credit being controlled so as to avert another boom and subsequent depression? 5. How far may the country expect from the Government more and more modern industry and how much can the small business man expect from protection for the big monopolists in his Government in the way of free- dom from taxes that favor the bigger businesses with surpluses and penalize the little ones? Roosevelt Could Tell. ‘These and many other fundamental questions are directly related to the oft-heard query as to whether the present aspect of recovery is on a firm or a flimsy foundation. ‘The Chief Executive today has sccess to every kind of report and basic data. He could give to the Na- tion such an outline of its own condi- tion as to warrant great hope and assurance or he could point out the large unsolved problems that lie ahead and issue warnings lest the same errors as led to the 1929 debacle be repeated. But while the President’s message this week is an interesting and chal- lenging document to students of con- stitutional law and contains some veiled threats that can be interpreted in all sorts of ways as an attack on the independence of the judiciary or, from some viewpoints, as a plea for political control of the judicial branch of the Government, still, whatever the message may have been in this field in controversy, it clearly was not & report on the state of the Union. Mandatory Only by Custom. In answer to this comment, it will logically be said that the Constitution does not specify when the President shall give information on the state of the Union to Congress but that it | says he shall do so “from time to ~time.” That, however, has been for many years developed into a custom #0 that, at the beginning of a session of Congress, the President outlines the condition of the country and recom- | mends specific measures of legislation. Last year Mr. Roosevelt took advan- tage of the extraordinary interest that attaches to a “state-of-the-Union” message at the outset of a congres- sional session to make an attack on his political opponents and the time for delivery was fixed for the night hours 80 as to reach the radio audience. Little of Concrete Character. Mr. Roosevelt plans to send a series | of messages to Congress from time to time on special subjects. But, at the opening of the year 1937, with a tre- mendous majority in both Houses and unprecedented power to tackle na- tional problems in a national way, there was really little offered of a con- crete character with respect to the ma- Jor problems of the economic life of the country. The aspiration for better social re- forms was voiced, to be sure, as it was in the political campaign, but on the matter of labor peace, which is at the root of the country’s worries today, nothing was said as to the state of the Union. Thus has an old constitutional eustom been permitted to languish. (Copyright, 1937.) Zoo to Get Tree Pie. CHICAGO () —A wandering tree will wander intc the Chicago logical Park soon. For all its name, the wandering tree ple is just a bird. It looks something like & magpie, said zoo officlals, and will be among several new residents a* the B ? © ESTABLISHED 1865 o OUR HABITS Become Customs epetition of conduct, day by day, establishes @ custom. “Get the habit of calling Barker for quality lumber at low prices; it's @ custom Washington has been prac- ’ ticing for. 72 yeers for the sake of economy, e COMPANY o UMBER and MILLWOR 649-651 N. Y. Ave. N.W. 1523 7th St. N.W. NA. 1348 “The Lymber Number" lGE.. M. BARKER THE EVENING News Behind the News New Cabinet Post of Public Welfare Director Definitely in the Wind. BY PAUL MALLON. HOSE two gentlemen seen walking into the White House frequently during the last three weeks disguised as the Smith Brothers were well-known Government officials. An observer who saw them with their whiskers off recognized the cne and only Mr. Harry (Trade) Hopkins of W. P. A. and the two and only Mr. Harold (Mark) Ickes of P.W.A and D.O. I They have been getting down under the executive desk for extra secret conferences with the Chief. It iz said they have been told that, if any leak developed, they could make their money somewhere else thereafter and not get it from Morgenthau, Well, here is the leak: A Department of Public Welfare will be created some time within the next few months. It will mean the consolidation of the Hopkins Works Progress Administration and the Ickes Public Works Administration and possibly all the spending and lending agencies having to do with I 2‘6&&;‘90 Ks public welfare, such as the various housing groups, portions of resettle- ment and possibly even the new Slums Clearance Administration to be set up under the Wagner bill. The new department will have per- manent status like the 10 other regular Government departments. An eleventh cabinet member will head it. ‘Who the new cabinet member will be is not yet certain, but it may be Hopkins. He seems to be the logical choice. Note—Probably nothing fatal will happen to Hopkins and Ickes because of the disclosure. The public welfare consolidation is only one of the subjects discussed at the sub-table meetings. What President Roosevelt apparently desired to prevent by his admonition is a repetition of the situation which developed last year. Then both Ickes and Hopkins (chiefly Ickes) conducted a campaign inside Congress for their respective W. P. A. and P. W. A. appropriations. That will not happen again. ‘ * k% Mr. Roosevelt’s long-lost co-operative mission to Europe will come to life shortly. A report will be made public concerning its investiga- tion last Summer into the operation of European co-ops, particularly those in Sweden and England. The report will seem to be the unanimous conclusions of the seven commissioners on the co-op question, but it will be far less than that. The commissioners dropped their real conclusions into the White House letter box several months ago and ran. These were marked for permanent burial. They are supposed to have included a majority and minority report which cast grave doubts upon the original idea of Gov- ernmegt financing for consumers’ and other co-ops. The new unanimous report is understood to be another tribute to Mr. Roosevelt's skill in conciliation. Those who have seen it in a semi- final state say it is a factual recitation of the European co-op situation to which no one could object. In addition, the commissioners may make public individual statements concerning phases of the subject in which they are particularly interested. ok kX Many things have happened on the inside here concerning the co-op- erative issue since Mr. Roosevelt became interested in it shortly before the Democratic National Convention. The official inspiration for the move was originally furnished by Agriculture Secretary Wallace. He is said to have changed his mind lately. So have most of the other official students of the ques- tion, particularly those closely connected with the farm problem and farm co-ops. In fact, most of the insiders give credit for killing the plan to the farm co-op leaders. The farmers learned that the establishment of Government subsidies for consumer co-ops to buy from them in bulk at sub-market prices is a totally different thing from co-operative marketing by producers. The natural gradual establish- ment of co-ops, on their own ini- tiative and maney and from the bottom up, is waat most of the au- thorities around here favor now. That seems to end that. The New Dealers managed to hide it, but they were deeply hurt when ex-Secretery of the Treasury Mellon gave all those 50 or 60 mil- lion dollars of art as a public char- e ity. They called it “one of Frank Hogan's tricks.” Hogan is an eminent artist in his line, which happens to be the law. Lately he has been devoting his best brushvork to the defense of Mellon against income tax prosecutions instituted by the Democrats. A decision in the case has been imminent from the Board of Tax Appeals for some time. It hjnges, as every one knows, around Mellon’s art contribu- tlons. By definitely making the gift now Hogan thereby makes it difficult for the Tax Board to hold against Mellon. Also it gives him positive addi- tional proof for an appeal to the Circuit Court in case the Tax Board accepts the Democratic estimation of Mellon, Mr. Roosevelt's annual message was delivered to the wrong address. He read it to Congress, but intended it for the Supreme Ceurt, a block away. Despite the error, court reports indicate it has reached the proper ad- dressee and is being seriously considered. (Copyright, 1937.) STAR, WASHINGTON D. C., FRIDAY €] HE opinions of the writers on this page are their own, not necessarily The Star’s. Such opinions are presented in The Star’s effort to give all sides of questians of interest to its readers, althg‘u‘!h such opinions may be contradictory among ves a themsel; directly opposed to The Star’s. We, the People President’s Denial Federal Publicity Bureau Is Planned Leaves Problem Unsolved. BY JAY FRANKLIN. RESIDENT ROOSEVELT'S de- nial of any intention to estab- lish a Federal bureau to cen- tralize and co-ordinate official publicity punctures a trial balloon which has been hovering over Wash- ington ever since Dr. Stanley High's post-election article in Liberty sug- pgested that F. D. R. might undertake to “discipline” the press. Roosevelt has been externally as cool as a wandering iceberg under the deluge of newspaper misrepre= sentations during the last three years, but there have been signs that, in- ternally, he had a headache about the freedom of the press to suppress, distort or falsify the facts. The last campaign, moreover, removed all doubts in the White House that the editorial pages of a press which was 80 per cent hostile in the face of F. D. R.'s landslide election any longer represented public opinion. In addition, the problem of handling Federal publicity reached an acute stage last Summer and Autumn and remains one of the sore spots in the national picture. | 8t Washington is a sort of diplomatic corps supposedly representative of | public opinion, but has faced an | extraordinary welter of cross-purposes, rivalry and jealousy on the part of the Federal Government itself. On the comparatively simple mate ter of political publicity the news- paper men were confronted with at least four major and independent sources: Steve Early at the White House, “Red” Leggett in the National Emergency Council, Charley Michael- son at Democratic national head- quarters and—far out on the flank— Dr. Stanley High of the Good Neigh- bor League. Incredibly Complicated. So far as concerns the daily activi- ties of the Government departments, the field was—and still is—incredibly complicated. To begin with, every important Federal official has at least one man on the pay roll to help contacts with the p,uh]lc. line department has an information section which issues mimeographed The alphabetical agencies took over |all these and added to them radio, imouon pictures, speakers, photo- graphs, posters, books, magazines, etc. | The Resettlement Administration | alone maintained 12 regional informa- | tion offices, not counting sub-offices at | New York and Chicago. The result was a tremendous du- | plication of effort, competition be- | tween different branches of the Gov- ernment for access to news columns, wave-lengths and newsreels. It be- came so scandalous that suggestions | were made to the White House that | co-ordination would reduce friction ,and overhead costs and end the in- | creasing weariness of commercial agen- | cles with the flood of official publicity. Mr. A. A. Mercey, sparkplug of the recent resettlement publicity program, outlined a plan for co-ordination which was fed into the White House ; hopper by Steve Early and which now seems to have met the fate of all with speeches and to give advice on | Every old- | releases, pamphlets, etc., by the ton. | The Press Gallery | officials of the Federal Government. ‘While Roosevelt has shied away from anything which would suggest an official propaganda department or a ministry of public enlightenment, the problem remains unsolved. In the first place—to put things first—it will be necessary to persuade Congress to make provision for more ambitious Federal publicity than Congréssmen have ever cared to authorize. (The publicity is already here, but it is necessary to persuade the legislative branch to “marry the gal””) Since our Government is increasingly a gov- ernment of public opinion, politicians are naturally reluctant to authorize a system by which the President can reach the minds of the voters whom Congressmen are supposed to repre- sent. The defeat of Huddleston, who opposed the President on the public utility holding company act, in the Alabama primaries is an example of what politicians fear. Administration Right. On the other hand, with broad dis- cretionary powers lodged in the White House, including allocation of puble funds, it is necessary that the admin- istration should be allowed to tell the people how and why their tax money is being spent. To refuse the administration this right is to vote for dictatorship, for only auto- erats have the power to tax and spend without consulting the views of those who foot the bill. Finally, the status of Government publicity men needs to be defined. Often camouflaged, usually apologetic and always on the defensive, they are regarded as necessary nuisances by their superiors, as hired propagandists by the “outs” and as rather off-color by their colleagues. With lawyers, architects, engineers, surgeons and economists allowed to serve the people without reproach, it is about time that professional standards be .applied to publicity men in their effort to aid the processes of & democratic government with their skill and experience. So, while the notion of a Federal publicity bureau has been officially laughed off as “a brain storm” by F. D. R, the need for doing some- thing in this fleld remains. Perhaps the ghost of a ministry of public en- lightenment is not as dead as it seems and an executive committee to co- ordinate the New Deal's public rela- tions may be quietly set up on the side, to study and report in the usual stately manner. In the meantime, the White House has bigger fish to fry than to put the fear of God into the hearts of a Washington Press Gallery caught between the employer and the deep blue sea of mimeographed handouts. (Copyright, 1937.) . Theft Guard Vanishes, Too. INDIANAPOLIS, January 8 (#).— The luck of Walter Pennycuff is all tough it seems. He told police yesterday two tons of coal disappeared from his shed so fast he suspected thievery and he pur- chased a $50 watch dog to guard a replenished fuel supply. Both deg and coal were gone when he went to the intelligent suggestions by subordinate | shed yesterday morning, he said. CRITICISM OF COURT DEFENDED BY BARKLEY Senator Cites Fights on Supreme Tribunal by Jackson, Jeffer- son and Lincoln. By the Associated Press. SPRINGFIELD, Mo., January 8.— Senator Alben W. Barkley of Ken- tucky told a Jackson day dinner audi- ence last night that the Supreme Court, by a vote of 5 to 4, can deny the rights of the people to the pro- tection of the Constitution, “but I'm not guilty of treason if I agree with the four.” “I have as much respect for the Supreme Court as I can—under the circumstances,” he continued. “I do not want to criticize it, but if I do I will be in good company, for Jack- son, Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and | even Theodore Roosevelt did also. “The Democratic party,” he said, “has always been the voice of liber- alism in America. Jackson, who was reared during the American Revolu- tion and who knew the struggles of the pioneers, was not afraid of the word revolution, and neither was Jef- ferson.” Times Getting Better. FARIBAULT, Minn. (#).—American hoboes, said J. Leon Lazarowitz, who claimed he was once their “king,” know times are getting better. He gave some personal financial statistics by way of emphasis. “On January 1, 1936, I had 6 cents in my pocket,” he said. “On New Year day of 1937 I had 12 cents; today I've got 37 cents.” SPECIAL! 3 DAYS ONLY REGULAR 59¢ MIXED NUTS 39¢. SALTED IN BUTTER PLANTERS HOT ROASTED PEANUTS 2 33 FOR SINGLE POUND 20c NATIONAL PEANUT CORP. 70 15th St. N.W. Telegraph and Peoples Drug Store Look for the Strung Peanut Display “. =N=11—I Wonder if they Serve Wilkins Coffee in the hospital?”’ JANUARY 8, 1937. This Changing World British May Finally Dictate Terms to Franco When He Floats Loan. BY CONSTANTINE BROWN. ORE details begin to percolate through from Rome regarding the Italian-British “gentleman’s agreement.” There is more to it than appears on the surface. According to reliable reports, the British government has indicated its intention not to prevent by force Gen. Franco from: becoming the dictator of Spain. Because of the cordial relations which exist between London and Paris, the British will continue to play a policy of fair neutrality in the present civil war. But during the conversations between Sir Eric Drummond, the British Ambassador at Rome and Count Galeazzo Clano, Mussolini's foreign secretary, it was understood that Great Britain would not inter- fere seriously with the plans of the Fascist government to set up Franco as the ruler of Spain. The Italians have represented Franco to the British not as an ardent Fascist but as a man desirous of establishing a conservative government in strife-torn Spain; as a man who wants to form a government “of the right.” ‘The British are practical people. All they want is peace. They know how much dynamite there is in the Spanish situation. Furthermore, there is nobody in the cabinet who likes communism and mighty few people in the empire have com- munistic ideas. ‘The British government does not see any man in the loyalist camp with a sufficiently strong person- ality to impose himself on the Spanish masses. Franco, whatever may be said about him, is a man with a strong personality and a tremendous energy. Under the circum- stances, if Franco really can bring order in the Iberian peninsula, 80 much the better for everybody. Hence, there is no reason why they should not wish Franco’s victory. * % %% Of course, the British know that once the Fascist general is estab- lished in power, he will need financial assistance to reorganize the country. The treasury is empty; most of the gold was shipped by the Madrid gov- ernment to France last Summer. When Franco becomes the de factor ruler he will have no money st all. And neither Italy nor Germany is in a position to loan him a nickel. He will have to turn towards the only country which is willing and capable of subsidizing him. And that country is England. Thus, within a short time after he has become the head of the government, he will be compelled to go to London for a loan. Then the British can dictate their terms. LR ‘The former King of Kings is hard up. He is going to sell whatever important possessions he has in the auction rooms of Messrs. Puttick and Simpson in London. There have been any amount of fairy tales about the enormous wealth which the former ruler of Ethiopia had brought with him into exile. It appears now that these were exaggerations. Puttick and Simpson cre selling Selassie’s silver flatware amounting to 16,000 ounces. These were contained in huge bozes which were reported at the time to be full of gold. The total amount ©f the sale, if the auctioneers are lucky, will not exceed $60,000. When Selassie and his femily reached London, last year, they had in the banking account only $185,000. The villa at Vevey, Switzerland, yielded another $40,000. And that is not much for a former monarch who has a large family and many retainers to take care of. It is true that before the Ethiopian-Italian War, Selassie had been & very rich man, He has financed the war out of his private pocket. Purthermore, his income was large because he owned so many plantations; these have been now confiscated by the Italians. A shipment of “Selassie coffee” has reached Antwerp to be sold for the account of the Italian government. Selassie is now suing the importer for the money which he thinks should be paid to him and not to the Italian government. His palace in Addis Ababa was full of expensive objects and was insured with Lloyds of London for $500,000. But he can’t get that in- surance either, because Lloyds says - that the palace had been looted at the Emperor’s orders. > The insurance brokers threaten to file a counter suit in the event of Selassie taking the case to the courts, accusing him of having instigated the destruction and the looting of a number of other houses in Addis Ababa so that “the Italians shall find nothing when they occupy the capital of Ethiopia.” A—’ Headline Folk and What They Do Weisgal Is Sure He'll Get His $500,000 Back. BY LEMUEL F. PARTON. T_COST $500,000 to ready * Eternal Road,” which opened New York Thursday with an $]| top. That's a lot of bait. Meyd W. Weisgal, who produces the sho with Crosby Gaige, is sure they’ going to get it back. Mr. Weisgal isn't a rash spec tor, but he is filled with religious, tural and artistic fervor which some times makes one inclined to “shod the works” with more abandon t! if he were merely out for money. Wit ness the Angkor Vat, the Taj Mal and the Renaissance Cathedrals. Th Seems to be something in that gene: picture, rendered in dramaturg rather than stone. Mr. Weisgal is a small, wiry, high galvanized man. Fascinated by any thing big, elaborate or overwhelmin; with a cultural or intellectual overla Truth, in his cosmos, is Betelgeus] rather than a mustard seed. He wa a newsboy in the Bronx, attendin| Public School 56, a rip-snorting news| boy, beating the other lads to the co: ner and quicker to spot a good sellin| line. Always an the run, he wa headed for Columbia University. B the time he entered there he was business man, with a prosperous news stand at One Hundred and Sixteent street. His cyclorama of magazi covers was the backdrop of a darin career, but the stage was too small hold him. Immediately after his graduatio he took a job as office boy in the Ne York headquarters of the Zionis movement. Six months later he wa managing editor of the Maccabean, the Zionist official organ. For 10 year: he was editor of the weekly, Ne Palestine, with the largest circulatio {of any Jewish publication in tha world. He went to Toronto and es. | tablished the Jewish Standard, weekly, which he edited at long dis tance. These and other activities e tablished him as one of the leader: of the world Zionist movement. Deep, esrnest convictions are motivation in this activity. He be] lieves there is a vast, regeneratinj force in the ancient Jewish culturd | This led him to the production of th gigantic spectacle, “The Romance o | 8 People,” which drew audiences o 200,000 at the Chicago World’s Faiq He is never so happy as when en gaged with something that requirej attention to infinite detail. Probabl; the happiest day of his life was whe] he realized he would have to rebuil the Manhattan Theater to get hi “Eternal Road” into it. Golfer Marries Baronet. Joyce Wethered marries & baronef Miss Wethered, stylist of golf, foul times British champion, has kep| pretty much out of the rough all hel life—one of the best things she does if & golf match, too. Her husband is Sii | John Heathcote-Amory. Their coun: try seat is Knightshayes Court, Tiv- erton, Devon. Few women golfer: have rounded up their career with this nice Laura Jean Libby finish, (Copyright, 1937.) N T N Florsheim Sale days are red-letter days .. .for they come only twice a year. .. and they don't last long I But while they do last, every size and every style i reduced . . . nothing is held back ... and nothing’s changed but the price. _—mmmr SALE OF MEN'S SOX ‘WOOLS—LISLES—SILKS 3 pairs 89¢ & 1.39 3 pairs T B PR HAHN MEN'S SHdPS—MHl & GoTth & K o 3212 14th St & ;¥