Evening Star Newspaper, August 11, 1937, Page 11

Some Hazards Pay Bill Offers Writer Suggests Women Are Likely to Lose Jobs. BY DAVID LAWRENCE. OR the first time a Federal board is about to be confronted with the decision as to what is meant by “equal pay for equal work.” The Federal Government cannot very well discriminate as between races or creeds or between whites and Negro The proposed legislation to fix minimum wages and maxi- mum hours grants to a Federal board § discretionary § powers. Industries will be asking for § special exemp - § tions, and busi- nesses in one sec- tion of the coun- & try, such as : where striving to lower scales than Northern com- petitors. But will David Lawrence. al Government le that all the Feder be able to 1ore thi American citizens must be treated alike? Will not a citizen be able to ®0 into court and enjoin any decision | of the Federal board which diserimi- nates agal him on account of color or against a woman on account of Eex? For a long time a group of women leaders have been trying to get an .amendment to the Federal Consti- tution wi would feguard the rights of women equal pay along with men. T e made considerable headway with the pr posal and President Roosevelt favors | it. Now when ¢ of his boards starts applying the rules, will he dare to| permit a violation of the principle— no discrim on against women? Effect on The dislocati; bound to re the hour women many facto: where wome When a lished, Women. of jobs w some exter wage and h s | from | maximum | to affect There are places 5 812 a week is estab- | that a | business n W and yield an would make expense, Then t #ons of advanced age. Employers may | feel that some jobs are worth $12, but when it co o paying $16 they will want younger men. Dismissals by the to take ca displaced, bt there will be I who now have j some of these persons the transition period hips felt by persons bs and by their rela- tives to whom they will first go for support. It is true the law is supposed to grant special licenses to persons of advanced age or those who have some partial physical incapacity which is supposed to make it possible for them to earn wages below the fixed mini- mum. But it will take much red tape to arrange all this and many employers no doubt will prefer to hire younger and more able-bodied persons. Benefits Seem Small. The full economic benefit, namely increase in the national purchasing Much of the rprivileged labor, as farms and in rural districts is not to receive the benefits | 0 Mr. Roosevelt's cry rd of the population | a I-housed and ill- nourished, p v will have to be | repeated. Certainly the number of persons to be benefitted by the act is relatively small, and the proposed legislation may also operate to in THE EVENING What’s Back of It All Federal Communications Commission Faces House Cleaning—Alternative Seen Congressional Probe. BY H. R. BAUKHAGE. HE most political of Washington's supposed-to-be-non-political bodies, the Federal Communications Commission, is due for a cleaning, either from within or without. Friends of the President say that his idea has been to find & Hercules to fill the position of chairman, made vacant by the death of Anning Prall, and turn the streams of organization efficiency through these Augean stables. A sizable list of candidates has been scanned privately with this in mind. ‘The alternative to the cleaning from within is a thorough congressional investigation. The administration, it is whispered, does not want an investigation. Enemies of the President would, of course, relish the opportunity to get the Roosevelt name into the headlines by summoning Elliot Roosevelt, vice president of Hearst Radio, as & YOU NEED witness, The President's son is not only a radio executive, but he is a pro- spective station owner as well. So is Mrs. Elliot Roosevelt, both having purchased Texas stations subject to the approval of the commission. James Roosevelt had a brief career as a commentator on the Yankee network while he was in the insurance business in Boston. When Elliot Roosevelt was acting as broker in the sale of four Southwest radio stations to the Hearst chain, two of the stations were transferred without hearings before the commission. This, however, is not an uncommon procedure u'ft}; the commission, but might be a target for the captious. * oK K X When the first temporary commission was appointed in 1927, the members were particularly anxious to obtain the blessings of Congress and the assurance of permanency. They were so nice that Senators and others, with censtituents demanding a frequency for a new station or increase of power for an old one, hopped to it and were mightily pleased with their success. But there was bound to come a reaction. The skyways are wide, but the demands for wave lengths are many. And when John Doe's new or more powerful station crowded the ether, Richard Roe began to cry “inter- ference.” The backfire immediately brought charges of political pressure into the open that otherwise might have been silenced However, the practices established early in the game took hold, and no one on the commission seemed to have the iron-fisted courage to step out and stop it. Chairman Prall had served in Congress himself, and presum- ably had a tender heart for the pleas of his former colleagues. The sins of the commission may perhaps be ezaggerated—some may be only sins of omission, but the tale like the following, while perhaps mot typical, gives pause. Quite recently, @ woman with considerable radio experience and adequate potential financial back- ing wished to purchase a radio station. Ignorant of Washington ways, she asked a friend what her first step would be. The friend knew of no other approach than to talk directly with the F. C. C. She followed his directions, and what was her surprise to be told that the first thing she ought to do was to see her Congressman. That is why the President is supposed to have instigated a search for an iron man for the job. * K ok ok The arrival of Ambassador William E. Dodd from Berlin gave the ship- news boys at Norfolk a chapce they don't often get, for that port seldom receives the returning diplomats. Although Norfolk is convenient to Washington, the Ambassador has not yet checked in with his boss on Pennsylvania avenue. This may not be as mysterious as it sounds, for the Ambassador needed a rest and desired to take one at a certain delightful hide-away where he wouldn't have to answer questions for a while. Meanwhile, questions are being asked in Washington (and perhaps answered in Moscow) about Ambassador Dodd’s plans. If by any chance he has decided not to return to his post. Ambassador Joe Davies, not too happy in the shadow of the Kremlin, would like to hear about it He'd swap a barrel of caviar for a dish of pretzels any time, it's reliably reported. And Mr. Dodd is on record— in fact, in the record (Congres- sional)—to the effect that he doesn't care for the brand of gov- ernment to which he is assigned. He created quite a lot of ex- citement during the heat of the fight over the court bill by writing Senator Glass that he was “for in- creasing the number of justices on the Supreme bench because I fear fascism.” * ok Kk % In one year and three months the public will be told officially why two inconspicuous paragraphs have been inserted in that revealing but much- neglected publication, the Federal Register. The paragraphs make up the executive order which exempted from civil service examination the “chief and two assistant chiefs of the foreign service buildings office.” Mrs. Warren Delano Robbins, widow of the Minister to Canada and a cousin to the President, was recently appointed to one of those assistantships to act as supreme arbiter of the interior decora- tion of our embassies and legations abroad. * K % X . Senator James Hamilton Lewis of Illinois, famed for his sartorial and rhetorical splendor, has discovered a silent and harmiess diversion He may be found frequently of an evening playing pin ball on one of the boards off the hotel lobby where he lives, Nothing is allowed to interrupt the Senator's game except a greeting from admiring ferminine acquaintances when, with characteristic Old World grace, he must stop to bend over the proffered hand and let the pin balls roll where they may. (Copyright, 1937, bythe North American Newspaper Alliance, Inc.) crease the cost of living | of the persons who now receive above | the minimum scale. ‘There is also the problem of finding the money in the budget of marginal businesses so as to pay the minimum wages required by law and the in- creased expense of time-and-a-half overtime where Jonger hours are nec- essary for special kinds of work mi which interruptions are not feasible. | ‘Will employers feel that they cannot advance the wages of those above the minimum because they must use what- ever margin they have available for pay roll increases so as to meet the new expenses caused by Gover vention for the That's what happe: R. A in not a few by happen again Whenever the people indifferently let the Federal Government fix their wages, their cost of living and through the whole economic structure the reckless hand of bureaucracy, there are bound to be repercussions. ‘There are some observers here who think the proposed Federal board will find its task so circumscribed by difficulties that it will take a year to get a single ruling very much as the Wash-Healey act has thus far oper- ated or rather failed to operate except | in the most indirect way. Certai the Federal nent inter- | classes? nder the N. sses. It will | power over minimum wages may force greater and greater intervention by Govern- ment into the whole matter of wages and hours above the minimum. William Green, president of the Amer- ican Federation of Labor, has per- suaded the House to give the unions some leverage in fixing minimum wage scales in conformity with collective bargaining arrangements that exist in certain localities and in line with pre- vailing wage scales. This alone pre- administration and enforcement. But | maybe the A. F. of L. which inwardly doesn't like the legislation because it gives the Government a chance to make labor unions superfluous, doesn’t | care if the proposed law proves un- workable. Maybe that's one way to sabotage it—to load it down with amendments that will make it vulner- able from a constitutional as well as an economic standpoint. (Copyright, 1937.) Eiffel Tower Broadcasts Set. The world's most powerful commer- cial television broadcasting station is | to be installed at the foot of the Eiffel Tower, Paris, with the antenna pro- Jjecting from the top of the flagpole of the tower. The transmitter will have a peak power of 30,000 watts. sents an almost insuperable problem of | BAD CHECK CHARGES HOLD U. S. EMPLOYE | Youth Awaits Grand Jury Action. Is Accused of Acquiring $330 Here. William C Schwetz, 22, of the 1800 block of Monroe street, is awaiting grand jury action on six bad check | charges, following his arraignment be- fore United States Commissioner Needham C. Turnage. ‘The defendant, a clerk employed in the Commerce Department, is accused of having acquired $330 on worthless checks from downtown stores. He pleaded guilty and bond was set at| $1,000. Detective Sergt. Herbert Wanna- maker returned the youth from Cleveland after Schwetz is alleged to have gone to Wilmington, Boston, Chicago, Warren, Ohio, and Cleveland following the loss of most of the money betting on the races. —_— Poe a Personal Critic. When Edgar Allan Poe reviewed books he often included disparaging remarks about the authors’ characters. " WORLDYS BREAST-STROKE CHAMP/ON por FOR 5 YEARS IN A ROW — LEONARD SPENCE, champion swimmer, says he enjoys Camels — especially at mealtimes SMOKING CAMELS AT MEALTIMES MAKES ME FEEL THAT My DIGESTION'S OFF TO A GOOD START. - AND MORE CAMELS AFTER EATING TOPS OFF A MEAL IN GREAT SHAPE STAR, WASHINGTON, D. cC, THE 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 questions of interest to its readers, although such opinions may be contredictory among themselves and directly oppdsed to The Star’s. Hull vs. Hitler in Brazil Anmerica’s Recent and Mysterious Moves Add Up to Defeat of Penetration. BY DOROTHY THOMPSON. HE announcement, some three weeks ago, that the United States Government had made a loan of $60,000,000 to Brazil, allegedly for purposes of exchange stabilization, was mystifying to Wall Street economists. It would have been less mystifying if they had associated it with news which quickly fol- lowed, that Brazil had canceled a deal whereby Germany was {0 purchase from her 100,000 bags of paid for in blocked marks, and to be used, not for German consumers, but for resale to Cen- tral European countries. Now, R S e other, more extraordinary. The State Department has asked Congress | quickly to authorize the lease to Brazil of six American destroyers, for the cost of the full marine insurance. In recommending this measure, which, as far as I know, is unprece- dented, Mr. Hull merely states that | “Brazil is concerned with recent ten- dencies in world politics and is ap- prehensive of the desires of some na- tions for raw materials * * * and is seektng to build a modest navy of her own.” He points out that “Brazil is a vast territory with a relatively small population” and that “if the govern- ments of other Ametican countries find it necessary to turn to foreign gove ernments for assistance * * * it is pref- erable that such assistance should be extended by the United States.” Expansion Fears Raised. These items all add up to some- thing, and what they add up to is that the State Department and the Navy are both greatly concerned about Germany's activities in Brazil. They are first of all concerned with Ger- many's tmade policy, and secondly they are not sure that German activity will be limited to trying to capture | the Brazilian market. 1 In considering the possibilities of German colonial expansion, most | Americans have always thought merely of the return of the African colonies. | But it would appear that Brazil, and | perhaps some other South American countries, fear that Germany may | look elsewhere than to Africa. And | the Monroe Doctrine, far from being dead. has been built out into a pan- | American system of collective se- curity. The German trade policy is in direct opposition to the reciprocal trade agreements of Cordell Hull. Under Hull's policy, the signatories to trade agreements contract to give each other the benefit of any trade concession which they may give to other countries. The policy does not demand that any one country buy as much from the United States as it sells to us, or vice versa. Hull's program is to open up all the chan- nels of world trade in the widest pos- sible way, based upon fair and non- discriminatory treatment, Germany’s Three-Point Policy. The German policy is, first, never to buy more from & country than that country buys from Germany. | Second, wherever trade balances run | against her, payment is made through | blocked marks, held in Germany for the account of the buyer and dis- chargeable only through purchase of German goods. Third, heavily to sub- sidize exports out of government boun- | ties s0 that they can undersell com- petitors. Now, of course, these blocked marks | really amount to an enforced loan from Germany's customers. At the present moment, Brazil has got blocked in Germany marks amounting to 35,000,000 American dollars. Under this system she has got to take Ger- man goods whether she wants them or not! German automobiles, although she may prefer American—in order to get her money. But Germany takes Brazilian goods and if she doesn’t use them at home sells them in the world market for gold or other goods, at arbitrary prices. Actually, what Germany has been doing has been to disorganize the Brazillan market in the small coun- tries of Oentral Europe. Germany buys Brazilian coffee for goods. Then she sells this coffee for cash or other goods below the Brazilian price. So that when Brazil takes her coffee into her old markets she finds that Ger- many has been there with it already. It's a colossal dumping campaign in which Germany is not only dumping her own goods, but other peoples— against those other peoples’ interests, using her customers’ goods to destroy her customers’ trade, and to dis- organize anything like a free market Prompts Treaty Violation. This game has been practiced all over the world, from China to Canada. The result is that countries who have trade agreements with the United States, and who trade with Germany, discriminate against the United States in a manner that violates both the letter and spirit of their trade agree- ments with us. From the American viewpoint, the Brazilian case is particularly flagrant For years the United States was the first supplier to Brazil, followed by England and Germany. now in third place, and Germany is close to pushing the United States from first place. Yet the United States annually buys from Brazil about twice as much as we sell her. We are her largest customer for her most im- portant export. We, therefore, have a club which we could use against Brazil, but Mr. Hull refuses to wield it, not only because he is interested in improving relations with our near neighbors, but because if we wield clubs against others, others will wield them against us. Filled With Resources. We are, therefore, seeing in this Brazilian affair & real struggle be- tween barter principles of Dr. Schacht, made possible by rigid political con- trol, and the liberal trade policies of | Mr. Hull. And in Brazl it is ap- parently complicated by the fear of the Brazilians that German eco- nomic penetration, by means of Dr. | Schacht’s bludgeon, mav be the pre- lude to penetration of a different and even more dangerous sort. Brazil is a sparsely populated country, filled with natural resources sorely needed by Germans, and a large and thriving German colony is there already. The German government has just ap- pointed as Ambassador to Brazil, Herr Ritter, one of the most important men in the German foreign office. For years he has been in charge of the department of economics. The offer to lease destroyers can- not, therefore, be interpreted merely as a friendly move toward a neigh- boring American country. It is ap= parently a warning to the Germans. It is also not without significance that 37 governments—a list in which | Italy, Germany and Japan are con- | spicuous for their absence—have just signified their allegiance to four principles formulated last month by Mr. Hull, as the basis of an inter- national policy. Those principles were: Treaties must be scrupulously garded, obligations maintained, com- mercial barriers shattered and arma- ments reduced. (Copyright, 1937.) England is | WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 11, 1937. This Changing World Japanese Widening of China Campaign Might Overcome Russia’s Reluctance to Fight. BY CONSTANTINE BROWN. Shanghal incident raises the question whether the Japanese military machine is geared to fight a war on several Chinese fronts. The killing of a junior Japanese naval officer is sufficient excuse to take the whole of China—if it cculd be done. But whether the Tokio leaders have sufficient forces to occupy the five provinces, to fight a difficult battle in Shanghai and eventually land & force at Nanking, remains to be seen. ‘The restraining factor is the U. 8. 8. R. It is true that because of internal difficulties and the existing anti-Communist agreement between Germany and Japan, the Moscow government is not keen about fighting Japan at present. * K ok X ‘This reluctance, however, might be overcome should Japan become deeply engaged with all her forces in China. In such an eventuality the 300,000 Red soldiers, with an avia- tion strength at least equal to that of Japan, might prove a real men- ace to the Tokio imperialists. During the Shanghai incident in 1932 the Japanese landing forces had to reckon only with the Chi- nese. They disposed of them in speedy fashion, although the 19th Route Army appeared at one time able to throw the invaders into the sea. In those days the Japa- nese were not worried. They had plenty of men in reserve at home and could pour them into China any time the general stafl so decided. Chiang Kai-shek did not intend to sacrifice a single man for Manchuria or Shanghal. * kK K The newspaper profession finally has been given an official recogni- tion by the foreign offices. The expulsion of three German newspaper men from London and the retaliatory measures taken by the German foreign office against the London Times correspondent makes the foreign correspondent the political sounding board of the various governments. Some months ago the Iialians recalled their correspondents from London to indicate their displeasure at the invitation of Haille Selassie to the coronation festivities of King George. The recall of the Ambassador would have been too drastic a measure. ‘The Italian reporters in London were then placed on the basis of unofficial diplomats whose recall meant displeasure, but no severance of official relations. The German-British newspaper conflict is looked on in the same light. While the two foreign offices officially are endeavoring to find “solutions” to dispel the existing misunderstandings between the two countries, the resenument which exists between them is expressed in the treatment of the representatives of their most important newspapers. * X ok x There is a general tendency among all statesmen to think that if a4 newspaper man criticizes—even by implication—thelr actions, that newspaper man is their enemy. ‘The old saying, “Who is not for me is against me” has become the official slogan of all men in public life who, while receiving with grati- tude bouquets—even when these are sometimes unwarranted—con- sider any criticism a hestile act prompted by who knows what dark influences. ‘The war rumblings have forced the British government to restore to war strength its naval intelligence services. Today the admiralty intelligence department has become, as during the World War, the best- informed agency in the world. The agents of that organization are to be found all over the world. Sometimes they belong to the navy or to the naval reserve, but more frequently they are business men who have lived in a foreign place for many years or special men selected by the ofiice of naval intelligence because of their skill and special training. Thus recently the British admiralty disclosed the Franco govern- ment, which according to all sources had no submarines, was in possession of several submersibles which were on duty in the Mediterranean and in the Atlantic Franco has bought no submarines, the admiralty informed the gov- ernment; these were “loaned” to him with crews and officers “by a friendly power’—Ifaly. The only thing which belongs to Franco is the Nationalist flag, and that was manufactured in Germany. BUCKLEY IS DELEGATE GRANTED CHARTER Others Will Attend Building and | Leesburg Man Authorized to Op- Loan League Parley. erate Bus Service. Robert Buckley, president of the| The Interstate Commerce Commis- District Building & Loan League, will| sion has authorized H. Hunter Fultz, head the Washington delegation to|Leesburg, Va. to operate as a com- the “convention of the United States| mon motor carrier between Leesburg. Building & Loan League in Los An-| Va, and points in Maryland, West re- | geles October 6 to 8. Other delegates who will attend the | session include Edward C. Baltz, secre- tary of Perpetual Building Association and vice president of the United States League:; Carl J. Bergman, treasurer of Washington Permanent Building Asso- | ciation and past president of the Dis- | trict league; C. Clinton James, attorney | for Columbia Permanent Building As- | | sociation and past president of the | Virginia and the District of Columbia It authorized the Arnold Transfer Co., Roanoke, Va. to operate as a common motor carrier between Roa- noke and vicinity and points in North Carolina. Tennessee, West Virginia and the District of Columbia. Flag by Any Name. For unmounted units, a flag is a Headline Folk and What They Do Alonzo B. See Noted as Newspaper Letter Weriter. BY LEMUEL F. PARTON. LONZO B. SEE, the elevator man, has long been this read- er's favorite epistolarian. His letters to the newspapers caused more people to hit the ceiling than did his elevators. Just now his A. B. See Elevator Co, which he founded 54 years ago, is being dis- soived and properties sold to Westinghouse. Tt E 15 to be hoped he now will have time to catch up with his le 7 writing. His son Alva B. See, who has managed his business affairs recently, did not follow in his fa- ther's pen tracks as a correspond- ent. Mr. See’s first big turn in the head- lines came in 1922 with his insistence that, for the good of all concerned, we ought to burn down all the women's colleges. He was a vehement opponent of feminine education “beyond knowe ing their A B C’s forward and backe ward.” In support of this view he fered the findings of his own resear: which were that women's brains were, on the average, five ounces lighter than men’s brains. 0 college woman can be a fit parent,” he contended. He assailed pedagogues and all con= temporary educational techniques, writing and publishing a book called “Schools,” in 1929, in which he in- sisted education should be “under the guidance of men who have the intelligence to own and run a shop.” He was a porcu nouncing governmenta tax-eaters and hir | Hoover ought to be his s sion | in style, betes noir e He is & be ly gentleman, wi tacles and white ha nice house Brookly has lived all his life, bu elevators and registering dissent. This writer caught himself agreeing with See on any- thing, but hope will keep on ‘kl"k:l’.fi M k s men, when | they get angry about sluice |it off in some desiccated chamber of | commerce committee, w the sap out of it. efined these days. the “letters to the edit together at | the first photograp! | ever taken. They were a @ lot and we almost had to o the militia, but you couldn’ liking them. They believed thing. Alonzo B. See. never Mr. he d (Copy: HOLDUP ANTICLIMAX Clerk Had Banked the Funds, So Robbers Went Out. DALLAS, Tex., August 11 (£).—Fred Moore's hold-up story had detectives gasping. where I work,” he repo: awakened my by prodding a pistdl my ribs. TI and one w “I had taken all we closed. The noney out when men turned on Yes,” chorused the detectives, “go United States league, and George N.|color; for mounted or motorized units, Emmerich, treasurer of Northern Lib- | a standard, and for ships it's an en- erty Building Association. sign. ! | on.” “Well, then they went out.” EVERY BREEZE IS A 3-RINGER, with a glass of Ballantine’s Ale or Beer in your fist! Just spot the 3 rings —there’s the shortest distance to real comfort. Try Peter Ballantine’s 3-fold test of his brew—he took one drink to judge PURITY... a second for BODY...a third for FLAVOR. On the table, left by his glass, were 3 moisture rings— his trademark. Look for the 3 rings of quality, then ask for “BALLANTINE’S!" America’s finest since 1840.