Evening Star Newspaper, April 17, 1940, Page 11

Fair Play Vs. Punitive Government Conéress Holds Power to Check S. E. C. ‘Gestapo’ By DAVID LAWRENCE. Punitive Government — Govern- ment that uses its accusing and prosecuting powers to carry out political reprisals or to besmirch political oppo- nents—is so uni- versally out of harmony with the American concept of fair play that it would be a great surprise to the people of the Nation if the first reports that the Securities and Exchange Commission had attempted to smear Senator George of Geor- David Lawrence. gia. Democrat, were confirmed. The S. E. C. has been given broad powers by Congress over the public utility business—so broad, that there is scarcely any transace- tion which this $12,000,000,000 in- dustry can consummate Wwithout subjecting itself to the scrutiny of the commission at any time. Congress—and not the S. E. C.— brought about this condition, and Congress alone can remedy it. That's | one reason why a comprehensive in- vestigation of the way the Securi- ties and Exchange Commission uses its powers has lately been urged on Capitol Hill. It is not novel. Many | governmental commissions are now exercising arbitrary powers: in similar fashion as a natural result of the young “brain trusters” idea of brooking no opposition, or court review or appeal from their deci- sions. Threat to “Get” Willkie. About a fortnight ago, Wendell ‘Willkie, president of the holding company which owns the Georgia company that is now being investi- gated by the S. E. C., told a reporter in Boston that an S. E. C. official had threatened to “get him if it's the last thing we do.” The report was ridiculed by President Roosevelt at a press conference, and Mr. Will- kie replied somewhat tartly that it was easy to laugh off things when there was no other answer. Today it becomes clear that what Mr. Willkie suspected was the in- quiry started by the S. E. C. into the alleged political contributions by the Georgia Power Co. to the 1938 campaign of Senator George, who, it will be recalled, was to be the victim of the administration’s purge policy: Preston Arkwright, president of the company, denies that any one in the corporation made any contribu- tion and says the investigators have been in his office three times since 1938 on the same charge without finding evidence of wrongdoing. He calls it & political plot and a refusal of those who were defeated at the polls to take their medicine as good sports. ‘What is more important, however, {s that the administration here has never enforced the Federal Corrupt Practices Act against those who plainly violated it in the 1936 cam- paign by selling autographed cam- paign books to corporations at prices far above the intrinsic value of the books themselves. Likewise, the, Justice Department recently has squelched other law violations by officials of the Government who went so far as to confess publicly that they had disregarded Federal stat- utes. Breeds Resentment. Under such circumstances, it is unfortunate to find impressions growing that political government and punitive government have be- come synonymous. Violations of Federal statutes should, of colrse, be prosecuted vigorously at all times | against any who are guilty, but to | apply the law against political oppo- } nents of the administration while | ignoring those within its own ranks | who have violated similar laws can | only breed bitter feeling and wide- spread resentment at a time when national unity is so vital. The S. E. C. is an important agency of the Government. It has a whale of a job looking after the sale of securities, the issuance of new capital issues and the applica- tion of the “death sentence” under the holding company law. How it can find time to busy itself with petty politics is a mystery, unless there are influences at work inside the S. E. C. which are more inter- ested in political punishments than in public service. It would be sur- prising if any of the members of the S. E. C. were themselves guilty of setting up a sort of financial “Gestapo” in America because they are all high-minded men and, while sensitive to criticism, certainly do hot appear to be ready to cast to the winds the traditional spirit of fair play which has always been charac- | seizea this advantage. | McReynolds and Brownlow, Hester had gotten White House | of the minor bureaus of the S. E. C. | be quoted as saying that the Georgia } last night in the school. THE EVENING STAR, WASHINGION, D. C, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 17, 1940. The Capital Parade Streamlining of Aeronautics Control Produces Bitter Government Row By JOSEPH ALSOP and ROBERT KINTNER. The President recently issued two executive orders streamlining the Civil Aeronautics Authority. He transferred much of the power of the bipartisan five-man board to a single individual, the C. A. A. adminis- trator. He abolished the previously independent Air Safey Board, and he placed the revamped Aeronautic Authority under the Commerce De- partment. There is ‘obviously much to be said both in favor of and against the plan. Its proponents argue that the reorganization will produce clear-cut responsibility for the first time. Its opponents see the possibilities of | political control of aviation. But ignoring the merits, the hubbub at the C. A. A. gives an amusing though somewhat tragic insight into the work- ings of Government. Demon Plotter ‘The hubbub revolved around two men, Robert H. Hinckley, the board chairman, and Clinton M. Hester, the administrator. Hinckley was a suc- cessful Utah automobile dealer when 1, syow he was drafted into Government in 1933. A year or so ago he was named C. A. A. chairman. He sponsored the civilian pilots training program and is generally conceded to have done a good job. Hester is a Government career man of some years who earned promotion from the Treasury after he helped draft the Aviation Act. He is a close friend of James Rowe and William H. McReynolds, two of the White House secret six, and of Louis Brownlow, the Presi- dent's adviser on Government reorganization. Hinckley and Hester have | gotten along well enough except for some natural Jealousy. But in Government, every one holds on to his power with dear life, nitac | and the President’s first executive order had hardly reached Congress before a real feud was touched off at the C.A.A. A very circumstantial and rather convincing story was soon circulated, picturing Hester as a demon plotter determined to increase his own power. Hinckley was vacationing in Utah, and his sympathizers were honestly convinced that Hester had As they pictured it, through good friends, Rowe, Ny t entree to per- suacie the President tc better his own position, ¢ Hester protested that he knew nothing of the order, but his denial was taker with several grains of salt. Hadn't Hester visited a board member shortly before the order; hadn't he reported a rumor that the White House would decrease his own authority; hadn’t he even threatened to resign if this happened? True, the President’s order had the reverse effort, but Hinckley's friends were convinced that Hester's rumor was merely a cover-up for the plot. There was much strong talk at the C. A. A. on both sides. At least one board member threatened to resign. Repre- sentatives of the industry heard the story and naturally became concerned that the C. A. A. was about to be made a political football. A Silly Business It the people who actually worked with the President on the orders | are to be believed, Hester had nothing to do with them. And, in fact, it was the President’s own wish that no one at the C. A. A. be consulted. Some months ago when the White House received reports of friction at the authority, Budget Director Harold Smith sent in experts from his adminis- trative management section. They reported that the law did not make a clear demarcation of pewer, and recommended that there be a reshuffling to give the administrator all “ad- ministrative” activity and to confine the board to purely “quasi-judicial” functions. They also recommended the abolition of the Air Safety Board. S Smith took the plan of the ex- perts to the President, who was im- pressed by their reasoning, perhaps because he has long felt that the in- dependent agencies should be more directly responsible to the White Housc. The plan has this effect since the board members are appointed ‘or fixed terms while the administrator can be removed practically at the wili of the President To the experts’ plan, the President added an idea of his own, the transfer of C. A. A. to the Commerce Department. Neither Rowe nor McReynolds knew the details of the order, and were not con- sultea. Brownlow was shown the plan at the last moment, and objected to its main feature. the transfer to Commerce. No doubt the ruffled feelings of every one will soon be calmed. In fact, Hinckley's prestige was somewhat restored on the second order transferring the Aeronautics Authority since his great and good friend, Edward I. Noble, is Undersecretary of Commerce. But the whole episode remains a silly business. (Released by the North American Newspaper Alliance, Inc.) SPLENDID, HAROLD, NOW iLL ADD AN IDEAOF " fi MY OWN. 4 o5 | olitical leaders of influence on the 2 . gdmmistrntion side of Georgia’s 1938 | Be"nmg SChOOl Hea"ng battle been able to persuade somejN d c ,d d to drag the Georgia Power Co. into ee S ons' ere the public prints in the hope of| The need of a more substantial some local advantage? | heating plant and better sanitary Who Starts Inquisitions? !!&cmties in the Benning School It is significant that Chairman | Jerome Frank, with characteristic | Wer® discussed by the Benning fairness, has permitted himself to | Citizens' Association at its meeting However, investigation in no way involves | no action was taken. Mr. Willkie. But how can inquisi-| A committee was appointed to as- tions like this be carried on? Who certain whether the property re- starts them? And are the vast ' ported bought by the Alley Dwelling investigation powers of the S. E. C.| Authority on the south side of the to be used to terrorize and intimi- | old Benning race track would be date? sold to white or colored following Congress is just this week taking | the building of homes on the tract. up the problem of arbitrary power| g G pasco, chairman of the by so-called independent commis-|gindergarten Committee, reported sions. An inquiry into the whole|ynag his inyestigation had revealed Star’s eflort to give all sides readers, CI'HE opintons of the writers on this page are their own, not necessarily The Star's. Such opintons are presented in The although such opinions may be contradictory among themulues and directly opposed to The Star’s. o] questions of interest to its Or Top Dewey for G. O. By FREDERIC WILLIAM WILE. It would be proof that the age of miracles is not past, if it should get anywhere, but there’s something resembling an underground boom for Wen- dell L. Willkie for the Republican presidential nomination. § Original Willkie man is Arthur Krock, Wash- ington corre- spondent of the New York Times, who in Feb- ruary, 1939, launched the president of C o mmonwealth Frederic William Wile. and Southern as a White House possibility. The suggestion never stirred any illusory hopes in Will- kie's breast. He realizes that any man tarred in the public mind with the utilities brush would have slim chance of nomination by either party and still slighter prospect of election. Never- theless, Boomster Krock is undis- mayed, and now reports that at last week’s Gridiron Club gathering of the country’s political, industrial, financial and journalistic great, Willkie's name was on certain in- fluential lips more than was that of Dewey, Taft or Vandenberg. The erudite New York column- ist narrates that several outstand- ing men of affairs, who are populariy supposed to pull the off-stage wires at national conventions, communed political machinists as to ways and means for drumming up Willkie delegates to the Republican National Convention. * ko X ‘What Is Willkie's Politics? boom is that Mr. Krock seems to his autoblographical “Who's Who" sketch, the utilities magnate de- scribes himself as a Democrat. He is a native Indianan, hailing from El- wood, where Senator Jim Davis of Pennsylvania, got his start as a pud- dler in the tin mills. Paul McNutt were classmates at In- diana University, and remained good friends. nees should turn out to be from the same State, as Harding and Cox were. Washington Observations Willkie Reported to Rate Ahead of Taft with one another and with practical | Baffling feature of this budding | identify Willkie as a Republican. In | Willkie and | It would be 1920 all over | again if rival 1940 presidential nomi- | ‘Wendell Willkie, despite the utili-| P. Nomination chinists at about this period of the 1920 pre-convention campaign fig- ured Wood would emerge from the first ballot with 400 or more votes. He was 100 shy of that total even at his peak. Taftites claim a 300 first-ballot minimum for the Sena- tor, including a pretty solid bloc of Southern delegates. * K K K Is Nation Tired of Glamour? Some Republicans think Taft’s best chance lies in his undramatic personality. They think the coun- try is surfeited with “charm,” espe- cially over the radio, and not minded simply to exchange Roosevelt charm for Dewey's brand. These sooth- sayers point to what they term a certain curious trend of demand among American voters for different temperaments in the White House from time to time. Successive tran- sitions since 1884 are cited as cases in point—the switch from Arthur This Changing World Italian Protectorate Over Greece Feared In Some Quarters as Next Coup By CONSTANTINE BROWN. ‘While world public opinion has its eyes riveted on the drama which is being played in Northern Europe, there are signs that things may pop off in the Mediterranean. The non-belligerent Duce has seni, out his fleet in full force for the spring war games. At the same time a number of Italian battalions—some 20,000 men according to certain reports—have been sent to Albania. According to official Italian explanations these troops are intended to relieve some of the men who have been there for over a year. But foreign observers have not noticed any of the re- lieved troops come back to Italy yet. The Italian fleet is reported to be concentrated in the Dodecanese Islands with the Island of Rhodes as the main concentration point. Thus the bulk of Italy’s sea power is within 24 hours distance from one of the most important strategic points in g Europe—the port of Salonika. This port is called to play an important role in the event of the yar extending into the Balkans and the Near East and its possession is of paramount im- portance to the belligerents. SOMeE Puim’ 2 LSt el i‘:{,u ‘Protection’ of Greece Feared Salonika belongs to Greece and Greece is neutral with strong pro- ally leanings. 4 In many diplomatic and military quarters fears are expressed that 11 Duce might wish to “protect” Greece against the horrors of war in the same way the Fuehrer has protected Denmark and is now striving to pro- tect Norway. These diplomats would not oe surprised to hear that in order to prevent Greece from becoming a battlefield Italian troops have to Cleveland; from Cleveland Harrison, and then back again land gave way to McKinley; the placid McKinley to the strenuous | William Howard Taft. Taft, the Jjovial, was followed by Wilson, the to | | from Harrison to Cleveland. Cleve- | Roosevelt, and, in 1909, Roosevelt to | entered the country and taken it under “protective custody.” If it is correct that at Brennero when Hitler and Mussolini met a few | weeks 230, a plan of campaign was decided upon in which a certain active role was assigned to Italy then Greece 1s in danger indeed. | With all its coast line exposed to the Italian fleet and with Italian | troops on the northern borders of the country there is little that the Greeks could do. With the exception of a few modern destroyers Greece has no navy to measure itself with the Italians. Her army is well organized but it has none of the modern equipment the Italians have. This applies also austere, and Wilson, the scholar, by Harding, the incarnation of Babbitt- |Ty. After Coolidge came Hoover— not much change that time. From Hoover the country fled to Franklin Roosevelt, tops in political contrast. With firm faith that history is going to repeat itself this year by mani- festing an aversion to the incum- bent personality, seasoned Repub- | licans will tell you that the lessons | of the past and the portents of the future alike point to Bob Taft, with | possibly Styles Bridges as runner-up. * Xk K X Howes, Roosevelt Pioneer. liam W. Howes, who is quitting the first assistant postmaster general- ship for his first love, politics. as- sumedly to promote Jim Farley's as- pirations, ranks close to being orig- inal Roosevelt man No. 1, In his personal history of a politician, the autoblography entitled “Behind the Ballots,” Farley credits Howes with having paved the way for Gov. | Roosevelt’s pre-convention avalanche in 1932. Sunny Jim was lunching one day at Aberdeen with Howes, | South Dakota Democratic na- tional committeeman. Suddenly Bill | “plumped his fat fist on the table and growled in a deep voice: ‘Far- ties taint, personifies what thousands | ley, I'm damned tired of backing of Americans. fed up with mere losers. In my opinion Roosevelt can politicians, look upon as ideal presi- [ SWeep the country and I am going dential timber, because of his emi- 0 support him!"” South Dakota was nence as a businessman. We've put | One of the first States to instruct | lawyers galore, two or three soldiers, | for Roosevelt and Bill Howes thence- | a college professor and an editor in | forth ranked as a major prophet. goodness man of affairs like Willkie | ever made the grade in our time. Willkie himself was a lawyer before going dnto utilities in 1933. He seems a rank outsider as either a Repub- lican or Democratic nominee, but unless Roesevelt consents to be drafted a dark-horse finish at both Philadelphia and Chicago is far from an impossibility, so Willkie may bear watching. He is 48, an Episcopalian and an speaker. k%% Taft Unbowed. Tom Dewey's runaway head start {may have, as generally believed, | crowded Arthur Vandenberg off the | track, bug Bob Taft's friends think Ohio’s favorite son is going stronger than ever, despite Dewey's primary victories in Wisconsin, Nebraska and Illinois. They point out that Borah nois primaries in 1936 and was not the White House, but no honest-to- | effective | teristic of government bodies. Have Use New 2-Coat Paint System A PRODUCT OF Makes houses whiter than white and helps keep them white! Two coats—one of ~ outside primer and one of Lawrence No. 35 Outside White are equivalent to three coats of white leod and linseed oil. That's what painters say about Lawrence new house paint. Your house stays white longer, for a hard rain will remove dust and grime. STORE HOURS: Daily 7:30 A.M. to 6 P.M.; F: B subject of equal and fair enforce- ment of laws, irrespective of political party, becomes more logical now than ever before. (Reproduction rights reserved.) $10,172 Judgment Levied on Broker A judgment for $10,172, plus in- terest at 6 per cent from October 1, 1936, against Charles S. Miner, insurance broker and former pro- moter of the Sportsmens Insurance Co., has been entered in District Court. The judgment was signed by Justice Daniel W. O’Donoghue. Through Attorneys Neil Burkin- shaw and Daniel B. Maher, the Ex- cess Insurance Co. of America, Inc. of New York, claimed that Mr. Miner was personally liable on a $10,000 loan to the Guardian Man- agement Co., the parent company of Sportsmens. A The court was told that MY. Miner had signed a contract guaranteeing that the management would pay the loan. Regularly $3.45 Gal. $*) .85 2 Gals. or more . and Sat. ‘Til 8 P.M, PLES HARDUWARE E€IGHBORHOOD STORES FOR DELIVERY: Lincoln 10430-4044; WOodley 5311; ADams 1641 too small a number of children in Benning to justify the opening of a kindergarten class, but by July a sufficient number will have reached the proper age. It was announced that “local talent night” will be held in the Benning School May 2 with talent from throughout the community, if arrangements can be made through the Community Center and the Board of Education. Movies also will be shown and refreshments nominated. Leonard Wood in 1920 half of Illinois away from Gov. Frank Lowden, but Wood was not nominated. Shrewd G. O. P. ma- Mechanics Are Welcome To Easy Terms at EISEMAN'S F ot 7th Men’s and Women’s Apparel THE CIGARETTE THAT SCORES WITH ME IS SLOWER-BURNING CAMELS ., THAT SLOWER BURNING 1S IMPORTANT TO ME. IT MEANS EXTRA MILDNESS AND COOLNESS —=AND EXTRA SMOKING PER PACK., ‘I'D WALK A MILE FOR A SLOW-BURNING CAMEL!’ In recent laboratory tests, CAMELS burned 25% slow- or than the average of the 15 other of the largest-sell- Ing brands tested —slower than any of them. That means, on the average, a smoking plus equal to EFORE you take it for granted you're getting all the pleasure there is in a cigarette, take a tip from Joe DiMaggio’s experience. Try the slower-burning cigarette. Try Camels. Enjoy the advantages of Camel’s un- equaled slower way of burning and the supreme pleasure of Camel’s matchless blend of costlier tobaccos. Get extra pleasure and extrs smoking per cigarette per pack. See if you don’t agree that penny for penny, Camels are your best cigarette buy! FOR EXTRA MILDNESS, EXTRA COOLNESS, EXTRA FLAVOR = CAMELS SLOW-BURNING COSTLIER TOBACCOS A v ERE Stimson New Dark Horse. | Brand-newest G. O. P. dark horse | entry is Henry L. Stimson. Wash- | ington friends are quietly booming | him. As the author of the “Stim- son Doctrine” of non-recognition of aggressor conquests they call the former Secretary of State a “nat- ural” if*the war dictates the nom- ination of a man who knows his way about in foreign affairs. carried both the Wisconsin and Illi- | swept Wisconsin and took at least| MORE PEOPLE ARE 1940 is proving to be the ready for it. Ready for the greater use of flying. Nearly a million dollars United's great fleet. All famous Mainliner service. Gracious hospitality, delicious meals, lux- urious comfort await you in United's Main- liners, plus United's 165,000,000 miles of experience. They'll make your next trip the most enjoyable experience you ever had. 808 15th St., N. W. the history of air transportation. The increase in air travel is tremendous. And United is new United Mainliners have been added to facilities have been expanded; personnel increased, new features added to United's ‘m the comparatively small air force. Greece could resist on land for a { few weeks until assistance from outside reached her. | According to diplomatic and military observers, if Italy has really de- i cided to join the Germans or to become a “protector” on its own initiative this would be the ideal moment for Il Duce to strike. ‘The British are heavily engaged in the North Atlantic and could not | detach many important units to join the French in the Mediterranean. | The French Navy is about equal to the Italian except in submarines and destroyers. In both these categories the Italians have a slight numer- ical edge over the French. Whether the French and the British would | seize an Italian attempt to “protect” Greece as a motive to settle many old | scores with Italy remains to be seen. The probabilities are that they will | regardless of cost. ! French Favor Settling Issue | Ever since the second Eurcpean war began, the French were of the | him the problem squarely: Italy can- not remain neutral in this conflict. | Hence I1 Duce must chose right |away (that was in September 1939) between the allies and Germany. If he chose to be with the allies he would not be required to fight but will have to cut off all connections | with the Reich and permit allied troops to go unhampered to rescue of the Balkans. If on the other hand he decided to throw his lot with Berlin, he must suffer the consequences. At the time when this suggestion was made by the French general staff the Germans had just begun the invasion of Poland. They were not completely prepared on the Seigfried line. The French believed that at that time they could have straightened out the Mediterranean question without much trouble and disposed of a situation which they knew would become complicated if 11 Duce’s hand were not called then. They seem to believe that it is not too late yet to do it. It is of course admitted that the position is more difficult now when the Germans are reported to be ready to attack on the western front and when Italy has had seven months to improve her war preparations. iFive Physicians Indicted | On Narcotics Charges | By the Associated Press. | commissioner of children’s hygiene | KANSAS CITY, April 17.—Five and communicable diseases; Dr. Car= i v | roll P. Hungate, active in the Jack- | Kansas City physicians were indicted | son County Medical Society: Dr. on charges of conspiracy to violate pdward Hipsh, Dr. Philip Saper and the Harrison Anti-Narcotics Act yes- | Dr. Joseph Getelson. terday, less than a year after Fed- Two druggists and three other eral agents asserted they had ! persons also were accused. | smashed a $12,000,000-a-year nar- , cotics ring with headquarters here. | The Federal grand jury indictment | named Dr. D. M. Nigro, prominent Babel Gives Forth These Wisdoms Random impressions Left in Wake of Gridiron Dinner By CHARLES G. ROSS. Some random impressions gained from or confirmed by the babel of tongues in the smoke-filled rooms of the Willard Hotel, where Gov- ernment officials # of high and low degree, politi- tians on the out- side looking in (including a n assortment of presidential can- didates), bank- ers, industrial- ists, publishers, editors, newspa- per writers, et cetera, et cetera, gathered before and after the Gridiron Club's annual spring » | Charles G. Rows. | dinner: | That Tom Dewey is far from be- | ing the darling of the politicians of his party and may be tripped up. ‘That Dewey, nevertheless, by virtue | of the vote-getting ability he showed |in the Wisconsin and Nebraska | primaries and the lack of cohesion in the stop-Dewey movement, holds today a decided edge and will be a hard man to trip. That Dewey could stop running today and be assured of at least the nomination for vice president. Martin Has Good Chance. | That Minority Leader Joe Martin | of the House of Representatives has a good chance to emerge as the com- promise nominee at Philadelphia if the leaders kill one another off. That the boomlet under way for Wendell Willkie, the big utility man turned publicist, might conceivably develop into a sizable boom. That the Republican platform will have a pronounced isolationist slant. That Senator Vandenberg—whose Chubby. jollv, bespectacled Wil- | opinion that the allies should not try to bribe Mussolini but place before | unreported speech was one of the high lights of the dinner—would be | in much better case today if he had | taken the stump in Wisconsin and | Nebraska. | That. the election will be close. That the Republicans, encouraged | by the percentage gains they have made in congressional by-elections in the Middle West, are genuinely hopeful, but obsessed with the fear that some turn in the war will put Roosevelt into the race on a “don't- | change-horses” platform. | That nobody has any dependable | information as to the strength of the anti-third term sentiment. G. 0. P. May Win House. That there’s a real chance for tii~ Republicans to win control of the House of Representatives while lo:- ing the presidential election. | That Mr. Roosevelt will hit & snax if he attempts to throw his strengii; in the Chicago convention to either Attorney General Jackson or Su- preme Court Justice Douglas. That Cordell Hull remains a likel choice if the President prefers no: Democrat and sportsman and former | to take the nomination. | That the selection of Hull would | be received with less than enthu- siasm in the isolationist reaches of the West. | That, however, the political assets | of the Secretary of State outweigh his liabilities, and that in any case | the first attention of the party must | be given to carrying New York. That neither Hull nor any other Democratic nominee for the Presi- dency can possibly be elected with- out the active, driving support of the President. That Jim Farley has no chance to be nominated for the presidency. but may win second place on the ticket. Vote on Personalities. That the election will turn not on @ anything the parties say in their FLYING UNITED MAINLINERS THAN EVER! greatest year in CHICAGO 4 flights, daily. $36.00 DENVER New low fares. SAN FRANCISCO Overnight sleeper and scenic c!nyliqht flights. SEATTLE The only sleeper flights. Attrac- tive round-trip fares. * * * 15% DISCOUNT ON GOVERNMINT TRAVE Via PCA’s new Douglases to Cleveland. Reservations: Call United, travel agents, hotels. people who will this year take their first flight. Ready for the air traveler who already is making even worth of giant along the line MEtropolitan 5656 platforms, but on the personalities of the candidates. That, while the candidates of both parties will avow a determination to keep the United States out the war, the war may yet provide the issue, real or hidden, this issue being the extent of the aid “short of war” that shall be given the allies. That after the election, the issue of credits to the allies ultimately wiil come into the open and will be bit- terly contested. That the third-term movement is compounded in its leadership, of one part altruism and two parts self-seeking, either by jobholders : |interested in keeping their jobs or i | political bosses who want the Roose- velt name at the head of their local tickets. That only the President can head off this movement in the Demo- cratic convention. As to what the President will do, it may be added without violating the rules of the Gridiron Club that the mystery remained as great after his Saturday night speech as it was before. ' Arts Commission Opposes {Marble Facing Stipulafion The National Commission of Fine Arts was on record today as oppos- ing legislation requiring certain types of material in the construc- tion of public buildings here. The commission's views were set forth in a communication yesterday to the House Committee on Public Buildings, which is considering a resolution by Representative Hobbs, Democrat, of Alabama to require marble facing on all public buildings to be erected in the Northwest Rec- tangle. Chairman Gilmore D. Clarke in- formed the committee it would be an unsound policy for Congress to enact such legislation. It was sug- gested thay such matters be left to departments and Government archi- tects. The National Capital Park and Planning Commission at its March meeting took a similar stand. Bulldings which members of Con- gress from marble-producing States would have built of marble only would include the new War and Navy Department Buildings and any others to be erected in future in the tract bounded by Seventeenth street, E street and Constitution avenue N.W. and the Potomac River. John Eaton P.-T. A. The John Eaton Parent-Teacher | Association will hold its monthly luncheon tomorrow at the school, after which a business meeting will discuss the question of suffrage. -