Evening Star Newspaper, May 11, 1940, Page 9

Tense Days Foreseen for U.S. Spread of Conflict Intensifies ‘War on Nerves’ By DAVID LAWRENCE. The “war of nerves” has come again to Washington. Every crisis in Europe has brought a sudden wave of anxiety, but this time, as Holland and ... Belgium have been drawn into the fray, the prospect that the conflagra- tion will spread further and fur- ther is causing persons of all political parties to wonder if tense days are not ahead for the United States. The fact that the President David Lawrence. and Secretary of State and members of the Congress have all along ex- pected Hitler to move through Bel- gium and Holland does not in any way lessen the gravity of the oc- currence now that the world is face to face with another deliberate violation of the territorial integrity of an innocent nation. The fact also that “neutrality” is an ironic word of bygone days, and that the rules of forebearance and restraint which international cus- tom for centuries built into a code of international morality are now swept aside by the Nazis, makes all ‘Washington alert to the dangers of dictatorship-made decisions. Might Under One Thumb. Overnight anything can happen. One man decides. No parliaments or congresses have to debate or authorize. Free peoples use that method of deliberation, and so long as free peoples controlled free gov- ernments, there has been no dan- ger. Today, one-man governments control vast armies and navies and air forces. The limit of their capac- ity for offense is unknown. All the world therefore worries. The United States Government knows that the American people want to be kept out of war. But this means out of any offensive war. It does not mean that the American people will not defend their own territory, or that they will regard with resignation the establishment of any air bases in the Atlantic near our coasts. ‘Whether America gets into the war depends on German initiative. The most that the American Gov- ernment may ever be asked to do on 8 defensive basis to protect the Monroe Doctrine may be to patrol the coast lines of North and South America. Will America be asked to decide on ald to the allies in the event that the war goes against them? This question is not being answered officially, nor is it answered pri- vately by high officials. Nobody at- tempts to look further into the future than the next week or month. meuuflnmepmds on the trend of the war 1f. Credit Sentiment Rises. A sentiment, of course, is already rising to revise so-called neutrality laws 80 as to permit a flow of goods on credit to the allies. This is in accordance with international law as it existed before 1939. The pres- sure for such a return to the old vasis will come from those who think this is the best way to keep the war from encroaching on the ‘Western Hemisphere, and it will come from those who feel that to require cash at the present time is to impose a burden on countries lke Canada and the United King- dom, which normally constitute our best customers for trade. Not only would the Johnson Act have to be revised, but also the 1839 neutrality law, if exports of agricultural and oter products are to be financed for the British and French governments on a leng-term basis. Some change in the credit machinery ultimately will be made, but it had been felt until now that the issue would not arise till after the November elections be- cause the allies have enough cash to take care of their immediate needs. Could Speed Buying. But, on the other hand, the knowl- edge that credit would be avail- able here would alter the whole allied conception of war purchases in America. The British have been delaying too long in buying war planes. They have been trying to conserve their cash so carefully that they have lost valuable time dicker- ing for “planes of the latest type, CAPITAL COMPANY 36TH AND M Is Now Being Air Conditioned * Cnystors ‘patriotism. THE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C., SATURDAY, MAY 11,, 1940, The Capital Parade Justice Department’s Suit Against Movies Brings Tangle of Government ‘Efforts By JOSEPH ALSOP and ROBERT KINTNER. The latest hurrah-boys over the Justice Department's anti-trust sult against the moving picture industry is an excellent sample of the Hndorhncuowmthumuotmfln‘mwhmmmmylm A couple of years ago the Justice Department complained to the courts that the movie industry was a vertical cartel, largely owned and mflrelymmncdbyulwhueprfiucm‘mmu.mw- combed with such nefarious practices as block-booking. This caused WIlI H. Hays and r eminent denizens of Hollywood to put on an exhibition of plous agony suggest- ing Eliza hearing the first howl of the bloodhounds. They also searched Washington, high and low, for some one who could persuade trust-busting Assistant Attorney General Thurman W. Arnold to call his bloodhounds off. Among others who were ap- proached was James Roosevelt, the a X\ son of the President, who is in the e ‘movie business himself. Whether through young Roosevelt or some other channel, the movie people ob- tained access to Harry L. Hopkins, the Secretary of Commerce. Hopkins appointed his economist, Willard Thorpe, and Thorpe’s assistant, E. A. Tupper, to negotiate with Joseph Hasen of Warner Bros, who had been named Hollywood’s special ambassador to the Government. Tupper and Hazen, both able persons, then settled down to dickering, eventually reaching a settlement which even the Justice Department admits was semi-satisfactory. Then, unfortunately, news of the impending settlement was pub- lished in & movie trade paper The independent exhibitors, who have not been kindly treated by the producers, immediately descended on the Justice Department crying fraud at the tops of their voices. Thurman Arnold, bringer of the Justice Department suit, who had not been directly consulted by the Commerce Department, pronounced the Tupper-Hazen settlement inacceptable. Thereupon the movie industry set up ‘such a shrieking and moaning as made Hollywood sound like the wailing wall, and the Commerce Department started saying grim things about Arnold. Now the whole business will have to be appealed to the President. If there were some sort of sensible co-ordination in such matters, the President would not have to trouble himself with the aches and pains of movie magnates in the middle of & great world catastrophe. But as he does not trouble to demand co-ordination, he must pay the penalty. Purge’s End Last Wednesday, which seemed only an average 24 hours of these gloomy times, was really a red letter day in New Deal history. That evening was the deadline for filing in the Virginia primary. And although Senator Harry F. Byrd is running for re-election, no New Dealer or administration friend filed to oppose him. The New Dealers dislike Byrd much more than Burton K. Wheeler of Montana, or Edward Burke of Nebraska, or any other congressional offender against their tenets and policies. He has been the most con- sistent, and one of the most effective among the Democratic critics of the Roosevelt administration. He has hit hard and given no quarter. He has concentrated his fire on the spending policy, the real heart of the New Deal in its more recent phases. Consequently it was planned, as long as three years ago. to destroy Byrd in the primary. Gov. James Price was groomed to oppose him. The Byrd machine was embarrassed in every way possible. It was publicly announced that Byrd would be a sacrifice. But the 1938 purge proved a disappointing failure. Byrd remained strong in his State As the election year approached, the virtues of party unity became more apparent to New Deal eyes. And so Byrd will have no opposition, and is certain to be re-elected for another six years. Sale of a Yacht The stir over J. P. Morgan’s application to sell his yacht, Corsair, to an English firm is a strictly bogus stir. The sale may be disallowed by the Maritime Commission on only two grounds, either because Corsair is needed for national defense, or under a law of 1812 forbidding transfer of American vessels to belligerents for war purposes. The Maritime Commission has approved the sale of several yachts and many mer- chant vessels to the allies. Even if the sale of Corsair should be dis- allowed, the national defense will not benefit, since Morgan plans to dismantle his yacht if he cannot sell her. The incident is only interest- ing because it calls to mind the elder Morgan’s answer, when he was asked how much Corsair I cost him to run. He said, “If you have to count the cost of & yacht, you ought not own one.” (Released by the North American Newspaper Alllance, Inc.) when, as a matter of fact, they should have been taking chances on obsolescence and forcing American factories into greater and greater production. It is an open secret that the allies have fewer planes than the Nazis and that the latter’s production per month far exceeds the output of America, France and Britain com- bined. American factories should be turning out more planes per month, whether for our own or for foreign use. ‘The lavest crisis, like its predeces- sors, has revived talk of adjourning partisanship on foreign policy, even though a presidential campaign is approaching. The example of bick- ering in Britain in the midst of war, and the change of govern- ment, has been an impressive one. The fact that all parties can unite in a crisis in British democracy is a heartening {llustration of national In America, if foregn questions are eliminated, the cam- paign could concentrate on domes- tic issues, which are being side- tracked. (Reproduction Rights Reserved.) Application Is Filed For New Radio Station The District Broadcasting Co. of this city, the officers of which are officials of the Washington Post, yes- terday filed an application with the Federal Communications Commis- sion for a construction permit for a new high frequency radio broadcast- ing station to be located here. The application says the proposed station is to be operated on a regular commercial basis and asked for the assignment of the frequency 43,400 kilocycles with 1,000 watts power. It is proposed to use the frequency modulation system in transmission. The officers of the company, ac- cording to the application are, Eugene Meyer, president; C. C. Boy- cen, controller of the Washington Post, vice president, and Maxfleld ‘Washington Post, secretary. Promenade Tonight Alpha Thete Phi Fraternity at American University will hold its spring - promenade at 9 o'clock to- night at the Arlington Village ball- room. At the same time Phi Epsilon Alpha will hold its spring formal at Satterlee Hall. rrst Star's eflort :uhn opthions of the writers on this page are their own, not necessarily The Star's. Such opinions are presented in The auhaughmtnv.c: liapmiomo L % hemaelves and directly opposed to tts 1o The siars e The Political Mill * Strengthening of U. S. Defenses Advisable Even Though U.S. Shuns Salvaging of Europe By G. GOULD LINCOLN. National defense—capable of pro- tecting the United s&"u". and the | Army, ‘Western Hemisphere against any attack—has become a burning issue in this country almost over- night. It fol- Netherlands Belgium and mightly by the reports that the G. Gould Linceln. war abroad threatens to engulf the whole of Europe. President Roosevelt’s address last night to the scientists of the Amer- icas was, in effect, a call to all the freedom-loving peoples of this hem- isphere to prepare to defend them- selves against attack. The Presi- dent proclaimed himself a pacifist— a lover of peace. He left no doubt, however, that he is prepared to fight for peace if it becomes neces- sary, and the kind of civilization that America has achieved. There is not the slightest doubt that the American people will support the President. Self-Protection Is Issue. ‘The debate, however, will .come over the need of self-protection for the American Nation and the West- ern Hemisphere—the Monroe Doc- trine, in effect—and the advisability of this country’s entering in any way the war now waging in Europe. Despite the difficulties which the British and the French now face and the lightninglike thrusts of the Germans into the low countries the war has not yet been decided against the allles. Those who believe that this country should remain aloof from the European struggle will argue that the war abroad is not our war and that it should be set- tled abroad. They will argue, also, that our duty is to prepare against all eventualities, so that even should the European democracies be over- whelmed, this country will be able to fight off any attempt to invade the Americas, north or south, but to go no further. ‘The main thing, however, is to prepare—whether it be to go to the aid in the end of the British, the French, the Dutch and the Belgians or to fight off any future attack that may be made by the totalitarian governments in this hemisphere. De- lay in such preparations may be terribly costly. Calls for Redoubled Defense. Senator Walsh of Massachusetts, chairman of the Senate Naval Affairs Committee, who has been strongly against the involvement of the United States in Europe's present war, immediately announced that our efforts for greater national de- fense should be “redoubled.” He has by no means come to the con- clusion that this country will neces- sarily be “next,” and that Germany and her potential allies will seek to invade us. Indeed, he is inclined to doubt that such will be the case. Nevertheless the chairman of the Naval Affairs Committee believes that this country should strain every nerve now to build up its first line of defense, the Navy, to strengthen its air force and to increase the strength of the Army. It is vitally necessary to strengthen the Army and the air forces of the Nation. Only in that way will the Navy be left free to operate daringly. For should the only defense of the Nation be the Navy—and the Navy should suffer a major reverse—the country would be left at the mercy of invaders. Senator Austin of Vermon, as- sistant Republican leader of the Senate and a devoted adherent of adequate national defense, is con- Lund, assistant controller of the |vinced that the plans for strengthen- ing the armed forces aré much more far reaching than the American pub- le nllll‘m Appropriations for the e longer do the waters of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans constitute an insurmountable obstacle to quick attack from abroad; that the shores of Africa, which may constitute a base for enemy attack, are within a few hours today from parts of South America. With war raging in Europe and in Asia, it would be folly for the Americas to close their eyes and say “it can’t happen here.” 1t is impossible to say yet whether the great attack now aimed by Germany against the allies will be successful. If the German armies are checked effectually, the situa- tion may change in the of an eye. Yet, even so, if the Ger- mans are able to obtain the sup- plies they require from the Balkan states and from Russia, the war may be continued for a long time. Furthermore, neither Russia nor Italy, potential armed allies of Ger- many, have yet entered the war. Even if the allies are able to hold them all in check—and in the end to bring defeat to the determination of Germany to dominate Europe and wipe the British Navy from the seas—the upbuilding of America’s defenses, even at the expenditure of billions of dollars, will have been worthwhile insurance. Must Build Before War. It took the greater part of a year to build up an Army in this country when we entered the World War in 1917. America may not have a year to build an Army again. The country must have adequate defense against air raids, which means plenty of anti-aircraft guns and other de- fenses. It must have plenty of planes and military pilots of its own. It must not rely entirely upon defensive tactics—for it is an old axiom that attack is often the best defense. At present the United States is bent upon maintaining its neutral- ity. The President has taken all steps under the law to prevent the involvement of Americans in the present conflict. That position, how- ever, is not at all inconsistent with the upbuilding of the Nation’s de- fenses. Indeed, the stronger the defenses, the less chance that any potential enemy will seek to at- tack us. There is no slightest doubt that the war in Europe, as long as it continues, will have its effect on domestic politics in this country. In all probability it will have a tre- mendous effect on the presidential campaign, which will begin as soon as the Republican and Democratic national conventions have named their candidates during the summer. Up to the present it has seemed certain that no candidate will run on a platform, personal or party, calling for entry of the United States into the conflict abroad. The candidate who turns his back on the situation abroad and on plans for greater national defense, how- ever, is likely to fare badly. Postmistress, 94, Retires Because of the retirement at 04 of Mrs. Hapzibah Wythe, England’s oldest postmistress, the shutters of the postoffice in little Mickfield were put up for the first time in 70 years. The War | Flames Hot TRANSIT STREETS N.W. IRTEMP SUMMER COMFORT IS INEXPENSIVE AT PEPCO LOW RATES L] Sold end Installed by S GERMANY strikes at the Low Countries and Chamberlain resigns, new questions arise. ‘What will be the result of the new aggression? What is Germany’s objective? Will Italy join the war and, if so, when? - What manner of man is Winston Churchill who has been called to head the British Government? Tomorrow in the Editorial Section of the Sunday Star the answers to these and many other questions will be given by au- thoritative writers.. Constantine Brown, writing after the Ger- man invasion of The Netherlands and Belgium, discusses the new situation. Blair Bolles gives a word picture of Churchill and John C. Henry will review the startling events of the week just ending, recalling what has occurred to bring the war suddenly to a flaming heat.’ In the news section, latest developments will be covered by ‘writers of the Associated Press, North Amerlcan. Newspaper Alliance and The Chicago Daily News Foreign Service. To keep abreast of the developments, read Tie Sunday Shae We, the People G. O. P. Effort to Switch Roberts for Dewey Said to Have Met Prompt, Decisive Defeat By JAY FRANKLIN. the blushing McNary as the top canines in the “stop-Dewey” drive. Last week the big shots of the party of big business—namely, Weir, Joe Pew, Chester Colby, McInerney of National Dairies, Joe Grundy, President Clements of the Pennsylvania Railroad and a few others— figured that the Republican voters had drawn a non-starter in preferring Dewey for the 1940 honors. The G. O. P. has a pretty unanswerable E | m 4 4 g g ] | ] o és ; £ g ? § % fpeH i=icd Beoi il i sEiE i g convention and that the “god er than Mr. Jmflummu‘ - i'whue big business considers a “conservative,” it bl s Roberts’ Answer Is ‘No’ One of their number was chosen to make a personal call on Roberts, suggesting that he make no campaign efforts, that he refrain from throw- ingehis judicial wig into the presidential ring, but that they wanted to count on his willingness to accept the nomination, if offered. Justice Roberts gave no answer at the time. He Just listened. A few days later he wrote a letter stating that he would not accept the nomina- tion, that he would refuse to for the presidency, even if drafted and nominated by his party. In other words, the answer was definitely and irrevocably, “No!” This one-man Supreme Court decision has sent the Republican insiders back to the dug-out, since they have been operating in the belief that Mr. Roosevelt will not run for a third term and that the President will back a Hull-Jackson ticket. (Of course, if F. D, R. does choose to run, they privately concede the election in advance to the New Dealers). ‘Their idea was to find & man with a legal record to stack up against the New Deal Attorney General, Robert H. Jackson, and it seemed most natural to select a member of the Supreme Court, since Jackson’s record could not be matched lower down in the legal profession. They had further been encouragd to approach Roberts with their “brother-can-you-spare- a-crime” panhandling, since they had been reading in the newspapers and the columns that Supreme Court Justice “Bill” Douglas was con- sidered legal Democratic donkey fodder for the 1940 sweepstakes, Justice Roberts deserves the highest credit for his refusal to lend himself to this Republican subterfuge. If he left the Supreme Court, with his memories of the Teapot Dome prosecutions which he handled, he would be lending the dignity of the court to & group whose members and motives would make him & marked man before the American people, Vice Presidency May Rank High Mr. Roberts’ refusal to take part in this game is regarded by New Dealers as an important contribution to democratic self-government. While the many aspirants for the Democratic nomination are openly seeking the majority party’s indorsement for the presidency, before the people, not many of them have tried to short circuit popular sovereignty by a session in the back room with the big money, and those who did so were swiftly rebuked in the primaries. In the Democratic party the people are marking their choice for the presidency by voting for a third term for Franklin Delano Roosevelt in the most impressive tribute to one man’s leadership ever recorded in an unmanipulated set of pri- maries, and unless some way can be found to persuade Mr. Roosevelt to ignore the will of the people, the most important single political issue of 1040 will be the Democratic nomi- nation for the vice presidency. Aside from Justice Roberts’ honorable refusal to cater to the G. O. P. system of brushing aside the primary returns, the most sig- nificant fact in this whole strange episode is the revelation that the Republican elephant has not changed its spots; and that the men who own and operate that ponderous piece of political livestock have learned nothing since 1920 and are still of the opinion that a national nomination should be settled in advance by the simple process of calling & little meeting of the “best minds” (that is, the richest men) in the party. They have used Dewey as a whipper-up of bogus enthusiasm; now that they see how much enthusiasm the gang buster can command among the Republican rank and file, they are looking around for a fix by which they can euchre the clmorous New York district attorney out of the nomination which the party members apparently, though no doubt mistakenly, would liké to give him. (Released by the Consolidated News Features, Inc.) E - = Repairing ® Renovizing ® Modernizing Homes Thank You, Mr.... Here is a letter from a client which refers to features of The Eberly Plan service that are incidental'— but important. 22nd of April, 1940. , “A. Eberly’s Sons, Inc. Washington, D. C. Ref: Estimate of . March 14, 1940. “Your painters have just left here after easing the windows as the last of their job on our home. I am enclosing my check, $ ___, to cover. We want you and them to know that we are satisfied with the manner in which they performed their duties, the quiet and ease of good workmanship, and this also goes for the other mechanics whom you employed on this job, a normally noisy one done with a lack of boisterous an unnecessary disturbance. We think both' of us, ‘you’ns and we'uns,’ are to be congratulated. Yours very truly, G.L.S” It is this commendation of the MANNER in which Eberly Plan workmen. go about their task—with “the quiet and ease of good workmanship, etc.,” that emphasizes the thoroughness of Eberly Service. We value such appreciation of our efforts. And that is just what YOU can look forward to confidentially if you entrust repairing, renovizinfi or modernizing of your house to The ly Plan. The work will ALL be done by Eberly en—with the economy of only ONFE moderate overhead (instead of many), and with ONE undivided responsibility—OURS. An Eberly Plan Supervisor will be glsséd to confer with you. Call District 7 and he will respond promptly. U'he Eberly Financing Plan is a handy a desired end ns to This Changing World it Is Too Early Yet to Guess How Invasion Will Fare By CONSTANTINE BROWN. It will be some time before the contour of the struggle of the cen- turies will give' us an indication of how things are developing on are called, have Constantine Brown. descended and taken the small garrisons at The Hague, Rotterdam and. various strategic points in Eastern Belgium by surprise, but the situation thers is by way of being re-established, As in all preliminary operations, there is a complete confusion of reports, as well as a confusion of movements. French and British troops from the reserve depots in France have been rushed to the rescue of the Lowlands with great speed. The Dutch and Belgians have not been caught napping like the Norwegians, They had known since last October that sooner or later their neutrality would be violated. Since it was most likely to come from the east they fortified their borders and concentrated their armies in those regions. Too Early to Tell 1t is much too early for the mili- tary experts who are watching the operations even to guess what the outcome might be. It is obvious, according to their reports, that the Germans are using the strategy prescribed years ago by * Gen. von Schlieffen which contains the three fundamental principles: ' Outflank, envelop, destroy, employed with the aid of up-to-date methods such as the parachutists. The Ger- mans’ chief weapon, however, is and will remain for a long time, their tremendous air arm. In the daytime swarms of Ger- man airplanes are attacking Dutch and Belgian towns with an apparent disregard of cost. At night transport planes pro- tected by bombers and German Messerschmitts are making their way into the hearts of the invaded countries dropping thousands of men at selected spots. Strategy of Confusion. The strategy of the Germans is to confuse the defenders of the two countries. German armies and mo- torized units are advancing across the borders and are met with a stiff résistance; in the meantime the “locusts” are endeavoring to land behind the defenders’ lines in numbers sufficient, the Germans hope, to create a confusion among the forces of King Albert and Queen Wilhelmina. Despite these tactics, the Belgian- Dutch troops are holding their own, and before long.the Franco-British forces will be at their sides in suffi- - clent strength to form a solid front against the Germans. Firehouse Is Requesied Near Fort Totten The Brightwood Citizens’ Asso- clation last night adopted a resoe lution requesting the District Com« missioners to construct a firehouse on a tract of land owned by the District near Fort Totten. John Clagett Proctor announced that services would be held on Memorial Day in the Battleground National Cemetery on Georgia ave- nue, opposite Walter Reed Hospital, at 3:15 o'clock. Music will be fur- nished by the United States Navy Bend. The ceremonies will be held Jjointly under the auspices of the Grand Army of the Republic and the association. Thomas J. Holmes, assistant, prine cipal of the Eastern High School, was indorsed by the association for the position of principal of the new Calvin Coolidge High School, Fifth and Sheridan streets, which is to be opened next September. President Charles W. Ray invited the members to hold the June meet~ ing on his farm at Sandy Spring, Md, and appointed a committes consisting of Elmer Johnson, chair- man; Samuel A. Swiggett, J. W. Ferriter and Howard S. Fisk to arrange the details of the affair. The meeting concluded with an anti-tuberculosis motion picture. The meeting was held in the Paul Junior High School. F. B. . Probes Philadeiphia Arsenal Blast Fatal fo One By the Associated Press. ELPHIA, May 11.—One man was killed and another seri- ously injured late yesterday in an explosion at the Frankford Arsenal. Walter Osnick, 31, was killed. An operation was performed immedi- ately on the other victim, Neil Mc- Donald, 34. John Sears, head of the local office of the Federal Bureau of In- to ity of sal . The blast occurred e ortly after 6 pm. It wai the first ftal blast in the plant 3 in two years. 3 for LATEST NEWS The Night Final Star, containing the latest news of the day during these dramatic times, is de- livered every evening throughout the city and suburbs between 6 P.M. and 7 P.M. - T National 5000 ':'W