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• I**_____OTBMBW Aid to Peace Seen in Move by President Views on Anglo-Roman Pact Held Warning To Europeans. j By DAVID LAWRENCE. FOR a President of the United States, or a Secretary of State for that matter, to comment on a question which ordinarily Would be considered "strictly Euro pean” is so unusual that its signifi cance is bound to be discussed from one end of the diplomatic world to the other. » While the state ment issued by Mr. Roosevelt in the last 24 hours says the United States "does not attempt to pass upon the political features of ac cords such as that recently • reached between Great Britain and Italy." European governments will David Lawrence. not fail to regard ihe very issuance of the pronouncement from the White House as a sort of roundabout ap proval of something which could not for domestic political reasons here be approved directly. Why should America at this junc ture issue any statement on the Brit lsh-Italian ‘agreement? Why should precedents of the past be broken? The • chances are that American policy at the moment looks more to the preser vation of peace in the world than the maintenance of any strict conformity to academic precedent. Looked at objectively, the Presi dent's statement really means that the United States in so far as it may venture to express any ooinion at all ranges itself alongside Great Britain and says, in effect, to Italy that this country has a sympathetic interest in the efforts being made by Prime Min ister Chamberlain to keep the peace in Europe. From another viewpoint, the Presi dent's dcclnra'ion may also be taken to mean that the United States' is sympathetic with any effort that may , be made to i-olate the chief trouble maker in Europe, namely. Dictator Hitler. His seizure of Austria has changed an otherwise passive attitude here. A realistic school of thought here is of the opinion that anything which may legitimately be done, even if inconsistent with pa t precedents, to keep Italy on the side of Great , Britain and France is calculated to ■delay Hitler in taking the initiati\e toward a general European war. Delicacy of Approach. There ran be no doubt that the making of a public statement com menting on the Anglo-Italian agree ment was fraught with considerable delicary of approach. After all Ameri can public opinion could hardly be said to approve the seizure of Ethiopia or the abandonment of democratic ; principles in Italy itself. But expe- j diency is often the basis of govern mental policy in tangled world situa tions and just now the most impor tant thing to the United States is to i do everything it ran with its moral influence to prevent the outbreak of war. Certainly the growth of world trade so sorely needed by the United States would not be served by a Euro pean war. Even though, therefore, the Presi dent's statement would seem to be open to the inference that the United States condones the Italian invasion of Ethiopia, it is far more important ( that Italy be awakened to the alert ness of Ameriea's interest in what she may be planning with respect to the peace of Europe. In the last war. Italy threw her fortunes on the side of the allies even though when war broke out in 1914 she had a definite alliance with Germany and Austria which had been counted upon by the Berlin au- j thorities to be of avail to them when ; war came. Today it looks very’ much as if Great Britain and France are strongly woo ing Italy again, and this time the United States gets into the picture early to give Rome a hint that maybe America would be better pleased if Italy stuck to her former allies. Isolationists’ Viewpoint. The so-called isolationists in America Will probably attack the President's statement as a meddling in strictly European affairs whereas the inter- 1 national co-operationists will be glad that Mr. Roosevelt has ventured, even though in rather implicit terms, to say something on behalf of America at a critical mompnt in the evolution of European diplomatic policies. Some times these little statements with their 1 vague phrases mean little to public opinion on this side of the Atlantic, but they are examined with extraordi nary interest by foreign newspapers and foreign peoples. There is incidentally in the Presi dent's statement confirmation of the points recently made by Ambassador Joseph Kennedy at London when he said that America had by no means decided on a, do-nothing policy irre spective of future contingencies, and * that if the world was relying on inac tion it was mistaken. On the other hand, Mr. Kennedy stated that the r United States reserved the right to judge each situation as it arises and form a policy in the light of actual rather than theoretical circumstances. The President's statement gives strength to the American Ambassa dor's speech, for Mr. Roosevelt says almost in so many words that America will even break a precedent and give an intimation as to her sympathies in a particular situation if by so doing maintenance of the peace of Europe may be considerably aided. Mr. Roosevelt’s statement is indeed unprecedented, but it is a ten-strike for peace and, therefore, deserves the widest kind of approval. (Copyright, 1938.) Eitablithtd 1895 IOUIS ABRAHAMS OANS ON JEWELRY a 3208 R. L At*. N.E. ■ Cosh for Your Old Gold __711 G 81. N.W_ SCHEDULE CHANGE 4 Effective Sunday. April Zt. 183S. train No. 38 will leave Washington at lt):35 P.M Instead of 10:45 P.M. for Greens boro. Durham. Winston Salem. Char lotte and Atlanta SouthernRailway System . i The Capital Parade Spending Program Cheers Left-Wing Advisers. Monopoly Drive Due to Be Vigorous. By JOSEPH ALSOP and ROBERT KINTNER. THE best comments on the inner significance of the President’s re version to spending are the smiles on the faces of the left-wing White House advisers who are interested in a vigorous anti monopoly program. Prom the baric rooms of the administration, where the forthcoming anti-monopoly message is being drafted, word comes that it will be far more vigorous than had been expected during the Presi dent's do-nothing winter months. Strong Rooseveltlan language in place of ‘‘it might be well" and "I would suggest;" a clarion call for an aggressive congressional investigation patterned on the famous Pujo money-trust, inquiry—something almost like an echo of the half-forgotten Jnckson-Ickes "sixty families'' speeches— these look like good bets now. The emphasis, it is said, will be on "free competition," but competition mRde free by the destruction of the large monopolists. There may even be a request for some minor anti-trust legis lation, particularly revision of the existing laws, at the present session of Congress. The confidence of the left wingers who are interested in anti monopoly action is typical of the new confidence inspired in all the more daring New Dealers by the President's spending move of last week. After a winter spent in Coventry, their spirits had drooped to the weeping willow point. Now', although as usual they want the President to go much farther than he has. they feel they are begin ning to get somewhere. A A s n a UUim A selection of the spending schemes rejected by the President in favor of P. W A.-W. P. A. pump-priming was presented in this space yes terday. A long struggle raged at the White House before the final choice, and the line-up of the struggle further illuminates the step that was taken in the end. The captains of the spenders were Secretary of Agriculture Henry A. Wallace, Chairman Marriner S. Eccles of the Federal Re serve Board, and Chairman William O. Douglas of the Securities and Exchange Commission. Dr. Mordecai Ezckial, Agriculture Depart ment economist, and his secretary, Paul Appleby, were the Wallace armor-bearers. Dr. E. A. Goldenwiser and Lauchlin Currie, econ* omists to the Federal Reserve Board, served under Mr. Eccles. And his fellow commissioners, Jerome Frank and John W. Hanes, sup ported Mr. Douglas. Backing up this formidable array of high officials and Influential idea men was Works Progress Administrator Harry L. Hopkins, with his • economist, Leon Henderson. It is probable that Mr Hopkins did the original spade work with the President, but, In the mordent of Intense tug-of-war, he contented himself with urging the case of straight relief spending. And opposed to all these eminent and powerful officials were only two men. Secretary of the Treasury Henry Morgenthau, Jr., and Chairman Jesse H. Jones of the Reconstruction Finance Corporation. The “Tory Twins.” as the left-wingers unkindly call them, fought to the last ditch to avert the leftward spending move. Bu<. alter their winter of predominance, the last, soggy, hideous collapse of the stock market left them battling in a quagmire. From the point of view of palace politics, the large role played by Secretary Wallace in nil the arguments and negotiations is unusually inter esting. Although the President has always consulted his Secretary of Agri culture. he has tended to lake his advice chiefly on farm problems. Now Mr. Wallace has quite definitely moved into a larger field. Indeed, those familiar with the doings in the palace corridors are prepared to offer even money that a period of conspicuous Wallace influence on all sorts of problems has just set in. The development is of some consequence, since the Wallace thinking is very different from the thinking of such conservatives as Mr. Jones, and departs on a number of Issues from the thinking of other leading left-wing New Dealers. * * * * Leaving the palace politics behind the President's spending move, the nature of the move itself is extremely significant In the first day "THESOWEB" W-+,p‘ ^.e or so after the spending program's promulgation, the left-wingers were far from brine as cheerful as they are now. The President had re fused to do what they wanted, preferring to spend in his own, less novel way. The lack of novelty in the President’s chosen spend ing method is the most strik ing feature of it. P. W. A, the Youth Administration, the R F. C., the Farm Security Administration. W. P. A. and the C C. C.—these are the spouts through which the President has chosen to spray the Nation with dollars. And they are ail spouts previ ously approved by Congress. This and the mild, conciliatory language in which the spending pro gram was presented both mean that the President has learned a new ap proach Until recently, ho seemed to know no alternative between inaction and «ction of the most violent sort. With the spending program, he has acted positively, if slightly rcpetitiously. And he has acted without any great preliminary bellowing or brandishing of battle. But the liberals are happy, because he has again become "their man." (Copyright, nine, by the North American Newspaper Alliance, Inc.) MARITIME MEDIATION BOARD IS APPROVED Senate Committee Reports Bill, but Deletes Compulsory Arbitration Proposal. By the Associated Press. The Senate Commerce Committee reported yesterday a bill establishing a mediation board for maritime labor disputes. The committee turned down, how ever, the proposal of the Maritime Commission for compulsory arbitra tion. Instead it provided that the Labor Board should act only at the request of both parties to a dispute. A guarantee of the right of workers to strike also was included. The bill also would amend the 1936 Merchant Marine Subsidy Act to provide: Authority for the Maritime Commis sion to investigate employment and wage conditions, with a view to es tablishing minimum-manning and minimum-wage scales and working conditions. Establishment of a United States maritime service to enroll the licensed and unlicensed merchant marine per sonnel and a system for training such personnel. That when the lowest bid of a do mestic shipbuilder is “unreasonable, excessive or collusive the Maritime Commission may authorize an appli cant (for construction differentials) to have the vessel built in a foreign shipyard without financial aid from the United States.” Jarman Short keep their smart lookt. A 11 tires a and widths^^fl rsvifrffim | | (THE opinions of the writers on this page are their own, not x 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 contradictory among themselves and directly opposed to The Star’s. The British-Italian Pact Observer Sees War More Distant, but Is Skeptical as to Status of Democracy. By DOROTHY THOMPSON. ONLY time will tell whether the British-Italian agree* ment, signed on Saturday In Rome, will actually contribute to the pacification of Europe, and, if so, whether the terms will permit democratic government to live. It may temporarily do the first. That, indeed, seems very likely. War is probably farther off than It was a few1 weeks ago. And that, of course. Is a great deal. On the other hand, we hate got to wait and see whether this agreement will serve to weak en the Rome-Ber lin axis or wheth er it will serve to extend it; we shall not have any real Dorothy Thomnaon. light on what is happening until we know what passes between Mussolini and Hitler in conversations soon to tak<> place in Rome; until we see what happens to the French-Soviet pact; until we see what terms Britain offers Germany in an attempt at concillia tion there. At first sight England is clearly following a variation of her tradi tional policy of never having two po tential enemies on the Continent of Europe at the same time, of treating the fait accompli realistically, and of attempting to divide power which, when combined, might mean the con trol of the Continent. And Mussolini is also acting real istically. He has been anxious to further his own interests by chal lenging Britain, but he has not been anxious to further the German in terests. He played with Germany In order to force the hand of Eng land, and he has now got Germany and a militant pan-Germanism on the Brenner Pass. Therefore, unless he wishes to become a satellite of Germany rather than a partner, he needs an ally. Ethiopian Victory Mockery. And now what have you got? In the last two years Mussolini has risked starting two wars in Europe. According to this agreement, he has definitely won the Ethiopian War. He had, to be sure, won it already; the agreement is merely a recognition of an accomplished fact. But the fact that the Ethiopians still had legal claims may have en couraged them to continue the oppo sition which has been going on to this day, and the fact that Mussolini has no money with which to exploit Ethiopia has made the victory a mock ery except for prestige. It remains to be seen whether the Anglo-Italian treaty will be accom panied by a loan to Italy or with other aid in exploiting East Africa, and whether it will really make it easier for Mussolini to deal with the Ethiopian tribes. If all he gets Is the rerogniion of Ethiopia, then the agreement is tantamount to killing a dead horse. In Spain Mussolini is giving up a tremendous strategical advantage if the agreement means exactly what it says. Germany and Italy now con trol every naval air base in Majorca, Spanish Morocco and all over insur gent Spain—bases which could terri bly harass the British, menace the French, and which have coat Musso lini thousands of lives and millions of dollars. Even If we assume that he has been paid or partly paid in Spanish raw materials, he will be no better off that when he went in, and the probability is that he will be very much In the hole. Remains Cruel Joke. Of course, the agreement about non-intervention remains the cruel and Immoral joke that It has been from the beginning. The Italian Foreign Minister "con firms that his government adheres to the British formula for the propor tional withdrawal of volunteers from Spain ... at the time and under the conditions laid down by the Non intervention Committee.” In view of past history, this sim ply means that Italy agrees not to withdraw' from Spain until Franco has won the war, and England agrees to continue to call active assistance for Franco non-intervention. But Mussolini agrees that the mo ment the war is over all Italian vol unteers shall immediately leave, and all Italian war material be imme diately removed, and all territorial, political and economic advantages re nounced. So we arc asked to believe that Mussolini has been fluhting this whole war out of purely altruistic motives, or, we can draw the conelusion that Britain also wants a Franco victory and that England and Italy together will share the spoils. But Germany is also in Spain. So now England must try to negotiate an agreement with Hitler that he should also get out of Spain. But j why should Hitler do so, except for a very handsome quid pro quo? Who Is going to throw him %ut? England, France and Italy together? Italy has reaffirmed the Berlin-Home axis. If Franco wins the war, Spain will be a sovereign power and the dictator will be Franco. Suppose Gen. Franco, who will have conquered Spain with foreign troops, finds that he cannot hold it without their continued pres- ! enre? Suppose he finds it useful to have German aid to extend and en large a Spanish empire in Morocco? , Hitler in Good Position. Is there anything to prevent Franco j from making arrangements with either Hitler or Mussolini? From asking Hit ler to build him ports and give him arms in exchange for raw materials? At Wurzburg a few months ago Hitler admitted that he was in Spain for raw materials. It seems to me that Hitler is in an extremely good position. He will cer tainly ask a price for leaving Spam, and that price will be a free hand in Central Europe. He is taking it any how, but. of course, he would much rather hRve it by agreement, so that he can prespnt himself as a gentleman and a keeper of treaties. I cannot see that the negotiation of this treaty ends the system of general blackmail which has kept Europe in an agonized uncertainty for the last few years. The net result of it is that England and France have perhaps won back their old and dubious ally in case of war. If this is as far as it goes, then the hope of doing more than postpone war is chimerical. And my guess is that the eventual price which may have to be paid will be the abrogation of the French-Soviet pact, in which case Germany will be Infinitely stronger than she was in 1914, and in which case Germany and i This Changing World Rearmament Races Made Big Inroads on Treasuries of All Powers in Europe. By CONSTANTINE BROWN. WHEN the whole body aches, one ache more or less does not matter. This is the situation throughout the world now. Nations worried oyer so many different problems accept without grum bling the colossal military expenditures. They accept the falla cious theory that it is a necessary evil which has one agreeable side; it gives 1 employment wnere employment is badly needed. In certain countries like Great Britain it gives even the illusion of prosperity. The English newspapers were Jubilant when they discovered that Great Britain's budget showed this year a surplus of *142,000.000. It is a most remarkable achievement indeed for any secretary of the treasury to show a profit when the budgets of all other countries are mi me reo. But the joy was short-lived. The chancellor of the exchequer announced shortly after the good news was made public that the whole surplus and much more will be spent on rearmament. For the time being, there will be only a few direct taxes levied to meet the billions required for rearmament. The necessary amounts will be raised by the Issuance of government bonds. But these bonds will have to be met eventually. * * * * In France the rearmament policy has made deep inroads in the country's national economy. The budgetary deficit has been increased threefold since 1935. While at that time there was a deficit of 10,000.000.000 francs, in 1938 the deficit amounted to over 30,000,000.000. The public debt per head which in 1935 amounted to 10 800 francs has increased to 13.000 francs in 1938. It is trur that these amounts translated into dollars mean really a smaller debt in 1938 than three years earlier because the franc has been depreci ated in the world markets. But the French deal in francs, not in dollars; consequently the 3.000 francs increase means a good deal to them. The cost of living for food has increased 3.50 franrs per unit to 8 2.) francs in 1938 while commercial deficit of the country which in 1935 was six and a quarter billion francs has reached the fantastic figure of 19.000.000,000 francs in 1938. The French war chest has diminished considerably too. In 1935 the Banque rie France had in its vaults 3,400 tons of gold. Today it has barely 2.100 tons of yellow metal. * * * * The same relative situation exists in every other country In the world. In certain countries it is worse than in France. How much the armament race cost Italy and Germany nobody knows because the dictators give no accounting to anybody. Furthermore the international trade of the totalitarian states cannot be judged by the same standards as that of the democratic states. The barter system provides usually for a better grade balance- . . . . v- . Hitler seems to be taking a little orange juice between two drinks Hp has 'wallowed Austria and is preparing carefully the ground to tackle Czechoslovakia. In between, to keep his hand in training, it appears that he is en deavoring to discipline Carol of Rumania. From the few cablegram,'! which pass through the Rumanian censorship, it seems that Carol has a hard road before him. The Iron Guards who lake their orders from Berlin had planned a coup against the King. The date according to reports had been set for May 1. Somebody in that organization squealed and the plot was discovered. Codreano. the leader of the Rumanian Nazis, was arrested; so were his principal followers. Thp question is now whether this was a plot organized by the impetuous Rumanian Pole or whether it was ordered from the Nazi headquarters in Berlin. In official Rumanian quarters it is said that it was Codreano himself who got tired of being inactive and wanted a little amusement on May 1. If that were true the planned plot would be of no consequence. But if Berlin had ordered the Nazi leader to go ahead and make trouble for Carol the fart that Codreano is in Jail is of no consequence. Disturbances will be created and the money spent lavishly by the German propaganda will bear fruit in the long run. Russia will come together in one way or another sooner or later. And then we will have the real menace to the democratic world. Germany Holds Key. This column continues to be skepti ral and not too overoptimistic re garding the effect of this treaty in the long run. We shall have to wait and see what concessions, if any. France. England and Italy acting to gether ran wring out of Germany in Central Europe. Hitler does not plan a ‘'conquest” of Central Europe. He plans pene tration and hegemony under the threat of force And it's very hard to deal with this kind of expansion by agreements, unless France can in duce Britain and Italy to back her up in supporting her old allies in Central Europe. The agreement to suspend propa ganda against each other will be in teresting to watch. This may be in terpreted in Great Britain to mean the suspension of all anti-Fascist opinion. It's amazing what censor ship already exists in England against any utterances likely to hurt the feel ings of the Fascists, and, of course, in protecting Fascists against attacks in the British press the British gov ernment also protects English Fas cists. i Copyright. IPS*. New York Tribune. Inc. Headline Folk and What They Do A Vanderbilt Heads Another Push in Transportation. Bv LEMUEL F. PARTON. GRADE A railroad* ran't move their bonds. But the Eastern Air Lines move* $1 par com mon stock at $10 a share, as an incident of the purchase of the lines, by a group which includes Harold S. Vanderbilt, for $3,500,000. There's a foot-note, or possibly a headline, on a changing world. Vanderbilt hold ing* in New York Central had be come dynastic and institutional. The old commo dore surely never guessed that they would be crowd ed out of the market place by a t h i n g u mbob like a flying ma chine, with his descendant in on the push. That statement Harold Vanderbilt. is, perhaps, a bit too literal, but It is true that March air traffic shows a passenger traffic gain more than 15 per cent over a year ago—34,000,000 revenue passenger miles, as compared to 29,530,482—while the total of all other transportation, including rail roads, Is off. As the foremost racing navigator of the country, the tall, grim skipper of the Ranger, the last America's Cup defender, Mr. Vanderbilt runs the crew and the afterguard In the best tradition of seamanship. And as a financier, he carries a loose-fitted mains'l, with no half-hitch on the main sheet. Hence he can tack into the winds of destiny as closely as any man. Unlike many inheritors of vast American fortunes, he did not become an absentee landlord In Europe and leave his holdings to share-croppers. After his graduation from Harvard, in 1907, he moved into management, finance and operation and has stayed on the job, when he wasn't sailing boats or making over bridge rules. He recently bought and now flies a big plane, like his brother, William K. Vanderbilt. He was a naVal lieu tenant in the Big War and bossed a patrol boat in the sub zone. He is a son of the late William Kissam Van derbilt. And speaking of yachts and yachts men, here's a note on the Savarona, the leviathan of all yachts, snarled up in some political keel-hauling in Hamburg, Germany, and finally con signed to President Kemal Ataturk of Turkey. Its builders, Mr. and Mrs Richard M. Cadwalader of Pennsylvania, had it built in Hamburg, with gold-plated door knobs and luxurious fittings, the like of which had never oeen seen on land or sea. It is 408 feet over ail. with a 53-foot beam and a 20-foot draught. For reasons cf their ow they offered it for sale, with tit' Germans and the Turks bidding. The Cadwaladers are famous yacir builders. In 1328 they launched 52,000,000 job at Wilmington. Dei with a $50,000 pipe organ, an $85.00 Sperry stabilizer and accommodatio: for a crew of 41 and 30 guests. La year the Government picked the Car waladers as Exhibit A in its ar.lma versions against citizens who inee porate their yachts. Their b~ have been held bv the Savarona C THE PACKARD EIGHT Also known the Packard 120 —leader for three consecutive years among all cars now priced* from $1155 and up, delivered at the factory When motor-wise America hands the lion’s share of thte laurels to anv one motor car, it s a sure bet that car is a bettn car. And, for the past three years, America has preferred the Packard Eight (also known as the Packard 120; to all cars in the above price range. In tact, taking totals tor the past three years, almost as many people bought Packard Eights as bought the next two cars combined in this price class. If you’ll drive antf inspect the new Packard Eight, we believe you’ll quickly agree with this majority verdict. In fact, you only have to look at comparative specifications to see what a standout value the Packard Eight is! Let us show you these revealing figures. We’re eager to have you drive the car and we’re anxious to show you how easy a Packard Eight is to own. Drop in on your way home, or as soon as you have a free noon hour. •on basis of popular 4-door Touring Sedan ASK THE MAN WHO OWNS ONE B^en4m&Tnw. Packard Washington Motor Car Co., Distributors REjifiTia I --- WALLACE MOTOR CO. JERMAN-CH APIN' MOTORS, INC. McREYNOLDS MOTOR CO., INC. RICHARDSON BROTHERS CONGRESSIONAL MOTORS SCHCLTZE MOTOR CAR CO. 1820 14th Street 8827 Geerrtu Avenue 8832 Georrta Avenue 2204 Nichols Ave., S.E. 000 M St. 81. 1406 H St. N.E. COLONIAL MOTORS HOFMANN MOTOR CO. TYSON’S CROSS ROADS GARAGE EDWARD H. CASHELL, INC. COURT HOUSE SQUARE GARAGE _1711_WUton Blvd., Clarendon, Vs. 10 ny. Are.. HyuttsvUlo. Md. Vienna, Vs. Bockvllle. Maryland Warrenton. V»