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. Mystery To Cling to Iroquois Explosion, If Any, To Turn Questioning 4 Eyes on Germany By DAVID LAWRENCE. The mysterious warning given by the German admiralty to the United States Government that the Amer ican steamer Iroquois would be blown up under ^ CHI'lull a t 11 u c o such as destroy ed the British steamer Athenia has caused a stir • which will not be ended when the American ship has reached the United States. From the be ginning there have been two theories — one that, a submarine would attack the D»vii Uwrenc*. • Iroquois, and the other that an in ternal explosion, resulting possibly from a time bomb, would sink the ship. The Government ordered warships and Coast Guard vessels to meet the Iroquois at sea, which ought to establish once and for all whether submarine attack was contemplated. But the presence of these patrol vessels would not be able to prevent an internal explosion on the Iroquois resulting from a bomb. * Orders have been sent to the master of the Iroquois to search his ship for explosives, but it is a difficult task to perform at sea, espe cially since bombs could have been concealed in trunks or baggage loaded in the hold of the ship. It is not easy to go through every trunk and to dig among the numer ous crevices of a ship to locate a hnmh The suspicion that a bomb may have been planted on the Iroquois either in an English or Irish port fits in somewhat with the fact theft t the Germans officially warned our Naval Attache in Berlin. If the German espionage system discovered the plot and did not wish to reveal its sources of information, the admiralty in Berlin would be quick to pass on the information to the American Embassy if only for the reason that such an explosion would be blamed on a German submarine. , Britain Feels Bomb*. There have been in the last few months several bomb outrages in Great Britain in which time bombs have been planted in railway sta tions supposedly by Irisn terrorists, but nobody here can imagine why any Irish faction would seek to injure an American passenger ship. There is a possibility also that the bombs planted in England have not been the work of Irish terrorists at all, but part of the German sabotage system. The extent to which sabo tage is playing a part in the present war can be gleaned only occasionally from dispatches telling of mysteri ous explosions in various belligerent countries. Not long ago explosions in both German and British munl M tion plants were recorded in the press and were believed to have been caused by planted bombs. American citizens who have friends aboard the Iroquois have been assured by the Government here that the ship is probably the "safest at sea,” but this is doubtless based on the supposition that only a submarine attack could hurt the Iroquois, or that a rigid enough search has been made aboard the vessel for possible explosives. iuc \fki v. uiiidiaiKiro unuci WHICH the German warning was given « have aroused in Britain the cry that the Germans have criminal knowl edge of an attack on an American vessel. But, looking at it solely from the German point of view, if they are innocent and believe the Iro quois is going to be sunk, they would not hesitate a moment to bear the stigma of.such-criticism until such time as they are able to disclose ' fully the source of their informa tion. Athenia Still “a Mystery.” Various theories are being circu lated here to the effect that the whole thing is a hoax designed to frighten American shipping and to keep Americans from traveling on the high seas irrespective of the out come of the embargo fight. Another theory is that an attempt is being made to cover up on the Athenia disaster. But it is significant that while the Athenia was sunk several weeks ago, the American Govem ’ ment has not protested to Berlin and details have? not been disclosed which would make it absolutely cer tain that a submarine did the damage. Affidavits have been re ceived from persons aboard the Athenia to the effect that they saw a submarine, but for some strange reason the American Government has not officially accepted that ex planation as yet. It may well be that there are facts which may bear out the theory of an internal explo sion, but this would not necessarily 4 mean that the Germans are right in their fantastic assertion that the British did it, or that the British are right in supposing that the Ger mans planted the bomb. It is conceivable that another set of alien influences has been put to work on bomb sabotage, and the voyage of the Iroquois probably will clear up that aspect one way or the other before many days have passed. * If the Iroquois is damaged by a time bomb due to explode when the chip nears the east coast of the United States, the whole world will demand details from Berlin, and an incident of grave proportions be tween Germany and the United States may arise unless explanations are forthcoming. The best news Berlin and Washington can have is the safe arrival of the Iroquois in port this week. (Reproduction Rltht* Reiervtd.) * Brazil has announced it will not supply postage stamps to foreign collectors. ADVERTISEMENT. A Million Dollars to ' Relieve Piles It Is estimated that over a million dollars annually Is spent for various remedies for relieving piles. Yet any druggist will tell you that soothing, cooling, astringent Peterson’s Oint ment will allay pile torture in a tew * minutes. 35c a box. 60c in tube with applicator. Peterson's Ointment stops Itching promptly, brings Joyful relief. Money back If not delighted. ' ft The Capital Parade New Economic Frontier Sought in South America; Commerce Department Conference Maps Program By JOSEPH ALSOP and ROBERT KINTNER. The basic tenet of New Deal spending economics is that the last frontier has disappeared. It is all the more interesting, therefore, to see the anti-spenders at the Commerce aftd Treasury Departments busily searching for a new frontier in South America. The war, by preoccupying our competitors, created the opportunity for a South American trade program. The program is taking shape as a great, permanent commercial expansion, squarely founded on development of untapped South American [ resources. An idea of the sort of thing that is afoot may be obtained from the conclusions of a conference of leading exporters and manufacturers re cently called at the Commerce Department by Undersecretary Edward Noble. In an atmosphere of temperate optimism, the conferees dis cussed every aspect of the trade problem, addressing themselves par ticularly to the main obstacle. This is, of course, the difficulty in selling our manufactured products to countries which must offer in exchange chiefly raw materials that we already have. Imperialist Touch As the best solution the conferees suggested a long-range develop ment program on an extremely ambitious scale. Although long-range nlanntno- mav a triflo fnt.lle _ in times like these, the program's ' main points are well worth study. \ (1) A Government agency, prob- > ably the Export-Import Bank, should jf initiate careful economic studies of \ the various South and Central I American countries. The studies, to • be conducted in the field by Private J engineering firms, should be directed J to discovering goods that can be < nroHimpH in finnth Ampripo fnr which there is demand in the United States, Rubber, special hardwoods, Manila fiber, quinine and the high-cost metal alloys are among the possibilities. (2) When the studies are complete the Government agency in charge should finance 8outh American development along the lines indicated as economically feasible, using the engineering firms as disbursing agents. Thus, over a period of years, the South Americans would gain wealth which they could exchange for the products of the United States, Just as they gained wealth from British exploitation of their resources and used it to buy British products. (3) While the long-range development is being carried on, immediate problems should be taken care of by close co-operation between govern mental and business representatives in the field and exporting business men and the Government at home. Everything should be done to facili tate continuous trade expansion, including increased governmental lending to exporters. At the same time care should be exercised to keep the expansion well planned and healthy. Results? In the way of such a program, there are many stumbling blocks. For instance, the Commerce Department conferees decided that in order to further the program, financial attaches ought to be appointed to our embassies in Brazil, Chile and the Argentine. This upset the State Department, as did the conferees' insistence that the so-called British blacklist ought to be protested against with firmness. Admin isuauve lncuon wm not last, How ever, for the State Department is also hard at work to increase South y American trade. Much worse stum ' bling blocks are such knotty puzzles ^ as the South American debts to this "T country and the shortage of foreign exchange. Each puzzle must be tackled sep arately and patiently. Each calls for its own solution. For example, the British are doing much war buying in me Argentine, out, attempting to pay cnieny in Diocaea sterling or in British securities in Argentine enterprises. Before long, it is expected, the stock of the British-owned Argentine railways will be offered for sale in New York Argentines will probably buy the stock, and, as the railways are badly out of date, may wish to modernize the lines With American equipment. The question will then be, first, whether the Argentines can pay for the equipment, and second, whether they will be able to afford to replace it when necessary, offering a continuing market. Unless both halves of the question can be answered in the affirmative, American equipment producers will not care to venture into a risky new field. Possibly the very' ambition of the South American trade program will prove its undoing. But, although the broad planning is ambitious, most officials insist on great caution in the execution. With luck, results may be expected. (Released br the North American Newspaper Alliance, Inc.) Keeping School Open For Meetings Urged Keeping Parkview School open possibly three nights a week for community gatherings was urged by , the Parkview Citizens’ Association at j a meeting held last night in the j school. H. H. Moore, in making the motion, pointed to Boy Scout and Girl Scout meetings as well as other j community gatherings which the1 school could well serve. Fred S. Walker, who presided In the absence of the president, B. J. Kruger, asked that the association be put on record as renewing its sponsorship for Troop 49 of the Boy Scouts. This troop has been spon sored by the Parkview Association for many years, said John S. Cole, ! association secretary and scoutmas ter of the troop. Mr. Walker declared it the sense of the association that a warehouse to be built behind a grocery store on Georgia avenue, between Park road and Newton street N.W., was favored. 'No dissent was made. The association was told that be ginning October 15, a new street car schedule would go into effect on Georgia avenue. The association was notified by a member of the Police Department who appeared at the meeting that new lights had been placed at Sherman avenue and Park road N.W., and at Georgia ave nue and Columbia road N.W., with lights at Georgia avenue and Park road N.W. and Georgia avenue and Princeton place N.W. soon to be installed. The association went on record as accepting Traffic Director W. A. Van Duzer's request that they hear a speaker from the "Flying Squadron” speak on pedestrian control at a future meeting. $1,000,000 Addition To Plane Plant Voted Bj the Associated Press. EAST HARTFORD, Conn., Oct. 10.—Directors of the United Air craft Corp. authorized yesterday construction of a $1,000,000 addition to the Pratt & Whitney Aircraft Division plant here. Frederick B. Rentschler, chair man of the board, said the expan sion, adding 274,000 square feet of manufacturing space, was necessi tated by increasing normal military and commercial requirements. The Political Mill Intervention of Roosevelt for Peace Hinges On Clarification of Allies' Attitude DJ (i. UUlliU LINUUiiN. Peace talk is in the air. It is obvious, however, that until Prance and Britain have made it clear that they, as well as Adolph Hitler, are willing to dis that the Presi- m dent of the B United States i can do about it. !■ In the mean- ■ time, however, m there is develop- Wl ing in many ||| quarters a sym pathetic atti tude to the pro posal that this h ft n n t r v H sibly in consort with other neu- G. Go«M Lincoln, tral nations, be ready to use its good offices to promote peace. While the administration has been unwilling to discuss the prospects of a move toward peace, it is under stood that this Government would give serious consideration to any specific proposal looking toward an armistice and peace which might come from the belligerent powers. That, it seems, is as far as the administration properly pould go. The peace move of Hitler has been expected for some time—and it was expected that it would be made when and if the German Army had sub dued Poland. Critics of attempts, now, for peace are quick to say that there would be no use in an armistice and peace compacts, since Hitler has shown he is not to be trusted. How ever, it is for Great Britain and Prance—who are actually engaged in war with Germany—to pass on that subject, unless the United States, which so far has no part in the conflict, decides that it is an American duty to see that hostilities are continued. If the last is the attitude of America, then the sooner peace talk is cast aside in this country and a frank declara tion that this country will intervene in a military way on behalf of the allies, the sooner the atmosphere will be cleared. Asks Time tor Examination. The argument was advanced yes terday in the Senate by Senator Johnson. Democrat, of Colorado that If the great desire of the Ameri can people—to remain out of war— is to be gratified, the surest way would be for peace to be restored in Europe. That, he contends, would be surer than the passage of the pending neutrality bill with its re peal of the present arms embargo and its adoption of a cash-and-carry plan in all trade with belligerent nations. So strongly did the Colo rado Senator feel about the matter that he proposed a three-day recess of the Senate, with a cessation of all talk about the war, while the na tions in Europe especially involved were examining the peace proposal advanced by Hitler and counter pro posals which Trance and Britain might make. Administration forces in the Senate, however, were unwilling to adopt the course suggested by Sen ator Johnson. It is the purpose of the supporters of the arms embargo repeal to press for favorable action on that issue at the earliest possible date. Those who believe that the repeal of the embargo will be a dis tinct aid to France and Britain are of the opinion that by such action France and Britain would be strengthened in any negotiation for peace; or in the event that peace talk goes out of the window, in carrying on the war against Ger many. Senators Watch Intensely. There seems no doubt, however, that the discussion of peace has be come a factor in the Senate situa tion. This, of course, may change overnight, particularly if the British and Trench make it clear that they are not willing to come to terms with Hitler. Until that becomes clear, however, Senators who are interested in bringing about peace are inclined to watch with increasing Interest the maneuvers abroad. It would not be an entirely new experience xor a president or the United States to use his good offices to end a foreign war. Nor for a President bearing the name of Roosevelt. The late President Theo dore Roosevelt stepped in to bring an adjustment between Russia and Japan, 34 years ago. after the Russo Japanese War liad been going on for a year. - Mr. Roosevelt shrewdly chose the right moment to step in. He made his appeal to both the warring nations—as a friend—and succeeded in bringing about the peace confer ence which finally resulted in the treaty of Portsmouth (New Hamp shire) concluded in July of 1905. He steered the peace conference, which was held in this country, toward a peace of reconciliation. James Morgan, writing of the con ference, said that “an impatient Russian declared that his (Roose velt’s) steel wrist hammered out a treaty that neither of the powers wanted at that time and that ‘terri ble American President—11 Strenu 060—was capable of locking the con ferees into a room and starving them into submission.’ ” Situation Changes. For his activities in behalf of peace, Theodore Roosevelt was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1906. Admittedly, however, the world situation that confronted Theodore Roosevelt in 1905 was vastly different from that of today. The United States had no past record of inter vening in a World War—as it has today—allied with the British and the French against Germany. Now the old enemies, Britain and France, are allied again in war against Germany. To some of the Senators it appears that if Hitler is inclined—as it has been rumored from Berlin—to President Franklin D. Roosevelt as a mediator in the present struggle, he at least is sin cere in a desire to bring about peace. Mr. Roosevelt has never minced words in discussing .the so called totalitarian states, and the German government has been one of his principal targets. as senator Thomas, Democrat, of Utah has pointed out, a war must end either with a negotiated peace or at the point of a bayonet in the hands of one of the belligerents directed at the heart of the other. If there is to be a negotiated peace, why not one now before the holo caust of war and destruction has swept over Europe, Senator Thomas asks. Other* Skeptical of Peace. Other members of the Senate are extremely skeptical. They are in clined to believe that the British and the French will not at this time agree* to peace on terms suggested by Hitler, whose elimination from the world picture they have an nounced as the end sought in this war. They admit, however, that they have not yet heard any peace terms suggested by the French and the British as a counter to the pro posal made in his recent address by the German Chancellor. In some quarters it is argued that it would be folly for President Roose velt and this Government to become involved in an effort to straighten out Europe's tangled skein: that such a course would Involve this country in European politics. But against this argument it is urged that if America now stands aloof, only to be drawn into the conflict later as a belligerent, its entangle ment in Europe would be far greater —and far more costly. Not yet has the argument been made in the Senate that this war is our war and for that reason it is necessary to sell arms to the allies, although there has been much pri « vate talk along that line. If and when that argument is advanced, I the debate will take on a different j complexion. THE RIGHT ROOF—. —and the rt*ht roofer will save you a lot of money. We re practical roofers with a reputation for dome thins* rtsht. 33 years In business. Better consult us. koons sssfsa "Nia 4438 I We, the People Thoreau Founded a Negative Philosophy That Seems Carried on by Isolationists By JAY FRANKLIN. If I were a German or a Japanese, trying to understand the passion of conviction in the isolationist part of the “great debate" on neutrality, I would look no further than the biography of Henry Thoreau, Just pub lished by my old friend and teacher, Dr. Henry Seidel Canby. It may seem farfetched to try to link the shy Yankee philosopher of Walden with the thunders of the anti-neutrality bloc, but the connec tion is direct and unmistakable. Thoreau slipped the knockout drops into the chalice of American liberty and introduced the water of moral defeatism into the nqgv wine of lusty Americanism nearly a century ago. For Henry Thoreau was the originator, long before Gandhi, of the idea of “passive resistance" to public authority. In “civil disobedience” he exalted to the level of positive philosophy a purely negative and self defeating idea. This idea was that the Individual citizen had the right to define the terms of his own relationship to society. According to Thoreau, a man could get all the benefits of organized society, but could refuse to support that society if he so chose. To give little or nothing and get much may be a basic human trait, but it is not a useful one, and if raised to a philosophy leads straight to anarchy. Has Disciples Today Thoreau never married, but his descendants are numerous. In the business world he is represented by the Fords, Girdlers and “economic royausis wno connaenuy expect society to provide them with the material conditions for corporate profit, but who assert, with equal confidence, that they are not obliged i to provide for unemployment relief, social security or collective bargain* ing as a quid pro quo. In the political world the Thor eau principle is represented by the isolationists, who expect and enjoy the protection of an international order based on Anglo-American naval power, treaties arranged Dy American diplomacy, trade relations based on the presence and the use of force, and who in turn shrink with horror at the idea of supporting or even asserting the principles under which America has flourished. A Thoreau refusing to pay poll tax, a corporation refusing to support the New Deal, an isolationist refusing to accept the responsibility of international power—all these reflect the same philosophy and the same defeatism. The show is given away, however, when Brooks Atkinson, dramatic critic of the New York Times and himself an expert on Thoreau, reviews Dr. Canby's biography of the New England philosopher. In his review Mr. Atkinson refers to “the quiet desperation of normal lives.” The idea that "quiet desperation” is “normal” betrays how deeply the poison of Thoreau has been absorbed. Desperation, quiet or otherwise, is not humanly normal. At the very time when Thoreau was making a heroic principle of his social tax-dodging, the rest of America was throbbing with the sense of mani fest destiny. It is easy to understand how New England—and I am a New Englander—despaired of the future of a country, dominated by the South and West, and it is easy to guess how New England's fear of being eclipsed by the South and West became a violent hatred of Southern slavery. Today's Manifestations What could not have been foreseen was that this bashful belief—in which the individual pitted himself against the universe and shrank from me contrast—snouia crop up in me regions of "manifest destiny” and should appear in the mouths of a La Follette, a Borah and a Hiram Johnson as a denial of faith in the future destiny of the American h people. fj Yet there It runs, unbroken, ( unashamed, ungenerous—though not without its fragile beauty—all the way from a provincial Concord, Mass., to provincial Idaho and Wis consm—a numbing, sell-defeating belief that our race has no destiny superior to the personal will and selfish interest of any individual member of that race. From “civil disobedience” to the high-pressure tax-dodging of corpo rate business and the tremulous betrayal of democracy by the isolationists is but a step. Yet America has an older and tougher philosophy—that of the rights of man and of nations—which runs unbroken from Tom Paine, Jefferson and Lincoln down to Woodrow Wilson and F. D. R. Hitherto, when the two philosophies have clashed, the weaker has gone to the wall. It would be easy for a foreigner to misjudge the American spirit and the public will as a childish desire to get something for nothing, to have power without responsibility, wealth without effort, life without death, by listening to the arguments of fear and desperation advanced by the so-called isolationists. But the historical fact remains that Americans ever believe in their destiny and that they ever assert it no matter what the cost in blood and treasure, in the time of testing. Headline Folk And What They Do Finland President Surprised at Russia Call i 1 By LEMUEL F. PARTOV. It was on February 17, 1837, that Soviet Russia, In its newspaper, Izvestia, rejoiced over the election of Kyosti Kallio as President of W • .:w Finland. In de :? f eating the crag igy-iaced old | Svinhufvud, he I had, said the I newspaper, I turned Finland r forever away | from the black tyranny of Nazi ism to the white | light of Soviet I ism. Mr. Kallio, I in his three I terms as Pre I 1_I 1_ ***•'•» I 1/v.tis friendly to the K,**u K»iiio. Soviets, and the world press, as well as Izvestift, interpreted his election as a re orientation of Finland toward Soviet Russia. The Izvestia editorial was pretty bitter about Germany and implied that it wouldn't touch Adolf Hitler with a 10-foot pole. So naturally Finland's amiable old farmer-Presi dent must have been surprised to see his friend over on the other side of the tracks, and is, no doubt, dis turbed, as he now gets a request to send a representative to the Krem lin. Those Invitations must be as disquiering around the Baltic now as a blue envelope to an office worker. rinlands unique penchant for debt-paying, as well as Jean Sibelius and its reindeer, has made every body In this country wish her well, and hope that she may yet find some nice, and safe, neighbors mov ing in. Kyosti Kallio, 66 years old, peasant-bom, with only a few years schooling, is Finland's first farmer President. His yife refused to leave the farm and would not go with him to the palace at Helsingfors. She said the geese and the flocks were her responsibility and she would not leave them. President Kallio first went to Parliament in 1904 and has been continuously in public life since I then. He became known throughout ! Europe for his vigorous prosecution of land reforms, breaking up large holdings and fostering varied and | intensified agriculture. He was a zealous prohibitionist, a die-hard when the dry law was repealed in 1932. On December 6, 1937, he struck a silver medal to commemo rate the 20th anniversary of Fin land's break from Russia. He is scholarly in appearance, with thinning gray hair roached back, sharp, alert features and a long straggling mustache. He is a dili gent student of economics and has been a stout champion of demo i cratic theory and practice. I (Released by Consolidated News Features.) VM "Can't dance I another step" If you like to dance. If you suffer at every step. If you dread invitations and dislijte white lie refusals—try this. Be fitted to a comfort shoe here —that is really smart. Then thank us for being fitted in a pair et our famous Ground Gripper or Cantilever Health Shoes. ST A CITS 521 llth St. N.W. "We fit the feet •. Nature Intended” I PAINT NOW Save 25c a Quart! For a limited time—ask for ■Bteial die ts ■ n t eon pon at store. Similar sae inss also on Floor and Deek Enamel and Llakota Varnish for linolenm. ■ . j gUsHUGH RGILLVso Sr VV^r. 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