Evening star. [volume], May 13, 1948, Page A-14, Image 14

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A—14 THURSDAY, May 13, 1948
It Should Have Its Chance
The Home-Rule bill ought to have its
day in court. It ought to be tested in
the cross fire of House debate. Its rami- I
locations in government of the District j
ought to be fully and publicly explored.
It should not be suffocated by committee
inaction.
That, The Star believes, is a fair state
ment of the sentiments of a majority of
the House Rules Committee. It believes
the Rules Committee will grant the neces
sary rule. The committee should not be
criticized for the delay in reaching its
decision. Its reasons for doing so are
understandable.
The bill Itself is a complex document,
173 pages long. It amends the rules of
the pouse and Senate. The Rules Com
mittee has exclusive jurisdiction over the
House rules and its members should under
stand the precise meaning of the changes
proposed as well as the motive behind the
changes. After two sessions, interrupted !
by quorum calls, with time given to op- !
ponents of the bill as well as its supporters,
some of the changes remain to be clarified, j
If the postponement is to give members
more opportunity to familiarize themselves
with the changes in the rules alone, the
postponement should be worth while.
The Star hopes that this is the case and
that the delay is not obstructionism.
Chairman Allen has been most reasonable
and fair in his own attitude and it is
shared by members on both sides. So much
work has gone into preparation of this
bill, it has been so carefully reviewed by
the technicians, it represents so important
a principle that it deserves the opportunity
for full debate and the sort of considera
tion that only debate can provide. Even
the members of the Rules Committee who
do not favor the bill should vote for its
consideration by the House.
'Forced to Work'
When Alvanley Johnston, head of the
Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, says
that “we were forced to work—we have
complied with the restraining order,” he j
conveys the impression that compulsion j
and compulsion alone will keep the rail
roads running in this country.
If this is his attitude he is doing a
disservice to his own union and to all
unions. For compulsion, exercised by the
Government, is not going to be a good
thing for anybody, and least of all for j
unions. s
Unfortunately, however, the indications
are that compulsion is going to be neces
sary. Whatever Mr. Johnston may have
intended by his words, his acts and those
of his associates make one thing clear:
Free collective bargaining has broken
down as a means of settling disputes in
some vital industries. And it has broken
down, certainly in the case of *' e railroads,
because of irresponsibility o he part of
the leadership of the three motherhoods
whose strike threat forced Government
seizure of the roads! If these disputes
cannot be settled under existing law—and
this particular dispute has not yet been
settled—then it follows that new legisla
tion is necessary.
The form it should take is something
that should be studied carefully. It has
been suggested that the railroads be
brought under the Taft-Hartley law. But
it is difficult to see any real solution in
that move, for the most that it could
accomplish would be to delay a railroad
strike for 80 days. There is more promise
in the report that Senators Taft and Ball
are agreed on the need for compulsory
arbitration when voluntary collective bar
gaining between the carriers and the
unions fails.
Compulsory arbitration can be expected
to prove distasteful to both parties. But
when representatives of unions represent- j
ing about 10 per cent of the railroad
workers capriciously rejected the recom- j
mendations of a fact-finding board, what j
alternative is there? It is the public
interest which has to prevail, and if union
leaders will not respect this interest the
Government will have to safeguard it.
Labbage Is Just Labbage
Representative Gross of Pennsylvania is
right. The Department of Agriculture had
a lot of nerve to undertake the teaching
of thrifty food habits to, of all people, the
Pennsylvania Dutch. That is like trying
to teach Einstein the multiplication table, j
Mr. Gross knows whereof he speaks.
His biography in the Congressional Direc
tory says he comes from “a typical farm
family'’ in York County. The typical farm !
family thereabouts does not need any
advice from Washington on how to eat—
economically and heartily. As Mr. Grass
indignantly told his colleagues in the
House, the cellars in and around York and
Lancaster Counties are used for something
more than rumpus rooms. They are
equipped with shelves laden with home
preserved vegetables, fruits and meats.
The good housewives can these delectable
foods during seasons of plenty and use >
them when fresh market supplies are
icarce.
Particularly ill-advised was the Agri
culture Department's suggestion to Penn
^lvania Dutchmen that they eat mora
cabbage. It is not humanly possible for
any one to eat more cabbage than those
folks eat. They eat it the year round—
boiled, sliced as slaw, preserved in brine
as sauerkraut. The Government is just
wasting time and money in handing out
cabbage propaganda in such a cabbage
conscious area.
This suggests that geographical consid
erations should be taken into account in
formulating such educational campaigns.
There is no point in trying to sell Idahoans
on the food value of potatoes, nor in sug
gesting to Bostonians that they try baked
beans for a change. All of these dishes
have their followers, of course, but even
their most ardent champions will not con
cede that they are satisfactory substitutes
for a juicy broiled steak or chop. If the
experts at the Department of Agriculture
could only come up with some advice on
how to get a tender steak or chop at a
reasonable price, Mr. Gross and his con
stituents, no doubt, would be willing to
let bygones be bygones.
Tragedy of Errors
There is no use crying over the milk
which has been spilled in our latest diplo
matic exchange with the Russians. What
is done is done, and it is too late now to
repair the damage. But we ought to lace
the fact that this affair adds up to a
diplomatic blunder on our part.
A little more than a week ago our Am
bassador in Moscow, General Smith, told
Foreign Minister Molotov that “as far as
the United States is concerned, the door is
always wide open for full discussion and
the composing of our differences.” But
that is not exactly what he meant, as the
President and Secretary Marshall have
had to explain.
We can say that the words of Ambassa
dor Smith were not Intended as an in
vitation to direct discussions, that they
were merely a sort of diplomatic pleas
antry. We can say that Mr. Molotov’s
hands were not clean when he seized upon
those words and converted them into a
Soviet propaganda weapon. We can say
that there is nothing to discuss, that dis
cussions would be futile and perhaps
harmful until the Russians change their
hearts and come forward with concrete
proposals. And we can say that the United
Nations and its agencies supply the proper
machinery for settlement of outstanding
issues between us and the Russians and
we are anxious to make it Work.
But none of these explanations, nor any
other, is going to soften the blow to the
hopes of people around the world. They
are not interested in explanations. What
they want is a settlement of the differences
which threaten war, and it will be harder
now to convince them that we speak in
good faith when we say that these differ
ences cannot be composed merely by more
discussions with the Russians. That Is true
enough, but we have maneuvered ourselves
into a position where the voice that will be
heard is not ours, but the voice of the
Communists and their allies. And the
Communists will point to the melancholy
record and say that it was the Russians
who accepted an apparent Invitation to
discussions and that it was the United j
States that closed the door.
That a thing or this sort could happen
is Indicative of a deplorable failure within
the administration to understand the pub
lic relations aspect of an affair of this kind.
The State Department has a public rela
tions office. But apparently that office was
not consulted (neither were the British nor
the French), and it knew nothing about
Ambassador Smith's statement to Mr.
Molotov. A competent public relations
adviser could have foreseen and warned
against the possibility that Mr. Molotov
would turn the Smith statement to Soviet
advantage. But our top officials seem to
have been taken completely by surprise,
and were at a loss, until almost forty-eight
hours later, for any firm statement of our
own position.
It is too late now to retrieve the situa
tion, and we will have to endure our
propaganda beating. But the experience
is one which ought to have an eye-opening
effect. This tragedy of errors ought never
to be repeated.
Italy's New President
The significance of the designation of
Luigi Einaudi as the first President of the
Italian Republic should be clearly under
stood on this side of the Atlantic. In the
first place, he was not elected by popular
vote but by the combined Senate and
Chamber of Deputies, sitting as a single
body for this purpose. Secondly, his ex
ecutive powers are far less than those of
our President. Like most chief executives
of states with the parliamentary system
of government, whether they be Presidents
or constitutional monarchs, he “reigns
but does not govern.” Besides certain
honorific attributes, the Italian President
usually ratifies the decisions made by the
cabinet, which, in turn, is dependent for
its continued existence upon a majority
in the Chamber.
However, this does not mean that the
President is a mere figurehead or that
his personality is a matter of indifference.
The presidency is invested with dignity
and prestige and requires a man of char
acter and experience. Such qualifica
tions are met in the new President. Luigi
Einaudi has behind him a long and dis
tinguished career during his seventy-four
years of life. Internationally known as an
economist, he was likewise active in Italian
political life during the pre-Fascist era,
and in 1919 he was elected a life member
of the Senate as a member of the Liberal i
Party which opposed Mussolini's Fascist
regime. Finally exiled to Switzerland,
Einaudi was recalled after Italy’s liberation
in World War II and played a prominent
role in the country’s economic and po
litical reconstruction. His most outstand
ing service has been that of .Minister of
the Budget in the provisional government,
Just terminated, and it is to his wise
financial and economic measures that the
recent check to the inflationary spiral is
largely ascribed. Such a man should be
well qualified to head his country during
the reconstruction epoch now in prospect.
Einaudi’s election was not consummated
without vigorous competition. There were
several other contenders for the honor,
while the election itself offered scope for
elaborate maneuvering between the various
party groups represented in the Italian
Parliament. The outcome is considered a
notable victory for the Christian Demo
a>
crate and Premier de Gasperi, who will
undoubtedly form the new cabinet, because
Einaudi shares their Ideological point of
riew. The only drawback appears to be his
health, which is understood to be frail.
At any rate, he now enters the presidency
for a term of seven years. They will be
notable years in Italy’s national evolution.
Must the Kilt Go, Too? .
A startling thing has been happening
In Scotland. According to a recent news
item, people over there have been pro
testing against having to wear the kilt
because of an acute shortage of trousers.
In effect, they have been flying in the
face of one of their dearest traditions and
abandoning their proud and ancient de
votion to a national garb celebrated and
honored throughout* the globe.
This melancholy «development seems
particularly shocking in view of the stir
ring nature of its historical background.
In 1747, after the suppression of Prince
Charles Stuart’s rebellion, England placed
a complete ban on the Highland dress.
From then on, the wearing of the kilt—
plaid or even a tartan—was made punish
able by “imprisonment without bail for
six months; and, for a second offense,
transportation to any of His Majesty’s
plantations abroad for seven years.”
Needless to say, this iniquitous law met
with the bitter resistance of every Scot
who regarded “lowland breeks” as in
decent and unmanly. In the words of
one historian, “Had the whole Highland
race been decimated, more violent
grief, indignation and shame could not
have been excited among them than by
being deprived of this long-inherited
costumfe.” The result was, of course, that
the ban never got anywhere. In spite of
the English, the Scots kept right on wear
ing the kilt, and it persists to this day.
How disturbingly strange, therefore, that
Scotland should now hear native protests
against such a famous and tradition-rich
garb. To be sure, the protests come from
Lowlanders, who have always looked
askance at their Highland cousins. To be
sure, too, the complainants justify their
position on the ground that they cannot
get jobs, climb ladders or work on scaf
folding in the skirtlike garment. But
the justification seems specious. Certainly,
for outdoor activities—especially in hot
weather—the kilt Is better than long
pants in enough ways to make one
wonder why men everywhere do not wear
something like it.
In the circumstances, we must look for
something deeper to explain the extraor
dinary Scottish protests. Perhaps the
thing is attributable to the upended
condition of the world. Customs and
attachments to the past are being broken
everywhere. The psychological ferment
and turmoil are global, and not even Scot
land seems immune. As far as tradition
lovers are concerned, all this is so very
saddening that one must hope that the
news reports have been wrong and that
the kilt—at least the kilt—will somehow
survive.
A Hollywood Adonis, cast as a boxer, Is
told by his physician he Is too delicate for
such roles. We believe the packing In
dustry calls this the tenderized ham.
This and That
By Charles E. TraceweH
"G STREET.
"Dear Sir:
“I am a park wanderer.
"I am not young any more, so I spend a
great deal of my time walking through the
parks.
"Not all people realize what a fine park
system we have, how well the parks are kept,
what Interesting animals and birds—and
people—the wanderer sees.
“I have a plan for spending the day or part
of the day in a different park each day
“In this way I have managed to get around,
despite my age and game leg, and have had
many small adventures, some of them worth
remembering.
“I have seen squirrels do heroic things, and
common sparrows rescue baby birds of a sort
I did not know.
"I sometimes remain seated In the rain,
with my umbrella over me, watching the small
things of the earth and air go about their
normal business.
"Perhaps the only drawback in our smaller
parks are the large numbers of loafers who
insist on sprawling on the ground.
"These I do not wish to watch, but must
all too frequently. Still, I do not know what
can be done about them.
“I prefer starlings, any day.
"The course of nature in our parks is the
same as elsewhere, but much easier for me
and many others to understand.
“I think there is some gain in the small
place, inclosed, not too diffuse, fenced in.
"Sincerely, A. B.”
* * * *
This correspondent seems to want a certain
dignity in park loafing, and no doubt many
persons will agree with her.
It is not every one, however, who has the
ability to loaf with aplomb.
Some must throw themselves on the ground.
"Sprawl" is a good word for it.
Every one who comes to a park brings him
self with him! He cannot get away from him
self, nor be any better there than he has
been elsewhere.
That is why a park is such a revealing place,
and why the study of mankind can be carried
on there as well as elsewhere, or even a bit
better.
Each of us lives in his own world.
One of the troubles of modern life seems to
be that each departmentalized soul resents too
much the way other departmentalized souls
look, talk and act.
This inner resentment, lack of sympathy, in
tolerance, call it what you will, is something
particularly vicious now. since each person
today has so many ways of being obnoxious to
others.
It oalls for real understanding, and it may
be that a city park is just as good a place to
understand as any.
* » * *
Yonder bumpkin sprawled on the grass—
He is no picture, certainly, with his coat off
and his shirt all rumpled.
Perhaps if the seated one were ciorer he
would smell his breath, which is not exactly
"nice,” in any use of language.
But he is very much a part of the body
politic, and any movement must be looked at
partly through his eyes. He is there, very
large and real. Only by amderstandlng him,
and why he sprawls rather than takes a place
on a bench, can any progress be made to the
sane world in which all are well dressed, clean,
nice in the best sense, and able to take part,
themselves, in the great general society of the
whole.
This is the problem.
Somebody must face it. Social workers,
judge, policemen and many others do so
dally.
Sympathy is the keynote.
In time, the sprawled one must be guided
to his feet, and made to stand upon them
properly.
In the meantime, the park wanderer will
devote his time to the good squirrels end the
birds and the little crawling things A the
tree trunks, the shrews and the occasional rab
bit, all of which refuse to sprawl because they
are too much alive.
M
The 70-Group Air Force w
How the Bill Now Awaiting Presidential Decision Differs
From What Administration Had Asked
By Robert K. Walsh
Main differences between the 70-group Air
Force, envisioned in a cash and contract au
thority bill awaiting White House action, an«J
the 66-group program recommended earlier by
President Truman and Secretary of Defense
Forrestal are:
1. The cost and its possible effect on the
present "drum tight” national economy.
The 70-group project could propel the an
nual cost of the Army, Navy and Air Force to
$20,000,000,000 within the next two years. That
is $9,000,000,000 more than this year’s initial
military budget. It would boost the national
budget to $50,000,000,000.
The 66-group plan, for the next fiscal period,
would add $481,000,000 to the $3,000,000,000 pre
viously asked by the administration to supple
ment this year’s $11,000,000,000 outlay. Thus,
the Army, Navy and 66-group Air Force would
cost $14,481,000,000 during the coming fiscal
year, $15,000,000,000 the second year and $16,
500,000,000 the third year, Secretary Forrestal
estimated.
Long Range vs. Immediate Need.
2. The approach.
This differs on matters «f long-range and im
mediate needs, on quality and types of planes,
and on the definition of a “balanced” military
establishment. It also differs on whether it
is wiser to build and replace planes immediate
ly in a big way with an eye to 1952 at to “make
the best use of what we’ve got now.”
Those who urge or question a 70-group Air
Force agree that the bill, overwhelmingly
passed by House and Senate, is merely a take
off toward an eventual actual 70-group combat
strength.
As sought by advocates in Congress and
the Pentagon, the 70 groups are still many
months away. They would exist in numbers of
planes and men before the end of the coming
fiscal year. But few of the aircraft would rise
to “modernization” goals, and thousands of the
men would be only partly trained.
For the first 18 months the 70 groups would
resemble the suggested 68 groups, especially in
size and present striking power as well as
quantity an|l make of machines.
But with the Air Force set to place orders
for 2.727 planes, including 1,575 jet lighters and
237 bombers, if the President signs the bill,
new planes might roll out before the end of
the 1949 fiscal year.
They Get the Go Signal Now.
The pending bill simply gives the Air Force
and Navy approximately $3,198,000,000 (plus
another $20,000,000 for the Army engineers) in
money and contract authority to go ahead at
once on more aircraft and guided missiles
procurement. Most of this authority would not
ordinarily have become available until July 1.
Congress included $822,000,000 in contract
making authorization—which the administra
tion had not asked for—so that the Air Force
could move without delay toward increasing its
strength from 55 to 70 groups.
In its first stages the 70-group program would
have only 200 planes more than the 66-group.
It would contain two light bomber and two
troop carrier groups not included in the 66
group. Those four groups ordinarily would
support ground troops.
w im l tins ah ruac nutuviiuitiuii uui i cauj
does, In the opinion of Chairman Bridges of
the Senate Appropriations Committee, is to:
"Help determine what weapons the United
States will have in the period 1951-53 when
Russia may have erased our present advantage
of exclusive possession of the atomic bomb.”
A 70-group Air Force, Its backers declare, Is
the minimum peacetime Air Force capable of
providing adequate security for the United
States at this time.
Moreover, despite reports of “unification*
growing pains at the Pentagon, Secretary For
restal and the Joint Chiefs of Staff declare
there is no fight over the desirability of a 70
group Air Force—from a strictly military point
of view.
But the principal argument for the 66-group
Idea is summed up as follows by Secretary
Forrestal: »
“After taking into account all considerations
of fiscal, economic and all others as well as
military, I have reached the conclusion that
the over-all program for the services on the
basis of a 66-group Air Force will give us the
maximum return for the military tax dollar.”
A Slower Approach Was Planned.
The 66-group plan was offered as a means
of staying within reasonable budgetary limits
for the military establishment and at the same
time as a method of “doing first things first”
in Expanding the Air Force, Army and Navy.
The 66-group plan would step up the present
55 groups by forming 10 additional groups,
each with 30 B-29 bombers. These B-29s would
be taken from storage and “activated and
modernised.” The eleventh extra group would
be a new fighter outfit.
Army manpower would have to be increased
to 790,000, the Navy’s would be 462,000, Ma
rines 90,000, and the Air Force 453,000; a total
of 1,795,000. The total today is ^bout 1,384,000.
The 70-group plan would call for a 837,000
man Army, 556,882 Navy, 111,000 Marine Corps,
and 502,000 Air Force; a total of 2,006,882.
The 66-group defenders, asserting there is
nothing sacred about the “fetish of numbers”
or the figure “70,” claim their plan would:
Immediately furnish greater air power.
Make good use of B-29s which, far from
being a “mothball” fleet or obsolete, are among
the best in the world today.
Further improve the B-29s so that, when
refueled in the air, they could extend their
range.
Give assurance that ‘‘for the period Just
ahead we would be buying the most useful
weapons," and that for the more distant future
there would be no letup in long-range plan- ;
ning, research and tooling of the aircraft in
dustry at a “realistic” pace.
Prevent the Air Force from being loaded up
with too much equipment too soon or ending
up with a large supply of obsolete or obsolescent
material.
Avoid a drain on the Nation's productive
capacity at a time of heavy Inflationary
pressures.
The 79-Group Advantages.
The 70-group school of thought lists these
further arguments to support their position:
The first phase of any future war would be
determined in the air. For the first time the
continental United States could be hit without
warning.
The United States must have an Air Force—
up to the minute in any year—to ward off
such an attack and to retaliate swiftly.
The United States must keep pace with other
nations, especially Russia, in production apd
development of latest-type planes, particularly
jet fighters and bombers.
Military aircraft production fell to 1,800 last
year in this country. The 70-group procure
ment plan would be much faster and more
effective than the 66 or 55 group programs in
enabling plants to tool up and turn out. Be
cause of the time required for this, a start
must be made at once.
The 66-group plan would leave the United
States without effective aircraft in storage in j
1951, and with only about 47 air groups com- I
pletely modernized in that year. National
Guard aircraft would be obsolete by that time.
The 70-group plan calls for 6,800 Air Force
active combat planes, with 8,100 others in
storage in about three years. The Air Force
now has about 5,500 in 55 groups, but many are
not first line. It has 7,500 in storage.
That is not the Nation's present total air
power, because it does not include naval avia
tion and planes in National Guard and Reserve
operation. But it is stressed to point up the
danger of attrition unless there is "modern
replacement” and unless procurement and pro
duction efforts are expanded now with an
eye to 1952.
in repiy to marges tnat in* -iu-group pian
would cause rapid and dangerous expansion of
Industrial production, Its champions explain
that the program provides for a "steady,” not
a speed-up, schedule. ,
During the 194# fiscal year the output would
be 2,911, with 4,096 in 1950, 4,569 in 1951, 5,200
in 1952 and leveling off at that total there
after.
Letters to The Star
The Crippled Children Dispute
To the Bdltor of The 6ter:
I feel compelled to write a letter in answer
to the one written by Mrs. Mary Piver regard
ing the society for crippled children. I can’t
help but feel that Mrs. Piver wrote her letter
more as the wdfe of a board member and less
as the parent of a handicapped child.
Parents who are vitally affected by the out
come of this controversy have been accused of
“meddling in” and “gossiping about” something
which is not our concern. Surely, the parents
of a handicapped child have more interest in
their treatment and rehabilitation than a
group of totally disinterested insurance sales
men and real estate brokers. In the letter
which I have referred to above, the writer
upholds the benevolent qualities of the board
of directors. It is questionable whether dbme
of these members serve on this board for
heartfelt reasons or for the purpose of being
intelligent and outstanding businessmen who
can see the advantages of prominently attach
ing their names to a letterhead distributed to
more than 200,000 people. I suggest that The
Star request the attendance records of some
?f these board meetings and let the public
judge for itself how many of these members
are truly interested in the crippled child. I
would also like to suggest that an inquiry be
made into the lack of use of one of the finest
consulting services ever offered a society of
this type, to see whether or not the executive
secretary and the board of directors have
utilized or even encouraged this .service prior
to the investigation brought about by these
"meddling and lazy parents.”
I have investigated the services offered by
both Gallinger and Children's Hospitals and
have found that these hospitals do not empjoy
any cerebral palsy-trained therapists. The
week following Miss Norris’ dismissal I was
assured by the president of the board of
directors that, several applications were being
considered and that I could rest assured that
the treatment of my child would not be
neglected by the society. That was two and
one-half months ago, and up to the present
time I have not been notified that a therapist
has been employed.
The situation which now exists is not new.
It does net begin with the dismissal of Miss
Louise Norris, the physiotherapist, nor does it
end there. I wish it did. These so-called per
sonality conflicts have existed before and are
continuing and will continue unless the leader
ship is changed. The unmistakable evidence
of the lack of leadership is in the fact that
this dreadful situation exists. The staff has
not been allowed to co-ordinate their activities
and teamwork seems to be discouraged by
the executive secretary,
U9y auer uay 1 s»w uuiui^u iciuow
therapy treatment because less important
activities were given precedence. To call the
present, situation a dash of personalities Is
Incorrect. If the board of directors had
granted the parents and the stall members
the privilege of coming before them in an
open meeting to discuss this unfortunate
situation as they requested two months ago,
* *
Letters for publication must bear
the signature and address of the
writer, although it is permissible for
a writer known to The Star to use
a nom de plume. Please be brief.
the society would not hare deteriorated to its
present deplorable state.
JEAN DE LOZIER.
TVA Steam Plant Again
To the Editor of The ater:
In your issue for May 8, Elton Kile, attempted
to take issue with statements made by Lowell
Mellett in his column appearing on April 24.
Mr. Kile’s diatribe against the creation of more
TV As shows that he failed to understand Mr.
Mellett's point. It was clear and, in my Judg
ment, correct.
Whether Mr. Kile likes it or not, by succes
sive Acts of Congress, TVA has come to be the
sole source of power supply for an area approx
imating 80,000 square miles. The growth of
electricity use in the area has been remarkable
• and it will necessarily continue as the pros
plhty of the people is advanced. To keep pace
with the growth in use, TVA is requesting
funds to begin construction of a steam plant
to provide more power for the people to use in
their homes and on their farms and in their
industries. Without it, a definite ceiling will
be placed on the development of an area which
is just beginning to catch up with the rest of
the couhtry.
This Is the project the private power com
panies are fighting. The steam plant is re
quired to meet the rising power requirements
of TVA’s present power service area. It has
nothing in the world to do with Mt. Kile's
fears or power company apprehension that
TVA will expand its territory or that similar
agencies will be created for other parts of the
country. ,
HS-nm oaq ct fra onocf fhi* hfl lint i.g TIOW
faced with a power shortage, due In large
measure to the lack of vision and foresight
of the private power companies. They have
no shred of responsibility for service in the
area they are now trying to injure.
The TV A power system la not a subsidized
operation. Mr. Kile ought to know that. The
figures he used prove nothing. All TVA’s net .
Income belongs to the Government. A part
of it is used to add to the facilities and
therefore to increase the future earning ca
pacity of the wholly Government-owned sys
tem. But in addition to thoee funds "plowed
back” into the system, TV A, out of Its earnings,
will repay in 40 years to the Federal Treasury
in cash the full amount of Federal money
/invested in power facilities. And the Federal
Government will still own the system.
Mr. Kile somewhat surprisingly called Mr.
Mellett a "benefactor” of the American free
enterprise system. I think he was. For he I
was writing in defense of the millions of
doDars of private investment in the Tennessee
Valley which seriously will be Jeopardized If
the private power companies win this fight.
MORRIS LLEWELLYN COOKE.
A
The Political Mill
Truman's Rights Program
Is Rapidly Bogging Down
Little Chance of Any Approval Seen
in Present Session of Congress
By Gould Lincoln
President Truman’s civil rights program,
which pleased Republicans and enraged South
ern Democrats, is rapidly bogging down, with
little chance of any part of it being approved
during the present session of Congress. Only
an early decision of the Republican leadership
to force the issue of Senate filibuster, either on
an antilynching bill or on an anti-poll tax
measure, could breathe life info any of the
proposals. The Republicans are set on ad
journing Congress by June 19—just before tha
Republican National Convention opens in Phil
adelphia. There is a mass of important work—
outside of the civil rights program—still to be
done.
A mild, but effective, filibuster has cropped
up, with Southern Democrats using delaying
tactics, eveivon the draft, and Wayne Morse
of Oregon and others who believe as he does
opposing the Southerners’ bill to permit joint
State action for construction of Institutions
of higher education for the colored.
These delaying tactics, intentional at least
on the part of the Southern Democrats, are
not causing the Republicans too much grief.
They realize that if a Republican Congress co
operates with Mr. Truman to force any part
of this civil rights program through, the wrath
of the Southern Democrats, now directed
against the President, may be turned on the
GOP and its presidential nominee.
An uin senate uame.
It's an old Senate game. -The House has
passed an anti-poll tax bill. It has an ant.i
lynchlng bill on its calendar, favorably reported
by its Judiciary Committee. Jt, too. can pass
the House any time the Republican leadership
gives the nod. The Senate Judiciary Commit
tee has finally gotten around to reporting the
anti-poll tax bill. However, a Senate subcom
mittee has been working on an antilynehtng
bill. There has been an idea that an anti
lynching bill would have the greatest appeal—
of these civil rights measures—and that if
anything drastic should be attempted, it should
be on an antilynching measure. But even that
idea seems to be dying.
Southern Senators, in the Armed Services
Committee, have sought to write an amend
ment into the selective service bill which would
permit draftees to say whether they wished
to be in white or Negro military units. They
plan to continue the fight for this segregation
proposal on the floor of the Senate, and to
take up plenty of time, with Senator Morse
and other opponents also using time.
It seems entirely likely that the House will
pass the antilynching bill before adjournment.
That, however, will be merely a gesture unless
the Senate Republicans go to the mat and
force cloture on such a bill. The report
earlier this year was that the Southern Demo
crats could not hope to defeat a cloture mo
tion in the Senate.
There is another angle. If there is to be
this civil rights legislation, the Republicans
would like to put it through when they are
in command of both the executive and legisla
tive branches of Government. Undoubtedly
they will tell the Negro voters during the fall
campaign that what’s needed is the election
of a Republican President and the re-election
of a Republican Congress.
Hayden Snbmits Views.
Senator Hayden of Arizona, Democrat, a
member of the Judiciary Committee, has sub
mitted his own views on the anti-poll tax bill,
proposing that the whole of the House measure -
be stricken out and a resolution proposing a
Constitutional amendment banning poll taxes
be substituted. As a matter of fact, Senator
Hayden has taken a resolution offered in the
House*by Representative Landis, Republican,
of Indiana and adopted it ax his own.
The Arizona Senator's argument has merit.
The anti-poll tax bill has for years been op
posed on the ground that it is unconstitutional.
And on that ground it has been defeated, by
being sidetracked, in the Senate several times.
It requires a two-thirds vote to adopt a
resolution proposing a constitutional amend
ment. But in the Senate a two-thirds vote
is required, too, to adopt a cloture rule, ending
debate and a filibuster. It is probable that the
required vote could be more easily obtained
/or a constitutional amendment.
In the opinion of Senator Hayden, the friends
of anti-poll tax legislation have lost six years
or more striving to pass a bill, when they might
have had a constitutional amendment. The
woman's .suffrage amendment to the Consti
tution, he points out, was ratified within IS
months after it was submitted by Congress to
the States. Only seven States today have poll
taxes, while 19 States denied women the privi
lege of voting at general elections when the
suffrage amendment was submitted. Why
waste more time?, Mr. Hayden asxs.
Questions and Answers
A reader can act the anawer to any oueation
of fact by writing The Evening Star Information
Bureau, 316 I atreet N.E., Washington 2. D. C.
Please Inclose 3 cent* for return postage.
BY THE HASKIN SERVICE.
Q. Whgn did women first color their finger
nails and wear them long?—J. D. G.
A. In the days of Salome and Cleopatra
women stained their nails with henna. Under
the social regime of the Chinese Empire,
fingernails worn several inches long and cov
ered with gold cases were a symbol of the
aristocracy, who did not have to work with
their hands.
Q. What banner did Joan of Arc use?—G. W.
A. Joan of Arc herself designed her flag or
banner. It was made of white linen and
fringed with silk. On it was painted a figure
of God holding the world in His hands, with an
angel kneeling at either side. The lilies of
France were dotted over the linen, and the
words "Jesus Maria" were inscribed.
» _
Q. What was the Burchard incident?—
H c P
A. The Rev. 8. D. Burchard. speaking from
the same political platform as the Republican
candidate for the presidency James O. Blaine,
on October 30, 1884, described the Democracy
as the party of "rum, Romanism and rebel
lion." Blaine’s failure to offset the diatribe
cost him Irish support and the election.
Q. What was the name of the ship that
carried the news of the admission of California
as a State to the people on the West
Coast?—N. S. H.
A. The news of the admission of California
as a State reached San Francisco by the
steamship Oregon on October 18, 1850. The
Oregon was one of three steamships con
structed for the route between Panama and
Astoria by way of San Francisco.
The Grown-ups
"When I was a child,” he said,
(And he was four)
"I used to scream and thump my head,
But I don’t do that any more.”
"I’m not a child.” he said,
(The sophomore)
"I’ll get. my algebra in bed
After the dance," and banged the door.
*
"I’m acting like a child,” he said,
"I will not worry any more.
"At best, we are a long time dead"
(He was three score.) _
YETZA GILLESPIE.