Evening star. [volume], May 27, 1948, Page A-14, Image 14

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‘ THURSDAY7May 17,1948
4*—14
No Time to Dawdle
sc Thp delaying tactics which the selective
service bill is encountering at the Capitol
%re most disturbing, in view -of the urgent
^appeals for the draft made by the National
"^Military Establishment. Defense authori
ties have testified that voluntary recruiting
^methods have failed, that only a resort to
^conscription can be expected to produce
Quickly the men needed right now to meet
^minimum security needs of the Nation.
i Yet the legislation to provide this mini
taum degree of security is still in the com
ynittee stage, with chances for final pas
sage admittedly growing slimmer with
£every passing day. On the Senate side are
ybeard threats to demand inclusion in the
'*bill of controversial civil rights provisions,
Fa move which would prolong debate and
^menace passage in the few weeks remain
, ing. On the House side there are renewed
-arguments for bonuses, increased pay or
Mother incentives for volunteer enlistment.
£ln an effort to reduce opposition and speed
^enactment. Chairman Gurney of the Sen
ate Armed Service Committee wisely has
^agreed to drop the compulsion plan of
■*tnilitary training. But the modified bill
•**till awaits a chance to come up on the
Jfloor of the Senate, where other allegedly
Jmore pressing business is being transacted.
} Meanwhile, on the House side, the pros
#pects are even more discouraging. Chair
*man Allen of*the Rules Committee, an
^avowed foe of the draft, has scheduled
^several more days of hearings before the
^committee votes on reporting the measure
>*to the House. On most bills the committee
“Ms able to make up its mind within an hour
F.or so of deliberation. Mr. Allen says it may
,,not be possible to send the bill to the floor
^before June 1. That will leave precious
dlittle time for debate on this,.vital, leggsia
#*tion before the membgfg actJoujntgorAtJte :
apolitical conventions.
* There is not the slightest reason why
j<: the Rules Committee should hold lengthy
^hearings to determine whether it is going
* to report the bill. The need for the legis
i lation is so obvious that the stalling tactics
1 of Mr. Alien can be looked upon only
a forth "oF-’frifling wttn^ie the"
country. The other members of the com
mittee and the Republican leadership in
the House should get together and bring
this bill out so the House can vote on it.
If Mr. Allen wants to keep his head in the
Band, that is his business. But in doing
eo he ought not to be permitted to
Jeopardize the United States.
Nationalized Railroads
If the union appeal for nationalization
of the railroads is to be taken seriously,
which may be doubted, it serves to rein
force the notion that the direction of the
affairs of the railroad workers is In irre
sponsible hands.
The statement released by the Railway
Labor Executives Association, which is
sponsoring the nationalization move, is in
effect a protest against the operation of
the railroads by the Government as a
necessary legal step in securing a court '
order to prevent a strike by the engineers,
firemen and switchmen. But the statement
attempts to present the matter to the
public as being a conflict between the
unions and the operators of the railroads.
This is very far from the fact.
The real truth of the matter is that the
strike threat was aimed at the Railway
Labor Act and the Government, not at
the operators. Last September a presi
dential arbitration board, appointed under
the law, made a wage award which was
accepted by the operators. It was also
accepted by nineteen of the railroad
unions. The engineers, firemen and switch
men refused to accept it, however, and
threatened the strike which brought about
Government intervention. So when the
Railway Labor Executives attempt today
to base an appeal for nationalization on
an alleged failure of railroad management |
to maintain satisfactory labor relations,
they are trying to pull the wool over the
eves of the public. If they have a griev
ance, and it is hard to see wherein it lies,
It is against ine travernmem.
In view of this it is fair to ask what
the unions hope to accomplish by nation
alization of the railroads. If that should
come to pass, which is most unlikely, they
would have less freedom to strike than
they have now. So their argument, to the
extent that it is directed to the court order
compelling them to work, falls to the
ground. The alternative inference is that
the union leaders believe they could exact
more concessions from the Government if
it were the actual owner of the roads
than it can get from the Government
when it is brought into the picture through
* the processes of the Railway Labor Act.
If this is the thought behind the nation
alization statement, however, the people
„ should bear in mind that the railroads
as a whole are not making substantial
■* profits, and there is not the slightest
’ reason to suppose that they could be oper
* ated more profitably under the Govern
* ment than in private hands. So if the
t unions, under Government ownership,
were to get more than they are getting
* now. it would have to come in the form
* of a subsidy from the taxpayers. And If
there Is any reason why the railroad
workers, already relatively highly paid,
should be subsidised at public expense,
their union leaders have yet to make that
reason a matter of public record.
Russia's Words and Deeds
Andrei Gromyko’s “double veto” on the
Czech issue is a good measure of the in
sincerity and meaninglessness of the
Kremlin’s recent peace bids. Nothing
could better illustrate the gulf that exists
between Soviet words and Soviet deeds.
The words are all for co-operation to build
a better world, but the deeds are for the
exact opposite.
In this case the deed—the "double
veto’’—has effectively blocked an effort by |
the majority of the Security Council to
hear charges that the Soviet Union
threatened the use of military force to
back up the Communist coup in Czecho
slovakia last February. The charges have
been made by responsible men ready to
support them with evidence, but Mr.
Gromyko’s two “noes”—one on a question
of procedure and the other on a question
of substance—have been enough to
smother them, at least for the time being.
By thus blocking an attempt to do
something about the danger of foreign
inspired subversion of independent states,
Mr. Gromyko has in effect shown up his
own government. For only a few days
ago, in an enthusiastic endorsement of
Henry Wallace's woolly-minded “peace
program,” Generalissimo Stalin piously
proclaimed his desire to co-operate with
the United States, and presumably with
the U. N., in guaranteeing the sovereign
rights of other countries in a system of
mutual trust under which they would not
have to fear outside interference in their
internal affairs. Yet, in its effort to deal
with this very issue, the Security Council
has had itself pulled up short by two
Soviet vetoes in a npw.
Of course, if Russia had clean hands in
Czechoslovakia or if it were really anxious
to turn over a new leaf and co-operate,
it would be willing to let the Council act
But it is not willing. So, with hypocrisy
verging on the preposterous, it says “no” I
to the proposed Czech inquiry on the
ground that such an inquiry, by seeking
to determine whether Moscow interfered
in support of the coup, would in itself be
interference in Czech internal affairs!
Never has logic been more tortured or
insincerity worse exposed. The word, as
voiced by Generalissimo Stalin, is one
thing, and the deed is something else
again.
All this ks typical of the Soviet Union's
course ever since the end of the war.
It is why free governments everywhere
take a jaundiced view of olive branches
held out by the Kremlin. High-sounding
protestations and promises are no longer
a measure of the good faith of the
Russians. If they want to be believed now.
they will have to perform by doing honest
and decent things. Unfortunately—as
indicated by the “double veto" on the
Czech issue—there is no evidence that
they are yet disposed to do them.
”The Canadian Budget
Comparisons between the way we and
our northern neighbors manage our re
spective public affairs are often interest
ing and always profitable. Despite inevi
table similarities due to our geographfcal
proximity and the close connection be
’ tween "our two economies, there are like
wise notable differences, not only in cir
cumstances but also in attitudes and poli
cies. It is a truism to say that the Do
minion of Canada stands midway between
us on the one hand and Britain, together
with the other Dominions of the British
Commonwealth of Nations, on the other.
Canada’s intermediate position is being
illustrated just now in the field of public I
finance. A few days ago. Finance Minister '
Abbott presented to Parliament his budget i
program coupled with an explanatory re
port on the country's financial situation
and prospects. It is no surprise that the
government’s fiscal policy runs along
orthodox economic lines. Despite a high
level of domestic prosperity, with record
peacetime employment and volume of ex
port trade, there is to be no reduction in
taxation. As in the two previous years,
handsome surpluses are to be applied to
reducing the national debt, preparing for
emergencies, and checking inflationary
tendencies.
Mr. Abbott admitted that if the budget
problem were simply and solely one of
finding enough money to meet current
expenditures, it would be easy to reduce
taxes. The government, however, prefers
to pay off debts against a possible “rainy
day." The biggest cloud on the horizon
is the uncertain international situation,
which may necessitate large expenditures
on national defense at short notice. This
alone makes it the part of wisdom to pre
serve a considerable margin of safety in
the national revenues. Another argument
raised by the Finance Minister against
cutting taxes now is that it would increase
the amount that the public and business
could spend on goods and services. The
budget is therefore deliberately designed
to hold inflationary forces in check.
There is likewise to be no relaxation of
the present controls on imports of con
sumer goods and capital from the United
States. Those controls are deemed vital
to avert an exchange crisis, due to
Canada's acute shortage of United States
dollars. This shortage is part of the ab
normal condition of the world’s economy.
It is an ironic commentary that Canada,
which ranks internally as one of the few
solvent, stable, and prosperous countries
on this troubled earth, should nevertheless
be confronted with grave difficulties in its i
foreign exchange.
Equity for Disabled Reservists
It is unfortunate that the Army let two
years go by without establishing the legal
ity of its practice of giving active-duty
pay to reservists hospitalized for investiga
tion of service-connected disability claims.
Now that a disputed claim finally has
come to the General Accounting Office for
review, the Controller General has thrown
out the whole practice as without legal
basis.
The development calls for prompt legis
lation before Congress adjourns—in justice
to disabled reservists who have received
the "illegal” payments in the past, to those
who deserve them In the future and to
Army finance officers who may be held
personally accountable for carrying out
a policy adopted by their superiors.
It is only just to say that the Army
was trying to be fair to reservists suffering
from combat injuries or other war-con
nected ailments when the policy of placing
claimants on active duty during hospital
ization was inaugurated. Previously many
reserve officers who had been separated
in the demobilization rush developed seri
ous complications from war service. Had
these disabilities been detected at the
time of impending separation, the officers, [
like those in the regular service, would '
have been retained on active duty long
enough to be hospitalized and retired. It
was manifestly discriminatory to provide
free hospitalization for regulars but not
for reservists who had left the service,
only to have an undiscovered disability
develop. The plan to order such reservists
back to active duty while their physical
condition was being checked was adopted
in response to urgent requests from vet
erans’ organizations.
The policy is a reasonable one and, if
special legislation is necessary to make it
legal and permanent, Congress should act
promptly to legalize past and future pay
ments. And finance officers who are in
danger of being penalized for doing what
they were ordered to do should also receive
the protection of special legislation.
Why Scrap a Going Concern?
■General Grant's advice against abolish
ing Government Services, Incorporated, in
favor of a new Government-owned cor
poration is well-reasoned and deserving |
of careful consideration by Congress. It !
is hard to understand why a subcommittee
of the Senate Civil Service Committee has
gone on record in favor of so drastic antf
untried a change.
If the subcommittee, during its long and
intensive investigation of GSI operations,
had uncovered evidence of fraud, gross
mismanagement or other serious short
comings of the present cafeteria system,
a far-reaching shakeup would be in order.
But nothing of the sort so far has been
disclosed. About the worst charge which
the subcommittee has made against GSI
is that it has had “loose management.” j
The subcommittee asked the Federal Bu
reau of Investigation to review the evi
dence taken in many hearings and the
bureau reported it could find nothing to
warrant an investigation by its agents.
And the Controller General, after recom
mending several improvements in contract
and auditing procedures, commented that
the organization's affairs had been gen
erally well conducted.
It is doubtful that any similar agency
could have emerged from the stress of war
time demands on its services with, a record
as creditable, on the whole, as that of GSI.
Why the subcommittee would prefer to
scrap such a tested organization and take
a chance on a new and untried setup is j
yet to be satisfactorily explained. GSI j
has proved itself as a going concern of j
ramified operations. That is not to say
that it is bey.ond improvement. It would J
seem far more sensible and much less j
risky to adopt tjte Controller Generals
Suggestions for improving GSI efficiency
than for the Federal Government to take
over the difficult job, by means of a Govt
ernment corporation. General Grant, head
of GSI, warns that Federal ownership
would result in less economical operations,
leading to higher food prices or, inevitably,
subsidies. Neither of these is desirable.
As Federal Works Administrator Fleming
told the subcommittee earlier, the wiser
policy would be to let well enough alone.
This and That
By Charles E. Traccwcll
"ARLINGTON, Va. i
"Dear Sir: •
"Please give a comparative.description of the !
blackpoll warbler and the black-and-white
warbler.
"I have seen w-hat I believe is the blackpoll
warbler. He has a black cap, white throat and
breast, black and white stripes on back and
sides of breast.
"Some yellowish green on primary wing
feathers, light tan legs and I believe yellow’ish
bill.
"His song is very high pitched, mostly same
notes, and he feeds on the underside of oak
leaves, and I saw’ him once in a low flowering
quince shrub.
"I enjoy your column except for the cats.
“Sincerely, W. P. L.”
* * * *
The blackpoll warbler is an abundant
migrant, being seen here from May 5 to about i
June 1. and in the fall from September 12 to
October 12.
The black-and-white warbler is a common
summer resident, nesting from May 15, wuth
fledglings found as early as May 24. The !
bird remains here from March 31, on an
average, to September 23.
Such dates as these may need a word of
explanation. There, of course, is nothing hard
and fast about such arrivals and departures.
The dates merely are those reported to various
bird societies in this vicinity over the years.
The blackpoll has a staccato song. He
is 5>2 inches in length, and has his upper
parts streaked with black; underparts are
white streaked with black. The female has
some yellow.
The black-and-white warbler also is 51a
inches in length. Plumage is black and white
in stripes, very bold stripes.
The black-and-white warbler has one song
which consists of 8 or 10 notes of the same
pitch, uttered in closely connected couplets.
The blackpoll warbler has a solid black cap,
much resembling that of a chickadee. If the
bird, on first glance, reminds one of a chicka
dee, it is a blackpolL If, on the other glance,
it reminds one of some very striped bird one
has seen, it is more likely to be a black-and
white warbler.
The blackpoll is after aphids or plant lice !
on ihe undersides of leaves, especially of
shrubs such as the althea.
The latter is often beset with black lice, and
these the blackpoll warbler greedily eats all
day long.
There can be no estimate made of the
incredible numbers of plant lice devoured by
this and other migrating warblers.
The warblers are most difficult to identify,
even when specimens are at hand. Pages in
the bird books devoted to them are most
confusing, even to a trained ornithologist.
The remarkable journeys made by these
birds are amazing. The blackpoll, for instance,
nests in Alaska and Canada, and in the fall
flies to Florida, then along the West Indies,
over the famous Spanish Main, to the interior
of Brazil. It is said that no record exists of
one remaining in North America in the winter
time.
So the little blackpoll, weighing perhaps
»i of an ounce, makes a 5.000-mile trip twice
a year!
Ten thousand miles, just a song in the life
of this pretty one!
The difference between the blackpoll and
the black-and-white warbler, as to the head,
is as follows: The blackpoll has the entire
crown uniform black; the black-and-white
warbler has a crown with a broad center
stripe of white and two still broader lateral
stripes of black.
The Margarine Price Scare
Analysis Indicates Oleo Will Follow Cost-of-Living Trend
Like Butter or Any Other Food
By Chalmers M. Roberts
A last-minute price scare is being thrown
into the margarine tax repeal battle by the
dairy-butter backers, as the House-approved
Rivers bill-is at a critical point in its seem
ingly endless journey through Congress.
The facts are worthy of examination be
cause, next to the clamor for an end to the
mix-in-the-color-yourself nuisance, the cheaper
price of margarine, compared to butter, is the
major factor behind public pressure for tax
repeal.
Representative Andresen, oleo's Republican
foe from the dairy State of Minnesota, has
been conducting public hearings by the select
House committee on the price of cottonseed
oil. This oil last year provided 53 per cent of
all the fats and oils in margarine. Its price
has been zooming of late.
Last Thursday Benjamin F. Nelson, vice
president of Best Foods, Inc., told the An
dresen committee that his company is selling
packaged margarine for less than the cost of
the crude oil contained in it. About 8 TO of a
pound of oil goes into a pound of margarine,
the remainder being chiefly skim milk.
The Congressman charges that Best Foods
has ‘spearheaded” the margarine tax repeal
drive. The Arm has been the most active
among manufacturers sponsoring repeal, it is
perfectly true.
Further, Mr. Andresen said, the company is
keeping its prices down only until the tax
repeal measure is passed.
The fact is that, because of high retail
prices and for other reasons, the consumption
of butter is down. On the other hand mar
garine consumption is up and has now passed
butter as the Nation's favorite table spread,
regardless of taxes and other restrictions
which the House bill would end.
The result is a terrific drain on the stocks
of cottonseed oil. May 1 is the traditional end
of the crop year and the beginning of a low
supply period which will last until the new
seed crop is crushed and the oil comes on the
market in September.
Oil Stocks Are Low.
On May 1 this year, domestic stocks totaled
240,000.000 pounds, the lowest in 20 years. A
year ago the total was 276,000.000, two years
ago it was 426.000.000. The peak came in 1933
with stocks of around 900,000,000 pounds, ac
cording to Department of Agriculture figures.
Under wartime controls, cottonseed oil pro
vided about 50 per cent of the fats and oils
in margarine. Soybean oil accounted for an
other 40 per cent with miscellaneous sources
—peanut oil, among them—providing the other
10 per cent. Now' cottonseed oil is up to around
53 per cent of the total.
Last year prices were falling at this time.
Controls went off in October, 1946, and prices
spurted through the first quarter of 1947, then
began to drop. This probably was due to
completion of a stocking up of depleted shelves
—wholesale, retail and consumer.
This is the story of cottonseed oil prices:
The average for 1947 was 27.7 cents a pound
for what is known as prime summer yellow on
the futures markets, chiefly New York. The
average January price this year was 30 cents.
In February it broke to an average of 24 along
with the break in all food commodities, in
March it edged back up to 26. in April went
to 31, closing the month at 33 >4.
The marearine repeal bill passed the House
on April 28.
On May 3, the price was 35 cents a pound.
By the 8th it was 38 hi cents and by the
12th 40 cents. In the last few days the price
has receded a couple of cents.
Trading in cottonseed oil, according to
Agriculture figures, has been very heavy—10
times what it was at this time last year. 'Not
all of this can bd charged up to 'Speculation
but certainly some of it can be. In April this
year 181,860,000 pounds were traded compared
to 18,480,000 in April, 1947.
All of these figures add to Mr. Andresen’s
contention that the tax repeal move is driving
up cottonseed oil prices which, in turn, will
mean higher retail prices for margarine.
But the dairy-butter lobby has its signals
somewhat mixed. The whole idea is knocked
down in a handsome brochure just distributed
by the National Co-operative Milk Producers
Federation.
Under a heading, “More Oleo Would Not
Mean Higher Oil Prices,” the pamphlet points
out that fats and oils are “more or less com
petitive and interchangeable” and that a
relatively small gmount of the total supply
of all fats and oils is accounted for by the
cottonseed oil going into margarine.
Then it adds:
Effect on Fata Discounted,
“In view of the very small proportion of
all fats and oils represented by oleomargarine,
it would require a tremendous net increase in
the consumption of oleomargarine to have
any discernible favorable effect on the price
of cottonseed oii or any other fat or oil.”
This, of course, was being said to convince
the cotton grower that he doesn't really have
a big stake in margarine and shouldn't work
so hard for tax repeal. ,
The other part of the last minute price
scare involves the possible course of prices
for colored margarine if the present 10-cents-a
pound tax is removed.
John Brandt, head of the milk producers’
group, told the Senate Finance Committee the
markup for colored over uncolored margarine
is far in excess of the 10-cent tax differential,
in t places where both are sold. He said it
ran from 1 to 27 cents a pound extra.
One answer to this argument came in a
recent Star grocery advertisement: “Margarine
in quarter-pound prints, 39 cents plus tax.”
The uncolored type sells for 39 cents up.
The larger answer to the price scares lies,
of course, in the general cost of living pic
ture. That picture, from the consumer’s stand
point, is currently most discouraging.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics dbnsumers'
price index in mid-March reached a record
169.3 per cent of the 1935-39 average and the
housewife, certainly hasn't noticed any down
swing in the past month. The main reason
for this new all-time peak in living costs Is
the cost of fooa, including butter and mar
garine.
It would seem to make more sense, then, to
argue that the margarine taxes and other
restrictions against the wide sale of colored
margarine should be removed so everybody
will at least be able to obtain this compara
tively low cost spread.
Nobody should expect the price to drop with
tax -repeal. It may well go up. But, as far
as the evidence available today indicates, the
price of margarine will move up or down
with the general swing of other basic cost-of
livlng items in the consumer’* market basket,
not for any reason peculiar 1» ttiwff.
Letters to The Star
On Recognition of Israel
To the Editor of The Star:
Negative reaction to our country's official
recognition of Israel is beginning to be heard,
but I did not believe it would be voiced in the
manner offered by Stephen B. L. Penrose, jr.,
in his letter to The Star on May 19.
He criticized the President's “unprecedented
and fraptic haste" in recognizing Israel without
consulting our State Department or the Ameri
can delegation to the United Nations. It
seems to me Mr. Truman did consult our State
Department and our Secretary of Defense last
February on partition, and as a result, the
United States created a most ignominous posi
tion for itself on the pages of world history.
I readily agree with Mr. Penrose that it was
embarrassing, for the moment, for our delega
tion to the General Assembly to be left out of
the “know" with respect to Mr. Truman's in
tentions; but, being the statesmen they are,
they were capable of meeting the situation.
Among oth£r things, how else could this coun
try have “beat" Russia at the game unless the
President did so on his own initiative?
The Zionist declaration of Independence was
not contrary to the majority opinion of the
United Nations. If Mr. Penrose will recall, on
November 29 the General Assembly voted 33 to
13 to accept partition as a possible solution.
The Security Council was to work out a plan
to implement partition. Did they do so? May
15 came, the British relinquished their man
date, and the Council had done nothing more
concrete from November to May than to watch
this country vacillate on its policy.
The Jewish people were refused membership
in the United Nations because they had no
country. Yet they were willing to abide by
the decisions of that body. The Arab countries,
members of the United Nations, threatened
defiance the beginning of last November, even
before partition was voted on. They have
violated the Charter of the United Nations by
threats and acts of aggression, and yet nothing
has been done to stop them. How much more
bloodshed and murder must there be before
peace has been threatened?
Mr. Penrose's accusation that the United
States’ participation in the United Nations is
a "mockery” is not true. This so-called “mock
ery” was a fact months ago when we back
tracked on our original policy. It w-as a mock
ery until Mr. Truman had the courage to set
our policy on its original path.
The President's action does not align this
country against the “sovereign Arab nations.”
as Mr. Penrose contends. The President's stand
puts this country on the side of democracy
and peace-loving people. Mr. Penrose should
explain more clearly his compassion for those
members of the United Nations who now are
openly defying a Charter they swore to upnoja.
He also should try to explain why the entire
Arab world should assume responsibility of
directing a holy war over a problem that con
cerns the Arabs of Palestine.
Just a little over 150 years ago this country
was in the same situation that Israel is today.
So with honest recognition of our heritage,
why shouldn’t we have been the first nation to
extend our hand in official friendship?
MRS. JULIUS S. SIEGEL.
The Busy Bees Important
To the editor of The Star:
While I read your editorial, "Man Against
the Insect,” I wondered if you had* missed one
of the bits of information that should have
come to you in your childhood: The Story oi
the Bees and the Flowers.
In addition to the honeybee there are many
native Insects that depend upon the flowers for
their food—nectar and pollen. Carrying pouen
from flower to flower, they bring about fer
tilisation and possible a continued pro
i
Letters for publication must bear
the signature and address of the
writer, although it is permissible for
a writer known tfi The Star to use
a nom de plume. Please i#ft*>rief.
duction of some 50 agricultural crops and many
ornamentals.
The list of fruit crops requiring insect pol
lination starts with almonds, apples and apri
cots and winds up with watermelons.
t The seed crops requiring this same service
run through the alphabet from alfalfa to be
yond the vetches and include most of our sman
seeded legumes, the basis of our crop rotations
and the foundation of a fertile soil.
China is reported to have but few legume
crops. The reason is generally said to be a
shortage of pollinating insects, and the result
is a national diet based largely on fish and rice.
No, let us not kill all of our insects without
first knowing a bit more about how It would
affect our food supply and our standard of
living. GLENN O. JONES.
Commendation From Methodists
To the Editor of The Star:
As the Lay Leader of the Baltimore Con
ference of the Methodist Church, I desire to
express high appreciation for the fine cov
erage given the recent sessions .of the General
Conference of the Methodist Church by The
Star.
I am sure that I express the sentiment of a
great many other Methodists who believe that
not only is there widespread Interest in church
news, hut also appreciation of the fair treat
ment of such news.
In addition, I desire to speak a "word of
commendation for the splendid services of
Caspar Nannes. His reporting was fair and ac
curate and at all times I found him to be
alert and working assiduously to cover the
Conference.
D. STEWART PATTERSON,
Conference Lay Leader.
Leave for Reservist Denied
To the Editor of The Ster:
This letter is an appeal for help with a
problem which faces all of use reservists of the
arjned forces. I refer to our employers’ refusing
to release us for training courses or cruises.
This situation imperils the security of the Na
tion.
I have requested leave of absence without
pay from my company and they refused to re
lease me. They offered to release me only
when my vacation period arrived, but I only
get one week vacation and that comes around
the first part of next year and anyway the
cruise is for two weeks.
Not only has my company and others re
fused to co-operate but they have shown preju
dice against us reservists.
Please, please help us to solve this problem
before it demoralises the armed forces reserve
program, the backbone of the wartime services.
I beg you to use your influence to help clear
this matter up before we all regret it.
WALTER BIEDZYN8KI.
U. 8. Navy Reserve.
Calls Freethinkers Names
To the Editor of Th« SUr:
About the sorriest squawking that I have
heard of late is the Freethinkers protest against
the four chaplains memorial stamp.
What will these blighted idiots (perhaps
subsidized by Joe Stalin) think up next?
We Americans hare been far too easy on
these pests, soap-box orators and noise makers.
That is one of our besetting sins, being too kind
at times. RALPH ELLSWORTH HINMAN.
The Political Mill
“
Reciprocal Trade Action
By G. 0. P. Called Stupid
Will Create Impression Abroad That
High Tariff Is Coming Back
By Gould Lincoln
The Republican House of Representatives
has taken its expected crack at the Renorocal
Trade Agreements Act and the system of agree
ments which has been built up over a long
period of years. It does not reflect anv sprat
amount of intelligence or intelligent thinking
on the part of the Republicans. Insteai of
extending the present act. a substitute, pro
posal for one year was written into a bil and
passed by the House. While the sublf yse
ostensibly keeps the trade agreements system
alive, it undermines the whole, makes admin
istration more difficult, and leaves to a log
rolling Congress the final determination, under
certain conditions.
More disturbing than the proposed changes
in the law, however, is the impression which
may be created abroad—an impression that
the United States is going back, particularly if
fhe Republican Party is successful at the polls
in November, to the good old high protective
tariff, shutting masses of foreign goods out of
the country. •
MISUKC sefins incrraioic.
Of what earthly use is it for this country to
pour billions of dollars into a recovery program
for Europe and then strangle European indus
try by erecting barriers which will prevent the
sale of its products in the greatest market in
the world—America? It makes no sense what
ever. Further, if the United States sets the
example, other nations will follow by raising
higher and higher trade barriers, until freedom
of world trade will become so restricted that
another economic catastrophe will take place.
It seems incredible that the United States
will make such a mistake—or even that the
Republican Party can make such a mistake—
again. After the close of the First World War,
and after the Republican Party had taken over
control of the Federal Government, lock, stock
and barrel. Congress put through a high tariff
bill—incidentally the last Republican general
tariff bill ever to go through. At that time the
European countries, war torn as today, owed
America and Americans other billions of dol
lars. What chance they had of paying their
debts to America vanished into thin air. The
trade war was on, and it was a contributing
factor to the depression which swept the great
nations of Europe and finally brought the
depression of 1929 to this country—a depression
which was responsible for Republican defeat
in 1932—and thereafter.
Same Old Elephant.
Now a second World War is ended, and the
Republicans are on their way back to power.
They already control Congress, and they hope
to control the White House next year. It has
been said that the elephant never forgets—is it
possible he never learns? World conditions to
day are vastly worse than they were in 1929.
Yet the elephant seems inclined to perform in
the same old way.
The veteran Representative Doughton of
North Carolina, Democrat, formerly chairman
of the House Ways and Means Committee and
the author of the original Trade Agreements
Act of 1934, commented caustically during the
House debate on the present bill. Representa
tive Gearhart, Republican, of California, chair
man of the subcommittee of the Ways and
Means Committee which wrote the bill, has
always been opposed to the reciprocal trade
agreements program. Mr. Doughton suggested,
therefore, that for Representative Gearhart to
sponsor a bill to extend that program is “like
an agnostic trying to revise the Bible.”
The Gearhart-bill is more harmful in what
it implies than in. what it actually does. It
continues the present law in effect, with modi
fication, for one year. President Truman has
asked an extension of the law, without change,
for three years. The Gearhart bill also curtails
the power of the President to make trade
agreements, providing that if he cuts tariff
duties more than the Federal Tariff Commis
sion recommends, Congress, within SO days,
may nullify his action.
If the Senate concurs with the House action.
President Truman will have to determine
whether he prefers no law at all to the waiered
down Republican version, for the existing l~w
is due to expire June 12. A veto could kill the
new bill.
Questions and Answers
A reader can get the anawer to any question of
fact by writing The Evening Star Information
Bureau. 310 Eye street N.E . Washington 1!. D C.
Please inclose three (3) cents for return postage,
By THE HASKIN SERVICE.
q. How many bookmobile libraries are there
in the United States??—F. D. K.
A. At the end of 1947 there were 400 book
mobiles operating in the rural areas of all but
10 States, and using such vehicles as station
wagons, small panel trucks, school buses, Army
ambulances and trucks, trailer trucks and pas
senger cars. It is estimated that 35 million
people in the United States have no access to
public libraries.
Q. What town is known as the maple-sugar
capital of the United States?—S. E. R.
A. St. Johnsburv, Vermont, is known as the
i maple-sugar capital of the Nation. It is the
' only town of this name in the country.
Q. Where is the largest shipbuilding yard
In the world?—A. S.
A. The greatest shipyards in the world are
those of Harland and Wolff, at Queens Island
i on Belfast Lough. Ireland. Belfast is one of
the world's chief shipbuilding centers.
Q. What is the cause of the disagreeable
odor of gasoline?—J. M. D.
A. The odor is due to certain sulphur com
pounds called mercaptans.
Q. Did the Confederacy have a written con
stitution?—K. G.
A. It had. The constitution was adopted bv
the Congress of the Confederate States of
South Carolina, Georgia. Florida, Alabama,
Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas on Marrh 11,
1861.
Q. Why did Presidents Cleveland and Wilson
drop their first names?—L. R. L.
A. Apparently, this was due merely to pre
ference. As late as October 29. 1850. Grover
Cleveland sighed his name Stephen G. Cleve
land, but he changed his signature shor.y
thereafter. After the summer of 1881 Wood -
row Wilson never signed his name in any other
way than Woodrow Wilson. Before that time
he had used various signatures such as Tommy,
Tom, T., Thomas W„ T. W.. and T. Woodrow.
Rock Elm
Into the river cliff its roots are drilling
To clinch a firmer strength against the
gale; •
Fingering roots of courage probe and
grapple
The rocky shale.
The tree eats of the stone: it drinks the
water
From hidden well-springs dark and cool
icith rock.
Because of sustenance, the woody fibers
Securely interlock;
Become the growing timber that is
toughened
Become the beams to span the gaping
ridge. . . .
O dark of hours giving song fm timber
To build across the years a bridge
ROSE MYRA PHILLlpg
A