Detroit evening times., March 13, 1941, NIGHT EDITION, Image 40

About Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958

Image provided by: Central Michigan University, Clark Historical Library

                
EDITORIAL PAGE
OF THE
Wc Can Still Stay Out
APPROVAL bv Congress of the lend-lease bill has the
effect of embarking the United States on a fateful
course—very possibly on the road to war.
The United States is no longer a neutral nation.
It is a non-belligerent state, and actual belligerency
is separated from this fact by a very thin line.
As we all must realize, our jiosition now is most
precarious, awaiting only the commission of belligerent
acts against us or by us to break down the last thin
barrier behind which our present peace endures.
It is still remotely possible, however, to keep the
United States out of war.
If the American people do not want war. they are
•till free to sav so and are still free to explore the last
possibilities of remaining at peace.
For this reason, there is high warrant for the repre
sentatives of the people who unsuccessfully opposed the
lend-lease bill to go before the people now, as Senator
Burton K. Wheeler of Montana has courageously said he
at least will do.
• • •
Q PEAKING for those of his colleagues who believe as
he does, that even the most forlorn of hopes for
peace must not be abandoned, Senator Wheeler declares:
"We are going to carry on a crusade from one end
of this country to the other to counteract the propaganda
that is going to be uhloosed right away for ail-out aid to
Britain that would take us into the war."
This endeavor is not hostile to the avowed purposes
of the lend-lease bill, which assertedly only contemplated
giving aid to Britain without involving the United States
in war.
President Roosevelt has always professed determina
tion to keep the United States out of war and has re
peatedly assured the country that the power he sought
and got under the lend-lease bill would preserve rather
than menace the peace of America.
• • *
AND as Gen. Robert E. Wood, acting chairman of the
America First Committee, an organization devoted
to keeping the United States out of war, now says:
“The President now has all the power to aid Britain
he could possibly want.
"It is up to him to keep his pledge that such aid shall
be short of war.
"It is up to the people to see that the pledge is
kept ...
"We propose to remind the President continually of
his repeated pledge to keep our country at peace and to
keep our boys from foreign battlefields."
• # •
PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT should not object to being
reminded of his pledges. Even his most zealous sup
porters in the Senate accepted them as being sincere, and
aurely expect him to keep them.
Did not Senator Walter F. George, chairman of the
Senate foreign relations committee which successfully
sponsored the lend-lease bill, say:
“I am morally satisfied that the bill . . . may be ad
ministered by the President of the United States in such
manner as to make secure the peace of the United States,
and to keep war away from our shores, and avoid the
necessity of our soldiers participating in war.”
• • •
PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT has assumed an admittedly
grave and difficult task and responsibility.
It is beside the point now, since an irrevocable deci
sion has been made, that many of his countrymen and
perhaps a majority of them thought it was unwise to
burden him with that task and responsibility.
He sought the burden, and it was put upon him.
Now let him prove that his way was best, and that
the trust thus placed in him is not misplaced, and that
the power reposed in him will not be the fearful instru
ment of his own disillusionment and his country’s involve
ment in destructive war.
But let not the whole responsibility be placed upon
President Roosevelt. Lest our hope for peace be entirely
gone, let those who still want peace both think and speak
vigorously and vigilantly for the preservation of our
peaceful way of life.
BAERING DOWN ON THE NEWS:
Bruin« on bturyin
By ARTHUR BUGS” BAER
I got Into a big argument with a Wall Streeter yesterday
over the lease-lend bill. He claimed I didn't know enough to
wrap spaghetti around a fork.
I asked him if he was insinuating I was a half-wit?
‘‘No, I don't say you're that.” he said, “but I’ll give you
some advice. If you ever go to three-fourths, sell.”
That's the way it goes in our neighborhood just before it
gets wogac. We have the lease-lend bill, a three-day "blizzard
and a Fifth Avenue bus strike. Our street cleaning commissioner
aaved a million dollars by letting the sun melt the snow while
Justice Hughes decided that a bath in a West Virginia barber
•hop was not interstate commerce.
There was one dissenting vote about a customer walking
off with latter in his ear. But it is always the exception that
hits the jackpot.
Distributed by IntarMUuMl .Vt*■ Strvtr*
DETROIT TIM E^S
Defense Plant
Strikes Worry
Mr. Roosevelt
Troubled More With That
Than With Lend Bill
By PAUL MALLON
YI’ASHINGTON. Mach 13.
" Mr. Roosevelt has covered
over one of the most hectic
struggles of his administration
by recent side remarks belittling
the - importance -of defense
strikes so far. Actually he has
had more trouble the last few
weeks with that problem than
with Hitler or the lend-lease
hill, and is now on the verge
of a solution.
Once before, about two weeks
ago, a solution fell flat, so it
may yet be unwise to accept
too confidently the terms of the
arrangement. But as recently
as 21 hours ago a final draft of
an executive order contained
these following terms:
Institution of a federal medi
ation board to he composed of
four representatives of labor,
four of industry, and three of
the public.
The public representatives to
he Bernard Baruch, who would
act as chairman of the board,
former Gov. Lloyd Stark of
Missouri, and a third person of
similar outstanding calibre yet
to be chosen.
The four labor seats to be
divided equally by AFL and
CIO.
The board would not be given
compulsory powers and would
act only in the most difficult
defense labor cases submitted
voluntarily. It would not. there
fore. interfere with the con
ciliation service of the labor
department of the labor board.
* * *
IT MAY now he related the
idea was worked up by the
Hillman organization, the Na
tional Industrial Conference
Board and Undersecretary of
War Patterson some weeks ago.
The administration chose Dan
Tracy, assistant secretary of
labor, to go to Florida and sell
it to the AFL at the Winter
executive council meeting.
In that meeting Williarrf
Hutcheson of the carpenters'
union expressed some apprehen
sions that compulsion might lurk
somewhere in the background of
the idea, and that the concilia
tion service, which has been
efficient, would be supplanted.
UPON Tracy's assurance that
both objections would bo
mot in a final draft, the council
approved the idea.
But then the labor co-ordina
tor. Mr. Hillman, ran into fur
ther obstacles when he presented
it, February 28. to his labor
policy advisory committee, a
group of 16 labor leaders who
meet with him each week.
The CIO groups were hesitant
and some further doubts were
expressed by AFL delegates. Hit
by objections from both sides,
the plan fell flat.
MR. HILLMAN went over to
see ClO's president. Phil
Murray, after which conference
it was even flatter. Murray was
advocating the CIO council plan
which went much farther than
mere mediation. —He-wanted a
council representing manage
ment and labor appointed for
each industry with powers to
run that industry as it pleased.
One specific duty it would
have was to promote industrial
labor bargaining arrangements.
The automobile council, for
Instance, dominated by CIO.
could tell Ford presumably he
would have to take a CIO con
tract. Obviously the plan was
designed to promote CIO organi
zation rather than labor peace.
* * •
MR. MURRAY was thereupon
called over to the White
House for lunch. After a long
argument he emerged with the
hinted suggestion that the Presi
dent would adopt his plan.
Next day Mr. Roosevelt hinted
the CIO would adopt the admin
istration's mediation plan.
But shortly thereafter it began
to appear Mr. Roosevelt’s hint
was nearer right. The whole
hearted approval of the AFL
was confirmed by direct negoti
ation.
Mr. Murray was left with the
alternative of changing his mind
or taking the responsibility of
letting strikes weaken the
American defense effort.
Distributed by Kin* Feature* Bynd , Inc
Reproduction in whole or in part
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Connolly Answers
1. fa) Court open to sky; (b) pit
for fodder: (c) harem.
2. fa) Aquatic animals or plants;
<b) small land animals; (c)
people taking sun baths.
3. (a) 1915; <b> 1933: (c) 1923. !
4. (a) Toes turned in; <b) the
largest share; (c) page of book
turned down.
3. <al Madison, w»ar of 1812; sh)
Polk, Mexican War; <c> Lin
coln. Civil War; (d) McKinley,
Spanish - American War; (e>
Wilson. World War I.
6. (at Alexandre Dumas: sh)
Joseph llergeshcimcr; <c>
Sholem Asch.
7. >a) Codicil; (b) invoice; (c)
I deposit.
' \ <- * I ' ■■ •*» ■■
Letters
to the Editor
Please triple-space letters for
this column. Send to Letter
Editor, The Detroit Times. You
MUST sign your name and ad
dress; otherwise your letter will
not be printed.
TO THE EDITOR:
THOUSANDS of American cit
izens are flocking into the
City of Detroit, seeking employ
ment which is not a reality.
Enticed here by false adver
tising, by transportation com
panies who are hungry for reve
nue. these citizens become wel
fare burdens upon the state.
They are only seeking greener
pastures, like the emigrant who
is entering the United States,
but the emigrant must have SSO
in his pocket, and a guarantee
from some concern stating that
he has employment for this emi
grant.
Reading articles in our daily
press, one in particular needs
somj comment: “State law may
curb Oakies pouring in for de
fense jobs.”
The emigrant is protected but
now a barrier is going to be
placed against native citizens
seeking employment in their
own native land.
—Docs , that make sense vvhctv
over a half million emigrants
from foreign shores were ad
mitted to the United States in
1940 and every one of them has
a job?
If any law should be enacted
It is the following: Deny any
transportation company, or con
cern. the right to advertise the
working conditions or environ
ment of any town or city in the
States unless the advertisers can
employ or produce employment
to their clients.
Until some law of this nature
Is enacted, our native citizens
will bo a problem to state wel
fare organizations.
HENRY E. GARDINER.
751 Twenty-Fourth street.
To the Editor:
fPHE seventh tragedy this year,
Aof the same kind, was
brought into the Shelter of the
Anti-Cruelty Association. A
young cocker dog came in with
a rubber band around his neck
so tight that it was sunk deeply
into the flesh in the front of
the little fellow's neck, making
a raw, red gash. Mr. Doner
finally got the band off. and
the relief of the little dog was
a joy to see.
If parents will bo careful to
see that the children do not put
bands of any kinds on the necks
of their pets, it will help greatly.
Great care should be exer
cised to see that at all times
collars are large enough. Many
people put them on puppies and
forget that the necks grow;
many dogs come into the shel
ter choking and coughing from
too tight collars.
The same is true of eats and
kittens.
LOIS BANFIF.LD,
Secretary Anti-Cruelty A*»'n.
tl VRAM AGO TODAY
March 13, 1916
Turks claim British lost 5,000
men in fight on Tigris.
• • •
French and German airmen
take active part in battle at
Verdun; artillery fire in that
section reported as "heavy,"
The Inevitable Result
No Mountains in Florida,
Movie Makers Warned
By DAMON RUNYON
IT SEEMS that Hollywood is
preparing no less than half a
dozen new pictures with a Flor
ida background and in the in
terest of friendlier relations
between the Peninsular State
and California, we think a word
of warning to the movie makers
is in order. No mountains,
please.
No mountains, and no luxury
yachts. If any of those new
pictures are supposed to be laid
in these times and show the
heiresses diving from the decks
of sleek yachts that look like
baby liners, the citizens will
know that the atmosphere is
wholly spurious because the gov
ernment has nabbed nearly all
those platinum-plated boats and
painted them a serious gray and
stuck guns all over them.
We cannot recall ever seeing
a Florida picture that did not
have the heiresse*-diving, but if
the movie makers desire to pre
sent real life, we advise them to
have the diving off barges. And
under no circumstances should
it be done against a close back
ground of the Miami skyline,
as that would argue that the
diving was into the limpid wa
ters of Biscayne Bay, and no
heiress in her right mind, or
even in her wrong mind, would
think of doing any diving there.
'T'HAT is, not unless she was
A totally unfamiliar with the
limpid waters of BisOayne. That
is where the boats of all kinds
anchor, and a diver would run
the risk of busting her skull on
the debris that is chucked off
the vessels to float idly on the
tides. Strangers to the shores of
Biscayne Bay often wonder why
the home folks do not do their
bathing in the bay and are told
it is infested with the fierce
barracuda, the tiger of the sea.
but personally we do not think
that the barracuda would prove
as ferocious to a bay bather as
some of the articles we have
seen drifting on the surface of
the limpid waters aforesaid, and
we speak as an old settler on
the shores of Biscayne. too.
In the ante-bellum days of
19-10 and beyond, the sleek white
yachts used to tie up almost in
the front yard of the hermitage
on Hibiscus Island down in Dade
County. Florida. We had to keep
the blinds down to insure pri
vacy against the gaze of the
heiresses aboard the floating
jewel boxes. Some of the heir
esses looked a trifle hefty from
where we peeked and. educated
by the movies, we were always
dreading one of them diving be
cause she might have splashed
water into our boudoir. But they
never dove.
Now we see some of those
same yachts slipping in and out
of the harbor of Miami like gray
shadows. They are wearing
Uncle Sam's war paint.
One that was too big to come
up our waterway was the Hi-
Ksmaro. which belonged to one
of the asbestos Manvilles, and
it iF now a sort of nurse ship
to the little fleet of skeeter boats
that arc skittering off the south
ern end of Florida.
W. K. Vanderbilt’s Alva, one
of the largest pleasure yachts
afloat, loafs at its pier still in
white. It is said the government
may take it. too. before long.
• • •
'TTIE most captious Floridan
can excuse a little fictional
liberty with water scenes on the
part of the movie makers. But
the mountains that have been
stuck in some pictures in the
past were resented as gross mis
representation, which is why we
spoke of them first. There are no
mountains in Florida. That is
the great advantage of the
state. You can stand on a street
corner in Jacksonville, gaze
southward and see H. Bond
Bliss writing his editorials in the
Miami Herald office over 300
miles away.
This visibility is highly prized
by all loyal Floridans. They can
always completely crush a South
ern Californian by asking him if
he can see any one in San
rranritm-frnm Ton Anpclr*
knowing full well that inconveni
ent upliftings of the terrain be
tween the two points precludes
that possibility. The Southern
Californian usually tries to pass
the question off by replying that
he does not want to see any one
in San Francisco, but he is none
theless discomfited.
You may judge of the feelings
of the Floridans when they be
held a movie some years ago
that showed a mountain range
running right in behind Miami
Beach, where for years the high
est eminence was a sleeping
snapping turtle a few rods north
of Major Albert Warner’s home.
It is no longer there. The major
got stuck with a bad gin rummy
hand one night and his outcries
awoke the turtle and it waddled
away and now the landscape is
quite flat again except for new
hot els.
Distributed by TntsrnatjAnal News Service
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DETROIT
MARCH 13, 1941
7 Billions
For Aid Not
Important
Merely Overall Figure
Plucked From Air
(The opinion* expressed by
General Johnson art not n«c««-
sarily those of The Detroit
Times.)
By HUGH S. JOHNSON
OEVEN billion dollars seems
like a lot of jack to be leas
ing, lending or giving Britain to
help her save herself from Hit
ler. Actually, the figure is not
so important now that we have
decided on all-out aid. It is un
questionably just an overall
figure plucked from the air. It
couldn’t possibly be a result of
statistical estimates of specified
munitions.
In the first place, nobody
knows what direction the war
will take or what we shall be
called upon to send or where.
In the second place, it is impos
sible to spend seven billions
more than have already been
contracted for in one fiscal year
or two.
In this uncertainty, the ad
ministration decided to make
the figure high enough to give it
a free hand in any direction
and. since Congress has decided
to do that, the outside figure of
seven billions was probably the
wisest and frankest request that
could have been made.
THE administration already
has authority to spend 32
billions for American defense
and has been trying to spend it
by steam shovel methods, and
yet its estimates for total spend
ing to the year ending June 30,
1941. is only 6.4 billions and.
according to Mr. Arthur Krock.
for the next year ending June
30, 1942, only 10.8 billions—and
it is spending as furiously as
possible.
It is inconceivable that many
of these seven billions could be
spent in addition for a good
many months to come. Finally,
if there is a tendency to goose
pimples about this stupendous
figure—seven billion dollars—we
lease-loaned a larger amount,
9.6 billions, in the last war and
never batted an eye.
It may be said:
“Oh, that was a loan of
money.”
As a matter of fact, about all
that was ever paid back was
equaled by our post-war loans,
public and private, most of
which were defaulted. As a
matter of further fact, much of
it was just about what is pro
posed here. We sent more muni
tions than dollars abroad.
There is one way in which we
could spend that money. We
learned it in the World War.
That is to permit price inflation
in the months ahead. In that
way. we could spend the bil
lions easily enough and we
would have to pay them back—
but we wouldn't get the goods.
• • •
PR example, in 1918 and 1919.
we did manage to spend the
prodigious sums of 12.3 ami 17 4
billions. But in terms of pre
war dollars, that bought in
warlike goods just 7.4 billions
worth and 8.5 billions worth,
respectively. If that could have
|)ffp prevented—we—would—have
saved about 13 billions. The
lesson from all that is that an
appropriation of 7 billion dollars
for Britain isn't half so disas
trous and important as pre
venting a runaway price struc
ture on our own markets.
We are not doing much about
this except a tot of talking.
There are a good many forces
working that slipped war
inflation over on us in 1917: im
pending shortages, federal cost
plus contracts and frantic
counter-bidding for a dwindling
supply of labor in some areas,
such as those that doubled the
estimated costs of the canton
ments. A good many labor
leaders say that profits of busi
ness are soaring and that labor
is entitled through higher wages
to its share in th? gravy. That
is one sure way to still higher
prices.
No one of these and similar
forces may mean much sepa
rately, but put them all to
gether and they can mean a
lot. The annual reports of most
great corporations show higher
gross profits than last year but
after deduction of greatly in
creased taxes, net earnings are
about the same.
We learned toward the close
of the last war how to control
and even reduce inflation but it
requires a wise, combined and
determined effort on many
fronts —organization of industry
to integrate it with government,
a wide system of priorities,
price control and conservation
and substitution of uses. It re
quires an adequate organization
for the co-operation of labor and
management. All this is being
more clearly recognized but
almost nothing has been done
about it.
Dittrlbutrt St Kin* F»*lur*« By nit . Inc.
Reproduction in whtlt or in part
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ONE YEAR AC.O TODAY
March 13, 1940
Finns claim they had to
make peace because of lack of
foreign help.
Nothing Like
Forum to
Stir Interest
This One Runs Course
From Awe to Awful
(The opinions expressed by
Westbrook Pegler are not neces
sarily those of The Detroit
Times.)
By WESTBROOK PEGLER
MR. AND MRS. GEORGE
SPELVTN, Americans, were
abashed to receive an invitation
to take part in one of those
radio forums on topics of great
national importance, but never
theless they went.
Present also were a lady col
umnist and a Doktor Kurt
Schultz, late of Vienna, an intel
lectual refugee, who was intro
duced as one of the great free
minds of Europe and the author
of “When It Is Night-Time
Comes the Night ”
Mr. and Mrs. Spelvin had
never heard of the Doktor or his
book but felt ashamed of their
ignorance and pretended to be
awed. In fact thev were.
• • •
THE proceedings were as fol
lows :
THE ANNOUNCER And
now, ladips and gentlemen, we
present our question. “What Do
i You Think of the Loase-Lend
Bill?” Mrs. Spelvin. will you
1 tell us what vou think of this
bill?
MRS. SPELVIN —Well, in
some ways it has always seemed
i to me if it comes to declaring
war why then I always thought
the best wav to—
LADY COLUMNIST (inter
rupting)—lf I may be permitted
to interrupt I should like to re
mind this lady that this is not a
i question of declaring war. be
• cause if one is to assume that
the ideological imponderables
are inhibited by a willful, as it
were, economic liquidation, why
then, it seems obvious to me
that—
i MRS SPELVTN (meekly)
Well. I haven't come to that but
I just wanted to say that war is
a terribly serious thing and if
you put yourself in my position
; —why. I raised my boy up the
best 1 c«.uld and. as a mother,
wh>- # „ .
LADY COLUMNIST (rather
shrilly)—Lest there be any
doubt on that score, I too am a
mother, and yet, if I may inter
rupt a moment. I should like to
inform this lady that the inter
play of Schrecklichkeit and
democratic dolce far niente, as
Mazzini truly told us in the
tragic story of the well-fed com
plaisance that seems to perme
ate our thinking as mothers—
DOKTOR SCHULTZ As I
zaid in mein book, “Von Iss
Nighd-Dime Gums der Nighd”
iss do zame difference mitouid
liberdy you god nix. und zo—
LADY COLUMNIST (now
quite shrill t- Yes. of course,
Doktor. but if I may interrupt,
I should like to direct the dis
cussion hack to the question
which, after all. it seem.v to me,
after all, concerns not so much
a problematical or hypothetical
orientation of sheer intellectual l
innovations disguised though
they be in the poisonous plausi
bilities of Machievellian *o
phis try—
• • •
i ftfftS-STELYTN 'a little sore
by now )—Well, if you will
only let me speak because, after
all. I am only a plain woman
and I don’t have your wonder
ful gift of expression, but if you
put yourself in my position as
| an ordinary citizen with a son
; 21 years old and 1 just think if
I Congress—
DOKTOR SCHULTZ - Bud.
Madam, iff I may zav so—
LADY COLUMNIST ('in a
modulated shriek) Precisely,
Doktor, but if I may be per
mitted to interrupt, my only
purpose in interrupting. ’ and I
! apologize to this lady, because
if anything makes me lose my
1 temper it is interruptions, but
j here we have two intransigeant
and utterly irreconcilable postu
lations breeding a spirit of de
| featist isolationism in an atmos
j pherc of gaseous parliamentary
] subterfuge, whereas-
MRS SPELVIN (real sore)
Well, even if you break it up
into little words I still won't
| know what you are talking
, about, because you sound to me
like if you ever got your hands
in the sink for once, why maybe
you think you are pretty hot,
hut leave me tell you something,
Sister, if you interrupt me again
when I am trying to say I don't
care how many long words you
use and you say you are a
mother, but how much time do
you spend with your kid because
I will bet you—
Gong.
THE ANNOUNCER You *
have just listened to a round
table discussion of the lease
lend bill.
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.\iißners
1. Franklin Field.
2. Confederate States of America.
3. The white poppy.
|4. Joseph Smith.
5. Dividing an area into unfair
i political districts to the ad
vantage of a particular party.
6. The judge decides questions of
law while the jury settles on
questions concerning fact.
7. They were all navigators an||
explorers.