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About The frontier. (O'Neill City, Holt County, Neb.) 1880-1965 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 17, 1935)
SEEN and HEAR _ around the NATIONAL CAPITAL By Carter Field FAMOUS WASHINGTON CORRESPONDF NT Washington.—American admirals and naval aviators of course are all hoping that Great BrltalD and Italy will not become involved In n war— but—if they do, they will he watch ing with great Interest to see how Mussolini’s terrific air force comes out with the superior British navy. Britain’s attempt—regarded as certain if she keeps on her present course—to blockade Italy, and close the Suez canal will as surely he followed by attempts by the Italian air force to bomb the British fleet out of the water. Which Is highly Interesting to Gen. William Mitchell and naval aviators, on the one hand, and prac tically all American admirals, on the other, they have been fighting this question of how Imports,u the air force was, and primarily wheth er a battleship can live against an air attack in force. Mitchell’s part In his wordy en counter Is chiefly remembered be cause he refused to recognize any limitations on his public utterances. It will be recalled that he was final ly court martlaled and convicted In 1925 after he had denounced the high command as guilty of "trea son." Hardly anybody could he found to agree with that word “treason," whether they agreed with Mitchell on the Idea that bat tleships were obsolete or not But on the main points of th6 fight a great many military aviators, both army and navy, agreed abso lutely with Mitchell, always recog nizing that he purposely, made his attacks as sensational ns possible so ns to attract public attention. Naval aviators, In particular, how ever, have been gagged ever since by the mechanics of the navy’s pro motion system. Every so often n board of senior officers considers the list of officers of various ranks. It picks out those It considers eligi ble for promotion. All promotions are made from this list. The selec tion board Is changed every time, but if an officer is passed over twice, normally, he might Just ns well give up. He will not be pro moted. His career U ruined. Why They Are Mum Now remember that virtually all tbe admirals believe In battleships, and regard airplanes, for the most part, as mere adjuncts. And re member that a given percentage of younger officers In any grade must be passed over In the selection proc esses. And It becomes clear why very few aviation enthusiasts In the navy speak their minds In public. They cannot afford to antagonize tbe men who will be passing on their eligibility for promotion. But If worse comes to worst in the Mediterranean, tbe ability of the airplane and the submarine to crush the surface ships will be demon strated beyond any power of argu ment, or the old battleships, so dear to the admirals, will vindicate their fnlth In It Incidentally If the admirals win, it will be Just too bad for Musso lini. Their contention has always been that the airplane was splendid for scouting, and annoying the ene my—much as the cavalry used to be In Civil war days, when Jeb Stuart raided all the way around the fed eral army, which was highly spec tacular and profitable In captured supplies, but did not change tbe character of the war very much. After everything else Is swept away In the lighting, the admirals contend, the battleships will still he floating, and still able to hurl de struction-dealing broadsides. Their masts will have been torn away by bombs dropped by planes. Their bulls will be leaking In various com partments from torpedoes fired by submarines. But they will still be on tbe Job, and—and here Is the brunt of their argument—nothing else will. If they are right, Italy will be blockaded—the Suez will be closed —Mussolini will be unable to send Supplies to his African legions. If they are wrong, nobody knows what the answer will be. Always assum ing that In the early clashes the tremendously superior Italian air force crushes the British air force. Cotton a Trouble Maker Cotton Is apt to produce tense diplomatic situations again, with fears that the United States may be forced Into a world war, just as it did in the early days of the 1914 conflict. It will be far more Im portant than wheat, for the simple reason that the United States this year has no wheat of consequence to sell. In fact. It will probably buy some from Canada. Copper may be the runner-up to cotton as a trouble maker, thus curiously enough effecting a possible combina tion of the West and South In an other political alliance. This situation Is far more serious than fhe news from Washington or anywhere else has Indicated. It Is glossed over In the word •'sanctions” in reports from Geneva, Paris and London. Stripped of diplomatic lan guage, consider Just what It will mean if France, as Washington ex pects, goes along with Britain In ap plying league sanctions to Italy. It means nothing else but a vir tual blockade of Italy. Not Just for goods declared to be contraband of war, but everything. It monns that the United States, even in Its own ships, could not send a pound of cotton or a piece of machinery or a basket of food to Naples and Genoa. It means that every American ship traversing the Mediterranean would be crossing a war zone, with all the possibilities that act Involves. Which presents a very tough nut for President Roosevelt to cruek. Either way he moves means trouble, either foreign or domestic. Save that he hns made It clear he hns no Intention of seeking to put the United Stntes in the League of Nations, President Roosevelt hns stuck rather closely to the Wood row Wilson policies. Two of these were freedom of the seas and inter national co-operation for the preser vation of pence. On the last, of course, Wilson was willing to go the whole way. He opposed a senate reservation to Article X, saying that article was the "heart of the cove nant” of tiie league. Article X was the one which promised that every league member would contribute armed forces to enforce league de cisions. It is still a part of the league covenant! May Have to Choose But the point Is that Roosevelt will be forced to choose, unless the Italo-Ethloplan situation clears up most unexpectedly, between two of those policies. He may choose freedom of the seas, and Insist on America’s right to trade with Italy even If the league proclaims a block ade under the guise of sanctions. Or he may choose co-operation to preserve pence. The first would lead to an ex tremely dangerous International sit uation. It might ensily Involve the United States In war. Even the contention that we had the right to trade with Italy would put this country In a curious and dllllcult diplomatic hole. For It would be contended by lengue members that their action would force peace very shortly—that Italy could not possi bly continue her aggressive war If blockaded—cut ofT not only from supplies from abroad but from sup plying her forces waging the war. Hence that the action of the United States would be the one thing that made possible the continuance of the war the world Is so anxious to avert. To tnke the other course would cause vast resentment among those nnxlous to see the price of cotton boosted, and the surplus of cotton which has been hanging over the market since the Hoover days, sold at a profit. If this seems unlikely, one has only to remember 1915. Great Brit ain put cotton on the black list. She knew It was being used to make ex plosives. But even before this of ficial act she was Interfering with shipments. So Senator Hoke Smith of Georgia mude a long prepared speech coming very close to demand ing war against Britain, on the side of Germany. No New Taxes President Roosevelt has definitely decided that there are to be no new taxes until after election. There are two motives for the re cent budget statement attacking critics and saying there Is no need for new taxes. 1. Politics. The President has learned of the Increasing tax con sciousness of the ordinary citizen, and of concern even by farmers as to where the money would be com ing from to finance the New Deal. Jle Is nlso concerned about the wor ry of business over tax prospects. For example, he has been told that one consideration holding back In vestment In new enterprises is the “play safe’’ attitude of rich men who are not willing to gamble when the government promises to take so large a proportion of the profit if they win, but does not help on losses If they lose. Change In the Income tax laws, which permit de duction of only $2,000 for net losses In one year, is part of this. 2. Soldier Bonus. The President laid great emphasis on the point that this happy situation of no more taxes, despite gloomy prophesies by critics, can be attained only If there are no new expenditures, lie was hitting directly at the soldier bonus, and at courts which will pass on the processing taxes. lie can play both reasons at the same time In January, when the bonus comes up In congress, by us ing the tax consciousness of the peo ple us an argument to congress not to override his certain veto of bonus legislation. Present study of the available fig ures Indicates that the President Is “holding out” about half a billion dollars, which will be unused on July 1 next, and, as congress pro vided for the availability of the four-bllllon-dollar fund for two years, this half billion can he used in the fiscal year beginning on thut date. Copyright—WMU Service. CftjeAce/n£Cct/u Many New Orleans’ Paving Stones Came From Europe. Prepared by National Geographic Society, Washington, D. C.—WNU Service. □ OUISIANA to the average layman meuns New Orleans. Wherever the visitor goes in Louisiana, he starts from and re turns to the metropolis of the I tel t a state. Ue may find it necessary to truvel over many states to mutch In some measure the varied features and resources of Louisiana; he will travel the length and breadth of the land and yet never encounter another New Orleans. To the business man, It Is a great port, second in the United States In tonnage of foreign Imports und exports; to students It is the seat of three sptafldld educational in stitutions, Tulane, Loyola and New comb; to the artist It furnishes a rich field for work. One can Imagine that after the ustute and adventurous French Ca nadian, Jean Baptiste Le Moyne, Sleur de Bienville, hud selected the site for the future city of New Or leans in 1718, he said to his en gineer and city planner, Le Blond de la Tour, "Let’s have a cup of coffee while we discuss the detuils of our new settlement." At any rate, few affairs of Impor tance or otherwise have been dis cussed in New Orleans since that historic dnte except "over a cup of coffee." Here, us in the Near Fast, business seems to function more easily to the accompaniment of sips of the bitter, black, "French drip" than In any other way, and the most harnssed executives will pause for ten minutes in mid-morn ing, leave their offices and go to the restaurant or the hotel in the same or the next block for a cup of coffee—nothing more. Ofter a few weeks in New Or leans the visitor Is led to wonder how the great two-mlllion-dollar coffee terminnl is aide to handle the Imports of the brown berry for the state's own use. much less pro vide for the "every third cupful con sumed by the nntlon.” They All Drink Coffee. On the top floor of one of the most progressive hanks in the state —and In countless other establish ments, no doubt—there Is a spe cial kitchen and dining room to which the employees retire when the bank doors close to the public at three; after their cup of coffee they return to their desks. In one big manufacturing plant every work man brings with him each morning a ■mall coffee pot, which he depos its under the pet steam-leaking vnlve, so that, as the condensing hot water drlp-drlp-drlps constantly, he provides himself with small quaffs of the beverage throughout the day. But coffee Is not New Orleans’ sole contribution to gastronomic indulgence. In no other city In the country Is a visitor within the gates Invited to dine oftener or more lnvlshly than here. The Cre ole tradition has handed down for 200 years the French respect for food and art in Its preparation. In the old French quarter, which looms so large In the life of New Orleans, but which In area occupies only a few blocks In this city spreading over nearly 200 square miles, there are half a dozen res taurants whose reputation Is nation wide. Their appointments are not lavish and they are modest in size, but when, for example, one of the Alcitatorles welcomes you to his establishment—there are two branches of this family of famous restaurateurs, each a hitter rival of the other—and you ask him to plan your dinner, you will feast upon dishes over which the original Lu CUHub might have gloated. The visitor’s first Impression of his table is that It has a peculiarly “bare” appearance. Then he real izes that salts ami peppers and sauces are conspicuous for their absence. When you are served with, let us say, some o^ those marvelous baked oysters on shells imbedded in salt crystals to keep them hot. and garnished with a mysterious spinach concoction, you may he sure that they are seasoned exactly to the taste. Of course, if you have a “boor ish" taste, and require more salt, or more tabasco, or more whatnot, you may have It for the asking, but It will not he fluttering to your vanity to catch the fleeting glint of contempt in the eye of your servi tor. In Its physical aspects and prob lems, New Orleans Is unique among cities of the United States. It has been built In a vast crescent which the Mississippi describes here, 107 miles from the South Pass outlet into the Gulf. This crescent gives the city spe cial advantages. In that It affords an almost unlimited river frontage for shipping; but It nlso handi caps the metropolis of the South in a way that only exceptional en gineering genius lias been able to overcome. Practically the entire city lies below the mean level of the Missis sippi, and in times of occasional extreme high water the river sur face Is as much as 22 feet above some sections. Such conditions not only make necessary the maintenance of great levees to keep the river water out of the city, hut entail tremendous problems In disposing of rain and seepage. Drainage la a Problem. To meet these natural handicaps, a corps of engineers has designed a unique drainage pumping system. Experts come from all parts of the world to study its operation. So heavy is the burden which a long, hard rain imposes on the vast network of pipes upon which New Orleans sits, that the pumps must have a capacity of seven billion gallons a day to lift the flood wa ters out of the city Into Bayou Bienvenue and Lake Ponchartraln. In comparison with the entirely sep arate water supply system, the drainage system could pump enough water In three days to supply the whole city for a year. The sewage of NeWOrleans, dis charged Into the Mississippi below the city, 20 feet below mean wa ter level, requires still a third and Independent system, whose modern development has come since 1907. And in the story of Its installation lies one of those romances which one encounters on every hand In this city, to which a gifted local historian has so aptly applied the title, “Fabulous New Orleans.” The sewage pumps originally de signed for the system developed only 50 per cent efficiency, whereas contracts specified 00 per cent effi ciency. The contracting manufac turers, in defense, declared that no pump could be built that would meet the requirements. Just when this impasse had been reached, a young engineer, recently graduated from Tulane university, appeared on the scene with a set of drawings and specifications for a revolutionary type of pump. He succeeded in convincing the author ities that It might do the work. And the pump did work. And the best part of the story Is yet to come: The young engineer, offered many times his then modest salary to go with various manufactories and municipalities, preferred to re main and help to solve other en gineering prob'.c-ms for New Or leans. Difficulties for Builders. The geographical location of New Orleans presents difficulties to architects no less than to water works and sanitary engineers. The land upon which it rises is the soft alluvial soil brought down through the centuries by the river. There Is no bedrock upon which to estab lish heavy structures, yet the city’s skyline is serrated with lofty spires, domes, and airy rectangles. When a big building is projected In New Orleans, Instead of steam shovels and blasting drills, a fleet of pile drivers goes Into action. Huge creo soted timbers are sunk side by side on the site. In tlie case of founda tions for towering office buildings, hotels, and auditoriums, and apart ments, these piles are often 80 feet long. Each pile, after being driven down to the ground level. Is countersunk to n depth of 10 or 20 feet. Then the top soil is scraped off and the substructure begun on its 80-foot-thick wood foundation. Few visitors who come under the spell of New Orleans are Inclined to think of the city In terms of mer chandlse and manufacture. Here one ttndB so much that Is match less In Its mellowness that solid statistics are ns a dull appendix to nn absorbing volume of ro mance and adventure. The very stones of the pave ments, many of them brought from abroad, have their fascinating story to tell. [BRISBANE THIS WEEK Mussolini at the Phone Who Is the Man? No Fear in Vatican City A Shot at a Bird Something new In war is Musso lini sitting in his office at the Palaz zo Venezia In Rome, talking on a short-wave ra dio telephone with Gen. Emilio de Bono, his commander i n chief in Ethio pia. Mussolini should have been photographed as he received the message, “We have just taken Admva, where i ft ^ s.uuu or our co lonial troops, Arthur Brisbane 60oo of our Ital ian troops, were killed 40 years ago, and Italy humiliated.” That was a proud moment In Mussolini's life. After Mussolini gets the news by radio-telephone he telephones It to the Italian king’s summer residence. For a change from war, consider this incident. Before the entrance to the “Recess club” frequented by Wall Street’s “Who’s Who,” stood George C. Haigh, banker; Matthew S. Sloan, who used to run New York’s electric light and now runs the “Katy” railroad, a learned friend of Mr. Sloan’s and this writer. Mr. Sloan said, with finality that marks greatness, “Mr. Blank,” men tioning the name of a well-known Republican candidate, “will be elected In 1930.” Your narrator but tonholed the first man passing, a Wall Street denizen, well dressed, asked him “Who is Mr. Blank?" mentioning the name of Mr. Sloan’s candidate. “Never heard of him, don’t know who he is. Who is he?” the pedes trian replied and went on. Of the next ten, nine would have said, similarly, “Never heard of him,” but all ten would have heard of Frank lin D. Roosevelt. Republicans must take somebody whose name is known if they can find him; failing that, they would do well to select him now and see to It that his name is known before election day comes around. Despite possibilities of widespread bombing of cities if “that war in Europe” should come, Vatican City, ruled by the pope, does not consid er anti-bomb defense necessary. Osservatore Romano, representing the Vatican, denies reports that shelters against air raids would be provided in Vatican City. It says: “The Holy Father has reason to believe that the dome of St. I’eter’s, regardless of whatever the occasion might be, is the most inviolable de fense, firstly, because of the celes tial protection of the Prince of Apostles, for whom the dome is the sacred sign and symbol, and be cause its mass indicates so clearly the holy place, respected and ven erated during the most obscure cen turies.” That the magnificent building erected by Michelangelo, with his priceless statues and paintings within it, would be respected by even the most barbarous Invader seems certain. — Little things start big things. Doctor Potter, formerly professor of political science in the Univer sity of Wisconsin, one of an interna tional committee of four that tried to settle a quarrel between Italy and Ethiopia in 1934, says that Italy has good ground for complaint against Ethiopia, and that n sol dier's casual shot at a bird prob ably caused the present trouble. Mr. Joseph E. Uihleln, an able citizen of Milwaukee, who takes information with him on his travels and is therefore able to bring in formation back, returns from Eng land with the impression that, des pite greatly improved conditions in Britain, English and other Euro peans are expecting something un pleasant to happen. What it is, where it will start, what will cause It, nobody is prepared to say, but there is a feeling of apprehension, a vague anticipation of some catas trophic event. The President assures the nation that on this occasion America will not meddle with what does not con cern It. What will the United States do about selling food to Italy, If, through "sanctions," the League of Nations tries to starve out the Ital ians, as Germany was starved? -. Mussolini spoke to twenty mil lion Italians gathered In Italy’s pub lic squares, and to the people of the world. You could not mistake the meaning of that voice. « Newspaper men, gathered near the radio, said: "His voice made the shivers run up and down our backs, although we could not un derstand a word of it.” Shivers do not often run up and down those backs. A King Feature* Syndicate, too. W.NtI Service. CROSS-STITCH QUILT BLOCKS By GRANDMOTHER CLARK Cross stitch is about the simples; tiling in handwork. Little girls make their stitches in cross-stitch. These six-inch blocks are stamped in cross stitch designs on white muslin and little girls to grandmothers will en joy making them into everything from small doilies to pillow tops scarfs and bedspreads. Easy to car ry around, working one at a time and then assembling into article wanted when all the squares are finished. Outfit No. 40-4 consists of 0 of these six-inch stamped squares and will be mailed to you for 10 cents. Address Home Craft Co., Dept. A, Nineteenth and SL Louis Ave., St. I.ouis, Mo. Inclose stamped, addressed enve lope for reply when writing for any information. World’s Most Famous Babies Eat Oatmeal The Dionne Quintuplets, wards of the King, eat the same cereal that Is eaten by millions of babies who don’t get their names in the papers—oat meal. The Canadian government chose a staff of special experts for the care of the Quints. And these experts, their scientific knowledge endorsing the Instinctive choice of mothers the world over, have chosen oatmeal for the cereal of the famous five. Oatmeal, eminent medical author ities agree, has an abundance of everything a child’s cereal should have—body building minerals, mus cle-building protein, and the supreme ly important Vitamin B for keeping fit. Food science says that Vitamin B is the best safeguard against those dangerous enemies of childhood— nervousness, constipation, and poor appetite due to lack of that vitamin in the diet. Monday Morn Haven’t you felt at times, that you would like to sleep as long as Rip Van Winkle? TROUBLE, TROUBLE Harry Sheehan, Kansas City (Mo.} railway station clerk, has hny fever and an artificial leg. A careless Bmoker threw a lighted cigarette Into Sheehan’s trouser cuff, the one on the wooden leg. Sheehan couldn’t feel the heat or smell the smoke, so half the leg of his trousers burned off before he knew anything was wrong. Week’s Supply of Postum Free Read the offer made by the Postum Company in another part of this pa per. They will send a full week’s sup ply of health giving Postum free to anyone who writes for it.—Adv. Draw One Sweet apple cider contains about the same food value as fresh apples. Don’t Guess But Know Whether the “Pain” Remedy You Use is SAFE? Don’t Entrust Your Own or Your Family’s Well-Being to Unknown Preparations THE person to ask whether the preparation you or your family are taking for the relief of headaches is SAFE to use regularly is your family doctor. Ask him particularly about Genuine BAYER ASPIRIN. He will tell you that before the discovery of Bayer Aspirin most “pain” remedies were advised against by physicians as bad for the stomach and, often, for the heart. Which is food for thought if you seek quick, safe relief. Scientists rate Bayer Aspirin among the fastest methods yet dis~ covered for the relief of headaches and the pains of rheumatism, neu ritis and neuralgia. And the experi ence of millions of users has proved it safe for the average person to use regularly. In your own interest rt~ member this. You can get Genuine Bayer Aspirin at any drug store — simply by asking for it by its full name,. BAYER ASPIRIN. Make it a point to do this — and see that yon get what you want. Bayer Aspirin 1 ■ 11 "" COME ON BOYS - vr— —J « MAKE SOME NOISE U mr IT’S CRINKLY, SWEET J -■ — A TREAT TO EAT --- " I—■ HURRAH, HURRAY I SAY, YOU SAY ^)nCE you taste Grape-Nuts Flakes, you’ll cheer tool The flavor is something grand— and it’s nourishing. One dishful, with milk or cream, contains more varied nourishment than many a hearty meal. Try it—your gro cer has it! Prodnrt of General Foods.