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.
