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About The frontier. (O'Neill City, Holt County, Neb.) 1880-1965 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 28, 1937)
SEEN and HEAR around t/te NATIONAL CAPITAL By Carter Field FAMOUS WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT J Washington.—The whole method of breaking up "trusts" and "con spiracies in restraint of trade" will be changed if the Department of Justice is able to persuade congress to revise the laws at the coming session. Details have not been worked out, but the idea is that if certain practices, whether in con formity with the old construction of conspiracy or not, produce identical prices, or are to eliminate weak com petitors. or to concentrate control of the market in any given line in a few hands, those practices shall constitute a violation of the law. The whole point is to be that the practices shall be judged not on their own merit, lack of morals, or whatnot, but on the results that flow from them. The best interpretation of the ad ministration’s attitude is revealed In the prosecution now going on, at Madison. Wis., against oil compa nies, oil executives, and publications which printed news about price in tentions. It Is contended by the government that mere publication, in certain journals, of price changes, served actually as notice to all in the oil business to make their prices just that. But the difficulties of proving a vi olation of the present statutes in this practice is just what the govern ment would like to overcome in fu ture actions. Hence the desire for new laws which will make the re sult a crime, regardless of the ap parent innocence of the actions which led to that result. What is really burning the gov ernment up is identic bids on gov ernment supplies. Officials mention 17 bids for re-enforcement bars at Denver, 14 of which were precisely $1,144.16 each; 12 bids for such bars at Los Angeles, with 11 of them precisely $194,051.89; every one of 10 bids at Fort Peck for such bars exactly $253,633.80. Then in Feb ruary, 1936, there were 16 bids of just $3,483.50 for a steel sheet or der, followed in June by 15 bids for the same order at the same figure. Lawyers Are Irked The prize case, officials complain, was on steel pipe, where the navy found 59 bids by 59 companies, each one of which was exactly $16,001 03. These are just a few of the cases of Identic bids which have gotten the Department of Justice lawyers red-headed—cases which seem al most miraculous unless one as sumes, which is what the govern ment lawyers want the public to as sume, that there actually was col lusion among the bidders—conspira cy in restraint of trade. This is the result the government wants to make illegal, without com pelling the government to prove that in achieving that result some prac tices at variance with the anti-trust laws were employed. Not for one minute do the govern ment attorneys concede that for the corporations doing this bidding to agree on such an absurd proceed ing in advance would convict them of incredible stupidity. They would never admit that such matching to the penny could be a coincidence due to the combination of freight rates, wages and supplies. But it's pretty hard to prove that there is really "conspiracy” in the meaning of the present anti-trust law language. That is why the government is so avid, first in prose cuting this present oil case, and sec ond on amending the law to get at the results instead of the steps lead ing to the results. The oil case, they think, will con vince the country and congress that the law needs amending. Midterm Conventions The plan of Herbert C. Hoover and of Chairman John D. M. Hamilton, of the Republican national commit tee, to hold a midterm Republican national convention, is calculated by Republican senators and representa tives who happen to be in Washing ton to insure the election of three or four more Democratic senators and from 30 to 100 more Democratic representatives next year than would otherwise have any chance. It is proverbial, these opponents of a midterm convention point out, that the party not in power makes a stronger showing in the midterm election. In fact, there are very few instances where there was not a swingback two years after a land slide, frequently strong enough to lose control of the house for the party in power. President Roose velt's enormous popularity prevent ed this natural swingback in 1934, pointing a prophetic finger at what was to happen in 1936. The Democrats gained the house in 1910, after President Taft’s enor mous victory in 1908. The Republi cans captured both house and sen ate in 1918, foreshadowing the over whelming Republican victory of 1920. But aside from these big swings, it is the normal law of politics that the “outs” do very well when they have no national ticket running to handicap the local candidates. The answer is very simple, and explains why so many Republican senators and representatives, and so many Republicans who plan to run in districts and states now repre sented by Democrats, do not want a midterm convention. Here’s the Point The point is that a Republican running for the house of representa tives next year, say in Massachu setts, can run on any platform he pleases. He can tell the folks in his district, for instance, that he wants all restrictions on cotton planting stopped, so that cotton will be cheap, and there will be plenty of work for the local textile mills, thereby enabling them to compete with those of other nations. He can promise a fight to the death to bar all textile imports, especially from Japan. He can promise to fight ev ery appropriation for water power, irrigation and reclamation projects out West, which help to keep up taxes but bring no local benefit to his district. And in doing all this he will not be handicapped by any na tional party platform, or any party leader’s promises or speeches. Out in the West, where water re source appropriations are wanted, the Republican nominee can prom ise to work like everything for big appropriations for this type of work. He can promise anything he believes will help his candidacy, regardless of the attitude on the same question of any or all other Republican candi dates. Sen. David I. Walsh is fond of telling a story of when he was chair man of the Democratic senatorial committee in an off year election. He tells of how he changed his line of speeches every time he crossed a state line, making speeches in each case in line with the campaign being made by the local Democratic senatorial candidate. Neutrality Law The present neutrality law, on which so many political leaders and pacifists pinned their hopes for keep ing the United States out of war, is virtually in the scrap basket. It was repealed, so to speak, by edict. Not a formal edict, but a presiden tial speech, which not only disclosed clearly the attitude of the adminis tration, but which also received overwhelming approval from the country. There were a few criticisms, not ably that of Representative Hamil ton Fish, New York's widely known windmill tilter, but they were just the exceptions that proved the rule. Incidentally Mr. Fish was one of the few commentators who pointed out just what the new policy laid down by President Roosevelt means, for there is no doubt whatever that it puts the country squarely on the road to entanglements, which the neutrality law sought to avoid, and might very easily lead to war. The President’s plan is nothing less, in fact, than economic war, started with a view to making phys ical aggression unprofitable. The President approves "sanctions" but would rely on economic pressure rather than go as far as Article X of the' League of Nations covenant. Article X provided for contribution of man-power by all the member nations of the league to constitute an international army which would police the world, crush the aggres sor in any war and virtually impose judicial settlement of all interna tional disputes. President Wilson thought Article X the “heart of the covenant." He bitteily resisted any reservation with respect to it. Opponents on the treaty, looking for issues on which to arouse the country.- made much of the fact that enforcement of Arti cle X would mean American boys again fighting in foreign wars, with which, they insisted, we had no con cern. Never Invoked Article X has never been Invoked by the league. No one has,really ever tried to invoke it. Which, some think, proves that Wilson was right about this being the heart of the covenant. They say that failure to invoke Article X against Japan five or six years ago, and Italy last year, showed the hopelessness of the league as an agency for maintain ing world peace. But now President Roosevelt is willing to go just as far. and then on beyond, anything the league has actually done or contemplated do ing. "Isolation” and "quarantine” for aggressor nations are proposed by the President as the British ap pear to be moving toward a boycott of all Japanese goods. Support from the country has as sumed such magnitude that the Pres ident will find it difficult to take a backward step, should this later seem desirable. This means less exports to Japan, and sharply cur tailed purchases from Japan de spite the old motto that "Trade will find a way—so long as there is a profit.” Lawbreaking is successful in the long run only when the law is un popular, as was the case with pro hibition. Roosevelt’s plan pleases most of the country because it enables the angry anti-Japanese and anti-fascist pacifists to eat their cake and have it. No war, but punish the wicked, e Bell Syndicate.-WNU Service City of the Sacred Cod j Charles River Basin and West Boston Bridge. Some Reasons Why Boston Can High-Rank Among American Cities Prepared by National Geographic Society, Washington. D. C.-WNU Service. C^lECGRAPHICALLY, j Boston is the trade and population center of rich, industrial New England. A few minutes’ ride from Faneuil Hall are more than 5,700 factories and over 25,000 stores of one kind or another. Boston does not flaunt these dis tinctions; yet seek and you And she has America’s largest drydock; the world's greatest flsh-freezing and storage plant. Here is a center of America's paper, wool, textbook, and cotton-manufacturing indus tries, and the second port in Amer ica in volume of ocean-borne pas senger traffic. Her deep-channeled harbor, whose modern piers connect with rails and highways, is one of the most acces sible on the Atlantic seaboard; it has 40 miles of berthing space and deep water to accommodate the largest vessels. When “Boston ships” traded hard ware for California hides before the days of ’49. the shoe and leather in dustry of New England began. To day, a large share of all hides used in American leather and shoe fac tories is bought and sold inside one square mile of old Boston, where even in the middle of the street you catch the acrid whiil of newly tanned leather. In Bombay is an old American icehouse. It dates from the period, beginning 1805, when Boston skip pers took cargoes for sale in Ja maica, Cuba, Brazil and India. Now high-grade electrical machines, which include refrigerators, rank among Boston exports. Boston’s pioneer place in the im port and processing of tropical things is still hers. She and her neighbors make now more than a third of all America’s rubber shoes; the trade name of one cocoa made here has been a household word for generations. Jute, burlap, goatskins, fleeces, bales of cotton, sisal, fruit, sugar, coffee, all pass this way. Ask how long skilled workers have served in the same plants; hear how many generations of a given family have worked at the same trades, and you begin to account for the vitality of Boston industry. Here is pride in good work, inher ited knowledge, genius for crafts manship. Made Banana a Staple Food. John Hancock probably never saw a banana. At the Philadelphia Cen tennial exhibition, in 1876, curious crowds gazed in wonder at a bunch of them. Now everybody, from Quoddy Light to Golden Gate, from Key West to Alaska, knows their smell and taste. Boston's United Fruit company makes the banana, once a rarity wrapped in tinfoil, today a staple American food. Yet its greatest feat is not in distribution, but production. About its success in turning jungle into rich plantations and 'ts conquest of tropical disease, piles of fat books are written. All that is far from Boston, yet it was a Boston man, Andrew W. Preston, who conceived these incomparable tasks. When he began, long ago, the world banana crop barely equaled what New York alone now eats in a few weeks! To get bananas the company had to raise them; so it became a vast agricultural concern. Jungle areas cleared and planted total thousands of square miles. When Minor C. Keith, of United Fruit, started his railroad to Costa Rica from Puerto Limon to San Jose, a 19-year job that cost more than 4,000 lives from fever, there was but little rail in all Central America. Now the company owns and operates its tracks, trucks, and aerial tramways in a dozen tropic regions. It has built towns, piers, radio stations, hotels, harbors, hos pitals; stores, schools, churches, i theaters, playgrounds; shops, ware houses, markets; water, light, and power plants, and workers' hemes by the thousands. Center of Fish Industry. Besides growing bananas, it raises meat, vegetables, and other toods for its armies of workers, and op erates sugar plantations, mills, and retlneries; grows coconuts, cocoa, and other tropical products; and annually carries some 40,000 pas sengers on its 97 ships from Boston. New York, Baltimore. New Orleans, and San Francisco to 25 different ports between Habana and Carta gena, Colombia. Though Boston, remote from grainfc-Ids ajid ranches, must go far for bread and meat, she also covers I much of America with fish, as well as bananas. “But what profit might arise?” That was King James’ query when Pilgrims asked him, in 1618, to per mit them to sail for the New World. “Fishing,” they replied. “So, God save my soul!” he ex claimed. “ ’Tis an honest trade. ’Twas the Apostles' own calling.” There’s a reason why the Sacred Codfish is an emblem of Massa chusetts; why its effigy hangs now in the statehouse, and has hung, in one assembly hall or another, for more than 200 years. It saved the early settlers from starving; pre served with salt from England, it became their first export, their first source of revenue. Boston, like Gloucester, catches many other kinds now, from lobster to mackerel, and helps feed the whole United States. And cod is no longer the favorite; haddock is more in demand. Go for a trip in a trawler. Head ing for the Stellwagen bank, the dingdong echo of your radio depth finders warns you that you are over the fishing grounds, and the big conical net is let go. Wooden wheels, set on its lower lip, let it roll easily over the ocean floor; big wooden gates at each end, opening outward keep it stretched wide open, so that it scoops up ev erything that^wims or crawls, from "sea eggs” to squid. Coins, spoons, buttons, even pieces of jewelry have been found in fish taken off the New Eng land coast; apparently they seize such bright objects as may fall from passing ships. “Green,” or unfrozen, fish is shipped as far west as Mississippi; frozen fish, really fresh fish pre served by freezing which will keep in perfect condition a year or more, reaches the Pacific coast, while salted and dried codfish, or "baca lao,” is consumed as far away as southern Europe, the Caribbean, and the coast of Brazil. Dawn brings the auction in a big “pit” at the pier’s end. Signs on the walls say all bidding must be in English; bids are called in Eng lish. but debates rage with confu sion of tongues. Then this big, busy fish pier echoes with excitement. Men in rubber boots, wearing caps with long visors like duck bills, throw fish into rope baskets and swing them to the docks. Others run hith er and yon, pushing bright-colored carts filled with fish, follpwed by sniffing, hard-faced wharf cats. Bostonians Are Good Sailors. These Boston people love the sea. For generations they sailed it to make a living. Now many sail for fun, yet with all the skill and grim intent of adventurous clipper days. Be asked to sail in yacht club races, especially if all your racing experience has been on the deck of a mustang, and you hear a new language. On the first day of ‘‘soft spots" in the air. of tacking, luffing, crossing of bows and sterns, and shutting off of the rival's wind, sailing seems a sport not only of odd speech but mysterious motions. Then, all at once, you begin to sense these tricks of jockeying with boats. Here is horse racing, but on water! Instead of crowding the oth er, riding in to the rail to slow him down, you shut off his breeze power. Ship lines are only bridle reins; stiff breezes are spurs, and letting out a spinnaker is merely giving your nag her head. Fair play and good sportsmanship are ingrained. Inherited English ways and proximity of Harvard, with its generations of clean sport, have fostered this love for games. Plenty of Sport There. Gymnasiums came early, here circus acrobats and strong men used to be invited to "show off” for the boy3. That colorful character in prize-ring history, John L. Sulli van, was born in Boston. Cricket, hockey, boxing, rowing, swimming, high bicycles, and ball players in full beards, Boston fostered them all; yet permitted no league base ball games on Sunday till 1929! Special “snow trains" leave now, taking winter crowds with skis, sleds, and toboggans, at the first news of heavy snows in the White mountains. Born of the old East Indian battledore and shuttlecock, and introduced into England about a century ago by returning army officers, the game of badminton is now also much played about Boston. New among Boston sports is midget motor-car racing. She has a special Tom Thumb track, an odd ly formed figure with seven turns. To it, on race days, tiny speed cars are hauled on trucks, for rough-and tumble contests WHEN Norma came into the in heritance bequeathed by her I Great-Aunt Harriet, she did just what she longed to do since earliest childhood. She built Cl LP/> nya picturesque log iiVtr M I cabin in a woodland I « V Sladc ttiat was Prac* 5 M R I tically untraversed. I The cabin consist 5 T O R I ed of a living-room, with a rustic fire place at one end, a comfortable bedroom, and a well-equipped kitchen. Every week-end Norma went, unaccompanied, to her forest retreat, and for 48 hours she was ex tremely happy and blissfully forget ful of the roaring metropolis she had , left behind. It amused rather than alarmed her one day to find, during the week, someone had entered her cabin and prepared himself a meal, using the food from her own larder. A fortnight later the incident was repeated. This time Norma found, that the fireplace was a trifle warm, and the visitor had left a note on the table. “Thanks for the grub,” it read. “Some time soon I hope to dine you, instead.” “What presumption!” exclaimed Norma. "Well, I hope he’s fairly good-looking—I must find a model for the ad that the Ware and Tare Sport ing House wants me to put out.” For the next two weeks she was kept in the city for business reasons, and when at last she was at liberty to return to her beloved cabin, Nor ma was amazed to find herself wishing for more signs of her un known tenant. Norma had no use for the key to her cabin that afternoon. When she arrived the door was ajar. A brisk fire crackled upn the hearth. The sweet, pungent odor of fresh pipe tobacco prevailed about the room. And for the first time in her life, Nor ma felt strangely thrilled. Suddenly, a deep, masculine snore echoed through the cabin. A man, and asleep! Here was the chance to see, in the flesh, the hero she had pictured in her dreams. Cautiously, Norma tiptoed to the bedroom door and peered in. A man lay upon the cot, but what a man he was! A four day beard adorned his face, his mouth was agape in noisy slumber, his clothes tattered beyond descrip tion. The humor of the situation struck Norma so forcibly that she threw back her head and laughed loud and heartily. Her laughter awoke the man, and he sat up and stared at her. “Hullo,” he grinned, “you here so soon? I’m sorry I fell asleep, else I’d been on the porch to greet you. Well, now that you’re here, let’s eat. You must be hungry after that two-mile hike up-trail. Come, now, you hustle some grub, while I dress for dinner.” "Oh, you are going to dress for dinner,” she remarked calmly. "Yes,” he replied, “I always dress for dinner.” With that he closed the door, and Norma heard him whistling softly as he puttered about the room. Me chanically she set the table and prepared coffee for two. Norma, the artistic, dining with a hobo, who was "dressing for dinner!” Inside of 15 minutes the man was with her again. His torn garments had been replaced by a smart suit of English tweeds, his hair had been brushed until it glistened, and his face was clean and freshly shaved. He paid no attention to Norma’s look of amazement, but remarked casually: “You must set places for two more persons—my publisher and his wife will be here at any moment. And don’t bother to cook anything, for you’ll find a large hamper of food outside on the veranda.” Norma’s patience had reached its limit; the whole affair was begin ning to grate upon her nerves. "Say, who are you?” she demanded ir ritably. "My name is Julius Wane,” he told her. "Not Julius Wane—the author?” gasped Norma. "At your service,” he smiled, bowing gallantly. "And I want to thank you for enabling me to win a little bet. You see, I have just finished a book called "A Girl With Courage.” The theme deals with a young woman who possessed an abundance of nerve and pluck. My publisher declared that the story j was preposterous, that no girl in | the world had courage that could | compare with my heroine’s. I I agreed to rewrite the story, unless I could prove that such a girl really existed. One day, while tramping in the woods, I learned that you were living here alone. ‘That girl has courage,' I thought, T’U put her to a test!' I have won my argument— my publisher will be here directly; my book goes to press next week; and I owe my good luck to you!” Several months later, when Nor ma’s parents returned from Cali fornia, they found her working on the illustrations for Julius Wane's new novel. When questioned, Nor i ma referred them to Julius. "Well,” he said, "in the first place your daughter is a clever artist, and in the second place, a fellow should do something for his future wife, shouldn’t he?” CWJ° SEW • 4^"' Ruth Wyeth Spears cJ^ Crazy Patch Work at Home in a Modern Setting T'HE crazy patch is the oldest of quilt patterns, yet there is something amazingly modern in its angular lines. So whether your living room is traditional in style or newer than tomorrow you will be interested in the revival of crazy patch work for what our grandmothers and great-grand mothers called a‘‘slumber throw.” A corner of one of these old silk crazy quilts is shown here at the lower right. The pieces were small—many not more than \xk inches wide or long. A variety of embroidery stitches joins the pieces. Both plain and figured silks were used, the plain patches often being embroidered with flowers, fans and other amusing motifs—note the beetle embroid ered on one patch. Several col ors of silk embroidery thread were generally used but in the most ar Somebody Else First Typist—I’m going out to night with an Irishman. Second Typist—Oh, really? First Typist—No. O’Brien. On the Way Mother-^-I can’t help thinking that Mabel would be happier if she married a man with less mon ey than Mr. Parkinson. Father—Don’t you worry. He’ll soon have less if I know Mabel. OH. THAT’S IT Boogy—Do you know statisti cians claim the automobile has ac tually cut down the deaths from bid age in this country? Woogy—How’s that? Prevents bver-exertion, I suppose? Boogy—No, not that so much, but fewer people escape to reach old age. His Idea Mrs. Smythe took her husband to a mannequin parade. An eve | ning gown worn by an extremely j pretty model attracted her atten tion. “That would look nice at our party next Saturday,” she said, hoping her husband would buy it for her. “Yes,” agreed Mr. Smythe. ‘Why not invite her?” When a girl wears her heart on her sleeve, is it a call to arms? First Step “Today’s my wife’s birthday,” said the manager to his assistant. “I want her to be very happy when I go home this evening. Can you suggest anything?” “Yes, sir; I’d suggest you re move that lipstick from your ear.” tistic of these quilts one color pre» dominated in the embroidery. Larger patches with simple feather stitch and herring-bonel stitch at the joinings also give a good effect. The pieces are sewec) to a foundation of some firm soft material. Outing flannel or an old: wool blanket are good. Pin a piece in place over the space to be filled, trim the edges to the right shape, as at A, allowing enough to turn under, as at B, where the patch laps over the one next to it. Baste / the turned edges down, as shown. When a number of patches have been basted in place, sew them down to the foundation with the embroidery stitches and then re move the bastings. The backing is tied to the front with silk em broidery thread as comforters are tied. Little or no padding may be used and a plain band around the edge is effective. 1 Every Homemaker should have a copy of Mrs. Spears’ new book, SEWING. Forty-eight pages of step-by-step directions for making slipcovers and dressing tables; re storing and upholstering chairs, couches; making curtains for ev ery type of room and purpose. Making lampshades, rugs, otto mans and other useful articles for the home. Readers wishing a copy should send name and ad dress, enclosing 25 cents, to Mrs. Spears, 210 South Desplaines St., Chicago, Illinois. "Quotations" -A Life levels all men; death reveals the eminent.—George Bernard Shaw. Restlessness is often the result of not having anything very vital to do. —Mrs. Thomas A. Edison. It is the bankruptcy of character that has spread doubt and fear in many quarters.—Rev. Ur. Duncan H. Browne. Charity is a cruel word, the very ^ utterance of which imposes* limita tions and puts a barrier in the path of growth and effort.—Samuel L. Rothapfel. Ambition may be the last infirm ity of noble minds, but it is a splendid spur for the average nran. —Dean Inge. How One Woman ' Lost 20 lbs of Fat Lost Her Prominent Hips— Double Chin—Sluggishness Gained Physical Vigor— A Shapely Figure. If you’re fat—first remove the cause! Get on the scales today and see how much you weigh then get a 4 oz. bottle of Kruschen Salts which will last you 4 weeks. Take one-half teaspoonful of Krusch en Salts in a glass of hot water in the morning—modify your diet and get a little regular gentle exercise—in 3 weeks get on the scales and note how many pounds of fat have vanished. Notice also that you have gained in energy—your skin is clearer—you feel younger in body—Kruschen will give any fat person a joyous surprise. But be sure it’s Kruschen—your health comes first. You can get Kruschen Salts from any leading druggist anywhere in America (lasts 4 weeks) and the cost is but little. If this first bottle doesn’t convince you this is the eas iest, SAFEST and surest way to help you lose ugly fat—your money gladly returned. 66 FIVE Minus TWO Leaves FOUR.” WRONG? Well, yes—and no. The arithmetic of you^Bchool days taught that "If Mary had five dollars and spent two ..." three dollars remained. But that is mathematics—not shopping! In managing a home... guarding a limited family income ... we've simply got to do better than Mary did. We must sharpen our buying wits .. ascertain where the dollars of extra value lurk... take five dollars to town and get much more for the money spent. Fortunately, there are ever-willing guides right at hand—the advertise ments in this newspaper. Advertised merchandise is often exceptional value merchandise. It makes dollars S-T-R-E-T-C-H.