SEEN
and
HEARD
ardund the
NATIONAL
CAPITAL
fiy Carter Field ^
Washington.—Frank R. McNinch
is going to blow away the smoke
that has been hovering over the
Federal communications commis
sion and put out the fire it there is
any. Primarily that is what he was
put in there for. Scarcely anything
pending on Capitol Hill has worried
President Roosevelt more than the
Wallace White resolution provid
ing for a sweeping senate investiga
tion into FCC. Particularly in that
this resolution would be handled by
the senate interstate commerce
committee of which Burton K.
Wheeler is chairman. The Presi
dent correctly interprets Wheeler's
attitude as one of active dislike for
himself, despite Wheeler’s approval
of many of the New Deal economic
and social objectives.
Whatever may be the truth about
the '‘fire,” certainly many folks in
the industry just assumed that it
was there. They gave no open in
dications of a suspicion that any
thing so gross as actual passage of
money would be effective, but many
approved the policy that the dis
tillers followed, when they offered
the Job as their czar first to James
A. Farley and then to Forbes Mor
gan, Mrs. Roosevelt's uncle. There
were little signs of this, such as the
hiring of Charles Michelson by one
radio station which wanted its li
cense extended.
Actually, whatever the fact may
be, it has been the common as
sumption in Washington and in the
industry that wave lengths were
awarded according to the political
influence those seeking them were
able to bring to bear.
McNinch, although formerly a
politician, has shown no evidence of
being swayed by politics in any ac
tion since coming to Washington.
He is honest beyond question, and
punctilious about merit as he sees
it. In fact, it is often commented
that it is worry about which is the
right thing to do that causes his
bad spells of nervous indigestion.
Three Plums Less
Just two weeks after taking of
fice McNinch killed three birds with
one stone by abolishing the set-up
by which the seven-man commis
sion had been divided into three
water-tight compartments dealing,
respectively, with telegraph, tele
phone and radio matters, thus neatly
removing three juicy political plums
from the Washington tree. For when
the three divisions cease to function
on November 15 there will be no fur
ther need, of course, for the services
of Robert T. Bartley, A. G. Patter
son, and Joseph F. Killeen, the di
rectors of the three divisions. Bart
ley just happens to be a nephew
of Representative Sam Rayburn,
house majority leader; Putterson is
a close friend of ex-Senator Hugd
L. Block (who now has a better
job), and Killeen is an old asso
ciate of Postmaster-General James
A. Farley and of Edward J. Flynn,
Democratic leader in the Bronx in
New York City.
To analyze the action justly, it
should be explained that the reduc
tion in personnel was a secondary
result. It is generally acknowl
edged that the purge victims have
performed adequately the rather
superficial duties of their respective
positions. It is also admitted that
the commission’s work will probab
ly be carried on without noticeable
lag after they leave. The real ob
jective can be read between the
lines of McNinch's official state
ment: ” . . . Experience has shown
that to subdivide a small commis
sion has a divisive elTect and tends
away from co-operation and mutual
understanding; the assignment of
such important work (to division)
. . . has resulted in two members
of the commission . . . exercising an
undesirably large portion of the
power and functions of the commis
sion, while denying the other com
missioners any practical opportu
nity to participate in decisions .
Commissioners not on a particular
division have felt a natural reluc
tance to inquire into the work com
mitted to others . . . The aggregate
wisdom and judgment of seven
minds is surely greater than any
two or three of the seven.” In
other words, it is harder for seven
men to fall into error than for two
to do so.
Word About Hard Coal
Most people think of hard coal
anthracite—as rather an expensive
luxury. And what with oil and gas
heating, occasional coal strikes,
etc., as pretty nearly a dying in
dustry.
So it’s rather interesting that a
study has been made of the situa
| tion in northeastern Pennsylvania,
i with a view to determining how the
I use of anthracite can be increased
1 in producing electricity! And this
f in this era of government subsidized
I water-power, with President Roose
■ velt’s eulogies of Bonneville and
Grand Coulee so recently on the
front pages.
The fact is that anthracite has
■ been used for the production of elec
tricity for some years. It is more
economical in that little section of.
the country where the hard coal is
mined. They have become rather
efficient in using it under boilers
in generating plants, too, being able
now to produce a kilowatt hour from
a pound and a half of low-grade
anthracite. It took twice as much
back in 1919.
Another strange thing is that the
use of anthracite in power produc
tion is virtually the only market for
hard coal which has not diminished
in the last few years. Actually it
has increased slightly. It is now
running about two million tons a
year.
There are points about this situa
tion, which caused this study and
inspire optimism among the hard
coal miners, which are interesting
in connection with the whole power
problem.
As to Freight Rates
For example, freight rates. One
of the reasons why so many folks
are skeptical about the success of
the big western power projects is
just that. They figure that the man
ufacturer who goes to Bonneville to
get cheap power is going to run
into freight rates. Partly on his
raw material, but mostly on ship
ping his product two thousand odd
miles back to where the consumers
are.
It's not a new story. Back in the
early '20’s lots of farmers went
broke on irrigated land in western
Montana. They raised potatoes and
shipped them to Chicago, consider
ably more than a thousand miles.
Potatoes are heavy—for their value.
Maybe the railroads ought not to
charge so much. But it's a long
haul. So one hears a lot about “in
termountain freight rates."
Now the fact is, as the bureau of
standards will tell you, that there
are more units of heat in a ton of
bituminous coal than in a ton of an
thracite. And you can buy a ton
of bituminous at the mine mouth
cheaper than you can buy a ton of
anthracite.
But it is cheaper to use anthra
cite to produce power than bitumi
nous, if the production occurs in
anthracite territory. The answer is
freight rates.
Whereas right in the anthracite
territory there are all the industries
a power salesman could ask, and
all the consumers for the products
of those industries one could desire.
A Sore Spot
Apprentice training is one of the
sore spots in the present business
management problem, but there is
little prospect of any corrective ac
tion. There is plenty of lip service
for the idea of doing something—
of opening the door to employment
at the more lucrative trades to more
boys and young men—but union op
position plus lethargy seems too
strong for the irritated employers
who suffer in times of shortage of
skilled employees. Especially as
the employers have never put up
anything remotely resembling a real
fight.
In most skilled trades it is more
difficult for a youngster to get
aboard the bottom rung of a ladder
than it is for him to get into a very
exclusive Greek letter fraternity at
college.
Once the youngster has been
‘tapped” for apprentice training, it
is fairly simple. Of course he has
to put in four years’ training be
fore he is recognized as a mechan
ic, palpably absurd in most trades,
and absolutely essential in none. But
by the same token he does not have
to display any special aptitude or
mental ability, or physical dex
terity to master something in four
years which another boy would be
able to do in from six months to a
year—or he himself for that matter.
This has been the labor union
rule. Recognizing the need for more
skilled mechanics and for more
young men trained so as to take
care of the future, the government
stepped into the picture and set up
the Federal committee for appren
tice training. This body has sol
emnly stood by the union require
ments—four years, frills, Greek let
ter "tapping” to get started, and
all.
Makes It Worse
But along comes another govern
ment agency and makes the situa
tion still worse—for the small em
ployer. This is the government em
ployment agency. Here is what has
happened again and again in the
last few months, when despite the
alleged slowing down of business
there has been a scarcity of skilled
mechanics.
Mr. Big Employer needs 100
skilled mechanics of a certain vari
ety. He informs the government em
ployment agency of this need and
tells what he is willing to pay.
Whereupon the government agency
rounds up the men for him, taking
them from anywhere from 10 to 30
small competitors of Mr. Big Em
ployer.
Mr. Big Employer is able to pay
more. Mr. Little Employer cannot
hold them. Mr. Little Employer
does without.
When this situation is pointed out
to New Dealers, with the possibility
that, if carried on indefinitely, such
a course would lead to the gradual
elimination of all the little fellows.
New Dealers do net seem fright
ened.
"This practice tends to force
wages up to their proper level,"
they answer. "These little employ
ers you are feeling sorry for are
exploiting their workers. They
should meet the prevailing wage
scale. This would boost tne buying
power of their communities, and
help general prosperity."
£) Bell Syndicate.—WNU Service.
Lightships j
Lightship Anchored on Nantucket Shoals.
Lightships and Lighthouses Save Lives
and Property Along America's Coasts
Prepared by National Geographic Society.
Washington, D, C.-WNU Service.
Lightships, bobbing
about the sea along our
coast, warning mariners
of dangerous shoals, may not
stir the imagination of pas
sengers on passing ships, but
they have played an impor
tant part in guarding life and
property at sea.
They have repeatedly given ref
uge to the the shipwrecked. A Ger
man submarine raider visited New
port in 1916, before we entered the
World war. Later it went out and
made its lair near Nantucket light
ship, where, until the alarm spread,
vessels were contantly passing. The
submarine sank a number of un
armed merchant ships, the crews of
which took refuge on the lightship.
At one time there were 115 ship
wrecked men aboard the lightship,
and 19 ships’ boats were trailing on
a line astern.
As bad weather ensued shortly,
and the locality is 47 miles from
the nearest land, it is certain that
many of these seamen would have
lost their lives had it not been for
the haven provided by the lightship.
The only navigational aid in this
country destroyed by the enemy
during the World war was the Dia
mond Shoal lightship off Cape Hat
teras.
On the afternoon of August 8, 1918,
a submarine raider began firing at
a merchant ship about a mile and
a half away. The lightship broad
cast by radio a warning to other
vessels in the vicinity, and this was
undoubtedly the means of saving
many ships. But it resulted in the
submarine’s firing six shots at the
lightship, and later returning and
sinking it by gunfire.
The crew got away in boats, and,
after seeing the ship go to the bot
tom, they landed safely that evening
on Cape Hatteras.
Some Notable Life Saving Work.
Blunts Reef lightship marks the
outer limit of rocks off Cape Men
docino, a wild and desolate section
of the California coast.
At 1:30 on a June morning in
1916, the lookout reported a boat
hailing the lightship. On coming
alongside, the officer in charge stat
ed that the steamship Bear had
stranded between the cape and
False Cape rock. In all, nine life
boats came alongside, and 155 peo
ple from the Bear, including many
women, were taken aboard the
lightship and given hot coffee and
warm bedding.
Other lifeboats arrived later with
more survivors. Eventually all
these people were transferred to
land by the steamer Grace Dollar.
This all happened during dense
fog which had lasted for two days,
with the station fog signals sound
ing regularly. Now a radio-beacon
has been placed on Blunts Reef
lightship.
In 1916, Fire Island lightship, in
the approach to New York, was
rammed by the steamer Philadel
phian, and her side cut open for
four feet below the water line.
The ship was saved from sinking
only by the remarkable presence of
mind and quick work of her crew,
who shifted weights, slung out boats,
and filled them with water, so as
to list the vessel and bring tbe dam
age above the water line.
Lightship number one was retired
from duty in 1930, after 75 years of
service. This vessel was built for
the station then known as Nantuck
et New South Shoals, and remained
on this exposed station for 36 years,
with only sails for power.
In early days it was not easy to
maintain lightships on outside sta
tions. The first attempts in this
country were made at Sandy Hook,
at the entrance to New York bay,
in 1823. and at Diamond Shoal, off
Cape Hatteras, in 1824. In the latter
case the ship broke from her moor
ings within a few months, and, after
being replaced several times, was
wrecked in 1827. It was 70 years
before another lightship was placed
oft Diamond Shoal.
Recent Improvements in Lightships.
Marked advance has since been
' made in lightship design. The
breaking strength of mooring chains
has been doubled; even a West In
dies hurricane passing up the coast
seldom parts a mooring.
In the gale of September, 1933,
[ Diamond Shoal lightship dragged
her 5,500-pound mushroom anchor
five miles, but the mooring chain
withstood the tremendous strain.
Our coastal lighthouse system was
fairly well completed in the last
century. Structures which house
the great lights of today were for
the most part built from 60 to 80
years ago.
Progress in recent years has been
more in technical improvements,
making use of radio, electricity,
new illuminants, and improved fog
signals.
Now and then, however, changes
must be made in the primary sta
tions themselves; new needs call
for new stations, the abandonment
of old towers, or the substitution of
less expensive automatic lights.
Six light stations of the first rank,
recently completed, show the differ
ent needs that occasionally arise.
At North Manitou, in the northern
part of Lake Michigan, a station
has been built in 22 feet of water to
take the place of a lightship. Two
other similar stations have recently
been completed in this lake.
At Cape Decision, Alaska, a new
light and fog signal station stands
in a key position for the navigation
of southeast Alaska, situated as it
is at an entrance from the outside,
and at a turning point for the inside
passages.
At the south end of Santa Barbara
channel, off the coast of California,
navigation is now safeguarded by
the station on Anacapa island, a
guide both to coasting vessels and
to those approaching Los Angeles
from the open sea.
The sixth of these new primary
stations stands at the entrance from
Lake Huron to the St. Mary’s river,
where it was nece*ary to have a
guide close to the channel for the
Lake Superior traffic.
The most powerful light in the
American lighthouse system shines
from a low structure atop the At
lantic Highlands at Navesink, New
Jersey. Its penetrating beam meas
ures 9,000,000 candlepower.
Vicissitudes of Lighthouses.
Progress, as well as nature’s as
saults, sometimes dooms fine old
lighthouses. Often these towers fig
ure prominently in local history and
romance. Fortunately, such old
towers sometimes can be preserved.
The state of New Jersey has taken
over the tall tower of Barnegat
light, which is of diminished im
portance to navigation. The first
Cape Henry tower, in Virginia, has
been transferred to a patriotic or
ganization, and that at Cape Flori
da is preserved by a private pur
chaser.
When the sea encroaches, it is
often difficult to save an old station.
Usually it is less expensive to
move it, or to build another light
house.
Thus, along the low-lying, sandy
south Atlantic states and Gulf
coasts, many early masonry towers
have succumbed to the sea. Metal
structures have been dismantled
and moved back to places of safety.
Eleven years ago the historic
lighthouse at Cape Henlopen, Dela
ware, was destroyed by the inroads
of the Atlantic. Henlopen was one
of the early Colonial lights,
Our steady change to modern au
tomatic lights has saved the public
much money. But for primary
lights the maxim is, “Safety is
found only in certainty," and human
attention, given by lightkeepers,
must be retained. An exception is
the lighthouse operated by the Unit
ed States government on Navassa
island in the West Indies. Here the
keepers were removed because of
difficulty in maintaining them on
this uninhabited and barren island
between Jamaica and Hispaniola.
This lighthouse now has two auto
matic flashing lights, one above the
other, with independent gas supplies
for each, to insure that one light will
always show.
Ingenious devices are utilized to
save gas or electricity in burning
the automatic lights. Sun valves,
depending on the rate of expansion
of different metals, are used to turn
off the acetylene gas lights during
the daytime.
Recently the light-sensitive cell
has been employed to turn on and
off automatic electric lights operat
ed from batteries.
The unattended flashing light at
MaJokini, Hawaiian Islands, burned
without failure for nearly 20 years,
flashing over 200,000,000 times. Two
lighted buoys each have a record
of burning nearly a year and a half
on one charge of acetylene gas.
The Walkin'
Deputy
By AUCE V. UNDLEY
© McClure Newspaper Syndicate.
WNU Service.
□ALKIN’ JOHNNY, though city
bred. had all the earmarks of
a Kuod deputy sheriff with but one
exception. That he could walk was
an accepted fact to everyone in
the little cow town of Rawlins, and
that he had nerve, he had proved
to everyone’s satisfaction when he
had captured that gang in the hills,
alone and on foot.
But when it had come to riding a
horse, well, as Johnny told the sher
iff: A man can do just so many
things with his feet, but a Ijorse—if
a horse had any limitations in that
respect Johnny had failed to find
them.
Now it seemed as though every
bad man for miles had made up
his mind that Rawlins was the only
town in the country worthy of atten
tion just then, and a Walkin’ Deputy,
as Johnny had come tp be called,
was of about as much use as taxi
cabs in Venice. So Johnny had con
cluded it was his painful duty to
learn to ride.
It was after a fairly victorious en
counter with his mount that Johnny
learned the sheriff’s plans to take a
posse after “Red” Terry’s gang and
he begged to go along.
“All right,” the fat one told him,
“but if yuh fall behind we’ll have
to get along without yuh.”
So Johnrfy had gone along and
soon, very soon, he regretted it
heartily. He had never been so
long in the saddle and every bone
in his body ached, each one in com
petition with its neighbor. So in
tent was he upon his personal agony
that he failed to notice that the oth
ers were drawing out of sight, but
it was not until sundown that he
would admit he had completely lost
them. And then he became a new
creature. He still ached, to be sure,
but he could stand it as long as
his two feet were on solid ground.
His weariness almost completely
left him as he made his prepara
tions for the night. He was about
to light his fire when he saw a little
spiral of smoke not more than a
mile away.
“Must be the sheriff and the
boys,” he chuckled. "Guess I’ll
SHORT SHORT
STORY
Complete in This Issue
ride over," (At the mere sound of
the word “ride” Johnny’s bones
ached protestingly.) “Guess I’ll
walk over and pay a visit,” he fin
ished lamely. So he set out briskly.
It was not so far as he had
thought, but some cautious instinct
warned him to go slowly and he
blessed that impulse when he came
in sight of the three horses tied a
little distance from the fire. They
were not the horses he had been
trailing all afternoon.
Stealthily now Johnny made his
way back toward his camp. Once
there he thought things over care
fully. It would be easy to circle
around and wait for them further
down the trail, but they were riders
with a reputation and if they made a
break for it Johnny would be help
less. While he planned he looked
over his equipment. Suddenly he
made a low exclamation as he
picked up a small bottle from out of
his saddle bag.
It was a drug, the kind they gave
horses. Johnny had bought it one
day for fun and had amused himself
often by threatening his horse with
it when that animal acted a bit too
lively. Now Johnny saw in it a pos
sibility of overcoming a big difficul
ty. Once more he started for Ter
ry's camp and in less than an hour
he was back, a grin of satisfaction
on his face . . . His horse well hid
den, he watched the three riders
coming along the trail.
"Seem to be having trouble with
their animals,” he chuckled glee
fully.
Johnny waited until they were di
rectly opposite before he command
ed them to stop. Desperately each
man tried to urge his horse but the
animals refused.
“Get down,” Johnny ordered curt
s ly. “You ought to be ashamed rid
' ing such tired horses. You're go
ing to town, but it wouldn’t be
right for you to ride them poor
horses so you’ll have to walk. Tell
you what I’ll do. I got a horse here
I just full of pep and rearin’ to go,
! but so there won’t be no hard feel
ings why I’ll just walk along with
1 you boys."
When the posse came back nexl
day Johnny met them at the door
of the fat one’s office. The sheriff
saw him and grinned.
"We had to dispense with your
company kinda sudden, didn’t we,
son?” he asked with a twinkle in
i his eye.
"Yah,” said Johnny. “Come on
in, 1 got a present for yuh."
"Well,” said the fat one, a little
later as he and Johnny sat on the
corral fence, “yuh sure made a
good haul What yuh gonna buy
with the reward money?”
Johnny gave his horse a malicious
glance.
“I’m going to buy me a flivver,”
be stated flatly.
Interpreters of the Mode
CO LONG as you Sew
^ Your-Own, Milady, just
so long will Yours Truly
strive to interpret the mode
for you. Today the trio L____
brings you frocks for every
size (from four years to size 52)
for almost any occasion. Each
has been designed to bring you
the ultimate in style in its par
ticular class and all claim a new
high in simplicity and comfort. *
Ultra-Smart Dress.
It’s nice to know you’re easy to
look at even if the occasion is only
another breakfast session. That’s
why the ultra-smart dress at the
left is so handy to have. Note
the clever detail all the way
through even to the inverted skirt
pleat. See how beautifully the
sleeves set-in—you just know at a
glance how simple it is to put to
gether. Cotton, of course, is the
material.
Typical of Youth.
The surest way to be a big little
body is to wear dresses that are
as expertly planned as the grown
ups’. The little number above,
center, has the smart styling of a
sub-deb’s frock. It is typical of
youth’s freshness and activity,
and is one model that gets little
girls’ complete endorsement. It
is the number one dress for the
number one sweetheart in any
body’s family.
An Orchid to You.
Do you think of a charming
sorority tea with lots of atmos
phere and plenty of style when
you look at the handsome new
two-piecer above, right? Would
you like it made in one color and
material, or, perhaps with a top
per in gold lame or satin com
bined with a skirt of a rich dull
fabric? Why not make it your
self to suit your own fancy and
Friendly Talk
p UT after all, the very best
*•* thing in good talk and the
thing that helps it most is friend
ship. How it dissolves the bar
riers that divide us, and loosens
all constraint—this feeling that we
understand and trust each other,
and wish each other heartily well!
Everything into which it really
comes is good. It transforms
letter-writing from a task into a
pleasure. It makes music a thou
sand times more sweet. The peo
ple who play and sing not at us,
but to us—how delightful it is to
listen to them. Yes, there is a talk
ability that can express itself even
without words.—Van Dyke.
step into a swell little world of
glamour crowded with fans and
sun and festivity? #
The Patterns.
Pattern 1401 is designed for
sizes 36 to 52. Size 38 requires
4% yards of 35-inch material.
Pattern 1366 is designed for
sizes 6, 8, 10, 12, and 14 years.
Size 8 requires 2% yards of 39
inch material, plus 1% yards of
machine-made pleating to trim, as
pictured.
Pattern 1396 is designed for
sizes 32 to 44. Size 34 requires 1%’
yards of 39-inch material for the
blouse, 1% yards of 54-inch mate
rial for the skirt.
Send your order to The Sewing
Circle Pattern Dept., Room 1020,
211 W. Wacker Drive, Chicago, 111.
Price of patterns, 15 cents (in
coins) each.
New Pattern Book.
Send 15 cents for the Barbara
Bell Fall and Winter Pattern Book.
Make yourself attractive, practi
cal and becoming clothes, select
ing designs from the Barbara Bell
well-planned, easy-to-make pat
, terns.
© BeU Syndicate.—WNU Service.
^uaT7
6-VOLT
I /
Take it to any.
radio dealer! See\
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best, and ask your
dealer how you
can save $7.56 on
the purchase of a
new battery radio
equipped with a
genuine Win
charger.
Wincharger
turns FREE
WIND POWER
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brings "big-city"
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See Any Radio Dealerl
READ THE ADS
I LIFE’S LIKE THAT By Fred Neher
_
ftte>Afett&
db
*Cop> i itfht 1937. by Fred Neh«r> f
<§uP
“The charge Is taxidermy, yer honor .... he was stuffin' ballot
boxes!!” )
l