SEEN and HEAR
around the
NATIONAL CAPITAL
By Carter Field
FAMOUS WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT
Warrington.—Despite the very
general impression that President
Roosevelt's address to congress was
conciliatory towards business, and
that it left Harold L. Ickes and Rob
ert H. Jackson out on a limb, there
is no such feeling in the house or
senate, or in the offices of Jackson
and Ickes.
On the contrary, there Is much
talk about Jackson being the Presi
dent’s own choice to succeed to the
New Deal mantle, first showing his
mettle by winning the governorship
of New York this fall.
That, of course, is another jtory,
and it is likely that more hurdles
will confront Jackson, if and when
he attempts this preliminary step,
than he now reckons on, despite
the allegation that the labor leaders
will be for him, and that labor sup
port is essential to a gubernatorial
victory in the Empire state this No
vember.
What is important now is what is
the real attitude of the President on
the treatment the government
should accord business, what he
plans to do about it, and, perhaps
even more important, what he plans
to say about it.
In his address to congress the
President did not repudiate a word
spoken by either Ickes or Jackson.
No one ever dreamed that he would
condemn any business unit or busi
ness practice which he did not dis
approve. So it is hardly impor
tant that he said there was good
business and bad business.
What business is worried about is
something much more concrete,
which it figures will come later—
definitions, for example, as to what
is good and what is bad, what can
be done with government approval
and what cannot. It would like the
list, which Gen. Hugh S. Johnson
has been demanding, of the corpora
tions that Ickes and Jackson at
tacked in their speeches.
Charge Conspiracy
It is already known that the ad
ministration strongly disapproves
the steel and cement industries, on
two counts: that they “conspire”
on prices, and that the prices thus
resulting are too high. But what
critical members of congress, dis
approving of Ickes and Jackson for
their “business baiting," want to
know is why there is not sufficient
law at the moment to reach such
“conspiracies.”
But one little sentence in the Pres
ident’s address is causing not only
real concern, but wonder as to
whether the President is not pro
posing some new form of tax sug
gestion. That relates to his thought
that capital does not have the
right to refuse employment. True,
he hurries on to add that this
very refusal tends to undermine the
capitalistic system. But then the
President wants to preserve the cap
italistic system, and has always
been confident of his ability to do
just that.
So the question arises: what will
the President propose that the gov
ernment should do to unemployed
capital? Senators pondering this in
quired what the government could
possibly do if this “idle” capital,
afraid to risk going into business,
should be put entirely in government
bonds.
That, it happens, is one of the few
things capital can do in avoiding
any risk. Putting money in a sav
ings bank, of course, is not with
drawing it from industry. The bank
may use it to buy bonds of some
industry. It is no longer legal to do
the thing which in times of fear
capitalists have done before—buy
gold. Local taxes have made some
of the other devices, which were at
once hedges against inflation and
playing safe, such as buying town
lots, not such a good idea. The
same thing has affected the wisdom
of buying farm land.
But there is no certainty on Capi
tol Hill as to what the President pro
poses to do.
The Panay Picture*
President Roosevelt and Secre
tary of State Cordell Hull have com
pletely short-circuited the embar
rassing war referendum movement
in the house of representatives start
ed by Representative Louis L. Lud
low, of Indiana.
One of the latest moves in this
campaign, which passed almost un
noticed, concerned the moving pic
tures of the Panay incident. Old
timers in Washington were literally
flabbergasted when they read an
interview with Arthur de Titta, of
a movie concern, saying that
copies of the film would be furnished
the White House, State and Navy
departments, after the public show
ing.
This little statement may have
amazed people who do not know de
Titta. It may have seemed very
indiscreet, indeed, needlessly flaunt
ing the government
But no one who knew de Titta
though*, anything of the kind. He
not only is the essence of tact and
deference where deference is due,
but he knows his way around Wash
ington very well indeed.
So the wise ones knew at once
that de Titta had been requested to
make just such a statement This
seemed so interesting that they be
gan to make Inquiries. What they
found out was even more interest
ing. The State department, very,
very unofficially, had actually in
spired a newspaper story to the ef
fect that it positively would not pre
view these pictures! It was thus
that de Titta discovered that the
State department wanted the pic
tures shown with no deletions, and
also that it wanted somebody at
least to know that it was taking this
position!
Had Reasons
The casual reader might miss the
Implication, but somebody would
not. And somebody in this case
is nobody else but the Japanese am
bassador in Washington, Hirosi Sai
to, who, incidentally, has never been
accused of being slow on the in
take.
Actually there were two reasons
for this extraordinary interest of
the State department in the Panay
films. Both fitted in precisely with
the ideas evolved and taken across
the street to the White House.
First, both President Roosevelt
and Secretary Hull wanted the
American people, through the
movies, to see exactly what the Jap
anese did to the Panay. And they
wanted the Japanese government to
learn through its own representa
tives that not only were the Amer
ican people seeing the uncensored
film but that this was happening
with the complete approval of the
administration.
Second, the efforts of the peace
at-any-price advocates, and the war
referendum backers would be sty
mied. Even more important, the
American public would be swung
behind larger armament appropria
tions, which the administration in
tends to push, not only /because of
the international situation, but to
provide work and aid the unem
ployment situation.
Housing Program
The housing prbffram is counted
on to set the stage for a revival of
construction fairly early in the year,
even if other conditions fail to clear
up. While it is not expected to show
a big spurt, it is conceded by the
administration's business experts to
be the President’s best bet. Their
studies indicate that housing is the
one industry that can move against
depression.
There is a lot of ballyhoo about
other White House moves to start
the business wheels turning more
rapidly, but actually they fade into
insignificance as compared with the
real hopes for the housing program
plus the alleged information that
business itself expects the reces
sion to be short.
Many of the items about which !
there has been so much ballyhoo
lack substance. For instance, that
big "story" about the government
speeding up purchases of $245,000,000
of supplies that otherwise would be
spread over the remainder of the
current fiscal year. Actually, while
this made a good story, it was very
poor psychology. It virtually said
to every business man that there
is going to be a deceptive demand
for goods for the first few months
of the year, which will be followed
by a hard bump because the govern
ment will have completed its buy
ing.
Another bad piece of propaganda,
so far as the psychological effect
is concerned, was the recommenda
tion to cut down the amount of fed
eral appropriations for road build
ing. This was branded as a busi
ness restorative, on the theory that
it was a step in the direction of
budget balancing.
Bitterly Attacked
Actually it was not only attacked
bitterly on Capitol Hill by states
men who did not want the appro
priations helping their own states
and districts cut off, but was also
attacked by economists not inter
ested in pork. These pointed out
that the time to spend government
money on useful public projects is
in depression, or recession if that
term is preferred. But when em
ployment is a real problem is no
time to save money in that partic
ular way.
Incidentally, of course, there is
little prospect that this step toward
balancing the budget will be made.
Congress is not in favor of it. Cer
tainly it is not in favor of handing
over any discretion as to the par
celling out of the iponey to Secre
tary of Agriculture Henry A. Wal
lace or any other bureaucrat.
Of all the ways of distributing
federal pork, that for highway con
struction is probably the fairest
Log-rolling has been eliminated by
a simple formula which shows just
how much any particular commu
nity rates. That formula was
worked out with midnight oil and
infinite compromise. The Roose
velt plan would scrap it, so con
gress is not going to yield.
Meanwhile probably the most im
portant aid to recovery is coming
from Capitol Hill, where the lead
ers have taken the bit into their
teeth on the tax reform bill and are
paying no attention to White House
concern over what may happen
to New Deal objectives.
Copyright.—WNU Servic*.
(BEAUTIES I
of ROME I
Flowers for the Roman Market.
Hundreds of Fountains Help
Make the Eternal City Beautiful
Prepared by National Geographic Society,
Washington. D. C.—WNU Service.
ROME, ruling the Italian
empire, does not rule
herself. Municipal
self-government ended in
1925. In the mayor, an ap
pointee, is vested power for
merly exercised by mayor,
aldermen, and council. Citi
zens of all Italy help bear the
burden of civic beautification.
Rome could not pay her enor
mous bill alone; dreams of
artist-engineers are too far
reaching.
Streets even in old quarters are
clean. Where dark stone tenements
are demolished for parks and
squares, former inhabitants move to
gigantic apartment houses on the
edge of the Roman countryside. You
may visit the home of 500 poor fam
ilies imposing, yet simply built with
in and furnished usually with hum
ble, long-used tables, chairs and
beds. Two rooms for about $9.50
monthly, four for $20.
Italian upper and middle classes,
who staff growing government bu
reaus, dwell usually in ultramodern
apartments, five or six stories with
elevator, outside the “old city”
walls. You see little construction,
except government buildings, in
“downtown” Rome, although many
expensive shops are modernized to
attract what United States adver
tisements call “exclusive patron
age.”
Even Rome’s oldest parts, swarm
ing with well-fed stray cats, are
virtually fireproof. Fire hydrants,
seldom needed, are hidden beneath
iron covers at sidewalk level.
The Apostle Peter was crucified,
they say, on Vatican hill where
stood the gardens of Nero, one of
the crudest oppressors of Chris
tians. Nero is but a dim, hateful
memory. Peter and his words still
live, and Christendom’s largest
church stands above his tomb.
Vatican City Is Sovereign.
Ending long strife between
Church and State. Mussolini signed
the Lateran treaty in 1929. making
the State of Vatican City sovereign.
| By this accord it cannot engage in
political controversy except when
! disputants unanimously ask it to
j mediate. Its power is moral and
| spiritual.
Otherwise the pope is absolute
legislative, judicial, and executive
head of his 108.7-acre, art-treasure
j packed state. Italy guarantees right
of-way by wire, highway, rail and
air to the world. Exempt from Ital
ian taxes, Vatican City may issue
stamps and coin money.
The tsar of all the Russias once /
i visited the pope. He paused be
yond rainbow-shot spray to watch
two enormous fountains scintillat
ing in the sunny colonnade-encir
cled piazza at St. Peter's.
•‘They're gorgeously beautiful!"
he exclaimed. "Now you may turn
them off.”
He was astonished, they say, to
learn that Roman fountains, not op
erated solely for him, played con
stantly.
"Men may come, and men may
go, but I go on forever." Every
old fountain seems to murmur these
lines, and well they may, for many
have played virtually without inter
ruption since the repair of barbar
ian-destroyed aqueducts from the
same mountain rivers supplying
Rome today.
Hundreds of Fountains.
The late Professor A. D. Tani,
who loved his city and knew it as
few contemporaries did. apologized
that his “Fountains of Rome" con
tained only 300 illustrations!
Water flows from mouths of ani
mals and fishes, drops down artifi
cial waterfalls, pours in unbroken
sheets like shimmering glass, shoots
skyward, geyserlike, and returns as
misty rain into great marble basins
green with moss. It trickles down
rock ledges; it gushes sometimes in
torrents like a mountain trout
stream, always pure enough for
drinking.
Imaginative Roman artistry has
found wide scope in such creations
as Bernini's Fountain of Trevi, or
the stone ship at the Piazza di
Spagna.
There are numberless utilitarian
fountains of iron, where men and
horses drink, where housewives
wait for jugs to fill. Water is not
piped to every Roman home. Cold,
even in summer, a stream of it is
used for refrigeration by restau
rants and coffee shops. Fruit, milk,
soda pop are so cooled.
When some of the Pontine
marshes were sea, when navies
were galleys and triremes, Ostia,
at the Tiber’s mouth 14 miles south
west, was Rome’s seaport. It was
built on the site of an ancient set
tlement where the Tiber forks to
form Sacred Island.
Pliny the Younger, who survived
the eruption of Vesuvius that de
stroyed Pompeii, and wrote a
graphic account of it often quoted
today, once lived near Ostia, down
the shore road in a seaside villa.
Worn paving stones, uncovered,
point your way to the ruin as you
walk where Pliny rode. It is a shore
road no longer.
Ostia’s ruins are being dug from
the sand, three miles inland!
Rising shores and river silt have
often blocked the harbor. Mussolini
has not yet followed Claudius, Tra
jan, and Pope Paul V in building
a seaport adequate for Romans and
their times.
Romans today play on the beach
where Lido di Roma, a new town,
stretches two miles along the pres
ent shore. Crowds come by elec
tric car or new auto speedway, and
only glimpse the Tiber.
The south fork of the Tiber enters
the Tyrrhenian sea some distance
from Lido di Roma. Where the riv
er widens, protected by stone jet
ties from stormy waves, are two
airports, one military, the other a
seaplane base of Ala Littoria, sub
sidized company monopolizing
Italy’s air transport.
Here a dozen flying boats some
times ride at anchor, or take off
for Tunis, for east Africa—wherev
er airmail and hurrying passengers
would be flown. Here, too, are
shops where you see ships them
selves repaired and built. The
ground crew lives in a fair-sized
town.
There are two Appian ways. The
narrow old one near Rome could
not be widened for modern trans
port without destruction of relics
such as the Church of Domine Quo
Vadis.
It is built where Saint Peter, flee
ing Nero’s persecution, met Jesus
face to face. You see a print of a
bare foot in the stone where Christ
had stood; they say it is a repro
duction of His original footprint now
in the Church of St. Sebastian.
Domino Quo Vadis Church.
This church is built over ancient
catacombs cut in tufa—volcanic
rock—under the villa of some old
Roman sympathetic with early
Christians. What a task to carve
that maze of passages, those crypts
in living rock where bones still
crumble!
In little chapels worshipers, fired
by a zeal that only persecution
gives, say prayers by torchlight,
and then emerge into the night, car
rying bits of excavated rock tc
throw away covertly, lest unbeliev
ers discover their subterranean ren
dezvous.
Into gloomy tunnels, through an
air vent—an iron grill in the church
floor—filter faint and far-away or
gan music and chants.
*
When you come to the surface,
where sunlight streams into the
chapel through stained-glass win
dows, you 6ee a dozen girls of ten
or twelve learning to sing. Their
clothes are simple and somewhat
tattered—people who live on Via Ap
pia Antica are not as rich today as
of old. Many wear castoif, high
heeled ladies’ shoes.
Stone walls, red poppies in their
crevices, hide much of the rolling
Campagna on either side, until at
last the road emerges into open
fields and meadows where occasion
al heaps of stone and brick are re
mains of huge buildings.
In the distance are aqueducts.
To William Dean Howells they
"seemed to stalk down from the
ages across the melancholy expanse
like flies of giants, with now and
then a ruinous gap in the line, as if
one had fallen out weary by the
wax”
'Jhumhd about
Butchery by Air.
SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS.—
Following the example of
II Duce and that air-minded
son of his, who wrote a brave
book describing the joy of
bombing undefended mud
villages full of women and
children, one of the leading
statesmen of Italy has deliv
ered a speech declaring war
is the most glorious, most in
spiring, most beautiful thing
on earth. Inquiry discloses
that this cheery patron is a
hero in his own right. As an
officer, he enthusiastically
participated in the retreat
from Caooretta.
Caporetta was the place where
all ranks of an entire army, with vie
tory against the en
emy right around
the corner, sudden
ly remembered they
had sworn to die in
the last ditch and
started for the ex
treme rear to look
for it. Or it may
have been that ev
erybody just simul
taneously felt home
sick. Anyhow, it was
months before some jrvjn g, Cobb
of them caught up
with their panting.
So it’s possible this blood-thirstj
orator has confused the science ol
warfare with the sport of foot
racing.
• * •
The Meaning of Words.
A DISTINGUISHED gentleman,
who never admitted the Eight
eenth amendment was a failure, is
said to be comforting the drys with
words of wisdom, his attitude—in
effect—being this:
The causes of sanity and safety
suffer because certain distillers and
many local retailers indiscriminate
ly sell an unnecessarily high-pow
ered product, the results being law
breaking, property damage; danger
and personal injury and untold suf
fering for innocent parties; homi
cides, mutilations, often a horrid
death for the purchaser of the arti
cle in question.
To extend the argument further,
let us change just three words: "...
Certain automobile manufacturers
and many local agents indiscrim
inately sell an unnecessarily high
powered product, the results being
law-breaking, property damage;
danger and personal injury and un
told suffering for innocent parties;
homicides, mutilations, often a hor
rid death for the purchaser of the
article in question.”
Now then, when the aforesaid gen
tleman kindly proves that, in sell
ing cars capable of traveling 130
miles an hour or even faster, for
use on highways having a speed
limit of 60 miles an hour, or less,
he is promoting the causes of sanity
and safety, I’ll turn prohibitionist
with him.
• • •
Practical Joke,s.
THREE city sportsmen drove into
the Kerrville country in Texas.
Everywhere the lands were posted.
But one of the party knew an old
rancher whose acres bordered the
highway. Leaving his mates at the
road, he went to ask permission to
hunt deer on the property.
“Sure,” said the owner. “Bust
right in—my place is full of bucks;
I never gun ’em myself. Now do
me a favor. As you turn into the
lot, you’ll see an old, crippled, sick
white mare. She oughter be dead,
but I ain’t got the heart to kill any
living creature. Put her out of her
misery, will you?”
The gratified huntsman had a
waggish idea. As he opened the
pasture gate, he let out a terrific
yell.
“I feel so good I’ve got to shoot
something!” he whooped. “Believe
I’ll shoot a horse to start with.”
With that, he hauled off and blast
ed down the feeble old nag where
she leaned against the fence.
“And now,” as he turned on his
horrified companions, “I believe I’ll
shoot me a couple of so-and-soes.”
He waved his rifle in their direc
| tion. The next instant one had
: vaulted out of the car and had him
down, choking him until his tongue
stuck out like a pink plush necktie.
They were halfway back to town,
! with a large man sitting on his head
I and another driving like mad to find
j a lunatic asylum or a stout jail, be
fore the humorist succeeded in con
vincing them it was all just clean,
boyish fun.
Now the rest of Texas is wonder
ing whom the joke's on.
IRVIN S. COBB
Copyright.—WNU Service.
True Resignation
The famous Thoreau was unread
at the beginning of his writing ca
reer, and when Thoreau received
back from his publishers almost the
whole of the edition of his “Week
on the Concord and Merrimack Riv
ers,” he melancholically carried
them upstairs to his study, remark
ing, as he tells in his diary, “I have
now a library of nearly 900 volumes,
over 700 of which I wrote myself.”
IF YOU want to make a very big
1 doll, use two hanks of yarn and
the biggest red bandanna hand
kerchief you can find. Smaller
dolls made from one hank and a
medium size handkerchief are al
so attractive.
Tie the hank at the top as at A,
then cut it across the bottom.
Make the head by tying the yarn
in as at B, then separate part of
the strands at the sides and bind
them together to make the arms
as at C and D. Cut these strands
off as at E to make the hands.
Bind the rest of the yarn around
as at F to define the waistline.
Thread a large needle with white
darning cotton and make the
mouth and eyes with several
stitches made as shown here. Sew
small black buttons or beads in
the middle of the eyes.
Cut a square out of the center
of the handkerchief. The square
piece you cut out should be big
enough so it may be cut through
the center from corner to corner
to make two triangles—one to be
used for the head kerchief for the
doll and one for the three cornered
shoulder kerchief. When this is
done, gather around the square
hole in the center of the bandanna
and draw up the gathering thread
to make the full top of the skirt.
Every Homemaker should hav«
a copy of Mrs. Spears’ new book,
SEWING. Forty-eight pages of
step-by-step directions for making
slipcovers and dressing tables;
restoring 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 address,
enclosing 25 cents, to Mrs. Spears,
210 South Desplaines St., Chicago,
Illinois.
NERVOUS?
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Are you cross and irritable? Do you scold
those dearest to you?
If your nerves are on edge, try T.YDIA E.
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For three generations one woman has told
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helps Nature tone up the system, thus lessen
ing the discomforts from the functional dis
orders which women must endure.
Make a note NOW to get a bottle of world
famous Pinkham's Compound today WITH
OUT FAIL from your druggist—more than a
million women have written in letters re
porting benefit.
Why not try LYDIA E. PINKHAM’S
VEGETABLE COMPOUND?
MILLIONS
TRAotViWBr irntr MARK N
f Millions of people now know that Smith Brothers Cough Drops j
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| Smith Bros. Cough Drops are the only drops containing VITAMIN A |
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I membranes of the nose and throat to cold and cough infections.
Heedless One
But how can he expect that oth
ers should build for him, sow for
him, and at his call love him, who
for himself will take no heed at
all?—Wordsworth.
Bridge Winter with
Quaker State Winter
Motor Oil
Enjoy easy starting, care-free
driving, and economical lu
brication for the rest of the
Winter. Quaker State Winter
Oil is made only of finest
Pennsylvania crude oil . . .
specially refined for Winter.
It flows freely when cold . ..
gives the motor full-bodied
lubrication. The retail price
is 35^ a quart. Quaker State
Oil Refining Corporation, Oil
Gty, Pennsylvania.