NATIONAL
AFFAIRS
Reviewed by
CARTER FIELD
Movements of congress
to be slots until political fu
ture of the Democratic /tarty
and the New Deni is clari fied
. . . See opening wedge of
fight against third term in
the action on relief money
... Congress to be tightwad
when it comes to opening
up new public works.
WASHINGTON.—The whole pic
ture of why this congress is going to
be snaillike in its movements un
til the political future of the Demo
cratic party in general and the New
Deal in particular is clarified is dis
closed in that amazing speech of
Sen. John H. Bankhead of Alabama
—brother of the speaker of the
house—denying that there had been
any "issue” between President
Roosevelt and Vice President John
Nance Gamer over the amount of
money voted in the relief bill.
Even the Associated Press could
cot let that speech pass without in
cluding in the account of it the fact
that the day before, when Sen. Alva
B. Adams, of Colorado, had been
asked if he appreciated the help
Garner had given his side, he had
said. "Yes. I do."
As a matter of fact everybody in
terested knew that the White House
made a terrific fight to win that
roll call, and that the opposition
strained every nerve to beat the
White House. The "issue" was
not relief at all. Most of the sena
tors who had lined up against the
President will be perfectly willing,
and said so, to vote more money
later if the President will declare
an emergency exists.
The issue was clearly to trim a
little of the President’s powers. It
was not clear-cut. Many senators
were frightened into line by the
cold wave which accompanied the
fight. They were afraid their con
stituents might figure they were
willing to let men and women freeze
and starve. The weather was on
the side of the President.
Opening Wedge of Fight
Aimed Against Third Term
But doling out the relief money to
the President—forcing him to come
again with a declaration of emer
gency if he wants any more—re
stricts by a good deal the blanket
power he has exercised over relief
spending, and by the same token
tends to trim his policital power to
just that extent.
Make no mistake about it, that
fight was the opening wedge of the
battle which is really aimed at pre
venting a Roosevelt third term, and
preventing the choice of any out
and-out New Dealer as Roosevelt's
successor hi the 1940 convention.
Specifically it was aimed at the
"spenders” in the New Deal. It
demonstrated a lack of sympathy
for many of the Roosevelt lieuten
ants, including, most spectacularly,
Marriner S. Eccles, head of the fed
eral reserve board.
Mr. Eccles is not worried about
the deficits, or the mounting nation
al debt. Congress by that vote on
relief, first in the house and second
in the senate, showed that it is.
But some of the Southern sena
tors and other leaders are not will
ing yet to admit that they are really
fighting continued Roosevelt mas
tery. They want to watch a few
developments first, to determine
just bow safe it is to be against
him. They want to leave a few
bridges unbumed. so they can re
join him if he should prove un
beatable.
uown underneath, most of them
hope he will be succeeded by some
one with economic views much fur
ther to the right. It will be noticed
in Senator Bankhead's very cagey
remarks that he left open doors
leading in every direction. The
speech fooled no one in the White
House crowd. But it pleased them
just the same. It tended to soften
the blow.
Congress Is Set Against
Giving New Deal Free Hand
If that suggestion about setting up
another TV A in southern Illinois,
which would generate power from
the coal deposits there instead of
from water power, had been made
four years ago, or even last year,
it would have frightened the utili
ties to death.
Now they are hoping that nothing
will happen because congress is set
against giving the New Deal a free
hand on spending, is willing to be
liberal when it comes to danger of
people starving or freezing, but is
inclined to be a tightwad when it
comes to new public works. As for
example Passamaquoddy and the
Florida canal, both of which seem
doomed to remain sidetracked.
Besides, and this is really the
funny part of the situation, there is
not the popular appeal in develop
ing electricity from coal that there
is from water power. Down under
neath the New Deal is all for it.
President Roosevelt is just as un
friendly to the privately owned util
ities as ever. But this is no time
to be agitating this particular point
—certainly until the Supreme court
has clarified it in the TV A case.
Best opinion here as to the future
of public ownership of big power de
velopments is that they will be con
fined, for a time at least, to water
power. The answer is simple. In
the first place, there is the popu
lar notion that power produced from
water power is the cheapest power
in the world—almost free. Second,
there is the popular idea that wa
ter power is one of our great na
tional resources, belonging not to
the few people who happen to own
the land adjacent to the most favor
able spot for developing it, but to
all the people.
Cost of Producing Electric
Current Is Very Small
Actually of course the cost of pro
ducing electric current is so small
that it does not make much differ
ence which method is used. But
if you insist on going into decimals
coal is cheaper thap water power.
The city of Washington offers an
excellent illustration. Sen. George
W. Norris has long advocated the
development of water power at
Great Falls, on the Fotomac, a few
miles above Washington. As an en
gineering proposition it is perfectly
sound. It is now being pressed in
the house by Rep. John E. Rankin
of Mississippi, Nemesis of the pri
vate utilities and leader of the pub
lic power bloc. Rankin would set
up a "Potomac Valley authority"
modeled after his beloved TVA.
But engineers are agreed that
such a development would not pro
duce current any more cheaply than
the private company does now. And
the company uses a cheap grade of
anthracite which has to be hauled
down from northeastern Pennsylva
nia! Actually power is produced
from this coal at a cost of only
three mills per kilowatt at the
switchboard.
Of course the government could
take that same steam plant and pro
duce electricity at something less
than the three mills it costs the
company, assuming that it operated
as efficiently as the company does
now. There is an item of taxes,
which includes local property as
sessments and federal income
taxes, in that three mills. But ob
viously no economy could be affect
ed so far as the production of elec
tricity is concerned which would be
very important to the consumers.
Yet it would be sort of tough on
the coal miners in Pennsylvania to
try to effect this economy!
Expect No Speed From
This Session of Congress
There is no use expecting any
speed from this session of congress.
It simply is not in the mood. Sena
tors and representatives have their
ears to the ground, their eyes
strained for the most likely band
wagon, their brains concentrated on
the most important question of the
ages: "What is best for me?”
Gentlemen who have not already
burned their bridges will be care
ful about dropping sparks. Some
things, such as the relief appropria
tions, must be decided rather
promptly—cannot be postponed. But
even on this there is the obvious
groping for the most expedient thing
—politically—so patent that the pon
derous phrases deceive no one ac
customed to watching the political
wheels go round. As for example
Pat Harrison with his amendment
tor cutting the appropriation, but
not turning anybody off the WPA
rolls!
It’s just one of those things, po
litically, which happens every time
a very strong man approaches the
end of his reign—complicated—as
in the case of every strong Presi
dent since Washington—with a trace
of suspicion that this may not be
the end!
Nobody knows whom to tie to!
Nobody knows who is going to be
the next President. Nobody knows
whether the Democratic nominee
next year will be a conservative, a
New Dealer, or Just a liberal. The
whole feeling is best illustrated by
a recent conversation just outside
the senate chamber. It happened
that the man generally regarded as
the No. 1 prognosticator of the New
Deal was talking with some newspa
per men, who were wondering who
would be nominated by the two par
ties.
"Well," said the prognosticator,
“if someone came along and offered
me 100 to 1 that I could not name
the next President, I would take the
bet, and name Thomas Dewey.”
Thinks There's Possibility
Republicans Might lPin
This positively does not mean that
the gentleman in question thinks the
Republicans are going to win. But
he thinks there is the possibility that
they may, and he is fairly sure that
they will nominate one of a very
small group of men—he talked
about three. Whereas the Demo
crats may conceivably name any
one of a dozen.
He knows that merely following
the President is not enough to keep
him in his $10,000 a year (with per
quisites) job. He knows that fight
ing Roosevelt on a few issues is
not going to defeat him. But that’s
not enough. He wanted to be on the
bandwagon.
Crystallization has not begun. It
may follow the present debate on
relief. It may not come until the
neutrality and armament programs
are up. The whole picture may
change one way if business contin
u- s to revive, another if it slumps,
and still another if war should come.
But make no mistake about this.
There are a lot of boobs in the house
and senate, but most of them are
very smart politicians.
• BeU Syndicate.—WNU Service.
WAR SCHOOL
Navy Officers
Get in 4Swim’
At Annapolis
Prepared by National Geographic Society.
Washington, D. C.—WNU Service.
To be a midshipman at the
United States Naval academy
is the ambition of many an
American youth. But it takes
dogged persistence to be
come one.
From every state and terri
tory of the United States
come the young men who
aspire to commissions as
naval officers. When you ar
rive at the academy a num
ber of your future classmates
join you—lads from Massa
chusetts, Arkansas, Hawaii, and
even from the Philippine islands.
Before 1845, midshipmen were ed
ucated solely by experience at sea
and by such “book learning” as the
individual chose to acquire, with the
aid of ship “school masters.”
George Bancroft, secretary of the
navy under President Polk, early
recognized the desirability of estab
lishing a naval school ashore.
Obtained Army Fort.
Eventually Secretary Bancroft ob
tained transfer to the navy depart
ment of Fort Severn, an outmoded
army fort near Annapolis, and
founded there the naval school.
Commander Franklin Buchanan,
the first superintendent, had about
40 students and 7 instructors.
From this slender beginning, the
naval academy has gone splendidly
forward, training officers for the na
val service. The original naval
school has disappeared, but the
present group of 16 imposing build
ings, begun in 1898, has risen on the
foundations of the old. Now there
are about 2,000 midshipmen at the
academy. A graduate of the acade
my, describing his early experience,
said:
“I had hardly stowed the mass of
gear issued to me at the midship
men’s store, and shifted to my new
white uniform, when I prevailed
upon my roommate to guide me
around the Yard.
“We strolled across Farragut field
to the seawall and looked out over
the bay. A Chesapeake bugeye, with
raking masts and sails glistening in
the fading sunlight, came flying into
the harbor on the last of the sea
breeze. She was loaded to the gun
wales with fresh oysters.
Stroll Through Grounds.
"Facing about, Bancroft hall tow
ered above us in massive solidity.
My roommate pointed out the arm
ory, Dahlgren hall, where midship
men keep their rifles and drill in
foul weather, and Macdonough
A pleasant task at Annapo
lis. Midshipman Elton L.
Knapp of Monroe, Mich., in
command of the third com
pany, receives a kiss from Miss
Ruth Scheidinger, also of Mon
roe, after she presented him
with the colors, the feature
event of the annual spring
dress parade.
short summer, while we new plebes
became acquainted with the rudi
ments of military drill, seamanship,
small arms target practice, and
physical training. Yet in those care
free days we dreaded the return of
the upper-classmen away on their
summer cruise.
“Quite naturally, a plebe comes
to the academy somewhat overim
pressed with his own importance.
The inevitable deflation is some
times abrupt.
Even yet, I cannot recall with
out a shudder that first day of aca
demic year. I was ‘steering a prop
er course’ down the middle of a
corridor when a voice behind me
spoke:
“ ‘Where headed for, mister?’
*’ ‘The midshipmen’s store, sir.’
“ ‘Sound off.’
“I was silent for a moment A
first classman moved around into
my field of vision.
“ ‘Good Lord!’ the stern voice
cried. ‘Don’t you know “sound off”
means to tell me your name and
state? Well then, what did Lawrence
say?’
“I remembered Perry’s battle
flag, the navy’s most historic ban
ner, preserved in Memorial hall.
Rough white letters on a faded
blue background spell Captain Law
rence's last words as be lay dying
Midshipmen from Annapolis are shown at Portsmouth,
England, receiving a lesson in battle strategy during last sum
mer’s cruise on the V. S. S. Texas and the II. S. S. Wyoming.
The ships were manned largely by midshipmen and ratings
undergoing training.
! hall, the gymnasium, where the fu
ture admirals do ‘stoop falls'
and ‘knee bends.'
"We strolled through Thompson
; stadium, scene of many a gridiron
battle, and passed under the ter
race to Stribling walk. There the
Indian chieftain intrigued me.
" ‘Who’s the old gent?’ I inquired.
“ ’Ssh!’ He put his finger to his
lips in mock fear. 'Don’t let him
hear you. That’s Tecumseh, god
of the 2.5. Don’t get him down on
you, or you won’t be long around
I these parts.’
"He explained how midshipmen
are marked in class and at exami
nation on a basis of 4 for perfect
(equivalent to 100 per cent), and
| that 2.5 is the passing mark. Any
score below that minimum, he said,
was 'bilging,' in academy parlance.
"We moved down Stribling walk
from Bancroft hall past the Mexi
can monument to the academic
group (Sampson, Maury, Isherwood,
and Mahan halls). This path mid
shipmen tread thrice daily, always
in military formation, to their stud
ies.
Plebes Get ’Deflated.’
“As we strolled back across the
terrace to our room, a bugle sound
ed formation and a gong clattered
in the hall. ‘Bet.ar step out to for
mation,’ my roommate said, and
he ran toward our company pa
rade.
“Bancroft's broad corridors rang
' nur voices during that all too
on the deck of the Chesapeake.
‘Don’t give up the ship, sir,' I
blurted out.
‘•’Well now, that’s better.’ The
voice was more kindly. ‘What did
Dewey do?'
“ ‘Sir?’
“ ‘See here, mister, you're terri
bly ignorant of naval history and
tradition. Report to my room at
9^30 tonight for instruction. Savvy?’
" ‘Yes, sir.’
“ ‘Shove off.’ Such was my first
encounter with an upper-classman.
‘Your Brace Is Terrible.’
“At dinner formation, standing
stiffly erect in the rear rank, eyes
riveted on the back of the midship
man’s neck in front, I believed I cut
a perfect military figure. But some
one growled behind me, ‘Pull your
self together, mister. Your brace
is terrible.’
“I stiffened to a more rigid posi- j
tion. Presently we marched off to
music played by the ‘hell cats.’ as
the midshipmen drum and bugle
corps is called by the regiment.
From the regimental commander
came the order, ‘SE ATS!’ Two
thousand chairs scraped.”
It is a busy life. During a nor
mal day, a midshipman attends sev
en military formations, recites three
times, and drills once. He is in
spected frequently, both for person
al appearance and for cleanliness
of his room, for which he and his
“wife,” or roommate, are jointly
responsible.
Floyd QdMotPsL^
ADVENTURERS’ CLUB
HEADLINES FROM THE LIVES
OF PEOPLE LIKE VOURSELFI
“Stretching His Luck99
Hello everybody!
Teddy was a wing walker.
You know, one of those birds in a flying circus who does
things on the wing of a plane you wouldn’t try in your own
parlor. They must need money mighty bad, you tell your
neighbor.
Teddy always was a runt. That’s why he was a wing
walker. You wanted as little weight as possible moving
around out there on the fabric-covered wings of those Jen
nies the flying circuses were using right after the war.
They weren’t built for wing walking. But Teddy walked
’em, even in his sleep.
It was old stuff to him. It was so old he began to look
around for something new to thrill the gaping crowds.
Something that gave them a bigger kick than hanging by your knees
from the undercarriage of a speeding plane. He didn’t know then it never
pays to play the other fellow’s game. But he learned.
Well air, it was in a town the flying circus was playing out in
Iowa that Teddy came across the idea he was looking for. It came
to him as he watched a human fly scale the walls of the tallest
building. Reaching the topmost story, the fly somehow attached
an ordinary inner tube to a window, sunk his teeth in the
other end and hung there in the breeze. Teddy saw the stunt
“got” the crowd. And it would knock ’em cold when he pulled
it on a plane a thousand or so feet in the air.
Human Fly Coaches Teddy for New Job.
When the fly came down to earth, Teddy introduced himself, invited
him to supper. Maybe they hoisted a couple. Anyway, the fly warmed
up enough to tell Teddy how it worked.
Before he went to bed that night, the wing walker bought himself a
couple of brand new inner tubes. The next day, out at the flying field,
he rigged them as he had been instructed. High up on a wall he fas
tened an end of one. Then, climbing on a chair, he took the other
end in his teeth and kicked the chair away.
The darn thing stretched so far his feet touched the floor. He moved
the tube a couple of feet higher and everything was fine.
Day after day Teddy religiously practiced hanging from that
tube to strengthen the muscles of his Jaws and neck. It was
a heavy strain to put on the front upper teeth that were bridge
work, but they held. And six weeks later Teddy was prepared
to strut his stuff.
Before we go any further I had better tell you Teddy is Theodore
Davidson of Galesburg, 111. They still call him “Dare Devil” Davidson,
this new member of the Floyd Gibbons Adventurers’ club.
He was all of that on a sunny afternoon, in September, 1919, in Mo
line, 111., where the flying circus was putting on its show, making those
t/V/C*-*/- /f-l
The tube started stretching and stretching.
Jennies do things they were never built for. The weather was perfect.
So was the gate. And the performers were feeling pretty good as they
took to the skies.
Especially Teddy. He was going to pop their eyes out with a brand
new, death-defying stunt, performed for the first time in any land. It
never occurred to him then, this would also be the last time.
The inner tube was fastened securely to the axle of the undercarriage
of the Jenny. And everything went off according to schedule until Teddy
began lowering himself down that wriggling, slippery, flabby length of
rubber.
Fails to Figure Effect of Air Resistance.
“Right then,” Teddy says, “I could see I had stretched my luck too
far.”
Right there, too, he began learning a painful lesson in simple physics!
He bad failed to figure what effect the air resistance of his
body would have upon the tubing. Hanging below the plane, mov
ing 70 miles an hour, the drag of the air on Teddy added some
30 or 40 pounds to the weight on that big rubber band.
"That tube started stretching and stretching,” says Teddy,
"and it was like a live thing as I slipped and fought it!”
The more it stretched, the harder it was for a wing walker
with a bright idea to hang on. It had never acted that way in
practice. Would it hold? Could it hold? What was he going to
do about it? Teddy says he was too dumb to climb back. That
was probably because he was too busy holding on.
Well sir, that’s one of the damed'st fixes I ever heard of. And it
became worse. After rassling for 10 minutes with that flexible support
his arms tired.
He slipped lower. Finally, he just had to let himself down to where
he could sink his teeth into the gadget attached to the flapping end.
His jaws clamped down on it. The rest of him was limp with weariness.
His head forced back, he saw the tube stretch alarmingly as gusts
of wind put more pressure on his body. There were six feet of it between
him and the landing gear.
In practice, it had never stretched to more than three!
Rests Arms to Climb Back to Safety.
Teddy tried to relax as the plane circled 1,500 feet above the grand
stand. His aching arms were folded, resting for that long climb to safe
ty. He wasn’t sure he could do it. But he was not permitted to dwell
on the idea for long. There was a wrench, a crunch, a shoot of pain in
Teddy’s face.
The bridgework that was Teddy’s front uppers had crushed!
The ends of the mouthpiece, however, were tucked away back
where they were gripped by molars on both sides. Stiff gripping
it, Teddy began inching his way upward along that thin, twisted,
tough tubing that had been put to such strange use. Well, boys
and girls, there is no use prolonging the agony.
“I made it, too,” Teddy says, “but by such a small margin I decided
then and there to be satisfied with my old bag of tricks.”
Teddy’s story closes on a note of sadness. Those artificial teeth of
his vanished into thin air during the minutes he struggled up that yielding
rope of rubber. All the dough he made that dizzy day went to buy
a new set.
Copyright.—WNU Service.
---
Quaint Customs Surround Oldest British Festival
Quaaltagh is seldom heard of in
England, but is one of the oldest
British festivals. It is observed in
parts of the Isle of Man, where cus
toms similar to "first-footing” in
Scotland are kept up, says Tit-Bits.
Men go from house to house singing
special festival songs, and are in
vited in for a bite and a drink.
But there are one or two customs
in connection with Quaaltagh which
are observed nowhere else. Before
midnight the floor of the kitchen is
swept, always starting at the door
and sweeping to the hearth, other
wise good luck will be swept out.
Before retiring, the ashes are taken
from the fire and smoothed over the
hearth with a pair of tongs, and in
the morning the housewife looks
eagerly at the ashes for tracks of a
human foot. If there is one and the
toes point to the door, it means
death for one in the house: if the
footprint is reversed, it means the
birth of a child.
PERSONAL
Reduce Sensibly! Lose up to 7 lbs. weekly.
Safgj Inexpensive. Chart and information
FREE. Write Dr. Wendt. Canton. S. Dak.
Live Stock Commission
BYERS BROS & CO.
A Real Live Stock Com. Firm
At the Omaha Market
TIMBER WANTED
CASH PAID
FOR WALNUT LOGS OR TIMBER
Midwest Walnut Ce. Council Bluffs, is.
When Bad Luck Rules
One whose bread is buttered
only on one side lets it fall on the
buttered side when he drops it.
Some blessings in disguise
never do take off the mask.
According to the hobo, the roll
ing stone gathers no boss.
A man who cares about what
the neighbors say of him should
do anything to prevent his wife
from looking bent and wrinkled
and listless.
The Making Is Racking
It is better to live in a period
after great history has been made
than to live through the making of
it.
First time a young man puts on
evening clothes, “with tails,” he
feels he must be someone else.
Can’t Eat, Can’t
Sleep, Awful fiat
PRESSES HEART
"Oss on my stomach ns so bad I eould
Hot eat or sleep. It even pressed on my
heart. A friend suggested Adlerika. Tha
first dose brought me relief. Now I eat aa X
wish, aieep fine, aid never felt batter."—
Mrs. Jas. filler. Adlerika aets on BOTH
upper and lower bowels. Adlerika gives your
intestinal system a real cleansing, bringing
out waste matter that may have oauaed GAB
BLOATING, sour stomach, headache*,
nervousness, and sleepless nights for months.
You will be amased at this efficient intestinal
cleanser. Just one spoonful usually relieves
GAS and oonstipation. Adlerika does not
grips, is not habit forming. Recommended by
many doctors and druggists for 86 years.
Sold at all drug tints
The Bruise Weakens
The least strength suffices to
break what is bruised.—Ovid.
YlSl
“Luden’s are a natural
choice, because they
contribute to your
alkaline reserve when
you have a cold.”
M. SOUTHARD.
Registered Nurse, New YonI
LI? DEN'S
MENTHOL COUGH DROPS
IJ IJ coTbs
M Q Headaches
W W and Fever
LIQUID, TABLETS doe to Colda
SALVE. HOSE DROPS In SO min a tea.
Try “Hab-RIy-Ttsin”-a Wonder fal Unliaaal
Ever Forward
Forgetting those things that ar«
behind I press on.
LOJT YOUR PEP?
Hare |* Amazing Rollof for
Conditiona Duo to SiugalRii Bowels
If »oo think an laxattsaa
ant alike, lust try tide
ail *•«Stahls Is* "
affjBaSnaar
aauociated with coDstlDatfon.
Without RiskS^°£M.Rt£S“£Z
if not delighted, return the box to ns. We wHI
refund the purebase
ALWAY. CARRY QUICK REUEF
FOR ACID
INDIGESTION
WNU—U 7—39
Don’t Neglect TTiem l
Nature designed the kidney* to do a
marvelous job. Their task is to keep tha
flowing blood stream free of an excess of
toxic impurities. The act of living—lift
ilttlf—is constantly producing waata
matter the kidney* must remove from
the blood If good health fa to endure.
When the kidneys fail to function as
Nature intended, there !a retention of
waste that may cause body-wide dis
tress. One may suffer nagging backache,
persistent headache, attacks of dizziness
getting up nights, swelling, puffiness
under the eyes—feel tired, nervous, all
worn out.
Frequent, scanty or burning passagas
may be further evidence of kidney or
bladder disturbance.
The recognized and proper treatment
la a diuretic medicine to help the kidneys
fet rid of excess poisonous body waste.
Ise Doan s Pill,. They have had mors
than forty years of public approval. Are
endorsed the country over. Insist an
Doan ,. Sold at all drug store*.
