NATIONAL
AFFAIRS
Rtvitwtd by
CARTER FIELD
Second - choice commit
ments, if Roosevelt doesn’t
run. are complicating the
political situation . . . Car
ter Field presents two little
riddles in the game of na
tional i>olitics . . . United
States government is giving
every encouragement to
makers of planes.
WASHINGTON—"Of course I
won’t be here this time next year,”
President Roose
velt smiled to a din
ner partner recent
ly. The lady was
convinced, but her
husband wasn't,
when she told him
about it later.
'TheyTl draft
him,” he said glum
ly—glumly because
he is one of the
growing group that
hopes Roosevelt
will name him ashis
choice as his sue
President
Roosevelt
cessor, if and when.
But a lot of people are operating
on the theory that Roosevelt really
does mean to take himself out of
It, and stay out. Which explains the
enormous interest right now in sec
ond-choice commitments.
Men and women who are going to
be delegates—and the bosses In
some instances who will control del
egates—are being importuned all
over the country to give second
choice commitments—promises that
if Roosevelt doesn't choose to run,
they will vote for this or that can
didate.
Curiously enough, the mere
growth of this pledging contributes
not to the logic that Roosevelt will
not run, but to the logic that he will.
It must be admitted that the logic
all along has been that Roosevelt
would run, though many of the in
siders insist that he will not.
Second-Choice Commitmrnts
Closing In on Situation
But this second-choice commit
ment development is closing in on
the situation. It is an extraordinary
brake on Roosevelt’s hoped-for dom
ination of the convention if he isn’t
going to take the nomination. For
instance, the Georgia delegates, ac
cording to present Intentions, will
be for Roosevelt if he runs. But if
he does not run the plan is to go
to Cordell Hull. The Massachusetts
delegates will be for Roosevelt first,
but for James A. Farley second.
The point is that when Roosevelt
says he will not serve again—as
suming he should say this—but that
the man he wants chosen to carry
on his policies is Robert H. Jackson,
or whoever, the Georgia delegates
will say to the messenger: "Sorry,
but we are pledged to Hull if
F. D. R. doesn’t take it.” The In
diana delegates will say: "Sorry,
but we are pledged to Paul McNutt
if Roosevelt isn’t a candidate.”
Meanwhile, Tommy Corcoran,
Ben Cohen, Bob Jackson and others
of the inner circle are working
feverishly to get uninstructed dele
gates, but men who are for Roose
velt. In fact, some highly placed
New Dealers are sure that they
would not be quite so active if the
White House had not given them the
green light. But they are making
very little progress as against the
second-choice commitment situa
tion. Nor is it very likely that their
efforts would be successful in this
direction.
The reason is very practical.
Most of the men and women who
will be delegates, or who will con
trol delegates, are interested
primarily in keeping the Demo
cratic party in power for four more
years. Most of them care only in
an academic way about any par
ticular New Deal policy.
n adsu orth Rejects IS etc
Post Office for District
When a congressman opposes a
federal building in his own district
it’s like a man biting a dog, but it
is characteristic of James W. Wads
worth, now a member of the house
and for 12 years a senator, that he
wouldn't think of it as of any in
terest.
What happened was that a con
stituent wrote Wadsworth that the
government was about to build a
new post office building in Mt. Mor
ris, N. Y., just a few miles from
where Wadsworth has lived all his
life. This constituent said he
thought it was a waste of govern
ment money, for he didn't think Mt.
Morris needed a new post office.
Neither did Wadsworth. So he
wrote Postmaster General James A.
Farley and told him so, adding that
“Mt. Morris doesn’t need a new post
office any more than I need a new
silk hat, and you ought to see my
old one."
Then Wadsworth sent a carbon of
his letter to Farley along with his
reply to his constituent. But later
the same day, as is his wont, he
told local newspaper correspondents
from western New York that he
didn't know a thing that was worth
printing!
Of course that letter to Farley
was too good to keep, so the chap
who originally protested to Wads
worth showed it to everybody he
saw, including, eventually, a local
correspondent for the Buffalo Eve
ning News. So it was printed, and
the first the correspondents who talk
to Wadsworth every day knew about
it was when the edition of the News
containing the story reached Wash
ington.
"You’ll never learn,” one of them
said to Wadsworth, bitterly, "No
wonder Bob Wagner retired you
from the senate.”
Then There’s the Case of
Cummings and Alcatraz
But if that's hard to understand,
how about this one. Remember
how proud Homer S. Cummings was
of Alcatraz? He thought it solved
a real problem in dealing with des
perate gangsters and other crimi
nals. Along came Frank Murphy,
whose sensibilities seemed to be
shocked. To take its place he want
ed a prison in the farm belt of the
Middle West, with the prisoners al
lowed to get a bit of sunshine as
they worked in the fields instead of
getting prison pallor in the fogs of
San Francisco bay.
Cummings read about this in the
newspapers and rushed for the
White House. It so happened that
he was the only out-and-out third
term booster among the Democrat
ic leaders of Connecticut, especially
as Senator Francis T. Maloney, who
comes up for re-election this year,
thought the third-term idea would
defeat him for re-election in Connec
ticut, however it might work out in
other parts of the country.
When Cummings came out of the
White House he was smiling. He
told newspaper men that they could
be sure Alcatraz would remain.
Murphy kept a committee study
ing where to locate its successor,
but now Robert H. Jackson is at
torney general. Within a very short
time of his assuming his place as
head of the department he decided
that this committee was Just wast
ing its time.
So Alcatraz will stick.
But now comes the pay-off. The
Connecticut Democracy decides to
send a delegation to the Democratic
National convention at Chicago in
structed for James A. Farley, and
no such strings as the Massachu
setts Democrats put on their dele
gates. The Bay state boys are to
be for Farley if Roosevelt doesn’t
want it. The Nutmeggers are for
Farley regardless! Riddle me that
one, as John L. Lewis says!
1). S. Government Encourages
Manufacturers of Planes
With one eye on national defense,
but the other on the desire to help
Secretary
Morgenthau
Britain and France
in the war, the gov
ernment is getting
ready to give every
encouragement to
rapid expansion of
America’s airplane
producing industry.
The efforts re
volve around Secre
tary of the Treas
ury Henry Morgen
thau Jr., who has
been given the
triple responsibility
of co-ordinating Al
lied purchasing, rationalizing Unit
ed States production, and seeing
that the tax policy puts no brake on
expansion.
Military and political importance
of this program is obvious when it
is realized that on the basis of only
the expansion already under way,
our aircraft production by the end
of the year will be nearly 2,000 units
a month—equal to the most favor
able reports considered reliable as
to German capacity. The exact ex
tent of the new plans is not known,
but persistent rumors of orders
nearly tripling the present $650,000,
000 backlog, all to be delivered with
in 18 months or so, indicate that
production will have to go far
enough above the 2,000 figure to put
Uncle Sam far ahead of any other
country.
Morgcnthau's first move toward
smoothing out the flow of aircraft
production was an attack on the en
gine bottleneck. The big problem
here has been the inability to get
machine tools. The machine-tool
industry has been swamped with or
ders, foreign and domestic, and has
been handling nearly everything on
a first come, first served basis.
As a result of Morgenthau's con
ferences, the machine-tool industry
will now work on a priority sys
tem intended to give aircraft mak
ers first call on tools.
Taxation and profit-limitation pol
icies raise no serious obstacles on
expansion for domestic war planes.
Expansion Is Paid for
By Foreign Purchasers
Expansion tor military export is
somewhat different. All this expan
sion is being paid for directly by the
foreign purchasers. In fact, the Al
lies are quite aggrieved because
United States manufacturers are
virtually insisting on getting free
plants os part of their contracts.
The usual procedure is for the
British and French to make a loan
covering the cost of the new plant
to the manufacturer. The loss is
charged off, as deliveries are made,
out of deliberately inflated prices.
If the treasury department want
ed to be nasty, of course, it could
treat this transaction as a gift and
tax it accordingly. Actually, the
treasury will take the deal at its
face value. The department has al
ready made a ruling, in the case
of the Atlas Powder company, that
such money "will not constitute tax
able income to Atlas for the reason
that such a transaction would be a
loan evidenced by a note."
iBell Syndicate—WNU Service.)
N.
__
SECRET
YEARNINGS
86
By KARL GRAYSON
Associated Newspapers—WNU Service
1WAS sorry when Steve Andrews
left his wife; sorry for both
Steve and Bess. I had always
thought of them as well
matched and well suited to each
other.
Two weeks after the break, I met
Bess at a summer beach resort on
the Atlantic coast. She looked more
stunning than ever, though there
was a wistfulness in her expression
that I at once attributed to her loss
of Steve.
“Bess,” 1 began, with the famil
iar manner that comes from long
acquaintance,” I was terribly sorry
to hear about you and Steve. Are
you both really in earnest?
Bess smiled and laid her hand on
mine, and I had an uncomfortable
feeling that I was being indulged.
“Angus,” she said, “please don’t
waste time fretting about it. You’ve
never been married, you know, and
can't understand such things."
“I can hardly see what my bach
elorhood has to do with it," I said
a little stiffly.
“Now, I’ve offended you.” Bess
looked at me ruefully. "I’m sorry.”
She smiled at me brightly. “Angus,
let me tel! you a little story.”
“What kind of a story? And what
has it to do with you and Steve?”
"It’s a story about a young cou
ple who were married Just as Steve
and I. Very much In love, I mean.
But, like Steve and me, each had
certain characteristics that the oth
er didn’t understand.
"For example, Ken—that was the
boy’s name — couldn’t understand
Paula's interest in clothes. And
Paula couldn't understand Ken’s in
terest in adventure.”
“In what?" I asked.
"Adventure, Angus. Bess flashed
me one of her indulgent, almost pity
ing smiles. "Every man, you know,
likes to think of himself as adventur
ous. He’s forever imagining him
self a hero, exploring unknown
lands, sailing the seven seas, Join
ing the Foreign Legion, and
things like that. He hates being
suppressed and told what to do. He
enjoys an occasional fling with the
boys—doing something devilish and
daring, like taking his secretary to
lunch or playing a furtive hand of
poker—chiefly because his wife dis
approves of such things and it gives
him a kick. If you know what I
mean?"
"I’m sure I don’t," 1 said coldly.
"What’s this got to do with Steve?"
"This trait,” Bess went on, ig
noring my remark, "was extremely
pronounced in Ken. He was for
ever threatening to do this and that,
and Paula was just as often for
bidding him and challenging his love
because of the secret yearnings
which sometimes revealed them
selves. To make matters worse,
Ken’s men friends were inclined to
be boastful, as men are apt to be.”
"What men?" I asked.
"All men,” said Bess, sighing.
“Ken’s friends especially. They
boasted of their own exploits, mak
ing such remarks as ‘No woman is
going to stop me from doing what I
want!’ or ‘The wife? Ha! Think I’d
let her stop me?’ All of which filled
Ken with wonder and awe and ad
miration. He was young, you un
derstand. Young and just married.
He actually believed they were tell
ing the truth.”
"They probably were,” I suggest
ed.
“Don’t be absurd, Angus! Well,
to get on with my story. Eventually
Ken decided he was going to do
something so he could boast, too.
He was going to indulge a few of
his own secret longings. He was
tired of being suppressed by a dom
inating wife. And, filled with a pro
digious resolve, he came home one
night with a very definite purpose in
mind.
"But Paula had guessed that pur
pose before he uttered it. You see,
Paula was wise. She knew some
thing was wrong with their mar
ried life and she had determined to
find out what it was. The best meth
od she could think of was to study
the lives of married people with
whom she was acquainted.
"Which is what she did—and saw
the light clearly. She knew what it
was that was bothering Ken and
what it was he wanted. And so at
dinner that night when Ken. after a
lot of preliminary hemming and
hawing, said that he was going away
for a few days on an—er—business
trip. Paula only smiled her agree
ment.
A splendid idea, darling. The
change will do you good. And while
you’re away, you might become a
trifle intimate with some other wom
en. I mean,’ she went on hurried
ly, ‘don’t be a snob just because
you’re married.’
“Ken almost fell out of his chair
in his amazement. ‘You—you mean,’
he gasped, 'you—want me to take
out—other women?’
“ ‘One,’ said Paula, T think will
be enough. Why shouldn’t you?’
“ ‘Well, I'll be damned!’ said
Ken. He stood up and his face was
black with anger. ‘All right! Sinc$
you suggest it. that’s exactly what
I will do.’
“And," Bess finished, smiling, “I
guess that's what he did do.”
I looked at her in blank astonish
ment, but with a vague feeling of
uneasiness.
"You mean, that was Steve you
were telling me about and not a
chap named Ken?”
I
“How quick you art, Angus. Of
course I was telling you about
Steve."
“And you actually sent him away
—to another woman?"
“I wouldn't say that I sent him,
Angus. I merely didn’t get disturbed
because he wanted to go. You see,
Angus, the result of my observa
tions told me that men only think
they want to do that sort of thing.
They think so because, unconscious
ly, they rebel at being tied to any
one woman. If given the chance,
they seldom ever take it."
"But Steve did. You said your
self he went away. I don’t blame
him."
"Of course you don’t, Angus. Be
cause you’re a man. Oh, yes, Steve
took the chance. He went away,
poor dear, and came back two days
later. I knew he would.” She smiled
smugly.
I gulped. "You mean he’s back?
You are not separated any more?”
"Why, of course he’s back. I
thought you knew. He came back
and apologized and we’re as happy
as ever."
“But if he’s back, if you’re rec
onciled—what the dickens are you
doing up here all by yourself?”
"I’m not all by myself, Angus,
dear. Millie Strout is here with me.
We’re on a vacation. I’ve wanted
to come here for ever so long, but
Steve, you know, doesn't like the
seashore." She smiled. "After his
apology, I asked him if he minded
if I came up here with Millie for a
few days without him and of course
he agreed at once. He said to go
and stay as long as I liked. In
fact, poor dear, I believe he would
have borrowed money to send me
to Europe if I had asked, he was
so grateful.”
Bess gathered up her things. Mil
lie Strout was coming across the
lawn. I arose hastily. "It’s nice be
ing able to leave your husband and
feel that you can trust him. Wouldn’t
you think so, Angus? But then, of
course, not being married you
wouldn’t understand what I meant."
“No,” I said. "That’s right.” And
walked off, leaving Bess to figure
out which of her statements I had
replied to.
Professional Drivers
Offer Motoring Advice
Practical advice to America's mil
lions of car owners on how to drive,
and how not to, results from a sur
vey conducted by Collier’s among
the professionals in the field—taxi
drivers, truck drivers and bus driv
ers—who reveal how they drive nine
and ten hours a day without physi
cal or nervous strain.
In reporting on the survey, the
magazine points out:
“The automobile engineers of the
country are considered in a class
by themselves when it comes to
solving the mechanical, structural
and face-lifting difficulties that arise
in the building of a car. Each year
they perform new miracles, but to
date none of them has done any
thing about a rather shapeless, poor
ly made, ill-tempered gadget used
on all cars, called the driver."
Many of the professional drivers
interviewed reported that, after an
all-day stretch behind the wheel of
a truck or bus, they often hop into
their own cars to take their fami
lies for a spin—unfatigued because
they know how to drive properly.
Some of the useful tips gathered
from these veterans follow:
“If a man drives intelligently he
can go eight or nine hours a day
without tiring himself. First of all
he must get well adjusted in his
seat. We professionals like a seat
back that is almost straight. That
way you are well balanced.
“Most people off on a long drive
start early and try to get in a lot
of mileage the first few hours.
That’s a mistake. You burn up your
energy that way. It’s best to start
slowly even if you’re on an open
road with no traffic. Stick around
40 for the first couple of hours. By
then your position in your seat and
your eyes will be adjusted to the
job of driving. You can’t pop out
of bed and expect to drive 70 miles
an hour in the glare of the sun with
out hurting your eyes and ending up
with a headache. You must warm
up for it, as a runner warms up
for a race.
“Take the matter of night driv
ing. The driver spends half his
time swearing at oncoming cars
with glaring headlights. There’s no
reason why anyone should see
them. First of all you shouldn’t look
at them. Look down to your right
at the edge of the road. Glance at
the car coming toward you but don’t
look into the lights. Or stop your
car. Amateur drivers have a lot of
false pride. Professionals haven’t.
I’ve stopped my bus many a time
when lights coming toward me were
too strong to ignore."
Frozen Food Flavors
The flavor of foods stored in
freezer lockers more nearly resem
bles that of fresh foods than does
the flavor of canned or cured foods.
Some frozen foods are reported to
have a higher vitamin content than
similar home-canned foods, if pre
pared and frozen when they are in
prime condition.
Fuel Oil From Peat
Benzine, fuel oil. and lubricating
oil, up to 48 per cent by weight, of
the original material, can now be
obtained from peat by a new proc
ess developed in Finland.
Psychologist
“To account completely for a sin
gle action of any adult, you must
know practically the whole of his
past history from infancy on,” a
psychologist says.
Y CW-iQ SEW
4^"“ Ruth Wyeth Spears
JOIN I
SIDES i
WITH A I
2" STRIP I
BETWEEN I
RULE PAPER IN
1“ squares;
L THEN DRAW
RABBIT AS
SHOWN TO
^^lAHT PATTERN
CTUFFED toys of oil cloth or
^ water-proof bath curtain mate
i rial are something mothers have
' been dreaming about. Just wipe
them off with a damp cloth to keep
| them fresh and clean.
The Easter bunny shown here is
11 inches long. He is white, hand
stitched in heavy pink thread and
i has pink bead or button eyes.
Make your own pattern for him
' by following the diagram. Rule
paper into 1-inch squares; num
ber them; then draw the pattern
outlines. Cut two body pieces;
four ear pieces and a 2-inch strip
to be used between the two sides
of the body. Interline the ears
to make them stand up. Join all
raw edges, as shown, leaving an
opening in the body for stuffing
tightly with cotton or bits of soft
cloth; then finish sewing.
NOTE: Mrs. Spears’ Sewing
Book No. 2 contains numerous gift
and bazaar items, including a
doll’s wardrobe; men’s ties;
purses; baby’s bassinet; 32 pages
in all.
Send your order to:
MRS. RUTH WYETH SPEARS
Drawer 10
Bedford Hills New York
Enclose 10 cents for one book, or 40
cents for books 1. 2, 3 and 4 and set
of quilt block patterns.
Name .
Address .
ASK ME
ANOTHER
A Quiz With Answers
Offering Information
on Various Subjects
The Questions
1. What was Edward Payson
Weston’s best record for a day’s
walk?
2. Is there such a thing as an
original etching on paper?
3. Who are the Beef Eaters?
4. Was John Smithsonian, found
; er of the Smithsonian Institution,
an American?
5. Are albino horses bred suc
cessfully on American ranches?
6. What is the origin of the
Finns?
7. What family is called the
“royal family of the United
States”?
The Answers
1. Eighty-two miles, in 1867,
made on a walk from Portland,
Maine, to Chicago. Weston was
28 years old at the time.
2. No. An etching is drawn di
rectly on a metal plate.
Help From All
Every great man is always be
ing helped by everybody; for his
gift is to get good out of all things
and all persons.—Ruskin.
3. Beef Eaters is the popular
name for yeomen of the guard in
stituted by the English royal
household in 1485, and still in
service.
4. No, he was an Englishman
and had never visited the United
States.
5. Yes. Unlike all other ani
mals, these animals are foaled
white.
6. The Finns are descended prin
cipally from the Mongols, though
now of varying degrees of mixture.
7. On account of their great
wealth and generous benefactions,
this reference is to the DuPonts.
On Guard
As a man always should be upon
his guard against the vice to '
which he is most exposed, so
should we take a more than ordi
nary care not to lie at the mercy
of the weather in our moral con
duct.—Addison.
- " . mJ9
tarry'■
MorigoMt
A
S'
Trials
Fire tries gold, misery trie*
brave men.—Seneca.
I_I
Don’t la*a cough due to a cold make you feel
all in. Cet pleasant relief with Smith Bros.
Cough Drops. Black or Menthol, just 54.
Smith Bros. Cough Drops are the
only drops containing VITAMIN A
Vitamin A (Carotene) raises the resistance of
mucous membranes of nose and throat to ;
► cold infections, when lack of resist* i
ance is due to Vitamin A deficiency. u
tkadeX]
r MARK
SALESMAN AL MESCON GETS AROUND...
HES COMPARED TOBACCOS—HE KNOWS
THE ONE FOR
PRINCE ALBERT NOT ONLY SPINS UpI
QUICKER—IT GOES FURTHER! I
rRA. DOESN'T SPILL,
BUNCH, OR THIN OUT
AND IT SURE SMOKES
, MILDER and
, TASTIER!/
Rollin' along with P. A.—“Yes, sir!” says A1 Mescon (right). “Prince
Albert’s got rich, mellow body and swell taste and aroma.” “And it’s got that
no-bite treatment for extra mildness,” says “Tim” Garris (center). “Coolest
‘makin’s’ smokes I know — and they stay lit!” (Try P. A. in pipes, too!)
70 roll-your-own
f W cigarettes in every
handy tin of Prince Albert
In Recent Laboratory
“Smoking Bowl” Tests,
Prince Albert Burned
(ZS7?EGREES
OO COOLER
than the average of the
30 other of the largest
selling brands tested...
coolest of all!
Cowrlfht. 1940. R. J. RijnoldiTobiee®
Cwniinj, Wlntton-Slim, N. 0.