W EEKLY HEWS ANALYSIS BY JOSEPH W. LaBIHE
Higher Liquor Tax Considered
To Finance Defense Program;
Election-Year Levy Unpopular
(EDITOR’S NOTE—When opinions are expressed In these columns, they
are those of the news analyst and not necessarily of this newspaper.)
___________ Released by Western Newspaper Union. ...
CONGRESS:
Budget Blues
What Franklin Roosevelt’* budget
message tossed into the congression
al lap was a choice of following his
recommendations and getting a def
icit of only $1,716,000,000. or defy
ing him and making it about $3,000,
000,000. Slashed were most items,
but boosted to a peacetime record
was national defense. If the Presi
dent's ideas are followed, and if
previous authorizations are appro
priated, the cost will run well over
$2,000,000,000.
Very shallow was the hope that
an early European peace may obvi
ate the defense program. It ap
peared. instead, that congress must
enter an election year trance and
decide which plan the public would
swallow the easier: More taxes,
to raise $460,000,000 as the President
asked, or a boost in the national
debt limit?
Within a few days it was obvious
that good Democrats were sparring
for time. They gathered in huddles
to wonder where tax money might
be raised, tentatively settling on new
liquor taxes and a slight boost in in
come levies. Mississippi’s Pat Har
rison, chairman of the senate finance
TAT HARRISON
Will John Barleycorn i>ay?
committee, publicly doubted wheth
er the defense program was justi
fied, yet he shied away from criti
cizing the President. Finally, with
White House blessing, he sought
more time by asking a joint legis
lative committee to study the Roose
veltian budget. But congress, ap
parently refusing, turned instead to
that hardy perennial, the anti
lynching bill.
Notes
In an election year, congress and
politics are intimately associated.
Many G. O. P. comments were
forthcoming after the President’s
budget message. Samples:
C. At Topeka, 1936 G. O. P. Candi
date Alf Landon thought this about
the slash in expenditures: "If the
President really is serious in his
budget plans, you will hear howls all
over the place. He couldn't get the
nomination now if he wanted it He
is too smart a politician to try it.”
C At Chicago, Ohio's Sen. Robert
Taft accepted the President’s chal
lenge to submit a plan for balancing
the budget. The Tuft Plan: (1) de
termination by the President to bal
ance it; (2) elimination of bureaus,
reduction of employees; (3) return
of relief to states, and changes in
housing, agriculture and loan agen
cies; (4) elimination of local works
grants, reduction of federal public
works and reduction of subsidies;
(5) elimination of budget "pets,”
like army and navy items.
NIBLETS |
HERE’S WHY—At Moscow the
magazine Communist Internationale
explained, in answer to foreign re
ports that Russia had ambitions to
“Sovetize” Finland: “Russia's only
aim is to free Finland from a gang
of oppressors and imperialistic war
mongers and to safeguard Finnish
democratic development.’’
CASEY AT BAT—At Washington
and Canberra it was announced
simultaneously that the U. S. and
Australia will establish diplomatic
relations for the first time. (Pre
viously, Britain represented Austra
lia here.) First Australian minis
ter will be Richard G. Casey. Soon
to be named is the U. S. minister to
Canberra.
SPENDTHRIFT—Of her $25,750
personal allowance for 1939, the 16
year-old Heiress Gloria Vanderbilt
spent only $10—for books.
BANQUET — While Democrats
wined and dined throughout the U.
S. in honor of President Andrew
Jackson's birthday anniversary. Re
publicans at Indianapolis held a 25
cent milk and cracker feast honor
ing Abe Lincoln.
SECRET — In Hollywood died
Flora Finch, co-player with John
Bunny in early movie comedies. Her
secret was her age, probably about
80. Her chieftains’ secret: The fact
that Flora Finch’s contract with M
G-M was regarded by the bookkeep
ing department as a pension for
an old trouper.
BALKANS:
Squabbles
Before 1940 has gone its way the
brave nation of Rumania may see
trouble a-plenty. It started that
way. Bucharest heard that Bul
garia. its unfriendly southern neigh
bor, had signed a trade pact with
Russia, which wants the Rumanian
province of Bessarabia. Next King
Carol heard that Hungary’s Count
Stefan Csaky, whose nation will seize
Rumanian Transylvania if Russia
invades Bessarabia, was conferring
in Italy with Foreign Minister Ciano.
A political realist, Italy’s Benito
Mussolini knows the Balkans have
a better chance of blocking Russian
aggression (which would also hurt
Italy) if they settle their squabbles
in advance. Purpose of the Ciano
Csaky conversations, therefore, was
to urge Hungary and Rumania to
settle their revisionist problem im
mediately. In so doing, II Duce
took a hearty slap at the Soviet.
So did King Carol. Encouraged
to defend Bessarabia now that the
Finns are doing a remarkable job
against Russian aggression, Carol
and his retinue crossed into this dan
gerous province, defied Moscow and
smiled while Bessarabian minority
leaders shouted: "We pledge our
lives for our beloved Rumanian fu
therland."
ASIA:
If (mg's Ready
“The lime is now ripe for establish
ment of a new central government in
China. Careful study reveals that the
objectives of Ifang Ching-wei are con
sonant with Japan's manifest efforts
toward helping in the formation and
expansion of the proposed new govern
ment."
Thus, after much back-slapping,
brow-beating and tutoring. Puppet
Wang Ching-wei was announced
ready to take over Japan's make
believe "government” in conquered
parts of China.
THE WARS:
Shakeup
Far bigger than the war on
France's western front was the bat
tle of London. Called to a cabinet
meeting by Prime Minister Neville
Chamberlain was Leslie Hore
Belisha, dynamic, Jewish minister
of war who has built the British
army from a stodgy and antiquated
organization into one of the world's
smartest. Minister Hore-Belisha
was asked to sign his resignation.
Also fired was Lord MacMillan,
bundering minister of information.
Announced purpose of the shake
up was to establish national unity.
HORE-BELISHA
Social grounds?
Neville Chamberlain did just that:
There was national unity, but it was
unity of opposition to the “sacking"
of an efficient war minister in fa
vor of Oliver Stanley, the 43-year
olc! board of trade president whose
father (seventeenth earl of Derby)
was a war minister in World war
days.
By next morning every British
paper, regardless of political lean
ings, was blasting against the gov
ernment. Typical was the London
Star: "If it is shown that Mr. Hore
Belisha was thrown overboard to
satisfy a clique of generals who dis
liked him on social grounds, or be
cause he was pressing the pace of
democracy in the army too strongly,
then public resentment will be wide,
deep and lasting."
To both Hore-Belisha and the
Prime Minister an opportunity for
rebuttal was coming, but it would
probably take place behind closed
doors in the house of commons.
Meanwhile it was rumored that
Winston Churchill, first lord of the
admiralty, would soon follow Stan
ley as war chief.
Other war news:
Western Front. Minor artillery
fire. Entertainment by the fabulous
Albert, Frjnch airman whose daring
antics along the Luxembourg fron
tier keep natives in stitches.
Northern Front. Finnish destruc
tion of still a third Russian divi
sion (the forty-fourth) near Suo
mussalmi at Finland's waistline.
Fighting was stalemated in the far
north and on the Karelian isthmus,
but in the central part Finnish troops
penetrated Russ lines to dynamite
the Leningrad-Murmansk railroad,
thus isolating the northland.
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TREND
NAVY — If President Roose
velt's $1,224,521,833 naval appro
priation request (See CONGRESS)
ts adopted, the U. S. will become
the world's No. 1 sea power, big
ger than Britain, twicr as big as
Japan.
RAILROADS—Daniel Willard,
President of the B & O. railroad,
said he wanted coach fares re
duced to two cents per mile,
thus meeting bus competition.
Present eastern rate: 2Vi cents.
AGRICULTURE — The tariff
commission was told that imports
of cheap Canadian wheat were
keeping the domestic crop price
below parity, thus threatening the
success of farm aid measures.
SHIPPING—The U. S. warned
Britain it will be held account
able for injuries to American ves
sels or crews taken into belliger
ent ports for searching.
LABOR:
A. F. of L. Damned
By receiving more votes than ei
ther of his fellow members, NLRB's
William Leiserson was ranked
“least unpopular” in a poll by the
magazine Factory Management.
But all three members (Leiserson,
Warren Madden and Edwin S.
Smith) should be fired, said voters.
This contrasted with a Supreme
court ruling which held congress, not
NLRB, responsible by virtue of too
much power
lor NLRBs
unpopular
decisions.
Coddled and
cursed by
such conflict
in g t e s t i
mony, NLRB
went on trial
again before
the house
commi 1.1 e a
appointed to
investigate
it. New evi
MRS. HERRICK
“How long, oh Lord,,
dence:
A discharged NLRB trial exam
iner said that Regional Director
Robert Cowdrill of Indianapolis al
ways speeded C. I. O. cases, but
tossed aside A. F. of L. cases with
the statement: “There’s another
damned A. F. of L. case.” Com
mented the witness: “The A. F. of
L. usually was referred to as the
damned A. F. of L.”
Next came a dramatic paper pre
pared by Mrs. Elinore M. Herrick,
New York regional NLRB director,
complaining about delays in proce
dure. Said her paper: “We must
wait! Wait! Wait! . . . How long,
oh Lord! How long must we wait!”
NAVY:
New Boss
C. Cannon roared aboard dread
naughts in San Pedro harbor. Final
ly, after much saluting, six-foot Ad
miral James Richardson from Paris,
Texas, strode down the Pennsyl
vania's quarterdeck to shake hands
with Admiral Claude Bloch. Admi
ral Richardson stayed as command
er-in-chief of the U. S. navy; Ad
miral Bloch went ashore as a rear
admiral in retirement. Ahead lay
commandership of Pearl Harbor
naval base in Hawaii.
COMMERCE:
Game?
In far-away Buenos Aires took
place a show that may have been
staged for the benefit of the U. S.
congress. Broken off suddenly were
reciprocal trade treaty talks be
tween Ambassador Norman Armour
and President Roberto M. Ortiz.
Reasons given: (1) influence of Brit
ain, No. 1 importer of Argentine
beef; (2) a forthcoming election in
Argentina; (3) refusal of Argentina
to remove discriminations against U
S. goods, and most important (4)
refusal of the U. S. to import Ar
gentine canned beef and flaxseed
from Argentina without quota lim
itations.
Maybe yes and maybe no, but it
was possible that U. S. insistence on
quota limitations, even at the price
of sacrificing the treaty, was de
signed to allay the fears of western
farmers and their congressmen. Up
for renewal this year is the recipro
cal trade act, basis of the adminis
tration's entire low tariff program.
Already faced with enough opposi
tion to either destroy the act or give
ratification power back to the sen
ate, the state department is eager
to show farmers that the trade pro
gram won’t be allowed to hurt
them.
PEOPLE:
Danes Death
C At Chicago died Rufus C. Dawes,
72, president of A Century of Prog
ress Exposition, financier, brother of
former Vice President Charles G.
Dawes.
Last November Son Elliott Roose
velt fathered the Transcontinental
Broadcasting System which first
planned to start operations with 100
stations on December 15, then Jan
uary 1, then February 1. In Fort
Worth, where he heads the Texas
State Radio network, Elliott an
nounced his resignation from TBS.
C. At Boston died Mr.s. Eflle I. Can
ning Carlton, about 84, who once
made up an impromptu tune to lull
to sleep the restless baby of a neigh
bor. The song: ‘‘Rock-a-bye Baby.”
C. At New York, W. Alton Jones was
named head of Cities Service Co.
Improved
Uniform
International
SUNDAY
SCHOOL
LESSON •>
Bv HABOI.D I. I.IIN'HMJIST. D D
Dean of The Moodv Bible Institute
of Chicago.
'Released by Western Newspaper Union.'
Lesson for January 21
Lesson subjects and Scripture texts se
lected and copyrighted by International
Council of Heiigious Education: used by
uermission
A NEW STANDARD OF
GREATNESS
LESSON TEXT—Matthew 20:17-28
GOLDEN TEXT—While we were vet
sinners. Christ died for us.—Romans 5:8
The nations of the earth and their
leaders are engaged in a struggle
to determine which land and which
leader is to be the greatest. They
may attempt to conceal their real
motive under a clonk of high-mind
ed and well-soundin? objectives, but
essentially the reason for their
struggle is the desire to be great
To them greatness means size,
strength, wealth, and position It
means that also to the average man
on the street. What a pity it is that
such is the case and that such »
vicious and erroneous philosophy of
life has been permitted to make its
way even into the Church
The world's ideas of greatness an
entirely opposite to God's standards
God’s people ought to learn wha<
His ideals of life are and to live in
accordance with them even in hi
unbelieving world Both they acr'
the world would br astonished at th
result
I. living for Olliers (vv 17-19)
With surprising clarity and d
tail the Lord Jesus once more r'
vealod to His disciples that He vv;.
on His way to Jerusalem to die and
to arise again. It is well worth
while to note that apart from divine
foreknowledge and inspiration it
would have been utterly impossible
for Him to give these facts in such
exact detail.
The point we wish to stress is
that the Son of God was steadfastly
approaching the death of Calvary
He had no desire to live for self,
to gratify His own wishes, to prolong
His life, or to improve His position
in the world. He had come to do
but one thing, the will of God, even
to the shameful death of the cross,
there to bear your sins and mine.
Let us give ourselves in loyal de
votion to our dying and risen Lord
II. Living for Self (vv. 20-24).
Were It not written for us to read.
we could hardly believe that the
two disciples, James and John, who
were so very near to cur Lord, and
their mother, who was a woman of
earnest faith and sacrificial service
to God, would be guilty of such an
expression of selfishness, especially
in that sacred hour when He had
spoken of His approaching death
Disregarding what Jesus had said
about His sufferings, they apparent
ly could think only of His coming
glory, and in thinking of that they
could only covet for themselves the
chief places. What a strange mix
ture of faith in Christ and an over
whelming desire for self-glory!
Perchance some of us have served
Christ with a selfish desire for per
sonal glory and position putting it
self forward to influence our think
ing and acting. Perhaps we do not
see it in ourselves, but are like the
other disciples who, seeing this hate
ful thing in John and James, were
repelled by it, even as we despise U
in others. It may be that the dis
ciples were only angry because they
had not thought to make the request
for themselves.
III. Finding True Greatness <vv
25-28).
‘‘Rulers." "greatness," "exercise
authority” — how modern these
words from verse 25 sound! They
epitomize the ambitions of the great
majority of mankind today Few
indeed are those in the world who
see the way to true greatness as
that of the lowly Jesus. In every in
stance where they do rightly ap
prehend and live out this truth, one
is satisfied that somewhere in their
experience they have come to know
His principles of life even though
they do not know Him. Only in Him
is such an attitude toward life to
be found.
To be great one is to serve in the
spirit of humility and self-sacrifice
This is the command of Christ. Even
in the Church there are not too many
who have heeded that word. If
there were more of this spirit we
would have less church quarrels,
for essentially they root back to tne
desire for greatness. We may not
admit that fact, but It is none the
less true.
One wonders how great some of
the pillars of the Church w'ould look
measured against the standard of
verses 26 to 28. One wonders too
how many of the humble workers of
the Church realize their true great
ness. Such greatness of heart is
great simply bee ° it does not so
regard itself.
For Thy Name’s Sake
But do thou for me, O God the
Lord, for thy name’s sake; because
thy mercy is good, deliver thou me.
For I am poor and needy, and my
heart is wounded within me.—Psalm
109, 21:22.
Jesus Asks Evidence
That they all may be one; as thou.
Father, art in me, and I in thee,
but they also may be one in us:
that th<- world may believe that thou
hast seat me.—John 17. 21.
Sparkle of Diamonds Latest
Fashion Tendency in Jewelry
By CHERIE NICHOLAS
' I 'HIS should not be the winter of
your discontent, not when you
can solve the major clothes problem
so simply and smartly as fashion
makes it possible for women of dis
criminating taste to do this season.
If your winter is composed of
many evenings when you like to
dress up a little and a few evenings
when you really must dress up a
lot, according to Muriel King, one
of our leading American designers,
the one-gown evening wardrobe
composed of a sheath in either
black or dark crepe or of satin if
you prefer, plus a number of flat
tering blouses will solve the prob
lem nicely. To glorify this costume
with distinctive accent, wear one
important piece of jewelry rather
than a bizarre display of jewels
en masse.
As approved and adopted by
ladies of fashion, the formula calls
for a well-fitted sheath gown (dark
crepe or satin) as decollette as your
most formal evening dates may re
quire. Supplement this with one or
more blouses, sleeves either long or
short, neckline either high or low,
whichever is more becoming. One
pair of slippers will serve several
costumes, but change your hair-do
according to mood and remember
that much depends upon the jewelry
you wear.
The costume centered in the il
lustration demonstrates the propo
sition of the basic sheath gown that
is styled with exquisite simplicity,
its extreme decollette tuning it to
most formal occasion. Accented, as
you see, by a single important jewel.
Brilliants are now used extensive
ly, each tiny gem cut with 58 facets
or planes, to catch the light from
angle and focus all the radiance on
you.
For less formal occasion the
gown may be worn with a modish
over-blouse as pictured to the right.
And you don’t necessarily have to
abide by black for this dinner dress,
by Muriel King, is in bottle green
for the sheath and soft pink for
the blouse. Note the new longer
length for this blouse. The clip
brooch on the bodice is really quite
a jewelry collection in itself, in that
it separates into a diamond-mounted
emerald brooch and two diamond
clips. There is much to be said in
favor of a three-way jewelry piece
like this in that it offers versatile
uses. For other occasions you can
wear a black lace bolero with your
sheath and endless other suggestions
could be offered.
The same sparkle of diamonds
that illumines by night on formal
clothes radiates by day on select
daytime costumes. An outstanding
gesture this season is a single piece
of worthwhile jewelry worn with
your best tailleur ensemble or
pinned at a vantage point on your
fur coat. We are going to describe
the handsome jewelry piece worn
by this smartly tailored debutante
pictured to the left. Here’s where
things are growing exciting for
there's a watch in the picture and
the question is, where is it? You
suspect some part of the pendant
brooch? Right you are and the
place to look is on the smooth side
of the dangling diamond ball. This
ball reverses toward you on a pivot,
so that your eyes look right down
into the face of time.
The practical side of this pretty
ornament is the fact that you al
most never break your watch crys
tal. You just couldn’t. You'll see
pendants pinned to all the best
lapels in spring suits.
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Pastel Prints
The new incoming silk prints
bring the message of soft, lovely,
pastel colorings. Shown here is a
silk spectator sports dress for re
sort wear printed in pale blues and
greens made with classic shirt top
and pleated skirt. This is nicely
contrasted by a wine and natural
colored straw hat.
Jewelry Contrasts
Jewelry in deep tones of the same
color is an effective contrast for
lame evening frocks
Watch Pockets Are
Highly Important
In the realm of dress design
pockets are the center of attrac.
tion this season. Now that they have
become the plaything of ^signers
don’t be surprised to find a pocket
or a whole flock of pockets posi
tioned anywhere on your new dress,
coat or blouse.
The list runs the gamut from huge
saddlebag pockets down to tiny dec
orative affairs that are cunningly
frivolous and whimsical. Then there
are the new peg-top pockets that add
so much style to the newer skirts.
The new pouch pockets are inter
esting, so are the patch-pocket types
in infinite variety. Kangaroo, sand- j
wich and a host of other type pock
ets you’ll be seeing too, so if you
would be style-alert, watch pockets!
Such fine handwork is being lav- j
ished on pockets as shirring, tuck
ing, intricate stitching, glamorous
glittering embroidery and so on.
The "pocket dress” (term recently
adopted in fashion vocabulary) has
become the popular theme of the
moment.
Cowl-Shaped Skirt
Late Style Touch
Cowl-like drapery is not limited
to necklines in the elaborately cut
gowns of this season. On an eve
ning frock of white silk jersey, the
skirt is cawl-draped from waist to
floor. The bodice of the dress is
gathered in graceful folds slanting
from right shoulder to left waist
line, with the drapery caught at
the center of the bodice by a sweep
ing wing embroidered in gilt beads
and gold sequins
Leopard Sailor
The casual, sportsy appearance of
leopard fur is the basi» for its selec
tion by a New York designer to
create both the crown and brim of
a trim sailor hat.
Star Dust
★ ‘The Bat’ Again
★ Jane Has Preference
if To the Bitter End
-By Virginia Vale —
THE President’s son plans
to give us a mystery pic
ture—made from one of the
best mystery plays ever writ
, ten—as the first release of his
Globe Productions. It’s “The
Bat,” by Mary Roberts Rine
;hart and Avery Hopwood,.
and has everything that a
thriller should have. It was filmed;
I by Mary Pickford’s company in
1926, and done again, as “The Bat
Whispers,” in 1931. Norman Foster
will direct the new version.
...
Hard on the heels of her scrap
with Warner Brothers over her re
fusal to appear in '‘Married, Pretty
and Poor,” Jane Bryan showed the
J studio that she preferred to be mar
1 ried, pretty and rich—she announced
her engagement to Justin W. Dart,
who is general manager of a drug
firm.
_*_ /
Mickey Rooney may rank first at
the box offices of motion picture
theaters in this country, but in Great
Britain and Ireland he comes sec
ond, with Deanna Durbin pushing
him out of first place. She was not
among the first ten in this country.
-*
If you are devoted to the story,
"The Light That Failed,” you’ll like
the picture version, which sticks to
the original, even to the unhappy
ending. If it’s Ronald Colman, rath
er than the story, who’s responsi
RONALD COLMAN
ble for your interest in the picture,
you’ll enjoy it hugely, for he gives
an excellent performance.
So do Walter Huston, Dudley
Digges, and Ida Lupino. Miss Lu
pino has had a hard time of It In
Hollywood; she was put into ingenue
parts and kept there; now that, at
last, she had been given a chance
to show what she could do with a
real role, she had made the most
of it.
Hers is rather like the one in "Of
Human Bondage" that established
Bette Pavis as a dramatic actress.
Miss Lupino’s performance is good
enough to do as much for her. No*
longer can she be thought of as
just one of those pretty blondes who
are so numerous in the picture-mak
ing metropolis. ,
—*— '
If you’re interested in the present
activities of former radio favorites,
here’s news of some of them. Jim
my Melton is now known as James
Melton, and is a concert singer.
Morton Downey wound up his sum
mer engagement at the World’s fair
and followed it with an equally suc
cessful one in a Hollywood night
club. Singin’ Sam is making money
by making recordings.
Jessica Dragonnette makes occa
sional appearances on the air—and
when you see "Gulliver’s Travels"
you’ll hear her voice. Vera Van,
Leah Ray and Annette Henshaw
have retired.
-*
Gene Autry, the singing screen
star who is Public Cowboy No. 1,
heads a new western series from
“The Double M Ranch’’ over the
Columbia network each Sunday. In
cidentally, did you know that Gene
was discovered by the beloved Will
Rogers? Rogers stopped at a smalt
town in Oklahoma to forward his
syndicated column; Gene, the tele*
graph operator, was singing a west
ern ballad. Rogers advised him to
capitalize on his talents—and a little
more than a year later Gene Autry
was a popular radio and recording
artist.
MS
/I'
Del Courtney, who features Can
did Camera music over NBC, has
borrowed an idea from the movies
in his presentation of “previews” of
his forthcoming programs. Before
concluding his broadcasts, he plays
a few bars of some of the new tunes
to be featured on the next program.
It’s a novel idea, and will probably
be widely copied by bandleaders who
don’t hesitate to imitate their more
successful brethren.
_Jd_
ODDS AND ENDS—The New York
Film Critics picked “R'inhering
Heights" as 1939’s best picture . . .
It’s a little more than twenty-six years
since Cecil B. DeMille, Samuel Gold
wvn and Jesse I.asky began filming
“The. Squaw Man," the first motion
picture made in Hollywood.
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