[NT EVENTS
FUSS IN REVIEW
INTERNATIONAL ARMY IN THE
SAAR?COLD SHOULDER FOR
ELECTRIC POWER PEOPLE.
By EDWARD W. PICKARD
<?. Western Newspaper Union.
SOLDIERS from Great Britain. Italy
Sweden and Holland, to the number
of 3,300. under the command of
MaJ. J. E. S. Brlnd, a British veteran
of several wars,
inarched into the Saar
from north and south
with flying colors, and
^ ^ ,1 were stationed at straL
/w J te?ic points throughout
m JfjJjH m the area, prepared to
T **- ^ maintain order until
after the plebiscite
I January 13 which will
determine the
Sanr shall again oe"7*.
' come a part of GerMajor
Brind many or remain under
control of the league of Nations. The
arrival of the troops was watched by
the league authorities with considerable
anxiety for there had been fears
that Nazi enthusiasts there might cause
trouble. But the inhabitants of the
basin remained quiet, none of them
showing either enmity or enthusiasm
for the league's armed forces.
Under the terms of the treaty of |
Versailles any person living in the
Saar at the time of the signing of the
treaty is eligible to vote in the plebiscite.
and the Nazis of Germany made
great efforts to gather as many of
their adherents as possible from other
lands to which they had migrated.
From the United States 352 Saar Germans
traveled back to their old home
aboard the liner Bremen, and were welcomed
with feasts, as was another
large contingent from South America.
The German government denied that
It was paying the expenses of these
voters from atuoad, asserting they
were financed by private donations.
PEACE in central Europe was promoted
by two events. The Jugoslav
lan cabinet resigned and a new cabinet
was formed with Bogoljub Yevtltch as
premier. As foreign minister he had
conducted the case of his country
against Hungary before the League of
Nations and accepted the compromise
decision, and he Is a close friend of
Prince Paul, head of the regency, who
is inclined to a moderate course.
The Austrian government refused the
extradition to France of Colonel Perchevieh,
Croat exile, who was accused,
along with Dr. Ante Pavelfch, of instigating
the* assassination of King Alexander
in Marseilles. Italy had previously
refused the extradition of Pavelich.
It is said in informed quarters
that further examination of these two
men would have revealed facts tiiat
would have endangered jteace in Europe.
IF ANY doubt existed that Japan
would denounce the Washington
naval treaty, it was dissipated by the
action of the privy council. That powSerful
body of statesmen, meeting with
all ceremony, unanimously recommended
abrogation of the pact to Emperor
Hirohito, whose speedy approval was
given.
Baron Kiicliiro Iliranuma, vice president
of the council, rend the report to
the etnperor and afterward said to the
press: "The imperial government desires
continuation of clauses of the
Washington treaty relating to limitation
of fortifications and naval bases
In the Pad tic ocean, but. If such
clauses are terminated, the govern
ment is prepared to cope with the situation."
In plain words, then, Japan wants
equality on th& high sens with the
United States and Great Britain, but
wants the United States to remain restricted
as to Its Pacific ocean defenses.
SENATORIAL investigators of munitions
and the War department
clashed when Clark of Missouri suggested,
in a committee hearing, that
the war mobilization plans of the department,
long held secret, should be
laid before congress in peace time to
be debated at leisure He held that,
under the army's plan, the eight bills
embodying the scheme to mobilize the
nation's resources would be rushed to
congress to "pass under urhlp and
spur" without proper consideration.
War department witnesses replied
I that the Var policies commission believed
certain legislation might be held
I * unconstitutional in peacv time but le* !
In a war emergency.
Senator Clark also sought to learn
what degree of control wag contemplated
by the "censorship" plan of the
army. Thta calls for an administrator
of public relations who would mobilize
H "all existing mediums of publicity an
that they may be employed to the best
possible advantage." He also would
IP he charged with co-ordMatlcg public
H^lty combating disaffection at home and
-rnWrrHi ,
The Cherokee S<
enemy propaganda, "establishing rales pi
and regulation* for censorship" and c*
"enlisting and superrising a voluntary
censorship of the newspaper and peri- tr
odical press.'* *^WH ei
Lieutenant Colonel C. T. Harris of g(
the armv said he never heard of a tr
plan to license the press. b?
The eight bills which the nrmy has gj
ready for presentation In case of war ti
would authorize a military draft, permit
government control of material resources
and 8|?eedy condemnation of y
property needed in the war. set up a ^
'system of marine and war risk Insurance
and create an administration over
war trade, a war finance corporation ^
and a committee to supervise capital ^
issues.
CJL. CHARLES A. LINDBERGH, by "
his flights aciuss A ret Ic regions In
193.'!, has enabled the Ivpartment of
Agriculture to demonstrate conclusive- ve
ly that the spores of plant disease can ^
be borne on remote air currents. ofz
With a spore trap of his own devis- tja
ing, which he called "the skyhook.
Colonel Lindbergh obtained specimens fln
which confirmed the previous theories
of government experts that plant dis- In
eases may he carried even across con- jS
tinents by air currents.
That was announced by Fred C. >,u
Meier, the department expert who in- to
terested Colonel Lindbergh In the
work. _
Colonel Lindbergh devised his "the
skyhook," a light, strong contrivance, eg
easy to operate and well adapted to
protecting sterile glass slides from cootnmination
except for the time they
were exposed. Mr. Meier prepared the h
slides and has examined and photographed
them. He credits Colonel Llnd- a
t>ergh with carefill work.
DM
JOSEPH BROWN SANBORN, wnr- ^
J time commander of the One Hun- .
dred Thirty-first infantry, formerly the
Illinois "Dandy First." and wearer of S
six war decorations from four nations,
died in Chicago nt his home He held J
the rank of lieutenant general, retired, Kr
in the Illinois state guard.
. ... ~ , . nr
as commander ot tne une minarea
Thirty-first regiment Sanborn was extraordinarily
active, though then sixty- \
three years old. He distinguished himself
on the British front pr<
of
AFTER winning the handicap prize ,ne
In the England-to-Melbourne air <*01
race, the giant American-built plane US(
Ulver, pride of the Royal Dutch Air do:
Lines, started on a sjieed flight from S01
Amsterdam to Ratavla, Java, with seven
persons aboard. During a thunderstorm
it crashed In the desert ten F
miles from Rutba Wells, Irak, and ra;
burned to cinders, all Its occupants an]
perishing. ,-OI
; of
ELECTRIC utility companies of the ?*
United Slates, worried by the pow- rfti
er program of the New Deal, appealed 'oa
to President Roosevelt to abandon the
^ movement toward pub- hai
0WBers,dp which 1,01
* threatens, they say, to
li deprive millions of se^
curity holders of their
savings. The plea ^
* ? _ was presented to the wa
j 1 f President personally de]
| Wjfc*-'-- by Thomas N. Mc- sul
Carter, president of ml
the Edison Electric lnjAl
jiS$ stltiite. That gentle- ha
man promised that mt
T. N. McCarter the lltimie8 would ef. wfl
feet the reforms in financing that Mr. thi
Roosevelt has called for, and then re- an
quested that the government join with in
the institute in a suit to test the con- it
stitutiounlity of the Tennessee Valley gr;
authority. du
In the memorial he handed to the
President, Mr. McCarter gave It as his a
own opinion that the government in
the TVA experiment is exceeding its mi
constitutional powers and infringing tii
the sovereign rights of the state. Fe fo:
cited the Joint opinion of Newton D. th
Baker, Democrat, and James M. Beck, ac
Republican, that TVA is nnconstitu- pt
tlonal and the "similar conclusion" of dl
Unietd States Judge W. L Grubb In a al
recent decision.
Mr. Roosevelt turned the memorial ns
over to Frank R. McNinsh, chairman ra
of the federal power commission, and su
he and his aids speedily prepared a Y<
sharp reply rejecting the proposal of tx
co-operation In carrying the matter to la
the Supreme court tt
-in an tne history of the American ai
people," it said, "no parallel for such a pi
proposal can be found. . . . The call lo
Is not for the government to bait, but
for the Industry to catch step and move ?
forward along progressive lines." P
"The Edison Electric Institute has, g<
of course," It continued, "a legal right te
to promote litigation to test the act c<
creating the Tennessee Valley Author- da
Ity or any substantia] progress toward et
placing the Industry on a sound and tt
permanent basis until It cleans Its own in
house, reduces excessive rates to con- at
Burners and eliminates the malpractice D
and abuses which are responsible for Its tt
present condition."
Attacking McCarter's contention that E
rates are reasonable, Mr. McXInch said tt
Canadians pay on an average 2 1-6 tl
cents for a kilowatt hour, wblls Ararat- w
cans pay 5V4 cents. He said the Cana- a
dian figures cover public and private gi
- --i .
cout, Murphy, N. C., Tht
ants, the latter supplying "43 per I
mt of the consumers."
"It Is the purpose of the admlnls atlon,"
he set forth, "to narrow this
ccessive gap between what the coniroer
pays for electricity In this couny
and what Canada has proved It can
? generated and sold for. This pro am
does not Involve either 'destrucve
competition or strangulation'.**
IUSINESS leaders of the country
' who met In conference at White
ulphtir Springs. W. Va., drew op a
ng list of things they wont the gov'nment
to do or not to do. and then
en ted a "business conference comittee"
that will have headquarters in
ashington and maintain "liaison"
ith the administration.
The conference's recommendations
the go\*ernment are phrased In in- (
rensive iunguage and the Idea is conyed
that the business -men earnestly
sire to co-operate rather than criti:e.
The things they ask are substanIly
the same as those sought by the
ttional Association of Manufacturers
d the Chamber of Commerce of the |
ilted States, previously summarised
this column. The essence of It all
that government should attend more r
Its traditional functions and permit
slness to put men and capital back
work.
as
CHRISTMAS In the White House at
* was a season of jollity and noise, to
pecial attention being given to the j
tertainment of the younger members w
the large house party. First, on fil
iristmas eve, the President lighted ai
e community Christmas tree In '
ifayette park, and then he road Dick- w
s' "Christmas Carol" to the assem- lx
?d family. Early next morning the j th
Udren gathered in Mr. Roosevelt's ; th
oni and o(>ened their gifts, and then tr
d a frolic around the tree In the up- | A:
ilrs corridor. j fe
Mrs. Elizabeth Donner Roosevelt of sc
111 .IU*--I|MUil, Iliriut'l WI1C oi EiUlOU Ml
osevelt, was a guest at the White dc
>use with her small son, William cr
inner Roosevelt. w
/jAUTIN J. INSOLL, brother of S<
1 Samuel, was given a Christmas w
psent by a Chicago jury^ln the form *?
a verdict of not guilty of embezzle- . tl1
nt from the Middle West Utilities M
mpany. The money, $344,720, was fo
pd, according to the prosecution, in a fa
sperate effort to recoup Insult's per- >
in I losses In the stock market. i w
6 I ai
OK the first time the RFC has un- th
dertaken the management of a
lroad. John W. Barriger, chief ex- | w
iner for the Interstate commerce
amission, announced that nominees sc
the RFC would be placed in charge e,
operation of the Denver & Salt Lake j
lway, which has received large 1
us from the government agency,
rhe railway is a short road which J*
s leased for 50 years the railroad
re of the Moffat tunnel/from the ?*
ffat Tunnel Improvement district I ?r
I la
'OVERNMENT ownrrship of the ^
' arms and ammunition Industry
s vigorously opposed by the War
partment in a prepared statement Q1
Pmitted to the senate munitions com- t
ttee. M
Several of the committee members j
ve proposed such a course as a ?
>ans of "taking the profit out of
ir." The War department contended e]
it such a policy would fall in war {{
d therefore does not appear logical : ^
peace, but its statement added that 1 S(
does not oppose in any wny a pro- |
am of licensing the munitions Instry.
c
^ d
l RMY and navy officers are con- p
* cerned by the attempts of Com- s
jnists to spread dissatisfaction, mu- v
ly and rebellion among the armed
rces of the nation, and have asked p
e house committee on un-American p
tivitles to approve a law permitting fi
inighment of those who nrge any sol- a
er or sailor to violate his oath of a
legiance.
Commander V. L. Klrkman of the d
ivy told the committee that the Com- s
unists' campaign was planned and ?
ipervlsed from headquarters in New g
ork city, and he submitted a num- t
?r of pamphlets and leaflets circufpd
fn tho nnvv trhifh ho ?n!H "o/>.
.ally Incite to mutiny, sabotage and
i&asslnatlon." He described how the
-opaganda work Is carried on, good
oklng glris taking an active part.
SR8. MART HARRIMAN RDMSKT.
* 1 who (ought valiantly bnt not altcsther
successfully to protect the larests
of the consumers against the
mtentloris of Industry and labor. Is
>ad In Washington. Always Intended
In sociology and public affairs,
lis daughter of E. H. Harrlman and
heritor of some of his millions, took
1 active part In promoting the New
eal and was made head of the Naonal
consumers' board of the NBA. Two
men of note who died were
gene R. Black, former governor of
e federal reserve board, and Mar
a W. Littleton, New York lawyer,
bo appeared In many sensational
ises and for a time served as eas ,
1
irsday, January 3, 1935
m
a - > ""V
Among the Big Trees v
Prepared by National Geographic Society. li
Washington. D. C.?WNU Service.
-V-^HINK of an ant crawling on the j
ground through a vast cornfield, ^
j_ licking up at the tall stalks. ^
To the ant the cornstalks are ,
I high as the California Big Trees J,
e to a man gazing at their distant
ps. t
But it la their astounding age, as j
ell as their size and beauty, which
lis the soul of puny man with awe t
id reverence for the Creator. e
Big Trees, stout and healthy today. D
ere centuries old when Christ was f
>rn. Men call them "the oldest living .j
ilngs." So nearly Indestructible are t
ley that some naked, fire-scorched t
unks still stand, though dead before c
merlca was discovered; others, which r
II centuries ago, remain sound and c
lid Inside. Such vitality has the Selola
that when felled Its branches
? not wither for years. One giant
ashed In 1928. In 1931 its foliage *
as still fresh and green. I'
They link us with the past. Their c
jqnoia forebears grew here when the E
orld was younger, when reptiles grew a
enormous size. Such mammoths as o
e dinosaur, unable to adjust them- s
Ives to climatic and other changes,
ded from the earth; but the Sequoia li
imily endured and saw the rise of a
le mammals. Yet today, when you w
p.lk beneath these towering tree gi
its, you feel that the deer and the w
[ulrrel hardly fit Into a'scene set for o
e hrontosauru8 and the pterodactyl. b<
Time was when the Sequoia genus ^
as spread over four continents. At L
ast twelve fossil species are known, r<
uttered from Greenland and across
urope to Asia.
Big Trees and Redwoods Differ. w
Some people confuse California's tl
ed woods with its so-called "Big 11
recs." Both are ' big" and both are ti
' the genus Sequoia; both have pink h
red wood and both are trees of the
rgest size. But they are two species, a
stinet in habitat, in bark, foliage. !
id in reproduction. i
The Coast Redwood, or Sequoia gemjrvlrens,
is found only near the coast
r within the belt of sea fogs, and ex>nds
from southern Oregon down to
[onterey county, In California.
The larger species, the California
ig Tree, or Sequoia gigantea, is conned
to the western slopes of the Si
rra Nevada, between 4,000 und 8/tOO
jet elevation, from Placer county. In
le north, to Tulare county. In the
roth, and Is much more abundant In i
fie south than in the north.
The Coast Redwood forms an almost
ontinuous forest in which it is the
omlnant stand; the Big Trees grow
a scattered groves, 71 in all. inter
persed among the heavier stands of
irhlte fir, shgar pine, and other trees.
Though smaller in diameter and
ulk, the Coast Redwood is taller than
ts cousin, the Big Tree. The former
ttalns a maximum height of 363 feet
nd a maximum base diameter of
bout 35 feet.
When the Coast Redwood Is cut
town. It "stump-sprouts," as foresters
ay. A ring of young trees springs up
iround the stump of the slaughtered
empervlrens; hence Its Latin name,
he "Ever-living Sequoia."
But the Big Tree reproduces only
torn seed; and, since Its seeds require
ipecially favorable conditions to root,
here was real danger of the extlnclon
of the species until national and
itate parks were created.
Survived lea and Fire.
Ages before man came to chop these
rees for bis use. Ice and fire were
heir fierce foes. Again and again roovng
glaciers mowed them down?gla
iert whose icy fingers stretched down
rain tain canyons to freeze oil animal
ind plant life. Whether in warm and
iheltered spots a few trees remained.
>r whether only seeds survived, can
probably never be known; bnt slowly
he cold hands relaxed and the forests
returned. The fact that the Big
free* are more Abundant and larger
a the southern part ot their range Instates
that there the effects ot the
[lacier were leas Severe.
With the passing of the Age'of Ice,
he struggles of the sequoias bad only
. .
vgan
. . r." r t
1
n "Sequoia National Park. *
?e?un. Fires followed the ordeal o.
ct. The abundant rains ceased, and
oig, dry summers rendered the forsis
tinderlike, ready to be Ignited by
igitnlng or by brands tossed by Inians
to drive out game or clear land
or fornge.
There Is scarcely a mature sequoia *
hat <!oes not show the effects of at .
past ?ne flr?- Every 20 or 30 years
lames swept through the forest, someioies
licking hungrily, but with little
ffect. at the thick, asbestos-llkc bark;
gain, where a litter of boughs and
alien logs was piled up against a Big
i'ree, the fire burned fiercely enough
o penetrate the outer cover and into
he heart. That is why the great black
averns in the living sequoias are altiost
alvays found on the npper side
f those standing on a slope.
White M?n Slow to Find Thtm.
No doibt the Coast Redwoods were
sen bv fte first Europeans to visit our ^1
aeific wast Yet for more than two I
pntaries ifter the visit of Sir Franc!* !
r.ike. In 1579, white mec roamed up
ml down California apparently wlthut
cllmbhg far enough up the high
f.-rras to ind the Big Trees.
The lmli.ns knew them, of course,
i summer they camped among them
nd left pjtholes In granite rocks
-hare they .round acorn meal.
Kveb now the Identity of the first
mite* mentt* gaze on the Big Trees
f the Slerrcu Is in doubt It may have w
ecu some Member of the Joseph R. ,
talker expqilrlon of 1S33. One Zenas
eouard, cl^f; >f the Walker party,
?cor<led:
"In the last two days' traveling we
lave found sone trees of the Redood
species ihredibly large, some of.
icm which woud measure from 10 to
5 fathoms (96*1' 108 feet) around the
unU at the height of a large man's
ead trom the ground."
Thai group of Big Treea, now known
s the Calaveras North Grove, was,
owever, the first of these sequoias to
ecome well known.
John Bldxvell, a member ofr the first
nimisrant party to enter California by
he overland route, stated that he saw ,
he Calaveras Big Trees In 1841; but
Dowd Is popularly given credit as the
liseoverer of the Sequoia gi^antea. It
was the Calaveras Grove which inspired
Bret Flarte to write his poem,
On a Cone of the Big Trees."
in 1857 Galen Clark discovered the
Mariposa, or Wawona. Grove In what
is now* the Yosemlte National park.
The following year Hale D. Tharp, a
pioneer of Three Rivers, In Tulare
county, was led up the Middle Fork of
the Kuweah river by Yokut Indians,
and on up the grassy slopes beneath
Moro Kock to the plateau where grows
the noblest forest of the Sequoia gl- *
gantea, the Giant Forest, in what Is
now Sequoia National park.
"General Sherman" the Blgsnt.
< Here, In Sequoia National park,
stands that hoar; veteran of all Bis
Trees, the "General Sherman," found
and n:imed by James Wolverton In
1879. Many other treea. Including Bedwoods,
D0--3US Br8, and the Australian
eucalyptus, are taller; but no other, ao
far is one knows, hu Its balk. Its
greatest base diameter la 38.5 feet and
Its trunk contains 800,120 board feat
of lumber.
To save some of these treea, the
Sequoia National park was created In
1890; and for years patraled each straemer
by United Stares cavalry.
Private Individuals, however, aw
owned the finest parts of tfca seqnola
lurau ? usu, ui wane, perfect
right to eat tbetn down far tainbar. Ta
avoid tblb, the late Stephen T. Mather,
aa director of the National Park service,
asked congress for foods with
which to bug and save more of the
Big Trees. An appropriation was Bade,
bnt It was insufficient.
Then aid was asked of the National
Geographic society. Immediately, frasa
Its own fnr.da end with voluntary contributions
from ladlrtdeal members, K
subscribed sufficient money to percheee
the loads and Big Trees isslrtd
In all. the society bought end gave
to the Belted States a total of 1,M??
acne at a cost of |BM9a