The Alamance Gleaner
_____ ' ? ~
Vol LXIV GRAHAM, N. C., THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 1938 No. 39
-Weekly News Review
Germany, Italy Dictate Terms
Of Proposed Four-Power Pact
By Joseph W. La Bine ? 1
EUROPE LAYS THE GROUNDWORK FOR PEACE
(Set FOREIGN)
Foreign
The European domination won at
Munich by Germany and Italy is
but a prelude to Hitler-Mussolini
plans for relegating France and
Great Britain into second-rate sta
tus. Still to come is a four-power
pact, but first must come the
groundwork (See MAP) in which
France and Britain are fattening
themselves for the slaughter:
ENGLAND sees growing resent
ment toward Prime Minister Neville
Chamberlain, who claims: "Our
sole concern is to see that this coun
try and her colonial communications
are safe." But recalling successive
British diplomatic defeats in Man
chukuo, Ethiopia, Spain, China, Aus
tria and Czechoslovakia, Chamber
lain's foes wonder what he means
by "safety." The real Chamberlain
policy is appeasement of dictators
at any cost. Thus the prime min
ister has forced a 345-138 approval
of his Italian friendship pact in the
house of commons. Thus, too, he
has dropped Britain's elaborate de
fensive armament plan and urged
the retirement of War Minister Les
lie Hore-Belisha. Once active in op
posing Spain's civil war, Great Brit
ain must now grant belligerent
rights to both Loyalists and Rebels.
Still unfulfilled are Hitler's demands
for return of war-mandated colonies
and a 3-1 air domination over Great
Britain. Then he will be ready to
make peace.
FRANCE, now torn by financial
distress resulting from feverish re
armament, has welcomed Reichs
fuehrer Hitler's offer of a 10 or 25
year truce. This is more ground
work behind the eventual four-power
pact. In return for German renun
ciation of territorial claims (in Eu
rope) against France, Paris would
re-establish normal diplomatic re
lations with Italy (already accom
plished) and actually turn away
from the League of Nations to live
at the mercy of dictators.
ITALY AND GERMANY are now
so sure of their positions that they
find it unnecessary to ask British
French advice on handling Czecho
slovakia's minority problem. Al
though the treaty of Munich stipu
lated four-power action on Czech
minority problems, Foreign Minis
ters Joachim von Ribbentrop and
Count Galeazzo Ciano have just
transferred a large part of Czecho
slovakia to Hungary.
Labor
Chief among objections to the na
tional labor relations act are that it
(1) makes the labor board prosecu
tor, judge and jury, and (2) permits
employees, but not employers, to
invoke its aid. Industry .agrees gen
erally that NLRB is fundamentally
sound if these abuses can be cor
rected. Industry claims further that
NLRB was designed to cover abuses
practiced only by a minority of em
ployers, that it fails to recognize
that the average employer is honest.
Changes in the act have been en
dorsed by the American Federation
of Labor, U. S. Chamber of Com
merce and National Manufacturers
association. But when John Lewis'
Committee for Industrial Organiza
tion meets in Pittsburgh this
month, NLRB will be defended
?gainst amendment proposals on the
P?und that changes would make
act impractical. Along with
NLRB amendment proposals next
January, congress will also get A.
F. of L.'s plea for nonconfirmation
of President Roosevelt's appoint
ment of Donald Wakefield Smith,
NLRB member whom Federation
ists say is pro-C. I. O.
International
America's demand that Japan
maintain China's "open door" trade
policy is based on the nine-power
pact signed by China, Japan, the
U. S., Great Britain, France, Italy,
Belgium, the Netherlands and Por
tugal. Under this territorial integri
ty agreement, Western powers have
enjoyed profitable trade with
SEIHIN IKE DA
New sacrifices must be made.
wealthy and populous China. The
situation began changing in 1931
when Japan walked into Manchu
kuo, and has become a greater
threat to Western trade inter
ests since the Chinese war began.
Today, with the richest part of China
under Japanese control, Western
powers have feared that nation
might go the way of Manchukuo,
becoming a Japanese puppet state.
This fear has been justified by
Japan's statement of policy in the
Far East, interpreted in part as an
answer to the U. S. "open door" de
mand. Japan has announced she in
tends to create a political and eco
nomic union of her empire with Chi
na and Manchukuo, which means
that Western powers will be left on
the outside. Since a foreign office
spokesman has said no part of east
ern Asia shall be "westernized,"
British, French and U. S. conces
sions in China are considered threat
ened.
Thus, more than a year after her
undeclared war on China began, Ja
pan has taken time out to tell the
world why. But if Tokyo's state
ment of future policy has given
heart to war-weary Japs, they have
also been confronted with the situa
tion's realities. Seihin Ikeda, Har
vard-educated minister of finance,
has warned that new sacrifices must
be made to complete China's con
quest and rebuild that nation. Al
though Japan will make immediate
and drastic slashes in her domes
tic expenditures, the war budget will
b? hiked to push China's Generalia
simo Chiang Kai-shek out of the pic
ture.
T reimportation
In the opinion of three experts,
American railroads have no right to
cut IS per cent from pay checks of
930,000 employees because: (1) it
would be a stop-gap measure at
best, only reducing the standard of
living at ? time when business in
general is coming back; (2) the rail
roads' financial problem is still of
short term aspect, having been crit
ical less than a year; (3) although
railway wages have not fluctuated
so badly as wages in other indus
tries, they have not been advancing
proportionately so fast as in other
industries; (4) a flat 13 per cent
wage cut would not be equitable,
since smaller roads ? which are ta
worse shape ? would derive less ben
efit than the more prosperous lines.
This was the gist of a 40,000-word
opinion handed down by President
Roosevelt's emergency fact-finding
commission after three weeks of de
liberation. Board members: Chief
Justice Walter P. Stacy of the North
Carolina Supreme court; Dean
James M. Landis of Harvard law
school, once chairman of the se
curities and exchange commission;
Professor Harry A. Millis, Univer
sity of Chicago economist.
Likelihood of enforcing the IS per
cent wage cut despite the commis
sion's findings is considered small.
But this does not lessen the plight of
U. S. railroads, whose sorry condi
tion will probably receive attention
from next winter's congress. Since
utilities are getting government aid
under the guise of U. S. defense in
surance ( see below), moreover since
the government plans to strengthen
its defenses generally, railroad man
agement will justify its request for
federal aid on the same grounds. Al
ready suggested is a revolving gov
ernment fund for purchase of new
equipment, plus a federal appropria
tion to pay one-quarter of railroad
maintenance costs during a five-year
test period. The American Associa
tion of Railroads' program includes
(1) revision of ICC rate-making pro
cedure; (2) low rate government
loans; (3) abolition of government
freight rates; (4) repeal of long and
short haul rate law; and (5) new
government regulations over com
peting water transportation.
Utilities
New Deal dams and power plants
have offered public utilities serious
competition, forcing down their
prices and creating an unfriendly
breach between electricity execu
tives and the administration. One
government power project not yet
started is the St. Lawrence water
way, which President Roosevelt
praised during September when the
war scare first began. At that time,
partly because he feared a lack of
power reserve, partly because such
a shortcoming might be good ad
vertising for a St. Lawrence project,
the President appointed a commis
sion under Louis Johnson, assistant
secretary of war.
When the commission reported re
cently, it failed to mention St. Law
rence waterway plans. But it made
bigger and more puzzling news by
drawing executives of 14 large utili
ties to Washington and getting their
promise to start expanding. If this
was a peace gesture, it was over
shadowed by explanations that util
ity expansion is an important step
in the government's defense pro
gram.
The program: In 19 areas (all
east of the Mississippi) utilities will
spend an immediate $350,000,000,
boosting it to $2,000,000,000 if power
consumption increases normally the
SECRETARY JOHNSON
Tht war department mad ? pemcm.
next two years. Only government
function will be Reconstruction Fi
finance corporation aid in making
loan* up to $250,000,000.
Though generally regarded as an
optimistic sign of recovery, utility
expansion has been minimized in
some quarters. The 1,000,000 new
kilowatts in generating capacity la
only a 3 per cent booat in U. S. power
potentiality, considerably below the
average increase in good hi ism? s
years.
Brmckart'a W Wife at
General Housecleaning in Federal
Communications Board Is Needed
History of Control of Radio Is Story of Troubled Days;
Public Is Concerned Because Free Speech Is Involved;
Split on Board Adds to General Confusion.
By WILLIAM BRUCKART
WNU Service, National Press Bld(., Washington, D. C.
WASHINGTON. ? It seems among
the inevitable and unavoidable
things that there must be growing
pains when the government starts
execution of any new policy. This
always has been the case. I as
sume it is going to be true always,
and it does not matter whether that
new policy involves something as
inherently governmental as govern
ment supervision of public serv
ices or something as inherently po
litical as the national emergency
council. The latter institution ought
to have as a part of its title some
words designating its value as the
hod carrier in political emergencies,
such as the recent "purge" of Dem
ocrats who insisted on being Demo
crats as distinguished from New
Dealers.
With that preface, we can exam
ine into the situation that exists in
the federal communications com
mission. As laymen whose only con
tact with radio is on the listening
end, or whose only contact with
telephones is to use them for busi
ness and social .intercourse, or
whose only contact with the tele
graph is to send or receive mes
sages, well, obviously we laymen
do not know much about the F. C. C.
But that does not excuse any of us
for lack of interest. For F. C. C.
is just as close to you and me as the
interstate commerce commission is,
and unless I miss my guess it will
be even closer in the years to come.
There has been a measure of con
trol over radio for years, and they
have been troublesome years, both
for the agency administering the
law and the industry forced to abide
by the law. Within the last few
years, however, there has come into
existence the F. C. C. which is con
cerned not alone with radio, but
with telephones and telegraphs.
These latter industries, however,
are themselves settled down and out
of their teens. They have got by
the growing pains, but as for radio,
the story is quite different and de
cidedly more important, because
there are fundamental dangers to
you and me in the situation.
Federal Control of Radio
Story of Troubled Day
The history of federal control of
radio, as I said above, is a story of
troubled days. The bulk of the
trouble has been due to the type of
personnel selected for administra
tion of that control. That is to say,
politics is to blame as much as any
thing. Politicians will endorse any
screwy bird, long-haired theorist or
narrow-eyed half-breed if such en
dorsement will get him votes or help
hold the royal order of nose-pickers
in line at election time.
And that is why, or' largely why,
the federal communications com
mission at this writing is undergo
ing pains like I used to have when
I allowed my childish enthusiasm to
overcome my judgment and ate ap
ples before they were ripe. I
wouldn't care how many of the boys
on the government payroll had tum
my aches about their jobs, or how
many private and bitter words
passed between highups or low
downs in the commission except for
the fact that precedents are being
established that will affect you and
me directly as the years roll by.
The things that have developed in
the F. C. C. concern us because
they involve free speech, involve it
as directly as any attempt to use
censorship on your newspaper or
mine; Besides, there is the certain
ty that radio has been used to fo
ment or put tp sleep some national
issues. It brings the nation within
any small room that happens to
house a couple of good, workable
microphones. If there was ever a
place for establishment of basically
sound and wise policies, it is in the
government supervision of radio.
It is hard to get at the facts in the
current dust storm within the com
mission. There are so many sto
ries afloat, however, that some
where there must be some truth.
And this belief is buttressed by the |
known fact that President Roosevelt
is considering what to do to get the
tangle straightened out.
Trouble Shooter Fail s
To Smooth Oat the Me as
To go back ? bit, it will be re
called that Mr. Roosevelt sought
more than a year ago to smooth out
the mess by transferring Frank Mc
Ninch from the Job at chairman at
the federal power comlhiaston to
that of chairman of the federal ra
dio commission. Every one con
versant with the situation said at
that time that the new chairman
was a good trouble shooter and that
he would get things working aa a
highly technical agency ought to
work. But the truth is that Mr.
McNinch has not succeeded. If any
thing, there have been more rows
and the work of the commission
has been slowed down even to a
worse condition than it was.
The whole thing would not amount
to a hill of beans except that it
seems utterly impossible to get
sound and Judicial execution of a
technical law under such circum
stances, and the matter becomes of
moment to everyone because this
monster, radio, is still in swaddling
clothes. Its future life intertwines
with your life and mine, and with
the lives of our children and the in
finity of the future years.
The battle within the commission
crops up every once in awhile, just
as it did when the commission re
cently fired Hampson Gary, its gen
eral attorney. Mr. Gary was asked
for his resignation, and an alterna
tive of another appointment else
where in the government. But he
stuck out his chin, and said "no."
Well, he promptly was fired.
l oo Much Interested in
Fighting Among Themaelvea
From all of the stories I have
picked up, I suspect that Mr. Gary
was no great shakes as a lawyer.
On the other hand, it was equally
apparent that Mr. Gary was being
supported by a couple of commis
sioners who had hard noses and
wouldn't quit fighting. It is an inci
dent that is related as an illustra
tion and as a basis for the state
ment that most of the members of
the commission and ? substantial
portion of the subordinate personnel
are much more interested in fighting
among themselves than in trying to
understand and administer an intri
cate law.
This column is not the place to
i attempt a list of the many rulings
j of the commission that have done
the industry no good. Attention can
be called, however, to the procedure
under which these decisions are
brought about, having in mind that
such decisions have just as much
force as the law itself.
It is the regular routine in a gov
ernmental agency for consideration
of problems, determination of poli
cy, interpretation of law, to have
their initiative in suggestions from
the top individuals. They are named
as the policy-makers. They have
to assume responsibility. In the case
of the communications commission,
there seems to be something of the
same procedure followed, except
that the individual members of the
board, or some of them, persist in
acting individually rather than col
lectively as a board.
This would not be so bad if the
board members as a whole were in
accord. But they are not. There is
a split as wide as Pennsylvania ave
nue. The result is that on many,
many occasions underlings have
brought forward propositions that
served only to fan the flames of dis
agreement between board members.
General H ousecleaning
In Commission Needed
Again, even this condition could be
corrected and something of a work
able nature developed if the bulk of
the subordinates around the com
mission were sound thinkers. That,
unfortunately, however, seems not
to be the case.
So I say that I am unwilling to
charge continuation of the mess to
Mr. McNinch. He apparently has
tried, but as long as some members
of the commission manage to gain
public attention by their nauseating
blurbs and as long as some at the
silly flock, claiming to be "original
New Dealers," continue to spew out
venom about "unfairness of news
papers," it is likely the communica
tions commission is going to get no
where very fast.
I said earlier that it may be Mr.
Roosevelt will have to ask for a gen
eral ho usee leaning and resignation
of most of those in key positions. It
is quite likely that be will dodge
that action if any other way can be
found to solve the problem. In any
event, I hope that congress looks
into the situation.
?Speaking of Sports
6 -Man Football
Clicking Fast
In Rural Areas
By HERB ROGERS
PROBABLY few of the handreds
1 of thousands who watch the big
intercollegiate football tames these
fall Saturday afternoon* hare ever
heard of "six-man football." Yet
more than Z.tM schools in that nan;
small towns throughout the coun
try have pint-sized teams in the
?eld this season.
Originator of six-man football is
a Chester (Neb.) high school teach
er named Stephen Epler. Back in
September, 1934, he got tired of
watching students twiddle their
thumbs from the opening days of
school until basketball season rolled
around. He felt that Chester stu
dents should have a fall sport
His school didn't have enough stu
dents to maa a regulation football
team, aad even if they had, there
wasn't enough money available to
put them into football gear.
So, with the cooperation of his
superintendent, Epler went to work.
He started to remake football from
the million dollar spectacle it had
become into a modest sport that
would flt the purse and personnel of
the small town school.
l oo Many Tackles
Seven tackles, he decided, are it
together to* many. When they come
together the spectators can't see
what's happening, and the players
themselves hardly know what it* ?
all ahoat Tackles only get in the
way of the hall carrier, anyhow. 80
oat went two men and two uniforms.
Then Epler took the guards. The
team has to have ends to run down
punts, receive passes, turn in the
offense. It also has to have a center
to get the ball in motion. But who
ever heard of a guard making a
touchdown? So on each side of the
center a guard was left jobless. His
team now had a center and two
ends. He had chopped off four men.
When it came to the backleld It
wasn't so easy, hot Epler start his
eyes and crossed off one hslfbaefc.
His team now consisted of a cen
ter, two ends, a quarterback, half
back, and fallback. Three men ia
the line, three in the backfleld.
Because the town couldn't provide
a regulation gridiron, 100 yards long
by 160 feet wide, without ruining a
good crop of standing corn, Epler
reduced the length of the field to
80 yards, the width to 40 yards.
Safer Game
A by-product of this coodensed
team is a marked decrease in the
hazards of football. Sorveys show
that many football Injuries result
from the simple fact that in a pile
of 14 men, some one has to be at
the bottom. Fewer linemen reduced
this msjor hasard.
Also for the sake of safety, Epler
added one rule to regulation foot
ball. The man who receives the
ball from the center must pass it to
a teammate, either with a back'
ward, lateral, or forward pass, be
fore crossing the line of scrimmage.
This slowed up the offense enough
to reduce much of the effect of bruis
ing line plunges.
Su-reyi show that more injuries
occur near the goal lines where
players of both sides get desperate
than in mldleid. To remedy this
ritastlon, Epler widened the goal
posts to ti feet, made them at least
24 feet in height, lowered the cross
bar to t feet, and awarded ? pre
mium for goal kicks. A try-for-point
after touchdown nets two points if
made successfully by kicking, only
one point if made from scrimmage.
T? If TT
livery man a ncro
Id regulation football linemen
have a th anklets job. The. ball car
rier geta cheered by the crowd,
while the poor tackle who opened the
hole through which the carrier ad
vanced merely haa hia face stepped
on. A center's chance to score ia
just about nil.
Bat ta stx-man football every maa
on the team la eligible te receive a
pass; every maa Is a potential her*.
Playing time Is la few lS-minnte
periods. Other ehaagea from the
regulation game are miser.
In most of the towns where six
man football ia being taken up, the
reigning sports were baaeball, bas
ketball and track. A survey made
by Epler shows that more than
the high schools in this country have
never played football, whereaa bet
ter than 90 per cent of the schools
play basketball.
Bat hfifiBici the period between
the start el seheel and the start wt
far pepaiar sperta, ah-au teethe!!
to preved te be ? natrol. It starts
Fastest Sport
\A7 ORLD'S fastest indoor ram I*
not lee beekey, ** might wwO
be supposed, bat an ancient pi
called Jal Alai. "by-He" to yoa.
Today It Is a najtt spelt set only
la Srala bat to Mb America,
Mexico, Caba aad eren saeb remote
centers as Shanghai. New Jal alai
seems te be taking root to the Unit
ed States.
One reason for the spread of the
game's popularity is its simplicity.
It requires only space, three high
walls, a ball and a curved basket
like scoop lashed to the arm ?t
each player. When played by turd
BABE RUTH
Ui( M Swat tries *1 ahd.
hitting professionals, the gama is
spectacular in the extreme.
The kail, hard aad atat the stse
si a tennis ball, is set-re* fram the
basket and driven agit? t fib* beat
wan, te be scn?ed ?? tabn Ms
second b tones aad utaitd by a
member s< the i?|ulag side. Teams
range (rem oae te tear ea a sMa.
As in tennis, the technique lies te
slamming the ball to a spot from
which U is hard (or the umakig
player to return tt. When played by
experts the game appears easy, bat
great skill and endurance are re
quired.
Here and There ?
The tiny mule mascot of the Army
football team is a gift from Ecua
dor's minister to Washington . . .
Charley Keller, Yankee rookie out
fielder from Newark, is hailed as a
second Joe Di Maggio . . . Millard
White, Tulane's 216-pound triple
threat back, is shot put and discus
champion of the Southeastern con
ference . . . Pop Warner, Temple
coach, was called the Texas Steer
in his playing days at Cornell ...
Helen Jacobs will lecture on tennis
at the San Francisco world's fair
. . . Whizzer White says his first
three professional games gave him
more bumps and bruises than he
suffered in his entire college career
. . . Santa Clara has won 21 out of
22 football games since Buck Shaw
became head coach two years ago.
? Western Newspaper Union.
Pocket Billiards
By CHARLES C. PETERSON
ProaktaU. National Billiard Aaaortatioo
of America and World'a Trick
Skat Champion.
LESSON NO. 4
A kiss shot for the ilj
It is of vital importance that the
balls are spotted carefully accord
ing to the diagram. Every object
ball must be touching (frozen).
Again the striker must make a firm,
solid bridge, bold the cue absolutely
level, and use no english. If you
miss the shot it will be because yoa
given. Again let me wan you to
leeve your cue on the Hoe at aim, H
yon wish to master the i