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The Alamance Gleaner roL LXV , GRAHAM, N. C., THURSDAY, JUNE 8, 1939 No. 18 J WEEKLY NEWS ANALYSIS BY JOSEPH W. LaBINE Little Taxpayer Not Relieved By Current Revision Program; Higher Levies Seen Next Year (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. , TAXATION: I Relief? SENATOR CLARK CAA was flying too high. In retrenching 1939, many states have cut their_ budget* and many a congressman has preached econ omy. But John Public Has yet to see his taxes cttt; indeed, the mill run U. S. investor holding tax exempt securities will be lucky if such exemptions are not outlawed next year. Reasons for neglecting John Public are':'' (1J bis taxes can not be cut without adding to Big Business' burden; (2) Big Business, far from accepting such a burden, has good reason to protest its pres ent tax status. The only apparent solution, federal economy, will go by the boards this year ai D. S. expenditures for 1939-40 top the 1938 39 budget by approximately *1,000,000,000. Four probable points of the cur rent session's tax revision program are: (1) re-enactment of "nui sance" levies expiring June 30; (2) repeal of the undistributed profits tax and substitution of a flat 18 per cent levy on corporations with in comes above $25,000 a year; (3) de duction of net business losses from profits cl three future years instead of one year, as at present, and (4) revaluation of capital stock every year instead of every three years. Probable net result: Mere reshuf fling of Big Business' burden and maintenance of present federal ex penditures, a situation which today brings complaints like the following: Anent Taxes. To the American Petroleum institute, Standard Oil of Indiana reported it employed 30,000 people in 1938, meanwhile paying 887,485,205 in taxes. This was enough to pay 48,742 U. S. em ployees a salary of $2,000 each. Standard Oil's complaint: "A busi ness operated by . . . 30,000 work ers is called upon to support even more persons performing functions of govemmfeht." . Anent Expenditures. Democratic Hopeful Bennett Champ Clark, mid dle-grounder, claims the one-year old Civil Aeronautics authority al ready haa a payroll exceeding the 51-year-old Interstate Commerce commission, which regulates the na tion's entire railroad system Fur thermore, to drive home his plea for retrenchment, Senator Clark found CAA has more employees drawing federal pay than are em ployed by all the V. S. airlines. RELIEF: Recommendation C At Indianapolis a "Mr. Stinger," his wife and nine children live in three rooms of an old butcher shop, so rat-infested he and a two-year old baby have been' bitten. Although ill, "Mr. Stinger" must stay awake nights to shoo off the rats. C In 254 Texas counties reliefers get no aid other than federal sur plus commodities, and in one state food grants are one-fifth the mini mum standard food budget pre scribed'by the U. S. department of agriculture. C Ohio's experimenting, badly pes tered legislature has passed 82 re lief bills since January, 1931, yet still has trouble. Monthly food grants for relief vary greatly the states' a (flu ency, including: Atlanta, Ga., $8.70 per month; New York, $30.97; Mis sissippi, $2.91; California, $30.97; Ar kansas, $4-82. This startling picture of XJ. S. re lief conditions was offered the house appropriations sub-committee as it began considering a $1,477,000,000 budgetary request for 1939-40. The report came from the Anferican As sociation of Relief Workers, which reviewed conditions in 35 states and two territories (Hawaii and Puerto Rico). Principal recommendation was that federal grants-in-aid to states be continued as the only means of achieving a uniform and adequate system in a nation where reliefers would otherwise prosper or starve depending on' their state's wealth. AGRICULTURE: Cotton Conference Forgotten fact by most critics of the New Deal's agriculture program is that international wheat and cot ton production has raised tremen dously the past 15 years, closing the door against export of surpluses without expensive government sub sidies. Though regulated production produces a vicious artificial circle which upsets all natural commod ity price levels, the blunt facts are that even with restricted planting in the U. $., .1938 world wheat pro duction set a new seeord of approx imately 4,479,000,000 bushels, while U. S. cotton exports are currently at their lowest level in 60 years. One possible solution is a world wide co-operative .scheme. Already underway are negotiations for a formal wheat conference at London to draft an international agreement authorizing export quotas and eliminating price-cutting tactics facilitated by government subsidies. With 14,000,000 bales of old Ameri can cotton on hand when the cur rent harvest starts, and with the price to growers at 8.50 cents a bale compared with the agriculture de partment's "fair price" estimate of 15.6 cents, a world-wide cotton agreement is also in the offing. Next September 5 representatives of 10 cotton-producing nations will meet in Washington for an "exploratory" conference which may pave the way for export quotas. Co-operating na tions: Argentina, Brazil, Egypt, India, Mexico, Peru, Sudan, Soviet Rilssia, France and Great Britain, the latter two for their cotton ex porting colonies. Significantly ab sent from the list is Japan, whose new cotton plantations in China are wiping out another U. S. market. ASIA: Mongol Buffers RUSSIAN-JAP CLASH They'll risk other peoples' harden. Puppet buffer states are handy weapons for nations which want to fight without going to war. Other nations use them for "shock" pur poses, to bear the brunt of an at tack which might otherwise hit close to home. For 15 years both Japan and Russia have used the once glorious Mongols of Genghis Kahn ?s buffen against the Jap-Rum war which has actually been waging in Asia for the past seven years. Un der Soviet tutorship has grown the Outer MongoBih republic; under Japan a puppet ruler leads Inner Mongolia. A sample of how such buffer na tions can work was reported re cently from Tokyo. In the Lake Bor region south of Manchull,-Jap anese troops reported 1,000 Soviet trained Outer Mongolian soldiers charged Jap-Manchukuoan positions while 100 Russian fighting planes soared overhead. Always victori ous (by her own reports) Japan claimed 42 of the Soviet planes were downed. Still unnoticed as it has been since 1932, the Russian-Japanese war has probably reached an even more se rious stage than last year's Chang kufeng hill incident. Reason: Ac tivity centers on the Mongolian fron tiers. Both Japs and Russians dis like to risk direct border incidents of their own, but will be less squeamish about Mongolia. puzzlers"] Know your newt? Answer ell these questions and you're excellent; answer three and your good; two, /air; one, poor. 1. This U. S. senator will accept the Republican presidential nom ination, but if elected ' wouldn't take a second term. Who Is he? 2. What famous pianist was re cently forced to cancel the last part of his American tour be cause of a heart attack? 3. Floyd Roberts, racing at the Indianapolis antomobile speed way's Memorial day classic: (I) set bp a new record, (2) won for the second year in a row, (3) was killed, (4) came in second. . 4, True or false: According to a Gallop poll, the majority of V. 8. citizens believe the New Deal, and not business, is delaying re covery . (Antwen at bottom of column.) , ARMY: Recruits Not since the World war has Uncle Sam gone out of his way to solicit new blood for the army. Re gional recruiting officers took what came their way, yet had no trouble maintaining a small peacetime force. Now underway is a high-pressure campaign to recruit or re-enlist 113,000 men during the next 12 months, necessitated by replace ment and expansion needs of the air corps and other branches of the service. Weapons include 18 recruiting sta tions on wheels, slogans, posters, motion pictures and the radio. Big gest problem: To reach boys in the country as well as in cities, since better?as well as more?men are the prime objective. Largest single expansion is a prospective increase of 23,180 men in the air corps. TRANSPORTATION: Auto-Rail Early day mainstay of railroad passenger business was the travel ing salesman. But automobiles made it easier and quicKer to call on most customers, and railroads suffered. A few years ago the New Haven railroad tried a unique plan whereby salesmen could ride to a central point, there renting an auto mobile from the railroad to make customer calls in adjacent territory. So successful was the plan that sev en western lines plan inauguration of a similar program next Jan uary 1. . NAVY: Statistics Significant and fearsome is a U. S. peacetime naval construction pro gram bigger than any in history. With a $773,000,000 building appro priation on its hands, with 74 ves sels already underway, and with 23 new contracts about to be let, the fleet's current status is something like this: Typs <* la ">?>- Uu*?r torn- Appruprl Vewl mlisloe HncSn Ml for Battleships IS ? 1 Hss.j Cruisers 11...,,*.. 1.S Light Cruisers .. IT S S Aircraft Carriers S t ? Destroyers ....SIS * .? Submarines .... ST IS S Auxiliary 1ST IS .J Primary emphasis in the new pro gram will be on capital ships, 18 such battlewagons already being in service. On the way are two more, the 35,000-ton North Carolina and Washington. About to be started are the South Dakota, Indiana, Massa chusetts and Alabama. Two more, 48,000-tonners and larger than any thing afloat, will be started under current appropriations. None of the eight battleships will be ready be fore 1043 or 1946. Answers to Puzzlers L Sen. Arthur Vandenberg of Michigan. t leasee Paderewski. I. Floyd Roberts, who woe last year's race, was killed this year. 4. False. According to Gallop ?ndings, ? per cent think bosi aess is dolaytag recovery. Bat O per cent think the New Deal la delayiag 11, too. Bruckarfi Washington Digest President Restates All New Deal Theories and Convictions Retail Federation Speech Seen as His Political Philosophy For 1940 Campaign; Insists on Continued Spend ing; Would Hold Down Business Profits. By WILLIAM BRUCKART WNC Service, National Frets BldfWashington, D. C. WASHINGTON.?Ab the days go by, it appears more and more that President Roosevelt's speech before the American Retail federation here, May 22, amounts to a declara tion of greatest political impor tance. It may be, indeed, that the Chief Executive's pronouncements before the retail merchants that night will eventuate as the corner stone of his political philosophy for the campaign of 1940. In Mr. Roosevelt's speech before the retail businessmen, it will be re called upon examination that he re stated virtually all of the New Deal theories and convictions. That was important. But more important was the emphasis with which he of fered, in new language, the general assertion that there will be no back tracking. More important to the country, as a whole, was his de termined adherence to the principle of virtually unlimited government spending, because his renewed in sistence in that direction came at a time when there is considerable fear that the 'country faces further inflation of its currency. There seems to be quite a gen eral agreement that the retail speech should be examined in the light of 1940. As far as I can learn, that is the view taken by New Deal ers, by old line Democrats, who are antagonistic to spending policies of the last five years, and by cautious Republican observers who are anx iously looking for signs indicating whether Mr. Roosevelt, himself, will seek a third term in the office of President While the views of the three segments converge, their rea sons differ. The New Dealers who want Mr. Roosevelt to run for a third term desire to consider the speech as a preliminary statement, a charting of the future course; the old line Democrats who desire to get the party back in Democratic hands, rather than in the hands of the radical wing, entertain fears which force consideration of 1940, and the Republicans secretly are hoping that Mr. Roosevelt will try to break the third term precedent Speech Sought to Court Favor With Retailert There is another reason, apparent , to some observers, why the speech that sought to court favor with the retail dealers should be thought of in terms of a year hence. It will be remembered that the annual meeting of the Chamber of Com merce of the United States was held here only two weeks in advance of the speech which is the subject of so much discussion. .Now, I never have thought that the Chamber of Commerce represents very much of the country's sentiment. It is made up, of course, of business interests that are representative, but as a matter of cold fact It is dominated and managed and directed by the really big business of the nation. Thus, it speaks the big business viewpoint to the extreme, and like wise in these columns before that the Chamber of Commerce usually can kill off projected legislation by the simple expedient of supporting it. But the recent chamber meeting took no notice of Mr. Roosevelt be yond damning his program and pol icies lock, stock and barrel. The President, it seems, took advantage of the opportunity to tell the retail ers about his innermost thoughts as an offset to the vials of poison scat tered about by the big business rep resentatives. He reasserted his views on every point to which the i chamber had taken opposition and i about which there had been fight ing speeches made. I suppose if one's sense of humor could be suf ficiently detached from the gravity of the situation, they could describe the circumstance as similar to two small boys who were sticking out their tongues at each other as proof at their anger. Harrison Toll* President Tex Revision Is Necessary A third (actor might be brought into the picture. You will recall that it was only a week or so prior to Mr. Roosevelt's speech that he spent an afternoon in conference with some of the legislative leaders. Among them was Senator Pat Har rison, the old-line Mississippi Demo crat, who occupies the post of chair man of the powerful senate com mittee on finance. That is the com mittee which handles tax legisla tion in the senate. Included in the conference also was Chairman Dough ton, of the house comptfttee on ways and means, also a tax com mittee. ? No further review of that confer ence is necessary than to relate how Mr. Harrison told the President there must be tax revision In order to lift and readjust some of the unfair taxes on business, and he said there would be tax legislation in this session of congress. Chair man Dough ton appeared to join in rather timidly, but I believe it is not going to be important whether the Doughton heart is with Harri son or with Roosevelt. The fighting Pat Harrison is going to obtain some tax legislation if it is possible, and Mr. Roosevelt will have an oppor tunity to veto the bill if he likes. So, in his speech, Mr. Roosevelt took a sideswipe at the proponents of tax changes. Their reasons for demanding tax revision, you see, are based upon a belief that busi ness will not go ahead until govern ment gives more consideration to the burden that is on business. Sen ator Harrison, along with many other old line Democrats, feels that business can not reemploy workers as long as taxes are unevenly dis tributed. That is to say, the Mis sissippi senator is seeking ways by which business will take on work ers and the federal treasury will be free from the enormous appropria tions for relief spending. With reference to the Harrison position, however, it should be said here that congress has shown a doz en yellow streaks about cutting down in spending. Dmtmrminod Business Profit* Must Be Hold to Minimum When Mr. Roosevelt said in his speech, therefore, that he would de mand only that the present distribu tion of tax levies and rates should remain the same, he was answer ing Senator Harrison's group. In other words, the President has budged from the position and view point he long has held only to the extent that he now says he will not quibble about details; be wants corporations to bear as much tax as heretofore and he will insist upon it. He is determined that business profits must be held to the minimum and there are indications that he will carry such a fight "to the coun iry. Regardless of the tax question and the over regulation to which so many government agencies are ad dictcd hi dealing with business, Mr. | Roosevelt expressed his whole thought in one sentence: "You can not expect this admin istration to alter the principles and the objectives for which we have struggled the last six years." That declaration encompasses In one sentence germs of great trouble for the Democratic party. Some ob servers here described it as stub born statement. It is known, of course, that Mr. Roosevelt can be positively bull-headed in his deter mination when he wishes. Because of this trait, therefore, some of the ! old line Democrats again are fear ful of a wide open split in the party. Smacks Much of Old Argamomt for Pomp Priming In pooh-poohing the public debt and the great interest charge to be met every year, Mr. Rooaevelt said the government had to continue spending and creating debt because, otherwise, there would be no busi ness for the retailers or any other type of commercial endeavor. It smacked very much of foe old argu ment for pump priming and cer tainly bore out many reports that Marriner 8. Eccles, head of the federal icseme banking system, has great influence with the President, who used to get his adyice on finan cial matters from Secretary Mor genthau, of the treasury. Mr. Ec- | cles may be regarded, I believe, as one of the most visionary of all of foe Inner circle of New Dealers. In any event, ho has preached spending, spending and more spend ing by the government as foe means of lifting the country out of the depression by Its own boot straps. It is on this public debt matter that attention is likely to center more earnestly later on. The debt has been growing and growing and the general condition of the country may be said fairly to have advanced not one bit in foe last several years. (BelMeed by Wasters ?l'SVa Union. I Speaking of Sports Baseball's Best Pilots Played 'Average' Game By ROBERT McSHANE oscab vrrr ANOTHER major American cri aia developed not long ago when "Columbia Lou" Gehrig benched himself after establishing what may be an all-time record for consecu tive games. Plainly the iron man was nearing the end of the trail. Huge, salty tears were shed ever Gehrig's impending doom. What did baseball intend to do for the man who has done so much for it? Who would reward him with a manageri al Job? Forgotten was the fact that Gehrig hasn't yet retired, that he isn't a decrepit individual requiring a guiding hand to steer him to the closest relief agency. But the American sports-loving public is like that. Let one of its heroes start slipping and the hue and cry is nation wide. He must be rewarded. What can we do tor himT The tact that the big sports figure may make more in a week than the average person does in a year is seemingly beside the point It was a Meek mark against base ball, according to calamity howlers, that Babe Bath wasn't given a man ager's Jeb when he retired. Be was the game's most eotorfel figure, packing the stands wherever he ap peared and giving the best years of his lite te the diamond wars. Bath was the highest paid baseball play er la history, signing contracts at a top price a( $80,MO per year. Unsung Heroes Overlooked is the fact that each year a lot of fast, smart ballplayers go by the boards. They, too, have devoted their best years to the game, but when the final day rolls around they cast an agonized eye over the bank book and wonder where they're going to open a filling station or lunch counter. There seems te be seme geed rea son why great baseball stars aren't usually picked when managers are appointed. Seme of them have, soeh as Tris Speaker, Cobb and Walter Johnson. Bet they didn't last. The meet saeeessfnl managers seem te be thoee men who were geed play ers, bet net great ones. Connie Mack, the moat widely known, was once a catcher?and a good one. But experts don't rate him with Kling and Bresnahan Oscar Vitt, Cleveland manager, was formerly a major league infleld er. He isn't remembered for his outstanding ability as a player. Rather he was a reliable performer who played a steady game. Joe McCarthy, the most success ful manager in baseball, could never make the grade in the big-league. Success Stones Cut; Stengel ud Jimmy Dykes were better then the irtrtft bell player la their heat years, bat nei ther ef them were world beaten. Since they shed their anlferms they're been data* better than all right Del Baker el the Tigers was a catcher la his day. bat didst da se well In the major*. With so many players of average ability making the grade aa man agers, it seems more than coinci dence that the Stan (all in an exec utive capacity. It seems, though, a waste erf sympathy to shed tears over a great man whose playing career is drawing to a close. He has made money, has a host of friends and admirers and has led the kind of an existence he wanted. Because baseball doesn't offer him a manager's Job it doesn't mean that moguls of the game are hard-heart ed wretches, casting off a man when his usefulness is over. A man may be a great ball player, but lack the essential qualifications of a good manager. rortunately, ball chib owuets real ize that Jack of All Trades f)NE af baseball's sensations ?? 3 though not far his playing abO- :ia ity?is Morris (Moe) Berg, scholar, gentleman and catcher tor the Bos ton Red Sox. Not that Moe isn't a good bass ball player. He is. But he's such a versatile individual that his ac complishments in other fields tand to awe the average anloqker. ' To begin with, Moe can talk fas* and furiously in fire different lan guages, and has s working knowl edge ef about a dozen morn. Ha studied Romance language* at Princeton, graduating in lftt. Ho originally planned on going to the Sorbonne In Parle to study phonet ics, but decided to dnaaoe his ean tinned education by ptoyhtg ball with Brooklyn. He played too sum mer of IKS and toon went to Pasts. When he came back the hilluw ing summer the Dodgers weren't particularly impressed. The winter spent in study hadn't helped his hit ting, so ho was sold to Minneapo lis. From Minneapolis ha went to Reading in the International league, and from there to the Chicago White So* in 1825. . .... Deciding en further education, Moe enrolled in the law school ot Columbia university. He passed the New York state bar enwtoa tions in 1M9. His emupreheustvo recently when he appeared awn gate program over a nation-wide hookup. casters jrith jj^_rapld-fft?jnowWS In addition to his other accom plishments, Moe is familiar with ton scores of several operas, and is a lover of the drama. A real gourmet, be knows the best n ilsmsnto to all the cities on the big league route. Moe, despite his smssipg lumtii ity, is primarily a baseball player. He doesn't want to be known as a lawyer or a linguist, he wadts to bo looked open as a eonseieatiaan. hard-working catcher. He played on the 1933 Washington team, under Maiager Joe Cronin. and Cronin, Berg's boss now on the Red Sox, will attest to Berg's value to the team which won the Ameri can League championship. Ho plays a steady, const at ratty food game, and though no second Bob* Ruth, manages to bo a dangerous hitter in n pinch. Nor does ho play baaebaB tor the money Involved. He had-tiMU a well paid player, and to addition, is a member ot a New YVufc tow firm, and a director of two New Jer sey manufacturing plants. Sport Shorts Ctrl HabbcII Twj Fas AFTER losing the first heat fit ** which she started, Nancy Hawks, first trotting horse to bent 2:09, iron 45 straight and never lost 1KB #'? ? Carl HobbeU nev er argues with umpires, believ ing it to be bad luck. Thafs prob ably the reason Umpire George Magerkurth says Hubben is the easiest player in baseball to get along with . . . Manuel Salrw, ?Giant pitcher. cisco department store during hie off seasons there George Sta ler, member of baseball's Hall of Fame, recently traveled a thousand miles to deliver one pitch. Gnest of honor at a Wichita sacel-pni game, Sisler arrived from 9L Lome during a driving rein. The game Sialer mad* his cos pitch, then cangbt ? train tor bom* . . . Bad news item: Tommy Fair says he is coming back to America to fight Max Baer again ... Billy Coon recently announced that be will not become a heavyafeight fighter, but will content him ?BU WiUi ucing ure best light-heavy . . . Warner Bnk> era expect to sign Spencer Tracy to play the lead role in "The Life of Knute Rockne" . . . The Philadel phia White Elephants were renamed the Athletics when Connie Mack took over the chjb in May, IW ... Loyola university of Chicago has iron 42 of its last 43 home bas ketball games ... E. J. Delehaaty is the only player who has won batting championships in both ma jor leagues. He won the National league title in IW with a percent age of .408 and the American league championship in 19B with JW . . . Though the New York Giants won 28 consecutive games to establish a record in 1S16 they did Dot win the pennant . . . The Green Bay Pack ers are increasing the capacity of tbair stadium for the third straight
The Alamance Gleaner (Graham, N.C.)
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June 8, 1939, edition 1
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