r -.■aw'afH :;:vi 0 . 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 I i6] 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 Lov.-ell Thomas Broadcast for Literary Digest, Tuesday, March 29, 1932. .. Page. ■ , • Good Evening, Everybody: ' • . ' . ' ' , * v , i he re v/as a stirring scene, in the House, ot • ieoresentat i ves today v/hen Speaker Garn<-r made h s .The r of The plea to the assemhl ed I aw makers - * gal (fries were crowded, and an a suppressed exc i terpent o re va i I ed. Speaker?s appeal promised to be the critical point of a l,ong and confused controversy about t a x ation. It was real iz*ed that the time had come for decisive action, if the budget of tbr. United States Government v/as to be balanced. wfth the defeat ot the sales tax. Congress seemed to have turner5 into chaos. The lea-ders hxxx har lost their control, and the time had come when u h e men \fj hose business it is to guide parties in th ( legislative b o ere cal led upon o assert t h e i r influence and authority. Yesterday we^heard how ■ | e ader sApu it up of t he House to G a r n e r, the Gpe &'■' or a nci how he har! promisee' to take the floor and make a f i ght today* I' m SI HI ! i J l-32 5M 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Q G 10 11 12 13 14 15 j 16 | 17 ! 18 i 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 ! SM 2 GAii^u. - 2 The New York Evening Post tells how Speaker Garner was applaudeolo both Nepubl iccns a’v" Jemocrats, -cLs- i ic> , He r' i c! n T t turn loose hi] A with his usual fiery oratory. He spoke in a slow measured husky voice. "You have arrived", he told the Congressmen, "at the conclusion that you will have no sales tax. But I appeal to you for the sake of your party and your country to ^o your duty and restore some taxes to the bill,by v/hich this countryTs financial integrity may be maintainer•" That was the r ist of the Spealce r T s plea. He c a I I e r' upon Congress to get together and put through enough taxation to balance the budget. i ; .-.n ' he see is to have won ou“:. Here's the way the New York Eveniprtj Post berins its story of the events in w Congress today; "The balancing o > the tederal * budget", declares the Post, was made cert a in today when th ays and iv.eans Page__ 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 3-1-32 5M Committee brourht forth mkx a new tax P i"' op o sa I an d 3 p ea!' ap Garner made personal anneals to the House.” The new program .offered by the Wavs and means Committee rounds out the tax bill in such fashion that it w ;1 I produce over one billion two hundred million dollars. The new features which are before Congress now consist of a tax on stock transfers,which means that whenever stock is bought or sold, why tax will be collected by the government. The s am t h i n g goes for bond transfers, and various other types of tracing in securities. There T s also a tax on so ft dr inks, on c o s m r tics, furs, jewelry, sporting go o d s , p a dio s, chew in c g um, a u t omobi Ies , b o at s , an d o t h r r kinds o t g oo d s designated as luxury p r or u c t s. 11 h ad be en s unpo sed that t he re m i r hf h e i x a tax ^o n c aso I i n e , gas , - e I ectr i c i ty 5 anr tobacco, ■ u l none of t h e s e c ommoc i t i es are m en t ioned ill hi 3 4 5 0 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 Page, i n t h e n e v/ bill. Very veil, n o v , v e have i t : — the new tax program proposed by the Ways and ,„eans Committee, and Speaker GarnerTs appeal to Congress. The results were immediate. A procession started, a procession of congressional leaders of var ious factions, each of who m pi e d g e r’ h i s su n p o r t in t he w or k of balancing t he budget. Among those ! eaders were Kepr esen tat i ve5 Sne ( I , La Guardi a, ;.a.yney, uouchton, and Rankin, some of whom were prominent in the fight against the sales tax. T h e day 1 s pr o c e e d i n g s in Congress ma'm it seem as if there will now be o rder I y action on i he suo j ect of new taxation. 3-1-32 SM 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 ! SM ^ K; Page out President Hoover today came I with a dc fin i te statement t hat he a 1 t »-i~arb t-y- o so p o s e d t o a n ~ soldi er s 1 I: c n u s p avme nt s iV; r o o v e r 9 m ad e this s t a t e m e n t t o t h e n e vv s o e n e r rn e n at a ores conference. He declared that it looks as if a strong move meg might get under way in congress for~lfc soldiers1 bonus. He e xpI aine d t h at t her e w as a good deal of apprehension through the country bec a11 so o f the belief that a major i t y i n t h e House of k epresent a t \\&s wouI d s up oort the bonus nayme nts, which wo u I d cost t h e count r y sorn et h i ng I i ke t wo billion d oI I a r s. The New York Sun quotes the Presidon t as dec Iaring that he made his p o s i t i on c\ea r a t the last convention of 1he Am6 r i c an L e g i on a l j e t r o i l , n ( t hat he as sup pop ted by a vot e o i t he + n at if any such Leg io n n aires. H e a dde a x.. bonus pr op o sal come s xo t ' • * ’• = Qn - * f 1 e r? o e v e r y t h i n c h e c a n t o o. o f e a c it* PSQHIB1IIQM 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 Page (p The battle of prohibition in Washington entered a new phase today when a judiciary sub-committee of the Uni ted States Senate started proceed!ngs for a consideration of three resolutions put forth by Senator Hiram Bingham of Connecticut. Senator Bingham is a leader of the anti-prohibition forces, and he wants to put through several proposals which would change the present method of amending the Constitution of the Uni ted States. One of these changes would fix things so that any constitutional amendment which gives the government an increase of power over the people must be ratified by special state conventions. At present amendments are ratified by state legislatures, but Senator Bingham and a group of his supporters believe that special conventions should be elected by the people on the direct question of adopting new constitutional amendments. The second proposal is that any 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 IS 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 * M ERQHlBiliQH Page such amendment must be ratified by popular elections, with three-quarters of the states voting YES. The third proposal calls for Congress to call a National Constitutional go nvantion whe never two -thirds of i ts rnembers are in favor, and also when two- thirds of the states4 legislatures put on their Q.K. The advocates of these changes declare that the idea is to put questions of amending the Constitution right square in the hands of the people. if 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22^ 23 24 ju,y.L.i» Page. ae \-\~y H frri—17 -rb-h t Iva^ jfM-si—impe-rta-Bt ou-bject -e-f the-—day---- -y-^s., th&-t—sart4-e—old top-4-o of prohibHion^ iff ; I have an interesting list of - * ^1^ cities tonight, 9&r&They begin with communities in those two rival states, t+nrt—-Pr-t-cputo t-4nc pr imaoy "Of.. «±ttrsfe=mfi3. Santa Barbara., California, votes 432 for continuance of the 18th Amendment, and 1,429 for repeal; while Daytona Beach, Florida, votes and 792 wet. 'rC*- ^-nVNJl, • # Rock i s I an d , Illinois, I , 066 agai nst. El wood, Indiana, 403 dry. 245 for 658 wet v/estf ie I d, Massachusetts 217 for, I'083 against M uskegon, Michigan, 357 dry 797 wet Vi* "1f358 for cont inuancer 2,394 for repeal. A ' New York, N e w f\ o o h e I I e 259 w«t dry, 2,479 wet* il 3-l-32 SM 2 1 1 2 3 4 I 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 | 24 25 Page_. / Denver, Co I or ado, Acomes through wjth a second set of returns -- 4,611 in favor of prohibition -- 9,031 against. And v/e al so have a second report on Bridgeport, Connecticut, 797 for continuance, 5,520 for repeal. '.re—R-em—Fe-ifcH=H=i—4-e—our p r-o gp am . M*S! 5M * 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 UNUfiESGid (1 Page This afternoon fate |^rs Charles H* Consolvo, wife of •faw^ t-uf - L-he- Baltimore Hotel VyV-A^v. told reports of « s A Baltimore newspaper that she had a telephone call from her husband concerning j| the Lindbergh case. She declares that her husband told her that he was going to take aboard his yacht the three Urn Norfolk citizens who are said to be negotiating with the kidnappers of the Lindbergh baby, and that it was his job to pilot them to a point outside the 12-mi le I imit, where they would meet the kidnappers. This is the most important bit of news this evening in the hunt for the missing child. The New York Sun relates that Dean Dobson-Peacock, one of the three Norfolk men who have become so prominent in the case, flew back to Norfolk this morning, after his conference with the Lindberghs last hight. The clergyman denied that he had brouaht to the stricken parents it -ft. LIMQB£B.Iail H any positive proof that the baby is aboard a boat, but he asserts that he is mighty confident that he is on the right trail, together with his two coI leagues. Rear Admiral Bur rage and Charles Hughes Curtis, the Norfolk shipbui Ider . He declares that he hopes to call upon the Lindberghs again within a few days, and if he does he will have something mighty definite to offer- Meanwhile, Colonel Lindbergh declares ha that he does not believe the Norfolk clue is very significant. He seems rather to belittle it. The head of the New Jersey state police ^ declares likewise that he doesn't thi n^ there's anything much to it. The police in general don't seem to be taking much stock in that story that the Lindbergh baby is aboard a 1/oat, and that the kidnappers have asked the three prominent Norfolk citizens to negotiate with the bereaved parents. A suspicion is felt that there may be a cruel hoax some Inhere. I i « i r ■^r LlMafi£&£U. 4 | 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 Page Meanwhile, the police are centering their attention upon the hunt for members of the kidnapping gang, those same underworld characters that have been sought for some time. 20 : 21 22 23 24 25 11 - 23-11 n. A statement was issued in Stockholm today which has a sensational bearing on |j 4 8 the suicide of Ivar Kreuger, the Swedish match king. This statement is made by the directors of the corporation controlling the gigantic Kreuger interests. It declares that a financial report issued by the match king late in 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 January was false. It gave a rosy picture of the financial condition of the company, which did not correspond with the facts. The directors declare that although » I'; the report was given out by the match king in their name, they didn!f know anything about it. A special wireless dispatch to the New York Sun continues the story by saying that the match king was involved in a maze of financial complications which not been suspected until now. He lost immense sums of money in various 23 25 specuI ations. They say the stage is all set for huge financial battle, with Swedish a 1 31-32 5M Page__ /^ interests trying to hold control of the Kreuger enterprises, and with powerful foreign interests fighting to take over these enterprises for themselves. JAEM Page.____ / Now oomes mention of the Black Dragon Society, and that sounds like some mysterious organization of lodge brothers, or something like that. It!s a good deal more serious, we are told. The Black Dragon Society is a secret Japanese association which devotes itself to the advancement of Japanese interests in China. They say its main purpose is to stir up trouble in the great republic of the Far East, and to urge the Japanese to constantly increasing aggress ? ons. William Philip Simms, the foreign editor of the Scripps-Howard newspapers, declares that the Black Dragon Society has passed out the word that it is 11 now or never" for Japan -- that the confusion and disunion in China is such if! iff that Japan now has her supreme opportunity to get control of the country. A melodramatic instance of the war . enthusiasm among the Japanese comes in a story from Tokio which tells how seven Japanese high school girls made a flag. JAEM 3 Page / la which they sent to the Japanese troops at Shanghai. The flag is 18 inches square -- the usual ensign of Nippon, white with a red ball in the center to symbolize the rising sun. It is the way the girls procured red coloring matter for that emblem of the rising sun that’s interesting. The red they used was the ir^, own blood, which they got by asfcSgsi?'their fingers. At Shanghai the peace negotiations which are going on between the Chinese and thg- Japanese adjourned today, and won!t be recontinued unti1 Thursday. The St. Louis Star comments that it doesn!t seem (km as if any too much np progress is being made by way of sett!ing the trouble in the Far East. They say the Commander of the Chinese Nineteenth Army is conferring with the War Office at Nanking. The General is talking about plans for defense. He says they1 I I need plans for defense, because the Japanese are preparing to get under way again with further 1 MM ^ 1 JAEiiN - 3 I I 11-23-3!. 3M Page------ IX ~1 aggressions against China. In Manchuria large forces of Japanese infantry, supported by airplanes, were reported on their way to the town of Nungan. The town is--<t<a^| eftpxnateel to be surrounded by Chinese who are conducting a regular siege. Large sections of Manohuria,thp Rochester <rvlX (New York) Times-Union. ■■ are swarming with Chinese irregular troops. The Japanese say they are bandits. The Chinese declare they are patriots. And I guess the truth lies somewhere between the two opposing claims. K Hasa Page___ man saw, that more earth was down -- another landslide. A to his son one end of a long garden Ai^rhare!s how a man drank a gallon of water to save his life, while he was buried eight feet under ground* A United Press dispatch in the New York War Id-TeIegram relates how Walter Koester was inspecting an excavation with his father when there was a cave-in. A landslide engulfed young Koester and buried him to the waist. And the older coming He tossed son one hose. And just as young Koester grabbed it, down came the second landslide and buried him beneath eight feet of earth. He had the hose in his mouth to provide him with air, but when he tried to breathe he found the hose was full of water, and he had to start drinking the water out of the hose. He says it must have been a gallon at least. When final ly the hose was drained dry he had a bit of air to breathe, and then rescuers attached an oxygen tank to the other end of the hose. It was L hours before they could dig him out. ^ 0 '- ^' '' '1 j M 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 Page„__ / '.'e1!, they are the snake's hips Yes, in fact they are — a n H t h e y are o n exhibition at the Field I*', use urn in Chicapo . ri United Press wire in the New Y o rk or ! d I e ! egr am e xp I a i ns t h at j u st to n ro ve that the fami I iar slang expr essi on ■f has some reality, the Museum authorities have placed on exhibition the hips of an African rock python. That snake is ta>en because he has a pair of hind i legs. He also has hips. An d so i t 1 s no jok e wh en I say he yn&g&a. the snakes hips,, and So Long UntiI Tomorrow. i i it i |! I j fi \