*——SUjjQCQ» WEDNESDAY. DEC . 23 « IQgfi T GOOD EVENING EVERYBODY: The most important peace conference of the year, the most successful, comes to an end tonight. That*s the one we are directly interested in, the historic Congress at Buenos Aires. We think of it as important not merely because we are Interested in it ourselves but because it promises to have the far-reaching results. The spirit, of it was summed up in the final speech of Secretary Cordell Hull today. nCynics tell us that war is inevitable," he said. And he added: "I deny that! What we have accomplished here is the most practical evidence that war is not inevitable." Then he continued: "The things that have been accomplished here offer anexample to the rest of the world." And in conclusion he urged the delegates from the twenty-one Amer­ ican republics: "We must destroy war or war will destroy us LEAD - 2 Ihat!s the gist of what our Secretary of State said by way of farewell to Buenos Aires. As a matter of fact, he said it by proxy, since he had a bad cold, and the Assistant Secretary, Sumner Wells, read his speech to the delegates. EUROPE Twenty-one statesmen sitting around a table in London are still wracking their brains looking for a method of keeping the Spanish Civil War from spreading into an international conflagration. Their latest idea is one to make us over here glad we1 re not mixed up in that mess. The solution they propose is a body of inter­ national police to keep the Spanish War in Spain. It sounds complicated to the point of dizziness. A ring of neutral soldiers around Spain to prevent either soldiers or war munitions from crossing the frontier. That doesn*t however, mean one continuous line, it does mean that de­ tachments of these neutral soldiers would be stationed at a number of control points. wf these there would be no fewer than a hundred. That sounds like a large order, but the international H on-Xntervantlon Committee seem to think it could be done. If so, it would be a new idea in European history. The Committee has gone to the length of putting the scheme on paper and it will be offered to the Madrid EUROPE - Jb governaient and to General Franco. They* 11 be given ten days to reply. Just as they had devised his elaborate but ingenuous scheme, the twenty-one statesmen got a rude shock. Another Russian freighter sent to the bottom by Franco*. Itfs an unconfirmed report so far. The belief is that the Soviet merchantmen smacked into a R&bel mine off the harbor of Alicante. Another report of that nature threw further oil on the flames. The sinking of the now much discussed KOMSOMOL was accompanied by utmost brutality. That*s a claim that comes from Communist sympathizers. The rebels who captured the KOMSOMOL executed four of her Russian crew, the only ones who escaped. The othere all perished in the flames after Franco’s sailors had set the ship afire. CHINA f I! The Chinese spotlight continues to be focused on the glamorous Madame Chiang Kai-shek. The kidnapped Generalissimo t wife has suddenly become the key figure in that Far Eastern melodrama. Thanks to her negotiations, in the City of Sian a three day truce has been proclaimed. J As a result of a telegram from Madame Chiang's brothel. Dr. T.V. Soong, Nanking has agreed to hold the fire of its armies for that long i 1 m Evidently they hope that by the end of that time some compromise ; can be reached with the audacious young Chang. Meanwhile, Chang continues to hold on to the person of his boss. The possession of Chiang Kai-shek is his ace of trumps and he!s not going to let go until he gets what i he wants. But what does he want? He has refused money, promises, even guarantees of more power, more Influence in the councils of the nation. His original demand of course^yas that China should declare war on Japan. 9#=«SHES*^that's an impossible demand. The Chinese civilian rulers In Nanking know <***• ts well as their Generalissimo, Chiang Kai-shek, ? that the Chinese armies are in no condition to meet the CHXNA - 2 highly mechaniz ed, well disciplined legions of the Mikado. Such a war could end only one way, and that a disastrous one for the Chinese government — all in favor of further Japanese expansionl Cynical travelers who know China tell us that it's really all a bluff, that money, cumshaw, will settle all such questions in the land of the Celestials. But the pus- zle is more complicated than that. There* s the Communist angle. A report comes that young Marshal Chang flew today from Sian to Fushih. That's the biggest city in the north­ ern part of the Province of Shensi. It's a Communist strong­ hold. The inference is that Chang has gone to confer with the Red chiefs. And the rumor comes that he may bring one of them back to Sian with him to confer with Madame Chiang Kai-shek and her brother. Dr. Soong. ETHIOPIA Once again Premier Mussolini has his way. After all I the brave showing of protest against his conquest of Ethiopia^ I I one nation after another climbs on the band-wagon, realizing nothing can be done about It now. Another triumphant announce­ ment was made by the Foreign Office in Rome today, Belgium and Switzerland dropped their official but prefunctory opposition. The Swiss government formally acknowledges the former empire of Haile Selassie as now marltalian empire. Belgium a trifle more cageyj Xfe merely recognizes the conquest as an accomplished fact. POPE Pope Pius the Eleventh will positively carry out his resolution to broadcast his Christmas Eve message to the world. At half past six orclock tomorrow morning. Eastern Standard Time, the voice of the Roman Pontiff will be heard on the air. All day radio engineers have been installing their equipment in the private quarters of the Pope at Vatican City. The microphone will be placed at his bedside. In spite of the suffering from the p6in and partial paralysis in his left leg, he has been working two days, preparing his message. He will speak in Italian for some fifteen minutes. EDWARD At last an an English Bishop has a good word to say for former King Edward! a While all England was beginning to get indignant over the storm of criticism from Episcopal mouths. the Bishop of Manchester came out with .a warm and unqualified eulogy for Edward. In taking the ex-King's side. His Lordship so far is practically alone among the prelates and secular clergy of the Church of England. Windsor, was contained in a letter to the Manchester diocese. The passage referring to King Edward the Eighth reads: "Both as Prince of Wales and King, he used his many gifts in the service of the empire and he helped us a great deal." Said the Bishop further; "We cannot let him go without sorrow, sympathy and gratitude." And in conclusion: "Words help little in a moment like this, hut prayer helps much, and we The praise of his former sovereign, now Duke of most apt and timely fashion When the Archbishop of Canterbury let lose with his first words of rebuke after the King's EDWARD - 2 abdioation, there was muoh indignation. The King's sympathizers were heard from, beginning with no less a celebrity than H.G-.V/ells they began firing blasts at not only the Archbishop of Canterbury but the whole body of the established church* Wells went so far as to state broadly that perhaps the Anglican communion had lost its usefulness as an established endowed religion, that it should be disestablished and allowed to fend for itself ^ust as the Roman Catholic and the Protestant denominations have had to do for four centuries in Sngland. Yesterday, as we had occasion to observe, his G-raoe the Arch­ bishop of York stepped into the fray. That, it seemed, was too much for even the English press. Both the Beaverbrook and the Ro the mere papers were of the same mind for once. Usually, an j-diglieh archbishop is held immune to criticism by the British press. But not this time. And now the Bishop of Manchester comes out for the exiled king. BOOKLET During the past two weeks my mail has been unusually heavy, letters pouring in asking me about the little booklet Neel Enslen has been mentioning. But perhaps it would be better if I interrupted the news for about twenty seconds and let Neel Enslen himself reply. Neel, sill you gxk take over while I examine this next item. MR. ENSLEN: Thid book Lowell just mentioned contains ten short stories taken from his ten most popular books. It is a Christmas gift to you from your local Sunoco dealer, and can be obtained only from them. It is absolutely free. Better ask your Sunoco Dealer, tonight, for your copy. Thatfs all here's more news from Lowell Thomas: KANSAS CITY Santa Glaus seems to be coming to Kansas City with i big stick rather than a bagful of present^*££$^ for politicians# The scandal about the November Third election is growing into a rumpus of first-class size. As any HidTlT Westerner can tell you Kansas City has a Democratic machine that has had the reformers howling with indignation for years. They call it Little Tammany. But, -they say*-some of the pranks of Kansas City's Tammany would make seme of the old blush with i wiinoar envy, tycoons of New York's Ever since November Third there have been uHaawewy rumors. Ballot boxes, said the Republicans, were shamelessly stuffed. Finally, the grapevine reports became so thick that they could no longer ignored. So a Federal Grand Jury of A twenty-two men has been investigating, sitting ten hours a day. They counted the votes in one precinct and found that the Democrats had nearly seven hundred, the Republicans none* Tha looked so bad that Federal Judge Beeves issued an order that the election records from everyone of Kansas City's four hun­ dred and sixty-one precincits should be brought into court for investigation. KAMij ad CITY - k From all this political sharks deduce that Kansas City' Tammany is about to get the same going oyer that Sew fork's Tammany got five years ago from Judge Beabury. The chief character In this Kid Western play Is no jovial,playboy Major Jimmy Walker. He is Tom Pendergast, the big boss of Kan­ sas City; one of the eaglest, shrewdest politica 1 wisemen west of the Hudson. But he runs true to form as the guardian angel of the poor. Investigation or no investigation, he or his lieutenants will be around tomorrow night laden with teem­ ing Christmas baskets. His pockets are always full of silver quarters when he leaves his house in the morning. Always empty at night. Although a rich man, he does all his business in a bare, sparsely furnished room in a ram shackle building and the title about which he boasts most is "Plain Tom Pendergast". Sow the center of a political storm. CHRISES Onoe upon a tine vre vrere taught that Christuas ^ve began on leoember Twenty-Fourth. But - in these piping tir^g of radio, banta Claus doesn’t wait upon the calendar, in Radio City, Hew York, Christinas ^ve was ushered in two hours ago. The oarillon shines frozz the great Riverside Churoh were broadcast over the lower Plaza of Rookefeller center while the great choir of Lincoln Cathedral sang the first Christmas processional. And in front of them was the new skating rink of Rockefeller plaza. A rink within sight of two thousand office windows in the heart of New York City. It's something new indeed, when you can walk downstairs from your office, put on your skates and Join your stenographer in a fall on the ice. MOTHER Here s a story for Charles Dickens, or for 0THenry, or J. M. Barrie, or whoever your favorite writer of heart throbs may be. It goes all the way from London to Hollywood and back. Thirty-five years ago a three year old boy was placed in a famous English institution known as Dr.Barnardo»s "K, Home for Fondlings. For four years he was taken care of there. At t Then, he was sent to Canada along with three hundred others. Some of them became carpenters, masons,, builders, engineers. The one we are talking about went on the stage. He did well, so well that before long he was playing leads. Hollywood sent for him, and there he did even better. His name when he was U placed in that fondling home in London was Samuel Jones. Movie fans know him as Wallace Ford. During the twenty years of'his success on stage and screen, he had one regret. Mamanc He knew nothing about his par^feT^^t over to England to make inquiries about his origin. The information he got made him MOTHER - 2 believe that at least one of his parents was still alive, A letter from an aunt in Lancashire indicated that his mother was still somewhere in Kngland. For twenty-one years off and on, he continued the hunt. Wallace Ford was determined to find his mother. The pursuit was as difficult as it was long. It finally led him to uorthwioh in the oounty of Cheshire. There, living in an automobile trailer, beside the river, he found today an aged woman. The wife of a blind match seller she was ioiown throughout the neighborhood as "Old Man}cit,,. A Christmas meeting between the young movie star who drove up in a limousine and greeted the wife of the blind matoh seller as "Mother”. They talked for five hours,she going back into the dim reminiscences of her past, he trying to stimulate her memory with the few facts he knew of his own boyhood. At the end of those five hours, Wallace *'Ord, the suooessfhl young celebrity of Hollywood, said of the blind match dealer 1 s wife: "Yes, she's my mother, I'm sure of it." Then he added: "I am happy indeed that it's all over. Mother mother - 3 has had a hard life but at least she'll have no more hardships.” He is buying a house in northwioh where his mother and her husband the blind matoh seller oan spend the rest of their days in peace and ease, a story with a perfect ending — to which we say s-l-u-t-m.