DH.„. y:i.LL JUliOCO, ^PHIL 5, 1956 GOOD JiVKL'IivG EVERYBODY; "he question still remains in the case that has been a nightmare of doubt and question. All day the indications deepened that Richard Bruno Hauptmann must go to the chair tonight, at about eight, a little more than, an hour from now, 3u t ind ications, all . 9 ppearanc e of the inev it ab 1 e, have meant little* in this 0 rgy of rampan,t emoti 0 na 1 iem, political machina- ticn, tragedy, neurosis and sinister parody. It was the Mercer County Grand Jury that saved the Bronx carpenter in the LEAD -2 ticking of the last minutes on Tuesday just past# But now the Grand Jury has announced that it will not intervene again# It's one weird feature of this weird case that the Mercer County Grand Jury had no jurisdiction in considering the disputed confession of the disbarred lawyer Wendel* That was © n- up to the Grand Jury of Huntingdon County, where the Lindbergh crime was oomaltted* The Mercer County jury has simply dropped the Mendel affair altogether# Today Hauptmann*3 lawyer, Lloyd Fisher, made a last desperate move, by going to Prosecutor Hauok of Huntingdon County# He demanded that Hauok call the Grand Jury there to investigate the ffendel confession* But the Huntingdon prose­ cutor refused# The Wendel affair is most peculiar, that confession said to have been extorted by violence and torture# There»s been no t official decision concerning Wendelfs re- u, cj, i 3, ^ ^ ^ p . mqbk statement that he kidnapped the Lindbergh baby# It’s neither under consideration now, nor is it rejected# It *s hanging in the air* Today Colonel Kimberling, boss of the Trenton Peniten- tiary, said he would abide by the decision of Attorney General LSAD -3 iiilentz, es to whether Hauptmann should go to the chair tonight or not* He consulted the Attorney-General, and r/ilentz replied that the execution should take place according to schedule -- unless Governor Hoffman intervened and granted Hauptmann another reprieve* He instructed the prison head to do as the governor ordered. It was M khji Hoffman who granted the Bronx carpenter that first stay, the xKjKxstxa reprieve three months ago. And now the whole case is back in Governor Hoffman's lap again. It’s up to him to say what will happen or will not happen -- at shortly after eight tonight. If Hauptmann's fate is sealed, he'll have endured monstrous punishment — even for so inhuman a crime as the murder of the Lindbergh baby, A frightful ordeal of mental torture. This is the third time the condemned man has seen the hour of his doom approach. Twice he was saved. What now? Today once more his head was shaven, the grim prepara­ tion for Kiwwitx electrocution. This is the second time he has endured that The first was last Tuesday ilCUSIlsG Congrssr. turned its attenticrj today to that familiar old subject -- home. m\ic idea being «- to make home sweet home a little sweeter at a cost of nearly a billion dollars. Senator Wagner of Uew York introduced a bill to that effect today ~~ a bill to improve housing conditions. And help people to improve their dwelling a. The Senator stresses the angle -- of not competing with private industry. He declares that his bill would increase the entry of private capital into building projects. He raid the government money ws. could be put to work in collaboration with ordinary business investments and thereby increase normal commercial activity. CI:.EKRY BI^SSOLIS The cares of rrovernment in Washington are lightened by at leas* one rosy bit of news - or rather pink; cherry blossom pink. When the flood hit Washington a couple of weeks ago, the worry was - what would the inundating surge do to c.he renowned cherry trees? The answer is - MG'THfQJG. The ^locd may have watered the trees a bit, and helped them along. So, this coming Sunday, April fi^tb, has been nominated as "Cherry Blossom Day." Harry Sornerviile, of the \7iliard Hotel, te 1 egraphs me the blossoms will be at their best, .a sheen of pink. -hThlOPlA "hie next bit of news brings a reminiscent trend of thoug>it. If taVes me to things that I’ve been working on for past weeks - a new' book, the second volume of the "Story of Civ i i iza/.ion. ” The first volume, published mexx recently, deals wit}- the civilizations of China, India, Mesopotamia, Judea, kgyp t. The one I’m working on now goes on to the Med it erranean cultures, Crete, Greece aijd Rome, the struggle for empire in the Mediterranean. That was far back in antiquity. Today we see pretty much the same thing. Who will control the Mediterranean? Italy challenges Great Britain. This is all the more reminiscent as I’m about to sail to the scene of that ancient and modern strife. I had planned to go alone and study the classic lands, in preparation for this second volume, but the trip has turned into a party - a sort of cultural tour of the Mediterranean. '"oday’s ne.vs about Rome and London and Ethiopia brings us back to the days of the Greeks and the Persians, the Romans and the Carthiginian s. The historical retrospect is made perfectly clear by Mussolini, when he calls the Mediterranean "Mare Nostrum", as the ancient Romans did - "our sea". ETHIOPIA - £ The Mediterranean nations dominated history from Four Thousand B.C, to Four hundred A.D., and then again from Twelve hundred and fifty to Sixteen hundred A.D. They lost their leadership to Spain, France and England, because an Italian opened the route to America and the great currents of trade changed from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic. It is one of the most impressive facts in history that the Italian people, after giving the world an unparalleled sequence of geniuses from Numa to Cellini, and after ruling the western world for two thousand years through the Roman Republic, Empire and Papacy, has never lost its vitality, but goes right on producing a virile race, and energetic and able leaders. But 1 donr tjbelieve that Mussolini will succeed in raising Italy to the heights he dreams of. I think the future development of air transport will favor land nations like Germany and Russia rather than sea nations like England or Italy. However, two historical maritime nations, England and Italy, are at swords points over the control of the ttgtfjbk&xxftxjHt ETHIOPIA - 3 Mediterranean, That1s the real meaning of the quarrel about Ethiopia. One headline today connects the Italian regiments and the ancient River Nile. The Fascist motorized column has reached the shores of Lake Tana, headwaters of the Blue Nile. The Nile means Egypt, and Egypt is always a dominant part in the affairs of the Mediterranean. The Mhell on wheels” outfit, after having captured the important town of Gondar, kept on for thirty miles more, and today are reported to be on the shore of the lake. Simultaneously, Ro®e chimes in with quick r-ord that British interests will be respected. An official of the Italian government today referred back to the Treaty between Great Britain and Italy, the Treaty that guarantees the paramount rights of Britain to the Lake Tana district and the Blue Nile. He added that it still held good. It remains to be seen how far the renewed assurance will quiet the misgivings in England. It is noticeable that antagonism against Italy has flared up \ in London, with speeches by high personages denouncing the sky - C stop to large scale operations. So, MU-ssolini has nari about all : true plait bi; victories he is likely to get for several months to come. And thirdly, Everett Colson, Haile Selassie's Am e ri c a u ■ 6 v 1 a e r, has left Add is At a b a an 6 go n e to Eg y p t * Th e official explanation is - sick leave. But people in the know say that when the lean, taciturn Yankee departs from his post in Addis Ababa, it pust be on business. Back in 1904, Everett Colson left his native state of Maine, and started on his travels. He went to the Philippines as a government stenographer. During the World War he served as auditor in the A.B,f, Afterward, he went to Haiti as A s s i r t -, n1 t o t h e Am eric an F1 n an c i el Ad visor. In 19 3 0, Haile Selassie wa^looking for an. economic advisor. He wanted someone shrewd and canny. After interviewing a whole list of candidates, he selected. Everett Colson, So the Maine Yankee found himself a powerful official at the royal court of a fantastic kingdom, term of contract ten yearc, salary nine thousand dollars % year. Since then he has, been one of Haile Selassie's closest counsellors, serving the King of Kings with the prudent advice of a cool headed, keen-eyed, close-lipped, down - east Yankee, They say it was he more than anyone bombings in Ethiopia and the rumored use of poison gas by the Italians. These expressions of moral indignation coincide with the swift advance of the Italian tank and truck column to Lake Tana. The uproar between London and Rome, which had died down to a whisper, is blazing up again - with anti-British agitation rising in Italy once more, a violent press campaign and shoi^ting crowds. In London they*re talking once more about slapping oil sanctions on Italy, while Mussolini today issued a demand for the end of the sanctions now in force. Meanwhile, the reports continue to be 1 9 %* - secret negotiations going on between Mussolini and Haile Selassie. The Ethiopian government denies it, but indications are that thlere may be something in the rumor. Firstly, the Italians have pretty badly smashed up the northern armies of the King of Kings. Reports continue to come in of heavy losses suffered by the royal guard of the Lion of Judah in the friradimqptalAaKtaoc recent headlong attacks on Badogliofs men - or rather Badoglio's machine guns. The Italians are reckoning the Ethiopian casualties by the sound of distant funeral chants, and the incessant beatings of tom toms. Secondly, the rainy season is coming on, to put a i£HXQPXA - D £fop to large scale operations. So, liussclini has had about all + he 3.thicpian bis victories he is likely to get for several rr-onths to come, .4nd thirdly, Everett Colson, haile Selassiefs American adviser, has left Addis Ah aba and gone to Egypt, The official explanation is - sick leave. But people in the know say that when the lean, taciturn Yankee departs from his post in Addis Ababa, it jjaust be on business. Back in 1904, Everett Colson left his native state of Maine, and started on his travels. He went to the Philippines as a government stenographer. During the World War he served as auditor in the A.E.F, Afterward, he went to Haiti as Assistan4 to the Am eric an Financial Advisor, 'i 1930, Haile Selassie wasjlooking for an economic advisor. He wanted someone shrewd and canny. After inteiwiswing a whole list of candidates, he selected Everett Colson, So the Maine Yankee found himself a powerful official at the royal court of a fantastic kingdom, term of contract ten year?, salary nine thousand dollars a year. Since then he has been one of Haile Selassie’s closest cc msellore, serving the King of Kings with the prudent advice of a cool headed, keen-eyed, close-lipped, down - east Yankee, They say it was he more than anyone - 6 •-Ire, who Vepi Etr.iopia cn an even keel while waiting for the Italian attack, who kept the tribal chiefs from running wild 3.n^ starting £r a war of their own. That put the Italians in the pesi4i‘;n of being the aggressors. / He’s been living in a tin-roofed bungalow on an obscure side street in Addis Ababa, a modest place surrounded b^ native huts. He has had an office in what they call the old palace, an office guarded by warriors armed with curved swords. ^ / His doctor warned him repeatedly about his health, but he always refused to desert the Emperor in the war crisis, How he has gone + o Egypt, maybe to sec the doctors. But the rumor is that he is in Egypt, to subx confer with emissaries of Mussolini on the ^ subj ec t of peac e. GERMANY London today was the scene of a bit of rap id-fire action. The German Special Ambassador called on the British Foreign Minister and delivered an official message. A few minutes later, the Foreign Minister appeared before the House of Commons and made a declaration. The German message,followed by the British declaration, is today’s contribution to the fact that the statesmen don't seem to be getting anywhere in settling the row. Special Ambassador von Rlbbentrop delivered to Foreign Minister Men a reply concerning the refortification of the Rhine. Great Britain and France have been demanding that Hitler shall not build a great series of fortresses. Their attitude has been - "Hitler has moved his soldiers in. We can't seem to do much about that, so let's try to keep him from strengthening the German Rhine frontier with all sorts of military engineering." Hitler's reply today was simple and brief - No. he refuses to agree not to fortify the Rhine, refuses to make even a temporary arrangement of that sort. So that's that; another German refusal uERi^y - 2 4.o yi elrf \a~ in eh, Irnmert i a4 ely after the handsome Foreign Minister got that reply, in the absolute negative, he made a declaration to the House of Commons - the subject, being the mutual defense agreement between re at Britain, France and Belgium., Eden affirmed that London was committed to the arrangement - that if either of the three countries were attacked by Germany, all three would be in the fight. That may be considered as a sort of reply to 'the German reply. Both sides taking a determined attitude, and hardening the lines of dispute. The Foreign Minister added, however, that the London government is eager to talk xk business with Berlin, anxious to go over the whole subject of peace with. Hitler and try to work out an agreement LIONS From the British-African provine© of Tanganyika we hear of the vanity and conceit of lions. The king of beasts is proud of himself! and likes his own looks# This is illustrated by signs posted along the Tanganyika highways, signs reading:- "Don't shoot our lions, please — unless it * s with a camera#" The lions are under the protection of the Society for the Preservation of the Fauna of the Empire* And of course, officials of the society are always worried about tourists who think they are big-game hunters* They explain that when the great tawny oats stroll up within a few feet of a party of tourists they aren't meditating an attack. They aren't going to eat anybody# They have become used to being shot by cameras, and now they like to have their pictures taken# So don't blast awa> with a high-power, high-calibre t± rifle. Just level your camera at the lion, and he'll pose. He'll stand there, vain and conceited, trying to look handsome. The king of beasts has become a poseur#