LOWELL THOMAS BROADCAST FOR THE LITERARY DIGEST MONDAY. SEPTEMBER 26. 1931 GERMANY Good Evening, Everybody: An exceedingly important bit of foreign news comes along this evening* It hails from Berlin, where Prime Minister Laval and Foreign Minister Briand of France are visiting the heads of the Geiman government. Laval and Briand announced this afternoon to representatives of the press that it had been decided to form a Franco-German Economic Commission. This is to be a body with a permanent secretary which will direct the economic policies of both countries. This Commission will suggest new markets for the products of both France and Germany. It will also advise ways in which sections of the peace treaty between the 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 Page_ 't']! -s-&et~i-ofvs—©f the peae-e tpera-ty—b-Qt-weoR—t-f ! two countries may be revised. ThfsT^o®8 seem like s ometh Furthermore, the way will be open for other nations to make suggestions to this Uommission -- suggestions for revisions of the peace treaties between France and Germany.!* The International News Service !■ . passes along a comment that's being made^ ^^that this new Franco-German Economic A Commission may point the way to a neat customs union which will embrace most of Europe. A sidelight on these important events is found in the meeting of the two French ministers with President Von Hindenburg of Germany. The old Field Marshal I who led the German Armies during the World War is 84 years old. Briand is 20 years younger. But Briand has been in bad health of late, and when the two old fellows met. Von Hindenburg was concerned about Bri an d's physical condition. Although years older than SEBMMX - 3 Briand, the President ot Germany seemed almost like a young fellow worrying about the health of a much older man. "How did you stand the trip from Paris to BerI in?" asked Von Hindenburg. "Not so well as Your Excellency would have stood it," responded Briand, with perfect French courtesy. And I suppose he smiled a bit wistfully as he looked at the rugged bulk and strength of the 84-year-old veteran who even when the World War broke out was an old man, supposed!/ retired from active life. Page ^ A few plain words were uttered in London today. ihey were spoken at the Hound lable uonference on India. It was namsay MacDonald, the Prime Minister ot bireat Britain who got up and told the boys what's what. The Associated Press quotes the Prime Minister as saying to the Indian delegates that they would have to settle their own private quarrel, that is, the old controversy between Hindu and Mohammedan. He declared that the British didn't want to do any arbitrating. He pointed out that anybody who acted as peacemaker would get a few kicks from both sides - in others words, hre^wo u l d be^aT scapegoat. The canny Scot made the observation that he had been a scape­ goat many a time in his life and he was willing to be a soapegoat once more if necessity demanded. but in the case of this row between the Hindus and the Mohammedans, he thought they should be their own scapegoats. i; 1NH1A 23 24 26 Page. A few more Vi/ords were said after that which didrPt make the problem any simpler and they were spoken by ur. b. k . k«x2 Ambed \ar, one of the delegates, who was an untouchable. He made the observation that The Hindu- Mohammedan quarrel wasn't the only thing to be considered. There were others isxtwdia minorities in India who would have to be - and he meant the untouchables. Yes, there are ssl mi I None ot those Untouchables, those outcasts v/hose very shadow is unc leans to the members of the honored castes. anTf^Thery^ane^IndeB^d ^a^pr^o bTecr^ It's an odd thing to think of an Untouchable sitting in the same conference with the b r a h min s and th e Maharajas of India. urdnarily they are not allowed to come near the higher castes. I suppose the answer is t h a c those aristocrats of India at the V? c, conference solved the problem of the A Untouchab I e, art th er co4^f er#nby undergoing the orthodox rites of 6'W1 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 1—5M lUQlA Page. pur i ficationA Thase^areYSii8sIs old as India, and must be practised by the m*n of upper castes who happens in some way or other to be jumft polluted by contact with the Untouchables. As for Gandhi, of course this is no problem because it is one of his cardinal tenets that the Untouchables of India must be raised to the status of normal human beings* Page Let's take a look at that latest financial move -- Scandinavian -Av countries abandoning the gold standard. I he Associated Press today gives as the reason, which is3-that the kingdoms of the North are tied up to the financial system of treat britain. tor example, the greater part of the merchant marine of Norway operates under a system according to which payment is made in british pound-sterling. This same thing applies to other Norwegian industries, including paper and wood-pulp. Norway sells these products under contracts which call for payments in british currency. Now that the pound-sterling is not on a gold basis any more and its value has gone down, why Scandinavia finds itself in something of a jam. I hey figure that since they don't get paid on a gold basis, why it isn’t good business to go ahead and keep paying on a gold basis. So Norway and Sweden have *16-31 $M i 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 SM SfiMMimiA - 2 followed the example of Great Britain and abandoned the gold standard. That other Scandinavian country, Denmark, is still considering the matter. The Danish cabinet met today and is trying to decide whether to stick to gold or fall in line with the others. -^3-0 -fc-ji fcp. Y\ - cs., 036-ViWOi Q ■ s 11 ]' : . li ; - 1 I t!|| 9 [ tir M •I j ■ i P i 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 SM SILiEB Page. Wei I, these are days when the white shining metal, silver, is beginning to take on a new glitter. The friends of silver are picking up courage especial Iy in Colorado. That's a great old mining state, Colorado -- great for gold, also great for silver. But silver mining has been . languishing f o r y ffare^^.W i t h the triumph of gold, silver wasn't used so much any more, and the price of the white metal went down. In Colorado today there are dozens of ghostly towns, abandoned mining camps, where silver used to be mined with a great noise of activity and profit. Today they are deserted, — n^fr-e^^L *jy*+**f .... , . w i th. ass growing in their streets. But now. with the various nations A now , abandoning ani^atjp gold standard, hope is returning to those idle mines, and many Coloradans are hoping and working for the day$ when silver may be mined prof i tab I y There is a regular campaign on. Colorado merchants and banks are trying SILiEB - 2 Page //)____ to get people to use silver money. They insist on receiving silver dollars instead of paper money, which has gold behind it and not silver. They are going back to tliose old c%rt-wheels ' . . . . (WvO-w ---- that used to Jaer ses^amT;! ^tTse^More—S i I v or- Do l-fars41—i-&> m the4 r-^s Logan.-----The y -ane -urgTng-peop I e-t-e-, dem anfe^^ange - i n s i I ven. The Associated Press reports that the ntai campaign is having some effect. In parts of Colorado paper money is becoming scarce, with silver more and more prominent. Silver bars are displayed in bank and store windows. The Bi-Metalists Association, which advocates a silver as well as a gold standard, is coming out strong with propaganda for a world conference on silver. United States Senator King of Utah, which state is also interested in silver, is demanding that such a conference be held, w ith India and China participating. These countries still do their business on a basis of i i sum - 3 Page // silver. The idea is to change the money system so that silver will be used as money on the same basis as gold. It costs 45 cents an ounce to produce silver. At present the white metal is selling at from 25 to 30 cents an ounce. But the Coloradans are full of hope that silver will come back as money and that this will run the price up so that it will be possible to mine the metal at a profit. And that is raising visions of the old deserted mining towns roaring with life again — Leadville, Central City, Idaho Springs, Creede,***^ Cripple Greek^*^^ Many of the boys are remembering those old days, and they are saying that maybe Bryan was right, and that the si Iver-tongued orator when he sang the praises of silver and wasn’t going to have man crucified on a ITcross of goldn, was j u st a bit ahead of his time. EAIIL£SH£K£ 2 3 \ 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 1 31-5M Page. 12 Jni talking about old mining H a United Press telegram from Arizona tells how they are going to stage a revival of the old roaring days at the famous mining town of Tombstone. Yes, that was one tough burg. It deserved its name of Tombstone. TTie^f—used- to—ear+4—t+te-se—e-hei— days HeTL^dclapado-?---- tyet I ,—the—feet—th-at- t4iey a re g -to-e-tage a- big s hew at— Tomhs-tone -and—re vtv o t ho—o t-d H o I Id o rad o- h ass t a r 4 ed-Ka~m a *vy —at—t-he—o-ld—t-4me rs~ r em i n i sc i ng/?ef^FTng "ta les-^r-—One—i-S—qu ite,, a o l aos i o • There was a rough and tough miner who walked into a restaurant smticfifll sxi and called the manager. Yes, that miner gave his order. "Manager", he commanded, "bring me a broiled and coiled rattlesnake on toast." "All right", responded the manager who was used to touch characters. A little w while went by and then the order was served sizzling hot. A broiled and coiled rattlesnake on toast. by this i 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 II 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 25 24 25 RAIIL£SMK£ - 2 Page. time the miner had sobered up a bit and as he stared at the formidable order of food he decided he wouldn't eat it. "Mil just pay for it", said he, "how much ao I owe you, partner?" "Twenty- five dollars" replied the manager. "Well, I'll make it twenty-five more" said the miner, "if you'll eat it." "Called", exclaimed the manager. And he sat down and proceeded to eat that broiled and coiled rattlesnake on toast. In fact, he said it was quite good. The miner paid the twenty-five for the food and the extra twenty-five to the manager ior eating. It was only sometime later that he learnrd chat that broiled and coiled rattlesnake was really an eel. I 111 ft-tvUSbt tOsn ,jzih>1- zn 'j>£> - y, S^vryu* b<*&- 2g 7 /fv- p ■ IH- 1 2 3 4 5 8 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 U-I. .r:£_Lli_S. /4 I have heard many people ask the question, "How did it happen that this giant German flying boat, the DO-X, or D-O-X, or whatever you prefer to call it, had an American pilot?" Well, that American pilot of the DO-X, Lieutenant Schildhauer, is here in the studio with me so I'll just ask him that question. it. Lieutenant How about SchiIdhauer? Well, the reason is just this: That big flying-boat was made by the Dornier Company of Germany. And I work for the Dornier Company of America. They simply loaned me to the German organization because they wanted me to have the experience of flying the largest heavier-than-air craft in the world. !■ >.i i That might make me more useful to the American comp any--I ater on. L. T. re Lt^ S» - 2 L.f. Wellt Lieutenant - that Literary Digest Book of Marvels includes that big flying-boat as one of the marvels of the age. Tell us a little about it, and incidentally, you might tell us which is the correct way to pronounce its funny name - DO-X or D-O-X? Lt.S, The Germans call it DO-X, And they built it, so I suppose that's the correct name, but most } K) JvO^Ji 7 ~td 'ij—K ^ &&- jn^r<ix^^j ^bf ^ ^ 7 r J-rf^ i ) '"'" _Ito——- > t l ^ -J»- IL _ / l A Uj t/C^—cfy^ L-'^; tA^ va -' vi -^- ^ t7Vt/| ,-^- K j AO \y^tx<y- 7 /vi '^rzrt^Jh^ -to ifcj? - A yyuc&A, iftf^y\ ^a^jov^* ~7' /-— L____ C7^ VV £^Cw VL<3 v J i^K^vvT W ^V\A U \2- ~i*£Z>J~p ^ i^CtXX^rUAsyr) h ^ v _ (2-^< kv . -^7_<2 nycJl W^” ^L q L^- ^i-o)U^yl o Well, Lieutenant - that Literary Digest Book of Marvels includes that big flying-boat ae one of the marvels of the age. Tell us a little about it, and incidentally, you might tell us which is the correct way to pronounce its funny name - DO-X or D-O-X? The Germans call it DO-X, And they built it, so I suppose that *e the correct name, but most Pag:e / (& 1 2 3 4 5 8 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 ki • L j .I j ._££_L± j .S_-_£2. 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 | 24 25 Engl i s h-spe ak i n g p eop I e call it D-O-X. So take your choice- A I o t of petiTp^'e are puzzled as to why it took so long for the UO-X to get over here. Wei I,the reason is fairly simple. She was an experimental ship, and they went about everything in a very methodical and careful way. Every time she made a fairly long flight something new was learned and the engineers immediately got busy. They just kept improving her and improving her. Unt i I now she is as fine a craft as ever took the air. £>V4iLholds the v/orldTs record for the largest number of people ever taken into the air at one time. There were 170 u~s on board when we made that flight over Lake Oonstance. Including her own weight and 55,000 pounds in fuel, oil, passengers and crew she can get into the air with a load of 125,000 pounds--that is,62i tons. She is the most comfortable Page __ Z 7 i*_:__ _____ a i rp I an e ever built for the t r an sp or t at ion of passengers an d cargo. She has two sister ships - one of these has already been delivered to Italy and the second will be delivered to the Italian government within about two or three months. And by the way^ I v/as not the only thing American on board. Her power plant is 100% American. She is driven through the sky by twelve bt&uxix&sx Uurtiss-Gonqueror Motors. The LJornier people came to America for her motors because over here they could get the best in the world. People often ask me, is there any limit to th ' size of App n vtly, there isn*t. make them as huge as they design is concerned. The now is to develops/ motors i i r p I a n t s r Engineers can like, so f ar big pr ob I em so t h ey will I i g ht er and still m o r e efficient. bOiCQ Page_ / 6 7 a 9 10 11 12 * 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 A H631—5M A lot of folks all over this country have a way of kicking once in a while a bout the city government under which they live. They grouse at the fviayor and beef at the Aldermen. But what would you do it you had two governments in your town, with two c*v\. * mayors an Well, that's x the predicament ■ tfxibtsxKXtxxKKX orf^lr&3^o^»3T3^T~orr~of~ the Mexican city of UuadaI ajara. They have two municipal governments, two mayors, and the citizens don't know which one to obey. bach mayor sternly forbids them to observe the commands of the other man. The police are enforcing the edicts by one mayor, the soldiers are enforcing the edicts issued fay the other. Yes,^.^ i * "f Tti ^ citizens of Guadalajara. The trouble all originates in the fact that recently the governor of the state of Guadalajara was thrown MTCX1C0 - 2 out of office and a new governor appointed in his place. Whereupon the new governor appointed a new mayor for the city. The followers of the former governor got together in the City Council and elected a mayor of their own. The two rival mayors have appealed to the District Court, and today the court decided that a little more time was necessary to figure out the puzzle as to who is mayor and who isn*t. The court ordered that things should remain just as they are for the next few days, while the matter is toeing cons id ered« As a result, relates the Associated Press, the city of Guadalajara has that double dose of municipal government and nobody knows who is mayor and who lsn*t 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 26 m P.1gn i If you happen to see any ody going along wearing two I eft shoes, especially in the vicinity of Chicago, that person may be able to put you on the track of a burglar. Charles Weiss is a shoe salesman Last night he was robbed. The thief stole 350 shoes and,as the United Press relates, al l of those shoes were for the left foot. It looks as though the crook might have a hard time in disposing of them, unless he can find a lot of one-legged peop I e^ 1 fil 6 Ijl hi ; ! / ili I Hr