': 4 |; Jl/Uls?-/) . ''S&An t^ L.T. - SUNOCO, THU?tSDAyT l»-n . (V. alt ham. Mass .) — 19, 19^9. GOOD EVENING EVERYBODY: Tonight I am on one of my all too infrequent trips away from Radio City, I am broadcasting from Waltham, Massa- chuetts. But just a moment. That was a mistake. Here, where they ought to know, they don!t call it Waltham - saying it quick like that. They call it Wal-thera1. And whatever else may be wrong ith my broadcast tonight there is one thing that ought to be right, and that is the timing. WTien I am in my regular N.B.C. studio at the R.C.A. Building, in Rockefeller Center, often I am a few seconds short, and occasionally I run over for ten or fifteen seconds, rnaKing it tough on Hugh James who has to put on a burst of speed to get through his Blue Sunoco announcement. But here in the city of Waltham it would be shocking, it would be disgraceful if my i Hr ' « LEAD - 2 broadcast were not timed right to the split second. H-ugh James, the announcer in New York, who just put me on the air by remote control, is supposed to get off the air at twenty seconds bet ore seven o’clock, to alloy/ enough time for station announcements and the N.B.C. chimes. The closing com­ mercial will require 45 seconds. That means I should be off the air at ten seconds before six fifty-nine. So Hugh, down there at Radio City, be on your toes I To make sure I hit it on the button I have a special watch right in front of me. I111 not say what make. That’s a secret. And I have "Buck" Demaine, one of the heads of the company that makes them, sitting here beside me to check each minute. I’ll not tell what company. That's a seeretl More than a thousand people from Waltham and nearby towns, including some fifty Sun Oil men, are sitting around me to make sure that "Buck" Demaine and I time this evening's sprint with the news correctly. All afternoon X have been sitting with a special Western Union wire at my elboT. Over it has come a steady stream LEAD - 3 of United Press bulletins from U.P. reporters in all parts of the v*orld. So, here goes: Let’s start with the Dionne Quintuplets. They are always; interesting. l! 9UIHTUPLBTS The Dionne Quintuplets will not go to the New York World's Fair. They got a big offer for a five-fold appearance - half of all the revenue they might dr a?/ in, the other half to go to charity; and a guarantee that their share tc be at least one hundred thousand dollars and charity's share at least fifty thousand. But all this was declined today on the recommendation of Dr. Dafoe. The refusal was made on the grounds that Y/orld's Fair appearances might endanger the health of the Famous Five. TAXATION The President's special message on taxation today sxmmers down to about this - he wants the income on public bonds to be taxed, ano he wants the salaries of public employees to be taxed* But he doesnTt want back taxes to be levied on them. Ag it stands now, bonds issued by the federal government, by the states, and by other public bodies, enjoy various sorts of tax exemption, and this same thing goes for employees of the federal government, states, and other public bodies. The President frequently has said that all these sources of income should be taxed, like any other. In times gone by, the Supreme Court has upheld the tax exempt privileges, but recently there have been Supreme Court decisions reversing that stand. The attitude of the high tribunal is such that the government might be in a position of having to collect back taxes on supposedly tax-exempt incomes. This, says the President, would be an injustice to those vdio went ahead on the assumption of tax exemption. So he wants a congressional law to knock out the retroactive possibility* TAXATION - 2 Tiie idea betiind the special message of course is to get more federal income by taxing what has hitherto not been taxed, especially large holdings of tax-exempt securities. The President made another request to Congress today, and asked that the Currency Stabilization Fund be extended. He wants it prolonged for two years more, that huge pot of gold which is used to steady the value of the dollar in the world money market. APPROPRIATIONS Tne House Appropriations Conunittee in Washington continued in its mood of economy today. Having taken the lead in slashing a hundred and fifty million dollars from the Emergency Relief money^ the Committee today proceeded to cut another Rhite House financial item. The President asked for thirteen and a half millions to be expended for various purposes, and noift the Committee has cut this to about ten millions. They trimmed down a sum for forestry control in New England, and this may be some kind of answer to the stand on state 1 s rights taken by the New England governors - New England objection to federal acquisition of lands for flood control. I may ask Governor Murphy of Newr Hampshire about this if I see him tomorrow. The Committee also slashed the amount wanted for grasshopper control. There1s a lot of control going on these days. m They cut the fund for the administration of the Wage-Hour I law, and other items too. The only thing they didn t trim was money | iig for the children 1 s bureau — no, the Congressmen love uhe kiddies. With all this subtraction, the Committee put in one addition - it inserted one item which the White House had not asked I APPROPRIATIONS - 2 for at all. This is - fifty thousand dollars for v.idovvs of deceased Congressmen. The kiddies and the widows - they touch the Congressional heartl HOPKINS Tne U.S. Senate today opened its debate on the appointment of Harry Hopkins as Secretary of Commerce. And right away the opponents of the former W.P.A. Administrator started hammering away along the lines of W.P.A. political activities. The attitude seems to be that Hopkins is likely to be confirmed in his new job, but they make it clear that the W.P.A. political aspects are not being okayed by the Senate. Todayfs debate was opened by Conservative Democratic Senator Bailey of North Carolina, who attacked the new Secretary of Commerce, but said he wouldn't vote against him, wouldn’t vote at all. Senator Bailey used these enigmatic words - "I disqualify myself for reasons which need not be stated here." Those reasons, however, are filled in by goss:o. It is recalled that some while ago, Senator Bailey and Harry Hopkins engaged in wrhat the dispatch calls - fisticuffs. The Senator had naSS a speech attacking the Hopkins relief administration, the two men encountered each other, and had an argument which ended in haymakers, socko, fisticuffs. This, they say is why Senator Bailey feels himself disqualified to vote for or against the appointment HOPKINS - 2 of Harry ttopkins - it might seem a bit personal. There were savage attacks on Hopkins all day nEFEMSE I often read Walter Lippmann’s column - for pleasure* And today it happens to be a duty also. For the President, when questioned on one of the most important issues of the day, advised the Washington correspondents to take a look at Walter Lippmann^s column this morning. It represents pretty much his own viewpoint. ^The issue in question is - the fortification of Guam. Japan objects. One Tokyo spokesman declared that if tks we created a mirhty naval base at Guam it would be like pointing a pistol at Japan. Today, a bill was entered in the House of Representatives to establish twelve new naval bases, and one of these is Guam, J ^ The President says he had not given his approval of the bill, It is merely a technical affair for admirals to decide, he intimated. | Walter Lippmann in his column says: nWe should say to the Japanese that if they do not wish Guam to be fortified, they might dismantle their own illegal fortifications.” And apparently that is what the President thinks. There has been a slight error in Vermont, a mistake in the state finances. Governor Aiken's budget showed a surplus of six hundred and fifty-three thousand dollars. That was inspiring in these days of deficit, when anything in the black looks rosy. Today it develops that the surplus was all because of a mistake, a bookkeeping bull. Somebody made an error of a million two hundred thousand dollars. So it isn't a surplus, it's a deficit. It isn't black, it’s red - five hundred and sixty-six thousand dollars in the red, which isn't so rosy. 'JZ'd&JO • > THE TOWN THAT WOULDM^T BS LICKEp As we all Know, when adversity conies so^ie people crumple up. They caiift take it. Others fight it out and come back stronger than ever. The same is true with communities during depression. Waltham, Massachusetts, where X am tonight, is a well-nigh perfect example of a city that took it on the chin, in the eye, in the solar plexis, yes, and below the belt — but refused to be licked. For instance the shift of part of the textile industry to the South, hit Waltham. It also took some other savage blows during the depression. But, let’s take just one example of what happened here:- "One of the largest plants in this part of the country closed down. "Big Jim" McQuiston here beside me is the retiring head of the Chamber of Commerce* Jim, how big was that plant? JIM McQ--s Five hundred and fifty thousand square feet. The Boston Manufacturing Company it was.* And it had been operating for one hundred and twenty yearsl For some cities the shutting down of a huge plant of that size would have spelled doom for the community. THE TOYJN THAT V’OULDN^ BE T.TMvn _ 2 But Big Jim” here, being a Chamber of Commerce official, is too modest to tell you the rest of the story. So I»ll tell it, in brief* The business leaders of Waltham turned their calamity into victory. They started some new industries, and lured some others here. Nine years have gone by since that huge textile mill closed* But its many buildings have reopened. Some sixteen new firms have moved into them. That one plant has been turned into a collection of factories, some renting buildings, others buying them. Yes, and since 1930 Waltham has added forty odd new industries. This city is famous for its watches and clocks and precision Instruments of all kinds. And when the stout-hearted people of Waltham ran into depression they licked it, with precision! The incoming president of the Chamber of Commerce, who is to assume office tonight, in just a few minutes, is Roy B.Stevens. Doc Stevens, what is the biggest single industry in Waltham? £>0C S. : All the world knows the answer to that, lowell. The name Waltham is synonomous with watches and clocks! L.T. And thereby hangs another romantic story of a THE TOWN THAT V'OULDN TT BE LTOKKn - 3 scrappy New Englander. He*s getting along in years now. Past seventy. He was born on a rocky Massachusetts farm. When he was a little shaver he went to Boston and became a newsboy. A man <3 named Coolidge, who later became ambassador to France, spotted him, and gave him a job in the world* s largest textile mill - Amoskeag, at Manchester. He was there for more than fifty years. Built it up to its peak. Made it world famous. Then the watch people here in Waltham found themselves in a financial jam. In debt to the tune of ten millions or more. They called him in. He reorganized it. And during these years of depression, when the people of Waltham were showing the world how not to be licked by a depression, he put it back on its feet, made it a vast and successful concern again. Oh yes, his name? Fred Dumaine. At any rate the story of Waltham and how it refused to be beaten by the depression, is an inspiring oiie that should be more widely known FORD Today9 Homer Martin, President of the U.&.W., gave out the statement that the Liberty Legion of America is being dissolved. That legion is a Henry Ford labor organization:, which has been denounced as a company dominated union. Martin said he had been informed of the dissolution by Harry Bennett, Personnel Director of the Ford Motor Company. He added that this new development comes about as a result of negotiations between the Ford Company and the Union RESHEVSKY In Comnmnist Moscow, as you perhaps have read, they are staging a big international tournament in the Soviet capital. and lavish hospitality is being extended to the masters from various nations. One of these is our own American Champion, and heTs a problem. The Marxian masters of Moscow don’t like religion, and Samuel Reshevsky, the American champ, is exceedingly religious. Everything has to be kosher for young Re she v sky. Communist Russia not being so strong along Mosaic lines, the American champ had to go on a vegetarian diet - couldn’t find any kosher meat. But now, today’s news from Moscow tells us that this particular kosher chess problem has Just been solved. The Soviet authorities looked around Moscow for a synagogue; and low and behold they found one still lingering in the Red Utopia* Inquiring at the synagogues, they found an orthodox Jewish family that still manages to run the household on a strictly kosher basis. So they put Reshevsky to board there, and now he’s getting his three Mosaic square meals a day. The Soviet Communists, who are so loudly Godless, are RESHEVSKY - 2 astonished to note how Godly the young American chess master is. On Friday he drives in his car to play in the tournament, but after sundown he walks back to the home of the orthodox family, and that's five miles away. Reshevsky won't drive his car after sundown on a Friday, because that would violate the orthodox Sabbath. On Saturday he won't drive anywhere - he walks. The atheistic and Godless comrades explain all this with a strict Marxian formula* They describe the Reshevsky orthodoxy in these words - "a survival of bourgeoise religious civilization!" That's how they analyze the chess problem they have on their hands. SHIPWRECK It has been storming wildly on the Atlantic, and last night in the rage of the gale a ship broke in two - the motor tanker JAGUAR. The craft cracked in half so suddenly, the mishap so abrupt - that no wireless distress signals could be sent out. She had aboard a crew of thirty- seven. Of these, seven were in the forward half of the ship, which stayed afloat. Thirty were in the after part, which also went floating on its own account. And that sounds like the height of oceanic peril - sailors adrift on two halves of a shipwreck in a storm. Today1s story is - rescue. The broken up derelict was sighted by a passing ship, which saved first the seven men on the forward part and then the thirty men on the after part. Two halves of a rescue, making it whole and complete - everybody saved. EMDIHG In a little while now I will be leaving Waltham, and heading north for the White Mountains. Tomorrow night, if all goes well, I will be broadcasting from the top of a mountain. Somewhere up in the deep snow. Special Western Union and N.B.C, wires are now being carried up that mountain. So my news flashes tomorrow evening will have a background of snow and ice. The mocrophone may be right in the midst of a blizzard. On top of one of the peaks of the Presidential Range, And now, Hugh, back to you at Radio City. The air is yours. And SO LONG UNTIL TOMORROW,