L'T-*—- SUNOCO^.— MQNPM..* AUGUST gfit.h, ( \ * GOOD EVENING EVERYBODY; nTo quit or not to quit.^ That1© the question in Washington tonight. Bo far as the Congressmen personaliy are concerned, they are in favor of it. They want to quit, representatives took the bit in their teeth this afternoon and said; "We*re going to adjourn at midnight tonight, by heck**' To which : the reply of the Senate is: »0h, yea?" A vote to adjourn * I be ratified by the Senators. And so far the gentlemen of the toga have not concurred with their colleagues on the other side of the Capitol. 1 There’s one big stumbling block. That’s the Deficiency Bill. It's a measure that has to be passed, otherwise there won’t be enough cash to move the wheels of Uncle Sam’s government machine. The Senators have a way of tacking provisions on to this mecessary measure, provisions that couldn't get by on their own. For instance, they tacked on a clause to enable the government to lend cotton farmers twelve cents a pound on their cropj wheat farmers ninety cents * bushel, ill LEAD - S — That didn't get on so well in the House. They answered with a loud, emphatic, roaring "No!" "Deficiency or no* deficiency, we won't stand for that", they exclaimed. That constitutes to all intents and purposes a deadlock. Speaker Byrnes referred the measure back to the Committee. That left the whole question of adjournment open to indefinite delay. If the boys and girls ever got to arguing such a question as that out at length, they wouldn't be out of the trenches by Christmas. In that crisis, the White House took a hand. President Roosevelt intervened personally to help along the good cause of adjournment. He made it known frankly that he is heart and soul with the Representatives in opposing those loans to cotton and wheat farmers. He sent for the leaders of the Senate this afternoon and expressed himself to that effect in no uncertain terms. But the Senators from the cotton and wheat states are just as determined. They insist upon those loans. I The argument resulted In a tough battle on the banks of the Potomac. It got beyond discussion, to a point of actual acrimony. Feelings are running high over this question. The Appropriations Committee of the House sticks to its guns, saying: "Nothing doing on those loans." They will cost far too much money 0 and the govei'nment is already obligated to far too many expenditures Another point the Representatives make is that "if these loans are granted to cotton and wheat farmers, why not to the cattle men, to hog raisers, tobacco growers, dairymen? Representative Buchanan, Chairman of the Committee, says that if this proposal is carried to its logical conclusion, it will cost the government Two billion dollars a year. Once again we have the utuaore spectacle of a conservative ^ A cautious House of Representatives acting as a check upon a free spending Senate, the exact opposite of what the^^g^WK^sai*^^ Constitution expected. And here* s the real joker about that Deficiency Bill* It's an absolutely vital part of the President's program. If it isn*! passed, therein be no means of financing Mr. Roosevelt’s Social Security Plan. AAA (follow Relief) fVL+j a There^ been/good deal oi speculation over th.e cost of* Wi irftTiiirrr^iiTm f ^Number One Alphabet agency, the A.A.A, Its chief has just turned in a report. In the year ending July 1st, 1955, the A.A.A. distributed eight-hundred-and-seven million dollars among the naticn1s farmers. we've It's a whacking big sum, but it's less than mihrw been led A- A. to expect. You may be surprised to learn that the A.A.A. has a hundred-and fifty-two million dollars left from last year's funds. t>o the big cash-and-carry boys in Washington handed out less than they might have. The one-hundred-and fifty-two million left-over-y nestegg will be used during the next twelve months. RELIE? An important communication on the subject of relief carne from the White House to^ay. The gist of it is, “All un­ employed off the relief rolls by November first." To make sure of this, the President has issued a decisive order. This fixes September twelfth as a deadline for getting work relief money. All applications from any of the forty-eight states that want slices of that Five Billion Dollar fund must be filed by that date. And all the official work-relief agencies must show that they are prepared to begin operating on work relief projects by October the twenty-second . In otner words, the White House wants action and wants it quickly. Hurry the men off the relief rolls and hurry the begin of the v/ork projects. utilities is one topic we may not have to discuss again for quite a while. That is, the Utilities Dili. In its revised form it is now the law of the land. The President signed his name to it this afternoon. So now the most bitterly fought issue of this entire sessioii of Congress is disposed of. On the theory that three-quarters of a loaf is better than no bread the act as passed and signed rnay TMtgargfe reasonably be considered a victory for the President, But what a hard-fought victory. Kore unkind words were passed, more antagonistic feelings aroused by this legislation than any other subject that has come up in Washington since Mr. Roosevelt and His New Deal ascended the throne. Reputations have been destroyed, old friend­ ships torn asunder; and the solidarity of the Democratic majority was for a while wrecked in this savage dispute. Publicly Mr. Roosevelt demanded the abolition of all holding companies. In the face of all the opposition that was virtually impossible. The bill signed, though it has the famous death sentence clause in a modified form -- putt ins. a res-rie-ion on the holding companies that are to be dissolved - onl., -he com plicated pyramids of holding smanaoxea organizations are to get the axe RUSSIA Tonight there seems a real probability that we may break relations with Soviet Russia. Officials in Washington tod ay were inclined to that view. All our celebrating was ■ore- mature. Lots of business men had thought that the recognition of Russia would mean the selling of more goods. They had their first disappointment when it was made clear that the Soviet wanted to buy "on the cuff". And that didn’t sound so good. In recent months, especially since the meeting of the Third Intemationale in Moscow, we've had reason to believe that Stal L.’s boys have not been keeping that promise to lay off Concnunist propaganda in Uncle Sam’s domain, 'So the diplomatic note sent from Washington to Moscow said in effect; "If you don’t cut this out, if you don’t keep the agreement so solemnly made by your Commissar Litvinoff, all friendship ceases. The note was sharply worded. It conveys not merely a hint but a definite warning - tonight's probability of a break. And what do the Russians say? Soviet Ambassador ■ Troyanov sky makes a pointed remark - that declarations in Moscow which cause al.i the trouble were made mostly by American toamuni ats. STORK Later reports from Genoa magnify the puzzle of that be water spout. How could a water spout/so strong and kick things about like that. Let’s look at the facts again. They explain why weather experts are wracking their brains, A terrific storm culminated in a huge water spout. It swept whirling and twirling into the harbor of Genoa, After the great column of water had burst, the Genoese rubbed their eyes and saw huge piers reduced to tangled, twisted masses of steel and their fine harbor full of wreckage. The water spout almost proved fatal to the beautiful great liner, the Oolite di Savoi. The Rex’s sister ship had just returned from New York. Big as she is, the force of the water spout tore her loose from her moorings. She was drifting peril­ ously about the harbor, a menace not only to herself but to ever^ thing in her path. Fortunately, the government had tugs on the job, which puffed out and leashed the great vessel in the nick of time. Aside from that, the water spout killed’ six people and injured almost a hund red . ETHIOPIA f: ■ri5 The Important news about the Ethiopian mess continues to come from Downing Street, in spite of all rebuffs from Rome, Joim Sull persists sm in fclie Httitud.6 that tliis African war is part of his business. In this point of view His Majesty* s Government apparently haj* the support of the country. At any rate, some of the most conservative English editors are saying, "We’re going to enforce peace even if we have to go to war to do it.tt This bit of reasoning may be a little beyond us. Perhaps it will be best explained ^ Expxainnx^by the words of^JNoel Coward’s famous song, "Mad Dogs and Englishmen go out in th<= mid-day sunlit ~tt&. Observers are laying considerable stress on the fact that one of the high command of the Royal Air Force was present at the Cabinet meeting held at Downing street today. And subsequent events proved that it really meant something. John Bull’s crack a±S aircraft carrier The Glorias has been suddenly ordered from A Gibralter to a point near the Suez Canal. This, on top of the announcement that all of Great Britian’s Mediterranean garrisons have been reinforced. Additional tr©ops have been sent to every ETHIOPIA - 2 station along the route to the precious Suez Canal, the jugular vein of the British Empire, It is a military axiom that if the canal were taken away the entire fabric of John Bull’s elaborate far flung dominions would topple. In case of war with the Puce, Italy’s magnificent modem air force would constitute a serious menace. So there is con­ siderable point to the tidings that public air-raid stations are being constructed in Malta, All the residents of that garrison city are being taught the mechanics of preparing for aerial gas attacks. Premier Mussolini started the rumor factory working over­ time today when he sent out a hurry call for all his Ministers. They will leave Home early tomorrow and join the Puce near Bolzano, where he is holding special maneuvers on a huge scale - most of the ministers being himself. No less than half a million of his crack troops are engaged i{i that sham warfare. The emergency meeting of the Cabinet will be held right in the middle of the maneuvers. Report from Rojne is that Mussolini has oidered big naval manoeuvers in the Eastern Med it erranean. That's his answer, The latest from Addis Ababa shows clearly that Haile Selassie must realize that his friendly gestures have all been futile. His subjects are leaving the capital for the hill, large numbers. ETHIOPIA JL apparently they expect hostilities to break out at any moment. And the Italian Embassy today sent sixty packing cases full of documents by the French railway line to Djibouti. Thatfs the unmistakable forerunner of the breaking off of diplomatic relations, FRANCE One immediate consequence of the preparations for the Duce»s little party is to stimulate other European nations to build more fortifications. Some time ago I had occasion to tell you about I those elaborate underground citadels that France is building the entire length of the German frontier. It seems now that they were not considered sufficient and that the engineers are going even further. \ Word comes from Paris that the French War Office has completed more than three hundred new forts. In appearance they | are small turrets buried in the earth. In effect they constitute I literally a wall of steel and concrete between the Frendh and the gin.i. .. ’ " "" ..... .. ‘ Germans, I They * ve cost the country more than a Hundred and fifty million Dollars, Most of these new steel strongholds are under ground. Actually, they are huge subterranean arsenals filled with ammunition stores. For a stretch cf a hundred and fifty miles they are connected by subways. From one end of the frontier to the other, small underground electric trains carry not only men, but supplies and ammunition.to® They are so arranged and equipped that no fewer than a million men can live, eat, tone and sleep there, and use these enormous catacombs as a base for their fighting. i FRANCE - 2 They are completely equipped with water systems and elevators. According to one account, there are even secret subways all the way back to Paris. If this sort of thing goes on, there will be not one France, but two. One country will exist on the surface, the other underground. It sounds a little weird, something like a story by Jules Verne or Conan Doyle. ^ During all this war talk In Europe, Dncle Sam's array has not escaped attention. Ihe maneuvers at Pine Camp, New York have * s brought several interesting things to light. One of them is that the army is in serious need of such hxbjex exercises. It seems strange that it took a depression to raise the standard of the army1s efficiency. The present congress is the first one since the World War that has paid any attention to Uncle Sam’s military needs* the first one to appropriate enough money to fill up skeleton companies and regiments. This is the first time since Minetee.n Nineteen that anything like such a number of troops have had the funds and the opportunity to maneuver together. Of course the object of these maneuvers is not merely to give a show for the taxpayers* but to help the authorities to see more clearly what is needed to improve our war equipment. News­ paper critics pick on two particular points. One is that the army hasn’t enough transportation equipment. Well, this is not news to I the War College. The generals explain that whenever an emergency arises, nr*** motor cars are the easiest things to buy n a urry. ARMY - 2 There has also been some squawking because only five war tanks are in use at Pine Camp. For that there is an eminently reasonable explanation. Tanks are most costly affairs. Their designs are continually changing. An adequate supply of them, if bought this year, might be out of date within twelve months. Therefore the general staff keeps just enough on hand for testing and for practice,and Bdfcx±±x±SH±ix£XH doesn*t pretend to build a sufficient quantity for actual military use. All in all. Major General Nolan and his superior officers say that the principal fact demonstrated by these maneuvers is that they are invaluable for training purposes and that they ought to be held on such a scale more frequently. JAPAN One effect of the African hubbub has been to distract our attention for a while from the Mikado’s empire. So it»s rather a novelty to receive a report from Geneva concerning Japan. It’s a matter of Especially close interest to us. It has to do with her control over these little islands in the Pacific, islands within almost shouting distance of Guam and the Philippines, the islands that the Nipponese are administering under a mandate from —~k the League of Nations, pponese are administering under a mandate from >ns^ Although Japan hat resigned from the League, she n still holds that mandate.|~There have been abundant rumors that the war lords of Tokio were constructing k those little dots zm on the map into mighty fortresses, a chain of Heligolands ip the Pacific. The report from the Mikado’s governraem is a denial of this rumor. Fortifications? ’’Nothing of the sort”. says Toklo. It is true that engineering operations have been conducted in those islands'and cgnsiderablemgney has been spent l considers "WW. ~~ k-<^ But it’s in order to improve their harbors for commercial purposes. not for war,