The Groom News (Groom, Tex.), Vol. 14, No. 5, Ed. 1 Thursday, March 30, 1939 Page: 3 of 8
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THE GROOM NEWS, GROOM, CARSON COUNTY, TEXAS
Brae kart’s Washington Digest
Official Washington Is Watching
Events in Europe With Uneasy Eye
State Department Voices Disgust of American People at
Hitler’s Dastardly Actions; Our National Resources
Of War Materials Should Be Developed.
By WILLIAM BRUCKART
WNU Service, National Press Bldg., Washington, D. C.
WASHINGTON. — Obviously, offi-
cial Washington, as indeed the whole
world, has been watching what has
been going on in Europe in the last
few weeks. They have been watch-
ing with more uneasiness, more gen-
uine fear, how Hitler has been ex-
panding the Reich, seizing, crush-
ing, stealing, new territory, subju-
gating new peoples, as his insane
ambition leads him on and on. Those
charged with official responsibility
have watched because there can be
no mistake about the dangers in-
herent in this wild remaking of the
map of the world.
Our government has had the cour-
age to speak out, through its depart-
ment of state. It has said the Hitler
action in overpowering the peoples
of Europe, the minority races, is
a dastardly thing. There was noth-
ing else that could be done about it.
Secretary Hull and Under Secretary
Welles, of the department of state,
have left no doubt in the minds of
other nations, however, that we, as
a people, are angry about what Hit-
ler has done. But again: we can do
nothing more than protest, because
the United States has no business
going to war over some other na-
tion’s troubles.
But while our state department
has been getting on record with its
disgust, and there has been a great
to-do about strengthening our na-
tional defense just in case trouble
would break out and involve us,
Washington bureaucrats and some
selfish elements in congress have
been foiling correction of our great-
est weakness. President Roosevelt
has used his most patriotic voice to
force action by congress in develop-
ment of airplanes for defense, in
construction of new battle boats and
has moved strongly for production
of equipment, guns, and the like.
Strategic War Materials
That Must Be Developed
But with all of this hullabaloo, we
have not heard nor seen any plans
for development of our national de-
posits of raw materials which are
used in the stock pile of war re-
sources. It might not be so impor-
tant were it not a fact that a score
or more of these materials have to
be imported. I regret the necessity
for being so bold, but it is proper
to say that our war and navy de-
partments have advanced not a sin-
gle program, or even a thought, as
to how this nation could gain cer-
tain raw materials if we were to be
involved in a war that would cut off
importation of them.
The war department has prepared
a list of some of these “strategic
war materials” and it has listed
some of the most important, such
as nickel, tin, manganese, rubber,
etc. That is as far as it has gone.
It is true, and the swivel chair
officers will stress the fact, that con-
gress passed a law a few years back
that was designed to encourage
American production of these essen-
tials. It was called, popularly, the
buy-American act. It even went so
far as to afford authority for pay-
ment of premiums, up to 25 per
cent above foreign quotations, in or-
der that American capital would go
to work here on those essentials.
But has anything resulted from it?
The records answer, no.
A congressional committee also
lately has answered “no” by draft-
ing another bill to encourage pro-
duction in the United States of these
war essentials. The house commit-
tee on military affairs has reported
a bill which Chairman May hopes
will do the work, but even Chairman
May is doubtful of its success. He
is doubtful because, as he said, when
the bureaucrats in the executive
branch of the government do not
want to encourage domestic produc-
tion, they simply sit in their chairs
and swing their feet back and forth.
Officials Unwilling to
Learn From Other Nations
Those fellows in the executive de-
partments apparently are unwilling
to learn from other nations either.
I came into possession of a docu-
ment, for example, that made a con-
fidential report to the national emer-
gency council more than a year ago.
It told that the British government
had stored in warehouses enough
nickel and tin for a three years
supply to be used by industries man-
ufacturing war materials. This was
done by the British government, not-
withstanding the fact that London is
the seat of the great International
Nickel corporation which owns the
largest nickel mines in the world
and does 88 per cent of the world’s
trade in nickel. The British thought
it was wise to have the essential ma-
terial available, when and if needed,
and it had that conviction even with
the largest nickel mine known now
located on British territory at Suds-
worth, Ontario, Canada.
Further, according to that report,
the British were unwilling to leave
the main nickel refinery on United
States soil. It was moved to a Ca-
nadian spot where, according to
the report, it would be “out of dis-
tance of any long range guns.” The
British royal commission which
made the study added that while
they and the United States are
friendly and none can see any rea-
son for that friendship ever to be
disturbed, “no man can forecast the
future.”
“The shortage of nickel,” said the
report, “might be a weakness suf-
ficient to determine the issue of a
war.”
I discussed this question of war
essentials with various members of
the house—Representative Murdock
of Arizona, Representative Francis
Case of South Dakota, Representa-
tive Scrugham of Nevada, among
others. To a man they said that the
will of congress was being thwarted
by bureaucrats who are unwilling to
encourage American industry. Mr.
Scrugham, for instance, a former
governor of his state and a mining
man, told how the bureau of mines
had reported there was no worth-
while nickel deposits in Alaska. The
same agency has found no reason
to encourage American capital to
develop manganese deposits in the
United States. Mr. Case has been
trying to get congressional action on
measures to get some use of the
metal deposits of South Dakota, but
always selfish corporate interests,
seeing no further ahead than the
point of their red noses, have stalled
the programs.
Pleads for Money to
Develop Mineral Resources
Mr. Murdock, also a mining man,
made a plea on the floor of the
house the other day for congress to
provide some money enabling real-
istic procedure with respect to
our unknown and undeveloped metal
resources—so that we would know
in case of war, if for no other rea-
son.
“Since my school boy days,”
said Mr. Murdock in house debate,
“I have been told that Alaska is a
treasure house of natural wealth and
economic resources. I believe we
have been and are overlooking that
fact in our dealing with that far off
corner of our country. I feel that we
ought to develop those resources;
we ought to know more about
them.”
Mr. Murdock’s statement causes
me to ask the question: since it is
our national policy (at present, at
least) to spend billions of dollars
under the guise of making work, why
not designate some few of the mil-
lions for worthwhile national devel-
opment?
Reference was made the other day
to testimony given two years ago
before the senate finance commit-
tee. I looked it up and found that
the late Francis P. Garvan, then
president of the chemical founda-
tion, had caused an investigation to
be made of Alaskan metal re-
sources. The report brought in by
a Wisconsin university professor,
who did the searching and digging
on the ground, makes one wonder
what undercurrent of influence has
prevented the development of metal
claims, such as nickel and tin, up
there. Very few of the national leg-
islators knew of the testimony.
Buying for Reserves Would
Start Brand New Industries
In my conversations among Rocky
Mountain congressmen, I could not
avoid the conclusion that capital
funds held in the United States will
not be put to work on such things
without some encouragement from
officials in Washington. I know that
some representatives and senators
are of the opinion that the federal
government ought to offer to buy
these war essentials here and disre-
gard foreign sources. They believe
that a commitment to buy for re-
serves, if made by the federal gov-
ernment, would start brand new in-
dustries going in many, many parts
of the United States. All of the while,
however, we have the bureau of
mines and the war department sit-
ting back and making it hard for
Americans to develop America.
This whole situation would be hard-
ly worth analyzing were it not for
the facts: 1. The federal government
is spending billions for defense,
along with other billions that are
being wasted, and, 2. It is a measure
of safety to have all, or as much
as possible, of the things we would
need, in event of war, where they
can be handled by Americans for
Americans. And it is more impor-
tant, too, because numerous reports
have reached Washington in the
last year to the effect that German,
or Belgian or British capitalists
have been making overtures to hold-
ers of American mining claims for
operating leases on properties that
yield such things as essential war
metals. It is my belief that sooner
or later congress will learn that the
bureaucracy, which it created, has
wasted too much time; it will learn
that foreigners own all of the metal
resources here—and we will be buy-
ing back the finished material at
the prices foreign monopoly cares
to establish—just as we are now buy-
ing nickel.
© Western Newspaper Union.
OUR COMIC SECTION
Snoopie
R
©WNU
By
J. Millar Watt
s
By
c.
©WNU
NOT WELL BURIED
Friend—1 see that “fence” broke
ilown and gave the game away.
Bow was that?
Cop—He wasn’t well posted.
Close Enough
Teacher—Who was king of France
during the revolution?
Confused Student—Louis the Thir-
teenth—no, the Fifteenth—no, the
Fourteenth—well, anyhow, he was
in his ’teens.
Bad Taste
“Look here, waiter, is this peach
or apple pie?”
“Can’t you tell from the taste?”
“No, I can’t.”
“Well, then, what difference does
it make?”
WOMAN’S WAYS
“You worry too much. Don’t you
know care will kill a cat?”
“Do you mean to infer that 1 am
a cat?”
Jiffy Knit Skirt and
Blouse That's Easy
Pattern No. 6019
Large knitting needles and some
Shetland floss make this jiffy knit
a delight to novice or expert. It’a
knitted round and round in stock-
inette stitch, beginning at the neck
and working down. Stunning sun-
burst detail all-around the neck,
smart raglan sleeves and snug
ribbing at neck and wrists ... all
easy to do and quickly finished.
The plain knitted skirt, smartly
flared, completes the costume. In
pattern 6019 you will find complete
instructions for making the blouse
shown and a skirt in sizes 16-18
and 38-40; an illustration of the
blouse and of the stitches used;
material requirements.
To obtain this pattern, send 15
cents in coins to The Sewing Cir-
cle, Household Arts Dept., 259
West 14th St., New York, N. Y.
Please write your name, ad-
dress and pattern number plainly.
Ancients Used Steam
Long before the birth of Christ,
the Egyptians recognized and
made use of steam power. Egyp-
tian priests frequently made use
of steam or of hot air currents
generated from heated water, to
perform “miracles.” Egyptolo-
gists investigating the miracle of
the famous Colossi of Memnon at
Luxor recently discovered a small
pipe organ which emitted a pe-
culiar whistle on sunny days. This
was hidden in the monument and
was operated by the hot air cur-
rents generated from a secret pool
of water, when heated by the sun.
Plant for a CROP
not for a sample I
PLANT FERRY’S
DATED SEEDS
Now you can distinguish between seeda
in their prime and seeds that may he
too old to produce a first-class crop!
Ferry’s Seeds pass rigid tests for vitality
and germination each year before being
packeted. Then each packet is dated.
This date is your assurance of live and
vigorous "seeds.
Be sure your seed packets are marked
“Packed for Season 1939.” Select them
from the convenient Ferry’s Seeda dis-
play at your dealer’s. Popular favorites
—many at 5c—and new introductions
too. All tested and dated for 1939.
Send for Ferry’s Home
Garden Catalog. Ferry-
Morse Seed Co., Seed
Growers, Detroit and
San Francisco.
FERRY’S
SEEDS
USE FERRY’S NEW-IDEA GARDEN SPRAY—
ECONOMICAL, NON-POISONOUS, NON-STAINING
Fruit of Courtesy
A good deed is never lost; he
who sows courtesy reaps friend-
ship.—Basil.
CONSTIPATED?
Don’t Let Gas, Nerve Pres-
sure Keep You Miserable
When you &n constipated two things
happen. FIRST: Accumulated wastes swell
up the bowels and press on nerves in the diges-
tive tract. This nerve pressure causes head-
aches, a dull, lasy feeling, bilious spells, loss
of appetite, and dissinees. SECOND: Partly
digested food starts to decay forming GAB;
bringing on sour stomach, acid indigestion,
and heartburn, bloating you up until you
sometimes gasp for breath. Then you ean’i
?it. You can’t sleep. Your stomach is sour.
ou feel tired out, grouchy. and miserable,
Adlerika gives you ths DOUBLE ACTION
you need. Thia efficient caxninative cathartic
relieves that awful GAS almost at once. It
usually clears the bowels in less than tv*
hours. No waiting for overnight relief.
Sold at all drug stores
DEW IDEAS
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are your guide to modern living.
They bring you today’s NEWS
about the food you eat and the
clothes you wear, the stores you
visit and the home you live in,
Factories everywhere are turning
out new and interesting products.
• And the place to find out about
these new things is right here in
this newspaper. Its columns are
filled with important messages
which you should read.
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Wade, W. Max. The Groom News (Groom, Tex.), Vol. 14, No. 5, Ed. 1 Thursday, March 30, 1939, newspaper, March 30, 1939; Groom, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1181197/m1/3/: accessed June 22, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Carson County Library.