The Fort Worth Press (Fort Worth, Tex.), Vol. 19, No. 12, Ed. 1 Monday, October 16, 1939 Page: 4 of 14
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4
MONDAY, OCTOBER 16, 1939
MONI
Want-Ad Service—Call 2-5151
THE FORT WORTH PRESS
Want-Ad Service—Call 2-5151
The Fort Worth Press
A sc RIPPS-HOW ARD NEWSPAPER
DONE WEAVER ........ Editor
JAMES A FOLTZ.........Business Manager
Entered as second-class mail matter at the
Postoffice at Fort Worth, Texas, Oct. 3, 1921,
under ait of March 3, 1879
TELEPHONE EXCHANGE ...DIAL 2-5151
DECI ED Hitler's Suggestion That the United States Intervene
CTEULEA To Halt the War In His Favor Is Preposterous
---By WESTBROOK PEGLER
Spider and the Fly?
Owned and published
daily (except Sunday)
by The Fort Worth
Press Company, Fifth
and Jones Sts., Fort
Worth, Texas,
ce
Member of Scripps-
_______Howard N e w s paper
======== Alliance, The United
Press, Newspaper En-
= terprise Assn.. Sci-
=== ence Service, News-
======== pape r I n fo r mation
H. Service and Audit
TN all the Nazi record of criminal in-
1 sanity, nothing quite equals the vic-
ious announcement of Hitler’s press
chief, Otto Dietrich, fresh from a con-
ference with the fuehrer, that the Unit-
ed States will be re-
sponsible for “the
most gruesome blood
bath in history” un-
less President Roose-
SCRIPPs-HOWARDI
Bureau and Circula
tion
Monday Oct 16. 1939
" st BSC RIPTION RA (Is
By carrier per week, 13c. or 55c per month
Single copy at newsstands and from newsboys,
3c. By mail in Texas, $6 per year: $7 per year
elsewhere ____
“Give Light and the People
Will Find Their Own Way."
'All Thumbs'
TYEATH came in Switzerland the oth-
1 er day to an old man who once
tried to serve Germany by keeping the
United States out of the World War.
Years after that war ended, Count von
Bernstorff told why his efforts failed.
As Germany's ambassador to Wash-
ington, it was his duty to inform his
government about the state of Ameri-
can opinion. This, he said, he tried
faithfully to do. After the Lusitania
sinking he repeatedly warned Wilhelm-
strasse and the great army headquar-
ters that another such incident, or an
unlimited extension of submarine war-
fare, would bring this country in.
“But,” he added sadly, "they would
not listen.”
velt somehow per-
suades the British to
surrender at once.
This declaration
amounts to a demand
that the United States
completely abandon
neutrality and join
Germany and Russia
Mr. Pegler
then were calmly stolen through re-
pudiation.
It is remembered also that the
money of Americans who did business
in Germany was stolen by a somewhat
similar process which forbids foreign-
ers, who invested in good faith at Ger-
many’s invitation, to collect their earn-
ings or salvage their capital.
The record of the United States in
such works and in official relations
was one’ of generosity and encourage-
ment to the Germans until, under Hit-
| ler, they again began to rattle the
sword that drew first blood the last
time and marched to crush weak peo-
ple striving toward freedom and self-
JOHNSON
Ruinous Runaway
War Prices Must
Not Be Allowed
I THE unfortunate German people owe
1 much of their troubles to the posi-
tive genius of their rulers for misjudg-
ing the psychology of other nations.
It was true under Kaiser Wilhelm and
it is true under Adolf Hitler.
Hitler has proposed through an agent
—Dr. Otto Dietrich, the Nazi press
chief—that President Roosevelt save
Europe from "the most gruesome blood-
bath in history" by telling Prime Min-
ister Chamberlain in no uncertain terms
that he must express a willingness to
meet Germany in conference. Failing
that, it was implied, Germany would
unleash "war in earnest.” News dis-
patches telling what Dr. Dietrich had
said came through Berlin censorship
and so were assumed to have German
government approval.
We don’t know whether Hitler ser-
iously believed the President would act
on such a suggestion conveyed in such
a manner. Perhaps, having blamed Po-
land and’ then Britain for starting the
war, he’s now trying to fix blame on
Mr. Roosevelt for not stopping it. In
either case, we think, he has misjudged
American psychology.
For the American people, much as
they would like to see peace in Europe,
have no desire to involve themselves in
the quarrel over there by ordering
Britain to negotiate for peace on Hit-
ler’s terms. If both sides should ask
the President, officially, to help them
make peace, that would be different.
. But we didn’t start this war, and no
one can say rightfully that it’s our
duty to dash in and try to stop it on
a suggestion coming unofficially from
one side.
with measures short of war but suf-
ficient to win for Hitler,
Claiming sufficient strength to “an-
nihilate” the British, and voicing an
intention to do so unless they surren-
der immediately, the Germans obvious-
ly would expect to dictate the peace in
the negotiations which this country is
called upon to initiate under a threat.
The terms would be a complete victory
for everything that Nazi-Communism is
and Americanism is not, but, neverthe-
less, failure to comply would place the
war guilt on the United States.
Hitler, it is noted, claims that the
war has not really started as yet and
will not start until the President indi-
cates that it is not this country’s busi-
ness to relieve him of the necessity
of fighting for his conquest. The evil
of this proposal is not all apparent in
the terms which Hitler chose to an-
nounce through his more or less human
loud-speaker of the press department.
TT follows that, if the American peo-
1 ple do not comply, Hitler will hold
them to blame for any inconvenience,
which it can only be hoped would be
slight, to which he would be forced in
annihilating his enemies in the field.
He would naturally intend to inflict
some punishment on the erring sister-
hood of democratic states across the
water, and, although he hasn’t yet de-
cided what the penalty would be, it
may be taken for granted that it
wouldn’t be trivial.
The proposal naturally starts Ameri-
can thought back-tracking along the
road which led to this war. and among
the landmarks on the path are remind-
ers that the American people not only
fed the Germans sumptuously when
they were starving after the "aiser’s
World War, but poured millions of dol-
lars to eradicate German slums and
built great public improvements which
Phantasinagoria
T)EFINITION: “An optical effect by
U which figures on a screen appear
to dwindle into the distance, or to rush
toward the observer with enormous in-
crease of size.”
This country is observing one of
those things.
respect in feeble democracies along her
borders. The Nazi record, on the con-
trary, is one of ingratitude, theft, in-
sult and, now, a threat.
The American conscience is in very
good shape but it is against the Amer-
ican way of reasoning to admit that
they are war-guilty in declining, as they
doubtless will, to win bloodless con-
quests for Hitler. He could as well
have said that the blood of Poland
was on American hands because this
nation neglected the opportunity to
proceed against him with some meas-
ures short of war.
RY this process the United States
D would become Hitler’s stooge
wherever he chose, to strike down a
victim, obliged to force a surrender
or assume the guilt for something
which is awful enough by its own
name of war, but which in the jovial
German phrase, “blood bath,” is even
more hideous.
The sane mentality is unable to fol-
low Hitler’s reasoning, however, for it
was Germany, not Britain and France,
which was always marching and mo-
bilizing, always parading guns, threat-
ening war and frequently invading and
conquering an "annihilating” force un-
til the British and French at last came
to a stand.
The United States invaded no coun-
try, threatened no country and had, at
the most and only for a few days, only
50,000 soldiers, regular and national
guard, under arms in one mass.
The British, on their part, might
just as reasonably, if not more so, call
on the President to compel Hitler’s
abdication as the only way of prevent-
ing "the most gruesome blood bath in
history.”
Hitler is a man of little patience and
terribly vengeful nature, and his press
chief has put this country on warning
that the question whether the Ameri-
cans will be drawn into the war is not
theirs to decide, but his.
| ETTER C Post-Campaign Party Conventions Planned For Lack
EEl * ENv Of Responsibility in Representatives and Officials
By HUGH S. JOHNSON
WAR of a rapid price increase
P due to war buying la express-
ed by both governmental and pri-
vate economists. If the conditions
that existed here between the be-
ginning of the World War and the
time we got into it, return and
nothing is done
about it, run-
away prices
are possible.
B e tween
July, 1914, and
April, 1917, and
due to Euro-
pean buying,
the all-com-
modity price
index increased
by 70 per cent,
price indexes
for grains in-
creased by 143
per cent, Iron
and steel by
185 per cent, non-ferrous metals
(copper, aluminum, etc.) by 144
per cent, chemicals by 110 per
cent, and bituminous coal by 171
per cent. After we entered the
war and vastly multiplied the
tremendous purchasing demand,
the general index increased only
32 per cent more, the price index
for grains declined 16 per cent,
iron and steel declined 32 per cent,
Mr. Johnson
"ATHEY would not listen.” Those
1 words, it seems to us, explain a
lot about why Germany has been so
consistently clumsy in her foreign re-
lations.
Hitler would not listen when he was
told plainly that Britain and France
would fight if he invaded Poland. Now
it’s becoming fairly clear, even to him,
that he guessed wrong about them.
We wonder what other countries he
has guessed wrong about.
Berlin still talks as if Russia and
Italy will enter the war on Germany’s
side whenever Hitler pushes the buzzer.
From this distance, it seems more likely
that he has lost Mussolini by going into
partnership with Stalin, and that Stalin
is playing him for a sucker.
However that may be, what we need
to remember is this: It took more than
clumsy German policy to get us into
war, in those days when Berlin wouldn’t
listen to Von Bernstorff. We made
plenty of mistakes of our own. This
time, let’s be wiser. With a clumsy
man loose in Europe, getting himself
and others into trouble, let’s be doubly
careful that he doesn’t get us into
trouble.
A N editor is a person traditionally
A supposed to generate quick and
positive opinions on all questions, then
to express them boldly, thereby helping
mold public opinion; to take a stand
one way or the other on any proposi-
tion and thereafter to be the ardent
advocate and special pleader for the
cause of his choice.
We like to be that way, when we
are sure. But sometimes we are not
sure. And this is one.
Illusion?
HIRITZ KREISLER is sorry for the
T young people of today.
"There is no romanticism for them,”
the famed violinist told an interviewer
at Columbus, 0. "From the start, they
are face to face with stern necessities,
leaving no time for the foolish little
romantic things we did when I was
young.".
We wonder whether Mr. Kreisler
hasn’t fallen victim to an illusion com-
mon to the older members of every
generation. Certainly, this is a pretty
tough world, but hasn’t it almost al-
ways been so? And haven’t young peo-
ple always found time for the foolish
. little romantic things?
One of the fortunate facts of life,
. we think, is this — that most young
people never feel quite as much pity
! for themselves as their elders feel for
them
CINCE the war came on, and after
D Congress had refused to alter the
arms embargo and revamp the neutral-
ity law before any war had actually
been declared, we have been in doubt
as to the best course for the U. S. A.
to follow. The foreign scene is shift-
ing too rapidly. And the longer we
watch the phantasmagoria the more
we are convinced that it’s no time for
anybody—press, public or lawgivers—to
proclaim the “answer.” Rather it is a
time to hold a wet finger to a chang-
ing wind; to keep our minds open; to
listen to argument; to gain enlighten-
rhent if possible,, but not to "set” our-
selves and then pontificate. For what
we finally do is very likely to be the
most serious decision of our history,
one that will project itself into the
lives and happiness, or lack thereof, of
our children, and their children, and
theirs.
What our nation is dealing with, in
its talk about arms embargo, cash-and-
carry, etc., is a substance as slippery
as quicksilver. Every time you touch
it, it moves from under. For this is a
queer war.
For example, Chamber-lain says noth-
ing doing on Hitler-designed peace. But
he doesn’t close the gate.
# * *
A NY way we turn, we are looking
A into a trick mirror, the shades
and shadows of which stagger back
through all the centuries of power poli-
tics, double-dealing and intrigue that
led up to the present crazy picture.
In view of all that, why should
America be too quick to make up her
mind? Why should we arrogate to
ourselves the "answer” before England.
France, Germany, Russia and the rest
have made up their minds?
The game is now-you-see-and-now-
you-don’t-see, and unless we watch our
step we are going to be the country
boy at the county fair, risking every-
thing we have, on one of those three
little shells.
It’s not our war
Sanctuary
By MRS. WALTER FERGUSON
TT RRY, Anne! The President is on
i the air, with his neutrality
speech."
"I simply can't come now, Flo. Baby
has to have his nap. You listen for
me.”
Women's lives are
like that. No matter
what vast and impor-
tant concerns go on,
the baby always has
to have his nap on
schedule; older chil-
dren must be got off
to school and dinner
has to be ready at
nightfall.
For, although men
may maim and kill in
other parts of the
earth, women every-
where are under a Mrs. Ferguson
powerful compulsion to keep at the
blessed ageless affairs of nurturing and
saving human life. I think that is the
chief reason why I am glad and proud
to be one of them.
Today, when we are confused by the
force and horror of outside occurrence,
when we vainly seek for peace where
none is to be found, I am grateful
that all over the world, under the roofs
of little houses, women go about their
immemorial business even though some
of them must do it to the sound of
guns.
For Anne, the mother, baby’s nap
must ever be of more importance than
the speeches of presidents or the pro-
nouncements of kings. This has always
been true and it always will be true,
for in the hearts of our kind there is
a deep and saving resignation to outer
circumstance, especially during child-
bearing years.
And whatever happens about us, we
can always slake our thirst for dec-
ency, purity and love—the beautiful,
blessed qualities of human existence,
over the cribs of our babies and in the
warmth of our small kitchens.
We need, quite as much as we need
fresh air and sunshine, the sanctuary
of such temples of love. For without
the everyday routines of life to which
we are so accustomed, and which
sustain our souls like heavenly manna,
we would be utterly confused in a
tempestuous world.
These are indeed times to try men’s
souls and women's hearts, and so it is
imperative that we treat ourselves ev-
ery day to some minutes of solitude, in
order that we may obtain sufficient
strength to keep our heads clear and
our spirits courageous.
In our kitchens, nurseries, offices %
and schoolrooms, we must listen to that
voice which comes to us only in our
quiet and prayerful hours, saying, "be
still; and know that I am God."
Editor, The Press: provisions of Article 3134, meets
I notice in your paper some the first Saturday after primary
very pertinent comments concern- election day. The’principal rights
ing the various opinions of mem- permitted to such a convention is
bers of the Texas Legislature with the election of delegates to a
reference to the proposed special state convention held under the
session, provisions of Article 3139 on the
You might be interested in a Tuesday after the second Monday
general movement to preclude after the fourth Saturday in Au-
such a general mix-up as we now gust every two years. Nomina-
have in our state government in tion of the Democratic party in
the future. Under our primary Texas is tantamount to election,
election laws any candidate can and nominations are made long
announce himself as a member of prior to the holding of state con-
any party, formulate his own plat- ventions. Article 3139 permits a
form, make such promises as may state convention to announce a
be calculated to get the requisite platform of principles. However,
number of votes, and after elec- that platform is in no manner
tion find that he is not bound by binding upon any nominee and no
any of his undertakings to co- nominee is influenced by such
operate with any other member platform because he has already
of the Legislature, been, nominated on a platform of
One hundred and fifty men his own which may differ widely
seeking to serve in the House ana from that adopted in tne state
15 or 16 men seeking to serve in convention. -
the Senate formulate their own In order to assure the citizens
platforms. In one county we find
the candidate announcing that he
favors a sales tax, in an adjoining
county another candidate for the
Legislature, running on the same
party ticket, comes out strongly
against a sales tax; in another
county, another candidate may be
nominated by the same party on a
platform calling for a luxury tax,
and in still other counties men run
for office on platforms calling for
natural resources taxes, to the ex-
clusion of all others.
There is absolutely nothing In
the organization of the Demo-
cratic Party calculated to bring
about any co-operation on the
part of members of the Legisla-
ture. After the nominations are
made, the people are still in the
dark concerning what method of
taxation, if any, shall be adopted;
they do not have the slightest
idea what character of legislation
may be proposed.
Under the provisions of Article
3134 of Vernon s Annotated Stat-
that no harmony will ever exist in
the Legislature, and in order to
prevent any co-operation on the
part of either citizens or office
holders in bringing about legisla-
lion, either good or bad, the Leg-
islature of 1907 adopted Article
3133 of the Revised Civil Statutes
providing:
"No political party in this
state, in convention assembled,
shall place in the platform or
resolutions of the party they
represent any demand for spe-
cific legislation on any subject,
unless the demand for such spe-
cific legislation shall have been
submitted to a direct vote of
which the average citizen may
present his views to the Legisla-
ture is closed by law. It is equally
true that since the conventions
which are usually attended by av-
erage citizens cannot recommend
legislation, they are forever pre-
cluded from recommending as a
group and are compelled to de-
pend upon individuial communica-
tions to their respective legislators
which communications are gener-
ally ignored in favor of communi-
cations transmitted by “pressure
groups"
Belonging to a political party
ought to carry with it the privi-
lege of knowing something about
the governmental proposals of
that party and a member of one
should feel reasonably safe in be-
lieving that his party proposed
the same reforms and the same
laws throughout the state; by the
same token, a member of a party
should have reason to believe that I
non-ferrous metals declined by 44
per cent, chemicals remained the
same, bituminous coal declined by
36 per cent.
In view of the great shortage
and insistent demand after our
own unprecedented war-time pur-
chasing program got under way,
this is a magic record — unless
you recall what happened to
cause both results. It didn’t hap-
pen anywhere else in the world.
“Inflations" in other countries, as
measured by the increased costs
due to price increases as com-
pared with our increases were as
follows:
Associated powers, excluding
the U. S., 369 per cent.
Central powers, 336 per cent.
U. S. (due largely to inflation
before 19171 217 per cent.
VJHY and wherefore? Before
W we entered the war our mar-
kets were a madhouse of frantic
competitive Allied bidding. Every
nation wanted everything if not
"day-before-yesterday” at least
"right now.” The only way to get
it was to outbid the other fellow
| The vicious "cost-plus" contract
[ relieved the producer of all care
about where costs might go He
was counter-bidding also in both
the labor and materials market
His customer paid the way and
insured him a percentage of profit
plus costs. The higher the costs
the higher his profits.
After we got into the war, our
own varied purchasing bureaus
1 (and we had ten of them) started
out to do exactly the same thing
- frantically competing with each
other for the same boss. Uncle
Sam. It was squeezing the purse
of our civilian population dry
especially of those on fixed in-
comes It threatened to restore
if one county elected a legislator the condition of the Southern col-
he would be reasonably bound to I
co-operate with other elected |
members of the same party in
other districts.
If this state ever is going to 1
avoid influence of pressure groups I
and powerful institutions and such |
conflicts of opinion that it is im-
possible for the Legislature to
function, it must give the citizens
the right to express themselves in
precinct, county, and state eon-
lege professor at Vicksburg whose
year's salary in Confederate "shin-
plasters" wouldn’t buy a day’s
[ ration of cat meat for the family
pet.
How was it stopped so effect-
ively after we got into the. war?
By arbitrary price control? Only
in a very minor degree. It was
stopped principally by funneling
purchases through a sort of gov-
ernmental regulated cartel
w
the people, and shall have been
endorsed by a majority of all
the votes cast in the. primary
election of such party; provided
that the State Executive Com-
mittee shall, on petition of 10
per cent of the voters of any
party, as shown by the last pri-
mary election vote, submit any
such question, or questions to
utes, precinct conventions are the voters at the general pri-
held on primary election day. At 1----—- .....
these conventions the citizen is
mary next preceding the state
convention."
presumed to express himself con- ___
cerning the management of gov- submitting' a subject to the peo-
ernment. However, under Article ple in a primary election is out
3134. he has no opportunity to cis- of the question insofar as citi-
cuss with the citizens of his pre- zens are concerned, because the
cinct the pending issues until cost of submitting a petition of 10
after the candidates for nomina- per cent of the voters of any
tion are already being voted upon, party is absolutely prohibitive
A county convention, under the Consequently, the only forum by
Obviously, the above method of
ventions prior to party nomina-
tions.
My suggestion is that the law THE Allies were persuaded to
should be changed and that pre-
cinct, county and state conven-
tions should be held at least 60
days prior to the date of prii ary
elections. The law should also re-
quire the publication of party
platforms so that the public might
know what each political organi-
zation in Texas actually stands for
and what method they propose to
use in bringing about their pro-
posed reforms.
The law should also require any
candidate on a party platform to
sign an application for a place on
the ticket by which such person
would pledge himself to a full sup-
port of whatever platform the
citizens had adopted in their con-
ventions. In state matters, no
legislator could now be in doubt
1 leave their purchases to • an
Allied purchasing commission, the
chairman of which was an Ameri-
can responsible to this govern-
(nent—instead of using competing
international bankers. The re-
quirements of our own govern-
mental purchasing agents were
required to be submitted to a
central authority the War Indus-
tries Board and purchases of
the same articles for government
was forbidden to more than one
agency which co-operated with
the Allied purchasing agency.
Without attempting to fix
prices, that stopped crazy excess-
es in competition.
SIDE GLANCES
Pn. 1939 av NEA service
U. S. PAT. OFF
/0-46
“The super says not to smile at Mr. Drake—he’s three
months behind in his rent”
about what method of taxation
would meet the approval of the
public. It would not be possible
for a candidate for governor to
run on the Democratic ticket and
make impossible promises to at-
tract votes, unless the rank and
file of the people of the state,
speaking through their conven-
tions, had first adopted the princi-
ples embraced in such promises.
I will not say that it would be
sound to limit candidates to those
who approved of a party plat-
i form. One who desired to offer
himself as a candidate should be
permitted to dissent and run as an
independent or non-partisan can-
didate.
Local bills are usually passed
without any knowledge whatso-
ever on the part of the average
citizen of a district. It is my opin-
ion that the law should provide
that no local bill could be consid-
ered by the Legislature unless ap-
proved first by the county conven-
tion of the county which would be
affected. In this manner, if the
convention were held prior to the
filing dates for candidates, pro-
posed local bills could be consid-
ered by the voters of the district.
It is presumed that if candi-
dates were required to run upon
stated platforms formulated by
the people, nomination by a party
would not necessarily mean elec-
tion to the office. There would
naturally be those who would op-
pose party proposals if they had
any means of knowing what the
proposals were. Candidates would
also be compelled to be more care-
ful about the possibility of carry-
ing out their promises. It 1 ould
not, be sufficient for a candidate
to announce a mysterious method
of raising revenue; the public
would know from the party plat-
There is no such frantic export
war demand—as yet. It is pos-
sible that there never will be. The
Allies are better provided and
more nearly self-contained. There
are more sources of supplies open.
Our own governmental purchasing
program is not a drop in the
bucket compared with 1918 and
is under no such panic pressure
Government should interfere with
competition not one inch further
than is necessary to protect our
people. But if we neglect the
lesson started here and permit any
such runaway price-soaring as
happened from 1914 to 1917, we
will deserve what will happen to
ua. - .
This situation requires no arbi-
trary bureaucratic controls but it
might he a good idea right now
to require all purchase contracts
by warring nations or government
bureaus to be registered, stating
prices, terms and conditions. Let’s
catch this possible condition be-
fore it runs too far to catch
This piece is written from inti-
mate personal experience It is
neither theory, nor guessing.
D
F
F
F
form how he would be compelled
to raise the revenue.'
A number of years ago I Intro-
duced a measure in the Legisla-
ture and with the assistance of
former Senator Thomas Love of
Dallas undertook to pass a bill
embracing the subject above re-
ferred to However, it is well rec-
ognized that it is much easier for
one to be elected on his own plat-
form than if he were compelled to
pledge himself to a constructive
platform prior to his nominating
and consequently, the proposed
legislation did not reecive enough
support for passage
J. C DUVALL.
Former State Representative
from Tarrant County,
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Weaver, Don E. The Fort Worth Press (Fort Worth, Tex.), Vol. 19, No. 12, Ed. 1 Monday, October 16, 1939, newspaper, October 16, 1939; Fort Worth, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1685325/m1/4/: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Fort Worth Public Library.