Evening star., 1933-09-18
WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS
BY FREDERIC WILLIAM VILE.

With the eighteenth amendment on
the way out. the United States may
soon be confronted by another repeai
nroblem. 1t concerns the Platt amend
ment whereby we have the right to
intervene in Cuba. Indications are that
its abrogation may become live issue
at any moment. The United states
Congress adopted the amendment on
March 2. 1901, and three months later
it was made part of the Cuban con-
stitution. The revolutionary elements
now in control at Havana. especially
the wilder-eyed students. make no bones
of their desire to rewrite the constl-
tuition and expunge from it the mated
symbol of Yankee Imperialism lhey
want to establish Cuba as "a COM
nletelv sovereign republic" and not go
on as a ouasi-American colony. as many
radicals allege the island now Is. The
argument is that while the united
states has not sought to boss CUBAN
political affairs, certain American Dusl-
ness interests under the wings OF the
Platt amendment have reduced CuDa
to economic vaSsalage. What "oulo
happen if Cuba should come along ana
declare the amendment dead? Woulo
we fight to retain it? What Wouio tIle
rest of Latin America think about that?
For the moment, the Roosevelt admin
istration isn't losing any sleep on the
subject. but as radicalism holds sway
at Havana. the bridge becomes one that
NAV have to be crossed before we know
it AS a substitute for the Platt amend
ment. some Cuban leaders have advo-
Gated a perpetual treaty of friendship
and alliance with the United States,
which they say would give this coun-
try every right it now has except tnat
of intervention.
Word is out that no more jobs are
to be had at N R. A. For weeks Gen.
,Johnson's organization has been the
happv hunting ground of place-seekers'
who streamed into washington from
the four quarters of the Union. Inc
recovery organization has had Such
widespread publicity that the impression
grew up that jobs there were to pe mac
almost for the asking. Members OF
Congress were run ragged by constltu,
ents in quest of recommendations anu
influence. Far from taking on new
help, Gen. Johnson's reorganization
plan calls for drastic and systematic
reduction of personnel from now on;
Much of N. R. AS preparatory ana
preliminary work is done: ana tne pur-
nose is to carry on henceforward with
minimum of hired help. Budget neces-
stiles also dictate this course.
DR.. George Frederick Zook, United
States commissioner of education. pub,
fishes a list in this months "School
Life" organ of the Office OF Education,
of 10 new Federal agencies whose long
names have shrunk to initial letters:
10 III nfn dReA0e
them? Here they are: NRA, AAA,
PWA. CCC, foot, FERA. IVA, 'RFC,
FFCA, HOLC. The tabulation reads
like the call letters of broadcasting sta
tions.
President Roosevelt hasn't yet found
satisfactory naval or nautical term
to describe the string of American war
ships encircling the. island OF Cuba:
He turned thumbs down on armada" !"
For a while the Commander in CHIEF
thought Gordon might be the word.
but he's now come to the conclusion
that Gordon won't do either, because it
suggests a closely knit chain of units
linked up for common action. what
about galaxy? The dictionary defines
galaxy" as an irregular luminous band
consisting of innumerable stars" the
Navy probably wouldn't object to that.
X
DR.. William E. Dunn, formerly direc-
tor general of internal revenue OF the
Republic of Haiti and an authority on
Latin American fiscal affairs, says that
If American bondholders are to recover
any substantial amount on Latin Amer
ican bonds now in default, q blanket
code" should be drawn up to serve as a
starting point and foundation for the
negotiation of individual debt settle
ments. He proposes an impartial ad-
visory committee to study each default
situation and to determine capacity to
pay under tentative readjustment plans,
the expenses of such work to be borne
equally by the bondholders and the
debtor country. A committee Of this