Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1935-06-10
WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS
BY FREDERIC VILLI4N VILE.

Nv. -Watchful waiting-sym-
boli7eS the latest addition TO the New
Deal alphabet. DiSpaSsionate review
of developments in an admittedly con-
fused and chaotic situation convinces
most observers that President RooSe-
velt's policy for the indefinite future
is TO sit back, let economic nature
take its course. and see what happens.
The consensus is that F.. D. r. may
major recovery move, following the
Supreme Courts knockout of ~ r. A
until there has been time. first. for
experience to demonstrate how Uncle
Sam gets along without the Blue
Eagle, and, secondly. how public opin-
ion reacts to the situation which has
been brought about. If the American
Federation of Labor plan for a new
recovery act is pushed in Congress.
that drive should provide an early
test of what the country wants. There
is no indication whatever that the
A. F. of L. program for revival of
some kind of an N. R. A. has White
House backing. All of which boils
down TO the proposition that the
President is just going to wait and
see"
Washington finds it an interesting
coincidence that both Great Britain
and France should simultaneously
be installing new prime ministers
respectively, Stanley Baldwin and
Pierre Iaval-who were both con-
spicuouSly identified with the war
debts. 1t was Mr.. Baldwin who. as
chancellor of the eXchequer, con-
cluded the existing British funding
arrangement here in 1923. M. Laval
left Washington four years ago with
what he claimed was an undertaking
by President Hoover and Secretary
Stimson that if the allies scaled down
German reparationS. the United States
would correspondingly wipe out war
debts owing to this country. Britain
owes us s4793, 186,3l9. and France is
down on the Treasury's books for
1000. 9O2,726 Baldwin and Laval see
eve to eve on the theory that there
should be no further payments on the
debts until there is a revision of
present arrangements. by which. of
course, they mean liberal cancella-
ton.
New government set-upS in Lon
don and Paris will not affect the
even tenor of Uncle Sans lnterna-
tional way. A trrSe statement OF
American foreign olicy was II ade by
Undersecretary OF State William
Philips at the recent opening of
the San Diego Exposition. He said:
In our intercourse with European
countries the avowed policy of the
Government is not to be involved IN
any purely European political prob
lens. Our efforts at Geneva 10 help
negotiate a treaty of general disarma-
ment have been solely in the interest
of world peace. That they have not
been fully successful is because the
European powers nave not yet been
able to settle their own political diff
ferences. Our Government has made
it clear that it cali be counted upon
to dc its full snare in continuing
disarmament discussions whenever the
rest of the world is ready to resume
them. In general. our policy Is 10
cooperate Fundamentally with all
countries in social, economic and hu-
manitarian endeavors-a policy which
we believe meets with the genuine
approval of the American people.
X
President Roosevelt's cordial dear
Donald" letter accepting Mr.. Rich
berg's resignation as N. r. A. chief
stimulates curiosity as to whether the
Chicago lawyer remains in the run
ming for a Supreme Court vacancy,
with which his name has often been
linked. His admirers are convinced
that he has forfeited no whit of the
Presidents esteem and confidence, but
are frankly skeptical as to whether
the Chicagoan's elevation to the Su-
preme bench Is feasible now, In view