The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1935-10-08
Washington
Merry-Go-
Round
BY DREW PEARSON and
ROBERT 5. ALLEN

NJ
w behind-the-scenes war de-
velopments on this side of the At
lantic are considered significant.
One is tE-at the President is still
running the state Department, even
though on the high seas. A con-
slant flood of radiogramS goes back
and forth between the State De-
partment and the Houston.
The other is that the President
definitely believes in playing ball
with the British. The call which
Ambassador StrauS made at the
French foreign office last week to
suggest, dramatically, that the
United States would like to see close
Franco-British cooperation, was
done on the explicit instruction OF
the President.
According to those with whom he
conferred before departure, Roose-
welt felt that France could tip the
scales one way or the other-with
the British, for early peace; against
the British, for prolonged war. This
was behind his instruction to StrauS,
HOMER BONE of Washington is
= the only Senator who cham
pioned the neutrality act during the
closing days of Congress and then
stuck around Washington long
enough to see how the State De-
partment was carrying it out.
He found that Munitions Control
Ter Green was keeping a record of
all arms and ammunition shipped to
either Ethiopia or Italy, and that
total shipments to the latter since
Jan. l were four sporting rifles and
Sab of sporting cartridges. There
were no shipments to Ethiopia.
Not satisfied with this, the Sen
ator began poking his nose into
other diplomatic corners, found that
actual Italian munitions purchases
average about S125,0OO weekly.
This included so many mu;eS and
horses that the National Guard in
the Southern states has had to send
West for its remountS. 1t included
so lathes for the manufacture of
shells, costing about $1,000 each. 1t
also included brass and copper gad-
gets which Connecticut plants are
turning out in three shifts a day,
and which, assembled in Italy, be-
come shells.
The difficulty with the State De-
partment, Senator Bone found, is
| tWo-fold.
First, its definition of munitions
is narrow 1t includes only a hand
full of the obvious munitions of
war.
Second, it has no power to compel
manufacturers to report their eX-
ports.
So far, Italy has been paying for
its munitions in cash and short
term credits. However, her rapidly
dwindling gold supply soon will be
exhausted. After that will come the
test of whether the United States
will once more run up a huge war
sales debt, and be left holding the
bag.
TINE A. F. of l.. convention, Just
l. opened in Atlantic City, faces
what will be big surprise, even to
most of the assembled labor moguls.
For the first time in more than
IS years the federation will be for
mally confronted with a demand
that it form a labor party.
Sponsors behind this maneuver
are keeping tight-lipped silence,
but it is known that they are lead
ers from the textile, needle trades
and garment workers unions. The
state declarations of New Jersey and
Washington also have voted APP
prOVal of a labor party.
The proposed resolution does not
condemn the New Deal, but declares
that both old parties no longer can
command the confidence of labor
1t warns of the growing danger of
Fascism and attacks the Liberty
League.
WHEN young men apply for
W jobs under j. Edgar Hoover,
they are asked, among other things,
What do you read?" If they an
swer, Shakespeare and Emerson"
they have less chance than if they
say 1.-THE funnies." Real purpose of
the question is to test truth telling.
. G-men are provided with bull
let-proof vests that have been
tested out on pigs. For the Bureau
Of Investigation, the Bureau Of
Standards wraps a vest around a
live pig, fires shots a it from a
Thompson sub-machine gun. If the
bullet pierces vest and pigskin, the
vest is rejected. Hoover is pre-
pared for little Valentines from the
underworld
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