Evening star., 1937-12-06
WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS
BY FREDERIC WILLIAM VILE.

that the pending bill in present form
would create half a million additional
unemployed during the first year of
its operation, result in decreased produc-
tion and lower consumption of raw
materials, including agricultural prod
ucts, and cause lower prices for the
farmers output, while increasing his
production costs.
Washington oficialdom. although its
heart still bleeds for Pan-American good
neighborliness. views without undue
alarm the probability that neither Presi-
dent Vargas of Brazil nor President Elect
Ortiz Of Argentina will visit the United
States. When President Roosevelt was
in South America last year there was
an informal understanding that both the
Brazilian and Argentine chief executives
would repay his calls at or about this
time. AS both Vargas and Ortiz now
have troubles of their own, their ex-
cursions to the Potomac have been
indefinitely postponed.
Political clouds at Washington have
silver lining. 1t is supplied by de-
termined men speaking with Rocky
Mountain accent, who have arrived in
Serried ranks to see that something is
done again for silver. The occasion of
their descent on the Capitol is the con-
temporaneous expiration on December
81 of the London silver agreement and
the presidential proclamation directing
United States coinage mints to re-
ceive any silver mined under the inter-
national pact. Senator Pittman of
Nevada, silvers chief exponent in Con-
gress, is confident President Roosevelt
will not allow coinage to end after
January l, but will exercise his preroga-
tive to extend it by supplemental proc
lamation. If he doesn't, Mr.. Pittman
declares the price of silver will in
Stantly be broken down over 40 per
cent dropping from it's present price
OF 7757 cents an ounce to the current
world rate of 4424 cents. Should the
Roosevelt silver policy be scrapped, the
chances are said to be that the price of
the American product would slump to
70 cents an ounce, where it stood when
the President initiated the present
program.
When discussing the early settlement
of America, we generally think in terms
of English, Dutch, Spanish or French
colonization. Relatively few recall that
in 1888, only eighteen years after the
Pilgrims landed at Plymouth, the Swedes
settled on the Delaware coast. The
tercentenary of that event will be cele-
brated next June under joint auspices
of the Swedish and United States gov
ernments. Wilmington will be the princi-
pal scene of the ceremonies, with the
Crown Prince of Sweden and President
Roosevelt as the chief figures. Later
the Prince, who visited Washington ten
years ago to unveil the Ericsson Memo
rial, will be guest at the White
House with his conSort. A feature of
the Wilmington festivities will be the
dedication OF a monument to mark the
spot OF the landing. The cost of the
memorial, designed by Swedish sculp-
tor now resident in this country, was
raised by popular subscription in
Sweden, mostly by the common people.
Minister Bostrom, who soon will cele-
brate twelve years of uninterrupted serv-
ice at Washington, was the prime mover
in the tercentenary project. Among
other things developed in connection
with it is the fact that President Roose-
velt has strain Of Swedish blood in his
Dutch makeup.
From Penns Woods the tale drifts into
Washington that Clifford Pinchot is
flirting with the idea of attempting Q
subernatorial comeback In 1888.