Evening star., 1938-01-05
WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS
BY FREDERIC WILLIAM VILE.

President Roosevelt may be waiting
the Jackson Day dinner There seems
hardly any other explanation of his
punch-pulling exhibition at the Capitol.
Certainly the message to Congress was
lacking in old-time fighting form. After
the jibes and jeremiads of Jackson and
the irksome immoderation of Ickes. the
restraint of Roosevelt rubs business the
right way. But relief and satisfaction
on this score will not be complete until
F.. D. r. has got the Jacksonian address
off his chest. His assertion to Congress
that "the work undertaken by Andrew
Jackson and Woodrow Wilson is not
finished yet" sounds like clear hint
that Old Hickorys anniversary on jan
uary will be made the occasion of
fresh blast against "malefactors of great
wealth." accompanied by the horrible de-
tails. The Presidents address on Mon
day left plenty of uncovered ground.
The recession got mere passing phrase.
The Nations new army of II .000, 900 un-
employed wasn't mentioned. There were
glittering generalities about cooperation
with Government budget-balancing and
taxation reform, but oppressive silence on
the brass tacks of all three of those
propositions.
Theodore Roosevelt. justifying his
break with William Howard Taft, once
said the trouble with Bill" was that "he
meant we'll feebly." Democratic peoples
beyond our shores who have been look
ing to the United States for leadership,
especially since the two-f1sted Chicago
speech of October S. are likely to think
Franklin D. Roosevelt means well feebly,
too. The preamble to his message to
Congress-500 words devoted exclusively
to "a word where stable civilization is
actually threatened"-is pretty weak
medicine, compared to the quarantine"
proposal launched exactly three months
ago today. with it's demand for "a con-
certed effort by peace-loving nations"
Enthusiastically two different hired hands
helped the President pen the Chicago
broadside and his mild report on the
state of the Union. After this weeks
pronouncement even the impending
recommendation of more Navy isn't likely
to kill the impression that Uncle Sam
is still isolationist in fact, If not in
theory.
Representative j. william Otter, Re-
publican, of Pennsylvania begs humbly to
dip his oar into the national name
calling contest initiated by Assistant At
torney General Jackson and Secretary
Of the Interior Ickes. Being a Elinority
member of the House Committee on Ap-
preparations, the Pennsylvania says his
nature is essentially poetic. Hence the
following Otter ditty:
Count that day lost
Whose low descending sun
Sees from thy lips
No bitter name reSpun.
X \
Information just received from highly
authoritative quarters in the Far East
warns all concerned at Washington not
to bank too confidently on early mill
tary collapse of Japan through exhaus-
ton Of war sineWs. The stated reason is
that, in anticipation of the China cam
paign, the Japanese laid in q two-year
store Of essential supplies, especially oil.
The best estimate is that Nippon's war
machine, even if deprived today of for
eign oil, cotton, scrap iron and copper,
could probably 60 on fighting for at
least another year and half These
conditions do not take into consideration
the economic chaos or political conse-
quences that might overtake the coun-
try if its food supply or raw materials
for industry were suddenly to be stopped.
The estimate in question refers exclu-
sively to basic military needs.
X \
Another one-time page in the United
States Senate has made good In Q big
way ct Warrington. Hes Thomas I,