The Skyland post. [volume] (West Jefferson, N.C.) 193?-1988, 1938-11-03

Washington.-Omcial Washing
ton is afflicted with bad case
of Scares.
There is. a very definite War
Scare, which has grown stronger
since the recent European de,
velopments. There is Red
Scare which is being taken more
seriously than ever before. AND
there is a Spy Scare which seems
to have more immediate tangible
basis in fact than any others.
Much concern is felt in the
State Department over the close
relations between Mexico and
Germany. Mexico has confscated
American-owned oil wells and is
selling their product to Germany
at bargain prices. Those with
long memories recall Germany's
proposal to Mexico in the World
War, when the project of regain
ing the territory lost to the Unit
ed States in the Mexican War was
held out as bait to induce Mexi-
co to join Germany in the war
against England and France.
It was the disclosure of that
German scheme, as much as any,
thing else, that forced the United
States into that war.
The State Department feels
rather happy than otherwise
about the diplomatic rupture be-
tween Germany and Brazil. The
belief that the new Government
of Brazil was secretly allied with
the Nazi movement has been dis
PEELED by recent events. Much
concern is felt, however, by the
extent of German and Italian
propaganda being broadcast to
the peoples of the South Ameri
can countries, much of it's dis
tinctly hostile to the United Stat
es.
A good deal of that radio-borne
propaganda is printed in South
American newspapers as news.
This has led to revival of the pro-
ject of a Federal propaganda bu-
reau, with radio stations power
full enough to reach the entire
southern hemisphere, to offset
and counterfeit the effects of the
broadcasts from Europe.
Jitters Heightened
All of the warlike filters are
heightened by the recent disclos-
ures that foreign nations, especi-
ally Germany, have been paying
spies to obtain secret information
about our army, navy, air forces
and coast defenses. How much
has been obtained that would be
of real value to a foreign enemy
is questionable.
The important thing, as Wash
ington sees it is that evidence has
been produced to prove that other
nations regard the United States
as a possible future enemy and
are trying by usual methods of
espionage to find out our weakest
spots. :
The capture of four spies in the
Canal Zone, and the disclosures in
the trial of German spies in New
York, in which one of them made
a full confession, have come as a
climax to numerous reports
which the State Department has
of japanese navy officers disgu-
ised as fishermen taking photo
graphs at the naval base at San
Diego and in the Canal Zone, of
numerous natives of other aggre-
ssor nations whose activities have
been at least suspicious.
Not all of the facts upon which
the Spy Scare is based have been
made public, but enough has been
disclosed to furnish backing for
the Presidents recent statement
that a special secret service or
ganization should be set up,
whose business it would be to fer
ret out espionage by foreign ma
lions in this country. None of
the Governments police organi-
cations is now equipped or au-
thorized to perform that service
effectively.
More Than a BOgeyman
Such an organization of secret
operatives would, doubtless, turn
its attention to the Communists.
The Red Scare is held here to be
something more than bogeyman.
The disclosures of Communist
activities in labor organizations
and to some extent in political
bodies, which have been brought
out at the hearing of the Dies
Committee to investigate un-
American activities, have been OF
a nature to make many persons
take seriously what they former