The Waterbury Democrat., 1938-05-26


 Mussolini has made 8 speciality of stirring up the Moslem races against the French and British.
 To concentrate Italian troops near the Tunisian border, there fore, means tying up the French at their own back door. This, in turn, makes it more difficult for them to move at their front door which is Czechoslovakia.
 This squeeze play undoubtedly worked out by Hitler and Musso- lini during their recent Roman love-feast. It indicates how wide of the mark the British shot in thinking they could drive wedge between them. (Also how wide of the mark Roosevelt shot in bless ing the Anglo Italian agreement.) Spanish Airdr0mes
 French hands also are tied at their side door by the fact that Italy and Germany have es- ground airdromes in Spain just south of the French border. Located 300 feet underground, therefore impervious to bombing, these airdromes fly the Italian and German flags, and according to military observers, Spaniards are not allowed to come near.
 In case France should oppose Germany in Czechosl0vakia, planes from these airdrOmes could be over important French cities in 30 minutes.
 NOTE-This is not the first time Mussolini has worked an international squeeze play. Last summer when the British were about to send ships from the Medi- terranean to the China coast in or- der to tone down Japanese ag- gression, Il Duce started his sub- marine piracy campaign, thus forcing British ships to remain in Mediterranean waters.
 Texas Breeze
 The lives of diplomats are regu- lated by protocol, from picking up salad fork to making for nal call at the White House. So they were astounded when 8 member of Congress barged into a dozen embassies last week and asked to talk with the boss.
 The Congressman was Maury Maverick of Texas, who knows little of protocol and cares less. The fact that it is definitely "anti- -protocolaire" for a con- gressman to transact business directly with 8 foreign diplomat didn't bother him in the least.
 Maverick wanted to promote his bill for improving relations with Latin America, and he thought a little support from the Latin dip- lomats might help the cause.
 The diplomats were delighted with him-after they caught their breath. They are accustomed to deal only with officials of the State Department.
 Untaxed Smokes
 Although totally unaware of 1t, there are hundreds of thousands of jobless and aged people in all parts of the country who have a direct stake in an unnoticed six line bill introduced the other day by Representative Harry Haines of Pennsylvania.
 Haines' measure is aimed at breaking up racket now costing a number of states between $15,- 100000 and $20,000,00 a year in relief and old-age pension rev. enues. The racket is being worked on the cigarette taxes which many states enacted to produce these funds.
 It works as follows: House to- house canvassers solicit orders for cigarettes at tax-free prices ... The purchases arc then sent to the buyer through the mails with no indication on the package of the nature of it's contents or the identity of the sender.
 State authorities have been try ing to scotch the racket by all sorts of devices - so far unsuc- cessfully, for the single reason that they cannot meddle with the mails.
 Early this session they proposed empowering state inspectors to examine packages in post offices. Chairman Jim Mead of the House Post Office Committee vetoed this immediately. He readily con- ceded the need for legislation to plug up the tax loophole, but viz orously opposed any method that