Milford chronicle., 1940-12-20
Economic EIighIights
Happenings Thss Aaect the Dlnner
Pals, Dividend Cheeks ana Tax
Bllls Of Every IndlVlduals National
and International Problems Insep-
arabic from Local Welfare.

ana International Problems Insep
arabic from Local Welfare.
The refusal Of Congress to ad
jcurn, despite the prodding Of some
Administration officials, Was not {
surprise The world is changing
fast these days. And the nations
lawmakers feel that they should Be
on hand to deal with problems al
they appear.
Big problem now is how to give
more aid to Britain and at the same
time keep a semblance OF neutrality.
This country has been shooting the
works on behalf Of the British for
long time. She has our so obso-
lete destroyers, and production of
American factories Is practically at
hel' command. The U. S. Army and
Navy have announced that they wifi
give her precedence in aircraft. But
there is one catch-BTitain must pay
cash for whatever she buys. The
johnson Act does not permit this
government or its citizens to give
credit to any nation which is be-
hind on war debt payments.
The way the wind blows now was
recently indicated by the statement
Lord Lothian, the British Ambas-
sador to this country, made on his
return from his homeland. Eng
land, he said, does not want men.
She wants only material. But, he |
added, England's cash is running out |
He foresaw a difficult year ahead for |
England, in which she will need all |
kinds of war supplies and perhaps
finance"
When Queried as TO whether he
believed the u. S. Congress should
repeal the johnson Act, Lord 10th
ian offered no comment. But II is
obvious that was what he had in
mind. The various American groups
which are in favor of doing every
thing and anything to help defeat
the Axis-such as William Allen
Whites committee for aiding Eng
land-are beginning to train their
sights on the johnson Act It seems ;
a certainty that a resolution to re-
peal the act will be introduced in {
Congress.
THAT resolution will be bitterly {
contested, especially in the Senate
where the isolationist group, headed
by Senators Johnson, Nye and Clark, a
are SllOu6s Dul the pIouduAAANJ 10 u
that the Johnson Act will be thrown 4
overheard. The Roosevelt policy h
has been to steadily increase our
help to Britain, and the Republican
minority. which largely follows the [
foreign policy laid down by Wen
dell Willkie in the campaign, gem
orally agrees.
If the Johnson Act is repealed, ~
will we become embrOiled in the 3
war? No one can accurately answer :,
that question. The controlled Ger n
man, Italian and Japanese press D
continues to criticize this country, =
but their governments still formally :
regard us as a friendly power Ger !,
many does not want us to enter the :,
conflict-the American Navy would -
be a potent force on Britain's side, - -
and might be the decisive factor So b
the best guess is that, even If we ~
do go to new limits to aid Britain, =.
the Axis powers will not take any y
retaliatogyl action I9njunA h
Another thing Britain is going to
want from us is merchant ships. Her = =
losses due to German submarine and ~ y
raider attack are aIarmingly high. :,
The present German policy is 10 sink =, ~
enough British owned and controlled a..
shipping to starve the Isles. Amer ~, ~
ican shipyards may soon be busy y. ~
with orders for Britain. British Y. =.
are working "a hours a ~ ~
lay now, but reports say that pro-. =. =,
iuctiOn of finished vessels is low. e.
-oOo- NJ
Hitler has formally inducted some =,
more little countries into his Axis. AZ
But that doesn't mean a great deal IN IN
2umania, Bulgaria and the other 81
minor Balkan countries are in peril ~, ~
# their lives. They must do what !in .il
Hitler demands, or submit to mill W eiu
ary conquest. 1t is one thing to %a e.
orce foreign ministers to sign pacts @ Da
it is another thing to get the peo- Il' 20
lie of those countries to avow the Ia
philosophy. And, according nS is
} all the experts, the Balkan people @ cn'
ate Hitler even as they fear him. aS laS
Worst blow to the Axis has been an aI =
-aly's fiiasco in Greece. This has am
educed Italian prestige to the van pa &pel
hing point. And, say some, it has o'. ~.
rOught with it the possibility of Ta. Tei
ternal dissensiOn in Italy. The ~
alians didn't want war. They are an.
lffering seriously from the Brit - ~
h blockade. And a considerable are
'oportion of the Italians heartily Sil, Til,
slike Germany. II is noteworthy 10
at the German press has lately onI ny
gun to denounce Greece-HitIer oi9 Z,
ay be coming to the conclusion that - =
will have to pull his friend Mus nae
lini's irons out of the Athehian one
e. And, in the past. press attacks cs,.. cUL
the German press against other aiii, +
Iropean countries have been the
eIude to military action. a lals
In the long run, the Greek situa- M n
N may prove a great boon to -.
gland Reports say that the Eng ea!s 's!;!',
h are doing far more to help the sun iil
eeks than they admit. They have orul
en- swiftly developing important nSt' lDM
and naval bases on Greek land, ~ ~
lere their planes and battleships ~
4 strike against Italy. as
big trouble at home now ~.
said to be lack of sufficient anti "
craft equipment. Most of it has
IN concentrated about London,
ich explains. why Germany has Oh
IN able to carry on tremendously how
-ere raids over the Midlands and the
ewhere with few plane losses. It Sho,
believed the lack will be made up com
spring. read
Dependable Fortune Teller of a
Owul