The Ypsilanti daily press. (Ypsilanti, Mich.) 1928-1962, 1941-04-22

Their, two Americans convicted IN
Italy and sentenced to heavy fines
and also to prison terms for vio-
lations Of the Fascists' wartime
currency regulations. The United
States embassy pointed out to
Duce Mussolini that the pair had
offended through ignorance OF the
emergency rule on the subject; not
Intentionally. Accordingly, Benito
waived the Imprisonment item. He
collected the fines, though. The
Fascist regime sees no particular
sense in keeping its jails unneces-
sarily cluttered up with foreigners.
1t prefers them at large, spending
money. But any Of their cash that
1t gets its clutches on, in the form
Of fines, it hangs onto.
State Secretary Cordell Hulls
reaction to the Copenhagen gov
ernments reputation Of the bar
gain he made with Henrik de
Kaufman, Danish minister in
Washington, for an American pro-
tectorate over Danishly-owned
Greenland, also was entertaining.
OF course the reputation came
only nominally from Copenhagen.
1t came really from Herr Hitler.
Still, technically. 1t had every APP
pearance Of being strictly accord
ing to international Hoyle. At first
it was a bit difficult to see how
Secretary Hull could question the
validity Of the Danish foreign Of
fees representation that Minister
de Kaufman had exceeded his au.
thority in closing the decker.
Refuses to Return
He didn't exactly question II,
either. He merely answered, in eff
feet, "Oh, well, in that case well
60 ahead with the bargain" That's
present day diplomacy.
Incidentally, Minister de Kautt-
mann, recalled to Denmark, UNI
ioubtedly displayed first-rate judg~
ment in announcing that he isn't
going. He thinks he's safer In
Washington. He adds that he's
here as the Danish peoples repre-
not as representative of
only an alleged government run
from Berlin.
\ For that matter. Washingtons
half full today Of diplomats repre-.
senting governments that don't ex-
ist any longer.
I,xya had nnnas ;ou nnx,nxaf t;v.ao
lately to refer to gossip to the ef-
feet that we're likely soon to have
a censorship probably known as a
public information bureau) operat-
ing in our own capital. Now it
seems possible that London, In
stead, will censor us. The foreign
Office there complains that Ameri-
can newspapers publish consider
able stuff that's liable to be useful
to the Axis, concerning British war
activities. II we haven't the sense
to know what ought to be kept
hushed up. London will be glad to
tell US The state department itself
is blamed from London) for hav-
ing given out some such informa-
ton to American reporters. 1t
would be getting right back to the
source to have British censorship
slapped onto the state department
and corking good joke on the
department.
In normal times all countries like
to have big export volumes. A
country with a handsome export
balance ordinarily assumes that it
has lots Of customers for its prod
ucts-that it's prosperous: scoop
ing in barrelsful Of money.
Consequently a recent commerce
department report mentions with
much satisfaction the fact that our
1910 exports to Britain almost ex-
actly doubled 1899. What the re-
port doesn't emphasize, though, is
the circumstance that 1940's were
mainly war supplies, which we
never expect to get paid for.
Checking Profteering
Naturally nearly everybody is In
terested in the prevention Of war
time prohteering, because, IL that
starts, our living costs will skyhoot
"a great deal faster than our in
comes are likely to increase. It'll
pinch US like everything So Presl-
dent Roosevelt's recent creation OF
an Office Of Price Administration,
with Leon Henderson at the head
Of it, to head off such a tendency,
was widely welcomed.
- Just how it's going to work