Conquest of Jehol. XPANSION of the currency to the extent of billions of dollars will result from the legislation which President Roosevelt asked of the extraordinary session of congress and which wns epacted within a few hours after the new congress was convened on Thurs day, March 9. The new currency is based not on gold, but on 3 ly the liquid assets of unl the banks. The plan A was devised after long hours of confer- ence by the President, Secretary of the Treasury William H. Woodin and a number of financial ad- vicers of the administration, and it was the mair feature of their solution of the banking crisis that was par- alyzing the nation. The other chief points in the legisia. tion which the President ealled for in his brief hut spirited message were: Continued suspension of gold pay- ments and embargo on exports of gold Clothing of the [IP'resident with the powers of a financial dictator. Continuation of the national bank- ing holiday, wholly or in part, pending complete reopening of the banks, Legalization of the bank holiday proclamation of March 5 and all meas- ures adopted by the treasury to carry it into effect. Because the new currency is not backed by gold It is called federal re serve bank notes to distinguish it from federal reserve notes which are backed by gold. To what extent If any, inflation of the currency will be produced by this increase in the volume of money was cne of the big questions involved in the Roosevelt plan. That inflation will be the conse quence was a conclusion widely reached In financial and commercial circles, with the result that a leap up- ward of commodity and security prices was looked for the moment the ex- ctanges reopen. The act creating the new currency Itberalizes the provisions of the Glass Steagall act by allowing banks to issue notes with no gold reserve behind them. The notes thus Issued are backed only by United States bonds In the same manner as national bank notes issued by national banks. It fur- ther liberalizes section 10a of the fed. eral reserve act as amended by the Glass-Steagall act so as to enable banks to obtain currency on “liquid assets” of a character not previously eligible One of the effects of the legislation will be to produce a unified banking system. Only member banks of the federal reserve system are able to avail themselves of the privileges af- forded by this legislation to convert assets previously Ineligible into cur- rency. State banks wre compelled to Join the federal system in order to ob- tain the funds that will enable them to reopen, Another foreseen effect 1s the weed ing out of weak banks. Institutions unable to furnish liquid assets for cur. rency will be unable to reopen. Others will be able to remaln open to the extent of their liquidity pending at least a recovery of general public con- fidence In banks, Legisiation to stop hoarding aiso was considered by congress and meas ures for reaching and punishing the hoarders of currency whose withdrawal of deposits brought on the panic and caused the closing of the banks were discussed by the administration and leaders of the senate and house. As a preliminary move In this direction the federal reserve board at the in stance of Mr. Roosevelt, sent tele graphic orders to all federal reserve banks to furnish by March 18, lists of persons who have withdrawn gold since February 1, and had not by that time redeposited their gold with drawdls, Sec'y Woodin For days there was considerable con- fusion concerning the banking situ- ation mainly because of differences be- tween the President's proclamation and the orders issued by governors of various states. This was especially true In New York and Illinois. Day by day Secretary Woodin issued or- ders modifying those In the govern- ment's proclamation closing down all bunks, but there was much misunder- standing of his regulations regarding limiting opening of the Institutions. Clearing houses were busy holding meetings but failed to live up to their name by clearing up the situation and the banks were uncertain of both their powers and thelr responsibilities. In many cities and towns banks were 2pen tc earry on limited activi- ties that were required to provide food, foodstuffs and medicines and for the meeting of pay rolls. Throughout the country preparations were made for the Issunnce of scrip, pendihg the receipt of the necessary authority from Washington. Secretary Woodin, however, ruled ngainst scrip, though he sanctioned the iesunnee In various joculities of clearing house certificates mpningt sound nssets of banks for use as un emergency elrenlnting medium, Despite all the confusion and Incen venience, the ‘American public re. mained fairly calm and appeared to have confidence in President Roose- velt and his advisers. The general feeling was that the vigorous new Chief Executive would be able to de- vise competent measures for tem- porary relief of the situation and to force their adoption by congress, Following the enactment of the leg- islation for the reopening of the banks the President asked congress for au- thority to cut an estimated $500,000, 000 out of government expenditures by cutting government salaries up to 15 per cent, and by drastic reductions in payments to veterans. It Is ex- pected that another $200,000,000 will be saved by the reorganization and combining of many government de partments, authorization for which was passed In the closing days of the last congress, EMOCRATIC membership of 313 in the house of representatives gives them an unwieldy malority, and the certain consequence is intra-party wrangling. At present the control seems to be in the hands of Speaker Henry Rainey and two allles, Floor Leader Byrns and Representative Cullen, leader of the Tam. many delegation from Et New York. Opposed to them is a faction headed by McDuffie of Alabama, who sought vainly to be speakeda. It was sald several of the Alabaman's most active supporters were quietly informed that they would be punished by being shift. ed from Important committees to minor assignments, Senator James Hamilton Lewis of Illinois was elected whip of the Demo cratic majority In the senate, and Senator Joe Robinson of Arkansas was chosen to be senate leader. Also party authority was made stronger than it has been for many years. The caucus agreed that the vote of any fu. ture caucus upon any measure recom- mended by the President should be binding upon all except those who ex. cused themselves from voting for cause. It was further agreed that a simple majority, instead of the more customary two-thirds majority, should make the action of the caucus bind ing and that two-thirds of the whole number of Democratic senators should constitute a caucus The caucus further chose Senator Kendrick of Wyoming as assistant leader, Senator Key Pittman as Demo cratic candidate for president pro tem. pore, Edward Halsey as candidate for secretary of the senate, Chesley W. Jurney as candidate for sergeant at arms, and L, L. Biffle as secretary to the majority. Speaker Rainey elected DURING its brief special session that convened on Inaugural day the senate confirmed these appoint. ments by the President: Prof. Raymond Moley of Columbia as an assistant secretary of state, William Phillips of Massachusetts, as undersecretary of state, who will be directly In charge and accountable to Secretary Hull Wilbur J. Carr of New York, reap pointed as assistant secretary of state. Henry Morgenthan, Jr. of New York, member of the federal farm board. Willlam * F. Stevenson of South Carolina, member of the federal home loan bank board T. Dwight Webb of Tennessee, mem- ber of the home loan board. OLLOWING out the campaign plan devised by Lieut. Gen. Kuniaki! Koilso, the Japanese armies virtually completed the conquest of the province of Jehol. The Chinese governor fled and all the Chinese troops were forced out after a last defensive strug. gle at Koupeikow, a pass in the Great Wall. Japanese planes first bombed the Chi nese positions there, and then General Kawahara’s brigade : took the place. The a Japanese thus com- Gen. Kuniaki pleted the seizure of Kolso 250 miles of the Great Wall, extending from the inner Mongolia to the Yellow sea. The Chinese fled toward Pelping and the confusion and fright In that city led the authorities to establish martial law. The Japanese sald they would not push on to Pelplng unless forced to br reprisals against their country. men (n that city. Marshal Chang Hsueh-liang was severely criticized for the loss of Jehol and resigned as mill tary overlord of North China, accept: ing the blame and asking that the na. tional governmant relieve him of all posts, Maxim Litvinov, foreign commissar of Russia, bluntly informed the League of Nations that the Soviet government would not participate in the doings of L the lengue committee set up to handle the Sino Japunese quarrel. HE Los Angeles section of South- ern Californla, covering an area from Ventura on the north to San Diego on the south and extending in- land for some 30 miles, suffered severe earthquake shocks on Friday evening, March 10, causing 128 deaths, injury to more than 4500 and property loss running into the millions, Between 5:58 and 10:50 14 distinctly violent shocks had occurred, the first one of which did the greater part of the damage and caused all the loss of life. Long Beach suffered the greatest loss of life and proportionately the greatest property damage. At that point 685 people were killed and 1,000 injured. At Los Angeles 12 people were killed and some 38.000 were in- jured. Cther towns suffering severely and at which deaths occurred were Watts, 4 dead; Campton, 13 dead; Santa Ana, 8 dend; Huntington Park, 2 dead; San Pedro, 2 dead; Wllming- ton, 1 dead; Bellflower, 8 dead; Ar tesla, 4 dead; Hermosa Beach, 1 dead; Garden Grove, 1 dead; Walnut Park, 1 dead: Norwalk, 1 dead. Fire in many of the towns, and es pecially Long Beach and Los Angeles, added to the terror, but fortunately the water mains were not seriously damaged and the firemen were able to cope with the flames, Regular army troops at Fort Mc Arthur were ordered to co-operate with the police in preserving order, and ships of the navy from San Diego were dispatched to points along the coast render ald, naval providing ald and injured. The governor of California ordered National Guard troops to the scene to assist in the work of rescue, and to maintain order. to HOJGH It was generally admitted that the world disarmament con ference in Geneva was in a bad way, the British started to make a last ef- fort to revive it or at least to salvage some thing from its work With this In mind Prime Minister Mac Donald and Sir John Simon, foreign secre tary, went to the Swiss city tn see what could be They denied they had any definite plan of ac but they hoped Premier Dala France and of Germany Hitler some arrangement 1 done tion, to get dier of Chancellor gether Premier MacDonald 10 that on the conference, Sir John Simon sald before leaving London that one of the first issues he and Mr, MacDonald would take up In Geneva would be the faet that no other nations had followed Great Britain's lead In Imposing an ars embargo against China sand Japan, which, as he remarked, “leaves [irit- ain In a situation which cannot be al lowed to continue ™ The DBritish recognized financial situation In the that the postponement of the war debts ferences. In the latter matter, bow. bassador, did find opportunity to talk with President Roosevelt's advisers IRMLY seated in power by victory in the reichstag elections, Chancel Germany without parliamentary aid for about two years. His National Social- in the new reichstag and the Nation- cent. The election passed off quietly instead of being the Bloody affair the foes of the .azis had predicted. The chancellor believes that democracy is legal tools to annihilate try is on the way to restoration of the monarchy. One superficial sign of this was the rapld disappearance of the stituted. Hitler, however, feels that the restoration must be postponed un. tll conditions are improved, and In this the monarchists agree with him. Goering, Nazi minister without port- ment, £8.440000 for the annual enforcement it stipulated that none of the money was to be spent on wire tapping or the purchase of liquor as evidence. These provisions do not be come effective until July 1, but Amos W. W. Woodcock has ordered them In. to effect now, pointing out that “cases made contrary to them now probably will be tried after these provisions be come nw” The result of the order, Mr. Wood cock sald, will mean a complete change in enforcement methods and “will enuse this bureau to operate al most exclusively against the manufac turers and transporters” of liquor. This, naturally, is good news to the operators of night clubs and speak- easlies, TRE days after completing his ninth consecutive term In the tiouse of representatives, Will R. Wood of Indiana digd quite unexpectedly in New York. He was about to sall on » two months’ cruise of the Mediterra. nenn for a complete rest after his long and arduous labore in Washington. Mr. Wood was one of the most active and influentinl of the Republicuns in the house and In the last congress was chairman of the appropriations com. mittee, He was seventy-two years old. ® 1931 Western Newspaper Usios. / a 4 a ——— — me? en rrird [TH] Washington. ~The extra session of congress is starting off with many millions of people What Can figuratively pound. Congress Dc? Ing on its doors and demanding that It do something or other about the bank. ing situation and the economic panic, Demands are being made that it “fix things up.” The demands and appeals, the argu- ments and the advice that is being laid on the threshold of every office door in the Capitol carry every known scheme, tried and untried, for dealing with the disturbance in the delicate balance of our economic and financial machinery. Freak legislation pana- ceas, curealls and patent remedies that would put a quack doctor to shame are offered. Few of them appear to have been thought through as to the ultimate result, and I gather from the private conversations of senators and representatives that they are becoming Just a little bit hardened and calloused about them, That people everywhere are suffer | Ing Is known, That the people have a what It can Is not to be denied. But, seeing the problem from the view. | point of Washington, your observer Is i inclined to pause and ask what can congress do? How can congress “fix things up”? What sort of magie can do the country back to conditions that will provide employment for the unemployed, food for the hungry, mar i kets for the products of the factory and farm and stability for hanks? : The last congress and the last | ministration tried to the lem, and accomplished nothing. No sooner had the Seventy-second econ gress expired than we heard assertions ad gnlve prob from those who saw their Intion die that things would better If only their partic had been enacted, But { heads among them know enactment of freak bills in the world would not change human nature nor amend the age-old law of supply and demand Whether President Hoosevelt Is de an program that will restore the confidence of the coun try in its established institutions and traditions, time alone will tell. It will be a slow process. A sifting down of views of many of those upon whom responsibility rests seems to Indicate that it may have strength because it Is glow In the making. The effects of anything sensational are generally not iasting, It is agreed all of the economic * * * From what many Republicans as well as Democrats have told me, there is some ground for belief that the mere change of the government may result in some revival of confidence. | Look at the thing this way: Mr Roosevelt convinced a good many hun- dred thousand persons throughout the country in his campaign that he could Starts With Wide Support control of | ment than Mr. Hoover had done. In convincing them, he developed their It is considered, therefore, that Mr, Roosevelt is start. out with wide support. It is claimed that the people will believe in ! him and in his policies at least until the error of his way is shown In other words, according to the argu ment as it is advanced from this standpoint, the bulk of the people will be trying to help themselves when they respond to the appeal of their President, There has been an all-gone feeling, months since the November election, To put It in another form, many per asking: what's the use? It is held among many government officials that for further declines in general condi tions, So the hope is, as 1 see it, not so : much in what congress can do but In i whether Mr. Roosevelt can conserve among the people. If he succeeds, | things will slowly straighten them: selves out. If he makes some bad mis takes, or if congress gets out of con trol, many here believe we may as well permit the depression to wear itself out. Depressions have done that in years gone by. History gives no basis to expect that the present disturbance will be any different in that respect, The President undoubtedly has started off In the right direction (In holding confidence by the selection pf his cabinet members. He picked a group which is generally conceded to be well balanced between conserva. tives and liberals. That fact Is made the more appareut from conversations which one hears among the conserva. tives and the liberals of the Presi. dent's party In congress. The con servatives claim there are more con servatives in the cabinet than there are liberals and the liberals claim they hold a majority. Even some of the breast-beating radicals lay claim to Roosevelt recognition of thelr philosophy In the official family, Such a cabinet, therefore, must be de seribed as well balanced, and on the same basis it Is to be assumed all of those factions will stick with the Pres ident for awhile, In the meantime, however, there is that sickening cry of the suffering; the plea of men who are: losing thelr farms, the wail of those whose savings are being wiped out by falling banks, It gives rise to the question: will con- gress keep its head and try to enact sound legislation? Or will it yield to the clamor to "fix things up” and at- tempt to do so by undermining the currency, by voting out additional bil lions in loans to corporations with in- curable diseases and to states to spend every which way, and cause additional burdens of taxes to be saddled on those who carry the load? There appears to be a very real danger of this situation. Further, ger that congress will go too far in harassing big business, must be legitimate business some where, [I know that many of the Dem- ocratic wheelhorses are a little alarmed They think the upon which the President is depending can be undermined in t » * » As Republican office holders file out from their jobs throughout the coun- try and the Demo- crates march up to the counter der the mandate of November election, things transpiring here in Washington appear to the observers to some- thing this hub of the political The “regulars” In both becoming con- cerned Ordinarils ministration has taken place su have just experienced, stick together and ] ils and the “outs” New Things Transpiring pie the be new even in universe, major parties are about it. when a change in the “ins” ail of the back awhile we weize wit and suffer, those thelr poise licked i as the minority, To the extent that the are seizing the spolls, the recent change in control of the government has pre nothing 3ut the “outs™ are not sitting silently awaiting better juck. They have begun to build battle lines In the meantime, within each of the major parties other movements taking place. Within the ranks the Republicans, that is, the old line party men and women, there is a effort to rid the party of who failed to stand hitched to the Republican platform and candidates, Within the ranks of the Democrats, there is a very definite effort, just as concerted as exists among the Republicans, whereby the conservative wing of the party In power will have its feathers clipped. in other words, the regular Repub- licans are fighting to retain control of their party and the liberal and radical Democrats are struggling mighty effort to capture their party, The new Democrats apparently feel their oats. They want recognition, It is a problem with whizh the old-tim- ers have not been compelled to deal before. Frankly, they are puzzled. ® » - who were to np “ins sented new two are of concerted the individuals control of While this was going on, Norris, of Nebraska, who was elected as Republican, but who always has been the bell sheep of the progressive flock, was going forward with some ideas of hiz own about establishing a new bloc. He proposed that those of liberal tendencies band together and organize a group which could maintain a headquarters in Washington, to op- erate freely and without affiliation with either major party, and 8 wield the power which he insisted they had available to them. The Norris proposition seemed to be a direct answer to the blast by Sena. tor Reed, the Pennsylvania Republican who often has been described as prob. ably the most regular of all regular Republicans. Senator Reed makes no bones about the situation, He says the time has come to kick out those who have been wearing a Republican label at election times when they are candidates, and who then jump the reservation, ' But when Senator Norris announced his ideas about the progressive bloe, the Reed declaration assumed new significance to the observers. On the surface, It may seem to be just an ordinary party fight, yet the under. current gossip contains suggestions that here ually may be the beginning of a pew alignment In politics, In every campaign, each major party has fired blank shells at the opponents about thelr reactionary tendencies. Each party has entered the claim to being the better equipped to adapt the federal government to the new condi tions, It has happened year after year. Now, however, as a result of the Reed declaration of principles, the Norris command to the progressives, the movement among the younger mem: bers of the house and the generally disturbed conditions, some folks actu. ally are looking for the segregation of conservatives in one party and radicals in the other, E © 1952, Western Newspaper Union, Norris Plans New Bloc Howe About: A Proud Human Being Russia’s Plight Something Wrong By ED HOWE HE proudest human being I have ever encountered turned up today as an elevator operator in a depart ment store; a girl of nineteen and rather good looking. The floor man ager told me she received $8 a week, What is the base of her pride? Prob ably the talk of love In moving ple ture plays and in magazine stories; the exaggerated compliments the man pays the woman when trying to entrap her. 1 find no fault with the girl; she is the product of an age in which ev- eryone pursues wrong policles: prob ably her father is as proud because he is a voter as his daughter ig because she Is a girl. I am not proud about anything, but there are so many mis takes 1 am accommodated. » » . A common and mistaken notion Is that the people, after living many the easiest and best way, and stil) I have scarcely who did not make this One Dr York city ly, and wrote of Russia “1 sloft a bea man or offer a remedy. tobinson, of had the idea very stror Spe New is the which holds and the a and stupidly sands of years since puting } one it has been foll for these thou it emerged from During the past summer Doctor Rob tells an entirely different glory in Lenin ner va €n and wrote of them: “Our = tglinnd iBIBNG in In oon was very deg sified wherever | uneastable : the trains 8 the general inefficiency. In ways a suf like pig pens, becau focating. stench: mobs of ragged, barefoot people lying He visited the hospital In Leningrad and an i i not eat the food overpowering on the nd best floor. largest a said offered patients. At Moscow he visited room where workers in a tory ste their meals, and prisoners in Sing Sing have better and more abundant food. The the dining textile fac says the average month; the power of & ruble varies from 2 cents. Everywhere he saw long purchasing to 10 lines sup ] walling six plies: one man had hours. He found Kiev had had been 18 changes each of administration in two the other in the He Years, work of Soviet tyranny ; “I re writes, “that on per declares the intolerable conclude,” he in a vast prison, a hopeless hell, be cause of the iron attempt to make the entire country conform to the rules of Marxism, or Communism." He went everywhere, and wrote at great length about his wisit, but found nothing to commend, Before starting on his trip he had declared that Russia was the one country in which the relations between the sexes had been put on 8 healthy normal basis; on his return he said he did not see a single happy woman's face; scarcely a decent, comfortable looking or contented man. . * » There is something wrong with the story that times are good when farm- ers receive high prices for their pro- duce. In Russia eggs sell at 10 cents each: beef at $1.50 a pound; butter at $2 a pound Yet times are very hard in Russia; the farm problem there Is worse than in the United States, where lately 1 pald 17 cents for a plece of boiling beef, and it pro- vided excellent soup and meat for lunch three days. (I told the story to a visitor from 100 miles away, and he beat it a cent with a story about a plece of boiling mutton.) With us eges are 2 cents each; butter 25 cents a pound; wheat and corn so plentiful and cheap that corn ig being burned for fuel and wheat fed to eattle and hogs. There is also something wrong with the story of Malthus, an ancient still being admired for great wisdom. He declared it was inevitable that pop- ulation tended to overtake and outrun the means of subsistence. In the Unit: ed States there is a surfeit of food; so much clothing that manufacturers are compelled to shut down. The people having produced too much food, the big talkers now say the remedy is to tax the people as a means of making food scarcer and higher priced. . 80 1 am tired hearing old things of no great interest talked about over and over. As a young man reaches adult years, he begins thinking of mating The same thing has been going on some millions of years, but we talk about it today as though such a thing never happened before, and watci: the ory DT IE a a t new ‘mnt in himen tature. © ; © 1058, Bell Syndioate ~WNU Bervice
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers