Cutting Through the Brush

One day last week President Hoover stole the headlines from the Democrats and their pre-convention squabbles in Chicago. Before 9 a. m. a hurried call for news correspondents went out from the White House. At that early hour only a dozen second-string newshawks were rounded up.* They found the President standing behind his office desk, Secretary of State Stimson at his elbow. In a low, clipped voice the President began to read from a paper in his hand. The newsmen flipped out pencils and pads to jot down his words. He stopped reading to order: "Put away the pads. The proposal has been typed out for you." The "proposal" was a world-sized plan for major reduction in all forms of armaments (see p. 14). Armies were to be cut one-third above necessary "police components." All tanks, large mobile guns and bombing planes were to be abolished along with chemical warfare and poison gas. Battleship fleets were to be cut one-third, cruiser, destroyer and aircraft carrier tonnage onefourth. No nation was to have more than 35,000 tons of submarine. The President raised his voice emphatically to declare: "The time has come when we should cut through the brush and adopt some broad and definite method of reducing the overwhelming burden of armament which now lies upon the toilers of the world." An hour and 15 minutes later in Geneva. U. S. Ambassador Gibson was reading the Hoover plan to the assembled delegates at the Disarmament Conference. The President had made his proposal as a bold and radical attempt to galvanize the conference into action after five months of fumbling. Its reception by the Conference was only lukewarm. But plain as a pikestaff was the fact that if the Conference rejected the U. S. proposal and then adjourned, the U. S. door would be slammed upon all European powers who might come to Washington seeking reduction of their War Debts because of hard times. The President's plan meant no cut in the U. S. Army (138,817 men), already below the "police component" standard based on population. But he was ready to give up tanks, ships, guns and bombing planes if Europe would do likewise. President Hoover estimated that such reductions and eliminations would save the U. S. two billion dollars in ten years. The country reacted favorably to the President's proposal. "Fair and sound," declared Senator Borah. Senator Robinson, Democratic leader, said the plan would test the good faith of the Geneva Conference. Senator Reed, military affairs committee chairman, hoped it would be accepted. Senator King found it had "some merit." In Paris General Pershing called it "fair and just ... a concrete and statesmanlike plan which should receive immediate approval." Sour notes were struck by Tennessee's Senator McKellar ("Nonsense") and Mississippi's Representative Collins ("Silly"). The U. S. Press generally acclaimed it as able." "timely and bold," "sensible," "irrefutable" P:To find a successor to Charles Gates Dawes on the board of Reconstruction Finance Corp., President Hoover last week looked to Iowa and appointed Gardner Cowles, 71-year-old-publisher of the Des Moines Register and Tribune. An "independent" Republican, Mr. Cowles is a director of Northwest Bancorporation, has served his President on the Commission on Conservation and Administration of the Public Domain. Said he of his appointment: "I didn't even know my name was being considered. ... I feel deeply honored and will try to serve to the best of my ability. ... I have a great deal of confidence. . . ." Mr. Cowles's appointment filled out the R. F. C.'s board but not its presidency, which General Dawes had held. A squabble broke out when President Hoover intimated that he might put an outsider into that job. In the Senate his authority to name the R. F. C. president was challenged on the ground that by law the board must choose its own. C, President Hoover flexed from 5-c- per Ib. to 2 1/2-c- per Ib. the duty on: alsimin, ferrosilicon. aluminum and ferro aluminum silicon containing between 20% and 52% of aluminum.

*Most first-string men were lying over in Chicago between conventions.

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