Muncie Post-Democrat, Muncie, Delaware County, 5 April 1935 — Page 4

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THE POST-DEMOCRAT A Democratic weekly newspaper representing the Democrats of Muncie, Delaware County and the 10th Congressional District The only Democratic'wewspaper in Delaware County. Entered as second class matter January 15, .1921, at the Postoffice ■f Muncie, Indiana, under Act of March 3, 1879. s PRICE 5 CENTS—$1.0Q A YEAR. 223 North Elm Street—Telephone 2540 GEO. R. DALE, Editor Muncie, Indiana, Friday, April 5, 1935. Practice What You Preach Accomplishments of the city administration during the past week amounted to the suspension of two police officers for shooting a dog that was molesting a squirrel in Heekin park, the mayor’s displeasure of a new bus ordinance recently enacted by the city council, and the failure of Controller Parkinson to meet the regular police and firemen’s payroll. Mayor Bunch heard about the officers murdering the stray dog and informed the chief of police that the incident irked him very much, so much in fact, that no matter who the custodians of the law might be it must be punishable by temporary relief of duty. Investigation of the incident pointed the guilty finger to “Hope” Mullen, an ex-prize fighter, who the mayor pronounced as one of his best friends. It is our opinion that an ex-heavyweight “pug” who picks on a little dog with a gun should receive the maximum penalty. Call for the guillotine. The second announcement to stir the public through the front pages of the press this week was the probable veto of the new bus ordinance because it provided that bus operators may charge a transfer fee of two cents. To this provision, the mayor answered that he would be betraying his campaign promises for strict economy if he allowed the public to be imposed upon by this measure. Of course, the fact that the new administration has issued bonds against the credit of the city of Muncie to the extent of $279,000 within three months of its regime does not effect his economy program. A suggestion to Controller Parkinson that, if he would limit his expenditures within the budget and associate some of the economy which he did not hesitate to preach as a councilman, it might be possible for him to meet payrolls regularly. A sales campaign on dog tags or a renewed effort on arrestin gtraffic law violators might also provide the necessary cash with which to pay off. This is a troublesome world.

Outstanding Accomplishment WHEN asked at a press conference March 4 what he regarded j as, the “outstanding accomplishment of government financing in recent years,’ Secretary of the Treasury Henry Morgenthau, Jr., an-

swered with justifiable pride:

“There is no question about that. It has been our ability to refund 15 billion of the public debt and issue seven billions of Treasury obligations for new money and at the same time to reduce the average rate of interest on the whole debt. In bringing down the average rate, the saving to the government is $120,000,000 a year. A little over a year ago we were paying 2 1 / £ per cent to borrow money for 13 months. In sharp contrast, only the other day we borrowed money for nine

months at one-sixth of one per cent.”

As the secretary then implied, this astonishing change in a single year is one of many concrete proofs that business is better. And the apparent reason the price of government bonds has been steadily rising is because the American people have a feling of complete confidence in their government. It is a noteworthy fact that for weeks before the supreme court’s long anticipated gold clause decision all government bonds had reached new high levels. Ten days after Secretary Morgenthau’s statement quoted above, there was a development which prompted the New York Times to say: “The boldness of the stroke by which the United States Treasury called the entire $1,933,209,950 of First Liberty Loan bonds outstanding for redemption on June 15, insured the success of conversion now in progress of the called Fourth Liberty 4% bonds and presaged an additional tremendous saving to the government on its debt. In Wall Street, the decision of the Treasury to retire the last of its war loans is interpreted as official notice that the country is in for a period of free-

dom from monetary uncertainties.

“Thus the magnitude of the operation entails an abiding faith in the government bond market.” From an equally authoritative, and occasionally austere, source there comes an observation on the soundness of the fiscal policies which have been carried out since the very hour of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s inauguration as president. In its latest annual report the Bank of France, frequently outspoken in criticism of monetary measures and certainly one of the nyist conservative institutions on earth, declared that “The Doosevelt gold policy, by halting deflation, beneficially affected the eco-\

nomic situation of the whole world.”

Make New High-Speed Trains Safe Three American roads—the Burlington, the Boston & Maine, and the Maine Central—contend that they should be permitted to operate their highrspeed “zephyr” trains with only one man in the “control cabin.” , The Union Pacific, on the other hand, has readily agreed with railroad labor that two men are required to insure safety. “Imagine what might happen should the single pilot of a highspeed train be incapacitated and the safety gadgets fail to function,” suggests the “Capital Times” of Madison, Wisconsin, in an excellent editorial on “Safety on High-Speed Trains.” "The engineer who sits behind the control lever on a high-speed 100-mile-an-hour passenger train must keep one hand glued to the controls—to relax his grip would cause the train to stop as the ‘dead man’ safety control took effect. "With numerous grade crossings to traverse—and curves to negotiate—the engineer’s other hand would be occupied much of the time with the whistle-rope. With the train traveling at high speeds, necessitated by the schedule, the engineer would have to keep his eye constantly on the fast changing track ahead, although there are various gages and indicators in the cab demanding his attention. “Have you ever driven a car on a curving Wisconsin highway for a fast spurt, and tried to look at your speedometer? We don’t recommend highway speeding, but it might give you an idea of what the engineer of a high-speed train would have to contend with.” It is difficult to understand how any responsible railroad official would consider for a moment sending out any kind of passenger train, fast or slow, with only one man on the head end. The railroads plead that they want to save money, but surely some consideration should be given to the safety of the passengers and crew, to say nothing of those who find it necessary to occasionally cross a railroad track.

America Does a Noble Thing In the White House on March 24, President Roosevelt, in the presence of a distinguished company, attached his signature to the proposed constitution for the Philippine Islands. Now the document must be submitted to a vote of the Filipino people. If they approve—and everything indicates the “ayes” will be almost unani-mousr-the Islanders will be assured complete independence in ten

years. In the rfieantime they will have control aver all theri do mestic affairs. The Filipinos greeted the president’s approval of the constitution with much oratory and red fire. The American people also have reason to rejoice, because our country has done a worthy thing, and in doing it has set an example for the rest of the world. For the first time in human history a might nation has granted freedom to a subject people without a blow being struck or a shot fired. In other words, we have reaffirmed our faith in one of the fundamental principles of our own Declaration of Independence, that all governments “derive their just powers from the consent of the governed.”

Capital is Still on Strike

The extent to which bankers are blocking recovery is revealed by the most recent report of the Federal Reserve board. It shows that during 1934 deposits in member banks rose $6,700,000,000, but that loans by those same banks decreased $800,000,000. Here we have what looks very much like a strike of capital. The. banks are fairly bulging with money. They won’t loan it except on a government guarantee, and the government is paying them $300,000,000 a year for loaning Uncle Sam his own money. Mr, Eccles, who is probably the boldest chairman of the Federal Reserve board we have had since the system was established, warns that if this sort of thing continues bankers may discover that there is no longer excuse for their existence. The American people agree with Mr. Eccles, but they feel the time for action is here.

The Editor’s Comer

Lake Worth, Fla., April 1st—Today the race track graft comes to its official close in Florida. The “handle” of this particular form of larceny in Florida this season amounted to thirty-seven million dollars. Indiana ought to be proud that her legislature refused to legalize pari-mutuel horse and dog racing. The comparatively small amount received in taxes from the track promoters fails to warrant a partnership between the state and a bunch of race track touts. Lake county threatened to secede from the union when the legislature refused to pass the legalized betting bill. But for that matter the motion picture industry threatens to leave California high and dry and transfer its flock of divorcees and high-powered lovers from Hollywood to Coral Gables, Florida, if the Golden Gate legislature puts through a bill to collect taxes from the silver screen. Bill Hays, the czar of the movies, formerly of Sullivan, Indiana, used up a half column of two dollar words advising the California legislature what not to do. Fortunately, Florida does not take Bill and his movie queens seriously and is not the least bit excited. Florida has plenty of natural excitement of its own, without importing any from California and the question down here is whether the threatened invasion of Florida soil by the Hollywood love nest is a threat or a promise. The Florida legislature convenes tomorrow at Tallahassee, the state capital, and it’s going to have all it can do arguing over a liquor law and a proposal to legalize “craps” shooting and roulette wheels, to worry about moving pictures. As far as I can learn, official Florida is willing for the screen actors to gather up their Hollywood doll rags and emigrate to Texas or Maine, if they want to. Or as one Florida legislator told me, they can even jump in the lake if they feel like it. Evidently, Bill Hays has taken seriously all this ballyhoo and bunk about alleged rivalry between California and I Florida. That’s all press agent hooey, for the benefit ofi suckers. Something like the line put out by boxing and ! wrestling promoters who promise the suckers “the grudge j fight of the century” in order to fill all the seats while two j gladiators, who really love each other ike brothers, strive mightily in an apparent attempt to take each other apart and to stimulate a hatred that passeth all understanding. Florida and California put on a good show as shadow boxers, but let either state be seriously threatened by the outside world and just watch two states form a league of nations of their own to fight the common enemy. For my part, I like Florida, next to Indiana, but that’s neither here nor there. And we’ll keep on having excellent pictures in Muncie’s battery of high grade theatres, whether the stage is set in Hollywood, Coral Gables, or Mt. Pleasant township. * * * * The editor of the Post-Democrat is going to make one more try for a sail fish in the Gulf stream this week and win, lose, or draw, we start north at once with Muncie as our destination, where the toothsome German carp reigns king of the purling brook that flows in its scented glory through the best town in Indiana and where the citizenry wear clothes pins on their beaks in the good old summertime. * * * * Word comes from Munoie that another well known citizen has suddenly passed away, Ed Quirk. It would be idle for me to say that Ed Quirk held my esteem during hte lifetime but death wipes out animosities and we remember only good qualities. Ed testified against me in a federal trial, but he lost his position as a city detective when I became mayor and he got back at me, which is human nature. In his testimony, he was frank, however, informing the federal jury that he was employed and paid by “Bob” Parkinson as an investigator to “get the mayor”—his exact words! It has always been my thought that Ed was trying to do me a favor, when he-gave that astonishing evidence, and that he was really trying to inform the court and jury as to the nature of the desperate conspiracy that sought to railroad me to prison. He could easily have avoided that explanation, which stands as the truth, for it was not denied by Parkinson, who attended the trial and did not take the witness stand to impeach a witness who had named him as “pay-off” man for the conspiracy. He was a better witness for the defense than I was myself, so I’m going to remember Ed Quirk as a friends, not an enemy. * * * * Two of the four murderers of Policeman Obie McCracken, a crime committed in April, 1932, have applied for parole. McCracken was shot down by assassins. He died in the harness, firing one shot while he was lying in the street with a bullet through his heart. The shot went true, shearing off the finger of the man who killed him, but the four bandits escaped with their loot. After one of the most intensive manhunts in criminal history, Chief Massey and his men, some of whom have been removed by the present control, captured the quartet in various parts of the United States. They should have been executed promptly, but by some sort of a compromise with the prosecutor, they were allowed 1 to plead guilty and take a life sentence. Thus, a trial was avoided and their miserable lives were saved. Instead of paroling these human mad dogs, they should be kept in dungeons in solitary confinement until the real judgment

day.

*.. * * * The present city administration has fired many police-

FRtfrAY, APRIL 5, 1935.

men, firemen, and others who were not sitting good politically . When I was mayor, this was a crime and the daily newspapers complained lustily every time some one was removed from the payroll. In a federal trial at Indianapolis, former United States Attorney Gdorge Jeffery featured removals of policemen and firemen as my chief offense against the government. A strange silence now is observed on the part of critics of my administration, as heads fell right and left, this silence being due, no doubt, to the fact that it is my appointees who are getting the axe. Last Thursday, the board of safety asked for the resignation of Delmar Conyers, for years a member of the fire department. He did not resign. He went to the basement of his home and shot himself through the

heart.

The late Mr. Conyers was not one of my appointees. As I recall it now he was a good fireman. I not know why his removal was ordered, but his tragic response to the order has a sobering effect. Firemen removed during my administration sued and got judgment. The daily newspapers have never quit crying over this threatened loss to the taxpayers. Conyers did not sue. He committed suicide. He alrridst died two years ago when he was smashed up at the infirmary fire and hovered between life and death in the hospital for months. ■: The Star, Friday morning, published a statement that the firing squad, the night before, ordered the removal of four firemen and named the four men who were to take their places. Delmar Conyers was named as one of the four that were to go. Delwar was dead before the Star went to press Saturday. Write your own editorial.

Capital Comment

How to Preserve Ladies’ Silk Hose Ever since silk stockings were invented most women have had a desire to encase their underpinnings in silk—and most of them have been able to satisfy that desire somehow or other. Still silk stockings have been and still are one of milady’s constant worries. There Is always the danger of an unexpected run in the wrong place at the wrong time. Many ways have been suggested to women as a means of prolonging the life of their silk hose. That is, ways of making them wear longer. But few, if any of them have been of much

assistance.

Now, however, science has come to the aid of the fair sex. You ladies may not know it hut Uncle Sam’s Bureau of Standards at Washington has two men who do practically nothing hut “play” with silk stockings. They have an iron garter which pulles on silk stockings with a force of 100 pounds. They have a scrubbing board on which they can turn silk stockings into lint in a wink. They even have, a mechanical leg with mechanical toe nails on which to test the wearing qualities of stockings. They have been testing stockings for years and are supposed to know their stockings. They can even tell you how tight to hitch

| your garters so the pull will not I start a run. For five cents the | Government Printing Office at ; Washington will sent you their | scientific stocking hook which contains pictures and graphs of j stockings in various positions and j conditions. This valuable booklet will tell J you among other things that washj ing new stockings before wearing i will sometimes make them wear | longer. It also points out that white stockings wear longer because dye weakens stockings. It tells you rayon stockings usually become baggier at the knee than silk; and that shop-worn stockings don’t last as long as fresh ones. The most important thing in this stocking book however, is the new discovery that soaking new silk stockings in hot aluminum sulphate will preserve them and make them wear longer with fewer runs. It doesn’t always work but it is worth trying. Simply disolve two teaspoons of aluminum sulphate in half a pint of hot water. Pop the new chiffons into this hot bath before they are worn, swish them around a little and then dry them. After thew are dry wash them gently and dry again. This done they are ready to wear and j will probably wear a lot longer.

A hick town is a place where an indifferent student may flunk if he isn’t related to anybody on the school hoard.

^HEADLINES

The soldiers’ bonus hangs in the balance. The payment of it is ( looked at variously and from different points of view. A good many i individuals have conflicting viewj points. Everyone feels that the, veterans should have their due. Nobody wants higher taxes. The ; legislators wish to saitsfy and he • just toward those who have carried arms, but hesitate to increase the burden of the taxpayer. The soldiers naturally enough will be glad to get the cash. Who would not? It is said that many warriors now in relief camps will vacate them and go home if the bonus is paid, and in that way they will he restored to a normal manner of living. That in itself will be a good thing. It would be fine if Europe could be persuaded to as-,

sume the payment of the bonus, to! form of burnt offerings apply on the war debts. One might J — as well wish for a piece of the j in one day recently the Federal moon, but after all, it was Europe' agents arrested fifty-five counter-

who profited by the war out of fetters,

which the bonus problem arose.

More flowers are sold for the

dead each year in the Untfed

States than for the living. A bride should make sacrifices

for her husband, but not in the

Efforts in Congress to put

Seventy per cent of all American homes have radio sets, according

crimp in air mail transportation i to the latest available information, certainly show a failure to ap-| a nd in this country there are 1,800, preciate a characteristic of Amer- 000 radio equipped automobiles, ican human nature that has to ho

taken into consideration and he reckoned with; namely, the desire

Japan’s resignation from the League of Nation’s became effec-

to have things done quickly. There | y ve ^j arc h 27th. Japan prefers the is a satisfact ion in having a letter, j territory gained in Manchuria to regardless of its importance, laid i the i, onor Q f being a member of ° n * re ® ote , de f tomorrow n- the Lea of Nation9

stead of next week, and the public will be satisfied with nothing less, if such speed is known to be humanly possible. Rome, it is said, was not built in a day, but an American would have expected a good contractor to finish the job in a few months at most. Right or wrong, legislation likely to slow things down never will meet with

popular approval.

Thirty-six per cent of all new cars and trucks sold in 1934 were financed by some finance company; 76 per cent of the "used cars and trucks were bought in the same manner. These deals do not include car deals privately financ-

ed.

About one-fourth of the people in the United States live in areas

It is not necessary to work one’s , — — ~ way thoughtfully ,. through long lacking hospital service,

columns of newspaper matter, or to study and analyze the history of the past twenty years in order to acquire a fairly accurate general understanding of conditions in Europe. A rapid sweep of the eye over the material that is coming across the water discloses words which, even divorced from the context, indicate what is going on. The list comprises such terms as conscription, irate, disorder, mob, demand, protest, reinforce, intervention and denounce. There are millions of shoulders in Europe, but it looks as though the mills of state craft and diplomacy were preparing chips enough so that no shoulder need be bare. Unfortunately, the chip on the shoulder very often is replaced in short order by a heavier burden.

The Philipinos are rejoicing over the prospect of having a constitution. It will be accepted or rejected at an election to be held early in April. Acquiring a constitution is not so much of an advance in the direction of civilization. Progress really begins when it is decided that a constitution does not mean what it says and is a carefully written hut out of date old paper; Letters dated seven hundred years before the Christian Era have been found near Jerusalem, thus bringing to mind the saying that it is better to walk ten miles “to talk with a man than to write - him a letter. Per centra, what have dead men to worrjf about concerning their letters? The writers -saved themselves a long ride in the hot sun, dodged lions and escaped sand fleas, and posterity can do the worrying over the correspondence.

Pithy Paragraphs

debt but crawl

People run in

out.

A few eat to live, more live to

eat.

Loose fellows are prone to get

tight.

Work is the yeast that raises the! Waltham Piano Co., Street C., Mildough. I waukee, Wis. 5 17 Too many compliments and

This country leads the world in the number ofi murders committed by citizens. Our murder rare is eleven times that of England. It is unlawful to turn an old worn-out horse on the public highways to shift for himself or die and Arthur Brisbane believes aged humans should get, at least, as much consideration. The longest drought that ever occurred in the United States occurred in the summer of 1762. No rain fell from the first of May to the first of September, making a total of 123 days without rain. Many of the inhabitants sent to England for

hay and grain.

Insults are like counterfeit money: we cannot hinder their being offered, but we are not compelled to take them, substantial salaries they fail to

Although most movie stars get accumulate much money. Noah Beery has been sued recently tor a doctor bill of $2,589 and the court found him broke. According to Beery: “Today, I have not liv ing expenses, have not the «uoney for my own hotel rent, cannot ihire a lawyer. Even my life insurance is gone. I don’t earn enough to sup port my family.”

“If you learn as you grow, And grow as you know; If you see as you look, And look where you go. If you think as you work And work for a goal;. If you pray as you plan And plan for your soul. If you smile as you give, And give what is due^— You will love as you live, And the world love you.”

o—

FOR SALE—$650.00 player piano. May be had for the unpaid balance of $68.50 on terms of $5 per month. Unusual opportunity as player is good as new. Rolls and free delivery. Good discount for cash. For information where this i piano can be inspected write to

-~7 r BUTTER SCULPTURE—This figure of a famous British ' fan dancer is «arved entirely out of golden butter which rnade ft ^strikingly life-like. It was the center of attraction

gifts are only traded. The bigger the. fish the more easily it gets away. Some cities have the best judges money can buy. Beware of the man who tplks much of his honesty. A love service is never done for appreciation or reward. To a really big man authority means only responsibility. The remote control system doesn’t work with children. Love resists competition. It gives all and demands all. Some old parents are about as welcome as some new babies. The unpardonable sin is the one committed by the other follow. Preparation for war is a constant stimulus to suspicion and ill will.—James Monroe. No, a penny in the collection hardly counts as a down payment on a harp. o EVENLY MATCHED “Well, Sandy, Ah hear ye’ve got yerself married at last!” said Don-

ald.

“Ay,” said Sandy, “Ah’ve taken the big step.” “An’ what kind o’ match did ye make?” asked his friend. Sandy shrugged his shoulders. “Weel, Donald,” he replied pensively, “to tell you the truth, Ah didna do sae well as Ah expected, but then Ah dinna think my wee lassie did, either.” , -o j You can tell when you need ad-l vice. It is when you haven’t got sense enough to take it.

NOTICE TO TAXPAYERS OF HEARING ON APPROPRIATIONS In the matter of the passage of certain ordinances by common council of the City of Muncie, Indiana, Delaware County, providing for special appropriation of funds. Notice is hereby given taxpayers of the City of Muncie, Indiana, Delaware County, that a public hearing will he in the City Hall, Munci^, Indiana, on the 6th day of May, 1935, at 7:30 o’clock p. m oh ordinance making special and additional appropriation: An ordinance appropriating the sum of $1,175.00 out of the general funds of the City of Muncie, Indiana, to the Board of Public Works and Safety of the City of Muncie, for the maintenance and operating of the animal shelter, a department of said city, for the remainder of the fiscal year 1935. Taxpayers appearing shall have the right to be heard thereon. After the special appropriations have been decided upon by the Council, ten or more taxpayers, feeling themselves aggrieved by such appropriations may appeal to the state board of tax commissioners for further and final action thereon by filing a petition therefore with the county auditor not later than ten (10) days from the date of the final action of said council and the state board of tax commissioners will fix a date of hearing in this city. COMMON COUNCIL, Of City of Muncie, Indiana. Linton Ridgeway, City Clerk.

April 5 and 12.