Muncie Post-Democrat, Muncie, Delaware County, 3 June 1938 — Page 2

THE POST-DEMOCRAT, FRIDAY, JUNE 3, 1938.

Japan is having a tough time with China. The Japanese government is drafting both men and money. Private owners there are only allowed one gallon of gasoline a day. * * * $ Obala Row, anative of Madras, British India, is the smallest man in the world. He is 30 years old but is only two feet, six inches tall and weighs 19 pounds. ❖ * * * Ed Wynn has spent more than $1,400 for shoe cobbling on a favorite pair of shoes he purchased in 1909 for eleven dollars.

This country has only six per cent of the world’s population yet uses three-fourths of the world’s supply of silk and consumes half the world’s production of coffee and rubber. * s * • Heavyweight Willard D e a n knocked out Claude Allen at a ’ public bout recently 'at Corpus ■ Christi, Texas. It was the quickest knock-out in the history of boxing. At the opening bell, Allen charged ""Dean who sidestepped and landed a left hook. The referee counted ten and the fight was over in 11 1-2 seconds after it started.

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New York City has some 38,000 public school teachers. There the elementary teachers are paid up to $3,830 per year and high school teachers as much as $4,500. High school principals there get annual salaries of $10,000 each and the superintendent of the entire school system gets $25,000 per year.

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Recently the Annual International Jumping Frog Jubilee was held at Angeles Camp, California. Angeles Camp is an old secluded mining town in the Sierra Nevada mountains. Gold was most plentiful there at one time and miners would gather in the Main Street and toss ten dollar gold pieces at a tin cup for a distance of ten paces. The first to land a coin in the cup had the privilege to gather up those coins that missed.

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Marriage licenses issued by the state of Illinois have declined more than fifty per cent since the new hygenic marriage law went into effect. Many couples afraid to stand the t^st go elsewhere for their ; ’.marriage licenses. However, since the law went into effect last July

»'ini

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there has been 731 whose reaction .to the syphilitic tests was positive and marriage license was not

granted on those grounds.

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About six million families (about 20,000,000 persons) are receiving some sort of government aid. according to Harry L. Hopkins. federal relief administrator.

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At Evansville. Indiana, Max Lowe, an undertaker, collected a $100 burial fee from 78-year-old Princeton. Indiana, man for the burial of the old man s wife bac k in 1896. Lowe’s grandfather conducted the funeral.

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In New York City 58-year-old

about by those who would see tl?e peoj^e reduce to hunger rather than permit the New Deal to succeed, they were able to put more and more people upon relief by reducing jobs and cutting down the buying power of the people. Indiana has found itself faced by this new and manufactured disaster. It, too, has more men out of

work.

The answer is to be found in the spending of more money and giving the people more jobs. There is still much to be done. There are public buildings to be erected. That is the plan of the president in his new recovery plan. He will lend to the states or give to the states, money which they need for permant improvements. In this state the governor has found needs for $8,000,000 which can be spent, not for useless things but for’ projects which will add to the permanent wealth of the state. He has prepared plans for new hospitals, for additions to asylums, to the boys’ scHool. The need for each of these grows with poverty. They will be needed in the years that must come while society pays the price for the Hoover days of depression. To them will go, in all probability, an increasing number of those who are driven mad by their experiences, who spent a generation under the conditions of unemploy-

ment.

With the adoption of the measure to provide funds for the new Spending-Lending plan, Indiana’s plans will be prepared. There will be no delay in putting back to work the men who will be needed to build them. The state will again be ready to offer work. The fine financial situation of the state will permit Indiana to not share but to assist in the plan under which the federal government gives a portion of the money and the state the rerfiainder. Indiana will not have to wait to borrow. It has the money. The state will again pay tribute to the thoughtfulness of its governor. He said that Indiana would lead, not follow. It again is prompt in its support of the president. ——o CHANCE FOR AMATEUR The Southwestern Indiana Civic Association is offering a cash prize of $1,000 for the best three or more act play written about the youth of Abraham Lincoln in Indiana between the years 1816-1830. In addition the offer to assist in the production of the play which will give royalties to the author, and also to assist in publishing the ■winning play, and the three next best plays which may be purchased outright, or published on a royalty basis. The purpose of the’ offer is to have a play written about young Lincoln’s life in Indiana that will compare favorably with the John Drinkwater play, “Abraham Lincoln,” which is about the Illinois and Washington life of Lincoln. The contest to determine the best play is now open and will close on January 1, 1939. Copies of the Rules of the Contest with suggested reading material may be secured by writing the Southwestern Indiana Civic Association, Ernest W. Owen, Secured, 242 E. 12th street, Indianapolis. The Southwestern Indiana Civic Association claims that “Indiana moulded the man, and that his fine character and ideals were fully developed before he left Indiana at the age of 31.” The successful play must bring out that idea. A committee composed of William Fortune, Indianapolis, Kail K. Knecht, Evansville, and Mrs. Bess Y. Ehrmann, Rockport, all of Indiana, will judge all manuscrips, and will pick from them the best plays which in turn will be passed over to a nationally known American critic or playwright to> be selected and he will pass final judgment on the winning play, and

NATIONAL CAPITAL BECOMES PROVING GROUND AS WELL AS LEGISLATIVE CENTER FOR LOW-COST HOME DEVELOPMENT

Louis Newman was trampled by ^ le 1> t ; h ^ e ; e J , 4 r _ 1 fo ^ additional ones wopien in a department store ad- ^ l — • t1 -- -

vertised bargain rush.

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At Springfield, Illinois, a lawsuit was held to determine the legal ownership of a wired-hair terrier. One man claimed that the dog was “Mickey,” a dog which he had purchased for $2. The other man in the case claimed that the dog was “Buttons,” a dog for which he had paid $60. After listening to testimony of 14 witnesses the court decided that the dog in

question was “Mickey.”

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The Chinese have threatened to bomb the leading cities of Japan if the Japs do not with draw theii troops from China.

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“If those who whine would whistle, And those -who languish laugh, The rose would rout the thistle, The grain outrun the chaff; If hearts were only jolly, If grieving were forgot, And tears of melancholy Were that now are not; Then love would kneel to duty And all the world would seem A bridal bower of beauty, A dream within a dream.” THE GOVERNOR ACTS Again Indiana has kept its word. It promised to support and assist in every plan proposed to bring prosperity or restore prosperity. It pledged itself not to be laggaid hut eager in this support. Governor M. Clifford Townsend, who made that promise, again is alert in redeeming it. The president declares that in order to obtain prosperity, the government must spend and lend. It will lend to states. It will give to the unemployed. It may lend to merchants and those in business. But there must be no starvation, po suffering. Due to the repression,

to be accepted by the association. Over 2,000 persons in all parts 1 of the United States and Canada, including Alaska, have started work on their Lincoln plays, according to information received by Ernest W. Owen, Secretary. In sending out the Rules of the Contest, the sponsors send out a sheet of suggested reading material on Lincoln and his Indiana life. There is no entrance fee and the contest is open to the whole world; but the play must be writ-

ten in English. ■ o —

KNIGHTS OF PYTHIAS TO MEET The Diamond Anniversary of the Knights of Tythias and Golden Anniversary of the ladies auxiliary, the Pythian Sisters will be celebrated with two special meetings preceded by a picnic supper at Newcastle on Wednesday, June

8.

Franklyn George, Chancellor Commander of Crescens Lodge No. 33 of Newcastle announces arrangements have been completed for the initiation of a large class of new members in the Rank of Page at the Castle Hall commencing at 8 o’clock. In addition to the local lodge, candidates will be presented from various eastern Indiana lodges. At the same hour the Pythian Sisters will convene in another hall to initiate a class of new members as a part of their 50th Anniversary Class. Members of both Orders and their families and the candidates for initiation will join in a carryin picnic supper between 5 and 7 p. m. In case of rain the supper will be served in the lodge quarters. Lodges and temples in Henry, Wayne, Randolph, Delaware, Jay, Blackford, Madison, Hamilton, Hancock, Fayette and Union counties will participate in the Newcastle meetings.

Washington, June 3.—Aside from its importance as a center of legislation dealing with the muchmentioned “housing problem,” the Nation’s Capital is also assuming an important role as the proving ground for private industry ip actual low-cost home experiments and developments. Fourteen low-cost houses, especially prepared by the private home building industry, are now being constructed almost within the shadow of the Capitol in an attempt to produce physical samples of the type of inexpensive home

discussion of which has frequently filled presidential and congressional messages during the last four years. The National Lumber Manufacturers Association, the National Retail Lumber Dealers Association, and the Red Ce.dar| Sjthjftyle Bureau, in cooperation with 32 other producers of building materials and building equipment which form the component parts of the small home, are cooperating this spring in two important developments—one in nearby Virgins and the other in nearby Mary-

land. The sample units, most of which will be available for the inspection of governmental nousing officials and the building fraternity in general, cover a cost range between approximately $1,800 and $4,500, and offer accommodations forfiom two persons to a family of seven. Each of the 14 units represents long months of design study, and a thorough-going analysis of its cost is being made during the erection of each. All of the new experimental homes are being built under the

direction of the NATIONAL SMALL HOMES DEMONSTRATION, which is a voluntary organization of private interests seeking an answer to the perennial problem of making a new small home as easy to buy as a new small automobile for the moderate and low-income family. Plans for all these small houses illustrated are available through the offices of the National Small Homes Demonstration, 1337 Connecticut Avenue, Washington, D. C.

HOOSIER ACTS TO CUT SALE OF

DOPE

Indianapolis, May 2.—State Representative William J, Black of Anderson, a Democratic leader of the House, today announed that, if re-elected, he will introduce a bill greatly increasing tire penalties on dealers in marijuana cigarets. Declaring the traffic in the drug has become a menace to the youth of the land, Black said the present maximum penalty or 180 days in jail would be increased to one year for possession and to five years for sale of the weed, by terms of his proposed bill. “We need a strict law prohibiting this evil that has become a menace to the youth of Indiana,” Black said. “Peddlers in my community have been victimizing young boys and girls. This stiuation has been going on in Anderson and vicinity for two years.” o— DECLINING ACCIDENT RATIO SHOWN IN NEW STUDY

N Y A NOTES Ten NYA boys are building gravel walks at the Federal Homestead project site in Decatur. Mounds Park in Anderson is being reconditioned by fourteen NYA boys. They are improving roads and trails, renovatin'g the pavillion, repairing bridges and fences. They also are to build small shelter houses, benches and tables. School nurses in the Perry township schools in Evapsville are being assisted by twen.ty-two NYA girls. They weigh children and keep card index records, administer first aid, file doctor’s certificates, and otherwise enable the school nurse to extend her services.

Motor vehicle accidents have shown a tremendous decline during the past ten years both from the standpoint of number of cars registered and the number of miles of travel, according to a recent accident survey in Connecticut reported today by Todd Stoops. “This survey showed that the number of accidents per motor car has been reduced one-half during the decade, while the number of accidents per mile of travel is only one-third of what it was ten years ago,” Mr. Stoops said. “In 1927, there were three accidents for every 200,000 miles of travel; the latest report shows only one accident for a like mileage. “Apparently, drivers are becoming more expert and more alive to the .necessity for careful driving at all time more expert than those of ten years ago.” ROOSEVELT ALLOWS DAMS FOR INDIANA Washington, June 3.—A series of low dams planned by the Indiana conservation department to conserve water in the interest of wild life has been approved by President Roosevelt as a WPA project, the Indiana congressional delegation has been notified. Counties in which dams would be built and allotments are: Knox. $142,384; Monroe. $166,113; Sullivan, $71,192; Posey, $114,432; Daviess, $152,576; Hancock, Hamilton, Madison, $56,500.

In the United States there are 14,000,000 families living in their own homes.

In Washington, Indiana, NYA boys are painting equipment in the city parks and the bath houses at the municipal swimming pool, and constructing a baseball diamond at Allen Field. Twenty-nine NYA boys in Elkhart and Goshen are renovating school playground equipment. NYA boys in Gary are constructing a new tennis court with a cyclone fence,and other recreational facilities in a community where 600 children formerly had no play GAS TAX BILL §23,497.000 IN 1937 FOR HOOSIERS That a gas tax of four cents a gallon can develop into big business is shown by the fact That Hoosiers used 570,186,000 gallons of gasoline on which they paid a tax of $23,470,000 in 1937, Todd Stoops, of the Hooiser Motor club, said today. . ^“Figures just released by the Bureau of Public Roads of the U. S. Department of Agriculture” Mr. Stoops said, “show that Hoosier motorists used 2 per cent more gasoline in 1937 than in 1936. The national increase in gasoline consumption was 7.6 per cent over the preceeding year. Every state showed an increase except Nebraska and Tennessee where the gasoline tax is 5 and 7 cents respectively. The high gas tax may have reduced consumption in these states. “Indiana registered 1,027,572 passenger cars and trucks in 1937 and on this basis the average gasoline consumption per motor vehicle was 555 gallons and the average tax paid was $22.20. “The gasoline consumption for the. U. S. in 1937 was 19,21842!,000 and the national tax paid was

$761,998,000. All states now have a gasoline tax and the rates range from 2 cents in the District of Columbia to 7 cents in Florida, Louisiana and Tennessee. “New York lead all states in erasoline consumption, 1,702,621,000 gallons and in tax collections, $61,915,000 and was closely followed by California, Pennsylvania, Illinois and Ohio. Nevada trailed all the states with gasoline consumption at 30,203,000 and tax collections at $1,177,000 at a. 4 cent tax rate.”

o ARM FISHERMEN TO

CURB JAPANESE

Seattle, Wash., June 3.—The coast guard today was convinced that Japanese fisljong vessels reported in Bristol Bay, northwest of Alaska, were looking for deepsea crabs. American fishermen were more skeptical, and twenty-four rifles were on the way by a secret route to hold up tne fishermen’s end of the argument if need be. The rifles had been sent from the Pacific Coast Codfish Company’s headquarters here to its two vessels in Bristol Bay, after fishermen complained that fifteen Japanese boats were darting into the inshore areas and netting salmon and cod. A recent agreement between the Japanese and American governments provided that the Nipponese cease taking salmon in the region, but might continue to fish for crabs farther offshore.

SHAKAMAK STATE PARK AND LAKE NEAR U. S. CENTER OF POPULATION

The Hoosier Motor Club suggests a trip to beautiful Shakamak State park and lake, near the center of population of the United States and in the heart of Indiana’s coal mining area. Shakam&k Park is near Jasonville and is located in Clay, Greene and Sullivan counties. It has an area of 1,021 acres of woods, lakes and varied landscape. Within the park is Shakamak lake, one of the largest artificial bodies of water in the state. On account of its setting along wooded shores, five miles in circumference, it appears to be a mountain lake, far from civilization. On a promontary jutting out into the lake are the bath house and bathing beach. The bath house, containing dressing rooms and a check room, stands at the top of the sloping lake shore and under the shade trees are conveniently placed benches where one may sit

and watch the bathers. In the lake is a diving tower and diving boards. The lake has been well stocked with game fish and the stream from which the lake takes its name was known to the Indians as a good fishing stream before the white men came. In fact the Indians named It “Shakamak”, meaning “River of Lpng Fish.” In the vicinity of thd park the visitor may observe the strip-min-ing coal while' within the park is a small mine in which visitors can see coal in its natural state. There is a wildlife exhibif in the park which includes deer, elk, buffalo, birds and waterfowl. Drives and trails make every section of the park easily accessible. A group camp in the park is. well known to 4-H club members and other groups who have used the administration hail and community buildings during vacation periods. A Shelter house, refreshment stand and sanitary facilities provide comforts for visitors. There are, also, picnic areas, fire ovens, firewood, camp sites and cottages. The cottages are furnished except for bedding, dishes and cooking utensils. Reservations should be made in advance.

Glass Springs Used In Scales for Accuracy Schenectady, N. Y.—Scales with springs of spun glass are used in General Electric company laboratories to record changes in the weight of materials under carying atmospheric conditions. The springs, tiny threads spun from fused-quartg and. shaped into coils, indicate differences as minute as 1-28,0000th of an ounce.. Quartz was chosen for the supersensitive weighing apparatus because it does not corrode or lose temper when subjected to moisture or high temperatures. Filaments for the springs are drawn from fused-quartz /rods heated to 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit. The threads, about six-one thousandths of an inch in diameter, are reheated and then wound into coils about one inch long with 50 to 80 turns to the inch. Measuring moisture absorption of fibers is one of the uses of the springs. This feat is accomplished by saturating the fiber with water vapor, and then weighing the fiber in a vacuum. The water absorbed is noted in the. stretch of the quartz spring.

Perhaps you read the other day of a terrific rift in President Roosevelt’s Cabinet. The story has Secretary of Commerce Roper resigning, and the Vice President and practically all the rest of the Cabinet and various Under Secretaries participating in the great row. Tne hostilities were supposed to be provoked by a proposal to let the consular officers of the State Department take over the work of the commercial attches connected with the Department of Commerce on the theory that just now the two departments were stepping on each other’s feet in that field. Linked up as an additional cause of war was the suggestion that former Under Secretary of the Interior West should be named as Comptroller of the Currency in the place of J. F. T. O’Connor, who resigned to run for the governorship of California. There was nothing the matter with the story except that it didn’t happen. Those papers which had not published the story, later carried a White House denial of Secretary Roper’s resignation, and 1 don’t think any of us saw anything else about it in the papers issued thereafter. Cabinet fights are really the rarest occurrences in any administration. On the other hand, Cabinet disagreements are just as natural as they would be among any other group of ten or a dozen men in similar positions. I dare say that the directors/of the Steel Corporation have many debates over policies and that the heads of the various departments of J. Pierpont Morgan & Company have held conflicting views—notably in the recent case of Richard Whitney. Well, what happens then? The big boss at the head of affairs decides what is to be done or what is not to be done, and nobody resigns or calls his fellow directors or colleague department heads names. That is just the way these things are conducted in the Cabinet of the President of the United States. An Old Story with a Moral There is an old story of politics in New York in the bad old days when Big Tim Sullivan was something of a czar. One office holder who owed his appointment to Big Tim was confronted with certain charges and some of his friends suggested to him that he should offer his resignation, and he made the classical reply: “Certainly not. I once knew a fellow who offered his resignation and I’ll be hanged if they didn’t accept it.” I imagine that the moral of this story is in the mind of every Cabinet officer. True, Cabinet members have resigned because they did not agree with the policies of the President. William Jennings Bryan, for example, laid down his portfolio when we approached war in 1917, but I do not recall any incident where anybody offered his resignation in a pique because in the President’s judgment some of his activities were transferred to some other department. Theirs are the most coveted positions under our government. Men leave them because of a vital difference in principle or because business calls and they can no longer afford to get along on the relatively meager salary which our country pays the President’s official family. Occasionally a member has resigned to run in an election to an office that he would prefer. But such battles as described in the publication to which this article has reference simply do not occur. You might as well expect the Justices of the Supreme Court to engage in acrimonious conflict over a decision as for the Cabinet of the United States Government to throw decorum to the winds and pitch dignity out of the window because of trifling disagreements. The ordinary procedure at the Cabinet sessions is for the President to call on the members who sit around the table with him to announce something they have in mind. Then follows a discussion of the subject by each member in succession. I do not suppose that these has been a meeting wherein different points of view were not advanced over matters more serious than whether some individual should have an appointment, or some activity should be surrendered by one department to another. And yet the various Secretaries and the Attorney General, and the Postmaster General, and the Vice President—who attends these meetings—continue to call each other by their first names, with every appearance of amity. Cabinet Members are Civilized They are careful of the dignity of the Presidential office and the President is considerate of their various responsibilities. The matter of any single story concerning the administration is not important in itself. Newspaper men hunting for headlines are, of course, prone to exaggerate and too often feel they have to weave such crumbs of information as they get in regard to secret sessions to fit a dramatic presentation of a commonplace fact. This is particularly true in some-—by no means all—newspapers that are hostile to the administration. When a newspaper takes the position that everything the President does must be wrong, and it pictures him as a would-be dictator, and gives him credit for no worthy motive under any circumstances, it is, I suppose, quite logical to present the Cabinet in chaps as part of the picture they feel it neceisary to pajnt. Franklin D. Roosevelt has been iq office for five years—r-five strenuous years, during which

more controversial questions have come up, perhaps, than during any similar period in any past administration. Up to date, his Cabinet has remained intact, except when death created a vacancy to be filled. That harmonious history continues. I am able to give the assurance that Secretary of State Hull is not challenging Secretary of Commerce Roper to a duel; that Attorney General Cummings is still friendly with Postmaster General Farley; that there has been no mobilization of either the army or the navy to visit the wrath of either upon the other, even though each service may regard itself as more entitled to special consideration than the other. The President is still “Boss” in Vice President Garner’s conversations with him and the Vice President is still “Jack” when the President addresses him.

PUBLIC WELFARE IN INDIANA

As a pioneer state Indiana set the pattern for many social improvements which later were adopted as standard throughout the United States. Among the welfare improvements inaugurated by our state may be listed a constitution calling for the reformation of law violators rather than solely satisfying vindictive justice; establishment of a hospital solely for the mentally ill; creation of a separate institution to house wo men law breakers and managed en tirely for and by women; prohibit retention of children in alms houses or poor farms and estab lishment of county orphanages to provide for their care under guid ance of a matron and the estab lishment of separate institutions for each sex of juvenile delin quents. Prior to passage of the Welfare Act however, social legislation in Indiana had lagged for many years.. In the words of Dr. R. Clyde White, chairman of the committee appointed by former Governor Paul V. McNutt to make original drafts of the welfare bill. “There had been no serious and thoroughgoing official effort made for a generation to reorganize the public welfare and social security laws of the state. The drive which culminated in the Welfare Act of 1936 began with the Emergency Relief legislation in 1933, received added force when the State Committee on Governmental Economy was published in 1935, and was as* sured of at least partial success when the Federal Social Security Act was passed and Federal funds were appropriated for this Act.” This lag is surprising in view of Indiana’s early history as a leader in social betterment legislation. Many early Indiana settlers brought advanced social ideas along with their scant stocks of worldly goods when they carved' a new state out of the wilderness. Due to their advanced social ideas many humane social doctrines were incorporated in the earliest Indiana statutes. Chief among these were provision for establishing farms and buildings “to be asylums for those persons who by age, infirmity or other misfortune may ha/ve a claim upon the aid and beneficence of society”; likewise Indiana’s earliest penal code stressed the value of reformation over retribution when it declared, “no persons confined in jails shall be inflicted . . . and that the General assembly shall form a penal code founded upon) the principles of reformation and not vindictive justice.” Many religious orders were keenly alive in promoting social welfare legislation during the early days of Indiana’s statehood. Chief among these were the Quakers. Largely through their efforts Indiana in 1873 became the first state to segrate its female law violators in an institution under control of’ and managed solely by and for women. They were also instrumental in the establishment of the Indiana Boys’ School and for the creation of county orphan-' ages, thereby keeping dependent children out of poor houses. Reforms urged by early social-mind-ed groups resulted in the formation of the State Board of Charities and Corrections in 1889. Creation of County Boards of Children’s Guardians at the same time placed Indiana among leading states in these fields of social improvement. A strong influence upholding these boards and the'reforms that advocated was the Indiana Conference on Social Worfc, which will hold its 47th annual session in Indianapolis November 2 through November 5, this year. Reform sponsored by this and kindred organizations was incorporated in the Indiana Welfare Act of 1936. Under this Act Indiana is rapidly regaining the leadership in social progress she once held and there is every reason to believe that, when all the phases of the Act became operative, Indiana will rank second to none in providing for the welfare of her unfortunate citizens.

Get Your Gas and Oil At the lii-and-Oat Service Station Madison and Willard Muncie, Ind. or the SUNNY SERVICE STATION t8th and Madison