Muncie Post-Democrat, Muncie, Delaware County, 5 April 1946 — Page 2

POST-DEMOCRAT, FRIDAY, APRIL 5, 1946.

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THE POST-DEMOCRAT ^ Demticratic weekly newspaper representing the Oemocrats of Muncie, Delaware County and the 10th Congressional District. The only Democratic Newspaper in Delaware County. Entered as second class matter January 15, 1921, at the Post Office at Muncie, Indiana, under Act of March 3, 1879. PRICE 5 CENTS—$1.50 A YEAR " MRS. GEO. R. DALE, Publisher 916 West Main Street Muncie, Indiana, Friday, April 5, 1946. It Didn’t Sound Like Stalin—But Like II Duce in 1936 The press of the world last week hailed Stalin’s vote of confidence in the UNO. Only question that remained was whether Soviet deeds would match Stalin s woids. Neither the words nor deeds of the Soviet representative, Andrei Gromyko, matched Stalin’s encouraging words. Stalin had said: “I attach great importance to the UNO, as it is a serious instrument for the preservation of peace and international security. The strength of this organization consists in that it is based on_ the principle of the domination of one state over others.” But Gromyko said as he walked out ot the UNO Security Council when it refused to postpone hearing of Iran’s case: “I, as representative of the Soviet Union, am not able to participate further in the discussions of the Security Council because my proposal has not been accepted by the Council; nor am I able to be present at the meeting of the Council, and I therefore leave the meeting.” No, that didn’t sound like Stalin. It did sound like somebody else — like Baron Pompeo Aloisi, Mussolini’s representative on the League of Nations, 10 years ago. On May 11, 1936, the League’s Council meeting at Geneva voted to place Ethiopia’s charges against Italy on the agenda for further discussion. Italy’s conquest of Ethiopia was then all but complete. Baron Aloisi said: “I have the honor to declare that the Italian delegation cannot admit of the presence at the Council table of the so-called Ethiopian delegate. ... The only sovereignty existing in Ethiopia is that of Italy. All discussion of the subject of the Italo-Ethiopian question would, consequently, be futile. Therefore, I find myself obliged to refrain from participating.” Then Baron Aloisi stalked down the stairs of the Council’s meeting room at Geneva— as Andrei Gromyko marched from the Hunter College gymnasium in New York on Italy didn’t' leave the League then. It Wednesday afternoon. wasn’t until September, 1937, that Italy gave notice of withdrawal. Russia has not left the UNO now. We trust that Russia will not withdraw. But the burden of proof now rests with Russia to convince the world that the true Soviet attitude toward the UNO is reflected by Stalin’s encouraging words in Moscow, not Gromyko’s words and deeds in New York,

xxx

The issue, as all but professional Russiaexcusers in this country knew all along, is not Iranian oil. If the charges made before the UNO Security Council by Iran’s representative, Ambassador Hussein Ala, are any part true, Russia wants more than oil in Iran. Ala said— and Russia has not denied—that the Soviet demands included recognition of the “internal autonomy” of “Azerbaijan; the right to maintain troops in some parts of Iran for an indefinite period; the Iranian Government to get only 30 percent of taxes collected in Azerbaijan. This in addition to demands for Iranian oil through a Russian-controlled joint

company.

The issue remains where it has been from the beginning: Whether the dispute with Iran is to be settled through the UNO or by force. , We still hope Stalin will prove he means what he says; that the parallel with Mussolini and the League will end right now; that Iran will become not a sepulcher but a monument for the UNO.—Philadelphia Record. Lewis, At Least, Will Win Once again, John L. Lewis is making trouble of the sort #t which he is a past master. As this is written there appears little chance that the United Mine Workers and the operators will adjust their differences for many weeks to come. Always dramatic, Lewis this time is basing much of his demands on the safety program for mines. Lewis knows that little fault can be found with safety programs and for the moment he would have the nation believe wages and hours are less important to him than the health if his constituents. Perhaps he does hold the miners health and safety above their economic welfare (he has only been termed heartless in dealing with operators), but it is evident that Lewis is out for bjgger game than a better contract. His recent return to the AFL signified another phase of his career. This time it may be that he is out to discredit the CIO and eventually win for himself American labor’s top position. If he is successful in all his demands he will be well on his way to that goal. Possibility of Government intervention in the mine dispute always is present, but that may not work in this case. Lewis has served notice that his union will not accept any extended contract with the promise of retroactive pay—the usual method followed by Government mediators. A spokesman for the operators just as emphatically stated they want no Government intervention, so the public has been told it is a private fight and outsiders should keep their noses out. But is it a private fight? Within 10 to 80 days after the nation’s mines have been closed, most basic industry will be struggling

feebly or closed. The reconversion program will have been dealt another blow as hard as the steel, automobile and electrical disputes. The public is very conscious of the mine dispute, despite the miners’ and operators’ desire for seclusion. The chances are that Lewis will win a majority of his demands, and for good or bad, John L. Lewis will increase in stature as a labor leader.—Journal Gazette. What Does the Future Hold? It is doubtful whether there is a man alive today who understands the world in which he is living. Mere men are no longer in control. Great forces—social, political, scientific and natural—are in movement, which defy the will of strong men to control them. We are going somewhere, but we do not know where. For more than a century strang thing have been brewing on this planet. Some people have been aware of it and others have not. The two great wars may have been partly the effect of this. They have also been contributing causes to the general transition. This may be a terrifying thought or it may be a fascinating one. So far as we have been able to ascertain, no one knows exactly what is happening. We are sure that if anyone knew, he would be willing to describe it accurately for his confused and puzzled fellows. It may be an unconscious and natural move on the part of the forces of civilization and life on this planet to seek unity. It may be a natural evolution toward a higher type of life than we have hitherto been able to attain. It is good or evil ? That is the question to which everyone would like to have the answer. Only those who lack faith in the purpose of life and the universe could believe that it is altogether evil. Even if the ultimate end is good, there may be evils which will appear in the working out of this new destiny. Human beings are certainly called upon to apply all they know of good in their attempt to give it the proper direction. Intelligent and moral men are now trying to make the United Nations Organization work so that there will not be another great

war.

Intelligent and moral men are trying to devise means and methods so that atomic energy can be used for constructive rather than destructive purposes. It is not hard to believe that more people are fighting injustice and intolerance today than ever before in history—but the forces of injustice and intolerance are still strong. The education of the masses in many parts of the world has made for local progress and decency, but there are still large areas where such education does not exist. The next 25 to 50 years will give us a clearer outline of the shape of things to come. Just now prophecy is a hazardous business. —Journal Gazette. Still Pending - Pauley’s Bill Fantastic as it may seem, the U. S. Senate which forced withdrawal of Edwin W. Pauley’s nomination for the Navy Department is dangerously friendly to the tidelands oil bill which caused Mr. Pauley’s downfall. The oil bill, already passed by the House, would forever renounce claims of the federal government to oil resources off our ocean coasts. A Supreme Court suit has been filed, at the instance of Former Secretary Ickes, to sebure a specific judicial decision on the conflicting claims of the federal and state governments, but the pending bill would destroy the suit by congressional action. It was this legal action which was at issue in the dispute between Patiley and Ickes over campaign contributions. It was the tidelands oil bill in behalf of which Mr. Pauley was accused of improper lobbying. To pass the measure now, the Senate would have to reverse a unanimous vote by which, in 1937, it declared its: judgment that the federal government owned the offshore oil. It would have to embrace the principles and objectives of Pauley after rejecting Pauley himself. The same quality of public opinion which supported the Ickes-Tobey fight on Pauley’s nomination should also serve notice on the Senate that the tidelands bill must be delayed until the Supreme Court has decided the pending lawsuit.—^Chicago Sun.

Reuther’s Rise to Power If anyone imagined that Walter Reuther’s election as United Automobile Workers president meant that he could “run” the union, the delusion was quickly corrected when R. J. Thomas was chosen vice-president over Reuther’s opposition. But the advent of the fiery young progressive to top leadership clearly has great significance. His triumph indicated majority endorsement of his strategy in the General Motors strike. It indicated majority endorsement of his economic ideas—his conviction that unions should not fight on narrow wage issues alone but broaden their outlook to include discussion of prices, profits and production policies. It indicated that the automotive industry’s scarcely veiled bids for his repudiation had backfired. Enlightened businessmen, however, should welcome Reuther’s election. He is a tough fighter, but he is also intelligent and scrupulous. Though he opposes “company security” clauses in contracts, he recognizes the necessity for unions to build their own sense of responsibility. Though he is a leader in the “open the books demand, he understands that, in the long run, both profits and good wages must come from efficient production. He is a new type of labor leader, but still is profoundly in the American tradition. He has before him now a great opportunity.— Chicago Sun.

Stassen Fights To Make GOP Liberal One can only wonder whether Former Gov. Harold E. Stassen of Minnesota will be any more successful than Wendell Willkie was in his attempt to make the Republican Party progressive. Gov. Stassen is right in saying, as he does in an article in the American Magazine, that the GOP achieved its true greatness as a liberal party under Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt. But much water has gone over the dam since then. Today most of the leaders of the Republican Party in and out of Congress have more in common with Mark Hanna, Nelson W. Aldrich, Joseph G. Cannon and Joe Grundy than they have with Honest Abe and Teddy. This fact does not dampen the enthusiasm of Harold Stassen. Here is how he puts it: “Some Republicans think the smart course for the party is to sit back, lay low, let the Democrats make mistakes, until the reigns of Government fall into our laps by default. I oppose this view. “This view Which I share is that the- party must begin to concern itself now, with two main points: “First: What would we be doing if we were now in office? “Second: What can we best contribute to the national welfare as a minority party at the present time ?” Gov. Stassen’s program may appeal to the large number of/rank and file members of the party, but we do not think it will meet with the approval of the leaders, especially those in Congress, for they have long been pursuing a different course. Most politicians never take a definite stand until they are forced to do so any then only with the greatest reluctance. They like to wait for and play what they call the “breaks.” Stassen, who has a military record in the recent war, is expecting considerable backing from Republican veterans. He things they share his liberal views. Whether he is right about that, remains to be seen. As a usual thing, the delegates to a Republican national convention are largely conservatives and j they are the ones who nominate a candidate I for President.—Journal Gazette. o Progress of U. S. Tories Seen— Through Microscope The Tory opposition to Roosevelt used to scream in the middle 1930’s that the Federal Government had no right to save Americans from starving. It was an “intrusion of private rights.” It was “un-American,” it was “demagogy” and “nascent dictatorship.” The Tory viewpoint has^chmiged. The change can be seen—with a high-pow-ered microscope. It is present in the tone the reactionaries use in attacking bills in House and Senate for a boost in minimum wages from the present 40 cents an hour to 65, and 75 by 1950. The Unholy Alliance of Old Guard Republicans and Southern Democrats is arrayed against such an “extravagant” pay rise. But mark this: It does not question Federal RIGHT to prevent starvation by fixing minimum wages for the lowest income groups. No, not any more. It merely says the Government is going too far when it also would prevent hunger. Such is the “progress” our reactionaries make toward the concept that Government really is by and for the people! xxx Opposition to the Unholy Alliance has organized in Congress. In it rests perhaps the highest hopes of true liberalism, the hopes of the common man. The opposition is a union of 39 Democrats and four Republicans who have emerged in the House as nucleus of a bi-partisan liberal committee to fight for the full boost proposed by the minimum wage measures. Chairman Frank E. Hook (D., Mich.), of the two-party committee, predicted “a substantial proportion from both sides of the House” would join them. They are devoted to the proposition that “a decent level pf wages for an ever-increas-ing number of American workers is the only sopnd basis of a health national economy.” xxx In the Senate an amendment has been introduced by reactionary Southern leadership to hold the boost to only 55 cents. No, not starvation—just hunger. Sixty-five cents is little enough. It’s only $26 a week, $1350 for a full year of 52 weeks. Maintenance budgets for families on work relief would be $1700 at today’s prices, it is estimated. The cost of living has kited 40 percent, for the lowest paid, since 1941. According to current budget studies the family with an income of $2,000 a year still “hovers at the door of the loan shark when emergencies arise.” The Unholy Alliance employs a transparent trick to make the proposed boost look tremendous. It asserts, rightly, that the increase is 62 i/i'Percent. That may sound likt a lot. But it won’t impress the grocer the low income groups must deal with. Sixty-two and a half percent of very little added to very little is still not very much.— Philadelphia Record. o More Good Counsel From Baruch With characteristic incisiveness, Bernard M. Baruch struck at the roots of our economic problems in his statement on price control and related subjects before the House Banking and Currency Control Committee. Baruch has the rare ability to analyze a problem and place it in its proper perspective without regard for extraneous matter.

His plea for continuation of price control seems a fair one. He has no fear of raising wages or prices where it is necessary to get or stimulate production, but he made a clear case for continued price control which would allow profit but no profiteering. He emphasized increased production. He would stop increasing the money supply, stop the cry for decreased taxes until a favorable budget balance is in sight and stop “bunking the public” by preaching that wage increases can be granted without increasing prices. Present commodity shortages would be relieved under the Baruch plan by placing all surpluses in military "Rands at the disposal of the general public. His plan also calls for rigid economy in Government costs and an end to blind lending by any agency. He would stimulate and finance small businesses. His labor pjan is drastic. He would outlaw alj strikes and lockouts for a year but include an arrangement guarding against real hardships. Such a law would be certain to meet strenuous opposition, especially from labor, and it is doubtful that it ever will be done, although production goals necessary to a stabilized economy depend on uninterrupted work throughout the nation. Critics of Baruch’s paper plan can say, “It all sounds very well, but how does he propose to make his Utopian scheme work?” Baruch had a general answer for that one. He would establish a High Court of Commerce, a supreme council which has the authority to decide all questions involved. ePrhaps his scheme is to Utopian. Perhaps it is too nebulous in character, but the choice, as Baruch sees it, lies between an orderly scheme has as he suggests and the chaos of fascism or communism. Certainly it would be better to strive for a goal like Baruch’s than to grope blindly along an economic path which leads to God-knows-where. — Journal Gazette.

Here’s Help for the Housing Shortage N" '■ HHh . - i'

Because of a newly developed asphalted-gypsum core, the new water and weather-resistant U.S.G. Sheathing “weathers all weather” — piled unprotected on the job or nailed to the framework. An average small house is sheathed in eight man hours — speeding construction and saving lumber.

CHICAGO, ILL. — A new sheathing with a recently developed asphalted-gypsum, weatherresistant core is one of the new answers to the lumber shortage. Designed to free more lumber for framing and to extend available materials to more new housing units, the new sheathing, produced by the United States Gypsum Company, can be installed on an average small house in eight man hours. Tests under adverse conditions prove the new product materially superior in resisting the damaging effects of weather — piled on the job or nailed to framework. There is also no buckling, no

warping, no opening up of joints when it dries out. After a giant test “weatherometer” shot a driving spray of water against panels of wall sheathings of different types — simulating the equivalent of 5V2 years of average rainfall — the U.S.G. Sheathing showed a water absorption of 3.4% by weight. This was actually only l/12th of the amount absorbed by wood sheathing during the same exposure. Sheathing costs can be cut from % to % because of handling ease. The new sheathing does not need special measuring and sawing — it can be scored and snapped right on the studs.

Are You Registered to Vote? Since the United States has just concluded a long and costly war for the preservation of democracy, it might be assumed that every American citizen would want to vote in the two elections to be held this year in this county and state—the primary on May 7 and the general election on November 5. Many, however, will not go to the polls in either election. For the benefit of those who do want to vote in the primary, we remind them that next Monday is the deadline for registration for the primary. Those who voted in either the primary or general election of 1944 are already registered. But anyone who has moved since the general election two years ago will have to go to the registration office on J the second floor of the courthouse and have his address changed. x Those who' did not vote in 1944 have to register this year, and should take care of the matter at the registration office before next Monday night, if they have not yet done so. "Voters who have reached the age of 21 years since the November election of 1944 have to register this year in order to be eligible to cast a ballot. Anyone who will become 21 on or before November 5 of this year may vote in the primary on May 7, provided he or she is registered. War veterans, particularly, should check with the registration office by telephone or in person to see what their registration status is. The only place where these matters can be taken care of between now and next Monday night is at the office of the registration board. There is no provision for visiting registrars under the law passed by the last session of the State Leisglature. The office will be open Saturday afternoon until 5 o’clock. Those persons who are not sure they are registered should have the records checked before the deadline next Monday night. The candidates to be voted on in the primary include those for township and county offices, the State Legislature and Congress. Nominations for state wide offices and United States Senator will be made at the state conventions of the various political parties. The delegates who make these nominations will be elected at the primary. Persons who do not want to vote in the primary will have another chance to register before the fall election.

Chinese-Russian Cooperation Needed Chungking. — General Chiang Kai-Shex declared today that co-operation between China and Russia is a basic principle of peace in the Far East and the world and pledged China’S faithfulness to the China-Russian treaty. Speaking before the political council, Chiang stressed the importance of good relations with Russia and revealed that he has asked the Soviet to specify specific dates for the evacuation of various points in Manchuria in order to aid in orderly restoration of Chinese rule. He said political differences must not be allowed to rise during the process of taking over Manchuria and that demands raised by various persons and parties must be deferred until Chinese control has been restored. Chiang spoke as Chinese Nationalists and Communist forces raced each other in Manchuria for control of key points.

Extend the Draft Law Due to its failure to face squarely the issues of sound military policy, Congress now has little choice except to extend the wartime Selective Service law, which expires May 15. The extension should be for a full year, and it should be coupled with measures to provide a thorough examination of permanent policy. Twenty-six House members last week sponsored a bipartisan resolution asking immediate investigation of three questions: how large our armed forces must be, what changes are necessary to induce more voluntary enlistments, whether the draft must be continued. In the opinion of this newspaper, it is too late to relate such an inquiry to the law expiring May 15. Voluntary enlistments thus far have not been large enough to keep our forces to minimum adequate strength for American occupation duties, national defense and our responsibilities to the U. N. 0. Extension of the draft for a year would give Congress additional time to study over-all policy without committing us permanently to a peacetime draft which may be unnecessary. Maybe, when the election is out of the way, the legislators will be able to act with greater statesmanship and decisiveness.— Chicago Sun.

scource of future admirals. Grant made his suggestion as the House Military Affairs Committee took up a bill to provide for the training of Navy officers. He contended that Annapolis made too many officers who were trained elsewhere feel as if they “didn’t belong.” Rep. Hugh Delacy,. D., Wash., agreed that Grant’s plan was the most Democratic way of educating Navy officers. But he said one stumbling block might be Congressional reluctance to give up the privilege of appointing members to the Naval Academy. Rear Adm. Felix Johnson, assistant chief of Naval Personnel, said he would be reluctant to giye up “the tried and proven ways of the Naval Academy.” He said he did not think Naval Reserve schools would instill men with the proper Navy traditions. As a compromise, Johnson suggested that Annapolis be kept as an undergraduate school but that both NROTC men and regular officers be sent to the game post-gradiiate school. Chicago Whistle Stop for Sleepers

U. S. Food Costs Will Be Higher Washington, D. C. — Econ - omic Stabilizer Chester Bowles said today that the average family’s food costs would jump $125 a year and that the cost of cotton goods would increase seven per cent if Congress enacts the farm parity amendment to the minimum wage bill. He also said in a ItVer to Sen. Claude Pepper, D., Fla., that farm price increases would lead to new demands for higher wages and impose upon the stabilization program a strain “which it might very well be unable to bear.” The result, he said, would be a price collapse that would “create an agricultural depression which it would take many years to cure” and the overall effect on the nation’s economy would be “disastrous.” Bowles dispatched his letter as the Senate prepared to act on Pepper’s amendment embodying the administration’s official proposal to increase minimum wages from 40 to 65 cents an hour. The Senate l^st Friday passed. 43 to 31, an amendment by Sen. Richard B. Russell, D., Ga., to increase farm prices by requiring farm labor costs to be included in the computation of parity prices. It acted within a half hour after President Truman told the Senate he would be “compelled” to veto any minimum wage bill carrying such an amendment.

- Chicago railroad

the

Buy Victory Bonds

Wants Annapolis A Post-Grad School

Washington. — Representative Robert A. Grant, R., Ind., has started a campaign to convert the Naval Academy at Annapolis into a post-graduate school and make the Navy’s Reserve Officers’ training program the main

Chicago, 111. - world’s greatest

ter, became little more than a whistle stop today for passengers riding on the new coast-to-

coast sleeping cars.

The first through Pullman’s left New York, Washington and Los Angeles yesterday. They will arrive here this morning. Under the new system, in which 10 major railroads are participating, passengers no longer will have to change trains here. Instead, their Pullmans will be shunted from one road to another to complete the cross-country

trip.

Through Pullmans from New York and Washington will arrive this morning on the New York Central’s 20th Century Limited, the Pennsylvania’s Broadway Limited and the Baltimore & Ohio’s Capitol Limited. The Pullmans will be switched to the Santa Fe road and will leave as part of the Santa Fe Chief for Los Angeles this afternoon. On Tuesday the eastbound Chief will arrive from Los Angeles with three “through” Pullmans, which will be shunted to the New York Central to leave as part of the 20th Century after a stop-over of only two hour's. On alternating days the western Pacific & Rio Grande western and the Burlington road will provide east bound coast-to-coast sleeping car service via Sait Lake City, Denver and Chicago. Cars from these roads will be transferred to the New York Central and the Pennsylvania for the rest of the journey.

Miller’s Flower Shop FLOWERS for all OCCASIONS Closed Sundown Friday to sundow/n Saturday. Funeral Work a Specialty RUSSELL MILLER, Prop. 5th and Vine Sts. Phone 828.6

K

JEFFERSON FOOD MARKET

AT JACKSON AND KILGORE

730 W. Jackson St.

Phone 7714

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