Muncie Post-Democrat, Muncie, Delaware County, 28 November 1947 — Page 2

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THE POST-DEMOCRAT H Democratic' weexly newspaper representing the V«mocrats of Muncie, Delaware County and the 10th Dongressional District. The only Democratic Newspnper in Delaware CountJ Entered as second class matter January 15, 1921, n 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, November 28, 1947. Marshall’s Aims at London Secretary Marshall will carry with him to London the confidence of the country and the ardent hope of the people that this Conference of Foreign Ministers, which is already being discounted in some quarters, may nevertheless mark further progress toward peace. In his Chicago address, Mr. Marshall displayed the calm dignity, fair-mindedness and Sturdy fesolution which account for the remarkable confidence the people feel in his handling of foreign policy. He was completely persuasive on the need for interim aid to Europe, as well as the need for the long-range recovery program. He piade it clear that his own motives, like those of the great majority of his countrymen, are unimpeachable. His aim and theirs is a peaceful and economically revived Europe; a Europe in which diverse’and independent peoples live their own lives, make their own social and economic decisions without outside dictation from anybody; a Europe which can again take its place as a principal contributor to the peace and prosperity of an integrated world.

A British Atomic Proposal How can the United Nations deadlock on atomic energy be broken? N. F. Mott, chairman of the British Atomic Scientists’ association, has made a proposal to that end which, even though it goes against prevailing American opinion, deserves thoughtful study. Professor Mott’s plan is published in the current issue of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. It is unlikely, according to the British scientist, that Russia and the United States, in the present atmosphere of mutual suspicion, can agree on establishment of an international agency to take over ownership and operation of atomic energy plants. Russia regards the proposed agency as certain to be dominated by countries friendly to the United States. As Mr. Gromyko has said, it would have a majority “on whose benevolent attitude towards the Soviet Union the soviet people cannot count.” Professor Mott points out the American attitude toward the international agency would probably be the same if it were to be composed predominantly of states which ha dvoted consistently with the U. S. S. R. 0 The main objects of the Lilienthal plan were to prevent an atomic armaments race and to prevent a surprise attack with atomic weapons, Professor Mott suggests that these aims might be achieved if scientists from both' Western and Eastern powers were permitted to take part in atomic research in various countries, including America and Russia, and were given access to mines and plants sufficient to insure that no unreasonable stockpiles of atomic materials were being built up. “In this way,” he writes, “America, and for that matter Russia, could have access to information that would show them that no preparations for sudden attack were being made. The resulting lessening of suspicion could be very great. In fact, the degree of security obtained would not be much less than under a full-fledged Lilienthal plan.” —-0 Objections to this proposal are immediately apparent. One is that Russia with its pathological fear of espionage, would- be unlikely to permit inspection of the sort necessary to guarantee full information on the extent of its atomic development. Another is that American experts have made a strongly persuasive case against the efficacy of inspection alone as a guarantee of security. Yet no one can argue that true security is served by the existing situation. Whatever one may think of Prof. Mott’s plan, the quest for some way out of the atomic deadlock must go on.—Chicago Sun.

The Bradley Appointment The appointment of Gen. Omar N. Bradley as Army Chief of Staff is an excellent one. It is hard to see how President Truman could have done better. The public has the utmost confidence in him and so do the ex-soldiers who fought in Europe under his command. Bradley is competent, experienced, conscientious and a great American. The only regrettable thing about his appointment is that the Veterans’ Administration has lost a top-rate administrator. When Gen. Bradley took over as head of the VA, no soldier ever tackled a harder job. Everyone admits that he has been a success in that role. We know nothing of the ability of Gen. Carl R. Gray, who will succeed Gen. Bradley, but we wish him luck in a difficult assignment. A nation is fortunate which can boast of three Chiefs of Staff in a row of the character and caliber of George C. Marshall, Dwight D. Eisenhower and Omar Bradley. Gen. Marshall is now serving with distinction as Secretary of State and Gen, Eisenhower will become president of Columbia University early next year and many people think he may be the next President of ihe United States. The usefulness of all of

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THE POST-DEMOCRAT, MUNCIE, IND., FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 1947

these men to their country in a timp of crisis will long be remembered—with gratitude. At the conclusion of World War II the United States Government let its military establishment decline at a rapid rate. It will now be the task of Gen. Bradley as Chief of Staff to help rebuild it. The Army must not be allowed to decay or to lapse into somnolence. The United States cannot fulfill its commitments without an adequate police arm. Russia respects power and does not regard weakness as a virtue. The Army cannot afford to permit its laboratory experiments to lag behind those of other nations, for it we are ever called upon to defend ourselves, we cannot do it with obsolete weapons. Under Bradley the Army will never be an inplement of aggression, but will be indoctrinated with the highest American ideals. He will follow the same path of dtwotidrt to country and to duty that has characterized his two illustrious predecessors, Marshall and Eisenhower.—Journal Gazette.

Experts See No Immediate War Newsweek magazine, in an attempt to get a cross-section of informed opinion on the situation which exists between the United States and Russia, has polled 16 recognized experts on foreign relations. An overwhelming majority of the experts believe, the magazine says, that the chances for peace are 50-50 or better. None thinks that war is inevitable, but two see only a “slight chance” of war being averted. None thinks that the critica 1 period in the relations between the two powers will be reached within the next yekr. One of the questions asked was: “In the light of current trends, when would you say is the period of greatest danger of war breaking out between the two countries?” Six answered by saying “In one to five years,” and 10 said “More than five years.” One added this comment: “Soviets in my opinion couldn’t fight in less (thaii five years) even if they wanted to—unless in self-defense, and I don’t think we’ll attack 1 them.” Not one of the 16 polled thought that a relaxation of the present U. S. policy of attempting to contain communism would improve relations between the two countries. One of the comments which Newsweeks thought significant enough to publish in' full said: “I believe future Soviet-American relations will be determined in large measure by the success or failure of the Marshall plan. If Western European countries are revived economically, with their democratic parliamentarism and freedom intact, the U. S. S. R. would be compelled gradually to practice greater and wider co-operation with Die West. Internal needs of Eastern satellite countries would intensify this trend. Successful Marshall-plan restoration could impose marked changes in Soviet policies within three or four years . . . and much more tolerable East-West equilibrium might be established by 1952 or ’53.” It is dangerous defeatism to conclude that war with the Soviet Union is inevitable, but few will dispute the statement that never in its history has American diplomacy faced such an acid test as it will face in the next few years.—Journal Gazette.

Austin Retains Faith in U. N. Warren R. Austin, chief American delegate to the United Nations, continues to maintain a staunch faith in that organization. Last week in an interview concerning the work of the General Assembly session, Delegate Austin said: “This has been the most significant meeting since the organization of the United Nations. “All of us regret the dissensions that have been revealed, but concealment of them when they exist accomplishes nothing. “On the other hand, disclosure has been encouraging because in the face of many difficulties, the overwhelming majority of the member nations have demonstrated their determination to seek collective solutions for international problems.” He then went on to summarize several achievements of the Assembly. This question was put to him: “Do you think the present opposition between communism and capitalism poses insurmountable obstacles to mutually beneficial co-operation between the Soviet Union and Western nations?” His reply was: “The crucial issue is not the kind of economic system which prevails in member nations but rather the observance of certain standards of conduct and of ethics in international relations. ' “All of us regret the dissensions that have be(?n revealed, but concealment of them when they exist accomplishes nothing. “On the other hand, disclosure has been encouraging because in the face of many diff ficulties, the overwhelming majority of the member nations have demonstrated their determination to seek collective solutions for international problems.” He then went on to summarize several achievements of the Assembly. This question was put to him: “Do you think the present opposition between communism and capitalism poses insurmountable obstacles to mutually beneficial co-operation between the Soviet Union and Western nations ?” His reply was: “The crucial issue is not the kind of economic system which prevails in member nations but rather the observance of certain standards of conduct and of ethips in international relations. “The United Nations provides the means

of establishing those standards, and of consideping measures for compliance with and extension of them. ' “Given fidelity to the principles of the Charter and a recognition that it is the ‘center for harmonizing the actions of nations,’ mutually beneficial co-operation between all nations and all economic systems can be achieved. “This belief is a foundation stone of the Charter.” There has been so much conflict at the U. N. that it is hard for the layman to see that a modest amount of good is being accomplished there. Bad news seems to travel faster and farther than good. Yet Delegate Austin who has been at the center of activities seems less discouraged than the average citizen. If the United Nations does weather the storm and gain in prestige through the years, much of the credit will be due to the infinite patience and robust faith of Warren R. Austin of Vermont. When others have lost their heads, he has retained his. His speeches, from time to time, have revealed that he has always kept his eyes upon the goal which the Charter of the U. N. was framed to achieve.—Journal Gazette.

Toward Equal Opportunity Over the past three weeks we have had a good deal to say about the report of the President’s Committee on Civil Rights. We have discussed the right* to safety and security of the person; to citizenship and its privileges; to freedom of conscience and expression. To these the committee adds a fourth: The right to equality of opportunity, which it says must be guaranteed to all Americans, regardless of race or creed, if the American heritage is to be fulfilled. Here is where the going gets tough. For while most of us accept the broad generalization that opportunity should be free, in working that out to meet specific situations in employment, housing, education, health and other public services, we run up against a waif of prejudice. . The Sun believes, with the Wilson committee, that this wall must be gradually removed—both by education and by eliminating tfe legal basis of discrimination, step by step. In arriving at this conclusion, the committee seriously considered the defenses usually given for discrimination of one kind or another, and found them wanting. It concluded that prejudice is not abated, but aggravated, where discrimination is practiced. Democracy, said the committee, means “that in going to school, working, participating in the poltical process, serving in the armed forces, enjoying government services in such fields as health and recreation, making use of transportation and other public accommodation facilities, and living in specific communities and neighborhoods, distinctions of race, color and creed have no place.” That is why the committee recommends such measures as state and federal fair employment commissions, to work for equality of economic opportunity; state and federal laws against discrimination in education, health and other public services; the grant of federal funds for such purposes only on condition that discrimination and segregation be abandoned; and the outlawing of restrictive covenants—an issue that is now befor the U. S. Supreme Court. “To Secure These Rights,” as the committee’s report is called, is the book of the year. We recommend it to all Americans who seek the strengthening of our democratic heritage. —Chicago Sun. *

If the People Want Them Republican leaders of Congress, and some commentators, have taken the attitude that President Truman was playing dirty pool when he asked for authority to impose price and wage controls and rationing where needed to prevent further inflation. The President is charged with putting the Republicans on the spot. It is alleged that the abandonment of OPA in 1946 was not the cause of our present inflation, and that imposition of selective controls will not prevent further inflation. Then the. critics go into their old song and dance. Inflation, they tell us, is due to heavy government expenditures and to the creation'of new bank credit, both of which tend to inflate the amount of purchasing power In the hands of the public without creating an equivalent amount of goods for that money to be spent on. Well, everybody knows that the basic cause of inflation is a lot of money Doting around; that when you have the supply of goods struggling to keep pace with the 1 demand, prices go up. But iPdoesn’t follow that nothing can be done about it. In such a situation, prices go up because people are bidding against each other for scarce goods. Essentially, price controls and rationing, are a method by which the people agree that they will not bid ‘ against each Other, but Will place an agreed ceiling on certain prices. Controls, of course, do not always work perfectly. Seine chiselers' refuse to abide by the compact, and the result is a “black market.” But at least the black market under price control is illegal. Because the,great majority of the people are law-abiding, the black market under OPA never was as extensive as it was cracked up to be. Tlie long and short of it is that price controls will work if the people want them to work. During the war most people did want them to. The result was that so long as OPA was in force, powerful inflationary forces were held in check. And when OPA wd,s killed, these forces broke loose, with results that eveiy Housewife knows. As we face the need for heavy exports to

aid Europe, as well as the numerous domestic L PRINCIPLE No 5

inflationary pressures that are still operating, logic and experience tell us that price controls may be needed, and can be extremely helpful,'if we have the moral fortitude to

adopt them.—Chicago Sun.

Shrinking Empire One of the causes of the unstable conditions in the world today is the fact that “power vacuums” have been created by the shrinking of the British Empire. This is made clear in the first of a series of articles in therlew York Times written by Herbert L. Matthews, chief of its London bureau. Matthews paints this picture of the Empire in the Nineteenth Century: “It stood alone, a Colossus, bestriding a world of pygmies. Its Navy ruled the waves of the Seven Seas; its merchant ships were the Carrriers of world trade; the City of Lon-! don was the heart of world finance, pumping I the rich blood of the pound sterling into every J artery in every continent. “Raw materials were sucked in from the i New World and the ancient East to be sent > back as manufactured goods. Surplus pro-j fits were used to develop vast new resources , in foreign lands, thus laying by those re- j serves of foreign investments that saved j Britain in two World Wars. “The vast prairies of the United State and South America provided cheap and plentiful imports of food, while the sweated laboi* of the coal mines at home gave cheap fuel to run a machine-economy Still unique in the world, thanks to the long head start in the Industrial Revolution.” Well, that picture of power arol plenty has faded before our very eyes in our own time. Two great wars and a changing world have caused BVitain to lose her proud position. Cuts have been announced which cripple the Navy. The colonies have become or are becoming independent, self-governing dominions. The Army has had to withdraw' from strategic positions, as it did in Greece. Mr. Matthews continues: “No longer is the City of London the financial heart of the world. Britain is a debtor nation, unable to balance her trade. Sterling has temporarily ceased to be convertible and years must pass before convertibility is fully restored. Overseas investments have been sadly depleted. There is not enough money to pay for necessary imports of good (which is no longer cheap) and raw materials.” Britain is no longer able to police the world, as she once did. This has created the “power vacuums.” Russia, anxious to make the world a Communist world, dominated from Moscow, is taking advantage of the situation. And the United States is worried by the Russian advance.—Journal Gazette. 7 ' ' ' ' ^

To inculcate a sense

of individual obligation to the Community, State, and Nation —From the Preamble to the Constitution of The American Legion

G. 0. P. Tax Program The Republican leaders in Congress should get together and iron out their tax reduction proposals. Congressman Knutson, author of former tax bills, excited the country the other day with his declaration that a. “quickie” would be pushed through Congress, giving tax relief this year. Speaker Joe Martin, who probably wields more political power than Knutson, declares that tax reduction must wait until next year. The taxpayer is as puzzled as treasury officials ,the latter wondering when forms can be printed for making the returns and what rates will apply. Our gueSs is that all the schemes for handing out. a Christmas present to taxpayers come under the heading of political talk.—Decatur Democrat. ; \ News To Us A recent edition of a paper devoted to doings of the auxiliary of a servicemen’s organization, carried, in its “Do You Know” column, the following: “That Governor Gates has. created a war cemetery for World War II dead at the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Home at Lafayette, Ind.?” Frankly, that is news to most of us. We thought quite a number of taxpayers and not a few legislators also had an interest and a part in that project.

Free Enterprise? Health and Welfare Commissioners of New York report “permanent impairment of health” and a “definite increase in the rate of illness in a population weakened by malnutrition” as a result of the family food deficits caused by high prices. Could this be the fruit of the notorious Taft-Wherry price .decontrol, “free enterprise?’?':-:/ _ : , . ' • •'

3,052 B. C. Here We Gome Fiction is stranger than truth! Fiction-writer Clarence Buddington Kelland. ex-press agent for the G.O.P., warns that we would retrogress 5,000 years if the Republicans lose in 1918. 3,052 B. C., here we come! Register and vote!—Angola Heralfl. Indiana cigarette smokers, when the General Assembly passed a three-cenis-a-paok-ago tax, knew they were going to contribute plenty to deficit spending of the Republican administration but even the spenders were not aware of the amount the “take” would reach. The G.O.P. legislators, casting about for a means to take up the slack in fiscal policies, “estimated” the tax would reach ’about .$9,000,000 a year. Their guessing was conservative, to say‘the least. It appears now that the tax will hit $12,000,000 a year because monthly receipts have been running well over $1,000,000 since the “gouge” become effective.

Every program of The American Legion is in support of the idea that we shall depend upon the rule of the ballot rather than that of the bullet. The individual obligation is met year after year by the members oj the Legion Post.

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If we are to build a better Nation we must do it by developing better individuals. This obligation to us of the Legion is an individual matter. We cannot afford to sit back and let George do it. The influence of one life well lived in service to humanity will do more to help others of the community live a better life and will do more to help bring the Kmgdom of Heaven here upon earth than the speeches, laws, and regimentation of all time. If we are to bring about a harmo-

nious balance in our community,, state, and national life we must all develop a harmonious balance in our own lives. Along with our vital World War II activities, the numerous educational, civic, social, and humanitarian phases of Legion activity offer opportunity to all for individual service. Let us all accept this challenge as an indi- s vidual obligation and volunteer our services whenever needed. The individual contribution is all-important.

MAYOR STICKS NECK OUT.

Wabash, Ind.—Mayor Homer T. Showalter has resoived never again to fine anyone * hse aGdss. The mayor claimed a fine of a kiss from a bride and dismissed traffic charges against a wedding party. The resultant publicity brought him a letter from a “lonesome friend” in Indinapolis asking him to get him a wife. o EVEN HOUNDS COST MORE

Fort Wayne, Ind — Humane Officer Wilfred Goss wants everyone to know that he doesn’t want to be hounded for any more hound dogs. Goss says the days are gone when his kennels wei'e filled with “hound dogs.” They’ve

gone up in value the way everything else has and even the mediocre ones are kept securely tethered. OLD FIRE HORSE.

Pauls Valley, Okla.—Jim Stulflebean resigned from the Pauls Valley Fire Department after serving 20 years. When an alarm sounded two days later he was in there pitching. He said he just couldn’t resist helping out. — —o —- RUBBING IT IN Monfort, Wis. — Thieves who robbed the Eastman-Cartwright Lumber Co. safe of $140 rubbed it in. They left a penny in each compartment of the company’s cash drawers.

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