Muncie Post-Democrat, Muncie, Delaware County, 12 May 1950 — Page 2

THE POST-DEMOCRAT, MUNCIE, INDIANA, FRIDAY, MAY 12, 1950.

THE POST-DEMOCRAT \ Democratic weouly newspaper repreaentlng the ,)emocrats of Muncie, Delaware County and the 10th :ongreosional District. The only Democratic News>nper In Delaware County Kntered as second class matter January 15, 1921, -t the Post Office at Muncie. Indiana, under Act of aarch S. 1879. PRICE 5 CENTS—$2.00 A YEAR MRS. GEO. R. DALE, Publisher 916 West Main Street Muncie, Indiana, Friday, May 12, 1950. Hearing On Rent Control Set Senate committee hearings on the extension of rent controls are due to start next week and this will be the beginning of official debate on a very important issue. The Real Estate lobby will be conducting a lavishly-financed, all-out campaign to get rid of rent controls now. Many Republicans in the Congress, already too closely tied to the Real Estate Lobby to have any hopes of regaining lost ground with the voters by voting for extension of controls, wity go along with the Real Estate Lobby. The Real Estate Lobby and the Republicans will ignore the fact that the present law provides for Orderly decontrol of rents in areas where the housing shortage is no longer critical and that the present law also allows landlords to obtain rent increases whenever circumstances justify such increases. They will seek complete end of rent control everywhere, even in areas where such decontrol would work serious hardship on veterans and others who have already suffered hardship from the housing shortage. • It seems to me that Democratic leaders should have the basic facts on this issue in their hands so that they can counteract the Real Estate Lobby-GOP propaganda campaign with facts, so that they can explain the need for rent control to their neighbors and can see to it that grass roots support for orderly removal of rent controls at a time when they will not dislocate our economy is reflected in the votes of the House and Senate. For handy reference, these basic facts are given in question and answer form: Q. Why retain rent controls when all other wartime controls have been removed? A. Housing is today the only one of the three great essentials—food, clothing and shelter—which is still critically short. This is because wc. are still trying to catch up with the tremendous backlog created by: (1) The suspension of home building during the war; (2) An unusually rapid national increase in population; (.3) The rapid increase in population in areas already short of housing. Despite the post-war building race, the construction of new homes has not kept pace with the formation of new families (from 1940 through 1949, the number of new households increased by about 7,700,000, while only 5,800,000 new homes were built.) Rent is not like other essentials. There is, for example, an assortment of food and clothing for a family to find a cheaper place of the same size if their present rent is raised to an exorbitant level. Q. Why should rent control be extended beyond June 30, 1950? A. Congress has followed the principle of extending rent control for a limited period of time, usually a year, even during wartime, so it can examine the need for such controls at regular intervals. The study scheduled to start next week will consider these facts: (1) There is still a shortage of rental housing in large city areas of the country and in many small and medium cities. This is shown in the fact that while every city has had the right to end control since April 1, 1949, only 8 of the 90 cities having a 1940 population of more than 100,000 have exercised the right. Out of 1577 incorporated places having a 1940 population of more than 5,000 which were undr control in 1949, only 151 had voted decontrol by March 7, 1950. The housing shortage also extends to smaller cities. Rent control has been kept on 417 towns under 5,000 population (1940) at the request of local rent advisory boards. (2) Premature decontrol results in soaring rents and greater hardship on renters. In a recent survey of six cities which took themselves out from rent control, the Bureau of Labor Statistics- found that rents had risen as follows: DALLAS—67 percent of all Units free to rise had increases averaging 35.4 percent; HOUSTON—31 percent had increases which averaged 41 percent; TOPEKA—40 percent got increases averaging 30 percent; KNOXVILLE—61 percent had increases averaging 26.8 percent; SALT LAKE CITY—46 percent were increased, the increases averaged 16 percent; JACKSONt VILLE—56 percent were increased an average of 26 percent. (3) Decontrol on a national scale would be disrupting to the national economy. If the 48,000,000 tenants in all areas now under control suddenly got rent increases there would be a sharp cut in their purchase of other necessities, particularly food and clothing. Workers would seek compensating wage increases, thus creating inflationary tendencies. (4) The best decontrol is orderly decontrol. The only way in which rent controls can

safely be removed is by a gradual and orderly process. In the past 11 months over 3 million dwelling units have been decontrolled. At the present record pace of home building, the march of orderly decontrol should move even faster. But each action should be taken as the present law prescribes—“when the demand for rental housing has been reasonably met, in order to avoid the ill effects of disorderly control.” (5) Rent control has support among many groups besides tenants. Church, veterans, consumer, labor and civic organizations and city authorities have urged that rent control be continued beyond June 30, 1950. Farm groups have recognized that premature control would cut sale of farm products to city dwellers. Q. Is rent control preventing construction of new rental units ? A. Congress lifted rent control in July, 1947, on all new dwelling units built after February 1, 1947. Since then, all new construction has been free of rent control. So there can be no truth to the charge that rent control is blocking the construction of new rental dwellings. Has the existence of rent control on older dwelling units retarded new construction? An all-time high of more than 1,000,000 housing starts was set in 1949. This tremendous building boom is taking place while Federal rent control continues in effect. Q. Is the landlord stuck with frozen rents A. Rents are not frozen under rent control. Most landlords have gotten increases —there have been 5,500,000 increases since controls took effect. Half of these have been gotten through 15% rent increase leases in 1947 and 1947 and half by landlords’ applications. Nearly three-fourths of all landlords asking for higher rents are getting increases averaging 20 percent. Rent control now compensates the landlord for any increase in operating cost since the maximum rent date. Rent adjustments are granted for major capital improvements, for increased occupancy, for increased services and equipment, and for inequity. Congress has made special provision to insure that the landlord can now get from rent control anything that he could get in a free market except an exorbitant rent.. Q. Does an owner have the right to choose his tenant under rent control ? . A. Absolutely—he can rent to anyone he chooses so long as he does not ask for or collect more than the legal ceiling rent. Rent control also recognizes the right of the landlord to gain possession of his property. Q. Has rent control driven dwelling units from the rental market? A. There has been a decrease of about 2 million in the number of rental units in recent years, due Iragely to purchase for owner occupancy. But the housing shortage, not rent control, caused this shift from the rental market. Homeless G. L’s could not wait for new houses to be built, so many bought the only available houses—older dwellings that had been rented. There are the facts, without rhetoric or emotional arguments, which show the need for continuing a rent control law which provides for orderly decontrol at the right time. Loyal Employees “Not a single person who has been adjudged to be a Communist or otherwise disloyal remains on the government payroll today. “The able men charged with carrying out the loyalty program know that . . . the job cannot be done by publicly denouncing men as ‘communists’ without having evidence to support such charges, or by blackening the character of persons because their views are different from those of the accuser, or by hurling sensational accusations based on gossip, hearsay, or hunch. They know that no one whose principal concern was the security of this country would try to do it that way . . . “There is a right way and a wrong way to fight Communism. This administration is doing it the right way, the sensible way. Our attack on Communism is embodied in a positive, threefold program: “ONE, we are strengthening our own defenses and aiding free nations in other parts of the world so that we and they can effectively resist Communist aggression. “TWO, we are working to improve our democracy so as to give further proof, both to our own citizens and to people in other parts of the world, that democracy is the best system of government that men have yet devised. “THREE, we are working quietly but effectively, without headlines or hysteria, against Communist subversion in this country wherever it appears, and we are doing this within the framework of the democratic liberties we cherish. “That is the way this administration is fighting communism. That is the way it is going to continue to fight Communism. “Now I am going to tell you how we are not going to fight Communism. We are NOT going to transform our fine F.B.I. into a gestapo-like secret police. * We are NOT going to try to control what our people read and say and think. We are NOT going to turn the United States into a right-wing totalitarian coijntry in order to deal with a left-wing totalitarian threat. “In short, we are not going to end democracy. We are going to keep the Bill of Rights on the bodks, “If we all work together to maintain and strengthen our Democratic ideals, Communism will never be a serious threat to our American way of life. The example we set for free men everywhere will help to roll back the tide of Communist imperialism in other parts of the world.

DUKE NALON IN THE NOVI MOBIL SPECIAL

A torrid battle for the pole position, with the nation’s top drivers setting the fastest speed marks in history, is expected when qualification trials get under way Saturday (May 13) at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in preparation for the 500-mile race on May 30. Additional trials are scheduled on each of the subsequent Saturdays and Sundays prior to the race, with prizes totalling $10,000 at stake during the 10-mile tests, but the driver turning in the fastest time on the first qualifying day also will earn the advantage of starting the $180,000 auto derby from the No. 1 position in the front row. With 17 brand new cars in the field of 68 this year, several “dark horses” are likely to crowd into the spotlight, but most of the “railbirds” at the two-and-a-half-mile oval expect drivers of proven ability to dominate the opening day program. Heading the list of outstanding contenders are the pilots of the two Novi Mobil Specials and the members of the fourear Blue Crown Spark Plug team. •National Champion Johnny Par-

sons in the Wynn Friction Proofing Special and Three-Time-Win-ner Mauri Rose in the Howard Keck Offenhauser are two other favorites. Parsons came within nine-hundredths of a second of duplicating the speed which Duke Nalon displayed while winning the pole position at 132.939 miles an hour in a Novi Special last year and Rose will be striving to regain the coveted post which he last held in 1941. Nalon will be at the wheel of the same car he drove a year ago with Chet Miller in the other Novi, which Rex Mays used to win the No. 2 starting position. The Blue Crown team has the “railbirds” guessing. In recent years owner Lou Moore has made no special effort to place any of his cars in the No. 1 spot. This year he has been reported as saying that all four are capable of qualifying at better than 130 miles an hour and his two new drivers — Tony Bettenhausen and Lee Wallard — are the type who will make an “all-out” effort to win the pole position. Bill Holland, the 1949 winner, and George Connor will drive Moore’a other two cars.

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JOHNNY PARSONS Almost all of the experts are agreqjfl that a speed of more than 126 miles an hour will be necessary in order to win one of the 33 starting positions and the qualifying rfecord of 133.449 may be broken by more than one contender. Tickets for the time trials are priced at $1, including tax, and they may be purchased without delay at the gate. Individual chair seats in the parquet section and reserved bleacher seats for the May 30 classic may be obtained by mail from the Indianapolis Speedway’s downtown ofifice at 729 North Capitol avenue.

Letter To Editor RACKETEERS IN MEDICINE^ We observe that a county med"ical organization recently hired space in a local paper warning the people of the great dangers of socialized medicine. In other words, these doctors are going into politics. They do not want you and I to vote for a party that takes a stand against the present failure and abuse of our medical system. The average doctor and surgeon has a very high rank among our citizens. There is no class that benefits the community more. The well educated doctor is almost the only scientist that is in close touch with the great mass of the people. The right kind of a doctor dhesn’t practice the healing art for money alpne; he gets a kick out of his work because he can relieve human suffering. Unfortunately there are rackets and racketeers in the profession. This writer was charged $5 recently for a shot of penecillin. This shot may be purchased in any good drug store for less than 50 cents which includes a smear of antiseptic. In addition to the $5 the doctor got $3 for making the call and 50 cents for a few pink pills. There is no wonder that people, even the well-to-do will doctor themselves for some time before calling in the physician. Two doctors or rather a doctor and a surgeon along with a lady

as stenographer and bookkeeper makes a clinic which is usually located near a hospital. The two doctors have comparatively a low overhead expense. They do not carry a stock of medicines, they hire no nurses, they have no laboratories, no blood counts, no urinal analysis. The hospital supplies all these things and the cost is put on the hospital bill. The doctor doesn’t need an x-ray machine. If he needs an additional doctor to assist in anyway there is the interne who costs him nothing. Now in addition to the high cost for the operation he charges $3 per day for a call on the patient at the hospital. This $3 per day is just about pure grgvy. From evperience we note that this call lasts about two minutes. If the nurse says the patient is doing well, that ends the call and he doesn’t pay the nurse anything. We were in a hospital 22 dayk and on two of these days when we were anxious to talk with the doctor, he didn’t even come into the room, 'During those 22 days this writer told the nurse repeatedly of one of his distressing symptoms; she made a 'note of it and that is all there was to it. As a result we had to undergo some suffering and treatment after leaving the hospital. After leaving the hospital we made a final call at the clinic. The doctor became angry because we. didn’t express great satisfaction for what he had done for us. If we had extolled him to the

high heavens he would most likely added another $50 to the charge for the operation. In this case there was a 35 minute operation and another one that the doctor said “didn’t amount to anything”; the charge for both was $300. There is another angle to the case. There is a shortage of doctors. For parents to educate a child for the profession is so expensive that only the children of likely last 8 years), nearly all doctors. No chance herb for people of limited means. If we engage in another world war which will likely last 8 years, nearly all dotors will be needed to look after our soldiers. The healing art is so important that it is beyond the the bounds of private enterprise. Our national government should see to it that we have enough highly skilled professionals to serve the people. If we write to the heads of medical organizations, the letters of reply will have something to say about “liberty” and “bureaucrats.” That is about all. We are likely soon to have enough unemployment to supply bureaucrats by the hundred thousands. Signed U. W. M. Salesmansmp MEMPHIS, Tenn. )—A used car dealer attracted shoppers when he changed the prices on his lot of vehicles. Instead of the usual windshield prices of $600. $900, etc., prices were quoted at 39 cents per pound, 69 cents per pound and 87 cents per pound.

R HDm€ TO LIV€ 10

Design B-165. This four room house has two bedrooms and bath in the rear, and living room and combination dinette and kitchen across the front. There is an attached garage and a full basement, except under garage. Kitchen cabinets are placed along the end 1 and inside walls. The sink is under the windows, the refrigerator next to the entry and the range on the inside wall. This leaves ample space for kitchen dining. Closet space is well provided for in twin wardrobes in he large bedroom, a wardrobe and walk-in closet in small bedroom, linen in hall and bath, and closets at entrances. Frame construction is used throughout with asphalt shingles, wide siding, concrete steps, iron railing and flower box. Without the garage, the dimensions are 36 feet by 28 feet. The floor area is 1008 sq. ft. and cubage is 20,160 cu. ft.

Fixed Neutrality Policy 01 Sweden In Two Wars Analyzed

LONDON. — In both world wars Sweden, alone among the Scandinavian countries and dangerously near to the theaters of war, was able t maintain her neutrality and to escape major injury. More recently 'she has decided to resist invitations from the western powers to align herself with their policy and join the North Atlantic defense pact. An explanation of the roots of this policy has been provided in a comprehensive and profound study by one of Sweden’s leading experts on foreign policy, Herbert Tingsten, editor of the well known newspaper Dagens Nyheter of Stockholm. The book, published by the Oxford University Press under the title “The Debate on the Foreign Policy of Sweden,” provides a thorough analysis of Sweden’s foreign policy and of international problems in general which took place in Swedish public life between the two world wars. Second Volume Coming A later volume is to give an account of the discussion on Swedish foreign policy during World War II. During World War I, Swedish public opinion was, according to Tingsten, sharply divided; there were different interpretations’ of the meaning of war and different hopes as to its outcome. But then, as again in the last wqr, “the strongest sympathies could be expressed for one or the other of the belligerent groups without any question being raised of entering the war on that side.” In between the two wars, Sweden’s attitude toward foreign policy was, in Tingsten’s analysis, determined by two basic factors: Firstly—the complete absence of national aspirations which could have given rise to an aggressive foreign policy or led to the conclusion of “profitable alliances.” Secondly, relaxation of internal tension in Sweden, which made her unwilling to take sides in ideological question relating to other countries. i Tingsten underlines that the preservation of “the status quo for Sweden and of peace for the world” became the obvious aim of Swedish foreign policy in the in-ter-war period. But this belief was based on the assumption that the preservation of peace would only be possbile with the aid of international order built on the principles of justice and organization. Tingsten pointed out that no other problem of Sweden’s foreign policy has ever been so fully and thoroughly discussed as her entry —against strong opposition—into the League of Nations. Once the decision was taken, Sweden considered it her duty to work within the League for the inclusion of states who by then had not yet joined, for more satisfactory arrangements for representation of smaller states on the League’s council, and for the establishment at the earliest moment, of the Permanent Court of International Justice. Dealing with the period preceding World War II, Tingsten emphasized that already in the late spring of 1938 the policy of neutrality was accepted in Sweden to the extent “that all the main parties were agreed that Sweden should endeavor in all circumstances to remain outside a war between the great powers.” Dagens Nyheter, in an editorial wrote that it was not Sweden’s

-task nor Scandinavia’s in general “to take part in the battle of power politics with war as the ultimate weapon .. .our great dream of the future is that Sweden and Scandinavia should give concrete proof in this confused age of the fine practical result to be obtained by way of democratic collaboration.” Tingsten, summing up the arguments advanced in Sweden in public discussion and press in favor of neutrality prior to World War II writes; “In the debate about Swedish neutrality before the second world war, considerations of' Sweden’s own interests were certainly in the foregound, but the idealistic reason in favor of the attitude adpoted also carried considerable weight. Sweden was to be an island of peace, in which the universal human values, which were sullied by war even among those fighting for the right, would be preserved intact.” “It was a case of Sweden’s interest and the world’s, not of Sweden’s against the world’s.” Tingsten concludes that the Swedish people are neither more inclined by nature or circumstances to sacrifice their own interests for the preservation of peace than are other nations at the same level of culture—“but Sweden has for obvious reasons had nothing to gain by a change in the status quo and has had neither the incentive nor the opportunity to conduct an expansionist policy.” He points out that theme in Swedish foreign policy has been “justice.” The 300-page study deals at length with Sweden’s relations with the League of Nations and the attempts to establish political and military co-operation among the Scandinavian countries. It also deals with two specific Swedish moves during the period 19181939: the attempts, through the League of Nations, to secure the return of the Aldand Islands to Sweden in 1918-1921, and the proposal for the joint Swedish-Fin-nish defense of Aaland in 1938aq; aoead xuojj jaede 1939. For Beauty Brush The Skin Unless your skin is extremely sensitive, it can stand one thorough washing with soap and water every day, plus several cool water rinsings^ Washing with mild soap and soft water is essential for thoroughly removing all traces of cosmetics. Washing removes dirt,)q.f course, but it also takes away surface oil. For a complete cleansing of your pores, therefore, try a complexion! brush. It will, in addition to getting your face clean, help tone your skin by stimulating a flow of blood to the surface. It isn’t necessary to wield the brush with a heavy motion. A gentle but firm rotary motion will get results. Concentrate on the areas where fat glands are most active, particularly the area around the nose and chin. Make a mask of the soap lather and let it stay on your face for a few minutes. Rinse thoroughly with warm water and finish, off with a cold water rinse. Be sure you choose a mild soap which lathers well, such as a cold cream soap. And, if the water in your area is hard, soften it by adding one teaspoon of cooking soda , and one teaspoon of borax to a basin of water.

AUY ' / m Issued by CHICAGO MOTOR CLUB m

Forty-nine different kinds of fun can be had in playgrounds, empty lots and fields where there are no cars. Very little fun can be had playing in the street, and even that can be destroyed if an accident happens. This poster is one of the series of winners in the Fifth National Safety Poster Contest. It is distributed by the Chicago Motor Club to 44,000 classrooms in its Illinois and Indiana territory.