Indianapolis Times, Volume 35, Number 83, Indianapolis, Marion County, 17 August 1923 — Page 4

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The Indianapolis Times EARLE E. MARTIN, Editor-In-Chief ROT W. HOWARD. President ALBERT W. BUHKMAN, Editor WM. A. MAYBORN, Bus. Mgr. Member of the Scrlpps-Howard Newspapers • • • Client of the United Press, United News. United Financial and NEA Service anl member of the Scripps Newspaper Alliance. • * * Member of the Audit Bureau of Circulations. Published daily except Sunday by Indianapolis Times Publishing Cos. 25-29 S. Meridian Street. Indianapolis. * * * Subscription Rates: Indianapolis—Ten Cents a Week. Elsewhere—Twelve Cents a Week. * • * PHONE—MAIN 3500.

WHOSE PROPERTY IS CONFISCATED? fTTIAS the public any recourse in the matter of utility rates? This is a question that is demanding an answer. Right now it appears the public is helpless. Attorneys for the utilities h&ve virtually outwitted those who would work for the public good. In the telephone case they have won a complete victory, at for the time being. J s The situation is just this: A utility applies for an increase, if the increase is granted, it is accepted and everything is lovely. The public, through its officials, may appeal to the circuit court, if the officials are so inclined. If the increase is denied, the case is not appealed to the circuit court, as the law contemplates, but is taken to Federal Court. The Federal Court grants the full amount of the increase asked—that is what has happened in the past. What can the public do about the increase? It is not even a party to the case except as it is represented by the public service commission. The case can be appealed to a higher court, but such procedure is almost hopeless and extremely expensive. Utilities have been going into court demanding injunctions against the public service commission, which injunctions would allow the beneficiaries to charge almost what they please. In one case a master in chancery declared a local utility was not even trying to charge enough! These injunctions are obtained on the theory that low rates niean the confiscation of a utility’s property without due process of law. * Now here is a proposition: Why cannot the public plead that in charging more than is necessary for an absolute necessity the utility is confiscating the of consumers ? This idea may be revolutionary, but the idea that a utility can go into Federal Court and obtain injunctions to prevent duly constituted authorities from exercising any control over public necessities also is revolutionary. Revolutionary methods are necessary in some instances. “RUBBER STAMP” POLICIES TyTJHY is a county council? W That is the question that is bothering County Auditor Deo K. Fesler, county and the seven members of the council. . _ - . '• The council claims it was created by the State Legislature in 1899 to safeguard the taxpayers’ money. The commissioners and auditor maintain that its purpose is to appropriate money as needed and demanded. * Then county commissioners spend it, while the auditor keeps the books. t Council and auditor, the latter backed by the commissioners, ai*e in a hopeless deadlock over demands by commissioners for an appropriation of $150,000 to build a colored orphans home. It is badly needed, all agree. The council wants to know details of plans and specifications. ! The commissioners say that is their business. * The council is right in refusing to be a “rubber stamp.”

ON CABOTS, CODS AND BEANS “And this is good old Boston, The home of the bean and the cod. Where the Lowells talk only to Cabots And the Cabots talk only to God." TyrjE wonder if the ancient and illustrious Cabot family, which W sought to prevent Mr. and Mrs. Harry Kabotchnick from aidopting its name in a Philadelphia court, fully considered its legal rights in the matter. Under the copyright laws, perhaps, it would be entirely possible for the Cabots to have the family name copyrighted and thus receive the same measure of protection from infringement tsiat is accorded to movie titles, breakfast foods and hair tonics. Perhaps, too, the method of placing the letters so as to spell the name C-A-B-O-T might even be patented, and in such case they would be secure from imitation for at least seventeen years, with gbod prospects for renewal at the end of that time. Certainly, such a distinguished lawyer as Henry Cabot Lodge ought to know’ about this and we are surprised that he hasn’t been consulted. DODGING PROPERTY TAXES NE hundred thousand automobiles have been withheld from Vy taxation in Indiana, the State board of tax commissioners reports. This is 20 per cent of the cars owned in the State. • That so much property could escape taxation is amazing. It does not speak well for the efficiency of assessing officers. Automobiles should be as hard to sequester as real estate. It is an easy matter to find out who owns an automobile. All of them, presumably, are registered with the Secretary of State. Maybe if assessors would look up these records and those of other sequestered property such high tax rates as are now charged would not be necessary. THE public occasionally gets what it goes after, even in the face of remonstrances. • • * NEITHER the slump in utility rates nor the slump in building has reached Indianapolis. • • * STRESEMANN will not get as much publicity as did Cuno. His name doesn’t fit so well in the headlines. • • • JOHNSON’S course in dark—headline. We didn’t know Hiram ever kept anything dark. • • • SLASH in gasoline prices reaches Eastern States—headline. Maybe they will learn over there that something good can come out of the West. • • • IT’S a pretty mean trick for a man without children of his oyvn to attempt to prevent other people’s children from having decent school buildings. • • • , IT will take the saving on fifteen gallons of gasoline at the new prices to pay the monthly increase on a two-party residence telephone. What’s the use? . . . ; JUDGE PAGE of the Federal Court apparently does not a£ree with who were so sure the public service commission j hiad a right to go into the telephone company 's payments to the American Telephone and Telegraph Company. - •**

MONOPOLY CAUSE OF GAS PRICES Sidelights Show ‘Trust’ Needs Profits for Inflated Stock Dividends. By JOHN CARSON, Times Staff Correspondent jTirZj ASHINGTON, Aug. 17.—Before this gasoline war broke loose ““ in the Middle West, consumers had been paying from 20 cents to 23 cents a gallon for gasoline for almost ten years. The one exception was California where consumers supplied from the local fields were favored by some measure of competition existing there in the oil industry. Why these high gasoline prices, when back in 1913 gasolins was selling at 9 cents a gallon generally throughout the United States and corporations were making wonderful profits at that price? Here are some side lights on the oil industry which Illuminate somewhat the gasoline war and what'is behind it. Capital Stock Inflated Congress investigated gasoline prices through the La Follette committee last session and found that gasoline was selling at 2S cents a gallon Instead of 13 cents solely because the oil trust needed profits to pay dividends upon inflated capita! stock. To get an idea of the meaning of the high gas profits, statistical experts, on the basis of information gathered by the La Follette committee. on the basis of Information gathered by the La Follette committee. estimated the average motor car owner is paying at least SSO a year tribute to the oil trust. Company Is Dissolved What Is this oil trust? Back in 1911, the United States Supreme Court held that the Standard OH Company of New Jersey was a trust and should be dissolved. The Standard Oil of New Jersey was the parent or holding company that controlled all the other Rockefeller companies, and in court it was proven the company manipulated the oil industry to keep down competition and to control prices. As the court ordered, the company was dissolved Subsidiariew Organized

What happened? Immediately various subsidiary Standard OH Companies were organized. There wits the new Standard of New Jersey, the Standard OH of New Voik, the Standard Oil of California, the Standard of Indiana and the Prairie Oil Company, and now there are almost a score of lesser concerns in the Rockefeller oil family. These new oil companies divided up the territory of the United States and then of the world. They divided it both as to buying oil and as to selling gasoline and other oil products. Thus they' wiped out competition among The Supreme Court's order dissolv ing the trust was carried out in the letter, but It meant nothing in the operation of the oil trust. Only $1,379,125 In ( ash Standard Oil Company of New Jersey—Common stock Issued was 498,587,125. Os this, only $1,379,125 was cash invested, $98,000,000 was Issued for property, and the remaining $308,869,700 was excess profits reinvested, or stock dividends. In addition, the company paid average cash dividends over last ten years of 26 per cent. Fifteen officers of this company took $1,070,000 In salaries last year. Indiana Company Standard Oil Company of Indiana— Total common stock was $220,000,000” Os this, only $1,700,000 was cash Invested and $34,300,000 for property. The remaining $184,000,qp0 was from excess profits re-invested, or stock dividends. In addition, the corppany averaged more than 22 per cent In cash dividends over each of years. Twenty six officers took $639,000 in salaries last year. 18 Per Cent Dividends Standard Oil Company of Ohio —■ Common stock issued was $14,000,000. Os this only $3,500,000 was from cash Invested and $10,500,000 from excess profits reinvested, or stock dividends. Company, In addition, paid average cash dividends over last ten years of not less than 18 per cent. Five officers in this company took $79,980 in salaries Inst year. Gulf Oil Corporation, one of Secretary of the Treasury Mellon's financial babies. The total common stock Is $108,000,000. Only $25,000,000 of this was from cash Investment. The remaining $83,000,000 came from excess profits. The Texas Company .Common stock Issued was $164,450,000. Os this only $22,000,000 -was from excess profits reinvested, or stock dividends. Cash invested was $136,850,000 and stock issued for property was $5,600,000. Company averaged cash idvidends in addition of about 10 per cent over last ten years. Falls in Test Diogenes held high his lantern and peered eagerly Into the quiet confident face of the man before him. ‘‘So you’re the honest man.- Well! Shake! And how many miles a gallon do you get on your Ford?” "Thirty!'’ Diogenes passed wearily on. Like all the others, this man had failed in the supremfe test.—Judge. To Read in the Hem House OodHlen: ‘'l’ll give you a piece of good advice.” Young Hen: "What is it?” Old Hen: "An egg a day keeps the butcher away.”—Progressive Grocer.

Heard in Smoking Room

K ANSAS floods had made a shaky track and, as the train was u- .. ! just creeping along, the talk In the Pullman smoker turned on slow trains. "Down In Texas,” said one of the smokers, "Is a regular train on so slow a schedule that even the train men hate It. One day, while both conductor and brakeman were In the smoker listening to the stories, that snail train came to a sudden stop. Out rushed conductor and brakeman. As . the train finally started ahead once more, they came baclf and somebody asked: " Something on the track?’

THE INDIANAPOLIS TIMES

It’s Joseph’s Laugh BY BERTON BRALEY Joseph was a business man whose mind was very keen, And during all the fat years, he figured on the lean; So when the land of Egypt had seven years of drought, Why, Egypt had a lot of grain—and naught to fret about! Joseph was a business man, as Bible study shows, He had the common sense to see a bit beyond his nose; For thousand years ago it was that Joseph lived on earth, Yet, when the years are opulent, WE never plan for dearth. When there are bread lines in the streets, when men are unemployed, We say, “This is a sort of thing we really can’t avoid;” Perhaps we blandly cogitate that “something should be done,” But mostly we are helpless till the I famine's course is run. And when the slump is over and prosperity’s returned. We quite forget the lesson which we Bhould have fully learned; We lay aside our plans to fight the famine that was lurking. For “What’s the use of worrying when everybody's working^ Joseph waR a business man who kept his country fed, Because he used the canny brains he carried in his head; But if the soul of Joseph ever looks down from above us, I don't think we'd be flattered by his frank opinion of us! (Copyright, 1923, NBA Service, Inc.)

QUESTIONS Ask— The Times a'n s w e r s

You can get an answer to any question of tact or information by writing to the Indianapolis Times Washington Bureau, 1322 N. Y. Avenue. Washin*tog, D. C., inclosing 2 cents in stamps. Medical, legal, love and marriage advice cannot be given, nor ran extended research be undertaken, or papers, speeches, etc . be prepared. Unsigned letters cannot be answered, but all letters are confidential, and receive personal replies.—Editor. In case President Coolidge should die in office, who would be President? The presidential succession art of Jan. 19, 1886, provides in case of the removal by death, resignation or Inability of both the President and Vice President of the United States, the Secretary of State shall succeed, if constitutionally iellgible. As Secretary of State Hughes is constitutionally eligible, he would succeed. What is galvanized iron? Iron coated with tin by the galvanic process, and then Immersed in a zinc hath. This term is improperly but almost invariably applied to iron coated with zinc by immersion In a molted hath of that met&i without galvanization. What is the weight of a sol‘dier's equipment? A private of a rifle company, exclusive of clothing worn on the person, carries 48.661 pounds. The total weight. Including clothing, is 71-661 pounds. How can the collection of dust be prevented after the application on an automobile of polishing oil containing paraffin oil or linseed oil? In using either paraffin oil or linseed oil as a constituent of automobile polishes, it Is essential that the surface be rubbed thoroughly dry after the application of the polish, to prevent the collection of dust. A film of linseed oil allowed to remain on any surface will dry after several days, whefeas paraffin oil will nor dry. However, linseed oil dries so slowly that considerable! dust would collect In thq meantime and, after the oil | tified, would be removed with difficulty than dust collected by paraffin oil. i What can I put on cotton cloth to be used in model balloons? Either rubber cement or s solu tion hos • cellulose acetate, commonly known as acetate dope, may be used as a satisfactory airprooflng and waterproofing solution. Family Fun Sister’s Chums Hit "Were you surprised when Fred proposed?” “No. Why should I he?” “Everybody else was.”—Boston Transcript. j The Family Skirts She: "What would you call a man who hid behind a woman’s skirts?” He: “Well—in this day and age— I’d say ‘Magician.’ ” —Orossville Chronicle. Father as Financier "Yes, my daughter’s musical education was a profitable venture.” "Really?” * “Yes, I managed to buy the houses on either side of my own for about half their value. Show. Due for the Cook “Mar*', what a kitchen! Every pot, pan and dish Is soiled; the table looks like the day after a cyclone! What have you been doing?” “Well, ma’am, blessed if It be my fault. The young ladles has Just been showing me how they bile a pertater at their cooking school.” —Pearson’s Weekly.

“ ‘Sheep,’ replied the conductor. “A couple of miles further on. again the train stopped and out again went the train crew. Pretty soon the brakeman came back and, quietly saying ‘Sheep again,’ resumed his seat. But In a- minute In rushed the conductor snorting with rage. Pointing his finger at the brakeman, he roared: " ‘Dam yer hide, Bljl! Didn’t I tell ye back there not to chase them sheep down the right of way? Ye might have guessed we might overtake ’em. Here we’ll be late Into N —and when this here dam train is late, you Ad me Is canned!”

LOCOMOTIVES IN ENGLAND ARE FUNNY Whistles Sound Like Fife, but Railroads Are Efficient, BY JOHN W. RAPER mN ENGLAND: When you see a little yard engine -with only six wheels, tender and all, with hardly a ton of coal in * the ’ tended, you laugh. It’s funny to an American eye. When you see a coal car that will carry only ten tons, or a box car with six tons capacity; or ah oil tank little if any larger than those you see In American streets, you want to lean up against a post and scream. And then along comes a freight train with a locomotive no larger than a motor truck, pulling twelve or fourteen cai-s, and you have another laugh. "Toot,” goes a locomotive whistle. "Toot, toot-toot." Did you hear it? Did the engineer whistle through his fingers? Or did he blow a fife? Some joke, some joke! But just wait until you understand the nature of the service the Scotch and English railways must perform and then—hats off! England has an area of only 50,874 square miles, with a population of more than 35,000,(100. Ohio has an area of 41,040 square miles and a population, 1920 census, of 5,700,000. Congested population causes knotty transportation problems. lour Britisher is a frequent traveler. Railroad time tables are sold by newsboys and street hawkers. The Briton travels short distances. He cannot travel long distances for there are no long distances. He can live In Edinburgh and have his business in Glasgow and commute for less than S2O a month. The longest ride he can take is from London to Glasgow, 401 miles, best time Bti hours. The British railway has been equipped to take care of the short haul, both of passengers and of freight. That accounts for all the differences. All Dolled Up After you recover from your laughter at the size of the British locomotive you are attracted by the way It Is dolled up. On one line the locomotives, boiler and all. and tenders are painted a beautiful blue, with a gay stripe, here and there, a floral decoration and in places a gidy surface of red. The number is raised brass and on a brass plate. A brass plate tells when the locomotive was built or rebuilt and you find a score of locomotives that were rebuilt more than thirty years ego, you have great respect for the builders. The drivers are encased and the metal covers brightly painted. Other lines use other colors, one of the gayest locomotives being painted a light green with many splashes of red. | Some lines name their locomotives.” You’ll find them bearing such names ns Wandering Willie, Highland Mary. Prince Charlie, Madge Wildfire, Anne I.aurie, Flying Dutchman, Flying Scotchman. Princess Pat, Prince Edward and Prince George. NEXT—Passenger cars are very different from ours, and you travel "third class” without worrying your dignity. A Thought Ointment and perfume rejoice the heart: so doth the sweetness of a man's friend by hearty counsel.— Prov. 27.9. • • • F 1- RIE&TISHIP Improves happiness and abates misery, by doubling our joy and dividing cur grief,—Addison.

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Science

Discussion cf Einstein has been re newed by recent attacks on certain points of his general theory by other ! scientists, the latter claiming that nothing new was formulated by Ein- ; stein In such theories as weight of ] light, etc. The contest Is now centered about the principle of gravitation, which according to Einstein, will have to be changed. Newton said that a moving body, acted on by force, moves in a straight line. This was accepted by the scientific world for centuries. It sounded reasonable, but ►as a matter of fact, according to the supporters of Einstein theory, it is not provable because it is impossible to find a planet that is moving in a straight line. The Newtonians answer to this is that they are all acted on by forces. Therefore, all bodies move as though acted on by force and Newton's theory is not subject to experiment. This, say Einstein’s supportj ers, shows that motion in a straight | line is natural only in a space that Is j based upon Euclid and because there : are no movements in a straight line | our space is not Euclidian and the

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The Free-for-All

law of gravity is not at all the law stated by Newton. Overturning the laws of Euclid and Newton is too great an advance to be accepted without opposition, by Science. gToM SIMS I-- - Says ’ Dinosaurs 5,000,000 years old are being dug up in Asia. Don’t worry. None will run for President. • • • Man in Reading. Pa., has five wives, all red heads. Let him meet the Firpo-Dempsey winner. • • • Where’s your wife? Ix>s Angeles woman must pay her husband alimony. Read it to her. • • • Bov of 8 robbed twenty stores in

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Middletown, Conn. Working so hard will stunt his growth. • • • French boy of 5 plays Mozart and Beethoven's stuff. Another result of bad surroundings. • • • Michigan woman offered our government a three-colored cat. Why not? It buys w r hite elaphants. • • • Egyptian farmers hire live scarecrows. Maybe some of our broke farmers can get jobs there. • • • Germany is exporting beer pills. Merely drop one in water. Then you want to fight Germany'. • • • Bunyan s house will be saved. He wrote “Pilgrim's Progress.” Some think him a corn cure. • • Singing frogs are being sold in Tokio. ihe little fellows may sing because they are not lizards.