Indianapolis Times, Volume 35, Number 93, Indianapolis, Marion County, 29 August 1923 — Page 4

4

The Indianapolis Times EARLE E. MARTIN. Editor-In-Chief ROT W. HOWARD. President ALBERT W. BUHRMAN, Editor WM. A. MAYBORN, Bus. Mgr. Member of the Seripps-Howard Newspapers • • • Client of the United Press, United News. United Financial and NBA Service and member of the Scripps Newspaper Alliance. * * * Member of the Audit Bureau of Circulations. Published dailv 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.

COAL CONSUMER’S DOLLAR "TIFTER months of work the United States coal commission, A employing a small army of accountants, economists and experts, has worked out the tangled mess of the anthracite coal situation so that it is possible for the ordinary hquseholder to get a fair idea of what becomes of the dollar that he pays for anthracite coal. In the ten years 1913-23 the anthracite region has not only passed through the dislocations caused by the World War, hut it has been the scene of repeated conflicts between the mine owners and the miners. During that time the cost of anthracite coal to the householding consumer has been rather more than doubled. The general impression is that the increased price which the consumer pays is all to be charged to the increased wages which the minter is getting, but the coal commission's figures do not bear this out. The money that the consumer pays for his coal goes bark to six general divisions: 1. The consumer pays the miner. 2. He pays for the supplies and material used in the operation of mining. 3. He pays the general expense of the mining operation, including depletion of the mines and royalties paid to the owners of the land. 4. He pays a margin to the operators or mine owners, out of which they in turn pay their taxes and their dividends. These four items taken together make up the cost of the coal on board the railroad cars at the mouth of the mine. Then begins the cost of distributing the coal so that the fifth item which the consumer pays is freight and the sixth and last is the margin paid the dealers. That includes payment for the service and also the profits of jobbers, wholesalers and retailers. The first four items are the same no matter to what city the coal is shipped. The freight item is variable and differs very greatly as between one city and another. The cost of distribution is also variable, because different wholesalers and retailers are able or willing to take a greater or less profit per ton and because the cost of trucking coal and delivering it is greater or less in different cities. The commission has worked these figures out for various cities, but Washington may be taken as fairly representing the way that the consumer’s dollar is split up, and in order to give that information to the reader there is reproduced below from the commission’s figures a condensed picture of the transaction.

$3.97 M 1 oers ’ / 2.5.6% \ \ Freight to / Margin Os / , Washington / Wholesale And \/>\ /Retail Dealers / '/ XcK / /cnv VV / ' 35.3%

It is only fair to say that the figure which is given as “price at the mine” includes all the various sizes and sorts of coal that come from the mine and which are sold at various prices, while the retail price as given is the price paid by the consumer for domestic coal, which is the highest priced coal. The figures which are given as of 1923 are for the three months, Januarv-March of this year. March 31 the commission’s accounting was finished. The figures seem to show that, every time the miners’ wages have been increased the operators have increased their selling cost at the mine considerably more per ton than the wage increase amounted to. The figures also seem to show that whenever the cost of the coal at the mine or the freight rate was increased the wholesalers and retailers increased the selling price to the consumer more than the increase in the cost to themselves. Thus comparing 1913 with 1923 when the miners’ wages were advanced during the ten years $2.35 a ton, the operators’ selling price at the mine was increased $4.05. And when in the course of the ten years the prices of coal at the mine was increased this $4 .05 and the freight rate to Washington was increased $1.14 a ton, a total of $5.19, the wholesalers and retailers added $2.70 on their own account, making the total increase to the consumer of $7.89 over the 1913 retail price. Stated in another way, during the ten years of struggle the miners have received an increase of $2.35 a ton for mining coal; while the operators for themselves and for their general expense and supplies, and the railroad companies for freight, and the wholesale and retail dealers for their services, have collected $5.54 more per ton. The consumer has had his price jumped from $7.50 to $15.39, or $7.89 per ton. Here is the table from the coal commission’s figures: Per Cent 1913. 1923. Increase. Increase. Labor $1.62 $3.97 $2.35 145% Supplies 36 .72 .37 106% General Expense 33 .93 .60 182% $2.30 $6.62 $3.32 144% Operator’s Margin 33 . $1.06 .73 221% Price at Mine $2.63 $6.68 $4.05 154% Freight to Washington 2.14 3.28 1.14 47% Wholesale and Retail Dealers 2.73 5.43 2.70 99% Retail Price $7.50 $15.39 $7.89 105% THE Kansas wheat growers do not want prices fixed. All they ask is a chance to fix the fellows who fixed tha situation as it is. \

CONTEMPT ODDITY IN PRINCETON Charles Neimeier, All-Around Official, Chief Actor in Case, Bu Times Spechl This is a tale of contempt of court —at least, that's what it Is called by Charles A. Neimeier. who Is njayor, police judge, detective and grocer In this town. Mayor Neimeier sat on a counter In his grocery with his hands In his pockets and his pockets In his pants and told most of it. The rest Is yet to be told in the Circuit Court, to which an appeal has been taken. Briefly, here's the thread of the little tragedy, or comedy, for you may call it either, as you like: Mayor Neimeier sentenced William Christian to sixty days on a minor charge anil later paroled him to visit h:s sick family. Now He’s .Judge Parole ended, Christian failed to return and Mayor Neimeier —no. we mean Judge Neimeier —got all ”het up” about It. Judge Neimeier —no. we mean Policeman Neimeier —declared the dignity of his court had been outraged, so he descended from the bench and started out persinally to bring Christian back. Policeman Neimeier —no, we mean Detective Neimeier —traveled far and yon in his search, spent $49.30 of his own money but returned emptyhanded. Suddenly, Christian went back to prison on his own accord to finish serving his term. And Now He's Mayor Detective Neimeier —no, we mean Mayor Neimeier —heard of Christian’s return, determined to collect Ills $49.30 and sent Police Chief Fettinger to get him. Mayor Neimeier —no. we mean Judge Neimeier —arraigned Christian before him on a charge of contempt of court and threatened to send him back to prison for a longer term unless he paid the expense money which had then grown from $49.30 to $07.50. Christian paid It. Christian felt he had been “gyped" and he hired A ttorney Oscar Lanphar to file suit for the recovery of the money. So Judge Neimeier was sued. Now Prosecutor Defendant Neimeier —no. we mean Prosecutor Neimeier —cited Attorney Lanphar for ‘‘contempt of court" because Lanphar. by filing such a suit, had “grossly offended the dignity of the court.” Prosecutor Neimeier —no. we mean Judge Neimeier —immediatly hung a fine of $59 on Attorney Lanphar and further declared that if the complaint were not withdrawn he could consider Lanphar "In continuous contempt of court.” Lanphar. of course, appealed and now Its up to the Circuit Court of Gibson County to decide If ah attempt to collect money from an individual constitutes contempt of court, especially in view of the fact that Christian’s case in Judge Neimeier’s court had been ended before the collection suit was filed. "The suit has nothing to do with Neimeier's court,” Attorney Lanphar declared. “It is a personal affair be tween Neimeier and Christian involving a business matter of $67.50. We’ll fight It to the last ditch.” But Judge Neimeier —no. we mean Grocer Neimeier —sits on a cracker box in his store with his hands in his pockets and his pockets in his pants and vows that he is going to uphold the dignity of the judiciary. "I,” he says, "not any lawyer, nor anyone else, hut I, Charles A. Neirr.eler, am the one to judge when a person is in contempt of my court.”

Science

Mechanical scientists are greatly Interested In the new turbine engine locomotive which the Swedish inventor, LJungstrom. has built. In applying the principles of the well known steamship engineer, he has completely enclosed the working parts of the locomotive and uses the hot draft and forced lubrication of the machinery. Hauling the same trains in competition with the best standard locomotives of today, he cut the fuel bill exactly in half. This is a brilliant success so far as it goes, but the original cost of building his locomotive is at least three times that of a first class American locomotive. Observations It is suggested the pedestrians will be against Henry Ford for President, but that need not scare him. There are not enough of them left to make a party. And they wouldn’t stand together, anyhow, they’re so used to jumping and running. Doc Cook has been Indicted for misusing the mails and he didn’t discover that Idea, either. The three-mile limit used to be a common shot from shore, but It isn’t that kind of a shot any more. Five more U. 8. senators have gone to Europe in search c* Inside information. At River Rouge, Detroit suburb, they make auto speeders work on the streets in prisoner garb. Ought to let the road-roller run over them at least once a day, too. That coal discussion generates a lot of heat that is no good at all to the average household.

Heard in Smoking Room

Suddenly as the train rounded a curve between Los Angeles and San Diego, the heaving ocean burst into vlrv. simultaneoously with a lot of ‘‘Oh's!” from passengers who had never seen it before. "Reminds me of a story a traveling salesman told just before we reached Denver,” said one of the circle at the smoking room windows. “A colored boy who had never seen

THE ii\ i>-Lxk^. Ax TIMES

(gOM SIMS I | Says IFE In Flint, Mich., claims hubby tried to drown his i___J troubles by pushing her off a bridge. • • • In spite of revenue agents a man back up in the mountains of Tennessee is 106 years old. * * * When the two New Orleans women with eighteen kids each go to a movie, people think it is a picnic. ♦ * * Tornadoes passed through two sections of Kansas. Either that or a couple of wheat farmers got mad. • * • Birmingham (Ala.) filling station employe got arrested for robbing people while off duty. • • • Man who umpired a ball game in Three Rivers, Mich., escaped. • • • Swiss rifle team is coming over. It is not true they learned while shooting holes in cheese. • • • Bobby Hartman, a 12-year-old St. Louis golfer, made a hole in one. His father will recover. • • • Presidential possibilities had better make all the noise they can before the world series. • • • Keep away from Deauville. French bather wears a transparent suit. • * * Postmaster of Forest City, lamade a golf hole in one. That may be why the mail is late. • • • While a wild man was shooting up Braceville, 111., several thought It a presidential boom. • • • Three dams broke near Massillon, Ohio. Just below them was as wet as New York, almost. • * • Helen Martin of Philadelphia solves prize puzzles. Give her a place in Coolidge s Cabinet. Indiana Sunshine Evidently youth only has those qualities of good nature necessary to withstand the stormy protests of a disgusted telephon patron. Max Hosea, 19. as manager of the Morgantown Telephone Company, manages to keep 400 patrons in a good humor. Author ties at Union City have started a war on idle gossip. No longer is it to be the favorite indoor sport, they declare. Sam Loron was the flrs-t to find this out when he was fined $33.45 for choosing the prosecutor as the subject of & slanderous tirade. Emulating the family’s two sons, the "Brill brothers," aviators, potato vines on the farm of Mr. and Mrs. Walter E. Brill, Wawaka, are now five feet ten inches tall and the still climbing to a higher altitude. Carl F, Rastetter jumped from the frying pan Into the fire. Ho stopped his car in front of headquarters to report, an accident, In which he h&d figured, to the police. But he parked the machine in the wrong place and the judge fined him $1 and costs.

Family Fun >

His Own Medicine Al Jennings, reformed bandit, sought the police, thus reversing earlier precedent. He had lost $l5O at the hands of a thief. Jennings’ great reputation of a former day for nerve and a quick draw does not intimidate those who in this modern day still seek other folks' money. A few months ago Jennings actually was "stuck up" on a New York street, a dark street. “You shouldn’t," remonstrated Jennings. seeking to cultivate a spirit of fraternity. "I’m Al Jennings of Oklahoma." “I’m Woodrow Wilson.” answered the robber. “A little higher, please.” —Kansas City Star. Dad, When He Popped "The first man who proposed to me said that If I refused him he would blow his brains out.” "Gracious! Ho must have been crazy. Why didn’t you have him put under restraint?" "I did. I married him.”—Boston Transcript. Too lively for Sonny "Mother,” after working desperately with his fork and a dish of jelly with the whipped cream eaten off of It, "It’s no use: I simply can’t eat this nervous stuff.”—Judge. 4Miere Father Failed "What are you studying now?” "We have taken up molecules,” answered son. “I hope you will be very attentive and practice constantly,” said mother. “I tried to get your father to wear one, but he could not. keep It In his eye." —Columbia Jester. One for the Minister Minister’s wife: "Wake up! There are burglars In the house. John." Minister: “Well, what of It? Let them find out their mistake themselves.”—Woman’s Journal. A Thought It ts naught, it Is naught, saith the buyer; but when he is gone his way, he boasteth,—Prov. 20:14. mWILL give thried * • * to any well-deserving friend; hut In the way of a bargain, mark me, I will cavil on the ninth part of a hair.—Shakespeare.

the ocean was stowed away on a liner. Three days out, his friend brought him up from below deck. With a look of terror at what he saw about him, the stowaway started down again. “ ‘My Gawd! What’s that?’ he asked his friend,” ” ‘The ocean.’ ” “ ‘The ocean! Well, It’s the only thing I ever saw that there was enough of iti* **

LAWYERS IN LONDON ARE NOT TAXED They Own Temple Inn and Do Things a$ They Please, _ By JOHN W. RAPER mN LONDON: Great. Britain's most powerful Tmion is the one organized by the lawyers several centuries ago. Os course, it isn't called a union, but that is what It Is. The lawyers call it an Inn and use a capital “I” to distinguish it from an inn that is a tavern. There are four Inns in London. The lawyers conduct the education of law students and have power to admit them to practice. The Inns are housed on tracts of land that cover what would be several blocks of an American city and which Include educational buildings, a dining hall, a church and many buildings In which the lawyers have their offices and often their living quarters. Not all the quarters of some of the Inns are used by lawyers so the thrifty boys lease them to desirable outsiders. The lawyers themselves regulate the conduct of their profession and in seme cases name the fees. Pay No Taxes The Temple Inn has the most valuable tract of ground of any of the Inns. It is in the heart, of the ancient city and is a tract known as a "Liberty.” being entirely Independent of the city and county government and of taxing authorities. Originally it was an independent city owned" by the Knights" Templars but some king became peeved at the knights and gave it to the hospitallers. In an unguarded moment the hospitallers leased it to the lawyers and now the lawyers own it. Various historians have tried to find out what kind of a game the lawyers worked, hut have never been able to trace It. They have learned, however, that one of the Henrys gave a great j dinner one time and that the lawyers sent to the banquet a gold cup filled

with gold coins. It’s Private Property The lawyers permit the public to use thejr thorofares, hut signs everywhere inform you that you are on private property and have no rights of any kind. You can’t obtain admission to their church without a letter from a member. Through some kink in the law, if a taxing official can obtain admission to the Inn on Ascension Day and serve a notice, the property can be taxed, so on Ascension Day the agfes are locked and nobody is admitted except members of the union and persons known to be "all right. Everybody in England is polite. Londoners so. No man leaves your presence without saying “Good morning." "Good afternoon or "Good evening." Half the time somebody is saying "I’m sorry,” waiters and others serving the public saying "I'm so sorry." Veterans Sell Matche* There are many reminders of the war. sad to look upon. They are the hungry veterans, selling matches, grinding an organ, playing a horn, or singing. I listened to a brass band in the Strand the other day. The eight musicians sat on light stools upon the sidewalk and played, not at all poorly. Each man wore some kind of a decoration, several of them had two. Upon the bass drum, drawn with pencil of crayon In crude letters, were the words. “Ex-Service Men’s Band, the Pride of London." As the men played two crippled soldiers passed through the audience and approached spectators, holding out a hat and jingling the coins that were In it.

Mother Convicted of beating his nged mother and throwing her out into the street, a young man in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., is sentenced by the Judge never to see her again. Ills mother, of course, will soon forgive him—probably already has. Mother love Is more than an emotion. It la a definite force, like gravity or magnetism. A great many of the things we call emotionfi are natural forces, too powerful to be controlled by the individual. In their clutches, we get our great Inspirations or make our big blunders. Man Is a violin played by the bow. nature, producer of more discord than harmony. Chance Scientific magazines tell how J. D. Dunlop invented the pneumatic rubber tire. Tils little child, riding In a baby carriage, objected to the bumps of ordinary wheels. So he took the rubber tubes, filled them with water and fastened them to the wheels. Later he got the Idea of filling the tubes with air instead of water. From this came the pneumatic tire used on autos and bicycles. Big services to humanity usually result from attempts to make life happier for a near relative or friend of the 1 nventor. LoVe—service—is the mother of more inventions than necessity or lazlnee^. Shakes A convention of postage stamp collectors recently canceled an engagement t > shake hands with President Coolldgo. It’s part cf the campaign to relieve the president of this form of physical exhaustion. An average of 1.200 people a day show up at the White House to clasp mitts with the chief executive. . The League Against Hand Shaking claims that the complete elimination of handshaking would do a lot to curb communicable diseases. They are right. After all, shaking hands is as foolish a custom as oriental bumping of foreheads or rubbing of noses. Dollar Wages now buy more than they did during the boom of 1920, claims National Industrial Conference Board. Fewer dollars In the pay envelope, but a dollar buys more. Many will challenge the statement. However, It’s true that our dollar Is an Inconstant value. Maybe we need anew standard of value nearly as much as Germany and Russia. The “elastic dollar” Is not all that It’s cracked up to be.—

QUEST I O N S Ask —The Times ANSWERS

You can get an answer to any ques- , tion ot tact or information by writing to the Indianapolis Times Washington Bureau. 1322 N. Y. Avenue Washington. D C.. lnclosinsr 2 cents in siamps. Medical, legal, love and marriage advice cannot be given, nor can extended research be undertaken, or papers speeches, etc., be prepared. Unsigned letters cannot be answered, but ail letters are confidential, and men. u . soaal replies.—Editor. What was McKinley’s religion? i He wiis a Methodist. What,is th" quotation above the statue of Science in the Library of Congress reading room? "The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmaments showeth his handiwork." Psalrns XIX, 1. How many papers do each of tho leading denominations publish in the United Star.es? Jewish 94 Catholic 139 Baptist 69 Methodist 64 Episcopalian .... 20 Presbyterian .... 2S Wnen and by whom was a trip made around the world in a small boat? Capt. Joshua Slocum made his famous voyage around the world in the Spray, leaving in April, 1895, returning June 5, 1898. This included many side trips. The boat was 30 feet 9 inches long. 14 feet 2 inches wide, 4 feet 2 inches deep; tonnage, 9 tons net. and 12.71 tons gross. The cost, j plus Ills own labors/, was $553.62. I Is the chronology which gives the present year as 1921 correct, | or are we really living In 1926. | A. D.? The year 4 B. C. is now believed to | be the probably true date of the birth of Jesus of Nazareth. If this is so. the present year is 1925 years after tho birth. However, it is impossible to fix the actual date of the birth of Christ. How soon should one call after dining at a friend's home. A dinner call should be paid within two weeks after the dinner, never later than this. Is there a chemical that can be added to the soil of potted plants, which will turn a white blossom pink without injury to tho plant? If so, what the directions for using. The Bureau of Plant Industry says that to their knowledge there Is no process by which this can be accomplished. The only method of dyeing flowers is that used for carnations and other cut flowers. The stem of the flower is placed in the dye and it gradually works up to the bloom. Is there a record of a ship "Marie Celese” found sailing, on the high sea, no sign of a crew and no report of whatever became of the crew? Yes. This- brig left America for Gibraltar and was not heard of until sighted approaching the Straits. She proved to be a derelict, but was in good condition, no sign of an accident, and her boats in their appointed places. Some remains of a meal on the cabin table were still fresh; a watch was ticking, but officers and crew had disappeared and have never been heard from. Who was the author of "Whom the gods destroy they first make mad”? This is an old proverb. It appears to have been founded on lines taken from Joshua Barnes' translation of the Greek play, “Eurpides:” “Whom God would ruin he first deprives of a reason.” How are artificial diamonds mad?” The method employed in making artificial diamonds is heating pure prepared carbon in an electric furnace. By sudden cooling of the molten iron the surface contracts and exerts a powerful pressure upon the Interior. When cold, the Iron Is dissolved, and small black particles remain, which exhibit the properties of diamonds. What is the oldest cemetery in the United States? The old cemetery around the ruins of a church which la all that remains of tho settlement of Jamestown, Va. ■

Almost On the Rocks

The Bad Boy By BERTOX BRALEY There’s a light in the window for me, But I ain't so strong for it. Gee! I’m 'sposed to show up about eight, Tonight I am awfully late, I’ve stayed out till way after nine And when I get home I’ll get mine! I know it because I can see A light in the window for me. My Ma will be wondering where Her wandering boy is tonight; And I'll be in trouble for fair The minute I come into sight. I wisht I’d gone home when I should. I’m s ared as a feller can be, I know I’ll be getting it good, There's a light in the window for me. I only hope Dad is away For Ma only scolds me, but Dad. When I'm too late cornin' from play, He wallops me, wallops me bad! Os course I ain’t AWFUL afraid, Hut I’m kinda sorry I stayed. I don’t lite it much when I see A light in the window for me. (Copyright, 1923, NEA Service, Inc.) Vanishing Americans arq using up their timber supply four or five time3 as fast as new trees are being grown. Threefourths of our original soft wood supply has been cut down. So warns Col. Henry Solon Graves. He’s head of the Yale Forest School. The situation Is the same as if we ate steadily of the baker’s bread and the baker stopped baking. Or harvested our wheat and failed to plant anew crop. must learn to regard forests as a straight-out proposition of crops, replanting as we harvest. ■" The replanting should be done by Bho ones who chop down trees.

THE GROWTH OF The Automobile Industry DURING THE LAST TWENTY-FIVE FLETCHER AMERICAN YEARS From the days of 1839, when the whole town was included in a district smaller than the Mile Square, and it was a question of walking from one place to another, the Fletcher American National Bank has lived through the evolution of transportation. As the town spread and Old Dobbin was pressed Into service this institution was vitally concerned In the assistance of those manufacturers who were engaged in the building of carriages and wagons. About twenty-five years ago, with the advent of the motor car, the Fletcher American immediately sensed the possibilities of this industry, and in the years following has KffiajraUiyi been instumental in the growth of this business and of invaluable assistance in Y-btfriyn** making Indianapolis the Quality Car City xragjgMf of the country. Last year the automobiles manufactured in this city had a retail value of $95,000,- Clean 000. Indianapolis-made cars are known Strong throughout the civilized world. 83 years’ banking experience is one rea- rogresslva son why. Industry has banked at the Fletcher American National for more than hilf a century Fletcher American National Bank Capital and Surplus $3,300,000

WEDiNEISDAY, ALL. 29, 19 Z3

-from the J Referee’s Tower By ALBERT APPLE Change “The cable now can not successfuly compete with radio, due to the greater advantage of speed on the part of radio and also to direct communication." This is said by Owen D. Young, chairman of General Electric Company and Radio Corporation of America. It's his natural viewpoint, considering his busines connections, but it's logically true. Later it will be discovered that the steam railroad, running on steel tracks, can not compete with the airplane. Damage Insects destroy 130 million dollars worth of our forests a year, the Government claims in a bulletin. Still, the forest is the insect's natural prey. Before getting alarmed at the insects, we’d better, stop our own needless destruction of forests by fires and by logging without planting anew tree for every old one we cut down. Treeless America is one of our national goals. Gone A doctor in Texarkana, Texas, is buried in his $35,000 coat of Rusian sable furs. Such was his last request. It's an exception to the rule that we can’t take our wealth to the grave wtih us. The good doctor apparently expected cold weather on the other side of the River Styx.