Indianapolis Times, Volume 39, Number 13, Indianapolis, Marion County, 26 May 1927 — Page 4

PAGE 4

The Indianapolis Times ROY W. HOWARD, President. • BOYD GUKLEY, Editor. WM. A. MAYBORN, Bus. Mgr. Member of the Scripps-Howartl Newspaper Alliance • * * Client of the United Press and the SEA Service * • • Member of the Audit Bureau of Circulations. Published daily except Sunday by Indianapolis Times Publishing Cos., 214-220 W. Maryland St.. Indianapolis • • • Subscription Rates: Indianapolis—Ten Cents a Week. Elsewhere—Twelve Cents a Week * • • PHONE— MA in 3500.

No low shall be passed restraining the free biter change of thought and opinion, or restricting the right to speak, write or print freely, on any subject ivhatever.—Constitution of Indiana.

The Silent Governor Most disappointing to the people of this State must be the continued silence of the Governor in regard to the letter sent to him by the attorney general of this State. Very significant facts were stated in that letter, very serious if true and more serious if they are not true. / Attorney General Gilliom stated in as simple language as could be used that. The Governor inquired whether It was possible for him to obtain whisky for his sick wife as prescribed by her physician. He said, “You and I procured whisky from friends who had it for just such emergencies In th&ir own households.” He asked that the laws of this State be changed, so that under the most strict control, men who do not wish to become violators of the law could follow the advice of physicians without breaking the IiSLWe Those who Place the lives of their loved ones in the hands of physicians do not stop to argue about the remedies. Especially is this true when it is apparent that death Is near. They employ physicians because they have confidence in their judgment and their skill. They wls to comply with their advice. Either the statement of Mr. Gilliom that the Governor obtained whisky as he courageously and plainly admits that he did in violation of the law, is true or it is not. . If he did obtain it, then it might seem that the Governor would state the facts, relate the circumstances and give, as is his duty and his privilege, his best advice as to what the law should be. It may be taken as certain that Mr. Gilliom did not misstate the facts. His record for truth Is sufficient to insure belief. If that be true the silence of the Governor becomes unexplainable—or inexcusable. No one will claim that the Governor of this State has any rights or privileges that should not belong to the most humble citizen. If it be admitted that in even a very few cases it is necessary to procure whisky to save a human life, and that such a case existed in the family .of the Governor, then the cause of prohibition itself demandß the change asked by Mr. Gilliom. For unless physicians are able to obtain and prescribe real whisky In such emergencies, those who need it must obtain it from bootleggers and rum runners. That creates for those violators who bring it from theborder, if they get real whisky. It condemns the sick and desperate to poisons if they turn to the concoctors of poisons which are sold in violation of the law. How long should the man who brought the whisky that saved the life of the wife of the Governor remain in a State prison. There has been no legitimate whisky in Indiana since the Legislature passed the Wright law. How long should the man who gave him this whisky be imprisoned for keeping that whisky, if he had kept it for a period of years? It would seem to the ordinary citizen that the State needs some word of advice from the Governor, some statement as to the truth of the facts on which the Gilliom letter was based, some suggestion as to what should be done with a law that makes it a crime to save a life. A Good Time for a Showdown Today is the day Great Britain is scheduled to break with Russia. Following Scotland Yard's unprecedented raid on Soviet house a fortnight ago in London, Premier Stanley .Baldwin has taken the step forecast at the time by this newspaper. That is to say, instead of waiting for Moscow to get its dander up and sever diplomatic relations •with London, London itself has taken the initiative and told the Muscovites to clear out. Premier Baldwin's indictment is about as serious as one government could make against another. He charges that under the cloak of diplomatic immunity, Russian agents have been acting as military spies, fomenting revolution among British subjects and stirring up trouble among the armed forces of the nation. If Russia is really guilty as charged we sincerely hope Premier Baldwin proves his case. We are great believers in the doctrine of self-determination of peoples and that goes for the British as much as for ourselves or the Nicaraguans or the Chinese. Russia has no more business meddling in our affairs, or in Britain’s affairs, than we have to meddle in hers, or in China’s or Mexico's. If she is meddling, Premier Baldwin can do mankind a fine service by putting all his cards on the table and exposing the whole kit and kerboodle. It Is high time, in fact, that\somebody should do this. Wanting the truth, all the world has had on the subject up to the present is the general charge that the “reds” are seeking to stir up a world revolution. And that is not enough. It is the fashion nowadays to say the "reds” are bapk of every form of public disorder from war to caricatures of teacher on kindergarten blackboards. It is not enough for born reactionaries and die-fiards just to say “The reds did it." The world wants proof. It is no gentle blow Britain is dealing Moscow. And developments may prove it w r as quite deserved. But for the present—untii Premier Baldwin clears up the situation with'.additional details, Ire can not entirely escape the feeling that he may have been pushed into it by conservative extremists in the hope of dealing a backhand blow at the laborites, often accused of being too friendly, with Russia That and the knowledge that Britain and Russia are dangerously at cross purposes in China. At all events now would be an excellent time for a showdown on the much mooted question of Russian intrigue abroad. If Russia Is the menace we are told she is, we ought to know it. Perhaps Premier Baldwifc can make us see our peril.

Wisecracking Wayne Wheeler This newspaper tries to be fair toward persons with whose views it does not agree. It seeks indeed, to be a generous opponent. But, as readers no doubt have discerned for themselves, it sometimes allows its distaste for certain people to be revealed. And it might as well confess that it finds it hard to like Wayne* B. Wheeler. In Monday’s paper you read the story told by the attorney general of Indiana. This official—elected with the aid of the Anti-Saloon League—related that his three children, desperately ill with typhoid and pneumonia, had whisky prescribed for them by the physician who was endeavoring to save their lives. And that he knowingly violated Indiana’s bone dry law, which he is sworn to enforce, in order to get the whisky. He now suggests that Indiana’s rigid law be modified to make law-break-ing unnecessary in such emergencies. Wayne B. Wheeler, active director of the AntiSaloon League, makes this comment: “Indiana’s prohibition policy for four years has been against the use of medicinal whisky. Health and morality conditions in the State have been excellent except with the attorney general.” But, quite apart from that fact, do you understand why Wayne B. Wheeler, willing to make a wisecrack concerning, the plight of the Indiana attorney geqjeral—and father—isn’t the sort of person It is easy to love?

The Democratic Candidate By N. D. Cochran

The Anti-Saloon League, whose activities are directed by the group of Ohio Republicans and have been from the time of its organization, has declared war on Governor Smith, Governor Ritchie and Senator Jim Reed as possible Democratic candidates for the presidential nomination next year. The leaders of this organization are among the shrewdest politicians in the country. They have outplayed the politicians in both old parties for yeails, and have actually dominated Republican and D.nvj<:;ntlc national conventions in the same year. In 1924 Wayne B. Wheeler was on the job both at Cleveland and at New York, and so manipulated the Madison Square Garden convention, with McAdoo leading the combined dry and klan forces, that the election of Coolidge was a cinch from the day Davis became the Democratic nominee. Wheeler’s influence in Democratic conventions is due to the strength of prohibition and the klan in the Southern States. Unless that strength is broken he will be able to prevent the nomination of either Smith, Reed or Ritchie. ■- There may be some flirting with Senator Tom Walsh of Montana, but not with any expectation of nominating him for President. He will be used rather to break down Smith’s strength, and after that is done, if it is done, Walsh will be dropped and somo dark horse trotted out. You can’t always tell what is going on In the back of the heads of political planners and plotters by what they say in the open. Their real purpose is generally concealed. Just now A1 Smith is the leading Democratic candidate. There is much talk of growing Smith strength in the South, where McAdoo was so strong in 1924. We are eold that the Democrats want to win next year, and that Northern and Southern leaders are getting their heads together. One of the arguments is that if Smith ..ill only pussyfoot on prohibition, objection to him on religious grounds won’t count. Pussyfooting means singing low on prohibition and coming out stron- for law enforcement. Now let's turn to the other side. On the face of things, Wheeler and his crowd are satisfied with Coolidge. In the back of their heads they probably are a bit dubious. He has been less obedient than his predecessor was: and the failure of Wheeler to have his own way about the prohibition department will bo resented. If Coolidge wants the Republican nomination, the nti-Saloon League can’t stop it. He will get it. If ,he decides not to take it, he will come mighty near picking the nominee. In the meantime, Nicholas Murray Butler in the East and Big Bill Thompson in the West may disturb the serenity of the drys in the next Republican national convention. Anyhow the Anti-Saloon League won’t have things all its own way. Now let’s turn back to the Democrats. \ If Smith is defeated for the nomination after a hard fight, the chances are that neither Reed, Ritchie nor Walsh will be nominated. In the meantime a splendid fight will have been put up for Smith under the capable leadership of Franklin D. Roosevelt of New York, who will probably make a wonderfully eloquent Smith speech in the convention. In the final struggle for harmony shrewd politics would suggest that a dark horse be trotted out who will not be objectionable to the anti-Smith element in the solid South and who can get the Eastern and Northern Smith support at the election. In that event Franklin Roosevelt will be the logical harmony nominee on a strict law-enforcement platform. A man who beat his wife said the full moon upset him. Maybe it was his cellar that was full of it. The French government will decorate threa Chicago citizens with the Legion of Honor. Chicago certainly is getting a lot of recognition these days. The winner of that duck calling contest held in Illinois recently, must have been a quack. Fashion dictators hail the rounded figure again. Look out! Curves ahead!

Law and Justici By Dexter M, Keeezer

A man and his wife had a. joint savings bank pass book. The contract with the bank provided that funds could be withdrawn by either party .on presentation of the book. The eoupid separated, and the wife kept the pass book. The husband then went to the bank, asserted that the pass book had b&en lost, and induced te bank to a new one. With this pass book he withdrew the money in the joint account. Later the wife appeared with the oriignal book and was advised that the account had been closed. She sued the bank for the amount of the deposit, claiming that she was entitled to it as the holder of the original pass book which had never been lost. The bank contended that it had acted in good faith in paying the money to the husband after his claim that the book had been lost, and that it should not be required to pay a similar amount to the wife whose grievance was against her husband and not the bank.' HOW WOULD YOU DECIDE THIS CASE? The actual decision: The Court of Appeals of Maryland decided that the wife could recover the amount .of the deposit. The reason was that she held the original pass book which had never been lost, and the bank could have found this out at the time it Issued anew book to her husband if it had made a careful inquiry.

THE INDIANAPOLIS TIMES

Tracy V' Say*: It Is All Right to Cry for Absolute Obedience of the Law', But First Let That Law Be Just.

By M. E. Tracy Dr. John Straton says that the Governor and Attorney General of Indiana should not have violated the law even to save their loved ones. ’’They had an alternative,” he says, “they could have resigned their offices and thus relieved themselves from the binding oaths they had taken.” It is hard to follow Dr. Straton’s reasoning in this latter statement. On what moral ground does he contend that a private citizen is under less obligation to obey the law than a public official? Unjust Law It is all right to cry for absolute obedience of the law, but first let the law be just. When the law says that a man should permit his wife or children to die for no reason in the world, except that a certain kind of medicine is forbidden, the law is manifestly unjust. The point in this Indiana ease is that the Governor and Attorney General were forced to make a choice which does not square with Constitutional liberty, good law or common sense. There is no moral or ethical ground for creating a situation in which citizens are compelled to stand idle while their loved ones die, or violate their duty to the Government. Baldwin’s Speech There is a sardonic note In Premier Baldwin’s argument that England should break with Russia. He proved that Russian agents stole documents from England by citing Russian documents which English agents stole. He then proves that Russia is trying to underwine the civilized world without citing any documents at all and leaves it to be inferred that she would succeed except for such measures as he is advocating. The startling feature of his attitude and the attitude of all those who think likewise, is utter lack of confidence in people who are supposed to be intelligent enough to run great nations. Mr. Baldwin and his crowd would have us believ • that all that stands in the way of a world revolution is the embargoes and Inhibitions that have been placed on Russai propaganda. and that if this propaganda were allowed anything like free cir, oulation, England, the United States, France, Italy. Germany and other civilized countries would blow up over night. Really Aid Reds It is not necessary to s> qi pat hire with Soviet Russia or the dWctrine of Communism to realize that such an attitude does more Than anything else to keep them going. * Asa matter of common sense. Mr. Baldwin and his crowd are furnishing the best possible alibi for communist leaders. So long as England, the United States and other great governments make it difficult for Russia to do business with the outside world, the communist leaders can tell the Rus. sian people that it is not communism that fills the land with poverty, but the boycott of capitalist nations. If the bars were let down and Russian trade freed from arbitarary restrictions the Russian people would soon learn that the outside world is not to blame for their difficulties. Fords to Go? Henry Ford turned out his fifteen millionth car on Wednesday. Rumors persist that it will be the last of its kind and that Model “T” will be abandoned. The Ford car has becoma almost institutional not only in this country, but in many others. One instinctively associates it with the motor age. It was a product of invention and innovation, however, and must expect to succumb to the same elements of progress that brought it into being. Henry Ford’s cars and fortune prove nothing so vividly as that. We live in an era dominated by change And improvement. Flood’s Fury Another levee breaks on the Mississippi and 50,000 more flee for their lives. The number of homeless is now 600,000 and 8,000,000 acres of sugar cane must be added to the vast amount of cotton and forage crops already lost. Putting aside the idea that the Federal Government must provide a comprehensive plan of flood control, this disaster has become so great that no other agency can provide the immediate relief which is needed. It will not only take hundreds of dollars to set these people on their feet, but what is more imperative, it will take organized and efficient work. Loan Not Gifts The proposition should not be regarded as one of charity or paternalism. No one expects the Government of thd United States to authorize a great donation in behalf of the flood sufferers or do for therp- whqt it would be unwilling to do for any considerable number of people suffering from a similar misfortune. What they need and what the Government should grant, is a liberal extension of credit—an adequate fund that can be loaned on long terms and be amortized with easy payments. Because of the long time it will take to collect and study the necessary data, a special session of Congress is hardly desirable to consider the matter of flood control, but a special session seems imperative to provide the money and means that are needed to rehabilitate a desolated territory which is larger than many States.

Step Right in an’ Tame Him!

; —^r>cE>o?C

Times Readers Voice Views

To the Editor: Having noted the disparaging articles relative to our city government, I feel in justice to the administration the papers should publish the good it performs as well. T am one whose home was destroyed. at 319 N. Temple Ave., during the storm of Wednesday the 18tb and the efficient method in which the police and firemen handled the complicated situation is something any city might well be proud of. Today. three days after the destroying elements had passed, the streets are cleaned and everything is in order, and save for the wrecked dwellings, the area looks as well as it did before the storm. Asa salesman, covering the east and central west, I have an opportunity to observe other cities and my opinion is. that to load all of the

Tomorrow!

Our End-of-Month Sale Which Brings, Each Month, Unusual Values in All Departments. May E. O. M. With May Sales Still in Progress, Offers You Extraordinary Savings.

present trouble and dissatisfaction on the Duvall administration is an injustice. This city was not built in two years time, nor have the present conditions of falling bridges and bad streets developed in that time. Most of the trouble is an Inheritance from the former administration. Very truly yours, J. R. SCHROEDER. 313 N. Forrest St. Editor The Times: I believe in the city manager form of government because after I have carefully studied the methods and progress of other cities, which has prospered with it, convinces me that it is a move for a greater Indianapolis, as an Industrial center which would furnish employment to thousands tba* are without employment. The surest enticement for industrial

—the May

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enterprises is a business form of government free from politics. Here in our city, under the present form of government, politicians are continuing to build organizations at the expense of the taxpayers. It is being left to the voters to decide whether or not tills corruption shall continue any longer. The only way to save our city is to cast a vote for the city manager form of government at the polls June 21. Asa working man and taxpayer who believes in the development of our city, I feel that it is my duty to aid the good cause that will defend Indianapolis from being political controlled which shows no inducement to development. RALEIGH B. COLEMAN, Jr. (Colored). How much did tlie United States pay for the friar lands of the Homan Catholic Church in the Philippines? J 7.000.000.

MAY 26, 1927

OTI eduction Brilpe h/JMilton A*Y CWor! t \ J

The pointer lor today is; WHEN TWO LEADS OF A SUIT ARE NEEDED FROM A DUMMY WITH TWO ENTRIES, MAKE THE FIRST WHEN DUMMY WINS ITS FIRST TRICK.

♦ A 9 7-5-2 * J 10-6-3 4 9-8-64-2 4 J-10-7-6-2 -O.T- 4 (H-. V-3 * 10-94 . 9 K-84-3 4 7-4-2 • : 4 84 4 K-Q ~~ UA44 4 K-9-4 9 A-Q-J % 4 A-K-Q-9 4 10-7-3

The contract, South (Dealer) one No Trump. The play to the first trick: West, Spade 6; North, Spade Ace; East, Spade 8; South, Spade 4. On trick 2, the play should be. North Heart 2; East, Heart 3; South, Heart Queen: West, Heart 4. Declarer, forced to win the first trick in Dummy, can count two Spade tricks, four diamonds, t\u> Hearts, if West have the King of Hearts, three if East have it and the finesse be taken twice. Ordinarily with eight an effort would be made to establish the Clubs; but that would lose three Club tricks; after losing the first Club trick, the adverse Spades would be established and game would be lost. Game can only be made if the Heart finesse succeed, and if it be tried twice. So on trick 2 Dummy should lead a small Heart and, if the finesse succeed, it should be repeated when Dummy gets in again as he readily can do with the Jack of Diamonds. Today’s Hand

4 6-3-2 9 A-K-6-3-2 4 9-54-2 4 I 4 K-9-74 ——— 4 Q .1-5 y 8-5 ' 9 Q-lft-9-7 4 J 4-6 ; • 4 10-7-3 4 A * B * 72 I&K4-3 4 A-in.B V .14 4 A-k-Q 4 0-10-9.6-5

The bidding: South (Dealer', one No trump: West, pass; North, two HTaits: East, pass; South, two No Trumps which obtains the contract. The play to the first trick: West, Club King; South, Club 5. The question is: Which card should be played to trick 2’.’ Answer Slip of May 36 On trick 2. the play should be; EAST SOUTH WEST NORTH