Indianapolis Times, Volume 39, Number 71, Indianapolis, Marion County, 2 August 1927 — Page 4
PAGE 4
The Indianapolis Times (A SCRIPPS-HOWARD NEWSPAPER) Owned and published daily (except Sunday) by The Indianapolis Times Publishinc Cos., 214-220 W. Maryland Street. Indianapolis, ind. Price in Marion County. 2 cents—lo cents a week; elsewhere, 3 cents—l 2 cents a week. BOYD GURLEY. ROY W. HOWARD. W. A. MAYBORN, Editor. President. Business Manager. ' PHONE—MAIN 3500 TUESDAY. AUGUST 2, 1927. Member o t United Press, Scripps-Howard Newspaper Alliance. Newspaper Enterprise Association. Newspaper Information Service and Audit Bureau of Circulations. “Give Light and the People Will Find Their Own-Way” —Dante
SCR! PPS- H OWARD
Standing Mute As day after day passes and no word comes from Governor Ed Jackson concerning the most serious charge yet made in the whole probe of political affairs, the public has a perfect right to speculate upon the reasons for silence. The defenders of the present regime and especially of the political control of the Republican party call the Governor’s attitude a “policy of silence.” That seems to be at least inaccurate. Is it not, in the language of the law, rather an attitude of standing mute before the court of public opinion? For there is no mistake that all those who trafficked and dealt and bargained with Stephenson and others during that period when the government of this State was taken from the people by subterfuge, trickery and deception are on trial before that same court of public opinion. And in that court of public opinion no lenient statute of limitation by which two years may erase offenses from the judgment of public opinion operates. When Stephenson ten months ago sent his letter from his cell declaring that he could prove many things down to the time that the “black boxes” were delivered to the prosecutors after the former Dragon, now a life termer in Michigan City, said that he had been “double-crossed for the last, time,” the matter has been before the public for final and definite judgment. There are three pleas possible in any court. One is to admit the facts. The other is to. deny and the third is to maintain silence. That is called, in legal language “standing mute.” In courts of law a person who stands mute invites pi-oof without denying. Unfortunately that seems to be the undignified position which the Governor of this State has placed himself by what his friends call a “policy of silence.” The charge was made by The Times one 'week ago, With a full realization of its own responsibility in the matter and of the gravity of the charge. It told the people that on Dec. 8, 1923, Ed Jackson, then Secretary of State, left a conference in his own office at which George V. Coffin, the political boss, was present, went to the office of Warren T. McCray, then Governor, and offered to donate SIO,OOO for attorney fees for the defense of McCi*ay and give assurances of no conviciton in courts in return for the naming of a prosecutor selected by Coffin as a successor to William P. Evans, son-in-law of McCray, who was ready to resign. It said that McCray refused the offer and that he said, in words and effect that he had lost his money, would lose his office and might lose his liberty, but that he refused to lose his self-respect. That is the matter upon which Ed Jackson, then-Secretary of State and now Governor of this State, says nothing. The Times believes that there are many places in which the evidence can and should be presented. James P. Noel, named in The Times story as having received the same offer as attorney for McCray, from D. C. Stephenson, in a public letter says that he has reason to believe that he should be called upon in some forum to give evidence as to the truth or falsity of The Times statement. The people of this State must unquestionably ask what forum and what tribunal will listen to the evidence and the facts. That is the situation. Certainly this policy of silence can not continue. No plea of “standing mute” can be accepted in a court of public opinion. Unless the Governor denies and denies quickly, he should resign. And if he does not resign, the Legislature of this State should convene and force all evidence and all proof into the open. There is no alternative. None will be accepted. Noise and Justice Governor Alvin T. Fuller of Massachusetts is scheduled to make a stupendous decision tomorrow. In his hands is the fate of Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti, now under sentence of death es convicted pay roll bandits and murderers. The case In which he must write the final chapter is without precedent in criminal history for the amount of international concern it has aroused. One group, represented throughout the world, contends that Sacco and Vanzetti, Italian immigrants, are victims of blind proved by the fact that they are militant and unrepentant polical radicals. Another group contends that Massachusetts was just when her courts found them to be bandits and murderers. The charge that the Sacco-Vanzetti sympathizers make is the kind that can not be dodged; and there’s evidence that- Governor Fuller, through appointment Ol an advisory, commission, and his own investigation, hM not dodged it. But in the seven-year course of Sacco-Vanzetti
case sympathizers of the condemned Italians have raised a broader and more important issue than any arising out of the case. They’ve advanced the proposition that the way to get justice in this country is to organize along mass lines and shout for justice. A letter from the student Sacco-Vanzetti committee, which has a most distinguished advisory board; makes the point clear. “The only thing that can save Sacco and Vanzetti,” says the letter, “is a vigorous protest from millions of people ... for this purpose we need thousands of dollars; and, above all, we need it quickly . . . the voices of protesting millions must re-echo throughout the world until the prison doors swing open and Sacco and Vanzetti are free.” There you have it. To get justice, organize a cheering section, and shout. If it’s true that degree of justice in the United States depends upon the amount of noise made, then we ve got a problem that goes far beyond anything that can be settled by the Sacco-Vanzetti case. If it isn’t, the distinguished patrons of the student Sacco-Vanzetti committee ought to prepare some kind of an explanation. Can Congress Beat a New Flood? If winter comes, can spring be far behind? But what of spring, if the Mississippi River runs waste again through the Southland! Little poetry there is in this news out of Washington that there remains in the Federal treasury only some $3,200,000 for levee repairs. Os the $10,000,000 appropriated by Congress at the beginning of the year, about $4,000,000 was used in fighting the greatest flood in the Nation’s history and some $2,800,000 more must be allocated to routine revetment and dredging work. What is left will be used in getting the levees rpady for the next flood, if the law allows. Under the law local levee districts must bear onethird of the repair work. But local levee boards, even like the Federal Government, And their available funds sadly depleted. Some will probably be unable to raise the money needed. In a land that has lost $400,000,000 of property, money becomes somewhat mythical. The Mississippi River commission will probably go ahead, regardless of the law, and repair all levees, if the money holds out. But, if the money doesn’t hold out, and if there is anew flood next spring . . . There are too many “ifs” to the story. Congress will meet in the winter, but winter will be too late and spring too close, too close behind. If Easter is not again to be a fear and May day perhaps a desolation, Congress should be summoned in early session to appropriate money and modify the law. —r No Need to Worry One of the pet worries of a few inhabitants of this globe is what will happy when the population of Mother Earth becomes so large that there will no longer be room for all to live comfortably. This worry need concern them no longer. The Bureau of Standards of the Department of Commerce by numerous tests has determined that the temperature of the planet Mars is moderate enough for human existence. When the earth becomes overcrowded some of its inhabitants can move to Mars! How will they get there? The Bureau of Standards hasn’t figured that out yet. But there is plenty of time, as the earth wili not become overcrowded for several hundred generations.
Censorship Run Mad
By N. D. Cochrar-
The itching, burning urge on some of us to regulate and control the daily life and conduct of all of us appears to be spreading. It is like an infection, in the blood that breaks out in an irritating rash, first in one spot and then in another, until it threatens to spread all over the body politic. In Boston it is a mania of a few to determine what all may or may not read. Elsewhere it is censorship of bathing costumes. In some States its prohibits cigaret smoking. In others it insists that we must take our astronomy, geology and general science from Genesis. There are spots where none of us may see plays that a few of us don’t think are proper. Everywhere all of us are told by law what we may not drink. Nowhere may any of us criticise the acts of our President, and we are branded as traitors to our country if we even criticize the blundering diplomacy of a nervous and erratic secretary of State. If some of us seek as best we may to abolish war and. bring about peace on earth, then others of us get hot under the collar and red in the face and call us names—and some of us are branded as Bolshevists, Communists and enemies of the Army, the Navy, the Constitution and the Flag. In some States some of us band together in murderous righteousness and, clothed in fiery fanaticism and masked hoods and robes, set forth with tar bucket and feathers and blacksnake whips to punish others of us whose personal conduct isn’t satisfactory to self-appointed censors. And we must not tell unpleasant truths about our national heroes. If the facts of history don’t conform to our established passions and prejudices, then history must lie. In some spots we mustn’t do what we want to do on Sunday unless we want to do what others think we ought to do—and golf, motoring, baseball and other forms of harmless and healthful recreation are sinful and unlawful. Snoops, spies, sneaks, informers, agents, provocateurs —these and others of their ilk—dog our footsteps and hound peaceable citizens day and night. Our national Congress and State Legislatures are pestered everlastingly by some of us who are moved by a mad desire to make all of us good by law and the policeman’s club. We seem to be driving furiously toward a tyrannical state that would make spiritual as well as bodily slaves of all of its citizens. The government of the people, by the people and for the people that Lincoln prayed might not perish from the earth is becoming a government of bigots, by censors, for fanatics. On top of all this comes the head of a theatrical circuit who will use the power of ownership to censor the wit of stage comedians to the extent of forbidding jokes which are critical of street railway companies or other industries—as well as national, State and municipal officials. When it becomes lese majeste to crack jokes about a captain of industry, a Congressman, an alderman or a village constable, we can well wonder— What next? '
THE INDIANAPOLIS TIMES
M. TRACY SAYS: Songs Strike a More Common Chord Than Political Theories, and Leave Less to Argue About.
TERRE HAUTE. Ind., Aug. 2. Eugene V. Debs did as much as any man to advertise this town. Certain business men have schooled themselves to believe that it was advertising of the wrong sort. A short-sighted, narrow view. One does not have to sympathize with Debs’ doctrines to admit that he was an outstanding figure. He had courage and loved ‘ children. Paul Dressen’s Song Another man who did much to advertise the town was Paul Dresser. He wrote a song. Songs strike a more common chord than political theories, and leave less to argue about. Every man or woman who has seerWhe moon shine on the Wabash in cnildliood, thinks of Paul Dresser as a great man, because he breathed a sentiment that grew dear to them, especially in later years. Light on Wabash It has become popular to name things after Dresser in this section. When Sam Insull built the great electric plant nine miles down river from Terre Haute, he fell in with the custom. It is such a monument as any pqet might well be proud of. and peculiarly appropriate, since it sheds a light on the Wabashr which, if not so romantic as that of the moon, speaks more distinctly of human progress. Carrying Power The Dresser plant is a vivid example of the revolution in power production which is taking place. • It stands at the head of a mine. Coal is drawn up from the bowels of the earth, pulverized and carried to the fireboxes of the great boilers in practically one continuous operation. High tension cables have taken the place of railroads in conveying energy from the mine to the mill. It is easier to carry 10,000 horsepower in the form of an invisible fluid over a copper wire than to carry it in freight cars in the form of coal. Security of System Electric plants are now being spotted all over the country where power can be generated with coal, oil, gas or water. Cables are being strung for hundreds, not to say thousands of miles, and power is fed into them from these plants. The combination means not only greater economy, but greater security. Communities, manufacturers and householders are freed from the likelihood of being deprived of light and power through the breaking down of a single plant. Financial Genius Needed Back of the network of boilers, steam p'pes, dynamos and wires is just as imposing a financial hookup. It takxs money to create such structures, and men will not put up the money unless they see an opportunity for profits. Assured of 6, 7 or 8 per cent, it Is human nature to want 10 or 12 per cent. Having produced engineers to develop and control the physical machine, we must now produce engineers to develop and control the financial machine. It took study to produce the former, and it will take just as much study, if not more, to produce the latter. Good Housekeeping The Dresser plant is one of those institutions which cause you to marvel at the perfection and capacity of modern science. Though operated by only 100 men, it represents the strength of 800,000. Though consuming coal at the rate of thirty-five tons an hour, it is immaculately clean. The machinery is painted and polished, the floors are spotless and there is evidence of good housekeeping on every hand. Big business has learned to take an interest not only in the human, but in the artistic side of its work. Coal Abundant Terre Haute is surrounded by coal mines. Many of them have been shut down during the last few years, chiefly, it would seem, because oil has reduced the coal market. They represent a vast, and comparatively inexhaustible supply of power. When we come to a point where it is necessary to conserve oil for automobiles, airplanes and national defense, which is not far off, these coal mines will once more come into their own. The valley of the Wabash will one day be the home of many Dresser plants, sending out energy in all directions. Crossroads of World The main highway from Chicago to the south and one of the main highways from coast to coast, pass through Terre Haute. They cross each other at the corner of Seventh St. and Wabash Ave., which is locally known as “the crossroads of the world.” It is not uncommon for 10,000 r.utomohjles to pass this comer in a day. More than 5,000 were recently counted in the space of eight hours and they bore licenses from no less than forty-one States. Terre Haute is about thirty miles distant from the center of population of the United States. What are the names of some dog magazines published in the United States? American Kennel Gazette 221 Fourth Ave., New York City; Dog World. 1922 West Lake St., Chicago, 111.
Another Sadie Thompson Different in Conception Is Added to the List of Those Revealed on the Stage
Sadie Thompson for the past several seasons has been a muchly discussed girl. And so has the play, “Rain," in which Miss Thompson, her soul and her “trade,” are so much concerned. After seeing the Stuart Walker presentation of “Rain” last night, I am chiefly concerned in the way that Ann Davis plays the role of Sadie.
It seems that the onjy way one can judge Miss Thompson on the stage is to compare her with the way others have done the character. Miss Davia makes Sadie a mighty nervous girl with as nervous a laugh when she is just a woman with a body. When Sadie “repents” we see a woman walking about nervously in a mental fog. As Miss Davis plays her. Sadie’s natural nervousness becomes hysterical. She is just a poor “kid tucking a power that gives her no rest and a mighty bad mental and soul headache, if there be such a thing. When the Rev. Davidson tells Sadie that she is beautiful and is a white robed something with wings. Sadie remarks that she is dead tired and thinks she can sleep. She goes to her room and then the Rev. Davidson goes into her room, but not to pray. Hours afterwards, Davidson is dead, a suicide, and the Sadie Thompson, who specializes in traffic in men, has returned. Miss Davis gives Sadie the gaudy attire. I have always considered Sadie a preity hardboiled creature. A woman, as they say in the language of the street, “a gal who knows her anions." To my way of thinking. Miss Davis was most effective when Sadie started to repent. During that stage of the characterization. Miss Davis was convincing. But it is my opinion that Miss Davis makes the natural Sadie too nervous as to manner and to laugh. Sadie says some mighty nasty things to the Rev. Davidson, and she spits it out, not so much in fear, but as a matter of fact. She thinks the Rev. Davidson is a psalm-sing-ing and she means that he is just that breed because that is Sadie’3 natural and honest conception of such gentlemen.
There is mighty good psychology in this play and a whole lot of strong talk. Miss Davis at times does not seem to possess that super strength which I have always thought Sadie to possess. Sadie used strong words often, and she had a voice and a command even of her anger because such women are hot-headed. Miss Davis is giving an interesting, if not a commanding, performance o? one of the most difficult roles that the stage of today has. One of the outstanding performances of this production is given by Margaret Douglass as Mrs. Davidson, the wife of the missionary. She is the woman who follows in the footpath of her husband as he goes on “the business of the Lord.” She is the sex-starved woman who
Stage Verdict LYRlC—Mighty good novelty here with Young Abraham, Rigoletto Brothers and Carr Lynn heading the procession. ENGLISH’S—“Pigs” is the cutest, best acted and best mounted comedy that the Berkell Players have given us this season. A positive triumph for Idabelle Arnold and Robert St. Clair. KEITH’S—Ann Davis is giving us her own conception of Sadie Thompson in “Rain." Her conception of Sadie will cause much discussion. From a production standpoint “Rain” is the best thing that George Somnes, as director, has given the local stage this season.
Still Harping on it
BY WALTER D. HICKMAN
is masquerading behind the gift of her birth—the right of motherhood Miss Douglass is giving an unforgetable performance this week. Masterful, honest and mighty sad, but real. McKay Morris is the Rev. Davidson and he is giving a convincing role of the missionary who fights his own sex cravings. A powerful characterization and done with extreme care and thought. Ernest Cossart is an ideal Joe Horn and France Bendtsen is splendid as Dr. McPhail. Adelaide Chase is a satisfactory Ameena, wife of Joe Horn. The remainder of the cast is adequate. The rain effects have been wonderfully accomplished by George Somues. The chief fault with the actors, most of them with the exception of Morris, is that their voices failed to carry and many of the lines were lost to me and I sat on the second row center. I am sure that George 3omnes has corrected this serious defect before these lines are written. From a scenic standpoint, “Rain” is a masterpiece. At Keith's all week. ‘TIGS” IS A MOST ENJOYABLE SUCCESS In the first place “Pigs” is corking good Pollyanna theater. In the second place it gives four members of the Berkell Company a chance to have human roles which enables them to give performances that people will remember with pleasure. The two outstanding performances in “Pigs” are contributed by Idabelle Arnold
and Robert St. Clair. These two roles are juvenile :n character and the ease with which these two players come down within the “teens” again proves their ability. The fact is I never have seen St. Clair as nicely cast as he is this week as Thomas Atkins Jr. In this play St. Clair is the lad with a vision and a aream
llif m
that pigs is pigs. Idabelle Arnold The burden of the play is carried by St. Clair and Miss Arnold. To Miss Arnold falls some of the brightest and smartest lines of the show. She is cast Mildred Cushing, a flapper of a small town, who knows in what direction she wants to flap. And she flaps and flaps until she gets what she wants. She too has faith in the ability of 250 pigs paying off the family debt. You will remember "Pigs” as one of the delightful, simple little affairs of love life of which the stock season is not often blessed. The next two outstanding characterizations are contributed by Bernice Marsolais as Ellen Atkins, a mother role, and Mildred Hastings as Grandma Spencer, an old dame with a sharp tongue, a false value on her own son’s worth. Miss Marsolais ages sufficiently to convice one that she could be the mother of Thomas. Jr. One of the funniest moments of the play is when Grandma Spencer, desiring to broadcast scandal, picks up frhe telephone receiver and commands, “Give me any house.” The cast includes Herbert Dobbins, Larry Sullivan, Milton Byron, Jean Oliver, J. F. Marlow and William V. Hull. And there is a real hog and some pigs present in the farmyard scene. “Pigs” is the most pleasant comedy, the best acted and best mounted play that Berkell has given us this summer. At English’s all week. APPLESAUCE? NO, SAYS CARR LYNN AT THE LYRIC We have' heard so much about actots finding fault with an
audience for not showing appreciation by applause, but it is rare to find an actor who admits that he doesn’t want it. Carr Lynn, who says he hails from Australia and admits that he Is getting good money for his act, furnishes the other side to the problem of applause. Time and time again at the Lyric this week, Lynn tells his Audiences
not to applaud. He tells you frankly that he loves to work, that he is being paid for it and that it is all nonsense to think that he would go to your place of work and applaud you for doing the work that you are paid for. He claims that he can tell by the expression on people’s facts whether he it making them
Ifelf a
Mo Winders
happier. The truth is that Lynn is a mimic, who Is so well stocked with good material that he can not fail to hold the interest and gain the admiration of his audience. Here is a showman that is different. He knows deep down in his heart that there are many high class acts that never get applause. He doesn’t admit it, but he k“ows that the real goods will sel l and he is selling his goods. He * a splendid mimic and a really a fine intelligent showman. He is indeed original in his method of selling his act to an audience. The Rigoletto Brothers, the Swanson Sisters and Young Abraham, a strong youth, extend their work over time that is generally allotted to three separate acts. The Rigoletto Brothers open with "magic, specializing in “knots.” Then comes the vanishing watch trick. Os course they do their instrumental number which is a trademark for them. The Swanson Sisters sing and dance in their well known quiet manner. One of the brothers introduces Abraham. This young strong man has an effective routine, doing three things—bending a long and heavy piece of steel into a pattern with his hands and teeth; then breaking a link out of a heavy chain and then carrying on his back a sack of grain weighing nearly 250 pounds while he carries two eggs in his hands. Alfred Latell probably Is the best known impersonator of a dog on the stage. He is assisted by Miss Dell. Latell's act is a well-known stage institution. As usual, he gets the attention of his audience with the greatest of ease. McWinders and Fox play the banjo. They just play, relying upon their melody to get them across, The Grey Family dance much better than they sing. The Ambler Brothers are t.thletes who specialize in human balancing. The bill includes movies and other events. At the Lyric all week. Other theaters today offer: “Lonesome Ladies,” at the Circle; “Time to Love,” at the Indiana; “Monte Cristo,” at the Ohio; “On Ze Boulevard” at the Apollo and “The Fighting Three,” at the Isis. Is Louise Huff, the motion picture actress, still playing for the screen? She is not playing for the movies, but has appeared frequently on the stage. She married E. A. Stillman, an engineer, and has three children.
Do You Know That no down-and-outer need sleep on a park bench in Indianapolis. There is always a worker in the Wheeler City Mission, a Community Fund agency, who can direct him to shelter?
AUG. 2, 1927
Why the Talman Weather? Meteorology
THE PAMPERO The “pampero” is the most famous weather phenomenon of the south American rqgion adjacent to the Rio de la Plata—the "River Plate’’ of colloquial English. It is a violent squall from the southwest, blowing chiefly during the months from July to September. The storm is ushered in by clouds to the southwest, which have a rolled and tufted appearance, like huge bales of black cotton. Thsir forms are continually changing. They are accompanied by gusts of hot wind, blowing at intervals of about a minute. Following these gusts, the storm comes with hurricane force, blowing up enormous clouds of dust, which sometimes spread such a pall of darkness over the land that it is hard to find one’s way about. Often heavy rain falls, and. mingling with the dust, becomes a shower of mud. Thunder and lightning frequently accompany the pampero. With the passing of the storm there is a marked fall in temperature. Shipping in the River Plate suffers severely in these storms. A pampero generally lasts only a, quarter of an hour or so, but in the year 1793 it is said, one blew without intermission for three days. Thei bed of the river was laid dry for a distance of ten miles from the shore revealing the wrecks of many vessels that had been lost years before. The pampero belongs to the type . of wind known to meteorologists the “line squall.” All right* reserved by Science Service, Inc.
Times Readers Voice Views
To the Editor: If his royal majesty, King Michael the first of Rumania, uttered the sentence—as quoted in The Times editcaial—"Mommie, I’m hungry. I wanna go home,” he needs more than food. He needs some instruction in the use of the English language, provided, of course, he speaks English, which he probably does not. In any event, no six or seven-year-old child, reared within a regal atmosphere, with the expectation that some day, perhaps, he would rule his people, would be permitted to use guttersnipe English, as quoted by The Times editorial. So I object; to The Times making the Rumanian king ridiculous by putting words in his mouth that he did not say. My own youngster of about the same age knows better than to use such Jargon. Asa matter of fact. The Times merely wanted to make its editorial "sobby” and thus manhandled the language at the expense of Michael the first. P. T. J. To the Editor: I do not like the tone of your paper at all on the “whisky" ques-1 tlon, so pardon me for sending you" some responsible information. Your grandchildren will be ashamed of your -paper in future years if you should perserve some of those wet copies. You have too much sense to put out such dope if you would stop and think. One hundred thousand persons yearly was the death toll before prohibition and don't fool yourself any longer. Respectfully. , CLARA B. DUNKIN.
Questions and Answers
What does the name “Palmyra" mean? It is a Greek name meaning “city of palm trees.” , lias any President except Georg* Washington been elected unanimously? NO. What speries of whale Is th largest? The largest whales are the blue whales t baloenoptera musculus) which attain a length of 100 feet or more, and weigh approximately 70 tons. What did It cost to build Brooklyn Bridge? $17,909,412. Are any women employed as radio { or wireless operators on navy vessels or on coast guard cutters? No.
Brain Teasers
new hot weather intelligence test. In the first ten of the questions below are three possible answers. One of the answers given is right, and two are wrong. Cross out the two incorrect answers and check up with the correct answers on page 12: 1. Is “the veldt” the name given to the plains of Russia, Australia or South Africa? 2. Is asbestos a rock, a vegetable fiber or a fabricated sea weed? 3. Are sponges fish, plants or sea animals? 4. Was David Starr Jordan a former automobile manufacturer, a college president or a distiller? 5. Is Thomas A. Edison called the "Wizard of Menlo Park,” "Wizard of Asbury Park,” or the "Wizard of Grant Park?” 6. Was the novel “Romola” written by W. L. George, George Eliot or Addison Simms? , 7. Did Nicholas Longworth marry a daughter of President Wilson, President Taft or President Roosevelt? 8. Is Reinald Werrenrath a baritone. basso or tenor singer? 9. Was James J. Hill a builder of American railroads, a maker of clocks or the inventor of the steamboat? 10. Was wampum used by the Indians as food, money or ammuni- i tion? * 11. Who are the two special prosecutors appointed to assist in the current Indiana political probe? 12. What Indianapolis police officer has been on the force for the longest period?
