Indianapolis Times, Volume 39, Number 78, Indianapolis, Marion County, 10 August 1927 — Page 4
PAGE 4
The Indianapolis Times (A SCRIPPS-HOWARD NEWSPAPER) Owned and published daily (except Sunday) by The Indianapolis Times Publishing Cos., 214-220 W. Maryland Street. iDdianapolls. Ind. Price in Marion County. 2 cents—lo cents a wees: elsewhere, 3 cents—l 2 cents a week.
PHONE—MAIN 3500
Member of United Press, Scripps-Howard Newspaper Alliance. Newspaper Enterprise Association. Newspaper Information Service and Audit Bureau of Circulations.
SCRIPPJ -HOWARD
A Simple Solution On Saturday there will gather in the home county of Chairman Clyde Walb the present so-called “leaders” of the Kepubliean party in this State to discuss problems that are very serious with them. There are many things that need discussion. For the people are asking many questions. The men who are responsible for the present administration of affairs in this State must answer. The people want to know what part was played by the men who control that party in directing the policy of State officials last fall which succeeded in keeping the “black boxes’’ of D. C. Stephenson away from the prosecutors and public gaze before the election. Will the men who have the party in leash go frankly to the rank and file of the parly and claim gratitude and thanks for hiding the secrets of Stephenson or will they disown any such conspiracy against public welfare? Will they point with pride or with shame to the fact that they forced the Republican members of the Legislature to adopt as a party policy, a resolution which prevented any investigation of Indiana affairs last fall? Will they indorse the administration of •Jackson for its economy or- point with pride to his success as a dealer in horses? Will they point to McCray as the horrible example of a man who refuses to accept aid and immunity in return for liberty at the price of a prosecutorship or will they laud his courage in maintaining what he termed his selfrespect before such a temptation? Will they admit the charge of Attorney General Gilliom that the party has been kidnaped by intruders and admit their own intrusion or will they denounce the attorney general as a trouble maker and a slanderer of the party organization? Will they vote thanks to Clyde Walb for his unwarranted charges which brought Senator Reed to this State, to unearth some of the hidden secrets of their senators or denounce him as a blunderer? Will they give a vote of confidence to Governor Jackson for his silence when charged with making an offer to Governor McCray that many believe to have been most reprehensible or will they demand that her make a denial in some form where proof can be produced or resign? * They have so many questions which the people wish answered. Avery simple solution, pei’haps the only solution, would be for the present leaders of the Republican party and those they put into power to resign. Perhaps that is too simple and too honest. Mexico Is Paying Up In an era when most nations are trying to wriggle out of paying their just debts—and often succeeding, be it said—we take off our hat to Mexico and President Calles. In the face of terrific obstacles about which the general public in this country hears nothing, Mexico is meeting her financial obligations. When General Calles came into power he said that one of the first things he intended to do was to resume payment of interest on Mexico’s public debt. As the country was just emerging from more than a decade of. constant revolution, most people heard the promise with skepticism. They did not believe it could be done—so soon, at any rate.* The promise to pay, they felt, was just a political gesture. The point is, however, these payments have not been made without hardship. Conservatives and radicals alike In Mexico have brought all possible pressure to bear on President Calles to have him postpone payment. Hardly any other country Is meeting its obligation/!, they argue, so why should Mexico worse off financially than most, act differently? When the people of the inundated districts of tV Mississippi valley return to their devastated homes nobody expects them to pay their pre-flood debts before they stock their farms and get their houses in livable condition. Similarly, it is argued, Mexico should first repair some of the damage done by the successive wave of revolution before attempting to pay her debts. But Calles has turned a deaf ear to conservatives and radicals alike and continues to pay as the interest falls due. Not the least ironical thing about the situation is that some of the very people who are benefiting by these payments have done more than any one else to make it difficult for Mexico to make them. Most of the money comes to the United States, and for the past two years our policy in Mexico has been such as to encourage revolt against President Calles. And revolts there have been, repeatedly, requiring the expenditure of considerable public funds co put down. But for the money required to keep the peace in Mexico, there would be little difficulty in meeting interest payments on the Mexican bonds held in this country. Most men, under these circumstances, would have said: “Oh, what’s the use! Let them do without their money." But Calles has not defaulted on a. single payment since payments tvere resumed. He has stubbornly kept his word. Which throws a revealing light on another side of Calles’ character and one that does him great credit.
BOYD GURLEY. Editor.
“Give Light and the People Will Find Their Own Way” —Dante
ROY W. HOWARD. President.
WEDNESDAY. AUGUST 10, 1927.
A Lesson Learned Alabama is learning the lesson, long since learned in other States where the Ku-Klux Klan established its’strongholds. The lesson is that secrecy breeds mobs, mobs breed violence and violence breeds contempt for the law. In Alabama the law has been flouted, not once, but many times. Men and women have been attacked by mobs and brutally beaten. A reign of terrorism has been created with the authorities seemingly unwilling to stop it. Those days are passed since the State has come to its senses. The floggers are being put to trial, regardless of their standing in the community, and juries are meting out punishment in keeping with the crime. The latest flogger, sentenced recently, was given eight to ten years in prison. Five others pleaded guilty and were given jail sentences or heavy fines. A few more such evidences of severity and the mask will be torn aside and the lash thrown on the scrap heap where it belongs. The Most Harmful Criminal Which is the most harmful criminal? The seller of narcotics, in the opinion of the Federal Parole Board. Its members have an unwritten law never to be lenient in cases of this character. “A murderer generally commits his crime in the heat of passion, & robber because he needs money j or food, but the seller of drugs is a cold-blooded criminal who makes his living by profiting from the weakness of his fellow men,” it is explained. Whether you agree with this Government opinion or not, the narcotic prisoner has less chance of getting parole of any of the Federal convicts.
When the air is full of ships, traffic will be directed by helicopters. \ When the Ford air-flivvers become numerous enough, there should be a big demand for space on the Signs of Zodiac. Trap-shooting is another sport wherein getting th& breaks is important. . JL In this country of registered voters possibly we should have pedigreed candidates. It would be wonderful if laws could be made strong f enough so that weak individuals could not break them. Joshua made the sun stand still, but Will Hays Is trying to make the stars quit coming out at night. Mr. Ford is not only a proficient manufacturer of tractors, but also makes a first-class retraction. If President Coolidge were the least bit vain, he would suppi'&ss those photos of the ten-gallo-j hat. A couple asks for a divorce because “they havo equally strong minds.’’ Is it impertinent to ask how two people of equally strong minds ever came to marry? Os the twenty-seven million phones In the world, sixteen million are in the United States. You’d think those people on the party line would find someone else to talk io. Tablets found in Babylonia show that banking was carried on there 5,000 years ago. There’s a good political job waiting for some archeologist who will dig up a tablet on Babylonian farm relief. It seems Great Britain and a few of the others are considerably off their naval bases. More than $1,000,000 in wages is the annual loss due to sunburn, gay the statisticians. Poison ivy’s another way to get a vacation.
Governor Fuller’s Failure
By N. D. Cochran
Governor Fuler’s decision probably dooms Sacco and Vanzetti to death, but it doesn’t settle the worldwide controversy as to their guilt, or whether they had a fair trial. One trouble with the problem Governor Fuller had to face was that the laws, the courts and judicial procedure of Massachusetts were on trial before the State’s Governor. In order to make it possible for Sacco and Vanzetti to have anew trial he had to find the law and some judges of his own State guilty of injustice. While the Governor himself and his specially appointed commission find that the condemned men had a fair trial and believe them to be guilty, their explanation of their finding isn’t convincing enough to change the minds of those who honestly believe ■he trial judge was prejudiced and that the Supreme Sourt based its finding on the record in his court. Anyhow, ■•■;hat the world demanded was anew rial in open court, before a jury of peers of the ndicated men and an impartial judge. What it finally Tot from Governor Fuller and his commission of •minent citizens of Massachusetts was a trial In star chamber and a public statement of a decision based on secert hearing of evidence. So Governor Fuller hasn’t helped a vicious situation. He hasn’t vindicated Judge Thayer. He hasn’t increased respect for the laws, the courts and judicial procedure of Massachusetts. The world doesn’t yet know whether or not Sacco and Vanzetti had a fair trial or whether they are guilty or innocent. • And radicals all over the world are given another opportunity to roar.
Law and Justice By Dexter M. Keezer
An automobile owner had an insurance policy protecting him against loss caused by “accidental collision.” While rounding a curve his car went off the road into a gulch below, overturned and was demolished. The owner sought to collect insurance on the ground that crashing into the gulch was an “accidental collision” which entitled him to payment under the terms of his policy. The company refused to pay, claiming that the term “accidental collision” could not reasonably be construed to cover a case of colliding with the dirt and rock of a gulch after running off of the highway. HOW WOULD YOU DECIDE THIS CASE? The actual decision: The Supreme Court of the State of Washington ruled that the man was not entitled to payment. It said that loss occasioned by the contact of his automobile with the earth could not reasonably be regarded as an “accidental collision,” warranting payment under the terms of the insurance poliey.
W. A. MAYBORN. Business Manager.
By United Press TOLEDO, Ohio, Aug. 10.—Seventeen million tons of coal are shipped from this port each year. The coal is brought up from Ohio, Kentucky and West Virginia mines by trains from ninety to 100 cars. The cars, containing from fifty to seventy tons each, are picked up bodily by giant cranes and dumped into the ships. A crane will handle from forty to fifty cars an hour. Counting Pennies Much of this coal is consigned to Henry Ford. He not only takes hundreds of thousands of tons for his yards at Duluth, but for his gigantic plant at River Rouge. He saves 14 cents a ton by transferring coal from train to ship at Toledo, and sending it by water to River Rouge, which is a little more than sixty miles away. The average householder would look upon such a saving as of little consequence, but on half a million tons it represents a small fortune. Much of the profit in big business comes from counting pennies. Costly Machinery, There are 3,500 parts in the average medium-priced automobile, and one or more operations are required not only to make each part, but to adjust it. Some of these operations are performed by expensive machinery. I saw one machine in the WillysOverland plant which shaped and shaved a comparatively small piece of metal, but which cost $25,000. The dies for stamping the steel in Whippet bodies cost $360,000. Every time anew model car is produced some concern spends millions of dollars for new equipment.
Ford's Secrecy Ford is said to have spent $50.000,000 revamping his plant for that mysterious new car. This, together with the rigid secrecy he has maintained, serves to create a situation of suspense. Mr. Ford has put over a good advertising stunt, if not more. Not a few people whose interests are bound up in the manufacture of automobiles are hoping it is no more. On the surface, every one pretends to be calm and nonchalant, but underneath there is a curiosity that clamors to be satisfied. Two Models Seen According to United Press. t\ro strange Ford cars made their appearance on the ground of the plant Tuesday. One was a dark green, and looked as though it might be equipped w'ith four-wheel brakes, and a standard gear shift. The other was slate colored, and more of a puzzle It was taken for granted by those who got a glimpse of these cars that they represented two of the final experiments which Ford is making. The interest their appearance attracts and the strain to discover what they were like speaks for itself. 'lndustrial Emperor’ Henry Ford has come to be feared in his own particular field of industry as, perhaps, no man ever was. He has done the unexpected too often for competitors to view this latest and most astonishing venture of his career with entire calmness. His success in thwarting the most persistent efforts to find out what he intends is enough to make anyone shiver. It gjves one the impression that he has built up an organization which is almost Prussian in discipline and efficiency. Besides this, he has cash to back his projects, and no board of directors to get cold feet. Europeans are more truthful than poetic when they call him the “industrial emperor of the West.” Little Firms Suffer Wealth is pooling and combining in the automobile industry, Just as it has in every great human venture. Fifteen years ago, there were something like 200 concerns making automobiles. Today there are fifty-two, only ten or a dozen of which are solid enough to warrant assurance that they can survive independently. Two of these—Henry Ford and General Motors—have come to be recognized as giants in the business. Taken together they probably produce two-thirds of all the automobiles made in this country. It is commonly supposed that they are about to engage in a struggle for control of the low-priced car market. The tragedy of this struggle does not consist in what may happen to either of them, but in what is bound to happen to many small manufacturers. Flooding the Market The Ford plant has been shut down since the middle of last May, but without any apparent effect on the supply of low-priced cars. There is no indication that anybody who wanted a low-priced car could get it. This is undoubtedly due to the fact that several competitors have increased their production by a wide margin. General Motors, for instance, has arrived at a point where it can produce 5,000 VChevrolets a day, and the Willys-Overland can produce 1,200 or 1,500 Whippets. What is going to happen when Ford turns hundreds of thousands of cars on the market? Some say nothing will happen, that this country can absorb the increase and that even if it could not, foreign trade would. Whatever happens the effect is bound to be felt outside ’ the industry.
THE INDIANAPOLIS TIMES
M. E. TRACY SAYS: Much of the Profit in Big Business Comes From Counting Pennies.
‘Wish You Were Here’ Days Are Back
How to Take a Fine Mountain Trip Into the Great Smokies by Reading 320 Pages of Mason’s Book .. , , nv u attip n M.n......
Picture this for a vacation site: “—‘the Ghost Country?’ There was a soothing fry of the fire-sticks, a sputter of an angry spark, the distant hoot of a hunter owl, we pulled our blankets closer, and—- “ Daybreak. “The dawn was very cool. There came mistily spilling into the sleepy, cloud-filled valleys a soft amber glow, becoming roseate, then golden.” Can’t you picture such an awakening of nature by a camp fire on the top of the Smokies, on the boundary line between North Carolina and Tennessee? It has been so pictured for you by Robert Lindsay Mason in “The Lure of the Great Smokies.” published by Houghton Mifflin Company. It is Mason’s description of his first night atop of The Great Smokies as expressed by him in his book that you have just read. And later on in his book, we enter with the author one of those rare old mountain cabins which “is usually redolent with the odor of drying herbs and simples, or strings of red pepper and cornfield beans, in the slow hydrating process of other days.” We meet some of the old settlers who believe in primitive root which was a cure-all for many complaints.” I was tremendously interested in Mason’s description of the dusty looms in the attic of an old cabin. Enjoy Mason's word picture when he writes: "But the wonderful patterns these old looms have turned out. Perhaps one fine day the interested visitor
(Anderson Herald) The State organization of the Republican party, the State officials of the Republican party and the mass of voters of the Republican party are negligent in their duty as citizens to ignore the Shall We present challenge to their honor. The o*. Governor of the State of Indiana, Ed . ” u ~ Jackson, a Republican, stands charged pinely By? by a fearlessly edited newspaper, The Indianapolis Times, with gross misdeeds. It has been published by that newspaper that Ed Jackson, when secretary of State, called on Governor McCray with an offer of SIO,OOO for attorney fees and a pledge of Immunity from conviction if he, McCray, would stand and deliver the prosecuting attorneyship of Marion County to a henchman of George V. Coffin, Republican party chieftain there. This is a serious charge. It was made more than ten days ago. Governor Jackson has not answered it. If untrue, he would have a fine case of libel, with heavy damages, against the Scripps-Howard newspapers, owners of The Times, well able to pay a million dollars or more if the story is no true. The story has been met with silence by Governor Jackson. The Indianapolis Times’ charges, if they are not worth a Jibel suit by the Governor, surely are worth a thorough investigation by the State Legislature. The Anderson Herald .calls upon the Republican organization to clean house, in behalf of truth, honor and justice. A special session of the Indiana Legislature should be assembled to go to the very bottom of all the charges that have been made against Governor Jackson and which, to date, he has shied from like a frightened $2,500 saddle horse. Did the present Governor of Indiana try to bribe former Governor McCray? Did Ed Jackson, when secretary of State, promise immunity to McCray if the latter named a certain gentleman prosecuting attorney of Marion County? These accusations should be explored to the uttermost. A special session of the State Legislature could soon have former Governor McCray as a witness. The
To the Editor: Your editorial treatment of the imposition of a prison sentence on E. S. Shumaker for contempt of the Supreme Court is -a masterpiece of sound reasoning, logically and conclusively presented. You have sounded a warning to those who are rejoicing over Mr. Shumaker’s conviction which they will have many occasions to remember. Further, you have demonstrated that you have the vision to adhere to principles over personalities in the conduct of a newspaper. There are a great many persons in this State from whom expressions of admiration could come with greater force and value, but there is none who can exceed me in sincerity. Yours truly, R. A. BUTLEJR.
.WEEKLY BOOK REVIEW
BY WALTER D. HICKMAN
may be able to persuade ‘Aunt Clarindy’ or ‘Aunt Marthy Ann’ to get her ‘man’ to dust off her loom and she wBl begin weaving such famous designs as ‘The Battle of Monmouth.’ or ‘Hearts Flowers,’ or a ‘coverlid’ of ‘Thunder and Lightnin’.” Don’t you actual':/ revel in such
dL
Miss Lee Morse
Miss Lee Morse, the “Southern Aristocrat of Song,” now appearing at the Lyric in a program of “blue” and popular songs. The Columbia recording artist presents several numbers of her own composition, also some of her record hits.
What Other Editors Think
Times Readers ’ Editorials
To the Editor: Neither a drinker nor a prohibitionist, I wish to express myself relative to the decision of the Supreme Court in holding Mr. Shumaker in contempt. Had Mr. Shumaker and all the reverend gentlemen who are causing such comment on the said decision been as conscientious in their belief of the people’s rights when they
Do You Know — That 457 young men are en- 1 roiled in clubs and classes and other interesting activities at the colored branch of the Young Men’s Chiistian Association, an organization of the Community Fund?
descriptions by Mason? I do and I feel after reading “Lure of the Great Smokies” that I have had a grand and glorious vacation. These mountains bring you mighty close to nature, really as close as any printed page, assisted by the artistry of the author .that I have ever encountered. There is a freshness and a Joy of real life in the pages of Mason’s book which makes it a priceless adventure. And those who enjoy the hunt will get a whiff of real mountain ait on reading Mason's description of “Famous Hunters of the Great Smokies.” You meet in Mason's book many old hunters and trappers whose exploits rival those of Daniel Boone and Davy Crockett. You have an opportunity in this book to hear the old hunters tell their stories in their own words. I am no 1 , sure that I am not ove”enthusiast>7 over “Lure of the Greet Smokies,” because I know that it will give a fine vacation to all those who read it. If you long to get into the mountains, to feel the lure of the mountain campfire, then by all means meet Nature and life as pictured by Mason. Indianapolis theaters today offer: “Stop Thief,” at English's; "The Show Off,” at Keith’s; Olga and Mishka at the Lyric; “Captain Salvation,” at the Circle; “Man Power,” at the Indiana; “Frisco Sally Levy,” at the Ohio; “Painting the Town,” at the Apollo and Movies at the Isis.
other men concerned in the charge are alive and within jurisdiction of a State subpoena. Let's get down to business and have the thing over with. Other States will begin to respect us when we do. It is not a Job for faint-hearted men. (RushWlle Republican) The Indianapolis Republican Editorial Association, which held its mid-summer meeting at Lafayette last week-end, side-stepped the principal question before the people of Indiana—honesty and Editorial integrity in public office. The alibi r . ■ was that, politics was taboo and that Convention gathering was merely a social outEchoes ing. Ample proof that this was evasion of the political question on which the association should have taken a stand, is found in the fact that the past policy of the association has been to make the summer meeting purely political and the winter meeting the time for discussion of newspaper problems. Furthermore, additional proof is at hand, that the summer meeting is still a political gathering and not an editorial meeting. According to the Lafayette Journal-Courier, published by Henry Marshall, who was host for the meeting, there were exactly seventysix men, women and children registered. Os this number an even dozen were real editors actually engaged in the business of editing or publishing a newspaper. Thus it will be seen that the mid-summer meeting was in fact a political meeting, instead of an editorial outing as the president of the association endeavored to make it appear to the people of Indiana. This was his clever way of side-stepping the political corruption investigation, on which the association should have taken a stand, and to make it seem more realistic he refused to permit any office-holders or candidates to speak. But doubtless they were not offended, because they understood this bit of stage management.
sponsored illegal search and seizure and attempted to destroy the sanctity of our homes by such procedures, and sponsored fanatic laws limiting the rights of the American people, I feel that he and they would have some right to complain now about the decision. But as it stands it merely looks like the case of a bad loser, as is generally the case of persons solely engaged in an occupation seeking to curb the natural born rights of others. RAY J. DINSMORE, 1328 N. Cr.pitol Ave., Indianapolis Who wrote the lines: "As unto the bow the cord Is, So unto the man is woman; Though she bends him. she obese him, Though she draws him, yet she follows; Useless each without the other.” They occur in Longfellow’s “Hiawatha.”
AUG. 10,1927
Why the Weather? 1
Ms?" Talman Meteorology
THE DIREFUL WORK OF A TORNADO The Weather Bureau has recently received a circumstantial account of a particularly destructive tornado that occurred on April 12 of this year In Edwards and Real Counties, Texas. Fortunately only one town was directly in the path of the storm. This was Rocksprings, the county seat of Edwards County, with a population of 1,200. The tornado hit this place without warning at 7:50 p. m. A minute and a half later only twelve buildings were left standing in the town, and six of these were badly damaged. Many buildings disappeared entirely, even to the foundations, leaving no trace of timber or contents. Concrete and stone failed to withstand the fury of the wind. The courthouse and the post office partly escaped the tornado, but caught fire and burned. This disaster cost the lives of seventy-two people and injured 200 more. Many Injured people were further bruised and cut by heavy hail, which fell during and after th storm. An Interesting sequel of this tornado was the attempt made a few days later by a Weather Bureau official to follow and map the path of the storm from an airplane. Where the path lay over open country Its course could not be determined, but where there were buildings and woods to provide debris the path was seen to be usually wide; more than a mile some points. The wreckage strewn in such a way as to show planl v the "counter-clockwise” direction of the wind around the vortex of the storm. (All rights reserved by Science Service, Inc.)'
Mr. Fixit The Weed Cutting Force Catches Up With Complaints.
i Ebcit, The Times reporter at city I hall, will be glad to present your complaints to city officials. Letters must bear writer’s name and address. Names will not be published. The city’s weed cutting force has caught up with the complaints, the street commissioner’s office reported today. They can take care of future complaints immediately if the exact location of the undesirable condition is given In a signed statement. Mr. Fixit: I live at 253 Hampton Dr. West of my home there are two vacant lots full of weeds about five feet high. If you can do anything toward having them cut, we will appreciate it. F. M. “We’ll cut these right away," was the reply to Mr. Fixit. Mr. Fixit; A man built a doublehouse on the corner of Vermont and Minerva Sts. This house has been completed long enough lor him to have the clay dirt hauled away that Is on the sidewalk. It is almost impassable in rainy weather anfl looks anything but nice. ™ I have a blind brother who goes in that direction eveiy day. He has to wade in the mud. Please see what you can do for us. Thanking you in advance. A REGULAR TIMES READER. The same ordinance which requires property owners to clean snow from their sidewalks governs this case. Violators are punishable by fine. The property owner or the policeman on that beat should be notified. Mr. Fixit: Will you please help us get a little relief in the 1700 block on Terrace Ave.. between State and Dawson Sts.? We would like to have our street oiled. The dust is just awful. We have to keep our doors and windows closed from the dust during the day. Please help us get relief. TIMES. READER. No immediate relief can be promised. The city is out of oil and will be for a couple of weeks.
Questions and Answers
How high is Pike's Pe- k in Colorado? 14,107 feet. What Is a tachometer? An Instrument for measuring velocity. Is it necessary to close one eya when sighting a rifle? It is not possible to sight a rifla accurately with both eyes open. What is the duty on silk material imported into the United States? Fifty-five cents ad valorem.
Brain Teasers
Answers for today’s questions are on page 10: 1. What country is known as "The Land of the Rising Sun?” Korea, Japan or China? 2. Is the Statue of Liberty on Bsdloe’s Island, Staten Island, or Manhattan Island? 3. Is a United States census taken every year, every ten years, or every five years? 4. Was Croesus a rich man, a poor man. or a beggar? 5. Was Andrew Carnegie an Eng* lishman, a Scotchman or a Welchman? 6. Ih the largest of the Great Lakes, Lake Michigan, Lake Erie, or Lake Superior? 7. Is Allah the supreme being oli the Aztecs, the Buddhists, or the* Mohammedans? 8. Is the world’s most famous pas# sion play, dealing with the last day* of Christ’s life, given in Geneva, Oberammergau, or Rome? 9. Is the calory a unit of light, a unit of electricity, or a unit o* heat? 10. Was the first draft of the Declaration of Independence written by Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, oa Thomas Jefferson? ™ 11. How many prospective buyer* live within twenty-four hours ride of Indianapolis? 12. How large is the IndianapolU stockyards?