Indianapolis Times, Volume 39, Number 210, Indianapolis, Marion County, 10 January 1928 — Page 4

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S C R I PPJ - H OW AAO

The Doors Open . An inspired message from the naffonal capital says that when Senator James Eli Watson comes back home on Thursday, it will not be in the role of a party dictator, but as humble member of the ranks. He has forgotten his announced desire to give a “new deal” through the picking of a candidate for Governor who wears no nightgown nor a party chairman who will make the voters forget the gentleman who guided his own campaign two years ago and who is now too busy in the Federal Courts to continue his job. it is ( intimated that his work as a Mussolini for his party in this State has failed. Perhaps it was because he discovered that lie had too many promises outstanding which he could not keep. It may have been for other reasons. This is perhaps fortuntae, not only for his party, but for the State. For his early and unsuccessful suggestions as to those who should succeed to power were not altogether happy. For chairman of the party he had tried to obtain the editor who led the crusade in the ranks of the Republican Editorial Association to throw out of that organization one Thomas A. Adams of Vincennes, whose crime was that he demanded a clean-up of political conditions. Adams was denounced by this editor and those who followed his advice as an enemy to the party with which he had been allied for fifty years. A political chairman who takes a bold stand that any person who demanded that the evils of Stephensonism be exposed not a Republican, might be in keeping with the ideas of Watson, but lie is not likely to inspire any confidence this year. Unless there is a determined and persistent policy to drive from the Republican party every man and woman who is even mildly glad that the “Black Boxes” have disgorged their secrets, that those who betrayed the State arc exposed, that some who walked in dark paths are indicted, the Watson retirement from dictatorship would seem to be a happy outcome. Perhaps the rank and tile of the voters oi the Republican party will decide lo get the new deal for themselves. They may decide that their party has too fine a tradition and too much of a purpose lo be handed over to those who have betrayed it in the past and whose ideas of public service is to suppress any inquiries into malefactions. The voters may really look around and try to discover some man in the party who has voiced his opposition to Stephensonism and Klanism and the other evils. There have been one or two such men. But thus far they have not been suggested by Watson as furnishing a solution. What is a “new deal” aqyway? More nightgowns ? Or more cells? Pass This Bill It’s Tommy this an’ Tommy that, an’•'Chuck ’im out, the brute,” But it’s ‘‘Savior of ’is country” when the guns begin to shoot. Kipling did not spare England for difference in treatment of her soldiers in war and in peace, and the Congress of the United States should see to it that this country does not fall into the same error attributed to Britain. It is essential to fairness ancf the credit of this great land that Senate bill 3027, the Tyson-Fitzgerald measure, be taken up and passed pronto. This measure provides for the retirement of disabled emergency army officers with the same allowances, according to grade, as those given officers of, the regular army. Equality for all officers and enlisted men was promised in the selective service act of May, 1917. This has not been carried out. The bill has been pending for eight years. Twice it passed the Senate' and was defeated by House obstructionists. About 2,000 men are affected, though 135 have during the legislation. The survivors are not discouraged. Men who helped break the Hindenburg line are not built that way. They re-form and come back. Tardy justice is better than none. Pass the Tyson-Fitzgerald bill. A Call for Thinkers Dr. Alfred Scott Warthin of the University of Michigan sounded a welcome note at the Race Betterment Conference in Battle Creek when he told the delegates that they were attacking their problems wrong end to. “From the trend of the' 1 papers being read here,’’ he said, “one would take this to bd a race deterioration conference rather than a betterment discussion. The trouble is that you have begun at the wrong end. What is really needed is anew religion and anew philosophy of life.” It isn’t Dr. Warthin’s remark about a “new religion” that we are indorsing. The old one, it seems to us, will serve perfectly well for a long, long time. What we do like is his insistence that man’s true problems are, and always will be, spiritual rather than physical. We can convene all the eugenists and sociologists and psychologists in the world, listen to them by the decade and let them rewrite our law’s to suit themselves; but It does not follow that we will )>e any closer to universal human happiness when we get through than we are nowfe needs a healthy body, of course. He needs

The Indianapolis Times (A SCHirrS-HOWABD NEWSPAPER) Owned and published dally (except Sunday) by The Indianapolis Times Publishing 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. PRANK G. MORRISON, Editor. President. • Business Manager. . PHONE—MAIN 3300. TUESDAY. JAN. 10, 1928. Member of United Press, Scrlpps-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.

decent living conditions, decent food, a decent chance to make his way in the world as he sees fit. But chiefly he needs a healthy spirit. His chief trouble right now is that something has gone awry with his inner self. Various events of the last decade have left him slightly groggy. If he is a thinking man, he is apt to be a bit befogged and confused. He needs, not a doctor, but a poet. * Never in the world’s history have the physical details of life been easy for as large a number of people as they are today. The average man has an easier life now than he ever flad before. Yet we doubt exceedingly if he is much happier. And Dr. Warthin, we believe, has put his finger on the reason. We need—not anew religion; say, rather, anew set of thinkers and philosophers who can impress us anew with the old one. We need to be reminded that our most pressing problems aren’t problems that eugenists and the like can settle for us. We used to learn once more that tall buildings and big factories and high payrolls -and shiny automobiles can bring far less happiness than we suppose. We need to get over our idea that a set of tasty charts and a few new laws can usher in the millennium. We have done very well in a material way. It’s time now that we let the scientist have a short vacation and listened to the philosopher. The Eternal Appeal Wc are told that religion has lost its appeal. People mournfully point out that more persons remain outside the churches than go into them. The empty pews are the theme of many a mournful disquisition. And yet something occurred the other day that showed this apparent indifference to religion is all surface stuff. The British Parliament was discussing a revised prayer book for the Established Church of England. The mob of people who sought admission to attend the debates broke all recent precedents. The speeches made in the House of Lords and in the House of Commons broke all records for eloquence, for intensencss, for earnestness, for ability. All party lines were smashed. All class lines were forgotten. Bishops, aristocrats and workmen on one side opposed bishops, aristocrats and workmen on the other. The result of the voting was awaited with a tenseness that is hard to realize or to picture. Not in recent years has parliamentary action been so keenly watched by a whole nation. It was a derouting thing for the pessimists. It showed once for all that religion still comes close to the hearts and minds of men. The lessons learned at the mother’s knee have not been forgotten. They arc still cherished. They have still a place in the innermost being. They .still reign in the core of us. War and Mammon and the great deity, Play, and that other deity, Sport, are all right in this ordinary workaday world, but in the silent, thoughtful hours there is one supreme thing which counts supremely —communion with God. The Waste An Accident Causes Eugene Grace, president of the Bethlehem Steel Corporation, hits the nail right on the head in his ! statement announcing the Bethlehem’s new campaign 1 to reduce industrial accidents. President Grace begins by announcing that the j elimination of waste must be one of the first en- j deavors so any industrial organization. To date, he; says, Industry has done well in eliminating waste in time and materials; great manufacturing economies have been introduced, efficiency has mounted year by year. Thus he sees the waste caused by injuries to workers remaining as one of industry's outstanding problems. “A man who is hurt suffers pain and worry,” he says. “His family loses a part of all of its income." Accordingly, the Bethlehem concern has divided its employes into groups and is offering a series of attractive cash prizes for the lowest accident records. It is a good step. American industry, as a whole, is conducted with remarkably few accidents, considering the pitfalls that lie in its path; but the total can still bear reduction, and any measure that wiil help cut down the number of mishaps to workers is praiseworthy. A New View of Law Yale University Law School has Just taken a very remarkable step. It has named as a professor of law a man who never went to a law school,' and to whom much of the stock in trade of practicing lawyers is probably a complete mystery. The man, Walton Hale Hamilton, is an eminent economist whose study of the law has been centered in its effect upon the economic life of the country rather than its legal technicalities. By making such an appointment Yale University makes formal recognition of the fact that good lawyers must be more than good logicians and technical craftsmen. It recognizes that they must have a better understanding of the economic life of the country for which law provides the principal guide. In a country which is run largely by lawyers the importance of the step which Yale has taken is of the first magnitude. It Is a happy augury for the future development of legal training in this country. An official probe Is something that endeavors to find out after the damage has been done what everybody should have known before. Maybe there Is room at the top. But look what you generally have to climb over to get there. Dictionary; A book to which you refer after an argument over how. to spell a word to find out you were wrong. Life Is so paradoxical. A lot of people keep their noses to the grindstone all the time trying to hold their heads up. Sage advice isn’t worth so much after all. For’ ages platitudinists have been telling us to forge ahead, and look what happened to the blacksmith. There may possibly bo indecency in art, but there is no art in indecency.—Goshen Democrat. LA •. • - ..

THE INDIANAPOLIS TIMES.

BRIDGE ME ANOTHER (Copyright, 1927. by The Ready Reference Publishing Company.) BY TV. VV. WENTWORTH

(Abbreviations: A—ace; K—king; Q—queen; J—jack; X —any card lower than 10.) 1. What two milestones are reached in every hand played? 2. How may you learn to improve your game? 3. When you hold A Q 10 X how many outside quick tricks are required to bid it? The Answers 1. To make your contract and if possible to make game. 2. Playing often and reading books by authorities. 3. One.- *

Times Readers Voice Views

The name and address of the author must accompany every contribution, but on request will not be published. Letters not exceeding 200 words will receive preference. To the Editor: Your editorial of Jan. 3, entitled “Freedom for Cities,” contains statements that are not in harmony with the facts. We concede your right to criticise, but feel that criticism ought to be based on facts, not rumors. This board has never tried to interfere with local self government anywhere in the State of Indiana. It has no authority except on the apj peal of ten or more taxpayers. ! The Hon. Thomas R. Marshall, after having been Governor cf the State of Indiana for four years, and a man whose democracy has never been questioned, and whose faith in local self government could not be questioned, yet, after four years experience as the chief executive of the State of Indiana, in his last message to the Legislature, recommended that: . . . no bonds shall be issued to nnV municipality unless application made to the State board of tax commissioners asking for leave to issue bonds and showing the purpose of the issue, is f ;rantcd: and that the beard grant no eave until it has fixed the minimum price at which the bonds raav be sold and exacted a proper bond and guarantee the use of the proceeds for the purposes named when the bonds are authorized. This power is greater than that exercised by this board. The State of Indiana does not have the recall. Officers are generally elected on a promise of economy and pledging the taxpayers that they will reduce the burden of government, yet no sooner are they selected than they engage upon extravagant programs of spending public money. The only remedy the taxpayers now have from the action of such officials is by filing a petition and having the matter reviewed by the tax board. The Supreme Court of the State of Indiana has upheld the constitutionality of the law authorizing a review on the question of issuing bonds. This was upheld in the case of Van Hess Vs. Board. 190 Ind. 347. The Supreme Court in that case held that as to the purposes 'for which taxes are to be used, or whether one improvement should be made or another should be made, must be decided by somebody. . . . The experience of the tax board during the 1919 and 1920, was such that the board did not feel that it ought to have anything to do in reviewing bond issues or tax levies where the people were all agreed among themselves. It is only where a difference of opinion arose and where there was doubt in the minds of some taxpayers whether certain things should be conferred upon board, and then only to either approve or reduce *,he amount proposed to be spent. The taxpayers *in practically every county in the State have availed themselves of this right of appeal, and we believe that the great majority of the taxpayers and voters in the State of Indiana are in favor of this right given them to appeal from unwarranted and extravagant action of their public officials. Your reference to the action of this board in the Huntington matter is unfortunate In this, that this board never took action such as you refer to. Taxpayers in that community appealed that question to our board and this board was ready to approve a bond issue in the sume of $35,000. The attorney beneral held, however, that this was a matter for the public service commission and not this boarl People all ever the State of Indiana are clamoring for relief from the excessive burden of taxation. Some think that this can be accomplished by reducing valuations. If all property is properly assessed, then the burden of taxation falls equally on everybody, but to say that officers shall be permitted to seek the franchise of the voters on pledges of economy, and after they assume the duties of the office, forget all pledges made, and enter on an era of extravagances, and then to say that the taxpayer who pays the bill shall have no relief and no remedy, and when a remedy is given him, to say that it interferes with the sacred right of self government, is stretching this theory entirely too far. Recently it was proposed In the city of Terre Haute, in Fairfield Township, to build forty-five roads, which were practically streets, in the city of Terre Haute, under the three-mile road law, that would have Increased the burdens of the taxpayers enormously. Many of the taxpayers in that city had paid for their streets under the Barrett law. After a careful consideration,'this board approved five, because these five were of such importance that after proper consideration we felt the improvements ought to be made by the township. If the taxpayers had had no right of appeal all of these streets would have been built at the expense of all the taxpayers in the township. The National Municipal League has shown an interest in this matter and the officers of that league feel that some means should be afforded the taxpayers to stop the unnecessary expenditure of public money, and Indiana’s plan has proven most practical, and is gaining supporters every day. PHILIP ZOERCHER, Commissioner, State board ov tax commissioners of Indiana.

If This Production of Autos Gets Any Worse —

gf't —WERE COIM6 TO HAVE A STRENUOUS TIME KEEPING THE mi of pedestrians up to meet the increased demands ! ,

Marius Espouses Citizens Cause

'T'HE dispossessed farmers flocked to the capital to form anew class—the “proletariat”—so called because their main industry v.as in making children. As they were citizens, privileged to vote In the assembly, and the empire had maintained all democratic forms, these proletaires. half idle in a city bristling with trade, but lacking in industry, became a threat to the power of the patrician land-owners and the rising bourgeoisie; they were held In some restraint only by receiving corn, and sometimes meat and wine, from the state, and being bribed liberally by all candidates for their votes. As the rich grew richer with the blood of the provinces the poor grew poorer with the loss of their lands, and the gap between classes tore society into pieces with a hundred revolutions. In 132 B. C. Tiberius Gracchus, a tribune belonging to the aristocracy, but perceiving the plight of the people and the state, called for a restoration of the soil to the citizens. “The beasts of the field and the birds of the air,” he said, “have their holes and their hiding places; but

(Kokomo Dispatch) < Democratic) Without anything to corroborate it, the rather startling story of a State-wide bank intrigue in Indiana involving illegal practices in the depositing of public funds, as told by D. C. Stephenson from his cell at Michigan City prison, to Prosecutor Homer R. Miller and Grover Bishop, would seem almost unbelievable. However, following the disclosures brought about by the failure of the American Trust. Company here and the bank at La Grange, there .iv.no question but that State funds have been handled in a manner to invite very grave suspicion. In fact, in the light of revelations thus far made in Kokomo alone, it would appear that safety has not been a consideration in the seeking of depositories. Political expediency, rake-offs and favoritism of every degree seem rather to have been the governing factors. It is not so hard, therefore, to

D I R IQ I P~ 0-R |E \V

The Rules

1. The idea of letter golf is to change one word to another and do it in par, a given number of strokes. Thus, to change COW to Hen, in three strokes, COW, HOW, HEW, HEN. 2. You can change only on letter at a time. 3. You must have a complete word, of common usage, for each jump. Slang words and abbreviations don’t count. 4. The order of letters can not be changed.

SIPI I IRIE _s_P.J_.kJL _S.XX.kJL JLXJ__N X L-AiLNX _P.-A.X_NX plol i Inlt

THE STORY OF CIVILIZATION

Written for The Times by Will Durant

the men who fight and die for Italy enjoy only the light and the air . . . You fight and die to give wealth to ethers; you are called the masters of the world, and yet there is not a clod of earth that is yours.” The answer of the senate was to assassinate him, with three hundred cf his followers, when the vote of the c sembly was turning in favor of his proposal. tt tt tt Nevertheless, the revolts continued. In Spain Viriathus led'an uprising of slaves in 149 B. C.; in Sicily, whose once proud cities and busy fields were now the happy hunting-ground of plundering Romans. the Carthaginian slaves rebelled under Ennius, who set up lrfs own court, aped the most royal splendors, and collected taxes sedulously for ten years. In 104 B. C. Athenion led another revolt, and fought savagely for freedom until only a few of his followers remained; he was promised mercy if he would yield, but when he yielded he was sent to his death in the arena against hungry beasts. In 74 B. C. a gladiator named Spartacus, once a Thracian freeman, led the slaves again, and for two

What Other Editors Think

imagine that there may be more truth than “hot air” in what “Steve” alleges and for that reason he should be given ample opportunity to talk to a Howard County grand jury. More and more, the evidence accumulates to prove that Indiana governmental affairs have become retten to the very core, and as the department continues we find to our utter dismay that almost every branch and department was involved. Since “Steve” seems to be thoroughly familiar with all the ramifications of the corrupt mess, his services should be enlisted to every possible extent in laying the case bare before the public, and if possible in bringing the ringleaders to justice. The good people of Indiana are entitled to something better than a government by officials who betray confidence and are willing to prostitute principles for selfish ends. Rushvillc Republican (Our Code of Ethics) The day when newspapers become influenced to the extent of playing favorites, marks the beginning of the end, A newspaper is published with the idea of giving news, and our reporters have been told to get the facts only and give them to the reading public. We respect only one source of news, that is the news of the Juvenile Court. The law of probation must be recognized if we expect to build character and cleaner lives with our young folks. Probation, as it is now being applied to the grownups is being accorded a prominent place among the courts and newspapers. Nearly every day we have requests to keep some item out of the paper. Those of you who buy this paper do not want a paper of curtailed news. This newspaper will never lend itself to a selfish cause, knowingly, and will be found a bitter and unrelenting foe to those who try to gain prestige through taking advantage of a fellow being. Folks, you can’t compromise when there is an issue involving the welfare of your city, county, State or Nation. We would rather go down waging a fight than win financial gain by compromise with wrong. In fighting, you can be fair, and fight on a high plane, or surrender. If right Is on your side, there can be no surrender. “Take my ad out of your paper” or “stop your damn paper” and other equally forcible statements are nc# unknown to the editor or advertising manager of a newspaper. We get them every , few days. In fact, they are al- , most as popular as.the stop and ' go signs. 1 If we were to miss these periodic messages it would be an in-

years defeated the Roman army, making his fortress in the crater of Vesuvius. At last after vast expense. Crassus succeeded in overcoming him; and six thousand survivors of the revolt were crucified along the Appian Way as a lesson in political philosophy to slaves who aspired to be free. In 87 B. C., Marius, a brilliant young patrician, espoused the cause cf the starving citizenry of Rome, and urged a redistribution of the land; the senate outlawed him, and appointed the brutal Sulla to capture him. Sulla won, and drew up secret lists of 4.700 men suspected of complicity in the revolt; all but a few of the 4.700 were killed. One of the few was Caesar. Meanwhile, in the north, the eternal barbarians locked down upon their prey,, and thought their time had come. Already in 302 B. C. the Guuls had swept down over the Alps, plundered the valley of the Po, and sacked even Rome itself. In 277 B. C. they had spread as far as Hungary and Asia Minor. (To Be Continued) (Copyright. 1927, by Will Durant.)

dication that moss was growing where once a forcible pen or typewriter had been in action. To our mind, these messages are a healthy response and indicates that the patient is in a mood where he can tall: for himself, and, on the other hand, it bespeaks an independent attitude on the part of the newspaper that will go a long way toward retaining its readers’ confidence. (Elkhart Truth) (Independent) The indictment of Clyde Walb, Republican State chairman, by the Federal grand jury, on the charge of conspiracy to violate the national banking law, adds to the ever-growing list of indicted Republican politicians. It follows closely on the indictment of Ora Davies, former republican State treasurer, and the present State bank commissioner and his deputy by the Howard County grand jury in connection with the affairs of the American Trust Company of Kokomo. Governor Jackson, along with George V. Coffin and Robert I. Marsh, are under indictment and will be tried soon. The Marion County grand jury which ended its session with the close of the year, left a lot of work for the next grand jury to complete. It reported it had examined the contents of the D. C. Stephenson “black boxes,” but because of the statute of limitation further indictments were not warranted. This grand jury had indicted John L. Duvall, Republican mayor of Indianapolis, who was forced out of office. The ordinary citizen and taxpayer wonders when things like these are going to end. Os course, everyone knows that indictments are not a proof of guilt, and the truth must be brought out at the trials, but the fact of indictment does indicate that serious things have been going on that need to be looked into. These and other indictments against men in office or prominent in politics are not only a reflection against the men most concerned, but they can not help affecting the party which has fostered them. The party in a way is responsible for these men, although party responsibility has been made almost a nudity by our primary system. As to the affairs of the First National Bank of La Grange, in connection with which Valentine D. Weaver, along with Mr. Walb, was indicted, they should be thoroughly sifted. How can brown stains be removed from porcelain bath tubs and wash bowls? Drop muriatic acid on the stain with a medicine dropper ahd as soon as the color begins to i disappear, flush with water. J

JAN. 10, 1928

M. E. TRACY SAYS: “Men Want Long Life Today More Than They Ever Did, Not Only Because Life Has Become More Interesting, but Because They Need More Time to See and Know What Life Offers.”

Four-day service between New York and London is what Lawrence R. Wilder of the American Brown Boveri Electric Corporation promises. He will lay the plan before the United States shipping board in a week or so with the hope of obtaining Government assistance, but the plan will be carried out regardless of this detail. Mr. Wilder has interested shipping and railroad men, as well as financiers, whose cooperation was necessary. The best part of the story is that the project seems to have been inspired by the Government's success ' in developing fast airplane carriers. If an airplane carrier can make thirty-five knots an hour, why can't a passenger ship? a tt a Speed—Land and Sea Speed on the ocean would mean little unless supplemented by speed at the landing place. Fast ships are but one factor in fast service. In order to make a real reduction in time between European and American centers it was necessary to seek new port arrangements. That is why Mr. Wilder called in the railroad men after he had determined a thirty-flve-knot ship was really practical. As finally agreed upon, the plan not only calls for a fleet of such passenger ships as the world has never seen, but anew port somewhere near, though outside of, New York, and a readjustment of railroad facilities and airplane service from ship to ship. Mr. Wilder and his associates believe a four-day service between London and New York is not only possible, but that it can be cut down to three days. a tt a Hurry Transportation Speed in transportation Is one of • the most interesting features oi present-day life. Aviation has not only unfolded the possibilities of speed through flight, but. has stimulated a search for speedier vehicles on both land and water. Realizing that they must compete with aviation if they would survive, railroad and shipping interests have devoted their attention to speed. a a u " Round World in Day? One wonders where it all will end. When we can cross the Atlantic in an hour, or go round the world between sun and sun, what shall wc have gained or lost? Modem means of transportation and communication make it possible for us to co.vei more ground and know more people, but can we cover the ground as thoroughly or know the people as well? If wc cannot, what is the answer? tt a tt Seek New Life Elixir Mr. and Mrs. Albert D. Lasker ' donate $1,000,000 to prolonging life for those past fifty. This touches the key of the problem. ( Medical science and improved living conditions have increased the average span of life in this country from thirty-eight to fifty-seven years during the last quarter of a century, but have done so chiefly by saving children and assisting people of middle-age. Those past fifty face little bettei prospect than they ever did. It is about as rare to find an American of 90 or 100 as it was a Roman 2,000 years ago. a tt a Man’s Fondest Dream Long life, has and probably always will be the fondest dream of men. Desire for long life has not only intrigued poets, philosophers and savants since the dawn of consciousness, but it has opened the door to the most fantastic beliefs and the worst frauds that ever plagued humanity. Elixirs, white magic, fountains of youth and all kinds of curious cults' have become popular at one time or other because of the hope they offered of prolonging life. This, more than anything else, reveals the depth and universality’ of the desire. a a tt World -More Interesting Men want long life today more than they ever did. They want it not only because life has become more interesting, but because they need more time to see and know what life offers. The human horizon has been expanded greatly by modern inventions. The average man no longer is hemmed in by the limited opportunities that went with the horse, the canoe, the signal fire and the wig-wag. Modern means of communication and transportation have opened a thousand doors to him that his grandfather never knew. His problem is not whether he can travel, whether he can behold or whether he can hear, but whether he has time. n a u President Tradition The tradition that the President should not leave this country was rooted in the idea that such a venture involved more or less hardship and risk. It is easier now for Coolidge to go from Washington to Havana than it was for Jefferson or Madison to go from Washington to New York. That is one reason why he plans to do so, why Roosevelt broke the precedtn, why Wilson went to Paris, and why nobody Marries.