Indianapolis Times, Volume 40, Number 242, Indianapolis, Marion County, 27 February 1929 — Page 4

PAGE 4

SCHiPPS -MOW

To the Bottom Every incident in the building of armories or* the state should be probed, and there is now some hope that the investigation will be made. This state needs no privately owned and privately conducted army for its defense. It needs no professional patriots who profit from their flag wavings. It may be legal, but there is at least some question of propriety in the fact that in the ludianapolis armory, the former Governor and the present adjutant-geneal signed themselves as owners of the lot on which the armory is built and then proceeded to lease the property to the armory board of which they were members. The lease, on its face, is suspicious. When Jackson and Kershner, as owners, sign with Jackson and Kershner as armory officials, the matter does not look exactly kosher. It is yet to be explained why the bank which received a commission for selling bonds placed in its leases a provision that it should “designate and approve’ * the necessary insurance policies. That looks like picking up the last pennies of profit. Had there been any increase in the national guard, had the new armories resulted in a rush to the colors of the youth of the state, had there been any perceptible growth of enthusiasm for military training, much might be forgiven. But no such claim is made. Nor couid it be supported. . ... The big fact behind the whole affair is that it was carried on despite a legal warning from the attorney-general that the so-called purchase leases were illegal except for two-year payments, that the state could not be obligated, that the whole scheme was beyond the law, except for renting buildings for a two-year period. Yet nearly two millions of dollars worth or bonds were issued. The attorney-general knew of but one project w r hen there were twenty. The bonds were sold as exempt from taxation on the most informal opinion. The whole transaction should be disclosed. It may have been a very patriotic effort. And, again, it may have been a very profitable one. Utility Regulation The bankers have protested against placing holding companies under the public service commission. That probably will insure the passage of the measure by the legislature. For once the bankers are probably right, not for the reasons they suggest, but because the measure is worthless and unnecessary. The present utility law would protect the public were its enforcement in the hands of men who have regard for the rights of the public. There is only one question which can ever be raised in any case before the commission. That is whether the utility gives decent service at a fair rate. Whether the money it earns goes to private stockholders or to some corporation which controls the stock is not very important. The commission should investigate and could, if it wished, discover, just where every dollar of every utility company comes from and where it goes. The people are interested only in knowing that no dollars taken from them are hidden by secret charges, in unexplained legal expense, in extortionate fees for imaginary service. Control of the holding companies will not aid in this discovery. It will be as easy to hide skullduggery in holding companies as it has been in the utilities, if there has been any fast work. The only problem or utility regulation in this state is the naming of men on the commission who have the same regard for their duty and who wish to protect public interest. The whole trouble has been that the commission ' has not received or merited public confidence. There has been too much reason to believe that it has played politics, collected funds directly or indirectly for political purposes, has been under the dictation oi utility lawyers. Instead of new laws, what is needed are a few new faces on the commission, honest, square-jawed faces, and beneath them hands that are reaching for facts and nothing else. Their Master’s Voice Inability if congress to consider the prohibition question sanely and to vote on it independently oi politics and bullying reform leaders again is illustrated by the progress of the Harris amendment to appropriate an additional $24,000,000 for enforcement. President Coolidge, Secretary Mellon, PresidentElect Hoover and lesser officials do not want congress to vote the money. This large sum, suddenly made available, could not be used advantageously, the administration informed congress. Instead, an increase of $2,727,000 was asked. But the Anti-Saloon League and other reform groups believe they know more about enforcement than the men entrusted with it, and insist that the larger sum be provided. • Asa consequence, congress finds itself in an apparently hopeless deadlock in enacting the important deficiency appropriations. * The first deficiency bill, to which the Harris amendment- was attached, was allowed to die in conference. The house persistently refused until Monday to take a record vote on the amendment, anxious to avoid giving offense to either the administration oi the reformers. Dry Democrats forced the issue. Meantime, the second deficiency bill had been offered, including' the sum for enforcement recommended by -he administration. The house approved thl§ Mil. and the enforcement fight will be precipitated all over again in the senate. Harris and his supporters will seek restoration of

The Indianapolis Times (A SCHIPFS-HOWAKII .NEWSPAPER) Owued and published daily (except Sunday) by The Indianapolis Times Publishing Cos., 214-22 UW. Maryland Street, Indianapolis, Ind. Price in Marlon County 2 cents—lo cents a week; elsewhere, 3 cents—l 2 cents a week. BOYD GURLEY, ROY W. HOWARD, FRANK G. MORRISON, Editor. President. Business Manager. PHONE— RILEY 555 L WEDNESDAY. FEB. 27. 1929. Member of 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.”

the $24,000,000 item. If they succeed, the new bill also may die in another deadlock. Thus is prohibition made a football. Doubtless there are honest prohibitionists in congress who believe the money should be forced on the administration. It is not credible, however, that the issue would have been drawn so tightly but for the intervention of the reform groups. Nor is the advantage to certain pro-Smith Democrats to be overlooked when the home folks see them insisting on bigger and better enforcement. Indiana Coal In the expenditure of state funds, certainly no objection can be found to the suggestion in a bill before the legislature that Purdue university be given a small sum to investigate the Indiana coal situation. The project would be scientific in its nature. It would set at work the trained minds of the university to finding out just where and how the great coal deposits of the state can be best used. The state has these huge deposits of coal. Yet the industry has suffered. The blame does not rest altogether on a protracted quarrel between the operators and the workers. There is strong reason to believe that the fundamental cause of the trouble in this industry, which should be one of the greatest in the state, is the belief that the coal of Indiana is not as good as that of other states, that it produces more smoke, that it is less economical. There are thousands of men whose livelihood depends upon the operation of the mines. There are hundreds of thousands of dollars invested in those mines. If both jobs and dollars have been sacrified to a cruel and baseless slander, the best way to dispel that handicap is a report from scientific investigators upon the facts. There is no reason to believe that Indiana coal differs greatly from the fuel produced in other states. It may require a different treatment. This is not a measure for the coal industry. It is an Indiana measure. Dollars spent for scientific inquiry are never wasted. This particular enterprise might easily mean anew era of state prosperity. Beauty Surgery American highbrows never tire of poking fun at the Puritanism of the United States. The idea is not original. There is much to be said for it. Certainly the kaiser never had anything on us when it came to suppressions and verbotens. If we had devoted half as much energy to temperance as to pronibition, we would have a finer nation. If we labored more on sex education and less on censorship, we would have a cleaner nation. But the idea that America has a monopoly on this puritan business is a joke. Great Britain, famous for its Hyde Park soap boxes and its liberalism, just has suppressed three books to our one on ser grounds. Hungary, home of rhapsody and gypsy love, has prohibited petting in pub.ic. And now Paris, that sedate and gossipy town which takes its sin vicariously through American tourists, has found new fields for Puritans to conquer. It seems that certain French ladies are not so much interested in having their faces lilted as their ankles reduced. This involves the heroic process of removing a slice of flesh from the offending member. But the surgeon is not always lucky. In the case of one young woman, gangrene developed and the leg had to be cut off. She sued the surgeon. The Paris court was not content to award her damages. It decreed that such beauty operations are illegal. The Westinghcuse Televox has ears and eyes now. If the engineers will teach him how to wave the StarSpangled Banner Televcx might run for congress one of these days.

David Dietz on Science

Earth’s Growth Slow

THE theory which Chamberlin and Moulton originated to account for the origin of the earth is frequently called the planetesimal hypothesis. It assumes that the solar system originated when a large star passed near our sun. The passing star caused great tides to rise in the sun and vast amounts of material were pulled out of the sun as a result.

MATERtAI. / J S' PUL4E.D f, rs / FROM SUN V*{'[’/ ;f PASSING y_ ORIGIN OF THE 501 AR SYSTEM.

mass only three-tenths of 1 per cent of that of the sun. Chamberlin and Moulton believed that the material pulled out of the sun very quickly broke up into small knots of condensation and that these knots within a short space of time solidified into little chunks of rock iike meteors. They named these little chunks of rocks planetesimals, a word meaning “tiny planets.” It is for this reason that their theory is known as the planetesimal hypothesis. They assumed that these planetesimals were of various size ranging from particles the size of small pebbles to laige boulders weighing many tons. They believed also that a great amount oi gaseous material and meteoric dust was mixed with them. Due to the action of gravitation, the smaller particles were attracted to the larger particles. In this way, accumulations of planetesimals began to grow. In time, these accumulations grew larger and larger, each one attracting all the loose planetesimals in its neighborhood. Each such accumulation in time formed one of the plenets or satellites. * As growth went on. the weight of material became so great that the planetesimals were packed in very tightly, giving each growing planet an extremely rigid structure. According to this theory, our earth was originally very small. It grew slowly by tire accretion of planetesimals. The theory holds that the earth at no time was in a molten condition. This fact has not *een satisfactory to a number of geophysicists and as a result they have u.ade modifications in the Chamberlin-Moulton theory. These will be discussed next

No. 290

The amounts of material pulled out were vast when considered by themselves. Bat they were not vast when considered in relation to the amount of material in the sun. It would take 1.300,000 globes the size of the earth to make one of the size of the sun. All the planets together have a

THE INDIANAPOLIS TIMES

M. E. TRACY SAYS: “The Flapper and Fanatic Do Not Cut Half as Much Ice Anywhere Else as in the Headlines.”

SAN DIEGO, Cal.. Feb. 26.—Not to be outdone by Oklahoma, Texas, or any other of her fortyseven sisters, California makes ready to impeach a judge. He is Charles Hardy of Los Angeles, and is accused of accepting a $2,500 check from Aimee Semple McPherson, high priestess of the “four-square gospel,” together with such added and incidental offenses as the transaction may imply. Mrs. McPherson says that the check was a “love offering,” and that it was given to Judge Hardy in grataeful appreciation of his services as a faithful follower. Members of a legislative committee which has been investigating the matter for several weeks offer a different explanation. They go back to Mrs. McPherson’s kidnaping adventure of three years ago and charge the check had something to do with the collapse of the case which was brought against her at the time. Some people believe that the kidnaping adventure is the whole show, and that what is really wanted is a reopening of a farce. n tt n Working Aimee Overtime TO an outsider, it looks as though Mrs. McPherson were being worked overtime, as though she had been used quite often enough and quite long enough to furnish publicity for southern California and as though someone else ought to be given a chance for the sake o£ novelty, if for no better reason. With dope being smuggled into Hollywood by the cartload, as is charged, and as seems to be proven by the number of victims; with a former district attorney and two pals sentenced to prison for conspiracy; with kidnaping ventures that put that of Mrs. McPherson in the shade, even if everything said about her were true, and with “Fighting Bob” Shuler on trial for libelling the Knights of Columbus, there should be no lack of material. Compared to Mrs. McPherson, “Fighting Bob,” is getting a poor run for his money. Such lack of originality as he displayed, such mistaken zeal as he showed and such chances as he took deserve better recognition. He not only fell for that “bogus fourth degree oath” after it had been exposed and exploded a dozen times, but broadcast it as genuine, in spite of the fact that several parties had been convicted of criminal libel for doing the same thing. tt tt tt Freaks in Religion RELIGIOUS ardor plays strange pranks with the best of people. Some fifty obsessed souls are sitting beside the corpse of “Josh Sykes,” as he was locally known, in a Denver shack, still regarding him as the “Second Messiah,” and looking for him to rise on the third day. The coroner humors them, as a wise coroner should, but with the grim warning that he will be back on the fourth day to take the body, find out what caused the demise and issue the required death certificate. A perfectly good king ox Afghanistan is on the run, while a former water boy occupies his throne, all because he could not persuade the tribesmen to shave off their whiskers and do some other things in the name of sanitation, health and decent appearance. tt tt tt Die for Beliefs RELIGION is not responsible for all the freaks. If it were, we would not have lawyers defending murder on the ground of “love mania,” as they are in a case now on trial in Denver; theater producers imagining they can only serve art by letting girls undress on the stage, as seems to be the idea of some in New York, or Eleanor Glyn thinking she can not write about Chicago gang life, save in an orchid tinted hotel suite, or any Chicago gang war to write about. Obsession is a common malady, whether it comes by way of faith in God, real estate, theories of reform, or money-making hunches. One can find many glittering eyes outside the pulpit, many people who are certain they could do humanity everlasting good if it would only let them upset the works, many souls In torment over some pet scheme. In 'the beer trade, as in the missionary field, men are still willing to die for their beliefs. tt tt a Normalcy Rules “/tnERROR hits Chicago,” as one A headline writer puts it, someone goes gunning for Jack Dempsey and Chang Tsung Chang starts another revolution in China. It is all made of the same stuffmen consulting their emotions, rather than their intelligence, fighting. falling and raising hell in general for nothing more substantial than a hunch, a fancy, or an uncontrollable appetite for power. On every hand one can see the outcropping of this atavistic instinct, this brute hangover of the jungle. The jazz baby has it, as well as the preacher, and the politician, as well as the religious nut. But normalcy rules, even though It does seem to be in the minority at times. Eventually, Big Bill Thompson will be thrown out and China will cease to be chaotic. The flapper and fanatic do not cut half so much ice anywhere else as in the headlines. When a Lindbergh, a Tunney or a John Coolidge wants to get married. he looks for a quiet girl, and there are still plenty of that kind to be found. DAILY THOUGHTS Can one go upon hot coals, and his feet not be burned?—Proverbs 6:28. s m n WE make others’ judgment our own by frequenting their society.—Thomas Fuller. v

If Congress Jazzes Up the Record

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Reason

Knowing full feu that Mr. Coolidge will not commercialize his position, a nupiber of people are doing a little advertising by offering him $75,000 a year to manage their institutions. a tt We are glad that Lindy is to be the air adviser of the next administration and there’s no doubt he will be worth more than all the hot air advisers. tt st tt The house of representatives at Washington passed a bill to defray the expenses of Gold Star mothers who desire to visit the graves of their sons in France and now the bill goes to the senate, where it should be amended to provide to send the fathers as well. a tt a Almost 400,000 spend their lives abroad, but they still love their country. In fact, nothing but a corkscrew could pull them away from it. tt n EDWARD PAUL STANTON, first man to raise the American flag in Manila, is dead in St. Louis, which suggests that the United States would be just as well off if the Stars and Stripes never had seen the Philippines.

Search for Beauty Builds Industry

BY DR. MORRIS FISHBEIN Editor Journal of the American Medical Association and of Hygeia, the Health Magazine. THE fact is apparent that the cosmetic industry has grown rapidly in recent years. According to Dr. S. Dana Hubbard of the education division of the New York City department of health, at least half the men, women and children in the United States visit public beauty parlors and barber shops at one time or another. There are at least 170,000 persons engaged in the cosmetician trade. .There are 135 training schools in which pupils pay an average of $250 for courses of instruction in this profession. The cosmetic industry of the United States involves sales of products amounting to $200,000,000 a year, and it is estimated that the beauty shops take in $400,0n,000 for their services. Many of the individual states now have laws regulating practice in beauty shops and provide for regular inspection as to their sanitation, but it is doubtful that the majority of the states have arranged in any way for the protection of the public. In some places towels are used repeatedly on different persons; many of them have no arrangements for sterilizing instruments or linens; many of the cosmeticians are grossly ignorant and have not the slightest concepution of skin diseases and their transmission, or of the chemical contents of the preparations that they use. From time to time legislation has

This Date in U. S. History

February 27 1815—Congress awarded Major General Andrew Jackson a gold medal for services at the victory of New Orleans. 1869—F ifte en t h constitutional amendment prohibiting states restricting franchise because of race or color proposed by ■ congressional resolution. 1875— Spain paid SBO,OOO indemnity to America for families of the men shot in the "Virginius Massacre.” 1895—Cleveland vetoed the pension bill.. 1897— Indemnity for loss of registered mail established.

By Frederick LANDIS

If, as reported, President Coolidge saved $300,000 out of his White House salary, he is the one man in a million who quits politics with anything to show for it, except the scars of combat. tt tt We have made a very gratifying improvement in the personal appearance of our murderers, for where they once had heads like door knobs and mugs like demons, most of them now are perfectly beautiful. # tt Senator Lenroot may never have been a lobbyist, but most of these alleged lawyers in Washington are lobbyists, pure and simple. They do not practice law; they practice influence. When a man’s public service ends he should be chased out of the District of Columbia and kept out.

DAILY HEALTH SERVICE

been proposed to control the inclusion In cosmetics of such poisons as lead, arsenic, mercuric or carbolic acid. The majority of the best manufactured cosmetics, however, do not contain dangerous drugs, but are simply a basis of cold cream or other ointments with some perfume or powder added. No doubt, the cosmetic industry is established permanently, and does

Fellowship in Prayer

Topic for the Week “LENT AND MY HOME” Memory Verse for Wednesday “And the two shall become* one flesh; so that they are no more two, but one flesh” (Mark 10:8). (Read: Peter 3:1 to 8.) MEDITATION: A good marriage is the most perfect unity on earth. The greatest blessing that can come to a man is to have a good wife; the greatest blessing that can be bestowed on a woman is to have a good husband. Marriage sanctified by mutual love is the foundation of society as it creates the home, imparts life,

Times Readers Voice Views

Tbs name and address ol tbs author must accompany every contribution but on request will not be published. Letters not exceeding 200 words will receive orelerence Editor Times—Another victim has been added to the lack of public duty on the part of our public officials in demanding overhead bridges at road crossings. Daily we read of deaths, disfigurements, and permanent injuries of automobillsts and their passengers at important crossings throughout the state where trains and interurbans run on the road levels. What about overhead bridges? Doesn’t human life mean anything compared to a little temporary expense on the part of the railroad companies. Considering the continuous demands on these companies through damage suits and actual expense in judgments, it would be much cheaper to build overhead bridges. The crossings at East New York and Davidson streets, East Twentyfifth and Lewis streets, Belt railroad and South Meridian, Belt railroad and Madison avenue, and East Thirty-eighth street, besides the many others throughout Indianapo-

A VERY SAFE OFFER ONLY A CORKSCREW BEAUTIFUL MURDERERS

*T'HIS congress is repeating the A silly sentimentality of its predecessors by voting a pension to Mrs. Woodrow Wilson the second. We believe this maudlin business started with the widow of President Garfield, since which time all of them have drawn down $5,000 per annum, all of which is absolutely wrong! n tt tt Business leaders of Chicago are beginning to fear that the unending bombardment may hurt the Chicago world’s fair of 1933. If the shooting cannot be stopped, possibly the shooters might be willing to use Maxim silencers during the period of the fair. tt tt u In view of the fact that it took fourteen army trucks to haul the President’s stuff to Northampton, he would better rent the other half of that double house. tt u tt The shoe manufacturers want a 25 per cent tariff on shoes, but insist that hides should come in free, which illustrates the universal attitude toward the tariff—protection on what you sell, free trade on what you buy.

not represent in any sense of the word a passing fad. Make-up is a staple drug store utility. In view of the extent of the industry, regulation is more and more likely to be called in to control its dangerous possibilities. Certainly every woman should be careful not to put on her face a cosmetic preparation of unknown origin or one for which unwarranted claims may be made.

and predestines the future of the world. The sweetness and the piety of the home, the joy of little children, the strength and beauty of life are all bound up in this wedded union. “To love and to cherish, till death us do part!” Men and women never should forget and never neglect. PRAYER: Holy and loving Father who hast instituted marriage and ordained that it shall be sanctified by mutual love and fidelity, we pray for all those whom thou hast joined together in this sacred bond that they may be kept undivided even unto death. So preserve the homes of the land in beauty and peace, in all reverence and piety. Amen.

Us. and the hundreds of others in this great state, already have collected their human toll. Our public officials can compel these utilities to build overhead bridges as public necessities, but they do not. Why? Does the value of human life mean less than the patronage of powerful railroad companies, to say nothing of traffic conditions in general? The state of New York enforced and compelled railroads to build overhead bridges at the crossings. That state went far toward elimination of dangerous crossings and spent millions of dollars in assisting the roads In building permanent. safeguards at these dangerous intersections. Our state, county and city officers can do much—if they will It is high time the people wake up to their rights and break up this utility lobby, including among them all public and legislative officials. Join hands in this noble crusade to stamp out this crossing evil. Our i newspapers can be of great assistance. WILLIAM B. MILLER.

,FEB. 27, 19*29

IT SEEMS TOME a a By HEYWOOD BROUN

Idee* <■ > opinions ll* oriMtd in this column * t • lhoe of one of A m eric*'* most Interesting w r i t e r t and are presented wli hout retard to their agreement with the editorial attitude of this paper. The Editor.

XACTLY seventeen days ago I sent you a so-called correct business letter asking for an Interview,” writes A. G. K. “You never answered, and yet you have the nerve to write a column in which you criticise Colonel Lindbergh for what you call rudeness.” But that, I think, is hardly a fair analogy. My lack of manners hurts nobody but myself. Babies are not being named after me, nor is the rising generation intent upon imitation. Besides, it isn’t lack of manners so much as inertia and an inadequate filing system. No reasonable letter has ever come to me that I did not plan to answer. The first impulse is to answer it immediately. Then something comes up and I put the note down in a safe place, saying to myself. "I’ll do this the first thing tomorrow morning.” With the dawn the letter has disappeared. The really important communications always burrow to the bottom of the pile and are not discovered until years later, when immediacy has fled. Asa matter of fact, I like to be interviewed. It is the only chance I get now to use the old lecture. Every interview is pretty much the same, but since there is no checkup on them, no harm is done and at the moment it answers people who want interviews. It seems to be the notion of every high school paper that each New York columnist should be interviewed at least twice a year. a tt a Evidence of Faith TO show my good faith in the matter I will reveal one fact which I have tried for a long time to keep more or less secret. This telephone is Endicott 2812, and I can be had upon it at any civilized hour immediately after breakfast. One o’clock in the afternoon is fine. But this doesn’t mean that I want any insurance, beverages just off the French boats, or mining stock sure to double in value. I have lost the letter from Hunter college and I hope the representative of that institution wiil see this note. It is rot often that I have a chance to be interviewed by anybody much beyond the eighth grade. But even if I were an efficient columnist and punctual in answering, I would not read manuscripts for anybody. Henry L. Mencken is probably the kindest man in America. He reads almost every poem and short story sent to him and he never fails to answer a letter. In addition to being kinder, Mencken has a keener literary judgment than I possess, and besides, he runs * magazine. Even though a novel which came into my hands was excellent, there is nothing that I could do about it. So, to emphasize a previous warning, I wish to announce that if plays, poems or stories are sent to me for criticism, I shall simply steal the stamps and never return the manuscripts. And I’m not enthusiastic about autographs. The business of keeping albums was popular some fifty years ago, and seems now to be in a process of revival. a tt st Pleased to Meet You “TTEYWOOD BROUN” ought to lA sell for about a nickel a gross, so I won’t do any more autographs. I keep thinking of Button Gwinnett. Aside from the fact that he was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, Mr. Gwinnett seems to have been a gentleman of no particular importance. But because his signature is rare, it commands a higher price in the auction rooms than any other American name. It is my impression that it once sold for $30,000 or S4O 0000. I’ve always noted, as one of my favorite jokes, the feature which Robert Sherwood incorporated in Life some years ago. The picture showed a colonial couple, and the man was tearing up paper in some petulance. In response to his wife’s inquiry, he was seen replying with, “Oh, it’s just one more of those letters from that old bore Button Gwinnett.” tt tt a Hard Way \ LL those who state with great £\ finality that a columnist should finality that a columnist should answer every letter, and promptly, too, neglect the fact that there are difficulties. “I am preparing,” writes L. S. K., “a paper for our study club on newspaper columns. I thought you might be able to help me out by sending me a list of newspapers which run columns, who was the first columnist and who is the best columnist, etc.” Now, with the exception of the last query, none of that can be answered without a great deal of research. It is much easier to lose the letter. And here is another tricky sample from S. L. G.: “My heart tells we that I am an author and nothing else. At present I am a sophomore at the University of Illinois and want to get as much out of college as would help a prospective author. “Do you advise majoring in English, journalism or general? What courses and languages are of importance? Will books on fiction, style, etc., aid? What about reading newspapers and book reviews? “Do you adise breaking into print as much as possible or writing for the waste basket? I know you are a busy man, but this will take only a few minutes.” But it’s taken all my life so far and I don’t know any of the answers even yet. (Copyright, 1929. tor The Times)