Indianapolis Times, Volume 40, Number 273, Indianapolis, Marion County, 4 April 1929 — Page 4
PAGE 4
SCKIPPJ-MOWA/Ht
Self-Convicted The members of the highway commission convicted Director John Williams of inefficiency. Tlk v a1 so convicted themselves of unfitness to handle the vast twenty million dollar road fund. The studjous care exercised by the commission in avoiding any thorough inquiry into the one serious charge it had made against Williams suggests that the commission did not dare to drag into the open the charge by the backers of Williams that cement and other interests desired his removal. That becomes serious in view of the fact that one member of the commission has admitted receiving gifts and is charged with throwing business to a company in which he is I to have at least a sentimental interest, and another is charged with endeavoring to switch contracts and orders to favor a cement concern outside the state of Indiana, but in which leading Indiana politicians are rumor"d to have a deep interest. 'That t lie commission should have power to remove the director at any time it desires would seem to be a necessary right. Otherwise tlie commission resolves itself iuto merely an advisory body, without responsibility or power. It does not seem reasonable to believe that the legislature set up a commission for the sole purpose of receiving reports from a director over whose removal or appointment it had nothing to say. 1 lie law does not suggest that the roads were to be built by a director who could hold his job for life if lie kept out of jail. Xor is it reasonable to believe that the Jaw ever intended that the commission should becomposed of men who misuse their powers for political or private reasons. The public will undoubtedly agree that the Governor is entitled to have this important work in charge of those in whom he has contidence. It will unquestionably suspend judgment on the removal of Williams until it has a chance to see whether the work done by John Brown, named to succeed him, is better, m- worse than that of Williams. The people will watch closely and expect results. But there can be no doubt as to the,public*, judgment on the commission, in view of charges, admissions and its conduct of this case. They have convicted themselves. If V illiams no longer deserved the confidence of the Governor, the commissioners deserve less. If they have any ideas of the proprieties, they will resign immediately. That body is too important to be filled with either moochers or office boys. Shumaker Returns It is significant that when the doors of the penal farm opened today to release Dr. E. S. Shumaker, the dry leader, a parade of friends and admirers, official delegations from churches, those who have followed his leadership, were on hand to welcome and receive him. His power and his leadership seem to have been increased, rather than lessened, by the prison term given by the supreme court on a charge of contempt He emerges, in the minds of these same followers, not as a destroyer of courts, but as a martyr to the dry cause. yhose who are avowedly wet and who welcome any action that embarrasses the dry movement as a victory’. will take a similar view. They rejoice that he was sent to the {arm. not because of any hope that such a sentence would increase confidence in courts or in iustice. but because Shumakei had been a consistent loe ot the liquor traffic. Il there was martyrdom, it was not to the dry cause. It was to another principle, quite as important That is the right oi treedom to criticise courts, even unjustly, after cases have been decided and verdicts rendered. That right is priceless to those who believe in om government and who have faith that our problems can be settled by lull, iair and free discussion. Any restraint ot this right leads to tyrannies or revolution. If the supreme court has discovered that the sentence ot Dr. Shumaker has permitted it to decide cases more fairly or speedily, has increased public confidence in all courts, it should be satisfied. But it is quite certain that Dr. Shumaker will have no personal regrets. He has. apparently, lost nothing in standing or in friendships. He may even find that his two months oi exile nave been the period oi his greatest growth in influence. The one thing he lost was an opportunity. He lost that when he chose to carry on his fight as a dry leader instead of oattling tor treedom ot speech. Someone at some time must make that fight if this country is to remain tree. Campaign Frauds Report of the select committee of the house to investigate campaign expenditures just has been completed. and no doubt is proving puzzling to those interested m its findings. The committee, ol which Representative Lehlbach of New Jersey is chairman, went into Texas to investigate the primary election ot last summer in which Representative Garner was made the Democratic nominee for congress after being opposed by Sid Hardin. The inquiry was prompted by complaints that Hardin had made to the committee. Hardin charged that Garner, now the minority leader ol the nouse. was a party to vote frauds in which unnaturalized Mexicans were provided poll taxes by a county machine and cast ballots in the election. Hardin later
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tried to withdraw his charges, but Gainer insisted that the inquiry go through. The committee report completely exonerates Garner of any connection with vote frauds and in commenting on his opponent, says: “In their contacts with Mr. Hardin, the committee gained a firm impression of his utter irresponsibility." Although Garner is exonerated and Hardin is scorned. Representative Lehlbach s committee finds that wholesale vote frauds do exist in Hidalgo county in Garner’s district and recommended that the department of justice investigate. It finds that thousands of Mexicans have been provided poll taxes by the county machine and have voted, even though having no citizenship. It finds that a judge ruled out the ballots from one district and that his explanation of the reason “is of grotesque character.” It finds that several candidates were deprived of more than 1,000 votes by the method of coutning the ballots. The committee report shows one thing very plainly, that the Democratic organization as well as the Republican needs renovating in Texas—and elsewhere in the south. It is up to leaders like Garner to sec that it is done and he can accomplish much by starting out in Hidalgo county in his own district. Such procedure would be additional proof that Garner has no connection with the ballot frauds that Lehlbach's committee says exist. What a Grand Jury Found Out A special grand jury in Philadelphia has been Investigating police corruption, gang murders, and bootlegging since last August. Hundreds of witnesses have been examined, and numerous persons have been indicted and sent to prison. The grand jury worked hard in trying to Dreak up what it described as “the unholy alliance of police, politicians and criminals,' Its views on the subject therefore should be of interest to wets and drys alike. The jury said in its final report: “One of the principal elements responsible for the condition with which not only this city, but many large cities of the country, are faced is gang warfare, resulting from open and notorious violation cf the liquor laws. We do not mean to assert that gang murders are caused only by the traffic in liquor. We do assert that the payment by great numbers of people to secure intoxicating liquor is responsible for the creation of the supply. “Many persons are willing to pay any price to secure the commodity. Many a man who would be horrified at an accusation of the commission of other crime, openly will admit his constant purchases of liquor. “Those who purchase and pay for liquor pay also for the gunmen and bandits who protect the delivery to them, and provide means for the corruption and bribery of those in authority. The cost is blood itself. These people are striking at the very principles of social and legal responsibility and the civilization of which they are a part. “The ultimate question as to whether prohibition shall remain must be determined by the citizens. So long, however, as this law remains in effect, it is incumbent upon those who enjoy the benefits of life in this community to respect the laws which protect them and make possible their existence and civilization.” "Enormous profit” of bootleggers was largely responsible for the “corruption and bribery shown in the police department," the jury said. “We feel as a result oi our seven months of service that these conditions are undermining the very foundation of our social existence and that if they remain unchecked will create an abyss into which our very civilization will fall. “These murders are a natural result of corrupt alliances between the underworld, in particular that part of the underworld which specializes in liquor, and the agencies of the law ”
David Dietz on Science
Pressure Causes Winds
No. 321
THE general circulation of the air, as we have seen, starts with the rising of the heated air over the equator. This heated air flows to the north and south. It is cooled as it moves away from the equator and therefore begins to descend, causing the formation of two high pressure belts, one at latitude 30 degrees north, the other
CALMS^fc. / / zoNe or west wtnos \ /> * * * 40°w\ / HIGH PRESSURE SELT OF CALMS \ L ___ U , h e., tfjade winds . \ * S *- /CPA 'EQUATORIAL CALMS — ■ 'l* 1 6. E TRADE WINDS \ \ N N X N ?s°s/ \ HI6M PRESSURE BELT OF CALMS/ \ 5/ \ \ \ \ \ Vi \ / \. *one o* 8 WEST winps/ N-* 70°s/
the northwest. The two currents, as already mentioned, descend at latitude 30 north and south and create high pressure belts. As the air continues to descend at these latitudes, it is forced outward on both side oi each belt. The result is that winds originate in each high pressure belt. These winds have the tendency to blow north and south from each belt. But due to the rotation of the earth, these winds are always deflected. They start as true north and south winds, but in the northern hemisphere they are deflected to the right, while in the southern hemisphere they are deflected to the left. This deflection is so great that in middle latitudes a wind which starts out as though blowing direct for the North Pole is transformed into a west wind. An important result of this deflection caused by rotation of the earth is that between latitudes 30 and 60 degrees, cyclonic storms will drift to the east, while in the region of the trade winds they will drift to the west. The accompanying diagram shows the general distribution of air pressure and winds over the globe. Note that there are calms at the poles and the equator. These are due to low -pressure arf as. These there are the two high pressure belts. The winds blow out in either direction from these high pressure belts. Note also, as already mentioned, that the drift of the winds to the north of the northern belt and to the south of the southern belt is a drift to the east, while the drift between the two belts toward the equator is a drift to the west. The winds between the high pressure belts and ise fcv n.tor are known as the trade winds.
M. E. Tracy SAYS:
Road Scandals Have Become About as Common as Anything in This Country: Popular Demand Will Tolerate Anything but Delay. BALTIMORE. Md., April 4.—ls crime is news, especially that character of crime which goes on unperceived, and if it is good journalism to expose graft until the public understands and politicians are forced to undertake a clean-up, even against their will, the Baltimore Post has done a fine job. Otherwise, how would the people of Maryland ever have known they had a “state roads scandal,” or, to be more particular, how would Governor Ritchie ever have known? It all goes back to an assistant auditor, who knew more about accounting than he was supposed to, but less about practical politics, and who unearthed a discrepancy of $22,000 in the highway commission’s books, when the rules of the game called for a perfect balance. It is under such circumstances that newspapers can help. u a a Getting Around Law WITHOUT tracing this “state roads scandal,” through all the devious phases of its development, it seems enough to say that a cash shortage of $376,000 already has been discovered, that some of the small fry have gone to jail, that Governor Ritchie, who didn’t appear at all impressed at the start, has described it as a “lamentable” and “deplorable” situation, that the state’s attorney has called it "an outrage on the citizenry of Maryland, and that the loot made possible by evading the competitive bidding law still waits to be revealed.” The competitive bidding law means that contracts shall be let in the open and for the lowest price submitted. It safeguards the public against shoddy work by providing for specifications, bonds and supervision. There are several ways of getting around this law. as court records throughout the country prove, but the one adopted in Maryland singularly was simple and effective. A contractor would get a mile or so of road by openly bidding for It, and then his contract would be extended to ten, fifteen or twenty miles at the same price. Now any fool knows that a contractor would build ten miles of road at a cheaper price per mile than he would build one. and that if he got a ten-mile extension of his contract at the same price a mile for which he agreed to build one, there would be a good split in the pot for somebody. Also, ‘any fool knows that the extension of a contract to five, ten or twenty times its size is an evasion of the law designed to govern it. tt n tt Elastic Consciences THE people of Maryland should not imagine for one moment that they have a mortgage on road scandals. Neither should outsiders. Road scandals have become about as common as anything in this country. The reason is obvious. We are spending an unprecedented amount for road construction. We are doing so in response to a popular demand which will tolerate everything, except delay. The work has assumed gigantic proportions within the last few years. There has been little to create and perfect the necessary organizations. Pressure brought by groups of material men in favor of their particular products has been great and well greased. Public interest has resolved itself into one long, continuous yell for more pavement. Politicians could not oppose this without risking the loss of their jobs. On the other hand, they could make then selves solid by satisfying it, and if they grafted a little, who would notice, or care. What belter situation could an elastic consciene ask? tt tt tt Cost of Joy-Riding WE have gotten many miles of good roads out of the riot of spending which has prevailed during the last decade, more ’miles than any nation ever built before, and more, perhaps, than the whole world ever built, but we have gotten something else which is not so reassuring. We have gotten an enthusiasm which is ready to vote money in great gobs, but which woefully is indifferent to where it goes which is content to joy-ride without counting the cost, and which is amazingly apathetic toward the question of honesty in government so long as it can step on the gas. Worse still, we have gotten indifference toward the loss of life involved, accepting the annual toll of 25,000 dead and 100,000 crippled, as though it were quite all right. non Mulcting the Public ON the job, you scribes. There is more to report than speakeasy raids, even if # they do involve a shooting scrape, and more graft than comes out of bootlegging. This road building game has become a racket in more than one place, as the folks of Georgia, or Alabama, are ready to swear. There are big funds lurking in the i background, and while they may be | reported as for advertising, or ex- : pert advice, they have a way of goj ing for other purposes. Mulcting the public through con- | tract extensions and subcontracts, is ; not the only method. The price of ; cement, control of patents, local I paving rings, holding companies and j hired propagandists play quite as big a part in the road building game as they do in the power business. How was the term mascot derived? The meaning of the word is a person, animal or thing thought to bring good luck; It is derived from the French “mascotte,” meaning “witchcraft.”
at latitude 30 degrees south. It will also be remembered that due to the rotation of the earth, there is an eastw a r and shift of these two currents of air so that in the northern hemisphere the current seems to be front the southwest, while in the southern hemisphere it seems to be from
THE INDIANAPOLIS TIMES
BY DR. MORRIS FISHBEIN Editor Journal of the American Medical Association and of Hygeia, the Health Magazine. THE statement that the baby of a woman who plays the piano every day for months before she is about to become a mother will be born a Victor Herbert is one of tire common American beliefs stated in humorous form by Messrs. Mencken and Nathan in their American Credo. In that book these two modern American philosophers list some hundreds of American beliefs on various Subjects. Actually, there is no scientific evidence that the mind, the talents, or the tissues of a child can be marked in any way by the mother’s mental impressions before its birth. Nevertheless there is a persistent
WHEN spring comes round the preachers talk of the glory of the spirit. It is well that there should be celebration of the fact that man is quite a fellow. He has within himself a core of great capacity for love and courage, joy and kindliness. Nor do I see why there should be any objection to helping this kernel of personality called a soul. It is intangible and its powers are limitless. But the greatness ot the soul does not degrade the body. Too many speak as if matter and spirit were essentially warring factors. This conception must have arisen at a time when no one knew the mysteries of atoms and electrons. There was a day when decay was confused with death. Religionists owe a debt to science Because in a slow way the research men come finally to stand shoulder to shoulder with the prophets. Many a miracle provides a symbol which will later be confirmed by arduous labors in laboratories. a a a Death and Its Sting EASTER, of course, is associated with resurrection. To be free man must conquer the fear of death. “Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre?” To many a fact is truth and a symbol merely a vague straw incapable of sustaining hope. But to me symbols may have even more verity than afiy actual happening. A symbol is larger and deeper than any incident. And so I refuse to be labeled either atheist or agnostic if I choose to be chiefly interested in the symbolism of Easter. My belief in immortality may be less clear cut than that of those who vision a literal shining city of jewels and Still it need not be uncertain, even though nebulous. I've never seen a stitch beyond the milk- wa. and yet I accept without reservation the existence of the universes which lie behind it. But I would urge upon churchmen the fact that the physical elements of the Easter symbol are too lightly discarded. a tt a Body Also Triumphs PARSONS are prone to speak of “material things” in a derogatory sense. “And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away, for it was very great.” The Bible story recounts a triumph of body as well as soul. The stone ! itsi If a symbol. This is matter, substance, form and such things are. s the Bible says, very great and not to be lightly disregarded. Faith, we know, will move mountains and so can the back and shoulders of human-kind when the power is properly applied by numbers. Many resent any attempt to nationalize what are called miracles. It seems to me that there are won■’V'' Wl ’ ~ \ ... *
I / yjh iil f ISTHIX B IKE. BEST 1
Disprove Pre-Natal Influences Beliefs
IT SEEMS TO ME
All Fed Up
HEALTH SUPERSTITIONS—NO. L 2
belief that the expectant mother should visit art galleries to look at beautiful paintings so that her child may be beautiful and that she should avoid being frightened in any way, so the child may not be marked by birthmarks resembling snakes, dogs, fires, or anything of a similar character. There is an old story about an orator who was gesturing unnecessarily. Someone asked Senator Reed for an explanation of this phenomenon and he replied that the orator's mother had been scared by a windmill. Many savage tribes believe that impulses may be conveyed to the child not only from the mother, but even from the father, notwithstanding the fact that the father has no physical connection whatever with the infant during the process of its development. The ignorant people of the past
ders enough in the physical world without going beyond the furthest flung star in search of things mysterious. Why is it necessary to quarrel over floods, and whales and loaves, and little fishes when the planets and their inter-relation are so prolific in that ingenuity which we call magic? The hand of God still remains quicker than the human eye in spite of all the avdancements of astronomy. The Great Machine “'TT'HIS,” they sneer, “is a mecha--1 nistic conception of the universe,” as if the men who regard the atom in some amazement were bowing down to clumsy gods of wood and stone. Indeed where is the man to draw chalk lines across the face of the heaven and say, “Here matter ends and spirit now begins.” If matter and spirit are not twin brothers they are certainly no less than first cousins. The soul is eternal. All right—matter is indestructible. Kinship does not end here. Os course, I am perfectly willing to admit that most of us desire per-
Questions and Answers
You can get an answer to any answerable question of fact or Information by writing to Frederick M. Kerb.v. Question Editor The Indianapolis Times' Washington Bureau, 1222 New York avenue. Washington. D. C.. inclosing 2 cents in stamps for reply. Medical and legal advice cannot be given, nor can extended research be made. All other questions will receive a persona! reply. Unsigned requests cannot be answered. All letters are confidential. You are cordially invited to make use of this service. Why does sound carry farther on water than on land? Water is a more homogeneous medium and a better conductor of sound than air. Is Ben Turpin really cross-eyed, or does he just make his eyes go that way while acting before the camera? His eyes are really crossed, and have been for many years. What does the symbol H-20 stand for? Water, which contains two parts of hydrogen to one of oxygen. What nationality were the parents of Nita Naldi? Nita Naldi was born in New York of Italian and Irish parentage.
Daily Thought
Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the Sabbath days. BUM THE most generous and merciful in judgment upon the faults of others are always the most free from faults themselves.—Augh^,
accounted for the occurrence of all kinds of abnormalities by the idea of prenatal impressions. Straw-berry-like birthmarks were traced to the strawberry and harelip to the lip of the hare. . Dogfaced boys and similar pitifully malformed children were alleged to be the result of relationships between women and animal spirits, demons, or gods. These impressions arc carried so far in fact that in some parts of Germany women are told to avoid the sight of all kinds of crawling or winding objects so that the cord of the infant may not be twisted. It should be stated again positively that there is not the slightest scientific evidence to support the idea that anything the mother or father may think will in any way mark physically or mentally the expectant child.
By HEY WOOD BROUN
sonal immortality. When the great trumpets blow I suppose I would like to turn and blink and wake at last to find that Hsywood Broun was still there. We might come at length to some warmer and more friendly feeling about matter itself. Much too freely do we use the phrases, “animate” and “inanimate things.” Whoever gave man the power to draw that line? Surely there comes a place in the scale of life where it is difficult to say whether an organism is plant or animal. a a a Brotherhood of Atoms SOME day there might arise a new St. Francis to preach a universality of brotherhood not only between man and all living creatures, but to establish the closeness of our bond to all created substance. It is not even now considered wholly sentimental to say, “I love this table and would not part with it because it has been in the family for centuries.” Nor do I think it merely mawkish to feel a qualm about cutting down flowers or felling trees which grow. Certainly we are all companions in carbon, oxygen and hydrogen. And also a little nitrogen, as 1 remember. Not to overlook phosphorous. Possibly we war against brotherhood because it is not sufficiently exclusive. It might be a good idea to get up a hat band and i secret grip to be worn by all the sons of oxygen. The better way ot life would be to keep body and soul together. Then man might stand at Easter morn upon some little hill, salute the sun, wave greetings to each passing cloud and hail new grass with “ ’At a-workin’, buddy.” 'Copyright. 1929. for The Times)
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—By Talburt.
Ideal* and opinions expressed in this column are those of one of America's most Interesting writers, and are presented without regard to their agreement or disagreement with the editorial attitude of this paper.—The Editor.
.’APRIL’ 4. 1329
REASON
-By Frederick Landis
Stock Gamblers Flood the Country With False Values and Take Money Away From Honest Business. CxONGRESS should strengthen J the federal reserve board’s power to stop wild speculation In Wall Street, there being no reason why these colossal gamblers should be permitted to use the credit of the entire nation to carry on their game. Such a condition floods the land with false values, fills the nation’s blood with the virus of gambling; takes ir.or.f- “ -m honest business expansion, from farmers, manufacturers and business men. and increases the interest paid by the common man who borrows for legitimate purposes. u a a Those Chicago bandits who gained admittance to a Chicago home by appearing with "Easter flowers” for an invalid within, after which they robbed everybody, could make much more by applying their wits to honest business. It's not safe any more in Chicago to open the door after dark to let the cat out, so they tie a rope to it and let it down from a second-story window, then pull it up again. a a a THIRTY Kansas farmers joined in sending Vice-President Curtis thirty dozen eggs and we should not be surprised if Curtis were to throw all of them at his ancient enemy, Henry Allen, when the latter approaches thi vice presidential throne to be sworn in as Curtis’ successor. a tt a T.'.tski is going to Germany to see some doctors, but if the Russian royalists ever regain power and are able to catch him. they will make him take his own medicine. tt tt tt It should quiet the nerves of those people who look under the bed for a Bolshevist every night before retiring to read that the United Mine Workers of Illinois in their state convention voted unanimously against a resolution offered by a communist. tt tt tt It took a New York court four years, as long as it took Lincoln to save the Union, to sentence a defendant. whom the judge said was guilty beyond any question. During this time thirty-seven different court maneuvers were resorted to. Until we can end this monkey business, we should hoist a chiropodist to the top of the. American courthouse to trim the corns of the Goddess of Justice. a a a THE newspapers having tcld how William Nauer of Pittsburgh has washed 500,000 dishes since last August and is still going strong, he should receive more matrimonial offers than Peggy Joyce. a a a It makes one draw a deep breach to think of Sir Hubert Wilkins 1 plan to go to the north pole in a submarine, making 40 per cent of the trip under the ice. a a a China has broken loose again and is putting another crop of her cannon fodder into the red silo of war. a a a The people of Brookfield, Mo., have asked the state to help drown the bullfrog chorus which makes sleep impossible. an a It’s a shame this chorus can’t be broadcast in the place of some of the hamburgered vibrations which come over the radio.
>AV“ Eg
OUR FLAG
April 4 ON April 4, 1818, congress enacted the law which fixed for all time the design of the flag of the United States. The law rectified an error which a short-sighted congress had enacted in 1795, after the admission of Vermont and Kentucky to the union. This 1795 act provided that a stripe should be added for each of these states, and for twentythree years the national ensign had fifteen stripes. It was a fifteen-stripe flag which waved over Ft. McHenry and inspired Francis Scott Key to write “The Star-Spangled Banner.” And only the action which congress took 111 years ago today saved the general characteristics of our flag as it was in revolutionary days for this day of forty-eight states. As every one knows, the act, of 1818 reduced the number of stripes to thirteen—one for each of the original states—and provided that each state of the union should be represented by a star. Each state’s star is added to the flag on the Fourth of July following the state's admission to the union.
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