Indianapolis Times, Volume 41, Number 53, Indianapolis, Marion County, 12 July 1929 — Page 8

PAGE 8

-J5 A f < F IPPJ - H OK A* 7>

Score One for Public Opinion Some of the power interests are going to sell their newspapers. Not often does the country get such a clear-cut demonstration of the power of public opinion. Usually there is no such thing as public opinion in the sense oi united pressure The public is apt to be indifferent cr divided. So politicians, or big business, or loboyists of the blue nose variety, get away with a lot which theoretically should be prevented by enlightened public opinion and usually is not. But the electric power interests banked on pub ic indifference once too often. When the International Paper and Power Compar.v decided to buy into American newspapers in a big way, it doubtless assumed that the public never would know anything about the deals. Indeed, in the case of most of the thirteen dailies in which the International acquired a financial interest, there were deliberate arrangements through dummy stockholders and holding companies to disguise the deals from the public. Only the initiative of Senator Norris and the federal trade commission supported by most of the press of the .un?r , revealed the extent of the International's plan for secret financial connection with a network of newspapers having large public influence. Public reaction to these revelations was quick and def.nite. There was virtually unanimous opinion that, any such hook-up between partisan power interests and supposedly nonpartisan newspapers representing the public was a menace to that freedom of the press upon which democratic government depends. Without questioning the motives or the legal right of the International, this newspaper condemned that company's financial relationship with the thirteen papers. We expressed the belief and hope, however, that publicity would correct the evil. Newspaper graveyards are filled with the corpses of special interest organs. A newspaper which is not read and trusted by the public cea es to be of financial or propaganda value to the special interest which acquires it. And the public simply will not trust a paper known to be connected with power interests. In the long run, it is a question of the power company getting rid of the paper or watching it die. And there is more to it than that, because the power company not only fails in its newspaper project out in addition earns the general distrust of the public in matters of legislation and other political relations. So the International's decision to dispose of all its newspaper investments is not surprising. The only surprising thing is that the company ever should have sought such newspaper control in the first place. Anyway, score one for public opinion. Right to Work President. Hoover intends to put the federal farm board right to work Monday when it holds its first meeting to carry out provisions of the farm relief act. He intends to lay the grain marketing situation before the board and urge that steps be taken to take care of the vast exportable surplus that has been built up by the bumper crop this year and the large carry-over from last season. If the President can get the farm board into action this summer and save the wheat market, he will perform almost an agricultural miracle. . Most farmers had given up hope of assistance from the board for at least another year. They had anticipated most of this season would be taken -up in organization and collecting data. The wheat problem is by far the most pressing. It is having an effect npon cotton and other crops. The first step toward governmental aid was that of the interstate commerce commission asking railreads to reduce freight rates and provide cars to move the surplus wheat to ports for export. The movement began. Then it appeared that elevators at the ports were overflowing with wheat and there weren't ships enough to transport it or sufficient foreign demand to dispose of it. Hoover was asked to provide ships. He replied that he would appeal to the board at its first meeting to face the wheat problem. Two courses confront the board when it- meets. On? will be a cautious program that will preserve the $500,000,000 revolving fund authorized by congress to assist the farmer. The other will be a quick dramatic step to stabilize farm prices, which might involve great financial risk and might dissipate the revolving fund. It is not an easy alternative. But. then, there is nothing easy about the farm problem The test of the board will be its ability to meet just such crisis as that in wheat today. Politics and Business Business is business. The trader throughout all history has preceded the representative of political government into strange countries. Whoever has gpods to sell does not. botfier his head about the religious or political opinions of possible customers. That's their business, and none of his. Manx of us do not like the Soviet government. But that's the political business of the people of Russia. It's non? of ours. Certainly the Standard Oil Company, the International Harvester Company, the American automobile manufacturers and other American traders didn't care a darn about the political theories of anybody who had perfectly good gold and good credit with which to pay for his goods. So if President Hoover isn't scared speechless, as some of his predecessors seemed to be, by the Bolshevik bugaboo, and thinks the people of this country are immune to propaganda and can do their own thinking, we know of no good reason why he shouldnt take the Russian government as the Russian people want it and say howdydo to them. Business is nonpartisan, has no religious creed, is neither wet nor dry, cares little cr nothing about the private opinions of any foreigner with a dollar in his pocket with which to buy something he wants, and doesn’t care whether he lives under a king, president or dictator. The rules of trade are saner than those of politics. Commerce is organizing a league of nations faster than diplomats know how If the people of this republic can t listen to all the propaganda from anywhere on earth and accept what is sane and reject what is foolish, then we are standing on a mighty shifty foundation. Russia Is on the earth and on the map. It's non?

The Indianapolis Times * (A SCRIPI'S-HOU AKI> NflVSl’tl'Eß) OwnM and published daily except Sunday) by The Indianapoli* Times Publishing Cos.. 214-220 tV. Maryland Street, Indianapolis. Ind. l’ri'-e In Marion County 2 cents —lO cents a week; elsewhere. !i cents —12 cents a week BOYD BURLEY, HOY IV. HOWARD, FRANK O MORRISON. Editor President liusiuess Manager I HONE-Klley 5551 ~ FRIDAY. JULY 12. 1929. Member or 1 nlted Press, Scripps-Howard Newspaper Alliance, Newspaper Kuterprise Association, Newspaper Information Service and Audit Bureau of 'irculatious. “Give Liffbt and the People Will Find Their Own Way.”

of our business what kind of government it wants or has. The Russians are people. So are we. It is silly for us to say we won't speak as we pass by until they govern themselves as we think they ought to be governed. Let Hoover end the silly game we have been playing and recognize facts. Misguided Patriotism Over in Ohio a nurse, trained to care for the sick and injured, devoting her life to the profession of medical missionary, is refused citizenship in this country because she would not take oath that she would actively bear arms for this country if another war should occur. She was ready to affirm that she would contribute her services and her abilities, as best she could, but was not sure that she would be physically able to carry a'rifle and kill. She was ready to act as a nurse at the front. She was willing, if emergency needed, to do anything within her power except perhaps to kill another human being. If there is an episode of greater asininity or misguided patriotism, it has been carefully concealed. It is rather shocking to face the fact that the government as now administered, finds it necessary to assure itself that its women will fight in the next W’ar. That ought to give some impetus to any movement that will abolish war. Even the most savage of tribes leave their women in camps w’hen they go to conflict. Even the most uncivilized of peoples have left their fighting to the male. Apparently the United States, dedicated to the principle of equality between the sexes,, except as to wages for work, believes that the women must fight, go to the trenches, face the machine guns and the cannon, in order to qualify as citizens. As to the necessity of demanding that either man or woman promise to fight in the event of W'ar, as the price of citizenship, there is at least a division of opinion. Certainly such a demand imposes stronger responsibilities upon the seeker of citizenship than it does upon the native born. The draft law' provides for the exclusion from combatant service of any person who had conscientious scruples against war. That law' still safeguards the freedom of conscience, although the naturalization courts allow no latitude when it comes to the question of making w f ar. It is a matter of some local interest that Judge Baltzell of the local federal court assisted in writing a decision, later to be overruled by the supreme court, which struck at this new and startling theory of national defense. He, with other judges on the court of appeals, decided that women should not be forced to take such an oath as a condition of citizenship. Some crimes and many follies are committed in the name of patriotism. To refuse a nurse a welcome to this country because she is not sure she could kill reaches the limit. That So-Called Problem “This automobile problem is getting serious.” The only thing serious about it is our demand that everybody should be able to go anywhere at any time in his owm car and park free in the public street. We expect too much. "Count your many blessings/' What if we do occasionally have to take a street car or a train, or a subway; haven’t we driven car thousands of miles? What if we do get caught in a traffic jam; what one of us has not more often felt the thrill of a clear road with nothing to stop us but our awn sense of caution? What if we do occasionally have to pay a parking fee? It is not large in comparison with the investment w’e already have put into the luxury that pleasure driving is.

—David Dietz on Science ______ Calorics and Growth No. 406

GROWTH is number four in the eight characteristics of living organisms listed by £rof. H. H. Newman of the University of Chicago. First on the list was the chemical composition of protoplasm, the cnemical substance out of which the cells of all living organisms are composed. Second, came the physical properties of protoplasm. Third was metabolism, the process by which living organ-

Inevitable,” Dr Newman writes. This is a very technical way of saying that if you absorb more calories in food than you burn up in activity, you will get fat. Growth may be considered, therefore, as an increase in mass. There .are distinct limitations to growth, however. Not only do organisms stay within certain very definite limits, but parts of organisms do so as well. When a part of an organism exceeds its limits, the result is usually a disaster for the whole organism. Cancer is just such a disaster. In cancer, for some reason as yet unknown, a group of cells begins to grow wild, exceeding the limits which they ought to stay within. The wild cells grow at the expense of the surrounding normal ones, upsetting the balance of the organism. The range of growth in both the plant and animal world is exceedingly great. At one end of the scale are the microscopic bacteria and various microscopic plants arjd animals, such as the algae, the ameb'as and s<j on. At the other end of the scale are gigantic trees and huge whales, some of them larger than freight cars. Many organisms exhibit specific changes during the process of growth. This is usually called development. Thus, for example, a frog starts life as an egg. The egg develops into a tadpole. The tadpole not only grows in size but undergoes development or change, turning into a frog. The factors which control these developmental changes are not well understood as yet and much work remains to be done in this field of biology. An interesting fact is that development can be hastened, retarded, or in some cases shunted into a new direction, by changes in the environment. Biologists hove cnly discovered within recent/years how enormous the changes in development are which can be brought about by changes in environment.

M. E. Tracy SAYS:

Long ,4.s- Airplanes Can Light and Get a New Supply of Fuel and Oil in Fifteen Minutes . Who Is Going to Bother About Refueling in the Air? AFTER 216 hours the motor began to knock, but those California boys kept right on flying. That is what you might call nerve. Maybe they thought opportunity knocks only once. Still it w'as taking a chance. tt tt tt Nothing Much Proved JOKES aside, the Angeleno has made a wonderful record. Ten days in the air is more than enough to make a carrier pigeon envious. It does not prove very much, however, except what an engine will stand. As long as airplanes can light and get anew supply of gas and oil in fifteen minutes, who is going to bother about refueling in the air? O tt tt Safety Record Urged THERE can be no quarrel w’ith the idea of establishing records. Whether competition is the life of trade, it is the life of achievement. In spite of the loss of life, the trans-oceanic flights have done a great deal to stimulate interest in aviation, while the endurance tests recently made have done more to create confidence. What we need most, how'ever, is records of safety in the field of regular, continuous service. n n % - Here’s a Distance Mark IN 1890, H. S. Chapman of Katonah, N. Y.. began to commute between that towm and New York City. He has made the trip every business day during the last thirtynine years, traveling an average of ninety-tw r o miles each day, or a total of more than 1,000,000 miles. He has been late on an average ox twice each year, absent once and has missed the 6:40 train only twice. When the airplane makes it possible to even approximate such a record, the public will be ready to fly. tt tt tt Women and Religion THE death of Katherine Tingley brings to mind the important part women have played in the development of religious beliefs, especially during recent years. Not that women failed to play an important part in the past, but that formerly they were compelled to play it as subordinates of men. Religion, based as it is on idealism. is woman’s natural sphere. Though denied the honor of lead- S ership. women have borne the burden of all established faiths. Christianity itself rests largely on ! the work and sacrifice of women. a a a Liberty to Think THE same revolution which gave j men liberty to think in terms of science gave women liberty to imagine in terms of religion. Though curious, perhaps, it is not illogical to find a Morse matched by a Madame Blavatsky, a Bell by a Mary Baker Eddy, an Edison by a Katherine Tingley. In fundamentals, at least, the two sexes are playing their original roles. a a a Perils of New Tariff SENATOR SMOOT says that instead of thirty-eight only twenty-five governments have protested against the new tariff bill. That looks like a distinction without a difference. To the ordinary man twenty-five governments voujd appear quite enough. Neither would the ordinary man be impressed by the fact that they protested with regard to particular articles or commodities, which Senator Smoot seems to think quite significant. Certainly, no government would undertake to challenge such a complicated measure as the Hawley bill in toto. In the first place, no government would be interested in all the schedules. In the second, no government would expect consideration, without being specific. a a r> The Race Is Doomed BUT what is the use of getting excited over airplanes, religion, or even the tariff if the human race is to be exterminated by the tsetse fly. which is the prediction of Dr. Roderic H. Rae, director of visual education in the Indianapolis pubI lie schools.

isms absorb food and convert it into energy. It will be remembered that building up of the organism through the absorption of food materials is known as anabolism, whil e the utilization of materials to produce energy is ca 11 e and katabolism. “When anabolism exceeds katabolism, growth is

“The African tsetse fly. which produces sleeping sickness,” says Dr. Rae. “threatens mankind with devastation. We know of no cure for its sting, which brings sleeping sickness from which victims do not recover.” tt tt tt Don't Be Discouraged THERE are people who see more danger in the auto than the tsetse fly. Also, there are people who would refuse to be discouraged, by the fact that no cure has been discovered for the sting of the tsetse fly. Time was when no cure had been discovered for tuberculosis, lock-jaw, lepresy and many other dread diseases. Even if a cure can nat be discovered. a way may be found to exterminate the tsetse, just as a way was found to exterminate the deadly mesquito of Panama.

Daily Thought

But when the sun was up, it was scorched; and because it had no root it withered away.—St. Mark 4:6. t: tt a THE most brilliant qualities be- _ ccmg useless when they are not sustained by force of character.— Segur.

TOE INDIANAPOLIS TIMES

... / / v/| / ■ v // jjj

“T.B.T Isn’t Under Control Yet

Editor Journal of the American Medical Association and of Hygeia, the Health Magazine. IN 1880 tuberculosis was responsible for 326 deaths for every 100,000 people in the United States. The rate gradually has fallen until 1927, when the death rate was 81 deaths for every 100,000 people in the United States. In 1917 the rate for heart disease passed the rate for tuberculosis. By 1924, the rates for heart disease, pneumonia, brain hemorrhage and cancer passed the rate for tuberculosis. This does not mean, however, that the disease has been in any sense of the word brought under complete control. The improvement in the rate is no doubt to be accredited to the advance in our knowledge, but particularly to the removal from general circulation, through residence in sanatoriums of tremendous numbers of people who formerly spread

IT SEEMS TO ME * H = D

PREACHING in the pulpit of his father, the Rev. Hillyer Hawthorne Straton advised the members of his congregation to “Make a | Chum of God.” ‘‘lt is not possible for most of us,” he said, “to sit down and talk with the President, the latest winner of the Nobel prize, great authors or industrial giants. However, each one of us is given the opportunity to talk with the Maker of the Universe, to speak with the creator of all wisdom, to have a fellowship with God Himself —to make a chum of God.” To me the young preacher struck an appealing note with these words, but if his theology is in any measure like that of his father, no Straton follower possibly can begin to accept the advice. It is not unreasonable to assume that Hillyer accepts the creed of John Roach Straton, since at the moment he is serving as assistant in Calvary Baptist church. tt tt tt Difficult NOW the God of Stratons frequently has been pictured by them as a creator not only willing, but even eager to cast men. women and children into a hell of everlasting fire, Dr. Straton has been at some pains to explain that in speaking of "fire’’ he meant a literal place of brimstone torment. And the offenses punishable by eternal damnation have seemed at times a little trivial. Seemingly one of the mortal sins consists of speaking disrespectfully of John Roach Straton. At any rate I myself recently was consigned to the pit along with Don Marquis and Sinclair Lewis by the good clergyman. Condemnation came after a sort of court-martial in which not one of us was permitted to testify in his own defense. Undoubtedly the three of us cast into darkness by the kindly doctor have various blemishes upon our consciences, but our only common failing is a dislike for John Roach Straton.

Ignores Advice Accordingly, it is not pos- . sible for me to heed the advice of Young Hillyer. Indeed, if close communion with God may be attained only by reverencing the Stratons. I prefer to follow the counsel of Professor Rogers and become a snob. Nor does it seem to me that it should be advisable for any one to make a chum of God if the Creator truly were the irritable and vengeful deity worshiped in Calvary Baptist church. These Baptist evangelists would have us believe that practically all the pleasures known on earth are offenses in the eyes of their maker of the universe. But the Rev. Hillyer Hawthorne Straton is not the only one to urge

Ain’t We Got Fun!

-HEALTH IN HOT WEATHER—-

the disease to other people with whom they came in contact. Dr. E. B. Vedder is inclined to consider more important in produce ing this result than the organized campaign, the general prosperity which gradually has been developing in the United States. Tuberculosis is primarily a .disease of bad nutrition, bad housing, overwork, and lack of outdoor life. The people of the United States, during the past thirty years, have come to realize more and more by the campaign of education of the public in health that outdoor life with plenty of sunlight and fresh air, that good living conditions and edting of proper food in considerable quantities, is the best possible insurance against many forms of disease. Whether the United States, has reached the optimum in this regard is a question that can not be settled by haphazard guesses. Should the rates for the disease continue

a personal friendship with the Creator. Many of the characters in the novels of H. G. Wells have not-only talked with God, but even argued with Him. And it seems to me impossible to be chummy with any one in this life or the w r orld to come without the possibility of a certain gi,ve and take. Surely w'e do not pick our friends from among the ranks of those w'ho never for a moment admit the possibility of being wwong. a tt a Wilson Has Spoken SPEAKING of infallibility, I am reminded of Dr. Clarence True Wilson's article in Collier’s about prohibition. As far as the discussion of Volsteadism goes, there is nothing particularly startling in the j piece. There is no news in the fact that Dr. Wilson would go even to the length of a bloody war to promote prohibition and we all know that his remedy against a protesting minority would be to put the whole lot of them in jail. But in one other respect Dr. Wilson w'as less mod- | crate. During the late campaign it was charged that the more political of j the Protestants actually were seeking to establish a state religion. I (This was indignantly denied by the prohibition ministers.)

Quotations of Notables

LOYD GEORGE can never hope to succeed where Joe Beckett and Jack Dempsey failed. They never come back.—Ramsay MacDonald. a tt tt The Christian faith is more potent than ever in the lives of the nations of the world. We are seeing an attempt under democracy to bring peace to the .world. I think it will succeed.—Lloyd George. a a a We must not admit any foreigners who come to violate American law. Upon conviction we must send them back to their own lands.—Dr. Clarence True Wilson. (Collier's.) tt a a Pay no heed to social position. A Bible and a bathtub can insure this anywhere United States—Th? Rev’ Dr. S. Parkes Cadman. t, tt a He would be a bold man or a fool who would hazard a guess regarding the future of any art or science.— General HaAord. tt a tt We are th? most resourceful people in the world in the matter of making money and among the most ignorant in the matter of spending it.—William Mather, president Lafayette college. a a u Citizens are not made for laws. Law's are made for citizens. The

to decline during the next twentyfive years, as they have in the last twenty-five years, it is possible that tuberculosis may be brought completely under control, with a death rate similar to that of some of the acute infectious diseases, such as scarlet fever and measles. One of the lowest death rates for this disease ever achieved in the United States was reached ; n an experiment in a city in Massachusetts, in which a considerable sum of money was spent with a direct emphasis on the control of tuberculosis. Asa result the rate was brought from 121 per 100,000 in 1917 to 38 per 100,000 in 1923. It has been said again and again that public health is a purchasable commodity. The evidence that has been cited would seem to indicate the necessity for wider and wider application of the knowledge that w'e now r possess for the control of disease.

Ideals 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.

But now Dr. Clarence True Wilson practically admits his desire for such a mighty upheaval in American traditions. ‘‘The putting of the fear of God in the minds of those who fear neither God nor man is one of the chief functions of good government,” writes Dr. Wilson. tt tt tt Their Own 'God 1 BY "God’’ the reformer undoubtedly means the God of the Methodist Committee of Temperance and Public Morals. The revelations of this deity generally are made to Dr. Wilson directly. Men of divergent faiths may protest that the Creator pictured by Dr. Wilson is not the true God, but a tribal deity, a jitney Jehovah. Their protests will avail them nothing. for Dr. Wilson already possesses temporal as v'ell spiritual pow'er. After the revelation from his own particular God, Dr. Wilson issues his orders to congress. He tells the assembled representatives that a new sin just has been set up and that he wants a law' passed about it. And after the law has been passed he will add a request for marines I to enforce it at the bayonet point. ; If this isn’t a state religion, pray tell me just what is or ever has been. I (Copyright, 1929. for The Timesi

trouble with these new rum laws is that in order to accomplish an end w'hich seems to have merit they made crimes of actions which to a large proportion of the people of the country were not crimes.—Edward S. Martin. (Harper’s Magazine).

For Real Hot Weather Comfort A DOTY TROPICAL s2s— s3o Come in and Cool Off! Wilson Bros. Haberdashery 16 North Meridian St.

.JULY 12. 1929

REASON Ey Frederick Landis

Rich Man Crashes in Plane; Had It Bren Any Law But That of Grarity. He Could Hare Had It Suspended. HARDINGE lost his breach of promise suit to the brokenhearted lady from Oklahoma, but his attorney has not surrendered. No, sirec! He declares that he has just commenced to fight. Nothing can surpass the soldierly qualities of the lawyer who has a millionaire for a client. tt a a The drowning of this Indiana athlete who was seized by cramps and went down and never came up disposes once more of the anciem fiction that one can not drown without going down and coming up three times. a tt a Mrs. Oldfield, member of congress from Arkansas, thinks men can run the government at Washington better than women. Undoubtedly they can-do it bet- | ter than the women who are selected solely because they are the widows of congressmen.* but there are lots of women in the country ; who could give the gentlemen a run for their monev.

So far as the house of representatives at Washington is concerned, most of the gentlemen in it are utterly helpless, the business being done by three or four members. It would be impossible to subdue a similar number of women. tt tt tt IT'S rather shoddy for the former chancellor of the exchequer, Winston Churchill, to arrange for a speaking tour in the United States just to steal the thunder of MacDonald. newly elected premier, who had announced an American tour. But we fail to see where either of them will cut any ice. unless they charge at the gate. a o a The Rev. John Thompson of the First Methodist church of Chicago hits the nail on the head when he declares that Bishop Cannon of Virginia has brought disgrace upon the church by his bucket shop speculations and should get out cr be kicked out. tt tt tt Rich man crashes in an airplane down east. Had it been any law but the law of gravity, he could have arranged to have it suspended. tt tt tt The Kurds of Turkey divorce their wives by simply saying three times, “I divorce you.” In this country the parties have to be in the newspapers three weeks. tt tt tt MOVING the business of prohibition enforcement from the treasury department to the department of justice would make little difference in results, but it would make a world of difference if President Hoover would can the army of political grafters, now getting rich out of it, and appoint men of character in their places tt a a General Pershing would have made a great ambassador to France, but Senator Edge of New Jersey, who has about as much popular appeal as a pock of carrots, is to get | the honor. tt tt a Dawes in London and Pershing in Paris could have taken care of 1 the entire European front.

r-; TO DAY- IS THE ' AfWERSARY

THOREAU’S BIRTHDAY July 12

Henry david thoreatj, noted American naturalist ami writer, was born on July 12, 1817, at Concord, Mass., the son of Scottish parents, neither wealthy nor influential. Asa boy, Thoreau became interested in certain aspects of nature and spent most of his free momenta wandering alone in the wnods. He attended Harvard University, but in no way distinguished himself. After graduation, he taught school. But the study of nature in preference to man appealed more to him and he soon deserted schoolmastering as a profession and became s lecturer and author. Thoreau, in 1845, made the now famous experiment of Walden. Ho retired to a home-made 1 ut and for two years lived the life of a recluse. He read considerably, wrote abundantly, and came to know' the birds and fishes and beasts with an almost intimate knowledge. And from his experiences cams “Walden,” a book upon which hi3 fame rests. Thoreau died at the age of 45, in May, 1352. He holds a unique place in that he was naturalist devoid of the pedantry of science. He was a keen observer, but no retailer of disjointed facts and his w'ritings have all variable charm of Nature herself.