Indianapolis Times, Volume 41, Number 121, Indianapolis, Marion County, 30 September 1929 — Page 4

PAGE 4

£^i3

% r ft t f> r *- mo

Finish the Job The demand of a laige group of outstanding citizens that one of their group be named as the Republican candidate for mayor by Boss Coffin when he communes with his machine, is a fair beginning. Coffmism has blighted this city. It blights the county. Its withering influence has extended into the state. What is really asked is that Coffin forget the usual type of man with whom he associates and adopt one whose respectability and reputation offers a fair assurance against some of the cruder forms of Cofiinism. The tax bills have indicated a'major operation. The movement will undoubtedly have a wide public appeal. It is a start in the right direction. But to have a full confidence and support it must go farther. No man or movement can afford to have any contacts with the Coffin machine. No movement, to arouse ? genuine enthusiasm, can traffic with the Caesar who finds himself in such sore distress that he, better than any one else, knows that any candidate who bears his brand, would be decisively beaten at an election. The basis of the Coffin power has been his control of election boards. The law gives him, as city chairman, the light to name these members in precincts where in the past there has been such peculiarities as to suggest fraud. Bootleggers, petty criminals and paroled prisoners from the minor courts have often been in charge. If Cofiinism is to be repudiated and not perfumed that same group of men should insist on placing this power over election boards in the hands of a man of quite as high standing and reputation for integrity as the candidate for mayor. They should insist on some assurance of an honest election. No man who has in the past contributed to the power of Coffin, who has even acquiesced, if not participated, in the era which produced a Duvall and the Four Horsemen, which has made the statute of limitations the great bulwark of liberty, should have any part in the new day. b-i _ Cancer is never cured by a sachet powder. It is time for a major operation. • > The war which was carried on by the City ivianager League to drive political influence | and partisan privilege out of city govern- . Jnent can not be won by the capture of one ■ Jsector. I The real battle cry against Cofiinism W should be “spurlos versunkt.” A General Sneers at Peace Seen?: A military camp at Saratoga Springs. N. Y. Time: Sept. 28. 1929. (A few hours after Premier MacDonald sailed from England, en route to Ameriot to discuss armament reduction as a necessary corollary to the Kellogg treaty renouncing war.) Speakers: Major-General Hanson E. Ely-of the United States army and Captain George S. Godfrey of the British army. “It has been the natural law of the brute be3St to- kill cr be killed.” says one speaker. "The same law has held for primitive man. and in greater or lesser degree for his civilized successors. I maintain that the next logical step toward the complete attainment of a reasonable life is that man in the collective form should conquer the old natural law of killing. . . . There is not the slightest doubt that civilized nations of our type have got to make the conscious choice in the long run between settling their differences by war or by discussion and agreement. The consequences of a settlement by war in the crowded, sensitive, highly interconnected world of today beccme ever more disastrous to victor and the defeated. Whereas if we agree that settlement by peaceful methods is to be our rule, there probably are no two countries which can do more to tip the scales on the side of permanent peace throughout the world. But the other speaker makes the old war appeal: “We can talk of eternal peace and hope for it. but we are not going to get it. We can extend the time between wars, but we are not going to end wars. . . . It might be well for our humanitarians and others who want to prevent war to consider how to keep war losses down to a point commensurate with the objects attained. Don't talk about the horrors of war . . . they don't prevent war. We can only ameliorate war through preparedness." The fire-eating officer was the American. Perhaps General Ely has been too busy with his militaristic propaganda to hear of the treaty “renouncing war as an instrument of national policy.” Perhaps he has been so busy he has not learned that his commander-in-chief. President Hoover, has stated as the official policy of this government that peace can bo maintained through international agreements and arms reduction. General Ely is a soldier. Apart from the bad taste of this speech in the presence of a British officer and on the eve of the MacDonald-Hoover disarmament meeting, isn't there such a thing as officer's loyalty? Isn't even a major-general bound somewhat by the official policy of his government and commander-in-chief, and by the treaty in which his country solemnly has pledged its honor and faith? Modern Education It is a long step from the little red schoolhouse mnd three R's to the latest courses in public schools Just listed by the United States bureau of education. In Illinois there is a school that has a course in aviation, where the theory of flying is stressed and instruction in airplane engines is given with fourthyear work in auto mechanics. A New Jersey school teaches radio production and aervice. In California is % class in scenery construci

The Indianapolis Times (A SCRII'PS-HOWAKIJ NEWSPAPER) 1 Jwned and published daily (except Sunday) by The Indianapolis Time* Publishing Co M 214-220 VV Maryland Street. Indianapolis. Ind. Price In Marlon County 2 cents a copy: elsewhere, 3 cents—delivered by carrier. 12 cents a week. BOVU' GTRLEY ROT W HOWARD. FRANK G MO RKI.SON, Editor President Business Manager Phone—kiley 5i Monday, sept. 30. 1929. Member or United Press. Scnpps-Howard Newspaper Alliance. Newspaper Enterprise Association. Newspaper Information Service and Audit Bureau of Circulations. “Give Light and the People Will Find Their Own Way”

tion, painting and decorating. The California school also teaches electric wiring. Foundry practice, power plant engineering, laundry work and operation of linotype machines arc among other courses. Then there is a janitor's engineering course, covering heat, lighting and ventilating. It even teaches the prospective janitors how’ to keep an apartment house warm in the winter, but doesn’t guarantee they will do it. Pardon Billings No petition has been filed for release of Warren Billings, who. like Tom Mooney, is in jail for life as an aftermath of the San Francisco preparedness parade bombing of 1916. Governor Young of California is studying testimony given when Billings was tried, as well as that given in the Mooney case. This is accepted as a strong indication that the Governor is convinced the testimony on which the two were convicted was perjured, as the trial judge believes, and is considering a pardon. Billings is a second-termer and can not be pardoned without consent of the California supreme court. That is why Mooney's case always has been put in the foreground. However, the testimony which sent Billings to jail has been discredited as completely as that in the Mooney trial. The cases are connected inextricably. If Mooney was falsely condemned, so was Billings. Young is jnaking, as he promised, a thoroughgoing investigation of the whole matter. He can not be commended too highly for doing so. Governor after Governor left the case untouched as witness after witness either confessed or was proved to have given perjured testimony. Such an investigaion should lead to pardon for the two men, for Young’s present attitude seems to indicate that confidence can be reposed in his decision. Good-By, Blackmer Henry M. Blackmer, the oil man who ran away, must pay a bigger fine as a result of his part in the Continental Trading Company deal of 1921 than any of the oil men who stayed and faced the music. Which is, perhaps, as it should be. He was the only one of men dividing the ill-gotten profits of that mysterious company who did not eventually return his share of the bonds. Will the others who were so anxious to have him stay away from the various official proceedings in which they were involved chip in and help this expatriate of secrecy meet the government's bill? The oil cases are practically at an end. All this country desifes of Mr. Blackmer now is his continued and permanent absence. * Government Competition The Southern California Edison Company announces a reduction in electric lighting rates that will save $1,400,000 annually to 427.000 customers. It is an interesting coincidence that this announcement comes just as the department of the interior is about to announce rates that the government will charge for power generated at Boulder dam. No one supposes that this unexpected cut in rates by the Edison company is going to impoverish its stockholders, or hurt the company in any way. Neither will any one suppose that the reduction would have been made had not the government undertaken to generate power in the company's territory and make public the cost of such an operation.

REASON

WE are not surprised to hear that the Russians have just abolished Sunday, for if you will only stand close to a bunch of them for a few minutes you will realize that they abolished Saturday night a long time ago. tt tt tt We don’t know why it is. but every time a woman is arrested for bootlegging, she turns up with nine or ten children and all of them little enough to cling to her apron when the picture is made for the newspapers. tt tt Since President Hoover has rejected Harry Sinclair's appeal for a pardon, his only consolation is to fall back upon the reflection that virtue is its own reward. tt tt tt Our old friend. Congressman Louis Ludlow of Indianapolis, has sent this invitation to 65,000 of his constituents: “When you are in Washington, come and see me and get a warm Hoosier welcome. My latch string is always out.” Wouldn't it be perfectly grand if they would all decide to go at the same time! a tt THE international convention of the W. C. T. U. just held in Indianapolis, passed a resolution saying: “Eternal vigilance is the price of prohibition." but the consumers insist that the real price of prohibition is something like sl2 a quart. a tt u It is a great tribute to Florence Trumbull Coolidge that she passed up a White House wedding to be married “among her own people” in the old home town. It makes you feel as if you would like to lend her a cook book or tell her how to fry mush. a a a Police Commissioner Whalen of New York City is right to insist that bonuses be given heroic patrolmen, and instead of pensioning the widows of Presidents we should pension the widows of policemen, killed in the line of duty. tt a a CHARLES L. CRAIG, former controller of New York City, presents a bill for $350,000 on account of legal services rendered his city during a year and a half in the traction litigation, which is enough to make a fellow like A1 Capone kick himself because he didn't study law. a tt a You take your hat off to the late President McKinley on reading in Ambassador Herrick’s story that Mark Hanna rounded up the bosses before McKinley's first nomination by promising them they should control everything in their respective territories, whereupon McKinley kicked the whole thing overboard and refused to make the deal. McKinley’s character and statesmanship will loom i larger as the years go by. m m The destruction of Blaine in the campaign of 1884 by the foolish “Rum, Romanism and Rebellion” speech which Burchard made, caused McKinley to be on his guard and when delegations visited Canton in th famous front porch campaign, the Ohio statesman compelled the spokesmen of all such delegations to submit their remarks in writing and in advance. And If there was anything offensive in said remarks* It went out.

FREDERICK LANDIS

THE INDIANAPOLIS TIMES

M. E. Tracy

-SAYS:-

Let Us Hope Clemenceau’s Prophesy of His Death Will Not Be so Good. BARRING any public recognition of his eighty-eighth birthday, which occurred Sept. 28, Clemenceau predicted his death within the year. “My mdther lived to 83," he said, “My father lived to 87. “At 88 I am in the danger zone. I do not ask for death and I do not fear it. I await it, and I shall die this year.” ana Let us hope that M. Clemef'ceau is not so good at phophecy as he is at statecraft, or even gardening. By the law of averages, 88 is far within the danger zone, but individual experience offers ample ground for discarding it as a certain fore- | cast of death with one, or even ten years. Dr. James R. Wadel Ward, the great linguist and oriental scholar, | has just died at 103, while his father lived co be 106 and his grandfather 112. Incidentally, Dr. Ward was a very active man, disproving the idea that work shortens life. tt tt a Theory Well Founded FRITZ VON OPET. the young German millionaire, who worked a rocket driven automobile up to a speed of 120 miles in eight seconds will attempt to fly the English channel in a rocket driven airplane. Professor Oberth, a German scientist, who has made a specialty of rockets and who is recognized as ar authority on the subject, confidently proposes to send mail by them from Berlin to New York. It sounds fantastic, but some of the most hard-headed Germans are getting interested, and even our own ambassador, Jacob Gould Shurman, says that, in view of what has occurred during the last ten years, he would not dream of dismissing such a theory as impossible. tt a a Rockets capable of crossing the ocean certainly would raise Cain with some of our pet ideas. For one thing, they would make it unnecessary to send American troops to Europe in case of another World war, or European troops to America as some of our propagandist seem to fear. All that either side would have to do would be to sit down in its own dooryard and shoot rockets. Dreadful as such an eventuality might seem, it would spare us the task of building cantonments and wooden ships on a cost plus basis. ana French engineers contemplate the possibility of converting the Mediterranean sea into a lake, then pumping out a great part of the fresh water to irrigate the Sahara desert and so lower the surface as to add half a million square miles of land to Europe. Theoretically, such a scheme is little less startling than that of shooting all over the Atlantic by rockets It would cost much more money, however, which probably will serve to bring out its impracticality. ana Study American Ideas Meanwhile, if we have no poets that can write an Iliad, we can console ourselves with the thought that the Homeric age had none that could think up such projects as are now published every day in the papers. What is more encouraging, some of our projects bring bread and meat to many, while the old-fashicred kind brought little even to those who fathered them. That may explain why Mustapha Kemal’s government wants Turkey to quit philosophizing, give up French culture, study English and see if it can’t learn how the Americans do it. The realization that human intelligence can be translated into creature comforts is having a profound effect throughout the world. Men no longer are content with art for art’s sake, or with poverty because someone has said it guarantees entemal bliss. Having discovered that they can do things themselves, they not only crave the opportunity, but doubt the wisdom of expecting divine providence to take care of them if they fail to take advantage of that opportunity. a a tt To some, this change of attitude means atheism, but to others it means only a rationalization of religion, and advance in the evolution of faith. Discarding ancient superstitions which men conceived, and elaborated, is a far different thing from dethroning God. Men will be wise not to become too conceited, simply because they find it possible to do something, or understand something today which they couldn’t do or didn’t understand yesterday. The very fact that a rocket capable of crossing the ocean, or that a scheme of irrigating the Sahara desert seems astounding, if not impossible. should warn us poor mortals that we have a lot to learn. Who won the prizes in the National spelling contest held in May, 1929? Virginia Hogan. Omaha, Neb., won the first prize: Viola Strbac, South Milwaukee, Wis.. second, and Tern Hayashi, a Japanese, Ventnor, N. J., third. What Is the weight of a cubic foot of ice? It weighs fifty-six pounds. How much did it cost to produce the motion picture “Ben Hur?” The estimated cost was about $4,000,000. ..Who prescribed the motto for the United States treasury seal, and has it ever been changed? The seal was adopted by a com- ' mittee appointed by the Continental ! congress in 1778. The motto has never been changed. How old is Tom Mix? What is i he doing now? 1 He is 50 years old and is touring with the Sells-Floto circus.

ten m flpf —f I * | Jplf

IT SEEMS TO ME

IN the current mail I am accused of spreading two misconceptions. This should be set straight immediately. The first indictment is brought by I. H. 8., news dealer to William B. Shearer, who says the bigger and better navy man isn’t in the least a shouter. “It has been my privilege,” writes Bahr, “to supply William B. Shearer with newspapers for more than a year. You would be surprised what a mild-mannered man he is; in fact, you wouldn’t notice him in a crowd, with his mouth shut or open. The only loud thing about him is his white vest and black tie. “He always went to the city with his wife and daughter. In all the time that I knew him I never heard him say ‘hello’ to anybody in the Stamford .station. Nor did anybody else seem to know him. “He always remembered to say 'Good morning’ to me, which is more than a lot of these S3O-a-week vicepresidents in Stamford remembered to do. a a a Buys Menthol Drops “t te always buys chewing gum JLJ. and is a constant user of menthol drops. His reading matter consists of two New York Ameri-

Questions and Answers

From what congressional district was Oscar De Priest elected to congress? The First congressional district of Illinois, which has a large Negro population. When did Elbert H. Gary die? Aug. 15, 1927. What is the black watch? A Highland Scotch regiment, originally formed in 1638 as military police, and regularly organized as a regiment of the line in 1739. The name “black watch” is derived from the dark-colored tartans of its uniforms. It is now a territorial regiment, officially styled “royal highlanders.” WTiat are fishberries?| Is it lawful to employ them for bait? Fishberries are the fruit of cocculus cocculus and are used in capturing fish. When made into a paste with flour it is readily eaten by fishes, and produces a speedy but

wS r~i '•*— ri •*-

—Sept. 30— THE BALKAN WAR

ON Sept. 30, 1912, Greece, Servia, and Bulgaria mobilized in preparation for the Balkan war. A few’ days later, the three nations dispatched an identical note to Turkey, requiring the establishment of complete Macedonian autonomy under Christian governors within six months. Upon receipt of the note, Turkey immediately recalled her representatives from their respective capitals and on Oct. 17 Greece, Servia and Bulgaria formally declared w’ar on Turkey. Montenegro aided in the campaign against the Turks and the military campaigns of the allies were well co-ordinated and directed to a common purpose. IJhus the Turks were attacked simultaneously in four separate places and were unable to concentrate and act on the offensive. A temporary truce was signed in December, but the nations failed to agree on permanent peace terms and hostilities were resumed. By the Treaty of London, signed May 3, 1913, it was stipulated that Turkey should be shorn of all her European possessions ecept Constantinople and a small tract of adjacent land east of the Maritza river. But the surprising rapidity with which the result had been achieved only whetted the ambitions of the Balkan states and they were soon engaged in another war, with the allies this time arrayed against one another.

Welcome, Ramsay!

R r HEYWOOD BROUN

cans, one Times, one Herald-Trib-une. “In fact, the Shearers struck me as a very nice family, minding their ow’n business, and should Shearer w’ant me to save his papers, I will 1 be very glad to do so at the 125th Street station, where I now am located.” I still insist that Shearer may be a shouter, as I said, in spite of the testimony of the news dealer. Reverting to Sherlock Holmes’ | methods. I ask you what would a | man w’ant with menthol drops every 1 morning if he had not yelled his head off on the preceding evening. The gum he bought, I imagine, to put upon his shoes. Upon the testimony of I. H. 8., Shearer stands convicted of being an even poorer propagandist than I thought. The shipbuilders were unanimous in reporting that Ills ! services were negligible, but this was I not said until after he was caught. | My criticism rests upon his choice lof reading matter. Surely Shearer j did not have to convince the Hearst newspapers that America should have a navy big enough to lick the combined forces of the world, and yet Shearer seems to have devoted most of his attention to a natural ally. It can not even be said that either

temporary stupefying effect during which the fishes float upon the surface of the water and are readily taken. “Cocculus indicus” is the trade name of the berries used by the Chinese in catching fish. The berry contains an acrid poison, which intoxicates or stuns the fish until they can be caught. The United States bureau of fisheries states that the use of fishberries for bait is prohibited by law. What is meant by gross tonnage, net tonnage and displacement of a ship? Gross tonnage is the cubic capacity of a ship below the tonnage deck, plus the area of any inclosed space for stores above. The net or register tonnage is the gross tonnage less space for machinery, and crew’s quarters. Displacement is the volume of water a vessel displaces, measured by weight in tons. The displacement of a vessel can be figured by computing the volume of the vessel below the water line and dividing by 36, if floating in fresh water, or by 35 if floating in salt water. This will give the displacement in tons. How long has Alice White been playing in motion pictures? Three years.

Times Readers Voice Views

Editor Times—To Lieutenants Walter Peck and Lawrence Genaro, two brave fliers, who battled against every element that a human being possibly could face, and after fighting. a low hanging fog and inky black nights for almost forty-eight hours, finally had to give up in defeat, when they were forced to the ground at 5:40 a. m. Thursday, after 149 hours of Continuous flying. Even in defeat these men were heroes, striving in vain to bring the endurance record to Indianapolis, after one unsuccessful attempt, they refused to give up, but had the nerve and grit to get out and try again. I believe, if it had not been for the fog and rain, these two men would have broken the record, for their motor surely was running sweet. Indianapolis can not praise these men too highly, as they tried hard to help the city, and risked their lives in the attempt. Just tough breaks kept them down, even though defeated, they achieved a world of victory. If they decide to make another attempt at the record, may all the luck in the world be with them to do the task they tried so hard to complete. So let every one boost these boys and wish them lots of luck in their next attempt. HARRY R. BLEDSOE 6117 Haverford avenue.

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.

The Times or the Tribune has done much to promote the abatement of militarism. tt tt tt Arouses Ire SHEARER seems to have been unwilling to read anything on the other side which should be the primary assignment of every propagandist. I know a columnist who ranks himself as a liberal and it is his daily practice to begin the morning with the editorial page of the New York Times When he has done with that he generally finds that enough ire has been generated to enable him to get to work. One of the correspondents of this column wanted to know what would happen if a large number of Negroes decided to attend service in a body at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. H. S. S. says that the cathedral already has met this issue and thinks it unfair for any one to intimate that a color line would be drawn in the church of Bishop Manning, which was, as you may remember, founded as “a house of worship for all people.” “I would like to point out one incident.” writes H. S. S., “that you can verify by consulting the files of the daily papers of about, I think, a year ago. a a a Negroes Welcome “AT that time someone in Harx\ lem started the cry that the Negroes would not be welcomed at the cathedral. At some meeting it was proposed that the black people march 500 or 1,000 strong tb the cathedral on Morningside Heights and test the question. They were to go the next Sunday for the morning service. “The papers heard of this and reporters were sent to see what would happen. One of them asked an usher what they were going to do if this large body of Negroes appeared. “His reply was to this effect: ‘lf any large number of Negroes comes here today they will be welcomed and given the best available seats. This cathedral belongs to them as much as it does to any one.’ - “Asa matter of fact no large body of Negroes appeared.”

Daily Thought

For in much wisdom is much grief; and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow.— EccL 1:18. a a a He who considers himself a paragon of wisdom is sure to commit some superlatively stupid act.—Ludwig Tieck.

You’ll Feel Right in a Doty Suit! The new Society Brand Fall Suits give you the comfortable satisfaction of knowing that you are correctly dressed. Especially, is that true of the new two-trouser suits in a smart selection of blues, browns and greys—*so Wilson Bros. Furnishings DOTY'S 16 North Meridian Street

SEPT. 30,1925

SCIENCE

By DAVID DIETZ-

The Aim and Ideal of Science Is Far Better Than Making Man the Slave of the Machine. THAT science is making man the slave of the machine is the thesis of books, magazine articles and forum lectures these days. The basic idea of the Robot play, “R. U. R.” and the German-made movie. "Metropolis,” continues to be popular, “Metropolis,” it will be recalled, pictured a huge underground city below a city. In the underground city were thousands of men, each the servant of a machine, doomed to spend his days pulling a level or turning a wheel. The aim and ideal of science is far from that. It Is much better represented in the automobile telephone exchange. The old telephone exchange, with its rows of girls—telephone receivers on ears, microphone at lips, eyes glued upon the flashing lights of the switchboard—gave promise of the nightmare predicted in "Metropolis.” But if the playwrights and essayists will pay a visit to a modern automatic telephone exchange, they will see that science is leaving that sort of thing behind. The rows of girls have been replaced with banks of automatic relays. There is a continuous click, click, click—the relays responding by themselves to the numbers dialed by subscribers. a a a Eyes and Ears THERE is no reason why a factory turning out automobiles may not some day become as fully automatic as a dial telephone exchange. Science today has automatic eyes and ears more powerful and sensitive than human eyes. It has mechanical noses which will respond to fainter odors than the human nose. It has mechanical mouths with a more delicate sense of taste. It has a mechanical sense of feeling more sensitive to heat and (n I humidity than is the human being. | It has more powerful mechanica j arms and swifter mechanical leg than has man. The photo-electric cell is the eye of science. It will respond to ligh changes too fine for the human e.' to perceive. The microphone niv the radio tube constitute a mechanical ear which will pick up sounri beyond the range of the human er. The chemist possesses delicate ii dicators which are the nose an: mouth of the science world. The' can be arranged to ring an alarm or control a valve or switch in response to changes which the human being can not detect. A slight amount of gas which the nose can not detect or the change in the acidity of a solution so slight that taste would not reveal it, is sufficient for these indicators. Frequently, a scientific invention permits a change in functions. In the old days, the printer had to use his eyes to sort type. In the linotype machine, a combination of grooves and notches on each type matrix makes the sorting automatic. a a a Leisure SO far, however, the automatic machine will take the place of everything but brains. For the machine must be set up and adjusted by an engineer who has thought it all out. There are complex adding machines in existence today which will solve the most difficult type of equation in calculus. But the machine will not manufacture its own equation. The mathematician must study the problem and write the equation. And the machine will not take the place of character. Essayists would do better to worry about that than the enslavement of men by machines. I heard my good friend, Dr. Edwin E. Slosson, director of Science Service, say once that science would solve the labor problem by abolishing labor. “In that case,” I said to him, “science will have to tackle the leis-.g, ure problem next.” And Slosson agreed with me that the leisure problem might prove far more difficult to solve than the labor problem. Human energy demands an outlet. And when the energy now consumed in toil is freed from toll, something will have to be done with it. That will be the real problem of the future.