Indianapolis Times, Volume 41, Number 126, Indianapolis, Marion County, 5 October 1929 — Page 4

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A Humiliating Position There is something pathetic, as well as outrageous, in the spectacle of a group of men who are leaders in hanking, finance and manufacturing pleading with a political boss to permit them to name one of their number to become a candidate tor public office. It must be humiliating to them, and especially to the candidate of the group, to have that boss place his brand so strongly upon the ticket through his nominations for other places that not a machine henchman will doubt for an instant that the boss will control after the election. That Coffin out-traded the financial group may be taken for granted from the fact that Coffin has selected one of his most servile as well as obnoxious henchman as his candidate for city clerk. That office is quite important. It has power that can be used. Especially important is that job to such bootleggers as may have the protective sympathy of the boss. Every search warrant must go through that office. And usually- twelve hours notice is enough for any bootlegger to clean up any evidence. That official also sits on city election boards and passes on any petitions that may in the future be presented for a city manager election, if the next legislature can be prevailed upon to pass a law that will meet the objections of the supreme court or the supreme court is so amended as to find the law constitutional. Does any one believe that a city clei k of Coffin’s choosing would present any petition, no matter how many it contained, to the city council for action? In Oliver cities the people have bee* robbed of a chance to vote on the question through the refusal of a city clerk to act. That a man of fine record and reputation should be forced to the humiliation of having a running mate who bears so painfully the brand of Coffinism is a condition which every good citizen must resent. The record of Cofiin as a boss has shamed this city and county and state. Only the statute of limitations permits him to deal and traffic and trade with the leaders of the city’s industries. Had it not been for that barrier to prosecution, there is every reason to believe that he would be most actively interested in other of the state s enterprises than politics. If there be a spirit of resentment against the sort of practices and acts which have come with Coffinism, the good people will end any chance of further power by this machine. His control over the legislature has been unhappy and unwholesome. He has stood between the people and progress. He has blocked good laws and fostered bad ones. No whe flaunts his power and serves notice to the people of the city that he, and not the group of business men, is in command. Had he been merely frightened or had he possessed only a desire for a business man of fine reputation, he would not have objected to E. E. Gay, who oifeied himself as a candidate. That -would have satisfied all such appeals. But it would not have satisfied Coffin and Coffinism for it so happens that Gay had ties of closer friendship with politicians who are not at present taking orders from Coffin. What Coffin demanded was a chance to continue himself and his organization. And to prove it, he puts his brand upon the ticket. The people will do well if they do not concentrate on the head of the ticket, but pay some attention to the neck and swat it.

Meet the Red! Millions In this country still think Socialists have horns, carry bombs and want to divide the world's wealth every Monday morning. This is the quaint notion not only of the illiterate, but apparently of many government officials, business men. small college presidents and leaders of patriotic organizations such as the D. A. R. In rather pathetic sincerity they go about snooping and persecuting and shivering because of the red menace —a red being any one from a mild progressive to a left-wing Socialist. \ It must have alarmed these witch-burning patriots to read that one of the leading reds of the country, Norman Thomas, recent Socialist presidential candidate and now Socialist mayoralty candidate in New York, was on the dock when Premier MacDonald of Great Britain arrived to confer with President Hoover. Investigation revealed, however, that Thomas had not gone to the dock to throw a bomb at the head of the most powerful empire in the world. Thomas was a member of the official reception committee, along with Secretary of State Stimson and J. P. Morgan. The mystery finally was solved by the discovery that Premier MacDonald also is a ‘red.” He is a Socialist, the leader of a Socialist party and a Socialist government. He is more red than Count Karolyi and others not allowed to land here. He is more red than the pacifists who are denied American citizenship. He opposed the war. He is working to change the capitalist system. And yet the world did npt come to an end when MacDonald became jgemier. The capital lata neither

The Indianapolis Times (A BCKiri*S-llO\\ AKD NEWSPAFKK) Owned and published daily (except Sunday) by The Indianapolis Times Publishing Cos., 214-220 W Maryland Street. Indianapolis, Ind. Price in Marlon County 2 rents a copy: elsewhere, 3 cents—delivered by carrier. 12 cents a week. BOTH GURLEY ROY W HOWARD. FRANK O. MORRISON. Editor. president Business Manager PHONE —Riley MSI SATURDAY, OCT. 5, 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"

were killed nor robbed the morning after. On the contrary, under MacDonald, England has more industrial peace than she had before, more factories are running and Britain's influence in world affairs is stronger than at any other time since the World war. The conservative British government refused for years to agree to cruiser limitation and parity witti the United States, but MacDonald, within a few months of taking office, has reached such agreement. Now he is here to arrange for extending that naval agreement in a formal conference and treaty with all the naval powers, and to increase Anglo-American co-operation generally. Seen in action, this Socialist is not a destroyer but a builder. Indeed he has become quite a popular hero at home, even among some British conservatives. Now the patrioteers are joining in his enthusiastic welcome to America. Another Prison Massacre To read of the massacre at the Colorado state penitentiary, and know that thirteen lives and maybe more were sacrificed, is terrible enough. But the feeling that all this could have been prevented makes it more terrible. And that is the feeling in Colorado. Six years ago conditions in that prison were investigated and became a national scandal. Since then there have been several changes, but it has remained an evil place. In recent months there have been constant warnings of overcrowding. Those warnings went unheeded. The state legislature should have acted. It did not. Even the two recent prison riots in New York state and at Leavenworth could not stir those responsible for the Colorado penitentiary to Institute the reforms so necessary. The same indifference to the rights of the prisoners apparently was responsible for another kind of laxity in administration. The convicts were permitted to smuggle in at least three revolvers. Those, together with one rifle seized from a guard, gave them the courage to attack. But surely more than four guns is required for such courage. It was not courage that drove these men. It was desperation. They had been droven to feel that death or anything was better than life under the conditions to which they were subjected. Three of the leaders committed suicide. Colorado will be judged harshly. It should be. But other states may spare a holier-than-thou attitude. There are few prisons in the entire country, federal or state, where conditions are very much better. The time is long past when the nation should begin a sweeping prison reform.

Scuttling Government Ships Opposition to government ownership in the minds of some of our politicians amounts almost to a mania. The results of this near-mania, as it afflicted the Coolidge administration, now are revealed by Comp-troller-General McCarl’s report to congress on his audit of the shipping board merchant fleet corporation. The order was to get the government out of the shipping business. That was done. And in such a way! Less than 4 per cent of the original cost of the vessels sold has been returned to the government. The sale price of 321 vessels costing $408,062,898 was only $43,962,308, and of that give-away price only $15,413,919 has been collected. Sixty per cent of the fleet corporation's accounts receivable have been put down as “doubtful or uncollectable accounts.” Large financial losses by the government are charged by the comptroller-general to the sale of ships to “irresponsible companies, which evidently would not or could not meet their obligations under contract.” One line was sold for $325,000, the government paying an amount equal to half the cost price to recondition the ships and in addition furnishing a ten-year mail contract, assuring the purchasers an annual income of from $350,000 to $450,000. On that deal the government has been paid only $28,674. Some persons may See in this latest scandal proof that the government is not efficient. But it looks more like a very efficient job of scuttling. Those responsible were more intent on getting rid of the ships at any cost than of protecting the public interest.

REASON By FREDERICK

JUDGE PAUL LYDON of New York City who was accidentally, but not seriously, shot by General Pershing while the two were hunting grouse in Scotland is going to have the three grains of shot which struck him mounted on a gold plaque, which reminds us of the timfe Voltaire, the great French philosopher, struck a creditor on the ear, whereupon Voltaire’s secretary comforted the creditor by saying: “Sir, you have just received a box on the ear from one of the greatest men in the world!” non A New Jersey representative has introduced a bill to have Uncle Sam hand a lot of money to two claimants because their remote ancestor housed General Washington awhile during the revolution and furnished some supplies to his army. Congress should tell all such claimants to forget it, inasmuch as that was a war of sacrifices, Washington fighting throughout without one cent of compensation. Robert Morris, the financier of the war. going broke and the Continental soldiers receiving paper currency that was practically worthless. M tt B Because the tourists are making his life miserable, Georges Clemenceau, ex-French premier, is moving away from his cottage by the sea, which is important because it proves that the Tiger can change his spots. mum PRESIDENT GIL of Mexico has turned criminal procedure upside down by substituting examinations by alienists for trials by jury, proceeding on the theory that all crime is due to mental illness rather than general cussedness, all of which proves that it is a dangerous thing to make a poet president of a country. mum If you have high blood pressure, don’t think about it, says the United States Public Health Service, which is good, advice. And don’t think of your enemies, for that gets up steam. But the greatest trouble is worry about poverty and this will not end until we can disguise the wolf of want as a reindeer, thus causing the victim who sees him to think of Santa Claus rather than the poorhoitf*

THE INDIANAPOLIS TIMES

M. E. Tracy SAYS:

North Carolina and Colorado Furnish Bad News of Killing and Attempted Prison Delivery. BAD news from Colorado and North Carolina, with most people ready to jump at conclusions. Lacking full information, it would be fruitless to attempt anything like a thorough, or accurate, analysis. The incidents can and probably will be employed as an excuse to rail as states and systems. Putting aside the question of whether it is worth that much, the remedy implied is beyond immediate reach. In each instance, the trouble appears to have been due to a very small group of hotheads, and in each instance the academic issue of human rights seems to have played little part. u tt In North Carolina, a sheriff, nine deputies, and five men connected with the cotton mill where the riot occurred have been placed under arrest on the charge of murder, the degree yet to be determined. Also, forty union workers have been arrested, charged with riot and rebellion under an old North Carolina law. The authorities evidently intend to stage a good show, whether they can do justice, or even find out the facts. u n tt Fight Own Battles ONLY those familiar with mountain folk can appreciate the difficulties. Regardless of organized activities, the question in dispute, or what might be done in a general way to remedy the situation, these people have the habit of putting their quarrels on a personal basis. Clannish as they may be from the standpoint of loyalty, they usually fight as individuals. It is a ten to one bet that those who did the shooting are known* and that some of them, at least, will get a dose of their own medicine. That is not the kind of justice one would like to see administered in such a case, but it is the kind mountain folk have known and practiced for ten generations.

In Colorado, six desperadoes stampede, hoping to carry a large part of the prison population with them. The fact that they did not succeed speaks volumes, not only regarding the character of the outbreak, but its causes. Barring a few moments of excitement at the outset, it does not appear that any great number of the convicts participated. a a A Fortunate Climax Meanwhile, the burning of three buildings, the barricading of a cell house, the capture of sixteen guards, and the killing of five, one by one, in a vain effort to intimidate the warden, shows what six conscienceless individuals can do. Shall we make the incident a text for more indulgent treatment or harsher laws, or shall we use a little common sense and put it down to that element of devilishness in human nature which civilization seems unable to eradicate? a a The six men who made the mischief are dead. In the last desperate moment the best they could think of was suicide, so one of the number killed five and then turned the gun on himself. It was not only a dramatic, but a fortunate climax. The state of Colorado is spared the necessity of going through the futile motions of a trial, and probably wholesale execution.

Vigilance Was Lacking IT seems incredible that such an an outbreak could have occurrV if the prison authorities had exercised a proper degree of vigilance. After the guards were captured, it was easy enough for the convicts to avail themselves of an adequate supply of ammunition. But what about the guns with which they opened proceedings—the revolvers and at least one rifle cached in a cell? Such aspects of the case are hardly intellectual enough to satisfy those who see a chance for reform in every cloud on the horizon. But they will apoeal to men in the street as of importance. # M These convicts, of course, wanted to escape. A convict would hardly be normal if he did not. Such a desire on the part of convicts should be taken for granted, and if allowed to incubate it should be recognized as the source of probable violence, destruction, and death. Neither does it make very much difference how much or how good the food may be. or how entertaining the recreational facilities, or how easy the work. Confine a man, whether justly or not. and you rouse his antagonism, challenge his instinct, and provoke his cunning. What Is included in the territory in Africa called the French Congo? The French Congo extends along the Atlantic coast between Cameroon and the territories of the Belgian Congo, with the exception of the Spanish territory on the coast from the Muni river to Cameroon. Since 1910 the French Congo has been divided to form three colonies, Gabun colony. Middle Congo colony and Übangi-Shari colony. Does one have to be a citizen of the United States to join the marine corps? No. It is necessary, however, that one declare his intentions of becoming a citizen before he can join. What was the date of General Lee’s surrender to General Grant at Appomattox? April a, 1865.

How It Has Worked in the Past

__ DAILY HEALTH SERVICE Wrong Diet Lowers Resistance

BY DR. MORRIS FISHBEIN, Editor Journal of the American Medical Association and of Hygeip, the Health Magazine. SINCE the beginning of the twentieth century, it has been clear that the diet of man is of fundamental importance in relationship to his health. Recently George R. Minot, who was largely responsible for the development of our knowledge that the liver will control pernicious anemia, has considered the whole subject of deficiency in the human diet. Nature, no doubt, provides through instinct for the proper selection of diets by animals in most cases. Man, on the other hand, having a mind of his own, varies his diet according to his own choice and it is not rare to find human beings who have chosen diets which are bound to produce disorders.

IT SEEMS TO ME

DR. NORRIS, New York’s chief medical examiner, says that most of the accidents are caused by "reckless walkers” and that there ought to be a law to remedy it. “If a pedestrian is struck by an auto and the evidence show's that it is his fault, he ought to be fined $25.” And if he is hit by a sight-seeing bus I suppose his estate should be assessed. Still, as a very careful walker, I have no great objection to the doctor’s suggestion. Literary criticism in America is sometimes conducted upon principles which puzzles me profoundly. Recently I read a review of Ernest Hemingway’s new novel, "A Farewell to Arms,” in which the critic said that it was a magnificent book flawed by just on*. single fault. The journalist said that Hemingway had made a grave mistake in having his

Questions and Answers

What is the address of Conrad Nagel? Metro-Goldwyn Studios, Culver City, Cal. What is the meaning of the word “paddock?” Inclosure next to a stable. Are there more men than women in New York? Latest United States census flgnres show that there were 99.5 males to every 100 females in New York City. How much of the earth’s area is fertile land and how much desert? How much of the land of the United States is fertile enough for crops and how much of the land is idle land? The latest estimates of the earth’s area place the fertile regions at 33,000,000 square miles; steppes (forestless plains) at 19,001,000 square miles; deserts at 5,000,000 square miles. The total crop land of the United States was estimated

Delicious Desserts A well-cooked and well served meal is incomplete without that finishing touch” that is supplied only by a delicious and dainty dessert. Our Washington bureau’s cookery expert lias compiled for women readers an interesting bulletin telling how to make many kinds of desserts—a whole series of different custards, gelatin desserts, puddings of all kinds, and miscellaneous desserts that are “different.” You will want this bulletin for your collection of cookery recipes. Fill out the coupon below and send for it: ——CLIP COUPON HERE DESSERT3 EDITOR, Washington Bureau, The Indianapolis Times, 1322 New York avenue. Washington, D. C. I want a copy of the bulletin DESSERTS and inclose herewith 5 cents in coin, or lose, uncanceled United States postage stamps, to cover postage and handling costs: NAME STREET and NO CITY STATE I am a reader of The Indianapolis Times. No.)

It is important to remember also that even when the foods contain all items neces-sary to a healthful life, the body itself, because of disease, may be unable to utilize the materials that are necessary. Specialists in diseases of children are noting more and more that infants suffer with bad nutrition not only because of badly chosen food, but also because of bad diets of mothers who nurse them. A partial deficiency of vitamin B in the diet causes the infant to be pale, fretful and to lose its appetite. There seems to be plenty of evidence that a proper amount of vitamin B is related definitely to the desire for food. If a person has an obstruction in his bowel or a bowel so irritable that the proper food substances

p HEYWOOD y BROUN

hero desert the Italian army after the great retreat. tt a a Unreasonable MIND you, the critic did not contend that this action of the character in question was in any way unconvincing or incredible, but he happened to feel that desertion in time of war was dastardly and that accordingly no writer should mention it. One might, I think, object just as reasonably to “Oliver Twist” on the ground that Bill Sykes was more than a shade too rough in his treatment of women. Recently I was interviewed as one of a number of New Yorkers who were called upon to say just what they would do if allowed 24 hours in the city. It seemed to me that a transient might well spend most of the holiday at the theater since such diver-

in 1925 to be 391,459,902 acres; of this amount 344,549,267 acres were crop land harvesting; 13,017,946, crop land failure and 33,892,686 Idle or fallowed land. What part of the population of Chicago is Negro? About 4Yt per cent, according to the laat census. What is the value of an English shilling in United States money? Twenty-four and three-tenths cents par value. How fast can an Asiatic elephant run? No exact data are available about the speed of the elephant, but one authority on Asiatic animals states that approximately fifteen miles an hour is the greatest speed that the Asiatic elephant is capable of making. Who is the commissioner of pensions of the United States? Earl D. Church.

can not be absorbed, he may develop pellagra from that cause. Pellagra is a disease common in the south, associated with eruption on the skin, nervous disorders, hemorrhages from the gums, and similar symptoms. According to the investigations of Dr. Goldberger of the United States Public Health service, the feeding of the proper fraction of vitamin B will control this disorder. A person who suffers from a vitamin deficiency seems to lose much of his resistance to infection. Scientists are only beginning to realize the actual importance of such a dietary study. The time will come when enough knowledge will have been accumulated to yield a more healthful, better developed, stronger human race.

Ideal* and opinions expressed in this column are those of one of America's most interesting writers, and are presented without regard to the.r agreement or disagreement with the editorial attitude rs this paper.—The Editor.

sion is rapidly becoming extinct upon the road. And I think that the two shows most suitable for anyone upon a flying visit are “Sweet Adeline” and "Strictly Dishonorable.” These seem to me easily the pick of the new season. Marc Connelly, home from Paris, reported upon a lovely lady now in exile from her native New York, “She has turned very puritanical,” he explained to a group of amazed listeners. “That,” he added, “would be your Gerald Chapman.” tt m Not Connected SOMEHOW no connected theme seems to be on tap today and I am wondering whether anybody has referred to Benito Mussolini as “The slick man of Europe.” Having spent a good deal of time recently In viewing it with alarm, I can point with pride this afternoon to the fact that Columbia university has abolished hazing. Maybe man is a reasonable animal after all. If I had only thought of the hazing theme a little earlier I might have had material for an entire column, because it seems to me the silliest of all foolish college customs. But here’s the end of my half acre. (Copyright, 1929. by The Times)

~-r qoAkrip THt 1ngHn liz

COSTA RICA DISCOVERED Oct. 5. ON Oct. 5, 1502, Christopher Columbus discovered Costa Rica, the first spot in Central America where the Spaniards found the object of their solicitude—gold. The famous explorer left Cadiz in May, 1502, on his fourth and last voyage to the new world he had discovered ten years before. Near the Island of San Domingo, a tempest put them in imminent peril and separated the five ships, but they came together again and on July 30 arrived at La Guanaja, the first place in Central America touched by Columbus. They continued the voyage southward and encountered a furious tempest, in which they nearly perished. On Sept. 12, they doubled the Cape of Gracias a Dios, which the admiral so named because of the calming of the tempest there. The ships were repaired and they continued the voyage, arriving at last—on Oct. s—at the region which today is the Republic of Costa Rica.

Daily Thought

But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is In heaven forgive your trespasses.—St. Mark 11:26. m m TO forgive a fault in another is more sublime than to be faultless o i one’s sell.—George Sand.

OCT. 5, 1929

SCIENCE —By DAVID DIETZ —

One of the Chief Problems Occupying Astronomers is Whether There are Any Changes on the Moon. r T'HOUGH astronomers are studying stars and nebulae trillions of miles away, they still have plenty of unsettled problems close at home. There still are many puzzles to be solved with regard to the earth's nearest neighbor, the moon. One of the chief problems occupying astronomers is whether or not there are any changes on the moon. It is certain that there are no large-scale changes on the surface, for the largest telescopes give us a view of the moon similar to that which the unaided eye would afford if the moon were only from, fifty to 100 miles away. If there was any object the size of the Graf Zeppelin moving on the moon, the big telescopes would leveal it. Discusing the problem of changes, Dr. Henry Norris Russell, the dean of American astronomers, writes: “It Is certain that there are no conspicuous changes; there are no such transformations as would be presented by the earth viewed telescopically—no clouds, no storms, no snow of winter, and no spread of vegetation in the spring, “At the same time it Is contended confidently by some observ ; ers that here and there alteratior do take place in details of the luna surface, while others as stoutly di> pute it.” it m a Vegetation 'THHE great majority of astror mers agree that the moon utterly lifeless. All evidence poin clearly to the fact that the moc has no atmosphere. There is also evidence that nc. water exists upon the moon. A few writers have suggested occasionally that there might be some water in the cracks on the moon’s surface. Professor Russell, however, points out that such water would evaporate and since the moon has no atmos-r phere, disappear into space forever. A few of those who think they discern changes in the surfaces of the moon have suggested that the.se changes might be due to vegetation. Vegetation would, of course, necessitate the presence of water and so it is unlikely that these changes, If they do exist, are vegetation. The problem of lunar changes is so difficult to settle because the mountain peaks and valleys of the moon are subjected to continuous changes in illumination. As the moon revolves around the earth and the earth goes around the sun, the angle at which sunlight falls on various lunar features is always undergoing change, making observations very difficult. “To insure certainty in such deli- < cate observations, comparisons must be made between the appearance of the object in question, as seen at precisely the same phase of the moon, with telescopes and eyes, too, of equal power, and under substantially the same conditions in other respects, such as the height of the moon above the horizon and the clearness and steadiness of the air. “It is, of course, very difficult to secure such identity of conditions.”

Heat and Cold in the moon's surface —if they do be the result of excessive changes in temperature which the surface of the moon undergoes. Using the thermocouple, a delicate electrical thermometer which can be attached to a telescope, Drs. Seth B. Nicholson and Edison Pettit of the Mr. Wilsop observatory, undertook to make temperature measurements of the moon. They found that the temperature on a spot on the moon’s surface di-* rectly under the sun’s rays, rose to 286 degrees Fahrenheit. This temperature is above the boiling point of water and sufficiently high to melt sulphur. During an eclipse of the moon, they took measurements of the dark portion of the moon's surface and found that the temperature of one spot dropped from 156 degrees Fahrenheit before the eclipse to 196 degres blow zero, a temperature equal to the freezing point of alcohol. These excessive temperature changes are due to the fact that the moon has no atmosphere. Conse A quently there is no blanket of air to temper the sun’s rays in the daytime or to hold in the heat at night. There are other unsolved problems with regard to the moon. One is the origin of the craters upon the moon, great formations resembling extinct volcanoes. Another problem is the origin of the moon. Some astronomers think that the moon was once part of the earth, occupving the space now filled by the Pacific ocean.

Times Readers Voice Views

Editor Times—For a long time Indianapolis people have been complaining that this city does not get enough New York road show attractions. Whose fault Is it? It seems to me that in the past the very people who did the loudest shouting were the ones who failed to show up when good attractions came, and made their absence conspicuous by empty seats. The papers recently have been carrying announcements that the Theater Guild of New York is sending a company here to play in two of Bernard Shaw’s comedies, "Pygri mallon” and "Major Barbara,” ifj I remember rightly. We also are told that if we support these plays in the proper manner the Guild will send us some of its best attractions regularly. j This seems an opportunity than we shouldn’t pass up. If we do, and road shows are denied to us in the we have no one to blame buj ourselves, C. N. E. I