Indianapolis Times, Volume 41, Number 151, Indianapolis, Marion County, 4 November 1929 — Page 4

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A Simple Question Reduced to simple terms, the issue of the campaign to be decided tomorrow is very simple. The voter merely has tt> answer the question of his own attitude toward Coffin ism. There are very many who want Coffinism. Generally they are the seekers for special privileges of some sort. Some of them want protection against the police. Others want contracts at fancy prices. Some want to get away with workless jobs. There are some big businesses which depend on the boss for favors. These have personal interests which outstrip their indignation against the crimes of Coffinism. They do not care about the indictment of his henchmen or himself. They do not resent the overthrow of the city manager movement. They accept, as a necessary evil, his control of the schools and their degradation in behalf of bossism. They may smile at the enthusiasm of such Coffin followers as the head of the misnamed Good Government Club, w T ho solemnly urges his deluded followers to vote for Glossbrenner as a means of vindicating the “Christian integrity” of Coffin himself. But they need Coffin in their business and will line up for him. On the other side are those citizens who pay the cost of Coffinism. They pay it in high taxes, in a sense of personal humiliation at the shame brought upon the city, in a loss of confidence in all government that such misrule begets. That issue has been made plain, not by the charges of political speakers, but by events and the statements of the two candidates for mayor. As far as Mr. Glossbrenner has gone is to state that he has made no promises and that he will be controlled by no faction. He has shown no indignation at the outrages of Coffinism. He has not denounced Coffin. He has accepted the campaign management of Coffin. He has, which is worse, approved the Coffin councilmanic ticket which contains, a pledge to the men who want Coffinism, the name of Keane, used as the tool to destroy the city manager law. On the other hand Mr. Sullivan has denounced Coffinism openly. There is no suspicion, if he is elected, that Coffin will have a dugout from which to wage new warfare against the people. In the handling of the city business, both candidates are qualified. Both are personally honest. Both have had experience. So it seems a simple matter. In the schools, the contest is between the Citizens’ candidates and the Coffin vassals. On the city ticket it is a question of giving Coffin a chance to rebuild and continue his discredited machine, with a probability of more work for the grand juries and the prosecutors and a constant threat of official ' power being used to block and hinder and obstruct every movement for political progress and political honesty. If you believe in Coffinism, there will be no doubt as to what ticket you will vote. If you are against this political system, there should be even less hestitation. Aviation Survives Although the senate has made public department of commerce reports on two airplane accidents, requested in a senate resolution unanimously adopted recently, the aviation industry appears to have suffered no harm. Air mail routes continue in operation, passenger planes move back and forth across the country, individual filers still are making hops, and factories still are manufacturing planes. Senators assert that the law plainly states that reports of airplane accidents must be made public. The department of commerce had refused to divulge reports of individual accidents, on the plea that it is not protected legally and that such publicity will hurt the industry. Neither -excuse in our opinion will hold water. The worst thing the industry has to fear is secrecy regarding accidents, which destroys public confidence in an industry which deserves confidence. Should Diplomats Be Experts? Peace often depends on diplomacy, diplomacy depends on the diplomat—and that is why one of President Hoover's hardest and most important jobs just now is to find the right man as American minister to China. Things are going from bad to worse out there in the land of war and revolution. Big American interests are at stake. For China 13 the key to the Pacific, and if there is another 'World war it is apt to be in the Pacific. Resignation of Minister John Van Antwerp K Mac Murray raises a vital question as to the type of needed in China. Indeed, it throws light Hon the whole question of our foreign service, which Pin late years we have been making over into a body s os professional technicians. Mac Murray is a technician and a good one, but he is not a good diplomat. Mac Murray is a scholar, one of the greatest occidental students of far eastern afTairs, but he is not a good diplomat. Mac Murray is a professional diplomat of more than twenty years’ experience around the world, but he is not a good diplomat. If Mac Murray had not been overruled by Washington two years ago, the American policy of friendship to China would have been changed to the extent

The Indianapolis Times (A SCUU’Ph-HOU AKIJ NEWHCAI’EK) Owned and published daily (except feunday) by The Indianapolis Times Publishing Co--214-220 W. Maryland Street. Indianapolis. Ind. Price in Marion County 2 cents a copy: elsewhere. 3 cents —delivered by carrier. 12 cents a week. BOYD OCKLEY. BOY W. HOWARD. FRANK O. MORRISON. Editor. President Business Manager PHONE—Riley SCSI MONDAY. NOV. 4. 1929. Member of United Press, Scripps-Howard Newspaper AlliJDce, Newspaper Enterprise Association. Newspaper Information Service and Audit Bureau of Circulations. “Give Light and the People Will Find Their Own Way”

of a military time ultimatum, which probably would have involved us in an imperialistic war and alliance with the then imperialistic governments of Britain and Japan. When the news that Washington had reversed Mac Murray’s policy was cabled to China, he tried by intimidation to force an American press association to suppress the fact—in which, of course, he failed. The case of Mac Murray is added proof that diplomacy is not a science. It is an art, The -'expert” is essential, but he is dangerous if allowed to. assume autocratic powers. The secretaries of our embassies and legations should be professionals and experts. But unless a man is much more than an expert, he never should be made minister or ambassador certainly not at an important post such as China. Technical information and experience should not be the first test in the choice of"our diplomatic chiefs; that can be provided by secretaries. Ambassadors and ministers should be chosen for breadth of intelligence and depth of human insight. % Electricity Without Light The electric power industry has brought light to thousands of places, but not to its own devious accounting methods. If ever the illumination shed by senatorial inquiry was needed, it is in this matter. In one case, at least, records of the federal power commission show, power companies hav e been making sundry donations calculated to win good will for them and have been charging up the cost to consumers of power. They have done this over the protest of the federal power commission’s accounting department. Other, grosser, violations are suspected. The whole problem of what the federal government must do about the power industry fast is coming to a head. This phase of the matter calls for immediate study, if the whole picture is to be visible when the decision | is made.

Ontario Stays Wet Ontario, most populous of the Canadian provinces, has decided to remain wet. Premier Ferguson and his conservative government have been returned to power by an overwhelming majority, in elections just held. The chief issue was whether Ontario should retain its system of state control and sale of liquor, or should adopt bone dry prohibition. Opponents of Ferguson wanted prohibition and proposed a plebiscite on the question if they gained enough seats in the provincial legislature. Ferguson supported the present law. The Ontario prohibitionist groups charged that state control had been a failure, that drinking had increased and had brought with it increased crime and violence, and that homes had become centers of public drinking. Ontario has had state liquor control for three years, having gone wet after trying out prohibition as a war-time measure. It is a border province, with plenty of opportunity for its citizens to observe how prohibition has worked in the United States. The vote is an eloquent answer to the vociferous drys of this country who have been attacking the Ontario system. It is also the studied judgment of persons not greatly unlike ourselves, who have had the old-time saloons, prohibition, and state control.

REASON By F Sf

OUR old friend, Premier Mussolini, just has called for “more Italian babies.’’ If he had to have just one, he would cease to be such an enthusiastic advocate of mass production. a a a This New York jury which gave that night club queen a $75,000 verdict against Karry Thaw because he massaged her with a hair brush probably felt that something of the kind was coming to him on general principles. * a a If President Hoover needs an experienced disbursement officer for the government, we suggest that he consider the rare qualifications of Gordon V. Thorne of Chicago, who now is paying alimony to three former wives and living with a fourth. nan NOW that there’s a nine-foot channel the length of the Ohio river, let those who have been repining because they could not float down the Rhine take the finer trip from Pittsburgh to Cairo. nun Washington seems to be suffering from an epidemic of Gannitis. The younger Republican members of the senate are in open revolt because the best quarters in the senate office building have been given to the insurgents. ana President Portes Gil of Mexico, who is a poet on the side, has put across a criminal law program which abolishes the death penalty in courts, yet permits a father to kill his own child under certain circumstances. That's what you call ‘poetic license.” a a a George Price, a motion picture actor. Just has had his ears reduced, which makes him much more effective as a Romeo. They lift faces, remodel noses, rebuild mouths, turn the wrinkles of antiquity into the dimples of babes, but the old Adam’s apple still holds the fort. a a a A LONDON foot specialist claims that flat feet are responsible for the failures of many in this world, but they are wonderful things to have around the house when the government is conscripting an army a a a The Washington correspondents tell how President Hoover walked up and down the busy streets of the national capital, recognized only by a few, but of course guarded by secret sendee officers. The President should just put on a set of false whiskers, can the guards, and go where and when he pleases. a a a Lincoln used to walk about Washington a great deal, many times in the evening and he was a figure known from afar. But for some strange reason his life was spared, though he exposed himself, knowing all the time that there were many who would gladly remove him. a a a Roosevelt was the most difficult gentleman to guard our secret sendee men ever knew, not only because he walked at a marathon gait, but because he led them out into the country and, without warning, would take them wading through a raging creek, then up the side of a oliff, where they had to hold on by their eyebrows.

THE INDIANAPOLIS TIMES

M. E. Tracy SAYS:

Tammany Will Win the Gotham Election, Which Has Been Noisy and Uninteresting. THE New York mayoralty campaign, which comes to an end with Tuesday’s election, has been a noisy, uninteresting affair. That, perhaps, is the strongest argument in favor of the Walker administration. The opposition has not been able to dig up very much, or state convincingly what little it has dug up. Though Tammany’s margin may be somewhat reduced, it still will be large enough to warrant the : word "usual.” a an The success of Nationalists in securing a sufficient number of names to force a referendum on the ques- ! lion of war guilty, reparations, and : the Young plan means nothing but a setback for Germany, Even | though the referendum goes against j them, which is almost certain, they | have placed the German government in an embarrassing position. All that, however, is neither here nor there. The jingoes have been able to get a petition signed by 10 per cent of the electorate, and that leaves the authorities no choice but to call an election. v a u Plenty of Nerve THE Nationalists propose that Germany reverse herself on three issues. First, by denying the acknowledgment of war guilt, as contrary to historical truth and based on false premises. Second, by endeavoring to get such articles of the Versailles treaty as embody this acknowledgment annulled. Third, by undertaking no further financial obligations phased on this acknowledgment. And, to clinch matters, they propose that if the chancellor, ministers or representatives of the reich enter into any agreement contrary to the third provision, they shall be liable to prosecution for high treason. an n Whatever else may be said of the Nationalists, you can not help admiring their nerve. It is not every party that would undertake to upset a treaty and a debt settlement in w-hich some four hundred million people are interested, by the simple process of letting sixty million vote on it. They must think that England, France, Italy and Japan, not to mention half a dozen smaller countries, have changed profoundly during the last ten years, or that the wotfd has forgotten all it said about treaties being scraps of paper. n n tt Between Two Fires DRYS are split over the question of holding purchasers guilty, and who can blame them? It goes to the root of the problem. Ever since the eighteenth amendment was adopted, they have been on the horns of a dilemma. First, they have had the choice of killing prohibition by making it real, and second of keeping it as a' sham. a a a Canada succumbed to the same wave of sentiment that gave this country Volsteadism, but had sense enough not to adopt any laws that were beyond repeal by a majority vote. The result is that she can get rid of prohibition now that she has changed her mind, while we can not. Though a majority of the people and states might be against it in this country, we still are helpless. If the situation teaches us not to amend the Constitution in some moment of it may be worth the price, but otherwise not. a a a One Lie Scotched Former secretary fall did not pull the bed clothes off President Wilson. Few people thought he did. but the miserable tale would have dogged his tracks if it had not been disproved in such a way as to convince every one. Senator Cutting not only has done Fall a good turn, but history as well, by collecting and publishing the evi- | dence. Otherwise, the scandalous bit of ; gossip would have lain around for | bland partisanship to pick up, just i as Senator Heflin picked it up the | other day. a a a The United States is becoming an industrial nation. Nothing proves I it more vividly than the report just ! made by the National Foreign Trade Council. During the first nine months of this year, finished produces constituted 52 per cent of our exports, while products partially finished constituted 75 per cent. Among other things, $445,000,000 1 worth of automobiles were sold abroad, representing a gain of 22 ner cent over last year, and $462,- ! 000,000 worth of machinery, repre- ! senting a gain of 25 per cent. We sold 27 per cent more electrical machinery than we did during the first nine months of last year *33 per cent more of agricultural machinery, 41 per cent more ; of metal working machinery, and 81 per cent more of oil well machinery. Such figures, the National Foreign Trade Council points out, make it appear that America is equipping the rest of the world.

Daily Thought

This evil people, which refuse to hear my words, which walk in the imagination of their heart, and walk after other gods, to serve them, and to worship them, shall even be as this girdle, which is god for nothing.—Jeremiah 13:10. ana Every evil in the bud is easily crushed; as it grows older it becomes stronger.—Cicero.

Throwing New Light on the Matter!

IT SEEMS TO ME * HE B = D

I NEVER saw John Roach Straton. Now he is dead and there is a rule that concerning those who have died the living should speak nothing but good. This is not a rule to which I subscribe. Indeed, it is not a rule which would fit in well with Dr. Straton’s own philosophy. In life he was a fighter. Upon very many occasions he testified to his belief in survival after death, then, should a little matter like a grave stand between us? If Dr. Straton’s faith was sound he is fighting somewhere now against such things as he deplores. Any very lively immortality must depend upon the resurrection of personality and certainly it would not be complimentary to the dead controversalist to assume that now he needs pity and the pulling of punches. These things he never asked in life. It is more honest and even more friendly to behave as if the fiery fundamentalist were still abroad in the land. Some land. It is not cruel, then, nor tactless for me to say right out that I hated the things for which Dr. Straton stood. Or, if we carry on the assumption that he is marching on, I hate the things for which he stands. a a a Common Belief ONE belief we shared. I, too, carry the conviction that the human soul does not perish, although I must admit a somewhat more misty notion of survival than that which animated the literalism of Dr. Straton. Greatly he clung to hell and often he preached of brimstone. And if he had a correct conception of the cosmos, Dr. Straton’s place is assured in some one of the many mansions which make up the city of gold and jasper. It was to my mind a conception too materialistic to warrant fervent belief. The world is more subtly and wondrously made. God, I think, is magnificent beyond the

Times Readers Voice Views

Editor Times—The Socialist party takes issue with a statement in the Indianapolis Times, of Oct. 28, under the caption, ‘‘Labor League Leader Denies Partisan Aims,” in which L. O. Royer, manager of the league, replies to the letters sent to the manufacturer by the Associated Employers of this city, relative to the league’s opposition to the candidacy of Mr, Glossbrenner. The Nonpartisan Political Action League, made up of union men and sympathizers, is no doubt justified in its stand against Mr. Glossbrenner, due to his record against labor generally, but, we see nothing back of Mr. Sullivan in the form of a labor record, or a record of any kind that would furnish an argument why labor should give him its. support. Mr. Royer says: “In this organization there are Democrats, Republicans, Socialists and men of all shades of political belief.” Here is where we take exception, for the statement is misleading and detrimental to the Socialist party. There may be a few men in this league who call themselves Socialists, but they have no connection with the Socialist party. We have our ticket in the field, and our candidate for mayor, E, M. (Roxy) Elder. is a union man of long standing, as are others on our ticket. If the nonpartisan political action crowd was as class conscious as are the Associated Employes and their crowd, they would be supporting the Socialist party ticket, and thereby voting for something to their own interest, instead of always just voting against something. Some do not want to lose their vote, and we wonder if they ever think that only one group can be elected, and as workers they lose, even if they are on the winning side with either of the old parties. When the nonpartisan political action group and the labor movement in general become intelligent enough to get into independent politics, Dy sponsoring a labor party, as they have done in England, then the Socialist party will talk political

role of a double entry bookkeeper. Even though I did not like Dr. Straton, it pleases me to be able to feel that he has persisted. They have said of him that he possessed sincerity without question. I have my doubts. But energy was his and this is the very essence of the life force. And so I think that he strives still and perhaps even now muddled-headedly. For him I wish safe conduct over Jordan. According to my point of view, he stood for a bleak and wintry faith. And on this try I can not bring myself to say that he was a helpful force 'to humanity. His was a message of bitterness and I am not content to think that this ever can be the straw around which to rear the structure of salvation. But in this world and the next and after there always must be room for the man who moves through existence swinging both fists. ana Great Sins ' And Ido not stand any of the new-fangled 'ts who urge us to abandon tb e conception of sin. I ret s two sins. As far as I’m concerned the rest are merely moonshine. Kingdom will come when we are done with pain and cruelty. It is, of course, presumptuous for anybody to attempt to debate in the dark. If Dr. Straton sits now in the seats of the mighty gazing down complacently upon tortured sinners he has all the best of the argument. I'm out of luck. His way of life was right. No, I won't admit as much. It will be enough to say that it was expedient. Once I knew a man who proclaimed that if by any chance God had established everlasting fires for the punishment of sinners he would register a protest against this system by demanding to be sent to hell.

Such pride and courage are more than a bit beyond me. Still, I have

co-operation. We do not play the game on a nonpartisan basis. SOCIALIST PARTY CAMPAIGN COMMITTEE. Editor Times —Surely law-abiding citizens should not have to contend with annoyances from a dog that has a number of times exhfbited decided viciousness. We are referring to a dog housed at 5948 Beechwood avenue. This police dog seems friendly, but at unexpected times he has attacked and frightened people. Upon one oc- ' casion, he tore the clothes of Irvin Rothert, 426 Wallace street. He I chased and frightened Mrs. Esther ! Dugan of London, Ind.; he lunged ! at, and almost bore to the ground, a neighbor woman; he has snapped at children in the vicinity and repeatedly has proved himself a nuisance and a decided menace. This is not a matter of personal spite. We have protested, feeling that we are proceeding for the general good and protection of persons who might come into contact with this dog. We are therefore asking authorities to curtail this dog’s freedom to further annoy and possibly do some serious injury. We are neighbors who have been particularly annoyed by this dog. MR. AND MRS. CHESTER GRAY, 5940 Beechwood avenue.

Questions and Answers

What is the real name and nationality of John Gilbert? His real name is John Pringle and he is an American by birth. How old is Lon Chaney? Forty-six years. Why was the treaty of peace that ended the Russo-Japanese War signed at Portsmouth, N. H. Because that place was agreed upon by fie contracting powers in which to <Aft a treaty. They were invited the United States by PresjPspE ioosevelt.

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

turned my back so completely upon the Straton system that it would be safe enough for me to make the same boast. If John Roach Straton preached the only true gospel there is for me no possibility of salvation. I intend to go on about as I have done. There well might be betterment in the matter of living up to principles, but the general plan will remain about the same. There is no great point in making an aboutface just this side of paradise. Jordan is among the streams not well adapted to the swapping of horses. A New Ally 1 SUPPOSE as a finite person I must admit the possibility that Dr. Straton was right, but I would be surprised. Oh, how surprised! It is my belief that in some postgraduate course he has now been assigned to the particular study of tolerance. John Roach Straton did not seem to me to have a first-rate mind. But it was an active brain and a vigorous one. He could be a useful ally in the fight to make man more free and more happy. John Roach Straton by now is happier and wiser. For him the riddle is revealed. So why should even a bitter foe rake up past differences? That was the old Straton. I salute the new and say with all sincerity, "God speed you.” (Copyright. 1929. by The Times!

ARMISTICE WITH AUSTRIA November 4

ON Nov. 4, 1918, the drastic terms of the armistice with Austria, signed on the field the previous day, were made public. At the some time it was announced that the allied governments and the United States had come to complete agreement on the terms Germany must accept. It soon became apparent that actual peace was near and on Nov. 8 German plenipotentiaries sent to receive the armistice terms from Marshal Foch arrived at allied general headquarters. The terms were delivered to them with a formal demand that they be accepted or refused within seventytwo hours. The abdicatln of the kaiser and. the revolution in Germany occurred the day following receipt of tha armistice terms. Announcement of the signing of the armistice was made at 2:40 a. m. Nov. 11 at Washington by the secretary of state.

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NOV. 4, 1929

SCIENCE By DAVID DIETZ

Bacteria Can Be Helpful as Well as Harmful; They Created the World's Coal Supply. BACTERIA created the coal supply of the world. This fact, long suspected by geologists, has been confirmed by investigations now under way by a group of government scientists. The tendency in the public mind today is to associate bacteria with disease, and of course many dread diseases are caused by them. But it should be remembered that there are helpful as well as harmful bacteria There are the nitrogen-fixing bacteria, for example, organisms which absorb the nitrogen of the air and convert it into nitrates which plants can utilize, thus restoring the fertility of the soil. Other bacteria cause decay. Such bacteria are harmful when they cause the spoilage of food. But if it were not for them, the whole world would be cluttered up with the debris of dead plants and the bodies of dead animals. It is bacteria of the type which causes decay which are responsible for the world's coal supply. To solve the riddle of the formation of the coal deposits, government scientists are studying a bog in Manitowoc county, Wisconsin, known as Hawk Island swamp. They believe that the action going on in the swamp today is essentially that which accounted for the formation of coal millions of years ago. i a a Swamps THE general theory is that the coal beds of today began their existence as great wooded swamps. Gradually, with the passage of time, the swamps filled up with decaying plants. In time the decaying vegetable master turned into peat. It is thought with the passage of more time, these peat beds were burie > under accumulations of sand and clay, and that the final transformation into coal was aided by tha pressure of these upper layers upon the peat. There are many swamps in the world today in which peat is in the process of formation. Hawk island swamp is one of them. That is why the scientists turned to it. Progress of the investigation is detailed in a paper prepared for the American Chemical Society by Reinhardt Thiessen and R. C. Johnson of the United States Bureau of Mines. Thiessen and Johnson examined samples of peat taken from various depths in the Hawk island swamp. They report that they found active bacteria at all depths. They made cultures of these bacteria and found that they throve on sawdust, shavings, cellulose and other plant materials. They have come to the conclusion that these bacteria are responsible for the changes which convert the decaying vegetable matter into peat, and for other changes which continue to take place in the peat. They have termed these further changes "humifications.” a a a Changes THEY adopted the word to describe the nature of the chemical change which they find going' on in the peat bog. One of the chief constituents of plants is a substance called lignin, which composes the woody fibers. Lignin is a complex carbohydrate, a combination of carbon, oxygen and hydrogen. Another important constituent is cellulose. The walls of plant cells are composed of cellulose. Now samples of peat taken up near the surface of the swamp arcs samples which formed recently, whereas samples dug at. considerable depth represent old formations. Thiessen and Johnson find that the young samples of peat contain large amounts of lignin and cellulose and small amounts of another carbohydrate called humin. On the other hand, old samples contain little lignin and cellulose, but large amounts of humin. They believe therefore that the chief action of the bacteria is t. s disintegrate the lignin and cellulose and convert it into humin. This is the reason they speak of the process of humification. It is a known fact that whatever the process is by which coal is formed, it is a process by which oxygen and hydrogen Is decreased and the percentage of carbon increased as a result of the removal of these other two elements.