Indianapolis Times, Volume 41, Number 189, Indianapolis, Marion County, 18 December 1929 — Page 6

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s r * itttt j - M ow

True to Form When the school board, in its final days of power, brutally removed Superintendent Miller, it ran true to form. From the inception of the movement to gain control of the schools of this city in behalf of greedy and prejudiced interests, the members showed an almost unbroken record of mistakes. When they did good things, they did them in such a way as to make them ineffective. For the most part, the policies and decisions outraged public opinion. It was inevitable that the education of the youth should suffer because of the atmosphere of distrust created by the board itself. It would have taken a super man to counteract the influence of the board. Had the board soon to take office treated Mr. Miller with the scant consideration shown him, they would have met with merited censure. The action was as brutal as it was futile. It is probable that the political and selfish interests which have been influential in the past believed that they might create a situation which would either embarrass the new board or permit them to have some control in the future. The incident may serve as a warning to the new board that it will be subjected to trickery and intrigue and that safety will lie only in a solid and united front. The reinstatement of Mr. Miller is merely a confession that the plot failed. The new board can be trusted to handle the situation. It has a mandate to see that the school system is purged of political influences of all kinds. Perhaps the best compliment that could be paid Miller is that the discredited board attempted to oust him. That should be of benefit and a recommendation. Japan’s Naval Plan Japan’s demand for a 10 per cent increase in her naval ratio indicates that all will not be smooth sailing for the London conference next month. Her present limitation for capital ships compared with Britain and America is the small end of a 5-5-3 or 10-10-6 ratio. She now asks 10-10-7 for cruisers and auxiliary ships, according to her delegates, who are conferring with President Hoover en route to London. The trouble which this proposal will cause at London will depend largely on whether Japan is willing to take the increase in the form of small auxiliary craft or will insist on the higher ratio also for 10,000-ton cruisers. In the latter event some British and American naval men would object. We believe, however, that Hoover and his delegation will approach the London conference with an open mind and not too rigid program, either for or against the Japanese proposal. It should be viewed as a detail to be adapted to other details. It should not be considered a major issue, important enough to split the conference. Compromises must be made by all the powers, or there will be no agreement. If this is the worst compromise we are forced to make at London we will be lucky. For a Japanese 10 per cent Increase would not basically change Japan’s relation to the major sea powers. With 70 per cent of the strength of Britain and of the United States, rather than 60 per cent, Japan still would have only a defensive rather than an offensive navy. So long as ours, in strength at least, is an offensive navy, we can not very well make a last ditch light against the Japanese proposal. There arc more important issues than these mathematical arguments over whether Japan is to get a 60 or 70 per cent ratio, or whether Anglo-Ameri-can parity is to be converted into absolute equality of tonnage. Prison Commonsense What would we say of a doctor who prescribed quinine for every patient who came to his office, whatever the malady? How would we rate a hospital which ordered the same operation, diet and treatment for all, whether they were suffering from appendicitis, gallstones or fallen arches? Tliis is just what we have been doing in our prisons for a century. We treat alike the young and old. the feeble-minded and the warped genius, the first offender and the degenerate repeater. The recent murder of Reuben Kaninsky at Sing Sing has moved Warden Lawes to protest. He recognizes that differentiation is necessary in approaching human problem*. He points out that the mental clinics In Sing Sing and some other prisons already have given us the basis for sane classification and special treatment of convicts. Old ideas of punishment, embodied in our laws, make it impossible to use this information. The prison mill grinds on relentlessly as before. Warden Lawes proposes to divide the prison population into four classes, ranging from those most likely to reform quickly and completely to those least likely. The soundness of his proposal can not be disputed. Until something of the sort is adopted all talk about reformation in our prisons is vain pretense. The Tax Cut On the theory that it is bad form to look a gift horse in the mouth, the public is not apt to question the $160,000,000 Income tax reduction. All of us like to pay less taxes. With a political campaign coming on, it Is not easy for lawmakers to take an entirely dispassionate view of a popular tax reduction. > The more credit Is due the senate progressives, therefore, who dared breast the public wave and opseemed to them unwise. Logically the progressives seem to have the better ' of the argument. They use the same reasoning h made the White House and treasury departI Jit oppose tax reduction a few months ago. Gov--1 .

The Indianapolis Times (A HCBirPS-HOWARD NEWSPAPER) U-sised aad published dally (except Sunday) by The Indianapolis Times Publishing Cos., 214-200 West Maryland Street, Indianapolis, ind. Price In Marlon County, 2 cents a copy: elsewhere. 3 cents—delivered by carrier. 12 cents a week. BOYD GURLEY. ROY W. HOWARD. B'RANK G. MORRISON, Editor President Business Manager PHONE-Riley MSX WEDNESDAY. DEC. 18. 1929. Member of United Press, Scripps-Howard Newspapei Alliance, Newspaper Enterprise Association, Newspaper Information Service and Audit. Bureau of Circulations. “Give Light and the People Will Find Their Own Way”

ernment expenditures are going up and government revenues are coming down; the federal budget surplus is dangerously small. The tax cut, while it will deprive the government of much-needed funds, Is too small to help the lowerbracket taxpayers much and will give relief to the rich, many of whom do not need relief. Psychologically, however, the reduction is imperative, according to Hoover and the congressional majority. It is calculated to reinspire business in the midst of the economic situation caused by Wall Street’s collapse. If it has that result it Is worth the price. Meanwhile, the country is lucky that the reduction temptation has not undermined the income tax principle. Years have been required to establish this principle as the base of our revenue system. Though the present reduction seems to be a needless cut for the larger Incomes, at least the income tax system has not been jeopardized and no taxpayers have slipped off the federal rolls. Caring for Veterans The house has passed a bill appropriating $14,000,000 for construction of hospitals for veterans. This sum will provide 3,576 additional beds. The new facilities are needed badly, particularly since congress has directed hospitalization for all veterans, whether or not their disabilities were incurred in military service. Veterans’ bureau facilities for the care of mental patients particularly are overtaxed, and the number of these cases will continue to increase for the next dozen years. Various questions in connection with veterans’ relief are reaching the point where permanent policies must be adopted. President Hoover has recommended consolidation of the pension bureau and the veterans’ bureau. Congress must decide whether it wants to make permanent its policy of providing hospitalization for nonservice-connected disabilities, as well as service-connected, and if so, build hospitals with that idea in mind. It is estimated that the population of soldiers’ homes will be 65.000 in 1953, and provision must be made for meeting this situation. Most important is the question of World war pensions, which is coming to the fore. Considerable sentiment for them has been developing and they were advocated in debate on the floor of the house this week. Director Hines in his annual report declares the problem must be met. The whole subject is of first Importance to the country, first because of the obligation to veterans and next because of the billions of public funds that must be expended in years to come. Then tendency is toward liberalization, although the matter will be much debated in the next few years. Meantime, the immediate and pressing need is for adequate hospital facilities, especially for the mentally afflicted. There is general agreement on the necessity for the additional beds provided in the house measure—as a minimum. The bill was sidetracked last session. It is to be hoped it will not be delayed unduly in the senate. Truth Should Be Kelpful To illustrate the high-handed methods used In Philadelphia elections Major-General Smeuley D. Butler told a Pittsburgh audience how marines managed elections in Haiti and Nicaragua in the days before the World war. There is'talk of his being disciplined for telling tales out of school. The general says he didn’t teli Pittsburgh anything new. Everything he said can be found in the printed reports of the United States senate committee on foreign relations, he says, recalling that he testified for four days on the subject back in 1921. Now that we are seeking to regularize our relations with Haiti, Butler’s testimony of 1921 might be useful reading for everybody concerned.

REASON

WE respectfully submit that it is an outrage for President Hoover to ask congress to hand £IO,OOO of the people’s money to the nearest relatives of the late senators, Tyson of Tennessee, Burton of Ohio and Warren of Wyoming. That would be as rank misappropriation of the public money as if it were given to the widow of the late King Ben Purnell. a a a We don’t know how Tyson's finances were when he died, and we don’t care, for the people owe their officeholders nothing except the specified salaries to which the” aspire, but we do distinctly recall that Senator Burton, who was a bachelor, left an estate of thousands, while Warren of Wyoming died worth more than six millions of dollars. a a a For.the President to suggest that this outrage be perpetrated when the country is full of deserving poor 1 people and when the national government is neither a charity ball nor a Christmas tree is little short of amazing, and we sincerely trust that congress will hit the idea where Nellie wore the beads. u a a FROM this it would be but a step to appropriating money for the survivors of representatives, and then it would be easy to do it for the survivors of those who died while holding appointive offices, and then it would be perfectly easy to pension for life the whole crowd, as we now unjustly pension the widows of Presidents. * a a We owe nothing whatever to those who have held public office. They run for the place and slap us on the back and shake our hands and play postoffice with our babies to get the job and they are tickled to death to hold it for life if they can, and if there’s any owing about it the officeholder owes the people. To pension the widow of a man worth six million dollars while the country is full of poor widows, taking in washings to support their children, is enough to breed Bolshevism! a a a It might interest the heathen now in the process of being saved by our missionaries to know that while the Rev. Thomas E. Phillips of Laurel, Del., was preaching thieves stole the four tires from his automobile. 9 tt tt THE reception which the Democrats of Illinois gave to Governor Roosevelt of New York was no mere hospitality, but a realization that the Governor is the best presidential nominee for 1932. Let him be re-elected Governor of New York and A1 Smith will put him in nomination at the next national convention and he will be nominated by acclamation. m m a The shooting of those three bank bandits up in Minnesota reminds us that that's a poor state for the stick-up operators to visit. It was at Northfield, Minn, you will recall, that the James gang received its finish.

FREDERICK By LANDIS

THE INDIANAPOLIS TIMES

M. E. Tracy SAYS:

Fred Dane, “America's Most Dangerous Man," Shows That No One Can Carry On a Foolproof Crime Career. JULIUS H. BARNES of the Chamber of Commerce of the United States denies that he is fighting Chairman Legge of the farm board with regard to plans for handling the grain crop, yet admits that he is opposed to cheaper money for farm co-operatives than the grain men can get, or to such governmental aid as would make it possible for the co-operatives to provide better elevator and storage facilities. One gathers that, while Barnes may not have taken an uncompromising position against Legge, he would like to have the latter change his mind with regard to certain important points, and will do what he can to bring it about. * n tt The twenty-sixth anniversary of the first airplane flight finds two Spaniards down in Brazil after having crossed the ocean and two Englishmen hopping off for Capetown. It also finds American aviation growing into a six hundred million dollar industry. Such tributes tell their own story. tt tt o The Heflin Case THE Alabama state Democratic committee bars Senator J. Thomas Heflin and others who bolted Smith from becoming candidates in the next primary, but forgives the 125,000 voters who followed them. Consistency suggests that the voters also should be barred, but consistency would wreck the party in that case. Alabama is setting a precedent. If candidates, or voters, can be read out of a party because of the way they voted one year previously, why not because of the way they voted fifty years previously? One can doubt the wisdom of such a precedent, and still be glad to see Heflin barred, especially if it sticks. The trouble is that it probably won’t stick. a a e The federal court in San Francisco has ordered the telephone company to assist dry agents by giving them the addresses of private telephone numbers. Thus another long established custom goes by the board to bolster up Volsteadism. Pretty soon people will be forbidden to draw their shades at night, or lock their doors when they go to bed. a at No Naval Gain Here JAPAN is willing to cut her cruiser quota if she is allowed to build more small craft, preferably submarines. When you come to think of it, the naval parleys we have held thus far indicate a distinct tendency to scrap big boats for little ones. The question is, should we gain | anything by the exchange? As between battleships and submarines, any one with a humane instinct would prefer the former. Much as we may have denounced them for it, the Germans appear to have set a fashion by the success of their U-boat campaign. a a a Fred Burkejov, alias Fred Dane, whom police describe as “America’s most dangerous man,” and who, according to his lady friend, engineered the massacre of “Bugs” Moran and six companions, is a shin-j ing example of man’s inability to j carry on a foolproof crime career, j Burke, Dane, or whatever name j he may be sporting just now, certainly went at the problem methodically. First, he read hundreds of detec- j tive stories, with the idea of dis- j covering and cataloging all the lapses of mind or memory to which j criminals were addicted. Then he supplied himself with an | arsenal and an array of disguises: which any theater manager would! envy. But he forgot not to tell a woman j his secrets and not to let the kill- j ing habit get the better of him. a a a Plays the Boob AFTER falling in love, and spill- j ing his story, like any other I boob, he shot a policeman for no j better reason than the itch of a j well-trained trigger finger. All the policeman wanted was for him to go to the station and pay a $5 fine, but he had become too accustomed to fear police on the one hand, and to killing folks who got in his way on the other. To give the story its logical climax, the woman with whom he j was so unintelligently confidential.: and whom the police picked up at his bungalow, not only makes a: clean breast of it, but claims a share j of the SIOO,OOO reward outstanding. |

Questions and Answers

What was the whisky ring? A group of distillers in St. Louis, who in 1875, with the aid of a supervisor of internal revenue, defrauded the government of a million dollars annually in whisky taxes. Where is radio station NSS located and what is its wavelength? The call is ass gned to the naval station at Arlington, Va. It broadcasts weather and time reports, etc., on a wavelength of 16,840 meters. Which of the following universities, the University of Michigan, Ohio State university or University of Illinois, has the largest stadium? The seating capacity at the University of Michigan is 86.000: Ohio State university 75.000 and University of Illinois, 60.000. What substance injected into a Christmas tree will keep it green and prevent the needles from failing? We do not know of any such substance, but if the tree is set in water it will keep green longer. Regular come for this purpose.

Some Human Beings Chew Their Cud

BY DR. MORRIS fISHBEIN, Editor Journal of the American Medical Association and of Hygeia, the Health Magazine. CHEWING the cud is usually a feature of the life of the cow and of other grass-eating animals. Occasionally human beings regurgitate hastily eaten meals, resalivate the food, rechew it and swallow it. This process is called rumination or merycism. Dr. Charles Francis Long has described a number of cases which are of great interest. In most instances, regurgitation of the food is uncontrollable and is associated with gastro-intestinal disturbances. However, an Egyptian actor, Hadji Ali, can swallow fifty glasses

IT SEEMS TO ME

ONE of the most snobbish things in the world is the human mind. Very rarely will it consent to meet another. It became my job the other night to act as chairman in a debate between Bertrand Russell and John Cowper Powys, on the subject, “Is Modern Marriage a Failure?” Both these brilliant men talked eloquently, but never did they actually achieve contact. Each was off, sometimes even beyond the milky way, upon his own. If the function of a chairman were like that of a prize fight referee, it would have been my painful duty to declare the go no contest and to throw both participants out of the ring, on the ground that they were not really fighting. But the duties of a chairman are painful enough, even without this added responsibility. He must listen attentively to each speaker, and laugh and applaud at all appropriate places. Worst of all, he must sit still. This last obligation I was unable to fulfill, which led to the embarrassing situation in which one or the other debater would say, “Mr. Chairman,” and turn to find an empty chair. My only excuse is that after half an hour of even the most fascinating argument I find myself in need of a glass of water or something. n n tt Failure? COME to think of It. a truly logical encounter on the theme, “Is Modern Marriage a Failure?” would require some nicety of definitions in regard to “failure,” as well as “modern marriage.” Generally speaking, preachers and publicists argue upon the assumption that any marriage which terminates in divorce is necessarily a failure. If the community has a high divorce rate, there is much wringing of hands and criticism of this condition as deplorable. But the face of statistics is always somewhat clouded. One never snould attempt to interpret them without going round in back. Marriage may work very badly in a community in which divorce is infrequent. Unions may be maintained, not' because both people are gloriously happy, but because they have neither the funds nor the spirit to seek escape. Increase of divorce quite possibly can mean that the community has raised the marriage standard. Surely marriage is not by any means a failure a considerable number of mismated people say. “This is not good enough. Marriage should be better than this." a m Reasons AFTER all, there i* no great merit in sticking together when no escape is possible. Surely nobody would argue that South Carolina escapes marital MTihappin**^

The Witches’ Brew

DAILY HEALTH SERVICE.

of water and without apparent effort bring it right up again. He swallows thirty hazel nuts and one almond, and brings up as many hazel nuts as may be requested before bringing up the almond. This is probably a trick with the almond held the mouth and the hazel nuts regurgitated. He also swallows three handkerchiefs of different colors and brings up the colors selected in order. The investigators are convinced that he holds these in his mouth and that they are differently flavored so that he swallows them in the reverse order of the requested regurgitation. He also swallows a pint of water and a half pint of coal oil, stands six feet from a burning candle, and

R HEYWOOD 5 BROUN

entirely by the simple provision of providing no legal method for divorce. It seems to me. as an old romantic sentimentalist, that only ideal unions should be encouraged. The state should be only too happy to dissolve those which fall into meanness and bickering. For the sake of communal knowledge, there may be some point in requiring the two persons concerned to make semi-public explanation of the reasons why they wish to be divorced, but a court of law is a shabby and an insufficient place to make these explanations. Very seldom are the legal reasons the real reasons. For instance, in New York the judge demands evidence of infidelity. Now, save in very exceptional cases, infidelity is not a cause of unhappiness, but a by-product. If the victim of an unfortunate marriage must give an account of himself before the state will set him free, at least let him be encouraged to tell the truth. The marriage which breaks up on account of infidelity must have been badly marred before the occurrence of the incident. It would be much more pertinent for the judge to ask, “Why were you unfaithful?” than have him go into the bleak and sordid details of when and where. tt tt tt Because! AND until wise men and nhilosonhers sit in judgment. I think it would be better all around to ha 'e no reasons at all except the main and simple one that here are two unhappy people who wish

IS

THIRTEENTH AMENDMENT December 18 ON Dec. 18, 1865, the thirteenth amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified as part of the government’s reconstruction policy after the Civil war, in order to secure for the latelyemancipated slaves the legal and political benefits of full citizenship. The amendments reads; “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for a crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States or any place subject to their jurisdiction.” Today also Is the anniversary of the date. Dec. 18. 1787, of the ratification of the Constitution by the state of New Jersey. And on Dec. 18. 1799, George Washington was buried at Mount Vernon. On Dec. 18, 1878, gold and paper dollars had the same value for the first time la eighteen yean.

l then regurgitates the coal oil, which bursts into flame as it approaches the candle. Finally the water, which is heavier than the coal oil, comes along and l puts out the fire. ' Infants regurgitate or ruminate ! easier than do adults. The process : is probably brought about by tight- | ening the muscles of the abdomen | and of the stomach. There does not ; seem to be any special shape or i character of the stomach which | permits this process. Obviously this is one of those | tricks of development of muscula- : ture, such as is accomplished by | those who learn to wiggle the ears or do other muscular performances which are performed easily by lower animals, but which have been lost in the human.

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.

to be freed from a contract which mutually is distasteful. If the question of alimony enters in, or if there are children, I will grant there well may be some elaborate inquiry. But a very considerable number of actions are brought by two people who are of the same mind and who have no children. In such cases, it seems to be impertinent for the community to ask them to show cause. In many cases they do not themselves know the cause. They simply realize that they are unhappy and want to be apart. Surely they are more familiar with their own minds than some judicial officer who never has seen either one before. Their parting should be simple and dignified. The law. curiously enough, seems to insist that they must be indignant at one another. It does not encourage actions in whic i friendliness prevails. These are called collusive, and are thrown out of court. I don’t know why. If both parties are agreed that they should be separated, it seems to me presumptuous for any man to say that they may not set themselves asunder. (Copyright. 1929. by The Times)

Daily Thought

Behold, happy is the man whom God oorrecteth; therefore despise not thou the chastening of the almighty —Job 5:17. tt tt St God sometimes washep the eyes of His children with tears in order that they may read aright His providence and His commandments.—T. L. Cuyler.

The Right Thing to Do Good manners and good form are not affectations to be despised as something “put on.” There are reasons for the forms of etiquet that have become part of the equipment of cultured people. Failure to do the “right thing” at the right moment shows a lack of good breeding, of consideration for others, that is inexcusable in this day and age. Our Washington bureau has a packet of eight of it* authoritative and informative bulletins, covering etiquet for every occasion, that it will send to any reader. The titles are: 1. Social Etiquet 5. Etiquet of Weddings 2. The Etiquet of Travel 6 Origins of Etiquet 3. Dinner Etiquet 7 Etiquet for Children 4. Etiquet of Dress 8. Personality and Charm If you want this packet, fill out the coupon below and mail a* directed. CLIP COUPON HERE ETIQUET EDITOR, Washington bureau, The Indianapolis Times. 1322 New York avenue, Washington, D. C. I want the packet of eight bulletin* on ETIQUET, and enclose herewith 25 cents in coin, or loose, uncancelled United State* postage stamps to cover postage and handling cost*. NAME * STREET AND NUMBER CITY STATE I am a reader of The Indianapolis Time*. (Code No.)

DEC- 18, 1929

SCIENCE By DAVID DIETZ—

Wegener Hypothesis Assumes That All the Continents of the Earth Started as One Great Mass, Which Split in Several Pieces. ONE of the most striking and startling theories of modern geology is the Wegener hypothesis, named after the scientist who suggested it. According to this theory, all the continents of the earth started as one great mass which split into pieces. The pieces drifted and became the continents. According to the Wegener hypothesis, the continents still are in motion, slowly drifting or sliding along the face of the earth. Dr. Harlow Shapley, famous Harvard astronomer, in suggesting that a three-mile shaft be sunk into the earth near some sea coast, had this theory in mind at the time. He thinks that delicate measurements which could be made in laboratories dug into the rocks along the shaft, might throw light upon this theory and establish whether the continents actually were in motion. The Wegener hypothesis grew out of the theory of isostacy. Tills theory holds that the lower part of the earth’s crust is a great substratum of glass-like rock at very high temperature, held solid by the immense pressure of the rock layers above It. While solid, it nevertheless is thought to possess many of the properties of a liquid and to flow under sufficient pressure. The upper layers of rock, therefore, are thought to be floating upon this lower layer of glass-like rock. B tt tt Logs THE continents are composed of lighter rocks, so-called granites, while the ocean beds are heavier rocks known as basalts. Edwin Tenney Brewster, in his excellent book. “This Puzzling Planet,” suggests that, perhaps the granite mass which formed the original I continent solidified while the rest of ! the earth’s crust was molten. The basalts crystallized next, the exposed basalt becoming the ocean floor. The lower portion of the basalt, however, did not crystallize, but became, instead, the glass-like sub-stratum. j “One may, then, picture the upper fifty miles of the earth as very much j like a pond which has frozen a foot thick, with logs floating in it that are less than a foot through,” he writes. “The logs were floating a little out of the water. The ice formed: but their tops still were out. The ice is thick enough so that no log comes through into the unfrozen water; but the ice under the log is thin. “The log, then, is the granite continent. The ice is the crystallized basalt. The water is the uncrystallized basaltic glass. “There is some reason for thinking that the granite continents—which really do have a much higher melting-point than the basalts—formed first, when all the basalt was liquid or solid glass and that the crystallized basalt froze later, and is, indeed, still forming out of the glassy stuff underneath the continents and the sea-floor.” tt tt a \ Thin BREWSTER, who thinks that there is considerable reason for subscribing to the Wegener hypothesis, points out that the continents are extremely thin in comparison to their width. He points out that North America, which is 3,000 miles in width, is only about thirty miles in thickness. “The continents, then, are thin,” he writes. “Even so small a continent as Australia, only 2,000 miles across, has about the proportions of a postage stamp. “As for the larger masses, a fullpage map of the world is not far from correct in three dimensions, for the thickness of the paper just about corresponds to the thickness of the real land down to the underside of the continent. “The continent is, therefore, not anchored to anything. The question is: Does it float around? The continent is thin. The question is: Does it crack? There is a good deal of reason for thinking that both these occur.” Many eminent geologists take the same view of the Wegener hypothesis that Brewster does. However, It must not be imagined that all geologists agree to it. On the other hand, the continent* might be in motion, even though they did not originally all start as a single continent. Any researen, therefore, which will throw light on this problem, comes at an opportune time. Is the Chrysler building higher than the Eiffel Tower in Paris? The Chrysler building will be 1,030 feet high and the Eiffel Tower in Paris is 1,000 feet high.