Indianapolis Times, Volume 41, Number 281, Indianapolis, Marion County, 4 April 1930 — Page 8

PAGE 8

StHIPPJ -M OW AJti

More Home Rule The supreme court will decide the legality of the powers given to the state tax board U> revise the tax rates fixed by local officials. The next legislature should investigate the question of how far state officials, appointive and beyond the control of the people, should determine questions which should be determined locally. The taxing power of the government is the most important function of the government. It takes the earnings of the people. It hits at every pocketbook. Theoretically, that government is best which is closest to the people. The old town meeting of primitive days was probably the best government. Every r citizen participated in person. The government of each community was under the direct scrutiny of all citizens, always within their control. Just as state governments are closer to the people than the national government, so county and city governments are nearer to the governed than those of the state. , Elected officials are, presumably, more careful of public rights than those who serve by appointment and are not under the constant necessity of retaining public confidence. Bureaucracy of any sort is always bad. It always makes for tyrannies. Apparently the present policy is to turn over to a bureau, appointive in its nature, the power to revise all taxation and all expenditures. Cities are not permitted to raise funds thought necessary by local officials. They are not permitted to expend money for what, locally, may be thought necessary and expedient projects. Much of bad government comes from a lack of selfgovernment. Home rule on Important matters may often be mistaken, >ut it is better than government from afar. That direction leads to dictatorship and Imposition. There should be no guardianship of the people. It la absurd to suggest that the people of Indianapolis or South Bend or any other city should not have the right to tax themselves for any purpose they see fit, as long as it does not propose to destroy the state government. ' Bringing the government closer to the people should be an objective for those who really believe that the people have the aDility to rule themselves and need no nurses or step-parents to protect them against their own mistakes. The time has come to bring back the town meeting spirit. Make It Official Protest by the W. C. T. U. against the fairness of the poll being conducted on prohibition by the Literary Digest should be translated into a challenge. The poll is the most discussed event of the hour. It is watched closely, not only by those who believe that prohibition as an experiment has failed, but by • those who desire a continuance of the present system. There is one point on which both those who favor the prohibition law and those who have no confidence In it should be able to agree. Every law in a land where the people are supposed to rule themselves should have behind it the moral support of a majority of the people. Unless this is true, the whole theory of self-government fails and there comes to government a rule by the minority, which caused the revolutionary birth of this country and revolutions in every land where minorities become more limited and more tyrannical. Those who believe that prohibition has brought more ills than those it was designed to cure are quite certain that the unofficial poll Indicates a majority sentiment against the present system. They are quite elated to see their belief apparently justified. The advocates of prohibition answer that the poll is unfair, that few women received ballots, that the selections were not made in a manner which would determine public sentiment. There is a very easy way to settle the dispute. The unofficial ballot can be made official at the next election if congress sees fit to ask for a referendum, either nation-wide or by states. Such a course should please both sides to the controversy. It would permit those who quarrel with the unofficial poll to demonstrate their strength. It would give to those who declare that the law is against public conscience and judgment to bring to the ballot box the strength they believe to exist for change. Insteao of candidates for congress placing a label of wet or dry upon themselves, the safe and American platform should be a declaration in favor of a referendum to determine the will of the people. Rule by minority, whether they be intolerant bodies or seekers of special privileges, is dangerous. A congress composed of those who pledge themselves to settle all questions on the basis of the popular will could do much to restore faith in our government. Solving the Job Problem Dr. Benjamin M. Squires, member of the faculty of the University of Chicago, who w rites this article, is chairman Os the board of arbitration set up by the employers and workers in the men's clothin g industry in Chicago. He is •Iso chairman of their unemployment insurance fund. For the last seven years the men’s clothing industry of Chicago, comprising some 200 employers and 22 000 workers, has operated an unemployment insurance fund under an agreement between the Chicago Ff deration of Clothing Manufacturers and the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America. According to the original plan, employers and workers each contributed l l * per cent of weekly wages. Subsequently, the employer’s contribution was increased to 3 per cent, making a total of 4Mper cent. To date approximately six and one-half million dollars has been turned over to trustees administering the fund. More than five million dollars has been paid out in unemployment benefits. The fund now has a reserve of nearly one million dollars. The plan has been extended to other clothing markets, but Its operation there is newer and less revealing. As It has worked out in the Chicago market, the plan is recognition that unemployment in large me as ire is a problem and responsibility of industry. I It is A direct challenge to those who hold that to I accept such responsibility is to halt industrial L progress. fi In the course of seven vears of operation, the fund I has been helpful in lessening and relieving three ■ frinris of unemployment. The industry is highly seas sonal. Unemployment due to seasonality constitutes the heaviest drain on the fund. But the effects of seascnallty have been tempered by a better balance between labor supply and demand, avoiding undue

The Indianapolis Times (A BCBIPPS-HOWARD NEWSPAPER) Owned and published dally (except Sunday) by The Indianapolis Times Publishing Cos., 214-220 West Maryland Street, Indianapolla. Ind. Price In Marion County, 2 cents a copy: elsewhere, 3 cents—delivered by carrier, 12 cents a week. BOYD OT’RLEY, HOY W. HOWARD, FRANK G. MORRISON, Editor President Business Manager PHONE—Riley 5551 FRIDATU APRIL 4. 1030. Member of United Press, Scripps-iloward Newspaper Alliance, Newspaper Enterprise Association, Newspaper information -Service and Audit Bureau of Circulation;). “Give Light and the People Will Find Their Own Way’’

loading at the peak, shifting labor freely and intelligently from plant to plant, and encouraging workers to familiarize themselves with more than one operation. Each individual plant Is responsible for Its own unemployment. The possibility of building a reserve sufficient to permit both workers and employers to stop contributing to the fund has been an added incentive to stabilization. The net result has been to reduce the number on the pay roll and in the industry to the lowest possible point consistent with the rieeds of the industry without fear that labor would not be available at the height of the season. The industry has been undergoing changes in method and in product which has eliminated some operations and has maoe for greater unit production per worker. In other words, the industry has been faced with so-called technological unemployment. The Industry long has accepted responsibility for workers who no longer were needed on account of changing business conditions or product, and has followed the practice of dividing work or transferring workers to other jobs wherever possible, until gradually they drifted to other industries. Since the unemployment insurance fund was established, readjustment of the working force has been hastened by drawing on the fund and paying a leaving wage to displaced workers. Instead of ruthlessly reducing the working force or nursing it along by dividing the work even when there was no chance of offering full employment, surplus workers are paid a substantial separation wage which liquidates their claim on the plant and the industry, and serves as a shock absorber while they readjust themselves. Finally, the industry has lessened extreme effects of cyclical or depressional unemployment by using unclaimed balances as a revolving fund for relief purposes. This serves the double purpose of compensating for severe unemployment beyond the capacity of an individual house fund to pay, and of encouraging to remain in the industry those workers who are likely to be needed when business recovers. The waste due to labor drift during depression is largely avoided. The arrangement is flexible and subject to complete control. By giving a greater sense of security, unemployment insurance has removed many restrictions which were work-making in their effect and has broken down opposition to technical change, which often means temporary unemployment. The working of the plan has made for a continuous inventory of laoor and conditions in the industry, has brought the problem of employment to the fore and has given new significance to the advantages of regularity of plant operations. Emphasis has been shifted in the minds of employers and workers from rates of pay to annual earnings. Conjecture has given way to facts, the cumulative effect of which has encouraged both sides to think in terms of ultimate objectives. The attitude, “It can’t done,” goes into the discard in the face of evidence that “it has been done” to the advantage of those affected. This by-product of facts as a basis for intelligent thinking and planning on the part of all factors would in itself justify unemployment insurance in the industry, but it has served as well to prove that industry can meet employment responsibility and at the same time advance in efficiency. A poet says much of his work is inspired by his dog. Maybe that is how one poet was moved to write: “The hounds of spring are on winter’s traces.” A youth was fined recently for calling up telephone operators and telling them naughty stories. He paid heavily for his sins of humor. It is said that most of the nightshirts sold in this country are sold in Chicago. This ridicules the theory that most Chicagoans are night-workers. old burlesque theater has closed on Broadway. It seems that sthat form of entertainment is on its last legs. A New York bandit held up two persons with a revolver made of glass. The victims evidently wished for a break. * Josephus Daniels now asks a 100-year trial of the prohibition law. It seems that long already.

REASON

THESE bank mergers are said to be good things because they reduce expenses, but this does not interest us. What we want to know is whether they reduce the number of names you have to have on a note. We borrowers are the people to consider; we are the bone and sinew of the republic. a o tt Walter Damrosch, the famous conductor, announces that the radio has made people everywhere familiar with good music. Either Damrosch is a great humorist or he has a most unusual receiving set, for if he will tune in on ours he will get a barrel of jazz for every drop of civilized music. tt tt tt We see where the prince of Wales has taken the picture of a family of African rhinoceroses, and it ought to stack up very well with any family group to be found in European royalty. tt a ft AN Indianapolis judge dismissed a woman’s divorce suit because she hit her husband’s lawyer in the eye when he accused her of having an illicit love affair. If she is innocent she should have hit the lawyer in both eyes The average judge permits lawyers to play horse with witnesses and they are compelled to defend themselves tt tt tt Down at Bristol, R. 1., an ordinary dog, without any family tree, saved seven people from a burning house, losing its own life in the effort If that dog didn’t go to heaven we are unable at the moment to call to mind any human being who has much of a chance. THE most amazing thing about experts is their ability to fall down when it comes to recognizing a perfectly plain proposition, as did the military experts of Germany when they turned down Friedrich Goebel's army 4ank back in 1913. Had they adopted it, Germany would have won the war—and won it in a hurry. The wife of Stanley McCormick asks the court to allow her $420,000 a year to live on, saying her present allowance of $162,000 which is more than double President Hoover’s salary does not permit her to live in her accustomed manner. If the court can not help this poor woman, possibly the Salvation Army could come to her relief.

FREDERICK LANDIS

THE INDIANAPOLIS TIMES

M. E. Tracy

SAYS:

Like Every Other People on Earth the Haitians Want to Be Left Alone When It Comes to Running Their Own Affairs. THE occupation of Haiti, which began in 1915, has cost us $23,000,000 thus far, and what is there to show for it, except a lot of unnecessary bitterness? Our marines, teachers, bookkeepers, and experts will be glad when the time comes to leave, and nine out of ten Haitians will be even gladder. Like every other people on earth, the Haitians want to be let alone when it comes to running their own affairs. Maybe they can not do it as well as we could, but they can do it in the way they want to, which is the dearest privilege known to human nature. tt a tt President Hoover picks up a telephone and talks with the president of Chile. The novelty of such an achievement is of less consequence than its possible effect. In the years to come thousands of North Americans will be carrying on daily conversations with thousands of Latin Americans. Who doubts that such practice will do more to establish friendly relations than all the marines and experts we could muster? Civilization never has been carried very far, or rooted very deeply by compulsion. Its most successful missionaries are those who set the right kind of example. a tt tt Justice Balked LILA JIMERSON decided to plead guilty to second degree murder rather than take a chance with a jury, and who wouldn’t, in her place? Dying of consumption, what does it matter whether she spends her last few days in prison? Assuming that she could have been convicted, what would the law have gained by forestalling nature with the electric chair? Interpret it any way you will, and the miserable affair in which she became entangled balks human justice. 1. There was the cultured artist who believed that philandei’ing was justifiable if it helped him in a professional way, who lied to Lila, made her believe that he loved her when he did not, and then seduced her. 2. There was the old crone, who believed in witchcraft, and who took Lila’s word for it that this artist’s wife was working black magic on her. 3. There was Lila herself, an infatuated old maid, stricken with tuberculosis and falling an easy victim to the white man’s subtle bunk. Where is the man-made law that can do justice, not only as among these three, but as between these three and society? tt it tt Shows Good Sense A BOSTON broker, first caught short in the stock market, and then in his accounts to the tune of $450,000, walks into the police station and gives himself up. It would save a lot of trouble if others in a similar plight would show equally good sense. Most of them run for it, however, not because they are vicious, but because they lack the sand to face the music and the intelligence to know that they can’t beat the game. tt tt tt We have no monopoly on queer i laws, or queer cases in this country. In England, they are holding a duchess for trial because she attempted to commit suicide. In Norway, they not only just have acquitted a woman for killing her husband with an ax, but have raised a subscription in her behalf, with King Haakon heading the list. In India, they are getting ready to start a campaign of mass disobedience in which Mahatma Gandhi and his immediate followers will refine salt in defiance of the law, while the people of Assam will make home brew. In Russia, Joseph Stalin offers the peasants the annulment of fines and punishments for breaking agrarian laws, tax exemption for two years, and the privilege of working at some other trade, while they are not busy on the farms, if they will only be good toward the collectivation campaign. .

PETER COOPER’S BIRTH April 4

ON April 4, 1791, Peter Cooper, designer and builder of the first American locomotive, was born in New York City. At the age of 21, Cooper, poor and uneducated, showed his inventive genius by devising a machine for the shearing of cloth, which was used in the war of 1812. But rather than pursue his inventive bent young Cooper turned to manufacturing, a field in which he was to amass huge fortunes. He started with a glue and isinglass factory on Long Island and then established iron works and wire factories in Baltimore, New York and in Pennsylvania. In 1830 he exhibited his locomotive, “The Tom Thumb,” for the first time on the Baltimore & Ohio railroad. A few days after its debut it raced a horse-drawn car with twenty-four passengers over thirteen miles of the railroad, but lost when a belt slipped. After his locomotive idea developed, Cooper next became interested in the Atlantic cable. He was one of the earliest to urge such a communication between this country and Europe. Cooper held many public offices in New York and in 1876 received the Independent nomination for President. •

' in—— I ■ ' '..11 .. —I ~|| >|J| „ ———

Substances in Blood Fieht Infection

BY DR. MORRIS FISHBEIN Editor Journal of the American Medical Association and of Hygeia, the Health Magazine. WHENEVER germs get Into the body and grow, the human being is infected. The products of the germ set up serious symptoms in his body. It is possible to produce the symptoms sometimes by putting into the body not the germs themselves but the toxins or poisons which the germs develop. This, however, is not the natural method of infection. It is possible for a person to be poisoned by the products of the botulinus germ in spoiled food through eating that poison without eating the germs themselves. Thus infection does not mean simply the fact that the germ is present in the body. There are apparently healthy people who carry about with them constantly the germs of diphtheria or of typhoid or perhaps even of meningitis. At the same time it is possible for them to spread the germs to other people who come down immediately with the serious symptoms of infection. The first person is a disease car-

IT SEEMS TO ME

'S7'VERY now and then some magistrate liar, a schoolboy of Communistic leanings brought before him, and the gentleman on the bench generally threatens to black his eye, or, at the least, he reads him a severe lecture. At the very least, the culprit is threatened with expulsion from the school which he attends. This seems to me singularly poor technique. The theory of education is based soundly on the assumption that errors of judgment are based on insufficient learning, rather than too much. It would be more sensible to urge the high school attended by the young Communist to redouble its efR-lo to bring the sprig into contact with facts and theories. I hold that rebellion is a thoroughly normal attitude in those who grow. Asa middle-aged man who has to live with the young, at times, I recognize the fact that this quality may exist at times in flagrant excess. Still, even that may be preferable to the child who conforms too readily and completely. tt n u Little Rollos THE boy or girl who stands at attention whenever the finger of a parent or elder is lifted will never be of much use to the world. Surely the generations now moving on to take our places have some better job in the world than merely to leave everything in place. You can’t get a better world except from people who are dissatisfied with that which is current. I suggest to all and any who are interested in Communism, its cure and causes, that they read Michael Gold’s new book called, “Jews Without Money.” Here you will get a generally faithful and always interesting picture of the life of a sensitive young man who was brought up in a New York slum. If Gold saw the things he descr. :s, and still remained a wholly docile member of society, he would be abnormal. He would be without heart, without pity, without eyes or ears. Or any sense of smell, for that matter. I’m still for education and its slow seepage, in spite of what conservatives and Communists may think about it. After all, a Communist is only an impatient Socialist. a a a Egg Balancing WHEN papers write of the man who drank 200 cups of coffee or ate thirty-six apple pies, I am never skeptical. I merely think, "How very odd . . .” and ask for no proof. At the moment I am fascinated by Joe Flutttter of Los Angeles, who,

Exhibit ‘A’

DAILY HEALTH SERVICE

rier; the second is the person who is infected with the disease. Carriers ox infection are today considered serious problems in the control of disease. In times of epidemic it is customary to examine every one who may be concerned and to see to it that the carriers are controlled. During a diphtheria epidemic 30 per cent of the children in the schoolroom may be found to have diphtheria germs in their throats without at the moment suffering infection with diphtheria. It is recognized therefore that not only must the germ be present, but in sufficient numbers to produce an effect and with sufficient virulence or infecting power to cauc# infection. Fortunately the human being is equipped with means of defense against germs and if the defenses are strong enough, one can overcome a considerable dose of infection. Tils blood contains cells which attack bacteria. It also contains what are called immune substances. Germs may be attacked by clumping them together, by dissolving

HEYWOOD y BROUN

according to the press accounts, “can balance a dozen fresh eggs on end in fifteen minutes.” V/hat he does with eggs after he has put them in that peculiar position, the story neglects to say. I would know more. I am curious about the personality of Fluttner. What is his other occupation, if any? How did the whole thing begin? What is his home life? Egg-balancing could be a gift or the result of an infinite capacity for taking pains. The story of how the first egg came to be balanced would interest me far more than the tally of the triumphant dozen. Possibly, Joe Fluttner’s eminence might be eexpiained on the ground of lack of competition. Possibly you or I, or someone in the house, is an excellent egg-balancer, but never got a chance. Talent may blush unseen. Scouts travel the whole wide area of America in search of southpaw pitchers, but nobody cares much where an egg-balancer lives, or even if he does. We Americans are all rush and bustle.

of h | I / Dailij \ / DevoHon \

Friday, April 4 FACING DIFFICULTY Read Psalm 27. Memory verse: “Be of good courage and the Lord wall strengthen thine heart.” Psalm 27:14. MEDITATION One must have the mental and moral courage to face facts honestly and without flinching. One must see his antagonist squarely if he is to take his full measure. Fear to know' facts often makes the facts seem more terrible than they are. Fear is a fog, that makes spectors out of lamp posts. It is sometimes desirable that one should admit unpleasant facts to others. Confession gives outlet to strong emotion that otherwise turns in and may often accumulate dangerously. Better tell a friend your trouble <han to break, in trying to cover it up and carry it by yourself. True pride that will not burden another should not degenerate into false pride that will not admit difficulty. PRAYER O, God, we desire above all else to be honest with Thee, with ourselvea aud with others. Give us sense and courage to look life in the face and to stand before facts without evasion. Deliver us from false pride and selfnity and give us the calm of those who put their trust in Thee, the living God. Amen. „ _ ,

them, or by rendering them otherwise ineffective. The materials that are called immune substances have the particular power of preventing the action of the germ or of its poison. An animal can be made immune by the injection of certain amount of anti-substance and injected thereafter vrith a definite dose of germs. If the animal is immune, it will live. An animal which has not been injected with the immune substance will become infected and die. Modern scientific medicine uses this method of testing the power of immune substances. The period between the time when the germs get in the body and the time when the symptoms appear is called the incubation period. This varies for different diseases. A person may take in typhoid germs, but not become sick immediately. He wall probably become sick between six to ten days thereafter. In the intervening period the germs have been growing and multiplying in his body and changing the nature of his tissues.

(deals and opinions expressed in this column arc those ot Jne of America's most interesting writers and are presented without regard to theii agreement or disagreement with the editorial attitude o( this paner.—The Editor.

Stirring of Talent TCE FLUTTNER presents among ** other things an interesting problem for the new psychologists. It hardly seems likely that his biography will be neglected in a day when even Martin Van Buren is considered worth a writeup. Probably Joseph suffered when a child from a sense of unrequited affection. There was, I imagine, an elder brother, and little Joie felt that this boy received more than his due share of parental attention. It was Buck Fluttner who was sent to dancing school and trained to try and play on the violin. In the contact with companions of his own age, Joseph may have suffered from a sense of maladjustment. In kissing games he batted .229, and the presence of the opposite sex embarrassed him. One Eastertide he received one dozen colored eggs. In the privacy of his own room he played with these eggs and managed to balance one, then two, then three. And now Joe Fluttner can look the whole world in the eye. He has liberated his Psyche. Yes, and if you must have it, it has maximated his ego. (Copyright, 1929, for The Times)

Appearance!” Be Measured NOW for your EASTER SUIT Just time to select your spring style and pattern . . . and be ready for Easter! Colorful spring fabric assortments, presenting the greatest variety and values in our history, await your inspection. Individually cut and fitted to your measures in any desired lashion. $35 to $75 KAHN -TAILQPINGCQ 2nd Floor Kahn Bldg., Washington and Meridian

_APRIL 4, 1930

SCIENCE

BY DAVID DIETZ-

Feary Reached North Pole, After 23 Years’ Work as an Explorer, on April 6, 1909. Admiral Robert edwin PEARY planted the American flag upon the north pole. Success came to him after twenty-three years’ work as an explorer. The date was April 6, 1909. Fitzhugh Green, who wrote the great explorer’s biography, summed up Peary's story in the title of his book, “Peary, the Man Who Refused to Fail.” Bit by bit, explorers had pushed nearer and nearer to the pole. In 1881 Greely reached latitude 83 degrees 24 minutes. In 1898 Nansen reached 86 degrees 14 minutes. The duke of Abruzzi. in 1899, sailed from Archangel, Russia, at the head of an Italian expedition. He reached latitude 86 degrees 33 minutes. Peary was born at Cresson, Pa., on May 6, 1356. He was graduated from Bowdoin college in 1877 and was commissioned a lieutenant in the United States navy in 1881. His Arctic career began with a journey he made to Disco bay on the west coast of Greenland in 1886. Peary wished to study the region to determine its possible use as a base for a polar expedition. tt u tt Roosevelt THE first problem which Peary attacked was that of the nature of Greeland. Was it an island or did it extend all the way to the North Pole? The United States government, -largely because of the disastrous ending of the Greely expedition and the difficulties which had been experienced in rescuing Gieely and his few remaining comrades, did not seem in the mood to promote Arctic exploration. But the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Science was willing to do so and in 1891 Peary set out at the head of a small expedition. It contained only seven members, one of whom was Peary’s wife. In the spring of 1892 he reached the northeast coast of Greenland, proving that Greenland was an island. He also made studies of the Smith Sound Eskimos, the most northerly people in the world. The expedition concluded its work in 1894, but in 1898 Peary again returned to Greenland. In 1900 he surveyed the north coast of Greenland and proved that it was bounded by the polar ocean. In 1902 Peary, accompanied by Matt Senson, the Negro member of his expedition, and by an Eskimo, advanced to latitude 84 degrees 17 mintues 27 seconds. This was not the farthest north to date of the world, but it was farthest north for the western hemisphere. On July 16, 1905, he sailed in the Roosevelt, the first ship built in America especially for Arctic exploration. On April 26, 1906. he reached latitude 87 degrees 6 minutes. This was farthest north to date. tt tt tt Success IN 1908 Peary set sail once more in the Roosevelt. He realized that he was growing old. He had given more than twenty years of his life to Arctic. exploration. He felt that he must attain success on this journey if he was ever to reach the pole. On Aug. 18, he left Etah, Greenland, for Grant Land, where he spent the winter. On March 1, 1909, he started over the ice. This wa3 the dash over the ice on which he hoped to reach the pole. One by one his companions were sent back as supplies diminished. By the end of March, Captain Bartlett was the only white man left with Peary. He turned back at latitude 87 degrees 48 minutes, farther north than any man had previously reached. Accompanied by Henson, the Negro member of his expedition, and four Eskimos, Peary reached the north pole on April 6. On his return to civilization, Peary found that the discovery of the pole already had been claimed by Dr. F. A. Cook. Peary denounced Cook as a pretender. Cook submitted his evidence to the University of Copenhagen, which failed to find it satisiactory. Peary’s success was due to his years of Arctic experience and the .well-organized plan of his final drive. His plan of sending back men at intervals meant that those who pushed ahead always had a full store of provisions. The return journey, also was simplified, because the tracks of those who had previously left the party were easy to follow.