Indianapolis Times, Volume 42, Number 203, Indianapolis, Marion County, 2 January 1931 — Page 4

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Railroad Mergers Consolidation of the eastern railways of the country, if properly safeguarded, is highly desirable from the point of view of the roads themselves and of the public. It would tend to stabilize the major transportation industry when new and competing industries, such as the bus business, are developing. It would reduce costs, especially in accounting departments. Whether the specific four-system merger plan now put forward by the roads meets the requirements of the public interest is a very technical question which obviously can be answered only by experts. Especially the experts of the interstate commerce commission. President Hoover is to be congratulated on his efforts to break the deadlock of a decade, and to get action on the general principle of consolidation to which congress and the country have been committed so long. But it is most unfortunate and unnecessary that the President should have gone outside his province to approve* in advance the four-system plan of the railroad executives. It is one thing for the President in the public interest to press for action. It is quite another and unusual procedure for the President to take upon himself the technical and political responsibilitiy of accepting any specific merger system before it has been studied by the proper federal authority. The responsible federal authority in this instance is, of course, the interstate commerce commission, and ultimately congress. After long study the commission proposed a fivesystem merger for the east—as part of its national twenty-one-system plan—largely because the roads themselves had not been able to agree at that time on an acceptable four-system plan. The roads would not accept the commission plan. Now they propose a substitute. It is to be assumed that the commission will give the new plan, when submitted to it, sympathetic consideration. That should not mean, however, that the President’s advance approval of the plan will influence the commission to vacate its own critical judgment. Before approving the plan, the commission must make certain that the merger system outlined by the railroads will not sacrifice legitimate interests of shippers, labor and the public. Pending study and decision by the commission and other nonpartisan experts, the public will do well to keep a. hopeful but open mind as to the merits of this particular proposal.

The Reasons Are Obvious (By William Allen White in the Emporia Gazette.) The reasons for the Norris fight are too obvious. A few of the most discreditable are conspicuous. Among others these: The fact that Senator Norris is chairman of the judiciary committee of the United States senate as a Republican makes it difficult and sometimes impossible for the great corrupt influences in our politics to get eminent reactionaries named as federal judges indorsed by the committee on judiciary. The chairmanship of the judiciary committee commands the bridge-head to much legislation and Norris ther eis on guard. To discredit him politically might cost him his chairmanship. Another reason: The big fight in American politics today is for the control of public utilities in cities. Fifty-two per cent of the American people now are living in cities and the control through regulation or ownership of light, power, heat, transportation, and communication in cities is a major problem. The ownership of corporations controlling light, power, heat, and communication in cities is drifting into a few hands. Those owners stand today where the owners of the railroads stood twenty-five years ago. In politics this utility ownership is known as giant power. Giant power is after Norris. He is the outstanding fighter in the United States senate, demanding the regulation of giant power. He is one of half a dozen of the great American senators, To discredit him is a major point of strategy in the fight of giant power to retain its overlordship in American politics. A Big Detail Again George Norris stands firm against surrender on what to some may seem a detail, but what now is, in fact, the chief question in settlement of Muscle Shoals legislation. Having agreed to government operation of the power facilities at Muscle Shoals, house Republicans are saying “that’s what Norris wanted—well, we’ve given it to him.’’ Having disagreed with Norris that the government should build transmission lines, the enemies of government operation have argued “that’s a detail.” Norris knows it is not a detail. If Muscle Shoals is operated by the government, and the electric energy is delivered to a switchboard, not a kilowatt will leave there to work for the people who have paid for this great power plant if their government does not build transmission lines. Instead, the power companies would get this hydroelectric energy. There's been enough confusion about Muscle Shoals, and in this confusion many have wandered astray. But not Norris. He knows, probably better than anyone else in congress, what must be done to keep Muscle Shoals for the people who paid for it. And he knows that building transmission lines, instead of being a detail that can be cared for by some subsequent congress, is the crux of the issue now. He knows that if these transmission lines are not called for in the very bill which disposes of the power plant that its benefits will accrue only to the power people. “A Chronic Disease’’ We are a lawless people, the American Bar Association's committee on lawless enforcement of law reports, and “our lawlessness is not an acute, but a chronic disease ... an old ulcer of which no doctory can say when, if ever, it will be healed.” The Mooney-Billings case stands like a grim gallows against the horizon, evidence that this is true. For onjy a lawless people keep men in jail without proof that they have committed a crime. Sixteen years we have been demonstrating, with Mooney and Billings as the victims, that we feel no real concern for the laws we have written guaranteeing the individual his liberty until proof of his guilt is established. For sixteen years we have been saying “they should be in jail anyway, because they probably are bad men,” or listening indifferently while others said it, and these are the words of lawless men. Unfortunately, this is not the only evidence agafnst us. The committee reports that officers round up hundreds of men. look them over, question them, turn them loose or hold some of them for minor offenses not connected with the ostensible purpose of the raid. This is a violation of law. i They pick up men who “look suspicious;” they

- ■ • The Indianapolis Times (A BCRIPPS-HOWARD NEWSPAPER) Owned and published daily (except Sunday) by The Indianapolis Times Publishing Cos., 214-220 West Maryland Street. Indianapolis. Ind. Price in Marion County. 2 cents • copy: elsewhere, 3 cents—delivered bj carrier, 12 cents a week, BOYD GURLEY. BOY W. HOWARD, FRANK G. MORRISON, Editor President Bqglnesa Manager PHONE—Riley K 561 FRIDAY. JAN. 2. 1931. Member of United Press, Scrlpps-Howard Newspaper Alliance. Newspaper Enterprise Association. Newspaper Information Service and Audit Bureau of Circulations. “Give Light and the People Will Find Their Own Way.”

search dwellings without a warrant; they ignore the law that a prisoner must be brought before a magistrate promptly, holding him for months, sometimes without placing charges against him, sometimes holding him incommunicado; they administer the third degree in a way that sometimes amounts to torture; they use confessions thus obtained as evidence against prisoners. The Bar Association committee does not attempt to say how generally these practices prevail, but it points out that they are to be found in every state and that they occur in hundreds of cases that never reach public attention. Neither the American Bar Association nor any other private agency has adequate facilities for probing to the depths of this national scandal. Therefore the President, in naming the national commission on law observance and enforcement, provided that one of its tasks was to investigate the lawlessness of law officers. On the courage and thoroughness of the Wickersham commission in reporting on the Mooney-Billings case and other legal lawlessness—no less than on prohibition—the commission will be judged. Organized Charity Practically every one of us who cah help is giving thought in these unhappy times to the unemployed. Quick to respond sympathetically to human suffering, great-hearted men and women make some contribution to one fund or another, in the hope that it will help relieve distress. But much of our effort is done in a blind, blundering way; and the keenest suffering is done by those who are never reached by organized charity. Something from the forgotten pigeonholes of boyhood comes back—something which sticks in the mind and hangs on. It was a song. The tune lent itself to the thought: “Too proud to beg, too honest to steal, I know what it is to be wanting a meal. My tatters and rags I try to conceal; I’m one of the shabby genteel.” Pew of us know of the many families suffering during this period of unemployment who fit into that picture. We don’t hear of many who have worked always for their living, who have lived comfortably, but' who in present circumstances would starve before they would appeal to any of the many, many charitable organizations. The memory pushes lorward that couplet from John Boyle O’Reilly’s “In Bohemia”: “Organized charity, skimped and iced, In the name of a cautious, statistical Christ." Charity isn’t justice, of course. It busies itself much of the time with the professional poor, with those who don’t want to earn their living and who won’t work for it if work can possibly be avoided. It often fails to find those victims of unorganized employment who are too proud to beg and too honest to steal. And many who contribute to organized charity and turn their job of responsibility to society over to hired professional charity workers salve a drowsy conscience by giving money. But organized charity isn’t organized. If it were organized, justice would find a way of seeking out that vast army of good citizens who are out of jobs and too proud to beg and too honest to steal. We won’t be organized until we provide in some way that those who don t want charity, but do want to work and earn their living, shall have work and be insured against want. Wise bankers know that character is good collateral,* although material security for loans is demanded with it. If tome way could be found to lend money on character alone, the worthy class of unemployed could be tided over hard times with loans —all to be paid back when work is obtained. Rolling funds for such purpose could be used over and over again; for there would be little loss from people of character who are too proud to beg and too honest to steal.

Judging from the cut of some of the evening gowns seen lately, fashion designers also stand to benefit by the bare market. An 80-year-old lowa farmer is reported to be cutting a tooth. “Well, by gum!” as he must have exclaimed. Schoolboys in a Missouri town were found playing marbles with gold nuggets, says a news item. There’s a wealth of enjoyment in a game like that.

REASON bv F “ S CK

jTVURING the last nine months of 1930, 130,000 Americans visited Great Britain, an increase of 3,000 over the same period of 1929. It would be interesting to know how many of the 130,000 never saw Yellowstone park or the grand canyon of the Colorado. More than half of them, we should say. a a a There a good deal in what Bernard Shaw says. He observed last week that Americans liked to be ridiculed. The logic of this mental attitude runs all the way through many Americans who regard Europe as but a few steps this side of paradise, and their own land as a scrambled egg. * a a EUROPEANS frankly express their amazement that our people should cross the ocean to gaze upon thing that are decidedly second class, particularly when they never have taken any interest in the marvels of their own land. a a a A lot of them go to Europe to get a certain thing called “background.” It irreverently is called scenery or furniture. Every fellow who wanted to knock ’em cold in a business or professional way used to go to Europe even if he could stay only between boats. a a a Doctors, piano tuners, artists, statesmen and particularly the social lions and lionesses used to regard their hooks as utterly destitute of bait unless they had a wrinkled sheepskin or a social recognition from “over there.” a a a BUT while the social bugs still go across, the professional people have cut it out. They know there's nothing over there for them that you can’t get here. But the lure of distance will remain with us so long as America remains, for that seems to be human nature. a a a Os course when the country was young people of means sent their children to Europe to be educated, because we were short on colleger. This gave Washington much concern, for he feared those who got their education abroad would leave their hearts over there. a a a This is why he wanted a great national university. He dreaded the possible inoculation of the young with European notions. He wanted the future leaders of his country to have a sense of nationalism; he wanted them to be free from anything approaching o divided allegiance.

THE INDIANAPOLIS TIMES

M. E. Tracy SAYS: In Every Age Men Have Imagined Themselves as Traveling a Road Which Led to the End of Things. SAN ANTONIO, Tex., Jan. 2. The year moves forward another key on the typewriter, since that is one way of keeping the record straight. What a thrill it will be for those scribes who are privileged to write the year “2000,” if any ever are. Please don’t dismiss the latter phrase as utterly absurd, without taking a moment to think it over. Seemingly small events have moved men to start anew computation of time. In Greece, it was an athletic meet; in Rome, the laying out of anew town site, and in Islam, the flight of a preacher. If someone had told the Caesars that an unimportant trial and execution at Jerusalem marked the end of their era, that someone would have run a very good risk of being crucified himself. tt tt u Commit Same Folly IT is possible to make a pretty fair guess of what men will do within narrow limits, but when it comes to the main drift of events, we are as much in the dark as were our most ignorant and superstitious progenitors. Who saw the World war coming, or, if a few did, who visualized Bolshevism, Mussolini and the present depression as its inescapable results? The year “2000” —we not only take it for granted, but as fixed beyond recall, in which respect we are no different, no wiser, and no sillier than every generation that has preceded us. In every age, men have imagined themselves traveling a road which led to the end of things. Looking backward, we find it easy to laugh; looking ahead we commit the same folly. tt tt u Still Off Balance ONE would like to think that we had learned to be governed by logic when it came to such an important matter as starting the parade of years, and. chiefly, because it would permit one to assume that logic played a bigger part in smaller affairs. To contemplate the curious episodes which have inspired humanity to rip up all the mileposts and start over again is to doubt whether humanity ever moves in a big Way on purely rational grounds. What men wish for and what they glorify as promising to satisfy it appears always to have been the driving force behind that strange compound which we describe as progress. Has anything occurred to prove that we have developed and will obey a different or better driving force? Such contraptions as the auto, airplane, and motion picture machine say “yes,” but such fantastic exhibitions of mob psychology as lynching in the south, or a gambling craze like that which swept the whole country off its feet last year, say “no.” We have grown wonderfully Scientific in spots, or by seasons. But beyond that we remain largely the creatures of desire.

Man Remains Mystery WHAT we want and the way we think we can get it still dominates our creeds, philosophies and laws. That being so, why don’t we pay more attention to the study of desire, its causes and consequences? Where does desire originate, especially the kind that develops into mob psychology, destroying empires, sweeping aside civilizations, and producing new epochs in human history? Why were our grandfathers so sure that climbing the “golden stairs” in heaven would compensate for •“all the ills that flesh is heir to,” while we have come to believe in elevators on earth? What switched the crowd from Sunday school to Sunday excursions so recently or from pagan rites to Sunday school long before? What reconciles 150,000,000 Russians to the idea of going hungry to produce a surplus of what that can be sold abroad under the market price? What causes us Americans—the elect of an expert adding machine age—to stop suddenly in our tracks and wonder where we are headed? What inspires us to think so largely of roads when it comes to relieving unemployment, or of bonds when it comes to raising money? The mighty smoke screen we have raised with our arithmetic, bookkeeping and statistics has served no purpose more definitely than to obscure some of the facts. Man himself still remains the great mystery’.

Questions and Answers

Is an 1864 three-cent piece or dime of any value? What day did Nov. 13, 1905, come on? No. Monday. Was it below zero the winter of 1928-29? On Jan. 31 it was one degree below zero and on Feb. 1, five below in central Indiana. Are the Standard groceries of Indianapolis chain stores? The Standard groceries are chain stores, but there are no Standard stores outside of Indianapolis. They are owned by Lafayette Jackson, Indianapolis. Does Babe Ruth get more salary than the President of the United States? The salary of the President of the United States is $75,000 a year, and the last contract signed by Babe Ruth called for a salary of SBO,OOO a year. Are there two layers in human skin? There is an outer layer, called the epidermis, which is constantly being shed in the form of powder or scales, aftd an inner layer, called the dermis, haring a dense and* fibrous structure. How many watts do sations XEX, Mexico City and CMCB, Havana, Cuba, ur*, and on what frequency do they broadcast? Station XEX, uses 500 watts power and CMCB, Havana, Cub, uses 150 Watts power, and both broadcast on a frequency of 950 kilocycle*.

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DAILY HEALTH SERVICE Child Should Be Vaccinated Early

BY DR. MORRIS FISHBEIN Editor, Journal of the American. Medical Association and of Hyeeia, the Health Magazine. THE dissemination of knowledge concerning the spread of infectious diseases creates great interest in the possibilities of freeing the child from the likelihood of having some of the conditions which formerly were considered an inevitable portion of its lot. In a recent consideration of w’hat may be done for the child in this connection, the United States public health service states that children should be vaccinated against smallpox before they are 1 year old. The chief advantages of vaccination at this early age are the fact the child is completely under control, so that there is no danger of injury to the vaccination from being struck by hard objects, no danger of getting dirt into it, and little, if any likelihood of infection. At the time when the child enters school, it should be vaccinated again. First, because vaccination

Views of Times Readers

Editor Times—We read so much about the American Legton at 225 North Alabama street helping the needy. Sure they will help you if you are an ex-service man. I have been out of work for three months and have been out of coal for four days with two sick children, and the district police wrote me a slip to take to 225 North Alabama street for some coal. I was asked if I was an ex-service man and I said no, and I did not get the coal. They said they were not sending coal out, anyhow. It is about time we forget this exservice stuff. It is even in politics. I was only fifteen years old when the war ended, and I guess that makes me a criminal. If we are going to get relief, I guess we will have to oil up our guns and get it ourselves. I bet half those men who harp on ex-service stuff were drafted. I think the police and firemen are getting an unfair deal from the American Legion, as the legion is getting all the credit for what they are doing, and the police and firemen are paying 1 per cent of their wages. JUST A CRIMINAL FOR NOT BEING OLD ENOUGH TO GO TO WAR. Editor Times—l wonder if it ever has occurred to people of this city that if the persons who are to manage the affairs of the street transportation system are elected or appointed, the organization will be under the control of a political party. Will not the employes be ousted if another party gains power over the organization? How will the public be advised truthfully as to capability of persons appointed by political leaders to offices of the organization? About the time the officials are well acquainted with their work they probably will be ousted when another party gains control, thereby changing the routine of the organization and halting or interrupting programs which painstakingly were planned for benefit and progress of the organization. Will not taxes be higher when the city attempts to improve the present service? Think it over. NATHAN BORINSTEIN. 1121 South Illinois street. Editor Times —Once there was a group of small boys at play. One of the number suggested that they play building a street car line, to which they all agreed. Among was a harmless looking little chap who wore a silk t ! e and pretty clothes. In his pocket he had ten bright pennies his mother had given him. He did not want to soil his pretty clothes, so he proposed giving each of the other boys a penny if they would build the line and a car to run on it. The offer thoughtlessly was and willingly acepted, and they •Kxm had everything in running order. , But, alas! When the car was ready to go, the little chap with the silk tie and soft voice said. “Wait, please, this car and traCk belong to me. If you want to ride, you will have to pay me for it.” He then gave another boy a penny to pull the car and all the others gavw their pennies for a ride

They're Off!

does not protect in every case throughout life; second, to protect the child against severe exposure, such as* may occur when it goes out into the world. If the child is sufficiently immune to smallpox, the second vaccination probably will not take and the result merely will be a little red spot on the arm for a day or two. The United States public health service also recommends immunization against diphtheria by use of toxoid or of toxinantitoxin. The period for this immunization preferably is the time known as the pre-school age, although it is quite possible to immunize the child at a much earlier age. The injections given between the ages of 1 and 2 will make it possible for the child to enter kindergarten or eve attend nursery school with the knowledge that it has been protected against possibility of diphtheria. The other conditions with.which mothers are interested especially are scarlet fever, measles, typhoid

When the play ended, the boys found, to their surprise and chagrin that the little chap with the silk tie, who did no work, and rode free, owned the whole outfit, pennies and all. If the people of Indianapolis are wise they will run their own transportation business after the manner of their public school system, nontaxable, and free to the public, and without profit. Why should people pay for riding on their own cars? ROBERT W. MOULTON. New Point, Ind, Editor Times—Being a reader of your paper for a number of years, I would like to say a few words about unemployment and charity. I think it would be a good thing if the people would give direct to the needy instead of giving it to some fund to give out. I have seen a lot of people who really needed help turned down. Some of these organizations are too impudent, not caring whether the poor get anything. I think it is a rotten shame that people have to beg for something to eat. People don’t want charity; they want work. They say the United States is the richest nation on earth, but the poor man hasn’t any of the wealth. HARRY JOHNSON. 542 South East street.

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WOLFE’S BIRTH —Jan. 2 ON Jan. 2, 1727, James Wolfe, a British general, famed for his attack on Quebec, was born in Kent, England, the son of an army officer. James entered the army at an early age and in recognition of his gallantry in campaigns in Flanders and in Scotland, he was promoted steadily. In 1759, when Pitt was organizing his grand scheme to expel the French from Canada, Wolfe, then a major general, was the choice to lead the expedition. Wolfe landed about four miles from Quebec and with a force of 9.000 men proceeded at once to attack the stronghold. The first attack failed, Wolfe retreating with a loss of 400 men. He then decided on the dangerous expedient of scaling the heights above Quebec. After more than 4,500 British had ascended the steep cliffs, Montcalm, French commander, opened Are. The inexperienced French lines were shattered. Wolfe, as he led the charge, was wounded mortally, dying as his men gained victory. Montcalm, dying too, said, "It is a great consolation to have been vanquished by so brave an enemy.” DAILY THOUGHT He that is faithfnl in that which is least is faithfnl also in much.— St. Lake 16:10. Faith is among men what gravity is among planets and suns.— Charles H. Parkhurst.

fever, whooping cough, and infantile paralysis. Scarlet fever is not nearly so common a condition as formerly, and ite severity is apparently on the decline. Hence, it is advised that children be immunized against this disease only when there is likelihood of an epidemic or when the child has been exposed to the disease by contact with someone who has it. In the case of measles, a serum taken from those who have recovered from the disease confers immunity. Here again it is not possible to vaccinate the entire community, and it probably is not advisable to attempt to protect the child by this method unles some other child in the vicinity has developed the disease and it is exposed. Evidence is accumulating to indicate that children may be protected against infantile paralysis by inoculation of serum from some one who has recovered. Here also the protective measure should be available for use in times of epidemic or exposure, but not given as routine. The vast majority of people are protected against typhoid fever by the sanitation of water, sewage and food supplies. Vaccination against typhoid fever should be reserved for those who are going to travel in places where sanitation is not well developed. The evidence that vaccines and vaccination for whooping cough protect against the disease is not such as to warrant the use of this measure as a routine. It should be left to the individual physician to decide whether it is to be used in any certain case.

into 1931 / we Say Good-bye to / 389 Fine / KAHN SUITS I (READY-FOR-WEAR) Mapy were made to sell at S4O, $45 and S6O. While they remain, take your choice of these 388 Kahn suits at $19.30 —priced to match the old year. * * * * After inventory at wholesale plant, we have just added 114 superb suits at $24.30 and $31.30 —ready-for-wear—all on sale at the downtown store. Come while sizes are complete. . MAMM TAJLORJNQ-eO Retail Department—Ready-for-Wear Section Second Floor Kahn Bldg.—Meridian and Washington

JJAN. 2, 15

SCIENCE —BY DAVID DIETZ—

Scientists Seek to Solve What Happened to Giant Meteorite When It Struck in Aru zona. A NUMBER of shafts have beet sunk in the Meteor Crater near ’ Canyon Diablo, Ariz., in an attempt to find out what happened to tft gigantic meteorite which is thought to have struck the earth at this spot and brought the crater into existence. The crater is 4,000 feet in diair.e- ---! ter and has walls rising 150 feet above the desert. Hundreds of | pieces of iron, known as the Can- | yon Diablo siderolites, have been I picked up in the vicinity. The largI est found weighed 1,400 pounds. It has been assumed that these I siderolites were fragments of the great meteorite or bolide wbiclT brought the crater into existence. Careful studies also have been made of the geology of the region, in hope that it would throw light upon the problem. Discussing the situation, Professor Herman L. Fairchild says: \ “The rocks of the region be-' long in the Grand Canyon series. They are as follows, in descending ! order: (1) “On the desert plain some remnants of the red sandstom called Moencopie. (2> “The topmost continues stratum is the Kaibab, a limestone, 250 feet, in thickness. (3) “A white sandstone, the Coco, nine, 1.000 feet. The basal beds of the Coconino carry some yellow and brown color. (4) “Hard, red sandstone, known as the Red Beds, or Supai formation, of undetermined depth in that region.” tt t. tt ' Crater Probed SHAFTS have been sunk in the crater in the hopes of discovering portions of the meteorite. This work was given added interest by the possibility that it might disclose a large mass of iron. “The central area of the crater was probed by seventeen drill holes, even to the depth of 1.000 feet or 1,450 feet below the surface of the surrounding plain,” Professor Fairchild says. “This probing p&ssed entirely through the white Coconino sandstone. and penetrated 200 feet into the red beds. Seven of the drill holes entered the red beds, which were found in place and much unchanged. “This lowest formation is not represented in the ejected materials composing the crater rim, but samples of the yellow-brown basal rock of the Coconino are found in the ejecta on the southern rim. “During later years, from 1920, exploration has been made on the south border of the crater, on the theory that the bolide fell slantingly from the north and that much of it lies deep under the south wall. “This section of the uptilted surrounding rim has been raised about 100 feet higher than elsewhere. The drillers reported meteoric iron from the depth of 1.200 feet down to 1,376 feet where the drill was stuck and abandoned. it tt a Will Explore Further “D ECENTLY a shaft at the loJtV cality was a failure because of water and the shattered condition of the rocks. Further exploration is anticipated. “It appears highly improbable, if not possible, that the mass of the bolide could penetrate to the depth reported for meteoric material. It would have to slantingly traverse, some 2,000 feet of rock. “Uplift of the surface should be more than 100 feet. And it is difficult to visualize the mechanics by which detached fragments could reach to the great depth.” The energy with which the meteorite struck the earth must have* been expended at once in a number of ways, Professor Fairchild thinks