Indianapolis Times, Volume 43, Number 10, Indianapolis, Marion County, 22 May 1931 — Page 8

PAGE 8

•fr* / i>pj - mow *.mi>

Cutting Expenses Demand on the part of the Chamber of. Commerce for a reduction of taxes by pruning expenses of government locally calls attention to one phase of the present depression that may be overlooked. It may be necessary to cut down the number of employes, and if there are those whose services are unneeded, this may not be a hardship. But the fixed charges for interest will remain the same, and no administration of either county or city can do .anything about it. Every unit of government, except the state, has in times past borrowed money on bonds for public improvements. The interest charges on these debts form an important part of the tax levy. Most of these bonds were issued for highpriced commodities and high-priced labor. It is r.ow necessary to pay the interest in lowpriced commodities and in low-priced labor. Money, being a medium of exchange, fluctuates in its values and the tax-money must be produced by some form of labor. Those who are talking of low wages are overlooking this factor of the situation. The tax money comes from those who work and produce. If they are saddled with a high tax levy in dollars hard to get, it means a burden that may help to continue the depression. Years ago General Coxey had an idea that there should be no interest on any public debts and had a plan for accomplishing this purpose. If that plan were in effect, the city of Chicago would not be in its present state of near-bankruptcy nor would other cities be worried about inability to collect taxes to run the government. Necessity may force consideration of his bill which has been be f ore congress for nearly forty years. At present the same business interests which demand economy should go to the fundamentals and discover whether there are not other factors than mere economy which should be considered. One way of solving the tax and other problems is to keep up wages and see that every man has a job. Cheap dollars instead of cheap men would help. A concerted drive all over the nation to increase wages and thereby increase the purchasing power of the public is probably the one way to solve the problems of prosperity. More and more as a people the new slogan of the inalienable right of every man to have a job at a saving wage impresses itself as not only a matter of social justice, but of absolute necessity. Red Cross and the Jobless No organization holds a higher place in American esteem than the Red Cross, whose fiftieth anniversary was commemorated by President Hoover Thursday night. The long and hor.or-able record of this agency of mercy speaks for itself. But those who love the Red Cross most will injure it if they ignore the growing criticism of its refusal to aid in unemployment relief. Many families of the six million unemployed, who always have contributed to the Red Cross, can not understand why they are refused its succor now. President Hoover, as head of the Red Cross, personally is responsible for this criticised policy. He and the Red Cross board, which is dominated by his appointees, refused, the federal appropriation which the senate proposed for unemployment relief. Hoover argued that private charity was adequate and that government aid would destroy the soul of the Red Cross. Experience has proved his error. Official figures show that private charity has been inadequate, that 72 per cent of the unemployment relief last year was from state and municipal treasuries, and that those funds are exhausted now in many '‘laces. Also, the records show that the government in the past has helped the Red Cross without destroying it. In the light of these facts, the President and the Red Cross, before next winter, should reconsider the policy which is beginning to undermine confidence in the present Red Cross management. The people of this country, no less than the President, are anxious for the Red Cross to ‘ remain, as it has been and is, a chief glory and.-pride of the American democracy.” Doctor of Applesauce • If we hadn’t said so many nice things about Will Rogers as an international statesman last month when he attacked American imperialism in the Caribbean, we would like to praise him now for refusing an honorary college degree. To the suggestion that he be made a doctor of humanity and letters, Will replied: What are you trying to do, make a joke out of college degrees? *T got too much respect for people that work and earn ’em to see ’em handed around to every notorious character." If fewer business men accepted these honors for gifts made by them v Will could not say, as he docs, that college degrees ‘ are in bad enough repute as it is.” We can not agree with Will that the only degree he has earned is doctor of applesauce; but if colleges would establish a special degree for comedians, and a B. B. D. for big business men. colleges might be able to preserve academic degrees for academic achievement. Justice for the Poor A good will court was established by Judge Nathan Sweedier in Brooklyn four years ago. 6weedier was convinced from long experience that the poor man and the ignorant man were at a great disadvantage in our courts. He believed that much expensive and often unfair litigation could be eliminated outside the courtroom if the parties involved

The Indianapolis Times (A SCBIFPS-HOWABD XEWSPAPEB) Owned and published dally (except Sunday) by The Indianapulis Times Publishing Cos., 214-220 Weal Maryland Street Indianapolis. lad. Price in Marlon County. 2 cents a copy: elsewhere. 3 cent*—delivered by carrier. 12 cents a week. BOYD GURLEY. ROY W HOWARD. FRANK G MORRISON. Editor I resident • Business Manager f'HO.M'—l:n.y r.y.l FRIDAY. MAY 22. 1931. Member of United Press, Soripps-Howard Newgpaoer Alliance. Newspaper Enterprise Association. Newspaper Information Service and Audit Bureau of Circulations. "Give Light and the People Will Find Their Own Way.”

were given opportunity to air their grievances and get competent and sympathetic advice. Therefore, he set up his informal court. This is made up of three volunteer laymen—one Catholic, one Protestant and one Jew. There is nothing mandatory and binding about the court’s action, but hundreds of cases are being settled satisfactorily and without expense. As Frank G. Holmes says, in his recent description of the court: “It is this human sympathy and lack of legal formality that is the most outstanding thing about the court. The timid, abused housewife who enters, nervous, flustered, often ashamed publicly to air her grievances, scon finds herself reassured. “No more ideal situation for getting at the real truth as a basis for sound counsel could be devised.” Hundreds of cases have been tried and hundreds of persons have been helped. Why High Wages? A statement containing three mighty important facts was issued this week by the mfetal trades department of the American Federation of Labor in its appeal for higher rather than lower wages. These were: 1. The American wage-earner is the great American consumer, since not more than 6 per cent of the nation’s manufactured goods are exported. 2. Between 1923 and 1329 the total value of manufactured goods increased $9,000,000,000. 3. Between 1923 and 1929, the total volume of wages increased less than $503,000,000. These three simple statements added together tell us a lot aoout cause and cure of the depression. They point to one remedy: The volume of wages must, be high enough for American consumers to buy what American factories turn out. That is not the entire solution, but it is a large part of it. Official Crimes The Wickersham ccmmissicn, now winding up its ~v,o years work, has at least one outstanding service to perform for the United States. This is to present a thorough and courageous report on the lawlessness of the law. Its experts long have been at work on this phase of law enforcement; the report is overdue. Every town, city and state is concentrating its forces upon the job of catching and punishing the baa" people. The bad things being done by,the good people in the name of law—police brutality, third degree methods, raids without warrants, denial of legal rights to accused persons, especially aliens and radicals; trials by perjured witnesses, such as sent Mooney and Billings to prison, these and other matters—require official exposure. The wickersham commission faces no more crucial test than this. The commuter who holds his seat in a crowded car by pretending to be absorbed in a newspaper is one who believes in the power of the press. 00-year-Oid man returned to a western university after an absence of sixty years. Probably he had his thesis finished at last. What a pitcher probably hums as the heavy hitter takes the plate: “Mm, man, how’d you like to take a walk?” The president of the American Bar Association is C. A. Boston of New York. A man about towns, as it were. • Erich Remarque, noted author, blames German militarists .or circulating the story that his name once was Kramer. He warns them to watch their Remarques. Gandhi at last has been induced to appear in the talkies. And Hollywood already is talking about a revival of Indian pictures. One of the smartest shades in the list of the season’s fashionable colors is “ambulance blue.” To be used, we suspect, only in case of emergency. It *is estimated that a murder is committed every forty minutes in the United States. At this rate our ; saxophone artists are doomed to extermination. A Nev/ York woman suggests a “traffic dance” as a means of avoiding death and injury. The only trouble is that it is likely to make a “hit” with the motorists.

REASON

PRESIDENT HOOVER has put on his straw hat, which means that a lot of people will follow suit, out we’ll bet that Senator Borah continues to wear ais beaver, no matter what the thermometer says. a a a Thus straw hat business has become a standardized institution, the serfs of propriety putting them -on and taking them off cn certain days of the year, regardless of the temperature. This will net in truth be the land of the free and tire heme of the brave until every fellow wears his millinery as he pleases. a a a DOWN in southern Indiana people are all excited over the proposal to have the state build a paved highway along the line cf march taken by the Linfamily when it went from Indiana to Illinois, Hoping to land the highway many patriotic citizens are busily engaged getting affidavits, tending to prove that the journey made by the Lincolns was through their town. According to present claims, the Lincolns traveled at least fifteen different ways. a a a THE country’ through which the proposed road would run is sparsely populated and it would do the Lincolns no particular good at this late day.; Their trip has been finished and they are not going that way again. st a a It is all a very enterprising effort on the part of some enterprising folks to get a good road where' there would be no earthly hope of getting it without tacking a' patriotic tail to the kite. a a a THE real lovers of Lincoln are those who desire to separate his fame from all efforts at sordid commercialization, whether it be a paved road or what not. If the great American knows of this effort now, it probably reminds him of a story. a a a This effort on the part of the people of the sparsely settled region to give themselves a fine present and dedicate it to Lincoln suggests the gentleman who gives his wife a hunting deg for Christmas or the wife who gives her husband anew set of china. a a a This gas money that builds the roads belongs to the people who drive machines and it should go to build roads where people are traveling now, not where Lincoln traveled more than 100 years ago. <** * ji

RV FREDERICK LANDIS

THE INDIANAPOLIS TIMES

M. E. Tracy SAYS:

We Lack the Imagination to Conceive and Create Some New Business When the Old One Plays Out. ACCORDING to Albert Thomas, director of the international labor office at Geneva, unemployi ment throughout the civilized world is twice what it was one year ago. With the exception of Russia, I every important nation has con- ; tributed to increase the multitude : of idle men and women. The United States and Germany 1 alone now have more people out of j work than all the world twelve I months ago. Russia, on the other hand, experiences her greatest difficulty in finding enough labor. a a a Conditions Will Change LIVING conditions in Russia are not favorable by comparison, as the above statement seems to imply. The Soviet has not been able to make plenty of work mean plenty to eat, while other countries have been able to stave off hunger in spite of unemployment. All that will change, however, if the drift of events continues as at present. No matter how well off the great capitalistic nations may be, prolonged idleness will bring on distress. No matter how poorly circum- ! stanced the Russian people may be. persistent toil will pull them out of the mud. a a a Russia Looks Ahead THE difference between Russia and other countries, as measured by unemployment, goes back to a difference in attitude toward life. Russia has a definite program of improvement. Other countries have not. Other countries are toying with the idea of less work, less production, less effort, as a remedy for this depression. Other countries would like to curtail the wheat acreage, cut down the sugar crop, or shorten the working day. Russia, on the other hand, encourages development and expansion of etfery form. a a a Freight Rate Boosts CAPITALISTIC countries can do vastly mote than Russia is doing, with the right kind of vision and will. The trouble is that they are thinking in reverse, taking a negative viewpoint, looking for difficulties instead of opportunities. Here in America, for instance, we constantly are harping on the old things that can’t be done, rather than the new ones that can. Because certain of our big industries have slumped, we want to crawl into a hole and haul the hole in after us. In this connection the proposal to increase railroad freight rates by 10 to 15 per cent is refreshing. One can doubt its effectiveness as a cure-all for the depression and still find merit in it. At any rate it -will serve to break the monotonous groaning for curtailment which has formed the background of most plans for recovery. • One even can doubt whether it will prove an ultimate benefit to the j railroads and still be glad of its . advent. a a a Still Room to Grow WE simply can not hope to overcome the difficulties with | which we are surrounded by stopping the clock, putting on the j brakes, and doing less. I If this country had been improved to a point approximating perfection, if even half of its people were in position to enjoy the advantages of present day life, one could see some sense in the idea of calling a halt. That is net the case, however. Because we happen to have too much wheat or too much oil for the moment does net mean that we have too much everything. Because we have done pretty well with certain innovations, such as the automobile or the telephone, does not mean that the door has been closed to others. a a a We Lack Imagination THERE is just as much room in I America for expansion and improvement as there ever was. What we lack is imagination—the kind that can conceive and create some new business when an old one plays out. Suppose we can’t put all the coal miners back to work because oil has diminished the market for coal, or all the railroad men back to work | because of new forms of transportation? Docs that mean that we must sit, down and that we have reached a point where there is no I work for six or seven million people and that our only hope cf sur--1 vival is to reduce the population? Bunk! We have 100 000 miles of | waterway calling for improvement I in the name of something decent to i look at, if nothing mere. There is ; hardly a city or town from Maine i to California, much less the ne- | glected countryside, but what needs renovation. 8 8 8 Action Is Needed IT generally is agreed that this w’orld-wide slump was brought | on by maladjustments due to the j war, that the economic and indusI trial structure was thrown out of ■ balance, that certain lines of production were inflated unduly, w r hile : ethers suffered by contrast. Obviously, such condition can net be overcome by breadlines, charity bazars and bonuses. Obviously, the one hope consists ! in reforming the lines of general effort and redistributing the energies which either have been misplaced, or for which there is no opportunity of expression. Obviously, the task calls for a program cf nation-wide scope, in which the government should take a leading part and which should visualize action, not inaction, as the great objective. How often do elephants breed? Whu-t is the period of gestation and about how much do the young weigh at birth? Very little is known of the breeding of elephants. A few have been bred in captivity. At Copenhagen cc.e elephant has had three or four calves in as many years. The peI riod of gestation is said to be about twenty-one or twenty-two months. Tim average weight at birth is about ISO to 175 pounds.

DAILY HEALTH SERVICE Deaf Are Aided by New Devices

EY DR. MORRIS FISHBEIX Editor. Journal of the American Medical Association and of Hyccia, the Health Mazaiine. ONE of the most interesting improvements in behalf of the handicapped that has taken place in recent years is a gradual extension of permanent installations of hearing devices in churches and theaters. When silent motion pictures represented the only type available, people who were hard of hearing found them particularly attractive as places of entertainment. Then came the talkies and most of the pleasure in attendance at motion pictures disappeared for these handicapped people. In the meantime, it had been found that many people with certain types of deafness can hear well, provided they have the assistance of suitable hearing devices. Unfortunately, such hearing devices demand special equipment, which is not generally available. When these facts were brought to the attention of owners of various

IT SEEMS TO ME

LIKE any other pioneer, David Belasco lived long enough to be thought old-fashioned. In the minds of the younger critics, he was a good showman and a likable person, in spite of his pretentiousness. But they did not take him very seriously. The general verdict was that he produced few plays of true artistic merit and that he was harking back to the old days. There was a definite Belasco school of acting, and it took over little of the more recent naturalistic movement. Just the same, Belasco was a pioneer. One has to think back to what the American theater consisted of in his early days to realize this. He took a stage'Which was, roughly speaking, “The Count of Monte Cristo” and did bring it into more searching ways and intimate atmosphere. It is quite true that David Belasco seldom gave more than a passing wave to the leading dramatic writers of our day. Yet he was responsible for a piece which seemed at the time of its production wholly revolutionary. I saw it at a later revival, and time had walked across it with hobnailed boots. The old freshness and surprise was done. But the first night audience at “The Easter Way” saw something which was at that time a true prophecy of greater days to come. a a a Teeth in a Scene ThyTR. BELASCO himself had lived lv £. and played in the days when a big scene meant an opportunity for the actor or actress to knock the roof from the theater and bite the scenery. He did not discard altogether his relationship with that school of drama, Mrs. Leslie Carter, for instance, was probably as rampant an emotional actress as the American theater has known. But he did give aid and comfort

Questions and Answers

How old does one have to be to i enlist in the marine corps? How tall does he have to be? What is the period of enlistment? To join the marines one has toj be healthy and strong and not less; than five feet four inches nor more ] than six feet two inches in height.; The enlistment is for four years and 1 one has to be 18 years old. What is the plural of hostess? Hostesses. What is the best way to cleanse hair brushes? Put a dash of household ammonia in warm water and dip the brush in it several times—with the back up. Do not rinse. This stiffens the bristles so that they never grow soft, and they last as long as the rest of the brush. Wipe the back with a soft cloth. Lay the brush on its back to dry.

The False Front

places of public instruction and entertainment, particularly in Chicago, they decided to co-operate and to install the necessary equipment. There is in Chicago today one theater in which twenty seats have been provided for the hard of hearing. When the deaf people come to this theater, they merely ask at the box office and they are provided with ear phones which are plugged into the electrical connection on the special seat. A half dozen theaters devoted to talking motion pictures are equipped similarly. Many churches have provided the necessary equipment in the form of electric connections and head phones. Tests have been made of thousands of school children, and it has been found that many of them who are considered deaf have slight remains of the hearing apparatus. It is necessary to educate tfc: :e remnants promptly, otherwise the portions of the brain devoted to the sense of hearing become quiescent from disuse and the longer the time of re-education is postponed, the more difficult it becomes.

to other stars much more casual in their delivery. He was not ignorant of the value of underemphasis. And to a really heartening extent David Belasco made the theater which bears his name truly his own. Few of the playhouses of New York have a defintie individuality. But there was at least coherence in the class of fare offered at the Belasco. The casual passerby did not suddenly stumble upon a burlesque show or a motion picture. Late in the career of the manager the house was let to others on few occasions. But there was a long unbroken period in which the Belasco theater meant something done by Belasco himself. And there was a painstaking ou?”cy in all his productions. tt s tt Latest and Best "jl/fOST producers have a capacity LfJLfor self-hypnosis, but David Belasco beat them all at this trick. To him the thing in hand was always of acute importance. And so the not inglorious epitaph might be written for him: “Not all things he did were good. But none was careless.” A few months ago Belasco let me have his theater on a Sunday night for a combined political rally and benefit. And in that association I was able to see at first hand the

wqqAV !*• *>S zaorvsSCv?. m& ■rftn

REPLY TO HEFLIN May 22

ON May 22, 1917, President Wilson wrote a letter to Representative Heflin of Alabama, expressing surprise that the President’s position regarding the attitude of the United States in the war against Germany had been misunderstood. The letter was written in response to one by Mr. Heflin to the President, in which Heflin called attention to speeches made in the house by two representatives who claimed that the President had said that the United States htd “no real grievance against Germany.” Heflin, therefore, suggested that the President, to correct a false impression, make a disavowal of the attitude accredited him by the two congressmen. In reply, the President wrote, in part: “It is incomprehensible to me how any frank and honest person could doubt or question my position with regard to the war and its objects. I again and again have stated the . wrongs which the imperial German government has perpetrated against the rights, the commerce and the citizens of the United States . . . ‘There is no hate in our hearts for the German people, but there is a resolve ... to overcome the pretensions of the autocratic government which acts upon purposes to which the German people never have consented.”

In an address on this subject, Mrs. L. Pelton, who has been actively concerned in securing installation of hearing equipment, emphasized the fact that the normal child hears for more than a year before it begins to imitate the sounds that it hears in the form of speech. Great progress has been made in the teaching of lip reading to the hard of hearing. The combination of education in hearing and speech education and lip reading and the provision of suitable devices for those who hear with such devices means a much happier world for those handicapped people in the future. It has been estimated that at least three million children in the United States have defective hearing. Early attention to their defects is important from the economic point of view, since the provision of suitable education will make them better able to earn a living for themselves and to live normal social lives in the future.

pv HEYWOOD BROUN

expert way in which the entire house was run. Even the ticket speculators were not able to break through the carefulness and efficiency of box office management. Backstage all things were flawless. It was a theater in its staff and equipment very, nearly perfect. a a a " Trial by Nightstick THE police cf New York are slow to learn a lesson which should be fundamental in their profession. The point has been raised many times, but it doesn’t seem to stick. I am referring to the fact that a cop is not empowered to be a punitive agent or the city government. If an offense has been committed, the policeman can ar.d should make an arrest. He has no business administering immediate chastisement as part of a penalty against law infraction. Here, for instance, is a brief quotation from the Evening Post, which is not a radical organ, in its account of a Communist demonstration near the entrance of the Ellis island ferry dock: “One policeman struck a fleeing woman on the head with his nightstick and there was a spurt of blood. The woman continued to run. Another policeman knocked down another woman and wss standing over her when a newspaper photographer turned his camera on him for a picture. Still another policeman smashed the camera with his nightstick and knocked over the photographer.” No arrests were made. Now, this incident should be sharply investigated. Perhaps a charge lay against the woman who was cut on the head. But since no attempt was made to capture her, there distinctly rests a charge against the policeman. CCcDvrizht. 1931. by The Times)

Can You Do It? Can you write a good letter? A business letter; a letter cf application for a position; a letter of thanks; a “bread-and-butter” letter; a letter of condolence? Can you properly address a letter to a judge, a state senator, a Governor, an ambassador? Do you know the proper forms for the heading, introduction, saluation and complimentary close of a letter? All these things aTe covered in our Washington bureau’s bulletin, The Letter Writer’s Guide. It will help you in any sort of letter writing. Simply fifl out the coupon below and mail as directed. CLIP COUPON HERE Department 124, Washington Bureau, The Indianapolis Times, 1322 New York Ave., Washington, D. C.: I want a copy of the bulletin, The Letter Writer’s Guide, inclose herewith 5 cents in coin, or loose, uncanceled United States postage stamps to cover return postage and handling costs. Name St. and No City State I am a reader of The Indianapolis Times. (Code NoJ

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 tins caper.—The Editor.

.MAY 22, 1931

SCIENCE —BY DAVID DIETZ—

Michelson Was a Man of Two Pensonalities Dignified in Public, Sometimes Even Boyish in Laboratory . THERE were two Albert Michel** sons. There was the dignified, austere, almost forbidding figure that the public saw. And there was the energetic, enthusiastic, almost boyish figure in the privacy of the scientific laboratory. The first Michelson was on exhibit annually at the meetings of the National Academy of Science over which he presided for many years. I can recall him now as I saw him at many of those meetings. The academy meets in its own building in Washington, a beautiful marble building of classic design which stands near the Lincoln Memorial and rivals it in majesty and grace. The auditorium is like the interior of a temple, with high doomed ceiling and with walls decorated with murals. It is a temple of science. Upon the platform, in the great, throne-like chair of the president, would sit Michelson. He looked the part of the high priest of light as he had been called so many times because of his famous experiments. His dignity was that of a priest presiding over a religious service. There was nothing in Michelson’e appearance to suggest the carefree nature of some scientific geniuses. His clothes always were immaculate, his hair and mustache always neatly trimmed. Perhaps those were habits learned in early youth as a midshipman in the United States Navy. tt tt tt The Other Michelson I CAUGHT a glimpse of the other Michelson once when the famous scientist lectured before a small group at the Carnegie institution in Washington. Dr. Michelson had brought a small model of his interferometer to Washington from Chicago for the lecture. The interferometer is a device u r hich splits a ray of light in half and then compares the distance the two halves have traveled by the interference fringes, patterns of light and darkness, which are set up when the two halves unite in the eyepiece. So delicate is the instrument that a change in the path of one-half of the beam equal to one part in a hundred million can be detected. The interferometer had been thrown out of adjustment on the trip to Washington. Now the adjustment of an interferometer without certain laboratory aids generally is regarded as an almost impossible task. Even in the laboratory it may take hours. But Michelson succeeded in adjusting the interferometer in about, two and a half minutes. And then he couldn’t resist chuckling a bit and telling some reminiscences about how many years ago, when a youth studying in Paris, he astonished a group of his teachers by performing the same trick. For a few minutes the audience was privileged to see the Michelson which for so many years was carefully hidden from the public. For it was only within the last couple of years that Michelson consented to being interviewed and told that he carried on his experiments because they were so much fun. It was possible to see at that lecture how much fun science was for Michelson. a st tt Michelson and Millikan. MICHELSON, the man who measured the speed of light, was a great teacher as well as a great scientist. Three Americans have won the Nobel prize in physics. One was Michelson. The second was Millikan, who isolated the electron and confirmed the existence of conmic rays. The third was Compton, whose experiments confirmed the existence of light quanta. Millikan and Compton both carried on their work in Michelson’s laboratory at the University of Chicago. Millikan once said, “I personally owe everything to the fact the thirty-two years ago Michelson took me into his nest at the University of Chicago.” On the same occasion, Millikan said, “I personally believe that the United States has not had in this generation a greater economic asset than Albert A. Michelson.” It is interesting to compare Michelson with his famous pupil. Millikan, * * Millikan essentially is a twentieth century product. Michelson, although he led the twentieth century science, was essentially a nineteenth century personality. Millikan is at home upon the pubiic platform. He understands the need of the scientist to take a leading role in social and economic developments of the future. Michelson, for whom science was ~o Jnuch f Un , hid. in public, behind My own guess is that he never really an old-fashioned scientific dignity enjoyed appearing in public.

Daily Thought

Deceive not yourselves.—Jeremiah 37:9. Life is the art of being welldeceived.—Hazlitt.