Indianapolis Times, Volume 45, Number 308, Indianapolis, Marion County, 5 May 1934 — Page 6

PAGE 6

The Indianapolis Times CA SCRirpg-HOWARD KEWSPAFr.KI ROT W. HOWARD Pretltait TALCOTT POWELL Editor EARL D. BAKER Bu*lne* Mannger Phone—Hlley 3t0,l

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11 0•p p , „ow +.JL& Qivo uoht and the People Will Find Their Own Wap

SATURDAY. MAY 5. 1934 A LETTER FROM HOME A FEW months ago they were saying that a stock market regulation bill never could pass congress. Wall Street was overweening in its confidence. despite the shocking revelations of financial racketeering by the senate banking committee. Today the fight of President Roosevelt for regulation to protect the investor is more than half won. The house has passed a strong bill —and yet a fair bill that no honest broker, banker or business man need fear—by an overwhelming majority. Victory in the senate now aeems assured. The President has received no greater tribute than his triumph in the house. This is not only because it shows that the public, the great masses who voted for him, still stand staunchly behind him, but because this particular bill was selected for a test by the old financial crowd in their attempt to break through the Roosevelt front lines. The latter have suffered a complete rout, in spite of such a lobby as the capital has not seen in many years. The result in the house reveals the public support of the President because when that body spoke so convincingly it merely echoed the people back home. This is an election year. Congressmen have their very sensitive antennae delicately attuned in the political ether. Only eighty-four members dared to vote against the President. The New York Stock Exchange drummed up a backfire from the home town banker, the business man, the stock broker, and the innocent job holder who was scared into taking pen in hand. Much ink was used in copying the forms sent out far and wide by the lobby centered here. In most cases the writers knew nothing whatever about the bill. But along with all these tons of mail was the bonafide letter from home. It did the trick. DUPLICATE TAXES of the reasons local taxes have been piling up—perhaps the most important reason—is that taxing authorities have been created too freely. First the city, then the county, then drainage districts, school districts, sewer districts. and so on. On top of the taxes levied by these subdivisions of government are the federal taxes. In Mobile, Ala., for instance, gasoline is taxed by four separate authorities, including the federal government. Treasury Secretary Henry Morgenthau’s proposed national tax conference this summer may be the means for bringing some order out of this general chaos; it may set us on the road toward a national tax system. But this can not be done, we believe, unless there is also a wide reorganization of local governments. In many states there are too many counties. In others the consolidation of city and county would straighten out part of the mess. There are school and drainage and other districts—almost all of them empowered to levy taxes—which should be merged in some central local power. The movement toward reorganization of local governments is heartening. It should be pushed even further, particularly in the south and southwest, in conjunction with the move to institute a national tax system, with fields of taxation divided among cities, states and the federal government. When this is done, taxpayers will receive some of the relief they have been seeking for years. A PIONEER PASSES / T'IME seems to move fast, on the North American continent. The day before yesterday is antiquity; an empire can be built in a generation, and a man’s lifetime can span changes that take centuries elsewhere. You can hop in a car nowadays and drive anywhere in the west that once was wild without the slightest danger of anything worse than running out of gas a long way from filling station. And yet it was only the other day that Major General Hugh L. Scott died; and General Scott fought the Indians across that limitless stretch, and knew the western trails in the days when a man risked his scalp to follow them. His life was a long one—he died at the age of 80; and. yet. as the lives of nations go. it was short enough, and the changes which he saw and helped to bring about simply emphasize anew a fact that we sometimes forget—that we are. after all, a very young nation, and that our future is ahead of us. The things that have happened to us in the depression years sometimes make us think and talk as if we had reached an extreme old age. We look back on a golden era. and we trace the evolution of our industry and our social system as if we were a very ancient people that had somehow reached the end of a very long trail. We have come to some sort of fork in the road and we carry on as if we had got to the end of all things. So it pays us to look back and see how short our national career has really been. General Scott went west, a young West Pointer, in 1876. Custer was newly dead at the Little Big Horn; the west was aflame with angry tribesmen; the country had not even finished the job of civilizing and pacifying its western borders. It was, in other word*, still on the threshold of its youth. Now that far-off time was less than sixty years ago. Since then we hardly have had time to do more than lay the foundations for our future. We could make no greater mistake than

to let the last few years scare us into thinking that we have passed our prime. Everything is still ahead of us; we were pioneers only yesterday. NATIONAL HONOR WHEN President Roosevelt signs the revenue bill he will send to congress a message saying that he refrained from a veto of the measure despite his objections to its obnoxious coconut oil tax. He will say that he felt he could not, merely because of that one provision, sacrifice all of the other important tax reforms and revenue increases contained in the bill. He will ask congress to reconsider the oil tax. He will point out to congress that the oil tax is a dishonorable tax in that it violates both the spirit and letter of the Philippine independence law. He will ask that congress do the fair thing by rescinding this destructive tax and standing by the solemn pledge that has been made to the people of the Philippines. When the President has spoken we shall see whether congress fears selfish lobbyists more than it respects American honor. Congress should pass a joint resolution eliminating this tariff-tax.

FASCISTS’ FOLLY THERE seems, fortunately, to be a curse on those people who would like to inflict Fascism on the United States. Something makes them show themselves up before they have a chance to take hold of things. Consider, for instance, the case of Art J. Smith. About a year ago Smith was waxing big as the head of the “Khaki Shirts of America; he was a general, no less, and he talked of leading 7,000,000 followers to Washington to set up a Fascist dictatorship. The other day Smith was sentenced to prison in New York as a perjurer. His army had scattered, and he stood convicted of having tried to lie an innocent man into prison as a murderer. And the brand of Fascism he represented, instead of growing into a public danger, dissolved into a ludicrous footnote to history. GREECE’S LUCKY ESCAPE THE people of Greece don’t really know how lucky they are. If they read American newspapers, however, they may find out. Samuel Insull, bound home in spite of himself, reveals that he had laid careful plans to erect a gigantic power empire in Greece. He says that after a long study he became thoroughly convinced that “we could quickly make Greece the leading commercial and industrial country of the Near East,” and only his untimely flight prevented him from putting his plans into execution. Mr. Insull once had a similarly grandiose plan for the United States, and the place is still sore. Someone ought to explain to the descendants of Pericles and Demosthenes that this seems to be their lucky year. The Insull brand of industrial greatness failed to descend on them. A SEVERE TEST—MET nnHE automobile labor board set up by the **- administration to handle labor trouble in the automotive industry seems to have passed its first big hurdle successfully. The strike of 8,700 employes in the Fisher body plant—a strike which occurred in one of the industry's “bottle-necks” and therefore had effects far outside the plant directly involved—has been settled, and a way of composing the differences between workers and managements is being found peaceably. One hopes that this may be an omen for the board’s future history. The automotive industry presents a labor problem which can be extraordinarily complex and difficult; the auto labor board is an experiment, and many people have predicted from the first that it would not work out. Now we find it meeting a severe test, and emerging with flying colors. For the sake of industrial peace and continued business revival, ore hopes that it will have equally good luck in all future disputes that are referred to it.

BACK TO NORMALCY /~VNE sign of the country’s emergence from the depression might be found in the attendance figures being rolled up at the various big league baseball parks. Not in a long time has baseball enjoyed such good patronage; the fan, evidently, is better able to finance the purchase of tickets nowadays than he has been for several years. Taken as a whole, interest in baseball does not vary much from year to year. There is a certain section of the population that will give the games a steady patronage on two conditions; first, the competition be reasonably close and interesting, and second, that the money with which to buy tickets be available. This year both conditions are being met. Baseball is regaining its health—and it couldn't be doing that unless the country as a whole were doing the same thing. JOKE ON THE JOKER TT would be a good thing if practical jokers everywhere could read what happened to the gentleman in East Aurora, N. Y., who thought it would be fun to play a little trick on some newly-married friends of his. His friends were just starting on their honeymoon. So this chap notified the state police that the car they were riding in had been stolen. This is an old gag, among practical jokers, guaranteed to cause the victims of the joke a good deal of annoyance and humiliation; and in this case it worked perfectly. However, when the perpetrator finally admitted that it was all a joke, the police failed to see anything funny in it; and then took the joker into court, where he was promptly fined SSO for being a nuisance. The world would be a pleasanter place if that sort of thing happened to practical jokers more frequently. Boston police were all set for a May day riot, with a large supply of guns and ammunition, but they took an awful chance with Dillinger running loose. The United States treasury department is mobilizing 1,800 men to combat the illegal liquor traffic. Who said prohibition has been repealed?

Liberal Viewpoint =By DR. HARRY ELMER BARNES "=

OF late I have been debating with leading and well-informed communities on whether there is the slightest possibility of saving the capitalistic system. Any honest progressive will admit frankly the desperate task involved in trying to save capitalism, in the face of the shortsightedness, selfishness and greed which its responsible leaders exhibit. The latter have shown an amazing incapacity to profit by the all to clear lessons of the last four or five years. But this is quite a different matter from maintaining that under no condition could capitalism be rehabilitated. The committee almost invariably bases its argument primarily upon a very dubious contention. It asserts that capitalism requires vast foreign markets, the export of a large volume of capital, and the exploitation of backward parts of the earth. In support of this thesis it is able to bring forward a large amount of quantitative evidence. Even nonsocialistic books tell the story clearly with respect to the growth of imperialism and foreign markets in the last generation. Overseas investments of Europeans had become very extensive by 1914. French investments abroad amounted to $10,000,000,000, and those of Germany to at least $7,000,000,000’. The English investments in India alone were around $2,000,000,000. Large quantities of goods were shipped to colonial and backward areas. a a a SINCE 1914, it is the United States which has become the spectacular investor in foreign areas. The following table presents the total of our investments in 1932: Region 1932 Europe $5,765,000,000 Canada 4,601,000,000 South America 3,079,000,000 Central America 3,015,000,000 Australia 1,012,000,000 Miscellaneous 495.000,000 Total $17,967,000,000 Between 1920 and 1929 more than $10,000,000,000 worth of foreign loans were floated in the United States. These figures bear out well enough the contention of the communities relative to the extensive investment of capitalistic countries in overseas areas. It is also most certainly true that new areas for further colonization and exploitation are now practically at an end. Likewise, foreign markets are likely to become more and more restricted. Wholesale flotations of billions of dollars of foreign bonds are also probably a thing of the past. Even in the United States investment in foreign bonds has all but ceased. If captailism depends upon ever expanding foreign markets and greater exportation of capital abroad, then the outlook is dark indeed. The fact is, however, that it is finance capitalism, directed by the great investment bankers, which requires foreign investment and exploitation for its continued existence. The great moguls of predatory finance have been behind the export of capitall. It is probably true that the contraction of foreign markets and investments may spell the doom of finance capitalism. tt a a THIS is something however, which one who wishes to save capitalism should greet with great shouts of joy. Finance capitalism is the undying and implacable enemy of any “new capitalism” which may be based upon adequate purchasing power and the interests of consumers. The death of finance capitalism is the only thing which can breathe the breath of life into our paralyzed industrial capitalism. It is this finance capitalism which is responsible for the fact that over $6,000,000,000 of our investments abroad, exclusive of war debts, now are in default. The whole story is told in its sad details in Max Wunkler’s “Foreign Bonds: An Autopsy.” The same group is also responsible for the fact that our social income has been diverted from proper reward to workers and farmers into speculative profits for the few who can not consume any large part of their gains and, hence, are unable to keep the wheels of industry turning. Industrial capitalism, however, does not require foreign investments of markets for its very existence. If the masses are given a decent share of the social income, they will have enough purchasing power to provide a sufficient and dependable home market. But any such distribution of the social income requires economic vision and statesmanship upon the part of those who control our economy. Thus far, this does not appear to be forthcoming. It is this point which the communists should seize upon if they wish to find the most vulnerable aspect of contemporary capitalism.

Capital Capers BY GEORGE ABELL-?-—— ■■

MAY DAY brought no riots to Washington, unless it be riots of color. Brilliant red and white marquees added a bright touch to the White House south lawn where Mrs. Roosevelt entertained at a picnic for members of the Senate Ladies Luncheon Club—ninety guests. Vivid yellow irises glowed on the desk of Secretary of the Interior Harold Ickes. Silver-haired Governor Paul Pearson of the Virgin Islands wore a suit which was (to quote Southey) "blue, darkly, deeply, beautiful blue!” Ambassador Saito of Japan took a little ride among the couleur de rose cherry blossoms (of which, strangely enough, he is not yet tired) wearing a cinnamon brown hat and socks to match. A Venetian crimson tie encircled the neck of Assistant Secretary of the Interior Oscar Chapman. The ebony-hued mustachios of Senator Luiz de Munoz-Marin, liberal leader of Puerto Rico, were dipped into a glass of Scotch instead of his usual Daiquiris (Luiz prefers Scotch while in Washington). Gold-wasser sparkled at the German embassy as Herr Doktor Hans Luther, the German ambassador, entertained at a reception for the Teutonic colony. a a a SMARTLY attired in dove-colored flannels with a dappled lining. Judge Harry Payer, ex-assistant secretary of state and and counsel to the RFC. departed flashily for his home in Cleveland. Olive-skinned Pablo Campos-Ortiz, Mexican counselor, returned from a six weeks’ visit in Mexico City, sporting a sapphire-hued handkerchief. A Chinese-white shirt was worn by spectacled Minister Sze of China, who never favors Mandarin red. Governor Blanton Winship of Puerto Rico breezed into town, bearing a colorful anecdote with him. Just before leaving the island, Governor Winship (64 years old) signed an official proclamation calling on all inhabitants to rally round.in an homage to old age—"Homenaje ala Vejez.” His cerulean blue uniform packed in mothballs. Colonel Emanuel Lombard of the French embassy, left for New York to greet the sword of General Lafayette (arriving on the He de France) and present it officially to the Lafayette Exhibit in Manhattan. Glossy in sapphire-blue evening clothes, the retiring ambassador of Brazil, Senhor de Lima e Silva, was an honor guest at a dinner given by Mrs. J. Borden Harriman. Mr. Fred Sackett, former ambassador to Germany, was glimpsed in the Mayflower lounge, a symphony in checked cravat and beige coat, reminiscent of his recent visit to his old Kentucky home.

THE INDIANAPOLIS TIMES

(Times readers are invited to express their views in these columns. Make your letters short, so all can have a chance. Limit them to 250 words or less.) tt tt a COUNTY COMMISSIONER OFFICE EMPHASIZED By a Reader I desire to call attention to the importance of voting for county commissioners and of placing the right men in the office. They are to the county what the mayor is to the city. The candidates’ names appear well toward the end of the ballot and often we are so engrossed with other offices that we do not vote or are negligent in voting or do not give serious consideration as to the men we are voting for. The county commissioners prepare the annual budget, award contracts for supplies and equipment, manage several county institutions, play a prominent part in road work, administer the old-age pension law and generally supervise various branches of the county's business. a a a STILL WORKING; DOESN’T APPROVE STRIKE By a Loyal Employe. The knitters at the Real Silk nad good jobs and made more money than the average working man in Indianapolis, and yet they walked out. Instead, they should have been down on their knees, praying to God for having so much for which to be thankful. We who still are working are not doing it for our health, but because we need and thoroughly appreciate our jobs. As far as the management protecting its workers is concerned, that proves how fair and square the employes at the Real Silk are treated. We all have a right to our opinions, but I wonder how some of the trouble-makers can think they are right. I can not imagine anything more “yellow” than for a bunch of strikers attacking one man. Not only that, but it isn’t safe for the working girls now. How can any one find anything honorable in such conduct?

THOSE GOOD DEEDS OF OMISSION By George Gould Kline. The Times is to be congratulated for some things it does not do. It does not attempt to deceive the public by headlines misinterpreting its news items. It does not prostitute its freedom to express "its views by denying an equal freedom to its readers. It does not assume the total ignorance of its readers by tossing catch phrases into the editorial scales, adding a few conclusions and announcing the result with a partisan fist on the scales in plain sight. It has not defended the lying, cheating, trickery and greed of unfair competition, sweat shop and child labor, as attacked by the NRA. It has not defended that attitude toward the victims of the depression which was expressed in the well-remembered words, “just sweat it out,” and “it might be worse.” It has not opposed efforts to relieve the unfortunate on the ground that it was not a federal obligation and the national debt should not fce increased except in time of war. It has not defended grand scale, loaded dice gambling with the country's wealth, nor the unloading of worthless foreign securities on small banks and investors for a commission. It has not opposed efforts to prevent the slamming of bank doors on the people’s savings. It has not opposed the control of the dollar,, and of credit, by the national government, instead of by

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The Message Center

YOUR OPPORTUNITY

Associated Busines.

By a Man. Who are the organizers of the reactionary organization called the Associated Business Builders? No need to question their aim as it is very plain. The gauntlet is thrown down. When a man works to further the ends of employer organizations, such as the Chamber of Commerce or manufacturers associations, he is called an organizer. When he works to further the ends of employe organizations such as American Federation of labor unions, he is called a dangerous, paid, radical agitator. Why do the words of these labor organizers fall on such fertile material? Surely the workers in In-

Wall Street, nor opposed moving the government back where it belongs. It has not pretended that periodical depressions were inevitable consequences of the laws of nature, nor has it offered 40,000,000 paupers the consolation that it was the unalterable will of God. To enumerate all the things The Times has not defended would be to enumerate all the ruthless, vile and immoral practices, so far uncovered, by which the cunning cheat the ignorant and unwary, and the strong rob the weak. On behalf of the hopeless ones and the simple ones who are now grateful for six feet of sod, and in memory of all those who have taken their own lives, we can justly thank one newspaper in Indianapolis for what it has not done. And may we express the hope that The Times will be welcomed in every home in Indiana where there are true believers in a stronger, more militant and useful Church of Christ. U a tt IT WAS IN, BUT NOT ON FRONT PAGE By a Striker. I think it would be very interesting for the public if The Times would take a picture of the bus by which J. A. Goodman hauls his employes to work and put it on the front page. I imagine it is a grand and glorious feeling to ride to work in something like that, loaded with guards and a carload of cops bringing up the rear. a a a THE DAVISES HOLD OPPOSITE VIEWS By Charles S. Davis. A letter written by Charles Hall Davis appeared in the Message Center April 28, and since then a number of my acquaintances have questioned me concerning this letter. I wish to state that I do not hold the same views as expressed by C. H. Davis. The supposed educator, Dr. Wirt, utterly violates my conception of honor and fair play in his betrayal of the hospitality and confidence of his hcetess and fellow t guests. Six reputable persons have sworn under oath that William A. Wirt (a Wirt to the w’ise is sufficient) accused them falsely. C. H. Davis seems somewhat confused in his political philosophy. In accusing the present administration of trying to arrive at four separate and individually distinct ends, he makes himself absurd. Surely he realizes the government can not be Socialist, Communist and Fascist all at the same time. Congress, the President, and the courts always have been on trial before the people of our republic; yes, even the Constitution itself,

1 wholly disapprove of what you say and will _ defend to the death your right to say it — Voltaire. _

Builders on ‘ Pan ’

dianapolis have such a high standard of living that such talk w'ould not interest them—l wonder? If employers have no responsibility to the employes then that responsibility must be assumed by labor unions or the government. We now hear the cry, “Business does not have to stay in Indianapolis. If you mistreat it, it can go to build up some other city free from these agitators.” If low wages and misery is the price that we must pay to keep business in Indianapolis, that price is too high. Better log cabins founded on happiness in a wilderness than slums founded on misery in a big city. Old man lassez faire still is struggling.

when the present governmental setup no longer functions efficiently. May I ask C. H. Davis to be specific? Wherein has President Roosevelt, acted as a benevolent despot? I do not believe that he has. In what manner has the Constitution been disregarded or the constitutional limits been infringed upon by the present Congress, courts, or administration officials? Please stop dealing in generalities, Mr. Davis, and stick to things which you can prove; or, are you choosing to emulate Dr. Wirt? I will admit that the present administration has sought to place the true government of the people in Washington where it belongs, and not in Wall Street w r here it has functioned in years gone by. Perhaps Mr. Davis objects to this procedure. Are the Wall Street bankers and brokers, perchance, the masters and creators that C. H. Davis had reference to in his letter? My faith and support continues for President Roosevelt and the present administration. I am hoping they will succeed in bringing our country quickly out of the depression, despite the opposition to the new deal coming from radicals, Communists, and the reactionary special-privileged group which is afraid it will lose special privileges. Let •us hope the Constitution will function as a bill of equal rights for every one and not as a shield for the selfish activities of a limited group.

WEALTH DISTRIBUTION FIGURES PRESENTED By J. T. Watkins. Completion of the Union Pacific railroad in 1866 proved co the builders that if they only had a president that knew nothing of civil government they could easily get possession of the patrimony belonging to the people cf the United States. The Union Pacific railroad was built under the Credit Mobilier swindle. The United States gave the builders every alternate section for miles on both sides of the railroad from Omaha to San Francisco, 1.876 miles, making a territory of more than 45.000 square miles, one and one-third times as large as Indiana, and $55,000,000. In 1868 they nominated General Grant for President, a man who knew nothing of civil government, and elected him. and in 1872 they nominated him again and elected him. In 1876 Tilden and Hendricks were elected by an overwhelming majority and were counted out and Hayes and Wheeler declared elected by the renowned eight to seven. To show’ the condition of the country in the earl / seventies, Charles Dickens visited the American congress and went back to England and told the English people the American congress was a drunken rabble. • The proper authorities investi-

MAY 5, 1934

gated and found that 3 per cent of the population had 90 per cent of the wealth or in other words, 3 per cent of the people had nine times as much as 97 per cent of the population. The few plutocrats got possession of the timber, coal, iron, zinc, copper, lead; m fact everything the government owned and they have gradually got possession of the wealth cf the country until now 1 per cent of the population has 61 per cent of the wealth or 1 per cent of the population has 22 per cent more of the wealth than 99 per cent of the people have. a a a DECLARES BOARD IGNORES VOTE By Mrs. H. Kahn. No doubt every one is tired of reading about the Real Silk strike, but I must add a few words. I am not an employe of this company, but I know only too well of some of the deals received by the employes. When the labor board handed down its decision in favor of the so-called E. M. B. A., why did it utterly ignore the National and Fulton mills, which have no E. M. B. A. or any other company union? By the way, Mr. Goodman, I have known you personally for a number of years and read Friday such naughty stories about how much cheaper you can get your work manufactured in other cities. Why, Jack, how can you? I know you have enough money to buy victory for yourself, Mr. Goodman. Asa matter of fact, you are trying to buy this whole town, and the people in it—body and soul. e tt tt CHRIST-LIKE SPIRIT TODAY ADVOCATED By J. A. Schmidt. It doesn't seem to matter much these days what we say, write or do, as long as we do not harm anyone bodily and remain in the bounds of the law. However, we are in the days of revealing facts as they really are. Aside from a few desperadoes we are nearly all peaceable, co-operative and progressive. Anyone who looks around, thinks twice and uses a little common sense, can see changes in favor of One who made it so. He knows what He wants regardless of our greatness, smallness, shallow thinking, deep thinking, or no thinking at all. We can not all be right, neither are we all wrong. The question is, what difference does it make as long as we get results in the right light? When Christ <the greatest of all men) was crucified on the cross between two thieves He was classed as one, and those who put Him there conquered by seeing him dead. After three days He came back to show Himself victorious over death. There is, however, connected with this story the Pharisees’ idea of misleading the people. We need men and women with the Christ spirit to lead and teach us.

Song for Love

BY ELLEN BETTY He kissed me! For just a moment, then, the world stopped turning, The very breeze hung breathless, then, with yearning. Oh, I shall not forget! No matter what may come to me, In guise of pain or ecstasy, From now ’till life's sunset; This thought will follow down th years. To lift my soul and stay my tears— He kissed me!