Indianapolis Times, Volume 46, Number 53, Indianapolis, Marion County, 12 July 1934 — Page 14

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______ TW—ST. JVLY 12. 1534. WHY TARRY? TNDIANAPOLIS has had a problem on its hands many years. The mistake was made originally by a past administration, and apparently no succeeding group of city hall officials has made any REAL attempt to remedy it. The problem centers in one spot. It Is the sewage disposal plant of the city of Indianapolis Last year The Times pointed out the inadequacy of Indianapolis' sewage disposal facilities. If anything has been done to correct this condition, other than to make futile moves and much conversation, then it is a secret. In the first place, the plant is inadequate to handle sewage disposal for the city. In the second place, the city hall apparently has taken the attitude that lack of money precludes all possibilities for future action. The Times now is publishing a series of stories on the horrible conditions prevailing throughout the state in regards to water sources that are polluted because proper steps have not been taken to correct these situations. So far, the arrow has been directed at targets outside Indianapolis. But. let it be said now. those arrows—before this series is completed—will find a target in Indianapolis. Something must be done here. Indianapolis is the capital of this state. Indianapolis, it is revealed, hardly is in a position to criticise smaller cities and towns in the state, when it hasn't kept its own doorstep clean. Throughout the compilation of the series of stories on water pollution in Indiana. The Times correspondent. Arch Steinel, found himself confronted with the question: “Why pick on us? Clean up your own sewage disposal problem before you ask us what we have or have not done?” The question is unfair. Without doubt it Is silly for any community to seek out the finger pointing alibi to avoid consequences which are prevailing in its own area. But it does bring a question to the people of Indianapolis. If it is true that the city’s reputation for improper handling of its sewage disposal has spread throughout the state, isn't it time that something was done? Why tarry?

GENERAL JOHNSON IT is a little early to discuss the possible retirement of General Hugh S. Johnson. NRA director, even though the general himself now has begun to talk about it. When the general actually is through the country will know it—by the comparative quiet, if by nothing else, However, he has suggested as good a substitute for his one-man rule as is likely to be offered; namely a board to administer the complicated structure of his creation. As he himself says, more balance is needed in the organization that will administer and enforce codes. Furthermore it is too big a job for any one man to handle. Too many important decisions are being made now by subordinates, from sheer phvseial necessity. It probably will be years before Mr. Johnson and his NR A can be assessed accurately in terms of gain and loss to the country. Too much smoke still lingers over the battlefield and too many issues remain undetermined. At this distance, however, a few tentative judgments may be offered. Johnsons great service to recovery probably was his conception and successful promulgation of the blanket code which put some three million persons back on pay rolls last summer and fall. It didn't increase purchasing power enough to bring about recovery— PWA and CWA had to follow along and there are still millions unemployed—but it was the cheapest major recovery measure of the last year, from the taxpayers’ point of view. His failures and inadequacies have been many. If wages were to be raised except in the lowest scales, it was necessary for labor to be free to organize and bargain with its employers. This meant firm, unwavering enforcement of Section 7-A. The evasions and compromises that have surrounded Mr. Johnson's treatment of this subject are too numerous to name. Compromise has marked the approval of trade practice provisions in codes also. Profits have been allowed to soar. There is more than a suspicion that monopoly is being strengthened by some of the codes. These compromises. Mr/ Johnson has felt, have been necessary to prevent court action, which might have stopped the whole program, including re-employment of workers and prevention of child labor. To another essential principle of the recovery program, however. Mr. Johnson has been faithful. He has asserted the governments final authority in the administration of all codes. While appearing almost persuaded at times when plans for * self-government of industry” have been brought forward, the conclusion he now announces is that the governmen must not relinquish its veto power. He is convinced that the public's interest is supreme and thaf it will not be served if the government ceases to exercise its present powers. Those pleading for self-regulation will find It difficult to show that the general is wrong in this conclusion. PRETTY POSSIBILITIES TNDIANA is going in for style next year with the new auto license plates to rarry black figures on robin egg blue background. Let a get Dillinger before the first of those license plates are issued. Some of our residents might be offended to learn that such a beautiful color combination was adorning the automobile of Desperado Dillinger.

Member at rnU<! Pr*>. S< rif>p* * .N>w*paper Alllanr*. N..wpip#r priw* Ar,riatinn. Newapapi-r I’ formation S-rrie anl Audit Bureau of (ircnJation*. Own*d and published dally I'-xr+p t Sunday! by The In- • T.apolla Tim** l’nblihlnir Company. 214-210 We*t Maryland fret. IndlanapolU. lad • !ri Mirlon ronnty. 2 rent* a copy: el*ewhere, 3 rortß—del:tv-red by carrier. 12 cents a week. Mall anhcription ra*o in Indlara. $3 a year: outalde of Indiana. W cent* a month.

FIN’D A PLAYGROUND THREE members of the North Side Federation of Civic Clubs will investigate the need and possibility of obtaining a playground for the north side. The action of the civic organization follows the pleas of The Times that some provision be made for children on the north side. The park board, this year, will be unable to make any moves to clear the situation. Next year, it is hoped, financial conditions of the city will be such that action can be taken. I* has been suggested that someone on the north side donate a playlot for the remainder of the summer. With the park board being unable to act, it might be well for the civic federation committee to arrange some temporary playground for 1934 to tide over the children until a permanent site can be placed in operation in 1935. ANOTHER GOOD OMEN TNTERNAL revenue receipts, nearly tripled, reflect the same note of improved conditions as did the recent bank report which showed that ten Indianapolis Clearing House Association institutions had gained $25,000,000 in deposits in the last few months. Will H. Smith, collector of revenue, reports that the receipts showed an increase of more than $lB 000,000, or 140 per cent over last year. There is only one answer to this. Indiana again is one the road to recovery and. no matter what the exact cause of improvement is, the state is maintaining a standard fitting to the nation. LEARN TO SWIM SEEKING to aid in teaching swimming, The Times and Broad Ripple park pool have co-operated in a learn-to-swim week which will be hpld July 16 to 22. The lessons were given last year, with great success. There is no reason why any one in the city or county should not take advantage of this offer. The charge of 10 cents for the children practically opens the doors of the pool to any of the thousands of children in this vicinity who do not know how to swim. Marion county this year already has seen the results of the failure of adults and children to learn to swim. Eight lives have been lost. Apparently there is no way to prevent such casualties except through absolute preparedness, and these free swimming lessons will give you and your children an opportunity to protect yourselves in the water.

GRATITUDE JOHN W. DAVIS, with customary suavity, stood before the institute of public affairs at Charlottesville and eulogized the old order. He gilded the opportunities of capitalism, glossed over its abuses and made but slight mention of its neglected responsibilities. Little significance need be given to Mr. Davis’ remarks, beyond noting that freedom of speech still prevails. Except for the literary flavor, the speech might have been made by the late Calvin Coolidge. Mr. Davis’ opponent for the presidency in 1924. John W. Davis is a cultured gentleman, the personal attorney of John Pierpont Morgan. Why shouldn't he have a high regard for the old order? It has been kind to him. RELIEF FROM LOAN SHARKS * ONE of the most oppressive devils in our country is the exorbitant charge made for small loans. Wage earners are the chief sufferers. The committee on the cost of medical care recently reported that small loans to cover costs of medical care were charged from 12 to 42 per cent. Illinois has a law licensing loan companies to charge up to 40 per cent per year. A man borrowed SBS to bury his father; never having funds to apply on the prim .pal, he kept paying interest to avoid garnisheement of his wages, until he had paid $1,600. On April 30 the United States supreme court decided a case of vast importance for wage earners. That court held that where a borrower had assigned a portion of his wages as security and thereafter filed a petition in bankruptcy in a federal court, including in his liabilities the loan secured by his wages, and subsequently secured his discharge in bankrutpey, he is released from the loan. If the loan company attempts to enforce the wage assignment against the wage earner after his discharge in bankruptcy, the bankruptcy court can enjoin the loan company from attempting to enforce its claim under the wage assignment. The supreme court said: ‘ The power of the individual to earn a living for himself and those dependent upon him is in the nature of a personal liberty qui‘e as much if not more than it is a property right. To preserve this free exercise is of the utmost importance, not only because it is a fundamental private necessity, but because it is a matter of great public concern. “From the viewpoint of the wage earner there is little difference between not earning at all and earning wholly for a creditor. Pauperism may be the necessary result of either. . . The new opportunity in life and the clear field for future effort, which it is the purpose of the bankruptcy act to afford the emancipated debtor, would be of little value to the wage earner if he were obliged to face the necessity of devoting the whole or a considerable portion of his earnings for an indefinite time in the future to the payment of indebtedness incurred prior to his bankruptcy.” WELL, WHY NOT? 0 *'T PROPOSE in due course.” said Colonel Henry P. Fletcher, chairman of the Republican national committee, in a Michigan speech, "to set up committees of the most competent men we can find to make a study of current economic questions, so that their reports may furnish the basis of 3 constructive and forward-looking Republican legislative program.” Surely now. colonel, you're not going to have a G. O. P. brain trust, too? When the President talks on ’’The State of the Nation.” you needn’t puff out your chest and think he's flicked your own out of the forty-eight.

Liberal Viewpoint BY DR. HARRY ELMER BARNES

THE American Civil Liberties Union has published its latest quarterly assessing the ! state of civil liberties and the rights of man after a year of the New Deal. As*usual it finds much to praise and much to blame. We first may consider the favorable items which indicate certain gains for civU liberty. In spite of rather intense feelings between labor and capital at the time, the numerous and extensive May day demonstrations by Socialists and Communists throughout the United States were met by police resistance in only two cities, Birmingham and Detroit. The latter city seems to have suffered from the translation of j Frank Murphy to his new post as Govemor- ! General of the Philippines. The record of New York City has a tribute to Mayor La Guardia and his new' regime. Two of the largest parades and mass meetings ever held in New York City, involving more than 100.000 participants, were held without a single arrest. Protest meetings and injunction suits directed by the Civil Liberties Union led to clean-cut victories for freedom of speech and assembly in Jersey City and Passaic. Governor Lehman of New York state is commended heartily for his veto of the D. A. R. bill requiring oaths of loyalty from public school teachers. tt tt tt A REBUFF to American Fascists is noted in the conviction of “General” Art J. Smith, commander-in-chief of the Khaki Shirts, who has been sentenced to prison to from three to six years for perjury in the Terzani case. Finally, the Civil Liberties Union lists as a favorable itenj and a benefit a bitter attack made upon it by Hamilton Fish in the house of representatives. This led to a.n able and intelligent defense of the Civil Liberties Union by distinguished congressmen and had the net result of producing a great deal of favorable publicity for the union. On the negative side of the picture, the union first notes the failure of the NRA and the national labor board to protect the rights of labor to organize, strike and bargain collectively. Particularly deplorable is the tacit federal recognition of company controlled unions. This laxness and timidity on the part of the government has stimulated unrest and violence. The continuance of industrial violence in the Imperial valley in California is cited, and the failure of the federal government to enforce fairness and justice in this area is roundly condemned. The union especially criticizes tlfe conduct of General Glassford. appointed as federal conciliator in this district. The general is reported openly to have espoused the cause of the employers. The supreme court of Georgia upheld the sentence of Angelo Herndon, a youthful Negro Communist, to eighteen to twenty years’ imprisonment for attempting to hold a Communist meeting and for possessing Communist literature. Herndon was convicted under the ancient statute passed during the reconstruction days and designed to prevent open insurrection. tt tt tt THERE also is noted with some alarm anew quirk in the battle against the rights of labor. In Baltimore and Cleveland, conservative lawyers representing employer interests have instituted disbarment proceedings against lawyers who have gained a reputation for willingness to defend union labor defendants. If this becomes a precedent, it may restrict seriously the ability of labor to get a fair deal before the courts. The supreme court of the United States refused to hear an appeal in the case of Charles Smith, president of the American Association for the Advancement of Atheism, who had been convicted for speaking without a permit in New York City. Among the important pending actions of the Civil Liberties Union are noted the proposed tests of the Norris-La Guardia injunction act; vigorous promotion of the Wagner-Costigan anti-lynching bill; staunch support of the Indian bureau bill (now passed) to restore lands and tribal autonomy to the American Indians, and the appeal of the Mooney case to the federal courts. The honest devotion of the union to civil liberties is attested to by the vigorous opposition to bills designed to curb the American Nazi. While the union has not the slightest sympathy for the Nazi, it maintains that all groups should be protected in their inherent right to freedom of speech and assembly. Moreover, bills now' ostensibly passed to curb the Nazi might be used quickly to restrain liberals and radicals.

Capital Capers BY GEORGE ABELL

THE mystery of the cable from Chile which conveyed July 4 greetings to President Roosevelt and asked him to ‘‘please present same to Julie Mayfield from devoted Chilean friend.” has been solved. Julie Mayfield is Mrs. Mayfield, wife of Captain Irving H. Mayfield, U. S. N„ who is stationed in San Francisco. He formerly was American naval attache at Santiago, Chile. Augusto Errazuriz, who sent the cable and mystified embassy and White House and state department protocol experts, is a widely known Chilean playboy of means and social position. Augusto owns a palatial home called ‘’Hollywood.” which he leases to Andrew McLinock, an official of the Electric Bond and Share Company, for four thousand pesos a month. There was some difficulty in drawing up the lease because Augusto insisted on being paid in gold, but the matter was finally adjusted. White House and state department protocol experts mistook Erraguriz for a former president of Chile by the same name < Erraguriz is as widely borne a name in Chile as Smith in the United States). They will be relieved to know that the case of the mysterious cable is solved. tt tt tt THE death of Ahmet Muhtar, former dean of diplomats and long ambassador of Turkey in the United States, has brought many messages of condolence from the diplomatic corps and residential society. Muhtar is remembered here as one of the most colorful figures in diplomatic life. His brilliant parties served by footmen in bright green coats and velvet breeches, amid music, red roses and Russian delicacies, are not forgotten. The Turkish dean looked the part of an eighteenth century marquis. He was courtly, bowed from the waist, waxed his white mustachios. and had charming manners. His friendly advice was sought by younger colleagues and his tact was notable. Os recent years, the envoy's health had been ailing. He attended fewer parties toward the end of his sojourn here, but when he left the capital, all diplomats of importance and a score of well wishers from other fields were at Union station to see him off. He departed, debonair and smiling, wearing white spats, promising to return. Among those who expressed sincere regret at the passing of Ambassador Muhtar were friends in the state department and ambassadorial colleagues. Ambassador Troyanovsky of Soviet Russia was one of the old acquaintances of the Turkish dean (whom he had previously known in Moscow) who mourned his loss. Telegrams from friends in other cities have been received at the embassy and will be forwarded to Istanbul. That nudist wedding held recently at the Chicago world's fair was the easiest assignment the society reporters ever had. All they had to describe was the ring. The government is going to return some farm lands to the Indians, since much of it isn't worth a string of beads and a pint of liquor any more. One of the Siamese twins says they’ve learned to shut off their minds from each other. That's not so much. Many people can shut off their minds from themselves.

THE INDIANAPOLIS TIMES

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The Message Center

(Times readers are invited to express their vietes in these columns. Make your tetters short, so all can have a chance, limit them to 250 words or less.) tt tt tt DECLARES HIMSELF FOR NEW DEAL By An Ex-Forjotten Man. I am a Roosevelt supporter and believe in the New Deal. Perhaps, also, to be frank, I am prejudiced against big business. For example, take the conditions filling station attendants are writing about. I buy my gasoline and oil from a minor oil company. The station men of this small company boast of better pay and better treatment they receive from their concern, than the large oil corporation station attendants get. If a small concern treats its men better, I for one, as a "working man, am for them heart and soul. n tt a OBJECTS TO ALARM CLOCK OPERATED BY RADIO By Just Neighbors. Some time ago I read in your paper about the noise milk wagons and ice trucks make. At least, the drivers are making a living, but to turn on a radio at 4:45 in the morning—that is different. For two years this radio is turned on at that time. The radio is being used as an alarm. A clock is attached to the radio. Practically every one in the neighborhood has a radio, but no others use them as alarm clocks. Isn’t there anything that can be done about this nuisance? How can we let the radio owner knowhow inconsiderate he is? a tt tt DEFENDS INDORSER OF PRITCHARD Bv William Cusick. Some time ago, a writer in The Times tried to belittle Arthur Gresham because of his indorsement of Walter Pritchard. Arthur Gresham, a foreign service man who was disabled in action, has, I am sure, done as much in the last twelve years for the disabled service men of Indiana as any other one person. Last winter, when many disabled, unemployed and needy service men were in want, Mr. Gresham sponsored a relief station and distributed some 800 baskets of food. He is known for his work among the service men by every veteran in Marion county, and if Mr. Gresham thinks Walter Pritchard should be our next mayor, there are many veterans who are going to think the same thing. HOSIERY WORKER 0 MAKES PROTEST By a Reader. I was a Real Silk girl striker. I would like the general public to know just how the company is operating. It has taken back the majority of the knitters because it had to have them. The company signed an agreement to take back everybody but those who had committed any violence. But the majority of the girls still are out. Some of the men and girls who had nothing to do with any violence at all are on the black list. In the boarding department, the girls who remained at work are using twice as many forms as are generally used so that they can work faster and it will not be necessary to call back strikers. In one boarding department, the majority of the strikers were called back and are working every other week. There are four girls who did not go out and they work every day. One of these four was working at a shoe polish factory and when

STILL HOPING

Legion's Advice to Teachers Rappedl

By A Free Sou!. The American Legion is becoming as obnoxious as the Daughters of the American Revolution in the drive to keep intact the present social system. Telling school teachers they should be silent about any economic setup other than the one now ruining America, is the legion’s latest bid for the first prize in stupidity.

she learned of the strike, she quit her job and came to the hosiery plant, where she formerly had worked, and she was taken back and now she is one of the favorite daughters. It has been said the companies are keeping the girls out just as long as possible to sicken them on the union. Well, they can keep us out until a certain place freezes over and I'll still feel the same about our union. tt a tt CONDEMNS PRACTICE OF BIRTH CONTROL By Hiram Lackey. I am in sympathy with the stand of the catholic church against birth control as practiced in America. My sympathy for the views of the Catholic church is strengthened by Father Coughlin’s courageous fight against economic evils which are the basic cause of the great abuse of birth control knowledge in America. His passion for social justice and reverence for human life are a credit to his church. However, in order to be logical and consistent, I believe it would be well for the church to go a step farther. If we are to hold the respect of intelligent people, in a discussion of the birth control subject, we must recognize the fact that all successful birth control methods are, to all intent and purpose, closely related to that sin upon which the Catholic church has burned the brand of murder. a tt a URGES ACTION BY LITTLE FELLOWS Bt I’m One. It's about time we little fellows organize. If Great Britain or France don't feel like making a payment on their war debt, they don’t. But does a little fellow in debt get by with that? Hardly. Despite his curtailed income, he is supposed to fork over right on the dot, often trying to pay prosperity time debts with a hard time income. The little fellow can’t buy in any manner except on the installment plan. And how he pays for that privilege! Adding to his troubles is the practice of selling accounts to finance companies, with an extra charge tacked on. Business can’t get along without the little fellows. We should get together and make things tough for those who show us no mercy. tt tt tt DEPLORES RENEWAL OF KLAN ACTIVITY By A Citizen. Press reports indicate that the ugly head of the Ku-Klux Klan is being raised again in Indiana. One with even a short memory can recall that the most disgraceful chapter in the state's history was written during the reign of the hooded organization. If some of our patrioteers want to do something really worth while, let them lay off the reds for a while and direct their fire on the “Knights of the Nighties.” The Ku-Klux Klan is a far greater menace to the peace and

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

The legion also opposes ministers who advocate world peace. Teachers should impart all information regarding different social setups. The pupils of today are the men and women of tomorrow upon w'ho will rest the burden of a social order w'hich will have no place for w'ar and lip service patriots.

happiness of America than any radical organization. At least the reds want to do something for everybody—not just for those who attend some particular church or whose skin is a different color from that of other human beings. a tt tt YOUNGER GENERATION GIVEN APPROVAL By An Oldster. I’m only seven years this side of fifty, but I'm for the younger generation. I sincerely believe that the boys and girls growing up today will ne far more intelligent and will become just as good fathers and mothers, if not far better, than the generation which preceded them. Os late, there has been considerable furore about young folk in beer drinking places. I have been in many such places, and believe me, the youngsters weren’t the wild ones —there were plenty of patrons forty and beyond who were making more whoopee. Intoxicating liquor is nothing new to the young generation. Many parents became expert home brewers during the prohibition era when hard liquor deliveries were made as casually as those of groceries and milk. a tt a STREET CAR SERVICE RECEIVES PRAISE By A Patron. I'm in favor of giving both the devil and a utility company their due. It has become so much a habit to condemn utility companies that sven when one does give good service, the knocking goes right on. Indianapolis Railways, Inc., is giving this city real street car service, but in some quarters there are continual complaints. Among the complaints is one that the new street cars are one-man, thus adding to unemployment. But it is an economic fact that progress has a price, and such unemployment as has resulted from the improved street car service is a part of that price. a tt tt SEEKS INFORMATION ON THE UTOPIANS By M. O. YoungI am in receipt of a letter from my brother, M. L. Young of Lynwood, Cal., in which he asks me whether the Utopians, a society which is being organized to counteract Communism, has any branches in Indiana. He says that some 20.000 persons are joining the organization weekly in California. I have no knowledge of any such society here and am writing you asking you to have this letter published in your Message Center. I would appreciate any reader who knows anything of such a society, writing me ifll available details at Box 135, Maywood, Ind.

Daily Thought

In those days there was no king in Israel; every man did that which was right in his own eyes. —Judges, 21:25. HEAVEN itself has ordained tie right.—Washington.

.JULY 12, 1931

MACHINERY AND BETTER WORLD By A Red. Many persons have the mistaken idea that if- all labor saving machinery were scrapped and industry went back to hand methods, all would be well from an economic standpoint. They lose sight of the fact that it is not machinery which is to blame for the present chaos. It is the ownership of the machinery which is important. Today, labor saving devices are privately owned and operated to make profits. In the future, if the masses don’t drop the “m” and become like a certain long-eared animal, the machines will be owned by the workers and operated for their benefit. When that time comes, a fivehour day and four-day work week will be a pleasant reality instead cf a dream.

So They Say

There are two things a fighter can't do—play around and fight.— James J. Jeffries, former world heavyweight champion. , We may have made a bad bargain when we (Russia) sold Alaska for $7.0(10,000, but I feel confident that the precious relationships of amity that existed in 1867 will last forever.—Alexander A. Troyanovsky, Soviet ambassador to United States. Right now some of the magicians are trying to figure out how to get a blue eagle in a hat. Getting it out won’t be so very difficult. —Joseph G. Lightner, head of magicians’ association. I know of nothing that makes people more suspicious of those engaged in the practice of medicine than the expert witness.—Dr. Dean Lewis, former president, American Medical Association. I never have known a sincere man who did not have an overwhelming sense of failure.—Dr. Richard E. Sykes, president, St. Lawrence university. Let our young men pass on from their detestation oi war to a personal crusade to strengthen every international agency designed to prevent it. President Robert C Clothier of Rutgers. Too many highballs and too much baseball are bothering schools today. —Governor W. H. 'Alfalfa Bilb Murray of Oklahoma. Our conflict is not with individual men. but with established systems, entrenched customs, habitual attitudes, vested interests, and false standards of life.—Dean Speight of Swarthmore college.

Fulfillment

BY ELIZABETH WILLIAMS The years were easy and life waa sweet, I danced along on wing-ed feet: Nor thought of pain that others bore, Os burdens that I, too, might share. Until at last I reached the paths, O'ergrown with weeds and choked with dust, Paths of remembered bitterness. Loneliness, suffering and pain; Where all seemed futile and in vain. These paths with weary feet I’ve trod, At last to feel the hand of God, And know that He. in wisdom, can Lead us to follow His own plan.