Indianapolis Times, Volume 46, Number 95, Indianapolis, Marion County, 30 August 1934 — Page 16

PAGE 16

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_______ THURSDAT. AUO. SO. ISJ4. DRIVE THEM OUT! TH in effort to stage an effective campaign against slot machines, city, county and state officials will enforce a state law which levels a Jail sentence and fine, or both, against persons who keep or exhibit these cheating gambling devices. Enforcement of this law will loose the brunt of law violation punishment on the amall operator who seeks to meet his overhead In his roadside beer Joint or restaurant by having one or more of the machines installed while the men responsible for distribution of the racket devices may not be touched. Naturally, after several of these proprietors find themselves facing jail sentences and fines, they and their ilk will run to cover. That they haven’t the stamina to stand up under a barrage of criticism already has been shown when they “jerked" the machines each time The Times opened fire on them and their backers. The operators of these places are much like their predecessors of the prohibition era. In those days the men of this type bowed to the sale of liquor, by the drink or pint, to offset the expenses of running their places. The proposal of the officials is commendable except that it is necessary to point out that they took no real action until the press forced it. This enforcement program should have been started months and years ago—not now. But, believing any attempt to correct evil is better than no effort at all, The Times hopes the plans of these men will bear fruit. In this city and county there are men who make their livelihood by distributing slot machines from which they collect a percentage for keeping the devices in working condition and also for reputedly keeping the agents of the law from crossing the thresholds of these establishments for the purpose of eradicating the devices. u m a Surrounding these men is a network of petty crime and gambling which would amaze the ordinary citizen if he knew to what depths the roots of the condition are imbedded in this community. At one time the saloon was blamed for evil and crime. Then the poolroom and speakeasy drew the Are. Now it is slot machines, but the point in battling these gambling devices is Mhat they are not centered in one type of public or private place. individuals who are sincere in their hopes to drive out slot machines fail to realize the extent to which the devices have been distributed. You can find them in the grocery, the drug store, beer parlors, poolroom, clubroom and any number of places where the suckers gather long enough to pay profits to the owners and operators. There is a place in Marion county, northwest of the city, which because of its location in the village practically is the gathering place for the residents of the community. Into this building come children to buy their candy, their tops, their marbles and their pencils for school. Housewives of the community make their purchases of foodstuffs, meats and thread in this place. And the men enter to purchase tobacco, gasoline for their cars and an occasional glass Os beer. On display so that no customer can mis 6 the opportunity to squander his nickels, is a slot machine. It is not an exceptional machine. It s the usual kind with the customers standing one chance in thousands to win anything but exercise by pulling the handle. a a a The presence of this machine does the community no good. It does the proprietor some good, of course, but it is not conducive to legitimate business in a worthy community. That this machine has been permitted to operate along with scores of others in the county is a direct indictment against Sheriff Charles ißucki Sumner and his deputies. There is no honest reason—not even the force of deputies available —for him to the continued operation of slot machines in thus county. If Mr. Sumner ever considered calling for volunteer deputies he might find a surprising large force willing to aid him in cleaning up the situation. Before he leaves office he may be faced with such an emergency and call for volunteers. The present situation comes as near being a public emergency as any that might occur during his regime. Now that the authorities have taken one step, it is time for them to take the second. It wall be a big one— probably the biggest when politics in Marion county is considered. But. why not take it? It will be worth while to thousands of people who have been swindled and who will be without protection until the big time operators in the slot machine racket are out of the way FOREVER. THE SINCLAIR SIGN UPTON SINCLAIRS sweeping victory as Democratic nominee for Governor of Calfornia is something for every American from President Roosevelt down to ponder, especially the reactionary minority. In one of the nation's richest and most conservative states the Democrats have chosen an ex-socialist novelist and pamphleteer with a state reform program beside which the New Deal at Washington is very mild. Liberal George Creel, unofficial administration favorite. ran a poor second, and conservative Justus Wardell a very poor third. Forget the obvious fact that Mr. Sinclairs pledge to “end poverty in California" at best la Utopian, at worst demagogery; that if elected he will have to disappoint or betray the masses who voted for him. The thing to ytink about is that the plain people—the wage >

and salary workers, the farmers, the jobless —are astir. And their faces are turned, not backward but forward. They are out for economic security, through very radical political measures, if necessary. Timid and conservative gentlemen, sitting in their clubs and private offices and damning the New Deal—for which they offer no substitute program—have clung to a blind hope that if the Roosevelt policies could be defeated the nation, by some mysterious process not yet revealed, would return to the days of the Harding-Coolidge-Hoover era. Republican orators and hostile newspapers, thundering against “regimentation" and “experimentation.” have sought by every conceivable means to destroy confidence in a New Deal—with little apparent regard for what policies might succeed It. Sinclair’s victory is a dramatic warning that if the New Deal is beaten down the subsequent political swing probably will carry us much farther to the left than we have ever gone before. Let the reactionary critics of Mr. Roosevelt paste the California returns in their hats. Out in Green Bay President Roosevelt declared that “the people will not restore the ancient order.” He cautioned those measuring confidence in this country to “look first to the average citizen.” The California primary reaffirms that warning. WHERE IS NR A? THE textile mill owners have refused the government's invitation to attend an eleventh-hour mediation conference with representatives of their workers. A majority of the mill operators seem to welcome a strike as a test of strength with the union. i If industrial warfare comes the public will pay. Wherever the blame for the strike may lie, a large measure of responsibility rests with NR A, the cotton textile industrial relations board and the national labor relations board. These governmental agencies were set up by congress and the President to keep the peace in industry. President Roosevelt did not intervene in the dispute because he depended upon these agencies to function. But they have failed him and the nation. It is a long story of evasions. The cotton textile Industrial relations board failed to handle the complaints of “stretchout" abuses. The labor provisions of the code were not enforced adequately. The workers threatened to strike last June when their wages were curtailed 25 per cent, but postponed action on promises that NRA would conduct five separate investigations into labor conditions and correct abuses. Later two reports were published by NRA. but General Johnson suppressed the other three—on the stretchout system. the work load problem and wage differentials. Instead of moving into this muddle with its customary vigor and intelligence, the national labor relations board sidestepped. Although a strike had threatened for weeks, the NRLB waited until nine days after the actual strike vote was taken before it even tried seriously to get the employers and workers to sit down at the same table. It was this conference, set for today—the day before the scheduled strike—that the mill owners refused to attend. By some strange process of reasoning, the government officials concerned seem to be planning to settle the strike after it starts, rather than to prevent it. Anything that can be done later by the government can be done now—the only difference is that anything is easier now than after the strike begins and bitterness grow f s on both sides. The least that NRA can do today is to announce a code revision hearing on the hourswages disputes. The least the NRLB can do is to act immediately on alleged mill violations of Section 7A of the law. Such tardy action by the government might even yet convince the workers that a strike is not necessary to get a hearing for their case. HOW ROMANTIC! 'T'HERE is an odd human touch to that case of the Chicago ex-sailor who found that he could win his girl’s favor only by posing as a bold, bad gunman—and who, because of that fact, got himself into a jam with the police. This man found that his girl admired hoodlums. So, although he was a perfectly law-abiding citizen, he told her that he was one of the country's leading undesirables. He had shot several cops, he said, had broken out of two prisons and one jail; all In all, he added, he was a regular little Dillinger. Impressed, she accepted him, and they were happy. Then they quarreled. She called the police and they took him in tow, and he had to confess that his wickedness was all imagination. Even then, however, he begged them not to tell his girl. If he was to regain her favor, he would have to retain the glamour of the bad man. It’s all quite amusing, this little tale—until you reflect that a lot of energetic young men have actually turned to crime because of just such attitude on the part of some emptyheaded girl. A NEW LINEUP TF the formation of the American Liberty League, with such prominent Democrats as A1 Smith and John W. Davis In the van, should help to precipitate a complete new alignment of political parties, it will be a very excellent thing for the country. This organization seems—for the moment, at least —to be without political bias. It is. clearly, a stanchly conservative gToup; and for that very reason it is ideally adapted to crystallize and formulate the opposition to the New Deal. Asa nation, we are going to make some decisions of stupendous importance during the next few years. We shall be able to make them much more intelligently if our politics reflects a clean-cut distinction between conservatives and liberals. The present situation, with each major party suffering from such division. Is not adapted to sene us well in times of crisis. Judging from the number of preachers who are getting snake bites, it’ll pay better to educate your boy in a zoo if you're raising him to be an evangelist.

Liberal Viewpoint BY DR. HARRY ELMER BARNES

HISTORIANS of human culture have pointed out that there have been two great stages in the history of civilization. The first was that of ancient Hellas, which worked out the most satisfactory philosophy of life yet produced in the history of mankind. The second is the mechanical and industrial civilization attained in the west following the industrial revolution of the eighteenth century. Any well-rounded civilization which man may achieve in the future will have to combine the Greek art of living with our unique capacity to produce goods by machines, thus lifting the blight of slavery from human culture. No aspect of Greek culture was more remarkable or admirable than their attitude toward sex and human happiness. Dr. Licht has given us our first complete treatment in the English language of the sexual ideas and practices of the classic Greeks. (“Sexual Life in Ancient Greece.” By Hans Licht. E. P. Dutton & Cos. $5.) It is a scholarly, frank and dignified account, based upon the protracted scholarly research. It reads easily, however, and should constitute an invaluable contribution to our knowledge of a very important phase of Greek civilization. Those who are wont to take a smug attitude toward the alleged superiority of our twentieth century civilization will do well to peruse this book with care and insight. The current epidemic of Fascism and dictatorship suggests the memory of the greatest of modern dictators, Napoleon Bonaparte. There are a number of excellent lives of Napoleon, but it long has been recognized by historians that his famous marshals played an important role in his brilliant military career. Mr. Macdonell has produced a vivid description of the relationship between Napoleon and the activities of his associates. (“Napoleon and His Marshals.” By A. G. Macdonell. The Macmillan Cos. $2.50.) He not only deals with the military activities of his marshals, but also with their administrative and diplomatic achievements, even tracing their careers after Waterloo. It is an important and interesting contribution to Napoleonic literature. a a a Hamilton fish Armstrong, editor of Foreign Affairs, has written a clear and interesting little book on European international relations today, to which he gives the significant title, “Europe Between Wars.” (“Europe Between Wars.” By Hamilton Fish Armstrong. Tire Macmillan Cos. $1.25.) The author’s well-known pro-Slavic and pro-French sympathies are kept in reasonable restraint and the book will serve as a splendid introduction to those who wish to get the background of the stirring and rapidly moving events in central Europe today. Soviet Russia is making a desperate effort to combine the mechanical efficiency of the west with something like the Greek aspiration to make life worth living here on earth. Miss Hamilton’s book is one of the most interesting of the many travelers’ reports on the doings in Russia today. (“Modem Russia as Seen by an Englishwoman.” By Cecely Hamilton. H. P. Dutton and Cos. Inc. $2.75.) Its chief merits are its vivid and interesting style and the author's high capacity for honest reporting. It is to be hoped that it will have a wide circulation and will help to offset the misleading diatribe embodied in the highly popular “Escape From the Soviets” by Tatiana Tchernavin, brought out by the same publishing house. (“Escape From the Soviets." By Tatiana Tchernavin. Dutton. $2.50.) a a a ONE of the most lovely aspects of our remarkable scientific and technical development today is the prospect that it may be used for the destruction of the human race in aggressive warfare. The chief menace is the prospect of a chemical warfare carried on by means of aviation. Miss Fradkin has written- an excellent book surveying the organization of chemistry and aviation for warlike purposes and suggesting various ways of combating the challenge. (“The Air Menace and the Answer.” By Elvira K. Fradkin. Macmillan Cos. $3.) She concludes that our protection must be in preventing war rather than in attempting to humanize warfare. In both war and peace radio communication is bound to grow in importance. Mr. Mills has given a clear account of the science of electrical communication, including the character and possibilities of television. (“Signals and Speech in Electrical Communication." By John Mills, Harcourt, Bruce & Cos. $2.)

Capital Capers BY GEORGE ABELL

ASTUTE, affable Mr. Freitas-Valle, Charge d’Affaires of Brazil, smoothed his black hair, glanced over a sheaf of papers, took up a pen and scratched his name. Thus was acquired by the Brazilian government one of the finest embassies in Washington —the mansion on Massachusetts avenue which formerly belonged to Mrs. Kate McCormick of Chicago. Mrs. McCormick’s mansion has seen glorious days. It has long been a celebrated landmark along an avenue noted for its pomp and its princely residences. In the gay 90s, the old house blazed with lights as the former owner and her sister, the late Mrs. Eleanor Patterson Sr., entertained at a series of gay parties which dazzled the capital. Mrs. McCormick had one of the finest art galleries in the United States and distinguished visitors to Washington frequently asked to view her collection. ACQUISITION of the McCormick mansion by the Brazilian embassy, incidentally, is the deciding factor in the old Henderson feud anent the preference of Sixteenth street over Massachusetts avenue as the diplomatic thoroughfare. It seems virtually certain now that Massachusetts avenue is to be the future residential street for smart diplomatic society in Washington. The trend toward Massachusetts avenue received great impetus recently with the building there of the British and Japanese embassies—both beautiful dwellings and both housing admittedly two of the most important foreign missions in town. The Chilean embassy, the Persian legation, the Austrian legation, the Czechoslovakian legation and the Norwegian legation also are located on Massachusetts avenue. a a a SECRETARY of Commerce Daniel C. Roper, back from his Alaskan trip, has been husily rushing from place to place with the exuberance of a schoolboy. His latest activity is a radio speech, which is interpreted as intended to reassure business and reply to critics of governmental economic policies. Between radio speeches and visits to the White House. Mr. Roper finds time to tell an occasional joke. “Tell us something about your voyage to Alaska?” he was asked by a newspaperman. Mr. Roper smiled and replied: “Well, there isn't much to tell, but I do remember this little incident: “When I was up at the tip end of the Pribiloff Islands not far from Siberia, I suddenly saw a sign on the outskirts of a small town. I looked more closely and noticed there was lettering on the sign. “Going up close, I read: “ ‘City limits of Los Angeles.’ ” Homer Van Meter. Dillinger gunman, killed by police. Another meter shut off without quarter. A booklet by an Englishman, “The Coming American Boom.” has created a great stir. Just so it’s not another blank cartridge. The latest returns from the snake bite front show that bourbon still is getting as many votes as faith. A correspondent writes in to ask where the first windmill operated, but investigation shows that political records do not run that far bads.

THE INDIANAPOLIS TIMES

(Times readers are invited to express their views in these columns. Make your letters Short, so a'l can have a chance. Limit them to 2 50 words or less.) a a a CHALKS POLITICAL ERROR AGAINST GOVERNOR By a Reader. Much criticism is heaped on Governor McNutt and his administration. I agree with some of it. Indiana’s electorate has been Republican for years and years. When Governor McNutt was elected he thanked the voters, especially those of the Republican party who had voted for him. He made special mention of the fact that he could not have been elected so overwhelmingly except for the votes of Republicans. “To the victorious party belong the spoils,” certainly was bad politics in this case. When the voters of a state are about fifty-fifty, It may work, but anybody knows that it certainly would have been better politics for Governor McNutt to have retained some of the efficient Republican office holders and possibly appointed a few, so as to retain the good will of the voters within that party. What a mistake to overlook such an opportunity for his own future! The dissatisfaction with Governor McNutt really has its origin in the dismissal of some of the Republican institutional officers. The Republicans left very few Democrats in office when the party was in. But they didn’t need any Democrats to elect them, as Governor McNutt had needed Republican votes, sc the Governor just overlooked smart politics. There may be some graft in the liquor setup as it is, but it is much better to have it in private hands than to put it into the hands of statehouse politicians, as the Republicans wish it. I think a sales tax is a proper way to tax and in my case I am for it as against the income tax. but the Republican party can not hope to gain votes, except from the 20 or 25 per cent who pay income tax. a a a ROBINSON’S SERVICE IN WAR CITED Br A Fiehtinc Soldier. In answer to James F. Walker and A. Li. C., I will say Senator Robinson was not a war slacker. He did his bit, showing his patriotism while a bunch of you fellows were hiding behind your wives’ apron strings and the plow handles. The only thing wrong with you fellows is that the Democratic party only gets in power so few times within a generation, you can feel it in your system. The party is due for a good whipping in November. The soldiers’ pension was ruining the country when the Democrats were elected, but the same bunch says nothing about the money given the farmers for doing nothing. I have always voted Democratic, but never again. When Roosevelt is through, this country will be so far in debt the soldier will never get his bonus, and that certainly is a first debt. a a a TRAFFIC COURT METHODS DECLARED UNFAIR By Joe College. The Thursday afternoon broadcast of traffic court proceedings, which was the cubject of a recent letter to this column signed by “A Radio Listener, * was accurate and interesting. However, an entirely different set of conclusions than

‘MAYBE THEY FORGOT TO EMBALM HIM’

rr'M tv jr j [" / wholly disapprove of what you say and will 1 JQO ivlessaile V><6nLCr [defend to the death your right to say it. — Voltaire. J

Incompetency Blamed in Jail Breaks

By Ed Featherinsill. If it weren't so disgusting and costly, both in lives and money, the overnight scrapping of all places of detention in Indiana might be amusing. I don't believe there are many Hoosiers who will take such an assertion seriously. The cause of the almost daily wholesale deliveries from state, county and city institutions might be the result of lack of funds for proper number of employes, criminal carelessness or criminal incompetency. The first possible reason isn’t at all logical, with budgets of all public groups, local and national, far in excess of any peace-time expenses in the history of the nation. The second could be answered only by a careful investigation of each delivery, and, while a factor in Indiana’s new deal parole system, it is not the solution to the problem. Criminal incompetency must be the answer. No organization, no political party, can take charge of 'a nation, state, county or city, and overnight change the personnel and still maintain the degree of efficiency to which the public, the taxpayers, are accustomed. All state institutions, from poor farms and asylums to the prisons have had the heads and personnel so changed by deserving Democrats that efficient operation is an impossibility. Where there is a competent head of an institution there is a group of inexperienced political plum pickers

this as to the wisdom of such a program demands consideration. I found the broadcasts to be a real education in police methods. The behavior of the judge, the lack of consistency in pronouncing fines, and the general unfairness cited by “A Radio Listener” serve to increase my respect for real justice, but not for that brand of justice which is obtained in the traffic court. The citizens of Indianapolis have every right to know what goes on in their courts, especially if the methods of those courts were better masked in secrecy, as “A Radio Listener" recommends. My respect for the police was increased. if by respect is meant a terror lest I fall into their clutches. To those who never have heard this broadcast, I suggest a worthwhile source of enlightenment on a public question. nan PRAISES WRITING OF MRS. FERGUSON By Hiram Lackey. To Mrs. Walter Ferguson: All of us appreciated your courage in telling the truth about communism. The masculine editors who are afraid to expose the truth of communism should stay at home and let the women curl their hair. They might get hurt on the way to the editorial rooms. Os course, any of us can tell the truth, but it hurts some of us very badly. It is a shame that you marred an otherwise splendid editorial by those unnecessary exaggerations at the end of your discussion of communism. True, your desire to increase the effectiveness of your essay is worthy. But the truth is able to stand alone. May we rejoice with you in your success in making goodness attrac-

(that’s anew alphabet gang, the PPP) for the remainder of the institution’s pay roll, so that we have the natural results of such criminal incompetency—wholesale deliveries and escapes from our institutions. Os course, methods are changing always and buildings and equipment do grow old, and when such methods, buildings and equipment become antique to a dangerous degree, they must be replaced, but again I insist that the public can not believe that overnight 80 or 90 per cent of the detentional institutions of Indiana are in a dangerous, antiquated condition. If previous administrations could properly hold prisoners in these same buildings and with the same equipment, then they were the most expert penologists in history, and their removal and replacement from the regiments of the PPP, inaugurating the New Deal parole system, was an act such as should be more than a justifiable reason for the immediate removal of the one responsible, the present chief executive, Governor McNutt. Or else this overnight antiquated condition is only a Coy-ly presented political smoke screen to cover the present criminal incompetency of the majority of the heads and personnel of our institutions. This is my opinion, and of many others with whom I come in contact and am associated with, and is the only logical answer to the existing conditions.

tive in The Times of Aug. 28. We thank you for wielding this tremendous power on the side of purity and virtue. America needs approximately 120,000,000 other persons to help you in this task. There is no excuse for unemployment or idleness. To be certain laborers need money and all that makes life fine and worthwhile. Let those who hold the wealth of America concentrate on the wisdom of Confucius: “Under an honest government, poverty is a disgrace, but under a corrupt government, prosperity is a disgrace." Our sham aristocracy deserves to know and feel the just scorn of true nobility. a a a DEFENDS ROBINSON S SENATE RECORD By Carl C. Reeve*. Like Will Rogers, all I know is just what I read in the papers, but it seems to me that if I was to confine myself to the articles in the Message Center, I would be cutting out paper dolls before long. Recently, I have noticed quite a number of letters dealing with the candidacy of one Arthur Robinson for United States senator from this state. It seems that Mr. Robinson has quite a few enemies. For instance, James E. Walker says that

Daily Thought

And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up: and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.— James, 5:15. THE protection of God can not without sacrilege, be invoked but in behalf ol justice and right.— Kossuth. ,

AUG. 30,1034

Contributed by Cecil Danner

Robinson is the only senator since 1775 doing the least, knowing the least, and the least popular. Well, as to No. 1, I am quite sure that a few months ago, I read an article in one of the leading magazines that there were in the entire senate only five members who had a record of always having voted the right way on all bills coming before the senate. I mean by that, they always voted the way that was right and just for the welfare of the public at large. “Li’l Arthur,” as you call him, was one of those five. As to No. 2, if you would care to listen to one of his speeches, you would find that he knows a great deal and isn’t afraid to tell it. Maybe that is what hurts. As to his popularity, he seems to draw a fair sized crowd wherever he speaks. In another letter, A. L. C. wants the police or someone to arrest Robinson for inciting a riot. I attended a meeting at which he spoke and the nearest thing to a riot I saw was when he referred to the treatment the ex-soldiers are getting from the present Democratic ‘‘Raw Deal.” A. L. C. also refers to him as a Radical or Communist. Well, all I care to say is that I wish we had a lot more men like him, with the intestinal fortitude to tell the people what was being put over on them. I also would like to say that I am an ex-soldier and neither a Republican nor a Democrat and I can easily prove that statement. a a a ROBINSON AND KLAN DISCUSSION RENEWED By J. Berk. Just a few lines to let Joe E. Ryden of Medaryville know that he got gypped out of a brown derby by C. P. A., who bet The Indianapolis Times would be the first to inject the Ku-Klux Klan into the fall campaign. Get a Literary Digest dated July 21, Joe, and turn to page 19, and you will see an article headed, ‘‘The Klan Rears Its Head Again.” The Times was beaten by thirty days. If c. P. A. is a sport he will give you back your derby.

So They Say

Exaggerated reports are being spread as to prospective food price increases and consumers must beware of being stampeded by false rumors.—Dr. Frederic C. Howe, AAA consumers’ counsel. Even babies in coaster wagons won’t be safe in Chicago streets till you have rounded up all the criminals and people who would do such a terrible thing.—Mrs. Robert Pitts, Chicago, whose baby was killed by a wanton shot. The real secret of good coffee is to serve it in thin cups. No matter how it is made, it can’t taste right in thick ones.—James Wolf. Newcastle (Pa.) restaurateur. Japan desires the friendship of the world much more than she wants territory.—K. Inabata, Japanese industrialist, member house of peers. If the government only would realize that the people of this country have brains, then we might have a chance to get back to normal times.—Ex-Senator James A. Reed ol Missouri.