Indianapolis Times, Volume 46, Number 103, Indianapolis, Marion County, 8 September 1934 — Page 7
SEPT. 8, 19341
It Seems to Me HEWOOD BKOUN \ NEWSPAPER MAN always feels a little embar- / ras-sed at raising the complaint that he has been misquoted. Generally he feels that what he said was o fr n o gerat importance in the first place. But I am and: rurbed because I did see a short piece which had me talking; to taxi drivers at an A. F of L. organization meeting and warning them against mob violence" I never mentioned violence once. I'm sure of that, because the speech was practically the same one I made a year ago. Moreover, I feel very strongly that present talk of mob violence” is being us/>fl bv a number of people to distract attention from the bloody violence of the militia and the deputies in the textile strike. When I read that “loyal
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Hrofood Broun
I spent the day in Boston and found a disposition there to give the strikers somewhat the same treatment which they received in San Francisco. The "red menace- to getting a hard play and Governor Ely was featured in eight column headlines as appealing to Gorman to preserve the peace lest it becorrv necessary to call out the guard. a a a He's in the Liberty League BUT the same newspapers which made this play upon the Governor s word carried smaller items saving that at this mill or the other strike breakers had been sworn in as deputies and provided with arms and one company was brutally frank enough to . omit that it was importing one hundred and fifty •deputies from New York to protect its property. It seems to me extremely arrogant for the GovCTTwr of Massachusetts to call upon the president oi the textile union to preserve the peace while he himself is winking at the employers' hiring armed thucs who will dispute ihe legal right of picketing. Governor Ely is a prime mover in the Liberty I -ague which has but recently announced that proper! v rights and human rights are practically the si me thing. I wonder w hether the Governor can not grasp the conception that there is a property right m a job itself? To me a man who steals another fellow s job is a peculiarly contemptible sort of thief. I would not have these so-called “loyal workers tom limb form limb. To that extent I am against violence. There are even occasions when the use of troops may be indicated as useful. But the troops should be used not to escort strike breakers u.ro a plant, but merely to chaperon them out and then keep them out. n a a It's Sot a Tea Tarty IN all strikes trouble arises from the effort to keep operations going with strike breakers at times when feeling runs high. I can not see why the state should be enlisted in helping employers to carry on these anti-social and highly inflammatory tactics. The striker loses wages during a labor dispute. Why shouldn't the employer forego profits during that same stretch of time? The duty of the government through its police or militia should be to see that operations are shut down the minute that difficulties begin Both sides then could approach the problem in hand with more reason and less passion. Directors of the National Association of Cotton manufacturers met in Boston yesterday afternoon and at the end of the meeting one of them blandly announced. "We are willing to submit any question of working conditions to the established machinery of the code authority.” When I see statements of this sort I doubt the protestations of the mill owners that they feel their cause is just and that they are being put upon by the agitators. You see. the spokesman for the cotton manufacturers forcot to explain to the reading public of Boston that the industry's code authority is made up solely of cotton manufacturers and that m effect it would be an appeal from Philip, adamant. to Philip, adamant. The textile strike snould furnish to America the final and convincing proof that labor no longer will submit to the dictatorship of industrialists. Its slogan might well be. "no work without representation.” And, incidentally, Boston harbor was the scene of one of the first American efforts in mass picketing. But I have no desire to draw the parallel too close. This is not a tea party. ■ Copyright. 1934. bv The Ttmvsl
Today s Science BV DAVID DIETZ
THE necessity of revolutionizing the methods of teaching elementary chemistry in the nation's schools will be one of the subjects under discussion when the American Chemical Society begins its eighty-eighth meeting in pieveland on Sept. 10 Leaders of the society’s division of Chemical education believe that the curriculum of elementary chemistry has lagged far behind the recent spectacular advance of science and t.hat there is a crying need for new types of textbooks. The division, according to its chairman. Professor Ross A. Baker of the College of the City of New York, has accepted "the challenge to reorganize the elementary chemistry course in the nation's schools." A symposium will be held during the Cleveland meeting to outline the minimum essentials of the newer chemical knowledge and to illustrate how they can be presented to the beginning student in chemistry. tt n a PROFESSOR BAKER has some critical remarks Ito make about the textbooks now in use. He says: "It has been the common practice of textbook writers to treat new theoretical developments simply as addenda instead of integrating them with the whole Asa matter of fact, the majority of textbooks of general chemistry on the market today are but glorified editions of famous works which first appeared fifty or seventy-five years ago. It is difficult to find a really up-to-date text.” In this coneetion, it is interesting to note that it is only recently that many schools have gotten around to mentionmg the existence of the electron in their chemistry classes. Despite the fact that such subjects as valence and the periodic table can not be adequately explained without recourse to the electron. instruction proceeded practically on the basis of the old notion of the indivisible atom, a nineteenth century notion. mam UNDOUBTEDLY, it was felt that mention of the electron would have made the subject more complicated. But the fact is that the student was left with no adequate picture of why chemical elements combined into compounds or what the nature of the bond between atoms in molecules was. whereas all these things could be pictured in a simple fashion with the aid of the electron. The same things may be said for many other things. Isotopes, for example, can not be made intelligible without some discussion of the construction of the nucleus of the atom. The Cleveland symposium. Professor Baker says, will try to reach an agreement upon which of the older views should be retained and which should be discarded. “For example.’’ he says, “it is no longer possible to maintain the simple or mechanical conception of matter and radiation. We are prepared, if necessary. to recommend a complete reorganization of, and an entirely new approach to. the study of general chemistry.-
workers” are "being escorted to the plant bv national guardsmen" I wonder what has become of the various vehement gentlemen who insisted that the government should not feed the starving families of textile workers because that would be 'taking sides.” What side is the militia on when it is called out by some Governor to "preserve order ” It is worth pointing out that practically all the fatalities during the present s?nke have occurred in sections where the troops were on hand to "preserve peace.” And the list of the dead is a list of strikers or .strike sympathizers.
THE MARCH OF AMERICAN LABOR
Future Policies Make Unions Ponder as They Progress Rapidly
ThU is th* last nl a of six itorifi on *‘Tho March of Labor/* tellinf of th rite of labor under NRV the problems which beset the nation s unions in the new era. and girinr a brief histore of the labor movement. nun BV WILLIS THORNTON SEA Service Staff Writer WASHINGTON, Sept. B.—The turmoil of labor today has two aspects. The first is: How to secure the rights offered by the NR A. how to solve the legal and practical problems knitted up with it, and how to keep wages moving forward as cost of living advances. But the second, more important in the long run. is: How shall labor use its new-granted power: how shall it fit itself into the national scheme; what are its new responsibilities, and how shall it shoulder them? , Between these near and far objectives, labor has a tremendous job cut out for itself. The NR A really created no new problem. The questions of union recognition, collective bargaining, coercion by employer or union organizer, the closed shop—all these are as old as labor relations. NRA simply brought them into the foreground. New laws are inevitable this winter. For the NRA expires next June unless something is done about it in the meantime. The latest decision of the National Labor Relations Board appears to secure exclusive right to represent employes to any organization which can secure a majority. This decision, in the Houde Engineering Corporation case seems the best “break” unionized labor has had since NRA began, and augurs further power to organized labor.
The company union problem remains unsolved. Labor’s effort failed to get a law definitely declaring such unions illegal. But in the meantime the nature of company unions themselves is changing. What is a company union? Obviously, one that is supported and dominated by the company. Originally they were just that. But as they have developed under the strain of the last year, they are becoming something else again. a a a IF a company deducts dues for an employes’ association from a worker's pay, does that give it domination over the union? Miners who have the checkoff do not think so. Railroad shop workers are now trying to merge the company unions of thirteen roads into a new national labor organization, independent of the A. F. of L. A movement is under way to unite similarly the company unions of several auto plants, to form an independent auto union, the Associated Automobile Workers of America, outside either the A. F. of L. or the Mechanics Educational Society. It would be based on what were originally company unions. None of these moves has gone far. but the germ is there for transformation of the local company union into independent national unions. a a a NEW forms of labor contracts are appearing. The Machinists’ Union is experimenting with a contract with press-builders in which the wage scale would vary according to volume of business. The Amalgamated Clothing Workers has an agreement with several firms providing return to the workers from profits of wage reductions made in 1933. The Cigarmakers’ International offered a cigar advertising fund of $50,000 in return for a promise not to oppose complete unioniza-
•The DAILY WASHINGTON MERRY-GO-ROUND By Drew Pearson and Robert S. Allen —
WASHINGTON. Sept. 8. —Nobody quite knows where Little Robby came from. General Johnson himself, says he doesn't know. "When I came to Washington I found her in my office,” he says, "and she has been with me. two paces to the rear, ever since.” Some say she was born in Evansville, 111., a little town of about 500, where the Mississippi makes a big bend just below St. Louis—but nobody is quite sure. She was brought up in a convent and educated in a university, whose name, she says, she doesn't want to reveal for fear
of bringing it notoriety. Other stenographers and her women friends in the NRA know little about her. The personnel office has no file regarding her past experience. It is known that she worked in the New York office of the Radio Corporation of America, then joined Democratic National headquarters. Finally Bob Straus, son of Macy's ambassador to France, brought her to Washington, installed her in General Johnson s office when they still were writing the NRA act. a a a SHE remains the mystery woman of the capital. But no matter where she came from, there are few women who have worked harder for Roosevelt recovery, wielded more power within the NRA. and have flashed more spectacularly across the headlines than Miss Frances Robinson. She has sat in conferences with the barons of big business. She has been a frequent visitor at the White House. She is called •Robby” by the President of the United States. She has traveled 40.000 miles in army planes. And she draws $6,000 annually for being secretary and shadow to the man who for more than a year has attempted to rule American industryThere are many women secretaries in Washington who play a powerful role. But most of them work behind the scenes. They are quiet, efficient, loyal. They contribute materially to the success of the official whom they serve—but to the general public they are unknown. a a a LITTLE Robby has all of these qualities save one. She chose not to remain unknown. Unquestionably, this was the harder role, for it has opened her to attack. No woman, no matter who she is. can play so important a role in the machinery of the most dynamic agency of recovery —and play it publicly—without arousing the interest of a nation. And this part Little Robby has accepted as hers. She has. beyond any doubt, the nerve of a brass monkey. She is equally at home in straightening the tie of a newspaper man. bawlout office boys, attending a stag party uninvited, or talking to the President. Probably it is natural that Robby should not be popular with other women in the administration. NRA secretaries play up to her because she is powerful in personnel matters. But she has few close friends. Miss Perkins resents her constant presence during conferences with Johnson while v Mrs. Roosevelt is slightly aloof—though Robby is invited to
tion. This union also proposed a tax on new machinery to help support the men displaced by it. The legal implications of unionism are growing more complex. There is widespread irritation on the part of employers because the laws sets up many things they may not do, but places almost no restrictions on unions. The National Association of Manufacturers is reported to be planning a campaign to put labor organizations under “codes” of fair practice similar to those under which employers are now working. a a a THE Shoe and Leather Workers’ Industrial Union has been sued by twelve shoe companies for $600,000 in damages for interference with their business by pickets in an alleged strike. This is similar to the famous Danbury Haters’ case, and involves the question of legal responsibility of unions for damage to business. Stiff fines were recently paid by former officials of the National Shoe Workers' Union for violating an anti-strike injuntion at Lynn, Mass., showing the whole matter of labor injunctions is still far from settled. On the other hand, unions were upheld in Hartford (Conn.) superior court in a case of a former member who had been suspended from the union. He claimed that since the labor organization had secured contracts with employers, he was unable to get a job, and sued the union for damages. The court ruled that the union’s actions “were not unlawful and the resulting damage, if such followed, is an incident unfortunnate but unactionable.” a a a STRONG efforts have been made by the A. F. of L. to eliminate the jurisdictional disputes which have helped prejudice employers against it. Three major units have finally united with the building trades
all of the White House "hen’’ parties. a a a WHEN the final story of General Johnson is written —and the NRA chapter is almost finished—Little Robby will occupy an important part. Her part of the story will be that of a small-town girl from the middle west who slaved for a man and a cause she believed in. She slaved sixteen hours a day. And with all her aggressiveness and mannerisms, she has done a difficult job. She has a great capacity for detail. She is a highly efficient secretary. And no matter how late the general rowed with the steel workers or at what time of the night his hoarse voice would yell “Robby!”—she was always there. And if Robby had one real fault it was not her shrill voice or her love of the limelight, but the fact that she “yessed” Johnson, at times egged him on. But Robby has had a swell time. To use her own words: “It's wonderful to meet all the great men of the country. I'm getting a great kick out of it. But after all this is just another job for me.” (Copyright, 1934. bv United Feature Syndicate. Inc.)
SYNTHETIC VITAMIN C CURES HAEMOPHILIA, SCIENTISTS INFORMED
By Initerl Preta ABERDEEN, Sept. B.—Synthetic vitamin C. or ascorbic acid, in the first actual experiments on medical patients, is producing striking and unexpected disease conquests, the British Association for the Advancement of Science was informed today by Professor A. Szent-Gyorgvi, the Hungarian chemist who played a major role in the artificial manufacture of this important vitamin. The striking hereditary disease of bleeding, known as haemophilia. the mouth disease known as pyorrhea, certain forms of haemorrhagica nephritis, and several other diseases against which medicine was helpless are seemingly being cured by ascorbic acid. ’ This is the most striking since these pathological conditions have not been thought to be connected with lack of vitamin,” Professor Szent-Gvorgyi explained. “The securative effects suggest that humanity is suffering much more graveiy from a lack of vitamin C than ha.s hitherto been supposed.”
THE INDIANAPOLIS TIMES
Into anew and better position, a more secure and more dignified place in the social picture, labor moves irresistibly today . . . The above splendid mural painting by A. J. Bogdanove, “Modem Commerce,” gives something of the feeling of this new spirit of progress for labor.
department—the electrical workers, carpenters and joiners, and bricklayers, masons and plasterers. That means that these three unions, with the other sixteen which already belonged to the department, will abide by its decisions as to who shall do what work. Private industry has sweated under these disputes for years. Recently the government sweated some in its public building program here, and was believed about to compel submission of such disputes to arbitration. That spurred the federation to create its own “court” to settle such disputes. Strenuous efforts are being made within the federation to create an authority that can eliminate these disputes, settling them within labor ranks before they start. The federation also has a bureau devoted to wiping out racketeering in local unions and city centrals. This has always been a hard job because local or international unions, once chartered, are almost independent of the federation in conducting their own affairs. a a a ALL these complications only serve to make clear the crying need of organized labor for better leadership. Organization
FEDERAL HOUSING ACT RULES LIBERALIZED Delinquent Taxpayers Now Eligible for Loans. Liberalization of national housing administration rules whereby householders with delinquent taxes and assessments are eligible for loans for modernization and repairing, was announced yesterday by R. Earl Peters, assistant state housing director. In answer to the request of many lersons in the state, Mr. Peters took the matter up with authorities in Washington and yesterday he received an answer by telegram from Roger Steffan, director of the modernization credit division. NO MORE JOBS OPEN, GREENLEE ASSERTS And Only Democrats Need Apply. Secretary Adds. Pleas Greenlee, the Governor's patronage secretary, very frankly does not want any more Republicans in state jobs. This was set forth strongly in an announcement made yesterday by Mr. Greenlee in his capacity as chief state personnel director. There are no more jobs, Mr. Greenlee announced emphatically, and, furthermore, job applicants must come on Mondays and have proper credentials from the Democratic state committtee.
SIDE GLANCES
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