Indianapolis Times, Volume 46, Number 188, Indianapolis, Marion County, 17 December 1934 — Page 11

It Seems to Me HEYWOD BROUN A LMOST any day now The Sun will reprint the letter from a little girl about Santa Claus and what the editor said in reply. I am sorry I can't remember the names. This annual tribute to Santa Claus has always left me cold and I grow more chilly to the piece as the years roll on. In the first place the little girl showed a reasonable degree of skepticism. She was Just about ready to throw off the shackles of an old myth. The editor clamped them on again. He didn't tell her the truth. Possibly

this bad precedent may account for many editorials on other subjects which have appeared from time to time in various papers. I am all for legends and fairy stories and ancient customs. A folk story is generally true in spirit no matter how fantastic its details. It is a sort of parable built upon the accumulated wisdom of the ages. But I have a grievance against the figure called Santa Claus. Unlike mo6t myths the tale of the old gentleman and his reindeer glorifies an untruth. It warps the minds of the very young with a most pernicious notion. To be sure the average girl or boy finds out the fake

II

Heywood Broun

about the age of 3 or 4. The child of 6 who still believes in Santa Claus I would set down as definitely backward. But even after the literal belief is gone there lingers in the mind a yearning for some other sort of Santa Claus. Oppressed people of various kinds sometimes go from the cradle to the grave without registering any adequate protest against their lot. They are waiting for the sound of the sleigh bells. Santa Claus will come down the chimney and bestow those rights and necessities which they lack. He may be the inspired leader or he is sent in the guise of some governmental agency or act of legislation. a a a Reindeer Make Tough Eating NATURALLY it would be folly to deny that leadership and legislation may nick fleeply into many problems and for my own part I do believe in paternalistic government. Even so complete reliance should not be placed on any one of these three factors or even on them all in combination. There isn’t any Santa Claus. Groups of men and women can obtain their hopes and desires only by massing together and going out to fight and agitate for their objectives. It is far more satisfactory to pick an orange directly from the tree than to find it in the toe of your stocking. Harsh names are hurled at those who go out telling little children that Santa Claus is a fake. These disciples of the whole truth are called cynical and crabbed and spoilsports. But man must find out sooner or later that he stands on his own feet and this information might as well come early rather than late. If anybody entrusted a baby to my tender care I would spring the truth about Santa Claus the instant the child could walk. I'd say, "And now, fine fellow, you have achieved the art of locomotion. You can go just as far and as fast as your feet will carry you. Forget about the reindeer. They make indifferent draft animals and singularly tough steak. Let me hear no nonsense out of you about Santa Claus. You and I are rational human beings up to the extent of our ability, I hope.” ana Let's Hold an Election T EVEN wonder whether children do get a great deal of fun out of the old gentleman in the sleigh. No very' warm memories linger in my mind.' He gave me a wakeful night once a year. Always I waited with rather more fear than anticipation for the sound of his fat belly scraping down the chimney. It gave me a sense of insecurity. If Santa Claus could sneak up on me in that way so might the bogey man or any evil witch of whom I had read in the fairy books. Asa matter of fact it was my annual inclination to sell Santa Claus short. My invariable bet was that his gifts would be disappointing. You see, I took the story very literally. It was said that Santa Claus would be lavish and generous with only those children who were very good and had a year’s record of complete compliance to all the orders of their elders. No wonder I was bearish on the entire proposition. In childhood, as in later life, everybody hopes for more than he is likely to get, particularly if the gifts are to be dropped in his lap. The Santa Claus myth has made for more disappointment than joy if you look over (he statistics very carefully. I know of many districts in the large and crowded cities where the old gentleman couldn't muster as much as a single vote. Os course, from my point of view it would be better to hold the election the day after Christmas rather than the night before. The question may be asked, "After we have shot Santa Claus what can be put in his place?” I think we don’t need a single figure. How about just centering the spirit of the day around the factor of universal fellowship. Not one Santa Claus, but a hundred million. (Copyright. 1934)

Your Health -BY DR. MORRIS FISHBLi.

'TKJBERCULOSIS is spread by the germs of the disease. This germ is transmitted through the material coughed up and expectorated so that it may get into the throat and lungs of others, particularly children. Os course, children also have the chance of being infected from milk of cows that are tuberculous. In the majority of human cases of tuberculosis, however. the infection has come from some other human being. It has been estimated that 92 per cent of the cases develop in this way. Tuberculosis has been called a house disease because it is spread by the dust in homes when proper measures are not taken to control the dissemination of infected dust. It has been pointed out that the child lives nearer to the ground and the dust than does the older person. It creeps on the floor and is likely to put into its mouth anything that it happens to And. a a a -*• the first year of life die from tuberculosis, while only 20 to 30 per cent die when infected in the second year. Anywhere from 30 to 90 per cent of all children who have reached 15 years of age have taken the germs of tuberculosis into their bodies. Many of these recover, many simply hold the infection in check. If. however, the resistance of the child is broken down from any cause, such as fatigue, lack of sleep, poor food, or frequent colds, new germs, as well as old. attack them and they may come down with a severe form of tuberculous disease. a a a npHE best way, therefore, to prevent tuberculosis is to keep the germ from entering the body and at the same time to keep the resistance of the body by proper hygiene at the highest possible point, so that even if the germs dc enter the body, they can* not gain adequate hold. Because of the susceptibility of the child, it is even more important to apply such methods to the care of the child than to the adult. No doubt a large pert of the income from sale of Christmas seals will be devoted this year, as in the past, to examinations of larger numbers of children, with a view of detecting tuberculosis at the earliest possible moment and of applying proper methods so that cure may be brought about. In the child the diagnosis of tuberculosis is made primarily by use of'the tuberculin test and by taking X-ray pictures of the lungs. At the same time, of course, the doctor studies the lungs by all the methods of physical diagnosis and. in certain instances, may make examinations of the suptum as well.

The Indianapolis Times

Full Leased Wire Service of the United Pre* Awociktlon

THE MURDER OF BABY LINDBERGH

Gaston Means’ $104,000 Swindle of Mrs. McLean Is Recalled

‘‘The Lmdbrrrh eaae." said Justice Janes M. Praetor, "brnihl oat all the host In the hearts of men. bat aiaa case the opnortanltr to some to display the wickedness of haman nature." The Justice, holdinc court in Washington, delivered his homily at conclusion of the trial of Gaston B. Means, who swindled Mrs. Etxltii Walsh McLean out of 3104.0 AP on the pretense he could deliver the Lindbergh child to his parents. The following dispatch, sixth in the Sidney B. Whipple series, relates details of the Means ease. BY SIDNEY B. WHIPPLE t'nited Press Staff Correspondent (Copyright. 1934. by United Press) TJROKEN by the “silent treatment” given him by the police during the five days after the finding of the Lindbergh baby, John Hughes Curtis of Norfolk, confessed his story of contacting the kidnapers had been false from beginning to end, a gigantic fabrication of lies. Six weeks later he was convicted of obstructing justice and sentenced to spend a year in jail and pay a fi ne of SI,OOO. Cur never served the jail sentence. Pe*haps his protests that he had grown "insane” on the subject brought some amelioration, for on Nov. 7 the imprisonment clause was suspended, and he went back to Norfolk, a free man. But running parallel with the Norfolk hoax, and rivaling it in many of its more sensational aspects, was the amazing case of Gaston B. Means, former Department of Justice operative, who swindled Mrs. Evalyn McLean out of $104,000 on the strength of stories as wild as any told by Curtis. Gaston B. Means’ round and dimpled face, his bland personality, his geniality always had been effective weapons in dealing with women. a a a TN 1917, he had been acquitted of the murder of Mrs. Maude Robinson King, a woman whose $2,000,000 estate he “managed” so successfully that it was alleged only a few thousand dollars remained in it after his operations. Shortly after the kidnaping in Hopewell, Means approached Mrs. McLean, estranged wife of Edward McLean, the former Washington publisher, with a melodramatic story of a “contact” with the kidnapers. Mrs. McLean agreed to give Means SIOO,OOO, of which $50,000 was to go for ransom and the remainder was to be his commission for returning the child to the Lindberghs. She also advanced him $4,000 “for expenses,” and Means pretended to set to work. In story-book style, Means assigned numbers to each of the principals and established a thrilling atmosphere of secret intrigue: Mrs. McLean became “No.

—The DAILY WASHINGTON MERRY-GO-ROUND By Drew Pearson and Robert S. Allen

WASHINGTON, Dec. 17.—Senate- Republican leaders have a bristly burr all ready and waiting to be slipped under the New Deal blanket at the opportune moment. The G. O. P. boys have secretly agreed among themselves to throw their side of the chamber behind the demand for immediate payment of the bonus. This means only slightly less than one-third of the Senate, but in a close fight where every vote counts, it may be just enough to give the bonusites the prize they so long have sought.

Real significance behind the G. O. P. move is the line of tactics it indicates the party leaders contemplate following in the coming session. Frontal opposition to the Administration will be soft pedaled, while a guerrilla warfare of flank and rear attacks will be waged. As regards the pro-bonus stand, there is an ironic angle to the matter. While favoring prompt payment to the veterans, the Republicans are vehemently opposed to anything savoring of inflation. a a a WHAT's in a name? What’s behind the names of the members of the Cabinet? Trace back their original German, Scotch or dialect-English meaning and here are some of the answers you get: Dern (Secretary of War) means “hidden, concealed.” Farley (Postmaster General) is a variant of “ferly,” meaning a “strange sight.” Perkins (Secretary of Labor) means "weak cider.” Morgenthau (Secretary of the Treasury) means “morning dew.” a m a THE Huey Long-Roosevelt administration feud is getting hot and personal. The Kingflsh has just been tipped off confidentially that treasury tax sleuths are using the same tactics on him that were used on A1 Capone. Federal agents launched their attack on Capone by indirection. They first picked off his lieutenants. When they were corralled, they got the necessary information to “put the bee on the big boy.” Huey’s friends—and he has a great many more in Washington than the inner White House circle suspects—have been warned that similar methods are now being used against him. A check of this information disclosed the highly significant fact that in the course of the last few months a number of Huey’s close henchmen (two of them only last week), have been indicted for income tax evasion. When Huey was told of the alleged drive he expressed neither alarm nor concern. He assured his friends his "skirts were clear.” and that he has known for months that Government agents were on h'r trud. Note: Two liberal C-^atcrs have sent the Kingfish word that if he needs them, they stand ruady to act as his counsel without charge. a m a TIMES have changed for Government agents. During the prohibition era, a few years ago, the shooting of a

■■■ 1 Hr s HUB ;* ■v ' Wat .• amBBM

Gaston B. Means . . . Swindler Extraordinary

11.” Miss Elizabeth Nelson, a nurse, became “No. 19.” Means himself was “No. 27.” / man 'T'HE kidnapers, Means said, had discovered they could not use the ransom money given them by Jafsie. They wanted the bills, whose serial numbers had been noted, replaced by others which should be unmarked. Txie chief of the kidnap gang, he told Mrs. McLean, was known as “The Fox.” And the baby was being held at Aiken, S. C. “I have seen the child,” he said, “and have persuaded the gang to have motion pictures taken of him as proof of his identity.” Mrs. McLean and the nurse, engaged io care for the baby when he should be turned over to them, made trips at Means’ request to Aiken, Sj. C., and as far as El Paso, Tex., where the SIOO,OOO deal was to be consummated. With the return of the baby only

Government sleuth was greeted either with public apathy or illconcealed condonement. But today under the vigorous crime suppression policy of Homer Cummings, the wounding or death in action of'these men is a matter of headline interest and nation-wide sympathy. From being generally despised enforcers of an unpopular law, Government agents have become heroic destroyers of marauding thugs and outlaws. This change in public attitude toward Federal crime detectors is one of the notable achievements of the New Deal. Through it Atty.-Gen. Homer Cummings has done much to rehabilitate the long-besmirched repute of the Department of Justice and its Bureau of Investigation. (Copyright. 1934. by United Feature Syndicate. Inc.) CIGARETS TO GO TO VETERAN HOSPITALS V. F. W. Gets 2000 Packages From Benefit Dance. Veterans in Federal hospitals here, in Marion and in Lafayette, will receive Christmas cigarets this week from the Marion County Council, Veterans of Foreign Wars, as a result of a dance given last night in Tomlinson Hall under the council’s auspices. Admission to the dance was one package of cigarets and more than 2030 persons attended. Fifteen hundred of the packages will be taken to the large hospital at Marion; 150 will be distributed here and approximately 200 will go to the institution at Lafayette. Music for last night's dance was provided by four Federal Emergency Relief Administration bands, with C. A. Sanders conducting. Earl Jones, O. L. Enyert and Mrs. Wallace Fifer were on the committee of arrangements. Carl Carey was master of ceremonies. CANARY SHOW CLOSES Tluve-Ring Circus Is Feature at Closing Session of State Group. A canary three-ring circus, presented by Miss Lillian Hayes, Dunreith, was the feature yesterday of the closing session of the third annual show of the Pedigreed Canary Club of Indianapolis and the Indiana Cage Bird Association at the Severin. More than 1000 persons attended. Yesterday’s program also included a lecture by Dr. Richard Ball, New York City, ornithologist. Smw-h . 4 ■' 4

INDIANAPOLIS, MONDAY, DECEMBER 17, 1934

“a matter of hours,” Mrs. McLean turned over the money to the suave operator and impatiently awaited the result. She was doomed to disappointment. Means said the contact with the kidnapers had been broken. 0 0# FEELING she was being deluded, Mrs. McLean finally asked for the return of her money. Means was “very astonished!” “I sent the money back to you. Didn’t you get it?” he exclaimed. A man he had never seen before, he explained, met him near Aiken and whispered the secret symbol—“ No. 11 sent me”—into his ear. Thinking this was an emissary from Mrs. McLean, he game the man the entire SIOO,OOO. Means’ trial was short. Found guilty of obtaining money under false pretenses, he was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment at Atlanta. In the following year, the De-

SLUM DEMOLITION STARTS TOMORROW Civic Ceremony to Frecede House Wrecking. Civic and government officials today reported their plans complete for ceremonies which will signal launching of the Federal lowcost housing project at noon tomorrow. Following an address at the Lincoln by Col. H. B. Hackett, chief of the Public Works Administration’s housing division, the luncheon party will be shown through the 36-acre residential area and will witness the ceremony marking the start of actual demolition. LEAGUE TO GIVE PLAY Postponed Performance Wil? Be Presented at Manual High School. The play, “Charm Shop,” which the Indianapolis Walther League was to have presented last Friday night, will be given at 8:15 tomorrow night at Manual Training High School Auditorium. Dr. John E. Potzger is directmg the cast which is headed by Louis Moehlman, Frieda Draeger, Alberta Stuckmeyer and Vernon Neubauer.

SIDE GLANCES By George Clark

g)q3 WPmefcLe. t. ■. —a. a. f*r. orr.

“Probably won’t need much. 1 never got around to *aat winter’s alcohol*!*

Jfk S 5 II J| I ■K p / / |H| k / fV~Y JR

Mrs. Evalyn McLean . . . Swindled Extraordinarily

partment of Justice actually picked up “The Fox,” a wily individual whose real name was Norman Whitaker, and Means was haled from prison to stand trial with “The Fox” for conspiracy. 000 ON this occasion, Means embellished his story with additional details. He insisted that the body of the Lindbergh baby had been wrongly identified. “The child is in Mexico,” he said, “and I can name the actual kidnapers.” The plot, Means testified, was conceived by “Wellington Henderson, head of the Communist Third Internationale in this country” and one “Irving Fenton, whom I met in the Atlanta Penitentiary.” In addition to these fictitious characters, Means brought into the case the names of two rum runners, Max Greenberg and Max Hassel, who completed the quar-

I COVER THE WORLD 00# 000 By William Philip Simms

WASHINGTON, Dec. 17.—Blame for Japan’s withdrawal from the Washington naval limitation treaty, official notice of which is expected here next Thursday, will be laid at the door of the other powers, according to Japanese sources. Accompanying Nippon’s note of abrogation, the writer understands, the Tokio government plans to make public a memo stating that reduction of armament was her real aim and that it was no fault of Japan if the other nations refused to go along with her.

ACCORDING to the same sources Japan will tell the United States and the world that by abrogating the Washington naval treaty she has not the slightest intention of bringing about a naval construction race. On the contrary, in this view, Japan is bent on enforcing a real disarmament plan. a a a SHE will refuse to accept the breakdown of the London conversations as final, it is said. Instead, she will insist that the main naval conference of 1935, stipulated by Article 23 of the Treaty of Washington, be called regardless. The memo, it is understood, will

tet of “master minds” in the kidnaping. Unfortunately for Means, Greenberg and Hassel had only recently been liquidated by gun fire, in a New Jersey hotel, and could not therefore be summoned. THE jury didn’t believe the story, and found the bland swindler guilty of conspiracy. An additional two years were tacked on to the original sentence of 15 years. Means smiled when he was sentenced. His eyes twinkled and his dimples appeared deeper than ever. All the efforts of the Department of Justice failed to find th>? cache in which he had hidden his SIOO,OOO profit. To this day, its hiding place is a secret. “And he never even split with ‘The Fox,’ the Department of Justice sleuths declared. Tomorrow—The Sharpe Suicide.

announce regret that she was unable to win the other powers over to her proposals, and express the conviction that world opinion will finally come to understand the real meaning of her course. Article 23 stipulates that the pact shall remain in force until Dec. 31, 1936; shall continue thereafter unless denounced two yeais before that date, and that notice of termination shall be made at Washington—which Government shall then notify the other signatories. The article concludes as follows: “Within one year of the date on which a notice of termination by any power has taken effect, all the contracting powers shall meet in conference.” a a a npHE Japanese interpret this as • • mandatory. The article says “shall,” not “may.” And they intend to make a point of it. If America or Britain turns zhe parley down, Japan may be counted upon to cite the fact as further proof that others than herself are responsible for anything that might happen in consequence. Washington does not entirely agree with the mandatory principle. The British seemingly are in doubt, preferring to let the quarrel appear to be between Japan and the United States, with themselves as peacemakers. Washington’s position is that harm, rather than good, would come of a full dress conference in 1935 unless there is advance indication that it, too, would not go on the rocks. Meanwhile, a big shift has taken place in the Japanese navy, “to cope,” it was announced unofficially, with the coming “emergency period” Japan considers the next 12 to 24 months as crucial. When her withdrawal from the, League of Nations and the naval limitation treaties become* effective, the dispute over the Japanese mandated islands may become acute, and the balance of the western Pacific will be upset. She also fears possible complications in her relations with China and Russia. It Is regarded as significant that in the shakeup the secret naval feud —which the 1930 naval conference at London started—played a part. The faction favoring the ratio princiole is said to have suffered more or less of an eclipse in favor of the faction which opposed it. The big-navy crowd apparently got the high commands and key ashore afloat.

Second Section

Entered a* Second-Cls Matter at Postoffice. Indianapolis. Ind.

Fair Enough WBMOOKPHBt THE state of Florida seems determined not to make the same mistake that converted Los Angeles and the surrounding country into a great national poorhouse. Gov. Dave Scholtz has decided that transients attempting to enter Florida this winter without visible means of support will be turned back. Interstate immigration restrictions are something new, but the trick should be easy to do in Florida, a small staff of immigration officers stationed at commanding points along the state line

would be able to sift the travelers and repel undesirables. It should be understood, however, that in Florida, "visible means of support” does not necessarily include a pair of calloused hands and a disposition to work and earn. On the contrary, Florida prefers soft hands and a disposition to loaf and spend. In Florida, a rich wife is satisfactory proof that a subject is a desirable immigrant. The character of a man who is willing to sign on as the husbapd of a rich wife in return for a cash bonus at the altar and a weekly allowance stipulated in the contract is not taken into consideration.

Business is business and there is no’sense in being sentimental about a practical matter. The calloused hands and the desire to engage in common toil would suggest an intention to look for a job. There are not enough jobs to go around in Florida and anyway, the working class immigrant buys no wine in the night clubs or yacht fuel in the harbors. He has no spare money to gamble at the casinos or horse tracks, either. About the best he is able to do in this respect is to club together with three other working types a few times a week and buy a 50-cent share in a $2 ticket on a dog race. If he does this too often, he neglects to pay his grocery bill. o*<t Practical People, These Floridans THE greW trouble with the working class or undesirable immigrant in Florida is that he wants to earn a living off the community. Florida frankly prefers to live off her immigrants. The desirable immigrants always include a number of professional gamblers. It is true that, in a sense, the gambler lives off the community. But, in Florida, he makes so much money that he naturally becomes a customer, himself. He pays rent, buys groceries and flannels and also pays his dues to the local statesmen. And, in the course of his business he keeps the rich people’s money in circulation. Therefore, he is more to be desired than a carpenter or digger with a dumb zeal for honest toil and, maybe, a sick wife or child who must have the Florida sun or die. With one notable exception, the local statesmen of Florida have always shown a high regard for the gambling man who pays his dues faithfully. The exception was a sheriff who refused to permit gambling one winter. He was firmly dealt with by the other statesmen, who removed him from office on the grave charge of diverting six cans of tomatoes from the larder of the County Jail. They will have no foolishness in public office in Florida. 0 0* No Sentiment for Mr. Scholtz! FLORIDA is making a great appeal to desirable immigrants. The sun, the wine, the swimming, fishing, yachting, golf, gambling and music are quite as pleasant as the advertisements claim. The state is the winter home of frivolity and sunshine. For invalids of many types, particularly old people who are just cold in their bones, there is no haven like it on this continent. In Los Angeles they made a mistake. Thousands of SSOOO-millionaires were lured in during the real estate boom and trapped there when the crash came. They quickly became undesirables, but there was no way to run them out. Then Upton Sinclair invited all the unemployed to enjoy the winter sun. He told them they could keep warm, anyway. The result was a great immigration of unemployed who would be undesirables in Florida. So Los Angeles became the poorhouse of the U. S. A. Mr. Scholtz is practical about the poor. Mr. Sinclair is sentimental. If Mr. Sinclair were Governor he would tax the rich instead of luring them in with tax exemptions. He would invite the poor in to share with the rich the warmth of the Florida sun. It would be nice if Mr. Scholtz could set aside one scrubby, backwoods county of Florida for ;he undesirable sick and the old people. It needn’t be near Palm Beach. It could be some^remote county where they wouldn’t be seen by the desirable element and break their hearts with their sickness and poverty. (Copyrltrflt, 1934. by United Feature Syndicate. Inc.)

Today s Science BY DAVID DIET£

PHOTOGRAPHING a projectile going four miles a minute by means of a flash of light which lasts one-millionth of a second is the piece of modern scientific magic made possible by anew vacuum tube developed at the Westinghouse Research Laboratories. The tube, which has been named the ignitron, was perfected by Dr. Joseph Slepian and Leon R. Ludwig, research engineers of the Westinghouse Electric Manufacturing Company. The tube was demonstrated for me in the course of an inspection tour of the company’s research laboratories. While photographing high-speed projectiles is the most spectacular demonstration of the accuracy of the ignitron. this does not constitute the most important use of the ignitron. Its chief commercial use today is the field of electric welding because certain types of welding require the same order of accurate control as does the photography of projectiles .a a a THE ignitron Is a mercury arc tube not greatly different in its fundamentals from the mercury arc rectifiers used to charge storage batteries. It is essentially a switch for accurately starting and stopping an electric current for short preiods of time. “In welding devices, small tubes will handle currents up to 5000 amperes without any difficulty,” Dr. Slepian told me. “At present I see no limit in the amount of current which could be handled by an ignitron." / The device for photographing a moving projectile with the ignitron was set up by Dr. Phillips Thomas, another Westinghouse research engineer. In the laboratory demonstration he used" a rubber ball for a projectile firing it out of a miniature cannon with compressed carbon dioxide gas. The ball leaves the muzzle of the cannon with a speed <M four miles a minute. ana AN ignitron tube is set up with a fine stretcher in front of it. As the ball strikes the wire, it brea.'is it. Thus in turn starts a relay into action which sends a tiny current into the ignitron. At once, the mercury arc leaps up. Dr. Th&mas takes advantage of the light of the a.c, which is rich in actinic rays and therefore espec:.ally suitable for photographic work, to supply the light for the picture. The current sent through the ignitron Is a condenser discharge which lasts only a millionth of a second. An interesting detail of the phcU> Is that the breaking wire can be seen bent around the ball. The ignitron is used commercially in spot welding, that is, where pieces of metal instead of being riveted together are welded together at one spot which takes the place of a rivet. Such welds are made by sending enormous currents through the pieces of metal for short lengths of time. In order to make such a weld satisfactory both the magnitude of the current and its duration must be accurately controlled. Otherwise either the weld is uusatisfrctory or the metal is injured. Dr. Slepian points out that the ignitron Termite an accurate con- . troi such as has sever existed. A

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Westbrook Pegler