Indianapolis Times, Volume 46, Number 235, Indianapolis, Marion County, 9 February 1935 — Page 10

PAGE 10

The Indianapolis Times (A WO KIPP)*.HOW A Rf> KEWSrArf*) R'T W. HOWARD ...... PrwrtdMt TALCOTT POW..LL Editor EAKL D RAKER Batlcei* SUnijrr I’koM Blly MBS

(J* tit' e I t’/ht •tn r t #*e r**pU Will Fin* Thnr Own Ryjr

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SATURDAY FEBRUARY . i#3S GOVERNMENT OF FIVE BRANCHES r T'*HF. government of the United States, we ■*- were taught in school, consist* of three branches, the executive, legislative and judicial. Os recent years, a fourth appears to have added unofficially—the investigative. Few can doubt the valuable services of this branch; to wit. in the matter of Teapot Dome, the banking investigation and the munitions inquiry. Now we seem in a fair way of developing a fifth branch —the telegraphic. This is the long-distance lobby, or technique of delivering a shower of telegrams on the doorsteps of Congressmen at the psychological moment. Rejection by the Senate of the World Court appears as the most vivid example of the power of this fifth branch at the moment. On Friday, it appeared likely that the World Court would pass. Over the week-end, several wielders of this fifth arm of government got busy. And in the cloudburst of telegrams that descended on the Senate, the World Court was lost. It is not precisely anew technique, yet there are signs that it is being developed to anew high point. Members of Congress not familiar with its manifestations must now give careful consideration to its meaning. Naturally, a Congressman ought to pay attention to his mail, and especially to telegrams. from his constituents. That is one way for him to know the folks at home are thinking. But it is after all. only one way. It ought to be evaluated, weighed, and not necessarily always accepted at face value. For instance, large numbers of identical telegrams might be discounted, say, three for one. For a certain amount of suspicion always attaches to the intrinsic value as well as to the deep conviction behind the message that comes in another's words. Old. experienced Congressmen know this. Messages plainly attributable to impassioned oratorical appeals or intensive editorial cam- I paigns might also be discounted, say two for i one. A sliding scale of evaluating the mes- ’ sages might be worked out by astute Con- ; gressmen. For the telegraphic shower is never as good j a cross-section as a vote, or even a straw ' vote. Usually there is one side that doesn't I send telegrams at all. It's a fascinating study for Congressmen, and you may be sure some of them will be studying it. For the telegraphic branch of the government seems to be flourishing these days. One result is an unquestioned good—it makes business for the telegraph companies. (H R POLITICAL POSTOFFICE T'*OR uncounted years the postoffice has been * a synonym for partisan politics. To think of it in any other way is a sort of minor revolution in itself. Yet Senator Norris has introduced a bill in Congress which would effectively take the Federal Postoffice Department out of party politics. It provides for a Postmaster General appointed for 10 years, who would appoint hia own postmasters on a merit basis rather than have them appointed nominally by the President. but really as a reward for local party work. Norris' new law is aimed principally at the old custom of having the chairman of the victorious party's national committee also act as Postmaster General, with control of the vast patronage at present attached to that office. AH efforts to pry Jim Farley loose from one of these two jobs so far have been vain. Norris' bill would end it not only for Farley, but ior the future. It seems visionary, this idea to make the postoffice “a business Institution based upon merit and efficiency.'' But Norris has slain bigger dragons than this. CONGRESS HOLDS THE TIDE THE present session of Congress seems to be fooling the eioerts almost as badly as the 1934 world series foo>d the sports writers. Drawing analogies between politics and baseball may be slightly irreverent—either to politics, or to baseball, as you choose —but the ghost of a parallel is there. The 19?4 series was going to be >a walkaway for 'he Tigers. They had the class, the vim. the determination, the what's-it; the result was all charted in advance. The only thing that went wrong was that nothing happened on the field the way it had been doped to happen, and when the dust had settled the Cardinals had the triumph. And m politics? Well, this was the session in which the Administration enjoyed a record majority. The President's popularity was at its peak. Congress would give him just about what he wanted, and no more. His re-election in 1936 was a foregone conclusion. and to go against him in this session would be a comparatively painless way of committing political suicide. So what happened? Well, the big workrelief bill aroused much more opposition than any one had expected. The Senate kicked over the traces on the World Court. The whole legislative machinery got out of gear—temporally, at least. Townsend plan and bonus bill took on anew aspect. To quote a recent United State* dispatch: "The confusion which has become apparent in Democratic ranks has heartened Republicans to such extent that some of the more optimistic are talking now of 1936 Instead of 1940. . . . The bolder Republicans. In private conversations, say now that perhaps they can make a real fight of it" Bolling all this down, we can discover a tide, or a combination of tides, setting in directions not foreseen two months ago. The wegreaumu have been hearing tram h&m*—

For Legalized Larceny BY TALCOTT POWELL

T EGISLATORS were caught napping when they passed House Bill 156. This legislation provides that sheriffs in counties under 200.000 population shall personally receive 60 cents a day for feeding each prisoner in county jail. In more populous counties—chiefly Marion—they shall receive 40 cents. Innocent looking, isn’t it? Actually it is nothing but an adroit plan whereby a sheriff may fatten his bank aocount at the expense of the taxpayer. It is merely a means for making graft legitimate. . Sheriff Otto Ray of this county has been exceedingly active in the maneuvers which led to this poisonous legislation. Let us see just how much money he stands to make out of it. Last year the Marion County Jail held an average of 250 prisoners a day. The average cost of feeding each of them daily was 22 cents. If Sheriff Rav continues to give them the same food he will personally profit under this new law to the extent of $15,000 to $20,000 a year over and above the salary the taxpayers expected to pay him. If he succeeds in cutting the cost of the food below 22 cents a head a day he will profit just that much more. Pretty nice proposition, eh? No wonder he has been busy in the lobbies to jam this bill through. What we are wondering is by what right the sheriffs of Marion and Lake Counties feel themselves entitled to become leeches at the expense of the taxpayers. These are hard times. Why should these men use their public offices to enrich themselves for life? If Sheriff Ray is not receiving money enough to support his office—and we do think the Marion County Jail is badly undermanned—he could have forthright appeal for more funds. uoubtedly would have gotten them. We should have supported him. The fee system for public officials, particularly for sheriffs, is rotten. It has been proved rotten in Indiana again and again. This bill is the only mar on the present Legislature's record. A handful of shrewd and unscrupulous parliamentarians slipped the enactment through at a time when the members of both houses were tired and inattentive. There is still time to reconsider. Every legislator should ponder the ffict that he has authorized a few men to line their pockets at the expense of jail inmates who are at their mercy. Every voter should study this bill and the conduct of his particular legislators regarding It. Make no mistake—it is a bill for legalized larceny. u a tt A NOThER proposed law which is kicking at the door of the Capitol would legalize betting on horse racing—the so-called parimutuel bil! Now we are not prudish about gambling. We know that people are going to gamble, that they do gamble, regardless of whether it is illegal or not. But that pari-mutuel bill is a mistake. Indiana is located between Kentucky and Illinois—two states with established racing. There are many honest sportsmen in horse racing—the Bradleys, the Whitneys, the Harrimans and others—but there would be no inducement for them to come to Indiana when they might more profitably run their horses in our neighboring states. All that Indiana would gain out of the legalization of race betting would be a police

about old-age pensions, about the bonus, about the 30-hour week, about the World Court, about heaven only knows what else; and the voice from home seems to be a bit louder than the voice from the White House. What, then, can we expect? Probably this: That the Administration will presently get its first rea’lv big test. We shall discover, then, whether the upsurge of popular discontent which expressed itself in the last two elections has reached high-water mark or is still rising; whether this Administration's left-of-center course is to be followed docilely or only after a stiff fight. A political situation which seemed to have solidified, two months ago, is revealed as still in a state of flux. Mr. Roosevelt has never been called on for higher qualities of leadership thar will be required of him in the immediate future. PROGRESS IN HEALTH SOMETIMES one gets discouraged with the progress of medicine. One sees, despite modem knowledge and facilities, the suffering of friends, the all-too-wide prevalence of disease. And one wonders just how great is this medical progress in practical results. Now and then comes an inconspicuous answer which ought to be more generally known. For instance, the New York St.ita Department of Health reports that not n single case of smallpox was reported in that .-.tate in 1934. In the “good old days" of our fori fathers, every second face was pitted by the ravages of this disease. Now sanitation, preventive medicine, vaccination, have all but conquered it. In view of the comparative newness of modern medicine as a science, progress has really been. a marvel. Sickness, disease, death may never be conquered, but credit for the # remarkable progress that can be definitely shown ought to be given freely. RIGHTS OF THE PEOPLE “TF this is to continue a land of opportunity, the privilege must be preserved to every man to enjoy the fruit of his own ability and labor and to hand it on to his children.'' says Jouett Shouse. This may be read with nodding approval in the homes of those who can afford to contribute to the American Liberty League, but with painful grimaces in the homes of the jobless. How can a man without a job “enjoy the fruits of his own ability and labor?" And what can he “hand on to his children” except a heritage of debts and despair? Mr. Shouse's Liberty League should concern itself less with abstract rights and more with concrete rights, the most important of which in our economic system is the ng w t to work. Obviously the privilege td "enjoy the fruit” is limited to those who have the opportunity to use their ability and labor. We, u a people, have collective rights to en-

problem. This state would be over-run with all the riffraff that small-time racing attracts. No Indianian needs to be told what types would descend upon us. We should be unwilling hosts to all the touts, pompous bums, pickpockets, tipsters, wire fraud artists and shell game boys in the Middle West. What little the state gained in taxes would be more than paid out in policing to keep these cheap tramps in some semblance of order. Indiana can not afford to be inundated with low crooks in the false hope of putting a few dollars In the public treasury. Thinking people will promptly let their representatives know what they think about this proposal. a a tt TT is about time that the present ringing silence was broken on liquor legislation. This problem has been acute for nearly two years. Presumably many legislators have been giving sober thought to it. What do they propose? A review of the situation since repeal ’ be helpful. First there was the importer system for beer. It was an experiment, but the scheme provided some good laboratory work in liquor control. It handed over a monopoly to a few individuals. It was a fruitful source of patronage. It undoubtedly mad* 1 money for a fortunate minority. The same is true of package sales of hard liquor, which were vested solely in* the hands of the drug industry, wholesale and retail. This has led to high prices, encouraged bootlegging by suppressing open and legitimate competition. By-the-drink sales just grew, like Topsy. The enormous public demand for this type of liquor traffic created a staggering law enforcement problem. Because of the lack of adequate regulation the state has been deprived of much revenue. These are the bad features of Indiana liquor control. There are some outstandingly good ones to offset it. Think. Has this state had the beer wars, the graft, the scandals that other states have had since repeal? It has not. Our present system was merely a 'try. It is time to discard it. The importers should go—although politicians will probably try to keep them in existence until next fall so that they may enjoy one more summer of beer sales. The monopoly on hard liquor should be broken so that competition may bring the price down to decent levels. Taxes should be reduced for the same purpose and because lower prices will mean greater revenue for the state. They will also make the bootlegger’s lot a harder one. Prohibition and Indiana's experience since repeal have fully demonstrated that unpopular laws are unenforceable. They are merely a source of graft for racketeers, official and private. It is to be hoped that whatever legislation on liquor grows out of the present session lays down merely broad policy. Details should be worked out by executive authority, preferably a non-partisan commission. Utterly asinine is the idea of telling the man or woman who drinks a highball whether he or she shall eat a sandwich with it, crook his elbow, or whether his body shall be at right angles to the floor or seated in a chair. Allow only respectable, established places to sell liquor and 90 per cent of the policing is done.

joy the fruits of our collective genius and labor. And we have the privilege, and responsibility, to pass these fruits on to the next generation. THE JITTERS A CCUSTOMED to voicing such formal phrases as "broad fundamentals” and “general principles,” State Secretary Cordell Hull lapsed into the idicm of the people when he said that the families of “our 10 million unemployed are having a major case of the jitters” because of trade-destroying tariffs. But the erudite secretary had enough provocation to make him forget the language of diplomacy. He was answering a Congressman who had said ihat grape growers were having the “jitters” for fear reciprocal trade agreements with France and Italy would flood the American market with foreign wines. Our tariff on wine is $1.25 a gallon. Under a reciprocal trade treaty it can not be reduced by more than 50 per cent, or not lower than 62 1 2 cents a gallon. Vintners admit that the value of wine in American vats is about 30 cents a gallon. So if the Administration goes the limit in cutting the tariff, American wine will still have large protection. The argument that a prohibitive tariff is needed to protect American grape growers or those who work in the vineyards and wineries is, of course, ridiculous. American wine producers have just complaints against unreasonable state taxes, license fees and sales regulations which pyramid consumer prices of wine and limit consumption. But they have more tariff protection than they are entitled to have, even from a strict protectionist viewpoint. NUDISM NOT NEW? TT probably isn't the proper subject to discuss these cold days, but science, always seasonable, has brought it up. Dr. L. Vernon Briggs, state alienis - ; of Massachusetts, claims to have discovered an important item about the controversial topic of nudism. Apparently it is not new at all. Nudism, says Dr. Briggs, used to be practiced openly in the Seventeenth century' and in Puritanical old New England. Nudists, called "rantors,” were wont to march up and down streets, interrupting meetings and generally mating a show of themselves. In June, 1657, two young ladies, Lydia Wardwell ar\d Deborah Wilson, were arrested, tied to a whipping post and beaten “because they came to a meeting entirely divested of their clothes.” Others say that nudism was practiced at an even earlier date in the'Garden of Eden. Indiana officials announce they will jail fortune tellers in anew drive. But why not punish them? No one ever stays in an Indiana jail. President Roosevelt is having so much trouble with his *4.880.000.000 relief program, probably because he hasn’t yet taken in all the relative* and friend* of all the Congressmen.

THE INDIANAPOLIS TIMES

The Message Center

(Times readers are invited to express their views in these columns. Make your letters short, so ail can have a chance. Limit them to 250 words or less. Your letter must he signed, but names will be withheld at request oj the letter writer.) nan BONUS SUPPORTER OPENS FIRE ON “JUNIOR” By John A. Friend. I read the letter signed by Junior, now 30 years old, who was too young to fight in the World War, but is a member of the Reserves and subject to call, but does not say he would serve in case of need. During the Spanish War a,nd World War, nearly 4,500,000 iffin bore arms. Would you be willing to fight for 81 a day minus 56.40 a month for insurance while common labor, your class, would get from sl2 to $25 a day, and be perfectly safe, aild free to come and go as they please? Don’t you think defenders of our country who lie in mud, slush, and snow for months defending your class are not entitled to a few favors from the government they defended. Would you like a job where some receive sls a day and you receive sl. a What wise guy told you the Legion made a promise to ex-Presi-dent Coolidge to desert her veterans and support the National Economy League? I see now why we were called doughboys, because we fought for dough instead of O’d Glory. Had we lost the war, where would you be now, working harder and giving two-thirds of your pay to the exkaiser and his gang and maybe doing the goose step? tt tt tt SUPPORTS MOVE TO PAY AGED POOR By F. B. Merriman. I look forward with pleasure every day toward scanning the pages of your paper, and especially to the items regarding old-age pensions. I have been a booster here for the Townsend old-age revolving pension plan. I notice there has been some criticism about the amount; they say a person does not need that much. I wonder if they have noticed that our Federal government is about to retire a certain circuit judge who is 70 years old, on a life pension of $12,500 a year? Our President says he would be willing to give everybody over 65 and in destitute circumstances the princely amount of sls a month providing the state does the same. These capitalists will yell their heads off about the Townsend plan being to much, but rub their hands in glee over the judge getting his $12,500 a year which he probably does not need. Will some of our critics please advise where the social justice comes in? n tt WORKING WOMEN ARE DEFENDED IN LETTER By J. M. C. The modem working woman, so whole-heartedly assailed by J. B. L., needs no measly letter of mine to uphold her side of the old argument—to collect wages for her labor, or not to collect wages for her labor—but * it does get tiresome to continue to hear that women are responsible for every major disaster that strikes this land of ours. Now J. B. L., doesn’t it seem strange that n big, strong man, with his vastly superior mental equipment, must “slave from morning until night.” to buy things which practically any able-bodied 18-year-oid girl can honestly earn lor her-

CANT BE BOTHERED!

Facts on C>

By F. C. McCormick. The Child Labor Amendment was passed as a joint resolution by the 68th Congress by a vote of 297 to 69 in the House, and 61 to 23 in the Senate. At that time those opposed to the amendment did everything in their power to destroy or weaken it with amendments. For instance, they tried to insert the word “child” for “person” knowing that the word “child” carried different meanings in different states, in some states meaning only those 12 years old and younger. Many states recognize that there are some tasks too dangerous morally and physically for persons under 18 years of age and have thrown safeguards around such persons. This amendment is simply a grant of power to Congress to deal with this subject and does not in itself limit, regulate or prohibit anything. Opponents claim that if Congress is given this power it will pass laws forbidding boys to help with the farm work and girls to

self with ease and elegance. And just look at her while she is doing it—slim, trim, pretty, sweet and best of all, intelligent. Intelligent enough to reject this high and lonesome old pedestal on which her nonwage collecting mother is said to have stood in the minds of her father and his ilk. (Just try and picture a woman on a pedestal in those old calico mother-hubbards father “slaved” to lay at the feet of his ideal. Couldn’t have looked funny, she always looked so utterly faded and worn out.) In those “good old days” when “women were in their# proper place” her father and maybe yours w’ere making just a little less than the working,women of this blighted age. Wasn’t it immigration that supplied the cheap labor then, and don’t you think present laws and restrictions could be changed as immigrant labor could do it again if it became necessary? Why can’t you be thankful that the money stays in the family, even though sis, or daughter, or the wife earns it? a a tt “NERVOUS EDGE” OF BUSINESS IS HARMFUL By George Gould Hine. On Feb. 3. a crowd of Indianapolis business men were huddled around a shell game, eyes glued on the little pea as it darted, first under one shell, then under another. The pea represented prosperity; the shells were arguments, the spieler was the holding company doing its stuff in the columns of a local newspaper. The spieler was saying: “Now, gentlemen, step up and make your bets. As sound investors you know there must be no more of this government spending.- Our private capital must do the spending. Now step up and bet anything you want to bet that the little pea of prosperity is under the shell of our spending. If you win, we give you back your shirts. If you lse, we take your pants.” Here was a fair enough proposition, on the face of it. But, if it had not been a shell game, the spieler would have gone on to say: “But, gentlemen, before you make your bets, it’s only fair to tell you, if you don’t already know it, that private capital is up against it. It's up against the stene wall of trade obstructions that are now complete around every country in the world. These walls can't pe torn down because vast vested interests have

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

'hild Labor

help with housework, notwithstanding the fact that no state has passed such laws though they now have the power to do so. The fact is Congress will not pass idiotic laws under this grant of power unless we elect idiots to Congress and we will not do that. The brutal and inhuman treatment of children in some industries in some states is W'orse than it was 10 years ago. There has been improvement in other states. Because there are a few brutal men in industry who profit by the ♦abuse and exploitation of children is no reason why decent and humane men in the same industry should not be protected from the necessity of competing with them. Beca :se children are weak and helpless is no reason why they should not be protected from their despoilers. Because the pitifully small earnings of children will not hire expensive lawyers and look small beside the huge sums of money in the hands of their greedy and heartless enemies is no reason why voices should not be raised in their behalf.

been built up behind them. These vested interests can not and will not permit their removal. You, yourself, would oppose it. So, all over the world, responsible and conservative statesmen are reorganizing the internal economy of their countries. In the words of Premier Bennett of Canada: ‘The world will never again be what it was. -We have come to a parting of the ways.’ “Now, gentlemen, we can’t really do the spending. We can’t put the idle to work. If we could, we would have done it long ago. But it is neecssary for us to make yop think we can, by hiding the fact that the woild markets have creeping paralysis, in order that we may accomplish certain ends. We make you think we can by pulling voodoo stuff. We pound the tom tom of ‘business on nervous edge’ in every newspaper in the country, either in editorials, or news items, or features. We do this to scare the people and Congress and the President into letting us alone; into letting us continue centralizing the control of industry, into letting our financial parasites continue to skin the middle class out of their savings by unloading watered stock on them stocks which can't possibly pay dividends unless we are allowed to continue extortionate rates for gas, light and power. “Now, gentlemen, we'll get back tc the regular spiel. Step up and make your bets. Remember the little pea of better times would be under the shell of our spending if business wasn't on nervous edge. If you win, we'll give you back your shirts. If you lose, we ll take your pants.” a a a NATION NOT CIVILIZED YET, READER SAYS By H. L. I love our American people; my chief criticism of us is that we are not civilized. True, we make splen-

Daily Thought

Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword.—St. Matthew 26:52. LU ET the gullied fools the toils of war pursue, where bleed the many to enrich the few.—Shenstone.

FEB. 9, 1935

did toys, but we have too much of the jungle in us to make the important friendly moves; we fear the ancient danger of becoming some one else’s dinner. Os a great American university, consider its president—an eminent philosopher who is more interested in religion than in anything else. When this Christian minister votes, when he really has a chance to strike our social sins, does he rise above the jungle instinct? Does he teach his students to do so? The fact that we are in our present external plight is not our major calamity, the reality that we heathens are too well satisfied with our cannibalistic system to vote to become a Christian nation is our grave actuality. If we can not take such a simple step toward Christianity as that of casting unselfish votes, as though our individual votes w r ould control the election, how can we believe that we have achieved a blessing so fine, so high and so noble as is spirituality?

So They Say

Make is snappy; I must look nice for the girls.—Capt. Ivan Poderjay, to photographers. Both trees and men are living mechanisms more complex than any political state. Both are controlled by decentralized powers, from w’hich messengers, as of the gods, transmit the signals for balanced action to all parts of the organism.—Dr. D. T. MacDougal, of the Carnegie Institute. War represents intellectual bankruptcy, the prostitution of science to murder.—Dr. Louis Mann, University of Chicago. Strange as it may seem, sound or stable money has never existed except recently in Sweden. England is close on the heels of Sw’eden, and America, under Mr. Roosevelt’s guidance, is also on the road.— Prof. Irving Fisher of Yale. Lack of confidence is the very essence of depression.—Dr, A. Lawrence Lowell, president-emeritus of Harvard. If I can’t manage a team, I'll quit, —Babe Ruth. I never announce anything until it’s an established fact.—Dr. Allan R. Dafoe.

THESE DEAD

BY PATTY LOIS NORTON “These dead shall not have died In vain,” So Lincoln said; But does he know the world travails in pain.. And makes more dead? Does he, deep planted in his homeland's rich embrace See how the nations struggle, lac# to face? Do ears long dulled by dust, hear war trumps gasp And eyes pressed shut by earth see human clasp Broken from brother-hand to dye, like rusty rain The nation’s lands and seas, deep horror red? He sees; and God sees, standing with bent head. The waste of flesh, and of great love the dearth, The knell of war, that sends these and the newer dead. Haunted by memory's fear, to Eoam a. aorrx aarfetw T [ ...... .....