Indianapolis Times, Volume 47, Number 190, Indianapolis, Marion County, 18 October 1935 — Page 21

It Seems to Me HEM BROUN VfY mother, who reads my column maternally 11. P very day, took me to task the other evening. “Don't you like anybody, Heywood?” she said. "Do you have to attack somebody every day? After all. you have plenty of faults yourself. Can't you afford to overlook them in others?" I am afraid 1 cen't afford it. For friends, yes. hut not for important people. After all, what would he a trivial peccadillo in a Quentin Reynolds might be a tragi.", weakness in a Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

And the world is filled with a number of big butter and oil men who anoint the great in their editorials and comment,s. Why, then, shouldn't a little fellow try to make his living by an attempt to spccializ" in the dispensing of vinegar? If not each day, it might not be a bad idea at all to take a crack at somebody every other day. At the moment I am irritated by the fact that William Randolph Hearst, on his editorial page, and Alexander Woollcott, over the air, seem to be collaborating to revive that old legend that Calvin Cool-

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Heywood Broun

idge was one of our truly great Presidents. Mr. Coolidge being out or politics, it may be captious to complain. But I feel very much that there is a growing movement to find another candidate with the same rugged and homespun virtues as Calvin Coolidge. And so it is not altogether safe to bestow laurel too generously even upon the tombstone of the dead. tt tt a A Time to Speak AUHAT were these homespun virtues of the little Vermonter who came accidentally to occupy the White House? it was said of Coolidge that he w r as blessed with the reticence of New England and that he rould remain tight-lipped in situations where foolish men would babble. There is a time for silence and there is a time to sneak out. Mr. Coolidge most certainly did not avail himself of one of the most pressing opportunities ever conferred upon any President to bocome articulate. Perhaps it might be a little unfair to hold too much against him the fact that he was mum when Harding and the Ohio gang pillaged the country. No one pays a great deal of attention to what a Vice President may say. After he had been sworn in by lamp light in his father's house it. became his bounden duty to expose and extirpate the remaining traces of the ring which had grown up around Harding. Mr. Coolidge did nothing of the sort. And once in another matter Calvin Coolidge broke down his reticence and thrust himself into print at the worst possible time. I am referring to his famous statement that brokers’ loans were not overextended. The bravest thing to do, of course, would have been a. statement calling the attention of the country to the vast, inflation which was going on and the gambling mania that had seized the country. That would have required courage. tt tt n Silence Second first on the part, of Mr. Coolidge would have been the next best thing After all, a lurking suspicion was beginning to get about that not everything was going to 300. I do not contend that Mr. Coolidge could have avoided the crisis which fell upon the head of and shoulders of his successor, Herbert, Hoover. But he did give aid and comfort to those W'ho were rearing the castle of playing cards higher and higher every day. It was partly the fault of Calvin Coolidge that speculative industry fell from so lofty a peak. It is a smaller thing, - but, I find it difficult not to mention a little sourly that personal dignity w-hich Calvin Coolidge is said to have possessed. His reputation for wit, depended largely on the fact that his humorous sallies were not only dry but highly infrequent. And so around him there grew up the myth that here was a New Englander, stern if you like but with that fine sensitivity of, let’s say, President Eliot of Harvard. There was a Puritan and a man who wasted few words. When he did speak before an audience he never sawed the air with outstretched hand or made any oratorical gestures whatever. He was cold as ice no matter how friendly his listeners. The meeting was on an intellectual plane alone. But I might point, out that President Eliot never had his photograph taken w-earing a headdress of the Blackfeet Indians nor did he pose while pitching hay or lifting a sap bucket. Calvin Coolidge did. He would stand for any Indignity the photographers put upon him. Os course, he was the President of the United States, while Eliot was merely the head of a university. Calvin Coolidge was in politics, and he was in politics because he w'as essentially a politician. He was a small man in stature, in vision and in human sympathy. The salvation of the United States will not be accomplished by any leader who wears these *ame homespun virtues. (Copyright.. 1935)

Your Health -BY l)R. MORRIS FISIIBEIN-

Ij'Or. hundreds of years doctors have been aware of the extent to which chronic rheumatism can disable a person. Yet, they still are trying to discover the cause for this condition and to find a remedy for it. The suggestion was made about 120 years ago that Infection of the teeth might have something to do with rheumatic conditions, and this idea has been mentioned repeatedly ever since. Yet there still are some persons suffering frthn rheumatic disease who have not been relieved of trouble when their teeth were cleared of all infection. Asa result, many specialists are convinced that Infection is not the leading cause of rheumatism. H tt tt MANY specialists think that faulty nutrition and wrong diet are the most significant factors. Many just as responsible authorities believe that diet is not so important, and that correction will not prevent chronic disorders. Most physicians who make a specialty of rheumatic conditons are apt to try a wide variety of treatments to keep it under control. Yet all these treatments, while they relieve a person, do not seem to be specific methods for controlling this disease. Perhaps several factors may be involved in bringing about the rhpumatic attack, so that the only certain method of control may be determination of the factors responsible in each case and application of treatment directed at each one of these factors.

Today s Science BY DAVID DIETZ

THE existence of a powerful connection between the sense of smell and the memory is pointed out by Dr. Donald A. Laird, director of the Colgate University Psychological laboratory on the basis of a study of 254 people. Dr. Laird believes that it is a great mistake to believe that the sense of smell has diminished in man and no longer plays an important role in his behavior. "The sense of smell determines much more of our behavior than we like to admit, or than we conciously realize," Dr. Laird says. “Take the simple matter, for instance, of unexpected notions or reco’lections popping into our thoughts. tt tt tt " YT7HAT stimulates these recalls? Even a good VV introspecter is unable to trace some of them to the stimulus that precipitated the rush of longdormant scenes and actions. "It is now shown that these memories of the past that have a peculiarly haunting, emotional grip over us are often aroused by some fleeting odor. Harvey B Fitzgerald, working in the Colgate Psychological laboratory, has recently made a close study of odors as revivers of memories and provokers of thoughts in 254 living men and women of eminence. Our group of collaborators in obtaining the data averaged 524 years of age.” That this association of odors and memories can have dynamic effects is attested Dy many experinces, Dr. Laird says.

Full Leased Wire Service of ttie United Press Association

bL , s

Boak** Carter

AN Italy conquer Ethiopia? Mussolini puts his head back and bellows with laughter that any one should ask so foolish a question. Emperor Haile Selassie squares his shoulders and his black eyes flash as he replies: “We shall repeat the victory of Adowa!” Italy is a mighty, first-class power. Her youth has been rejuvenated with the spirit of ancient Rome and all its conquering glory. Money has been spent on its military machine. Its soldiers are well-armed, well-equipped and well-fed. Its munitions supply seems plentiful and selfsupporting. And it is filled with the restless spirit of: “Where to next?”—the spirit of imperialism, of conquest, of carving out for itself anew slice of the earth’s surface, from which to extract riches and on which to propagate. Ethiopia is ancient, disorganized with many feudal tribes and chieftains, with no imperialistic

spirit driving it such as is found in the Fascist youth of today. It is in the throes of commercial and social awakening. Its army is not a well-oiled, cohesive military machin like Italy’s army. It h no tanks, aeroplanes numbering less than a dozen and not fit to do anything more hazardous than observation work and artillery spotting. Mos serious of all, from the military viewpoint, it has no standard weapons and, at present, very litile worth-while ammunition. tt tt a THEN on paper, it would seem that Mussolini has a right to lean back on his heels and hold his sides and roar with laughter at any one with the temerity to doubt the immediate success of his military venture. Yet doubters there are among many military experts. The explanation <s —II Duee has two enemies. One is the Emperor of Ethiopia. The other is Nature. And of the two, Nature is the stror ger enemy. Let, us exam'ne why: There are two Italian colonies in northeast Africa. One is Eritrea. The other, separated by French and British Somaliland, is Italian Somaliland. Eritrea is to the north, Italian Somaliland to the south of Ethiopia. Therefore, from these two points, Mussolini’s generals have launched their campaign. They can not use the railroad from Djibouti, as it is internationally owned. They can not cross into Sudan, because that is within the British sphere of influence. a tt tt THE initial Italian attack came from the North—the route that led to the old Italian defeat at Adowa. To this end they built themselves a railroad spur, to the foot of the Ethiopian mountains. But the moutain range which lies beyond the end of the railroad is a country like Colorado and Wyoming in the days of Pike and Kit Carson. There are ancient caravan trails, so hazy and winding that only natives, or seasoned. old-time colonial troops can follow them. It is easy to comprehend the difficulty which faced the Italians in capturing Adowa. The mountains are steep, covered with brush which provides excellent cover for Abyssinian snipers. Consider an Italian soldier, weighed down by his full fighting equipment, clambering through these mountains for miles on end, with only a general idea of his direction, unaccustomed to the terrain and an almost sitting target for an enemy sniper. The Ethiopian tribesman is familiar with the country, is a reader of trail signs, and the possessor of an agility to spring from cover to cover, crag to crag, firing all the while. tt tt a WHEN an enemy is on the move, it must have an objective. There are only three cities —Harrar. the coffee bean center whose products find their way into America's coffee cups every morning; Addis Ababa and Adowa—the only three towns having any

What a War Correspondent Writes and What We Read Back Home Are Often Two Different Things, as Experience Proves

BY ROBERT W. HORTON Times Snerial Writer YY7ASHINGTON, Oct. 18.—Cen- * ’ sorship of news dispatches from Ethiopia and Italy recalls the strict supervision, amounting frequently to suppression, exercised over news sent to the United States during the World War. Direct censorship was general in every country involved in the World War. All news coming to the United SMftes was first pressed through that sieve. At the front the censors were military officers. In the capitals civil employes handled the work. Cnrrespondents had to submit all dispatches to these men. The censor could delete what he pleased, what in his judgment he considered "against the interests” of his country or what he thought might give the enemy important information. Stories sent by mail also fell afoul of censorship. Correspondents who mailed carbon copies of their cabled stories often complained that neither carbons nor cables got through.

The Indianapolis Times

BLACK SHIRT ■— BLACK SKIN

With hopes of an early peace dwindling and with Itclv apparently "digging in'’ for a long campaign. this important book on the Italo-Ethiopian conflict takes on vital proportions. The Times todav presents the eighth installment of Boake Carter's enthralling volume, “Black Shirt. Black Skin."

importance in Ethiopia. The rest are villages and market places. Addis Ababa was only a camping ground 40 years ago and is now but a six-mile conglomeration of mud huts and modern buildings. And here are some 75,000 people hidden beneath a great green blanket of eucalyptus trees. Yet all three cities can be abandoned almost overnight and cause no great loss to the Ethiopian forces. In the north, Adowa has already fallen. In the east, the Italians have concentrated large forces at Assab. Round this Eritrean city, the Italians have thrown up heavy fortifications. These protect supply bases and aerodromes—for Assab is within striking distance by bombing plane of both Harrar and Addis Ababa. The Italians, with planes equipped mostly with water-cooled motors, are reported to be having great trouble already in loss of efficiency from these engines due to heat. Hence probably most of the Italian planes we shall see before long will be equipped with air-cooled motors. This is one of the first military lessons Africa has taught the Italians. tt tt tt r I ‘'HE south is forming the most A vulnerable point in Italy’s campaign of conquest. Much of this is unexplored desert, thorn brush, with little or no water—a hell of burning, fiery heat, rolling for miles on end. It means that the Italian commanders must string out long, vulnerable communication lines, to support the advancing columns. In guerilla attacks these lines can be cut almost at will by tribesmen acquainted with the territory. That is why Selassie is concentrating most of his troops at present to the cast. Tribesmen have been given aiders to make themselves scarce in the daytime, and fight bitterly at night. They can slip through the night as silently as ghosts. Have they not been doing it for generations, stalking game, and fighting fellow tribesmen? A sudden sortie in the dead of night - -wild cries—shots —the gurgling rattle of a dying Italian as his throat is slit from ear to ear by ghostly black hands wielding a shining blade—and then silence—the raiders are gone. Such attacks in the dark will shake the morale of any European troops. The famous Ghourka regiments of the British Indian army struck an unholy terror in the hearts of many German regiments in the early days of the World War by their sudden night attacks—the silent, grim horrible way they went to work, hand to hand, with kukris—slicing, maiming, butchering. tt tt o THE Ethiopians may be trying to hinder and hamper the Italians in the north and slow up their advance to such an extent that tribal regiments may be sent south to Somaliland to launch a counter attacks against the Italian colonial troops. The very nature of the terrain along this front is not conducive to a quick thrust—but rather a slow advance. The farther the advance, the more extended must grow r the Italian front. If the Ethiopians can, by a se-

TNSTANCES were reported where censors deliberately wrote into dispatches words of their own to give the “proper slant.” Six months before the United States entered the war an American press service was thrown out of England for refusing to print dispatches in the exact language approved by the censor. The major handicap in getting news of the Central Powers through to the United States was England’s control of the Atlantic cables. All news had to pass through London to get to the United States, and in Uondon it was subject to the censor's blue pencil. France even cut, at a point five miles off the United States coast, the German cable running from New York to the Azores, and spliced it to a line running to a hut at Manhattan Bt'ach. where French representatives could control it. Since the war there has been a strong tendency in Europe toward censorship of peace-time dispatches. Germany has developed

INDIANAPOLIS, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 18, 1935

The Story Behind the Ethiopian War

1 ' . v mUfti / lip '

Ignorant of the terrors facing them at the hands of a modern military machine, these native warriors rush to the front, blissfully confident they will drive the Italian invaders back to the sea. But mare in their favor than their rifles is Nature, the one force that may yet conquer Benito Mussolini’s ambitions.

rics of quick, nerve-shattering raids, defeat some of the Italian colonials, it may be that they can cause color to gravitate to color, create revolt among the black Somali troops of Italy, and thus sadly damage the Italian prestige. Ogaden province is full of camel trails, heat, jungle fever, plains down upon which the sun beats with great fierceness. The Ethiopian highlander does not like this any more than any white man—but that he can wage a successful campaign through this sector has been proven by the •way the Abyssinian armies routed the Mad Mullah of Somaliland in 1904. tt a tt Highlanders or lowianders, the Ethiopians are hard and fierce fighters. Apart from the regular army, where are all these men who will shed their blood to the last drop to stand off Mussolini’s armies? They are scattered, here, there, everywhere—through plains, hills and valleys. They herd sheep and cattle, horses and camels. They farm small patches of fertile ground—gather wild coffe berries, honey, fruit; they hunt game—move from market place to market place —from one grazing ground to another with their flocks and their herds, making their own garments from leather and hand-loomed cotton, forging their tools on primitive portable anvils. In the main, they are a simple, primitive people—a legacy of those nomads of which the Bible speaks in the Old Testament. Their priests move with them, excepting- the monks who stay rooted in their ancient monasteries. Their churches are mud and thatch. Their food is primitive—meat, peppery flapjacks and honey mead which tastes like flat and slightly sour beer. And they have little respect for people who are so fussy as to insist upon cooked meat. They take theirs in slices, raw! Now then, how can one strike a decisive military blow at such people? There can be only one Italian objective—to occupy the entire country. tt tt tt AFRICA is Africa and a great mysterious land. She has a strange, awesome way of dealing with large forces of men, especially Europeans. She stretches wide her arms, envelops them to her broad bosom and these armies are seen no more—just swallowed up into nothingness. Numbers mean

the most severe regulation of outgoing news, with Italy a close second. tt tt tt INCIDENTALLY, censorship and suppression of news for domestic consumption :n Germany has reduced newspaper circulation more than 30 per cent. Germany has ousted foreign correspondents on charges of writing news unfavorable to the Nazis. During a press conference at the time of the purge last year, the propaganda minister told correspondents: "You may see some disturbances during the day. You are advised that they are not to be published i Germany.” All newsp pers and press agencies in Russia are government enterprises. All news, domestic and foreign, is censored. Correspondents say, however, that the Russian censorship is the least offensive in Europe because the censor goes over the copy with the correspondent and occasionally the correspondent is able to convince the censor that alteration is unjustified. In France there is little direct censorship, as such, except in

r ,, *. —... r —— —' •

Barefooted and without any apparent equipment, Ethiopian warriors congregate in the doorway of a troop car en route to the front. The man at the left hides because it is against his religion to be photographed.

nothing to Africa. Distances are vast and man is but an insignificant insect on the broad surfaces of her great plains. Armies can not deploy in Africa as they do in Europe. Transports of cheering soldiers set sail from Naples—but how many of these light-hearted youths, who were babies when the World War was being fought, or who weren’t even bom at all and thus think that war is a lark of marches, medals and an occasional pot shot at the enemy—how many of these youths have read military histories of Africa? Probably not one. Had they done so, their smiles would have been wiped off their faces and

“times of crisis.” Then the Ministry of Interior, through its control of telegraph and cable offices, cracks down on the transmission of dispatches. France has. however, threatened expulsion Os correspondents in peace times for writing unfavorable comment. a u tt SPAIN'S new constitution prohibits censorship, but during “emergencies” the constitutional restrictions are forgotten. Latin American countries exercise vigilance over transmission to foreign countries of “objectionable” news. They use less finesse than European governments, often relying upon intimidation. George H. Corey, a New York Times correspondent, was expelled from Brazil for writing that a drought was causing serious damage. China censors all cable and wireless dispatches, having representatives at all cable offices. An extremely strict law controls the domestic press, making it virtually useless to foreign correspondents. Japan is generally agreed to have a fairer system. All out-

I I their eyes would mirror a growj ing horror. For history books tell that | Africa has always been one of the most desperate fields, among all the continents, for European armies. tt tt TAKE the Boer War at the turning of the twentieth century. The Boers were Dutch farmers in South Africa. They knew the country. They were expert marksmen. > They were not organized. And they were small in numbers. The might of the British Lion descended on South Africa. Tomorrow—The Mad Mullah. (Copyright. 1935, Telegraph Press. Harrisburg. Pa.i

going dispatches are read by the Foreign Office but seldom, it is said, are they altered. Instead, the Foreign Office holds frequent press conferences at which it is not unusual for an official to criticise a particular story that has been sent out. The only absolute rule appears to be a ban on criticism of the Imperial House. tt tt St STRICT control is exercised over the domestic press, editors being informed, as in Italy, what subjects may not be discussed in print. During the Sino-Japanese conflict in China both sides used spies to watch correspondents. One reporter, having eluded his shadow during a trip to Mukden, wired the Japanese: “Major Watari, care Y'amato Hotel, Mukden. Arriving 3 o’clock this afternoon. Please notify my spy.” The radio is subject to the same control as the press. Except in Canada, the League of Nations at Geneva and the United States, no radio stations in the world are independent. being either official or semi-official.

Second Section

Entered as Second-Class Matter at Postoffice. Indianapolis. Ind.

Fair Enough ml FEGLEE GOV. MARTIN L. DAVEY S disclosure that many members of the Ohio State football team have been carried on public pay rolls suggests again the grave danger of maintaining a state university in the same town with a state capitol. This peril to the morals of the young was first detailed in Baton Rouge. La. It was unforeseen in the beginning and did not become acute until Huey P. Long became dictator of the state. Then, however, the best youth of Louisiana found

themselves exposed to influences which could only have an evil effect on their character and their citizenship. Many of them were taken into political jobs at the center of government in which they learned, much too early in life, what government is. And all of them were thrown into close daily contact with the members of the Legislature, the lobbyists and professional politicians of all sorts, including, of course, the Governors. It may be a-gued that persons who are old enough to attend a

university and learn the beautiful mystery of life from the birds and bees and bullfrogs are old enough to come through such association uncontanunated. But there is a difference. In studying the beautiful mystery of life under formal conditions in college the student approaches the subject in a clean, wholesome way. He should approach the beautiful mystery of government in a similar way. He should experiment in college and class politics and government first, thus preparing himself for experience to followin mature life. tt st a That Old Gang of Ohio's T>UT to learn about government in a state capital -L* —and particularly in such a capital as Baton Rouge under the dictatorship—is to learn about it in the alleys and gutters of politics. This distorts the student’s ideas beyond recovery, and he goes from college into his career, probably a career as a political jobholder, with no idea but to live on the state for the rest of his life. The majority of the students at Louisiana State w-ere not old enough or shrewd enough to realize what w-as happening to them. Never having seen government in any other guise, they thought the state government which they observed daily in operation was the correct version. Consequently, they saw- no dishonor in accepting a state job, and only seven of them protested when their dictator suppressed their student new-spaper, put in a censor for future editions and announced that he would lire “a thousand of the little ” if the dared to say a word against their Fuehrer. Ohio State University is situated in a capital which can hardly be regarded as a fit place in which to burnish the ideals of young Americans. For although Ohio has bpen called the “Cradle of Presidents,” the state capital w-as also the bullpen in which the historic Ohio Gang of the early 1920s received their training. The Ohio Gang of the 1920s composed the most notorious class of statesmen that ever infested the state capital of Ohio, but that does not necessarily mean that they were the worst. The average run of state legislators and politicians probably is just as bad. tt a tt They Forgot Something SUCH is the effect of sin or sinners that nowadays there be statesmen and students in Baton Rouge and Columbus both who will offer solemn arguments to justify the carrying of the varsity football team on the state pay rolls, even though the duties of their positions be strictly theoretical. It is being discovered that college students in state capitol towns are very precocious in politics and acquire jobs quickly, some of them, in all probability, never to be pried loose from the public pay rolls as long as they live. It seems a deplorable waste of money and education to squirt knowledge over a student for four long, expensive years only to prepare him for a career as a sergeant-at-arms or justice of the state supreme court. It has been suggested before and should be urged more diligently now-, in view of Gov. Davey’s disclosures, that the laws relating to the maintenance of certain establishments in proximity to universities should be enlarged. At present it is provided by law in all states that no saloon, gambling hell or brothel shall be permitted to exist within five miles of a university. The reason for this provision is obvious and wise. Such places tend to impair the morals of the students. But the early legislators, in their wisdom, forgot to include state capitols among the forbidden institutions. (Copyright. 1935, by United Feature Syndicate, Inc.)

Times Books

ROOSEVELTS seem to have been into a bit of everything, during the long history of their family in America. The newest record of their multifarious activities has been turned up by Dr. S. C. Gilfillan, and is recorded in his newly launched book, “Inventing the Ship.” (Follett.) To one Nicholas J. Roosevelt, described by Dr. Gilfillan as "a relative of oar illustrious President and other distinguished bearers of the name, and whose great-grand-nephew was the great, grand Theodore,” he gives credit for having probably been responsible for the adoption of paddle-wheels as the means of propulsion on Robert Fulton’s successful steamboat, the Clermont, which made the famous voyage from New York to Albany in 1807. This Roosevelt obtained a parent on a paddlewheel in 1814, but he had had the idea long before that, and had urged its use upon other steamboat projectors besides Fulton. Nicholas Roosevelt persisted in his pioneering. Continues Dr. Gilfillan: “In 1811 he built for the FuJton-Livingston Cos. the New Orleans, first steamboat afloat on the Mississippi, married a daughter of John L. Latrobe, architect of the Capitol, and their first child was born on the first voyage.” o a '"I "'HIS early Roosevelt was not the only steamboat A builder whose ideas were used by the successful Fulton, universally credited by American school histories as the “inventor" of the steamboat. Fulton, in fact, used ideas from a score of sources and, to do him justice, never himself laid claim to particular fame as an inventor. In Dr. Gilfillan’s opinion, Fulton’s success was based least of all on his mechanical and inventive abilities. Wherever he tried to improve on the ideas he borrowed, he made them worse instead, and the original Clermont was pretty much of a mess, from a marine-engineering point of view. Fulton’s real genius. Dr. Gilfillan maintains, lay in his combination of a modicum of mechanical interest with real shrewdness in business. He "got a patent on the Hudson River”—a legislative grant from the State of New York of monopoly rights in steam navigation for 30 years, which enabled him to chase off all rival steamboat builders. With boats that would run at all, an ideal river for steam navigation. and a real need for this kind of transportation, such monopoly could hardly help making a lot of money. The synthetic nature of Fulton’s invention, and the other factors contributing to his success, illustrate Dr. Gilfillan’s main thesis: That inventions are responses to pre-existing social needs, and that a major mechanism is never the brainchild of any one inventor. (By Science Service.)

'LI ym

Westbrook Pcgler