Indianapolis Times, Volume 48, Number 25, Indianapolis, Marion County, 9 April 1936 — Page 17

It Seems to Me fIEMH jyjIAMT, Fla., April 9.—1 have not believed in capital punishment and do not now, but if one quick spasm could wipe out all memory and mention of the case that would be good. It was an evil thing that for months and years we rose in the morning and went to bed at night talking of that which was horrid and strange and somehow touched with madness. A kind of blood lust became the opiate of the

people. Nor can I feel that there was anything cleansing in the outcome. We have all stood in the little room with the dirty white walls and can not forget so soon. Some say that such vast publicity advertises the fact that a grotesque death is the way of the transgressor. On the contrary. I believe that when an army marches down into the pit the pitch will stick. Civilization Is tarred and marred by such experience. I will not wince if i am accused of having sympathy even fcg the dead. But the greater

part of my sympathy is for the living. Is this our civilization? Somehow the hand of the potter has slipped most palpably. And the attempt to undo the damage has shaken all the vessels lined on the long shelf of the workshop. Agony upon agony and horror heaped on horror have never yet built up to any goal which was desirable. U U H A Park in Full Cry XTO tremor of an earthquake eould be more widely felt. It happened here under a bright moon. The crowd was intent upon a greyhound race. But even as the dogs yelped round the turn ♦ here came a babbling nt. the gate and heads were turned away from contemplation of the quick. I heard it first from a small boy who held his wares high in the air and cried that death had come. A life snuffed out had expiated crime. “Bruno burns!” shouted the boy again and again. The dogs came quietly from the track and the crowd took up the cry. A cloud passed before the fare of the moon. “He went without saying anything!” exclaimed a reader as he passed his paper on to a friend. He seemed disappointed that any phase of the great madness should have passed in silence. The crowd was noisy enough. There was savagery in the sound. We. too, were members of a park in full cry. And we had caught up with the quarry. Tn that, sense nian had proved himself mightier than the racing dog which nevpr gets its jaws upon the mechanical rabbit.. Being so much further advanced in the seale of civilization, wp had torn and tossed Rside the bobbing white object. Our glory was that we had solved the problem. ana We All Took Part AND now it. was fitting for us to go home content in those measures which our ingenuity has conceived for the handling of crime. Sweet and dreamless sleep is the privilege of the avenger and all his agents. And it could hardly be denied that each of us according to his ability had taken part in the adventure. Through i'ne power of the press even the humblest in a certain sense did his duty as judge and juror and executioner. The boy who cried out with such animation “Bruno burns!” sold his last paper, and another day was done in the progress of a little merchant along the road which leads to fame and fortune. \ The foolish dog park yelps its head off and never catches the thing which it pursues. There is no solution. But we, the hounds of humanity, always catch the rabbit, over and over again, and that., I suppose, solves everything. (Copyright, 1936*

Gov. Landon Irks Hoover s Backers BY RAYMOND CLAPPER WASHINGTON. April 9.—The “California Republican Assembly” is quite put out because Gov. Landon refused to box down\the ears of his Pacific Coast supporters and permit California to send an uninstructed delegation to the Republican national convention, as former President Hoover desired. And well might the “California Republican Assembly” be upset, if you know what it is. It has nothing to do with the California Legislature. It is

a group of what are called "Young Republicans” run by the intimate friends of Mr. Hoover. This was the organization which served as the springboard last fall for Mr. Hoover's dive back into the presidential waters, which unfortunately proved to he more icy than had been expected. The former President's return from Elba had been carefully arranged. A short time before Ben S. Allen, publicity genius of the Hoover wartime food administration, had re-

turned tc. me service of the chief. The “Assembly” staged a Western convention at Oakland. Cal., and Mr. Hoover made the principal speech. It was the debut of what is now known as the "New Hoover.” He delivered the first of his recent series of wisecracking speeches, retouched with sharp gag lines by expert Allen. This appearance was preceded a few' days by rehearsals for the sound movies so that news reels might be released across the country simultaneusly with the Oakland keynote. Mr. Hoover s friends expected his new public personality to spark a renomination movement into action. n m n BUT the work of the “California Republican Assembly” proved in vain for as time went, on the Landon boom, then Just starting, grew. In California It was picked up by Hearst and Merriam and used by them to embarrass their old foe. Hoover. who wanted a delegation unpledged. In vain Hoover and his friends tried to persuade Landon to call off Hearst. Landon refused to interfere. Os course Landon would make himself much more popular wtih a good many people by repudiating Hearst s support. On the other hand he makes himself much more popular with many people, too. by the now open hostility of Hoover, as shown in the hostile action of the “California Republican Assembly.” mum PRIVATELY Landon probably takes just a slight delight in the discomfiture of Hoover. FV>r some months ago. after the Landon boom began to be heard of outside of Kansas. Hoover was asked w’hat he thought of Landon. He replied that he didn’t know' the Kansas Governor. Landon. it is said, didn't like that because he thought Hoover did know him. When Hoover was President and before Landon was Governor, he conferred with him at the White House over the difficulties of independent oil producers In Kansas. Again as Hoover went west after Landon became Governor, he stopped off and had luncheon with Gov. and Mrs. Landon at their Topeka home. And again. Roy Roberts, managing editor of the Kansas City Star, entertained Hoover at dinner in his home In Kansas City and Gov. Landon was a guest. l ot that any of this ts of world-shaking importance. It Just shows what a felloe* runs into when ho seta into politics.

CO-OPS—CONSUMERS IN BUSINESS

j Groceries Thrive, Combine in Buying and Spread Across U. S.

fe tttonlshlnr growth of the eo-operatize movement in the United Statra, from a eery mail beginning to big business ranking, Is described tn a series of si* articles by Bertram B. Fowler, noted magazine writer, this being the fourth of the series. m m m BY BERTRAM B. FOWLER (Copyright, 1936. NBA Service, Inc.t 'JpiIE co-operative store idea is not new to the United States. But the success of these co-op stores during the depression years is new. Along with the amazing growth of the co-op gas and oil business, the building up of the fertilizer and feed stores has gone anew era in co-op grocery stores. Maynard, Mass., presents an example of the idea behind the average co-op store. The average wage in this factory town is $750 a year. The co-operators here have

Heywood Broun

a general store, more modern and up to date than any chain represented in the town. They have their own coal yard, feed warehouse, bakery, milk pasteurizing plant, hardware store, and gas station. The co-op member here gets what he believes is the utmost value for his money. On top of that he gets a patronage dividend of 3li per cent on everything he spends. His goal is a setup where he can spend the whole of his wages co-operatively, which would be VA per cent on his $750. nan THERE were many experiments in co-op stores in the early years of the twentieth century. But most of these stores were started without knowledge of the co-operative technique, were not real co-ops. and when adversity came they died off. But in northern Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota there was an influx of Finnish and German settlers. The Finns brought along with them the true Rochdale cooperative idea. They set up their own stores, and despite hard times and opposition they made them go. But the going was not spectacular. In 1917 many of the stores were on the brink of failure, so 19 delegates met and decided that, something had to be done. Wholesalers, under pressure of their retailers, were cracking down on the co-ops. Therefore, the latter couldn’t buy the things they needed. The 19 men decided that they must set up a wholesale house of their own. A collection was taken, netting the grand total of $15.50. On this magnificent sum the Central Cooperative Wholesale was set up. The ‘office” was only desk space in a corner of the offices of a friendy newspaper man. The man in charge could do little but pool the orders of the stores and subjob them from private wholesalers. ana TOTAL sales of the Central Cooperative Wholesale in its first year of operation were only $25,500. But . these fellows had an idea and they hung on.

WASHINGTON, April 9.—Last year, for the first time in many years, the President of the United States refused to address the annual meeting of the United States Chamber of Commerce. This year the chamber decided to retaliate by inviting no New Deal speaker. Now. however, this has been reversed. The New Deal will be represented after all. It was all fixed up at a luncheon between Harper Sibley, chamber president, and a mutual friend of Sibley and Secretary of Commerce Dan Roper. The friend told Sibley of Ropers disappointment at not being asked to speak. a a a "IT'S rather a bitter pill for A him.” the friend said. “On one hand he is being attacked for, being too friendly to business, and on the other, business gives him the cold shoulder.” Sibley expressed sympathy with Roper but pointed out that he, Sibley, was in a tough spot. “I’m in the middle between two camps,” he explained. “One group, the ultra-hard-shell Tories, are opposed to any overtures to the Administration. The other, made up chiefly of small business men, are on the whole for friendly relations. But it is the first group that controls the chamber.” “Yes.” replied the friend, “but they don’t want to overlook one thing. If Roosevelt is re-elected, their thumbing their noses at him like a gang of peevish schoolboys is going to do them no good in his next four years. He’ll crack down on business with a real vengeance.” a a a SIBLEY was strongly impressed by this argument, promised to see what he could do about securing an invitation for Roper A few days later the Secretary of Commerce got a formal bid. But his first enthusiasm turned somewhat, sour when he learned

Clapper

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Washington Merry-Go-Round BY DREW PEARSON and ROBERT S. ALLEN

BENNY

The Indianapolis Times

A few years ago this organization tried to do business with a big wholesaler in Superior, Wis., home of the Central Co-op. The big wholesaler, proud in its new home, refused the Central credit. On January of this year the Central Co-op moved into that big, once-privately-owned warehouse. The co-op had bought the building at a bankruptcy sale when the big wholesaler failed. There are certain impressive facts in the growth of the Central Co-op Wholesale. It is buying for its member societies about $2,000,000 worth of goods a year. It owns and operates its own modern bakery. Fixed assets are about $250,000. Yet the member societies have invested in the wholesale enterprise only about $25,000 in cash. All the rest represents profits saved by the co-operative system and placed back into the business for the service of the consumers. nan IN Cloquet, Minn., is a local coop society. It has two general stores in the town, a gas station, a coal and feed warehouse. Last year the society in that small town did a total business of SBOO,000. This year the group set out to run the total up to $900,000. Already the co-operators realize that they didn’t aim high enough, so the society is now trying to make it an even million. And from all signs the grade will be made. There are flourishing co-op stores in Massachusetts, in Ohio, in Kansas. Minnesota, and Wisconsin. Kansas itself has 70 stores. These units are having a stiff struggle, trying to buy from unfriendly wholesalers. So the big oil wholesale in North Kansas City, its war chest swollen with oil profits, is laying plans to form a grocery wholesale, to serve these stores and run their number up into the hundreds, even as the Central Co-op Wholesale ran the original 19 stores up to the present string of 133. ana TALK to these co-operators about chain store competition and they come to the front with some interesting figures. The central chain of co-ops is op-

what he had been asked to discuss. The chamber moguls, apparently irked when the President, in his relief message to Congress, rebuked industry for not creating more employment assigned Roper the subject: “How Industry Can Put. More Men to Work.” Note—Some of Roper’s assistants advise him to turn the tables on the Chamber with an outspoken demand that business men -*r re-employ the idle or quit comp,, about Federal relief expenditures. But other advisers urge a conciliatory talk. Cabinet colleagues refer to Roper's predicament as “Daniel in the lions’ den.” a a a THE White House, Mecca of every housekeeping woman in the land, has cockroaches. Despite its S9OOO modern kitchen, despite a retinue of servants, a cockroach hunt takes place after every President leaves office. And whether Republican or Democratic, he always leaves cockroaches behind. P. F. Harris is the official cockroach cleaner. After Harding moved out, the harvest filled one tall ash can. “The cockroaches,” he reminisces, shaking his head, “were something terrible, especially in the kitchen and pantry. It took TOO pounds of exterminator to do the job.” In 1933, after the Hoovers moved out, only 20 pounds were necessary. \ Harris claims that the Roosevelts discriminate against Ameri-can-made cockroach powder and are using a brand “made in Japan.” a a a Henry Wallace says he would have nothing to worry about if every dust storm would cancel out the effect of every flood, as in the case of a Kansas farmer who wrote to him: “Dear sir: Several years ago I

THURSDAY, APRIL 9, 1936

|9 Hi . i '’ i

What happens when co-op store members really “sink their teeth in” and go after business is shown in these pictures. From its small start in the frame building at right, the Brule (Wis.) co-op has “grown into” the substantial brick store shown below. Above is the four-floor brick warehouse bought by the Central Co-Operative Wholesale in Superior, Wis., after bankruptcy overtook the owner, who had refused any credit to the Central. erating on a lower margin than most of the big chains. Even such individual stores as those in Massachusetts, and small chains, such as those in southern Wisconsin and Ohio are beating the chain stores at their own game—economical and efficient operation. The co-operators in Cloquet proudly boast that they have driven most of the chain stores out of town. Those that are left try to meet the co-op prices. In Waukegan, 111., were three co-op stores which had operated successfully for 25 years. Within the last three years, with the sudden burst of interest in co-op-eration, this group opened three new stores. The manager of this group declared that only on certain brands of canned stuff and on slow-mov-ing merchandise could the chains bother him. In perishables, meats, fruits and vegetables, he was beating the chains to the market. a a a Another big oil group is planning a. grocery wholesale in Minneapolis, for their oil and gas success has led members to open co-op groceries. And coming of the wholesale will mean rapid multiplication of member stores. So it goes. The whole movement is based on certain funda-

was the happy and contented possessor of a profitable little farming enterprise, but the cruel ravages of the Missouri River during a flood destroyed my peaceable outlook on life when it washed away the vital soil. “The other morning I awoke, and imagine my surprise when I stepped out to get the morning mail and there was my farm, back again just where a Kansas dust storm had blown it. “I should like to prevent a recurrence of this, and would appreciate any booklets or information on the subject.” a a a O ENATOR 808 REYNOLDS admils the laugh is on him. The hard-working North Carolinian is a filibustering foe of the Kerr-Coolidge bill, which would modify the deportation laws to give the Secretary of Labor discretionary powder in meritorious cases of illegal entry. There are over 3000 such cases now pending, involving several thousand American families which would be broken up if the fathers were deported. Secretary Perkins, immigration officials and welfare organizations throughout the country strongly favor the KerrCoolidge proposal as a humane measure. Reynolds, however, has waged bitter war against the bill and recently made a radio speech attacking it. An organization of women in one North Carolina town responded to the Senator’s appeal with the following letter: Dear Senator: We listened to your radio speech \nd admired it very much. We are in full accord with your position and inclose a resolution, as you requested, stating this. Elated. Reynolds prepared to read the resolution into the Congressional Record. But looking it over first, he suddenly discovered that it called for the PASSAGE of the Kerr-Coolidge bill. (Copyright. 1956. by United Feature Syndicate, Inc.i

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mental rules. The big oil co-opts have wiped out some of the problems that beset the early co-op stores. They have learned organization. They have all built up big funds for expansion. And all are headed by men who are sold on the cooperative idea, and have the backing of a growing army of co-oper-ators. Hand in hand with the grocery stores go certain other developments. Bakeries and milk pasteurizing plants generally spring up v T hen the grocery is started. And through these the co-op idea is getting into the cities, bringing farmer and laborer closer together in a common cause. a a a IN Minneapolis one big consumer co-op distributes about a third of the city's milk supply. In Waukegan, 111., the co-op is the

PLAYS SAFE FOR SLAM

Today’s Contract Problem The extra trick is the important thing in duplicate bridge. Sometimes a little deception will produce it. Can you see how East and West might easily hold this hand to four-odd? AJ 9 3 V ♦A 9 3 4 AQJ 10 4 * K(S N |*Q 74 VQ74 w r V 9 8 5 3 ♦ KQIOS W . fc 2 2 P 5 S . ♦ J 7 3 A K 7 3 Dealer Ia 9 5 A A 10 8 5 2 V A K J 10 4 Void AAB 6 2 N. & S. vul. Opener —4 K. Solution in next issue. 2

Solution to Previous Contract Problem BY WM. E. M’KENNEY Seeretmrv American Bridie Learae TODAY’S hand came up during a recent duplicate game. It was rather surprising to me to note how many fairly good bridge players failed to make six hearts, because they missed the rather simple, although unusual, safety play that was required to assure the contract. Against the six heart contract West decided to open the jack of spades. The king was played from dummy and, when East covered with the ace. declarer

biggest milk distributor in its territory. The co-op gas pump is becoming a familiar sight on streets of Western towns and small cities. Minneapolis has six gas stations. Madison. Wis., has three, a coal yard, and a milk distribution plant. Last year the Madison society did a business of SIB,OOO. This year it is running that up to $150,000. The same story is being repeated in hundreds of towns throughout the country. The coops are writing their advances in good hard figures of dollars and cents. NEXT—The co-op idea extends into banking as the Credit Union movement spreads into 825,000 members in 4000 unions, with savings deposits totaling $50,000,000.

A KQ 6 5 2 V J 10 7 3 !4J 7 3 A 6 A Jio 9 N AAS74 3 VQ9 5 2 w r * 3 4K 8 5 w c 4QIO <5 4 A 10 5 2 -* 2 PT L 0 4 A Void VAKM 4 A 9 AAKQJB73 Duplicate—None vul. South West North East 2 A Pass 2N. T. Pass 3 %T Pass 3 A Pass 3N. T. Pass 4 4 Pass 6 A Pass 6 4 Pass Opening lead—A J- 2

trumped with the four of hearts. Declarer immediately realized that, barring an adverse trump break, he would have no difficulty in making his contract. He therefore played the ace and king of hearts, and on the second round East discarded the six of diamonds It was at this point of the play that a great many players made the very serious mistake of playing a third round of trump. This would be won by West’s queen, who would then shift to a diamond and drive out South’s ace, and declarer would find his contract defeated. However, the simple play was to lead clubs until • West was forced to trump, and whether he trumped with the queen or nine, he could not make more than one trick. •Copyright, 1956. NBA Service. Inc.i

By J. Carver Pusey

Second Section

Entered m Second-Clas* Matter at I’oatoffire, Indianapolis, Ind.

TiJasAmyfon MKrwrrae Westbrook Pegier’s column will be resumed tomorrow. April 9. Every so often the nation has to have anew chief justice of the United States Supreme Court. The next one, many insiders believe, will be Justice Harlan Fiske Stone. Stone is the youngest and most vigorous member of the court s liberal bioc. His personality and his forceful dissenting opinions have made him a candidate for the mantle of the beloved late Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes. Holmes never became chief justice, but Stone is only 63 and some of those who have Roosevelt’s confidence are sure the President, will elevate him to that post if he ever gets the chance. Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes is 74 beyond the retirement age and not very happv. Justice Louis D. Brandeis, although ‘

in spiritual kinship with the New Deal, is 79 and hardly likely to succeed Hughes if it falls to Roosevelt to choose a successor. ana A Tireless Worker OUTSTANDING among Stone's distinctions: His sheer physical strength and energy match those of Justice Owen J. Roberts on the conservative side. He is willing to take on the work of writing the most important dissents and to lead in the hot infighting at

court conferences which precede decisions. Stone is not in sympathy with much of the New Deal. Appointed by Coolidge and a close personal friend of Herbert Hoover, he is a Republican. But he is a fighting champion for a liberal interpretation of the Constitution and the rights of Congress to legislate as against opinions influenced by personal, political, or economic bias. If Hoover were to be re-elected. Stone undoubtedly would return to his old place in the Hoover “medicine ball cabinet.” For a Supreme Court justice, Stone's background is unusually diversified. He started out as a teacher of law and got into the habit of judging without the service in corporation law' to w'hich most justices have been largely confined. He left his post as dean of Columbia University law school to join the big firm of Sullivan Cromwell. where he had a chance to learn the tricks of Wall Street. Finally he served as Attorney General in the Cabinet. Personally. Stone probably is the court's most popular member. He ‘gets around” more than any other justice and has a strong sense of humor. a a a Air Crash Legend A LEGEND is still floating around to the effect that the crash of an American Airlines plane in Arkansas, which killed 17 persons, resulted when a dope fiend, who had taken out heavy insurance just before the flight, suddenly murdered the pilot. Although this fantastic version wasn’t mentioned in the Bureau of Air Commerce's report, which officially declared the tragedy a mystery, the report conspicuously omitted mention of certain evidence which aided the build-up of the theory, and orders have been Issued requiring that pilot compartments be locked and passengers barred therefrom. Several phials of morphine were found in the wreckage. A hole which some thought probably had been made by a bullet fired inside the plane was also discovered in a piece of metal. The wreckage also turned up an unidentified revolver. Then there was the aforementioned rumor that a passenger had been financially embarrassed and had taken out a large amount of insurance. The official report, although admitting the possibility among others of an interference with the pilot, neither explained nor mentioned any of those discoveries. The rigid Department of Commerce censorship has resisted efforts to obtain more light on the results of the investigation. (Copyright. 1956. bv NBA S-rrice. Inr )

Gen. Johnson Says—

ASHINGTON, April 9.—“ Slaughtered by slo- * ’ gans” is the epitaph for NR A. “Industrial dictatorship.” There was no code that Industry did not beg for; not one dictated provision. Some industries had no codes. “Oppressed the Little Fellow.” Small business failures dropped under NR A from the highest to the lowest rate of the century—about half the rate of even the 1928 boom. Little fellows nearly all want it back. “Aided monopoly.” Only monopolistic industries refused it. It was they that had no codes. “Big industries used to boost prices.” In the price-curve of NRA industries there were practically no increases. In other industries the increases were great. “Retarded recovery by increasing prices faster than wages.” It-increased wages—not prices. In spite of price increases in other industries, the purchasing power of pay rolls rose 30 per cent under NRA. It made 2,785,000 jobs for people who had no purchasing power at all. a a a BLUNDERINGLY done.” The greatest administrative attempt in history, with a mandate for speed. NRA made rectifiable errors. The lesson is learned. A corrected NRA is surely coming back. Built by slogans—killed by slogans—fair enough! But unfair are continued repetitions of these sloganized mendacities by Old Guard candidates. Walter Lippmann. Mark Sullivan, and of another bv John Flynn that when NRA was iunked. "General Johnson announced ... the age of chaos.” Johnson said there would be lengthening of hours, lowering of wages, lass of jobs, strikes and turmoil —all of which happened. But as to chaos, NRA was killed on May 27. On May 29, June 5 and June 21, Johnson said: “I am no prophet of disaster. The country can take it. It is a miracle that depression has lasted so long. I don't think it can last much longer. Every economic pressure is upward. There is enough backed-up demand to start every factory wheel spinning. The 1936 elections occur in the seventh year <oI the depression), and the bet is about 10 to 1 that it will be the year of the big boom.” • Copyright. 1956. by United Ptnr*> Sn<Hrt. Inr.l

Times Books

"T’M one of the men.” said Cabe Hargis, “who live 1. on the far prong of the creek, hold up thier breeches with one gallus, and don’t mind If they only have one gallus so long as they got breeches." This breezy declaration will introduce you to th central figure of Charles Morrow Wilson's novel. “Rabble Rower” (Longman’s. Green; *2). which is a marvelously human study of the backwoods politician. Mr. Wilson shows us the untutored Cabe Hargis in his climb to the peak of state politics. His Cabe Hargis stays honest—and. in the end, topples as swiftly as he rose. And the novel is intensely readable, not only as a study of politics, but as a pgrtrayal of a lusty, unpolished. 100 per cent hunuux frontiersixian. (By Bruce Cation.)

Rodney Dutcher