Indianapolis Times, Indianapolis, Marion County, 5 August 1937 — Page 18
PAGE 18 —— The Indianapolis Times
(A SCRIPPS-HOWARD NEWSPAPER)
ROY W. HOWARD LUDWELL DENNY MARK FERREE President Business Manager
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reau of Circulations. RIley 3551
THURSDAY, AUG. 5, 1937
SELF-IMPROVEMENT HAT $250 presidentially autographed Democratic Convention Book— It is a thing of beauty and a joy forever to corporations, which purchase it in bulk lots and thereby make an “Investment in good will” in the Democratic Administration, avoiding the Corrupt Practices Act which prohibits corporate contributions to political parties. Corporations wanting just a little “good will” can buy just a few of the books, and those wanting a lot of “good will” can buy many books. It is a volume of great educational value—and what is even more intriguing, the education derived therefrom seems to run in direct proportion to the number of copies bought. Take the case of the Anthony J. Drexel Biddles. Last October Mrs. Anthony J. Drexel Biddle Jr. bought $20,000 worth of those books. At that time her husband was Minister to Norway. But so great was the education, the self-training and the self-improvement which Mr. Anthony J. Drexel Biddle Jr. derived from the perusal of those 80 identical volumes through the long winter nights in Oslo, that, when springtime rolled around, Mr. Anthony J. Drexel Biddle Jr. was promoted to the post of Ambassador to Poland. We doubt if Dr. Eliot's Five-Foot Shelf could have done better.
TAX ALL ALIKE
WO constitutional amendments have been proposed which we believe are so obviously right in principle that they would be overwhelmingly adopted if submitted to a vote of the people. One, introduced by Senator Capper of Kansas, would make income from Federal securities subject to state taxes and income from state and local securities subject to Federal taxes. The other, sponsored by Rep. John J. Cochran of Missouri, would make the salaries of Federal employees subject to state taxes and the salaries of state and local employees subject to Federal taxes. There are outstanding in this country about $50,000,000,000 worth of securities issued by our Federal, state and local governments. The holders of these securities collect some $2,000,000,000 in interest, practically all of which is
exempt from any taxation. Yet the people who invest their |
money in private business enterprises have to hand over part of their dividends and interest to the Federal tax collector, part to the state tax collector and part to the local tax collector. Palpably this is unfair.
We Pause to Review a
NAW IT'S JUST \ THE BOSS NEW OFFICE
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AND THE NICE MAN
NEVER, NEVER,
KNEW WHAT NE WAS SIGNING HIS NAME FOR!
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HE'S AERAID uM FARLEY IS GOING TO TRY TO SELL “IM THRE RILM
THE INDIANAPOLIS TIMES Best Seller !—By Talburt
BED T!ME STORIES
THURSDAY, AUG. 5, 1937
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The Rebel Yell—By Herblock
Fair Enough
By Westbrook Pegler
Cites Labor Organization Rackets That Often Exploit Union Workers.
EW YORK, Aug. 5.—William Green of the American Federation of Labor recently shed a tear for me as one who had been voted into the C. 1. O. by the national convention of the American ‘Newspaper Guild. That was indeed kind of Mr. Green
and I really didn’t know he cared. But he can dry his eyes because I can handle this myself. My purpose is not to discuss the unionization of
the newspaper business, but just the type of union that Mr. Green's organization offers everybody. His type of union presumes to sell licenses to work and to collect income tax on the members’ earnings, I am paying two income taxes now, Federal and State, and while I have much fault to find with
| the capricious and vindictive ac-
| tions of the Internal Revenue De-
| partment against persons who ex-
And there are in this country some 3,500,000 persons |
on public payrolls whose salaries are wholly or partially tax-exempt. the same salaries or in many cases lower salaries, pay income taxes to both state and Federal governments, No reliable estimate is available as to how much money tould be raised by removing these discriminatory tax exemptions. all citizens should be equal before the tax laws.
SIX MONTHS’ FAILURE NDIANA has not yet organized for safety.
Yet persons in private employment, drawing |
aA ay
ercise their constitutional right to oppose the Administration, a man Mr. Pegler at least can have his day in court with them. Moreover, unless he goes to Alcatraz, he still has a right to earn a living if he can find a job. Mn.
Green's type of labor union, on the other hand, has
| a habit of restricting jobs by limiting the number
| of union members and apprentices, and I know of | one union, the news-reel photographers, which gets | an initiation fee of $1000.
But revenue is secondary to the principle that |
Accident |
reduction work proceeds on a hit-or-miss basis, despite |
the efforts of the State Police. Last year we chalked up one of the worst auto fatality records in the country. Now we're headed for a new record: the first six months of 1937 compared with 522 during the same period last year, an increase of 11.5 per cent. Thirteen counties went through the first half of the year without a traffic death. Allen, Vermillion and Vigo Counties showed splendid safety results. But County and other areas offset these gains. The safety drive should make more headway soon when Don F. Stiver, State Safety Director, doubles the State Police highway patrol. Local courts and police, however, can make or break the program. The new drivers’ license law will be found too weak when it goes into operation, but there are enough laws on the books now to curb the wholesale slaughter if the laws are enforced.
A GOOD APPOINTMENT
ESISTING the pressure of politicians, President Roosevelt has nominated John L. Rogers as a member of the Interstate Commerce Commission. Nominally from Tennessee, Mr. Rogers has lived for many years in Washington, and for a good part of that time has been employed by the ICC, advancing from examiner to head of the Motor Carriers Bureau, where he administered the important Motor Carriers Act. He helped draft this act as executive assistant to Commissioner Joseph Eastman, when the latter was Co-ordinator of Transportation, early in the New Deal. A few weeks ago the President reappointed Mr. East-
man, thus giving one of the outstanding public servants of
the day an opportunity to carry on. Following this by his promotion of a man from the ranks, Mr. Roosevelt has added to the luster of this outstanding regulatory body.
ADJECTIVES AREN'T ANSWERS
“JT is a lot of fatuous twaddle, illogical, irrational, unreasonable, imprudent, ridiculous, absurd, foolish, preposterous, ludicrous, incautious, careless and specious.” Thus Lieut. Col. Brehon B. Somervell, head of the Works Progress Administration in New York City, commented on a charge by Ralph M. Easley of the National Civil Federation that WPA money is going to unworthy people while the worthy unemployed suffer. The New York City WPA may have a perfect defense against those charges. We don’t know. that a great many other people feel, as we do, that when a criticized official replies with a string of scornful adjectives like the one above, he creates at least a suspicion that he isn’t very confident of having the facts of the case on his side.
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590 persons killed during |
Marion |
But we imagine |
A
Union initiation fees of $250 are not uncommon, and I would say this is a bad way to spread employment and get the idle back to work. And in addition to the initiation fee there are dues, assessments and
| fines.
union, he can’t have a job even though some emplover would be glad to hire him, and if he does pay and then goes obstreperous about union politics or finances he runs the risk of being tossed out and blacklisted. Initiation fees, dues, assessments and fines lump up to very sturdy totals and have attracted the professional interest of many labor politicians who run their unions the same way that ward bosses run party politics. And the rank and filers often are afraid to say ves or no about union business affecting their jobs, their earnings and the welfare of their families. There are not many individuals who have the cour-
| age to stand up in meeting and quarrel] with pro- | | fessionals who know the tricks of intimidation, and | an issue involving the human rights of an honest
worker may be decided by an invitation to step out in the hall and get his ears punched off.
AM very wary of Government control of unions because that is the way of fascism and nazism. But I insist nevertheless some way must be found to guarantee an open chance for a man to work without having to buy a license; to abolish the artificial restrictions on opportunity established by some labor unions; to curb the rapacity of labor politicians and to compel a square accounting and an honest disposition of the money collected. We do have our laws relating to conspiracy and embezzlement but generally they have been ineffective in this field. These are a few little imperfections which sometimes appear in Mr. Green's type of union, and I hope he won't be hurt with me for proposing that he quit kidding the public and do a little delousing and sweeping.
The Hoosier Forum
| I wholly disagree with what you say, but will
Commentator Answers Mr. Green: | defend to the death your right to say it.—Voltaire.
PAYS TRIBUTE TO JOHN RADER By Seth Ward John Rader is dead. His passing is a shock to his many friends, the public generally, and especially the young attorneys of this city. Mr. Rader was a lawyer who was widely known as a Christian gentleman. He kept his Bible in his office and always pointed to it with pride as beins his “First Law Book.” Mr. Rader was a most unselfish person, He was known for his great patience as an instructor of law for many years. He was also a teacher in his church and the Masonic Lodge. Mr. Rader’s classes at his church were always large because he | was sincere and practiced what he taught. The young folk had confi- | dence in him and were inspired by his teachings. His honesty and devotion to his duties won the respect of everyone. = » 2 WELFARE DIRECTOR CITES PERILS OF INEFFICIENCY | By Thurman A. Gottschalk, State Public | Welfare Administrator Charges of inefficiency against both State and County welfare departments in Illinois have resulted
{ | |
(Times readers are invited to express their views in these columns, religious con. troversies excluded. Make your letter short, so all can have a chance. Letters must be signed, but names will be withheld on request.)
fare departments and to be assured that they have a sufficient number of workers to do the job properly, | and in asking that counties make | adequate appropriations to meet the financial requirements for full participation in the program, the State Board of Public Welfare is not acting in the spirit of trying to dictate to counties regarding their local program, but is trying only to meet those requirements set by the Federal Government, which will enable the Indiana program to continue receiving Federal funds and
to succeed in every county. The Federal Social Security Act definitely gives the National Social Security Board authority to approve or disapprove methods of administration in any state and the state is held responsible for methods used in any particular county. But welfare administration in Indiana will be no difficult task if we all ap-
|
| refusing allotment of Federal funds |
{ |
| been
F a man will not pay the initiation fee to the | | partment has made no effort to
in the Federal Social Security Board | proach the problem with under-
| standing and a spirit of co-opera- | tion. We cannot afford to take | chances with the lives of more than to our
for 115,000 old-age recipients for
August. The charges specifically against| 60,000 unfortunates given
the Illinois State and County de- Care. partments are that adequate records | ® x = are not kept, blah workers Jaye DEFENDS CHAILLAUX'S selected without regar 0 | ’ qualifications, that the State De- | ACTIVITIES |By H. E. R.
" Deir unt ae Being all fed up on attacks on advise them of their es, y proper investigations are not being | Mr. Chaillaux of the American made, that counties have a defi-| Legion, on what he is alleged to ciency of experienced investigators| have said at an anti-Communist and do not keep proper case records. | meeting at the Cadle Tabernacie None of these charges could be|about a month ago, I wish to say lodged against our present Indiana | that I was there and know that he welfare program of administration. did not say that any minister who
train workers in the counties or to |
We have the merit system for selection of personnel in State and County departments; we have minimum qualifications for workers and rules for minimum number of workers in each department; we have a training program and experienced consultants to serve counties out of the State office. The records we keep have been pronounced adequate by Federal examiners. Our program for July, August and September is fully approved by Federal agencies and continues to draw Federal money. But the danger nevertheless exists that if our program breaks down in any particular, say in a single county, the Federal authorities have the power under the Social Security Act to deny us funds for the operation of our program in every other county of the State. We know that this will not happen if all county officials, charged with responsibility, will give full co-opera-tion. In asking the counties of Indiana to set minimum standards of qualifications for workers in their wel-
|
|
wanted peace was a Communist. What he did say was that many ministers who were praying for
GARDEN OF DEEDS
By ANNA E. YOUNG If your garden of deeds Would have blossoms fair, Then the beds of thought Should be planted with care.
Should be moistened and tended And kept free from weeds. To have flowers fragrant In your garden of deeds.
DAILY THOUGHT
For the wages of sin is death: but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.— Romans 6:23.
F God hath made this world so fair, where sin and death abound, how beautiful beyond compare will paradise be found!—Mont-
gomery.
peace were members of organizations which were communistic but were so organized that many who belonged to them were unaware of
the true nature of the organization |
to which they belonged. I believe that Mr. Chaillaux is a true American and is several jumps ahead of the average American in knowing the true state of affairs in our country. For a month, Communists have been writing to your paper and other papers, accusing Mr. Chaillaux of things which are not true. To me it looks like a concerted effort to discredit Mr, Chaillaux because he is out fighting communism. The Communists in America are as much a part of the Communist Party of Russia as are the Russians.
If the Communists really want dis- |
armament, why don't they disarm in Russia instead of preaching disarmament in the United States? Russia has the largest army ever assembled in the history of the world. Are they crying peace in Russia? They are not! They want disarmament in America so that the Communists will not find so great an opposition when they try to take the Government of the United States. And that should be easy under the present Administration. 8 n on WANTS U. S. SUBSIDIES TO BUSINESS STOPPED By H. L. 8.
The budget could be balanced easily if Congress eliminated all existing subsidies to business from the U. S. Treasury. Incapable of operating business on a strictly profit basis, many special interest groups have their hands into the Treasury to make up their loss due to their incapacity to meet public needs on a strict merit basis. The Wagner Housing Bill is a disguised subsidy to slum area property owners. The Farm Loan Bill passed over the President's veto is a subsidy to the bankers who demand 5 per cent interest from farmers and are tickled to get 3 per cent on Government bonds. If we could remove the leeches, the tax problem would be easier, too. They are largely to blame for us being played for suckers. Why should any business get tariff or subsidy favors? Is it infantile? ” ” ”
SEES BOOMERANG IN RIGHT-TO-WORK IDEA
By Social Democrat The organization of the Johnstown, Pa. Right-to-Work League on a state and national scale may prove a boomerang to the well-paid official employees of big business. If the underpaid ordinary workers get the drift of this “right-to-work” idea, they may organize a larger counter organization to demand permanent jobs for every able-bod-ied person who wants to work. In a really civilized society there is no valid excuse for forcing any person to remain idle for lack of jobs. Jobs are as necessary to life as law is to the social order. The right to the means of earning a living may yet become a constitutional right.
General Hugh Johnson Says—
Black Report Shows Immediate Need for U. S. Slum Clearance Bill; Inadequate Housing Is Linked to Disease, Crime and Human Misery.
EW YORK, Aug. 5.—I have just studied two documents—Senator Black's committee report favoring the Wagner-Steagall Housing Bill and the United States Chamber of Commerce report condemning it. Senator Black's analysis shows the shocking replacement of human labor by automatic machinery. It proves the greatest lag in re-employment is in residential construction. It establishes the appalling shortage of housing for the poor. It proves the appalling effect of slum-living to multiply degradation, disease, crime and human misery. It compares the terrible cost to the public of this social scandal with that of a trial effort to mop up this mess. + The slim margin between loss and profit will not permit private capital, unaided, to venture into the housing projects. Yet a small amount of Government aid can tip the balance with these much desired results; a substantial re-employment where it is most needed, a push to private business where it lags most and, above all, improved living conditions for the submerged third of American childhood.
700 million dollar loan, which never ought to cost the taxpayer a cent, is the price. It is secured by a self-liquidating, income-producing investment. The bill also provides 20 million dollars in outright grants yearly. These are to make up the difference between what the poor can afford to pay for habitations and what such homes actually cost.
There is little experimentation here. This plan was borrowed from the British. It rebuilt England and was the most effective force in balancing British economy. This bill ought to pass without further debate. The House hearings are political, selfish and superfluous. This is no brain trust white rabbit. It represents the best American tradition of Congressional independence in law-making. 2 » 2 HE slight opposition is among jealous Federal bureaus, a few real estate chislers and—oh, yes— the U. 8S. Chamber of Commerce. It says the bill competes with private business. It promises the greatest push to private business we yet have had.
Conceding all the facts presented in the Black report, the Chamber wants to subsidize—not decent living— but the private owners of existing slums, by having the public pay relief rent for their destitute tenants, In contrast with the Black report, the Chamber's document is the bleakest and most ghoulish I have seen. It says the way to drive the poor out of insanitary living is to destroy their hovels. Why not shoot 'em? It says they can then live in the cast-off dwellings of the rich, as they buy used cars. But they can no more afford these second-hand mansions than they can afford new cottages. The Wagner Housing Act is the only answer. It should pass at once, a
—— -
Send — It Seems to M
By Heywood Broun
Imaginative Clashes With Those Who Oppose Writer's Views Play Big Part in His Rest and Relaxation.
NEV YORK, Aug. 5.—Robert C. Benchley, in his book, “New Life in a Quandary,” indulges in a fantasy during which he ime agines himself to be a witness in a courtroom. He is being cross-examined, and by that privilege of power which dreams confer ha invariably makes a monkey of the man who undertakes to heckle him. Indeed, his witty sallies not only cause all the spectators to break into roars of laughter,
but even provoke the stern old Judge to smile slyly behind a guilty hand, I, too, have dreams, but they are of a slightly different nature. My fantasy takes in clashes with actual living people, and in these encounters I am not so much witty as rude and very brutal. Ine deed, in those brief periods of the : day when I put aside my work and pause for rest and recreation I make up in my mind scathing sen- : tences which I would like to apply to those whose views seem to me to be inimical to progressive action in America. This game of make-believe is only fairly satisface tory, because after I have hit upon some bitter phrase of reproach I suddenly remember that there is no place where it could possibly be printed. In some cases the sentences which I devise might be construed as libelous, and occasionally there is a temptation to flirt with the obscene. And so it seems probable that these cutting remarks of mine will never see the light of reality.
Mr. Broun
on » ” FEW of the people whose names figure in my fantasies are acquaintances. We might meet by chance, but in that event there is a strong probability that my good resolutions would turn to water. Unfortunately, my early training was Victorian, and I find it difficult not to fall into the way of con= ventional politeness, since perfect or semiperfect be= havior is actually easier than any other kind. It takes courage and character to be rude and forthright, so in all probability when I see Senator Nye next time I will bow politely and remark that it is pretty hot in Washington. Once, several months ago, I was minded to write something sharply critical of the views of Miss Dorothy Thompson, but then I remembered that she was not only a lady but the wife of Sinclair tewis These facts inhibited me. I am told that Oswald Garrison Villard remarked recently that while I had every right to differ with his opinions, I ought to resvect his gray hairs. But, as a matter of fact, there are many mornings when I feel much older than Mr. Villard, and my hair is not only sparse, but whiter than his own, ” ” oy r I ever meet Tom Girdler again it is my purpose not to be amiable even though the contact is casual and of a purely social sort. My plan is to pretend that he doesn't exist and attempt to walk right through him. That will be a good trick if I can mane age it, but at any rate it will be easier than if Mr. Girdler tries to walk straight through me. That would require a greater cleavage of living tissue, In the case of William Green, the proper tactics would be much more simple, because I honestly have doubts as to whether there is actually any such man. I think of William Green as a character conceived by the late Charles Dickens. But Dickens never went to the trouble of putting him down on paper, because he thought, “Oh, what's the use? The fellow is too preposterous. I could not get a single reader to believe in such a fictional figure!”
The Washington Merry-Go-Round
Green Credited With Courage in Saving Wages-and-Hours Bill in Senate: Michelson Hiring Linked to Fight for Big Wattage by Radio Station,
By Drew Pearson and Robert S. Allen
ASHINGTON, Aug. 5—~The inside story of William Green's rescue of the Wages-and-Hours Bill in the Senate gives you an idea of how much the House of Representatives will be called upon to modify that measure. Had it not been for the mild-mannered little president of the American Federation of Labor, the bill now would be as dead as the six-judge Supreme Court Milk Mr. Roosevelt can thank Mr. Green and no one elise, What is more, Mr. Green's support not only was decisive, but it was an act of real courage. It required nerve on Mr. Green's part because a powerful group in his own Executive Council was diametrically opposed to him. Led by John P. Frey, pugnacious boss of the Metal Trades department, this group had stormed the Senate, and had the bill practically defeated. What made it doubly courageous of Mr. Green to oppose them was the fact that he no longer has his membership in the United Mine Workers, also lacks rank-and-file support inside the federation. Therefore, to retain office he must depend on the goodwill of his Executive Council,
1 reasons behind Crosley Radios hiring of Charley Michelson as its public relations adviser are obvious, but the reasons for Charley's acceptance of this job, even to his close friends, remain a
‘mystery. “
Charley previously had turned down a job offer from the Distilled Spirits Institute for $75,000 with the remark: “What would I do with the money?” He has been getting $20,000 from the Democratic National Committee, and long has joked among his friends that he didn't need that much. Mr. Michel« son has no family, and his chief expense is his bridge game. He plays regularly every afternoon, and loses between $400 and $500 per month.
HE job Charley is taking—at least from the viewe point of the Crosley Radio Corp.—is for only one purpose: To continue its license to operate 500,000-watt radio station, WLW, the most powerful station in the world. Other stations are limited to 50,000 watts at the maximum, and the North American Radio Conference convening Nov. 8 is expected to move toward the elimination of all large stations which tend to blanket the country. Crosley’s license is subject to cancellation every six months, in fact was just renewed on the day Mr. Michelson’s employment was announced-—ale though it seems likely he had nothing to do with it. Previously, the late Anning Prall, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, was cone sidered friendly to WLW, but with his death, Com« missioner George Payne is reported to be preparing a drive to reduce the station's wattage to that of its competitors—another reason why Crosley hired Michelson.
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