Indianapolis Times, Indianapolis, Marion County, 11 October 1937 — Page 12

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PAGE 12

The Indianapolis Times

(A SCRIPPS-HOWARD NEWSPAPER)

ROY W. HOWARD LUDWELL DENNY MARK FERREE President Editor Business Manager

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MONDAY, OCT. 11, 1937

NO BLOOD FROM A TURNIP

UR Government wants to cut down its huge work-reliet expenditures. It wants to balance its budget, reduce the public debt, stop mortgaging the future, make this country once more a going concern. Over and over again to the people of the Pacific Northwest, who have benefited so greatly from New Deal expenditures, President Roosevelt stressed these objectives. Since our country operates under a capitalist system, the amount which the Government has to spend, and the amount it collects, depend essentially upon the same thing —upon the condition of business. Tt is to private industry that the Government must look to provide jobs for the unemployed. And also it is from private industry that the Government must get its revenue. The greater the volume of business the larger the Government's revenue. All of which makes timely some observitions by Morris Tremaine, Controller of the State of New York. Mr. Tremaine traveled from New York to Washington to talk with Treasury officials about the proposed revision of the Federal tax system. He strongly urged that the Federal tax on capital gains and the Federal tax on undistributed corporate profits be repealed, or drastically revised. And the principal arguments he offered were revenue arguments—keeping in mind that revenue depends primarily on business prosperity and business volume. 8 = u " 2 E blamed the capital gains and undistributed profits taxes for the recent break in the stock market, and for the absence of new business enterprises. “People won't move their investments,” he said, ‘“because they won't pay the heavy taxes. They get pigheaded about it and you can't blame them. “... The present taxes do not get the large corporations, which can fund their debts and carry on with capital obtained from the banks. They prevent the little fellow from developing a reserve sufficient to expand his business. He has to have a surplus to add to his plant and expand. “... Ford started with about $20,000 capital and built up his business {rom earnings. Practically all of the large corporations today were built up from earnings, yet the undistributed profits tax prohibits the small businessman from applying his earnings constructively. It is killing the intermediate businessman.” Is it too much to hope that Federal tax authorities will at least weigh the evidence and arguments so helpfully proffered by Mr. Tremaine?

DON'T SLAM THE DOOR! QOME of the cooler heads of the American Federation of Labor are urging the Denver convention to postpone drastic action in ousting the suspended C. I. O. unions. And in Atlantic City this week the C. I. 'O. is having a rival convention. For union labor's own sake it is to be hoped that the Federation will not slam the door in finality upon a possible future peace between these rival organizations. And with equal cause it is to be hoped that John L. Lewis’ organization tempers its deliberations and public statements so that the Federation will not be encouraged to sever all relationships. If passion has been heated beyond all cooling, then we hope that the hostile organizations will seek to set up some intralabor arbitration machinery for settling their several jurisdictional disputes without resorting to strikes and boycotts, Senator George L. Berry of Tennessee, president of the Pressmen’s Union, was applauded in Denver when he opposed extension of a ‘‘gigantic administrative force that deals with the intimacies of the trade union movement and the business in which we are engaged.” It might be well to warn both labor groups that when their rows cease to become “intimacies” and are conducted on the public highway the public will be forced to interfere.

BLEEDING THE CONSUMER THE pocket-picking nuisance taxes are still with you. For instance, in August, according to figures just released by the Internal Revenue Bureau— Your taxes on playing cards totaled $264,790; Your taxes on tires totaled $2,198,788; Your taxes on inner tubes totaled $458,747;

Your taxes oh chewing gum totaled $109,937; and Your taxes on sporting goods totaled $500,340.

These are but part of the excise taxes that month after month dip inte consumers’ pockets. There was a time, perhaps, when they were necessary. Most of them were substitutes for the proposéd general manufacturers’ excise tax—the sales tax—which, fortunately, was killed. But they've outlived thair usefulness. The next session of Congress should lose no time in repealing them. And in their stead adequate income taxes should be imposed—imposed on persons in the middle income brackets where the real money actually is, and imposed by reducing exemptions to increase the number of income tax payers and by hiking rates. Until this is done, we're fooling ourselves. Until this is done, the Federal budget may never be in balance.

PULASKI DAY NE hundred and fifty-eight years ago today—one Oct. 11, 1779—Gen. Casimir Pulaski, Polish patriot and lover of liberty and democracy, died at Charleston, S. C., of wounds received in a cavalry charge as valiant as that at Balaclava. So today is Pulaski Day. And rightly. For his was a real contribution to the Americah Revolution. But for him and others like him we should not now be celebrating the 150th anniversary of the Constitution for which the Revolution paved the way.

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THE INDIANAPOLIS TIMES

“Fine, but I Still Remember 1917”—8y Kirby

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Fair Enough

By Westbrook Pegler

Columnist Takes Day Off to Look At Self, and What Does He Find? His Intelligence Store Has No End.

NEW YORK, Oct. 11.—Of al] the fantastic fog-shapes that have arisen off the swamp of confusion since the big war, the most futile, and at the same time the most pretentious, is the deep-thinking, hair-trig-ger columnist or commentator who knows all the answers. Being one co’ these myself, I have been trying to figure out how we came to be, and calculated how

long the game will last. It takes gall to sit down to a typewriter at a certain hour every afternoon to confront a long mile of white paper and presume to tell the people what it is all about to the extent of from 500 to 1000 words. Tell them what what is all about, says you? ‘Oh, just anything and everything. What is it that you would like to be told about by your favorite myriad-minded commentator? Economics, pig prevention, the Constitution, the law, politics, war, history, labor, the C. I. 'O. and the A. F. of L.? We include experts on the budget who couldn't balance an expense account, economic experts who can't find the 5:15 on a suburban timetable, labor experts who never did a lick of work in their lives.

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Mr. Pegler

8 n E are, in short, the berries of the Fourth Estate, s0 passionate and self-important these last few years that some of our number, not content with telling the world what and why so on paper, must even perform forensics at public meetings. Not only that, but these remarks are sometimes deemed to be of such priceless originality and wisdom as to justfy reprinting in full next day, lest some immortal truth be gone with the wind when the cleaners air out the joint. What causes us? Well, as nearly as I can figure it out, this trade began as a sort of journalistic vaudeville intended to entertain the customers and exert a little circulation pull of a slightly higher tone than the

comics possessed. Actually, even now at our grimmest, we aren't one, two, six with a real good strip in which some man is plotting to put out a little girl's eyes or throw a little boy into a blast furnace. In the old days our trade was just olives, requiring a cultivated taste and, as the comics veered off into tragedy and we drifted into ‘isms and causes, the salesmen on the road found, as they continue to find today, that it was much easier to peddle serious funnies than funny seriousness. The comic artists still ride in the big cars and spend their winters shooting in the eighties down South, while we drive the light models—much easier to park, vou know—and interview ourselves day after day on the state of the nation and the wrongs of a woeft1l world.

> % % 7OU might think that once in a great while we would run out of intelligence, and I often marvel at my own exhaustible fund of knowledge, but it just keeps on bubbling up. Nowadays, numbers of our set even get into rather acrimonious clothesline spats, figuring, like the old-time fight promoters, that a grudge fight is good for the gate and the one sure way to drive a small competitor nuts, is to ignore him

as though he didn't exist. Maybe I shouldn't be writing like this, revealing secrets of the trade and all, but T just got to thinking it over and, honest, it's getting plumb ridiculous.

General Hugh Johnson Says—

Let's Review This Country's Risks Before We Cut Japan's 'Jugular Vein"; World War Has Shown Nations' Ability ‘To Do Without' Is Astonishing.

in peace that she can do without in war are aston-

ASHINGTON, Oct. 11.—Before we risk too much on the idea that refusing to take Japanese silk and not sending her any more cotton and scrap iron will “cut her jugular vein,” we had better think carefully. If that failed our next step would be either armed intervention or a backdown. Japan is in the worst position of all the great powers as to strategic raw materials. Brooks Emery's study shows her producing of her needs in critical materials, iron and steel 585 per cent; petroleum, 17.2 per cent; cotton, 4.3 per cent; rubber, nothing; wool, nothing. But of her food she produces 100 per cent, chemicals, 91 per cent; sulphur, 100 per cent; coal, 100 per cent; iron ore. 65 per cent; copper, 92 per cent. Her real “jugular” is her supply of petroleum, rubber and perhaps of iron and steel. * B® ROM the moment we began to apply this strangulation, Japan, or at least the Japanese Government, will be fighting for its life. Will she not resist to the last ditch? This is said only to make the point that & country suddenly made desperate and beleaguered has a

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MONDAY, OCT. 11, 1937

The Hoosier Forum

I wholly disagree with what you say, but will defend to the death your right to say it.<Voltaire.

| REPAIRS ORDERED FOR ROUGH STREET INTERSECTION By H. F. Cook

While the Indiana State and Indianapolis Police are trying to veduce automobile accidents and deaths, may we call to attention the street crossing at State and Lexington Aves.? This crossing is very rough and has been for some time. So far the worst that has happened is a ruined tire, but we are afraid that a car will break a tie rod or something in the steering and cause a bad accident, hurting or killing someone in the car or on the sidewalk. We, the residents of this neighborhood, think this crossing should be fixed before something happens. Please see if you can get anything done in the way of fixing it. (Editor's Note: City Engineer Henry B. Steeg said he has ordered this crossing repaired.)

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CARTOON IS APT, READER THINKS By Mrs. Jessie Tucker

You are to be congratulated on the recent cartoon in your paper entitled “In Qther Words ‘Go to Hell.” This is a great picture and ought to be a good beginner to get the temper of the people in a mood for war. You should follow this up with a picture of Uncle Sam throwing his most physically fit young men in the conflict, show=ing them getting their eyes punched, out, their lungs gassed and their | bodies totally crippled, but leave | one little fellcw carrying home the money of the Standard Oil, and other corporations, in order that Big Business may be pleased.

& &% BELIEVES CONGRESS BRED TWO MICE FOR ‘RATHOLE’ By M. S.

Congress labored over the mountainous problems of unemployment and relief and brought forth two mice—a Senate committee investigation and a $5,000,000 “census.” The Byrnes committee may shed some light, although its hearings will not begin until late fall. If its members do not try to make the hearings a sounding board for parti- | san politics, they might help Congress arrive at a long-term relief policy that will cost less in dollars and human morale. It is sorely regretted that the House tabled the Maverick plan for a joint congres-sional-executive study on an adequate scale, The so-called unemployment census offers even less hope for new light. A count of noses would have done nothing more than temporarily satisfy curiosity. The picture changes rapidly, so such statistics would be out of date before they were printed. But under the plan finally approved, we're not even going to have a nose count. It is to be a voluntary registration, not a census. Those who happen to be out of work on registration day will register if they want to, and those working that day won't get around to it. The scheme is worse than useless. Its estimated cost of $5,000,000 will come out of relief funds. Translate

ishing.

only 13 wére properly lighted. (1 checked them according to what state police, who stopped and inspected my truck at one time, told me.) No, it was not dark; it was daylight but I could see where lights should be, And among those not properly lighted were some Park Board, City Streets, and county trucks. No, Rush County trucks are not equipped either. Let me give you a tip on how to cut accidents 25 per cent. Have the City Police and State Motor Police arrest anyone with bright lights on a paved road or street. If you are

(Times readers are invited to express their views in these columns, religious controversies excluded. Make your letter short, so all can have a chance. Letters must be signed, but names wili be withheld on request.)

this sum into WPA relief and that means relief for about 8000 needy families gone down a rathole for the coming year. This is the net result that will

come from this worse than senseless | qrjving carefully you don't need census,

bright lights. Also inspect all cars And the shame of it is that the | ar rR ncluing the trucks of the F SO oc Meio our cities and counties—for proper changes would have gone far toward Rights, enabling those agencies to keep a running record of unemploved persons and the type of work they are fitted to perform.

SUGGESTS AID IN PRACTICE OF TOLERANCE

By C. H. Wilken In Herblock’s cartoon captioned: ‘Nell, This«One Can Wait Awhile,” Mr. Herblock could have added, “And Some Special Good Reasons for a Perpetual Universe,” and placed the file card right out in front. Then the subject might invite thought every time the file was opened—it might promote often, free and open-minded ‘discussions at home and elsewhere. However vaguely we find ourselves informed on such matters in the beginning, such discussion will broaden our viewpoint as to the rights and views of others regardless of race, creed, nationality, or color, as well as promoting the general welfare of mankind. It will help us to practice the tolerance we so enthusiastically proclaim. CE I URGES CHECK ON CARS, TRUCKS FOR LIGHTS By A. E. M., Rushville Your paper recently urged “Make Streets Safer.” That is a very fine sentence. How can you do it? Let me have a word. I was spending a few days in your city with nothing much to do. One day I stood on a corner and counted trucks—ones that had proper lights and ones that had not. Of 51 trucks

WEARY

By ALICE SULLIVAN My heart is sad and weary, My ayes are wet with tears, My step is slow and dreary, My lips are sealed with grief, I need someone to scothe me For 1 am very blue. I need someone who'll ever be A friend and pal to me.

DAILY THOUGHT

Thou shalt keep the commandments of the Lord thy God, to walk in his ways, and to fear him. —Deuteronomy 8, 6.

OD'S thoughts, His will, His love, His judgments are all man’s home. —George McDonald.

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ANOTHER RENTER WANTS ASSOCIATION By C. M. Honest Renter surely hit the nail square on the head. Why not have a Renters Association in this city? Owners raise our rent as they want to and we have no say in the matter. I do not mean that we should not pay honest rent, but we are

helpless to do anything. If we had a Renters Associalion in this city, in a very short time all the landlords would be wanting to eat out of our hands. » %

SEES POLITICAL REACTION ON KLAN

By W. W. Tt seems to me that all the fuss over Justice Black being a Klan member 15 vears ago may react in a way that would now seem strange.

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the Klan, but I feel that the Republicans and anti-New Deal Democrats may be making the next President.

” ” ” DEFENDS VIGILANTES AS PROBE LOOMS By Edward F. Maddox

Your editorial announcing that the American League AgainstsWar and Fascism is going to investigate the activities of vigilantes and that the La Follette Civil Liberties Com= mittee is likely to help is very interesting, to say the least. Since both of these committees are of Socialist-Communist origin, I suppose that they are going to investigate the American Legion for its activities to preserve civil rights against communistic terrorism. Well, investigations are not going to further the cause of communism in this country. When law and order break down, as it has under New Dealers in various parts of this country, the citizen must organize to protect himself. The way to stop vigilantism is to quell and outlaw socialism, communism and fascism and execute the laws of the land. If some of our public officials think they can turn a pack of Communists loose to terrorize and intimidate all honest workers and employers and cause a complete breakdown of law and order, they think wrong. . . .

By Drew Pearson and Robert S. Allen ASHINGTON, Oct. 11. —Before President Roose-

And He Wants to Be New York’s

I do not and have never favored |

In 1918 we took the steel out of women’s corsets, restricted all use of metal to war purposes and made an unusually scant supply fill the needs of a doubled demand. We prepared to do without any new wool at all for civilians for a year. By meatless, heatless, gasless days we made available tons of critical military supplies. ® » » N shortage items by intense effort we were able to make vast increases of production. Conservastion, diversion of uses and stimulation of production is a resilient reserve of material of great but unmeasurable capacity. Japan might continue for a much longer time than anybody imagines. In desperation, the Japanese havy might not withhold its hands from the Dutch East India supply of oil and rubber. Finally, militarized and equipped Japan does hot need such a preponderance of war supplies against China—which has almost none-—as Germany heeded against the world—which had them all. Yet Germany held out for four years.

velt delivered his Chicago speech proposing a “quarantine” against aggressor nations, he had extremely significant conversations with the Navy and the State Department. : Here is what had happened before he made the speech: Shortly after Congress adjourned, the President called in his chief Navy strategists and asked their advice regarding (1) the ability of the Navy to protect American shipping in the Yar East; (2) the strength of the Navy in case of serious eventualities; (3) the strategy recommended by the Navy to block Japanese imperialism. In reply, the admirals unfolded a plan for an economic blockade of Japan. It did not call for war against Japan, though admittedly it might lead to war. It provided for action by the leading powers of Europe—possibly through the League of Nations or the signatories to the Nine-Power Treaty. * Bw HE chief differences between the admirals’ plan and the economic sanctions hitherto tried by the League were twofold: 1. The League never had the co-operation of the British or French fleets in embargoing shipments to Ttaly the Ethiopian erisis. 2. | on the

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It Seems to Me

By Heywood Broun

After Roosevelt's Chicago Talk Fascist Leaders MHurried to Put On Shoes and They Seemed to Fit.

EW YORK, Oct. 11.—In some of the European capitals President Roosevelt's Chicago speech was a boon to the bootmakers. Many of the Fascist leaders hurried around to put on shoes which seemed to fit.

Ironically enough, the censorship of a controlled press which is established for concealment,

may at times be even more revealing than complete

Some American critics of Franklin Roose-

velt complained that he had been too vague in his remarks and had failed to identify the guilty nations which he had in mind. But his words were crystal clear to Hitler and Mussolini. German and Italian papers either did not print the speech at all, or give brief extracts. And the semiofficial organs of the two dictators let loose in fierce con= demnation of the President's statew ments.

And to what did they object? They objected that any criticism should be leveled against ‘lawless nations” and “aggressors.” Indeed

they put themselves on the spot of publicly pleading guilty to treaty-breaking and violation of international law. They undertook to sct up fascism as a philosophy above the judgment of mankind. Prouds= ly they declared themselves to be the deluge. o td N Paris, Madrid, London, Leningrad and in China the Roosevelt speech was printed in full and was hailed as a step toward leadership in the making of world peace. If by a concerted effort of the rest of the world a quarantine can be established it will be well to arrive at a general agreement as to the nature of the disease which is to be localized. Tt will serve very little to say, “We are all against the Japanese pox, but that fever which Franco and his Moors have brought to Spain is something quite different. This is indeed a kind of warm and friendly therapy de signed for the health and cure of an unhappy nation.” That would be politically and medically unsound. Put the germ of fascism, wherever found, under the microscope, and it will prove to be the same ore ganidm. Tt is that bug which wriggles its tail like a tadpole, and the microbe is equally deadly whether it comes from the East or the West or is found lurking here at home. Indeed the situation is not simply one in which it is possible to point a finger and say, “that man is the carrier,” ‘or “here is the nation guilty of spreading the infection.” » ” 4 E are dealing with a plague which has become pandemic. Many of us will be reluctant to abandon compiete isolation. But such a policy could prove useful only if the disease were unknown within our borders. Unfortunately that is net trie. Many in America have openly applauded the philosophy of Hitler, of Mussolini or their creature Franco. Some of those who help to spread the infection are une doubtedly ignorant of the fact that they are carriers, Probably the American tourist who spent a week ina Berlin and returns to remark that “Hitler is certainly doing a great job,” is quite unaware of the fact that he is adding his mite to the drive against democratie govenment. Fascism is insidious, and we must learn to recognize it even in its earliest stages.

candor.

Mr. Broun

o

The Washington Merry-Go-Round

Roosevelt's Speech Followed Study of Possible Action Against Japan; U.S. Navy Drafts Strategy for Warship Blockade With Help of British,

boycott. blockaded. Moreover, it can be blockaded by placing fleets at two strategic bases==Singapore and the Panama Cas nal. Virtually all shipments to Japan=-except those from war-torn China=-must pass via those twp fortis fied bases. Therefore it was proposed that the British and American fleets co-operate at these two bases. Secretary of State Hull, who was in on these conversations, approved the general idea=provided, of course, that other nations particularly Great Britain, took equal initiative. President Roosevelt was a little more skeptical: He felt that the American public was not prepared for such a step.

Japan, being a series of islands, can be

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ANWHILE, the British were being consulted, At first they argued that the United States should do all the policing in the Pacific. They said they could spare no ships from the Mediterranean, and Baltic. Later they considered sending two destroyer squadrons, two heavy cruisers and one or two battles ships to Singapore. Just about this time, however, submarine “piracy” broke out in the Mediterranean and all further talk of fleet shifts to Singapore was dropped like a hot potato. Most of this took place before the war in China really got hot. Since then : on a

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the Japanese have been

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