Indianapolis Times, Indianapolis, Marion County, 5 November 1937 — Page 15

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Vagabond

From Indiana— Ernie Pyle

North Platte Reliefers Complain

Scientists Study the Quintuplets

How Experts Planned Routine for Famed Babics

(Fifth in a Series)

Of WPA Unfairness, but Consider Government Support Their Due.

TORTH PLATTE, Neb., Nov. 5.—What is the attitude of the people on relief? It is hard to say. I've talked with a lot of them. Without exception, they tell you they would rather be independent, would rather work for a living in private employment. Even the ones you know are no good will tell you

that. You don’t get much of anywhere talking with people on relief. They'll talk, all right, but you don’t get much conversation you can build anything on. The

By Bruce Catton

relief problem will never be solved |

by consulting reliefers. Each one has a story that gets you. Not a dramatic story, such as a smart panhandler tells, but a story of simple and gradual disintegration of resources, of ill health, of drought, of the things that actually happen to people. A story that is apt to be absolutely true. Once on relief they few exceptions, great about unfairness. And there's hardjv a one who couldn’t run relief much better than it's being run now. Worse even, reliefers against crowing (and somewhat cause Henry across the ain't I entitled to it too? I know of one farmer who wants relief. And a little help wouldn't do him any harm. Yet he has crown sons working, he still has cattle, and he is in a position to raise some ready cash. Relief is supposed to be “emergency assistance.” not “obligated support.” as so many reliefers feel. In some neighborhoods it’s almost a mark of weakness for a man not to be able ‘to get on relief when all his neighbors are.

Little Embarrassment Now

In the early days considerable shame was attached to being on relief. Today, hardly anybody is ashamed. I talked with one young fellow, hale and hearty and barely of age. He has been on relief, but is now working in private employment. And he is as sore as a boil, He's sore because he didn’t get a two-month highway job, although he has permanent work that pays him about $10 a month more than the temporary job would have. He has to work 12 hours a day for it. Not very hard, but he has to be there. And I talked with one fellow who has become a WPA “career man.” He has been on it for years and he doesn’t look forward to anything. He's a hard-luck guy. He has always missed the breaks, or been fired without cause. Once on a private job he had a quarrel with his employer, so he said: “All right. I'll show you. I'm just as good as you are. I'll go back on relief.” And he did.

My Diary

By Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt First Lady Considers Clothes as

are, with Mr. Pyle

T believe. than the growing tendency shifting for themselves is the justified) attitude that beroad is gettin’

complainers |

his'n, why

Itinerary of Lecture Tour Arrives.

ASHINGTON, Thursday—It is a most lovely, warm autumn day and I am having a very difficult time deciding what to take on a two-weeks

trip which, in some places, may mean winter weather. |

One always is tempted to start out feeling the weather one is experiencing at the moment is going to last until one returns home. I have an aversion

to a great deal of baggage and coats of every kind. |

with the result that I end by having nothing suitable to wear if the weather decides to be fickle.

These lecture trips are planned so long in advance, |

some of the contracts are entered into nearly a year beforehand. Yet the details take so long to work out that a definite itinerary does not reach me till two or three days before I actually leave. The more 1 see of this lecture bureau business, the more I marvel that they get their trains correct and all the tickets through without any slip-up during the course of the trip. Yesterday I received the itinerary. the tickets with accommodations and all my hotels listed for the entire time we will be gone. Considering the fact that we rarely spend more than a few hours in any one place and that I speak every night, it seems to me quite an achievement from a business point of view, and I am only one of hundreds of lecturers. It is unfortunate one has to make these agreements so very far ahead and almost invariably has to give up something which one would like to do. Last year I was away at the time of a family anniversary and when I go again this spring I will be away for the same anniversary Some months are bad to plan for because there are too many birthdays, others because the holidays may interfere and once the Washington social season starts, going away for any length of time is out of the question. I chose November after Election Day thinking it would be fairly free. As usual, there are a number of reasons why it is not. In any case I will be home to go to Warm Springs with the President for Thanksgiving.

New Books Today

Public Library Presents—

N a confused world where undeclared wars are bringing destruction on two continents and three great totalitarian Governments sacrifice individual libertv to a Corporate State it is of the greatest significance that there also appears such a study as BELIEF AND ACTION (Bobbs Merrill) by Viscount Samuel, president of the British Institute of Philosophy and Privy Councillor. Viscount Samuel comes to the conclusion that civilization cannot go on indefinitely with the fear in its heart that its code of morals, its systems of polities, rest on nothing solid. He calls upon thinking men throughout the world to consider what course of action is open in the face of the facts of an age of reconstruction. The author examines religion and science and present political and social conditions to see what may be agreed upon as true. Far from an iconoclast, he recognizes man’s deep need for the assurance of religion. Presenting all the great religions as possessing in some degree ultimate truth, he pleads for an intellectual honesty to discard dogmas which contradict what truth is now known. Almost the only point of complete scientific agreement is that knowledge thus far is incomplete, he says. “To this point, then, science has brought us. Not necessarily to a dead end; but rather to a region where the broad road we have been following dwindles to a path, and the path fades to faint tracks which seem to lead to new territory, vast and unexplored, that lies ahead of us.”

Four Problems Examined

Four of the greatest problems of right and wrong of the present day exist in the family, property, liberty and international relations, and the author takes up each in sufficient detail to suggest the dangers of present trends and the possible courses of action. Viscount Samuel concludes that, despite their accomplishments, totalitarian systems demand too great a sacrifice of individual liberty, and that democracy even with its apparent inefficiency is more conducive to the welfare of humanity. He believes that world peace is not “on the lap of the gods” or to be decided by “destiny,” or the “spirit of the age.” but by the thoughts and acts of men, which in turn will be determined by their discovery of truth “in its ultimate depths.” All depends upon men's own action, he says. It is right therefore to glorify action, but not any action, regardless of aim or method. Thought and action must be right, and the test is whether or not they eontribute to welfare. In the last‘ analysis it is the individual that matters. A sense of personal respon-

sibility among statesmen and among citizens is neces-

sary for the safety of the world.

—

The Indianapolis

Imes

Second Section

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 1937

(Copyright. 1937, NEA Service, Inc.)

"TORONTO, Ontario, Nov. 5.—The problem of training the Dionne quintuplets has been exactly like the problem met in any home where there is a group of small chil-

dren to bring up.

Five little girls are five little girls, even if they are the most famous ones on earth. And when experts in child training from St. George’s School for Child Study, in Toronto were called in to advise on the training of the Dionnes, they simply adapted the principles that have been proven successful with other children. They met some problems, of course, and made some

discoveries. Among the problems:

What do you do whem a small quintuplet insists on standing up at the foot of her bed when she ought to be

lving down and sleeping? What happens when five quins, duly ushered into the dining room, indulge in a wild free-for-all due to the fact that all five of them want to sit in the

same chair? Suppose a quin with a mind of her own decides that she would rather eat her custard than her spinach, when spinach is what she really needs; what then? Among the discoveries: That the quins can feed themselves quite capably, but that they do it in a manner that would put Emily Post right under the table. That a quintuplet who doesn’t want to go te sleep can devise stratagems cunning beyond her years. That five youngsters of exactly the same age who grow up together, mingling with no other children, are somewhat handicapped, and that the quintuplets need to mix with older and younger children whose backgrounds, bringing up, and so on, are different than their own. As soon as the quins outgrew the need for extraordinary precautions made necessary by their premature birth, the need for expert advice as to their training became apparent. This advice was sought and obtained from the University of Toronto's St. George's School for Child Study. The results are described in a paper by the school’s director, Dr. W. E. Blatz, and his coworkers, D. A. Millichamp and A. L. Harris.

on ” ”

ALLED into consultation when the quins were about a year old, Dr. Blatz suggested that their daily routine be based on these principles: A concept of discipline which is educational rather than punitive. Development of responsibility by

' expecting children to look after

their own needs as far as possible. Arrangement of physical surroundings so as to stimulate the quins’ sense of initiative and adventure. An attitude of serenity on the part of the adults associated with the quins, accompanied by an adult example of pleasurable industry. The children’s sleeping routine was the first to come up for consideration. They had been getting about 16 hours of sleep daily—an hour and a half in the morning, two hours or more in the afternoon, and approximately 12 hours at night. At the age of 2 the morning sleep was eliminated, and the afternoon sleep was gradually reduced from two hours to about an hour and a half. Their sleeping habits have always been remarkably regular, and it was not until the fall of 1936 that any problems arose. Then the quins apparently decided that the first hour after bedtime offered an unusually ate tractive chance for a little wholehearted romping. and proceeded to act on that decision.

un # Ld

AYBE they were being put to bed too early? Bedtime was postponed from 6:30 until 7; but this meant nothing to the quins. Put them to bed and they wouldn't

' caused by the

even lie down; instead they would stand at the foot of the bed, jabbering and gesturing at a great rate. One youngster once remained there until she fell asleep standing up and toppled over on the bedding. There was nothing to do but put the quins in horizontal positions by force; which was all very well, except that as soon as a nurse left one duly stretched-out sister to attend to another, the first one would bob up as blithely as ever. The only way out of this was to show the quins that the adults had just a little more endurance than they had. It took a lot of trouble, but it finally worked— after weary nights in which one child might have to be put back to bed 20 or 30 times. The quins finally got the idea. ” = ” T really took a trick sleeping jacket to make the victory lasting. This was a species of light quilt with attached armlets, which was fastened down at the four corners in such a way that the quin was kept warm and was under no restraint—except that she couldn’t do anything but lie down. Since it was introduced, the quins have stayed put. They didn’t surrender without trying everything, though. It was Marie who discovered a subtle wrinkle in the matter of keeping sleep out of the nursery. She would lie down dutifully and shut her eyes—and then would start to breathe with a peculiar, rasping wheeze that caused all of her sisters to stay wide awake. The nurses thought at first that she had a cold. Not until a physical examination showed that she was all right did they discover that it was just an act. Marie spent a night or two in the isolation room and saw the error of her ways. Next came the eating routine, which provided even more difficulties. " uw ow S soon as the children could sit up, they were fed in high chairs. Two nurses would go into action, each taking care of two quins at a time. This meant trouble, for one quin always had to wait for the second table, didn’t like it, and expressed her dislike unmistakably. So the chalrs were arranged in a semicircle and all the quins were fed at once. By the fall of 1936 the quins could drink from cups and use spoons fairly well, so small tables

1937, NEA Servi ce, Jne D5

(Copy r ight, ” Re - EE

(Copyric rht, Psi

Entered as Second-Class Matter Indianapolis,

at Postoffice,

1337,

NEA gervice, Inc. ) ey rN

To teach the quintuplets proper muscu lar cosordination, inclined hoards with little cleats are set up for them to walk on—and here are Marie and Annette giving one a whirl. At right, Yvonne meditates the prospect of giving the front walk a bit of sweeping.

(Copyright, 1937, NEA Serv

“

Modern nursery routine calls for children

in outdoor play periods, and that is the plan followed in the quins’ nursery.

Copy right, 1

37, 7, NEA Service, Tne. 9}

to be allowed to do as they please

At left,

Cecile chooses to lean around a tree and peek at the photographer; at right, Emilie gets

a spot of exercise out of a sawhorse.

brush, comb, and towel, washes her hands and face, take a somewhat ineffective swipe at her hair with the comb and a vigorous but rather ineffective whirl at her teeth with the toothbrush, and then hangs things up in their proper piaces. They do this just about as well as the average 3-year-old in the nursery school.

were installed, with two quins at one and three at the other and a nurse at each to supervise. Now they all eat at one table, with an adult eating with them. By contrast with the traditional Little Willie, who hates to wash, the quins took to their washroom routine avidly. Each quin goes and gets her washcloth, tooth-

New Dealers Share Business Headaches; High Taxes or Pump-Priming Debated

By Marshall McNeil

Times Special Writer ASHINGTON, Nov. 5.—Businessmen may get some solace out of the fact that their headache, business decline,

| is generally shared by officials in | Washington.

As the special session of Congress nears, New Dealers find themselves on both horns of a dilemma: Horn 1—They want to balance the budget. Not only because a balanced budget is good business (and now overdue), but also because

| budget balancing is good campaign

material. They have started that

way by cutting down relief expendi- | tures and cutting off further com- |

| vinue unbalance of he budget. |

rr Apa ee Further unbalance of He budget | e ne cal year, without addi- wml | tional taxes, because taxes, too, grey a growing Federsl au, bad medicine in election years. It Which raises the question of just | is uncomfortable on Horn No. 1. | how strong the Government's credit |

mitments by PWA and RFC. They hope to achieve balance, perhaps in

Side Glances—By Clark

//1-§

"Remember that motor trip through Europe we planned a few

years back, Joel"

A WOMAN'S VIEW By Mrs. Walter Ferguson

”> Since they had

HE quins also are willing enough about learning to dress themselves, although a good many steps in the process are naturally beyond them so far, They can usually manage their stockings and shoes and their outdoor clothes. Definite routines have been set up for the quins’ play periods. always had so much attention from grownups, they showed at first a tendency to rely too much on grownups; so in the fall of 1936 the regular nursery school routine for children of their age was begun. The children were taught how to use their outdoor play materials = sand boxes, tricycles, wagons, and so on—and for half an hour each morning they were seated around a low table and initiated into the mysteries of modeling clay, paints, and so on. Care was taken to avoid giving them too much supervision; for the most part a quin plays with whatever tovs or materials she wishes, the only rule being that she must put one away before she gets out another one. That, then, is a rough outline of the routine under which the quintuplets are being raised.

NEXT—Measuring the mental development of the ywintuplets.

Jasper—By Frank Owen

| carried on

{ but

HAT the courts should have | power to refuse divorce where | children are involved is the notable | suggestion of an Indiana judge. This will be regarded by many people as a crackpot notion and an | infringement of individual rights, while others who consider divorce | a proof of progress will call it reac- | tionary. Yet a little reflection shows it to be worthy of consideration. If society must pay eventually in | dollars and cents for the results of | a divorce—and who can deny that it does?—then it should be given some authority to prevent it. The | welfare of children is a responsibility which devoives upon all the people because all suffer when the social order is afflicted with crime and moral degeneration. There is a widespread belief which in my opinion is false in eight cases out of 10. It is the theory that final decrees cause less suffering among the young than family discord. No one, of course, would wish to argue that constant strife between father and mother is beneficial for children; yet it seems reasonable to assume that quarreling parents might be better for them than no parents at all and that a home divided against itself can still be a place of refuge, even of happiness, for the children. It is commendable to search for happiness in this life. But there is danger that our search may become | | so ardent that we defeat our own ends. A good many moderns appear

Copr. 1937 by United Feature Syndicate, Ine.

‘expense of

willing to buy their felicity at the 1er’s unhappiness. :

| were grown and able to help themselves.

1-8

——— on Se— —

"My gosh—he really meant what he said about going South for

the winter!"

= Kc a in hala i

PAGE 15

Ina

In Europe

By Raymond Clapper

(Substituting for Anton Scherrer)

Soviet Union, on 20th Birthday, Faces Greater Problems Than Nation-Wide Election Can Solve.

OSCOW, Nov. 5.—~The Soviet Union is observing its 20th anniversary this week and shortly will hold its first general elections under the new democratic Constitution. These two events are significant, one as to the past, the other as to the future,

In 20 years the Soviet regime has taken a country that was in ruins and one which had never really undertaken to develop its tremendous natural re

a country which was as as any on

—

sources, needlessly wretched

| earth, and has put it on the path

toward industrial greatness This pioneering task has been under almost inconceivable difficulties. Not only was there no going plant to begin with, the wreckage of a most backward civilization has had to be cleared away and that task is far from completed. For instance the Soviet, regime has inherited from the past an ignorant, untrained people unbelievably clumsy in craftsmanship, cursed with slovenly habits of work and with a tradition of terrorism, secret, police, stupid bureaucracy. The Soviet Union has to build its national house, teach its people up through childhood an entirely new set of habits and all the while keep its rifle in hand--as did our own pioneers in the Indian country-—against attack from without. In that gigantic undertaking Soviet leaders have shown great courage, astounding determination, resourcefulness and persistence, which leads me to think that in the end they will succeed. There is a national will at work wihch is as determined as was our own in our early days. The Soviet Union is learn«

Mr. Clapper

ing as it goes along and its efforts often are wasteful

and ineffective as were many of our own. But as in our case, it has the cushion of great natural resources which, compensates for many human failures, No matter how many failures they experience here, they still have food, coal, iron, cotton and wools, so that they can get through somehow.

Capitalism Has Advantage

As an industrial nation Russia still is in a primitive stage. It is a question still whether such a vast, complicated industrial civilization as is possible here can be operated by one central nervous system concentrated in a few hands. One virtue of capitalism is that it is to a large degree self- ~motivating and self-controlling. The Soviet system operates down to the last minor individual unit from a central control tower and it is questionable whether any small group can manage such a vast mechanism successfully. Although the new Constitution is a quite democratic deccument, carrying guarantees of personal liberty similar to ours, it is likely to remain a theo= retical instrument for a long time to come. The dictatorship is all-powerful and absolute and shows no signs of relaxing. The Soviet regime has changed almost everything except human nature. The test is whether it can change that, If it can, then it can do anything. If not—then a monuments] bragedy must be in store.

Jane Jordan—

Definite Relatives

Understandings Among Prevent Recriminations.

De" JANE JORDAN-I am the daughter-in-law of the family, but you would think I was the daughter from the way I worry about the troubles of my husband's parents. My father-in-law has been out of work over a year. I started a movement in which TI had each son and daughter sign a paper agreeing to divide the parents’ house rent equally. If any child lost his own income, his part was to be made up bv the others. Now one son isn't working at all. Another son was hurt while working. A daughter whose husband makes good money doesn’t want to give any more, This famity is the type to sit back and take favors for granted. The mother is a hard-working woman in her own home, but she is backward about getting out in the world, The father has no initative at all. They have partly raised most of their daughter's children. They took her in when she was sick and lent her and her husband money. She seems to have no appreciation. I sent her a card saying that since her brother wasn’t working that I would make up a dollar extra on the rent if she would, and I heard that she said I hurt her feelings. The parents have done a lot for their other children, too. My husband has worked since he was 13 and has given his mother more than he has taken. We have saved and sacrificed in order to have a little something. Now his family think we are rich and can take all the responsibility. FAITHFUL READER.

» ” ” Answer--It is not right for you and your husband

| to assume all the responsibility for his parents when

there are others to share it with you. People who are ready and willing to shoulder responsibility always will find plenty of others to lean on them. The weak know no mercy. By their very weakness they bind the strong to them and thereby get protection for themselves. These people have to be handled like children. Your attitude must be Kind, but exceedingly firm. About all you can do is call a meeting of the most

| able members of the family and lay down the law.

You cannot force them to do their parts, but you

| ean tell them in no uncertain terms how much you | are willing to do and make it clear that you will do

no more. Your move will hurt their feelings, of course. They do not want to be reminded of the sacrifices their parents have made to help them after they You must be prepared for tears, protests and even recriminations against you who have done the most. Usually misunderstandings arise in families bee

| cause its members have not been definite with each

other, You started out fine with your plan. Ycur only mistake was that you thought it would work without constant reinforcement. The moment one son washed out, all the others tried to follow suit. Now that the situation is changed, another agreement will have to be signed and so on. It will require great diligence on your part to keep the plan working. The trick is to be quiet, definite, reasonable, but determined. JANE JORDAN.

Put your problems in a letter to Jane Jordan, who will answer your questions in this polumn daily.

Walter O'Keefe—

T must be tough to be a Congressman these days, At present the boys are on furlough, but they're called to the colors on Nov, 15. Everybody in favor of peace is rallying around the ery. “Out of the Trenches by Christmas”! The women who are married to our legislators feel like the wives of those Russians up at the North Pole, Of course, it is not an easy job for these Cone gressionai widows to run a happy home. The husband comes back from a session of law-making at Washe ington and it takes weeks of home cooking to get his stomach back into condition. However, it has got its favorable side. The boys who go to Washington for this session will have so many harmony banquets that they'll be fatted up , Just enough to play Santa Claus at Christmas,