Indianapolis Times, Indianapolis, Marion County, 11 November 1937 — Page 17
Vagabond From Indiana—Ernie Pyle
Gasoline Tank on Car Tells Ernie
He Is More Than a Mile Up, But |
Cheyenne Looks Like Bismarck, N. D.
HEYENNE, Wyo., Nov. 11.—One of the |
greatest natural phenomena in America, at least to me, is one that you can’t see at all. I refer to that mild slope that constitutes nearly a third of the United States; that gentle rise that lifts you 6000 feet between the Mississippi and the base of the Rockies. It's so gradual that you don’t realize you've risen an inch. Many people, I expect, think that you feel higher as you climb westward, and that the country gets rough and twisty long before vou reach the Rockies. But that isn't so. You drive a thousand miles westward as if on a table, and then suddenly there are the Rockies, smack up in front of you like a wall No matter whether you drive cross Texas, or across Kansas, or across the Dakotas it's still the same—just a rise so gradual that you cannot detect it. But there's one way to tell. Last winter we drove from Santa Fe, N. M,, to Amarillo, Tex. That's east, and “downhill.” The wind was behind us. Our car made 23 miles to the gallon. Yesterday we drove from North Platte, Neb, to Cheyenne. That's west, and “uphill.” The wind was against us, The car averaged 18! miles to the gallon. I wonder if anywhere in the world there is a longer, gentler, flatter slope than that which rises from the Mississippi to the base of the Rockies? If a geographer should read this and happen to know, I wish he'd write and tell me.
Cheyenne Goes Modernistic
Cheyenne is a place that disappoints me. Because the name of it has always represented the spirit of the West—cowhovs, cattle, six-shooters, the open range, the great rodeo. True, Cheyenne is still cattle country. But it doesn’t appear on the surface any more. You hardly ever see a cowhoy on the street. I don’t suppose there are any more horses here than in Canton, O. The town is filled with modernistic cocktail lounges and curly neon signs. In spirit it is almost indistinguishable from any Midwestern city of 20,000. I guess the real test of Cheyenne in my eyes is this: Frequently I can’t remember, for a moment, where I am. One place will remind me of some other place far away. For instance, Holbrook, Ariz, always makes me feel I'm in Montana. And when I'm in Cheyenne, I can't get it out of my head that I'm in Bismarck, N. D The two are about the same size, they look alike, they both lie flat on the prairie. The hotels where we stop in both places are on the same kind of éorner. And just around the corner is exactly the same little movie. And the railroad station is just a block away, in the same relative position. And in each city there is the state capitol, out on the same edge of town—city in front of it, lone prairie behind it. Cheyenne is Bismarck, Bismarck fs Cheyenne. * Well, what of it? I don't know what of it, except it just strikes me, like a gong.
My Diary
By Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt
First Lady Unrecognized on Visit
To Public Institution in Illinois.
ANVILLE, Ill, Wednesday.—Our train journeys these davs are short, but nevertheless the days seem to pass very quickly. Mrs. Vrooman saw us off this morning at 9:30 o'clock and the police met us in Danville at 11:30 o'clock. 1 eccomplished one thing on this trip which is a real triumph. Two of my hostesses took me to visit a public institution and, after we had been through a whole building, the matron turned to one of the ladies with me and asked: “Where are you folks from?” This caused the other. ladies some apparent ewmbarrassment, but made me feel very gleeful, for I can still get by unrecognized. : Alter luncheon today, I went to visit two WPA nursery schools, one for white children and one for Negro children.
Plenty of Room to Play The one for white children is housed in the basement of a large school. While it is not built for the purpose, thie is plenty of sun, air and space and a park nearby for play. The one for Negro children is in a small frame building which belongs to a Negro women's club. It is in a good location where there are plenty of children in neighboring houses who can attend. The best cne can say for it is that there is space for play at the back The children get a good lunch, cod liver oil twice a day, and the requisite amount of orange juice and milk. They told me some of the children had gained pounds and it is evident the nursery school is very vital. We spent a few moments at the community recreation center and now I am back at this very comfortable and attractive hotel doing some work before tonight's lecture.
New Books Today
Public Library Presents—
RAMATIC and colorful and even more traditional than the recent English coronation are the scenes of Rene Fulop-Miller's LEO XIII AND OUR TIMES (Longmans), Today, when economic conferences and ir=us:rial committees are concerning themselves more than ever before with social welfare, this renowned European writer has brought to notice the warning of a Pope whose message had been almost lost by the lay world. Possessed of driving research powers and rare ability to portray his findings, M. Fulop-Miller gives a memorable portrait of a churchman who was also a statesman. He gives us the background of Joachim Pecci, who was to become Leo XII, points out the sympathetic understanding of the times which characterized him even as a youth. Appointed papal nuncio to the court of Brussels in 1833 when he was but 23 years old, the future Pope was suddenly plunged into a center of modern liberal-democratic movement, above which were becoming visible the new social problems. In nearby England, along the German Rhineland, and in France disturbing injustices were revealing themselves at the heels of industrial progress. He gave to the problems his best thought. He examined the programs of the day with the doctrines of St. Thomas Aquinas as a measuring stick. Thus he was enabled to give to Christendom years afterward the famous social document, “Rerum novarum.” Fulop-Miller says “There were only two men, the Pope and Kark Marx, who perceived in all its significance the terrible and fateful reverse side of the great picture of industrial progress.” No churchman, Protestant or Catholic, should miss this book. It is the best recent answer to the charge that the church fails in its office of shepherd to the working-
man.
Mr. Pyle
” on ” EW light on the eternal triangle, really a. quadrangle in this instance, shines out over LAST YEAR'S SNOW Mii) by Don Tracy. The title is as deceptive as dynamite, with which the situation is laden. Two depression victims who turned to running a hunting lodge, are snow-bound with one of their millionaire clients, and his wife, who turns out to be the former wife of one of them. The four, trying for the most part to be decent, but helpless in the eurrent of the passions let Joose by their enforced association, move on inevitably to the final outbreak.
Somewhat melodramatic, the story gains its power |
through suspense and the shrewd, realistic humor of the narrator.
inch of land in and about the village. Another then bought most of the same land. Their conflicting claims are before the
courts. A permanent injunction has halted work at Santa Claus Park, partially completed as a sort of Northland Playpark and Toy Center. Even the 40-ton granite statue of Santa Claus (“the only one in the world”) stands on disputed ground. 8 # +4 ND the villagers are disturbed by a portrait of Santa in the Candy Castle built by a wellknown candy company. They say he looks like a Cavalier and originally held a sword in his hand. Their protests forced the artist to paint out the sword and substitute a trumpet, Peace and goodwill are at a premium at Santa Claus. Yet this was a peaceful, not to say dormant village up to the time it was “rediscavered” in 1930. The original inhabitants who applied for a postoffice in the 90s didn't realize what trouble they were laying up for the future. They wanted to call it Santa Fe but the Postoffice Department informed them that there was already a Santa Fe in Indiana. So they had to think up something else, quick. Santa Claus was the next thought.
T was in 1932 that the complications really began. Milton E. Harris, a former Vincennes lawyer and salesman, leased from the owners every bit of the land in and about the unincorporated village. His plan was for a sort of “wonderland toy town” with various commercial concessions taking advantage of the Santa Claus address. Part of this he accomplished, with the result that the town now has a patchwork look, with jigsaw toy towns under the guard of wooden soldiers, a Candy Castle, a Northland Park with totem poles, wishing wells, and elves’ workshops. This development has been halted by the court wrangle. That is where Carl A. Barrett, Chicago head of the Illinois Auto Club, comes in, Mr. Barrett, insisting that he is only trying to free Santa Claus from commercial exploitation. bought up much of the land. But Harris’ leases stood up in the lower courts despite all efforts of Barrett and some of the farmer-owners to break them. The future of Santa Claus now lies in the hands of the Indiana Appellate Court. ” ” n HE commercial possibilities that may be at stake are indicated by reports that a big auto company tried to acquire exclusive use of the Santa Claus postmark for $100,000 a year, and that a maker of soft drinks offered $750,000 for a concession that would put Santa Claus back of his product. It is Mr. Barrett who built the granite monument to Santa, but thus far the courts have upheld Mr. Harris’ claim to the land on which it stands, and have forbidden even a postcard likeness of the statue to be sold in the town. The painting of the militant Santa with the ex-sword was Mr. Harris’ contribution. Emil Strauss, the painter, maintains that he modeled his work on Saint Nicholas. Bishop of Myra, who had quite a reputation as a soldier before canonization. It was Mrs. Harris who insisted that the sword come off in favor of a trumpet, in deference to local opinion and ancient tradition.
4-5 ‘ NOTHER attempt to make
Santa Claus was made by Jack Cannon, a Dearborn, Mich., motor worker. Mr. Cannon had his name
use of the magic name of:
&
=
"The Indianapolis
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 1937
SANTA CLAUS, Nov. 11 (NEA).—Christmas is already within hailing distance, but peace on earth, goodwill toward men are not doing so well in Santa Claus. This tiny village of 67 inhabitants, which became famous some seven years ago when its unique name was dug out of the postal guide, has learned the price of fame. Controversies and at least one bitter legal battle involve the whole village. One man obtained leases on every
legally changed to Santa Claus and set out for his Indiana namesake town. He rented Postoffice Box 1, and prepared to claim all mail addressed to Santa Claus. But Mr. Cannon (or Mr. Claus) couldn't find a room in town, and had to rent one just outside the village limits and take an R. F. D. address. Mr. Cannon's plan apparently was to arrange with department stores to answer for a fee their Santa Claus mail, supplying the stores with lists of the children’s wants. Stores have reported this season again offers of this kind from “Santa Claus, Santa Claus, Ind.” There is also a remailing corporation which has secured a train of old railway ears for its headquarters. Their business is rewrapping and remailing under the magic Santa Claus postmark, any package sent it. A similar plan for selling posteards to be mailed from Santa Claus at Christmas-time was tried out. . & & OR years Santa Claus drowsed beside the rutty highway. Then, suddenly, came fame. The postoffice began to be deluged with incoming mail addressed to Santa Claus. Mailings from the town, which had not exceeded 20,000 pieces a year, have risen to 60,000 a day during a two months’ rush of people who want their gifts to go out postmarked “Santa Claus.” Several years ago it was even proposed to abandon the postoffice because of its “abnormal business.” But there were thous sands of protests, and Postmaster General Farley not only decided to keep the office, but ordered all letters addressed to Santa Claus to be sent here instead of the Dead Letter Office. Postmaster Oscar L. Phillips does the best he can to answer the letters with the help of his wife, two daughters, and three sons. Three or four extra clerks are put on for the Christmas season. ” = ” PPEALING letters came to Postmaster Phillips in the hope that he, as representative of the Government, has power to reconcile the conflicting interests which blur the picture of a real,
Santa Claus, for years a sleepy
town near the site of Abraham Lincoln's Indiana home, never foresaw today's complications when it
Milton E. Harris
on-the-map American home for Santa Claus. But Mr. Phillips must remain neutral while the courts decide between contestants who put forth their legal claims under names like “Santa Claus, Inc,” and “Santa Claus of Santa Claus, Inc.” Yes, there is a Santa Claus. In fact there are several of him, several incorporated, 22-carat Santa
tangible,
Spencer County
Postmaster Oscar Phillips
Clauses, all competing with each other to purvey Christmas spirit from the one and only Santa Claus, Ind.
See this page tomorrow for "ROOSEVELT'S "TOUGHEST CONGRESS'."
adopted its unique name. and the postoffice that handles all that mail for the Christmas saint.
A
Times
Entered as Second-Class Indianapolis, Ind.
at Postoffice,
anta Claus Beset by Conflicts
Peace and Goodwill Suffer as Hoosier Town Gains Wide Fame
Here's the main street
A 40-ton granite Santa Claus looks down on the town of Santa Claus, each the only one in the world, yet both have their legal troubles.
House Committee Begins Study of Profits Levies: Broadened Income Tax Base May Be Proposed
By E. R. R.
ASHINGTON, Nov. 11.—Preparations for general revision of the revenue laws entered an active stage this week when a House Ways and Means Subcommittee met at Washington to begin drafting a bill for presentation to Congress at the regular session next winter. Treasury officials conferred with the Subcommittee in executive session and laid before it the results of an exhaustive survey of the Federal tax structure, The new measure will have as its principal objective, not increased taxes, but removal of inequities in the present laws,
Immediate interest centers in what is to be done with the undis-tributed-profits tax and the capital gains tax, held responsible in many quarters for the current slump in recovery. Another subject which will engage the attention of Congress, if not of the Subcommittee, the broadening of the income-tax base through lowering of the present personal exemptions. Senator La Follette (Prog. Wis.) advocate of such action in several recent sessions, has already given notice that he will renew the proposal. Secretary of the Treasury Morgenthau gave it his support last night. While it may be doubtful that a measure designed to subject at least
a million and a half additional per- married persons. Many of the state
sons to the income tax has any chance of approval in an election year, the budget situation may force Congress to give it serious consideration, The prospective deficit for the fiscal year ending next June had to be revised upward in estimates published last month. If the current business decline continues, revenues not only for the present fiscal year but for the next fiscal year may be seriously affected, necessitating another upward revision of the estimate for the 1938 deficit and jeopardizing the chances of achieving a balanced budget in the fiscal year 1939, as promised by the President. It is admitted, furthermore, that any revenues lost by revision of the undistributed-profits and capital gains taxes or other levies must be made up elsewhere. Even if Congress can avoid lowering the income-tax exemptions at this time, it is likely that the necessity of providing for reduction of the public debt, once the budget has been balanced, will compel it eventually to give further consideration to this means of increasing the productivity of the income tax.
N Great Britain the personal in-come-tax exemption is only $500 for single persons and $900 for
Side Glahces—By Clark
=f
Bes Cavell me 88.05 MT. |
! en | " | "Jerry always gets furious when he recognizes one of his suits | | gave to charity."
income taxes in this country have personal exemptions below the Federal levels, and some states grant an allowance of only $500 or $600
for single persons and $1200 or $1500 for married persons. Senator La Follette's proposal calls for reduction of the single-person exemption from $1000 to $800 and the married-person exemption from $2500 to $2000. In 1935 he estimated such a change would add 1,400,000 persons to the income-taxpaying group, and in 1937 the Treasury estimated that it would produce $110,000,000 of additional revenue. The La Follette proposal, along with another to increase surtaxes, was tentatively adopted by the Senate Finance Committee in 1935 and lost in the Committee in 1937 by only a tie vote, The only time the Senate itself voted on the exemptions proposal, in 1037, it rejected it by a voice vote. The Twentieth Century Fund has estimated that if the exemptions were reduced to $500 for single persons and $1000 for married persons, the number of taxable returns would rise to a total exceeding eight million and that the additional seventh
would amount to from two hundred |
million dollars in a poor year to five hundred million dollars in a highly prosperous year.
ROADENING of the incometax base is advocated as a measure of tax reform without regard to particular revenue needs. It is pointed out that if the tax is founded on a broad base, it is much more dependable as a revenue-pro-ducer in times of business reces< sion. If the tax has a broad base, moreover, it can ordinarily be made to produce more or less revenue, in accordance with immediate budget needs, by simply adjusting rates upward or downward. In this connection, American experience in the depression is contrasted with that of Great Britain, where the number of taxpayers remained remarkably constant and the productivity of the tax was maintained by rate adjustments. In the United States in 1934, only 3 per cent of the adult population was represented in the group paying Federal income taxes. It is contended that if this proportion were raised, bringing home to many more persons the direct burden of government costs on their own pocketbooks, a healthy check on Government spending would develop. At present, not much more than half of Federal revenues are obtained from direct taxes.
A WOMAN'S VIEW
By Mrs. Walter Ferguson NOTHER Armistice Day! Yet »® there is no sign of armistice in Asia, no truce to quarreling, and the same old “glory and honor”
stuff is heard from parade grounds and platforms. We could all do with a bit of cheering news, and here it is: The Council of Directors of the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues—don’t let the title scare you-—has issued a significant statement which every pacifist should include in his defense armor. “War,” say the professors, “is not inevitable, psychologically. That is to say, human nature does not prompt men to make war. The opposite opinion, which has been used to such good effect for hundreds of years, is wholly without scientific foundation and there is no evidence to justify it. Over 90 per cent of the men consulted, all of whom have studied the instincts question, deny most emphatically that there exists any proof that man's instincts lead to war.” This, as we can see, knocks one of the main props out from under the war-mongering idea which thrives on the tradition. By constant repetition any fallacy can be made to sound like truth, and this one has certainly served well the purpose of those who profess to be-
lieve that it is human nature to
work evil. . The psychologists have hit the
nail on the head when they point | out that the individual's aggres- |
sive instincts never incite him to war. He goes on the order of higher-ups, and the higher-ups have uged the old “war is inevitable” line until it’s about worn out.
Jasper—By Frank Owen
Copr. 1927 by United Feature Syndicate, Ine.
ly
f —
=]
=m
"Hey, Jasper, Mama'll blow on the horn once more, and if you're
still stuck we'll call a tinsmith!"
here.
EE a rite Spgecia RES SNE
Second Section
PAGE 17
Matter d
In Europe
By Raymond Clapper
(Substituting for Anton Scherrer)
Germany Has Real Need of Raw Materials, But Figures Indicate Former Colonies Would Not Help.
ERLIN, Nov. 11.—Much about the eco nomic dictatorship of the Nazi regime is explained by the acute shortage of numerous raw materials. Except for that condition it is not likely that Germany would have such extensive regimentation of industry, because with an adequate supply of raw materials the present methods of extreme Government control would be unnecessarily expensive and inefficient.
Herr Hitler is steaming up a strong campaign for restoration of Germany's former colonies. Maps displaying territory lost under the Versailles Treaty are hung in many places flaunting their legend—“This they have } taken from us.” Nazi speakers are talking constantly about the necessity of regaining these colonies. This line is being made the focus both of the internal alibi for economic severities and of the Government's demands on foreign powers. There is no question about the shortage of raw materials. It is driving the regime into the most uneconomic enterprises, such as the working of extremely low-grade iron ores at tremendous expense. It causes the Government to compel manufacturers to abandon certain materials and to use designated substitutes. It explains the rigid price control, the rationing of certain foods, the expensive production of synthetic gasoline and fiber substitutes, and such experiments as the use of wooden ball-bearings. This shortage of raw material doesn’t explain everything about Nazi Germany by any means, but it explains a lot. Would restoration of the colonies meet the situae« tion? Were Hitler not forcing this issue so aggres= sively it would be academic, because Great Britain shows no interest whatever in seeing Cermany’s former colonies returned and is not likely to permit it. Hitler has no navy adequate to take them.
Colonies Produce Little
But assuming Germany had her colonies back, woula they save the situation? In 1913 Germany obtained less than 1 per cent of her supplies from her colonies and sold them less than 1 per cent of her goods. German officials reply that pre-war Germany did not develop its colonies to the fullest extent and that those figures are not a fair criterion, Even today, those former colonies are not produce ing enough to make a dent in Germany's deficiencies, In 1934 Germany imported 337.000 tons of cotton, Former German colonies exported to the whole world only 7300 tons, a drop in the bucket compared with Germany's needs. In supplying four of the most im= portant commodities in which Germany is short—wool, cotton, hides and rubber—the colonies would be a negligible factor. Germany lost heavy iron deposits on continental Europe under the peace treaty, and ¥esioration of the colonies would not ease that situaion, Some think Hitler is aware of the futility of the colonial issue and continues to pound at it partly for home consumption and partly for bargaining purposes.
A
Mr. Clapper
Jane Jordan—
Our ‘Society Requires Girls to Use
Indirect Methods in Winning Boys.
Dx JANE JORDAN—I am a girl of 16 and IT am very fond of a boy who is 19. I am quite sure he 1s fond of me, too, but he has an older brother who runs his life. Anything his brother says goes, and his brother doesn't like me for some reason. He has talked the boy out of going with me. I learned this from his sister who is a great friend of mine. I sometimes go to his sister’s house and he is often there although he lives with his brother on the other side of town. When I see him I know he still likes me, but his brother has more power over him than I have; so what is there left for me to do? JANIE.
Answer—In our society a girl is obliged to use indirect methods in winning a boy. She cannot make the dates nor even the opportunities for meeting a boy if she is obvious about it. About all she can do is be as cordial and charming as possible when circumstances throw her with the boy who attracts her and make him want her® admiration and approval enough to work for it. Evidently your boy friend has put his brother in his father’s place. Often a strong older brother will step into his father’s place and assume a protective and authoritative attitude toward the younger members of the family. A child usually picks the strongest persen in his environment to love and copy. Somee« times, as in this instance, it is big brother. Your boy friend should be allowed to pick his own friends. At 19 he should not be so closely supervised in the matter of friendships by either father or brother. Have you any idea why the brother does not like you? Is there anything in your conduct which needs correcting? Sometimes a girl leaves a bad impression by being too bold, too giggly, or too silly! If you have been lady-like in demeanor and courteous to the older brother there is nothing you can do other than keep your poise and realize that his prejudice has nothing to do with you, but arises from his own unwillingness to grant the young man any freedom of action. There are plenty of other boys in whom you can interest yourself. If anything will stir your boy friend to tug at his family ties, perhaps a rival will prove to be the strongest incentive, It is seldom wise for a girl to work too hard at attracting any one boy. Her very intensity is apt to make her do and say the wrong things. 2 x =
DEAR JANE JORDAN—I went with a girl for four years and we were engaged to marry. For some reason or other we fell out. I think that her mother was the downfall of everything. What should I do to redeem her love? During the four years I bought a house full of new furniture for us. What must I do with my furniture? I think lots of the girl. ANXIOUS.
Answer—In my opinion it always is best for a young man to accept a young lady's “no” without quibbling. If she didn't mean “no” just because she said it, he will discover this fact more quickly by not begging her to reconsider. If you have bought furniture for a home which you never will share, your girl should return it, Notify her that you will send someone after it on a specified date and busy youre self with forgetting such a false young lady. JANE JORDAN.
Put your problems in a letter to Jane Jordan, whe will answer your questions in this column daily,
Walter O'Keefe—
ARY, Dowager Queen of England, threw a dinner last night for 20 persons. The guest list reads like a good bridge hand. Three queens and three kings sat down and put on the royal feedbag. Her present house has only 200 rooms. Of course she needed a large home when she had the children around her. It seems that if the Duke of Windsor wanted to hide away from the public eye he could easily lose himself somewhere in those 200 rooms. Of course until recently the papers never played up
royal banquets such as this one, but now it's news 4
when a king can eat. It’s like the Republicans over &