Indianapolis Times, Indianapolis, Marion County, 10 March 1938 — Page 14

The e Indianapolis Times

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ive Zagne ‘and the People Wilt Find Their Oton. Woy ‘THURSDAY, MARCH 10, 1038: '

THE. LEGION AND THE NAZIS WE Hope every citizen will réad the statement today by ~~ ‘Russell’ R.”Rhodes, Indiana Department Commander of the ‘‘merican Legion, on local Nazi bund activities. The full sta ‘emént is printed elsewhere in this issue. Ca! ling attention to agitation for a forcible breaking up. of ¢ meeting ofthe. German-American bund scheduled here net Monday night, the State Legion leader points out: : “Te Americanism means acceptance and adherence

to all't'\e principles and institutions of our American form - ;. of FOV nment, and we must not.resort to force to suppress |

person or groups ‘whose opinions differ from ,our own. Such v, uid be the very essence of un-Americanism. “T"2 Constitution’ of the United States guarantees freedon: of religion, speech and of the press, and of the right ol people to assemble peaceably. Without these wise provisic oS, we would have no democratic government. . . . We mu:} not deny the right. of free speech and peaceable assemby io any person or group, not even to those whose theorie: we despise. , . . “J af our pecile to a proper appreciation of the benefits of American privileges, confident in the knowledge; if they are thus prepar=} and informed, that faith in America and in sod American system cannot be shaken by alien elements, sheh - as naziism, with bund offshoots, communism or fascism. All of these ‘isms are inimical to Americanism, which the: American Legion advocates.” The Commander clearly states the case for civil rights. - The N:zi bund leaders have met a cool reception from local” Germai-American organizations. The Nazis have no right: to force their beliefs on these unsympathetic groups, or to capital ze on the prestige of other German-American organizations. But they have every right to hold legal meetings. * Law vi olators will be ‘handled by the regular law-enforce-ment dgencies. We hope no misguided patrioteers will ‘attempt to sabotage; the Constitution by trying to deny the Nazis this fundar! ental American right. For that is the stuff such dicta? r philosophies thrive on.

DEA I IRON HORSES | : HI railroads are not satisfied with the 5 to 10 per cent freight rate increases granted by, the Interstate Commerce Commission. They say they should have been given the full 15 per cent increase which they asked. ~. Certainly the railroads are entitled to make etibiih mone to keep going, and it is to the interest of the country that the railroads’ income be high enough to enable them to build and maintain a more efficient transportation’ systen. The ICC, having the power to limit railroad charg as, is obligated to consider the welfare of railroad investo=s. It also is obligated to protect the interests of shippers and the public at large. Ovet its 50 years of existence the ICC has made a good recor of being fair to all parties. It was, we think, quite prope for the ICC to point out that although the railroads are b rdened by higher wages, higher taxes and loss of business, other industries which pay freight rates ‘also are similarly burdened and similarly entitled to consideration. "he railroads believe the increase will not pull them out of their hole. The ICC indicates its doubt that any conceivable ‘ombination of rates would solve the railroad’s- difficulties, All of which seems to point to the! necessity of other’ approaches, including consolidations to eliminate expensi ‘@ and needless competition, and, perhaps most important, » downward revision of debt structures. "*estifying recently before the Senate Unemployment “Comr ittee, that shrewd financier Bernard M. Baruch men-

county's bad economic conditions. One thing, he said, was our “inwillingness. to pay. for dead horses.” The observation : plies. with special force to many railroads.

CLEAN UP THE DEBRIS!

H 3 delayed job of cleaning Indianapolis streets of the l-aves, dirt and other debris that have accumulated gince last summer can be completed within a week or two if tho weather is favorable, City officials promise. ~#t’s hope the weatherman is in a co-operative, mood. . This combination of debris and March winds is Making life * mise-able * the City unattractive.

COFRAL MORE UNTAXABLES WH isn’t this a good time to call upon the Supreme Court to make a clean sweep of all tax immunities? The Court seems to be in the mood. Within the last few ~veeks it has overruled a long line of previous decisions and has brought within the tax fold many incomes previous'y exempted. % “n reaching these decisions ibe Court came to what

seems to us the logical conclusion that profits from doing |

business with Governmental units are profits in the ordinary sense, and therefore are not entitled to special privi- _ Jeges. Certainly a man who gets fees from a state bank or makes money on a Federal building contract has just as much “ability to pay” as another man who receives a com~parzhle income from some other source—and just as much “oblizations to pay. The same is true of corporations. But two citadels of tax immunity remain to be stormed —tax-exempt public securities and the salaries of public | 30 we suggest that someone in Congress prepare an ame~dment to the pending tax bill, placing all future public sala-ies and all future issues of public securities in the same ‘taxz hle category with private salaries and private securities. | And then let the issue be placed squarely before. the

Tf the Court decides adversely, Aothing will be lost.

it decides favorably, the gain will be considerable new |

ve we, plus establishment of the prin¢iple that all citizens nec 5. are equal before all tax laws,

{’s make our effort an affirmative one by: bringing

| “ingenious” and “ingentious” or

hibit

By Westbrook Pégler

‘Under- New: Bill a Movie Synopsis Writer Able to Handle Trick Words

Would Have Producer at His Mercy.

Y ‘08 ANGELES, March 10.—All this cruel strife betweén opposing grotips of rich writers in Hollywood dates back to a time during the bank holiday of 1933. At that time the moving picture contract writers were persuaded to halve their salaries on the plea that if they refused to make this sacrifice many members of the lower classes in the movie industry would be fired. Executives also made the noble sacrifice of half their salaries, but a little later the ) writers discovered that the executives’ bonuses were undiminished and were, in fact, increased by the saving on their literary payroll. This was a great disillusionment. The authors had taken the magnates’ word without demanding access to the books, and they were not only hurt but terribly angry. The authors formed a union, got back their accustomed scale £3, and went on to compel -other con- Er cessions. Mr. Pegler One demand which did fail, * however, would have given the writers the right to complete “artistic integrity,” which is a. resounding

phrase raeaning the opposite of “don’t kid yourself.”

A lot of rewrite men, reporters, sports men and copy readers and one-book novelists wanted it understood that their work must not be changed at all, so that their dramas should reach their public as they had conceived them. That one was out quickly and has now been forgotten. » ” 2

UBSTANTIALLY all that the writers fought for through the Screen Writers’ Guild has now been won by the Screen Playwrights, the guild offshoot

whose members now view the guild itself with alarm

as a potential censor and Communist propaganda society. Mr. Dudley Nichols, the guild president, ad-

mits that the screen writers have achieved the ends for which his guild continues to struggle.

“Now, don’t distort my: ,. Mr, Nichols said,

2 meaning and went on to say again that the playwrights had

won the very points*on which he is willing to fling his body. ‘Mr. Nichols is unwilling to join the Screen Playwrights or make any compromise to unite the

ey L Ro : | groups, because, he says, the playwrights deserted the tione: some of the things he considered responsible for the |

guild in the midst of a fight. The playwrights, on thelr part, insist that there is no need to fight for

| a victory already won and oppose the guild on the

ground that it has too many Communists or Com-

munis sympathigers and regimental tendencies.

N the meantime a bill has appeared no bigger than

a man’s hand which would require all distributors to furnish the exhibitors complete, unerring deseriptions of all plays, under penalty of a fine of not

more than $5000 and one year in prison for each’

offense. This is a new one, placing the unhappy producer

at the mercy of the man hired to write the synopsis, -

who might be just.cad enough, with his sense of old wrongs and a bred-in-the-hone boss-hafred, to drop in a trick word falsely describing the mood or dialog and send the boss to the chain gang or the rock pile for no real fault of his own. How would the boss know the difference between “militate” and “miti«

gate” or “flaunt” and “flout”? And how can he keep

|: subversive propaganda off the screen too subtle for

his own perception but not for that of other groups?

Business—By John

“Economist Calls the Holding Company the. Greatest Obstacle * ; Orderly and Useful Development of Branch Banking in This Country. |

addition to other things, owns 10 per cent of the vot- | ing rights of any bank. To tank thus awed may do

EW YORK, March 10.—One thing which takes s good deal of the wind out of the sails ofthe opponents of the new bill to limit the activities of holding companies is the fact that it is introduced by Senator Glass. For the last two years many conserves

ative colleges in the East have been conferring. hon- g

To most critics of the holding com: as an ins TS ce critic of tbe holding company as an fo | appointment, since they had been led to believe that | the bill would seek to put an end to holding

ng altogether. banks controlled by holding companies from being used by the holding company for unsound pur-

But certatnly, as far as i. goes, it 4s 8 sound bil and it is difficult to see how anyone can 'disagrée with its ohjectives. : Gk at a eT 1: nem FT HE principal objection so far is to the de

*| himself

® : : The Hoosier Forum 1 wholly disagree with what you say, but will defend to the death your right to say it.—Voltaire.

SEEKS CAMPAIGN TO KEEP PIGEONS By Louise Wood

According to late reports, public officials, at the instigation of a few and following a meeting of which few knew until it was past, are taking steps to kill pigeons which, for a number ‘of years, have given pleasure to so many in downtown Indianapolis. We who live here love those birds. We are dismayed at the thought of their wanton destruction. We are not at all impressed by. thé talk of “pigeon broth for the poor,” although many of us

are poor. We feel that the case against these birds has been grossly magnified and misrepresented. We feel that this is ‘decidedly a matter for the public and that this is being

has had no fair opportunity to express what we believe to be a very definite sentiment against the ac-

% | tion's being taken.

May we call attention to the

placoas of St. Mark and the pigeons

in the courtyard of the Louvre? In those places and elsewhere flocks of birds: are considered an asset in beauty; they are cared for and their continuance assured. Persons conie to feed them and fo see the lovely picture they make with ther beautiful buildings and the fine statuary. Will you not take up the cause of the birds of the Circle and. the little parky:

® jn SAYS INVESTIGATION SHOWS COMPLAINT UNFOUNDED

‘| By Michael F. Morrissey, Chief of Police

You may be interested to know the results of our checkup of the complaint by the person who signed “Orville H. Wilmington, Evansville,” in the Forum recently, saying he was treated discourteously by some members of the Indianapolis Police Department. As I stated in my original reply to his letter, there was no record of any complaint to this office, written or otherwise. I thereafter wrote Mr. Wilmington, explaining our men are under orders courteously to question

41 persons who are on the streets late

at night, in an effort to reduce crime. After the letter was returned unclaimed, we made a thorough investigation through the aid of Evansville , officials, but were unable to find anyone at Evansville by that name. I can find no foundation for the complaint. fai : ! 2 8 8 VANNUYS' POLICIES RECEIVE PRAISE By L. G. In” his letter criticizing Senator VanNuys’ campaign, J. E. of Mor--gantown,€ expresses a legitimate point’ of view. But his points ‘are

to give the view .of other voters.

‘1.J. B. lclds {hat ihe leaderd of

T Flynn

‘certain things forbidden in the act.

per cent of the stock of some bank

| any control over it. They speak of

Corp.,, which owns 10 per cent of |

done in such a way that the public’

‘highly debatable and I should like |

(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 will be withheld on request.)

our state are not political bosses. they were not, they would never have arrogantly “outlawed” VanNuys from the Democratic ranks or expected him to come crawling back for forgiveness... . 2. Almost violently do I disagree with J. E. as to the functions of a Senator. We distinctly elect him to be a leader—not a cogwheel or a Charlie McCarthy. As for constructive leadership, I think the Senator has amply proved that by his past record. As for a program, the Senator is on record as being 96 per cent for the progressive reform program of Roosevelt and § per cent independent. We must keep thet 5 per: cent independence. . . . 3. If it were understood a little better that the President’$ Supreme Court plan would not really have liberalized the Court; Senator VanNuys would be praised for his opposition. A great man can be wrong occasionally without harm, so I do not hold it against the President, but his court plan would merely have enabled him to get through all his legislation. 4. Perhaps the Senator did “dig-

SURE SIGN: OF SPRING By ROSE CRUZAN

Again my heart thrills at the sight

Of seeds on counters in the store; Select the ones you think just right, Then plant them Soom; sow seeds galore.

Those ‘queer, dry pellets are not dead

Just dormant till time to unfold. Place: peas, beans, ‘peppers in the

The joy derived will be untold. Plant roots, bulbs, herbs, then

watch them grow poppies, pansies; made a

Green tender sprouts above the 3 ground. -

DAILY THOUGHT I say unto you, that likewise

| joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that

repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, Jhtly Bead 19 repeniaris Luks

7OU cannot repent to soon bes ‘cause you do not know how

UT. why. 1-1 Scecnllas thet Tom

Instead it merely attempts to pro~|

soon it may be too lata Puller

in high places.

mound; { Soon they will stir; signs of life show,

‘winter.

tract the country and disrupt the Democratic Party with his antilynching bill, but it is still neces-

| sary legislation. The bitter censure

should be reserved for the filibustering Congressmen who would not allow it to come to a vote, 5. I fail to see why the election of an independent would “deprive Indiana of her just share of influce.” Can influence be gained only y political favoritism? As a matter jd fact, Indiana, :as run by the | present Democratic machine, is not in favor with Mr. Farley and no amount of toadying in the past six years has changed the situation. 6. As for the Senator wanting to be all wheels at once, J. E. seems to have facts a bit mixed. More cogwheels may be what J. E. and Pemocratic machine men want, but

the trouble is that cogwheels can’t

function in a crisis. And national affairs promise crises as a steady diet for some years to: come.

For the first time in our history |

we, the people, really have a chance to select our own Senator and thus have a say in National Government. . .. ; i 8 = =» COLLECTIVE PRODUCTION BY LABOR URGED By Collective Productionist

I think it is far fetched to claim or to hope that organized labor in either camp has a practical solution for the re-employment .of the 14 million idle. workers now walking the streets. Labor's great foMy is that it assumes that collective bargaining for hours and wages will automatically make a bargain for jobs. What practical move has been made by organized labor to create jobs for the unemployed who are a constant threat to steady employment for the employed worker? Is not organized labor even more responsible for providing jobs for all workers than the owners of industry? Why does not labor create its own jobs? - Why does it support the vast useless duplication of large and small business - which ders no adequate service for the cost. Labor shirks responsibility. Why? Labor wil pot; start collective production.

# 8» CLAIMS ANY INCOME WELCOME IN RURAL COMMUNITY By 8. B. Davison, Falmouth John T. Flynn, writing in: The Times, discussed the railroadmen,

several thousand of them whose salaries were less than $80 per

pay was even less than $40 per week «and the taxes they had to pay.

There are several men in this rural community who would be glad to work for less than $40 per week— who would be glad to have any income at jally in the They pay taxes too. And there are no money trees growing

in country towns as Soule WY Shirk,

* week: ‘and a few thousand others De

-that performance is-the only

Con Yohricon

Says— James Roosevelt's Appointment: to An Army Post Has an Effect on the - Morale of the Military Profession:

ASHINGTON, March 10—This column didn't join in the criticism of Jimmy Roosevelt's ap= pointment as secretary to the President. It is & pee culiarly personal relationship. There was no one else so well-fitted. The job of President is such a tough one that an obvious need for a particular pers son should not be left unfilled merely because tltat person is a son. Merit and fithess are the redl 5s and Jimmy has shown both. But you can’t say that “6 Jimmy serving with troops as Lieut.-Col. of Marines. It was all right when he was ap= ‘pointed to the reserves. and ‘called to active duty to be aid to the President. That was merely to get him a salary for appropriate nonmilitary services wheri there was no other legal way to do it. Dressing quaint little Dr. Sawyer up in a brigas dier generals uniform so that he . could be paid to prepare his - “pills” - for President Harding ‘was a precedent. x ® x ‘8 a Ins UT it would have been different if Gen. Sawyer had been ordered to command a brigade. That would have been something like ordering Gen. Craig to perform an appendix operation. The military calling is a profession. It takes long years of experience to fit a man’ to command a regiment. ‘A very few natural geniuses there have been like Nathan Bedfdrd Forrest but, for every oné of them, the pages of hise tory have been drenched with the blood of helpless soldiers ‘sacrificed to the inexperience of ‘amateyg commanders. It is an affront to the military profession to: puta man, with no more military experience than Santa Claus, into a lieutenant-colonel’s uniform and. send’ him into the field with troops. "That rank rates a battalion or a regiment. No man in the regular serve ice aspires to do that without at least 10 yéars’ traine ing and experience. Jimmy was in a sham war where nobody could be hurt. But what went on in the hearts of veteran officers outranked by a. lad who doesn’t know how to take a corporal’s-

Hugh Johnson

squad across the road? In other words, Jimmy didn’t lead Hi

he was one-tenth as good a soldier as any. first-class private, but because he was a Roosevelt.

. i a :

UR used to be cursed with that sort. of thing. It was responsible for most of the disasters of both the Civil and’ Spanish-American wars. Under Woodrow Wilson it was entirely wiped out.and has never since appeared. both the Army and Navy there is complete democracy and no way to get to the top without knowing your ob, working at it and excelling in it. This may see a small instapce of departure-=per-haps inadverten t it is a de and the effect of such things on the morale of a military force is simply incalculable. If all members of an army know that counts, they all will concentrate on perfo ce. If it is adver= tised that there is a quicker, easier way, the perform= ers tend to say, “What's the use?” The slickers and: slackers will rise to the top and politics and intrigue, rather than devotion and loyalty, will activate th forces. That is the quickest et Lon ath 6 Sirs dissolution and defeat. i

| According to Heywood Broun—-

Newspapermen Don't Believe the U. S. Is Being Groomed for Conflici: The Way to Preserve Peace Is to Talk of It and Not Scream of War.

YORK, March 10.-<There is less war talk in than in New York. Of course, I RYE BE notion of what mtv 0 on among small groups But the notion that America is being | groomed for an immediate conflict is not voiced much |

wspapermen, : x. Now, it It may be that the correspondents are living

To me of’ them have Spot

ion to pio. Tey Tone St public op sl Alth 2 1 would note |

any other Chief Executive, should have a come Deters ‘free hand in diplomatic dealings. * But there are points in which the President should not be sold ‘down the river by his own countrymen. _ Specifically, I think of the situation in which pibe licists cry out for the world to hear that thé President has secret, plans for conflict and that his pledges of peace should be regarded with If that policy is putes here extensively by men who have it a do much to strengthen