Indianapolis Times, Indianapolis, Marion County, 16 April 1938 — Page 10

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PAGE 10

The Indianapolis Times

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Rlley 5551

Give Light and the People Will Find Their Own Woy

SATURDAY, APRIL 16, 1938

PLAY BALL!

FTER ‘a winter of hot-stove sessions and several weeks of reports from the Grapefruit League, baseball in the flesh returns to Indianapolis today. The Indians, who are facing the Minneapolis Millers in

their opening series of the

1938 American Association

season, already have bolstered their backers’ hopes with a record of 15 victories in 21 exhibition games. Ray Schalk, starting his first season as manager of

the Indians, promises aggressive style of play.

a team that will show speed and an We're especially glad to see

so many youngsters among the newcomers to the roster.

Manager Schalk’s

attitude appeals to us, too. Informed

that sports writers of the American Association had picked

Indianapolis to finish seventh,

us a chance to fool the boys.

he said, “Good! That gives And I don’t mean eighth.”

* Well, Ray, the more you fool the boys, the better

we'll like: it.

FIRST FHINGS FIRST

“ME ROOSEVELT adds up all the conceivable ways that the Government can prime the pump in the next year «and the total is $4,512,000,000 which has been or must

be

lots of jobs for lots of people. Yet compare that: with

borrowed and charged up to future generations, That’s a whale of a lot of money, and it should provide

some private spending and

lending figures which were being talked about last fall, before the recession turned into a depression: : Housing," $3,200,000,000—That is the amount which Mr. Roosevelt then suggested that the people of the United

States could spend each year for the next five years,

just

catching up on America’s housing shortage. "Railroads, $2,400,000,000—That is the amount which

it -was estimated the railroads could profitably spend each

year for many years, if returned to a prosperity basis. Utilities, $3,600,000,000—That is the amount which private utilities said they needed to spend to catch up on

their construction lag and for one year’s normal expansion. |

Total, $9,600,000,000.

It is more than twice as much as the new spending and lending which Mr, Roosevelt now proposes. And it would

provide more than twice as

in all of the others, as well,

for huge private investments.

many jobs. Yet that total

+ covers only three of a multitude of private industries—and

there was and is possibility

But these big potentials of private investment have failed to materialize, despite the fact that 16 billions in

Government borrowings have been poured down the pump | And because they have failed, the President-now

barrel.

thinks it expedient to dump in another 41% billions of Gov-

ernment money. 8 x. 8

8 # n

R. ROOSEVELT made a start at stimulating private housing investment—he persuaded Congress to pass

"the liberal FHA mortgage law.

But he didn’t stay with

the problem ‘long enough to bring about an adjustment of wage and material costs to fit the pocketbooks of millions

of families who need homes.

And he made several starts on the railroad problem, ‘but ended up by dumping it into the lap of Congress, with-

out specific recommendation.

: At one time it seemed he was about to reach an understanding with private utilities which would encourage them " to expand and spend. But that good intention ended in a cat-and-dog fight between directors of the TVA. Meanwhile the one thing that might have done most— and still might do most—to spur investment and expansion in all types of business was a realistic change in punitive

tax laws. Congress worked

all winter on that, but just

- three days ago Mr. Roosevelt, heedlessly we think, stepped

in and blocked progress.

# # #

# # &

Y spending 414 billions, the Government may provide

— temporary jobs for two persons.

or three million unemployed

But permanent jobs for all unemployed, and better wages and greater security for all workers, can be attained only through the restoration of private investments and

private business enterprise.

That, we believe, is Mr. Rogsevelt’s objective. In his message to Congréss he said: “] want to make it clear that we do not believe that we can get an adequate rise in national income merely by investing, lending or spending public funds. It is essential in our economy that private funds be put to work and all * of us recognize that such funds are entitled to a fair profit,” In that same message he also said that we must “avoid

pitfalls of the past,” and will.”

that “we need a united national

In keeping with his own persuasive logic, we think that Mr. Roosevelt, rather than placing sole reliance on pumppriming, should put first things first and turn his attention back to releasing the many more billions of private invest

ments.

~ CHALIAPIN :

THE greatest bass voice of our time was stilled with the death of Feodor Chaliapin. And also there passed a

-man of rare personality.

In a world where millions bow to dictators, Chaliapin stood out as an invincible individualist, recognizing no master but art. He disavowed the Russian dictatorship, saying that “happiness must not be imposed by force.” ~ A world full of Chaliapins would be a nerve-shattering place, but it is reassuring that the human race can still

produce even one like him,

Chaliapin’s diabolical laughter in Faust will echo down

3

0

Fair Enough

By Westbrook Pegler

Roosevelt Would Be a Lot Better ' Off if He Could Get Rid of the * Bleeders Gathered 'in- His Corner.

EW YORK, April 16.—We would come to a better understanding of things in Washington if Mr. Roosevelt had for apologists some calm and reasonable men instead of those hysterical beshrews who squawk every time their man drops a duke on some

issue. It is conceded that the Reorganization Bill in its final stage was only a hollow shell of the original

pill and that even if it had passed in this gaunt and feeble version it would have made little difference. If that is the case, then why all the screaming? More hopeful would be an honest discussion of the known perfidy of those who have made a flea bag of the New Deal. It would be helpful, too, to place a little more emphasis on the fact that business, which often is mentioned by Mr. Roosevelt's bleeders as though it were akin to brothel keeping, is a respectable and necessary institution. ” » ® 3 FE those who do not know what a bleeder is 1 will explain that when Gene Tunney was

‘prominent in the ring his best friend was a little

society boxer from Greenwich, Conn. named Sam Pryor, now treasurer of the Republican Party, who used to hurt worse than Mr. Tunney himself whenever anyone said anything about his hero. Mr. Pryor came to be known to the cauliflower profession as Tunney’s 'bleeder, and, judging by the volume and stridency of the shrieks from the President’s corner, it is apparent that he has his bleeders, too. The President himself took it and grinned with blood on his gums when reorganization failed, but from behind his stool the air is filled with yelps of “dirty work!” and “they hit with an ax!” Well, now, the infighting was pretty fast and rugged for a few minutes there, and if I saw any ax used at all it was at the same time when those White House emissaries, as they were called in the Washington copy, were going around buzzing Senators with threats if they should vote against the bill and promises if they should vote for it. 1 wasn't paying very close attention then, but 1 will take the Record for it that business used to

carry on bid-and-ask dealings with the statesmen

in the evil days of old. But right now a businessman would take his life in his hands if he offered a statesman any such proposition as we are given to believe was put to numerous Senators, and yet the Senate hasn't said “aye,” “yes,” “no” or “I'll take vanilla” about a common report amounting to a reflection on its own membership.

#» 8 »

NE night last fall Mr. Roosevelt said this country needed democracy and more democracy. That seemed jake with most of us, although I would have proposed some retroactive democracy at the time, a few months earlier, when the President was wigging a lot of rich about their income taxes and the statesmen flatly refused to do the same to the President’s son James. : And, moreover, if democracy is desired, what seems to be the complaint when the elected Representatives in Congress consult their consciences, or whatever it was that they consulted, when they were voting for the President’s stuff and this time answered “No”? One serious trouble in Washington is that not only businessmen, but a huge element of Americans who

were for Mr. Roosevelt for a long time have been

yipped out of the party by his bleeders and estranged from him, leaving him in the company of a lot of glory-hunters who pretend to be his only true friends. —————

Business By John T. Flynn

Prices Must Be Kept Down if the

Government Renews Its Spending.

EW YORK, April 16.—Whether opposition to the President’s spending plans takes on formidable proportions or not, there seems to be little doubt that some program of increased spending will be gotten under way, before Congress adjourns. No sound argument can be made against spending by the Government under all the circumstances. But what is disturbing is the presence of the same general lack of intelligent plan, the same complete ignoring of grave factors in the situation which dare not be ignored. \ To spend is one thing. But what is the object of the spending and where is the money to come from? Is the spending for the purpose of merely caring for the unemployed or is it for the purpose of provoking a recovery? Is the money to be provided by additional taxes or by new Government borrowing? It is quite apparent, of course, that this new spendiing program is to be carried on with new Government loans. And since that is so, what provision does the President propose to make to deal with the consequences of the spending of additional Government loans? For when he starts this again he must realize that

' he will do certain things to the economic system and

these things will very quickly destroy and smother his spending program in another collapse. One thing must be recognized. It is that spending

"of new borrowed billions, if on a large enough scale

to be effective at all, will mean another flight of inflation. Also, as soon as that becomes effective, prices will go up all by themselves. In an inflationary movement the energy and vigilance of the Government must be employed to keep prices from rising too high. Dictators Control Inflation In an inflation it is an immensely difficult thing to hold prices down. Perhaps only a dictatorship can do this. In Italy and Germany it has been possible to create an inflation and have it function as long as it has because the Government, instead of encouraging rise of prices as here, has used all its powers to hold prices and wages down. But in spite of that prices have risen and are rising again. The President must immediately invoke every engine of Government to prevent prices from rising again as in 1935 and 1037. If he does not, if he keeps on encouraging price boosts as he has with his talk about the 1926 price level, he must be prepared for an early and disastrous crack-up of his second effort.

We. the Women

By Ruth Millett

LINGING vines aren't always wives. good many cases they are husbands. Many a woman marries expecting to lean on a sturdy oak the rest of -her days, only te find that the man has raced her to dependency. And that all the

No, in a

" decisions are hers to make and all the crises hers

to meet. She manages the budget, decides where the family will live, when they can afford to move into a better neighborhood, who their friends shall be, and whether or not the family savings are going into college for

the children or a house for show. It doesn’t take her long to learn that her husband is more personally dependent than she ever dreamed of being. If he is out of town for a week-end she looks forward to the chance to be alone, to get caught up on sll the puttering women -enjoy. But let her so much as mention going away for a few days and he starts inventing excuses to keep her home. The thought of an empty house is toe much for him. When she used to dream of marriage she believed that a wife could dump her burdens on her husband’s

shoulders, and have him say, “Don’t you worry your

head about it,” the way husbands talk in stories. But in less than a month of marriage she learned that the unloading of troubles is a masculine habit. She has always had to decide whether it would be the movies or bridge with the Joneses. And how va-

cation time should be spent. : 3 But do you think her husband knows all this?

THE INDIANAPOLIS

BAY

TIMES

There Must Be Some Wom

oJ?

| ee 7 The Hoosier Forum 1 wholly disagree with what you say, but will defend to the death your right to say it.—Voltaire.

A TELEGRAM TO THE PRESIDENT By W. EB. Chapin The writer is a loyal Hoover Republican and as such please let me congratulate you on your fine speech Thursday night. Think it quite the finest you ever made. All the past is gone and can't ne helped but we have the future to do with what we will. Let us all settle down to the job of being sensible Amerjcan citizens and cut out so darn much talking and get busy doing things. : ; 2 = = CLAIMS REORGANIZATION BILL KILLED BY POLITICIANS By G. H.

The Reorganization Bill was defeated by men elected by the people to co-operate with the President of the United States, for the welfare of the people. It is silly to claim dictatorship. Weeding out the grafters and economizing was the aim, but politicians won out. Fully 90 per cent of the newspapers wére against the bill. Bub. then, who are the newspaper owners? The May primaries will tell. The poor people will show their hand again. Not having $150,000 for telegrams, they will do so by upholding the policies of the only President who has been able and willing to do anything for the common people,

a a CRITICIZES ISSUING OF PARKING STICKERS By M. U. ;

It seems traffic stickers are placed on cars just as the policemen are in that mood. I double-parked my car

for five minutes at a side door of

the Postoffice (long enough to buy a stamp and mail a letter). When I returned my windshield was decorated with one of the new stickers. At this same time there were three other cars double-parked in front and back of mine. This policeman was still parked behind my car. He left when I did and said nothing about the other double-parked cars. He stopped his machine in the next block where there were other double-parked cars, sat there and then moved on, leaving no decorations at that point, Is this fair?

2 2 ” 3 CLAIMS CONDITIONS TODAY ENCOURAGE CRIME By K. V. C. : :

The letter in the Forum “Nothing |

Done to Aid Children Lacking Food” is a timely subject, and should be read by some of our great social and welfare bodies. It would also be a

good subject to discuss at a confer-|.

ence on the prevention of crime. That 7T-year-old youngster who did not have any dinner because his father was unemployed and on relief, might some day become President. It is possible, too, that he may be an inmate of some of our penitentiaries or reformatories, because as he grows older he will need and want things his parents cannot possibly purchase, and he will be

(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.)

tempted to violate laws in order to secure the necessities of life. Poverty in most cases is the cause of men going on criminal careers. With economic conditions as they

are in this country foday, there. is

more temptation than ever for unfortunates to follow a crime career. One class of society creates conditions that make it difficult for’ other classes to gain the necessities of life without violating man-made laws. They also create temptations to the unfortunates to commit crime . . . for example, crime movies where a person can see how to plan and execute crime. y The trustee system of relief is just slow starvation, and many persons on it are forced to take things that do not belong to them, Some of our judges send men to prison for stealing something to eat or less. I call this “Inhumanity to Man"—they call it eivilization. Human greed and selfishness will eventually destroy what is left of civilization. ; Nb : ss = : SAYS WEST SIDE RESIDENTS NOT NOTIFIED OF MEETINGS

By W. W.

The West Side Improvement

‘League, though commendable in its | efforts to secure street and drainage

improvement for suburbs west of the ‘city, made a serious mistake in failing to use reliable means of notifying all residents of the only meetings at which they would have had a voice and a vote in the matter. After County officials had taken

action on what they probably

thought was majority sentiment, the error was only made worse by using house to. house handbills to notify all property owners to come and fearn what would be required of

them. ; School children do not always remember to report notices of meetings to their parents, and some peo-

APRIL VESPERS By M. P. D. :

Softly now the light of day Fades into the shadowed way, Shades of mist And amethyst, “Through the air A soft refrain. Lullabies of evening time, April vespers of the day Ringing far a minor strain. .

DAILY THOUGHT

And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.-— Matthew 28:18. :

: HE pains of power are real; its pleasures - imaginary.—Colton.

ple, of course, have no children in school. The only other notice of earlier meetings was a few crude posters on the highway. The League, in this instance, and for the present, seems to have acconiplished its purpose. Since the cost of property owners will not be great, and since the work if well done will be of some value, petitions of remonstrance were not carried.

where organizations might have to rely entirely on voluntary co-opera-tion, they should be much more careful. People feel that it is their right to be given the chance of a voice in local self-government, and if they do not get it, they are likely to become resentful, distrustful and

injuring the very causes for which such organizations as the West Side League are working. - 8 2 » G. O. P. SELECTIONS ARE CRITICIZED By J. K. : It looks as if the Republican primary was planned in the back room of a lawyer's office where our judicial candidates were selected. - From all appearances a lot of us Republicans will still have to vote “New Deal.” Never since I can remember have six judicial candidates in ‘a primary been unopposed. # 8 8

FIGHT URGED AGAINST TRACTION ABANDONMENT By BE. M. S. The Indiana Railroad’s proposed

. | Indianapolis-Peru-Ft. Wayne trac-

tion abandonment demands thorough investigation, It may be true that the 1937 loss was $106,000, but 1935-36 figures were undoubtedly better due to more traffic created by improved business conditions then. : ; Traction revenue could be greatly increased by such things as more steam road freight interchange, improved effort of the traffic department to secure business, and a rearranged passenger schedule, Onethird the price of new busses and trucks would rehabilitate the right-of-way, resulting in faster schedules ‘and increased patronage. Bus-truck operation is no gold mine, and threatens to plunge the Indiana Railroad into worse financial shape. A computed $56,000 bus-truck profit based on present traction patronage is a fallacy, as only about half of the traction busfness will go to the busses and trucks, as has happened with other interurban abandonments. Such revenue producing traffic as U. S. mail, heavy express, stone, coal and other carload freight business will be lost. A large portion of the interurban passengers intend to drive automobiles rather than patronize busses. Of course it seems cheaper to the Indiana Railroad to run busses and trucks on the public highways, but it ‘is the public who pays the difference. It is up to the people to oppose this proposed deterioration in transportation at the Public Service Commission hearing at In-

|| dianapolis April 18.

LJ

ms

EXPLORE YOUR MIND

_, the savages when they were trying | to rouse themselves to a state of

MRS. LK. ABKSL DOES A MAN TEND Con PEM HI . Ee 0 2 o

DAYe OF cl

>» ERS * . THAN MEN eor | * AHANG-OVER FROM THE | ARY? ARNO es | a VF enmm— !

‘husbands warning

ecstasy for the hunt or for battle. 2 8 =

1 JUDGE: Mrs. L. K. has one of this kind of husbands and they

|are pretty numerous. It’s a low

form of masculine cussedness and

/| one every. husband can do well fo

watch in himself. I don’t do it, of course, and neither do you, Mr. Man, but confidentially, we both know that do. So, let this be a from us model husbands to those low forms of masculine life who indulge .in this in-and-outdoor 8 . : 8 8 = ; : MY PAMILY DOCTOR, who

Y has ‘studied the matter for years, thinks it is, and I am inclined

'| to think he has uncovered ene chief | | reason why many women think they own the whole road, When they

The point is, that in future projects, |

nonco-operative in the future, thus

SATURDAY, APRIL 16, 1938, Gen. Johnson Says—

+ Contrary to the Belief of a Few

Years Age, Coal Is Still a Good Competitor for Hydroelectricity.

fv

ASHINGTON, April 16.—The whole idea of “white coal” which attracted the attention of the public for many years, was based upon a belief that hydroélectric power was almost automatic and very much gheaper than generation of electric power by steam. i eh I remember very well, in 1911, after a tour of duty as superintendent of Sequoia-National Park, which had been invaded by a great hytro project, writing a story in the Saturday Evening Post which was based on the idea of controlling water-power from its hindermost source to the sea and creating a new utopia. It was theoretical, ‘youthful, enthusiastic—and as it now seems—haywire. Since that time, the whole engineering picture has been presented in a different light. In those days, it required eight tons of coal to produce a kilowatt hour of electrical energy. Today, by reason of better methods of combustion and the advance of science, it requires less than one ton of coal. Hydroelectric power in the best modern plants, as compared with the most efficient steam plants, costs double, or at best the comparison is 7-t0-10 in favor of steam. Of course, this depends upon the distance from coal, the presence . of hydropower and so forth, but the general conclue sion is accurate. 7 2 a =

HE country went haywire in favor of hydroelectric generation of power because it believed that the coal measures could not last in excess of: 200 years, that hydroelectric power was much cheaper than steam power, and that the Government, which controls the rivers, should preserve ' this national heritage. ; It is now estimated that even at the present rate of coal combustion, the supplies in the United States already discovéred are sufficient for all uses for 4000 years and the tale has not yet been told because the efficiency of steam-power, in spite of these great advances, is hardly 65 per cent, while the efficiency of hydroelectric power is above 90 per cent. Core drilling in the northern.Middle West indicate such an gbundance of coal, close to iron and limestone, that we may see a complete shift of the area of ine dustrial production. Senator Nye, please note.

ie 2’ 8 '»

\O make an equal quantity of power by steam requires man’s labor at about the ratio of 10 to 1 in comparison with hydro. John Lewis, please observe. Also, steam energy requires transportation and handling which, on an equal basis of cost of electricity, would give employment to railroad labor in the ratio of more than 10-to-1. Railroad brotherhoods, please consider.

Hydroelectricity sounds good. It is spectacular politics to talk about the popular heritage in the fall of waters, but if ever a question needed a realistic resurvey in the face of all new facts, it .is this one—and this column purposes to give it light. The actual cost of the generation of your electricity is about as 1 to 6 in the price you pay. We are not so much concerned with Federal hydroelectric installation for generation as with Federal subsidy of electric distribution. In that field, there is about as much justification for Federal interference as there would be for the Federal sale of turnips.

It Seems to Me By Heywood Broun

It Is Much Too Soon to Say That Jackie Coogan Is Superannuated.

EW YORK, April 16 —My sympathies are certainN ly with Jackies Coogan. Of course, I do not knew of my own knowledge whether the money. he mentions is actually four million dollars or something less. It is also possible that the law affords no protection to minors in these matters. Although a good many years have elapsed (young Coogan has now attained the ripe age of 23), I can remember no piece of acting which hit me harder than that of the small boy who played with Charlie Chaplin.’ . At the moment movie producers seem to be less interested in Jackie the adult than they were in Coogan the kid. Possibly the finest of screen performances have in them some accidental quality, and even the youngest of Hollywood players must make up Jis or her mind to cash in while the going is good. Of course, it is a popular fallacy which holds that child actors and actresses never amount to anything when they reach maturity. Well do I remember a little girl named Helen Hayes when she stole Barrie's “Dear Brutus” out of the accomplished hands of William Gillette. And when last I viewed her efforts she was protraying Queen Victoria at the time of the Jubilee, and still doing very nicely. Maude Adams, I believe, was carried on the stage as an infant, and while Ethel Barrymore made her debut somewhat later, she was no more than a flapper when she swept New York as the heroine in Clyde Fitch’s play “Captain Jinks of the Horse Marines.” Now, in “Whiteoaks,” Ethel assumes the role of a matriarch 101 years old. ;

And so it is much too soon to decide that Jackie Coogan is superannuated. Even so he may never again attain the heights which he reached as a child prodigy. a

A Story From Childhood

The present rumpus/is disheartening, because vicariously I knew Jackie pretty well in the days of his movie fame. He was approximately 7 or 8 when I accompanied a 5-year-old New Yorker to California to see Jackie Coogan. Young Jack was most gra‘cious. He played dutifully with the nonprofessional from New York in the back yard of the Coogan Holly wood villa. ; My charge was abashed because he was constrained to answer “No”, when Coogan asked him whether he worked for a living. “I do,” said Jackie proudly, “I sweep the floors and clean the dishes, and I get $2.50 a week for spending money.” : Seemingly the picture game had been sold to him as some new kind of diversion. It seems to me that he has something coming to him.

Watching Your Health By Dr. Morris Fishbein

HE average birth weight of babies varies ip L different nurseries, in different countries, sccord« ing to the economic status, the race and sex of the baby, and whether the baby happens to be the fixst baby or a later one in the family concerned. ~~ Among some 2000 babies born in one American city, the average weight was 116.3 ounces, which is 7 pounds 4 ounces. Most doctors are inclined to feel that a baby anywhere between six and eight pounds is well within the normal range. More babies ose weight shortly after birth. This early loss may be prevented by the application of various methods of treatment and it is the tendency of medern specialists in the care of the child to do what can be done to prevent such loss of weight. From time to time records are reported of babies weighing very little or very mueh in eomparison with the average. The largest babies bern, aceording to American medical records, include a case described by Dr. D. P. Belcher of a woman who gave birth to a baby girl, dead at birth, that weighed 25 pounds. There are also two records of babies born weighing 24.9 pounds at birth. *

Among the smallest babies born of which there are authentic records was one in Budapest in 1928 which weighed 21 ounces at birth or Sphrtimately 1 pound 5 ounces. This child was a twin, the sister weighing $3 pounds. The infant was living and well at the age of 1% years, at which time she weighed

over 10 pounds. gry infants le as 12 oF on

ae