Indianapolis Times, Indianapolis, Marion County, 31 December 1938 — Page 9

Indiana—Ernie Pyle

Looks Up Our Para Consul and

y from home.” bad or George

he'll be glad to see some , either my friend's memory

He's about as wizened as Jack Dempsey. Mr. Seltzer has spent 20 years in the tropics in the Foreign Service, and, so far as I can see, no jungle has grown over him. He has a prizefighter’s chest, a short graying pompadour, resembles Kerensky, never got married, smokes Brazilian cigarets in a little short holder, looks incongruous carrying his umbrella, and is Harvard ’12. The Consulate Building is an immense, loose old affair, with not enough furniture and a water ,Sys= : tem that doesn’t work. Mr, Seltzer “has two native clerks; no other help. Para, although a city of nearly a quarter million, is just

.I asked him how many ricans there were in this area. “Twenty-five be stretching it,” he said. Most of his {friends are Brazilians. He speaks So ortuguese, and gets on well with the Para fe Finally Got His Man aE biggest accomplishment in his nine years in was exposing a Redfern swindler. There are of Redfern stories down this coast. There i who have been promoting money and living 's off the gullibility of folks who think the r Paul Redfern is still alive. Mr, Seltzer says is ridiculous. "He had a hard time with this one case. The ellow was a sailor off a German ship. But he had

: personality, and he was slick. Although a German, |’

he was somehow traveling on a Brazilian passport, ‘and claiming to be an American. Mr, Seltzer suspected all along, but had to be wary. It was a year before he nailed the imposter. Brazil deported him. Consul Seltzer also told me the story of the Amer- § ican. ‘girl schoolteacher who came down here and . went haywire. She quit her job and gadded all over ~ South America with this man and that. She was “trying to live like adventuresses do in the melo“dramas—and succeeding, too. ~~ Finally, exasperated beyond sanity, he took her almost bodily and put her on a boat, and told the iptain not to let her off until they got to New York. .. Months later, he had a letter saying she was back “home out West, happy among the chickens and cows, and thanking him for saving her. It took Mr. Seltzer two hours. to tell me the whole yarn, and it would ya “make one of the grandest short stories you ever read. A ‘Mr. Seltzer will see Brooklyn, his home town, this : jE. He is to be transferred to the Azores. He has {leave coming, and wants to look at the New York Fair - oh the way to the Azores. The consuls in many of these tropical cities get ime and a half toward retirement. In other words, for every year they serve, a year and a half is counted on their records Wouldn't it be wonderful, I thought, to ask Mr. Seltzer where his little dream home would be after i» his years of building up extra time in this unlikely Spot, and then to have him answer, “Why, right here. I'm going to stay here after I retire.” it it wasn't ‘that way. “Where are you going hen Gon Seer I asked. Consul Seltzer leaned back in his chair, looked t at me, sort of crinkled his eyes, and said, k to ih U.S. A”

A vies of the New Germany Bare Contrast With Our Democracy.

JASHINGTON, Friday.—Yesterday I did not f have space enough to tell you of an interesting rening which was brought to us through a kind d. Mr. Julian Bryan, who as a rule spends his Y traveling to obtain new and interesting mov1g pictures and material for lectures he gives during the rest of the year, came on Wednesday night with ‘wife and showed us pictures he had taken in Gerlast. summer. The physical improvements there ‘remarkable; there are miles of sew roads and the look well fed and in excellent condition. Mr, Bryan lectures/ when he is showing these pic8 to the| public, but it was not necessary to lecto us, for the pictures, themselves, point very ly to the difference between a democracy and a statorship, The quotations flashed on the screen rom Hitler’s own book were enormously interesting in ne with a 20-minute movie which was given 5 afterward called “Lincoln in the White House.” In A e part of Lincoln was well played and ords are those of the speech’ at Gettysa remarkably [interesting contrast with those fitler’s book. | have just returned this morning from witnessing swearing in to office of Mrs. Ellen Woodward as pmmissioners on the Social Security Board. e follows Miss Mary W. Dewson, one of my old friends for whom I have great admiration. Miss Dewson began as a young woman to work in various fields sf social service and her experience has been varied, ep! ting very intensive hard work over a long of years. For a few years before joining the | Security Board she became very much inter¢d in the Democratic Party, particularly the educa_of women who were working for the party. I 1k the women owe a debt of gratitude to Miss Dewson for having developed the women’s organization of party along these lines.

llent Executive Ability nce Dewson had to give up her work with curity (Board, I-am more than grateful 5 uld be followed by Mrs. Woodward. h the years that Mrs. Woodward has headed nen’s and professional projects in the Works ‘Administration, I have come to admire her She has executive ability, tact, the faculty and see/the other person’s point of view, she can be adamant when it is necessary.

ences. As 1 look at the schedule, I realize A the lk from the White he rest of this day. n I walked in from the gate, a very sweet-

“My husband and I come ville, Ky. We know some of Jour friends to stop and shake hands.” A gesture of is such a pleasant thing!

the gangster calls his machine gun a ter,” or his lethal bomb a “pineapple,” frying to soften with poetic metaphors the reality of his life, peech of the criminal is filled with metaphor ute words. With many of them the public 3 many more are never heard outside the

ing this lingo, the criminal may also be y by the same Puan trait that makes ‘write his prescriptions in Latin and compose his speeches in technical is the motive back of the secret grip nizations—a way of identifying onein| group and awing or mystifying

Second

By Alfred Friendly

Times Special Writer

VWASHINGTON, Dec. 31. —The worst invest-

ment in history, not excluding U. S. Steel in October, 1929, was foreign indus-

try’s gamble on fascism,

the Government's confidential files disclosed today. Official reports from Germany, Italy and Japan re-

veal that industries in those

nations, many of which bet heavily, by substantial financial contributions, on the coming of a totalitarian government to save their economic hides, are still paying. And through the nose. Far from enjoying increased business, they are subjected to a degree of Government control and regulation which restricts all freedom of decision, curtails earnings and subjects business to instant death on political whim. Even in Japan, where control is the least, but even so, far beyond the wildest nightmares of American businessmen fearing “regimentation,” Government reports show the course of the totalitarian state has been to wipe out almost every vestige of free and profitable enterprise. Here is the German picture derived from unpublished Government information: The German minister of ecomomics can take “any measure he considers necessary for the furtherance of national economy,’

even if such measure “deviate” In other

from existing laws. words, the sky’s the limit. The minister of finance may raise or lower tariff rates at will.

Every business concern must be a member of the trade association recognized by the Government as the official and exclusive representative of the industry. Individual firms’ contributions to the associations, which used to average 100 marks annually, now amount to 200, 300 or more marks. Despite membership, individual firms have no voice in determining policy. Decrees officially prohibit plant expansion in some 16 industries, including textile manufacturing, cement, paper, radio sets, cigarets, steel tubes, tires and watches. Other rules prohibit plant and capital expansion for any industry without express permission of the Government. 2 8 = RICES for all services and articles—raw materials, © farm produce, finished products—are rigidly set by the Government.

. Penalty for “bootlegging” articles

at other than the official price are fines, forced labor, imprisonment or confiscation of the industry.

Production schedules are set by the Government—not only maximum levels but also minimum. In other words, a manufacturer must produce a given amount in certain cases, whether he wants to or not, 2d whether it is profitable or n The “obligation to produce,” applies also to agriculture, where the Government determines in sadvance how much of each crop the farmer may sell, and at what price. For refusal, a farmer may be turned off his land. No person may establish a new business—whether a bank or a grocery—without express permission by the Government. The same regulation governs the purchase by an individual of an already established firm. All profits of more than 6 per cent on capitalization are confiscated by the Government to be “invested” for a three-year period.

At the end of the first three-year:

period after the decree, the Gov= ernment returned the sums to the

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 31, 1938

Business Under the Fascists

Rules. drawn up by Fuehrer Adolf Hitler prevent plant and capital expansion without permission from the Government. Herr Hitler is shown here, left, with his Minister of Propaganda Dr. Paul Goebbels.

Italy’s stringent economic regulations extend to farming and per-

. haps Sig. Mussolini is not as popular with the agricultural element as

he might believe despite his annual custom, as illustrated here, of going into the fields to help with the harvesting.

"Entered as Second-Class Matter at Pastoffice, Indianapolis, Ind.

|Gamble Boomerangs and I ndustry Does Totalitarian Goosestep

Here is Dr. Hjalmar Schacht, chief financial adviser to Hitler, and, before Col. Gen, Goering took over the job, the Reich’s economic

dictator. ;

Economic dictator of ‘Nazi Germany is Field Marshall “Goering shown here ih a recent public appearance. Goering can take any steps he deems necessary “for the furtherance of national economy,” accord-

stockholders in the form of certificates to be used only to pay taxes, but not until three years hence. EJ 2 8 URING the latter period no interest is paid on the sums. ‘While 6 per cent seems like an adequate profit rate, it must be remembered that most German firms are of relatively small capitelization and on that basis much higher margins of profit were the rule. Wages are set by law. In 1934 every employer was required to dismiss every unmarried worker under 25. The Government may order a skilled employee from one concern to another, without notifying the original employer. No German may own foreign securities; any previous holdings have been confiscated by the Government. He may not, on pain of death, send capital out of Germany. In the first two years of the Nazi regime, the Government abolished 1200 daily papers and 800 magazines. Government securities are mandatory for banks. and insurance compan.es. - New. private capital issues have been banned in large part in order not to impair sales of Government bonds. } German firms with debts in countries which devaluated. ‘their

currencies profited only 25 per cent by the devaluation. The other 75 per cent was confiscated by the Government. Confiscation of their business is the punishment for those who withdraw their goods rather than sell them at the official prices. All losses resulting from official changes in price must be borne by the manufacturer or carrier. Stockholders’ rights ‘have been curtailed until their only function

is to vote on the distribution of profits. o 2 2 cite individual cases, a mining firm must operate its properties,” on pain of confiscation, whether it is profitable or

' not, It must carry on prospect-

ing whether it chooses or not. No iron or steel works may increase its employment more than 10 persons in three months. / A hat manufacturer, for example, must ask Government permission’ to import felt. _ If the Government feels it can spare: no - foreign exchanges for such purposes, the manufacturer does without. If, however, the importation is permitted, the Government will specify the country

from which the felt may be im-

ported, the quality, the price at which the hats must be sold, the wages to be pall; the. etployees to be hired.

Finally, if the Government decides the hat maker should make boots instead of hats, the owner must comply forthwith. : To illustrate the Government's power, it may be noted that Jewish manufacturers were driven out

of business by the simple device -of Government regulations pre‘scribing the sale of their prod-

ucts at a loss, a boycott by the public, and a prohibition against cutting wages or. discharging employees. » 2 8 N Italy, Government reports disclose, almost the same rigid official control pervades industry. Prices, production, imports, capi-

talization, wages, etc., are subject

to complete official dictation. The major difference is that the owner himself has somewhat more voice in setting policies for the industry. The Government, however, has tremendous control of industry through actual ownership of banking portfolios and direct investment in‘ governmentsubsidized firms. : “In Japan, almost the same degree of regimentation has been ordered since the Chinese war. While control of prices and production has not reached the same level of finality as in Italy and Germany, the industrial system is apparently : operating for the

ing to unpublished U. S. Government reports.

| says he loves me.

Gustav Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach, one of the great industrial Jeaders of Germany,

benefit of the industrial giants only. The, smaller operators have lost their economic independence and, in the future, it is gleaned from Government reports, will doubtless see the cream of the profits expected from Chinese markets go into the purses of the huge firms whose owners are powers in the Japanese Government,

ouse to “G” St. and |

Side Glances—By Slate

r=

"Just look at the time, doar I fore four fi llings. and some: bridge;

ea

work to doi in-the. morning.

Everyday Movies By) Vortman

- wasn + going to: be a. very geod: New Year's. party. *

ls see Charlie’ brought his: wife guess he must’ have. known. it

TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE

\

1--Name the sixth President of the United States. 91s the planet Mars larger than the earth?

3—What is the common name for the German shepherd dog, that strongly resembles _ the wolf?

4—Who is Dr. Hjalmar Schacht?

5—Does sound travel faster in water than in air?

6—Where are the Pinger Lakes? 7—Which is the tallest animal?

8—In which country is the

‘Brahmaputra River?: | ” os ” Answers > 1—John Quincy Adams. 2—No. 3—Police-dog. 3-Cermanys, leading. suthority. S Te aii New York. 7-—The giraffe. 8—India. = | g a8 ASK THE TIMES

Inclose a 3-cent stamp for reply when addressing any

question of fact or information

to The Indianapolis Times Washington Service ' Bureau, 1013 13th St., N. 'W., Washington, D. C. Legal and medical advice cannot be given nor can “extended = research

Our Town

By. Anton Scherrer

It Might Have Been Worse, but Glancing Back at 1938 You'd Pretty Puzzled to Understand: How.

OME memoranda set down in admiration for the future use of whatever. hardy creature may-one day attempt a survey of the last 12 months, and make it sound/more or less sensible: In 1938 when everybody was turning

* [*soft, Kurt Vonnegut gave evidence of the manly fiber

and raised a mustache. ; It was the year, too, the Herron Art people with

the help of WPA fixed up the horse in front of their place. Frank Wood, who was brought up around his father’s livery stable on the Circle and thought he knew everything. there was to ow about horses, says he never saw anything like the Herron animal. Uppermost, too, in the minds of everybody was the arrival of a dozen Santa Clauses the day after Thanksgiving. First thing they did Mp. Scherrer was to eall on the department stores 3 which, of course, was a dead give away. I have an idea that if the real Santa Claus ever came to Indian= apolis, he wouldn't be found fooiing around departe ment stores. He would be discovered taking tea with Luther Dickerson. Santa Claus, you know, was a student at Grinnell College, along with Harry IL. Hopkins, when Mr. Dickerson was librarian of that institution. As for the rest of it, maybe you den’ know it but the Central Library people are fixed up with all the things necessary to throw a tea party as soon as they see somebody worth while coming up their steps.

—And Those Hats for Women!

It was a year of plenty of apples and a scarcity of good cider, in which respect it wasn’t a bit different than last year. Important, too, was the obServation of Stanley Brooks to the effect that some whiskies (without mene tioning any names) might be improved by the addi= tion of vitamin B. Also the.observation of the New York Herald-Tribune people who picked this, of all years, to call the President of the United States & sciolistic .solipsist. Somebody, too, got around to ine venting a collar for men who sleep sitting up. : The year revealed, too, that Mr. Donald Duck lives © in Indianapolis; that Dr. Bonns uses a pair of forceps to plunge live lobsters into boiling water; that the policeman wearing badge 456 is ticklish. Rather alarming, too, were the women’s hats this year. In the show windows, they looked like something a wee bit devilish. Worn on the heads, they looked pretty awful. On the other hand, blood-red finger nails are definitely done for. It’s a good thing

| to know in a year fraught with uncertainty. Colored

nails went out right after the Martians invaded Amers ica. Or to put it another way, just before Orson Welles was taken over by a soup concern. Everything hasn’t gone to the bow-wows, how ever. Mickey Mouse, for instance, celebrated the 10th anniversary of his birthday this year. And George T: O’Connor, who knows the taste of Indianapolis about as well as anybody, says people aren’t buying as much this year, but theyre buying better stuff.

Funny that nothing brings out the old Adam in me’ like New Year's Eve.

Jane Jordan— Girl Would Like to Meet Boy but Is Told He Should Make First Move.

EAR JANE JORDAN-—I am a young girl of 18, very fond of a young man whom I do not know. He is an usher in one of our theaters. I have no friends who can introduce me to him and I am not the kind of girl who throws herself at any boy. I am very eager to meet him. Could you tell me how I can go about it? ANXIOUS.

no way you can be formally presented to the young man. Why don’t you let him worry about a way to

meet you? ”

EAR: JANE JORDAN—I ou a girl of 18 in love with a boy who is 20. We have been going to=gether for two years. He is of a quiet turn and I am not. When he comes to see me, sometimes he doesn’t say hardly«anything. I never succeed in getting a conversation started. It is very boring to me to sit through an evening when we are at home. This boy Do you think marriage undep these conditions would be successful? WONDERING.

Answer—I doubt very much whether you would be i happy married to a boy who is shy if you are sociable. Must you consider marriage with him when you are only 18? Can’t you go out with him when it is pleasant to do 20 and encourage him to mix. with other people without letting your thoughts fly ahead into marriage? Help him to overcome his shyness by exposing him | to as many of your friends as possible, but don’t ga with him exclusively. Give yourself a chance to meet : someone else. , :

” ” £ EAR JANE JORDAN—I an 16 years old and wen$ with a boy of 18 for two years. : over another girl. Then he met my best girl friend whom I think the world of ahd has gone with her about seven months. Affer he graduated he joined the Navy. He writes to her and tells her things about me which are not true. He doesn’t like me and doesn’t want her to run around with me. Everything

not believe them, but I am sure she does. to get back the friendship of my girl friend . : 0

Answer—You will have to learn not to get so upset when confronted with the hostility of others. The boy lacks the instincts of a gentleman or he would not babble about you to another girl. Your girl friend enjoys your discomfiture or she would not tattle everything he says. If you have explained once to your girl friend that these things are untrue, drop the subject. Treat her kindly but stop working 80 hard to keep} her regard. It isn’t necessary. JANE JORDAN.

Put y roblems in a letter to Jane Jordan w answer bk sroblems in this column daily. he: i

New Books Today

Public Library Presents—

N. the introduction. of their new book Ka Seymour and John T. W. Martin outline its pose as follows: “This teach the principles of ting; rather, it attemp Df

for broadcasting. professional

has no know it has been planned, too, for the advertising c¢ writer who wishes to know the difference bet writing for the printed page and writing for for and for eve iter, interested in ignorant of the y technical Featirerents and ‘limitless possibilities of the medium of The first book by these veteran radio “How to Write for Radio” was the best in its PRACTICAL RADIO WRITING (Longmans) this tradition. Again they cover the field with accents on educational and d prt brief note on television is all ‘too brief, glad to learn that television will take its

be suadete; [40

Answer—Unless you have a mutual friend there is

We broke up =|