Indianapolis Times, Indianapolis, Marion County, 8 February 1939 — Page 12

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‘The Indianapolis Times > (A SCRIPPS-HOWARD NEWSPAPER) :

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=. RILEY 5551

Give Light and the People Will Find Their Own Way

a an

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 1939 “WILL HISTORY REPEAT? a ef? Fae = wbel : JR VENTS in Spain are shifting so rapidly that, by tomor‘row, today’s pattern may have undergone drastic change. But, however important, they have been eclipsed by another event in the British House of Commons. ; “Any threat to the vital interests of France,” Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain declared, “from whatever _quarter it came, must evoke the immediate co-operation ‘of this country.” = ; It would be difficult to exaggerate the import of that formal declaration at this time. It definitely drew a line and warned Italy and Germany to cross at their peril. If it is true, as Fascist spokesmen have indicated again and again, that the Rome-Berlin axis intends to use the Spanish gosto, on as a weapon to hold up France and Britain, the ‘Nazi-Fascist war lords at least have been told what to

‘expect.

s = 8 : 8 8 = : BACK in 1911 Europe faced a similar. situation. There was trouble in Morocco, and France sent troops to Fez. Without warning, the Kaiser’s gunboat Panther dropped anchor off Agadir and Germany served notice on France that she would expect “compensation.” For weeks thereafter Europe lived in constant fear of war. London, then as now France's friend, tried to smooth things over. But Germany became more belligerent. At last, with the approval of Sir Edward Grey, then British Foreign Minister, a speech was made by LloydGeorge, then Chancellor of the Exchequer, in which he said

that if peace could be preserved only by the surrender of |

Britain’s prestige “then I say emphatically that peace at that price would be a humiliation intolerable for a great nation like ours to endure.” For a month before the Lloyd-George speech, London had been patiently but vainly waiting for Berlin even to acknowledge ‘its latest note on Agadir. Now, within 48 hours, . the answer came—backtracking with every line. The war danger was: over from that moment, and Sir Edward until the day of his death gave chief credit to LloydGeorge. 8 8 8 ; 2 2 8 ODAY Britain and France again face a crisis of fundamentally the same nature. Germany and Italy are threatening them with war unless they yield whatever it is that the Nazi-Fascist powers want. And now Mr. Chamberlain, like David Lloyd-George, has spoken his piece. =~ Twenty-eight years ago the same kind of plain speaking saved the peace of Europe. Today, with no. telling of what perils are ahead, we can only hope that history once again, will repeat. Si

WILLIAM (WILD BILL) CUMMINGS

T is ironical that William (Wild Bill) Cummings, who was master of the racing cars he whirled around the hot bricks of the Speedway at more than 100 miles an hour, is dead today as a result of an ordinary traffic accident. It brings the sobering thought that perhaps the hazards of daily driving are greater than those of the dirt and brick tracks over which Mr. Cummings raced for years without a serious accident. : Wild Bill, as he was affectionately called by everyone, was one of the fine race drivers of this generation. He had competed on tracks in all parts of the country, and achieved ‘his great ambition in 1934 by winning the 500-mile Speedway classic. A modest, gay-hearted individual, we regret that he could not live to realize his desire of winning another “500.”

THE FREE SERUM BILL

N outstanding public service was performed yesterday by the Legislature in passing the free serum bill. It requires only ‘the Governor's signature to become law. Under its provisions, the State Board of Health is authorized to spend $75,000 to purchase typhoid, pneumonia, diphtheria and smallpox serums for needy families in the state. Some idea of the bill's’ importance may be gained from public health authorities, who assert that the lives of as many as 1200 pneumonia patients may be saved by having free serum available. Although neither diphtheria nor smallpox are as deadly as pneumonia, there can be no question that a number of these patients may also be saved. ~All credit to the Legislature for prompt approval of this bill. ‘ DEATH AND TAXES . (From Washington Review, a periodical of of Commerce.)

TT HE old adage about the certainty of death and taxes is sometimes cited with the observation that we cannot

the U.'S. Chamber

check death, but we can reduce taxes. Just the opposite is

happening. In 1900 our national tax rate—the ratio of taxes to national income—was 8 per cent. Now it is more than 22 per cent. - Meanwhile, our death rate has gone down from 17.6 persons per 1000 population in 1900 to 11.2 persons today. The burden of taxation is nearly three times as high as it was a generation ago. ‘The death rate is one-third less. In other words, we have accomplished the impossible while failing to do the possible,

OUTDOOR SYMPHONIES |

FINE music should be available to everybody, not merely to those who can afford the formal concerts of such excellent organizations as the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra. | ; That is one of the reasons we welcome the suggestion that the orchestra hold a summer concert series at popular rices. - ‘Another ‘is that we know of no more satisfying form of entertainment than out-of-door music on a fine

Ngo

ered by carrier, 12 cents

Fair Evough By Westbrook Pegler F. D. R. Should Be Willing to Share

Resulting From Secret Conference.

leaving the rake lying around. “But, gosh, paw, done left that rake there your own se'f.” - © It ‘was Mr. Roosevelt who called the Military Affairs Committee of the Senate for a conference on

you

pose secrecy on the meeting, it is plain that at best, he balled up the understanding, because some “Senators understood that they were so pledged. . Senator Nye, for-one, said he considered himself bound to silence. The fact is some Senators obviously fudged a little around the edges, giving Washington reporters information which rattled ‘the windows at home and abroad, involving a question of confidence . between those Senators and the President. There is no such question as to the press. . It is an uncertain way of obtaining information, but not unethical. If a Senator wants to tell reporters, in general terms, what went on at such a meeting the problem of propriety is his own. 8 8 8

muzzled regardless-of his own notions of the public:

interest. : Some reporters, however, refuse to accept confidences, and I have a recollection of Mike Haggerty, of The New York Times, on a couple of occasions when persons offered confidential information, holding up his hand and saying “Count me out. Iam a newspaper reporter and not a confidant.” : In saying that guesses were dressed up as statements of fact and criticizing some newspaper owners for that, the President lays a generel charge of fakery against all the reporters on that story. He also smears

he means. He gives no evidence beyond his own. arbitrary interpretation of a controversy to which he is a party. : 2 8 8 : EPORTERS long ago overcame a tradition that it R was amateurish or bush league to take notes on

tend to frighten. the subject and make him choke up. In London in my time some British officials refused to permit notes to be taken. That: was their way out

in case they overspoke themselves. They could say they had been misquoted. So the reporters trained themselves to concentrate and remember the exact phraseology of the answers. : On leaving the room they would huddle somewhere and make notes, consulting on doubtful points. The Senators in this case appear to have given inexact or free interpretations of the discussion, but, however that may be and regardless of the degree of confidence or violations by the Senators, the press is not involved unless Senators are to be classed as unreliable informants. . What reporter dressed up what guess as fact? If President Roosevelt would answer that question specifically we would have a good test case and a show-

Business ‘By John T. Flynn

{ lished it might well lead to

down on whether the press is at fault or merely taking the fall for an error by Mr. Roosevelt. rey :

Senate Stand Due to Fear Over How Deeply Plane Sales Involve U. S.

ASHINGTON, Feb. 8.—Out of the welter of charges and counter-charges surrounding the: President’s now ill-starred secret conference on the French airplane sales, a few facts now stand out sufficiently to put the story together, First of all I do not find any serious objection among Senators to the sale of airplanes te the French. The trouble began with the discovery that the President had authorized a member of the French military commission te’ fly in an army plane. Some Senators were disturbed at the fact that, without the authority of the Army and over its head and without the knowledge of the State Department, the President

‘had taken a round-about way to admit the French

representative to an army plane through the agency of the Treasury. When the Secretary of the Treasury was called by

he either said or intimated that he had acted upon authority of two letters from the President. he President was then asked for these letters by the Military Affairs Committee and he said he would send them. But the President sent for Senator Morris Sheppard, Military Affairs Committee Chairman. Senators surmise. that the President asked Mr. Sheppard to call the committee off on the demand for the letters. Senator Sheppard told him he could not. Thereupon the President is supposed to have conceived the idea of a secret conference with the committee, in the

course of which he would pledge them to secrecy. Only Surmises Ventured Lg

In the course: of his talk the President m various statements which have caused all the Seine Just what his statements were have not, of course, been made public officially. Only surmises and guesses

have been ventured. But the Senators who criticize the President sa: that some of the statements—which have not Se been even hinted at—were so extreme, so startling that they were shocked. More than one Senator has said that if what the President said were to be puba majo: diplomatic incident. : The President’s rejoiner to the press stories dealt chiefly with the story that he had said the American frontier Was on he. Rhine, Every Senator agrees that € ald not say that. But others insist that w said was the same thing, J : babe Behind all this is the feeling that the whole truth as to how far the President actually has gone or attempted to go in aiding France-has not yet come to light. And this has generated a real sense of apprehension as to how deeply we may be committed.

A Woman's Viewpoint By Mrs. Walter Ferguson | \A/OMEN are arixious to make men comfortable, |

At least that’s the reputation we have earned, and certainly our success in the domestic field de-

pends on our ability to do so. A majority of us spend

Sus Lives at the enterprise and feel mighty noble about

really prompted by a sincere desire to see our loved ones contented, or whether our subconscious moves us to manage them. I've known a good many wives who Seemed more anxious about the tidiness of the house than the comfort of their husbands. Their efforts to persuade the man to rest himself in a particular chair were suspiciously like a mother obeying the rules of a psychologist; instead of issuing commands she makes suggestions. By settling the Tired Old Dear on a soft Susion Mh Slippetad fees Jowasd the fire, she knows ess like charge about the rooms disturbing their holy a. 4 . Us

that any are more severe than the rituals of domestic behavior they are forced to follow by loving women. Getting them housebroken, so to speak, often requires

| years of patient training. One must often question

whether these feminine ministrations are worth all the tortures they inflict in the name of domestic bliss and social convention, » e average woman runs her house, not accor to the wishes and taste of its menfolk but by a ii regulations manufactured for her by the Joneses. For example, I'm quite sure no husband enjoys using the eating implements his wife puts before him. He could live to a ripe old age and be serenely content if he never saw & salad fork or a butter spreader. It has been said that men rule women, That may

Blame for Any Misunderstandings |

TEW YORK, Feb. 8—Our President stepped'on a | rake last week, and the handle hopped up and | hit him in the eye. He then blamed the press for |

national defense. As to whether he attempted to im- |:

REPORTER who receives information under the | seal of confidence has no such option. He is |

the whole press by neglecting to specify what papers {

the ground that the sight of pencil and paper would |

-|line to demand an expenditure like

the Military Affairs Committee to explain his. action |

I often wonder, however, whether these efforts are |

Men endyre many miseries in this life, but T doubt |

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

HE'D RELIEVE ROADS OF ELEVATION COST By Old Iron Horse : : Regarding South Side (rack elevation, why should the ' Pennsylvania Railroad pay thousands of

collars to elevate its Louisville Division tracks when it would only benefit the ones that are in direct and indirect competition with it? There is not enough traffic on this

this—ahout nine trains a day is all the division operates. The Indianapolis Union Railway traffic is light and most trains pass late at night or early in the morning. If there were two or three hundred trains a day then the South Siders would have something to yell about. - Madison Ave. is not a dangerous crossing. I have seen three-hour intervals in the middle of the day when no trains passed over it and I know there are longer intervals than this. - These motorists who think they are important and happen to reach this crossing as a train does pass are the ones who are setting up the clamor for track elevation. They may pass over the tracks a hundred times again and never have to wait. Are people in such a hurry they cannot wait a minute or two for a train to pass? Some of these motorists should be forced to go to school and be taught what stop signs are for—especially at rail crossings. , If these tracks must be elevated let the City pay for it since the users of automobiles and treks will derive the benefit from it — not the railroads. : ® = =»

DEFENDS REGIMES OF WILSON AND HOOVER By Claude Braddick, Kokomo

Herbert Hoover and Woodrow Wilson, it seems to me, were the two most maligned Presidents. Both were victims, more or less, of world forces entirely beyond their control. I often grow weary of hearing it said of Mr. Wilson that “He got us into a war in which we had no business.” For each 100 times that anyone repeats this, he should be required to explain, at least once, exacting what steps he could have taken, other than those he did take, to keep this country neutrdl; and also to state in whose Administration, before or since President Wilson, like circumstances would not have resulted in war. : Will Irwin once wrote that Theodore Roosevelt, had he been elected President, would have warned Germany early and thus avoided the war, I do not agree with that.

Whatever may be said of Germany|

today, she was definitely not bluffing in 1914-18. Mr, Wilson’s major mistake was

(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.)

his ill-advised decision to attend the

Paris peace conference instead of sending a delegate. ‘He thus laid himself open to charges of imperial-

ism at home, and was obliged to!

suffer, in the popular mind at least, a share of the blame for the iniquitous Versailles treaty, which he neither sighed or countenanced.

: ® ” 2 FINDS ‘HUMOR IN: ~ SCIENTIFIC BOOK By L. E. Blacketor What is life without a laugh? Do the “funnies” amuse you? Dees Heywood Broun? Flapper Fanny? A scientific treatise? hae Scientific treatise! Get:a laugh in that dry stuff?. Now.wait a minute! You might be missing something. I'll let you in on a few snatches I picked up here and there in A. S, Eddington’s book, “The Nature of the Physical World.” All set? Here we go: “Is space infinite, or does it come to an end? Neither. Space is finite but it has no'end” (page 80). “That which is a shell floating in the infinitude of that which is not”

(page 83). : “Every body continues in its state

PRAYER

By ANNA E. YOUNG

Help us dear Lord, to see most clear The kindly deeds of friends most

- .. dear; The finest thoughts bring upper- _ most And let us neither brag nor boast Of one small thing we may have done, A battle fought or victory won. Grant that our eyes be ever blind To things impure and deeds un-

Just help us search’ in hidden places Sonat The finer things with virtue’s graces. : :

DAILY THOUGHT

For thou art my hope, O Lord God: Thou art my trust from my youth.—Psalms 71:5. ;

RUE hope is swift, and flies!

- with swallow’s wings; kings it makes gods, and meaner. creatures kings.—Shakespeare. .

‘to move in a straight line, but the

an electrie charge;

of rest or uniform motion in a straight line, except in so far as it doesn’t.” (Page 124). =~ “Why .does the planet take this spiral track instead of going straight? It is because it is following the shortest track; end in the distorted geometry of the curved region round the sun the spiral track is shorter than any other between the same points. You see the great

change in our view. The Newtonian scheme says that the planet tends

sun’s gravity pulls it away. Einstein says that. the planet tends to take the shortest route AND DOES TAKE IT. : “That is the general icea, but for the sake of accuracy I must make one rather trivial correction. The planet takes the LONGEST route.” (Page 125.) pony . “Electric force - is. . defined as something which causes motion of en electric charge is something which exerts electric force. So that an electric’ charge is something {hat exerts something that produces motion of something that exerts something that produces. . 2 (Page 264.) _ “To put the conclusion crudely— the stuff of the world is mind-stuff. As is often the way with crude statements, I shall have to explain that by ‘mind.’ I do not here exactly mean mind and by ‘stuff’ 1% not at all mean stuff.” (Page

What are you laughiag at, anyhow? : » ”® 8 OPPOSES SECRECY ON FOREIGN POLICY By Mrs. Carrie Buckaman, Greenfield Having in mind the recent controversy over foreign policy, I want to say this is every American’s concern. Protest, all you American mothers before it is too late. You know the very samé thing is being pulled off today as 2) years ago. He is going to have us entangled in another war, then he will slip in the President’s chair as Wilson did. Can’t you see it? 1Isn’t there some way to stop this man?”

; ” ” ” INQUIRES ‘WHO IS THREATENING ITALY? By Samuel Bernard Hitler declares he wil fight to defend Italy. : Pray, Italy?

The angel-like innocence of Hitler, Mussolini and their ally, Japan, when these Fascists countries threaten the peace: and happiness of liberty-loving people the world over, reminds one of the crook whoi cries “Stop, thief!” ; fr

1 THAT wise Dutchman, Hendrick | Van Loon, said recently ‘in an | interview that to him it seemed the happiest women were those:

be true in larger tters, but at home and at social

on To

weren't emancipat: »

LET'S EXPLORE

Kise THE : oN a i EMANC OF WOMEN MADE THEM ANY HAPPIER? Y66 ORNO comme.

By DR. ALBERT EDWARD WIGGAM_—__ - : Se Dr. Van Loon, if the emancipation]. . |of-women has not made hore mak- | _ |ing and helping friend husband and

~ {school and college girs and remem-

OULD THERE BE ANY DIFF VEE PUBLIC AND. PRIVATE j AND VIRTUEP

- Ess

He thinks the e

: [easier and happier, And, too, when

| {Morality

rearing the children a good deal I see. thousands of happy high ber it was only recently through

1s getting th

tell—who is threatening”

the most out of | qu uct makes or

Sen. Johnson

5 Germany Strong With Italy as Ally, So Why Wouldn't It Be Smart to ~ Lure the Duce Away From Hitler?

EW YORK, Feb. 8—The strength of the threat +N of the dictators against democracy lies, of course, in ‘the Rome-Berlin axis. Germany is stronger on land and in the air than is Italy. But Germany without Italy would be half as strong against England and France, This is true because of the. age-old advantage of the position of the Italian boot as a barrier in the Mediterranean. It threatens vital com-

| munications of the British Empire. It also threat- ‘| ens the French colonial possessions upon which they

have come to rely so much. . : a It is pretty hard to see a strong and durable reason for an alliance of Germany with Italy. If it be true as the Kaiser's Government so often said and

‘| as Herr Hitler has repeated that Germany’s path of

manifest - destiny lies. southeastward across Russia to the Persian Gulf, it would cross the trail of Italy's larger plans. At least the proposed Italian position would outflank it and control its principal water route. Mussolini’s dictatorship is not so hateful a thing as Hitler's. Neither are his plans for conquest and empire so disturbing fo the world. You can imagine an “appeasement” of Benito with less cost dnd more

‘| confidence than any “appeasement” of Adolf,

s 8 8

there is anything in these few random thoughts is it good judgment on the part of the democracies, always to lump Adolph and Benito together precisely as two of a kind? Wouldn't it be better di-

than to do everything to strengthen it? Italy got a fine trimming in the World War. As is now well known, before we were euchred into it, England and France had promised her a large part of the world in a fancy package and especially part

[of the German African colonies. French and English

greed at the Treaty of Versailles welched on those

. | promises. Mr, Mussolini rarely fails to mention that.

Mr. Hitler also frequently mentions the return of German colonies. But few informed observers doubt that his real desire is for the resources of the Ukraine.

| An “appeasement” of Mussolini by offering him some .{ of that plunder might attract Italy. If it were at-

tractive enough to make him reach for it that wouldn't “appease” Adolf’s feelings toward his “good friend

Benito.” IF was largely French and English greed at Versailles r that dragged the world into teday’s mess—French more than English. It was France who worked up the purely artificial system of military alliances in middle Europe to keep Germany down—and then ran out on them. fo ar To the precise extent that we stick out our necks

| to support France and ‘England is there less chance

for some peaceful and reasonable settlement of the European mess. France would undoubtedly continue to resist any “appeasement” and continue to hold-'on to all her world war plunder if it took. the last dollar in the United States Treasury—and she could get it. Surely we want to protect democracy. But it would be a swell idea to know precisely what the threat to democracy is and just what measures short of war are necessary to protect it. If there are: ranklinginjustices growing out of Versailles ‘that could be righted, if there are legitimate—or "atleast understandable—national hopes #nd needs ‘that ‘could be taken care of, it would be a lot better to consider them peacefully than to get into another war over them.

Visits Mexican Slum in San Antonio; Agrees It's Probably Worst in U. S.

AN ANTONIO, Tex. Feb. 8—The Church of : Guadelupe stands upon the fringe of what had been described to me as the most fearful slum in all America. It covers four square miles. At first I ‘thought that the extreme description might have been dictated by local pride. It was my notion to protest . and say, “Why, we in New York City know worse than that” But after we had gone up the .third -back

alley I had to confess defeat gracefully. J 4 You can see shacks as bad as these in several states, but I do not know of any place where they have been so ingeniously huddled together. This is flat, sprawling country, and there is much of it, and so it seems devilish that one crazy combination of old lumber and stray tin should be set as a flap upon the side of another equally discreditable. I did not quite comprehend the character of the alley until I discovered that what I took to be a toolhouse was a residence for a family of 11 people. And these are not squatter dwellings. People pay rent for them, just as if a few rickety boards and a leaky roof constituted a house. They even have evictions and go through the solemn and obscene farce of removing a bed and a frying pan as indication that the landlord’s two dollar-and-a-half rent has not been forthcoming. \ A . A Pertinent Inquiry The district which I visited is the home of the Mexicans. There are in San Antonio some. ninety thousand. I wanted to look, because I had read that Americans are being badly treated in Mexico. - It seemed to me pertinent to inquire how Mexicans are treated here. And now I am convinced that there is something to be said on both sides of the border. There is in San Antonio an old Spanish mission which is perhaps the most. beautiful building within our borders. It was sel®ap before the Texans came. And it is by no means impossible that descendants of those workers who did miracles in masonry and carving are now. housed in bristol board and rotted ine. $ Seka vans Back at the Church of Guadelupe, Father Trane chese who had been my guide said, “I have other letters from those who fight Federal housing, because they like their rents.” He tossed over an anonymous message. RU RE Gel «Doesn't this worry you?” one of us asked. ; “No,” said the priest, “last month we buried 39 perns, mostly children, from this little church alone.” «I am worried,” he said, “about people starving to :

Watching Your Heal

that time hundreds United States, from

plomacy to try to break the Rome-Berlin axis rather , .