Indianapolis Times, Indianapolis, Marion County, 8 June 1939 — Page 15

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The Indianapolis Times

(A SCRIPPS-HOWARD NEWSPAPER)

ROY W. HOWARD RALPH BURKHOLDER MARK FERREE President Editor Business Manager

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Give Light and the People Will Fina Their Own Way

THURSDAY, JUNE 8, 1939

WELCOME UR nation today welcomes King George and Queen Elizabeth. They are greeted by the American people not merely as representatives of another great democracy, or as royalty, but as two great human beings who have won that distinction in their own right. The story of their 7000-mile journey through the dominion to the north is the proof—a journey characterized by unfailing patience, tact and good sportsmanship. They have shown, as we are wont to say, that they “can take it.” And, after all, to be looked upon as a great human being is better than just to be a King, or a Queen. We like them. And we hope they like us.

THE CHILDREN’S FRIENDS | the midst of the general rejoicing over victory of the Child Labor Amendment in the U. S. Supreme Court, we wish to congratulate the hundreds of men and women of high and lowly estate who have been working for this cause so long. Theirs has been the courage, patience and faith to keep going despite opposition and—what is so often harder to take—apparent public indifference. Among this gallant band none deserves more praise than Miss Grace Abbott, a leader in this movement for many years. As head of the U. 8. Children’s Bureau for 13 years, and since 1934 professor of public welfare ad- | ministration at the University of Chicago, Miss Abbott has | been a great public servant. To those interested in the continuing problems of child protection and development, we commend her brilliantly constructive new book, “The Child and the State.”

F. D. R. HIRES A POET HE first catalog of the Library of Congress, issued in 1802, listed ©¢64 volumes and nine maps. Today the | library has more than five million books and pamphlets. | Counting maps and manuscripts, music and prints, ete, it | houses a good 10 million items. Its staff numbers around | a thousand, and its budget comes to about 31% million | a year. That's quite an establishment to commit to the care of a poet, even so good a one as Archibald MacLeish. But | Mr. MacLeish, whom President Roosevelt has appointed to | be the fourth librarian of Congress since the Civil War, is not only a good poet. He has been artilleryman, lawyer, educator and magazine editor. As the President says, he | is a gentleman and a scholar. And he has-the sort of | lively, probing intellect that should devise new ways in| which to make this vast repository of knowledge useful to Congress, to scholars and to mankind in general.

THE NEW TRAFFIC CODE NDIANA'S recodified traffic measure giving police greater control over pedestrians is to go into effect July 1. Among the provisions designed to improve traffic safety are those making jaywalking and hitchhiking misdemeanors, punishable by fine and jail terms on first offense. If the section aimed at jaywalking seems rather harsh, it should be remembered that the toll among pedestrians | is tragically large, especially in Indianapolis. And if its | enforcement arouses some ire, pedestrians should remember | that other sections of the new traffic code place greater | responsibility on motorists. | Its success, of course, will depend upon the degree of | enforcement it receives. In that it is no different than any | other law. No enforcement of the “crusade” type will do. |

| |

| have an industry

Fair Enough

By Westbrook Pegler

Since Business Files Are Private, La Follette's Anger Over Removal of Letters Is Difficult to Understand.

EW YORK, June 8.—In a statement on the iniquity of iabor espionage and the maintenance of private armies Senator La Follette reported that great corporations had stripped and even destroyed correspondence files which his committee desired *o inspect and that some witnesses made piecemeal answers. He was indignant about this, and the tone of his complaint was such as to create the impression that an American citizen or corporation is under some obligation to co-operate with the prosecution when placed in the role of defendant by a Congressional committee. This conflicts with the best legal advice and recalls a remark made by Mr. John Flynn one afternoon when there was a lull in the munitions inquiry. The investigation had gone into the office files of various companies and had spread on the record and the pages of the newspapers intimate correspondence which, though not incriminating, was distinctly embarrassing. “These businessmen,” Mr. Flynn said, “are so dumb that they must get rich by luck alone. Can vou imagine a smart man leaving that kind of stuff in his files?” - ” ® ” FFICE correspondence is not written for public consumption. It may be very confidential without being illegal, and its publication may create bitter enmity on the part of persons who are discussed candidly under the seal of confidence. It may reveal commercial secrets which are not public business and contain uncomplimentary observations on the personalities and methods of competitors, customers or politicians. Thus it would seem to be wise, if papers are subject to subpena, to keep the files free of all but the most formal records and to resist the temptation to douse with lavender and tie up with baby ribbon those intimacies which often are put on paper, perhaps hastily and without thought as to how they would sound in print. To strip or destroy correspondence before subpena would seem to be the privilege of individuals and private business, and if subpenas are to command respect they should be used with restraint for the purpose of obtaining legitimate information and

not to make publicity and political capital for states-

men or to harass political opponents. ” on = S to the reluctance of witnesses to babble on be- . yond the scope of the questions which are put to them, it may be said that the Dies Committee has been In trouble ever since it began its inquiry because it didn’t cramp witnesses and did permit them to use the hearings as sounding boards for sensational and sometimes silly speeches. If a witness attempts to enlarge his answer in justice to his position he may be accused of trying to make a speech and called to order, but, on the other hand, if he doesn't he may be accused of delivering piecemeal answers and obstructing the inquiry. A wise witness will resist the temptation to expand his answers when he finds himself in the role of the accused, but without the benefit of a formal accusation which at least defines his status and gives him the protection that is ordinarily accorded defendants. The Congressional type of inquiry is capable of errors or overzeal and political ambition or partisanship, and unless the hearings are conducted with scrupulous fairness an inquiry intended to ascertain |

publishing heresy.

Business

By John T. Flynn

Coat and Suit Industry Planning | Return to Power Held Under NRA. |

THE INDIANAPOLIS TIMES

You and Who E

TAT es 1B

THURSDAY, JUNE 8, 1939

Ise, Frankr—By Talburt

! § 8 iil

I wholly defend to

The Hoosier Forum

disagree with what you say, but will

the death your right to say it.—Voltaire. : |

URGES MORE BEDS FOR SUNNYSIDE |By F. N. With such a crying need for more {beds at Sunnyside Tuberculosis an{atorium, there should be immediate |action to provide the necessary 30

|additional ones. At the present]

(time there is a waiting list of 25 or [26 tuberculosis patients seeking entrance. This number will be greatly increased during the fall and win{ter when more cases are discovered. Until one has had the sad experi-

| facts may be an inquisition bent on discovering and | ence of this insidious disease himself |

or in his family, little interest or attention is paid these sufferers. . . . In this smoke-polluted, dust-laden air conducive to respiratory ailments one may more readily fall a prey to the tubercle germ. This city should have a more tuberculosisminded attitude to vack this urgent need with necessary financial support. » ” »

|OFFERS SUGGESTION ON

EW YORK, June 8.—The determination of in- | dustrial groups to rule their fields with the force |

HOME-MADE PLAYGROUNDS

of law behind them persists in spite of the overwhelm. |BY Outdoor Lover

ing popular feeling against the NRA and what it stood | The latest is the concerted effort of the coat the country which has enough play-|

for. and suit industry to revive laws which will give it the same old kind of power its managers enjoyed during NRA. . Always these movements are called movements to bring about “better trade practices” and “better standards of business decency.” But actually they are movements to put into the hands of the people in the movements the supreme power over the economic elements of the industry. The coat and suit industry is an area of industrial production which supplies to the people of the United States essential goods and services. But you cannot like this without customers. To permit the producers to unite to make the laws governing the production of coats and suits in this country without there being any union among the

customers or without the customers having even |

a word of say in the process is obviously a profound violation of the democratic principle under which this country is governed,

Contemplates Use of Label

The coat and suit producers wish to unite with the International Ladies Garment Workers Union to in-

Probably there is not one city in

‘grounds and play space for children. | Perhaps there is enough such [space in Radburn, the specially designed “motor-age” city in New Jersey, or in Greenbelt, Md., where a

‘town has been designed with just

[such ends in view. But generally speaking, no large city has enough play space for children, and not many smaller cities. | Admitting the fact, the usual American reaction is to shrug a |shoulder, remark, “Why doesn’t the City provide more parks? Broke, I (suppose,” and let it go at that. | Not much of the old rugged injdividualism spirit there! Something {can be done about it, done without the aid of the City Park Department, done without a WPA project, {done without anything but the de{termination of a group of parents [that they will themselves make a

It must be a day in and day out enforcement, faithfully | duce Congress to pass a law which will enable the |safe place for their children to play.

performed by the police and the courts, and with the full | co-operation of the public. In the interest of greater safety, all of us ought to give the new regulations a fair trial.

HOW WE CAN HELP PEACE | LEADING figure in America’s export trade made a speech at the New York World's Fair recently, in con- | nection with foreign trade week, that contained a lot of meat to chew on. Said Graeme K. Howard, vice president of (General Motors and vice chairman of the National Foreign Trade | Council: “The greatest contribution which we Americans can make toward world peace and reconstruction is to put our own house in order, to concentrate courageously and vigorously on the revival of our own domestic economy.” How will that help world peace? Mr. Howard explained that the ‘have not” nations, such as Germany, must import or fight. And in order to import, they must export. But America in 1938 imported much less—a billion dollars’ worth less—than it exported. That balance can’t last. With real prosperity in this country, however, we could buy more foreign goods and spend more in foreign travel; the money we thus spent would permit foreign nations to fill their essential import needs and consume some of our embarrassing surpluses. He warned against the use of boycotts or embargoes against powers whose policies we may deplore, remarking in this connection: “We are not engaged in foreign trade as a matter of choice. Our national economy is inextricably tied up with our ability to acquire the materials we need abroad and in exchange to dispose of our own surpluses.” How would he bring about the prosperity at home which he believes would contribute to world peace? He said: “We must concentrate on lower costs, lower unit profit margins, and lower selling prices so that more can afford to buy and own. . . We must concentrate on increased production. . . . We must lower taxes. . . . We must work for industrial peace. . . . We must smite down insincere demagogs and politicians who would set class against class. . . . We must frankly recognize that the Twenties marked the end of an era, and that the possession of capital and gains carri § with it concurrent social obligations.” And .n the meanwhile— “Wg should speak and act always for America as Americans, and not in the role of world reformers.” .

trade association to compel every producer to comply

with the laws which it enacts. Under such a law the interests of the people in this industry would be turned over to the employers and the workers.

Any three or four adjoining | households where there are children can throw their back yards together, | tear down the fences, and create a

he last 100 years and is in the] tate of reconstruction. A reaction | from dictators to more democratic| forms of government is the only]

(Times readers are invited to express their views in these columns, religious cone troversies excluded. Make hope for peace. your letter short, so all can 2 2 | have a chance Letters must |‘SAVIORS' VIEWED be signed, but names will be |WITH SUSPICION

| : | | withheld on request.) By N. G. |=

| | | | | |

The peaceful county seat of Farm-| into grass and gardens. Infinite ville rested contentedly in the sum|variations on this plan can be tried mer sun. Although {ts citizens according to local situations. | scratched vigorously at tax time, Parents who are really intent on'and puzzled over low farm com-| keeping the kids off the streets will modity prices versus high priced | not feel that the cost in energy, machinery, they were at peace with] initiative and trouble is too high. [the world and wished to remain] [that way.

| 2? &» W But Father Time decreed otherFINDS AMERICA STILL wise. Rural power lines brought THE BEST COUNTRY wide ‘use of the radio and with it] disquieting news. From the Little] BM EN : Flower Shrine came blah, blah, blah | This country with all its self- to the effect that everyone nj [created troubles is still the world’s YY ashingon bs iin SHEE inkeps e ve contr er [best country for the welfare of all. os how that over |The time may come When de- president seeks to become a dic-| | machining may be a social neces- ig Sat oe New Dea) is cy ! city + y |lie, and that Lewis and his C. I. O.| sity to create employment. : | Communists are almost ready to We suffer mostly from having too geize the country. much not equitably distributed. | Through the daily press the | That creates the gap in economic farmer is told by the U. S. Chamand social needs. Taxing is the ber of Commerce that he is to be |balancing, it takes from those who regimented to the place of the old have too much and distributes it to Russian peasant, and that business those who have too little, is so flat on its back that people | Money becomes useless when in can buy only a little of what the the hands of greedy, selfish classes farmer produces. : and refuses to work for the welfare| But to climax the growing unof all. Europe is broke and has de- easiness a group of county seat \stroyed and wasted all it created in Super-patriots brought out from In- | - dianapolis the big Americanization man who very skilfully draws a | WILD ROSES picture of how a great, vast, unseen By HAZEL TROUTMAN HORICK red octopus is stealthily sending its |Sweet 1 by the pathway at ay | tentacles into our homes, schools, ewe ER y pa ¥ Bl my churches and clubs so that some > : , _ morning all would awake to find You are a dewy woodland DOWer )..celves in a second Soviet Rus- | complete, sia | Where fries ever laugh and dance | And now the good citizens of Th em | Parmville are so nervous that they ‘Amid the south wind’s murmuring |, pnt sleep at nights for fear there cries of spring. : may be a Communist under the bed I love your velvet petals or in the attic. . perfume But seriously who are these super-

sweet

That ever soothe and drive away |..triots so willing to save our coun-

| all gloom, S [try from some dread something? |And leaves me in a reverie of bliss |r, is there a special, hidden pur-

This would involve the revival of the label. At common playground. The families AS On my lips you drop a Irag- pose back of it all?

vresent the union people have in mind granting the can chip in for swings and see-saws, |

use of the label only to producers complying with their labor standards. But there will be nothing to prevent the board from making rules under which its label will be refused to producers refusing to comply with any laws this privately constituted board may make. Of course, if this is a good way of life for the garment industry it is also good for the textile industry, for steel, for silk, for autos, for food producers, for every industry. And if Congress surrenders on this industry it will soon be called on to surrender to all others. We will then be back precisely where we were in the winter of 1934 under the NRA. These demands, always couched in the language of high ethics and public service, are in effect nothing less than conspiracies between the employers and the employees in a given industry against the helpless consumer.

A Woman's Viewpoint By Mrs. Walter Ferguson

ROBABLY the most important fact about a very important book “Propaganda for War,” written by H. C. Peterson, (University of Oklahoma Press)

is the proof offered that we were persuaded to the | trenches in 1917 by our sophisticated and intellectual | groups, who likewise, it seemed, were the most gullible |

among us. Based on a detailed study of material hitherto unprinted, from documents in the British Museum, Mr. Peterson shows the studied efforts made in England, while Big Bertha bombarded Paris, tc engage the sympathy and aid of outstanding literary figures in America. Propaganda-shy people are beginning to feel that much the same thing may be going on in 1939. Not the least of the many lures of war is the opportunity it offers for emotional jags. Demagogs can make better speeches; writers can spin more effective phrases; and every mean-souled Babbit has the chance to feel noble when he puts on the mantle of patriotism. I have no intention of charging our jugglers of words with evil intentions. Knowing a little something about the mesmerism of language and the manner in which it can clog sensible thought, I think it would be strange if many writers, commercial and idealistic, did not find it pleasant when they scented war nearing. One can fashion very stirring sentences out of such words as liberty, freedom, democracy and human rights. It is a little shocking, too, to be reminded by Mr. Peterson how sure the English were that we could be cajoled by famous names and titles. At any rate, over came those famous names and titles in the 15s and '16s. Exuding charm and subtle propaganda, they fed flattery to our own famous names, who hurried to join forces with by turning out slogans and spells, martial songs and hysterical books which sent American hot foot to the fields of France,

and the mothers can take turns | watching over the plot for a couple ‘of hours a day each. Other families nearby, but whose back yards do not |adjoin the plot chosen, can bear a [proportionately larger share of the [equipment cost and the supervision, {to offset the sacrifice of gardens and {lawns by those whose yards are used.

Wise landlords usually don't ob-|

| ject. One said, “What if they do use up the grass in the back yards? Ii just means that they'll stay off the grass in the front.” The Kids will grow up. Time enough then to set the yards back

rant kiss, The Dies Committee is now bring- | ‘Then I am with my dreams and ing to light news that may answer | | thoughts sublime. this question. Its disclosures show | Oh, blossoms fair, are you of Joy 5 a new grand set of saviors. . . . divine! This is a perfect nucleus for a Fas- | cist beginning, after tie people have

DAILY THOUGHT 'been thoroughly scared and then | ‘ ) worked to a fervor of nationalism. | | He that believeth in the Son | “a yg not be surprised at this | hath everlasting life:* and he that latest group of saviors but try to | believeth not the Son shall Not |,aacon who and what is back of it| see life; but the wrath of God 51) And when we may hear the | | abideth on him.--John 3:36. bombastic thunder of Coughlin, or | | y listen to stories of Red fear, or if Lg is a certain image of eter- the big Legion Americanizer comes nity. All things are present to into your community with his nightit—things past, and things to come. mare stories, just listen, and then to| | —~Jeremy Taylor. |yourself say, “I wonder.”

LET'S E

NOTED

i EpUcATOR SAYS TEACHERS SHOULD LEARN TO KNOW THEIR PUPILS BEFORE THEY TRY TO TEACH THEM.

YOUR OPINION

1 THIS is the statement of Dr. Ben Wood of Columbia University, author of many notable researches on education. This advice has especial meaning now since psychologists have shown us how enormously each child differs from

By DR. ALBERT EDWARD WIGGAM

XPLORE YOUR MIND

|course is first to study the child,| find what he can learn and wants) to learn and then try to fit the child instead of the child to the | education. 6 % 4 NO. All studies of the skele- |

tons of prehistoric peoples in-| [dicate they had so many diseases

| that their average life was probably not much above 20 years | whereas the average life today is more than 60 years. As shown by [the studies of Prof. W. M. Krogman on the skeletons of ancient In- | dians, they had all the bone, artery, tooth, liver, kidney and other diseases we have now—and no way of | curing them. ”

WERE HEALTHIER BEFORE Civit1 ZATION THAN THEY ARE NOW ? YOUR OPINION cam

NO. This question comes In ¢ almost every mail. All assertions that anybody on earth can ead anybody's character or traits of personality in his face or head or body are sheer bunk. So-called “character readers’--most of whom charge a handsome fee—either refuse to submit themselves to scientific tests or else, if they do, they always prove to be either self-de-ceived, pitiable failures or else conscious frauds. You can tell a little about a person's moods such

every other child. They not only differ in learning ability, but they | differ in every feature of body and ‘mind. What stimulates one child | often irritates another or leaves it|ag anger, joy, grief by his face, but It would surely seem,|nothing about his permanent traits the only intelligent! of personality.

indifferent. therefore,

Gen. Johnson Says—

Mead Bill Would Only Tempt the

Gamblers Since Banks, With Ample Cash, Are Eager for Good Loans.

ASHINGTON, June 8 ~The Government should not make indiscriminate commercial loans to business 1s Senator Mead proposes. It is true that the banks are not loaning the amount of money they did during prosperity and much more lending would be necessary to support the volume of business that once kept most of our people employed. But it by no means follows that the way to recover that come merce is to have the Government either lend or guar antee the kind of loans that the banks are unwilling to make. In the first place, the only way a bank can make profits is to lend money—to both big and little cus= tomers. It is as much the business and instinct of a banker to lend money and make profits as it is the business and instinct of a hog to root. All the banks and bankers I know are nungry to make loans. But most of the credit of bank loans is—other people’s money—held in trust under greater responsibility than ever before. A banker can't make bad loans and live. He must feel reasonably convinced that principal and interest will be paid. Banks can’t speculate or gamble with depositors’ money. Because too many of them did that in the high old days of 1928 and 1929, the crash wiped out so much of the savings of the poor that bankers dropped to the lowest repute in my lifetime. We certainly don't want that to happen again. ” ” ”

URTHERMORE, there are two parties to every ' loan—a borrower and a lender. Most businessmen are no more willing to risk borrowing money they can’t repay than are banks to lend it. If you don't pay your debts, the sheriff is going to get you and bankruptcy is usually a sentence of economic death to a businessman—large or small. That fate is not escaped by having the Govern ment “guarantee” your loan to the bank. Either the bank will have to sell you out before it can collect the guarantee, or the Government itself will have to move in the same way—and the Government is no David Harum in softening foreclosures, not even for widows or orphans. Beyond all these objections is the danger that if the Government goes into unlimited banking business on Federal money, it won't be long before we shall have a collapse and Government ownership of every=thing—outright communism. ” ” ”

T is active business that makes active bankingand not the reverse. Both depend on the reasons able belief of borrowers as well as lenders that money can be used to make a profit—and be repaid. It is precisely the general unfortunate absence of this belief that stagnates the active use of banking credit by borrowers to make active business. The credit is there idle in unheard-of surplus. Bankers as well as businessmen are intensely eager as Government to see it flow to work as it used to flow, Senator Mead’s proposed business banks are not likely to help this situation because they will not touch the cause. This bill could produce some effect only if it is intended and written to provide money to irresponsible borrowers on probably uncollectable pa=per. I do not so understand it but, if I misread it and it does so intend, it would work a far worse evil than it attempts to cure, It would penalize prudence, prefer dead-beats and gamblers and throw more Federal money away,

It Seems to Me

By Heywood Broun

F. D. R. Urged to Ask Third Term Now That Mr. Garner Has 'Spoken.'

EW YORK, June 8.--Now that Garner's hat is in the ring I think the other candidates for the Democratic nomination should shy their bonnets in beside it. One of the most curious traditions in American politics is the belief that potential nominees ought to stand silently like Yale seniors on tap day and wait until somebody says, “Go to your room.” Franklin Delano Roosevelt is something more than the Chief Executive; he happens to be a Harvard man, and it distresses me to find him still observing the barbaric customs which prevail beneath the New Haven elms. To be sure, his position in the potential race is not like that of the others. He is already in his room, and there is no one with the authority to tap him officially with the notification that he, too, belongs amoung the brothers. He will have to tap himself. But it could be done simply and effectively in the shortest Fireside Chat on record. He might slip in between programs and say nothing more than, “My friends, I choose to run.” Of course, it is still barely possible that this is not within his intention, but I'm blessed if I ean think of any other Democrat with a chance of elece tion, Certainly if the New Deal, or even any cone siderable part of it, is to endure, its best exponent must be the New Dealer himself in person and not a negative or a carbon copy. If Whispering Jack has at last become articulate, even through proxy, the time has come for F. D. R. to declare himself,

The Time Grows Short

Nineteen forty is not a long way off. It is well to remember that the Democratic Convention will be within the year, and before that gathering there will be primaries and other tests by which the people will have some opportunity to express their will. Important decisions should be left to delegates with no responsibility save to some local machine back home, There are many of us who love and admire Mr.

| Roosevelt and feel that he is the natural champion

of the fight which should come against bigotry in the vears which lie immediately ahead of us. But the very fact that our faith in the President is deep and founded on long acquaintance moves us to hope that he will not make his race in a sudden emotional drive engendered. through a bedlam. Those who believe in Franklin Delano Roosevelt are in no need of the heady stimulant of a revival meeting. His race should begin right now, and it ought to be based upon the calm and close scrutiny of his record.

Watching Your Health

By Dr. Morris Fishbein

S we have come to learn more of the relationship between the mind and the body, modern

psychiatry emphasizes that mentdl disturbances may arise from physical changes, and that physical cone ditions in some portions of the body may be reactions of the body to emotional disturbances or psychological incapacity; in some patients both factors may be working at the same time.

For instance, a man may suffer with serious changes in the circulation in his brain which would give him dizziness and headache. At the same time, however, he might be so frightened of what was happening to him that he would develop a state of cone stant fear, as a result of which he would lose his appetite, be unable to sleep and be constantly dee pressed. The modern psychiatrist, therefore, must approach disease from both points of view—from the point of view of the physical changes that have taken place in the body and from the point of view of the mental disturbances which result in physical changes. In the same way a person who has suddenly seer another person shot or fall from a height may react with physical responses which are the result of mental disturbances. Few people ever stop to realize how greatly ou bodies are controlled by our environment or the civilization in which we live. Thus we eat at certain times —that is, three times a day—because our work is ar= ranged in relationship to such regular habits of eat ing, but it is quite possible to have people work at night and sleep in the daytime. Modern psychiatry also places a great deal of stress on the sex life. Unquestionably the functions related to gex are important in relationship to the perpetuation of the species and are, deeply grounded in the character of mankind.

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