Indianapolis Times, Indianapolis, Marion County, 2 October 1939 — Page 18
* DEFEAT IS SEEN IN ARMS STAND
‘Do We Take Sides, or
Don’t We?’ Is Viewed. as Basic “Issue.
By BRUCE CATTON Times Special Writer - WASHINGTON, Oct. 2.—The real question at stake in the fight over revision of the neutrality law is both simpler and more profound than the general trend of argument so far revealed it to be. Basically, it is just this: Is this country going to decide now, once and for all, that the most important thing is to see Hitler beaten—or is it going to decide that the most important thing is to stay at peace even if that may mean having to swallow a Hitler victory over England and France? Underneath all of the window dressing, that is what is at stake. The struggle over repeal of the arms embargo has become a symbol. Boiled down, what it symbolizes is—do we take sides, | or don’t we? The one driving force behind the effort to remove the arms embargo is a conviction that this country cannot afford to stand by and see Herr Hitler win. That conviction rests on the belief that ‘the world just won't be big enough, in the long run, to hold both democracy and the totalitarian idea. Because of that belief, this Administration is not now neutral. It wants to help England and France, and that is why it wants the arms embargo lifted. And since the actual, concrete effect of lifting the embargo is less important | than its symbolic effect. the Ad- | ministration—in the Pittman re- | visions to the Bloom bill—is willing to consent to practically any stiffening of the present law if only the embargo clause can be lifted.
Revisionists Are Sineere It ought to be added that the revisionists are entirely sincere in saying that'they do not believe that lifting the embargo will lead to war.
There is no need to doubt that the]
Administration means what it says when it announces that it proposes to keep the country at peace. But it is equally true that the reason for trying to get the embargo ‘lifted is a desire to exert America’s influerice against Herr Hitler. The Administration wants i to see Hitler beaten. That is the basic fact that underlies ail
. of the talk about “true neutrality,”
and the like. On the other hand, there are - the isolationists. Like the Administration, they are centering all of their aftention -on the arms embargo itself. The fact that the Pittman revisions give them practically everything, but the embargo leaves them cold. !
Peace Held Paramount
The conviction which holds them together is the conviction that the one important thing for America is to stay at peace—that the calamity of ‘going to war is so much greater than the calamity of a Hitler victory that the latter ought to be risked rather than the former.
And the bitterness of the fight]
now being waged can't be understood unless you understand the thing which many men in Washirnigton are saying privately—but which few say in public. These private opinions boil down to this: That because the arms embargo does symbolize so much beyond its actual content, we are liable to commit ourselves to something we . can’t back out of if we repeal it. If,-that is, we have an Administration that whole-heartedly wants Herr Hitler beaten, and if we repeal the arms embargo in order to make Herr Hitler's defeat more likely, then the die is cast and we are in for it whenever something beyond mere repeal of the arms embargo is necessary to keep Germany from winning.
Boom Develops Easily
That argument goes beyond everything else in explaining the isolationists’ tenacity. It weighs more with them even than the prospect that repealing the embargo might build up a war boom which would, “automatically” draw
us in as the 1916 war boom is
supposed to have done. Such a boom could easily develop under the present law, in materials other than munitions. Indeed, the Pittman revisions are tighter in this respect than the existing law. But the embargo clause is the
arux of it—not because of its ac-| tual, concrete effect, but because
of the implications which are becoming bound up in the whole fight over the proposal to repeal it. Added to which there is the steadily growing feeling among the! isolationists that a definite and | conscious current to put this nation into the war is now in motion. |
* Next: The background of the
| Blocks
- embargo-repeal movement.
HUGE BALLROOM BURNS
LOS ANGELES, Oct. 2 (U.P. — The Palomar Ballroom, one of the largest and' most sumptuously ap-| pointed on the Pacific Coast, burned | to the ground today after 3000 danc- | ers had been orderly evacuated.
MUNCIE, Ind., Oct. 2 (U. P.).— Kelvin Baxter of Richmond and Robert McDaniels of Muncie today were on their second attempt in less than a month to break the _343-hour 6 minute endurance flying record for light airplanes. They took off at 10:53 a. m. yesterday and hoped to shatter, if possible, both the light plane mark and the 655-hour record for heavy planes. Their first attempt ended Sept. 18 when valve trouble forced them down. The light plane record now is held ‘by the Moody brothers of Springfield, Ill.
URGES APPEALS
Against Budgets Believed Too High.
EE m— Declaring there is “a trend toward higher tax rates’ in nearly every county,” Harry Micwsse, Ine diana Taxpayers Association secretary, today urged taxpayers to appeal - excessively high budgets to the State Tax Board. ‘“The State Tax Board,” Mr. Miesse said, “is the last line of defense against higher taxes and all
budgets - that are considered too high.” Budget Studies Ended
The Marion county Tax Adjustment Board completed study of budgets in the county last Thursday and set a $3.31 Center township, Indianapolis, tax rate for 1940, 10 cents higher than the current property tax rate. Adjustment Boards = in other counties throughout the state finished budget studies by Saturday, closing deadline set by .the law. Appeals should be. made - before Oct. 15, Mr. Miesse said, but added that every budget and rate in excess
limitation law’ will go to the State Tax Board automatically,”
Offers to Aid Taxpayers
“Taxpayers throughout = Indiana have watched the mounting expense of ‘government with growing alarm,” Mr. Miesse said. “We urge them to make their final stand. against waste and extravagance before ‘the State Board. That is their last chance to force adoption of reasonable taxes on property. “The Indiana Taxpayers Association is eager to be of service in the campaign to hold down the cost of government. Taxpayers who wish to be provided with blanks for appeals, or who desire advice. about the preparation of evidence: to be used when the hearings are held, may apply to our office and our experts will be assigned to help them. “The owneriship of homes and farms in Indiana is going to become a luxury that relatively few can afford unless there is a. concerted drive. against \nnecessary government expenses.”
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and a lovely 5x7 size portrait
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Downstairs Store
For Air Air Record
ON ‘HIGH TAXES’
Miesse Cites ‘Last Defense’.
taxpayers should make appeals from |
of amounts permitted by the tax]
AY YEE ON EASY CREDIT
To the WARNING Your EYES Send You!
headaches, that tired si RD, that vour eves are rain. Heed their “Have re * serious damage . is Jone! eves examined to-
DR. C. A. MANKER
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