Indianapolis Times, Indianapolis, Marion County, 10 November 1939 — Page 20

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he Indianap olis “Times| Ys

(A SCRIPPS-HOWARD pons.

HOWARD RALPH BURKHOLDER MARK FERREE den

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Give Light and the People Will Fine Their Own Way FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 1939

THEY'VE WAITED LONG ENOUGH UR weeks have passed since the scandalous situation in Center Township's handling of direct relief was brought

~ attion from the trustee, Thomas M. Quinn, within that | length of time.

But to date there is no evidence to indicate that Mr. Quinn has any program or any plans that could justify citizens in believing he should be entrusted any longer ‘with the administration of that important office. He made some vague promises about a clean-up. He

pleaded that it was a system he had inherited from his

predecessors. He made an effort to appoint a committee to advise him, but gave no indication he would follow its

advice. That is why several refused to serve. He has

made no move to indicate that $1,000,000 grocery, milk, bakery and coal orders will not continue to go out to political favorites, or be any more efficiently handled. Mr. Quinn had his chance to clean up the situation and bobbled it.

“who can.

HITLER'S ESCAPE JF anything were needed to convince Adolf Hitler that the gods indorse his works and guard his person, the Munich bombing takes care of it. By millions of idolatrous Germans

the Fuehrer’s escape will be ascribed to something more

divine than luck. If the incident has any effect on the war .at all, it will likely be to increase German confidence and determination. Judging from the past—from the savage treatment of

|" the Jews in Germany last year after the boy Grynszpan

killed a Nazi diplomat in Paris—vengeance for the bombing be exacted with an indiscriminate terror. Germans who ve been less than hysterical in their adoration of Hitler pay in blood and torture. And the German press is dy using the Munich affair as an advance excuse for ghtfulness in war; one paper says, “If we hitherto had

~ consideration for the enemies it is now clear that from

, promise than Hitler.

today on we will deal with them so that they cannot threaten the lives and safety of National Socialists.” What would have been gained if Hitler had been Killed ? Nobody can say for sure that it would have made peace possible. There has been a widespread impression that his designated successor, Goering, is more disposed to comWith the Fuehrer gone, a face-saving peace might have been conceivable. But it is far from certain. In any event, the bombing has done nothing to deter

Germany from beginning a large-scale war, if that is’ her |

intention. And the news from along the German-Duich frontier grows more ominous daily.

OUR HOCKEY TEAM

CE HOCKEY makes its bow in Indianapolis tonight at the new Coliseum at the State Fair Grounds. The local professional team, the Capitals, will meet: the Syracuse Stars before a capacity crowd. Ice hockey is the fastest and probably the most thrilling

% of all sports. We welcome its introduction to Indiana, and

hope it catches on. And we wish the Capitals every success.

GOING UP OINCIDENCE brought these items together i in the news yesterday: Treasury Secretary Morgenthau announced that, with the national debt at $41,168,000,000, Congress will have to . raise the 45-billion-dollar statutory debt limit if at its next session it votes appropriations forcing borrowing above that mark, The Civil Service Commission reported that Government employment reached an all-time high in September,

with 939,876 employees on the civil payroll, an increase of.

6490 over August.

SHIPS AND MEN

~ PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT is concernéd, and rightly so, over the problem of thousands of American seamen who face unemployment as a result of the Neutrality Act. It is a problem that no one should propose to solve by any such expedient as transferring the citizenship of the

_. seamen to Panama: Yet we can see that it might be difficult

for a sailor who is thrown out of his job to understand why, if his ship-can be changed to Panamanian registry to circumvent the Neutrality Act, his citizenship can’t be switched nominally so that he can go with the ship. For, of course, the proposed ship transfer would be more nominal than real. The vessels would fly the flag of Panama, but they would remain American property. The United States Government, through restrictions imposed by the Maritime Commission, would retain a congidetable measure of control over them, including the right to-order them back under American registry if they were needed as naval

auxiliaries and the right to say that they must be operated

over their present routes, which take them into the war zone. And, it seems to us, if they got into trouble in the war zone the United. States Government, having approved the subterfuge which sent them there, would be responsible.

EXPERT FFT OLBERT HATFIELD of Ransom, Ky. saw a lot of feuding in his time. He was a young man in the 1880s, when the famous Hatfield-McCoy “border war” broke out, A first cousin of “Devil Anse” Hatfield, he lost many a kinsman in the fighting. But somehow ‘Tolbert Hatfield managed to remain on peaceful terms with both sides, and he died in his bed the other day at the age of 89.

We're sorry he’s gone, for he seems to have been one i country’s real SApeLis < on neutrality under difficult

Business Manager

ered by carrier, 12 cents |,

If he cannot do.the job, he should step aside for somedne :

J then it was bt

By Westbrook Pegler

Ham-and-Eggs Motto Borrowed by Pension - Advocates From a Good Fellowship Song of Breakfast Club.

OS ANGELES, Nov. 10.—Huey Long adopted his title of Kingfish from a mythical Negro character in the Amos 'N’ Andy program, and the slogan Ham-and-Eggs, which had bewitched millions of Americans, also springs from an origin so absurd that the story of its adoption as a great political cry cannot be told without a sense of shame and fear. Ham-and-Eggs signifies comfort and plenty, and the phrase has an alarming sound when shouted at

shapeless crowds. In Pershing Square, in Los Angeles, such crowds gather and scatter of a day, but toward evening the sound of oratory rises sharply. Then for two or three hours the discussion is general. It cannot be called debate, for there is almost no dissenting opinion. Groups come together, break up and eddy into new groups,

is heard, “Ham-and-Eggs.” ss =

R a long time, dating way back into the era of wonderful nonsense when Los Angeles was rich, confident and Republican, a group of local rightthinkers, businessmen, docters and the like, consti tuting in all a perfect congress of babbittry, have had a custom of meeting at a public restaurant at 7 o’¢lock on Thursday mornings to breakfast together. They are the men who, 10 or 15 years ago, were dee scribed as forward-looking and as architects of a brilliant future, and out of their quick and flashing wit they developed a traditional salutation. In no time at all these genial giants of trade and science were greeting one another thus; “Hello, Eggs!” Some poet among them made a song. Such songs always are sung to the, tune of Tammany or Casey Jones. This one was a Tammany song. It goes as follows: : Ham ’'n’ eggs, Ham 'n’ eggs, I like mine fried gecd and brown, 1 like mine fried’ upside down. Ham 'n’ eggs, . Ham ’'n’ eggs, Flip ’em, flop 'em, Flap ’em, drop ‘em, Ham ’'n’ eggs. * 2 8 8 HEIR envied company included, from time to time, Willis Allen, a real estate salesman and go-getter. Mr. Allen was ssuccessful only in blurts, and when, after many disappointments, he muscled in on the scrip-stamp pension crusade a few years ago he brought to his new work a slogan which signified to the poor not only food in the plain, homely, folksy version but a promise of parity with the aristocrats of commerce. He had led the singing of “Ham 'n’ Eggs” at the breakfast parties, and he now promised the poor, $30 every Thursday, the traditional breakfast of those -whose opinions were quoted in the papers and the

without working. They were to send him one cent a day plus special contributions-solicited from time to time; they were to work without pay as precinct organizers, . enlisting other joiners at a penny a day, and in return, though California might go broke and they might lose their American rights, they would get ham-and-eggs.

Business By John T. Flynn

Accurate Figures Show Big Gain in Business for First Month of War,

TEW YORK, Nov. 10—Enough accurate figures have now come to light to enable us to form some

idea of what the war—or something—did to business in August and September. September, of course, usually brings a sharp rise in business activity. But this year the rise has been extraordinarily sharp. Summer business this year was better than last, but it showed a marked declining tendency until August. With that month improvement began. And with

September the figures began to soar. Thus at the beginning of August the figure for business activity stood at 113. At the beginning of September, 117. At the end of September, 135. The index number referred to here is one which I compound from statistical data including industrial production, building, retail sales, carloadings, etc, The largest increase was in retail sales. It isinteresting to compare this with last year. At the end of September of last year the index stood at 118. The improvement in industrial production this year over last is very marked, Here is a record for four months: } 1938 93 eve cesianeanessse 101 August ....isusdeacese 107 123 September iii viees 111 138

Thus it will be seen that while there was no sreat increase in industrial production during ‘the summer, the rate was maintained during the summer. The force which started industrial. production vp began well before the war. It has been running around and even above the 122 rate for the-last year. The September rise to 138 is a war phenomenon.

U. S. Expenditures Increase

It is this steady persistence of production and also of building construction, which is now expressing itself in retail sales. All this time’ Government expenditures have been steadily increasing. The important thing to know now is what will happen to industrial production. If it maintains its pace after Christmas, along with the high rate of Government expenditure, retail sales will continue to: im-

1939 122 122

June July .

cessiirsiisainane

of business activity will be impaired. The key now is industrial production,

A Woman's Viewpoint

By Mrs. Walter Ferguson

ND now, ladiés and gentlemen,” intoned the chairman, “I feel honored to presént a man you all ‘know and love—Mr. Blank, who has done 50 much for ‘our great state in the matter of agri cultural progress.” Cheers and applause! A thin man rose and be_gan to speak. I didn't hear much he had to say

‘to be: That boy had been called a slacker. Twenty years ago he was a full-fledged graduate of A. & M. College, curious, eager to try his hands at experiments with seeds and soil. - He thought about nothing else. When conscription started he asked for exemption. He wanted to $5 y on the land, he said. He was one of the few w requests were granted—people said use his father was an politician in.the county. Whatever the cause, his name became a hissing on every tongue. The boys on-adjoining farms were off to France.’ returned to his fields. Every morning he set his feet more firmly on the sod and lovingly coddled his sprouting grain. He never seemed to mind uncomplimentary names. Ni being & slacker at his chosen job.

lo back; crosses. hospitals; some died later from gas attack and shell

thrown them down. But he who stayed at home discovered many secrets of climate and soil and seeds, and his experiments benefited his state to thd tune of millions ould

America have De if he had been ki

random, by bitter men and | /women on the fringes of |.

and above the angry notes of the spellbinders the cry

“Hello, Ham!” and |

capacity to buy ham and eggs every day in the week.

prove. If industrial production drops off then the total’

uential | The slacker watched impassively and | |

enemy could accuse him of Some of .the boys who went to France came |" others . remained there under - small white |" A few helped swell the ranks of veterans in

shock. The rest took up their lives where they had

THE INDIANAPOLIS TIMES

"RSV Pr

IDAY, NOV.

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The Hoosier Forum

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

SPEEDING CHARGED TO ASSOCIATE OF F. 0. P, By N, E. Ww. : I don’t know much about this argument over associate members of the. Indianapolis Policemen’s fraternal lodge, but I do know this: Tuesday night at 8 p. m. a car bearing an ‘associate member” tag

from 16th St. north at better than 50 miles an hour. ® All I can figure out is that he can get away with. it.

# 2 e HED LIKE TO JOIN POLICE ASSOCIATION By Interested I'd ‘like to join the Police Fra-

ternal outfit, too. me? : ” J 2 WISHES HE HAD MANVILLE’'S PLANE MONEY By Youth of Today It must have given Tommy Manville a great thrill when he saw his|’ lovey-dove. A trifling sum-—$3000— the plane’trip. cost him,

Do you ‘knew what I could do with only one-third cf that? I could go to college and learn a profession so as to insure employment in these times of mechanization, That is my aim. All I'd need would be the tuition, cause I'd work my way through. Oh, well, some people seem to have too much and others nothing at all.

Fle oa. SAYS REPEAL GIVES U.S. ‘STAKE IN WAR By H. 8.

‘We now own a stack of blue chips in the war game. Repeal of the

farms. embargo makes our country

the drsenal and provisioner for one set of the fighting powers. That puts us at: least half way into the war. The President's declaration that he does not initend to send our boys may be sincere. Those who question his intentions also may be sincere. (t reminds one of the “Third Phildpic” by Demosthenes, in which he says to thé Greeks, “Shall we accept

1 Phillips" oft-repeated declarations as

to-his intentions, or shall we rather look. to his acts for his intentions?” We were in-a real depression in 1914 and got out with war orders until: we: got’ into it. That is the path of ‘least resistance, To keep out evén now would require more intelligence than we have shown in

went roaring up N. Meridian St.|

What's in it for

(Times readers are invited to express their ‘views in these columns, religious cone troversies excluded. Make your letter short, so all can have a chance. Letters must be signed, but names will be withheld on request.)

readjusting our economie structure to make it function under present conditions abroad. Blood money is too. attractive to us. But lest we forget, the last war and this one are but the natural sequence of the policies that have controlled our national and international economié relations. - We shall solve nothing by war, Nationalism is obsolete. It can bring no peace. The world lacks intelligent leadership.

: Bn 8 CLAIMS CAPITALISM

ECONOMIC DICTATORSHIP

By RB: Sprunger . What is: it’ about capitalism that is so bad for the masses, asks Voice in the Crowd. Shades of blindness —with millions of unemployed, hunger, want, crime, slums, etc., he asks such a ‘question. . : As for tribal dictator chiefs having title to all, we have them today. Eighty-three men controlling 200 corporations that rule others with interlocking directorates now own or control the wealth of this country.- Around ‘132 million people and 83 men controlilng their economic

{grow fat on it.

lives—what else is that but a

* omic dictatorship?

Voice in the Crowd eamplaing 80 much about politics. With the two old major parties hopelessly loaded with oppertunists and political flun-

kies of the capitalistic oligarchy, why talk about dirty politics if you

of capitalism? While Voice in the Crowd is- busy counting beer bottles in a: futile attempt to prove capitalism is not a system of scarcity for the masses, Socialists and progressives will continue the fight for democratic social and industrial democracy with production and distribution for use and service for all and not for profit of a few, 8 8 2 URGES HATRED FOR CAUSES OF WAR By B. V. L. Thomas Boyd in his book “Points of Honor,” wrote in 1923, “Hate war! Hate rather the ambitions which cause war and the financiers who Hate the people who believe sleek lies about it. If we must hate, let us hate the causes of war; it is futile to hate the ef-

fect of war.” How" true this is even today. We had nothing to do with the causes or conditions creating the last war. The same is true of the present war. We were solicited . for our manpower, but given no say in the terms of the Armistice. In view of all this, how can any American entertain even the thought of going in

again?

New Books at the Library

EADERS of the New York - Times or the Nation or those

‘who have enjoyed the ‘two collec-

tions of David Low's cartoons published earlier in England, will be prepared to welcomé this collection, “A Cartoon History of Our Times” (Simon and Schuster). ‘Those who see his drawings for the first time will be surprised and delighted with these 80 cartoons, trenchant comments upon ‘the world events of the past. - decade, from .1932, when the world depression was at its worst, to January, 1939, ‘when Chamberlain and Halifax weré paying the social

Side Glances—By Galbraith

because in his. place I was seeing the boy. he used || @

“ling ineffectuals,”’

call on Mussolini which preceded the end of the civil war in Spain. Here we have the roughneck arm-

ament industries, - grinning .and toothy, ready to waylay and beat up on poor timid feminine ‘“Disarmament Talks.” Here we have Hitler, thumbing his nose as he follows the “Stepping Stones to Glory” over the bent and spineless backs of the “leaders” of democracy. Here is our old friend Col. Blimp, with his walrus mustache and his prehistoric bald head, looking continually distressed and reproachful;. all - the world, says Mr. Low, is to Col. Blimp

his solid British ideas. Here is Mussolini, with jaw thrust forward, masquerading in Spain as a Spanish serenader, Stalin twirls his black mustache as he looks on at the four men of Munich, grinning provocatively at them. “Well meanbearing olive branches, dance in a ring while a little ‘lamb stares at the butcher looking over the fence at him. Stanley Baldwin pleads that “You know you can trust me,” while the fair young lady, the League of Nations, lies fainting on the ground. All this is an old story now, but brought to us sharply by the pen of David “Low and the explanatory text of Quincy Howe.

RADIO OF ‘NOVEMBER By MARY P. DENNY November sounds a radio,

|A line of light across the day, | A word of life through all the way.

It whispers through the grass and tree And sings afar a’ gloria free. THe tones of autumn leaf and flower

‘| {The anthem of the winds that

tower, .

| The echoes of the far off spring, ‘ {The songs of light of all that sing, ' | Sweeping in chords along the way.

Shining in line of harvest time,

{ | The radio of light divine.

Articulate in the autumn chime,

DAILY THOUGH For who shall lose lose his life or : it.—Matthew 16;25.

defend the cause—the profit motive

a vast plot directed against him-and |

Gon: Johnson: Says—

Maritime Commission Justified in

Not an Issue in Neutrality Debate. TASHINGTON, Nov. 10.—Was the proposal to

foreign crews, so that they wouldn't be forced off the

or Congressional mandate? I think not. emotional debate and too little scientific study and

general understanding of fundamental purposes of the Pittman Act. | Its intent certainly wasn’t primarily to surrender American commerce on any part of the high seas. It did that, but it did it as a tremendous sacrifice to preserve our peace. If a ship flying the American flag is seized ‘or sunk, an’ obligation’ arises in: our Government: to. inquire whether it was authorized under the laws of war and,

| if it wasn't, to resist—even to the point Of War or re

prisal in fepeated and exaggerated cases. If an Amere ican citizen is maimed or killed aboard, a similar oblie gation arises. By the Pittman Act we ‘decided to pre vent such dangérs—not by renouncing any legal rights

them. : 2 2 8» HERE were two alternatives to save the. ipine 1e ‘of what we did without saddling ourselves dhnecessary loss and hardship. One was to ‘say to both citizens and ships: “Sail at your own: ‘risk and

the venture, we will not protect you.” <The other

risk to American lives by signing foreign crews or risk to the American flag hy transferring to a foreign flag, The first proposal w§s debated and rejected in Cone _gress—in the opinion oRthis column. foo hastily and without sufficient study. This second one was hardly mentioned. It certainly was not rejected. . ‘On the contrary, the way for it was left open as’ wide ‘as a barn door. “This was the result of no trickery,. The debate was centered on one proposal rather than on a scien=

| tific study of the effects of a farireiching law.’ This

is clearly shown by. the saving last-minute amend‘ments without which the law would have been a

monstosity, 5 ” ” 2

being not in accordance with the “spirit”. of the new law. But, as I have tried to show, that spirit wasn’t wantonly to destroy any part of the American mercantile marine. It was to obviate any necessity to “defend it in certain waters. If a way" was open in the letter of the law to accomplish that abject, it cere tainly violates no spirit of the law to follow that" ‘way. This proposal does exactly: that ‘quite as effectively as the courses now insisted upon by gentlemen advance ing unargued dogma, which, as I'believe, tends “blindly to extend the letter of an experimental law rather than fo meet the issue squarely on its spirit and intent. A public official who begins to execute a law onan

language, on a a debatable: argument as to its intent, and to the destriiction of individual rights and

charge of arbitrary -caprice than'could be. brought against the Maritime Gomisission in this case, 5

It Seems to By Hansa Broun

. Is Helped i in Any Way by War,

boom to newspapers in America. Circulation may go up, but not as rapidly as costs, and the whole tendency of a period of conflict is a lowering of journalistic standards. It becomes even more difficult than usual to pin down the truth. Censorship caps a long list of hurdles which lie between the action and the printed story. War alternates between seeming to offer too little news and too much for digestion. The present contest, in particular; has had such a slight amount of action that all thesdecks and all the front lines are cleared for rumor and for rival propaganda. ‘But I have no desire to chime in with those who seem impatient at the fact that this has been to such a large extent a “phony” war. . Surely from: ~humane point of view the stale mate which goes on along the * Western Front, at the time this is written, is preferable to the bloody sacrifices of 1917, ‘when hundreds of thousands were sacrificed for salients which were of little moment. Huge casualty lists may leave both, sides. standing precisely where ‘they are -at present. And Iam not at all sure that a more. inspired sort of journalism could not find'a greater opportunity for ‘expression than it has yet manifested in the very. fact of inac-

| tion.

With all deference to tradition, I do not think that

cital of overt acts. = True reporting should’ be a great deal more than. a recital of oddities. It should go deeper into the commonplace and ordinary.

Good Journalism Current History

Journalism at ‘its best is current history, and in the long run history is compounded out of things which may seem trivial at the moment. There ought to be an eye for acorns as well. as oaks. It would be snebbish to pretend no interest whate soever in those departnients. ‘devoted to the doings of people in night clubs and all along the amuse ment fringe. But I would like to see some columnists do the side streets: and -the suburbs and chronicle the joys and tragedies of the ordinary run of people. There could be a beat for a roving O. Henry. Indeed, I'd like to see some young man follow in the steps of St. Francis or of Thoreau. . I would like to know much more about the pigeons of Manhattan and. of all small creatures in the streams and ponds, ‘which lie within the greater city, A newspaper at its best chronicles life, and life is deeper and more varied than murder, mass attack or any sort of death in She afternoon.

Watching Your Health

By Jane Stafford

N many homes ‘and’ offices the annual battle bee tween the fresh-air fans and the stove-hugging

fraternity is now on. Like “peas porridge,” some like it hot and some like it cold. Like the heat in summer, indoor weather comford In winter is largely a matter of the humidity. Only, unlike summer conditions, the problem is to get more moisture into the air. So far as temperature goes, scientists: who have studied the problem: seem: to agreed that for normal people a temperature of 68 degrees Fahrenheit is about ideal—for efficiency as well as for health and comfort. If you are healthy and have good blood circulation, but feel uncomfortably coél in a room or office when the temperature registers 68 degrees, it is because the humidity is too low, You can save on fuel bills this winter if you find a way to keep the air in your home moist. Plants, porous dishes like flower pots with water in them, or.pans of water or vet clothes ‘on or néar radiators are: recome

mended methods of home and office humidifying. On. the efficiency angle, scientific studies have.

| shown that with all other conditions the same 6 per

cent more typewriting is performed at 68 degrees than at 75 degrees. When more vigorous physical work is

| performed, as in ordinary industrial activities, th

t accomplished at 68 degrees is 15 per cen an as at 5 degrees.

¥ Jour Winter, ventis

Ship Transfer Plea Since It Was

transfer American ships to the Panama flag and

ocean by the Pittman Act, “a slick trick” and proof of a charge by some skeptics that the President can’t be ° trusted not to finesse his way around a Constitutional’

but simply ‘by avoiding the necessity: of indicat g

peril. If you try to run this blodkade and get nit in : a8 what American shipping lines now: propose—t avoid .

OW an undebated proposal is being: ‘attacked as

interpretation of it certainly not. "justified by fits

national interest, is" certainly far more open to the '

t's “a Foolish Error to Suppose

EW YORK, Nov. 10. —There is nothing in the spopular delusion; that a war in Europe is a

news, either in peace or war, is limited to ‘the ree .

are lucky enough to live aid

- LS I AR Re