Indianapolis Times, Indianapolis, Marion County, 23 November 1939 — Page 19

8 8nd ores, They've ban- &

; busting with some of the

Westward Ho! nd Hor Ls g talking’ to. the Hales, a Southern on by..: You always see a lot I,

ts riding the Southern Pacific BA trains. But this one was veins an especially for-| _ oh chaste of the 1940 census fa. Bices

American that begins next April. predlo ngr gn

rng

Sela we nation's vopuiion. a 5 Sraiiosian ;

irector of ihe Census -7,000,000,000. questions i ho scene at the new task for the enumerators.

Hehe, whose nation

cab and leather seat just like a truck, you. know. And in the cab of this new yellow grader were two

busi- - hoboes—one gripping the steering wheel, the other be- |

“The Hales haven't caught a snake since July. For Hoke reastn the market has completely disappeared. ething else. And they've

¥ } TODAY I WANT to discuss, as digpassionately as possible, the complicated’ subject of Thanksgiving - Like as not, I'll get around to Franksgiving, too, the feast we celebrate today. Chances are that you already know about the tradition-lovers (mostly Republicans in this case) who have been deeply shocked by Mr.. Roosevelt's seemingly arbitrary act of moving Thanksgiving a week ahead. To them, it is as if somebody- had tampered with

the Fourth of July, the Star--

Spangled Banner and even the Decalogue (Ten Commandments to you). Believe me, it’s noth‘ing ‘but the old story—when passion gets in its deadly work, reason hasn't a ghost of a chance. Not even with Republicans. Which is the same as saying that now, if ever, is the time for Mr. Roosevelt's critics to keep ther shirts on. Briefly stated, here are the historical facts: The first Thanksgiving, that of the Pilgrims in 1621, was celebrated in December. And it wasn't merely a day —it was a whole week. At that time, the. Pilgrims had nothing to eat but shellfish and some water to wash it down with, but Elder Brewster cheerfully gave thanks that they were “permitted to suck of the abundance of the seas and of the treasures hid in

the sand.” # .

Lincoln Started It

A hundred and fifty years a hand in the matter. a recommended days: of thanksgiving annually during the revolution and in 1794 for the return of peace—as did President Madison in 1815 for the end of the War of 1812. Washington appointed such a day in 1789 after the adoption of the Constifution, and in 1795 for the general benefits and welfare of the nation. It was probably the first instance of -a Thanksgiving celebrated on general grounds and not for a specific purpose. Evea so, Washington didn’t pick the last Thurs~ day in November for his p .- That date didn’t occur to any President until 1864 when Lincoln ran the country. From the looks of things it appears that no President issued a tion during the period with 1815 and ending with 1864. During that time, Vig weisheation and setting

later, Congress took

Zita | ‘Washington . WASHINGTON, Nov. 23—When in Indiana recently, I was told about the rapid" growth of com-

. munity lockers for frozen foods. Scattered over the

state are some 27 of these community storage houses -—Or safe-deposip boxes for food—where householders rent refrigeration space in which to preserve frozen meats, fruits and, vegetables through. the off seasons. : Thus the family with its small garden patch may preserve its fruits and berries. by renting space in the community freezing locker. Department of Agriculture officials here say 2000 of these community lockers are in operation around the. country. The movement is growing into the proportions of a national

Sharing a Luxury

* This development grows out of the frozen-foods technique which enabled ‘me, as a guest in the American Embassy at Moscow when Joseph E. Davies was Ambassador, to eat tender filet mignon butchered in Chicago, and to have “fresh peas” picked on some American farm months before. These frozen . foods are now available to ‘the luxury trade in

My Day

WARM SPRINGS, Ga. Thursday—Here we are ‘in Georgia celebrating Thanksgiving Day, but I do not know how many of my readers will be celebrating it on this e day! Just for my own satisfaction I am going to put down some of the things for which I am grateful, and for which I will willingly be thankful on both the 23d and the 30th if neces-

Iam thankful that I live in 8 democracy and that it'is in the United States of America. I am thankful we are not at war.

side him, sitting there on .top : motoring. westward to eat oe, band! ; ern Cali-

The flies are terrible. in Arizona a south fornia this fall. They fill the best-screened houses. When you stop the car, hundreds soar in.’ In Los Angeles and San Diego they were the worst I've ever seen. And people who have lived for decades say they -have never been. as bad before. The only Sapianaiica people ‘give is the- unseasonable iate-fail warm

By bp Scherrer

of a day fit for Thanksgiving was the prerogative of STOVE NORE, In Indiana, for instance, the matter of ving was made the subject of a resolution

. a Thanksgi introduced in the Senate. as early as Dec. 23, 1821.

It was tabled. A week later, however, it was brought up again, and this time: it passed. . It authorized Governor Jonathan Jennings to ‘set. aside the second Friday in April (1822) as “a day of fasting and humiliation.” In 1839, Governor David Wallace issued a proclamation fixing Thursday, Nov.’ 28, as a day of thanksgiving. It turned out to be the last Thursday in November and from that day until 1939—a good hundred . years—every ‘Indiana Governor followed the precedent set by Mr, Wallace. Even President Lincoln, when he got around to it in 1864, picked the same day. President Lincolh’s Thanksgiving fell on Nov. 24 which still left 25 shopping days until Christmas—enough apparently, to suit the merchants of the time. At any rate, they didn’t kick.

8 = *

Helping Big Business

As a “matter of- fact, the merchants didn’t get nervous until Thanksgiving fell on- Nov. 30, leaving them but a scant three weeks to cash in on Christmas. That fateful day turned up nine times after. Lincoln issued his proclamation—the last time in 1933 when Mr. Roosevelt, of all people, was President. Even then, it never. occurred to him. to do anything about it. Indeed, it isn’t unreasonable to suspect that, except for Lew Hahn and Hafry Hopkins, he wouldn't have done anything about it this year.

This year, however, Mr. Hahn who is the general manager of the Relail Dry Goods Association wrote a. letter .to Mr. Hopkins, pointing out that if something wasn’t done about Thanksgiving this year, big business was bound to take a beating. Mr. Hopkins let Mr. Roosevelt have a look at the Hahn -letter, and right away Mr. Roosevelt saw the point of it. Indeed, he saw a big opportunity to show up his critics, ‘especially those who were forever prodding him about . ‘throwing cbstaclés in the way of big business. Thus we got Franksgiving. And what did Mr, Roosevelt get in return for it? Nothing but abuse and insults, and the sarcastic observation of his relative, Col. Theodore Roosevelt, that: the next thing’to look for is a change in. the celebration of Christmas. You just can’t suit the RePublicans, not .even ‘if you give them a chance to celebrate two Thanksgivings.

By Raymond Clapper ee. cities. In the co foodsstorage lockers

the same technique is being adapted’ ta. the family which must watch its food: budget.

“Yesterday for my family’s Sunday dinner we had a slab of muskellunge fish which I caught last August in western Ontario,” one Indiana user of the frozen-food locker system told me. “I shipped it with a few other fish at-the time, froze them, and put them in my food locker here. “I also bought a quarter of beef Sept. 1 and had it cut up and. frozen, paying 28 cents for the beef and 2 cents a pound for the processing, and when we want a steak or a roast all we need to do is to 80 to the locker and get it. : ® s #

A Big Labor Saver

“We also had on the menu yesterday, roast ears which we gathered from the garden along August, and some raspberries for dessert which Ti likewise came from the garden. I have a backyard garden which is about two or three times the size of the average garden of anyone living inh town, as I have an acreage on the edge of the city.” He explained how the .small-garden . family uses the lockers. : “Instead of canning peas, beans, peaches and pears, we merely gather ae and have them frozen and stored for winter use. It 1S quite a labor saver for my wife and gives us these products with ‘the natural - flavor retain This development ad scarcely be offered as a solution of the farm problem. Yet it has possibilities of helping, because it permits the handling of perishable food in a way that saves it for consumption weeks and months after the normal marketing season, ‘making during the winter months.

more available. a balanced Ra diet | ge | ville and Gary, have asked for ques-

ale a

For ‘Show’

By Emily C. Davis

Science Service Staff Writer

‘extra careful about everything; and the Census Bureau is ‘taking heed. But the public can relax, if the Government can’t. After all, no United States census has ever been a flop, and thinking of everything in advance is a Census Bureau specialty. “Ma—the census man’s here!” won't be heard in American homes until April 1840. But what the population: enumerator will ask you is now pretty ‘well decided. You won't have to report that you can read and write. Few Americans are illiterate nowadays. Instead, the enumerator will inquire the last grade in school you attended, which provides far mere specific and .significant information. You will" have to think back, and tell | enumerator where

CITY. IN LINE FOR

Indianapolis May Be First in

Indiana to Get. Stamp System.

By DANIEL M. KIDNEY : Times Staft' Writer 3 WASHINGTON, Nov. 23.—Indian-|" apolis likely will be, the first city in Indiana to have the food-stamp relief plan, Agriculture Department officials in charge of the plan indicated today. It is the only cify in the state from which a questionnaire has been filed, which is the first step toward ifiauguration of the plan, according to. J. B. -Hasselman, one of the off cials in charge here. Mr. Hasselman is a native of Indianapolis and is taking a personal interest in the matter. that in addition to the questionnaire there is considerable corre-. spondence on file from William H, Book of the Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce. “The foot-stamp plan has been g | instituted in every Midwestern state except Indiana and Michigan,” Mr. Hasselman said. “We expect to launch it shortly in these two states and Indianapolis is out in front for the first city. “The next step will be for the city administration, ‘Chamber of Commerce, bankers, grocers, welfafe organizations and other: rested, to have a personal conference with Paul 'H. Jordan, Midwest regional | director. for the food-stamp plan. “Mr. Jordan's office is at 3027 Plankinton Building, Milwaukee, ‘Wis, and 1 am sure that whenever ‘these groups are ready, he will be willing to ‘come. to Indianapolis to discuss the plan with them. . Two other Indiana cities, Evans-

tionnaires but they have not been

“J returned.

By Eleanor Roosevelt Mr.

manage to meet the world with a smile and give hehe lecimg of 4 marching army with basters

written by a blind woman ‘who learned. to live alone? Now I have been asked. to go to see her. The book had so much courage in it that even though I am half afraid of shattering an illusion, I think I will take a chance and go. We always picture to ourselves what kind of person it is who has written something

we like, and are a little afraid we may not like|e the real person as well. Jet 1.may find a new friend, ) ‘experience.’ ;

which is always a delightful - “There are two

Inquiries also have come from | 255. New Albany, Madison and Muncie, | Petr Hasselman said.

Book Seeking Help of Accounts. Board Aids

revealed several days ago that ine Chamber is interested in

for relief and

“America’s trailer population creates a

NEW FOOD PLAN,

He reportsisay,

pe ' William ' H. - Book, Chamber of | Do you remember my “ mentioning a manuscript {Commerce exscutive vice :

the food stamp ian to Indianapolis eg A clients. Bay i Mr. "Book conferred with State ih - of - Accounts .

Procedure All Rohe reid BE

n April, 1940 :

“VV ASHINGTON, Nov.. 28. Taking a sévibelogical Hp from Broadway's theatrical world, Cefisus Bureau officials ‘are doubly on the alert these days, as they push to completion ambitious plans for the 1940 .census. ; It's to be bigger and better than ever—the. 16th United States census. And it has brand new features. So, the real performarice. In show business that means, be in a couple of Indiana counties in August. And now, officials are in the pleased but ‘baffled state of a theatrical producer whose dress rehearsal has run off so smoothly that he had no chance to detect snags likely to occur in the real performance. In show business that means, be.

you lived five years ago. - That answer obtained in every home in the country will show how much of the population is moving from

South. to North, out of Dust Bowl

areas. and into which states, from farm to city and from city ‘to suburban village. There are trends in this country, but without a nation-wide query, businessmen and governments and other

"agencies can. only see part of the

“picture, : Tels

ND now comes a askioh that, the ‘Census Bureau felt must be asked, but it was uneasy as to whether ‘Americans could take it. The most serious problems in ' America are economic. The country has made tremendous strides in health and education, but unemployment of milifons 1s - still faced as a giant question mark. The Census Bureau took a long breath and decided to ask Ameri

dress rehearsal census TRE Sop ies is

To ihe Bureau's haat sup. prise, few people in the Jnal this. summer objected to : tellirts what they ‘earned in .12 months preceding, = The people -most- likely to protest, it: is in dicated, are those making high 7 salaries. Actually, they are not so important for. census information . on: this point, and: if- they make . more than $5000, they. may:simply -

: oki 30 A few in the trial census:

4 ot Tews up what they" a cause they had worked so irregularly. Generally speaking, the data: collected on’ wages and salaries are expected to yield valuable statistics. Needless to say, census answers are confidential. It is only the tables of facts and figures that become public.

Also new in the 1940 census will be certain questions on marriage and ‘size of families. This time, . the enumerator will ask .adults how many times they have been

- married.” Parents will bé asked

how many children they - have “ever had, including those who have died but excluding the still-

8 2 ® EVER before has the census “counted tombstones, so to

. apeah But scientists who special-

ize in ‘population problems say that it is'important for the United States’ future to get the facts about: American fertility. Whether children are taken off by'sickness and accidents is beside the point for this purpose. Those are losses which medical and safety. cam‘paigns- may. reduce. But. knowing the number of children produced will enable population scientists to figure more wisely whether immigration should be limited or encouraged, and whether America should encourage large families, which Italy and some countries do by taxing bachelors mote heavily, for example. Among new features of the

or SR

’ at-home, suspending business, stain

businessmen, who can profit: by “knowing how American homes are. ‘heated, how lighted, how ‘many have ‘water, - how the: home is financed, and so on—a new game’of “20° ’ questions” with a serious and useful purpose. The . censuses . of population, housing; and agriculture will ‘start ‘April’ 1-and take about a month. ‘April.Is & good time to find Amer‘icans at home. © ° ‘The business’ census Wu start ringing doorbells of retailers, ‘wholesalers; inn: keepers, theater owners, and other business proprietors on Jan. 2, and will spend six months at it. . | - These time-allowances for fact

- gathering may. seem slow com-

. pared to stories you have heard about rapid: foreign head counts. The Turks took their first census in 1927 in one’ day. .But they did it by ordering people to stay

tioning armed guards the * streets. At 10:15 p. m., guns announced. that the census taking was over, ‘and people could come out. The Soviet Union took its 1937 census ‘inl .one day, but the schedule of only. 14 questions required 1,200,000 workers. That would total somewhat less than three billion questions.

NITED STATES ¥ enumerators expect to ask seven billion eatin in their round of inquiring about population, housing and agriculture. Counting heads is a minor part of the 1940 census. Director of the Census William L. Austin has already forecast that the United States population will total around 132,000,000. It will be within a half million of that forecast, you can be sure. : Even . the first. United States census, in 1790 was somewhat more than ‘a count to find out how many’ people the country had. Taken for: figleing Congressional

‘Anything Apt to Happen,’ ‘Beams

14 Yours as Splicer Gives A Man. a Background ~ That's Plenty Cold.

By JOE COLLIER

® ww

When : a man chooses up’ sides |

against the weather as a lifetime occupation, he’s got himself a job.

That's Joseph J. Petraits to aT.

He's a splicer for the Indiana Bell Telephone Co. and for 14 years he

has been in there where the going

was toughest. Mr. Petraits and his’ ‘mates have battled ice, and wind, and floods and some times all of them together. They have worked the clock around so that when you ask for a long

distance number the operator can °

“Just a moment, please!” and be. able to deliver.

‘Tough. on Cable

Take in’ 1934. There was ice on -

the Wabash River at Huntington and city officials, fearful that a jam was about to carty away -a downtown bridge, dynamited the pack.

That was just dandy for the: ice,

but rough on a 1200-pair telephone

cable which. promptly went: out. "A 1200-pair cable contains around

2400 fine little wires that have to be spliced up to each other in an oper-

ation about as delicate as some: parts ;

of watch: repairing. "So Mr. Petraits and his co-workers

hustled from Indianapolis to Hunt- °

ihgton to begin repair work. - The cable was strung from the floor of the bridge, and under that the river

ran savagely. ‘Ropes were strung 19:

from bank to bank, and out on these ropes the ‘workers went, to repair the cable. Tt Was Cold

wie pret y chilly, and there a Sight under the bridge,” Mr. als hk all night, - In 3 i was decided to Pine the

o'day and o sight and almost. completed

Joseph J. Petraits seine

job. “the telopkone’ men did in the 37 flood in.southern Indiana. Most of the winter work is a day-by-day single-handed tussle against cold. Sometimes a splicer must work underground in tunnels and). sometimes. he'must work on aerial

A platform is rigged onto Bfable, say in the middle of a strand be-

tween poles. Over this is thrown a| "oF

tarpaulin to break the wind. And d1into this “contraption climbs the

in the wind and you $000. ont ity oola. A splicer, because of"the delicateness of the ob must work with bare hands. :

8 8 #

they worked all night.

put them back under lead. Splicers have no secret formula for. keeping . their hands warm -in below-zero weather, either. They blow on them, just as you do, and if that doesn’t help they can rub .them together. If that doesn’t help they just go ahead ‘anyway. That’s what winter means: to Joseph Petraits and his’ Jellow

rkers. ; “It’s interesting work.” ,

Petraits says. “Sometimes you po cold, all ‘right, but there's always

- questions 1s t ernment’ bureau as a real danger.

: ie * twice and confers with governs a before

adequa

| Norris, Mrs,

eis wilfierel gives hating pres homes. This ; heads. Oe Tes 1 heads

: ; oh ‘and, der Ii the free white fe<: males. — ° y no questions asked about ‘age; other free per‘grouped together without distinction of Sex, dnd the number ‘of slaves, That was the ‘enumeras tot’s whole battery.of inquiries; in 1090, the number of Questions was

, the schedule of by the Gove

Every item. revising the eso fully” . Many. people urge

the Census Bureau J include ine formation they aio valuable, The Bureau .has' been asked to, count. dogs, fence posts, blonds and brunets, and nursing mothers, None of ‘these can be counted in 1940. Questions are chosen as have ing greatest usefulness for social and economic problems. ; #8 0» : ANDLING the data that come piling into the Bureau when the harvest of questions is over, is : a gigantic statistical project. The Census Bureau is proud owner of , ‘the largest battery of unit tabu= |

lating equipment possessed by any ;

‘organization. One of its own em |

ployees invented the first machine

to tabulate the census of 1890. The .

system of ching cards, so that they can Dorie! according oe! SS the holes for tabulating and auto= | matic totalling, is a triumph of | machine work. ‘The Bureau likes to refind you | ; that this machine ‘work on the cards of the 1930 census was the equivalent of handling over 4,700,000,000 cards once. Maybe, that gives you an we why the Bureau is so busy getting y * for the next, even bigger . crop, and also why it thinks

ment and business ‘advisers it decides to ask one more ques= tion. A :

SMOKE CONTROL

Lineman Who. Shi. vers for Pu bic! DISCUSSION SET

Citizens’ Meeting Arranged “For Next Wednesday At Y. W.C. A.

A piopots, camialen to obtain te smoke ‘abatement regula tions for Indianapolis will be dise cussed during a citizehs’ meeting" at the Y. W. C. A. next Wednesday. The meeting is sponsored by the ‘Indianapolis Smoke Abatement League, Inc. Four hundred: invita= tions have been sent to representa tives of organizations. A representative of the Chicago Smoke Control Department, proba bly Frank Chambers, chief of the department and secretary of the National Association for Smoke Pref”

: | vention, will speak. |” The speaker is to explain the new

Chicago ordinance providing for ane nual: inspections of boilers and fure-

“|naces in all institutions having furs

| naces with grate area of seven ‘square feet or more. The Cily charges an inspection fee, Each organization represented ut Wednesday's luncheon will be asked to designate a committee to work

‘|with the Abatement League.

The League committee arranging the meeting includes Mrs. George

"| A. Van Dyke: Mrs. John W. Moore,

TEST YO U R KNOWLEDGE

1—-Can water have a temperature higher than Its boiling point? 2—Was the Dominion of Canada ever owned by the United States? Name the Prime Minister of Fin. la 2 ; ar) ena is. the difference in time between New York City and 5—What is id plural of forum? A ; r of Massae

a thrill in Seung an an