Indianapolis Times, Indianapolis, Marion County, 25 December 1939 — Page 14
PAGE 14
The Indianapolis Times
(A SCRIPPS-HOWARD NEWSPAPER)
MARK FERREE
ROY W. HOWARD RALPH BURKHOLDER Business Manager
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> RILEY 5551
Give Light and the People Will Find Their Own Way
MONDAY, DECEMBER 25, 1939
ONE SOLITARY LIFE
(The following, its author unknown to us, was given to an Amerjean traveling abroad by a young Englishman, a student at Trinity
College, Cambridge University.—The Editor.) HERE is a man who was born in an obscure village, the child of a peasant woman. He grew up in another village. He worked in a carpenter shop until he was thirty, and then, for three years, he was an itinerant preacher. He never wrote a book. He never held an office. He never owned a home. He never had a family. He never went to college. He never put his feet inside a big city. He never traveled two hundred miles from the place where he was born. He never did one of the things that usually accompany greatness. He had no credentials but himself. While still a young man the tide of private opinion turned against him. His friends ran away. One of them denied him. He was turned over to his enemies. He went through the mockery of a trial. He was nailed to a cross between two thieves. His executioners gambled for the only piece of property he had on earth while he was dying, and that was his coat. When he was dead he was taken down and laid in a borrowed grave through the pity of a friend. Nineteen wide centuries have dme and gone and today he is the centerpiece of the human race and the leader of the column of progress. : I am far within the mark when I say that all the armies that ever marched, and all the navies that were ever built, and all the parliaments that ever sat, and all the kings that ever reigned, put together have not affected the life of man upon this earth as has that One Solitary Life!
THANKS—2638 TIMES .
E feel a little humble and a little proud today. Humble because of the generosity with’which hundreds in this | city supported the Clothe-A-Child campaign; proud because we were the instrument through which 2638 children were made a little warmer in body and spirit. The number of children clothed is a new record. Those who made that possible, whether they contributed a dime | or sums much greater, will feel, we hope, some share of the joy which those children felt who exchanged threadbare clothes for warm, new clothing. For the donors, for those who contributed their time and energies, for all those who helped directly and indirectly, we wish A Merry Christmas!
OUR SILVER LINING
“ A T this holiday time, we share with you the greatest good luck in the world—we live in America. “No bombs burst over our heads; our homes and our children are safe. We have peace, and it is ours to keep. “The bright lights of Christmas can shine forth. There is no blackout of cheer in this land of ours. . “We can be kind to our neighbors, and considerate of peoples of all classes and creeds. There is no dictate of hate imposed on our hearts. “We can do business with more freedom than exists | anywhere else on earth. We can make our own fight for | success and prosperity, and we can possess and hold our own for ourselves and our children.” — From a Christmas card, Libby-Owens-Ford Glass Co.
NLRB FINDINGS TO DATE
HAT was described as the “first phase” of the Con- | gressional investigation of the National Labor Rela- | tions Board has been concluded. And here are some of the | Smith committee's important disclosures concerning activities of certain NLRB officials: That they connived with unions in filing charges against employers: | That “phony” trial dates were set to force employers | to settle cases rather than face trial: That they gave at least quiet encouragement to boy cotts: ¢ That they postponed a hearing date to suit the con- | venience of a union which would have been embarrassed | had it been forced at that time to try to prove that it | represented a majority of the employees—the union having
a membership of only a few hundred in a plant of several thousand employees; That one member of the board has no confidence in either the competence or impartiality of the office of the board’s secretary. The Wagner act may have been unwisely drawn in that it confused the roles of prosgcutor and judge,jbut it certainly never added to these the function of agent provocateur. The evidence provides eloquent testimony of the need for some such legislation as the Logan-Walter Bill, designed to regularize the procedure of the quasi-legislative, quasijudicial agencies in the executive department of the Federal Government 4nd to establish uniformity in the issuance of rules and regulations, subjecting administrative acts (or failures to act) to review by inter-departmental boards and the courts.
A WAR PROPHECY
HE following is an excerpt from a letter received from a man whose life has been spent in international travel viewing international affairs. We think there is much food for thought in the prophecy: “This horrible news from Finland—it’s going to change the basis of this war, Hitler now becomes a miner irritant to be eliminated and then a mass crusade on this savage. I have long felt this ‘war’ was but a prelude to a real war— a fearful war of deep opposing concepts. Now it’s come, I'm afraid. Nothing like this since the Crusades and the Reformation, with the Prussians, it’s my guess, right in the van-
| ber and the bill to the Secret Service. | rested a hank teller. . . | passed a phony ten-spot on him. . | had to make-it up, he tried to get rid of it. . . Tsk,
| battle.
guard with the British and the F, nch. I'd hate to sit in
ak is ph ye wi, SL in BAR Th Si ad SA. ENS
Fair Enough By Westbrook Pegler
Murphy Thoughtless in Attacking Invasion of Miami by Criminals at Start Instead of End of the Season.
EW YORK, Dec. 25—If any spark of the old Chamber of Commerce spirit still burns in Miami and Miami Beach, both. Attorney General Frank Murphy and J. Edgar Hoover of the FBI will
be fearlessly denounced for defaming those communities just as their business season is about to begin. Mr. Murphy, in Washington, said that hoodlums from the country at large were now congregating there, and Mr. Hoover, on the ground, said that he was increasing his staff in the Miami district to meet “an influx of criminal scum.” That is a fine way for public officials to talk about those fair cities, but, even so, it wasn't so much what they had to say as the time they chose to say it. If Mr. Murphy and Mr. Hoover knew anything about the etiquette of the case they would know that the time to discover that criminal scum has been drifting into the Miamis is along toward the middle of April under the present revised schedule. Under the old calendar March 18 was the recognized date, being the day after St. Patrick's day, which formerly marked the end of the drinking and gambling season. = 2 = N those days drinking and the purveying of alcoholic beverages were forbidden in a mild way,.and the purveying business attracted to those charming shores many of the most distinguished purveyors east of the Missouri. They also handled-the slot machine
business and still do run it in the intervals between |
reforms.
| The slot machines, the gambling casinos and horse
and dog racing are still the concession, so to speak, of the criminal scum of bigger cities to the North
and West who combine business with pleasure and |
hygiene in that happy lend in winter.
THE INDIANAPOLIS TIMES
- lo, -
The Capone syndicate and some of its New York | + ="
and Philadelphia connections long ago established this concession. That is to say, they moved in and bought it by private negotiation with crooked native leaders. After they were in for a time the criminal scum became, in effect, the local government. They control the government but leave it, nominally, in the hands of the natives. They are not altogether clannish and greedy, either, for they often admit promising local talent into their business. : ” » ” ARCH 18, in the Miamis, formerly was something like Bunker Hill day in Boston in that it was
a strictly local holiday. It didn’t have a name really, |
but it was always celebrated by banner lines in the papers saying “Crime Must Go, Says Sheriff,” and subheads about sweeping probes and permanent cleanups. Usually there would be a picture or two of some local officials smashing in the door of a speakeasy which had closed the night before or pretending to chop up an expensive roulette layout with an ax.
It could have been called crime-must-go-day in |
Miami. It corresponded to the harvest festivals of the peasant countries. Nowadays the season extends until mid-April and
| just peters out, so no definite date can be fixed for
“crime must go day.” If Mr. Murphy and Mr. Hoover
| had waited until April 15 they would have been on
their manners, but to spring the crusade at this time
is a very serious offense against native tradition. But | | perhaps it was no worse than you could expect from
this New Deal, remembering what Mr. Roosevelt did to Thanksgiving.
Inside Indianapolis
It Is a Merry Christmas in the Old Home Town for Lots of Folks.
HIS is one of the most enjoyable Christmas observances this old town has ever had. The city has been full of a merry spirit for days. Although it’s too early to get any figures, it looked like a piaperous Christmas. The stores had good business. . Saturdays brought forth record crowds. You had to shove and push your way through dense crowds. But they were good-natured crowds. Everybody seemed happy. It ought to be mentioned that we turned on the lights this year. From time to time, we mentioned attractive displays. face. Many persons who haven't the mobile transportation haven't realized, perhaps, the attractive and expensive decorations on hundreds of residences. The
A couple of the
| North and East sides, especially, have outdone them-
selves. Signs of the times. you might say, were these facts: Christmas trees were higher. tree decorations. Several stores ran out of toys. Almost everybody kept saying “Merry Christmas” to everybody else. not strictly an adult holiday. But the adults are certainly enjoying it. . . » ” ” THE GIRLS reverse the trick this year... . In one downtown cafe the lassies were trapping unsuspecting young males under the mistletoe. . . . Quit pushing! . +. We're not going to tell you the name of the town, but it happened in Indiana. . Late one night a car stopped .at a filling station and the driver asked the attendant to change a $10 bill. . . . For some reason the attendant got suspicious and took the license number. . . . The next day he gave the license num- . + + They ar=- . It seemed that somebody . . And since he
tsk. $n & SPEAKING OF “Like Father, like sun” you ought to take a iook at little Tommy Hollett. . . . He's a ringer for his dad, John Hollett Jr. . . . They had a Christinas pageant at Orchard School the other day. . +.» Wymend Angell had so many parts nobody could count them. . . . Did you know that Alonzo" Martin, manager of the Indianapolis Athletic Club, used to be one of the state's most celebrated track men. ... Yes, sir, he was, at Manual. . . . Tony Hinkle's children were his most ardent boosters Saturday night during that great game between Butler and Indiana. . . . They exhorted, screamed and cheered during the hectic . + «+ And they probably were the most brokenhearted youngsters in town as the game ended. . . . But they are two great teams. . . . And it ought to be a Merry Christmas for both of ‘em!
A Woman's Viewpoint By Mrs. Walter Ferguson
O those who may be discouraged about peace, let me recommend an article in the Christian Century.
The writer discusses “The Church in Wartime,” | pointing out that before the last war the preachers |
in America prayed for peace as usual but when the
moment for mobilization arrived they hastily put | Christ into uniform, if we may use the words of the |
great Dr. Harry Emerson Fosdick. But something amazing and wonderful has happened in the last two decades. Many hundreds of ministers have pledged themselves irrevocably to the peace cause; many denominations have officially condemned and repudiated armed conflict. Profound repentance has been publicly expressed because of the church's long tolerance of the evil, and the professed followers of Jesus Christ have stripped from war its gory glory and left it standing naked with every horror disclosed. Twenty-five years ago such things would not have been possib'e. In 1914 the preachers were our best recruiters. Men of the caliber of Dr. Fosdick, Joseph Faget Newton and others stand forth now willing to admit their past sins tn to pledge themselves to a pacifist course. Certainly their sins were no worse
than those of the rest of us alive at the time; only |
their leadership leaves them more culpable. And ‘surely organizations like the Y. M. C. A. must have learned a lesson from former experience. It is inconceivable that men belonging to that great nation-wide group could ever again commit their youthful charges to the colossal bluntier of another foreign war.
After many centuries the Christian conscience |
stirs, a sleeping giant, and if the church will but
“follow that conscience when the need arrives, neither
the powers at Washington nor the jingoists at home | be able 4b the country off on another
an, i E
.
2 a
i SoBe Uv
|
The Hoosier Forum
1 wholly disagree with what you say, but will defend to the death your right to say it.—Voltaire.
| MOURNS DEATH OF HEYWOOD BROUN | By Social Work Student With the death of Heywood Broun, one of the most intelligent, courage(ous and consistently loyal friends of | labor and democracy in American journalism is gone. In these troublous times with reaction and terror mounting in America and throughout the world, we can ill afford to lose one who dared fight so hard for | what he knew was right that he lost | his job. »As one who fought Heywood {| Broun at one time, but with greater |insight into problems of mankind came to respect and love him for his | candor, wit and social philosophy, I feel this loss personally. 2 8 = CLAIMS SOCIALISM
| DIVIDES ONLY WORK /By L. B. Hetrick, Elwood, Ind.
Who is the stockholder in the U. S. mail service? It seems to me that Voice in the Crowd has learned
|
crowd instead of studying the |science of socialism on the same | basis as mathematics. He has con- | fused socialism with communism.
These theme of socialism is that
Drug stores ran out of | those who do no useful work, and |.
(who are physically and mentally able | to work, shall not eat. And that
Some people say that Christmas is |every man thus able shall have use. Share croppers.”
| ful productive work so he can make his own living. Under socialism every man would | receive according to his work and | worth, which is already discovered | by competition in the efficiency of | the individual. And in this propor- | tion all would receive the benefits | of the increased productivity and | efficiency of machinery and the | abundance of the natural resources of the earth. The work would be divided and that is all the dividing there would be. Just divide the work until all have work. Under socialism, the amount of stock one would hold in the big cooperative would be the amount of { money he received for his work and worth to society. Under socialism, the Government would belong to the | people as an agency to fulfill a pro. | gram. Since the Government is the only authority for the issuing of stable currency, it would of necessity follow that the Government be a | monopoly of all basic industries— the buying and selling agencies and the profits therefrom would revert to each and every man according to
. (Times readers are invited 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.)
to express
his work and worth, in a higher | rice to the producer and a lower price to the consumer until such surplus or profits would be equally distributed back to those who earned
Every man would thus have purchasing power to buy back on the market the equivalent of what he had produced or earned. The chief aim of scientific socialism is to do away with unearned incomes and when that is done its mission is ended. ” ”
SUGGESTS DEWEY SHOW HIS BLUEPRINTS
”
We didn't even scratch the sur- | much about socialism from the! By S. H.
Mr. Raymond Clapper deplores Mr. Dewey's incantation for busi- | ness confidence. He classes it with the Coue treatment dished out by |Hoover and Roosevelt, He says ‘confidence alone does not solve the |problems of Dust Bowl farmers or Neither does it {solve the job problem for the unemployed or the hungry hordes of Cleveland. We Americans need somebody to
|
show us how to use our wealth in this land of infinite possibilities, to make life for the whole population reasonably comfortable. We are held by chains of our own forging. We must expand the American way of living, or die. That means scientific control of our economy. Our anarchic, irresponsible, individual control must give way to democratic social control. That would enlarge individual liberty. Our liberties are not license to do as we please when that destroys the common good. Government control of postoffices does not interfere with liberty. It enlarges it. If investment fails to expand through the usual private channels, we must protect ourselves from the consequences of such failure and provide intelligent expansion of capital through government. Government represents us all. One hundred and thirty million investors are better than 100. Mr. Dewey will have to show us his blueprints. ” " ” TERMS SOVIET BLITZKRIEG SLOW-MOTION LIGHTNING By A. B. C. The Russian blitzkrieg provides another scientific marvel of the year —slow-motion lightning. ® nn 5 WELL, ANYWAY, IT'S A FUNNY WAR By E. Z.
Germans are hailing new naval victories: scuttling of Nazi ships to prevent the British from sinking
them.
New Books at the Library
American pottery will welcome John Ramsay's
collectible pottery; dyed-in-the-wool addicts will be garteful for additions to previously published ematerial and the excellent check lists.
Scant attention is paid earthenware, and Yellow-ware are discussed in detail. his study on the color of the body— |that is, of the clay itself—not of any glaze or covering, thus setting up a simple and understandable criterion for identification. One of the most interesting and
Side Glances—By Galbraith
2 U. § PA
. OFF.
“every minute of it—! wept from beginning to end.”
Mr. Ramsay bases |
| |
“American yajyable check | Pottery” (Hale) for his clear in-| potters from 1611-1900, which is 'terpretation of the different types of arranged chronologically under sec-
| |
OULD-BE-COLLECTORS of unusual chapters the physical form
of pottery used at different periods and in different communities. The list of American
tions of the country, gives dates of operation of each pottery, types of ware made, and authority for each statement. There is also an extensive alphabetical list of the potters’ marks used by each pottery. The illustrations of actual .examples and line drawings of pottery forms are more numerous than in either “Early American Pottery and China,” by John Spargo, or “Pottery and Porcelain of the United States,” by E. A. Barber. Although necessarily incomplete (the Government census of 1840 states that one county in which Mr. Ramsay spent four years had 11 potteries, whereas he was able to locate only six of them) the book shows very serious research and will supplement Spargo and Barber on every collector's bookseslf.
ACHRISTMAS PRAYER By OLIVE INEZ DOWNING Dear Lord, Gracious Lord, we
pray, That Thou wilt look compassionately on us today, : Take from our hearts all pettiness and sin, That we may deal more righteously with our fellowmen. Little flaws of friends and censure let us cast aside, And annoyance, sorrow, care let us mask and hide— May every gift be given in the Saviour’s name, To all the sick and needy, the old, the blind, the lame, Grant that every little child find joy on Christmas morn, And every table everywhere Thy gracious stores adorn. So as the Babe in manger brought, true happiness and peace, May we share Thy tender love, whose balm will never cease.
DAILY THOUGHT
~ For God commanded, saying, Honour thy father and mother: and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death.— Matthew 15:4.
NBLESSED is the son who does not honor- his parents; but if reverent and obedient to them, he will receive the same from his own
| of Nazi trash that comes
MONDAY, DEC. 25, 1939
Gen. Johnson
Says—
Real Spirit of Christmas Found in Willingness to Make Sacrifices as in O. Henry's Story, 'Gift of the Magii.'
ASHINGTON, Dec. 25.—I think that the best Christmas story is O. Henry's “Gift of the Magii.” You will remember that a very poor young man and his very lovely young wife had nothing with which to buy gifts for each other, But the man had a single precious possession—a very handsome heirloom watch which lacked only an equally handsome seal fob. The woman had also but one prideful pos session—the loveliest hair in the world which in the fashion of the time, lacked only jeweled side combs. Each had a brilliant thought and suddenly ceased being sad and became happy and gay in anticipation of Christmas. When they unwrapped their gifts the man found his wonderful fob and the girl her beautiful combs. But he had sacrificed his watch for the price of the combs and the girl had sold her hair to buy the fob. And so, though both the baubles and the sacrifices were useless, neither could have given the «ther a
greater gift—not if they had been the wealthiest people on earth,
” ” ” T isn't often that such an opportunity comes—to sacrifice all you prize to give somebody else what is most desired and it couldn't be done by everybody anyway—this side of Utopia. Just the same, the story says in a very few words the things that make the spirit of Christmas—care for the needs and hopes of others, placing them above care for your own, and cheerful willingness to make great sacrifice for them. There is something in the argument to de-religion=-ize Christmas which is responsible for the terror in Europe todgy. It is a tendency to demoralize all relations—domestic and international. It is a contempt for honor, faith and charity—a blind grasp for power, an utter disregard for the rights and even the lives of others. A saying of Jesus is written in the XXII chapter of St. Luke: “The Kings of the Gentiles exercise lord= ship over them; and they that exercise authority upon them are called benefactors. But ye shall not be so; but he that is greatest among you, let him be as the younger; and he that is chief, as he that doth serve.” on % FTER reading to the limit of patience and the retentive powers of a rather strong stomach a lot, regularly to my desk, I turned recently to Carl Sandburg's book “Abraham Lincoln, the War Years.” I hope to say more about it later. I haven't finished its 2500 pages. It is the greatest biography I have ever seen. It is not Carl's impression, but a simple record from contemporary correspondence, comment and prints—favorable and unfavorable of the day-by-day life of Lincoln during his critical years—-just as the Gospels are a bare mosaic of the life of Jesus. ‘ Out of it gradually and majestically appears the gigantic figure of a man who responded to the mandate of that verse in Luke, The strength of our moral armament appears in the bare approximation that we make to the spirit of Christmas—once a year. But it is not enough. It will not be enough until the world’s leaders of thought and action lean further toward it all the time and “he that is chief be as he that doth serve.”
Vandenberg
By Bruce Catton
Senator's Plea to Liberalism Widens Split in Republican Ranks.
ASHINGTON, Dec. 25.—There has been a great deal of talk about disunity within the Democratic Party, not so much discussion of widening cracks in Republican unity. But they are there, and Senator Arthur Vandenberg of Michigan drove the wedge a little deeper in a magazine article which is (ning in for a great deal of discussion in the capital. “The New Deal Must Be Salvaged” is Vandenberg's text in the current American Mercury, in which he quite frankly comes out as a ‘‘coalitionist,” his favorite theme for a long time, but never before so clearly brought out. Vandenberg is a candidate for the Presidency. Let there be no mistake about that simply because . he insists he is doing nothing about it. Vandenberg's article makes it clear that he thinks a Republican campaign based on ‘black reaction,” “repeal of the New Deal” or any such expressed or implied slogan, would be a dismal failure.
Seeks Better Administration
Therefore he bases his claims of Republican victory on holding fast to adequate relief—but with more local administration; to farm relief—but under a revamped McNary-Haugen plan; to the Wagner Act— but amended to be more equitable; to social security— but better administered; to bank deposit insurance— for which he claims much credit himself; to the
RFC—which he credits to the last Republican Admin= istration, and to security and exchange regulatior— but better administered. x Thus he bases the Republican claim to the voter ° on the theory that it takes a Democratic Administra= tion to think up a lot of fine, progressive ideas, and a Republican one to make them work, Needless to say, this is not the approach to the campaign of Dewey, Hoover, or Taft, or to the wealthy, ultra-conservative group which is looking for a “dark horse” and which has given a good deal of thought to Governor Bricker of Ohio. Much speculation has arisen here as to Vandenberg's motive, especially since he pointed out that he has as much right to interpret Republican policy as anyone until the convention speaks.
Watching Your Health
By Jane Stafford
Ir you have ever had your eyes examined to deter=termine whether or not you need eye-glassés, you have probably been somewhat mystified by the terms you heard the doctor using. For example, there is the phrase “20/20.”
The lucky person who comes through the test with a verdict of 20/20 has normal visual acuity. The numerator in this fraction means the distance in feet between the test letter and the person whose eyes are being tested. The denominator is the distance in feet at which the test letter is supposed to be seen. 1f he cannot see the test letter at 20 feet, larger letters are shown. If, for example, at 20 feet he can see a letter which he should normally be able to see at 40 feét, his visual acuity is recorded as 20/40. The higher the denominator with respect to the numerator, the poorer the visual acuity. Visual acuity is defined as the resolving power of the eye and represents a measurement of the distinctness of vision. You need to remember your elementary geometry to understand how it is measured. The measurement is usually considered in terms of the angle subtended by an object at the nodal point of the eye. The nodal point is that point in the optical system of the eye through which a ray may pass unrefracted. . The maximum visual acuity of an eye is given by the minimum visual angle, or angle of distinctness, which an object can subtend and stiil be discriminated as such. This angle is usually expressed in minutes of arc (geometry again) subtended at the nodal point. The 20/20 notation for normal vision is the socalled Snellen notation. It is based on Snellen’s chart in which the letters subtend an angle of five minutes when placed at a certain prescribed distance
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