Indianapolis Times, Indianapolis, Marion County, 9 January 1940 — Page 10

i PAGE 10 EE,

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TUESDAY, JANUARY 9, 1940

MELLOWED

MNUTT at Raleigh, Wallace at Des Moines, Bob Jackson at Cleveland, Hanes at Dallas, O’Conor at Indianap“‘olis—headliners at the Jackson Day money-raising dinners of the Democratic Party—putting forth $10 and $25 per -.plate oratory, all coming out strong for Old Hickory, most putting in a plug for F. D. R., and some modestly confessing their willingness to carry on the tradition. ‘ And in Washington the real headliner, the President, “Himself, a gracious after-dinner speaker, on the grand $100-per-plate style, a mellower statesman than the uncompromising leader who, on the same occasion a year ago and from the same rostrum challenged the “Tweedledums” of - his party to go over to the opposition. And who, at that ‘time and place in 1937, delivered the imperious speech in which rang the command, Now! Now! Now!, as he recited _ what he conceived to be the “mandates” of '36.

Last night some of the “Tweedledums” occupied seats of honor at the head table, and down in front was a special group of Dukes and du Ponts, one of the latter a daughter-in-law. And all were welcome. ” ” EJ Ss ” 2 2 He wasn’t mad at anybody, this man who spoke of those who had gone before him down the path of history—Jefferson, Jackson, Lincoln and the others. They had had their troubles, too, they who only tried to serve: “Doubtless they have all been irked by the commentators of the day who ascribed other motives to them. Doubtless after much experience in the public life of America, with its free speech and press, the irksomeness wore off. Doubtless, all of them wore hair shirts when they started; but if they matured in public life most of them discarded those shirts in their earlier days. They had to drop their - hair shirt or else lose their political shirt. “And when you have learned not to worry about all these things, there is really a lot of fun in this job.” Isolated, that last sentence might be interpreted as expressing readiness for four more years in the White House. But in the text and the temper of the address it was but the graceful jest of a popular leader, proud of his

achievements, confident of his role in history, not yet taking :

leave, but superbly poised for his exit.

There is, we think, something fine and heartening in this annual political party feast, symbolizing ag it does a democracy still sturdy and reliant, in a world that is torn - by strife and blood-letting and raucous ideologies, where yet the President of the greatest nation on earth can with cheerful banter and high spirits warm the hearts of his| listeners.

VERY SPECIFIC, WE THINK

F there is truth in the almost universal conclusion that the cause of modern war is economic, then theré is wisdom in reciprocity, in banishing “blind economic selfishness,” in sweeping that “destructive mine field of trade restrictions” of which the President spoke in his address opening Congress. 2 The address has been criticized as merely a generalization—as an indulgence in sweetness and light—as another

| adventure in beatitudes. We believe it to be, instead of a generalization, one

of the most specific of all Presidential messages. For if, by this backing up of the Hull trade policies the United States can rid itself of the shortsightedness of the Hawley-Smoot decade, re may have taken the greatest step ever toward international decency, sportsmanship, good will and prosperity. : | For, since self-preservation is the first law of mankind, -and since trade for all i i$ necessary to everybody’s preservation, there can be no peace until those economic mine sweepers have functioned. | And that is what Secretary Hull, in his patient, plod- . ding and stubborn way is working for. His is indeed a tedious and a thankless job. But we hope it can’t be stopped by the pressure groups who are even now ganging up on it.

GOOD TURN FOR MOTORISTS

R. ICKES, who is. always either making us mad or making us happy, wound up the Old Year with one of his greatest contributions to life, erly and the Pursuit of happiness. His National Park Service announced a campaign ato abate the increasing tendency of motorists to cover their . windshields with stickers.” What it should have said was the tendency of furtive miscreants to plaster our windshields with advertising matter while our backs are turned ‘leaving us the angry sb o of disposal. But anyway, Mr. “Ickes revealed: “Issuance of stickers to motorists visiting the national parks as evidence that they have paid. the entrance fees has ‘been discontintied.” . Good for Ick. But the worst offenders are private, not governmental. There ought to be a law.

LIGHT FOR THE NEW YEAR N 225,000 farm homes that watched out 1938 under the : inadequate glow of kerosene lamps and other horse-and-‘buggy illumination, 1989 got its sendoff to the light of electricity. That was the number of new rural users conmcoted during the year to circuits financed by the Rural Electrification Administration. Besides the REA’s work during the year, ngany other country homes got electricity for the first time through private utilities, . The REA dates from 1935. In that year, it estimates, 10.9 per cent of farm homes had electricity. On New Year's ay this year, it says, the figure was 25 per cent,

There should be satisfaction in that statistic for both | 2%

Government and the power companies, to say nothing

safe way.”. .

Fair Enough By Westbrook Pegler

He Thinks the Greatest Trouble With Youth Movements Is They Don't Stress Teaching of Character.

EW YORK, Jan. 9—The common bond between all the youth movements which have caused such commotion since last summer is that' none of them emphasize character and the obligation of the individual human being to behave decently. This will be denied with great resentment on behalf of those youth movements which are directed by the clergy, but I insist that even in those groups the purpose is not primarily to refine the individual. The purpose is to unite a lot of young people against other young people who are aiso being united by their elders for conflicting aims. None of these youth movements, from the Boy Scouts on up through the grades to Ham-'n’-Eggs and Townsendism, is a spontaneous or independent action. Young men and women may hold the official positions, attend to the correspondence, arrange the conventions and make the speeches, but in ‘the background of every.youth movement in Europe and in this country you will find shrewd elders guiding and greatly enjoying the precocious antics of the little dears. "Up in the Ham-n’-Eggs and Townsend Age brackets the political engineers are less modest. In the Cleveland convention of the old forks’ party in 1936 Dr. Townsend did manage to hang onto his show. But various younger political adventurers gave him a hard wrestle just the same. 2 s ” ATHER COUGHLIN yanked off his coat and collar and gave the old folks what-for and another reverend from Louisiana, who had lost out when Huey Long was shot, busted into the convention and tried his darndest to take over. ‘So the old doctor still holds the nominal leadership. But you may have noticed that the old people have been exploited in the most shameless manner by candidates for the Senate and Congress who are much below the pension age. They get elected on the Townsend vote, and then nothing happens nor will it ever. Perhaps I shouldn’t have mentioned the Boy Scouts as a youth movement because they are too young to matter, and, anyway, so far as I know, they are not exploited. However, they aren’t independent and that is one of the points I am making. der people run them just as elders. run the antics of the ‘teenies and the younger 20s. I still think youth will continue to get the best advice and direction at home, and that if the American family can’t produce anything better than a lot of ignoramuses, cads and gratiers then it is just too bad for the U. S. A. ; 2 = = ROUND this country, in Louisiana, New Jersey, Chicago, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Boston and New York, the character of the men and women who hold public office and political power is such as to cast sad doubt.on the character and the fundamental honesty of the people and the future of the country. In none of these new youth movements, however, is there any inspiration to better conduct. They all seem very hard-boiled, power-hungry and demanding, and no note of sacrifice or idéalism is heard in the general fuss about resolutions and political stratagems. Youth movements are not the answer. No youth is going to catch character in a politicalized, engineered youth movement. Hitler, Stalin and Mussolini have shown what’ youth movements do.

Inside Indianapolis

All-Night Parking, Gasoline Bids, Winter Driving and This and That.

HE Police Department is going ahéad with its plans to abolish all-night parking after Jan. 23. . And a lot of apartment-dwelling citizens are going ahead crying about injustices. . . . The best

way at the moment to straighten everything out might be for the Safety Board to call public hearings and hear all the pros and cons about the adequacy or inadequacy of garage facilities, . . . There doesn’t seem to be anything particularly serious behind the Welch-L.osche debate over the City’s gasoline bids and specifications. . . . The argument was bound to arise sometime. . . . What happened was that the Mayor named a committee to co-ordinate purchases by the four City departments. . . . Well, there were four different systems in vogue, four different methods of specifying, etc., etc. .. . It was only natural that there would be some bugs in the setup. . . . Theyll get it straightened up.

2 = = TAXIDRIVER “A” said: “Bad driving this kind of weather if you don’t know how. Me, I always play safe. I run with a loose steering wheel.”. . . Taxi-" driver “B” said: “Tough if you.don’t know how. I fun ’ém by using my gear as a brake, Thats the . Taxidriver “C” said: “You've gotta know how. Never step on the brake hard. I just give it four or five quick pushes. That's the best system.” . . . Pick your own best way, Mister. . . The hockey players eat salt tablets at intermission time. . . . The hardier boys spurn the salt in favor of beer. . . . The Sallee report to be handed the Mayor Feb. 1 is to-be the key to the inter-board warfare now going on. . Best guess at the moment is that the Sallee report will be accepted and that he will stay as superintendent and administer affairs. 2 88 THE FEDERAL COURTROOM here is a pretty drafty place. . . . There are air inlets in the jury box and the Jurors. plaster newspaper on thém to eep the wind gir Judge Baltzell has the best lution though. . He has a little electric heater under the bench. . . Speaking of the weather, some youngsters seeking a coasting spot Pleted on the steps of the World War Memorial. . It might be allright except for the three landings. . . They sur vive the first landing, wince at the second one and give up after taking the thi¥d one. . . . Then they go hunting for a smoother spot. . . . Ted Nicholas, now with the Oftrin Tucker band, writes wistfully about being Homesick for Indianapolis. And with Bonnie Baker along, too!

ss Ko»

A Woman's Viewpoint 5 Mrs. Walter Ferguson

REEDOM of the press” is a favorite phrase of our time. It has really become the battle ery of demociacy, since all libérty-16ving men understand that unthinkable injustices may go on in any land where news is suppressed in order that the cause of oné political party or creed may benefit. For this reason a great source of pride in our country is to be found in our news-dispensing agencies. So long as printer's ink holds out we feel we can obtain the truth abput current affairs. Badgered as they are, editors do the bést they can to produce clear and reliable accounts of important happenings. And the average citizen feels cocksure about his own position on|the matter. He is an earnest proponent of freedom of the press. Also he talks about it a great deal; the phrase is as soothing on his torigue as the taste of new honey. He will protest volubly if he thinks the information he gets from some faraway source is dishonest; he cries out constantly that he wants facts, facts, and nothing but facts. Yet this same Mr. Average Citizen yells in a different key when reporters begin writing about his affairs. In that case, youll find

' him anxious to have the facts dréssed up so that he

or his company or his family or his political party may appear in a virtuous light. In any controversy he wants his side to be given most of the breaks. He interprets any word or phrase as vicious and lying unless it . leads the reader to stand with him on the issue.

defenders of freedom of the press in 1 lives. We like to get the truth about the but we that th

THE INDIANAPOLIS TIMES _____ Here’s Hoping!

IF A

LITTLE GUY LIKE THAT CAN TOSS LIM AROUND YOU OUGHT TO BE } ABLE TO GET IN

TRERE AND FINISH

The Hoosier

1 wholly disagree with what you say, but will defend to the death your rghit to 98a it—Voltaire.

F orum

PUTS PEACE FIRST AMONG NEW YEAR OBJECTIVES By Edward F. Maddox .As we enter the new year of 1940

- let us highly resolve to remain at

peace. It is government officials

that make wars, not the people. Highly centralized, despotic goverirnents, such as Communist, Nazi and Fascist and those so-called “democracies” adopting and using’ dictatorial methods, are’ more’ likely to be war-minded because they can regiment the people into cannon fodder by compulsory military service laws. Without compulsory military service there can be no dictatorships. Without hatred, malice, greed, suspicion, pride, fear and fanatic¢ism, fanned by war mongers, there could be and would be péacé among men and nations. No permanent peace nor brotherhood of man can be built upon the bloody sands of atheism, regimentation, purges, fear and ignorance of truth as the Communists have tried.

2 = =» DOUBTS GARNER COULD WIN NOW. By a Reader, Houston, Tex. Too bad John Garner was not nominated for President by the Democratic Party in 1932. He would have béen elected. The country

would have been spared the costly, disastrous. experiments of thé New Deal’s gifted amateurs. It would be much better off than it is today. Mr. Garner’s announced candidacy for 1940 comes too late. It is extremely improbable that any Democrat can be elected next year. The country is set for a change. Néither Mr. Roosevelt nor Mr. Garner, it is believed, will permit thé other's nomination if he can prevent it. Their rivalry promises to produce a stalemate in the convention, and the nomination of a man whom both can support without loss of face. Two potential candidates conspicuously meet this test. They are Jésse H. Jones of Texas and Cordell Hull of Tennessee. Both are of Presidential caliber. Both have been successful in administering the

(Times readers are invited to express 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.)

Government functions intrusted to them. Both have avoided involvemefit in the controversial issues created by the Roosevelt policies. Either or both might wisely be chosen for a ticket calculated to minimize friction within the Democratic Party. Nomination of either or both would be reassuring to business and industry, even though their election might seem most unlikely. ss 8 8 THINKS STALIN FAVORED BY LAW OF AVERAGES By Amused

Reports are still going around

that Stalin is thinking vatiously of

starting new wars in the Balkans, in Afghanistan and in the Orient. By the law of averages, Stalin figures he’s got to win at least one 6f them.

APPROVES MURPHY PLAN ON REGISTERING GUNS By Times Reader : Just before he was appointed to the U. S. Supreme Court, Attorney General Frank Murphy made his annual report to Congress and asked, among other things, that all persons possessing firearms be required to register them. This does not seem to be an unreasonable request. Most com-

munities already have such a law.

Most people do not object to licensing their automobile or.even their dogs. After all, a gun is a pretty serious article to be toting around,

and the law enforcement agency of the Federal Government should have the right to know who owns one. Of course, anyone who intends to go into the holdup business will probably not bother to take out a permit for his gun. But the force of the law lies in the fact that officials can take a man into custody before a crime is committed or can “pin” the gun charge on him when tangible evidence of a more serious crime is too slight. Few citizens who inténd to go about their honest business would protest such a law.

New Books at the Library

HOMAS WOLFE, according to]

some of his friends, wanted to be a poet more than anything else

in the world, Although he was frequently compared, by réaclers and critics alike, to: Walt Whitman, he persisted in defining poetry as a matter of form rather than spirit. Modestly and with naive honesty, he refused to share the belief that much of his writing was poetry, genuine and great; wild, passionate, lyrical Suipgusings of elemental vigor crystalized into unrhymed but musical splendor. In “The Face of a Nation” (Lit-|yy erary Guild) his publishers uphold the Judgment of his friends with 70

Dide oe Salbigith

y a matter of cold fact, not very many of us.are | | in our y

“poetical passages” from “Look Homeward, Angel,” “Of Time and the River,” and “From Death to Morning.” To Thomas Wolfe, everything he saw, heard; felt, read, remembered or dreamed, however trivial and fleeting, was a part of his life; a silver sweep of river seen trom ‘a

rushing train; mounting heaps of]

fruit in market stalls; memories of Christmas; thé miraclé of changing seasons; the chiming cadences of the names of American rivers, towns, states; weary old faces; rich young laughter; shouts between Negro porters as two trains slow and pass each other in the night; old lesves in October; the desolation and hunger of thé soul. Bach of these rhapsodical fragments is a glowing mosaic in the multicolored pattern of Thomas Wolfe's America. Too many writers are determined to interpret our nation and its ‘people in drab, unsavory aspects. Whether or not we agree that this| tini§ue personality was “first of all, 4 poet,” we may admire his vivid | cross-sections of American life, scenes and experiences for their grandeur, their power and beauty, and regret again that early death, stilled forever all that was in

| Thomas Wolfe to say.

CHICKADEE By OLIVE INEZ DOWNING ¢

A brave Sir Galahad is He, This little black-capped Chickadee, Searching there in winter's cold, Courage, for his armor bold== His topcoat is of modest gray, And cheerfully he sings his lay, “Chicka-dee” and “Chicka-dee,” In a high and minor key. Up and down the tree he goes, Worms are there he truly knows As I watch him in his quest, 1 always make of him my guest— Feed him suet, cake and grain,

: And my work is not in vain,

For on dull days he comforts me, My wee, Sir<knighted Chickadee.

DAILY THOUGHT

Jesus. sald unto her, I am the ‘resurrection, and the life; he that ‘believeth in me, though he were Gsad, yet shall he live~John

hss

to no purpose,|

Gen. Johnson Says—

Beaverbrook Only Adds Insult to Injury by Blaming the U.S. for Britain's Default on War Debits,

ASHINGTON, Jan. 9.~In the news of a single day we learn from! Lord Beaverbrook that America and not England is responsible for the British ducking of her billions of debt to us and that the British government has ignored our protests of her interference with our rights and commerce on the high seas—seizing, reading and censoring our mails—hi-jacking: our ships.on the high seas, taking them through waters where, by our neutrality laws,

they are not permitted to go and subjecting them to extravagant and costly delays—blockading. not

merely Germany, which she has a right in inter-

national law to do, but also blockading German exports to us, which amounts to blockading us. This she has no right to do. | Finally, the British have imposed without much protest from us, a system of so-called “ndvicerts” which requires an American ship to get clearance from British representation in America if she wished to escape interference or seizure by the British Navy. This also is a form of blockade of our coasts without warrant in international law. 2 2 #8 HE matter of British indifference to our few remaining rights at|sea which we have not al=ready surrendered to avoid conflict with her, is in

course of diplomatic discussion. It is therefore not |

ripe for critical comment—more* than to say that Britain again, as in the World War, is doing some of the things for ahich we fought her in 1812. But this blast of Beaverbrook’s adds insult to ine jury. He says that when America cut the gold cone

| tent of the dollar, British citizens who held American

bonds were forced to accept paper dollars worth 40 per cent less than the gold guaranteed in the bonds. Technically this is correct. But the effect of the dollar devaluation was to permit British money overnight: to buy more American goods and common stocks—in fact to buy them at a cheaper price than American money could buy them. The net result was overwhelmingly in favor of Britain by billions of value. The British lord of the press says that President Wilson, Gen. Pershing and eight: war-time Congressmen, “encouraged Britain to think that the war debts would be canceled and that the money was a cone tribution in lieu of immediate manpower.” 4 8 8 8

F there was any such encouragement, I never heard about it, and I was pretty close to headquarters at the time. But if there was, what responsibility or authority would any American official have so blithely to wipe out sevéral billion dollars of taxpayers’ money? We didn’t need to contribute money “in lieu of manpower.” hand. ‘For whet -we bought from Britain—and it was a great deal--we paid in cash. She repaid us in jawbone and then resold much of the bargain to her own people for cash and recouped herself. It is a poor time to revive this Uncle Shylock British alibi which has been exploded over and over again. The Allies never asked us for anything in

that war that we did not give without a single selfish

reservation. The debt settlement scaled down the actual debt heavily. The payments were made freely by the British—and kept only so long as she could squeeze the money to pay them out of the Germans, Lord Beaverbrook’s is a welcher’s squawk.

Senator Downey By Bruce Catton

100 - Billion - Dollar Road Eroaram Advocated by California Senator,

ASHINGTON, Jan. 9—Back-of Senator Sherie dan Downey's innocent resolution for a Senate committée to investigate super-highways there is the most elaborate public works program ever submitted to Congress. On the face of it, the Senator's resolution simply asks that the Senate name seven members to find out how and where a super-highway ‘network might be built, and how much it would cost. What the Senator actually is shooting at, however, is the building of a highway system that would cost $100,000,000,000, the building to procéed at the rate of approximately 10 billions a year. By doing all of this, the Senator believes, the nation would:

“ (A) End the depression. (B) Solve thé employment problem. (C) Acquire a set of highways tailored to fit the automobile age. Senator Downey keys his whole project to the recent studiés of thé Temporary National Economic Committee. The “TNEC,” he says, has shown that the nation’s major industries have become: practically self-financing. Because of this, excess savings are piling up at a tremendous rate; for the past year, he asserts, they run to better than seven billions, and if we reach a_ national income of 80 billions this year; the excess ‘savings—money available for investment but lacking an outlet—will amount to ‘at least 10 billions. What he proposes i& to funnel those “savings off over a 10-year period, and build highways with them.

Present Highways Inefficient,

“Investigations of present highway conditions show cleafly that our highways are inefficient and danger= ous,” the Senator declares. “In another decade, if our roads &ré not rebuilt, traffic and commerce will simply have’ to stop. “Engineers estimate that to give us the best high ways fully adapted to -this modern era, we would have to spend 100 billion dollars. Of this about 35 billion would (be used to build roads between- and outside of the cities, and 65 billions to build approachés to metropolitan centers and highways within the city limits)” - There. is, of course, the question of how all of this is going to’ be paid for. Benator Downey figures that the problem is relatively simple. Here is the answer as he works it out: * Suppose that bonds to obtain the necessary hundred billion are issued. Let the bonds carry inter est of 1% p OE and add another 1; of 1 ped cent for amortization. Two billions a year then ii carry and retire the bond issue. ]

Watching Your Health

By Jane Stafford 2] MEAL called the “Oslo breakfast” or the o “health

dinner” is now being served instéad of the

‘usual midday meal to sché6l children in the Scandinavian countries and England. Describing this new meal, the London correspondent 6f the Journal of the Ameritan Medical Association says that it is credited

in England with having increased the height and

weight of the children, cleared up their complexions, and banished minor skin. troubles. : The Oslo breakfast “onsists of a piece =f goat's me Shoese: a Jess of whole “wheat bread, pat of butter, an le or orange, or lettuce or 4 raw carrot. If the ple 0 are still hungry aftér this meal, they are allowed to fill up on bread and margarine. It is probable that many an American an would [pe bene i eating an Oslo breakfast. instead of usu y meal, unless he is nate enough to be getting plenty of the mineral ate a in his usual daily diet. That is the point of the Oslo breakfast. It supplies minerals and vitamins to ¢hildren who ordinarily do not get enough of either for um health. The children of northern countries inka cy Ss chp rh nba o écause cheap t a or énly part of the year, and by rick § ala of the lack of sunlight in the long winter. The goat's be substituted in America) and the milk add minerals and vi

TUESDAY, JAK. 9, 1940

We gave the manpower with a lavish

milk cheese (cow's milk cheese would to the diet. Whole wheat bread

2

hme Me