Indianapolis Times, Indianapolis, Marion County, 15 August 1940 — Page 16

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PAGE 16 w—“— - The Indianapolis Times

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ROY W. HOWARD RALPH BURKHOLDER MARK FERREE President Editor Business Manager

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N THURSDAY, AUGUST 15, 1940

GOOSE STEPS FOR US? . “¥ THOUGHT I'd never live long enough to hear the Senate of the United States debating whether to vote supreme power to the President in time of peace.” But Senator Bone, of Washington, who said that Wednesday afternoon,*has already lived that long. For hours the proposal to which he referred had been discussed in the Senate. Propounded in radio broadcast and on the Senate floor by Senator Pepper of Florida, frequently referred to as the Administration's trial balloon, the idea is this: To confer on the President—now—{full wartime power. Including power to suspend all rules, regulations and statutes which in his judgment might interfere with the

maximum production and distribution of defense material. |

To suspend, for example, the Wage-Hour Law, the National Labor Relations Act, or any other rule, regulation or-law. i To suspend the debt limitation. To aid in material or credit those countries which in the President's judgment should be aided. In short to call off, if he deemed advisable, all restrictions, all civil liberties, all those rights and guarantees which through centuries of blood and tears had been attained to make up what we call democracy.

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® = " ’ ” 7OUNG, eloquent, impatient, fast on his feet, Pepper seeks the shortcut, and his oratory is seductive. To his way of arguing, representative government means merely

delegation of authority to the executive—abdication by the |

lawmakers for the duration of an emergency—trusting the while to take the authority back when the storm has passed. In fairness to Pepper, close in though he be to the New Déal. he is consistent in advocating such procedure for any President whether he be a Roosevelt or a Willkie. But the net of what he propounds is that all of us might be told when to go to bed and when to get up if the | President — any -President — thought the emergency justified. Opponents of Selective Military Training jumped on Pepper, saying that such a plan is merely the first step in a program leading to one-man control—to the very thing that has happened in Germany, Russia and Italy. As to that, our opinion is that the selective training process is the-very method by which we may avoid the goose-step regimentation about which Pepper speaks. Only by quick and adequate defense can the possibility of war be averted. Should war come the exercise of supreme power about which Pepper now talks goes automatically into effect. Lincoln finally had to exercise it. So did Wilson. Roosevelt or Willkie would. War works that way. Defense in time cap prevent war. And we believe that such defense can be achieved most certainly only under the selective service plan. Other proposals are too slow. And time is the essence.

THE G. O. P. SINNED TOO

T becomes necessary to remind Wendell L. Willkie of an unpleasant fact: Four years ago the Republicans, as well as the Democrats, worked the campaign book racket. Mr. Willkie has demanded that the Democratic naflonal committee give back all money it has received for campaign book advertising not only in 1940 but also in 1936. The amount involved for the 1940 Democratic book is at least £140,000, probably more; for the 1936 Democratic book, $385,525. Mr. Willkie Says, rightly, that the raising of party funds by this method is sinister. He believes it is a violation of the Corrupt Practices Act, forbidding contributions by corporations to national political campaigns. Certainly it is contrary to the spirit of that act and the letter o¥ the newer Hatch Act. The Democrats should refund the $525,000 or more they have obtained for advertising. But the Republican book of 1936 was as elaborate as the Democratic, and it contained more advertising—175 pages against 127. Most advertisers in the Republican book, as in the Democratic, were corporations. In many cases, the same corporations had the same advertisements in both books. There were differences: The Republican book was published, not by the Republican National Committee, but by a Cleveland convention committee. The Democrats worked diligently to sell copies of their book to corporations and individuals, realizing an additional $861,238 from such sales.

The Republicans made no comparable effort. =

» ” ” n » ET, we can see no difference in principle. It was wrong for the Democratic National Committee to work the campaign book racket. It was wrong for the Republican National Committee to let its 1936 convention be financed by a local committee working the same racket. The Republican committee acknowledged that it was wrong when it decided to have no campaign book this year—a decision to its credit. Here is something Mr. Willkie should find out about at once. For, agreeing with him that the Democratic Party should return funds obtained through an immoral and probably illegal practice, we expect him,to demand that the Republican Party return whatever funds it obtained through the same practice.

NEW FUND CHAIRMAN NDIANAPOLIS has been singularly fortunate in the high caliber of men it has had to guide the Indianapolis Community Fund campaign. THis tradition continues with the news that Harold B. Tharp is to guide the 21st annual Fund drive this fall. Mr. Tharp is a veteran of Community Fund activities. He has served continuously, as a matter of fact, ever since the first drive in 1920 and in every capacity save that of chairman. : We gpngratulate the Communfty Fund on its choice.

Fair Enough By Westbrook Pegler

Now Is a Good Time for Alien Groups to Cease Acting as Such and Be Americans Without Reservation

. \ EW YORK, Aug. 15—A dispatch from Buffalo tweaks an issue which at present gives no appreciable pain, but which should be examined and doctored in the interests of political hygiene. , In Buffalo, the central committee of Polish organizations asked the City Council to change the name of a thoroughfare known as Lindbergh Drive, recommending that it be named, instead, for Adam Plewacki, the first resident of Buffalo killed in France in the first World War. Obviously, Adam Plewacki was a man of Polish birth or blood, and the suggestion that he be thus honored, coming as it does from a community of organizations which frankly profess to Le Polish, is an unpleasant reflection on his loyalty to the United States, being tinged with an insinuation that he was American with reservations. Would it be in bad taste, do you suppose, to remind this body that this is not, Poland but the U. S. A,, and that organizaticns which consider and call themselves Polish, Italian, German or Irish, Czech, Dutch or Norwegian forget their manners in presuming to address suggestions to the American Government affecting our own affairs?

O Polish group has any standing here except as an alien group. and we have had some difficulty | ere now convincing alien groups that we can attend | to the naming of our streets, the election of Con- | gressmen, Mavors and the like and the general man- | agement of the nation and its communities without outside assistance, however well meant. The fact that AmericAn sympathies and detestations at present are generally identical with those of the Polish peopie does not simplify the case. The point is that when Poles become Americans they are supposed to cease to be Polish and that most such groups as this are maintained less for the stated purpose of preserving their respective cultural treasures than for the ulterior pupose of voting in blocs and exerting political pressure as unassimilated minorities. : It can be added that in many such cases able, but discreditable,, politicians put themselves forward as spokesmen for the wote of this or that hyphen-Ameri-can group and, by their sordid misdeing, including monkey business at the polling places and racketeering on public contracts, seriously injure the people for {| whom they presume to speak. |

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| TT may he. admitted that some political leaders af

such groups are fine citizens, but the fact persists | that when they acquire power jn American politics

community and postpone their assimilation or Americanization. There is no reason why a group of Americans, calling themselves Americans, should not propose that Lindbergh Drive be renamed Spelvin Speedway or Elm St, but no organization of Poles has any such right. Speaking strictly, the Germans of Buffalo would be no further out of line if they should ask the City Council of Buffalo to name a street for Horst Wessel or Hitler or the Italians should ask similar recognition for the Duce or Italo Balbo. True, Adam Plewacki must have been an American. Greater proof of his Americanism he could not have given. But this organization, speaking as Poles, represents him as a Pole, which is no compliment to him. This weuld be a good time for all such organizations to throw out their stationery, destroy their rubber stamps and, with one last look toward Europe, decide to become American with no reservations.

Inside Indianapolis.

Those Willkie Plates, Press Club Generosity and Starlings Again

E DON'T KNOW whether Mr. Willkie will be interested or not in our little auditing experiment last night on Indianapolis automobiles. . . . We

marker plate or sticker. . . Twelve of them had Willkie plates on ‘em and owners of the other 138 apparently haven't made up their minds yet. . . Incidentally, Mr. Willkie, we've just received (hot off the presses) “Willkie and American Unity” by Joe Mitchell Chapple, the author of countless “Heart Throb” books. . . . Mr. Chapple's purpose in writing the book apparently was to get out the first postconvention volume on Elwood's No. 1 citizen and timed to come out just at the time of the notification cerermponies. . . . The book is out, all right, but it suffers seriously from Mr. Chapple's haste and his tendency to wander from Mr. Willkie's biography to the Philadelphia convention and to Abraham Lincoln. « «. Sorry, Mr. Willkie! u ” 8

WE'VE LEARNED THAT the Press Club practicallv wiped out its entire share of its opera receipts by one thoughtless motion. . . . An official of the Press Club ordered a round of drinks for the opera principals after the performance “on the house.” . . . The orchestra, the rest of the cast and even a few counterfeit choristers flocked to the bar. . . . They

Club went into bankruptcy. . . . The North Side has its starling problem once more. . . . And impatient residents up there are starting to fire off shotguns. . . . Coliseum dilemina: There are 1203 truckloads of dirt and a couple of carloads of tanbark on the Coliseum floor and it's got to stay there until Sept. 29th after the big Roundup. . .. And Dick Miller has to have the ice floor down by Oct. 1st.

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JUST TO SHOW YOU how our ball club feels, it was to make a speech this noon to (of all groups) the Optimist Club! And when we say the ball club we mean just that. The “speaker” was listed as Leo Miller, president of the ball club; Johnny Vander Meer, the pitcher, Benny Zientara, second baseman; Jewell Ens, the manager, and Dale Miller, the club joa Hope you don't get the signals crossed, oys!

A Woman's Viewpoint By Mrs. Walter Ferguson :

T= realize how thrilling war preparations are for women, we need only read the lists of new organizations which the present martial movement has started. Hundreds of bored or hyper-thyroid persons are already out beating the bushes for recruits to all sorts of patriotic campaigns.

The generals, at least, never overlook the possibilities of the women’s auxiliary groups, and are lending military approval to several. From what we can pick up in our daily reading, we sense a wild flutter of excitement among the petticoated clan. All over the country women are planning for patriotic service. Their fervor is catching, and if talk means anything we are already on the very brink of battle. We can expect a vast increase in the number of feminine aviators, machinists, ambulance drivers, nurses, canners, teachers and campaigners. The oldfashioned girl who knitted socks and wrapped cigarets and sweets for the soidier boys is out of the picture. You won't catch the modern one being satisfied with any such listiess work. Instead, this movement will perhaps mark the beginning of a new surge of female activity which will put to shame all past efforts. There's no blinking the fact that a great many members of our sex are suffering from frustration. They yearn for power. Scores of them are capable organizers and can really out-general the generals. They are natural born leaders when they have anywhere to go, and a new road now opens before them. Moreover they enjoy bossing and ordering people about, which ought to make the picture clear. But look out, boys! There's a cafch in it for you. Wars always come to an end, and even preparations for them are finally finishéd. The world becomes weary of fighting talk, and when that happéns you'll have on your hands a hard-hitting, belligerent bunch of girls who, having tasted power and the delight of doing men’s work, won't want tg give it up. After you've licked the dictators, you may have to turn in and lick your women folk all over again,

as representatives of colonies of foreign-born citizens | they tend to set those people apart from the whole |

{e 3 i 5 {ind cal | looked at 150 automobiles for some kind of political [By Ralph R. Canter, Ir. '

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Saw

— THE INDIANAPOLIS TIMES® "The Boy Stood on the Burning Deck—'

Te / £ RT

7 fs .

cm pt...

The Hoosier Forum

I wholly

defend to the death your right to say it.—Voltaire.

disagree with what you say, but wil

OFFERS SUGGESTION TO ELWOOD ‘MARTYR’

By Jud Chrisney I knew it'd happen sure as sun-

rise. wood.

A Democratic martyr in ElYes,

it was Mr. Jesse L.

Hanshew that sallied forth and reclaimed his support of F. D. R, referring to J. L. H.'s contribution in the Hoosier Forum of Aug. 10 of the| current issue of The Times. It won't be so hard on this fellow though because after Nov. 4 he and the President can make their big

preparations. ing, ete.

That is packing, buy-

Then early in 1941 Mr. Hanshew and F. D. R. can g0 On a government that does not contine

nice “long” fishing trip. And they

| that the New Deal was an interest-

| nize

| should catch quite a mess as the) | President has had much experience! | in catching fish.

Ld Ld

THINKS REPUBLICAN PARTY MORE SENSIBLE

It won't be long until the people

merits of

will decide the relative | our two major party machines and show just where the public intel-

or sense?

| ligence stands. | tablished whether our people recogneeds, think for themselves. proclaim themselves to be the an-| FEARS PLANE PRECISION swer to the distressing problems and | y§ QVER-EMPHASIZED dire needs of our Government. the people going to choose according to the democratic principles, the | established traditions, speeches, the passionate meetings, according to

Soon it will be es- | read accurately, and |

Both parties

Are |

the colorful |

common |

plain

I think and hope they will choose the latter course. It seems to me |

ling and successful experiment in

| democratic government.

| » 3 y Cw | finally had to close down the bar before the Press | Deal was the Solution lo mauy ex

The New {

tremely precarious and dangerous problems that faced our country in |

1932.

Yes, it probably saved our |

economic system and certainly it

started our nation on a prosperous footing again.

It has given many

useful and valuable ideas in govern-

ment.

But, the time has now arrived |

when we must change again. New Deal served its purpose, but can recall also that every one of anarchy to be an easy prey to

its purpose has passed. | recognize the New Deal was tem- [basis and not one on a production are

The

We must |

porarily established to get our coun-

try started on a prosperous path Now we must remove it and |

again.

establish a permanent, sound, basic government that performs the pub- | of had production performance and COPYING HITLER

Side Glances—By Galbraith

By M. W. A.

precision and a feeling of security|

and claim that we have the finest,

(Times readers are invited

to express their views in these columns, religious con.

troversies excluded. Make

your letters short, so all can

have a chance. Letters must

be signed, but names will be |

withheld on request. ee ) [ernment on this earth and I am

lic duties with efficiency "and accuracy. We need a government that business and our economic system does not oppose. We must have a

it so. But to win a war we must have production performance and] precision. And it is the duty of| everyone of us to do pur best and| [try to Keep the war's blood bath {from the shores of the Western Hemisphere.

a false prosperity. To achieve these aims we must choose a party that manifests an | interest in basic government. Thus far; the Republican Party has proclaimed itself more conclusively to be that party. The New Deal has continued along the old obsolete | pathway of 1932. This is 1940 with | our natibn crying for ‘normalcy’ If my vote wasn't two years away yet, I am certain it would be for the more sensible Republican Party. Indeed these are interesting times. Wishing I were 21 (except for conscription!) = on ”

| ” o n |SEES WARRING POWERS HEADED FOR CHAOS By Edward F. Maddox Well it looks like those sensible, patriotic Americans who still hope | for conscription as a step toward war, | |dictatorship and regimentation are like the voice of one “crying in the! | wilderness.” | Hatred, confusion and panic have stampeded American leaders into | the road that leads to war! The| leaders of Germany and Englands I have caPefully read and re-read [having a bitter personal hatred of

the five articles in The Times by each other, and having their people your columnist concerning the regimented by compulsory conscrip- | workings of an airplane engine fac- tion seem willing to sacrifice their | tory in this city. And when he cannon fodder by .the millions, ra-| speaks of thousands and thousands ther than come to any reasonable of finely machined parts continu- terms. “Appeasement,” or peaceable ously going to the junk pile I natur- | hegotiation and settlement of the) ally think there is something wrong War by right and justice is con-| somewhere. demned, even by our President. It would seem to me that this! The only alternative : . © blood, suffering, destruction, chaos factory must be operated on a basis and communism. The only way to! of 99-to-1, by that I mean about 99 keep the world a safe and sane place | per cent precision and 1 per cent, jive is to bring this evil destruc-| production. As we well know where tive war to an end. Is there anvi precision is extremely high, then|,..o responsible American who | production must be extremely low. yiches to see either of these great | We recall that there have been nations completely destroyed? Does | several automobile factories located | Hitler or Churchill wish to see Ger-| in this city and every one of them many and England a heap of smok-| has gone out of business. And we ing ruins [ying helpless in a state of precision | Bolshevism? Well that is where they | heading. And the American] basis. When Henry Ford said his people had better wake up. . .. factories could produce 1000 air-| planes a day he meant just that.| And in that case our nation could SEES

them was operated on

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CONSCRIPTION

|By Mrs. B. B. To those who favor the conscrip-| | tion bill, it is my guess that in some |

OPR."1940 BY NEA SERVICE, eT. REO. Y. 3 PAT. ob "l forgot it was pay Ry until Oscar's wife showed up."

{way they will be ineligible to go or {be included. If this becomes a law, | we are no better than Hitler, for we are copying his style. | 1 am sure most of the boys who | | would have to go arg against such | a measure. If many of you are for it, | why not just enlist in the army and {there would be no need of a draft. | | Don’t implant the desire to fight in cur boys by teaching them how to kill. That's the way to keep out of the war. If they need manpower, why not take all unemployed ‘men land pay them to train?

DEFINITION

By JAMES F. MAUK

Love is A silver blade Cutting deep; A scarlet blade, Silver no more; A rusted blade Cutting no more.

DAILY THOUGHT

I the Lord have spoken it: it shall come to pass, and I will do it; I will not go back; neither will I spare, neither will I repent; according to thy ways, and according to thy doings, shall they judge thee, saith the Lord God.— Ezekiel 24:14.

RELIGIOUS truth, touch what points of it you will, has always to do with the being and government of , and is, of course, illimitable in reach.—R. D. Hitchcock:

> =f

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| son's policy.

| nation and the best form of gov-!

| glad to do all in my power to keep |

peace and oppose compulsory |

is bombs, |

: THURSDAY, AUG. 15, 1940, Gen. Johnson

Rumor F. D. R. Plans to Blanket

Willkie Address With War Scare Probably True, But May Boomerang

OLORADO SPRINGS, Aug. 15.—Colorado Springs isn't exactly the place a columnist would expect to come fto get the daily grist of gossip and opinions out of which colusnns are made, unless he were trying to worm something out of Wendell Willkie; and for me that is taboo. For that reason, I hesitated to get so far away from the great Washington whispering gallerv It was all wrong. I never heard so much grapevine bunkcasting in any single day. The most frequent story is that the President is going to try to blanket Mr. Willkie's acceptance speech by a well-timed bombshell—a startling announcement about the war and a strong insistence that Congress promptly authorize the sale of 50 of our destroyers to Great Britain. This one looks authentic. It has partial confirmation in the news. Its source is usually well informed. More persuasive still, it is 100 per cent Roosevelt stuff. It is a shame to play politics with this war, but it is being done. It has been done since long before the pre-convention campaign started. Part of it can't be avoided, but stunts like this can.

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EXPECT that Mr. Roosevelt will do exactly what is predicted in this rumor, but I am not so sure that he can get away with it without a resounding rebuff from Congress and the country. I am even less sure that it will have any effect in blanketing Mr. Willkie's speech. It may do just the reverse and highlight and emphasize it. Shrewd thrusts at Mr. Willkie haven't worked very well to date. He seems to be quite as skillful as the old fencing maestro in the White House. If I were advising my distinguished former associate, I would suggest that he lay off the in-fighting with the jovial Hoosier porcupine and stick to long-range punches. The second rumor is that there is a very sinister situation brewing in the Far jEast. Of course, there is nothing new about that in general, but this is more specific. It {s that Japan is going to move in promptly on both Indo-China and the Dutch East Indies. It seems a little fuzzy whether “moving in” means actual naval and military occupation or some bludgeoned economic concession. That may give them control of the output of vital supplies of petroleum, tin, rubber and food products. The latter would seem easier, quite as effective and less dangerous for Japan.

" un

HAT story is serious enough and credible enough, but what goes with it is even more serious, if not so credible. It is that if this move develops, this Government is going to move our Navy into Far Eastern waters and threaten to stop Japan's action by force of arms—war. Such, as is well known to his friends, is Mr. StimSecretary Hull is said to have swallowed

it whole. From the viewpoint of the peace, safety

| and welfare of the United States it would be abso-

lute ‘lunacy, but even the threat of such a situation

is thought to be great New Deal politics in a Presi- | denial year.

I wonder. I wonder if the country isn't getting sick to death of slick politics and about ready to say: “Damn. such politics and professional politicians. Let's get rid of the whole cabhoodle and elect a man whose language we understand and whose words we can believe.”

Business

By John T. Flynn

Our Quasi-Alliance With British Complicates Frozen-Credits Problem

EW YORK, Aug. 15—When the war began most European nations had property in this country. The property consisted of gold, ownership of American securities and ownership of plants in America. All that property is now here. Immense amounts of it belong to individuals and the governments in France, Belgium, Holland, Denmark, Poland and other countries now defeated by Germany. In each case, as fast as Germany occupied or defeated these countries, the American Government oredered the foreign holdings of their people frozen. That is, it directed that the holdings should remain here in trust against any decision that should be reached later. . Now the problem of what to do about these assets has become a difficult and, perhaps, an embarrassing one. There are. of course, two ways of dealing with the problem. One is to consider it in all its ethical and legal aspects and settle it on the basis of justice. The other is to consider it wholly on the basis of our quasi-alliance with England in this war. Like so many other problems that face us now, difficult at best, it is being complicated by our insistence upon fitting it into our plans to make economic war on Germany. The Government has mage it plain that it is bent on preventing the invaded countries from having the use of these funds if they will in any way help the Germans, just as we are determined to permit the Belgians, the Danes, the Dutch and the French to starve lest the Germans get some benefit out of our efforts at mercy. But after all, these investments and this gold do not belong to us. And so the Government is casting about for a way in which to take them legally. At last it feels it may have found a way.

Fair Solution Possible

France, Belgium and other countries owe us money on the old war debts. Why do we not just take the investments and the gold and apply them to those debts? But unfortunately, England owes us more than all the others put together. Why do we not help ourselves to England's investments as well? The obvious injustice of that introduces a thorn into the whole plan. But consider for a moment the effect upon the people who own this property. The Germans who have property here will, of course, not be molested— because we are not at war with Germany. Only the victims of Germany's aggression will be «made to suffer. They must suffer lest Germany get their goods though Germans will not be made to lose any of their holdings here. In order to prevent the Germans from stealing it, we will steal it first. Of course the consequences of this plan will be to deal a terrific blow to the populations of Europe when the war is over, and to add another severe injury to Europe's disrupted economic system. On the other hand. if we will rid our minds of the complex that we must behave in this matter as England's ally, we ought not tr have any difficulty in applying to this situation the principles of natural justice and arriving at a wise and just conclusion,

‘Watching Your Health

By Jane Stafford

OES your heart rule your head or are you one of those stern, unyielding persons whose head always rules? “If you want to get the most out of life in the way of happiness and efficiency, there should be a nice balance between the two. : Maybe when you were a child the grocer weighed sugar on the kind of scales called balancers. Two pans hung from a beam. A five-pound weight was put in one pan and the sugar was poured into the other until its weight equaled that in the first pan and tipped the beam so both pans swung free. That idea of balance is being used in the Medicine and Public Health Building of the New York World's Fair‘to explain what is meant by the phrase, a wellbalanced personality. Glass figures of two men swing nicely balanced from a beam. Written on the glass are words like “mental strength,” “rage,” “love,” and “hate.” The words represent the forces in your personality which must find balance if you are going.to be able to meet life's situations with happiness and efficiency. Emotions, or feelings, must balance with intellect. That takes care of the heart vs. head rule. y There should be balance between mental strength ; and physical strength. Neither the mental glant with puny frame and flabby muscles, nor the brawny athlete to whom reading is a punishment is a.well-bal- .* anced, happy or entirely efficient personality. :