Indianapolis Times, Indianapolis, Marion County, 25 January 1941 — Page 9

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Give Light and the People Will Fing Their Own Way | . SATURDAY, JANUARY (25, 1941

I

DR. HUTCHINS AND THE “DRIFT TO WAR”

ITH savage candor, President | Hutchins of the Uni-

versity of Chicago has expose

= “holy war” toward which he suspe of leading America. : |] He is convinced that the President “is reconcied to active military intervention” if a to defeat the Axis. That is easier charged than proved, but certainly we are leaving neutrality farther and farther behind; and as Dr. Hutchins remarked, the phrase “short of war” is “ominously missing from the President's recent speeches.” Dr. Hutchins opposes American participation in the war. Not as an appeaser or a parifist, for he dencunces totalitarianism, and he does not i out of war just “to save our own skins.” On he contrary, he believes the Americans “are and should be présare to make sacrifices for humanity.” But, he declares, “we have a chance to help humanity if we do not go into this war,” whereas “if we do go into it, we have no chance at all.” Why? Because, he says, we are, “morally and intellectually unprepared to execute the mcral mission to which the President calls us.” [| And then he reviews some of the shortcomings of this democracy of ours—shortcomings [thai most of us find it convenient to forget in our enthusiasm for denouncing Hitler and Mussolini as the repositories of all that is undemocratic. Abuse of civil libert/es, ‘corruption in office, government by pressure groups, disfranchisement o millions; one-third of a nation ill-fed, ill-clothed, ill-hcused; the sharecroppers, the okies, the Negroes, the slum dwellers; nine million unemployed. | Even so, he concedes, we have. made some notable advances. But if we go to war “we cancel our gains” and “for a generation, perhaps for a h indred years, we shell not be able to struggle back to where . ware.” In short, Dr. Hutchins thinks 'we’d better police up our own morality, and our own democracy, and our own economy, before Wwe set out once again to reform a delinquent world. And so say we. he This newspaper is fully in favor of powerful eid to England—but short of war. And we think it is a healthy sign that the President’s recent soft-pedaling of that short-of-war proviso is evoking such thoughtful and courageous challenges as that by Dr. Hutchins.

ts President Roosevelt

CH

MURDER ON THE AIR |

F by any chance the waves of mundane radio penztrate to other-worldly ears, the shade of Stephen Collins Foster must be having some unhappy evenings. Mr. Foster, having written America’s best-] ved songs, died perniless some 77 years ago. He never heard of ASCAP, and his melodies, being in the public domain, are now geting a constant workout on the air. | That would be all right, and maybe an improvement, if only the “entertainers” wouldn't think it necessury to embellish Foster's works with modern touches of their own — “hot licks” that insult our egrs and the memory of a beloved composer. | | We're reminded of the woman who called police headquarters to report a horrible crime. ‘Where did it happen?” “asked the desk sergeant. “In a radio station,” replied the woman. ‘Some soprano just murdered Jeanie With the Light Brown Hair.” |

| LECTURE BY A GREAT CIVILIZER [FOREIGN MINISTER MATSUOKA of Japan, addressing the Diet the other day, lamented our unco-op:rative attitude toward “the establishment of a sphere of common prosperity throughout Greater East Asia,” and scolded us for our embargoes. He warned) that if we got mixed up in Europe’s war, and if Japan was then “compelled to participate,” the result might be “the downfall of modern civilization.” (His concern for| civilization, in the light of the recent history of China, is touciling,) And then he predicted thal a new world order will be accomplished under. the Three Power Pact—“if only time be given.” : Sure. If Germany and Italy wear down British seapower before the productive might of the British Empire and America can equalize the conflict; if the pulk of our Pacific Fleet has to be called|in for sentry duty on the Atlantic Coast; if in the meantime Japan can finish the eight giant battleships she is sjipposed to have on the ways —theh it may be that Japan| will impose her new order throughout the Orient, at least in| that part of the Orient which borders on blue water. | | But as long as England’s (fleet exists, and the bulk of our own Navy lies in Pearl Harr, and the noncommittal - Red bear crouches within springing distance of its ancient enemy, near-bankrupt Japan is in poor shape for further civilizing missions even in her own claimed sphere, let alone in Western waters. Fiogt : She may try something.- She may synchronize a thrust . at the Dutch East Indies with a German all-out attack on . England. But, like Italy in Egypt, she will be taking enormous risks. iad Admiral Nomura, one off Mr, Matsuoka’s predecessors in the Foreign Office, is now on his way from Japan to Washington, where he is to|/be Ambassador. | He will be welcome, as an old friend of America and an old personal friend of President Roosevelt, But if he brings nothing more interesting than stale threats based on spc:culative future circumstances he will serve no useful purpose.

AND HOW! | 1 A “THE world is tired,” announces Nicholas Murra;; Butler. This is. one-time agree, without reservation

olis Times

the futility of the.

“your life?

= THE INDIANAPOLIS TIMES . Now, There's a Timely Question!

Fair Enough By Westbrook Pegler

It Sure Is a Crazy World as This Sage of the Guy Who Tried to Put $1000 in the Bank Will Demonistrate

EW YORK, Jan. 25.—So this fellow—well, it seems that his wife -was driving along nonchalantly wher all of a sudden this truck made its gallant appearance and knocked her looping, and she Is certainly 48 years old, to give her all the best of it, - and eight kids already, but they have | a doctor friend who said wasn't it too bad, because now she could hever have another baby on account of the shock. So their lawyer took it up, and this day I am speaking about the truck company settled out of court, and here this fellow was with $1000 all in cash. He never had $1000 before, and naturally a fellow like that doesn’t go around tearing up money for fun, like a glamour boy, so his wife said he ! should take it down to the bank and open a savings account—like, you know, you used to do for a reiny day. || So that was how he happened to be in the bank this day, and of course he wasn’t the type to be hanging arourid banks all the time, so he didn’t know anything abou: their social ways but figured a bank tis where you (ake your money for storage when you get some. So he walked up to the window with the $1000 in his hind and started to say something when this monkey in the cage grabbed up his pistol and said, “get away from here with that money, you dirty rat, or I will iblow you through!” Well, so you can imagine his astonishment, because he didn’t know you are only allowed to put $500

, in a savings account every three months nowadays

and how strict they are zbout it, so he started to give the guy an argument in a polite way. | #8 = 2 HY,” h: says, “you dirty -monkey! How dast you talk that way to a customer, and if you don’t put that gun down I will report you.” But the guy in the cage kept the gun on him and said: “Get away from| here with that money, and one false mov: out of you and I will leave you have it, and no jesling, because it is a strict rule that you can’t deposit more than $500, and even then you have to get a letter from your Congressman and your district leader| and at lesst two respectable citizens.” So one word led to another, and this guy thought the monkey must be leaping, because he never heard of such a thing, and here he is with $1000 and they are treating him like a bum. So, like I say, he starts to give the raonkey an argument, so that dummy loses his head completely because it seems like these days the banks are terribly strict about taking any more money, because they have to hire watchmen to guard it at nizht, and this runs up their expenses. Well, finally, the pcor guy shoved the money through the window, and the dope with the pistol he lets one fly at|the ceiling to attract the guard's attention, and with: that, why, this fellow naturally gets scared and starts to run for the door with the $1000 in his hand. | And, of course, the guard over by the front door he doesn’t hear what is going on but only sees a fellow running out of the place with a lot of money in his hand, so you can just see how his mind worked, because he is an old-timer with old-fashioned ideas. [1 | 8 2 =» E didn’t $top to think maybe this guy was just trying to push money into the bank and was getting brushed off on account of the new rules. He just figured it! was a stickup, although, the way these banks act nowadays akout taking your money for deposit, you would think they would pay guys to back up a wagon and carry it away to relieve the congestion. | So, anyway, like I say, the guard outs with his gun, and in all the excitement he lets the guy have one in the leg, and down he goes and the cops come running and they hop |all over him and pound him like he was a round steak or something, until finally he comes to ii the hospital and his wife is there and they explain «ll. 11 So now he iis suing th2:bank for $200,000 for getting shot and false arrest and contusion and abrasions, and the bank is willing to settle for a crowd of dough,

because, after all, they are just lousy with all this

money, but I don’t know what he will do with it even if he gets it. [Because if he goes to try to put $100,000 or $200,000 in| a bank for a rainy day, why, this time they probably will use| 2 machine gun and shoot to kill, and, afte! all, what good is the money if you lose

I don’t knpw how to figure things these days, the world is so crazy.

Business By John TT. Flynn New Estimate of British

Billions Below Bank Board's Figures

EW YORK, Jan. |25.—Since Secretary Morgenthau told the country that Great Britain could scrape togetlier only [$1,775,000,000 to pay its bills this year, I have been trying to find some check on these figures. ! : “The British Empire had in the United States gold | or property that could be converted into dollars amounting to ~ $7,115,000,000 when the war started, Sept. 1, 1939. The figures in corrected form were printed in the January issue of the Federal Reserve Board's official bulletin two weeks ago. This consisted of gold, bank balgnces, securities and properties (plants, mines, oil wells, etc.) owned by. Britain and her dominions and colonies here. These assets were available to pay British bills in this country But in addition to this, Britain has sent a great deal pf gold into the United States since that time. According to the Reserve Board's official data it has totalleil $5,054,7617,000. Of course all this does not belong to Britain. Great sums fleposited :n Britain or shipped through her and Canada for opher foreign countries are included in this. How much of this huge gold shipment belonged to her rust be a guess. But certainly 20 per cent bf it was hers. That would be a billion dollars. This would meke the total of assets available here this las: year $8,115,000,000. With this sum Britain would have to pay not only for the war products she bought here but also for her peacetimiz purchases here. But she would have additional dcllar credits for this purpose. She would have also th¢ sums dug her -in this country on those things bought from her. : i ” ” ” EFORE w: can determine how much Britain had to pay us this year, we have to find out how much she owed us bn her war and peacetime purchases and how much we owed her. She would owe us merely the differenc:. The final figures on this are not yet available. Blt there is excellent ground for assuming that the balance against her to be paid in dollars did not exceed $1,500,000,000. I have adopted a figure larger than any estimate I have seen. In other words, out of the $8,115,000,000 which we have estimated she had, she was obliged to pay out in dollars t¢ us $1,500,000,000. This must be subtracted from the $8,115,000,000. On this basis there would be roughly $6,600,000,000 of assets—gold, stocks, bonds, planti, oil properties, mines, etc.—which can be converted! into dollers. But the Secretary says there is only $1,775,000,000. This figure Jie got from a British Treasury official. If this is so, what beceme of all the billions listed by the Reserve Board? Was someone kidding the Reserve Board! Was it handing out phony figures? Or is the FEritish government handing out phony figures? | ge ought to demand a clear check on all 4 . § |

up to now.

So They Say—

NOTHING: isl impracticable which the world’s intelligence, the world’s courage, and the world's idealism are united to undertake.—Nicholas Murray Butler, ; president Columbia University. ;

Assets |

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er

SATURDAY, JAN. 25, 1941

a

The Hoosier Forum

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

DEFENDING WOMEN’S RIGHT TO SMOKE By Another Vagabond . For the information of the little

mirror for a trace of lady nicotine’s mark of the “hound dog” on the countenance, I would love to advise her that I live in a small hamlet that boasts most highly of this canine tribe and really ‘they are most attractive, much more, I should say than the old fox who hasn’t the sporting blood in him to hunt something closer to the neighborhood of his own business to gripe about. It isn’t unlawful for ladies to smoke, so what? The Forum is deviating from clean criticism to a gripers’ column.

DEMANDING THE REPEAL OF STATE'S FOSSILIZED LAWS

By C. Stevens, Rushville, Ind.

There are at least two fossilized laws which should be relegated to the junk pile of discarded absurdities in Indiana. Although hard liquor is for sale all over the state it seems the law makes it practically impossible to buy ethel alcohol locally for legitimate purposes. It . seems that drugstores do not sell it and doctors are handicapped without it. Next to water, alcohol is the best solvent known, yet it seems chemists are supposed to get along without. it. It seems also, that one can hardly transact any business with the state without appearing before a public notary. And how long will it be before we find out which state official has authority to do what? Is the state government to be torn to pieces and rendered impotent for two or three months after every election until the courts find out the prerogatives of the Governor and other officaials. In this country state officials are quite generally either appointed or elected. How about an amendment to the state Constitution saying specifically which state officials are appointive and which elective?

» s 2 FINDS THERE'S A METHOD IN HITLER'S MADNESS By Claude Braddick, Kokomo, Ind,

Not long ago someone remarked in these columns that Hitler was certainly showing “wonderful pa-

| tience and self-restraint” in not de-

claring war on the United States for her numerous unneutral acts.

lady who so nobly searched in her|.

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

Would you call that “patience and self-restraint,” or just good judgment? There is method in Hitler's madness. It flares into fanatical fury at opportune times and against designated nations which possess something he wants or perhaps only stand in his way. But behind that fanatical fury is cold calculation. From his own acts and expressed philosophy I should say he will make war on the United States if and when it suits his purpose to do so, with or without provocation on our part. What other conclusion is possible? Our obvious course, then, is to build up our own defenses so that Hitler will find it increasingly advisable to exercise “patience” toward us, and meanwhile help England keep him engaged in Europe. Wanton insults and expressions of animosity in high places are of course inexcusable, but we cannot ailow a slavish regard for international amenities to defeat our purpose when Hitler has already broken such amenities in a thousand fragments.

” ” ” A PLEA FOR KEEPING OUR RICHES AT HOME By Walker Hull, Freetown, Ind. I have been reading about a play called “Riches and Rags.” Now it seems to me that this play is based on reality as we have both riches and rags. We have one class of people far in minority who have the riches and we have another class consisting of millions who have the rags. Some of our rich when they get so much I eee a burden and they give millions of dollars to foreign nations and pay no attention to those millions who have the rags. When a man is past work age, which usually is 40, he is turned out to go without a job or an opportunity to support himself or his family, nothing to pay house rent

or grocery bills, buy clothes with or

Side Glances=By Galbraith

pay fuel bills so right here in the day of starvation in a land of plenty he is started on the road to possession of rags. If our billions of dollars that have been spent in foreign countries had been kept here and used to help our ‘needy people, business conditions would -have been far better than they have been and we would have all had more riches-and less rags. So do away with rags, keep our riches at home and have better economic conditions. » » » CHARGES BRITISH THINK ONLY OF THEMSELVES By Lester Gaylor On Dec. 15th, last, Britain defaulted on her World War debt to us, amounting to $5,651,892,208! The Roosevelt « Willkie = Hopkins = Lord Beaverbrooks would have us turn our national treasury pocketbooks wrong side out to help the worst crew of exploiters the world has ever known! This despite Britain’s world-wide empire that touches and feeds like a parasite on every part of the world! Since when have the Redcoats called in a session of their cabinet to advocate emergency help of billions of dollars to we Americans? In what European fracas have the British packed up their “home defense” and sent it away from their hame shores to help protect any one else? Remember Belgium in the last war and France in the present war? No, Britain is coldly logical, and thinks first and last in terms of Britain. There can. be no greater unAmericanism than the un-Ammer-icanism of robbing our people of their own home defenses which they pay for and construct’ in order to help a viciously corrupt war-aggres-sor empire. I do not hesitate to question such vicious reasoning whether it comes from the White House or from a former Rushville, Ind., political candidate! | #2 8 = FIRING A BLAST AT THE NIGHT PARKERS

By “Bud”

We don’t need new laws. What we need is the old ones enforced. Take no night parking on streets. The people across the street park in front of my house. The man next door comes home, some one had parked in front of his house. So he parks next door. And so on. By the time the man in the middle of the block gets home, he parks his car in front of someone else’s house about half block down street. People have garages but they are too lazy to put the car up. Talk about “safety” with cars parked all night on both sides of the street, and without lights. What sort of “safety” do you call that? It's the cause of many wrecks. And in case of fire the firemen couldn't get within a block of a house. They park mostly on heavy traveled streets which makes it worse. How about this, Safety Board, Police or whatever department it belongs? At least make people park all night in front of their own houses, if they have to park—and with lights. Yours for safety.

GREATER THE GAIN By ELEEZA HADIAN I thank Thee, Lord, for the winter's Ice-sharp fury, unleashed, to make The miracle of spring More glorious, triumphant to wake.

I thank Thee, Lord, for merciless, Unrelenting workshop of night That releases renovated day to me; For rain that laves the sunlight Clean, from mist and grit of land.

I thank Thee, Lord, for pain : That comes to restore faith to me; And for anguish that Terminates, into eternity!

DAILY THOUGHT

Repent ye therefore, and be con= verted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from 4

Gen. Johnson Says—="

Paying a Tribute to the House Committee for the Handling of Witnesses on the Lease-Lend Bill

ASHINGTON, Jan, 25.—This column is written in the shadow of a deadline and at the fag end of an unsought appearance before the great House Ways and Means Committee on the Lease Lend Bill. It isn’t going to be pretty good. As M Dorothy Thompson says, a columnist who pontificates daily has no business taking up the time of a vital Congressional committee on a critical bill to repeat opinions that he has been broadcasting for years and as often as the patience of his cuse tomers permits. I tried to escape on that ground, but the Chairman, . Rep. Sol Bloom, who doesn’t agree with me on this bill, insisted. He said he wanted all points of view and it was plain that there was some obligation of sportsmanship to submit to cross-examination by proponents of the bill, who are in an obvious majority of the committee, It has been my fate to appear before a good many of these congressional inquisitions. It puts you in the spot and I always get jittery, but I have never been treated with more kindly courtesy or earnest sincerity and intelligence by any committee.

HIS isn’t said in any mutual back-scratching. The whole incident is a matter of national importance. The way. that bill, which turns a great part of the war powers of Congress over to the executive, was sent down from the Treasury was reminiscent of the old bum’s-rush “must” legislation of 1933. The way this committee is handling it is reminiscent of nothing but the best and finest traditions of constitutional American debate. The witness who preceded me was Col. Lindbergh, and I have never seen a better witness anywhere. In view of the perfectly obscene panning that this clear eyed and courageous American hero has received on his obviously sincere views of neutrality and American defense, there was a considerable crowd there that expected to see an exhibition of political witche burning and Iroquois, gantlet-running with Lindy’'s bruised and mutilated remains at the end of it. He was treated with the utmost respect. There were some very few police court lawyer's efforts to crowd him into corners, confuse his testimony and put him in bed with Hitler. They were frowned upon by Sol Bloom, but it wasn't necessary. Lindy can take care of himself in any company. He came out of that inquisition with nothing but honors and almost unanimous approval—if not for all his opinions, -then surely for his courage, sincerity and patriotism.

THINK the bill is dangerous to the point of ine iquity but according to all present signs it is going to pass without important amendment. It is going to pass because of the overwhelming sentiment for keeping out of war and for aid to Britain so far as it will serve to keep us out of war, has been used | to navigate to passage a bill which has been suc-

| cessfully ballyhooed as a measure which will accom=

plish these aims, without sufficient clarification of the fact that it frustrates them. It is a tragedy, but that obscuration certainly cane not be laid to any conduct of the Ways and Means Committee of the House of Representatives, which has invited and given full‘ opportunity for full and free debate. It is due to the best organized and best financed propaganda of our time, and the divided opinion and disorganization of the opposition. Whatever happens, we shall muddle through and, after this demonstration of the fidelity of at least this committee to American forms, I am encouraged to believe that we shall do so without too much loss of what we are all trying to save.

A Woman's Viewpoint By Mrs. Walter Ferguson

“y DON'T suppose he would ever even dimly suspect it,” writes a Houston reader, “but Joe, rotund and genial black boy who presides over the dining end of a modern streamliner plying daily between northy and south Texas, is doing more to ‘defend’ democracy than a dozen platoons of armed and belted soldiers. “His superb manner of hane dling crowds, of launching stranger and friend alike, appears to me to spread the very gospel of brother= hood

“The basis of democracy, as opposed to Hitlerism or Fascism, is voluntary fellowship and friendly relations between all classes and divisions of society; and this somehow, aided by fine food, dispensed in a masterly style, creates a general feeling of good will and makes those whom we call our servants the best democrats of all. So I say, ‘A salute to Joe, defender of democracy.’ ”» Knowing many others of his occupation and kind, I am sure Joe deserves this praise. After all, who are the true champions of the Amer« ican way of life? Certainly not the high and mighty in their ermined splendor; not the armed and belted soldiers who use their uniforms to domineer others; not the fine ladies who sign checks for charity and treat their social inferiors with haughty disdain; not the captains of industry who think more of their corporations than they do of the workers who sustain them; not the union leaders who sacrifice the individual to power for ‘the group; not the politicians who profess to love their country, yet do not love if enough

| to forfeit their jobs to speak the truth as they see it;

not the writers who, in order to be popular, move willingly with the majority and so increase the dangers of thoughtlessness and ignorance to which we are ever exposed. | In truth, are not some of these people Fascists at heart? How much do they sacrifice for Freedom? How much friendliness and good cheer do they dise pense? What service do they render to others? Like my Houston friend, I feel that we fail to give enough praise to men like Joe, who merely by living and serving in a humble capacity may, after all, be the best defenders of democracy.

Questions and Answers

(The (indianapolis Times Service Bureau will answer any question of fact or information, not involving extensive ree search. Write vour questions clearly, sign name and address, inclose a three-cent postage stamp. Medical or legal advice - cannot be given. Address The Times Washington Service Bureau. 1013 Thirteenth St. Washington. D. C.). Q—Which are more costly, round cut or emerald cut diamonds? ; SR A—Emerald cut diamonds are more costly than round cut of equal weight and color. : Q—What is a letter of marque and reprisal? A—Originally it was a letter granted by a sove ereign authorizing a subject to seize the subjects of a foreign state, or their goods, by way of retaliation or . reprisal for injuries; later, specifically, a license or extraordinary co granted by a government to a private person to fit out an armed vessel to cruise as a privateer or corsair at sea and made prize of the enemy's ships and merchandise. Letters of marque and reprisal were abolished by the Declaration of

Paris | In 1856. i ; ow much is spent annually for public educae tion in the United States? - GL pT ANAS ns A—According to the last biennial survey of tion by the United States Office of Education 38), the amount was $3,014,074 .063, usive of