Indianapolis Times, Indianapolis, Marion County, 13 May 1941 — Page 12

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The Indianapolis Times

(A SCRIPPS-HOWARD NEWSPAPER) ROY W. HOWARD RALPH BURKHOLDER MARK FERREE President Editor Business Manager

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Give Light and the People Will Fina Ther Own Way

TUESDAY, MAY 13, 1941

ONE FOR THE BOOKS

HO'S crazy now? : Rudolph Hess, Hitler's deputy and closest friend, was “a victim of mental illusions” and apparently an airplane suicide, the German government announced. The British Government replied quickly that the dep-uty-fuehrer had parachuted to safety in Scotland, armed only with photographs to prove his identity. Maybe vou can parse that one. We can't. How do they diagnose “mental illusions” in a land where the impossible is the probable? When other friends have been purged because they knew too much, would it be an illusion for the closest friend of all to see the Gestapo murderers closing in on him? And what meaning have the words “sane” and “insane” when applied to terrorists such as Hess, Goering, Goebbels, Himmler and the master, Hitler, who climbed to power over the corpses of their countrymen and climb on and on over slaughtered races and nations? Certainly they are not “insane,” in the sense that the world so glibly dismissed these Nazi leaders when they first emerged on the German scene. Yet they are mot “sane,” if sanity implies anything of honor or humanity. However the psychologists describe him, the man who lives by terror often succumbs to terror. He breaks under the burden of his own fear, or he is rubbed out by another terrorist—which is cold consolation for his victims. Whether Hess has turned traitor or patriot, whether he is coward or hero, whether he has escaped or is attempting a colossal trick, we do not know. But millions who curse the evil which is Naziism can hope that, in this fantastic incident, there is evidence that forces of retributive justice are at work among the founders of that brutal regime.

WHY THE SECRECY? F the new Marion County Liquor Board deliberately had sought to make all its information suspect, it could hardly hit upon a better device than that of keeping its deliberations secret. What action, or actions, did the Board take at its meeting vesterday that it is unwilling to have the public know about?

DRAFT-AGE CHANGES

NEARLY 60 per cent of the men thus far inducted into the Army under the Selective Service Act were between the ages of 21 and 25 inclusive. Another 26 per cent were in the 26-30 age group. Only about 11 per cent were 31 or older. These statistics lend support to the request by Brig. Gen. Hershey, deputy-director of the draft, that Congress amend the act to permit deferment of men by age groups. Under this proposal, the President could order draft boards to defer all registrants past a certain age—say 31, or 26— | hut they would remain liable to call for training and service | if conditions should change. The Army prefers younger men, finding them more adaptable and more easily trained for high-speed, mechanized warfare. Men in the higher age groups are more likely to be married, to have dependents, to be established in defense industries, and less likely to be useful for military service throughout the 10-year period in the Reserve. They create most of the problems for the draft boards. Those are some of the arguments, and they seem logical. Anyway, we're glad Gen. Hershey has put this matter up to Congress, instead of trying to handle it by issuing regulations. We believe, when the draft law was adopted, that a wide age range was desirable to spread the burden of compulsory military service over a very large number of men. But this question, like other proposals for draft changes, is certainly debatable in the light of experience, and Congress is the proper body to debate it.

OUR BELIEVER BALKS T requires effort, but we can believe most of the things that are said to be happening these days. We can believe that a draft questionnaire has been sent to U. S. Flagg of Fostoria, 0. (And that Captain A. Hero TIT and Ensign Strong Boozer are already in the armed forces.) We can believe that the Republic of ‘Colombia is about to turn down a United States offer of a $6,000,000 loan (because, according to the Minister of Finance, ‘Colombia's plans require much more.) : We can believe the Treasury's announcement that money in circulation now amounts to $68.39 for each man, woman and child in this country (though we don’t know where our share is.) But this story that 14-vear-old Paul Bauer of North Bellmore, N. Y., washed his neck so vigorously that he sprained it, and had to be taken to a hospital—this is just a little too much for our believing apparatus.

'TAINT RIGHT

NATURAL substance extracted from mushrooms has reduced high blood pressure in 95 per cent of the patients on whom it has been tried, reports Dr. H. A. Schroeder of the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research. However, it's no good if eaten, but must be put directly into the bloodstream through a vein, Just one more proof that this is an imperfect world. If things were properly arranged, extract of spinach is what would be injected to do whatever good it's supposed to do, while mushrooms for high blood pressure would be

taken broiled in butter and spread thickly on porterhouse steak. 2

Fair Enough

‘By Westbrook Pegler

Chief Defect of the Wagner Act Is That Under Certain Conditions Men Must Join Unions to Hold Jobs.

EW YORK, May 13.—A vast volume of wordage has been produced in print and in Congress on the question of union organization, sometimes inaccurately described as labor's gains, and, in the excitement, most ‘of us have lost sight of the fact that subject dates back before the beginning of the war and is not confined to the problem of national defense. It is terribly true that some professional unioneers have impeded the war program, and we know that the damage done in this field has been minimized and misrepresented lest the whole people of the country lose patience with the Ad-

ministration for shielding these |

saboteurs. We know that to say so-and-so many man-hours have been lost may be to conceal the extent of the damage, because if the man-hours are lost in a key operation they will

later cause a pile-up in other operations and that the |

man-hours lost then will multiply by 10. These pro-

testations are so plainly political and so transparently | false that they shake faith because a Government which asks the people to go all-out for defense or | war is not honest with the whole people when it excuses and minimizes wrongs done by the agents of a |

special element. » » ”

RESIDENT ROOSEVELT is supposed to be Presi-

dent of and for the whole United States, not | merely President ‘of the United States for the A. F. of | L. and the C. 1. O, and, in this emergency, the labor | unions have no more right to block preparations for |

defense or war than Bethlehem Steel. But the wrong existed before the war, the wrong is written into the Wagner Act, which some emotionalist called labor’s Magna Charta, and it would still

exist even if the Wagner Act were totally repealed. | The fundamental wrong lies in the compulsion to join |

a union. No private organization should be permitted to compel American citizens to join its ranks, even though it be a perfectly democratic and honest union. Before the Wagner Act, however, that compulsion was informal and illegal. It rarely was invoked or redressed but, nevertheless, it was illegal according to the laws on the books, but the Wagner Act legalized it, the labor board has helped enforce the compulsion, and the Supreme Court has given this compulsion amounting to an amplifying law. So we find, and must accept as a fact of life in the republic, daily infringing the rights of people who think that they are free, a legal requirement that American citizens, under certain conditions, must join private organizations as a condition of their right to earn a living. Wrong though it be, that is the law of the land today. » ” 5 TUT we also find that these private organizations are subject to none of the supervision and restraint that govern other private groups. Only the

religious bodies enjoy equal immunities, but the peo-'

ple are not compelled to join any church. However, a religious man can be compelled to join an organization whose objectives might include the aholition of religion and to contribute of his earnings for that purpose. The Wagner Act does not provide for scrutiny of the constitutions of unions by any Government agency and the constitutions of the musicians, one of the biggest in the nation, permits the president to suspend the document and rule entirely by ear at any time. He can substitute other provisions at will, and he could today insert a provision in favor of atheism and still ever Protestant, Catholic and Jew among the thousands who constitute a great portion of the membership would face the economic death penalty in disassociating himself from an organization hostile to their faith. These are not all the wrongs against free men which the American Government mulishly refuses even to discuss, much less admit to redress, at a time

when all the people are called upon and ‘most of them |

pervently desire to be united in an all-out ‘effort to arm for defense or war. They are the more dramatic and tragic in time of peril, but they would be fundamentally wrong at any time.

Business By John T. Flynn

Those 31/4, Billions in Extra Taxes Not Temporary, but likely to Stay

EW YORK, May 13.—There can be little doubt of the effect produced upon the minds ‘of many people by the very grim facts contained in the new tax proposals. The $3.500,000,000 to be added to existing taxes is a considerable sum of money. But, after all, these biils have to be paid. And the people have no right to grumble about them. The only alternative is to borrow the money, “and that ‘would be more costly to the people in the end. And this is the point t6 which these observations lead. Taxpayers look upon this $3,500,000,000 of taxes now as & sort of emergency measure—something they will ‘pay for a short period while this crisis is in progress, but with which they will not be burdened when the ‘crisis passes. They must revise their thinking ‘on this. They must remember that we now have a vast ‘debt and that, according to Jesse Jones, the ‘debt will be 90 billions when we are done with the present program. That, of course, is based upon our not going into the war. Tf we g0 into the war no ‘man ‘can say what the debt will be. My own guess is that it will be not less than 150 billions. Certainly it will be over 100 billions. Now we will have to pay interest on the ‘debt. That interest, ‘on 100 billions, will approach this very sum of $3,500,000,000 a year. And it will not be a mere emergency ‘charge. It will be a long-time ‘charge—

practically a permanent part of the yearly cost of |

operating the Government.

u un n

I the debt goes over a hundred killion, the yearly | continuing interest charge will be still greater. The | only honest way to get rid of it will be to pay the And we are not apt to do that, since we have | Tt |

debt. paid only a ‘part ‘of the ‘debt for the last ‘war. will ‘be many & long year before we get around to paying any part of the debts for this present war. Another way of getting rid of this ‘debt would be to devalue the ‘dollar. The ‘debt will be due in dollars. Tf ‘we wili reduce the ‘dollar ‘to 50 ‘cents, or 25 cents, we will owe a hundred billion 50-cent or 20cent ‘dollars instead ‘of that ‘many 100-cent dollars. And that is the thing so many people are concerned about. “Whether this will come about will depend on how far upward we push this ‘debt. And the only way to prevent it is to pay the bills as they are incurred, ne matter how onerous they are, and not add to the debt. Tt is a case of protecting our society, itself, from the impact of the war costs. Tt is not a ‘case of penalizing anyone. ‘Congress is now ‘considering where the tax load shall be put, whether emphasis shall be ‘on the upper brackets or the lower ones. The truth is that the taxes should be spread as heavily as possible on all brackets—-not to punish anyone, not to ‘take away

war profits merely, because no one can identify war

profits, but to the greatest extent possible, to pay the commitments of the ‘Government as we go along. We will all ‘be far better off in the end if we do that, though it will be very unpleasant now,

So They Say—

NO AVERY WORSE mid: thie You is at stake for Tabor present world crisis. thing is at stake —Sidney Hillman, OPM

FRANCE 10st out, because her morale degenerated. in ls being attacked now.Dr. Fred

‘what y=

z A » THE INDIANAPOLIS TIMES

TUESDAY, MAY 13, 1941

Sending Forth Another Dove

{that trading will be ‘done as has always been done. If the buyer

|identifying ‘ourselves with British |

RN |

» | 4 | |

The Hoosier Forum

1 wholly disagree with what you say, bul will defend to the death your right to say tt.—Voltaire. |

TERMS ISOLATIONIST STAND AS UNREASONABLE By Claude Braddick, Xokomo, Ind. Seems to me the Isolationists are a bit unreasonable in ‘expecting us to stay out of this war. We stayed out of the League of Nations, didn't we? And the World Court? Do

THINKS ‘COPPERHEAD’ MILD FOR LINDBERGH By R. J. Brown, 424 N. Delaware St. In answer to B. C.s letter summing it all in one regarding Lindbergh when he sought shelter under the Union Jack, then came back and condemned Britain after receiving ‘decoration from Germany and knew they were preparing for | the Tsolationists expect to win all

war, why didn't he say so then. TI] fig ; BD Xx y point ‘where he could do any trad- | the time?

guess Winchell was right in my, . i \ ka. fio opinion. I brand him worse than a ing. They ust Simply bide their vim. Copperhead. He was nobody till| Our real threat “in the economics” This war won't last forever, you England and France made him and jc pot Hitler but Stalin. We've been KNOW. And when it ends an at-

: | in ‘my ‘estimation he isn't worth the | : : : . fils tempt is sure to be made toward | 4 { ss1an, nate Of his BHCEStOrs. Perhaps | Overlooking this enigmatic Russia

; creating an international ‘organizaothers are putting in his mouth to Principally because communism

tion of some kind ‘designed to prospeak and getting publicity which stands for something hateful to us. ‘mote peace by submitting disputes he shuns. , . So we ‘don't ‘even try to find out

(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.)

| ‘munity. - {

. to arbitration instead of shooting. 80 Mr. B. C., don't forget the nat the ‘Communists are ‘ip to. | Then our TJIsolationists will have Atlantic was crossed before Lind- |

. . snd their day again. Nothing will in- | berg, by Alcock and Brown in 1919 | But I've done a little digging and | quce the United States to take any | Both are ‘dead now. So please, B. quote the following for “interven- part in a sissy set-up like that. But C., get ‘out and learn something in |tionists” to think about. boy, wait till they start another | Says J. Miller, who was in Mos- |

this world before writing or talking war. Just try and keep us out of | cow from 1936 to 1937 on a travel- |

» » ”

J OLATMS STALIN, NOT HITLER, or won a conference. The truth is. |

REAL THREAT TO U. S. [it is next to im i r . eg b RR ; possible to get the (capital ‘development and improve: wy. ...q States into a Conforence—

By Mrs. R. G. Levan, East Chicago . . | ency in the U.S. That line of ‘mine which Mr. Pion Ol x i term plans for or keep her ‘out of a war, Our polBraddick quotes— “we may be sure exploiting its vast natural resources, ICV In this is well established by it lave such as to make it not an un- history. We remain stgictly aloof reasonable prediction that within | from all European entanglements— needs the goods badly enough, he'll the next generation the Soviet | except the fighting. come a with the Sellers | Union will be ‘as powerful, indus-| ww = does mot ‘make the “isolationist” |trjally, as the rest of the world put view inconsistent. together. This is on the assumption UPHOLDING F. D. R.'S T've ‘dorie a lot ‘more reading since that future capitalist production RIGHT TO CRITICIZE writing that and still fina no peaks ie Tether ng Toy lower By Harlan exch, R. 1, Jonesboro, Tra. levin ’s th «|b an 8 one, whic 1tsell | ’ % a EE Ta, oenmae [babel exceeded the’ previous 1030|, TUt Plainly evident that ‘The revolt against British capitalism or peek, despite re-armament.” | Times 1s an all-out Roosevelt hater, imperialism. And so far as we are for producing the goods of comimperialism, against U. S. ‘capital- ‘merce, ‘their scientific ‘efficiency, ism, too. | absence ‘of strikes, absence of bottle- | ; Incidentally, T think we so-callad necks and complete integration of Now in answer to Gaylor's “Let's | isolationists have a right to object production and distribution, the Sees” any honest-minded gin to the Roa fastened on the hii ba may not find it easy sould easily think up some “Let's word. e don't object to taking | to compete. | ; our place among the nations an | And he Soviets will be ready to SS he his SAI For example: | assuming our share of responsibility sell outside the U. 8. S. R. after| Let's see, doesn't the person who | for the ‘conduct of the world's this war. Tf we go to war and wreck referred to Lindbergh (and rightly) | affairs. IT. is only that we insist our own internal economy, it is Not as a “Coppe. head” have a right also | on ‘doing it with intelligence and we Who Will be setting the terms, to express his opinion, and hasn't | not through a maudlin sentimental- but Stalin. y he ‘taken slams from such people | ity for preserving a dying aristoc-| Hitler is little danger to us either for ages, without a word? racy in the “right” it assumes to militarily ‘or ‘economically. And| Let's see, isn't Roosevelt our duly rule and dominate. Stalin will not be only if we can elected President, at least it seems | I still feel that Hitler can hold keep our heads and stay out of this the majority vote has gone his way, | no ‘economic threat for us even if ‘mess to streamiine our Own €CON- even for the third time. Even if & | he wins. Exhausted by war, it omy to meet his threat. By the Myr, Gaylor sees fit to term him a | wotlld take him a generation at the way, the Russians have been se- | ‘gyy» “chap,” “fellow,” ‘ete. all in | very least to reorganize Buropean verely isolationist for the last 22 one brief item, there are millions | economy and get production to the years too. who prefer not to so talk-down to |

Thursday's Forum.

Let's see, doesn't it take quite a | little nerve to rake the ‘coals about |

him through the press—at the same Side Glances=By Galbraith

time ‘calling him a dictator. |

the 1982 Democratic platform? | | Especially in view of the fact that | Republicans joined Democrats in| 1936 to give him 46 states and put | Maine and Vermont in a comic an- | gle ‘of light? Ts Mr. ‘Gaylor ¢erying | about any Democratic platform be- | ing ‘deserted, and what does he mean by “promise of booze’? There, | ‘again, ‘Gaylor is asleep. I believe | |a repeal referendum went out to the people, in the democratic manner, and the people, including LT. Gaylor, were permitted to answer yes or ne. The Times and all the other Roosevelt-hating papers can go on and throw mud all they Tike. They can put a halo around the head of Mechanic Lindbergh and keep scowling ‘Gen. Johnson in the top Jorner, all they want to . . If all Tn. ‘Gaylors in the U. 8. would close their childis fault- | finding we would be a ‘more unified | America.

IN TRIBUTE By DANVEL B. STRALEY

May tie joys of childhood That never grow old In the garden of memory As petals unfold, And may they in fullness As fondly they cling A sweet benediction

To motherhood bring.

DAILY THOUGHT

The fear of the Lord prolongeth days: but the years of

Pe shall be shortened. — "Maybe you did work for two — & week when you were my 10:27. age, boss, but that's probably because you weren't ae N FEAR HAS many Ooi, ad efficient as | am." | vantes. Byes 1

Pha

Considering their non-profit basis as is Mr. L. ‘Gaylor, for 10! ‘Gaylor’s | | spitfire article leads the pack in | ®

| manent literature;

Gen. Johnson Says— |

Proposed $100 Levy on Motor Cars Recalls John . Marshall's Warning: Power to Tax Is Power to Destroy

T goes without saying that we are going to be taxed as never before, That is- a matter of necessity. We are doing it to save our system. But there is another principle at the other horn of this dilemma. Chief Justice John "Marshall stated it: “The power to tax involves the power to destroy.” Instead of saving, taxes could destroy us. War isn't the principal business of the United States as it was formerly said to be of Prussia, Industry, commerce and agriculture are what sustain us. Any tax that bears evenly on all maintains pretty well the power of each to exchange goods with the other, no matter how high the tax rate goes, But to the precise extent that you burden one out of proportion to the others, ycu depress the pur= chasing power of that one and drag down to some

| ‘degree the whole structure. You may also tax out

of us a necessity of life. It is now proposed to put a flat 20 per cent excise tax on the sale of every automobile—new or used—or a flat $100 turn-over tax every time a motorcar, changes hands. The effect of an such nonsensical arbitrary action can scarcely be imagined. Whether for good or ill, this nation is on wheels. It has changed the whole face of our country-side. : ” n n CAN remember in the implement business when it used to be said that a farmer would not go further than seven miles for repairs. Now he thinks nothing of going 40. That change dried up the little cross-roads general-purpose store, It wiped thousands of hamlets off the map. Tt made miniature metropolises out of better towns. It substituted real departmentalized schools for the litile red district shack. Tt brought movies and much better merchandizing and entertainment to the whole come

In the larger cities, it enabled workers of all classes to move far out in the suburbs where their children could get air and sunshine. Tt made it easy to locate great factories far from congested slums and generally brightened the whole outlook of American life, Many things were responsible for that but one

| stands out like a harvest moor. Tt was a reduction

of about 20 per cent or $100 from the price of the lower-cost cars. That was done over a long period by ‘executive genius and painful experiment and loss. The change that it wrought in our living was alse a long process—reorienting the map of the United States and the habits of our people. Tt seems that it ‘can mow all be undone in 60 seconds by a single

| Federal fiat.

Well, maybe the law can be changed that easily but the condition which the law assaults can't be changed without a long, long period of discomfort and ‘even disaster to many people.

” un un

HIS is not a tax for revenue. Tt is said that )

this method is to be used to reduce the use of cars to speed up production of armament hy greater use of automobile ‘facilities. Well, there are many other and more ingenious things that can be done with ne such disruptive effects to produce that result, If some of these great thinkers and planners hadn't been asleep at the job for so many months and years, they wouldn't have now to awake with a start and pull some such monstrosity as this to make up for their ‘own drowsiness, \ Furthermore, regardless of that time lost, among the many other means available to reach these ends, it is up to them to use a little of the ability for which they were put in their jobs te select other equally effective and less explosive means instead of reaching for the first and easiest lever regardless of the harm it does to the less well-to=do among our people. One hundred extra dollars on the price of a new ‘or used ‘car isn't going to put the rich man te paddling the streets but te the guy who gets less than $2000 a year and is already paying 20 per cent in hidden taxes, $100 more for an automobile is a minor tragedy,

A Woman's Viewpoint By Mrs. Walter Ferguson

WwW Deanna Durbin got her marriage license she said it was her first and would be her last. We sincerely hope so, Deanna. We hope it because you represent something clean and sweet to other American girls. Your radiant face on the screen symbolizes the guilelessness and goodness the public always loves; your voice carries something more moving than music the harmony of innocence. We hope it, also, because Wwe want you to be happy and we be« lieve that the young people of Hollywood and the United States are in danger of losing the Tors mula. They have been misled by those who were blind to life's real values; ‘they were fooled inte thinking that it is better for a girl to have many temporary loves than ‘ome permanent one, That simply isn't true, The desire for love that will last “until death dq» us part” is implanted deeply in every heart. We sing of it in ballads Which have become immortal; wa write of it in books that remain a part of our pers and although fashions in love making change, and codes of conduct are Mot the same in ‘every generation, the dream of true 10ve never has faded and never will fade from mortal minds. That's why the ‘current fashion of multiple mare riage ‘can never satisfy men and women. No matter how ‘eagerly they seek lave, it will continue to elude them until they are Willing to concede that whag they really want is something that is allied to Eterne ity. This feeling, which religionists often call a yearns ing for God, is the chief quality that lifts us above barnyard animals. Tt is the perpetual mortal quest, And mo matter how Tar our feet may stray from monogamy, we must maintain it as our standard or be lost in a maze of dissatisfaction and evil. The young people of our country suffer from a great disillusion about love. Young women of your

position, Deanna, can do a gieat deal to re-establish 4

their faith in the kind of union that endures through tribulation as well as prosperity. We may not be aware of it, but the soul of our people is sick for mairiages that are made in Heaven instead of in Hollywood.

Editor's Note: The views SxHrewwedl by whtamhives in thip newspaper are their owh. They ate hot wecessarilly thowe of The Tnéianabolis Times

Questions and Answers -

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Q=What causes wind? A=Wind is air inh motion resulting from differences in atmospheric pressure by which air is forced to move from a Place of high barometric pressure to a place of lower pressure. The velocity varies with the altitude above sea level. It is greater over the sea than over the land and increases very rapidly with altitude for a few hundied feet and then more slowly, Q=What time is high noon? A=Piecisely noon==12 o'clock in the daytime, Orig» inally the word noon denoted the ninth hour of the daytime, that is, 3 p. m., but this use is NOW obsolete, Q==Is it possible to get a duplicate of my deceased hushand's naturalization papers which were lost afte his death? I must have them © prove that I am a citizen. A=You cannot get a copy of your husband's

but yo apply at the or Unies Bates Dis,