Indianapolis Times, Indianapolis, Marion County, 16 September 1941 — Page 12

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Give Light and the People ‘wi ns Their Own Way

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 1941

BOTH ENDS CoN SIDER the coal:strike stories that came in one day from the two ends of Pennsylvania. ; In Western Pennsylvania, and in five other states, the C. I 0. United Mine Workers called out 40,000 men, shutting down many “captive mines”’—those owned by steel -and other companies, some of which have national-defense ~ contracts—in an effort to obtain closed-shop contracts, : In Eastern Pennsylvania 22,000 other men were idle ‘and many anthracite mines were shut down because of a strike in protest against increased dues and assessments levied on its members by the same union under closed-shop * contracts. :

“PROTECTING PURCHASING”

AMERICAN industry is suffering from a chronic ailment which the Cleveland Trust Co.’s business bulletin calls “protective purchasing.” ! “Hoarding” is a shorter, uglier and more accurate name ~ for it. ty It, develops from fear of shortages and higher prices— : and it ‘makes shortages and higher prices inevitable. When { women. stormed the stocking counters, that was “protective : purchasing. ” In the same way, the Cleveland bank points : (out, defense industries and non-defense ‘industries alike 4 have been buying stocks of materials far beyond their im{mediate needs. Government departments have done it, too. i In each case the incentive is fear that materials will be { harder to get; and more costly, later on.’ ; Manufacturers’ inventories are higher than ever before. : Their raw-materials stocks are up about 20 per cent from ¢ :& year ago. But their stocks of “goods in process of manu“facture” are up 50 per cent. This suggests that large quantities of raw materials have been put through one or two processes of manufacture—enough to make them un“usable for any other purpose—then laid aside in idleness. “This,” says the Cleveland bank; “is one of the reasons why our economy has been sopping up huge volumes of “materials, and producing too few munitions.” It is also, we believe, one of the reasons why so many small non-defense industries which haven't been switched ‘to defense production are now threatened with ruin and their workers with unemployment. Overcoming the damage done by “protective purchasing” is one of the hardest— and most important—jobs before the new Supply Priorities

” = ® 8 2 » STH week the nation’s retail merchants are dramatizing their own attack on the “protective purchasing” problem. . They are pledging themselves to avoid speculation and the accumulation of excessive inventories. They are urgLr their customers not to over-buy and not to hoard. More an that, in thousands of stores throughout the country they are pushing the sale of defense bonds and defense savings stamps. The merchants are wise. They know that money lent to the Government now to help pay for defense will be available with interest later, when the defense boom is over, ~ for their customers to spend in the stores. They know that the buying of defense bonds and de_fense stamps represents the one form of “protective purchasing” that really will protect, now and in the future,

.

TWO WAYS OF SAVING

T least five million pounds of metals most vitally needed in defense production are being saved by the Bell Telephone System’ and its manufacturing arm, the Western Electric Co., according to an announcement in New York. Annual savings include nearly 1,700,000 pounds of aluminum, almost a third of a million pounds of nickel, more ~ than 3,000,000 pounds of zinc, 8300 pounds of magnesium. When it became evident that vast quantities of such metals would have to be diverted to industries making planes and other Weapons, the Bell System was ready to use more - plentiful substitutes in much of its equipment. For instance, steel for aluminum in the finger dials on automatic. telephones, releasing 180,000 pourds of aluminum; and plastics, to some extent, for zine in the housing for desktelephone sets. Its researchers are continuing to hunt other possibilities of using substitutes. / Given a chancq, as we have said before, American ingenuity can do-remarkable things. Suppose the Bell System had been ordered to save aluminum, nickel, zinc, magnesium, ete, by making and installing fewei telephones than its customers demand. That is what has been proposed for. ‘the automobile industry, the refrigerator industry, the washing-machine industry and many others. Why shouldn't all manufacturers of consumer goods.be d how much.of the scarce metals they must save, then be t free to use the available balance, plus whatever substiutes they can find or develop, to produce these goods to the mit of their ngeniey.

DVERTISING, BRITISH WAR ASSET : TEARS have been expressed that there are officials within the U. S. Government who look &skance at advertising. No actual move against it has been made, but it is sused that certain men within the Administration regard as an economic waste, susceptible of cuftailment in times

1 any ‘such tt there be, they should read the testimony of B. B. Fergusson, London advertising man, who reports

British, firms are continuing advertising even when |

So They Say—

ey have nothing to sell. This Has two good results: it eps brand names before the public, so that good-will sur s the crisis; if keeps the free newspapers alive, the only itute for which is the government-subsidized and con-

ered by carrer, 33 cents. +

J] group of self-elected na

- belonging to

‘The British d want that, even in time of

NEw yok city of St Lowi ‘wil b the some this week of the first ‘convention “of the Hod-Carriers, & Building and Common Laborers’

_ Union of America since 1911, This | union is audacious beyond ny vs

on good of thi 8 members. HE io: officials. of ‘this "inlon elected ome selves to their respective offices and the national headquarte elected officials of local unions and superseding the with appointed. viceroys when members of the Jocals

drehre national |

1s lias made a prastiod of suspending the a

become obstreperous regarding their rights or their -

funds. . When the autono the books and money

of a local is thus revoked.

officials and the sappointed boss of the local carries out the orders of these few men. In other words, this group led by Joseph ‘V. Moreschi of Chicago, the president, who never was elected to that office by the rank and file or by a vote of local units, is thus enabled to boss without possibility of challenge not only the national body but a sufficient number of the locals to prevent any effective uprising. Pe

Charges "Government "Connivance"

THE NATIONAL UNION a(year ago claimed. 250,000 members and this number doubtless has been increased by at least 50,000 and probably by 100,000. The national government of the United States aided in this since men applying for work on’defense Jobs have had to pay from $19 to $50 each for initia tion and pay dues which vary. Many men who paid their initiation fees in installments were fired as soon as they were paid up and replaced by other new members, a scheme which brought in extra initiation fees.

The national" -headquarters of Moreschi in Wash-

®

ington“gets $5 out of each initiation fee and the local | ;

keeps the rest. The average annual dues are not known to me, but must be at least $50 a year, which

would mean that the annual collection, exclusive of

initiation fees, must be $12,500,000 on the basis of 250,000 members or $15,000,000 on the basis of 300,000. Out of this, the national headquarters gets: 35" cents a month per man, a total of $1,050,000 a year

for the maintenance of the headquarters and the |-

death benefit fund, on the basis of 250,000 members, or $1,260,000 on the basis of 300,000. The death benefit fund gets 7% cents out of each member's. monthly per capita of 35 cents, which would be. $18,750 a mogth on the basis of 250,000 members or $22,500 on the basis of 300,000. However, the benefits actually paid, which cannot exceed $200 in any case, were only a little’ over $8000 a month for a vical period of three months, April, May and une,

‘What Did Boss' Son Get?

. THB FINANCIAL, STATEMENT. for. that périoa states that an unspecified amount was paid for legal service to John Moreschi, which is the name of the son .of Joseph V. Moreschi, the president. . John. Moreschi, the son, was for a time an Assistant United States District Attorney in Chicago, which was the scene of the fabulous operations of the late Mike Carrozzo, who owned outright the charters of about 25 locals, stole and extorted millions of dollars from and by means of the workers and died last year under bond to secure a claim from the Internal Revenue Department of $250,000 as deficiencies in his income tax returns for two years only, plus penalties and interest. The account of. the death - benefit fund reports

that the administration expenses incurred in receiv-

ing the contributions and paying out $25,000 in benefits for the three months’ period - mentioned were $12,657 or more than half ag y much as the total of benefits, paid in’ that time; It would be-idle to wonder how hit thé national union and all thé 16¢als have collected from workers in the 30 years since the: last convention or what happened to the money. But if it be assuméd that the membership averaged only 200,000 men for the last 10 years and that they paid $50 each a year in dues, it will be seen that these forgotten men ‘have had to pay at least $100,000,000 for the privilege of p .an organization ruled by self-elected 08ses.

Editor’s Note: The views expressed by columnists in this newspaper ars their own. They are not necessarily those of The Indianapolis Times. ' ?

.

New Books By Stephen Ellis

‘PITY THE POOR reviewer when he comes up against Mrs. Lorene Pearson, the author of Bobbs-Merrill's brand new book, “The Harvest Waits,” a fictionalized history of the Mormons. We met Mrs. Pearson ‘at the Indianapolis publishing house yesterday and, having been introduced, sat down and prepared to begin an Interview. But before that first question popped out, A B% Mrs. oo aIen calmly Shia; in y, do they ca o Lorene Peaxspn 1; osicr’ State?” This eventually brought up the Bobbs-Merrill book, “Hoosier.” Some one got & copy. Everyone was talk ing about Hoosiers and it was a good 20 minutes before we got Mrs. Pearson to talking about the West, Mormons and her book.. When she got around to it she had this to say: “I'm a westerner, and I. first became interested in the Mormons during the depression when about 5000 families of them formed their own economy and were using their own scrip for goods and services among themselves. “I did .an enormous amount of research and all of the facts in the novel are fully authenticated. But: I chose the novel form rather than a straight history because it’s not fashionable in pure research to draw: conclusions. The fletion medium gave me ‘much more leeway.

“I looked over the first draft of that novel Just

the other day. And oh my. It wasn’t fiction, it was | an essay. It certainly-takes a long time to: get over {f

a college education!” Her Characters Live for Her

Mrs. Pearson said she sent in the manuscript to |

Bobbs-Merrill because a friend happened to mention the publisher. Mrs. Jessica

few that come without Reralding are suitable for publication. She said that an acceptance, such as oa of Mrs. Pearson's manuseript, happens once in “But we're way out west there,” Mrs. Pearson said, “with no contacts with publishers, You just HAVE to mall them in»

those on fiction.” She has always been a westerner and “I wrote about people I know. I like those people and I liked to write about them.”

e book com the History of the Mormons

into a os novel. “Proof that Mrs. Pearson’s charac ters live and breathe for her comes in a curious |

way, « Bobbs-Merrill wrote her and asked for Fsmprions of the Shysital ¢ of the lea fers. Mrs. Pearson. ‘sketch of » using the Catal 5s she had os an

artist drew Saesbnai] nla yr ya t oon 1 lion from 'S - ception "and T Hike 1 Artist's Dever Hoan Ts ow THE RARVEST Warrs, 85 Lorene, Pearson, 441 pages. $150.

When sou see a rattles do not wait until he him sident )

into the hands of the small | tional

Mannon, Bobbs-Merrill |} - book: editor, said that while all manuscripts are read,

Pearson a apparently did enough research on |. the book to earn a Ph.D, degree, “but they dort give |] |

4 k ® : : The Hoosier Forum 1 wholly disagree with what you say, but will defend to the death your right to say it —Voligire,

7

‘REALIZE YOURE-IN A, WAR,’ SAYS MELLINGER By Arthur 8. Mellinger, $500 W. 20th st. One time there was a "hoy who

sheep on the nearby hills. One day he thought he would have some fun, so he ran down into the nearby village crying, “Wolf, Wolf.” It was lots: of fun to see the townspeople run out to help catch the wolf that was not thefe. He repeated this several times. Finally a wolf did come, and the boy cried and begged, but he could not get any attension, 80 the sheep were Killed. Readers of this column in the

foward the present’ igtratios I am sorry the President igor “Wolf” so many. times: before, “but now this is a. wolf... So do not delude yourself that we are not going into a_ ‘shooting’ war, because Mr. Roosevelt has been ‘shooting off at the mouth’ too much already. It musts. be waged to the bitter end, no matter who have to suffer. The die is cast. Throw your sentiments into the waste basket, and realize YOU ARE IN A WAR. -

# s ® \ WAR NEVER PAYS—AND

: GERMANY MUST LEARN IT’

By Clande Braddick, Kokomo ‘ Speculating upon the basic causes of war may be idle, but certainly - nothing could be more important than discovering such causes and obviating them. The persistent efforts of mankind to banish war from the earth have ended in signal failure, largely be=cause his treaties, leagues, balances of power, etc., have stricken at the symptoms of the disease rather than the disease itself. . The Socialists used to say, “Youll never abolish liquor so long as there’s a 9-cent profit in a 10-cent drink.” And there was a world of truth in that. Various highsounding causes are given for the failure of prohibition. But undoubtedly the chief one was the vast spread between the cost of producing a drink and thé price its addicts were willing to pay for it. Now prohibition at present is a dead isstie. I mention it only because we may find a parallel there fo guide us in our quest for the causes and cure of war. Someone once that the King of Prussia was th only ruler who knew how to make war pay. The Germans have retained that knack, and in-

was & Shepherd lad. He kept the|

past few years know my. attitude. ed (to incredible

“(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 sidned)

spired etheis to emulate it. They conquer,” seize and levy tribute— all the traffic will bear. There is no nonserise about deferred payments, defaults, or whines about inability to pay. They collect on the spot. In World War I they lost, it 1s true, but ‘hardly - more than the victors, and they attribute their loss lunders of the high command. They are. out to erase those blunders and recoup their losses. . To date they have succeeded enormously, When it is brought home to Germany and her satellites—as it has been to Britain, France and America—that even when you win ybu lose, then will war become a rarety.indeed. 28 8 URGES AMERICA FIRST" . TO, DISAVOW LINDBERGH

By Edward F. Maddox, 959 W. 28th St. Free speech in these United States as guaranteed by the Constitution was never intended by the founding fathers to be used by our enemies to weaken, undermine or overthrow the Constitution itself or to be used as_an instrument to spread subversive propaganda in the interest of a foreign power. . , . It is the duty of all patriotic Americans to oppose ‘mad crusades into foreign lands. , . .. Now the America First Committee has declared itself in harmony with our national defense program and aid for England. Well, why should it continue to sponsor the public appearances and radio speeches of Mr. Charles A. Lindbergh who makes it a point to proclaim that England is already defeated? That is false propaganda! If Mr. Linge bergh opposes aid to seems certain by his remar — represents a very small minority of pro-Fascists and does not even représent the views of the America First Committee. But that Committee must be held ‘responsible ‘for

everything he says. -Alibis “and apologies don’t change Jace! “vw

Side lances By Galbraith

0 ju time after time even to the matter

throwing up their hands in holy

||startling was brought to their attention. |

SEES FOREIGN POLICY AS REPITITION OF '17s By Paul Plunkett, 14 Woodland Df. The latest attempt by our august President to drag Uncle Sam into the mire of Jack-boot arrogance with the imperialistic John Bull and' the "atheistic blood-smearing Russian Bear, is meeting with-ever increasing antagonism on the part of the man in the street.

taxes next year; which, incidentally,

will be the highest in our history. Does Mr. President think for a moment that this hard-working, patriotic American will be thrilled by the sight of his money being poured into supplies and war materials for Godless Russia so as to assist in spreading the doctrine of Communism throughout the world? The answer to this question is an emphatic, “No”! Mr. Roosevelt has been altogether foo interested in the participation of Uncle Sam in this bloody war. Of course, all loyal Americans want to help stop Hitler. He must be stopped! But let us send our aid in a businesslike manner. Instead of giving the purge-stricken Russians Lend-Lease Aid, let them send us certain raw materials’ in return. Meanwhile, ‘let us redouble our efforts to arm ourselves ‘with everything necessary to insure our

mocracy. Mr. Roosevelt, the welfare of the American people demands the observance of these basic truths, and lest we again become the world's most perfect “goats,” let us all think them over thoroughly. During World War I, we gave everything and asked nothing. That's exactly what we received for our efforts. Nothing! Let's not do it again, Mr. President. America is now at the erossro of her liberty, prosperity and d tiny. It is up to the people to speak with a deafening voice, tell-1 ing their duly electéd representatives to guard, more carefully, the welfare of our great democracy and its many loyal titizens. ” 8 ” CLAIMS HOUSING PROBLEM NOT A NEW ONE HERE

By William Murphy, 1038 W. Morris St. The housing spectacle which is now being shown so gruesomely is merely oné of the {lls of our. fair city. This situation was brought to light several years ago when a Federal housing authority agent was here and described conditions as the worst in the United States. ~ Due to the fadt that we have a spineless Mayor and City Council and a very belligerent Real Estate

housing’ projet that

aly i ‘the SHidline 23 .are

The situation has been brought up|

small children being” attacked by. ous eels But pa any a on. «sn ‘What this this ‘City needs is a good shot in the arm—and a little less| ‘Board 1d ;

. DAILY THOUGHT Ee tat Soest mt 1 ff |

| withal a great mercy.”

He is the one who will pay the|

integrity as the world’s greatest de-|

«Halpers, no one is more § -than "the literary person. “abroad to get the facts, or stay % . them, ours ‘are all of a twitter. They love democracy ‘

At of The on TOTmANG, mot IASOine

not of | |

suggested ‘morale of the Army could be improved, our venerable Secretary of War seems to, want tail bet their scalps or put them the resch of id of hisbeas

2 conten he quoted Lin famous _ in the dark days D 1863: 57 “Must I shoot a ‘simple-minded

nce, ter

: soldier voy who deserts while I must not touch & hair ‘of a wily agitator who induces him to desert? . ‘I think that, in such a case, to silence the agitator

and ‘save the boy is not only constitutional, but

Mr. Stimson is said to have indicated that this

“was written to vindicate the suspension of the writ

of habeas corpus. If memory serves, and : am not where I can check the facts promptly, it was written in connection with the Vallandingham case. Vallandingham was a Conand ‘a States’ Rights Democrat from Ohio, He was doing a lot of intemperate oratory, demanding a negotiated peace with the South during the darkest period of the Civil War, He was arrested by the Army in Ohio, tried by a military commission without a jur, urpand sentenced to & long term prisonment, ch was commuted to exile. Th me cipal row was over the drum-head method of his trial and not over suspension of the ‘writ of habeas corpus, which is especially authorized by the Constitution during insurrection.

Let's Get This Straight

ONE FACTOR IN lagging Army morale, the ae retary is reported to have said, is critics who been free to criticize “the whole purpose for Ai i the Army is being trained.” What is that purpose? Apparently Mr. Stimson doesn’t know, for in almost the same breath he seems to have said "that another difficulty in morale is that the troops have no concrete objective to train for and that it is like training a football team which has iio games scheduled. . He also felt that there must be a wholesale weeding out of inept officers to improve morale. . A more scrambled collection of self-contradictory statements could hardly be compressed into so few words. The morale is good, but the reasons why it isn’t good are thus and so. This is not, with this writer, a case of “if the cap fits you put it on.” I have sdid that morale must be improved and that it is not better for some of the reasons the Secretary assigns. I have made no criticism that was not ahead of most commentators (including the Secretary) in insisting on what

| we are now doing.

No Parallel With 1863

BUT IF THE SECRETARY doesn't know what we are raising, training and equipping this Army for, I can tell him. It is {o have the kest trained, organized and equipped Army of its size on earth for the defense of this country against any danger of attack anywhere. s The Secretary’s words, on this score are not dis turbing. They are ill-considered and rather garrulous, But his scarcely concealed impatience with any criti= cism even to the point of an indirect suggestion of the suspension of civil rights for critics 18 a horse of a different color. There is no parallel between ‘the situation Lincoln faced in 1863 and Mr. Stimson’s direct. responsibility for the morale of the Army now. Mr. In was at war and threatened with defeat. It was an insurrece ; tion—a war between brothers. . The country, even at the North, was divided against itself. The, condition can hardly be more vividly ex pressed thah in the old Federal Civil War song, “Just Béfore the Battle, Mother,” which said, “Tell the traitors all around you, that their cruel works we know, in every battle kill our soldiers, by the ad they give the foe.” That was a very different situation from our press ent. period “of blind fumbling to create a defense, when suppression of informed, intelligent, experienced comment on our shortcomings in that vital task could have no other effect than to cover up the very kind of incompetence about which the Secretary himssle complains,

A Womans Viewpoint By Mrs. Walter Ferguson

ALLTHIS HOBNOBBING with . royalty and nobility is bound to turn our heads. Did you ever know. an American who didn't swell up with pride when he was noticed by a Duke? oo the good old days we used : stampede the Court of St, Yo with debutantes and dowe ‘agers, ‘all itching to be presented

to their Majesties. Some of the

antics were ludicrous. And when the King and Queen actually came over and made us a visit—well, from that moment we've grown goofier and goofier. Now a constant procession of Lords is coming and going, while newspaper correspondents, novelists, movie actors and whatnot from the U, 8. A. dash to

fire, Oh, they mention the common people, too, They even pay them compliments, and occasio one will go so far as to prophesy that there may nos

#® be any royalty left after this war is over:

But they always run back panting with admiration to the noble behavior of the Dukes- and the Duchesses,

.How They Dote on Dukes! ‘I'M FILLED WITH ADMIRATION, TOO. But each

time one of our literary lights is wined and dined over there ‘it becomes clearer that he is flattered almost out of his senses by the notice of the English aristoc-

‘racy. It sticks out between every two paragraphs and

obtrudes from every interview. Somehow. our attitude toward England has always resembled that of a ‘feminine social climber wiia hankers to get into select circles, and whose every movement says louder than wards, “I don’t care what you say or do to me, just so long as you notice me.” This state of mind isn’t the result of the present war; it has always existed. Each time a fortine wag ‘made in the United States, you could count on part of it being used to buy a titled husband for some daughter of the family, The knightly accolade is a

‘potent force, and let's not: kid ourselves we. have

‘resisted it AS ‘Bernard De Voto points out in the current tible to lordly attention y, whether they go ‘home to interpret

but, oh, how they dote on Dukes!

| Questions. and Rnstiors

(Thé Indisnapelis Times Sereion Bureas will ans e. Tes search Write your ‘questions clesrly. sin name and address,

. inclese sa three-cent postage stamp, Medical or legal advice _¢eannot

be given, Address Thé Times Wasliington Service

ge : Bureau, 1013 Thirteenth St. . Washington, D. C.)

~~ Q—How many sirplane pil pilots will bs trained under the deferise p i

Vaan nth oo of Reprseives wl 8

of debate, but na vote... Aver” type. Ay What are “penny type ni oh Sa er as contents may be removed for and in

Britain to inspire us with stories.of royalty under .

any