Indianapolis Times, Indianapolis, Marion County, 18 October 1941 — Page 8

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The Indianapolis Times ROY W. HOWARD RALPH BURKHOLDER ' MARK FERREE President Editor Business Manager (A SCRIPPS-HOWARD NEWSPAPER) 4 Sed and shod” "Price in Marion Coun- : ing Co, 214 W. Maryland St. = ‘Member of United Press." Scripps - Howard = Newspaper Alliance, NEA and A ‘Bu

in . $3 a year, outside of Indiana, 65 cents a’ month.

a RILEY 8551 |

Give Light and the People Wilk Find Their Own Woy

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 18, 1941

ke COMMON SENSE ARE we being pulled into two wars at the same time? An American destroyer is torpedoed in the Atlantic. Our Navy orders American merchantmen in the Pacific to flee to friendly ports. The Mikado picks a pro-Axis general to form a war Government in place of one that has. been negotiating with the United States. In Washington the House pulls one of the two remaining teeth of the Neutrality Law and authorizes arming of merchant ships. Advancing Nazi forces batter at the gates of Moscow, hoping to knock out the Red Army so they can turn all-out against Britain, Fo : or That is just part of one day’s war news. And it is rather a large order for the American public to digest. a What does it all mean? Not even the Washington wise men can be certain. The inifiative is in Berlin and Tokyo, +: and their strategy is to keep the United States guessing in this fatal game. : But even the humblest American—the guy who does the fighting and pays the bill for any war—knows a few things. They are simple rules, distilled from the blood and. tears of past crises and wars, handed down from father to son, the teaching of experience which Americans call horse

sense, : : * &» # 2 =

: No American should be ashamed to apply ‘horse sense to this national crisis, just because it is cluttered up with unfamiliar foreign place-names, streamlined propaganda and éxperting by assorted specialists, technicians and officials in diplomacy, defense and war. The fact is that the experts haven't been doing so well of late in any country, including our own. : So the old common sense of the people is very much in order now. It says: Keep your shirt on. Speak softly carry a big stick. Don’t start a fighit you can’t finish. Don’t get caught in the middle. : ig We offer these homely adages to the President and - Congress in their patriotic efforts to keep this unprepared nation out of war, and certainly out of two wars at the same time. :

. WHERE YOUR TAX MONEY GOES UY an electric refrigerator which the factory sells for - $100, and you pay a Federal tax of $10. That's enough to buy two steel helmets for marines. But you can’t tell. The Government may spend your $10 for an office folding screen, four-fold, imitation mahogany frame. What the ‘screen is used for, we don’t know. Maybe to keep the light out of some officeholder’s eyes.

| . SOME “RIGHTS”! - THURMAN ARNOLD, Assistant U. S. Attorney General, + would prosecute under the anti-trust law those labor leaders who seek to use their power to enforce systems of | . graft and extortion (racketeering). He also would: move against those who would compel . the hiring of useless and unnecessary labor; those who would prevent the use of cheaper material, improved equip"ment and more efficient methods. Further, he would prose“cute combinations designed to enforce illegally fixed prices ~ or to destroy established and legitimate systems of collective bargaining, = ' Those purposes read like the beatitudes of fair play and sane economics, For it’s the public that pays for racketeering, useless help, inefficiency of operation and illegally fixed prices. yi : 5) ws x But A. F. of L. leaders have proclaimed Arnold as “malicious, dangerous and unscientific’ and are attempting

: - to get Arnold fired, They want to keep their special privi-

lege.’ So they talk loud and threatening—as special privilege “always is ‘wont to do. gor Yr ; alam : | s oo 8 ' WO measures—the’ Monroney and the Walter Bills— have been introduced in Congress to implement the Arnold program. They are referred to by the A. F. of IL leaders as “legislative. monstrosities,” inspired by an “ins tensely passionate hatred for the elementary rights of working men and women.” - : : : Which, being interpreted, means that under the shelter of :special-privilege legislation passed years ago to help labor when labor was weak, the present-day A. F. of Ls concept of elementary rights is: ‘The right to compel the hiring of useless labor: “The right to enforce systems of graft and extortion. The right to enforce illegally fixed prices. : The fight. to destroy established and legitimate collective bargaining : The right to prevent the public from getting the benefits of cheaper materials, improved equipment and more efficient methods. ~~ | 5 Some “rights”! lev wy

“WE DON'T WANT ANY CZECHS” = REMEMBER Hitler's words of three years ago when Eu-

» was insisting that his only aim was to restore Germans Froni Praha no news comes without the approval of

he German conquerors, Hence they must have approved ‘blood-freezing little item from Praha: “Three persons, |

ling a policeman, radio stations.” te nT hn at’ Hitler would have said, had he been dealing with d with the slightest trace of ordinary candor, is

3% #

‘reprisals through the “union vote.”

to the Reich ? “We don’t want any Czechs!” he shouted,

: ; AB.

Fair Enough

By Westbrook Pegler a a

NEW YORK, Oct: 18—THe American Federation of Labor at

move against racketeers and crim

+ union movement. e elimination |

be a gangster, from one of the pres jes and from the national governing body, by oblique methods, is a laudable effect, but a little honesty would have improved the

In a resolution for which Matt Woll, the second vice president of the A. P. of L. and chairman of the resolutions committee, must responsibility, it was held that “in vicious and misleading attacks upon the entire ‘institution of organized labor,” certain “anti-labor columnists and the papers which publish their articles” harm the interests of the public as well as labor. “By such malicious and untruthful attacks,” said the resolution, “they encourage antilabor forces in state legislatures and Congress and endeavor to pass legislation which would destroy the free demecratic institutions of organized labor.”

Some Pertinent Questions

THAT 18 A DEFENSIVE generality which has lost its power to deceive anyone, least of all the rank and file members who know too well that the attacks referred to were not vicious, malicious, misleading or untruthful inventions but factual news. Not one single allegation against any individual crook has been denied, much less disproved. © It was publicity which compelled the hod-carriers’ union to hold a few weeks. ago its first convention in years, but even so that union, as badly infested with crooks as Browne's movie employees union, refused to disqualify for office thieves and racketeers. It would be pertinent to ask Mr. Woll, himself, and William Green and Joseph Padway, the general counsel of the A. PF, of L. if they were ignorant of Browne’s character, If so, they are too stupid for the offices which they hold. : If not, then it was they, not any columnist or newspaper, who, by their negligence or worse, were responsible for any discredit that has come upon the union movement from these revelations. If so, it was they who encouraged “anti-labor forces in state legislatures and Congress” to advocate legislation in. tended to curb the powers of underworld unioneers. And, in Padway’s case, no plea of mere negligence can be accepted. He was general counsel for this group of racketeers and as such should have known the character and background of his clients.

Key-Log Has’ Begun to Budge

NOR SHOULD THE suggestion be allowed to go unchallenged that the authors of legislative bills, state and national, desling with these problems are “anti-labor forces.” Undoubtedly some ignorant or bigoted legislators have offered bills which would harm the interests of labor, but the most important proposals of this kind have been designed to protect not only the rank and file from the persecutions commonly inflicted by power-drunk unioneers but to protect the whole American community. After all, unions are only private organizations and they do not deserve a privilege to attack the whole American people for the benefit of their few members. A union boss may honestly and faithfully serve the members of his union and still! place himself in hostility to the whole public by whose tolerance the union is allowed to live. Criminality is hard to prove in court when unioneers not only refuse to testify against their colleagues. in crime but. conspire to conceal evidence, hide witnesses and threaten public officials with political Thus, crooks may still retain office in the unions merely because they lack criminal records, even though the whole A. P. of L. knows them to be crooks. However, the key-log in this jam has begun to budge and that is a hopeful sign. A year ago the A. F. of L. refused to get rid of Brewne and the resolution against racketeering adopted at the 1940 conyention was a disgraceful sham, which only brought discredit on the union movement.

New Books By Stephen Ellis

THERE 1S A tremendous amount of talk about South America, our stake in our neighbors in that area and yet the bald truth is that too few Americans know anything at all about 8. A. And, this is just one of the things Albert E. Carter points out in his ably done book “The Battle of South America.” Here's a book that takes yon down into South America and tells you what it's all about in lanA. E. Carter 'Buage you Can understand. Read . it and you'll know right away why Argentina, Brazil, Chile, etc. etc, are so important right now in our scheme of affairs. And after you're through with Mr. Carter’s book, Just start using his bibliography. . And don’t forget is thank him. for opening up a whole new world you. k

About Plato's Republic

THE MODERN LIBRARY has just issuéd the : text of Plato’s “The Republic” in the famous Jowett version. And this event gives us an opening we've been looking for: Americans these days are reading more than ever, but theyre constantly looking for the so-called best-sellers. There is a tremendous store of literature awaiting all of us—the kind of litersture that has left its imprint on civilization, Plato is one of them.

_Some Valuable Little Books

AND THAT LEADS US to comment upon the Pocketbooks’ recent series of new publications. Among the more valuable little books issued lately, we'd recommend: i 5 “The Pocketbook of the War,” edited by Quincy Howe and containing excerpts from Dorothy Thoes - son, John Gunther, Vincent Sheean, Andre Maurois, Edgar Snow and others, “The Pocket: History of the World,” by H. G. Wells. “The Pocket Reader,” edited by Philip Van Storen, This one is a veritable treasure chest. Steinbeck, Saki,

Thurber, Woollcott, MacLeish, Nash, Parker, Housman | |.

—what will you? BA

ny and 75, C, translated by Benjamin Jowett, New Y . all issued by Focke ger, 35 tnc.. New York,

Editor's Note: The views expressed by columnists in this newspaper are their own, of The Indisnspolis Times.

25¢

rope was still struggling to avoid war, and the Nazi | «

. The” people having the least e

duction lines—Dr

last, pnd reluctantly. has begun to | finals of other stripe within the | of George Browne, who was known |

| Hitler, either.

OP SOUTH AMBERI Albert B. Carter. lis. "342 Bages. Sketsbes by the author,

They are mot necessarily those

I wholly defend to

The Hoosier Forum

disagree with what you say, but will the death your right to say it—Voltaire, -

ON THE PHILOSOPHY AND MORALS OF POLITICS By Claude Braddick, Kokomo, . The. trouble with politicians is that they are only human. Their business happens to be ‘politics; hence they like to make generous appropriations for the ‘relief of this and the construction of that, which they know will please their clients the voters. But they delay to the last moment the unpleasant duty of bringing home to their clients the cold, hard fact that all these things must be paid for in taxes. It’s so much easier to charge it, add it to the public debt, which is already so big, and which they have shrewdly observed, excites so little concern!

Now this is quite understandable, but none the less deplorable. How much better the people could judge of their needs, and keep within their means, if politicians were as prompt in levying taxes as they are in granting largess! And how much easier the tax problem would be for the politicians themselves! Why do they do it? Because they are only human. They are behaving exactly as. the rest of us do when we defer that needed trip to the doctor or dentist, knowing full well that each day’s delay makes the trip more inevitable, and all the more formidable. :

” » u EXPANDS VIEWPOINT ON DEBATE WITH WHITE By A. B._F., Indianapolis. Mr. Harrison White, I see, has decided I am a very nice gentleman deluded by propaganda. I might very well be but I will take credit-for one thing: I apparently succeeded in smoking Mr. White out into the position of declaring he doesn’t like

That satisfies me very much. The main reason I am so strongly against the America First Committee is its devious and surreptitious support of Hitlerism. I can readily understand why an Americap would want to

- call true fathers I would prefer that I be called to war before my sons, but I also believe if there is a deferment: for college students there should ‘also -be a deferment for craftsman apprentices. | Now we have eliminated the college boy and the craftsman why not eliminate the underdog and we have ‘eliminated war. “Ain’t that sumpin’” But where does the moral come in? In my’ particular vdcation for the past 40 years my work has been

{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) i

keep out of any European war. But I can’t see how any American

_export—and, therefore, so

worthy of the name can bless’ Hitler | in colleges, factories, religious in-

by indirection. : : Take that radio debate tonight (the 16th) between Commander Stambaugh and Senator D, Worth Clark.. Senator Clark tried to make the point’ that we stood to lose more by being England's ally than Hit» ler’s. - At another point, he said German submarines had done us little damage and the point of his remark was a clear inference that we had little to fear. Taken. all in all (and not out of its context), Senator Clark was preach'ng that Hit-

stitutions, gambling resorts, hospitals, fine homes and lowly homes and what not and I find if there is any particular grade of moral a fellow has to make it lege graduates are no exception. Go to a local induction center,

look over: the boys and pick out one

that you feel would be a good leader of men in an emergency. The chances are that he will be another “Sergt. York” or some other farmer's son. : I wonder how many college grad-

{uates Hitler has at his spear heads,

» and col-

if any? : . » - »- SAYS WE'RE WAR-MONGERS, SHOULD BE SURPRESSED By J. V. K,, Indianapolis. ; Your papers guilty of the most brazen sort of propaganda I -have ever seen. i, You print reams of material from - such biased people as Leland Stowe,

I may be deluded by propaganda, as Mr. White says, but -certainly I have enough intelligence to realize that this is sheer counter-propa-ganda—and ‘of the most childish : 8 = =» DISAGREES WITH PLEA FOR STUDENTS’ DEFERMENT dia jor Eliot, Raymond Clapper, tol mention only a few. All these people are. war-mongers and you have no right to pass on their biased|’ opinions to the innocent public. Your vicious, warnewspaper should be we had a Gov name,

roll ‘hefore starting out Noon Edition. I believe the privilege to have a % Hoosier Forum, a I wholly disagree with the by V. R. C. of Oct. 15, 1. “I ‘am ‘the father of

: ® 8 8» THINKS AMERICA FIRST =. A ‘SINISTER’ ORGANIZATION By an Anti-Ameries Wirster. ; John Spivak in the recent New Masses has been exposing the fascistic aims of the America First Com-

is coming from ‘both.pro-Nagi Amer-

ability to produce are thosé farthest from’ the pi -

. |he the mnocent “front” for some- | THE LAST CONQUEROR Victorious men of earth; no more

ee ( bind-in fi ; Your triumphs reach 4a far As night or ¢ 5. ee p 2

| | Death calls ye to the erowd of

| Nor to these alone confined, * He hath at will :

inherent in the character of

William Shirer, John Whitaker, Ma-|-y

if}. ent worthy of the

Procleim how wide your empires | -

| tt Ph en | Eo {nail have thw cunning skill to break!

JOCT.

Gen. Johnson Says—

ag Figs He Es

spending more of her income for

should we, that England"

OF COURSE, none of those things is -any x sonable yardstick at all for our effort; ' Qur goal measure is “What is needed? What have 3

, to ; answers. But “What is England deing?” is a substi« tute for the unthinking. I doubt if they know what England is doing. If is becoming clearer every day that they didn't cor< rectly compare our total tax burden with hers. Spokes men for England have several times said that she didn’t intend entirely to sacrifice her little fellow in business. Letters in my mail indicate that she isn't doing it—and in that she is wise. England's automotive problem is entirely different from ours. She is a smaller country with shorter distances and her people have never been as come pletely motorized as ours. Automobiles have redis« tributed our population and revolutionized our whole territorial system of distribution of supplies and locas tion of homes with relation to working places.

There's Another Way, Too

* ‘THIS LONG DELAY in finding facts and laying plans followed by this sudden “hoop-la” of universal cracking down by the boys who should have been finding the facts and laying the plans may be the easy way out for.them but it certainly casts doubt on His sivisaiilisy of placing in their hands the power nom. e or death over so many communi industries and labor and other pid ; ex, ~_It isn’t as if there had been no model for a res sonable and timely approach to the problem.. The: were many—our own in the World War—copied wi greater or less faithfulness by all the war-powers of Europe. But these gentlemen would have none of it— until just now when they want to take a broad-ax instead of a scalpel and hack out in a few weeks what required years to do decently and well. Of course, we must. s up and sacrifice. This column has been preac that for years. Of course, as these Johnnie-Come-Lately gents are so late in saying we've got to take the fat off. But if we, don’t leave something of the skeleton, heart, nerves, blood vessels, muscles and body, where is the use in taking the fat oN We might as well step out in the woodyard, do Khe, Nile thing at one shot and ship the remains to

A Woman's Viewpoint By Mrs. Walter Ferguson.

“BRITISH WOMEN have torn down a whole century of preju~ dice,” ‘declares Mrs. Anthony Bid dle, whose new book on the sube Ject has just been published by Houghton-Mifflin,’ : r

A movement is now on foot to

By this means the average American might posst= bly learn how fortunate she is in the matter of politie cal, economic and social rights, when compared to the women of other lands—even England. For that pre dice which Mrs; Biddle reports ig down is 80 most polite term for it is “implacable.” ny The With all

traditions more pérmanently than he “and intelligent women of that: country in no uncertain terms.

‘We Want Reasonable Proof® ° 44 ! iy

WE SHOULD THINK twice bef.

mittee. He is proving that much of | for

. question of fact or information, met invelving

vot go pons monarch mut 1,8

BE |