Indianapolis Times, Indianapolis, Marion County, 21 January 1942 — Page 10

PAGE 10

The Indianapolis Times)

RALPH BURKHOLDER MARK FERREE Editor Business Manager

(A SCRIPPS-HOWARD NEWSPAPER)

ROY W. HOWARD -President

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«gE RILEY 5551

Give Light and the People Will Find Their Own Wey

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 21, 1942

TWO STRIKES HREE strikes mean out, and in the southwest Pacific two have already been called. Lack of preparedness has lost us most of the Philippines and Malaya. Will the Dutch Indies be lost the same way? That is the biggest immediate question of the war. It is really two questions: Should we now concentrate planes, submarines and supplies in the Indies, or continue to scatter them on the Hitler fronts? If we are going allout against Japan, can we get those reinforcements to the Indies soon enough to be effective? The first question seems to have been answered tentatively in favor of defending the Indies. The Chinese are still afraid that the Anglo-American promise to reinforce adequately the Dutch Island barrier will amount to no more than the earlier promises regarding Manila and Singapore. But Australian and New Zealand officials, who have been just as critical as the Chinese of the old policy of neglect, are satisfied with the new policy. To this hopeful evidence is now added the restrained confidence of the Dutch. Lieut. Gov. Van Mook of the Netherlands Indies, President Roosevelt and Prime Minister Churchill of inevitable defeat unless there was large-scale relief, now says “I am less pessimistic than when I came here two weeks ago.” The President says the Allied forces are being strengthened, and that he gave Mr. Van Mook good news, Assuming the policy of adequate reinforcement, the question of time remains. Will it be another case of “too late”? Hence the importance of Gen. MacArthur's fight in the Philippines and of the Australians’ before Singapore. Every day the enemy is delayed is precious time for reinforcement of the Dutch Indies.

BAD EXAMPLE NO. 1

Wile it is refreshing to find we have a Municipal Court Judge who is determined to treat publie officials by the same vardstick he does the average citizen, it is not so refreshing to learn we have a Deputy Prosecutor who has collected at the least some 14 traffic stickers.

Not only collected them but was willing to resort to

a cheap legal technicality to evade responsibility for his |

repeated violations. We could collect two or three, or perhaps even four stickers, without trying intentionally to violate the law. Rut 14? Th vielation of the law, that Prosecutor Sisson belongs to the “I am the law” of political philosophy. Precisely how a prosecutor proposes to build up public respect for law enforcement with that sort of an attitude personally is something we would like to have him explain.

at sort of thing can only mean continued, and would seem to indicate further school

TAX-EXEMPTS AND COURT HOUSE GANGS

NE tax proposal before Congress is and sound that it should be adopted without further debate, It has been debated for more than a quarter century—ever since the graduated income tax became a part of our Federal revenue system. And no good argument has ever been made against it. It is the recommendation that President Roosevelt renewed—for about the 10th time—that Congress forbid future issues of tax-exempt securities. Every President since Woodrow Wilson has asked for So has every Secretary of the Treasury, obvious has long been recognized—that graduated taxation, on the principle of ability to pay, cannot exist side by side with tax exemption. : A few years ago John W. Hanes, then Undersecretary the Treasury, disclosed that many citizens in the 1llionaire class were paying no Federal income tax what- : they had invested all their money in bonds that were tax-exempt. = = = = = = HE Treasury recently clauses in new issues of Federal securities. Defense bonds, for example, are subject to full Federal income taxation. But the securities of state and county governments, 1unicipalities, school districts and other subdivisions— some 20 billion dollars’ worth outstanding—are wholly taxexempt, And every week such issues are being refunded and new issues peddled, with the no-tax guarantee written on the face of the bonds. In each session of Congress a proposal is made to stop this racket—but each time the proposal lands in a pigeonhole. The reason is clear to all who understand the workings of politics. Many of our lawmakers in Washington—too many— got where they are today by playing ball with the city-hall crowds and the courthouse gangs back home.

has

this reform.

Ever.

wholly

» = » = = = HE eity-hall and courthouse boys keep themselves in power by borrowing money at low interest rates. If the tax-immunity privilege were taken out of their bond offerings, they might have to pay higher interest on state and local government bonds.

Indeed, they might find borrowing too éxpensive and |

who rushed to Washington to warn |

|

can understand how a responsible public official

wilful |

so eminently fair | | tails of any kind of aircraft.

The | | stand by it. | hind its representatives who are protecting its in- | terests in the field.

| Worth Their Weight In Gold

i hears of them. They win no headlines. | man soon realizes that it is the inspector who is in- : . | suring stopped putting tax-exemption |

he compelled to start paving off the city, county and state

debts. To do that,

they might have to lay heavier taxes |

on local citizens, and as a result become so unpopular that |

they would be voted out of office. : Well, the fight is on again this session. Let's watch closely and see which is stronger with the Congressmen— the public interest and the principle of taxation according Bo Sif Ls Sa Sx the sees uate) of She eity tl Sud sort house 8 fAngS..

Fair Enough By Westbrook Pegler

NEW . YORK, Jan. 21—In time of war and in the face of the enemy, the city of New York is contending with a situation which, in the military services, would be very seriously likenéd to mass desertion in the face of the enemy. Within the last month 142 policemen of the force which has been honored as the best in the United States and one of the best in the world have applied for retirement on half pay. Of these applicants 40 have served less than 21 years and 21 less than 22 years and among this group there are five bachelors and no dependents. Of course, the entire list includes many cops of very long service, one with a clean record of 40 years. But there are many active, robust men well under 50 years among those who would now bow out in the face of air-raid emergencies and there is no legal means of holding them if they insist on exercising pension and retirement rights which were lobbied through a generous and politically responsive legislature by the agents of their pressure group. The department is 863 men short already and unable to obtain replacements because the young recruit who is fit to become a policeman is just the sort the Army needs most.

Trying to Stop the Stampede

IN NOT ONE single case is there a claim of physical infirmity. These aré all sound men fit to continue to serve as policemen, but word has spread through the service that certain war emergency schedules would call for extra tours of duty and might eliminate vacations, but this has not yet been done in the brother service, Patrick Harnedy, himself a cop and president of the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association, the cops’ union so to speak, has tried to arrest the stampede with a telegram posted in all stations reminding the men that “in common with all other citizens” cops should be glad to respond without thought of hours or personal sacrifice in a serious situation. He reminded the men that the law fixes their pension rights but urged them not to exercise those rights “because of unjustified and false rumors relating to working conditions or changes in the pension law.” The nature of the rumors isn’t stated, but if they

anticipate longer hours and loss of vacations there is

no sense in pretending that they are false,

A Good Deal of Malingering, Too

COPS, LIKE everyone else, obviously would have to work overtime and forego vacations in case of invasion or bombing from the air and Harnedy's telegram has the sound of a plea to some of the men not to desert. Of course, the pension law could be changed, but not retroactively, so the men’s rights there could not be impaired. row and continuing to serve as a Special favor to the community might still be able to claim his benefits even though convicted of misconduct after the date of his declaration. That would raise a serious problem of discipline, but the situation is a mess, anyway, thanks to a silly law which permits a man to quit on pension in the prime of life. There has been a good deal of malingering since the law as amended to provide full pay for men on sick report after three days. Formerly they got only half pay and, although there are surgeons to examine the ailing there has, nevertheless, been a distinct increase in the number of interesting invalids. There are usually about 500 men away. The moral effect of this mass retirement is bad because the New York cop has come to enjoy the respect of the people who actually look to him as a protector but now see men quitting by the score when air raids threaten.

U. S. Aviation

By Maj. Al Williams

THE OTHER DAY I met an cld friend, Charlie Wald, aviation inspector for the Navy and one of the country's best and most faithful supervisors of aircraft construction. I have known Charlie since 1922, when I was a youngster assigned to fly the Navy racing planes of that period. I knew nothing about high speed planes, and little about the structural deAt Garden City, planes were being built for the Navy, and there I got from this same Charlie Wald, my first indoctrination in aircraft inspection and construction. I never knew a man more patient. Each specification covering structure and materials was part of his religion. He condemned materials right and left. This, of course. brought down the wrath of those who were running the plant. Time and again, big shots complained to the Navy Department about Wald. They couldn't get away with a thing. When the Navy lets a contract, it stands by that contract and expects the contractor to Best of all, the Navy stands squarely be-

T'S HARD TO DO full justice to the type of high, unswerving lovalty demanded of Jow-salaried con-

| struction inspectors who dare to stand 4gainst the

1igh and mighty in the business world. No one ever But an air-

the soundness of the craft he is going to fly. These men are worth their weight in any precious metal today.

Charlie Wald saved my life many years ago. I | can see him now in my memory, and he little knew that I was thinking back to those times while I was | I was long on | animal courage and short on patience and judgment. | A fast but dangerous plane was waiting to be flown. | I flew it once and | nearly broke my neck, without cracking a piece of | wood or scratching the fabric—more good luck than |

eating lunch with him the other day. It had acted up with other pilots.

good judgment. Then I wanted to fly it again, and Charlie Wald took me by

an index to trouble. airmen! The real eagle eyes of aviation are in the

heads of our aircraft inspectors.

So They Say—

We must pour our wealth, our énergies and, if necessary, our lives into one overwhelming éffort.— Wendell Willkie, 1940 G. O. P. Presidential nominee, * * * Whether a public debt should be reduced or not depends exclusively upon the general economic situation and not upon judgments derived from private accounting considerations.—Prof. Alvin J. Hansen, Harvard University.

* *® %

What a magnificent opportunity to put racial and religious intolerance where it belongs—on the

| dump heap of prejudices destroyed by common sense.

—Dr. Malcolm S. MacLean, president, Hampton Institute. ~ = * * Countless thousands of tons of materials now pi Re gr Bon be put to milits use

TH

Indeed, a cop declaring his desire to retire

ic X.;

E INDIANAPOLIS TIMES

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* STR PE SORTS ACAI bel ei fe HDRES ah Lea

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the Idear’

oe WEDNESDAY, JAN. 21, 1942

Gen. Johnson

The Hoosier Forum

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

“KELLY-LOMBARD IS THE NAME FOR THE CAMP” By S. L. C., Columbus. Since the Government has decided to locate the large soldiers’ camp here at Columbus, there has been a great deal of talk over the country as to a suitable name. It is fitting we should honor our heroic dead: Aviator Kelly, whose exploit is so well known that it needs no elaboration, in the sink-

{ing of a Jap battleship.

Carole Lombard whose volunteer trip to Indiana to sell defense bonds with such amazing success. This daughter of Indiana of which we are justly proud and now of the nation, deserves a place in history beside Betsy Ross. I, therefore, submit the name of Kelly-Lombard for this camp.

2 o ” “WHY DON'T THEY DESCRIBE THE REUTHER PLAN?” By Voice In The Crowd, Indianapolis It seems that it would be a good idea, if one of those who stand out for the “Reuther Plan” should describe it more fully for the public good, Why don’t you do it? It seems strange that it should be called a “Plan” but perhaps it is. Perhaps the basis of the plan was that the defense and war operations should be dictated by the heads of the C. 1. O. One of the characteristics of the American people is that they don’t want any single group to do all of the bossing of anything. We will {want a hand in it, and even if the “Reuther Plan” had any merit, it may have been rejected by the American people who over the long haul generally figure things out right. The “Reuther Plan” was mostly a plan to cause the uninformed both lof the rank and file and the public at large to believe that the single purpose tooling of the auto industry could be used for turning out planes without interruption, and to further create the impression that the men who built the great, competitive auto industry did not know how to manage it. Well, even the politicians did not believe that and they built new plants designed and tooled for war without greatly disturbing automobile production. The automobile factories could have operated six {months more but for thé new phase of the war, The treacherous Japs

(Times readers are invited their these columns, religious con.

excluded. Make your letters short, so all can

to express views in

troversies

have a chance. Letters must be signed.)

menace the rubber supply and we will have to whip the Japs before we can get enough rubber. This change took place a little early for the plan to complete new plants to absorb the man power of the auto industry. But it happened and we have to do the best we can about it, and that means mostly—keep still. It is already apparent that neither

boss the war. For the good of all, to the end of the war we are going to have a boss. Whether we like it or not, we are “all out” for war. we don’t like the “assembly line” at 10 dollars a day, we might get promoted to the front line where we can get $30 a month if we are there on pay day. EE # 8 “WHY DO YOU VETERANS WAIT FOR THE DRAFT?”

By Harlie C. Sylvester, 5048 E. Michigan St. There seems to be whimpering

in your words too, Mr. Charles E.|

Remy. Why wait for the draft? The local recruiting stations of the Army, Navy and Marine Corps are still open and functioning, or are you too young? Or do you just want to wait as you say, “Until Uncle Sam tells you to come and give him a hand?” What a whimper, Words have never won a war. Action will win this one, not words. Why not lay off Mr. Wilson, show a little action on your part and enlist? Why wait for the draft? There is no question in my mind but what Mt. Wilson will do as much toward winning this war as you or any of the veterans who wrote to the Hoosier Forum, or talked about Wilson. Wilson may be of the same opinjon as I. That it is doubtful if five per cent of the veterans of 1917 and 1918 voluntarily enlisted in the armed forces of the United States,

the arm and, walking me to a point | where the sunlight shone on the fuselage of the plane, | pointed out a slight wrinkle in the side of the ship— | Talk about the eagle eves of |

Side Glances==By Galbraith

41 CHILL J

except the United Spanish American War Veterans, who were still young énough for the military service. 1t is a safe statement to say that the majority of the veterans, who are doing so much shouting, were caught in the draft in 1917 and 1918, or they would not now be able to class themselves as veterans..,. I venture to say that if you drive a car, Mr. Remy, you have a tag displayed upon it, “Remember Pearl Harbor.” Yet you are going to wait for the draft. Lay off Mr. Wilson. Look in the mirror and you will see the worst man you have to contend with, Mr. Remy. Remember Pearl Harbor, Mr, Remy, go down tomorrow and enlist like a real American should. Why wait for the draft? .... E-3 ”

” labor nor management is going to | “HOW ABOUT EQUIPPING

|OUR STATE GUARD?”

By J. H., Indianapolis 1 recently heard of an incident

If iwhere a local resident sent word to

his parents in the East inviting them to Indianapolis for the duration. Less likely to be bombed, etc. The answer was that they preferred the Rast, having read daily of another defense factory or project of one sort or another being established in Indiana. Well I guess we are the goal of a lot of wishful bombings by the Axis. Doesn't it appear that in view of this obvious danger we would be more concérned about our protection? Apparently there is good work being done in organizing our Civilian Defense, But this setup is secondary to the military units, By dint of Governor Schricker and orders from the War Department, we do have a State Guard— of a sort, This is the body that will do the actual gun work in any crisis. These are the men that will stand long weary hours of guard at bridges, fills, etc. But for their sake, let's hope that it is nice sunny dry weather, for they have no raincoats, overcoats nor provisions even for mess. In fact their major equipment consists of a sacrificial spirit. But waving the flag has never kept anyoné warm, nor singing the National anthem killed anyone. The word billion is commonplace any more. That amount is trivial. Wonder if just a wee bit of all these billions couldn't be sidetracked to buy a few slickers or maybe pay the State Guardsmen at least enough to pay their carfare. When the battle has started is a poor time to commence to mold your bullets. We either do need these guardsmen or we can do without them. Let the people of Indiana help our State’s Adj. Gen., Col. Elmer F. Straub, either equip them as they should be or disband them entirely.

BUILDERS

Who builds him a house of stone or brick, With a roof against the sky, And a base where the ivy roots spread thick, Was born with luck in his ‘eye;

|For a house will not start, nor

mortar stick, At a wish or an oath or a sigh.

1B know—for I've built as mad

men do, With wishes white and red. But the wind gets in, the moon shines through, And the walls shake at my tread;

'| Who builds him a house of a rhyme

or two Must look for the rain on his head! Hortense Flexner (1885- )

DAILY THOUGHT

But he, knowing their thoughts, said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and a house divided against a house falleth.— Duke 11:17,

WASHINGTON, Jan. 21.—Don= ald Nelson is making speed in setting up the only kind of ore ganization with which he can ever approach his colossal job. That, however, is going to take time. He has to put representatives of all the supply departments of industry in intimate and contine uous contact with all demand dee partments — the great armament procuring bureaus—literally marry them “for the duration.” Such representatives of industry have yet to be chosen and that, of itself, is no quick or easy task. He can move with much greater speed in selecting the representatives of the procuring bureaus, and making them compose their conflicts before pree senting their combined problems to the industrial representative. Mr. Nelson is doing that with great speed by means of a munitions board composed of representatives of Army, Navy, Lease-Lend and Maritime Commission.

Build-Up Is Unfortunate

BUT THE COUNTRY must rémember this: Cone siderable time and a vigorous shaking-down process are necessary before we can clear away the red tape and the deadwood of such a mountain of old mise takes and organize the new overnead and get if working. In the meantime, as nearly always happens after one of the President’s bold strokes of organization and appointment, Mr. Nelson is getting a highly favorable press. He is pictured as a sort of silent genius or giant who car move into this kind of mess, wave a wand and reduce chaos to order in a twine kling. That is bad—for Mr. Nelson. I ought to know. I went through it all in NRA and elsewhere. From those experiences, I was able to say to the press on the day I took office:

“It will all be red-fire and rockets at the beginning and dead cats and tom-toms at the end.”

All Boils Down te Neison

THE PEOPLE want human interest stories and to ask “Who is this fellow Nelson, anyway?” And it is the business of the press to accommodate them. In this way there is built up a myth about a man that no mere human being could make come true.

Mr. Nelson is a good, careful, common-sense administrator. He has been kicked around long enough in the Washington deliriurh since the war began and earlier to know what it is all about. He has a good enough sense of organization to know what is needed, He asked for it and got it.

He starts off with pretty nearly universal good will and he can call for advice and assistance from competent men either in or out of Government. It all boils down now to Mr. Nelson. If he proves competent, tactful and reasonable, his title or rank will neither help nor hinder him. He has what is many many times more important than either—singla and direct responsibility, unquestionable authority, That is all that counts in this kind of a job at & crisis.

A Woman's Viewpoint By Mrs. Walter Ferguson

FARMERS’ WIVES gathered last week in Chicago te draw up a wartime platform for America’s farm women, adopted this slogan: “We'll do what we are already do= ing—only we’ll do it better.” Simple and sensible, isn’t it? Perhaps it would not be practical for wholesale adoption by city women, since a good many of us have been occupied with utterly useless things, but for all real workers it fills the bill.

It seems to me a comparatively easy task for the individual woman to meet the patriotic challenge, She need only sit down and ask herself a straighte forward question: “What i§ my present work worth in terms of service to country, education, characters building, morale, religion?”

The Alpha and Omega of It

IF, IN FINDING an honest answer, she decides her job does contribute to the basic welfare of her society and civilization, then she should hang on to it. There will always be the chance for her to wedge in a few extras, such as helping the Red Cross of taking a turn at the humanitarian movements in her community,

But the girl or woman who toils for someone else, and not alone for self, must not feel she is letting her country down, If her job helps to feed the family or pay the rent or send a child to school, or in any manner builds character in youth, then her service i§ patriotic. The need for efficient housewives and good school teachers and watchful mothers has never heen greater. May God help us to be content with such humble serving. For wars are not won, on battle fields alone nor by generals. The obscure private soldier goes where he is sent and does what he is told. For many women that must also be the Alpha and Omega of

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

Questions and Answers

(The Indianapolis Times Service Bureau will answer any question of fact or information, not involving extensive re= search. Write your question clearly, sign fname and address, inclose a thrée-cent postage stamip. Medical or legal advice cannot be given, Address The Times Washington Service Bureau, 1013 Thirteenth S8t., Washington, D. C.) °

Q—Which way do the eagles on Army insigns face? A-—Toward their right, Q—Is it true that more than a million dollars is paid daily for taxes on beer consumed in the United States? A—Last year the Federal and state taxes and ‘food on beer totaled $376,868,027, slightly more than a million dollars daily. Q=When and where did the steamship Vestris sink? A—Off Virginia, Nov, 12, 1928. The British steamer was enroute from New York to South America, when it encountered a fierce gale. One hundred and ten lives were lost, Q—How can 1 determine whether any coal gas escapes from the furnace into the living quarters of my home? A—Put some sulphur on the live coals and shut the furnace door; if there is a leak in the furnace, the odor of sulphur will permeate the rooms. -Q—1Is there any animal life on top of Deviis Tower in Wyoming? A—=Rats, mice, chipmunks and hawks have been observed there.

Q—Is the tax on electrical appliances _— the -Aet, retail

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