Indianapolis Times, Indianapolis, Marion County, 10 April 1942 — Page 20

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The Indianapolis Times

ROY W. HOWARD RALPH BURKHOLDER MARK FERREE President Editor Business Manager

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FRIDAY, APRIL 10, 1042

TO MEN OF VALOR O defeat can dim the glory of Bataan’s defenders. No reverse will lower the pride which lifts them to the ranks of America’s greatest heroes. Wherever sacrifice to duty is honored, their example is precious. Not only among Americans and Filipinos, but in every land and on every front there is tribute to their service. Even the enemy envies their endurance, their daring, their ability to fight on so long with so little against such odds. America’s regard for them is an emotion too genuine to shout, too personal to parade. But that sentiment is not of the lost cause variety. The cause is not lost. It is nearer victory, thanks to the weeks and months which they bought for united nations on the march. Had they not held a quarter million of enemy shock troops—one to eight—Japan might have been in Australia, or Siberia, or Alaska, or Hawaii today. During weeks of narrow escape, their steady fire in Bataan protected reinforcements for outposts from the Indian ocean to the Bering sea. So their defense has served its purpose. Having delayed the enemy, Bataan alone was no longer of major military value. It had become a symbol. It is still a symbol. Bataan is America’s badge of valor. And in our hour of final victory, whether soon or late, Bataan will remain the symbol of those who fight for freedom without fear.

WAKE UP, CONGRESS—IT’S LATE!

HO said the American people are soft? Complacent? Asleep? Unwilling to sacrifice? Let him note the recent series of Gallup polls on regu- | lation of unions and business, hours of work, profits, prices, t wages. If the public had its way, the 40-hour week in war industries would be out and overtime would start after 48 hours. That was the consensus of a majority of voters in every part of the country. More overwhelming—93 per cent to 7 per cent—was | the expression of voters in favor of a law requiring unions to register with the federal government and make public reports on their financial affairs.

Every poll on labor questions showed a demand—even | within union ranks—for surrender of the right to strike ! during wartime, for less emphasis on overtime pay and for stricter control of unions. But those feelings don’t mean that the people are anti- | union and pro-business. An overwhelming majority—77 per cent—voted for laws regulating profits much more strictly. The voters | want the bosses to make sacrifices just as great as those asked of labor. | Sixty-six per cent favor a law similar to Canada’s which | keeps wages, salaries and prices, including farm prices, from | going higher. Only 24 per cent disapproved; 10 per cent were undecided. Skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled labor voted for wageprice controls by a margin of 63 per cent. Among farmers the vote was 64 per cent favorable. On this question workers and farmers think almost identically. s = = . 8 UNION politicians scream “anti-labor” at those who want the 40-hour week modified and unions strictly regu- | lated—but the people don’t agree with them. Business executives cry “radical” and “crackpot” at those who would strictly regulate business firms and limit profits. The people feel otherwise. Farm blocs clamor for increased prices—but the people, including the farmers, don’t agree. Politicians hesitate to put a ceiling on wages as well as prices. But the public wants one. Congressmen still listening to the voices of the pressure crowds, the farm lobbyists, the labor politicians and the

business-as-usual boys, apparently don’t sense the attitude | of the American people. They'd better listen to some of these polls, or they'll be getting the gate come next November.

WHERE WE STAND

[FORTUNE MAGAZINE'S survey of the American attitude toward post-war co-operation with Great Britain is a timely contribution to national thinking. 1t appears to confirm that we realize the Anglo-Saxon nations, working wisely together, constitute the only homogeneous bloc which perhaps can save us from going through a new world war every quarter century. And of equal importance, the poll notifies those idealists typified by union now that we propose to co-operate as independent nations, but want no United States of the World. \ This suggests a complementary warning that should be repeated from time to time, so. that nobody can possibly misunderstand. Our people are prepared to go the limit in fighting for, with or beside the Russians against Germany. But we're just as unalterably opposed to communism in this country today as we were before Hitler invaded Russia.

WILL TO WIN

OBERT HEILFERTY is 95 years old. He is a Civil war veteran. He has his ideas about how we should win this war. He expressed them in New York the other day after watching part of our army parade for almost four

hours. “It is my belief,” said Robert Heilferty, “that we gather all those who are able to shoulder a gun, secure ships enough

to send them over in a body—and then rip the life out of

Fair Enough

By Westbrook Pegler

TUSCON. Ariz, April 10.—The Indianapolis Times has run an editorial obviously intended to take some heat off a recent essay of mine concerning the wicked decision and opinion of the United States supreme court in the teamsters’ case, a prosecution under the anti-racketeering act. The editorial says this decision “did not, as we read it, express any vindication of criminality by unioneers” and adds the contrary view that "it seemed tO us to express genuine regret at the necessity for finding that congress has placed predatory unioneers beyond the reach of the federal anti-trust laws. Far from condoning such conduct . . . it deplored these tactics.” Well, now I have gone back over the Byrnes opinjon and I defy anyone to show me a single word of regret that the law must be so construed as to permit such foul knavery or anything which can be interpreted as disapproval of the extortion which was plainly proved by the prosecution and found by the jury. On the contrary, the spirit of this opinion is one of toleration and it is in this sinister respect a cone sistent supplement to the evil decree which Felix Frankfurter wrote in the majority opinion on the carpenters’ case last year.

It's Every American's Right

THE NEAREST THING to an outright expression on the moral issue was one of unconcern. This was the statement that “it is not our province either to approve or disapprove such tactics.” The hell it isn't! It is every decent American’s right and the moral and civic duty of all our courts to disapprove all lawlessness by whomsoever, and nobody who has thus washed his hands of the moral issue can claim to receive credit for having “deplored these tactics.” We ail know perfectly well—and Justice Byrnes should know better than most of us, for he was a member of the national legislature when this act was passed—that our congress has never fallen so low as to grant any element of the population a right to commit highway robbery on any pretext. That would be immoral and contrary to the very spirit of the nation. Why, this decision even goes so far as to say that an American citizen who owns a truck is guilty of an overt act under this law if he rejects an offer of services by one who merely indicates that he desires to become an employee. If the citizen doesn’t hire the thug who says he wants a job then the thug beqomes an employee in this court’s opinion which now becomes the law.

"Complicated Tissue of Language"

THE COURT COULD have found, as Chief Justice Stone found in his minority dissent, and as the jury found in the trial in the presence of the defendants, that the pretense of an employer-and-employee relation was a fraud and that the money paid was not wages but blackmail handed over in fear of bodily harm or property damage, But no, not this court. This court spins a long and complicated tissue of language the final result of which is that if any five gorillas calling themselves a union stick you up as you are delivering a crate of farm produce across a state line and give you your

| choice of your money or your life they aren't

racketeering or robbing you, provided one of them has the presence of mind to remark that in return for your money he would be willing to drive your car a hundred yards. The mere utterance of this remark makes him your employee. You might ask your congressman if he is going to

and honest that not even the supreme court can read any other meaning into them.

—

Bill Somervell By Gen. Hugh S. Johnson

WASHINGTON, April 10.—~Just a month ago today the reorganization of the war department was made effective. It was a wise move for the war department to clean its own Rouse and streamline peace-time procedures for war emergency. Today the three branches are functioning efficiently, but the outstanding job, and the most difficult job in the whole picture, was that given to Lieut. Gen. Brehon Somervell, the commanding general of the services of supply. He has quietly, efficiently, and effectively gone about the job of tying in and combining related functions, eliminating red tape and time-consuming procedures, cleaning his house of dead wood, and at the same time keeping the wheels going. That is an accomplishment. It is true that there is still much for him to do, but the American people can rest assured that he will do the job.

Of MacArthur's Caliber

I KNOW BILL SOMERVELL. I have watched him closely through his career in the army; later when he started the task of building the Florida canal and did what other engineers thought impossible; and when he followed me in New York City in the WPA. No boondoggling projects were slipped over on Somervell in that latter job, and no one is going to slip anything over on him in doing his job as long as he has the authority and responsibility to do it. This column is just to give you another example of what I meant in one of my previous columns when I said that there are lots of officers in the army of the MacArthur caliber, who when given the opportunity, will deliver the ball. You can rest assured that Somervell will give them the opportunity because he cannot stand a man who does not deliver. He delegates authority, but demands action. The country should realize that in Somervell they have the keystone of the bridge that will cary troops and supplies to the attack.

So They Say—

The United States after a victorious war will have to remain a strong military power for a long time to come. This means our military budget will hardly drop below eight to ten billion dollars annually.— Dr. Gustave Stolper, American economist. * ® e

The promise of independence for India should serve as a tonic for the cause of the United States and wherever men respond to the stir of justice— Israel Goldstein, New York rabbi. ® . e

It is not a crime to own a new automobile, but it is a crime for a person who needs an automobile in war work not to have one.—Cyrus McCormick, Office of Price Administration official. . * * -

I am encouraging nobody to believe the tide has turned, because there is a long way to go yet.— Francis M. Forde, Australian minister of war. -* LJ * Measured by ordinary standards this nation has done extremely well, but we aren't measuring by ordinary standards any more.—onald M. Nelson.

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

“WILL COMMIES SEE RED WHEN THEY READ PEG” By C. 0. T.,, East Chicago Will the Commies see red and be! as mad as a bull after they have read Pegler’s April 7 essay! Can [that man write! It will not be unlikely for political amateurs and crackpot radicals to read that col-| umn three or four times to get it by! memory, | Like everyone else, I suppose, he gets me so angry sometimes I wish! 'T could pop him on the nose. Now | {he has taken a powerful wallop at | Earl Browder, the demigod of the {American Communists, whom they

| stand for that or vote for some laws so plain, decent claim as their martyr for doing time in the federal pen.

You see, I read both sides, Pegler and the Daily Worker, to try to get a balance of the thing, and also belong to the C. I. O. It is at least interesting and of some probable consequence, too. 2 = s “YOU OWE APOLOGY TO

AMERICAN SEAMEN”

By Walter Frisbie, secretary-treasurer, Indiana State Industrial Union Council

Yesterday evening you approved ! editorially the decision of the United States supreme court in the Southern Steamship Co. case. You! was a dissenting opinion filed by] Justices Black, Douglas, Murphy and Reed.

(Times readers are invited their these columns, religious conMake your letters short, so all can

to express views in

troversies excluded.

have a chance. Letters must

be signed.)

would be only fair to mention, too, that of all the workers in the United States the seamen are among the loyalest and bravest. Already 400 members of the National Mari-

{time Union (C. I. O) have given been here for some 17 years or

their lives for their country in ships sunk by the axis since Pearl Harbor. Survivors of torpedoed America vessels spend no time in port

worrying about narrow escapes; |

they sign up on the first outbound ship. Your editorial was an attack by implication on the loyalty of American seamen. You owe them an

apology.

Labor is producing the goods and ical way anyhow?

the seamen are delivering them. ” 2 EJ “PROTEST OIL TO SPAIN TO HELP KILL OUR BOYS!”

By Ted Rhodes, 1635 Central ave.. apt. 12

Every red-blooded American will

failed to note though that there . ... to our congress and presi- by “A Hoosier, Columbus.” -

ident the state department's o. k. ‘of shipments of oil and aviation gas Winchell's

“GIVE FRONT-HANDLES TO THE FORUM WRITERS” By L. P. Maddox, 1701 N. Hlinois st. I do wish that “Voice In The Crowd” (Times, April 8th, 1942) would state first names, initials, or

_ FRIDAY, APRIL 10, 1942

In Washington

‘By Peter Edson

WASHINGTON, April 10.—All right, you want to krow ‘what your life is going to be like six months or a year from now, So this is telling you: Mr. Donald M. Nelson, the big war production board man, has just passed out the tip that by June 30 practically all metalworking plants of this country will be converted to war production. : The making of new metal gadgets for civilian consumption will then be out. That means that the United States is going back to about 1900, which was just about the time the steel age got going good. * This hits you right where you live, and in ways that may surprise you. True, you may be riding around in autos, listening to radios, snitching midnight snacks out of mechanical refrigerators, and keeping the little woman happy and occupied at home with electric washing machines and vacuum cleaners, But they won't be new gadgets, chum. They'll be old ones—mere memories of the good times that were B. H—Before Hitler. He is the guy to be blamed for all this, not Mr. Nelson.

And Wait Till Christmas

YOU WILL BEGIN to feel this through the sume mer and fall, but by the time you're ready to do your Christmas shopping, you'll be limited to toothpicks, chopsticks, wooden nutbowls and kindred by-products of the forest monarchs. Who knows—maybe burnt wood wall plaques will come back.

As for the brides of 1943 and the young couples courageous enough to get married and set up housekeeping—try to set up housekeeping—it will be a wooden wedding. When your car or tires wear out, you'll be walking home, unless you can get a street car or bus close to your door. The house you walk to will be an old one —no new construction will be permitted except on war housing projects.

Moderne but Not Metal

OUT IN THE kitchen, the pride and joy will be reaching for tin cans of food on the shelves of metal kitchen cabinets. The kitchen table and chair may still be moderne, but they won't be metal. There simply won't be any new electric iron, ironer, roaster, toaster, boiler, broiler, waffle iron, percolator or mixer, all of which would take metal. No metal vegetable bin or vacuum cleaner, either, There won't even be any new metal wastebasket to receive the bills you can’t pay for the metal things you can’t buy. If your nerves need treatment, there will be no new electric vibrators or sun lamps or heating pads. If you die, the flowers sent you by loving friends cannot stand on new metal stands and—here’s the final ironless irony—if you want a metal casket you'll have to confine yourself to one of gold or silver, of which we have too much. Life will be like THAT.

otherwise more clearly identify the “Mr. Maddox” he refers to in his | article; “Volunteer System Much | Too Slow for Emergency.” | It just happens that there are several “Mr. Maddoxes” in Indianapolis. I happen to have been here myself for more than 21 years. I also have two brothers who have

| more.

| I am sure that none of us want to |be accused, any more than has al- | ready happened, of being sympathetic with the general trend of the | views usually expressed in the Hoo- | sier Forum by one Edward F. Mad(don. « Couldn't you see that fronthandles are given to people referred to in the Hoosier Forum in a crit-

2 ” » “WINCHELL MUST HAVE SOCKED SOMEONE” By Another Hoosier, Crawfordsville In way of reply to the article about Walter Winchell and signed

It occurs to me that Walter broadcast must have | socked someone right between the

The dissenting opinion, which to Fascist Spain. may at some not too distant date! We remember this department ap- eyes and I wonder if the writer of be the majority opinion, was based proved the shipment of scrap iron that article®has the same patriotism on the common sense doctrine that to Japan. Today this scrap iron ;,, pis heart that Winchell has; I circumstances alter cases and that | kills our boys. . . . ; wonder if he has donated one-tenth the realities of a situation ought to! We remember this department .< much for the soldiers, sailors and be considered rather than iron clad knew, but did nothing about Ger-|,thers in the service; I wonder if legalistic rules. {man [propagandists on payrolls of he gives any time to work up the : We mention this only because| American advertising agencies . In pig entertainments that have reit seems to us important that when South America. These propagandists | g1teq in thousands of dollars in comment is made upon supreme went through South America spread-| funds for families of our dead in court decisions it is only fair to give ing hatred for democracy. . . . the armed services: I wonder if he all the facts; especially since it is| Together we can prevent this! .. [has worked to expose so many becoming increasingly clear that in Let's prevent the selling of oil t0!.ro0ks and unpatriotic activities in the long run the courts do follow fly these bombs to kill our boys. the good old U. S. A. and stood the the election returns and that the We must prevent the sale of oil t0|ghuse that those so-called Ameri-

dissent of today is the law of to-! Fascist Spain to distribute to Germorrow, ‘many, Italy and Japan. We must When you speak of a strike of demand the state department withseamen and of mutiny, it would be draw its approval for such sales. wiser also to emphasize that this Let's protest before this oil, too, | helps kill our boys.

case occurred in July, 1938. I

Side Glances=By Galbraith

lis a question I would like to ask

.|pay a fee of from $50 to $300 to

cans have piled on him. To the writer, we do need more Winchells that have the ts to come right out in the open ahd say what they think, instead of ganging up to find fault with one whose activities are all American.

8 2 s “DO NOT CONDEMN ALL FOR WHAT A FEW DO” By Donald Reece, New Castle In answer to Mr, George Davis’ letter of April 7th, I agree with him that constructive criticism is democracy’s greatest strength. There

him. Where is the constructive criticism in that article? I seemed to have missed it. Mr. Davis, I did net call you ignorant but I did say that you were fees. You stated that one had to work in a defense plant. I see where you still stick to it. I repeat that the most that the U. A. W. A, can charge, by its constitution, is $15 initiation fee and $1 monthly dues. The U. A W. A carries contracts in a large number of defense plants. Why try to make people think that all unions charge the high fees which a few charge? Now, Mr. Davis, were you misinformed or are you merely malicious? If you want to be fair with iabor, do not condemn all unions for what a few do.

DAILY THOUGHT Having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end.-—John 13:1.

misinformed about union initiation |

the United States?

A Woman's Viewpoint By Mrs. Walter Ferguson

WONDER WHO Mrs. Roosevelt was talking to in her broadcast about saving the doctor’s time by going to his office instead of having him out to the house. It must have been her Park ave. audience, because the average citizen hasn't been able to call in a physician except for serious illness since the Lord knows when, on account of the expense. In most places it costs less to visit the doctor than to have him visit you. The percentage of Americans who pay their own bills, if they call for .medical aid when they feel pains coming on, has been growing less and less with every passing year. They either tough it out or drag themselves down to the local medical building for examination and treatment.

Timely and Wise

And now the future offers even darker prospects than the past. Perhaps the time will come when we shall get all our doctoring by telephone,

Mrs. Roosevelt also extolled the idea of entering a hospital in order to save the energy of the physicians who can thus see many patients in the time it takes to see one. Would that we could. Unhappily, cash on the barrelhead is the rule at most hospitals, and thousands of middle-class people can’t afford to see the inside of one unless they are at death's door. The first lady’s appeal for better care of general health is timely and wise. Every community, and every family, must begin to think more seriously about the matter because doctors, they say, will soon be a scarcity upon the civilian scene. Fortunately the common folks have wrestled with the doctor problem for some time. It’s nothing new to them, although it is grave enough to causc treasury department officials to urge a lightening ot the income-tax load when there has been a lot of sickness or major operations in the family,

Y

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 Burean will answer any question of fact or information. not involving extemsive research. Write vour guestion clearly. sign name and address, inclose a three-cent postage stamp. Medical or legal advice cannot be given, Address The Times Washington Service Bureau. 1013 Thirteenth St.. Washington. D. GC.)

Q—Will there be a shortage of spices during the war? A—Supplies of the commoner spices will probably be adequate. There is more than two years’ supply of pepper in the warehouses. Mustard produced within the country will more than meet 1942 needs, Cinnamon, which comes from India, may be hard to get when present supplies are exhausted.

Q—To whom should I submit the design for a new type gun that I want to contribute to the war effort?

A—The National Inventors’ council, Commerce building, Washington, D. C., has been established to evaluate and examihe all inventions that may be useful to the national war effort and assist the ine ventors.

Q—Is it true that cigarets are sold in paper bags in Great Britain?

A—Popular brands are delivered in packages of 500, 1000 and 2000 units to be sold by the dozen or less at retail in small paper bags. Cigarets are also sold there in paper packages, with no inner foil or outer cellophane.

Q—Why wasn't the Panama canal built at sea level, without locks? i of A—A sea level canal would have been possible at the Isthmus of Panama, but extensive excavation would have been required, since the lowest part of the continental divide on the isthmus is about 276 feet above sea level.

Q—What is the lowest temperature of record in

A—Sixty-six / below sero