Indianapolis Times, Indianapolis, Marion County, 16 April 1942 — Page 17
PAGE 16
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THURSDAY, APRIL 16, 1942
SPECIFIC? AND HOW! THAT old, useful and anonymous friend of the president has been writing to him again about non-defense economies. Sometimes he writes as a business man, but this time he’s a well-known economist. And, as usual, Mr. Roosevelt has squelched him with a challenge to point out exactly where cuts could be made in the federal budget. Furthermore, the president tells his press conference, that’s the trouble with all critics of nondefense spending. They aren’t specific. Well, let’s see. The Brookings institution has recommended specific cuts in the federal budget to save $2,000,000,000. The National Economy league has recommended specific cuts to save $1,600,000,000. Senator Byrd's joint congressional committee on nonessential expenditures has recommended specific cuts to save 21,301,075,000. Specific cuts, mind you, in all cases. Abolition of such depression agencies as NYA and CCC and drastic reduction if not abolition of WPA. Reduction of farm subsidies, reduction of public-works and highway programs and porkbarrel items not essential to winning the war and not justified under these war-boom conditions. = * ® 2 2 . BUT when the specific recommendation for abolishing NYA is mentioned to the president, he objects. Why, NYA is training 400,000 boys and girls a year for war in-
dustries. Sure. The NYA bureaucrats, and countiess other bu-
reaucrats, have been allowed to work themselves in under the defense tent and become “indispensable” to the war effort. Other agencies can do, and are doing, a far better job of industrial training than NYA does. Evidence of that is overwhelming. But NYA must go on, and a patriotic educator who dares argue to the contrary finds himself browbeaten and smeared by the president’s supporters in congress. The trouble is not lack of specific recommendations for non-defense economies. The trouble is that a busy president is listening, not to overburdened taxpayers who protest waste of their money, but to entrenched tax spenders who are against economy,
MacARTHUR MAKES NEWS 00D news, that MacArthur's bombers from Australia have successfully raided Jap bases in the Philippines, blankets the bad news that the general is dissatisfied with his status. Both dispatches came from MacArthur's headquarters on the same day, and both passed the same censor. The report of the daring air raid is the sort that puts new pride and new fighting spirit into all Americans. When 13 Yankee bombers can fly thousands of miles, destroy enemy shipping, docks, airfields and aircraft over a wide area, and return with the loss of only one plane and no men, the promised offensive seems nearer. But MacArthur, according to his official spokesmaq, is uncertain over his status, authority and plans. President Roosevelt and Prime Minister Curtin of Australia issued statements reaffirming that MacArthur is in supreme command of united nations forces of all kinds in the southwest Pacific. But the general's headquarters comes right back: “A spokesman says the general, four weeks after his arrival in Australia, has not received from Washington necessary decisions and instructions, and as a result he is as yet commander only for American forces in the Far East and Australia.” Obviously something is wrong somewhere. Such a dangerous misunderstanding cannot be cleared up too quickly.
AN OLD SOLDIER PASSES
LD soldier that he was; and man of action, Gen. Hugh S. Johnson would not have chosen to meet death in a sickhed, to spend his final hours breathing feebly under an oxygen tent. Not at a time when the nation he loved is in a desperate war for survival, and his own contemporaries in the army are at the head of troops in the field. But Hugh Johnson's life was rich and varied, full of accomplishments, public service, and recognition such as comes to few men. Soldier, statesman, lawyer, businessman, orator, newspaper columnist, a potent influence in public affairs through the first world war and into the second. The nickname Old Iron Pants fitted well this robust and leathery ex-cavalry officer, who always swung hard and never pulled his punches. But those who knew him well know that inside his hard-boiled exterior were tenderness and sensitivity. He probably will be longest remembered as the man who led the nation’s great offensive against depression and unemployment, the administrator of NRA who fired the imagination and spirits of a people who had heen long without hope. In this still greater struggle our country could use men of Gen. Johnson's type, men who can command the confidence, allegiance and co-operation of all ¢lasses of citizens.
STAGGERING WORK HOURS
NEW YORK CITY'S experiment in staggering working hours -should interest Indianapolis and every other industrial community. Ostensibly it is aimed merely at relieving the terrible subway congestion at work-going and home-coming hours. Actually, it may point the way toward a partial answer to the transportation problem created by the rubber shortage. If the more than seven million of New Yorkers can be moved around the big city’s 300 square miles of territory, without unbearable harianin, by ges whet, paves their
Fair Enough
By Westbrook Pegler
TUCSON, Ariz, April 16 — I am not certain that it is wise to recognize them at all, but my wisdom is slightly fallible, so I will take a chance today and notice persistent insinuations out of Washington and New York, and in some of the little papers published by the professional unioneers, that all citizens of our country who criticize any domestic action or $5 _ policy of our government are “Roosevelt haters.” I can speak with authority because I have expressed some opposition, but still think President Roosevelt is the strongest man among us, the fittest ang, on all counts, the most logical man in
the United States to carry on the task of war presi- |
dent and a great doer and achiever on his war record up to now.
He saw war coming, realized that Adolf Hitler was determined to bring down this horror on the world, and made us prepare to meet the attack. Our preparaions were insufficlent, but they were far more advanced, thanks to the president’s powerful persistence against the indifference and opposition of our people, than they would have been under the rule of a less energetic and determined man. He made us get ready far beyond our active willingness to do so.
Difference Just One of Degree
I RECOGNIZE, of course, that the party in power used the public funds and its extensive bureaucracy in the interests of Mr. Roosevelt's third candidacy, but even a standpat Republican must admit that it were ever thus in our country. It ain’t nice, but it is one of the plain facts of our political life, and to the extent of their ingenuity and their political necessity, the Republicans before Mr. Roosevelt used the same methods. The difference was not one of principle or basic methods, but of degree.
At the risk of a charge of complacency, I insist that the progress which the president has made in converting a militarily flabby nation from the ways and mind of an unarmed, flippant, luxury loving people, whose, amusement industry was one of the most important in the land, has been a much greater achievement than most of us know. If a president is to be criticized for his policies and errors of execution he must also receive credit for his good works and I believe Mr. Roosevelt has brought us or dragged us far ahead of the military and industrial war stage which the enemy had set for us as of this time. Of course, the military people, professionals of the staff, and raw, drafted men alike, the workers, taxpayers, stockholders and plant executives, congress and even the despised bureaucrat have had a hand in all this, but credit for accomplishment is due the chief who risks the blame for failure and he is Mr. Roosevelt,
Real Haters Are Coughlinites
THE INDISCRIMINATE ‘use of the term “Roosevelt hater” cannot now arouse actual hatred of the head of our nation in men and women to whom it is wrongfully applied with dark purpose, but neither is it likely to intimidate those who, nevertheless, opposed the president's passive encouragement of predatory and lawless political unionism and his toleration of men in government who have committed themselves to a belief in the failure of our free life under capitalism and therefore must exert themselves in pontine of influence to vindicate their expressed beiefs.
The Roosevelt haters are the Coughlinites and all their clamorous but not very numerous kind whose daggers thirst for the blood of Americans and, latent-
ly, the communists who hated him with equal fury while Russia ran with Hitler,
It's a Mystery!
By Ludwell Denny
WASHINGTON, April 16— Here are three new military mysteries for arm-chair strategists. Even some of the experts are stumped. The first is in Africa. For two weeks Axis forces under General Rommell have been moving forward to positions for another great offensive against Egypt. Nothing surprising about that — the Germans have been getting largescale equipment and supplies through the British Mediterranean blockade and are well heeled for a Lybian spring drive. But Rommell has suddenly stopped his advance, and actually retreated back to Mekili, the road junction 100 miles west of Tobruk. The British general staff in Cairo confesses it is mystified.
The second is the mystery of Japanese naval tactics. Prime Minister Churchill reported to Commons Monday that Japan's naval force in the Bay of Bengal includes at least three battiships and five aircraft carriers, plus heavy and light cruisers and several flotillas of destroyers.
It Gets Us, Too
SINCE JAPAN ON Dec. 7 had only an estimated 10 battleships and seven to nine carriers, some of which have been sunk, her present force in the Bay of Bengal presumably is from one-third to one-half of her entire navy—more than 5000 miles from Yokohama. She has other sizable fleets in the South China sea, and in the New Guinea area—about 3000 miles from home. The mystery is how Japan dares to leave her homeland without major naval protection, when American fleets beyond Hawali are presumably waiting for such an opportunity.
The third mystery is the announcement by a
British cabinet minister, Mr. Bevin, that “we shall |’
soon be passing from the defense to the attack.” Certainly nobody will be surprised if the American-Brit-ish general staff coriferences in London are followed by the long-delayed British offensive in Norway or elsewhere. But why the London government wants to give it such Wie BEVIS PUBNSHY In vanes Is WAties:.
So They Say—
If we decreed barrels for women, it would be just a few days until barrels appeared with lace edging or something to make them different from other barrels. —Stanley Marcus, War Production Board official “freezing” present skirt lengths and other fashions for duration. * *
An inferior race needs less food and less culture Suppor Tage Never can the German man same way as the Pole—Nasi Labor Boss in regulations for Polish siave labor.
of our nation’s objectives~C. I. O. President Philip Murray. :
America rouses herself, and not until then,
THE INDIANAPOLIS TIMES
There's No Grandstand in This Game
a
The Hoosier Forum
I wholly disagree with what you say, but will defend to the death your right to say it.—Voltaire.
ro
“OUR FEET MAY FLATTEN, AND ALL THAT, BUT...”
By G. A. B., Noblesville Bleak and dreary as wartime may be, there always are little shafts of light piercing the fog. Take girdles. At first, it was feared that women who carry their weight in the wrong places might be forced to endure the hardships of war without benefit of those form and morale build-
(Times readers are invited their these columns, religious controversies Make your letters short, so all can
to express views in
excluded.
have a chance. Letters must be signed.)
ers. Now an ente: .rising chemist announces production of the first synthetic rubber thread from which girdles can be made. Our feet may flatten after we jack the family bus up for the duration; our sweet tooth may fall out for lack of sugar; our jitterbugging
ridiculous to attempt to impose ceilings on prices without putting a roof above wages. “If I get the dough,” says one typically, “I'll find something to spend it for. If I can’t buy a car or a refrigerator, I'll spend it for something else. And
may deteriorate from want of a radio, juke box or musical instruments, but, praise Leon Henderson,
prices will go up.” It has been one of Franklin Roosevelt's great assets that for
a birthday cake on the sidewalk on the 1000th day. But few heads were bashed. Now it has been settled. Apparently there is no moral. The strike ended on All Fools’ Day. Well, maybe there’s your moral, ” o 2 “CIVILIAN DEFENSE EFFORTS
TO DATE ARE ZERO” By fiqlngram, 21 R. Mallory & Co., I have been a subscriber to your
paper for a good many years, which | is evidende that I like to read it, |
but sometimes I run into an item that appears to me to be on what is ‘known as the ‘ripe side” in so far as truth or accuracy is concerned, but when I run into some-
that the public is getting edgy.
years he kept a short jump ahead of public opinion. The time has come for labor— and the farmers, who have been equally misrepresented by their spokesmen—to join with the rest of the nation in sacrificing to beat the axis without destroying the American economy in the process,
there will be few Spreading Sallies or Overlapping Olas. 2 ” ” “THIS TIME MR. ROOSEVELT LAGS BEHIND OPINION” By M. B., Indianapolis By this time it must be evident to Mr, Roosevelt that he has mis-
| judged the temper of the American £ #8
people in the matter of labor standards. For years he was on the popular side of the wages-and-hours argument. But now we are engaged in a desperate war, and sentiment has changed. Certain vociferous elements in the | ranks of organized labor still insist | the Brass Rail restafirant in New unionism must not be asked to yield | York City. one jot. But one need not travel | A fair share of the world was at far before he will be impressed peace, the third term was a bigger | problem than Hitler, tires were just Go into the ‘“‘greasy spoon” res-| | something cars rolled on, Germany taurants where men in overalls con- (and Poland were signing a nongregate—railroad workers, oil field | {aggression pact, and Tommy Manhands, truckmen, factory employees. | |ville had been married only four Hold your tongue and listen. | times when the waiters, chefs and And what are these men in over- other help walked out of the resalls, many with union cards in their | taurant on Jan, 18, 1939, and started pockets, saying? They say wages picketing over the right to hire and and hours are important, but not| fire. enough to warrant slowing down|:' In three years the picket line military production. These workmen | took its place beside Radio City, the say among themselves that it is|Empire State, chorus girls, and scandalous for a nation fighting for| gossip columnists. By and large it its existence to squabble about a{was more diverting than destruc-40-hour week, tive. Occasionally there was a They go further. They argue it Is| ruckus, as when fhe cops dumped
“THE STRIKE ENDED ON ALL FOOL'S DAY...” By An Onlooker, Indianapolis
After covering 1,730,000 miles and wearing out 7270 pairs of shoes, the
«©
Side Glances —By Galbraith |
pickets are gone from in front of|
thing such as your article last Friday or Saturday on the activities of civilian defense in the Indianapolis area, the stink is so putrid that I have to protest.
I am a member of the American Legion and fought overseas in the last war, and realize the imminent danger to the city of Indianapolis regardless of the apparent universal indolent complacency of its inhabitants. I have protested at meetings of the American Legion most vociferously because it is my understanding that they were to oversee the operation of civilian defense in the city. To date the efforts are Zero.
Along with a great many others, |some months ago, I registered. The only answer I have received is a ‘call to the police headquarters, some six or eight weeks ago, where I was fingerprinted and gave my life's history,
A short time ago I received a letter from my son-in-law in Detroit in which he said: “I suppose, dad, you are way ahead of us because you are a member of the Legion, but I am rather proud of the fact that IT have been to a civilian defense school for four sessions, and I am now in charge of a block, and have allocated all the necessary implements to defend us against an air raid or any other emergency if such should come.” He also said, “You will be surprised to see your old home town. It's dotted with small tool houses furnished by the city for* the purpose of defense.” It occurred to me that all the above might be of interest to you, because as a single individual it is impossible for me to do much in the way of agitating this activity, and I am of the belief, from your editorials, that you as a paper are particularly interested in the patriotic activity of this city. On the side I have done a little investigating, and have found what appears to me to be political aggrandizement on one side and the
DAILY THOUGHT And I will’ bring the land into desolation; and your enemies which dwell therin shall be astonished at it.—Leviticus 26:32,
The object of punishment is pre-|-
vention. from evil; it never can
THURSDAY, APRIL 16, 1048 In Washington
id Peter Edson
WASHINGTON, April 16. — Jockeying for post-war positions by the international airlines is going on with intense rivalry in spite of the war, and with the wartime boom in aviation, this unquestionably will be one of the biggest battles for commercial supremacy after peace is declared. Imperial Airways, the British monopoly, is watching hawklike and jealous over the advances which the U. S. Army Air Force Ferrying Command has made in establishing bases in Africa, the Near Eas and India. Pan-American Airways is aiding the Ferrying Command in this development, and that’s what makes Imperial Airways nervous, feare ing establishment of competitive routes.
In America, Northwest Airlines wants to estab« lish a route to Alaska, across Canada from Chicago. It would compete with Trans-Canada Airways, and there is much feuding behind the scenes.
A decision is expected soon from the Civil Aeros nautics Board on American Airlines’ petition to ese tablish a route from El Paso to Mexico City, which would compete with the Pan American Airways routes from Brownsville, Laredo, Los Angeles to Mexico City,
Another threat to P. A. A.’s leadership is American Export, which wants to get into the business with & route to Lisbon, or any place in Europe. German and Italian lines have been kicked ou$ of South America, but all this international come petition of the big flying companies will get hotter as the war goes on.
Tougher for Draft Evaders
STIFFER SENTENCES are due for draft evaders, 907 of whom have been convicted thus far. . .. The last 150,000 of 750,000 textile workers move up te 40 cents per hour minimums on April 20. . . . Federal laws prevent the government from contracting with prison shops for war production... . Bomb shelters are required on all new construction in Panama. , . . WPA has spent $450,000,000 on 963 airport sites. . . , War scap will be a little less slippery owing to ree duction of glycerine content, the glycerine being die verted to manufacture of explosives. . . . Aliens may work on any war contract not, classified as secret. . . . Six months’ supply of tea, or 50 million pounds, is In stock. . .. Well-organized collection of scrap metals will increase by a third the war production of steel, copper, aluminum, tin and lead.
How Nelson Sees Things
LETTING DOWN his hair at a press conferencs, WPB boss Donald M. Nelson explained his philosophy of operation. It is, briefly, to get free expression on the widest possible differences of opinion on all mate ters of policy. College economists, labor leaders and industrialists are all invited to present a broad range of ideas and from them a balanced point of view obtained. Nelson also indicates that he is looking at the problem of aiding the small businessman and the little manufacturer not as any social issue, but as a practical necessity. Before the war production effort reaches its full capacity, the output of every machine in the country is going to be needed. The idea is to put every one of these machines to work, even if it's only a small lathe in a plant maine tenance tool room.
A Woman's Viewpoint By Mrs. Walter Ferguson
SOME INTERESTING truths may result from the registration of women, which now appéars to be a sure thing in the war pie= ture. The past 20 years has developed a terrific yen for white-collar work. Every girl who wanted a job pictured herself in an office, It is safe to assert that the national labor idea for women has been what we pleasingly call working with one’s brains. As a matter of fact, it doesn’t take an ounce more brains to take dictation than i# does to sell merchandise or work in a factory or kitchen. Probably if the truth were out, the kitchen helper must possess more varieties of knowledge than the office aide. At least she is forced to use her ingenuity. She is less machinelike in her routines, The person who cooks is on her own, even when using recipes, whereas the typist only copies what someone else has written.
It's a Little Frightening
PERHAPS THE war will change our concept of work—and a good thing that would be. Watching Washington wheels go round makes you realize that we have committed the tragic error of putting routine jobs ahead of productive effort. In the capital scores of thousands of men and women are employed for the sole purpose of attending to the details of gov ernment and war. If we exempt policymakers, they do nothing te produce—unless words can be classified as a necessity. The life blood for national defense and national welfare is furnished by those who toil in factories and on farms and who fight on land or sea or air. » That's why the scene in Washington is a little frightening sometimes. It is as if we had been dee luded by a belief that we can run a country and win % war merely by writing down words, by printing reports, or by keeping gigantic files in perfect order. Registration of women would be a fine thing if it had but one result—if it made us ‘realize that the woman who works with her hands anywhere is as valuable to the community and the country as one who works with her head.
Editor's Note: The views expressed by columnists in this newspaper are their own. They are not necessarily these of The Indianapolis Times,
Questions and Answers
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Q@-How is Sughé* used 10. ie. Irate of gum powder? A—Cane sugar molasses, from which refined sugar is made, is one of the best sources of frst-class ethyl alcohol. Smokeless powder is made from ethyl enough sugar alcohol (combined with nitric acid and gun cotton) to make a pound of powder.
Q—What kind of naval vessels sre slhsse iHary ships?