Indianapolis Times, Indianapolis, Marion County, 13 October 1942 — Page 12

he Indianapolis Times

RALPH BURKHOLDER Editor, in .U. 8S. Service WALTER LECKRONE Editor ‘

OY W. HOWARD President

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TUESDAY, ‘ocronm 13, 1043

THE PRESIDENTS SPEECH

THE big news in the president's fireside speech is that drafting the 18 and ‘19-year-olds has become official administration policy.

That step has been inevitable ever since it became ap-

_ parent that this is a war we must fight with all the force we can muster. Though the president’s reluctance has been - understandable, the hard fact is that the sooner these _ young men are called up. the better it will be for them— and eventually they must go anyway. The earlier their training is started, the more time they have for learning now te handle themselves and their weapons, the better carve they can take of themselves under fire. “The more such troops’ (young, strong and trained men) we: have in the field, » said the president, “the sooner the war will be won, and the smaller will be the cost in casualties . . .

“Geed training will save ‘many, many lives in. battle.

The highest rate of casualties is always suffered by units comprised of inadequately trained men. We can be sure that the combat units of our army and navy are well manned; and well equipped, and well trained.” A great American tragedy in the last war was that thousands of our soldiers were rushed to the front in France before they had had time for seasoning. The president is determined that this mistake shall not be repeated.

Parents of men going off to war know that Mr. Roose- |

velt speaks not as a cold, aloof commander-in-chief, but as one of them. His four sons entered their country’s service long ago, and at least one already has seen action. ; a4

. » : HE boys of 18 and 19 have a double assurance from the. president: Not only that they will get a maxifium of the best training, but also that experienced military leaders will make the decisions. Certainly this: is no war" for amateur strategists, whether of the armchair, ‘typewriter, microphone, or any other variety. Nor for politicians, he could have added. The president said our plans are made by. our military chiefs in conference with those of our allies. “Since this: unity of operations was put into effect last January,” he reports, “There has been a very substantial agreement between these planners.” : » That is important. The. “public has been’ a “far ahead | of some officials on the question of unified and as on certain other matters. Of course, when so many interests and nations are involved this ideal of strategic unity is not always easy to achieve. The president has not yet been able to get an authoritative allied joint staff, much less a unified allied command or even a unified American command. But his emphasis on “unity of operations” implies that he is working for it. : The president’s apparent purpose in this address was to lift the public with optimism. He justified genuine optimism, we think, by citing the progress in production, the improvement in the battle of shipping, the training of our fighting forces, and the “unbeatable spirit” of the ‘people. When hé says, “We Aniericans and our allies are going’ to win,” he is echoing the determination of al Americans.

BECAUSE the resident was stressing the optimistic side, no American should be foolish enough to forget the hard side. When he and all of us say we shall win, we mean we shall win the hard way and the only way—by outfighting the enemy. Even though the president did not spell it out. there is enough reminder of that in his call for the boys of 18 nd 19, in his statement of the ‘necessity of diverting ~nemy forges from Russia and China to other theaters of var by new offensives,” and in the navy department’s announcement that three United States cruisers were lost with many casualties in the Solomons two months ago. If the axis grows weaker by inability to replace its material losses, as the president hopes, it will be because we defeat Germany and Japan before they have time to develop the vast resources they have captured. Americans can hear the bad news with the good. They want to kmow the worst, all of it and quickly. They can take it. ‘They rejoice in the real progress reported by the president, grimly conscious that the hard Bghting. is still ahead.

BOUQUET FOR TAXPAYERS ENRY MORGENTHAU, : Secretary of the Treasury Washington, D. C. Dear Mr. Secretary: . Why nota song or a poster or one of shoes little dramas ryou: are using in your excellent bond-buying campaign—

but dedicated this time to those who are buying your tax:

anticipation warrants? After all the money that is invested bonds comes back. But ‘the money laid up in tax waramt goes to the treasury, whole hog It’s not an invest-

AORDIN'RY

word has arrived that two WPB divisions |

; have been abolished and their functions transferred, umably is ‘a matter of internal reorganization | of

‘| Roosevelt, herself, has received one of the greatest

| key to its real intent. First proposed by an organiza-

You Can't Outpromise Adolf!

| shall have independence after the war, but millions

| (curriculum) to the individual—Katherine E. Mec-

Fair Enough By Westbrook Pegler

. NEW YORK, Oct. 13. — Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt - has passed a .. Tt is the law which was first proposed last winter by the United Auto Workers of the C. L + 0. limiting income earned by personal services to $25,000 a year, with certain reservations,

the office of economic stabilization, President ‘Roose velt gave Mrs. Roosevelt her law. ;

the same figures. In fact,-it is not even : Spiesented to be a law to raise money, which is e purpose of taxation. Its purpose is plainly. d ‘to be “to correct gross inequities and to provide for greater equality in contributing to the war effort.”

'Aside From the Principle’

ASIDE FROM THE principle, Mrs. Roosevelt's law is unfair to’ those who earn their incomes by

debt. It provides that taxes, instance premiums and fixed obligations may be deducted and this means that a person having great properties may deduct his taxes on the same, that he who is investing'in large insurance policies may deduct his premiums which become a cumulative store, of personal ‘wealth and

keep it and deduct from income taxable under Mrs. Roosevelt’s new law the amounts’ which he pays to his creditors to reduee the debt. And, of course, anyone who has inherited a fortune yielding a large income need not be troubled by the innovation: Communism can be seen in the plain assertion that no person’s services in private enterprise, even outside the war effort, can legally be worth more than a certain amount of money per year. Its impossible to say what this maximum amount will be except. in some hypothetical case in which an’ elaborate set of Shutnstances is improvised for: pirposes of reckoning. |

"The Key to Its Real Intent’

IT 1S SAID that the president’s own salary will be equalized by voluntary action which has nothing to do with the case except to affirm the offensive principle in the highest quarter. -. But the president is a rich man in his own right whose mother left a fortune of more .than $1,000,000 last year and’ that million but the remainder of a greater fortune which has been handed down and Mrs.

personal incomes in the entire country in the years since 1932 which has been all hers to do with as she pleased, to spend, give away or keep, subject to the usual taxes. None of this income, neither from the estate nor from accumulated riches, is-affected. The stated purpose of Mrs. Roosevelt’s law is the

tion heavy with Communists, diligently promoted by Mrs. Roosevelt and then by the president; rejected on principle by congress and now enacted by decree, the law's purpose is not to raise money with which to fight the war or to prevent inflation, but “to provide greater equality in contributing to the war effort.” That phrase “in Soke, to the war effort” is dressing. puden The real purpose % “to provide for greater equality” by establishing ‘the principle that Americans may receive just so much and no more for their services with the unspoken provise that’ the maximum may be scaled down to a subsistence rate.

The New Asia

By William Philip Simms

WASHINGTON, . Oct. 13.— Measures to end erica’s and Britain's extraterritoriality rights Et in China, announced over the week-end, may be followed by other steps to clarify the postwar status of the billion inhabitants of Asia and the southwest Pacific. In China, “treaty ports” have operated at Shanghai, Tientsin and elsewhere as part of the spoils of war, and there British, French, Germans, Russians, Americans and others have lived under their own laws. There the Chinese, though in their own land, took second place. Today, that sort of thing is gone forever. As soon as the formalities can be gone through with, China will regain the full sovereignty and complete equality among nations to which her transition from a medieval autocracy to a modern democracy entitles her. But modern China’s coming of age is only the beginning of a movement - that will sweep all Asia before it does down.

THIS IS NO NEWS to Washington. Officials here have been told ‘again and again that the people of Asia, including our best friends, the Chinese, do mot regard the ‘Atlantic Charter as applying to them. On the contrary, they quote Churchill as stating specifically to the house of commons that it dees not. Today, therefore, there is n rising demand throughout Asia for some specific guarantee of their own, a Pacific Charter which will leave no doubt whatever in their minds concerning the war aims of the ‘democracies. » Churchill and his government have since made it plain, however, that Britain fully intends that India

in India don’t believe it. They" are still suspicious, and these doubts are playing havoc with British-In-dian relations. Abolition of the ‘humiliating inequalities: in our treaty relations with China, it is widely felt here, will help toward a better understanding throughout Asia. But that alone will not suffice, Far from it. The democracies will have to implement their promises by something more substantial. For when it comes to promises, Bobedy can outdo the Germans or the Japs.

[50 Yhey Say— We perhaps coddled ourselves before the war in the extent to which we tried to adjust the work

Pride, Presidenteeles, “Bryn Mawr college. * * » the country during the last few months show that, while ther has been s decided decrease i the amount driving, there has been no change in the ality, of driving. —National Safety Council. «

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function of the

and adopting the principle of eco-

personal | services and to individuals who have kept out of |.

that the person who has borrowed a lot of money may |

ou surveys of accident experienc throughout |

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SOEs fom.

uA ———_ \N SAYS re or

In Washington By Peter Edson

WASHINGTON, Oct. 13. - Everyone: seems to be kicking in with his two cents worth on maner these days, with the result at a lot of those things you see floating through the air aren't falling leaves at all, but inter departmental memoranda on col ored sheets of onion-skin paper, each containing another idea tor solving the manpower crisis. Within ‘the war manpower come

| mission itself there are dozens of drafts of proposed | legislation to solve the shortages and surpluses. Every

WMC subcommittee has its own ideas and congres= sional committees have their ideas, too. It all makes interesting material for discussion and more discussion, but it hasn't much more importance or

- -authority than that.

The Hoosier Forum

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

“A SHAME A MAN LOSES JOB FOR TELLING TRUTH” By Nick Owens, 5626 W. Morris st. In regards to the piece in the Hoosier Forum I wish to say that Milo L. Curts, 2546 Holt rd. is

{certainly- right. I have seen enough

good lumber and wood burned at Allison’s and Bridgeport Brass . to make anybody take notice. It is a shame about the good new crating that is burned in piles as high as a house at Bridgeport Brass and the end cuts of timbers that are burned at the Allison plant and then they talk about economy.

crating that is burned and destroyed at the Brass company. They can take that money then and buy bonds with it. It sure is. a shame that a man

as Mr. Curts did. I am 100 per cent | for him. » 2 .»

“WHAT PURPOSE DOES ANY KIND OF SLOGAN SERVE?”

By Myrtle Conger, 903 Chestnut st. umbus

There seems: to: be a great deal of agitation about a new war slogan. What purpose does ‘any kind of a

slogan serve toward winning a war? ‘Most of these slogans are false and misleading, anyway. Consider the|:

slogans of the ‘last world ‘ war, slogans given. by President: Wilson, himself: “A war. 'to make the world safe for.democracy,” “A‘war to end| all wars.” We. couldn't have had]: anything more false or misleading, in view of the resulting present world catastrophe. And in this war, we started with another slogan, offered by the present Democratic president, “All out aid short of war,” equally false and misleading. : Of course we are told that slogans raise the morale of the people. Such slogans can only lower the morale of the people by lowering their confidence in the slogans and in those who propose such slogans. And why try to conduct a war by slogans, anyway? Wars have never been won by slogans. Wars are won by these three things—

T am willing to buy ‘Soins oF the)

loses his job for telling -the truth:

(Times readers are invited ~ to express their - views in these columns, religious conexcluded. Make your lefters short, so all can have a chance. ~ Letters must

be signed)

troveries

been won by these three things— namely, leaders, equipment and

about slogans and ‘ concentrate on the essentials for. winning a war: Leaders, -equipmént: and. men; - or, ‘come to think ‘of it, if ‘we must have a .slogan;” how about that: “Leaders, equipment and men?” Especially, leaders. os » FJ “GIVE FARMERS SOME OF THAT $27,000,000 NOW” By J. E.; Swartz, Bedford

manpower: problems (titled “Hoosier Farm Letter to Paul V, McNutt”): May I ask the writer of this series of articles to ask this farmer who is making a plea to Paul V. McNutt to write to Governor Schricker for help. The help should come from the state of Indiana. A keynote speech made by Governor Schricker (the place being Crawfordsville, Ind. on Oct..7) and published by the Indianapolis Star, the governor said: a “Returning to" the state issues that $27,000,000 surplus left in the state treasury at the end of the fiscal year is exceedingly fortunate since institutions suffering from an acute shortage of manpower will have to have extra financial aid during the coming year, this, of course, will have to be done by legislature after Nov. 4, 1942.” ‘What has the legislature been doing? And the governor? It has been a known fact of the shortage of manpower to all voters for the past year. Why do we have to wait until after the election? Certainly the farmers’ taxes helped to accumulate this $27,000,000 surplus. Why shouldn't the aid be given now?

and every war in all history has

You can’t raise crops in the win-

Side Glances—By Galbraith

area is to make and| and

men. So let’s drop all ‘this palaver|

In answer to the third series of

fer months. You have help that has been sent to jail for minor offenses ‘who could be put out on farms and guarded ‘by officers. Be-

ing that 60 per cent of the cars|

are off ‘the roads and the speed limit’ to 35 miles per hour, the state police could be spared to guard these men to help gather crops. I hope I have. not been too much of a critic and all. the people will take time in the election and think

of this $27,000,000 surplus and. vote

their convictions. » » 2 “HALLECK DOESN'T MEAN)

By James Kelt Brown, Columbus One evening this week, a certain representative in congress from some place away up in Indiana, Halleck by name made a... . common talk by way of the defenseless air. . . , The burden of his small talk was his concern for the common people.

He was one of the common people, |;

and he resented, and wanted them

to resent, not being consulted and |;

informed concerning everything the

government is doing and is going to{

do. He resented the idea that the common people cannot be trusted with this, that and the other information. . .". Now when a congressman goes

back home and “we’s” with the com- |

mon people, it is time for those common people, if such there be, to kiss the totem pole, cross their fingers and back away. While it is undoubtedly true, as hé claims, that he is one of the common people, you can bet your boots and spurs that he does not believe it or mean it. If, from the bottom of his heart, he should define “the common people,” he would say that the common people are the people who are not in congress, and whom congressmen can go back home and string like common fish, It is only the commonest politicians who are concerned about the common people and pretend to champion their cause in order to herd them to the polls and vote them en masse. , , .

» " » “WORTH OF PRAYER IS IN ITS SINCERITY” . By K.M. F., 3310 N. Meridian st. As usual, we humans are in trouble and, as usual, we are ‘rying our best to get out of it, by \vhy bring God into the Forum? 2 All items so far have beerr timely and worth consideration, but these “assays” proclaiming that victory or defeat depend upon our attitude

ar or ihe aouble-domed., deep-dish thinking, writing and speaking that has been done on the sube Ject of manpower has dealt with it as a national prebe

| lem. It is, to the extent that it concerns every part

of the country, ‘but when you get it down to the fundamentals, this big national problem spells out as

: a number: of local problems. | What It Shakes Down To

TO CONTRIBUTE one more piece of paper to be raked up and burned at the curb in the October bone

| fire, these local problems shake down like this:

According to Dr. Willlam Haber; ex-University of

p Michigan and U. S. bureau of the budget economist,

who is now chief of the planning division of WMC, there are 317 “labor markets” in the United States today—areag where there is concentrated and active

‘hiring. For instance, Pittsburgh, Youngstown, Akron, ‘| Cleveland, Erie, Buffalo, Detroit, Toledo are each '¥ “| active labor markets in one chain.

Of the 317 labor market areas, the manpower come mission reports indicate that 35 have surplus labor, 50 have shortages now, and 90 more anticipate short ages within the next six months. \ .. The remaining 142—nearly half of the total though not necessarily representing half of the total labor * force—are for the time being adequately supplied, The important point here is that the manpower short age problem does not cover the entire United States like a blanket.

It Can Be Solved Locally

DR. HABER'S estimates are that by the énd of 1943 the total manpbwer requirements—for army, agri culture, war production, essential etviflan occupations —will be 63,000,000 workers. :- The available supply he estimates at 57,500,000, making an apparent shortage of from 5 to 6 million, That looks easy, but all such figures include a nume ber of variables which must not be overlooked. But solving the manpower situation involves not just numbers. It involves getting the needed num‘bers of people of the needed age and the needed skill at the needed place and at the needed time. It is a Job not just of ‘migration, but a job of training. It is a job that can be done on a labor market area basis '

It is a job that can be done locally if every locality will marshal its own resources to the fullest, persuade

.| labor unions to overcome their prejudices, persuade

employers to stop pirating and stop hoarding.

Editor's Note: The views expressed by columnists in this newspaper are their own, They are noi necessarily those of The Indianapolis Times.

I

|A Woman's Viewpoint

WHAT HE SAYS!” =

By Mrs. Walter Ferguson

/

“WHY A SUCCESSFUL busts ness woman who is sitting on- top of the world is so bent and determined to get a husband that she will take any sort of man is a mystery beyond our solving, "writes an eminent woman columnist. It shouldn't be. From the standpoint of common sense she is right, but surely by this time nobody associates common sense with the mating of human beings. Since the world began men and women have chosen each other without using the slightest vestige of ine telligence and the war is not likely to bring any changes for the better. Acting upon the theory that “half a loaf is better than none” the woman in her thirties, no matter how successful, figures she had better take what fate sends her and be grateful. - Of course she doesn’t use her head. If our emotions did not play the major part in" match making nobody would ever marry. The application of a mere fragment of judgment and wisdom probably would nip every plan in the bud, since of all gambles marriage is the greatest, and since we can see around us millions of suffering mortals drowning in, stormy matrimonial seas.

"Greatest Experience in Life"

ON. THE OTHER HAND, there is no argument to refute the one great truth that marriage is the most tremendous experience in life. It is also a challenge. People who always play it safe miss the thrills, the richness, the wonder of this world, and even though they know that, along with these things, they may have to accept disillusionment and grief, they take the risk. For that they should be praised, rather than blamed. “The longer one lives, the mere evident it is thal perfect marriages must be made in Heaven—for this earth offers us the sight of only a few of them. And often those matches which get off to the best start come to the worst end, while those regarded by one lookers as inevitable failures ride to blissful conclue Jions. The necessity for struggle is built. into the very foundation of the universe, and the .most fun damental struggle is that which goes on forever between men and women and which we call love. It is wise to caution the young against overemoe« tio and instability, but perhaps the e Yomas wha takes the “half loaf” is smarter than the Solusnisy

. Who advises her to do without “bread,”

| Questions and Answers

(The Indianapolis Times Service Buresn will Snswor any ‘question of fact or information, mot involving extensive re Sash Wall your ence setsfo a pans. snd déarens