Indianapolis Times, Indianapolis, Marion County, 19 November 1942 — Page 16

THE INDIANAPOLIS TIMES

Fair Enough ee ‘Brother, I m Getting a ‘Smile Out’ of This “Too

By Westbrook Pegler

In Washington

|By Peter Edson

= Ww. HOWARD “President :

RALPH BURKHOLDER : : Tees Editor, in -U. 8. Service i’ MARK FERREE WALTER LECKRONE : "Busnes Manager Editor (A SCRIPPS-HOWARD NEWSPAPER) oF

WASHINGTON, Nov. 19—U. 8, army operations in North Africa, increased naval activity in the western Mediterranean, and Gers man eccupation’ of the entire southern boundary .. of France make Spain about the most ime) portant neutral on the: map today. There has been a lot of loose talk about Spain's pesition in the present ‘war, and a good many = false impressions have ‘been allowed to develop without being contradicted. Much of this misinformation stems frem the Spanish civil. war. American sympathies got pretty excited about that, and on an extremely partisan basis. You were

NEW YORK, Nov. 19.—Discussion of our plans for the great| new. world of the future seems | slightly premature, not to say| § cocky, at the present writing, but, | § assuming that the Germans presently get another bellyful and quit { §° again and that the Japs are all but annihilated, which semes to be Ambassador Grew’s minimum for. victory over them, then what about postwar immigration to this country by the peoples of other lands? I think that when it is all over the American people will still have sense enough to exclude whole-

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rr Ee RILEY 581

Give Light and the People Will Find Their Own Way THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 1942

Quried and published daily’ (except Sunday) by The Indianapolis Times :

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TEMPEST IN A GAS TANK HAT Indiana has become the national storm center of a ‘belated battle over gasoline, rationing is due, pretty largely, to the energy of Mr. Todd Stoops. From this it may be easy to argue that here is a oneman revolt, signifying nothing. Easy—but not correct. Mr, Stoops merely has organized and made vocal a feeling shared by a good many thousands of citizens that there is something wrong about a plan to ration gasoline when

there is plenty of gasoline, or that rationed allowances

of motor-car miles were unscientifically, and perhaps arbitrarily, ‘determined. - Nearly everybody knows, by now, that gas rationing, outside the fringe of Atlantic coast states where gas actually is scarce, is designed to save tires, not to save gasoline. That there should be little confidence in governmental handling of rubber and tire supplies is not surprising. The fantastic bungling of that acute problem over the past two years has made a dangerous rubber famine out of what need have been no more than a minor inconvenience. That is all history now, and there is today no gain in mourning over spilled latex. . When the confusion and the clamor rose so high that the danger was everywhere apparent, the president created the Baruch commifites to find out the truth.

sw "ad 8 8 =» THE Borach soatamittes did find out the truth—about rubber supplies in existence and in prospect and about the minimum rubber requirements of this country. On the basis of the picture before it, the committee reported—to the nation, rather than primarily to the president—that automobiles must be driven fewer miles, and at lower speeds if the rubber we had on hand and in sight, was to be stretched over the period of emergency. And to make certain that mileage is reduced below the danger point, the Baruch committee recommended that gasoline be rationed. The members of the committee did not want gasoline rationing simply for the sake of imposing another control on the individual in wartime—although there is reason to believe there were bureaucrats in Washington who did want it, for no better reason. Mr. Baruch and his associates arrived at that recommendation reluctantly, and made it, at last, only because they sincerely believed there was no other way to conserve the 150-million tires on American automobiles through the months before they can be replaced. Their recommendation was ordered into effect. Of their complete sincerity we have no question, and in

sale immigration of those whom Kipling, in his candid arrogance, called the lesser breeds, because experience has shown that they can work rings around Americans, both white and Negro, and live on less and that they tend to depress the American living standard and live mysteriously apart from us among us. It is a fact that we had Chinese troubles in California and elsewhere in the west before we had a ‘Japanese problem, and it is not insulting these peoples but, if you like, complimenting them to say that they can get by on less food, sleep, recreation and comfort and produce more work than we can. When you come down to it, that is~the same as saying that they are better men than we are, which admission might take some of the pain out of exclusion.

"A Mess of Fishhooks te Digest"

BUT ARE WE going to open the doors to the peoples of Europe without regard for their politics, past performances or occupational talents? Because, if so, we shall be trying to digest a mess of fishhooks, These people will include most of the smart and nasty agitators of the continent who did much to provoke fascism in Italy and the idle, sedentary parasites who flocked to France when the heat became too great in their own countries and nagged the Frenchmen to distraction. The fact is that we have many of them among us now telling us what is wrong with the only country on earth in which they are safe and wanting us te do things their way. In our great, humane generosity we bent our own laws out of shape in the last rush before the war and because we were unwilling to risk excluding genuine vietims of racial, religious and political persecution, let in many doubtful cases who were Just as cruel and conspiratorial as the Fascists and Nazis.

"Let Immigration Be Selective”

NOT ALL REFUGEES are victims of injustice, although all of them say they are. Some are primarily refugees from the exasperation of their neighbors in the homeland who finally got fed up with their ceaseless trouble-making, their defamatory treatment of all who disagreed with them and their assumption of an intellectual status which forbade them to engage in common work. If we must have immigration in the. great new world of the future then, certainly, it should be selective according to a catalog of talents in which we may be deficient and a record of useful work should weigh more than a record of stoning the cops or organizing ructions in the streets. No political idea now current in Europe offers any improvement on the government of the United States, and the only economic ideas that Europe has to offer us are the ideas of bankruptcy and state control of most private industry and state possession by confiscation of the rest. Open the doors wide again and we will have here the sort of journalism, already noticeable, and the same conspiratorial, international kind of politics which contributed so much to the hell of Europe

The Hoosier Forum

1 wholly disagree with what you say, but will defend to the death your right to say Hm V olinire,

“WILLKIE STILL A MAVERICK— AND WHO WANTS HIM?” - By F. X. Lurrie, Ft. Wayne,

A recent Forum contributor suggested that we call Wendell Willkie a maverick. It is a clever idea, and very appropriate, a maverick being, as the contributor stated, ‘an unbranded animal, especially a calf that has wandered from its mother.” No party -ever has put its brand on Mr. Willkie, and now no party seems to want to put its brand on him. Certainly not the elephants. They do not want him in their herd. In fact, they never did want him, He was offered to them at a time when no better party candidate was

(Times readers are invited "to express their these columns, religious conexcluded. Make © your letters short, so all can Letters must

views in

troveries

have. a chance. ‘be signed)

from the whites being cited from the same organization and called up last in an otherwise alphabetical arrangement. Many of those receiving the rewards have been to indignant to wear the buttons acecompanying them.

Stassen being too young, and Mr.

proposed. Both Mr. Dewey and Mr.

I realize that these individuals do not represent all of the American

It seems to be a dumping ground for all obsolete and antiquated equipment. It isn’t enough that they must twist and turn to get the passengers downtown, and perk and! grind to stop and start, but we must also put up with the junk equipment, It is high time the E, Michigan patrons got together and protested about this outrage. eo 8 8 0B “AMERICA FOR AMERICA IS THE CREED FOR ME” } By Walter C. Reese 8r., Shelbyville. If we had the same foresight that Churchill of England has it might save us many a headache. Churchill says what every nation ought ito

supposed to be either quite pro-Spanish Republican

quite anti-Franeo,; or you weren't, Religion and communism got all mixed up in it and a lot of Americans even went to the trouble to join up and fight Pranco. Popular sentiment doesn’t forget that, and in the minds of some people this

‘Spanish revolution: still gees on.

Teo Much Emotional Thinking

FLAMES OP HATRED against Franco a 8 dice tator and a Fascist have been kept burning by ree peated charges that the Spanish government is acting as a front for the Germans and that Spanish embas=

sies, particularly in South America, have been cens

ters for Nazi espionage and the spreading of Nazi propaganda after the German diplomats were. kicked out. The Spanish Falange, though. repudiated as 8 pov) litical party in Spain, has generally been considered abroad as an agency of the Nazis through which the voices of Hitler and Goebbels in Berlin: were made to come out of a Madrid mouthpiece. All this anti-Spanish buildup, or teardown, which ever it is, may have a certain similiarity to many of the things that were said about U, 8, policy toward the Vichy government up to Nov. 7. And, while there are no official statements on U. S, relations withj Spain today, it is not beyond the realm of possibility that the answers in the case of Madrid might ba nfuch the same as the answers in the case of Vichy, Too many people, in short, may have been looking on the Spanish situation emotionally,

Significant Absentee .

ONE OF THE most important points in all the dealings with Spain has been to fortify Spain’s resolve and ability to remain neutral. That this is just as important to the United States as it is to Spain can be implied from President Roosevelt’s recent message to Gen. Franco in which he said, “I believe the Span<

ish government and the Spanish people wish to main

tain neutralify and to remain outside the war. - Spain has nothing to fear from the United States.” The Spanish foreign office, tacitly accepting this announcement, has had it reissued in Spain and in the Spanish colonies. On the other hand, France has a great. deal to fear from Germany, and the Nazis have made heavy demands on the Spanish government. Thus. far Pranco has shown no willingness to let Germany march through his country in an attack on Gibraltar, And when the axis partners—Hitler, Mussolini and Laval--had their conference after the U. 8, army occupation of North Africa, Franco was noticeably not among those present, Perhaps this is significant,’

Frankly Speaking

By Norman E. Isaacs

‘today. Bricker not much in evidence at

ople, but I belive that it is al that time. Emphasis on the “at Bop

their Judgment we have great confidence. good policy to believe in any product |

say. We are fighting to save our

» » ” IGHT on wrong, the ‘decision to ration gasoline has been

made. We do not believe any campaign of protest

now is going: to change it—or at this late date should change

it. If the congressmen who now are clamoring for another committee to investigate rubber—the nineteenth such com-

* mittee, if our memory serves—will read the Baruch report

they will get an authoritative answer to any question they may have on the subject. ‘We believe the campaign is ill.timed and ill-advised. But we like the retort of Washington bureaucracy still less, The dispatch to Indianapolis of “investigators” in a transparent attempt to smear and intimidate a group of citizens who disagreed with a federal edict is an outrage. We do not agree with Mr. Stoops in his campaign —but our copy of the Constitution still has a guarantee of the right of citizens to petition congress for a redress

- of grievances.

The rubber shortage already has been the subject of too many battles, too many campaigns of propaganda, too much government fumbling. Granting that today’s ra-

tioning system may not be the perfect solution, it is the

only solution immediately in sight. And if gas- rationing—or giving up our cars entirely— will help win e.war. even one day sooner, then let's give up our cars: and say. mo? more about it.

& THE PRESIDENTS SPEECH : RESIDENT. ROOSEVELT has made two obvious points in warning: the nation against irresponsible criticism and against the fallacy that - ‘we can coast to victory because the var’s turning point’: ‘seems to have been reached. Indeed, both points are so commonplace we need constant remiss, of their grave fupoiance.

2 NY discussing the government's duty of keeping military information from the enemy, which involves withholding facts from American citizens, he said: “Nearly everybody

understands that—and. the reason for it.” Happily that is

true. “They know that net one of their inalienable rights is taken away ‘through the failure to disclose to them, for

a reasonable length of time, facts that Hitler and Mussolini

and Tojo would give their eyeteeth to learn.” But the debate over ‘withholding facts has not been in favor of giving the. enemy useful information. It is a patriotic difference of opinion concerning public morale and what constitutes a “reasonable length of time.” .Does the presiderit think’ that. continued suppression of the number of our plane ‘losses.at Pearl Harbor and Manila, 11 months after the fact and many months after replacement, is “a ‘reasonable length of time”? -

THE president was on’ firmer ground be is White House my replying’ to ‘critics’ ‘of our government's past policy towa Vichy and its present. policy of accepting _ African ‘co boration of Admiral Darlan. There he anWendell Willkie and others not in generalities or ‘name-calling, but factually: and logically—and thus. most convincingly.

The present arrangement in Africa, “ig opr a temStras of jhat: “miles away, 3 t the dust cloud is 10 miles long. I saw aban-

porary expedient, justified solely by the le” ; it has saved American, British. .and F

The Real Airman By Major Al Williams

NEW YORK, Nov. 19.—Unvaryingly perfect performance cannot be achieved in any human activity dependent upon physical fitness. And yet the airman—especially the military airman—is striving to do his best job of airmanship every minute he is in the air, every day. Flying—military flying particularly—is a specialty if there ever was one. It is something to which a man must give his heart, his body, his mind, all his ambitions and all his dreams. He must eat, sleep and drink flying, and his psychological attitude is of predominant importance. I have been at the hard flying game of piloting planes for more than 20 years, and must confess that I know little about it. However, we all fix certain rules in our minds. Some time ago a young military pilot wrote to me, and I answered him with the iron-bound rule: “Every take-off, every flight, every landing is the only one I am ever going to make—and it must be perfect.” Later he wrote that he had clipped out that sentence and pasted it on the instrument board of his army plane.

It Must Be Perfect—Every Time!

IT'S EASY to say that a man can be his own hardest boss, but in applying that simple rule, one can actually form a habit of air thinking involving stern self-discipline and always paying big dividends. For instance, you are trembling with the cold. You're tired after a long flight. There's your port ahead of you. A few minutes more and youll be down and on your way to warmth and a hot drink. Down you go, more intent on getting down than on how you do it. Your wheels touch. Carelessly, you've levelled off a foot or so too high, or too low, and you bounce— once, twice, maybe three times. This is your weak ‘moment in point of self-discipline. By this time you are rolling smooihly and the flight is ended. Call it a day and let that bad landing go unchallenged? Not if you inten: to stay in the flying game and continue to fly fast, tricky planes. On goes that “gun,” and around the field you go again, determined to make this landing—the only landing you are ever going to make—a perfect landing.

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

So They Say—

Britain is near the limit of her resources and man power, But she still can improve—and is improving— in the organization and allocation ‘of resources.—Brit1jsh Minister for Home Security Herbert Morrison. .

‘By virtue of our geographical situation we can

be dumber and make more mistakes and get away | with it than any other nation on the face of the |

earth.—Dr. Wilbur W. White of Western Reserve university.

We pass heavy siege guns hitting at the enemy Everywhere is the white dust. At the

doned trenches and guns. And there were enemy dead

that time.” So Indiana, as usual, had to do something about it and Mr, Willkie being nearest at hand, the ideal of democracy should be they offered him to be branded by employed to sell it to others. the Republican party. But no go.| Consequently, Mr. Willkie is still a] © "98 “E. MICHIGAN SERVICE I8

maverick. And who wants this maverick? THE WORST IN TOWN” "| By Mrs. J. D. Draper, 523 N. DeQuiney st.

8 ” 8 “TWO INCIDENTS DAMAGING TO NEGROES’ MORALE” By Andrew W. Ramsey, 147 W. 22d st., FL.

It is incomprehensible to me how some persons high-placed in our civilian defense setup and pledged to bolster the morale on the home front could so stupidly or so deliberately act as to undermine the morale of a large segment of the civil population. I refer to the proscription of Negroes. I am aware of two happenings that have gained wide circulation among the Negro population of this city and have damaged the belief of many of them in the sincerity of those who claim most loudly that we are fighting for universal democracy. In one case a group of Negro air raid wardens were told that in the event that white persons lived in

that one has to sell and that only those who have sold themselves on

articles in the past few months regarding standing up on streetcars, and “the fat men who won’t give up their seats,” etc. We, on the East Michigan line would like to get a streetcar. This is the third morning out of five that I have waited at least 20 to 25 minutes on a streetcar; living pretty close to the end of the line, four streetcars came along at one time, and naturally the first one passed us up, standing in a pouring; rain. It took me 50 minutes from! the time I left home until I reached downtown.

might be excusable, but it is the usual service we get. I have had any number of people approach me |who live on that line, about the,

their blocks that they were to leave, TioEUstng Sy hg we o hey Hse them for the white wardens in nearby blocks. When the Negroes Whole Situation is blamed on the protested that bombs probably, “war effort,” when it has been thjs wouldn't be able to discriminate,| Way for 15 to 20 years. gy wen sent of eg rn ees Bh e other incident was the awarding of certificates to youth leaders resurrect a number of old cars and at the World War Memorial audi- arrange the seating as in antiquated | torium Nov. 8. There the Negro models, but guess who already has awardees were seated separately them? Yes, the E. Michigan Ime,

Side Glances—By Galbraith

There have been any number. of |

a | rationing. There is. If this were the exception, 7 it 'oline and the supply will not be ex-

|this is not a correct statement of facts coneerning.

to the people of these United States.

| be thou +} Snnyed: for the Lord thy God - Withersoever thou

own, ‘and Churchill is not ready to

British Empire. I am for freedom, but I believe that charity should begin at home. America for - America is 8 creed good enough for me. We have raised ‘the level of the American people to the highest standard of |living in the world. And that is ‘one position that America should hold. The people went to the polls to see that America retained her constitutional form of government. The hardest fight that the American people will have to face in this war is to retain her constitutional form of government. Right now we have seen the forces of totalitarianism and regimentation abroad in the land. The people of the United States had to stand in line to secure ration cards for sugar when there was ‘plenty of sugar. Today. the gov‘ernor of the state protests gasoline plenty of gas-

hausted, The excuse was that there was a lack of rubber and if the ‘truth was known we have a two years supply of rubber on hand and|’ there is no use of rationing rubber.

| Why don't the governor carry his} - Fraternal Order of Police,

‘protest ta the president? That is the only source of power. I have written to congressmen and they tell me that they did not appoint! | Henderson and cannot do anything, ,-.., | Anyone can see that we have Tost much of our liberty in this war, not lonly have lost the right to buy or sell, but if gas rationing is im-

_|posed, the free movements of the| -

We the Women

people will be curtailed and. these are things that the people pt think about. RTE “WILLKIE AND. WALLACE ~~ REVOLUTIONARY SOCIALISTS!” By E. F. Maddox, 050 'W. 28th tC

Now that the question of bran.'ing political mavericks . like Mor. Wendell L. Willkie and. Henry A. Wallace, who, while calling themselves Republicans adhere to the doctrines of New Deal socialism and show a decidely admiration for left wing political doctrines, let me as a

tie and brand these political maver-

icks so that those who run may read their brand.

There is no law against. telling the

| truth, is there? Well, my opinion |- '|is that Wallace and Willkie belong

in the same Socialist herd. Now jf

the political catiosophy of Mr. Willkie and Mr. Wallace; let them prove otherwise

DAILY THOUGHT ; Have I not commanded thee? Be strong and ‘of a good courage; be not afraid; neither

give up India or to liquidate the|

one-time ranch foreman, rope, hog-!

My honest considered opinion is} that both Willkie and Wallace are| . International Revolutionary Social;{1sts] So the brand should be I. R. 8

THE. AIR {is still thick with conversation about the new police chief-to-be and the latest word— which comes. - from -Republicans who ought to know what they're talking about—is that Mr. William Armitage has. another candidate in the running—Lieut. Roscoe K. Jordan, 3 It may be grossly unfair to Lieut. Jordan to raise his name in this connection, or equally unfair to say that Mr, William Armitage has any designs in this matter. ; It does seem fair, however, te just canvass the situation to see what's what. Lieut. Jordan is 38, a big six-footer who tops 200 pounds. He’s been on the force ever since 1925. Early in ’27 he became a first grade patrolman on trafic duty, went back to second grade late in 28, back te. first grade in ‘33, to sergeant by order of the prmoion board -in 38 and to lieutenant in ’40.

The More the Merrier

ANOTHER OFFICER whose name is being mentioned is Clifford F, Beeker, the 41-year-old assistant bailiff in Judge Niblack’s court who has been on the force since 1922. He was made a detective sergeant

‘in 1927, was reduced to patrolman in 35, and bajcle -to detective sergeant in '36. In '40 he was changed to

detective investigator. Beeker is an official of the and of the police eredit union, and he is popular with the Yank-and:fle

- policemen.

. George Winkler, the former sheriff; is back in

the scene, casting out lines to see how he fits into -

the picture. He used to be a police Hentgnant, ‘ha$

‘a formal “leave.”

. Inspector Jess McMurtrie and Lieut. Don Tooley are just keeping quiet and watching the scene unfold. How would you like the job of being mayor?

By Ruth Millett

YOU THINK this price fixing is a good idea. Well, it’s going te play heck with some folks. - Mrs. Smith, for example. Why she has been having -a swell time with rising prices, Every time she has read a grocery list in the last year she. has announced with gloomy satisfaction to Mr. Smith, “Well, pork went Ip . another 2 cents this. week,” “I guess we'll just have to Xa having ‘steak; T see it’s gone up again.” What is she going to read: out loud to Mr. Smith, when the grocery lists hold no more terror? And, of course, there’s Mrs, Jones who has for ‘months talked her husband inte letting her buy.whatever she wanted with the line, “Don't you think we ought to buy it before the price goes up any more?” She's going to miss that sure-fire talking polis:

They're Going to Suffer = ia BUT, THEN so will Mr. Brown find it hard to Ana as good an excuse for vetoing all his wife's buying {* plans as, “You had better not spend a cent you don't have to, With the cost of living: going up the way it is, we may need every cent we can save bef the

year is up.” I ; So, if you're feeling: Soo shot pict