Indianapolis Times, Indianapolis, Marion County, 20 February 1943 — Page 10

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"The Indianapolis "Times

RALPH BURKHOLDER Editor, in U. S. Service MARK FERREE WALTER LECKRONE ~ Business Manager Editor

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«SP RILEY 5551

Give Light and the People Will Find Their Own Way

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 1943

LEGISLATIVE TRICK

‘MEMBERS of the Indiana legislature who lack the courage and the candor to attack the state’s merit law in the open, now have resorted to a trick to destroy it. The trick is an @ld one—simply to cut off the money it must have to operate. :

- The budget for state expenses for thie next two years

now is in the hands of the house ways and means committee. Chairman of the house ways and means committee

+ is Rep. Jess C. Andrew, who has principally distinguished

himself in this session by his persistent campaign to give the state’s institutions back to the politicians and wipe out every advance in institution management the state has made in the last 20 years. : Mr. Andrew is the ‘author of a bill designed originally to abolish the merit law—which requires only that applicants for state jobs be qualified to perform them—and to go back to a parole system which Mr. Andrew himself helped to make a national scandal a few years ago. His + fellow members of the house, who know quite well that “the people who elected them do not want the merit law destroyed, amended ‘his bill to take out the merit provision. Now his committee undertakes to achieve the end the house has once voted down by cutting off the appropriation of about $85,000 a year which enables the merit plan to work. ” » ” ” » ” j S a matter of ordinary practical politics this running ) * fight against the merit plan is the strategy of amateurs. The Republicans extended the merit law to cover state institutions only two years ago. Now, before the plan has had a chance to be tried, or even put fully into effect, some Republicans have joined forces with certain reactionary Demdcrats to sabotage the whole thing. : But if it is destroyed, or weakened in any way, in this session of complete Republican control, the Republican party cannot escape the whole responsibility. It is significant that ne responsible Democrat has been willing to shoulder a public share in this sorry business. Those who - want the merit system wrecked are quite conscious of the obvious fact that the voters of Indiana want the merit plan, not only as it now stands, but as it may be made stronger and more inclusive. If the present plan to throttle the law quietly in committee succeeds it will be the Republican leaders who will have it to explain to the voters 20 months from 1 NOW. At may be a little difficult to explain. :

BOY SCOUTS

F there were any sort of “E” award for civilian service in this war, the Boy Scouts of central Indiana wouid be flying the pennant right now. A report of scout war service issued this week sums up some of the work these lads have done—and the total is pretty impressive. They have: Collected 200 radios, 31,000 pounds of aluminum, 200,000 pounds of rubber, 20 tons of paper, 1,000,000 pounds of scrap metal; Distributed for war agencies 164,000 copies of price control literature, 120,000 tin salvage leaflets, 15,000 posters, 250,000 pieces of war bond literature; Served as messengers, assistants and in other capacities in offices of the Red Cross, civilian defense, rationing boards and other agencies. Helped in victory book campaigns, victory garden campaigns, and in many other war enterprises. Central Indiana Boy Scouts have a right to be proud of this record—and we are pretty proud of our Boy Scouts, too.

- WELCOMING MADAME CHIANG

FROM the enthusiastic congressional demonstration for Mme. Chiang Kai-shek, there is not much doubt that she is going to get more American help for China, We = hope SO.. Perhaps some of the warmth of that welcome can be ‘discounted as tribute to a great lady, who is as brilliant as she is charming and beautiful. When this American educated girl with the wonderful voice said she felt she _ had “come back home,” there were tears in congress. But it was much more than a personal tribute. For there have been other demonstrations by congress and the

| public that China has a special place in American hearts.

Maybe it is because of the old missionary ties with so many American communities. Or maybe it is the five and a half “years of uncomplaining sacrifice and magnificent courage of Chinese defense against the Jap aggressor. Perhaps it also is an understanding that, if they had not held the enemy in Asia, he might be battering at our own Pacific coast today. But, whatever the Teasons, Amerjea is for China. * | 3 ~~ Most Americans, like Mme. Chiang, object to any policy which gives more emphasis to defeat of Germany-than to defeat of Japan, and relegates the Pacific war to the status ‘of a sideshow. This ig global war, and Japan's strength can be overwhelming if she is given time to utilize her rich conquests. | We applaud President Roosevelt's state ment: + #“Oyr policy toward our Japanese enemies precisely the same as our policy toward our Nazi enemies: It is a ‘policy of fighting hard on all fronts, and e nding the ‘war quickly as we can-on n the uncompromising tery of ‘unconditional surrender.” 2 We favor China's request for more ighting planes, tranepprt Eplafies to jake the Plas of the Burma

Mail rates in Indiana, | $4 a year; adjoining

Fair Enough

By Westbrook Pegler

WASHINGTON, Feb. 20—This |

"is going to be something distinctly on the scholarly side, a dignified _ discussion of the rebellion in the house ways and means committee against a decree, issued by the president, attempting to ‘impose a limit of $25,000 on American incomes which was first proposed

in the Communist party platform |.

of 1928 as one item in the Communist program to abolish capitalism in the United States and substitute the one-party system and dictatorship.’ I think we all understand that congress flatly refused to give Mr. Roosevelt authority to set this limitation and that he just went ahead and did it anyway by executive order, or, as they say in Europe,

{| decree, and that his order did not limit the incomes

of millionaires, hereditary or self-made derived from their estates or investments, but just earned incomes. The president explained that he would have liked to tax the income of the coupon-clipper, but lacked the authority to do so, which is the laugh-line of the season on the hill because he had as much authority to do that as he had to limit earned incomes or precisely none whatever.

Congress 'Real Good and Sore’

THIS WAS the one act of usurpation that finally made congress real good and sore and you may remember that the next time Mr. Roosevelt asked for blanket authority, a request for power to suspend the immigration laws, congress told him nothing doing. Well, in the house they were so sore about this income limitation thing, not because of the figure especially, but because of the way it was done and the source of the proposition, that they are now usurping the legislative power back to themselves and you will presently be seeking some legislation, none very drastic, but just contrary enough to mark

the change, in conflict with the administration’s labor |

policy, so called. To hew the story down to essentials, the president felt called upon the other day to explain very politely to the ways and means committee what he had done so arbitrarily so short a time ago and in this explanation he spoke of a hypothetical corporation president engaged in war production getting $500,000 a year 1n pay and bonuses, which he believed to constitute a gross inequity in relation to the wage earners on the same job whos®& pay was supposed to have been frozen, but need not necessarily be.

No Limit to Limitations

FOR ONE THING, any such intome of ‘a half-a-million a year will be taxed ‘way down anyway by the regular tax schedules which can be amended to take a deeper cut if congress sees fit, thus accomplishing the result by the American method and, for another, the president’s decree would have reduced the big executive's pay while the workers’ pay would not have been reduced but just frozen at an unusually high level or, perhaps, not frozen at all. For another thing, the limitation was not imposed only on the high pay and bonuses and the like of executives engaged in war industry and thus drawing their money from the United States treasury, as you might say. It also put the same limit on salaries of men having nothing to do with war industry and re-/| ceiving not so mugh as a dime from the treasury directly or indirectly, contracted for on the basis of their ability and worth in a fair competitive market long before Pearl Harbor. Such individuals are not war profiteers, But they were to be treated thé same as war profiteers in fulfillment of. a communistic proposal. dent stressed ‘the war profiteer motive, ignoring the innocent or nonprofiteering status: of those others. Well, the ways and means committee finally said no and positively, too, and there it stands and at present writing the president is not commanding congress any more, but asking, nice as can be,

”

In Washington

By Peter Edson

WASHINGTON, Feb. 20. Eleven out of every 12 cases of sabotage reported to the FBI turns out to be not direct sabo- ‘ tage, but the results of carlessness, industrial accidents, or even petty revenge of a workman against his boss—not an attempt to wreck the war effort. While FBI authorities caution that this large percentage of false alarms should in no way cause plant guards and others to relax vigilance against saboteurs, some of the cases of pseudo-sabotage have their curious quirks.

For instance, there was the case of the janitor in a large eastern plant engaged in the manufacture of highly confidential instruments. In the wastepaper basket of the drafting room, this janitor found what appeared to be a deldyed action arson device. It was a bundle of matches bound with adhesive tape. One match, partly burned, extended from the bundle. It was obvious that the one match was intended to ignite the other matches, thus starting a really hot fire.

The FBI.was called in and, during the investigation, it was discovered that the under sides of the metal stools used by draftsmen were blackened and contained traces of the adhesive tape. Finally one of the draftsmen explained and confessed. It was a common gag in this drafting room. to fasten these match bundles to seats of the stools, then ignite the lead match and walk away. The sudden flaring of the matches gave the victim a realistic hot seat and everybody laughed. This in a room where invaluable tracings and blueprints were kept, any of which would ignite readily.

Ground Glass in Hydraulic Brakes

TWENTY-THREE PLANES in an aircraft plant were apparently sabotaged by placing glass in the fluid of the hydraulic brake system. These bits ofglass, which would have chewed through the rubber tube connections, were extracted in the crime laboratory of the FBI headquarters in Washington, and on examination it was found that all the pieces had curved surfaces, the glass being of a special heat-resistant composition. Investigation was then directed to all possible sources of such glass in this plant. It centered finally on a “flow meter” used in testing the brakes. On opening the chamber of the meter, and missing pieces of the glass were discovered and the cause of the accident explained. During a night shift, one of the valves had broken and fallen into the chamber. The operator had neglected to remove the broken glass and had merely inserted a new valve and gone on about his business. A simple ease of carelessness,

| but the effect was the same as sabotage.

Most curious of all the FBI investigations is the case of Nicholas Buenopane, an ex-marine of Italian descent. Buenopane had visited the FBI academy at Quantico, and he decided he could beat the G-men. Taking a knife, he cut several connections on a B-25 Tokyo express. -. When he was finally beackedt down and identified as the individual who had tampered with the plane, he 8370 5° fis YEAS nl in Misisiened SanieSion oo

‘partially true dnd only in industries

The Hoosier Soe

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

“PLEASE, EVERYBODY, (Times readers are invited SAVE YOUR TIN CANS”

to express their views in BY Nr. Lorraine Nicholas, 2124 Kildare these columns, religious con-

troversies excluded. Because of the volume received, letters must be limited to 250 words. Letters must be signed.)

I also have noticed many baskets of tin cans set out for the trash collectors which should have been prepared for the monthly 1 tin can collection day. The other evening as I finished { dishes, friends from outside the city.ing example. limits came to visit with us. I prepared a tin can by cutting the other end out of it and smashing it with; my foot. I asked her what she did with

This most competitive of ingustries has unceasingly built better cars at ever decreasing costs to reach ever expanding markets, and it has constantly paid increasing wages with better working

The presi- [her tin cans since she lived outside conditions and turned its profits to

the city limits. She said she put them in a basket and they took them to the dump. I remarked that it seemed more trouble to take them to the dump than to save them and also told her she wasn’t very patriotic. I'hope the next time I see her she will be saving her tin cans.

the building of larger and better plants ang greater employment. Where would we be today in this greatest of all wars, without these monuments of the American system of free®enterprise? Mechanization and not unionization: have made

I'm not just writing this for peo-|them possible. ple outside the city limits but also| Thére is only one thing that can to those right here in Indianapolis, possibly improve the conditions’ of who have a collection truck coming :jabor and increase the standard of by our homes to get those tin cans living so far as material things dre to help win this war. concerned and that is an ever inI have three small children to creasing production of material care for but I can find time to save! wealth. Anything else is fiat. my tin cans and also my grease. Strange it is however that men Please, everybody, save your tin are no happier with their easier cans. tasks and higher wages and better living conditions. They are perhaps not as happy as the man who found romance in doing tough jobs with their bare hands and strong

# ” 2 “WHERE WOULD WE BE WITHOUT FREE ENTERPRISE?” By Voice In The Crowd, Indianapolis Carroll Collins has an exaggerated idea that it was the labor unions, that took the load from men’s backs and so greatly improved their working conditions. This can only be

hearted only when the jobs were “sissified” for the men who were to follow them. ; i. a 8 “RICK INCONSISTENT IN SPEECH ON SALARIES” By Earl P. Sparks, 1151 College ave.

We average Americans do not question Eddie Rickenbacker’s consistency when related to shooting down German planes, or contributing vastly of his practical knowledge to the furtherance of aviation. ‘Some of us do, however, note with sorrow the palpable inconsistency of the following article attributed to him which 8 appeared ‘in

that can only be partially mechanized or not mechanized at all. I point out to you that between 1900 and the advent of the C. I. O,, the metal working industries constantly improved working condi tions, and hours of labor and pay, practically free from labor unions. Those years encompassed the entire history of many products to date. The automobile is the outstand-

Side Glances—By Galbraith

backs and eventually were broken-

The Times 0) 16, from which I quote: “Everybody should ve ready to work 48 hours per week for the high hourly wages they get now— if for no other reason than to save their own skins. . . . I am also opposed to limiting salaries to $25,000

‘per year—because to limit salary

you limit incentive which is one of the great American cornerstones. Anybody is entitled to work and be paid for it.” Is that consistent? In other words .Rick is very much opposed to overtime pay after 40 hours for the common herd and wishes to limit his earnings drastically. Yet, by his own words, limitation of salary is a dreadful bar to incentive but “anybody is entitled to work and get paid for it.” Does ‘' Rick think then, limiting our overtime pay, that we of the “hoi polloi” will have (oy some quirk of contradiction) more incentive to produce needed materials? We admire Rick for his unquestionable intestinal fortitude, and admit . and recognize his qualifications as a foremost aviation specialist, but we do question his ability to qualify as a social economist or a labor expert. By the way, how much over $25,000 did our Rick earn last year? . 8 = = “HOW SHOULD EDUCATION BE EARNED?” By An Indianapodis High School Student ‘Upon reading the letters of Mr. Arthur Mellinger and Pat Hogan I began to wonder. . , . Our good friend Pat Hogan viewed the fact that all school ehildren

waste their time and spend money,

foolishly, Perhaps the ones he knows are like that, but the ma jority aren’t.

I am a student of 16. I usually

go to work right after school &nd get my lessons after supper. I put about 40 per cent of my wages imo) T war bonds and now have almost $500 invested in them. I get almost straight A's’ and A pluses. Every morning I walk to school. I know of many, many other - boys. and girls that do equally as much. If this is” his idea of pampered children who have education handed

jito them in cellophane and’ pink

ribbon, how should education be earned? . { Certainly no. one can object to the checking of students’ health. Many lives and suffering are saved by this. The death rate from diseases such as tuberculosis, smallpox and diphtheria has greatly decreased, almost disappeared. Pernaps if Pat had a relative die of one of these diseases when the death could have been prevented by, vaccination, he wouldn't have ob-

‘jected.

Lincoln was a great man. That we all know. However, he was the exception, not the rule, Had we not our great educational system, we wouldn't have automo-

biles, airplanes, plastics, many medi-|

cines such as sulfa drugs, X-ray machines and innumerable other recent inventions for the bettering of living conditions and health con

ditions. ~~ I:

etait DAILY THOUGHT

What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of | man, that thou visitest it? Psalms 8: 4, {

‘HOW POOR, how ri rich, how ablect, 4

that by

: Our. Hoosiers

By Daniel M, Kidney -

WASHINGTON, Feb. 70. —= “Nazis Slice Tunisia as Yanks Yield,” read a’ headline in the Washington News. The story told of our ‘initial defeat with great losses there.

The same day Rep. Forest Ay |

Harness, Republican from-Kokomo, took an entire page in the congressional record to explain to his . colleagues another “slicing” offensive, but not a military one, ale though Mr, Harness is a member of the house military affairs committee. Mr. Harness’ ‘objective is to restore sliced vread to the bakeries. Ma American women slice their: own bread in wartime smacks of a dire ‘bureau=cratic plot in the mind of Mr. Harness. © ' He wants sliced bread returned at once.’ him on the grave hardships of bread slicing: ' “I am sure that the prohibition against bread slicing at the bakeries is just another exercise in privation and hardship, devised by dictator-minded

‘Hear

little men to condition the American people for total

submission to bureaucratic government.

Improper Use of Authority

“WHEN CONGRESS delegated. to _the recutive lhe extraordinary.authority to make rules and regu lations to carry out the purposes of the price control act, it was intended that the most meticulous care should be used to avoid unnecessary burden or bard. ship upon the American people. “Indeed, it was intended that this power would not be used arhitrarily or short-sightedly, or for the

the common good and in furthering the war effort. “Prom my inquiries into the subject to date, I‘ have compiled evidence which I believe -is already sufficient to prove to this congress that this particular provision is an improper and unwarranted use of the extraordinary authority granted to the ‘execitive by congress. “I shall not, however, burden you with a docue mentation ‘here, for I fully expect to secure further facts on important phas es of the subject to support my contentions. “In the meantime, however, I hope all members will interest themselves in the following outline of . the case.”

cr interests of any person or industry but for

Good Reading in Tunisia?

THERE FOLLOWED a column in which Mr. Hare

ress explained how he had written officials ahout this important matter and had received no satisfactory reply. The' mechanical bread slicer is an “almost ideal machine jperation” . he ‘maintained and cone tinued:

“Now the administration arbitrarily would discard Z

that ideal operation and substitute for it a laborious, | occasionally dangerous, and generally unsanitary hand operation which demonstrably wil waste millions of manhours of time every day. 3 at “I can prove to any reasonable person, also, that in the aggregrate the order will bring about the waste of an impressive amount of valuable foodstuff. 2 The argument runs on and on. If would be interest= ing reading, no doubt, for the men in ‘Tunisia,

We the Women |

By Ruth Millett

/ L

ONE THING this’ country needs right’ now is some: classes for service wiyes, conducted ‘by people trained. to handle personal problems.

These women, some of themt

wives for 10 or 15 years and some wives for only a few months, have ‘to make a difficult adjustment, Loneliness and fear for their hus-" ‘bands’ safety are just two of the big problems. The smaller probe lems often cause them more worry, more anxiety, more unhappiness. If their husbands have been out of the country for ‘months or a year, most of them are distressed because as time goes on they feel out of touch, and no longer a‘ necessary part of their husbands’ lives.

They begin to wonder. if they will ever be necessary

Anxieties Pile Up =.

IF THEY HAVE childr:n and are living. with their own parents or in-laws, there is almost ine variably a clash between the two generations on the

| proper way to bring up children. . Though the mother

feels she is right, she isn’t sure when she finds* her ideas disputed. Many of them, in a desire to keep from thinking, fill their days so full that they are nervous wrécksy

| They .are afraid to be alone, afrdid to face their

loneliness. * And so it goes. Worries and anxieties pile : wp to confuse them. For the sake of their present happi= ness and for the future happiness of their marriages, they need expert advice and guidance. It would be a fine thing if there were classes. for them where they could talk over their perplexing problems, see that they are general, not personal problems, and learn how they can be worked out.

i . 3 : To the > Point— FOLKS WHO are green with envy. are ripe. for trouble. i ; a 8.88 SOME WOMEN won't be able to wet ‘used to shoe retinying to save their soles,

” » ~

YOU HAVE lo make allowances for boys in college, says a Profesor, Weekly allowances? ne sn 8 : Tl IT WILL BE {foolish te argue with the grocer about jams and jellies. They're beside the point.: EVEN. THE PRICE of some dresses n'y modest these days. iE * . oa ed ; NOW THEY'RE talking of Pinnish peace. The finish of Germany, Japan and Haly. is the

peace we want. . . i} "4 s .

except not to talk. . * LE THIS SUMMER woman's place is. oing: to be in the garden. ; rt

> aie >

A CHICAGO man explained he turned r

room for 10 years. = ag * Sie os IT WON'T BE long till soters will start break a hundred. : : "8 .

JAPAN HAS spent; huge sums ‘in the or

| an emporor. | for nothing.

. ss