Indianapolis Times, Indianapolis, Marion County, 24 May 1943 — Page 11

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The Indianapolis Times, Fair Enough

RALPH BURKHOLDER | Editor, in U. 8. Service | MARK FERREE WALTER LECKRONE Business Manager Editor :

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MONDAY, MAY 24, 1943 ®

BURIAL OF THE COMINTERN

TALIN'’S burial of the Communist International is billed as a world-shaking event. Actually, he has merely erased a puppet organization which had long since become a liability. . If a world Communist outfit—a burden when Russian survival depends on a close capitalist alliance—appears to serve Russia's interest in the post-war period, there is no reason to suppose that he will not revive this one or create another. The present move only confirms certain changes in world affairs and in Russia's relations, which earlier forced Stalin to put the immediate heeds of the Russian state and of the Russian dictatorship above any future plans for world revolution. He had to choose, and he decided as a realist. Tt is said that burial of the comintern proves that Moscow will not interfere with American internal affairs, and that the Communist party in this country will no longer take orders from a foreign government. But those results were achieved already—if they can be achieved by verbal pronouncements.

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TALIN pledged non-interference in American affairs when our government extended diplomatic recognition to his regime. And the American Communist party ended its affiliation with the comintern in 1940—nominally. These matters will be determined in the future, as in the past, by Stalin’s judgment rather than by Communisf votes in a national or international organization. No words are needed to prove that the Communist party line in this country, as in Moscow, now favors all-out war effort. . The record speaks for itself: As long as Russia was Hitler's partner the Communists obstructed American preparedness, but the moment Hitler attacked Russia the allied fight ceased to be a crime and became a holy crusade. Certainly there is evident sincerity in the comintern’s demise order to all Communists” to concentrate their energies” on winning the war. !

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So the world-shaking event was the necessity which forced Communist Russia and the democracies to fight together ‘as allies for survival against a common enemy—not the belated burial of the comintern, which is one of the least important consequences of that event. What the future results of that -AnglosAnmiericanRussian relationship will be, nobody knows. Maybe victory will revive the extreme form of communism in Russia from

By Westbrook Pegler

LOS ANGELES, May 24— While I am on the subject of the movies and films, which are either openly pro-Communist or accomplish this effect by disparagement of American institutions and ways, I might as well give you a report on another new picture done by Warner Brothers, the same who turned out the version of Joseph Davies’ “Mis sion to Moscow.” This one is about the heroic service of the civilian sailors of the merchant marine and a very fine picture, too, but a stupendous plug for the National Maritime union, which is a strict party-line organization. There are other unions of seafarers but the action takes place in New York and on the run to Murmansk and the maritime union runs things in that area. That being the case I think it is only fair to grant that realism justifies the identification of the union and the footage shot in the union's hiring hall.

Omissions Spotlight Propaganda ;

BUT THE propaganda lies in negative effects, which is to say in omission, for inasmuch as Warners were going in for realism, they could have been realistic, too, about the contrast between the pay of the enlisted naval gunners of the armed guard and that of the civilian sailors, with their bonuses and overtime for exactly the same risks, They might have been expected to show a union meeting on board and a delegation calling on the skipper with demands backed by an organization which picketed the White House against American aid to Britain before Hitler attacked Russia. There is not a hint of any such things except one mention, consisting of perhaps half a dozen words, on the subject of the merchant sailors’ bonus money, nor is there any recognition of class feeling against the young naval lieutenant in command of the armed guard. . When the enlisted sailors first come aboard with their bags there is a little merrymaking at their expense because of their youth and inexperience ot the sea, but it passes off in pleasant temper and iater on the lieutenant orders some of the civilian sailors to understudy his men and learn the rudiments of gunnery in case of need, wherein, I believe, he exceeded his authority, for union men, even at sea, retain their civilian independence.

Trying to Take Over Navy Guns

HOWEVER, THE union men do fall to and learn | their lessons and I think that probably is realistic, too, | for, after all, by no means all the members joined | the union because they wanted to and it does not | follow, either, that a man follows the Communist line because his union does. Moreover, this union is now trying to eliminate | the navy from the merchant ships of the American people and take over the guns itself. As long as the navy is aboard the guns are in charge of an element of men of sworn patriotism to the United States and to no ‘other nation. I believe and insist that the realities of unionism at sea and the character of this union and its history of adherence to the Communist party of the U. 8. A. deserved recognition, . You will find nothing of the kind in this film but, you get a very nice impression of the National Maritime union quite contrary to the impression that would be made on you by perusal of its official publication, “The Pilot,” of which I am a constant reader. No communism is preached at the American naval sailors at any time, there is no discussion of the disparity in pay for equal risk and hardship, and the union sailors appear willing to do anything that néeds doing at any time without any mention of overtime pay, which might disquiet some of the people at home whose sons are serving the guns on the same vessels for straight navy pay.

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I wholly disagree with what you say,

The Hoosier Forum

defend to the death your right to say it.—Voltaire.

but will

“WHY MEAT STAMPS FOR BABIES?” By Mrs. W. C. P, I wonder why something isn’t done about the rising feod prices. What |

good is a ceiling if they keep on going higher? Also, I would like to know why| words. they should give meat stamps to signe d.) babies and small children when a grec, | man working 10 hours a night must | do without meat in his lunch be-| tem so that our facilities, raw ma-«| cause there are only two in the terials, machinery and skill may be| family. By the time you buy butter | used to produce plenty, and that) and shortening there isn't much left) those who perform the labor of for meat. | production of plenty should have I certainly would not say anything | plenty for the enjoyment of a full about it if it was handled fairly. I and happy life. ... have heard several different times| He says he was a Democrat but| womén in stores making remarks|after he was convinced that the New|

(Times readers are invited to express their views in these columns, religious controversies excluded. Because

Indianapolis

ters must be limited to 250 Letters must be

that they had more stamps than

of the volume received, let- |

and being thrown out of their farms, “I was a Democrat.” When labor was working long hours for small wages, “I was a Democrat.” When the aged of this country didn't know what an old age pension was, “I was a Demoerat.” But get this: Now that the Democratic party has corrected all this it suddenly dawns on him that all of this help that has been given the poor, the underprivileged was socialism and communism. Talk about being ungrateful, Mr. Maddox, there are a lot like you and big business. When the old ship of this country was floundering around and about to sink under the old deal in '33 you were all quite glad to hop aboard the New Deal boat to keep

Our Hoosiers By Daniel M. Kidney

WASHINGTON, May 24.—"The United States is a land of romance and reality,” Rep. George W. Gillie (R. Ind.) told his colleagues in an “IT Am an American Day” address in the house. . Born in Scotland, the popular “Doc” Gillie told how he appre= ciated the greater opportunities in this country. In closing he paid this tribute to American freedom: “This is a land that recognizes the rights of men—the right to think, to speak, to write, and to print what one believes; the right of peaceable assembly; the right of criticism, protest and petition; the right to subscribe to any creed or religion without fear of interference or persecution; the right to uncover truth and proclaim it—or the right, if one so chooses, to preach mistaken and false prine ciples. For the right to preach truth is in danger when the right to preach error is denied.”

Members Explain Votes

A SHORT time later, however, Rep. Gillie and all other members of the Indiana delegation, except Rep. Charles M. LaFollette, Bvansville Republican, joined in approving the Kerr amendment to an appropriationy. bill which ousts Robert M. Lovett, Goodwin B. Watson and William E. Dodd Jr. from government service, They were held suspect of having Socialist or Come munist leanings and the vote ageinst them was 317

to 62. / Asked about his “right to preach error” speech as applied in such cases Rep. Gillie said: 4 “These men are not in sympathy with our form of government. It is all right to damn Roosevelt but not the president of the United States.” Rep. Ray J. Madden (D. Ind.) said he voted to oust them “because our Democrats. ought to have those jobs.” He added that “maybe they are Republicans, but whatever they are they are not Democrats.” Red-haired Rep. LaFollette, who rapidly is earning the reputation of being the outstanding ‘“no-man” in congress, explained his vote as follows: " “I voted against the recommendations of the Kerr committee despite the fact that I have no respect whatsoever for Mr. Dodd, I made this decision ale though I believe absolutely in the sincerity of pure pose and in the fairness of the individual members of the committee.

See Fourth Term Candidacy “HOWEVER, I am driven to the conclusion that

| this method of legislative indirect veto upon the ade | ministrative appointive power would establish a prece- | dent which would permit vigorous forces in America

to do immeasureable harm. “I ask those who might criticize my action because they do not believe as these men believe (nor do I for that matter) to imagine what would happen if we had a resurgence of religious bigotry in this country in a more intense degree than it has manifested itself in the past, whether or not this precedent could not be used to remove all Catholics, Jews or Negroes from federal, state or local pay rolls in the event the forces of religious and racial bigotry should capture either the national, state or local legislative bodies. “Finally, as a Republican, I am entitled to remind people that it was this president or his direct ap= pointees who placed these men on the public pay roll and I see no reason why Republicans should undertake the job of removing them. The approval of this president of the philosophy of these men is an action for which he must be held accountable when he cams paigns for his fourth term in 1644.”

Desert ‘Flying’

Peter Edson

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Deal was heading toward socialism, | Y they had money to buy with. These| he got off the bus in a hurry. Here por BN aner the New| wi women had small children which again he shows ignorance of the| ot Jou wrestting again, darned if

don’t require much meat, if any. subject, for the New Deal has never | you didn’t want to jump back in the

which Stalin has departed, and produce a more potent com-

intern—if so, we think democracy can hold its own. Information Available Free

DESERT TRAINING CEN.

Maybe the result will be the opposite, with Stalin cooperating even more closely and completely with his wartime allies to preserve a peaceful world. Only the future can tell. Though we are not impressed by the verbal dissolution of the comintern, we are deeply moved by the heroic deeds of the Russian army and people under Stalin’s war leadership. If we keep our eyes on the war, Hitler will not suecceed in dividing the alliance which is defeating him. That is what counts now—allied victory.

DOG-IN-THE-MANGER ADMINISTRATION Democrats, by resorting to shameless demagoguery and misreprésentation, managed to muster enough voting strength last week to block passage of the pay-as-you-go income tax legislation which congress had developed after five months of labor under Republican leadership. Since then the legislation has been tied up in confermee of representatives of the house and senate. And no ‘progress whatever has been made because the administration Democrats in control of the house conferees have failed to proffer a satisfactory compromise. It is not a pretty picture. The majority party, lacking the statesmanship to develop a pay-as-you-go tax program of its own, persists in a blind dog-in-the-manger obstructionism. The president proclaims that he wants pay-as-.you-go. His leaders, or perhaps more accurately we should say hig followers, in congress say they want pay-as-you-go. | But they use their numerical voting power for no purpose except to prevent adoption of any pay-as-you-go plan. Meanwhile taxpayers fall further behind in their income taxes, and the treasury falls further behind in needed ‘revenue. The people know where the blame lies.

PLANNING VACATIONS

HE time has come to begin planning your vacation. All government war agencies are agreed that production ‘will be benefited if you will take a few days off to rest, relax and refresh yourself mentally and physically. But traditional vacations aré out, because neither transportation nor resort facilities are capable of handling them. So both for your own sake and that of the country, you should start ‘early to find out what, that is possible, will do you the most ‘good. Touring vacations obviously are impossible. You will be sorry if you think you can go to some distant resort by train or plane, without suffering more than the change will compensate for. You can’t even figure on staying home ‘and driving to pools, golf links and picnic grounds every day. One good tip is to avoid the most popular vacation periods, to try to find some resort within 50 miles of home,

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NOW THIS is a very sensitive point which the Commuiists and pro-Communists exploit to the limit. If you speak of the fabulous earnings of the merchant sailor, and they are fabulous by comparison with those of any fighters in the whole war, the answer is that the money is no good to a man who loses his life at sea, and that only a hero would take such risks voluntarily, for any pay. That is correct but it does not eliminate the fact that the service man also holds life dear and, in most cases, is also a volunteer and a hero. I would settle for very little corrective footage in this propaganda film but that little would be very effective and would undeceive the public as to the character of the organization which here ap-

pears to be utterly American. I would settle for a few flashes of Page One of | “The Pilot,” between Hitler's opening attack on Po= | land and his unwise march against Russia, flashes | showing the pickets in New York and Washington | and the opposition to the draft and every other American preparation for war and the denunciation of all who favored and voted for such measures as | warmongers. If in the interests of realism and truth, Warners want to insert the enlightening material the Dies committee, I am sure, would be glad to give it to them free.

We the People

By Ruth Millett

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A WAR WIFE, who lives alone and doesn’t like it, says humbly,

. | very essence of Christianity. It is

|Side Glances—By Galbraith

“I never knew before how fed up you can get with women's: conversation, if you almost never get | to talk to a man. “If I ever get my husband back home again, believe me, I'm going to be nicer to widows and unmarried women. Like most women with husbands, I always invited lone women to women’s parties and had only couples at mixed parties. But when I again have a home with a man in it, I'm going to be more considerate. “I'm going to invite my lone women friends when there are some men around for them to talk to. They must get just as fed up with women’s talk as I do— now that my husband is away.” It’s tough going for the wives who are having to live alone these days. But they're learning a lot. Take that woman's new understanding of women without husbands, for example. : Her case. certainly isn't unique. Thefe must be thousands of women making the same resolve. For married women haven't in the past been thoughtful of unmarried women. or concerned about their social life.

Will She Remember?

ONCE THE average woman marriéd she fell into the habit of not inviting any woman to her home— when there were to be men present—-unless she had a husband. tt never occurred to her that she was being selfish, thoughtless, and downright snooty. Well, it occurs to her as soon as she finds herself in the lone woman's place and sees how infrequently she is invited to parties at which there are both men and women, and when she realizes how much a woman needs some social contacts with men. She says she is going to ember when the war is over. Time will tell whether she does, or whether

I think rationing is a very good had any tendency toward socialism, thing but I think it should be done hut its whole structure, made up by fairly. And it isn't right when the rulingclass, has only aimed at] they give newborn babies meat keeping the stranglehold on the | stamps in their books and war work-| people for profits. . . . ers must do without because they| Capitalism depends on scarcity. | don’t have a large family. The New Deal killed millions of - 5 = pigs, plowed under cotton, restricted a“ production of things of .which the MISINFORMATION PU7 people stood in dire need so the big OUT ON SOCIALISM boys at the top could make profits. | By Jasper Douglas, 127 E. New York st. | That, Mr. Maddox, was far from

I would not consider the rantings heading toward socialism. . of E. F. Maddox in the Forum of You are misinformed and have May 18th worthy of an answer but | gathered your information from the for the fact that he has put out mis-| wrong side of the question. information, of which we have too, 2. 88 much and not enough of truth. | “QUIT READING SO

He says, “First, I will give the! true definition of socialism and MANY GHOST STORIES” |

communism;” then proceeds to By Harry J. Gasper, 903 E. 11th st. PhO his JEnoiance SF the, Sbjct, Well I'm sorta glad Mr. Maddox nism as the same, when they are as dif- | answered you, Mr. Burnworth. It| gives me a true picture of him. Just]

ferent as day and night.

His definition does nearly apply get a load of his answers to you,|

to communism but so far as social- | Mr. Burnworth, and then get ready | ism being anti-Christian, it is the| for a good laugh. When the soldiers were being not based on hate, murder and vio- | kicked out. ofr Washington under lent revolution, but stands for inter-| Hoover, “I was a Democrat.” When national brotherhood of all men. |banks were failing, “I was a DemoIt stands for liberty and democ- | crat.” When farmers were getting racy and a sensible change of sys-|low prices for their corn and hogs|

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"Don't misunderstand me-—I'm hanging this hammock here by the

garden so | can see a weed as soon as it appears and Tn somitd?

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water. Don’t destroy the New Deal, Ed, you might need it again like you! did in-’33. ... I hope when this war is over the New Deal will be with us so the future and welfare of this country will benefit us all, not just a few coupon clippers like after world war I under the old deal. | As far as there being a lot of men| in congress like you, you are 100 per! cent correct. But instead of send-| ing you out to them, after the next) election we are going to send them home to you. So use your train fare for bonds, Ed, and quit reading so many ghost stories.

" ” un “WHY DOESN'T LEWIS OPERATE MINES?” By James R. Meitzler, Attica “This is an open letter to cry babies against the honest miner,” |

T. A. Casey begins his lament. “My | rate of pay for my first job was $1.06) for eight hours.” | The rate of pay is now $1 an hour, $1.50 for overtime. Does the public,| especially those who get less, believe that is a starvation wage? No!|

Casey wails, sometimes you have

to walk a mile in the cold winter

in the cold sometimes two miles

without complaint. The mine owners’|

overhead expenses on investment but Casey isn't willing to risk a! two-mile walk. “In normal times you do not work every day at the mines, but your family eats every day.” And then the big grief. “You pay your bills] at the mine. . .. You don't tell the owner to come back later for his’ money.” Well, the company store didn’t tell Casey to come back later for his groceries. If it had would Casey eat every day? ... Peter Edson states John Lewis’ United Mine Workers had $7,283,000 in their treasury Jan. 1, 1943. In view of the many complaints by the unions as to inordinate profits by mine operators, company stores and company houses, the public wonders why John Lewis does not take this money and operate union mines and secure these huge profits for the miners, union stores and sell groceries to miners on credit at cost, build union Houses and rent them to the miners without profit. Does Lewis lack the ability to do this? . . ,

DAILY THOUGHTS O Lord, thou hast pleaded the

time only to find there are no cars| and no work. Before consolidated! schools children walked to school!

} went on when there were no cars;

| animals out into the desert and left thera.

causes of my soul; thou hast redeemed my life.—Lamentations | 3:58. | |

WHY, ALL the souls that are were) forfeit once; And he that might the vantage best have took

TER, Cal, May 24—There is ane other “desert victory” that has been won at this unbelievably big U. S. army area where soldiers get their university courses in mod= ern warfare. It is a victory over the desert fly, one of the deadliest enemy fifth columnists to under mine the morale of an army. It would obviously be impossie ble to swat every fly in a desert, This particular desert training center is almost twice as big as the state of Connecticut. It runs 175 miles east and west, north and south, and covers 30,000 square miles of impassable mountains and almost im= passable desert floor. Tven with two full-strength divisions here, each soldier would have to swat all the flies in a square mile of bad lands before the desert could be made flyless. When the first troops moved into the desert traine ing center only a little over a year ago, there was an epidemic of dysentery. The sick list soared far above the average for the rest of the army. The toughness

| of the desert life, where the thermometer may run

to 120 in the daytime, was blamed at first. Then the water supply was looked into. Then general sanitae tion.

General Orders Fly-Blitz

4 A HARD-BOILED general, C. H. White, commande ing the 9th army corps and this desert training cene ter, started a campaign to clean up the desert. Every general is expected to be a little hipped on one subject and to ride one hobby till it goes sway= back and buckles at the knees. These are the traits of character which endear generals to their men, while driving them crazy. > Gen. White's hobby, however, was at first glance the wackiest order any senior officer ever gave his subordinates. It was to swat every fly in the desert, Hercules would have thrown in the towel and the sponge before tackling such a task. The general himself went after some of the fly concenirations. He found that a few of the towns bordering his desert training center have open dumps for garbage, figuring that if they hauled their refuse out into the hot bad lands, the burning sun would automatically do the incinerating. Slaughter houses and stockmen hauled the carcasses of dead, diseased Gen, White asked the towns to bury such refuse, to destroy fly breeding places.

Hygiene Foils Pests

COMMANDING OFFICERS of the various units in‘ the training center were told to clean up the corners of the desert where they were. Latrines were

screened and made fly proof. Kitchen wastes were buried. Dish water was poured into deep dump pits,

And the unscreened kitchens, in tents, were ordered >

kept so clean and spotless that flies, far from being attracted to the mess, would be repelled by such cleanliness. The men themselves were taught how to keep clean in the dirty sandy wastelands. They buried their scraps of food from emergency field rations. They were taught to bury refuse, as a matter of personal: hygiene. over the desert. « The results were almost miraculous. The epidemia

of dysentery was stopped completely as suddenly as

it began. Today there are over five divisions plus corps troops and air force and anti-aircraft come mands training in the desert center, and the numbep of ineffectives from sicknesses and injuries of all kinds is less than 2 per cent, which is half the avers ) for the entire navy, Shows you what

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And the swat-the-fly campaign spread ans

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