Indianapolis Times, Indianapolis, Marion County, 4 June 1943 — Page 18
‘he Indianapolis T imes
ROY W. HOWARD RALPH BURKHOLDER President Editor, in U. S. Service MARK FERREE [ WALTER LECKRONE Business Manager Editor
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«Po RILEY 5651
Give Light and the People Will Find Their Own Way
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| ; FRIDAY, JUNE 4, 1943
“"Member of United Press, Scripps - Howard Newspaper Alliance, NEA Service, and Audit Bugeau of Circulations.
LABELS AND LIBERTY
HE idea of “grade labeling” for merchandise, So per- _ sgistently advanced by what Governor Schricker the other day described as “our long-haired friends” in governTnental bureaus, has temporarily fallen into a compromise, but it is by no means dead. Grade labeling, in its simplest terms, means that the . ¥known trade names of merchandise, which have been built wp into symbols of business integrity by many years of honest dealing and close attention to quality, shall be abandoned by federal decree. In their place would be labels describing the product as “Government Grade A,” or ~ Grade B, and so on. - = The first big drive was to apply this system of labels to canned goods, and the compromise is to apply. the system but leave the present trade names on the labels, and list the government grades for reference in case any buyer wants | to inquire about them. But the agitation to extend it to | Clothing and other fields continues.
HE idea stems from the school of “economists”’—some call them fellow-travelers—who consider it silly and wasteful for a city to have two or three department stores all selling somewhat the same kind of merchandise, giving . somewhat duplicating services, and engaging in competition . with each other. Their ideal i is one store, run by the government. % They have no sympathy for an automobile industry that produces Cadillacs, Fords, Packards, Buicks and Stude- | bakers and lets the buyer choose between their variations | and merits. Their ideal is about three standard models, offered for sale as “Government Model X, Y or Z,” with the less said about the manufacturer the better.
Their argument is that standardization on a few | styles and models would mean cheaper merchandise. The . fact that competition between manufacturers and merch- . ants has in the past brought prices down and quality up . they wave aside, for under the system they propose the | ‘mppropriate government bureau would decide the price and ' there would be no nonsense about quality since the “buyer | would take what was offered or nothing. & It is urged upon us now as a wartime emergency measure, because even the crack-pots with Ph. Ds, who infest the | government are dimly aware that an unenlightened American people would have none of the scheme in normal times. x 8 8 8 “VEN as a war measure it is without value, and wholly . 7 repugnant to any normal American. To the group of . callow intellectuals who already are slyly suggesting that | “rationing and price control and government supervision of . private living must be continued after the war, this is the _ entering wedge for the Fascist state socialism which they #0 heartily admire. C. T. Habegger, for 40 years an Indiana manufacturer, “gave the congressional committee investigating this field _gome very sound comment this week. To the group, in which Indiana Congressman Charles A. Halleck plays an ~important role, Mr. Habegger said: : “The American people don’t want uniform styling and pricing, nor do they want mere cheapness. They want ample choices, ample freedom, ample variety. Our congress costs us a lot more than a dictatorship would cost, but look at the risk we run in preferring mere cheapness to fairness and freedom and individual opportunity.”
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SMOKE ABATEMENT
F the court doesn’t mind too much we'll dissent from - Judge John Niblack’s reported suggestion that Patrolman Alexander Dunwoody temporarily relax his drive “against smoking in streetcars and busses because the law is still so new. On the contrary, if this law is ever to be enforced, right now is the time to start, and from all appearances Patrol‘man Dunwoody is doing all right with it. So far he has four arrests, and four convictions, of violators.
True, the law is brand new, and it is just barely possible that some smokers may not know about it, in spite of large and conspicious signs that confront them in every public conveyance. Or, maybe they just don’t believe in
gigns. To them we can only suggest that when Patrolman |
. Dunwoody more or less tactfully brings up the Subject, the | correct answer is not “So what?” “Nuts to you,” or even . “You can’t do this to me.” We congratulate Patrolman Dunwoody, a man who enjoys a good smoke as much as anyone, on a sincere effort to enforce this new ordinance, and we have no fear ~ that Judge Niblack will fail to adjust the penalties involved Awith complete justice to every offender. 7%
BUREAUCRACY RUN RIOT
AIRIES which deliver by horse-drawn vehicles are com"7 plaining that the office of defense transportation exceeded its authority when it ruled that they can make no . more deliveries than can competitors who use motor trucks. Some dairies have used horse-drawn carts for a long time. Others bought them after the serious gasoline and
_ yubber situation developed. Now their deliveries are to be |
fA | limited by the ODT on the theory that otherwise they would enjoy an unfair advantage over competitors. who depend on motorized delivery. This seems to be a case of bureaucracy run riot. ‘The ODT’s job is to save gasoline and rubber because of ] the war emergency. But horses don’t eat gasoline or use
It seems to us it would be equally sensible if Mr.
6. Were to rule hat a man can’t use his toa} furnace
Fair Enough By Westbrook Pegler
SAN FRANCISCO, June 4—
Having disposed of some other points in the argument of Joseph Curran, the boss of the party-line union of merchant sailors with jurisdiction from our East Coast to the war zones of Europe and Africa, let us take up his statement that all unlicensed sailors of the merchant marine, meaning those who have not achieved officers’ ratings, reap an average pay of only $33 a week. The base pay of an A. B. is $82.50 a month and he gets emergency pay of $17.50, which brings him up to $100. On top of that he gets a minimum bonus of $100 a month and $5 a day for time spent in any of the big marine war zones. Formerly he also got $125 for entering any port subject to bombing attack, which meant that in going into the Mediterranean with troops or supplies for the $50-a-month army punks in Africa, he got $250 for passing Gibraltar twice and $125 for entering the port of his destination, or $750 in port bonuses in addition to his pay and overtime for voyage which might take a month or five weeks.
Bonus Pay Mounts Up .
THE PORT bonus arrangement has been changed so that now he gets the bonus only if the port actually is attacked. The unions, however, are unhappy about that and, as a compensation concession, want a bonus of $125 if the ship is attacked by. Submarine or
plane or otherwise at sea. The sailor also gets 85 cents an hour overtime pay for ship’s work done outside his regular watch and $1.05 an hour for working cargo. Then the West Coast man may be requested to stand a security watch in port which may mean that he merely condescends to sleep on board and for this he gets $6 a night for week nights and 85 cents an hour from Saturday noon to Monday morning. There are also bonuses for sailing on ships carrying explosives, which may also carry troops and enlisted naval sailors, receiving no such pay. . I have before me the overtime account of a licensed officer which shows how careful sailors of the merchant service are to record their overtime at sea as well as in port. His base pay and bonus were $460 a month and he spent some time in the South Pacific war zone for which he received his per diem bonus.
Owners Balked, Bill Cut
HE LOGGED 81 separate overtime items on a cruise of seven months of which, however, 162 days or more than five months, were spent in port and the overtime bill for the whole crew was so raw that the owners balked and threatened to demand an investigation, charging conspiracy. Thereupon the bill was cut in half. This, of course, is an officer's hill and I regret that I am not just now in a position to offer sample bills for the overtime of unlicensed sailors. I will get around to that presently. It may be added that the unlicensed sailor, of whom Curran speaks, has no required standards of efficiency of conduct. He is supposed to be an efficient sailor in his line but if he is drunk, lazy, sullen and a shirker nothing is done to him unless he flatly refuses duty and even then the skipper may let it pass. lest one of the union papers which circulate among the merchant marine give him a blackguarding in print which would only make his life more miserable the next time out. One captain, at the end of a memorandum reporting the wild indiscipline of a drunken sailor aboard his ship, plaintively requested that this man be not assigned to his vessel again. The memorandum said that sailor got howling drunk, was drinking out of a bottle at the wheel and threatened to “get” the captain yet because the skipper relieved him. He wasn't put in irons, but merely relieved so he couldn't further jeopardize the lives of all on board.
Risk No Worse Than for Troops
IN ANOTHER case steps were taken to protect the anonymity of a naval officer, in command of an armed guard crew of enlisted sailors, who had reported indiscipline among the merchant crew, because he would have to go back to sea with some of the same men or others like them. As a naval officer, an Annapolis man of wide experience with three stripes on his shoulder-boards, remarked, a man at sea might have an accident. He might have the misfortune to fall overboard in the dark, with a little assistance from some surly dipsomaniac in the civilian crew. Nobody doubts that many merchant sailors have been lost ner has anyone impugned their bravery. But the risks they take are no worse than those of the enlisted sailors or the troops aboard the same vessels nor the risks run by the same troops fighting ashore. And the merchantman’s fare is fastidious by comparison. In behalf of the drunks it is offered that they work under terrible tension; nevertheless the navy's conduct ashore continues good and there have been no reports that troops landing from convoys immediately broke ranks.and got wild- -eyed drunk to relieve their nerves.
We the People By Ruth Millett
IN BOOM towns all over America the wives of war workers are buying “the best” in clothes— many of them for the first time in their lives. The owner of a specialty shop in Seattle, Wash. told a New York World-Telegram reporter that her store recently sold 22 $125 suits in two days. One woman, ‘who said she lived in a trailer, walked into the shop and bought a suit that cost $98, an alligator bag to go with it for $65, an $18 pair of shoes, and a $25 hat. Stories like that “burn up” a lot of people. But usually the people who throw up their hands in horror at. such tales are people who have always had money to spend; people who have always been able to afford the best. They think it is terrible of war workers to be throwing their money around like that, Well, it isn’t very patriotic—or very smart. But the war worker's wife who spent more than $200 on one spring outfit isn’t entirely to blame. Those expensive items were for sale. Was it any worse for her to buy them than for a person used to having money to walk in, select them and ask to have them charged?
Why Make 'Em?
IF ANYTHING, the war worker's wife probably got a bigger kick out of them than a woman would have who had always worn $18 shoes. If it’s wrong for a war worker's wife to buy a $98 suit—then we shouldn't be manufacturing $98 suits, or $65 alligator bags. . As long as they are for sale it is no worse for one woman to buy them than for another. And it is asking a little too much of human nature to tempt women—who for the first time have lots of
| money to spend—to leave the “best things” in the
shops and conscientiously stick their money into war bonds, while they go on wearing inexpensive clothes
as always. u n't be bought—they shouldn't be
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OUR TROUBLES ARE ALL OVER Now !
. ° : ; The Hoosier Forum I wholly disagree with what you say, but will . defend to the death your right to say it.—Voltaire.
“PLEASE GIVE US FACTS, MR. WILLKIE” By Edward F. Maddox, 959 Ww. 28th st.
An open letter to Mr. Wendell L. Willkie: Dear Sir: A lot of patriotic Americans, including myself, would like for you to clear up some misunderstandings concerning your real political affiliations and to have you tell. us candidly and frankly whether or not you are a socialist. We have read- that you were reared in a Socialist family, that
political pronouncements, actions and associations since last election seem to indicate that you are an International Socialist. Now please give us the plain facts, not some more “campaign oratory.” We, the people: of the United States, have a right to know the real political philosophy of every candidate for presideht and we must insist that you and every other candidate for that high office state, clearly your political adherence? We want no Socialists, Communists or Fascist “Trojan horses” in the Democrat or Republican parties. Please be specific.
2 2 a “TIME TO CLOSE THIS DISCUSSION” By H. W. Daacke, 1404 8. State ave.
“Voice in the Crowd” sure has a powerful imagination when he can take his definition of Americanism as it was published in the Hoosier Forum and have it coincide with Webster's definition in any matter, shape or form. It would be easier to mix black and white paint and develop either one or the other of these colors.
The rest of this contribution under the caption of “Free Enterprise Not Dying in America” is self-praise and that only tends to leave a bad taste in my mouth, especially since this is repetition of former items of his in the Hoosier Forum,
Possibly nothing can be settled in the Hoosier Forum but an intelligent exchange of opinions can benefit humanity in general and individuals in particular, but when
you were a college radical and your |,
(Times readers are invited to express their views in these columns, religious controversies excluded. Because of the volume received, letters must be limited to 250 words. Letters must be signed.)
the original controversial statement, “Whether unions contributed toward the advancement :of humanity,” is lost entirely by his evasion, when several challenges are ignored, it is certainly t to close this particular discussion. After reading his contribution to the Hoosier Forum as of May 17, 1943, under the caption, “Why Do People Harp About Human Rights?” I was greatly enlightened and have every reason to believe that, in our discussion via the Hoosier Forum, now closed, I received from him all and more than I had reason to expect. » ” ” “POLL TAX A MENACE TO FREE INSTITUTIONS”
By George R. Brown, 3609 N. Keystone ave.
“Doesn’t thou ’ear my ’‘erses legs as they canters away? “Proputty, proputty, proputty— that's what I ’ears 'em say. “Proputty, proputty, proputty--Sam, thou’s an ass for thy pains. “There's more sense in one of his legs nor in all of thy brains.”
This admonition of Tennyson's
“Northern Farmer” is addressed to his son, who seems about to step out of the ranks of the property minded and marry a girl without money. James R. Meitzler, in his letter of June 1 to the Hoosier Forum, shows himself to be in perfect accord with the sentiments expressed
about 100 years ago by the “Northern Farmer” According to each of them .the rights of things are of much more consequence than the rights of persons. The main concern of everyone, according to these two worthies, is money and prop-
Side Glances—By Galbraith
erty. If a man does not have them, as Mr.. Meitzler says, his vote is a menace to good government. The poll tax which seven southern states support and which all liberal minded citizens recognize as a menace to our free institutions is 0. K. with Mr. Meitzler. He says it is designed to keep ignorant and illiterate persons from voting. Isn't it primarily designed to keep poor persons from voting? At times the property-minded citizens of the United States have won elections and elected presidents and congresses. have given us the weakest and poorest administrations in our history. And then presidents opposed by voters like Mr. Meitzler are sometimes elected, fortunately for the United States, and men like Thomas Jefferson, Andrew Jackson, Woodrow Wilson, Theodore Roosevelt and Franklin D. Roosevelt are elected. Strong, liberal-minded men, all of them, and all of them opposed by the money-minded. The names of such presidents will live forever in the hearts of true Americans. The property-minded cooked up the depression for us and this terrible war is due to selfishness and narrow-mindedness of . the same kind. “America is too liberal with suffrage.” “The poll tax should be extended to all the states.” These two quotations from Mr. Meitzler's article show that he is a true Tory. It would be a terrible misfortune to the American people and to the world if the ideas of such people as James R. Meitzler were to prevail in 1944 and a president elected of their choosing.
#“ 8 » “HOMES OF WORKERS SHOULD BE PRESERVED” By George Erber, 315 Dorman st. The news articles appearing in your paper concerning the drastic action to be taken by certain war plants in Cleveland concerning the conduct of married and single employees during their non-working hours should be studied by our war plants here in Indianapolis. Perhaps a little foresight now can check such conduct by workers here. The ever increasing employment of women in these plants can lead to many broken homes as high wages, a sense of financial security, the idea that life should only be a good time, the familiarity between bosses and workers and married and single persons can disrupt the social life of Indianapolis. . Plants should make a determined effort that this condition will not prevail. . . The homes of Indianapolis war workers should be preserved as many have growing children that need in these times of turmoil a sound home life so that they may fully enjoy the freedom and victory to come. ” » » “WHY DON'T THEY STOP SMOKING IN HOSPITALS?” By Wilbur Jones, Indianapolis
I see there is lot of talk about smoking in busses and cars. I don’t see why they don’t stop smoking in the hospitals. . If the council included the hospitals in that non-smoking in public places, it would be all OK.
DAILY THOUGHTS
With arrows and with bows shall men come thither; because all the land shall become briers and thorns. ~Isalah. Tu
HE WAS a very vey interior farmer | and he 1
Labor Legislation’ % By Thomas: L Stokes
The results|
WASHINGTON, June 4—John L. Lewis’ deflance of President Roosevelt finally forced the house to consider labor legislation. But the house has worked itself into such a sweat, with a confusion of motives, that it seemed headed today straight for an impasse with. the senate over the type of legis-, lation. This stalemate would leave President Roosevelt with no additional means to cope with the present emergency orfuture situations of the same sort. The military affairs committee, which assumed Jurisdiction, was not content with the fairly simple Connally. bill passed by the senate, which would’ strengthen the president’s hands in several impartant ‘particulars. It substituted a combination of that measure and the bill of Rep. Howard Smith (D. Va.). The latter contains a number of restrictive features which are so many red flags to labor leaders and their friends in congress. 2 The Smith bill passed the house once, and presumably can be passed again. But all evidence indicates the senate would never accept it. When it ap--peared . previously in that body it was put shelf and never got to the floor.
Eyes on Election a
POLITICS IS playing its part in the house muddle. So are labor-baiters who are capitalizing the war emergency and John L. Lewis’ mischief-making to try - to penalize all labor—wrapping themselves in ‘t flag, and beginning their speeches ‘with: ) “I'm for organized labor, but—" There follows much breast-beating about John L.: and his relatively small segment of labor. Eyes—that keen pair in the White House, and those - In congress—are most Siously on next year's elec--on, The administration” is opposing any labor legislation at this time, and a passel of high officials helped along with a round robin te the effect that such legislation would effect morale adversely. Many Republicans have suddenly become staunch friends of labor.’
Simple Statute Impeded
ALL THIS contributes toward the confusion, and impedes a sincere effort by some house members to get a simple statute through at this time, along the lines of the Connally bill, implementing the president’s powers. o Under this bill, John L. Lewis would be estopped. from “giving direction or guidance” in the further conduct of the strike, and the union would be pre-, vented from paying strike or unemployment benefits, ; while the government is in possession of the mines. The bill gives the president full legal authority totake over plants and mines. Under its terms, in future such emergencies he would have power to move in even before a strike had occurred, on the approach of rode, and take over mine or plant to prevent a strike.
In Washington
By Peter Edson ’
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WASHINGTON, June 4.—How: a lucky hunch enabled a U. S.» battle cruiser to escape five sub=-: marine torpedoes, while protecting the landing of American troops at Casablanca last Nov. 8, was revealed at the Philadelphia navy - yard the other day when the captain of the cruiser met up win the commanding officer of the French submarine from which the tin fish had been launched. Neither of the two officers knew the complete story. It took their chance meeting, while the French officer was in the United States as a member of a Giraud naval mission, to piece together the details of what was perhaps one of the most miraculous escapes. of the war. As the American and British convoy sailed into Casablanca to make .the landing that memorable. morning, all of the Vichy French naval vessels supposed to be defending the harbor were under orders. to fire on any united nations ships which should attempt to force an entrance or a landing. The French submarine commander had his pig boat in excellent position to defend his base. He did not have to give away his position by moving. Here came the convoy, straight at him. All he had to do was wait till the ships came within range, then let go. The French commander picked out the cruiser as his first victim, waited patiently, then gave orders to fire six torpedoes at the supposedly unsuspecting American ship. Miraculously, every torpedo missed.
Mystery of Sixth Torpedo
AFTER CASABLANCA, of course, Adm. Darlan turned over the French fleet in African waters and his forces became allies of the united nations. The: conimander of .the French sub which had fired at the. U. S. cruiser became a supporter of the Free French and in time was sent to the United States as part of. a naval mission from the headquarters of Gen. Giraud, who had succeeded Darlan. When the French sub commander got to Philadelphia on his tour of inspection, one of the officers
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who received him was Capt. Humbert W, Ziroli, thenY
in command of the U. S. cruiser. Filled with curiosity’ the French sub commander asked how it was that every one of his torpedoes had missed. Ziroli himself didn’t know. He had not been on board the ship during this action, but his executive officer had been in command of the cruiser and, from the ship's log, it might be possible to piece out the details. : The log was duly consulted. Yes, there was the: record. Nov. 8, 1942. But six torpedoes. The 1 showed that there had been only five. All had goné by the etruiser’s side and had been spotted w. the cruiser’s watchers. The French sub commander confessed. Yes, there had been only five. The sixth had stuck in the tube. But still, why did all five of the torpedoes miss?
Well-Timed Hunch
THEN THE executive officer remembered. The cruiser had been advancing on a straight course, just as the French sub commander had described. The log showed that. But at the precise moment when the French officer must have been giving his command to launch the torpedoes at the U. 8S. cruiser, then broadside to the sub, Cmdr. F. C. Lane, the navigating officer, had called to the skipper’s attention the fact that their ship had been on this set course for: some little time, and had suggested that the course be changed. The executive officer gave his assent, and ordered the course changed 20 degrees. As the cruiser swung around, the torpedoes from the French sub were speeding toward the spot where their target would
have been. As the change in course was completed; +
the five torpedoes skimmed harmlessly past. pd A split second’s difference in the timing of the ship’s change of course might have meant that the U. S. navy would today have one less cruiser afloat. The French and American officers, allies now, toasted that lucky ‘change of course, and the hundreds o lives it unquestionably saved.
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To the Pointe A
THIS IS the season when father figures he j to, put the sereens. up. Just su fie can Wile, them &
— — 0% a RE US