Indianapolis Times, Indianapolis, Marion County, 27 April 1944 — Page 16

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ndnesees that. the avesalled off

-. and to co-ordinate defensive measures. . . . Neither of them

* the other.” .

under a naval officer, sometimes under an army officer. At the top, Generals Marshall and Arnold and Admirals

"the testimony of the deputy chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Joseph

"tion, the war and navy departments would be consolidated

The Indianapolis Times Thursday, April 27, 1944

ROY W. HOWARD

WALTER LECKRONE MARK FERREE :

Editor. Business Manager (A SCRIPPS-HOWARD NEWSPAPER)

Price In Marion County, 4 cents a copy; delivrete by carrier, 18 cents a week.

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per Alliance, NEA Serve others, $1 monthly. ice, and Audit ‘Bureau

of Circulations. - RILEY 551 @ive JAght and the Peopld Will Pind Thelr Own Wey

DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMED FORCES

ESTIMONY by Secretary of War Stimson in support of a post-war merger of the war and navy departments -is a turning point in an old controversy. All of his predecessors during the “long armistice” opposed such a thing. Various congressional and other committees, including the board headed by the late Newton D. Baker, were against it. But now Mr. Stimson not only has concluded that a single department of the armed forces is “essential” but has found “substantial unanimity” to that effect among both the civilian and military leaders of his department. And it is said Secretary of the Navy Knox will indorse the merger. : This is a remarkable about-face, but not a surprising one jp view of the record. Shortly before the war the lack of co-operation between army and navy went to such ex-

in a joint army-navy landing exercsse. That was in Janu= ary, 1939. And the words of the Roberts report on Pearl Harbor are still burning in our ears: “ ... During a period of 10 days preceding the Japanese attack, the responsible commanders (in Hawaii) held no conference directed to a discussion of the meaning of the warnings and orders sent them and failed to collaborate

informed himself of the measures and disposition taken by

. . s s s o SINCE PEARL HARBOR co-operation between the armed services has taken seven-league strides. In the field, unity of command has been accomplished, sometimes

King and Leahy, constituting the joint chiefs of staff, have achieved a truly “triphibious” co-operation for which this country should thank its lucky stars. Ep The proposal of Secretary Stimson—as elaborated in

T. McNarney—provides for regularizing by statute this war-created organism, the joint chiefs of staff. In addi-

under a single cabinet officer, with undersecretaries for the army, navy and air, plus “a fourth element, directly under the secretary for the armed forces, which would consist of the common supply services that can be combined.” General McNarney, who incidentally was a member of the Roberts board that investigated Pearl Harbor, conceded this week that the present admirable co-operation among

the heads of the services “has had to surmount organiza-{

tional difficulties which tend to create and foment friction.” With lesser men than Marshall, King, Arnold and Leahy, that friction might never have been overcome. Congress should do what it can to eliminate the causes of friction— and unification seems to be the answer.

8 s 2 ” o 8 ALSO, AS Mr. Stimson and General McNarney both emphasized, there is the matter of economy. America’s resources of material and manpower are not, we have discovered, unlimited. Waste of personnel and of supply, by duplication and overlapping, is not only a subject for budgetary concern but, even more important, it is deterrent to the full deployment of our available power against the enemy. All in all, the testimony of Secretary Stimson and his uniformed advisers is extremely heartening, particularly to a newspaper such as this one which for years has spoken in favor of unification of the armed services.

STILL THE BABIES STARVE

HE house has now unanimously joined the senate in urging our government to facilitate the feeding of starving children in Nazi-occupied countries. This is in line with press demands, and with public opinion as registered in the polls.

its scheduled pagticipation |.

.| organizations of Stalin, Hitler and Mussolini.

Wie,

Fair Enough By Westbrook Pegler |

NEW YORK, April- 27~Thisé being, in a manner of speaking, newspaper week in New York, with many editors present, the subject of freedom of the press is getting such a going-over as it has never experienced before in my time. The editors are agitated the more because Henry Luce, the dough-heavy publisher of the Time-Life-Fortuné group which includes no newspapers, has subsidized an “investigation’ by a grotip

of professors. I am afraid that most of us will feel a little selfconscious because we are involved in the Yuestion and cannot be entirely detached and impersonal. I would gladly say “go to it” if I could be sure that the findings of the inquiry would be honest and not propaganda against the American free press, However, I am confident that the standard, daily commercial press would come through with a much better reputation than the ‘so-called liberal press, including the union publications, all of which are violent and abusive bigots, utterly intolerant of dissent and, without exception, untruthful in that the least dishonest of them habitually ignore and suppress facts and arguments embarrassing to their propaganda. I think we could stand inspection all right, but it is my hope that this inspection will not overlook our general resistance to the partisan propaganda of the Roosevelt government.

Mr. Knox Wrote a Book in 1938

AS A WITNESS to that propaganda I shall now call on Col. Frank Knox, secretary of the navy and proprietor of the Chicago Daily News. In 1938, hoping to win some Republican seats in the congressional election, Mr. Knox wrote a book called, “We Planned It That Way,” which was published by Longmans, Green & Co. of New York. erator ea et

¥oVernterre race a great propaganda ma<'

and 2, the New Deal is a great idealistic program.” He recounted that the campaign against the privately-owned public utilities in the TVA. controversy was a propaganda job which he described as murder at the cross-roads. Radio commentators, he said, sped the sinister word, that “preliminary inquiry indicates rottenness within private management of public utilities.” But, Mr. Knox wrote, when one utility executive requested a public hearing so that he could prove that he was not a thief, his request was denied and the administration, long afterward, released a minor item admitting that the charges were false,

& ‘Propaganda Agencies in 48 States’

“THE DAMAGE was done,” Mr. Knox wrote. The original story was “illustrative of the effectiveness of the New Deal's propaganda machine, This is a political propaganda machine fhe like of which the country has never before seen.” It had been developed since congress in March, 1933, gave Mr. Roosevelt “powers to handle the entire problem of public expenditures.” “There are,” he wrote, “administration propaganda agencies in every one of the 48 states. The purpose of these sub-agencies is to spread the gospel of the New Deal movement and its leader. Let a person of prominence speak up in criticism of the New Deal and one of three things, or all three, is likely to happen to him.” The citizen would find himself before a legislative committee, he would be publicly castigated by an obedient office-holder, or he would receive a call from the internal revenue.

‘Technique of Communists, Nazis, Fascists’

“EVERY CONCEIVABLE form of propaganda is used,” Mr. Knox wrote in 1938. ‘“Bodks and booklets, billboards, magazines and newspapers, motion pictures and radio programs, personal contact by thousands of field representatives, constantly circulating.” Then he stated that such propaganda was in the technique of the Communists, Nazis and Fascists, that the New Deal machine was the equal, if not the superior of those machines, and that the New Deal propaganda functioned along lines similar to the

Therefore, may it be hoped that the inquiry into freedom of the press will not neglect the field of paid and motivated propaganda, including the operations of that machine which Mr. Knox, himself a publisher of considerable authority, compared to the glorifying agencies of the Duce, the Fuehrer and our gallant ally, Josef Stalin.

We The People

By Ruth Millett

chine at thé expense of the taxpayers, to tell the | people that: “1.~Mr. Roosevelt is a great President; |.

1 Sob Sister

TRE NEWS PAPERS WiLL STARVE,

“THE TIME 18 NOW RIPE” By George J. Marolt, 20 E. Washington st. I am thinking that this country needs a national convention at Washington in which all the Cham-

resentation in accordance to their membership for the purpose of writing a platform for both the Rapublican and Democratic parties for their guidance in politics of the needs of business. . The many strikes that have occurred with their domination of the welfare in business jeopardizes not only the sound government we need, but the capital of the country for employment. The time is now ripe, before the partisan nominations occur, to tell both parties of the nation what] business needs without a political | attitude. This idea is submitted | from my personal thoughts of a

pressing need for stabilization. = 2 5

“YES, THE WOLVES ARE HOWLING” By Thomas A. Casey, 2832 E. New York st. Just a few lines in regard to what the American people are reading in the daily press, but surely thinking differently, as to who may or may not be our next President to guide the destiny of our great nation the next four years. Yes, the wolves are howling, but the American people are used to it by now. They

have cried big, bad wolf close on 12 years. If something is wrong, why not call in your quack doctors; because after all, the Repub-

MRS. HATTIE CARAWAY,! only woman senator, bought her- | self a “campaign bonnet” in prep- | aralion for going back to Ar-| kansas to campaign for re-elec- |

She explained, “I've always chosen just one special hat for each campaign.” The senator's strategy is sound, but it can hardly be called unique, Every woman, if she will think back, can recall the time she

Not one legitimate argument has been made against relief. The experiment in Greece proves that relief can be

bought a campaign bonnet. Maybe she was only 10 years old and the bonnet was an Easter sailor—but it was a campaign bonnet.

given our allies without helping the German invaders, It | if she talked her mother into buying it because she

can be controlled by neutral authorities. Food can be obtained from Latin America, ships from Sweden, and the allied governments in exile can pay the costs. Humanitarian reasons for relief are obvious. But they are not the only ones. There is a grim war incentive— allied morale in those victim countries is suffering because they cannot understand why we, their friends, blockade food for their babies. Then there is the future to consider. The German population rate is going up, and German children are fed —with food stolen from the occupied countries. The allied blockade is not killing and maiming Nazi youth. But in the invaded lands it is cutting the birth rate and raising the death rate, and deforming the bodies and minds of the young. We talk a lot about peace blueprints and post-war plans. How can a starved, stunted and diseased generation provide a strong, healthy and peaceful Europe? The administration in Washington, of course, favors a relief policy. But it has allowed one British group to block action, in defiance not only of American but also of considerable British public opinion. For more than two years the United States and other allied governments have bowed to Mr. Churchill's blind spot on this issue, The time has come for him to respect the decision of his allies, and to let the food go through to the starving children,

HEAVE HO, MY HEARTIES

IF 2 message to the American Newspaper Publishers’ convention, Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower said—intending it

‘a8 a compliment, we hope—that he considers the war cor-

respondents at his headquarters as “quasi-staff officers.” And the navy,

ns .and rolling LSTs

Be dos, regards the correspondents

thought it would make the most desirable boy in her

| Sunday school class pay some attention to her.

They Were All Campaign Hats

OR PERHAPS the remembered campaign bonnet was the one with yellow roses because a certain young man once gave her yellow roses and said they were | her flower. And she wanted to look her prettiest that | spring—because she did so want him to propose. Or maybe the campaign. bonnet was one bought by a hard-working, tired wife when she made up her mind that her husband wasn't noticing her. A seductive hat, that one, ‘and more expensive than she could afford. But the campaign was successful—or maybe she had only imagined her husband's indifference. Still it did make him say unexpectedly, “Why dont we go to that new night club tonight and have ourselves a time? We could get your sister to stay with the kids.” - The campaign bonnet may have been the one an eager young woman, bent on having a career, picked out for her first try at job hunting. But whatever the reason for their selection they were all campaign hats—as much s6 as the one the | lady senator chose. to see her through the coming | election, '

.I BELIEVE that we may see in America such prosperity after the war as the world has not yet knowh, Contributing to this will be the unprecedented purchasing power. which is being built up through the accumulation of war bonds, together with the tremendous pent-up demand for goods.—Governor John W. Bricker of.Ohio. : = . * * NOW AS never before we must seek an economic ‘trinity—agriculture, management and labor. Clashes between any of these elements are certain to upset

Eric A. Johnston, president U. 8. C. of 0.

. . .

| people. tion. |Pecp’e

lican party are all quack politicians and crack pots. If you have a program, why don’t you come out with it? Don't keep it in the dark. This is a government of and for the

Answer this question truthfully, | did the Republican party ever do anything to help the common man's caues? If they have, it never did materialize in my 50 years as an American citizen. I have yet tO see the Republicans sponsor anything worthwhile, But I can tell you what they did give the American people—depression, busted banks and soup houses in every nook and corner of the country. This country never deserved that kind of treatment. Of course, I know they never intended to go out of their way for the workers. That's asking

vs at

g i

bers of Commerce would have rep-|

foo much. But it wasn't too much

Side Glances—By Galbraith

The Hoosier Forum

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

(Times readers are invited to express their views in these columns, religious con. troversies excluded. Because of the volume. received, letters should be limited to 250 words. Letters must be signed. © Opinions set forth here are those of the writers, and publication in no way implies agreement with ‘those opinions by The Times. The Times assumes no responsibility for the return of manuscripts and cannot enter cors respondence regarding them.)

for the Democrats to go out of their way for our people. Only recently a very prominent man, Mr. Bricker, a governor at that, made this statement right here in our own city. He is very interested in having the New Deal defeated, more so than getting elected Presitient. Well, Mr. Bricker, don't worry. You are not going to get even close. You know in baseball it’s 90 feet to first base. You won't get to the pitcher's box which is 30 feet closer. That's where you will stand as far as the voters are concerned this coming fall. I'll admit you spoké your piece. The Democrats may be defeated. They won't be if the American people use their heads for something besides a hat rack. These are harsh words, but true. We do not want to give up the good things we now enjoy and which took close to & century to accomplish. Yes, I will go along in respect to the party now in power. Yes, they have made mistakes, plenty of them. But the one mistake they did not make was to pull this nation out of chaos just in time when it was on the brink of ruin. Do you arm and swivel chair politicians remember those perilous days? Ninety per cent of our American people won't. While on the subject of candidates, your ehoicé now, as you make it appear, is a dark horse, a military men and a general. At that, he may be a brilliant general and might make a very good President. But, listen, people, don’t let them pull a fast one listening to their quack doctrines. No, this country doesn’t need any part of a military man to lead our nation. But, if this should happen, our people will be goosestepping the same as Germany,

\ the national equilibrium to the detriment of us all— | | (NE ws)

bd ei jek

Italy and Japan. These countries

| of the rationing ban on it. . * How about it, you who read this

| could get it without coupons? - I

{| But he that glorleth, let him

tell the story of military leadership. This will be the story the American people. will tell their grandchildren, this next generation, if it should happen here in America. Yes, will say I'm nuts, But look what happened to Pearl Harbor. for listening to our smoothe tongued isolationists. Remember, 1 don’t compare our great nation with those skunks in Europe and Asia. But, when things happen, they hap« pen fast, and I mean just that, So, in closing, may I say to you fellow Americans, wake up before it is too late. Don’t let it happen to this, the best country on earth.

- » » “SITUATION IS OUT OF CONTROL” By Gassy Saboteur, Elwood Mr. Maholm’s letter has certainly brought up an interesting discussion of a situation that right now is entirely out of control. That, of course, is the gasoline black market. I believe that I'm not exaggerating whey J s.ate that 98 per cent of the pel: in my community, as in others, indulge in black market of one form of another, The remaining 2 per cent are people that have never and will never do anything that even tastes of being illegal.

Whether they feel it is wrong or right makes no difference to this group. To clarify my statement I will explain a bit further. Many of my friends are farmers owning various machines, tractors, motors, trucks and a car or two. Maybe somé have just a tractor and car. The point is that the gas is put in a tank. Not a separate tank for each vehicle, but one tank for all of then. There you have one form of securing gas via the so-called black market. Sabatoge, isn’t it? As for factory workers, I know a lot of them and very few stay home from work for lack of gas. However they don't always depend on the néarby friendly office of price administration, ete., to secure said gas. They find truckers with extra gas, farmers with extra gas, stations help with extra gas, in other words, “Gas gas, everywhere, but according to OPA, not a drop to burh.” Must be something wrong some place. As for myself, since I'm rémaining anonymous, I can be blunt. I have no extra gas (that is, no extra legal gas) and living nine miles from town, I would have a delightful time on two gallons a week or such an amount. I'm afraid home would become quite a bore. Especially since I happen to average only 10 miles to the gallon. Thanks to friends I can make thé trip more often. One friend is a war plant worker with a car that gives him 20 miles.to the gallon. Since OPA says 15 is average, he has around 1000 miles more than the fellow getting 15 miles to the gallon, That gives you an idea of where another source of extra gas comes from. Black market is everywhere and will remain everywhere in spite of the honey-voiced announcers and OPA's conflicting advice. You can compare shoes if you wish. Most people have more shoes now than pefore rationing and generally they purchase an extra high-quality shoe whereas normally they would not. As for coffee, it would have been the same way if not for the lifting

now? If you have your own car would you be willing to play fair with Uncle Sam and not abuse the privilege of buying gasoline if you

think most of .us would and that is

the only way of completely curing the black market plague.

DAILY THOUGHTS

Joes committee; the recent supreme court

{Wartime Dem

in the Lord—IT Corinthians |

By Thomas L Sckes

‘3 a

i JAGEEONVILLE, Wi. AE southern ide uslism and ‘let-us- -ism” against the New Deal is stéaming

i»

Primitive, Emotional ltsue Involved .

‘coddling’ ‘ ities on behalf-of the Negro. The last are constantly eniphasised by such things as the anti-poli tax fight

in congress; the President's fair employment prac sdecision, Texas “white primary” lew, + . a rs 3 ht Demand for Labor St RACIAL FEELING is intensified

demand for libor which has drained

ting the 0 hat,

domestic servants to higher paid jobs, thereby: cre

ating a shortage, and giving the Negroes more inde pendence and bargaining power, so that they no longer are willing to work for a few dollars a week and “tote.” ; N Florida women are bewafling this situation. The men don't like it, either, _

the Pacific coast, which he had addressed upon vitation. . Stirring up mischief, too, on the racial prejudice thus inflamed, was a fellow Millard Conklin, an assistant attorney had jumped into the race first against the sens and got a head start. He specialised, In th demagogic manner, on “white supremacy,” always draggéd in Mrs. Roosevelt,

Edmunds Is Chief Threat to Pepper :

= ‘

of nam

gs gia3is

have done, The chief threat to Senator Pepper is Ollie Edmunds of Jacksonville, 41 years old, for a dozen years a county judge here. He is popular this city, though little known in other parts of state until this campaign, ig Q He is conducting an anti-bureaucracy, state'srights, Jeffersonian-doctrine sart of campaign, em phasizing that he is a traditional southern Democrat. He meets the Negro issues by saying that he does not wait for an eléction, or a supreme court decision, to declare “myself on the manner and method of conducting our democratic » Gi “I am willing.” he says, “lo stand up snd be counted as a southérn Democrat.”

What Joe Thinks

By William Philip Simms:

by soldiers who will soon risk their, lives in- the most portentous battle in history, I am convinced that certain sections of American opin--fon have a mistaken notion ef what makes our soldiers tick. Bome writers, commentators and politicians are saying that G.I. Joe _ is puszied by our foreign poliey; that he would put more heart into his soidiering if he understood out policy better; that he would fight harder if we did not bungle things so badly politically—for example, in North Africa, Italy and France, : Personal investigation has led to no such conclusion. I have talked with a good many of our boys in Britain and with some of the world's best war correspondents who have just arrived here from the Mediterranean theater. The consensus is that the one great big thought in the minds of our soldiers is to win the war and go home as quickly as possible,

Of Course He's for Democracy .

OF COURSE the typical American Joe is Tor “democracy.” He thinks his own country is mighty grand. In fact he thinks s0 now more than ever. And broadly speaking, he would like to see poor old Europe enjoy some of; the same sort of blessings. But that is not why he crossed the Atlantic. He came to fight for Uncle Sam. Hitler and Hirohito attacked his country and he intends to lick them both to a frazzle and ther go home. 5d Sumner Wells, former undersecretary of state, is quoted: in a London newspaper as saying that the effectiveness of our military forces would be enhanced if our men better understood our political as well as our military’ strategy and saw more plainly how they were not only helping to defeat the axis tyranny but also helping to construct the kind of world of which the President has spoken, ad But observation here léads to the conclusion that however right he may be theoretically, he is pot being realistic. Our Joe is not greatly perturbed by such factors. He doesn't vibrate to the words of American politicians the way those gentlemen think he should, let alone to the isms of Europe. + Didn't Come to Fight in Civil Wars = IN ITALY, according to those who have occupied foxholes with them, our soldiers don't care & rap whether Badoglio, Signor Croce, Count Sforss, Tagliatti or AMG runs things, just so somebody maintains order long enough for the allies to win the war and get to hell out. 5 fe Niiy . The same, I am convinced, will apply to Prance and the rest of Europe so far as the American forces are coricerned. If the forty million Frenchmen Wait Gen. De Gaulle it is all right with our Joes. If mot that is all right, too. - - a en

In ’ JAS

Siena AF

LONDON, April 27—Surrounded

| j| CandidatesBLUE § - COURT

States All Be Tre: By

prosecuting att ' Ind:

‘ Speaking at

behalf of Mi Francis M. Hi “cutor, cited rec tor's modernize “Hee court case He said rec cedure in the increased the tions and brou;

- dispatch.

To End Del

| ‘Elimination in bringing er was promised I

‘candidate for t

nation for pro at the Indiana night. “One of the ments that ca: the state cour unwarranted tered in bringi he said. “When crim layed for as lo as has happen and in other our law enfo being underm| unfair to socie ants and a .¥ money. “Prompt tri partial admin! such will be n nated and ele concluded,

Gregg Indo

Judge Nibl:

" Ralph B. Gr sued a staten

‘ John Niblack ¢

the - Republics prosecutor. “Judge Nibls to the profes racketeer as | contribute to | the welfare of Gregg said. _ “He stands all citizens reg or creed which are fighting

Condemns G. 0. P. SI

' “pation for stat

“It is quite « some results © sands of earn resent the bit engendered by name will not ‘of either factic slates will p party success.”

Huff Asks Plan for Pil

Advocating development war-trained pi Republican ca urged the fu Janding strips

future aviatic close of the thousands of .pilots. There lion men now As the fathe myself, I'm enabling these their training develop the a

. ing peace-tims

"Citing the f “ment has buil soil with money,” Mr. H , development _enable us to open up con . employment.”

Niblack an Schedule 1