Indianapolis Times, Indianapolis, Marion County, 24 September 1945 — Page 10

e Indianapolis Times

"PAGE 10 Monday, Sept. 24, 145

OUR TOWN—

Fly Nemesis

$0 Y¥ W. HOWARD = WALTER LECKRONE Editor Business Manager (A SCRIPPS-HOWARD NEWSPAPER)

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: schirps ~wowarol] {39° * RILEY 5551 2 Give Light ond the People Will Find Their Otom Way

“COSTS LESS THAN WAR”—IS NO ARGUMENT SECRETARY WALLACE has announced a plan to make the department of commerce bigger, more active and, a8 he says, more useful to American business heré and abroad. . Asked how much this plan would add to the annual expense of his department, Mr. Wallace made an estimate. The increased cost, he said, would be less than one-sixth of

+ Member of United Press,

‘victory came.

for more frequent gathering and reporting of statistics; for three new assistant secretaries; for increased efforts in behalf of air commerce, international trade, industrial economy and small business. No departmental expansion ould possibly do as much to help business—small or large ~—a8 the government might do by prompt adoption of clear, ‘Eoherent policies on post-war taxation, wages and prices, ‘and labor relations. ; But we share Mr, Wallace's desire to see the commerce | department become more helpful in achieving full production and full employment. His plan should be considered en its own merits. .

8.8" , “85 8 HOWEVER, ‘we wish that he and everybody else would . stop trying to justify plans that mean more spending by comparing their cost to the cost of war. _. It’sbecome a habit. We poured out hundreds of billions to win the war—so the argument goes—and therefore, of course, we can now afford a few millions for this highly ; desirable project, this so attractive scheme. "7 That's exactly as sensible as the topers’ song, “another little drink won't do us any harm,” and all the morningafter headaches that have followed it. Or the spendthrift’s reasoning, “I'm already so deep in debt that I'm going to buy a new suit and look more prosperous.” .» Winning the war was, necessarily, a vast, hugely expensive and terribly wasteful undertaking. What this country needs now is to pare expenses and stop wastes just ‘as fast as it can. We won't do that, and we won't win the peace, unless we break the habit of wanting to spend more use we've already spent so much.

5.4 WARTIME PAY FOR LESS WORK AVE DON'T blame auto workers, steel workers, rubber workers or any other workers for wanting to keep taking home each week as much pay as they took home during the war. That is a normal, understandable desire. 7 Demanding as much take-home pay, or more, for doing Jess work per week is another matter, "In wartime the industrial work week lengthened, from 40 hours or less in most cases to 46 hours, 48 hours or more in many other cases. For hours worked beyond 40 a week, time-and-a-half hourly wages were paid. As a result, “weekly earnings increased more rapidly than hourly wage Jates. And, according to the labor department, average “hourly wage rates in all manufacturing industries increased _about 86 per cent between Pearl Harbor and V-J day. "The big C. 1. O. unions of auto, steel, rubber and other sworkers are now demanding that hourly wage rates be Jurther raised about 30 per cent. The idea is that, for 40 peacetime hours, the workers should get approximately the Same weekly pay they got for 48 wartime hours. Naturally, the unions do not emphasize the point that, Jor continued take-home pay at wartime levels, the workers would do a great deal less work.

% ~ Ld » . " uw s THEY emphasize, instead, their contention that they are ¢ fighting for the country’s welfare—fighting to maintain purchasing’ power and prevent an economic crash. And they say that industries can pay the increases demanded without raising prices, because the efficiency of industrial "methods has gained and the corporations are rich with

HENRY W. MANZ

ered by carrier, 20 cents

‘What the war was costing the United States each day when |

“ Sound arguments can be made for the plan. It calls |

By Anton Scherrer

IT 18 an accepted axiom that

.can be made to say over and over, éspecially if they say it in unison and at the top of their lungs. The other day, however, & dignified little mutiny against such tactics took place in Lafayette, Ind., and Washington, D, C, The Lafayette meeting came to light when J. J. ‘Davis, head of the department of entomology at Purdue university, declared in a voice loud enough for everybody to hear: “I can find no basis for the use of cotton as a fly repellent.” As. for the rumpus in Washington, it took the shape of an ex cathedra opinion delivered by Dr. P. N. Annand, chief of the department of agriculture’s bureau of entomology and plant quarantine, Said he: “We have not heard of this method of repelling flies and doubt its value, even though the pieces of cotton were treated with an effective insect repellent such as diamethyl phthalate or Indalone”

Asparagus Plant Nemesis of Flies

WELL, THAT disposes of cotton. Indeed, it leaves us no alternative but to return to fundamentals and fight flies with the fringed foliage of the esculent variety of asparagus plant, which was the accepted practice when I was a little boy some 60 years ago. The ancient and accepted practice of licking flies with asparagus. foliage takes me back to my milk days. 1 can remember our first milkman all right but, for the life of me, I can’t recall his first name His last name was Weber. I'm sure of that; just as sure as I am that he had his dairy down south, somewhere in the neighborhood of what is now Gar~ field park, The location of Mr. Weber's dairy sticks in my memory for the reason that I still recall how it impressed me that a horse and wagon could travel that long distance and arrive at our house at exactly 8 o'clock every morning Now that I think about it, I wonder why a ‘man of Mr. Weber's punctilious habits had to have a bell te announce his arrival, I guess it was a way of dramatizing his business, At any rate, the sound of Mr. Weber's bell brought everybody to the gutter— mothers, children and all the dogs of the neighborhood. All the flies, too. . Mr. Weber had an amazing sense of humor. Otherwise he couldn't have handled a crowd composed of mothers, childrens, dogs and flies. He was always Jolly except, maybe, for a short period every spring when he was terribly blue, On those few oceasions, Mr. Weber's milk had a different taste and color, too,

people will believe anything they|

The Challenge ie

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poncho. +.

By Thomas L. Stokes

WASHINGTON, Sept. 24.—The week-end -outing in which President Truman joined Democratic members of congress and other of- 1 ficials recalls a similar party in sa which the late President Roosevelt participated over seven years ago, in June, 1937, at the same place— Jefferson island in Chesapeake bay near Annapolis,

tions of the two men, particularly their relations with .congress. There is a contrast as well as a parallel. + Mr, Roosevelt, at the time, was in bad favor with many members of his own party in congress. A bitter | and serious rift had occurred within the ranks in pre vious months over the so-called supreme court “pack« ing” plan of the late President. Purthermore, party conservatives, largely concentrated in the South, were growing restive over continued New Deal reforms which were beginning to hit more directly at the feudalistic industrial and agricultural economy of the South in such pending administration measures ag the wage-hour and farm tenancy bills: The June, 1087, get-together was an attempt te smooth over these party differences. There was much

accomplish much, It couldn't, for the differences were too deep-seated. The conservatives just wouldn’s go the President's way. A smile and a handshake could not erase their antipathy to further extension of the New Deal philosophy.

Doomed to Failure -

CERTAINLY that could not do it when the overs whelming re-election of Mr. Roosevelt only a few months before hadn't done it. That wis when he carried every state but Maine and Vermont. It wag the “mandate” in that election which had encouraged the President. to order more ‘of the New Deal. The party split was accentuated further about a year later when President Roosevelt decided to meet head-on the issue within the party. This brought forth the so-called “purge” in which Mr. Roosevelt undertook to defeat certain conservative Democratig .members of congress in the party primaries, all but | one in the senate. He failed except in one case, that of the single house member he had picked for elimina tion, Rep. John J. O'Connor of New York. Subsequently the southern conservatives began

“I.wholly disagree with what

to join with Republicans, who gradually increased their own strength in congress. This coalition has become increasingly effective. .

The occasion serves to point up the political situae -

surface jollity and good-will, but the meeting didn

Hoosier Forum

you say, but will defend to the death your right to say it.”

I couldn't figure it out at the time. As a matter of fact, I didn’t catch on until years later when I was old enough to read “Tess of the D'Urbervilles.” In the course of that extraordinary novel, Thomas Hardy introduces a dairy man by the name of Crick, One day (in chapter XXII) Mr. Crick received a letter; in which a customer had complained that the butter had a twang “And bégad, so't have!” sald the dairyman, who held in his left hand a wooden slice on which a lump of butter was stuck. . . . “'Tis garlic! And I thought there wasn't a blade left in the mead!” Right then and there, I recalled that Mr. Weber's milk had the reminiscent taste of wild onion on the few occasions when he was downcast.

Called for More Than Humor

OF COURSE, Mr. Weber's business called - for something more than a sense of humor. He went around, I remember, in an inclosed wagon, the side walls of which were equipped with sliding doors which he had a way of manipulating to admit the crock or pitcher brought to him. On a shelf in front of him, and immediately back of his gray mare, was his stock in trade. It was kept in two’ beautifully burnished 10-gallon cans. The milk was poured into our pitchers by way of & spigot. The pitcher, I remember, was placed on the floor of the wagon just far enough away from the spigot to put an impressive bead on the milk. You have no idea how beautifully milk-foams when handled Mr. Weber's way Finally, Mr. Weber's wagon was always equipped with a bunch of asparagus plant suspended from the celling. When Mr. Weber's bell announced his arrival, all the flies in our neighborhood fought to find a place on his asparagus plant. To be sure there were always some flies around Mr. Weber's spigots, too, but that was because his bunch of asparagus

foliage was never big enough to accommodate all the flies in our neighborhood. !

——————— —

» WORLD AFFAIRS—

Loans By William Philip Simms

WASHINGTON, Sept. 24.—There Is danger that the reaction of congress—which eventually must pass on the billions which Britain is tryIng to raise in this country—will be precisely the opposite of what the British hope as a result of the softening-up process now under way. Many congressmen are finding it irksome when a British mission, here to &btain from three to six

ws

“swollen wartime profits.” Well, it may be that some corporations could raise hourly wages 80 per cent at this time without raising prices and so cutting everybody's purchasing power. But we are pure that other corporations—the great majority, probably —could not. The alleged wartime gains in industrial effi«ciency have not yef been applied to peacetime production. «The “swollen wartime profits” of many companies exist only on the trick charts devised by union statisticians. We believe that many upward’ wage adjustments are possible and desirable now, and that more can and should «be made later. But we fear that, as immediate goals, the a0. LO. unions’ industry-wide demands are so extreme that # fight for them would delay reconversion, prolong post-war ainemployment and react against the welfare of the workxs and all others.’

¥ IF HIROHITO ABDICATES REPORTS that Hirohito will abdicate continue to bob up. That is not unlikely. From the Jap ruling caste point «of view it might be an out, " : 4 Hirohito might thereby escape trial and punishment as a war criminal.’ Already he has to take orders from the 7allied victors which make it increasingly difficult for him _#o retain “face” as a “god.” Whereas a regent could take © on that “humiliation” for a child emperor. . gb The determining factor may be allied policy. If the pl allies will make a deal, Hirohito almost certainly will go. They would be expected to agree not to try him after abdi- | cation, : On the official record at least, the allies have riot bound themselves regarding Hirohito's future. This is not gen- + ‘erally understood in this country, and apparently even less

80 in Japan. ; . Hirohito’s conduct, his address to the diet, and the ToKyo propaganda until censored last week, all Have given Japan the impression that he graciously ended the war by

Actually, however, the Potsdam terms and the Byrnes notes on surrender left open Hirohito's personal fate and to a later popular réferendum the fate of the emperor tution, The wisdom of this allied policy should be ob-

ine ‘act and is still boss. Cu] ek,

billion . dollars as grant-in-ald, ask for it on ‘the grounds that the United Kingdom contributed more than the United States to the defeat of the axis. True, the British claim contains aqualifying clause. It speaks of “resources considered.” No one here disputes that United Kingdom resources are less than those of the United States. But, it is asked, what about the British empire's resources? The empire covers one quarter of the habitable globe, or more than 13,000,000 square miles, That is more than’ four times the area of the United States.

U.S. Loss Is High, Too

THE BRITISH claim a 20 per cent decline in the United Kingdom's national wealth as a result of the war. But, it is pointed out, our loss was likewise colossal. Government experts say we used up 25 per cent of our proved ofl reserves: 7 per cent of our fron; 20 per cent of our copper: 25 per cent of our lead: 25 per cent of our zine, and so on. And whereas the British are talking only in terms of the United Kingdom—not of the vast British empire, whose oil and other natural resources are almost untapped--our reserves here in the United States are about all we have , The British also compare the respective drains on manpower. In the United Kingdom, they assert, men and women employed either in the armed services or war industries were 55 per cent of the total compared with only 40 per cent in .the United States.

a tiny fragment of the empire. As a whole, tHe empire includes 557,000,000 inhabitants, or one quarter of all the people on earth, Altogether it provided approximately 10,000,000 for the armed services as against about 12,000,000 for the United States, which has fewer than 140,000,000 inhabitants.

Britain Didn't Include All

THE WAR, it is remarked, is usually spoken of as global, India. Hong Kong, Burma, Australia, New {Zealand, South Africa Canada and the rest of the British empire was Just as much involved as the United States and the United Kingdom. Thus when the British say they need money largely because they owe $15 billion abroad—mostly within the empire and its dependencies—many congressmen wonder. We contributed more than $19 billion to the through lend-lease: And we are not going to get it Why, it Is asked, doesn't the sterling area treat its contributions to the empire more or less in the same way? Sp Bit, most of all, congréssmen are asking why all this. Who-won-the-war palaver, anyway? America doesn'd need to be sold on our ally, Britain. She wants and intends to be helpful to the limit of her own solvency and her taxpayers interests. So it

But here again, it is observed, they deal only with |’

“FEDERAL GOVERNMENT CAN SOLVE UNEMPLOYMENT”

By W. C. Reese, Shelbyville Some of our citizens are saying

that local government should handle the problems of reconstruction. It is true that if we have to battle unemployment there are many local projects which may be developed, but the federal government is far more able to deal effectively with

unemployment as was demonstrated in the last depression. I remember that before the era of the WPA the varfous cities of Indiana endeavored to stave off starvation and gave many of the unemployed work on various ditch digging and levee work and paid in meat and various items, but no cash. This was the best the local authorities could do because the payment of cash would have bankrupt a local community. But the federal government was able to start the wheels of recovery moving because it was able to pay in govern~ ment checks and thus money was put into circulation to provide purchasing power. The idea that we have a vast reservoir of purchasing power 1s held by many, but the fact remains that people with incomes under $5000 (and there are millions of those) have but little. money saved today and what they have would be depleted in the course of three months’ unémployment, while in the upper brackets the $5000 class has the advantage of a much larger purchasing power, but the people in the class are fewer. Thus we should ald reconversion and the administration has done a remarkable job up to date of cutting red tape and rationing which has speeded up reconstruction. New automobiles should come off the assembly line and credit eased to make possible the purchase of the same without any ceiling price or rationing, but there should be a free market and production will stipulate buying and re-employ~ ment of the market. And if there should be a slack the federal government is the only power equipped to handle the vast program of public improvements, such as roads and dams, added TVA developments. The American people are resourceful and have demonstrated that they can overcome difficulties and fight two wars and win two wars in the length of time to win one. They should show the same fighting spirit in time of peace to fight the unemployment situation. Local government can add its contribution, but it would be small and this is a battle in which all the people can

(Times readers are invited to express their views in these columns, religious controversies 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 maniscripts and cannot enter correspondence regarding them.)

Join. Never again should we see our returned soldiers sell apples on the street or men work to earn a few loaves of bread or a few pounds of salt pork. What the people want is the continuation of purchasing power, And sixty million jobs is not a dream, but it is the duty of the people, and the peuple are the gov= ernment, to see that every man who wants to work shall have the op~ portunity to work at a good annual wage. » » » “POLICE SHAKE WOMEN WHILE CRIMES GO ON”

By the Daughter of an Ex-Cop, Ravenswood

What is our police force doing? On Sept. 13, in the evening, I boarded the College car to come home. While the car was at a stand-still at Market and Pennsylvania sts, I noticed two nicely dressed women start across the intersection. When they were about half way across, the light changed. The officers in charge on that corner blew their whistle at the women to come back. Not realizing it was they who were being called, the women took a couple more ‘steps forward. Then the officers called to them and they promptly turned about face and returned to the officers. Then one of the officers grabbed them and shook them as a bull dog shakes a rat. After shaking the women, both of the officers took otit their revolvers and rolled the barrels to see if they were all loaded and then returned them to the holsters. Why? Were they afraid the women would slug them? What are police doing? What a laugh, While all these sluggings are going on they are standing on street corners shaking women. Watch out fellows that a criminal doesn't fall from their skirt tails! If anything should happen to me in town, I'll go to an M. P. At least they wouldn't shake the life out of

Side Glances— By Galbraith

you,

o should be tried,

Britain wants money, why not lay it right on the | Instead of starting off by us n

“MIGHT REVIEW OUR OWN LESSONS A BIT” By C.D. C, Indianapolis The army of occupation and civilians who have been trained to take over in Germany seem greatly perturbed because the German people do not feel any sense of gufit for their part in the recent world conflagration through which we

it seems intends to re-educate all of them and teach them the ways of democracy such as we have in our own country, Possibly before we go too far it might be well to review our own lessons a bit and see what the book says we have accomplished between two wars. As near as I can recall, without looking the records over, something like this happened the first 12 years: We started on the road at. Teapot Dome and finally ended up out in the garage without a chicken in the pot ‘and no cosl to cook it with and the installment man had, taken the furniture and both cars. The road as I recall should have been named Profitless Prosperity and was used by such men as Sam Insull, and was cluttered up pretty badly all the way with farm foreclosures, forced bankrupties and busted banks. Then came the swashbuckling New Dealers and the royal family with the king leading and a lady that was never “in” waiting. There were the crown prinees, too, who used their daddy's prestige for everything from selling insurance to putting a radio station in hock or getting their doggy an “A” priority on an airplane, while a plain common sailor hitchhicked to his dad dy’s funeral, . Then came a war of nerves against the economic royalists and the old bus was so completély ‘stalled it was decided to prime her pump with American dollars and see if she wouldnt start again. Somehow or other the old pump wouldn't even dribble unless she was primed with good American dollars, and the old budget never was balanced. Now the forgotten men, the onethird who were ill fed, ill housed and {ll clothed, were given a more abundant life by borrowing money to give them jobs such as boondoggling on WPA and county relief orders and pensions for the aged and infirm which would let them slowly starve to a natural death, Then there was a lot of crackpot professors and a lot of true and tried politicians who were put on the public payroll to see that the forgotten men could look at the king and queen and the royal family through rose-colored glasses just before election time to be sure that the royal family could stay in the White ‘House forever. 5 Then came the war. The economic royalists were drafted into service, pronto, and did their part too in boondoggling on cost plus war contracts along with some of the forgotten men and women. Then some of the forgotten men e economic royalists too and got them a home, a few bonds or a farm while their brothers and cousins died for democracy in the four corners of the earth. Now these forgotten men who were once hungry may not be real economic royalists but may think they are, which amounts to the same thing. Fhey are already in debt about

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President Truman inherited this party split. exists today. ; = The new President meets his party associates in congress on an entirely different basis from his pred ecessor. They all like Harry Truman. He does not need to court any personal good-will. There is not the personal antagonism that colored Mr. Roosevelt's relations with congress. It is doubtful, however, that this personal feeling will help a great deal, or if the exchange of it at party soclal gatherings such as the Jefferson island outing will contribute much. ;

Suffered First Defeat

FOR THE President, despite cordial personal rela tionships, has just suffered his first defeat on hig program in the senate on the temporary unemplaye ment benefit bill. The vote on two features he recom mended particularly, advocated as administration “musts,” disclosed the same coalition of southern Democrats and Republicans operating against him-e and successfully—just as they did against his prede €cessor, The President did get a compromise in the exten sion of the duration of unemployment benefits to 26 weeks, as he asked, but not an increase of the maximum .to $25, as he urged. The measure still must go to the house which a year ago ripped to pleces the late President Roosevelt's program-s similar to Mr. Truman's, It seems little better dis« posed now, : Nothing much has changed, in spite of the wap and the late election. The senate gave it to Harry Truman courteously, with no ill feeling exhibited, Nobody stood up to damn “That man in the White House.” But still they gave it to him, The end result is the same, : Harry Truman is not the sort of fellow to step up and start another “purge” among Demoerats. If the job is done, the voters must attend to it.

IN WASHINGTON—

Soil Damage By Charles T. Lucey

WASHINGTON, Sept. 24.—Soil depletion and advancement of soil erosion because of ‘‘pushing” wartime farm output has affected one million to three million acres of farm land and may not be overcome for a decade, agricultural experts estimated today. They sald the loss is far less than In World War I due to continuance of soil conservation programs among millions of farmers, but they describe it as “serious” and “considerable” jn terms of damage to natural resources. Wartime damage to land may run to $25 million or $30 million, it was estimated. The U. 8, in the recent war years, did these things which were costly in point of soil depletion: Because of high wheat prices, farmers in some sections plowed up ground that should not have been plowed—ground that was too “poor,” too hilly or in which topsoil was too shallow. Some of thus land was in the “dust bowl” area of the 1930's and had been planted In grass in attempts to stop the terrific wind erosion which occurred for many years after the “boom” planting of the first world war.

Deplete Soil Fertility BECAUSE the U. 8. was cut off from vital sup plies of vegetable oils in the far Pacific by the Japs, large acreages were planted in peanuts, soybeans and other oil-producing crops. These crops are “hard on the land,” soil conservation experts point aut. Peanuts leave land susceptible to water erosion in some areas, to both water and wind erosion in other areas, Similar results follow in some areas from soybean plantings. : : Dr. Hugh H. Bennett, chief of the agriculture department's soll conservation service, says losses would have been vastly greater due to expansion of cultivation if soil conservation policies had not had a few years in which to take hold among farmers, In planting of necessary wartime crops such as soybeans and peanuts, he says, “We argued a lot of them into taking the residue of the vines and scate tering it over the land. In the southeast we got them to raise, as an offset to soil damage, leguminous plants which added nitrogen to the soil.” : Much Midwest land that shouldn't have been plowed, Dr. Bennett says,

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