Indianapolis Times, Indianapolis, Marion County, 24 May 1946 — Page 24

\apolis Times ) WALTER LECKRONE | SORIPPS-HOWARD NEWSPAPER

HENRY W. MANZ

Owned and published daily (except Sunday) by 1 Indianapolis Times Publishing Co, 214 W."Maryland 4 st. Postal Zone 9, Member of United Press, Scripps-Howard NewsRupes Alliance, NEA Service, and Audit Bureau of

~ Price in, on County, 8 cents a copy; deliy-

carrier, 20 cents a week. rates in Indiana, $5 a year; all other states, . OU, 8 possessions, Canada and Mexico, 87 cents a mom, u RI-8851,

* Gon Light end the People Will Find Their Own Woy

THIS STRIKE IS AGAINST YOU ; THERE are 50,000 union engineers and 200,000 union tole and their strike has paralyzed the nation’s

4

Their strike is against you. You may not realize it yet. But let it continue only a day or so and you will know, Millions of people realize today that this strike is against them. +All the commuters who could not get home | last night, all the servicemen trying to hurry home on + furloughs, all the travelers stranded in strange cities, all who have urgent need to make trips by rail—they realize.

vim wo. nn * know none of them. You may read of their

E You may i troubles today With a feeling of calm detachment. You may imagine you will be untroubled. Just wait. You'll not have long to wait, if this goes on. © _ A little time—a very little time—and the almost incred- . ible damage that can be done by this reckless, foolish, dis- | astrous strike will begin to touch every individual in every home In every city, town and county in every state. "The engineers and trainmen have no grievance that could justify this. Their real or fancied wrongs can never excuse what they and their unwise leaders are doing to America. There is no right to strike that goes this far. Their strike—of 250,000 men against a nation—is against the democratic principle of majority rule, It is against the 1,150,000 members of other railroad unions which were willing to accept the peace terms proposed by the President of the United States. It is against the nearly 14,000,000 members of A. F. of L.,, C. L. O. and independent unions whose jobs and earning power will be destroyed if this lasts long, It is against the 140,000,000 people of America. It is against the city dwellers, whose food supplies will

mails will be delayed, whose streets will be darkened, whose local transportation will be crippled. ~~ Itis against the farmers who cannot move their perishable crops to hungry markets. It is against millions facing starvation in war-torn lands to which America has promised food. : 1t is against the industries of this country which it will .. ¢tlose down, and the businesses of this country from which it will withhold goods to sell. ! It is against the organized labor movement, from which it will alienate countless people who heretofore have been its friends, and friends especially of the railway unions because of their long record of keeping law-abiding peace. It is also against Pepper of Florida, who stood in the United States senate for hours last night still filibustering against corrective labor legislation. Even Senator Pepper will not escape loss from this strike if it lasts long.

- » » » ~ ¥ : HIS, like the John L. Lewis coal strike, is against the government. It differs from the coal strike only in that its damage spreads more swiftly—only in that it may more quickly impress the American people with the brutal truth that a strike against the government is a strike 8 against everybody—including YOU.

“SH-H-H-H-H-H—-" OX our desk is a very interesting document, entitled “Administrative Memorandum No. 60” under the heading of the district office of the Office of Price Administration, and addressed to “all district office employees.”

It is a flat order to all OPA employees to keep their mouths shut in the presence of newspapermen, or, in other words the people of Indianapolis, and tell 'em nothing about OPA except what is officially okayed by the management. The order states: “You are directed to “contact Mr. Lynch, Mr. Hodges, or your department head before talking with reporters or otherwise releasing ‘any information about OPA operations or any- information that bears on any of its functions. . , . It is imperative that no official or employee issue any statements . ., or any attempt to interpret or forecast policies to any members of the press, trade organizations, radio stations, or trade associations, except as outlined above.”

agent) and Mr, Hodges is his assistant. The order goes on to direct employees to turn in to the same channels “for promotion” anything they believe will “make a beneficial news or radio release.” We don’t know what specifically prompted the issuing of such an order, but obviously-it means just one thing: . The people of Indiana are not to know anything about OPA that the management of OPA doesn't want them to know. "a That isn't necessarily a surprising state of mind for the management of an agency that spent. $75 million last year on propaganda principally intended to keep itself in But it is an unfortunate state of mind. Unfortunate : for OPA and any worthwhile objectives it may have, Still . more unfortunate for the people of the United States, who still like to believe that a government agency which they . have created and for which they pay the bills js the public's Juusitess. dud should have anything to hide. It was Senator » IL memory doesn’t fail us, who recently remarked that “the most important single group of he in this country is in OPA.”

DP EDUCATION SMITH college advanced economics class formed afl ument company of 5000 no-par-value shares to what it was studying, But the securities and Said; | You can’t do that. + It's against A spec Ve company unless the firm is $100,000” - 2 us outfit, of course, has no such financial aluable primarily as a laboratory eourse. another oi 3 saw the educational

init learns painfully, ex. 1 8 should be run

Business Manager

Hoosier

The PI ight of a Nation

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“| do not agree with a word thateyou

will defend to the death

your right to say it." — Voltaire.

gambling in Hendricks county and

boy who suddenly can afford to run a big game. Ive never been in a “big-time” gambling house, but that kind of stuff is for New York and Chicago and Hollywood, or maybe French Lick. We don't like it over here, where we admit we're not big operators. We don't want a bunch of racketeers muscling in on our home community, Editor's Note: Take a look at story on Page 1 today.

» ” = “LEWIS 18 REAL LEADER, OTHERS ARE JUST TALKERS” By Angelus T. O'Farrell, Terre Haute Damn John L. Lewis all you like, history will show he was the greatest man of his times, When Presidents have been too weak to do anything for the workLing man as most of them have been, who stepped in and did something? John Lewis. When unions, like the doddering old A. F. of L. and fits complacent old president, were afraid, or unwilling, to do their duty for the working man, it was John Lewis who acted. Back in the 1930s he got the automobile workers together, and the steelworkers and showed these selfish capitalists who was boss. What if he did have to make a supine government back down, and eat its own words, and what if he did have to seize the “private property” of these big corporations? Who built those factories anyway, Alfred P. Sloan, or some fellow in overalls at a dollar an hour, or even less? : John Lewis showed us the strength there can be in lots of men working and fighting together. We can rule America, under his leadership. He has brought us better wages, and high living standards, and shorter hours. Roosevelt never did any of that. He just talked about doing it. Truman does not even talk. I'm for keeping the mines shut

Mr, Lynch is the “information executive” (press [3°"™ tll everybady in this country

understands who is boss. ‘Then maybe the miners will get a decent deal. John L, Lewis will tell us when its time to go back to work. Not anybody from Missouri,

"Why Can't State Police or Sheriff Stop County Gaming?"

By Clermont Citizen There are rumors and all sorts of statements being made about

in your county, our neighbor. It

dwindle, whose health and safety will be endangered, whose'|seems to me the sheriffs or the state police should do something about it. Don't get the idea I'm in favor of blue laws. I not only am against that kind of trying to legislate peoples’ morals but I sure would resist anyone who said I couldn't play cards or make a bet with a friend. But big scale gambling, if there really is such gambling here in the center of the state, isn't friendly gambling. It usually is a racket, and I'll bet it is operated by pros at the game. It sure isn't a local

“MEMORIAL DAY SHOULDN'T BE NOISY DAY OF DEATH” By "RU. Mane,” Indianapolis Talk about bull fights being a cruel sport. How about this speedway we run here every Memorial day? Shades of Nero and the Roman arena, Isn't it a fact that three or four drivers are killed every year in this thing, and a good many others driving here to see it? What do these people all go out there for, if not to watch some fellow smash up his car? . I know, they tell us it's to improve the automobile just like they tell us horse racing is to improve the breed of horses, How does it improve any auto to smack into a concrete wall while traveling 119 miles an hour? I'll tell you one thing, it doesn’t improve the driver when that happens. Memorial day ought to be observed as a day of solemn meditation and remembrance, and not turned into a giddy carnival of death and noise, The city of Indianapolis ought to stop promoting this show and use its money and efforts for something constructive.

Editor's Note: No, it isn't a fact that three or four drivers are killed each Speedway race. The number of fatal accidents has been suprisingly low through the years of these races. Incidentally, the Speedway is a private enterprise and the city of Indianapolis has nothing te do with it. » » » “THOSE ATTACKING MINERS SHOULD HAVE TO DIG COAL” By M. A. Mish, 807 N. Temple. Since I presume you have emptied the sack of your venom through your editorials and cartoons on the soft coal miners and John L. Lewis, it is about time to give us at least some of the drips of the venom on the operators of the mines in question and the condition under which the coal miners must live and work, including the constant danger which they face.

Side Glances—By Galbraith

Please explain the $3,000,000 back

. en . J NOE, INE. T. M, REC. U. 8. P

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H iT, OFF, ou'll work eight hop® a day at the start, of course—then when advance yourself to a responsible position, you'll find that the job cleaned up in about :

141"

pay the miners demand, state whether this was contracted by operators to pay and then tried to steal or Lewis is so unreasonable as to demand something the miners are not entitled to receive. Personally, I would like to see these unreasonably attacking labor and particularly miners be compelled to go into mines for six months and dig coal. This would teach them to know the miners’ viewpoint.

Editor's Note: Well aware of the dangers and hard work miners face, The Times throughout the controversy has urged “generous wages, safe working conditions and adequate protection” as a basis of their contract, has criticized John L. Lewis for tactics that injure his own union members and all other workers, and may do irreparable damage to the whole American labor movement. The $3,000,000 “back pay” Reader Mish mentions was not due the miners under their contract, was an unreasonable demand by Mr. Lewis as the price of beginning negotiations with the operators, has been paid by operators te get Mr. Lewis to discuss a new contract. .w ® » » “CONGRESS MUST LEAD MODERNIZING MINING” By KE. R. Egan, 701 Markwoed ave. Since the dispute between the miners and coal operators hinges upon better working conditions and a tax on coal to secure such minimum demands (and this primarily because such security is entirely lacking in backward states), this whole dispute automatically becomes of national concern because of the widespread nature of this industry and its effect on the whole industrial life of the nation. Congress must approach this problem from a constructive viewpoint, instead of prohibitive regulation or penalizing J. L. Lewis, however justified it would be, for his absolute and dictatorial rule of the U. M. W. Congress must help in modernizing the mining industry, which lags 25 years behind Britain. This whole labor unrest has but emphasized lack of co-ordination of national interest. The states rights theory gives us a United States of 48 states which make their own laws except in time of peril. This comes perilously near wartime necessity for united action. Any attempt to regulate or amend the most glaring deficiencies of backward states brings forth deafening cries of bureaucracy, most successful of all opposition propaganda, Modernizing the coal industry is not confined to penalizing either operators or miners. It must free the miners of any economic domination by operators, from company stores to hospitalization. Congress should provide the bureau of mines with appropriations adequate for personnel to examine safety devices and working conditions, and a tax on coal production which will be levied and administered by congressional authority, » » » “MAKE CITY AUDITORIUM MEMORIAL TO VETERANS” By Mrs. W. F. Hughes, 4025 N. Meridian st. Congratulations that the project you suggested on April 18, 1944, is now to become a reality—a civic auditorium. The ground under consideration I understand is old Shortridge high school site. Very centrally located—to be a courtyard and city hall. Let me urge you to insist on naming it Memorial Hall, honoring our boys of Marion county who made the supreme sacrifice— and at the same time serve the needs of a fast growing city. No greater service can you render Indianapolis just now than to give the project your best efforts.

DAILY THOUGHT Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesds Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk. And he took him by the right hand, and Mfted him up:

and immediately his feet and

Ankle bones received strength. -4

Acts 3:6-1. . _ MAN is the miracle in nature. God is the Orfe Miracle to man.

WASHINGTON, May 24.—In the heat whipped up in congress over labor legislation, provoked by John L. Lewis and the parallel railroad strike reality, many .4hings have been said that will not bear cool hy Even in the calmer mood of the minority report on the senate labor bill, submitted by Senators Ball

there are some inferences that can be challenged because they concisely express assertions made in other quarters. : “It has always been an axiom of liberalism that unrestrained and unregulated power in the hands of any individual or group is dangerous to democracy and freedom,” the report says. ‘

Workers Have Willed Strikes . .

WELL AND GOOD, accepted. The report. then continues: “Labor unions and their leaders exercise such unrestrained and unregulated power today. The proposals which we are making in these amendments are aimed to be corrective of certain labor practices in the same sense that the anti-trust laws of the carly decades of this century were corrective of the.abuses of the free-enterprise system. “Such measures safeguard real freedom. Our amendments are no more against the true interests of enlightened labor unionism than such measures as the interstate commerce commission and the securities and exchange act were against the best interests of business.” Without going here into the amendments, the inference of these statements can be examined with benefit, There is general agreement that John L. Lewis has indulged in an exercise of power not commensurate with his responsibility as a union leader and citizen by his refusal for some time to bargain collectively in the accepted manner. But the inference from what the senators say, and others have sald it directly, is that national la-

BERLIN, May 24.—Myrl E. Alexander, chief prison officér of the American military government predicts that juvenile delinquency would continue to rise in Germany but said that it would be 3 mistake to consider German youth as a whole as a bunch of “Dead End Kids.” : At 36, the youngest federal prison warden in the country, Alexander flies back to the United States tomorrow to resume his duties as head of the U. 8. penitentiary at Danbury, Conn.

G. L.'s Can Help Kids

IN A FAREWELL press conference, he suggested that it would be a good idea if German boys could play a little baseball with American G.1.’s. Teen-agers will continue to get into trouble until given something constructive to do, he said, However, he expressed the opinion that reports about activities of organized youth gangs in Germany have been exaggerated and overdramatized. * Wommenting on recent arrest in Berlin of 25 hoodlums, Alexander did not attach much importance to the fact that they represented such comic-strip outfits as the Edelweiss pirates, the Totenkopt (death's head) clique, the Ohio gang and the “88” (H being the eighth letter of the alphabet, 88 stands for Heil, Hitler), “German kids will get together, like kids on the east side of New York or anywhere,” he said. Alexander was not attempting to sidestep or minimize the collossal sociological problem posed by hundreds of thousands of idle, amoral, Nazi-educated boys and girls, wandering around Germany. As proof that potential “Dead-Enders” may be converted to potential strong citizens, Alexander cited the remarkable preliminary success of the Americansponsored boys’ farm in Laufen, Bavaria.

NEW YORK, May 24—I have been boiling in-

ternally ever since I read testimony that Henry Lustig, a restaurant owner who is standing trial for major league income tax evasion, used- to pad his fortune with miserly $7000 monthly take from hatcheck tips. ’ . So I am verging on hatlessness, unless my wife insists on covering me for those gala nights in Third ave. bars. It's economic reasoning: I could save a dollar a day, which would buy me a $15 hat once every two weeks—if I could pay for the upkeep of it.

The Tipping Racket OVER A PERIOD OF TIME, few people are rich enough to afford a hat and coat. In fouf months of eating out, it has cost me $120 in two-bitses for the overhead involved in keeping my bald spot dry and the bones warm. Way I see it, it's cheaper .to be cold and wet, catch the flu, and go to a doctor, What sores me up at Mr. Lustig is that when I was giving my quarter to the hard-faced blond with the clotted eyelashes and the upswept hairdo, I thought I was building a little character. The slight squeese of the hand; the lingering look—this, I thought, I have bought with my two-bits, and I am making a dear little girl richer. You know, of course, the truth. Under concessions, your quarter goes into a lock box and later an armored car comes along and takes it away to the concessionaire. The lady who intimates heaven for a quarter and poison in the soup for a dime is on straight salary. ; I'm so old I can remember when taxi drivers were happy to settle for the meter fare, and were delirious over a dime. You tipped as a gesture of appreciation in most cases—and for waiters, you recognized the outworn European system which allows restaurant owners to saddle the customer with the salary of his

TODAY IN EUROPE . . . By

PARIS, May 24—One of the key factors in French politics today is neither a politician nor a party, but a book, Arthur Koestler's “Darkness at Noon,” first published in England and America, has recently been published in Paris under the title, “L'Infini et le Zero.” It has made a profound impression, particularly in intellectual circles, and has had a notable effect in turning sentimental leftists against com munism. France's leading right-wing publicist, Fran~ cois Mauriac, has gone so far as to express the opinjon that Koestler's book, which gives an authentic account of the Russian state trials in 1935 and 1936, was the single most decisive factor in persuading the French people to vote “Non” in the recent consti tutional referendum,

Frightened Communists THE FIRST EDITION of “L'Infinl et le Zero” was limited to 10,000 copies. The book had instan~ taneous success, French Communists were alarmed by the impression it created and sent emissaries to the publishers, stating they did not mind this one edition but would regard it as a most unfriendly act if more were printed. Lani, The publishers repiied that they thought that one thing for which the war had been fought was so Lthat they could publish anything they liked. Despite the paper shortage, they immediately produced a second edition of 20,000 copies. The book now changes hands. at seven or ejght times the original price. It seems strange to an Englishman or an Ameri can that a mere 30,000 copies of one book could make such a revolutionary change. But France is still a country where intellectuals have an immense influ.

ence on the. general public. Owing’ to scarcity of

ro aT

N WASHINGTON LY Thomas Lr Stokes Ede " Congress Is Unfair in Strike B

(Minn), Taft (O.) and Smith (N. J.); all Republicans,

bor leaders are going around, swinging their weighs, and calling strikes willy-nilly, As a matter of fact, in the major strikes since the war—automobiles, steel, coal and railroads—it has been the will of the workers to strike, as overwhelming votes in each case” have shown. Buch strikes were expected after the war to bring wages up to meet the increased cost of living, The right to strike is accepted today. Even Sens ator Byrd (D. Va.) defended it the other day when suggestions were made for a law to prevent strikes for six months. The inference also might bé drawn from what the senators said, that power is weighted on the side of labor leaders and unions, That isn’t the fact. Our big industry is as powerful, if not more so, than ever, and its power is enhanced by its inter-connections, This is proved today in politics, of which the best demonstration is what has happened in congress to measures supported by labor, Bécause of ‘their great financial resources, ine creased by tax refunds, big industries are well able to stand long workless sieges, as in the General Motors strike and the coal strike, much more so than the union man who stuck to the picket line despite personal hardships. The power of the purse is mighty, and it is on the side of industry. The senators also referred to anti-trust laws te regulate business. The truth is, of course, that busie

ness continually has been striving to sh I Sons g to shake off such

Congress Vote Not Consistent IRONY OF IT ALL is that members of congress who are so rabid to “do something about labor” ine clude many who were so anxious to vote huge tax refunds to business, who voted for the insurance anti» trust exemption in both house and senate, who voted for the Bulwinkle bill in the house and are ready to vote for it in the senate. : Their complaints about labor would come with better grace if they were equally alert to protect Public interest from these other threats,

WORLD AFFAIRS ... By Edward P. Morgan German Youngsters Are Not All Bad

Here, for three months, 200 juvenile delin between the ages of 12 and 21 have been i yenia out any cells, locked doors or armed guards and not a single escapé has been attempted. “One German official complained that the boys might want to stay there permanently and not go home,” Alexander said. The inmates’ time is divided between work and recreation under direction of a young priest and a small staff of teachers, It is nota religious operation, It just happened that a priest who had done a lot of good youth® work, even under the Nazis, qualified for the job. He indicated, however, that the military governe ment had only begun to scrape the surface and that, on the whole, there was not much to attract boys and girls to keep them out of trouble, “We've got to attack the leisure problem,” he said. “I'd like to see a lot of these G.I. ’s—and there are

a

lame |

&

a lot of darned fine ones over here—be able to work. .

wtih some of these kids in sports.”

Juvenile Prison Population Low ALEXANDER ALSO HOPED that something like the Boy Scout movement could be established, al« though he realizes tHe difficulties about uniforms and how careful officails would have to be to keep such a movement from paralleling the Hitler jugend. He said that more than 90 per cent of prison per= sonnel in the American zone were Nazis and had te be fired. The zone's present prison population—excluding those some 100,000 in various Nazi categories— was only about 24,000. Only between 7 and 8 per cent of this total were under 18 years of age, he said—a proportion which would compare favorably with the United States.

REFLECTIONS . . . By Robert C. Ruark It's Cheaper to Go Without a Hat

help. Even so, you felt that your tip was going to the individual waiter for services rendered, such as not scalding you with the soup. ? : Shortages, unworried cash and concessions have turned tipping into a business proposition that is al most a racket. The concession_pays a restaurant so much for the right to post its bland bandits at the door, at the rope, in the men's room, at the hate check counter—and the blackjacked tribute goes straight into the concession’s strong box. Your largesse enriches not the recipient—it maketh tp wax fat the concessionaire. ; This is not invariably true. Some restaurants pre fer to hire their own help. In that case, the pool gets you. Under the pool system, the surly moron who mangles your order and sneers at your haberdashery gets the same share of tips as the cheerful, deft fellow who handles you competently and seems pleased te have you aboard,

Revolt That Died Unborn

A DIME NO LONGER is legal tender in tipping, and a quarter is a lowly coin. The yokel who abides by the 10 per cent rule often runs into a muffled crack: “Keep it yourself, Elmer, you need it worsen me.” The chambermaid pies your bed unless she finds the weekly deuce on the pillow. You are boxed by doors man, headwaiters, assistant haidwaiters, captains, assistant captains, powder room jockeys, waiters, come missars and hatcheck wenches whose pneumatie architecture is uplifted in their employers’ interest, Bellboys, room service, desk clerks—everybody has his hand out. Being a meek type, I keep dropping quarters and half dollars and “dollars in them, but one of these days . . . who am I kidding? Thank you, Pierre, or Louie, for a wonderful tablé overlooking the bushoy,

Randolph Churchill

French Intellectuals Mold Opinion

books, every copy is read by 40 to 50 people. A climate of opinion is thus produced which, in a country like France where politics are fiercely and continually discussed, quite quickly brings a wide« spread change of view throughout all the educated classes, who in France number many millions. People are beginning to realize that, in all essentials, communism is as deeply an enemy of freedom as is fascism. Millions are beginning to grope their way back to the middle road of true, traditional demotracy. Oldfashioned liberalism was discredited by the outworn economic doctrines to which it had dnchored itself, Hence, the rise and success, all over Europe, of the Social and Christian Democratic parties, such as the MRP in France.

France Feels Religious Upsurge HENCE, TOO, THE CONSIDERABLE religious révival which is a definite feature of French life today. Not for 50 years have the churches been 80 full. French soldiers who" spent many years in German prison camps seem to be among the most devout church-goers. Many of the modern, genera tion, of course, have lost faith and Will probably never recover it. They need some Vigorous new reassertion of the rights of man and the cause of free dom to become politically effective, It's becoming more and more apparent that the successful political leaders in ‘the next few years in Burope will be those who cin build a bridge between the Social-Christian Democrats and other parties which, though radical .in their thinking, are still warmly attached ‘to liberty, Both forces are clearly

needed if the threat of communism is to be permanoft iia

ently warded off from western Europe.

«A

FRIDAY,

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