Indianapolis Times, Indianapolis, Marion County, 9 April 1947 — Page 14

“HENRY W. MANZ

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SEP RI-5551

! Give Light and the People Will Find Their Own Way

HENRY FORD

IT WAS 83 years from candle-light to candlelight for before his friend, Tom Edison,

Henry Ford, He was born 15 years ) invented the elettric light. As he died at his home Monday night, a flood had cut off electricity and heat, thus dramatizing the changes of his lifetime and our-dependence upon them. . Mr. Ford must be listed among the few great mechanical geniuses of history. It may be conjectured that his effect upon the trend of human affairs was perhaps greatest of all time in any field. Greater, perhaps, than that of Napoleon, or Genghis Khan, or Caesar. : His record is more remarkable in that it did not involve, as it did in the other cases, war and conquest. His efforts were directed along peaceful lines. He ‘attempted, as he said, to take the heavy burdens from

ments shoulders and place them upon machines.

= HOWARD |

» ® =» » » ”» HENRY FORD did not invent the mass production system. Eli Whitney introduced that techniqug.a*long time before, in the manufacture of army muskets. But Henry Ford developed it on a mass scale. He lightened men’s labors, improved their efficiency, their wages and their living standards. He shortened their hours

of work.

Taal ory . yo eh

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ON THE OCCASION of its first appearance in The Indianapolis Journal (Aug. 5, 1882), James Whitcomb Riley's poem, “When the Frost Is on the Punkin’,” consisted of three stanzas. The fourth stanza which gave the poem its present shape was not added until the publication of “Old Fashioned Roses” in 1888. For a brief spell, however, (possibly not exceeding 15 minutes), the poem had five stanzas.” That was the night Indianapolis turned out to ratify Benjamin Harrison's nomination. { 1 guess I was about 10 years old when Father and J went up town one afternoon to watch the crowds and learn what we could by way of the bulletin boards, We

proaching the heart of town from the south, as was our custom in those days, we didn't get any farther than Maryland st. At this point the crowd was so dense that we couldn't move another inch. I was aware, however, that something of great moment was happening just then, because the next thing I knew, the crowd had turned into a parade. {It was the noisiest parade I ever heard.

Only Boy Without Tin Horn WITH THE EXCEPTION of Father and myself, everybody was tooting a tin horn. When 1 asked why I was the only boy without a horn, Father said he wanted to bring me up right to be a Grover Cleveland Democrat, ; Well, when Father observed the delirious crowd, he ventured a guess that Mr, Harrison was the successful Republican candidate for President, The fact that he did this-without ever having seen the bulletin boards confirmed a suspicion on my part that Father was more or léss omniscient, That same night there was another parade. This time it appeared to be less improvised. It was a different kind of noise, too. To be sure, the horns were still in evidence, but they didn't work as well as they did that afternoon. That was because there wasn't enough wind left in Indianapolis to blow them. The big noise that night came by way of drums, For some reason, too, most of the men in the night

By mass-producing a car to fit the average pocketbook, _ he put the nation on wheels. His was the imagination and driving force in creating our vast network of hard-surfaced roads and our great oil industry. : As a by-product of his endeavors, he created a fortune 80 vast it is beyond imagination. Yet he lived frugally. His hobby was collections from the past, antiques remindful of the “goed old days” which his imagination had helped hasten into limbo. Is it good for one man to accumulate so much wealth, or bad? Money is power and we hold, in this country, that f° too much power in any man’s hands is evil. Under present 1 regulations it would be impossible to amass this amount of * wealth or anything approaching it. It also would be impossible to build the industrial organization which has been so beneficial. Our present system, though it seems sound and fair in many respects, is not favorable.to the development of Henry Fords. Tax laws and social regulations work against the “rugged individualist,” which Henry Ford was.

3 # » » » » = PERHAPS this is good. Such power as he has had, in evil hands, could be destructive. But we should give thought to the circumstance, none the less. The country which Henry Ford helped transform by no means has reached perfection. It must grow. New and improved techniques for working and living must be developed. The last word has not been spoken on industrial techniques, on labor relations, on anything else for that matter. We must prevent obvious abuses. We must outlaw obvious exploitation, but we must leave the way open for the play of such genius as was Henry Ford's.

TWO INTOLERABLE STRIKES THIS country won't stand for long the sort of punishment inflicted by the two nation-wide strikes now in progress. Stoppage of coal production, by itself, would be damaging. So would the spreading paralysis of telephone service. Together, they constitute an overpowering provocation to public anger and hysteria. The telephone strike is at least frank. It does not pretend to be something it is not. Its leaders have resorted to no hypocritical subtarfuges. It is not easy to assess the merits of its complex issues, but we think they are open, honest issues. ; : The telephone unions probably have demanded too much. The Bell system and its, affiliated companies probably have offered too little. The public, in our opinion, believes there is ample room for fair compromise. . And we . are sure that all concerned have more to gain than to lose by a prompt settlement. ~~ = - : ‘The Bell system is. a regulated monopoly. Its longdistance rates are fixed by the federal government, its local

| floors. kitchen. * They are all to an average

Hoosier

OUR TOWN «oo By Anton Scherrer LT Riley's Poem Once Had Fifth

never got anywhere near the bulletin boards. Ap-

"| do not agree with a word that you say, but | will defend tq the death your right to say it." — Voltaire.

Forum

Ft. Harrison Housin

people in family, maximum rental that family is able to pay and their present housing accommodations. With this information, we feel that we will be able to .convince the proper authorities of the urgent necessity for a low cost réntal

project at Ft. Harrison. . . 2 »n =

“RADIO GIVES CHILDREN LESSONS IN CRIME” By Sally Myers, Indianapolis Why look and act so surprised at another teen-age murder? What can you expect when murder is made 50 easy they get from four to five lessons every night? You can hardly hear anything on the radio but murder and death gurgles, and to help it along the cap pistol is back in little boys’ hands again. Don’t blame youth, the blame should be placed in the right place, and that is something else. Government leaders know what is causing all this change. Until America thinks more of the welfare of this country’s youth and stops this sort of stuff, we have just started in crime. Listen to the blood-curdling programs and there is your answer. F J 8 8, “WHY TEAR OUT HOMES IN REDEVELOPMENT AREA?” By Agnes Booth Allen, 626 W. 12th st. Fifty modern and largely furnished homes owned by families living in the north side of 10th st. and Attucks high school, with water and utilities and sewer connections and set along paved streets, are to be taken and torn down, though some may he moved and relocated after the owners are gone. . One has an oil furnace, several -hardwood Another has an all-electric

family of four or five. A head waitet, a preacher, sevéral school

rates by the states. It can be argued persuasively that telephone and other public-utility wages also should be fixed by public authority. Let this strike go on, hurting more and more innocent bystanders, causing greater and greater loss and danger, and congress almost inevitably will stam-

affecting public welfare, health and safety. Labor doesn’t want that. Management doesn't want that. We hope telephone management and telephone labor will have the good sense not to bring it on. a ik " ® 8 ” . THE coal strike is something very different. : When. it began, disguised as a six-day “period of “mourning” for victims of the Centralia disaster, we credited John L. Lewis with an honorable motive—to arouse the nation’s conscience to the terrible problem of mine safety. We were mistaken. : It is. now clear that Mr. Lewis was seizing another chance to demonstrate his power; to avenge the defeat he ~~ took’ when the Truman adminstration saved the country from his strike last winter; to’ accomplish by strategy | supreme court said he should not do. Over the bodies of the Centralia dead he has won a nal victory, and one that few will envy. doing that he violated the “rule of reason” which he,

ng of mines.

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pede to compulsory arbitration of all labor disputes gravely |

, told a committee of congress last week must govern

: a non i people want every coal mine that operates ‘asysafe as possible, They do not want | f the tragedy at Centralia. i oS industries shut down, their ,} s destroyed by a clever | |

teachers, a druggist, a lawyer, I, recall live there. The replacement | value of these homies is at least | $5000 each, a total of $258,000, all

"A.V. C. Needs Factual Data for

By Irwin Katz, Executive Secretary, American Veterans Committee {Did You Expect?” Allow me to con-

The American ‘Veterans Committee is campaigning for the opening of a rental housing project at Ft. Harrison when the army leaves Of bling. I am agreed with you on that July 1. In order to properly support our arguments, we must have the 100 per cent. In some previous necessary information as to the number of Indianapolis residents who would desire housing-accommodations at Ft. Harrison. : Therefore, we request all people who are interested in obtaining which I agree with you, they are. housing through a Ft. Harrison low cost rental project write to the American Veterans Committee, 555 N: Capitol ave, Indianapolis, Ind. indicating the following information: Name, address, telephone number,

number of whether or not writer is a veteran,'public money wasted. In addition,

“LET'S PUT BRAKES ON OTHER VICES” . "0. By 0. C. N., Monticello g Planning . Referring to your front page editorial as of March 19, “Well, What ‘gratulate and praise you for the stand you take in regard to gam-

column of yours, Mr. Editor, I notice you say gamblers are suckers,

But what about drinking of booze and smoking of cigarets, Mr. Editor? Billions of dollars in our own (country are literally wasted each {year on booze and the damnable icigarets. Worse than wasted, considering thé lives that are wrecked or snuffed out through their use. “Well, What Did You Expect?” Yes, what can good, straightthinking American people expect? As long as our daily papers and many magazines publish great flashy, catchy, deceptive booze and cigaret ads. “Well, What Did You Expect?” Shall we put on the brakes on gambling and encourage and promote other vices, such as drinking of intoxicants and smoking of cigarets? You are right, Mr. Editor, gamblers are suckers, but booze guzzlers are suckers, too. And cigaret smokers are suckers, more ways than one. I plead and pray for more sugar for this year and every year hereafter, and less booze. If we had thé sugar the boozemakers get, we would and could make this a ‘sweeter world to live in. ‘Let's quit squandering our money on non-essentials and put it back into useful channels, then we will be a happier world. If we choose otherwise, “What Can We Expect?”

50 good American families needlessly will become displaced persons las no provision is made for their housing. Some of these families ‘have lived in their homes 25 to 50 years. Now since we are not wanted in certain sections of Indianapolis, why tear out these homes? We are living peaceably with each other, It is not my job to solve the problem of the area, but it is my duty to contribute the best I have and can give toward this end. We all want the redevelopment plan, but I don't think they should take from us whether we want to sell or not to redevelop, The area can be re-| developed and these homes stand. In a democracy such as ours, each individual according to his ability should have the opportunity to live where he pleases, but since that is not the fact, we should, as tax-) payers and free American citizens, contend for these homes. 5 » ” “HIGH TIME WE CLEAN UP OUR PUBLIC OFFICES” By G. A. M., 1603 Central ave.

Answering Mrs. A. A.A, I" believe it is about time the citizens are stepping forward, the election is at hand. The city and county has so much conniving done by public servants that it is high time we change] if someone will step out that we know is not afraid to tackle. If we could get a good mayor, county prosecutor and sheriff, there would be very little corruption. This thievery has been called to. their attention, but they do nothing. If | there was not vice let run wild, then we wouldn't need all of this safety ballyhoo by our sheriff; this talk about washing behind the ears of our prosecutor, and the .do-nothi and -get fat by .our mayor. Let's draft some good fighting person who is interested in the general public, make him mayor and clean up these public offices for a cleaner and better Indianapolis.

Side Glances—By Galbraith

We've been sucker long enough, don't you think? ~ ” . “NEGLECT TO TEACH YOUTH RESPECT FOR THE LAW” By N. G., Zionsville

WASHINGTON, April 9.—At one point in his Jefferson day speech, President Truman sounded a note that was strongly renmiiniscent of the past. Proclaiming the present record level of prosperity and employment, Mr. Truman seemed to echo Herbert

Hoover's proud boast of 1928 and the first half of 1929. While he did not claim the current prosperity for himself or his party, as Mr. Hoover did in that earlier time, this was nevertheless implied in what was a skillful political speech. If the present prosperity lasts through 1948, it will certainly be the major theme in the Truman campaign for re-election. A Republican senator in conversation the other ‘day referred to Mr. Truman as “Calvin Coolidge with a grin.” While this was intended in half-humorous disparagement of the President, it ls not entirely beside the mark. The President and the men around him want to present to the world the appearance of a man who stands by his principles but does not go out of his way to seek political trouble.

May Be Re-elected THE $64 QUESTION for 1948 is how long the present boom will endure. If it carries through November of next year, what was considered impossible six months ago may come tq pass and Mr. Truman may be re-elected for a four-year term. Having stressed the theme of prosperity, Mr. Truman, later in his address to Democrats who had paid $100 a plate to hear him, threw in a warning note. He expressed “my deep concern” over the level of prices prevailing today. “A system of free enterprise does not automatically work out jts own adjustments without our giving thought to the process.” It was as though a paragraph or two out of another speech had been pasted into the Jefferson day address by mistake. * For earlier Mr. Truman had spoken in ringing praise of the free enterprise system, chiding those whose lack of confidence led them to predict something less than the present prosperity wave. i With the main theme of the President's address,

WASHINGTON, April 9. — John L. Lewis’ loudmouthed demand that the $700,000 fine levied against his United Mine Workers union be revoked and given to the families of the Centralia disaster victims doesn't make sense. Consider the record. ’ Idling in a New York bank are over $18 million earmarked by the government as a welfare and retire-

Recently a 14-year-old Indianapolis boy decided he did not like his stepmother because she dared to

ment fund belonging to the miners. This money has been accumulating in the last 10 months from the 5-cent-a-ton royalty paid by the coal-mine owners, as correct him, so* he just takes the |,ovided in the Krug-Lewis contract signed last family shotgun and kills her. The | pray 29, net result, a nice feature of sonny | The contract specified that this fund would be adon the front page, a big publicity | ninistered by three trustees —one named by the for a freshman kid-—but the woman is dead. : Next summer, maybe, there will be some court hearing on the matter, a few sob-sister stories of how sonny was cruelly . mistreated: and the matter ~uietly “dropped = but the woman is dead. Getting common nowadays for junior to shoot the “old man” or somebody he doesn't like. Always sure to make big publicity, big fuss, much excitement and other youth can marvel at such a hero. We have neglected to teach our

administration, the third to be agreed on by the othgr two. !

Fund Not Working 3 .. FOR SIX MONTHS nothing was done about setting up this board of trustees to administer the fund and decide how benefits and pensions would be paid. The board isn’t functioning yet. : ‘Purpose for which this welfare fund was created 1s to make payments to miners and their dependents and’ survivors for wage loss resulting from sickness, permanent disability, retirement, or death. It was Intended to cover just such situations as the Centralia

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youth respect for law, accepted cul explosion. Buf the survivors-of that catastrophe and tural customs, society or their eld'ers. Rather we have instilled in them the idea that society owes them everything for which they

| “ROCK PILE EFFECTIVE | FOR CURBING HOODLUMS”

Il | where they have to sork in all kinds

are to give very little responsibillity. Due to ultra-modern social | thinking, society has sown to the | wind, and now society is réaping ‘the whirlwind. | 4 n

WASHINGTON, April .9.—The sudden re-emerg-ence of Gen. Charles De Gaulle into his country’s political aréha serve to spotlight the tragedy that is going on in France, w and throughout the world. ve That tragedy is the schism between the democracies and the Communists which is holding up peace and reconstruction everywhere. What makes it worse is that the split is over the thesis that peoples everywhere- have the right to live under governments of their own choosing—a principle to which every member of the United Nations pledged itself long ago.

Anti-Communist Feeling Grows

GEN. DE GAULLE clearly supports thdt principle. Speaking at Strasbourg Sunday, he said that “if a new tyranny ever should menace all or part of the world, we may be certain that the United States and France would be together to oppose it.” Frenéh Communists, on the other hand, bitterly oppose the Truman doctrine. They are equally hostile to Gen. De Gaulle. The Truman policy, they say, is a menace to the democracy of small nations. The general, they charge, is “a tool of Fascist reaction’ who seeks to be dictator. 2 The Communists do not charge that De Gaulle is a “tool” of the United Biases, but they je accuse him e turn aside, ry r | and us of working toward “Fascist” objectives. Reg yn ru cent political events in Belgium, Italy and elsewhere 777 land being attributed to the Truman doctrine. There ©. |has been a “stiffening” of

” EJ]

|By Daily Reader, Indianapolis This act of vandalism that our jst is undergoing is truly the act of hoodlums from Chicago, Ill. The | breaking of .window panes, turning | | signa around, all such things that {show a rhaniac trend are brought in {here. A part of it was exposed when the gambling hoodlum from Chi- | cago was killed. The whipping post lis approved of, but such hard-boiled hoodlums haven't any shame, even 'if you whipped their nude bodies before the public. The rock pile

of weather would be more effective for that type is a parasite to any | city. .Alcatraz is easily reached.”

DAILY THOUGHT

| Take heed to yourself, that your heart be not decéived, and

gods, and worship teronomy 11:16.

U.M.W. one named by the government coal mines

in

»

parade wore red hats which seemed to Intensify the noise of the drums. I don't know where they pleked up the gaudy hats, but I strongly suspect that they came from Kipp Bros. Indeed, there is every reason to believe that the drums and tin horns came from the same place. Back in those days, the success of a presidential election (from a decorative point of view) depended altogether on whether Kipp Bros, took an interest in the campaign. It’s a little late to say it, but inasmuch as nobody else has, I- feel bold enough to declare today that, except for the skill and imagina~ tion. with which Kipp Bros. stocked their store in 1888, Mr, Harrison wouldn't have made the showing he did around here. Moreover, it was because of Kipp Bros.’ location in the first block of 8. Meridian st, that Father and I couldn't get beyond Maryland st. that afternoon. : Well, after the two preliminary parades which made quite a dent in Kipp Bros. stock, we had a little breathing spell. Not for long, however. Two nights later, the big ratification meeting took place in Tomlinson ‘Hall. It was preceded by another parade. In this case, the noise was one prolonged roar from the Union Depot to Seventh st. (now 16th), The shouting and cheering lasted until 11 o'clock that night when all of a sudden, with the stars and moon shining, there came a heavy rain which drove everybody home.

Fifth Stanza for Harrison

OF COURSE, the people sitting under cover in Tomlinson Hall were all right. They were lucky in another way, too, for that was the night Mr. Riley tacked the fifth stanza onto “When the Frost Is on the Punkin’:

=

“And they's still another idy 'at I ort to here append,

In a sort of note-beany fur to taper off the end In a manner more befitten’ to a subject jes’ in view Regardin’ things in politics, and what we're goin’ to do Along a little later, when affairs at Washington, 'At's been harassin’ us so long, has got a Harrison, We're goin’ to give the man a seat, and set him there K-sock, f } When the frost is on the punkin’, and the fodder's in the shock.”

IN WASHINGTON . . . By Marquis Childs $64 Quiz: How Long Will Boom Last?

even the most carping Republicans found it hard to quarrel. That is t America must be strong in order to shoulder e tremendous responsibility which is ours in the world today. That cannot be said often enough and with the clarity and firmness with which Mr. Truman said it. Yet we propose to meet those overwhelming obli-

gations out of a completely uncontrolled economy. .

When Hervert Hoover returned from Germany with’ his recommendation that we send more food, the first reaction was a speculative boom in grain that sent wheat to $3 a bushel. Most controls were thrown overboard after V-J day. In this unseemly haste to get back to normalcy there was no recognition that the world had utterly changed. i

A Period’ of Pause SINCE IT was a political speech, the President was perhaps under no compulsion to point out that the present is a period of pause. England and, to a lesser degree, western Europe are living on the memory of the past and a hope for the future. That will not continue indefinitely. In this period of pause the President's stock is rising again. That has been one of the most interesting phenomena of his tenancy of the White House. The Truman stock has undergone violent fluctuations in the market of opinion. In July of 1945, his approval rating stood at 85 per cent. Last fall it was down to 32 per cent. Today it is about 60 per cent. Obviously these fluctuations are’ related not so much to what Mr. Truman does or does not do as they are to the state of the nation. Last fall there was widespread discontent over shortages and rising prices, and Mr. Truman was the only scapegoat In sight. Today the Republicans offer themselves as a prominent target. If a year from now Mr, Truman can again proclaim American prosperity, it will mean that the major decisions have been postponed for another 12 months. And this may in turn have a lot to do with the decision on Mr. Truman's personal future.

REFLECTIONS . . . By Peter Edson John L. Lewis and Miners’ Welfare

the dependents of those who died in it will get no im-

mediate benefit from the $18 million because the fund

isn't working. Lewis can act fast enough when it is to his advan.. tage to do so. By seizing upon the offer of Norman H. Collisson, coal mines administrator, to keep closed all mines not found safe by re-inspection, Lewis, in effect, called upon the government to continue indefi‘nitely the sixMay. period of mourning. This is one way of shutting down the mines at a time when Lewis himself is restrained by court injunction from calling a strike.

Revenge Is Motive

LEWIS’ WHOLE PERFORMANCE since the su-

‘preme court decision against him has been an effort to get revenge. He has made the Centralia disaster an excuse for taking out his spite on Secretary Krug for beating him in his effort to break his" contract with the government. Hs Lewis has thrived and capitalized on-pet hatreds “all through his career. His last great hate was against Franklin D. Roosevelt. But this new hatred of Krug seems to transcend even his hatred for Phil Murray of the C.1.0. th In sharp contrast to Lewis’ violent vituperation, Krug has kept his head and not been sucked into answering Lewis’ slanders. By this action Krug has gained in stature where Lewis has lost,

WORLD AFFAIRS . . . By Wiliam Philip Simms French Brickbats Are Aimed at U.S.

Some who heard the general's speech were inclined to interpret it as meaning he had abandoned his for mer neutrality as between America and the Soviet Union. However, he seemed to clarify that point, France's chief problem, he said, was to maintain an independent position between the opposing blocs represented by Russia and the United States. The French government is precariously balanced by means of a coalition of all shades of political opinion, including Socialists and Communists. Since promulgation of the Truman doctrine, French mederates and rightists have been saying that France soon would have to choose between Russia and the United States, But Socialists and the Popular Republicans say no. If France lined up with the U.'S. and Britain, they argue, the Communists would walk out, form an opposition and make government virtually impossible.

Opposition to De Gaulle

“DE GAULLE 18 DANGEROUS!” Andre Marty, one of French communism’s big three, ¢ried at a

mass meeting apparently held to destroy any concep-.

tion of the general as a national hero. Then, he added significantly? “All right, let's admit he's dangerous. But we Communists are six million strong.”

That the United States unwittingly should be =

made the focus of popular resentment in France at this time would be particularly tragic. Her true aims dicat wi

as Gen. De Gaulle

RE

Mr. Brooks

mail. An exai message sent ment's foreign can embassy h patched by RC government cost $881.62.

Examination closed it to bx and theologic European cour at night and t until the follo Transmittal would have sa lost, Or, as ti the message enough to ha The govern munications o telephone, wi soared during budget shows ing less now, for more thar The state d communicatio lion in 1945-44 coming fiscal partment’s es as compared in 1945-46 an 47. Es The social tion hits a against $254.0 federal comm is down fron The federal up from $11 interstate con risen from $4 The White 000—up $350 budget burea $1400, The agricu spend $1.7 1 million and years, The v is down to $1 with $1.8 mil million the } Typical. of accounting o© in telegraph Unn The feders thority in a messages {rc office at the bill was $807 the message: sent at the OPA sent 1 a food meet! sage cost of | sent at the period cost would have &

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