Indianapolis Times, Indianapolis, Marion County, 24 December 1947 — Page 12

resorbed BY TE STARA ole Fire On Gy Netione die r ; ited Nations dis- | floor must be able to carry a certain weight, for instance—these codes prescribe what materials must be used and how they shall be used in | | construction.

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I n : ‘oc : . : 3 > The Indianap reuse: heen — ———ip— ROY W. HOWARD ~ WALTER LECKRONE - HENRY W. MANZ President Editor Business Manager PAGE 12 = Wednesday, Dec. 24, 1947 2 A SCRIPPS-HOWARD NEWSPAPER

olis Times

: Bor Owned and published dally (except Sunday) by Indianapolis Times Publishing Co. 214 W. Maryland St. Postal Zone 9. Member of United Press, Scripps-Howard News. paper Alliance, NEA Service, and Audit Bureau of Ciroulations. Price in Marion County, § cents a copy; delivered by carrier, 25¢ a week. Mall rates in Indiana, $5 a year; all other states 0. 8. possessions, Canada and Mexico, $1.10 » month. Telephone RI ley 5581 Give Light and the People Will Find Ther Own Woy =~

or Can Happen There UR British friends long have poked fun at what. they called the Red scare in the United States. Some of It was good-natured fun and some not. We were supposed to he silly about this thing at best, or positively vicious in curbing the democratic rights of a minority.

In Tune With the Times

CHRISTMAS THOUGHTS

A quiet Christmas evening, * The stars shining bright. A little old snowman, : All glistening and white.

The tinkling of sleigh-bells, ~ The galloping hoofs. The stars shining down on the Enow-covered roofs.

Atgree with its branches All covered with snow, The design of an artist Whom all of us know. ~ALICE M. SCHEFFLER, “oo 4 . Many a man starts out to show his wife who is boss—and soon finds out. ® © ¢

BANDITRY

Certainly there has been a hysterical fringe in this | cduntry, and even small Fascist-type groups to whom the mildest kind of Jeffersonian liberalism was treason, Since | the war, however, these rackets fortunately have declined. | Americans as a whole never have been Red-baiters. The Bill of Rights to them has been the most precious part of the Constitution. Their test of democracy has been civil liberties. They have recognized the right of a citizen to | believe in any “ism” so long as he was law-abiding. Reds | were considered a pest rather than a menace. Americans had a similar tolerant attitude toward Russia. They fought in her defense against Nazi aggression. They did not profess to understand the Russian way f doing things, and rather doubted that it would work; but they did not question Russia's right to have any system at Home she wished, That was her business, just as our system was our business. ” ” ” . . { BUT THIS American attitude began to harden when it was discovered that Russia was trying to interfere with our way of life over here. And- when it was clear that Russia was using Americans as agents infiltrating our gov- | ernment, ag wreckers of our trade unions, as hirelings of a foreign power waging a cold war against our country, then the average American reacted in typical fashion. He said, “It's time to put the law on them!” This seemed quite an ado about nothing to our English friends, After all, they said, your Reds are so few and America is so strong. ’ . Now the English don't think it is. so funny, or so | vicious, to challenge the Communists’ tactics. Because it has happened in England, just as it happened here. The British Communist Party on orders of Moscow is trying to undermine their government and to capture their trade | unions. And the English don't like it—not even though | there are only 50,000 Communists in their country, - So the British Labor Party has issued a formal warning that the British Communist Party “has now pledged a campaign of sabotage against the Labor government and all it stands for.” “In many European countries the Communists have trampled on all liberty. We cannot allow the same thing to happen here. , ., , Eternal vigilance is still the price of liberty.” As the British say: “Hear, Hear!”

———

Our War Destruction | MERICANS should not-fall for the Communist Partyline propaganda that inflation here and the now officially admitted inflation in Soviet Russia are due to entirely difference causes. ;

| | |

Russia's trouble, according to this line, arose from a shortage of goods resulting from the destruction of war, but ours is the deliberate design of greedy capitalists, monopolists and profiteers. The implication—that America escaped | war's destruction and that there is no decent reason for a | shortage of goods here—is, of course, wholly false. True, our cities and factories were not bombed. we suffered vast destruction.

But Our military spending, upwards of £330 billion, would have replaced, according to tax values, more than haif of our important cities, For nearly four years we stopped the production of many civil ian goods and sharply curtailed the output of many more. Mountains of precious materials, converted into munitions in our arsenalof democracy, were lost forever to our civilian markets. Our industrial economy was turned upside down in the service of the war effort. We not only equipped and -supported--our-own huge military forces throughout the world. We poured abroad a flood of war goods and supplies to help our allies, including more than $13 billion worth to Soviet Russia. » ~

" » WHEN THE fighting stopped we had accumulated a tremendous unsatisfied -demand for civilian goods and servces. We had built up a tremendous volume of cash, savings and current income in the hands of Americans eager to satisfy their postponed wants and needs. And we faced the continuing duty of sending food and goods abroad to ald the recovery of other nations. : That is tiie real reason we have inflation. The Communists among us, with their efforts to convince American

workers that they are being robbed unless they get more pay for less production, are deing their utmost to prolong ur inflation and make it worse. The truth is that inflation is a world-wide phenomenon, an aftermath of war. No country, belligerent or non-bel-

ligerent, has escaped. its. punishment. But information as-

closes that all but a half dozen countries have been hurt more severely than the United States. Recent events make it-clear that Russia's inflation is | far worse than ours, although the Russian government has absolute power to apply the most drastic controls. The Communists don’t explain_that, They aré too busy trying to prove that inflation here is just a capitalist plot. Also

. that, because after two years gf disturbed peace our pro-

ductive machine hasn't yet caught up with-the loss and destruction of four years of war, free enterprise is a failure and Red revolution is our only hope. : It’s the bunk.

Discovered (CURRENTLY under invegtigation is the case of a for- ; eigner who entered this country last October on a diplo- | matic passport and subsequently took a job as garbage

“collector in Orange, N. J. So far it has not been made |

clear whether the visitor is a garbage collector posing as a Ciplomat, or a diplomat posing as a garbage collector. In sither case, some people will be surprised that the he

|. sonation has been detected so promptly,

1 ~~

Bm o)

Robbing a bank is a virtuous employment, compared with robbing someone of a good name or happiness. It Is gtrange that the law places such

| a high valuation upon the bank and such a small

one upon the human being, who is infinitely more valuable, : ~—VEE. % 9 . If you're always longing for the good old days try reading this stuff by candlelight. > © 9 .

MAMA'S CHRISTMAS GIFT

' The air is charged with secrets, Excitement reigns , . . because Today inwchool , ,, we finished Mother's gift . . . from Santa Claus! ANNA E. YOUNG. > o ¢ There are 5420 airports in the U. 8. For the land sakes! : oo @

LINES OF THE TIMES

Seizes Iran Premier as He Flees Prices Due to Fall on Christmas Trees

Riots Rock Peace of Middle East Turkeys Plentiful for Yuletide Feast

Suspicion Widens Franco-Russian Rift Hire Santas to Deliver Christmas Gift

Brewers May Be Banned Prom Making Beer Sunshine Group to Spread Hospital Cheer

Mystery Virus Makes 10,000 IN Samaritan Provides for Santa in Her Will

Beef Hits 40 Cents a Pound on Hoof : Awaits 8t. Nick by Placing Chair on Roof

Prelate Asks for Tolerance in Troubled Times $9000 Reached by Mile-O-Dimes

Cold War Worsens World Winter Plight Merry Christmas All, To All Good Night ~POOR RICHARD. “o 6 We'll soon be looking for the best cure for one of the worst ailments—shovelitis, “ow & 9

APPRECIATION

Every last one of us, sturdy or not-so-sturdy, has something worthwhile to add to the general scheme of things when we have a cheerful state of mind: a resiliency of will; a courageous love of life: and a real appreciation of the efforts of other people. —~MABLE K. STABLER, 4 © . By this time the fish likely have returned to where it looked like a good spot last summer, oo @

FOSTER'S FOLLIES

If there ever is good reason To be feeling extra grand, It is when the Christmas season 1s abroad throughout the land.

So, by way of Yuletide greetings— May your day with joy be blest, Though its hours be too fleeting, May this Christmas be your best. %

pin, oo.

| ‘Phooey! I'd Hafta Ch ahs | Clothes’

Trust Suits Show

WASHINGTON, Dec. 24—Rolling out of the Justice Department here is an average of one major anti-trust action every gwo weeks, The Anti-Trust Division's 170 lawyers, quarterbacked by 35-year-old Assistant Attorney General John F. Sonnett, have been maintaining this average for the past six months and expect it to continue. Three times as many investigations are now under way compared with a year ago. And an even further step-up in activities will result if Congress votes the $950,000 addi‘ional anti-trust funds approved by the Budget Bureau for next year, according to John Ford Baecher, first assistant in charge of anti-trust actions. : * Many kinds of business activities are Involved in the pending 118 cases, from an alleged monopoly in cellophane to alleged egg price-fixing in New England. . In the cellophane case, the Justice Department is seeking a court order to force E, I. Du Pont De Nemours, Inc, of Wilmington, Del, to sell some of its plants and thus permit more competition in the cellophane field.

Want No Tampering With Laws

IN THE EGG CASE, 12 dealers in Boston and the Boston Fruit and Produce Exchange have ‘been indicted for conspiracy to fix and stabilize egg prices throughout New England. The indictment charges that the dealers, through the exchange, raised whole« sale prices of eggs from 61 to 73 cents a dozen in August, _- Anti-Trust Division lawyers don’t like any tampering with the anti-trust laws such as is contained in the Republican “anti-inflation” bill now before the President. This would give immunity from the anti-trust laws to industries entering into -voluntary allocation agreements with the approval of the President, These lawyers think it is dangerous to relax the laws for any reason,

Anti-trust suits often take months to try and -

the Justice Department readily enters into consent decrees with . defendant firms. to save time and

NATIONAL AFFAIRS . . . By Earl Richert

Big Increase

manpoweér—so long as it breaks up the practice it is hitting at. The anti-trust suit against the Aluminum Corp. of America ran so long that one of the lawyers

fathered two children during the trial and two other

lawyers died. Among the recent anti-trust suits was one seeking to break up the alleged monopoly of the Unfted Shoe Machinery Corp. of Boston over the shoemachinery industry of the country, It seeks to force the company to sell some of its plants. Another suit filed. this month charges seven corporations with conspiring to monopolize the automobile and industrial brake business in the U. S. The activities of the companies resulted in arbitrary prices for braking systems which were paid by automobile owners, the government charged. :

17 Investment Firms Cited

POSSIBLY THE biggest case of the year, from the standpoint of the legal battle that will result, was the filing in October of an anti-trust suit against 17 investment banking firms. The government charged these firms with controlling the prices, terms and conditions upon which security issues are merchandised. In the housing field, the greater Kansas City chapter of the National Electrical Contractors Association and some of its members have been indicted for festraining trade in the installation of electrical systems in housing. 3 Among the accusations made hy the government in this case was that the contractors had agreed to include in their charges for work on prefabricated houses a sum which would represent the profit they would have made if the electrical materials already in these houses had been sold by them. Most anti-trust actions result from tips turned in by small businessmen who are squeezed by pricefixing or monopolistic practices of competitors, Justice Department lawyers say that successful anti-trust actions will not lower prices to any extent, but will restrain many practices under which prices are pushed up.

Hoosier Forum

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

‘Thanks to the Committee’ Y Atiaropts to convince the American public that the congressional committee investigating un~ American activities: was trying to police the thoughts and violate the constitutional rights of certain Hollywoodites have failed. The’ question the chairman asked was, “Are you a mentber of the Communist Party?” The chairman, no doubt, realized that there may be a few patriotic Americans who mistakenly believe in communism as x form of government or as a social and economic philosophy. Such, "as American citizens, have a right to that philosophy, so long as they do not seek to overthrow the gove ernment of, by and for the people. If any or all of those questioned could have truthfully stated that they. were not members of the Communist Party, and had done so, I am sure they would have been dismissed as witnesses, without prejudice, as were other witnesses. What conclusions may be drawn from their refusal to answer a question asked by representatives of the American people? . y If any of them were members of the Communist Party and had confirmed their membership, they would have probably bgen questioned further, but would have been neither persecuted or prosecuted on account of such membership. They would, however, have been exposed for what they -are, The Amefican public knows by this time that the Communist Party, even in this country, is affiliated

. with, subservient to and directed by the Moscow

Communist Party, - If any of those questioned were members of the Communist Party,+and had they denied being members, they would have, undoubtedly, been in dicted for’ perjury. -Our FBI has ample records ort all active Communist Party members operating in America. Bogart, Bacall and Garfield found out that ine stead of discrediting the committee, they returned to Hollywood with considerably less box office appeal. I never cared for any of the three as actors. Now, I wouldn't go to see any or all three of them in the best picture of the year, if the tickets were free. My thanks to the committee for refusing to listen to statements intended to becloud the issue, while those questioned refused to affirm or deny Communist Party membership, Non-Communis should be proud to so state.

‘Commend You for Public Service’ By C. L. H., City. You are to be commended for the public service you have rendered in turning the light of publicity on conditions in local restaurants. This is the only real solution, if there be any, to this important age-old problem. Some mention has been made in the press regarding education of owners and proprietors of restaurants. This is certainly desirable, but I do not think. it will accomplish the desired results. Like the farmer who refused to buy a book on improved methods of farming, “they do not do all they know how.” Only by educating the public so that they will not patronize restaurants which do not observe decent standards of cleanliness will the problem be solved. Most men are more sensitive in the region of the pocketbook than elsewhere. Here is a typical example of the present problem: I eat frequently in the best restaurant in a certain above the average community, The proprietor is always at the cash register, which is at the end of the short serving counter. Three feet from him a man takes pats of butter from a container with his fingers and places them on paper dishes. Thus each pat of butter is fingerprinted. The man who serves meats and vegetables will use his thumb whenever a piece of meat does not easily drop off his serving fork. When taking up kraut his‘fork and thumb constitute his tongs. All this is done under the eye of the proprietor who seems tq have no ideals of sanitation, and whose attitude appears to be that business is so good that if one does not like the service, let him cat elsewhere. The place is well patronized, because the food is well cooked and tasty. So the proprietor probably thinks, “Why bother, since business is good?” You have tackled a tough problem, but more power to your light of publicity. A policeman by every employee is the only certain solution, and even then we would probably find the policeman being persuaded to look the other way.

{ prices at unnecessarily high levels.

IN WASHINGTON . . . By Peter Edson

NAM Report Lashes Home Building Evils

WASHINGTON, Dec. 24—Poor—no—rich old National Association of Manufacturers takes such a beating for so many of its reactionary policies that it's a pleasure to find them calling one right for a change

and doing a bang-up job of it. This they have done in their new report, “More Housing at Less Cost.” It. may be criticized by small business interests—the independent tontractors-and-labor. bosses of the building racket who do

i notwarit their present-local-monopolies disturbed. Certainly the NAM

committee that wrote this report is top-heavy with big bankers and businesmen 3 The evils and antiquated malpractices of the tradition-bound home building industry, as it is run today, were never more clearly set forth than in this NAM report. Maybe it Is a case of the NAM pots calling the construction industry kettles black, Anyway, here is a challenge from one branch of business for another branch to clean up and get respectable. .

One reason the NAM report may be so good is that the research |

for it was done by Corwin Edwards and Miles Colean, Mr, Edwards was formerly in the anti-trust division of the Department of Justice under Thurman Arnold. He is now chief economist for the Federal Trade Commission, Mr. Cajean is a Washington housing authority, familiar with all federal housing activities in recent years.

Report Goes to Root of Problem SPECIFICALLY, their report goes to the root of the reasons for too much high-cost housing. There are too many restrictions against construction at reasonable cost, written into conflicting laws. and city ordinances. Indiana, Ohio and Wisconsin have state Wilding codes and from 1500 to 1800 U. dg cities have different codes of their own. Half of these codes are from 10 to 20 years old. They thereby prohibit use of many new materials and building techniques which might reduce housing costs. ===Tstend-of-merely--specifying performance - requirements—-that--a

New materials and designs are thus frozen out.

Licensing of contractors and of workmen themselves is, in many

communities, so regulated as to limit competition, Strengthening the federal anti-trust laws and enactment of more state anti-trust laws, so as to prevent restriction of competition by labor,

contractors or materials distributors are recommended by NAM. Laws,

restraining building trades unions from imposing restrictions on *the use of new materials, machines, equipment and techniques, are also recommended. Progress in the housing industry, says the report, “depends primarily upon the simplification and standardization of parts to avoid the waste of labor and materials on site, the availability of sub-

| assemblies to save time and labor on site, the development of repe- | titive operations and greater

use of power tools and mechanized methods to increase the productivity of individual workmen.”

Report Lashes Union ,Abuses -

Side Glances—By Galbraith

COPR. 1947 BY NEA LT. Mm UO. 8. PAT. OFF,

iY our-tather-arumbles-abeut-alh-the fuss -we-go-to,-but-be-sure-to-put his presents out in front so he won't knock the tree down getting to them!"

housing field, and one of the prime reasons for keeping construction costs high in closed-shop and union-ruled communities. = In this connection, it is worth noting that the AFL building trades, 8 a new contract signed recently with Lustron Houses, will authorize construction of these pre-fabricated dwellings by only three unions-—carpenters, plumbers and electricians. Normallly, from" 14 to 21 unions have to be employed. If this is a first break in the old housing log-jam, to which the NAM report calls new attention, it's a-good sign.

o They Say

ONE-HALF to one-third of what the administration wants should

do the job. —Sen. Walter F, George (D) of Georgia, discussing the

ABUSES BY the. craft unions come in for a severe going over | by NAM. Lowered production of building labor is noted. Labor unions |

are charged with having prevented pre-fabrication and aided in fixing They have forced the hiring of unnecessiwry labor in some cases, restricted the hiring of new labor in others, . . NAM gets in {ts usual plug for outlawing of the closed shop and abolition of the jurisdictional strike. In footnotes, the report mentions

effectiveness has not yet been tested. Z The bad organization of the building trades into too many craft

unions is cited. This is, of course, one of the oldest rackets in the '

| monkey wrench.—Henry Ford II, Ford Motor Company. that while the Taft-Hartley Act attempts to outlaw both practices, its | !

foreign-aid plan. . : ~ 5 ”

EVERY COUNTRY id

help.—Will Clayton, former undersecretary of state.

u o » =" » s

I DON'A KNOW whether we'll ever fet to a point where we will |

all work togetther. There's always some guy handy to thigw in a

-” = - ail, " » » FROM WHAT I saw in Europe I'm convinced that the U. 8. should adopt universal military training and be prepared for, anything.—

Tyrone Power, film. star,

’ . te

‘Christian General’

’ ~ - » ! continental Europe stands to lose the | | battle against communism unless the U. 8S. gives prompt financial’ |

J tionalist government.

| WORLD AFFAIRS . ... By William Philip Simms

Called a Betrayer

| WASHINGTON, Dec. 24—“Christian General” Feng Yu-hsiang at whom Rep. Walter H. Judd (R. Minn.) threw the book, has long been one of China's most controversial figures.

I first heard of him, in China, back in 1920. He was then, according to--reports, “Christianizing” his entire army by “bape tizing” them, en masse, with a fire-hose. Since then, according to Mr. Judd, who knows his China from years as missionary out there —Feng has been everything to everybody. “No man,” Mr, Judd told —the-House, “has committed a greater number -of betrayals.” He was born around 1880, a coolie. The Boxer Uprising “of 1800 found him doing guard duty in the legation quarter of Peking. Chance threw him in the way of one of the besieged—an American missionary by the name of Mary Morrill." He was a little scared |-for he had had a dream about snakes under his bed and he asked | Miss Morrill to interpret his dream,

Not the Only Christian General

HISTORY FAILS to record Miss Morrill's interpretation, but it | seems that she afterward made a convert of him. He joined the Way-Way-Whay, phonetically speaking, or the “Beautiful-Beautifule Society,” a religious organizatign. : . To many in‘ America, Chinese is synonymous with “heathen.” So when a so-called “Christian General” from China comes along, Amer- ~ icans are apt to take them at thefy word. Perhaps it should be mentioned that Feng is not the only Chrise tian general in China. The head of his government, Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek, for example, is also a Christian, as is Mrs, Chiang, who was a Soong. Thus, as between Christian generals, not their religious beliefs, but their records, would seem to be what matters. And Rep. Judd went into “Christian General” Feng’s record before the Houses He referred to Feng as “a professional renegade,” whose another, “from one regime to another, and one commander to ane other.” He cited some history.

‘Sold Palace's Priceless Treasures

IN 1924, FENG was an ally of the late Gen. Wu Pei-fu, one of China's most respected leaders. Wu was in command of North China, He was being attacked by Marshal Chang Tso-lin, famous | Japan-backed war lord of Manchuri®a. When Wu moved out of | Pekin to give battle, he left Feng in command in the capital whence he was supposed to go to Wu's aid at a given moment. However— “Instead of marching his troops against the war lord of Man« churia, in accordance with their joint plan of battle,” Mr. Judd - sald, “General Feng used the army under his command to seize the city of Peking and to declare “himself war lord of Northern China, He seized the imperial palace, selling its priceless treasures of Chinese art to foreign dealers. He is considered to have become a muitimillicnaire and to have large sums of money deposited in Arfierican banks although he maintains in public the pose of humble peasant.” During one of his “out” periods back in the 20's, he disappeared from China and turned up in Moscow where—according to Mr, Judd —he was given a warm welcome ‘and “enrolled in the Moscow revolue tionary school.” : Feng came to the United States on official mission for the NaHe is supposed to be studying water conIn addition, he is on the Chinese payroll as a general

servation, officer in active service. Yet he is touring the country talking against

The general's talks in the United States, Mr. Judd told the House, had been sponsored by the Committee for a Democratic Far Eastern Policy, which, he added, had been “cited as a notorious

| his government and its leaders.

_! munist front.” LL iia,

life—-had beer “a” series of -changes—of--loyalty-from-one party 40...