Indianapolis Times, Indianapolis, Marion County, 23 January 1949 — Page 26

3 A NI REP A : CL G'ER LECKRONE - HENRY W, MANZ

Sunday, Jan. 23, 1049

al oy be e, Hour Law’ es 0 With Trimmings JOE SMITH, who owns the filling station, wasn't feeling Vell that Saturday evening, so he let Bill Jones, his ‘helper, stay and close up the place. : ~~ Neither of them thought a thing about it, at the time. “But it turned out that made Bill's week 41 hours long, and a state inspector heard about it. : © Result: $500 fine and 90 days in jail for Joe Smith. yr» . ® » JIMMY BROWN, who goes to high school, wanted to + earn a little spending money, so he offered to deliver parcels + school for the drug store for 25 cents a parcel. Some days he'd pick up 75 cents or a dollar Shai, way, ‘in the couple of hours between school and dinner The state inspector heard about that . . . 0 "Result: $500 fine and 90 days in jail for the druggist— for each day Jimmy had been on duty. : sn ® 'e. mi» _NO, it hasn't happened yet. Erk he _ But the Legislature was asked, this past week, to make that the law of Indiana, in a bill introduced’ by Judson Haggerty of Indianapolis and Joseph Klein of Gary. It is now before the House Committee on Labor. The project begins as a state version of the Federal ages and Hours Law and goes on from there. It would

iW « make it a crime, punishable by heavy- fines and long jail terms, to hire anyone or to permit anyone to work, for less than 75 cents an hour, or for more than 40 hours a week © without pay at “time and a half”’—except people who work ‘on farms or as domestic help in homes. ; It would give the commissioner of labor enforcement duties, and unlimited access to all pay-roll records, and "would, of course, require an army of state-paid snoopers to check up on all the thousands of little businesses in Indiana to make sure they were not “permitting any person to work” more than 40 hours, and so on. : : : . . : . a» +. THE Federal Wages and Hours Law requires pay of ~~ not less than 40 cents an hour, with “time and a half” pay y ours beyond 40 in a week. There is talk now of raising that wage, and it is widely believed it will be

‘8

purpose of creating inflation by making consequently prices higher. In its application

be cured by a new act of Congress, y e” decision of the Supreme Court which determine whether a man who got overtime pay

est jet

4 pay rate for overtime worked next week, one of the great masterpieces of confusion of judicial history. ~ ' Practically, no such law, either state or federal, can accomplish anything except a possible contribution to inflation. If the rate of pay it sets is below the rate at which men are willing to work, as at present, it has no effect at all. If the rate is above what employers are willing to pay, they don't hire anyone, and it creates unemployment. If Indiana passes a wage-fixing law with rates below those fixed by federal law, it would, of course be meaning- . less. If we pass a law with rates fixed above those of either federal law or of the current labor market, ib would simply throw thousands of Indiana workers out-of jobs. A sn » « : ~ 8 8-8 SPONSORS of such legisiation usually say that “unions” want it passed. Why they should, if they do, is beyond understanding. No more “anti-union” legislation ever has been seriously proposed. : If such a law works at all it would destroy unions entirely. If the government is to set wages, hours and working conditions there would obviously be no need for unions to represent workers in any industry, ; The enactment of such a law in Indiana would benefit nobody—neither workers, nor employers, nor the public. It could do vast harm to the workers and the small businesses of Indiana—the grocers and the barbers and the filling sta. ‘tion owners and the thousands of “employers” who now ‘hire one or two men or women to help them. v The House Committee on Labor will be doing an intelligent service to the people of this state if they bury this

and forget all about it. *

Industrial Peace for Indiana?

IF INDIANA is to continue its high place in economic progress, necessary steps must be Yaken by labor and management to stabilize production and employment. An important step in that direction has been taken by the Indiana Manufacturers Association in launching a state-wide program to improve personnel relations. ~The Association has planned regional operations in 19 Indiana industrial centers where concerted efforts will be made to find common ground for mutual understanding . of the problems of both labor and management. ” r . »r . . SUCCESS or failure of this program will determine whether Indiana can enjoy industrial peace and the stabilized employment that goes with it or face a period of production stoppages which could retard economic - progress for all, If this personnel relations program is conducted fairly and in good faith and if labor meets the effort half way, “we see no reason why Indi cannot.-have many years of economic advancement and a better standard of living “for all its citizens, *

Mission Accomplished

THE day after the Senate Foreign Relations Committee "questioned the nominee for Secretary of State, one © newspaper's account carried this head: “Hiss My FYiend, i WE ‘ Ry

Mr, it's already been Your

it back in the thirties for the ad‘an arch-Repu

absurdities as the “portal to portal” pay -

wasn’t entitled to one-and-a-half times his over-. |

unwise proposal at the bottom of their lowest pigeon hole

| pensost...byBm ar | And Now | Truman Given | _ Rousing Show.

Inaugural Crowd Tops Days of Roosevelt Fetes _ WASHINGTON, Jan. 22—Dear Boss: “The

| tumult and the shouting dies, the captains and

the kings depart’—Rudyard Kip wrote that after witnessing the high jinks which marked

. the golden jubilee of Queen Victoria. It is apt

here today. \ While the Victorian captains and kings came from throughout the then pre-eminent British

Empire, those attending t Truman's Inauguration were mostly recruit precinct captains and kings of the tic Party

organization from coast-to-coist, There were, of . course, 28 governors, including Indiana's own Henry F. Schricker with his white hat, Anything lacking in class—based on thé display of beautifully gowned women, top: hatted men and display of jewels nothing was missing--certainly was more than made up en

. masse, Never before has a million plus people

turned out in Washington to witness any parade down “the Avenue of Presidents.”

Called by First Name ’ NOT SINCE Andrew Jackson's inauguration. has any President been greeted ‘so Informally and called by his first name. For to the great mass of American voters President Truman is quite fondly called “Harry.” Having proven himself an adroit campaigner and made-to-order for such. rugged inaugural week festivities, he has yet to prove that he can carry out the high promises of his campaign and inaugural speeches. The new Democrats in Congress, including

- the Hoosiers, are here to help him do it. But

there remain the Republican minority—now

_ drawn together by their unanticipated defeat

-and the perpetually present conservatives from Dixie. The latter hold powerful committee chairmanships, whenever Democrats are in power in Congress. They can hamstring the President greatly. In the 79th Congress they formed a coalition with the Republicans and checkmated him,

No ‘Hushed Moment of Awe’ GETTING back to the big gala ina ation week, an innocent by-stander with a philosophi~ cal turn of mind could not but wonder what causes such a show, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who provided the basis for all the Truman “Fair Deal” proposals, never rated it. Americans loved or hated him violently. They have no such surcharged emotions about President Truman, While he was delivering his inaugural address on Capitol Hill, the vast throng gathered to hear him merely stared around at each other,

or quietly laughed and whispered to their

neighbor. / Despite the black robes of Chief Justice Vinson and his black skullcap, plus the prayers of preacher, rabbi and priest, there ' to be no “hushed moment of awe.” Wy Maybe some historian a thousand years from now will view the big doings of this whole week as a tribal ceremony designed to ward off the evil spirits, Lf Looking at it with less détachment and as of January, 1949, it would seem that there are plenty of them around to ward off. :

Received Special Invitation PERHAPS the “most pleased visitor here from Indiana wasn't a Democrat at all, but can who lives at the Columbia Club, He is Wallace Weatherhold who was the Indiana member of the Electoral College and received special invitations and the full treatment for all the various affairs, ~ It'might have been just for his own protec. tiori—since Indiana went for Mr, Dewéy-—that he took Gov, Schricker as his guest to the

7 special dinner for the collegians where both

President Truman and Democratic National Chairman eGrdath spoke. Most person probably was Rep. Charles A. Halleck, a Republican member of the Inaugural Committee, when he was refused admittance to. President's parade reviewing stand because he didn’t have the right credentials and -the naval aide in charge failed to recognizé him. He was majority leader in the 80th Congress and almost nominated for Vice

President. ‘ "Margaret Impressed

BEST contribution to the week of festivities proved to be the Purdue Glee Club, Their singing so impressed Margaret Truman that they presented her with an album of records made by the club. Marvin Mvers, who managed the trip here, took them directly to her at Blair House. Both the President and Gov. Schricker heard them sing all of the Indiana favorites several times.

Barbs— IF YOU put too much strong stuff in them,

the goblets will ot youl you don’t watch out, ; . *

WHY doesn't the government make dimes that look like pennies? It would be in keeping with the times. * ¢ 9 s ONLY 385,000,000 brooms will have been turned out this year as compared with the nor mal output of 50,000,000, A dirty trick on homes.

ot RE ag NEY

a ———— 1. 1 ds ————

«+. By

7 WHEN IT came time to read Israel Zangwill’s novels, I suddenly became aware of the fact that to really appreciate good books the reader has to contribute something of his own: Indeed, now that I look back, I'm quite sure that never in the world could . I have caught the significance of “Children of the Ghetto” had I not known the Irish widow who lived in Eddy 8t.~ Sixty years ago when I was a little boy, Eddy St. was the _ shortest thoroughfare in Indianapolis. The most picturesque, too. It started just back of . Otto Shopp’s drug store at Merrill and Illinois Sts., and terminated quite suddenly at Norwood St.—a distance of no more than a block long as, no doubt, you seasoned South Siders know without my telling you. Nor was it any wider than an alley.

Inserved for the use of its inhabitants), Eddy St. embraced no more than 30 little houses in which lived the Russian Jews ‘of Indianapolis. Back in the Eighties, }t was just as natural for the Russian Jews to gravitate toward Eddy St. as it was for the recently arrived Hibernians to ask the way to Irish Hill or for the German immigrants to hunt up Noble St.

Two Strange Words THE AMAZING thing about the Irish widow of Eddy St. was the discovery that she was the only Gentile living in that circumscribed part of town. Nobody I ever knew could remember when she settled there. It must have been way back in the Seventies at the time the frog factory was built, an institution which, strangely " enough, employed most of the Jews, At any rate, 1 always had it figured out that the widow's departed husband was just the kind of man whose imagination might be kindled by a factory bulit to turn out the plates used to guide | the wheels of a railroad car where one track crosses another or at a switch, as the case may

be. ‘ The Widow of Eddy St. never talked much about her late husband, but when she did she always followed the mention of his name with two strange words which had the sound of & foreign language. It was my first intimation that the lady was a personage quite apart from anything in Indianapolis at the time. Later when my horizons widened, I learned that she had been living in Eddy St. so long that she had acquired most of the customs practiced by

candles on Friday night.

her house fixed up like those of her neighbors. Nailed to every door, for instance, was a tin

FOREIGN POLICY . . . By Marquis Childs

Future World Aid

" b WASHINGTON, Jan. 22—-One of the earlier drafts of Pres- — y ident Truman's Inaugural address contained a significant sen- a While the reasons for cutting it out were valid, the President's intentions might have been clearer

tence later stricken out.

if it had been left in.

In point No. 4 of his outline of the goals of American forthat American capital and” labor combine to make available to other nations the bene Thereby, living stand-

eign policy the President

fits of American industrial organization. ards around the world would be raised.

Capital, he suggested In his address, should be advanced on the principle that benefits must flow mutually to the Amer fcan investor and to the people of the country where the money is invested, This, as the President said, is a repudiation of the “old imperialism-—exploitation for foreign profit." deleted from that part of the message, in effect, declared: Cw “This proposal is Intended to take up where the Marshall

Plan leaves oft.”

Fair Deal for World

ONE reason the blue pencil grossed this

the President did not want to leave the impression that he was talking only about the Marshall Plan countries, We was ex-

tending the Truman fair deal not merely to but to the world.

There was also the fear that such a reference to the Mar

shall Plan might be misunderstood at a time

Co-Operation Administrator Paul G. Hoffman and his assistants are about to present to Congress a request for $4,300,000,000 for the second year of operation. The most careful and detailed study is going into the presentation Mr. Hoffman will make. The first reports submitted by individual Marshfll Plan

cotintries covering their position in the second program showed far too little co-ordination.

four countries might show that each was planning to absorb the entire market for textiles of, say, the Argentine. planning to export all its luxury goods and import nothing but

necessities,

More Co-ordination Needed

MR. HOFFMAN and his staff are making a strenuous ef- : In all his talks with heads of i —_

fort to get more co-ordination, state and cabinet ministers during his recent

the boss of ECA stressed the urgent necessity for the Europeans | repair all the ravages of war themselves, through their own organization, to assume greater | on an

responsibility, Mr. Hoffman is confident this

‘oy

The sentence

out was because Western Europe

+ when Economic

year of the ald Thus, three or

Each was

visit. to Europe,

will come,

ck Up the Pieces

Anton Scherrer

ial Life of an Irish Widow

cluding a synagog and a public bath house (re-

the Jews including the ceremony of lighting two

As a matter of fact, she had the inside of

box inside of which was a folded manuscript

| Goin’ My Way?

called a “mezuseth,” or a word that sounded something like that. It's so long ago I can't remember everything and, anyway, I never nad an ear for nuances. She said the tin box with its contents brought good luck to those within.

Two Sets of Dishes he I REMEMBER, too, that the widow had two sets of dishes with which to cook and serve every meal. One was for meat; the other, for all things made of milk. Nor did she ever allow the two sets of dishes to come in contact. Indeed, she was so particular in this respect that she even washed them separately in pans of different water. After which it won't surprise you to learn that the Widow of Eddy St. also observed: the Jewish Sabbath—to a certain extent, at least, On that day she ate only cold dishes. And, unless my memory d me altogether, she. never failed to extinguish all the fires every Friday night® They weren't relit until Sunday morning. Never to my knowledge, however, did she enter the synagog. The truth is that she was a devout Roman Catholic, who more than anybody else I ever knew, found a way of practicing the jaws prescribed by both the Old and New Testaments, { : The widow didn't betray her Irish ancestry altogether, however, for I still remember that she always wore a green ruching around her throat. It was a feminine fling the Jewish women never indulged in. Moreover, she knew. how to laugh when the occasion called for it. God knows it wasn't often in Eddy St. Indeed, except for her gift of blarney, laughter was unknown in that part of town. The -faces down there were seared with the suffering of a thousand years and it always struck me, young as I was at the time, that they knew more about the bitter side of life in Eddy St. than anywhere else in Indianapolis.

‘Of Blessed Memory’ WELL, the point of today’s piece is neither a woman's religious versatility nor the effect of her good humor, as you might suppose. Rather it is the revelation that when it came time to read Mr. Zangwill's books, it was just like finding the Widow of Eddy St. again. There was hardly a habit practiced by hls characters that was unknown to her. And I still remember my agitated emotions when one day in my reading of Mr. Zangwell, I came across a& widow who uttered the same two outlandish words used by the Widow of Eddy St. when she mentioned the name of her departed husband... The context made it clear that the expression was the Jewish equivalent for “of blessed memory,” and you have no idea how relieved I was. Up to that time I had never been absolutely

sure whether the Widow of Eddy St. held her

_ | "Hoosier F

IR RRR ar

Br ie Sy

will defend fo the death your right te sey i."

ject with which you are familiar. Some letters used will be edited but content will be pre. ‘served, for here the People Speak in Freedom.

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i 3 Soi fEeg 7 s 3358 rad, i i she EER. E fiche

¢ £ REZ 58% Fi if; EE TH thi

between salary loss and service pay ( G. I. benefits, even), but in any case, loaf is better than none. I could use and clate an amount even as low as $10 per month

of this adjustment (and the people of Indiana have expressed their made), 1 propose a gasoline and oil tax of 3 cents per gallon of gas and 2 cents per quart of oil. , :

‘Great Job of Selling’ By John B. Burlash, 2315 E. 58th St. Regarless of how one voted or what one's feelings were after the election, Nov, 2, today theer is a lesson to be learned from the results, A great job of selling was done. Harry 8, was the salesman; the buyers were the individuals that make up the American public, Mr. Truman had to sell, and leave out of consideration the quality or merits, the ability, the past records, and the qualifications of the salesman, and you still have to come fo the conclu« sion that a splendid selling job was done. One thing more, let's not think negatively on the possibility of success and progress. The American system, both from a political and economic “standpoint, has proved itself to be the best for the most people as compared with any other system the world has yet seen. Perhaps many of us are wondering what comes

to earth and work like Mr. Truman did and is going to do. We must have confidence in ourselves and in our country’s future, the same confidence that we have in our Mr, Schricker and our President. Our forefathers had the grit and confidence, and they worked and made progress, We can do the same. Let's give our leaders the go sign. They know what we want becauss

Nov. 2. We must continue to fight

perseverance are omnipotent. Our Mayor Feeney has been blocked by some opposition. Don’t forget we elected him, too. The best mayor we ever had, he is the only one that actually works and is doing everything he said he would do. The Democratic Party In this no mean city will continue.

What Others Say—

SAN. DIEGO'S cool spell was caused by secret chemicals mixed by Alaskans and spread by Miamians over our ponds and lakes to give the appearance of ice, . . . They just wanted te cover up the coldest temperature (in Miami, Fla.) in 22 years. : —Joe Dryer, president, “Heaven on Earth Club,” San Diep: Onl : ;

LABOR wants outright repeal of the iniquitous Taft-Hartley statute and protection from oppresfive legislation of any kind so that the workingman may have the same rights be. fore the law as any other citizen. «John L. Lewis, president, United Mine Workers, ® * 9

THE best thing (for our school systems) would be to take every teacher below the grade of high school principal and double his pay. Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, president, Co« Jumbia University. * & 0 WE will have either free enterprise or sociale ism, and you can’t have both, ~Sen. Edward Martin (R.) of P blasting President li A 's oT arin: government-controlled expansion of steel Ine

late husband in high esteem or not.

dustry.

. LABOR TRENDS . . . By Fred W. Perkins

sector, Industry,

Wage. Drives Fadi WASHINGTON, Jan. 22—Are the post-war ng ganized labor for higher wages th out Ame aning he . gh rough rican industry ernment experts here see several reasoris why the answer is probably “yes”-—which would be of tremendo: portance to the future national economy. pl ne factor is the apticipated further fall in the cost living as p Shaws, bY the “Consumers’ Price ; 3 of +abor Btatistics. This indicator, after leveling off and hanging practically stationary for several months, has be slight declines. a0 ho Another factor is the action of Walter Reuther, of the United Automobile Workers and a power in the CIO. He has subordinated a new wage boost to third place in his union’s betterment program for this year. Pensions.and retirement benefits, and Social Security concessions, are put ahead.

Wage Increases Fading

A THIRD factor is the smaller number of increases being reported. The national industrial or Bui board, a privately Supported research organiza e. number of wage-rate increases “dropped noticeabl tween Oct. a and Nov. 185. yr he : though the Reuther 1049 program is the first announped for a major labor union—the one that led the first post-war - drive with a strike against General Motors Corp.—it is regarded as being in line with CIO leadership views expressed in the Noy ber convention, . n addition to social gains such as pensions and retirement benefits, another union objective may be shorter hours, partion larly if employment.begins to fall off from its present record. - setting size. The aim would be to share the work or spread the jobs, and with no decrease in the individual's pay. This, ever, would raise costs for employers,

Hinge on Price Indexes

THERE have been many intimations, but not directly from headquarters, that John IL. Lewis will lead the parade on this He already hds a pension, retirement and welfare plan * which is collecting $100 million a year from the bituminous coal

dex” of the Bureau of

tion of New York, reports

An important event in the.pa¥ situation will come next the of Statistics

i * +

: i ; : : | Ee H

of service. As a source of revenue for payment wish that payment be ..

next. Let's stop playing games and get down °

we told them that when we elected them om .. for what we believe to be right. Patience and

WASHIN( No. 4— Presid

loving peoples Talks hay Clifford, Trum worked it out. It takes up marily for unde: countries not g through United Talks so far culture in thes power. Practical aspe to be surest, mx to fight comn

‘figure it this wi

Undeveloped | our white bread soap, wrist wat medicine, clothe: ways to give th ard of living, worry about po And better abroad expand and those of M tions we're try on their feet.

Expand Ah

serve set thority for st Strategic Mi Evan just sa) matrials wit railroads, rep: some countri guaranteeing | on our part n capital interes ing these are sively. Organization economic co-op composed of a countries, soon four-year prog veloped areas, fit in. And United | and Social Co Lake Success cuss it. It alre from general “urgent consid nomic developn veloped areas, from its secr: plans for mo sistance to suc »

Protest Tru TEXAS Cong eral hundred le tian Scientists Truman's prop ance program, so they can “p ings of our re striction or tax Those two K stole Red Air gave themsely cans in Austr to come here stymied. No ¢ wants to take them State Depart year, renewabl have no money on private air says orders ai ride on its fligh to bring the no