Indianapolis Times, Indianapolis, Marion County, 1 March 1950 — Page 14
bi WAUTER LOCKRONE HENRY W_ MANE MANE
"IEAGE To ei, Mar. 1, Tee.
Ts “MURRAY, -pro-iabor Montana Democrat, thinks there are only two Nays to achitve lasting pease | in the coal industry. xo CONES Nationalization —government purchase and permanent operation of the mines. TWO: Government control of coal production, Neither way, Sen. Murray concedes, could end the present crisis quickly. And Sen. Morse, pro-labor Oregon Republican, asserts that nationalization would be “a bad mistake—a step down the road to state socialism.” So it would be, and & long step. Government control - “of “coal production would bea "shorter step toward” the same destination—one which mont Americans do not want
to reach. ~ ts 2 78 8» : . » ® 1
And, in and out of Congress, many are saying that if John L. Lewis and the mine owners do not agree, and if the miners continue to defy the Taft,Hartley Act injunction, - the government must seize and operate the mines. Ji "Then what? Congress can give the government seizure power. It cannot, under the Constitution, give the govern. ment power to make individual miners work in involuntary servitude. The government might induce the miners to. work by — confiscating all profits from seized mines and by negotiating — a contract with Mr. Lewis on his terms, as it has done before.
" "on am er THAT, however, would make a lasting solution for _the coal industry's grave problems more difficult to find. . And at least some mine owners might be unwilling or "unable to take back and operate their properties on Mr. Lewis’ terms. So the government could find itself in permanent possession of coal mines and traveling to “socialism. Here, then, is a fearful -dilemma, with. no apparent good way out. And. nobody is helping to- find a way out - hy: i 48 others are, "that existing Taw if the “form of ‘the Taft-Hartley Act has " been tried and has failed to protect the country. The Taft-Hartley Act authorizes federal court injunctions as a method of halting or delaying strikes that
‘of providing time for efforts to promote peaceful settle“ments. In the present coal strike ‘that ‘method has™ not been fairly tried, .
. . Goh a - FIRST, oF many months, President Truman, Sen.
Murray and-others-encouraged disrespect for-and- defiance — of the Taft.-Hartley Act by denouncing it in terms almost as violent aid far-fetched as those used by Mr. Lewis and other professional union leaders. - Then, long after the coal strike obviously menaced “national health and safety, Mr. Truman refused to invoke the Taft-Hartley Act. He waited until the country was almost out of coal and the crisis was full blown. ~~ Mr. Truman waited too long. Mr. Truman, not the Taft- Hardey Act, Nias failed to protect the country.
Special Privilege. Postal Bill
increase postal rates. __At least two things are seriously wrong with this ill: : The added revenue it would provide for the-Post Office Department, about $132 million a year, is far too small an .. offset for postal deficits ‘which are now more than $500 million a year. Pe It is grossly unfair in that the increase in second-class rates does not apply to all newspapers and magazines. ~~ The bill boosts the postage of The Times. and. other large newspapers. To that we do not object. 3 As we have said repeatedly, we want no “subsidy or other special favor from the government. Newspaper mail . should pay its own way, and rates should be adjusted accurately to that end. :
a
» » @
— BUT the House bill exempts from rate increase more than half of the 1776 daily newspapers in the country. It ~would raise rates only for the 801 dailies with circulations - id above 10,000. af It exempts from any increase 8000 newspapers published less often thar daily and would raise rates only for
LEN opt ( JS eh Je Dt CIS WwW The House bill also exempts from increase farm publi cations published for profit, including 10 which each have "circulation -of more than a million.
Most of these publications are making dood money and
_ government. Even if some aren't “profitable, the taxpayers should not be compelled to help defray their delivery costs.
It's $s Only: Money—VI
“the absurdity of the government's potato-bitying
you'd ‘think Congress would be eagér to do something shout it at the first opportunity. : It's going to cost the government between $80 million and $100 million to maintain its price supports on the . 1949 potato crop. ot Eighty million dollars is the amount that will be taken in from the excise tax on luggage, handbags and wallets - this year. If we didn't spend it on useless potatoes we could reduce or even eliminate this wartime levy now. - Eighty million dollars is the government's total take from the income taxes of 304,000 married men, with two ~ <hildren; ‘each man ‘earning $4000 a year.. : 2 %'s only money, of course—but it's your money the government puts out to accumulate millions of bushels of - throw-away potatoes, which you can't eat because the SL18 buying them (o keep thems v8 the market potato prices up..
; cans: tor Democratic’ Action,
Fearful Dram 4 th E =
_BUT the country’s. need for coal is now desperate.
state
as “Protection ; ig TY -AFgUReHt™ Yivolletis ‘writes, “is
imperil or threaten to imperil national health and safety— fications for voters in federal elections.
HE House has passed, and sent to the Senate, a bill to
circulations over 5000. oh to get the Senate to re-
are able to pay their own way without Sabsdy from-the |
‘program spelled out so clearly. in the last few weeks, = “Ppiicatior of marketing"
~land that can be planted to ~ ernment’s cotton acreage conI trol gh Brogram, _ than ae Housb ‘had approved, _mated $40 to $50 million worth
Agree at Last
__LaFollette Sides With Senctors on Election Change
WASHINGTON, Mar. 1—Dear Boss—It isn't often I can Teport that our two Republican Senators, Homer E. Cape
~ Or, to. put it the other way around, it is ‘most unusual for
: fter an unsuccessful . Seats pomination try against , agrees with any-' en the Hoosier Senators do
or say here. both Indians Sen-
However, ators voted against the Lodge- + Gossett constitutional amend‘ment when it was approved by § the Senate 64 to 27 (two-thirds f 1.43. being necessary) and Sen. JenMr. LaFollstte ner said he did so because its -- adoption would “keep the Democratic Party in power forever.” He fought hard against its co-author, Sen. Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. (R. Mass), in the party caucus which: preceeded the vote. The amendment sets up a new method of electing Presidents and Vice Presidents. It aboland. splits 4 “vote of each state among the candiddtes in proportion to their popular vote. - Should it pass the House by a
two-thirds.
majority and be approved by three-fourths of
the states it would effect the first change in the “method of electing a President in 145 years. — / When it first was advocated, Mr. LaFollette ‘was for it-and decided to publish his views in the - “ADA World” as agaihst those of ADA Execu“tive Secretary James Loeb, whe ‘was against it from the start.
Now Mr. LaFollette confisses that his study ‘of the matter has put him over in Mr. Loeb's
corner. There he can also find the Hoosier Senators.
Same Views as sdenner
SETTING out the reasons for his opposition ~ in the ADA publication, Mr. LaFolleite arrives at some of the same views expressed by Sen. Jenner. But instead of bewailing the loss to the GOP, he points out that it will lead to complete Sout ern domination of the mocratic Party an
“
there wy be no place for liberals to go. The we.
“be-“twor "Conservative parties’ Mr. Las Follette contends. His views, he points out, are not official so far as ADA is concerned. Those ADA Senate Democrats, whom Sen. Capehart scored for rooting for a British Labor Party victory. all voted for the Lodge-Gossett amendment. They include Sen.»Hubert H. Humphrey (D. ~ Minn), ADA president.
als :
S Hoosier Foes .
electoral wr
Mr. LaFollette, who quit the ~
HOT ‘CAMPAIGN .
ne > ALBURTD
.". By Marquis Childs
Glamour in ha. Politics
WASHINGTON, Mar, 1—Nothing that. Cali“fornia ever does is on a scale iess “than supercolossal, whether - it's movie spectacles or weather, good and bad. That goes double for the political campaign just now coming up. In the primary Rep. Helen Gahagan Douglas 18 setting out to defeat Sen. Sheridan Downey who is running for a third term. . From her career on th
politics the intensgy of a
highly dramatic temperament
that Iiberals can {Il afford drastic changes in the system of electing a President until either of two developments occur. One is the establishment, of a federal system for electing federal, officers, denying states the right to set up quali-
“The other development is an improvement “in the political elimate of ‘the traditionally conservative, one-party--South.” Mr. LaFollette then spells out what ‘would ‘have happened in 1948 had the amendment been in/effect. His findings are similar to those cited by Sen. Jenner. _They are: go.
Five States
MPRUMAN ‘Won 100 of his total margin of - 114 electoral votes in five northern and western states: California, Illinois, Towa, Ohio, and Wisconsin. Under Lodge-Gossett these states would have given him a margin of only 1.1 electoral votes, But in Georgia, for example, with its 12° electoral votes, Mr. Truman would have received a margin of 5.1 votes. This is nearly five times as great a margin as the five large states with a combined electoral vote of 100.” Such a count would put the South in control of the Démocratic Party. Mr. LaFollette opposes that because it would doom the New DealFair Deal liberals chances to ever take over the party. -8en. Jenner is against it because he believes it- would keep the Democrats perpetually in
power. ~'TIS-SAID-
Our government has a surplus of eggs and butter and England is overstocked with leather, ete. Then why; with food rationing in England, not arrange a barter and swap Pros tien!
© ~B. 0, Tndianapyiis, Ind.
: a: or von —
and an energy that could have developed only in the atmosphere that produces those giant geraniums and sunkist starlets. - Already Mrs. Douglas has campaigned once up and down “the Pacific slope. “Now she 8 starting out again for another sweep and the reports are that the lady is drawing large
‘houses at almost every appearance. *.__Sen. Downey was once a ‘Dam-aiidsegger in the classic California tradition, with bigger ~and-better pensions every-other-Thursday.— In late years the Senator las become deeply involved in a quarrel over California's fabulous Central Valley with its far-flung irrigation sys‘highly
tem supporting “profitable - farming.
my Mrs. Douglas
Power Interests.
THIS quarrel promises to be the center ring in the primary circus. Mrs. Douglas and ‘her adherents in the liberal-labor left wing of the Democratic Party charge Sen. Downey with selling out to private power and agricultural interests and in league with them, throttling the development of the state.
It is at this point that Mr. Ickes, himself, “the old “warrior, géts Into thé act. Called to testify last Fall, he accused Sen. Downey of “unabashed perjury” and read from his diary to document his statement that he had pleaded several times with Mr. Bashore to stay on. Curiously enough, the record of iis testimony has never been printed. EL
Ickes in Fight . cal es
v'gtage Mrs. Douglas brings to
ICKES will in all likelihood go out to Cali__fornia as the contest waxes hotter to campaign , for Mrs. Douglas. As one of his friends put it, “he’s complaining about going way out there 3 at his age but if you ask me, it would take the Marine Corps to keep him out of that fight.” As he proved once again in 1948 when he added the only touches of humor to a grim cam-
Fo ER dnd uh ye
y Ry Mm.
~The residents of this modern trailer park are
oF daruat open al word Ya you sav
vi
“Don't Condemn Trailers’ ee op. “This 1s an answer to the recent editorial en: ‘titled “Trailer Camp Problems.” . : The person who wrote this certainly knows little of what he wrote about. If he had traveled extensively inthe past few years-and saw all ~~ the beautiful trailer parks that have been built
=f ‘tremendous expense, plus all the ‘beautiful ~ ; trailers with all the comforts of any home, he
would, not condémn the trailer industry nor the Maybe’ he'd better go see Trailer City at’
=? - a
=
.—__traMlerite who loves his own little home. ~~.
Miami Beach, Fla. where the lots sold for a.
~inere $3000. with a royal paim on sach 10k, al a small utility house built of Db _ Then he should contact the mayor of Milwaukee, _ Wis, Whose city has boughit millions of dollars’ ~ worth of trailers and converted several of their largest city parks into modern trailer parks. If the writer could have seen all these things _ come to pass fn the last 10 years, he would - know that the trailer will be to the automobile what the passenger “coach is to the train loco. motive. He does not know that out of every six sales of homes’ registered in the United States last year one was a trailer home. - We know that the trailer home is a perma. nent institution in these. United States. Will the writer please perk up on his trailer knowledge and know whereof he writes in the future?
not-of the slums.
‘Miners Need Contract’
>
By Harry J. Marbsugh, Cold Spring Rd., = Indianapolis
Why do some people continually lambast the coal miners and John L. Lewis?
Aren't miners citizens of the United States
or slaves, which? Not one word is said about the unco-operative“attitude of the mine operas. tors. Very unfair. How would salaried men like to go to work and not know what their monthly rate of pay would be? No, not for a minute would they putup with such a thing. But the miners are a if ferent kind of citizen of the U. 8. Well, they are not different and deserve our gratitude for the work they do. John L. Lewis
ory yc
got the miners many rights which were theirs after “wheedling” such ‘things as safety factors, pay and the like out of the owners. Those miners know they are “sunk” if they go back into the pits without a contract. True, they draw good pay for a day's work, but figure how few days they work out of 365 -gnd-it certainly doesn’t average much for the year. People don’t look at both sides of this picture. .. How can you force a U. 8. citizen to go to work -if he doesn’t choose to do so. I don’t get
this at alk It I want to starve that's my bus- — iness:.: E——
The President’s fact-finding board told the President the other day that it wasn’t John L.
and the miners, but it was unéo-operative mine
owners who. were bucking all the way. Let's ut _ the “heat” where it belongs.
‘Safeguard Our Government’ By Mark 8, Cann, Lorraine Hotel . I want to commend the article, “Time for Greatness” by Edward J. Meeman in The Times. Yes, it is time for greatness if there ever was a time. Why can’t’ Mr, Truman lay aside his
paign. Mr. Ickes: is. a.devastating. opponent..........stubbornness- for once: for the: “safety” “of “the
In the Democratic governorship primary, James Roosevelt, eldest son of FDR, ie the only ~ important contender. In fact, if Mr. Roosevelt had a conservative opponent in his own party. he would be better off.
Gov Barl-Wasrren-is-a-candidate for-a- third. «=~House-and-of-the-Senate in
“term and he will file both in the Republican primary, the party to which he belongs, and- in _
-. the Democratic primary. Under the wacky Cali-
specialized
On his side Sen. Downey charges a con-
spiracy directed from Washington to control the
valley. He has written a whole book about it and made innumerable speeches. His chief tar-
get in the capital is Commissioner of Reclama-
tion Michael W. Straus. In the course of several congressional hearings Sen. Downey charged that Mr. Straus and former Secretary of Interior Harold L. Ickes connived to force out Mr. Straus’ predecessor, Harry Hashore.
SIDEGLANCES By Galbraith NATIONALsEcURY. By dm. Lace “Peril of ‘Pen Pals’
“WASHINGTON, MEF “I=0The KiF Force 1s warning Ha en
‘WASHINGTON, “Mar. {-The U, g ‘Benate has ‘decided ‘this a
As no time -to do anything drastic about the farm program-—even though the government investment
pluses may soar above 36 billion within the next year. In” a hit-and-miss fashion, the Sehate surveyed nearly the entire farm problem in a week of debate on a so-called cotton “the pleas of Colorado Sens. Ed-
win Johnson (D.) and Eugene Millikin (R.) for an increase
acreage bill, “And it decided to get tough” on only one commodity, potatoes. “And then only in 1851. ‘Sen. Scott Lucas (D. IL)
in wheat acreage crop,
quire that marketing quotas. be i a. imposed on the 1950 potato SEN. ALLEN crop before potato. growers could receive government price: support: H@# sald this would save.at least $60 million on the 1950 crop. ue But the Senate turned him down and adopted a mild substitute which embodied much of the Agriculture Depart ment's present ineffective system of trying to control potato _ production. The Senate then approved
Johnz=on - Millikin acres.
wheat crop.
additional acres planted: quotas—which eontrol what a farmer can market—before a ‘potato farmer can get price support on his 1951 crop. ‘a While it frowned on potatoes —for 1951-the Senate smiled on cotton, wheat and L peanuts, - . ON IT VOTED to increase by
800,000 acres the amount of
nearly $1 billion plus wheat under
program, -on the Bo
cotton this year under the gov- ' Passed; 49 to 24.
is 600000 ~acres less as the House did.
but it will: still Hroduce an estiof extra cotton for the govern.
ment to buy this fall. “At the end of 1949, the government
had 'n a billion dollars’ Worth of cotton in faventory or retary. Sen. John XL Del). offered
“the sie sso oysstns a.
pu
The Senators said the - about 1.25 million acres.
{D. La.) read an Agriculture Department estimate that the
actually would increase wheat acreage by about four million Sen. Ellender pointed out that a smilar amendment had been adopted for the 1950 He. said it was estimated at the time that two ~ million acres would be added. Actually, he said, four million
The government now “holds
~ » ” SEN, LUCAS estimated that ATE i the Johnson-Millikin amend—ment would add $50 to $60 million to’ the cost of the ‘wheat But he did not stay to oppose it, and ft
On peanuts, the Senate did not approve 100,000 more acres
ate adopted an amendment to. eliminate penalties on peanut growers who exceed their allotments—if the surplus is mar_keted through agencies desig- and for high salaries—because
nated by the Agriculture, Sec- this was the only way, Je aid, could bear the
Willams (R.~ cost of government And pen, -the I se
price- support in farm sure
for. the 1951
” : ELLENDER
amendment
have been ~~ —
worth of surloan.
chance to knock out the mandatory. 90 per cent of parity supports om wheat, cotton, cor, rice and peanuts. But he was turned down. ~ Sen. “Elmer “Thomas wD. Okla.) agued that the Senate
Biit the Sen-
“farm prices, for high ‘wages that’the Seuss = Wmtereat om the natipnal debt.
must work at ail times for high
aimee
"The President worries me with that talk about $12, 000. a. year for all of ust" d hate to be paying taxes on all that dough!”
ees
fo.
fornia system party lines are crossed as though “they did not exist. The expectation is that con- * servative Democrats, who deeply resent Jimmy Roosevelt, will vote for Mr. Warren in the Democratic primary.
Republican Hope
GOV. WARREN'S popularity in the state is an impressive fact. The Republican hope is that the governor, in spite of an unprecedented third term, will pull the whole ticket through. In the Senate race the leading contender is Rep. Richard M. Nixon, chiefly distinguished for his part in getting the Hiss case into the courts. But he has a fairly formidable opponent in Fred Hauser, judge of the Superior Court of Los eles. * The: primary Soh is on June o- Almost anything can happen on that date and probably will. In the meantime, Californians will be treated to such a contest of glamour, brains, oratory and fost plain’ politics as has rarely been seen.
"ber of candidates.
back of the door knob.
American form of government.
: Also, I commend your editorial “Closed Season on Candidates.” Back in 1900 my father
was Recorder of Tippecanoe County. An uncle was Sheriff. My brother was member of: the abate; for seve
eral years, but none of them was hand ead by a bunch of politicians. They were chosen by the voters in the primaries against large nume
It is na wonder that voters stay away from the polls when they have to cast their votes for some politician picked months ahead in some smoked-filled room. d I am a Republican but am sick of this way of selecting candidates.
‘Model Paper Boy’ By Mrs. J. E. Holman, Arcadia, Ind. We, the public, are too often prone to criticism and neglect to give a word of praise. I personally nominate Times Carrier, Frank Scott of Ar-. cadia as “The Model Paper Boy. ” He is, without -a doubt, the = best ‘and ‘we've had some good ones. EE This young gentleman fis courteous, prompt and helpful. Our paper is always fastened
Frank Soot: )
Sopa:
that the Russians may be using seemingly- innocent “pen pals” : from behind the Iron Curtain to obtain information about Uncle
——
“Sam's defenses.
It instructed
gations -here. — ”
But, he
Barbs
MODERNISTIC furniture - séems to be all about these days — but most people don’t
———{n—a memorandum to com — manding officers.
their men that “any request -~ which indicates that ‘unauthor- 5
~ized military sought” -must -be referred to: the director of special investi-
” - A SPOKESMAN for the Air - Inspector said there had been no recent security leaks directly attributed to pen pal letters. said, the mere _there had been an increase in ‘the volume of pen pal corre: - spondence with U. 8. airmen: was considered significant. The air inspector warned airmen to be cautious in answer-
ing: : School thildren and others desiring information coastal defenses, strengthand acreage of air bases and other _ military information: Merchants offering gifts or payments. for names and addresses, allegedly for ificlusion in mailing lists. ” - STAMP collectors asking for air ‘mati covers and first-flight mail envelopes Which also Te-
. “Current information indicates the possibility of a revival of -the wartime ‘pen pal’ practice to obtain military information,® “the Air Inspector's office said
compiled while the U. 8. and
Germany were at peace. . = t z
them to tell yuERy is evidence the Ruse
“may be the last piece in a Russian intelligence jigsaw. “The Air Inspector's -office . 3 said it was confident that the majority of foreign pen pals. was honest. Many are lonely young people who have met Americans overseas, liked them and now wish to maintain a contact with the U. 8S. The majority is genuinely ine terested ‘in this country. Neve ertheless, there are some Whose letters are cleverly designed to extract a maximum of military information. . s a =» ONE source said that Ame cans were inclined to boast about the size of their bases, clothing and equipment. It was: ‘pointed out that airmen liked to brag about the speed and range of their planes, particu- -. larly if they had been members . of record-breaking crews. . . A favorite dodge, this source said, was to offer to “swap” ‘information. -Spurious pen pals from-behind the Iron Curtain run little risk. American airmen, since ‘they are not engaged in espionage, probably wouldn’t pass on such information to their superiors.
fact
about
know what. Wp upon reply, would neces- They" t keep their letters VERY shortly the neigh Sarlly_lnciude much informa- asa to, but the-chances kids will be BO ke. She. defers of “are they would thtow them » away. Moreover, information
_ front yard again. I¢ won't be U. 8. industry.” - lawn now! ;
a a valuable source of ilitary LOVE - MAKING, according a nce for the Gernians In ; ti toa writer jd. lost axt. Okay, — ne Air Tate. country would be reasonably
Ls 2 Ted! Eg A \
~sians have adopted the prac= tice.
~ 3 gy — fnnocent. bit of = “faformation