Indianapolis Times, Indianapolis, Marion County, 23 February 1951 — Page 24

past Cae veould set. dd ‘eommiseion te aetudy. county. offairs

By Talburt

a

A SCRIPPS-HOWARD NEWSPAPER

BUT WHAT

ROY W. HOWARD WALTER LECKRONE HENRY W. MANZ President

Business Manager ‘Friday, Feb. 23, 1951

Editor PAGE. 24

iis daily by Indianapolis Times ‘PublishInge PR arsiand 5. postal Zone 9. Member of United Press, Scripps-Howard Newspaper Alliance. NEA Serv tce and Audit Bureau of Circulativns

100 Price in Marion County, 5 cents a copy for dally and for Sunday; delivered by Sartier daily and Sunday, 35¢ week, dally only, day only, 100. Mall rates in In an dally and Sun $10.00 a A Jepr, daily, $5.00 a year, Sun a only, $500; all other stat 8. possessions, Canads a Mexico. daily $1.10 a month, Sunday, 100 a copy.

Telephone RI ley 5551

Give T4ght €nd the People Will Find Their Own Way = :

Shall the Tail Wag the Dog? THE TIME has come for 9 plain talk inside and outside the General Assembly about the affairs of Marion County. : For weeks a little group of small-time politicians cldiming to represent “the county” has tried to block every constructive move in the legislature toward better public service at lower cost to taxpayers of this county. It has loudly protested against every proposal even to look at the problems involved. It has undertaken to organize opposition to any improvement with specious charges that “city folks” are trying to unload their taxes on “farmers” and make farm land pay city tax rates, There is not now, and has never been, any such project. We'd be the first to fight it if there was one. .

JUST WHO does this noisy handful of self-appointed obstructionists really represent? Apparently nobody but themselves. At the core of the clamor are a few local township officials with jobs they want to keep, who seem to fear that anything which would make government bettgr and less expensive might diminish their own importance and power, They have convinced a few sincere citizens that their own rights are in danger. They appear to have convinced a few Assembly members that they swing heavy political sticks. There are 400,000 people living inside the city of Indianapolis. There are 150,000 people living in Marion County outside the city limits . . . the vast majority of them just Parely outside, and with identical community problems. They all elect Marion County's representatives to the legislature together, on a single ballot. Those elected are ‘supposed i Fepreagnt ihe interests of the Whole county.

THERE ore pe bills that have ben fought by this township political lobby still before the Assembly. Both should be passed at this session.

- Lt

WASHINGTON’S RETREAT . . . By Frederick C. Othmon

George W. Still Hides Away And Pred O. Rests for a Day

EDITOR'S NOTE: Our man, Othman, statue and the great day for the unveiling came claims he’s not lazy so much, as efficient. He on Searges pisthaay, SL, us Navy band a 4 ’ ootled, lawmakers made patriotic speeches, the arops down to one of Washington's mustier Speaker of the House pulled the string, and cellars every Feb, 22 to see whether his facts

+, 8ood-gosh-amighty! still are true. Then he digs the following dis-

There was George Washington as bfg as _patch from his files and takes the day off. Ein ‘cind-as ws Roman Sua a the a thee i

‘gosting the taxpayers needless expense. It proposes nothing more than that. It would be composed of members chosen by County, City and State governments on a basis more than fair to minorities living outside municipal limits. ‘80 far we have heard no sensible reason why we should not look at our government to see if it can save us some money. The other would create a city-county health depart-

ment.

. Sen. Hoyt Moore this week called that a “partnership _ in health” between county and city, and we can think of no better words to describe it. It, too, will take health out of partisan polities, give better-service at lowes cost. :

THERE is strong sentiment for amending it to make it cover, also, the operation of Julietta, the county infirmary . which is essentially a hospital for the aged and poor. That would solve the pressing problem of waste and mismanagement at that institution which is costing the county so heavily now, and we believe it should be so amended. But

with, or without that amendment, it should be enacted.

; The interests of minority groups within this county definitely should be protected . . . although in these two

“py : 3 “tothe next Gemerzl = gol was a-funny story the- first: pa ‘Assembly whether duplicated and overlapping services are

wrote it, and why try to improve it? * oo

WASHINGTON, Feb. 23—I have checked as usual this time of year and regret to report that the father of his country looks as goosepimply as ever with a sheet around his middle, a laurel wreath on his brow and his bare toes es in the breeze.

Only change is, he's a little dustier, all 10 feet, 6 inches of him, mostly naked, in white marble. I guess you might call him --gorriest ex-— perience with the fine arts. This began peacefully enough in 1832 when the lawmakers slipped Horatio Greenough, the cele-" brated sculptor from Boston, $5000 to sculp a heroic statue of George Washington to decorate the Capitol lawn. Horatio took the money to Florence, Italy. He emerged six years later with his 20-ton statue packed in an oaken box.

Bre sheet, nih re around his is barely saved the proprieties. His king-sized toes were encircled with thongs to keep his Roman sandals from falling off.

Old Legislation

OVER Capitol Hill rose a horrified gasp. Congress decided after weeks of bitter debate to dynamite its statue. Then a parliamentarian discovered an old law making it illegal for the government to destroy any of its works of art. The statesmen spent $1600 for a wooden shed to hide their statue. Then they ‘argued some more, Year after year they battled, while tourists wondered what was inside the mysterious structure on the south lawn. By 1908 the lawmakers were so mortified and the shed so weather-beaten that they appropriated a final $5000. This was to tear down the lumber and haul the seminaked Washington—in the dead of night—to the Smithsonian Institution. There you will find him in the cellar of the main building, behind a row of antique printing presses. Not hidden, as I reported many years ago the first time I wrote this dispatch. The management is touchy on this point.

measures we can see no threat whatever to any ‘such Getting same to the seaport via a narrow © KIDS interest. X road with olive trees lining both sides was a problem, Horatio solved it by chopping down When children make a racket and . . .

The interests of the overwhelming majority of the

: ouity’s voters, it seems to us, ought also to carry some

weight with our elected representatives to the legislature.

Why the Slow-Up?

JF THE Army has good reasons for suspending its call-u of National Guard divisions and reservists, it has so far

failed to make them clear.

.- The Army's surprise announcement also reveals plans to release about 233,800 Guardsmen and Reservists when

* they have completed their current federal duty.

Only a few weeks ago Defense Department officials and Draft Director Hershey were emphatic in telling Congress they'd be hard pressed to reach an Armed Forces goal of 8.4 million men by next July. To make sure of it, they were

unanimous for lowering the draft age to 18.

Now the Army proposes to relinquish its immediate claim on two major sources of manpower—unless; it says,

the world situation grows sharply worse.

4

What convineing reason is there to believe that the

world situation has eased to any extent?

Surely not the recent Stalin avowal of peaceful aims— a statement that was instantly discredited everywhere,

even in our State Department.

Surely not those recent inspired reports from Italy that communism was. losing ground all over Western

Europe.

Not even the improvement lately of our military situa-

tion in Korea.

Any one of these factors, or all of them together, would be extremely thin reason for the Army's action. Yet the Defense Department must be under some sort of- pres-

sure to ease the pace of mobilization.

Secretary Marshall goes before the House Armed Services Committee Monday to testify on the draft bill. He should be questioned thoroughly to clear up a confused

situation, Good Briefing

»

THE Russian i have been “waging war with’ us for five years,” with the object of world domina-

tion.

©

“They consider war a continuous thing and feel justified in using all means to win. This means everything avail-

able—including lies and feints.

“Premier Stalin and the Politburo are the real commander and general staff” of Communist troops in Korea. Those remarks were made Wednesday by. Maj. Gen.

He formerly was military attache in Moscow.

00 id sh 0 pa

John W. O’Daniel, U. S. Army Training Inspector in Korea.

all the trees on the left between Florence and Leghorn. This, plus incidental expense, cost the taxpayers $8311.50. The longshoremen started to hoist the statue aboard a boat. The rope broke. George Washington crashed through the hull and sank in

the mud. The ship settled on top of him. The

United States Navy sent a battleship to Italy; Sailors fished Washington from the muck. =» The ship docked in New York, but the railroad tunnels between there and here weren't big enough for him on a flatcar to squeeze through. The Navy took him to New Orleans and forwarded him by devious‘routes, without tunnels, to Washington. The freight bill was a whopper. This artistic enterprise by now had cost $26,000 and some odd cents. Congress appropriated another $2000 for a base to hold the

DEFENSE . . . By Fred Perkins

Can the White House Win Labor Support?

WASHINGTON, Feb. 23—The White House is taking a direct hand in near-desperate efforts to get rebellious leaders of organized labor back on the bandwagon of defense mobilization. That is shown by the presence of President Truman’s legal Charles 8. Murphy, in meetings arranged by Eric Johnston, stabilization director, in an attempt to reconcile union

counsel,

labor's demand for a wage increase formula of at least 12 per cent.

inflationary.” But today one rumor said the White House

disturb your slumber fair . . . don’t holler _byt remember back . . . when you were playog there . . . remember too that kids do things . . . without the least forethought . . . and therefore they should not be scolded . . .

but instead be taught . . . or if some elf-like mischief-maker . . . pulls a little prank . . . think before you let off steam . . . like some disgusted crank . . . for kids today . . . need the helping hands . . . that you and I can give . . . and little things we do for them + » » make life better to live . . . now I don’t say the iron hand.. . . is not needed at all + +» » but kindness and psychology . . . answer most any call . . . and that is why when tots do wrong . . . and I could blow my lid . . . I always stop and think a bit . . . for I was once a kid. —~—By Ben Burroughs.

SIDE GLANCES

oe 1890, Bit “apparently the ‘me

POLITICAL CAMPAIGNS

*

as ~

’ 3

Lo Chaleniniy is | =,

Senate Could Dig Lots of Dirt

About Scurrilous

WASHINGTON, Feb. 23—If the Senators now investigating charges of shady practices in the. Tydings-Butler Senatorial battle in Maryland decide to do a real dirt-digging Job on U. B. politics, theyll be busy for months. Several recent campaigns for high office have been marked by scurri- 9 lous tactics—by the use of falsehood, and distortion, and by appeals to racial and religious bigotry. For example, one of exSen. Millard Tydings’ (D.) complaints is that his opposition circulated a phony composite picture supposed to show himself and ex-Commu-nist boss Earl Browder in a chummy conversation. The idea, of course, was to deflect votes from Mr. Tydings. Mr. Butler disclaims bility. But trying to tie up this or that candidate to the Commies is an old device. Even that granite rock of capitalism, Ohio’s Republican Sta. Robert A. Taft, was given a going-over this score last fall,

Sen. Tydings

responsi «..0ne in many

By Implication

“JUMPING JOE” Ferguson, the Democratic. candidate, came onto a copy of Look Magazine for last Aug. 1 in which there was a picture showing Mr. Taft and Mr. Browder. It was a legitimate picture, all right. It was taken in the 1030's, and in it also were Socialist Norman Thomas and writer Stanley High. The occasion was a public debate staged by the American Youth Congress in Cleveland. On the stumps, Mr. Ferguson would grab the magazine, wave it before his audiences, and allude to the Taft-Browder association. . The implication was that Ohio had better watch out for Bob Taft——he'd been pals with the Commies. Nobody took it very seriously-—maybe Mr. Ferguson himself didn’t—but there it was. "The fact that Mr, Ferguson was a Catholic was kicked around, though not by Mr. Taft. The apparent idea was that he should be defeated because of this, The race-and-religion issue got into the 1949

Tactics

Senatorial t between Sen. Herbert H. Leh. man (D.) Jen Sen. John Foster Dulles (R.), whom he defeated. In Utah, where Democratic Sen. Elbert

- Thomas was defeated in November, a throw-

away was circulated under the heading, “Sen, Elbert Thomas presides at Communist meeting.” The dodger carried separate pictures of Mr, Thomas and “the notorious black Red, Paul Robeson.” Some friends of Mr. Thomas thought he had been a soft touch on lending his name to leftist movements, but even opponents said it wasn’t fair to try to pin pro-Communist sympathies on a staunch old Mormon. Mr, Thomas said the stuff came from a Gerald IL. K. Smith “front” and that the Republicans knew all about it—but the GOP denied all. . Racism was used in numerous primary cams paigns. In North Carolina, foes of ex-Sen.

_ Frank Graham circulated a photograph of a

young Negro Mr. Graham had designated as candidate or alternate candidate for West Point, The plain implication was that letting a Negro into West Point was reason enough for Mr, Graham's defeat. Few spewed more venom on the race issup fn recent years than the late Democratic Sen. Theodore G. Bilbo (D. Miss.). In his 1946 senatorial campaign, opposing Negro voting, he shouted at audiences: “Five thousand i i are voting in Georgia this year. Georgia has gone to hell.”

‘Thing That Crawls’

\

MR. BILBO told ‘his audiences “the best

time to see a Negro about not voting is the night before.” Nobody should be so dumb, hs added, as to not know what he meant. Mr. Bilbo’s opponents published pictures of Mr. Bilbo’s palatial home with the caption, “Twelve Fireplaces May Keep Him Warm But Can Six Bathrooms Keep Him Clean?” They sald he was “stinking and sweating, sweating and stinking like a goat in a gourd vine.” An editor wrote that he was sharpening his fairs to skin Mr, Bilbo but “hated to use it on thing that crawls.” Charges involving war contracts were made against Mr. Bilbo, and he never was seated. He died a short time later,

haa

“I do not agree with a word that you say, but! will defend to the death your right to say he

‘TV Isn’t 1890" MR, EDITOR: I hope I am among the many in deploring IHSAA’s ban on televising the Ken Murray Saturday night show. As I was reading the article in Sunday’s‘ paper, I found myself look-

ing at the top for the 1890 date lin cali TR

SAK are just that: It seems regrettable that Sitarday night televiewers should be deprived of the best entertainment simply to avoid what the small mind$ of the IHSAA consider to be contamination of the kiddies’ minds. eS NO DOUBT many of the youngsters have been watching the popular Ken Murray show for some time now, and it doesn’t appear as though the beer advertising has led any of them to dipsomania. They can leaf through most of our popular magazines and see many eye-catching ads for beer, whisky, and wine. We cannot conceivably isolate them from the world of the alecholie - beverage; and while I certainly do not condone the encouragement of children to imbibe, I cannot see that this ban is going to achieve anything but depriving them and us adults of one of the most entertaining TV programs of the week. —Mrs. T. H. Fowler, City.

‘Disgusting Editorial’ MR. EDITOR: The editorial in this evenings’ paper (Times, Feb. 20) “How Nice Can We Get?” was very disgusting. I glory in the stand the IHSAA is taking. If the other programs will stand for the ads that are thrown at us over the radio and television, I am glad one evening they are to be suspended so that young people won't have to see or listen to them. You spoke of them as being innocent and never having heard of beer or strong drink. A lot more would be innocent if people like you didn’t uphold these breweries, Let's have some more decent programs and less editorials such as this. —Mrs. Ray H. Barker, Jonesboro,

‘Silly Business’ MR. EDITOR: Never have I heard of anything so fantastically silly as this business of letting the THSAA tell our local television station not to broadcast the Ken Murray show, merely because it precedes the basketball tournament and because it is sponsored by a beer company. I suppose the rest of the season those innocent children never look at the Murray show, or any of the other dozen shows sponsored by beer makers. This situation would be laughable if it were not for the dictation it exposes.

By Galbraith

Who does the ITHSAA think it is, that it should presume to say what can or what cannot

. be broadcast? And the time of the Murray show

would not even interfere with the tournament broadcast. It seems to me that the THSAA is

getting entirely too big for its britches, and that it takes itself far too seriously. ers <Ranot-evenimagine what kind of hides en Ty Ing is "back of .such a thing. Is high school.

basketball holy? And even if it" were, would it be contaminated by a beer ad which is on another program? I wonder if the people at WFBM-TV aré men or mice, to let the THSAA dictate to them, unless there is a backstage tie-up not known to the general public? This is written in furious protest, to remind you that not all adult Hoosiers attach to high school basketball the importance of which the IHSAA does, that we resent bitterly their dictation over our entertainment and their making our city a laughing stock. -—Mrs. R. P. Cajiwell, Ct

‘Let's Get It Straight"

MR. EDITOR:

It is true that we cannot, as it stands now,

keep our young people from liquor advertising but we can teach them against it. I myself do not use it or serve it and I, too, wish we didn’t have to see so much of it on television. But the thing I didn’t like in your editorial was the statement that we might not have high school without taxes from b——r. I think you probably got some of your education as I did during prohibition. At that time we had the best education system in the world. I do not remember. any school that had to be closed. Let's get our facts straight. —H. D. W., City.

‘Taxpayers Get Poor Service’ MR. EDITOR: I applied at the auto license branch in Speedway for my license plates. When I handed the -clerk at the desk my check, made payable to the Bureau of Motor Vehicles for the $12, the quarter to be paid in cash, I was refused my plates. The clerk said she couldn’t accept a check. It must be cash. I argued the question and she phoned headquarters. I talked to the girl at the other end and she confirmed what the clerk at the desk said. Her only reason being it took too much time to enter checks. But my time didn't mean a thing. I was told to go to the drug store and get my check cashed and return with the cash. I was pressed for time as it was. It has always been my policy to pay all my taxes, utilities, etc., by check. Does it take more time too list a check than make change. Is this the kind of service we are to receive in turn from our tax-paid clerks? —Mrs. T. M. Hart, City.

TAXPAYERS . . . By James Daniel

The Way to Save Cash Seems to Be to Spend

WASHINGTON, Feb. 23—8en. George W. Malone (R. Nev.) .denied he had violated any Senate rule in setting up” a ‘personal press service to supply the nation's newspapers and radio stations —at government expense—with his views on political issues.

He said he intended to “keep on telling the people about free traders in Washington who are throwing away the taxpayers’ money in Europe and Asia without any conditions at-

~But the problem is how to cut

The Wage Stabilization Board's public and management members last Friday recommended a 10 per cent formula, causing the labor members to withdraw. The recommendation has remained unsigned on Mr. Johnston's desk — each passing day in-

. creasing the probability that it

is a dead letter. n » ”

UNCONFIRMED but plausible rumors are circulating that the White House is willing to go much further in satisfying the union leaders than either Mr. Johnston or his superior, mobilization director Charles E. Wilson, consider wise. If President Truman disregards the public and management members of the Wage

Board, it woiild then be their -

turn to become disaffected. Union leaders have Indicated that winning their demands is practically a condition of their support of mobilization. ° The Wage Board members

believes that giving union labor most if not all it asks would not be too high a price for restoration of harmony. v a 8. 8 ANOTHER indication that the formula may be liberalized was Mr. Johnston's statement last night that he had no further meetings set up with the remaining members “of the wage board. It was assumed that either the expérts’ advice Is no longer sought or' that a decision has been made. Callers at Mr. Johnston's offices Wednesday included three leaders of the Labor Policy Committee — “William Green, AFL president; George Leighty, chairman of the Railway Labor Executives Association, and Al Hayes, president of the International Association of Machinists. They met with George M. Harrison, -an AFL vice president who represents labor as an assistant to Mr. Johnston. “We're not taking up anything new,” Mr. Green sai

Cd a

” .-

se

Green replied, “George doesn’t

. 2-23 COPR. 395% BY NEA SERVICE, IC. L8, BEG, ¥. 8, PAT. OFF, "Well, | guess this breaks our engagement,” Amy—it'ss ‘gonna

take me longer than | thought to finish school!”

any suggestions. He

They are cited here as a model of good over-all brief- . who re t the Piblle and a Pe ut getting’ ‘a feport knows our position.” : can. agree upon a nominee.” "ma ave a m George.” Wilson has told the ing. ‘Unusual from an. Army officer. “Impossible from the 'hanassméni. Peus held thas - , When asked it any sugges-' Labor Policy Committee, “I re- PAL i 8 i ard State Department, « union l#bor would be “terribly * tions. had been made, Mr. uain prepared ta Agpulas - Probably reply.

mutually acceptable represen tative of labor as soon as you

tached.” If checked by the Senate Rules Committee, the Senator probably will demand a publie accounting of the publicity expenses of other members of the Senate, Mr, Malone's administrative assistant said. “But,” said the assistant, Ben Whitehurst, “I don’t think it will come to that.” ” » ” SEN. MALONE in recent weeks is known to have sent at least four releases that ran to three pages in telegraph form. His office said there may have been more, but a count hadn't been kept. -The messages quoted extensively from the Senator's speeches and dramatized his opposition to “waste” of U. 8. money abroad. Under a Senate rule which permits members to. charge “official” telegrams to the government, the messages all wefe billed to the Senate's account. They ran about $1000 per speech. ¥ The rules committee is due to meet next Wednesday. It

yas Sumared a proposal will be offered for shutting off Sen, Malone's

*

off Sen. Malone without forbidding any Sénator to send a telegram at government expense, Sen. Malone has been sending his speeches to more than

- a hundred newspapers and ra-

dio stations scattered all over the nation, without invitation.

= » r THE Denver Rocky Mountain News, a Scripps-Howard Newspaper, wrote the Senator asking to be removed from his telegraph list, to save public funds. The Senator's office said the letter was not received. Last week, another unsolicited Malone telegram arrived, reporting Mr, Malone's Lincoln Day speech at Newark, O. The Denver paper then renewed its request in a news story headed “Puh-Leeze, Senator!” . If the Senator does insist on

publication of Senate telegraph _.

bills, it may cause several red faces. A number of Senators use the Malone method. Though he is alleged to have the biggest telegraph bills, his office insists that information to Which they have socess indica is “not the lowest, but certainly fox dows the Wet.”

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