Indianapolis Times, Indianapolis, Marion County, 23 March 1951 — Page 24
&
: t &
Fox w. HOWARD WALTER LECKRONE HENRY W. MANZ Business Manager
i = President
Owned Rt
PAGE 24 Friday, Mar. 23, 1951
To fa danny by J
United PL Scripps-H ice and Audit Bureau o
poiia Himsa 88 Publish; ward Newipaper Zone 3. Nia Serv-
Price in Ma for Sunday: de week, daily only. 28¢, daily and Sunday, $10.00 a year. dally, only, $5.00: all other states, Mexico, dally $1.10 a month,
§ cents a copy for dally and 10¢ fvered by carrier dally and Sunday, J35¢ Sunday only. 10c. Mail rates in 'Lidiana $500 a year, Sunday 8. Pasession, Canada and
Telephone &KI ley 5551 Give Tight and the Peopis Will Find Their Own Way
Gen. Ike's Army
UBLIC opinion, in Western Europe is “neutralist and often outright defeatist” in the face of the Russian
threat.
Rearmament waits on Americar supplies and American credit—as well as on hope that an agreement with Russia may reduce defense requirements. “In some countries, such as France and Italy, onevorrth —%o one-third of the troops drafted. for service are Commu:
nists or fellow-travelers.
.. These are among the ay of Scripps- Howaid Correspondent Ludwell Denny in" an on-the-ground survey of the But the outlook is somewhat more encouraging than it was. three months ago, Mr. Denny reports.
situation.
is due to:
ONE: The priuiiee of more. American troops in Ger-
many.
their own munitions.
THREE: The American war effort in Korea,
Europeans are saying that, if we will fight as we ‘are fighting in Asia, we would not be likely to desert Europe.
All of which shows how difficult the American role in
world affairs has become.
_ Without American aid there probably would be little European disposition to face up to the Russian menace. Yet there can be no real assurance that Western Europe will fight, if necessary, "even with such assistance as we can pro-
; While, we. his
Xide. i
ran "of pubic. support,
UNDER SUCH circumstances we cannot afford to. put
all our eggs in one basket.
We must look to Gen. Eisenhower and American statesmanship to make what it is possible to’ make out of an admittedly bad European situation, in the--hope that the’ ower of our example will encourage continued improvement of conditions there, , But we can expect no miracles. : Any support in Europe will be better than none, provided it is animated by a sincere desire for freedom and
independence.
But any idea that money alone can build firm bulwarks against Soviet aggression must be abandoned. Our resources are not so great that they should be dissipated by indiscriminate handouts to all comers. Nations which fail to respond after reasonable encouragement should be dropped from the rolls as undependable allies. In any real showdown, our fate will rest on our own strength, character, resources and stability. So American rearmament should have priority over all other considera-
- tions.
Why Penalize Work?
ida social security system's average old-age insurance payment is now less than $44 a month. It was far less even than that until last year, when gress adjusted payments upward to compensate those who get them for the increased cost of living since the
bu
system was adopted.
But the cost of living has continued to rise sharply, and the buying power of the larger old-age insurance payments
is again falling behind.
: Under the law, a person aged 65 or more can get no payment at all for any month in which, by continuing to work, he earns as much as $50.
» . ” n REP. JAMES E. VAN ZANDT (R. Pa.) has introduced a bill which would change the law so as to permit persons aged 65 or more to earn as much as $100 a month without forfeiting old-age insurance benefits. Why not? In fact, if a person has been otherwise qualified for such benefits by deductions from his pay and contributions from his employer during the years before he reached 65, why should he be compelled to accept any limit én his continued earning power in order to get those
benefits ?
The notion that he should was a product of the depression and unemployment psychology prevalent when. the social security system was set up almost 15 years ago. Many people then thought there would never be enough jobs for younger workers unless elderly ones were forced
to retire.
But now conditions are altogether different. This country urgently needs the continued productive efforts of elderly persons who are able and willing to work—needs those efforts to support the national defense program and keep the national standard living from falling too low. It seems foolish and unfair to penalize such persons, by depriving them of old-age insurance checks, if they do work productively enough to earn $50 a month, $100 a month or
any larger smount,
» SUPPOSE all limits on permissible monthly’ earnings were removed. The social security system then might have to pay more money than it otherwise would to persons thus encouraged to keep on working and at the same time get
old-age insurance benefits,
However, most of those persons would pay from their earnings into social security and so would their employers. Many of them also would pay income taxes into the Treasury. It appears unlikely that there would be any large net loss to the government, and highly probable that there would be a very important net gain to the country.
Something to Remember
EP. OTTO E. PASSMAN (D. La.) remarked at a recent committee meeting that when he entered Congress in 1047 he asked his secretary to get a list of all federal deents, agencies and bureaus. : Bhe said the list would be very long—at that time there were 1812 departments, agencies and bureaus—so Mr: Passtold her to “forget it.” ; Readiness to forget is oke big: bursausracy keeps on growing’
R
TWO: The promise of American weapons, planes, materials ‘and credits to enable the European Allies to produce
Jrearmpment
“become. 2 er unless if. is, and continues to be, an Allied eat it will collapse for -
DEAR BOSS . . . By Dan Kidney
Halleck Lauds Budget Cutting
Hopes It Is Indicative
Of Future Economy Action’
WASHINGTON, Mar, 23—Although the House of Representatives knocked off only $2,773,000 from the nearly three billion dollar appropriation for the Treasury and Postoffice Departments, Rep, Charles A. Halleck, Rensselaer Republican, today declared it was a happy portent for future savings. As a leader of the coalition with Southern Democratic conservatives, Mr. Halleck pointed
out that this was the first time the coalition’
held together in the matter of budget cutting. In fact, it workea so well that at one time it seemed likely that a $35 million cut might be made in the bill as reported from the appro‘priations committee, but on a roll-call the deal fell through. : ’ Thé appropriations committee already had trimmed $36,525,000 from the measure as reported in the President's $71,600,000,000 budget. Final approval of the House was. for $2018 827,000. to operate the two departments for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1952, Rep. Eugene Cox (D. Ga.) worked openly with Mr. Halleck to bring about the cuts from the floor. This coalition co-operation hecame
#0 obvious that Speaker 8am Rayburn (D.” =
Tex.) took a sly verbal poke at the pair.
Honeymoon Over
CITING a statement earlier in the week in which: Mr, Cox said the coalition honeymoon was over, Mr. Rayburn chided: “When I note the crossing of the aisle here and the conferences that are being held, it is my opinion that the honeymoon has just begun, I trust that in your temporary enjoyment you are very happy and contented.” Mr. Halleck then jumped to the defense of his fellow coalitionist, Mr. Cox, and said he hoped the honeymoon would continue so long as it was designed to achieve economy in government. . The bureaucracy must tighten its belt just as the administration is-demanding that the country at. large will be required to do, Mr. Halleck advised. “We must all tighten our belts if confiscatory taxes are to be avoided, if the value of the dollar is to be preserfed and-¥ we are to prevent runaway inflation,” he concluded.
No Roll-Call
THIS debate took placé while the Congressmen were sitting as a committee of the whole
House. Amendments. Bis. ascepled, or. rejected 3 EXT PREY all. nr ¥ Sat Wher the Hflsh~ went into régatar session et ‘anda roll-cal was ‘demanded on the $22 mil-
lion postoffiee cut, which had been approved in committee of the. hole; it went down'by a vote of 136 to 138, Had the seven Republivans from Indiana, most of whom had gone back to the state for an early Easter recess, been on hand and [ollowed the Halleck leadership, the $22 million
* savings amendment ‘would have been approvad.
Instead, nothing at all was cut from the. Postoffice appropriation and the $2,773,000 came out of the treasury costs. <
Missing Roll-Call
THOSE missing the roll-call were Reps. Crumpacker, Beamer, Bray and Brownson, all freshmen, and Reps. Harvey, Harden and Wilson. Rep. Earl Wilson, sixth term Republican from Bedford, is a member of the subcommittee which handled the bill. He helped "an helicopter service in the bill ‘as reported, put the House voted that back in again. Mr. Wilson had estimated the ban as saving $300,000 and spoke for it in the House the previous day. The vote to strike out the anti- -helicopter provision was 147 to 56. Freshman Republican Rep. E. Ross Adair, Ft. Wayne, joined Mr. Halleck in voting ‘or the $22 million Postoffice cut. The two Democrats from Indiana, Reps. Ray Madden, Gary, and Winfield K. Denton, Evansville, both voted against jt. The latter is a new member of appropriations.
DREAMLAND
I'D TAKE to go to some far place . .. where all the world is gay . . . where people didn’t wear a frown . .. or scowl all through the day « + « Where reason is to lend a hand . . . instead of bearing down ... on everyone or everything « « +» that in the way is found . . . a place away from fears and hate . . . that goes on through the years . .. a haven made of happiness . . . and not a well of tears . . . some quiet land that found its way . .. into this world we know « « « & spot that's let of God alone . . . that’s where I long to go . . . I've wondered, why no place exists . , . to fit in with my schemes . . . or maybe I ask for too much . . . this world of all my dreams . , . but I'll keep searching through the years . . . that know no time nor space . . , until I find real happiness , . . and meet it face to face. —By Ben Burroughs.
THREAT OF ATTACK ON EUROPE
rer nu . By Frederick C. Othman
REDS AND SCOTCH .
Coffee, Doughnuts i in Hollywo
Doesn't Sound Exactly Right
WASHING TON, Mar. 23—In all my years of party going in Hollywood, with’ one natable exception the standard drink was scotch whisky. I even attended soirees with people who later turned out to be Communists, but the refresh-
ments were never weaker than 86 proof, One Sunday afternoon a Russian ballet dancer, who I do not believe was a Communist, invited me to tea. To my everlasting amazement that is what she served. It wasn't bad, either, with small cakes, and it sticks in my memory as the only time 1 was served tea at a tea in Hollywood. Coffee at such shindigs I never tasted. Nor doughnuts, either. Such plebeian fare simply was not served by the Hollywoodians, even when they were at liberty, meaning broke. Under those unhappy circumstances, they used their credit and the strong stuff flowed as usual.
I am not criticizing them, you understand; I'm just leading up to the appearance before the House Un-American Activities Committee of Larry Parks, ex- -Communist eng-he fears— ex-actor.
When he was a dues-paying Commie in a cell made up of other actors, he swore under oath, the comrades met at one another’s homes, talked about the war then in progress, discussed their own troubles in the movie-acting business, and consumed coffee and doughnuts, Even the Congressmen laughed at that one. The handsome, young Parks, in a doublebreasted brown suit cut only as a Hollywood tailor can do it, said, please, don't smile. He was serious. Coffee and doughnuts was what the movie Communists consumed, while their
activities were as innocuous as their nourishment. He gwore it. You may remember young Parks as the body the movie-making geniuses
‘fitted to the late Al Jolson's voice. This worked
out fine. Later on Parks made 40 other movies, using his own larynx. In 1941 while jobless, he said, he joined the Communist Party because he was an idealisfic young man, who favored the underdog. In the next four years he paid in $80 in dues, attended perhaps 15 meetings of the movie actors’ cell, and drank a lot of that coffee. All this Seemed innocent to him. So did his companions, whom he sought not to mention by name. After all, said he, they were nice young folks like Larry Parks, misguided maybe, but certainly not overthrowers of the
~ government, and he saw no good reason why
he should ruin their careers, too. His own, he said, had gone smash the moment he walked into the door of Room 224 of the old House Office building. Even if he was not a Communist any longer, the stigma still was there In the public mind and as a movie star he was kaput.
Dramatic Show
PARKS doodled on a scratch pad while he told in a soft and well-modulated voice how he drifted out of the Communist business in 1944, The fact that he was working then in the movies, he was tired aft a day before the cameras, and he had stomach for these Communistic doughnuts. So he quit.
The Congressmen kept needling him about his fellow innocents in the Red céll. Parks became dramatic. He begged the gentlemen not to give him the alternative of naming names, or going to jail for contempt. The gents ‘kept him worrying about it, while they tried in vain to get Howard Da Silva, another movie actor, to say anything at all. Fact was, Parks was sweating. He had no make-up man to powder the dampness from his brow. I still think, though, that I'll learn from who it was in Hollywood in 1941 that passed the doughnuts to dunk in the coffee. I was there then and it doesn't sound like the old town to me.
By Ludwell Denny
' tickets, ete., ete.” To
‘ in your fair city.
Wl. do not agree with a word that you say, but |
will defend 9 the death your right to say it." ‘Home, Sweet Home'
~ MR. EDITOR:
I have been working In your city for about 45 days. I have seen many things here that I do not like. But the thing that puzzles me most is the constant publicity that local gambling is
. getting in the newspapers.
Every time I pick up a paper, all I can read is “Bayt cracks | down on gambling, Fairchild bears down on probe of baseball
my mind gambling is ;a minor question
The sale of 5 10 and 25-cent baseball tickets is a minor problem, compared to gambling in other cities. I have seen more. gambling for high - stakes in.one night in Covington, Ky.i Dayton, 0:; Chicago. and Louisville than I have seén here in 45 days. As I see it a- man can't pos-
sibly lose his home and his -wife, no matter v
how. many PHitent tickets he may buy, "If the loaF authorities ‘are successful in stopping the sale, of baseball tickets here, they will find themselves up against a much more vielous type of gambling, craps, roulette, etc. - In my humble opinion there are many more things wrong with your city. I have never seen filthier streets and sidewalks than in Indianapolis. - The streets apparently have not been cleaned for six months and nobody seems to
care. ¢ ¢ o
THERE are more chuck-holes in this town than in all of New York. The transportation system here is deplorable, For 15 cents you can ride a trackless trolley, which due to the condition of the streets and the construction of the vehicle, actually shakes the life out of you, It is impossible to ride one of these contraptions two miles without becoming sick at the stomach. . The police department here seems to be a good one, but the protection to life and rep. erty by the department, becomes secondary to
~o1s activity against petty gambling. ) ere seems to_he na Teftrinte i ped-Hght dis.
trict here, but it is (most {mipos#ivle Yor-&n une . escorted maje to onter into a night spot here
without being solicited: by a lady of edsy virtue.
I refer i the downtown places, on ‘S. and N, °
Illinois Ohio St., Market St., East and W,
Washin he Sts. 2 . @ Ce @ 2
APPARENTLY the Mayor and prosecutor think that gambling is a wicked thing but that obscene and dirty stage shows, and. soliciting in taverns and downtown streets, is something desirable. I will be leaving your qualit little city, within the week, to return to beloved Peoria, where the streets, are cleaner, the transportation system better, the air purer, he women prettier, the mayor more sensible. Where the prosecutor wars against burglary, murder, rape and fraud in high places, and condones petty gambling as a necessary human weakness, It is my opinton that Indianapolis is the smallest large city in the world. It is full of little people with little minds, little public offi cials, little newspapers and very little gambling,
—John A. O'Gara, Peoria, IIL
EDITOR'S NOTE: No place like home, is there? Even Peoria.
‘Truckers Are Wrong’ MR. EDITOR: A letter in The Times (Mar. 18) comes nearer getting at the crux of the truck situation than any I have noticed. Trucks are a general nuisance on the highway. That just about spells it. All who are not interested in trucks know what I mean, There is no use going into detail. Suffice it to say, highways were not built for the use of trucks. The railroads were subsidized for their kind of traffic.
Change them to conform with gasoline and rubber conveyances. Why impose trucks upon the ordinary motorist? The highways will be taken care of without taxes from trucks—and much better. I have not kept score, but it seems to me the great percentage of accidents have a truck involved. Among others try driving Road 52 south at night. It is worth your life.
— Wilson Seawright, City.
Allies Féar Red Action In Mideast, But- Block Defense Unity
working with our military British-Egyptian control. Thi outlawed activities of his
PARIS, Mar. 23—The French and British governments fear Britain lacks and which are Stalin's next move will be in the Mideast but they are blocking agsential for any MediterraneAllied defense unity in that area and in the Mediterranean. an-Mideast defense against This paradox is the gravest immediate threat in the tense Russia. Also, the U. 8. must world situation. For while the Soviets are temporarily checked furnish the big bombers which in the Korean War and unable to attack through Germany, are the chief Allied weapon in
that area. Hence, an American
missions. compromise is understood to be Communist Party in Iran, he THREE: Neither France, acceptable to Cairo, especially can depend on several disrupItaly, Greece nor Turkey if there's over-all American tive factors helping him:
favors British command. command.
ONE: The national and re-
FOUR: The major Allied FIVE: With both Iranian ligious fanatics responsible
ason why the vast
Austria or Yugoslavia without starting a world war, the Midwest is wide open for aggres‘sion. In Iran, the assassination of proAllied Premier Ali Razmara and the law to nationalize | Allied oil resources only hastened the crisis. Since December Allied reports
Gen. Eisenhowerhave marked
needs authority 17 Sem Bhnit
for the next Ror, aggression. » The situation is even worse than Iran's exposure indicates because of the ‘neutrality” of the Arab bloc in the Near Fast and the danger to Allied bases across North. Africa from the Suez Zone to Morocco. Despite the emergency, Allied wrangling still prevents ‘unification of Greek-Turkish defense with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and even blocks unified command in the Mediterranean. Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower can't name his southern sector commander because he doesn’t know what authority, if any, he'll have over his right flank in the Western Mediterranean and North Africa. Reason for the Allied failure to unify Mediterranean and Mideast defense is a mixture of technical difficulties, Brit-ish-French pride and West European selfishness,
TE OH NIC al questions: Would a combina of the
- vast Mediterraneah-North
» African-Mideast areas with Western Europe under Gen. Eisenhower, create an unwieldy, insufficient unit? If so, where should the dividing line be? The Brussels NATO conference in December tentatively assigned Gen. Eisenhower the Western Mediterranean and Northwest Africa and ignored the Eastern Mediterranean and the Mideast as outside the NATO's province. Later that decision was held up because of British objections to dividing the Mediterranean, their traditional lifeline. Moreover, Greece and Turkey were dissatisfied with a compromise associate membership in the NATO and demanded full admittance. However difficult these questions, they would have been decided long ago under the pressure of the emergency except for nationalistic pride and shortsighted selfishness, All European NATO nations except Italy oppose full Greek and Turkish membership. They are unwilling to join in defense commitments for those strategic outposts of Europe. Furthermore, they object to a fuller sharing of American military aid with our two Allies because they may get less for themselves. a
NATIONALISTIC, pride operates in the case of Britain and France. London Insists that the Mediterranean as a whole be a separate command outside Gen. Eisenhower's province and under a British admiral. But these pragtical considerations would veto this: ONE: The United States has
the aircraft carriers which
& or ——
commander is needed. TWO: Greece and Turkey, with 22 divisions, are dependent on the U. 8. for weapons and planes and are accustomed to
SIDE GLANCES
base in the Mideast is in thg Suez zone but Egypt is trying to kick out the British. The only way to avoid eventual Egyptian control and loss of the base is a joint American-
By Galbraith
“The wife's gotting s. suspicious, Charley—she hes lost 18 pounds on dur diet and | haven't 3 dropped an ounce!”
u
?
ia A 3 ,
and Iraqui sources of British for the wave of murder and
and American oil in jeopardy, and Transjordan inadequate for an Allied base, American oil rights and bases in Saudi Arabia are the only secure Allied Mideast strategic holdings south of Turkey. Saudi Arabia is less favorable to Britain. SIX: Spain flanks Gen. Eisenhower's West European command and the Atlantic Sea command, as well as the Mediterranean and North African bases. Spain, even if later accepted for NATO membership, cannot become an active member unless armed by America. Spain will co-operate, if at all, with Gen, Eisenhower or an American Mediterranean command, but not with .Britain and France. ~~ SEVEN: Italy — like Greece and Turkey and potentially Spain — depends on American weapons, planes, raw materials and dollars as an NATO member. As a Mediterranean country and the chief South European Allied base, Italy has an important voice and favors American command of the Mediterranean. EIGHT: France, because of her North African empire, considers the Western Mediterranean virtually a French lake. She's /sensitive to nationalist threats in North Africa, which are so serious that Gen: Alphonse Juin is re-
© maining in Morocco tempo-
rarily although on Tuesday he was named Gen. Eisenhower’'s commander for the
: Central European Sector.
o . . OPEN military intervention probably is’ unnecesdary for
+ Stalin’s purpose in Iran,
Altogether apart from the
terror, Recessitating martial law. TWO: The new law to nationalize the oil resources— which already are owned by the state but operated by Britain's _ Anglo-Iranian Oil Co. under a lifetime lease— would end royalties on which the government depends for defense and, social reforms. Experience of other countries indicates that Iranian operation would produce less oil and income. To delay reform, especially land, education, health and higher . income among the terribly distressed, diseased and illiterate peasantry in that feudal country, would open: wide the door already ajar to communism. { Now the neighboring Iraqui are saying that if Iran can nationalize why can't we break British-American oil leases. n . ”
STALIN has shown in Asia how effectively he can use such extreme anti-Western movements and how dangerous it is for the Allies to permit our rivalries to delay a unified, constructive policy toe ward these Mideast politicalmilitary problems. ; Meanwhile, Gen. Eisenhower is powerless to complete his long retarded organization of Western - Europe, our preparedness investment in Greece and Turkey is jeopar-
dized, the chance of winning .
the Arab nations for mutual defense is disappearing and the weakness of Iran and the Mideast invites Soviet pene tration and loss of Allfed ofl and bases."
FRID/
Korea
On La
Specic Caske OAKLAN
—A special Oakland A:
, day, carryi
Karean wai in the Unite
Seventy-f from the aboard the dall. They more than Marines w Oakland pie When th were discl steamed sic land estuar luted by fla
+. at Army b ba
y. The ship in the wate money beg played. Tap was a mon All the ¥ interted fro transported
Fe