Indianapolis Times, Indianapolis, Marion County, 27 September 1951 — Page 24

i a a WE PEE a

» fe ye

The Indianapolis Times

A SCRIPPS-HOWARD NEWSPAPER Ee

ROY W. HOWARD WALTER LECKRONE 2. HENRY W. MANZ x President Editor Business Manager

PAGE 24 Thursday, Sept. 27, 1951 Biieed” ress Scripps g postal pe 8. NEA Serv-

= in on $ sents a copy for daily and 10¢ qe ‘only. Dade oats 106 A rare le indiana a ohh 0:00 a Tear. ily. $8. Hd year. Sunda: ‘daily. h a covy

. $110 » month Sundsy 10

Telephone PL aza 6551 Give Light and the Peopie Wili Fins Thetr Own Way

The Gravest Risk

i. control of public information from government agencies will live up to White House promises. "There can be no quarrel with the stated purpose of the executive order, which is to stop leaks of vital information to a potential enemy. ‘ | But we have grave doubts as to how the procedure will work out; whether it will not, in fact, lead to the suppression of news to which the public is entitled. President Truman emphasized that the new rules were not to be used to deny nonsecurity information to the public, not to cover up any mistake by a government official.’ J ” » » » ® BUT the practice of sealing up certain information to hide. individual or bureaucratic incompetence is an old one. : : A friend of ours, familiar with such matters in Washington, tells us there are records and documents of the Civil War which to this day are still “classified.” The only obvious reason for this is to cover up some grisly mistake by a long-forgotten general or government official. In the past, the prerogative of classifying information—that is, keeping it from the public—has been mostly in the hands of the Defense and State Departments. Both are directly concerned with military and diplomatic material that unquestionably should not fall into enemy hands. 3 eo Rs 8 8. { NOW the practice is to be widened to all civilian Rg of the executive branch of the government. Each head, or delegated authority under him, will be with four rubber stamps with which he can mark

~The executive order does not define the four categories, set up standards which clearly show how national ty is breached if the information gets out. Nor is here any provision for appeal or review. ; i That is the big danger. Too much latitude is given to the government job holder to determine what information july involves national security. The natural inclination be always to decide on the side of caution, and ently on the side of protection—for himself or his

# vu ss ® 8

IN THE past war, appeal was possible, and often succesfully made, through the office of censorship. These

are complex and far from peaceful times. But the working

of this new security order will have to be watched carefully to prevent classification labels from spreading through government business as a device for hiding information the, © An alert press can only regard the order as a new challenge to its mission of informing the public.

Open | the Door Wider :

A self-engineered press conference, Vladimir Pro-

T A chazka, Communist ambassador for Czechoslovakia, has opened the door for the liberation of William N. Oatis, . But Prochaska only opened the door a crack. . {He said negotiations looking to the release of the imprisoned American reporter “might be possible” if the United ‘States called off its dogs. Apparently the economic, political and propaganda sressure applied to the Czechs in behalf of Mr. Oatis is hav‘ng some effect. Particularly the blockade against Czech planes flying over Western Germany. 3 ® » »

{ PROCHAZKA spent most of lowe hours talking about ‘rade. That's the thing that pinches the Czech Commutists. They need American dollars to buy warstuffs #herever they can get them. : “There is no situation in the world where there would fot be a way out,” said Prochazka. {Not if the Communists ever would stop their doubledealing and four-flushing. And if they should ever keep a promise. i If the Communists had honestly wanted to “negotiate” the Oatis case they wouldn't have waited five months. The pleadings of the State Department, the protests of an outraged American public and the logic of justice failed to sway them. Prochazka's vague and weaseling bid for ‘“negotiations” results from a fear of trade reprisals. {If the Communists are acting in good faith, let them show it by freeing Mr. Oatis—Now. : ie

y Best Friend’

8 A civilian official for the Air Force, Charles B. Moling was paid $6400 a year. When he was in that job, he has admitted to a Senate

cs» 8

investi

ot A

| Meanwhile, he received in gifts from an official of Lithoid a n set, a movie camera, a movie projector,

5 jewelry

; rovired on ponsion, from bie Air Force job, “arranged

E hope the new and extended system of security

r data he chooses “top secret,” “secret,” “confidential,”

RESTRICTION . . . By Charles Lucey

Too Rigid News Control Feared

WASHINGTON, Sept. 27—The government was operating today under the broadest safeguards ever laid down for protecting vital in-

-formation from potential U. 8. enemies.

An order by President Truman extended to the entire executive branch the prohibitions already in effect in the key defense agencies against passing out restricted or “classified” information,

A challenge to the new safeguards was

raised by the American Society of Newspaper Editors. The society urged clearer definitions and formal machinery for appeals. The White House said an attempt had been made to meet objections raised by a committee of the society, but in the main Mr. Truman apparently stood fast on regulations as drafted by an interdepartmental committee on internal security.’ In a public statement and in his letter to agency heads, however, the President made clear that the new rules were not to be used “to withhold nonsecurity information or to cover

‘up mistakes made by any official or employee

of the government.”

More Information

PRESIDENTIAL Secretary Joseph H. Short said the new regulations would not create an atmosphere in which officials would “clam up” on news and information to which the. public rightly is entitled. -He cited Mr. Truman's statement that through segregation of security information from nonsecurity information, the system will make “more, rather than less, information about the government available to the people.” . The government deemed the order necessary because defense and war efforts are so complex now that they touch dozens of agencies. The White House said the orders were not issued because of any serious “leak” but rather were the result of expert study for many months.

Definition of Order

THE important areas covered by the pegulations were indicated In one of the exécutive order definitions, which read as follows: “The terms ‘product’ and ‘substance’ as used herein mean any item of material (other than a document) from which information may be obtained; apply to items in all stages of development, processing or construction; and include elements, ingredients, components, accessories, fixtures, dies, models and mock-ups associated with such items.” ; President Truman said of the new system: “This order provides, for the first time, uniform standards for classifying and protecting security information throughout the executive branch of the government. At the same time, the order prohibits the classification of any information by any agency unless it can show affirmatively that disclosure of the information would harm the national security. Therefore some agencies will never have occasion to institute classification and many others will have only infrequent need to do so.”

‘No Censorship’

HE SAID “the American people have a fundamental right to information about their government and there is no element of censorship, either direct or implied in this order. The order applies only to officials and employees of the executive branch. . . . The public is requested to co-operate, but is under no compul-

+ sion or threat of penalty to do so as a result

of this order.” The President said he was directing every agency to keep constant watch over its classification activities so as to reduce or eliminate them where possible. Four security elassifications range downward from “top secret” to “secret” to “confidential” to “restricted.” In practice, each agency head will designate one or more security officers charged with control of vital material. Mr. Short acknowledged the system suscepti-

ble of normal human error, and said that if -

newspapermen were dissatisfied with the ruling of any security officer they could appeal to the head of the agency concerned.

Barbs T™WO policemen in a Kentucky town were

fired for drunkenness. Pickled—then canned.

IF YOU want to keep your good name, don’t sew it in your umbrella. .

A scientist says that some day we'll be able to live on air. Imagine not worrying about food prices!

CONTROLS . . , By Earl Richert and Fred Perkins

OPS May Lose Fight | To Peg Beef Prices

WASHINGTON, Sept. 27 — A strong probability exists that the government will lose its fight to control beef prices, according to a high federal official con-

nected with the program. “If we' lose slaughtering quotas permanently, it is very the program: probable we have lost the »

Here are other highlights of

v "4 i Wig eT Te Sy a Try

“©

No, but We Can Still Vote °

0 MANY

PUBLIC OFFICIALS

PRIVATE PAYROLLS . . . By Frederick C. Othman

Some U. S. Tax Favors Hinted During Senate Probe Hearing

WASHINGTON, Sept. 27—1I still like to think that most of our tax collectors are honest. I continue to believe that anybody who offers to bribe them gets a poke in the nose. As for the squirmy little fat men from the Bureau of Internal Revenue trying to explain

to the U. S. Senate / how they justified \ working for two NW 1/2 masters, I'll regard CIN ! them as wraiths in a nightmare. They're exceptions, I hope, and I'll not offer the tax collector when he calls on me any hams, turkeys, baseball tickets, television sets, polaroid cameras, perfumes, airplane rides, hotel rooms, fancy dinners, movie projectors, or cash on the barrel head. ‘I'll just pay my tax bill and presume that I am getting a fair shake. Some of the Senators are more suspicious than I am. They, of course, are Republicans. Having listened to one James B. E. Olson, late of the New York Revenue office, say he be-

lieved many tax collectors were on private pay-

rolls, the gentleman from Wisconsin, Joe McCarthy, exclaimed: “If what you say is true, it makes Teapot Dome look like a cup of tea.”

¢ Yes,” agreed Sen. Karl E. Mundt of South Dakota, “and it explains why the rest of us have to pay such high taxes. We don't have the right contacts.” The fellow who had the contacts for sure was R. J, Blauner, president of the American Lithofold Corp., a St. Louis printing firm he put in business largely with money borrowed from the RFC. Then he sold the United States

government an estimated $14 million worth of:

printing. While he was about it he put an assortment

SIDE GLANCES

estigating committee, he borrowed $6100 from the Amer- ° isan Lithofold Co., a printing firm. Some of this has been

r him to borrow another

whole fight for beef price control,” he said. “We may be forced to give up any attempt to control beef prices.” The Senate Banking Committee has voted to restore slaughtering quotas — which supposedly would keep flowing in normal channels. But the odds are slim that Congress will indorse the committee’s action. Congress banned slaughtering quotas last July. » . . THE federal official expressed his gloom on the meat situation at a seminar for newspapermen on ‘the mobilization program, It was held on the basis that the officials speaking were not to be quoted

‘by name.

Officials from Defense Mobilizer Charles Wilson on down have said repeatedly that it would be impossible to maintain an over-all stabilization program if meat prices could not be held. Beef is the cornerstone of the meat program. _ The federal official blamed

“the -

Office of Price Stabilization (OPS) were -not fair and

CONSUMER GOODS — One high official said he could see no prospect of shortages of consumer goods for a long time, because of the tremendous inventories built up during the record-breaking [1950 production. » » »

INFLATION — Generally speaking, mobilization officials were more optimistic than in recent weeks about the possihility that the worst of the inflation may be over. One agency said there was at least the possibility that further inflation could be held within narrow limits. ; r » ” BUILDING — High officials made it plain there must be further sharp cutbacks in nondefense construction, . » »

RENTS—Rent controls are to be expanded rapidly in defense areas, Rent officials hope to have 10 million homes under rent control by the end of this year, an increase of 3.3 million over the present number = » ~

~ GAB RATIONING—The {

situation is tight,

SRN e. ma

of federal officials on his payroll and passed out gifts to still others. Olson, who resigned as supervisor’ of the alcohol tax unit last August, was typical. While he still was supervising the liquor-makers, he was suggesting that they buy their printing from Lithofold. For this he was paid $5800. Sen. Richard M. Nixon (R. Cal.) called this a shakedown. Olson said he still couldn't see where he'd done anything wrong, Then came the portly Walter Doxon, who was—until this week-—an Internal Revenue agent in Atlantic City, N.'J. He was suspended when the boss discovered that he'd taken turKeys, trips, a camera, and $7000 from Lithofold.

Didn’t See Tax Return

IT JUST happened that Blauner's tax return had cleared through his office; he insisted he didn’t even see it. _Doxon said, in fact, that all he did was phone an old pal in the Labor Department, one John L. Kelly, who knew the boss of the Warner-Hudnut Corp., which eventually ordered $100,000 worth of printing from Lithofold. The Senators called in Kelly, who works in New York for the Laber partment’s wages and hours division. He got $7000 too. He like-

wise could see where he'd broken no moral law. - Loaned Him Camera

THEN the Senators swore in G. Elmer Brown, an Internal Revenue Investigator from Chicago. + Blauner never did give him a camera, just lent him one. 3 ] Last winter he spent a few days with his friend in Miami Beach, Fla. Blauner bought the round-trip tickets for Brown and wife. Agent Brown said he later paid back the $330 they cost; he seemed surprised that somehow the money never had been returned to the treasury of the Lithofold Corp.

This case has been full of surprises. I only

hope it is unique. Otherwise, there won't be much satisfaction next March in making out an honest tax return. .

By Galbraith

EERSTE TEASRE0RSRAY

* tradict itself and want

' another under an

wld * & : §

Hoosier Forum: " do et ith d that say, i ot Toil dafond fo the death your right to say it." —Voltaire.

2 »

‘Too Much Money to Spend’

MR. EDITOR: J g | lis Star, . 1 ising that the Indianapo whi en giving full rein to a one-horse

fon and inefiicampaign nst the corrupt 4 tee, should now con= ciency of the township rus return the handling the trustees. : to that the Star can be so

to federal welfare and yet disbaiically Spo et a federal recrea tion A ETAID which marches hand in hand with the Fedoral welfare program. Under the name of «Recreation Centers,” but more appropriately . ” b : sane glib divided the old school house." In every city you have two school Jrogvaims now—one run by the local authorities an entirely different budget run

: deral welfare program. by the fe fare bros!

eee

f welfare money . It is also surprising

e job of the federal “wreck” program to a te iiren how to.loaf so they will be care-free and content when they become old enough to graduate to the welfare program, the federal dole. Of course, it is expected these

cine, free’ lawyers and the whole Communist

‘program. Wh shouldn't they? Pr whole i is that our politiclans— both local and national—have too much’ money to sperid. Bob Taft had the answer several years ago when he said: “The best and only sure way to cut down graft and corruption In public spending is to cut down appropriations. : As long as you appropriate the politicians, will

1. ’ Spen > .% 4 3 WE REPUBLICANS are on weak ground

arguing that the list of recipients of charity ie made public. That isn’t American.

. Furthermore, it will make every charity case a

prize for the local political party in power. It] will lead to more charity ‘spending instead’ of less. If we really want to cut down on corruption in welfare, let us get back of men like Beb Taft and fight to cut down on appropriations. They have one of the largest propaganda machines in the world. If we cut down on their appropriations they'll have to drop some of their propagandists—and some of the corruption. +

«J. E. D., Crawfordsville.

‘Hits Nail on the Head’

MR. EDITOR:

I cannot refrain from writing to congratulate you on the article, “Vote Wouldn't Change - Britain,” by Ludwell Denny. It is some time since I have seen anything written in an American newspaper so filled with understanding of British political matters. Accounts of life in Britain, from which my: wife and I have only recently come, are often so garbled that one fails to recognize one’s own country. This article, on the contrary, hits the nail on the head in all it says. It could not have been bétter written by a native and the objective view of the difféerence between the two main parties is perhaps more accurate because it has not been written by a native.

~—Willlam Robinson, : Professor of Christian Doctrine, School of Religion, Butler University. -

: RRR RARER RARER NN RR NR PARR NNR ERO RRA ON »

Views on News

By DAN KIDNEY ; PRESIDENT TRUMAN has assured Prime Minister De Gasperi that the Italian peace treaty will be revised to permit fighting. * © A BROOKLYN Grand Jury found you can't tell cops from crooks without their uniforms. * oo » COMMUNIST Czech Ambassador Prochazka told a press conference that “We won’t.yield to any pressure” after explaining how they might. S 2 » AS AN outstanding authority on political egg laying, Farmer Henry Wallace may be called to testify on how the Truman administration laid that China one. ¥ SENATE RFC investigators have disclosed that Santa Claus’ real name is Lithofold.

NEW TACTICS... . By Ludwell Denny

Tito Changing His

Cold War Strategy

WASHINGTON, Sept. 27—Tito is shifting to more effective strategy in his cold war defense against Stalin. Instead of appealing to Stalin stooges in satellite countries on ideological Communist grounds, the Yugoslav

Red rebel now is trying to stir nationalist reaction among

Paris did not like constant reminders of the damaging

the children, the federal gov-

"My brother's 20 years old and when he gets married I'll get this room—and will | clean out all this silly girl stuff!"

that price controls are

working. :

» ® » . SALARY CONTROLS—Balaried employees may not be restricted by the salary stabili-

: but ral zation board to the 10 per officials still foresee eli- i - hood of gasoline r A

cent limitation (over January, 1950) it has adopted from the wage board. To it may be added ® per cent the salary bogrd has just approved for increases because of merit and length of service.

What Others Say—

THIS COUNTRY stands for faith in mankind,

ability

the slave peoples themselves. Tito’s earlier efforts to sell himself abroad as a better Red than Stalin did not get far, Eastern Europeans generally have good reason to be anti-Communist, If they have to bow temporarily to Stalin it is because of his superior military strength and police state terror. They can’t be impressed by a paler copy of Stalin, who is simply dictator of another small nation having a family feud with a more powerful dictator. : : . & @»

COMMUNIST leaders in Italy and France also were unImpressed, Their attitude toward Tito is a combination of superiority and jealousy. They despise the Balkan upstart, and at the same time envy his freedom from Kremlin domination. But the determining factor among Western European Red leaders, as with puppet heads of Eastern European

" governments, is that they are

dependent on Stalin. / to was never dependent on Stalin. ‘This explains his ability to break dway from Moscow and survive.’ Yugoslavs

‘ largely liberated themselves

from the Germans, while most

‘of the rest of Eastern Europe

was being “liberated” and en~

food and the

fact that their new half-ally is still .a Red. For Reds are known to be untrustworthy, and even a semi-ally is supposed to be trusted. So there are several incentives for Tito to change his tune. If he is to counter the growing danger of Soviet satellite attack on Yugoslavia, he must make the Russians and their puppets in neighboring countries even more hated. And he must get more arms and help fro the Allies, a 8 ” BOTH purposes are served by appealing to the nationalism of the Bulgars, Romanians, Hungarians, Czechs and Poles against their Russian masters. This is particularly effective in the Slav countries, where the Georgian-born Stalin poses as a Slavic big brother, In his latest speech Tito warned the satellite peoples: . “Don’t let the Russians lead you down new roads to catastrophe or hurl you into misery.” He added that Stalin, like the czars before him, is an im-. perialist bent on ruling other peoples. ” - ®

THIS is language Eastern cause it fits

away ther

liberators” take

raping and .

The" Doctor \

Death

MARION, Se haired, gran woman who ne calico aprons white of her ‘pre today, after m: century of med Death came othe door that at the neat whit office of Dr. |

Writing the friend Dr. Pow difficult today porter Donna seven Years ag ion, Dr, Powell born girl—Don

Powell on a qu Marion, She wa, of the oldest v tho state. Just as Dr. | ceeded in lookin doctor as like s mother, neither lose its old-fas crocheted dolly cold look of a |

Tribute ¥ro

There were flower beds of zi the neat swee; which somehow less procession c scuffed knees near-by children Perhaps the g Dr. Nettie came

“fry, who after