Indianapolis Times, Indianapolis, Marion County, 14 February 1952 — Page 22

he Indianapolis Times

# A SBORIPPS-HOWARD NEWSPAPER

) 3 W. HOWARD WALTER LECKRONE HENRY W, MANZ #' President Editor Business Manager

PAGE 22 Thursday, Feb. 14, 1952

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Telephone PL aza 8551 Give Light and the People Will Find Their Own Way

d 100 50 a

The Scrimmages Help

THOSE WHO are afraid prospects for a Republican vic- ' tory this year may be lessened, if not destroyed, by the fending and fighting between the Taft and Eisenhower supparters are overlooking some of the plain facts of political life.

The American electorate is made up of three great groups, the two least significant of which are the Democrats and Republicans who follow party labels without respect to issues or personalities. It is these bread-and-butter

But as practical men and women with whom party regularity is a must, they will be the first to forgive and forget once the party conventions have spoken.

* The third and determining force in American politics is made up of those persons who vote for the candidate best rdpresenting what they want, without respect to party. A _ fight may be the very thing needed to bring out those

qualities for which they are looking,

. ~ » - ~ » » THIS INDEPENDENT group can decide a presidential elgction simply by staying at home in such numbers that the twp party machines have the election to themselves. But indifference never prevails when a real fight is on. In present cifeumstances, a large stay-at-home vote would help the Democrats, because they control the federal payroll and hgve the machine to get out the vote. That factor can be overcome only by creating so much public interest in the campaign that the big independent vote will turn out of its own volition. .- # 'The bitter and drawn-out Democratic National Conyention of 1924 is cited as evidence that convention fights are bad business for a party. But there isn’t any reason to believe the Democrats could have defeated Calvin Coolidge and his prosperity issue that year even if they had made their nomination on the first ballot. «+ Alfred E. Smith, one of the most popular party leaders ofthis time, took a walk in 1936. Yet in the face of that bolt, Franklin D. Roosevelt romped to one of the most decigive victories in history. ;

® ® 2 os ss = » . . © TO CAPTURE the independent vote this year; the Republicans must convince the country that they have the ight answers for the woeful inadequacies of the Truman administration. The personality of the Republican nominee be a major factor because of the need for real leadership inthe present ctitical world situation. ¢ Whether Gen. Eisenhower or Sen. Taft, Gov. Warren or folmer Gov. Stassen best measures up to this demand is an opgn question in many minds. One of the acid tests is their ative popular appeal, which may be answered by the ing primaries. Real contests are desirable on t account, gn The primaries belong to the people, which means all of people. Some rough scrimmaging must be expected, will not necessarily be harmful. Actual aspirants for the Presidency, of course, are exto conduct themselves a% gentlemen, and he who does will be his own worst enemy.

ly a Small Cloud

I TESTIMONY b:fore a congressional committee, just public, administration officials continue to hang ciously to their story that the Internal Revenue Bureau dals are only a little cloud. ; “It is ironic,” testified Treasury Secretary Snyder, “that $ vigorous efforts exerted by the 57,000 loyal and devoted Jupeau employees . . . have been dimmed in the public mind yithe action of a few unfaithful employees.” : : § And Internal Revenue Commissioner John B. Dunlap nibs it is “remarkable,” considering the huge volume of .afes the bureau collects and the intense investigation to Ww, it has been subjected, that the percentage of wronglo@rs is so small. : X He listed 141 employees, including six collectors; who vepe fired last year. !

8s.» LJ ~ » » { MR, SNYDER guesses that if Congress would investi;afe “any corporation or any other department of the - ;joyernment™ as thoroughly as the Internal Revenue Bureau ad been probed, it would “find interesting results.” + From the long list of government agencies recently or 1oW under investigation, it looks like Congress beat him to he punch on that one. {But Mr. Snyder’s testimony doesn’t answer Sen. John J. Villiams’ question as to why the Treasury waited for Con‘ress to pry-open this scandal lid long after the Treasury vag on official notice as to what was going on. : And it doesn’t answer the proposition that a cloud no igger than your hand, if it's in the right place, can hide he sun. :

Nhy the Defense Program -s:Bogging Down {N. WASHINGTON a House committee is lambasting the services for wasteful buying—and making it stick. Seeking reasons for the bogdown in rearmament, the committee turned up a witness who put his finger on the “major cause of the waste—and delay. Military buyers, Rear Adm. M: L. Ring made clear, are indpr so many directives that prudent and timely purchases Aimost impossible. On every purchase, he said, they must der geographic, social, economic and political policies 1anfled down from on high. r Re : «Defense orders, he testified, are treated as the answer 0 Snemployment problems, industry dispersal, distressed ‘nd@strial areas, economic questions, wage problems, “fair bor” standards, discrimination questions, small business

one

Kore front, there i oly ne purpose fight are to social problems, political

~ peliticians who are making most of the noise just now. °

ything except the obvious purpose, which is to

2 2,

SAN JOSE, Costa Rica, Feb. 3 (Delayed) — Stalin is exterding ‘his activities from Guatemala southward to the Parilama Canal. . His potential is large. - In most Central

American countries’ Soviet influence is more y

potent than appears from limited membership of the Communist Party, / Se $b \ INSTEAD of aiming at open political cohtrol, which is impossible at this stage, the object is to: ' ONE—Exploit anti-American feeling.

TWO—Use the extreme Nationalist and Na-tionalist-Soclalist movements.

THREE—Organize Red trade unions, especlally among employees of large United States corporations such as the United Fruit Co. FOUR—Create maximum political confusion, social unrest and economic chaos. Central America is a rich field for such Red

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WASHINGTON, Feb. 14—Rear Adm. M. L.

Ring, vice chairman of the Munitions Board's office of supply, has put his finger on one of the big problems military purchase officers have faced since the cold war began.

What Adm. Ring said explains some of the confusion in the nation’s mobilization program. It's impossible, he told a congressional committee, to set up a satisfactory centralized buying system because defense orders too often are considered an answer to unemployment and the cure for “a lot of social problems.” " © When a military purchase officer sits down to sign a contract, he must keep In -° mind—and be governed by— * 14 major policy decisions. They have been handed down to him from the White House, the National Security Coun-

Mr. Wilson « » « the latest

cil, Congress, the Defense Department and the Office of Defense Mobilization,

He must: ONE-—Get the most for the government's

nioney. X

TWO-—Not buy in advance of needs. THREE—Favor small business. x FOUR-—Honor the “buy America” clause in

the law governing stockpiling.. :

FIVE—Favor distressed areas. SIX—Maintain economic equity ‘between geo-

graphic areas and groups.

SEVEN—Favor firms which have received

low allotments of controlled materials.

EIGHT-—Broaden the nation’s economic base, NINE—Encourage the dispersal of industry, TEN-—Avold concentration of economic

power.

ELEVEN—Support the government's anti-

monopoly program.

TWELVE—Enforce mandatory anti-discrim-

ination, child labor, fair labor, minimum wage,

SIDE GLANCES -

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— p—— on Se

By Galbraith

"CENTRAL AMERICA .-. . By Ludwell Denny : Soviet Influence Reaching Down From Guatemala To Panama

operations. Most of the countries have low living standards, high illiteracy rates, political instability, and acute suspicion of alleged Yankee “imperialism.” They have known more dictatorship than democracy. Nationalism is almost a mania. :

+» Panama is an example of community ability

to create chaos, For more than three months Reds have managed to string out and explode into mass riots what started out to be relatively harmless student demonstrations. In the current presidential campaign the small Communist Party 1s less important than disguised .Red activities in other parties. SP b> UNABLE to make a deal with the dominant Nationalist group and its presidential candidate, Col.. Jose Antonio Remon who controls the mili« tary, the Reds are boring within the main coalition of opposition groups headed by Roberto Chiari. They are starting Red unions on the

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To my Sweetest Valentine * A "Lovely note, BB And in return be mine 8 Asio: (Gimme your vote)

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MILITARY TROUBLES . . . By Jim G. Lucas Admiral Tags Purchase Problem

and compulsory subcontracting laws and regulations,

THIRTEEN—Implement mobilization and planning activities.

FOURTEEN—Award contracts, if he deems it necessary, to distressed areds, even though there are no low bidders there. But he must be prepared to justify his decision.

Adm. Ring probably would like to be back on the bridge of a destroyer off Korea. “If I bad to buy anything personally,” he said, “I'd just make my decision—and duck.” Most pf these policy decisions were forced by pressure groups—many in Congress. The latest—issued by Defense Mobilizer Charles E. Wilson last week—authorizes award of defense contracts to high bidders in distressed areas. That came as a result of local pressures. The “buy America” clause in the stockpiling act—a concession to Western Congressmen—seriously crippled the Munitions Board long before Korea. The mine bloc for years has harried stockpilers to force the purchase of domestic manganese—even though manganese mined in this country is of low quality and its excavation has never been economically feasible.

Considerable Difficulty

MANY OF these policy edicts are contradictory. A purchase officer has considerable difficulty, for instance, reconciling his responsibility to get the most for the government's money with subsequent directives to favor small business and distressed areas, and to avoid concentration of economic power. He finds it difficult, too, to enforce anti-discrimination regulations and maintain economic equity between geographic areas. But he must make each decision before he signs a contract. Shortly after the Korean War started, a high

+ Army Department procurement officer discussed

at some length an order for some badly needed trucks. A major producer had guaranteed to turn them out ahead of schedule, in the quantities needed. “Of course, we can't” this official said. “We've got to favor small business. But it would be wonderful if we could.”

WHAT NEXT? . .

¥ “ - WASHINGTON, Feb. 14 — “Rep. A. Edward Hebert (pronounced a-bear), the ex-city editor from New Orleans, is “ trying to lure into the open the Phantom of the Pentagon. He's used all manner of bait . for” his trap, including wampum, but the Phantom still eludes him, . This ghost with the golden shoulder bars, according to the gentleman from Louisiana, is the man who makes the deci-

tually decided any ope of a number of multibillion ’~ dollar questions, he turns out to be eight other gents, unidentified, For the last couple of days Rear Adm. Morton IL.

sil

fies

United Fruit banana plantations, as in Guate- _

malay” Here in Costa Rica, adjoining Panama, there is a larger Communist Party, Counting fellowtravelers, Reds number between 8 and 10 per cent of the politically conscious population, They have an able leader in Manuel Mora. Costa Rican Reds are underground. They publish a clandestine weekly paper. Their labor organizations have changed names to “independent” unions, but the leadership remains the same, : To get political power here, they must make a deal with a Nationalist-Socialist regime as in Guatemala. President Otilio Ulate, a Democratic publisher, is efficiently anti-Communist, But he will not succeed himself, and party ma-

neuvers are now beginning for the election 18

months hence. > oS &

JOSE FIGUERES, who ruled the country through a Junta regime after the 1948 revolu-

tion, probably will be the next president. Be- -

cause he is a radical boss Arevalo, who has given the Reds a free hand there, many persons here fear that Costa Rica under Figueres would g0 the way of Guatemala. He denies this.

In an interview with this correspondent, he

: stressed these differences:

Unlike Arevalo, he Jknows the United States well and is not anti-American.

When in office he carried on mutually satisfactory contractual negotiations with the United Fruit Co. Costa“ Ricans have a higher cultural and literacy level than other Central American’ states, are more individualistic, and have no army. They are familiar with the Russian record and don’t like it. 5 “oS »

WHILE HE was in power Figueres nationalzed banks and tried to nationalize properties

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Whether Figueres will or will not go further left is anybody's guess. ' Honduras, more dependent on United Fruit than any other country; has no outstanding Nationalist-Soclalist leader like Costa Rica and Guatemala and no military “strong-man” like Panama. President Juan Manuel Galvez is a popular, democratically minded man. He likes the United States and deals fairly with American capital which is developing his country. But the Honduran calm is deceptive. . It is fruitful for Stalin for two reasons. One is the extreme backwardness of the country. The people are -wretchedly poor, two=

thirds are illiterate and social morals are low. Though the country is nominally Catholic, there are less than 100 priests for 1,250,000 people. The political danger is not in the Communist

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May Be

Decision Egyptian

By U CAIRO, Egy heards Hotel, place of foreig was wrecked a Jan, 26, may Kgyptian gove RRenson, the ho " foday. Mr, Renson, ia director of tels Go, sald: “Our greates ‘build the famo: - {tel,* he said. * for 101 years a be going 101 ye Mr. Renson ¢ cision cowdd b ‘ompany knew Egyptian gover and his associs ibout it spon Maher Pasha, % Would Cos He said ft ° estimate the hotel by rioter would-be “aroun sterling ($2.8 pbuilding will e« he said. Mr. Renson s sociates would Maher that $ ‘“Jucrative forei ner,” since tho ers visiting Eg

, to find. As for the money, make the criminal

. By Frederick C. Othman Bait Fails to Lure Phantom of Pentagon

-In getting out such a catalog

of the (American) Electric Bond & Share Corp. Party membership of a few hundreds, but among hotel. il iP He says he favors fair compensation. ~ “innocents” or fellow-travelers in the strong : . Sau : i It is not practicable to nationalize the exten- So-called Liberal Party. Some of its leaders . De rebul sive United Fruit properties but the government and editors take the straight Stalinist line res Ste more nt should get constantly larger financial returns garding “United Statés imperialism” and Amer “i SpheaTas: 0 from the company, he says. He is somewhat ican capital. utm

characteristics famous to trave of the world.” The Pot Boi PORTLAND, ~While answesl vesterday a fir a truck and a fi into a big truck backed into a bus-—but the fi It turned out to boiled-over coff

shaky on the subject of sanctity of contracts and treaties. He recognizes Costa Rica's need of American capital-—but on his terms.

If Stalin continues to strengthen his hold on neighboring Guatemala, it probably will not be long before the danger flares up in Honduras,

HOOSIER FORUM—‘Murder’

"I do not agree with a word that you say, but will defend to the death your right to say mn"

EE Err ERNE NEO Tra ra N NNR E INNO ENR RR ERNE NEO NEOs aN RRaEaRy

MR.- EDITOR! fl ‘Threat to Freedom’ # I read every day your accounts of “Murder MR. EDITOR:

on the Highways.” I have come close enough Now i ot time 5p the Aue a i er. As the Safet OW 1s a go: me for e American people i Wysel! to kuow hat it 1s Sud Indi Fie to beware of sugar coating. UMT, no matter Board is always saying at the Indiana ,, how it is dressed up, is still the beginning of and Jefferson Proving: Grounds, accidents don’t permanent compulsory military conscription. happen, they are caused. Woodrow Wilson said that peacetime conAccidents on the highways don’t just hap- scription is “the root-evil of Prussianism.” For > ible. Oft of course 175 years America has resisted successfully pen, someone is responsible, Often, ' efforts to militarize our country on this Pruse both are to blame, excessive speed, idiotic care- sian pattern. we lessness. I sort of feel that you fail to stress

It would be an awful irony if after hundreds this fact enough that in every accident it is of thousands of American boys had given their someone’s violation of law, of the rights of oth-

lives to prevent the spread of this vicious sys cy, other words, a crim- tem, we should bring to the Pentagon one of gg Som deta Hitler's evil staff officers and napon to set A few days ago I wrote to Gov. Schricker up the same evil system here that has destroyed and asked him if he couldn't, as our Chief Ex- human freedom in Germany, Russia and many ecutive, put speed limits on our highways. In other countries of Europe. reply he said: The churches, the farm organizations, edu“I am pleased to acknowledge receipt of cational organizations, and organized labor your letter ... and to say I am in full sympathy

have condemned this un-American plan. Fer with your views. concerning the desperate need

once and for all, the American people should let of speed regulations on our highways. their opposition to this clever scheme be felt. + © 9S

Whether started on a voluntary basis or sugar { coated on any other basis such as standby “I RECOMMENDED such a measure to the legislation it still would be a step away from General Assembly but unfortunately it was not freedom. The present draft will run for three enacted into law. I propose to make a similar more years, Now is the time for people who recommendation to the. next assembly before love freedom to let their Congressmen know going out of office.” how they feel about this threat to our American If the legislature must pass this bill, perhaps way of life, : the only hope is to have public opinion aroused to the dire need of it. People are so smug these days that they can’t see the need of militant action unless they have a gun in their backs. I have seen In your paper, the statement that it is speed. Who is running this state anyway? Have all the people, including law makers and law officers turned it over to the speed devils? Why don’t you newspapers all get together and stir up the people for speed laws and jail and loss of licenses for all violators who can be caught. That would take more police and more money; I'll grant the police are hard

~E. Paul Weaver, Mexico

‘Wives Overseas’ MR. EDITOR:

I want to compliment Jim Lucas on the article, “What Do We Do With Our Women and Kids Overseas if War Comes?” I have always considered it unfair for officers to be able to take their wives and children with them when they go over while the enlisted man has to kiss his wife and kids good-bye and not see them for two or three years. When it comes down to the actual fighting and dying I am sure statistics will show that the wives of enlisted men are more often the widows. The officer's wife often sees her husband a lot before he goes into battle. But what of the / poor enlisted man’s wife? Aren't the people of this country forgetting the ones who do the dirty work and get less pay for it?

—A Wife of an Enlisted Man, City

What Others Say—

PUT YOUR toy departments back in step withthe religious significarice of Christmas and with the Kefauver Crime Committee.—Mrs, ID, Leigh Colvin, WOTU head, criticizing merchants

for selling toy guns and outlaw costumes for children as Yuletide gifts.

IT I8 SAID that vigilance is the price of libe erty. It might be added that the seat of liberty must be kept near enough home to keep your eye on it.—Herbert Hoover, former President.

NO generation of Americans has talked so much about freedom .as the present one and

none has shown so great a readiness to aban« don it.—Ernest O. Melby.

More Room other trave refreshment

drivers pay that. ~Millard M. Ramsey, Madison

‘Taxes and Education’

MR. EDITOR:

I notice that there is a gripe about housewives not getting tax exemption on gross income -tax . . . also the ex-GIs bécause they must help pay for their own bonus and that of their buddies. Isn’t that just too bad? You could pass a tax on unmarried people like Hitler and Mussolini did, seeing as how they don’t pay enough now. My dad and-I worked-like-beavers to school me. I didn’t get my books furnished, a bottle of milk a day, nor my lunch at less than cost. I walked to school , . . more than a mile, four times a day, and if I were too ill to walk, I could ride the streetcar, full fare, not a nickel, I paid for my education, right on the line, and I get mighty tired of paying more and more for the so-called education of other people’s kids. Housewives, and ex-GIs may be griped . . . 50 are a lot of others not in those groups. When we stop the sundry handouts, taxes won't be so high. ' —F. M., City.

Matchless Pr your Pullm; room-on-wh

Everybody, Congressman as well as admiral, agrees that such a master list would keep the military purchasing agents from bidding - against each other and probably would save us taxpayers a couple of billion dollars (which is not exactly hay) a year. So there was the poor old admiral being snarled at by an assortment of lawgivers and meekly saying to everyone, “Yes, sir.” One of his problems on the Munitions Board

“Name some things that the civilian government uses and the military doesn’t,” said Rep. Hebert. The admiral ~thought and he thought, No luck. “Out of 500,000 different things,” insisted Rep. H., “you ought to be able to name one, Just one.” Adm. Ring couldn't, Everything that came to mind, from bobby pins to gadroon-bordered finger bowls of sterling silver, had a military use as well as a civilian. “Maybe I can help out the

Department on Indian reser vations. He sald he did not _believe the- military ever ordered wampum for itself.” The questioning turned then to an assortment of decisions at the Pentagon con purchase-order consolidations, The admiral’s testimony sounded complicated. Usually when he was pinned down as to who decided what, he had

to ascribe responsibility to a number of men, 3

was the fact that the Defense admiral,” offered Rep. Jack adat's the trouble” ex.’ Arrive, Woos Department used about, four Anderson (R. Cal) “I was bloged ope Tot "We've * Enjoy trave milion different a articles. Some talking to another admiral the {0 t BP erpaiye Phas thats sl ge vernment other and he said wam- > , ig Wa Iso used. int ihe we by the Interior WhO:makes the decisions over _ (Fine coache

there. We intend to find him, . too, if these proceedings take All Year» : e questioning led the ad. miral through discussions of"

Reservatic

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I HAVE a valentine for you . . , that never - will grow old . .-. a gift that far exceeds the

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