davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1931-03-24
No More Bloody Kansas

Governor Harry H. Woodring Of Kansas deserves
the praise of humanitarians and scientific crminol-
ogists He has refused to be stampeded by the hys-
tercal demand for revival Of capital punishn 7nt
The severe punishment psychoss which mas tri-
unphed in so many states found him impregnable He
vetoed the bills recently passed ordering electrocution
as the maximum punishment for frst-degree murder
and robbery with fire arms.
The Governor took the sensible view that Ger
tainty of punishment was more effective than theo-
retca severity Of punishment in depressing crime 1T
is automatic he said that it is not the severity but
the certainty Of punishment that deters the Grim
inal"
For this the Governor could cite with propriety the
example of England. He also could bring IN as evil
dence Warden Lawes' book, which shows clearly
enough that the ant-captal punishment states have
as good record in depressing murder the capital
punishment states Dr. Calvert, the eminent British
authority upholds the same view.
Governor Woodring could have gone even further
and proved himself scientist as well as sane hu-
manitarian. This he would have done If he had
stated that it is neither severe nor certain punishment
but certainty Of arrest, conviction and individual
lied treatment, which ultimately can repel crime.
The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1931-03-24
Another Drv Bogy Crumbles


In the old days when physiology was the hand
maiden Of Puritan morality Of the horrors used
to frghten pupils from the peris Of the cup the
assurance that if one drank heavily and begat chill
dren, the said offspring would be feeble minded phys
tcal nonstrostities, or moral degenerates.
Karl Pearson, eminent British eugenicist investi-
gated many family records to ascertain the truth Of
this assertion His results were highly negative Chill
dren Of nebriates not themselves defective, seemed
to show no physical or mental defects, however de-
plorable their rearing by addict parents.
But human beings can not be experimental on
freely or rapidly with respect to problems Of heredity.
SO Professor Stockard carried on experiments with
guinea pigs in the United States He reported that
guinea pigs which consumed alcohol daily produced
weak and defective offspring and that these defective
traits we're transmissibe in perpetuity.
Such conclusions we're of the utmost Importance
for human heredity so British eugeniciss began to
carry on similar experiments. After pj2s year. hey
now have reported The results nOs reassu1ng to
the w c. T. u They wfscily fail to bear our lessor
Stockards claims AS the report expresses it: "On
nc essential point has it been possible to find any
confirmation Of Professor Stockards results"
The core Of the British findings is that though
parents we'll preserved in alcohol may be grossly unfit
to take care of children once born they may produce
healthy and normal offspring. In short, the obiec-
tons to parentage on the part Of chronic alcoholics is
sociological rather than biological.
The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1931-03-24
High Cost of Illiteracy

nliteracys toll in crime and other social evils is
all too well counted AS machines increase leisure
nteracy will become more and more costly social
burden Few. however, realize the direct burden of
tLiteracy on business.
Alfred K. Stern, director of the Julius Rosenwald
fund says it is time business is shaking this burden
from its shoulders
The nliterate has neither money to buy manu-
featured goods nor the means OF learning about them
through the ordinary channels Of advertising"
Some s2OOO0OOOOO is spent annually in advertis-
ing in the United States. This $40 per capita
out Of $3.50 per capita income. nliterates are
nomic deadwood. Were each of the estimated
100000 American rrterates able to read, the up
ward pull of advertising would begin operating to
raise each to a buying unit
The national advisory committee on nliteracy is
doing one Of the nations most important jobs. The
new census it is said will reveal considerable reduc-
ton in 1literacy.
So long as there are men and women unable to
read and write, We can not. however. call ours a
successful civilization.
The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1931-03-24
But Don't Go Near the Wafer


Isn't President Hoover going too far when he or
ders all American officials with special passports to
stay out Of Russia? Does he not know that this in
cludes senators and representatives who have found
il necessary to go to Russia for rst-hand information
just because the administration refuses to permit con-
suls and ambassador to represent the United States
there?
Congress has been very patient with the Presidents
who have blocked diplomatic recognition since 1917
But when administration violates the rights of SEN
ators and representatives. the result is apt to be
mighty howl
Assuming-as the President seems to assume-that
brief visit and study of Russia might poison and
communize our senator's have they not the inalien-
able right to travel where and when they please and
on any kind Of passport which their official position
merits?
Our guess is that the senators and representatives
can and will take care Of themselves in this argument
Our sympathy goes rather to poor Mr.. stimson. AS
secretary Of state he decided that he could not con-
duct foreign policy nteligently without getting some
facts about Russia.
He appointed a special assistant and was about IN
get the facts, when the White House decided that M
American official hereafter could visit Russia That
seems to throw the state department back where it has
been for the last thirteen years Of ignorance and de-
pendence upon second third hand information about
Russia
So the state department will go swimming but If
won't go near the water.
The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1931-03-24
Not Enough Logic

THE plan Of farm relief repre-
L sented by this unsuccessful
f1ier in wheat appears to have orig
mated in the idea that SURPRISES
were more imaginary than real,
that they we're manufactured large
ly by spectators to scare producers
and depress prices at the end of
each season, and that they had a
habit Of disappearing as soon as
spectators came into possession Of
the crop.
Then, too, there was the idea
that if even a majority of people
throughout the civilized world had
what they needed, there would not
be a surplus of wheat, or much Of
anything else, and having bought
the surplus, the government would
be able to find means to step up
competition.
A good deal Of logic in both ideas,
but not quite enough.
Owing to a change Of conditions
which increased production, espe-
cially in Russia and Argentina, the
surplus of American wheat has be-
come a reality. Owing to a change
OF conditions which made it impos-
slble for millions Of people to buy
what they needed, especially in
China, the market for wheat has
been reduced.
The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1931-03-24
><$ZZTf%SS
47doA1F lS1TF9e.I
ANNIVER$ARYI
H4sE91l4
JOHN POWELL'S BIRTH
March "a

I'm March "a, 1894, John w.
" Powell, an American soldier,
explorer, geologist and anthropolo-
gist, was born at Mt. Morris, ". Y.
At Oberlin college, Oberlin, O.,
which he attended for but year
he first discovered his bent toward
natural science. When the Civil
war broke out, he enlisted at once
as a. private. He rose to the rank
of major. He lost his right arm in
the battle Of Shiloh.
At the close Of the war he be-
came professor Of geology at Illinois
Wesleyan university and two years
later, in 1867, made his first journey
Of exploration to the Colorado
Rockies.
In 1869, he made a voyage Of
great danger and hardship through
the grand canyon Of the Colorado
river, the valuable results OF which
brought him into scientific promi-
nence. Congress voted him funds
to continue exploration.
A few years later he made a Sec
ond voyage down the Colorado
river, surveying an area of 100000
square miles.
Largely upon his recommendation
congress established, in 1879, the
United States geological survey, Of
which he was director from 1881
until 1894. He died In 1902.
The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1931-03-24
DAILY HEALTH SERVICE
HEALTH SERVICE
Blindness Caused by Glaucoma

Of the fluid gets through, but not
all of it.
In this case the pressure increases
very gradually. The loss of sight
also takes place gradually.
An expert physician can look into
the eye by the use of the ophthal-
moscope and determine whether the
pressure has been sufficient to cause
a depression in the optic nerve
head.
He also can measure the pressure
in the eye by means Of an instru-
ment called the tononeter.
With the gradual development of
glaucona, the person can see in
front of him as well as he ever
could, but not so we'll on the sides.
AS the disease progresses, vision
in front also is gradually narrowed,
with a final loss of sight. The eX-
pert ophthalmologist is able to
measure the contractions of the
field of vision by the use of the ma
chine called the perimeter. Thus
the person affected can see, but it
is as though he were looking
through a rifle barrel.
In few simple, direct sentences,
the professor Of ophthalmology Of
the medical school of Harvard uni
The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1931-03-24
Proving Too Much

There was so much public protest when Senator
Herbert Of Rhode Island instead Of Senator Wagner
of New York became chairman Of the senate COM
mittee to study unemployment insurance. that an
official explanation made. Senator Glenn the
second Republican member of the committee. ex-
planned that Herbert was chosen because he was an
insurance expert.
That explanation did not answer the obvious fact
that custom and courtesy to the author OF the in
vestigation resolution, as well as Wagners superior
knowledge Of unemployment insurance should have
dictated his election as chairman.
But it did take away OF the sting in the
The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1931-03-24

versity describes the essential facts
in relationship to this disease.
"Glauconla if untreated," he says
'1eads to blindness. Glaucona rec
ognized late is exceedingly difficult
to control. Glaucoma recognized
early lends itself much more IA
vorably to treatment"
This disease may be treated by
the use Of drugs which lower the
pressure in the eye and contract
the pupil.
If seen early and treated corr ect-
ly, these drugs may enable the af-
fected person to avoid operation.
However. the condition can not be
controlled by the use Of glasses.
If drugs do not control it, the
establishment Of a new method of
drainage by surgery to keep the
pressure in the eye permanently low
is an approved method Of treat
ment.
The National Society for the pre-
vention of blindness has a pamph-
let on the subject which, it sells
for 20 cents.
Anyone who wants to know more
about glauconla should send for this
pamphlet to $40 Seventh avenue,
New York City.
The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1931-03-24
For Better Families

SANITY and line humanity distinguish the decision
OF the Federal Council of Churches of Christ -,
America to approve careful and restrained" birth
control Of married men and women.
For many years this matter has been befogged with
superstition, prudery and ignorance. The result has
been misery, unhappiness, broken health and unba1-
anced minds
1t never will be possible to estimate the tragedies
that could have been prevented the moral crises that
could have been averted the lives that could have
been saved, if we had had the courage to 1oot,
at this problem years ago as intelligent adults in
stead Of fearful primitives
The churches have done service to the morals
OF the nation as well as to its physical wel1beng NV
Their federal council decision Men and women who
are moral through fear and ignorance are not moral
only when knowledge is put in their possession to Use
Tor good or for evil are responsibility and conscio,
morality developed
1hese churches have done a distinct service also
10 Inc family and the home. Birth control can mako
parenthood more than an accident or a punishment
can insure children loving welcome into the world
the food and care necessary to health and the s+.r
IN lie physically, mentally and morally that is 81
essential 10 good manhood and womanhood.
IL Is only matter Of time until enlightened n,bIic
opinion will demand that government follow the 1eod
OF the churches and modify existing laws to make
nrth control knowledge available to ALL instead of TO
the few. ~
The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1931-03-24
NJ. E. Tracy

We Face the Necessity OF
Taking Steps to Increase
the Consumption of OR
Goods Abroad or Of Forcing
Curtdjted Production at
Home.
CNCINNATI, March 24.-The
~ federal farm board announces
that no government funds will be
available for purchase Of 1881 wheat.
Only those who expected the i'm
possible are surprised.
A surplus can't be removed by
the simple process Of having the
government buy it, though some
good-hearted politicians seem to
have thought it could be. The
government now is holding 200
million bushels of wheat from last
years crop which nobody seems to
want, except at prices that would
denoralize the market.
OF the S5OO0O0,OOO originally
allotted to it, the farm board already
has tied up $3O0,oO0,O0O in loans,
commitments, or purchases. With
such a vast amount of wheat on
its hands and such a limited amount
Of money with which to stabilize
other crops, the farm board viz
tually was compelled to adopt the
course it has.
The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1931-03-24
~ - IANDTC

HERES one thing about this depression that
= makes 1t the most remarkable in the history of
place to park. '--'4 ~
Henry Ford chinned himself six times the other
gay Gown IN Florida, according to the papers. but
tnls is nothing for any number OF senators have
peeA known 70 chm the senate for six days.
There's one thing about this Mahatma Gandhi
cialize his fame
he were willing to write testimonial for lust
one htue liver pill he could get enough to buy swans
for the pool and iron dogs for the lawn but he
doesn't seem to have any business judgment at all.
7. B. PRIEsILEY, the English author who is now
lecturing in this country and making fun of us,
appears to be doing wonderful business
There are enough Anglo-maniacs in the land to
make such mission as Priestley's highly profitable
We wish there were some way to ship them all to
England
The papers say that Admiral Byrds overcoat was
stolen from him in Jacksonville Fla but what is
mon who's been at the south pole doing with an
oYercoat in Jacksonville.
There seems to be concerted effort to publish
every instance OF world war soldiers blowing in his
money, but We'll venture the percentage isn't anv
higher than among other folks.
Most Of us have been working at it for the last
twelve years
D FADING OF Charley Chaplin's immense success
IN abroad suggests way for to lift our foreign
service to popularity never known before.
We have only to put our motion picture stars in
the diplomatic berths now occupied by politicians
We would not remove General Dawes from the
court OF st. James, because he has great museum
value, as much perhaps one can gain without be-
ing on the screen.
But we would remove Ambassador Edge now AT
Paris, ana put Douglass Fairbanks in his place
Then we would send Bull Montana or Tom Mix Ia
Berlin IN the place of Ambassador Sackett but ol1r
greatest stroke would be to send Joe Z. Brown tc
Rome in the place Of our present representative there
Joe is Just the man to do business with Mussolini
Their declarations are so much alike.
The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1931-03-24
IT SEEMS TO ME BY HR REg253

CPRING is here. Calvin Coolidge
~ has come out and, failing to see
any shadow, is remaining above
ground.
In a Geographic dispatch which
must have made the operator trem-
BILE with excitement, Mr.. Coolidge
writes:
"The sugar season is opening. 1t
is time to bring out the sap buckets
and the great pans. The drop
ping sap will make pleasant music
nlingling with the cry Of the bluejay
and the complaining Of the squir-
rels."
Cheer up, Cal. Every columnist
gets some mean letters sooner or
later.
The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1931-03-24
We Write a Book

n GORGE BRITT and I have
" written book. And in q
pleasant review in the Herald-Trfb
une, Lewis Gannett writes:
"Mr. Broun. quite without his
ususal excitement or perhaps it
is Mr.. Britt who dug out the facts
with such objectivity tells the
story of -Semitism in America. %
But what I want to tell now is
the story of collaboration. I don't
know that I can speak for all who
go down to the printing press in
pairs, but I imagine that probably
the same rule holds good in most
cases.
A collaboration represents the
combined effort Of a lazy man and
an assiduous worker. One does
most of the job, and the other
signs his name upon the frontiS-
piece.
Mr.. Gannett's perhaps" repre-
sents no idle guess. All can say
it that I warned George Britt in
advance. After all, I had basked
in collaboration before.
Several years ago T remarked
quite idly at a tea party that it
might be exciting if somebody
would write a life Of Anthony Com
stock, since it seemed to me that he
was the granddaddy Of all the
cenSors.
Fortunately (for mel there was
present at that party a young wom-
an Of capacity and determined
character. Miss Margaret Leech
spoke up and said: Eyes, that's a
good idea for a book. I'd like to
work with you on ii"
A collaboration begins with con-
ference. And so two days later We
conferred. I said, "Just now I'm
terribly busy, and so don't feel that
III be able to do much of the re-
search on this biography.
my idea is, if you are willing,
that you should go out and get all
the facts and bring them in, and
then we'll assemble them together
and III do the writing"
The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1931-03-24
Questions and
Answers

What is the difference between
a twenty-year endowment policy
and a twenty payment life insur-
ance policy?
An endowment policy combines
life insurance with a secure saw
ings investment. The amount of
the policy is payable to the insured,
if living, at the end Of a certain
term Of years, or to his beneficiary
at death during that period. A
twenty payment life is a limited
payment life policy, which is the
same as an ordinary life policy,
except that the total premiums. pay
able instead of being distributed
over the whole life, are limited to
a fixed period Of years, after which
the policy is paid in full, and the
face amount is payable at death.
How long must an alien i've in
the United States before lie can
apply for his second citizenship
papers?
At least five years continuous and
legal residence is necessary.
Which European countries have
presidents?
Austria, Czechoslovakia, Estonia,
Finland, France, Germany. Greece.
Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Portugal
and Switzerland.
Which is the fastest long distance
railroad train in the United States?
The Twentieth Century Limited
from New York to Chicago. It's
average speed is forty-eight miles
an hour,
The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1931-03-24
CoSmic Cloud

LIZ ISAAC NEWTON, theorizins
- IN day when the true nature
OF the spiral nebulae was unknown
specialized upon the evolution Of the
stars and said that it seemed to him
mat the. stars might have arisen
from a great cloud of gas.
His idea was that anv irregular
tues IN such a cloud would form
centers Of condensation around
winch more material would gather
ana that in time, the cloud woIIId
break up into stars.
IL Is thought likely by Jeans and
most other authorities that orr GUN
galaxy evolved in some such fashion
from a great globuIar nebula and
That a similar process accounts for
the formation Of stars in the arms
OF the spiral nebuIae.
But Jeans goes further and revives
NeWton's idea of a cosmic clo1d IN
account for the origin of the gIobu-
lar nebulae. He pictures the whole
universe beginning as a great cloud
OF uniform density stretched
throughout space.
such a cloud would be Of almost
unbelievable thinness. It would con
slst OF one atom every two or three
cubic yards. How thin such a cioud
would be can be visualized from the
TACT that there are millions upon
millions OF atoms in a cubic inch of
air. -'- -
Any disturbance in such would
result in the beginning Of condensa-
tlons. Once condensation had be-
gun, they would continue, according
to Jeans, until the whole cloud had
broken up into globular masses.
The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1931-03-24
Acts of Creation

EANS shows from calculations of
A" the rate Of atomic vibrations and
the strength of the gravitationaI
field of the atom, that such a cos
mic cloud would break I'D into
globes Of approximately the size
which observations show to be the
size OF the globular nebuIae.
or course, Jeans neither accounts
Tor the origin of the cosmic cloud
nor the original disturbance which
set the cloud to condensing into
globes. Those are the "acts Of Gre
alton" to which he refers.
There is a tendency among mod
ern cosmogonists to regard matter
as a form Of energy. They believe
that the energy of the stars and
the sun is released by the annihi
lation Of matter within those bodies
If we regard the electrons and
protons which compose the atoms as
concentrated bits of energy, then
the humiliation Of matter in the
stars is merely the conversion Of
energy from a more concentrated
to a less concentrated form.
Jeans says that if we regard cleo
irons and protons as concentrated
energy, we then can imagine the
cosmic cloud as having come into
existence through the loosing of en-
ergy Of extremely short WaveIength
into the universe. Such energy
would crystalline into electrons and
protons.
If we wish a picture of how this
energy came into existence, says
Jeans, we can think OF "the finger
Of God agitating the ether
Thus does Jeans, in an attempt
to fathom the beginnings of the
leads us back to a state
ment no different from that OF
Genesis.
From a study Of the energy con
tent Of the physical universe, Jeans
is led to the conclusion that the
universe can not be more than 200
900, 100000 years old.
The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1931-03-24
China Nav Be Kew

! may almost be taken for granted
L that President Hoover's reported
intention to take up the silver sit
uation on his return from the West
Indies was inspired by the wheat
situation.
The United States wheat has too
much Of both wheat and silver
while China has too little.
If we could arrange to loan China
silver with which to buy our wheat
we would be killing two birds with
one stone.
At the same time he would be
helping rehabilitate China, not only
by giving her financial support, but
by enabling millions Of her people
to get a square meal.