davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1936-01-22
WEDNESDAY. JANUARY %. 1886.
PAYING FOR THE BONUS

DY its pel-mell vote for everything the veterans
~ lobby demanded, Congress demonstrated just
how useless it is to waste more time arguing the
merits of the bonus
Congress even went so far as to write into the
language Of the bill elaborate "whereases" to the
effect that all of the veterans organizations wanted
the measure passed: Therefore be it enacted :"
President Roosevelt probably will veto it. He
could hardly do otherwise, in view of what he said
on the subject last year-all Of which is applicable
this year. But that also is unimportant
For it will become law. whether he vetoes it or
not, for just the reason of political pressure
that the original bonus measure became law over
President Coolidge's veto and the bonus loan was
authorized over President Hoovers veto.
So the important issue becomes not whether
the bonus bonds should have been voted, but when
and how to pay the bill.
The bonus adds two billion dollars to the red ink
column of the current years already unbalanced
budget bringing the total years deficit to than
five billions. This vast increase budgeted ex
penditures, together with several hundred millions
decrease in budgeted receipts by reason of the Su
preme Courts invalidation of AAA processing taxes,
puts up to Congress problem which it i'll afford
to postpone election year or not
1t is never good craftsmanship, though sometimes
1t considered smart politics. to pay out such bene
fits as the bonus crop checks to special classes
of voters, and pass the bill to future generations
rather than levy against constituents alive and
voting
We believe that this is one of those times when
1t not even smart politics to delay With the public
growing increasingly conscious of the dangers and
burdens of mounting public debt, congressman who
seek to postpone the reckoning will deserve-and may
get-repudiation at the polls.
1t is not question of whether these repeated
deficits are to be taken out of the hides of the tax
payers, but of when and how
We think the taxes should be levied now Future
generations will have their own wars and their own
depressions to pay for.
And we believe, the taxes should be direct, and in
proportion to ability pay rather than hidden sales
levies which penalize the poor
The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1936-01-22

the inside the investigation may well be worth
than Is cents. More than the s12500o the commit
tee has already spent. More than the estimated
$4,000 additional that is needed to complete the in
vestigaton
And as much who need enlightenment re-
greet the tactlessness of the committee chairman,
which sdetracked the investigation into channels of
controversy We should like to have that picture
pleted-to see as clearly possible by what combi-
nation of circumstance we drifted into that war
We know the general history, but we need the de-
tails of how We built up false prosperity on war
trade how lent money to sustain that false pros
perity how our hearts followed our purses into the
carnage, how permitting Americans to trade and
travel in war zones reaped whirwind of hysteria
when belligerents torpedoes sank those lives and
goods, and how the loss of lives and money and eco
nomic equilibrium the price we had to pay for
that hysteria.
We need to know because we need to erect safe
guards against repetition of similarly preventable
combination of circumstances.
The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1936-01-22
THE FARMERS WIFE

THE other day Chairman A. W. Robertson of
Westinghouse spoke at the golden jubilee of his
company. He spoke about his mother.
"She cleaned her floors with broom he recalled
She pumped water from well and carried it into
the kitchen. She had bathroom no refrigerator.
Her fuel wood. Hot water luxury" Now in
that house in upstate New York electricity does
all that
Of the many events occurring in half century of
electricity three are particularly significant.
One was identification of the first railroad, TIN
New York, New Haven & Hartford; another the
first radio broadcast in Pittsburgh the third be-
lieve, when the government decided to aid "co-
ops and private companies in the identification of
rural homes.
In this program the Rural Identification Admin
stration reports substantial progress. REA Ad-
minisrator Morris L. Cooke has just announced that
900 farms electrified in 1885, compared with
10000 in 1884. This year REA expects so per cent
increase in rural line extensions, with $4,000 new
rural and small-town customers Today, however
only 827 900 farms out Of the total 100000 are
equipped with central station electric service.
Much of last years rural identification was ac-
complished by private power companies without the
aid of the REA But fear of competition financed by
REA was no small stimulus
The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1936-01-22
WORTH MORE THAN TWO BITS

THE findings of the Senate Munitions Commit
l. tee Senator Carter Glass said in burst of anger
ARE not worth Is cents"
Perhaps not-not to Carter Glass. The investi-
CATION doubtless has not revealed thing which the
Senator didn't already know about how and why we
got into the World War. He lived through that
period. He was part of it. As leader in Congress
through the war, he saw what happened there AS
Secretary of Treasury beginning right after the
war, he saw what happened there. Carter Glass has
a good memory and sound judgment There is not
the slightest chance that he will ever be stampeded
into another war by the same circumstances which
stampeded us into the last one. So it may well be
true that the committees findings not worth IS
cents to Carter Glass.
But to those Of US who not mature citizens at
the time. and who did not witness that folly from
The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1936-01-22
FROM THE RECORD
ID REPRESENTATIVE EATON Or, N. -, disc

% REPRESENTATIVE EATON (R.. N j., discussing
the budget: For those of us who, like myself
may not be mathematicians, simple and more con-
crete illustration will serve. A lad in school was
set sum in arithmetic by his teacher: "a cat
fell into we'll She crawled out foot every day
and fell back two feet every night. How long would
it take her to get out?" Johnny figured for while.
He covered his slate and one borrowed from
his seat mate. The teacher, watching his efforts,
asked. How are you getting on9" Johnny answered.
Teacher. please don't bother me, just give me one
more clean slate and another kaf hour and I'll land
that cat in hadesn
The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1936-01-22
EDWARD VIII

TWO pictures: The first on board H M S Re-
u pulse British cruiser carrying the Prince of
Wales to South America to act as "Britain's Royal
Drummer The warship is crossing the equator The
traditional hazng is in full swing. King Neptune is
making "shellbacks" out of the minnows who never
before had crossed the line"
Wales is hailed before Neptune COB in make
up-flowing hair whiskers, trident and ALL AS Wales
approaches the throne, Neptune showed forward his
hdeously ugly daughter common sailor
dressed in outlandish garb.
Neptune (to the Prince:
LAS you've no princess,
Don't you think you oughter
Take home as bride this gal of the sea,
My daughter?'
Wales:
Nov sire, thanks for your suggestion
About your beautiful princess.
But may ask you question:
Where the hell did she get that dress?
But alas, I'm forced to spurn her.
Though your offer makes me proud;
Yes my King must return her
Pets board not allowed"
Here was Britans human Prince at his best
playing well his part in creating warm spot in the
hearts of regular folk throughout the empire.
TINE second scene is few months later The
Prince is touring the soul-sckening black spots"
of England-the coal districts. Some 100000 miners
and their families in all more than million people,
are on the verge of hunger while the
tive London press doesn't any too concerned
about it,
With grave face the Prince visits mine after mine
and hovel after howell his face smudged with CRIME
What CHASTITY mess it all is" he exclaims, as he
among his ragged pallid subjects 1T makes
me positively sick. What's the cause of all this?"
he blunty asks miner
Bad management" comes the just as blunt reply
This" the Prince says grimly, cant go on It's
q blot on England"
And it didn't go on: 1t began to be remeded
WE recall these scenes because they seem to us
w to present two very significant phases of the
life of the empires new monarch.
AT Al, he knows life have few rulers of Britain
When responsibility rested other shoulders, he
lived, far as he could, the normal life of aver
age subject No clustered padded existence was his
But when he to face the real job which one day
was to be his he went about it with thoroughness
sincerity and comprehension which would have been
impossible had he not played with the same zest
We predict for him useful reign.
The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1936-01-22
SUGGESTS POPULATION
FOLLOW EXPORTS

By II. L. Seeger
Here is another farm relief plan.
Since the Supreme Court has de-
MED the power of Congress to con-
troll the price of agricultural prod
ucts, through crop reduction and
benefit payments, within the ma
tional borders, it seems necessary to
look beyond our borders for So
luton.
If the As million people now liv-
ing on subsistence rations were per-
mitted to eat three square meals a
day, we would not have surplus of
farm products, but a serious short
age.
We have had the notion that the
most important thing in our econ
omy is to make price the center of
production instead of service.
Raising the prices through crop
reduction did not add even one
square meal to the diet of the As
million, dependent upon the liz
million unemployed persons. The
solution for farm surplus is greater
GO1lou11lpo1Oll.
Horses have been displaced on the
farm as consumers of grains by
tractors and trucks dependent upon
oil wells.
They will not again become pros
poets for the surplus.
Our whole economy should be
based on human service. How can
we get these As million people to
change their diet from one of ex-
IRENE underconsumption to an ade-
quate consumption basis? If we ex-
port the so-called surplus to realms
beyond the sea, and pay bounties to
get rid of it, it must be evident that
these products will not go into
American underfed stomachs.
But if that is the only power Con-
gresS now has to control, farm econ
omy, it should also have the power
to arrange for the As million to go
where the so-called surplus is to go.
That foreign location should be
nearest to the point of surplus, be
it Canada or Mexico.
A treaty should be negotiated with
Canada and with Mexico, to permit
the emigration of those now living
on the subsistence levels, to these
countries, as the wards of the Fed
eral government, much like we treat
the. Indians from whom we took the
farm land. Except that foreign
The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1936-01-22
TODAY'S SCIENCE
i. BY DAVID DIETZ :

1T is good news that DR.. William
n j. Humphreys is to maintain
connection, in an advisory capacity,
with the United States Weather
Bureau. Dr. Humphreys retired
from his post of meteorological
physicist in the bureau Dec. 81,
1895, after 80 years of active service.
Under a special arrangement DR..
Humphreys, who plans to devote his
time to research and writing, will
study technical problems referred to
him by the bureau.
Dr. Humphreys is well known in
the world of science. His col
leagues know him as the author of
the standard textbook on the physics
of the air. They know also that the
present excellence of the United
States Weather Bureau is due in no
small part to his researches and
counsel
He has likewise been active in the
affairs of the scientific world IN
general. serving at one time as presi-
dent of the American Geophysical
Union, and eXerting profound in
fluence upon the direction of re-
search in meteorological and al
lied problems.
For the last four years he has
edited the Monthly Weather Re-
view, the only journal of its kind in
the nation.
Many IF his researches had to do
with the stratosphere, and he was
one of the pioneer students in this
field
There we're many statesmen and
politicians in Washington whose
names broke into print more fire.
quently in the last 80 years than did
that of DR.. Humphreys.
And among them were many
whose names already have been for
gotten. Meanwhile, the advances
in meteorology which DR.. Hum
phreys made continue to serve the
nation and form a foundation for
further advances.
1t is for such loyal servants as
DR.. Humphreys that the nation
should be most grateful.
The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1936-01-22

of the cyclonic type. Those swirling
storm centers move relatively slow
across the sea and land, sometimes
at no greater speed than eight or
ten miles an hour, but they suck air
toward them from all sides at ter
rife speeds, up to 100 miles or more
an hour.
O-What is joint resolution of
a legislative body?
Att is a form of expressing the
legislative will which has the effect
of law, but which does not require
the approval of the President to
make it effective. 1t is generally
employed for temporary, local, or
private matters in which Congress
wishes to act. Some state Constl-
buttons prohibit the enactment Of
laws, except by bill. and where such
restrictions exist, the joint resoiu-
ton may not be employed for pur-
poses of general legislation.
Q-What parts of South America
are UNEMPLOYED?
A-The chief uneXplored regions
are in central and northern Bra
zil, the far reaches of the Amazon,
northwest Brazil, and the Selvas
region; Venezuela and the source
of the Orinoco; northwest Bolivia,
Elbeni, Chaco; and in southern
Colombia. There are routes and
trails across some of these areas,
but the work of exploration has
only begun.
Q-Who wrote, THE Cricket on
the Hearth?
Alt is . Christmas story by
Charles Dickens.
The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1936-01-22
A WOMAN'S VIEWPOINT
BY Mrs. Walter Ferguson

by MIS- waiter ferguson
A KIND old lady and lifelong friend wants to
n know why have not written my opinion of the
Townsend Old-Age Pension Plan.
On that score feel virtuous. I have written
nothing because I know nothing. The hundreds of
printed charts letters editorials leave me ignorant
on the subject.
do know something, however, about the kind
lady who sent the inquiry Between IS and 10 years
old, she has been busy, reasonably happy person
all her days. I convinced that neither she nor
her husband would be content to be idle for the
mainder of their lives
If it were possible then to collect enough money
to pay each man and woman past so couple of
hundred a month, would the Townsend Plan allevi-
ate the discomfort of age, since it particularly de-
mands that benefactors give up all gainful work?
On this point alone, the scheme is fantastic Busy
people can't suddenly working because some
money has been flung in their laps. Human nature
can't be changed overnight
All thinking citizens want security for those who
old and sick But to build social plan in which
millions must endure enforced idleness is building
for misery instead of happiness
Work is the boon of the old They have lived
through the excitement of childhood, the romance
of adolescence, the dreams of youth and the reali-
ties of middle age After that is there anything
cept occupation for hands brain left them? Any
thing which actually satisfies, mean.
Most of us have been taught that Heaven will be
an eternity of loafing. Unless we are completely
changed, we know that would be hell instead to all
of U.S. Overtred, underfed, scared individuals think
longngly of rest and continued ease. But two or
three days in bed alter the viewpoint entirely
Spending money is not great satisfaction for
old people; being occupied is And in these days. at
least persons of so able to do their very finest
work.
Sometimes I wonder If half the enthusiasm for
the Townsend Plan is not due to the fact that it is
now giving many old people something to
work at
The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1936-01-22

will increase purchasing power. 1t
will do just the opposite, for it
simply robs Peter to pay Paul. 1t
takes away from Peter exactly the
same purchasing power it gives to
Paul.
In order to pay Mrs. Smith an
old-age pension of 5000 a month.
it deducts exactly that same num-
Der of dollars from the purchasing
power of Mrs. Green, Mrs. Brown
and Mrs. Jones.
In other words, to increase the
purchasing power of those over go,
it must first take away (by govern
ment taXation) exactly the same
number of dollars from those who
do not receive pensions.
Furthermore, the placing of 2
per cent tax on every transaction,
from raw material to the finished
product of any commodity, would
cause terrific rise in prices.
Just stop and think of the num-
Der of transactions involved in any
commodity-an overcoat, an auto
mobile, or even loaf of bread, and
you will realize the staggering
heights to which all these COM
pounded 2 per cent taxes, piled On
top of each other, will raise prices
to the final consumer.
The final consumer, having no
one to pass the tax on to, pays the
entire bill. And that final consum-
er is each one of us.
Therefore, the Townsend plan
would not only fail to increase pur-
chasing power, but the resulting
high prices would make it impos-
sible for people to purchase the
necessaries of life, which they are
able to buy today. Hence, real pur-
chasing power would be very sub
stantially decreased.
The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1936-01-22
New Low in Craftsmanship
Marion Und.) Chronicle1


Members of the United States
Senate, few visitors and the press
gallery heard Senator Sherman R..
Minton, Junior Indiana Senator,
make an attack on the United
States Supreme Court the other day.
In his address he characterized
the Supreme Court decision outlaw
ing the AAA as "the most highly
favored political opinion to come
from that court since the bred
Scott decision" One of the younger
members of the Senate, Minton
placed himself definitely in the
ranks of the New Dealers and brain
trusters by his criticism of the court
decision.
Older members of Congress, In
Guiding many Democrats, were not
surprised at the courts ruling, and
privately. many of these members
had predicted the act would be de-
clared unconstitutional. This atti-
tude on the part of some of his
older colleagues did not deter the
Junior Indiana Senator and the
newest New Dealer from making
his attack from the safety of the
Senate floor.
His speech was interpreted in
many quarters as a bid for appoint
ment to the Circuit Court of APP
peals. 1t was not masterpiece of
oratory and fortunately not many
newspapers saw fit to give it much
space on the theory. perhaps, that
Indiana craftsmanship has reached
a new low and nothing is to be
gained by Haunting it before sheir
readers.
The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1936-01-22
POINTS TO HOLES IN
TOWNSEND PLAN

By Fred 6. Clark, National Commander
the Crusaders, New York City.
Regardless of all arguments
against the Townsend plan for old
age pensions, hitting it from diff
ferent angles, the successful ex-
plosion of this whole Utopian theory
boils down to the exposing of the
fallacies of the two principal con-
tentions of Dr. Townsend.
No. ! is that "a billion dollars
(which Townsend acknowledges will
be required to support the Townsend
plan) can be extracted from the
people of the United States, without
putting any noticeable burden on
them. He reasons that by placing a
2 per cent tax on all transactions,
he can raise the required amount.
1t would not be simply per
cent extra burden on the taxpayer
it would be Is per cent of the
total national income of 1929 of
30 billion dollars, and if business
were not stimulated up to the 1929
level, but remained at the level of
1884, it would take so per cent of
the total national income of 48
billion dollars. (This on top of our
present staggering tax load.)
All wages and salaries have
always been figured in the national
income. What difference would
there be between government
check for 5000 paid to a person
over go years old, and a govern
ment check for 5000 paid to a gov
eminent employe, as far as income
and transactions are considered?
Answer this question fairly and you
have exposed the fallacy of conten-
ton No. l.
Contention No 2: DR.. Townsend
claims that his plan in operation
The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1936-01-22

loans should be arranged to permit
the erection of model foreign COM
munities with the proper new hous-
ing according to modern standards.
These loans would be better than
the last big loans we made to for
eign countries for big fireworks and
wrecking of homes. Since we can
not find the export market for farm
products and manufactured goods,
to people now in foreign countries,
we could ship them our own popula-
ton to consume these products and
also to permit the export of capital
for their use.
These countries may even get
some use out of this increased pop
ulation. They may be able to find
way to employ them to create new
schools, homes, highways, bridges,
utilities, factories and transport ia
cilitieS.
The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1936-01-22
OTHER OPINION
On Living Standards

from the speech by Aubrey williams,
assistant relief administrator, at Buffalo,
Jan. 1871
I think I can be as lusty in my
praise of America and the American
form of government as any profess
sional patriot who ever waved a
flag or damned Communist, but
can not bind myself to the abuses
which have arisen about us. I can
not condone the inequalities, the in
justices or the mass social crimes
which have been perpetrated under
the guise of American freedom and
liberty. I get small consolation in
counting the digits of our national
wealth or hearing described our ce-
lestial standards of living when
know that these blessings have
clogged up at the top of the social
structure.