—- OMAHA G U I D F I_I No Man was ever ‘_ The eye of a Master will G to nous who was aat , do more work than his Ichorous." -—-;- |--- hand “ City, ana Nat’l Lite I March ot Events - _ Omaha, Nebraska, Saturday, July 22, 1933 Page 5 THE OMAHA GUIDE Published Every Saturday at 2418-20 Grant Street by THE OMAHA GUIDE PUBL. CO., Incorporated A11 Notts Copy mu>t be in our office not later than Monday at 5 p m .and ail Advertising Copy, or Paid Artieless not later than Wednesday at Noon. Entered rs Second das* mail matter. March 15. 1927 at the Post office at Omaha, Nebraska, under the act d Congress of March 3. 1879. ST'SCRIPTION RATES (Strictly in Advance) One Year* (2 90 Six Months (1.25 Three Months. . (1.00 TW poor? u for «*n«r»l UnrtoiH !»r U» ^wruka fiat EDITORIAL THE CONSUMER ALWAYS PAYS Our law-making bodies are be coming past masters in figuring out ways and means to dodge responsibility for in creasing taxes which the public has to pay. A legislative measure will be broad cast to the public as a tax reduction mea sure for the people, but pull aside the cur tain and see what the real truth general ly is. The net result of most tax reduct ion measures is a shifting of taxes from one class of voters to another, hiding tax es under a new name, or the collection of more taxes through splitting up the lev ies in various smaller assessments. The reason for constantly climbing net tax collections is obvious—thousands of new laws, a great percentage of which demand increased public payrolls and ex penditures. As an example of tax camouflag ing, take the Federal 3 per cent tax on electricity which w*as formerly added to the customer’s electric bill. This wras in line with special taxation such as the gasoline tax, the tax on bank checks, the Federal tax on automobiles, etc. Con gress, to make some kind of a tax re duction showing for electric consumers, has shifted the 3' i electric tax from the user to the company. In other words, the 3 per cent must come out of the scant earnings of the investor. This hides the tax from the gen eral public, although it will still continue . to pay the tax in one of three ways, namely: It must be deducted from the earnings of the millions of investors in the power industry, thereby reducing their previous income; or it will be re flected in increased rates to cover this tax; or it will prevent a reduction of rates which might otherwise have been secured. Switching this tax from the electric user to the security holder is on a par with switching the gasoline tax from the buyer of gasoline to the oil company. The politicians know that the electric company cannot add the 3 per cent tax to its bills unless it goes through the long process of securing a rate in crease from each of the regulatory com missions in the various states. They also know tha: no such regulatory price re strictions apply to other sales taxes, such as on gasoline, wrhere companies affected can add the tax immediately to the con sumer’s bill. This political process of dodging responsibility for tax increases is all part* of the breaking-dowm process that is try ing to discredit the investor and inflame the public against the individual who has earned and saved, and is trying to make a legitimate return on his capital — the stored-up labor of years of hard work. How much longer the people can be fooled with these tricks remains to be seen, but the longer their eyes remain closed, the heavier will be the bill they have to finally pay. Never forget that the taxpayers and the consumer ultimately foot every bill for every dollar that our lawmakers add to the cost of government! PROTECTING YOUR POCKETBOOK Here are some facts concerning in dustry that have recently appeared: Electric power output has made a number of consecutive weekly gains over t he same periods in 1932—and each gain was larger than the preceding one. Car-loadings, during the week end ing June 10, were 12.5 per cent greater than in the same week last year. For several months the number of business failures has been declining. rhe commodity and security price levels have been climbing steadily for a number of weeks, without recession. The late of clii b is tending to become steep er. This is what a few of the best in dexes say concerning industrial condi tions. It means that recovery is actually underway—that the unfavorable factors which have been uppermost for three years are being subdued by favorable factors—that the present era of low prices is doomed. At the moment, almost everything we buy can be found on the bargain table. But we can’t expect that table to be overcrowded much longer. The wise home-owner will appre ciate the significance of this. The chances are that his property needs improve ments, additions and alterations. He can get work done now for a great deal less than it is going to cost a year from now —or six months from now. And, at the same time, his money will be going into the pockets of workmen and the coffers of industries where it will be an influence in speeding recovery. He’ll be showing his faith in the maxim that “Investment and employment are cheaper than charity”— and he’ll be adding measurably to the value of his property without emptying his pocketbook. A START IS MADE The emergency railroad legislation has two distinct phases. One is to make possible further economies in railroad operation through the elimination of un necessary duplications of service and facilities. The other is to eliminate some of the inequalities that have developed through the origination and competition of other types of common carriers. During the past five or six years the rails have made great progress in promoting economy. They have been bar red from further progress by the law. Their inability to consolidate has result ed in widespread duplications of service —three ticket offices are now operating where one would do; several terminals, most of which could be eliminated by their joint use by several lines and so on. The railroads will be the first to welcome legislation which makes possible drastic cuts in operating costs. ' As to the other phase of the law, there will be a good deal of question as to whether it goes far enough. Subsidized waterway competition in certain import ant industrial areas is an economic scand al ; the busses and trucks ply the high ways with almost complete freedom from regulation. Until these transport agencies are placed under the jurisdiction of the Interstate Commerce Commission, the railroad problem will remain tense. However, a start has been made, and that is important. It will be watched with wide interest. The railroads are as great and as valuable an industry as we have. The economic life of the nation de pends, to a greater degree than is gen erally understood, on their recovery. MAKE THE SMALL TOWN SAFE The quality of a fire engine should not be determined by the territory it is to serve—a medium-sized community is not justified in buying less dependable equip ment than is bought, for example, by New York or Chicago. •«New York recently purchased a number of new engines which are capable of forcing water for fire fighting to the top of the 1200-ft. Empire State building. It is obviously true that a town of 25,000 or so people has no such difficult fire fighting problem as this to cope with. But —and here is the thing to consider—it is just as important to this town that its fires be quickly and efficiently ex tinguished as it is to Manhattan residents that New York’s great buildings be pro tected. It will have a smaller fire de- • partment — but its equipment should be of as good quality. It will have fewer firemen—but they should be as thorough ly trained. It is scarcely necessary to say that the New York engines are the standard makes. These products have their best sales talk in their histories. Their manu facturers have been building apparatus since the horse days. They have built fire engines and equipment and nothing else. In a thousand cities, large and small, and in rural areas, their products have earn ed an unexcelled reputation for depend ability, long life, true economy. The small town needs exactly as good quality an engine as does a metro polis. It will save money and give some thing else of great value—the knowledge that life and property is receiving the ultimate of protection. _ NEGRO VOTERS (From the World-Telegram) The Negroes are not free yet—not entirely, as the twentieth annual report of the National Association for the Ad vancement of Colored People shows. But they have been making better strides to ward the liberty which the Constitution decrees. The last important step resulted from the Supreme Court decision uphold ing the right of Negroes to vote in prim aries, a privilege long denied them in cer tain Southern States. But in many places in the last—their first—primary they were barred. Relatively few seem to have voted where the doors were freely open to them. In Dallas, Texas, Negroes were permitted to vote. Six voted at Beaumont. A few who tried to vote at Fort Worth were turned away. At Port Arthur two Negroes attempted to vote but were or dered away from the polls. The same was true in several other important cities. At Sherman sixteen Negroes voted. Hundreds of Negroes voted in North Carolina. In South Carolina they were barred by a grotesque rule provid ing that no one could qualify as a Demo cratic voter who had not voted for Wade Hampton as Governor in 1876 and voted the Democratic ticket continuously since. In Tennessee the State Primary Board refused to exclude Negroes. In Miami, Fla., 200 Negroes paid their poll taxes but did not. vote because of intimidation. The results of the first voting ap pear discouraging. But confirmation of the right is of extreme importance. The toward actual voting has been made. The rest wifi depend to some extent upon the determination of the Negroes them selves to exercise their suffrage. * * * SAVE THE CHILDREN Just a few days ago we read in a daily paper “Father kills two children because they were dirty, nasty, and hun gry. Mother goes ii? basement, pours gasoline on child, and sets fire to same and herself. Young wife shoots two child ren and self.” Above is just a few of the many in stances of this kind that we now read of in our daily papers. We hear young moth ers saying “no children for me.” Some times we hear young fathers saying to their wives, “If you bring that child into this world of misery, I’m gone.” Every Doctor in our large cities is requested from two to a dozen times a year to com mit murder by some young mother, and many times with the consent of the hus band, father, and mother. Pitiful indeed —no wonder Rev. R. R. Brown says, “if America is to be redeemed it must be re deemed through the salvation of the Sav iour. America should hang her head in shame, for it is America that is respon sible for the mothers wanting to commit murder and the father consenting for murder to be committed.” There is some thing radically wrong with the system of distribution of America’s wealth. God never made a mouth that he did not make bread for it. God never made a back that he did not make clothing for it. Today mills are closed for over-production. The Government is paying farmers to quit planting food products on the account of over-production. Nature has been kind to America in supplying every need and the wants of the human family. And yet, a condition exists that disturbs the mind of the youth of our country, that if it is per mitted to continue, civilization is bound to fall. % What is the remedy? In our opin ion the Government must take a firm hand in the affairs of distributing the es sential things of life. Capitalists must be educated out of their ignorance that they have a right to continually murder wom en and children through their method of unequal distribution of the things that America’s working people produce. The world seemingly has gone money mad at the expense of the lives of our children. What is America’s home without child ren? In fact, what is America without children? Can we have someone to pro mote a method that will save our child ren? ECONOMIC HIGHLIGHTS Happenings That Affect the Din ner Pails, Dividend Checks and Tax Bills of Every Individual. National and Inter national Problems Inseparable From Lo cal Welfare. # * * Here’s one for the taxpayer: The total of all appropriations made by the recent special session of Congress, includ ing those which are classified as “capital expenditures,” is in excess of $4,500,000, 000. When the appropriations of the final session of the 72nd Congress are added, the aggregate since December 5,1932, ex ceeds $6,000,000,000. The last session t brooks no competition as the most expen sive one since the war. One encouraging sign is that the extraordinary measures, while they ap propriate definite amounts, do not specify that they be entirely spent. In the $3,000, 000,000 public works bill, for example, it is doubtful if more than a third of it can be used within a year. By the end of that time it may not be necessary to use more. The old practice of politicians spending everything they can get hold of may not apply here as administration of this and other bills is supposed to be in the hands of persons who have few or no political obligations. Also encouraging is the outlook for tax revenues. For the first time since depression began the Governments inter nal revenue collections are exceeding those for the same period a year before. Main reasons for this are the beer and gasoline taxes, which have been roaring successes. These two taxes, with cigarette and income taxes, were responsible for 67 per cent of all internal revenue during May. Income tax collections, however, have gone down; decrease during the current fiscal year has been $296,000,000 in comparison to the last. This loss was more than offset by increases of revenue of $313,500,000 from the beer tax, togeth er with 25 other new taxes and five sets of higher rates on old taxes. More and higher taxes is the order of the day. Curiously enough, both the “com mon man” and the financier favor repeal of the capital gains and losses provision of the income tax law—but for definitely different reasons. Many more millions can be collected through correction of technicalities and loopholes in the law. Also to be considered is the possibility of hard liquor and wine taxes—the chances are that the eighteenth amendment will be only a memory within a year, and re venue from this source will be large. « * The World Economic Conference hasn’t collapsed, but it’s looking pretty tottery. It is, basically, an attempt to re vive iternationalism in a world which is now predominately nationalistic. Bones of contenton have appeared at every turn: Most important is the fight be tween France and the United States over dollar stabilization. France wants it, to save her franc from slipping off the gold standard. U. S. is against it; our internal recovery program is based principally on one kind or another of inflation, which is definitely opposed to gold standard prin ciples. The American delegation has lost caste, due to the fact that individual members have been making statements which often conflict. European observers wonder, and justly, why they don’t go in to more huddles among themselves. Se cretary Hull’s trade resolution, main fea ture of which is reduction of trade bar riers, met a cool response. Only re solutions on which any real progress have been made deal with matters of a minor nature. The possibility of political reper cussionsat home from the Conference is imminent. Secretary Hull is apparently not receiving the Presidential support anticipated; his assistant, Raymond Mol ey, has been stealing his thunder. Mr. Moley’s rise in politics is nothing short of amazing. As William Allen White wrote: The din he is causing in London sounds like “Moley, Moley, Moley, Lord God Al mighty.” The importance of his going to London is explained by the fact that he is an isolationist in policy, while Mr. Hull is an internationalist. ^ ^ During May, industrial production achieved the largest increase recorded by the Federal Reserve Board’s index in 14 years. Reports in early June show contin uance of the advance. Light industries, such as shoes and textiles, are moving to new highes. Heavy industries—steel, lum ber, automobiles, etc.—are participating to a lesser extent in the march. Employ ment and wage statistics grow more en couraging, and there has been no weak ening in the commodity price rise. Of importance to all businesses is National Industry Recovery Administra tor Johnson’s warning against efforts to increase prices without justification. There will be no price “wild-catting.” Ef fort will be given to raising the general price level gradually, through elimination of unfair competition, low wage scales and poor working conditions. Mr. John son also gave first intimation of what fair wages will mean: About 45 cents per hour, for a 32-hour week, for the lowest paid class. Dr. Lennox 4 On the Job June 2, 1933. Mr. Harry Knudsen Commissioner, Street Department City Hall Building, Omaha, Nebraska. Dear Mr. Knudsen: I am quite sure you are still heavily burdened and taxed trying to readjust your office and appoint employees who will be most profitable and bene ficial to our city and your depart ment. Knowing we are 5*4% of Omaha’s supporters financially as well as voters, I am sure you appre ciated this support that has been given and will manifest appreciation far same. From observation no representative of this group has been employed to water the streets in this district. The employee formerly holding this posi tion was an efficient, dependable and sober man, and if he has been taken off, we are asking that another of this body be given consideration. As a rule, you will find this group does not betray a trust and are not deceptive. Often they have been de ceived, used as a means to an end un til results are accomplished, and when seeking employment are turned away with nice alibis no one can ap preciate, or that will be of benefit to them in obtaining positions to which they are entitled. I realize there perhaps are any number of situations you have not considered due to pressing trans actions, but as little as it seems this means a great deal to these citizens who helped you accomplish the aim you were seeking, and who have ob served that a representative of our group is not on this wagon. Many of them have spoken about this situation, and I am hoping you do not misinter pret my meaning expressing the de sires of these voters. It is not that there is objection to the present driver; we feel we are en titled to this consideration we have had any number of years, and no more than fair that this representation be continued. Thanking you very much for your co-operation and support regarding same, I am Respectfully yours, Dr. G. B. Lennox, President, jOmaha Workingmen’s Com. City of Omaha Department of Street Maintenance Harry Knudsen, Superintendent June 27, 1933. G. B. Lennox, M. D. 2122 and one-half North 24th Street, Omaha, Nebraska. Dear Sir: I am in receipt of your letter of re. cent date and am very happy to hear from you, and am also glad to know that you are satisfied. We are trying to do our best in every respect. We are always happy to hear from you and suggestions are always in order. Hoping to have the pleasure of meeting you personally sometime, I am Yours very truly, Harry Knudsen, City Commissioner. CALL ANTI-WAR CONGRESS AGAINST DRIVE FOR NEW WORLD SLAUGHTER NEW YORK—(CNA) — A call for an Anti-War Congress September 2 to 4, to organize mass resistance to criminal plans of the capitalist powers for a new world slaughter as a capital ist “way out” of the crisis \yhs issued last week by Sherwood Anderson, Theodore Dreises -nd Upton Sinclair, well-known American authors. Copies of the appeal are being sent to all or. ganizations, Negro and white, the ap peal states in part: To All Opponents of War: War, never far distant in this mad dog-eat-dog society of ours, is terri fyingly close these days. In China the slaughter of men, women and child ren, combatants and non-combatants, continues from day to day. In South America, two wars continue with un abated intensity. In Europe, the count er-revolution in Germany has produced hostile alliances which are busy arm ing for another World War. Even in this country people are talking of war as a means of restoring prosperity— without realizing that war under pre sent conditions would mean the suicide