The Omaha guide. (Omaha, Neb.) 1927-19??, August 05, 1933, Page Five, Image 5
“No Man was eve. OMAHA GUIDE — ous who was not The eye of a Mastcr win Laborous ” ___ _ do more work than his ' - City, ana Nat’l Lite March ot Events hand' -_ _ _ _ _____ Omaha, Nebraska, Saturday, August 5, 1933 * paffP f;vp THE OMAHA GUIDE Pubh«r.*d E’.erv Sa'-ruay at 2418-20 Grant Street by THE OMAHA GUIDE Pl'BL. CO., Incorporated Ail News ( opy m- t be in our office not later than Monday at 5 p. m and ail Advertising Copy, or Paid Articles, n t later -ban Wednesday at Noon. Er.: - u • tia - .ail matter, March 15, 1927 at t ■ po.«t oftict- at Omaha, Nebraska, under the act of Congr< *> of March 3. 1879. "t'S» .ilTION RATES (Strictly in Advance) < * ’i . .$2.90 Six Months $1.25 Three Months . $1.00 • TERM." OF SUBSCRIPTION—The Omaha Guide is lamed weekly and will be sent to any pan of the Uni ted States for $2.00 per year in advance. Foreign Options (including postage) $3.00 in advance. T: - ~,x months’ subscriptions. $125. Trial Three P*$on $U». Single copy. 5 cents. *T r A ! r r.;wing, give the r.ame just as it appeal's on the label unless it be incorrect, in which Ci- I . .. e call -:r attention to the mistake; and al w.» > g full address to which your paper has been sent. CHANGE OF All DRESS—In ordering a change of address, always give both old and new addresses. If the paper does not reach you regularly, please notify ns a: once. nt'MiTTivr'rcRATES—Given upon application. **■ ■'1 * ' • Send payment by postal or express mcne- order, cash in registered letter, bank check or stamps. O* It A! •ill.ESS—Seri all communications to The On.aoc, Guide Publishing Company. Incorporated. I 3418 20 Grant St„ Omaha. Nehr Tkt* pmt^r » rrf-r»«. d f^r iroertl h 1 >- ebraaka Pr«u [ EDITORIAL March of Events By Rev. Albert Kuhn The outstanding topic of public interest is of course the galant fight that our government is making against the Giant Depression. In every town, on ev ery farm of our country this struggle is; anxiously watched. Upon it depends to a large extent the material fortune of both the millionnaire and the pennyless citi zen. Not only we, the folk of the United States, are interested in the outcome, but j the rank and file of foreign nations is! watching the battle with breathless inter est: if President Roosevelt and his staff succeeds he will be imitated by the states men of many other countries. What a wonderful opportunity the Radio has given the President of the United States to reach with his views and hi.' program every ear of our country. In former days it was a very difficult mat ter for the President to reach directly the ears and hearts of the people. When President Wilson wanted to convert the whole nation to his vision of the League of Nations he had to ignore his physical exhaustion and track across the contin ent in order to make an impression upon the populace. Appeals appearing in cold print are passed over by the masses; the magnetic presentation of his issue by the living voice of their President is not; it hits the spot. At the same time it is so much less of a strain and so much more in keeping with the dignity of the Presi dency to speak directly from the White House. President Roosevelt has, besides, a knack of speaking of his work in such a .'imple and unaffected way as few Presidents before him have possessed. This week an immense nationwide propaganda Campaign is being launched throughout the country copied after the Liberty Bond Campaigns of wartimes. The same man who headed that memor able campaign is directing this one, Char les Francis Horner of Kansas City. The emblem selected to be flaunted into the face of everybody is a spread Eagle, gra sping the symbols of Industry and of 1 mmunication, with the Inscriptions: N. R. A., standing for National Recovery Act, and “We do our part.” Business big and little is boarding the band wagon. The chief features of the Presi dent's ]51an include: 1. A Minumum Wage for work ers of from $12.00 per week to $14.00 per week. In many Industries like in the Cot ton Mills this amounts to a substantial increase in wages. 2. A reduction of the hours of labor to from 35 to 40 hours per week. This is a -ubstantial reduction even from the straight eight hour day. Its purpose ry the hiring of addi tional help. Unfortunately scarcely had this part of the program been published v > many employers declared that they v*>uid make their present help double up on work so as to make unnecessary the hiring of more men. The setting up of rules of fair competition. This should make it impos sible for business hogs to ruin every body’s trade by offering their ware at cost with the intention of running their competitors out of business. A fow such selfish ‘hog it all’ merchants force an en tire line of business like the grocery busi ness or the gasoline business to run on a 1 uinous basis. The plan would be to refuse to such tradesmen a license to operate their business. It is this unrestricted, un controlled competition which is the root of much of the present business demoral isation. Many of our Omaha Firms have already declared their willingness of liv ing up to the new business code. Let us see to it that these pledges are not mere lip service. The problem of enforcing these codes is up to the general public. It ought to boycott every business firm which openly or under cover fails to co operate with the government and with fair business. As the outlook is today, the Repeal of the Eighteenth Amendment within less ! than a year is a certainty. The leaders of the Wets assure the citizes that the re- j turn of Booze will mean such an enor mous liquor revenue to the Government that the other forms of taxes can be miti gated. Personally I think it is a sad day for the United States when it opens its front door to Whiskey again. With the permitted whiskey there will come either a new appearance of the whiskey saloon or a doubling of the present plague of speakeasies. A regular campaign of pro paganda will set in to train men and wo men into becoming whiskey soaks. The same method of advertising will be used which taught our women to smoke cigar ettes ; politicians will be bribed to favor the liquor interests. We shall get our fill of personal liberty and most likely pay heavily for it in money and in tears. The sentence to death of a kidnap per in Kansas City is a gesture in the i right direction. I am as a general rule opposed to capital punishment, but this ; new contagion of racketeering must be stopped before it assume enormous pro portions. The International Conference in London has adjourned. It has at least done this service to the world, that it has shown that at the present time an ef ficient scheme to make possible world wide free trade is a idle pipe dream. TUSKEGEE’S VIOLENT DEATH Death stalked across the world famous Tuskegee Institute campus last week seizing a noted educator who was a member of a distinguished Winston Salem family, Professor Russell Atkin, vice-principal of the school founded by Dr. Booker T. Washington. Within less than a year and a half three attaches of the Alabama school have suffered loss of their lives by violence. For the first time in its renowned history Tuskegee has be come the scene of crime investigations and coroner’s inquests. The nation which laments the triple slayings will continue to believe in and support the work begun many years ago by the former slave boy who today is included among the great est educators of all times. Dr. Washing ton himself undoubtedly realize that there are certain elements in life which even education and culture cannot eradi cate. Educators and students will come and go but Tuskegee Institute will remain as a monument to a greatness which knew no greed, hatred or violence. This publication in mourning the loss of a native son, Professor Russell At kin. the scion of Dr. S. G. Atkin, founder and president of the Winston-Salem Teachers college, compares his life'With that of Dr. Washington of whom a speak* er once said: “Dr. Washington met Napo leon’s test—he did things. The secret of his success was uncompromising indus try, diligence, perseverance. He grew great by industry. Greatness is a growth. Work dominated his career. He believed that those who do most are most.” DISHONEST CRITICISM “It is asserted that the rates of many electric utility companies are com plicated and difficult to understand,” said Frank A. Newton recently. “Much of this criticism is not honest criticism. It comes, to a very large degree, from those who can find nothing good in anything done by a privately owned utility.” A very sizeable share of‘political comment on the electric industry has de liberately sought to confuse the public mind. It has falsified the problems and the principles of rate-making; it has stat ed that the utilities have been growing fat during the depression by charging the same rates as wrere charged when other costs were much higher; it has attempted, by these means, to forward the cause of government ownership and competition in business with private citizens. As a matter of fact, utility rate making is not complicated. The rate charged amounts to the cost of providing power facilities for the customer through which he may obtain service, whether he uses it or not, plus the cost of the actual power used, plus a reansonable profit limited by law. The cost of producing and distributing power does not change rapid’ ly because capital turnover in the utility industry is very small—about once in five years, where manufacturing industries turn capital over once, twice and some times oftener each year. The utility is not allowed to lower its standards of service when times get bad—it cannot close down plants as can non-service industries. It may lose half its business but it must continue at full efficiency to serve the remaining half. It is not true that utilities are mak ing large profits. Public regulation pre vents that. Many companies are making no profit at all, although maintaining maximum service. Thly are all paying constantly mounting tax bills from dim inished revenues— tax bills that threat en to eliminate the investor’s return en tirely. If the public is misled by vote-seek ing political criticism of the utilities it will suffer in the long run because of crippled electric expansion and increased taxes. EMPTYING THE POORHOUSE ' There is one vastly important phase of life insurance that cannot be ex pressed in statistics—its influence on so cial progress. Economic security is the arbiter of happiness, of contentment, of an im proved civilization. That does not mean the kind of security that makes for lazi ness and industrial torpor. It means the kind that guarantees, through one’s own efforts, enough to live on for oneself and one’s dependents after the age of great est earning capacity has passed. Life insurance fills this need per fectly. Through the annuity form of policy, one can take a share of what one is earning now and invest it in an income to start whenever one wishes. Gr, those who wish to do so, may “buy” the income by paying up a lump sum outright. There are thousands of persons in charitable homes now% or standing in bread lines, who could have done this once, but pre ferred to take a chance with their money. An overwhelming majority of people be come dependents in old age—because they learned the value of protection too late. The annuity has long been a favor ite form of insurance in Europe, where it has been used for centuries. Of late it has grown in favor in this country. The ex perience of the past few years has shown millions of Americans that at least part of their earnings should be invested with an eye to safety alone—not great profits. UNSEEN PROTECTION In an advertising folder issued by one of the standard manufacturers of fire engines, this phrase appears: “Qual ity extends to parts unseen.” That phrase is worth thinking ov er. It indicates the difference between good and inferior articles of a hundred sorts. Superficially the cheap watch looks like the fine watch—the difference is where you can’t see it. And that is true of radios, motor cars, musical instruments, commodities of all kinds—almost every thing we use. In protection of life and property from fire, this unseen quality is a great deal more important than it is in most other things. If a watch stops it is annoy ing, but it isn’t apt to be vital to life and happiness. The same thing is true of an automobile, truck or radio. But if a fire engine fails at the wrong moment, the re sult may be the destruction of lives and hundreds of thousands of dollars worth j of property. There are three manufacturers of standard fire apparatus in the United States whose products are known and re spected by every fire marshal, every in surance rating bureau, every person and agency connected with fire prevention and control. Their reputations extend back ^through generations of manufactur ing fire fighting machines in which qual ity has always extended to parts unseen. HISTORY CAN REPEAT ITSELF In 1860 the federal government cost the average citizen $2.08 per year. In 1931 the cost of government, for all units, was $107.37 per capita. In 1913 the total cost of govern 1 ment was $2,900,000,000, and in 1919 $7, o00,000,000, and in 1931 it was $14,000, ! 000,000. In 1929 — a year of inflated pros sperity — the total tax of the American people amounted to 16 per cet of their in comes. In 1931 — a year of bleak depres sion—it amounted to 28 per cent. The current year maybe the most expensive in our history, with the exception of the war period. How much of the increase in the cost of government, federal, state and lo cal, can be laid to waste, is problematical. But there is no question but that it runs into the hundreds of millions, for there are scores of bureaus, commissions and inflated governmental payrolls, many of which simply duplicate the work of oth ers. We have permitted the govern ment to go into various tax-exempt busi ness ventures in competition with the livelihoods of private citizens who are forced to pay the taxes to maintain the competition. More and more money is going in to tax-exempt government bonds instead of taxable labor employing investments. The result is increased unemployment and distress. History shows many examples of taxing a people until they repudiate tax obligations. Unless all units of govern ment retrench, it is not impossible to force such a tax crisis in our own country. THE DANGER OF GOVERNMENTAL RELIEF The new farm bill is swinging slowly into action. The government will undertake to balance production and de mand, to improve the farmer’s financial condition, to ease the burden of mort gages, and to raise the prices of his pro duce. While this may be temporarily beneficial it will be permanently harmful, if the farmer as an individual, comes to depend on government to solve his faults and smooth his path. That is always the trouble with governmental aid measures, no matter how carefully they are drawn —they are apt to create a feeling of de pendence in the beneficiary that leaves him helpless when aid has been taken away. The wise farmer will recognize the bill for w7hat it is—an effort to carry him through a critical period, and give him a hand in straightening out his troubles, so that he may stand on his owm feet there after. Lasting farm progress comes from the farmer’s own effort. It must be the reflection of his own will, his own agres siveness, his own courage, if it is to be permanent. During the next few7 years there is one agency that will be of vital import ance—the farm co-operative. It is the agency through which the individual farmer, in company with his neighbors, may fight his owm battles and win his own victories. Long after governmental relief is no longer necessary, the co-oper ative will remain. No matter how7 often we may change our ideas of what attitude government should take toward the farm er, the co-operative idea is fixed and will not be dislodged. And this is the time for farmers to work their hardest in advanc ing the interest of their co-operatives. OPPORTUNITY IS KNOCKING Property owners who have been planning to repair old structures or build new ones better get busy unless they wish to pay heavily for delay. With better crop prices, heavy public expenditures for bridges, roads, public buildings, etc., it is not difficult to imagine rapid improve ment in the employment situation and commodity price levels. Cement, lumber, paint, structural steel, electrical equipment and all manner of building supplies will probably never again,_ in a generation at least, be at the bargain counter prices we have been wit nessing. Today property owners can im prove an old building or build a new one, from concrete foundation to fire-resist ing roof, at record low figures. There is abundant labor, both skilled and unskill ed. It seems cerain that the foregoing combination of circumstances is doomed The investor in construction act^ ltv today not only gets double return for his money, but helps to start normal em ployment < in the wage and price struc tures, which will rebound in benefits to himself in better business and rental values. Remember that investment and employment are cheaper and better than charity. Dr. Lennox * On the Job July 20, 1933. Executive Office, Plonorable Franklin D. Roosevelt, President of the United States, Washington, D C. Dear President Roosevelt: We are writing you in regards to Federal labor in the city of Omaha, and hope provisions will be brought about that every contract in behalf of this state in the form of federal em„ ployment, constructions, alterations or repairs of any government build ing or public works within the Unit_ ed States, shall obtain a provision that will prevent discrimination on account of race or color. All nationalities are tax payers and citizens, entitling them to equal considerations of employment. Local contractors have considered only a few and ignored others, and we are hoping the proper adjustment of this matter will be brought about. Thanking you very kindly for what ever consideration you may give to rectify same, we are Respectfully yours, OMAHA WORKING MEN’S COM. Dr G B Lennox, President. The White House, Washington July 26, 1933. Doctor G B Lennox, 2122% North 24th Street, Omaha, Nebraska My dear Doctor Lennox: Your letter of July twentieth has been received and will be brought to the attention of the Special Board for Public Works of which the Secretary of the Interior is Chairman. Very sincerely yours, LOUIS McH. HOWE, Secretary to the President. A BACK TO THE FARM PLAN WORKING IN GEORGIA COLUMBUS, Ga.—(CNS) — The back to the farm movement which is being sponsored by both the people of this city and Muscogee County, is helping to relieve the unemployment problem. The plan recently inaugur_ ated hereabouts has to date placed more than 200 families, consisting of more than 1,000 persons on the farms in the county. In 1910 there was a total of 1,019 farms in Muscogee County, of which 593 were operated by Negro farmers These Negro farm3 had a land acre age of 39,073 acres. The general exodus of labor, both skilled and un skilled, from the South to the North, attracted by high wages drained this locality of her skilled workmen and farmhands 30 that in 925 the total number of farms dropped to 390 in number of which 232 were operated by Negroes. It is now estimated that the num ber of Negro farms in Muscogee Co. number some 325 a gain of nearly 100 sfnce 1925 and a few more than were reported in 1930, when 317 Negro farms had 22,004 acres in land valued at $479,330. The “back to the farm” movement in Muscogee County has attracted the attention of the Federal Government. In a visit to the county William A. Hartman of the Division of Land Eco_ nomics, Washington, expressed his deep interest and took with him back to Washington a statement of the work accomplished. Besides playing its part in the farm project Columbus has ruled that men who seek municipal relief must, if they are physically fit, perform some non-injurious service for five hours each working day. If men whose families are need refuse to perform this service, police make a charge against them of vagrancy and loiter,, ing. Records of each case are kept, and periodical investigations are made to prevent, as far as possible, “dead beats” from taking advantage of the abnormal times.