The eye of a Master will “No Man was ever
do more work than his_ _ Glorious who was not
=— -—' March ot Events City, ana Nat’l %ite Uaborous.
Page Eight__OMAHA, NEBRASKA, SATURDAY, NOV. 11, 1933 _ ___
THE OMAHA GUIDE
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EDITORIAL
• ■
NEWS FROM NEWFOUNDLAND
The other day a news item appeared
from the Island of Newfoundland. It was
short and almost lost in the welter of
of other news. But there is a message in
it for Americans. It said that govern
ment was unable to meet her interest
obligations when they fell due a short
time ago, and railroads and ships it
operated will be taken over by a British
American syndicate. This syndicate will
not only assume the entire obligation,
and take its chance on profits or losses,
fmt has promised to spend $21,000,000 in
developing Newfoundland’s resources
and in new road and railway construct
ion.
There is nothing particularly new in
this—it is simply an addition to the long
list of governmental failures in the pro
vince of private business. England, Aus
tralia, Germany, Austria, Switzerland—
railroads and power Plants and hotels
and markets and stemship lines have
been built operated by government, and
have provided poor service at high rates,
or dave experienced terrific deficits for
the taxpayers to meet. In the case of
Australia, for example, matters got to so
bad a state that there was, for a time,
talk of national bankruptcy.
There is an obvious danger that the
United States will drift, into similar er
rors. At the moment, the utilities are the
principal objects of attack, and the “vic
tory” gained with the Muscle Shoals
development in spurring proponents of
government ownership to renewed ef
forts. They are proposing developments
wdich lack even the justification of Mu
scle Shoals, and if they have their way
every city in the country will be operat
ing its own power plant—and from
there,, it isn’t much of a step to include -
other businesses. Experiences like New
foundland’s and others should be care
fully analyzed before we go too far.
THE TEST OF FIRE PREVENTION
WEEK
Fire Prevention Week is over. In
every community in the land six days, of
intensive effort were given to educating
the public in the fundamentals of curb
ing one of the greatest of all menaces to t
life, property and industrial opportun
ity. Civic organizations, fire depart
ments, insurance representatives, public
officials—all worked for the cause, and
an appreciable share of the public list
ened. ' t
The real test of the week, however,
has just begun. The public listened—but
will it remember? In past years the
memory of most of us was notoriously
and tragically short. During the week
fire losses went down, and kept to a lowT
level for a short period directly after.
Then they rose again to the ‘normal”
level.
Perhaps this week will have differ
ent results. Three years of depression
have taught us the dangers of waste, of
waste, of whatever kind. And waste due
to fire is the most complete, and the most
unnecessary possible. It benefits none. It
harms all. It creates unemployment and
is a barrier to civic development. It
raises taxes and lowers incomes. It is the
best friend of hard times.
The things we learned during the
diffifuclt to remember. It takes little
time and little money to put them into
execution in most cases. There is no ex
cuse for forgetting them. They mean
money in our pockets, and safer, hap
pier living.
THE COOPERATION of TOMORROW
In a recent issue, the Dairymen’s
League News commented on future farm
cooperators—the children of the parents
who belong to the Dairymen’s League,
all of ,whom are learning some of the
simple, yet fundamental, rules* of co
operation.
It would be excellent idea if all farm'
ers and others interested in cooperation
made an attempt to develop an under
standing of it in the minds and hearts of
the producers of tomorrow. A genera
tion raised almost from infancy with a
belief in cooperative principles, and with
constant opportunity <to watch them
evolve and win success, should make in
calculable future agricultural progress.
This is an especially interesting
supposition in the light of present agri
cultural conditions. It is said that much
of the difficulty experienced by the De
partment of Agriculture in raising the
farm income is due to the fact that too
many farmers are still disorganized, and
it is a long and arduous task to bring
them together on a common footing. The
cooperatives are making valiant drives
to enlist more numbers now — and they
are succeeding. But they would have
succeeded in a much shorter period and
the farmer of today been schooled in co
operation by his forebears.
Stronger cooperatives, better sup
ported—that is the ideal now. And along
with it, there should be plans for assur
ing the fullest flowering of the coopera
tive scheme through preparing farm
children to take their place in organized
agriculture.
SOVIET RECOGNITION
(From The Daily Worker)
The diplomatic negotiations looking
towards recognition of the Union of So
cialist So vet Republics by the United
States is an acknowledgement of the
achievements of the Soviet Union, of its
stability and its policies of peace. All
militant workers throughout the United
States who have constantly worked and
fought for recognition, will rejoice on
the occasion of this victory for the Soviet
Union.
American imperialism, one of the
bitterest enemies of the victorious pro
letarian revolution in the Soviet Union,
one of the chief instigators of war a
gainst the Soviet Union, is forced to take
steps to extend diplomatic recognition.
British, Japanese and French imperial
ism, for some time have already taken
this step, without in the least slackening
their preparations for war. Japanese im
perialism, whose recognition is of long
standing, is at this very moment seeking
to provoke war.
Why does the Roosevelt regime at
this time open diplomatic conversations?
The downward sweep of capitalist
economy in the United States, the col
lapse of the iN. R. A. as a promised solu
tion fo the capitalist crisis, is making
Wall Street scour the world for markets.
The Soviet Union peacefully building So
cialism is ready to open trade relations
with the United States as it already has
with other capitalist powers. The Roose
velt regme now grasps for this market.
That the foremost imperialist power
stands ready to open diplomatic and
trade relations, is powerful testimony to
the stability, the strength and Socialist
advances of the U. S. S. R.
At the same time, in tne rapid pre
paration for imperialist war, the Roose
,velt regime while arming itself for war,
spouts phrases and engineers maneuvers
,to give the appearance of peaceful in
tent. Recognition of the U. S. S. R. which
is contemplated, is a peace maneuver
that does not lessen one jot the rapid
moves to war on the part of Wall Street.
The Roosevelt regime, through the
Wall Street bankers supports the Hitler
dictatorship in its anti-Soviet war
thrusts. While antagonistic to Japan, the
United States seeks to provoke a war of
Japan against the Soviet Union to weak
en both, and then to hammer out the unit
ed front of all the imperialists against
their main and implacable enemy — the
victorious proletarian revolution sym
bolized by the U. S. S. R.
While recognition would open the
way for trade relations, which together
with loans would provide a market for
some of the overproduced commodities
in the United States, it by no means of
fers a solution for the corroding capital
ist crisis.
The chief conflict in the present-day
world is between the system of advanc
ing Socialism and of decaying world j
capitalism. The foremost representative
of crisis-ridden capitalism, the United
States, is now forced to step aside from
its traditional policy of non-recognition
and undertake diplomatic negotiations
with the yorkers’ fatherland.
All workers while greeting this
achievement of the Soviet Union should
realize that now, more than ever, they
must be prepared to resist the trend to
ward Fascism and war developed by the
imperialist nations, particularly the
United States. They must, now more
than ever, be on their guard ready to de
fend the Soviet Union against all its ene
mies.
A BIG MAN SPEAKS
With so many influences and agen
cies working to extend the socialist pro
gram in the United States, it is hearten
ing to those who believe in the superior
ity of private initiative and enterprise,
to read the following courageous expres
sions from a recent address of former
governor Alfred E. Smith at the Century
of Progress exposition in Chicago. Mr.
Smith said, in part:
“As I went through the fair I thought
to myself that there is still another great
lesson for the people of this country to
I learn—Aside from the assistance of
Divine Providence, what has made this
century of progress ?
“If you will study this fair, you will
| be obliged to come to the conclusion that
this century of progress was brought
about by individual; by the strength, the
power, the courage, the brains and the
ability of the men and women of the Re
public of North America. Whether you
point to progress in industry, science, in
vention, transportation, or the arts,
what .you see here is the triumph of the
mind and the hand of free men, without
dictatorship.
“Ninety per cent of the exhibits here
mark advances in our civilization due en
tirely to individuals, private individuals,
working without inspiration, compul
sion, control or even suggestion from the
government itself. In fact, it is note
worthy that the government has done
very little to contribute to this century
of progress, while on the other hand,
much has been prevented, much has been
thwarted, much has been hindred, by the
heavy, cold, clammy hand of bureau
cracy.
“Now let us not be too cynical about
the motives that have actuated the men
who have wrought these buildings which
house miracles of science and invention.
Pride of achievement, ambition to excel,
love of work and art have had more to do
with it than the mere desire to make
money or to exploit others. And it is a
matter of common fact—that govern
ment is at its best when it supplements
and cooperates with private industry.
“And a century from now another
exposition will arrive here, to mark an
other century of triumphant progress of
free men, under the American Constitu
tion.”
THE RAILROADS’ FINANCIAL
HOUSE .
In a recent address Philip A. Ben
son, President, National Association of
Mutual Savings Banks, commented on
the ancient supposition that one trouble
with the railroad industry is that it is
vastly over captalized. Mr. Benson’s as
sociation comprises some of the largest
buyers of railroad bonds, so it’s a sub
ject on which he can qualify as an expert.
According to him, the rails, if any
thing, are under capitalized. Their fund
ed debt amounts to only 40 per cent of
their present reproduction cost. If the
entire railroad structure were destroyed
tomorrow, it would require five billion
dollars more to replace it than it acutally
cost.
Enemies of the railroads can’t blame
their plight on top-heavy financing.
Their economic house is in order. Nor
can it be blamed on inefficiency and
waste—no business in the world has
made such spatan efforts to lower costs
in recent years. The trouble with the
railroads is unfair competition, outmod
ed regulatory practices, and tax discrim
ination—and so long as these exist there
will be a railroad problem affecting ev
ery American worker and investor.
March Events
By REV. ALBERT KUHN
In Cuba the revolutionary govern
ment set up by the army and the students
and their Allies is still existing though
its collapse, is expected from week to
week. The chief reason for its weakness
is the refusal of the rank and file of the
people to pay taxes. The opponents of the
gofernment add to this refusal the or
ganization of general strikes. In the
meantime business has come to a stand
still and large parts of the population are
at the verge of starvation. And yet Cuba
is one of the most fertile countries in the
world. Less than twenty years ago she
was figuring among the wealthiest. It
just goes to show what great harm a cor
rupt government* by thieving politicians
can do to a country. We do not however
have to go as far as Cuba to learn the
same lesson. The city of Chicago is so
wealthy that with honest men in its ad
ministration it could easily conduct its
municipal affairs efficiently, with a
moderate tax rate and all and a clean
slate as far as debts are concerned.
The first excitement caused by Ger
many’s withdrawal from the Disarm
ament Conference and from membership
in the League of Nations seems to have
somewhat subsided. Hitler continues to
emphasize that this government does not
intend to wage war in order to win back
lost territory. France remains skeptical,
wonders whether it would not be the
wisest to provoke a new war with Ger
many before the latter has rebuilt and
re-equipped her army. So long however
as England and Italy are lukewarm or
even opposed to suqh a renewal of war
' she is just a little shaky about the adven
ture. In th meantime she does her best to
keep the public opinion of the world un
favorable to Germany. In these efforts
she seems to succeed admirably. In the
United States at least nine tenths of the
newspapers and magazines are unsym
pathetic in the selection of news and in
comments that have to do with the Fath
erland. In the meanwhile Hitler in Ger
many is about in the same fix as Roose
velt is in the United States. He is popular
and the rank and file of the people be
lieve in his unselfishness and his eager
ness to improve conditions but there is
also a host of critics both among the con
servatives and the radicals and things
are mending to many too slowly. The re
ports indicate that unemployment has
decreased somewhat, that those who are
without income are provided with at
least the essentials in food clothing and
shelter and that order and thrift prevails
in the country. The coming election for
the German Reichstag is of course some
thing like a joke. No other political party
than the National Socialists, known pop
ularly as the “Nazi” is allowed to put up
a list of candidates. Only the bravest or
the most foolhardly dare to oppose this
list of candidates openly. For the time
being freedom of political action outside
the ranks of the governing party is abol
ished. History teaches that such an en
forcement of political discipline has nev
er lasted long. It is only the utter disgust
of the rank and file of the nation with
the endless confusion created by the
party politics of the last 15 years which
male this suppression of political organ
izations possible.
In France the Government is grap
pling with the budget. The people de
mand on the one hand that the govern
ment should not plunge into further
debts and should reduce the taxes; on the
other hand it demands an undiminished
army and navy, more government help
for all kinds of organizations and the
maintenance of good salaries for all its
hundreds of thousands of employees. The
government warns an unsympathetic
Parliament that if it will not listen to its
advice, cut the expenses and increase the
taxes, the French Franc will have to be
inflated.
Kecent elections m England indicate
that the present government is growing
increasingly unpopular. And yet condi
tions in England have improved and the
government does all—on all a good job.
in Kussia crops have been unusually
good. Stalin ought to be able to overcome
the terrible famine which has prevailed
especially in the Eastern Part of the
country. The world is looking forward
' with interest to the discussion between
President Roosevelt and, Foreign Min
ister Litvinoff concerning the possible
recognition of the Soviet government by
the United States. This recognition
ought to have been granted long ago.
b ive governors oi slates oi the Mid
dle West have propsed to President
Roosevelt a petition that the government
should fix the price payable to the farm
er on the main agricultural products
raised in their states at a figure which
would insure at least cost of production
and that in turn the farmers should be
obligated to obey the requests of the
government as to the amount of grain
that each farmer could raise. The Presi
dent, to the disgust of the governors
and their advisers, refused to accept
their program on the ground that he did
not have the constitutional right to fix
prices and the scale of production. The
result of this refusal will probably be a
revival of th Farm Strike in th Middle
West. _
HOW ABOUT THE TAX
TRUST
Recently a letter signed by the
President of the Puget Sound Lfcht
and Power Compaq appeared as an
advertisement in newspapers of that
area. It dealt with that mythical
ogre, the Power Trust, ,aid in
part. how this ‘Power Trust’ pro
paganda is largely political raeket
eering. Some of the boys must have
straw men to lambast, and like Don
Quixote, windmills to fight. All this
agitation of the power quesiot
keeps folks’ minds off the all-im
portant tax question. Taxes are to
day very much more of a threat to
the security of homes and incomes
than electric rates. Tax reduction of
fers a fertile field for those who
would effectively serve in public of
fice.”
The letter might likewise have
said that taxes are a very important
tactor in the making of electric
iates. Power and light companies
pay an extremely large percentage
of their earnings to government_
na_.cnal state and local. An excell
ent example of this is the Common
wealth and Southern Corporation
Which has recently come into the
limelight because of threatened tax
iree governmental competition from
the Muscle Shoals development. The
average rate obtained by the six
southern subsidiaries of this com
pany tor each kilowatt-hour of
uomestic power sold in 1932 was 5.
46 cents. During that year these com
panies paid in taxes an amount
equaling over one-half of their gross
leceipts from domestic service. Had
operations been tax-free, with this
sum credited to the domestic user of
electricity, his rate would have been
2.72 cents—less than half.
The so-called Power Trust is a
great deal less important to the peo
ple of America than the tax trust.
The latter is a definite threat to
prosperity and progress-^ana all the
political chatter in the world can’t
eliminate that fact.
YES — COOPERATION
PAYS
Here is an interesting fact, ap
pearing in a bulletin of the American
Cotton Cooperative Association:
During the past half-dozen years
cooperative gins have handled, on
the average, more than twice as
the average for all gins. They have
made money in many instances
where other gins have failed, and a
large part of the money received by
them has been returned to growers
in the form of patronage dividends.
In addition, the cooperative gins have
improved cotton quality through in
stalling the best and most modern
machinery and achieving the highest
standards of service.
This is just one more testimonial
to the achievements of farm co
operatives—whether they deal in
cotton or wheat or dairy products or
fruit. They’ve revolutionized old
methods and banished ancient and
fallacious ideas. They’ve shown the
progressive farmer which side his
bread is buttered on. They’ve demon
strated beyond argument that disor
ganized farmers are farmers on their
way to the receive’s court—and that
organization can bring agriculture
more permanent worth hthan all the
farm relief schemes ever proposed.
FIRE APPARATUS
MEETS THE TEST
The test of any public works pro
ject, whether it is to be paid for by
a community alone or through fed
eral aid, is this: Will it provide
something essential and permanently
valuable that benefits all citizens a
like and is an influence for prosper
ity and progress?
On that basis, and it’s hard to
argue that it isn’t a sound one, first
class fire apparatus is one of the
best of public works. It is a pro
tection to all lives, and all property.
It is an influence in favor of lower
taxes, inasmuch as fires which de
stroy productive property result in
increased burdens on other property.
It is an attraction to industry.
Because fire engines are painted
red, and all of them look alike to the
lay eye, should not obscure the tact
that thousands of departments, in
large cities and small towns and
ruial areas alike, have disintegrated
seriously the past few years. Old
engines are kept in operation when
their period of fullest usefulness has
passed. Necessary repairs are half
done or left undone. And, in some
cases, cheap new engines and appar
atus have been bought or assembled
in place of time-tested standard
ones— and the community which do
es that is in danger of learning that
the most extravagant and wasteful
“economy” is the kind that toys with
the safety of lives and property.
Fire apparatus has a place in ev
ery public works program. And com
munities which are now borrowing
from the federal government, should
pve local fire departments a careful
look-over before completing their
schedules.
