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About The Omaha guide. (Omaha, Neb.) 1927-19?? | View Entire Issue (Feb. 3, 1934)
'The eye of a Master will rlP- % ‘ do more work than his ^° Man was ever kan(]--—-- '_, • _ __ Glorious who was not ~ March of Events . City, ana Nat’l Lite Laborous'’’ _ ______OMAHA, NEBRASKA, SATURDAY, FEB. 3, 79.34 ” Pa,,c 5 TH E OMAHA GUIDE Published Every Saturday at 2418-20 Grant Street by THE OMAHA GUIDE PUBL. CO., Incorporated All News Copy must.be in our office not later than Monday at 5 p. m.,and all Advertising Copy, or Paid Articles, not lat vr than Wednesday at Noon. Entered as Second class mail matter, March 15. 192’. at the Post office at Omaha, Nebraska, under the act of Congress of March 3, 1879. SUSCltlPTION RATES (Strictly in Advance) One Years ..$2.00 Six Months $1.21. Three Months. . $1.00 TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION—The Omaha Guids is issued weekly and will be sent to any part of the Uni ted States for $2.00 per year in advance. Foreign jubscriptions (including postage) $3.00 in advance. Trial six months’ subscriptions. $1.25. Trial Three Month-’ subscription $1.00. Single copy. 5 cents. RENEWALS—In renewing, give the name just as it appears on the label unless it be incorrect, ir. which case please call our attention to the mistake; and al ways give the full address to which your paper has been sent. CHANGE OF ADDRESS—In ordering a change of address, always give both old and new addresses. If the paper does not reach you reguiarly, please notify us at once. ADVERTISING RATES—Given upon application. REMITTANCES—Send payment by postal or express monv-y order, cash in registered letter, bank check or stamps. OUlt ADDRESS—Send all communications to The Omaha Guide Publishing Company. Incorporated, 2418.20 Grant St., Omaha, Nebr._ •> EDITORIAL AMERICAN HIGHWAYS A SHAMBLES A recent release of the National Safety Council points out that laws to control pedestrians on streets and highways may be necessary, unless walkers themselves take steps to eliminate the pedestrian hazard. In an average year about one half of all automobile ■ deaths are suffered by pedestrians. And, contrary to the general belief, the pedestrian is not an innocent bystander run down by a Machiavellian motorist. He is, in a great number of cases where death or serious injury results, solely to blame. Larger cities, for the most part, have laws against jay-walking—the practice of crossing streets against the signal bells or lights. Smaller towns may be called upon to pass similar legislation—pedestrian carelessness isn’t limited to the metropolitan centers. Again, thousands of accidents are caused by pedestrians walking on the right on highways and roads, where they can’t see cars coming up behind them. It is being urged that this offense be made punishable by a fine, precisely as fines are levied against an automobile operator guilty of driving on the wrong side of the road. There is great need for unremitting, concentrated educational work against automobile accidents, moderni zation of driving laws, and law enforcement. The Amer ican highway is a shambles—over 30,000 killed in 1933— where the reckless, the incompetent and the careless menace the nves and property of us all. The country needs honest, well-reasonled opinion— not, blind idolatry or partisan ranting on either side.— Industrial News Review. PROTEST AGAINST PUBLIC DESTRUCTION OF PRIVATE PROPERTY The Board of Directors of the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association has adopted a resolution of more than ordi nary significance. In it they protested the use of federal funds for the construction of publicly-owned utilities to v compete with private plants, and called upon the Public Works Administrotion to change its policy. The protest is based upon purely business grounds. In the opinion of the Association, construction of a tax free plant alongside of a privately owned plant, under mines investments and menaces employment. It tends to increase taxes for all other types of property, and gives the users of municipal power an unfair financial advan tage over users of private power. And, to clinch the ar gument, the Association states that municipally-owned plants cost more to operate, charge higher average rates to consumers, increase the public debt, and impair muni cipal credit. Storekeepers, farmers, wage earners, pro fessional men, persons receiving their income from any source—an are threatened with the loss of part of their income when municipal ownership appears. The Illinois Manufacturers’ Association consists olj experienced, realistic business men. They own factories of all kinds, and employ workers of ail types. They are fully conversant with power costs, with taxation, with workine- conditions and employment. Their protest a gainst use of public funds to destroy businesses upon which the public treasury depends for much revenue, should receive serious consideration. DEMONSTRATING FINANCIAL STABILITY At the close of 1930, according to an article m the In dex, approximately 68,000,000 persons, including hosiers of group insurance and about 2,000,000 who live m foi eign countries, owned life insurance policies written by American Companies. The total of insurance outstand ing had reached the gigantic sum of $107,000,000,000. No other country presents a comparable record. Lite msui ance in this nation represented 69.6 per cent of all that was in force throughout the world and the second coun try, England, had but 8 per cent of the world total. ► * Since 1930, because of termination of contracts made necessary by depression, and the natural obstacles en countered in writing new business, life mscrance m roice has fallen somewhat. But the decline has been small com pared to indurtry in general—rehab.e estimat^ place t , amount held at the end of 1933 as being $90,000,000,000, * a.drop of less than 8 per cent from the 1930 high. Thous ands of families will hold on to life insurance tenaciously I —they will deny themselves almost everything before giv ing it up. Ana at the moment, with economic conditions gradually improving, life insurance sales are on the up | grade. i J'he Index likewise quotes statistics indicating how ; the life insurance industry, as a whole, can withstand de | pression. It has demonstrated that it comes as near as is humanly possible to being impervious to financial storms. It has made an exceptional record during some of the most trying years in living memory. CONSTRUCTION AND RECOVERY The importance of the c ns? ruction industry, as an ; employer of ordinary and skilled labor and as a stimula tor of all manner of other industries, is vividly illustrated in statistics published in a ree< nt editorial in the Ameri can Builder. In the years between 1923 and 1926, inclusive, home construction, (which amounts to a little more than fifty i pr cent of the construction industry as a whole in normal | times) was a four billion dollar business. It gave employ raent co several million men actually employed in build-; i !g, and to as many more in factories, mines and forests supplying necessary materials. Employment was nicely! balanced between large cities, small and medium sized towns and rural areas. In 1929 one-tenth of all gainfully employed workers i were engaged in construction. And in 1930, when census figures were taken, there were 167,500 builders and build ing contractors, 929,400 carpenters, and 34,070 lumber and building material dealers. There were likewise 22,000 architects, 33,700 designers, 170,900 brick and stone ma sons, 430,000 painters and glaziers, and 240.000 real es tate agents. The nation’s normal requirement, to quote the Amer ican Builder again, is 800,000 new homes each year. At the moment, a tremendous housing deficit existst, due to the almost entire lack of building, particularly in the low and middle cost field, during the past four years, and the abnormally high rates of depreciation and obsolescence caused by insufficient repair and maintenance. Aggres sive efforts are now being made to speed home building by making financing cheaper and easier. Success of such a movement is essential to recovery. FIRE PROTECTION FOR MERCHANTS Hundreds of merchants from all parts of the United States had a splendid opportunity to visualize the protec tion offered them by stock company fire insurance when; they viewed the exhibit of'the National Board of Fire Underwriters at the recent National Retail Dry Goods Association’s twenty-third annual convention. The exhibit, occupying two large booths, pointed out! that engineering and inspection service for holders of stock policies is available everywhere, for all classes of I property. Accompanying this was a list of the many! types of insurance written to fit every conceivable com-! mercial need. Fire, lightning, tornado and damage by i other elements; consequential loss insurance covering! rentals, use and occupancy, and so on; inland marine in-1 surance covering loss in transit and innumerable risks—' these and many other types of essential coverage are of fered. To make the exhibit more vivid, moving pictures of the Underwriters’ Laboratories were shown, giving convention attendants a complete visual knowledge of the many services the stock companies render. Merchants are but one class of business men who are saved millions of dollars every year through the work of the stock lire insurance industry in waging an unremit ting fight for better building codes, more- efficient muni cipal fire equipment and water alarm systems, and in pro moting many activities designed to lessen fire hazards. Industrialists, farmers, home owners—all are greatly benefited by such fire prevention and service work. LAUGH THIS OFF The Quinquennial Report of the Bureau of the Cen sus of Electrical Industries for 1932 is out. It’s a rather embarrassing document to whooperups for municipal ownership. Like all government reports, it is terse, casual and it sticks to the facts. It doesn’t deal with theory—it doesn’t favor either side of the argument. It simply tells what happened. And the facts, in this case, speak volumes. In 1932 there were 1802 municipal plants in the coun try, and 1627 private plants. The municipal plants charged an average of 3.1 cents per kilowatt hour for all power sold by them. The private companies charged 2.7 cents. Between 1927 and 1932 the rates of private utilities were redcced 19 per cent. The rates of municipal plants were reduced 14.5 per cent. Municipal plants, according to the report, have done little in developing farm service. The vast majority of rural electrification projects have been carried on and developed by private utilities. Municipal plants, in 1932, charged an average of 5.6 cents per kilowatt hour for farm service. Private plants charged 2.8 cents—almost exactly the same rate as their average' for all types of consumers. And to all this it should be added that the private utility p'?<ys out about 17 per cent of gross revenues for taxes—and municipal plants pay nothing at all. These are cold, hard relentless facts that every citi zen should know. They require no comment. It is going to be interesting to watch the enemies of private enter prise and private investment attempt to laugh them off. SILVER-THE NEXT STEP The Presidential proclamation fixing the price of I silver at 64^2 cents per ounce is, in the view of a number | of monetary" experts, simply the first important step in i bringing the silver problem to a logical conclusion. The 64i/o cent price marks a definite advance over re cent silver quotations. But during the last few months there has been a jump in the value of gold of more than i fifty per cent, as part of the government’s dollar devalua ' tion policy. The result is that silver, in relation to gold, j is actually cheaper than usual. It is the belief of many that the essential thing is the establishment of a definite relation in the values of gold and silver—so that when gold goes up or down, the value of silver will automatically follow. They believe that only in this way can foreign trade be really stimulated, and our lost commerce regained. This theory, of course, has its expert opponents, pre cisely as it has its expert advocates. That is an excellent thing—the debate will bring it before the public, and widen our general knowledge of the whole question of money. It is something for every citizen to watch. ‘‘Soaking the rich too hard and too often would ulti mately leave nobody but the poor to pay all the taxes.”— Weston, Oregon, Leader. 4 DEBT CERTIFICATES” GROW A question which will shortly arise in this country is this: In spending public money for relief and recovery activities, where does the point of diminishing return oc cur? In other words, it is possible to reach a point where the best intentioned activities, simply because of their cost to businesses and individuals, defeat the ends they are designed to further. The public debt will be the greatest in history by June 30, next, and climb steadily to June 30, 1935, according to present program, v/hen a halt is contemplated. The esti mated total Federal debt will then be about $31,000,000, 000. ’ States and municipalities are similarly burdened. Their position is worse because their credit is obviously much less solid than is that of the Federal government. They have spent, collectively, untold billions—with slight idea of how the money will be repaid. They have fright ened investors, property owners, prospective builders of homes and factories and stores. They will suffer for it j accordingly—as will workers, taxpayers and the entire public. When Mr. Roosevelt said that, unless something ex traordinary occurred, he meant to begin reducing indebt edness within a year, as all expenditures necessary to his policies would have been made, overwhelming public ap proval greeted him. That shows which way the wind; blows. All branches of government, down to the smallest; hamlet in the land, should take decisive steps to reduce public debt and eliminate the fear of taxation which is rapidly becoming confiscation. THE CO-OPS GROW “Continued growth and improvement in farmers’ co operative associations during the past few years—consti-i tutes on of the hopeful factors in the agricultural situa tion,” says the Dairymen’s League News editorially. * “There are now more than 11,000 cooperative --><•'' tions actively engaged in business in the United States. The dollar volume of business of these cooperatives last year is placed at $1,340,000,000. “Emphasis is everywhere being directed toward strengthening the organization structure, management, and financial positions of existing cooperative associa tions and in assisting associations inadequately organ ized and lacking sufficient capital, to meet the present sit uaton.” That is something worth talking about—and it is an indirect tribute to the wisdom, foresight and plain good sense of the average American farmer. During depres sion a number of the better co-ops, dealing in cotton, dairy products and other goods, have shown what aggressive organizations can do for their members. The steady, accelerating growth of the cooperative movemeht is one of the brightest signs of recovery. TRANSPORTATION BEFORE CONGRESS Within the next few months the Congress will con sider change's and additions to the laws governing regu lation of our transportation agencies. It’s a matter which deserves the greatest interest not only of every legislator and public official, but every citizen who is interested in his country’s future. The railroads will come before Congress with a very modest request. Briefly it is this: That equality of reg ulation be extended to all forms of transportation, and that all be considered part of a unified system in which each will serve the public to the best of its capabilities, rather than as separate entities accorded divergent legal treatment. That is certainly about as logical a program as anyone could desire. The railroads are still the most important gear in the transport machine—and they’re getting the least grease. Minimum rates are established for them—and they are not allowed to make reductions even though highway car riers and waterways parallel their lines and provide transport at a much cheaper price. Before they can make any rate changes whatsoever th$y must give 30 days’ no tice—while their competitors can make changes over night, and a dozen times a day, without notifying anyone. The rails will ask that these two provisions of the law, along with similar restrictions which have made it impossible for them to meet increasing and partlty sub sidized competition, be changed. They will ask that all transport regulation be handled by a central agency, pre ferably the Interstate Commerce Commission, which has been in existence for decades, knows transport problems intimately and has an expert organization built up. If the changes are made, as most observers believe they will be, it will be to the interest of all investors, all workers, all citizens. I TO WORKERS FOR j WORLD DISARMAMENT j Dear Friends: The Vinson naval building program J which is beiryr rushed through Con ] gress this week is the most formida ! ble threat to enduring peace on the j Pacific that has occurred in many years You have read in the Jan . ary News Bulletin which was sent out on Jan i uary 17th the open letter to the Pres j ident protesting against this billion , dollar na al program and urging him to adhere to hs “good neighbor” pol icy in our relations with Jau tn I en close a reprint of this letter A comparison of our navy with those of Great Britain and Japan shows that the big navy' advocates are grossly misrepresenting the sit uation. The following figures have been compiled by William Y. Stone of the Foreign Policy Association from Navy Department statements First, the United States fleet today is not inferior to toe British flo-'t 'nd is considerably above that of Japan- On January 1, 1934, on the basis of ships actually built, the comparative strength of the three great navies was as follows: United States, ships built 372, No. tons 1,038,660; British Empire, ships built 293, No. tons 1,174,339; Japan, ships built 221, No- tons 758,261. Secondly, a larger proportion of the American fleet is made up of techni cally over-age vessels, especially in the categories of destroyers and sub marines. To improve our relative po sition by 1936 the United States is now building, partly from the regular appropriations and partly with $238, 000,000 borrowed from, the Public Works Fund, 52 ships totaling 222, 060 tons as compared with 47 ’hips of 123.785 tons for Great Britain, and 47 ships of 123,372 tons for Japan You will observe that we ar1 building big ships while the other nations are building small ones. The results are shown by the following table, com piled by the United States Navy De partment, showing ships now built and projected that will be under-age in 1936: United States, ships built 113, No. tons 988.520; British Empire, ships built 16’. No- ‘ ur 999,398: Japan, ships built ? '3. No. tons '75 ;70. The Vinson bill author':. the con struction :n sdditi—: r f 10( 0 tons of destroyers, 35,000 tons ■ subma rines and an aircraft r. rk and in addi+'.on to tiu ieplacc nt all the battleships ” i7- c :■* . • u . clause which says: , ‘•Providei. Thr he 9 lent of the United Slates by au thorized to replace, by vessels of modern design and construction, vessels in the Navy in the cate gories limited by the treaties signed at Washington, February 6, 1922, and at London, April 22, 1980, when their replacement is permitted by the said treaties.” This would add approximately one thousand million dollars (1,000,000, 000) to the navy bill and give the United States a navy, the upkeep and maintenance of which will, according to the Navy Department spokesman, cost, approximately $500,000,000 an nually. It will also give the United States the greatest fleet in the world, stimu late naval building in Japan and Great Britain and increase the ten sion on the Pacific to a highly danger ous point- Moreover, with such fat Contracts awaiting them if the 1935 Naval Conference fails, is there any doubt as to the efforts that the ship builders with their Shearers will r*ake to wreck that Conference? These are the essential facts with respect to the Vinson naval bill. Its magnitude is out of all reason. It is being rushed through Congress be fore the hard-pressed taxpayers, the educators who are seeing our schools close from lack of funds, the churches and the organized peace forces can express the tremendus opposition that exists in this country to so out rageous a measure. Regardless of what happens to this bill this week, will you express to the President immediately your opposi tion to it? Will you ask your friends who agree with you fo do the same? Will you get a resolution adopted in your club protesting against the whole spirit and purpose of the bill? Will you urge upon the President that he carry the “good neighbor” policy through the whole field of our for eign relations? It is not for our country, which initiated the Kellogg Pact, return to the fatal era of the ; “big stick.” Don’t delay! Don’t be content with ; securing just one letter. Pay no at tention to what Coag'-ess r.ay ratfc j already done with this atrocious bill. | Tell the President how you feel in j order that he may know that there ! are millions of Americans that sup j port the policy of goodwill. Sincerely yours, Frederick J. Libby, Executive Secretary.