Image provided by: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Lincoln, NE
About The Omaha guide. (Omaha, Neb.) 1927-19?? | View Entire Issue (Feb. 2, 1935)
V.V.V.,.V.V.,.V.V.VAV/i,/AV.VJ,W.,.W/.V.fWWJVWdVWAVM,/W//WAVi,A,.WA . . . EDITORIALS . . . ___ __ The Omaha Guide Published every Saturday at 2418-20 Grant St., Omaha, Neb. Phone WEbster 1750 Entered as Second Class Matter March 15, 1927 at the Post Office at Omaha, Neb., under the Act of Congress of March 3, 1879. Terms of Subscription $2.00 per year. Race prejudice must go. The Fatherhood of God and the Brotherhood of Man must pre vail. These are the only principles which will stand the acid test of good citizenship in time of peace, war and death. —.. , „ , .— . ■■■ . . . Ja. Omaha, Nebraska, Saturday, FEBRUARY 2, 1935 Getting Down To Earth In his article, “The Future,” in the Satur day Evening Post, General Johnson states some frightfully plain truths. The one out standing point he made is that the confidence necessary to encourage the spending of sav ings, the development of industry and the employment of labor, is lacking. “No amount of belaboring business and talking about timidity, by men who never conducted a business in their lives, is going to change these essential responsibilities,” said General Johnson. Many thoughtful and sin cere students of present day problems have pointed out this fact continuously. The government cannot discourage private Enterprise by going into business in compe tition with it with tax-exempt plants financed by public funds, and expect private industry to go ahead. It simply cannot be done. It. cannot increase expenses of industry' by heavier taxes, NRA requirements and extreme regulation which drastically limits or destrovs earnings or opportunities, land expect the in ves'or to pour his savings into labor produc ing projects. Industry wants to go ahead, it wants to em‘ ploy labor, but it cannot draw' on the taxpayer to meet defiei-s as oan government operated in industries. It has to see a change to make a profit before it can rick its savings. ment business, and hreatsh-b shrdlueaitoemfw Private business cannot compete with gov ernment business, and threats cannot change that situation. Regardless of whether one agrees w'ith Gen eral Johnson, many of his statements have for the first time presented in plain language some ot 1 he underlying causes that are retarding or preventing recovery. Lights Vs. Lives Night accidents constitute one of the most serious factors in the growing automobile ac cident problem. A recent survey on “Public Safety as Affected by Street Lighting,” made by an engineer of the National Bureau of Cas' ulty and Surety Underwriters, presents a graphic picture of the gravity of the situation —and points to the cure. The survey definitely proves that the old supposition that the light provided by auto' mobile headlights is enough, is false—the poorer the grade of street lighting, the high er the accident rate. For example, the night fatality rate on streets with grade A light ing is seven times higher than the day rate. On streets with Grade B lighting it is 10 times higher—and on streets with Grade D lighting it is fifteen times higher. Thi fact carries especial force now, inas much as many communities, in the search for means of cutting costs, have lowered their street lighting standards. The result of this policy is found in a comparison between two groups of cities, one which increased street lighting budgets while the other decreased them. In the first case, night fatalities drop ped 25 per cent, and caused an economic sav ing of $2.07 per capita. In the second case, fatalities rose 7.6 per cent, at an economic cost of 69 cents per capita. This was poor economy indeed—(measured either in dollars or the coin of human lives. Good street lighting is not a luxury—it is a community necessity. It saves lives and money. It is the first essestial step in solving the night accident problem. Government Can’t Do It All During the past few years, the Federal gov ernment has been working to develop and per fect farm cooperative organizations. This work has produced excellent results—probably no other federal farm relief activity has been so successful. Unfortunately, this has led to a danger that seems to be inescapable part of all government ventures of the kind. A certain percentage of farmers have come to look upon govern ment as their economic savoir—to believe that it, and it alone, wall iron out their troubles, solve tbeir problems and bring them prosper ity. Farmers who hold to this belief are ob viously going to do little in their own behalf. The fallacy of this attitude was well expres sed recently by F. W. Peck, cooperative bank commissioner of the Farm Credit Administra tion, who said: “It is fundamental that those responsible for the operation of business cooperatives consider that their success de pends upon them and their supporting member ship and not upon the government.” In other words, government is the ally of cooperatives —bu* it is not and should not be their admin istrator. It will do what it can t0 advance their interests—but it will not attempt to take over a cooperative organization and make it succeed. That is the province of manage ment and the farmer membership. banners who look to government as a fin ancial father deserve to fail. Farmers who de termine to work out their own destines de serve to succeed—and they will. STATESMEN OR POLITICIANS? It is not exaggregation to say that the ver age business man looks to a session of Con- I gress with dread and uncertainty. That has been especially true during the past few years, inasmuch as economic Stress has led to an over supply of proposed “remedies” for all our fin ancial and social ills—remedies which, for the most part, would have been worse than the dis ease. Nothing could do more to encourage busi ness, and the average ei. izen, than a conserva tive, responsible attitude on the part of the' present Congress. Conservatism does not ne cesarily mean “stand-patism” but it does mean a decent regard for our Constitution as contrasted with the “isms” that are attacking it. ft means that in the effort to bring about needed reforms, honest businesses will not be sacrificed to the Gods of Socialism, Commun ism or Dictai orship. It means that charges ot bad faith nd crookedness should not be hurled at American business in general by pub lic officials seeking temporary popularity at publjc expense. It is the common belief that responsible Congressman of both parties are frankly wor ried about radicalism within their own ranks. It is hoped that the sound and sober thinking servants of the people will be able to curb the irresponsibles—and help restore that priceless element—confidence—to the people. DON'T SOAK MINING NOW Most authorities are now predicting a sub stantial rise in mining activities. If the rise comes, the legislatures o the mining states will have a good deal to say as to whether it it to be permanent or transitory. Before the depression, mining was contin ually plagued by unfair tax and regulatory laws. The result was that normal develop ment was slowed down even when demand for metals was high, Jobs were lost, capital was discouraged. Long before economic storms swept the country in general, mining faced many problems. Treat mining fairly when it starts to come back and it will contribute much to increasing employment and purchasing power. It will cause the investment of money and develop business and industry. The benefits will be felt far beyond the borders of the mining states—throughout the entire nation. THIRTY-HOUR WEEK MENACES LABOR t i " In concluding a recent study of the thirty hour work wjeek for the Brookings Institute, Harold (r. Moulton and Maurice Leven Says: “Analysis of the economic effects of the 30 hour week clearly leads to the conclusion that the measure would not promote nation wel fare. It would prove detrimental to the in terests of labor ... It vtould not promote recovery and bids to intensify the depression.” It is a historical truth that all social reforms must come naturally and gradually through evolution.—and that when we attempt to speed natural) forces with the spur of legislation, the result is damaging to the welfare of those we seek to aid. All Taxes Are Sales Taxes No form of taxation is so bitterly assailed as the sales tax. The political “friends of the common people” have been especially viru' let in denouncing it, on the grounds that the burden of the tax falls more heavily on per sons of small and moderate means than on the wealthy. ._...l hat is all very well. But a very vital point that the people do not realize is this: There is no other kind of tax, so far as the effect, is concerned, than the sales tax. Every tax must be paid, and paid in full, by the ultimate consumers of goods and pro ducts. Every tax levied increases the cost of necessities and luxuries we need and buy and use. When we buy a pair of shoes we must pay a score of taxes—the tax that was paid by the raiser of the cattle, by the railroad that transported them, by the factory that tanned and cured the leather, by the manufacturer, by the distributor, and finally, that paid by the dealer is included in the cost of the pair of shoes we get. That is true of food, clothing, entertainment and everything else. ECONOMIC HIGHLIGHTS Happenings That Affect the Dinner Pails, Dividend Checks and Tax Bills of Every Individual. Na tional and International Problems Insepara ble from Local Welfare. According to the old saying, “The mills of the gods grin dslowly—but they grond exceedingly fine.” That adage can be accurately ap plied to the present Longress, as it considers the President’s new recov ery and relief program. £t is moving slowly, it is talking a good deal and it is gradually grinding out legisla tion toward the two principal pro jects of the Whte House—social secur ity, and an unprecedentedly vast pub 1 c works program, designed to elimi nate the dole. The public works program is of the most immediate interest. It will cost $4,000,000,000—the largest draft ever drawn against the United States Treasury for any single purpose. It' wHl pnt about 3,500,000 men to work directly. And, if the President’s hopes materialize it will put another 3,500, 000 to work indirectly, in jobs created by the spending power of the first 3,500,000. Equally important are the promised prnciples upon which the program is ; predicted. All work is to be useful, in that it will either permanently im prove living conditions or create new wealth. Pay for workers will be above the present “dole” level—but will be low enough so that the men employed will still keep an eye out for jobs in private business. Projects will be selected so as to use the largest possible amount of labor for the mon ey spent. The money will be alloted on the basis of the greatest need— that is, a state which has 20 per cent of its people on relief will get more than a state whch has but ten per cent on relief. It is said the public works program will avoid competition with private enterprise, which is jus tifiably jittery about government ac tivities in the industrial field. The list of possible public works has not been completed, but a number are known. Public buildings will be one Bridge building will be another. Soil conservation and sanitation will come in for their share, as will tunnels, flood dams and forest conservation. Road building will naturally be near the head of the list. There was considerable dissatisfac tion in Congress over the fact that the President wants the public works money under his control—Congress men wanted to distribute it them selves. However this idea seeems to be definitely out—allocation of funds will be in the jurisdiction of the White House, through a board ap pointed by the President. So far as the social security pro gram is concerned, it is finding rather hard going. It seems that every Con-1 gressman has his own idea as to how the ill, the aged and the unemployed should be aided—there is much argu ment, manly words and little agree ment. By the time this is read, the so-called Townsend Plan, whereby ev ery person over 60 would be given $200 a month by the government, will probably have been introduced in the ower house—proponents of the plan claim enough supporters to get it through. The President’s influence, However, wil be thrown aggressively against it and in favor of a much more moderate policy. Business reports are encouraging.. The country s experiencing gradual improvement in about every line of endeavor. Trade, according to Dun & Brad street, is rising above the levels of 1930 and 1931. Where, at the begin ning of 1932, that company’s business activity index stood at 50.1, it now touches 74—a gain of 45 per cent. This increase s largely due to retail distribution gains, which are 5 per cent above last year in New England, 8 to 12 per cent up on the Pacific Coast, and 20 to 30 per cent improved in the Middle West, with the balance of the country showing rises of from 12 to lo per cent. Reports from grain and livestock markets are also en couraging. Steel production is at 44 per cent of capacity—a gain over recent levels. It is still advancing. Electric power production shows some gains. The construction industry long dormant, is showing signs of recovery, due principally to the activities of the Housing Administration which, after a slow start, sfeems to be gathering momentum in its drive to make peo ple build and renovilze their homes. A recent Annalist statement, sent out over the financial wires, said, in effect, that all matters of interest to business are overshadowed by the possibilities inherent in the Supreme Court’s forthcoming decision on the gold seizure act. It seems sure, how ever, that quick remedial action will be taken if the Court holds against the government—Congress is prepared for an adverse decision and bills are already drafted in case it again be comes necessary to revamp our mon dy system. Metals Rule The World It is a historical fact that no nation can achieve or maintain a postion as a j first-class world power without ade quate mineral resources, and a pro gressive mining industry. Everything we use in peace or war —from plumbing to battleships, from rifles to pens—involves one or more metals. A country which is metallic-j ally self conta.ned and does not need to import metals, has a tremendous advantage over a country which must look beyond its boundaries for mine products. This is one more good reason why | everything possible should be done to bring recovery to the mines. When The Railroads Fold Up On the first of the year, several branch lines of large railroads were abandoned in a middle western state. The abandonment was forced—as has been the case with thousands of miles of such line during the past few years —by publicly subsidized and inequita ble competition and regulation that caused destruction of railroad reve nues, which made it financially im- j possible to keep on operating. To the outside world, the abandon- 1 ment meant little—it was a rather a dull item in a newspaper and nothing more. To the communities affected, it was tragedy. Men will lose their jobs. Others will be transferred to different places, and be forced to sell their homes and possessions at bank rupt prices—property in a town with out a railroad is usually the next thing to worthless. Businesses in these communities have announced 1 qudaton of their as sets. Grain elevators and lumber yards are closing down—and buildings and equipment worth many thousands are now' a drug on a dead market. The towns and their counties are losing a substantial part of their tax revenue, which came both from the ; railroads and the businesses which I are liquidating. Th.s must result in heavier taxes on all other property, every bit of which is worth less now than it was w'hen the railroad served the community. The inevitable con sequence of that will be retrogression —ghost towns will stand in the places that promised to be forw'ard-looking little cities. Such a suicidal railroad policy, which penalizes the raiis on one hand with taxes and iron-handed regula tion and legislation, and pampers their competitors on the other is responsi ble for these abandonments. No pol- ! icy does more to promote depression. I _ I Preventing Fire Aids Business Recovery Will 1935 bring an epidemic of de-! structive factory fires ? It may. if the managers of industrial plants neglect to make careful checks for fire haz- j ards that urgently need correcting, and if they fail to put equipment that has not been operated for some time, into proper working condition before stepping up production. It is an in vitation to fire to rush a factory into production w'hen inactivity has ruled during depression! As factory operations increase, as they eventually must, there is apt to be a great rush for materials and an unprecedented effort to produce fin ished merchandise in large volume. A fire as such a time would be disastrous to most concerns. Multiplied a thous and fold, such fires would slow up business recovery. The very eager ness for a speedy swing into the pre depression stride might defeat its own •purpose. There is one simple yet effective plan for exposing fire hazards so that they may be corrected; that is, make a detailed inspection of the plant. In many instances inspecting mjuy be done by the management itself, a group of competent empoyes or a committee of both, provided a correct correct guide is followed in the work. Such a guide is available in the form of a self-inspection blank, which will be furnished on request by the Nation al Board of Fire Underwriters 85 John St., New York City. Inspections should be thorough and periodic and all essential data should be put in written form. It is evident that in spections will be worthless, however, unless the fire hazards discosed are corrected at once. Fire is one of the chief enemies of industry. Business men can spare themselves much loss and worry by i devoting sufficient time to a thought ful study of how to prevent fire on ther own premises, and by inaugurat ing an adequate system of inspections. COUNTING THE COST By R. A. Adams (For The Literary Service Bureau) No truly wise man ever will Begin with haste undue, to buld A superstructure, until he Hath reckoned what the cost will be. The wisdom of this course appears. And has been proved, by many tears, Of those whose fondest projects fell, Because they did not reckon well. So this advice I'd give to you: Whatever you essay to do, Lest al 3»our efforts should be lost, First reckon what will be the cost. Ths final thought: E’re works of sin, Ever in weakness you begin Cost fully calculate, but know The reaping wll be as you sow. “LOOKING BACK” By Videtta Ish i (For The Literary Service Bureau) INEQUALITY IN CONDUCT OF THE HOME It used to be that husband and wife worked in harmony, in conducting the home. Usually the husband looked after things outside and the wife those on the inside. Though as a general thing the wife had her way about things in the home, she would consult her husband and ask suggestions. In things finan cial, friend husband would not make departure from the routine of things without consulting the wife. In these cases husband and wife were frank and honest with each other. Each one sought the approval of the other. But now, it is not unusual to hear the husband swear and tell the wife, ‘It’s none of your d- business what I do.’ Often wife loses her temper and raves foolishly. Some times wives are heard to insist angri ly, ‘This is n^/ house, and I have the right to run t as l please.’ Husband often storms, ‘I make the money; I’ll spend it any way I want to.’ Looking back, I consider the old way, of equal ity and cooperation best. Weekly Short Sermon By Dr. A. G. Bearer (Fcr The Literary Service Bureau) (AN AKIM) Text: And we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, there.—Numbers 13:33. Anakim is the pural of the term Anak. Anak means giant, so Anakim would mean giants. Moses had sent out men to make a survey of the land which the Lord had promised to the children of Israel. Two of these spies, Caleb and Joshua, carried back good reports. The others presented dis couraging reports. They said excit ingly “We saw giants, the sons of Anak there; in comparison, we are but grasshoppers and we cannot over come them.” And they were ready to turn back from the very borders of the Land of Promise. The good spies, Caleb and Joshua said, “Yes we did see the Anakim, there, but we are able to overcome them; so, let ug go up and possess the land.” So, on the borders of some promised land of golden opportunity many be come discouraged because of the gi gantic difficulties encountered. They, say, “These difficulties are giants' they are like mountains, we cannot overcome them.” And they turn back and lose their quest because of weak ness and cowardice. But, those who are brave, courageous and strong hearted will press on—and they will win in spite of the Anakim who may oppose. Let us be good spies—like Caleb and Joshua and defy the Ana kim. WHAT AILS YOUNG WOMEN? By R. A. Adams (For The Literary Service Bureau) The thing in mind is the recklessness of young women in exposing them selves to all kinds of dangers, in spite of the tragedies which are of daily occurrence. Many young women go joy-riding with the whole company under the in fluence of rum. They go riding with entire strangers. They pet in motor cars, on highways. They have sex as sociation with men who are strangers and risk ruin from venereal disease. Like Barrow’s Bonnie Parker, they join men in crime. They wreck their bodies by reckless, wild living, tin all of these and in other ways they dare fate and gamble with destiny. Is it the superiority complex which makes a girl think she can do with impunity what has proved destructive to others? Is it the foolish and dan gerous desire for excitement and no toriety ? Is it a deadening of moral sensibilities, bringing a condition of callousness and indifference? xms conduct cannot be attributable to lack of education for many of these foolish young women have edu catonal advantages. In the light of this manifestation of supreme folly one asks “What ails young women?” And it is impossible to escape the con clusion that something is seriously wrong. “PROVERBS and PARABLES” By A. B. Mann (For The Literary Service Bureau) (“THE ETERNAL NOW”) This may seem a paradox. “Now” means ‘present’. ‘Eternal’ is under stood “to be without limit”. But the thought is that eternal interests de pend on present activities. This is in iine -with Longfellow’s: “Trust no future howe’er pleasant Let the dead past bury its dead; Act, act in the living present Heart within and God o’erhead.” ‘Delays are dangerous’. Procrasti nation is the thief of time, Do it now, Be wise, today, Tomorrow may be too late. There is a tide in the affairs of men, Seize opportunity by the fore loca, all of these emphasize the thought of ‘The Eternal now.’ MAXIE MILLER W RIT E S (For The Literary Service Bureau) Buyiag “Pig in Bag” Bad business— Too Great a Bisk Marrying Stran ger—Let the Gentleman Call—Go to a Man to Marry Him? Never! (For advice, write to Maxie Miller, care of Literary Service Bureau, 516 Minnesota Ave. Kansas City, Kans. For personal reply send self-addressed stamped enveope.) Maxie Miller:—I am, puzzled stiff. I’m in love, or I think I am. I’ve nev er seen the boy, but have been writ ing to him and now he wants me to marry him. He doesn’t like my home state, says he won’t come here*, but will send me money and I can come to him and he’ll marry me as soon as J get there, or send me back if I don’t want to anarry him. What must I do? I know you know.—Jennie Wrenn. Jennie Wrenn:—You should need no advice. Your own good sense would tell you not to think of such folly. It's iike buying a “pig in a bag”. A man who does not love you enough to go to your home does not love you enough for you to marry him. Thus, you’d be a dozen kinds of a fool to go to this stranger. He might compro mise you and not marry you after all. Or perhaps when you see him you would not want him, i/et, under the circumstances, you might marry him and ruin your life. Better stay where you are.—Maxie Miller. The Hawaiian* The Hawailans are Polynesians, not Malays who are a branch of the Mon golian race. The Polynesians, al though of similar features, language, customs, religion and traditions, are not a pnre race. They are supposed to be mainly of Aryan origin, with In fusions of other bloods, and to have come from Asia by way of the Malay peninsula and Java, and thence from Island to Island by various route* In their migrations eastward, northward and southward, and to have reached Hawaii, probably from Samoa, about the year 500 A. D. I ' Black Flowers There are dark shades of pansies, tulips, roses, etc., which are not ab solutely black but are considered near ly black. The darkest rose known is said to be an old hybrid perpetual, Empereur du Maroc, now out of culti vation In America. A registration of the American Rose society Is Queen of Spades, a hybrid tea rose, which under glass comes probably as near to black as any other rose. A Platoon School A platoon school is an elemen tary school organized in two ma jor divisions, with a program ’of studies so arranged that the di visions alternate in using the two kinds of school rooms, as class and study rooms on the one hand, and shops, laboratories, auditoriums and gymnasium on the other, and thus ful ly utilize the physical resources of tne school plant _ I Discovered Quinine The Indians of Peru used and In Introduced it to the Jesuit pr.ie«ts. Be tween 1629 and 163ft. the Countess of Chinchon, .vice queen of Peru, lay ill of a fever. She was cured by a brew made from the bark of the plant, and sent a quantity to Spain for experi mentation. Hence, it has spread throughout the world. Produces Vitamin A Young herbage, besides being a rich storehouse of proteins, sugars, starches, and essential minerals contains caro tene which In trie body of an animal produces vitamin A. This vitamin pro motes growth in farm stock as well as in human beings, and enables them to resist disease. Rooms in U. S. Capitol In the United States Capitol there are 430 rooms occupied as offices, com mittee rooms, and for storage purposes, with 679 windows! ahd 550 doors. Sky lights occupy 14.5S1 square feet. First Presidential Veto The first Presidential veto in Amer ican history was Washington s »eto <*f the first congressional apportionment Mil, April 6. 1792. Honor Town’s Heroine Inhabitants of the French village of Beauvais have a special holiday each year to honor the memory of the lown’s heroine, Jeanne Hachette, the local Joan of Arc. It was Jeanne who saved the small city centuries ago when it was besieged. -- jT Heligoland Heligoland, German isle in the North tea, is treeless, but not birdless. Mil- . ions of migratory birds rest on the •ocks. A change in the wind and Jiey’re all gone. Because of its strat egic naval defenses, Heligoland was ince called the Gibraltar of the North. Plant Detects Gas The carnation plant is a more sen sitive gas detector than the apparatus used by the average chemist, its leaves closing when one part of gas Is present In a residence room in a million parts of air. Naming Plymouth, Mata. Plymouth, Mass... was named for Plymouth, In England, the last Eng lish port touched by the Pilgrims, and that port was so named because It la situated at the mouth of the Plyna