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. . . EDITORIALS . . .
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The Omaha Guide
Published every Saturday at 2418-20 Grant St., j
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.
Omaha, Nebraska, Saturday, March 9, 1935
TRUE DEMOCRACY IN BUSINESS
1 A * 1* ^ I , , 1 , I* /» * . 1 . -
n j > i.ui uiai i aaun mat ij.ic luaiuau'.c
President and Actuary of the Hankers Life Com
pany of Dos Moines, described ,he “average JLie
insurance policyholder.”
Some Sixty-Million of these average policyhold
ers live in the United S. ates—many more than in
all, the rest of the world combined. They are or
dinary citizens, neither rich nor poor—the kind of
citizens who make the backbone of the nation. They
possess total insurance to the tune of One-Hundred
Pul1 ion- which means that each policyholder pos
sess about $1,670 worth.
It is ofr that reason that life insurance has been
called the most democratic of all businesses. Oc
casional'y we hear of very large policies amount
ing to a million or more on *bne individual—-but
such exceptions are rare. They don’t make a drop
in the insurance bucket.
It is an interesting fact "hat the person who
carries a Million dollars in insurance pays precisely
the same unit rate as the person who carries a
thousand. TTe gets no “discount for quantity.”
no special favors. The average policyholder rules
the insurance industry—and it caters perfectly to
the needs of the ordinary thrifty and foresighted
citizen who manages *o spend a little less than he
earns, and puts the balance away to provide for
P’" future of his family and himself.
CODE LAWS VS. ECONOMIC LAWS
The President has stressed the need for more
adequately applying the fundamental principles of,
the anti-trust laws to NT?A codes.
Many of the codes have violated anti-trust laws
and the result has been either unjustified price
gains, or the squeezing out of small business which
could not survive, once the opportunity of offering
lower prices was denied them.
It seems to be an inescapable fact that efforts
to eliminate the ancient laws of supply and demand
are doomed to failure.
DOUBLE TAXATION MENACES LIBERTY
Tn a recent survey of “The Burden of Taxation.”
the Index points to the growing trend toward double
taxation—where similar, duplicating taxes are levied
by more than one govermental unit.
The imposition of double taxes, in the Index’s
opinion, seriously infmges upon the equitable dis
trihuton of the tax burden as a whole. And, as
municipal, state and Federal budgets increase, the
danger of tax overlapping becomes steadily more
grave.
In 1932, for example, the last year for which
complete figures are available, 17 states imposed an
income tax similar to that of the Federal govern
ment. Five states and two territories imposed
taxes on corporation incomes, in addition to the
Federal levy. Thus, business and individuals paid
an identical tax twice, to the discouragement of in
dustrial expansion, employment and normal spend
ing.
Conditions are even worse in the field of special
or class taxation. In 1932 ,there were 172 specific
items where taxes were duplicated by two or more
units of government. Since then, the number has
increased. The example of gasoline is the most
» common—it is taxed heavily by all states, is taxed
in addition by the Federal government and, in a
number of areas, is taxed again by counties and
municipalities.
From a nation founded on the cardinal principle
of tax equality, we have changed to a nation of
class arfd special taxation—the rocks tha have split
asunder many a ship of state in the past. Will we
remain blind to all the signals that point the way
we are drifting?
THAT FEELING OF UTTER HELPLESSNESS
As the current year gets underway, the belief
grows that times are better. Recovery may not be
just around the corner—but it may be within
sight.
One of the ways to expedite recovery—a way
that is in the power of every citizen—is to reduce
fire loss. Fires the great destroyer. It is the
enemy of all the things that make prosperity, em
ployment, industrial activity, business expansion,
home and farm development. The dollars that go
up in smoke are lost beyond recovery—they repre
sent a complete and utter waste of financial life
blood.
A fire that destroys a factory may cause a di
rect loss of but $10,000—and an indirect loss of ten
times that amount, in lost jobs, destroyed purchas
ing power, higher taxes for the community. Cases
are on record where a single disastrous fire has
brought progress in a flourishing town to a definite
halt and set it back a generatin in its develop
merit. Insurance may take care of the direct loss—
but nothing can compensate for indirect waste.
Resolve to do your part in preventing fire. In
spect your property and correct hazards. If you
are bui ding or rebuilding, make certain that an up
to- date, approved building code is followed un
deviatingly. It will take little of your time and
ihe cost will lie small—and it will mep.n dollars in
your pocket,
One never experiences a greater feeling of help
lessness than when he sees his home or place of
business being consumed by flames and no adequate
.lie protection available to save his property and
possibly the lives of loved ones.
All persons should cheerfully join in fire preven
tion and lire protection measures.
SELF HELP IS BEST HELP
It is forecast that the government is going to
make a change in its policy toward agriculture. It
will have .ess to say about what the farmer should
do and not do—and w-ill leave more up to the farm
er himself.
Progressive American farmers will welcome that
change. And .hey will also welcome the change it
\wll give them to show the stuff they are made of
farmers face great problems—and‘the only wav
they will ever be satisfactorily solved is by ihe ef
torts ail(* work of the farmers themselves. ' Even if
government, by fiat, could make all rosy in the
agricultural world, i would be of small worth if
■ ie tanner became a financial and mental dependent
in the process.
iuday several mil.ions of farmers are banded to
gether in cooperative associations, handling dairv
products, co ton, walnuts, wheat and other goods.
Ihe coops are controlled by the farmers—they re
ject farm sentiment and farm ambitions. They
represent real private ini iative through collective
action ,hat doesn’t ask for favors, it doesn’t de
pend for existence on government, and that gets
resuds. Cooperatives are the best weapons the
farmers could have for fighting depression.
FINAL CHAPTER SPRING .SURPRISE
Dr. Warren Persons, formerly professor of
economies at Harvard, has completed a survey of
.he domestic electric rates charged by public and
private plants. The purpose of the survey was to
tmd out which charged the lowest rates.
He compared 290 municipal plants with 290 pri
va.e plants similarly situated.
He found that, on the average, the bill for a
monthly consumption of GO kilowatt hours is $3.59
m the case of public plants, and $3.77 for the pri
vate plants.
I hat looks like a victory for the municipal owner
ship advocates.
However, there’s a final chapter to the story.
The private electric systems pay heavy taxes— pub
lic systems are tax exempt.
Consequently, in order io make the comparison
accurate, Dr. Persons allowed for the taxes paid by
the private plants.
As a resu,t< if Private plants take the monev
I eey now give the tax collector and apply it all to
reducing rates to domestic sonsumers, their charge
jor GO kilowatt hours would average $2.45_$1.14
less than the public plants which pav no taxes
The public ownership advocates will have a hard
tune laughing that off.
INSURANCE WITHOUT PREMIUMS
In a recent address. Harold P. Jackson, Presi
dent of the Hankers Indemnity Insurance Company
pointed out that the insurance companies holding
membership in the National Bureau of Casualty
and Surety Underwrters sustained the staggering
underwriting loss of a Hundred and Fifty Million
hour Hundred and Fifty thousand dollars from 1927
to 1933, inclusive. This group of companies in
cludes practically all of the major casually institu
tions doing business in the United States.
As a result, the thousands of Amerian citizens
v o have invested money in insurance companies
rendering an essential service, not only have receiv
ed no return on their investment, but have been
faced with steadily mounting deficits. The upshot
of the matter, in Mr. Jackson’s belief, is that if the
current trend continues, casualty insurance rates
must be raised, and policies will become less liberal
and more restricted in their provsions.
Reasons for the deficits the casualty companies
are sustaining, are not hard to find. The principal
reason lies in the broadening of workmen’s com
pensation insurance benefits— which our commis
sions have given award after award to workmen in
cases which, in the opinion of nsurance underwrit
ers, cannot fairly be considered within the scope of
workmen’s compensation laws as intended by legis
latures. Compensation has been made ,in various
states, into a sort of old age and general sickness”
insurance. The consequence is that insurance com
panies pay out a great deal more than they take in
from compensation underwriting.
Second, increased accident frequency in the auto
mobile liability field, along with a growing number
of claim frauds, have likewise taken the profit out
heavy losses. These two fields of underwriting
of that type of insurance—and replaced it with
automobile and workmen’s compensation, are the
principal branches of the casualty business, and
other types of insurance written by the companies
are of relatively small importance.
It is inevitable that casualty rates will go up if
court decisions continue to read into policies cover
age that were never intended to be there and for
which no premiums were collected.
ROGERS BOOSTS TOWNSEND PLAN.
In his usual comment in a local paper, Will Rog
ers says “A real old stand-pat republican governor
of the great state of California reached the Town
send plan age today. And I am a telling you that
I am on the waiting list not many years awav.
I don’t know where the money would come
from, in fact, I don’t know where any of all this
money is coming from we are spending now, any
more than a congressman does, but if Americans are
going to stop and start worrying about whether
t my can afford a thing or not, you are going to ruin
the whole characteristic of our people. There
wouldn’t have been a dozen automobiles sold if that
was the case.”
ECONOMIC
HIGHLIGHTS
Happenings Tha* Affect the Din
ner Pails Dividend Checks ana
Tax Bills of Every Individual.
Washington has been the cent
er of national interest during the
past few weeks. A great deal
.hat is momentous has happened
there—and is happening.
First and foremost comes the
Supreme Court’s long delayed de
cision on the gold clause eases—
held by some to be the most im
portant decision in a great many
years, inasmuch as the Admini
stration’s whole recovery and re
form program hinged upon it.
Headers of newspaper headlines
obtained the impression that the
court, by a five-to-four majority,
upheld the Government 100 per
cent. But, as a financial commen
tator said shortly after, it really
upheld the Government about 99
.44 100 per cen,—implied in the
decision was a warning to Con
gress to the effect that there were
limits beyond which it could not
go.
The majority decision, read by
Chief Justice Hughes, held that
the case against the Baltimore
and Ohio Railroad, which was
sued by a “gold” bondholder who
wan ed bis interest paid on the
gold dollar basis, must be dismis
sed, inasmuch as Congress had
the power to control, regulate and
determine the gold value of cur
rency. Of greater interest was
the decision in the Liberty Bond
eases, where a bondholder sued
the government itself. The ma
jority opinion held that Congress
had gone beyond its constitution
al power in abrogating its gold
contract—but that the plaintiff
was not entitled to recover
damages, as he could not show
that he had actually lost anything.
The reason he had not lost, said
Mr. Hughes., was that if he were
actually paid in gold he would
not be able to use it; he would
have to turn it into the govern
ment at once and would be paid
at the eld rate per ounce. He
could not trade with it, could nor
export it, could not get more for
it than he could got for the same
amount of existing currency. The
warning to Congress lies in the
admonition that Congress went
too far—and in the implication
that, if a person can prove loss in
the future through abrogation of
a government gold contract, he
may be entitled to recover dam
ages.
Result of the decision was a
temporary boom in the stock
market whic immediately subsid
ed. Frade A bonds rose, held
the advance.
Observations on the decision,
whether favorable or unfavorable,
seemed to be that the Court had
simply followed the law.. Most
editorial comment regretted
that the decision had been by so
narrow a margin—in effect* one
man had the power to make or
break the policy of an Administra
minist ration.
It is an interesting fact that this
man. Mr Hughes, was once a Re
publican candidate for the Presi
dency. When Supreme Court
' otes are taken, the Chief Justice
votes last, so that when Air. Hugh
es’ turn eame the Court was even
ly divided, and he had the power
to throw the balance either way.
Also interesting is the faet that
the biting minorhv opinion was
read by Mr. MeReynolds. a Demo
crat who served under Wilson as
Attorney General.
After the Supreme Court, the
Washington gaze focuses on Con
gress, which is exhibiting an un
looked for independence. Before
the session started, most observers
forecasted that the President
would have a harder'time getting
what he wants than he did last
session. But no one thought that
deposition to his wishes would be
e« strong as it is. At this writing,
tho work relief hill is not vet pas
sed and it probably will not be
come law for some weeks, as Con
gress has done something the
President is strongly opposed to_
made it obligatory to pay public
works employes wages as high as
those paid by private industry.
The President wants the scale to
he lower, so that workers will
keep an eve out for private jobs,
will not be satisfied to work in
definitely for the government.
Senator Glass fought on behalf of
the Administration to stop Con
gress from putting in the undesir
ed provision, but failed.
Senator Glass then said that,
"he President would veto the hill.
The President’s mueh-antieipat
?d NPA message has gone to Con
gress. Tf its recommendations
ire followed, there will be Lss
government control over indus
trial management, less bureaucrat
^ regimentation of industry
flours and Avagos provisions will
ao continued—but sail terms for
VRA offenders will be dropped.
Price fixing will be modified or
diminated—the President said
TALKING IT OVER
By Mildr d Bronson
BE A FRIEND
Oh, you’ll not be any poorer
If you smile along the way
And your lot will not be harder
For the kindly things you say,
Don’t imagine you are wasting
Time for others thaL you .spend
You can rise to wealth and glory
And still, pause to be a friend
Friends:
I will ask you to read ihis poem
over very slowly, three limes
through, and then stop end relax
in you easy chair. Throw off
your working shoes, draw your,
chair up before the fire place, if
there happens to be one, and Let
your mind wander down Memory
Lane for abou five minutes. Then
carefully read your poem over.
Compare it with yourself. Ask
j ourself these questions. Am I
a Friend? If so, have I lost any
thing by being a friend ?Ask your
self if you feel any better after
you say a kindly word to some
one or af.er you bawl someone
out.
All of these questions are
deep, sensible and educational
questions and are ones that con
front every living human being
on earth, whether he realizes it
or not.
Take the first two lines of this
poem: Oh, you’ll not be any poor
er, if you smile along the way.”
I et’s wander back 10 our discus
sion of a few weeks ago, entitled
“Smiles.” This is for all of us
to discuss, Friends, you and I;
so try very carefully to recall the
subject I have brought to your at
tention. “Smiles” Does every one
recall? Weil, that’s fine. Now,
we may continue. Let your
glance go back to the first two
lines of our poem this week. May;
1 here ask you if they are true
or not ? . Are you any poorer for
smiling along the way of Life as
you onward!y trudge? Do you
lose anything by smiling? Look,
at your discussion on “Smiles.”
What does it say is the cost of a
smile? What can you sell it i
for? How long does it say it will
stay on the market? Do you rem
ember? Yes. It says a smile eos.s
nothing, but it can be sold for mil
lions. It says its time on the
market is very limited. It gives
you examples of two people on a
job ,one with a winning smile,
the other without it. Which one
does it say holds out ? The. one
with the winning smile, does it
hot? If, my Friends, we will .rav
el on to the next two lines of our
poem, which is as follows
“And your lot will not be hard
er, for the kindly things you say.”
How true. There is no possible
way to make your olt harder by
saying kindly things, if any, it
will help to improve your lot,
the most vicious dog on earth will
not growl and bark long at a per
son .hut speaks kindly to it. It
is not long, if you notice, before
this dog will he running to meet
the person who is forever speak
ing kindly to it.
The next two lines are as fol
lows: “Don’t imagine you are
wasting Time for others that you
spend.” Two very old sayings can
be given here to bring out the
.hought desired. “What ye sow,
ye shall surely reap.” If you sow
good and kindly though.s. words
and deeds, they will surely come
back to you double fold. The
second adage, “Do unto others as
you would that they should do ,o
you.” When you ‘Holler’ a’t a per
son or say unkind things or bawl
a person out, do you ever stop to
think how you would feel if some
one did the same to you? All of
these things are to be taken into
consideration, my Friends, our
people are too hard headed, too
quick tempered, ,oo stubborn, we
may say, to realize that if they
stop to think before they eommi t
.a eertain act, before they give
someone a frown in place of a
smile, they would not do those
hings. Their lives would be hap
pier. We would be more pros
perous. Our people would not be
considered bv the other races as
being backward. Little as any
one may think, the Negro race is
one of the smartest races on ihe
face of the earth.
And it is no one hut ourselves
holding the race back.
On account of time and space
we will con inue to the last two
lines of our poem. “You can rise
to wealth and glory, and still
pause to be a friend.” Is the
above true or not?
I do not think I hear one NO
among our group. Just because
one wishes .0 rise, to fame is no
reason why he cannot be a friend.
No matter how high one mavj
climb on the ladder of fame, lie
should never get too high to for-!
get to be a friend.
Remember, one should keep his
okl friends and add new ones'to
his list. But to add new ones and
drop the old will prove to he trag
ic to the individual in the long
run. Because, sooner or later, he
will be marked as a fair weather
friend. No one wants to be cal
led that kind of a friend, I am
sure. So, my Friends, we will j
close our discussion for today. We
will push our chairs back from
the fireplace, gather our thoughts!
together and come back once
again to the rustle and bustle of
our everyday walks of life until j
next week at this same time, when!
we will again gather around our;
fireplace for another interesting!
discussion between you and me.
So, Good Friends, so long, and
Hood luck, until we meet again. ;
significantly that the anti-trust
laws, which were completely abro
gated when the NRA was first
born, must be put into force
again. This obviously stems from
the growing consumers’ revolt
against soaring prices.
Recent business reports shows
a slight let down from the up
surge that characterized the past
two or three months. However,
many optimistic signs are still to
be seen.
Best of these signs is the an
nouncement that Big Steel, U. S.
Steel Corporation plans to spend
Forty seven million for new plant
capacity.
The 1935 for sugar is said to
be the best in six or seven years.
The Automobile industry con
tinues to lead the forward march
—for any recovery achieved this
year, motors must be given the
lion’s share of the credit.
HEARSTS NEWSPAPERS
SLANDER NEGROES
Mirror Runs Anti- Comic
Strip.
The Mirror is featuring a con
test for the naming of two Negro
children, characters in a cartoon
strip entitled, “Henry—the Fun
niest Living American—” by
Carl Anderson. The children
play the despicable role of flunk
ey and yes man to the white
child, “Henry.” Their pictures
are drawn in exaggerated fashion
with the intention of ridiculng
the physeal features of Negroes.
“Have you named the little
pickaninnies yet? The pickanin
nies can’t go much longer with
out names,” states the Daily Mir
ro.” It publishes suggestions as,
“Dot and Dash, Whitey and
Mose, Sooty and Dusty, Dim and
Blur. Kinky and Wooly, Yam and
Sam, Button and Shoelace, Carbon
and Cotton, Jazzbo and Sambo,
Do-Do and Jo-Jo, and Diddaddle
and Daddle.”
ADVERTISE IT IN THE GUIDE
I
N. R. A.
HI-LIGHTS
I
Building Trades Agreement: An
agreement was signed a few days
ago by all the international build
ing trades unions affiliated with
the American Federtaion of Labor
to settle jurisdictional disputes
through available facilities set up!
in the Planning and Adjustment!
Board of the Construction Indus- i
try code. Division Administraor
Berry, of the KRA states that the
agreement gives assurance to pri
vate industry that peace, as far
as jurisdictional disputes are con
cerned, is guaranteed. Mr. Berry
accepts the agreement as a step
toward the time when all differ
ences between industry and labor
will be considered to fall within
the possibilities of arbitration ma
chinery.
Steel Wage Rates Increase: Em
ployee’s earnings in the steel in
dustry' are approximately One
Hundred Milllion higher than
they would have been on the basis
prevailing before code wages w'ent
into effect. Statistics required by
the code show that in September,
1934, when production reached
its lowest level under the code,
there were 43,683 more employees
than in June, 1933. The hour
day and 40 hour week has increas
ed the number of workers, while
the code pay provisions have ad
vanced wages, offsetting reduced
hours.
Codes To Increase Pay: Wage
increases for approximately 25,
000 workers in the paper and pulp
industry will result from a code
amendment just approved by the!
President. The NRA has also ap-i
proved an amendment providing
for bettet- pay in the paper bag
field, benefiting 3,000 workers.
The increases not only apply to
the minimum wages paid in* the
productive field, but advance the
pay of office workers as well.
Wage Restoration Total
Mounts: It is estimated that
the total wage restorations ar
ranged for by NRA field offices
and the newly organized regional
compliance councils has now
reached $3,152,103. Figures were
not formally tabulated in the
first year of NICY, but the esii
ma e xor the restitutions in ihat
period is one million dollars. A
iormal record has been kepi since
June 16, 1934, and the number of
YvuiKeis benefited was 87,922.
Upholds Cotton Picking Mini
mum: The industrial Appeals
Hoard has cheeked an attempt to
develop a new minimum wage of
lUe an hour under the Cotton
Pickery ('ode. The minimum set
in the code is 18e an hour which
is for women workers. i>. Nam
nian and Co., of Augusta ,6a. t >ld
the NRA last December that it
could not aiford to pay Use an
hour and asked for a 10c rau1. Di
vision Administrator Riiev refus
ed and the company appealed, in
handing down its decision, .he
Hoard said that the Company was
required to show that it was in
an unfair competitive posi.ion
through no fault of its own. The
appellant could not prove that
this was ihe case nor could il show
inability to mechanize its plant
and thus effect a considerable
savings through wage reductions.
Code Costs to Industry: Account
ing experts estimate that coded
industries pay for code admini
strtaion 10.65: h of 100 per cent
of the volume of their sales. This
yields a total of $41,400,000 a
year. The investigation was con
ducted by Hiram S. Hrown, NRA
budget director. The figures are.
not final and the indications are
that the total will be reduced
when complete organizations are
formed under the codes. Exact
estimates are difficult to make,
as code assessments are not ab the
same. However, for 352 budgets,
it was readily ascertained that
the assessments amounted to 1.
19th of 1 per cent of the annual
sales volume, making the cost of
code adminis ration $38,118,000
for coded industries doing a busi
ness of Seventy Billion Three
Hundred and Eighty Million a
year. Only 14 budgets provided
for an expense as high as 1 per
cent of the annual sales volume,
or more.
Forest Preserva ion Ruls: A
long step forward in the plans
for saving American forests from
fire, inserts and disease has just
been taken. The Western l)ivi
sion of the hardwood distilla ion
industry has submitted to the
NRA rules whereby owners ami
operators of woodlands may co
operate with the Forest Service
and other public agencies in pro
tecting the forests and providing
for the regrowth of timber. The
rules, when approved, will be ad
ded to the code provisions. The
Southern and Eastern Divisions
are expected to have their rules
drafted soon.
Knitted Outerwear Homework
Commission: A short time ago,
the NIKA decided co allow home
work in handknitting operations
until April 1, though the Code of
ihc Knitted Outerwear Industry
provides for its elimination. Un
der some conditions, employment
and wages were found to be im
proved through homework and
the Code Authority asked that it
be permitted to a limited extent.
The NR!A has appointed W. If.
Dillingham, of the NRA Division
of Research and Planning; Rose
Schneiderman, President of the
National Women’s trade League
of America, and R. H. Lowe, Ex
ecutive Director of the Code Au
thority, to report by April 1, on
the most practical method of en
forcing the homework provisions.
Thousands of workers are affect
ed.
Handkerchief Homework Commis
sion: Can women engaged in some
forms of handwork get along bet
ter at home or in shops and fac
tories? The answer to this ques
tion seems less simple now than
when it was raised at the time of
the formation of codes. Several
industries are gathering data to
prove their contention that the
r u le s prohibiting homework
should be further relaxed. A com
should be further relaxed. A com
within a month on the advisibility
of allowng handkerchieefs to be
embroidered in homes. The body
is headed by Charles Green of the
International Ladies’ Garment
Workers Union.
Label Amendment to Art Need
lework Code: The NIRA approv
ed an amendment to the Arts
Needlework Code making the use
of URA labels mandatory begin
ning May 1. Other amendments
provide 64 hours overtime in the
calendar year and for the availa
bility of reports and necessary
data for Code Adminlstrtaion. A
homework committee of 4, includ
ing 2 industry representatives—
one from the stamped goods di
vision, one from the yarn division
and 2 governmental representa
tives—one from Research and
Planning and one from the Labor
Advisory Bdard, is required to
prepare a schedule of wage rates
for homeworkers in finishing
samples and display models not
for resale.