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About The Omaha guide. (Omaha, Neb.) 1927-19?? | View Entire Issue (April 27, 1935)
VV.V.V.V.V.V/.V.V.V.'.V.V.V.V.V.VAV.V/.V.V.V.V.W.V.W.W.W.V.V.ViV.V.VAV.V.V. . .. EDITORIALS . . . The Omaha Guide Published every Saturday at 2418-20 Giant 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. —... ■ ' ' - ■■ -=• Omaha, Nebraska, Saturday, APRIL 27..h, 1935 managements want to wave the while flag and sur render iheir economic position, that is their busi Education Comes First The farmer of today is far better informed on financial, social, economic and other national and international problems than was the farmer of pre war days. Much of the credit for that musl go to the agri cultural cooperative organizations, which have recognized he need for educating their members in order to make them better, more scientifically equipped soldiers in the fight for farm recovery and prosperity. The co-ops do not simply try to improve market ing methods and widen markets and raise prices io profitable levels’ they disseminae a wealth of infor mation and opinion that bears on a thousand prob lems which direc ly or indirectly affect the welfare, of agriculture. That work, though it is little pub licized, is every bit as valuable as the work the co ops do in connee.ion with the regular rouiine of the farming industry. The Too Well Remembered Man In a recent article in “Fortune,” Roswell Magill, professor of law at Columbia, discusses the plight of the “Too Well Remembered Man”. The American taxpayer. Mr. Magill points out that there are three basic criteria to apply as yardsticks to any tax system. The first of these is adequacy; does the system pro duce as much revenue as is needed? The second is economy in administration: how much of each tax dollar is required to pay the cos.s of collection? The third is fairness in distribution; do all classes of the people pay their equitable share? In Mr. Magill’s opinion, which is imposingly buttressed with facts, the Federal Government’s tax system falls down on all three coun.s. It is not adequate; the Treasury’s report for the last fiscal year shows total receipts of a litle more than Three Thousand Million as against expendi tures of Seven Thousand Million. The deficit has actually exceeded total receipts. It is not economical in administration. Over a ten-year period, the cost of collection to the govern ment; which is obviously the same thing, indirect ly, as the cost to the tax payer; has ranged as high at $2.17 per $100 of revenue, as compared to a high of $1.74 in Great Britain. In addition the United. States develops more than eighteen times as much litigation each year out of the income tax as does Great Britain. And finally the system is not equitable. One group of taxpayers pays more than it should; another less. And the existence of billions of dol lars of government state, and municipal bonds, some free from all taxes, some free from one and not another, further complicates the problem of equit able distribution of the cost of government. In brief, our federal tax system; along wLh that of other units of government; is wasteful, in efficient and outmoded. The welfare of the nation demnads that it be thoroughly and realistically re vised. You’d Pay the BiD According to Public Utilities Fortnightly, pub lic utilities pay considerably more than half the cost of the s;ate government of California, through a utility franchise tax based on a percentage of their gross revenue. This percentage used to be 7 1-2 per cent, but was increased to 9 per cent in 1933. In all the states, public utilities are among the largest, if not the largest, paxavers. Utility dol lars are a potent force in keeping schools open, in building roads and buildings, and in paying for all the activities of government. Whether or not the utilities are taxed is beside the issue. The point that shoud engage the atten tion of thoughtful citizens is, who would pay the bills if the utilities were taken over by government, and tax free, politically managed plants took their plaeel You don’t have to be a seer to guess the answer. Every property owner would pay for the loss; every business, evert* home owner, every factory. Your taxas, direct and indirect, would soar; at the ex pense of employment, of industrial development, of residential building. That’s something the government ownership ad vocates don’t like to talk about when trying to rally the public behind their banner. A Well Deserved Rate Increase Last summer the Class 1 railroads of the country petitioned the Interstate Commerce Commission for a ten per cent general rate increase. This, the rail roads estimated, would produce additional revenue to the extent of. $170,000,000 a year; an increase L they held to be absolutely essential, inasmuch as rt-d-rtr«-.VrtV«V.W.ViV.’AVi‘«V«-i'«V«'«V.VrtV^ more than that due to higher pay to employes, the pension law, and higher commodity prices. A short time ago the Commission handed down j its decision. The railroads are not given all they asked for; but increases are granted on hauling charges for a number of impor.ant products, such as coal, iron ore, sand, etc. It is estimated that these increases, which are to be in effect un.il June 30, 1936, will supply the lines with $85,000,000 of new revenue. Whether or not the Commission has allowed sufficient increases may be a debatable subject, but it is encouraging to see a start made toward giv ing the rilroads a fair break. They have been among the most depressed of major industries1 and their troubles did not start in 1929, as did those of other businesses. They have been in financial trai s ever since the war, and return on their vast investment has never been as high as five per cent. Short sighted persons will probably denounce even this moderate rate increase; but the greater part of the public, along with industry at large, will see the jus. ice of it. Railroad expenses are still rising; the other day they boosted employes’ pay to the 1929 level, a step which will cos. the lines from 80 Million to 130 Million annually. The nation wants bet.er wages, more employment, in creased purchasing power, industrial development; and no business can contribute its share to advanc ing these ambitions unless it is permitted to charge a reasonable price for its products or services. _ Regulate—Don’t Kill By E. Hc.fer A bulletin issued by the Associated Industries of Alabama says: “The first Holding Company bill; The Public Utility Act of 1935 ha been introduced in Congress. “It would be bad enough if aimed only only at Utility Holding Companies, but once this sort of bill gets in.o swing, the addition of a word or two would quekly include other or all holding companies in its net. “There are some four hundred holding com panies listed in good standing on the New York Stock Exchange, and only forty of these are Utility Holding Companies. “It is conceivable that these forty are the bad ones that must go? And, conceding that some past practices might not be considered good practices today; though considered good in 1929; does it fol low that 'hey should have their heads chopped off: abolished entirely? “Does your doctor cut off your leg to cure your sore toe? “Regulation, net destruction, is the Govern ment’s business.” The holding company form of management is al most as old as industry itself; and the reason for its existence is as potent now as it has ever been. The public can often be best and most efficiently served by large units, with the financial, technical and management resocures that only a large unit i can command. That is true of public utilities. It is true of railroads. It is true of a dozen other kinds of business; s.ore, newspapers, etc.; which have demonstrated the soundness of the holding company plan. The Federal government has itself shown its be lief that the holding company is necessary, in its own Tenessee Valley project. The TVA is a hold ing company pure and simple. It buys small electric systems and consolidates them into one great sys tem ; and is able to reduce rates and costs as a result. In principle, the TY A, pet of the politicians who are behind the present bill, is not one whit different than the private holding companies the government now seeks to destroy7. That holding companies in the utility field; as in all other fields; have occasionally abused their privileges, is not denied. Nor is it denied that the j government should adopt a forward looking regu latory policy toward the holding companies which would protect the interest of the public and invest-, ors alike. The other day one of the country’s lead ing private utility eexcutives presented specific sug gestions toward that end. But it is denied; not only by utility leaders and investors, but by millions of honest citizens1 that the way to cure what disease ex’sis in the holding company structure is to throt tle the patient. The Associaed Industries of Alabama concludes I ivS bulletin with the statement that the pres ent bill “is wrong in principle and ought to be stop ped dead in its tracks.” The public interest; which means the interest of everyone who has a dollar in vested in utility securities, or uses light and power, demands that that be dont. Regulate—don’t kill. Death After Dinner The National Bureau of Casaulty and Surety Underwriters has issued a booklet, entitled “Death After Dinner,” which deals graphically with the night driving problem. It shows that poor street lighting is the Dark Angel's best friend; and dur ing the past few years many American communities, due to false economy, have permitted their street lighting standards to drop sharply. In the words of the booklet, “We are attempt ing to operate twentieth century vehicles under nineteenth century visbility conditions.” The result is found in the fact that 20,950 persons were killed last year in a total of 422,000 accidents oeeuring j oiuzouooe aqx 'ssauqjep jo sanoq jbtujou aqj Suunp cost of these accidents is conservatively estimated at $900,000,000; and in a very high percentage of ihe mishaps inadequate street lighting was the cause. In striking contrast, only 15,000 persons were killed during daylight hours last year; even though traffic is three times as dense during the day as at night. The pedestrain bore the brunt of nigh, driving accidents, 69 per cent of those killed being foot travelers. As the crowning evidence of the tragic folly of permitting street ligh ing standards to deteriorate, the bookie presens comparisons of two groups of eities which were exhaustively surveyed. One group etxended i.s street lighting facilities at an in creased cost of 9 cents per capita per year. As a result, it enjoyed a 25 per cent reduction in night fa.alities, and a saving in economic waste of $2.07 per capita. The other group slashed street lighting expendit ures, at a “saving” of 19 cents per capita per year.! Resul.: A 7.6 er cent increase in night fatalities, and an increase in economic loss of 69 cents per capita. Better street and highway lighting is one of the essential keys to automobile accident reduction; and pays its way, with dividends to boot. Southern Officials and Defense Grid For Scottsboro Fight By John Brock Associa e Editor, Crusader News Agency. Fast moving developments, subsequent to the momentous decision of the Supreme Court, point; .o a stiff struggle for the freedom of the Scotts boro defendants. Lieut. Governor Thomas E. Knight has taken persosal charge of the ease for the state of Alabama. He has announced that prosecution will continue ‘‘to the end.” Steps for re-indictment in the cases have already been made by the state. Editorials and news stories appearing in the southern press can be taken as a reflection of the official mind. These empha.ically reveal a not-too restrained impatience with the recent decision and the mass campaign to free the defendants. Both through newspapers and official spokesman, plans and investigations are expressed to rob Negroes of the righ s set forth in the Supreme Court ruling. An editorial in the “Montgomery Advertiser” is I an example. We quote in part: Boy s C&Led ‘ ‘ Gorillas. “The Supreme Court of the Uni.ed States tells Alabama in effect, that it is not primarily interest ed in otherwise credible evidence demonstrating human depravity, but it is primarily interested in the academic political ‘righ.s’ of a politically dis possessed race. “The Advertiser may be dumb—but to save it self it cannot see what the political rights and privi leges of Negroes in Alabama have to do with the guilt or innocence of the gorillas who are charged with criminal assault upon two women, it being agreed that rape is a felony under the law in this backward State. “It seems to the “Advertiser” that if the Su preme Court of the United States presided over by Charles Evans Hughes had a more sensitive regard for the victims —aciual and potential—of felonious assault”—here the Advertiser repeats the lynching accusation that Negroes are “prone to rape”—and less regard for ihe politically dispossessed in the home state of these victims, it would not devote an entire opinion to an academic political discussion, but would offer some comment on the evidence by which the gorillas aforesaid had been convicted.” The entire editorial was reproduced on the front page of the Jackson County Scottsboro Sentinel. In a letter to all trial judges in the state, Gov ernor Graves instructed the revision of jury boxes. He also added: “ Iintend to ask the Legislature to enact such remedial leigslation as will be needful along the “I intend to ask the Legislature to enact such The nature of the “remedial legislation” has been announced by Senator J. Miller Bonner, of Wilcox County, Alabama. The Senator has pre pared a bill limiting jury service to “qualified electors.” He states: “While there may be o.her remedies to meet the situation caused by the Scotsboro decision, this one will go far to protect the Black Belt. “Take my counv, for instance, we do not have a single Negro voter. . .only a small percentage of the Negroes in the siate are qualified electors, while under the jury j law, in view of the recent Scottsboro ruling, a vast ly larger number might be qualified for jury serv ice. ’ ’ Senator Bonner thus admits that his bill is de signed to maintain all white juries in the Black Belt where the Negroes are a majority of the popu lation. Are We Going to War? Today as in 1914, Europe is an armed camp. Jealously ,greed and suspicion among nations have started the whole continent in a wild race for big ger and better arms. Germany has scrapped the Versailles treaty and is 6teadily rearming; France has moved thousands of soldiers to the German border1 Italy has called together the veterans of 1914 and has etxended the time of her men already enlisted. Meanwhile, England, feeling secure in her might, ostensibly is doing everything to relieve the strained conditionsi of European nations. Sooner or later the sinister clouds hovering over Europe will burst and spread war and destruction over all, and will gradually embroil the w'orld in another Titanic strugge. Because of the interdependence of nations and the far fung investments of our capitalists, there can be not doubt as to whether an European war would inveigle the United States. Therefore, the question of concern to us as col lege students is, what attitude are we going to take toward the war? No longer is war pictured to us as a glorious ad venture to right the sufferings of wronged human ity ; but, rather, we see it in its true light—a horri ble maelsrom growing out of fear, hatred, and the desire for profit. Are we going to gain fall victims to insidious propaganda and to false patriotism? Or are we go ing to learn a lesson taught twenty years ago and realize the utter inhumanity and futility of war? Again I raise the ques.ion. What is going to bi our attitude toward this barbarous practice that is threatening to wipe out the whole of mankind? The Scottsboro Decision Edior’s Note—The following editorial appeared: in the forum column of the Knoxville News-Sent in- j el on April 7. The writer is a prominent Knoxville minister, active in interracial affars, and well known at Knoxville College. By Cranstcn Clayton. Pastor, Park City M. E. Church Now that the Supreme Court of the United States has squarely faced the fact tha Negroes are barred from jury serviee in the South and has cate forieaily ruled that his makes a conviction of aj Negro invalid, how is law, from this time on, to be enforced among Negroes? It a Negro can’t be con victed of rape unless others of his color be allowed to serve as jurors, how can he be c-onvic.ed of any other crime unless Negroes are jurors? It would seem that the South has its choice of three ways of proceeding. One would be to secede from the Union and thereby escape the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court. Another Civil War how ever is obviously too expensive for the value of the issue. A second alternative would be to enforce law among Negroes illegally; that is by terrorism and lynchings. This is all too likely to be what will really happen. Now that the white citizens of Ala bama have to recognize the futility of spending further time and money trying to get a conviction against the Sco.tsboro boys with Negro jurymen being allowed, they are a thousand times more j likely than ever to resort to the rope or the torch.' And hereafter in Alabama and ocher places bar-1 L'.rism is all to apt to replace even ».he semblance! of orderly process of law. i et barbarism can not last. It is unthinkable j ihat it can. We are too human to go on forever brutalizing our fellows and degrading ourselves through the practice of community murder. What j then must be the final outcome? There is nothing left except to admit Negroes to jury service. And j why not ? In practically any county in the South there are Negro citizens qualified in every way, in education, native ability, and character, to be ac- i cep.able jurors. As sure as there is a good God j who in ihe long run always establishes justice in his i world, these people will finally get their rights. The j big, the magnamious, the Christian thing for us to do is grant the Negro his constitutional right of jury service without going through any further period of hatred, struggle, and violence. — When Spring is in the Air This is the time of year when that seasonal ‘‘disease,” spring fever, runs its course. One of its more common manifestations i an urge to clean up one’s property, in order to get rid of winter’s ac cumulation of rubbish, both indoors and out. These individual clean up campaigns are usually inaugurated for the purpose of improving a home’s physical appearance; but, whether the property owner realizes it or not, they likewise contribute toward fattening his pocketbook, inasmuch as they; eliminate many ordinary and unecessary fire haz-, ards. The attic is one of the plaees in the home where; odds and ends accumulate; and it is also one of the j commonest starting places for residential fires. That accumulation of ancient newspapers; those dog eared magazines; those old clothes which you’ll never wear again; that broken down furniture, all j offer an invitation to fire. Start your clean up campaign by giving these cast offs to the needy, | either directly or through some local charitable or ganization, where they can give comfort and use again. Then bum the sheer rubbish; and be sure to accomplish that latter task on a windless day, with the aid of an incinerator. Closets should be subjected to the same process. And the chances are that your basement is in about the same state of disorder as your attic. Due to the nearness of the heating plant, basements are one of the most prolific sources of fire and should be kept free of papers, rage and improperly stored inflam mables. Spring is likewise an excellent time for having the furnace and heating equipment gone over, to prepare it for fall. Another worth-while job is in spection of electric wiring; old, defective and sub standard wiring starts many a fire. Spring is here. Clean up; lest you bum up. Annuities Win Public Favor A survey recently made of 28 companies writ ing eighty per cent of the total ordinary life insur ance in force in this country, shows a continued increase in the number of policies of the annuity1 type sold, in relation to all sales. During 1934, for example, annuity premiums | represented 16.5 per cent of the total premium in come of these companies .as compared with 10.9 per I cent during 1933. Since 1930, annuity income has increased by more than 400 per cent. This brings statistical proof that more and more ‘ people are purchasing life insurance as an invest ment, as well as a protection for others. The ordi nary annuity policy contains relatively little pro tection; it is almost entirely of investment value, inasmuch as its primary purpose is to assure the purchaser himself that he will have an income in ol dage. In brief, peronss who once bought policies that guaranteed protection for their dependents in case of the wage earner’s death or disabiliv, are now looking after their own financial futures as well. During Life Insurance Week, which is observed annually, the industry adopts as its motto: “Finan cial Independence Through Life Insurance.” It is a splendid thing that millions of citizens are achiev- I mg that ambiton. ECONOMIC HIGHLIGHTS Happenings That Affect the Din ner Pails, Dividend Checks and Tax Bills ol Every Individual. Ha ional and international Problems Inseparable from Lo cal Welfare. —0O0— One of the natural results of de pression was a gradual slowing down in corporate financing. Bond issues grew fewer and smal ler, finally disappeared almost en tirely. Last year the passage of the bit.erly debated Securities Act put an additional crimp in financiing operations; provisions of the bill were so sweeping that corporation executives were liter ally afraid to offer the public even the ehoisest securities. During March, the bond market began to show signs of life for the first time in several years. New security registrations totaled $281,000,000; a rise of HI per cent over February. They were not confined to small, speculative is sues; five of the nations’s largest corporations filed applications ex ceeding $20,000,000 each. Lead er was southern California .hui son, which applied for an issue of $73,000,000. Officials of the Securities Ex change Commission were jubilant, offered the opinion tna. the fi nancing log-jam had been broken at last. A large number of bond men, however, were dubious They pointed out that the issues were nut really new, that they are refunding operations, in other words, me companies mak ing the issues were merely retir ing oid bonds, paying hign rates of interest, to replace them wnh newr bonds at lower rates. SEC head Kennedy admitted that was true, but said that a period of refunding aiw'ays pre cedes any attempt to raise “wholi new” funds, inasmuch as corporations must adjust their fi nancial structures to fit market conditions. Mr. Kennedy did not say that the simplification of SEC rules had anything to do with the increase in financing, but most ob servers give much of the credit to that. Cast fall, one applicant for an issue was forced to fill 2U,000 pages with data; which had to be: assembled and compiled at the company’s expense. Since the commission revamped its rules and forms, applicants no longer have to keep their accounting de partments on 24 hour shifts in order to prepare the necessary in formation. One of the largest of the March issues involved the pre paration of but 70 pages of data on the ocmpany’s status and op erations. Whether or not any brand new bond issues appear in the near fu ture, there will be continued acti vity of the refunding order. The Literary Digest says that it is cur rently predicted that One Thous and Million of refunding issues by private corporations w'ill appear shortly. It is a notew'orthy fact that the English security market is the scene of many new capital issues. Great Briuan’s low' point in fi nancing oecured two years beforv ours; and now, apparently, she is coming back a year or so ahead of us. —0O0— Much comment was occasioned by the Federal Government’s re cent refusal to contest the eon stitutiosality of the NRA in the Supreme Cour when, at ihe Gov ernment’s request, the Court dis missed the case against a lumber man who had deliberately refused to obey the code.. Critics of the NRA w'ere acrid, friends wrere silent and worried. Now both sides have cause to feel better. The government is going to the high court with another NRA ease which is as im portant and as clear cut as that of the dissenting lumberman. The case involves a company which was indicted on nineteen counts for violating the Live Poultry Code. These counts run all the way from selling diseased birds to overworking and under paying workers. The .Manhattan Circuit of Appeals decision on the case; which prepared the way for a Supreme Court appeal; is inter esting. The judges held that, in as much as the chickens sold by the company crossed state lines they were within inter-tate com merce, and were legally subject to NRA control. But they also held that the working conditions of the company’s employes were not an inter-state affair, and so could not be regulated by the NRA or an yother federal agency. It is obvious thta if the Supreme Court sustains this opmion the NRA will have won a small point and lost a great one; without con trol over wages and hours, the (Continued on Page 8)