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
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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
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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
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