THE OMAHA GUIDE
TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION $2.00 PER YEAR
All News Copy of Chrurzhes and add’Organi
zations mast be in zur office not later than
6:00 p. m. Monday for curren issue. All Adver
tising Copy or Paid Articles not later than
Wednesday noon, preceeding date qf issue, to
insure publication.
Race prejudice must go. The F^t^trhood of
God and the Brotherhood of Man must prevail.
These are the only principles whil will stand
the acid test of good.
James H. Williams & James E. Seay—Linotype
operators and Pressmen. Pjul Barnett—Foreman.
Published Every Saturday at 2418-20 Grant St.
Omaha, Nebraska
Phone WEhster 1617 _■
Entered as Second Class Matter March 16, 1927,
At the Post Office at Omaha, Nebr., under
Act of Congress of March 3, 1879.
EDITORIALS
War Against the Little Fellow
The politicians don’t call it social
ism—but a politically originated pro
gram now in effect can be honestly
described only as state socialism on a
gigantic scale.
This is the federal state power pro
gram. Few of us yet realize its poten
tialities. We know something about the
TVA and Bonneville and Grand Cou
lee dams. What we don’t know is that
a host of other, smaller projects, either
completed, under construction or in
the planning stage, will literally blan
ket the country with tax subsidized,
politically managed power plans and
transmission systems in the next five
years.
Washington, Oregon, California,
Nebraska, Wyoming, Texas, Tennes
see, Alabama—these are but a few of
the states which are being ‘blessed”
with socialized power, at the expense
of private savings, private investment,
private opportunity, and private! em
ployment. In every case, the areas have
been long and adequately served, at
reasonable cost, by heavily taxed, state
regulated private systems. In every
case where possible deficiencies of
power existed, the private companies
were prepared to expand to make up
for them—given assurance that they
would be allowted to stay in business.
In every case, all the taxpayers of the
country have been taxed to pay for
the unnecessary government projects
—and the total bill of the projects
planned runs past the $2,000,000,000
point.
Furthermore, the ‘power socialists’
aren’t satisfied. They frankly want
to destroy or absorb the entire private
industry. Very recently rumors have
been hqard of a new political “war”
against the utilities. And what that
amounts to is a war against the tax
payers who pay the bills; against the
armies of workers with good, jobs in
the private companies; against the tens
of thousands of people of small means
who own utility securities, bought «ut
of savings; against a tremendous num
ber of businesses, little and big, from
which utilities buy, and which share
directly or indirectly in utility spend
ing. It‘s a war primarily against the
“little fellow.”
Such a program is insidious. It
grows 'without our knowing it. And
it leads us inexorably toward that to
talitarianism the very politicians who
are today promoting socialism in this
country, profess to detest. The people
of this country have long been asleep
—and the future of democracy will be
dark indeed if they don’t awaken soon.
-0O0
WHAT THE PRESS THINKS
•
Recently fehe annual meetings of
the Associated Press, the American
Newspaper Publishers Association and
the American Society of Newspaper
Editors were held.
A survey of the opinions of press
leaders present showed an almost un
animous opposition to discriminatory
and punitive taxation or legislation
against any legitimate business; gener
al approval of mass merchandising,
whether accomplished by chain stores
or organized independeints, and an ap
preciation of the immense importance
of mass merchandising in promoting
wider distribution of commodities par
ticularly those of agricultural origin,
to the! benefit of agriculture and in
dustry.
Other preds organizations, state
and rational, and representing both
large and small newspapers, have gone
formally on record with similar views.
Thei typical American newspaperman
believes in fair play. He believes in
progress. He knows what unhampered
competitive business means to his town
his state and his nation. And he knows
the dangerous folly of any law or any
tax designed to penalize or destroy aity
honest business.
—--0O0-—
WAGES FOR RED CAPS
No laborer is more worthy of his
hire than the red cap. Yet he is the
unfortunate victim of a controversy
over a two dollar daily wage.
Passage of the mimimum wage
law some tme ago fixed a twenty-five
cents hourly wage for red caps. An
eight hour day yields a mimimum daily
rate of two dollars. This will be raised
when the hourly rate is increased soon
to thirty cents and later to forty.
The Cruix of the present situation
is the receipt of tips. The railroads and
terminal Companies contend that all
tips should be reported and several
terminals actually collect from the red
caps a sum equal to two dollars daily
and then pay it back as wages. In these
cases it has been stated in testimony be
fore the wage and hour administration
that men who have not received two
dollars daily in tips have been forced
to report that sum to retain employ
ment.
Many re»d caps received higher
tips prior to the passage of the regula
tory act they report. But a belief on
the part of the public that the red caps
receive a good living wage under the
act has resulted in decreased revenue
from that source.
The red caps have made a strong
presentation of their case through cap
able counsel. A decision is expected
July 15. No fair minded person who
has ever witnessed the strenuous tasks
which the red caps are constanly called
upon to perform in return for a small
tip, which is entirely gratuitous could
fail to hope with them for a fixed
wage and the exclusion of tips.
Here again the element of race is
likely to be a strong determining fac
tor as to whether railroads and teu
minals will pay about $2,000,000 an
nually in red cap wages.
nQn
TUBERCULOSIS SURVEY
Members of the ^National Tuber
culosis Association which has for sev
eral years conducted a campaign, na
tional and international in scope, so
educate the public about the cause and
cure of the disease, have cau§e for en
couragement in the latest Gallup poll.
Five questions put to a representa
tive cross section oi the people by the
American Institute of Public Opinion,
brought answers which indicated in
creasing public knowledge on the sub
ject. While marfy attributed the disease
to other causes than the tuberculosis
bacillus, a decided majority of 76 per
cent knew that it is contagious.
As to the best way to cure tuber
culosis, 53 per cent answered rest; 36
per cent, proper diet, and 26 per cent,
fresh air. These responses echo the ap
peals of lecturers and slogans which
urge rest and building up the body re
erve through nutritious diet. The affir
mative vote of 86 per cent showed that
the public generally realize the disease
is curably, but 52 per cent err in be
lieveing it hereditary.
On the whole, the education cam
paign of those wh# would stamp out
the white plague is making headway.
-0O0
The stock market has been going
down in the face of little change in
business. One reason is the fear of
war—the day Itaty invaded Albania
shares took a tremendous drop, and
the ticker couldn’t keep up with sales.
Another reason is the belief that Euro
pean holders of American securities
hate been dumping them in quanities
too large for the market t# absorb in
orderly fashion.
A& for actual business it doesn’t
give cause for any .great optimism—
but neither does it give cause for the
bleak pessimism now current in some
quarters. Retail sales have been good.
So have automobile sales. The expect
ed seasonal upturn in industrial buying
has set in, though not to much extent.
And the agricultural outlook is not as
bad as it seemed a while back.
You’ll know more about it by the
middle of Aug. If the forecasters are
right, substantial progress should be
in evidence then, and should continue
t« the end of the year.
uvv
"WINGS OVER JORDAN”
In the last issue of the Washing
ton Tribune there appeared a letter
from E. B. Henderson of Falls Church
01 the subject of the discontinuance
of the “Wings Over Jordan” program
over a local radio station. , ,
Mr. Henderson has for years con
sistently resented practice sof intoler
ance here and elsewhere. He takes the
time and trouble not only to corres
pond privately with those responsible
for such acts, but frequently addresses
himself to the reading public of the
local palies.
In his communication he regrets
the action of Station WJSV in discon
tinuing the radio feature. He goes
further. He deplores the fact that only
two letters of protest reach the radio
station “from 15,000 Negroes in
Gmaha. ,
He suggests that “some of the
money spent for cigarettes, chewing
gum, liquor, the numbers or for other
luxuries” could be intelligently used
through various Negro organizations
to combat discrimination.
Too, there is the specific suggestion
that intelligent Negroes spare a few
pennies and minutes to protest to
WJSV bjy postcard or telephone calls
and to ask t-he restoration of “Wings
Over Jordan” to the station program.
'Hie Omaha Guide is in complete
acfcord with Mr. Henderson’s views
and we appeal to every one not to let
the day pass without making a protest
direcly to radio station WJSV.
vv/y
"POWER SOCIALISM” REJECTED
For a number of years politicians
promoting socialism in the United
States, have tried to convince the
American people that government
ownership of the electric power indus
try should take the place of private
ownership publicly regulated. But
American voters seem to be increasing
ly dubious about thus Europeanising
tur theory of government and destroy
ing private enterprise in favor of bur
eaucratically controlled industries.
The most recent example of re
jection of the socialistic doctrine was
in San Francisco where at a special
election the people were asked to vote
$55,000,000 in bonds to start financing
a municipal system to distribute elec
tricity generated by the city at its
Hetch Hetchy water supply dam. This
electricity has long been purehascd and
distributed to San Francisco citizens,
by a highly taxed private electric
company.
At six previous elections the voters
were asked to supplant priv ate owner
ship with public ownership in San
Franciseo’/s electric supply, increase
the city debt and destroy one of its
greatest tax paying assets, met one of
the worst lickings the proposal has
yet taken. There was an unusually
large vote, for a special election—
122,517 “no’s”—49,801 “yes’s.” * *
This setback for “power socialism”
is heartening. It shows that the citizens
of a typical large American city are
not deluded by unprovable; political
claims and ultimatums. It shows
healthy opposition to government own
ership of business, and it shows a de
sire for economy and reduced public
debt, instead of uncontrolled expendi
tures and tax-exempt public business.
At scores of elections in other cities
and towtns, citizens have registered
this same opinion.
- "---uuv -
OPPORTUNITY FOR YOUTH
One phase of chain store develop
ment that deserves more attention
than it has received is the influence of
these modern low cost merchandisers
on employment.
According to an Institute of Dis
tribution survey, the chain stores of
the nation employ 1,300,000 local men
and woman scattered throughout aB
the states. This army of workers have
steady jobs, a high standard of living
and a rate of pay tending higher than
the retail average. And, of equal im
portance, the chains offer the intelli
gent, ambitious wiorker, excellent op
portunities for advancement.
Of the 537 executives of one large
chain system, according to a study
presented to a New York University
Conference on Business Education,
531 started in as clerks. And almost
every large chain is staffed fey execu
tives of whom the great bulk began in
lowly positions. Practically all of the
chain® have definite programs to ex
pedite their employes’ advancement.
Free courses are offered, and special
training given to ambitious young men
and women.
• The chains offer a definite oppor
tunity to young people lacking special
training, who could not possibly find
a job in those many industries which
require specialized education and apti
tudes. The untrained worker can learn
as he goes—and he can go as far as
his abilities and ambitions direct.
Practically all the chains, even the
largest began as single unit indepen
dent stores, owned and operated by
men with ideas and the burning urge
to get ahead. Today some little store
owner you never heard of is planning
and dreaming and working—and is
laying groundwork for a prosperous
multiple unit distribution system of
the future. The chains are simply an
example of what can stem from hon
est open competitive business. They
are the result of opportunity under
our American system—and, in return
they offer splendid opportunity to
young people who are today starting
business careers.
_rtOn __
AN OBJECT LESSON
“Private business has been pri
marily responsible for every dollar of
wealth that has been created in the
United States and for every job that
exists,” says the Mansfield, Ohio,
News-Journal.
Ignorance or deliberate disregard
of that fact has been a prime cause
of prolonged depression. Private busi
ness has been attacked and reviled and
the result has been less earnings and
fewer jobs.