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About The Omaha guide. (Omaha, Neb.) 1927-19?? | View Entire Issue (Oct. 28, 1939)
flDITORilsl X . THE OMAHA GUIDE Q Q TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION $2.50 Per Yr. Q Q All News Copy of Churches and Organiz- X A ations must be in our office not later than U X 5:00 p. m. Monday for current issue. All Q X Advertising Copy or paid articles not later X Q than Wednesday noon, preceeding date of U X issue, to insure publication._y A Race prejudice must go. The 1 atherhood 0 X of God and the Brotherhood of Man nvu«t pre-H V vail. These are the only principles which will A Q stand the acid test of time. _ V Q James H. Williams, James E Seay, Linotype X f) Operators and Pressmen V X Paul Barnett, Foreman _M 0 Published every Saturday at 2418.-20 Grant 0 A Street, Omaha, Nebraska— Phone WE. x51.n X Entered a-, 2nd Class Matter March lo, 19-7 X 0 at the Post Office at Omaha, Nebr., under U A Act of Congress of March 3, 1879. y encourage productive INVESTMENT In this time of crisis abroad, the problems laced by thc^se linancial in stitutions which serve the economic needs of this country inevitably be come more serious and vaiied. And the efficient functioning of these institu tions becomes of evert greater than normal importance to the nation its workers, producers, industries. It will be a grave disservice to the cause of American progress and Secu rity if in the press of the hysterical sentiment a foreign war generates, we take hasty and ill-advised ‘‘emer gency” steps which will impair the operation of the financial machine. Banking is a case in point. The banks have been accused of practically ejvery sin on the economic calendar. The cold truth is that the banks, with few exceptions have served the coun try exceeding well. Instead of hoard ing funds, of which they have been often accused, they have made every effort to find safe avenues of invest ment in the light of the legal restric tions governing bank loans, and of their obligations to people who own the money. They have solicited the small borrower or less than the large. There is a dearth of normal invest ment, of course—but the general un certainty and fear that have blanket ed the country for years are the prime cause. At this time it would be ruinous to lay further legislative burdens on the functions of banking. We must realize thoroughly the great differ ence between curbing dangerous war speculation and preventing legiti mate, necessary invejstment. What we need to do is to encourage honestly productive investment and the earn ing of fair and reasonable profits. There must be an armistice on untried & disturbing experiments by govern ment. There must be a calmer and broader public understanding of the difficulty industry faces—and which our financial institutions, as the ser vants of productive employing indus try, face with it. The war abroad will cause abnormal and as yet unknown strains Ion our entire economic sys tem—and it is our task how to make necessary readjustments as easy to take as possible. A „ -J vju ELECTRICITY DOESN’T PRODUCE REVOLUTIONS Those who listened with belief to the early claims of the proponents of public power development must won der why, now that some $2,000,000,000 has been spent in six years for this purpose, the forecast industrial hasn’t taken place as scheduled. The New York Tribune explains this simply eniough when it says: “The cost of power, except in the case of a handful of industries, is a compara tively inconsequential item of manu facturing cost. It is not an important enoiugh element to encourage facto ries to move from the large industrial centers where the availability of labor transportation facilities and the pro ximity of markets are vital considera tions. In the case of paper, chemicals and cement, power is a fairly impor tant consideration, but even here it represents only from 2.9 to 8.3 per cent of the wholesale cost of the product. ‘‘The notion that the existence of cheap power alone will cause industry to be born up by the riots and moved from one end of the country to the other is only one of the illusions that prevail concerning the boom of ‘cheap electricity.” The United btates government it self, curiously enough, has th rough ly exploded the argument that the cost of electric power is a hindrance to industry. A Census Bureau study shows the combined c:st of fuel and purchased electricity by ail manufac turing industries in 1937 came to less than 2 one half per cent of the whole sale value) of the products made. And an expert, in commenting on this, ob serves that, as much of the fuel was , used for heating, it is probable that the cost of electricity alone in these industries was little more than 1 per cent of the wholesale value their products. The cost of labor taxes, supplies —these are the great items of manu facturing cost to any industry, even as power is a miser .scopie element in the balance sheet, And that’s precise ly why socialized power, incredibly expensive as it has been to the tax payers, has failed almost 100 per cent in producing the great industrial shift and expansion predicted by those who favored it. —_-oGo— FRUITS OF THRIFT The appetite of the American peo ple for future protection in the form of life insurance continues to grow. During the first eight months of the year, alnpst $4,334,000,000 of new or dinary life insurance, exclusive of group insurance, was sold. This mark ed an inqrease of 6 per cent over the same time last year, in itself a period of heavy sales. What this means is that millions of citizens aren’t taking a chance on their economic future—they are as suring them, through individual thrift and foresight. That’s a splendid sign in any nation. ‘-oOo CONGRESS AND THE RAILROADS Congressman Sam Rayburn of Texas, recently forecast that con structive legislation locking to the i habilitation of the railroads would be enacted at the next regular session of Congress which convenes immediate ly after the first of the year. Bills toward this end art* now in the hands of a joint Senate-House conference committee, which will adjust the dif ferences and submit a composite mea sure to Congress. “This transportation measure, said Mr. Rayburn, “is a distinct, pro gressive, forward step toward more definitely sound and stabilized condi tions. “The American people are paying $7,000,000,000 a year for our public transportation service. It is not possi ble for this essential useful service of the nation to be so regulated that the public will be well served, and the carriers placed upon a fairly stabiliz ed and sound basis of operation? A fundamental problem of regulation is to place these carriers ion a fair self supporting basis.” It is to be hoped that Mr. Ray hum’s forecast proves right. A sound transportation policy for this country has been overdue for fifteen years or more, and its enactment early next session would be of immense and far reaching service to the country—its worners, industries, investors and farmer. The railroads are doing every thing they possibly can under present unfavorable conditions. The have pledged themselves to maintain trans portation facilities in excess of any conceivable growth in demand. They are starting to spend money they have not yet earned to repair rolling stock, to put more equipment into service, and to increase their reserve facilites. The rest is up to Congress. In this time of world crisis it becomes all the ni re inportant that our basic indus tries, of which the railroad is one of the greatest and most essential, be strenghtened and stabilized to the ut most. The pending bill seems to pro vide a policy that is fair t) all carriers —and is beneficial to every segment of American lift1. _ _nHn _ DANGERS OF HYSTERIA Public sentiment is ruthlessly op posed to war profiteering. But in curbing it, care must be taken not to destroy or impair the efficiency of legitimate enterprises. Hysterical re gulation and indiscriminate condom nation would prove far more inimical to American institutions and the gen eral welfare in the long run, than the activities f all the war profiteers combined. Thurman W. Arnold Assistant Attorney General of the United States has pointed out that the Sherman Act stands as the front line defense against unbalanced prices and arbi trary price control. Rigid enforcement cf the anti-trust laws should obviate necessity for extensive additional gov ernment regulation of industry in the present emergency. Speaking in behalf of the anti-trust division of the Department of Justice, Mr. Arnold declared: “We d/b not wish toi destroy corr/oina/tions which pass on savings to consumers through eco itf mical marketing methods or effici ency of mass production. It is not the size itself, but the) creation of bottle necks and' toll bridges in the distribu tion of a product which is unreasona ble under the law.” At the present time, mass mer chandising and distributive organiza tions throughout the country are joining with the government in a con certed to shield thei consuming public against the disturbing backwash of high prices which heretofore have been the inevitable result of war. The problems of eliminating the war rac keteer and placing a brake on prices, will be far simpler with the help of a sane, cooperative and understanding attitude on the part of the public. _ _nfln _ THE CONSUMERS BENEFIT TOO Commenting on the action of agricultural marketing cooperatives in formulating marketing agreements in an attempt to bring order out of chaos, Secretary of Agriculture Wal lace recently said: “While those mark eting programs are intended primarily to serve the mtersts of producers, and specific safeguards for consumers are set up. Any program ihal is adopted must be a reasonable * program from the standpoint of both producers and consumers.” The principal marketing coopera tive organizations have long realized this. While bringing their members a fairer share of the final selling price 4j of what they produce, they have like *** wise assured the consumer a steady, reliable supply of high quality pro ducts at a reasonable cost. That, in the case of perishables especially, is a highly important service. The good marketing co-ops, in short, want a living wage for their members—but they aren’t out to soak the consumer. IS IT HAPPENING HERE? America is picking up the tools of dictators! that is tne conclusion reacnea oy Dorothy Thompson in a recent article. While our principal officials are conducting an energetic offensive against the for j'gns dictators, says Miss Th mpson “this country follows a i'-- program which lends to war ddictatorship and adopts many of the measures which are most suscep tible cf criticism under thoi dictator ships, such as a rapidly pyramding in crease in the prop rtion of the nation al income controlled by the state, pro grammatic deficit financing, the strangulation of private enterprise and initiative by taxation policy and the setting up by the WPA of a sep arate w:rk qconomy demoralizing working standards of the rest of the economy.” Regimentation, what ver name it may be known by, is an insidious thing. It grows in the dark. It con stanly lusts for more power. And, if its way goes long unchecked, it spells the absolute doom of those basic free dom, liberties, rights and prerogatives of the pr. pie, which constitute the very fibre of a true democracy. More and more d.ts business come under the control of government. In certain instances, of which the elec tric utilities are the most conspicuous example government has actually taken over industry, and operated it under a policy which can honestly be called nothing save state socialism. The power to tax has been used as the power to destroy. And business at large exists in constant fear of some paralyzing political move or policy that may further blight the outlook. If this doesn’t tend toward dicta torship, I he less ns of history are all wrong. In the name of democracy, we are regimenting our institutions. In the name of democracy, we are rapid ly pushing forward collectivist doc trines. Those who watch with amaze ment, events beyond the seas, would do well to take a thoughtful lo^ k about in this country—and then wonder if it isn’t happening here. -0O0-— A LIVING PRICE The Dairy mein’s League News of New' York observes that what all farmers want is at least a living price' for their crops, and the right to a voice in setting the price at which they are sold. And, the News continues, there is but one way to win—for all farmers to stick together, and stand loyally by their farm marketing qo perative organizations. Disorganization long held the farmer back economically and other wise. He was at the complete mercy of middlemen, and was forced to take whatever price was offered or go without a sale. Organization has changed that. Through marketing cooperatives, the farmer bargains with dealers on even grounds. They are in a position to de mand and receive the best possible price. They are the strongest existing influence for agricultural progress. /A -uuu IMMORAL GLANDS A few medical specialists are of the opinion that moral defects and maladjustments can be corrected through treatment of the endoctrine glands. Favorable results are report ed in a number of cases. However, if the time ever comes when misconduct can thus be remedied by the surgeon’s knife, the old world should undergo quite an improvement. Adolph Hitler and other mankind might be speedily transformed into leading) exponents of civilized beha vior. >
