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About The Plattsmouth journal. (Plattsmouth, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 9, 1953)
EDITORIALS Furses OBSERVING BOY SCOUT WEEK During this week local Scout units join with some 8,500 throughout the nation in observance of National Boy Scout Week. Nearly every day in the year the Boy Scouts of America, through local Scout units, conduct some program or offer some service that is an aid to every community, and the many units in Plattsmouth and Cass county are no exception many a for mer Srout in this area is now prominent in business and the professions both here and other sections of the country. Scouting is a program in which boys from eitrht years old and up can learn how -to do things f ir themselves and for others. Its rof ram develops physical fitness, skill. sHf-reliance, courage and hicrh ideals of semVf to God and country. This is done in P'U-tnfTshio with the home, the school, and church, who accept responsibilitv for the j.r'incr guidance and education of boys. Scouting in most Cass county commu nities has been retarded, unable to care for all th hundreds of bovs wishing to nartici nnte through lack of funds and leadership. Sponsoring groups and men willing to t-tiond th necessary time as tro-op leaders h;ts b'eri responsible for the dropping of several troops in the past few years. Lack of n-onev has prevented the carrying out of pI.ip for expanding Scout activities by organizing more troops and Cub dens. Within the next few days an effort will be made here and in other towns in the county to raise the necessary budget for 195.J Scout activities. The amount isn't large, bu only about half the needed funds were collected last year. If and when von are called on for a contribution DON'T give until it hurts iust throw in a few coins along with all the rest of and the amount needed will be raised easily. MISUSE OF CHARITABLE CAUSES A recent survey indicated that Ameri cans gave more money in 1952 than in any preceding year, for charitable causes. The. total of U. S. philanthropy in 1952 is esti mated at something over S4,300,000.000 by the John Price Jones Company, Inc. a fund raising and public relations con sultant firm. A recent report from one large city indicates that donors there asked more questions in 1952 of solicitors for charitable causes than in any previous year. This close questioning is a result of recent abuse of the American people's sympathetic at titude to appeals for financial aid from worthy charitable organizations. In recent years phony magazine sales men and phonv solicitors for unrecog nizable charitable organizations have vis ited almost every American town of any size. Often these solicitors are quite ag gressive, frequently force themselves into the homes of unsuspecting housewives during the hours when husbands are us ually at work. Often the magazine salesman begins with such fakery as: "The organ ization is making it possible for a number cf us boys to win scholarships by the sale of these magazines." Or. quite often, the solicitor will appear to be either crippled ,or otherwise physically handicapped when he actually is quite normal. This practice has become so widespread it has chilled the response given to legitimate solicitors. Good advic to follow, in judging the rase of each solicitor. i.s to be sure you rec ognize the organization he supposedly rer reopts. Check with vonr nearest branch rf the organization, bv telephone, if pos sible. Be warV of physically handicapped -'qle'-men ?'vl hih -pressure methods. If in rfoubt pitelv decline aid and, if the reac tion is either fliscourenus or a high-nres-oure one. ask the solicitor to leave imme- f THOUGHT FOR TODAY For the want of (7 nail the shoe is lost, for want of a slioe the horse is Inst, for wont of a horse the rider is lost. Herbert The Plattsmouth Journal Official County and City Paper KSTABLISJIKD IX 1881 Twice Winner Ak-Sar-Ben Plaques for "OUTSTANDING COMMUNITY SERVICE" 1949 1951 Presented Nebraska Press Association "GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD" in 1951 (nnnkc Second In Cities Over 10(10 Population) Published Smi-HVkly. Mondays and Thursdays at 419 Main Street. Plattsmouth. Cass County, Xebr. RONALD R. FURSE Publisher HARRY J. CANE Editor FRANK H. SMITH News Reporter ALBERT E. BACK Advertisine Mgr. SOPHIA M. WOLEVER Society Editor nor r at toe firon, entered at the Post Office at Plattsmouth. NVbnmka .1 wond class mall raattfr In accordance with the .t' of Congress of March 3. 1879. . SUBSCRIPTION RATE: $3.50 per year In Cass and adjoining counties. $4.00 per year elsewhere, in advance, by mail outside the city of Platts mouth. By carrier in Plattsmouth. 20 cents lor two weeks. YEARS 10 tunc Fresh Flashes One thing we can be thankful for is that we don't get as much government as we pav for. Some folks say that if Grandpop was suddenly incarnated into this old world he would be amazed and confused with TV, radio, the airplane, push-button living, modern automobiles, etc. Bet he would be a lot more confused, however, if he sud denly woke up and found a zipper on his pants. If they would like to make our jails more secure, we suggest they call in the de signer of those escape-proof cellophane sacks so much of our food stuffs come packed in these days. Flipper Fanny, our dainty little contour twister, says she's going back to wearing high heels she's getting tired of being kissed on the forehead. - Be more than a "Yes Man." Be a yes and know man. We've never heard of a Canasta player killing his partner unless he happened to be married to her. A child is a person who grows up, goes out into the world and learns that Mom and Dad were right about a few things. f Dr. Selman Abraham Waksman, dis coverer of streptomycin and neomycin re cently stated "I want to know." So do we. diately. If he does not leave, or employs harsh or abusive language in reply, call the police and have the solicitor thoroughly investigated. Down Memory Lane M YEARS AGO The retail section of the Chamber of Commerce has named the following to head special committees during 1933: Frank Bestor, executive; Fred Busch, ad vertising; C. C. Weseott, publicity; and Frank Bestor, entertainment . . . Compet ing in an eighth grade spelling contest are Marjorie Anne Tidball, Alice Hirz, Elea nor Biggs. Evelyn Warthen, Edna Mae Petersen, Mary! Katherine Wiles, Harriet Goos. Robert Taylor, Max Sietz and Rich ard Yelick . . . Henry Ragoos has been elected chairman of a Nebraska Farm Holiday organization at Louisville . . . Miss Pearl Coatman, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Wm. Coatman of Elmwood, and Royal G. Alber of Lincoln were married February 8 . . . George Adam and Anna May Sandin of Plattsmouth rated first in boys and girls vocal contests in the MINK musical tourna ment at Peru. AGO The Solomon grocery store was looted of $9 in coin, cigarettes, razor blades, cof fee and other merchandise Saturday night . . . Margie Ruth Pollard of Nehawka has ben awarded a $25 scholarship by the Women's Athletic department of the Uni versity of Nebraska. She is a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Hall Pollard . . . Suit has been filed by the city of Plattsmouth against a bus company, charging that a bus damaged electroliers during a recent flood . . . Corbin J. Davis, son of Mr. and Mrs. Sarl S. Davis, has been nominated as a princinal appointment to West Point Mili tary Academy . . . William L. Sutton has been promoted to corporal. The Washington Merry -Go-Round (Copyright, 1952. By the Bell Syndicate, Inc.) DREW PEARSON SAYS: FERMENT THAT SPAWNED HITLERISM AGAIN RAMPANT IN EUROPE; CRUCIAL TURNING POINT IN HISTORY; U. S. WITH DRAWAL OF ECONOMIC SUPPORT TO EUROPE IN 1930-31 WAS STEP LEADING TO WORLD WAR II. (Ed. Note Drew Pearson is now on a trip to Berlin and Paris to check on crucial developments there and report on the progress of John Foster Dulles in unifying our Allies.) En Route Through Western Europe. I am taking this quick trip to Europe for one reason. It looks as if Adolf Hitler's ghost was walking again. That isn't a pleasant thing to say or contemplate. However, the ferment which spawned Hitlerism is here again: anti semitism; German energy, British apathy, French suspicion and American boredom. They are here and increasing: while the Kremlin looks on and smiles. It seems that what was sauce for Hitlerism is also sauce for Stalinism. While I haven't talked to John Foster Dulles as yet. this of course is why he is is here too. Obviously he knows that this is a crucial turning point in our history, when we can go forward toward peace or slip hackard toward war. These turning points usually come Ticklers XT , A ... "What'll we do now, sir? She insists the shoes she's wear ing now are as comfortable as being barefooted I" about once in a generation. They tome so imperceptibly that the public doesn't know they are present. Sometimes not even the diplomats do. But wars don't spring full blown overnight. They sprout gradually, and are nurtured by suspicion, isolation and just plain public boredom with prob lems of the world. When War II Started Most people will tell you that World War II started in the erly dawn of Sept. 1, 1949, when Hitler invaded Poland. Person ally, I don't think so. Actually, it began 10 years or so before that, with bickering, suspicion, public discouragement and loss of hope. Or some people will tell you that World War II began when Hitler took the Sudetenland from Czechoslovakia in October, 1938. Again, I don't think so. And some people will tell you that war began when Hitler in vaded the Ruhr and the Rhine land on March 7. 1936. I dis agree. Again they will tell you that war began when Hitler marched into Austria; or when he first came into power in Germany in 1933 just 20 years ago this month. That is getting a little closer, but I still don't think that was the time when the first seeds of war were really planted. I think they were really plant ed with the depression of 1930-31 when the United States withdrew its economic support from Eu rope, which was followed by the closing of the banks of Vienna, Berlin and Paris; and by the bitter jockeying for power of France and Germany. Our economic support to Eu rope in those days was not in the form of Marshall plan aid or mutual security. It was in the form of loans loans which American bondholders confi dently expected would be paid back. Those loans, incidentally, were backed up by weighty and encouraging words from none other than our present secre tary of state, John Fosttr Dulles. Dulles' Other Trips History has a peculiar way of repeating. It happened that Mr. Dulles has taken some other sig nificant trips to Europe prior to this one, and one of them was in 1926 when he urged continued loans to Europe. The Coolidge administration at that time was skeptical about these loans, and Parker Gilbert, our reparations commissioner, made some state ments frowning on them. But Mr. Dulles, who then represented the bankers, felt otherwise. "It is of tremendous import ance," he said on April 28. 1926, "that nothing occur to bring about any long continued cessa tion in American lending to for eigners. ' There is no reason." he con tinued, "why we for many years to come should not build up our investment abroad." It was the subsequent realiza tion by the American public that these loans were next to worth less that caused the sudden turning-off of the financial spteot and the depression in Europe, with the suspicion, the bickering, and the power poli tics that followed. Of late we have been more realistic. We have given money to Europe, not loaned it. and the loss is being shared by the entire public, not by the invest ing public. But the fact is that whether in the form of loans or Mar shall plan aid or mutual se curity aid, dollars are dollars. And when you turn off the flow of dollars to a people who are living on an artificial economic level there is trouble. You can't continue them indefinitely. But, on the other hand, you have to be careful how you turn off the flow. Mr. Dulles on his current mis sion to Europe is taking a some what different approach than he did in 1926. Instead of urging continued money to Europe, he is warning that if our Allies do not unite on a west Euro pean army, then we will cut off the flow of dollars. That is a calculated risk he probablv has to take. But if he fails, t if Europe calls his bluff, then he not only ends up with no united European army, but also he pulls the financial props out from under our Allies in a way that is bound to result in By George economic dislocation, political recrimination, increased com munism and perhaps eventual war. Peace Is Possible That is a blunt and disagree able way of putting it, but we have to look the fact in the face. We have to remember, among other things, that pow erful elements inside France, even inside England wouldike i to see this happen. The French Communists, which still com I prise the biggest party, would like not nine better than to see Mr. Dulles inflame French opin ion in such a way that the Eu ropean army pact would fail and economic aid cut off. To some extent, so would the Gaullists. And there are left-wingers in the British labor party who would like to see this haooen to our Aneo-American relations. Mr. Dulles, therefore, is not dealmp with easy, cut-and-dried predictable factors. He is deal in? with the most difficult of all factors human emotions and volatile public ODinion. That is whv im mission is so difficult yet so important. On the Brighter side of the in ternational ledger, it should be remembered that Europe has teen nearer unity of late than at any time in history. For SO years France and Germany have been intermittently at war. Now the fact that they are discussing putting their troops under the same flag and in the same uni form is a tremendous milestone for unity. That's why the Dulles triD is so crucial, why the great goal of peace can be either achieved or fumbled in the next few weeks. Legislative SIDELIGHTS.. by BERNIE CAMP Information Director Nebraska Farm Bureau Federation (Legislative Sidelines Is made available to your local newspaper as a service of the Nebraska Farm Bureau Federation. Opin ions expressed are no.t neces sarily of this newspaper). Farmers Have An Interest Nebraskans as a whole and farm families as citizens have an interest in what takes place In Lincoln during the legisla tive sessions. They have an in terest because the actions taken by the legislature affect the tax bills they must pay to support the state and local govern ments; and because by the changing of old laws and the setting up of new laws, the le gislature may change the re lationship of an individual to agencies of the, state or to other individuals. It's simple enough to blame a legislature for unsatisfactory laws or increased tax loads after the session is concluded, but if the individual citizen of the state has taken no interest in the legislature while it was in session what real right has he to blame the legislature when he disagrees with actions it has taken? The men who sit in the Neb raska legislature are the rep resentatives of the voters of the state. They want to take action on proposals presented to them in the legislature to conform with the feelings of their people back home. The legislators want to know how the people at home feel about legislative measures they ra considering. IE3 When tne folks at home lau to write or otherwise express themselves an pending legisla tion, the legislator has no way of knowing how his people feel about it. He then has to reply on his own judgment or know ledge of the situation or on the judgment and knowledge of people who do take an in terest in such things. Legislators are human. Simply because the farmer, the baker, the grocer, the banker, the law yer, the homemakers in his community handed him the res ponsibility of representing them in the legislature does not or dain a man to be omnipotent or omciscent in judgment ard wisdom. He is still as capable of making mistakes as he wis before he came to the legisla ture and he still needs en couragement and direction to know that he is serving his district as the roll: In the district -nt tn sprvp lative di-strict rail to tell their legislator now tney ieei aooui homestead exemption laws, state , highway commissions, highway ' revenue increases and the hun- j area ana one umci i-uupua;n; which will affect their lives, the legislator must guess how his people feel. He cannot look into a crystal ball or go to a gypsy who reads palms and find out hew the home folks feel about proposed legislation. He has but . a verv few ways of knowing i what the feeling in his district j is. He can guage and assess the opinions of people m the district , he represents by what they tell j him in letters, or by their com ing down to Lincoln to visit with him, or by visiting with him when he is at home, or by tele phoning to visit with him, or by sending him a telegram. The mast effective way of letting your state legislator know how you feel is by sitting r tnticit u-ith him m thprp is an exchange of ideas. This can be done when he -is at home or by visiting him on a trip to Lincoln. The most effective con tact with your legislator is a friendly letter which explains fully how you feel about pro posals and why you feel that way. A telephone call is a good contact, but since it is generally by necessity a toll call, serious ly limited in discussion time. A telegram is not too effective a J means of contacting a legislator. ! except that in cases where speed is essential and you are known to the legislator it does let him know that you thought of him and his problems, j Probably the least effective ' way of letting your state legis lator know how you feel is by signing your name to a round- robin letter written by another 1 individual or by an organiza tion. Most legislators whether thev be at the state or national level tend to discount the multi-signature type of communi cation for the simple reason that many signers do not know what they sign. Legislators would far rather have half a dozen personal letters from in dividuals than a multi-sienature letter or memorandum with a ' thousand signatures on it. The i indifidual letter means to the : legislator that someone took time enough to sit down and think about the problem dis ' cussed; whereas, the multi-sig-! nature communication, he sus j pects. was instigated by one per ! son who was able to persuade , a lot of other folks to sign their name to his statement. Members of the Congress of the United States and members of the Nebraska Legislature this year lace problems as challeng ing as any ever covered by legis , lators on the state and national j scene. They need the advice , and suggestions of the folk back I home, particularly when the issues being considered are so j controversial as to become con- maker. They need the sense of being right in making decisions, the sense that can come only when they know the folk who assigned the job to them ap prove of what they do. NOISY HOBBY Although hobbies are usually ensidered nuiet recreation, Mrs. Grant Al len's hobby Is probably the nois iest one in Blair. In ten years she has collected more than 100 bells the oldest, one that be longed to her great-grandfather, dates from 1740 and is the' smallest, a good luck bell from the Isle of Capri, is only one half inch long. U. S. M. C. Because nearly half the corps will be rotated out of service this year, the U. S. Marine Corps may have to turn to the draft for men. Up to now, the Corps has been taking mn only by volun tary enlistments. DRAFT CALLS Monthly draft calls of 52.000 I at least until summer, and tight I eninr of deferments, will be needed to keep the armed forces at 3,600,000. according to Mrs. Anna Rosenberg, retiring assist ant defense secretary. Test Your I. Q.f 1 Who was the originator of the Donkey and the Elephant as emblems of America's two major i political parties? j 2. Was George Bernard Shaw, J famous Irish author and satirist. a wealthy man at the time of his death? 3. What is the origin of the word "February"? 4. In a football game, how many points are scored for a touchdown? 5. What is the meaning of the Irish phrase "Erin go bragh"? ANSWERS TO , Test Your J. Q. 1. Thomas Nast (1840, 1902).' famous Harper's Weekly cartoon ist, first drew the Donkey January 15, 1870. later the Elephant No-, vcmber 7, 1874. 2. Yes. Shaw left an estate of over one million dollars. 3. It comes from the 'Latin .."Februo, meaning - word purify. . 4. Six 5. "Ireland forever.' .tmahtu MPCTBACirA erirlLWEEKLY JOURNAL Tnt r-i-M omww . r., ... onnv jtv PAGE SIX . ..--tF.B(ant, mmjmys.f KTTTPF? WLRJ 11 The Journal welcome letter i from rtuuera lor Uu culutna on ; any subject. Your name mui d Kitrnid tu n a if. den Intended for publication, however, by reqneHt, " n can be omitted from the letter appearing tn print. (Contents a not nfvyt arily express tJi Opin ion nf tnl ntwRoaser.) Dear Editor I Do the taxpayers of this com-, munity know how their tax dol- j lars are spent? If you pay tax 0r not, lets open our eyes and : see what is happening as you might be paying tax some day. Recently this community ap- j proved a $4.50,003 school bond! election for new school build ings. These buildings are going to be built and the Board is ask . . N vnnr-lf tn lors oniy- -Now puu yourseii to- ing bids from General Contrac gether and think for yourself and dont use the brains of your friends as they might be sick. You say what is wrong? There is $450,000 to spend. Do you as a taxpayer want to see this com- ; munity get the best price for the completion of these school buildings? If you don t give this paper to your friend may be he isn't sick. The only bidders eligible to bid lor these buildings are Gen eral Contractors. What does a general contractor know about piumomK, heating and electric al work? He cant be too lami nar v,im n or ne would be in the business. As for the same reasoning, what does an archi tect know about plumbing, heat ing and electrical work? l notice they all have engineers lay out their work for them, or have some p3ople thought they were messenger boys in the archi tect's office? The method the Board of Ed ucation has adopted for the awarding of contracts was sup posedly left up to the architect. j Some say they thought it would 1 be best that way. I talked to the i president of the board. I show- ed him by another method of awarding contracts nearly 30 thousand dollars was saved. It was hard for him to believe. I don't think he is familiar with the construction business, so I can account for his belief. But, yet, he was within 20 some miles to have my story verified and he did nothing about it to my knowledge. I then talked to an other member of the board. I pointed out to him the same imng and said, ' Would you be interested in saving thai much money? You know what the answer is. So I said, -Let's change our methods for the good of the tax payers." He want ed to know it 1 woula guarantee ; him that much. Imagine a mem- ber of a Board of Education ! making a statement like that, j If this method of awarding contracts was left up to the I architect or any one member of the Board, my only answer to the Board is: 1. I think they are jeapordiz ing their position. 2. I think they can't do their own thinking. 3. I think they are not quali fied for the position. 4. 1 think they are "Yes" men. 5. I think they should be re moved from the Board entirely. I was informed by one mem ber of the Board that this is the usual method of awarding con tracts, and there was not much difference in cost of construe- nuu us to now contracts were awarded. Maybe $30 or $30,000. 03 isn't too much money in the Plattsmouth area. But for this being USUAL proceedure of awarding contracts, you or any one else, show me one! I think I can count 50-fo-l in my favor over the Board's method. What's the deal? Why is it going this way? Let's pin the Board down and find out why! My method of awarding these contracts is as follows, and you can compare them with those in this same paper of February 5, 1953: 1. General construction each building. la. General construction all buildings in lump sum. for for lb. General construction for each building complete with plumbing, heating, ventilating and electrical. 2. Plumbing, heating and ven tilating for each building. 2a. Plumbing, heating and ventilating for all buildings in lump sum. 3. Electrical for each building 3a. Electrical for all buildings in lump sum. If there is a possible change of saving money, this is it. And don't be misinformed by archi tect's figures, as the bids could go over or under his estimate Now pull yourself together. iunk and you don't have to think hardjust what are we going to do about this? My telephone number is 5000 Call, or come to my house f have plenty of parking space fy nd,lord keeps the taxes paid. I think something should ne done, or elsp th Rno other bond issue. Forrest C. Carper. LIVING COSTS " The Consumer's price indpv dropped 0.2 per cent in the month from mid -November to mid-December, npcnrrfino t tu Bureau of Labor Statistics. The decline was due principally to a drop of one per cent in fnnn 'p7xTgg. hiPYLl? are Betting longer but the skirts are not. , February 9 1953 Monday, February , j - - : ' vi- Letty Hallman Is the first feaiale mail-truck driver In America. She lipsticks In the ar. view, mirror, lives In St. PauIMinv NEB h IXKCS C. SpnnttJti TAT IIITOIUIl tCCItTT D. E. Thompson's withdrawal in favor of Govtm- Charles K. Dietrich in the hotiy contested legislative contest of 1901 oer the selection of two United States senators brought to an end one of the most celebrated political struggles in Nebraska's history. There were two senatcr ships at stake in 1901. and that fact made the struggle all the more bitter. Last month I dis cussed the fact from the point, of view of J. H. Millard, who al ong with Governor Dietrich was named to the post as a last minute compromise candidates. Governor Dietrich then did what very few men have been able to do in Nebraska politics advance from the governor ship to the United States Sen ate. Indeed, he had served little more than a year of his term as governor when he resigned the post to accept membership in the Senate. His earlier life and career as governor were discussed in an earlier column. By way of re view, though, it should be men- tioned that he was born Nov- ember 26, lo3 in Aurora. Ill inois, had gone cut to the gold fields of the Black Hills in 1875, and had come back to Hastings in 1878, where he entered the mercantile and banking busi ness, and soon rose to a posi tion of leadership of Hastings' commercial and civic affairs. Governor Dietrich was elected to the Senate to fill out the un expired term of Monroe L. Hay ward, who died before qualify ing. He completed that term, but was not a candidate for re election. Though he served but part of one term and was not particu larly noted as a public speaker, Senator Dietrich achieved a considerabl degree of promin ence in Washington. He was a firm enemy of governmental red tape, and as the Hastings Tribune once put it, "often as tonished his colleagues by lit erally tearing down the tradi tional red tape' of custom and driving straight through to his objective." Senator Dietrich was much interested in the development of the beet sugar industry, one of Nebraska's new enterprises and one which was creating a great deal of heated discussion. Long before entering politics and even before beet sugar had been manufactured in Nebras ka he had visited Germany and Russia, thoroughly familiariz ing himself with beet culture, manufacturing and marketing. He was also interested in Re clamation, then in its pioneer staees of discussion and activity. Following the expiration of his term, Senator Dietrich re turned to Hastings, retiring from public life and to a very considerable extent from pri vate business. He was not at all well during the last years of his life and lived very quietlv al though he did engage in a'great deal of leisurely travel, during which he collected large quanti "? -0f. ethnological ma;erials which later were presented to uie btate Historical Society. He died, zipm iu, in Hastings. Sale of Seals Selaf$U44; Below Year Ago The Nebraska Tuberculosis As sociation released today infor 5LoV5 ,cn the 1952 Christmas fhol k,1? pealing that more than half of the Nebraska a-ents yelk totah th6ir Previ0us , However, the seal for the state Is still under the 1951 fiSure The report lists Cass county contributions for the period end ing January 15 at $1,000. com pared with $1,426.20 for the same ftii7iSIS:aod$1'455-70 M Mrs Dorothy Janecek today pointed out however that since the state report was compiled fjher $344.55 has b5P Tnt IrSwS Cass county. The total t? in &f countv reached f,H;i SIV5SV more than under the 1951 total Small contributions are still beins received, however; m0 IfaSrvA