© THE DALLAS POST, DALLAS, PA. FRIDAY, MARCH 27, 19%.
.
: Commen
Edfvorals Levies To The Edit
"6. Consolidated high schools and better co-oper:
Tha Row oviar 0 -operation between those
7. Adequate water supply for fire protection.
A THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK
~ True bravery is shown by performing without witness
wht one might be capable of doing before all the world.
+ pores Rouchefoucauld—Maxims
5 . NEW ROLL OF HONOR
4 Np for me fiorions su vice in last week’s disastrous flood in Wyom-
mg Valley 1s due so many hundreds of people that a ttempt to gi dit
where credit is due would be an impossible task. sal iy
Perhaps the greatest praise is due those individuals who, without having
which were facing danger—people who gave assistance anonymously, women
~ who sent food and cots and blankets to the stricken refugees and men who
loaned boats or went to the valley to help in rescue work.
~~ Too much credit cannot be given to the Red Cross, which marshalled its
; disaster organization and welded various relief groups into one vast flood-
fighting unit. The 109th Field Artillery, which worked sleeplessly through both
floods, also must receive credit. In the various municipalities firemen and po-
Jicemen worked with other relief organizations tirelessly, not only during the
flood but in the rehabilitation.
~~ It is unfortunate that short-sighted individuals misinterpreted the safe-
guards such as the calling of the Coast Guard boats and the strict regulatiofls
which prevailed after the water receded. Only the people who were in the
stricken areas realize how necessary those drastic measures were.
From beginning to end, there can be no serious criticism against the men
and women who administered and carried out the relief work. Rather, they
deserve the highest and most sincere thanks, not only of the people who were
* served by them, but by everyone who recognizes the courage and unselfish-
+ mess of such service, :
ie i Bgl im - Be aE
THE VANGUARD OF FASCISM
The following editorial, written by Roger E. Chase, Columbia Uni-
versity, New York City, won first prize recently in a nation-wide con-
test for students on the subject “Why Congress Should Pass The Nye-
~ Kvale Amendment.”
~ “We won some things from the war that were not on the program. For
; example,we had a complete demonstration of the fallacy of the old tradition
: that preparedness prevents war.”—George H. Dern in an address at Riverside,
~~ Lalifornia, December 1931. ! :
Hues Now Mr. Dern, as Secretary of War, is busy spending the largest peacetime
military appropriation in the history of the United States, making capitol of
“the old tradition that preparedness prevents war” to hasten the drive towards
a bigger and better war.
To date more than 200 campuses have found a place for the Reserve
Officers’ Training Corps. Another hundred are expected to add military train-
img to their curricula in the near future. In 118 institutions of learning drill is
not only offered but required.
Senator Nye of North Dakota and Representative Kvale of Minnesota
have introduced a bill intended to eliminate conscription from American edu-
cation. The bill would amend the Natonal Defense Act of 1916 with the stipu-
Jation that no R. O. T. C. unit be approved at any school or college “until
such institution shall have satisfied the Secretary of War that enrollment in
such units (except in the case of essentially military schools) is elective and
not compulsory.”
3 No sooner did the campaign against militarism in education begin to as-
sume formidable proportions than spokesmen for “national defense” rushed
forward with euphemisms and counter-charges. The R. O. T. C. was a higher
form of “physical education”; the goose-step was ‘character education’;
compulsory drill was “citizenship training”. :
It means little to the defenders of the R. O. T. C. that the best minds in
the field of physical education have characterized as a hollow falsehood the
‘claim that drill “builds men.”
It is irrelevant to the apostles of chauvinism that the kind of “character”
developed by the corps is otherwise known as the “military mind” which—
Professor Reinhold Niebuhr once stated—‘“makes unthinking obedience the
summon bonum in the hierarchy of virtues.” :
It is not at all alarming to the super-patriots that “citizenship” as pro-
moted in the R. O. T. C. has meant the negation of science and democracy.
: What that “citizenship” implies was once illustrated in an official R. O.
T. C. manual (withdrawn from circulation, thanks to student protests, ten
years ago). One passage read: “This inherent desire to fight and kill must be
' carefully watched for and encouraged by the student . . .” And further: “To
fish an opponent who hangs on or attempts to pull you to the ground, al-
ways try to break his hold by driving the knee or foot to his crotch and goug-
mg his eyes with your thumbs.”
. “Citizenship”, indeed!
“As ‘it becomes increasingly apparent that the nation’s military machine is
being geared to the inevitablity if not the early desirability of another war,
student, protests against militarism and the society which breeds it will be in-
greasingly vocal. At the same time R. O. T. C. units will crop up on campuses
which never had military training before. The corps already established will
emerge more clearly as storm troops of bogus “Americanism”, intolerance, anti-
imtellectualism. They are strongholds of reaction today; they may be the van-
guards “of fascism tomorrow. Y
| It is encouraging that the tremendous growth of the R. O. T. C. since
the war has not occurred without artificial stimulation. Although the cavalry
went out of style and utility after Appomatox, thousands of horses have been
provided as sugar-coating for the fill of compulsory training. Fortunes have
been spent on flashy uniforms. Pretty girls have been recruited as “sponsors”.
e enemy has been resourceful.
There is going to be a fight to the finish between a strong student peace
. movement and a highly-subsidized regiment of training for slaughter. The out-
Jock will be more reassuring once the Nye-Kvale Bill is law.
®.
\
sR
‘any direct emergency, volunteered their services in behalf of those families .
Significant, too, was the fact that
Trade Commission officials who pro-
posed the bill were heard in secret
session. The few opponents of the
‘measure who did have time to testify,
could not, therefore, answer the ar-
guments of the proponents. More and
more Washington is working secretly
and keeping the people from knowing
what is going on.
—_——
A recent computation by the Wash-
ington Evening Star puts the astrono-
mers to shame. It showed that on
March 31, 1917, the federal debt was
$1,282,044,346; on March 3, 1934,
it had risen to $20,937,350,964, be-
cause of the war-hangover; on March
16, 1936, it was $31,859,000,000.
There just isn’t anything we can com-
pare that with to make it intelligible.
——
Much talk-is being heard around the
Capitol about the fact that the new
tax on corporate profits not distribut-
ed as dividends was put forward as a
substitute for other existing but ob-
jectionable levies. At the same time it
was said that the suggested taxes on
processing, replacing those invalidat-
ed when AAA was held unconstitution-
al, would. be only “temporary.”
Economists and tax experts point
out that the taxes which the corporate
profits levy would replace have been
proved fertile sources of revenue and
the possibilities are, therefore, that
when the government begins raising
more money to pay the present stupen-
dous debt the repeal taxes will be
revived. 7
re Oe
THE HOD CARRIER
In everyday conversations, we use
the phrase “hod carrier” to describe
a man who does the heavy work. In
view of the present attitude in some
political circles, it’s interesting to find
out who is the government's hod car-
rier.
In 1935, the federal government got
more than 80 per cent of its tax reven-
ue from business. Consequently, since
the government must depend so heav-
ily upon business for revenue it should
not do anything that would tend to re-
duce the capital that produces the
business.
There, are suggestions that industry
must put the unemployed to work.
Collier's magazine describes as “ob-
viously absurd” the argument that in-
dustry must provide work for eight or
nine million unemployed.
“Industry means manufacturing”
Collier’s says. “During the first ten
months of 1929, wage-earner employ-
ment in manufacturing industries was
about 8,839,000 according to figures
of the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
During the first ten months of 1935,
the number was estimated by the same
Bureau to be 6,840,000. Thus approxi-
mately 2,000,000 fewer workers were
employed by the manufacturers in
1935 than in 1929.
“Two million is not eight or nine
million, however. The sooner we stop
making loose general statements about
employment and unemployment the
sooner we shall arrive at practicable
solutions of our remaining difficulties.
“How many jobs manufacturers can
provide depends on many factors out-
side the control of industrialists. The
policy of the government toward in-
dustry is one important factor.
“It 1s good politics to talk as though
industrial corporations could actually
be expected to absorb the loan of un-
employment, because corporations
don’t vote. Yet nobody in politics or
elsewhere would think of asking a
farmer to ‘provide jobs for more peo-
ple than he needed to do his work.”
t «+ Discussion $-
"The Kaleidoscope
We were talking to a business man
the other day who told us that the
flood had taken everything he had . . .
everything. He was blue and dejected
and whipped. He couldn’t see what
use there could be in trying any more
to do anything. We know that there
are hundreds of people throughout the
East who feel just as this man feels.
They have seen their homes or thei
business places ruined through no fault
of their own, and find themselves, af-
ter ycars of effort, ‘with no material re-
sources upon which to rebuild.
We said to our friend who had
opened his heart about his troubles.
“John, it is true the flood hit you
hard. It hit a great many people hard,
but it will do no good to quit and give
up. We are here and we must meet
situations h as these as they are,
and not A would like to have them.
Let's not think of what the flood took
away from us. Rather, let us think
what.it left us. Let’s take an inventory
of that. It left you friends. It left you
life and strength and health. It left you
all the genius and the real resources of
mind and heart you ever possessed. As
long as you have that you are not
whipped. True, you lost some material
things but your real assets, your real
energy and your skill are still unim-
paired and upon these you’ can, if you
will, build a better and a more secure
future. Conditions following the flood
may call for a personal readjustment,
a period of hard work and economy.
These things will be each individuals
problem, but whatever is chosen as
the thing upon which to rebuild, let’s
remember that whatever else the flood
took, it left many of the fundamental,
most valuable things. Let’s concentrate
on these.”
‘ iyi
A minister in a small Luzerne Coun-
ey town is reported to have recently
refused an increase in salary. He gave
as his reason that it was too hard to
collect his present salary. He didn’t
want to take on any more responsibi-
iity.
—C—
The speed demon has always exist-
ed in one form or another. Greek my-
thology in the story of how Phaethon
drove his father’s chariot offers per-
haps the earliest example of what can
happen when people drive a vehicle so
fast that it gets beyond their ability to
control it. It will be remembered that
Phaethon wished to prove that Apollo,
the God of the Sun, was his father,
and for his proof, sought to persuade
his father to let him drive the chariot.
Apollo finally consented with reluc-
tance, and after many warnings and
instructions, the boy set out. Then
Phaeton lost control of the fiery horses
and set the world on fire. Jupiter had
to toss a thunderbolt at Phaeton to
stop him.
This myth 1s strangely modern.
Folks are still trying to set the world
on fire with their speed.
PIE
There are at least three kinds of
people: Those who do their thinking
first, those who do their thinking af-
terward, and those who do no thinking
at all.
Li
The economic depression upset and
disproved many of the traditional be-
liefs of the American people. One of
the strongest of those was the notion
that farming could always be depended
upon to furnish food and skelter.
This comfortable theory was ex-
ploded when over a million farm fami-
lies applied for relief in 1934. We
could no longer moralize and say that
the families were on relief because
the bread-winner was lazy and good-
for-nothing. We all had to recognize
the fact that many families were on
relief through no fault of their own.
New homes were provided in 1935
for more than 76,000 additional fami-
lies while, as a result of its lending
business, the federal government was
foreclosing on 1,246.
] ——
The Labor department said the 75,-
000 figure was 170 per cent higher
than in 1934. It added that all build-
ing construction for 1935 was 28 per
cent above 1934.
As this construction’ was completed,
the Home Owners Loan Corporation
said it had foreclosed on almost $6,
000,000 worth of privately-owned
houses. Of the 1,246 taken over by the
government, 29 were sold, 611 rented,
461 stood vacant, and 145 were still
occupied rent-free by their former
owners.
——
An important new contribution of
>
|
science to motoring safety, the develop-
ment of hi-test laminated safety glass’
which after being cracked will stretch
and bend upon further impact was an-
nounced this week.
Advancing to a far higher degree
than ever before the tensile strength
of safety glass, and adding elasticity as
well, the new product is a joint devel-
opment between the Carbide and Car-
bon Chemicals Corporation’s Research
Department at Mellon Institute, Pitts-
burgh, and the Pittsburgh Plate Glass
Company’s Duplate Research Labora-
tory at Creighton, Pa., after more than
six years of research and experiment.
The secret of the hi-test safety glass
lies in the development of Vinal, a new
plastic with rubber-like stretching qual-
ities and extremely high tensile
strength. (Laminated safety glass is
made by constructing a glass sandwich,
with a transparent plastic filler between
two layers of glass, applied under heat
and pressure. The shatterproof tenden-
cies of the glass result from adherence
of the glass particles to the plastic
when broken.)
THE MAIL
In this department The Post presents letters from its read-
ers on current problems—suggestions, criticisms, bouquets. The
Post need not indorse any sentiment or eriticism expressed here,
nor can it vough for the accuracy of any sentiment. It recognizes /
only that in this country people have, within reason, the right Iq
! . to express themselves. ~
To The Editor: Dear Editor: sive population than exist in this
What has happened to all our
notable candidates for the Presidency?
Not one of either party has proposed
anything to overcome the: depression
or avert another one. Of course some
of them aver that balancing the bud-
get and upholding the Constitution
would do it, but isn't that a little
weak, since in 1928 or the years just
previous no one attacked the Consti
tution flor the Supreme Court and
the budget was not only balanced but
billions of dollars were actually paid
on the war debts under Mellon man-
agement? Yet the panic broke in all
its fury. ;
And what a disappointment is Sen-
ator Borah! I am 64 years old, and I
do not like Mr. Borah for cutting my
pension from $200 to $50. The idea!
Pensions should start at 64 years, not
at 60. I doubt if Senator Borah's $50
would provide enough inflation. But
$200 a month might provide sufficient
inflation to give eight million old
patriots enough purchasing power so
that the younger members of our
families would not have to work so
Jong and so hard as we had to.
H. W. N.
History records many occasions
when the United States through its
President successfully acted as peace-
maker when foreign nations were at
war. And each instance received
world-wide acclaim. Why then should
there be any objection to our parti
cipation either alone or with others
in the settlement of differences that
threaten to lead to war? Must the
beast of prey be permitted to go on
its rampage of destruction before we
attempt to lock it in its cage?
oa yo -M WW
Editor:
The Post:
In the controversy between the
New Deal on the one hand and the
Constitution as interpreted by the
Supreme Court on the other, many
argue under the delusion that the
New Deal is a modern technique
while the Constitution represents old-
fashioned and outworn ideas.
In the thirteenth century Kublai
Khan and his political cohorts were
operating a New Deal and regulating
farming, commerce and industry over
a far vaster territory and more exten-
country. To give this ancient gentle-
man credit, he displayed more wisdom
in his New Deal than has ever emana-
ted from the Brain Trust.
At the time of the Boston Tea
Party we were suffering from a New
Deal attempt to regulate commerce
and tax one section of the people for
the benefit of another section.
The writers of the Constitution
were thoroughly familiar with the
New Deal; they abhorred it. They
knew that the extension of the powers
of the government into control of ag-
riculture, commerce, and industry
benefitted, not the people, but the
politicians and the party in power.
" They knew that the power and pa-
tronage acquired by a New Deal
through extending its functions into
industry and commerce could be used
by the party in power to perpetuate
its rule and destroy the power of the
ballot*to remove them from office.
For this reason they wrote the Con-
stitution to bar out New Deals and to
prevent the country in any future
period of low political intelligence~_
from throwing away the birthright
they had fought so hard to attain.
J.S. 8.
ph
od
—i_—
y
4 ’*
: : GUARDIANS OF A NATION
fee he lla ' - WASHINGTON WE 3
fr CRALLAB RIO LETTER WROTE THAT
wel ns NT 4 ) . a /
i A a 3 THIS COUNTRY’S "
BLISHED EVER ID. . : 5
As is always the way with catch- 2 R = | F SECURITY CRACK-PO
\ AT THE DALLAS PosT PLANT 8 always the way Ph ; I 7 2 4 EC RI T
LEHMAN AVENUE, DALLAS, PA. phrases, the “breathing spell” that ) )
a * “By THE DALLAS Pos, INC. was to help business and industry 3 3 .
- HowARD RISLEY .... .... General Manager speed . recovery is getting a new in- al )
HOWELL Binds .....0o isin antiindi eisai . Managing Editor ~~ terpretation in Washington. 1 4 < < Ta
TRUMAN STEWART ... coveessennenennn Mechanical Superintendent It iy that bi jisich Shey Foose : —_— GH Ere fA
_ The Dallas Post is on sale at the local news stands. Subscription .are to be rushed through before busi- ? Ja 7s.
Brice by mail $2.00 payable in advance. Single copies five cents each. nessmen can catch a breath. To illus- — - Ho MoNsST TTUTION. re
Entered as second-class matter at the Dallas Post Office. trate what they have in mind, the in- A - LAL *
THE DALLAS POST is a youthful weekly rural-suburban news- dustrialists point to procedure adopted N =
paper, owned, edited and operated by young men interested in the de- by the Senate Interstate Commerce | Ee 0
ment of the gross rural-suburban region of Luzerne County and in Committee on the Wheeler-Rayburn J Q 0a go CARE av
~ the attainment of the highest ideals of journalism. THE POST is truly 1 \ 1 d Trad { : 7
~ “wore than a newspaper, it is & community institution.” bi yr oe oo : oral De ‘ ] e ! |]
Fas Congress shall make no law * * abridging the freedom of speech, or mmission: ito, study: 1 e personal 2 ) R
2 of Pross.=From the first amendment to the Constitution of the United fairs of any businessman for any pur- 1 ES
3 S > yg . ” t Hl -
- of pose.
Kt Subscription, $2.00 Per Year (Payable in Advance) Th. 1 1
J ; : ) . . That bill was introduced weeks ago.
g Subscribers who send us changes of address are requested to include Its opponents generally were encourag-
both new and old addresses when they submit their “notice of change. ed to believe that it would get no-
Ky ; THE DALLAS POST PROGRAM Su where. Then, suddenly, the committee } (4 F/T
oop TE DALLAS POST will lend its support and offers the use of its ordered hearings. : { | i ;
folabns v3 2 projects which will help this community and the great Surprised, individual businessmen Ja \
rr territory which it serves to attain the following major had no opportunity to prepare them- oi
on Construction of more sidewalks for the protection of pedestrians in selves for testimony against the bill. ER \ .
fmeston Yownship and Dallas. Consequently, when the hearings were ] :
2 BS oe library located in the Dallas region, : called, few opponents were ready. The : iY
por 8 3 deans street lighting in Trucksville, Shavertown, hearings on the bill, which would give FAA
; 4. Sanitary sewage disposal system for Dallas. ; the Trade Commission what some Con- | SE
% 6. Closer co-operation between Dallas borough and surrounding gressmen term “unprecedented snoop- . —
waships. ing powers,” lasted just one day. SE ———— -
2