The Illinois standard. [volume], December 11, 1948, Page 4, Image 4

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METZ P. LOCHARD.Editor
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Entered as second class matter October 5, 1948, at the post office at Chicago, Illinois,
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Editorials
Watch Liberia, too
The headlines featuring Berlin, China, Greece and Palestine
have taken our eyes off Africa. For American big business and
military interests, the front door to that continent is Liberia.
If economic and political independence are inseparable parts
of one whole, then the 100th anniversary of independence which
the Negro West African Republic celebrated last year was some
what premature, to say the least.
Foreign bankers, J. P. Morgan among them, held a heavy
mortgage on Liberia from 1871 down to 1926, when the Firestone
corporation took over and converted the country into an Ameri
can rubber colony. Firestone’s lease, covering one million acres
of land at a rental of 6 cents an acre, runs until the year 2025.
But Firestone’s sun over Liberia started into eclipse last year
when the Liberia Company, organized and headed by Edward
R. Stettinius, Jr., was established. Besides being a former U.S.
Secretary of State, Stettinius has also been a director of such
corporations as U.S. Steel, General Motors, General Electric, and
the Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. With the exception of rubber
and iron ore, the Liberia Company's rights cover all the resources
of the country.
For a period of 80 years, according to the terms of the agree
ment, the Liberian government is called upon to “contribute every
government facility and the necessary safeguards and privileges
lawful and appropriate to the execution of this agreement.” A
pretty big order. Might not the “safeguards” expected include
such things as strike-breaking?
If a dispute should arise between the company and Liberia
over this or some matter and it is impossible for arbitrators
appointed by both sides to settle things or decide on a third
arbitrator, the agreement provides that this third and final arbi
trator shall be appointed by—can you guess?—the president of
Columbia University.
Africa will not always remain a pawn on the American and
European chess board. She will not for long continue to tolerate
inordinate exploitation of her land, natural resources and the
native population. She will rise some day against this oppressive
imperialism. Already there are stirrings that point to a not too
distant struggle for autonomy and complete liberation.
More on the comic books
To the Editor: .
I was glad to see your article
discussing the pros and cons of
comic books for children. This
article refers to me as a teacher
*‘of Pine Grove Pre-School.” In
this school my connection has
been that of a parent. I would
also like to correct the impres
sion conveyed by the comment
attributed to me that ‘‘many
comic books are valuable in
helping to answer the questions
of youngsters in imaginative
ways.”
My view of comic books is
that of the Congress of Ameri
can Women, which character
izes them as “in intent and ef
fect-demoralizing.” The few
exceptions cited are helpful as
suggestions for parents. How
ever, in practice, selection is
rarely left to parents and chil
dren cannot begin to discrimi
nate until decent comics are
available in proportion to the
60,000,000 total poured out every
year.
Individual action is not
enough. What is needed is or
ganized pressure by parents and
educators, not on the children,
but on the irresponsible, dime
hungry publishers.
Katherine Fromer
*
_
•. c- . "j. v*-»
Looking at by Rod Holmgren
SPEEP-UP complaints com
ing from more and more unions
in and around Chicago. Latest
concerns 18 men discharged at
the Armour hog offal depart
ment for failure to keep pace
with stepped-up work load.
Local 347 of United Packing
house Workers (CIO) told Arm
our bosses “you can’t do that”
and the men were reinstated,
pronto.
Make no mistake about it,
speed-up will be a key issue in
fourth-round wage negotiations.
Worker., are being driven to pro
duce more in less time. Output
per worker today is about 35
percent higher than before the
war. Seventy-five workers now
turn out as much goods as 100
workers did in 1939.
Three ways to fight speed-up:
1) insist on Taft-Hartley Act re
peal and restoration of union
right to defend the working con
ditions of members; 2) block
any attempted introduction of
speed-up methods behind phony
excuse of hiking efficiency and
output. As CIO rubber workers
suggest: “A void any possible
hint of agreement with reduc
tion of pay per unit—which is
what speed-up amounts to.” 3)
guard against trick clauses in
contracts calling for “coopera
tion” in increasing production
and efficiency. This kind of
thing can be opening wedge for
speed-up-drive.
☆ ☆ ☆
GRANT OAKES, Farm Equip
ment Workers president, is
quoting history in reply to ques
tions about the election out
come. Passage goes like this:
“In 1840 a southern abolition
ist named James Bimey ran for
President and got only 7,000
votes. Eight years later, former
President Martin Van Buren ran
for President on an anti-slavery
platform and won little more
than 200,000 votes. But by 1860,
Abraham Lincoln was swept
into the White House on sub
stantially the same program.”
☆ ☆ ☆
DATE for the trial of Robert
M. Medill and Robert Weir on
charges of “palapable omission
of duty” in the Centralia mine
disaster will be set by Circuit
Judge Randolph in Fairfield
Dec. 21. If the trial begins—as
predicted—in February, it will
be two years after the explo
sion which' cost 111 miners’
lives. The U.S. Supreme Court
moved a lot faster than that
when it fined the miners’ union
for striking two years ago. Who
owns the courts?
☆ ☆ ☆
I’m fascinated by National
CIO announcement that one
Portland speech will be printed
in pamphlet form—that of Jus
tice William O. Douglas. Read
it carefully when it comes out.
Douglas’ outline of what he calls
“Human Welfare State” is in
reality a blue-print for social
democracy, or sell-out of work
ers to bosses by collaborationist
labor leaders. Phil Murray’s
hero baldly says U.S. labor lead
ers can sell the Marshall Plan
far more successfully than “the
conventional diplomat.”
“Doors tightly closed to all
others may open at its (U.S.
labor’s) knock,” says Douglas.
“Words from American labor
promise to find quick accept
ance.” You don’t have to ask
what kind of words from which
labor leaders Justice Douglas
has in mind.
And now,'The Pumpkin Caper' . . . by Bernie Asbel
I HAVE just crept out from a
deluge of clippings all about
a congressman, a “confessed”
spy, a plane from Panama—or
was it Honolulu?—a roll of mi
crofilm about
the size of lip
stick, 12 Com
munists accused
of a plot to rid
Americans of
the United
States, and a
pumpkin. There
are more char
acters, but they
only tend to
confuse me.
Now, I am not one to shy
away from an honest dollar.
And I see in these clippings the
subtle but beckoning opportuni
ty to turn a quick buck writing
for a ten-cent magazine. There
is a potential thriller here.
Trouble is, I don’t understand
the story. In fact, I seldom do
i: the ten-cent magazines. My
wife can tell me who the killer
is before she’s half-way through
and I’m never sure who it was
after I’ve finished.
Anyhow, if you will stop me
when I’m wrong, maybe we can
figure this out.
Now there’s a Whittaker
Chambers who says he used to
be a spy. He told that to Rep.
J. Parnell Thomas. As a result
Chambers is under indictment
. . . oh, no, Thomas is under
indictment. Oh dear, neither of
them ... or rather, Thomas is
under indictment because they
said he kept government money
that should have gone to Cham
bers . . . oh, no, to his office
help.
Chambers is not under indict
ment for anything. Chambers,
as a confessed spy and intriguer,
is Thomas’ star witness against
Alger Hiss. Now there’s the cul
prit. . . .
But, wait, Hiss hasn’t con
fessed to anything. And Thomas
hasn’t accused him yet of any
thing . . . oh, I get it now.
Chambers has accused Hiss. He
has accused Hiss of collaborat
ing with the Russians while he
was right at Roosevelt’s elbow,
and caused us to lose the war.
That’s him.
Oh, that must be wrong.
Roosevelt was collaborating
with th" Russians. We all were
. . . and we won the war.
Maybe this is right: Hiss has
sued Chambers for $75,000 libel
and Chambers can’t afford it on
his $30,000 salary. No.
Well, it seems someone got
some papers from the State De
partment that caused us to lose
the war . . . no, win the war
. . . and hid them in a pumpkin.
No, hid them in a Chamber-pot.
No, gave them to Chambers.
That’s right. Chambers kept
them for ten years, and then
hid them in a pumpkin.
So Rep. Thomas—no, Mundt,
sent an airplane to get Rep.
Nixon from Guadeloupe. And
as the airplane drops from the
skies . . . gosh, Thomas drops
out of the clippings. Wonder
why.
Oh, there’s the clue. Thomas
is under indictment so he wants
to lay low. But to show he
loved his country all the time,
he wants to indict Chambers.
No, he wants Chambers to indict
Hiss. Now, the Department of
Justice has indicted 12 Com
munists, and they also indicted
Thomas.
Tom Clark doesn’t want
Thomas’ pumpkin in Chambers’
trial. Or rather, he doesn’t
want Chamber’s pumpkin in
the Commuists’ trial because it
would look silly. So he’s putting
the pumpkin on trial. No he’s
sending the grand jury that in
dicted the Communists to in
vestigate the pumpkin. Right.
And everybody admits every
thing except Hiss and the Com
munists. That’s why they were
indicted. Chambers admits be
ing a spy. Thomas admits that
he took. . . .
Oh, no, Thomas doesn’t ad
mit it. He says it’s too late to
indict him for taking govern
ment money because the law
says he can’t be punished more
than three years after it hap
pened.
. . . Then how can they pun
ish the Communists if they took
the papers ten years ago? Not
the Communists, I mean Hiss, I
mean . . . oh, wait a minute,
they don’t know who swiped
the papers for Chambers.
Oh, I can’t figure this out.
I’ll ask my wife. She can al
ways murder a ten-cent editor
before he’s half-way ... I
mean. . . .
Jackson and wife, Eleanor, off for Los
Angeles. New pickings there, but will
still shoot stuff to Defender. Rousing send
off party for Jay and w. last Sunday night.
Standard’s A1 Vaughn has been informed
he had a good time.
By Peter Williams
ESTHER GRUNSFELD, YPAer, sidled
into new Hasty Tasty ice cream swankorium
other night at Clark and North. Hailed the
night counter man, pointed to spot on the
menu reading: “America’s Second Best
Chocolate Soda 25 cents.”
“I guess everyone asks,” says Esther sav
antly, “but where do you get the first best?”
“Oh,” comes back the night man, “right
over at the comer drug store across the
street.”
CHICAGO Defender cartoonist Jay
DuBOIS Theater Guild hunting for a stage
to display its revamp of “Waiting for Lefty”
and smart production of “Lonesome Train,”
the Robinson-Lampell cantata. Wendell
Phillips auditorium running strong.
—o—
STORM CENTER Gerhart Eisler in Chi
cago Dec. 12, Sunday. Speaks on “What Fu
ture for Germany?” at Ashland Auditorium
7 P.M. Sponsor Modern Bookstore.
Q: Why do radio announcers have such
small hands?
A: Wee paws for station identification.