The Indianapolis times. [volume], December 23, 1932, Home Edition, Second Section, Image 13

About The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965

Image provided by: Indiana State Library

                
Second Section
ifeoK
EkNooK
Mum > I
i A
Pearl S. Buck
There is at least one author who
will have a fine Christmas and that
is Pearl S. Buck. All because her
second novel, “Sons,” is being listed
by all people in the book business
as one of the best sellers of the
year. Her first “Good Earth,” swept
the country with its popularity.
BY WALTER I). HICKMAN
IN “A Family Aflair,” by Lillian
Gill, I found an unusual tri
angle—a young wife discovers that
her friendship with her father-in
law has developed into love.
In this story, the love is mental
and of deep understanding for the
troubles that both experience. Here
is not lust or love of physical pos
session but the fine mental under
standing and desire of two people
lor their own friendship.
You are chiefly concerned with
Amelia de Lorme, daughter of a
poor French baron of the old school
who tries to keep up the splendor of
his past with an empty pocketbook
and the thought that his daughter
would marry a rich Frenchman.
Amelie violates all rules of her
family circle by eloping with Vernon
Hole, a young rich American who
was in France trying to write a
novel.
Young Holt is very wealthy but
his father Ledyard Holt, many times
a millionaire finds it difficult to per
suade his son to prepare himself to
step into his father’s shoes in a vast
rubber business.
That is the horrible conflict be
tween father and son. Holt, senior,
had another problem and that was
his daughter, Mariette, who hiked
off to Chicago, and started a trial
marriage with an anarchist.
When you first meet Mariette on
her return to the home of her father
she arrived for one purpose—one to
tell her father that s u e “hated him,"
only to discover by telegram that
her anarchist “husband” had been
jailed by the Chicago police. She
then decides she needs $4,000.
It seems that even an anarchist,
even in story books, do not hesitate
to turn to the rich, the target for
their abuse and even their bullets
.(speaking of this story) for money.
Into this warring family of the
Holts, Amelie becomes the center
around which the family battle was
waged. You see the fine and sensible
friendship develop between Holt,
senior, whose wife is dead, and his
daughter-in-law.
The background becomes dramatic
because a bitter labor war (and you
can see that the family would be
divided even on that) starts against
Holt and his rubber plantations and
factories.
Old man Holt and Amelie discover
their deep love for each other when
an attempt is made to kill the mil
lionaire during the labor war.
That is the problem—What did
Amelie do? What did all the Holts
do?
Must ask you to read “A Family
Affair,” pubished by Macaulay, New
York, and sells for $2.
Here is an intelligently and a well
written book. The characters seem
to live. That is a good test.
a a a
Am informed by the Business
Branch Library of the Indianapolis
Public Library that the following
new business books have been placed
lor circulation—" Fighting the De
pression," by Babson; “Fashion
Merchandising” by Nustrom; “Busi
ness and Public Interests" by Javits:
“Duties of the Senior Accountant,”
by Thornton, and, “Working With
Men," by Beasley.
a a a
It seems that several late book
shoppers for Christmas want some
help from this department. They
want a list ranging from three to
seven books suitable for adult read
ing as gifts for both men and wo
men. My list is as follows: “State
Fair,” by Phil Stong; “Sons,” by
Pearl S. Buck; “Mutiny On The
Bounty," by Nordhoff and Hall: “In
vitation To The Waltz,” by Rosa
mind Lehmann; “The Sheltered
Life,” by Ellen Glasgow; “Lances
Down," by Boleslavski, and. “Life
Begins at Forty,” by Walter B. Pit
kin. I am sure that I am safe on
that list.
mao
Duttons announce their prize book
for January as "Sardinian Sideshow"
by Amelie Posse-Brazdova. It is
said to posses “humor, romance and
color.”
arm
Yes, the present successful play
“Dinner At Eight,” by George S.
Kaufman and Edna Ferber has been
published. It has been published
by Doubleday, Doran and sells for
$2.
non
You still want to know my favor
ite novel of the year? Here is it—
► State Fair,” by Stong. And a
Merry Christmas to you.
Foil Leased WJra Rfrrtce of
the United I’rexi Association
MILLIONAIRES’
ROW SHRINKS
IN DEPRESSION
Three Out of Four in Magic
Circle Tumble From
Proud Position.
DEEP CUT FOR INCOMES
Corporations Are Especially
Hard Hit, Government
Figures Reveal.
BY HERBERT LITTLE
Times Staff Writer
WASHINGTON. Dec. 23.—Three
of every four of America’s “million
aires”—persons with income of
$50,000 a year or more—were de
throned from their eminence be
tween 1928 and 1931, the treasury’s
annual analysis of income tax fig
ures showed today.
And the $1,000,000 a year incomes
reported by individuals dropped
from 511 in 1928 to only seventy-five
in 1931.
The “millionaire” incomes of
$50,000 up totaled 43,184 in 1928, and
actuaries estimated that at least
cne-half of these actually possessed
capital of $1,000,000.
But last year this classification
numbered only 10,779. Their aggre
gate net taxable income was re
ported at $1,282,659,757. compared
with more than six billion dollars
which the 43.184 "richest” men and
women reported to the tax collectors
in 1928.
Four fict Five Millions in 1931
Os the seventy-five multi-million
aires, four had incomes last year
of more than $5,000,000 each. The
net income of the four together
amounted to $38,258,114. Seven other
rich men. receiving between $3,000,-
000 and $5,000,000 each a year, re
ported an aggregate of $25,633,048.
The income reported in 1931 by
all those fortunate enough to be
required to file income tax returns,
whether their incomes were taxable
or not, amounted to $13,231,352,042.
In 1930 the total was more than
seventeen billions, as compared with
twenty-five billions in the peak
year of 1928 and twenty-three bil
lions in 1920.
; The individual income tax paid
; this year on 1931 incomes amounted
j to only $241,282,875, most of it com
| ing from the “middle bracket” in
| comes of from $15,000 to $200,000 a
year. Tne four men with incomes
;of more than $5,000,000 a year paid
$5,755,400 in taxes.
Corporations Hard Hit
But the corporation returns
showed even more drastic results of
the depression. Out of 493,293
corporation reports, only 170,683
showed a net income. The gross in
come of these concerns was $44,512,-
000.000, the net income was $3,-
110.000.000, and the tax paid was
$331,000,000.
The returns of 269,704 corpora
tions which showed no net income,
and therefore paid no tax, listed
deficits aggregating $6,087,626,724,
on a gross income of $48,410,000,000.
These figures compare with a net
taxable corporation income total
of $5,627,000,000 for 1930, and a
deficit of slightly more than $4,-
| 000,000,000 by the non-profit report
ing corporations.
Back in 1928 the profit-making
corporations reported gross income
of more than $127,000,000,000 and
taxable income of nearly $12,000,-
000,000.
TWIN BABY BOY DEAD
Acute Gastritis Is Fatal, Ruling of
Deputy Coroner.
Herbert, 4-months-old twin son
of Mr. and Mrs. Herbert Stamm.
3936 English avenue, was found
dead in bed today by the mother.
Acute gastritis caused death, ac
cording to Dr. E. R. Wilson, deputy
coroner.
Cocktail Accessories Top Gift List; Do Everything but Drink
k. The set at th. irglit includes cocktail shaker, bottle opener, cups j class. Progress seems to* hat
i for Ingredients. In the foreground is a two-drink flask, stopped last year, and civilizatio
wlsrfgnjthat’the season far cha-nber is empty during the ae- Genevieve Colt.ge demons.raf- / wBK'A felt
produced no novelty to vie tual shace - but after the dnnks >ng the electric face troncr. j Jl WMj. f. Ml
\ the S I VZ£ C d ‘ gg f r ’ hSVe bene P ° Ured ' 006 may re ‘ your drinks like sugar. It kills \WI if & -Buddy’ rephS'a deep voice c
Ans vettherear? mam’ “T’ 6 buslness time better than bagatelle. I IS? ML MI ' the other end of the wire, “tl
•aordinary items on the Sun- Slde ° f the shaker and store Uin Gifts for the drinkers seem to ¥|| j . ' AIT I only animal people are giving
this season the empty side, where it refrig- be. in fact, more appropriate than I wm maybe Christmas seals.”
here is. for instance, a rubber crates without further diluting the ever bef ° re this year. There's the / V HI I As ?°°d a suggestion for agi
)g which looks like a fly swat- i drink-supposing there is any hanSome leather with a > j as came through the mail
:h out into the rain and catch drink left ' lock on the bottle so that the own- ■ 1 I Economical Christmas Cheer,
tw drops for application to her er can lock himself out whenever ; I The Christmas “Package’ coi
?ks. A N eminently practical arrange- I he wants to go on the wagon. ! \ sists of three twenty-six-oun
his is called a rain patter, and | m , ent is a sort °* double tray There's a fancy bar on wheels, i quarts, as follows: One qua
The flask at the left (cost, plenty) has a crystal stopper and a
lock. The set at the irght includes cocktail shaker, bottle opener, cups
and four flasks for ingredients. In the foreground is a two-drink flask.
BY A. J. LIEBI.ING
Times Staff Writer
The unusual Christmas gift will
be the rule this year, according to
the pessimists, because it will be
unusual to get anything at all.
Ignoring them, it must be ac
knowledged that the season so far
has produced no novelty to vie
with the electric worm digger,
which made 1931 a vintage Yule
tide. And yet there are many
extraordinary items on the coun
ters this season.
There is. for instance, a rubber
thing which looks like a fly swat
ter. witW which a woman may
reach out into the rain and catch
a few drops for application to her
cheeks.
This is called a rain patter, and
is supposed to be very good for
the complexion, if it does not run.
It also proves that one smart
enough to come in out of the rain
may wish to bring the rain in
after one. and it costs only $2.
The rain is free.
The Indianapolis Times
Jobs for All; Plenty of Leisure; Higher Living
Standards—That’s Technocracy’s Rosy Vision
Now, What Is This New
Science? Leaders Re
luctantly Tell.
What is Technocracy? How did it
atart? W'hat are its discoveries and its
aims? How would it affect everyday
life? . . . The Times begins today six
articles interpreting this amazing new
‘‘scientific philosophy” which soon wilt
be on everyone's tongue.
BY PAUIThARRISON
NEA Service Writer
-VJTEW YORK, Dec. 23.—A job
In for everybody between the
ages of 25 and 45—and after that
you go fishing on an income paid
by the state ... *
A sixteen-hour working week—
four hours a day for four days—
and the rest of the time for leis
ure . . .
A standard of living ten times
higher than our present average—
a scale corresponding to a SIO,OOO
income under our present sys
tem . . .
Abolition of debt and the im
passibility of assuming new
debts . . .
More goods and a higher qual
ity of goods—and elimination of
waste of our natural resources . .
Those are just a few of the
roseate visions of the new scien
tific philosophy called technoc
racy.
By many, it is spoken of with
distrust and fear; by others, with
approval. Few even pretend to
understand fully what technocracy
really is. Whether Howard Scott,
chief technocrat, likes it or not—
and you may be sure that he
doesn’t—technocracy is undergo
ing all sorts of interpretations.
While some term it radicalism
rampant, others consider it, con
servative science. Some see in it
an attempt at the deification of a
clanking robot. And others,
through it, glimpse Utopia.
o o o
HERE are some other things
the Technocrats believe:
That this nation, with the greatest
debt load and unemployment in
its history, in the midst of an
economy of plenty, is definitely at
the end of an era and stands face
to face either with bankruptcy
or complete chaos —possibly with
in eighteen months.
That our social system has been
subjugated by the machine, and
that our economic scheme is whol
ly incompetent to cope with me
chanistic advances which seem
bound to make over our collective
life.
They also forecast the doom of
our economic “price system,”
which is the evaluation of one
commodity in terms of another
commodity, and declare that it is
basically responsible for our pres
ent accumulation of debt, unem
ployment, and industrial stagna
tion.
They contend we must throw
overboard all previous economic
theories and social philosophies,
as well as the political “isms” of
Messrs. Marx, Lenin, and Mus
solini.
Those are, at best, gloomy views,
and have brough widespread criti
cism to Technocracy for the up
setting effect they may have on a
shell-shocked public.
Technocracy, on the other hand,
does not admit pessimism; it says
that if the nation will but organize
for the control of the machine,
we are on the eve of a great era
of well-being.
non
Neither Scott nor his asso
ciates—most of them re
putable engineers and scientists —
are alarmists. Ten years ago,
studying their graphs and extend
ing them along probable se
quences, they claim to have found
evidence that America would en
counter a severe depression in
1930 (an error of about six
months.)
What might be a companion
gift is a face iron. Milady smears
cream on her face, plugs the iron
in on the house current and irons
out her skin.
There is also a grown-together
cocktail shaker of pewter. One
chamber is empty during the ac
tual shake, but after the drinks
have bene poured, one may re
move the ice from thg business
side of the shaker and store it in
the empty side, where it refrig
erates without further diluting the
drink—supposing there is any
drink left.
bub
AN eminently practical arrange
ment is a sort of double tray
of individual compartments for
ice cubes.
You put the cubes into the com
partments one by one with tongs,
assuring t>ie privacy so dear to
ice cubes, and then you pick them
out one by one and drop them
INDIANAPOLIS, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 23, 1932
---;
It seeks to form a complete Die- ~ ■ -JSNJII- * '
They said nothing of it then
and profess reluctance to talk
about it now. They say that but
, for a probing press and a curious
public, the very existence of Tech
nocracy would have remained a
secret until their work could have
been completed and presented to
the public.
But technocracy was discovered,
and in a few weeks has become
a subject of discussion throughout
a worried world. Technocrats first
found themselves busy repudiating
allegedly inaccurate statements
of their aims, and now are shud
dering under the attacks of critics
who are using those statements
as the bases of their opposition.
Howard Scott wishes everybody
would go away and let him alone;
he has a lot of work to do. But
before he locks himself in the
office he is using at Columbia uni
versity’s school of engineering, he
intends to state the case of his
group.
Reduced to its simplest terms.
Technocracy is a fact-finding or
ganization concerned with the dis
covery of what is happening in
dustrially to North America.
It seeks to form a complete pic
ture of our present social mechan
ism in terms of the practical
sciences.
Scott declared at the outset—
and that was twelve years ago—
that he believed the whole func
tional process of a nation or con
tinent could be reduced to cold
figures, capable of only one inter
pretation.
All divergent economic and in
dustrial theories, he felt sure, are
the results of lack of co-ordina
tion, or of misinterpretation of
half-facts.
a a a
SO the Technocrats decided to
survey some 3,000 leading in
dustries—from toys to tractors,
pop bottles to pig iron. They did
not study cost or price factors,
considering them unstable and
meaningless.
But they did study such definite
aspects as machine energy and
man hours expended for the unit
of production, and rates of in
-creased technological efficiency.
They put into their unemotional
charts the story of power conver
sion, the introduction of improved
machinery, and the resultant ef
fects on employment.
Genevieve Coltage demonstrat
ing the electric face ironer.
into your drinks like sugar. It kills
time better than bagatelle.
Gifts for the drinkers seem to
be, in fact, more appropriate than
ever before this year. There’s the
complete tippler’s outfit in a
handsome leather case, w r ith a
lock on the bottle so that the own
er can lock himself out whenever
he wants to go on the wagon.
There's a fancy bar on wheels,
made of a barrel, which takes the
place of the obsolete tea cart. Not
to forget the ice cubes tongs which
are used to protect oneself when
the guests get to the throwing
stage of the party, and the elec
tric face ironer, which is about as
Here is a pictorial suggestion of what Technocracy is all about . . .
The lower picture r-hows a primitive Chinese power plant employing
labor of two coolies who, together, generate about one-fifth horse
power.
At top is a modern turbo-generator plant operating under the
observation of one man. The power it generates would exceed the
combined energy of 100,000 coolies.
Inset (upper left) is a graphic statement of Technocracy’s work
plan; a person working four hours a day, four successive days a week,
would have a standard of living corresponding to a SIO,OOO annual
income.
Technocracy assumes that our
physical and social well-being is
dependent on physical com
modities and their use.
Everything necessary to this
well-being is produced by energy,
whether that energy is delivered
by men or machines.
And energy, as every one knows,
is definite and measurable. It is,
says Technocracy, the only intan
gible factor of our present-day
scheme which can be measured in
tangible terms.
For example, so many thermal
units of heat produce so much
steam to strip so much iron ore,
■which in turn is transported by a
determinable number of horse
power, refined by a given amount
Complete bar on wheels, replacing the old-fashioned tea wagon.
satisfactory as any other device on
the morning after.
Dog dishes plainly marked
“Dog’’ so the brute eannot make
a mistake are featured in one
of fuel, and transformed into use
able goods by so many foot
pounds, ergs or some other units
of work. And so cn, throughout
industry and its products.
n n tt
AN ENGINEER can determine
very closely just how much
human and machine work is rep
resented by the production of an
automobiles.
No matter how widely the car’s
money value might vary, that
energy measurement would re
main inflexible. “Value,” which is
an expression of human desire, is
almost wholly relative.
And "money value” is dependent
upon additional economic varia-
shop, and one storeroom had a
brainstorm and invented a set of
numbered cocktail glasses, so every
time you glom somebody else’s
drink you will feel guilty, because
Second Section
Entered as second Clax* Msfter
at Poxtoffice. Indianapolis
World Is Blue Printed:
Economic Theories Go
Overboard.
bles such as stock markets and
gold reserves.
So the Technocrats are seeking
to translate our industrial trends
into energy, with the idea that
this is the only true yardstick for
measuring the growth of our
robot age.
“Business has been guiding itself
by standards which we believe
have no fundamental relation to
reality,” said Scott. “Indexes such
as prices and gold movements are
not causes, but effects.
"The thing that conditions our
society is whether a man can be
at work and earn his daily bread.”
Only about 300 charts of indus
tries have been completed by the
Technocrats, and these are to be
exhibited early in 1933. Technoc
racy is a non-profit-making mem
bership organization, and can do
nothing with its findings except to
make them public property.
The group is financed by con
tributions from fewer than 100 of
its members’. Its draughtsmen are
paid by the architects’ emergency
committee, and its quarters are
furnished free by the industrial
engineering department of Colum
bia university.
atto
“/AUR work has been merely to
measure the advances made
in machine production, from the
beginning of the technological
age to the present,” Scott ex
plained. “No sentiment, politics
or social considerations are taken
into account.”
Thus Technocracy has been
more concerned with the rise of
the robot than with what is hap
pening to the man who is out of
a job.
It has paid more attention to
industrial waste of natural re
sources than to economic waste.
It attempts to go beyond all
present argument to the effect
that our present system can lift
itself from the dpldrums, and de
clares that there are incontrov
ertible reasons why that system
can not survive more than a rel
atively few more years.
At our present geometric rate
of expansion, for instance, even
our coal, oil and minerals would
be depleted in half a century and
would bring us to an abrupt halt.
Technocracy believes that, un
der scientific control. America’s
standard of living can be raised
and its resources conserved for at
least a thousand years.
Yet Technocracy is not a defi
nite plan, but a challenge. It
finds facts, co-ordinates them,
and shows what technology is
likely to do in the future.
Then it shows, by implication,
what course we are expected to
follow to keep pace with the ma
chine.
Next: Who's who in Technoc
racy, and how the movement
started.
ASH IS IN HOSPITAL
Community Fund Official Undergoes
Appendicits Operation.
Condition of William J. Ash, 5440
Carrollton avenue, Indianapolis
Community Fund publicity director,
who underwent an operation for ap
pendicitis at St. Vincent’s hospital
Thursday afternoon, was reported
good today.
He was taken ill suddenly after
trimming a Christmas tree and par
ticipating in a birthday celebration
for his daughter, Joan Ash, at his
home Wednesday.
Left to right, ice cube holder,
cake cutter, ice tongs and indi
vidual holder for ice cubes.
you have no chance to say you
made a mistake.
B B B
OBVIOUSLY, none of these is
in the electric worm-digger
class. Progress seems to have
stopped last year, and civilization
is in reverse.
Even use of the classified tele
phone directory failed to turn up
novel gifting. No one has ordered
an Abattoir for Christmas, nor an
Abdominal Supporter, Abrasive
Materials or Abstract of Title.
There is no seasonal demand for
Arch Supports (non-metal) nor
Artificial Eyes.
“Animal Dealers?"
“Buddy,’ replied a deep voice on
the other end of the wire, “the
only animal people are giving is
maybe Christmas seals.”
As good a suggestion for a gift
as any came through the mails.
It read:
Economical Christmas Cheer.
The Christmas “Package’ con
sists of three twenty-six-ounce
quarts, as follows: One quart
Grain “White” with essence, re
tail price $2 (makes 2‘i quarts of
gin); one quart Applejack (Jer
sey’s best) $2.75 (aged and high
proof; one quart Apricot, $1.50
(ladies’ favorite beverage). Total,
s6.2s—ail for $5.
FARMERS CALL
FOR QUICK AID
ON MORTGAGES
Serious Emergency to Be
Faced in Sixty Days,
Congress Warned.
BILLIONS ARE INVOLVED
Bills to Stave Off Disaster
Are Being Prepared by
Democrats.
BY RUTH FINNEY
Times Staff Writer
WASHINGTON. Dec. 23.—Con
gress has been told by farm repre
sentatives from the west and south
that unless some arrangements for
refinancing farm mortgages is made
within the next sixty days a serious
emergency will confront the coun
try.
That is the reason for sudden ac
tivity on the subject, at a time when
other matters are being postponed
until after the holidays.
Three different groups of senators
and representatives met to work at
the problem of farm mortgages
Thursday.
At their meetings stories of
farmers armed with pitchlorks to
prevent foreclosures, or agreeing
among themselves to buy in prop
erties at prices yielding nothing to
creditors, were interspersed in legal
istic debate over property rights
guaranteed by the Constitution.
Action Is Demanded
Congress has unquestioned power
to scale down principal and inter
est of mortgages held by federal
land banks and intermediate credit
banks, but liens held by individuals
or private banks present a more dif
ficult problem.
However, in the last few days
even conservative members of con
gress have expressed themselves as
believing that the situation de
mands action, whether it is later
approved by the courts or not.
Farm mortgages outstanding
amount to approximately $9,000 -
000,000.
Bills are being prepared today
along the lines suggested at Thurs
day’s conference of Democratic
leaders with representatives of farm
organizations and several of Presi
dent-Elect Roosevelt's advisers.
Government guarantee of mort
gages and general scaling down of
principal and interest rates were
discussed.
Several Remedies Pondered
Creation of a debt conciliation
commission, creation of an emer
gency fund for the benefit of delin
quent borrowers, additional capital
for new loans, consolidation of fed
eral and joint stock land banks, de
ferment of payments for a limited
period where borrowers are unable
to refinance loans, and consolida
tion of all agencies that now make
loans to agricultural borrowers were
mentioned as among the possibil
ities by Senator Joseph T. Robinson,
Democratic floor leader.
Senator Robinson announced that
consideration of measures along
these lines would begin immediate
ly after the holidays and that effort
will be made to enact legislation
quickly.
Meanwhile, the senate banking
and currency committee is holding
hearings on the Frazier refinancing
bill, which calls for use of the fed
eral farm loan system and the fed
eral reserve system to refinance
real estate mortgages at Its per
cent interest and V, 2 per cent prin
cipal annually.
FEECUTNOT TO~BeT
OPPOSED BY SEXTON
Treasurer to Accept Settlement, De
spite Suit, Says Office.
Delinquent tax fees on the re
duced basis fixed by the special leg
islative session will be paid Tim
othy P. Sexton, county treasurer, in
the 1932 tax settlement with the
county auditor, Dec. 31.
Despite a suit pending in superior
court four to prevent settlement un
der the new law, it was reported
from Sexton's office today that he
would not oppose the settlement.
The settlement will total about
SB,OOO.
Sexton will be paid delinquent fees
of 2 per cent instead of 6 per
cent, as under the old law’. The
treasurer's demand and mileage
fees also are eliminated under the
new law’.
Outcome of Sexton’s suit for in
junction and another suit to test
validity of the new tax laws will
determine whether the treasurer can
collect more than the 2 per cent
fee.
Starts Today in The
Times Pink
‘SILVER
DOLLAR’
A Gripping Tale of the
Great West
a a a
Never before have you read
a tale so strange and so excit
ing! “Silver Dollar” taken
from the First National pic
ture starring Edward G. Rob
inson.
a a a
The True Story of a
Man Who Was Made by
Silver and Ruined by
Gold.
BUB
The unbelievable truth
about the most gigantic figure
of silver mining days—fickle
in love—reckless in squander
ing—as dramatic in losing
millions as in amassing them.
Six thrilling installment* of
“SILVER DOLLAR”
Read It Exclusively hi Times
Pinks, Beginning Today.