The Bismarck Tribune Newspaper, May 30, 1929, Page 12

bt et tee me ‘amoom ane eA Rete THE BISMARCK TRIBUNE THURSDAY, MAY.30, 1929 5 ee EES By RODNEY DUTCHER (NEA Service Writer) Washington, May 30.—There used to be a theory that leisure was bad for working people and that if they had too much of it they would be- come lazy and squander their sub- stance, which would be a very bad thing. ‘That theory appears to have been knocked out for good and all by the; recent report of the Committee on Recent Economic Changes, of which President Hoover, as head of the Harding conference on unemployment from which the committee was formed, was chairman. - The committee paid a perfectly beautiful tribute to leisure in a sec- tion of the report which seems to have gone generally unnoticed. In- creasing leisure and its utilization, the committee found, was one of the major factors in the last few years of prosperity. Optional Purchases Becoming steadily concerned with the primary needs of life, food, clothing and shelter, we now demand a broad list of goods and_ services which the committee calls “optional purchases.” The margin between the cost of living and present-day wages Plus the increased leisure to enjoy what used to be thought of as luxu- ties has tremendously increased con- sumption and hence production of “optional purchase” goods. The committee has coined what seems to be a new phrase—“the con- sumption of leisure.” Business has come to realize, it says, that leisure actually is “consumable.” Further- more, that people cannot consume leisure without consuming goods and services, and that leisure which re- sults from an increasing man-hour productivity helps to create new needs and new and broader markets. The committee adds: “The increasing interest in the fine arts and in science; the increased sales of books and magazines; tle in- crease in foreign travel; the growing interest and participation in sports of all kinds; the domestic pilgrimages TRIBUNE'S PAGE OF COMIC STRIPS AND FEATURES | | THE GUMPS-- WHILE STROLLING DOWN THES INE DAY ‘ STREET O: aie V COULD "JUST KICK "MYRELB @ , WHY DIDN'T") WEAR MY NEW Ay | BUWE ENSEMBLE ? - 1 HAD A HUNCH: ; SOME ONE + WOULD SEE ME = WHEN 1M ALL DRESSED UP ) NEVER SEE A SOUL — AND OF} ALL. PEOPLE. —= co TOM CARR = WHAT A SMART LOCKING OUTRIT — of some 40,000,000 motor tourists who use more than 2000 tourist camps; the greatly increased enrollment in our high schools and colleges; the motion picture theaters and the radio |—all these reflect the uses of in- {creasing leisure.” The committee says in effect that the more leisure the more consump- tion of goods and services. It makes no attempt to suggest that the pro- cess should continue to a certain point and then stop. Shorter hours for industrial work- ers have coincided with a decrease in the time necessitated for household work resulting from increased use of devices saving time and labor, so that increased leisure has been general. Henry Ford, who instituted the five-day week in his factories several years ago, believes that if it ts not eventually put into general applica- tion the country will not be able to absorb its production and stay pros- perous, He believes that shorter working periods and high wages are both essential, and Hoover's commit- tee obviously agreed with him. The idea isn't exactly new, but it is sig- nificant that the best authorities are coming to realize it. As Ford points out, people who spend all their time in factories or at other labor have little use for automobiles. But the more they get out and around the more they want. Working Hours Decrease Latest figures showing the trend of working hours come from the U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, which has reported on its survey as of 1928 of union wage scales and hours for 964,000 members of organized trades in 67 important industrial cities. The bureau reports a continuation of “the steady downward trend.” ‘The average decrease between 1927 and 1928 was half of one per cent. This applied to bakers, building trades workers, chauffeurs and driv- ers, granite and stone workers, laun- dry workers longshoremen, street railway workers, barbers and printers. ‘Their hourly wage rate, in the same period, increased four-tenths of one per cent. Reg US Per OF. 7 eC Atego TX CANYON, AN’ IF WES IN- WERE DEEPER AND ITS A CINCA KES GOT ExT OBEPER INTO OARK CANYON, IN SEARCH OF TAEALONG WHO WAS KIDNAPPED FROM THE TRAIN BY NAN, A pis- CONFIDENT OF oy ; I, ted \\ “George, I am glad!” Crystal said quietly, stretching out both her hands, which the artist seized and held in a convulsive grip. And suddenly she knew that she was speaking the truth. She was glad, with all her heart, that George Pruitt would have his chance. And there was another emotion, too, which she did not iden- tify just at first as relief. It flooded her heart and spilled along every nerve. Now she would not have to decide what to say to him. Lincoln Pruitt had decided for her, by ac- cepting his son as an artist. For, as she had told herself the night be- fore, an artist would not want to bur- den himself with a wife. And be- cause relief was so exquisite, her voice vibrated with unfeigned joy as she repeated, “So glad, George! So terribly glad for you!” Three minutes later they climbed in George's car, followed by the shouted good-byes of Nils, Cherry, Rhoda and Ben Grayson. George, ‘very pale again, and grimly silent, seemed scarcely to realize that Crystal gat beside him. He drove, leaning forward a little to scowl at the road as it unwound before him in the thickening dusk. The car was a unit in a long procession, so close-packed @ throng that speed was impossible, and conversation nearly so, because of the raucous, impatient honking of hundreds of horns. “Got to get out of this for a bit.” George muttered, as if to himself, and suddenly swerved his car from the main road into a rutty country lane, the entrance to which was ag- gressively “Private. No trespassers, under penalty of law!” Crystal smiled faintly at his disre- f IN NEW YORK | 2 New York, May 30.—Humpty Jones and Hairlip Pete, drifting down to their old haunts in the Bowery, no Jonger can feel at home. Small wonder that they rush for the nearest grog shop on beholding standing at the curb, at looking upon gay awnings sheltering @ small section of the street and observing cafes with names such as the Chateau, the Aristocrat and the Mansion. It is with difficulty that they can these names. Yet, there. they are! For the Bowery has slowly begun to surren- to the army of restless slummers the vogue of the moment is to rendezvous in the rougher loca- is has been gradually going on mid-winter when the rough and of Hoboken surren- i Lie BRANDS -—— MOWM’N POP = a Riot? wow! what ABOUT GETTING A KICK OUT OF HAVING A SHOP ; {> KOW-TOWING Y CAUSE THEY KNOW YOU'LL SWELL THE STORE'S PROFITS, SINCE YOU'VE A BARREL OF MY WEAVENS,DO YOU MEAN TO. TELL ME THAT'S THE BIG Kick YOU GET OUT OF 5100,000 ? POSING ON STREET CORNERS AND IN DRUG STORES SO, PEOPLE CAN POINT YOU OUT2BOP, YOU'RE A RIOT WHO DO YOU SUPPOSE. CAME DASHING ACROSS THE STREET TO ‘SHAKE My HAND?OLD LUKE HARRISON, THE BAG BANKER. THAT'S: ‘THE FIRST TIME HE EVEN SO MUCH AS TOSSED A NOD MY WAX. 1 GOTA GREAT KICK OUT OF THAT ‘VT SURE GAVE ME A gard of the truculent sign. Very rich young men could afford to- ignore “No trespassil signs. But as the car bumped and jolted over the frozen ruts something like panic seized her. What did George want to talk about, that such privacy was necessary? What was there to say— now? Did he really think he had committed himself by merely telling her that he would have something to say to her when the picture was finished, and that honor compelled him to explain, regretfully, that un- der the circumstances he now had nothing to ask of her? She had not believed he could be so stupid, so in- sensitive. . “Mind if I park here fora few minutes?” he asked, still in that odd, brusque voice, when the car had pen- etrated several hundred feet into the lane. “You aren't cold, are you? There's another laprobe somewhere—" “No, I'm not cold,” Crystal answered steadily. “I didn’t tell you all that Dad said when I showed him the picture.” George began abruptly, when he had killed the engine, and the brooding quiet of the country had swooped down upon them. George cleared his throat, and she saw that his hands were gripping the steering wheel so hard that the knuckles shone white. “He looked at the picture for a long time, Crystal, and then he said: “You win, STUFFED WITH BILLS BUT ‘TL.COULDN'T THINK OF A THING TO BUY. BEFORE WE GOT ALL THIS MONEY AT SEEMED LIKE EVERY- THING 1 COULDN'T AFFORD T ‘'ANTED WEADS OF THE DEPARTMENTS | BIG REP OUT OF ALL) AND TOLD THEM TO GIVE ‘THIS. PEOPLE POINT ME ANYTHING 1 WANTED. ME OUT ON ThE MAYBE YOU THINK T STREET AND IN WAS THRILLED DRUG STORES AND isis ASK TOBE INTRODUCED at f NUTHIN’ WORSE Than) (WELL, FER Gost ” sakes! Meer sw ewe NE (TAWT sam HoWOY | Gee, So WAPET we ne a hunch you didn't paint the picture all by yourself, so I guess if I'm go- ing to gamble on your success as an artist you'd better marry the mod NEXT: A proposal of marriage. (Copyright, 1929, NEA Service, Inc.) ishly attempted to capitalize the passing fad. Not long ago a rowdy melodrama revival effort was at- tempted on the east side. It failed. The crowds still went to Hoboken. And now, along the Bowery, flash night clubs with such Broadway atmosphere as doormen, gay awnings and trick names. Oh, well— +e * In one of the looser cafes of the Broadway belt, a mind-reader who turned: upon his wife ‘and began ts urne upon is le throttle her. wae Waiters and bouncers were sum-, the table, hesitated a moment, hold- ing back the others who had rushed the rescue. “Say, wait a minute—” said the