The Bismarck Tribune Newspaper, July 13, 1936, Page 6

“brings out the important fact that Americans in the last decade smarck Tribune The Bi smarck 7 4 THE STATE'S OLDEST NEWSPAPER (Established 1873) State, City and County Officiai Newspaper Published by The Bismarck Tribune Company, Bismarck, N. D., and Sntered at the postoffice at Bismarck as second class mail matter. Mrs. Stells 1. Mann President and Publisher Archie O. Johnson Kenneth W Simons Vice Pres. and Gen'l. Manager Sec'y-Treas. and Editor Subscription Rates Payable in Advance Daily by carrier, per year Daily by mat) per year (in Bismarck’ Daily by mail per year ‘in state outside of Bismarck). Datly by mail outside of North Dakots Weekly by mail in state, per year ... ‘Weekly by mai! outside of North Dakota, per year . Weekly by mai! in Canada, per year ............ aoe Member of Audit Bureau of Circulation Member of The Associated Press 4 e Asso exclusively entitied to the use fo! f the ni credited to It or not otherwise cred: paper and also the 1 news of spontaneous origin pub! her. elghts of republication of all other matter herein are also reserved. Not a Solution There seems to be something about the relief problem that makes it hard for people to think straight. How else explain the fact that an attack on any local relief administration almost always degenerates, ultimately, into an attack on social workers and a denunciation of chiselers? About a year ago the state of Illinois had such an experi- ence; today, Ohio is having one. The cases are enlightening. In Ohio, for instance, the Cleveland Chamber of Commerce issued a long blast against the way relief was being handled. It asserted that far too many social workers were being given jobs in the relief administration, and declared that there were alto- gether too many chiselers on the relief rolls. These accusations—l-ecause they are heard almost every time a relief administration comes under fire—are worth look- ing at in detail. The most obvious thing about them is that they simply don’t mesh. The social worker, whatever his faults, is at least experienced in dealing with people who have to ask for ciarity. He has spent his adult life in such work. If anyone on earth should be qualified to tell whether a given applicant for relief is a “deserving case” or a shiftless moocher, it should be the social worker. : The very best insurance against having chiselers on the relief rolls, then, would logically be an administrative staff loaded to the guards with trained social workers. But do the critics ever see it that way? They do not. Instead, they demand—for some obscure reason—that the social workers be fired, to be replaced presumably by gifted amateurs, and, in the same breath, demand that the rolls be purged of moochers. Just how the amateurs are going to be more skilled than the social workers in telling a deadbeat from an honest man is something that the critics never take time to explain. The relief problem, of course, is one of the meanest and most pressing problems facing Amercia today. We cannot pos- sibly go on indefinitely as we have been going in the last three years. Uncle Sam’s pocketbook is not bottomless, and his credit is not without limits. But to base one’s attack on the problem on the social worker and the chiseler—to talk as if most of our relief troubles would vanish overnight if the deadbeats could be removed from the rolls and the trained workers from the administrative staffs— is to talk pure and unadulterated nonsense of the most vicious kind. It is vicious because it tends to make people forget the real nature of the problem. The primary trouble is, has been, and always will be the lack of jobs in private industry. Until that trouble is remedied, the other relief headaches are secondary. A Bad Habit in All Countries The industrial and social programs of the Soviet Union are moving well ahead of schedule these days, according to Com- missar Gregory K. Ordjonikidze, but the commissar is a bit worried just the same. He’s afraid that the Soviet workers are going to become overconfident and tend to “rest on their laurels.” As a matter of fact, Mr. Ordjonikidze told workers recently, the Soviet pro- gram must go a long way before it catches up with the American system. Well, we could have told him that much. But his warning against national overconfidence is a thing other lands than Russia might take to heart. We suffered from something of that kind ourselves, back in 1929, and when the inevitable defla- tion came, it came hard. Overconfidence is just as dangerous as the depression psychosis which many have suffered since 1929. Yes, the com- missar knows what he’s talking about. On the Right Track Smiling, soft-spoken Dr. C..W. Hall of the University of ‘Texas is utterly frank aboyt this business of marriage. For that reason Texas undergraduates these days are giving in- creasing attention to Dr. Hall’s course on how to make a success of married life. * Dr. Hall calls his course a “mixture of sociology and re- ligion,” and he’s careful to stress the full problems of the mar- ital state, including the vital functions of sex. The result, he believes, is the inculcation in the students of better understand- ing of marriage, and the responsibilities entailed. This Hall method bears the earmarks of good common sense. We have become accustomed to preparing for about everything these days except-the most vital institution of all— _ marriage. It looks as if the Texas course might fill that need. We're Going Recreation $ A 10-year survey by the National Recreation association have doubled their interest in leisure-time pursuits. © toward what might be called “recreation-mindedness” ; and tripled in number; and, at Ielsure-time programs Behind the Scenes Washington Campaign Is Complicated by Side Is- sues That Assume Vast Importance ... Union Drive in Steel Industry May Be Major Factor ... Drouth and Relief Add to Tangle... Struggle” Involved ... Democrats Face Internal Squabbies. By RODNEY DUTCHER Washington, July 13.—This presi- dential campaign is very far from be- ing a cut and dried one. It is com- Plicated by a large array of side is- sues and separated but related fac- tors. Their effect on the result can at this stage be only a matter of guesswork. A third party ticket usually ts enough by itself to stir up plenty of speculation as to the possibility that it will defeat the major party candi- date who otherwise would win or that it might even throw the election into the house of representatives by preventing either old party from get- ting a majority of electoral votes. But there are other things than the Lemke-Coughlin Union party to think about. The threat of trouble in the steel industry as a result of the attempt of John L, Lewis and his allies to organ- ize the steel workers is one. The alliance between Roosevelt and Lewis and between Lewis and the Democratic machine in Pennsylvania must be borne in mind, plus the fact that the administration is committed to the principle of organization for collective bargaining which the steel corporations bitterly oppose. Only subsequent developments in the steel situation can reveal the po- litical effect, but of the close inter- relationship with politics there can be no doubt. eee Labor in Thick of Fight Labor organizations, furthermore, will be officially involved in partisan Politics to an extraordinary degree. The Committee for Industrial Organ- ization unions are for Roosevelt and it seems likely other A. F. of L. lead- ers will declare for him this fall. Questions yet to be answered are whether the leaders can deliver their members; whether, in case they do, the vast majority of workers, unor- ganized, will follow along; and wheth- er labor political solidarity will cause other groups, such as middle-class citizens and farmers, to become anta- gonistic and move toward the Landon camp. Closely allied with these questions is the issue raised by Roosevelt which his enemies call the “class” issue. The president's attack on economic oligarchies and concentrations of wealth and control may be widely construed as a radical attack on busi- ness and industry in general. But, in any event, it has been some time since “big business” has been so directly attacked in a campaign. ee *% Drouth Another Factor The drouth is another campaign visitation, whose possible effect on the election politicians are seeking to gauge. Chairman John Hamilton of the Republican national committee has leaped to the guns with state- ments that any administration would relieve drouth sufferers, that Demo- crats will gain no votes through their relief efforts, and that the adminis- tration’s AAA programs will be re- sponsible for any food shortage that develops. The New Deal continues to spend large gobs of money and to be re- sponsible for the livelihood of mil- lions. Other millions have benefited and will continue to benefit between now and election time from the spend- ing and lending programs, Here again is a new factor in po- litical campaigns. Although at first glance it might seem certain to make votes for Roosevelt, there will be an offset vote from those who violently oppose the expenditures, who resent the extent to which money has been given to the needy, or who believe » Brad: will answer eesee or Gizencsis. Write rady in care of The Tribi stamped. self-addresaed envelope. Twelve or fifteen years 5 3 i But notwit | i EE s Bue Ba tg i Washington, July 13—The most important and yet the least clear of the planks of the Republican and New Deal party platforms are those dealing with the constitution. The New Deal platform proposes “to maintain the letter and the spirit of the constitution” and the Repub- licans pledge themselves “to maintain the American system of constitutional and local self-government.” On its face these pledges ought to be ample and there ought not to be any constitutional controversy in the campaign. But it is what each party conceives to be “maintenance” of the constitution that causes the rub. There is just enough definition of purpose in the remainder of each of the two planks to show the lines of demarcation and a close reading of the platform pronouncements will show that on the outcome of the elec- tion depends whether the American form of government is really to be changed. This interpretation does not mean to imply that the constitution ought or ought not to be altered nor does it assume that change is not to be ac- complished in the ways provided within the constitution. But it is im- portant to note that the platform Planks discuss fundamental change and the reader, therefore, is likely to inquire about the nature of the changes proposed and how such changes will affect the economic and social life of the country. The New Deal platform plank un- fortunately starts with a misstatement there has been great waste. respective strength of these two vot- ing elements. ee” Other Vital Other unguessables include the ex- tent to which Jim Farley will be able to straighten out intra-party fights. The Tammany leadership in New York is at odds with the administra- tion and victory or defeat in New York state may depend on whether Tammany delivers its full strength vote for Roosevelt in November. Still another temporary enigma is the question of how Governor Lan- don’s personality, radio voice, and Position on issues. will “take” with the voters. On that question, also, you can hear two extremes of opinion and you will just have to wait and see. (Copyright, 1936, NEA Service, Inc.) BIT OF HUMOR NOW AND THEN 18 RELISHED BY THE BEST OF MEN Visitor—This show is a fake. That fel- low isn’t a dwarf— he’s at least five feet tall! Carnival Manager —That is the amaz- ing part of the show. He is the tallest dwarf in the world. that happens. Si That's right. I remember one le that it rained after the weather bureau had predicted it. Horace—Our new boss is 2 man of few words. ‘Maudine—Who told you 20? E Horece—He did—{for three hours. “I hear have « fine cow,” said her?” “Wait a minite,” replied the farmer cautiously, “are you the new assessor or has my cow been killed on the rail- Ne rants out yet tine | He Republican platform says. or rather a misrepresentation of what New Deal charges that the Republican platform “proposes to meet many pressing national problems solely by action of the separate states.” Anybody who reads the Republican platform text will find that the Re- Ppublicans promise to use the federal power in social security legislation, enforcement of anti-trust and anti- monopoly laws. now on the federal statute books, aid to agriculture through land use and soil conserva- tion as well as by export bounties giv- en by the federal government. ‘There is not the slightest justifica- tion, elther, for assuming that the Republicans would fail to use feder- al power in aid of persons affected by dust storms, drouth, and floods. During the Hoover administration, flood and drouth relief was granted by the federal government and the soil conservation publicans, which would include the handling of the dust storm problem, are clearly within the federal scope. main difference occurs. Jubb—It is always the unexpected | £25: you tell your dad the Of the Re- | o ‘What then do the Republicans in- sist shall not be a part of the federal |are authority?—regulation of labor and/torm Jaws and production conditions. These the New | pacts Deal would regulate by federal auth- ority. It is on this point that the go into interstate commerce. The New Deal sought, without success, to have confirmed its theory that anything which “affects” interstate commerce becomes an object of federal authority under the existing clause of the con- stitution which gives the federal: gov- ernment power “to regulate commerce among the states.” The importance of this background is that the New Deal platform plank says “if these problems cannot be ef- fectively solved by legislation within the constitution, we shall seek clarity- ing amendments.” But the supreme court of the United States has already decided the main issue, namely: that it is a subterfuge to attempt to acquire federal power over local working con- ditions by means of laws that merely declare that everything is interstate commerce which ultimately is ship- \ped in interstate commerce. So the New Deal plank may be read as pledging a change in the constitu- tion. The question then is: ‘what change? It is here that the New Deal plank is not clear. The proposal as writ- ten merely promises amendments that. “assure to the legislatures of the sev- eral states and to the congress of the United States, each within its proper jurisdiction, the to enact those laws which the state and federal leg- islatures, within. their respective spheres, shall find necessary, in order to regulate commerce etc. But as the constitution is now writ- ten the states have no power to regu- late commerce between the states and the federal government has no power The to regulate production or working conditions within the states. So there is no “proper sphere”. for either fed- eral or state governments to encroach on the power of the other. If the proposal means that the states are to retain what they have but the federal government is to ac- quire concurrent jurisdiction over questions now exclusively within state control, then indeed does the dual system of government: cease to be what it has been.and there is set up under the eighteenth amendment, which failed of enforcement largely because of the fact that the states abdicated their local. responsibilities. It is argued that adding to the federal government the power to gix wages hours would make the federal government supreme over ‘the affairs The whole thing involves an issue ft fundamental government. Can America be better governed by & group of men in Washington or by state. and local governments which, even if they. do conflict. occasionally, ‘even interstate com- But the New Deal platform does not, in so many words, claim that with: the consent of congress: trest demands such cooperation. ‘What both platforms: should really have developed is a formula for more effective cooperation between the federal and ‘state governments un- der existing constitutional machinery, so much of which has never been ut ised, and largely too because the prob: lems growing out of the economic pression are new problems that have not been met by intelligent leadership in either the states or the federal government but have been made. in- stead the football of party politics. ——$ —_—_—_—__——_? | So They Say } ‘The people .must. become actively imbued with the-idea of a co-opera- tive society, receptive of the general eee ity is a scientific reality, but to speak ot “race heredity” is nonsense. Frank By William Brady, M. D. juestions Pertaining te health but jetters in inl une. All queries must be accompanied by go of rickets within five or ten years. They fact that an adequate orig ration of sister. ‘There (Copyright, 1936, John F. Dille Co.) ot jefly and a Ech 4 the vitamin D prevents the in recent Reo eral use in place of bicarbonate of soda (saleratus). Dose, ten grains, a3 ‘ " needed. It does not help digest food. Merely ne' Looking at ii D eo. for an hour or two, bing the acid Washington avid Lawrence |" tress nese (Copyright, 1936 by David Lawrence) )the produtts of that plant ultimately; whenever’ a regional or national in- Pcied Sai. a Ors. i. is something about a garden. If it is to be complete, collective poe icine tres cela cad disarmament. —Premier Leon Blum, of France. ee & A great nation is built to the plat- form of no political faith—it is built to the pattern of moderation. —Raymond Moley. ‘English makers of domestic baths now are required to concentrate on one model, to save water wastage. There are 998 different types of bath in use at present, ranging from min- RUNAWAY BRI day MARCIA hears fiance, “ifavela,, hurt and Site ‘ecw 2 'nomeymocn., On the she meets PHILLIP KIRK- is te te . something akin to that which arose] - HEL f ln ll ¢_bEddy EE H st ct af : DE aD ize ‘i 5 E I i bE ebb abts nia elena’ ah 38 F t g i i "Tite i it G i 4d Ais