The Des Moines Register from Des Moines, Iowa • Page 21

Sept. 1954 DES MOIXES SUNDAY REGISTER g.E Kuester Asks for Special Session on Tax Study Report New Books 'One of the Most Moving9 Stories Reviewer Has Read The Nun's Story, by Kalhryn $4. A BELGIAN GIRL rejected a promising marriage to become a nursing nun. and this, an essentially true storv. -4 it Mi having taxable property within the slat So, to prevent this flow or benefit to individuals of interests living outside the state, who have property within the state, the special homestead exemption of 25 mills and a $2,500 value was enacted.

Thus, the only benefit derived by these interests is that of the cost of operation of the state government, while the Iowa resident hone owner receives the additional benefit of the exemption. This exemption ha3 grown from about seven million dollars to nearly 26 millions per year at the present time. Income Tax Cut To 75 Ter Cent After a time, the three point tax brought in enough revenue so it was possible to operate the state government without levying a state mill-age tax on property and real estate. There was a time when the state had a surplus of about 100 million dollars. A special session of the legislature under Governor Blue was called and the income tax rate was set at 75 per cent of the statutory provisions.

As time went on, many millions were appropriated for long needed capital improvements for the board of control institutions, for the board of education, for the Conservation Commission, for the State Highway Commission, for a state office building, be set ep for the purpose of making an exhaustive study of the matter and reporting their findings to the governor. As a result, S. J. R. No.

7 was enacted. The committee was given very broad powers and duties to "investigate, inquire into and examine all matters relating to the adequacy and equity of provisions for revenue for state government and cities and towns, counties, and school districts of Iowa, and shall make recommendations for changes deemed advisable for the equalization of taxes for the support of the state or other political subdivisions, and in general to inquire into and examine every matter and thing whatsoever affecting the providing of revenue for governmental purposes in Iowa, and the administration of laws relating to taxation." Assignments for The Committee Activities of the committee were to cover, among other things, the following: 1 The present assessment system and methods of equalization of individual assessments between the various taxing districts and counties; 0 The entire present system of exemptions, credits, and deductions with respect to all taxes; 0 The methods of raising rev-enues from all other possible sources than the taxation of real and personal prop ures to meet the appropriations that were necessary. A rather1 "patched-up" tax structure has resulted. I want to state that, on the whole, appropriations were held in line with proper operation of state government. But despite every reasonable effort, operation costs have gone up and within the immediate future, the state is confronted with additional costs that are inevitable and will have to be met.

Economies Can't Meet the Troblom It is true that considerable saving in the operation of state and county government can be made by consolidation and reorganization, but this in itself will not meet the problem. It should be done, but the savings will not begin to meet the needs that are present and demanding. Having been connected with the appropriations for a period of 20 years, I have seen the work of the conservatives save the state many millions of dollars during that time. In fact, during the time that I was chairman we appointed a "burial committee" of three men, tried and true, whose job it was to give unnecessary appropriations a "decent burial." As the matter of state needs and revenue has become increasingly important, it became apparent to many members of the legislature that in order to deal with the problem fairly a committee should is one of the most moving this reviewer has hai the privilege of reading. A few predictions: If you read beyond Page One you'll find It exceedingly difficult to lay the book down and will find yourself grabbing it when you should be doing the mowing, the ironing or the dishes.

As you finish It, be you Catholic or Protestant, you'll thank the Lord such persons as Sister Luke and such orders as hers exist. You'll lay the book down, reluctantly, with a new sense of inner quietude and humility. "The Nun's Story" will hit, If not top, several best seller lists. The story is that of the trials Sister' Luke underwent as she increased in spiritual statute from novice to nun to a work-horse nurse under a worldly 'but kindly doctor in trie Belgian Congo. It is the story of her soul's struggle with "The Rule" utter subservience to a formalistic spiritualism while her heart knows she is more nurse than nun.

Does this sound like pretty wieldy religiosity? It isn't. Kathryn Hulme has combined the inner "gifts" of Anne Lindbergh's "Gift From the Sea" with a peril-packed Dr. Schweitzer adventure story. Don't expect to doze off on a cloying little story of sweetness and light. Sister Luke's misadventure with a mad nymphomaniac, her meetings with death, her clashes with that doctor and her calm control of erstwhile savage Congo boys all of these are heady adventure that will be grabbed by some smart moviemaker.

Better read this book before the movies "supe it up." They Defend Ban on Fascinating New Pictures Of the Civil War Period Secular Philosophy it iff il pfi KUESTER Vorfeed on appropriations for 20 years nearly 60 million was used to pay World War II soldiers' bonus, a program of state aid for schools was started, state aid for dependent children, state aid for the blind and old age assistance. These are among the increasing costs that developed in the course of the years since 1933. 1 was in the legislature from 1935 on and saw the development of the whole picture. Costs Catch Up With Tax Receipts The facts are that inflation and costs caught up and exceeded income, so as a matter of good business in government, the various sessions passed additional tax meas agitators say it will never end. Fortunately their cries are not heard long when sane people start to think for themselves.

Fear of the unknown is an instinct in man. Prejudice is one of the fruits of fear. Unfortunately prejudices are part of a child's American heritage. These prejudices are acquired erty, the effects of such methods upon the sources themselves, and the stability of such revenues in the future; A The entire system of state aid to local taxing bodies and possible replacement of direct property levies as a source for local purposes. It will be seen by the foregoing that the duties of the committee are very broad and entail an extensive field of investigation.

It should also be pointed out that the work being done by the committee is at the request of the legislature. Committees' Job Called Thankless One It is my opinion that the committee is doing its work within the word and intent of the joint resolution which created the structure for the work of the committee. The job is a thankless one; the members are working faithfully at their duties. After hearing a lot of "loose talk" and some criticism in the newspapers, I feel in duty bound to my "buddies" in the legislature and others on the committee to try and put some of the facts before the public. It is my sincere conviction that the findings of the committee should be acted upon at a special session of the legislature.

I have seen too many reports of special committees "go down the drain" when left for the regular session, because of the press of other matters. Gus T. Kuester, Griswold. Wolff, no strong religious faith and they were "uncommitted to a worth and value system in many That is why Bishop Caroll has forbidden his young peo ple to submit to four years of secular psychology and phil osophy; that and the fact that he is responsible to God for the souls of his people. Don ald McDonald, news editor, The Catholic Messenger, Davenport, la.

Calls Criticism Pop-gun Blasts To lh Open Forum Editor! The gentleman from Iowa Citv airily disposes of the mer its of "Catholic philosophy" with the abandon charactens tic of one who is really quite innocent of any understand ing of things Catholic or mat ters philosophic. Augustine and Thomas Aquinas and Bcllarmine, Duns Scotus and Suarez and the long line of Catholic giants of the past are probably as un disturbed as the Jacques Man- tains of today by the pop-gun blasts from Iowa's center of learning. Faintly Amused We ourselves are only faint ly amused by the charge of the very light brigade against the Catholic fortress of wisdom. Non-Catholic scholars and educators like Hutchins can but be embarrassed by the ridiculous rushing against an opponent whose superiority has long since been established. The bishop of Wichita is not afraid for "Catholic Rather, he is properly concerned that the immature and un-informed youth might fall prey to the specious rea soning of some professors who use the dignity of their chairs to give credence beyond' due to their pet prejudices and even their un-Christian and atheistic theses.

As shepherd of his flock, divinely commissioned to feed and to guard, the bishop may do no less than sound the warning au thoritatively and effectively. The Rev.) George A. Ma- honey, St. Mary's Church, El-dora, la. Iowa Dioceses Free of Bans To the Open Forum Editor: In response to Henry W.

Rein's direct criticism of Bishop Carrolls' quoted in a news story in the Sept. 2, Sunday Register, let's not step to the state of Kansas. There are no direct bans in any cf the four dioceses of this state on psychology and philosophy courses offered at non-Catholic colleges. Brainwashing is quite inhuman and we have had many truly learned men, (The Rev. Harold W.

Rigney, S. V. for one), that have been pressed by the Communists to no avail. Still, our mobs, racketeers and greedy-minded humans have proven the fact that too many of our people easily concede to amateur beliefs or should we say, "true pessimism." Patrick J. Burnett, 814 W.

Charles Oclwein, la. (Slate Representative Gus T. Kuester (Rep. Griswold, an outstanding leader in tha Io-va assembly for 25 years and who is not a candidate for re-election, discusses the taxation problem in the following leiier to the Open Forum.) To th Open Forum Editor: I would like to use the columns of The Register to' give some Information pertaining to the work of the Tax Study Committee, and thereby be of some help in correcting some mistaken statements that seem to be made from time to time concerning the work of this committee. It will be remembered that the last general revision of the Iowa state tax structure was that which was done at the special session of the forty-fifth general assembly in 1933 during Governor Herring's first term.

At that special session the basic basis of the state revenue income from indirect tax sources was created, the sales, income and corporation taxes. At the time of the passage of this act, the state was in dire need for a source of tax revenue other than property and real estate taxes. As time went on it was found that several million dollars of the three point tax, which was enacted in the main as a replacement of the property and real estate taxes, benefitted individuals and interests living outside Iowa, but Wants Liquor In Iowa Sold By the Drink To tht Open Forum Editor: I wonder who the state thinks it is kidding under our present state liquor laws? There is more liquor in the cupboards and refrigerators in the homes of our state at present, since our present laws came into effect, than ever before. I say, get the state of Iowa out of the liquor business and let it be sold by the drink and let the state get a substantial revenue through that source. There are many fine tavern owners and also a lot of misfits in the business, as there are in any business or profession.

I wonder who the legislators who strive to keep our present liquor laws in effect might be kidding. Under a government "for the people, of the people and by the our present state liquor laws make every citizen a partner in the state liquor business whether one uses liquor or not. So let's get wise to matters and change it to as it should be. Arthur P. Rapp, 2229 N.

Michigan Davenport, la. Says Drift Back To 1932 Possible To th Open Forum Editor! During the campaign in 1932 the Republican vice-presidential candidate, while speaking to a group of farmers in Spencer, told one of them, (a Joe Smith): "You are too damned dumb to understand." At the same time corn was selling for seven cents a bushel, and was being burned on the farms as the farmers had no money with which to buy coal. Hogs were two dollars a hundred pounds and 16 million unemployed persons could not have bought a hog at any price. No, the farmers along with the industrial workers were not too dumb to understand. They might have been dumb, but by November 1932 they had learned the hard way, through poverty and hunger, and by their votes on election day they understood so very well that they cast out the idols of big business and turned our government over to the Joe Smiths.

We, Joe Smiths, are better off today than we were in 1932, due to having had 20 years of Democratic government, but under the leadership of Ike and his big business cabinet members we are rapidly drifting back onto the same course we were on in 1932. Joseph J. (Joe Smith) Butler, 1225 S. Ninth Clinton, la. Somewhat Critical Of Fletcher Knebel To th Open Forum Editor: Fletcher Knebel would do far better at being a comic than a Harry Truman critic.

Of course, all of us recognize the smile, the smear and the iabie when we hear it. Harry Truman tells the facts. They are not "whitewashed" with "hypocrisy" and They are whole-leartedly earnest and true. Glen L. Powers, So.

Walnut it, Ottumwa, la. Hulme; Atlantic Little, Brown, Dicft Spry. complete control of the Mississippi to federal forces. The exciting story of all this is dramatically told in "Mr. Lincoln's Admirals!" Civil War Historian Clarence Macartney uses the biographical technique in describing the exploits of the nine top federal naval figures of the 18G1-65 conflict.

ONE TORPEDO This is no one-sided report. The pluck and daring of the Confederates in running the ironclad Arkansas through helpless federal squadron at Vicksburg is graphically told. (The Union ships were caught without steam up. There would have been an Investigation today.) Perhaps the outstanding story in the volume is the report on the sinking of the Confederate ironclad Albemarle by Lt. William Cushtng in the Roanoke river.

Cushing got the job done with a torpedo in one of the most heroic operations in American history. For thrills, daring, courage and suspense, don't miss this book, particularly if you are one of the many Civil War literature addicts. George S. Mills. Hel Scandal in TrOy, by en Eva Hemmer Han sen; Random House, $3.50.

This new and modern version of the fabled Helen of Troy is written in a wonderfully humorous style. It presents the "face that launched a thousand ships as a modern woman, attain able and beautiful. Eva Hem mer Hansen, who lives in Denmark, has visited the United States, and says, "I know there are people in your country whom I should like to entertain and give pleasure to." Let this reviewer assure Miss Hansen that she has done just that. Polly Lambert. Current Best Sellers FICTION Don't Go Near the Water, William Brinkley; Random House.

The Last Hurrah, Edwin O'Connor, Little, Brown. The Mandarins, Simone Beauvoir, World. A Certain Smile, Francoise Sagan; Dutton. A Single Pebble, John Her- sey; Knopf. A Thing of Beauty, A.

J. Cronin; Little, Brown. NONFICTION Eisenhower: The Inside Story, Robert J. Donovan; Harper. Arthritis and Common Sense, Dan Dale Alexander; Witkower.

Barbara Hooton and Patrick Denr.is, Vanguard. Profiles in Courage, John F. Kennedy; Harper. Love or Perish, Smiley Blan. ton; Simon and Schuster.

Roosevelt: The Lion and the "ox, James McGregor Burns; rlarcourt, Brace. How to Live 365 Days Year, John A. Schindler, Prentice-Hall. Publishers' Weekly Demonstration by Sturgis, men and boys "There is danger in those unthinking persons who let themselves become incited." Big Danger Declared in Those Who Let Bigots Excite Them Finds Segregation in Nature For fascinating new pictures of Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War period, here are two notable contributions. Lincoln and the Tools of War, by Robert V.

Bruce; Bobbs-Merrill, $5. HERE is a side of Abe Lincoln never really explored before. Lincoln was mechanically minded. He liked gadg ets. He also wanted the North to win the Civil War as quickly as possible.

And he realized that victory usually goes to the side with the best weapons. Lincoln today might have been tip to his ears in guided missiles and atomic re search. He was in the thick of the search for arms and ammuni tion that would end the con flict quickly. Inventors, crack pots, politicians, lobbyists poured in to see the president with blueprints, guns, shells, bullets. ONE HE WHITTLED Lincoln just didn't always listen.

He tried a weapon him self on occasion. He once fired several test shots in the twi light in Treasury park using a new gunsight (and also one that he had whittled himself). He was a champion of change and improvement in arms (as well as social and humanitarian fields). His most formidable antagonist in the weapons field was old Gen James W. Ripley, in charge of army ordnance.

Lincoln managed to get many innova tions by Ripley, but it was a struggle. Several Iowa Civil War regiments are mentioned in this book. When the 4th Iowa Cavalry received new Spencer carbines, the soldiers expected to win and looked forward to every fight as a sure thing. The 2nd Iowa Cavalry also got Spencers. LITTLE CANNON A rebel prisoner told the Iowans: "It is no use for us to fight you'uns with that kind of gun." Sometimes the weapons were real failures.

The 4th Iowa got some little cannon known as "Woodruff guns." These guns were "never known to hit anything." This is an engrossing new picture of Lincoln and of the city of Washington in the Civil War period. The book is a readable result of more than three years of research. Mr. Lincoln's Admirals, by Clarence E. Macar Funk Wagnalls, $5.

mi IE NORTH'S ultimate tri-X umph in the Civil War was more than a matter of bloody land battles and overwhelming industrial might. The navy also was a mighty factor in the federal victory. The Union fleet blockaded Southern ports and prevented Confederate commerce with Europe. Task forces of Union warships seized such Confederate strongholds as Mobile, New Orleans and Fort Wilmington. River squadrons played a tremendous role in the series of battles that gave To th Open Forum Editor: In his letter on Bishop Mark Carroll of Kansas and the Catholic Church in your Open Forum of Sept.

9, Henry Rein says Catholic philosophy is marked by "thinness and This will come as quite a shock to such eminent non- Catholic, "secular" philosophers as Mortimer Adler and Sydney Hook. The former has devoted a considerable part of his adult life to a loving study of the philosophy of St. Thomas Aquinas, cornerstone of all Catholic philos ophy. The latter, after a three-day symposium with Catholic and non-Catholic philosophers at St. Louis Uni versity last June, expressed his wannest admiration for the Catholic philosophers, said he had "learned a great deal" and remarked on the intellec tual freedom and depth of the Catholic philosophers.

Calculated Malice With regard to Bishop Carroll's order forbidding Cath olic students to take psychology and philosophy classes in non-Catholic colleges, I can not say that I would have used the word "brainwashing" which Bishop Carroll used to describe the teaching of psy chology and philosophy in non-Catholic colleges. "Brainwashing" implies con scious, calculated malice. But the effect on the minds of undergraduate students, whether maliciously intended or not, is the same. Secular "Dogma" The prevailing "dogma" among many secular professors of psychology and phil osophy today (and we have only to read their texts to discover it) is the absolute that there are no absolutes, that everything is relative and that the only truth and realities are those which can be weighed and measured and put into test tubes. They refuse to recognize any permanence in moral norms, insisting that all morality is but the shifting consensus of the majority in any given society at any given time.

They refuse to consid er the possibility that all reality depends for its exist ence upon the radical creative action of a Supreme Being called God. As Robert Hufchins recent ly pointed out in the Commonweal, no one expects that all professors at secular colleges and universities should be Christian philosophers, moralists and psychologists. But the least we have a right to expect from all of them, he said, is that they will take Christian philosophy and psychology seriously, treat it with respect, not contempt. Men Without Roots Recent senate committee hearings into the factors lead ing to the breakdown of American soldiers indoctrinated in Chinese Communist prisoner-of-war camps brought from Dr. Harold C.

Wolff, head of the department of neurology at Cornell University, the statement that those Americans most amenable to Communist indoctrination were They had, said Dr. ft not inbred instincts. It seems to me parents who will not permit their children to associate with Negro children or any other race other than their own would rather see their child blinded by ignorance than have that child know freedom of mind and spirit. D. Priscilla Rawson, Sheffield.

in nearly everything? Isn't it quite apparent, even in geology? Isn't the sea segregated from the land, the mountains from the plains? Isn't there a tendency for the cottonwoods to segregate themselves from the oaks? Could any edict from the United States Supreme Court successfully "integrate" the blackbirds and the pigeons, the robins and the crows? And yet, don't these creatures of nature enjoy civil rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness? Must they be integrated to enjoy their fair share of these God-given, or United States Constitution guaranteed rights? Milton Smith, P. 0. Box 224, Oelwetn, la. act. We believe in right to work laws and advocate the withdrawal of recognition of all Communist countries.

Edward R. Fields, state chairman, American Constitution party, 609 W. Sixteenth Davenport, la. War and Peace To the Open Forum Editor: Do we want high prices at the expenses of the lives of our boys? Shouldn't we be willing to sacrifice a little for the blessed prize of peace? Mrs. Rose M.

Gregory, Lake Park, la. To the Open Forum Editor: The violence and disturbance over the school issue in the South has brought with it publicity that we Americans don't want and can't afford as a peace loving, respectable world power. What do our allies and other nations of the world think of a nation that is so prejudiced against its own colored people? The persons who incite riots and promote mob rule believe they are doing the right thing. The real danger, however, is not in those who, incite, for they are few, but there is danger in those unthinking individuals who let themselves become incited. Many Growing Pains Any intelligent person can and should make up his mind for himself as to what action he will take in matters by asking himself what he stands for and, most importantly, why.

Needless to say, in years to come this whole issue will be equal in magnitude to the other growing pains of a progressive nation. There have been many; this is no exception. Of course the bigots and To tin Opm Forum Editor: Much is heard these days of "integration" and civil rights since the United States Supreme Court handed down its controversial decision outlawing segregation of races in the schools. In view of the apparent indication that this decision seems to have increased, rather than alleviated, friction between the black and white races in the United States, particularly in the South where the problem had been handled without too much difficulty, shouldn't we take another good look at it? What is so wrong about segregation? Didn't God originate it? Doesn't nature exert an effort toward segregation eign wars unless the United States is directly threatened, and by abolishing conscription. We must rely on a professionally trained and atomic-armed air force for protection.

(4) Safeguard the constitutional rights of the 48 states by leaving the control of problems such as public education, segregation, up to the states. (5) Destroy the Communist conspiracy and abolish socialistic bureaucracy. We support congressional investigations into Communist activities, as well as uphold the Mc-Carran-Walter imm igr a 1 1 Tells About Constitution Party To tin Open Forum Editor: The choice before the voters of Iowa lies between the Socialist parties on the left and the American Constitution party on the right. The Socialists clearly state their stand, just as the American Constitution party does. The Democrat and Republican "middle parties" stand on the fence on all issues.

This is the program of the American Constitution party. (1) Protect the independence of the United States, by adopting the Bricker amendment and by staying out of any United Nations world government. (2) Protect the solvency of the United States by stopping foreign aid and reducing taxes. (3) Maintain peace with honor by staying out of for The welfare of the state is best served when the citizens meet together and discuss. From the Koran.