St. Louis Post-Dispatch from St. Louis, Missouri • Page 18

ST. rOUIS POST-DISPATCH, TUESDAY, AUGUST 5g, T95T 2B ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH Founded by JOSEPH PUUTZLR Detmbtr 12. lira Tubluhti by The Ptiixtzer Publishing Co. Ttlephtmt Aiirtu MAin mi 2112 Olive St.

(I) THE POST-DISPATCH PLATFORM I know that my retirement will make no difference in it cardinal principles; that it will always fight for pto cress and reform, never tolerate injustice or corruption, always fight demagogues of all parties, never belong to any party, always oppose privileged classes and public plunderers, never lark sympathy with the poor, always remain devoted to the public welfare; never be satisfied with merely printing news; always be drastically indr pendent; never be afraid to attack wrong, whether by predatory plutocracy or predator poverty. JOSEPH PULITZER. April 19, 1907. Tuesday, Auut 28, 1951 LETTERS FROM THE PEOPLE m0imm A MJf If fl li ateaa Advice to Britain To the Editor of the Post-DUpatch: The threat to use force in Iran involves much more than the mere protection of investments and British subjects. This is clearly demonstrated in the attempted American intervention.

Since this is true, it seems to me that those who mill be involved indirectly or as a consequence of Britain's action should also, have a voice in approving or disapproving what steps -will be used in the British attempts to protect an investment abroad. When Britain was unable to negotiate a settlement with Iran, an appeal was made to the World Court to intervene. Even though this was rejected by Iran, Britain recognized the existence of a superior authority representing the people of the world. It seems to me, therefore, that before Britain takes irrevocable steps, uch as the use of armed force, which would afford Russia the chance to in-lervene as the protector of Iran and light the match of world conflict, Britain should submit her proposed action to the same high authority whose as-fystance she attempted to use in the preliminary negotiations. If force is to be used In the protection of Britain's investment in Iran, the best police force would be that of an "International and dispassionate authority.

If then, Russia should attempt to Intervene, she would be faced not by Britain alone, but by the other nations of the world who would line up in any fight against Communist forces. Let Britain submit her case to the World Court and the United Nations before military actions set off a world conflagration. JOHN F. PUTNEY. Kirkwood.

not begin until October. Meantime it is clearly essential for the nation to produce as much copper as it possibly can. Defense considerations require Government action to end the copper shutdown, for copper, along with steel and aluminum, is the raw stuff on hich rearmament depends. a a A Restricted Press Is Not Free It is a good thing that the U.N. Economic and Social Council, meeting in Geneva, has shelved its proposed convention on freedom of information.

It may seem strange to say this in a free American newspaper, but such reservations and limitations were added to the convention in the three years it was under discussion that it threatened to have just the opposite effect of that originally intended. Latin American, Arab and Asiatic nations, India included, actually called for the suppression and censorship of certain types of news. They feel that no circulation should be given to items which offend the sensibilities of national, racial or religious groups, which might strain international relations, or do other harm. Perhaps the intentions behind the proposed suppressions were good. Granted, it is not the function of the press to create new troubles in a world which already has troubles enough.

But is the source of trouble, in the reporter or in the facts not of his creation which he reports? Even when it is conceded that news may be distorted, is it wise to legalize suppression by any political organization, national or international? For example, should there be legal sanction for a Peron to say what may or may not be published about his doings? Had not the people of the world better be told as much as is humanly possible about what is going on in the world, letting the chips fall where they may? Is it not better to hope for an ever more responsible and conscientious press than to drop curtains here, there and everywhere in the name of freedom of information? The Communist countries, as might have been expected, supported the restrictions. They operate on such a basis anyway. Now their propagandists are almost sure to say that they supported a U.N. measure for a free world press while the United States opposed it But that is making a mockery of words. The United States turned against the convention only when it became clear that it promised warp the world's knowledge rather than increase it.

Even if negative, that was a genuine service to freedom of information. a a a A Clear Responsibility A clear responsibility to investigate the shocking charges of labor racketeering in the construction field lies with Circuit Attorney James W. Griffin of St. Louis and Prosecuting Attorney Stanley Wallach of St. Louis county.

Their first steps should be an examination of the activities of Lawrence Callanan, ex-convict boss of AFL Steamfitters Local 562, and Paul Hulahan, heavy-fisted business agent of AFL Building Laborers and Hodcarriers Local 42. In Callanan's case, a likely starting point is the report of a contractor on the $5,000,000 Laclede Gas Co. pipeline job. As Mr. Griffin and Mr.

Wallach may have read, the contractor says he has knowledge of an attempt at a $50,000 shakedown by a man who represented himself as an emissary of Callanan. The inquiries into Hulahan's activities might well start with the report that the union agent and layern operator solicited a payoff cf more than $50,000 from the developer of the Glasgow Village. Hulahan has denied the report. Callanan has declined comment. Circuit Attorney Griffin should be-especially eager to get to the bottom of these mighty ugly reports, especially the one concerning Callanan.

Mr. Griffin is a veteran Democratic whcelhorse. Callanan's brother, Sheriff Thomas F. Callanan, is a power in St. Louis Democratic politics.

Firm action by Mr. Griffin would dispel any fear that politics might come before duty. a a Hot-Rod Moore Again At various times young Robert H. Moore, the hot-rod specialist, has been told by judges that he was a "menace to the community" and "had no business driving a car." Yet here he is again, facing three traffic charges after an accident in Maplewood. The car was a hot rod.

Moore's latest auto was a stripped-down 1940 Ford which he said he had been making into a hot rod. He told a police officer that a door opened on the car, and when he reached to close it, he fell out. He was booked for careless driving, destruction of city property and improper license plates. All this is an old story for a young man, and Moore's ways with an automobile have been on the front page often enough so they need not be repeated. But what needs to be repeated is that an automobile can be an instrument of death and disability when incompetence is behind the wheel.

Moore remains a dangerous symbol to his own adventuresome generation of risk on rubber tires. To everyone else he marks an inexplicable immunity to legal punishment. "REMEMBER WHEN WE USED TO CALL IT SOCIALISM?" Between Book Ends A Case of Foolhardy Economy For a Fair Tax Bill One look at the cost of national defense is enough to explain the troubles Congress is having in drafting a tax bilL With the possibility that this year's federal appropriations may run to more than 70 billions and that next year's may exceed 100 billions there must be sympathy for the men who must find ways of bringing in the money. To put the United States on a pay-as-you-go basis, they would have to collect from one-fourth to one-third of the national product in taxes. And no matter how eager he may be to do so, not even the most astute politician can perform that operation painlessly'.

In the face of the current world struggle, taxes are bound to hurt. But the burden can and should be fairly distributed. This is something which the Senate Finance Committee seems to be forgetting. A first consideration, for example, ought to be the plugging of loopholes which give one taxpayer an advantage over another. The House of Representatives had this in mind when it eliminated an old tax law provision under which each member of a chain of related corporations is allowed a $25,000 exemption from surtaxes and a minimum credit of $25,000 against excess profits taxes.

To take advantage of this, shrewd lawyers have advised clients to organize their business in the form of a dozen separate but closely connected corporations, thus getting tax exemptions a dozen times larger than if the business were logically conducted as a single corporation. The Senate Finance Committee has already stricken this reform from the tax bill. It also has cast aside another House provision which would have stopped the tax benefits now gained by the sale of depreciable assets to a subsidiary corporation. And it is threatening to wield the knife on other provisions designed to plug loop-holes. Is this fair? Is it wise? It is estimated that the House reforms would bring in about $33,000,000 in extra revenue.

If the reforms are not adopted, the loss may be greater. After all, if some corporations avail themselves of these provisions, why should not others move to do likewise? The Senate committee's action on personal income taxes 'also is disturbing. The House voted a flat 12V2 per cent increase in all brackets. That in itself was questionable since it marked a radical departure from graduated taxation based on the principle of ability to pay. It imposed taxes without regard for whether a man's income was great or smalL The Senate committee, however, has substituted a new formula under which the maximum increase would be 11 per cent.

Increases in the brackets above $40,000 would be considerably less. We do not believe in "socking the rich." That would be palpably unfair. But surely it is not fair to let increases fall more lightly on those with incomes above $40,000 a year than on those with lesser incomes. The Committee for Constitutional Government, a lobbying organization, is appealing to businessmen to fight even the House-voted increase as "British-type Socialism." This, alas, is palpable nonsense. Old Adam Smith who has been called many names, but never "Socialist" made it the first of his four maxims of sound taxation that "the subjects of every state ought to contribute towards the support of government, as nearly as possible, in proportion to their respective abilities; that is, in proportion to the revenue which they respectively enjoy under the protection of the state." Surely, Congress is not going to reverse Adam Smith, the man whom the Communists have made the arch-fiend in their Red hell? As we have said before on this page.

Congress must vote such high taxes that it also should look to other sources than incomes. A manufacturers' excise or sales tax, for example, might yield several billions of dollars. The Post-Dispatch has long opposed the extension of the sales tax to the federal government. Yet this could be justified in an emergency, provided that the essentials of life were exempted. Another possible source of revenue is the taxing of certain co-operatives, mutual banks, insurance companies and the like.

Consumer cooperatives in which people band together to reduce their living costs should not be frustrated by the unfair tax burdens. But producer cooperatives, such as the large fruit and dairy marketing organizations, are in a different category. Their farmer members are in a position not unlike that of ordinary corporation stockholders. As such, their earnings should be re-examined from the viewpoint of taxation. These and other possibilities are almost sure to be considered before the Senate version of the tax bill is completed.

They should not be turned into punitive devices. No individual or group should be expected to pay more than a fair share of the national tax bilL But unless the Senate Finance Committee reconsiders what it has already done, such may be the case. And an unfair tax bill would bt a mighty poor contribution at a time when national morale ought to be at its highest. a a a A Strike and a Shortage The strike which tied up 95 per cent of the American copper industry on the first day threatens to hit the defense program where it would hurt most. Fifty-eight thousand Mine.

Mill and Smelter Workers Union men struck after the Kennecott Copper Co. rejected a wage and pension plan offered by the federal mediators. The union asked the Government to take over the industry. But President Truman put the strike before the Wage Stabilization Board, which has urged the men to return to work. Whatever the strike issues may be, the results of a copper shutdown are very clear indeed.

The United States already faces a copper shortage, even without a strike. Like Mehitabel, the copper industry has been up one day and down the next Before World The M'rrar cf Puhlic Or-iu'ew Congress showed its unwillingness to face reality of civilian defense needs by cutting program's funds by 87 per cent; European experience shows that preparation pays off against air raids; yet U. S. legislators make little effort to see what can be done. From the IVew York Herald Tribune Why Bar Bull Fights? Te the Editor cf the-Poet-DiapaUb: I watched the TV presentation of the Maxim-Murphy fight (and I do mean fight).

All through it. I kept trying to figure out why our country prohibits bull fighting. Is it because we have a more protective attitude towards ani- 'rnals than we have towards humans? Or will some be so stupid as to claim that Murphy suffered no permanent brain injury in that fight? M. F. A Scintillating Star A CONGREVE GALLERY, by Kathleen M.

Lynch. (Harvard University Press, IM S3 SO.) William Congreve most scintillating star of the Restoration stage, was one of the large company to whom the tag "incomparable" clings. None of his contemporaries could match his mastery of the comedy of manners in which the world of fashion and gallantry was pitilessly displayed, mincing, simpering, outrageously affected, in the cold brilliance of uninhibited wit. (For his "lewdness," Congreve in 1698 came under the fire of Jeremy Collier's "Short View of the Immorality and Profaneness of the English Nowadays Congreve, if. not entirely or merely "embalmed in the enthusiasm of the intelligentsia," is largely an "area" for the investigations of scholars such as Prof.

Lynch of the Mount Holyoke College Department of English. It is the lat-ter's tantalizing confession that Congreve, despite long scholarly explorations recent-lv rannrri hv Prof. John C. Hodees' bi The 87 per cent cut made by the House in the funds asked by President Truman for civilian defense is only the latest evidence of the Congress' unwillingness to deal seriously with this matter. What is at the bottom of its attitude? The Appropriations Committee states that on a previous occasion it asked for a civil defense program, based on the training and education of the general public; that this has not been forthcoming and that I he Moment Is Opportune "To Uir Editor ef the Post-Dispatch: I was pleased to see that the PpsI- Dispatch intends to continue to remind Its readers of the great opportunity to develop medical education and ultimately, medical care in Missouri, by the establishment of a modern, four-year school of medicine.

The need is the authorized funds have therefore been withheld. It is a little difficult for the general public to understand this complaint. Programs and plans have existed in profusionthey are, indeed, almost the only things that have existed to date. Meanwhile the implement a tion of most of these plans has been held up by lack of funds. disaster.

The experience of every European city that has suffered from air raids speaks for the efficacy of preparation; and all we now know of atomic bombardments indicates that this danger is capable of being faced up to by similar means. As for the fear of diverting national energy to the seemingly negative task of civilian defense, the answer must be that a line can and must be drawn. Any idea of putting the whole population underground is absurd on the face of it. On the other hand, a plan to make available supplies of drugs and other medical necessities is eminently sound. The Congress in making its cuts in the civil defense appropriations was not, apparently, trying to distinguish between what can and can not be done.

Every hospital keeps on hand medical supplies to be used in the case of a train wreck or some other emergency; is it not reasonable that they should have available supplies against the infinitely greater calamity of a bombardment? Yet the head of Lenox Hill Hospital has recently pointed out that, apart from a few cots, no funds whatsoever have been provided for emergency drugs. In the supplementary appropriation bill the Congress struck at renewed attempts to provide this sensible precaution. The Congress cannot escape the responsibility of laying down the main lines for a civil defense program. There are generalizations which might be given legislative force: that the main emphasis is to be on preparations for disaster relief rather than on an illusory security for the civilian population; or again, that it is to be on measures which can be fulfilled during the next two years, before there has been established that equilibrium of force between ourselves and Russia which gives real hope of avoiding war. Whatever the criteria decided upon, they should be made explicit and should be implemented by adequate funds.

The present course is one of irresponsibility, and it can lead to tragic losses for the nation. so great and the moment is so opportune that no more time should be lost. If the people of the state could be thoroughly informed and could make their wishes felt in Jefferson City there is no doubt that action would be taken. Your editorial reveals further sup-: port for the carefully considered decision of the Board of Curators of the University of Missouri, namely, that the 'four-year school ought to be located in Columbia. I hope that the Post-Dispatch will also inform us, at the appropriate moment, of whatever action we can 'take, as individuals, to further these aims.

CITIZEN. President Truman ography, "remains a man of mystery." Her reasonable surmise is that many manuscripts concerning Congreve and his intimates must have been destroyed or in other ways made unavailable. Her fervent hope tenable and understandable in the light of the fascinating Boswell papers is that the future will make known hitherto unrevealed Congreve manuscripts. "A Congreve Gallery" details, in a prose perhaps best described as journeyman, if not plodding, the friendships of Congreve youth that meant much to him in his maturity. There were five, in Miss Lynch accounting: Joseph Keally, "a prophane dog" whom Congreve loved sincerely: the Fitzgeralds of Castle Dod; Henrietta, Duchess of Marlborough, Congreve's devoted mistress; Mary, Duchess of Leeds (Congreve's daughter); and Dr.

Messenger Monsey, a "minor Swift" whose "lively wit and nonsense delighted all observers." Miss Lynch's labors may happily result, at any rate in university seminar rooms, in Congreve's henceforth being less shabbily treated by the posterity his present admirer accuses of earlier indifference. "A Congreve Gallery" does not have even a reflected brilliance, but it does meticulously the valuable service of throwing light from various angles on the personality, background, and times of its subject. A scholar's work, it Is painstakingly documented; but the notes (659 of them, arranged according to chapters) are mercifully out of the way at the back of the book. An eight-page bibliography furnishes one more proof of Dr. Johnson's matter-of-faet grumble: "Sir, a man will turn over a library to make one book." ALVIN R.

ROLFS. Purdue University. If the civil defense cuts are to be taken as anything else than a foolhardy form of economy, the Congress will have to explain its action more fully and intelligibly. Evidently there prevail shown by the setbacks in recruiting volunteers as well as by congressional reluctance to appropriate funds misapprehensions and doubts in regard to civil defense. There are those who feel that any precautions against an atomic attack are fruitless.

There are those who fear lest too large a portion of the national effort be diverted from positive measures, military and economic, designed to avert an atomic war. Such doubts need to be answered convincingly. While it is obviously true that defense in any absolute or total sense is impossible in this field (as it is in any other), much can be done to mitigate the The Twin Knemies to the Editor of tht rot-Dtspateh: Lawlessness and indifference are the twin enemies that threaten the nation. If there is to be any victory against Communism these enemies must first be beaten. Few people apparently seem to know how frightfully close to war the nations are.

We 'high hat" God with low moral attitudes. There is even a philosophy cf indilferentism that permits other evil and encourages lawlessness generally. God calls us to account. So-called acts of God flood, drouth, unusual heat, fire (and soon a tornado) are not to destroy, but to warn our cation. THE REV.

C. F. KULP. Philadelphia. Economies in East St.

Louis From the East St. Louis Journal A Tax On Living To the Editor ef the Fost-Diapatch: Let the city take over the Public Service Co- which should be run as a nonprofit corporation in the interest of general public. If it can't be run en a break-even basis let the city take a share of the sales tax and the state "income tax to make up the deficit. The city pays by far the largest amount rf these taxes and the state has millions in Jefferson City lying idle. We are taxed for almost everything in Mis-souri and all we need now is to be taxed for living here.

E. F. KENEFICK. or a facsimile thereof, is later on achieved. As for the political aspects of the situation, consider this: Mayor Fields had before him the Citizens Fact-Finding Committee's recommendation that the city government live within the budget.

There always is the possibility that the factfinders may view the 50 per cent street department slash as impractical. If that develops, the Mayor can point to the citizens committee. If the fact-finders fully approve the more drastic policy, the Mayor can point to the citizens committee. Shed no political tears, then, for His Honor. Give him, instead, a pat on the back for doing what his predecessors never had the wisdom to do: Administering city government according to the best interests of the majority of the people.

That always is gd politics. The casual reader easily may have decided that it must have taken a lot of political courage for Mayor Alvin G. Fields to order a 50 per cent reduction in personnel and services of the city's street department. In scope, the directive probably is without precedent in East St. Louis history.

Past administrations have confined their economy programs, regardless of the acuteness of the financial situation, to meaningless gestures. Mayor Fields, however, is giving every indication of meeting the eurrent financial crisis head-on. The city, he reminds us, is in a financial hole and it isnt a question of raking up old chestnuts about responsibility for the dilemma; rather, it is a question of trying to live within anticipated income until financial stability, An Issue for '52 The Missouri Public Expenditure Survey has urged reorganization of state government agencies for more efficient operation. Its proposal that this be made an issue in the 1952 campaign for Governor is even better. For, though the State Legislature bears a major share of the responsibility for carrying out such an undertaking, it has done little toward accomplishing this objective.

Legislatures in general and the Missouri Legislature in particular rarely exhibit an eagerness to abolish existing agencies and jobs. Thus, it is essential that leadership be supplied by the Governor. As the privately-operated public expenditure group noted, efficiency in Missouri government will result only if the chief executive will go as far as he can in pruning administrative offices and prodding the Legislature to eliminate others. The 1945 State Constitution provided the machinery for reorganization of state government into 15 departments. But the Legislature has done little more than rename and rearrange the more than 100 existing departments, bureaus, boards, agencies and other units.

These were then "attached" to the new departments. The result, for all practical purposes, is that some departments consist merely of a department head and a secretary. In other departments, as many as 30 virtually independent agencies are thriving. Such organization has promoted neither economy nor efficiency. It is high time that the clear intent cf the Constitution is put into practice.

Quest of a Country Doctor A DOCTOrS PILGHMAGE. IdmurJ A. re. (J. f.

Lippincott 2Si tlSO.) Dr. Brasset, when an intern, planned to be a brain specialist, but he had to get some money first, at leart enough to pay his debts, so he accepted an opportunity to go to a small town in Nova Scctia as general practitioner. That was the beginning of his pilgrimage. As a country doctor there and in other communities where opportunity beckoned he served for years before he came to the goal of his ambition, only to find thit it was less than he had expected it to be. He missed the people among whom he ltd worked, the babies with croup, the cid people worried about their heart and their blood pressure, the young people with their day-to-day maladies and injuries.

These were his people. The small town, not the city, whs his sphere. In going from one place to another he had found people to care for and care about, and that was what mattered. He retraced the way he had come and found his holy grail back there where he had passed it by. The autobiography of Dr.

Brasset is a warmly-told tale of the experiences of a country doctor with a sense of humor to relieve experiences sometimes somber and sometimes tragic. Readers who go along with him are assured of a pleasant pilgrimage. T. A. BEHYMER.

Beer, Ice Cream and Soldiers From the Combat Forces Journal Uncertain Mail To tha Editer of the Post-Dupateh This letter is in regard to a soldier in Korea. Thia boy has written home re- peatedly for food. I have mailed pack- i ages faithfully. Since Jan. 15, about 50 pounds of foodstuffs has been forward- At thia writing, none has been re- ceived! Now I am well aware that in time of -war, guns and bullets get first consider-' ation in shipping space.

But in a two and one-half month period, surely some cf this could have been delivered. Es-: pecialiy since between Feb. 28 and March 9, he was in a hospital in Pu-' can with infected feet. The food has been shipped in boxes of from six to seven pounds, and all of them could not be lost. Surely me of these boxes could have been delivered by this time.

Are other mothers in the area having this same difficulty' MRS. MARIE SIMMON'S. War II, copper prices and production were both low yet the country dug up more copper than it used. But during the war copper prices nearly tripled, and since then production has seldom kept pace with demand. Today the nation is less than 60 per cent self-sufficient in copper.

It produces nearly 1.000,000 tons, but must import 400,000 tons from Chile, and even that has not met the demand of civilian and defense industries. And though we now pay a special price for Chilean copper, Western Europe is outbidding us. No sudden increase in copper supplies can be expected. Domestic producers require large capital to work relatively low-grade ores, and it is a slow process at best. Government policy has been shortsighted both in stockpiling and in allocations, for rtrict rationing of cc-pper will We feel impelled to answer that Marine Corps brigadier general who said that soldiers should learn to drink beer and cut out ice cream, or words to that effect.

We learned to drink beer in the Army and we'll wager a case of lager that the per capita consumption of beer in the Army is every bit as large or larger than it is in the Marine Corps. As to ice cream well leave it to Gen. Bradley to put the Marine in his place. At one place in his book, "A Soldier's Story." Gen. Bradley tells how he reported for duty at the Pentagon and then went out for a dish of ice cream.

Reporting at the officers approach with some trepidation and a dish of ice cream will certainly help a man snap back after the ordeaL We recommend it to the Marine BG. Again, going Into Sicily as commander of II Corps. Gen. Bradley tells how he went aboard his ship and met R. Adm.

Alan G. Kirk, naval commander' of the attack force. "Now General," the Admiral said, "is there anything we can get you? You're our guest while you're aboard." "Anything?" Gen. Bradley asked him grinning. "Anything.

Adm. Kirk replied. Then, writes Gn. Bradley in his book, I ordered a dish of ice cream." Sounds like a premature winter in Alaska. Some of the Republicans up there are complaining that Gov.

Dewey left them out in the cold. Normandy. Pentagon is something that even general .1.