anaheim-gazette 1931-05-28

THE ANAHEIM GAZETTE HENRY KUCHEL, Editor and Publisher ESTABLISHED 1870 ISSUED EVERY THURSDAY SUBSCRIPTION PER YEAR ... $2.00 SIX MONTHS ... 1.00 Entered at the Anaheim, California Postoffice as second-class matter. WHERE THE MONEY GOES It costs the average American family a little more than one-third of its income for food. The average wage-earner has an income of $1,513.29 a year, or just under $30 a week, out of which he spends $548.51 for food, according to the most recent statistical compilation of figures on the cost of living. Rent, whether in the form of maintenance and taxes on a home, or in actual rent paid to a landlord, averages a little over one-fifth of the total income or, in the case of the average wage-earner, $342.14. Clothing for the entire family, on the same scale, comes to $237.60, leaving $385.04 out of this average wage-earner's income for miscellaneous expenditures. That is substantially a quarter of the average worker's yearly earnings, out of which he has to pay doctor's bills, cost of educating his children, all amusements, his life insurance premiums, if any, and everything else that he spends money for. On the same basis of figuring the average wage earner spends $16.33 for automobiles. Since the cheapest automobile sells for around $500, this means that only one wage earner in thirty buys a car in any given year. With ordinary care, however, even a cheap car will last for years. It is a safe assumption that at least one out of every ten wage workers in America owns an automobile. Doctor's bills for the average family run nearly four times the cost of automobiles. Insurance accounts for $43.28 a year out That is substantially a quarter of the average worker's yearly earnings, out of which he has to pay doctor's bills, cost of educating his children, all amusements, his life insurance premiums, if any, and everything else that he spends money for. On the same basis of figuring the average wage earner spends $16.33 for automobiles. Since the cheapest automobile sells for around $500, this means that only one wage earner in thirty buys a car in any given year. With ordinary care, however, even a cheap car will last for years. It is a safe assumption that at least one out of every ten wage workers in America owns an automobile. Doctor's bills for the average family run nearly four times the cost of automobiles. Insurance accounts for $43.28 a year out of the average family income. And after paying for all of the things already mentioned, this average American working man has $90 a year left for cigarettes, Christmas presents or other non-necessary expenditures, besides putting $78.93 in the savings bank. Those are figures which cannot be matched anywhere else in the world. Nowhere has the man who works with his hands such a surplus above his actual living as he has in America. For that matter, no worker under any other flag has as comfortable living quarters or as good and ample food. It is this surplus earnings above expenses that has enabled American workers to carry through a long period of depression and unemployment without being reduced to beggary and starvation. THE PEACETIME COST OF WAR The whole subject of war and its cost has been brought into the arena of public discussion in the United States as a result of the recent meeting of the International Chamber of Commerce in Washington. As is always the case when the subject is discussed, everybody agreed that all nations are spending too much money on their military and naval establishments, but nobody was willing to commit his own country to a reduction in this terrific charge upon the taxpayers. President Hoover, however, took the first step by summoning the Secretary of War and the Chief of Staff of the Army into conference and asking them to figure out ways whereby the cost of maintaining the military establishment of the United States can be reduced without impairing its efficiency. This as a move in a direction which most Americans will commend. There is no doubt in the world, in our own minds, that we are a peace-loving nation. The peoples and governments of other countries do not always believe us when we say that, but every American knows that it is true. Mr. Hoover, by reason of his Quaker birth and upbringing, is naturally opposed to war as the means of settling international disputes. And it is reported that he found the heads of the Army in accord with his desire for economy. The money spent by the War Department in time of peace, is, of course, very largely for internal improvements. The development and dredging of harbors, the building of bridges, everything that has to do with keeping navigable rivers in their channels, and many other government engineering projects, are carried out by army engineers. There is no idea of cutting down on any of these activities, which are now providing employment for tens of thousands of men who would otherwise be out of jobs. Nor is it planned, according to the information from Washington, to reduce the army personnel. But there are expenditures in connection with the upkeep of the military establishment which, it is believed, can be reduced or suspended to result in a saving of between $300,000,000 and $400,000,000 a year. Such a saving would go a long way toward making up the "COME-BACK" OF THE RAILROADS Carl R. Gray, president of the Union Pacific railroad, to which California owes much for the exceptional facilities in transportation which the Southland enjoys, is an optimist who declines to become discouraged when looking into the future. At a recent dinner in Chicago, he gave an address on the "come-back" of the railroads. "There seems to be a feeling more or less prevalent," Mr. Gray said, "that the steam railways that have been the fundamental transportation in America for a century are seriously threatened with decadence, and to this I take exception. The growth of America has been measured by and has been responsive chiefly to its transportation capacities. No one agency other than the railroads can more than partially supply this need, and that only in a desultory and widely separated way. "The railroads feel that as to certain competitive forms of transportation there has been an unfairness of treatment and they have stated their case to the public. The sympathetic consideration which has been given this declaration is a speaking illustration in itself of the realization now largely entertained by the public of the necessity for the maintenance of an efficient system of rail transportation." He outlined the vast improvement which has taken place in public relations due to the very marked change in the mental attitude of railroad men themselves, who have succeeded to a remarkable degree in bringing to the public mind a better and clearer conception of railroad problems. He also praised the cooperation which has been received from traffic clubs and shippers regional advisory boards. As a result, he mentioned the marked change in the attitude of the press toward railroad matters. Whereas some years ago there was a great deal of antagonism in railroad articles and editorials exactly the reverse is now true, he declared. ANAHEIM GAZETTE GIVE IT TO HIM! RUMOR Bruce Barton Looks at Ways of Life DON'T SEND IT Some years ago I met a man who spoke as follows: "The boss issued a memorandum today with a lot of new instructions. Some of them were all wet, and I didn't hesitate to tell him, and, believe me, it was a hot one." Said another man: "I received my first business training under a wise old bank official. One day a letter came in from a customer who made unreasonable complaints and asked for an unwarranted favor. "I sat up almost all night drafting an answer to that letter. It was a beauty, and I took it in to the old man next morning with pride. His head nodded approvingly as he read it. "You've put the case just right," he said. The position you have taken is based on sound banking principles; it states our attitude with dignity and force. All in all, it's a very fine letter, and I congratulate you on it. Only, for Heaven's sake, don't send R." Afterwards, I learned that the man I first quoted was paid $4,000 a year; the other is paid $40,000. Like every other man in business, I receive a certain number of communications which are both unkind and unfair. Having red hair and a naturally quick temper, I used to let such letters hoist my temperature considerably. Sometimes I carried them around in my home, and a very real tragedy ensued when this burden of payment is borne on behalf of a house that proves unsatisfactory or has neither beauty, permanence, convenience nor a fair resale value. The first step, sagely suggested, is the purchase of a scrap book. In this prospective home-owner is advised to paste pictures of houses she likes, clipped from newspapers and magazines. This will not only help to clarify and visualize her own ideas, but it will give her architect a bird's-eye view of her tastes. The next step is to select the location and in making this selection, to remember that the character of the site strongly influence the type of house that can be built on it. Just as every hat is not becoming to every woman, so not every house is becoming to every piece of land. No reputable architect will suggest possible types of houses without first seeing the site. The size of the lot, the contour of the land, the character of the neighboring houses and of the surrounding country all influence the type of house that can be built. Seed of Crotalaria, a new legume crop, rattle in the pod. The name is derived from Crotalus, one of the important genera of rattlesnakes. GIFT OF LOANS PROPOSED That lobbyists for the organized war veterans are now planning to turn the billion dollar total of soldiers' loans into an outright gift, is the charge made by Walter Davenport. The organized veterans now have the inside track with Congress and will hold it. Mr. Davenport declares, quoting one of their lobbyist leaders as folloshort Essays On Popular Topics ASSURING EMPLOYMENT By GERARD SWOPE. President of General Electric Corporation. This problem of regularization of employment must be studied for each trade or industry, and, in fact, in every company with its different methods of management and operation. The recognition that the problem exists and that it must be solved, either in part or whole, is the beginning of the solution of the problem. The insistence of a solution must be continued by an around public opinion, letting the responsibility for the character and scope of the plans rest on industry, that better methods of operation must be found in the interest of society and most of all in the interest of those human beings who give their lives and their service to the work. The desirability of continuity of employment was recognized some years ago by the introduction of pension plans for the retirement of superannuated employees, life insurance, etc. The basis for the introduction of such plans has been to reduce labor turnover and in that way reduce costs. Society generally would benefit by such a reform (regularization) through being relieved of taxation and charity incidental to maintaining a portion of the population while it is unemployed. Such support of the idle is a method as bad for the The position you have taken is based on sound banking principles; it states our attitude with dignity and force. All in all, it's a very fine letter, and I congratulate you on it. Only, for Heaven's sake, don't send it." Afterwards, I learned that the man I first quoted was paid $40,000. Like every other man in business, I receive a certain number of communications which are both unkind and unfair. Having red hair and a naturally quick temper, I used to let such letters hoist my temperature considerably. Sometimes I carried them around in my mind for several days, forming red hot phrases in reply. Now I play a much meaner trick on the writers. I do not answer them at all. I can imagine one of my critics going down to the front gate every morning to meet the postman, looking eagerly for my answer, thinking up what he will say in his outburst. Day after day goes by, and no answer comes. The fire that was to burn me up burns him up instead. This method of dealing with one's enemies is certainly not spectacular and maybe it is unmanly. If so, I can reply only that as I grow older the glory of being spectacular appeals to me less and less in comparison with the comfortable joys of peace. Life seems somehow too short for controversy, and much of my income in these days is received not so much for what I do as for what I have learned not to do. Patience, I have learned, is almost as important as work; while judgment uniformly commands a much higher rate than well intentioned activity. What is judgment? you ask. Well, it's the little voice that whispers: "That would be brilliant, but don't do it." Or, "That's a smart one; very smart indeed. But, for Heaven's sake, don't send it." SCRAPBOOK OF NEW HOMES Once in the lifetime of most women comes the moment when she decides to build or buy a house. That's the exact average, as worked out by architectural experts. But because the planning of a home is an experience that involves much deep feeling, most women fail to give adequate consideration to the material problems involved. It takes the average family ten years to pay for their crop, rattle in the pod. The name is derived from Crotalus, one of the important genera of rattlesnakes. GIFT OF LOANS PROPOSED That lobbyists for the organized war veterans are now planning to turn the billion dollar total of soldiers' loans into an outright gift, is the charge made by Walter Davenport. The organized veterans now have the inside track with Congress and will hold it. Mr. Davenport declares, quoting one of their lobbyist leaders as follows: "We're going to crowd bills upon Congress while the crowding is good. Within two years there will appear in Congress a bill making the loan a gift. We take it for granted that 90 per cent of the borrowers will not repay the loan or even the interest. If they don't do this, the interest will eat up the 50 per cent which the veterans can't borrow. We don't dare ask Congress to increase the borrowing limit to 100 per cent of the face value of the adjusted service compensation certificates, but we ask Congress to cancel the loans." The majority of congressmen come from rural districts where the veterans and their friends can swing things politically. Mr. Davenport shows. "Never the less," he says. "veterans of the World War have already received nearly three-fourths as much as has been granted to survivors of all previous wars. The World War cost the United States about 22 billion dollars, which does not include the 8½ billions advanced to the allies. That 22 billion would have carried the Revolutionary War on for a thousand years. "The unfortunately worded opportunities and threats of some of the ex-service men's spokesmen left a number of sore spots in both houses of Congress although the members thus irritated voted for the passage before and after the veto. "If Federal taxes are increased next year on the ground that Congress's liberality is to blame, the veteran is going to have quite a time putting over any appropriation legislation beyond that necessary to the work of the Veterans Administration under existing laws." You always know that spring has finally arrived when the violets appear in the woodlands and civil war breaks out again in China. The desirability of continuity of employment was recognized some years ago by the introduction of pension plans for the retirement of superannuated employees, life insurance, etc. The basis for the introduction of such plans has been to reduce labor turnover and in that way reduce costs. Society generally would benefit by such a reform (regularization) through being relieved of taxation and charity incidental maintenance a portion of the population while it is unemployed. Such support of the idle is a method as bad for the community as it is often harmful for and not desired by the recipient. It is confidently believed that if the fear of lack of work were removed from the mind of the workingman would approach his work with an entirely different attitude, his intelligence would be aroused. As a result the quality of workmanship would be better, he would feel free to suggest better methods, which would lower costs and be reflected eventually in lower selling prices. The more completely regularization of employment is effected the less necessary it is for unemployment insurance. The employee should be enlisted so that the solution for the industry may joint as between management and employee. Women who have gray eyes can have them changed to blue or brown by a new kind of contact glass which fits eyeball, according to dispatches from London. But a black eye can still be obtained quicker in the old fashion way. UTOPIA IN ILLINOIS A modern, little Utopia has been found! It is the town of Palmyra, Illinois in which there was not a single accident of any kind during 1930, reports the National Safety Council. No auto collision fatalities, injuries or even smashed fenders were recorded during an entire year. Besides this accident-less record there were no crimes reported during the year in the town, it is said. There was not a family in the town in war. This all resulted chiefly through co-operation of its citizens, it declared by the council. OBSERVATIONS GLOOM CHASERS After you have read about depression and hard times it is cheerful to know that grunion will soon be running again. OF THE PEOPLE. FOR THE PEOPLE, BY THE PEOPLE If some of the men who go to high office would be guided by the Golden Rule, perhaps from out their midst some one would rise up whose name would go down in history the same as another, whose name is immortal. Ask any school boy to tell you the name. ROCKING THE BOAT There are certain men who are continually tinkering with fundamental laws. It seems they strive to make laws fit jazzy outbreaks upon the part of the people. What they should do would be to lend their aid to make the people fit the laws we already have. PUTTING THEIR CARDS ON THE TABLE When men in high legislative halls criticize they should know what they are talking about. To chatter of matters not pertinent to the issue before them, simply means they are out of order and should be given the hush sign. And when the character of another is dragged in the mire they should be derned careful lest their own conscience does not keep them awake nights. RAN AMUCK In another city a man at the head of a financial institution for several years handled other people's money in a manner that makes an ordinary bozo's head swim. Just how he did that will go down in local history as being as dark and mysterious as the identity of the guy who struck Billy Patterson. WOULDN'D KNOW THE OLD PLACE A man has been indicted on about 14 counts of grand theft. Should he receive the limit of the law when he is sentenced, when he gets back to his former stamping grounds he will be as old as the dickens. MACHINERY AGE WOULDN'D KNOW THE OLD PLACE A man has been indicted on about 14 counts of grand theft. Should he receive the limit of the law when he is sentenced, when he gets back to his former stamping grounds he will be as old as the dickens. MACHINERY AGE One of the major reasons why there is unemployment is caused by the displacement of working men and women by machinery. The large manufacturing concerns have, it is safe to say, reduced the number of their employees one-half during the past twenty years, by installing modern devices to do the work formerly done by man. It is a condition and not a theory and is deserving of the best thought of the best minds of men in public places. READY TO ADMINISTER ETHER It looks like a group of regular republicans are going to ask for a political divorce from the bloc known in the social register de luxe as progressives. It is said it is the desire of the wheelhorses to send the bull moose back to their own reservations, out in the bleak prairies, and not allow them to browse on the rich preserves as heretofore. It begins to look like the bolters will have to stand on their own bottoms; and the furniture dealers are due for an order for twin beds. Some of the moose men have gained quite a foothold and it may need the stump pulling chains to yank them out. However, from all appearances there is going to be an operation. And believe it or not if the surgical performance is successful, the patient may die. BEFORE AND AFTER When the love sick swain is in deep he buys his free-ahn-say a furcoat for Christmas; and after they are married for about six years he gives wifey a hot water bottle. HOLDING HIS EAR TO THE GROUND A song writer and an actress were married. Then separated The husband grieved. The wife climbed the ladder in the audibles; she had the voice. Still hubby grieved. Then he hired a man to sing a song he had composed. He put it on a radio hookup. The song told of the yesterday with you, or something like that. Sad. The man thought if the wife tuned in she might hear and forgive. But up to the hour of going to press she had not commuted. PINTO POLITICIAN If you are going to be one thing and then another, why a progressive. You may be a little of either, but not much of anything. They say sometimes the tail wags the dog, but it's tough on the dog. If you wander away from the fold, what is the use of playing hockey unless you go somewhere and do things. To remain on the job and keep open all the old sores that ever happened about all you get is a bad smell, or maybe lockjaw. SAY, DEARIE, TUNE IN ON SOMTHING ELSE WILL YUH? There is a columner, or whatever you call 'em, who swings a PINTO POLITICIAN If you are going to be one thing and then another, why a progressive. You may be a little of either, but not much of anything. They say sometimes the tail wags the dog, but it's tough on the dog. If you wander away from the fold, what is the use of playing hookey unless you go somewhere and do things. To remain on the job and keep open all the old sores that ever happened about all you get is a bad smell, or maybe lockjaw. SAY, DEARIE, TUNE IN ON SOMTHING ELSE WILL YUH? There is a columner, or whatever you call 'em, who swings a wicked pen, but every now and then he writes pieces about people's private affairs—how many times they were married and divorced, and all that sort of thing; and the man in the rumble seat chirps up to ask who cares about it. Oh, say, do you think it aint gonna rain no more. CHAMPING AT THE BIT There awhile ago when things looked tough a sheriff down Texas way wrote to the mayor of an eastern city, saying, if they wanted him, he would pick up a couple of cowboys and some over and clean up the city. FISH, OR CUT BAIT To be a progressive republican, as the name implies; would seem to mean a republican who progresses. Of course, if a fellow is a progressive republican and then goes over to the other side of the hall and lines up with the opposition forces, he automatically becomes a whatnot, or mebbe a middle roader. After he insists on staying in the progressive republican household after the head of the house has handed him his hat, is something that riddles are made out of. A STITCH IN TIME SAVES NINE A prize fighter, who is sort of on the retired list, devotes his time now to referreeing the rounds. He said umpiring an argument is nice because you don't have to be sewed up afterwards. AS BROAD AS IT IS LONG There awhile ago considerable anxiety was felt as to who owned the new casino down below. That would seem as a mere bagatelle. The thing to discover is how much a fella owns after he has been there. NOT SO BAD If the sending of one financial crook to jail would have an eye opening effect on some of them who are still loose mebbe that will help a lot.