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PAGE FOUR Published by— PUBLIC OPINION, INC. PUBLISHED OAILY EXCEPT SATURDAY at 802 EAST BRYAN STREET Cor. Lincoln Entered as Sacond Class Matter July 23, 1935 at tlis Post Office at Savannah, Georgia SUBSCRIPTION RATES One Tear ............. 7.50 Six Months ...... 875 Three Months ..... .................. ... 1.95 One Month ..........................—.... ..... .65 One Week ....... —— .15 ADVERTISING RATES ON APPLICATION FROST, LANDIS & KOHN ' National Advertising Representatives Chicago New York Detroit Atlanta Subscribers to: Transradio Press • International Illustrated News • Central Press Ass’n. Gilreath Press Service • Newspaper Peature, Inc. • King Features Stanton Advertising Service • World Wide Pictures «*—■!! I - ' ■ '' ' ' TRANSPORTATION-SAVANNAH’S PROBLEM. Rome editorial writers have assignments of extreme diffi culty. They are expected to perform various other duties about the newspaper which allow them little time for study, or even thought. Sometimes they are handicapped by financial obliga tions, local influences, political entanglements and the like, so that they are under instructions to please everybody, offend no one. Then the writer becomes a mental gymnast who must “hunt! with the hare and ride with the hounds”—“carry water on botff shoulders”—“straddle the fence” and “keep in the middle of the road” all at the same time. Under such circumstancs the poor devil usually resorts to the paste-pot and shears for the main body of his editorial and winds up with a liberal application of what is variously termecf “salve,” “banana oil” or “apple sauce.” These reflections are inspired by an article appearing recent ly in a local newspaper headed, “Automobiles vs. Railroads.” It quotes at length from some unnamed source, and if there is any point at all to the production it is that the railroads have lost passenger traffic to the private automobile rather than to the public bus. In conclusion the article gives a congratulatory handshake and a simultaneous kick in the pants to the railroads for what they are doing—and for what they have not done. The quoted report does not even belong in the “important if true” category. The public interest is not affected by the ques tion of whether the bus or the privately-owned car have dim inished the railroad’s passenger traffic. The point at issue is as to whether the various forms of transportation are regulated, taxed and supervised on an equitable and a comparable basis. That point is of direct, immediate and vital importance to the average citizen and taxpayer everywhere, and particularly to citizens and taxpayers of Savannah, a port city, dependent upon its transportation facilities to a much greater extent than in terior cities surrounded by an agricultural territory. This is an economic question that ought to be discussed in the light of its bearing upon the welfare and progress of this community. It calls for something more than flippant criticism or aimless praise. It demands the exercise of an informed pub lic sentiment to the end that those in authority may enact just statutes and see to their enforcement without fear or favor. Sa vannah’s future in large measure hinges upon her transporta tion facilities. She depends upon all of them—railways, high ways, waterways, and airways. The man who ships or travels, the man who sells goods to the carriers direot or to their employes, the man who works in any field of transportation, the owner of a life insurance policy, the depositor in a bank, the investor in a transportation security, ail of these have a stake in the fair and just regulation of transportation. It is in this light that the Savannah Daily Times regards the relation of Savannah to the various transportation agencies that serve the city. It is from this viewpoint that this newspaper has discussed the question and proposes to continue its discus sion without prejudice or bias, with no desire to bend, but under no necessity of pussy-footing or soft-soaping. OUR READERS’ FORUM 1 I (All communications intended (or pub lication under this heading mult bear the name and address of the writer. Name* will be omitted on request. Anonymous letters will not be given any attention. The widest latitude of expression and opinion Is permitted in this column so that It may represent a true expression of public opinion in Savannah and Chatham County. Letters must be limited to 100 words. The Savannah Daily Times does not Intend that the selection of letters pub lished in this column shall In any way reflect or conform with the editorial vlewg and policies of this paper. The Times reserves the right to edit, publish or reject any article sent In.) Editor, The Daily Time*: For a long time I have been under the Impression that editors knew al most everything. So, no doubt you will be able to suggest a satisfactory solution of a problem which I re spectfully submit herewith for your attention. It has been a source of ir ritation to me and, I am sure, to a number of other motorists who live in the southern part of the city. In fact, I honestly feel this complaint voices the sentiment of many automo bile drivers iA Savannah. Its about way trucks and cars are parked on both sides of Price street, all the way from Victory Drive to Bey street. As you know, Drayton and Price streets a* present are the most thoroughly traveled thorough fares on the east side by people driv ing to work In the morning. Drayton street carriers such a heavy load, many use Price street to avoid the Jam. However, regardless of the fact that Price is very narrow, one finds auto mobile# and trucks parked in the morning on both sides of the street all the way downtown. The result is motorists must slow their cars al most to a standstill frequently to avoid colliding with machines ap proaching in the opposite direotton. Then th*4? are the added hazards of people getting in and out of these parked vehicle* on the traffic side and citizens attempting £6 cross the street after stepping abruptly from Ifcetnd these stationary automobiles. A MOTORIST. J Editor Savannah Daily Times: Last year at a meeting of the mer chants I suggested a Tobacco Fes tival for savannah. The idea was thought well of and it is time for us to begin our plans and lay the foun dation for a celebration that is city wide and includes our resorts. The Tobacco Festival could run an entire week with a varied and Inter esting program with the city, county and every citizen working toward an event that might eventually be Sa vannah’s summer Mari Gras. Every business enterprise and every manufacturer can oome into an event of this kind and reap a reward com mensurate with their efforts and plans. Manufacturers can rent up town vacant stores and have displays, samples and even some Interesting part of their manufacturing process. We could fill our town with interested people and the merchants could buy “Tobacoo festival features as well as manufacturers giving special feature prices on their products for the en tire week. A manufacturer doing a local retail business through the re tail establishments could have an ad listing their retailers and in ths oen ter of the ad they oould advertise that the retailers had speoial author ity to sell their produot the entire week at the low price named." This thing oan grow as a big as our 00-operation will let it and is a thing that we should have been doing before. Let’s get our share of the mil lions that are now going to other towns and let’s get the jump on the other towns by being the first to hold a "Tobacco Festival." The advertis ing alone will be worth plenty and tobacco can replace our cotton profits of the years that are now sad his tory. Forward Savanrv'^ —Every Savan nahian with his shoulders to the drive. W'ith kindest regards and best wishes, I am, Yours for a greater Savannah, JULIAN D. KELLY. THE BURNING QUESTION! —WASHINGTON AT A GLANCE— TOWNSEND PROBERS As Viewed By Washington Observer OVERDID THEIR “JOB” By CHARLES P. STEWART Central Press Staff Writer WASHINGTON, May 30—The house of representatives’ committee on investigation of the Townsend plan fell into an error which con gressional investigating committees are rather prone to. It overdid its job of heckling its victims and prodded an effect oppo site to the one at which it was aim ing. , One doesn’t need to be a believer in the Townsend old age pension pro gram to realize that the representa tives’ inquiry into it was political in its motive. The plan was rolling up a following whicr alarmed many of the lawmak ers who did not care to subscribe to it—meaning most of them, both Dem ocrats and Republicans. However, though they regarded it as too much of a crockpot idea with which to be come identifed, they were fearful that their re-election chances would be en dangered if they refused to do so. Accordingly, they hit on the scheme of trying to make it ridiculous. • * • Real Purpose That was the real purpose of Chair BORNEO Pictures iT»i "A York, penk, • Tie. capiTai_ fierce, crocodile on a stamp-**® ” from sepT. so,mi, ONE OF THE MOST DANGEROUS S- 13 _ To JUNE. 28. IXIB / " k.MQ WK^K<VIA.T_^OUMTP-y7 l SQggjCjffsJggkjgMTßAt PBfSS ASSQgATIQjSI Jf. IVANNAH DAILY TIMES, SUNDAY, mXy 31,1936 man C. Jasper Bell’s committee. The Townsenditas were given a modicum of representation in its membership, but not enough to have any significant voice in its procedihgs. The majority were totally unconcern ed a6 to the proposition’s merits or demerits. They already were convinc ed that it was unworkable. Their whole purpose was to give it plenty of unfavorable advertising. At this task they were quite success ful until they tackled Dr. Francis E. Townsend. * * • “Good” Beginning First they uncovered a row between the doctor and some of his leading asociates, making it appear that the plan was badly split within itself. Then they made it look very much as if several of the doctor’s helpers had been far less interested in old age pensions than in lining their own pockets. All accounts agree that this techni que greatly weakened the plan. Contributions to it seem to have fallen off tremendously. Presumably this implied a diminution in its fol lowing. Where End The committee should have begun to “call off its dog” right there. Its real work was accomplished. It had presented Dr. Townsend in the light of a well-meaning old sucker, being exploited by a ring of racketeers, to whom he inadvertently had given a few suggestions. Os course the doctor also had to be questioned, but it should have been done gently, diplomatically. Stewart’s View • • • Anyone who ever has talked with Dr. Townsend for five minutes should recognize that he is an honest fan atic. He looks crabbed. He is pretty “snooty” when skep tically questioned, as I heard him queried at a National Press club luncheon. But sincerity is branded all over him. It is manifest that, If anyone made money out of his plan, he not the one who made it. * • • Made Sympathy for Him But the committe foolishly tried to “pan” the doctor; to pin the stig ma of racketeering on him. It ought to have known better, pol itically speaking. It created sympathy for him, not only among Townsenites, but among folk who pooh-pooh Townsendism on the run for awhile. -WORLD AT A GLANCE— A CROSS SECTION In One Community in “Townsend Bolt” OF ELECTION VIEWS By KEN WOODMAN (Mr. Ken Woodman, raving Central Press Correspondent, takes the place of Leslie Eichel in the World at a Glance column to day. Mr. Woodman has been meeting many perawisand listen ing to what they say.) SHERWOOD, Mich., May 30.—The precise effect of Townsend propa ganda on the coming election is a subject of much speculation among residents of this section of Michigan. They seem to believe that the Repub licans wiU nominate a dark horse at Cleveland and that his chances of beating Roosevelt lie in direct ratio to his Townsend support. • * • These opinions were expressed to day by a group of three men and a woman standing around the delivery truck of Russell Garret who operates a huckster's route over a large area of southern Michigan. ♦ * * Bad for Borah Garrett took the lead In the con versation by declaring: “It doesn’t look so good for Senator Borah at Cleveland since he was so badly walloped in the Ohio and New Jersey primaries but I think he could win the election if he were nominated.” One of Garret’s helpers, a man named Collins, spoke up quickly: “Those primaries don’t mean a thing. As I see it the Ohio delegation is just pledged to Taft, a favorite son, so that It can swing whatever way the big shots decide when they get together in their hotel rooms. For all we know, this may just be a political trick to give Walter Brown’s machine a club to wield against either Borah or Landon in case their man Knox loses out.” • * * An Opinion “Landon win never make it.'* Gar ret declared. “He’s just another Hoover and the Republicans are too MYNewYork By James Aswell NEW YORK, May 30—When speak easies bloomed and glowered in the town, conviviality was largely restrict ed to the evening hours, although ev ery office had its “Two Hours for Lunch Club” composed of privileged executives who returned to their desks around three in the afternoon with a faint bun on. Now, though, there/has been a strange swing toward 1 daylight talk fests—or just plain loafing—in the “smart” (what a revolting word in this sense!) places. Bistros like “21”, the Stork Club, and even the top-hat tish El Morocco are forced to grin and bear a plague of customers even in the morning hours. These folks are notoriously light spenders. The just hang around, chewing pretzels and ordering such outlandish things as lemonades, plain seltzer and even milk. A few of the chatter writers pop in at this time, a few out-of-towners and now and then a party of business men who have descended from cool, quiet skyscrap er offices to the hubbub of the bars to “transact business under informal auspices.” Altogether the morning rag-chew ers make up a crowd. And waiters, sleepy-eyed rom being up into the dawn with the evening revelers, move about in sluggish resignation. In cidentally don’t let columnists fool you with their frequent protestations that they’d never go inside a nignt club if it weren’t that business called. Most of the madore night clubs and would hang around them on one pre text or another if they had no more excuse for doinp so than askinp after the headwaiter’s health. This reporter is the only exception. He visits the upholstered cellars out of the loftiest sense of duty and noth ing else. All right. Laugh. But at least he has never Joined the mid morning earbenders in “21”. * • * “That gag of printing letters is too transparent for you to get away with,” writes G. K. T., of Brooklyn, N. Y., “and it’s time someone told you fel lows see through it. When you don’t make up the letters your self you just print them to fill up space and save you the trouble of doing you rday’s work. You ought to be ashamed. “Telling us that you think such and-such a letter will be of general interest Is just a fish story. And speaking of fish stories, here's one ■ I am such will be of general Interest: “Peconic Bay, as you know, is where New Yorkers go every summer to fish. The chamber of commerce of Shelter Island, out there, has been seining up weakfish for weeks (no pun in tended) and attaching metal identify ing tags to their tails. “To the first ten fishermen this year who catch one of the weakfish with the aluminum license plates will go a new $lO bill. It’s just like catch- - ing fish with $lO notes tied to their ; tails. , “But the way the city fathers got i the idea interests me. A couple of them were In town listening to a would-be comedian In a night club do his stuff. “ ‘Good grief,’ groaned one of the pair, I heard that joke about the same time I learned to shoot mar bles. There ought to be a law. It’s i too bad they can’t tag jok©6 with the I year and place of origin. Some folks 1 are actually laughing.’ “ ‘No,’ mused the other, ’it Is a f pity you can’t pin a label on a Joke for all to see. But wait! There’s an Idea there and Ithink I have it!’ ' “The qext morning they were both t diligently tagging fish. It just goes ' o show.” t smart to choose him.” The third man, who had been help ing Mrs. Garret remove crates of eggs from the truck, cut an abruptly: “And Borah's just another Roosevelt, if you ask me. He has the same lib eral ideas.” He paused, grinning. “But I’d rather have him in the White House.” “Why?” Mrs. Garret demanded, pausing to wipe her hands on her apron. "Well.” said her assistant, “if he needed a brain trust, he'a got one in his own head. He wouldn't ned to call In a lot of college professors with bright young lawyers to cover up their mistakes.” “That may all be,” retorted Garret, “But he's so liberal he’d split the G-O.P. wide open. I don’t think they’ll let him do that.” * * * Split the Party OoHsne eyed his bos with genial pity. a minute ago," he pointed out, “you said that Borah could win if nominated. Now you say he’d split the party.” “Exactly.” Garret grew a little tasty. “He would lose the more tconserva tive Republicans but he would gain all the Townsend strength. He has openly pledged himself to that group and old Doc Townsend has endorsed him.” Mrs. Garret’s helper wanted to know whethre the Townsend groups w:re really big enough to have much effect on the election. “Are they?” Garret laughed short ly. “If you followed me around on my routes, you’d think so." He stopped checking his supplies to devote his mtire attention to mak ing his next sentences emphatic. “You just get out and talk to the older people,” he continued. “All they can think about is ‘When I get my first check.’ . . . One woman told me she would varnish all the floors in her house, buy a new matress for her son’s bed, and get her husband a new winter coat.” The other two men smiled. A Serious Matter “Laugh if you want to,” Garret said. “But these old people are tak ing it seriously. They don’t expost two hundred dollars a month any more. They say “Just give us fifty or even twenty-five.’ The)' believe it is possible to get that and are they working for it! In just the towns I make on my route—Athens, Colon, Union City, Leonidas and Sherwood—th? paid memberships in Townsend clubs is claimed to be obeverd 75 per cent of the total population.” “Some of the youngsters must be looking ahead quite a long way,” Oolllna laughed. Prices Tell Hfe Story “Well,” Garret terminated his re mark.? abruptly. “I don’t have to look very far to tell what I'm going to do. See those egg crates? They tell the story. “A few yc-ors ago, at eight cents a dozen, eggs werent’ worth crating. We actually poured them rv.t of a picking box when we got b:.;k from a trip—didn’t care whether • they broke or not. Now they are 18 cents and I want you boy 6 to be dam care ful how you handle ’em. Business Is better; I'm better off than I've been for years; and Roosevelt may not de serve all the credit but he at least gets my vote.” "That’s all right," said his wife, “but if old people can get a pension I’m for helping them.” “Who isn’t?” Collins inquired. "But there a a big difference between help ing and hoaxing.” You’re Telling Me? Ohio garage man ha 6 discovered a new comet. He probably was looking through his telescope for a customer who didn’t want his windshield cleaned, water in his radiator and air in his tires along with one gallon of gasoline. * * * Haile Selassie may get a job in the movies, says a news dispatch. But, will he wear his real beard or some screen writer’s adapta tion? Mussolini is aroused over evidence that bullets used by Ethopians in their war with Italy were made in Great Britain. Evidently II Duce’s patronize-h o m e-industries program includes «ft rule against Italians being hit by anything but genuine Italian made missiles. * * * Marshal BadugUo's recall to Italy Is regarded by some Euro pean statesmen as punishment. Not at all. Take a look at some of those phtographs of Ethiopia and you’ll agree the marshal is being rewarded. * * * Henry Ford says that some day we’l grow automobiles on our farms. It wil never work. You could never get a farmer to beat his plow share into a monkey wrench. * * * And imagine the back-break ing labor of trying to weed an acre of limousines free of the creeping flivvers. A recipe calling for a slow oven needs a baking temperature of be tween 250 and 350 degrees Fahren heit. A moderate oven has a tem perature between 350 and 400 de grees Fahrenheit. In North Dakota and Rhode Island where life imprisonment is the pen alty for murder, death by hanging is inflicted if a person serving a life term kills someone. Today is the Day By CLARK KINNAIRD Copyright, 1936, for this Newspa per by Central Press Association Whit Saturday, May 30; end of 22nd week of 1936. Memorial Day in 42 states, the District of Columbia, the territories and Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands. Confederate Memorial Day in Virginia. * # * NOTABLE NATIVITIES Bernard Ancil, b. 1891, orchestra leader known as Ben Bemie . . . James A. Farley, b. 1888, politician and postmaster-general . . . William Phillips, b. 1878, U. S. career diplomat and Undersecretary of State . . . Rosa Raisa, b. 1893, operatic soprano . . . “Whispering Jack” Smith, b. 1896, radio singer . . . Paul Honore, b. 1885, American artist and Illustrator. Marmaduke, Duke of Norfolk, b. 1908, premier duke and earl-marshal of of GreaJ Britain. • * • TODAY’S YESTERDAY’S May 30, 1498 —Christobol Colon, called Christopher Columbus, sailed from San Lucar with eight ships, on his third voyage to the West. On it he was to behold for the first time the continent he is erroneously credited with having discovered in 1492. He mistook this big continent for an is land, and named it Isla Santa! • * • May 30, 1775—Artemas Ward, 48, of Massachusetts, the first major genera commissioned by the Contin ental Congress, was named command er-in-chief of the Revolutionary army —a post he was to hold until George Washington replaced him. Had he conducted himself better at the Bat tle of “Bunker Hill", he might not have been replaced by Congress with Washington. He remained as the lat ter’s second In command. May 30, 1868 —The first Decoration Day, or Memorial Day, of the north ern states was observed. Decoration Day had already been suggested in the South, by a Georgia woman, but the northern holiday resulted from a letter sent to Gen. John A. Logan, commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, by an unknown Cin cinnati veteran: “I recall that in my German father land we had a beautiful custom, and I know it still exists. On a given day every May, when the Spring blos soms are abundant, the people of both sexes and all ages gather In God’s Acre, as we call our grapeyards, to lay floral offerings on the graves of our beloved dead. Now. let me ask. why cannot the G. A. °.. inaugurate a similar observance rr"imry of the Union dead." Logan’s General Ord r No. 11. dat ed May 5, 1868, provided that May 30 be observed as decoration day each year until the pasrijng of “ths last survivor of the wa r .” * * SUNDAY IS THE DAY Whit Sunday, May 31; Pentecost in Greek Catholic calendar. Morning stars: Venus, Saturn, Uranus, Jupiter, Mercur,. Evening stars: Mars, Nep tune. Moon: first quarter. (Full moon: Friday.) NOTABLE NATIVITIES Achille Ratti, b. 1857, Pope Pius XI, the reigning pontiff . . . John Ringling, b. 1866, retired circus mag nate, John G. Townsend, b. 1871, sen ator from Delaware . . . Jack Holt, b. 1889, cinemactor . . Harry W. Wood ring, b. 1890, assistant secretary of War . . . Charles G. Abbott, b. 1872, astrophysicist of Smithsonian In stitution • • • SUNDAY’S YESTERDAYS May 31, 1790—Congress enacted the first copyright law of the United States, covering books, maps and charts. This, however, was not the firsfr American copyright law. A copy right was granted to John Usher, Bos tonljpokseller, in 1672, on the laws of the colony! It was one of the conces sions he received for loaning the col ony money with which to purchase Maine. • * • May 31, 1889—The Middle part of Conemaugh reservoir cracked open at 3:30 p. m., precipitating the Johns own Flood. More of the 2,235 vic tims of the disaster were killed by fire than by wateol * * • May 31, 1901—The CWA and PWA and WPA of the U. S. A. were anti cipated. In India, 6,000,000 persons were employed on government relief works because of famine. * * • FIRST WORLD WAR DAY-BY-DAY May 30-31, 1916—Jutland, only maj or naval engagement of the war, had its climax 20 years ago Sunday. Yes terday it was told here how the Ger man and British fleet* met. Ignorant of Jellicoe's approach—his intelligence staff had failed him— Scheer turned to the aid of Hip per’s scouting force, now locked In combat with Beatty’s battle cruisers. He had no intention of fighting the whole British Grand Fleet unless he coul ddo so at an advantage or at least on equal terms. When he be came aware of Jellicoe’s nearness, his efforts were turned to evading him. But in attempting to retire, he ran into the center of the British line anr’ into a gauntlet of fire. Under cover of a smoke screen and torpedo at tack, he turned back again. Long months before Jelliooe had w arned the Admiralty that If a chance of battle came he would regard the turning away of the German battle fleet as a sign that It was trying t<"> lure him into a trap where mines and submarines lay in wait; that h' would refuse to be drawn into it. and. instead, would move quickly tc a flank.