Coral Gables Riviera

Friday, August 22, 1941, page 6 (of 8)

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CORAL GABLES RIVIERA

-PAGE 6- -THE CORAL GABLES RIVIERA- FRIDAY, AUG. 22, 1941 CORAL GABLES RIVIERA AN INDEPENDENT COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER Published every Friday by the Miami Riviera Publishing Co., 206 Coral Way, Coral Gables, Fla. Established January, 1926 Combined with the Dade County and Coconut Grove Times, 1929. ALBERT E. HARUM President and Publisher JAMES B. MOORE Managing Editor Mailing Address, P. O. Box 704 Telephone 4-1634 Member, Florida Press Association National Editorial Association SUBSCRIPTION RATES One Year by carrier, Coral Gables and immediate vicinity $2.00 Six Months $1.25 One Year by Mail $3.00 Entered as second class matter May 21, 1926, at the Postoffice at Miami, Florida, under Act of March 3, 1879.

Think It Over

Coming right on the heels of the passage of the new budget, the proposal to hike the automobile inspection cost from 50 cents to 75 cents is a bit hard to understand. Presumably the new budget estimates enough income to operate the police and fire departments without seeking additional revenue, and while the raise in cost is slight to individual owners, it does not seem like good policy to us. It has been argued that the City of Miami has increased its charges for auto inspections and that the smaller municipalities in the area are all following suit. This conclusion, in our estimation, does not hold water. If we followed suit on every move made by Miami, we hate to think what would become of our community. Then, too it must be taken into consideration that Miami, at a large cost, has installed elaborate automotive testing equipment at its inspection station. If Coral Gables contemplated installing similar equipment, an increase inspection cost might be justified. But at the present time no such acquisition is scheduled. Unless some unforeseen and pressing need for additional revenue has arisen, unprovided for in the budget estimate, we feel that the commissioners should deliberate a long time before ordering the price increase.

Furlough

And now a new opportunity presents itself for Coral Gableites to make a sacrifice in the interests of National Defense! Sometime Lagoon is reaching into the pockets for an annual boat ride and suggests that you purchase your tickets and turn them over to a cadet and his date. Of course, if this is done on a wide enough scale—and it should be—the wide decks of the yacht Seven Seas won't be able to stand the strain. That's where the sacrifice comes in—many will have to stay away from the outing in order to provide a day of fun for far-from-home cadets. But that kind of an opportunity doesn't happen along every day and this is little to ask in behalf of these boys who are being crammed and are cramming in our interests.

On Loaf of Bread

It would be a pretty easy affair for a bank teller to write a family history on almost any single one of the bank's clients—simply by studying the family's bank balance, their deposits, and the names of the recipients of their checks. Every activity of the family structure is reflected in the family bank account. If there is illness the amount gets low and money gets tight. A sudden windfall brings a big balance and rush of checks reducing that balance. While the family bank account mirrors the woes and smiles of the family, the food counter and the prices of food mirror our national economics. Inflation puts money in everyone's pocket and food goes up in price. Depression brings scarcity of money and low prices. We are glad to see that a group at the University of Miami is surveying this food problem. We are headed for an inflationary period unless the Government at Washington is checked. It is probable that we'll have food prices unless stiff competition between food traders can keep them down. The survey group at the University has found that if the supply holds out, competition will be the guardian of the dinner table and the consumer's interest.

New Code Is Welcome

After all the bickering attendant on the recent water revenue bond election, we're certainly glad to see the city doing something about codifying its election laws. A clear set of such laws, covering every possible phase of general, special and freeholder elections should do a lot to clear up misunderstandings that have existed in the past. The code should be definite and contain no obscure passages that could possibly be interpreted more than one way. In other words, it should be a complete working code. The move to keep registration books open at all times, except for brief periods prior to elections, is a suitable companion work to the election law codification. With this in force, no citizen will be able to claim that he was not given every oppor- tunity to qualify himself as an elector. The citizenry should remember, however, that this will not apply to freeholder registrations. These, because of constant changes in property ownership, must be held just prior to each freeholder election. It's the only equitable way of doing it.

Tribute to the Editorial

The Barret Company, manufacturers of road-building materials, has launched a national advertising campaign paying tribute to the newspapers of North America. The first of the series, which will show how the press has been a factor in the development of good roads, begins with this thought: "They have turned the glaring light of truth into the darkest corners. They have defied corruption, instituted reforms, inspired minds to action, commanded progress. They have warned, advised, consoled and commended. They are the words of the American newspaper editorial ... and they have helped to build America."

The Oldtimers

I CAN REMEMBER WHEN I WAS A BOY AND USED TO DRIVE TO THE CITY WITH A LOAD OF PRODUCE TO GO TO A BURLESQUE SHOW OCCASIONALLY, BUT I NEVER SAW ANYTHING FUNNIER THAN WHAT WE SEE ON OUR STREETS TODAY

THE AIR by Jim Moore

We sat up in the commission chamber one evening this week and watched while some 30 young fellows listened with rapt attention as the structure of our municipal government was explained to them. As A. W. Barrett outlined the development of the commission-city manager form of government, explained its advantages, we took special note of the expressions on the faces of these young men. Despite the warmth of the evening, there was no squirming—no glancing at watches. These fellows were alert, interested. They sat forward on their chairs and took in every word. These were not Coral Gables youths, learning about their home town, but lads many, many miles away from their home talk, eager to learn something about the country they are visiting for a few brief months. Their country, England, is engaged in a bloody conflict to preserve the ideals of Democracy, which we, too, hold sacred. They are here on a serious mission. As student-cadets stationed at the University of Miami, they are being taught principles that will enable them to guide Royal Air Force bombers on balance in enemy territory and bring them back again. The course is intense, takes most of their time, yet they eagerly gave up several hours of precious free time to learn how the government in their host community operated. Remembering how we used to squirm in our classes in contemporary government, during our school days, it was hard to realize that these boys were really interested. As we sat there, we couldn't help but think that this attentive silence was just politeness—that these boys would much rather be seated in a motion picture or engaging in some other form of recreation. The city had invited them to the session, and we were rather inclined to believe that they were just being courteous. That thought was soon blasted. When Mr. Barrett, Mayor Joe Whitley and City Manager A. B. Curry were through talking, the cadets were asked if they had any questions they wished to propound. Now we've attended many meetings that ended up in an open forum, and 99 times out of 100, when the speaker asked for questions, he was greeted with a bored silence. Not this time. There was but a brief pause, and then a tall youth arose and, in clipped accent, asked to have the method of tax assessment explained. He was followed by another and another. Each question was pertinent, serious, seeking information. "How is an election conducted?" "How do you arrive at your millage rate?" "Can a commissioner succeed himself in office?" "Can the city institute property condemnation proceedings?" "What is the operating budget for 1941-42?" "How is money for capital investment raised?" These are but a few of the questions that kept the city officials busy with answers. They would have probably continued for hours, but the meeting had to be adjourned to take the cadets to the Fire and Police Department and explain its workings. As those questions flew thick and fast we wondered how many Gableites would be able to answer them—how many local people would give up an evening to attend a similar session to learn something about their home town. Many times we have encountered residents, who have lived here many years, who couldn't name the commissioners—couldn't tell what form of government we have in Coral Gables. Most of us take these things for granted. We get our tax bills every year, grumble that they are too high, pay them and let it go at that. Many of us do not even bother to vote at election time, content to let George do it. Civic government is something intangible, something that goes on up at City Hall that we haven't the time to find out about. Yet these boys, who probably will never see Coral Gables again, inquiringly probe into the ramifications of our city's operations. In a few short weeks, these boys will go forth to fight, some die, for the very principles that make our form of government possible. We sit back and take it as a matter of course. We should learn a lesson from the interest these British lads have shown in our city. We should be inspired to find out for ourselves some of the things they learned. It would be splendid if the city would stage similar sessions for the citizenry, so that local residents could become thoroughly grounded in these matters. But we wonder if anybody would attend.

Dollars and Sense

By ROMEYN W. SMITH Investment Consultant Any investment program requires two basic fundamentals, dollars and sense. By sense, as used here, we mean expert management. Expert management is rare. We shall attempt to explain the meaning of investment management. Perhaps a better term would be investment strategy. For the management of money and securities is a perpetual battle against numerous uncertainties. The interdependence of world economy today only adds to the investment problem. We must contend with the wars and political situations in Europe, the Far East and in South America; the trust policies of our own government regulation of business, prices and monetary manipulation. We must bear in mind the probable ultimate effect on our own economy, situation of tremendous Federal expenditures, of mounting Federal debt, and of constant changes and increases in taxes. Our daily reading material hinders, rather than helps, our understanding of investment problems. Too often it is a smattering of unco-ordinated and conflicting information. Instead of instructing untutored investors, financial information, taken as a whole, tends to supply them with something they do not need and should not have. Anyone can have $2,000.00 or $1,000,000.00, managing money is a complex problem. Unless you know what you are doing (which is unlikely without years of specialized training) you soon find yourself wandering—wandering in a maze of rates, yields, carnings, recommendations, tips and propaganda. The first objective of every investor is to conserve the principal he or she already has accumulated. The second objective is to secure as much income and capital gain as is consistent with reasonable safety. Few people can answer the question—"What is investment management?" They check earnings, investigate managements, study capital structures and generally strive to procure safety, a fair yield, marketability, and a reasonable opportunity for profit. This procedure indicates the amateur. Plainly, the question is: "How is money managed?" How do you do it? What methods are used? And why? Before attempting to manage money, a clear conception must be had of the three major problems involved. Let us see if we can set them down clearly: Successful management involves three important steps: 1. Major trends of business conditions and of security prices must be anticipated with a fair degree of accuracy; and those types of investments used which will best conserve capital in falling markets and assure profits in rising markets. 2. Whether the trend of average security prices be up or down, the investment manager must determine, with a fair degree of accuracy, the future prospects of each of over thirty major industries. 3. Having determined what type of security is best suited to the current trend of business and prices; and having determined which industries are in a favorable position, the investment manager will then (and not until then) proceed to select the best individual corporations among the most favored industries. Unfortunately, the most people with manageable funds employ only step number three. It is little wonder that their "investment results," which really are based upon speculative methods and poor guessing, are far from satisfactory. Before closing our first article, we wish to emphasize an important point in the field of investment management. A true investment manager, or investment consultant, never accepts the custody of his clients' cash and securities. Instead, he insists that they keep them where they belong—with their banker or broker, or with both.

A LETTER FROM A SELECTEE

Fort Jackson, S. C. Editor, The Riviera: Your paper is a "live" sheet now and that's what counts. Why, even I'm interested in the drive to obtain medical attention and homes for puppies; I'm all for Woolworth's occupying a site in your fair town; and even I wish they'd settle the question as to who should hold the deed to the Woman's Club building. That's the test of a real newspaper—if it can get an ex-local, especially a selectee, all het up about the wants and needs of Coral Gables. I like your column "This One's on You" and that advertisement "We Call Ourselves Good Citizens" met one of the best I've ever read. The way you've been and are promoting that "Entertain a Cadet" movement is the way it should be run—on a refined basis. No cadet could feel he was a "charity case"—as I have often felt and, consequently, have turned down offers. Call it what you may, but I resent the attitude of some folks who invite and entertain soldiers in their homes. It may be the way they comb their hair or the way they pass the spuds that irritates me, I don't know—but I do know I feel terribly uneasy. I have the feeling that they are doing it only because "it's the thing to do" and not because they have members of their own family in the service and really want to do it. Be a good fella and s'long. JOHN.

Red Takes a Turn

BROOKLYN, N. Y., Aug. 22 (FNS).—Walter L. Barber, better known as "Red" to his former University of Florida classmates and to sports fans throughout the nation, turned from baseball to bass viols, last week, according to a story in the current issue of Time Magazine. "Red" is the official announcer over Mutual's WOR of all games played by the Brooklyn Dodgers. Last week he served as commentator with the New York Philharmonic Symphony, broadcasting from the Lewisohn Stadium and featuring composer Robert Russell Bennett's Symphony in D for the Dodgers. Barber also makes a 15-minute broadcast five nights each week for Pathe News.

In Our Mail

Editor, The Riviera: I should like to call attention to a daily occurrence in the parking situation downtown, and a part I have recently had in it, and for which I was "called" by a Coral Gables policeman. The incident occurred last Friday as I sought a place to park on the north side of Ponce de Leon Boulevard near Tanner's and the Table Supply stores. After making the proper turn (at the intersection) I came slowly down the street. Several places could have been available had the "parker" paid any attention to the yellow lines marking the territory, but motorists had approached from the south and turned directly in front of the store, thereby putting their own car on an angle just enough to keep another car in the right angle from parking. I went on down and finally parked in front of the Table Supply (in fact, right smack up against a fire hydrant). Now you know, Mr. Editor, the fire hydrants in this town are never used to extinguish fires, for fires never occur in the fire-proof buildings (see ordinance). Nevertheless, there is a law prohibiting the parking of a car within ten (10) feet of a "plug". Officer Edwards was quite correct in calling my attention to my ignorance in so doing, and quite courteous in so doing, and I told him so. But, Mr. Editor, I appeal through your columns to the people who drive and park; please follow the yellow lines, or the parking areas in front of the grocery stores and other stores and give us all a chance. DISGRUNTLED LADY. * * * To the Hon. Mayor Joe Whitley, the City Commissioners and the City Manager, A. B. Curry: May I express the very deep appreciation of the Girl Scouts of Coral Gables and the Little House Committee for granting permission to build on city property located at Granada Boulevard and Bird Road. Because of the beautiful site we have tried to build a house befitting its location. Twelve groups ranging in ages from seven to eighteen, totaling over two hundred Girl Scouts and Mariners, will use this house as a meeting place; Monday being the busy day with one group using it in the morning, another 1 to 3 P. M. and a third from 3:15 to 5:00 P. M. At least three groups will have evening meetings. The need for a Community Girl Scout House has been felt for some time and will now enable additional groups to be started as well as provide a broader program for the troops already in existence. Sincerely yours, HELGA G. HINCKLEY, Chairman Coral Gables Girl Scout House Committee.

This One's on You

LOFTY TITLE—Veteran civic club members are quite familiar with the large celluloid buttons worn by the week- ly lunchers. The badges carry the member's name, nickname and his business classification. Unique is Frank Holley's, with the legend "Merchant Prince" for his occupational tag. POSITIVE PROOF—Petite Miss Dorothy Carrouthers, who has passed the voting age, but because of her small stature looks to be about 14, has a sure way of convincing election officials and bartenders of her legal status. She makes it a practice to carry her birth certificate with her at all times. POLITENESS PAYS—Mary Place was quite impressed when a bathing suited youth politely offered to carry her chair last week at the Venetian Pool community party. You see, chairs were at a premium and Mary had corraled one and was lugging it to a vantage point. With a sigh of relief she handed it to the lad and started to walk toward the spot she had selected. When she turned to show him where she wanted it placed, the youth had vanished and so had the chair. NOT SO QUICK—Little Clare Frances Flanagan was in the office the other day exhibiting some cut-out pictures of birds she had made. In our best art-critic manner we pointed to a bird cut out of brilliant red paper and asked, "What kind of a bird is that?" "Why, a Red Bird," was the natural rejoinder. Still ignoring the obvious, we pointed to one clipped from blue paper and repeated our question. Very patiently she told us that it was a Blue Bird. Then, seeing how stupid our questions must have seemed, we tried to cover by saying paternally, "I guess we should have known that, shouldn't we?" "Yeah," she shot back, "you must be sleepy." POSTCARD PATTER—A radical departure from the usual chatty notes on the back of postcards is contained in one received by Karl Schmitz from James C. Ray, who is vacationing in Ottawa, Canada. Says Mr. Ray, who didn't want to leave the Gables in the first place, "Wish you were here—Wish I was THERE!" ARMY STUFF—That bronzed hoary youth you don't see sitting at the Venetian Pool's lifeguard station any more is (or was) Francis Willard Zimmerman—Sunny to Russ Ellington and the paying customers. Reason you don't see Sunny (or Francis Willard) any more's because he's become an Uncle Sam stalwart; he's shouldering a shoulder-arm, oh, yeah, he's "joined" the army. Lifeguard Zimmerman wasn't quite sure about how he felt about the Army, Life, and the Future, right after he received his summons. "I'll probably die and good for me, put me in good shape and stuff. But it's like chopping three years off your life and not knowing what's going to happen afterward. But I don't begrudge the government my service." Sunny's place at the Pool is now occupied by Milton (Happy) Howland, who's as blond as Sunny was dark; as pink as his predecessor was brown. OKAY, OKAY—We took Tom Henderson to task last week for using the word "Euthymol" in a communication to the editor. A diligent search by our research staff failed to locate said word in the dictionary, the nearest approach being "Euthemy." However, the following rhyme, received from the Gables poet laureate in explanation seems to clear up the "Mystery of the Elusive Bon Mot." Winchell Coins Words— So Why Not I? Euthymol is the kind of word That Webster might have called absurd. Democritus—in things he wrote Almost used it, and we quote Euthymy—"the end of ethics." What innocuous distraction? Euth—or youth is what I meant With thymol added to foment A stimulus to give me zest! O Youth, Euthymol, Be My guest! NO PLACE LIKE IT—Mary Ann Batcheller, 9-year-old daughter of the George Batchellers, underwent a tonsillectomy last week at Jackson Memorial Hospital. Next morning the doctor called on Mary Ann in her room, and asked: "How do you feel, Mary Anne?" Answered Mary Anne: "Completely awful. There's no place like home." KISSING vs SHOOTING—We took our children, aged 8 and 5, to see Ginger Rogers (our favorite actress) in "Tom, Dick & Harry" the other day. The older boy sat through four or five long kisses, finally grumbled: "She kisses everybody. There's too much about girls in this picture. Let's go, Dad, I want to see some shooting. The younger boy kept his woes to himself.