Coral Gables Historical Archive
Coral Gables Riviera
Friday, January 2, 1942, page 4 (of 6)
The page
The text of this pageRead by computer from the scan, so some words may be wrong. The page picture is the original.
THE CORAL GABLES RIVIERA
AN INDEPENDENT COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER Published every Friday by the Miami Riviera Publishing Co., 306 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 Represented in the National Advertising Field by the American Press Association, New York City SUBSCRIPTION RATES One Year by Carrier, Coral Gables and Six Months | $1.25 One Year | $2.00 Entered as second class matter May 21, 1926, at the Postoffice at Miami, Florida, under Act of March 3, 1879.
About Speeding
The current police campaign against speeders has brought a furor of protests from those who have been apprehended. The charge has been made that officers pick out only out-of-state cars. This has been denied and police records show that an equal number of Dade County drivers have been brought to book. If those arrested have been excessively speeding the speed limit and if the officers are acting under the orders of their constituted authorities, we can see no reason why the complaints are justified. True "speed traps" can quickly give a town a bad name, if they are operated for purely revenue purposes and those arrested have not really constituted a menance to life and limb. Police should take care that only the reckless type of motorist, and not the fellow that has unconsciously 'stepped it up a little" is arrested.
A Job Well Done
The efficient and speedy mobilization of Coral Gables' reserve police force deserves the commendation of every citizen. W.Edward Winegar was commissioned to do the job, and with his characteristic efficiency, he lost no time in setting up the force. Every member was thoroughly checked and consequently the reserve squadron is of the highest caliber. The members are all ex-service men and Legionaires. This auxiliary group will be of valuable assistance to the regular police in months ahead.
Refreshing Contrast
We think that the Coral Gables float in the Orange Bowl Parade Wednesday was outstanding. As it passed by our section, we heard many words and praise. The best part about it was that it had some meaning to it. The typical Gables house, the boat and water and the children all were representative of the things Coral Gables lists as assets. It was a pleasant contrast to some of the floats that were nothing but a meaningless conglomeration of glittering baubles and pretty girls. It just goes to show you what a little thought and planning can accomplish.
Dollars and Sense
By ROMEYN W. SMITH Investment Consultant The investment trust is another source of investment advice in which we have been disappointed. There have been a few good investment management records among the trusts—but too few. The idea of an investment trust is an investment vehicle through which the investor will secure (1) broad diversification as to diversification, but many of them have been woefully weak as to investment management. Let us see just how they turned out why. Roughly speaking, we may say that there are three classes into which all investment trusts logically will fall: (1) general management trusts, (2) fixed trusts, and (3) restricted management trusts. The general management trust was the first to develop in the country, and most of them made their appearance in the early twenties. Several more were created in 1924 and 1925. But it was not until 1928 and 1929 that the general management "trust business" came into its greatest popularity. It was unfortunate, both for the trust movement and for the investor, that this development should come at the very peak of the long trend 1921-1929 rising stock market. It was unfortunate for the trust managements because they largely ignored trends. Hardly had they started when the 1929-1932 "bear" market began. Fortune should be but a small factor in investment management, but we have heard general management trust sponsors talk of being "victims of the depression". They were victims of the depression for one and only one reason. They ignored, or refused to consider, or were unable to detect a change of major trend. But even this failure of management is not what brought the general management trust into its full disfavor. There were abuses—in some instances outright betrayal of the fiduciary respon-sibility which any individual, firm or organization which sets itself up as a manager of other people's money. Most of the abuses in the general management trust were the result of the tie-up with the bankers, who were originating, and who had for sale, other securities. Not in all cases, but in a great many, the severe drop in the share price of the general management trust was caused by the "unloading" into the trust of these other originations, which the offending houses found difficult to sell to the public. The fixed trust is another example of the lack of understanding of investment principles by the sponsors who bought them. Confining itself as it does to a single type of security (usually common stocks), the fixed trust is unthinkable to anyone who understands the idea of "What Constitutes Investment Management." Staring at almost the peak of the long upward 1921-1929 trend, fixed trust shares reflected, of course, the preceptious 80% drop in common stock prices from 1929 to 1932. The fixed trust ignores entirely every essential consideration in the successful management of money—(1) fitting types to trends, (2) the changing conditions of the various industries, and (3) the changing fortunes of individual corporations. The restricted management trust, by its very name, defeats the fundamental purpose of a trust. Management is all important. To restrict, it means you do not trust it or else it cannot be relied upon. The sales influence had too great an influence in most investment trust organizations. Most of these trust operations were set up primarily for the purpose of making a profit on the sale of the trust shares. The investment vehicle was designed and managed by those who, primarily, were organizers and salesmen. The impelling motive was sales—not management. It is little wonder that investment trusts, as a whole, have a poor record of results, which is the only thing that counts.
WALTER LIPPMANN
(Continued from Page 1) temporarily reduced, is the quickest way to repair our losses. For when the quantity of immediately available ships is smaller than we had counted on, the best remedy is to be sure to improve quality by a joint use of the two navies in the most economical way. This can only be done by allies who feel themselves bound closely together and are willing, therefore, to fight a common war. Since the character of the war requires the formation of an alliance and its corollary, which is unity of direction and a pooling of resources, there will have to be made grave and momentous decisions. Many of them will be too grave and too momentous to be taken only by the President as Commander-in-Chief and his official advisers. Since in the nature of things these decisions will often have to be taken secretly, so as not to inform the enemy, they cannot be explained to Congress and debated in Congress. It is necessary, therefore, that at the highest level of decision, there should be present—not occasionally but continually—men of great eminence who are not committed to the details of administration. They should include at least two Senators and two Congressmen,and then someone—perhaps the retired Chief Justice, Mr. Hughes—to give weight and seasoned wisdom and detachment to the councils in which fateful decisions are made. Since this is a total war, it is necessary to face frankly, and without being frightened by labels that total war requires. We have for instance, to stop talking about "defense" and to talk about the conduct of the war. That being the case, let us now call a spade a spade. Let us cease to confuse our minds about "price control". Let us talk about the reality which is that in a total mobilization the use of all essential and scarce goods has to be rationed. Let us, therefore, prepare to establish rationing, which is the only honest way of guaranteeing to all the people the necessities of life at a just price, and of eliminating waste and of conserving supplies. Let us stop talking about "labor problems" as between labor unions and private management. Let us accept in principle the conscription of all able-bodied men and women, and let us then place in the hands jointly of employers and labor leaders the duty of determining in the limits of human endurance the production of war materials. Let us face the fact that no war can be conducted without censorship, and let us stop doing badly what has to be done because we do not like to look at it directly. There will have to be censorship, and the problem is to get the kind of censorship that keeps information from the enemy and yet keeps the American people informed. Instead of pretending to ourselves that we are not going to have a censorship, and then having the censorship that works badly, let us say that we are going to have a censor and let us see that it is a good one. He has to take without the loss of any of our rights and without risking the loss of public criticism, which is so essential to good government if the press and the radio are called upon openly to assist in setting up the censorship and are continually represented in the administration of the censorship. Trained and responsible newspaper men and radio directors are quite able to recognize and enforce the distinction between information which is off the record and information that can be published. Their professional honor and their personal integrity are bound up with this distinction and in a free country a good censorship consists in acknowledging the fact that more things have to be cut off the record in time of war than in time of peace. Let us face also the fact that the purpose of "civilian defense" is to enable the civilian population to do its full duty to the fighting forces. This and not the education or the reform of citizenry is the purpose of civilian defense. It must be organized so that civilians can take care of themselves and not bother the military. It must be organized so that nothing is wasted by the civilians which is needed by the Army and the Navy. It must be organized so that the civilians cease to regard themselves as spectators at a football game and go to work doing for themselves things that, if they are not done that way, will divert time, energy, attention, and supplies from the conduct of the war. (Copyright, 1941, New York Tribune, Inc.)
OUR TOWN
by Jim Moore Wartime censorship of the press. Ordinarily speaking, one wouldn't think the weekly community newspapers would be much affected by the responsibility bestowed on the press during this period of international conflict. Yet the editors of the community papers have to watch their P's and Q's because even into papers that deal mainly with things that transpire within the city limits of the cities they serve, or in items concerning residents, can appear information that would be helpful to the enemy. In yesterday's mail came a set of instructions from Camp Blanding, advising us just what we could and could not mention about local boys at that training center. Prohibited is the mention of troop or airplane movements of any kind; location of any headquarters, strength of any garrisons; specific identification or types of units; details of weapons, location or strength of civil defense forces; black-out of army installations, numbers of draftees; groups or lists of casualities; transfer of tactical units or groups to other tactical units. We are allowed to use broad identification such as "induction station, reception center, headquarters detachment, finance department, infantry, etc." Thus it may be said, "Pvt. John Jones of Coral Gables, a Camp Blanding Infantyman", or "Pvt. John Jones, Chemical Warfare, Camp Blanding", without naming the specific unit. The IV Army Corps advises that even divisions may not be mentioned and, of course, this would apply to any subordinate units; and to other separate units. So we newspapermen hear a lot and learn a lot from talking to boys home on leave or hearing from parents that their son's unit has been transferred from one place to another, that we cannot put into print. Enemy agents are avid readers. Even the smallest newspaper is scrutinized carefully, in the hope that some personal item or story about some soldier will be the key to information about some large troop movement. Even the mention of the coming and going of groups of the navigation cadets is taboo. Because, after all, if the enemy could wipe out that group, they would cancel many, many months of important training. Just as the war reaches into every community for manpower and civilian participation—it affects the local newspaper. And just like Mr. and Mrs. John Q. Public ,the newspaper responds willingly; doing its bit to bring victory closer.
DADDY
My daddy, I would halt the years, Recall a darkness, wet with tears. The time I burned my baby knee, All night, you held the tiny me. To teach that love born of earth, However tender, great of worth, Shall never rise to heights above The glory of my daddy's love.
ANGLO-SAXON
Tonight at five, the British chief, From Washington, in Christmas words, Conferred a fervid glow of pride Upon the Anglo-Saxon line. Though danger is the lot of men, As Death so closely stalks today, Within each burns a fierce, hot love For Anglo-Saxon breed and blood. Proud Anglo-Saxon, born to rule, To plow the sea, to climb the sky, To shatter tyrants, trap deceit, To wade in blood to victory. Aye, Anglo-Saxon, valor's breed, But yours the vision, yours the vast Frontiers of earth and mind and soul To march through time with destiny.
Mark Sullivan
PRICE CONTROL FOUND NECESSARY Of the adjustments we all must make, many of them not yet realized, one of the most necessary is submission to price control. By recent developments, including the coming of actual war, price control is made more essential, more immediately urgent, and more likely. Indeed it is now practically certain we shall have it, and soon. One resistance to price control came from wage earners or persons purporting to speak for them. This has been a serious impediment, because real price control was impossible if wage rates were to be left subject to increasing rises, by pressure of strikes or otherwise. Now, however, a conference of labor and industrial leaders called by the President is expected to set up a formula for stabilizing labor relations for the duration of the war. Presumably the stabilization will include wage rates. If this is done, it will remove the necessity for including wage rates under a general price control law. If the industry-labor conference does not accomplish this, then wage rates must be included in any price control bill that is effective—and an effective one is imperative. Practically all the resistance to price control has been group resistance, like this from wage earners, and also that from farmers. Group after group shied away from price control because they were reluctant to give up possible increases in the price of what they had to sell, including labor; or they feared that other groups might get price increases, or they feared being left behind in a general price rise. That psychology of a group resistance would be fatal. If not checked it will lead to competitive price raising by groups, ending in certain disasted. On the other hand, the reason in favor of price control is universal; it applies to every group, to practically every individual. This reason can be illustrated by a thing not always thought of in this connection—defense bonds. The defense bonds are being bought by everybody, in a fine spirit of patriotism. If there were any possibility of any development that might injure the essential value of defense bonds, that would be one of the serious calamities of war. And the essential value of defense bonds could be injured by lack of price control. To protect the value of defense bonds is symbolically the largest reason for price control. Defense bonds will always be worth, in money, what the public pays for them. If a citizen buys a defense bond for $18.75, he can always turn it in to the Treasury and get back his $18.75 (plus, in future years, some interest). Nevertheless, unless we have price control, it is possible for the buyer of defense bonds to suffer detriment. The detriment may take place in the form of reduced purchasing power. The $18.75 which he pays now, would not buy as much goods when he gets the money back. The dollars will always remain the same—but the things he can buy with his dollars could become less. This reduction in purchasing power is already taking place. Price Administrator Leon Henderson says it is taking place at the rate of 1 1/2 percent a month. This just must not be allowed to go on. It can be prevented by price control. The duty to defend the defense bonds. Defense of the defense bonds is at once national patriotism and individual self-interest. The wage earner, reluctant to give up the possibility of increase in his wage rate, must realize that he is also, in most cases, a purchaser of defense bonds. What would he gain through increase in his wage rate he would lose in reduction of the essential value of his defense bond (and also, of course, in the general reduction of the purchasing power of money). What is true of the wage earner is true also of the farmer, of every class. All would suffer detriment, not only in respect to defense bonds but in respect to life insurance and in many other forms. Defense of the defense bonds is a large basis for national unity, based on self-interest as well as patriotism. Also, price control would avert another possible danger—hoarding, followed by rationing, particularly of food. The average person, if he hoards at all, does so not so much through fear of scarcity as through fear of higher prices later on. This fear, price control can dissipate. There is no real likelihood of scarcity of food in America, and hence no likely necessity for rationing. That experience of other nations at war, such as England, we can escape. Scarcity might arise out of hoarding, but the motive for boarding can be averted by price control. As to articles other than food, such as raw materials for manufacturing, it may be desirable to have both price control and rationing. But as to food and perhaps clothing, the dangers of scarcity, hoarding and rationing can be averted by sound price control. What is said here is about price control in principle. As to the particular form of the bill, there is not space here to make refinements. On the broad subject there have been advertise and thorough hearing by committees of Congress—
ONE'S ON YOU
SAGE ADVICE—A friend of our who works in a Northern shipyard where defense craft is going out at a rapid rate tells us about the speed-up as a result of the war declarations. In the men's locker room a sign advises the employees: "Come on, boys, you can't beat the Japs in here." * * * * * DIRTY TRICK—Mrs. Beryl Chapman would like to get her hands on the moronic practical joker who called several prominent Gableites and invited them over to the Chapmans for dinner this week. The S. Duffield Hopkins' and the Bradbury Barnes' were also victims of the trick. * * * * * SORRY, NO APPLES—The phone rang the other day, and when we'd answered a lady said, "Will you take this down, please." We poised our pencil and got ready to take, what we thought would be a news story. Then it came. "Two dozen oranges, one peck of apples, a pound of butter—" "Wait a minute," we cried, "This is The Riviera." "Oh," said the lady, "I thought I was talking to my grocery store." * * * * * HUMAN NATURE—"People are funny," mused Tom Manning, local theatre manager. "We can run 'For Adults Only' in an ad for a picture and every kid in town will show up, while if we bill a picture especially for children, the kids have a hard time finding seats because of the adults." * * * * * BICYCLING—Incidentally, we learned a new theatre term the other day. It's called "bicycling". It applies to a picture that is playing at two theatres at the same time and only one set of film available. It necessitates a messenger shuttle service between the two movie houses. As each reel is completed, it is rushed to the other theatre, sometimes with only a few seconds to spare. Dan Boone, of the Gables, had a headache like that on Christmas Day and the other theatre was way up in the northeast section. * * * * * MUNICIPAL FLORISTS—It's strange how far some people think their tax dollar will go. A. B. Curry tells us that the city has received calls from women, planning dinner parties, asking the city to send over some flowers (gratis) to decorate the table. * * * * * INCONSIDERATE—From an army camp comes this one about two former Gableites, Kitty and Tom Roberts. Tom, now a lieutenant in the medical corps, called his house the other day to tell Kitty that he wouldn't be able to come home for a dinner party, because the general had ordered him to accompany him on a mission to another post. "But Tom," she asked, incredulously, "doesn't the general know we're having folks in for dinner." * * * * * CRACKER TALE—A minister we know tells this one about a Georgia boy, who stopped in a swanky New York restaurant on his first trip to the Big Town. Seeing snails on the menu, he asked in amazement; "Do y'all eat snails up hyar?" "Certainly," replied the waiter, "Don't you eat them in Georgia?" "I reckon we would," the lad drawled, "if anybody could ever ketch one."