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Show This Week b ARTHUR BRISBANE Russia Trades and Reads Who Understands Money? Forty at a Cock Fight More About Gilgamesh Russia, realizing that commerce is sumetians more loan a "mere capitalistic capital-istic invention lor the enrichment of the lew," allows peasants to sell gram ana meat, markets are organized, and Kussia is pleaseu. There is not niucn pleasure in having rubles if you can't spend them, or iu raising pigs it you can't sell pork. That may not be perfect per-fect "Communism" but that is how human beings are made. This change in Russia's" policy would seem to indicate success for Stalin. As men become successful, they become more conservative. Various minds Interpret in various ways the news that comes out of Russia, Rus-sia, but there cannot be two opinions about this. Russia has three times as many newspapers today as she had uuuer the czars, and ten times aa many newspaper news-paper readers. Pravda, published In Moscow, official offi-cial organ of the Communist party, has a uaily circulation of 2,200,001). Inves-tia, Inves-tia, another Russian official organ, sells two million papers a day. The Peasant's Gazette, published every ev-ery three days, circulates three million copies, and has in addition fifteen regional re-gional editions, besides its edition of three millions. There is no free press in Russia, which means that there is no reliable safety valve. But at least the people are reading. Mr. Mills, Secretary of the Treasury, and Eugene Meyer Jr., head of the Federal Fed-eral Reserve Board, agree that it would be a mistake to keep pouring out money until the dollar's purchasing purchas-ing power comes down to the 192U level. The Government couldn't restore 1926 prices if it tried, Mr. Mills says. The dollar would be made cheap without with-out necessarily making products more valuable. Mr. Mills and Mr. Meyer, both aole financiers, agree that you can cut down the value of the dollar but you can't put up the value of products. The public begins fo think that nobody no-body really knows anything about money, especially when trouble comes. In northern New York forty men were arrested at a cock fight. The police po-lice got fifteen live game cocks, seven dead ones, killed In battle for the amusement of "primates" standing around the cockpit. Fighting cocks have their natural spurs cut off and sharp steel needles are attached to the stumps. The thrust of a needle through the brain ends the fight. The birds will endure unlimited suffering suf-fering from other wounds and fight on. It is hard for us to realize that that was once a favorite sport of English Eng-lish Kings, or that serious Englishmen, English-men, not long ago, objected to a ban on bull baiting, saying that Englishmen, if they did not see blood, might lose courage. It was necessary for them to see savage sav-age bulldogs tear the muzzles of miserable mis-erable tethered bulls. The Field Museum-Oxford University Univer-sity expedition in Mesopotamia fluds a tablet four thousand years old, supplying sup-plying fifty missing lines in the epic ot Gilgamesh, who was to the literature litera-ture of ancient Babylon what Ulysses was to Greece. Some of his adventures suggest writings in the Old Testament. Especially Es-pecially bis escape from a great flood like the one that threatened Noah. Among northern peoples, the adventures adven-tures ot Beowulf suggest the career of Gilgamesh, but Beowulf's wildest achievements, Including his swim ot six days and nights in the ocean, dressed In full armor, and his fights with marine animals, seem tame compared com-pared with the Gilgamesh career. Primitive men were children. And all delighted in fairy stories. Even when writing history. Advertising is a great power. Newspapers News-papers possess it, but don't use it. They advertise everything except themselves them-selves and the value of advertising, which is the greatest force for restoration res-toration of prosperity. Z. Robert Clary, of The Glendale News Press, Glendale, Calif., says: "If newspapers would devote half as much space to advertising themselves them-selves a3 they are now devoting to advertising the depression, they would do well." A sound suggestion. Our civilization has always been efficient ef-ficient in punishing crimes against money. Forgers go to prison; counterfeiters, counter-feiters, including those of unusual ability from all over the world, find themselves no match for government detectives. But this country has been slow in suppressing offenses aglnst human beings, be-ings, murders In public streets, holdups, hold-ups, "putting on the spot" racketeering, taking men "for a ride" and throwing them out murdered, and all the other crimes that have been developed in this prohibition-bootleg age. It is good news that the national government hereafter will take the stealing of a child as seriously as It has always taken the counterfeiting of a ten dollar bill. l$,1932, by King FttcufM Syndicate, Inc.) |