Indianapolis Times, Volume 47, Number 303, Indianapolis, Marion County, 27 February 1936 — Page 14

PAGE 14

The Indianapolis Times (A SC RUTS-HO WARD NEWSPAPER) ROT W. HOWAIID I’reaMent LUDWELL I>E.VNT Editor EARL D. HAKER Bnainer. Manager

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THURSDAY. FEBRUARY 27. 1936. WHY THE ASSASSINATIONS? XTOT because East is East and West ‘.s West hut rather because things political are seldom what they seem, Americans are likely to have difficulty in making sense out of the latest Japanese assassinations. Aimed by the military, so the cabled stories seem to agree, primarily at the aged Takahashi, finance minister, the hot-headed attack takes also the lives of those mild military men, Admiral Okada, premier, and Admiral Saito, former premier. Why? Perhaps because of their very mildness. For all accounts coincide in accusing that extreme group in the army which wishes to push Japanese conquests farther and which resents the growing conservatism in that respect of the civil government of which Okada was the head. As for Takahashi. He, a great financier and industrialist, had the job of raising the money for the military program, a job that has become harder and harder as the military ambition flames higher and higher. His disposition naturally, if only because of the difficulty of his task, was to restrain the spreading military imperialism. u tt u IN our language, Takahashi and his colleagues have come to be called liberals. Liberal is a very loose word even when applied to our own domestic afTairs. It requires special definition as applied to the Japanese situation. It appears to mean those who seek to assert the power of civilians against the military element, the processes of parliament against the independent power of the army and the navy. For the army and navy in Japan are not the creatures of parliament and subject to its control as is the case in this country or in European countries having the parliamentary system. Yet the conflict between the two elements is not simply that of all civilians against all militarists. The principal political parties in Japan represent primarily the business and industrial elements as in other countries. They would hardly be called liberal in the more usual Western sense of the word; it would not be said they represent economic liberalism. That being so it is hard for us to understand why the conflict. The army and navy, experience reveals, is usually at the service of business and industry in all countries. But that has not been the case in Japan, and therein lies the very important distinction. ' The cult of the Samurai, Japan’s military nobility, is unsympathetic to business. The greatness of Japan is their religion. They fight to extend its gloiy and what they conceive it to mean spiritually; they don’t fight, they say, to exploit other lands for Japanese business men and industrialists. They point to Manchukuo, the puppet state they have set up, to prove their point. The bankers and industrialists have not been permitted to follow the flag there. Banking in Manchukuo is a state function, the gieat industries, railroads, mines and the rest even the principal hotels—are owned in principal part by the government. Some of the military men dieam not only of making this system permanent in Manchukuo, but of extending it to Japan proper. A fantastic dream, no doubt, in the light of the extraordinary competence of Japanese financial and Industrial leaders, a competence shown by a commercial invasion of the western world on a scale to astound even the most obsessed military patriot. tt tt tt PATRIOTISM is the religion of Japan and its historic custodians are the military men. Its symbol is the Emperor. The military have an independent access to the throne. They strike in deadly warning whenever threatened with civilian restrictions. And they are well beyond the reach of fear, for if they die for their assassinations they have died, so they feel, for their Emperor. It is pretty hard to do anything with an outfit like that. Yet intelligent Japanese believe the net effect of yesterday’s tragedy will be to strengthen the hands of the moderationists —those who are endeavoring to restrain Japan's military ambitions. Previous assassinations have not stopped the development of this sentiment. The elections of a few days ago, the very elections that precipitated this latest outbreak, showed a considerable gain in the strength of the moderationists —and this in the face of previous assassinations, of which there have been pTnty in the last dozen years. Most of us will hope that this belief is well founded, for we have come to dislike war as an instrument of national policy and we never did like assassination as an instrument of party policy. * “HE WHO GOT SLAPPED” BALD William Lemke, who yields to none in a free-for-all fight, emerged as the man who got slapped in the Father Coughbn vs. John O'Connor bout that didn’t happen. Rrp. Lemke, leader of the House inflationists, found his greenback bill farther from success than before the fiery priest came to his support and was rewarded with Rep. O’Connor’s signal for the Capi-tol-to-the-White-House place-kick, with Father Coughlin defending the west goal. Now Rep. Lemke can count only 207 names on his petition to force the inflation bill to a House vote. Administration leaders say the verbal lashing administered by Reps. O’Connor and Boland to Father Coughlin has so stiffened the opposition that the measure ceases to be a threat this session. A couple of weeks ago 215 members had signed—only three short of the number required to compel a vote. After Father Coughlin's first attack, in which he accused House members of cowardice, the names began dropping off, despite the pleas of Rep. Lemke and his followers. Rep. Lemke isn't giving up, however. Back of his present fight is a long history of battles in his native North Dakota. The inflationist leader isn't one of the hardhanded farmers whose cause he so persistently champions, although his cloth cap, awry necktie and baggy trousers might fool you. He is a Yale law graduate, but he has little patience with professors at Yale, or anywhere else, particularly those with theories about money. Rep. Lemke is a sort of political chameleon. He classifies himself as a non-partisan although he has been elected twice oh the Republican ticket. He votes oftener with the Democrats than with Republicans, and in 1932 he campaigned for Roosevelt. He grew up politically with Senator Lynn Frazier, '• - ' '-i'■ ,-v.- -VI . i '•• ’A..

co-author of the present inflation bill. Both were apostles of Arthur C. Townley, the “radical autocrat’’ who oiganized the Northwest farmers into a cohesive political body In 1315. Townley built the Non-Partisan League as an outlet to agrarian discontent. and in 1918 and 1920 it elected Frazier * Governor and in 1921 made Lemke attorney general. Lemke drafted the laws by which North Dakota conducted one of the most ambitious socialistic experiments ever attempted in the United States. Opponents of the League program have succeeded in eliminating pnly one phase of the original scheme —the Home Building Association, which was tc make low-interest loans to small-income families. • ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER Press Chief Hanfstaengl gave a luncheon in Berlin on George Washington's birthday, at which he described with oratorical flourish the similarity between the Father of Our Country and Adolf Hitler. Os course that got publicity in American newspapers, but hardly enough to erase from American mind an impression gained a few cays previous as to what American the Reichsfuehrer most closely resembles. We refer to the banning, because of the mustache, of Charlie Chaplin films from German theaters and Cliarliw Chaplin dolls from German show windows. Dictators can’t stand to be laughed at. NO TIME TO LOSE T TUMANITY and reason join in demanding that Congress brush aside a few obstructionists and enact the Kerr-Coolidge deportation bill. And it should make this rational measure into law before the end of the month. This bill would give the Department of Labor two powers it lacks. One is to prevent the deportation of innocent aliens who are deported because of the law’s technicalities. The other is to send back to their own countries thousands of vicious and criminal aliens that the law now protects. March 1 is the deadline for 2862 such innocent aliens whose exile must begin then. The Labor Department has held off sentence of banishment for two years, hoping Congress would act. A handful of extreme exclusionists, demanding finger-printing of aliens, quota reductions and other uon-related measures, have sabotaged the bill’s passage, until now doomsday looms within a week for these hapless families. To let these relatively few aliens remain is more than humane; it is good economy. Immigration Commissioner Mac Cormack estimates that their going will leave 6389 relatives, most of whom are American citizens and at least 4000 of whom will become public charges. While these assimilable strangers face deportation at least 20,000 alien criminals—dope peddlers, racketeers and others now undeportable—roam at will through the cities plying their lawless trades. The dangerous presence of these crooks and parasites must be laid to the door of those congressmen who have prevented passage of the Kerr-Coolidge bill for two sessions. Let us have an end to this cruel and senseless paradox. HOW TIME FLIES! SHARES of 13 British munitions companies have risen in value more than 200 per cent since last year when Britain announced she would re-arm. This reminds us that in the Emperor Justinian’s enlightened reign nearly 1500 years ago such “merchants of death” were outlawed under a code which said: “. . . desiring to prevent men from killing each other, we have thought it proper to decree that no private person shall engage in the manufacture of weapons, and that only those shall be authorized to do so who are employed in the public arsenals, or are called armorers; and also that manufacturers of arms should not sell them to any private individual . . .”

A WOMAN’S VIEWPOINT By Mrs. Walter Ferguson '■jpHERE are only two valid reasons why women should not serve on juries, in the opinion of a judge: Bad courthouse accommodations, and the expense of a bailiff to attend them during long trials. The jury system as it exists coday is inadequate, unintelligent and does not speed justice. The addition of women will not improve it, probably, but it certainly can not harm it. So far as emotionalism goes, they are not hampered by it any more than men are; they are no less reasonable or prejudiced, and undoubtedly the mill run of them are quite as smart as men. Please remember, it is the judge speaking: “In the days when juries were first formed the* most intelligent men of the community were selected. Life was a simple affair in those communities. The jurors, therefore, knew all the individuals involved in each case as well as every detail of the matter they were to decide. They had the respect of their neighborhoods. It was a point of honor with them to further the triumph of justice. “What a different picture we have nowadays! Our lives are so complicated, it is impossible for the juror to be reliably informed on any question. He obtains his information from many sources and seldom at first hand. He is also confused by the legal language and the technical arguments he hears, which even the lawyers themselves can not always fathom. “Everything is against him, everything hinders him from straight-forward thinking with what little brain he may have. The entire jury system is losing caste, even with the bar. “Women will not be able to help the situation much, but being citizens of the republic, subject to trial themselves, they ought to bear their share o responsibility for its future failure. “The main trouble lies in this fact: Our legal business is based on customs in vogue in the dark ages. We are an airplane people dragging around an oxcart judicial system." Thank you, Judge. FROM THE RECORD J)EP. LUDLOW (D., Ind.): Every Hcosier is .. . a natural-bom politician or a natural-born poet. st tt a Rep. Short (D., Mo.): It (the farm bill) is attempted bribery of a large portion of our electorate, but my people will not . . . sell their souls fcr a mess of pottage. (Applause.) a a a Rep. Burdick (R., N. D.): If we had no gag rule in this House, the farmers would soon show tho Secretary of Agriculture a farm bill that would save farm hemes, restore purchasing power, reuye business, provide jobs for the unemployed, and furnish food for the hungry. But no; that can not be permitted. We must be compelled to vote for a bill that will positively injure our farmers instead of helping them, and will prostitute the sta£e rights of every last state in the Union.

THE INDIANAPOLIS TIMES

Squaring the Circle With THE HOOSILR EDITOR

THE water was dripping from high up on to the elevator like seepings in a cave. It was the inside frost melting on the first warm day after a record cold spell. It was, of course, the Soldiers and Sailors’ Monument on the Circle. I had paid 25 cents to go up, so ' I couldn’t turn back. But I was uni easy. Height makes me dizzy. I j have to watch myself even when I stand on my tiptoe. But the elevator man said it was all right and up we went. He pointed to unmelted frost as we went up and p. Used to closed-in elevators, this open job, climbing two rods and getting no place but up—no floors or stopping-off places—made me very, solemn. Pretty soon a roar developed in my'ears. "Is there a roar in your ears?” I asked the elevator man. “Yep,” he said; “it’s the wind. Sometimes it blows hard enough so you can hear it the minute you step on the elevator at the bottom.” “Oh,” I said.

THROUGH the oblong windows I got a dizzy view of some place in Indianapolis, but I was so mixed up I couldn’t tell which way I was looking. The elevator stopped. The door opened. “Four short flights and you’ll come upon the balcony,” the man said, and closed the door and dropped down. I was alone. The wind was roaring. I thought I felt the tower shake. Why hadn’t I asked him if it sways? I started up those “four short flights” and they were too short. Before I realized it, there burst before my jittery eyes the panorama of Indianapolis from 228 1 /2 feet above it. The wind almost got my hat. I turned back. The elevator hadn’t even gotten down before I rang for it. When he got up again the elevator'man said, “Gee! You paid. You should have looked out.” tt a tt DOWN at the bottom again T. N. Rush, the cashier, said it was an awful shame I. hadn’t taken a squint. “It did you no good at all,” he said. He’s been there three years and there are several things about people he can’t figure out. The silliest thing that ever happened was last June. A blind couple came tapping in with their canes and wanted 10cent tickets. For 10 cents you walk up 32 flights—324 steps. Mr. Rush was a little reluctant to let them go. “Why,” he said, “You can’t walk up that far.” But the man impatiently gave him to understand that they had walked it before and that they intended to do it again. tt tt A SO they got their tickets and tapped their Way to the top, about a six-minute climb. Mr. Rush got worried again and sent the elevator man up just to see if everywas all right. He came back with the report that the blind couple was up there on the balcony chatting happily and enjoying things immensely. After a while they tapped down again. Mr. Rush can’t understand that; says he sees the couple once in a while on the streets and it always sets him to wondering again. He still doesn’t know whether he did right to Jet them go up. Frequently, he says, a man will come into the place, clutching a city map and cursing softly. He’ll take a 25-cent ride to the top, complaining all the way up about the way the city is laid out. When he gets there he will spend as much as an hour looking at the map and then the city. When he comes down he’s usually smiling, Mr. Rush says, tt tt n LOTS of tourists, he says, go to the top just to pick a short way out of the city. Some people ride up in the elevator and right down again, without looking out, just so they can “tell mother I was up.” They’re usually from out of town. Last September the monument took in more than S7OO. Last Sunday, nice and warm, 99 went up. The monument employs five people in winters, six in summers. They have a lot of trouble keeping people from scratching their intials in the stone. They use wire brushes to erase them. When it was' 18 below zero there were two couples made the trip up. One was from North Dakota and one from South Dakota. They were not together. They stood on the balcony in the arctic wind for a while and then came down. They were terribly amused that people in Indianapolis thought it was cold.

TODAY’S SCIENCE BY DAVID DIETZ

COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY plans to watch the mental health as well as the >hysieal health of its students. A program im’olving a “scholar'V and scientific approach to the difficult problems of mental hygiene” is outlined in the annual report of Dr. William H. McCastline, university medical officer, to President Nicholas Murray Butler. The program which seeks both to prevent mental ills and to increase the efficiency of the student body through the use of psychiatry, has been worked out under the direction of Dr. Earle H. Adams. Dr. McCastfine feels that in the past there has not been sufficient preventive work in the field of psychiatry. Too often the attitude has been that mental ills were something to attack after they had reached the acute stage. ‘•By timely treatment in the late teens and early twenties it is possible not only to forestall mental and nervous breakdowns but to increase the efficiency and therefore the contribution to his environment of the individual through better adjustments,” he says. “Mental illness has been an enigma as long as the human race has existed and it has been only within the last half century, that a scientific effort has been made to cope with the problems presented by this type of illness.’*

• THE DOCTOR’S DILEMMA!

The Hoosier Forum I disapprove of what you say, hat 1 will defend to the death your right to say it. — Voltaire.

(Times reaiers are invited to express their views in these columns, reliaious controversies excluded. Make uour letters short, so all can have a chance. Limit them to 250 words or less. Your letter must be sinned, but names will be withheld on reouest.l tt tt tt DOESN’T BELIEVE PROGRAM WILL BRING SECURITY By Subscriber Farm tenantry is rising rapidly in America. The liquidation of our kulaks is not directly due to government action, it is merely auxiliary to goverment sanction of property rights above human rights. The dispossessed are almost onehalf of the total. They have less security than the slaves who were property that went with the land in slavery days. Their shackles are stronger than those of former slaves. They are exploited, and destroy the soil’s fertility to feed the exploiters. They will face more rapid liquidation in the South as the mechanical cotton picker is introduced. The new soil conservation farm program will not provide for security for America’s disinherited kulaks. tt tt tt THINKS REASONING IS FALLACIOUS By Reader Your editorial “Behind Closed Doors” betrays the fallacious reasoning of the average American who believes that the “state” exists for the protection of the interests of the common peiple. Harold Laski so aptly shows In his work “The State” that the state

Watch Your Health

BY DR. MORRIS FISHBEIN SOME persons seem to think that temperament is an important factor in causing overweight, and that stout people are easy-going and quiet. An investigation made abroad revealed that 60 per cent of those persons who are overweight were excitable and nervous, and that only 10 per cent were phlegmatic. In fact, an exciting fat person appears to be much more irritable than an excitable thin person. Temperament is important in reducing weight, but it is important from the point of view of the will power of the person concerned in following a strictly scientific reducing diet. As women gain maturity, have children, or approach the crucial period at the end of middle age, they acquire a special tendency to gain weight. Men in general are more active' physically for a longer period of time than are women. Men spend more time in the open air, eat more proteins and less sugars, and are less likely to try weight reducing just to look better. Following childbirth, a woman is likely to rest and eat more than she did previously. This explains the tendency at such times to overweight. The way to reduce is to find out how many calories you spend daily, and then eat 500 calories less. This will reduce your weight about one pound a week. There are many simple procedures to try. A cup of clear, hot coffee will furnish about 10 calories; addition of two tablespoons of thick cream and one lump of sugar

IF YOU CAN’T ANSWER, ASK THE TIMES!

Inclose a 3-cent stamp for reply when addressing any question of fact or Information to The Indianapolis Times Washington Service Bureau, 1013 13thit, N. W.. Washington, D. C. Legal and medical advice can not be given, nor can extended research be undertaken. Q —How can marble and granite statues be cleansed? A—With soap and water if the statues are not severely stained. If soap and water does not restore the article, marble dust or marbleoid can be used. Pumice stone is satisfactory for some bad stains. Rubbing the stain with the same kind of stone as that of which the statue is made will eradicate the more stubborn ones. Q —What is the minimum age for the office of President of the United States? A—Thirty-flvi years is the minimum prescribed by the Constitution.

is the instrument of the economic governing class to hold its power. When democracy threatens to abridge or abolish this “economic power” the governing class abolishes the democratic process. tt tt GENEALOGY PROVIDES LAUGHS FOR WRITER By Clarence Metz White The historian, John Fiske, says that in the early American days little interest was felt regarding ancestors. But in recent years it seems to be fashionable to provide one’s own pedigree along with that of one’s dog. In fact, I know of a number of cases where neighbor tries to outdo neighbor. But aside from personal pride, the pedigrees of men are interesting. In unraveling the threads of individual relationship, a more concrete grasp of the histories of different countries is obtained. Fiske further says, “Without genealogy, the study of history is comparatively lifeless.” Having indulged in genealogy as a hobby for some time, I have found many laughs even in the best of families. For instance: In the history of the family of Col. Henry Willis of Fredericksburg, Va.,who is represented in this city by perhaps half a dozen families, I find an amusing reference to the. father of George Washington as “Old Gus.” His grandson, Col. Byrd C. Willis writes: “ ’Tis said of my grandfather that he courted his three wives when maids and married them all when widows. My'father, Lewis Willis, the first of that name, was by his last wife: Her maiden name was Washington, full sister

will raise the value of a cup of coffee to 150 calories. tt u BECAUSE iced coffee usually is taken with more cream and sugar, it will give you more calories and fattening substances than plain, hot coffee. A large serving of lettuce with a little vinegar and with grated cheese will reach about 100 calories. Addition of a small amount of oil to the lettuce will double or triple its calories. Sometimes the person who wants to reduce will say, “I take nothing more than a bowl of half-and-half with crackers.” This sounds reasonable, but 20 ounces of milk with a half pint of cream, and 20 to 30 crackers, taken daily, will supply more calories than a well-selected luncheon of the type that I have previously described. Doctors usually recommend reduction in weight for persons who distinctly are too big for their height, for those who have changed from outdoor or muscular occupations to sedentary or indoor work, and for those who have high blood pressure or heart disturbances, to which added weight is a distinct hazard. When you begin to diet, you will have pain from hunger. At such times, drink plenty of water or any of the other beverages on the diet list. Cut down on the salts, spices, and condiments, because they stimulate the flow of gastric juice and increase appetite. While you are reducing weight, strenuously, keep in close contact with you doctor so he may detect the appearance of any alarming symptoms and stop the dieting before it does harm.

Q—What is the average height and weight of boys 19 years old? A—Five feet eight inches, and 140 pounds. Q—What was the relative rank of Commodore in the United States Navy? A—Next above a captain and below a rear admiral. The rank no longer exists in the active service. Q—Did the total individual incomes in the United States in 1934 exceed that of 1933? A—ln 1934, estimated income payments in the United States in the form of wages, salaries, and other labor income, interest, dividends, entrepreneurial withdrawals and net rents and royalties to individuals for economic services rendered was 49.4 billion dollars compared to 44.4 billion dollars in 1933.

to ‘Old Gus,’ the father of Gen. George Washington, first President of the United States. She had been married twice before, first to a Mr. Lewis, no issue; second, Mr. Gregory, by whom she had three daughters, married to as many Thorntons. “My father was her only son, and she named him in honor of her first husband. He was a schoolmate of Gen. Washington, who was two years his senior. The family home was on ’Willis Hill,’ adjoining Fredericksburg, which my grandfather founded. “When the second wife of my grandfather died, my grandmother (then the widow Gregory) wept immediately upon hearing of it. Upon some one’s remarking that it was strange she grieved so much for a cousin, she replied that the death of her relative was not the sole cause of her grief, though she loved her dearly; but that she knew old Harry Willis would be down to see her and she did not know what to do with him. The sequel showed she knew the man; in a little more than a month the old fellow set himself down at her door and commenced a siege; she held out for some time, but was compelled finally to capitulate! So in less than two months after the death of his second wife, he married Mildred Washington Gregory, the same who was godmother at the christening of the infant George.” It is also interesting to know that “White Hall” was the home of the Willis family before the Revolution. For some generations it has been the home of descendants of the Byrds, of Westover, among whom are conspicuous Senator Harry Byrd of Virginia and Commander Richard Byrd, pioneer aviator and Antarctic explorer. ALBION 1936? BY DANIEL FRANCIS CLANCY Will white-cheeked boys in brown Again tred the streets of London Town, Through Picadilly and the Strand, Steel-helmeted and rifle in hand? Will there be weeping mothers, and a waving flag And the strains of “Pack up your troubles in your old kit-bag”? DAILY THOUGHT I have sinned greatly, because I have done this thing: but now, I beseech thee, do away the iniquity of thy servant; for I have done very foolishly.—l Chronicles 21:8. HE that can not forgive others, breaks the bridge over which he himself must pass if he would ever reach heaven; for every one has need to be forgiven.—Herbert.

SIDE GLANCES By George Clark

|i| *

“Oh, boy.! She’s going to make a grand slam, if she only plays this haild the way I’d play it.”

-FEB. 27, 1936

Vagabond from Indiana ERNIE PYLE

SAVANNAH. Ga., Feb. 27—One night several years ago I was on a boat going down the Savannah River to the sea. About half way down, when we passed a lighthouse, I noticed that somebody was swinging a lantern on shore, and the ship gave a couple of whistle blasts in reply. I asked the captain about it, and he said it was the famous “Waving Girl.” He said she lived at the lighthouse with her brother, and had waved at every ship, day and night, for 40 years. He said the legend was that when she was young her sweetheart went to sea and never came back, and she started waving at every ship so that if he should ever return she would be the first to greet him. The captain said that sailormen all over the world knew about her. Later, on other ships and in other ports, I found that was true. Sailors from Cape Horn to Nome, and east and west too, know of the “waving girl of Savannah.” Few have ever seen her, close up. a tt tt TT7HEN I got to Savannah this time, I thought I'd drive down the river and try to see this almost mythical woman. I inquired how to get there, but was told she wasn’t there any more, that she “retired” five years ago. I finally found her in a little cottage under big trees on the road to the Isle of Hope, down on the salt flats out of Savannah, toward the sea. Her name is Florence Martus. She's 67 now. She lives there with her brother George. He’s 75. They invited me in, and we three sat around their wood stove, talking about the cold weather up north, and in Savannah, too. Miss Florence is ordinary flesh and blood. I’d half expected tt> see a mystic, unreal sort of person, legend-like even in personality. But she’s quite matter-of-fact. She is very small and weathered. Her white hair is cut short like a man's, only in front it’s longer and curled up across her forehead. She had on a brown sweater. “Is it true that you never missed waving at a single ship in 40 years?” I asked her. “Yes, I guess it is. Even longer than that. How long were w r e there, George?” , tt tt tt “Tj'ORTY-FOUR years,” brother George said, sucking at his pipe. Brother George was the lighthouse keeper, and sister Florence kept house for him. Just the two of them, on Elba Island, in the Savannah River, for 44 years. “Weren’t you ever sick and missed some?” She said, “No; I was never too sick to get up when one was coming.” “How did you know when one was coming at night? Didn’t you ever sleep?” “Oh, I could always hear %un. It didn’t bother me any to gt%up in the night. I got plenty of sleep. There wasn’t much else to do.” “Now, please don’t mind me asking this, but is that legend true about your sweetheart going away and never coming back? Is that why you waved at ships?” “Oh, that old stuff!” She said it sort of testily. She didn’t say whether it was true or not, and I couldn’t tell from her tone. “Why, I was born and raised right down at the mouth of the river, and we knew all the local tugboat and schooner captains, and it was only natural that I should wave at them when they passed. And then I just got to waving at everybody.” tt tt tt ■pvURING all that 44 years Miss Florence kept a dairy and a log book. She wrote down what she thought and did every day, and listed every ship that passed—its name, where it was from, what kind it was, and so on. The ledger filled four big volumes. George had to retire five years ago, and the day they left the island and moved into town, Miss Florence sorted out her stuff. “The young people nowadays,” she thought to herself, “don’t want to read any of this old junk. It’ll just collect dust.” So she threw it in the fire! The daily record, for 44 years, of one of the most legendary figures of the Seven Seas, kept in her own hand, gone up in smoke in two minutes. I said to her: “If I knew you better, I’d give you a great big kick.” She laughed and said “Well, I guess you ought to.”