Indianapolis Times, Volume 48, Number 59, Indianapolis, Marion County, 19 May 1936 — Page 12

PAGE 12

The Indianapolis Times (A KCBirrs-mnvAKn newspaper) hot w. iimvAnn President Lt DWELL DENNY Editor EARL D. RARER Business Manager

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xcnirps - nowAjfD Cve Light and tbs t’eople Will Finn Their incn Way

TUESDAY. MAY 19. 1938.

THE GUFFEY DECISION rpHE 6-to-3 Supreme Court decision invalidating J- the GufTey-Snyder Coal Control Aci falls like a leaden hand upon Congress and its harassed attempts to plan a more workable industrial system. For the sick bituminous coal mines of 30 states the decision points to a return of the anarchy that brought misery to their half-million miners and chaos to their owners before NRA gave them a measure of relief. The states are helpless to regulate an industry with such varying production costs as to invite price and wage cutting. Eight states admitted It officially by joining with the government in defending the act. The industry—fully 80 per cent of the owners and virtually all the miners—wants government regulation. Economists have warned that, instead of going too far, the Guffey-Snyder act was not a strong enough Federal weapon for effectively policing the coal business’ ruthless competition. One can only wonder what disorder will follow when, or if, the mines again start cutting prices and wages. For other governme i, projects in regulation this decision appears no less ominous. It threatens the Wagner Labor Relations Act, insofar as the Labor Board's powers apply to unio v -management relations in manufacturing, although the act might stand as it applies to the narrow field of obvious interstate commerce. It certainly throws a red light athwart the pending “little NRA” for the textile industry and the proposed measure to regulate the stricken anthracite fields. What now can the President and Congress do? n u a THEIR choice is a narrow one. They can do nothing or they can do what President Roosevelt suggested might be necessary at the time of the Schechtcr decision and what organized labor is urging now—ask the people to amend their Constitution. We believe yesterday's ruling will make the latter decision inevitable. Without effective regulation, industry will head toward another disaster. It is already starting that way. If the American Federation of Labor figures are accurate, profits are 36 per cent higher this quarter than in the same quarter last year, yet the average work week is nearly two hours longer, the actual wage gam only 2 per cent, employment is up only 2.4 per cent. The court has denied the government's authority to work with industry and labor for a solution of their planning problems under the codes. Now it denies the government's right to regulate a specific industry more directly. A constitutional amendment, broadening Congress’ powers to make our highly, complex system better serve industry and labor and the people generally, seems now to be the only answer. In his opinion Mr. Justice Sutherland himself seemed to point toward such an answer. He quoted the high court’s former opinion in the Kansas vs. Colorado case to the effect that the Tenth Amendment was written to prevent Congress’ assuming general welfare powers not specifically delegated to it. “With equal determination," he quoted, “the framers intended that no such assumption should ever find justification in the organic act, and if in the future further powers seemed necessary they should be granted by the people in the manner they had provided for amending the act.” The Guffey opinion, we believe, will prove of historic importance to America. It revitalizes the whole question of modernizing the Constitution. JUSTICE SWIFT AND CERTAIN r 1 'HOMAS H. ROBINSON JR., who kidnaped Mrs. Stoll, subdued her with an iron pipe and collected $50,000 ransom, fhids himself behind Federal prison walls at Atlanta just 80 hours after his arrest. Alvin Karpis, captured by the G-men in the same 11-day drive that drag-netted Robinson, soon will follow, and the record so far as the big interstate killer-kidnapers go is clear. It is a record for swift and certain justice, the kind that makes crime so unhealthy in England. ButAccording to J. Edgar Hoover, there are still aome 150,000 uncaught murderers at large in the United States. To capture, try and convict these is the business of the states, and most of the states, unfortunately, lack effective law-enforcement machinery of the sort that has been organized under the Lindbergh Law. Our American murder rate is 11 times greater than England's, about seven times greater than that of the continent of Europe. In lieu of efficient systems to apprehend and , smooth-working courts to try, the states capture a few killers and punish them with death, while letting the many slip through their fingers. Instead of swift and certain justice for all there is savage revenge for a few, slow and random justice for the rest. Punishment deters only it it strikes with sureness. Instead of sending a few murderers to their deaths in electric chairs, gallows chambers and gas houses, the states and cities should modernize their police systems, divorce their courts from politics and make their law-enforcement agencies honest, impersonal and just. Capital punishment is a cruel and futile substitute for such reforms. SINGLE PRIMARY BALLOT WRITING in the Indiana Teacher for May, A. W. Clark of Hammond gives an interesting discussion of a problem that merits study in connection with efforts to improve the primary election system. He says: “In our form of government we recognize the necessity of party loyalty and partisan-minded leaders. The last two presidential elections have proved, however, that there are millions of voters who are more or less independent in their thinking and voting. In 1928 Mr. Hoover carried all the states but four and there was considerable talk of the demise of the Democratic Party. Only four years later Mr. Roosevelt carried all of the states but two, while one Midwestern state which selected Democrtuc presidential electors, at the same time elected a Republican Governor. “We naturally conclude that millions of voters throughout the country are independent, as they should be, but many of them are not voting in the Indiana primary because they have to declare themselves if they call for a primary ballot Many business men are filling to use their right of fran-

ehiae in the primary for fear of political boycott and members of firms have been known to divide their primary ballots among the parties for business reasons. Such a practice does not make for good citizenship. “Perhaps no professional group or class is or should be more politically independent than teachers, yet primary records ats carefully scanned by strictly partisan-minded leaders and pressure brought to bear upon school authorities, especially when there is a change in control. Asa result, many teachers avoid voting in the primaries and other are afraid to vote as they think. “The answer is a single primary ballot. The law requiring nearly two hundred signatures to each candidritc’s application for entry on the ballot has greatly reduced the number of candidates, making the possibility of a single ballot practical. Voters can be instructed that they shall vote for nominees for one party only, but in no case should it be necessary for voters to commit themselves.” WE CONGRATULATE / T'HE Times congratulates the City Park Board and -*■ Park Superintendent Charles A. Sallee for the decision to provide an equipped and supervised playground for West Side children this summer without waiting for legal formalities to make the new West Side park site available. It means that about 2500 children, who have no place to play safely, will have complete playground facilities in Little Eagle Park. The larger park development project may not get under way until late this summer. Speaking of the nation-wide need for recreation centers, Hugh McK Landon, sponsor here for the National Recreation Association and a member of its board of directors, yesterday wrote Indianapolis members of the association: “There is abundant evidence that playgrounds and recreation centers reduce the amount of juvenile crime.” He estimated that 5,000,000 children use summer playgrounds regularly, but that 10,000,000 children in cities are, still without places for safe play. The Park Board’s action is another step in removing Indianapolis children from the latter list. GRADE CROSSING ACCIDENTS TNDIANA has an unenviable record for grade crossJng accidents. Last year the state ran up the third largest total of such accidents in the country—--287. Illinois was first with 422, and Ohio second with 349. Since 1922, more than 95,000 persons have been killed or injured in motor vehicle accidents at grade crossings. Last year the toll was 1442 deaths and 4434 persons injured in 3933 accidents. The state had 10,427 grade crossings at the beginning of 1935. Os this number, the Interstate Commerce Commission classified 8073 as “not specially protected,” meaning they were equipped with some type of fixed sign considered inadequate. Os the country’s 234,820 crossings, 87 per cent were in this class. Only those crossings equipped with gates, watchmen, audible or visible signs, or both of the latter, were defined as “specially protected.” u TNDIANA averaged 2.7 accidents per 100 crossings A last year, compared with the national average of 1.8. A survey by Editorial Research Reports showed heavy rail and highway traffic in the more densely populated sections of the East and Middle West was an important factor in the frequency of accidents. Grade crossing casualties increased steadily up to 1929, paralleling the upward trend of motor vehicle registrations. After dropping off during the early depression years, the number began to rise again in 1934 and 1935. The need iOi' protected crossings and for crossing elimination is emphasized by the growing volume of passenger and freight traffic on highways—much of it at high speeds. One step in this direction was to earmark $200,000,000 of Federal work-relief funds for grade crossing elimination. Indiana’s share of this was fixed at $5,111,096. The state also will benefit from the $488,000,000 road bill passed by Congress this month. It authorizes the spending of $50,000,000 in Federal funds, unmatched by the states, for crossing elimination in the fiscal years 1938 and 1939. DENTAL HEALTH WITH the Indiana State Dental Association holding its seventy-ninth annual meeting here today, it is interesting to note the progress of the state-wide program for improvement in the dental health of children. Financed by the Good Teeth Council for Children, Inc., and aided by the dental association, school authorities, the State Board of Health and other groups, the program during three years has been presented to approximately 328,000 persons, mostly children. The program emphasizes right foods, chewing exercise for development of the jaws and as an aid to digestion, home care of the teeth and regular visits to a dentist. Trustees of the association this week pledged co-operation of the dental profession in the program of dental public health to be carried out by the State Division of Public Health. A WOMAN’S VIEWPOINT By Mrs. Walter Ferguson A COLLEGE boy hurrying home for Mother's Day met sudden death at a street intersection. He may have been driving too fast; young people are more reckless in this respect than their elders. But the direct cause of his accident was his unfamiliarity with the traffic signals in the town through which he was passing. Yet it can hardly be called a town. It is a two-by-four village, with the national highway intersecting its Main Street. Ten years ago its Chamber of Commerce had worked furiously to have tht highway go through the town, and with customary hindsight the council later decided that drivers on the highway, rather than the home folk, should be halted by a stop sign. To make matters worse they hung their red signal high overhead so that only one motorist in five would see it. Evidently the boy did not. Now h? is dead. He still mig it be alive if in our campaigns against automobile slaughter we had adopted a universal system of signals. As it is, every city has an arrangement of its own. One sets up the red lights on the right side of the street; another puts them on the left, and still others suspend them overhead. In certain towns you turn both left and right on the green, in others you may make a left-hand curve only on the amber light. It is a rare occurrence in any city to find all traffic markers clearly enough defined to be seen at once by out-of-town drivers. The stranger in our midst is not always a mind reader. It is easy for him to run past a boulevard stop line when that line is so faded that only a dim trace am be seen in broad daylight. Traveling from city to city and from state to state in a few hours has become a commonplace. Yet we keep our traffic regulations as diversified as our divorce law*. Married in one state you may be single in another, but once dead cf a motor collision you are dead in any state 1 1 the Union.

THE INDIANAPOLIS TIMES

Our Town By ANTON SCHERRER

TA/’ILBUR PEAT was born in China—in Chengtu (pop. 400,000), to be exact—and it explains everything mysterious about the Peat household. At any rate, it explains why his wife, Talitha, is the best cook of Chinese dishes in Indianapolis. Mrs. Peat didn’t know much about Mr. Peat’s past—least of all, the Chinese part—when she married him, but she knows plenty now. Enough, anyhow, to know that more is expected of Mr. Peat’s wife than any other kind wife. It’s another example of the predicament some women can get themselves into and the triumphant way they can work themselves out. Mrs. Peat began in a very simple way with her Chinese cooking but Mr. peat kept after her until now she can serve a whole Chinese meal. She does it occasionally and always on Mr. Peat's birthday. tt tt tt MR. PEATS birthday dinner begins with bird’s nest soup. The nests are a glue-like substance which Chinese swallows get from their own mouths and .wnich they usually mix with different Oriental grasses. The flavor isn’t always the same. The nests are peculiar to a small island south of China and are hard to get because they are built on the ceilings of high caverns. To see them, the natives wear little oil lanterns on their heads and, to get them, they use vine ladders hooked in some Chinese way to the ceiling. Mrs. Peat will not divulge how she gets hers—not even for this column —but she isn’t so squeamish about her other dishes. Like Tsui Pi Yu, for instance, which follows the soup course. TSUI PI YU,*which is broiled fish, can be any kind of fish, says Mrs. Peat, provided it is scaled alive. After the fish is cleaned, Mrs. Peat cuts gashes along each side and rubs them with salt and wet bean flour. That fixes it for frying which is done in deep vegetable oil. After which comes the Chinese touch: To one-third of the remaining oil, Mrs. Peat adds a teaspoonful of prepared pepper, a rice bowl of water, 2 tablespoons of white soy sauce, a tablespoon vinegar, 1% tablespoons sugar, a bit of onion and garlic chopped fine, 2 tablespoons salt, 1 tablespoon bean flour and a corm of chopped ginger. To get Tsui Pi Yu, you boil all this together and pour over the gashed fish. tt tt tt TSUI PI YU clears the track for Giao Ma Gi, which is another name for cold savory fowl, older even than the Ming dynasty. To make it, take half a chicken, a green onion and a piece of ginger. Cover the chicken with water, mash the ginger, tie the onion stalk about it and throw as nonchalanty as you know how into the water. Boil until tender, after which cut it into small pieces. Next arrange the following Chinese still-life: One onion, 1 teaspoon hua jiao, some salt, 2 teaspoons vinegar, 1 teaspoon sesame oil and 2 teaspoons white soy sauce. Chop onion and ginger exceedingly fine like the mills of the gods grind (“Oracula Silbyllina,” VIII: 14), add remainder of Chinese stilllife and mix into the cold chicken. Serve this over osen, which is another Chinese vegetable like our lettuce, except that lettuce won’t do. To prepare osen, slice it fine, add salt and let stand until you are ready to add a dessert spoonful of vinegar and olive oil. Place in bottom of serving dish with chicken arranged on top and garnished with pimiento peppers. Thus is usually eaters as a salad before the rice is served but there is no fixed rule about it. Not even in the Peat menage. tt tt tt The rice constitutes the bulk of of Mr. Peat’s birthday dinner. The vegetable dishes, fowl and fish are placed on the rice and eaten together. Mr. Peats insist on having his rice steamed very flaky and dry and that’s the way Mrs. Peat does it. Tea is served throughout the meal. In the Peat household it is flavored with jasmine flowers and served Peiping-hot. Mr. Peat’s birthday dinner ends \ with an assortment of preserved fruits, including bamboo centers, kumquats, ginger, watermelon and walnut meats. Mr. Peat’s birthday is celebrated once every year.

TODAY’S SCIENCE _ BY DAVID DIETZ

DETROIT. Mich., May 19. Will the automobile of the future run on gasoline, alcohol, a mixture of the two, or on some new synthetic compound, the general nature of which is only dimly foreseen by the chemists of today? That is the problem in the minds of industrialists, engineers and scientists in all parts of the country. At the moment, the problem can not be answered, but the shape of the lines of conflicting thought upon the question can be drawn from the battle which raged here during the sessions of the Second Dearborn Conference of Agriculture, Industry and Science, held under the auspices of the Farm Chemurgic Council and the Chemical Foundation. Francis P. Garvan, president of the Chemical Foundation, and Fred A. Eldean, assistant to the president of the American Petroleum Institute, led the opposing forces. First point of disagreement was the life of the nation's petroleum reserves. Garvan assigned * the known reserves a life of 12 years. Eldean gave them a life of 25 years. Garvan insisted that no one had any right to predicate national policy upon the supposition that reserves now unknown, would be found in the future. Second point of disagreement was the efficiency of a blend of gasoline and alcohol as a fuel for motors. Mr. Garvan advocated a 10 per cent blend of alcohol for use in this country. Mr. Eldean seemed unwilling to accept the evidence. The third point of disagreement .was over the economics of the situation.

‘IT ISN’T GOOD FOR OUR COUNTRY’

\OP&

The Hoosier Forum

(Times readers are invited to express their views in these columns, reliaious controversies excluded. Make vour letters short, so all can have and chance. Limit them to SSO words or less. Your letter must be sinned, but names will be withheld on reaucst.) a a a DENIES MAGAZINE MOSTLY FINANCED BY U. S. By James E. Mendenhall. Editor. Building America 428 W. 123 d-st New York. In your editorial headed “WPA'S ‘Twig’ Project,” your- editorial writer has made serious misstatements of fact regarding the “Power” issue of our photographic magazine, Building America, of which I am the editor. You have mistakenly implied that Building America is financed mostly by the Federal government The Society for Curriculum Study, the Lincoln School, and our subscribers supply the major share of the funds used in preparing, publishing and distributing our magazine. A minor yet not unimportant share of the cost is supplied by the Federal government through the provision of Works Progress Administration workers. Contrary to the implication of your editorial, the Federal government has absolutely nothing to do with the formulation of our editorial policy. Our editorial policy is determined solely by the Editorial Board of Building America, selected by the Society for Curriculum Study.

Watch Your Health

BY DR. MORRIS FISHBEIN BABIES need exercise exactly as do adults, but of a different kind. When a small baby lies on his back and kicks, he is really having strenuous exercise. Time should be allowed every day for this activity. Part of the time the baby should lie on his stomach and be permitted to lift his head or push himself up from the bed. Exactly as with grownups, a certain amount of exercise is a stimulus to hunger and appetite in the baby, and also creates enough fatigue to make him want to rest. Children who are flabby in the construction of their bodies need more exercise than do those who are solidly constructed. They should also have a physical examination, however, to indicate whether they are free from rickets or malnutrition. Violent exercise should never be permitted immediately after eating. In warm or pleasant weather, a half hour of exercise outdoors is exceedingly beneficial. Exercise, of course, is an excellent method of training. Children learn by practice. When a boy first gets on a bicycle, he promptly falls off. With a little practice, he learns how to balance himself, co-ordinat-ing his muscles in such manner that balance is maintained and he is able to go forward. a a a Especially important in getting suitable reaction to exercise is the feeling of satisfaction that comes from accomplishment. If the activity is successful and satisfying to the child, he is more likely to repeat the performance. Children are taught much more easily during early years of life than

IF YOU CAN’T ANSWER, ASK THE TIMES

Inclose a S-cent stamp tor reply when addressing any question of fact or information to The Indianapolis Times Washington Semes Bureau. 1013 ISt list. N. W.. Washington. D. C. Legal and medieai advice can not bo given, nor can extended research bo undertaken. Q—What was the population of Germany at its last census, and how many were Jews? A—The census of June 16, 1933, enumerated a total population of 66,044,161, of whom 499,682 (0.7 per cent) were Jews. Q—How many families are living on the Mantanuska, Alaska, government resettlement project? A—One hundred and fifty-nine families. Q —What does the abbreviation “Ltd.” after the names of English companies mean? A—lt means that the company

I disapprove of what you say—and will defend to the death your right to say it. — Voltaire.

Our board includes such wellknown educators as Prof. Paul R. Hanna, Stanford University; H. L. Caswell, George Peabody College; C. L. Cushman, Denver public schools; Edgar Dale, Ohio State University; William S. Gray, the University of Chicago; Harold Hand, Stanford University; Jesse H. Newlon, Teachers College, Columbia University; and Claire Zyve, Fox Meadow School. Your editorial quoted from our “Power” is: ie to the effect that municipal plax.ts, on the whole, supply current more cheaply than do private companies. It, however, failed to include our table compiled from a 1935 report of the Federal Power Commission, which table reads: AVERAGE CHARGE IN CENTS PER KILOWATT HOUR FOR CITIES 50,000 AND OVER IN THE UNITED STATES Kilowatt Hours Used per Month 2f 40 100 250 500 Municipal plants.... 5.1 4.8 3.8 2.8 2.4 Private plants 8.7 6.1 4.7 3.4 2.5 Difference m favor of Municipal Plants.. 1.6 1.3 .9 .6 .1 This table proves that our statement was not opinion but well-sub-stantiated fact. An honest perusal of the material contained in the “Power” issue of Building America would show that both sides of the problem were fairly presented, expression being given to the point of view held by people who favor privately owned utilities and to the point of view

in later years. Mentally backward children, who suffer from lack of development of the tissues and organs, will not respond promptly to exercise. Parents often are proud of the baby and like to show his accomplishments. This leads to forcing the child before he is really ready to carry on a certain activity. It also leads to repetition of such activity for long periods of time, which results in latigue and exhaustion. Babies are much more easily excited than are grownups, and they respond more fully. Thus, a baby will be greatly excited by a large variety of toys, by a long automobile ride or by great excitement in the people around him. Any. excitement which brings about fatigue or exhaustion is bad for him. a a a Remember, also, that the eyes of the baby are delicate and must be protected against accident and against direct sunlight, when the child is outdoors. In exercising the baby, remember that he is not to sit up until the muscles of the spine and neck are strong enough. When the child is able to bring his head up with the rest of the body, the mother may help him gradually to sit up. A good exercise is to permit the child’s legs to bend and straighten against slight counter pressure by the mother. As soon as the baby is able to sit up, he may begin new exercises, including bending and reaching for objects above his head. When the baby’s muscles are able to bear the weight of his body, he will begin to crawl. In that stage, he should be protected suitably by a pen, or in some other manner, against being burned accidentally and against falling down stairs.

is a limited stock company, in which the liability of each shareholder is limited to the par value of his stock or shares. Q —What was the value of exports and imports from and into the United States in 1935? A—Exports, $2,282,023,000; imports, $2,047,797,000. Q —For what crime was Jesse Harding Pomeroy convicted? How long did he spend in prison? When did he die? A—He was convicted of the murder of two children in 1876, when he was 14 years old, and spent 56 years in prison. He died Sept. 30, 1932, at the State Farm, Bridgewater, Mass. Q —Name the principal cities in the Black Hills region of South Dakota. A—Deadwood, Central City, and Lead City.

held by people who favor government regulation and ownership. I believe, therefore, your statement that the “Power” issue is biased is both unfair and unwarranted by the facts. Classroom teachers and leading educators throughout the United States have expressed enthusiastic approval of Building America. They feel that it deserves the support of all progressive-mjnded men and women in the country. a a a THINKS BUSINESS SHOULD BE AID TO F. D. R. By J. R. W. At a time when big business and the Roosevelt Administration sharply disagree on many issues, it is significant that the President has called in industrial leaders for advice. These Titans of finance, so to speak, are supposed to aid the chief executive in formulating plans to speed up certain industries, such as railroading and housing. This is as it should be. The unemployment problem is far beyond politics. Either millions must be fed on government doles, or industry must absorb them. There is no alternative. Therefore, it is important that big business, regardless of what it thinks, should take a hand in Washington. What big business says to Mr. Roosevelt and how it votes next November are two entirely different considerations. FIRST LOVE BY HARRIETT SCOTT OLINICK When I loved my first love I burned with constant fire. It was not a passion, Nor was it a desire. It was a shining melody That held me in a trance; A holy dream of autumn stars, Os youth and of romance. When I loved my first love . I knew no taint of lust. I loved with April and the spring. I loved because I must! DAILY THOUGHT Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls.—St. Matthew 11:29. IT was pride that changed angels into devils; it is humility that makes men as angels.—Augustine.

SIDE GLANCES By George Clark

’

“Are we starting another whole summer of just driving • around looking at housesV* '

.MAY 19, 1983

Vagabond from Indiana ERNIE PYLE

EDITOR'S NOTE—This roving reporter lor Th* Times goes where he pleases, when he pleases, in search of odd stories about this and that. LANGTRY, Tex., May lfl.—ln southwest Texas, tradition revolves around Judge Roy Bean, selfstyled “Law West of the Pecos” back in frontier days when horse-steal-ing was worse than murder. Judge Bean held court on the porch of his saloon. He always had two things on the bench in front of him—a law book, which he didn’t know how to use, and a six-shooter, which he did. Books have been written about Judge Bean. He died in 1903, but his saloon is still standing in Langtry, empty now. I drove past Langtry, and took a picture of the saloon, and asked a couple of loafers if anybody was still around who remembered Judge Bean. They said just one fellow was left, and that was ike Billings, who lived on a ranch four miles out. So I drove out over the desert to Ike Billings’ place. He’d just come in from “pointing up” lambs, which means cutting their tails off and snipping their ears. tt tt a HE washed up and then we sat sat down and talked. Ike Billings didn't look as though he were old enough to remember Judge Bean. Billings is one of these hardworking, well-preserved desert men. He was 59 last week and has a daughter 37 years old, but he doesn’t look more than 45. He was born in mid-Texas, near San Antonio, and came to the Pecos country in ’93. “Sure, I used to play poker with Judge Bean a couple of nights a week,” Billings says. “He was a queer character, but people around here liked him “I remember once a cowboy fell or jumped off the railroad bridge up here a piece and was killed. Theyfound S4O and a six-shooter on him. The judge convened court over the body, and took the six-shooter and fined the fellow S4O for committing suicide, and then had the county bury him because he was a pauper. “There was a pile of rocks outside Bean's saloon, ana he kept a big sign out there saying ‘lce Cold Beer.’ In those days the railroad ran right through town, and in the summer tourists would get off here to get a cold drink.” a tt ft “rnp'HEY’D ask for beer, and it’d be JL hot when they got it, and they’d say ‘How about that sign?’ and old Bean would roar and yell, ‘Who in hell ever heard of ice m this country in the summertime?’ “He had another stunt. These tourists would get some beer and give him a ten or twenty-dollar bill, and then he’d monkey around very busy and let on like he was having trouble making change, and the first thing you knew the train was pulling out and the tourists would have to run and jump on without their change.” Billings himself was “the law* here for six years. That was after Bean died, and old man Dodd was justice of the peace, and Billings was constable. His territory covered all the country west of the Pecos, and he had to do a lot of horseback riding. “I never did have any trouble," Billings says. “I never was shot at, and never shot at anybody but once, and then I missed'him. It was a dark rainy night, and I was chasing a Mexican who had killed a fellow on the railroad. I shot at him when he ran around a building.” a a ti BILLINGS moved out to this ranch in 1911. He had 2500 head of sheep and some goats and a few cattle. He has 12,000 acres of desert land, and 35 miles of fence around it. “Most people wouldn’t give a cent an acre for it,” he says, “but we like it here. We don’t have things very fancy, but we get along.” “I guess it’s true I’m the only oldtimer left around here. Old man Dodd died last November, and the others have died or moved away.” Ike Billings, like every person I have met on the desert, is friendly and hospitable. “I sure wish you had been here last Wednesday,” Ike said. <‘We had a big goat-fry down the crick here, celebrating my birthday, and people from all over this part of the country were here. If you ever come past this way again, you want to be sure and stop to see us.” And we sure will.