Indianapolis Times, Indianapolis, Marion County, 31 August 1937 — Page 13

¢ Vagabond]

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From Indiana — Ernie Pyle What Is Truth About Matanuska? Ernie Doesn't Know for Sure, but Here, at Least, Are His Impressions.

ALMER, Alaska, Aug. 31.—And now we come to the famous Matanuska Colony. (The “u” is long, as in “moo.”) I know that when I get back to the States people will ask, “Now what is the truth about Matanuska?” Just as they used to ask me, “What is the truth about the quintuplets?” Well, they won’t get the truth from me. Because there isn't any one truth. It’s like asking, “How's the weather in Texas today?” There are a lot of answers, and all of them are right. Matanuska has had some merciless thrashing from its critics. And it has been exaggerated in the other direction by its defenders. Matanuska strikes me, an out=sider who doesn’t give a darn one way or the other. Here are a few impressions: 1. Matanuska Valley is certainly Alaska’s “Garden of Eden,” so far as I can see, and I've seen a lot of Alaska. It is a thrillingly Mr. 1 Pyle beautiful spot. 2. Climatically, Matanuska is a better place to live than northern Minnesota. 3. Good farmers can undoubtedly make a fair, but limited, living here. 4. Poor farmers can't do any better here than anywhere else. 5. Every man and woman in the valley I've talked with, even the ones who aren't doing any good. say they love Alaska. 6. You hear abandon Matanuska, happen.

will will

that the Government I do not believe this

reports but

Some Came for the Ride

7. The success or failure of the project should not be judged, it seems to me. by the number of people who went back home. (Remember a lot of them came just for the ride.)

8. The Government is now on its fifth million up |

here. and a great deal of it has been wasted. 9. The spending of $5,000,000 cannot be justified merely on the basis of re-establishing 200 families who were on relief. The last item raises the whole question of the

theory of Matanuska, and why it was established, and |

whether or not it is justifiable and feasible. To begin with, there’s no sense of either arguing for, or quarreling with, the fact that the Gover.nment is spending $5,000,000 to bring 200 families up here and resettle them. Even the Government men admit the colony can’t be justified on that ground, and that these families could have been resettled somewhere in the states much more cheaply.

Military Reason Stands Out

Te Government does want Alaska colonized. and 1 suspect that the chief reason is military. Alaska is a big country with a few people—60,000, and only half of them are whites. Alaska produces practically nothing for itself. Everything is brought in from outside, Alaska is a faraway hand of ours, existing only by the long and slender artery of steamer lines from Seattle. For reasons of self-defense, the U. S. would like to have that hand stronger, less dependable on that slender artery from Seattle. Only by adding more people, and making permanent homes, and producing things can that hand be made strong. There is another element: The Alaska Railroad is a mighty thing in Alaska. It is owned by the Government, run by the Interior Department. Like any good businessman, Uncle Sam wants his railroad to pay. The more business he gets for it, the more chance it has to pay.

So I'll try to tell simply how

The Indianapolis

Imes

Second Section

| | [ |

Mrs. Roosevelt's Day

By Eleanor Roosevelt Younger Members of President's

Family Mourn Loss of

EW YORK CITY, Monday—I think the sun and outdoor exercise are making me a dreadful sleepyhead in the evening. At 9 o'clock I want to say goodnight to everybody and at 10 o'clock these last two evenings I sat and listened to conversation with difficulty. As a result, I am wide awake at dawn, so I have transferred my reading from the evening to the early morning. This seems to be rather a good idea, for the rest of mv household seems to like to breakfast fairly late and I used to go prowling around feeling annoyed with all of them. Now I discover I can go right on reading and forget there is such a thing as breakfast in the offing. A friend of mine drove me to New York City this morning and we left the house at 7:30. With a humorous gleam in his eve he said: “This is the first time I have been up at this hour since the war. Even the trees look as though they were still asleep.” I must say there was something in the landscape which bore him out. We reached New York in good time, so I did all my errands and was at the apartment to meet a few friends for lunch at 1:30. The sun is very weary again today and it looks like rain down here, but my husband called me to say they were all going to the northwestern part of the county for an evening picnic, so it must be pleasant up there. When I reached my apartment in New York and found a message to call the Poughkeepsie operator, I had a feeling that something had gone wrong, so my first question was: “What is the matter?” My husband said: “Nothing at all. we are just going on a picnic and wanted to know if you would like to join us after your train gets in.” Then, as an afterthought, he added: “Oh, yes, Betsy's little dachshund was killed and she and the children are very much upset.” Ordinarily I would have taken this with becoming seriousness, for I know what a tragedy the loss of a little pet dog is, but I was so relieved to find that nothing really serious was wrong, that I found myself saying in a most perfunctory manner: “I am so sorry,” and realizing that instead of being terribly sorry, I really had a weight off my mind.

Yesterday I finished Hugh Walpole’s “A Prayer |

for My Son.” 1 have always been one of his ardent admirers, but this book, while it is pleasant reading, was a disappointment to me. You will retain some impressions of the English lake district, which you may have felt but may never have been able to put into words. In spite of this, it seemed to me unreal in many ways. The old man’s character was unconvincing and there was not the same joy for me in this book that some of his other books have had. One cannot expect, I suppose, to like every book which an author writes equally well, any more than one likes every picture an artist paints equally well.

Walter O'Keefe—

x oes a rumor that the Japanese will not play host for the Olympic Games in Tokyo in 1940. They hesitated to take this drastic step for fear it might destroy all the good will they've been building up in the last few weeks. Naturally they hate to lose this opportunity for making friends with the world-at-large, but right now thy're all wrapped up in their “big brother” act in China. They're not interested so much in starting races as they are in finishing the Chinese race. Besides, their shot-putters don’t see any sense in throwing something that doesn’t explode. and all their runners are busy racing to the embassies of the world with notes of apology. There's some talk of Russia coming to the aid of China with ammunition, but that's silly. Russia needs every bullet she has for home use. &

TUESDAY, AUGUST 31, 1937

Indiana Honors Her Only President

Original Harrison Home Furnishings Renovated for Memorial

Covered with a half century of dust, this desk stands in the attic social room. Mr.

Harrison used it when he returned to law practice in Indianapolis after leaving the

White House,

(Last of twa articles)

By John Martin ROM the front porch of his stoutly built N. Delaware St. home, Benjamin Harrison conducted the campaign that sent him to . the White House in 1888 as Indiana’s only President. In restoring the home as a memorial, the Arthur Jordan Foundation seeks to maintain permanently a residence that is connected closely with the history of Indianapolis and the nation. During the campaign, local men organized the Harrison Marching Club— now it would be called a “Harrison for President” Club—and it later became the Columbia Club of today. Names known to the nation and to Indianapolis were familiar ones in the Harrison household. It was a romantic political period. A panel bearing insignia worn by delegates at his inauguration has been preserved. The insignia bear names like these, familiar to every political historian: Matthew Stanley Quay, Cobden,

Cameron, Boyer, Clay, the Union Republican Club and the Lincoln

second Hoor, shows the bed in which he died.

The attic is filled with treasured momentoes of Mr. Harrison's life.

Above is a “bell torch”—a gaudy

piece of political campaign para-

phernalia used in the old-time terch light parades. It saw service during the campaign of 1888 which placed Mr. Harrison in the White House.

Republican Club—a holdover from forgotten factional fights. The panel is one of many exhibits that will make up the memorial when the home is restored. » » ” ERNARD R. BATTY, trustee board member, said the foundation has enough original furnishings to restore the first floor. In Mr. Harrison's bedroom is the original suite—a heavy, deeply carved and inlaid bed, dresser and chifferobe. Much other of the original furniture is available, Mr. Batty said. Standing in the parlor is an odd chair, presented to the President. It is made entirely of Texas longhorn steer horns, with a cougarskin covered seat. On the “ack is this plate: “D. M. O'Connor to Benjamin Harrison, Tippecanoe, 1811, San Jacinto, 1836, Thermopvlae had her messenger of de-

feat but the Alamo and Refugio had none.” On one arm is this inscription, “Encouragement, to American Industry, 1840,” and on the other, “Protection to Home Industry, 1888.” The first refers to the platform on which Benjamin Harrison's grandfather, William Henry Harrison, was elected to the Presidency in 1840; the second refers to Benjamin's platform. un on x

R. HARRISON must have been a patron of the arts and a constant reader. Huge libraries. still filled with well-kept books, stand in his study. More are in the attic social room. Only a few are law books. Most are “just the books a cultured man would read,” Mr. Batty said. Included are the works of Charles Kingsley, Sir Walter Scott, Thackeray, Edmund Burke and William

Welfare Administrator Gottschalk Outlines State Parole Procedure

Dog. |

HURMAN A. GOTTSCHALK, Department of Public Welfare administrator, today issued a statement intended to clarify “certain misconceptions relative to Indiana's present procedure for the granting of prison paroles.” Although the statement did not mention the case of Virgil Kirkland, Gary youth who served six years

{and three months of a one-to-10

vear sentence in the death of Arlene Draves, high school girl, it was understood to have been issued in connection with criticism of the youth's parole last week. The statement follows: “Before the Welfare Act of 1936 was passed, all parole authority was vested in the separate boards of trustees of each Indiana penal institution. No inmate's application for parole could then be considered by the four trustees of the institution in which he had been serving his term until he had completed serving his minimum term. That likewise is true under the new Welfare Law procedure, except today, an application for parole is con-

sidered by 16 officials instead of four before final action is taken. " o ”

Tous penal code, according to the Constitution, is founded on the principle of vindictive justice. It also forbids cruel and unusual punishment. Action leading up to the granting of a parole be-

of the prisoner. That is brought to the attention of institutional trustees by prison officials. A committee of prison officers reviews all facts in the case, which, however, have nothing to do with questioning the justice meted out by the courts. “To be eligible for parole a prisoner must have served his minimum sentence, then act, and the case goes to a state committee on parole review in the State Division of Corrections, Department of Public Welfare. This review committee may reject the recommendations or approve them. If approval is given, then the parole papers await the final consideration and approval of the State Administrator of Public Welfare. Neither he, nor the parole review committee, nor the prison

Side Glances

’ / 2-3) Z COPR. 1937 BY NEA SERVICE, INS. _T. M. REG. U. 8. PAT. OFF.

By Clark

"I wish you had to report at an office like other men. I'm tired of

watching

ae le,

you work at home."

oT ed RT

| classification committee can orig-| They only

| cisions made under them. They cannot question or correct judgment {passed by courts and juries. They | do, however, attempt to administer | the laws governing the incarceration | of prisoners and rules regulating pa- | ally.

laws of the state. We do not attempt to tip the scales of justice to satisfy anyone’s opinion that this or that judgment of a court has been too severe or too lenient. We do not commute sentences or grant pardons. We check and doublecheck the case of the person who has paid the minimum of his penalty imposed by society. “It should be understood, that for every sentence imposed by any Indiana criminal court, eventually there will be a parole issued. This |is the Indiana law and the number of paroles is determined directly by | the number of commitments made | to our state penal institutions. Pa- | role is not commutation of sentence, [ but further supervision for the for-

. | mer prisoner until he gains a new |

| foothold in free Society.” ‘NEW USE FOR RICE

By Science Service

OKYO, Aug. 31.—A $2,800,000

industry is being promoted in

| Tokyo with the object of producing |

| rayon making pulp from rice-husks, | of which a practically unlimited supply is assured in Japan. The process,

Laboratory, a division of the Department of Commerce and Industry, in collaboration with the research institute of the South Manchuria Railway Co. Because Japan depends on imports for 250,000 out of 300,000 tons of rayon pulp annually consumed by the artificial silk industry, the supply of raw material from an entirely new source is expected considerably to benefit the textile industry as well as the farmers who are hard put to make a living from their scanty acres. Japan at present is among the world leaders in the production of rayon yarn. And Japan is the world’s first rice grower. The an- | nual crop averages 475 million | bushels. Since one bushel of rice | yields about 419 pounds of husk, | the entire {turnover of

four billion pounds of husk a year. At present rice-husks arc thrown Bway as practically worthiess,

} 2 : ina { making of the criminal] | gins with the institutional record |; wc or appeals from them or de-

| ole procedure fairly and imparti-

“We cannot change the criminal |

Entered at Postoffice.

Times Photos.

This picture, taken in Benjamin Harrison's spacious bedroom on the mansion's

ws S

Like Spanish moss, wall paper hangs from the library ceiling as workmen steam it off. They are removing the paper and paint that

for many years have covered the past glories of the house.

At the left

corner may be seen a corner of the bookcase containing a small part of

Mr. Harrison's library,

Lloyd Garrison. Many others are on political and historical subjects. Hundreds of pictures are stacked about the rooms. A few are family pictures; most are impersonal ones. Included is a set of engraved copies from Raphael's work and given Mr. Harrison by the Papal State. Many other gifts—objects of art and art curios—are in the house. Emsley W. Johnson, Indianapolis attorney, has presented the foundation with a set of pictures he took at Mr. Harrison's funeral. The attic social room is littered with books, pictures, furniture— all covered with the dust of a half century. A “bell lamp” is there— a piece of political paraphernalia used in the colorful torchlight parades of the campaigns of Harrison's time, » n » HE house was built solidly and well. Its outside brick walls are covered with ivy; even the partitions between rooms are of brick. The attic floor is supported by a criss-crossing of heavy timbers, with concrete and brick between, and the whole is covered by regular flooring. Inside the woodwork is solid walnut. Innumerable layers of varnish and dust now cover the beautiful wood. Cleaners are to remove them, Mr. Batty said. The furniture is all heavy and solid mahogany, walnut, cherry or oak. The hardwood floors throughout are inlaid in intricate patterns, but they are covered now with the debris of restoration—great piles of wall paper, cleaners’ and painters’ equipment.

Nc the foundation began its work, Mr. Batty said, more than half a dozen persons have come forward with claims to pos= sessing original pieces of furniture from the home. But only one was

authentic—a cradle used by Mr. Harrison's father. It has been purchased and will be put in the memorial. Mrs. Harrison now lives in New York. It was through her and her daughter, Elizabeth, that the memorial was made possible. They sold the homestead to the foundation. Mr. Batty explained that an investigation showed it would take $150,000 to purchase and restore and maintain with a caretaker the entire building. Of that amount only enough was available to furnish the first floor. As a result, the foundation plans to use the two top floors as a dormitory for women students in the Arthur Jordan Music Conservatory next door.

” ” y

hg on the plan, Mrs. Harrison said: “It has always been my sincere desire, often openly expressed, that this home, built and occupied by my husband for many happy years, and where he and I and our child spent such wonderful years together, would be kept as a memorial to him, Indiana's President of the United States. Now I feel this has been accomplished in a splendid, useful way, and connected with one of the fine arts— music—in which I personally am greatly interested.”

as Second-Class Matter Indianapolis, Ind.

the rice | | crop in Japan should yield nearly |

National Safety Council.

The problem of priority at unguarded intersections is sometimes rather puzzling. A good rule to follow, which incidentally, is the law in most states, is to give the motorist on your right the right-of-way, when two cars approach at right angles at the same time. If the other

motorist is on your left, you can go first.

But be sure he understands

your intention; the settlement of the right-of-way problem is never

worth a crash.

sad i a ed om, a | Bi nA i Sik ro Pa

PAGE 13

Our Town

By Anton Scherrer Men Got a Corner on Mushrooms In Indianapolis 25 Years Ago Today, And Dances Brought Ire of Society.

WENTY-FIVE years ago today mushe rooms sold for 20 cents a pound in Indianapolis. Richard Kurtz, Otto Haueisen, Herbert Foltz, Arthur Bohn and other mas culine marketers cornered the whole supply,

before the women had time to get downtown. They didn’t make Mrs. Lena Mummenhoff mad, though, because that was the day she spent at Lake Maxinkuckee with Mrs. Oscar D. Bohlen. The there

mometer in front of Henry Huder’s drug store registered 90 degrees at 2 o'clock, the high for the day. It was the day, too, Indianapolis society rose in wrath to put an end to indecent dances—like the turkey trot, for instance, and the bunny hug, and the bear cat. Said Miss Jessie Stake: “I do not approve of such dances as the turkev trot and all that style. I am most, emphatically opposed to them.” Said Mrs. Daisy Averill: “The bunny hug in its name alone denounces itself, and te my mind they are absolutely vulgar.” Said Mrs. Clarence A. Budd: “They are very amusing to watch. but very unsightly, and 1 really can't believe that they will be continued.”

Mailmen Got Holiday

Aug. 31, 1912, was the dav, tno, Postmaster Boh Bryson announced that, beginning Sept. 1, the géen= eral delivery window, heretofore open from 9 to 10 a. m. on Sundays, would be closed. What's more, that the delivery to hotels on Sunday was to be dise continued. It was the day, too, Capt. G. L. Bumbaugh, who used to pilot the balloon “Duesseldorfer” around here, asked everybody to help him find a couple willing to go up in the air to get married. Cap said Dr. and Mrs. Milo Hartman of Kansas City took the fateful step that way, and that “Indianapolis has some local pride to maintain.” It was the day, too, Columbus licked Indianapolis, 5-4, Reason: Circus catches by Shelton (c. f.), Gere ber (5. s.) and Hinchman (1. f.). The game was de« layed considerably around the fifth inning when a right-field bleacher customer refused to give up a ball that came in his direction, Even the umpire couldn't do anything.

Laundry in Form

Twenty-five years ago, too, W. 8. Gilbreath, secre= tary of the Hoosier Motor Club, returned to report that he had seen corn 16 feet high. The day, too, Leon Sampaix, a Belgian pianist, announced the opening of another school of music in Indianapolis, The Progress Laundry, not to he caught napping, announced: “We do not iron collars now; we mould them on.” Fifty years ago today Charlie Dennis figured out, that Indianapolis consumed 15,000 pies at breakfast every morning. Henry Schewinge, 31 N. Pennsylvania St. adver= tised “Genuine Saratoga Chips,” and Bamberger, the hatter, announced that “we have added the manue facture of silk hats to our regular hat and fur busi= ness. Silk hats made to order in 24 hours notice.” It was the day, too, Byram, Cornelius & Co., 101 8. Meridian St., advertised that ‘we have the largest line of corsets in this market: Dr. Warner's Health Preserving; Dr. Ball's Coiled Wire Corset; the Perfece tion, woven; the Camille; the Duplex; the Durand; the Pride; the Louise, and the Daisy.” Fifty years ago today, too, the New York Giants licked Indianapolis, 9-1. Reason: Indianapolis could not hit,

A Woman's View By Mrs. Walter Ferguson

Mr. Scherrer

Inconsistent Los Angeles Press

Mentally Confuses Its Readers. ACATION NOTES: The queerest inconsistency permeates the press of Los Angeles, Editorially the papers are mostly rockribbed conservatives, yet in makeup and reporting they are regular pennydreadfuls. The result leaves the reader in mental confusion. The news is so at odds with the political policies. They almost break their linotypes vying with each other in scare heads and sensational statee ments, and at the same time editorially profess a horrified amazement with anything the least spec= tacular in politics, There are rich pickings for the society writers. Pages and pages of fulsome complimentary notices are dished up daily about the well-to-do, who seem to lounge perpetually on sunlit beaches, or rush about to cocktail parties, or dash off to Honolulu on a friend's yacht. Besides that, they have the movie folk to add to the gaiety. And how they are written about! Everybody reads it, although apparently nobody believes a word of the stuff, The gossip that goes on among ordinary off-stage people about the moving picture crowd makes your hair stand on end. No tale is to terrible to repeat. The stars themselves provoke one’s pity. They can’t live without publicity and apparently they can’t live with it. At any rate most of them pretend to shun their adoring public. They go about disguised, using assumed names, keep guards at their front doors, and affect the utmost disdain for the curious fans. It must be a dreadful life, One would want a vast sum of money to endure it,

New Books Today

Public Library Presents—

HEN Inspector Dornfell was summoned to Nore wood House after Hazel Deerhurst disappeared, he found, among other things, a patch of blood on the parqueted floor, a bit of red lead, an “infernal” machine, and a clock which was three hours and 45 minutes slow. Her brother, just released “on ticket” stubbornly refused to give an assistance in the search for his sister, 5 secretary to a famous inventor, was she kidnaped for valuable information? Tragically mare ried to a convict who had brought disgrace to her family, had she voluntarily disappeared? The girl had gone, apparently wearing {wo pairs of hose, a bright silk kimono, and slippers over walking shoes! Alfred Walter Stewart (J. J. Connington) presents all his clues and allows the alert reader a fair chance to solve the mystery for himself, and this adds to the enjoyment of A MINOR OPERATION (Little),

n n #

MERICAN POINTS OF VIEW, 1936 (Doubleday) is the third in a series of volumes edited by William H. and Kathryn C. Cordell. The idea of the editors and publishers is to assemble annually the outstanding magazine articles, “to show that in our day the essay is not only an art form, but an agency active in molding human thought and action.” The present volume contains 23 articles by such writers as Joseph Wood Krutch, George E. Sokolsky, Max Eastman, Henry Seidel Canby, Clarence Darrow, Ernest Hemingway and Louis Adamic, who, with many others equally well known, offer a variety of viewpoints on present day America. In this variety the editors hope there “may be discovered that indefinable but none the less definite essence called the pa way of life.”