Indianapolis Times, Indianapolis, Marion County, 7 January 1938 — Page 21

Vagabond

From Indiana==Ernie Pyle

First "Lepers Exiled to Kalaupapa Were Simply Abandoned on Island; Colony Now Being Made Garden.

” ALAUPAPA, Island of Molokai, Hawaii,

Jan. 7.—In my effort to dispel the

myths about the Leper Settlement of Kalaupapa, I may have created a myth of my own —to wit, that Kalaupapa is and always has

heen a delightful place. That of course isn't true. They are now at last making the physical plant a delightful place—but of the horror stories of the past were based on truth. Kalaupapa was indeed a place of banishment, and only in recent years has the official attitude that a leper is a human being begun to take shape. Nobody knows how or leprosy came to Hawaii. But the first vague knowledge of leprosy in the islands was recorded between 1820 and 1835. Hawaiians seem peculiarly susceptible to leprosy, and once started, the disease spreads like wildfire. A law for segregating lepers was passed in 1865. For the banishing place this isolated and nat-ural-barriered spot of land was chosen. And the next year—January of 1866—the first bunch of 25 was sent here from Honolulu. The Government simply dumped them here, made no provision for them at all, abandoned them. They lived They ate fish and birds, whatever they could get. It wasn’t until 12 years after the first shipment that a doctor was sent over. vears ahead of the first government course things have steadily improved

many

Mr. Pyle

doctor. since

papa. That came about during the administration Governor Judd. He appointed an ex-Army engineer to make a survey of the leper settlement. The engineer’s report started things rolling. A special board of citizens was set up to direct the leper institutions. The board began its operations on July 1, 1931, The board appointed a director, and the director is the man who made the survey— Harry A. Kluegel. Vast improvements have been made since that time. Before 1931 there were no electric lights at Kalaupapa. No paved streets. No paid nurses. No movies.

Atmosphere Has Changed

Kalaupapa is now in the midst of a continuing program of improvement. Many streets are paved, and the paving will go on. A new hospital has been built, and a mental ward added. Old cottages are being torn down and new ones built as rapidly as possible. Trees and flowers have been planted everywhere. The settlement has a nursery now, with a non-patient gardener in charge. He has thousands of plants and shrubs ready to set out. Five years from now Kalaupapa will will be a lush tropical garden. Some aay there will be either a private room. or a private cottage, for every person on the Settlement. There will be more nurses, and greater hospital facilities. Above all, the man-to-man approach toward the lepers themselves has changed. I was impressed greatly with the non-prison-like atmosphere of this place. Patients aren't ordered around or spoken to harshly.

There used to be “Lepers Keep Out” signs all over |

the place. There isn't a one in the Settlement today. There's one thing that most people don't know about leprosy in Hawaii. And that is that right outside of Honolulu is a leprosy hospital and receiving station. Only the advanced cases come to Kalaupapa. Any patient can remain in Kalihi Hospital at Honolulu if he chooses. What the board is trying to do now is make Kalaupapa so attractive that leprous patients will volunteer to transfer down here,

My Diary

By Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt

Understanding Articles Written by One Woman About Another Rare.

WY on Thursday.—1 came back to Washington last night on the midnight train fully expecting to give my entire attention from now on to the social season!

Before I had really settled down, the telephone rang with the sad news that Mr. Henry Nesbitt, the

White House custodian, had died in the night. His wife, who is our housekeeper, was a friend and coworker of mine in Hyde Park before they came to help us here. Although he has been ill for some time, I knew 1t would be a great shock to Mrs. Nesbitt. He will be buried in Hyde Park on Saturday morning, and she sells me she would like to come back to work on Saturday morning. I know well that when you have watched over someone and had them on your mind for a long time, there is a greater sense of loneliness when the end comes, but I think she is right in insisting that to get back to work is the best thing for her. I have just read an article in the Saturday Evening Post, written by Doris Fleeson about “Missy.” I think it is a delightful piece of work. I even like the title, a duplicate of one of those innumerable chits with

when |

in caves, and grass houses, and under trees. |

of |

By Daniel M. Kidney

Times Staff Writer

nation-wide controversy.

This sympathetic detonation took the form of a discharge petition which obtained the 218 signatures required while the Japanese bombing of the American gunboat still was rocking the State Department and reverberating through the halls of the Capitol. Signing of the discharge petition, which was directed against the House Rules Committee although the Ludlow resolution still rests in the Judiciary Committee files, is to bring the referendum proposal to the House floor for action on Monday. Although Rep. Ludlow earlier this week had said that he wanted to delay action on the referendum “until a more propitious time,” supporters of the resolution decided at a secret caucus today to proceed with plans to bring the measure to the House floor Monday. Rep. Ludlow had said that an appeal at this time would be to emotions ana not to reason. He had explained he wanted to see the proposal debated on its merits. : Rep. Ludlow had no intention of seeking action during the special session of Congress, he said. Indeed, he seemed considerably surprised when the required signatures were obtained during the closing days of the session. n n ” was

HIS surprise nothing, however, compared with the Hoosier Congressman’s reaction to the immediate attack launched by national leaders and newspapers. Secretary of State Hull, busy with the Japanese note exchanges,

took time out to say he thought the Ludlow plan impossible. President Roosevelt himself entered the fray when a properly worded questiom brought from him the statement that he did not think such a referendum consistent with representative government. Alfred M. Landon, defeated Republican Presidential candidate, sent the President a telegram in which he also turned thumbs down on the referendum idea. Former Secretary of State Simpson, also of the G. O. P., seconded the motion. Meanwhile many editorial writers, particularly in the Eastern newspapers, were condemning the plan in ringing phrases and some columnists were assailing

a second Aaron Burr. ” » on

ARRYING the title “House Joint Resolution 199,” the Ludlow proposal reads: “Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, (two-thirds of each House concurring therein), that the following article is proposed as an amendment to the Constitution of the United States, which shall be valid to all intents and purposes as a part of the Constitution when ratified by the

The Tadianapolis

FRIDAY, JANUARY 7, 1938

Ludlow Is Capital Storm Center

ASHINGTON, Jan. 7.——Rep. Louis Ludlow of Indianapolis is a peaceful person, the last man in Congress likely to be selected hy political pundits as the center of a

But it is this very benign aspect of Rep. Ludlow’s character which has catapulted him nto a conflict that has brought him bipartisan condemnation and severe lecturing by newspaper commentators For Rep. Ludlow fathered the war referendum amendment plan in the peaceful days of 1934, only to have it explode like a bombshell in the House of Representatives as an aftermath of the Panay incident.

legislatures of three-fourths of the several States. “Article—Section 1. Except in the event of an invasion of the United States or its territorial possessions and attack upon its citizens residing therein, the authority of Congress to declare war shall not become effective until confirmed by a majority of all votes cast thereon in a nationwide referendum. “Congress, when it deems a national crisis to exist, may by concurrent resolution refer the question of war or peace to the citizens of the States, the question to be voted on being, Shall the' United States declare war on ? Congress may otherwise by law provide for the enforcement of this section.” =» ” n IFTY - EIGHT Congressmen who are World War veaterans signed the discharge petition in the House. When the war started on the “peace amendment” a national committee to fight for its adoption was announced by Rep. Ludlow. That committee is headed by Maj. Gen. William O. Rivers, U. S. A. retired. Maj. Gen. Smedley Butler was one of its most vigorous advocates when hearings were held before a House Judiciary subcommittee in the 74th Congress. No soldier himself, Rep. Ludlow pointed out that his plan seems to have the support of those who “have fought or must fight in foreign wars.” Peace organizations have rallied behind it almost 100 per cent, he said. In the interim the House Leadership is doing all that can be done to checkmate action and it it predicted here that they may succeed. Similar measures have been defeated in the past. First such proposal was made by the late Senator Robert M. La Follette Sr., in 1916, and its passage was advocated by the late William Jennings Bryan, then Secretary of State. 2 58 8 - FTER the World War attempts were continued, but thus far Rep. Ludlow's efforts have met with most success. Resolutions embodying the Ludlow principles were introduced in the Senate during the special ses-

Rep. Ludlow at his desk in Washington

sion by Senators La Follette (Prog. Wis.). Clark (D. Mo.) and Capper (R. Kas.). Rep. Ludlow is the son of Hoosier pioneers. He was born on a farm in Fayette County June 24, 1873, and at 18 went to Indianapolis and became a newspaper reporter. His first employment was on The Indianapolis Sun, predecessor of The Indianapolis Times. Later he went to the Sentinel, where he married the society editor, Katherine Huber. They have four children.

= =n =

N 1901 Mr. Ludlow became a Washington correspondent and remained in the press gallery until elected to Congress in 1028. He has served there since. He is the author of several books, including “From Cornfield to Press Gallery,” an autobiography; “In the Heart of Hoosierland?” a story of the Indiana pioneers; “Senator Solomon Spiffledink,” a satire on political bunkum; “America Go Bust,” an expose of governmental bureaucracy, and “Hell or Heaven,” a treatise on war and plea for the referendum plan to curb U. S. participation. Rep. Ludlow was one-time president of the National Press Club. But a life spent in Washington has not made him a sophisticate. He still is a “homespun Hoosier.” It is because of this characteristic that Rep. Ludlow now is filled with consternation over the opposition to his “peace amendment” plan.

States Push Plans for Air Tourist Camps

By E.R. R.

Rep. Ludlow as though he were |

ASHINGTON, Jan. 7.—America’s air-minded folk had

| better get the term “flight strip”

in their “flight

firmly imbedded sciousness, because

constrips”

| will be the airplane tourist camps of

| the future.

“Plight strips” are so new that the term itself is bright

| from recent coinage, and they are | believed to be indigenous to the

United States. Bureau of

| Commerce officials, at any rate, do 'not know of any other country in

which they have been built to any extent, Several score have been built in the United States. Indiana in 1937 authorized the State Highway Com-

This terse excerpt from the In- |

diana statute provides an adequate | physical definition strip.”

of a “flight

imes

+ Entered as Second-Class Matter Indianapolis,

at Postoffice,

War Amendment Proposal Brings Down Furor on Hoosier’s Head |

(Another Story, Page 16)

%, \

a Sh

a »e

No steps have been taken as yet |

allocate Federal funds

for | :

Air |

ects”

which partake strikingly of

the nature of flight strips. is planned, however, Congress to give the matter con- |

to ask

sideration and to authorize definite |

participation of the Bureau of Pub-| lic Roads in the acquisition and]

“flight strips,” as such. Unofficially, | is is understood that Federal funds, have been allocated in some locali- | ties for “roadside improvement proj- :

| . .

The Indiana Congressman on way to his office

Second Section

PAGE 21

Ind.

Our Town

By Anton Scherrer Architecture for the First State House Was Copied From Greeks; Hoosiers, However, Added a Dome.

ILLIAM G. SULLIVAN urged me to drop everything and have a look at the house with the stone front located at 1701 N. Capitol Ave. It's the one just south of where Drs. Wishard, Hamer and Mertz ply their practice (office hours: 11 a. m. to 1 vA) P Well, I did. And now that I share Mr. Sullivan’s secret, I'm in a position to tell you that the stone in

that facade was taken from the first State House, which was wrecked in 1878 to make way for the present one. For all I know, it may even turn out that the stone was part of the 360 perches bought by James Blake in 1831. Let me start at the beginning. James Blake was appointed commissioner in 1831, and given $3000 with which to start buying materials for a State House. That's when he bought the 360 perches of stone. After he had the stone bought, he looked around for an architect. The 1831 act authorizing the building of a State House instructed him to offer $150 for a plan. A lot of architects entered the competition, among them Robert Mills, designer of the Washington Monument. For some reason, however, Mr. Blake preferred the plan submitted by Ithiel Town and I. J. Davis, of New York. So did the Legislature. It would seem so, anyway, because in 1832 the Legislature appointed Noah Noble (Governor), Morris Morris (Auditor) and Samuel Merrill (Treasurer) as commissioners to get a State House going with Town and Davis as archi=tects. The act also said something about using the materials purchased by Mr. Blake. Work began in the spring of 1832. The site, pre= viously as level #s a billiard table, was plowed and heaped into a little hill under the survey and super= vision of Donald Morris’ grandfather, Gen. Thomas A. Morris, then a young West Pointer. It's even more exciting: Gen. Morris not only surveyed the site of our first State House, but 50 years later served as chairman of the commission that built our present capitol.

Built at Cost of $60,000

The first State House was completed in 1835 at a cost of $60,000, which was pretty good considering that it was only $2000 more than the Legislature had allowed. The architecture was cribbed straight from the Parthenon on the Acropolis. With this difference, however: Our first State House had a dome which was something the Greeks never thought of, Berry Sulgrove said it was “a contemptible little dome that was about as suitable in that place as any army cap on the Apollo Belvidere.” Apparently Mr, Sule grove didn’t think much of it. Of course, the stone in the house at 1701 N. Capitol Ave. doesn’t loo): like anything salvaged from the Parthenon. That's probably because the stone was worked over to make it conform to the Eastlake school

Mr. Scherrer

. of architecture, which was the fashionable style when

the old State House was torn down in 1878. There's also the house at 1453 Fletcher Ave. Seems that somebody once told me it was built of brick taken from the old State House. I'll get around to that, too, one of these days.

Jane Jordan—

Youngest Child Is Advised to See Troubles Through Mother's Eyes.

EAR JANE JORDAN-—I am the youngest of 10 children and am a girl of 14. I have a sister 15 who thinks she can do anything she likes. She tries to run me. I get hot-headed and am usually angry enough to start an argument. Then my mother hears us fighting and scolds me. When I tell her that it wasn't my fault, she makes me stay in the rest of the week. She shows partiality between us children and gives my sister everything and me almost nothing. She bawls me out in front of my friends and somee times whips me. When any of my friends are ine vited to the house she gets angry, but if any of my sister's friends come in, it is all right. On week nights when my older sister asks if she can go out, she will get to go. If I ask, Mother gets angry. Some= times I become so angry that I threaten to run away, If this selfishness on my mother’s part doesn't stop I shall run away. But this is where I want you to give me some advice. IMPATIENT. " n » Answer—You do need help for you are a jealous young girl. The baby in a family of 10 is bound to have been somewhat spoiled by older brothers and sisters. Only one really holds out against you and that’s the sister nearest your age whom you regard as a rival for the affection of your mother, My guess is that you love your mother very much or you wouldn't get so mad at her when she favors your older sister. Forget yourself for a moment and try to see things through your mother’s eyes. She has the toughest job of all in trying to preserve an ime

“emergency” landing areas is of im- | perts believe that in years to come— portance both to private and com-| with the “average man” owning and mercial aircraft, but, in a hroader| flying his own plane—they will be sense, their proposed construction| just as essential to public conis indicative of the vastly increased | venience as the automobile parking interest in air-travel. Aviation ex-| lots of today.

mission to acquire tracts along high- | ways ‘not exceeding one mile in length and 1000 feet in width for landing fields and landing strips, to be acquired and paid for in the same manner that right-of-way for highways is acquired and paid for.”

Side Glances—By Clark

construction of such aids to aviation. The Bureau of Air Commerce estimates that there are in the United States at present some 200 to 300 roadside tracts which might be defined roughly as “flight strips.” The function of “flight strips” as

A WOMAN'S VIEW

By Mrs. Walter Ferguson

HE legal horizon begins to brighten. A vice president of the National Association of Women Lawyers has indorsed the proposed Ludlow amendment, and the group she heads denounces breach-ot promise suits. A pat on the back for the lady lawyers! That isn't all. A weighty document, the engineering contract for a giant WPA project drawn up by local attorneys and recently sent to Washington to be . scanned by administration lawyers, was returned with the request that useiess verbiage be deleted and the whole thing stripped down to its essential meaning. It is said that the ihdividual who becomes proficient in speaking a foreign tongue must learn to think in the language, so that in the end his very mental processes undergo a slow change. Now isn’t it true that our lawyers speak a language as foreign to the rank and file of the people as Latin or Greek? Their jargon is so confusing that the average citizen feels as lost in a courtroom as he would if he suddenly found himself surrounded by strangers in an alien land. He is shy, embarrassed, afraid, because the method of communication to which he is accustomed— plain English—is practically taboo and ‘he is made to feel inferior by the professional mumbo jumbo. We mention this because we are looking for bright rays along the New Year sky, and believe the faint evidence that the American Bar may be going intelligible for a change is one of them. Heaven grant it

which everyone in the family is familiar: “Missy, do this, F. D. R.”

Likes to Go to Bed Early for "The Story of

It is a rather are thing for one woman to write Charles Bedaux" such an appreciative and understanding article about another woman. Usually, I think a woman will write with more enthusiasm about some man whom she has interviewed, and yet only a woman could really understand the exceptional qualifications to fill successfully a position such as “Missy” has held for SO many years. In spite of the more serious side of life, the social season must go on, so tonight the dinner to the Vice President takes place. Everyone knows the Vice President likes to go to bed early, but he gives one the feeling he is glad to have a chance to talk with you, even though the hour may not be one which he would choose by preference.

New Books Today

Public Library Presents—

NYONE who attempts to write a book on the present arms race in Europe is like a man trying to jump on a bus along a road that has no halting places.” So says Capt. Liddell Hart in the foreword of his book EUROPE IN ARMS (Random House). Military affairs, like politics, move fast. Few of us have more than a chilling realization of the race and a sickening apprehension of what it may mean. This English military correspondent to the London Times and adviser on defense in general speaks with the authority which comes with a background of experience and scientific study. In Part 1 of his book he is concerned with the present state, a state in flux, of air forces and armies. His only certainty is the uncertainty of calculations. To embark on war today, he says, is like backing a horse that has never run and whose breeding, even, is unknown. Any professional gambler might think it wise to refrain; statesmen should be as wise. In Part 2 he discusses some of the chief problems of warfare and current defense policies. Military wisdom now lies, he thinks, not in amassing armies but in diminishing national vulnerability. He prophesies in Part 3 concerning the nature, course, and effects of future wars. To the stock question: “Will the next war wipe out civilization?” hic answer is that modern methods of attack and defense will produce stalemate, that the collapse of the attack will come before the collapse of civiliza- |

tion.

partial attitude toward you two girls. I feel sorry for your mother because I have two boys of 14 and 16 and I know how hard it is to keep eacn satisfied with the treatment he receives. For example the older boy had to wait for a bicycle until the # younger one was old enough to ride one, too. He did not think this was fair. Do you? If I had bought a bicycle for the older one first I would have been in bad with the younger one. Do you see how hard it is for parents to be right all the time? One of my closest friends is the mother of two girls and I know how hard she tries to be fair to each. She is conscientious, intelligent and hard-working, but in spite of all her efforts the younger girl accuses her mother of loving her sister more, which simply is not true. If you want to win out, don’t be unreasonable. I expect that your mother’s intentions are good, and on hcw she would appreciate a little sympathy and understanding from you instead of constant rebellion. Of course your sister is provoking. She'll step on you every time she gets a chance, just as you lose no opportunity to step on her. By persecuting each other you two girls can do an excellent job of upsetting your mother so that she doesn’t know what to do but box the nearest pair of ears. In dealing with me my two children have learned that they can do more with molasses than with vine gar. When they approach me with the honeyed smile and the loving pat, I am weak as water. Reason, kinde ness, self-control and a trace of unselfishness on the part of children make parents eat out of their hands, Brush the chip off your shoulder and try being patient and helpful. You'll be surprised at what you can accomplish. JANE JORDAN.

Put your problems in a letter to Jane Jordan, who will answer vour questions in this column daily. 1

Walter O'Keefe—

OLLYWOOD, Jan. 7.—Last fall the Duke and Duchess of Windsor were coming over to America and just at that time Uncle Sam started to take a census of the unemployed. Wally canceled the trip right then. . (Now they announce that they're coming over in February, and on the same day comes the news that the price of meat has gone down. That Wally sounds like a very economical housewife, For a gal who's married to a fellow who's not working she certainly manages to make both ends meet. The Duke hopes to see Franklin D. After the trouble he had with his Cabinet and considering the way Congress has been acting it looks as if the two of them will have a lot in common to talk

3 ££

See This Page Tomorrow

"Sure, they gave you a seat behind a post; but the usher's making you a peephole, isn't he?"

"Now, leave me alone—it was my wife's idea to hire a butler!"

BLUE te ee aa we Ral 2 oR