Indianapolis Times, Indianapolis, Marion County, 13 January 1938 — Page 15
gr ies, an
Vagabond
From Indiana=CErnie Pyle
Wanderer, On Leaving Colony of Lepers, Tries to Describe Strange
Emotional Experience He Has Had.
ALAUPAPA, Island of Molokai, Hawaii, Jan, 13.—Early in the morning I must leave Kalaupapa and pass on to other things. There is something I need to say before I go about an emotional experience. But
even before beginning, I can feel myself fumbling and reaching. I lack the artistry to classify it, or to portray it wholly. But it is a feeling something like this—that out of
the defilement and abuse that Nature has heaped upon these people, there has arisen over Kalaupapa an atmosphere that is surely spiritual, almost Heavenly. It is a strange atmosphere of calm that is invitational, almost irresistible. Settlement officials say there ull are no martyrs serving here—that a A N martyr would be worse than useless. AN {3:1 I am sure that is true. And yet I Ra £ el don’t see how they keep martyrs Ai : from pounding down the gates to _, get in. Mr. Pyle For I myself wandered into the foothills of martyrdom. Roaming Kalaupapa, I felt a kind of unrighteousness at being whole and “clean”; I experienced an acute feeling of spiritual need to be no better off than the leper. My feeling will likely impress you as ridiculous fiction. But I did experience it. And I understand now exactly what Father Peter meant. The emotion itself was an adventure in desire, and I am glad that I have had it. But I am glad also that I must go on. For I know that in real life I am a “sprint” martyr; the long steady pull is not for me. I tire of too much goodness, and wish to dart off and chase a rabbit. Things are beautiful only for a little while, Hawaii today is a good way along the road toward stamping out its leprosy. And it has all been done through what you might call “police work.” The checkup system is fine-tooth. It is a criminal offense for a doctor not to report a known leper. It is a criminal offense for an individual to harbor a leper. Every doctor who obtains a license to practice in Hawaii must know enough to tell a “suspect” leper by sight. Today there are 414 patients here, 98 at Kalihi, about 140 on “parole.” With this constant checking, isolating and treating, it is not impossible that in 50 vears the need for a Kalaupapa will be over, the Settlement can be abandoned, and leprous cases will be so few they can be isolated in a less remote spot.
Singers Bid Him Farewell
And now, before the pack-donkey and the saddle horse come to take me up that appalling 2000-foot clift out into the other world again, there is just one more thing: No man dare say that he has advanced through the curriculum of all emotions until he has had sung to him the beautiful “Aloha Oe"—Hawaii's song of greeting and farewell—by the leper Singers of Kalaupa. PR There were 10 of them, all men, some with flower leis around their hats. The 10 voices intermingled, and swept in harmonies to a blend that was perfection. There were modulations and graceful interweavings of tones that I had never dreamed existed in this or any other song. The night was dark, and even the nervous palm fronds were still. I stood while they sang. Aloha Oe. . . . Farewell to Thee . . . farewell to thee forever. . And any man, going away, who can stand and hear the last fragile notes fade from the throats of the leper singers of Kalaupapa without tears in his eyes— well, he would be better off dead.
My Diary
By Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt
First Lady Explains Her Idea of Having Women Advise Architects.
ASHINGTON, Wednesday.—Last night we held the judicial reception. It had been snowing and raining most of the day, and that always means the attendance is cut down. The Justices of the Supreme Court always head the line on this occasion and the Chief Justice always impresses me as looking the part so satisfactorily. He has great dignity, and I always get a sense of pleasure whenever I see Mrs. Hughes. I think the saying that as we grow older all of us have exactly the beauty we deserve, applies admirably to her. As Mrs. Hughes has grown older, her beauty has increased and her expression is very lovely. . Mr. and Mrs. Albert Cotsworth Jr. and their daughter breakfasted with me. After breakfast 1. bade goodby to our other guests who had been with us overnight, Mr. and Mrs. Bruce Gould and Mr. and rs. Fulton Oursler. : I want to tell you today of a protest which has come to me from an association of architects who feel that architects were unjustly criticized when I made the suggestion that the advice of a woman would be valuable in every architect's office.
Sees Field for Trained Women
I did not mean what I said as a criticism of the profession. However, I believe a woman's advice would be useful in planning the interior layout of a room because it naturally affects both the exterior and interior arrangements. I always have supposed that the woman who had some interest in a special house was expected to provide this advice, but in the case of building on a large scale, individual women cannot be consulted, so it seems to me there is a field for the employment of trained women in archits’ offices. a evidently did not express myself with sufficient clarity and I am glad to have an opportunity to explain my idea in greater detail.
New Books Today
Public Library Presents—
HUNGPA HAN the Korean was 18 when he escaped from a Japanese prison and made his way to New York with a capital of $4. A rebel against the teachings of Confucius, he was inspired by his studies in a mission school with a consuming ambition to learn the ways of Western civilization. How he half-starved on partial scholarships, and how he “worked his way” through colleges as house-boy, farmhand, dishwasher, clerk and peddler, to emerge from the melting-pot as Younghill Kang, he tells in EAST GOES WEST (Scribner). Of his Oriental friends, of his fellow-workers, of strangers who often helped him materially and of others who victimized or mistreated him, he writes with rich humor and tolerance. American life in the 1920s forms a substantial background for his varied experiences, from Greenwich Village parties to the Baltimore kingdom of a colored Messiah whose assistant the young exile was for a time. - Now on the New York University faculty, Dr. Kang on the whole concludes that he has been treated graciously by America. “The Grass Roof,” his previous book, gives a vivid account of his boyhood in Korea and Japan. . = ” ” HE account of the “forbidden” journey which Ella K. Maillart made from Peking to Northern India, together with Peter Fleming, the brilliant young London Times correspondent, is given in FORBIDDEN JOURNEY (Holt). Mr. Fleming made his report last year in “News From Tartary.” These two achieved the impossible in crossing the deserts and mountains just because they were curious to know what was happening in Chinese Turkestan, and wished to probe the political conflict between Nanking and Moscow. As a result of her observation and thought, Miss Maillart’s narrative is informative and interesting; and “often . .. the primitive movement of the caravan on the immense plateau, or the real nature of herself and her companion become, by an apparently simple turn of phrase or in a light reference to some Sthall joke of the day's toil, deeply and delicately alive.”
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In today’s article, fourth of a series of 12, Mr. Stolberg begins a discussion of the C. I. O’s automobile union and its difficulties. The next two articles will elaborate the same theme. Of course Mr. Stolberg’s interpretations are his own, not those of The Times,
AT the heart of the C. 1. 0. is the United Automobile Workers Union. The automobile industry is the largest all-around customer of the other basic industries; and itself is the most automatic of them all. More than 95% of its workers need little skill. It is for this kind of industry, the arch-type of modern basic industrialism, that the C. I. O. was founded. It is precisely for these reasons that the C. I. O. has had its greatest organizational success among the auto workers. And yet it
the bitterest factionalism has developed. And that,
too, for the same reason.
The very weapon which so successfully organized these workers, the sitdown which can stop an entire plant with a dozen men, can also be used to disorganize the union. The Communist-led opposition to the Homer Martin administration in the union knows it. And it has been using the unauthorized sitdown as a factional weapon ever since February, 1937. But first we must glance briefly at the history of the U., A. W. This history is extremely illuminating, because in a more dramatic way the success of the U. A. W. is characteristic of the new basic unions so brilliantly organized by the C. I. O. Not all these unions have the same factional history, but all of them have had a similar development within a brief two years. They have built a rapid, yet more or less permanent organization. It is inconceivable that in autos, in rubber, in textiles, or in steel, these bona-fide unions will ever be displaced by company unions; not without civil war in our economy.
EJ " = URING the NRA, in 1933 and 1934, the automobile workers were especially restless and demanded organization. William Green had to do something. Accordingly in 1934 the A. F. of L. chartered 132 “federal locals.” Such local unions, organized by separate plants, belong to no international union but are affiliated directly to the A. F. of L. Green- proceeded to treat these “federal locals” like so many baby farms of unwanted foundlings. He knew that only industrial unionism could organize this basic industry; yet he was scared to death of the “jurisdictional” claims of his various crafts. More than 20 crafts claimed some sort of jurisdiction in the auto industry. By 1935 Green could no longer resist the pressure of these local unions for a national organization. But as president of the new Council of Automobile Workers he appointed Francis J. Dillon, an archaic A. F. of L. organizer, flatfooted from a long life as walking delegate. And Green immediately began bombarding Dillon with secret instructions, which I have seen, to lie low.
= = = HE workers took Dillon, and after one year of Dillionism 52 df these locals died from sheer neglect. But a new rank-and-file leadership was feverishly organizing all along. In mid-1935 the workers struck at the Chevrolet plant in Toledo and the resulting concessions from the management had an enormously vitalizing effect upon the rest of the industry. Finally in April, 1936, some 30,000 automobile workers sent dele-
is in this very union that:
1e Indianapolis
THURSDAY, JANUARY 13, 1938
Inside the C.1.O." . | .
Auto Union Energized
-
ER I A ts
a
imes
Entered
by Benjamin Stolberg Movement, but Now Itself Is Harassed, Writer Says
Times-Acme Photo.
Richard Frankensteen, vice president of the United Automobile Workers, stirs a union meeting undisturbed by working reporters and movie camreamen.
gates to South Bend, Ind. for a national convention. They promptly threw out Dillon and a new and vigorous leadership emerged. Homer Martin, whom we sketched in a previous installment, was elected president. Wyndham Mortimer was elected first vice president, Ed Hall second vice president, and George Addis sec-retary-treasurer. Other leaders — young, alert, enthusiastic—came to the fore. Among them was Richard Frankensteen, a former tackle at Dayton University, Bob Travis of Flint, and the three Reuther brothers—Walter, Victor and Roy. The rank and file was rarin’ to go. And soon after the South Bend convention the U. A. W. entered the C. I. O. Lewis received them with open arms, with money, with organizers, and with his ponderous and inspiring blessings. = » =
WHIRLWIND organization campaign began. By December, 1936, the 30,000 had grown to
. 100,000. And when General Mo- - tors still refused to deal with this
obvious mass organization under the Wagner Labor Act, the workers struck. In January and February, 1937,
Side Glances—By Clark
~
"l know | should retire, Doctor. And | could if | hadn't bought that yacht to get a rest."
Victor Reuther, leader of the Anderson auto strike, and one of three brothers
active in the U. A.W.
Times-Photo.
America beheld the great sitdown strikes, a new technique which raised all sorts of problems. Its dangers to union discipline were obvious even then. On th& other hand the new weapon had a tremendous releasing power on the psychology of labor. The General Motors strike was won. The effect of this victory not only on the automobile workers, but on the rest of the C. I. O. was amazing. Early in March 1937 the United States Steel Corp. signed up peacefully, for many reasons. But the main reason was the victory of the C. I. O. in General Motors. United States Steel did not wish to jeopardize a long and busy season ahead, with the whole world rearming. In March 1937 the workers sat down in Chrysler. Chrysler got up from under and also signed up. 5 ” ”
HE agreements were excellent. Wages were to be improved by collective bargaining. A uniform 40-hour week was put in, with time and a half for overtime. But probably the best thing about these agreements was the highly democratic method of handling grievances which was installed.
A WOMAN'S VIEW
By Mrs. Walter Ferguson
HE youngest generation has had some bad publicity lately. When certain members of the overprivileged group brandish guns in their homes, indulge in noisy midnight revels or become speed maniacs on the public streets, we are quick to criticize. We forget apparently that a very much larger majority of the under-thirty set are soberly considering social and economic problems before them, and what's more, are trying to solve them. In most states they have organized to study unemployment, war causes, delinquency, crime, industrial despotism and religious intolerance. It is charged that the young folks’ enthusiasm often fills them with an impractical idealism. We may say their methods of approach to economic problems are headstrong and therefore dangerous. Whatever may be the truth, one thing is certain. There is great need for a better understanding between the young and middle-aged, and I believe the first step toward attainment of such understanding must always come from the older group. Obviously all the evils in our society to which the young point are present—often glaringly so. It is impossible to argue them out of existence and the wagging of older heads in disapproval has never yet brought about any reforms. So when we cry “Red radicals!” to one group and “vicious idlers!” to the other, without first attempting to find out why the one idles and the other agitates, we do not display any superior form of intelligence, but only prove that the father some-
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times is more stupid than the son.
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Homer Martin, expreacher and militant head of C. I. O.’s auto union.
This system was both elastic and democratic. It began at the bottom, in each shop, and wound up at the top, drawing into its educational orbit a large number of rank-and-file workers and rank-and-file managers. By August 1937, when the U. A. W. held its historic convention in Milwaukee, it could report a membership of almost 400,000, having grown more than tenfold since its inception. The convention assessed each member $1 to complete the unionization of the industry, especially Ford. The union no longer had to call for funds or organizers from the C. I. O. Strong, young, and rich enough—it was going places. And yet all along the union had been harassed from the inside by the “Unity” group, which follows the Communist “party line.” The convention delegates left Milwaukee early in September in the high and happy hope that “peace” had been established between the.
Jasper—By Frank
pr. 1938 by United Feature Syndicate, Inc
Francis James Dillon, head of the A. F. of L. motor unions.
“Progressives,” headed by Martin, and the “Unity” faction. ” ” ” UT the peace was soon broken. There can be no peace with the tactics of the Stalinists. The Communist Party set itself the task of controlling the U. A. W. And what it can’t control it disrupts. This does not mean that innocent followers, those who fall for the Stalinist agitation, are not sound union men at heart. But it does mean that the Communist Party follows the totalitarian dictates of the Communist International, zigzagging and reversing itself with dizzying rapidity. And Moscow is not interested in the United Automobile Workers Union or in the C. I. O. as such. It wishes to influence and control international labor in defense of the Stalinist regime and its international policies. Next—Stalinist Tactics; the Homer Martin Gun Incident.
"He says snap off that light and please stop hollering 'Bon Voyage'
so loud!"
as Second-Class Matter at Postoffice, Indianapolis, Ind.
SW
Second Section
PAGE 15
Our Town
By Anton Scherrer Bellevue Was a Rendezvous for Cyclists and Had the Prettiest Grass of Any Spot Around the City,
'M not sure whether a Catholic priest or the bicycle craze of the Nineties inspired Charles Truemper to start the enterprise known as “Bellevue.” Maybe both had something to do with it. Anyway, Bellevue was a picturesque little place at the foot of the hill where the canal and the tow-path cross the Michigan Road. It had a little shack, I remember, and a pretty little
garden overlooking the water, and it was there that tired bicycle riders used to stop to limber their legs and refresh their spirits. There was also a little zoo connected with the place, consisting of a possum, an eagle and a cage of raccons, if I remember correctly. And another thing I'll never forget is that Belleyue had the prettiest grass anywhere around Indianapolis. Mr. Truemper was a grand host, even if he didn’t look like a boniface. He was a slender, smallish man with hollow cheeks and a red imperial beard which had a way of sticking out almost horizontally when he appeared interested in anything. Mr. Truemper’s beard bristled most of the time. That's because he was interested in everything around here. There wasn't a parade, for instance, that he didn’t have something to do with, and he was one of the dependable men you could count on to fire the cannons in the Court House yard when the occasion called for it. Besides all these extra= curricular activities, Mr. Truemper also found time to work at his trade which was that of a tentmaker. Offhand, you wouldn't suppose that a man of Mr. Truemper’s vast and varied interests would find time to concern himself with the physical comforts of bicycle riders, but that’s exactly what he did. He did even more. Besides making Bellevue a rendezvous for bicycle riders, he turned it into a health resort, too. Even more remarkable, he did it without the help of a doctor. That's how the priest—one Father Kneipp—gets in today’s piece.
Told Remarkable Story
Mr. Truemper discovered Father Kneipp in the course of one of his visits to Germany. I don’t know whether Mr. Truemper made the trip especially to see Father Kneipp, or whether the meeting was a matter of luck. It doesn’t matter. Suffice to say that when Mr. Truemper returned, he told a most remarkable story of how the priest restored the sick without the help of medicine. What's more, Mr. Truemper returned with the secret of Father Kneipp’s cure. It was simple enough. The patient was ordered to remove his shoes and socks, and take early morning walks in the grass when the dew was heaviest. The results were phenomenal, said Mr. Truemper. Well, as a result of Mr. Truemper’s meeting with the priest, Indianapolis had one of the first Kneipp cures in America. It also explains why Mr. Truemper picked the one place where the grass was prettiest,
Mr. Scherrer
Jane Jordan—
Girl Guarding Secret Must Decide
Whether Confession Is Best Policy.
DDFs JANE JORDAN—About four years ago I was infatuated with a young man. I went with him for about two years. At this time it was my misfortune to love not wisely, but too well. Now I am in love again, and considering marriage with one of the grandest and most considerate of men. Now should I tell him of my past experience, or just let bygones be bygones and trust to the future? I am in a dilemma, fearing that if I tell him T’ll lose him, and that if I don’t tell him I am not being fair. Please answer this soon and thank you so much. ZELDA. ” ” ”
Answer—I wish I knew exactly the right course for you to take, but I do not. Candor is the ideal, of course. Who does not yearn for an understanding, pardoning love which accepts us for what we are, not what we have been—a love which is alive to our Vire tues and blind to our faults, a love which idealizes us without expecting us to live up to the ideal every moment? And who does not crave a person, who in spite of severe disappointment can say, “No matter what you have done, I cannot live without you.” Also, such an ideal is seldom attained. Confession often is a selfish luxury which removes the burden of grief and regret from our own shoulders and gives it to another to bear. I suppose it is more practical for you to tell nothing. Sometimes it takes more strength of character to withhold the truth and protect others from unhappiness than to tell it and get soundly punished. In destroying yofr lover's ideal of you, you may be doing a very cruel thing which will do more harm than good, bringing the most senseless misery to you both. To tell may be more unfair than not to tell. If I advise you to tell the truth, it may be very de= structive and spoil two lives which could have been happy together. If I advise you not to tell, the secret may prey upon your mind, giving rise to nervous anxiety or fits of severe depression: How can I estie mate the severity of your own conscience? After all you will have to make your own decision. I do not believe it is necessary for you to let one mise take ruin your whole life. Unless you can make a sate isfactory compromise with your own conscience so that it will not hound you all ‘your life, I would be afraid to advise you to enter a marriage with a secret to guard. He who learns first to forgive himself is most able to forgive others. JANE JORDAN.
Put your problems in a letter to Jane Jordan, who will answer your questions in this column daily.
Walter O'Keefe—
VLLYWOOD, Jan. 13.—In Washington they use the word “recession” just about as often as you hear “Mae West” around the National Broadcasting Co. Admittedly la West made her mistake in the presence of a dummy, but no New Dealer will admit that about a fellow Democrat. The “recession” wouldn't have happened if Jod Kennedy hadn't been busy playing with those boats. Meanwhile the du Ponts are down in Washington walloping the New Deal, and you naturally wonder what their girl Ethel talks about when she goes to visit her in-laws. Maybe she talks about the law her husband, Franklin Jr, is learning at the University of Virginia. And it’s a tough spot for young Franklin, too. ‘Just about the time he understands one legal point his dad’s advisers attack it. What a honeymoon!
Gold Change Proposed
Times Special ASHINGTON, Jan. 13.—If the Government is forced into more big spending to meet relief and recession needs, it appears increasingly likely that the money may be raised by desterilizing gold, The recent advocacy of guch a step by Gen. Robert E. Wood of Sears Roebuck, before the Senate Uneme ployment Committee, has breathed new life into the possibility. Chairman Marriner Eccles of the Federal Ree serve Board, while not recommending this action, told the committee it would be an effective way of stimulating purchasing power. There is considerable sentiment for the step among the groups in Congress which advocate mone tary action to improve economic conditions, the &o= called “inflation bloc.”
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