Indianapolis Times, Indianapolis, Marion County, 8 June 1938 — Page 9

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Vagabond

From Indiana = Ernie Pyle

Ernie Did Some Grumbling When He Found Uncle Sam Had Locked His Gate, but He Got Over His Anger.

Editor's Note—Ernie Pyle, after three years of traveling, is taking a vacation. Hence we are this opportunity to reprint some of his. readers’ favorite columns, as indicated in their letters to him and to the editor.

NEWGATE, British Columbia, June 8.— If a man were able to throw in a circle, he could take a rock and with one heave toss it clear around the city of Newgate. For Newgate consists only of the following: 1—One store and one home (both in the same building). 2—A railroad depot (which plays host to one train a week). ' In addition, there are a number of - trees. Newgate might never have caught my eye at all, had it not been for circumstances beyond my control. . We were heading out of Canada for Montana, and it was almost sunset. We came down out of the scrub woods, made a hairpin turn, and smacked up to a sign alongside the depot which said ‘‘Canadian Customs.” The depot was closed, and there seemed no one about. iI got out and poked around, and hollered a couple of times, but raised no one. “Where's the Canadian customs man?” “Hes gone away.” “When will he be back?” “Not till tomorrow.” “Where is the U. S. customs station?” “Just down the road. But they've locked the gate. You can’t go through tonight.” There followed scowling and muttering and threats under the breath. Then: “Well, where can we stay all night?” “We can put you up here,” the young man said. And in such grumbling circumstances the acquaintance of George Williams and his parents was made. The night with them was like a gift. Richard Williams, the father, is from Derbyshire. He is tall and lank and a little bent. He came over in 1910, his wife and little boy in 1913. They all missed the war, and they are thankful for that. They have been at this tiny spot now for 15 years. They have never been back to England. They run the only store in the neighborhood. They have kerosene lamps, and no telephone, The store is in the front part of the house.

Newspapers Arrive Once a Week The little boy is 30 now. You'd think he wouldn't have any British left in his speech. But he has. He worships his mother. She looks so young that everybody thinks at first she is his wife. They keep up. Mrs, Williams’ silver is the very best. her linen is all hand embroidered, she uses cut glass on the table. And everything, of course, is im=

maculately clean. Every night the Williamses listen to the radio news flashes from Calgary, and once a week comes The London Daily Mirror, a whole week's issues bound up like a magazine for overseas subscribers. “Everybody who tries to cross the border after 6 o'clock is just like you,” Mrs. Williams said gently, so as not to offend. “They get in a rage)and say they just have to get across tonight. But then after they find thev can stay here all night, and get some supper and settle down, they say they're glad they couldn't go across. They're usually so tired they shouldn't be driving at night anyhow.” The Williamses have three or four guests a week in the summer. All of them caught, just as we were. They started taking people at first just for an accommodation. Lately they've been thinking of putting up a sign. But they haven't done it yet. Not many peo= pie come this way anyhow.

My Diary

By Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt

First Lady's Sleep Interrupted By Two Phone Calls During Night.

YDE PARK, Tuesday.—I went to bed at 11 o'clock last night and, having had a rather short night's sleep on Sunday, fell asleep immediately, only to be awakened by distant calls of, “Mrs. Roosevelt, the telephone.” I arose, listened to a phoned telegram and returned to the sleeping porch and fell asleep again. What seemed to me hours later, voices again called me from very far away and insisted that the telephone must be answered. This time it was Seattle, Wash., and my daughter told me of some changes in her plans which would necessitate new arrangements at this end of the line. I'd almost reached the conclusion that the night was not meant for sleep, but I tried once more and nothing disturbed me until I heard the first birds at 6:30 a. m. I lay lazily for another hour enjoying, with half closed eyes, the reflection of the sunrise and the activity of all nature's little creatures, who are much more sensible than we are, for they are busy early in the morning. Yesterday, I was lost, for I had no one in the house here to answer the telephone, or take care of the mail, or do any one of the one hundred odd things that Mrs. Scheider always does. Believe me, if you come to depend upon somebody else to smooth out the details of life for you, that person has but to be removed for a short time to make you realize how dependent you are. There was a time in my dim and distant past, when I wrote all my own letters in longhand and did all my own telephoning and made all my own arrangements. But I have grown shockihgly careless and leave many of the details of living in more capable hands than my own. Last evening, however, a very capable younger secretary, Mrs. James W. Somerville, came up from the Washington office and today has been a very much simpler day, with the knowledge that when I am at the hospital everything will be taken care of at home.

Postman [Is Skeptical The mailman, however, looked Mrs. Somerville over with a cold and calculating eye and told her that if she was going to sign for letters addressed to me, she would have to go through all the formalities that Mrs. Scheider has gone through. How was he to know who she was and whether she had a right to

substitute for Mrs. Scheider. Even in the remote country districts Uncle Sam’s mails have to run according to approved rules, which should be rather comforting to us all. I was happy to find the doctor at the hospital this morning in a very cheerful frame of mind. Mrs. Scheider is even better than we hoped. When I went

Mr. Pyle

in and read her a rather ribald telegram from a

friend of ours who had been with us in West Virginia, she actually smiled. It appears that on our rounds in West Virginia, the visitors were exposed to the measles and so this telegram began, “What is ail this, measles or what?” The sun is shining, it is a perfect June day. My mother-in-law has gone to New York University for me. I am feeling much happier,

Bob Burns Says—

OLLYWOOD, June 8.—I use'ta think that the reason why my folks back in the hills let everything go to “rack and ruin” was because they jest didn’t have anything worth takin’ care of in the first place. But not long ago, I had a telephone installed in my Uncle Hod’s house and when I called on him the other day, I found my Aunt cutting biscuits with the receiver, his daughter using the mouthpiece for an ink well and the baby using the cord for a& jumpin’

10) z be. (Copyright, 1938) »

By Thomas L. Stokes

Times Special Writer

Chandler.

ley campaign managers. From all parts of the state come the stories. But in the South, the East, and to some extent in the West, political activity of WPA supernumeraries is particularly energetic. The hardboiled and unrelenting attitude of some foremen on behalf of the Senator and against the Governor, especially in the South and East, is attested in numerous affidavits. It is open

and flagrant. Some represent themselves as carrying out orders, presumably from higher up, in order to protect their own jobs. : In Edmonson County, in Middlewestern Kentucky, a significant political project is being carried out. WPA timekeepers recently have been making out political check-lists of WPA workers, apparently with the object of finding out their affiliations and lining up the vote. » » » INSPECTED one of these lists, written in pencil, which came from the files of a rock-quarry timekeeper. Four names and checkmarks by them. These appeared to identify Chandler supporters. I also saw a typewritten list of the same sort on a card. The handwritten lists apparently are being transferred to a card-index system. The cards call for the following information: Names of all legal voters in family; address; registered, ves or no; precinct where registered. On the lists I saw this information had all been filled in. Lee Carden, chief WPA supervisor for the district, is reported to be directing this political project. In distributing the forms to the timekeepers he is said to have told them that they were being given a certain number each, and that every sheet must be returned. What will happen to those whose names carry a checkmark remains to be seen. Reports, unverified, are that threats are being made that those who do not support Senator Barkley will lose their jobs. Another responsible WPA official, an assistant supervisor, is involved in a revealing affidavit from a man in Campbell County along the northern border, Frank Starr, who before his recent dis-

By E.R. R.

ASHINGTON, June 8—Aft- \ V er five years of discussion, the House of Representatives has passed a bill to replace the Pure Food and Drugs Act of 1906. The House bill differs in at least two important particulars from the version passed by the Senate at the first session, and the legislation may be held up in conference until adjournment of Congress. The original food and drug act was adopted in 1906 after strong advocacy by President Theodore Roosevelt and widely publicized revelations by ‘“muck-rakers.” Even so, the act was considerably weaker than was desired by its advocates. Three amendments have been since added to the act of 1906. That of 1912 prohibited false and fraudulent labeling of patent medicines. That of 1913 required the net weight to be stated on foods and drugs in

OUISVILLE, Ky., June 8.—Local WPA supervisory officials and foremen are doing the yeoman job in WPA'’s venture into Kentucky politics in behalf of the renomination of Senator Barkley, President Roosevelt's Senate leader, whose seat is being sought by Governor

They have the support and co-operation of local Bark-

charge=which he attributes to politics—had “served for three years in responsible WPA positions, as supervisor, project en= gineer, and project superintendent. » » ”

E swore to an affidavit as follows: “That while project superintendent at the Ft. Thomas Army post I took a man named Lawrence Connit to Mr. Maynard, assistant supervisor, to be qualified for a position as carpenter foreman; that this man was very closely questioned by Mr. Maynard regarding his attitude toward the Senatorial race between Governor Chandler and Senator Barkley, and Mr. Connit made the statement that he and Governor Chandler were very close friends. “Mr. Maynard informed Mr. Connit in my presence that we should all support the President who has made employment possible, and that the President was for Senator Barkley. Area Engineer Shraberg commented to me afterward, ‘You should have posted the man about that before you brought him in.’ “Mr. Connit did not get the job. “Affiant further states that there were several meetings of a socalled WPA social club at which we were told that we should support the President, with the inference that we should support Senator Barkley too; that all foremen were given Barkley buttons and were expected to wear them. “Affiant states that he did not commit himself and because of his inactivity for Senator Barkley he was removed for the ostensible reason that he would follow instructions and failed to co-operate. “Later, the position he filled was offered to two men who openly were for Barkley; that most political influence in the WPA is so subtle that a man would have difficulty proving it even though he knows it is so— that in other words they may fire vou for political reasons, but say that they did it because you failed to co-operate and so forth.”

” ” ”

N assistant supervisor in Russell County in southern Kentucky is involved in charges of political activity in an affidavit by Forrest H. Lawless, 33 years old, who said he has been employed on WPA about two years and was discharged March 21 on the ground his work was not satisfactory. “About two weeks before I was discharged,” Mr. Lawless swore, “it was rumored among the workers that a paper would be brought

packages. That of 1930 authorized the promulgation of legal standards for certain canned goods. A comprehensive revision of the 1906 act was proposed in 1933 in a bill introduced by Senator Copeland, formerly Health Commissioner of New York City. The Copeland (Tugwell) bill was much too drastic to suit the industries affected and dominant Congressional opinion, and successive drafts of the bill weakened it considerably. As passed by the Senate on May 28, 1935, it was not unpalatable to the manufacturers of patent medicines, foods and cosmetics. The Food and Drugs Administration had little enthusiasm for it, and Senator Copeland declared on the floor of the Senate that he had no more interest in it, and the bill died with adjournment of the 74th Congress. One controversial feature of pure food and drugs legislation has presumably been settled by the recent

ianapolis Times

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 8, 1938

out on the job by some of the of=ficials of the WPA for the workers to sign pledging their support to Senator Barkley or lose their jobs. “Before the paper was presented on our job I had talked before the foremen and hands that I would not sell my vote for a 20-cent job, and what I said was turned into the WPA office, and I was later showed a paper that I was marked unfavorable to Barkley. “After I received notice that I was laid off I asked the assistant supervisor why I was laid off and he said that the talk I had on the road was the reason, and he would do every man he heard talking against Barkley the same way. He further said, ‘Being that I am Barkley's campaign manager in this county, I had instructions to do so’ He continued, ‘I expect every Democrat that is working on the WPA to support Barkley and every Republican to throw his influence that way.’ “In a few weeks I returned to the WPA office in Jamestown and talked with the project supervisor

House Passage of Food and Drug Bill Follows Five Years of Discussion

enactment of the Wheeler-Lea amendment to the Federal Trade Commission Act, to enable the Commission to deal with fraudulent advertising. The House bill therefore omits the advertising provision which was included in the bill passed by the Senate at the first session of the present Congress. The most important addition to the 1906 law contained in the present bill is a section which would bring cosmetics under the purview of the pure food and drugs administration of the Department of Agriculture. The bill was amended in the House to allow any Federal District Court to enjoin enforcement of orders of the administration, and the strenuous objection of Secretary Wallace to this provision might lead President Roosevelt to veto the bill if it is sent to him with the House amendment.

The Relief-in-Politics Racket

Kentucky WPA Foremen Charged

(Third of a Series)

With Lining Up Votes for

CAMPAIGN POLITICS

Primed—And How!

of this county in regard to being re-employed on the WPA. He asked me that if I did have a chance to reregister would I support Barkley in order to hold or get a job.

ot Fostoftice

Barkley

rifle”; Es Ca - xd r

—— i) & AUT

“I told him no. He then said, ‘You ought to, he has been feeding you for four or five years. Then after talking with him a few minutes he told me he couldn't do anything for me.”

Midwestern Farm Tenancy

Seen as Serious Problem

| HE Midwest, as well as the South, is shown to have a | serious tenancy problem in the re- | vised edition of “Farmers Without | Land,” prepared by Rupert B. Vance of the University of North Carolina, for the Public Affairs Committee, New York City. In the corn belt the droughts which followed years of low prices have created a wholly new class of tenants, according to the pamphlet. In Iowa more than 49 per cent of the farmers are now tenants and they operate more than 60 per cent of the land. Formerly tenancy in the Middle West was largely on a business basis. Many farmers found it more profitable to rent land than to buy it. The new tenancy, however, is shown to be “less the product of normal business enterprise and more the product of distress conditions. . « «+ When the price level fell with the debacles of 1920 and 1929-30, many owners were completely wiped out. Hence came foreclosures, cor=porate landholdings, and a whoie crop of newer and more insecure

tenants.” »

” ” MITIGATING feature of tenancy in the Midwest is seen in the number of tenants who are related to landlords. In Iowa in 1935 it was estimated that 23 per cent of the tenants were so related. But along with this was the largest amount of absentee and corporate landownership to be found in any section. The same study showed 20 per cent of the tenants rented from corporations and loen companies, 14 per cent from businvss and professional men, 12 per cent from

widows and estates, and 21 per cent from retired farmers. “Serious instability of tenure exists,” the pamphlet states, “on many corporate holdings, partly because of the ‘red tape’ and imperscnal relations existing, but largely because tenants know that the land may be sold at any time.” Special emphasis is placed on the recommendations of the President's Committee on Farm Tenancy urging individual states— 1. To improve the leasing contract and landlord-tenant relationships,

2. To modify the taxation of farm lands with a view to favoring farm ownership, and

3. To make better provisions for safeguarding the civil liberties of tenants on the land, It is suggested that the Federal Government encourage state action along these lines by purchasing land for resale to suitable tenants, and stimulate co-operative ownership by loans and technical assistance,

Heard in Congress—

Senator Holt (D. W. Va.) —Senators will remember that back during the reorganization fight WPA shoved 80 many projects down the center aisle of the Senate that it was almost necessary to move some of the members back. During the Supreme Court fight, if they could not give vou a promise of one of the six additional Supreme Court judges, they would build a court house in your home town. (Laughter). It all depends. The difference was that they promised some the judges &nd others the court houses. Nevertheless, there is no politics in the WPA-—none whatsoever!

Side Glances—By

Clark

Fe J. )

Apt

- - -~ eo JY ANY

Yo -

"I'll admit | was young once myself, but : instruments.”

didn't play any musical

Jasper—By Frank Owen

extended research

TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE

. Into what body of water does the Danube River empty? . What is a chalice? . Which American League baseball club is managed by Charles E. (Gabby) Street?

. Name the place to which Jesus withdrew with His disciples on the eve of the Crucifixion? . What is the underworld name for cocaine? . Are whales cold or warmblooded? . Name the capital of Rhode Island. ” ” »

Answers

The Black Sea. The cup used in the celebration of the Eucharist. . St. Louis. . Gethsemane. . Snow. . Warm-blooded. . Providence. » ” ”

ASK THE TIMES

Inclose a 3-cent stamp for reply when addressing any question of fact or information to The Indianapolis Times Washington Service Bureau, 1013 13th St, N. W. Washing“ton, D. C. Legal and medical advice cannot be given nor can be under-

-n

ond-Class Matter ndianapolis,

Second Section

PAGE 9!

Ind,

Our Town

By Anton Scherrer

Mr. Earnest Transformed His Home Into a Shrine Dedicated to the Memory of Schumann - Heink,

UCKED away in a grove of sycamores far from the maddening crowd, but within easy reach of an Indianapolis streetcar is a shrine dedicated to the memory of Madame Schumann-Heink, It is also the home of

Herman Earnest, and has the word “Erda” over its door. I'll’come to that in a moment, The first time Mr, Earnest heard Schumann-Heinlk was back in 1915 when she gave a concert (her fourth in Indianapolis) in old Caleb Mills Hall. Mr. Earnest says he’ll never forget that night, Madame wore a light blue dress with a train at least 20 feet long, and it almost wrecked her entrance. Nobody had told her about the splintery floor of the old Shortridge stage. Madame must have done some tall thinking during her first group of songs, says Mr, Earnest, because when it came time for the intermission a couple of Shortridge janitors appeared on the stage and laid a big white sheet from the door to the piano. When they got done, Madame swept in triumphantly, train and all, looking like her old self. After that, she gave everything she had. Mr. Earnest said he couldn't sleep that night thinking about the way Schumann-Heink sang. He couldn't sleep the next night, either. I don't know what would have happened next had not Mr. Earnest picked up a paper and read that Schumann-Heink was scheduled to give a concert in Cincinnati. Mr, Earnest went to his employer, and asked for a ‘eave of absence. When he got to Cincinnati, he discove ered that Schumann-Heink was ill and that a sube stitute was singing her songs. Sick at heart, Mr, Earnest returned to Indianapolis when the thought struck him to write to Madame and tell her about his disappointment. In no time at all Madame answered, inclosing some photographs, and that was the beginning of the little shrine in Indianapolis.

She Called Him ‘My Son’

After that Mr. Earnest heard Madame in 16 cone certs. He went to everyone within 200 miles of Ine dianapolis, and every time, of course, he got to see and talk with her. By this time, she was calling him “my son.”

Well, about three years ago, Mr. Earnest found and bought a little house tucked away in a grove of sycamores, and in his enthusiasm he told Schue mann-Heink all about it. Madame was tickled pink, and said she wanted the privilege of christening the home. She suggested the name of “Erda,” her favorite character in “Siegfried.” It means Earth Mother.

“The Little House,” she wrote, “will be your Earth Mother, your Protector.” Mr. Earnest took the word “Erda,” just as it appeared in her letter, and had a photographer enlarge it. After that, a couple of Manual boys cast it in metal, and that's what you see above Mr. Earnest's doorway today.

Inside, the house is jampacked with memorabilia hundreds of autographed photographs, paintings, let ters and phonograph records covering every period of her life. Besides that, she gave Mr. Earnest the crucifix she wore at all her concerts. She wanted him to have her bedroom rug, too. As a matter of fact, Mr. Earnest is still receiving things. The other day, for instance, two years after her death, he re ceived the door knocker of her California home. Her children said they couldn't think of a better place to put it than on the door of the little shrine in Ine dianapolis.

Mr. Scherrer

Jane Jordan—

Advises Girl to Stay With Job She + Trained for Despite Low Salary,

EAR JANE JORDAN-I am a man of 20 years, in love with a girl 18 with whom I went for two years. After that she began keeping company with another fellow whom I hear she intends to marry. Since I am a friend of the family I visit their home frequently. Lately she has showered me with her affections, while still professing to love the other man, I would appreciate it if you would attempt to explain her actions. BEFUDDLED.

Answer—Is it so surprising that a young girl's af« fections will not stay put? I imagine your girl friend is having fun testing out her powers of charm. When she was going with you she wanted to see if she could win someone else; after this was accomplished the vain little thing decided to see if she still had a pull with you. It doesn’t mean that she is a deceiver but simply that she is in the experimental stage where she doesn't as yet know her own mind. If you want her, go after her. Doubtless you can take her away from her new suitor if you're agressive enough. Girls do not want a man to be timid where love is concerned. Scare up some courage and master the situation, ” » ” EAR JANE JORDAN-—I am an intelligent gir] of 19. I graduated from high school when I was 17. I took two years of shorthand and typing in high school and worked six months in an attorney's office, I quit that joy because I was not given the raise I was promised. It took me exactly one year to secure another position. I am short and look young. People wouldn't believe me when I told them my age. I am now working at $3 a week. Do you think that is a fair salary? I have been with this man since January. I live with my parents but my father has heen {il and unable to work for a year. There is a chain of stores which pays its soda fountain girls $10 a week to start. Do you think I should give up my present position and go to work there? Of course I realize that the soda fountain work could never be used as reference for a stenographic job. WORRIED STENOGRAPHER.

Answer—I{ you are any good at all as a stenogra« pher you'd better stick to it and increase your efforts to find another job in this field. You'll make more money in the long run by being a trained worker, and you'd just be losing time in your profession by taking a job at the soda fountain. Learn all you can where you are and search more diligently for a better job. It is not smart to quit one job before you have another, even though the promised raise did not come through. JANE JORDAN,

your problems in a letter to Jane Jordan, whe

Put will answer your questions in this column daily,

New Books Today

Public Library Presents—

N entertaining book on Civil War days, THRE SECOND ADMIRAL (Coward-McCann) by Richard S. West Jr. deals with the life and times of Admiral D. D. Porter, one of the most active officers in the American Navy. The author describes the Admiral's part in the blockade of Southern ports and graphically narrates his vigorous services in opening the Mississippi River, Seeing him pictured as the outstanding heroic leader of the maritime forces, the reader is impressed with his courage and resourcefulness. This only covers his career as an officer of the also gives interesting incidents of his