Indianapolis Times, Indianapolis, Marion County, 13 October 1939 — Page 23

Ls Hoosier Vagabond By Ernie Pyle|

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FRIDAY, OCTOBER 13, 1939

RF

~~ THIRD SECTION

ILLAHE, Ore., Oct. 13.—Stuart X is the only great man, by his own admission, in human history. As a young man in the East he went to law school

for a month. Suddenly it dawned on him that his teachers were assigning him 12 cases a day to work, whereas the Supreme Court took 12 years for one case. He knew he was smarter than {he ‘Supreme Court, but not that much smarter, so he figured law was a fake, and quit it. Even then Stuart X's vast wisdom hadn't reached its full flowering. It came upon him like a bomb shortly thereafter. He was in a rooming house in San Francisco, in bed. Suddenly he was awakened by a terrific light in the room. It . was like “globular lightning,” which apparently is colossal. Stuart X was scared, and thought his time had come. But it hadn’t. Do you know what that light was? It was merely a second lobe in Stuart X’s brain bursting forth, making room for his wisdom. “All my strength went to my head,” he says. His brain had to expand. It has never happened to any-

" one else in history. And he was only 22 then.

Stuart X has read constantly all his life. He has immense libraries in his homes, although he doesn’t find one book in a thousand that has an idea in it.

2 s s

Shaw ‘Wearied® Him

He is a prodigious letter-writer. For decades he has been writing letters on important subjects to friends, acquaintances and practically everybody else in the world. He has kept carbons, and he says these

letters form the only real literature ever produced. I've been reading over some of his old 1914 war letters, and they really are spooky in the accuracy of their prophecy about what would happen to the world after the war. Six months before we entered the First World War, Stuart X volunteered his ‘services as commander=

Our Town

The Dutch word for an automobile is ‘“snellpaardelooszoondeerspoorwegpitroolrijtung.” It's pronounced in one breath without getting red in the face, in much the same way that a good flute player handles his stuff. If Arthur Deming of the Indianapolis Symphony would put his mind to it, he could pick up Dutch in no time at all. Properly taken apart, the word. means, first of all, “snell,” rapid; (2) ‘“paardeloos,” horseless; (3) zoondeerspoorweg,” without rails, and finally | (thank goodness), “pitroolrijtung,” driven by petroleum. It's a fair sample of the leisurely lingo they talk in Holland which, as near as I can figure out, resembles a gutteral grunt in the course of which, every once in a while, the roots of German and English words come to the surface. By the same token, a Dutch bicycle is a “rijwiel.” Holland, a country one-third the size of Indiana, has three million bicycles. And even more bicyclists. It is nothing out of the ordinary, for instance, to see a whole family perched on one wheel—the father up in front pedaling away for dear life; behind him his ample blond wife and behind her the hopeful heir in the shape of a pink Dutch baby. Their combined weight is somewhere around 450 pounds. You bet- your sweet life you get out of their way when you see them tearing down the street. ” » »

The Traffic Problem

On several occasions, too, I had to get cut of the way of nuns and priests on bicycles. Goodness only knows how all this is going to end. This much I know, however: When it comes time to have the war to end all wars, it’s going to be a battle with the pedestrians of the world fighting the aristocrats on wheels. ’

Washington

WASHINGTON, Oct. 13.—One thing came out of this week’s phantom peace talk. It was the accidental disclosure that there exists within the United States a widespread assumption that this Government will participate in fixing the terms of peace when the present European war—or more accurately, the great siege—is over. Talk in the Senate, and in general editcrial and other com--ment; revealed a degree of headlong interest in our going into the peace settlement in Europe. We are determined not to fight in this war. But we seem anxious for a front row seat at the next Versailles. The idea of our participating in the peace settlement is appealing. It sounds almost irresistible to argue that the United States should join in bringing about a “sound peace.” The argument ‘rans that we cannot remain isolated in the modern world, and that to attempt to do-so would be to invite appalling armament expense. We would be wasting our great national influence for good. We should prevent imposition of a purely punitive peace. We should prevent the drawing of frontiers which might invite future trouble as did those of Versailles.

The Stuff of Drains.”

That pattern is cut from the same piece of cloth which Woodrow Wilson was selling during the previous war. But it is the stuff of dreams, and is not

the tough goods that will wear well in the real world.

Ask yourself some questions. What kind of peace terms does France want? Daladier says France has taken up arms against aggression and will lay them

My Day

WASHINGTON, Thursday.—I want to thank today, through this column, all the many people who sent me cards, telegrams and letters on my birthday. I am deeply appreciative of their kindness and thought

of me om this occasion. If they do not receive a personal acknowledgment, they will perhaps forgive me, because the

volume of letters which ask me’

actually to do something definite has been so great the past few months I am afraid I shall not be able to thank all these kind Jriends. : It always contributes to one’s happiness to be so kindly -re-

membered and, while yesterday:

was a very busy day, all these good wishes were a very pleasant background to many actiyities. It was particularly nice that Jimmy and Elliott happened to be in Washington. My brother also came from New York City, so with a few other guests we had a pleasant party at which to distribute the few pieces of birthday cake after we all had made our wishes on the traditional 21 candles. It is fortunate that we stopped adding to the number there, or we would soon have to have'a mammoth cake to support all the candles! : I had a delightful lunch with various executives

in-chief of the U. S. Armies, because nobody else was capable of doing it. tually got the job. Three times Stuart X offered his services to J. P. Morgan the Elder, twice as a philosopher and once as a fool. He never heard from Mr. Morgan. Stuart X corresponded with George Bernard Shaw till one of his statements so stumped the famous playwright that he couldn’t think of an answer, and quit writing. - In reading over some of his letters to Shaw, I came upon this typical Stuartism, “Shaw, you weary me.” , During the war, the Secret Service got after him for the letters he wrote to Wilson. Recently he sent a flock of letters to Washington. The Dies committee thought he was a Red, and sent for him. He didn’t go. ‘yg 2 2 $75,000. Home in Woods

Stuart X has a marvelous facility ‘with English, and can get the best of any and all opponents through sheer bulk and lyricism of words, irreverently put together. : A few years ago he had to have all his teeth pulled. He had a set of $400 false teeth made. He has never worn them. “When 1 get them in my mouth,” he says, “I can’t get anything else in.” He keeps them wrapped in cloth, in a bureau drawer. He has spent $75,000 on his hideaway here in the woods. It is large and comfortable, Midwestern in architecture, and the color is yellow. He has been married twice. His last marriage was 10 years ago, after his first wife died. The second Mrs. Stuart X is a lovely woman. ~All these things that I have ‘written about Mr. Stuart X, he told me himself. If they would lead some of you to raise your eyebrows, let me warn you that you'd better be careful. For Stuart X is, to begin with, one of the most vastly informed men I have ever met. And in the second place he either is, actually, the one and only great man the human race has ever produced, or else he has the biggest tongue in the biggest cheek in the land. . I don’t know which of these two it is. but I know that Stuart X has a mischievous glint in his eye. The world isn’t fooling. him a bit.

By Anton Scherrer

Besides the autos and the bicycles, the streets of Holland are crowded with motorcycles, busses, streetcars, horsedrawn vehicles, -rubber-tired scooters, baby buggies, pedestrians and dogs, loose and on the leash, but never muzzled. Most of the pedestrians are pushing baby buggies. : : That isn’t all, though. There is also the canal traffic which is enormous, especially in towns like Rotterdam and Amsterdam. When the canal traffic takes a notion to have its way, all street traffic comes to a standstill. The bridges have to be drawn to permit the boats to get-through—see? In the meantime, the street traffic keeps piling up. I wish I could give you some idea of the congestion. In a way, it's not unlike the plague of locusts when they took over Crown Hill a couple of years ago, 2 2 2

A Break for Mr. Allison

+ All of which is by way of saying that Trafficop Allison of the. Crossroads of America can thank his stars that he doesn’t have to earn his living in Holland.

Even more plentiful than the bicycles are the number of tobacco (tabak) shops in Holland. I counted as many as a dozen in one block. They all make a living, for the reason that the Dutch are the greatest smokers in the world. The average Dutch smoker, for example, consumes something like 26 pounds of tobacco a year. The best Brandt Steele can do is a measly 11 pounds. I tried to get to the bottom of the Dutchman’s abnormal appetite for tobacco, and ended up by lgarning that a Dutchman smokes because he likes to! It’s as simple as that. At any rate, there isn't a particle of | truth in the theory that a Dutchman smokes to coun- | teract the unwholesome exhalations of the Dutch canals, an opinion first advanced in 1738 by Samuel Ireland in his “Picturesque Journey.” My Rotterdam tobacconist was quite provoked when I quoted Mr. Ireland and I couldn't help admire his patriotism because, when you get right down to it, Dutch canals do smell.

By Raymond Clapper

down only when there are guarantees of security which will not be put in doubt every six months. England says she is fighting to rid the world of the menace of Hitler and Hitlerism. Try to parse those aims and see if you get anything that makes sense. Get rid of Hitler. Will the British and French take Goering? Do they want to wipe out Naziism and force Germany to institute a democratic Government again? What about Russia? Shall dictatorship be ‘wiped out in Berlin, but allowed to continue eating Baltic babies for breakfast in Moscow? Make Hitler disgorge Poland? Then shall Stalin be allowed to keep his share of Poland? Why does Britain now -enter a deal to give Russia rubber and tin? Who knows the answers? : ” ” ”

Is Sound Peace Possible?

The point is that no human being knows what the situation will be when the peace conference meets. Nobody knows whether it will be possible to have any kind of a peace ‘that we could underwrite—and remember that, if we sit in on the peace conference, we shall be a moral underwriter for its results. ’ There is a more important consideration than all of that. Can you possibly have a “sound peace” at the end of a war or a long siege? Passions are white hot. The victors take all they can get as the Allies did at Versailles—even more than they know they can collect, as was the case with reparations. It is impossible, at the end of a war, to expect a reasonable and sane settlement. : “Cannot the influence of the United States be’ infinitely more effective, not by fumbling about at the time of the armistice in a situation which is infinitely complex and filled with secret conditions about which we Know little or nothing, but by biding our time until a real will to a healing peace has settled over a fever-wracked continent? 3

By Eleanor Roosevelt

of the Department of Labor. I think the Secretary of Labor is justly proud of their cafeteria, for she spoke of the fact that they bought fresh vegetables and knew now to cook them. I particularly liked .the WPA pictures which lined the corridors. What a difference it makes to have an interesting picture instead of a blank wall. It lends color and warmth even to the corridor of a public building. s On leaving the Labor Department, I spent a few minutes with the ladies of the postmasters’ convention, who were having a lunch at the Shoreham Hotel. Mrs." Burke, wife of the postmaster of the District of Columbia, introduced all the wives of the Postoffice Department officials, and then had time for a short greeting. This group is so large that they have more or less taken over the city of Washington, but everyone seems to have enjoyed the visit. ; in a little while 1500 of these ladies will be coming to the White House for a tea, and later the South American goodwill delegates will be received. , 1 read today a little book about the life of Mrs. Thomas Masaryk and of how much she went'through and how valiantly she lived. Transplanted from the United States to a. foreign nation, she carried her ideals with her and lived them all her life. One little sentence in a letter to her daughter impressed

me very much: “I like clarity in religion, gry most of

all sincerity, otherwise the heart of all 1 lyzed.” inspiration to her adopted people.

e is para-

A man named Pershing even-|

Her own sincerity seems to have been an

shipped.

Russia Big

By David Dietz

Scripps-Howard Science Editor today.

- so far.

Europe.

has made it possible for Stalin to do what Lenin could not. Eastern Poland

now belongs to Russia. It is significant, not only that Russia has taken half of Poland but that by taking the PolishRumanian border, Stalin has made it impossible for Hitler to threaten Rumania with immediate blitzkreig. or lightning war. Likewise it is significant that ‘the Russian-Estonian pact, giving Russia the right tc maintain naval bases and airdromes on Estcnian islands, is designed to protect Russian territory, particularly Leningrad, from attack through the Baltic. Only one great power 'is in a position from which such an attack could be made, namely Germany. Moreover, by fortifying these is lands, Stalin gains control of the water route over which Swedish iron ore moves io Germany.

s » ”

T seems clear that Stalin is determined to extend still further his sphere of influence in the Baltic and that the stronger the Soviets become in this sphere, the more perilous does the position of Germany become. Another factor which will have to be taken into question eventually is the Russian-Turkish situa«tion. The outcome of the conver-

MEN OF BUTLER VIE FOR NAME OF ‘CHIEF

Utes Club, honorary society for sophomore men at Butler University, will select and present Chief PowWow, as the outstanding male student on the campus, at the club’s annual dance, Nov. 4. Fraternities and independent men’s organizations will choose candidates for the title of Chief Pow-Wow. . The -Pow-Wow dance will be held in the gymnasium of Butler Feldhouse, with Charles Butz, 5254 N. Pennsylvania St, as chairman. Committees assisting Butz include Richard Griffeth and Robert Schernekau, tickets; Robert Jakobi, Chester Robinson, Lester Moreland and Richard Freuchtenicht, entertainment; Reed . Schields, Herbert Schwomeyer and Max Armer, decorations; Ordd Markim, Jack Evard and David Barnhizer, publicity.

PURDUE SCHEDULES HORTICULTURE SHOW

Times Special es LAFAYETTE, Ind, Oct. 13—The 19th annual horticultural show will be i at Purdue University Nov. A fruit and vegetable identification and judging contest will be held Nov. 11. The contest is open: to high school. vocational and 4-H Club students who previously have not been on winning teams.

NAMED ON LIQUOR BOARD MARTINSVILLE, Ind, Oct. 13.— William Unversaw has been appointed as a member of the County

"The Indianapolis

| THE FOOD OF RUSSIA |

Germany needs the food of Russia, the oil of Rumania, or Russia, and the iron ore of Sweden. The map shows how Russian control of Estonia threatens the German “life-line” over which the ore must be

Puzzle

To the Allies

(Fifth of a Series)

OVIET RUSSIA, the world’s biggest question mark of the last 20 years, is‘a bigger question mark than ever

Only one thing is certain to date, namely, that this has been a three-cornered war, with Russia the only victor

It was the Polish defense of Warsaw in August, 1920, that turned back the Red Army and stopped the dream of Lenin and: Trotsky to spread communism westward across

By destroying Warsaw and the Polish Army, Hitler

\

‘sations in this field will be significant. Finally it must be noted that Soviet Russia still has its ambassadors in London and Paris. To all other amazing complications of this war must be added the fact that Russia is still “neutral.” The lineup of the German-Rus-sian team is not at all clear, but one thing is: Stalin, and not Hitler, is the quarterback. The Red dictator is calling the signals and the plays. As I pointed out in yesterday’s article, Germany must import 25 per cent of her food, 75 per cent of her iron ore, 100 per cent of her petroleum and from 80 to 100 per cent of the following critical raw materials: Conper, lead, manganese, nickel, chromite, tungsten, wool, phosphates, antimony, tin, mercury and mica. : " 2 8 =»

L= us look now at the strategic

position of Russia. She can meet her own needs with regard to the so-called “great essentials” —food, power, iron and steel, ma-

chinery, chemicals, coal, iron ore -

and petroleum—with the excep-. tion of machinery. She is about 25 per cent deficient here. But she is in a position to export both food and iron ore. “Turning now to the “critical raw materials” we find that Russia is not only self-sufficient in manganese and chromite but has an

Doctors Vote Support

~ For Group

Times Sgecial

FT. WAYNE, Ind, Oct. 13—A new

insurance organizations for hospital

excess for export purposes. She has enough mica and practically enough cotton, wool, sulphur, phos-: phates and mercury. | - Russia must import 100 per cent of her rubber, nickel, tungsten, antimony and tin; about 75 per cent of her lead nitrates, aluminum and potash, about 50 per cent of her copper and zine. ‘Let us try now and fit the Gers man and Russian pictures together. We note first of all that

- Russia’s only shortage in the great

essentials is the only one in which Germany has an excess, namely machinery. ¢ : : One visualizes an immediate deal, therefore, German machinery for Russian food and oil. Remember that the two “great essentials” which Russia can export are food and petroleum. ; Russia is the only one of the great powers, except the United States, which is built on continental proportions. 1ts ability to produce foodstuffs is exceeded only by the United States. In the years 1927-29, American production of food averaged $13,000,000,000. Imports amounted to $583.000,000 and exports to $808,000,000. This means that American production exceeded American consumption by 1.76 per cent. Germany averaged in those same years a food production of $2,500,000,000, imported $775,000,~ 000 worth- and ‘exported $82,000,000. In other words, her production was only 78.3 per cent of her needs. Russia, in 1929-31, years which give Russia a better figure, averaged a food production of $10,000,000,000 worth, imported $29,000,000 worth and exported $141,000,000 worth. Her production ex- - ceeded her consumption by 1.13 per. cent. ; Now the chief point about the ‘foregoing figures is that Russian

exports in 1929-31 averaged $141,-

000,000 worth of foodstuffs while

Health Plan

bill to make possible non-profit and medical care will be introduced

into the next Legislature with the backing of the Indiana Medical

Association. .

This and conferences with proper authorities on a plan for medical

co-operation in Indiana in event of war mobilization were voted as the association ended its 99th annual

convention here yesterday. 4

A bill that would have provided for non-profit insurance organizations was approved by the association and passed by the last Legislature but vetoed by Governor M. Clifford Townsend. The plan would allow individuals to pay nominal insurance premiums with the understanding ‘that in event of hospitalization . certain

items of the expenses would be de-

frayed. Fogle The association will set up a committee which will confer with proper military, veteran and civil groups on making plans so that the Indiana population, military and civil, will have adequate medical care in event the United States mobilizes its army. The convention raised association dues from $7 to $10 and it passed a resolution seeking to amend the statute that authorizes judges to commit. Indigents to the Indiana

| University hospitals togallow them

also to commit to local hospitals. emacs tne Sate 0 tempt to strer the law

POL

Liquor Board by Mayor Collier, He succeeds Mike Unverzaw, a

rth

SERVICE-TO-BUTLER

TROPHY IS DONATED

President D. S. Robinson of Butler University will donate a trophy to ‘be presented . annually to the campus organization performing the most outstanding service for the university during the year. : The award will be made on Honor Day, in May of each year, according to a point system devised by the Student Wards Committee, Chairman Prof. James H. Peeling said. Considerations will include group scholarship; time and effort given to some university project, co-opera« tion in university activities, and loyalty and enthusiasm.

PATROL RURAL SCHOOLS

Jimes Special

FT. WAYNE, Ind, Oct. 13—

School safety patrols in rural institutions of the northern townships have been installed by the Sheriff's department. Patrols have been set

up in Wayne, Eel River, Perry, Ce“and Springfield

eld Town-

German imports in 1927-29 averaged $775,000,000 worth or between five and six times as much. The big question, therefore, is: Can Russia send enough food to Germany to meet her needs in the present war? The answer, probably, is yes. 2 ” 2

HEN we turn to petroleum, we find that the annual Russian production is about oneeighth the annual Amfierican pro-

duction and jus; about equal to |

what America exports. Russian production has averaged 142,357,000 barrels; her exports have been 35,794,000 barrels. German imports in 1925-29 averaged 11,705,000 barrels. Germany’s present petroleum need is estimated at 37,791,000 barrels. - Can Russia supply Germany's oil needs? The answer here is not so certain despite the statistics. Most of Russia’s oil is exported by tank steamers. To supply Germany means shipment by railway tank car. So much oil has never moved so far by tenk car. An enormous equipment would ‘be needed. Russia can also supply Germany with manganese and chromium, both of the utmost importance in the manufacture of steel. ‘Now, however, we must note those - critical materials in which Russia is virtually as deficient as Geérmany, those materials in which both together cannot meet more than 25 per cent, if any per cent at all of their joint needs. These include copper, lead, alu=minum, rubber, nickel, tungsten, antimony and tin. These are serious shortages, particularly the shortage of rubber. Assuming now that Germany gains control, either by invasion or “economic domination, of the whole * of southeast Europe, how well off is she then? Standard ' Statistics recently made a compilation to see what

|AIDS APPOINTED IN

SHORTRIDGE R. 0. T. C.

S———

Non-commissioned officers appointed to the Shortridge R. O. T. C. were announced today by Staff Sergt. Albert C. Neff. They are Noble Savage, Kenneth Dawson, Walter] S. Christie, Richard L. Blanton, Robert Willen, Gordon R. McKinney, Robert C. Gill, Joseph R. Raub, Kenneth N. Spencer, Jack Peck, Joseph Roemmer, Allen W. Greer, Robert H. Wilson, James F. Carlin, Richard E. Russell, John H. Clymer, Francis M. Sinex, Oscar |Green, James G. Mason, Eldon, L. Alig, Joseph C. Delk, John C. Burke. _ Charles G. Patterson, Jack D. Burton, Samuel A. McConnell, John D. Trembley, Richard D. Jefferson, Harry O. McGee, Barnard ‘T. Gates, William L. Hurt, Robert D. Stansbury, John R. Kuebler, Lloyd J. Banks, Harry M. Brammer, William H. Fagg, Robert W. Lentz, Malcolm L. Wrege, bert D. Watkins, Thomas C. Ahren, Roderick K. Sheridan, Jack M. Kline, Ralph R. Perry, Harley J. Vann, James R. Loggins, Donald E. Tudor, Robert H. Weedon, Jack R. Humphrey, Albert E. Imel and Perine.

112 BUSHELS AN ACRE

CORN YIELD CHECKED |

Times Speciai | ; ELKHART, Ind. Oct. 13.—Hybrid corn ylelds ranging from 102.7 to 1125 bushels per acre have been checked on the Curtis Sheets: farm, two miles east of Nappanee. Charles Byers, Nappanee High School vocational agriculture instructor, checked the yield and weighed the -corn under five-acre

eel

would happen if all the Danubian states, Hungary, Bulgaria, Rue mania and Yugoslavia, plus Poland and Greece, were added to the German Reich. The figures show that only the oil problem—thanks to the oil of Rumania—would be met. Gere many would remain just as defie cient in iron ore, copper, lead, zinc, bauxite—the ore from which aluminum is made—and mangas: nese. (But Russia as previously; noted could supply the manga-' nese.) : : 88 » fw “rg~HE addition of Austria and: Czechoslovakia to the: Reich,” Standard Statistics states, : “far from improving the situation, : actually has increased the ton; nage deficiencies in every mineral, : even reducing the exportable sure ; plus of coal.” : Germany’s most serious short: age, which southeast Europe can; in no way help her meet is iron| ore. Her annual shortage is’ estimated at 18,734,000 tons. In 1938, Germany imported 22,-" 000,000 tons of iron ore. There is a: grim jest in the fact that more than 4,000,000 tons of this was ime ported from France! But more, than twice that amount, more: than 8,000,000 tons came from Sweden. ; Finally we may say that Gere many cannot fight a war of attrietion without the food of Russia, the oil of Russia or Rumania, and the iron ore of Sweden. Whether she gets these or not depends upon the whims of Stalin. ; ek Even if Stalin is agreeable, the question remains whether Russian transportation is good enough to get the materials to Germany in time and whether the shortage of key materials which Russia cannot supply may not bring about the collapse of Germany.

NEXT — Maintaining peace i ‘the Western Hemisphere.

TYPOS WILL MEET

Times Special

HUNTINGTON, ‘ Ind., Oct. 13.— .

The 59th semi-annual conference of the Indiana Typographical Union will be held her: tomorrow and Sunday. President Carl Mullen and

Secretary Adolph Fritz of the Indi- °

ana State Federation of Labor are to address the conference.

TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE

1.—For which State is “Old Line” a “/nickname? ' 2—Can woodchucks climb trees? 3—Name the body of water which lies north of the Baltic Sea, ordered by Sweden and Fin-

and. ; 4—What is the name for the male ° organ of plants, in which the’ .Sperms are developed? : 5—With what sport is the name of Joey Archibald associated? 6—What is the name for uncoined gold and silver? 2) 2 = = Answers 1—Maryland.' 2—Yes.

-—

| 3—Gulf of Bothnia.

4—Antheridium. 6—Bullion,

ASK THE TIMES

Inclose a 3-cent stamp for =

reply when addressing - any -question of fact or information to Washington Service. Bureau, 1013 13th St., N. W., Washing ton, D. C. Legal and medical advice cannot be given nor can

ee aN ES

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