Indianapolis Times, Indianapolis, Marion County, 20 December 1941 — Page 7

SATURDAY, DEC. 20, 1941 |

Hoosier Vagabo ad

SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 20.—To the people of San

Francisco the blackout is variously frightening, grim, SF ir .

exciting or a nuisance. To me it is something warm and tingling, as from an old book of good memories. All ast winter I lived in the d : England. I didn't mind it—i I liked it, But in no stretch of the imagination did I ever then myself walking the of our own merical Ce boriginal darkness—blin by Nature and learning again to move by the outstretched feeling tips of my toes. But here it is, We were at the home of friends in the Pacific Heights section when ti sirens sounded for my first American blackout. It was early in the evening. We had not yet eaten. San Francisco had had several previous blackcats, but people still were only learning what to do and how to act under peril, We tumed our elect.ic switches and then watched from the window as the lights of this lovely, hilly city gradually—and it seemed so awfully reluctantly—went out. Then we threw a Shucher of water on the buming fireplace, got our shielded flashlights, and wet outdoors to let the night take us in. e felt our way up into a little park, from where we could look down over the city. All around us there was nothing now but Matures own night.

Practice Makes Perfect

I CAN'T DENY that I was thrilled by it. I had-

heard the stories: of how miserably done were the blackouts of the first few nights. Sut it wasn’t miserably done this time. I remember saying over and over to our friends, “I admire this.” ¥or San Francisco that night scemed literally as black as London. I had never before been on this certain hill from where we watched, I Kept complaining and asking if we couldnt get to a higher place. where we could look down on the city. And my friends assured me that we were looking down on the city: It was incredible. " In the darkness of the grassy park, we bumped into a man with a dog. The dog kept rubbing against my knee, and I reached down and petted it. ‘What kind is it?” I asked, for I couldn't see the dog I was petting. “A young Airedale,” he said.

streets of pne a

.

was. We heard that snery gro al that we walked thé streets.” San Frances it Serious HOW , and London in blackout is that : Only police cars and ambulances, with lights Ops ers

nt Po t autos move

headlight. Vague lit Corners, from heavily

No Danger From Cige dois von date heh light it inside,

£2

aE

now Wwe held up

Inside Indianapolis By Lowell Nussbaum

PROFILE OF THE WEEK: Anton Scherrer, retired architect, patron of the arts, president of the Indianapolis Literary Club and author of one of the most delightful newspaper columns ever published here or anywhere else—Our Town, predecessor to this very column. Tony Scherrer is a pleasant, mild mannered, rather shy individual of 63. He's 5 feet 8 or 9; weighs maybe 125 or 130 although it's doubtful if even he knows exgetly how much as he almost never steps on the scales. His eyes are a sparkling black and he usually has them squinted in a quizzical smile. His head has been bald on top since his twenties. He'd be unyecognizable without his VanDyke beard and his ever-present pipe. The VanDyke was started nearly a quarter-century ago during an illness. He holds the pipe squarely in the middle of his mouth, doesnt bother te remove it when he talks, He never pays more than 50 cents for 4 pipe, never buys a new one until he breaks the old one, and he smokes no highpriced tobaccos—just P. A. Careless with the pipe, he frequently sets his clothing on fire with the sparks. Tony Scherrer has a Soft spot in his Heart for the South Side. Born and reared there, he attended old School No. 6 and Manual, then finished a school fn his father's native Switzerland. He architecture at Columbia University, practiced with Kis father and later his brother. Among the buildings he designed are Cathedral High School, the Hoosier Athletic Club and the Hotel Antlers Building. He retired from the profession in 1929.

He's Good Comversationalist

QUIET IN all his ways ®oise and serenity seem to pe his watchword. He likes to remain in the background. He's both an excellent listener and a delightful conversationalist, well posted in an amazing number of subjects. He always seems to think before speaking. He hates sham and pretense; can detect insincerity in a minute, and when he does, he's through with that person. Hell treat them politely but that's all.

He's quite proud of his annual tomate crop and of the fruit trees in the yard at his home, 1839 N. Illinois St. He grew most of the trees from seeds. He never does any around the house except to help clear the table of dishes on rare occasions. Quite fond of coffee, he wouldn't know how to go about making it. He spends a great deal of his time at home now with his beloved Hooks and magazines. His study and the attic are full of them. Blessed with a remarkable memory, he can t#ll you in which book or in which issue of what magazine a certain article appeared years ago, Relaxing in smoking jacket and slippers, he ds quite a bit of time digging up data on some long past event that ties in with something more recent. He's ized as one of the City’s most inimitable story tellers, He stresses accuracy ang brevity and succeeds in building up suspense. He so-called “fine writing.”

That Quizzical Smile

TODAY SCHERRER is an excellent pianist and rs played in a noted local string trio. He's fond uss waltzes: in modern music likes Gershwin and Irving Berlin, He enjoys a good movie but refuses to through a double feature. He thinks the Quiz Kids are cute, but that so much attention is bad for them. He's an officer of AHA quite active in the John Herron Art Museum, and has done some nice pastel sketelves. He was in Holland in 1939, visiting famous art galleries, when the Low Countries were invaded. Characteristically, he took his own sweet time getting out. Nothing in vears hurt him so much as the invasion of his favorite Holland. He pays little attention to his clothing, likes gray suits and blue shirts. And, as a cautious man, goes in for suspenders. A fastidious eater, insists his food be cooked just right, but Goesnt care for fancy stuff, including whipped cream ‘toppings. He much prefers to eat at home than at a restaurant, but every Monday it's almost a ritual with him to tke the streetcar downtown and join some of his cronies

at gems round table. And while the experts at this and ‘hat waggle their fingers and argue, Tony just sits pack and gives om that quizzical smile.

for of

atest difference pen 30 Pri

-

Without Tears to Fight

For Their

Divine Ruler:

This is the fourth of a of | ih which a veteran Far

ht, 104) A NE opyr , by 8 Chicago Daily News, Ine. CHICAGO, Dee. 20.—The women of Japan will bear

a terrific

burden of suffering during this war with the

United States. They have been taught to expect this suffering, and their anguish will not be voiced. Raised in a

their views, of painful obedience

system of feudalism, they have fo means of expressing calling halt, or of showing anything but a

: Japanese motherg do not own their own sons. The boy baby is presented to the father, the lord and master.

“I present to you your son. me unworthy.”

I hope you will not consider

And from that moment on, the mother hag no say in the future directing of the child. Bqually true, that though husband and wife may be companionable, the mother becomes the slave of the child, learns to obey the child and even accepts humiliation at the

Let me illustrate. I was invited for dinner to the home of my former land lord in Tokyo. Such oppor: tunities to get inside the domestic circle are extremely rare. But once; from a ‘ship in the middle of the Pacific, I had radioed New Year greetings to this fame ily and this was the touch ing sequel. After dinner, all of us sitting on the floor in our stockinged feet, the hostess had brought in a number of snapshots of her children. I liked one of the eldest son, aged 5 and asked if I might have it for my album as a token of esteem. Granted, I slipped it in my pocket. » ” ®

THE EFFECT upon the small boy was electrical. He went wp to his mother where she was séated on the floor, and with clenched fist literally pummeled his mother’s fate about the eyes, the

WAR INDUSTRIES

SEEK WORKERS

One Factory Asks 4000, Another Wants 1500, Gardner Says. fh Case you are one of those Who has received that lay-off ship ree cently in your pay envelope because of material shortages at the

factory, don't be too downeast. The chante: are, according to

| hands of that young progeny.

cheeks, the mouth. The mother did not move,

I gazed lingly at the father. He grinned—that famous Japanese grin used to cover up so much. He sald nothing. He did not rebuke the boy: he did not haul him away from his vietim. Satisfied at length that he had hurt his mother, the boy left the room. The father turmed to me to explain: “It is bad for anyone to carry around with him the portrait of a living person. Only after a person is dead may you do such a thing.” “Then please take back the

“No—infieed not. I have given it to you. It is yours. As troop trains rumble through village or eity, railroad stations of through the fields, village headmen are ordered to turn out all the women. They stand there, these patient folk, in their white cothon aprons, bareheaded, waving Japanese flags, bowing and shouting “bansal” to these khakiuniformed men. They then drops their flags in the mud and g6 back to their

“The Japanese-are highly emotional, they deo get panicky, they do

Japanese Women Must Suffer In Silence Mothers Give Up Sons SF he BSL

their

hide these things, and that in some measure explains their continual bragging, their continual sword rat. thing, their shouting at one another in public.”

household duties. Sometintes they stand waiting hours for these trains because their time schedule is a “military secret.” # ® @

AGAIN VILLAGE mothers will be paraded as one of their young conseripts is called up for service. Village elders wear. str pants and Prince Ales, or if not this, then Japanese kimonas and derby” hats. It is an occasion. Members of military associations march to the train with these fledglings. Banzai-—the son is off. hides her tears. That sorrow fills her heart must never be known. Then come back the little wooden funeral urns. About the sive of a shoe box, covered with white ribbon-—white being the color of mourning. Village headmen notifies mother and the neighbors. They go to the rails road station. A soldier hands the urn containing the ashes to the mother. She bows and thanks the Emperor that her boy has been permitted to sacrifice his life for the “divine, heaven-sent, son of heaven.” The UFR goes and rests on the family altar in the tiny wooden cottage =o picturesque, so miserably cold and squalid. The Japanese son would consider himself unmanly were he not to view his mother and other women with ill-eoncealed oontempt. That is why he cannot

‘Systematic’ Bond Buying Recommended by Treasury

Defense ponds and stamps can be acquired automatically by regular deductions from your pay cheek under plans outlined here by the National Defense Savings Staff. This was one of several plans for simplification of bond purchasing discussed by Pdward Roth, field representative of the National Defense Saving Staff, at a meeting of 200 workers at the Claypool Hotel here

yesterday. In addition to the house-to-house canvass, scheduled to get unaer way here Jan. 10, other campaign arrangements include:

“fhdiana is thoroughly organized and ready to 0,” he said, “and the yeople of the State must dedicate themselves to the task of completing the job speedily and completely.” governor also reminded the group of “the thousands who will pe out of work when we win the war and load the last shell.” Fugene Pulliam, executive ohairman of the Indiana Council, was master of ceremonies at the meet

ing. "Wil H. Smith, Stave director of the campaign, declared that the present orisic demanded “immedi-

understand the American, The American, to him, is soft, fem inine, a contemtpuous sort of per son, #® #» @» THE JAPANESE wife walks be= hind her suband. She waits on him literally hand and foot. She supervises his meals but may only eat after he has satisfied himself and pushed the lacquered bowls away from him, Then she may eat if she finds time away from her laboring for him. This is as true in the intimate family home as it is in public. I once saw 4 high-bred Japanese wife seated, or rather squatting before her husband in an expensive “foreign style” res taurant in Tokyo, He said something to her. She rose and with a napkin removed her husband’s set of false teeth. She toddled off to the ladies’ washroom; washed the teeth, and brought them back to her hus band. He put them back into his mouth and she took the cup of coffee from the waiter and. gave it to her husband. In sleeping cars on Japanese trains, the wives first undress their husbands, fold their gar. ments, put them to bed before they dream of retiring thems selves. During the night they must be prepared at any moment to to a summons for hot tea, or a salad of cold rice and dry seaweed. \

“YOU PAMPER your women,” a Japanese told me contemptus ously, “You defer to their deci» sions, You open your auto door for them and assist them to the street, No wonder your civilization is decadent. Can you wonder why we don’t want it spread amongst us.”

And yet the surprising thing is this=the male Japanese has a mentality that is distinetly fems inine. With all our false notions, let us spike this one: The Japan= ese are highly emotional, they do get panicky, they do lose their heads. Proudly they try to hide these things, and that in some measure explains their continual bragging, continual sword-rate tling, their shouting at one another in publie. The lot of their women cannot be a happy one, But you will never, I think, hear that from their own lips, The American conception that women are co= partners of their men, is to the Japanese one of the most dane gerous conceptions we hold. They beg us never to spread such a

doctrine among their women.

American women will fight to keep the flame of such a doctrine forever burning. Japanese men will fight America to keep such a doctrine from infiltrating among their own women, And today they are fighting.

YULE MAIL HERE BREAKS RECORDS

Worst Is Yet to Come;

1941 Receipts May Be $5,000,000.

Christmes mail deluging the Ine

dianapolis Postoffice is expected to set an all-time record this year, Stacks upon stacks of packages, reaching to the ceilings in some rooms, are taxing postal facilities to

Postcard Brings News Son Is Safe

It was just a penny postcard, and it started oOut— “Dear Mom — I use wanted to et you know I'm OK; I'll write when I get a chance . . .” So today Mrs. Edna Geiger, R. R. 7, Box 302, is happy again afte er days of wondering what had happened to her son, Frank Ha- rank ley, who as a Haley

member of the U. 8. Naval Reserve

capacity and that isn’t the half of it=the peak rush is not due until this week-end. '

Already during the first 15 days of December, receipts reached $262,832, an increase of $34,000 over the same

ate action on the part of every man, woman and child in Indiana.” He disclosed figures which estimated the cost of defense this year would be about 22 per cent of the national income and in 1942 the cost would rise to 24 per cent.

Col. Everett I. Gardner, director of the Mmdiana Employment Seeurity Division, that some other fae: ory is erying for just sueh a man as you are. Some of the requests that have been received within the past few

1. The school plan which calls for getting aside one day each week when children be asked bring dimes, quatiers and half dollars to purchase stamps that can be turned inte bonds

stationed in Indianapolis, was taken into Federal service last Joa: pi is — and had attended n vis School two before his 2nlistment. years

Washington

WASHINGTON, Dec. 20.—Something tells me Y

By Raymond Clapper

that sea protection must be total protection cover-|

am going to chase a tired rabbit today. It's that greary subject of rubber again, rubber from the Fast rdies. We are afraid rubber may be cut off, and the Government is forbidding the sale of automobile tires. That's what the Japanese threat to Singapore is doing. Months ago, when this danger was being pointed out, the answer often made was that we should start growing rubber in Brasil the original hone of the rubber tree. ™m that way, it ‘was argued, we could isolate ourselves and be independent. But that answer was made without looking at the map We think of Brazil as close by, unaer out protection from the nations on the other side of the Abantic. If the Germans start operating from Dakar, they Will be closer to Brasil than our Carihpean fleet. If vou put it on & basis of miles of water, Germany, based dn the hump of Africa, is only aoross the south Atlantic narrows from Brasil. Rio is farther from New York than london is. On the basis of distance, we might as well tty to the British Isles from nmvasion as to protect #il from invasion.

Now We Understand

THE ONLY POINT in rehashing this old stoty is tht the Japanese attack on Fawail has Jueliite 5 to think more clearly aout present war and te understand how the ocea nighways, and that in the Night of this new uhdersanding we can see our real

We amor he degre gr gc ON

ing all the seas, The answer is in having all naval and air force under control. Our coasts and outposts can never be safe from attack again so long as naval and air strength is 16ft in the hands of outlaw butcher regimes This has become for us not some idealistic question of world peace but a practical and necessary method of out own defense. This @efense requires international attion, the ther of nations that trust each other and v the game together. The British and ourstlves have a running start on the controlling force mow. After victory is won we ean, together with Russia, China and the Latin American nations nations who Wish to protect themselves Apainet aggression, Wold and maintain the con: trol which will be won the war. That is the only kind of we can be sure of —the kind of defense that all the naval strength and all the aitpower under control of our side. And as time on our side can be joined by more and moe nations. :

Taking the First Step

serve as military oan only

Hemispiiere by obly having a feet. We know now side is

perienced are urgently needed.

days at the Division show that exworkers

in many feds

Few Needs Listed

Some of them include: A request for 4000 workers, 2500

| months other one” he said.

gi

Hil

*5k

33 id

:

2. The bank draft purchase plan

Tams were sent to the chair-

period last year. And Postmaster Adolph Seiden-

will | sticker prediets that total 1941 re-

DORE. | iit over the State and a report of

. of tg for “systematic purchase bonds by the public” will be introduced

ter. “Tt defeats the purpose of these bonds if you buy one this month, another next and then skip two of three before buying an-

Under the payroll check-off ; the authorizes oe Phun, ployer to a eeftain amount of each be placed in a trust

yesterday's meeting here will be given. Some counties with large Pots have more than one

fund until $18¥5 is accumulated. - B. Wade

the employer will be author: to purchase a bond for the em-

Governor Sehricker, Who Js hon«

| orary chairman of the State campaign

couneil, declared that

ceipts may reach the $5,000,000 mark. The previous peak year was in 1927 when were $4,789,000. In 1940 the revenues were $4,643,000.

852 Extras Hired

Mr, Seidenstioker has hired 852 extra workers in addition to the regular 1300 employees and has

| Opened a branch station for parcel Bye in the Manufacturers | !

at the Fair Grounds. The branch station will handle

all packages for the north and east sections of the city with 35 addi-

tional routes. The biggest increase in package

goods was attributed to the mass

of Christmas gifts to sol-

diers in camps and to relatives and

in the outlying United

peak rush this wek-end will deluge of holiday greetundreds of thousands eof

No Kleig Lights At Gloria's Rites

Still anxious are Mr. and Mrs Herbert 1508 S. Linden St., parents of Charles

: Mr. Skaggs

Manual Trai enlisted in the Navy last January,

BOY, 7 KILLED BY CAR EVANSVILLE, Dec. 20 (U, PP). Seven-year-old Leon Raley, son of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Raley, Evansville, died yesterday at St. Mary's Hose pital of injuries received Wednes« day when he ran into the street while playing and was struck by an au e.

TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE

1—-Who was called the “Iron Duke”? 2--A harpsichord is a kind of knot made by sallors; true or false? 3-—"Pickwick Papers” was written by Lord Byron, Charles Dickens or

Van. |$—Complete

this quotation’ from Kipling’s poem: “You're a better man than Tam, G « «= « D = o®

be T--Caoutehoue is coconut fibre, palm

leaf cloth, or raw rubber?

Answers 1—The Duke of Wellington. F—False,