Indianapolis Times, Indianapolis, Marion County, 26 March 1943 — Page 22

LF,

FRIDAY, MARCH. 26, 1943

Hoosier Vagabond

IN ALGERTA— Before leaving this special vicinity,

I want to tell you about a couple of friends of mine.

They are military police. I like them as much as anybody I know in the whole army. \ Theyre been coming to see me so long now that I've actually forgotten how we first got acquainted. I know

_an officer who was in my room :

one day when they were there, and : after they left he said to me: “Youre the damndest guy I ever saw. I've been in the army three years and you're the first

guy I ever heard of who knew an.

M. P. personally. any M. P.’s.” Maybe not, but if so theyre ignorant of one of the finest groups in the army. The military police don’t have the taint to them they had in the last war. This time they are a specially picked, highly trained, permanent organization. An M. P. serves throughout the war as an M. P., he is proud of his organizstion, and he is Tespected by his fellowsoldiers.

Know All Methods of Fighting

ONE DAY an officer and I were talking about a barroom brawl the night before in which a drunk had tried to'stab an M. P., and the officer said: “Anybody who starts anything with an M. P. is insane. They're picked men, and their training starts where commandos leave off. ' They know every method

Nobody knows

2 of fighting in the world.”

And from the M. P.’s that I've seen, from their demeanor and their conduct,-I believe that next to Rangers and Paratroopers they are really the pick of the army. But to get around to my two friends. They are Corp. Freeland L. Riles Jr, of Darlington, S. C., and Pvt. Thomas Stewart of Scurry, Tex. Riles goes by the nickname “Snip,” and Stewart goes by “Tom.” They both wear white leggings, and brass whistle-and-chain over their ‘shoulders, and Sam Browne belts, and carry a big .45, and believe

4 me they both know how to shoot it too.

¥ ¥ € &

They never knew each other before the army, of

By Ernie Pyle

course, but they're the: same age to the day. Both born on July 7, 1919. * * went only Srough the eighth grade, Tom through the ninth. Then they both started to work. Both of them talk low and slow and drag out their words as though they had all day to say a sentence. Snip’; is the soft easy drawl of the deep South, while Tom’s is the wide, frank drawl of the open Spases. They're as different as day and night. ““Give me open country,” says Tom. “I like big country where if you want to holler you can get out gnd holler.” Tom's face is windy-red, and he is lank and jointy. In the respectful fashion of the country we come from he still refers to his mother as “Mamma.” Neither he nor Snip is making any headway at all trying to learn French. Tom used to be a carpenter. Snip was a traveling route-agent for a bakery.

“If I Live Through It..."

MY FRIENDSHIP with these two fighters has struck me as odd, for I'm nearly old enough to be their father, and there’s little in companionship I can contribute to them. Yet they come daily and sit and chat; they say

AVE FARMS STRIVE,

FOR WAR GOAL

All Seem to Have Ample Manpower and No

Complaints. By DANIEL M. KIDNEY Times Staff Writer RUSHVILLE, Ind, March 26— Wendell L. Willkie’s five fine farms here in the Rush county - flatlands probably will meet the new wartime food goals. Each farm is handled on a 50-50 basis by excellent farmers. Four

that if I ever need an escort anywhere just to holler [seem ‘to have ample help in hired and they'll take me; they insist on running errands{hands‘ and first rate tractors and for me; they bought a special bottle of champagne|other machinery. None complained and brought it to my room on Christmas Eve for us|of any shortages. three. All are pointing with pride to a We've arranged to take trips together after the|fine pig crop and: saying that, if war. Snip insists on taking me on a South Carolina city people do not get pork chops, deer hunt, a famous institution where the man who|it will be no fault of the Willkie

misses his first deer gets his shirtail cut off. And Tom has a two-week catfishing and cougarhunting trip down the Nueces river all planned. I've agreed to go on these trips -although I don’t know why, for I've never shot anything bigger than a rabbjt in my life, and never intend to. I've noticed that both boys almost always preface their after-war plans. by saying “If I live t it... .» Nobody talks a great deal about that, but it’s in the back of everybody's mind. It's even in mine sometimes, despite the nice safety of my noncombatancy. Even a: deer-hunt looks beautiful way off there in the future.

Inside Indianapolis By Lowel! Nussbaum

MANY WERE THE. envious glances cast at Rex Schepp, commercial manager of WIRE, and Paul Walk of the same station, as they walked past the Hotel Lincoln yesterday. The reason: Each was carrying a large Armour ham, (If youre having trouble finding meat, just get in touch with them. They seem to know the answer.) . Paul Yost, the state forester now in the army, is home. for a couple of days sporting a captain’s bars. He was promoted just recently. . . . The principal difficulty with rationing, in so far as State Senator Harry O. Chamberlin is concerned, is that it . interferes with his favorite breakfast food— strawberries and cream. He's been eating strawberries almost every day for years. ... Pvt, Harry Spicer is strutting at Greenville, Pa. . . , The reason: He’s the father of a baby girl born last Saturday at leman. . . , Pat Cuddy, public relations director of

} the state C. of C. , reports at Ft. Harrison next Tues-

day as a rookie. .,. . Specialist 1/¢ Russell Fletcher, ‘The Times’ artist, ‘has been transferred from the navy recruiting station at Vincennes to the Indianapolis office. . . . Honle on fiirlough from Miami Beach, Corp. Bob Pace (5030 W. 15th) can’t get accustomed to the lighted streets here. . . . Also home on furlough, from Ft. Knox, is Pvt, Warren Johnson, 1337 E. 60th.

What—No Trade-In?

IN THE OLD DAYS, auto salesmen used to gloat over what they termed a “nice clean sale”—one m which there was no trade-in. Today, it’s a different story. Nowadays, the auto companies want all the used car trade-ins they can get, in view of the few new car sales possible under rationing. But the wily customers try to hang on to the old cars and sell them outright for more money. . Fred.Abernathy drove into Meridian Pontiac the other day and told the service manager, johnny Overman: “I've got a noise in my car, but I don’t think it is. what I think it might be.” When Johnny's head quit whirling, he listened to the motor, but the noise weuldn't per-

Washington

WASHINGTON, March 26.—Government people here expect heavy losses from submarines during the next several months. What they really mean is that we are not going to gain on the submarine very much until next winter. We are breaking every shipbuild-

ing record. But all we get out of it is to stay where we are. We gain a little. But not yery much. If we come out at the end of the summer with as much shipping afloat as we have now, then we will have done about as well ~ as some of our people expect to do. I saw a tanker launched this week at the Sun Shipbuilding yards in Chester, Pa. That was the first ship I had ever seen launched. When you see a ship

slide’ down the skids into the water, you get a deep

thrill out of it. Joseph N. Pew, chairman of the Sun, says he had seen hundreds of ships launched but that after all of these years it is still a thrill.

1 of 8 May Not Come Back

I WAS STANDING. down under the hull, near where the workmen: were sawing through the planks to release this. 18,000-ton tanker for the slide down into the water. Workmen who had helped put her together were standing all around, obviously excited and proud, 3 _. This was just another tanker but one or two of the welders standing near me talked about how neat .she. was: They all obviously had wanted the.

honor of helping to saw the ship loose.

This tanker had been some 90 days in building, It is bigger, better -compartmented, with heavier

NEW YORK CITY, Tirursday —After a short trip

from New Haven Tuesday night, Miss Thompson and I were met by Capt. Underwood, who commands the

~-school for WAVES at Northampton, Mass. Both

CAN Capt. and Mrs, Underwood were extremely kind and

made two weary people quickly

feel: at home. Soon, much too

-Soon, it was morning and we were’ starting out on another day! ~~ Wednesday was a most interesting day. If began with the assembly of Smith college students, and then followed through the various navy training classes, many of which are already bejng taught by women who graduated only a few weeks ago themselves. Comm. Muar McAfee joined us about 10 left

form. . . . The sports desk phone rang and Frank Widner answered. It was a fellow with a “mushmouth” inflection, asking who won the hockey game Wednesday night. Told that the Caps wen, 4 to 1, the voice mumbled: “Boy, oh, boy! First game I've missed all season. Wouldn't have missed that except the dentist had me in his chair pulling out all my teeth.”

Aiding the General's Aid:

WALLY BARRETT of Block’s military department received a call yesterday from Major James Stack of the war department general staff in Washington asking if Block's had the particular insignia worn by aids to four-star generals. Wally found four of them. “Send them to me right away,” ordered Major Stack.

' “General Eisenhower sent back for some and we

couldn’t find them anywhere, And then one of our officers recalled seeing some in your window recently.” The insigniae are on their way to: Africa by plane now. . . . Chief Brooks of the navy recruiting station in the federal building would like to. get in touch with someone willing to lend him a piano—for the duration. The chief and his Yeomen 8 provide the musical portion of the Hi Sailor broadcast over WIBC daily at 11:45 a. m., during which navy recruits are given the oath. The fellows have been singing to the accompaniment ‘of ‘a. .ukelele, but isn’t loud enough. Anyone willing to lend a’piano can reach Chief Brooks at Ma. 1561, Ext. 379.

Who's Excited!

INFORMED THE other day that he was the father of a new baby girl, Staff Sergt. Sam Meko Jr. rushed around ‘and got a furlough, Hurrying to Indianapolis, he grabbed a taxicab (lucky guy) and told the driver to take him to St, Vincent's. The driver was new and got mixed up.:Consequently, he let Sergt. Meko off in front of the American United Life Insurance Co. building on Fall Creek blvd.—a block from the hospital. ‘Sergt. Meko was so excited at the prospect of seeing Sandra Lue that he didn’t notice where he was, just rushed into the insurance company’s building and told the girl at the desk he wanted to see Mrs. Meko. The girl smiled and directed him to the hospital. He’s on his way back to his station in the East now.

By Raymond Clapper

bulkheads, and with more protective guns than any previous tanker. Two other tankers went into the water at the same time. These three tankers will be ready to go to sea within a very short time. Each will carry 150,000 barrels of fuel. .And there is a good chance that one of the three won't come back from the first trip out.

We Are Still Experimenting

THE GERMANS KNOW they are losing the air

war. They are putting everything they have into ihe submarine now.

Their subs are building far faster than we arel

farms. Each farmer has signed the department of agriculture pledge of intent to produce needed foods. They are not mixing politics with the plowing and planting, either, despite the fact that general supervision of the farms is under Miss Mary Sleeth, long time active Republican. This: is former Senator James E, Watson’s home town and Miss Sleeth long was a “Watson Republican.” - But her girlhood friend was Edith Wilk; who became Mrs. Willkie, so she was in the forefront of the Indiana workers for Willkie when he carried this state for the presidency in 1940. Mr. Willkie began buying the farms hereabouts when he was president of the Commonwealth & Southern#o. They were and are a good investment. , Three are in his wife’s name and two in his own.

Farmers Like Him

He loves to come out here and poke the pigs around; attend stock sales and the like, His farmers like him so well they have switched the township trusteeship from Democratic to Republican. The first farm Mr, Willkie bought was 354 acres. His new tenant there, Frank Oestering, has just shipped 40 head of fat steers and is feeding a new herd. There are 400 hogs on the place; 8 cows; 150 hens, and 350 chicks, plus a gobbler and several turkey hens, He gets 90 eggs a day. Farmers have been halted from taking their pigs and cattle into

town for slaughter—which might] - aid black market operations—so

they have returned to the old-fash-ioned custom of the neighborhood “butchering bee.” That was what Louis Berkemeir;, who farms 328 Willkie acres, was doing. After the butchering, the meat is packaged and put into cold storage via the locker system. of course, but. supplies the farmers’ families, Farms 290 Acres

Mr. Berkemeier has a boy nearing 18, who won a livestock prize and was awarded a short course at Purdue university. Now the question arises whether Robert will be drafted.: There is ample need on the farm to plead exemption, but farm boys, after finishing high school, seem anxious to be off to the wars. Joseph Kramer farms 200 acres; Jessie Bell 270, and Harold Moore 190 for the Willkies. With the exception of the first farm, all are near together. There is nothing “show place” about any of them. But there are good houses for tenants and hands, excellent barns, hog houses, chicken sheds and the like. The major production. on all the farms is pork, and corn isfraised to feed the pigs on each place.

Can Some Produce ; This is the country of small town

It cannot be. sold,|

sinking them, are far stronger than they were 20|CaRneries, which dot the landscape years ago, are able to stay out far longer, have better|2L the way from Indianapolis. Bedetection devices, and in every way have gone ahead |C3USe tanned goods are so essential much faster than our anti-submarine measures have to the war effort, all the Willkie

gone, farmers have signed to raise some-

We are sfill experimenting. We haven't yet de-| cided the place that the airplane should have in fighting the submarine although we may be forced to decide it soon because we simply are not going to have enough escort vessels to do the job this summer, and we must lean on the airplane. If we had been on our toes we surely would have! gone after those German submarine pens along the! French coast before they were put under that heavy concrete protection. Gen. Ira Eaker, American air chief in Europe, says he is soon to have numbers of super-fortresses and that American planes will do as much bombing as the R. A. F. That's going to take gasoline, -2000 gallons every time you send: up a present model fortress. It must all be sent from: here. All motorized equipment must run on fuel from here. Those are some of the things that you think about as you see another ship go into the water. No wonder you unconsciously say a prayer for her.

By Eleanor Roosevelt |

CAs I looked down at them all assembled bafore/, lunch, I ‘could’ not help thinking how smart and), keenly alive a, large group of. women all dressed alike|' look. The same thing impressed me ‘about the WAACs. We ‘lunched in the old’ inh, which I remember

staying in. It is used as a dormitory and mess hall. We * watched the cadets through, cafeteria

‘thing for the canning factories. Included will be sweet corn, peas and tomatoes. Soy beans is a big crop. Using their own combine, they had the beans harvested before the first frost . But elsewhere many ‘acres remain unharvested in Indi‘ana, Illinois and Iowa; the beans are almost worthless. A near cloudburst last week, combined with: continued cold weather, has delayed the spring plowing and planting throughout the Midwest. But the Willkie farmers, like their neighbors, are ready to go as soon as weather permits.

fellows can eat too.” HOLD EVERYTHING

style, and then went into the: officers’ dining room,|

where we were told we had the same meal as everybody else. - this training center. ‘After lunch, we drove over to Mt. Holyoke and saw several hundred more cadets. President and Mrs. Ham were with us and told us how well the associa=

If so, they are particularly fortunate in|

“the college and students in he : hE c

Armed setvices is working out.

“We'll grow] : all we can,” they said, “so you os i

By ROSEMARY REDDING

The soldier and sailors and even the hard-

Pop mothers them and they love it,

their beds” over at the Wabash

centers. ; \-He doubles as everything from a

of ‘em. Pop’s real name is Charles Snowball. His title is a bit vague, He’s

centers, a receptionist, the keeper of the peace, * Service men first meet up with Snowball when they register and get their membership cards at the Wabash eenter. He sits at the desk at the head of the stairs. He keeps religiously two books in which he ‘records their names. There are thousands of them.

They All Remember

Some of them come back months later and ask for “Pop.” With many of them, he keeps up a running correspondence, telling them all ghout how things are going at the club, or at the Illinois st. branch, where on Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday nights he hovers about to “see that things are going all right.” And. with, Snowball around, things usually go all right. Snowball has his own technique for handling situations and usually they don’t even arise for Snowball can spot a wouldbe disturber, infrequent as they are, and just eases them off to the washroom for a little talk before anyone suspects. It doesn’t matter that he’s a small guy and his charge may be six feet four of brawn. Usually, the man shows up the next day with an apology and his thanks. Snowball understands the fellows. After. all, ‘he spent 20 years in the navy himself and saw service if the last war.

Treasures Letters

He’s always reminding them: “Boys, you're getting so much free. We didn’t get anything like this in the last war.” And Snowball sees that they get it if they need it. “Some soldiers come to me when they hesitate to ask a lady for a loan,” he explains. “Then, I fix it up for them to go and get it.” Some of them get stranded here and in certain casesg are loaned funds to go on to thet? destination.

He even goes so far as to drop. back late on Saturday. nights just jto see that the boys are “tucked in street branch of the service men’s:

consoler of homesick boys to the spinner of tall tales with the best g

the head custodian for the four

itten marines call him Eventhough the last man of in

would stand up and fight rather than admit they need “mothering,”

Charles. (Pop) Snowball registers another one of his “boys.”

1[Service. Men at Cenlors Here Call Him ‘Pop’; He's ‘Mother’, Receptionist and Official onsole

This time it’s Staff Sergt. Otto Zane i

canella from the Sedalia army air field, Warrensburg, Mpg., who dropped into the Wabash st. branch of the

service men’s centers.

Many of them write thanking “Pop” for Mitle services. He's mighty proud of those letters and just plain postcards. ‘Many of them just want someone to talk to. Snowball watches out especially for those boys who come into the lounges, pull out a letter and read it over and over. That's a sure sign to him that “there's a homesick boy.” So he wanders. over and he works around to suggesting they play a game of pool or pingpong. Or, maybe he’ll give them a good story of how he was homesick once, too. Work Has Compensations “Why, I had a big ocean between me and home during the last war,” he’ll say. “You know we got a big thing to look after right now. And you're the guy that’s going to do it.” “They’re all good clean boys,” he says—stoutly. “Most of ’em are serious. They want to go across and get the whole thing over with—the last one of em.” And Snowball says it with just a touch of regret that he can’t be in there with them. “We can’t. do enough for the boys,” he declares. And Snowball is giving them just

‘about everything he’s got. 'He has

“hours” at the two clubs but he won't keep them. He's always around. But his work has its compensations.

Xl—Axis Hoodwinks Isolationists . By MICHAEL SAYERS and ALBERT E. KAHN

IN PHILADELPHIA'S large arena auditbrium, on the evening of May 29, 1941, sixteen thousand men and women

attended a rally of the America First committee.

Thun-

derous applause and prolonged cheering greeted Charles A.

Lindbergh as he rose to speak. Branding the defense program of the administration"

as a betrayal of the American people, Lindbergh called for the overthrow of the administration. and for “a new

leadership.”

The response of the audience was Hysterical. frantic applause was interspersed here and: there by shrill cries, “What are we waiting for?” “Impeach Roosevelt?” “Are we going to let the Jews run this country >”

The isolationist America First committee, formed less than one year before by an ambitious young Yale law student, had somehow developed into the ‘“spontaneous American movement” for which the Nazis had been searching and tirelessly working since 1933.

The well-known men’ who made up the national leadership of the America’ First committee had doubtlessly no intention of aiding the axis at the expense of their own country. Yet, Nazi and Japanese agents made use of their committee. Thus, distinguished “Americans actually became the dupes of the énemies of the * United States. yi ‘sa =

Fifth Column: Moves In

| -this ‘organization . -an instrument

‘| for carrying on psychological sa-

“botage in the United States on. a hitherto undreamed of scale. While the American public was still reeling under the first barrage of America First propaganda, a voice from across the seas enthusiastically welcomed the com-

1| mittee. Via shortwave radio to “America on Jan. 22, 1941, Dr.

Joseph Paul Goebbels’ propaganda ministry announced: “The Amer-

| ica First committee is truly Amerji| ican and truly patriotict” 2g

“Members of ,the German Amer-

| ican bund began moving quietly,

eomnittige: By May 1, 1941, bund leaders were openly writing an

* BERLIN ‘from the outset saw in

The

fornia undertook an exhaustive investigation of axis agents in the America First committee. On Oct. 10, 1941, the Legion issued a public : report of its findings which stated: “The. American ‘Legion committee finds that, in meetings of America. First, processes are at work whereby a. person. at-: tending merely to seek information, may unwittingly. be transformed into a Nazi sympathizer. “This committee further finds: that the subversive infiltration : into America First in California has not only confused the minds of the people it attracts, but also has poisoned the minds of persons of outstanding community reputation who have participated in its activities.”

: 2 2 =» Case of Laura Ingalls THE HEROINE of: the Amer-

: dca First committee was Laura

Ingalls, the famous aviatrix who turned out to be a paid Nazi agent. ‘Miss Ingalls first made. isolationist headlines on Sept. 26, 1930,

when she “bombed” the White

House with anti-war leaflets. Shortly after the formation of the Anierica First committee, she: be-~ came one of its most popular speakers. From the beginning, she was in the secret employ of, the third Reich. Her money and most of her instructions came from Baron

" Ulrich von Gienanth, head of the

gestapo in the United States, diplomatic title was second re of the German Empty in ‘Washington. " The Nazis were well pleased

‘been’ American public,

Like the night the young soldeir from the west coast landed at the service club about midnight. He was almost broke. ‘His brother had been living in New Castle and he hadn't seen him in 10 years. Just before he left California, the Hoosier brother had written saying he was moving to Indianapolis to work in a defense plant. The soldier had lost the letter giving the new address. So at midnight, Snowball got on the phone; called up several defense plants and finally located the

- | brother,

“At 3 o'clock in the morning, they met each other. They cried. I almost cried, too.’ Well, maybe I did,” admitted the retired tar.:

Confer About Gifts

The service men confer with him about gifts for mothers and wives and sweethearts. They want a small radio fixed. One recently took his wallet in the shower, placed it on a partition and it fell down between the walls. It was a pretty disturbed soldier who explained there was $40 in it. So Snowball got out a ladder some baling ‘wire and fished it out. If there’s:a big hole in the heel of a sock, Snowball supplies -a new pair from the supply on hand at the club. Maybe, it’s hair oil, or: shav-

code erie in this correspondence, “king” meant Hitler and “mama” was von Gienanth, The “early days” referred to the early struggles of the Nazi party in Germany. Miss Ingalls was quite convinced that Nazi Germany would be victorious. “Some day I will shout my triumph to a great leader and a great people ... .” she wrote in April, 1941, to Dr. Hans Thomsen, “I have a telegram already writ=ten, ‘sieg heil’ to send you. . . . Heil Hitler!” ; On Dec. 11, 1941, the day that Germany and Italy declared war on the United States, she hurried to Washington to see Baron Ulrich von Gienanth. She wanted names of persons “who can continue our work in this coun "A week later she was arrested by the FBI on charges of having failed to register as a paid agent of the Third Reich. She was subsequently sentenced to serve eight months to two years in the peni-

tentiary.

» ” #

Drawn Into Nazi Net

"IT IS NOT difficult to understand why native fifth columnists aided the axis. They were either paid in cash for their services, or they anticipated Quisling positions in an axis-conquered America. But how were the Nazis able to

‘ hoodwink or enlist the services of

some of the distinguished ‘American citizens connected with the America First committee? The

' case of Frank B. Burch of Akron,

0, illustrates the technique employed. : For many years Burch had been a distinguished member of the Akron community. He was elected to the state senate in 1923. He was a member of the Akron Chamber of Commerce and a Jesting participant in civie af=

pu . the depression years, Burch’s’ law practice suffered like

most businesses. He blamed it all on the New Deal and “that man’ in the White House.” His hatred for Roosevelt became an obsession with him. ; The Akron press reported speeches by Adolf Hitler attacking ‘President Roosevelt in. language “which echoed Burch’s ' own ‘thoughts. Burch began to think that the third reich might have -to the “Early in 1939, he “wrote a ‘cautious letter to Dr.

with her work. Von Gienanth told one of his agents that he

“couldn't withhold his joy”

when he heard how ET

‘Policy. Wasn't the bund evidence : t America?

ing equipment or fost clean towels for a shower, but right there on the spot is Snowball with what’s needed, On Saturday night the 105 cots ag the Wabash center are filled. Snow= ball trudges down from his duty. a$ the Illinois st. center about 1 a. m, to see “the boys are taken care of” and the next morning, he's back to see “everything's still all right. : A Soldier's Dilemma A ‘seasoned sailor like Snowball won't ‘like this but he’s something like a mother hen By Jooking after; her chicks. : He even serves as a soldier, boy's Jane Jordan or Dorothy Dix. But Snowball is pretty cagey about that, He tells but one story. at ‘Recently, a’ young soldier got. ine volved in a set of circumstances where two young women were dead set ‘on coming out to visit him on the same week-end—all the way: from Pittsburgh, too. Snowball was stumped ‘by that one. _But the situation finally took care of itself when one arrived on Frie day, left on. Sunday and the other one arrived Sunday and stayed over until Monday. - But there aren't many problems 3 of service men for which “Pop” doesn’t have some kind of an ane swer.

bh % Ha Ww

an accomplice in Nazi intrigue. Nazi plots in America? Of course not! “The ‘bund’ is an American organization,” ; back Dr. Kapp, “and as such the German government has no in= fluence whatsoever over it.” - Burch entered into a regular correspondence ‘with Dr. Kapp, The consul kept sending him Nazi books and pamphlets in which « President Roosevelt was described as being under the control of “international Jews.” Burch ene joyed reading them, asked for more, and said it was a pity so . few Americans knew the “truth.” Promptly, Dr. Kapp told his dise ciple that his office would be glad to supply any number of Ameri= cans with the “truth.” He asked Burch to whom he should send

his material.

” 8 2

In Pay of Third Reich |

BURCH NAMED a Toumber} of prominent Akron citizens. As. time went on, he added names of persons in other cities to the list, - Compiling lists was not the only ‘work Burch was required to do for his new masters. He was made to serve as a front for Nazi propae ganda activity in the Middle West, In September, 1941, Frank B, Burch was indicted by the Washington federal grand - jury. He was charged with not having rege istered as an ‘agent of the Gere ‘man government. He pleaded guilty, was fined $1000, and ree ceived, because of his advanced age, a suspended prison sentence

of eight months to two years.

On Dec. 12, 1941, five days after Pearl ‘Harbor, the America Firss committee: - officially disbanded, A public statement by its national

was liquidating so that its leads ers ‘and members could put all