Indianapolis Times, Indianapolis, Marion County, 13 October 1948 — Page 13

"Godfrey is quitting his early stint,

ashions . 4 on romaines, 11 with Fall, r wonderful

“GLASS oF BEER, | Mr, Cam Campbell.” The golden liquid gurgled from the spigot and pushed about a swallow of foam into the drain at the Saratoga Bar before I spoke again to the manager, Zéke Campbell. . “Those were the days, eh, Mr, Campbell, when you could get a glass of beer for a nickel?’ Just by coincidence I had a buffalo head on the bar, nostalgic tears in my eyes and a dry lump in*my throat. “Say, what are you trying to pull?’ growled genial Mr, Campbell, keeping a firm hold on .the glass. “You know the beer's a dime.” I slowed up on the Academy Award facials and shoved another nickel nearer the cash register. Mr. Campbell wanted to know what the gag was.

Beer Was a Nickel in the Old Days

“A DRAM OR two of beer for a nickel, like in the old days, And I'll tell,” I said. “Nuts. The old days, why you weren't dry behind the ears in the old days,” he said. “That isn't the point,” I said. Well, after six of my nickels disappeared in the money box and Mr. Campbell didn't show extraordinary interest, I spilled the beans. I informed the veteran of the white apron that my mission was to find out how much fun I could have for a nickel. Real entertainment, happiness for five cents, something I could say was worth my time, nickel and effort. “Beer's still a dime and will stay a dime.” That, incidentally, ended our conversation but not my quest. Surely, I argued with myself, a man should be able to have fun with a nickel. Beerdrinking isn’t the only activity in the world. George Pandell, the florist on Monument Circle, was most helpful and optimistic with me and my nickel. “If you love flowers, you should be happy with this little pompon, all day. Could you ask for anything better for a nickel?” the florist chuckled. I told a little white lie, jiggled my sack of Jitneys, resisted buying 10 dozen roses and hit the street whistling “Bluebird of Happiness.”

| Frown on the Magazines

THE MUSICALE ended as I passed a newsstand. I must say that I frown on three of the former nickel magazines, namely, Colliers, Post and Liberty, every time 1 pass a newsstand. The Post (15c) gets the biggest frown. At a drugstore I downed a “coke” and bought a candy bar. Couldn't get a sandwich other than Ritz crackers and peanut butter. Hate 'em. Two nickels—but I wonder if you could call that. fun.

Is drinking a “coke” fun? Teen-agers, don't answer that. ‘ Department store lending libraries couldn't

loan me any books for a nickel. The minimum charge was. a dime for three.days. After that it's three cents a day for one price book and a nickel a day for another. Wasn't much interested: I called a friend of mine who ordinarily is a comedian on a telephone. He wasn't worth a plugged nickel. “I don't feel so good—whadaya want?” sort of chilled me off. Using the phone isn’t much fun. Frank Ball sold me three nickel wire puzzles at the Novelty Shop on Market St. They didn’t

impress me much. Maybe I'm too Sever with the

cheap puzzles. watchs ors

¢ INSIDE INDIANAPOLIS alse will

Most of the real “entertaining” stuff such as

By Ed Sovola| -

The

ndianapolis Times 2

explosive matches, hot toothpicks, stinky cigarets, itching powder and nose trumpets were a me a blast or itch. “Nickel stuff, nickel stuff, that's what I ‘'want,” I shouted to Mr. Ball who began opening a hox| of itching powder intended, I'm sure, for me. We| parted company. The, only, thing that interested me in a dime store was a nickel bag of agates, I'm a little too old for balloons, tiny plastic cars and rubber! balls (small size), There were buttons for al nickel but I'm not sewing much this month. No fun there, : On Washington St., as I opened the bag of agates, the whole shebang fell to the sidewalk and rolled colorfully into the gutter. No fun there. Walter Dolmetch, behind the cigar counter at L. Strauss, sald he didn't have any nickel cigars. I clutched at my throat as he explained Tish-a-Mingo cigars could be had at most chain drugstores. “‘What this country needs is a good nickel cigar,” I said using the famous words of Thomas Riley Marshall, 28th Vice President of the United States. “That's what thg country needs. all right,” grunted Mr. Dolmetch as he held out a quarter

stogie. “Quit smoking.” “Beat it.”

Pinball Machines—Phooey

PINBALL MACHINES aren't bad entertainment for a nickel. They're not good, either. The average game lasts 90 seconds and if you're like me (never win a free game), the skillfoolery just riles a guy up. Double baloney on them. Milt Kaiser, manager of the Indiana Theater, informed me he had no intention of having any “sneak prevues” for a nickel in the near future. “How ahout seeing a part of a movie fora jitney?” |

Gordon Harrell, assistant manager, stuck his,

five cents’ worth in and announced that the gov-| ernment requires a tax from every person who | § walks in the front door. | “The tax on free passes is Tc for a matinee picture and 1lc at night. So you gee, even if you had a pass. you couldn't get in for a nickel,” he said as if he had just finished reading the jatest report on government taxation. Up and coming young manager, I'd say. (He gave me | two passes. Isn't that peachy?)

We Need a Nickel Sunday Paper |

J. A. WALSH, manager of the Indiana Theater| Nayember election.

Magazine and News Shop, told me he could sell me three post cards for a nickel. that might be fun. I didn't. “Got any newspapers for a nickel?~Sunday newspapers with comics and stuff? Mr. Walsh hunted through his stock of more| than 125 Sunday papers and ‘finally shook his head. There was a Wisconsin Sunday paper that sold for a nickel but it didn't have comics and things. I hasten to say it costs a nickel in Madison. here it sells for 15c. “This town can stand a good nickel Sunday paper,” ‘was my comment on the situation. Mr. Walsh beamed. He caught on. I was hop-|

ing-hewould after all my effort. Po you catch on?

appear in THE SUNDAY TIMES.

~ - " ———— —— NEW YORK, Oct. 13—A sweeping, personal cataclysm is about to be inflicted on a few million people with radios—people whose daily stumble from a warm bed, in the brief. morning hours, has been made partially bearable by the dulcet.croaks. of Arthur Godfrey. It has not yet been announced, but My Man a program which ram from 6 to 7:45 a. m. in New York and from 7:45 to 8:15 in Washington. As of Nov. 1, the robust old redhead is going to catch his first steady morning snooze in 19

years.

It has been that long since Red Godfrey, the warbling banjoist, quit a birdseed program at $5 a shot, and started kidding the sleep-bleared list-

“HEE at the untender-hour of 8 8 Mw vane ina

I have no figures to prove it, but I would bet that in 19 years, Mr. G.'s early morning melange of recording, chitter- chatter. baritone ballad and sponsor-ribbing “has prevented thdusands of divorces, quite a few murders, and unlimited sui-* cides. The gray dawn is a miserable segment of. the day; bodily resistance is low, tempers frayed, heads overhung. stomach restless, nerves raw and the despondency quotient at its peak. If T were going to pick a fight with and maybe confuse a consort, I would apply the abrasions to the lady who introduced a clinical discussion of my shortcomings before the breakfast eggs had nestled against the second cup of coffee.

Presto, Out Gomes Godfrey

FOR people who suffer from ante-meridian surliness, Mr. Godfrey has been a greater specific than aspirin. You crawl out of the hay, slice your lip while shaving, shiver in the dawn, and brood snarlingly over a cup of burnt coffee. If you are alone, you worry about debts and the job and the future, and you decry the past. If you are sharing the evil hour with a helpmeet, you just lay back and wait for her to open her yap. Before long the air is thick with hurled invective and flying crockery, and-the injured party goes weepingly home to mamma. But when you hoist yourself from the sack,

MR. RUARK'S COLUMN also wi

By Robert c. Roark

you have been able to flick a switch and, presto, out comes Godfrey. You reflect that this cheerful robin had to leave the nest at 4:45, or thereabouts, and has been up longer than you. Yet he is able to laugh, He is able to sing. He is able to read you a scrap of news, spin you a retord;-or-make} ‘some outrageous remark abeut the wares be ped-| dles. For years I worked the early trick on an afternoon paper, and I am sure that-Arthur—on the home radio and on the car radio en route to work —-prevented me from assaulting assorted executives with copy-shears. Even with a heavy head, I was in pretty good humor by the time I reached the paper. I don't get up early any more, and so I miss .1be. sunrise Godfrey. but a few thousand, people have written that they ESUTAN't™ start-the-day without him. I'll bet you something pretty that the divorce rate jumps after Nov. y one-man counter-irritant to pre-coffee domestic strife.

Cost Him 150 Thousand Fish

MR. G. will hang onto his network show, from 10:30 to 11:30, and he is starting a pure television hour for Chesterfield after Jan. 1. It will run from 9 to 10 p. m. on Wednesday nights. He is clinging, also, to his weekly talent scout program, which will be simultaneously televised. That will comprise the net of the Godfrey activity, and for it he will receive something better than a half-million bucks annually. “I drop 150 thousand fish a year” Arthur was telling me, “by giving up this morning stuff. Can you imagine such a ridiculous point of life that a guy can't afford to make 150 G's a year? It seems to me that is the diagnosis on a fouled-up civilization. “There ain't ‘anything I wouldn't have done for ‘that kind of dough 15 years ago, and now, I can’t even afford to make that much extra. It's| ridiculous. “But,” says Mr. G.,, “it's worth it. From now ‘on. when that alarm clock clangs, a fellow I know is going to bury his head in the pillow and snore. “Say, what's it like to stay up until midnight?"

Il appear in THE SUNDAY TIMES.

Hide-and-Seek

WASHINGTON, Oct. 13—I was in the Treasury Department press room with my feet on somebody else's desk, contemplating the pretty pictures of the shoeless and semi-naked ladies on the walls, when all the phones jangled at once. You'd have thought somebody was trying to rob the biggest strong-box of all. Somebody was, at that. The United Press told its fiscal expert to check Chicago rumors that the government was freezing the price of hides. The Associated Press said, quick, find out whether the Federals were supporting the hide market, International News told its man the same thing. So did the Wall Street Journal, the Journal of Commerce and other financial papers. There was something hot in the Chicago «hide-market. for.sure, You should have seen “those ‘financial Writers scurry. They checked the Treasury, Agriculture .and Commerce Departments. And finally they got

“lo the government's top hide-experti-who.

and laughed.

Started Rumor to Raise Prices -

FOR WEEKS the prices of ‘the raw materials for shoes had been going down and still down. The tanners weren't buying. And some poor devil, stuck with a large consignment of hides, was on the verge of losing not only his shirt, but also his shoes. 80 he started the rumor about the government in hope of raising the price of his cow skins. Happens all the time, added the government man. Whenever the hide market hits the doldrums, somebody circulates a report about the govsrnment taking action, He sald that hides are one thing subject strictly to the taw of supply apd demand. When people stop buying shoes, the shoemakers quit buying Mldes. The government has no authority under ‘any law to tinker with hide ‘prices. This news.

MR. OTHMAN'S COLUMN also. will appear in THE SUNDAY TIMES.

«/Phey're buying. none from the tanners. The latter

By Frederick C. Othman

clattered to Chicago in a matter of seconds. The price of hides immediately skidded again. This indicates that strange things are happening in the shoe business. Maybe we are turning into a nation of barefoot boys. Next time you pass a shoe store, look in the door. Odds are that vou'll see more clerks than customers. A pair of pre-war $10 shoes still costs $19.95,

1, because Arthur was a |¥

even though the cost of hides are down as much As half from their high levels in the spring. The shoe manufacturers haven't cit their prices-vet| They've been cutting production. Many a shoe factory is running part time. Jobless shoe workers, particularly in Massachusetts, are beginning to go on relief. The shoe makers are trying to use the high= priced leather they ‘bought earlier this year.

are buying no hides and, like most vicious circles} this one seems about to break. Or so said the Cheerful: ‘hide specialist in the government.

Predicts Drop in Shoes Nexi Year FIRST THERE'LL be special shoe sales, in which the retailer shoulders his loss. Then, he pre-|-dicted, there'll be consignments of distress merchandise from makers short of cash and finally (probably early next year) the price of shoes generally will-drop. And about time. A good deal of high-priced labor goes into the making and the selling 6T a pair of shoes and as a consequence prices probably won't get down to prewar levels. But every little bit helps and, barring my toes bursting all the way out into the wintry blasts, I'm buying no more shoes for a while, Reminds me of last year's situation, when the clerks did a fellow a special favor by letting him have a few shirts for $5 each. I went frayed around the neck for a while and it wasn't long(* before 1 was doing the storekeeper a favor buying the same identical shirts for $2.95.

SECOND SECTION

‘I Reckon They Want Our Votes'— es In Grass Roots

so ickure Story by Victor Peterson, Ti Times 5 Staff Photographer)

Here Henry Wac

or. a favorite.

votes.

Outspoken in hié choice, he said,

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 13, 1948 -

way to the backbone.”

AY

§

THEY'LL TELL DADDY—Here are the At Friendship: Ind., school children swarmed from the classroom to welcome the vising candidate. “Hanging over-+the main street-was-a huge sign, complete with two white hats, which read, '"Welcome “terry tr-the-small-towns;- Republicans. andl-Demacrats. alike. turned...

THE CANDIDATE SPEAKS—Politics is big business in Hoosierland. Right now the business is booming as hopeful office-seekers drive down the home stretch to the Stumping the state, getting right down to the grass roots, is a He thought| necessity if candidates hope to persuade a voter to cast a straight ballot or scratch Former Governor Henry F. Schricker is beating the bushes for these Here he speaks from a railroad freight platform in Batesville while a youngster, unconcerned that political history is being made, unwraps a piece of candy.

STANCH SUPPORTER—John Oliger waited half the day on the bank corner in Osgood to see Mr. Schricker and shake his hand. "I'l say I'm for Schricker—all the In ‘one day the familiar white-hatted figure appeared in virtual ly every town and hamlet of Ripley County.

fi

out to greet the vote seekers.

School Board to Take Over Reins of 26 Kindergartens - |: 5 & Shiai

investigate the need of additional 1, 63, 26 and Broad Ripple High| 16th St.

Plans to Provide Training for 5-Year-Olds; Graup Will Investigate Need of Facilities

By DAVID WATSON - Indianapolis School Commissioners today planned to take over direct supervision: and operation of the city’s 26 free kindergartens, Completion of the plans will provide kindergartén training for all Indiamapolis 5-year-olds, Action was taken last night after the commissioners received

a resolufion from the Indianapolis Free Kindergarten Society, e ex-| $90,000. pressing its desire that the School : Board take over the direction of|

kindergartens,

and stating

Superintendent Virgil Stine its| baugh, who, was - instructed by

willingnéss to co-operate in thejthe board to make a.study of

»

: action,

by |

the plan, said the board would

Harids that shook the-hand,

[email protected], the

away to kee woman said,

building and teaching facilities. School.

No The Indianapolis Free Kinder- fv De Dhue Slo guticsed. MW; M.|poard on the demands of a

garten Society is a private agency supported by public contribu-|Lennos tions, public schols and private clates to trusts.

payment of $135,000.82 to archi-|there were tects and builders for work performed on six public schools, These included

uded School 80, 18,|State Highway

THE VOTERS LISTEN—These and other Hoosiers take their politics seriously. Here are thoughtful faces. They don't belie whether their vote is Democratic or Republican. Many may be straight-line men and never . cross party lines. But they are willing to give the opposition its say and digest campaign promises.

HONEST CONTEMPLATION—Edwin Schein of Bafesville wants to weigh both sides of the gubernatorial "A mighty good man," he said of. Candidate Schricker. I'm thinkin' and it's going to take a lot more of the same for me.” County office aspirants were included in the campaigh caravan.

FRIED CHICKEN AND GLAD HAND--The 23. members of Milan's New Harmony Federated Club were having a luncheon ite hat dropped in. It was a typical Hoosier meal and Mr. Schricker looked TongTngly St the Heaped plates ashe: dashed up with his rigid schedule. : "T reckon they want sur votes."

engage the architectural firm of}. & Matthews & [cial statement prepare {specifications for construction of | jent at’ last night's Appropriations by the school a shop addition to Crispus At- though the 30-day board for the current year was tucks High School. Last year the School Board make its In other action, the board voted| heard protests that hap facilities days away,

Plans were made by the Schoollened ‘by 3 Board to draft a request School B Commission

a PAGE.

his vote,

fi ight before casti his "Right now

In_an aside, an elderly

stop signal at 16th St. and Bellechildren crossing action was taken by the.

to delegation last month for an on’ the . boards’

[delegation gave the statement