Indianapolis Times, Indianapolis, Marion County, 5 February 1950 — Page 17

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“Inside Te * on

MECHANICAL men aren't so smart, Heck, T can count on my fingers, too. Even my toes if the

i Fred Pearson, who brought the man Westing--hose built to L. 8. Ayres for a short engagement, thinks we have only scratched the surface wi mechanical men. He didn't mean that to be 4 jo!

We disagreed, of course. After seeing Electro

and his dog Sparko give five consecutive performs ances, I wasn’t so sure mechanical men would replice us humans. Mayb ep ing into the picture. But what's wrong with us humans sticking together?

‘Same Guy at Fair 11 Years Ago

IN CASE you haven't seen Electro and Sparko in the housewares department on the fifth floor, let me say Electro is the same bloke you saw at

the New York World's Fair 11 years ago. Now .

don’t tell me you missed him there. . During the third show, I got the sneaking sus-

: picion that Mr. Pearson had his fingers in Electro’s

Cause Is Deep Mystery

pie. During the fourth show, my suspicions were

confirmed. The fifth show Was watched with tongue

in cheek.

{In back of the curtains, where Mr. Pearson spends much of his time, there was Owen Hegarty and half a carioad of equipment which makes

* Electro the marvel he is. Plug me into that much ‘photo-electric stuff and I'd be a genius.

Electro is geared and wired to do 12 actin sequence, He smokes, talks, counts up to 20"on his fingers, walks the width of the narrow stage, blows pa ballpon, recognizés red and green lights, raises his arms, nods his head. ! Electro can't drink a beer, wink or whistle at

“TgIFIs tie TH Shoestring, sit down unless he Tals”

down, can’t read the funny paper and doesn't know who Fearless Fosdick is. He has a long way to go. If Electro were human, chances are good he wonldn’t be working for Westinghouse. #Since he isn’t human, smokes scarcely more than half a pack of cigarets a day and doesn't draw a wage, Electro has been a fair-haired boy for over a decade: Of course, you can 't ‘overlook the aforementioned talents. How many buckets of bolts and boiler plate have you seen walking, talking and smoking a fag? ' Mr. Pearson, unaware that my powers of observation have been developed to a point where I can look at a thing once and tell you what it is, began giving me the business about how clever iron pants was. ‘ “Why. do you punch the button on the microphone? There's something going on that doesn’t meet the eye.” Mr. Pearson cracked immediately and confessed all. Electro is prompted into action by means of impulses. The impulses are given by Mr, Pearson’s voice. He uses loud syllables. Three cancel the last act and set Electro for the next. Usually the command begins with E---lec---tro.

—Two syllables make him perform and one makes

him stop. - To get Electro to smoking and talking with one of the masters of ceremonies, the button on the microphone is punched the proper number of times

“for the proper turntable and Electro talks. There

are four turntables behind the stage, One is. reserved for Sparko.

No dummy .. . All he has is the habit. Electro, the mechanical man, puffs a cigaret Fred Pearson

lights... nD

What bappens when the slgnils oot “fouled wt That can happen, can't it? Mr. Pearson and Mr.| Hegarty said it certainly can. When that happens! poor Electro does 12 things at one time. Very dangerous even for a mechanical man, There are| a lot of photo-electric tubes that can blow up. Electro's stack, should it ever blow, would be like a bomb. Boiler-plate skull, you know. ~

He's Going: to Undergo Surgery

MR. PEARSON said Electro is by far the best traveling display the company has ever developed. In a few months, Electro is going home to Mansfield, O., for an overhaul. Instead of turntables, which are heavy and cumbersome, a tape recorder will be installed in Electro’s midriff and impulses will be given by means of a walkie-talkie. No wires will be connected to Electro. In the race to blow up a balloon, was Electro ever beaten? Mr, Pearson said a stocky blond, wellbuilt girl, he added, won over the gentle iron monster with bellows for lungs. There isn't a thing wrong with his powers of observation. One time a Boy Scout, in full uniform ‘and| eager to demonstrate what a clean life will do for lungs, fainted when Electro broke his balloon first. Has Westinghouse ever considered. building a Mrs. Electro? Mr. Pearson didn't know. He doubted, that anyone had thought.of a Mrs. Electro. “Two can live as cheaply as one and maybe you can add a few more tricks to this routine.” Mr. Pearson was impressed. Electro didn’t turn a gear, Dummy.

Giddy 20's Returning? By Robert C. Ruark

NEW YORK, Feb. 4—In the last couple of days I have seen two television programs which stressed the giddy ’'20s as a principle theme. Anita Loos’ old rocking chair, “Gentlemen Prefer Blond”. has been rejiggered as a play, and is “ stackifig them in the aisles here. They got a couple of roaring '20 opuges on the- Hollywood, and are about to dust off Clara Bow to play a Charleston instructor.

Force, {8 an ancient tribal dance, not a city in South Carolina.) And the March of Time has just completed a full-length feature on the jazz

decade called “The Golden '20s.” The dames in

my age group have been sawing off their hair “to conform to the skull line, and plastering it around their heads in spit-curls. These curls are - imprisoned in the 1920's coal-scuttle hat, or cloche, and you can see the waist-line dropping daily. Arthur Godfrey has repopularized -the ukulele in the land, and I even got a squint of Cliff Edwards’ working for his living with the same instrument the other night, Sophie Tucker is going great in the provinces, the coonskin coat is back, and prohibition jokes are funny again.. Even the hip flask is staging a revival.

I CAN STAND another seige of the flapper, I

. suppose, ‘and might even find some grisly humor

in a reinstatement of prohibition, if I am the kind of chap who gets giggles from being shot at in his home by booze agents earning their pay.

But I don’t understand what is causing all. this. : —packwash- -

to-the gay days—unless—thatis preferable to that nice big custard pie Mr, Truman just setYout to cool. Maybe the imminence of the H-bomb has driven us all back to the com fortable silliness of the jazz age. I was a mere splinter of a lad in tho.sprak easy season; but I recail-it well -and it was not such a bad time to be alive. In those days an atom meant a little bitsy thing, and Russia was a place where they had droshkys and wolyes who ate people who fell out of droshkys and hydrogen

“was something you sprinkled into the oxygen

when you were cooking up a mess of water.

(The _ Charleston, for benefit of full colonels in the Air

pent:

There was a lot of moaning and breast-beating about lost generations. but it never came to much, because the lost generation was too young .for World War I and generally too tired and feeble from drinking prohi gin to get sucked into WW Twice, and so old and rickety from the shortages of WW Twice that they couldn't care less by the H-bomb in

- boast of. The

Maesiro Says. $1 Pledge Annually for 5 Years - By 100,000 Citizens Would Save Orchestra

By HENRY BUTLER The problem of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra's future needs to beé attacked immediately. So says Fabien Sevitzky, in his 13th season as music director.

Ele now, outlook is very gloomy. real popular support, this city may lose its orchestra. That would

be an absolute disaster,” Dr. Sevitzky told. me. at lunch the the other

day in his Winter Apts. home. He sees the orchestra as one of three major cultural institutions, excluding schools and colleges, Indianapolis can

other two are Herron Art Museum and the Civic Thea--ter. 3 ~ “The orchestra belongs to everyone in Indianapolis, not just tothe for: tunate few who have contributed generously to its. sup-

Dr. Sevitzky.

port.

What I would like to see is an

. effort ‘to convince Mr. Jones,

Mr. Smith or Mr. Brown-—the average citizen — that the orchestra is his. “If we could get 100,000 citi-

1-zens-each to pledge §1-a year—-

for the next five years. that would carry us over our present difficulties,” the maestro said. ” 8 ” THE Symphony's annual maintenance fund drive, open-

ing tomorrow: with Russell J. ;-

Ryan as general chairman; undoubtedly will help ease current financial difficulties. .But the kind of support the or-

chestra eventually needs is small contributions from a great many citizens, Dr. Se-

vitzky believes. He thinks more people would actively - help the orchestra if there weren't the lingering notion that a symphony is a rich man’s plaything. “The era of ‘wealthy people contributing heavily is over. Fortunes have

“dwindled, and taxes are high’

he points out. Even in Boston, New York and Philadelphia, millionaires » no longer carry the

major support of the orches-

There has to be eivie pride in the Symphony. Indianapolismust realize what the orchestra does for the community. “We are working for their plea_sure and their prestige,” Dr. Sevitzky sald earnestly, an » » n HE THINKS people generally have inaccurate notions about the orchestra being extrava- . gantly paid--for doing easy work. “After all, musicians who come -here for a 19-week season at $70 a week are not getting rich. And giving 84 concerts with 65 rehearsals in that time is certainly not easy,” he said,

He laughed ruefully at occa- ~ slonal rumors about ,"Sevitzky and his huge salary.” More seriously, he said, “most of what I'm doing here, NOtHIAE™ ~FererFing to activi- | ties like the Scottish Rite Symphony and the innumerable deMands on. its “sparé time.” One point about Symphony salaries is not clearly enough understood. “That money, earned here, is Spent here,” he

Paper Fire Results . In Heavy Damage

{Extensive water damage re|sulted from a stubborn fire late | | yesterday in the American Paper

| Stock Co., 320 W. Michigan St.

Firemen spent more than an {hour quenching the blaze, of un{determined ‘origin, which started Hn paper bales on the top floor of

the three-story brick building.

D. V. Sutphin, vice president said most of the the offices di|rectly below the burning bales. [It was caused largely by excessive water from the plant automatic

|of the firm, {damage was in

sprinkler system.

I'm doing for

Sevitly \ y Rr ow Depends On Public Support

explained: In the past 12 years, Digest Bach “testival) agama .

_ the total probablzz:has been” around $2 million. Unlike a touring show or name Sane

- some oppost! ition. BUT HE'S USED To opposi-

which takes money away. from tion and criticism. Crotchety

here, the Symphony’ remains and spends its earnings.” - v see a " Civil Art Committee set up to-give help and promotion to cultural activities, He thinks it might serve to make citizens .more keenly aware of what the orchestra and other cultural institutions are doing. He speaks with justifiable pride of progress in musical taste. At the end of his first season, a request-pro-gram questionnaire brought ‘in ‘pleas for “Poet and Peasant.” “Dance of the Hours” and similar light works. A few years later, requests were for the Cesar Franck Symphony, Wagner éxcerpts and other more substantial things. Still, more recently, concert-goers have been asking for Bach, Beethoven and Brahms, : Bach still lags a bit in local popularity, as slender advance sales for the Bach Bi-Centen-nial concert at 8 p. m. today in the Murat have indicated. In

fact, Dr. Sevitzky planned this |

program (a kind of Reader's

local -

contributors have threatened to -

. #withdraw support if he played

Trooper Applicant Deadline Feb. 28

Deadline for accepting applica-| tions for Indiana State Police trooper positions this year has Supt. Arthur M. Thurston announced!

been fixed at Feb. 28,

yesterday.

Those interested in entering - the! state police ‘service as a career may file applications with Supt. 25 troopers)

Thurston. He said will be added during the year.

To qualify for trooper positions

men must be 21 as of June 10

and not more than 34. tall with weight

an accredited high school. Competitive “examinations

to attend recruit school.

WW Triple. I have speculated a lot about the lost generation, as I saw it from the ground up, and I suspect we had a bunch of boys and girls who had! it real good and were making propaganda just] to keep the secret of their violent fun from the, old folks.

Whoops, Were) They Wicked!

THEY FLOPPED around in Greenwich Vil-| lage in 20-buck flats and got just as drunk oft | 20-cent vino as their heirs can gét off Johnny | Walker Black. They necked in rumble seats and snuggled in coonhide coats and mixed their own) gin at home for no dough and performed the Black Bottom and at the big dances the gals all shucked their corsets in the little girls’ room and that was about as far as the undue wickedness,

These were the people who didn't give a good] gosh-awful about nothin’, or so they said, and went on to prove it by getting loaded and writing lousy poetry and practicing what they refe

y om something and it was more from work than from war

grow on their necks and joined for kicks and all the time they had’ very little ize that now and. have fled to the security ofthe old lost generation, out of desperate awareness of the new postgeneration. The other is most comforting in view of one in which some hungover scientist can stir too much hydpégen into his neutrons and blow us all Sa past the Charleston, the

bunny hug, and even the minuet. -

_Newsmen’s Ss Pal

~By’Fr Frederick C. Othma

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“WASHINGTON, Feb. 4—I think I'd better tell

: you how I almost had a cup of John L. Lewis’

coffce, He paid for- it. - He also kept me from’

ess you never did see. It looked more like rfume salon (smelling strongly of Corona-|

Picture windows overlooked the city. — Mirrors

rice} id steel AC.DC,

heel Stones

[

opay [°° Yr Lob xeiey £ ; . sree wigl : cies shane 1 : S 2 +

King Coal he was. has come over .the old ‘man of the thpée-day-.

Since then a great

work ‘week. He has quit kicking phot “Now Te poses “for them upon req cooking grim, and in the meantime he proyides a luxurfous suite with easy chairs. and soff beds for their comfort. They are no more a d than I am.

New Era of Good Feeling

THE MIGHTY John was holding his latest conference with the mi owners on maybe kissing and making up | oom 1240 at the Statler Hotel when I'wande d in. Having spent in the past a good segment of my life standing outside in hotel corridors while Eyebrows battled the - not prepared for his new era-of

Not only did he have a place for the photog raphers, bit around the corner he had an equally fancy m for-the reporters. This was equipped

writers, telephones, writing paper, s, and a pair of waiters shagging up large pn edb of coffee. . 1 poured myself a cup of this and was about’ to take my first sip when the walnut door of Room 1240 burst open, as if from the explosion

of a small hydrogen bomb, and out came the

mine owners in their overcoats, looking mad. The movies’ portable lights went on,. the flash bulbs popped and the red-faced coal moguls said the negotiations were over, almost before they

-. had started. They wouldn't say anything else.

So the reporters filed into 1240, and, boy! Buch

surrounded the marble fireplace. Pink begohias’

__in oil paint festooned the deep brown walls, §F™

In the. center of the room was a large table covered with green baize as in thé Press Ctub's .poker room.’ At the end of it sat Mr. Lewis and

gthe. lesser. moguls.of. the. United. Mine, Workers...

‘John L. showed his 70 years. His face was lined, his almost white hair was rumpled, and! gray was visible in his celebrated eyebrows. But! his talent for telling ¢ off the opposition was intact. ! The - coal operators characteristically had | taken a walk, he said, holding a cigar in one! hand and his éhin in the other, "He dictated slowly and at length about how] the operators had tried vainly to smash his union and how they had euchered the government into trying to do the job. It was quite a statement, one-sided or not, and when he finished, he said: “That's all.” The press association men. raced out in such a hurry to get the flash oh their telephones that they nearly knocked over an electrician on his stepladder. “What a job them guys got” he remarked pityingly to nobody in particular. !

The Ladies Change Their Minds | |

A COUPLE of lady guests of the hotel happened by. They wondered who was in 1240. I. told them John L. The white-haired one said she'd like to go in and tell him what she thought| of him. I waited for her to do s6, but she thanged. her mind. So I went back to the press room to retrieve) my overcoat. The first cup of coffee that Eye-| brows ever bought me was as cold as some of this nation’s furnaces.

The Quiz Master

27? Test Your ‘skill 7?

Is it sunrise when the first lipe of light appears

. of must the full orb be seen?

It is sunrise when the upper part of the sun apSears above the sensible horizon as a result 8f the

Selly totation of the enrth; z io ® o © Do hen ostriches bury thelr heads? Ostriches really do bury thelr heads in the sand. threatens, South African

Why cannot foresters increase timber produc: tion through the use of _hybrids as farmers have increased corn production? They can, but it takes time. Trees eanyiot be grown in & single season corn. Promising hybrids of pine and hybrids of poplar are being tested. - > *

4 Is-there a planet arcs fie sun than Mercury?! IS

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about his ‘starting evening programs prompfly at 8:30. “Maybe they thought I should wait for them to finish their dinner,” he said wryly. Some concert-goers like the house lights turned off during the music: Others want them on. Some say the Murat is too hot and stuffy. Others say it's too cold and draughty. “When anything is wrong, they blame it on Sevitzky,” the maestro said, shrugging shoulders and raising bushy eyebrows. But these are only minor vexations. Much more: important is the widespread misunderstanding of the orchestra and its aims. “People have the Wrong impression of me and my musiclans. They think musicians are excitable and flighty. Actually, we are calmer than other peo-

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Le es se re i ee a mn age en i om i ema om Sn i Ss

-ple. We have to be. Our art re=

ing and exactness. We to be more alert than ripe Yar most other activities,” he said,

ule is something for the majority to ponder, Rs 7:30 starts a day of rehearsin, planning, administering; letter- = writing, contest-judging and concert-conducting which ends in late evening with more study. He has to know each new score tharoughly - before rehearsal. “Otherwise, I can’t command the respect of my musicians,” he explained. Mrs. Sevitzky, a busy teacher of singing and an often humors ous commentator on the mae stro's remarks, bears him out, “Fabien always studies. We al most never go out, No movies, no canasta,” she said. . / And Dr. Sevitzky, summing up’ his constant memorizing, ended with a comment almost like something from Ezio Pinza in “South Pacific: “ I sifig the score in my dreams.”

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