Indianapolis Times, Indianapolis, Marion County, 30 July 1952 — Page 17

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Inside Indianapolis

By Gene Feingold

Ed Sovola is on vacation. His column will be resumed on his return

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THE HEAT'S ON—Faced with a charge, summer heat and humidity, Criminal Court | can be

rough on defendants.

It Hap By Earl Wilson

CHICAGO, July 30—The Wilsons are waiting here, poised for a trip around America in search of healthy laughs and beautiful “Earl's girls.” On this “around America” tour, we've decided to eat American, think American and drink American. Just let anybody try to force any French wine down our gullets. We're going to say “take back your French stuff, and bring us some Napa Valley, 1929, or some pure Sandusky, 1950, or delicious Syracuse, 1951.” “You're nuts,” some of eur New York friends will tell us. No, we're not. We already know some of New York's ritziest French wine stewards belt American grape in private because it's cheaper—and just as good. o> > » IN THE FAMOUS Pump Room (we saw’Nevada Smith, the ex-show-gal, dining with her rich husband, Jack Frye), they have something most unusual-—an American wine steward. “Skipalong Tattle,” as he calls himself, is really from Terre Haute, Ind., but he wears the wine steward money suit just peachy. “We're trying to educate people,” he says, “not to ask for ‘domestic awines’ but to say they want one of the ‘wines of America.’” _ “The word ‘domestic’ isn’t good,” says this Plato of the pubs. “It makes people think of ‘domestic trouble.’ ” The Beautiful Wife and I will be hunting strictly American giggles as we tour 15 states. We, of course, love Comedian Joe E. Lewis over at the Chez Paree, who tells of a girl who was well-bred and not badly buttered, either. One night Joe introduced his piano player, Austin Mack. There wasn’t as much applause as Joe wanted. Glaring at the audience, Joe said: “And he doesn’t like you much, either.” It got enormous applause. > Dd & WE HOPE to get to places television cameras don’t get to when we reach the trout streams and the redwood forests. Of course, TV gets most places nowadays. CB's Don Hollenbeck went to the men’s lounge during the last convention still in his Buck Rogerish TV outfit with walkie-talkie. As he stepped inside, one of the lounge customers shouted, “Oh, my God, not television in here.”

Americana By Robert C. Ruark

BERMUDA, July 30—After a week end away from the confusion of the conventions, a sudden thought occurs; never has the idealized concept of government by the people been less evident than in the just-concluded Democratic conclave in Chicago. If the Democrats should happen to win in the fall, we will have what amounts to a President and Vice President by appointment. Harry Truman, while still President of the United States, arbitrarily appointed his man to the presidential candidacy and implemented his appointment through the withdrawal of an-() other Truman pet, Averell Harriman. It is quite truthful to say the American people as a whole had never heard of Adlai Stevenson, a good man but a national political nonentity prior to this spring, when Harry pulled him out of the hat and stubbornly set him up on the stage. He may be eventually elected through popular processes but he was selected through the pressure and power of one man.

e + 0 IT OCCURS to me Mr. Truman does not speak for a great many million Democrats, but he assumed the spokesmanship and made it stick. It is a short time.from now to November, possibly too short, to firmly establish Mr. Stevenson in the public consciousness. © These have been two highly unusual conventions: In the Republican you saw how Gen. Eisenhower, as an amateur, by sheer weight of personality, triumphed sweepingly over a highly developed political approach by Sen. Taft. In the Democratic Nonclaeh, he reverse was true. Estes Kefauver se to be the people's choice over

a man who disclaimed interest in the presidency

and had to be drafted to run. weight installed Mr, Stevenson.

But sheer political The Republicans

‘set the Democrats a fine object lesson in how

to run a nomination race, and the Democrats promptly outdid them in brawling, bickering, disunity and general vulgarity. e

HOW EITHER PARTY hopes to recapture complete public trust as a party is beyond my comprehension after all the fishwifery and angle shooting that has occurred for the public eye to see. It seems to be the opinion of a great many people, after years of boss rule in the selection of candidates, the time has come to abolish the convention as we know it now as archaic and highly undemocratic. ’ The people of the country have little or no part

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pened Last Night

See America First, If BW Says Okay

WE HOPE TO CATCH up with Gen. Ike in Denver and report some of his favorite laughs. Adlai Stevenson’s stock of stories includes one about an English bishop who got a wire from a vicar in a small village who wanted somebody to take over his pulpit. The wire said: “Dear Bishop: My wife has just died. Would you send me a substitute for the week end?” I don’t need any substitute. The B.W.'s right here giving the orders and making it clear if I behave she'll let me go along.

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THE MIDNIGHT EARL IN N. YY... . Liz Whitney's doctor-husband is desperately ill. She's taken a room in the hospital to be near him. . .. Joan Blondell’s been seen around Chicago with attorney Charles (Patsy), Clark, who once had fisticuffs with Drew Pearson. . . . Now there's a “Draft Oscar” movement — some young songwriters want Oscar Hammerstein as president of ASCAP. Gertrude Lawrence turned down $10,000 for a single appearance on the Arthur MurA couple of other Lawrences

Miss Blondell

ray TV show.... maestro Elliot L. and Texas deb Margot L.—

are having dates. . . . Jackie Robinson's ailing wife is up and around again. . . . Claudette Thornton, who's in the movie, “Cattle Kate,” shows her calves. Opera star Marguerite Piazza opened eyes in Capri, shopping in slacks and tight sweater. . . . Nicky Hilton Jr's newest extra added distraction is Laura Bartlett, of the Riviera chorus line. . . . Perry Como’s been acting as host at the Villa Capri, during the owner's absence. . Since Mike Todd's extravaganza opened there, Broadwayites call Jones Beach “Cape Todd.” eS :

WISH I'D SAID THAT: “A genius is a guy who solves a problem you didn't realize you had in a manner you can’t understand.”—Charles Adler, ' Cecil B. DeMille. was asked why he made Biblical films. His answer (says “People Today”) was, “Why let 2000 years of publicity go to waste?” , ,.. That's Eatl, brother.

Did the People Pick Adlai as Candidate?

in the selection of their favorites. Delegates are owned outright and manipulated by a very few; their votes are swapped as casually in the conference rooms as a man might make a deal for cattle. % There has been some feeling the only honest approach to presidential nomination is universal primaries with the result to determine that man. I'm not smart enough about this stuff to prescribe, but I'm smart enough to know that almost any method ‘departing from the current process is better than the one we've got. Anything at all would be less phony, more dignified and a lot less noisy. & % WE MAY THANK television a great deal for bringing to general public consciousness a vivid picture of the true dimensions of a national convention. The complete picture of its stupidities and vulgarities had not been possible to portray by word alone. The mysteries of just how the man became an aspirant for national leadership were fairly dark. They are dark no more. I think the old-fashioned way 4s finished and there will be some changes made for 1956.

Dishing the Dirt

By Marguerite Smith

Q—Since coming to Indianapolis we have noticed a great deal of something we've been told is called sedam. I've wondered about planting these along the walk or the house. They grow perhaps a foot tall and have pink flowers. Mrs, H. L. Conner, 3935 Carrollton. A ~The correct name is sedum (rhyme it with feed 'em). The name includes a whole big family of plants. Many of them thrive under the most difficult possible conditions. Especially the little creeping fat-leaved kind with yellow flowers,

Read Marguerite Smith's Garden | Column in The Sunday Times

sedum acre, or wall-pepper, or gold-moss. The kind you describe is one of the tallest. It’s sedum spectabile. I don’t know any common name for it, though it's a common enough plant. And highly desirable, Many local gardeners use it to good effect to edge their front walks, One yard I know uses quantities of it along side walks, front walk, and for garden edging. The pink flowers and gray green foliage make it a lovely plant. There Is a dwarf variety with deep rose flowers that has a better growth habit than this more often seen kind. You. can easily start plants. If your neighbors will give you some pieces. of theirs, just stick them in the ground to root. ,

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SHOWMAN—

Puppeteer Is

By CPL. TONY SYLVESTER FT KNOX, Ky., July 30— A former Indianapolis Times carrier, Who came here from Indianapolis to visit his older sister while his father is ill, is earnestly bringto life a fairyland world of marionettes to entertain friends and soldier families here in this stark world of armored weapons.

Bar none, this frail, bespectacled lad of 13 is probably one of the most versatile young craftsmen in this section of the country.

For in addition to designing and constructing his own marionettes, Earl Snellenberger. is script-writer, stage-builder and designer, director and publicity man for his own productions. His sister, Katy, and her Army husband, M. Sgt. Joseph Dixon, have sat nonplussed the past few weeks, watching this talented wisp of a boy slowly fill

the basement of their Ft. Knox

apartment with little people who dance at the end of strings. = » »

EARL IS THE SON of Mr. and Mrs. Russell Snellenberger, 3745 N. Adams 8t,, Indianapolis. All of his marionettes are born of a keen imagination for using household scraps and a natural talent for art. Take for instance characters for “The Frog Prince,” which he presented this week at the Ft. Knox school. The queen is a dreamboat with burlap hair. Earl unravelled a burlap sack, meticulously combed the strands and dyed them blonde. The lady's cape is dyed gauze and her gown one of sister Katy’s cast-off winter skirts. The marionette operates on nylon fishing tackle, suspended from sticks of an orange crate Earl rescued from a trash barrel he spied while on

THE PRINCE—Undisguised

WEDNESDAY, JULY 30, 1952

a shopping trip in nearby Elizabethtown, Ky. SA

» ” » HER POP, the King, is staid old gent with starched cotton hair. The ermine piece attached to his elegant robe is bleached nylon hose stuffed with cotton and daubed with black paint. A small dog collar girds his middle. Earl stitched all the

HIS MAJESTY—The King

AFFAIR OF THE FLESH—

Girth Contro

By PHYLLIS ROSENTEUR

THE THREE-WAY mirror is an abomination. A dieting woman, should never be compelled to look at her own stern; her nervous system isn’t built to stand that sort of shock. Though every shop owns one, the largest, clearest and least merciful of these lie-detectors Jeers from the wall of the local “corsetorium.” My own Miss Sniffen (“Lingerie for Ladies") measured me with a deft and somehow sympathetic touch. She refrained from snide comment or any exclamation of surprise, On rolling up her tape, she always assured me-—confidence seemingly unshaken by prev-

fous bouts with my figure—that she had “just the garment.” Garment, I knew, could mean belt, panty girdle, sacroiliac support, two-way stretch, corset, corselette, artificial bust booster, brassiere, or'any combination thereof, : Sometimes it was hard to detect the difference between a combination thereof and a strait jacket. Without hesitation I'd pit Lily of France against the Bellevue psychiatric

staff for new and fiendish methods of restraint, » ” ”

WHILE MISS SNIFFEN geirched out “just the garment,” I would repair to a small private cubicle and peel. The blue fluorescent tubes of the three-way mirror threw back the image. of a triple cadaver that glowed eerily. Every bump was thrown into purple prominence. I recognized a quiet quiver as my ego breaking. down into its atoms. ’ Finally the little corsetiere

put in another appearance, this time loaded down with up-to-

date versions of the Iron Maiden, none of which bore any relation to my shape or her measurements of same. ' Though 1 protested, she proceeded to haul me halfway into something obviously intended

for a midget midget. Before I could gather breath enough to, say . . . “Really, I don’t think . . »"' her gentle bovine eyes began to glitter.

Her limpid white hands tightened into talons. With superhuman strength, she

spanned Siberias of abdomen with hooks and eyes and forced groaning - zippers over and through flesh. She snugged the whole shebang shipshape, tugged on small hawsers fore and aft, and kept her weather eye open : for those stray

“ounces that slipped their moor-

ings.

CRAFTSMAN AT WORK—Here Earl Snellenberger, former Times carrier, demonstrates the method of fashioning a marionette head. This character will appear in a future show for the entertainment of Ft. Knox soldiers and their families.

garments and the marionettes themselves on his sister's sewing machine, “His sewing has improved a lot since he started,” Katy says. “He's my brother but still he amazes me all the time,” she adds fondly. Genuine masterpieces of Earl's imagination and skill are undoubtedly the marionette heads. These require a developed system and about seven days each to fashion. For the bodies, he requires a day; the complete marionette, 9-10 days. To construct a head, the youngster first sketches the character and then makes a clay model. Over the clay head, he pastes bits of dampened toweling. After he has applied five layers of toweling, he allows the papier mache to dry into a hardened casing. He cuts a section from the back of the head and digs out all the clay, leaving a hollow papier mache cast, .

” ” HE GIVES the entire cast a preliminary coat of house enamel and then goes toiwork with oils, giving flesh, lips, eyes and coloring to his char-

acters. The ears are sculptured plastic wood. Each of the heads has a smooth gloss which results from nothing more than careful application of the towel strips and paints. He doesn't varnish or shellack them. The young artist-craftsman tacked self-made posters in various spots on post announcing presentation of “The Frog Prince.” He operated all of the characters unassisted with a fan-like apparatus which made it possible to have three marionettes on stage at dhe time. The stage is a giant collapsible affair, he constructed in his basement workshop. Marionette making came

WITH THE main body of resistance well in hand, Miss Sniffen pulled my palsied arms through the straps of a piece of whimsey straight from Paris. The label was embroidered with the words “elever” and ‘en suspens.” They mean “upward” and “outstanding.” I could only hope that my bosom would live up to the advance billing.

Suddenly, though my lungs were still at only quarter capacity, I heard, rather than felt, a slow, grinding tear, as of tortured flesh or overburdened elastic. I knew it wasn’t flesh when 8Sniffy screamed “Stop” and snatched me bare. She threw me a wounded look, and, leaving me to tend my own welts, gently explored the expensive corselette for possible damage. ? » " ~ AFTER THESE few ‘minutes of delicious freedom, she pro-

ceeded to mummify and incar- strongly because wa reducers’

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"PAGE 17

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x-Times Carrier

ONE-BOY SHOW-—The artist and impresario gives an ine terested Ft. Knox soldier a close-up look at two of the characters in his marionette stock company. The frogs and princes are from

"The Frog Prince.” :

somewhat by default to Earl Earlier this year, he had been interested in puppets and dummies of which the basement already has a good supply. He asked sister Katy to get him a book about puppets from the Ft. Knox library, but when the best she could do was marionettes, he was launched on a project which is mow far and away his first love. The whole neighborhood enthusiastically volunteers bits of scrap it knows he will sometime bring to life. } » » ” HIS TALENT has not gone altogether unnoticed elsewhere. Back in Indianapolis where he

was living before his father became crippled with arthritis, Earl won two summer scholarships to study at John Herron Art Institute. This was when he was 11. At an even younger age, he delivered The Indianapolis Times to: finance lessons in charcoal drawing and oil paintnig. “But the paper route was too much for him,” Katy explains. “You can see he's not very husky,” she says nodding to the 5-foot 2, 96-pound child who appears more like 8 or 9 than 13.

cerate me further in a series of even more improbably straps, belts, and pulleys.

The garments ranged in appearance from slim sausage casings to the kind of armor plating originally perfected for the tank corps. A “waist nipper”’ welded severl organs in an indissoluble union.

A foundation that promised to breathe with me forgot how at a crucial moment. Some of these affairs went on over the head, and others dragged up over the hips. One, with mysterious inner panels and secret compart ments, didn't appear to have any practical means of entry and exit at all. Abandoning this project for the time being, I went on to brassieres. The bra business must surely be among the biggest in America. I have been asked—in deference to each prevailing vogue—to be “boyishly flat,” “frankly feminine,” “proudly pert,” “triumphantly abundant,” and all with the same standard equipment. ~ ” ~ -FASHION HAS abjured me to “Lift,” “Thrust,” and “Divide.” Next, they'll probably want me to subdivide. So far the mammary glands have been rearranged and altered In everything except number, Somebody's probably working on that right now. The billowing bosom has al« ways been easy for me to achieve, It's fairly simple for anyone to make mountains out

~

Walt Disney once wrote him, after receiving a sample sketch and a fan letter from Farlstating he would like some day to be a Disney staff artist," “keep up the good work and maybe someday your wish will come true.” Now the wish has changed. ‘I'd rather work and make a name for myself. I'd like to be an art teacher and then get into commerical art and adver tising.” LL

- ~ » BUT HE WILL NEED more training first. And that will come the hard way. “Earl’s the youngest of six children and I tell you he'll just have to make his own way. If he wants to go to school, he’ll just have to win a scholarship or: he won't go,” sister Katy explains. “It's good he has some talent because there won't be any money left for him when he gets older, The youngest has it rough.” “The youngest” is already gunning for a Butler Univer-sity-John Herron Art Institute combined scholarship, and at the rate he’s going now he shouldn't find it too rough.

| Is Complicated

practically establish voting residence in the fitting room. Gain or lose, it's off with the old garment, on with the, new, As soon as I flatten my derriere, some chic designer de.crees a gently rounded rump. Should I abandon my diet, Paris immediately imposes a new shape emobdying the unbearably subtle curves of a ski pole. But whatever happens—and eventually it will—a foundation is a girl's best friend. It's embrace is the only one.she can count on to support her through thick and thin. This I offer as the primary fact of life for anyone who would practice girth control.

NEXT: “Help” from your kind friends.

(Copyright, 1053, by Phyllis Rosentsur)

of molehills when the designers 34

offer such aids as, ites,”

“Spareparts,” “Mini

“Lesser

lights,” and an import with the

improbable appellation of “OULJ1” — pronounced, according to the copywriter — “Wee-but-GER!” :

a8 N NO DOUBT 1: FEEL so

Don't Argue About Golf Rules. Carry The Times’ Book fet, EASY WAY TO LE GOLF RULES, Send 10 (no stamps) to: Golf Rules,

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