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Show GRASSROOTS Old West Has Given Way io Modern Civilization '' By Wright A. Patterson I KNEW the old west the west of Indian fighting days, only through the experiences of acquaintances who had been a part of that valiant little regular army of under 25,000 men, which subjugated the Indians and opened the plains and mountains moun-tains from the Missouri river through the Rocky mountains. Among those I knew was Gen. Nelson A. Miles, then commanding the department of the Missouri, with headquarters in Chicago. As Chicago Chi-cago correspondent of the Army and Navy Journal, it was a part of my Job to call on the general each week, seeking news of the army. From him I never secured very much of his experiences in the Indian Indi-an wars. He was much more interested inter-ested in telling me of his social en-, en-, gagements. At that time he was a social lion in Chicago, made much of by the society leaders, and he liked it. Another of the general officers of-ficers of that old army was Gen Frank Richardson, but his experiences experi-ences were more in Alaska, than in the west though he had commanded army posts and troops in the west Then there was Gen. Charles King, of whose stories of the western army I never missed one so tar as I know An hour with King was favorite entertainment en-tertainment for me. But a standby at all times was Major George F. Lee. Lee had enlisted en-listed in the army as a private in the late 60' s or early 70 s. He later was commissioned as an officer and before retirement had risen to the rank of major. He had participated in practically all of the campaigns against the Indians and knew the west as a boy might know his father's fa-ther's farm. He was in the campaign that defeated de-feated Geronimo and his Apaches. It was Lee's description of Tucson that gave me the urge to see that place. Now I have1 visited Tucson, but I did not find the place he had so vividly viv-idly described. Instead of a little trading post with trains of Cones-toga Cones-toga wagons on their way to the gold fields of California, I found a beautiful modern city, a place of fine homes, of magnificent hotels, beautifully landscaped. Instead of pioneers and their families fam-ilies moving west there are veritably verita-bly thousands of ourists enjoying the sunshine and looking, as I was. for that old west that has given way to comfort and civilization. Instead of the old army post with its squadron squad-ron or two of cavalry, a battery or two of light artillery and a regiment of Infantry, there is a mammoth air field tor great bombing planes, B-50's, that may some day be called upon to visit Moscow and pay respects re-spects to Joe Stalin. But there is much of the atmosphere atmos-phere of the Tucson that Lee knew still to be found In Tucson. Today the Santa Rita hotel occupies oc-cupies the ground that In George Lee's day was the shack of the army sutler. To me that corner was holy ground. 1 could easily Imagine George Lee critically looking over the stock in that shack In an effort to decide what he could afford to buy with his private's pay of f 13 a month. Today fine, well stocked stores have taken the place of the sutler's shack. Up in the mountains, some five miles outside the city limits, there is old Tucson, a place that is typical typi-cal of what George Lee had pictured to me. It is but a village of adobe huts, all of them occupied by Indian Indi-an families, with no one of them appearing ap-pearing to be livable. That village is characteristically Indian of the old west days, except there is no fight in any of the inhabitants. The prosperity of the Tucson of today is based on cattle. That is evident from the people on the streets and in hotel lobbies, ranchmen ranch-men and bow legged cow men, wit; ten gallon hats, tight fitting high-heeled high-heeled boots and spurs. But Tucson is not the place that was described to me by Maj George Lee, Col. Brinkerhoff, Private Pri-vate Make Mills, and others. Today it is a good place to go to, and because be-cause of its climate, its attractiveness, attractive-ness, the hospitality of its people, and the atmosphere of the old west it Is a hard place to leave. Socialism by whatever name it may be called is still socialism, of which America wants none. arm organizations are asking thai isrm subsidies be withdrawn. They are hearing from the five urban votes, and are wise. MacArthur proposer to have a part in evicting the tenant from the White House. |