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Show THE RICH COUNTY REAPER, RANDOLPH, UTAH wm snaa am i ogrxseto i Courteous Japs Kow-ToTo Victorious Americans w By EDWARD EMERINE Features States, like men, should not be judged by hearsay. If you have been reading stale joke books, or listening to radio .comics, you may have some WNU .3 ; , preconceived and ' erroneous ideas about one of the greatest of the 48 states. It is time for you to ' s . -- ' - V ; i ' m.. lA Arkansas. pt near-mansion- . Amer-ican-Swedi- X 1 $ : t! at-ar- O 16-pa- ge mm mg sill? W NATIVE: RESIDENT . :. r Ben '1 LaneyT governor of Arkansas, g is a native and resident of the state He was born in a small rural area of Ouachita Becounty called Cooterneck. fore his election as governor, he was a school teacher, drug store operator, oil man, agriculturist and twice mayor of Camden. Veteran .of World War I, he is married and has three children. - life-lon- sas was a part of Louisiana from 1804 to 1812, and from 1812 to 1819 a part of Missouri. In 1836, Arkansas became a state. Arkansas is a great agricultural state, with soil new and fertile. Levees, ditches and canals have redeemed alliwial lands along the St. Francis, the Arkansas and Mississippi rivers. The state has an almost inexhaustible timber supply, with forests of pine and hard woods covering nearly of the state. At Eureka, Heber and Hot Springs, health-givin- g waters have long been used. two-thir- ds serv-Baukha- all-wo- ol . ! . , ; . i De Sojtos Futile Quest for Gold Brought Exploration of Arkansas Arkansas was one of the earliest the Mississippi states to be explored. The first white man to touch Arkansas soil was Hernando, de Soto, the Spanish explorer. who discovered the Mississippi .river. In May, 1541, he came to a river so broad that he called it, in Spanish, the Bio Grande, or great river. The Indian name for the stream, Meschacebe, father of waters, has come down to us, ' however, as Mississippi. De Soto to Arkansas the crossed the river of side. For nearly a year, the last year of his life, De Soto traveled over what is now Arkansas, through a vast wilderness inhabited by wild animals and equally wild savages. Beginning near the mouth of the White river, De Soto went up the western shore of the Mississippi beyond the mouth of the St. Francis river, then journeyed ; southwest until he came, to the Arkansas river. There is a tradition that he was defeated in a battle with the Indians near where Jacksonport now stands, and that he was compelled to turn north again. Learning that there were mountains to the northwest, he continued toward northeast , Arkansas where he hoped to find gold, traveling through swamps and dense forests and crossing mountain streams. Disappointed in not finding gold, he ; CLASSIC STRUCTURE cb ?.n in ; .1836, Arkansas ; old .state house, now converted into a war memorial building,' is one of the classic colonial buildings of .the nation. s ) 000, Originklly rn tccapied . ; ge ... . After discovery by De Soto in 1541, Arkansas was tossed like a ball between Spain and France. The few people who, came to the area were soldiers .and traders. There were no farmers and few merchants. No permanent settlements were made except around military posts. After the United States came into possession of Louisiana territory, including Arkansas, ,the country was settled rapidly by Anglo-Saxo-n pioneers. ' Territory Formed. r In 1819, Arkansas was organized as a separate territory, and the capital was moved from Arkansas Post to Little Rock. (Incidentally, Little Rock was so named because of a ledge of --rocks projecting into the river and to distinguish it from Big ; Rock, about three miles up the river.) .Population was about a 14,000. It may be noted that Arkan- - sh . A few, weeks ago I made an automobile trip through Arkansas, following the general course of U. S. Highway No. 67 from Poplar Bluffs, Mo., to Texarkana. We visited Coming, Walnut Ridge, Newport, Searcy, Little Rock, Arkadelphia and other towns. We saw fields of rice, com, cotton and other staple crops on land that was black and rich. We heard the sharp ring of saws biting into both soft and hard woods. We heard factory whistles, too, and saw hundreds of men carrying dinner pails. Horses, mules and tractors furnished power for farming, while huge trucks hauled loads of giant watermelons, fat cattle, milk, oil, lumber, logs, poles, crates of fruits and berries and other products. Fruit trees were heavily laden, the boughs bending low. Progress is Evident. We traveled over splendid paved roads, across rich coastal plains and through mountain scenery as majestic as any traveler could ever want. There were fine homes, big barns and well-keacfces on either side of the road. There was construction everywhere, for Arkansas is building new homes, stores, garages and other structures. Steel, cement, brick and bright new lumber were going into those buildings. New homes, in every stage of construction, were to be seen. s, Some were while others were simple structures. Barns, sheds and fences were going up too. When we talked to the people of Arkansas, we found them friendly, courteous, intelligent. They smiled easily, were proud of their state, and sure of its future. Tourists who . had visited every part of the Ozark and mountain . and Ouachita forest areas in the northwestern part of the state as well as the lower coast-- . al plains in the southeast had seen construction, just what we saw progress and resolute faith. First settlers of Arkansas were the Indians, the Quapaws who lived south of the Arkansas river and the Osages who lived north of it. They called the land Akansa, but somewhere along the way an r was inserted and a final s added. It is pronounced Industries of Arkansas -- are devoted almost entirely to extracting By BAUKHAGE or processing products which origNews Analyst and Commentator. inate within the states boundaries. Next comes News From SwedThere are 28 oil and gas producing WNU Service, 1616 Eye Street, N.W., fields in six southern Arkansas en, a mimeographed collection of Washington, D. C. featur-- y paragraphs from the counties and 16 gas fields in five Recently, I had two experiences News Exchange. I rewestern counties. Petroleum re- which melded. Swedish minister here when the call serves are estimated at more than I ran into my colleague, Kenneth 300 million barrels and reserves of me about the founding of consulted Romof Kenneth Romney Jr., son a such natural gas at oyer 1,000 billion ney publicity bureau, back beSr., sergeant we cubic feet. fore : got into World War I. of the is one of the UAW-CInext The house of repreClimate, scenic attractions, regular releases and then the CIO sentatives. Young recreational facilities and cura-- : weekly, printed, I News, a tive waters combine to bring, Romney recently their for membership. suppose, has taken up his great numbers of tourists and one of the valuable National Then in seekers' duties radio to health Arkansas Opinion Research surveys put out each year. The' states most again after a beby the University of Denver. This lated widely known attraction is Hot discharge one is a poll of American opinion from the military . Springs National park, containon the Germans and Japs and how T 47 lathot springs with temper-- I service, the ing we think they got that way. ter part of which atures up to 145 degrees. More Business Weeks, and Prowas with Adjacent to Hot Springs are Lakes the spent gram Information from my own cloak and Catherine and Hamilton with more American Broadcasting company. A boys, than 450 miles of shoreline. Annual dagger printed letter from the Payroll df Office the Guarantee association with an enspring racing meets are held at Oak Lawn jockey club. Golf is played Strategic closure. on "civilized cats, mice and W , ices. the year around. cheese. The American Fee.d ManCasually, he told me how he landThe states scenic highlands ined in Shanghai. He had been serv- ufacturers association handout sayclude two mountain groups, the in China. Shortly after V-- J Day ing the feed shortage is over. Ozarks and Ouachitas, both eas- ing General Motors sends me the he was ordered, along with some ily accessible. State parks provide hundred other American officers ninth in a series of production reexceptional recreational facilities. and soldiers, to Shanghai. It was ports. (What could have happened Sportsmans Paradise. known there were no Chinese troops to the other eight?) The release from the National Arkansas duck shooting is na- in the city. Shanghai had been in association announces that Planning in Rice fields since the famous. the hands tionally beginning Japanese and the official Leon Henderson prairie section attract mallards dur- of the war. The civilian population of a have been addbig corporation too none the winter migration. Deer, had become ing of trustees and to ed their board quail and turkey provide plenty of Hence, the Americans (even the if you want to know about the disentyinting, and fishing may be cloak and dagger boys) arrived tribution of fats and oils by the dejoyed in the numerous lakes and in full battle dress. of agriculture, you can on the streams. Float fishing Their plane landed, and little partment White river and some of its tribu- brown men came forward toward have my copy of the second interim taries is a unique Arkansas pastime, them. The' Americans had their report from the Committee on Small Business pursuant to H. Res. 64. which is becoming increasingly pop- rifles at ready. Some fired. But ular with visitors. the Japs, undeterred, came for- Or Maybe Youd I am fully convinced that Arkan- ward, bowing deeply, smiling. It sas is' destined to become one of was a Japanese ground force, ready Prefer Rail Loadings Maybe youd rather have freight the great playgrounds of America, and anxious to service the Amersaid Franklin D. Roosevelt at ican planes. loadings of the week from the AsLater came Jap officers with a sociation of American Railways, or Booneville, Ark., when he visited The perhaps you want to bid on the purthere in 1938. whole fleet of limousines. chase of 15 or fewer Landing Ship connot were guests, And many of the rest of us who Americans The conquered enemy Tank (LST) type vessels? Or perhave visited that state can heartily querors. haps youd prefer some endorse the late Presidents words! were hosts not just the conquered, American flags, or a BK steel barge find to accommodaoffered They A little for dry or liquid cargo? No? Well, tions (and the trimmings. Americans the thought, no harm in making the offer. confusing, Next exhibit is News From but that was, after all, the Orient-Ch- ina, France from the French Informaanother world. tion service. Ill admit I asked for Now the scene shifts to Washingthe I witness ton again. meeting that, along with the attractive magof a husband and wife. Plenty of azine, La Republique Francaise. Heres the state departments such meetings these days, still. It was touching. The man had dropped weekly bulletin which is Part Three out of the Far Eastern skies. It of that interesting series on the seemed only yesterday that I had present status of German youth. I heard he was in a city in the Neth- was planning to write an article on . turned south, passed over the Boston mountains, crossed the Arkansas river near Dardanelle Rock, and came into the land of the Cayas. fell seriously ill, and Here, a friendly Indian chief brought him to a lake of very hot water where he was healed. This lake was doubtless the now famous Hot De-Sot- '" Springs. On Ouachita river near the springs, De Soto and his party found salt which the Indians gathered and sold to their neighbors. The explorers spent the winter of 1541, a severe one, in an Indian village on the Ouachita. De Sotos faithful interpreter, Juan Ortiz, died. ' Disheartened by not finding gold and losing so many of his men, De Soto resumed his journey south in the spring of 1542. He followed the Ouachita to the Red river and then went downstream to the Mississippi. Exposure brought on a fever and De Soto died, his survivors burying him in thq great river he ' had discovered.' Spain profited little by the explorations of De Soto. Through her the Mississippi valley negligence had remained unsettled,, for nearly a century and a half. But while Spain slept, the French were active. After Securing the lands bordering on the St. Lawrence river, France had pushed southward along the . Mississippi. :- ; - erlands Indies, where the American corporation he represented had one of its great plants.' He was the first American to visit it since the territory had been won back from the enemy. But had it been won back? When I heard his story, I wondered. It seems that when he reached the gates of the American-owne- d plant, he found a Japanese on guard. He identified himself. In a few moments, a smiling and bowing Japanese officer, still wearing most of his uniform and speaking understandable English, appeared. They began a tour of the property, the Jap most deferential but offering no word of explanation or apology for the fact that he, a late enemy, was in charge end not in jail. In fact, the Jap was very loquacious on the subject of the excellent work that he and his helpers had done to put the plant back into repair and operation. He showed my friend the various places where the buildings and machinery had been, damaged evidence, he pointed out, smiling, of the excellent marksmanship of the American air force. He dem onstrated with particular pride how excellently the repair work had been done, obviously expecting (and praise for receiving) the technical skill the Japanese repairmen had shown. Very nice, of course. But American industry still reaps no benefit from that plant, and although the Japanese gain no profit therefrom, this American property is still, literally, in the hands of the enemy. well-deserv- ed Commentators Lot For one whole week, I saved all the things that came to me by mail which I hadnt asked for except personal letters. I have just counted them, and there are 233 separate pieces in all. The total number of pages I am expected to read adds up to nearly a thousand. The one on top is the back of the book from Omnibook..; A collection of amusing Stories. But Omnibook itself is better still and I believe I have every issue, begin1, me the magazines are overbought on Germany. Wont buy another thing. Just two pages of mimeographed material from the Friends of FinnCruel irony here. ish Democracy. Remember when it was brave litRemember when tle Finland? Finnish Minister Procope couldnt go anywhere without being applauded? Finland paid her war debts! She even managed not to duck after the war! Well, Finlands friends are protesting now over the reparations demanded by Russia . . . heavier in proportion to population, they say, than are any other nations. To pay the reparations bill, the statement claims, every man in Finland would have to work eight hours a day for seven years. It s of Finlands would take normal exports. Heres a speech by Senator Taft from his office, not printed at government expense. Stuck together is a news-pripamphlet called the Poll Tax Repealer, and that blast from the Republican national committee on the Presidents budget message. A very neat little booklet (additional copies will be furnished) by Standard Oil of New JerSteps to Security. sey, entitled Now a tissue carbon labeled Midnight Cry with a series of Biblical texts shrieking doom. Seven familiar bright yellow pages from the National Highway Users association, which is one of the real, hardThe working publicity bureaus. CIOs Economic Outlook, which often has statements that cant be four-fifth- nt overlooked. Now we come to an attractive tabloid newspaper, The Pro- 12-pa- Loads of Mail ning with Vol. that subject myself, but they tell No. 1. LaFollettes gressive and labeled War contract scandals. Maga- I am glad to note it is still of the progressive, regardless changes in the LaFollette activities and proclivities. The first page ha$ a nice cartoon of a garbage can zine. Looks interesting, but WAIT ; A MINUTE. I think they want me to PAY for it. Heres a return cafd saying 25 weeks subscription, $1. Oh dear. It must have gotten into the wrong pile. Im not going to look any further. I might find more of that kind. lo |
