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Show THE TIMES-INDEPENDENT, MOAB, UTAH F Lounsén if Christmas on the Prairie Frontier i if The Story of the Most Unusual Celebration in American History — i | GENERAL HUGH S. Ss” Ba United Features Washington, of a Girl1 Friday Dear Mr. W.: Admiral Leahy is sore and disgruntled over the lack. of instructions given him for his new job as Amb. to France. He is even talking of not going; though probably will, anyway. FDR and Mr. Hull both talk in vague generalities about what he is to do there... Senators Wheeler and Norris are getting another blast ready under the guise of probing foreign connections with American industry. The . FBI will come in for another heckling, and you, too. ° You will be called a warmonger, etc. ... Re- member way back when the Fascist armies used to throw —instead of two? up one hand Camille Williams’ CBS vice prexy heart went to So. America on Gov’t. business. Gave her a giant-sized ruby: and diamond ring with which to console herself during his absence - - « Do you think Amb. Kennedy may chief for RKO as buzzed? Adela Rogers St. John’s boy, Bill, and his bride have parted ...A women’s radio group is plotting a nation-wide boycott of all radio pro- grams, if the big ironed out by New music row Year’s .. cisca Sims of the Jolson isn’t . Fran- show will wed a doctor in Feb... .. The Nazis have just opened their eighth movie house in New York. Before the war not even four could make money. But in the U. S. movie theaters are part of Goebbels’ scheme. Two others recently opened in Chicago . .. FDR’s next book will be called: “The Next Four.’’ Quentin Reynolds will not return to London after his holiday here... Stanley High, the ex-Brain Truster, has become one of the editors at Reader’s Digest . . . Mr. Dies will connect a Columbia prof. (nolonger there) with his ‘‘amazing mass of Italian propaganda data in the U. 8.’ . Eddie Pola says the new head of the Italian army is fhe right man. He’s an old campaigner, been in three major retreats. The German propaganda machine is utilizing American radio commentators and columnists (without their knowledge) in spreading reports that King Leopold of the Belgians is a traitor to his people and is working for the Nazi cause. Actually, he is still a closely guarded prisoner in his palace at Laeken, Belgium, and has not been to see Hitler and will not see the Pope in Hitler’s behalf . . . Don’t worry about the source ... . Amazing the way Greece is ‘‘fighting for Freedom and Democracy.’’ Greece, you know, is a Dictatorship! Henry Wallace told a Q. T. story that Harold Ickes means what he says and will quit if the Forest Service ish’t handed to him from Wallace’s old Agriculture Dep’t. They have tiffed for a long time, but Mrs. Ickes is trying to patch up matters. She consults Wallace regarding the 2,500 chickens which she raises in Maryland . . . The lowdown on the quarrel between Ickes and Gov. Cramer of the Virgin Islands is an old ‘‘Graphic’’ honey . . . Capt. J. Cary Jones (Navy recruiting here) acknowledges the numerous broadcast mentions for recruits. Says since first mention there’s been a gratifying increase in accepted applicants—not only in the Northeast- ern Division, but throughout the nation. —Your Man About Girl Friday. Town New Yorkers Are Talking About: Jimmy Roosevelt’s new pulse-taker. She is lovely Roma Aldrich, the blonde photog’s model, succeeding nurse Romelle Schneider . . . The blazing of Franchot Tone and Alice Faye .. . Alfred G. Vanderbilt’s first choice for his next bride— Dolly De Milo, who is better known in Hollywood . .. The new locks on the hoods of all FDR’s motor cars to guard against saboteurs and assassins. Only Secret Service agents can open them. . . The way Joan Crawford thrilled the chorines in “‘Louisiana Purchase’? by coming backstage to chat with them after curtain . . . The several rendezvous of the divided Hal Roachs. Reconciliation? . . . The Supreme Court _dustice Felix. Frankfurters, who have ‘‘adopted’” the three children of Gilbert Murray, the British author, for ‘‘the duration” ... Fred Allen’s fury with his agency. Because they sent out a yappy story saying Fred would pay $20 each for any 1898 penny. They came in bunches, so Allen wants the agency to make good.. D. C. is gonvalescing after an operation at Suydenham hosp. . . The pressagented ‘‘marriage’’ of Bonnie Baker and Orrin Tucker. Her heart belongs to Jules Stern, the music pub’ s boy. DRAFT MAKES MAJOR MISTAKE -The draft army turned down a ‘New York taxicab driver the er day. This must show that it:doesn’t think there is any immediate need for fighting men in the army. McGRADY SELECTION The selection of E. F. McGrady to advise the war department on labor relations couldn’t have been improved upon, from the government’s point of view. From Mr. McGrady’s, it may not be so hot. Eddie is a dollar-a-year man. He can’t afford to be that except on a part-time basis. After a life of unselfish service for Army officers are not fitted by training, background or office to conduct themselves well in the heat or emotion of a strike situation where you can’t move men by yelling: ‘Squads right.’ If the army doesn’t push this porcupine over to the departments where it belongs, or if it permits them to push it over to the army, some soldier is a sucker. It is a safe bet that it won’t be ‘done while McGrady is there, and that if it is done he won’t stay there. * * * ‘APPEASEMENT’ Out of the administration are coming private warnings that one great American danger just now is organization and daily growth of ‘‘appeasers’? and their cunning propaganda to stir up public sentiment for ‘‘appeasement.”’. It isn’t easy to define just what is meant by this use of the word. Appeasement, as. a by-word, grew out of the series of settlements with Hitler acceded to by France and England, whereby they weiched on the alliances France, at least, had made with such little nations as Austria and Czechoslovakia, in order to “ring Germany in a cordon sanitaire of steel’? and to preserve the provisions of the treaty of Ver- sailles. They tossed those little nations to the Nazi wolves quite obviously because there was nothing else they could do. They had allowed themselves to become too weak and Germany to become too strong to do anything else. The very word ‘‘appease,’’ taken with the circumstances of those settlements, implied that there was some right on the Nazi side. The appeasing concessions were used not as a truce to gain time for allout defense. They were used as a ‘narcotic assurance to the British and the French of ‘‘peace in our time,’’ with an effect that they went on snoring while Germany became stronger and stronger. Some of us began to insist that we prepare, years before Munich and with growing insistence ever since —insistence on our own weakness, on the great threat. growing in the world and the absolute necessity for American rearmament. Many, if not most, of those who took this. stand believe we are not even yet arming effectively. We have preceded and supported every move to speed and increase total defense to the point of American invincibility on this side of the world. Our other a eee only point of difference with equally earnest and sincere Americans is that we do.not believe in either the necessity or the wis. dom of scattering our defense over more territory than we can guard, do not believe in putting our country into a military situation in which its defense depends on the strength or weakness of others—their blunders or successes. We do believe that, whether Britain wins or does not win, we shall never be safe again without adequate defense of our own, that part of our strength is our financial soundness and that we cannot weaken it by undertaking to finance the wars of others at a cost which, in a long war to which we are a party, could rise as high as one hundred billion dollars. ; If that opinion and record is what is meant by “appeasement,” we regard the word as an epithet without argument. s s the friend or foe taxi if he s driver was @ can’t see. 9 For that matter, imagine a taxi driver being turned down by the army for any reason! s Old Fort Abraham soe Lincoln in the wintertime. eaten SRIRAM nce (From a contemporary photograph by D. F. Barry). s (Released by Western Newspaper Union.) T WAS the day before Christmas, 1875, at old Fort Abraham Lincoln on the Dakota frontier. In the quarters of Lieut. Francis M. Gibson of the Seventh Cavalry his young bride, Katherine Gibson, was struggling with the problem of decorating the bare little rooms for the SS mas Tree party which they‘ window casement. In short, my unwere planning to give that the invited guests were small Indian children who were staring through the glass at evening. the tree in mesmeric entrancement. Soldiers, sent out to scour ‘ere a moment I was held spellbound surprise, then, cautiously, so as not the neighborhood for any- i frighten them, I opened the porch door thing resembling a tree, had and motioned them enter. t first they cowered and shrank away, eae returned with a few forlorn straight- packed. youngster .in acest: by the hand a diminutive squaw branches of sage and_ cedar dragging about. four years old, stepped into the brush. But, undaunted by this room, the others following warily, single file. How had they gained entrance to poor substitute for Christmas the garrison, I wondered? Then I rea slight breach in the stockade greenery, the young -couple ealled wall, just big enough to admit the wrigue in and out of one small body at a set to work. They hung the boughs on stout cords from I turned to the supposed leader of the party and speaking slowly, asked, pointthe ceiling down to within a ing to the tree, ‘‘Some one tell Indian few feet of the floor. boy about it?” N weapon,” encouragement. Beneath they placed a washtub, decorated with gaily painted paper and filled with sand. In the latter they buried what few gifts they had been able to purchase from the scanty stocks of merchants in the crude little frontier town of cei alte a few miles away. “We'll call it a Christmas pie!”’ cried ‘Katherine Gibson with a brave laugh. But the room still lacked a festive holiday appearance, so they set to work on sheets of plain paper which she had saved. They colored the paper with paints, then cut it into long strips to serve as festoons. To their aid came several young officers of the Seventh, recently arrived at Fort Lincoln from West Point. With silver foil that had been wrapped around cigars, these youngsters covered the few nuts available and hung them on the makeshift Christmas tree. _ Other officers’ wives contributed old Christmas cards, resurrected from their trunks, and they tied them on the tree with scraps of faded ribbon that had been ironed and freshened. They colored candles with red paint, cut them in two and perched them jauntily on the branches of the tree. They fashioned a big bell out of paper that had been eolored red and pasted cut-out pictures of Santa Claus on its edges. As for refreshments for the party—what if the post trader’s ‘store had only a meager supply of such staples as sugar, coffee, flour and the like? Somehow young Katherine Gibson managed to get together some sandwiches, a cake, a small amount of candy and lemonade made from citric acid crystals. But her greatest triumph was... ice cream! It was ice cream made from condensed milk, whipped-up gelatine and the whites ofeggs. (The mailman had brought these eggs from Bismarck and he had wrapped them in cotton and carried them 4inside his buckskin shirt next to his warm body to keep them from freezing.) By late afternoon the young officer and his bride were ready to receive their guests. Soon a laughing throng had gathered in their house for the festivities pnd ss But let Katherine Gibson tell the story of that party and its unexpected and dramatic aftermath—surely one of the strangest Christmas Eve celebrations ever held in America. Here is the story, told in her own words: Christmas Eve dawned bright and clear, and the temperature had moderated. Someone brought an old banjo, another had unearthed an antique guitar, another a jew’s-harp. With sueh dance musie provided we swung into the Vir_ginia Ree] with much merriment, and then the old square dances had their turn. What a beautiful time we had! Finally, before midnight, Lieutenant. Gibson, being officer of the day, had to make his rounds of the outposts, and shortly afterward the party broke up, everyone tired but happy. When the last guest had departed, I thought I would take a peep into the kitchen, now dark and deserted, so, with lighted candle held high, I opened the door. As the flame stabbed tarough the darkness [I suddenly gasped and gazed before me with startled eyes, for on the side porch appeared some strangers huddled together—strangers of juvenile stat- ure, one barely tall enough to see above He nodded, the agencies English as the little hostiles- around picked up a smattering of very **Who tell “Horn quickly. Indian Horn Toad was scout, adored by garrison. **Oh,” band boy?’’ Toad.’’ a good-natured all the children I. nodded, huddled Silence, ‘‘and ‘wee squaw. while about who the the little stove is she?”’ Indian in the frozen in stolid indicating the “Sister,’’ replied the boy, while the little girl clung more fiercely to his hand. y eyes ran over the tiny figure and my heart contracted. The poor tot shivered and drew across the shoulders of her ealico dress an impromptu shawl made of gunny sack and a strip of the same material.served as her only headgear. Her mocassins and leggings were ef buckskin. The young warriors were clad in whole suits of it, but, evidently, when it came to the female of the EE cies, the supply had given out. It w miracle that the little band. hadn’t pean frozen to death. Just how, where, or why at this season of the year these people were abroadi-instead of under shelter at the agencies did not matter. The fact remained that they and at least some of their tribe had set up their wickiups somewhere nearby. I mentally shook myself. What a unconscionable hour for these children to be up. They must be returned to their mothers. at once, and yet as I looked into their timid, expectant faces, pity stirred within me, and my logie went woefully awry. Heaven only knew how long they “and the first te and her licking some cherubie smile tacked the ice cream, with al the abandon ehildren. it by have h in- off hag would coat. of galoshes queer my and sounds own, warm mess with an average regiment and one New York taxi driver, I would dodge stuffing eee of healthy, hungry from below weird of chant. hands, This was by followed by a the s expression. The straight-backed boy, evidently wishing to do his part and that of his tribe toward the entertainment, was staging a performance of his own and was directing the others in some kind of a dance. One boy and the diminutive squaw stood at the side, clapping their hands and chanting monotonously, the latter moving her hips and body in imitatien of the older squaws, while, circling the. stove in single file, the young braves stamped upon the carpet with the firmness of buffaloes combined with the whirlwind lightness of the wildcat, their lithe frames swaying like the prairie grasses and with a rhythm ,as perfect as a set measure. Backwards and forwards they flung themselves as though made of elastic rubber, bending pliant heads and necks and emitting longdrawn-out whoops of joy. * where a New bill. 100 per hands and mufflers on gave ‘the and rest of to bels, radiant faces over the they the Katherine gera, author Cavalry.”’ of Gibson ‘With Fou- Custer’s “had waited out there in the cold, feasting their eyes on this glittering paradise, and that set me thinking. sentinels, “One o'clock So that Christmas is Eve the story celebration of and I drew towards them into the the Christmas many will get s s 2 es curious baekgrounds for the | The bathing beauties and Miss Americas upon whom Miami Beach has so long depended for publicity via press and newsreels are in a state of high indignation. The artist’s models have become the Forgotten Mannikins. A shapely leg, a dimpled knee and the public strip have for the first time gone into the discard, believe it or not. The tooth is the shine! s No leg ever did as much for Miami and Miami Beach as Wally’ 8 jaw is doing i sOneeN: wife at’ Fort Meade in the Black soon.”” During s you formal opening of the winter season, but this is the first time it’s all been done around an infected tooth. the at old living are to be our first line of at- . . and Tree pie rescind ‘DUCHESS’ TOOTH WEEK’ Miami and Miami Beach have had Fort Abraham Lincoln on_ the Dakota frontier—a traditional] obwhich, I was confident, still held a few servance of the birth of the Prince treasures and, digging into the sand myself, I fished out a Jack-in-the-box which of Peace which came to an unI presented to the little lady. Her black expected climax in a_barbarie eyes leaped with surprise and joy, and her wee hands trembked as she clutched war-dance! You’ll find the story the toy. Then, making a motion for them in a book published recently by to continue, I flew to the kitchen to heat up what cocoa still remained. The strikthe Caxton Printers, Ltd., of Calder was just leaving for his barracks well, Idaho—‘‘With Custer’s Cavwhen I called to him. “Oh, Alkorn,”’ I instructed, ‘“‘go te the alry’’ by Katherine Gibson Founearest bastion and tell the sentinel to gera, the daughter who was born relay to other sentinels that, in the event of any Indians hanging around and looka few years later to the young ing for children, they are at Lieutenant Cavalry officer ard his. Gibson’s quarters and will be along | Seventh Quickly room 8 TO THE GREEKS My bonnet is off to the Greeks— They scorned big machines or a **plan,”’ And showed to a badly scared world There still can be fights, man to man; One terrible stiff kick in the pants They give to the law “Might makes right,’’ And flashed to a darkening world A steadying, rallying light. little - all’s s Roosevelt, & I smiled to myself, blew out the kerosene lamp in the hall. and trudged wearily upstairs, while, drifting through the still, appreaching dawn, and echoing from bastion to bastion, came the comforting call afof Aa Mr. tack and defense, and peace in no time.” their the that that ban on that nearsighted New York taxi pilot, throw down the gates to all taxi drivers, and then let Europe get the information that with his slim hand and emitted the farewell call of his tribe, which seemed to the air even after faded from view. & mere .announcement ® shoulders for one last*look and smile. Finally the small, straight-backed Indian boy, bringing up the rear with his Christmas burdens, patted his mouth linger on band had A “Please, the night. turned *« America was recruiting a division of cab drivers would bring a peace movement at once, and I don’t see why Roosevelt don’t appreciate it. I gianced up at the clock in the halt. Already it was. Christmas. The snow erunched crisply beneath light,. retreating steps, while. again and again the happy children, clutching their cherished toys, ¢ zs warm galoshes York taxicab fills the ~ “If I was of draft age and had to get into a war, nothing would make me feel safer than if I knew a flock of taxis were advancing ahead of me. They would scare the hell out of any foe on earth, and that goes for Hitler, Goering and Goeb- back her e cent?”’ es and longer, and with a frenzy that almost shook the floor they fairly leaped about the stove until the leader held up his hand and stopped. The droning ceased, the embryo braves threw themselves, . gasping, upon the ca A d the wee one slid down beside the young chief. mittens g Elmer was quite agitated. . ‘‘The army not only should’ve welcomed this driver, regardless of the fact he wore glasses, but should have admitted his CAB!’’ he insisted, pounding the table. dance became fiercer, the whoops louder too-big & ‘What is the chief advantage of a tank? It is its ability to get across any kind of terrain, regardless of obstacles, and act as if it didn’t know they were there. Am I right? Of course I am. And ain’t that The crunching into the carpet of ruinous sand mattered not, for on the step I sat like petrified wood, lost in wonder at the wild beauty and the cadence of that native dance. ‘Why, I pondered, did white children have to spend money to atttain anything like the grace of these aborigines to whom it seemed as inborn and as natural as a spring of cool, clear water? The dirge changed, and the little redskins swung into close group formation, each executing fast, fantastie steps. Followed more insistent hand-elapping and droning. The young bucks quickly flung back into single file, whereapan the hurried es. “I read in the papers that Uncle Sam is short of tanks. Tanks are an urgent need in modern war. Okay, but what can a tank do that a modern big city taxi pilot and his cab can’t do, if it’s necessary? and peered through the bannisters into the living room, and what I beheld ke me rooted to the spot. My eyes dilated before a picturesque phase of barbaric breath, take on the 8 “Every time I think of the medi- sound of softly muffled feet and short, sharp whoops, at first faint but growing louder and louder. I sank upon the stairs a deep my absence my guests had cer- tainly explored the entire contents of the he appearance of the Jack-in-thebox had dissipated their last vestige of hesitation, and they plunged feverishly nto the sand, and with each rag doll, toy pistol, or other treasure exhumed, they became in fact wild Indians—wild with delight—the boys voicing their emotions in short grunts, the wee ones in squeals of rapture. It was upon this scene of oozing, scattering sand that I entered, bearing a pet of steaming cocoa, but the children refused to abandon the magic tub until the very last toy had been salvaged. Then, they drank long and thirstily of the refreshing beverage, and soon color returned. to their pinched eheeks and warmth crept back into their little chilled fingers. Bee Hills of South Dakota, and it is reproduced here for your enjoyment by special permission of the copyright owners. It is one of the most unusual— HERO FOR 1940 Here’s to Billy Friesell, A wonderman so strong That he can make an error And frankly-say “T’m wrong.” and at the same time one of the most charming—Yuletide stories Police Commissioner Valentine of New York is completing plans to mobilize 18,500 policemen for emergency defense. Everything will be okay up to the time some defense general asks a cop how to reach a certain destination. But we would hate to be in a war and have to look for a policeman. that has appeared in many a year. It is a strictly American addition to the literature of Christmas. For nowhere else in the world, except in America, could this incident have taken place! eyeing in England last spring. the British * * * army and made several flights with the R.A.F. Various U. S. army, air corps and navy observers are now attached to the British the result of Donovan’s 8s cal experts turning down these cabbies it makes me sore,’’ continued Elmer. - ‘‘Taxi drivers are the only group in American “life who need no training to put up a fight. They are in constant training. sent aecompanied and s me scurrying half-way downstairs, where I paused. The noise started with the clapping the cabbie regiment.” some mittens, and mufflers. Suddenly, coming repercussions greedily China. With the British supreme in the Mediterranean and their big fleet available for operations elsewhere, -Japan would think twice before attempting any new grabs. in the field with palm, While they were thus engaged, I van / upstairs looking for old blankets, wool en stockings, and socks. I found a short little Mrs. a been In England last spring, Donovan made a thorough survey of invasion defenses, military intelligence and the royal air force. He spent a week spired a masterpiece from Raphael. They needed no further urging and at- blankets, come between have On the Greek front, Donovan will make a survey similar to. that which boys. After that I stripped the tree of its remaining gifts, put candy and cake in a bag, which I consigned to the care of the straight-backed boy, and very reluctantly let my guests out again into M. Gibson and grew up to be- to choose army,” today, into the pretty, fluffy stuff, only to recoil from the sudden chill. The bee squaw tied my Francis Kate. who # an enemy Twitchell front of the little savages, who immediately plunged small eager fingers I drew Mrs. ., 8s have in the Far East, where the Japanese he made upstairs, and brought down an armful of clothing and blankets. Then I bundled HE the wee squaw like a bale of cotton, Baby I had if given So, before they knew it, mounds of pink and white concoction were whisked was Atlantic. it would the rich Dutch East Indies and Indo- ‘mystery dy. Besides, there was some ice cream left over, and cake, too, that were beg: ging te be eaten, and what was a party without them? cautiously the Also ica’s. “If I was with declared Elmer laps with goodies, popcorn, nuts and ean- for desperately needed convoy work in s military any Noting all this, I communed with myself thoughtfully. I should have sent them home right away, I told myself severely, yet I continued to heap their tion as a result of their defeats in Greece, would be finished. This would release British naval forces A taxi driver, particularly a big city one, is the country’s best bet in any war. He could even be Amer- ¢ By ELMO SCOTT WATSON For these reasons, it would be unfair to require him to give up that | job. It would also be unnecessary, because if the war department is wise it will keep out of labor disputes. Keeping out wouldn’t take too much of McGrady’s time. Except at the arsenals, and to a limited extent elsewhere, the war department is not an employer. It procures its supplies from .contractors. They will get into some disputes. There will be some strikes. Some of them will delay the rearmament program. But it is not the army’s business to horn in. That is the business of Sidney Hillman’s labor organization or the Perkins conCiliation service. Italians, already in a precarious posi- case turned down’ because he didn’t pass eat C. to this a 100 per cent eye test. Imagine that! Why, everybody knows from experience that a New York taxi man is dangerous under all condi- telligent things in recent industrial management. It employed this great union labor leader to keep its labor relations straight, made him first a director and later a vice president and paid him a salary commensurate with other first lieutenants of Mr. Sarnoff. RCA would not willingly lose his services, and Mr. McGrady can make. belated preparations for his old age. D. tions and twice as much of a threat % worth, he was getting on. He had family obligations. In addition, he is: the easiest ‘‘touch’? I know. If you are out of luck, all you have to do to get McGrady’s money is to So he didn’t have. ask him for it. anything put aside. The RCA did one of the most in- Washington, DONOVAN’S REAL GOAL IS GREECE . Inside fact regarding the present mystery trip of Col. William Donovan to Europe is that his real. destination is Greece. En route, however, he will stop ‘in North Africa where he will see his old World war friend, Marshal Weygand, now controlling the large French army in Africa. If this powerful force took the field on the side of the British, the In labor unions at wages far below his * They’re Also Chatting About: Tallulah Bankhead’s understanding. John Emery, her husband, is towning with Tamara Geva, with . George. Tallulah’s permish . . Price, who is not divorcing his Stock Exchange chair for the risky night club business as rumored... Elmer Davis, the commentator, who LPhillips ips” em Memos lle @ @ WNU Service forces trip; as also he established close intelligence ties.on_ Axis espionage and fifth column operations. On his previous British mission, Donovan traveled as representative Knox. of the Navy * personal Secretary & PRE-ADJOURNMENT JUNKET On November 19, when the house defeated a motion to adjourn until January, members righteously declared that congress should remain on the job in these grave days of emergency. But today a dozen members of the house are enjoying a cushy junket to Panama, at the expense of the government. And with one exception, everyone of the group voted to stay on the job. On December 5, a fortnight after so voting, they quietly sailed from New York on the S. S. Panama, which is owned by the government. They will spend two weeks cruising and three days in Panama. Several are members of the military affairs committee and might have some legitimate reason for making a ‘‘defense inspection,” but the war department says it knows nothing about the junket. s ¢ * LONGEST SPEECH Tom Dewey. got a thrill chuckle from his luncheon and a at the: Capitol with Floor Leader Joe Martin. and other house Republicans. The thrill was an invitation to be the principal speaker at the G. O. P. Lincoln day dinner, which’ the ambitious district attorney accepted. The chuckle was evoked by a story about the ‘‘longest political speech on record’’ which gangling, curly-haired Rep. John M. Robsion of Kentucky, a member of the Lincoln day committee, said hé made when he first ran for congress in 1918. One hot July night during the campaign Robsion addressed a big crowd in a county courthouse and was amazed by the enthusiastic reception. Cheers rent the air with every sentence and there was a vociferous ‘“‘more, more’? when he tried to conclude after an hour. As he was leaving with the local sheriff, Robsion boasted: ‘These people sure were enthusiastic. It looks like this county is in the bag.” “Don’t set too much store by the way them fellers carried on, Jack,” confided the sheriff. ‘‘Nobody there (hic) was sober but you.’ *¢ s&s ¢ WHAT BRITONS READ WPA’s library service made an interesting discovery in a survey to ascertain what the people of warstrafed Britain are reading these days. One fact uncovered was that the long, dreary hours of blackout, with no outside recreation, have greatly revived interest in household arts and handicraft. Books on these subjects are at a premium. Also, the classics are in heavy demand, Shakespeare, Chaucer, Dickens Kipling as the favorites. But the one subject in which ons are -.most interested is author of their affliction. The widely read book in England, cording to the WPA survey, ler’s ‘‘Mein Kampf.” , = * with and Britthe most ac- is Hit- & MERRY-GO-RGUND Every ship in the L. S. navy ‘s being equipped with a DeGaussing cable, the anti-magnetic mine device used so successfully by the British. The installation job is tre- rnendous and will require more than 40,000,000 feet of cable. Nels Anderson, WPA labor relations director, received a letter from a wartime buddy addressed, ‘‘Nels Anderson, White House, Washington, D. C., care of Secretary of Commerce.”’ Notwithstanding this, the letter was delivered promptly. |
