The Indianapolis times. [volume], March 31, 1936, Final Home Edition, Second Section, Page PAGE 14, Image 14

About The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965

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PAGE 14
The Indianapolis Times
(A SCR IPrS-HOW A RI) NEWSPAPER)
nnr XT. HOWARD President
Lt DWELL DENNY Editor
EARL D. RAKER Buglnesa Manager
Memherof Enlfed Press, Scrlpps-
Howard Newapaper Alliance. News
paper Enterprise Association,
Newapaper Information Service and
Audit Bureau of Circulations.
Owned and published dally (ex
cept Sunday) by The Indianapolis
Tlmea Publishing Cos.. 214-220 W.
Maryland-st. Indlanapotla. Ind.
Price In Marlon County, 3 cents
a copy: delivered by carrier. 12
cents a week. Mall subscription
rales In Indiana, $3 a year; out
side of Indiana, 65 cents a month.
Phone Itl ley 1551
Cite Light and the
People Will Find
Their Own Way
TUESDAY. MARCH 31. 193
“IN THE MEANTIME”
TY7HILE all the fuss has been going on about
* whether Bruno Richard Hauptmann should
pay the death penalty, the following have “burned"
in Trenton State Prison:
Connie Scarponi
Michael Mule
George Destefano
Kurt Barth
John Favorito*
Romaine Johnson
We would feel more inclined to believe in the
sincerity of Gov. Hoffman’s efforts in behalf of
Hauptmann if he had evidenced some slight similar
activity about some of those others who were less
famous and who therefore lent themselves less to
the publicizing of the New Jersey Governor.
EDITOR DALE
EORGE R. DALE, Indiana militant editor, is
dead. But long before his passing and in
large measure through his efforts, death came to
what might be called the putrid era in Indiana
politics.
Editor Dale, with his weekly paper, pioneered in
attacking Ku-Klux Klan control of G. O. P. politics
when many of the Hoosier dailies were silent.
He pulled the sheets off the klan leadership
and when the people saw what they were following
they turned around and went the other w*v.
THE TRAFFIC MENACE
'll THEN you drive or walk in a city you are less
likely to die in or under an automobile than
you were a few years ago, the Census Bureau re
ports.
If you motor or hike outside a city your chances
are about the same as they have been.
Automobiles still kill more people each year than
diabetes, appendicitis or influenza, but cities are
having success in reducing the number of such
deaths.
In the year ending last March 14, the death rate
in cities was 22.6 per 100,000 population. In the cor
responding period of 1934-35 the rate was 24.3. The
reduction this year is 7 per cent.
The gain in safety is particularly notable in
view of the fact that automobile registration and
gasoline consumption indicate a considerable in
crease in automobile use in the last 12 months.
Indianapolis, however, had an average of 28.1
traffic deaths per 100,000 population, a better record
than the year before, but still far down the list of
“safe cities.” Added automobile deaths have in
creased the 1936 traffic toll in Marion County to 29.
Outside of large cities, tabulations by the Na
tional Safety Council show that the automobile
death rate was about the same in 1935 as in 1934
if allowance is made for the annual increase in
population. If the 1935 increase in automobile
mileage is taken into account the record would be
slightly better. But the total deaths for the country
as a wh01e—36,400 —constitute a record high.
Economic recovery is credited with part of the
reduction in automobile fatalities in large cities.
People have been replacing old, defective cars, or
making needed repairs.
The six cities with the worst records for auto
mobile deaths last year were Miami, San Diego, Los
Angeles, Atlanta, Erie and Tacoma.
The best records were made by Fall River, San
Francisco, Syracuse, Wilmington, Del., Lynn and
Providence.
A SQUEEZE PLAY FAILS
IT looked like a neat trick, a quick way to have
the utility holding company law declared un
constitutional before the government knew what had
happened.
Utility lawyers representing the trustees of a
bankrupt holding company went into a Federal
court in Baltimore and asked the judge to rule that
the holding company law was unconstitutional and
to direct them to proceed with reorganization plans
without regard to the law. Another group of utility
lawyers, representing Burco, Inc., a debtor of the
bankrupt company, intervened asking that the judge
rule the law unconstitutional. Then John W. Davis,
drawing pay as attorney for the Edison Electric In
stitute. but functioning in the role of attorney for
a Baltimore dentist who owned some bonds in the
bankrupt company, intervened, asking the judge to
rule the law unconstitutional.
The comic touch was provided when Lawyer
Davis was introduced for the first time to his dentist
client in open court after the proceedings were al
ready under way.
The melodrama came some days later when the
judge, W. C. Coleman, handed down a sweeping de
cision that the holding company law was unconsti
tutional “in its entirety.”
The anti-climax came with the Circuit Court of
Appeals’ ruling that Judge Coleman’s decision had
been too all-inclusive.
And the curtain was rung down when the Su
preme Court yesterday refused to review the case,
indicating that it considered the little one-sided
private bankruptcy litigation—in which the govern
ment was not a party of interest, but in which the
government charged that those who were parties
had “no diversity of interest”—was not a proper
vehicle for testing the constitutionality of the law.
All that remains is for consumers to pay for the
show.
CLOUDY TAXES
TT w%s easy to understand the principle outlined
in tr.e President's message on taxing corporate
surpluses. He proposed merely: That the government
discontinue existing corporation taxes, which rich
and poor stockholders pay alike, but which are hid
den from their view; that corporations be forced to
distribute the bulk of their profits to the stock
holders, and that each stockholder include his divi
dends as a part of his regular income and pay a visi
ble tax thereon in proportion to his ability to pay.
But the actual tax proposal which has been
evolved in the House Ways and Means Committee is
not so simple. And it goes without saying that any
thing hard to understand is likewise hard to be
enthusiastic about.
What started out as a clear principle has become
in the cold type of a proposed statute an exceedingly
intricate formula. We may not understand the sub
ject as well as a Philadelphia tax lawyer does, but
neither do the members of Congress who are asked
to pass on the merits of the new tax.
Perhaps some of the confusion wiU be dispelled In
the hearings. Internal Revenue Commissioner Hel
vering, one of the first witnesses, already has de
clared that the bill as revised by the subcommittee
will not produce adequate revenue.
It will be interesting, also, to listen to the ex
perts explain how each variant of the involved sched
ule of rates Is adjusted delicately to permit each cor
poration to maintain adequate rainy-day reserves.
We do not here contend that the new tax plan
hasn’t all the virtues its friends claim for it. We
merely are compelled to admit, after careful reading
•nd rereading in the V, ays and Means proposal, that
we find only confusion. But we’re hoping for en
lightenment. For adequacy of revenue and adequacy
of reserves are the yardsticks by which the wisdom
or folly of this tax bill must be judged.
if the new plan produces all the additional
revenue claimed for it, still—on the basis of
the President’s own budget estimates—the gov
ernment’s annual income will not be in balance
with the government’s annual and recurring “ordi
nary” expenditures. Its estimated yield for the
next three years is about $345,000,000 short of the
total requested by the President. And the Presi
dent's total made no provision for the emergency
and relief expenditures which are now adding about
$3,000,000,000 a year to the public debt.
Regardless of its other merits, this confusing tax
scheme is as a smoke screen behind which the Ad
ministration and Congress are ducking their real
fiscal responsibility. It is their election-year sub
stitute for taxation that would produce revenue in
proportion to the government’s needs.
They are gambling everything on a business re
covery that will automatically wipe out the relief
load and boost revenues. We hope they win the
gamble. But we don’t like the odds. We would
feel far safer about it.all if this tax bill actually
went after a real chunk of revenue, by broadening
the income tax base and graduating rates upward.
Then, if the revival miracle should happen and
the government finds itself with more revenue than
it needs, Congress could repeal some of the vicious,
invisible sales taxes, and remodel our tax system
in line with the more equitable ability-to-pay prin
ciple.
A FLOOD CONGRESS
A MERICA’s enormous annual loss from floods
and soil erosion, and the recurrent St. Law
rence seaway fight, are expected to be the big issues
of this years National Rivers and Harbors Congress,
summoned to meet April 27 and 28 in Washington.
Emphasis will be placed on efforts to obtain from
both parties platform planks approving waterway
and flood control projects, similar to those approved
by both parties in 1932.
The rivers and harbors advocates last session
obtained passage of the first omnibus improveme
bill in five years, and the War Department appre •
priation bill now in its final stages in Congress in
cludes funds t© carry it out. The final amount is
not decided, but it will be between the House figure
of $100,000,000 and the Senate’s $150,000,000.
The call for the convention points, out that en
gineer estimates of $300,000,000 preventable flood
damage annually will be greatly exceeded by this
year’s widespread flood disasters. Annual losses from
soil erosion have been placed at $400,000,000 a year.
“The intense interest in every section of the
country in the flood problem, together with the Ad
ministration’s proposal to continue in the coming
fiscal year the public work relief program, which
would make available funds for these useful, per
manent projects, and the important and far-reach
ing measures relating to waterways, their control
and use, now pending in Congress, are expected to
result in perhaps the largest convention in history,”
the rivers and harbors group headquarters stated.
A WOMAN’S VIEWPOINT
By Mrs. Walter Ferguson
“T DON’T know how I managed it this time, but
A my wife didn’t come with me to the convention.”
The man who said that grinned like a Cheshire
cat at his two companibns, whose wives evidently
had come with them. Peevishness and chagrin
were faintly apparent in their faces. It was easy
to see they wished they had managed better them
selves.
What a pity it is that more women can’t listen
in on masculine conversation. Even though men
are not apt to say much on the subject of their
domestic bliss or woe, the lilt of liberty in their
voices speaks volumes. When they are away from
women they caper like lambs loosed in a meadow.
The husband who has to drag his wife around
on these get-together occasions generally feels
sheepish, and if the woman isn't uncomfortable it’s
because she hasn't perception enough to see she isn’t
wanted.
The idea is subtly conveyed, of course. When she
steps out of the elevator all dolled up in her finest
clothes, the men give her the glad hand. Only when
her back is turned they whisper about poor Bill
having to lug the old lady along everywhere he
goes and snigger at his discomfiture and make
jokes about apron strings.
And poor old Bill does deserve a bit of sym
pathy, I think. A wife parked overtime is far more
bothersome to the mind than an automobile in
danger of getting a police tag.
Indeed, woman makes three mistakes when she
insists on attending male gatherings merely be
cause she happens to be married to one of the
delegates. First, her belief that she will get a
hearty welcome; second, that she’ll have a good
! time; and third, that she can look after Bill and
keep him well regulated.
She is a victim of delusion at every point, and
about all she accomplishes by having her own way
is to make both of them miserable. The most im
portant lesson for a bride to learn is when to tag
along and when to stay at home.
HEARD IN CONGRESS
T> EP. DUNN (D., Pa.): Will the gentleman yield?
Rep. Blanton (D., Tex.): Os course I will
yield to the gentleman, who is,one of the biggest
hearted men in the House with other people's
money.
Rep. Dunn: Did not the gentleman vote for a
$3,000,000 appropriation for the Texas centennial?
That was public money, too.
Rep. Blanton: If my friend from Pennsylvania
will go to Texas this year and get Imbued with the
principles that surround San Jacinto, ... if he will
go down around the Alamo and old Gonzales, and
other places, he will get $3,000,000 worth of infor
mation and pleasure. (Laughter).
Senator King (D., Utah): Japan's navy, if.
joined by all the navies of the world, would be un
able to successfully attack the United States.
THE INDIANAPOLIS TIMES .
Squaring
the Circle
With
THE HOOSIER EDITOR
A SMALL boy came into a branch
of the public library where
things like this always seem to be
happening, and walked smack up to
the lucky girl they always seem to
happen to.
“I want to take out,” he said
without a falter, “a book called “The
Red Steamer.”
Nobody, including the girl,- ever
had heard of that title before, but
they went through the formality of
looking in a catalog.
She returned to the boy and
asked if he was sure that was the
title. He said yes, that his big sis
ter had asked him to get it for her.
I don’t know how they ever de
duced it, but the lad wanted a copy
of “The Rubaiyat.”
tt tt H
A T that same branch, the same
■L*- girl grew pretty curious when,
over a long period of time, an oldish
woman, decidedly unattractive,
came in every other night and took
out a mystery story.
Just came in, Selected her book,
had. it checked, and left. Never said
anything to any one, until it had
gone on for months. Then she se
lected this girl again, and, in a
burst of confidence, said:
“I’ll bet you wonder why I always
take out a mystery book. Well,
I’ll tell you, but don’t tell any one
else. I’m a detective, and every one
of these I read helps me on some
case.”
Then she left and hasn’t been
back.
nun
TN a tavern, not many blocks
A south on Illinois-st, we discov
ered a pretty 22-year-old waitress
who may be found sporting a single
gardenia every Tuesday, Thursday
and Saturday afternoon.
The source of this tri-weekly gift
is a middle-aged gentleman who
appears at 4 in the afternoon, ap
proaches our maiden with not so
much as a hello, makes the floral
presentation and walks out.
Five months ago this gentleman
made his first appearance accom
panied oy an elderly lady. When
the waitress took their order the
lady asked her what she did after
working hours. She replied that
she usually went dancing every
Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday
night.
Hearing this the gentleman left
for a few minutes and returned
with a dozen roses.
For five months since that time
the silent donor has punctually ap
peared with his offering and the
waitress, who has vainly tried to
learn his name and engage in con
versation that might reveal the
motive for such generosity, accepts
the gardenia, wears it, satisfied that
he has a reason, satisfied that she
will probably never learn it.
tt tt u
TTE sat sprawled, feet hanging
over a couple of seats, in the
rear of a Pennsylvania-st trackless
trolley.
He looked-like an engineer full of
high-balls or a brakeman bursting
with brandies.
He knew all the answers, except
one, and gave them in loud tones
for the benefit of the other pas
sengers on the tram.
He solved Hitlerism, demonetiza
tion, the Townsend plan probe, and
the futility of life.
—And then as the trolley drew
near 20th-st he leaned half-lurching
over a male listener and said, “Say,
pardner will you tell me when We
get to 20th-st?”
TODAY’S SCIENCE
BY DAVID DIETZ
TJEHIND the new glow lamps, de
veloped by the engineers of the
Nela Park Laboratories of the Gen
eral Electric Cos., is one of the most
interesting chapters in the history
of science.
These new lamps ure glass tubes
coated on the interior with a min
eral powder which becomes floures
cent when an electric current is
sent through the mercury vapor
which • fills the tube. They give
more light and consume less cur
rent than the incandescent filament
lamps now in general use.
The new lamps will seem very
old to those who remember the ex
periments with Geissler tubes.
About 1880, the Geissler tube was
invented by Heinrich Geissler, a
German scientific instrument mak
er. He found that if most of the
air was extracted from a glass tube,
the tube lit up with a luminous glow
when an electric current was dis
charged through it.
A few years later, Sir William
Crookes improved the tube by in
creasing the vacuum.
But what Crookes and the other
scientists who experimented with
the Crookes tube failed to realize
was that these tubes were giving off
X-rays. That fact was discovered
by Professor Roentgen in 1893.
A few years ago a French inven
tor, Georges Claude manufactured
a Geissler tube filled only with puri
fied neon gas. The result was the
familiar red glow tube.
BITTER MEMORY
BY POLLY LOIS NORTON
A grey gull flashed against the up
per blue,
An ocean beat in fancy and in
truth
Between your thought-and mine—
since you
Have long forgotten me, and our
lost youth.
And yet, I still can feel your finger
tips.
Oh, this is not cold sea salt on my
Ups l
WHEN HIGHWAYS ARE HAPPY WAYS!
-.j.-rt-Y .
Thousaw© -
The Hoosier Forum
1 disapprove of what you say—and will defend
to the death your right to say it. — Voltaire.
(Times readers are invited to express
their views in these columns, reliaicus
controversies excluded. Make vour letters
short, so all can have a chance. Limit
them to 2jo words or less. Your letter
must be sinned, but names will be
withheld on reouest.)
tt tt n
FAVORS BILL AGAINST
“BIG FELLOWS.”
By A. Kiefer Mayer
In the 80’s, railroads allowed dis
criminatory rebates to the big fel
lows or trusts. These rebates gave
such advantage to the big fellow
that the little fellow couldn’t live.
There was a feeling all over the
country that there was great dan
ger in these mysterious organiza
tions who, by rebates, were build
ing immense fortunes and exces
sive power, while the other side
steadily lost money and power.
Public opinion reached the boil
ing point and was finally cooled
when Congress passed the Inter
state Commerce Act in 1887. This
outlawed rebates by railroads and
gave the little fellow a fair break.
There was powerful opposition to
the passage of the Interstate Com
merce Bill by those who were en
joying these rebates. They used
every means at their command to
defeat this legislation. They raised
the cry—“lt will raise prices to the
consumer! It will protect the in-
Watch Your Health
BY DR. MORRIS FISHBEIN
WE often have wondered about
the first human being who
ate an oyster or an egg. It must
have required a good deal of cour
age.
Yet eggs probably are among the
earliest of foods. Today they are
among the most important. In 1934,
it is estimated, we used something
more than 31 billion eggs in the
United States, of a total value of
$433,000,000.
Eggs provide protein, mineral
salts, water, vitamins A and D, and
a small amount of carbohydrate. An
average egg weighs 2 ounces. Os
this 15 per cent is protein, 10 per
cent fat, 1 per cent minerals, and
most of the remainder water.
One egg provides 70 calories. An
egg, therefore, is not a. good reduc
ing food. It is not filling and it
provides a good many calories in a
small amount.
a tt tt
YOU should remember that an
egg kept at proper temperature
for three weeks will produce a
chicken which at once begins to
walk and eat. Obviously, therefore,
there is a lot of power in an egg.
Egg is easily digestible. Its fat is
as easily digested as milk fat, which
is somewhat easier to consume than
fat of meats.
There are all sorts of superstitions
about the digestibility of eggs. Some
say that a soft-boiled egg is easier
to digest than a hard-boiled egg and
vice versa. Actually the amount of
boiling does not seem greatly to in
fluence the digestibility. Much de
pends on the extent to which the
hard-boiled egg is chewed at the
time of eating.
Apparently a hard-boiled egg is
IF YOU CAN’T ANSWER, ASK THE TIMES!
Inclose t 3-cent stamp (or reply when
addressing any question of faet or in
formation to The Indianapolis Times
Washington Service Bureau, 1013 13th
st, N. W., Washington. D. C. Legal and
medical advice can not bo given, nor
can extended research bo undertaken.
Q —What is paregoric?
A—Camphorated tincture of
opium.
Q—Where will the Olympic games
be held in 1937?
A—They are not scheduled to be
held anywhere in 1937. They are
scheduled for this year in. Berlin,
Germany, and are not expected to
be held again until 1940.
Q —ls colloidal graphite the same
as flake graphite; is it abrasive?
A—Colloidal graphite may be
flake graphite colloidally dispersed
in mineral oil, castor oil, glycerine,
efficient! The public will pay the
bill!”
Did the Interstate Commerce Act
increase prices to the public? Did
it protest the inefficient? Did the
public pay the bill? No! The In
terstate Commerce Act just gave
the little fellow a break so he
could continue to exist.
In 1936 we again find public
opinion aroused as it was 50 years
ago over the discriminatory rebates
manufacturers have been allowing
the big fellows. These rebates to
tal millions of dollars. Again there
is a feeling all over the country
that there is danger in these re
bates that have made possible the
building of immense fortunes and
excessive power on one side of an
industry, while on the other side a
million odd little fellows lose money
and power.
Today we find some of these pow
erful organizations, who have been
enjoying these discriminatory re
bates, opposed to the Robinson-
Patman Bill and any other legisla
tion of this kind becoming a law.
The cry of 50 years ago echoes
again—“lt will raise prices to the
consumer—will protect the inef
ficient—the public will pay the bill.”
If this didn’t occur with the pass
age of the Interstate Commerce
Act, it will not occur with any leg-
easier to digest than one that is me
dium-boiled, because in the hard
boiled egg the yolk is brought into
a condition in which the juices of
the stomach will act upon it better
than under other conditions.
n n n
AN egg contains about half as
much iron as there is in one
third of a cup of steamed spinach.
An egg yolk contains twice as much
iron as does an ounce of lean beef
or a half cup of string beans.
A freshly laid egg completely fills
the shell. As the egg cools and the
egg substances contract, air space
is left at the blunt end. As the
egg grows older, this space in
creases. That is one way to tell
the age of an egg.
An egg laid in winter usually is
lighter in color than one laid in
summer. However, much depends
on the diet of the hen. Nowadays,
poultry feeds are developed scien
tifically, perhaps even more so than
foods for human beings.
What the hen eats determines
the amount of vitamin and the
quality of the other materials in
the eggs. Eggs, therefore, are more
nearly like milk in nutritive value
than any other food.
Because of the ease of eating
and digesting soft-boiled eggs, they
are among the first of the foods
to be given to an infant after it
is taken off a milk diet.
If a baby finds it impossible to
take milk, an egg with small
amounts of fruits and vegetables
helps to make a satisfactory sub
stitute. Mothers should remember,
however, that the yolk of the egg
is the most significant part in the
feeding of the child.
or water. All flake graphite, how
ever, is not in the colloidal state.
Colloidal graphite is not abrasive.
Q —What is the smallest species
of mammal in the world?
A—The pigmy shrew (Microsorex
hoyi winnemani), which has a
weight of 2.9 grams.
Q —What is a Sidereal Year?
What is its length?
A—The interval during which the
earth makes one absolute revolu
tion round the sun Is called a
Sidereal Year, and consists of 355
days 6 hours 9 minutes 9.6 seconds.
Q—What was the popular vote
for Hoover and Smith in the 1928
presidential election, and for Hoover
and Roosevelt in the 1932 election?
A—ln 1928, Hoover, 21,392,190;
Smith, 15,016,443. bln 1932, Hoover,
15,731,841; Roosevelt, 22,821,857,
islation of this kind. History usual
ly repeats!
Any citizen who desires informa
tion on this subject of discrimina
tory rebates need only write the
United States Government Printing
Office, Washington, D. C., for the
Congressional Committee's report
on investigating of big-scale buying
and selling organizations. In Vol
ume 4, No. 5, one will find the tes
timony of Dr. Julius Klein, former
Assistant Secretary of Commerce.
He found big fellows that had been
getting millions in rebates and pay
ing wages of $6 and $8 a week.
In 1887 every citizen who knew
the facts supported the passage of
the Interstate Commerce Act. To
day every citizen who knows the
facts is supporting this type of leg
islation.
•n n u
PLEADS FOR HELP
FOR RED CROSS
By E. Harold Stolkin
As the angry Ohio continues on
its mad rampage leaving destruction
in its wake, we find an amazing loss
of human lives and property. Relief
workers have been laboring overtime
in a valiant attempt to stem the
angry tide. It was through their
work that the nation’s capital was
saved from a horrible disaster.
They have been unable, however,
to cope with the elements along the
Ohio River. Taking everything in
its way like a huge bull on a chase,
it has left horror and terror along
its blood-beaten trail.
The worst part of the flood is yet
to be contended with. Disease fol
lows all floods, and the unfortunate
inhabitants have been warned about
this dreadful scourge.
We can help relieve this miserable
condition by contributing to our lo
cal Red Cross office. For the sake
of humanity it must be done!
DAILY THOUGHT
Beware of the scribes, which de
sire to walk in long robes, and love
greetings in the markets, and the
highest seats in the synagogues, and
the chief rooms at feasts.—St. Luke,
20:46.
IF any man seeks for greatness,
let him forget greatness and ask
for truth, and he will find both. —
Horace Mann.
SIDE GLANCES By George Clark
t &*, .u51.,.. ■,:! U' :l
“Any other man would pad that enough to take care of his
wife’s expenses, and not make the boss think he was such
a/small timer.”
-MAHCH 31, 1036
Vagabond
from
Indiana
ERNIE PYLE
EDITOR'S NOTE—Thl* royin* reporter
for The Time* roe* where he pleeie*,
when he plea.e*, In search of odd storie*
about this and that.
FORT WORTH, Tex., March 31—
The ranch is in that part of
Texas where if you stand on a rise,
1 and look all around, you feel you
! are standing in the middle of the
j world, seeing it all.
You can see for 15 miles. There
are no hills, but the land rises and
falls in vast, sweeping slopes, lik*
the swell on the Pacific Ocean.
There are hardly any trees, and not
many fences. But there is grass.
Here and there, far away, you see
a little bunch of cattle or horses
grazing.
It was just noon when we got
there. The sun was bright and hot.
A man in a big hat and cowboy
boots showed us where to park. We
could see quite a few men walking
around the barn.
We went over, and everybody in
troduced himself and shook hands.
Some had on big hats and high
heeled boots and leather jackets.
Some wore ordinary business suits.
u tt u
THE brick well-house under the
water tank had been fixed up
as a bar. Over the door was a
cardboard sign, and painted on it
in red letters was “Bar.”
A few feet away, alongside the
barn, was a real cowboy “chuck
wagon.” The top of the wagon was
arched over with canvas, and the
back end was stacked full of tin
plates and loaves of bread and
pickles and so on, as though it
were a picnic.
A campfire was going, over by the
feeding troughs. A huge kettle
of stew was hanging over it from
an iron tripod. It was being stirred
by a “sourdough” cook, who wore
a big hat, and a shirt without any
sleeves, and an apron of old flour
sacks.
u u u
"TI7 HERE’S Louie?” people kept
▼ V asking.
“He's gone to the village to get a
shave.”
“Does he know about it?”
“No, I don’t think he’s caught
on.”
“Old Louie’ll sure hate to leave
Texas, won’t he?”
“He sure will. He loves it like a
native. But I’ll bet he’ll be back."
I gradually picked up what the
gathering was about. It was a sur
prise farewell party for Louis
Swift, heir to the Chicago 'pack
ing fortune.
Louie Swift, after five and a half
years as manager of the Swift plant
in Fort Worth, had been promoted
back to Chicago. He was leaving
in a week. His friends had come to
say good-by.
It was just like any Board of
Trade picnic, except that it was
staged on a Texas ranch, and with
the flavor of old Texas running
through it.
a u tt
FINALLY Louie Swift drove up.
He got out of his car and looked
all around, like a man who can’t see
for the sun. He was surprised all
right.
He looked more like Texas than
anybody there. He stands about 6
feet 3 inches, and is big but
slender. He had on a battered 10-
gallon hat, a faded blue shirt open
at the neck, bleached duck pants
tucked into high-heeled boots. He
walked with a roll.
Men crowded around him, and
there was a lot of handshaking.
They stood around the barnlot in
groups, talking. They drifted into
the bar, and out again. Some began
to yell, “How about eating?” The
sourdough yelled, “Come and get it."
After we had eaten, some of the
men saddled ponies and went lop
ing around the barn-lot, hitting at
polo balls. Some of them couldn’t
ride at all. Some even fell off.
Others, in businessmen’s clothes,
could ride like cowboys and smack
the ball every time.
n n n
lOUIE SWIFT took his friends
1 back into the bunkhouse, behind
the stables. He took a flat wooden
box out of a trunk, and opened it.
And there lay two of the most beau
tiful Colt six-shooters you ever saw.
Dull blue steel, with pure white ivory
handles. A pair of matched six
guns, in engraved leather holsters.
A farewell gift, from Texans.
Louie Swift knows how to use
them, too. You can throw a can in
the air, and he’ll never miss. He
ruined a half dollar somebody put
on a fence post.