Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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McCORMICK MESSENGER, McCORMICK, S. C., THURSDAY, AUGUST 5, 1937 Western Hostelries. S AN FRANCISCO, CALIF.— They have mighty fine hotels in this town. I*ve stayed at several of them and friends of mine have been put out of some of the others. And once I enjoyed a fire scare here when the alarm, at 3:30 a. m., brought to the lobby a swarm of moving picture actors with out any makeup on and not much else. This was in the era of the silent films, but you wouldn't have dreamed it to hear the remarks of an hysterical lady star when she dis covered that her chow had been for gotten. The current husband also was temporarily miss ing but she was comparatively calm about that. She probably figured a husband could be picked up almost any time whereas darling little Ming Poo had a long pedigree and rep resented quite a financial invest ment and anyhow was a permanent fixture in her life. Through the strike here, the trav eling public seemed to make out. Maybe visitors followed the old southern custom—stop with kinfolks. Think, though, how great would have been the suffering had the strike occurred during prohibition days when transient guests might have perished of thirst without bright uniformed lads to bring them first-aid packages in the handy hip- pocket sizes! Bellhops qualified as lifesavers those times. • * • v / Humans in the Raw. A S I behold vast numbers of fel low b e i n g s' strolling the beaches, yes, and the public thor oughfares too, while wearing as few clothes as possible—and it seems to be possible to wear very few in deed—I don't know whether to ad mire them for their courage or sym pathize with them in their suffering or deplore their inability to realize that they’d be easier on the eye if they’d quit trying to emulate the raw oyster—which never has been pretty to look upon and, generally speaking, is an acquired taste any how. For a gentleman who ordinarily bundles himself in heavy garments clear up to his Adam’s apple, this warm weather strip-act entails a lot of preliminary torture. At first our gallant exhibitionist resembles a forked stalk of celery bleached out in the cellar. Soon he is one large red blot on-the landscape, with fat water blisters spangling his brow until he looks as if he were wearing a chaplet of Malaga grapes. In the next stage he peels like the wall paper on an Ohio valley parlor after flood time. • • • Destructive Hired Help. OOMEBODY found a stained glass O window in an English church dating back to 685 A. D., but still intact. And from t* 16 ruins of a Roman villa, they’ve dug out a mar ble figure of Apollo—the one the mineral water was named after—in a perfect state although 2,000 years old. < These discoveries are especially interesting to this family as tending to show that hired help isn’t what it must have been in the ancient time. We once had a maid of the real old Viking stock who, with the best intentions on earth, broke every thing she laid finger on. Moreover, she could stand flatfooted in the middle of a large room and cause treasured articles of virtu, such as souvenirs of the St. Louis World’s fair and the china urn I (won for superior spelling back in 1904 at the Elks’ carnival, to leap to the floor and be smashed to atoms. She didn’t have to touch them or even go near them. I think she did it by animal magnetism dr capillary at traction or something of that nature. The first time we saw the Winged Victory, Mrs. Cobb and I decided it must have been an ancestor of Helsa who tried to dust it—with the disastrous results familiar to all lov ers of classic statuary. • * • The Reaping Season. ERTAIN crops may not have done so well, due to weather conditions, or, as some die-hard Republicans would probably con tend, because of New Deal control. But, on the other hand, hasn’t it been a splendid ripening season for sit-downs, walk-outs, shut-ups, lock outs and picket lines? It makes me think of the little story the late Myra Kelly used to tell of the time when she was a pub lic school teacher on New York’s East Side. She was questioning her class of primary-grade pupils, touching on the callings of their re spective parents. She came to one tiny sad-eyed little girl, shabby and thin and shy. “Rosie,” she asked, “at what does your father work?” “Mein poppa he don’t never work, Teacher,” said Rosie. “Doesn’t he do anything at all?” “Oh, yessum.” •'Well, what does he do?” ; “He strikes.”. IRVIN S. COBB. e—WNU Service. Irvin S. Cobb News Review of Current Events CONGRESS READY TO QUIT Senate Shelves Court, Farm Bills • . . Spanish Conflict Reaches Crisis • • . Fighting Continues in North China Sen. Harrison (right) congratulates Sen. Barkley. JOicLoul r A SUMMARIZES THE WORLD’S WEEK C Western Newspaper Union. 'Aw, Let's Go Home!' ITH Supreme court bill recom mitted to the senate judiciary committee, a new substitute bill for reform of only the lower courts due to be reported out of the commit tee, and a new senate majority lead er selected to take the late Senator Robinson’s place, the overwhelming sentiment of the members of the seventy-fifth congress was to pack up their bags and get as far away from Washington as possible. Even measures which President Roosevelt had insisted bear the “must” label were being shoved aside with dispatch, as Vice Presi dent Garner sought to heal the party wounds inflicted during the bitter court battle and salvage as much of the President’s legislation as he could. The first to be buried was the new AAA and “ever-nor- mal granary” bill; the senate agri culture committee shelved it until the next session. The committee authorized James P- Pope, Idaho Democrat and co-sponsor of the bill, to prepare a senate resolution to lay the plans for regional hearings on a comprehensive farm program during the remainder of the sum mer and report back in January. It seemed certain that the Presi dent’s legislation for governmental reorganization would be left over until next session when the record of three months’ hearings by the joint congressional committee was made public. It was revealed that committee members have not even come close to agreement on any of the main points involved. Majority Leader Barkley said that the White House still wanted the wages and hours bill, the Wagner low-cost housing bill and a judiciary bill passed, as well as legislation to plug tax loopholes. The Wagner bill, meanwhile, was reported out of committee, and it was expected the senate would act upon it quickly. It would set up a federal housing au thority with power to issue $700,- 000,000 in bonds over three years to make loans for “low-cost” hous ing construction. ‘ —★— 'Glory Be to God!' D YING for weeks, the scheme to add to the number of justices of the Supreme court finally choked its last gasp and left this world. On a roll-call vote the United States senate voted to recommit the Rob inson substitute for the President’s original bill to the judiciary com mittee. The vote was 70 to 20, the most crushing defeat the Presi dent’s legislation has yet suffered at the hands of a house of congress. In an agreement made at a ses sion of the judiciary committee ear lier, it had been decided to let the opposition senators write their own bill, an innocuous measure for “ju dicial referm” not dealing in any way with the Supreme court. Sena tor Barkley, the new majority lead er, attempted to save the Presi dent’s face by having the bill left on the calendar, but he never had a chance. When the roll-call came, even Senators Ashurst of Arizona and Minton of Indiana, two of the Supreme court bill’s chief support ers, voted to recommit. “Glory be to God!” said Sen. Hi ram Johnson (Rep., Calif.) when the results of the roll call were made known. The applause that bellowed forth from the senators and gallery alike left no doubt that the veteran from California had voiced the sentiments of the great majority. ★ Madrid's Moat of Blood •■p HE Spanish government was de- * fending Madrid against the in surgent forces in the most terrible battle of the entire civil war and the most important. It couldn’t last; it was too furious. The whole loyalist cause apparently rested on resisting this, the most vicious at tack the rebels had yet made. Gen. Francisco Franco’s army, under his I personal supervision, was making I advances, but at such loss of men that the cost might be too great. Insurgents stormed loyalist en trenchments directly in the face of point blank machine guns. Losses were so terrible that thousands of wounded lay without food or water among thousands already dead and decaying in the hot sun. Infantry, tanks, cavalry and artillery were supplemented by airplane bombers. In one salient 250,000 men were fighting, including the cream of both armies. The loyalist position was admittedly the most serious of the whole war, and upon the govern ment’s ability to withhold against the attack rested the fate of the best units in its army. It was re ported that 20,000 Italian troops had joined the rebels for the battle. While the Madrid conflict was in full sway, the insurgents sprang a surprise air attack on Barcelona. In the early dawn advance planes dropped flares which lighted up the city. Then came additional planes, dropping bombs on the easy target and turning machine guns on citi zens who attempted to flee. At least 65 persons were killed and 150 in jured. —* Is This the Beginning? S JAPAN brought airplanes into action for the first time since the new Sino-Japanese crisis devel oped, and threw all available strength into a campaign against the Chinese Twenty-ninth army in North China, it was feared that the expected long Japanese military of fensive had begun. While it was dif ficult to assimilate many conflicting and confusing reports, there was good ground for the belief that all attempts at a truce had failed, for a while at least. The Japanese airmen rained bombs upon Chinese military bar racks around Peiping, and pressed infantry and artillery attacks along the Peiping-Tientsin railway and the highway to the sea. Entrance of 200 Japanese marines into the Chinese Chapei district of Shanghai sent 20,- 000 men, women and children fleeing into the international settlement in search of protection. It was ru mored a Chinese mob had killed a Japanese sailor, provoking, Japa nese reprisal. Meanwhile the threat of real war continued to hover as the Chinese army refused to leave positions in and near Peiping, in what Japan considered violation of the Tientsin peace agreement. Barkley, 38; Harrison, 37 CEN. WILLIAM H. DIETERICH of Illinois changed his mind at the last minute and today Alben W. Barkley, hard-fisted, blustering sen ator from Kentucky, is the majority lead er of the United States senate, suc ceeding the late Jos eph T. Robinson of Arkansas. The vote was 38 for Barkley to 37 for Sen. Pat Harrison of Missis sippi. The conservative Democrats in the senate had been as sured of 38 votes, enough to elect Harrison, on the eve of the secret election. But that night Dieterich, apparently under pressure from the Democratic party organization in Illinois, begged Har rison to release his pledged vote, in order that the President’s personal choice might head the party in the senate. The slim victory by no means patched the obvious party rift. Even the administration admitted that the President’s Supreme court bill was virtually dead even then. Vice Pres ident Garner visited Sen. Burton K. Wheeler of Montana, leader of the opposition forces, and invited the opposition to write its own bill. VicePresident Garner ! STAR l | DUST | J jMLovie • Radio $ ★ ★ ★★★By VIRGINIA VALE★★★ E verything goes in cycles in motion pictures, and just now the Russian cycle threat ens to monopolize the screen. No less than three of the most fascinating screen sirens are currently holding forth in the midst of Russian magnificence. There is Marlene Dietrich with Robert Donat in “Without Armor” for instance Miss Dietrich and Rob ert Donat make a thrilling roman tic pair. Another of the Russian cycle is “The Emperor’s Candle sticks” in which Luise Rainer and William Powell appear as rival spies of Russia and Poland. Last, but by no means least, particularly for music lovers, is “Two Who Dared,” with Anna Sten, who has been too long absent from our screens. At last George Raft is out of seclu sion and he is so relieved. For months he has had to go without a hair cut for his role in “Souls at Sea” and to his eternal dis comfiture his shoul der-length hair was daily waved with a curling iron. He didn’t dare face the mugs who are his best friends looking like that. The day the picture was fin ished he celebrated tight haircut and smeared on the vaseline lavishly. George Raft with very Ever since a court forced Mae West to break down and admit that she really was married twenty-six years ago to one Frank Wallace, she has been in seclusion. Couldn’t stand having people stare at her intently looking for wrinkle's, while they counted on their fingers—eight een and twenty-six make forty-four. In those odd moments when they are not discussing Mae West’s age, Hollywoodians are raving over the beautiful newcomer, Zorina, who is under contract to Sam Goldwyn. She is an enchanting young woman about nineteen years old. Born in Norway, not far from the Arctic Circle, she went to school in Berlin, jpined the Monte Carlo Ballet Russe company when she was visiting in Mexico City, and because of her two years association with this troupe now has a slight Russian accent. Rudy Vallee spends many of his evenings nowadays at a night club in New York where his friend Jackie Osterman is making a comeback after a long stretch of hard luck. Vallee is a great story teller, and one of his favorites concerns Jack Benny. Vallee whole-heartedly ad mires the drastic way in which Jack Benny treated a hostile vaudeville audience years ago. Benny came out on one side of the stage merrily saying “Hello folks” only to face a bunch of tough-looking ruffians who glowered at him. Continuing right on across the stage, he exited from the stage saying “Good-by folks” and walked right on out of the theater never to return. Martha Raye made the hit of her life and smashed all box-office rec ords making personal appearances at the Paramount theater in New York recently. The audience simply could not get enough of her. They surged down to the footlights when her act was over, shot questions at her, begged her to sing one more song, and then just stood and yelled when her voice threatened to give out. Frankie Masters, NBC star and band maestro says “it pays to work your way through col lege.” Frankie start ed out to earn his way through the com merce school at the University of Indiana by strumming his banjo in the band. Soon the band be came more profitable than commerce and he had engagements at hotels and leading night clubs in Chica go and other big cities. Frankie is starred with Eddie Guest on the “It Can Be Done” program. ODDS AND ENDS—There it « fan in Grand Rapids, Mich., who writes Gene Autry a sixteen-page letter of criticism and comment every time a new picture of his is shown. He not only reads every line appreciatively, he tries to correct all those faults in his next picture . . . Every- one is marveling at Connie Bennett's good sportsmanship in letting Roland Young get most of the laughs in her first comedy * t Topper n ... Raul Muni has been ; reclaimed the best of all screen actors y all who have seen “The Life of Emile Zola." And Muni says this is the very last biographical picture he will make. He doesn't want to make any more pio- asset for a long time. • Western Newspaper Union. Frankie Masters THAMES TELLS ITS TALE Weighing a Shipment of Elephant Tusks on a London Wharf. From Every Corner of the Earth Come Ships That Ply This River Prepared by National Geographic Society, Washington, D. C.—WNU Service. T HAMES traffic makes Lon don the world’s foremost river port. Since Roman gal ley days—when Britons traded grain, slaves, and dogskin for European salt and horse collars —commerce has flowed be tween London and the continen tal countries along the Schelde, the Rhine and the Elbe. After Drake nerved England to smash the Spanish Armada, London ships gained in time the lion’s share of ocean-borne trade. Names immortal in discovery and conquest are linked with this water front. From here Frobisher went seeking the Northwest passage, and Hawkins to Puerto Rico and Vera Cruz; from here Lancaster made his voyages to the East, before the downfall of Portugal and the rise of the British East India company. Raleigh sailed from here to explore the Orinoco, to popularize tobacco and, tradition says, to start the Irish planting potatoes. It was London’s daring money which sent Sebastian Cabot to found the Russia company, opening trade with that land. London merchants and skippers promoted the Turkey, African, Virginia and Hudson’s Bay companies. London emigrants helped colonize in the Americas, in Australia, New Zealand, China, India, Africa and the rich islands of the sea. English Spread From Here.' From this water front went the English language. In Drake’s day only a few millions spoke it. Now it is a world tongue. Of all letters, •telegrams, books and papers print ed now, it is estimated that 70 per cent are in English. London alone uses enough newsprint every day to cover a ranch of 9,350 acres— or nearly 15 square miles of paper. “The smell from that big paper mill at Bayswater is one of the marks I steer by on foggy nights,” a Thames pilot will tell you. Exploration of London’s crowded docks reveals not only what amaz ing piles of food a great city can normally eat, but also what odd items, from live bats to rhino horns, are -mixed in the life stream of world commerce. Imponderable, in variety and magnitude, are these fruits of man’s barter. Here, too, his work ranges from rat catching and opium sam pling to dredging the Thames and handling annual cargo enough to fill a road with loaded trucks from the Yukon to Patagonia. To say that every day some 500 craft, big and little, pass through the Thames mouth tells only half the story. More significant is what happens on the docks. Commission Ends Confusion. Even London people themselves don’t dream what incredible activity is here. Few ever see it. Confusion on this crowded river, in days gone, grew so intense that waiting boats often lay unloaded for weeks; goods were piled in disorder on river banks, and pilfering was enormous. One river bandit stole almost a whole shipload of sugar! To com bat this chaos the West India mer chants built their own fortlike docks. With more trade came more docks, and more toll-rate wars and other confusion. This ended in 1909 when the Port of London authority, a Royal commission, took full con trol under act of parliament. It paid 23,000,000 pounds for pri vately owned London docks, spent millions more to make the lower Thames the world's longest deep water channel and to enlarge and re-equip cargo - handling facilities. It has dredged mud enough out of the Thames to build a Chinese Wall, and has constructed the world’s most extensive dock system. One of its cranes, the “London Mam moth,” lifts 150 tons! Finally, with characteristic Brit ish financial genius, it sold its deb entures on the stock exchange, and now its operations usually pay all costs and interest and leave a profit which is used fbr more improve ments. Giant Docks and Yard. The PLA is not in trade. It is merely custodian of merchandise that may range from wild animals for 1 he zoo to a shipload! of molasses from which to distill fuel alcohol. It weighs goods, reports on their quality and condition; it opens bales and boxes for customs inspection, furnishes samples for buyers, and looks after repacking and loading for those who ship from London to other ports. On the north bank of the Thames, scattered for miles downstream from the Tower, stand these great PLA docks: London, St. Katharine, East and West India, Millwall, Vic toria and Albert, King George V f and the Tilbury. On the south bank, near London’s heart, are ancient Surrey Commer cial docks, with a lumberyard that covers 150 acres! Besides the railways and truck- lines that tie these docks to the out lying kingdom, some 9,000 Thames barges handle goods to and from ships’ sides. Each dock has its own character. St. Katharine docks are built on the site of the old Church of St. Kath arine by the Tower, founded by Queen Matilda in 1148. What hetero geneous goods they store: wool, skins, wines, spices, sugar, rubber, balata, tallow, ivory, barks, gums, drugs, coffee, iodine, hemp, quick silver, canned fruits and fish, coir yarn, coconuts, and brandyl Navy at One Dock. West India and Millwall docks lie in a river peninsula known as the Isle of Dogs. Here the passer-by may smell 12,000 puncheons of rum, a million tons of sugar and ship loads of dates. Victoria and Albert and King George V docks form one huge structure, the world’s largest sheet of enclosed dock water. Often 40 or 50 ships—equal to a good-sized navy —tie up here at one time. Tilbury is the first dock one sees when sailing up the Thames. Its long landifig stage forms a home land gateway for people from Au stralia, New Zealand, India, China and other eastern countries who land or embark here. Fast trains of the London, Midland and Scottish railway touch the dock’s edge and whisk passengers away to all parts of the kingdom. In the ’city, PLA has still more warehouses. At its Butler street building are 70 rooms full of oriental carpets—enough to cover a farm of 120 acres! People buy most carpets in June, for wedding presents, you are told. There are electric ovens, too, for conditioning raw silk, a mountain of Havana cigars and leaf tobacco enough to last one man, say, 500,- 000 years I Here is a furtive horde of lean black cats, to help out the official human rat catchers. Musty wine vaults use 28 miles of underground track on which to roll barrels that hold the 12,000,000 gallons of wine brought to London each year. This is the world’s ivory and tooth market. It takes 16,000,000 artificial teeth from the United States every year—and some 2,000 elephant tusks from Africa and Asia. Not many tusks are from newly slain elephants. Most of them come from mudholes, left by animals long from mudholes, left by animals. Tea for Londoners. Wool was England’s chief export in the Middle ages. Today it is one of London’s main imports. It takes the fleeces from about fifty million sheep to meet London’s annual de mands! Tea trade has centered here for 300 years. In Mincing Lane you can see brokers bidding on lots which have been expertly sampled by PLA’s own teatasters. When they “bulk” tea, or mix it, on some warehouse floors you may see it heaped up in mounds higher then men’s heads. Think of all the “liquid history” that has been packed into this an cient water front since Roman gal leys traded here; since Danes and Vikings came to plunder; since the great companies of merchant ad venturers launched their tiny ships for daring trade and colonizing far over then little-known seas. Think of the 60,000 ships a year that now form smoke lanes from London to every nook of the world where goods can be bought or sold and you begin to see why this 70- mile stretch of “London River” is, incomparably, the world’s busiest water front.