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McCORMICK MESSENGER, McCORMICK, S. THURSDAY, DECEMBER 25, 1941 Portrait of a Hero: One of the unsolved mysteries of history is how Custer hurdled the military promotion system and over night rose from a mere lieutenant to a general ... All anyone knows is that he returned to headquarters one day after being out on a mis^ sion, and chums greeted him as “General’' . . . Custer thought they were kidding, because he always boasted that he’d be a general be fore the war was over, and he was all set to start punching. One of his friends grabbed him by the arm and took him to his tent where he found an envelope containing his commission addressed to “Briga dier General George Armstrong Custer” . . Custer, who was only 23 years old, turned pale and passed out cold. —Buy Defense Bonds— Custer is the man who turned the tide of the Civil war by saving the Union army from defeat at Gettys burg. At the time of the Battle of Gettysburg he was about 15 miles away. His brigade had been or dered (along with the rest of the cavalry) to wait at Big Roundtop, where Jeb Stuart and his Confed erates were expected to attack . . . Stuart fooled the Yankees by at tacking from the opposite direction instead . . . Hearing Stuart’s gun- . fire, Custer disobeyed the orders he had received, headed straight to ward the sound of the guns and, charging four times, stopped the Confederate forces dead in their tracks . . . But for Custer’s trigger thinking, the Union armies would have been routed at Gettysburg . . . The bitter irony is that the man who was defeated (because of Cus ter’s coup) was Fitzhugh Lee, the divisional commander of the Con federate attack. Lee was the in- structor who had saved Custer from being expelled from West Point by reducing his demerits. —Buy Defense Bonds— One of the greatest military wiz ards of all time, Custer was almost expelled from West Point “for hav ing the worst record” of any stu dent there . . . Any cadet who gets 100 demerits (over a period of six months) is automatically tossed out of the military academy. Dur ing his first half year at West Point Custer piled up 129 demerits. (He was saved by a sympathetic instruc- _ tor who reduced them) ... In his studies he was at the bottom of his class, and probably the only reason he was graduated was that the Civil war started and the Union army needed officers. / • f -■ « , . < —Buy Defense Bonds— Custer always believed in fighting an enemy when he saw one, with out stopping to consider the cost . . . When he was a kid, he once attended a dance and noticed one of 4 his enemies poking fun at him outside by making faces and ges tures through the window . . . Cus ter rushed up to the window and pushed his fist right through the pane into the guy’s snoot. ■ .. r-Day Defense Bonds— Custer was a showman who knew how to do things in a manner that hit people between the eyes. (At the end of the Civil war, the army pa raded in review before the Presi dent and other dignitaries in front of the White House . . . Just as he approached the reviewing stand, his horse reared and started to run away . . . With a flourish, Custer mastered it and' onlookers cheered wildly as Custer galloped back into his place in line and passed the re viewing stand a Second time . . . He insisted it was an accident, but rivals argued that his horse never acted up before or after that parade. —Buy Defense Bonds— It took a month to make Custer’s last stand for the film, “They Died With Their Boots On” . . . Histori ans believe the actual battle couldn’t have lasted more than from half to three-quarters of an hour, Custer’s men were so hopelessly outnum bered . . . Although Sitting Bull is usually credited with having been in charge of the massacre, actually he was as far away from the battle as his horse could get him. As soon as he heard of Custer’s defeat, Sit ting Bull returned, claiming that he had been in the hills using his power with the Indian gods to bring about victory . . . The Indians didn’t know until after the battle that it was Custer they had been fighting. —Buy Defense Bonds— In the picture this repartee gets a howl . . . The commandant at West Point summons Custer and (threatening to expel him for hav ing a fist fight with a fellow cadet) asks him if he has anything to say ... “I didn’t know,” says Custer, “that you could get fired from the army for fighting.” —Buy Defense Bonds— Custer was nuts about onions and ate them as though they were ap ples. The last gift he received from his wife before he died was a sack of onions . . Whenever he was away from his wife, he’d sit up until all hours of the night writing long letters to her. During one expe dition, he wrote her a letter 89 pages long . . . When Custer died at Little Big Horn, the Indians who killed him paid him a tribute that showed the respect even his enemies had for him. Every man killed in that battle was scalped—except Curter Eleanor Roosevelt At the Capitol on the day war was declared I had a curious sense of repetition, for I remembered very vividly the description of the same gallery, when Mrs. Woodrow Wilson listened to President Wilson speak to the assembled members of con gress. This time she sat beside me, as the President spoke the words which branded.a nation as having departed from the code of civilized people. Everyone in this house was up late last night. Early the next morning the President was on the telephone and, with every bit of information, the situation in the Pacific showed more clearly what damage had been done by surprise. Some will think that the people of Hawaii and the Philippines and our other islands should not have been taken by surprise. They have to think back to the day before, how ever, to realize how impossible ac tual war seemed to us. Even today, I heard people say: “Oh, well, those islands are vulnerable, but we here on this continent have nothing to fear.” How hard it is for human beings to learn that the only safety there is, lies in being prepared for any eventuality. When people are mak ing desperate efforts, they will try things which seem foolhardy to more secure people. If you are going to die anyway, you might just as well die with a grand gesture which stands a chance of winning high stakes for you. That is what Ger many has planned today, for this attack is German strategy. * • • EVERYONE HAS A JOB If you live along the East coast, don’t be too sure that you are out of the danger zone. Sign up today and do a job, because if you have a job to do, that responsibility will see you through any situation.- I opened our staff meeting in the Office of Civilian Defense that morning by saying that I thought this was no moment for any of our able women to accept the invitation of Great Britain to go over and visit them. There was no one in the room who was not alert to the fact that their work had ceased to be the work of preparation and was now work which required action imme diately. After the short time spent at the Capitol, Director LaGuardia held his staff meeting. Since then I have been contacting regional directors and obtaining all the information I need for the work on the West coast. We left Washington one day with the usual rush of last minute things which must be done. Three of us had supper in my sitting room be fore we left. With us were Jimmy, Elliott and two friends with whom Elliott had flown from the school in San Antonio, Texas. * • * LOS ANGELES ACTIVITY The governor of California and the mayor of Los Angeles met us on arrival. The governor drove off with Director LaGuardia. Mr. Gilbert Harrison and I followed with the mayor. I was astonished to find that, even now, some people can’t believe our shores are actually a possible target for attack. We went straight to the state building, and in a very few minutes the state council of defense met in open session. All the seats in the room were filled and people stood in the aisles as the fnorning wore on. I felt extremely virtuous, because I had not gone to the hotel to dress. I usually feel that this is essential after a night trip. I patted myself on the back and felt that, since this was not entirely comfortable, that this was my first real job for civil ian defense. • • • WAR CHANGES EVERYTHING It is remarkable how a real threat will change the whole aspect of a situation overnight. The state de fense council met, found an execu tive secretary, decided to establish a central office in the state capitol in Sacramento and two branch of fices in San Francisco and Los An geles. The local council of defense was setting up its volunteer office also. Guards had already been placed on watch at all strategic places such as bridges in the state. The need for money was already being canvassed and the governor was making necessary preparations to ! meet the requirements. Director LaGuardia made an ex cellent speech and it was splendid to see the response to concrete sug gestions. In the afternoon, the meet ing was divided and. Mayor La- j Guardia went to a meeting of the ! section of police and fire patrol, while I went to the section of health and welfare. • • • ACTUAL DANGER I found that there were many very excellent plans on paper, but the actual assignment of people to specific posts and their training in what they should do on those posts had not yet been undertaken. It seems to me that, with real danger hanging over our heads, when we discuss the actual work that has to be done, we discover that the pro tective measures are really very closely allied to the volunta y par ticipation (Released by Western Newspaper Union.) The Greatest Scout CPEAK of a “great scout, guide ^ and Indian fighter” and the av erage American will think immedi ately of “Buffalo Bill” Cody. But old timers will tell you that there were probably a dozen men on the Western frontier who were Cody’s equals, or even his superiors, in any of those three roles. If you press them to name “the greatest of them all,” the chances are they’ll reply “Frank Grouard.” FRANK GROUARD Dr, Frackelton When Gen. George Crook start ed on his expedition against the hos tile Sioux and Cheyennes in the spring of 1876, Grouard went along as a scout and made himself so val uable to Crook that this famous In dian fighter once said, “I would sooner lose a third of my command than to lose Frank Grouard.” In the early ’90s he was living in Sheridan, Wyo., and there a young . fellow from Wis consin, who had gone west to practice dentist ry, met Grouard and a number of other famous frontier charac ters. This “ten derfoot” was Dr. Will Frackelton, and his recently published book, “Sagebrush Den tist,” (A. C. Mc- Clurg and Com pany, Chicago), written in collabo ration with Herman Gastrell Seely, a Chicago newspaper man, is a nota ble addition to the literature of the Old West. In it, “Doc” Frackelton tells several hitherto-unpublished stories about this great scout. One of these is particularly inter esting because the incident involves both Grouard and “Buffalo Bill.” “Frank Grouard was as taciturn as Cody was loquacious. Grouard was modest, Cody liked the lime light, and there was no love lost be tween them. I suspect that Grouard resented the publicity given Buffalo Bill’s exploits, many of which were of doubtful authenticity, and the de ference paid him by some of the army officers,” writes Frackelton. “They met on* night in the Sheri dan inn barroom and it was Cody who came off second best. Buffalo Bill was wearing his show clothes—, beaded buckskin coat and jacket and enormous hat—and was swag- geringly convivial. It required lit tle urging to have him tell his fa vorite story of the killing of the Cheyenne chief, Yellow Hand. He jumped on a stool, head thrown back and long hair falling about his shoul ders, while we gathered around. “Grouard walked in with quiet, catlike tread and asked for some cigars. Cody paused in the middle of his story. “ ‘Go on, go on,’ We shouted. “ ‘No,” said Cody a little thickly. ! ‘Here is my old friend, Frank Grou ard. I’ll now buy the drinks.’ “Grouard was not a drinking man. Buffalo Bill grew more insistent. ‘Come on. Everybody belly up to the bar and drink with me.’ “Grouard shook his head. Infuri ated, Cody blustered: ‘Hey, you, bel ly up there! Can’t you hear?’ “Grouard stepped forward and the men faced each other. Cody, in hi* show clothes, weighed about 195 pounds and Grouard, in his incon spicuous civilians, about 220. They were of equal height but Grouard’s tremendous breadth of shoulder made him seem the shorter. “Grouard’s eyes sent cold chills down my spine. Quietly, and in that deep, determined voice' of his he said: ‘You are nothing but a picture book scout and a picture book show man. That’s all you ever were and that’s all you ever will be.’ “Then Grouard’s voice dropped into a line of personal profanity, very emphatic but too low for us to hear. Cody straightened up. and for a moment it looked like a fight. Grouard eyed him, then walked over got his cigars and left the ho f el.” While living in Sheridan Grouard met Joe de Barthe, correspondent of the New York Sun, who urged him to tell the story of his life. “What good’ll that do?” asked Grouard, “People won’t believe it.” But de Barthe was insistent and the scout finally consented to dictate it to the newspaper man. The result was the volume “Life and Adventures of Frank Grouard,” first published in St. Joseph, Mo., iri 1894. It is now one of the rarities of Western Amer icana and a first edition of it—if you can find one—sells for anywhere from $35 to $50 a copy! “■“■■■■improved UNIFORM INTERNATIONAL S UNDAY I chool Lesson By HAROLD L. LUNDQUIST, D. D. Of The Moody Bible Institute of Chicago. (Released by Western Newspaper Union.) Lesson for December 28 Lesson subjects and Scripture texts se lected and copyrighted by International Council of Religious Education; used by permission. THE CHRISTIAN’S HOPE LESSON TEXT—John 14:1-6; Revelation 22:1-5. GOLDEN TEXT—In my Father’! house are many mansions.—John 14:2. Hope is something this world des perately needs, and which it has all but abandoned. Little wonder when one recalls that the usual meaning of hope is hardly more than “wish ful thinking” without any real confi dence—and that such hope as men have, has been only in their fellow- men, who have so often grievously failed them. The Christian’s hope—ah, that is something quite different. To him hope is certain expectation resting on the assured Word of God. Such a light only shines brighter as the darkness deepens. As the lights of men’s promises and purposes flick er and die out, the hope of God’s people shines like a beacon in a dark and stormy night. How appropriate that we should use the last Sunday of this year to remind one another of that hope, to trim the lamp, as it were, for even brighter shining, as we cast its beams out into the unknown year just ahead. There are three great and helpful things in this lesson. I. A Sure Promise of Heaven (John 14:1-3). We are not forgetting that for us who love the Lord there is the bless ed hope of His return. He is com ing again (v. 3). But whether we have the joy of being caught up to be with Him ,or go by way of death, we have a sure promise of the eter nal dwelling place which He has prepared for us. “Let not your heart be troubled” —the very words come like the balm of Gilead upon our restless, troubled lives. Faith in God and in Christ— there we have the sure anchor of the soul. He has promised. We may count on His fulfillment. We show our faith in our fellowmen by trusting their word, even though they often fail us. Shall we not then fully trust the omnipotent, nev er-failing God? II. A Safe Way to Heaven (John 14:4-6). Our Saviour has not just gone be fore us and bade us follow as best we may, but He is Himself the Way. Having Christ, we have the way. Observe that He does not say that He is the “way-shower,” as one re ligious system names Him. He is not just an 1 example, or the master- teacher, or a martyr to.,a holy cause. He is “the way, the truth, and the life.” Note, too, that no man comes to the Father but by Christ. Dr. Wil bur M. Smith points out that “the apostle Paul in his epistles constant ly erriphasizes the truth that we have Recess to . the Father only through ■the Lord Jesus Christ (Rom. 5:2; Eph. 2:13, 18; 3:15; Heb. 7:25; 10: 19-21). Jesus is not one way to God, He is the only way to God. Men cannot come to God through any one, but only through Christ.” Someone may say, “That’s very true, and wonderful. I am a Chris tian, and I have Christ who is the way. But what is heaven like? III. A Symbolic Picture of Heaven (Rev. 22:1-5). First of all there is “life”—the river of life, the water of life. In heaven there is no death, but only eternal life, blessing, peace, and joy* In this world man lives under the constant shadow of death as the en emy which hurts, destroys, and re minds him of sin. But in heaven all is life through eternity. •’When we’ve been there ten thousand years Bright shining as the sun, We’ve no less days to sing God’s praise Than when we first begun.” Then we have what Dr. A. C. Gaebelein calls “the seven glories of the redeemed” (w. 3-5). Let us enumerate them. (1) “No curse”— perfect sinlessness. (2) “The throne of God and of the Lamb shall be therein”—giving perfect and bless ed government forever. (3) “His servants shall serve him”—in per fect, unhindered, untiring service. Heaven will not be idleness (perish the thought!), but blessed and hap py service for God. (4) “They shall see his face”—an eternal, undimmed vision of God. (5) “His name shall be on their foreheads”—speaking of eternal ownership and possession. (6) “There shall be night no more” —God is the light throughout eter nity. No more darkness to fear. (7) “They shall reign forever and ever.” Few of us would care to reign ih this world, for that brings only sor row and trouble, but to reign with Him, that indeed will be eternal isedness. > then we have—a sure promsie a heaven to which we have a I way, and concerning which we e such blessed knowledge. But it good is the promise if we do accept it? What good is the way ve do not receive Him? What d is there in knowing about ven unless we are going there? rerybody talks about heaven, t going there” sings the folk Are you? Or are you only id to talk sho-* TERNS SEWING CORCLE 13 R A VO for the new silhouette— shaped by this long, torso molding top, low waistline end full, swirling skirt! If you are out to get the world by the tail you simply must have one of these dirndl frocks—and it is typ ical of the young spirit of the times that you’ll probably be your own dressmaker and turn out this style perfectly for yourself! Pat tern No. 1479-B offers nothing fancy—merely that perfect but ton-front top with its immaculate, snowy white collar, short sleevw set in with a smooth straight shoulder line and a skirt gathered on at a slinkily low waist. It’s a dress for stiff fabrics, faille, taffeta or moire if you de sire swish. Or, if you . prefer ' flaming colors, make it in a soft- wool crepe. * * • Barbara Bell Pattern No. 1479-B is de signed for sizes 12, 14, 16, 18 and 2Il Corresponding bust measurements 39, 22. 34, 36 and 38. Size 14 (32) with short sleeves, bias skirt, requires y&nds 35-inch material, straight skirt 2% yards 54-inch material. One-half yard 35-inch material require^ for dickey collar. Send your order to: - * * • SEWING CIRCLE PATTERN DEPT. . Room 1324 311 W. Wacker Dr. Chicago Enclose 15 cents in coins for Pattern No Size. Name Address Far-Sighted “What made you decide to put off your wedding by two days at the last moment?” “Well, you see, I reckoned II out that my silver wedding would come on a Saturday, and I always play golf on Saturdays.” Ready to Oblige When the prisoner was asked if ha had anything to say before sentence toot * passed on him, he replied: ■ “Vm sorry I took the money, yom honor; but you know the old saying that the more a man has the more he wants.” The^ judge nodded understandingly. “Well” he said, “you're getting twelve months. How much more do yom wont?” More Trouble dick—Do you smile at your troubles as I advised you? . Clack—Yeah, and the boss warned me three times to wip* that silly grin off my face and get to work. {V* (V* {V* gW | ASK ME | ANOTHER ■ | J A General Quiz * | C- {WO* 4 O* O’* O" O** O’* o* o- o* o* o* o* o* o* The Questions 1. How many times was Wil liam Jennings Bryan defeated for the presidency of the Uftited States? • 2. Members of the Caterpillar club are what? 3. What is the weight of a base ball? 4. The word Bible is derived from Greek and Latin words mean ing what? 5. How many rooms are there in the White House? 6. What is the meaning of riposte? 7. Why are bells rarely used in an orchestra? 8. What is the Japanese Em peror Hirohito’s family name? The Answers 1. Three times. 2. Aviators v who saved their lives by parachute leaps./ 3. A standard baseball weighs five ounces. 4. Books (Biblia, after the Phoenician city Byblos, whence papyrus was exnorted). 5. About 50 rooms, counting kitchens, valet bedrooms and cor ridors used as sitting rooms. 6. A quick, sharp retort. 7. Because of the length of their vibrations and the number of overtones. Bell sounds are gener ally produced by a glockenspiel or tubular chimes. 8. He has no family name. Other people who give till II hurts are the folk who give n* good advice. That’s Stone Diner—Waiter, take this chick en away. It is actually so tough it seems to be made out of stone. • Waiter—Nothing strange about that, sir. It’s a Plymouth Rock- Do You Like Jingle Contests 7 Beginning the middle of January. Raleigh Cigarettes are starting an other series of weekly contests foe those who can supply the best lasl line to a jingle. Over 100 libera] prizes each week. Watch this pa per for details.—Adv. AS PURE AS MONET CAN BUY World’s Largest Seller at IOc 36TA3LETS 20<- IOOTAEIETS BS 1 - Difficult Descent The ladder of life is full of splin ters, but they always prick the hardest when we’re sliding down. —William L. Brownell. AT 6000 DIUO STORES HAms^S^BCessedReliet RHEUMATISM neuritis