The sun. [volume] (Newberry, S.C.) 1937-1972, April 19, 1940, Image 2
THE SUN, NEWBERRY, S. C- FRIDAY. APRIL 19, 1940
NAVY TEAMWORK
WASHINGTON. — On March 20,
1917, a tall, husky young man from
Perth Amboy, N. J., heard Theo
dore Roosevelt speak at a rally in
Madison Square Garden, New York.
When the youngster left the meet
ing he was so fired with patriotism
that he stopped at the first recruit
ing station and enlisted in the navy.
He rose quickly. Because of his
knowledge of seamanship, gained as
a kid on the Jersey coast, he began
his service as a bosun in command
of a coast patrol boat. A little later
he was commissioned an ensign and
ordered to a transport which car
ried thousands of troops to France.
Today this youthful patriot sits at
a desk in a second floor office of the
great, sprawling, white stuccoed
Navy building on upper Constitution
avenue, the acting boss of the navy.
That Lewis Compton is acting boss
of the navy is known to few even
LEWIS COMPTON
‘All you need is a good assistant.’
in Washington. He is not a politi
cian. He is a business man who
believes in running public affairs in
a businesslike manner. He didn’t
seek out the job. It sought him out
and was offered to him strictly be
cause of his qualification.
It happened this way: In the fall
of 1936, when Roosevelt persuaded
Charles Edison, son of the famed
inventor, to take the post of assist
ant secretary, the first man to con
gratulate him, in his office in East
Orange, was Lewis Compton.
“Thanks, Luke,” said Edison,
“but I have no business taking this
job. I don’t know the bow of a ship
from the stern.”
“You don’t need to,” said Comp
ton. “In the navy there are plenty
of men who do. All you need is a
good assistant. Count me in.”
“Do you mean it?” said Edison.
“Sure,” was the reply.
“What are you doing Monday?”
said Edison. “Come down to Wash
ington with me and we’ll fix things
up.”
Won Edison’s Admiration.
The two men had become ac
quainted only the year before, when
Compton was state director of re
lief in New Jersey. Edison, presi
dent of Thomas A. Edison Indus
tries, Inc., was also starting a lab
oratory experiment in federal hous
ing in New Jersey, and needed some
white-collar relief workers.
Compton assigned relief workers
to the housing project in a way that
evoked Edison’s admiration. In
stead of handing him a lot of butch
ers and bakers, he allowed Edison
free range to select skilled men,
regardless of politics, with the re
sult that the New Jersey FHA had
the most efficient record in the
country.
This was the beginning of a mu
tual admiration between the two
men.
A clear-sighted perseverance lies
behind Compton’s work today in re
organizing the navy department.
He and Edison, both with the back
ground of business men, insist that
the shore establishments of the
navy, which employ 100,000 civilian
workmen — riveters, steam-fitters,
electricians, designers — cannot be
well directed by an officer trained
only in commanding a ship.
In other words, you can’t build
submarines by throwing a steam-
fitter into the brig if he doesn’t
salute and say "Aye, aye, sir!” The
navy’s shore establishments consti
tute one of the largest industrial
enterprises in the country, and
Compton and Edison hold that they
should be directed by men trained
in industrial management.
These and other administrative
reforms of Edison and Compton are
regarded as heresy by the brass-
hats, but they have the support of
President Roosevelt and they are
being put through.
MERRY-GO-ROUND
Experts say that airplane types
change so rapidly that a new plane
is out of date in almost six months.
Therefore , British and French pur
chases are enabling the United
States to develop both types and
factories, giving the army and navy
the cream of the crop.
When the Germans got an offer of
Red Cross aid from Norman Davis,
they said, “No, thanks.”
Dave Dubinsky will take his pow
erful International Ladies Garment
Workers union into the A. F. of L.
in May.
General
HUGH s.
JOHNSON
SLOGANS AND WAR
We were sloganeered into the last
war—at least as a partial cause. “If
England and France are licked our
turn is next.” That one pulled
heavily. “This is a world war of
democracy against autocracy. Our
place is on the side of the democ
racies—they are fighting our war.”
Boiled down to “make the world
safe for democracy” that was a
honey.
There is a good deal of doubt as
to whether they were fighting our
war but there is none whatever that
we fought theirs and did it in time
to win it. Then we paid a lot for
it. We asked for nothing and got
considerably less than that.
About the only difference between
the sloganeering approach in that
war and this is that this time it is
working three times as fast.
“Fighting our war” was what
Jimmy Cromwell said to Canada
and, while he got an official spank
ing, no small part of the press on
the eastern seaboard said he spoke
the truth, or at least what most
Americans think.
I doubt if he spoke the truth.
West of the Alleghanies at least, it
has been my observation that most
Americans think no such thing.
“Our turn will be next” is a varia
tion of the “democracy” theme of
“fighting our war” but it packs
WHAT’S WRONG? I DID IT
BEFORE
(Thomas for Associated Newspapers.)
more weight. It slants toward the
strategy of "self-defense” which is
something most Americans would
fight for if they thought the need
existed.
It becomes very necessary then
to study this "our turn next" busi
ness. In the first place “our turn
from whom?” The World war and
everything that has happened since
shows that it takes a great superi
ority—maybe as much as 3 to 1 in
men and materials conclusively to
smash an enemy. Remember that
Germany was never defeated in bat
tle—and neither was Finland.
There was nothing approaching
any such superiority on either side
in this war—neither in being nor in
prospect. There are possibilities of
some astonishing development such
as devastating proof of mass air
power—but those are growing dim
mer every day. Starving or eco
nomic strangulation of Germany may
oe possible, but that also seems less
likely as more facts become known.
As that fades, so also fades the like
lihood of an interior revolution
ousting Hitler.
There, of course, remains also the
possibility of a smash across bor
der fortifications—a suicidal holo
caust—but it is clear too that this
would also take an overwhelmin
superiority at the point of attack.
Incidentally, there is a popular
misconception here that such an at
tack would kill more men on the
offensive side than on the defensive.
It could if the offensive didn’t have
the required superiority in men and
metal but not necessarily otherwise.
A study of great Twentieth century
offensives by Major Phillips in the
current Infantry Journal makes this
quite clear.
There is probably no such superi
ority on the western front and,
whether there is or not, any offensive
would kill so many on both sides
that the toll would shock each fight
ing nation and the world.
Whether this becomes a bloody
war of movement or action or a
white war of nerves and strangu
lation, neither side has much hope
of coming out of it either with total
victory or with enough strength left
to tackle us in 20 years—especially
not if we arm on the plan we have
adopted.
It would be a lot safer, and cheap
er for us in blood and money, to
count on these things to avoid its
being “our turn next” than to keep
repeating that we are sure it will
be until we sloganeer ourselves into
another terrible trimming and make
it our turn, not only next but now,
by self-hypnosis.
ECONOMIC WARFARE
The argument of Mussolini and
Hitler that they are not safe without
an access to raw materials has
been' pooh-poohed by their enemies
abroad and our interventionists.
This column carries no torch for
those gangsters, but that doesn’t go
to the point of saying that black is
white.
If this war, and the World war
have proved anything, it was that
the lack of such access at least lays
any nation open to an enemy which
can control such supply.
Finns Evacuate Homeland to Escape Russian Rule
Their worldly goods loaded on a horse-drawn sleigh, members of this Finnish family flee from Russian rule.
They are going into exile, evacuating their home, which is situated in the section of Finland ceded to Russia by
terms of the peace treaty. The father rubs his child’s nose to guard against frostbite. Right: A Finnish sol
dier helps this old lady and her daughter carry the last of their portable belongings from their home in Hango,
which was included in the area taken over by Russia.
Harvard Inaugurates Housing Project for Benedicts
No longer need married students attending Harvard university at Cambridge, Mass., be separated from
their families. The university has established living quarters for the benedicts. Homes in three communi
ties serve 171 married students. Rentals range from $35 to $70 a month. Pictured here is Eric Rafter, law
student at Harvard, reading Blackstone and looking after his daughter, Mary. Right: A view of the Shaler
Lane homes for married students, sponsored by the university.
Practice Time for Anti-Tank Gunners
Drum Majorette
Because all is too quiet on the western front for real tank warfare,
British and French anti-tank crews brush up on their marksmanship by
using dummy tanks made of wood and cardboard. Here are British anti
tank gunners with their dummies loaded on trucks on the way to the
gunnery range behind the lines on the front.
Action Scene ‘Somewhere in France’
World’s champion drum majorette
is M*ss Jeanne Ladd of Swampscott,
Mass. She is pictured leading the
annual festival of states parade in
St. Petersburg, Fla. She won her
title at the American Legion con«
vention in 1939.
Fond Farewell
Approved by both the British and French censors, this picture was Bidding farewell to his infant son
snapped at the moment a shell, smoking hot, was ejected from the breech ' is this British soldier who returns
of a big gun just as its missive of death had been sent on its way to to the front after a leave of ab-
enemy lines. Both the Maginot and Siegfried lines are strongly fortified sence. The baby was born while
with heavy artillery. i his dad was at the front.
“The Name
Is Familiar—
BY
FELIX B. STREYCKMANS
and ELMO SCOTT WATSON
H. T. P. Comstock
Comstock Lode
V IRGINIA CITY, NEV., was once
the “greatest mining town on
this continent.” It got its start with
the Comstock Lode, a vein of gold,
that was named for a “lanky, loud-
voiced, boastful, bullying prospec
tor” named Henry Thomas Paige
Comstock, who was called “Old Pan
cake” because he lived mostly on
flapjacks.
One day in the spring of 1859 “Old
Pancake” discov
ered two Irish
men, Peter O’Ri
ley and Patrick
McLaughlin,
cleaning up the
“rocker” they
used in their
placer mining.
There was $200
worth of gold dust
in it.
“You’ve struck
it rich, boys!” he
shouted. “But the
trouble is you’ve
struck it on my land. You know I
bou&nt this spring here from Old
Man Caldwell and I took up 160
acres around it for a ranch.” There
was some truth in his statement
but he had never recorded title to
the water rights.
However, he made his bluff good
and they "counted him in.” When
news of the rich strike spread there
was a grand rush to the scene.
Because the vein of gold had been
found on land which was supposed
to belong to “Old Pancake” it was
named for him and not for the men
who discovered it. Later, when
quartz mining started there, more
than $100,000,000 worth of silver and
gold was taken from the place.
But “Old Pancake” didn’t profit
much from it. He sold out early,
for $11,000, soon squandered all of
his money, drifted to Montana and
there, penniless and almost starving,
committed suicide in Bozeman on
September 27, 1870.
• » •
Victorian
Xl/" HEN you hear a woman say
“Oh, she’s so Victorian!” you
know immediately what she means
—or do you? For she may mean
that her friend is hopelessly old-
fashioned or out-of-date in her cloth
ing or her taste in furnishing her
house. Then again, she may mean
that she is prudish and easily
shocked by frankness in speech
or any deviation
from propriety or
conventional be
havior.
In either case
she is helping per
petuate the spirit
of the woman who
ruled Great Brit
ain . longer than
any other mon
arch—64 years—
until her death in
1901. When Wil
liam IV died in
Victoria 1837, his 18-year-
old niece came to the throne and
during the next half century Queen
Victoria gave her name to an era
which was “a strange gap between
the enlightened Eighteenth century
and our own period of progress.”
It was an era of self-complacency
and dignity maintained in spite of
everything. Most of all it was an
eminen'ly “proper” period—when
crinolined, sheltered “females” em
broidered sofa-cushions, painted
china, made fringed lampshades and
gilded cockle-shells.
• • •
Dun
D ACK in the days of King Henry
•*-' VII of England, a famous bailiff
named John Dun, lived in the town
of Lincoln. He was one of the earli
est exponents of the “treat ’em
rough” method of dealing with of
fenders against the law. He was
also unusually proficient collecting
rents, duties and general debts. He
originated the idea of calling at
debtors’ houses,
dressed in an odd
and colorful cos
tume, to attract
the attention of
the neighbors.
Sometimes be
would walk up
and down in front
of the debtor’s
house broadcast
ing to the whole
neighborhood the
nature of the debt
he was sent to
collect.
So successful
was Dun at this work that when a
person refused to pay his debts,
friends of the creditor would say to
him “Why don’t you Dun him?”
meaning, why don’t you send John
Dun after him? From this arose the
custom of calling a pressing request
for the payment of money a "dun."
A variation of John Dun’s methods
survives among collection agencies
in England today. Demands for pay
ment of debts are mailed in enve
lopes printed in red. If the debtor
ignores three such maUings, he can
expect a call from a collector
dressed in a bright red uniform. And
then is his face red!
(Released by Western Newspaper Union.)
John Dun
Make Flared Skirt
For Dressing Table
By RUTH WYETH SPEARS
H OW to cut a flared dressing
table skirt without fullness at
the top, is something worth know
ing. You may be making a
smartly tailored affair of white
pique with pink bindings and but
tons, like the one shown here; or
an under lining for a full skirt of
transparent material.
The diagram shows how to
make a pattern for half of the
skirt. The center front may be
placed on a fold of the goods in
cutting if there is no front open
ing. Cut the paper by the dimen
sions in the diagram. Mark point
A in 14-inches from the upper
left comer. Measure up from the
lower right corner a distance
equaling the length of the skirt
from A to the left edge of the
paper and mark point C. Connect
these points with lines drawn, as
shown.
• • •
NOTE: The new 32-page edi
tion of Book 1—“Sewing for the
Home Decorator,” shows three
other interesting styles of dress
ing tables, with detailed directions
for making. Also slip covers,
draw curtains; and numerous
household articles. Write Mrs.
Spears for a copy, enclosing 10
cents to cover cost. Address:
MRS. RUTH WYETH SPEARS
Drawer 10
Bedford Hills New York
Enclose 10 Cents for Book 1.
Name
Address
INDIGESTION
Senutiood Relief from Indigestion
end One Dose Proses It
If the fint done of this pleas&nt-tssting little
black tablet doesn’t bring you the fastest and most
complete relief you have experienced senr] bottle
back to US and get DOUBLE MONEY BACHS. This
Bell-ans tablet helps the stomach digest food,
makes the excess stomach fluids harmless and lets
S ou eat the nourishing foods you need. For heart-
urn. sick headache and upsets so often caused by
excess stomach fluids making you feel sour and
sick all over—JUST ONE DOSE of Bell-ans proves
speedy relief. 25c everywhere.
The Generous Thing
Many men have been capable
of doing a wise thing, more a
cunning thing, but very few a
generous thing.—Pope.
ACHING CHEST
Need More Than "lust Salve”
To Relieve DISTRESSI
To quickly relieve chest cold misery and
muscular aches and paius due to colda—
it takes MORE than “just a salve”—you
need a warming, soothing “counter-
irritant"\ike good old reliable Musterola
—used by millions for over 30 years.
Musterole penetrates the outer layers
of the skin and helps break up local con
gestion and pain. 3 strengths: Regular,
Children’s (mild) and Extra Strong, 40*.
Most Adorned
Loveliness needs not the foreign
aid of adornment, but is when
unadorned adorned the most.—
Thomson.
T.U nfUbU Oxk^m. Stop, chills «nd
fsrsr, cImm blood of raoUrio. Fomoos
for 50 yoors. Monoy-bocli guT.ntoo.
Preserving Grin
Care to our coffin adds a nail,
no doubt; and every grin, so
merry, draws one tit.—John Wol-
cot.
Dr. Hitchcock’s All-Vegetable
Laxative Powder — an intestinal
toniolaxative—actually tones lazy
bowel muscles. It helps relieve
that sluggish feeling. 15 doses for
only 10 cents. Large family size 25
cents. At all druggists.
Dr. Hitch cock’s
LAXATIVE POWDER