S n u th r r n
O regon
N e w s R e v i e w . T h u r s d a y , J u n e - 10, 1 9 4 8
Washington D ig est;
Diary Doesn't Have to Tell
Earth-Shaking Occurrences
By BAIKHAGE
Actes
A nalyst a n d C o m m fn ln lo r
WASHINGTON.—The nation, and particularly the nation’s
capital, where we are highly national and international-con
scious, is suffering as never before from the result of memories,
good and bad. The Roosevelt epoch produced a rash of remi
niscences—200 books about FDR, 32 of them ju st since his
death.
Currently we have with us the Churchill war memoirs, as they are
called, although when I was young and read “The Memoirs of Sherlock
Holmes,” 1 thought a memoir was something printed after a man's death.
Of course Sherlock came buck, so I suppose that legitimize.« the termi
nology.
Winston Churchill was a great
diary-keeper, as was his fellow-
countryman, Samuel Pepys, whose
stuff was so hot
that the British
government still
hasn't released
all ot it. Frank
lin R o o s e v e l t
n e v e r kept a
diary. His sec-
r e t a r y oi the
treasury m a d e
up for this lack.
Henry Morgen-
thau assembled
900 volumes of
about 350 pages
each, totaling about 80 million
words. The task must have kept
three stenographers a day working
in relays. He had the diaries bound,
some said at government expense,
although I daresay he paid for it in
the end.
His was a lazy method. He
didn't have to depend on his
memory. He had a dictograph
in his office, and every word
spaken in the supposed sanctity
of his chamber in the treasury
overlooking the wide sweep of
lawn and park that flows down
to the Potomac, was duly tran
scribed. When the news of this
epic achievement became public
a terrible howl resulted and some
of the volumes were returned to
the government archives, What
a man'
I wonder if diary-keepers are
normal. I would hate to admit to a
psychologist that 1 have kept a
diary for years, even decades. I
still keep one. I don't know how
long ago 1 started, but I still have
one slim, green volume, dated 1904,
in my possession. The year 1904—
that was just 15 years after another
entry, not in my diary, but in my
father’s (diary-keeping is congeni
tal) which stated ''fine boy arrived
5 p. m .” I may say the "fine” is
the natural exaggeration of a proud
parent who didn’t know w'hat he
was in for.
At any rate, if diary-keeping is
used against me; I have two outs
—hardly anything, even of mild in
terest, is or will be recorded on the
faded pages of my journals, and
secondly, because I write such a
vile hand that I can decipher only
a few lines here and there myself.
My mother should have most of
the blame for my bad handwriting,
just as she is to blame for the fact
that I can write at all. She was
herself a writer and, unique as it
was in those good old days, she
possessed a typewriter, a stubby
little affair, affectionately known
as “the Blick.”
Of course it was quite improper
to expose a child of pre-school
age to a typewriter. It was not
my mother’s fault. Back in the
’90s, some of us weren’t vaccinat
ed for anything but smallpox. I
was too young to understand that
at the time, and since typewriters
were as rare as porcelain bath
tubs in a city of 20,000, who could
guess their evil influence? I sup
pose I oughtn't to accuse my par
ents because I became thorough
ly inured to the use of the type
writer long before I could balance
a pencil, and this fact did my
handwriting no good.
At that time what was called
"Spencerian” still was taught in the
schools of New York state, but very
few mastered it even without the
curlicues and shading of earlier
days. And just as I was getting
so I could make the wobbly "M’s”
and the terrible "q's” , along came
a new Pharoah to my scholastic
Egypt and introduced the "verti
cal system .” That was probably
where my uneducation really began
I unlearned the Spencerian all
right, but I was never able to go
vertical.
Nothing Im portant
Is Ever Entered
But to get back to diary-keeping,
at least my diary-keeping. The
illegibility of the entries in my
diaries isn’t really as important as
the unimportance of their contents.
Let me illustrate from one with
a worn leather cover which I have
at hand. It is dated 1914, a good
year for a diary, but a bad diary
for the world. The record of war
days should have been chronicled
dramatically as the beginning of
the end of an epoch, an epoch which
breathed its last in the midst of
another war. But did my record do
that? Let’s look at June 29, 1914.
I Do we find the entry: ‘‘YESTER-
‘ D A Y ARCHDUKE FERDINAND
WAS ASSASSINATED AT SARAJE
VO?” We do not. We find this:
Juin
29. Lundi S. Pierre, S. Paul
Bought Berlitx
Greek
Rustem Bey
(The book was purchased in
Paris, where the year’s record
began. The entry was made in
Washington.)
While the ancient throne of Haps-
burg was receiving the blood bath
that was to sweep a half dozen
rulers into oblivion I was buying
a Berlitz textbook for the purpose
of studying some foreign language
—I have no idea which one except
that it was one I never learned.
Rustem Bey, I remember was the
Turkish ambassador whom I had to
interview.
In all justice, it may not be en
tirely the fault of my diary-mak
ing that I didn't record the assas
sination of the archduke. Nobody
in America took the tragedy very
seriously. At that time few Amer
icans expected much else from
Europe's royal families but as
sassinations or less respectable
peccadillos.
I ought to have know’n better than
that since 1 had been helping cover
the French foreign office for the
two years preceding. But I had
been drenched with war talk over
there and had shaken it off when
I returned. Europe almost imme
diately shrank into a dreamy do
main of picture-book memory with
no connection whatever with my
work-a-day world.
Later on. to be sure, there is evi
dence that I, on second thought,
felt I hadn't done my diary justice
insofar as Ferdinand was con
cerned. But I always was feeling
that way about my diary and never
doing anything about it.
This, as I said, keeps my diaries
from having the slightest value
other than to exude a somewhat
conscious-stricken odor and re
mind me that the good young days
were no better than those bad old
ones insofar as my habits and con
duct were concerned, for an honest
diary certainly has to be well edit
ed to conceal one’s true character.
You note in its pages some high
resolve or noble undertaking which
was more important to you at the
moment of recording than the open
ing of the Panama canal or the re
sult of a presidential election. In
a short year you read it over and
are utterly unable to recall the
slightest thing about the events
chronicled.
Sometimes my old diaries, even
though they record no event of
great historical significance, sound
quite timely. For example on Oc
tober 3, 1914:
F1* Ï Ï ML«® HOUSE
Healthy Plants Needed Veterans Lose Again
VETERANS GOT
To Assure Good Crop
W AR OTHER
KICK In the
Sturdy Growth Hinges
On Well-Fertilized Soil
Healthy plants, like healthy hu
mans, are better fitted to fight off
insect and disease attacks than are
undernourished ones. Enemies have
a tougher time getting under the
guard of well fed plants. Such plants
have stronger root system s and
hardier, better developed growth
above ground. They can stand on
their "feet” and defend themselves.
Whether your crops are well fed or
undernourished depends on the con
dition of your soil. If your soil is
loose, mellow, high in organic m at
ter, of good tilth and carries plenty
of plant food, it can give your crops
a body-building diet. If your soil is
worn down by overcropping and
failure to put back plant nutrients
and organic matter, it cannot sup
port healthy, sturdy crop growth.
Any farmer can build his soil’s
fertility and crop producing ability
by good management methods. He
can get bigger crop yields per acre
through use of fertilizer carrying
nitrogen, phosphate and potash as
needed. He can build soil structure
by growing deep-rooted legumes
such as alfalfa or sweet clover in
the rotation. Roots of the legumes
will open tight soil and let air and
water in. Plowed under, the legumes
will add to the soil’s organic m at
ter supply. Crops following in the
rotation will have more “elbow
room” to seek water and nutrients
deep down in the soil. The organic
m atter supply can be further in
creased by returning manure and
crop aftermath to* the soil.
Farm Meat Dollar
tobacco
51«, « 7 * Cotun
wool. etc.
fruits
♦nuts
Jvu&it of data
US. D«pt of Agriculture
About a third of the American
farm ers’ cash income last year
cam e from the sale of meat ani
m als. Meat packers paid out al
most 10 billion dollars for live
stock. From their total cash in
come, livestock producers paid
out large amounts for stock, feed,
help and increased operating
costs.
"Not much doing. I don’t seem
to be able to save my money.”
. . . October 8: “The Belgian
secretary appears, we consume
quantities of beer and tells me his
life story — a bore, but business."
Legumes, Grasses and
(just the weary routine of the
hard-working reporter)
Cereals Used for Silage
Fortunately my space is running
The term grass silage now in
out. Nothing is more interesting cludes all ensiled crops except corn
to write or read about than oneself. and the sorgos and is different from
Nothing is less interesting to anyone them in that special precautions
else. But I wish to prove my point, must be taken upon ensiling for the
namely, that no matter how impor- I best preservation.
tant diary-keeping may have been
Grass silage may be made suc
for the Churchills, the Marco Polos
cessfully from many crops: Leg
or the Plutarchs, and perhaps
umes, such as alfalfa, clovers, soy
therefore as harmful as Important,
beans, lespedeza and peas; cereals,
mine was neither.
such as oats, .wheat, rye and barley;
And I marvel that any news
grasses, such as timothy, Sudan
man, press or radio, who lives
grass, canary grass, brome grass
in the midst of alarms, who "was
and orchard grass, and mixtures of
there” when most things hap
these crops.
pened and told all in breathless
detail via the copy-desk or micro
phone to millions of wide-eyed
readers or listeners would ever
think of writing It down after
ward.
Note for instance a recent diary
entry for June 5, 1947, which a
The illustration by Purdue univer
brittle clipping of even date de sity shows method of dumping silage
clares not only vibrantly but with that saves In labor and quality.
perfect inexactitude “may go down
in history as the day of the begin
ning of the real peace after World Activated Charcoal Used
War II.” (Lest you have forgotten,
that was the day Secretary of State To Prevent 2,4-D Harm
Crop plants can be protected from
George C. Marshall proposed at
Harvard university a new approach harm by 2,4-D used for killing
to European rehabilitation which weeds by pre-planting treatment
later became the Marshall plan, with powdered activated charcoal.
then E.R.P. and finally the eco The treatment Is of especial value
nomic cooperation administration.) for crops that are set out as young
plants already rooted. This Is done
Note my diary for that date:
by dusting the roots with the ac
“A meeting of the Association
tivated charcoal powder before
of Radio News Analysts. Kalten-
planting, greatly reducing loss caus
born to dinner.”
ed by 2,4-D.
AN-
punta
the other day when 23 vice presi
dents of steel companies vetoed the
allocation of 60.000 tons of steel
for prefabricated housing.
This
means that veteran cooperatives,
formed to finance prefabricated
housing developments, will have to
fold up or go in for the more ex
pensive conventional houses, which
most veterans can’t afford.
The 23 steel vice-presidents are
members of a so-called steel prod
ucts advisory committee to Com
merce Secretary Charles Sawyer
which passes on volunteer steel al
locations under a law passed by
congress last year. However, the
committee functions more like a
little "supreme court" in determin
ing who can buy steel.
Also, it does more dictating than
advising, apparently, for the com
merce department had okayed the
60,000-ton allocation, a third of what
the prefab Industry requested for
new low-cost homes.
The steel mogul» pointed out
that prefabricated houses require
four times as much steel as con
ventional homes built of wood,
brick, et cetera. This explanation,
however, is small comfort to war
veterans and others who cannot
afford conventional dwellings.
American Veterans committee
has made a vigorous protest to con
gress about the steel magnates' ac
tion.
Psychological Warfare
QUESTION: Is the periodic use
of yeast helpful or detrimental to a
septic tank? What effect will the
use of drain cleaners have on a sep
tic tank? Is there any specially de
signed product on the market to
keep septic tanks In better working
order?
ANSWER: Small quantities of a
drain cleaner can be safely used,
but large quantities will stop bac
terial action. In such cases, a large
volumn of water should be run Into
the tank to carry off the chemicals.
Bacterial action can then be re
started by dissolving six cakes of
yeast in lukewarm water In a wash
basin and flushing it Into the tank.
QUESTION:
There Is a little
crack directly over my sink where
It forms a Joint with the plaster
wall. The white plaster used for
filling the crack always comes out.
What can be done?
ANSWER: Before the war It was
possible to get a neat, flexible metal
moulding that waa made for a crack
such as yours, or to cover the crack
at the top of a bathtub. If you can
not find any of this, fill 'the crack
with a light-colored cuulking com
pound. Thia resembles putty, but
never becomes hard or brittle. Af
ter forcing it into tlie crack, run
your finger along ttie surface to
smooth It, and after a few days,
touch It up with enamel to match
the wall.
QUESTION: Is there any way to
remove the discoloration on my new
plasterwork caused by rain soaking
through the sheathing and insula
tion?
ANSWER: Stains on the plaster
from the rain have gone all the way
through and cannot be removed.
After the plaster has dried out you
can paint the walls. The alterna
tive is to cut out the stained part of
the plaster and replaster.
B uild T his S e t o f L aw n
F u rn itu re Y o u rself.
If In need of lawn furniture, build
It yourself and save money. Full
Size patterns are available that
simplify building the matching
chairs and settee illustrated above.
A smaller size chair, suitable for
children two to eight years of age,
can also be constructed from a pat
tern. Youngsters will be happy to
Join the family circle If they have
a chair they can call their own.
Nothing seems to be quite so Im
portant to the young ones as having
things "Just like Dad’s”.
(V. <X- (X. 0 . (V. <*. f^- <*- (*- <v. <*» <*• f*- f* f*- A"«
7
ASK M S
5
ANOTHER * •
\ A G eneral Quiz
< n . tv.
a - a -
a
-
THE QtlEHTlONS
1. Are there any American flow
ers that bloom all year around?
2. Can a starfish turn hand
springs?
3. How fine la a strand of spider
web?
4. Is the water In a river th*
same level all the way across?
8. What proportion of America’»
population are red-headed?
8. Which farm crop is most typi
cal of Alaska?
THE ANSWERS
1. No, but some, like the chick-
weed, bloom ten months out of a
year.
2. Yes. One scientist even claims
he taught a starfish to use a certain
arm when turning over.
3. Usually only one thirty-thou
sandths of an Inch In diameter.
4. In the Northern Hemisphere
the water will be higher along the
right bank than the left. In South
ern Hemisphere, this la reversed.
5. About 13 per cent.
8. Potatoes.
U. S. DEFENSE CHIEFS haven’t
said so publicly, but one reason
they have been so energetic in urg
ing heavy rearmament is the fear
of another Pearl Harbor. Vividly
remembering how General Mar
shall was out horseback riding the
morning of Pearl Harbor, they
don’t want to be caught again.
This is understandable.
However, there is another kind of
Pearl Harbor which may hit the
U. S. this time. And U. S. defense
chiefs will be just as guilty of ne
i Delicious Drin
glect If they are caught napping.
The most important, neglected
chapter of war-prevention today
is psychological warfare. You can
call this propaganda, softening-
the-cnemy-from-the-rear or Just
The Full Size Woodworking Pat
plain winning friends. But the
tern provides a complete list of ma
real fact is that this job of sell
terials needed, step by step direc
ing ideas, of making the people
tions and full size patterns for cut
of another country believe in you,
ting each part. It's the dress pattern
of winning the Russian people
idea applied to the flat surface of
lumber. No special tools or skill are
over to the U. 8-, has become al
required. All the materials specified
most the most Important phase of
by each pattern are stock size and
modern peace and modern war
readily available nt lumber yards
fare.
everywhere. So, for fun over a week
Actually it boils down to the art end, , build one or more of these
of making it difficult for the 14 pieces. Get the youngster to help.
men in the Kremlin to declare war Have him sandpaper each piece, let
by persuading the Russian people him hold the pieces ns you drill
that they themselves don't want holes. Explain why you use glue and
war. At present, the Kremlin can screws at every joint to hold parts
together and to keep moisture out.
take Russia into war overnight and
It he’s lent a hand building this
the people have nothing to say
chair you'll find him taking consid
about it.
erably better care of it.
An A-l man, George Allen, has
Materials for two chairs can be
taken over this division, but he is purchased for less than one chair
still short of cash and barely had costs ready made. Make adult size
chairs from Pattern No. 32 and c
a chance to get started.
matching settee from Pattern No.
39. Child size chair Is Pattern No.
Truman Wants No Advice
132. Send 23c for each pattern No. 32
REMINISCING WITH FRIENDS Pattern No. 132. Send 35c for Pattern
RECENTLY, Mayor David Law No. 39 to Easi-Rlld Pattern Com
rence of Pittsburgh, who is Demo pany, Department W., Pleasantville,
N. Y.
cratic national committeeman from
T°O T H POWDEp
Pennsylvania, uncorked the follow
Oil Consumption
ing barbed comments:
Americans consume 420 gallon« of
"Back in the days when 1 used
oil products per person each year.
to call on Franklin Roosevelt, he
A MCKESSON A BOBBINS PBODVCT
Britishers use 42 gallons and the
always made a point of asking me:
'How are things going In Pennsyl peoples of all oiher nations average
14 gallons.
vania? What are they saying about
me?
F. D. R. always wanted to
■V
know the score, especially about
any trends in public opinion. But
GRO-PUP
Harry Truman, while I admire
CONTAINS ABOUT
his honesty and sincerity, never
A S M U CH FOOD
asks us questions like that. It
isn’t that he isn’t interested, but
he depends too much on a little
clique of White House advisers to
tell him what's going on in the
country. And more often than
not he gets bum advice.
“When the Democratic national
committee had its last meeting in
Washington, we expected Chairman
SAVE while giving your dog nourish
Howard McGrath to invite us to
ing Oro-Pup, only Ribbon-type dog
food. Oro-Pup has 23 wholesome In
get our problems off our chests
gredients, la 92% food by dry weight
when we called on the President.
(many canned food« are 70% water).
We thought that would be the first
M ad« by Kellogg's
of Battle Creak
order of business, as it used to be
and O m aha A
in the old days. But neither Mc
Grath nor the President made a
move to ask us. Finally, some of
us spoke up on our own.
“ Yes, there's a big change at
the White House,” c o n c l u d e d
Mayor Lawrence, "and I doubt that
it's helping the party.”
'KooMùL
38%
BRIGHTER
CALOX
Read the Ads
"Why pay for water?
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Marines Paint Houses
THE MARINE CORPS has a
great record—from the halls of
Montezuma to the shores of Tripoli.
But in Washington marine brass-
hats seem to think that enlisted
men are to be used on such un
heroic jobs as bartending and
housecleaning.
Recently it was a new kind of
war. The marines were sent over
the top as housepainters.
For 12 hours a day they painted
the house of the assistant com
manding genera’
TIP
Always read our advertisement« care
fully. Our advertisers furnith you
an
important, money-saving service. You
lose dollars when you miss their bar
I
gains.