i f ii
( -
"Everyone Id Southern Oregon
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OUVE STARCHER Woin. n'. Editor
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NATIONAL EDITORIAL
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-SSK
Flight o' Time
Medford and Jackson County
History from tho files of The
Mail Tribune 10, 20, 30, 40
and 50 years ago.
10 YEARS AGO
March 18, 1853 (Wednesday)
Cily Councilman Paul Scl
by was elected president of.
the Medford city council by
a unanimous vote at a busy
regular council session.
Albany High school defeat
ed the Medford High school
basketball team, 70 to 58. in
a first round game of the
1953 Oregon State Class A
high school basketball tour
nament in Eugene.
20 YEARS AGO
March 18, 1843 (Thursday)
Civil defense leaders state
first test of Medford air raid
airnn WHS linSUtisf BCtOrY .
Vmm Arthur Perry's "Yc
Smudge Pot" column: "St.
Patrick's day has come and
gone without being set back
10 days to give more time for
plans for April 1 tooling.
' I -
30 YEARS AGO
March 18, 1833 (Saturday)
County judge released from
jail on $15,000 bond after be
ing arrested in ballot theft
and. destruction case. -,
Plans under way for Med
ford "cleanup, paintup" cam
paign scheduled to start early
in April.
40 YEARS AGO
March 18. 1823 (Sunday)
Jackson county citizens pro
test against $1,710 cost of en
forcing prohibition law in
county during February.
Medford without water day
and a half while pipeline be
ing repaired.
SO YEARS AGO
March 18, 1913 (Tuesday)
rvritrul Point driver, fined
$3 for speeding, threatens
never to spend anotner aouar
in Medford.
What's Your I.Q.?
la auotrior
seen or eight It excellent; tlva or
til Is good.
1. In whut New England
state did Shay's Rebellion oc
cur?
2. What is wrong with a
person afflicted with strabis
mils?'
3. Under which Fcdcrul De
partment Is tho federal
Burciui of Investigation.'
4. Docs it take about two.
four, six or eight pounds of
potatoes to make a pound of
potato chips?
B. Under our Constitution
can the president veto one or
more ileitis In a proposed
law, without Invalidating the
rest of tile law?
6. What country of Europe
is bounded by Czechoslovakia
mid the U.S.S.R. on the
North, Yugoslavia on the
South. Rumania on the East
and Austria on the West?
7. Is the dingo unlive lo
Tibftr Madagascar or Aus
tralia? 8. In the royal grants in the
English Colonics what kind of
trees were usually reserved
for the Crown?
9. Krom what country did
tho U. S. acquire the now un
incorporated territory of
Guam?
10.. According to legend.
Shun, son of Noah, was the
father of what branch of the
human race?
Answers! 1. Mattachuttltt.
2. Cross eyed. 3. Juttict. 4.
Pour. 5. No. 6. Hungary. 7.
Australia. 8. Pin trees suit
able for ship masls. 9. Prom
Spain. 10. Semiles (Hebrews,
Arabs, Phoenicians and Carthaginians).
wyJpusiisheis
MONDAY MARCH II. 1883
Sheriffs and
A Kill nnu Viafm-a the
which now has an apparently slim chance of
-" .1 1 1 . . ...sm.II An tViac-A tVilnrrc-
passing, iiiciuemaiiy wuuiu uu mtoc uwio.
1. Transfer from sheriffs to county treasurers
the job of collecting taxes.
, z. Abolish the otlice ot constaoie, ana trans
fer to the sheriff his civil duties and to the state
police his few criminal duties.
.i i .I. i . ii. -i let
6. Transter tne criminal auues 01 cne snenu
to the state police.
THIS would pretty well relegate the sheriff's
office to being custodian of the jail, process
server, and servant of the court. The sheriffs of
the state, of course, oppose the measure.
The bill, though, has some things in its favor.
It would tend to reduce property taxes at the
local level, partly because the treasurer, a trained
fiscal officer, would be more apt than, sheriffs in
most cases to take advantage of interest on col
lected tax monies, but principally because the
high cost of criminal investigations would be
borne by the state, rather than the county.
It aiso would eliminate the costly duplica
tion of criminal services, the frequent jealousies
between state police and sheriff's office, and pro
vide for the substitution of one of the most ef
ficient and best trained law enforcement agen
cies in the nation for the occasionally ill-trained
and poorly organized sheriff's departments.
'THE Salem Capital Journal supports the bill.
It says :
"The final financial picture: Millions of dollars
less In property taxes at the county level, and no in
crease in the state income tax.
"Primarily for reasons of better law enforcement,
and secondarily because of a desirable shift in taxes,
wc urge a careful look at- the bill."
It also made a point with which we agree
(but with which opponents of "home rule" are
apt to disagree), when it
... in irHinuiK, uisijiijiiiii;, uihoihwiiiuii
caliber o personnel, the average state police officer
is superior to the average sheriff's officer. It all goes
back to this one point: sheriffs are selected through
vote-getting ability, which doesn't necessarily coin
cide with police or administrative ability."
THERE arc, of course, good sheriff s depart
mnnfs unfl Vmrl mips. Tho nnint. here, however.
is that there is one state police department, and
it is a good one. It would equalize and improve
the level of law enforcement throughout the state.
In our view, the office of sheriff is largely
an anachronism anyway,
medieval ofticc ot shire reeve, ana while tne
office many continue to be useful as an adjunct
of the courts, and for custodial purposes, modern
and efficient law enforcement would logically
be better obtained through a modern and ef
ficient police force. .
The measure makes
of sense. E.A.
Central American Market
The core of a hemispheric common market of
immense importance to the United States is grow
ing in Central America. That is why President
Kennedy will probably
to talk about economic development, not Castro's
Cuba, when he meets with chiefs of six Central
American governments in ban Jose.
The countries involved are Costa Rica, Gua
temala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and
Panama. The first five constitute the Organiza
tion of Central American States. Panama is not
a member, but she has been invited to join the
Central American Common Market and probably
will.
P"OUR countries formed the Central American
Common Market (CACM) in December 1960:
Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua.
It was born of a realization that high tariffs
were holding back investments in new industries
and expansion of established ones.
Internal trade among
jumped nearly "0 per cent, to more than
million, since CACM was instituted. Expansion
is rapidly increasing. One
(CACM) has revolutionized the buying habits of
many Central American housewives by making
available at reasonable prices a wide variety of
fooclstulfs and household goods that they couldn t
afford before because of prohibitive import
duties."
THE treaty of Montevideo, ratified in May,
l'Jlil, set into motion a larger Latin American
Five Trade Association which today includes
Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador,
Mexico, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay. Venezuela
and Bolivia have delayed in joining because their
chief exports, oil and tin, pose special problems.
It is now two years since President Kennedy's
unprecedented White House speech to the Latin
American diplomatic corps which put forth the
bold Alliance for Progress plan. No sounder way
to augment that plan than through the two trade
groups can be imagined. That is why the Presi
dent will probably be in a receptive mood when
the CACM members at San Jose ask him for a
$200 million loan for highways, electric power
linkups, and industrial finance.
The Times of London recently suggested that
it was now to be hoped that Europe would join
in the Latin Alliance. "Western Europe," The
Times observed, "has a chance to give the Al
liance a broader international flavor and make a
bridge between the political outlook of North and
South America." Developments like CACM and
the free trade area kindling European interest
E.R.R.
State Police
Orpcnn Ifitrifilature one
said.:
a hangover from the
a considerable amount
choose so far as he can
the five nations has
observer reports: "It
MEPFORD
"Why Don't
... Communications ...
Letters to the Editor must bear the name and address ot the writer, although under
certain circumstances the use of a pen name or initial tor publication is permissible.
The Mail Tribune reserves the right to edit all letters with a iew to clarification and
condensation. Letters submitted tor publication must not exceed 400 words. The letters
printed in this column do not necessarily represent the iewi of the paper; in fact the
contrary is often the case.
Letter of Interest
To the Editor: The follow
ing letter will without doubt
prove of interest to all vet
erans living on the west coast.
David Frisch
P.O. Box 292
While City, Ore.
Dear Mr. Frisch:
At the present time the Vet
erans Administration is con
ducting a pilot study of the
so-called Restoration Centers.
The first such center was
opened at the VA Hospital,
Mines, 111. in December, 1061,
and a second Restoration Cen
ter is now under construction
at the VA Hospital, East
Orange, N. J., and expected
to be opened in September of
this year.
The Veterans Administra
tion plans to transfer veterans
who have received maximum
hospital benefits and who, it
is felt may be rehabilitated
to a point where they may
continue to reside in their
own home or other abode
with a minimum of assistance.
The Veterans Administration
believes that many of those
patients may be rehabilitated
through various forms of
therapy and be able to stand
on their own In society, rather
than being admitted to a
domiciliary or like institu
tion. It is realized that many of
the elderly patients and
domiciliary members suffer
ing from circulatory and re
siduals of cerebral accidents
will not benefit to a great ex
tent from residence in a res
toration center but many of
those in the 40 and SO age
group can receive great bene
fit. It is not planned to have
the restoration center become
a substitute for the domicil
iary. However, If the restora
tion centers prove successful,
it is believed that the number
of veterans seeking domicil
iary life will decrease to a
marked extent.
Nicholas Lynch, Jr.
Asst. Director In Charge
of Field Service
Rehabilitation
Commission
The American Legion
Washington 6, D C.
Proof Needed
To the Editor: And paging
A.E.J, of the Manse, you say
that "Our Bible teaches us
that all men are God's chil
dren" and in another letter
that "true brotherhood a?
lived and taught by Jrsus."
Which brotherhood? Which
Bible? The "Bible" that the
N.C.C. got up of the 95 men
who were officially connect
ed with it 30 of them had
more than 05 communist
from connections, sonic as
high as 29, 23 and 22 fronts.
The King James Bible is a
translation from the original
languages. John 8:41 and 44
shows one family of brothers.
Jesus said to the Pharisees
and Scribes that "ye arc of
your father the devil," and
"ye do the deeds of your fa
ther." The rocond family of broth
ers is in John 8:19 when
Jesus told the same group
that, "ye neither know me
nor my Father." and John
8:54 Jesus said "it is my "a
tiier Hint honnreth inc." So
thrrc are two distinct croups
of Israelites from Exodus to
Revelation we find the two
groups. One , the believing
Israelites and two. the unbe
lieving Israelites. Paul label
ed them a believing Jews and
the unbelieving Jews. So as
we pretend to be brotherly
to the modernists and com.
munists lets remember that
Jesus who said "Love one an
other," also said. "Ye genera
tion of vipers how will ye
en-ape the damnation of
hell."
Frank Kook and Smoot are
right about Bctancourt. Bel nil
court's persecution by the
MAIL TRIBUNE. MCDFORP. OREGON
You Soar?"
Communists is on the samelaohs should be acmea, out
order as these church wolves
in sheeps-oops-long robes
who are touring our country
with the N.C.C. These wolves
travel around to and from
Russia in Soviet owned Jet
planes, piloted by Soviet pi
lots. At the W.C.C. conven
tion in New Delhi they ar
rived each day in a Soviet
Cadillac with a Soviet chauf
feur. Wc must be paying for this
U.S. tour, we always do. Yet,
an anti-Communist can't gel
into the country.
We must remember that
when we hear the words,
hate, terrorists, suspicious,
fear, slander, lies, vilification
it always means a patriot, no
matter what country. They
are never used for our en
emies.
The dictionary you use
must be a 50 pound size.
Could you find a lcs9 weighty
one? There is none in your
letters. There never are. We
get ours from Washington,
D.C., as well as from the Con
gressional Record and the
F.B.I.
Ella Powell
Box 621
Central Point, Ore.
Represent Both Sides
To the Editor: The indict
ment of the airlines serving
Medford is both unfair and
unrealistic. Scheduled air
lines are Intere -cd in serv
ing the largest community
need consistent with a profit
able operation. Before we
heap abuse at the airlines, it
would be interesting to note
the number of passengers
using the services during ?
Hods other than relatively
high density passenger traffic
experienced during the sum
mer vacation months.
How many times have
many of us flown north from
San Francisco or south from
Portland at the end of the
day and seen not more than
two or three passengers on
the plane en route to Med
ford. What does it cost to op
erate a twin engine sched
uled airliner from Portland
to Medford? Certainly more
than the revenue received
from three passengers.
Let's face it. Travel to
Portland via the freeway has
reduced travel time to the
point that air travel in and
out of Medford has diminish
ed. The airlines have proven
time and time again that giv
en ihc demand for service
they will provide it even if
they can do no more than
break even.
I suggest the committee of
the chamber of commerce In
quiring Into llilf problem try
lo represent both fides fair
ly without heaping unjusti
fied abuse on the airlines who
are after all in the business
to make money, not to lose
it.
(Name on File)
Medford.
The Twelve Great
To the Editor: I was Inter
esled in your recent editorial
dealing with the world's 12
greatest men. and the letters
pertaining to same appear
ing in your column. One let
tcr lists Jesus and !1 disciples
as the world's 12 greatest. It
is nlain this Derson is a fun
I damenlalist. while you and
your group are humanists. The
one greatest man by her eval
uation was (and is) a god.
and by such judgment of val
ues should be left out of the
list altogether, as He created
heaven and earth "and all
that in them is."
I am myself persuaded to
your view, and would like
to present my own list, with
the five most great at the top
of the list, all of them moral
ists: Moses, Confucius, Je
sus, The Buddha, and Karl
Marx. Perhaps one or mora
of the great Egyptian phar-
Foreign News: Next
Peace Maneuvering
By WILLIAM J. FOX
United Press International
Notes from the foreign
news cables:
Moa-Khrushchev
The next move in the Sino
Soviet peace maneuvering is
up to Premier Nikita Khru
shchev and could come in the
next few days or much later.
Whether Khrushchev will vis
it Communist Chinese Pre
mier Mao Tse-Tung, or vice
versa, remains a moot ques
tion among even the best
informed observers in London
and Moscow. In fact, diplo
mats in all capitals are hedg
ing their bets as to whether
they will even get together to
try to iron out their bitter
ideological differences.
There is some speculation
that Khrushchev might choose
to accept one of the optional
plans suggested by the Chi
nese, with a lower-ranking
delegation of either side go
ing to the capital of the other.
whose memories are lost to
the race: perhaps I should in
clude Mohammed and the
Paul of Biblical fame. Of the
remainder of the 12, I sug
eest the following: Plato, Ari
stotle, Alexander the Great,
Da Vinci, Columbus, Shake
speare, Beethoven, Darwin, A.
Lincoln, E. Einstein, ana t.
D. Roosevelt. But, as you see,
1 now have several more than
12, which I could not help
and yet do justice to the
world's greatest successes.
Of these latter men, Lincoln
and Roosevelt wore also mor
alists.
These particular listings in
evitably reveal the personal
nature of their originators,
as, for instance, I include
one general and two states
men. Alexander the Great is
included because of his
achievement of overspread
ing of Greek Civilization
Roman culture which follow
ed was essentially Greek.
F.D.R. and Lincoln are in
cluded because they are of
the stuff that would have
been deified in a more prim
itive age.
Any of these heroes could
have become gods, with the
help of legends, myths, and
magic attributions woven into
their reputations, and sever
al of them obviously did: We
are concerned in this matter
with the "cult of the person
ality" which present-day Rus
sia seems to deprecate.
I am perplexed concern
ing why, in your original edi
torial, you list Karl Marx as
one of the world's greatest,
and in the next sentence so
libel him as such a bad man.
Recall that a similar stigma
was placed on Charles Darwin
by the prejudiced not three
generations ago and is by
many today, and also that
Jesus and followers were
popularly regarded as bad
people during the first cou
ple of centuries, and that
Abraham Lincoln was with
out much fame for at least
a generation following his
martyrdom. It seems that the
truly great create a tempo
rary effervescence in the pud
ding of human tradition, until
future generations perceive
them from the proper per
spective.
Ralph D. McKinnis
P.O. Box 351,
Ashland, Ore.
God and the Veteran
To the Editor: The youthful
fervor of our wartime soldier,
sailor and Marine is sadly mis
sing in the Veteran of today.
Gone now from the majority
who "fit" in our wars is any
allegiance to the God of our
country.
A cool look at the thousand
residents of this Domiciliary
shows that from an average
750 Protestants only 30 attend
Chapel Sunday mornings and
that out of an everage 245
Catholics but 60 come to both
Masses Sunday?. Each Sunday
eve a different denomination
froin this area holds more
colorful services In the Thea
ter yet only 50 to 100 are
attracted by the excellent
music of these kindly neigh
bors or by the women singers.
Our gracious Government
relatively, spends as much on
our well - appointed Chapel
and two resident Chaplains
as on the dining facilities and
entertainment where the Vet
erans really congregate. And
nowhere could Veterans find
more considerate charitable
friends than in the Rev. John
E. Frarre and Father Law
rence Eskay!
Father Michael Rcilly of
Ml. Angel, Ore., relieves Fr.
Eskav for his summer vaca
tions. Filled with the spiritual
courage of Jesus and right
eously angered by the small
attendance he demanded
"Where arc these men? Why
they are in those other build-
But some Communist sources
in London have come up with
an interesting possible com
promise. They suggest that
if any meeting at all comes
up, it might be settled on
the basis of an exchange of
visits, with Khrushchev first
going to Peking, and then
Washington Report
By William
(c) United Feature Syndicate
Political Mine Fields
Washington - The Republi
cans and Democrats alike are
walking over political mine
pi fields now
over Castro
Cuba, and of
this their
wisest leaders
are poignant-
i0 ly aware. The
ultimate tear
of the ablest
Democrats is
that their
WMU party may
wind up convicted of undue
'softness" toward Communist
Cuba. The ultimate fear of
the ablest Republicans is that
theirs may wind up tagged as
the "war party." There is
every reason for both con
cerns. Rarely in the endlessly
marching world crises of
three decades have both
American parties confronted
such subtle crises of their
own in the matter of how to
deal with a foreign danger
with strength and yet with
prudence, with care for na
tional safely and with care
also for party safety.
N BOTH, the most profound
inner struggles are now go
ing on. Within the GOP one
set of antagonists is made up
of the top GOP congressional
leaders, notably Sen. Everett
Dirksen of Illinois and Rep.
Charles' Halleck of Indiana.
This set wishes to press the
Kennedy administration for
more action-but not enough
ings where they live like
animals. They are animals! I
have journeyed here for six
years and from what I know
of these veterans -if I were
Father E?kay- I would tear
the place to pieces or I would
quit."
And that was a truthful ver
sion of our Veterans and their
lusting after the things of the
flesh and wanting none of the
Spirit that presides over even
the very coin in their pocket.
And some more of these pa
triotic "infidels" listen to the
ritual prayers of the lay chap
lains of the American Legion,
Veterans of Foreign Wars and
Veterans World War I and
then go their ways as profane
ly as ever.
Were I Rabbi Morris Sand-
haus, Chief of the 700 VA
Chaplains, I would hire Father
Reilly and Billy Graham and
have them preach a Mission
in the 18 Domiciliary mess
halls that would apply to all
Veterans everywhere. They
would really reveal the true
facts of Life and of Death to
these vagrant minds who once
faced both so boldly. Our own
chaplains, alas, are too earth-
bound by official policy for
such adventurous apostleship.
The Chaplain Generals of
our Arms assert the spirit-
morale of our forces is high
er today than ever in history.
I doubt another war but if
there should be-there will be
no Veterans.
May God have mercy on
these lart about us and on
their foolish fleeting hours as
they attempt to cat, drink and
be merry even to their last
supper.
William Thomas Cuddy
VA Domiciliary
White City, Ore.
1 1- T-
"The lymtomi ere clear confusion, despondency,
frustration, a tendency toward irrationality- It's not a
virus, but when it reeches epidemic proportions it's
called the 'Cuban Flu'l"
Move in Sino-Soviet
Up to N. Khrushchev
some time not too long after
ward with Mao visiting Mos
cow. No Malaysia War
The concensus among ob
servers in Manila is that, de
spite the tough talk from all
sides, there will be no shoot-
S. Whit
action to accept the imminent
threat of major war.
The other set, typified by
Republican National Chair
man William E. Miller, de
mands far more risky moves
against Castro - for example
an unrestricted blockade
which in itself would be an
act of war.
WITHIN the Democratic
party one set of antagon
ists is made up primarily of
second-rank but articulate
bureaucrats from the adminis
tration. It wishes to halt sub
stantially all criticism of the
President. These people, men
like under secretary of state
George Ball, are really de
manding, consciously or not,
that the country simply take
all administration decisions
on Cuba on faith, and cease
making trouble.
The other Democratic fac
tion is exemplified by sen
ators like Stuart Symington of
Missouri, a 1960 presidential
aspirant, and Richard Russell
of Georgia, perhaps the most
influential single member in
either house of Congress. This
faction, while not fairly open
to the epithet "Warhawk," is
not at all satisfied the admin
istration has gone for enough
in coping with Castro.
Like the Dirksen-Halleck
wing of the GOP the Syming
tons and Russells would run
more risk than the President
is chancing, but would stop
short of the extreme line of
which Chairman Miller and,
say. Sen. Barry ioldwater,
are examples.
MOW, one other point
' should be totally under
stood. Nobody in these four
sets of earnestly contending
men differs with anybody
else as to the objective. All
most truly want to see an
end of communism in this
hemisphere. It is not differing
motives which are involved
here; it is differing judgments.
to me columnist, among
tne Republicans the Dirksens
and Hallecks are right, and
among the Democrats the
Russels and Symingtons are
right.
For, finally to adopt the
Miller line the GOP will at
tach the "War Party" label
to itself, with grave probable
p o 1 i t i c al consequences for
1964. Quite apart from the
grave error in substantive pol
icy that line would involve.
And if the Ball-administration
people prevail among the
Democrats , the Democratic
party will enter 1964 under
heavy charge that it did not
fully face up to communism
IVHAT is needed is a work
" ing concert among the
President, the Dirksens, Hall
ecks, Symingtons and Rus
sells, excluding alike the Mil
lers and Goldwaters and those
administration people who
cling to the claim that all is
well as it stands.
This concert should encour
age the President, as the final
authority, to set upon a pol
icy more affirmative than at
present but yet treating war
as the very last resort. Sure
ly such a policy, for one thing,
should contemplate a far
harder and more open pres
sure than is now being ex
erted upon our Latin-American
neighbors to see Cuba as
a hemisphere cancer and to
join with us to cut it out, one
way or another.
ing war over Malaysia. Most
believe the proposed new fed
eration will come into being
as scheduled on Aug. 31, de
spite objections and threats
from Indonesia and the Phil
ippines, and talk of increas
ing the size of armed forces
by Malaysia.
Seen as significant in this
peaceable trend were the al
most conciliatory remarks
made by Manila last Wednes
day by visiting Indonesian
Foreign Minister Subandrio.
At that time he supported tha
idea of a meeting to resolve
their differences over Malay
sia among Indonesia, the Phil
ippines and Malaya. "Nobody
is fond of war, certainly not
Indonesia," he said.
The key point is that Su
bandrio chose his words care
fully, and at no time made
any remarks which could be
construed as antagonistic to
Malaya.
Bonn Trade -
Now that West Germany
has concluded a far-reaching
trade pact with Communist
run Poland, look for the Bonn
government to move towards
stepped up trade relations
with other Communist bloc
lands. The government "bul
letin" in Bonn has encouraged
Communist countries to maka
overtures aimed at a gradual
improvement in rela t i o n s.
And well-informed sources in
dicate that such talks may
soon begin with Romania and
Hungary.
Strictly
Personal
By Sydney J. Harris
lc- Field Enterprises. Inc.
ON LETTER WRITING
A recent piece of mint
about writing letters and
the fact that there is no rela
. tions hip be-
ry ""i'l tween tha
ability to
write good let
ters and liter
ary skill in
-Ktfeenpral .
' H seemed to sur-
far I j prise some
5 i readers. Evi-
mm- expect a pro
fessional writer to be not
only adept but even eager to
indulge in personal corre
spondence. Actually, except for those
literary exhibitionists who
compose letters with a sly
glance at posterity (and who
also manage to keep copies
of their lengthy epistles), most
professional writers have lit
tle skill and less desire to
grind out words after work
ing hours. i
No one expects a surgeon
to perform a lobectomy just
for the fun of it, or a lawyer
to handle litigation as a hob
by, but somehow people as
sume that a writer likes noth
ing better than to spend his
spare time in pecking away
at the typewriter in an ec
static trance.
When the writer confess
es that he doesn't even
know how to compose a
really interesting letter,
this is taken as mere irony
or an excuse for laziness.
But the truth about this
sort of professional inca
pacity was amusingly re
vealed some years ago in
a book by Beatrice Houdini
about her late husband, the
great magician and escape
artist.
Houdini, as everyone
knows, was the cleverest
man with his hands who
ever lived. He could palm
52 cards, a complete, deck,
one after t h e other. He
could escape from hand
cuffs, strait jacket or a
trunk. No jail cell was able
to hold him.
But, in his personal life,
this amasing dexterity was
nowhere evident. Once,
Mrs. Houdini relates, he
was putting in a new light
bulb in her room, which
shattered lo bits on t h a
floor.
She rebuked him for this
clumsiness, he apologized pro
fusely, and went to fetch a
second bulb which also
slipped from his fingers and
smashed.
This lime she upbraided
him so fiercely that he hastily
left the house. An hour later,
a messenger appeared with
an envelope. The message
read: "Mr. Houdini wishes to
inform Mrs. Houdini that tho
first bulb fell out of his hand,
but the second one slipped.
He wishes to convey his sor
row, and promises that the
one that fell will never fall
again.
On another occasion, the
Houdinis were guests at g
country house party, when
the hostess asked for help in
arranging the table for a buf
fet supper. His wife saw Hou
dini volunteering, and re
marked: "He won't be any
good to them," adding in a
burst of confidence, "You
know, he's the most helpless
man in the world:'"