WILLIAMSBURG RESTORED
The Stocks in Colonial Williamsburg;.
Fascinating History of the Old
Center of the Colony of Virginia
Prepared by National Geographic Society.
Washington, D. C.-WNU Service.
ILLIAMSBURG since
its recent restoration
has been one of the
most popular historic spots
in the Old Dominion state.
The restoration is dedicated
to the hope and purpose “that
the future may learn from
the past.” It is designed to
preserve and re-create the
symbols and memorials of a
creative and colorful period
of American history. The
compelling reasons for its
restoration lie in the historic
background of the city, and in
the intrinsic simplicity and
alluring beauty of its archi
tectural form.
Colonial Williamsburg grew from
the seeds of thought and purpose
which were planted by the devotees
of liberty. It is necessary, if you
would understand the significance of
the restoration, that you should
pause upon the portals of the city
restored, and appraise the educa
tional and social values inherent in
its historical background.
A map of the territory given to the
Virginia company by King James I
under the royal charter of 1606
would show that it first embraced a
strip of land, from 75 to 100 miles
wide, extending along the Atlantic
seaboard from what now is South
Carolina to the present Canadian
border.
Within these bounds, or just be
yond, it then was confidently be
lieved, would be found the shores of
the great western sea which would
thence afTord a near route to India
and to other eastern lands.
'‘Virginia” Had a Vast Area Then.
Neither gold nor the shores of
the Pacific ocean having been dis
covered within this area, the char
ter of 1609 extended the bounds of
the colony to the shores of the west
ern sea, wherever those shores
might be. This territory in both
documents was named Virginia.
From time to time this area was
curtailed by subsequent royal char
ters, or by ceded territory, so that
in 1753 the Virginia territorial
claims embraced the area now In
cluded in the western part of Penn
sylvania, and the states of Virginia,
West Virginia, Kentucky, Ohio, Indi
ana, and Illinois.
The area now included within the
states of Michigan and Wisconsin
was added and the Virginia claims
were confirmed by the conquest, in
1779, of the Northwest Territory
by George Rogers Clark.
"It has been held,” says the au
thor of “A Brief and True Report
. . . Concerning Williamsburg and
Virginia,” "that the History of the
chief City of a Country is, in great
Measure, the History of that Coun
try itself. And if there be any
Truth in this Philosophy, it will be
left to the Reader to judge how
much greater would be that Truth
if the chief City should also be the
only City of Consequence in such a
Country: For, through those Years
of the Eighteenth Century in which
it was the Metropolis of the Vir
ginia Colony, Williamsburg was not
only the Seat of Virginia’s Govern
ment, but also the Principal Seat of
its Religion, Education, Society,
Commerce, and Fashion."
Now in a National Park.
Jamestown, Williamsburg, and
Yorktown, located within a radius of
20 miles upon the Virginia peninsu
la, which lies between the James
river and the York, are inseparably
united. Williamsburg was the suc
cessor to Jamestown, while the
fame of Yorktown grew out of the
high resolves initiated by the House
of Burgesses in Williamsburg and
similar action taken in Massachu
setts and the other colonies.
These three places have recently
been embraced within the bounds
of the Colonial National Historical
park. Williamsburg, however, is not
owned or controlled by the National
Park service. They now are being
physically united by the Colonial
National Historical Park highway,
which has already been built from
Yorktown to the outskirts of Wil
liamsburg and is designed to be ex
tended to Jamestown.
The voices which echo from de
serted Jamestown, from the wilder
ness outposts of Middle Plantation,
and from Yorktown, must be heard
if the voices which speak through
Williamsburg restored are to be
understood.
The lone, ivy-mantled church tow
er at Jamestown marks the be
ginning of the long vista through
which Williamsburg must be viewed
if it is to be seen in true perspec
tive, for its glory is reflected upon
Williamsburg.
Jamestown became the first per
manent English settlement in
America when, on May 13, 1607, the
colonists landed there and named
their place of settlement for King
James.
There they built a church and
later a statehouse and simple
homes. There, In 1619, convened in
the church the first representative
legislative assembly held in the
New world. There they tried com
munal government, which was soon
followed by "starving time.” There
they had dealings with autocratic
governors and tobk part in Bacon’s
Rebellion in 1676.
How Williamsburg Was Created.
During this rebellion Jamestown
was burned and Sir William Berke
ley, the royal governor, who had
roundly damned education, print
ing presses, and Bacon and his fol
lowers, made the rebellion of 1676
the prophecy of the Revolution of
1776.
“Seasoning sickness,” and the
abundance of other trials and dis
contents, culminating in the fire
which in 1698 again destroyed the
statehouse, brought to a climax the
thought of abandoning Jamestown
for a more nearly central location
for the capital of the colony.
Near Jamestown, midway be
tween the James river and the
York, was Middle Plantation, soon
to become Williamsburg.
The seeds of this place had been
sown by the Indians on a rampage
in 1622, during which fully one
third of the English settlers in Vir
ginia were massacred.
Consequently, at a "Grand As
sembly of the Council and Bur
gesses holden at James City
(Jamestown), in 1633, it was or
dered: that a palisade be built
across the peninsula from estua
ries of the James River and the
York” (about six miles), so that a
region of safety for the inhabitants
and their cattle might be secured,
extending eastward to Old Point
Comfort, at the end of the penin
sula.
College of William and Mary,
Meanwhile, Middle Plantation had
been chosen as the site of the sec
ond college in what is now the
United States.
The College of William and Mary
was destined to play a dominating
part in the history of Virginia, in
the establishment of Williamsburg
as the second capital of colonial
Virginia, and in the culmination of
the thought of the restoration of
Williamsburg.
In 1693 Rev. Dr. James Blair,
commissary in Virginia of the Lord
Bishop of London, and also minister
of the church at Jamestown, ob
tained from King William and
Queen Mary the royal charter for
the building of the College of
William and Mary in Virginia. The
General Assembly ordered: “ . . ,
that Middle Plantation be the place
for erecting the said college of Wil
liam and Mary in Virginia and that
the said college be at that place
erected and built as neare the
church now standing in Middle
Plantation old flields as conveni
ence will permitt . .”
And so the college was set down
near the church and its location
largely determined the site and
plan of the future city of Williams
burg.
I SEj£N
HEARD
ardund the
NATIONAL
CAPITAL
py Carter Field ^
Washington.—It becomes increas
ingly apparent with every passing
month that President Roosevelt has
not successfully replaced Louis Mc
Henry Howe. It is absurd to say
that Howe was Roosevelt’s political
brain. As a matter of fact Roose
velt often overrode Howe’s judg
ment. For instance, back in the
1932 campaign Louis Howe moved
| heaven and earth to prevent Roose
velt from making the swing to the
Pacific coast. But Roosevelt went.
He wanted to go.
But again and again Howe would
be able to stop Roosevelt from do
ing or saying something that might
have unexpected and bad repercus
sions. No one who knew the two
men believes that Howe would not
have prevented the President’s
opening up the story about the rift
between the White House and Vice
President John Nance Garner.
Actually it was one of the worst
publicity moves made by Roosevelt
in his entire political career.
Let’s look at the history of this
particular item. Chapter one was
a sentence in a story by Arthur
Krock, published on the editorial
page of the New York Times. Krock
knows his Washington from the days
of the Taft administration, when
he was correspondent here for the
Louisville Courier Journal. He is
shrewd and discerning, and his judg
ment is greatly respected.
An article, printed on the editori
al page, would be skipped over by
many readers who were not actu
ally Krock fans. Unfortunately for
the President, in this case, there
are a good many Krock fans among
the Washington newspaper men. So
they asked the President if it were
true that Mr. Garner had made the
remark about letting the cattle—big
and little business—put on a little
fat.
Garner in Opposition
Roosevelt could have turned the
thing off with a joke. He could have
Just smiled and said he hadn’t seen
the story—his normal procedure
on anything threatening to become
embarrassing.
But he didn't. He demonstrated
to the reporters that he had worried
about the story by telling them he
hod asked the Vice President about
it, and had been assured by the
Vice President that he didn’t soy it.
Which immediately put the story
in every newspaper in the land, ac
companied by the alleged Garner
opinion that the cattle (business—
big and little) should be allowed to
put on a little fat.
It makes no difference now wheth
er Garner said it or not. It sounds
like Garner, and it is a logic which
at the moment is very appealing to
the country.
out the real danger is this. Ac
tually Garner and the President are
very far apart indeed on many im
portant issues, notably spending—
the very issue on which the fight
is now raging. So every day, al
most without exception, there is
some reference to Garner’s attitude
in the stories that come out of Wash
ington about government spending.
And the probability is that this will
continue for at least a month.
And, the President having gone
as far as he did, Garner simply
cannot do anything to stop it without
stultifying himself. All of which
spells loss of prestige for Roosevelt
among a great many Democrats
who admire and agree with Garner.
Question of Dare
Although the vote by which the
house pigeonholed President Roose
velt’s pet reorganization bill has
been hailed from one end of the
country to the other by critics of
the New Deal as marking the turn
of the tide, actually there is a good
deal of doubt in the minds of most
senators and representatives, even
those who bucked him on this and
some other issues, as to just how
strong the President remains with
the folks back home.
A careful canvass of a number of
members of the house who voted
against the President on reorganiza
tion discloses that for the most part
they voted as they thought a ma
jority of their constituents wanted
them to vote. They were glad to
; find this backing for the vote, for
j in almost every instance the mem
bers approached wanted to vote
against the bill. It was just a ques
tion if they dared to do it.
But a considerable sprinkling of
the letters Democratic representa
tives received urging them to vote
against the bill—and considering
1 only letters from people they knew,
■ or knew about—did not indicate any
| swerving of loyalty to the Presi
j dent. Lots of the people thought the
President should not be given tins
power because they were afraid
j some of his lieutenants would mis
! use it!
In other words, plenty of voters
| are strong for the President who
; would not trust Harold L. Ickes
across the street. Plenty of others
don't mention Ickes, but think Jim
Farley's political activities should
be restrained. Still another group
i is strong for the President but has
no use for Henry A. Wallace. And
a tremendous lot of them, without
voicing antagonism to any partic
ular New Deal official, insisted that
the comptroller’s office should be
maintained 100 per cent independ
ent of White House control, and
should continue to audit and ap
prove payments to be made from
the Treasury before they are made.
In short, just because a lot of voters
approved Mr. Roosevelt personal
ly, and thought he was making a
fine President, they did not propose
to set up a change in the govern
ment which might make it easier
for some lieutenant or aide to get
away with something.
Makes Them Foggy
There is so much of this in the
mail of so many Democratic rep
resentatives that it is no wonder
they are a bit foggy as to what
the President’s strength really is.
It is a truism, as old as the pick
ing of tribal chieftains, that loyalty
is given to the king—but not to the
king’s ministers. It is much easier
to understand in the British system,
where the king’s ministers may be
kicked out of office overnight, but
the king goes right on undisturbed.
It is not as logical when applied
to the United States form of gov
ernment, for actually the President
is responsible for his lieutenants.
Most of them he can fire at will.
Most of his actions, save on the
really big issues, are really decided
uj menu.
But the loyalty out in the country
which makes a President strong is
not to them. It is to him alone.
Few even of the most rabid parti
sans of President Roosevelt will ar
gue that he has a good cabinet.
This is not necessarily a commen
tary on the caliber of his official
family. For party leaders of every
party have always deplored the cab
inet selections of their Presidents.
Their loyalty is to him alone.
And that goes for the individual
cabinet members as well as the
folks who write to their congress
men. There is not a member of the
cabinet who does not think he could
vastly improve the administration if
he could toss half a dozen of his
colleagues out the window and pick
their successors.
Faces a Problem
Robert L. Doughton, chairman of
the house ways and means commit
tee, faces a problem in the confer
ences between the house and senate
on the tax bill, which only a South
erner can understand. It revolves
around the idea of unswerving loy
alty to the Democratic party, and
to whoever is leader of that party
at the moment, regardless of one’s
private opinions.
As a matter of fact two of Dough
ton's Democratic colleagues in the
house from North Carolina are re
fusing to run for reflection because
of this same problem. They do not
like the New Deal. They disapprove
most of the administration meas
ures, but they regard themselves al
most as soldiers in the line of battle.
They do not feel they have any
right to do anything else than what
the general says—especially on any
question which by any remote
stretch of the imagination could be
classified as a party issue.
wua norses could not drag it irom
Doughton in a public statement but
in private conversations with many
friends he has indicated, again and
again in the last few months, that
he was fed up with the present sit
uation. He is still seriously consid
ering not being a candidate for re
election this fall. Yet just a year
ago Doughton was thinking of round
ing out his career with a term in
the senate.
So that President Roosevelt’s spe
cial letter to Doughton and to Sen
ator Pat Harrison, insisting that the
principle of the tax on undistrib
uted corporation earnings be re
tained, put the North Carolina vet
eran very much on the spot.
Actually the house leaders were
afraid, when the senate tax bill was
brought to the house, that it might
be accepted by acclamation without
being sent to conference at all.
Badly Scared
So frightened were they that
Doughton himself appealed to his
colleagues personally, saying on the
floor that questions and proposals
indicated the house didn’t have
much faith in its committee.
This is the sort of appeal the
house seldom denies, especially to
a man who has its whole-souled re
spect to the degree that Robert
Doughton has. So the bill was sent
to the conference with no strings
on the house conferees. This was be
fore the receipt of the Roosevelt
letter demanding that the house
provision, instead of the senate pro
vision on undistributed earnings, be
retained.
Harrison snapped back at the
President. Doughton said nothing.
But the senators on the conference
committee know how the house
feels. They know the administra
tion leaders in the house were
afraid of a test vote just before
sending the bill to conference.
Incidentally, the HarriSon state
ment was one of two chickens that
came home to roost within a week,
to the annoyance of the White
House. It was the President’s in
fluence that beat Pat Harrison by
one vote for Democratic leader of
the senate. It was also the Presi
dent’s influence that beat John J.
O’Connor of New York for house
Democratic leader. O'Connor vir
tually led the fight that beat the
President’s pet reorganization bill,
much as it must have galled him
to be on the same side as Father
Coughlin.
<6 Bell Syndtcate.—WNU Service.
Ttoyd Gi^onsL.
ADVENTURERS’ CLUB J
HEADLINES FROM THE LIVES *
OF PEOPLE LIKE YOURSELF!
. ... ..■■■■■■
“Tale of a Modern Mariner *
By FLOYD GIBBONS
Famous Headline Hunter
Hello everybody:
Remember that old phrase “Son of a Sea-Cook?”
Well, right here in this club we’ve got one of those old sea
cooks who are supposed to have such ornery offspring. And
by golly, I’d be proud to be the son of this sea-cook.
Yes, sir, this sea cook is H. K. Nixon of Elizabeth, N. J., and he
tells one of those yarns that Joseph Conrad and the rest of those sea
story writers would have given their right eye to get hold of.
Why, this yarn of a modern mariner makes that old rime
of the ancient mariner seem like a bedtime story. Here are the
words and music:
By Jiminy, this adventure of sea cook, Nixon—the crew all called
him Nix for short—starts out with a whale o{.a good word—barkentine—
just like a first-rate pirate story. It was the barkentine St. James, of
San Francisco, and that proud old rakish barque was converted into a
coal hulk. Just to get even, the St. James started building up a history
that made her known all up and down the Pacific coast as the “Haunted
Hulk." When the war came on they converted her back into a barkentine,
but her pride had been wounded and she kept right on being a haunted
ship.
All Kinds of Bad Luck Signs.
Well, Captain Martin Anderson sailed her into Seattle, loaded her with
mine timbers and cleared for Delagoa bay, South Africa.
Shiver my timbers, if that wasn’t a haunted voyage. It almost gave
sea cook Nix the shivers before the St. James got out of the harbor. Be
fore she cast off, the ship’s cat jumped ashore three times and that was
a pretty strange beginning of a voyage. But that cat was thrown back
aboard and maybe she was the mascot that brought that crew through.
And then a few miles out two wild geese swooped down out of the
sky and came aboard the St. James. Cook Nixon did to those birds just
what the ancient mariner did to that albatross. The crew said there
She Broke Her Back on the Coral Reefs.
would be trouble and, by the beard of Neptune, there was trouble. But
unlike the ancient mariner, Cook Nixon wasn’t the goat for what
happened.
Wrecked on Island of Oneno.
Coming out of the straits of San Juan de Fuca, the St. James ran
into a howling southeaster. The gale raged for nine days and drove
the barkentine far out of her course. The old St. James battled through
that mad Pacific. She battled bravely, but finally with a splintering smash
of timbers, she broke her back on the coral reefs of the island of Oneno.
The crew took to their boats, but there was little chance for
rescue out there in that vast South Pacific. They rode four days
and nights before low headlands and a fringe of palms lay before
them. Then the lifeboats scraped on the beach of the historic
island of Pitcairn at the break of day, December 17, 1918.
Well, those sailors from the St. James dragged their boats up into
Bounty bay—named after that old mutiny ship—and waited. It was a
swell spot to be shipwrecked in, but it wasn’t the world for Cook Nixon,
nor for Skipper Anderson, nor for the first mate—the second mate and
the Bos’n, who were all named Hansen. For 32 days they kept a lookout
up on that hill beside the ship’s bell and cannon of the old Bounty, hoping
to see a friendly sail.
. Islander Had Broken His Neck.
Well, sir, shipwrecked as that crew was, they weren’t in half as bad
a spot as one of the islanders named Lindsay. Three months before
Nix and his shipmates arrived, Lindsay was hunting wild goats, and
pitched over a precipice. He broke a leg and doggone near broke his
neck. There he was, slowly dying out there on the Pacific and not a
doctor or a nurse on the island. Cook Nixon looked Lindsay over and de
cided he’d do some life-saving while waiting to be saved himself.
That’s just where the sea cook became a hero and earned himself
a reputation for being one of the fastest thinkers in an emergency that
I ever heard of. He went to work on Lindsay. Drugs?—well, Nix
figured out a liniment. He used the acid juice of lime as an irritant, and
cocoanut oil as a lubricant, and went to work on that dislocated neck
that made Lindsay almost helpless. Sure enough, in three days time
that terribly swollen neck of Lindsay’s was reduced. But his head was
still contorted and he suffered agonizing pains at the nape of his neck.
Nixon kept thinking this over. One night he jumped out of his
bunk with an idea. Nix shot out of camp yelling, "Lord, man, I’ve
got it!” and he dashed into Lindsay’s house at 2:30 a. m. and got him out
of bed. Nix sat Lindsay down on a chair and told him to hold tight with
both hands. Nix grabbed him by the head, put his thumbs under his jaw
and lifted as though he were heaving the old St. James’ anchor.
How Nix Fixed It Up.
Suddenly there was a snap. A vertebra which had been twist
ed and held fast by one of those tendons Nix had been mas
saging, snapped back into place and Lind,say shot out of that chair
like he’d been sitting on a hot stove.
Well, sir, that Islander tried turning his neck in all directions.
By jiminy, it worked as well as ever. He almost wagged his head off
trying out his new neck. Nix tells me that Lindsay started to laugh
and then cry and wound up by doing a series of hand springs and
flip flops. And then Lindsay hustled out of that hut, ran up the hill to the
old Bounty bell and began hammering like a bass drummer, trying to
get all the islanders together so he could tell them the good news.
And that ended the curse that hung over the crew of the haunted
barkentine St. James. When daylight broke, there was a smudge of
smoke on the horizon. It was the old Dominion liner, Port Augusta. Cap
tain Allen of the Port Augusta laid her by until that shipwrecked crew of
the badluck barkentine—yes, sir, and the ship’s cat also—pulled out
through the surf breaking over the coral reefs and climbed on board. The
Port Augusta dropped Nixon and his shipmates in Sydney, Australia.
Copyright.—WNU Service.
Columbia Has Old Church Tiles
Two tiles, taken from the oldest
church in the Western hemisphere
and presented to Dr. Nicholas Mur
ray Butler, president of Columbia
university, as a commemoration of
his visit last year to Santo Domingo,
now hang in the Spanish house at
Columbia. Both ceramics are ac
companied by papers certifying that
they come from the Iglesia de San
Nicolas, which was built in the old
city of Santo Domingo 14 years after
Columbus arrived in America.
Lipstick of Hindu Women
The lipstick of Hindu women is
pan or betel leaf chewed with chu
nam lime, which leaves the tongue,
teeth and lips as ruddy as a sunset.
Most distinctive item in the Hindu
woman’s make-up is the wafer
stamped between her brows. This
is not a caste-mark. When black,
the wafer is made of burnt, pow
dered sago, mixed with sandalwood
oil; when pink, it comes from the :
dried and powdered “kumku” flow
er, common in the land.
I
WHO’S
NEWS
THIS
WEEK
I I
By LEMUEL F. PARTON
NEW YORK.—Georges Bonnet,
France’s new foreign minister,
has been a vigorous advocate of a
British-French-American alliance.
He is regarded as
French May more in accord
Join Four with the Chamber
Power Pact lain P°licies thai*
his predecessors.
With the downfall of the Left gov
ernment, the conclusion of an Anglo
Italian agreement and the appoint
ment of M. Bonnet, interpreters of
European politics see an advance
toward a four-power pact, possibly
five-power, with Poland in, and the
further isolation and immobiliza
tion of Russia.
The abandonment of tbe
French-Soviet treaty is expected
to be an immediate issue in what
is regarded as a sharply clari
fying outline of dominant conser
vative policy in France and
England.
M. Bonnet, shrewd, suave, dressy,
is a somewhat rakish figure, with
his hat usually on the back of his
head, but a personage of power and
dignity in the political forum. He
is of the younger school of French
politics, and, in that connection, one
of the best Jai Alai players in
France.
At his country place at St.
Georges de Didonne, he spends
much time making
M. Bonnet incredible kanga
Cuts Didos roo leaps, playing
on Estate Pelota basciue> a*:
they call it there.
But, in statesmanship, he is no rub
ber-heeled bounding basque. He
is rather a wary and adroit fencer.
When he was appointed ambas
sador to the United States in Janu
ary, 1937, he brought with him a
year’s supply of truffles and pate
de foies gras. He had to take
most of it back, however, as, in
July, he was recalled to save the
franc in the Chautemps cabinet.
ne was supposed 10 nave
saved it, but, as usual, it didn’t
stay saved, and, in the turn of
the Ferris wheel, which is
French politics, typ was down
under and up again.
He is an economist, but also a
philosopher and author, in the cham
ber of deputies from southwest
France at the age of thirty-six and
a former minister of budget, pen
sions and finance. He budgets a
few wisps of hair carefully across
his bald pate and surveys the world
warily through gold-rimmed spec
tacles.
• • *
JAPAN’S strongly authoritarian
government, with its feudal car
ry-over, has never fitted exactly into
any of the molds of ultra-modern
absolutism. The
Spotlight intensifying issue
Now on Jap of fascism which
Strong Man may force out
present govern
ment spotlights several likely-look
ing "strong men’’ as possible suc
cessors to Premier Konoye.
The only one with apparently
clearly formulated ideas, and a flu
ent line of totalitarian talk is War
Minister General Hajimi Sugiyama.
After several years of Euro
pean post-graduate studies in di
rect action, he returned to talk
of “national renovation,” “de
cadent parliamentarianism,’*
“unity and discipline,” the the
like. More than any other lead
er, he employs the standard
terminology of fascism—if that
means anything.
On May 27, 1937, he gave the diet
quite a lacing and said that it would
have to behave, or
Sugiyama “we will dissolve
Tells Diet it.” Since he was
to Behave then a member of
the ruling military
triumvirate, this was no casual edi
torial "we.”
While he is fifty-eight years old,
he hits big-time politics with a
strong momentum, not a contender
for high place until 1936, and hence
not track-sore, like some of his ri
vals. He did not become a general
until 1936, after the army revolt
early in that year. He had been
vice-minister of war and head of
the military air force.
His heavily underslung face rest
ing, reckless, on a heavy torso, is
asymmetrical, with one eyebrow al
ways cocked, one side watchful and
mobile, the other hardened in
the set of a Benda mask of a dicta
tor. He is of the army caste, gradu
ated from the national military col
lege. He represented Japan in the
1926 disarmament conference at
Geneva, remaining in Europe for
several years thereafter.
© Consolidated News Features.
WNU Service.
Males "Night Owls”
A Minnesota scientist has an
nounced that, among most insects,
males stay out at night later than
females. He discovered this while
testing the attraction of farm bugs
to various colored lights to get them
to swarm against baffle plates at
night and drop into poisonous solu
tions.