Prairieland Talk . . .
Washington Tempo a Killer
By ROMAINE SAUNDERS. Retired. Former Frontier Editor
LINCOLN—Governor Crosby has made two
appointments to fill vacancies because of the
death of both U.S. senators from Nebraska, and
his predecessor made one such appointment, three
called by death within three years.
A striking similarity in the death of each.
During visits to Washington the engineer of this
department thought it would be
a killer to live there and each
time felt impelled to get back to
prairieland. The long list of
names to appear on the primary
ballot under “United States sen
ator — vote for one,” discloses
that there are many Nebraska
patriots ready for the sacrifice.
The possibility of entering the
contest — perish the thought—
for the two-months’ term sug- _
gested itself to me, more or less Romaine
an idler at home, as it seemed a
pity to take worthwhile citizens Saunders
who are needed at home out of circulation and
send such a one to Washington.
* * •
Fire that destroyed the house and everything
in it two miles south of Emmet a day in August,
1901, left the John Maring family without a place
to lay their heads. A guest who had been visit
ing the family, Miss Atkinson, sustained the loss
of $54 in money, a gold watch and some other
things. The family was away and the origin
oi the fire was not known. . The First National
bank people that summer opened a bank in In
man. . . The 3-year-old son of Mr. and Mrs. Walt
O’Malley sustained more of a fright than serious
iniury when he tumbled off a wagon. . . Modem
trends in O’Neill that year: Con Reka got an auto
mobile, and John Weeks promoted telephone in
troduction into the community. . . Jim Triggs
and Sherd Simmons went to Rosebud, S.D., to
work on a large church being built there, maybe
the only church relationship for either.
* * *
O'Neill has been a focal point for a few
shooting scrapes, a Barret Scott lynching, po
litical scraps and after-election knock-downs.
Little Arctic, wind and atmosphere experiments
and favored as the only spot where a total
eclipse of the sun could be witnessed in the
Twentieth century.
* » *
A 5-year-old lad came across the street pull
ing his wagon. But the concrete pavement ended
at the curb. That meant difficulty. But the engi
neering ability to overcome difficulties shows up
early in the young. The little fellow rolled the
front wheels over the curb by simply pulling on
the hand-grip. Then he went to the back of the
wagon, raised it up and gave a push. He was over
the hump with his load. There are humps along
life’s highway to be surmounted. These are the
things that build human character and develop
fortitude. The difficulties of life are overcome, as
the little boy solved the problem of getting his
wagon over the hump.
* * *
Another of the pioneers who had to do with
educational interests of O’Neill and county schools
has gone the way of all the earth. Mrs. Grace
Shanner died July 6 in Washington, D.C. Mrs.
Shanner was the widow of the late L. T. Shanner,
an early day merchant of Inman, a state senator
in the ’90’s, and an uncle of Paul and Luther
Shanner of Page. Mrs. Shanner, a sister of mine,
may be remembered by a few in O’Neill, now
greying at the temples, who were her pupils in
the public schools in the long ago.
* * *
The day was hot. The downtown business
street was thronged with "special sale" shop
pers hurrying to bargain counters. A little black
dog lay down in the shade on the sidewalk clat
tering to the tramp of hurrying feet, laid his
head between outstretched paws and went to
sleep._
Through a recent government move to stimu
late industrial activity, the federal reserve has
cut the bank reserve requirements. This is ex
pected to make money available for loans here
tofore held in reserve funds and also have the ef
fect of reducing interest rates and stimulate
building and other industry generally. Behind all
the speculation as to ultimate results lurks a big
IF. More homes built and a flood of mortgages
to be registered. The one-room “love nest” free
of debt of a vanishing generation no longer suf
fices. Tobacco men of the department of agricul
ture in Washington are reported disclosing a
slump in the industry following the harmful pro
nouncemetns of medical science. The farm end of
the tobacco business is a one-billion-dollar indus
try and the factory and marketing end reap a
harvest of five billion, according to government
reports.
* * *
All is hushed; not a leaf quivers. The day has
been hot, night will be hot. Merciless heat hung
over the city as the sun, now disappearing, trav
eled the highway of centuries once more across ,
the unclouded blue above prairieland. We have
sweat it out another day. Out in the gloaming
sings a lone katydid. Those wise to the ways of
the weather have said that frost comes down the
walk of time within six weeks following the
katydid’s first serenade. The weather bureau at
the nation’s capital warns us that July is to be
hot and dry throughout the Great Plains region.
And July is the season of vacation trips. Will it
be Long Pine canyon, Chadron park, a Rocky
mountain resort or a cooling sea breeze as you
stand at the ocean’s shoreline watching the
breakers wash the sand at your feet? Probably
neither.
* * •
The public purse is constantly raided witty
those creating it having nothing to say about the
raids. A young outlaw is confined in the Nebras
ka penitentiary for crimes committed and now
added to his criminal career he has been charged
with killing a penitentiary worker. In step the
“psychiatric experts” and pronounce the young
devil “mentally ill,” and collect a fee for saying
what any sensible person already knew. Mentally
ill is a nice way to gloss over the spawns of hell
who defy the laws of God and man. Mentally ill
indeed! The criminal is a crazy, vicious specimen
of mankind, by deliberate choice flouting moral
values and honorable life in organized society.
The recourse to “mentally ill” is coddling all too
many desperados.
* * *
Have Nebraskans no concern any more over
national and public affairs? No community puts
on an independence day program worth going
two blocks to attend and candidates are discover
ing indifference as to who is elected. One candi
date for the nomination for U S. senator drew a
gathering of 10 patriots at one stop to listen
to his talk and 12 turned up in another town.
Maybe the little interest shown indicates citi
zens are satisfied with the federal and state af
fairs as now carried on. An earlier generation put
on the “grand Fourth of July celebration” and if
a political speech was given the “town hall” could
scarcely accommodate the crowds. A political
spellbinder drew a crowd like Billy Graham con
fronts.
* * *
The 1954 Nebraska wheat crop got started to
market in late June and the lucky guy with a few
carloads was enriched a fraction over $2.15 a
bushel, which probably means two bits for a dime
loaf is to continue indefinitely. Federal price
supports place a gold crown on the wheat farm
er and place a burden on the community laboring
man toiling to feed his family.
Editorial . . .
Buffet Gets Cold Shoulder
Three times during the past three years
-death has created vacancies among Nebraska’s
U.S. senators. Each time the powers that be over
looked an outstanding candidate for the job in se
lecting a replacement.
We are referring to Former Congressman
Howard Buffett of Omaha.
The senators who died in office, in order,
were Kenneth S. Wherry, Dwight Griswold and
Hugh Butler. Certainly Wherry and Butler were
the epitome of conservatism and both were ex
tremely popular among Nebraska republicans.
It would be reasonable that Buffett, who served
several terms in the house of representatives,
would be a logical successor because he, also,
wears the conservative label and is spokesman for
the right wing of the party. Buffett is an invest
ment banker in Omaha and bas yearned for the
seat in the upper house, yet he was never willing
to oppose Butler at the polls. Buffett also is much
younger.
Nebraska politics have several curious as
pects. The rule of thumb is that one U.S. senator
should come from Omaha or Lincoln, the other
from outstate. Hence, when Wherry died an out
stater was appointed; when Griswold died an out
stater was called upon to fill the vacancy; when
Butler died an Omahan—Sam Reynolds—got the
interim nod. Likewise, Roman Hruska, presently
a congressman from Omaha, received the bless
ings from the state GOP bigwigs to land his name
on the primary ballot next month.
Butler’s term had four years to go. The law
provides an appointment shall be made by the
governor to serve until the next regular election.
That is why Reynolds got the interim nod and is
already seated.
Hruska is pulling out of the house (where
he is a freshman) to be the GOP nominee, and
James A. Green, Omaha attorney, becomes the
demo nominee, also by delegate vote.
Why Buffett should be given the cold shoul
der by the GOP leaders is more than we can
understand.
Hruska, while an extremely fine fellow,
hardly has proved himself on capitol hill. Buffett
knows his way around that place and knows well
his history lessons, too. He’s been a keen student
of national and international affairs and would
give Nebraskans the kind of representation Ne
braskans traditionally want.
Our guess is that Buffett will be heard from
in due course and one dav will be in the U.S. sen
ate.
Kids splashing in the new swimming pool
gladden the hearts of any adult visiting the scene.
The pool is a great asset to our city and its value
will be appreciated increasingly as time goes on.
Gone, but Not Forgotten
The Reconstruction Finance corporation, a
“temporary” government agency created 22 years
ago, officially has expired:
It has been like killing the cat with nine
lives to get rid of this outworn institution.
It was set up to bail out banks and railroads
at the start of the great depression. First thing
we knew, it was a big banker, lending money
right and left, to alphabet agencies in the gov
ernment and comers of all kinds.
When the war came along, it speedily was
converted into a war agency, and made bigger.
After the war, it went merrily along dishing out
loans to snake farms, gambling joints and what
not. Pretty soon it was swamped in scandals —
mink coats, free vacations and other favors for its
officials; bad deals for the taxpayers.
In the windup, the RFC claims a net profit of
$647,000,000. But there were some fancy losses—
such as the $30,000,000 Lustron deal in prefab
ricated houses.
Now that the RFC is more dr less dead (some
of its functions simply are being shifted else
where) perhaps the president and congress can go
to work on some of the other “business” agencies
which are spread all around Washington.
A headline in the current issue of Collier’s
magazine suggests the United Nations organiza
tion is dying. Maybe it should. No nation in all
history has grabbed more pjeople, land and natural
resources than has Russia on the floors of the
UN assembly.
LFrontier
CARROLL W. STEWART, Editor and Publisher
Editorial & Business Offices: 122 South Fourth St.
Address correspondence: Box 330, O’Neill, Nebr.
Established in 1880—Published Each Thursday
Entered at the postofficp in O’Neill, Holt
county, Nebraska, as second-class mail matter
under the Act of Congress of March 3, 1879. This
newspaper is a member of the Nebraska Press
Association, National Editorial Association and
the Audit Bureau of Circulations.
Terms of Subscription: In Nebraska, $2.5G per
year; elsewhere in the United States, $3 per
year; rates abroad provided on request All sub
scriptions are paid-in-advance. -
Audited (ABC) Circulation—2,335 (Mar. 31, 1954)
News, Views
and Gossip
BY THE EDITOR
Reunion with Davey
I found him stretched out on a
sofa on the 30th floor of the
Time & Life building. He was
reading a pocket-size novel. It
was mid-afternoon on Saturday
—day before the Fourth of July.
Most of the desks in the ed
itorial offices of Life magazine
were deserted and most of the
desks compared favorably in
terms of tidiness with the work
bench of a weekly newspaper
editor.
His secretary was busy with
her nails and contemplating the
long weekend—perhaps an out
ing on Cape Cod.
I marched in and extended my
hand.
“How the hell are you, Cal’”
quizzed the little bespectacled
man, fatter and balder than
when I knew him during our
World War II days together in
England.
“Have you looked up Tex?”
he asked in a quick succession of
questions. These from a little
guy I had sought out in the
lofty office suite oyerlooking the
East river in New York City.
“No,” I responded, “and I
wouldn’t have the slightest idea
where to hunt.
David E. Scherman was re
ferring to Tex McCrary, radio
and television star whose claim
to fame, among other things, is
being a top flight showman and
also being the husband of Jinx
Falkenberg.
“Guess you know Dugan hit
the jackpot,” Scherman mused.
“He scooped up 60-thousand
bucks from the book-of-the
month people and took off for
Europe.
“Jimmy was at the bottom of
the barrel and I’m glad he hit.
His book, ’The Great Iron Ship,’
is going great and I guess Jimmy
has made a fortune.”
(Dugan’s book appeared in
condensed form in the February
issue of The Reader’s Digest. It’s
an unusual story of a rare mon
ster of the seas—the Great East
ern.)
The four of us worked to
gether during the early stages
of World War II on Eighth air
force publicity projects under
the heading of public relations.
McCrary was a captain. lie
had received preferential treat
ment from Gen. Hap Arnold. As
chief editorial writer for Hearst’s
New York Mirror, McCrary
used to point out defects in the
U.S. air force and the strong fea
tures of the British and German
air forces. Those were the days
immediately prior to World War
II. When the U.S. got into the
war and Arnold thought he need
ed someone to make the folks
back home conscious of the
Eighth, operating with a skeleton
force from England, he hired
McCrary and put captain bars
cn him.
Scherman was a war corre
! spondent for Life magazine.
Dugan was a buck sergeant;
I was a corporal.
* * *
Zam Zam
I want to tell you about Dave
Scherman because recently he
has been in Nebraska and many
cf our readers no doubt are
aware of his work.
A bright Jewish boy from the
big town, Davey attended an up
state New York college. He and
his roommate dreamed up a
package deal for the republican
big wheels the year Alf Landon
was the candidate for president.
They reasoned the GOP would
be a good market for a rotogra
vure supplement loaded with
pictures of the Roosevelt family
and prominent new dealers tak
en from uncomplimentary angles
(ie.: Eleanor with a toothy grin;
Franklin D., in a pall of smoke,
etc.)
Naturally, the roto section was
to be distributed in good repub
lican Sunday papers throughout
the country. The package price,
including publishing and distri
bution, ran into six figures, as
I recall. Davey told the story to
me one winter’s evening back in
1943.
To make a long story short,
Scherman and his partner hired
a staff, did a tremendous amount
of research, hired a roto printer,
and did a superb job of psyco
logical warfare against the new
dealers — except they neglected
to hire a professional distribution
agency.
Instead, the roto sections,
neatly wired and labeled, stood
stacked high on rail platforms
| on Sunday mornings instead
of being circulated. The GOP
bigwigs cancelled the contract,
! Roosevelt won again, and Da
vey and his partner got out
with experience.
The abortive try in the big
time helped Davey to land a job
later with Life. Whether or not
you agreed with the principles,
you must admit Davey and his
friend were resourceful.
In 1939 Davey was headed for
the Middle East aboard the Egyp
tian liner Zam Zam. A German
U-boat surfaced off Rio de Ja
neiro and pumped several tor
pedoes into the Zam Zam.
Women and children took to
the lifeboats and many of them
floundered in the water. Some
perished.
Davey, well armed with cam
eras, proceeded to record the
event on film. By the time the
nazis moved close to the scene to
pick up survivors, Davey had
pulled the film out of the camera
and inserted it inside a tube of
toothpaste.
Resourceful?
He tossed his equipment into
the water, but guarded the
paste. Davey was taken to Ger
rnany and interned for 10
months. The U.S. state depart
ment finally got him and his
dental kit liberated in the days
before we got into World War II.
* * *
Life — 1 6 Pages
Back in New York, you guess
it, Davey opened the tube of
toothpaste and Life opened its
pages—16 of them—for the ter
rific Zam Zam picture story,
which won for Davey runnerup
Pulitzer prize honors.
Little wonder Dave wouldn’t
expose himself to the nazis dur
ing World War II. Being a Jew,
who had '•-nbarrassed the na^. s
no end in the Zam Zam sinking,
Davey feared the krauts would
cut him wide open if they could
have laid their hands on him.
This was a fair guess because
thousands of Jews with lesser
"crimes" were exterminated by
the nazis.
During World War II, Simon
& Schuester (New York book
publishers) came up with a book,
“Literary England,” by David E.
Scherman. I had scooted around
the little island with Dave on
several pic lure-taking excursions
in connection with that book.
Davey had a car, could get petrol
(gas), and he had an unlimited
supply of flashbulbs. Photo sub
jects were “The Rock of Ages, ’
“Mill on the Floss,” “King Ar
thur’s Round Table,” which we
sought out. I would run the er
rands.
Several O’Neill homes have
the book in their library and I
like to point out the odd little
car which creeps into several of
the pictures. It’s the British
made four-cylinder Austin in
which I got to see a good bit of
England—thanks to Davey.
Life magazine was closing its
forms that Saturday afternoon
and Davey was one of two exec
utive editors obliged to stick
around. He had just finished a
satirical ditty about Ogden Nash
—sort of an inducement to read
the July 12 issue.
Executive editors must linger
until the last page is locked. This
.is because news can pop in an
distant, forcing late changes.
Sometimes entire pages have to
be yanked and others inserted.
During the visit we purposely
didn’t discuss such things as the
Army - McCarthy hearings, be
cause it’s a fair guess we’d been
at opposite poles. Instead we
talked about “characters” we
had known. Everybody is a
“character” with Davey.
I have always credited him
with a saying that runs like
this: “I’m going to turn in my
eyes. IVe seen everything!”
The wife of a Red Cloud bank
er for years had been fascinated
I by Nebraska’s Willa S. Cather, the
! writer who died in 1947. Davey
| came to Nebraska to make pic
I tures of the Cather homestead
i and to assist with the book, pub
lished last year by Simon &
Schuester. A portion of the book
vvas featured in Life about a
year ago. It w’as entitled “Cather
Country,” a picture story, Dy
David E. Scherman.
Dave’s biggest thrill during
his visit to Nebraska on the
Cather story came when the Red
Cloud Commercial - Advertiser,
weekly newspaper, announced m
a page one story that David E.
Scherman, Life photographer,
was in town.
—CAL STEWART
Mr. and Mrs. Glen Robinson
and family of Columbus, Kans.,
arrived Monday and will visit
her brother and sister-in-law,
Mr. and Mrs. Jack Everitt, for a
week.
i REX W. WILSON,
M.D.
| ROBT. M. LANGDON,
M.D.
PHYSICIANS &
SURGEONS
{ 128 W. Douglas St, O’Neill
Phone 138
I
POLITICAL ADVERTISEMENT POLITICAL ADVERTISEMENT
Vote for
JACK ARBUTHNOT
Republican Candidate for
CLERK OF THE DISTRICT COURT
★ Lifetime Resident of Holt County
★ Overseas Veteran of World War II
Primary Augusi 10, 1954
Opening for Grove
Lake July 24th
ROYAL—Grove lake will be
opened to fisherman Saturday,
July 24, Game Conservation Of
ficer Mike Burney said at Ne
ligh last week.
Earlier, the state game com
mission had planned a full open
ing of the lake north of Royal.
Stocking of the lake with 10 to
16-inch rainbow trout has been
done periodically over the past
two months.
Large sandhill crappies have
also been stocked in the new
lake.
The lake is a game commission
project to provide recreation
grounds for Northeast Nebras
kans. It was created by a dam on
the Verdigris creek. The dam
was finished this spring.
Residents Asked
to Conserve Water
EWING—Residents here have
been requested not to water
lawns or use extra water between
9 p.m., and 7 a.m., to conserve
water during the hot summer
months.
The request was made by the
town board at a meeting Tuesday
evening, July 6, at the public
library. The board members
wanted to be certain of enough
water in case of a fire. The meet
ing was conducted by Ralph
Munn, chairman.
Power Line Hearing
Set by Commission—
The state railway commission
has scheduled for July il9 a hear
ing on the proposal of the Nio
brara Valley Electric Member
ship corporation of O’Neill to
build 97 miles of transmission
line in Boyd, Holt Garfield and
Knox counties.
Tune In! Voice of The Fron
tier” . . Mon., Wed., Sat., 9:45 a.m.
WJAG (780 k.c.)
Marston with 44th
| Squadron in Philippines—
A/lc Charles R. Marston, hus
band of Mrs. Wauneta J. Mars
ton of O’Neill, recently arrived in
the Philippines to serve a tour of
duty with the air force.
Following his arrival overseas,
Airman Marston was assigned to
the 44th fighter bomber squad
ron, headquarters, 6200th air
base group at Clark air force
base, 60 miles north of Manila.
The Philippines is the first
overseas assignment for Marston,
who enlisted in May, 1951.
A graruate from O’Neill high
school, he completed an electron
ics fundamentals course at Kees
ler, AFB, Miss., and a radar
course at Lowry air force base,
Colorado.
Airman and Mrs. Marston
have a five-month old daughter,
Debra Sue.
I
o
Burlington to Close
Station at Page
PAGE—The Burlington rail
road has received permission to
discontinue station service at
Page, although the closing date
has not been announced.
Willaim Howell, who has been
Station agent here 23 years, will
be transferred.
Sunday guests of Mrs. Edna
Coyne were Mrs. Lawrence O’
Malley and Jerry and Leo.
PONTON INSURANCE i
I
Florence Ponton, Prop.
Insurance of All
Kinds & Bonds
Phone 106 — Golden Bldg, j
----—f
..DANCE..
AT O’NEILL
American Legion Auditorium
& BALLROOM
SATURDAY, JULY 17th
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and His Orchestra
Adm.: Adults $1; Students 50c
.. —*
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I
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