Chicago Tribune from Chicago, Illinois • Page 32

iiy.i.t-H- 32 Section 1 Chicago Tribune. Wednesday, December 15, 1999 FROM PAGE ONE 1 9 9' I I I HI 'Peanuts' gang reprise Original cartoons will end but some newspapers plan to reprint old strips. tural fabric. "The comic strip and jazz are the only two American art forms," says Rick Marschall, author of "America's Great Comic Strip Artists" (Abbeville Press) and publisher of the historical quarterly Hogan's Alley. "The comics have always been characters and stories in pictures that did not just amuse but with which the people could identify." No strip has been more successful at that than "Peanuts." It is the most widely syndicated comic strip in history, appearing in some 2,600 newspapers, reaching an audience of more than 350 million people in 75 countries and in 21 languages.

It also has been the foundation for a stunningly successful empire that includes more than 1,400 books; dozens of animated specials and films; hit records; clothing, toys, dolls, calendars and other products; and the most-produced musical in the American theater, "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown." All of it adds up to a franchise with an estimated value of $1 billion, and a shelf filled with prizes for Schulz: the Peabody and Emmys; the Reuben Award, comic art's highest honor, in 1955 and 1964, and the International Cartoonist of the Year award in 1978. The comic strip's enduring popularity was reflected in the Tribune's 1998 In-Paper Comics Survey, in which "Peanuts" ranked in the top 10 with almost every group of respondents. The secret? Schulz once told an interviewer, "I never realized how many Charlie Browns there were in the world. I thought I was the only one. Now I realize that Charlie Brown's goofs are familiar to everybody, adults and children alike." 1990 holds a couple of armloads title in translation reads, "40 years AP file photo by Michel Lipchiu of plush Snoopy dolls along with a of Life with Snoopy." PEANUTS well wttt cones II ooo ex." ckmuje If x' chauO how ot' CHAAtt mown I V.

(hatchim! j- Nazi: The deal sheds light on the lesser-known roles of U.S. corporate subsidiaries in WWII Germany. Continued From Page 1 to, I don't want to say we've reached the end," said Michael Hausfeld, a New York lawyer who represents former slave laborers and who will attend the Berlin meeting. "For the first time, I'm cautiously optimistic." Tuesday's agreement also put pressure on American corporations whose German subsidiaries used slave labor during World War Hausfeld said he had been informed that General Motors Corp. had agreed to participate in a separate fund for former forced laborers who worked at its Opel plant in Ger-.

many. I Robert Weinbaum, a member of GMs legal staff, denied the company had made that decision, though he did say that it was "inclined to participate" in such an effort through its Opel subsidiary. Lydia a spokeswoman for Ford Motor said that company was similarly moving toward some sort of "humanitarian effort" for survivors of the slave-labor force at its German plant, which pro- duced trucks for the Nazi war effort. "We want to do something to help out these unfortunate people," Cisaruk said. The "U.S.

companies have argued that they had no control over their German subsidiaries during the war. Their apparently new stances on compensation seem to represent an about-face. Both Ford and GM had declined to partici-, pate in the negotiations, despite intense pressure from survivor groups, and both have vigorously defended lawsuits brought on behalf of former forced laborers. if, Hausfeld and the other American lawyers had sent a letter to the chief German negotiator, Otto Lambsdorff, earlier this week asking that as part of the settlement, "German and non-German companies" make their archives publicly available. Les Kuczynski, national executive director of the Polish American Congress, noted that many other details of the plan to compensate workers, many of whom were Polish, won't be known until Friday's meeting at the earliest.

Plans must be devised for identifying and distributing the money to survivors. Indeed, many have yet to be found. One report from German news agencies said German companies would insist that claimants provide two documents proving that they were forcibly transported to Germany during the war. Kuczynski noted that most forced laborers barely managed to survive their meager rations and hard labor, let alone preserve documentary evidence of their wartime experience. "But for all the difficulties that still have to be worked out" Kuczynski said, "most survivor groups I've talked to today are optimistic." Negotiations on the issue of slave labor began in February, when a group of 12 leading German companies, including Volkswagen, established the Memory, Responsibility and Future Fund to belatedly compensate World War II forced laborers.

That decision came after the 1998 defeat of German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, who adamantly opposed reopening the issue of forced labor. Initially, representatives of the survivors demanded twice the agreed-upon figure in compensation. The fund's founders and the German government countered with an offer of a third. With the two sides far apart, negotiators missed an August deadline to resolve the question. Meanwhile, more German companies signed on to the fund, and the Germans slowly raised their Hausfeld noted that the reparation figure, divided by the estimated number of claimants, still would yield survivors at most a few thousand dollars each hardly full compensation for years of labor and abuse.

Still, he and his fellow lawyers felt compelled to accept the offer, given the current mortality rates of survivors. "Most are in their 80s now," said Urbach, speaking by phone from Israel where he was conducting other legal business arising out of World War II. "Many are in declining health, and we had to wonder how many would still be around to enjoy any greater sum we might get after years more of a court battle against the German companies." Continued From Page 1 the final original Sunday strip will appear Feb. 13. Those strips had already been carefully crafted by mid-November when, after a day's work in his studio in Santa Rosa, Schulz complained he wasn't feeling well and was persuaded by his wife, Jeannie, to go to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital There he underwent emergency surgery to clear a blocked abdominal artery.

During the operation, doctors discovered colon cancer. At the time, Schulz was said to be in "good spirits," and United Media issued an optimistic statement "We hope and expect that Mr. Schulz will be able to produce i new material for the new year." That made news of Schulz's retirement Tuesday a shock to fans and those in the world's newsrooms. "We were saddened by this news," said Gerould W. Kern, the Tribune's deputy managing editor features.

"Of course, it is understandable that he needs this time to get better. What he created over 50 years has become an American institution and it will be hard not to have it in the paper. But our primary concern is for Schulz and his family." Beginning Jan. 4 for daily strips and Feb. 20 for Sunday strips, newspapers will be given the opportunity to run "Peanuts" strips originally drawn in 1974.

"We plan to run those strips," said Kern. "There is a generation out there who hasn't seen his work from that time, and I think they, and all of his fans, will be pleased." Few newspaper offerings are as dear to readers as comic strips. Their characters become an essential part of the daily lives of millions of newspaper readers, and the best of them are able to weave themselves firmly into the cul- It's been a good run, Charlie Brown Comical influence came at an early age for 77-year-old "Peanuts" creator Charles Schulz, who was nicknamed "Sparky" after the horse Sparkplug in the "Barney Google" cartoon. Schulz's comic strip reaches 355 million readers in 75 countries daily and will stop running in early 2000. Sources: United Feature Syndicate, World Encyclopedia of Comics, Current Biography, Encyclopedia of American Comics, Associated Press, www.snoopy.com Panama Continued from Page 1 rampant government corruption in Panama and the guerrilla threat in next-door Colombia to justify concerns about the canal's future.

In September, Interior Minister Winston Spadafora said Panama would like to close the frontier with Colombia but was limited by the "meager forces" deployed along the border. In the past few days, the issue of security along the canal has jumped to the forefront, as guerrilla attacks in Colombia have claimed dozens of lives. In recent months, the guerrillas reportedly have used the Darien jungle in southern Panama, 150 miles southeast of Panama City, as a staging ground for attacks against their nemesis, right-wing paramilitary death squads. The paramilitaries, meanwhile, have sent in bounty hunters after the rebels. In an effort to ease the fears of the world shipping community, the government earlier this month outlined its national security strategy, which gives priority to protecting the 50-mile canal.

The plan includes increased aerial and maritime police surveillance of Panama's borders and coasts, and more border police. The canal, which began operations in 1914, cost the U.S. $352 million and 5,609 lives to build. Thirteen thousand ships cross the canal annually, generating $570 million in toll revenues. Standing a few yards from the canal at the Miraflores Locks, Moscoso assured her audience, which included Carter, King Juan Carlos of Spain, and other Latin American leaders, that users of the canal would not notice a change in operations once the transfer takes place.

"Panama accepts this challenge with pride in the total and absolute "Peanuts" creator Charles Schulz French edition of his work, whose The legendary editorial cartoonist Bill Mauldin told Schulz biographer Rheta Grimsley Johnson: "The thing about Schulz's work is the soul behind it That's why it's great. He's a preacher at heart." Ever self-effacing, Schulz said, "I don't think I'm a true artist I would love to be Andrew Wyeth or Picasso. But I can draw pretty well and I can write pretty well, and I think I'm doing the best with whatever abilities I have been given. And what more can one ask?" With all of the strip's success, it "Peanuts" gang debuts 1950: Schulz sells his idea for a cartoon to United Feature Syndicate. Til' Folks" is renamed "Peanuts." It debuts on Oct.

2 with Charlie Brown in seven newspapers. Oct. 4, 1950: Snoopy debuts. Sept. 19, 1952: Linus debuts.

He does not appear with his security blanket until 1954. April 4, 1967: Woodstock appears. in was always a singular, intensely personal show. Schulz had no apprentices learning his style and he had a clause in his contract dictating that the strip had to end with his death. Schulz was born in St.

Paul on Nov. 26, 1922, and began to study art after seeing a "Do you like to draw?" ad in a magazine. After serving in the Army during World War he did lettering for a church comic book, taught art and sold cartoons to the Saturday Evening Post. His first newspaper feature, "Li'l Folks," was By Scimls A very wide influence 1969: NASA picks Snoopy as the name for the lunar excursion module on the Apollo 10 flight. 1 the canal "at the request of Panama" should an external force threaten it In Washington, President Clinton echoed those sentiments, saying that Tuesday's ceremony "signals our continuing commitment to the security of the canal, as enshrined in our treaty obligations, and our determination to work with Panama and the many other countries that use the canal to ensure that it remains open to the world's shipping and commerce." Although Tuesday was to be a joyous event for Panamanians, the Moscoso administration complained that the absence of any higher ranking officials from the Clinton administration had some ens developed for the St.

Paul Pioneer Press in 1947. In 1950 he sold it to a syndicate and renamed it "Peanuts." He maintained that he never liked the name. But he liked the work. "I am always asked if I suspected that 'Peanuts' would last when I first made the sale," he told his biographer. "Sure, I thought it would last.

I never intended to draw something that wouldn't last. In fact, when I started out, I thought, 'I'll be drawing this the rest of my First "Peanuts" comic strip that ran on Oct. 2, 1950. 1988: Schulz is estimated to be one of the 10 richest entertainers in the U.S. by Forbes magazine.

He reportedly earned $62 million in 1987-88. 1997: "Peanuts" products gamer more than $1.1 billion in world-wide retail sales. Schulz becomes ill Nov. 16, 1999: A blockage is found in an abdominal artery. During' surgery, colon cancer is discovered.

Nov. 20, 1999: Schulz's wife announces he has colon cancer. Dec. 14, 1999: Schulz retires. The last original daily strip will appear Jan.

3 and the last original Sunday strip will appear Feb. 13. Chicago TnbuneMelissa Nagy and Chns Soprych what soured the occasion. "I have to tell the truth," Moscoso said, "we truly regret that President Clinton did not come to a unique and historic event His excuse was that he already had commitments." Her adviser, Roberto Eisenmann, said the U.S. decision demonstrated a "lack of class" and a "lack of political courage." The message the U.S.

is sendingnot only to Panama but to the rest of Latin America Eisenmann said, is that it does not care about the regioa "It's really not very smart when you're the only rich member of a poor community to ignore the community," he said. U.S. officials insist that the administration meant no disrespect "They have the father of the treaty," said Joao M. Ecsodi, the spokesman for the U.S. Embassy in Panama City, referring to President Carter.

"How high can it getr According to polls, Panamanians overwhelmingly support a U.S. presence in Panama, fearing a deterioration of the canal Pablo Vercara, a 61-year-old native, says every segment of Panamanian society benefited when the Americans were in the region, including mechanics, restaurateurs, hoteliers and taxi drivers. "Now," he said, "only the political elite will eat from the trough." Angel Martinez, however, the owner of an exclusive restaurant in Panama City that bears his name, insisted that Panama would see no negative effect as a result of America's departure. He also dismissed concerns about national security because of the Marxist guerrilla war in neighboring Colombia. "All Panama needs is the shadow of the United States," he said, referring to the U.S.

vow to defend the canal to preserve its neutrality. "We have had that since 1903 and we will continue to have it" Early influences Nov. 26, 1922: Charles Monroe Schulz is bom in Minneapolis. 1940: After graduating from high school, Schulz enrolls in art courses. 1943: Drafted into the Army, he serves in World War II.

Afterward, Schulz returns to St. Paul and letters the comics for a religious magazine. He also draws a cartoon for a St. Paul newspaper called Til' Folks." 1948: He sells cartoons to the Saturday Evening Post. Reuters photo by Alberto Lowe Protesting any U.S.

presence in Panama, demonstrators try Tuesday to force their way through the entrance to the Miraflores Locks of the Panama Canal. A poll indicates most Panamanians favor a U.S. presence. confidence that the canal will become a model enterprise for the entire continent," Moscoso said, with ships, including one called the Sunbelt Dixie, passing behind her. "Our commitment to the world is insoluble, but better yet is our commitment to ourselves." Carter, the only other official who spoke during the ceremony, went through a history of the canal and of the 1977 treaty that gives control of the waterway to Panama at the end of the month.

Carter negotiated the treaty with the then-Panamanian leader. Gen. Omar Torrijos. At the time, the treaty generated considerable controversy in the U.S. for Carter.

"There were then demagogues who made false statements, exaggerated problems, predicted catastrophe in order to upset and disturb the people of my country," he said. "There are still a few of those, unfortunately, in my nation today who are planting improper, incorrect false stories about the security of the canal and how it is being operated." Carter, who introduced his comments in Spanish, noted that along with the canal, Panama was inheriting a series of challenges, including canal security. But he said that under a separate treaty, the U.S. could defend.