Detroit Free Press from Detroit, Michigan • Page 30

THE DETROIT FREE PRESS WEDNESDAY. JUNE 2. 1943 Record May Rains Leave Farms Flooded-Miners Strike Again in Defiance of F.D.R- LEONARD LYONS jk TOWN CRIER How Dempsey Kept His Wife from Stage; Writer Learns About Gambling: On the Huge Fireplace in Willkie's OI! Home Back in Elwood, Intl. 30 aaaaaaaaaaaa BY ANTHONY WEITZEL I -wa Tree Press Pholo FARMERS GO FISHING THIS FIELD WHICH SHOULD ALREADY BE PLANTED TO MICHIGAN CORN From this cornfield, which is part of the farm of Julius Weier, Route 1, Utica, June 10, but first must dry out and be plowed. At the same time, the Govern- a fisherman Sunday took a seventeen-pound carp.

The flooded condition is ment has sought, and farmers of the area have pledged, a 7 per cent crop increase typical for many Michigan farms in the corn belt. The fields must be planted by to help ease the food shortage and help feed the United Nations. C03I3I. JACK DEMPSEY, whose divorce suit against Hannah Williams has been in the courts these past few days, never wanted her to return to the stage. Once, when Ed Wynn had a role for her, Hannah told Jack: "I don't want you to be angry, but I think I have a job in Ed Wynn's new show, and the script calls for me to kiss a young man onstage." -That's okay.

Dempsey agreed, "but at every one of those kissing performances, I'll sit in the front i row with another girl and kiss her. Do you mind?" Hannah reluctantly told Wynn that the deal was off. HERMAN MANKIEWICZ, the screen writer, is a rabid gambler. He'll bet on anything, and most of his fortune has been lost gambling. "I'm going to do something about this immediately," Mankiewicz prom ised his friends.

Two days later his friends saw him at a dice table. "Didn't you promise to do something about your gambling vice?" they asked him. "I've done it," Mankiewicz replied. "I went to a psychoanalyst. And now I KNOW why I love to gamble." SERGT.

SIDNEY KINGSLEY sat with Katharine Cornell, who hinted that she would be interested in doing a modern play. Kingsley hinted that some day he'd like to write one for her. "And then I'd tour with it. throughout the hemisphere," said Miss Cornell dreamily. 4 And I phone you in South America, and ask you how much my royalties are.

said Kingsley, just as dreamily. "And I'd tell you 10,000 pesos," sighed Miss Cornell softly. "How much would that represent?" sighed Kingsley in the same mood. "Your royalties of 5 per cent of the gross," said Miss Cornell less dreamily. "In that case," snapped the come-to-earth play wright, who rates higher percentages, "the deal is off.

JOHN GOLDEN, the producer, was in I Gertrude Lawrence dressing room when she was asked by an interviewer: "In your stage roles. Miss Lawrence, do you prefer doing comedy or tragedy?" "Let me answer that," Golden interrupted. "An onion will make any person cry. But as yet they haven't invented a vegetable tc make a person laugh. THE DIRECTOR of a radio network cabled Noel Coward about writing a series of broadcasts for a New York actress.

Coward's reply was brief: "I'd rather cut my throat. A news cameraman came upon Arturo Toscanini, early in the morn ing, and started to photograph him. hen the pictures were taken, Toscanini asked. "Now are you happy?" The photographer nodded. Toscanini said: "Now go you beast: Joe Frisco, now at the 18 Club is proudly announcing that at last he has a maid.

"But how did you manage to find one to work for you? Frisco was asked. made her an unusual offer," Frisco explained, "S12 a week and all she can steal." ARTHUR RICIIMAN, the playwright, tried to use his cigaret lighter in vain. His companion finally offered him a match, and Richman lit his cigaret with it. "It's mar velous what progress civilization has made, said the playwright, puffing away. "Here is a gold contraption which makes callouses on your thumb, spills gasoline in your pockets, rums your digestion because you got angry when it doesn't work and then along comes a smart man who invents a little wooden thing called a match which.

when struck, gives you a light. LAST MONTH all the papers published a picture showing the King of England jaugning. That picture was taken in a London theater, while Leslie Banks was on stage. Banks is the actor who oncp told his wife about an offer he had received from Jane Cowl, to appear with her in repertory. "Miss Cowl said," Banks re ported, "that 'One day I may play Lady MacBetn, and the next day I may even walk on carrying a Mrs.

Banks was suspicious of the offer. "If Cowl walks on with a tray." she told her husband, "you may be sure that John the Baptist's head win nave to be on it. IFFY jDOPESJE Wendell Willkie got one swell break during his visit here: Gerald L. K. Smith denounced him.

Arthur H. Sarvis retired yesterday as regional OPA director to go back to the banking business, where a point is a decimal mark and not a permit to buy a can of carp. After two weeks of intensive study them delegates at Hot Springs announce that the world is facing a food shortage. Sounds plausible. We had an idea that was why they were called together in the first place.

When a feller i3 sick and calls in the doctor he does not want the doctor just to tell him he is sick because he already knows that. That is why he called the doctor. Because he has reassumed the presidency of his company some of the newspapers speak of Henry Ford being back on the job, but everybody knows he has never been away from it. Guess we scared that feller Clarence Root with our threats. After a little grumbling he got June underway with a glorious burst of sunshine.

Everything seems normal in that new French Government setup. Already Gin'rals Giraud and DeGaulle are in a row. No French Guv'ment is ever functioning right unless it's in a fight. 153 4 4 rtr- viMir, -1 4 4. 5 '1- t.

7 WENDELL WILLKIE, the great perambulator, used up a lot of words the other night on his home life back in Elwood. Ind. But somehow he didn't mention the one thing that probably meant more to the Willkie kids than anything else. That was a huge, head-high, stone fireplace in th kitchen. The Willkie kids were bright, and they had reason to be.

Papa Willkie was a pretty fine schoolteacher, and after that he was a lawyer, though his practice of the law was as quixotic as it could possibly be in a town like Elwood. Mama Willkie was one of the finest schoolma'ams ever known in Indiana, which is a pretty good league for schoolma-ams. From childhood the Willkie youngsters were taught to have their own opinions and to stick by And before they were out of knee pants the big, rambling Willkie home in Elwood became known as a sort of local debating club. OX THE LONG winter evenings (which can be awfully long and awfully cold in Indiana) the Willkies and their school pals would gather befoi-e that big fireplace. Somebody would bring up a topic, anything from the price of hogfeed to the lates GOP tariff, and they'd go to work on it.

Their voices would rise pretty high, to stay above the roaring of the big fireplace and to stay above the clamor of dissenting opinions. And if, when midnight came, they hadn't settled an argument, it automatically went over to the next evening. That big fireplace in the Willkie kitchen probably meant more to Wendell and his brothers and his sister than they ever realized until many years later. When Wendell got into law school, and took up the business of learning how to address juries, he was way out in front of the other lads. G.

C. HEATH, who is also very much interested in the problem of wartime youth, says the little town of Ashland, has solved it very well. They had high school youngsters hanging around the streets, in the drug stores and pool halls, too. The Junior Chamber of Commerce took over a vacant hall, installed furniture and a jukebox and made it a hangout for teenagers. There the kids dance, play ping-pong, read or just visit.

And Ashland's teen-age problem is licked. That's one thing we need in Detroit. The only reason so many youngsters try to crash the cafes and beer parlors is the fact that many of them have no place at all where they can dance except the liquor joints: WALTER THELrS, the insurance man. makes this elegant report on the state of our officer personnel in Washington or at least one member. Maj.

Frank J. Den-ney. Maj. Denney used to be with McManus. ad agency, and before that he was ad manager of Cadillac.

Right now he is in the intelligence division of the Army in Washington. "Dear Walter: I've hit the lackpot! I can finally collect again on this Musty Benefit Helluva Accident policy. Send me the forms necessary to describe an attack of teno sinovitus (spell it your own way I've got no corner on mistakes). "The facts are these: May 21 Acute pain in right heel. May 22 Unable to stand on foot and local medico summoned forthwith.

Remained in bed. Doctor said teno sino, etc. Confined to house until May 30. "TOLD I CAN go back to work but that the danged thing may flare up again. Now I really am glad I kept that policy.

Tell me what to do to make that company prove that it plays Put and Take not just Take. "And when you write let's have some news of the home town. If that policy paid on homesickness I would get one for Anne and we would both put in for acute attacks. Gratiot Ave. on a Saturday night would look like the Champs Elysee to us by contrast with this burg.

And now there is no gas to get out of it, and the bus service is cut 40 per cent. "DONT WASTE your sympathy on the boys in Africa. It's us poor muggs on the swivel chair front in Washington that need your pity. We don't get meat and potatoes like the boys on the Mediterranean. don't have jeeps, WAACs or nurses to play with.

There are no brass bands, no invigorating desert air, no chances of seeing the ruins of Pompeii. We are a bunch of wrecks with nothing to look forward to but beins; sucked into the Pentagon Building every morning and belched out again every night, day after day after day. Frank J. Denney." I asked Walter what this "teno sinovitus" might possibly be in the American language, and he said as near as he could figure out, "teno sinovitus" is just plain, old-fashioned GOUT! TURNING BACK 100 Years Ago Today Noah Webster, LLD, author, statesman, educator and compiler of the "Compendious Dictionary," was mourned by the Nation. He was dead at 85 The British had promised aid to President Sam Houston of Texas to help him capture the revolting Navy of the Republic of Texas.

a 50 Years Ago Today Queen Victoria of England celebrated her seventy-fourth birthday. All London turned out to see the long and colorful parade in her honor. 25 Years Ago Today Russia, cut off from the Ukraine by the Germans, was facing famine. The Danes also faced starvation when their stock of swine was reduced 85 per cent. 10 Years Ago Today the Free Press pub lished "Jane Eyre" as condensed and written by Winston Churchill, noted British author and statesman.

One Year Ago Today the WPB took con trol over all imports to the United States Building restrictions were eased by the WPB as Detroit was given permission to fini.h 11,000 units for defense workers here. -way: 4 A 1 A -XT' 4v i f- t'- 0 ft it 0 if" 1 uriiriiii ifMrtf ififnafa Henry Ford IT, who is serving in the Navy while his brother is in the Army, 1 Associated Press Wireohoto MINERS SEARCH FOR NEWS OF STRIKE THAT TOOK 450.000 MEN OUT OF THE MINES AS COAL TRUCE EXPIRED Miners of the last shift at the Red Lion mine near Uniontown, scan a the Government-operated pits in defiance of stern warnings from President newspaper for information on the work stoppage at the soft-coal mines. The strike Roosevelt that a nationwide coal strike could not be tolerated. The miners, affected nearly all members of the United Mine Workers, who stayed away from who seek higher wages, had worked for a month under an extended truce. 1 Henry Ford Resumes Presidency of Company; Mrs.

Edsel Ford Named Director 1 -N Sv- MinMAiaMuabMfidMai in it i iw nmi rYin'rTf iiwifi i Hi iw il udj 1. umu'm Benson Ford, the second son of the Edsel Fords, was re-elected to the direo torate of the va3t Ford organization. i If 'V 'XI Mr iYr Henry Ford Tuesday was elected president of the Ford Motor replacing his son Edsel, who died last Wednesday. Mrs. Eleanor Ford, widow of Edsel Ford, was named a director, the first woman to hold such a Ford position.

was re-elected to the board of directors..