The Kennewick courier-reporter. [volume] (Kennewick, Wash.) 1914-1938, 1930-10-09
"a
WILLIE
ROGERS

know is just what / read in tn,
papers, and what l get through tn,
mail. Arthur Brisbane and / hav,
/ been having a good natured kid
ding through the papers abou
Russia, Arthur kinder believes tina
Russia should be recognized, ant
me, don't know whether they
should or not. Lors, that's a Diplo
mats business, not mine.
But that's got nothing to do with
it, what / am getting at is the in
lteresting letters this fellow Bris-
bane writes. / am going to show
you one he wrote me that I just
got.
My. Dear Rogers:
Now that / have established your
credit as a multi-millionaire, and
that you have destroyed mine by
making me out in the public prints
as destitute, which by the way
regret to say is an extremely ac-
curate description, let us talk SER
iously about Russia. This Country
including its brightest intellects,
even your own, fail to appreciate
the Importance of what is going on
in Russia.
You know that when Louie the
sixteenth came back from shoot
ing at Fontainebleau on certain
18th of July he wrote in his diary,
Rein" meaning in the French
language, Nothing" He hadn't
shot anything, and he simply wrote
down that nothing had happened.
BUT that was the 18th of July on
which the Bastile was destroyed,
and later as consequence of that
"Rein" day, they just casually
chopped off his head.
King of Persia asked, "Where
is Greece ?" and said to his royal
rememberer, Remind me some
time to go down and destroy that
little country" His descendants
learned about Greece when Alex
ander came from MACEDONIA with
10000 men and sent him flying to
his death, went through his line of
war Elephants and took his Coun-
try.
All Of which leads up to fact
that Will Rigers should study and
.analyze, and understand Russia,
not dispose of it with wave of a
hand, like some foolish Wall Street
broker who buys Kerensky bonds
and bellyaches because they are
not paid. We didn't pay the bonds
issued by the South.
/ have no doubt that the Russian
experiment will fail eventually, be
ing based on pretense of unselfish-
ness and brotherly love, which
have no existance among human
beings.
But its experiments in Industry,
n world competition, and efficiency
may cost some of the old Capital
list civilizations dear, if they ignore
it. Alexander's Empire fell, dwin-
ding down to the Cleopatra and
Mark Anthony foolishness, but not
until he had put an end forever to
the old Persia. So you ought to
warn your readers not to underate
Russia. Many years ago when you
was a little Boy thanks for that
kind compliment Arthur ] told
Klaw, Erlanger, Frohman and
Brady that soneday Movies would
sweep the country and be in every
town. They thought I was crazy.
Well look and see.
Now you take old Cato with his
Carthage must be DESTROYED" and
keep saying every day at the end
Of your "piece" in diamond type,
Watch and beware Of Russia"
This is talked into my monograph
in my automobile on my way in
from Long Island to New York,
hence the length. Yours sincerely,
A Brisbane.
Now wasn't that a fine letter
You know he is a great fellow. And
he does know enough about it to
know that they are going some
where, and we better watch out
while they are on the way. / think
on the other hand that he has
kinder been Propagandered on
EN-. But all that Cato, and Car
thage, and Persia, and Greece, and
MACEDONIA, and Louie, the six
teenth, and "Rein" and all that
was lost on me. He was getting a
long way from Russia telling about
all those old Birds. But the Rascal
can quote you anything. And
haven't got time to look up, any
man as high salaried and busy as
he is, that will sit down and take