The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1935-07-01
The Book World

A LREADY on the book stands is Secretary
L n Harold L. Ickes' new book, Back to Work"
The Story Of PWA." The honorable Secre-
! tary of the Interior steps out of character and,
as an author dscloses the inside stories on these
! little incidents:
How Senator Bob Wagners mistake added an
extra 3OOOOO,OOO to the $4,000 100000 works pro-
gram;
How Eugene Talmadge broke his word to the
national Administration;
How Budget Director Lewis Douglas didn't
want to spend dime of the PWA money
Secretary Ickes writes that Gov Talmadge,
now the arch-foe Of President Roosevelt, gave a
solemn promise" to enact state leglSlaClon 10
validate securities offered for PWA loans After
| the Georgia Legislature had passed the neces-
| sary measure, Gov Talmadge, charges Mr.. Ickes,
began to evade and equivocate. We had no
similar experience with any other public official,
even below the grade of Governor" The Geor-
gia Governor vetoed the legislation, then started
sharp-shooting when the Roosevelt Administra-
! ton began to crack down upon him.
! In revealing how Senator Wagner added $780,
! 100000 extra to the PWA fund.- Mr.. 1ckeS says
! that when the final draft of the allotment was
! being made Senator Wagner called to Simon
Rifkind, his secretary, and asked him if the total
! included S30000 600 for New York.
/ wagner" writes Mr. IckeS thought he heard
Rifknd say Put it in. Actually, Rifkind said I
put it in, but Wagner crossed out the figure
]
WILL Italy win her war with Abyssinia df it
! w comes, and observers insist it almost GER
tainly will this falD?
Gordon MacCreagh bluntly SAYS Eyes in the
new and supplemented edition Of his book, 1.-THE
| Last of Free. Africa" 3D. Appleton Century, the
book discussed here only a few days ago.
"Of course Italy will VIII" he writes from his
knowledge of ancient Ethic pia gained by eXpora-
tons in that country.
Great Britain, Italy and France, he declares,
long ago agreed not to let any modern weapons
get into the country, so that whichever nation
at last took over Abyssirlia would have mini
mum of opposition
The emperor, Halle Selassie would send out
call, in the event g war, to his feudal barons,
| lust as Europe used to do in feudal times. THE
big chiefs pass on the call to their subchiefs.
Each subchief rallies his gang with whatever
weapons they pOsSeSS-SpearS, shields, swords
and some guns. The big chiefs kill some steers
and have a feast and receive renewed oaths of
fealty; and then they lead their whole mob to
the rendezvous, where they in turn render re-
newed oaths Of fealty to their emperor
| And there is the army. A feudal mob. IN
drilled, unframed, never under way circum-
stances having Unanswered together"
The author scouts the report that the Ethiop-
ians are now well armed" He promises to eat
the surplus if, among the 10 million inhabitants,
they have more than 100000 guns of every de-
scription, counting flintlocks and the gas pipe
variety. The commOnest army" model is the
OLD French "fusil gras,' which the natives have
corrupted to 'foojigraS." The ammunition for
these is so per cent the original, that is to say
dating from the Franco-PruSSian war, and
handed down from father to son.
| What is new in this volume is contained in a
brief epilogue The rest dates back several years
but makes most interesting reading in the light
of recent events and what is likely to come.