The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1936-07-10
NOW
Election Year
Literature
BOTH SIDES
BY HELEN ESSARY

interest me particularly.
But somewhere there do exist
persistent DiogeneSes whose pas
sion for facts survives the weather.
For these enthusiasts I recon-
mend two small Sprightly books
that tell all about the Republicans
and the Democrats.
Each little volume costs -four
bits" or soc. And has a light,
summary approach to an earnest
theme.
The first is Guilty! Being The
Confessions of Franklin D. Roose-
welt. Edited by A Friend OF The
Family"
The friend is Donald Richberg,
q campaign advisor of Mr. RooSe-
welt. The book will be out the
last of this month.
The second book has the slim
ulating title of Roosevelt Rid
dies" It is a sort of questions and
answers arrangement. It enables
you to discover the mistakes of
this Administration. quickly with
out too much wading through big
words.
The author of the riddles signs
himself Russell Moore" He is
said to be a newspaperman, gone
into Republican politics. Some
one, so I understand. has already
bought $4,000 of the Riddles"
No occupation in the world is
as discouraging as being a
mother" It's being the household
complaint department." The fam
lily buffer bureau. The under
standing angel. The effective but
beloved disciplinarian.
Add to these complications the
sting Of ingratitude and the juVe-
nile tendency to use parent as
an excuse for anything and every
thing.
This story that am about to
report is the saddeSt bit OF inside
family history that has come my
way.
It's a rule now in most children S
camps that campers show a letter
sealed and addressed to the nome
folks before any Sunday dinner Is
served. A young Washington camp
er's mother, whose fingers still
ached from sewing name tapes on
camp outfits, received an envelope
Monday morning in a familiar
and imperfect handwriting.
Opening the letter the eager
parent found nothing inside out
a blank sheet of paper.
The next day she received an
other envelope with the same
handwriting. It held this message
Dear MOther-PleaSe excuse
blank page sent you yesterday,
but / didn't have time to write
and / had to show a letter be-
fore could get any dinner
Eddie"
That paragraph I wrote a lew
DAYS ago about Salem Mass, has
brought another letter quite dill
ferent from the encouraging one
published yesterday. Today S
communication dislikes intensely
nv reference to Salem as a scene
of witchcraft. Here's the letter:
Dear Madam:
81 feel quite sure that it is not
malice on your part, but simple
ignorance that induced your
ibelous utterance about burning
witches in Salem. / look with
confidence for a retractiOn in
the near future. / have studied
for many years Salem's treat:
nnent Of witches and have found
Il more lenient that any place
else in the world. Nor was
Salem "crueI;" quite the con-
trary, in fact, as compared with
Europeans of the same period.
mo witches were ever burned
there, though in Europe they
were burned by thousands. Thou
sands of Washington children
will read your unjust accuse
lions. Il am neither native or
resident of Salem.)
"Yours respectfully, H. G.
Hastings, 1925 o st. N. W."
I think, Mr.. Hastings, that 10y
altv to Salem has caused you to
overlook the facts of Salem's his
tory. I am tremendously flattered
at your suggestion that thousands
css washington children read this
column. Il they did read the one
YOU mention they only saw again
what their history books had al
ready taught them.
Three histories now in use in
the Washington schools tell of
'"the Salem delusion" that witches,
people in secret alliance with
Satan, were among them. About
200 persons were accused of witch
craft in Salem. Scores of supposed
witches were arrested and, before
the magistrates and people could
regain their senses, 20 innocent
persons we're tried and put to
death. They we're killed, whether
burned or hanged.
You we're right, Mr.. Hastings,
in saying that Salem was not more
cruel in it's treatment of witches
than other countries. They were
still killing witches in England 20
years later. Even today the belief
in them exists in all civilized
countries among ignorant people.
The batting of witches in early