Evening star., 1937-02-04

Ddfiu
norman was the
German Minister to Mexico and that
the German government instructed
him to bring Japan and Mexico INTO
an alliance with Germany as against
the United States. The incident
served to fan the flames OF feeling
against Germany and shortly there
after diplomatic relations between the
Washington and Berlin governments
were severed.
The exact way in which the note
was intercepted has never been dis
closed but an Associated Press re-
porter. the late E. M. Hood, was given
the message by the then Secretary OF
State. Robert Lansing. When ne
came to the Associated Press once
'Dick" Probert, as he was called oy
his colleagues, developed further in
formation about it and presented 1t
to the readers of American news
papers in what proved to be world
wide sensation.
Wrote of War.
For many years, Dick Probert
wrote dispatches for the Associated
Press on the most outstanding events
of the war period as they af1ected
the United States. Probably 1e"
men in American history have written
for as big an audience on so many
important topics within a single
period of vital history.
But Proberts writing ability was
unknown to any except few in his
own profession. He was IN cnaree
of the staff sent by the "A. r. 10
Vera Cruz after American naval
forces occupied that port, and ne
accompanied President Wilson on the
steamer George Washington to France
and directed the staff OF reporters
who covered the Paris peace confer
ence for the Associated Press.
When President Wilson retired from
office he donated to Reporter Probert
the famous sheep which grazed on
the White House lawn. Probert was
the conidant of Mr.. Wilson during
the trying days of the peace conference
and afterwards. After % years OF
service for The Associated Press, ne
went into the railroad business-an
early attachment, for in his boyhood
ne had been a fireman. He became
a warm friend in those days OF loco
motive engineer. j. Bernet-who
was destined many years later to be-
come the head of the Chesapeake d
Ohio Railway, an organization In
which Probert became vice president
In 1927.
Put Ideas in Railroading.
So after covering some of the most
important news stories Of his day, hav-
ing been the chief Of the all-important
bureau OF the Associated Press in the
National Capital. Probert turned to
rsilroading but with definite idea
that news principles could be intro
duced in development department
of a big transportation system.
1t happens to be 13 years yesterday
that President Wilson died and Pro-
bert's passing comes by coincidence in
the same week His wife died just
a year ago. Probert had no surviving
relatives and except for his business
associates and former colleagues in
newspaper work, he probably is known
by a handful of people, relatively
speaking.
Yet his writings for nearly a score
of years were the mainstay of Asso-
ciated Press dispatches from Wash
ington to the many millions of readers
Of newspapers which receive the Asso-
ciated Press service. Nowadays the
Associated Press and other press asso-
Citations sign the dispatches of the re-
porters especially on important hap
penings so the anonymity which
Probert experienced is a thing of the
past.
Fluent Simplicity.
Dick" Probert had an amazing
faculty duplicated by few men in his
profession. 1t was a skill Of i'm
promptu expression akin to that Of
the present day radio announcers. He
could sit at typewriter and move
his copy" sheet after sheet to a