Evening star., 1938-02-02
Headline Folk
and What
They Do
Homer T. THATCHER and
His Views on the
Situation.
BY LEMUEL F. PARTON,

BY LEMCEL F. PARTON,
- ENERIC portrait oe 4 anall
Y business man march
~ on Washington today.
Homer T. Thatcher, Ard
more 'o6. owner and operator Of .
plant manufacturing refrigerator parts
In Brookfeld, N. j., may or may not
wear horn-rimmed spectacles and
doesn't look like the worried little tax
payer in the cartoons, hasn't anything
against Sinclair Lewis and thinks he
must be pretty smart to keep on clean
Ing UP the way he does; just broke his
arm making out an income tax re-
port on a turnover OF s782. .391 .o4 last
year: he thinks he pouched se.4ls2e.
but he isn't sure-if they allow the
depreciation item on that annealing
machine, he'll be all right; but you
never can tell, he'd like to grab one Of
those pen-pushers from Washington
and slam him into his plant for q
few years and show him what it meant
to meet pay roll.
Around Brookfield he is known ss
H. T. He likes that He hasn't fig
ured it out, but that's somewhat Ike
winning your letter, in town like
Brookfield-just a grade above the
too-easy first name familiarity. as a
man gets to be somebody around town.
He and Billings, the banker, call each
other H. T. and Frank.
He dropped in on Frank the other
day to talk about a loan. A little
credit is all he needs to put his plant
over the hump. It's funny thing
about the banks-loaded down with
money and yet tightening up all along
the line. Frank explained that they
were full Of Government bonds 1t
sounded complicated All that H. T.
could make Of it was that the Govern
ment was in ahead Of him when 1t
came to borrowing, Credit and taxes
IL man could figure those two. he
could get somewhere. But It's like
fighting ghosts-thev Just trail Of into
smoke when you make pass at them.
Position on Education.
When he was in Ardmore ne picked
a lot Of snap courses, The colleges
ought to put in some courses on money
and banking Junior is majorine in
English at Hopewell; the boy ouEh.
to be getting something practical.
I0I1 n oy,,bor tp ell III,
about it when he comes home for his
spring vacation.
H. T. Is somewhat mixed up on this
education business. Ella and the girls
dragged him to woman's club lecture
by Ellsworth Darlington on New Cul-
tural Patterns OF America" and he suf-
fered ucutely. He'd rather be shot than
go through that again. This culture
thing drives him to bad grammar and
uncouth behavior. But II there ever
was man who believed in education,
it is old H. T. himself. One thing that
worries him is getting Junior and the
girls through college. just give him
about five more good years, with the
youngsters all set, and he won't worry
about anything. He ducks culture at
every turn and hopes fervently his
children will acquire it.
GIutton for Punishment
He Is sucker for slogans and a
glutton for punishment, and. Incl
dentally. a whale Of big slice Of
America. OF all the business assets Of
Amerieo fIrea Tfths ara ", tbe hap6s
of small partnerships and small cor
porations in spite Of all the excitement
about trust ogres.
H. T. is inarticulate. but. anyway,
he is headed for Washington. and one
recalls the best poem the late G. K.
Chesterton ever wrote: I'VE are the
people Of England, and We have not
spoken yet"
(Copyr!sht. 1a3s)