Evening star., 1938-09-02

TNH1S chronicler would like
Sabbatical year in which there
would be no track-sore politi-
Clans. embattled labor czars,
Hollywood cuties, raucous varlords
and no John the Baptist crying in the
economic wilderness. This being out.
ne Graves days indulgence for Doc
Aughinbaugh and the kings fighting
fish.
1t was hard to identify the Doc"
as newspaper men have known him
all over the world, with the w. E.
Aughinbaugh, NJ D., who authors the
book. Il Swear by Apollo" which runs
into quick second edition today, with
one critic lauding it as the damndest
stories you ever read" All the Docs
stories, which I have heard in odd
places for many years, are Of that
category. For 40 years he has oozed
genially around the world, practicing
medicine in an off-hand way, living
and telling amazing adventure yarns,
known at every wo Id crossroads.
I think it was in quiet little cafe
on the Avenida Central in Panama
where first heard Doc tell the story
Of the kings fighting fish and Gus
Schneider of Baltimore, although it
may have been at the club of the
"Kangaroos," or Tropical Tramps at
Callao
Gus was big, stolid German, With
a nice, friendly saloon in Baltimore.
Everybody liked him and he had con-
siderable political influence in his
district. His daughters went through
finishing school and decided, with
their mother, that papa could no
longer be saloonkeeper. They IN
sisted he must be a diplomat. He
had been doing politics for Senator
German for many years. 1t was time
for the Senator to do something for
Gus. Gus hung back, but the women
had their way. He became a diplo-
mat-an ambassador to the collar
and shirt industry in China.
Doc Aughinbaugh saw him from
time to time in Shanghai or Hong
Kong or Canton. lonely and unhappy.
Once in Bangkok, Siam, Doc and
Gus went to the Kings big Saturday
night fish fight.
Maybe haf soon my saloon
again with lot of dose fighting fishes
and every Saturday night we have de
fights NIT all de boys there and every
body happy again, and I should be
, no longer diplomat"
Several years later the Doc met
Gus in Cairo, his full-moon face
beaming With happiness. He was
homeWard bound, and with him. at
Shepherds Hotel, he had 100 of dose
, fighting fishes" including Sullivan
and Kilrain, the two Siamese cham
pions. and he would have his saloon
and no more collar and shirt nonsense.
| His Siamese boy. tending the fish,
| had returned to Siam. and he had
engaged an Arab boy. who had never
seen fish. As Doc entered the hotel
to keep his luncheon engagement,
/ there was riot.
| GUS had told the Arab boy TO change
the water in the 100 fish jars. He
had poured the fish together in the
bath tub, to refill the jars. The fish
didn't wait till Saturday to start
their fight. Only John L. Sullivan was
barely alive when Gus came in. He
started heavlng glass jars at the
Arab boy, and then, the pain and
humiliation Of years finding express
sion. began wrecking the hotel.
AS to the Doc, he was once
professor of medical subjects at Co.
lumbia and New York University.
lawyer entitled to practice before the
Supreme Court and a doctor since
1897, when he was graduated from
George Washington University. He
is a native Of Virginia, 81 years old,
and still going strong.
(Copyright 1881