Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1941-04-29
Tombstone
Now livinq
Up to Name
Clean, Quiet. but Sells
Peeks Into Past
(The opinions sSpressed BY
Wsstbrook Pegier are not neees-
sariiy those of The Detroit
Times.)
BY WESTBROOK PEGLER

TOMBSTONE. Ariz., April %.
For years and years the
local rooms of newspapers in the
Middle West and New York
were visited from time 10 time
by a plaintive bum who lived
meagerly on his one achieve
ment IN life-a crime for which
he could have been hanged.
Many reporters. in their traV-
els. wrote little attempts at
human interest about Pat
Grove. "the man who kidnapped
the Cudahy kid" for he had
been notorious for a brief time
in his youth and. as age piled up.
fed his vanity on clippings and
his body on small mooches.
Toll was out OF his line, and
he made career, such as II was.
out Of one clumsy crime which
he would recount in detail with
the pride OF a military hero re-
lating the exploit that had won
him a medal of honor.
DAT GROVE, in his moldy
L years. cadgIng lines OF pub
licity. boastlng Of a miserable
feat of outlawry in the Sancti-
monious tone OF a professional
brand from the burning. was the
town of Tombstone in emaclated
flesh and shabby clothes.
For Tombstone, too flaunts
an aecient record Of WICkedness
and ekes out a living now from
tourists passing through by eX-
plotting the badness Of men who
were bold beyond question. and
some efthem brave, but, with
few exceptions. criminals of the
fifeet ignorant anti Smelly kind.
The mines are unavoidable, 50
Tombstone works the talllncS Of
an evil reputation and collects
dividends from old vices that
were not cured but starved out.
TODAY Tombstone. under the
L motto the town too tough
TO die is a Crumbling string
town on a mountain highway,
its adobe shells a buSh-league
imitation OF Pompeii, Its weekly
paper a liStlesS tumble of remi-
nIScenCe from the old files. cur
rent jottingS. standard ads and
patent lnSideS.
Boot Hill Cemetery is a DELHI
erately shabby collection OF
mounds and markers Uttered
with broken bottles. gum wrap
pers and other tourist trash. and
maintained so as an affectation.
Notwithstanding the fact that
not all who slumber there we're
bad.
There is a more select COM
munltY OF the dead a couple Of
miles away
tombstone now shuns the vices
which. nevertheless. continue to
pay a little revenue, - and the
present community. though
morally pums has achieved an
IN tere>tInC frame of mind
wherein the wages OF SIN are
honest CON.
The cattle thief and tho stage
coach robber make a poSthumous
contribution 10 the support Of a
community which would react
Ike New Canaan. Conn. 10 a
common fist fight on Main
street.
THERE are now three saloons
u in town. two patronized al
most exclusively by Mexicans
and the third by NordicS.
But recently. when a party OF
tourists emerged from this one
pretending TO be plastered on a
round of beer and yelling ZIP
pee the bartiClan rushed out
in scandalized alarm. complain
ing such disorder was likely TO
give his place an evil name.
1t lives on its bad name. for
the saloon is the veritable Crys-
tai Palace bar of famous MEM
DRY. but that seems 10 be no
excuse for ill-bchaved strangers
TO take liberties.
Tombstone IS paradoX-s
clean, pure quiet American
community which frowns on
wickedneSS but sells it by the
peck in elimpscS of the past.
Copyrighted by tinted Features synd. Inc.