The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1942-05-08
sMOON Is DOWN


One Of the readers Of my column
out in Michigan sends me a note to
tell me that one of his Norwegian
friends feels that Mr.. Steinbeck did
not bring out sufficiently strongly, in
''The Moon Is Down." the cruel
treatment which the Nazis have in
flicted upon the people Of Norway.
1t seems to me that, perhaps, John
Steinbeck in painting the picture he
did of the old time German Off
GERS in the new Nazi frame, brought
home something which might not
have been believed if it had not been
done in just that way.
Many of US think of the young
Storm Troopers as having been con-
ditioned from childhood to cruelty.
We do not realize how impossible il
is for the older soldiers, in spite of
what their feelings may be, to-
change to the Nazi theory of
government and to prevent it from
taking toll Of the subject peoples.
| The picture Steinbeck painted
lacked no horrors for me.
ARTISTS IN WARTIME
NEW YORK CITY. Miss Luise
Rainier came to luncheon with me
one day. I had not seen her for
some time and / was happy to talk
with her again. She has such
keen desire to make her art of use
in this period. All the other artists
with whom have talked feel the
same way. They have a conception
Of the need which many of us, par
ticularly the soldiers who are far
from home, must feel at this time.
This need IL for warmth in hui
man contacts. We want to feel this
warmth portrayed on the stage and
on the screen, to hear it in music,
and to read such things as will lift
the spirit and leave one still con-
scious of the world of love which
lies around US in the midst of a
world of hate.
| After lunch, I went over to the
naval hospital for visit with Frank
lin Junior. 1t is certainly des-
! perately difficult thing for these
young people to be obliged by ILL
ness to be laid up for a while. They
seem to think that fate is treating
them very badly. Franklin Junior
longs for the day when he can walk
out of the hospital and back to his
ship.
YOUTH ACTIVITIES
NASHVILLE, TENN.-One after
noon caught train for Trenton,
N. j., and spoke at a banquet which
closed the fourth annual session lof
the New Jersey Youth Legislature.
The YMCA has been carrying on
this work with the Hi-Y clubs, which
take in boys of high school age.
They study phases of government
during the year, 60 to Princeton
and have preliminary session and
then end by actually going through
all the motions Of legislative pro-
cedure at Trenton. They look like
| fine group Of young people and
those had an opportunity to meet
were very interesting.
Governor Edison made an excel
lent speech. I think / have rarely
had an audience ask more pertinent
questions. Afterwards, before CATCH
ing my train, I stopped at the Y
| to look in at dance given for the
service men who come in from
neighboring camps. The train was
crowded-people stood in the aisles
all the way to New York city. Most
| Of them were service men on two
day furloughs. One of them gave
me seat, and so we talked to-
! gether and signed innumerable au-
tographs until we reached New York
city.
Next morning, after a short time
of work with Miss Thompson, took
plane for Nashville, Tenn, where
the Southern Conference for Human
Welfare is being held this year.
FLYING RESTRICTION
NEW YORK CITY, returned
one morning from Nashville, Tenn,
after waiting quite time in the mid
die of the night for delayed plane.
This is the first trip I have taken
where we have been made to draw
our window curtains at each stop.
Most of the time it seemed hardly
worth while to open them in be-
tween, so the plane was like a dark
ened room.
One of the things I always enjoy
most about flying is the feeling of
being in the sky able to look at the
clouds. But this enjoyment is evil
IDENTIFY out for the duration of the
war. Instead, we are just group
of people isolated in a machine
which is flying through space. So
! far as we are concerned, we know
nothing of the outer world or our
! direction. It is rather uncomforta-