Browning chief. [volume] (Browning, Mont.) 1941-1953, 1943-07-02
WNU Service, Union Trust Building,
Washington, D. C.

Washington, D. C.
Today there came to my desk a
mimeographed sheet from the Of
fee of War Information. 1t was
headed 1.-THE Nazi Slave Labor So
ciety."
AS read that title, my mind shot
back to very few days before this
writing, one of the days when your
capital was tense over the coal
strike from one end of Constitution
avenue to the other, and on both
sides of the Potomac. l say Con
stitution" avenue instead of penn
sylvania" (Which you and I have
come to feel is the main street of
Washington because this coal strike
struck deep into lot of offices and
bureaus beside the White House at
one end of this historic thoroughfare
and the Capitol at the other.
Naturally, Harold Ickes, in his Of
fees looking down the mall from
that strange modernistic pile that
is the new Interior building, was
concerned. He was, at that mo-
ment, responsible head of the soft
coal mining industry and the indus
try wasn't functioning.
Naturally the members of the War
Labor board were concerned. The
boards existence was threatened.
TUo Worries
Over across the Potomac in that
marvellous architectural achieve
ment, the Pentagon building, where
the army is housed, officers paced
the floor of their pentagonal offices.
They had two worries. One: Will
there be coal shortage that will
hold up production of important war
supplies? Two: Will we have to go
out and push people around with
bayonets?
haven't mentioned what was 60
ing on at the Capitol or in the White
House. Plenty. Every enemy of
the administration, every friend of
the administration who was angry
at Lewis, everyone who was for 100
per cent prosecution of the war
and they weren't necessarily differ
ent people, but people with different
ideas-was yelling for Lewis eye
brows and some of them were
threatening the President if he didn't
bring them in (on a silver charger)
for breakfast.
Inside the White House, there
were meetings which, because of the
presence and absence of certain per-
sons, would like to report in great
er detail but I can't-that will have
to be left to history.
AS 1 write these lines, l cannot
predict the aftermath of the action
which began late one afternoon on
June when, contrary to reports
circulated earlier in the day, state
ment was issued from the White
House ordering the men back to the
mines by June 7. But between these
lines of that statement was the story
of "Franklinstein" and the creature
which he created, as dramatic, if
not as tragic, as the horror tale by
the gentle Mrs. Shelly, written early
in the 10Th century.
SeL-Destroyer
A copy of that book ("Franken-
stein") is on my table as l write.
On the last page are the lines spoken
by this strange being which the hero
had created, hoping to raise the
standard of humanity but which,
alas, had found itself heir to the
human weaknesses and turned
against his creator. The "being,"
just before it destroys itself, speaks
to its creator:
g. thou didst seek my extinc-
ton that might not cause greater
wretchedness; and if yet, in some
mode unknown to me, thou hast not
ceased to think and feel, thou
wouldst not desire against me a
vengeance greater than that which
feel. Blasted as thou vert, my
agony was still superior to
thine
(You really ought to read the
book-it's far superior to the movie
version.)
But why do l handy with this
ancient tale? Because l do believe
that all of US build, materially or
physically, creatures which come
back to haunt us.
Look at the record of John Lewis
and Franklin Roosevelt.
John, born to the pits, a man
who won to literacy, yes, to scholar
ship the hard way.
Franklin, born to the purple.
Both endowed with that indomita-
BILE something that lifted them, in