The Ypsilanti daily press. (Ypsilanti, Mich.) 1928-1962, 1944-07-28
BY Dorothy KiIsslIsn

Morton Downey, the Irish bal
ladeer. wit ana raconteur, can call
half the great men OF our age by
their first names-and) don't think
he doesn't Here he tells you
about some of them. DIX
Morton Downey says:
Back in the days when the best
dressed men wore iron pants, and
the girls ran around in tall, point
ed hats that were even funnier
than the things they stick on their
heads nowadays. the wandering
minstrel was a national institution.
Guys like me-my own ancestors,
maybe-made a living going from
castle to castle, singing their heads
off.
Well, lot OF things have chang
ed, but not that. I'm doing the
same thing. but streamlined. |
get places on a plane or a Pullman
rather than gallant steed, and |
work with a piano instead OF one
OF those stringed whatsises. But
no matter how you look at IT,, I'm
a NdhANlA lls lulAoNlNA' anu LING ~
fine. You meet such interesting
people. Indeed, il is a composite
throng which includes first vice
presidents, lathe turner's, mani
curists; chairmen Of the board,
Hollywood producers, screen stars,
not TO speek Of ambassadors and
erstwhile little white fathers.
The Statler in Boston was where
first ran into exam bassador Joe
Kennedy Nothing strange about
that. Just sing in any smart spot
in the land OF the bean and the cod.
and Kennedy. who gets around.
will turn up sooner or later. He
knows everyone, attracts all kinds
OF people. | never knew whether he
was going 10 walk in with Gov. Lev
erett Saltonstall, Sen. Cabot Lodge,
or a visiting movie queen. II the
city OF Boston ever mislays Its
census list, refer them to Joe
Kennedy. It's two to one he could
supply the whole thing from men,
DRY.
It's a strange thing about poll
ticians and diplomats Republican.
Democrat, or anything else, the
leaders all seem TO have tremend-
Gus charm. Masculine "oomph",
you might call It. Kennedy has il,
Tom Dewey has IL. Sen. Alben
Barley, Barney Baruch and plenty
of other Washington lights have II.
AS for FDR, he really hit the jack
pot. That's one thing they have
in common. Another is their love
OF music. Every one Of the big
boys loves to relax. to good song.
Their tastes vary, but the yen is
there. Barney Baruch walked into
the Stork Club, introduced himself,
and asked me IL Id sing Molly
Malone" for him sometime, I did
dozens of-times-in night clubs. in
his Washington Office, in hotel lob
bies-everyfhere. in fact, except
on Baruch's celebrated park bench.
Tom Dewey likes his music lus-
ty. None Of this passive stun for
Dewey-sings right along with the
singer in a rich baritone. He can
rip off a chorus OF Irish Eyes" or
JEANNE With the Light Brown
Hair like veteran f1ve-a-day
man. Up in Connecticut where we
all live near each other. Dewey,
Lowell Thomas, Dan Parker and
your obedient servant frequently
get together in a barber-shop quar-.
tet that makes the houses shake
for miles around One OF these
days the neighbors are going to
complain.
About FDR, Home on the
Range" may be his favorite. but the
only song he ever asked me 10 do
was a jivey popular number.
That craving for music doesn't
only apply to important Americans
| found the same feeling abroad.
At the Cafe de Paris in London,
Edward Windsor, then the Prince
OF Wales, had what amounted to a