The Wyandotte news-herald. (Wyandotte, Mich.) 1943-1963, 1944-11-30
A COUNCIL THAT WORKS.

1.-The Council on Books in War
time has pointed out repeatedly
that good books have played sig
nal part in keeping the people OF
America posted on the state OF the
world today. The vastly popular
and brilliantly edited reports OF
diplomats like Joseph Grew CTEN
YEARS IN JAPAN), and Sumner
Welles "a TIME FOR DECISION,
and correspondents like Ernie Pyle
(HERE Is YOUR WARP, Quentin
Reynolds (THE CURTAIN RISES,
John Gunther Cd Day.. William L.
White CTHEY WERE EXPEND-
ABLE, John Hersey CA BELL FOR
ADONO), Edgar Snow PEOPLE
ON OUR SIDE and dozens OF other
crack reporters, have filled in the
gaps that the daily newspapers,
pressed for space and hampered by
lf-imposed censorship, could not
help but leave behind. An example
Of what the Council has been driv-
ing at took place last week in a
high school in Brooklyn.
"A fourteen-ye ar-old student
student named Irwin Mohr declared
in class that Argentina today was a
downright Fascist dictatorship. His
teacher stopped him short, demand
ed that he either produce proof or
apologize for his statement to the
entire school Mohr went straight
to Ray Joseph's book, ARGENTINA
DIARY, for his facts, read para
graphs from it to four hundred stu
dents assembled in the school audi
forum, won the approval OF the
principal. and the cheers and APP
plause of his classmates. The prin-
cipal, whose name was Isaac Bill
derSee, told reporters, In my school
we see that everybody gets chance
to talk Let's hope there are lots OF
principals like him all over the
country!
Speaking of the Council Oh Books
in Wartime, its Armed Services Edi-
tons discussed in this column a
few weeks ago. are exceeding the
fondest hopes Of everybody con-
cerned in the project. by January.
1945, there will be forty new titles
a month, with print order Of l40,-
600 for every one of them. That
means over five and a half million
free books each month for the men
in the services abroad" Further
more, reports indicate that the
books are read and reread until they
are literally in Shreds.
You might be interested to know
that according to BOOKS IN THE
WAR by Theodore Koch of the Lii
brary of Congress- G. I. oe's liter
airy preferences in World War I
were: first, professional and bus
mess books; second, science and his
tory books. Boys in the hospitals,
however, as now, turned almost in
evitably to fiction and poetry.
LAUGH WITH CERT.
One of the most entertaining gift
possibilities 1 know of in the book
field is Bennett Cerf's TRY AND
STOP NE. Filled with amusing an
ecdotes of famous people and places,
it makes delightful pickup" read
ing. Its absurdities Scurry through
one page after another. as the fol-
lowing paragraphs from a recent
column of Cerf's proves:
H. L. Mencken defines a syno-
nym as a word used in place of
one you can't spell The Put
nam Bookshop is in receipt of a
fivedollar money order from an
inmate of Sing Sing, with instruc-
tons to send him some good escape
literature. i. Fl. A junk-shop next
to the main Southern Pacific cross
ing at Needles has erected a sign
with this hint to motorists: Take
chance. Well buy the car
The Chicago News" reports growing
absenteeism in Germany. Every day
a few more factories fail to show
up for work. A man received
big check for services rendered,
and discovered that it was one cent
short. A stickler for detail, he in
sised that the discrepancy be re-
paired, and in due course, received
another check for single penny.
He presented it for payment at his
bank. The teller examined it close
ly and asked him, How would you
like this, sir? Heads or tails?'"
ALL THIS AND POETRY TOO!
It's a relief in this war-crazed
world Of ours to take time out for
laugh at the absurd. Perhaps you
will enjoy these Capsule Classics"
contributed by Bennett Cert from
the pens of writer's usually more
serious.
Fair Heloise loved Abelard;
She must have loved him very hard
(But still no harder, if you please,
Then Abeiard loved HeloiSe.)
William Schmidt
King Edward the Confessor
Used to sleep under the dresser;
When that began to pail
He slept out in the hall.
Hillaire BellOc