Browning chief. [volume] (Browning, Mont.) 1941-1953, 1946-05-24

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tor who might save your life? You
might get sick and need just what
he could do for you-don't they ever
think about that? It doesn't make
sense he said again.
kesSler did not try to tell Dick
! that he was asking a question that
half the human race had already
asked. He only replied, 1T doesn't
make sense, and I don't get it Ell
Their, Dick. The Nazis and their bab-
BILE, and then child like Margaret"
"a nice sweet helpless little grill"
Cherry exclaimed.
Kessler turned toward her, and
spoke earnestly. cts not only that,
Cherry. There are people in the
world who haven't your sense of hu-
mainly toward helpless little girls.
But it's what Dick said-even if you
had no sense of humanity, why
should you do that to YOURSELF"
ITO YOURSELF" said Cherry, puz-
zled.
"Why yes. Why should you want
to destroy your own hope in the
future? Margaret's heredity in
cludes two of the finest minds in
Germany. If parents give their chill
dren anything of themselves, and
we know they do, the chances are a
hundred to one that Margaret is a
genius. Only God knows what she's
capable of becoming, but they tried
to destroy her."
"Gosh!" said Dick. "Mr. Kessler
you mean that kids liable to do
something like discover radium, and
she nearly got killed."
That's exactly what I mean. I
don't know that Margaret's
genius, it's too soon to tell. But I
know that in this mad killing of
theirs the fascists from Berlin to
Tokyo have destroyed genius, and
they're still doing it. They're de-
stroying their future, and yours.
That's the real tragedy of our time.
It's so terrible we don't often think
about it because we can't bear it.
Margaret's parents had at least
had chance to contribute some
thing to the world. But she's never
had any, and those other children
who didn't escape had never had
any. And what it amounts to-" he
said clearly to Dick and Cherry, "is
that your children may die of loath-
some diseases because the scientists
who could have saved them were
killed when they were four years
DID,"
"Oh, my sui,!" cried Cherry
from the top of the ladder. Her hand
caught at her throat. That's what
they're doing. I never thought of
that till this minute. That's what
it's about"
Dick stood up. "Holy SMOKE" he
said slowly. "It's CHASTITY. You're
right-it's too awful to think about.
You just think of kids as kids, but
golly-when you do think about
them as growing up, or not growing
up, mean the important ones-sup-
pose the Germans had blitzed Eng
land fifty years ago and had got
Churchill, I mean, and now we'd
never know"
Elizabeth put her hands over her
eyes. 1t seemed to her that she
could suddenly see them, little boys
like Brian, little girls with fat pig
tails like Margaret, the Einsteins,
Chiangs, Curies of the future, going
in horrible procession to annihi-
lation. Suppose the bombs had
dropped fifty years ago. She thought
of sulfanilamide and the Four Free
doms, television and cargo planes,
vitamins and the Panama Canal.
Her generation had these because
the men and women who brought
them into being had been allowed to
grow up. She could hear Kessler's
voice, passionate with a great grief.
"That's the real horror of fascism.
We are sick at what they are doing
today, but this is such a little part
of it. Their awful crime is what
they are doing tomorrow. We don't
know what they've already de-
stroyed-a cure for cancer, a new
philosophical system, rocket to the
moon. Margaret got out, but the
others who didn't get out-think OF
the books that will never be written,
the work that will never be done.
They're destroying tomorrow, and
tomorrow is forever"
| oSSGl al udyS dltel Tie tuTIl Ol the
New Year, Kessler received let
ter from Dick:
Dear Mr.. Kessler,
l guess there is no use trying to
tell you how shocked l was at what
you said the other day. My sister
felt the same way l did. l do not
write very well and it is hard to say
what I mean. But this is what l
am getting at. l know you are a
very busy man but if there is day,
maybe Sunday, when you have
some time to spare would you let me
come over and see you? l did not
want TO bother you until after Christ
mas, but there are some things l
have been thinking about and I
would like to talk to you anyway.
You seem to understand our family
very well and l know they like you
| op5 would pof mind apvtbipo e,;J