The Wilmington morning star. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1909-1990, 1946-01-21
Fair Enough
By wEsTBRooK PEGLER
Copyright, 1916, BY king Features Syndicate.)

By WEsTBROOK PEGLER
Copyright, 1916, BY king Features Syndicate.)
WASHINGTON, Jan. $3.50 many politicians
and journalists, including, among the latter,
me, have made loose and inaccurate use Of the
term "double-talk'' that the following excep-
ton deserves notice in the record:
There is not one person in our national
government who has the gift Of this rare
tongue and this sweeping exclusion does not
except even Felix Frankfurter, of the Supreme
Court whose writing, vague and soapy though
it is, to be sure, nevertheless is crude and
lumpish by comparison with that ingenious and
marvelously nimble language which often, and
always beyond his just deserving, has been
attributed to him, nor Molotov nor Mrs. r.
nor Henry Wallace, either, if it comes to that,
can speak true double-talk nor even distant
resemblance thereto and the same I would
say of Thomas E. Dewey and any deep-south
new deal Jim-Crow liberal whom you might
care to nominate.
|, Double-talk is a language far more subtle
than the maudlin foaming of the camp-meeting
hysteric who falls out into the bushes blather-
ing gbberish and blowing his tongue like a
bull-camel under certain provocation and for
about the same reason. 1t is meaningless words
meaning sprattis Of the traits which I would
be glad to interpret If I could, and Lewis
Carroll, were ne about today, would be quick
to admit, I am sure, that his jabber-wocky
was fundamental and logical English after
half-hour of listening to double-talk.
NOW double-talk is not pig-Latin, that juve.
nile prattle which essays to disguise the mean.
ing ing the verb "to scram'' by the form
amscray'' nor is it that stupid abonination
imported from the Australian docks about 80
years ago which called suit fiddle and-hute
ana girl tWist-and-twirl. How some of us
came to regard the Australians as our nearest
OF KIN among the peoples Of the British empire
snail never clearly understand for the COM
pnrnent is all theirs and their slang so rnuscu-
lar and mirthless that it cannot truly be ex-
pressed on paper in type and line-drawings
out only IN Inoleum-cuts. A sticky Doggy,
oraggart lot but never able to take their own
part in big world and always dependant on
Americans for their ultimate salvation from
fate which is worse than DEATH they exclude
wit and grace and exude bravado and their
contribution to the songs of the late war was
an incredibly banal thing called Waiting
Matilda Inquiry disclosed that matilda
was the bundle that bum carries on his
travels and that 10 waltz Matilda was to hit
the road-for heavens sake!
There is not man or woman living who can
write true double-talk beyond few blurts
OF fifteen or twenty words set in a conventional
American context. know, for had occasion
few years ago to seek authorities with a
view to taking lessons. Once / thought had
found professor but, after an hour at his
studio, learned that he was only a comedian
with a repertoire Of dialects, including some
thing which he said was Hungarian and very
amusing, at that, but only sounds, after all, |
like those which American children sometimes
jabber knocking foreigners
Double-talk came into very vague being
about fifteen years ago in Hollywood and New
York and was heard only in a few of the
more expensive saloons. The only one I ever
met who could carry on in double-talk was
either song-writer or scenarist, on to New
York for the opening of picture, and exploit
ing chance to confuse and confound a POM
pous pundit by addressing him earnestly with
questions which had the sound of intelligence
but didn't parse and weren't even composed
of recognizable words. The pu1dit wouN
agitate his caulifowered brow and begin to
offer a reply, only to be interrupted with
something like but, doctor, if the sprattis
of the frattis-.''
tell you, it hasn't been done and it can't
be done on paper and the only two Who have
given us even clue to the text of double-talk
are Dan Parker, the sports columnist of the
New York Mirror, who sometimes represented
perhaps facetiously, that he was quoting Gen.
Phelan, the chairman Of the boxing commits
sion, in double-talk and John O'Hara, the
novelist, who has an ear for the incoherencies
Of DRINKS and bores and wits, and captured
a few passages of double-talk in short essays
for little magazines. But neither Parker nor
o'Hara has ever gone further and yes we have
not single writing in all the literature of our
time done wholly in double-talk.
The song-writer or scenarist OF whom
speak I would gladly name by name could
remember who he was. But he was just fellow
at table merrily and bloodlessly peeling
of hide with a quickness of mind and
tongue that produced sounds without sense
yet with a seeming of the most respectful
consultation at wsdorn's throne. II
'Sprattis of the frattis'' was all I brought
away with me and Parker and O'Hara seem |
to have preserved little more for the next
annex to Henry Mencken's American language.
I assure you that our war department has
not been addressing the soldiers in double
talk nor Frankfurter writing opinions in this l
obscurest of tongues. By all means let usl
give credit where credit is due but when
sprattis of the traits gets the sprattls the
reverse holds true.
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