Evening star., 1946-12-29
Capital Sidelights
Bu Will P. Kennedy

With this issue this column, which
this writer originated and has written
for more than quarter OF a century,
disappears from The Star, because its
author is retiring. He thanks hundreds
of correspondents for their kind letters
of appreciation and suggestions
throughout the years. But this column
is not dying out. 1t will be continued,
not as part of q weeks duties, part OF
earning a living while watching the
times, but as labor Of love-" With
free hand, in private correspondence
with kindred spirits. Walter Pitkin,
psychologist and author OF Careers
After Forty" advised this writer: Re
tire, but retire to do something better,
that you have always aimed at but
never seemed to find time to do and
he suggested an intriguing assignment"
fer a magazine article. Roy 9. Fitz-
gerald Of Dayton, Ohio, who swan the
Hellespont, climbed Mount Olympus,
and while in Congress took charge OF
revising and compiling the Federal
Statutes into one OF the greatest codes
of law in all history, has asked this
writer to undertake an alluring re-
search into certain correspondence OF
one of our greatest national heroes
and so the field of leisure prospects
Widens.
First on the agenda for our retire
ment days is to catch up with or pur-
sue more regularly correspondence with
such interesting, longtime friends as
Mai. Frederick r. Burnham, the ex-
plorer, who helped open up Rhodesia,
was a white mans hero in the TWO
Matabele wars, and single-handed
killed. in his cave the Matabele God
Umlimo Such other faithful frlendss
as our old schoolmate of more than 80
years ago, Prof. Charles P. Sherman,
d. C. L., LII. D., who has given law lee
lures at the University OF Texas, Yale,
Georgetown, Boston University, VIII
liam and Mary, Washington and Lee,
Catholic University and long has been
a Capital Sidelight fan.
This writer will cooperate with
group of private correspondence COL
umnists who pass along to each otner
tidbits of cultural information. hlstori-
cal nuggets picked up in their indlvld-
ual researches. Among these exchange
correspondents is one who dubs him.
self "Autolycus,' after a Shakespeare
character, "a snapper-up OF unconslo-
cred trifies." This is Maj. Ellzur yale
Smith, executive secretary OF the Bill OF
Rights Commemorative Society. He
carries us back vividly to prematcn
early Colonials days by narrating now
he let the fire die in his ancestral home
ON Cape Cod and had to walk several
miles through drifts of snow during
blizzard to bring liye Goals from
neighbor's hearth to kindle his own
blaze anew, The New York apartment
in which he lives occupies a portion OF
the land on which old peg-leg Peter
stuyyesant, Governor of New York,
planted corn on his farm, Great
Bouwerie, from which is derived the
name of one of the Oldest and most
famous streets OF the worlds greatest
city.
Another devfed columnist correspon-
dent is former Representative Guy q.
Hardy of Colorado, now in his 18TH
wear, who 80 years ago was president OF
the American Editorial Association and
still is publisher of the Canon City
Daily Record.
1t is also the intention of this re-
tirinp columnist to try to get caught
I'D with a dozen or more suggestions
for research made from time to time by
readers of this column and to send
them copies of the private mail columns
49, ,,,ox, roc,11t