The Wilmington morning star., 1947-01-25
As Pegler Sees 1t
Bv WEsTBROOK PEGLER

Copyright, by King Features Syndicate, Incl
CHICAGO. = Some people who read these
dispatches have said am too emotional in
my adulation of great Americans among that
noble crew who taught US that greed was
bad for tn, soul of us, who said money was
only money anyway, and that the man who
wasn't generous wasn't a good man, but an
economic r~oyalist. l can't help it. though.
When / admire a fellow | say SO and when
l learn of some secret generosity l tell, about
it as when | learned recently that Franklin
D. Roosevelt. in a mood of greatness, per-
naitted B. M. Paruch and some other rich
men of the new deal set to pay the ex-
penses of his loyal secretary OF many years,
the late Missy LIE Hand, during her long.
fatal illness. That was big Of him.. He could
have paid these costs himself, rich as he
was. But he wouldn't deprive Baruch ct al
of the pleasure. That is my kind of hero.
the kind who. in his will, provided that his
executors. at their discretion might shoot the
works out of his estate OF almost 1000, 900
and provide for Missy's medical care and
maintenance up to the extent OF $1,000 a year,
or roughly SIG a week. for a bedridden COM
panion confidante and friend. Missy died
first, so there was no call or his goodness
of heart. on her behalf.
Ickes is. another of my heroes-old honest
Harold, the curmudgeon, or nllser. as ne calls
himself. He is joking, of course. Big-hearted
Harold is no miser. He is just methodical
and accurate.
b He is a
Well. read on and thea you decide for your
self what he is:
The late Anna Wilmarth Ickes. the old
curmudgeon's first wife. a very rich woman,
was killed in an automobile accident in New
Mexico in 1885. He was the executor and
was described as the sole beneficiary of her
large estate.
Naturally in the administrator and settle
poap+ If n ricb docnIept'c offoirc the court
REQUIRES detailed accounts.
The accounts of this estate are OF file in
the probate department of the clerks Office
of Cook county. III.
Among the items listed in the papers is
item No. is under disbursements" 1t says:
Harold L. Ickes. expenses. WASHINGTON to
Chicago. and return. S109 AZ" On a small
typewriter sheet, without heading. it says.
received from estate of Anna W. Ickes. de
ceased. railroad expenses. WASHINGTON to Chi
cago and return. re funeral of decedent.
s109. A." This is signed in ink, Harold L.
Ickes."
Among other entries are receipts signed in
ink, Harold L. Ickes.' executor. for Sl58. "a
for one trip from Washington 10 Chicago and
return, on estate matters. and for two trips.
same route. same business, S205. 80.
Then there is one for SGT SO from a flower
shop, charged to the estate. and another docu-
ment on a Western Union form. bill for
a total of So As, the first item OF which is
81 SO for a message from Washington, D. c..
where Ickts was, to Yellowstone Park, where
her son, Robert, was, with a penciled no
tation alongside reading, FRobert Ickes, adj
vising of mothers death"
And there are other bills for telephone calls
and an item of S34 for stamps
That is why I like those people. They were
big and they tried to teach us how to be
big by tearing up money by the billion and
ridiculing the mean-hearted and greedy, we'll
fed clubmen and tories who put money above
all considerations even decency.
That is why I 60 about for my idols.
That is why Harold Ickes is my man.
Scrupulous he is, too. You may be sure
he didn't overcharge. You may be sure that
his accounts were right to the penny. That
wouldn't be my mans way. When he says
flowers for his wife's funeral cost SGT. SO and
that it cost $1.68 to notify the boy that his
mother had been killed, the correct amount
was not a penny more nor less.
Yet some people say l slop over. They say
take it easy They say, "hero-worship lets
you down"
I say to hell with that. I am an emotional
fellow and when l find an Ickes, and I may
never find another in this life, I want to give
him his due, out loud.