The Wilmington morning star., 1947-06-05
As Pegler Sees 1t
Rv wEsrBRooK PEGLR

Ry 6O .
Copyright, by King Features syno'ca'e' 1no.1
ME,w1 YORK June 4 Nicholas Constantin
Roerich the Russian painter VINO was az
knovle:ged as a spiritual ledcer and teacher
in the mysterious guru letters a11rlDuteu "
Henry Wallace. is now president OF te non
ora;v hoard of directors of an organlzaloh
called The American Russian Cultural he'a-
tio,,s association, Inc. Its headquarters aie
at 2Co West 57th street in the same iaul7l
bleak and shadowy rooms Win he so-eal Mu
Roerich Academy of Arts. There are on tne
1rsi-s q; one large room a number of pant
mos dore in a medium tha- gives the e11ect
of easter egg dye. These are the WORKS Oh
tho old how with the two-legged beard ana
the suu,nt eyes who looks like Gnu Chln
Chow and is regarded as a master-lhtene."
They a.e flat pictures, lacking in depth, oe-
pict,ng clouds and mountains. Some eXpel's
think Roerich is not an a'Hst at an ou'
the e are others who call nm a genus.
ANYWAY, there is no doubt as to what Roercn
thinks of himself. His message TO ms ioloW-
ing. indeed to mankind, are replete with cell
cate acknowledgements of his virtue.
TIE executive director of the cultural rela'
tions is Mrs. Dudley Fosdick, wlo was born
in Russia but has been an American citizen
for 20 years. Her given name is Slna. Sac
has been associated with Roerich since ]hs
early twenties and made two trips from new
York to Tibet in 1925 and 1926 to fetch sup
plies to an expedition which he was Leading
Mrs. Fosd1ck says the British and the Tlbetan
auth critics held Roerich for IL months during
thai tourney but eventually released him.
Although he is known as d guru or ma
hama. meaning teacher or great soul, Mrs.
Fosdick says Roerich is not a yogi or theo
sophist rosicrucian or solrltuallsr, but q
who has studied religion compare
lively.
Mrs. Fosdick also says that Roerich never
-ONLJ,Or 4 Mo O0IJA
and China in search of droue.ot-resisting grass
seed TO, the United States Department Of
Agriculture. By Wallace's appointment, Roer
ich took off in 1884 and just kept on gong.
MIS- Fosdick says Wallace let down his Old
ordering him to proceed to India.
while. in his absence, another old friend, an
intimate of Wallace in those days and ever
since sicked the Internal revenue on Roerlch,
allie ging that ne had not paid enough income
tax. TIE amount was about $4,000 and Mrs.
Fosdick says it was as nasty a JOB OF us
as Tou ever saw.
The goofy guru letters are familiar ola
business to Mrs. Fcsdick. Reading some OF
them over again. however, she dropped one
of the silliest Of them onto her lap for a
moment and said Roericl always was amazed
at Wallace's immaturity, which was the more
amazing in view of the fact that ne mad
nevertheless slobbered his way into the posi-
LlOl OI VI
is not an inappropriate word here because
actually Wallace does drool, especially when
he is overweight in public. Mrs Fosdlck
said Wallace told her and several other mem
bers of Roerich's artistic and cultural mousse
hold. back there in the happy days, that ne
had a mystical or spiritual American lnolan
guide who used to bring him messages from
some other world, and a friend named Charlie
who all served as courier in the same way.
HE would say Charlie tod me this or
Charlie told me that " MIS-. Fosdick said.
81 was so astonished that he could believe
in that sort of thing. Even hen his language
was incoherent. There was 10 clarity. IL Is
the same today. Once he is not pro-com-
m,1nist. Then he is pro-soviet. Then ne IS
Then nti-British He Is not con-
sistent.
In the room at 200 West 57th street which
serves as an office there are small. iumbled
piles of publications dealing with strange re"
ligious snl philosophical subjects The cur'
tural association and the academy OF arts
are devoted to religion or philosophy as wen
as to painting and music.
Three messages from Roerich to the mem
bers of the association are published in the
report for 1885, but l think we need not go
into them because it now seems to me that
the authenticity of the goofy guru letters is
about tc be nailed down so conclusively that
it will make no difference whether Wallace
dSbAIoW1SoGOS lC4 vi y 1tOCAANA WAL ~
minish in importance and fade slowly away as
this queer, dangerous episode in the national
government of the United States is developed.
Roerich's messages are addressed from the
Himalayas. Some students Of Oriental philos-
ophies believe these mountains are the head
quarters of a mysterious priesthood of super
normal intellects who are destined to conquer
the evil of the world and refine the good in a
purifying flame. Just so, Hitler and old Gen
eral Ludendorff believed that some spiritual
current Or other emanation from the sacred
soil Of Germany did something special for
Germans, but not, of course, for Jews or
foreigners The guru letters suggest, in an
allegorical way, that a worldwide holocaust
might be a good thing for mankind in the
Ions run. Hitler had somewhat the same idea,
ana actually did play with matches. Some
devotees have warned me that it would be a
mistake to take literally the general PROPOSE
ton that the master7intellects and master
spirits ali are orientals and live in Asia.
Some, II seems, are workadsy white men
and ride the subway, and Henry Wallace
might be one of them, whose crystal soul
drinks eternal fire from an exquisite chalice
OF great antiquity.