The Wilmington morning star., 1947-05-06
As Pegler Sees 1t
Ry WEsTBROOK PEGLER

BY WESTBROOK PEGLER
fconvrirht nv King Features Syndicate, Incl
We have the word of Charles Nicholson
tina. a large batch of mysterious letters turn-
ed up during the 1910 campaign, supposed
to be from Henry Wallace" then Roosevelts
candidate for vice-president, which greatly
alarmed Harry Hopkins, the Rasputil OF ue
New Deal. Hopkins wanted to suppress mem
but Nicholson and Ed. Flynn, WISE olu ~ ~ w. ~
al politicians. decided to do nothing Out let
the republicans make the first move. Inc
party behind Wendell Willkie at that tlme
could hit upon no way to BRING mem 10 pun
lie view and. Nicholson writes in his memoirs,
1.-The storm passed and they never 1'gureo III
the campaign"
About that time, a baton OF letlers sup
posed to be f1om Henry Wallace was examln-
ed by a few newspaper writer's anu 81 +hero
who were unable to make any use OF them
because they felt that they could not take the
initiative under the peculiar circumstances
Later, photostats of a batch OF letters, sup
posed to be from Henry Wallace, got into
limited circulation and a number OF copies
are now extant. l., -.
friends as a "mystic.' A mystic IS one
given to mysticism; one who holds mystlcal
views of mysticism, my dictionary says:
1.-THE doctrine that the ultimate nature OF re-
alitv or the Divine essense may be known
in an immediate insight differing from all or
dinary sensation or ratiocination; hence the
experience of those who claim to attain this
knowledge"
Walter Lippmann who certainly knows Wal
lace and is not personally hoStlle 10 hlla'
wrote that Wallace. in his recent adventures
abroad had fled from the laborious give and
take OF politics and administration Ito the
comforting applause of coteries, to the devel-
opment of a cult and to making himself a
sacrlficial offering for the sins OF the world
That, of course, is only an individual opin-
ion but it is the opinion of an Informed pohtl-
cal ~essayist and it is not derogatory but only
critical. Lippmann said further that the rea-
son why Roosevelt and his closest advisers
against renominating Wallace for vice
president in 1914 was that these tendencies
were already evident then"
take it that Roosevelt had seen the mys-
terious letters and that Lippmann either has
seen them or knows their contents. Michel
son, in 1910, when the letters so alarmed
Hopkins, was the chief press agent OF the
party but he was more than that.
He was one of the elder statesmen of the
party and the author of some of Roosevelt's
speeches. He says that doubtless some OF
the mysterious letters were fabrications. AS
to the rest he can only say "%perhaps." 1
don't believe he was being frank with us on
point.
The photostatic copies which came into
my hands revealed an interest in yoga, "a
form Of ascetic philosophy which enjoins COM
plete abstraction from all worldly objects"
Hamish McLaurin is one of our American
authorities on yoga. His book Eastern Phi
losophy for Western Minds" published in
1888, is IAN approach to the principles and
modern practice Of yoga."
THE individual who advances ideas mat
are beyond the comprehension of his fellows
always has laid himself open to misunder-
standing, persecution, loss of liberty and, not
lnfrequently, the sacrifice of his life" Mr..
McLaurin wrote after much travel in the ORR
ent and deep study. =.
Making due allowance for legend, charla-
tanism, credulity, mysticism and other sourc-
es of error, it would appear that occasionally
one comes to light who manifestly has
had a training of some kind that is denied
to the rank and file of human beings. 1T
1as even been limited that there exists today
an organization of superior beings who. in
a remote and olympian fashion, actually
guide the upward progress of mankind. if
there is IN existence an organization of the
sort suggested. and if it is conducted accord
ing to Vedic Hindu precepts, its members
must necessarily comprise a benevolent coun-
ii which directs the evolution of mankind
or mankind's good"
Has Wallace been studying yoga?
Some of the mysterious letters of which l
nave photostats and which l believe to be
he same that Nicholson mentioned, are adj
to Prof. Nicholas Konstantin Roerich,
an artist and scholar of renown. His biog-
'apay, in Who's Who In America, says he
vas born in st. Petersburg, Russia, in 1874.
He has several decorations from European
governments. He spent five years in central
he was "awarded medal by city of
Belgium, for plan of Roerich pact
and banner of peace" His writings includes
Paths OF Blessing "Himalaya," Heart Of
Flame In Chalice," Realm of
light" "Fierv Stronghold Sacred Vigil"
Ind Coates Into The Future" He founded
Himalayan Research Institute of Roerich Mu-
scum at Niagara, India, and is honorary pres
dent of the Roerich Museum on Riverside
Drive, New York. He created the "Roerich
oac, ana banner of peace, signed by % Pan
countries at the White House in
Washington, 1885,
The nature Of the ''Roerich pact' sighed
at the White House is not stated.
And, in 1894, the year after Henry Wallace
became secretary of agriculture in the first
cabinet, Wallace sent Professor
aoerich through China and Mongolia as the
lead OF an expedition. The given purpose of
ne expedition was to search for drought-re-
'lStlng grasses for America. That certainly
S an extraordinary mission for a man, versa
ne though he may be, who is primarily an
artlst and a philosopher. More appropriate
'aiehts might have been found.
Professor Roerich's home is sNagar, Kulu.
.unlab, British India"
He is regarded as an authority on the phi
osopnleS which Hamish McLaurin expounded
ana the mysterious letters under considera.
ion contain many terms and references
to the American mind.