The Wilmington morning star., 1947-10-24
AS Pegler Sees It
BY WESTBROOK ,PEGLER

dicate, Inc.)
NEW YORK, Oct. % - Louis L. Horch,
the New York regional director of the De-
partrnent of Commerce, has resigned from
the governments employ after nine years.
He was an appointee, first and last, of
Henry Wallace, who encountered him in
the mystical circle of Nicholas Roerich,
the Oriental guru, pundit or mahatlna.
Wallace planted Horch in several positions
in the Departments of Agriculture and
Commerce where he carried on unknown
to the general public until he came into
prominence a few months ago through
these dispatches as an American public Of
fetal, possessing great powers, who had
testified that he formerly regarded Roe
rich as God Almighty. Roerich was, at last
reports, still a Russian, apparently on cor
dial terms with the Kremlin. If he is alive
he probably is a Russian still. He vanish
ed into India several years ago. Although
he was not an American citizen, Wallace
picked him to lead an expedition of Ameri-
can scientists employed by the Department
of Agriculture in search of grass seed and
sent him on his way to Manchuria,- China
and Mongolia without the knowledge or
consent of the State Department. While
Roerich was in the field in the Orient, he
committed so many indiscretions that the
expedition blew up and Wallace turned
against him. That was when he vanished.
nOICll Hdu put QH q bNiAC " oIofhe
Roerich and to build the oriental lamasery
on Riverside drive, New York. which was
the headquarters of the cult. He too row
turned on Roerich. He held Roe
rich's power of attorney and yet he ap-
peared as a witness against Roerich in
proceedings brought by the Bureau OF In
ternal Revenue for income taxes and pen
alties. Roerich never returned for the court
trials although he did have counsel. Horch
also managed to throw the rest of the
faithful out of their quarters in the hive
on the drive where some mysterious
attraction had drawn Congressman Sol
Bloom, Senator Robert F.. Wagner and
other new dealers. In further litigation,
Horch got possession of the building which
days in New York, an art gallery and a
theatre. Although Horch insists that the
old joss-house is an educational institution
and therefore entitled to certain favorable
conditions under law. he is unable to ex-
plain clearly an apparent ambiguity in the
status of the property. 1t is his and yet it
isn't his. It is private property but a pub
lie institution.
A bill is now pending in the city council
to exempt the old joss-house as an edu-
c%ational institution and to permit the pres
e~ntation of entertainments and other stage
works without the license required for
theatres. It's sponsor is Ira Palestin, of the
liberal party, which is to the right of the
so-called labor party which supports Wal
by some opponents as a communist front.
Three councilmen whose policies usually
are indistinguishable from those of the
communists have supported Mr.. Palestin's
bill. Mr.. Palestin said he understood that
Roerich was one of those super-astral peo-
pie and planned to run the world from
China but that Horch got wise to him. He
introduced his bill at the request of his
friend Jonas Shapiro, an attorney, who
now represents Horch.
In the first place the joss-house was
now as the Roerich museum and the
master institute of united arts. Today it is
listed in the telephone book as the "Hotel
Master"
Members of the Roerich cult who re-
manned faithful to the old master after
Wallace and Horch turned against him in
their discussion of the iumbled affairs of
the old circle emphasize the fact that
Horch was by vocation for years a trader
in foreign exchange. Some of them be-
ieve that Horch, with the advantage of
his expert knowledge, was able to make
deals for the profit of the institute and
to discuss his relationship with Roerich
and Horch or to answer charges by former
subordinates in the Department of Agri-
culture that he unjustly reprimanded some
off them and Inundated them because they
opposed Roerich's actions during the hunt
for grass seed in Asia. He has never
denied authorship of the absurdly juvenile
documents reasonably described as the
goofy guru letters which someone wrote
to Roerich about the time of Henry's in
Movement in the cult.
Several years ago, when Wallace was
still Secretary of Agriculture, a news item
issued from the Department of Agriculture
ryhiol, ~r4x-1x I.1~@ro~@l Door;ol ,.,A -
a time when this might be calculated to
affect the decision of a judge in a New
York court proceeding against Roerich.
Wallace squirmed to keep out of the con.
troversies and actually succeeded, but in
quiries which were made then absolutely
establish his relationship to Roerich.
Knowles Ryerson, now assistant dean Of
Of California and formerly chief of the bu-
reau of plant industry under Wallace in
Washington, has fatty accused Wallace of
depressing distinguished scientists of the
department who accompanied the guru, and
fought him in the patriotic interests Of
the United States. Mr.. Ryerson himself
was denoted by Wallace.
II was removed" he wrote recently.
presumably for supporting Macmillan and
Stevens (the two other scientists) as II
should against alien interlopers seriously
compromising this country's integrity and
interests. 1t finally dawned on Wallace
that he was being duped and that we in
the Agriculture Department and the State
Department were right .
Nevertheless. Wallace and the new deal
conspirators succeeded in hiding Henry's
role of patron of Horch, the silver trader
and exchange-monger, who swore on oath
that he and the other faithful regarded
Roerich with alteration as their God.
The overwhelming majority of the peo-'
pie of the United States wants peace, not
war. and the government of the United
States is responsive to the wishes of the
n.a.1o Io,oee r Rvrnes former seCre-