The Wilmington morning star., 1947-07-05
As Pegler Sees 1t
Bv WEsTBROoK PEGLER

By WEsTBROoK PEGLER
Copyright, by King Features Syndicate, Incl
NEW YORK - I have been developing a
picture Of inc association of prominent and
influential new dealers with Prof. Nicholas
Konstantin Roerich, who was Henry Walace's
guru, at the 25-story lamasesy, or joss-house,
al $40 Riverside drive.
To proceed. now:
There was a loud fuss when the cornerstone
was laid on March "a, 1929. As the poet sang
in THE Face on the Rarrooln Floor" a good
ly throng was there. This was to be a cultural
and educational layout, but it was not even
limited to the public at the time that the old
hoy in the Mandarin makeup was God
Almighty, a belief. perhaps erroneous, that
was revealed later by Louis L. Horch, the
regional director Of the Department Of Com
1Iaerce eor New York and New Jersey, VINO
stumbled around in a mystical daze for sew
eral years.
The Roerich museum press, which was just
enc of many cultural enterprises under the
gurus general direction, issued a memorial
Of the cornerstone exercises. This included a
strange letter from Senator Robert F.. Wagner,
Of New York, the author of the Wagner Labor
Relations Act, which has caused more dis
ruption, rioting and trouble generally in our
country than any other issue since slavery
and cost the nation more money through
graft, extortion and calculated impairment of
production than any other cause since pro-
hibition Wagner never was anything but a
Tammany clubhouse politician and judge, so
it was not strange that he should give his
name to such a law, but even today some
citizens refuse to believe the calamitous re-
suits were the calculated intention o. the
sponsor.
This letter from Wagner said: 81 know of
no more restful place than the quiet rooms of
the Roerich museum to which Nicholas
Roerich has brought the oriental atmosphere
captured in the distant East"
He was referring there 10 the old plant
which was to be replaced by the new heaven.
Then he said something which has a certain
sound when you read it by the light OF the
knowledge We have already developed OF the
queer goings-on in this SET. Remember, at
this point, that Sol Bloom, the non-malignant
new deal congressman who represents the dis
trict and, periodically, lived at the joss-house,
said there were weird lectures" there and
said also that tif you would stay around that
Roerich long enough he'd get you" and added
that he never let Roerich look him in the
eye lest he be hypnotized. Remembr that
when you read this sentence from Senator
Wagner's letter: 1.-THE old building was a little
retreat known only to those who knew their
New York"
That suggests to me that Wagner had
been up there a Few times before, and we GER
with Wallace and Sol Bloom, unless someone
had the gall to forge this letter.
Now let us see what Sol says in his letter
on the same OCCASION:
In the first sentence he plays the duck.
Can't be there. Very sorry. Sick. Second SEN
tence, soft-soap. Third sentence: Such a
museum greatest asset, greatest Importance
to city Of N. Y. and country at large in
perpetuating the art and philosophy Of Nicho-
las Roerich."
Oh, the old hypocrite! Can you imagine
him polishing apples like that, to get him
self an apartment in the joss-house, and then
telling me the other day +ha: they were all
nutty and that every time he looked at one
Of old Roerich's paintings he would want to
go and get a drink.
Well. I just can't help it if this does break
over into another installlnent tomorrow. I
have got to tell you something Sol told me.
You know he is n and has had a very
interesting life in the Eight business and the
show business, too. So we got to talking up
cd fights and he said he was the one who
matched Corbett to box John L. Sullivan a
four-round exhibition in the Grand Opera
House in San Francisco for charity the time
Corbett took the feel Of the old soak.
ut was just a ~sparring match and Jim,
wore evening Clothes" Sol said. "But IN those
four rounds he found out ne could lick him."
Somehow he failed to put a halter on Cor
bctt but he said he did bring over Peter
Jackson, the Australian Negro, who probably
was Corbett's equal as q boxer, although
neither one could break an egg with an axe,
ard guess what else lie said.
So, said: 81 paid him SIS a week sor fight
ing every night. He would fight six times
a week sometimes. But Of course we never
had those big houses. He boxed Corbett 81
rounds to a draw on a barge. They used to
fight on barges in San Francisco then. Neither
one could hit the other"
But 81 rounds is an unconventional length
for a fight that went to a draw. What hap
pened?
'oh," Sol said, "hey just got tired and
stopped"
But what about the customers?
"Oh. they were tired Of it, too"
Well, to get on with the letter from Sol
to the lamasery people:
ut is an affirmation Of a. . greater human
understanding through beauty and will serve
The cause of better international relations. Its
message Oil artistic and scientific subjects
will contribute"
Had enouth?
Sol says the reason he took the apartment
in the joss-house, and only for visits Of about
one month during elections, was that there
was no other hotel in his district. And I saw
he better come back and take another look
at his home district because it includes
Broadway all the way from 125th street down
to seth. I just telephoned q friend up that
way and he said he could count 10 hotels
between 86th and 1o4th without putting his
head out the window.
Quotations