The Wilmington morning star., 1947-06-23
As PeglerSeesh
Copyright, 1947, by King Features Syndicate,
BY WESTBROOK PEGLER


NEW YORK, June % Louis L.. Horch,
the regional director of the U. S. Depart
ment of Commerce for New York and New
Jersey, by appointment of Henry Wallace,
testified that he first met Prof. Nicholas
Roerich, the Russian mystic, orientalist and
painter, in New York in 1922. Horch then
was worth about 81, 500, 900, amassed as a
foreign exchange broker and Spectator. Roer-
ich took him to inspect his art school in I'M
attractive quarters in a poor neighborhood
and invited him and Mrs. Horch to back the
school financially. This testimony was given
in court proceedings in New York in 1886
alter Horch and Henry Wallace had broken
with R oeroch and while Roerich
was still in Asia collecting grass seed for
the Department of Agriculture at Wallace's
request.
From the testimony it appears that Horch
was at once a zealot of a religion which he
did not understand and a fanatical adherent
Of a guru, or leaders but still a practical pro-
moter. He put more than 81, 100, 900 into
Roerich's program, including the lamasery
on Riverside drive where the priests and
nriestossns of the c''lt were 10 eniov frne -liv-
ing Quarters for life and into Poerirh's ex-
nloratinns in Tibet. He did this with heavv
devotion to the nhilosophv of the old o1lrl' who
has a conntenance of oriental cast and affects
Chinese dross. Tn ONO 1ett+e~ ',4rr1r~ed IN ~-,;-
dopce he wrotn that We ard "poorooma." w,in'
-oS he r-'fe'S ---~tico1 -o~o oo-~;d~~-' :"
The greatest privilege and honor, TO nav $500
MOO for cocnn cf Pon~'ch's ~-:rt'-os "- 1900
Nnr low" - wrote "o ~ ohio ~ ~:v, ,~:Al
0''t " +ho1'~h4 o+ ~v-~-- ~oc~:-.~- ~ Al-o .~;--
'in"1 or interne+. ~ wn,-1I 4-ke hoo1-e and
>oo'-- - 'u~'tn in them what wy roooi.,oa"
~ ""n" ho lost q oreo+ 1o-1 re roonn- ~
md Wallace foil r5+ with poe~ic, How'd,
then wont to co1,~t to "n+ CONTROL of +,o
'am9serv. A hitter finh+ ers,,ed hetwo~~
'o~ch n~1 tIo f-i+'f-l ro ---- ~, -.-%.,A
even 1T the dizzjest height of his INFLAMMATION,
loren was shrewd ENOUGH n -dvocate = pub
'1c1tv campaign tn build IN poerich ,rd
'irso1f in 4hte orh1io -o;~1- 10 ~o--o.,oa
= desire IN be an irnnor+nnt fellow in c,,1+,,ra
and 7rf, On AUG. ~. 1904 he wrote IN Roerich
7no- ""e. 3oerich. oe ''rnv dearest mo+her
and fother." renarking that their STANDING
MO crown since 1.-THE museum had been omen.
ed in their honor.
And now" he added, eff you take me
WIN YOU and introduce me YOU can easi1v
see what solidity and standing It will give
me-" Will eNe
on Dec. 2 1895. from Paris, he wrote to
fellow disciples in New York, criticizing an
art'c'e about Roerich and his cult In a musical
publication.
IL Vas wrong" he wrote "to say 'e~-
hloitlons were given bv manv of our pupils
and one was given by Nicholas Roerich!' WHY
not say 1.-The browning event of .he season wa 8
an exhibition by Roerich!' always glorify
the master institution. and our guru. Thew
must always be spoken of in the highest
possible terms. If we don't speak in exalted
Terms about these creations of our beloved
master, who will?"
linen Horch added a not excessively subtle
plug for L. L. Horch.
instead of L. L.. Horch, financier and
president" he wrote, put L. L. Horch, finan-
cler, man of big vision, ETC., ETC., he is presi-
dent of the institution"
Horch said a few days ago that he had
SO little money that he really needed his gov
eminent salary as a regional chief of the
Department of Commerce.
In his testimony he said, Il was very much
interested in art and culture all my life" and
indicated that this interest was stimulated by
his youthful studies in Mannheim, Germany.
He comes from New Orleans. His official
personal record in the government files in
dicates that he spent only a few childhood
years in an institution in Mannheim called
a high school.
In 1884, when Roerich was preparing to go
TO Mongolia and China for the Department
of Agriculture, Horch had conversations with
R6ericl. In his testimony two years later ne
said 'Roerich expected to be head OF 81
beria."