Browning chief. [volume] (Browning, Mont.) 1941-1953, 1950-12-22
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Bouquet for Vaughan

NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.
Bouquet for Vaughan
COME PEOPLE will hardly be-
0lieve it, but herewith is bouquet
to my old deep-freeze pal, Gen.
Harry Vaughan.
Ever since the Korean war, TO-
600 servicemen have been wander
ing the streets of Washington with
no place to go and none of the
hospitality h wn them during
World War II. For the nations CAPT.
tal-ike lot of other cities-hasn't
realized that with the cold war now
warm, we civilians ought to shift
our hospitality from cold to warm.
An exception in General Vaughan,
who has been quietly raising cain
with the treasury and Jess Larson,
chief of the general Services of
supply, in order to pry loose the
old Belasco theatre for the use of
the American Legion and other vet
Grams groups in entertaining serv-
icemen.
The Belasco theatre enjoys one
of the most central locations in
Washington. Diagonally across La
fayette square from the White
House, it is adjacent to the old Dolly
Madison house where the wife Of
the fourth president of the United
States entertained in the early days
of the republic. But because legiti-
mate theatres have long been closed
In the nations capital, the Belasco
believe it or motifs filled with old
government files and cancelled
checks.
And the treasury department,
whose files are chiefly concerned,
won't release the theatre to the
veterans for entertainment pur-
poses.
More Red Tape
First stumbling block was a
treasury claim that it would cost
$4,000 to transport the files to an
other building. Whereupon Maj.
Gen. T. w. Herren, army command
er in the District of Columbia,
offered to transport the files in
army trucks, free.
Then the treasury came up with
new argument-that it would cost
the government S75. 1000 to find other
storage space for the files. Further
more, the treasury wants an armed
guard to be placed over its Cancelled
checks and it's more convenient to
keep a guard over them in the
Belasco theatre.
But what Secretary of the Treas
ury John Snyder doesn't seem to
realize is that $4,000 a year is
chickenfeed compared to h
morale and morals of 10000 young
Americans who don't want to be
away from home, but who in serv-
ing their country have to be away
from home, and need some place
to relax evenings.
General Vaughan, recognizing
this problem, has done his best to
cut red tape But so far his friends
John Maragon and Joe Major seem
to have been more successful with
Jess Larson regarding surplus prop
erty in the past than the general is
now regarding hospitality for
Servicemen.
Protecting the President
The folks back in independence,
Mo-, still are talking about the strict
security precautions taken by the
secret service during the Presi-
dents recent visit to his home town.
1t wasn't at all like other visits,
when Mr.. Truman casually walked
around the main streets, waving to
neighbors and chatting with old
friends.
Milton Morris, a deliveryman for
the independence Ice and Creamery
Co., is one who knows how differ
ent Harry's visit was this time. For
when Morris wheeled his ice truck
into the parking lot at the Reorgan-
lied Latter Day Saint auditorium
where Truman was being enter
tanned at lunch, he was met by two
secret service agents. And a new
method of delivery was set for the
iceman that day.
Morris was told to leave his
pocket knife, his ice pick, and his
ice tongs in the truck He was re-
quired to carry the 50-pound chunk
of ice to the door of the building in
his arms. There the ice was washed
-twice-and then handed to a work
er inside the building.
Down at Kelsey's restaurant
on Truman road, the route
usually taken from the Muehle-
bach hotel to Independence.
few of the townspeople waited
patiently for the Presidents
caravan to pass. But his Iimou-
sine, followed by seven secret
service agents riding in an open
car, whizzed by bit in excess
of the Independence 25-mile-an-
hour speed limit, and few saw
Truman.
Ellen, a waitress, looking out at
the seven agents in the open car,
remarked: "Those guys looked darn
cold