L. T. - SUNOCO THURSDAY. FEBnUARY 4. 1957. FLOOD Today a feeling of happinees surged at Cairo, Illinois where onl, flood has been surging of late. People looked at graded marks, marks reminiscent of yard-sticks: river gauges, showing the height of the water. Yes, they looked with cheery faces, because they saw that the water had dropped - a mighty small drop, a mere fraction of an inch. Two one hundredths of a foot, to be precise. But that was the first fall of the water, in Cairo since the flood began. Always it has been up and up, until a record crest of more than fifty-nine feet was reached last night. ^The engineers say that the deluge and the river may pos­ sibly rise a^ain, some small bit, during the next few hours, but they believe that today's fall of the water means that Cairo is j definitely saved. That transfers the flood story further down the Mississippi. The next points of crisis are Hickman, Kentucky, and Net, Madrid, Missouri, both guarded b levees of the billion dollar flood pro­ tection system. In these places too, the v;ater shows slight signs of receding. FLOOD - 2 Still further down the river, below Memphis, Mellwood, Arkansas, is facing a time of anxiety tonight. The dike there is based on uncertain foundations of sand, and it's shaky. So men there are working feverishly tonight to brace the wall against collapse. In the whole stretch of the lower Mississippi, the situa­ tion may be summarized quickly: - The Army engineers believe the levee system will stand the test, stand up against the roaring flood water, with the crisis moving from place to place, as the deluge flows down stream. It’s expected to last for two weeks more. STRIKE Another conference -- the fourth since yesterday* Itfs in Detroit* So you can guess whe.t it*s about* Once more General $v'sT&r(L+\ J Motors and tSat Union^are trying to talk out an agreement* They^rJL in the midst of a debate right now with Governor Murphy of Michigan promoting a settlement as hard, as he can* There ’ s no gBMkkiiijcy positive word of what has been '^Jr transpiring behind closed doors* one hint is that the conference A -— is still snagged over that problem which has been the crucial one all the time — whether the United.automobile Workers* Union shall do the talking for all the auto workers, non-union as well as union* There‘*g,"ino" gpluti on ter the*. The report is that the conference has dropped that thorny Issue temporarily, and gone to the discussion of other points — with the likelihood that the problem of bargaining will finally be compromised* One supposition is that General Motors may finall-y recognize the union kas the voice for bargaining, but that the union will concede v/hat amounts to an open shop, all-mere i*umor—«- ■ wiahfwboweversterrtiy - ftopef aA* pi Governor Murphy hasjbrdered the National Guard to be on STPIXF - £ trie vigilant lookout to stop any possible violent disturbance in the strike area. Tha^s strategy on the part of the mediat­ ing governor. He’s afraid that a clash and an outbreak might upset the negotiations. A rowdy riot might unsettle the tempers of the negotiators and call off the peace parley. Meanwhile, General Motors has postponed its intention to ask -ledge Gadola for a writ to evict the sit-down strikers. The judge has already ordered them to vacate the factories. The company had planned to ask his honour to compel them to do it. But that’s hern delayed. However, here’s one 100 % cheerful piece of strike news:- the maritime workers on the Pacific Coast have gone back to work. CONGRESS The United States Senate today g began deliberations on a problem as important as any that you could pose before thauf” high law-making body. The problem!— wl\at is to be the federal government jiiioLg policy on unemployment? ^he- >-“d-ayj -•*n ****^ eoiiling feytr ^ooietant There are two phases of fundamental importance. First— shall unemployment relief be a temporary or a permanent task of the federal government? Shall the government deal with un­ employment only when it’s acute enough to'be a national problem, or shall it do so all the time? Secondly— shall the government have full control or only part control of unemployment relirf? Shall it handle the job a hundred percent, or shall it shift relief back to state agencies, with federal funds helping the states? The power in the Senate that has been dirving this question to issue is what they call "the economic bloclc," a group of Senators who look upon colossal spending with a sceptical eye. - 4 $ fk&M In today’s four hour debate^raked the new Deficiency Bill •• ill'll „ „ I : A - i I j 1 CONGRESS #2, over the coals, the bill that would put up nine hundred and fifty million dollars more for relief. The economical senators charged that, with money going out at this rate, no progress was being made in the fe±K±iiaiM balancing of the budget* So they policy on demand that the federal^unemployment shall be decided upon, clearly and definately* Senate leaders are inclined to think that an unemploy­ ment policy can not be defined until there has Mr* been a census of the jobless, counting them up, seeing how many unemployed there really are* It is known that the President is in favour of just that -- a census of tfie unemployed* ?c. : T:-l" fT - £ invitation, i'he co irnantier, hovrever, must send a launch to fetch him aboard. But if the skipper of the warship is a mere captain, then he must call on the Consul, and the Consul must return the call within twenty-four hours. Today *3 book-of-etiouette-V’hite-Hov se order declares that there is too much entertaining on these disputed commander-consul visits -- too many toasts to the President of the United States. Champagne foams in the glass, when lion-foaming coffee in a cup would do quite as well, with a couple of sinkers on the side. To back his up, the President commands that hereafter all visit s by American warships to foreign ports will be considered informal, except when special orders are given to the contrary. So now you know who’s going to play in whose bach yard - also hoy; muc! playing is to be done. In Washington the President settled a world shaking problem today, a problem both naval and diplomatic. You might summarize it this way* T,Are you coming over to my back yard to play or am I to go over to your back yard?" It sounds childish, but then a lot of great affairs of statecraft sound the same way when you divest them of their high sounding language. Take today1s problem. It goes this way - If a United States warship puts into a foreign port, shall Its commander pay a visit to the American Consul General at that port? Or, shall the Consul General,- board ship and visit the commander? TEh here Is has been a lot of fuss and fuming about that - with warship commanders and Consul General* In hot arguments about who should visit whowi. Now the President, taking upon his shoulders the mantel of Emily Post, has issued an official decree - and here tiTis: if the commander of the visiting warship has rank of commodore. the Consul must do the calling and he must do it within twenty—Jour hours after he gets the ?T-: : ive :T - s invitation. iV’e conirnander, however, must send a launch to fetch him aboard, but if the skipper of the warship is a mere captain, then he must call on the Consul, and the Consul must return the call within twenty-four hours. Today's book-of-etiquette-V'hite-IIo se order declares that there is too much entertaining on these disputed commander-consul visits — too many toasts to the President of the United States. Champagne foams in the glass, when rion-foaming coffee in a cup would do quite as well, with a couple of sinkers on the side. To back his up, the President commands that hereafter all visit s by American warships to foreign ports will be considered informal, except when special orders are given to the contrary. So now .ou know who’s going to play in whose back yard - also hov; much playing is to be done. ELLIS ISLAND Tne man without a country is a tragic figure, though humor has a way of creepinto the most sombre drama. On Ellis Island there's a man in a lugubrious plight. Yet the story can be catalogued under the heading of — comedy, tragic comedy. ' , ■ ■ ■ vl Louis Comiskey was a clothing worker, who plied a deft ! needle on cloaks and suits. He was a member of the Amalgamted Clothing Workers of America. j Several months ago a party of his friends went to Europe, 2 sailing on the Normandie. Louis went to see them off. You know what those ,,bon-voyageM parties are, full of laughter and gaiety and heart-felt au revoir. Louis Comiskey, the clothing worker, tells of what happened in a phrase of affecting simplicity he just took a nap, a short nap. When he awakened, he discovered that Ve not only had seen his friends off, but he had seen him­ self off also. There he was on the high seas. ne went through his pockets, and found he had forty cents. ELLIS ISLAND -#2 On the trip over, his friends took care of him# fffhen the Normandie ixxotutxiui reached France , they landed -** but Louie Comiskey had no passport# Forty centsj took no pass­ port# His devouring ambition was to sail right back to the shores of the U# S# A# but when the French immigration authorities asked where he was born, he was compelled to say — Poland, He had never been naturalized as an American citizen, only had his I first papers — and that wasn't enough# So for two weeks, while they debated his case, he heard that one word — Poland# And they finally sent him to Poland — the clothing worker and his forty cents. But. Poland wouldn't receive him. The immigration author- ities there first put him in jail, and then deported him back to France# Louis Comiskey was seeing a lot of the world on forty cents# The French, to get rid of him, put him on a ship hound for the United States, and Louis Comiskey was disembarked at Ellis Island — where he is in detention right now. He has ELLIS ISLAND »#3 made his appeal to Washington, asking to be allowed to enter the country and return to his cloak and suit job as a member of the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America. Maybe the answer from Washington will be yes, and maybe no. Anyway, it*s tough to be a man without a country on forty cents RESCUE Far to the north* the ice is jamming down from the Arctic, great floes and bergs. And it has hit the eastern and northern coasts of New Fonndland, This winter hitherto has been tmusually mild* almost balmy. Old-timers along the rocky shores were saying they hadnft seen such a warm winter in many a year#Uut now, suddenly^ frosty storms have swooped down from the North Pole, and the ice is jamming upon the shores, great masses filling Notre Dame B^y and White Bay. And that brings us to the weather drama of -the tiny village of Fleur de Lys. : m There the old-timers live by fishing, but last summer a spurt of mining activity began, digging for minerals. Mine workers flocked to Fleur de Lys., and winter found the number of inhabitants greater than before. XtatSKE A supply fi steamer was on its way with provisions for the expanded popula- ■ tion.but. now that.blast of winter has swooped downjsasff Fleur fl A de Lys is ice-locked. The supply steamer canamt get through, held up by the ice^ So today the word came^^hei? ^by the sky route. A Canadian government plane took off with provisions for the village - in a venture of rescue. BESCUB - 2 Here s a good place to relate the old line - about it being an ill wind that blows nobody good. The ice drift from the Arctic brings some good along with it;- seals/ As the floes break Isuni loose from the ice pack, seals are on them and drift south. And they are hunted by the fishermen of the New Foundland coast, unusual quantity of ice that has descended upon the northern villages, has also brought an unusual quantity of seals, Thatf s_the good that the ill wind has blown. LINDBERGH An interesting visit that was promised is not taking place - Lindbergh calling on Mussolini. It was reported that they were to have met tonight for a chatty evening. It would have been a birthday party, because today Colonel Lindbergh is just thirty-five. It seems incredible hefs so young after so much accomplishment and fame. However, Lindbergh and the Duce are not meeting tonight. r Instead, the Flying Colonel had a get-together with Marshal Balbo today, the Governor of Libya, who happens to be in Rome. The two aviators talked ^rans-Atlantic reminiscences, recollections about Lindbergh’s historic flight to Paris, and about Balbo’s own formation flight across the Atlantic* The reason the Lindbergh-Mussolini visit isn’t happening, is because the Duce tonight is attending a reception, to his son and his son’s fiance. ged ma r j?-ied--TWe a i tn'^nd'CTank ho s e'-^-^ei-miles s—b;r-id^» BASEBALL wfaeu «. baseball player wins the annual honor awardee bv tne Dti.seball writers, be must oe the hero of mighty deeds on the diamond. There’s Tony Lazzeri for example, second baseman of the New York Yankees, Tony, as I’ve mentioned, has been selected by the scribes this year as their hero in the American League, Once he almost eclipsed Babe Ruth. Eclipsed is right - he almost put the Sultan of Swat in the shadow, a deep shadow. The story is related by Joe Williams, who puts the thrills and laughs of sports on the pages of the N. Y. WORLD TELEGRAM and the Scripps-Howard newspapers. Joe Williams tells how several years ago, in the glorpof the Babe Ruth era, the Bambino fell into a hitting slump. For days he couldn’t get the ball out of the infield. Babe tried everything, including an eye-wash. Before every BASEBALL - £ game he doused his eyes with a powerful solution given him by a doctor* hoping to wash out the cobwebs and see the ball better. Tony Lazzeri observed this for a while. On the quiet he sneaked the Bambino1 a bottle of eye-wash* emptied it* and filled it with water. Not long afterward, the mighty hitter was dousing his eyes again, and didn’t notice any difference. Tony said to him: "Say, Babe, does that do your hitting any good?11 "Sure,” said the big Bambino, "it’s wonderful." ”If you don’t mind, 1*11 try some,” said Tony. ”Sure,n answered the Babe, always generous. And he handed ±k ovir the bottle. Whereupon Tony put the bottle to his lips and drank it. ”Hey you crazy fool," yelled the Babe, and he knocked the bottle out of Tony’s hands. "You’re not supposed to sboa drink that; it’s poison!" Tony pretended to be worried, and the Babe was worried. He expected his pal to drop dead at any minute. And he was more and more puzzled when Tony, instead of falling down BASEBALL - 3 in agony, galloped out on. the field, played a feist game around second, and lined out a hit the first time at the bat. The Babe's eyes were popping oht of his head. He was figuring that maybe it was he who was wrong. ’’Maybe you're really supposed to drink that medicine, instead of putting it in your eyes.” The Babe had another bottle of the stuff and might have drained it, which would have put him into a permanent eclipse, into the deepest of shadow. So Tony told him the joke. That's Joe Williams' story of how Tony Lazzeri almost eclipsed Babe Ruth, which brings me to the time of my eclipse and, SO LONG UNTIL TOMORROW. *