1KIRQ Lowell Thomas broadcast for the Literary Digest, Er-May* July Era. 1951. Page 2i I 3 4 5 6 7 6 9 10 11 j 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 1 GOOD EVENING, EVERYBODY: The news this evening begins with a real Fourth of July spirit. Tomorrow, of course, is the glorious Fourth, and all Americans will be celebrating it. And the French seem to be ceIebrating it too. The Paris correspondent of the International News Service cables that the government of France is all set to celebrate the Fourth of July tomorrow by announcing an agreement with the American government on the subj'ect of the hoover plan. Secre tary-of - the - Treasury U o n and American-Ambassador tdge have^come to an understanding with the French ministers. all that remains is the threshing out of a few technical detaiIs. But the French authorities cannot give out word of that agreement today. According to rules and regulations they will have to hold a formal cabinet meeting before they can break the news «‘Ml SM 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 ! 16 17 | 18 19 i 20 j 21 22 23 24 25 1MIRQ - id Page__ <=2 _____ to the world. That cabinet meeting will be held to night, which quits appropriately puts off the declaration untiI tomorrow -- the Fourth of July. t±±s---the^r-i crht :w ay^rto ce4s-fJFaf:e~~ttia-. ifcrtg l or i ous Fourth*. The United Press quotes ACting- Secretary-of-State Castle, who is holding down the job while Secretary Stimson is abroad, as saying that he was hopeful that an agreement with France would be all fixed up at a meeting held late today by Secretary Mellon with the heads of the Trench government. The Associated Press reports ‘th-a-t this announcement in Washington was- given ri ght after the Washington officials had received a telephone oal -I from Secretary Mellon in Paris^ As a Fourth of July celebration, that understanding on fh e subject of the Hoover plan -- why, it just beats firecrackers. SM EiiSUiiii Page 2 3 j 4 5 | 6 i 7 8 9 10 11 12 | 13 14 151 16 17 18 19 ! 20 21 22 23 24 25 I suppose that over in London this evening Ramsey MacDonald, the British Prime Minister, ma-y^to* saying: "Congratulations, Phillip, old chap! ' ‘^e certainly won our point." And Phillip Snowden, Chancellor of the Exchequer, replies: "Righto, Mac! We jolly well did " Meaning that the British Labor government scored a victory in the House of Commons today when it put through the budget bi kl about which there has been so much debate. The vote was fiAB 274 to 222 in favor of the budget. well, the Labor party had to do a bit of compromising with the Liberal party. The Liberals hold the balance of power in parliament, and if they vote against the Labor ministers, why, BANG, the Labor ministers fall right out of their official chairs. The big feature of the new British budget is the fact that land­ owners are required to kick in with a *9-31 SM - 2 Page - r , ~ . JMfc -L— — S * * ? n 1 certain percent of the value of their 2 I and . I he percentage a penny to 3 a pound, which conies to 2 cents out 4 of every J4.85. Every Lit of land '.vas s to be taxed in that fashion. I mean e that's what the Labor government ? wanted, but they ha d to compromise, e The Liberal leaders came to bat with e an amendment saying that only developed 10 lana should pay that tax. Undeveloped 11 land should be exempt. The Labor party 1 2 didn't like this, but the Liberals 13 stuck to their guns until finally the 1+l Labor ites gave in and said: "Have it 15 your way." 16 And so the budget bill was 17; amended, and both the Labor members 18 anc the Liberal members voted for it, 19: anc i t was all over but the shoutin_. 20 21 22 24 ILALI Page tS 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 12 ! 13 14 15 161 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 1 A new law went into force in italy today and it concerns the malting of spaghetti. This spaghetti law has a certain importance to the whole world. The new law won’t make spaghetti taste any different. It merely decrees that manufacturers of flour for both bread and spaghetti shalI not use more than 5£ of foreign gra in. Italian flour hereafter will consist of 95% native-grown grain and 5% foreign. The United Press reminds us that Italy is a great wheat-consuming country and that heretofore it has always been a big buyer of foreign grain,--a country that could never produce enough wheat for its own use. Well, Mussolini has been waging what he calls "The Battle of Wheat". He wants Italy to grow more wheat, xx so as to cut down the exports of A foreign grain. And that new law is a symbol of victory. It means that Itafy is now producing 95% of the wheat it consumes ♦-•*-31 SM Page JLALI_-_£2 and has to buy only 5% from outside countrie that before the World War Italy produced less than half as much v/he at as she consumed we^Sj^seei^that Battle of Wheat and the decreeing of this new spaghetti law has an important bearing on world economics. ILM1S. Page____ 2 3 4 - 5 0 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 10 17 18 19 | 20 21 22 23 24 25 1 Well, bring on the crown, folks-- the crown for tennis playing, and place it on the noble brow of Sidney Wood, the young American tennis expert. The other evening we. had the Stars and Stripes waving fSni^e'Usly because it was certain that an American was going to take first tennis honors in the big tennis tournament, c*sr in Eng land. Shields and Wood, both of the U.S.A. were scheduled to fight it out between^^ themselves to see who would be enrowcre-d /v with the shining crown. A brilliant tennis battle was expected, but it5!^ af I off. Young Sidney Wood is King today, but not because he beat Shields. The game between the two -is^=oP-f^ Shields has withdrawn. He hurt his knee in his hard match with the French star, Borotra, and that knee has not mended fast enough. The doctors advised Shields not to play any more until the joint has fully recovered, and so he called off his game with his rival, and that makes Sidney Wood, the King of the Hour. 4 9 31 5M 1 imia_-_££ Page 11 2 | 3 4 5 0 7 8 9 10 11 12 j 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 I 20 21 22 23 24 25 This evening the Stars and Stripes are still waving, of course, but with «e=t quite such care-free abandon because in the Women's Singles, the German girls just walked in and pushed athletic young American womanhood right out of the p ic ture. In the course of the eliminations one American girl was left, Helen Jacobs, of Cal ifornia, and she was the choice favorite to win. She beat the star British girl player, Betty NutthalI, and that made it seem highly probable that she would romp off with fi rst honor s. Today, how ever, there was a sharp upset. Helen Jacobs was beaten by Hilda Krahwinkel, of Germany. Another German woman, Fraulein I i I ' , Aussem won her match today. And so Fraulein Krahwinkel and Fraulein Aussem will have a I it tie private af I-German game between themselves. to see who will be crowned Queen of Tennis. <-9-31 SM Page t j ^~tr\K o f) Whi 1 g 0 very:.s po rJc i ng mi nded •at.' L-V'-f thinking ot the bia tight out in Cleveland for the h 4 championship of the we i g ht s take s up another sporting event which in e certain ways might make the exchange of ? jabs and uppercuts between otribling and aSchmelling look a trifle .patneeU Th i s a particular sporting event is a wrestling 10 match - man against alligator. 11 In this week's Literary digest 12 we are told ot a slender, drawling is Sootherner from I- lor ida who makes a u living at the pleasant occupation of is wrest ling with alligators. The young man's name is Henry Uoppinger. They call him the Alligator Boy, and we are told that he will wrestIe with an alligator on dry land, in a swamp, or in deep v(ater. Tne Literary Digest, quoting Grant I an d Kice wiafl s^a.43—ar t- lef^ in 23 Col tiers, tells us how the alligator 24 Boy does his stuff. 25 Picture a big alligator lying le 17 18 19 20 4131 SM Page—. Uliiiil f 1 in a toot of water. The man slowly 2 and warily advances. He has the gator 3 cornered and v/hen the big reptile 4 sees no other chance to escape he does just one thing. He attacks w ith an unbelievable ferocity. And old ? Mr. Gator has sudden death at both front s and rear. He has a huge jaw full of 9 sharp teeth and he has a tail that 10 lashes out with swift and tremendous 11 power. 12 Well, the /,lligator Boy cornered is his alligator and the next thing you know the huge reptile came a.t him. The is man sidestepped nimbly, and then pounced 10 at his powerful antagonist. He took 17 an arm lock and a body scissors and is snapped one hand over the gator's jaws 1® and held them shut on. ihe a I I i gaxo r struggled and thrashed in wild fury held orK , ih '''TfX lt 23 now the battle was A the alligator began to get tired. Ihe Literary digest, quoting 49JI SM - 3 ~ 10 Page // 1 from t hat ar t i c I e by bran 11 an d Hi ce, 2 in OoH i era, tells us that the nlligator 3 Boy has one peculiar and mysterious ♦trick. After the gator is pretty well 5 played out he begins to stroke it along 6 its taaoty broad white stomach, ana strange 7 to say old Brother Alligator goes right 8 oft to sleep. < 3 Q 2 ^ How he does it is the 9 Alligator boy's particular pet secret. 10 And he won't tell anybody just how it 11 v/ or k s . 12 Of course, there are’W'Ni many who 13 are willing to put on a wrestling bout 14 ‘ 15 ie 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 with an alligator ter the purpose of seeing what happens it you tickle it on the stomach - no, not many - at least not me. 5M L Page 3 4 5 6 2 7 8 9 10 H 12 i 13 14 15 1 16 [ 17| 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 Any of you to I!; c who live in Ohic^ro or are oin to visit in ohicaro urin hhe next two months, why, you may :;u i te likely sec solemnly moving alonx Michigan /.venue or Late Shore Drive, a sno white automobile accompanied by two snow white motorcycles* No, it wonTt be a funeral. In fact, the procession will be glad and festive in character* The Internatiom I News Service reminds us that Shicago from time to time receives no entertains distinguished guests. Hitherto these distinguished guests he.ve been driven through the str ets in ora inary garden variety vehicles an accompanied by ordi nary garden viriety motorcycle cops. But now every ’:hi rv is ioinz to be different. 3hic^;o has acquired a greet in car i.n :l tv: 3 greetin motorcycles. The car and the motorcycles are painted white, tha snowiest kind of snow white. #.nJ Chicago has also acquired an official greeter. He xdc is George Be Gaw# j - 2 Page He's xlie ! resident of an envelope company. ..nd so hereafter, when Uhicaco receives distinguished guests, why, they will be welcomed by the jfficial greeter, an ' t! n v ill be ;traded through the streets in ti snow white automobile accom ^nied by cops on the two snow white motorcycles. Some other guests of Chicago, not cuite so distinguished, however, wi I I be taken through the streets, not in the sno. white greeter's car, but in the usual old fashioned blackMaria. •- - ajOfti'll-* 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12; 13 14 15 16 17 18 i 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 Page /£ Let's tu 22 on to this next item. ves , bu 2 2 is r i c^i t. f iilions and mi i I ions of insects bu 22 ed -- and bu 22 ed. It happened at Cedar Falls, Iowa. This evening Cedar Falls is O.K. The folks of the town are recovering their breath after a strange plague of insects. As to just what kind of insects they were the citizens don’t seem to agree. Some say they were willow locusts, others say they were shed f I I es. Anyway, a huge cloud of bugs settled down on the town. They flew last night in dense swarms from street light to street light. Big blankets of those insects covered the plate glass windows of stores. People going along the streets found themselves deluged with swarms of bugs. Some of the folks at Cedar Rapids vow that they saw drifts of the insects 6 inches deep ■ whirling along through the air. Nobody knows where they,came from, nor 4-9-31 SM iMStGIS - 2 Page___ why. And just as suddenly they left town and started for somewhere else. And nobody knows the reason for that e i the r. Lm Page ./A 2 3 4 5 6 ! 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 18 17l 18 19 | 20 I 21 22 23 24 25 1 Wei I , I jjtres^you are all getting ready to celebrate the Fourth of July totnorrow. I'll bet you've got stacks^of firecrackers and woman candles. and what's more, my guess is that you are going to keep up work an«** be careful with the f ire-UMj^L^ crackers and do your bit to make it a safe and sane Fourth. I have a statement here from the National Safety Council, an organization devoted to the prevention of accidents, and it tells us some interesting tacts about the Fourth of July. In past years the Fourth of July was, as we all know, a dangerous holiday. As a matter of fact, in years past more lives were lost in celebrating American independence than were sacrificed in gaining American independence. That is, more people killed Fourth of July celebrations through the year* than the total casualty list for the KevoIution ary War. But of recent years the idea of 4931 5M a safe and sane Fourth has made increasing headway The national Safety Council tells us that nowadays the casualties for Fourth of July average about 900. Well, that's a large and melancholy list. But most ot those tragedies will not be eaused by fireworks. Of the 900 casulatlee on an up-to-date Fourth of July only an average of 30 are caused by fireworks. The biggest danger is fro® automobile accidents, which account for an average of 300 Fourth of July fatalities. And swimming comes next. So when we talk of a safe and sane Fourth it doesn't merely mean fire-works. It means DRIVE YCUR CAR CAREFJ'LLY TOMORROW, and watch yourself when you go for a swim. How dangerous are fireworks? Well, the Rational Safety Council telle us that giant firecrackers are the worst. Children should net be allowed to have them at all. And the smaller f ir er*ra^kere cause plenty of trouble too. Children hold onto them too long after lighting them; or they pick them up too soon when a firecracker has been lighted and thrown away and when it seems to have gone out i—P li I'l'U. ..... ...... ______ _______ ______ KND - 3 And watch your step with sky-rockets. These things are liable to tip after you’ve set them. They're liable to whirl around and go shooting into your house, or into your face, A skyrocket can easily be a dangerous flaming projectile. And don't let small children fool around with Homan c and lee. They don't always hold them skyward. They are liable to awing them in almost any direction, maybe in yours, and a stream of flaming bullets may hit somebody, and then -- OUCH, And don't forget those sparklers -- the Hational Safety Council tells us they sometimes damage children's eyes. And there'e one sort of danger from firecrackers that ya/re not liable to think of -- cases of poisoning. Figures gathered by the National Safety Council show that each year a certain number of infants get hoi'' of fire-crackers and Homan candles and eat them -- and that's bad for the infants. Better feed them ice cream instead. Well, the old Fourth of July is a time for fun — and plenty of it. But we can have fun witnout too much danger of cracking up our cars and ourselves; without swallowing lungfuls of wat r while swiaiBing; and without scorching our noses with skyrockets, Roman candles, or firecrackers. And so iet,ti have a glorious but also an exceedingly safe and sane Fourth of July. Don't let baby eat the firecrackers and , SO L01»G UNTIL TOMCRRCf