Memphis World Memphis World Publishing Co. 1957-06-12 Thaddeus T. Stokes MEMPHIS WORLD AMERICA'S STANDARD RACE JOURNAL The South's Oldest and leading Colored Semi-Weekly Newspaper Published by MEMPHIS WORLD PUBLISHING CO. Every WEDNESDAY and SATURDAY at 564 BEALE—Ph. JA. 6-4030 Member of SCOTT NEWSPAPER SYNDICATE W. A. Scott, II, Founder; C. A. Scott, General Manager Entered in the Post Office at Memphis, Tenn., as second-Class mail under the Act of Congress, March 1, 1870 THADDEUS T. STOKES Managing Editor MRS. ROSA BROWN BRACY Public Relations and Advertising ALYSON E. WISE Circulation Promotion SUBSCRIPTION RATES: Year $5.00—6 Months $3.00—3 Months $1.50 (In Advance) The MEMPHIS WORLD is an independent newspaper — non-sectarian and non-partisan, printing news unbiasedly and supporting those things it believes to be of interest to its readers and opposing those things against the interest of its readers. Religious Units Get In Step It is quite fitting and in keeping with the teaching of our Lord, that religious bodies at all times stand as those tolerant institutions to lead the way in our social patterns and good offices, that men might dwell together in a more wholesome brotherhood. Surely, they were never meant to widen relations and otherwise keep company with those political propagandists and disseminators of spurious isms intended to divide nations and races of men. The powerful northern Baptists in their Philadelphia meeting, reaffirmed the consistency of their faith in serving notice on the nation and the world in its pronouncements, that not only should Negro groups be allowed to integrate in the ecclesiastic bodies, but the churches were free to look about and choose ministers upon the premises of fitness for their pulpits without regard torace or color. These Baptists held also that those who deny this right to others will soon lose it for themselves. This was an all out stroke and timely in the current striving on every hand for the establishment of a world peace. While there is a decided awakening on the part of the southern Baptists in their Chicago meeting, they did not go quite so far in their resolves and pronouncements on the Christian tolerant frontier. Among their acceptances were that race should not bar a minister from attending their Theological institutions and affiliating in the functions and privileges in fraternal meetings accorded every Baptist. It is highly noticeable in that the South Georgia Methodists in their annual conference at Columbus, Georgia, moved in an unusual direction. The South Georgia Conference after an hour and half debate, passed an amendment providing for the integration of any Methodist congregation into a white jurisdiction. This opens the way for a unit affiliation of all Methodists regardless of race, color or creed. This action is predicted on the approval of two thirds of the membership concerned, this is d powerful stroke in direction of what the Supreme Court has striven to promote and implement at the public school level. The church and Christian bodies in general were subjected to some chiding a few years ago, when sports disregarded the race of star players, rather to select them upon the basis of fitness. It was said that the sports arena went ahead of the church; forgetting possibly that the church is the foundation of the lerant spirit, the reconciler of sentiment and the sponsor of truth whether in sport circles or on the political front. Those who have labored overtime for the church to seize the prestige of the opportunity of its own making are jubilant over the bold stroke the church is now making before its own doors. The church can be a powerful agency just now on this front of disturbed relations, angry controversies and political gerrymandering, now menacing our social orders, disrupting our economic procedures and woefully polluting our political atmosphere. Absolute Moral Standards It was an Asian who came forward during the opening session of the Moral Re-Armament Assembly of nations at Mackinac Island recently and declared "Only with MRA can we Asian countries unite among ourselves. . . ." The occasion was significant from more than one point of view. First of all, it was the occasion of people who have united themselves into a world order, purposely to work toward the betterment of all peoples of the world with the fundamental principles of understanding. Second, it was interesting to note that the man who made the statement on MRA is the grandson of the late Mahatma Gandhi. He was one of the first leaders of modern times to stand for the principles of MRA. He was a dedicated man, willing to sacrifice things material for the benefit of moral and ethical values of a race. It was Gandhi who gave up the opportunity to gain personal wealth in order to share his talents in the interest of his people. Now his grandson has also joined with the forces of decency in an effort to give moral stamina to a crusade of universal good. "When we unite on the basis of absolute moral standards;" Gandhi's grandson said, "and Moral-Rearmament, that unity will serve the rest of the world instead of being in opposition to it. I have decided to give all I have because I am convinced it is the one answer on which the eastern and western countries can unite." Absolute moral standards have profound meaning, whether one is Asian, African, European or American. It is the one banner under which all peoples of the World can unite, not only for the salvation of one's soul, but for that of the entire human race. Powell Terms threatened by the cleansing power of Federal authority they rally to any banner that is raised by those who now hold political power in the Deep South. "When the anti-lynching bill was before Congress they set out to prove that it was unconstitutional. When the FEPC bill was under consideration they falsely insisted that it would force employers to hire colored people who were not qualified workers. At the political conventions in 1956 they were not satisfied until they had sacrificed the United States Supreme Court itself on the altar of party harmony and expediency. "The vote on H. R. 6127 is an opportunity for the men and women in public office to stand firm for the right to vote. No matter who gets elected in Brooklyn and San Francisco, our country will not have representative government until our citizens everywhere in the land are free to cast their ballots Without fear and intimidation based on race." "As a final word to Democrats let me say that the colored voters of the North are fed up with weak platforms and watered down legislation. They are increasingly asking the question, why send Pennsylvania and Ohio Democrats to Congress if they must take their orders from middle men who serve the White Citizens Councils in Mississippi and Alabama?" Dawson, Diggs statement Wednesday pledging allout support for civil rights. This group also announced a "determination to resist crippling amendments" to the pending measure. Pointing out that the Democrats cannot pass civil rights legislation alone, the signers of the statement invited Republicans to work with them to insure a bi-partisan program. 14 Apply To Enter children in all-white schools. Dr. John Ott. Assistant Superintnedent of Charlotte Schools, said today's requests combined a total of 21 applications for integrating the City's white school system. Ott said the applications would be considered by the school board next Thursday "as does any application for enrollment." he said he could "not predict" what the board's decision would be. SILENCE IN PARIS Paris is a quiet city these days, says a Pan American report from the French capital. Not only are motorists forbidden to blow their horns, but subways are being converted to a silent system, too. SEEING and SAYING BY WILLIAM A. FOWLKES Managing Editor — Atlanta Daily World THERE IS DEEP concern nowadays over America's most piercing crisis. That crisis is the very elementary issue of fully guaranteeing and protecting full civil rights for this nation's largest minority — the Negro. While Congress bickers, in the midst of the task of strengthening already existing Civil Rights laws in the Constitution, high religious groups and fair-minded speakers in every corner of the land are urging America to get with truth and justice. DR. CLIFFORD EARLE, of Philadelphia, pointed put to the Presbyterian U. S. A. General Assembly recently: "In the area of race relations, America is Facing a moral crisis such as it has not faced since the Civil War. The crisis is characterized by blindness and resistance to the demands of simple justice and fairplay." WALTER REUTHER, vice-president of the AFL-CIO, recently declared in Washington: "The moral problem of civil rights, not the economic problem, is the most important facing America. We have the economic resources to solve these moral problems, but we lack the will and courage to use these resources for our national benefit and for world good. "Civil Rights should have top priority in a democracy of the highest order. Our credentials are not in order unless civil rights is placed at the top of the agenda in this troubled world. The people of India know more about what is going on in Montgomery than many of us do . . . ." There is no other way. Could it be that the pall of the atomic and hydrogen bomb fallouts is beginning to make America more aware of its most piercing crisis? America Faces A Real Crisis . . . . BY WILLIAM A. FOWLKES Managing Editor — Atlanta Daily World THERE IS DEEP concern nowadays over America's most piercing crisis. That crisis is the very elementary issue of fully guaranteeing and protecting full civil rights for this nation's largest minority — the Negro. While Congress bickers, in the midst of the task of strengthening already existing Civil Rights laws in the Constitution, high religious groups and fair-minded speakers in every corner of the land are urging America to get with truth and justice. DR. CLIFFORD EARLE, of Philadelphia, pointed put to the Presbyterian U. S. A. General Assembly recently: "In the area of race relations, America is Facing a moral crisis such as it has not faced since the Civil War. The crisis is characterized by blindness and resistance to the demands of simple justice and fairplay." WALTER REUTHER, vice-president of the AFL-CIO, recently declared in Washington: "The moral problem of civil rights, not the economic problem, is the most important facing America. We have the economic resources to solve these moral problems, but we lack the will and courage to use these resources for our national benefit and for world good. "Civil Rights should have top priority in a democracy of the highest order. Our credentials are not in order unless civil rights is placed at the top of the agenda in this troubled world. The people of India know more about what is going on in Montgomery than many of us do . . . ." There is no other way. Could it be that the pall of the atomic and hydrogen bomb fallouts is beginning to make America more aware of its most piercing crisis? REVIEWING THE NEWS Stories about they end of the world, as related by the grandparents before the open fireplace in their farm home were often Frightening, but not without substance. Out there beneath the stars and the moon, while the cold wind cut sharply through the trees in the still of the night, stories of the Bible appeared much more vivid. "There is no hiding place," they would say, "for the sinners in the day of judgement." One is struck by the meaning of the term today in light of communications, mass media. This may not exactly be the final day of judgement, but men cannot hide today as well as they did in the past. The speaker who said Europeans asked her all sorts of questions about America, is evident that whatever our deeds may be, there is no way to hide them. One is often startled by the amount of knowledge foreign journalists have at their finger-tips about America. They are much more familiar with the practices of our negative political forces than many of us. They know the story of demagoguery and the implications back of the practice. They know of Mississippi, the practices of the White Citizens Councils; even the names of some of their victims. When they visit America, they come, not in search of information as much as they do for verification. "We are familiar with your laws, segregation and otherwise," said a European journalist recently. "What we don't seem to grasp is how can an individual, even a state, get by without complying with the Supreme Court's decree." The whole world knows that often a "deaf ear" is turned to a lynching, a brutality case when a member of a minority is involved and yet congressmen spend time and millions fighting the President's foreign aid bill to help underprivileged peoples. The world knew even before we did, that a fight would result over a GI to be tried in a Japanese court for murder, but that hardly a Congressman would raise a finger to stop church bombings or protect the life and property of an interracial farm in Georgia. Some of these things politicians try to push back to avoid public criticism. Such is literally impossible, for today, the whole world knows why a group of Congressmen cut the President's budget by more than five and one half billion dollars. The world knows this was strictly political in nature. We are living in different times, times when the sins of a generation cannot be blindly passed on to the backs of another. We have come to that point in history where there is no hiding place. "There Is No Hiding Place" . . . Stories about they end of the world, as related by the grandparents before the open fireplace in their farm home were often Frightening, but not without substance. Out there beneath the stars and the moon, while the cold wind cut sharply through the trees in the still of the night, stories of the Bible appeared much more vivid. "There is no hiding place," they would say, "for the sinners in the day of judgement." One is struck by the meaning of the term today in light of communications, mass media. This may not exactly be the final day of judgement, but men cannot hide today as well as they did in the past. The speaker who said Europeans asked her all sorts of questions about America, is evident that whatever our deeds may be, there is no way to hide them. One is often startled by the amount of knowledge foreign journalists have at their finger-tips about America. They are much more familiar with the practices of our negative political forces than many of us. They know the story of demagoguery and the implications back of the practice. They know of Mississippi, the practices of the White Citizens Councils; even the names of some of their victims. When they visit America, they come, not in search of information as much as they do for verification. "We are familiar with your laws, segregation and otherwise," said a European journalist recently. "What we don't seem to grasp is how can an individual, even a state, get by without complying with the Supreme Court's decree." The whole world knows that often a "deaf ear" is turned to a lynching, a brutality case when a member of a minority is involved and yet congressmen spend time and millions fighting the President's foreign aid bill to help underprivileged peoples. The world knew even before we did, that a fight would result over a GI to be tried in a Japanese court for murder, but that hardly a Congressman would raise a finger to stop church bombings or protect the life and property of an interracial farm in Georgia. Some of these things politicians try to push back to avoid public criticism. Such is literally impossible, for today, the whole world knows why a group of Congressmen cut the President's budget by more than five and one half billion dollars. The world knows this was strictly political in nature. We are living in different times, times when the sins of a generation cannot be blindly passed on to the backs of another. We have come to that point in history where there is no hiding place. Delegation of 26 following boys from the following high schools FROM— Hamilton high school: Willis Warren Jr. of 1388 Greenwood St.; Leon Taylor, 1358 Richmond Ave. and Willie Wells. 1307 E. Triggs Ave. Backer T. Washington high: Lewis McLen, 684 Edith Ave.; Howard Bowen, 274 W. Fields St. and John Jacob Taylor, 651 Jeanette St. Douglass high: Robert E. Gladney, 3200 Mt. Olive Ave.; Sidney Bowen 2203 Shannon St.; Ralph A Prather, 1096 N. Hollywood Aye.; and Govner Johnson, Jr., 2340 flunter Ave. Manassas high: John R. Wright, 185 Overton Ave.; Charles Moore, 1967 Nedra Ave.; Willie L. Simpson, 862 McComb Ave., James D. Holmes, McKissic Malone, 476 Concord St., Freddie L. Simpson, 230 N. Main, Joe A. Young, 2332 Eldridge, Clifton A O'Neil Jr., Melvin J. Brown 999 "A" Peach St., and Milton E. Dennie, 1211 Tully St. St. Augustine high: Charles P Alexander, 1173 Wilson St., Frank M. Warren, 600 S. Orleans Street, Robert G. Atkins, 1984 Frisco. Melrose high: Harold Julian, 761 Dallas St., A. D. Porterfield. Jr., 1590 E. Dianne Circle, and Steve Taylor, 696 Marechaelneil. Robinson Hinted right leg last March from which he is recovering. During his administration, the college obtained A-rating and had its greatest expansion. Prof. John H. Brockett, Jr. of the chemistry department and director of public relations, was selected by the trustees to serve as acting president until a successor can be selected. A committee was appointed to consider and recommend a successor. The committee consists of; Bishops W. J. Walls, W. C. Brown, R. L. Jones. Herbert Bell Shaw and James W. Eichelberger. Livingstone College observed its Diamond Jubilee Commencement this year with 83 graduates from the college of liberal arts and two from the Theological seminary. MY WEEKLY SERMON REV. BLAIR T. HUNT PASTOR MISSISSIPPI BLVD. CHRISTIAN CHURCH, MEMPHIS We all make investments, something to eat, something to wear, an education, a family, stocks and bonds, Bethlehem Steel. Seeds make more seeds, money makes more money. Therefore, make your money work. Blessed are they who can make their money work for God and their fellowmen. You may not have money to invest but you can invest your brain. Happy is the person who is thoughtful, who is educated. Thanks be to God for scholars who have invested their brains and have unfolded mysteries and enlightened their generation. But to invest a soul is beyond measure the most glorious achievement of man or woman, boy or girl. Since like produces like, money produces money, seeds produce seeds, brain produces brain, to invest a soul the gains are in character, influence, and service not only for the investor, but for his fellowmen. Such was the investment of Jesus Christ. The spiritual market, like the material market, is loaded with fake schemes that perish with the sunset. Prudence must teach you beware, beware the cultists with their Cadillacs, beware the racketeers with their arousements. Hold fast to the old time religion. Don't fall for the gold brick, a gold brick is a delusion. Hold on to Christ. Remember the right will triumph. The Christian life is the best investment that any man or woman, boy or girl can make. The worth and excellency of the soul is of inestimable value. The gain of the world is uncertain gain It is a temporary gain. A woman of reputed wealth died, some asked, "What did she leave?" The answer came" she left everything." There are no pockets in funeral shrouds. I read of a woman whose house was on fire. She was very busy in removing her furniture, her clothes, her goods, but she forgot her child, who lay asleep in a rear room in a cradle. At last she thought of her poor baby and feverishly and screamingly ran into the burning house to save the baby. But it was too late. The flames prevented her from reaching the room where lay her babe in its cradle. Agonizingly she moaned: "O, my child! My child! I have saved mose of my furniture, my clothes, my goods, but I have lost my child!" Friends there is nothing to mitigate the loss of the soul. It is the loss of losses, the death of deaths, a catastrophe unequal in extent, unparalled in meaning. What would you give in exchange for your soul if God would call you away to-day? We have only today, tomorrow is not promised us. Let us invest in souls, imperishable souls. "Brother afar from the Sacior today. Risking your soul for the things that decay. Oh, if today God should call it away. What would you give in exchange for your soul?" INVESTMENTS REV. BLAIR T. HUNT PASTOR MISSISSIPPI BLVD. CHRISTIAN CHURCH, MEMPHIS We all make investments, something to eat, something to wear, an education, a family, stocks and bonds, Bethlehem Steel. Seeds make more seeds, money makes more money. Therefore, make your money work. Blessed are they who can make their money work for God and their fellowmen. You may not have money to invest but you can invest your brain. Happy is the person who is thoughtful, who is educated. Thanks be to God for scholars who have invested their brains and have unfolded mysteries and enlightened their generation. But to invest a soul is beyond measure the most glorious achievement of man or woman, boy or girl. Since like produces like, money produces money, seeds produce seeds, brain produces brain, to invest a soul the gains are in character, influence, and service not only for the investor, but for his fellowmen. Such was the investment of Jesus Christ. The spiritual market, like the material market, is loaded with fake schemes that perish with the sunset. Prudence must teach you beware, beware the cultists with their Cadillacs, beware the racketeers with their arousements. Hold fast to the old time religion. Don't fall for the gold brick, a gold brick is a delusion. Hold on to Christ. Remember the right will triumph. The Christian life is the best investment that any man or woman, boy or girl can make. The worth and excellency of the soul is of inestimable value. The gain of the world is uncertain gain It is a temporary gain. A woman of reputed wealth died, some asked, "What did she leave?" The answer came" she left everything." There are no pockets in funeral shrouds. I read of a woman whose house was on fire. She was very busy in removing her furniture, her clothes, her goods, but she forgot her child, who lay asleep in a rear room in a cradle. At last she thought of her poor baby and feverishly and screamingly ran into the burning house to save the baby. But it was too late. The flames prevented her from reaching the room where lay her babe in its cradle. Agonizingly she moaned: "O, my child! My child! I have saved mose of my furniture, my clothes, my goods, but I have lost my child!" Friends there is nothing to mitigate the loss of the soul. It is the loss of losses, the death of deaths, a catastrophe unequal in extent, unparalled in meaning. What would you give in exchange for your soul if God would call you away to-day? We have only today, tomorrow is not promised us. Let us invest in souls, imperishable souls. "Brother afar from the Sacior today. Risking your soul for the things that decay. Oh, if today God should call it away. What would you give in exchange for your soul?" Controversial Prof. King Returns To Alcorn This Fall The man who touched off mass student protest demonstrations at Alcorn A&M College is slated to return to the school next year and resume his teaching duties, it was earned here this week. Prof. Clennon King, whose antiNAACP statements were published in a daily newspaper causing a severe student boycott of the school has been granted a new one-year contract to teach at the school for the academic year 1957-58. Dr. J. D. Boyd, president of the school, presented King's name with other faculty members. King stated "I am happy and pleased at the opportunity to teach next year at Alcorn. I have a family to support and I have a house full of furniture at Alcorn. At the school, pessimism as to King's teaching was expressed by Dr. Boyd. He gave no cause for his belief. ATLANTA, GEORGIA—(SNS) — Although pert and talented Gloria Hicks is not up for graduation this year, speculation is that she fulfills all requirements for a degree in feminine pulchritude. She looks forward to a future as an efficient and valuable secretary. The Brass and the Blue By JAMES KEENE © Copyright 1956, by James Keene, Reprinted by permission of Random House. Inc. [King Features Syndicate] GENERAL WESSELS called his staff meeting after the evening mess. Major Powell was there, and Jim Bridger, who had just come in from a brief "looksee," as he put it. Half a dozen officers were present and the first arrivals took what chairs were available; the others stood against the wall while Wessels paced back and forth, reducing visibility in the room with his rank cigar. Finally the orderly closed the door and Wessels stopped pacing. "Gentlemen," he said, "I've called this meeting because I firmly believe we're on the threshold of something great, the turning point in our one-sided campaign against Red Cloud's Sioux." The murmur went around the room like a brook dropping down over rocks. When Wessels took his cigar from his mouth to speak again, the movement brought an end to their buzzing talk; they watched their commander with the same attention that a musician gives the symphony conductor. "Bridger has been on a scout all afternoon." Wessels turned to him. "Did you learn anything?" "Red Cloud's lickin' his wounds, Gener'l. That young lieutenant shore give him jessy!" Bridger threw his arms out wide. "Wrecked his hull camp. You should've seen it, Gener'l; lodges an' traps scattered over a hull half-acre. Looks like a herd o' buff'lo went through it lickety-split." "You saw no sign of the Sioux?" Powell asked this. He was a small man, moon-faced, with a neatly clipped mustache and a manner that invited no nonsense. "Nope," Bridger said. "Reckon Red Cloud's somewhere behind Lodge Trail Ridge, cussin' a blue streak. You can't blame him none. All along, he's been makin' some powerful medicine. Got most of his bucks believin' he's th' wind and the thunder." "Bridger chuckled. "That there lieutenant sorta knocked that into a cocked hat for him. Red Cloud'll be doin' his dancin' tonight: you can bet your prime, beaver on that. He'll have to make some medicine again' that lieutenant. Make it or lose some face. Yessiree." Wessels had heard enough. He put his cigar down and sat at his desk. His face was lined and haggard for he was a troubled man, heavy with responsibility and shouldered with a campaign which had no certain happy ending. Yet there was hope in his voice as he said "Inadvertently Schwabacker—I've made him a captain—has performed a miracle for us. Gentlemen, I'm violating no confidence when I say that the government, especially the military, is eager to abandon this campaign. It is my personal opinion that General Cooke and many others are now sorry it ever began. However, we have a semipolitical position to consider, and that is this. A withdrawal of troops from Fort C. F. Smith and Fort Phil Kearny while Red Cloud was in a victorious military position, would leave a bad taste, so to speak, in the public's mouth. The United States Army, gentlemen, does not begin a campaign to leave it in complete rout. We are faced with the task of withdrawing only at impasse, and I believe Schwabacker's action may afford us the opportunity." "I fail to see where our situation has been altered, General." This from Powell. "Tactically, it hasn't," Wessels said. "But before this Red Cloud took the field upon every occasion. He has kept Kearny in veritable siege since the building of it Fort Smith has fared little better. Red Cloud's actions have been ones of contempt for us. He shows it every time he allows a courier or a small detail to travel from here, to Smith without harm. He doesn't care whether we discuss our abominable plight or not, simply because he feels that he can wipe us out when he gets good and ready." Wessels banged the flat of his hand on his desk. "But at last Red Cloud has met a force in the field, vastly inferior to his own in numbers, but he took a licking. He gave ground, gentlemen, and I imagine that was a severe blow to his pride. No, I believe a great event has occurred, and I Intend to make the most of it. Gentlemen, understand that a peace commission has stood ready to make overtures to Red Cloud and bring this bloody mess to an end, but we needed a victory on our side before we could argue. Think, gentlemen! The defeated army does not dictate terms to the victor, and until this afternoon, Red Cloud has been the victor!" "But will this be enough, General?" Captain Tenadore Ten Eyck asked. He leaned against the wall, a slender man with dark burning eyes. "Enough to insure peace?" Wessels shook his head. "I don't know. But it can offer hope. I've finished a report that will go out by courier tonight after tattoo. In this report I've suggested that the peace commission return to Fort Laramie, and that a possible meeting be arranged. We will never have a clear-cut victory here; I'm sure of that But I think even Red Cloud win agree that it is ridiculous to waste lives on both sides when neither can win." He looked at each of them. "That's the situation as I see it. You're excused, gentlemen." They filed out, all but Jim Bridger, who stayed because Gen eral Weasels signaled him. Wessels touched a match to his dead cigar and puffed furiously. Bridger remained slumped in his chair, his whiskered jaws working gently on a cud of tobacco. "Somethin' under your skin, Gener'l?" "A command decision is always a difficult one," Wessels said. "For a week now I've been kicking a prospect around in my mind, unable to reach a Conclusion." "About abandonin' Fort Smith, Gener'l?" Wessels made no attempt to mask his surprise. He took the cigar from his mouth and said, "How did you know, Jim?" "Warn't hard to figure," Bridger said. "Was I runnin' this shebang, I'd have done it Fort Smith ain't big, Gener'l. You got a nigh more'n forty men there. Was there a big fight, Red Cloud'd send Crazy Horse up there with a handful of good bucks an' huff down th' walls for you." "I know that," Wessels said. "I sent a courier there days ago with express orders, to have everything ready to move on a minute's notice. At that time it was my intention to buy Red Cloud's peace with Smith." "He might've gone, for it too, Gener'l." "That's what I thought," Wessels said, scrubbing a hand across his face. "But the complexion has changed, Jim. If I abandon Smith now, the peace commission won't have a dog's chance to talk with Red Cloud. How can I take a chance? They may not even come to Laramie, and I may not be able to arrange the talks. If that happens and I leave Smith occupied, they stand a good chance of being wiped out to a man." "Got you between two rocks, ain't they?" Bridger hoisted himself erect. "You know somethin', Gener'l? I don't envy you a danged bit fer havin' this job." Wessels stared at the door after it closed, and had he cared to admit it, he would have agreed with Jim Bridger. He settled back with the sour stub of his cigar and let his many worries have their way with him. He began to understand Colonel Carrington a little more clearly, and with this understanding came the first shards of pity, for Carrington had faced a hopeless cause from the very beginning. Lacking combat experience, he had been the unwitting whipping boy for postCivil War politicians and ambitious generals. CHAPTER 24 By JAMES KEENE © Copyright 1956, by James Keene, Reprinted by permission of Random House. Inc. [King Features Syndicate] GENERAL WESSELS called his staff meeting after the evening mess. Major Powell was there, and Jim Bridger, who had just come in from a brief "looksee," as he put it. Half a dozen officers were present and the first arrivals took what chairs were available; the others stood against the wall while Wessels paced back and forth, reducing visibility in the room with his rank cigar. Finally the orderly closed the door and Wessels stopped pacing. "Gentlemen," he said, "I've called this meeting because I firmly believe we're on the threshold of something great, the turning point in our one-sided campaign against Red Cloud's Sioux." The murmur went around the room like a brook dropping down over rocks. When Wessels took his cigar from his mouth to speak again, the movement brought an end to their buzzing talk; they watched their commander with the same attention that a musician gives the symphony conductor. "Bridger has been on a scout all afternoon." Wessels turned to him. "Did you learn anything?" "Red Cloud's lickin' his wounds, Gener'l. That young lieutenant shore give him jessy!" Bridger threw his arms out wide. "Wrecked his hull camp. You should've seen it, Gener'l; lodges an' traps scattered over a hull half-acre. Looks like a herd o' buff'lo went through it lickety-split." "You saw no sign of the Sioux?" Powell asked this. He was a small man, moon-faced, with a neatly clipped mustache and a manner that invited no nonsense. "Nope," Bridger said. "Reckon Red Cloud's somewhere behind Lodge Trail Ridge, cussin' a blue streak. You can't blame him none. All along, he's been makin' some powerful medicine. Got most of his bucks believin' he's th' wind and the thunder." "Bridger chuckled. "That there lieutenant sorta knocked that into a cocked hat for him. Red Cloud'll be doin' his dancin' tonight: you can bet your prime, beaver on that. He'll have to make some medicine again' that lieutenant. Make it or lose some face. Yessiree." Wessels had heard enough. He put his cigar down and sat at his desk. His face was lined and haggard for he was a troubled man, heavy with responsibility and shouldered with a campaign which had no certain happy ending. Yet there was hope in his voice as he said "Inadvertently Schwabacker—I've made him a captain—has performed a miracle for us. Gentlemen, I'm violating no confidence when I say that the government, especially the military, is eager to abandon this campaign. It is my personal opinion that General Cooke and many others are now sorry it ever began. However, we have a semipolitical position to consider, and that is this. A withdrawal of troops from Fort C. F. Smith and Fort Phil Kearny while Red Cloud was in a victorious military position, would leave a bad taste, so to speak, in the public's mouth. The United States Army, gentlemen, does not begin a campaign to leave it in complete rout. We are faced with the task of withdrawing only at impasse, and I believe Schwabacker's action may afford us the opportunity." "I fail to see where our situation has been altered, General." This from Powell. "Tactically, it hasn't," Wessels said. "But before this Red Cloud took the field upon every occasion. He has kept Kearny in veritable siege since the building of it Fort Smith has fared little better. Red Cloud's actions have been ones of contempt for us. He shows it every time he allows a courier or a small detail to travel from here, to Smith without harm. He doesn't care whether we discuss our abominable plight or not, simply because he feels that he can wipe us out when he gets good and ready." Wessels banged the flat of his hand on his desk. "But at last Red Cloud has met a force in the field, vastly inferior to his own in numbers, but he took a licking. He gave ground, gentlemen, and I imagine that was a severe blow to his pride. No, I believe a great event has occurred, and I Intend to make the most of it. Gentlemen, understand that a peace commission has stood ready to make overtures to Red Cloud and bring this bloody mess to an end, but we needed a victory on our side before we could argue. Think, gentlemen! The defeated army does not dictate terms to the victor, and until this afternoon, Red Cloud has been the victor!" "But will this be enough, General?" Captain Tenadore Ten Eyck asked. He leaned against the wall, a slender man with dark burning eyes. "Enough to insure peace?" Wessels shook his head. "I don't know. But it can offer hope. I've finished a report that will go out by courier tonight after tattoo. In this report I've suggested that the peace commission return to Fort Laramie, and that a possible meeting be arranged. We will never have a clear-cut victory here; I'm sure of that But I think even Red Cloud win agree that it is ridiculous to waste lives on both sides when neither can win." He looked at each of them. "That's the situation as I see it. You're excused, gentlemen." They filed out, all but Jim Bridger, who stayed because Gen eral Weasels signaled him. Wessels touched a match to his dead cigar and puffed furiously. Bridger remained slumped in his chair, his whiskered jaws working gently on a cud of tobacco. "Somethin' under your skin, Gener'l?" "A command decision is always a difficult one," Wessels said. "For a week now I've been kicking a prospect around in my mind, unable to reach a Conclusion." "About abandonin' Fort Smith, Gener'l?" Wessels made no attempt to mask his surprise. He took the cigar from his mouth and said, "How did you know, Jim?" "Warn't hard to figure," Bridger said. "Was I runnin' this shebang, I'd have done it Fort Smith ain't big, Gener'l. You got a nigh more'n forty men there. Was there a big fight, Red Cloud'd send Crazy Horse up there with a handful of good bucks an' huff down th' walls for you." "I know that," Wessels said. "I sent a courier there days ago with express orders, to have everything ready to move on a minute's notice. At that time it was my intention to buy Red Cloud's peace with Smith." "He might've gone, for it too, Gener'l." "That's what I thought," Wessels said, scrubbing a hand across his face. "But the complexion has changed, Jim. If I abandon Smith now, the peace commission won't have a dog's chance to talk with Red Cloud. How can I take a chance? They may not even come to Laramie, and I may not be able to arrange the talks. If that happens and I leave Smith occupied, they stand a good chance of being wiped out to a man." "Got you between two rocks, ain't they?" Bridger hoisted himself erect. "You know somethin', Gener'l? I don't envy you a danged bit fer havin' this job." Wessels stared at the door after it closed, and had he cared to admit it, he would have agreed with Jim Bridger. He settled back with the sour stub of his cigar and let his many worries have their way with him. He began to understand Colonel Carrington a little more clearly, and with this understanding came the first shards of pity, for Carrington had faced a hopeless cause from the very beginning. Lacking combat experience, he had been the unwitting whipping boy for postCivil War politicians and ambitious generals. KNOW YOUR LIBRARY by MAUDDEAN THOMPSON SEWARD The purpose of our novel this week is twofold. First, to study the events of the life and ministry of Tesus, and the growth and spread of the early Christian Church, thru the eyes of an educated Greek physician of the period who possessed an unusual warmth and breadth of character. And Second, to seek in these events and in the philosophy of the early Christian faith lessons which this most beautiful of all written stories has for us in the troubled world of today . . . . . . . In this hovel, the author has tried to see and understand Paul as first of all a human being with all the frailties and virtues which such a state implies, remembering that it was a humble carpenter of Nazareth who showed men the way, before ever they knew He was the son of God . . . . . . While the name of Thecla does not appear in the New Testament, she is to no sense a fictional creation, for she appears prominently in apocryphal literature. The vivid and dramatic Acts of Paul and Thecla tells of the adventures of a beautiful young girl of Iconium who was converted by Paul and later, because of her faith, bound to a wild beast in the arena from which she was miraculously saved . . . . . Of all the many odd customs of the early Christian faith, none is stranger or more startling than the true history of men living with virgins as husband and wife in everything except a physical sense. Read I Cor. 7:36-38, and in the meantime, call by your Vance Avenue Branch of the Cossitt Library and ask for your copy of The Road To Bithynia, a novel of Luke, the beloved physician by Frank G. Slaughter, and read all about this character. MEALTIME MELODIES! By Leoda Gammon A good way to help celebrate "June is Dairy Month" is by Making cool refreshing milk drinks the highlight for summer refreshment. They are ideal for tempting the small fry who need three or four glasses of milk a day, and for the teen-age jam sessions, the bridge club, or for unexpected company in the afternoon or evening. Many fruits tnd flavors blend perfectly with milk and ice cream to make delicious combinations. With each delightful drink there is wholsome nutrition. Children and adults will be happy to partake of milk when they see a colorful float with a creamy ice cream topping. Variety is unlimited in making special milk drinks for every occasion. Fresh, canned or frozen fruits and juces are particularly appropriate during the summer! Try a variety of flavors on the family. In elude Spritx or Butter cookies with your treat and take note of the family approval for your refreshment snack. 1 Quart milk, chilled 1-4 cup maraschino cherry syrup 1-2 cup chopped maraschino cherries 1pt. vanilla ice cream Maraschino Cherries Combine milk and maraschino syrup Place 2 tablespoons chopped cherries in each of 4 glasses. Add milk Mixture. Place ball of ice cream in each Garnish with cherry. Makes 4 servings. REFRESHING MILK FLOATS FOR YOUNG AND OLD By Leoda Gammon A good way to help celebrate "June is Dairy Month" is by Making cool refreshing milk drinks the highlight for summer refreshment. They are ideal for tempting the small fry who need three or four glasses of milk a day, and for the teen-age jam sessions, the bridge club, or for unexpected company in the afternoon or evening. Many fruits tnd flavors blend perfectly with milk and ice cream to make delicious combinations. With each delightful drink there is wholsome nutrition. Children and adults will be happy to partake of milk when they see a colorful float with a creamy ice cream topping. Variety is unlimited in making special milk drinks for every occasion. Fresh, canned or frozen fruits and juces are particularly appropriate during the summer! Try a variety of flavors on the family. In elude Spritx or Butter cookies with your treat and take note of the family approval for your refreshment snack. 1 Quart milk, chilled 1-4 cup maraschino cherry syrup 1-2 cup chopped maraschino cherries 1pt. vanilla ice cream Maraschino Cherries Combine milk and maraschino syrup Place 2 tablespoons chopped cherries in each of 4 glasses. Add milk Mixture. Place ball of ice cream in each Garnish with cherry. Makes 4 servings. CHERRY VANILLA FLOAT By Leoda Gammon A good way to help celebrate "June is Dairy Month" is by Making cool refreshing milk drinks the highlight for summer refreshment. They are ideal for tempting the small fry who need three or four glasses of milk a day, and for the teen-age jam sessions, the bridge club, or for unexpected company in the afternoon or evening. Many fruits tnd flavors blend perfectly with milk and ice cream to make delicious combinations. With each delightful drink there is wholsome nutrition. Children and adults will be happy to partake of milk when they see a colorful float with a creamy ice cream topping. Variety is unlimited in making special milk drinks for every occasion. Fresh, canned or frozen fruits and juces are particularly appropriate during the summer! Try a variety of flavors on the family. In elude Spritx or Butter cookies with your treat and take note of the family approval for your refreshment snack. 1 Quart milk, chilled 1-4 cup maraschino cherry syrup 1-2 cup chopped maraschino cherries 1pt. vanilla ice cream Maraschino Cherries Combine milk and maraschino syrup Place 2 tablespoons chopped cherries in each of 4 glasses. Add milk Mixture. Place ball of ice cream in each Garnish with cherry. Makes 4 servings. THE SNARK The announcement that the 5,000 mile Snark will be assigned to Strategic Air Command units is the first Official word that the Air Force intends to push the Snark past the development stage to operational use. Aviation Week, the aviation weekly, said the first Snarks would be delivered in about a year. The guided missile is being manufactured by Northrop Aircraft, Inc.