Newspapers / The Alamance Gleaner (Graham, … / June 27, 1946, edition 1 / Page 6
Part of The Alamance Gleaner (Graham, N.C.) / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
The Twerp Turns -Qto By WILLIAM J. MURDOCH LUCIUS STEEMS stretched his frail spindly frame on the porch awing and sighed heavily. He was tired of being picked on. His wife, his employer ? oh, especially his employer! ? his fellow workers, bus drivers ? they all dished it out to him. Lucius knew why, too. He was a weak-kneed sissy?and looked and acted it. He didn't even have enough gump tion to order his youngest, John ny, and that Rodney kid from down the street to take their argument elsewhere They were around the side of the house, noisily squab-, bling. ably abetted by their yelp ing dogs. Lucius wanted a little pence and quiet before returning to the office for the afternoon. Mr. Ralston had called him down to front of the whole office again that morning simply because he had posted the right sums in the wrong ledger. Mr. Ralston had a peculiar way of bawling out people. He smiled and uttered wisecracks?but be wasn't kidding "Steems, you funny-looking little twerp." Mr. Ralston said, bang ing the ledger down on Lucius's desk. "I ought to make you eat this!" And after Mr. Ralston had wisecracked Lucius into red-faced humiliation, the big, bluff owner of Raiston's Pickle Works stalked away and left his billing clerk to writhe under the smirks and winks of the other employees. Slowly Lucuia rocked the swing, hiMdog his watery blue eyes. If he were onty half a man?he sighed 1 again, and dozed off. . . . "What a laugh!" The sharp words made Lucius's eyes pop open. It was that Rodney kid. "That funny looking little shrimp couldn't lick a Ilea!" "Say that again!" That was John ny, and the vigor with which the youngster snapped out the chal lenge made Lucius's heart bump. Could?could it be that he had a champion after all? "You just say that again and I'll show you who can lick who!" **I Mid he's a funny-looking little shrimp and can't lick a?ow!" The brawl was on, and Lucius peered over the swing in time to see Johnny pursuing the Rodney kid down the street, both bellowing at the top of their lungs. Lucius bounded to his feet. By George, this was just what he needed?a champion, some one to back him up! He'd had no idea little Johnny would take up so fiercely for him. That put the old starch in the backbone, all right. T iirius felt like a new man?a WtMe one. He paraded across the parch, jerked the screen door open and snatched his old felt hat from the hook. "DorisI" he cried in a sort of scratched roar. "Doris, I'll be home at five-thirty and I want supper on the table." He had read that in a book once, and it sounded swell. "Hear me? Five-thirty!" Mrs. Steems thrust her head around the living room doorway in amazement "Are you talking to?" "To you." Lucius said, suddenly * so angry that he trembled. He had to justify Johnny's taith. "I'm ured of being treated like a hired man. Fin Ikiify?and don't forget itl" Lucius tingled with triumph. But what if he were still asleep in the swing? He pinched himself and It hurt?and he was glad. His confi dence swelled as he rode downtown, and by the time he reached the of fice be was nearly bursting with the new spirit he had found through ! Johnny, n. a; ? l.. t- n .i?i??. uc ????? uucvuj vu int. naisiuii I office. "Mr. Ralston," he laid politely but positively, "You've got to atop insulting me before the whole office. I make mistakes?ev eryone here does. But I work hard, too. and not everyone here does that, tt yon dont like my work, get 1 rid at ma. Bat," and here Lucius *a* his Anger at ogle-eyed Mr. Ralshio. "I won't take any more insults from anyone." He stood back, waiting for his em ployer to say something ? and Lu cius really didn't give two whoops what it was. But it was gooid. ??stroma, Mr. Ralston said Anal ly, "it's about time you showed some spirit. I deserved that call ing down ? and I'll raise you 23 bucks a month just to show you there's no hard feeling." "Yes, sir." Lucius went back to tda deak. But, before he sat down, he elaborated on his little speech to his fellow ? workers. And no one talked back or even smirked. It eras a wonderful day, the hap piest tor Lucius in a long, long time. And he knew he owed it sU to his Johnny. So perhaps it is Just as well he never learned of the con versation betwen his wife and Johnny after he came home that afternoon. Never demonstrative in his afcction, he simply patted the hoy an the head, noted that supper was an the table and went upstairs to wash. "Johnny," Mra. Steems whis perad anxiously, "Johnny, what's hsppsnrrt to your father all of s sudden? Dp you know what's got into him?" "Huh? Dad? Shucks, ha seems the same to me," Johnny said light ly. "He's O. K? isn't he? Say. Ma," be added indignantly, "you know what the Rodney kid said to me today? He said my dog was a tanay-tooking little shrimp that couldn't tick a Aea. Boy. did I paste him I" k CROSS TOWN By Roland Coe * N / AN BOBBY SOX By Marty Unks J* ? S, I "How long are 70a going to continue to ibake me down (or an allowance? your mother tella me you're earning flee times that amount working (or the neighbors!" % I MWrV" ?VriffilYr.i?iii I I I St 1 'Yon advertised for an attractive, sophisticated recep tionist. Well, I'n take the Job!" NANCY By Ernie Bushmiller ? > PUFF-PUFF PUFF- PUFF ^J>UFF^ slugso~-"-itVould 1 LOOK BETTER if NANCy WERE IN f~~ ^THE WAGON -4< ' NO IT WOULDN'T, MRS. JONES. ) . I HAVE A HOLE IN MV PANTS ^ 1 MUTT AND JEFF JEFF ARE You SAWING WOOD OR SOMETHING^ vert.im cutting holes in the r bach door so my cats can / >1 set out' r' ' [what's the s| /ideacuttin6 rwree holes? 7^1 GOT S THREE f WELL,EVEN WITH M THREE CATS IT STRIKES ME ONE HOLE WOULD \BE ENOUGH!yr 1 S&& |/K<JT for) !MV cats,) I MUTT!y *MEN I SAV SCAT) S I MEAN < By Bud Fisher LITTLE REGGIE By Margarita kYDONTGO A swimming if1 (THE WATER IS yCOLD, REGGIEI wont] jwJ [BCAOd JITTER By Arthur Pointer =5A. I ? 0 game ?3^ ? REG'LAR FELLERS By Gene Byrnes M 1 t&ct- *? '1 Jtau* MUMY )sk?'~r I tori* tfBSWr jffiSLtt I *mFL ocbh\j VIRGIL < ponttsviowm!TT ) THIS WILL COST VOURI L OLD MAN BO &OCKSl / LOOK MTTNOTf M3OTW0 I I RUWEDSEVEN SHEETS? V t" MMI'LL Myi,! j. ? tie [will! ) By Len Klei? fop-i \ think * rve got ap006lem SILENT SAM By VUjfom* *)oum Rep&Ue* h WASHINGTON By WoKir Stood VmU Corrmpcmdmt WHO W?Mhiagtoa Burtaa, Hit Hv St.. H. W. New 'Surplus' Law Gives Veterans Better Chance P) ESPITE the fact that congress has granted veterans of World War II a No. 1 priority on purchase of surplus war property, these vet erans are in for another disappoint ment. Much propaganda has gone out over this latest fiasco on dis posal of war property to veterans, but Gen. Edmund B. Gregory, ad ministrator of War Assets adminis tration, frankly states that only a limited number of specified items have been set aside for exclusive purchase by veterans. "All of these items," he says, "are in ex tremely short supply and it follows that there simply will not be enough to meet veterans' demands." And that's the fly in the ointment, for the impression prevails that un der the new law the veterans will get about anything and everything in surplus and there won't be much left for the general buyer. That simply is not true. All the new law does is to pnt the veteran in a little better buying position, and it is highly probable that there will be no marked effect on surplus dis posal as now conducted. The limited list is supposed to include certain types of auto motive vehicles, tractors, con struction, mining and excavat ing machinery, agricultural maohinery, medical, surgical and dental apparatus and type writers. The priority does not apply to land or buildings. If past experience is to be any criterion, there will be from ten to a hundred requests for every item offered the veterans under the new priority, because there is not a suf ficient supply available and likely there never will be. Goods Will Be Allotted Veterans likely will be limited to a single unit of purchase. For in stance, a veteran likely will be per mitted to buy only one typewriter, but if he wants to buy a tractor too, his certificate may be modified to permit this, provided there is a tractor available. But apparent ly if he is in business he couldn't buy a dozen tractors or a dozen typewriters. General Grevnrv snvs that will be no system of government 1 retail outlets selling surplus direct to veterans, and congress has made [ It clear it intended no such enter- I prise. So if you are a veteran and ; make application to buy a truck, 1 here's what will happen. Say there : ire 30 trucks available. The re jional office has 100 certificates of application and 10 personal use cer- | cificates on file or a proportion of I to 10. Notification will be sent to the three applicants for personal use whose certificates bear the oldest fates, and the 27 applicants for ion-personal use whose certificates jear the oldest dates. So 70 vet erans will be disappointed. As more rucks become available, however, lie veteran who is unable to exer cise his priority on a personal use certificate will be notified a second ind third time and then his certif cate will be placed in an inactive lie. There has also come to the attention of the WAA some In stances of veterans being used In connection with black mar ket purchases of snrplns prop- 1 erty. Every effort will be made i. to ferret out these opperations where a veteran, either in collu sion or unknowingly, uses his priority to purchase goods In tended for sale in the black market. Ytany Items Not Wanted How widespread this practice is, if course, is not known at this time, >ut veterans themselves are urged o help in ferreting out instances I if such illegal procedures, since 1 luch purchases deprive deserving i reterans of those consumer goods ntended for them alone. Some of hese attempts to force surplus I iroperty into black market have ' leen discovered through the type if goods purchased. For instance, experience has indicated to officials . here are only a few types of goods n which a veteran is actually in- 1 crested, even in the consumer cate- j ;ory, and when priorities are asked or goods outside this class, officials ire likely to make an investigation if the transaction. < Great quantities of surplus goods exist and will continue to go oa sale in which the veter ans have shown little interest. 1 For instance, the WAA office of capital and producers goods dis posal have no veterans' proh- 1 lems, and neither has the marl- i tine commission, in Its disposal 1 of marine property. At any rate, the effect of the new i aw will cause no flood of surplus to he veteran. There has never been j ; mough to go around, and the new , to. 1 priorities do not produce any I nore surplus goods. ? < IT WILL -be interesting to note 1 whet will happen when baseball returns to a more normal way ol l?e.N We- look up this aomewhat twisted matter with Bill Dickey, the Yankees' pew man ager. "This has been one of the strangest seasons I've ever run across," the loose-joined "Ar kansas Traveler" said. "Suppose, for example, we had known back in Florida during our trainins season that the Yankees were going to get good pitching. That was supposed to be our weakest spot because so many of our men were troubled with bad arms. We would have been picked as one of (he surest things of the year, rated weQ in front. Bill Oiekej "But suppose we had known that after six weeks of play our team batting would be around .240 with such fine hitters as Joe DIMaggio and most of the others hitting be low .260. Then, we would have been picked far down the list. Hard hit ting has been the Yankees' main factor in winning ball games, but as a team we haven't been hitting a half lick." "You don't think this hitting weakness will last?" we asked. "I certainly don't," Bill said. "No pitchers are going to keep such hard hitters as DiMaggio, Keller? who has been onr best?Stirnweiss, Etten, LindeU, Henrlch, Gordon and Jhe others bottled up much longer. Those fellows can hit. They are naturals. I happen to know that Joe DiMaggio was banking on this season being his best year. I've never seen any one work harder, or try harder or train harder. His fielding and his home-run hitting have been exceptional. I don't be lieve this slump in hitting can last. "We may have more trouble with our pitching, with so many really good pitchers bothered with bad arms or backs, but we are due to get much better hitting?and we'll have to get it if we are to win again. We can't win the pennant the way we're going now." Dickey and the Red Sox We asked Manager Dickey what he thought of the Red Sox and the chance the Yankees and other American League clubs had of clos ing the gap. "I'll tell you exactly what I think of the Red Sox," Bill said. "I never like to underestimate an opponent. In my opinion, they have a first class manager in Joe Cronin, who failed in the . past because the win ning material wasn't there. Cronin isn't going to lose any pennant for his club; Joe will do his share. "The Red Sox have the strongest team they ever have shown. They have a fine infield and a strong out field. They have had the hitting and the pitching?and I honestly think that so far they have out-hus tled the rest of us. "Ia Pesky and Doerr, the Red Sox have a great mid-infield combina tion, both on offense and defense. Pesky today is a greatly improved ballplayer. He means a lot to that club. Cronin certainly has a much stronger pitching staff than anyone looked for last March?Hugbson, Harris, Ferriss and Dobson are about as good as any manager could ask for. "This doesn't mean," Dickey said with a grin, "that I am picking the Red Sox to win the pennant. I think we can catch them, but I know we can't wait too long. They are too good to be given any big lead, and I believe the Yankees are just be ginning to realize this. They have been strong on both offense and de fense and they've fine spirit. "What about the rest of the league so far?" we asked. it\r ti 1 - -t ?" ? ? - ?? *uu can i uvenooK wasmngion, ' he said. "This is a good, steady, consistent club all along the line. You also will see Detroit get much better pitching than the Tigers have known thus far. Their pitching has been like the Yankees' hitting?too far below normal to remain that way. When their pitching gets as hot as it can get, and they begin to hit nearer their stride, you'U see a big change." Dickey, who has the full support of Larry MacPhail, and who has enjoyed so many years of training tinder Joe McCarthy?the manager Bill ranks far above all others in baseball?is giving everything he has to the job of making good. With a cool head and a stout heart with which to work, he doesn't expect to pick up all the needed managerial details in a few days or in a few weeks. BID has the complete affection sad respect of his players, and H Is my opinion that he will make few mis takes In directing np to the hilt the material he has at hand. Like other great catcher-managers?Bill Carrigan and Miekty Cochrane, for example?he has been in the best spot te know what Is going on, espe cially In the direction of a pitching stall that still is uncertain. No one knows better than Larry MacPhaQ and Bill Dickey that the Yankees need one or two more ball players to carry anything like an even chance to overtake Boston.
The Alamance Gleaner (Graham, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
June 27, 1946, edition 1
6
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75