The Bismarck Tribune Newspaper, February 14, 1929, Page 10

Pon i ' atte see ete ee eee een eee cena tt AMM et Mae By RODNEY DUTCHER (NEA Service Writer) Washington, Feb, 14.—Everyone likes the Hon. Henry Prather Fletch- er, close friend of President-elect Hoover. Fletcher is the most popular ambassador in the foreign service. Fletcher has a reputation for know- ing Latin America and for being liked by Latin Americans. He also knows his Europe and his Asia, too, for that matter. He may be in line for & prominent diplomatic position in the Hoover administration. But the outstanding thing about his personality is a remarkable faculty for not making any enemies. He is a natural-born diplomat and always seems to have had friends in the right places. ‘When Hoover takes office Fletcher will be serving under his sixth presi- dent. How does he fit with Hoover? Well, the president-elect decided that he was the one man whom he wanted to direct the diplomatic arrange- ments on the Hoover good will tour. Fletcher functioned admirably—prob- ably perfectly, judging from the way his end of the show went off. * *k * Fletcher is the original “career man” in the foreign service. Roose- velt under whom he had served in Cuba with the Rough Riders launch- ed him into diplomacy and he has since kept going under his own mo- mentum without being even tempor- arily halted by changes of adminis- tration. ‘The ambassador is now virtually 55 years old. He was born into com- paratively luxurious surroundings at Greencastle, Pa., and always has had pleasant relations with the important Republican politicians of Pennsyl- vania. He was 25 years old and had just begun practice of law when he joined up with Roosevelt's Rough Riders. He came to Washington when the corps ‘was supposed to be filled up and 50 | to or 60 applicants were being turned down every day. He was among a large group to whom Roosevelt ex- pressed his regrets. Fletcher rushed to see Senator Matt Quay, the powerful Pennsylvania boss. Quay offered him a captaincy in some other outfit. Fletcher in- sisted that he would rather be a pri- vate in the Rough Riders. Quay wrote a letter to Roosevelt and Fletcher became a Rough Rider. After the war in Cuba was over Fletcher served in the Philippines, At ten o'clock that Thursday morn- ing Harry Blaine gathered up a handful of typewritten sheets and lurched wearily to his city editor’s desk. “Here's the yarn, Chet. I'm going to beat it over to Darrow now and ae follow-up on the poor kid’s con- tion.” “All right. Better stop at the shack and see if you can pick up anything else. I’ve got an expert at work figuring the size of the shoes the kidnapper wore, from the foot- Prints he-left. Shoes had been half- soled luckily. If the police find those g a 2 5 z a ently regretful pessimism. But as he ran down the stairs to where he had parked Nils Johnson's car—there had not been time to re- turn it yet—he was assuring himself jubilantly: “I'll say they won't find those shoes! Not unless they drain the lake below Marlboro dam!” As he burned up the road in his haste to reach Darrow, however, the earning a lieutenancy. Not long after Roosevelt became president, he was made second secretary of the legation at both Peking and Lisbon and charge Waffaires, The Wilson election in 1912 found him minister to Chile. The very gen- eral assumption was that he wouldn't be there very long, as President Taft had elevated him and his affiliations were Republican. By this time he was a good friend of Boies Penrose, successor to Quay, as boss of Penn- sylvania. But Fletcher put over a fast one. When other American diplomats over the world automatically submitted their resignations, he did nothing of the sort. He insisted that diplomacy was his career and that he had earned his post. Wilson agreed with Fletcher and kept him in Santiago. * Ok OK Few supposed that he would sur- vive the next change of administra- tion, but Fletcher was right on the ground. Soon after the 1920 elec- tion he had blossomed out as a friend of Warren Harding's and accom- panied Harding on his pre-inaugural trip to Florida. After March 4 he became undersecretary of state, serv- ing with Secretary Hughes. He was an adviser to the American commis- sioners at the Washington arms con- ference and in 1922 Harding made him ambassador to Belgium. The next year he served as chairman of our delegation to the Fifth Pan- American Congress at Santiago and in 1924 Coolidge made him ambas- sador to Italy. He has been summoned three times within a year for Latin American missions. He did valuable work un- der Hughes at the Havana congress and had crossed the Atlantic again for the Pan-American arbitration meeting here when Hoover asked Kel- logg to transfer him to the good will ur. Fletcher's frankness of speech has made him popular with newspaper- men. He is bluff and good-natured, about six feet tall and beneath his white hair are a@ ruddy complexion and rugged physique gained from an active and athletic life all over the world. He is both polished and prac- tical and the Fletchers have such ample means that they have been more than able to hold up their end socially in world capitals, Their resi- dence in Rome is said to be magnif- icent. tough break all along the line, and had taken a crazy way out of her troubles. She hadn't meant any harm, really. Hadn't she risked her life to make sure that she could not be asked to identify any possible sus- Pect a: kidnapper? “Lord!” Harry Blail groaned aloud. Then, to himself: “I can just see her—standing up there on that table, screwing up her nerve to hurl herself down on that log! I bet not one girl in a million would have had the guts to do that. Confessed the whole thing to me, too, thinking I'd put it all in the papers! ... Lord!” he breathed again, aloud, but this time the ejaculation was almost a Prayer. “Ready to face the firing squad, she was. If anybody else had found her—!” But that would not bear thinking about. “Hope to heaven she won't hate the sight of me when she gets well because I know the truth about it all. Got to prove I'm proud of her and that I under- stand,” he told himself. “If I can help it that poor kid's not going to be so lonely in the future that she'll have to invent ‘mysterious suitors’ and then have to kidnap herself to get out of the mess. Not if I can help it!” and he nodded fiercely. . . . ‘Then, with a frown, “Wonder if she was really in love with that Mexican boy, or just infatuated?” NEXT: “If Crystal gets well—” (Copyright, 1929, NEA Service, Inc.) compressed.” After Vice President Hamlin had taken the oath of office, the presidential party proceeded to the portico of the capitol. Lincoln was carrying his hat in his right hand and a roll of manuscript in his left hand. “Looking about for ” | some place to put his hat, he turned this way and that, when Senator Stephen A. Douglas, one of his com- petitors for the presidency, court- eously reached out his hand, took the embarrassing hat and held it during the address. In the inaugural parade was.a float “The Constitution.” It was a fy Pa nee brates, af k WELL MOTHER — Vt WON'T BELONG NOW THE GUMPS—HEARTS AND FLOWERS You WIth BE GOOD TO MY LITTLE MARY won'y YOU > t KNOW YOU WILL TAKE Good CARE ATUL SEEM KINDOR FUNNY TOWAVE A SON-IN-LAW HANGING AROUNO THE MOUSE WON'T IT THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 1929 CERTAINLY @ HE SHOOLONT BE ON Als FEET Live TAAT=-: JUST A BECOME IMPATIENT BECAUSE YOUR LEGS NOA'T woRK— YOU CANT EXPECT ANY ~ ACT LIKE THiS= z. HANENT USED "EM | DON'T LIKE THE IDEA OF BEING DUSHED IN ONE YES, AND THE DOORS WERE LOCKED. IT WAS JUST YouR IMAGINATION = THAT'S FUNNY! LCOULD HAVE SWORN IT WAS SOMEONE. - WERE THE UNTIL YOU GO AND a WWHO IT. c— { ‘Bau Is { WOE FOR, sam! Just WHEN HE Had HIS. OLD BLIMP TREO sare IANO SOUND, € cop cuT THE Rope. SALESMAN SAM GEE, IT MAKES ME Sick “Te SEE THE erie oF THERE ALL ALONE IN THIS © STORM — BUT ('D PROBLY BE SICKER IF 1 Was IN iT! ‘if “W GAS GAG, BuT ITS , FORMED (TSELE INTO & REGULAR PaRacHuTe! TU pt SAV! TUS 1S MORE FUS , THAN Z THOUGHT IT q \NOULO BE Dose Same | FORSET-Z WANT TO RIDE HOME IN THE ANBULANCE !! | MOM’N POP Noises in the Night By Cowan } TUL TELL you PoP) You're 1 HEARD SOMEONE TLL NEVER GET TO SLEEP AGAIN HURRAN! LIGHTHING BUSTED) ( HOT DAWG! WON'T GU22 Ge “TICKLED WHEN HE SEES ('VE KEPT OW PROMISE Te CRING TH’ BLiIMe Back!