1925*

I have just finished reading Paul Hexter's book Make Your Pictures Sing. Since most of the readers of this column are not photographers, as the janitor of the column is, I will not bore you with a detailed review. It is a fine job of writing, showing a great deal of research in preparation. If you take many still pictures, be sure to buy Paul's book. He is already working on the sequel. Right now he is on the Pacific Coast looking for new business, some good fishing and more pictures.

Sid Batchelder is doing one of the most unusual jobs of any man in the class and '25ers are noted for the strange things they tackle. At his place in Langdon, N. H. he is raising digitalis. The war has shut off the European supply; more people than ever have jittery hearts and Sid is busy helping fill the need.

Comes a clipping from a Detroit paper noting the birthday of Ford Whelden. It gives a quick biography to date and mentions the fact that he helped organize and was first president of Grosse Point Unitarian Church. That among half a dozen other jobs.

Larry Leavitt took his vacation from his academy at Saxtons River, Vermont, in the Waterville Valley in New Hampshire. He and his family found the skiing poor.

Jock Brace and Pete Blodgett have been trying for boar at Corbin Park in New Hampshire, but as yet no luck has been reported.

Bob Canfield's law practice seems to hold him close at home. During the past year he has been in Boston, Bangor, Montreal, St. Louis, San Francisco, Spokane, Duluth, Seattle, Minneapolis, Pittsburg, Richmond and way stations. He has bought himself a house at 4 Hampton Court, Port Washington, Long Island. There you may or may not find him at home, surrounded by his wife, his two children and two English refugee youngsters. Bob is a member of Wise, Cortlett and Canfield at 122 East 42nd Street. He rung Bud Petrequin in recently as a witness in one of his cases and claims that Bud makes a very smooth and reliable witness.

Purely personal—we have been having earthquakes in town that have brought three delegations of visiting newspapermen, the last being a crew from Life. Fran Crawford, whose address is 29 Lawrence Road, Scarsdale, New York, sent a card saying the dishes were dropping from his shelves during the quakes. As yet we have had no real damage except time lost answering letters to summer residents telling them their cottages are still standing. Everybody thought their furnaces had blown up and ran to the cellar. One local citizen who wears a long flannel night shirt, got mixed up with his favorite hound dog on the cellar stairs, and ended up at the foot with the dog lodged well up inside the night shirt. Sound effects are said to have been wonderful.

RUMANIAN EARTHQUAKE

Andrew W. Edson '25, American Consul and Second Secretary to the Legation at Bucharest, wrote to assure his family a few days after the tragic earthquake on November 10, saying "My personal narrative isn't very hair-raising.. .We had been experiencing minor quivers for two weeks, shakes and undulations, which left the chandeliers swinging and the servants jittery I didn't realize the seriousness of the shock, thought it was only a grade 4 or 5 seismic scale " Later he was to find out it had been a "No. 9."

When "the shouting in the street increased, I decided to get dressed and go out and see the fun if any "

"One interesting point for an amateur psychologist was the nature of objects clutched by panic stricken homesteaders as they whizzed out of their rocking residences. Some sensible souls were carrying bottles of brandy; others had a picture, or a piece of porcelain, or a cat; and one bird was brandishing an old alarm clock, probably with a view of knowing the exact hour of his death "

"After checking the Legation we went to see what was left of the Carlton apartment building a few blocks away—the prin- cipal tragedy in Bucharest. German soldiers were already on the job helping the fire department and keeping back the crowds, and organizing the shambles. I enclose two photos of the building, before and after and can assure you 'after' was something to behold One can only hope that most of the inhabitants died quickly. The real tragedy was the 20 or 30 people who got to an air raid shelter in the basement; and kept in telephone communication with the outside world for nearly two days; then the fuel oil leaking from the storage tanks was set on fire by the acetylene torches of the wrecking crews. The building, I mean the remains, has been burning ever since and no one answers the 'phone in the shelter.

"The comic relief story also happened in the Carlton building where a soldier stationed on the roof to give air raid alarms rode down twelve stories of the wreckage like a Hawaiian surf rider, found himself in the street unhurt, ran to the fire station to give the alarm and then passed out from shock "

"We've been too busy at the Legation to have much time for jitters; first job was a 'phone or house to house call on all Americans, and we're happy to report all well in Bucharest One can only hope that the boys in the geographic institute weren't kidding us when they said another intense quake was improbable. The trouble is Bucharest contractors have gone in for an American skyline while cutting corners on the honest steel construction in the vital parts "

"My apartment building has been inspected twice by engineers who say it is well built. I've reacted by drinking a little more in the evening than usual to insure sound sleep through the minor wiggles and by composing the following Grade C bit of doggerel: "Tremble, tremble little earth, I wonder how much my life is worth. At home its value can't be guessed, I'll take five lei in Bucharest.

(Financial note: U. S. $1 equals lei 218) "Pre-earthquake news seems almost prehistoric. Roosevelt's reelection did wonders for all pro-British elements in Europe.... we had a fabulous number of Rumanians calling at the Legation to congratulate us.

"So I suppose we can settle down to the old routine. Anyway, don't worry—got the AP and UP correspondents to assure me that if a brick catches me on the head, they'll regard it as news Therefore, as always, no news is good news."

Secretary, Center Ossipee, N. H.