1935

Well, gang, here we go again. February has come with its mid-winter madness. If you can remember back that far, February was the month in Hanover when we had nothing to look forward to but March and duck-boards on the campus. While behind us were the holidays and first semester exams and Carnival. Thank God for Carnival—it kept us dreaming until spring when we could run a repeat performance, to some extent, at Green Key. To get back to earth and the mailman, we are in about the same shape as last month except that the pile of bills is higher. There is one cheery note, however. Sid Diamond promised to supply details of his career in writing and, by Gosh, within three days of his promise I received another biography which is herewith entered as Number Three:

Such matters as my moving to Washington, my marriage (to a New York girl I was lucky enough to meet down there), and my return to New York have been duly recorded, but I was planning to write and fill in the details even before you bearded me on the subject. In the summer of 1941, the law firm for which I was working in N. Y. found that emergency controls on Industry, foreign exchange, etc., were requiring so much attention in Washington that people from the office were constantly travelling down there to consult with the new government agencies which had already begun to multiply. We needed a full-time man in Washington, and since I had been very decisively rejected by the Army, they offered me the job and off I went.

For the first year I was kept very busy and enjoyed it. Then the picture began to change. Making applications to government agencies became more or less routine and the agencies themselves were opening branch offices in major cities. So, at the insistence of friends working for the government, I finally decided to join them entering the Department of Justice in May of 1943. My job was with the economic warfare section of the newly created War Division—one of those offices whose full story will probably never be told publicly. Most of the section's staff was composed of economists, who were preparing studies for tactical and strategic purposes in the field and for the guidance of the occupation forces when the time came. As a lawyer, my principal duties were to wrestle with some of the legal problems of economic warfare largely in censorship, export controls, the "Black List," preclusive buying and propaganda selling.

Since our economic warfare work began to die out much earlier than the wartime agencies, I was transferred in August, 1944, to the Cartel Section of the Anti-Trust Division with the resounding title of Special Assistant to the Attorney General. Our special province was the tremendous cases involving relationships of American industry with German and other foreign companies. I had a chance to do battle with such giants as General Electric, Allied Chemical & Dye and Bendix Aviation. But no one can keep taking assignments to single cases that are measured in months and even years unless he is temperamentally suited to itand I wasn't. %

Meanwhile, my old office in New York had expanded and wanted me back, so I resigned from the Department of Justice in June, 1946. I had better make it clear that I am not the Diamond whose name appears on the letterhead. However, there are partners of all grades and I was made a member of the firm on last August first. Of course, we ran right into the middle of the housing shortage when we returned to New York. We are now moving for the fifth time since June—but I think this one is going to last awhile. Does anyone know how we can get a telephone for our new apartment?

The other half of the "we" is Hank (it's a nickname for Hannah—figure that one out), the girl I found in Washington. We were married in 1943.

Thanks, Sid, for such a complete report. To get personal for the moment, the housing problem of your old Uncle Reg has recently been solved. After running a personal promotion campaign for seven months, which included a different mailing piece each week, I finally landed a very nice two-bedroom garden apartment in Tuckahoe, N. Y. The development, which goes by the name of Interlaken Gardens, has its own private 60-acre lake for swimming and boating in the summer and skating in the winter. Babs and I tried the skating last Sunday (for the first time in eight years) and ended up stiffer than frozen herring after half an hour's exercise, It's ideal for children and "ours have plenty of company since the 750 families have an average of 2.7 youngsters per family!!

A Christmas card from Ed Offutt, who is mixed up in various "ologies" at the University of Rochester:

I daresay I missed seeing you and the rest of the gang at the reunion more than you all missed me. I was quite set on going right to the last minute. Am planning to go to Southboro over the holidays largely because the scientific meetings are in Boston at that time which I'll attend in a professional capacity.

A report from Rudy Pacht, who volunteered in a weak moment to be unofficial correspondent for the Los Angeles group, and whose cooperation is much appreciated:

To poach on Dave Smith's territory, he himself has just opened a San Francisco office for Willis & Christy, Investment Counsel, associates of Scudder, Stevens & Clark. They are a large, ancient and highly respected firm. So much so that they won't bother with your business unless you've a minimum of $250,000 to invest. (Line forms to the left, boys. No crowding, please.)

Recently attended both a reception and dinner for President Dickey in L. A. and ran into Tom Lane, whom I haven't seen since we graduated and who seems to be a likely prospect for "Young Men of the Year." Also, Walt Kadlec (and his charming wife) and Henry Buck who is with the local office of the Indemnity Insurance Co. of America. He has also worked in Denver, Boston, Minneapolis and other outposts of civilization. I have talked to Maury Rapf, Larry Sommers and Lew Peck since I returned from overseas and all seem to be well and riding out this Republican crisis as well as can be expected.

I am practising law at 9700 Wilshire Blvd. in Beverly Hills (Pacht, Pelton, Warne, Ross and Bernhard) and waiting for the completion of a house out in the Valley. It w£s supposed to be ready last June and we now have hopes for moving in sometime in February. In the meantime we're still living with my folks and they and we are both damned sick of it. The housing shortage is so bad around here that I advise anyone contemplating moving out to either commit suicide before coming (thus saving the fare) or postponing the move for three to five years. Nevertheless, the house we've bought has a couple of extra rooms and any stray Dartmouths of our era will be very welcome.

Hanover report from Uncle George (that loyal columnist whose news seems to cover a lot more than Hanover):

A letter from Gene Burnkrant brought a bit of news from the squire of Marshfield, Wis. Seems he was promoted last summer and is now principal of the Central High School. However, Dartmouth men are scarce out that way and he can only find one man with whom to swap Dartmouth yarns.

Don Hagerman was in town with Ibba before Thanksgiving on personal business. They were in fane fettle, Don as hearty and Ibba as charming as ever. Line "Washburn, director of all things arctic, passed through Hanover again on one of his frequent trips from Montreal to Washington. Nick Jacobson has a farm in Norwich and commutes between there and New York. Ran into him in the Inn Coffee Shop recently and learned that he is writing, but what and for whom I don't know. I'll try to find out and bring you up to date. Bill Fitzhugh spent the evening with us recently. He is working currently for his Dad but took two days off-for skiing with his brother-in-law. Did you know that Rocky Rockwell is ski coach at Williams as well as being a pillar of the Dept. of Government? (No, I didn't, but I'm not surprised.) Picked up an interesting little volume the other day entitled The Cap'n's Wife and discovered it was written by Dr. Albert J. George, now with the Romance Language Dept., Syracuse University. It is an account of Cape Cod seafaring life in the 1880's.

Dick Montgomery returned to the Big City over the holidays and reported that Kansas City is quite a place. He likes the work but is still living in a hotel and looking for a furnished apartment. (He would prefer one furnished with a blonde but will take any color these days.) So far the only one he has run into is Sam Rees who is a CPA with a Kansas City firm.

Jerry Spaulding '24 kindly sent me a clipping from a Worcester, Mass., paper aboutformer Worcesterite Dick Potter:

Dr. Richard C. Potter Jr. and his wife of Marion, Va., escaped the terrible Winecoff Hotel fire in Atlanta, Ga., after being trapped on the eighth floor for one and a half hours. Returning from a ten-day vacation in Florida, Dr. Potter had left his two children with his wife's people in Marion. Twenty years ago to the very night, the Potter home in Chicago was burned to the ground and Dr. Potter, then a boy, was one of three children rescued.

Mrs. Potter was overcome by smoke, but Dick escaped without injury, and after being taken down, assisted in giving medical aid to the victims.

A note from the Times: Mr. and Mrs. RalphD. Kaufman of Scarsdale have announced theengagement of their daughter, Jean Ruth, toAdolph Weil Jr. of Montgomery, Ala. Buckwas placed on inactive duty recently as a captain after four and a half years' service.

The Republican sweep swept Congressman Sundstrom of New Jersey into Washington, D. C., and apparently swept along his campaign manager, Frank Specht. Received a card from the latter with a D. C. cancellation and

"we made it" for a message. (Washington is a wonderful place to sit and sit and sit.)

Don't forget the cocktail party at the Dartmouth Club in New York, Saturday afternoon, February 15, from 4:00 on. Wives, sweethearts and even casual acquaintances are invited. Hope to see lots of you there. And for all of you a belated Happy New Year.

Secretary, Compton Advertising, Inc. 630 5th Ave., New York 20, N. Y.

Treasurer, 2901 North 29th St., Tacoma, Wash.