LETTERS FROM MANILA
Letters From Manila By Col. PHILIP F. LA FOLLETTE EDITOR'S NOTE: Isabel B. La Follette, The Progressive's Associate Editor, has here assembled another collection of excerpts from her husband's...
...His mind and character stand out across the U. S. Now that may sound exaggerated, but if one will stop and think of his so-called competitors in the field of journalism I repeat that Morris stands out in a class almost if not entirely by himself...
...As Bob Wood once said, 'If a man lives through an overseas experience, and it doesn't get him, he will return a far bigger and better man.' . . . "We had Mr...
...Guess I'll have to watch out or I'll be confused when I get back and start driving to the right again...
...Lunch at noon, and then I strip off my clothes and rest for half an hour...
...They are grand jobs and the Supplement is a knockout...
...I had met him a few times back in the States but got to know him better, indeed pretty well, when he was in Australia a year or so ago...
...I explained that these lads had lived out in the jungle, not near Paris, London, or Rome, and the entertainment they get is little and far between...
...Can't say I was intrigued by it, but following your admonition...
...I suppose the meat we get from storage is quite as good, perhaps better, than when it's fresh, but it doesn't seem quite that way...
...Enclosed herewith is a one-peso note with an autograph for Judy from Irving Berlin...
...And I think, too, that when he does come back and returns to college, he'll get a great deal more out of it than if he went now...
...So many people think we can treat the whole of Germany and Austria as 'wicked children.' Few seem to realize that we are our 'brother's keeper' and that when disease, physical, mental, or spiritual, hits a large number of people one can't isolate the sickness...
...I think Morris has done a real job in driving at the basic need for real peace aims, and not the sort of undeclared war that the Big 3 seem to have in mind for the next quarter-century...
...AP chief in this area who was raised in China and lived in these parts a long while, tells me he craves rice and likes it better than bread, potatoes, or any form of starch...
...There we have an excellent breakfast, and since Judy's letter on diet I've more or less (often less, I'm afraid) followed her suggestions...
...When I was there in the States I got at least some idea of the difficulties of running a business under existing wartime conditions...
...Kalaw to dinner last night...
...In many ways this kind of experience can do something of the same sort of thing...
...It is doubly strange that the so-called 'enlightened internationalists' are the last ones to appreciate the causes of war and revolutions...
...Gordon was impressed and really surprised with him...
...Most of us out in the Pacific, I explained to him, have the feeling that we have the little end of the horn, not only in terms of supplies and resources, but in the interest of the American press...
...For some it turns out badly...
...I'm not trying to sell you a bill of goods, but as I say, if it turns out O.K...
...9 and arrived here yesterday (April 7...
...He gave us a very interesting political background, and then brought us up to date on the situation here...
...Plug For The Progressive "I shall certainly be glad when I know which direction Bob III [Col...
...It may be true, but I'll take a chance on it...
...And likewise he said he'd never played to such audiences...
...He has convictions and sticks up for them, and his natural inclination is to see things from our point of view...
...It is supposed, however, to designate those who visit apparently on official business but who are nonetheless unmitigated sight-seers...
...I read or visit with Gordon [Maj...
...The streets and roads are pretty rough...
...And that is what it is...
...Back at the office at 1:15 and then prepare for the press conference at 2 when the communique is issued to the press (for release the following morning at 6:30), and I answer questions as to the situation...
...The Overseas Experience "When I got to the office this morning I found your cable telling me that Bob was 'leaving for California.' You can imagine what a momentous piece of news this is for me (and for you...
...And his most severe critics will be forgetting their present crabbing and remember only that 'they always recognized his greatness...
...It was written the day after you had gotten the turkey and had had Alf, the Rubins, and Rob's friend Gim Wong for dinner...
...Gene Tunney On Tour "Each day is a good deal like the others, especially in that there is no dividing the days into weeks...
...I respect and like him...
...Berlin, like everyone else who comes out here, is appalled and impressed with the terrific distances involved...
...and a good deal of the time there has been plenty of excitement...
...then one would look upon it as an experience...
...Anti-Semitism and the like spread far beyond the borders of Germany and have been accentuated by all that has happened in occupied parts of Europe...
...La Follette's 18-year-old son, recently shipped out from San Francisco] is heading, although it looks as if it were this way...
...I sure wish I had been there...
...He is in the area for a brief stay, and we had him over to PRO for dinner last night...
...I dread to think what lies ahead for Europe...
...After dinner we went back to our quarters and he, Gordon, and I talked about what had and what was happening in the Philippines...
...Gordon Sinykin, former Business Manager of The Progressive and Phil's law partner] a while and then hit the hay about 10...
...I have no doubt but that for millions this experience will be the most exciting event of their lives...
...As I said in visiting with Gordon last night, Gen...
...Dread For Europe "I got a batch of books from Lois and Pris as Christmas presents...
...Anyway, I miss your cooking...
...He's making a tour that will take him pretty nearly everywhere in the war theatres...
...Incidentally, did Bob III make any comments anent your cooking and the food and the likes while he was there...
...Each day flows into the next one without the break one gets at home in peacetime where Sunday divides the weeks into parts...
...One spot where the mail service fell down badly was with the Christmas package rush...
...Lord, but how that lad has developed in the past few years...
...Gen...
...In some ways it's like the millions who've been overseas in this war compared to their contemporaries who fought the battle of Washington or the like...
...I think I have some idea of what this all means to you...
...However, you and I always have been able to find plenty to interest us...
...If one doesn't, one's burdens can become unbearable, especially the anticipated ones...
...I am not trying to 'relieve you' from anxiety, but I do think you want to see all sides of it, and there is very definitely a side which is rich in experience, valuable, and enlarging to one's mind and character...
...And rice, and I ATE SOME...
...I guess they'll think I'm a fine one for not acknowledging them before...
...Heavy traffic on streets designed for light traffic has made a good many holes, so one weaves in and out as he drives along...
...He's direct, straightforward, with a real sparkle in his eyes, has wit, humor, and a delightful dialogue...
...he'll look back on this as a great experience...
...As delicious a soup as I've ever eaten...
...But I do want to make this suggestion: what makes it so difficult is the uncertainty...
...What Gordon means, I think, is that there is an undercurrent of excitement about this experience (when one is on an operation there is plenty of excitement), and that when one gets back to the peace and quiet of civil life there'll be a letdown from the excitement of overseas...
...Baker has lent me a jeep, so what we have at PRO plus this one enables me to get around in pretty good shape...
...It's not only that many packages were delayed or lost, but many of them came so crushed or soaked from exposure of one kind or another...
...I note your recommendation on rice and will endeavor to acquire a liking for it...
...MacArthur is going to stand out like Grant, Sherman, or Lee...
...Remember that photograph you sent that was taken of the 5 of us when I was back home...
...If one could look ahead and be certain that all would be O.K...
...He's Secretary of Education in the Commonwealth cabinet, and spent a year at Wisconsin doing graduate work...
...Yesterday the correspondents and PRO officers were the guests of the 'Secretary of Education and Information.' Boy, was it food...
...By 2:30 or so the press conference is over, and I spend the next hour or so cleaning up the stuff on my desk...
...He's intelligent and pleasant...
...And here, as in Australia, we drive to the left...
...And needless to say, to those who have been from 18 to 40 months overseas, these 'part-time' warriors are not the most popular thing in the world...
...At least I do try to stay off too much bread, butter, and potatoes...
...In a few weeks in this area he played to more GIs than in the whole of his tour to Europe and he never saw such enthusiasm...
...Visiting correspondents, visiting French correspondents, and a delegation of labor leaders, all out here for a quick 'look at the war.' They are what is commonly known hereabouts as 'feather merchants,' though where or why that description came into being is beyond me...
...After breakfast I leave for the office and get there around 8:10...
...We are having three delegations of visitors this week...
...He was a delightful guest and everyone enjoyed him immensely...
...I try to leave about 4:30 and get back to the flat, take a shower, clean up, and be ready for evening mess around 5:45 to 6. After dinner we generally sit around PRO and chew the fat for a little while and then back to the flat...
...Again, I emphasize that I am not trying to 'sell' you something, but I do think it is important to keep one's perspective on this whole business...
...He looks older than I expected—I should say he's in his 50's...
...Gen...
...Something of that situation exists, I think, wherever there has been an occupation...
...Then the morning is spent on Army paper work, administration, etc...
...Gordon had a letter from Morris which was as you would expect full of news and his own personality...
...He makes friends and the GIs pop their eyes out when they recognize him...
...The first thing is my letter to you, unless something prevents it...
...I think I wrote you some time back about Admiral Lord Keyes and my talk with him about King Leopold as contrasted to the governments in exile...
...Your letter of Feb...
...All the petty criticism will disappear with time, and the essential qualities of leadership will be all that remain...
...PHILIP F. LA FOLLETTE EDITOR'S NOTE: Isabel B. La Follette, The Progressive's Associate Editor, has here assembled another collection of excerpts from her husband's personal letters...
...It interests me how people all over react to similar problems...
...23 came this morning...
...Gordon claims that everyone will have a letdown after he's back in civil life...
...There is still unmistakable his early days in New York (should guess the Bowery or the like) and his greatest personal attraction is his unspoiledness...
...I'll eat a little whenever it's served and see if I can acquire an appetite for it...
...Gene Tunney is in the area and was in for dinner last night...
...Gordon and I spent the evening reading over the last 2 issues of The Progressive in detail and studying the Supplement...
...But for most men it is the big adventure of their lives— in retrospect...
...Get up about 7:15, perform my toilet, and then walk or jeep over from our headquarters to the PRO (Public Relations Office...
...We both think Morris and Mary have done a remarkable job to keep The Progressive going and on such a relatively even keel through this hectic period and with so little help...
...I DON'T know whether I've told you what my routine has become of late...
...It was mailed by you on Oct...
...Yates McDaniel...
...With his appetite I'll bet one of the hardest things about Army life is missing your cooking...
...It must have been a very nice occasion...
...Like a rotten apple, it spreads...
...T think one is inclined to assume that people up in the world will be conceited or over-opinionated and when Gordon found him straightforward and direct he was pleased...
...I always remember the talk you had with that old chap on the ship going out to Haiti, and his advice about sending a son to sea for early training...
...and Mrs...
...On the whole I think I'm in pretty good shape...
...MacArthur's Stature "The fates certainly were on my side when I got sent to the Southwest Pacific Area...
Vol. 9 • May 1945 • No. 20
