Verhovayak Lapja, 1941. július-december (24. évfolyam, 27-52. szám)

1941-07-10 / 28. szám

Page 4 July 10, 1941 LETTER June 22, 1941 This Is Our Job By RICHARD J. PHILLIPS Verhovayak Lapja----------------­Editor The Verhovay Journal Pittsburgh, Pa. Dear Sir: Several other boys and I, of Branch 366, Cleveland, Ohio, thought that you would like to know about our life as soldiers on ma­neuvers. We have for the past month been on maneuvers in the Kisatchie National Forest in the vicinity of Alexandria, Louisiana. During this time we have slept on the ground, some­times underneath the pro­tection of our pup tents and sometimes not. Maneuvers and the Soldier We left our base camp, Camp Shelby, Mississippi, for our destination, which was Camp Claiborne, Louis­iana, for maneuvers during the month of June. During the two days time needed to cover the 322 miles be­tween the camps our meals consisted mainly of sand­wiches and plenty of coffee. We had one major stop for the night on the grounds of the Baton Rouge Munici­pal Airport in Louisiana. It must have been an impres­sive sight to the citizens of Baton Rouge to see the thousands of pup tents that literally rose out of the ground. The town was completely and totally taken over by the soldiers. Before leaving in the morning an open air Mass was said for the church followers. We arrived at Camp Claiborne on Monday evening and immediately started setting the camp up. By the afternoon of the fol­lowing day all our units were again functioning normally. This then was our base camp and home for the next month. From here we leave for periods of five days or more on what is known in ,he Army by the term of “problems.” During these problems movements are often made by truck con­voy under cover of the night. These movements are called “blackouts,” as no white lights of any kind are used. The purpose of the move­ments is to baffle the enemy as to the number of troops being moved and to the route taken. Due to sleep­ing on the ground the boys are exposed to insects, of which the “chigger” is the most annoying, and because of the inconvenience it pre­sents, many of the boys go without shaving during these periods. The purpose of the ma­neuvers is to toughen the boys to the hardships of living in the open, and they are succeeding quite well. In a few days we return to Camp Shelby which, to the boys now, is a paradise to what they have been through this month. Here at Camp Shelby the boys live in pyramidical tents with wooden sides and floor­ing, have the benefits of showers, movie shows and recreational facilities. In closing, the boys agree that it really isn’t so tough as it sounds. Fraternally and sincerely yours, (Signed) “Buck Private.” P. S. A SPECIAL NOTE TO MYSTRICKY: Your last edishion waz vary intrest­­ink, end I’m onedering y u half nut kept up de wirk. I awlso hev herd uf yers end Frances’ splendid acktivitees inn Branch 366. I em awlso wishing success to Branch 366’s piknik. I em looking forwerd to zeeing yer wirk again in de next edishion of de Verhovay Jernal. Branch 356 Many months have passed since the writer has contri­buted anything for publica­tion in the Journal, during which months many new writers have joined the ranks of us contributors. The Journal has made steady progress—thanks to these new contributors—progress which otherwise would have seen retarded if not totally non-existent. The writer has been a close observer of the trend being taken by the Journal, of the articles be­ing featured and generally the manner of its make-up and presentation to the Ver­hovay readers far and wide. He has seen it grow through a period of years from an amateurish four-page paper to a fair-sized publication, one which should merit the praise of all Verhovay mem­bers. It is difficult for me to illustrate in words what we all see in fact. However, the history and progress of the Journal so closely parallels an incident that happened many centuries ago that I should like to acquaint all the members of the “writing profession” of its influence in shaping the course of art, in much the same manner as our contributors are shaping the course of this Journal. We may call it a transition, a transition that takes place after many up­heavals and repercussions. To continue this analogy I must turn back the pages of history and take you in fancy to a part of the earth now known as Spain. At that time a primitive man, living in his cave home, drew a picture of a bull on the wall. Although to our eyes centuries later when it was discovered, it appeared as the work of a rank amateur, it nevertheless re­mains one of the most fa­mous paintings in all history. The painter’s name was Abb (I doubt if ever you have heard of him), but neverthe­less Abb was the first master artist of whom we have record. This very simple drawing is important to us because in it Abb demonstrated, all unconsciously, certain prin­ciples of beauty and design that have governed artistic creation ever since. For ex­ample, he used bold sweep­ing lines and painted in color, all of which is charac­terized by the modern paint­ings of foremost world ar­tists, as later artists have found that color adds natur­alness to any composition. Detroit, Michigan He pictured the bull in action—it is now an accept­ed principle that motion in­creases realism and interest. Again, although he made his picture smaller than life size, he kept the various parts in rough proportion (experts call this “scaler re­duction”) . Finally, and doubtless without being aware of what he was doing, Abb utilized effectively most of the seven shapes we know today. Thus, right at the very beginning certain definite principles of design were laid down that have been followed from that day to this. But it is not for technical reasons alone that the bull drawn by this primitive artist enjoys world fame. It holds a place high among the masterpieces of all times as our earliest known ex­ample of man’s striving to improve his surroundings and make them more pleas­ing and beautiful. The desire to be surround­ed by beautiful things is an elemental human urge. From the time man first learned to mold the raw materials of nature into useful forms, he has never been content with usefulness alone. No sooner had he learned to make stone axes and earthen vessels, then he turned to decorating them with crude geometrical patterns and re­productions of animals and plants. Examples of this type of art can be seen to­day among our Western In­dians who utilize these various forms and patterns for the decoration of their products. Nature herself was his first teacher, for all around him—in every tree, every blade of grass, every animal—the proofs and beauty of nature was ex­pressed. It was man’s ambi­tion then, as now, to capture this beauty of line and form and apply it to objects of his own making. Art and nature then are so closely related that ap­preciation of beauty is not limited to the artist or the art student. We all know when we like a pattern or design. You often hear a person say, when looking at a new design, “it doesn’t look right.” You probably have said it yourself without ex­actly knowing why you felt that way. Usually it is be­cause objects designed na­turally in accordance with such natural laws as balance and unity are pleasing to the eye—they “look right.” At the same time whatever violates the laws of nature “looks wrong.” Efforts to add beauty to man-made objects can be traced through every period of world’s history. In some periods, as during the Dark Ages, little or no progress was made; in others, as in the days of ancient Greece, or when the Renaissance was at its peak, artistic creations by mass artists dominated the life of that day. In spite of brief excursions, often man rode in pursuit of ideas and theories that fail to stand the test of time, each civilization has contributed some of its own to our pre­sent-day knowledge of artist­ic principles—the rules and laws of design used by modern craftsmen to beauti­fy the objects of our daily lives. Now, dear reader, I am not writing a treatise on art, and you may wonder what I am leading to, but the above incident so closely parallels the transition of our Journal that I could not help but draw a comparison. As an analogy to the paint­ing of the bull more than 50,000 years ago (this is when this happened), and the part played by this pri­mitive artist in shaping the course of art, may be likened the contributors to the Journal and the part they are playing in shaping the future course of the Journal. Instead of just one artist who did so much for art’s sake, there are dozens of writers who collectively are doing what Abb did. Instead of adding beauty to man­made objects, they are ad­ding pleasure, relaxation and good reading to man’s enjoyment. Our writings, too, like the painting of Abb, appear to be the work of a rank amateur; yet as time goes on our readers will sense the thoughtfulness that was put into each con­tribution and will feel the influence radiated by these contributors and those to follow in our footsteps. Articles sometimes appear­ing may seem childish and without purpose to some of us, yet to others they are the very essence of good writing, writing which im­partially depicts the atmo­sphere and spirit of our great Verhovay family. To those who are naive as to the important part played by our editors, I can only say that it would be folly indeed to treat with scorn and contempt these contri­butions which above all else exercise so great an influ - ence in the future policy of the Journal. The writer can not at­tempt to class himself as a STABILITY PROGRESS Careful, conservative and sound investments assure the STABILITY of Verhovay’s funds and securities, thereby giving full confidence • to members and prospective members. With its assets making sizable gains year after year and its membership increasing by leaps and bounds, Verhovay sees before itself a definite future which spells PROGRESS. SOCIABILITY rather than frowned upon is regarded as essential to the well-being of Ver hovay life and activities. Verhovay’s encouragement and promotion ol social movements within and among its branches is in keeping with the spirit of true FRATERNALISM. SOCIABILITY FRATERNALISM • VERHOVAY FRATERNAL INSURANCE ASSOCIATION 345 FOURTH AVE. PITTSBURGH, PA.

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