Towson University - Tower Echoes Yearbook (Towson, MD)

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THE TOWER LIGHT ions covered with very select French leather. The desk was probably the 'most interesting fixture in the room, for although it was apparently like other desks, its make after close examination was quite unique. Its finish was mahogany and the entire upper surface of heavy plate glass enclosed -a map on pressed mica of the United States and a portion of Canada. By this arrangement Colonel McCormick could remain seated at his desk and trace the story of his treasured forests to many listeners. The entire office seemed to be in daylight, although there was no glare as from the sun, this of course being due to a highly perfected method of indirect lighting. Imagine one having an office in which decorations alone cost 325,000 and visiting it only a few hours a month. Start saving your pennies now! JOHN F. WHEELER, jr. 7. cafiiifap Reward Unwanted . T was one of those towns in which everyone lives on one street. It was a very pretty street lined with huge old elm trees whose upper branches met and formed a perfect green canopy. On this particular afternoon the thoroughfare was deserted except for a large black touting car that raced down the street and jerked to a stop before the store of the town. Hank Applegarth was very much surprised to see four young men enter the store. It was not exactly the men that astonished him but rather that one of them was handcuffed. Have a telephone in here ? inquired one. Why-yes-over there-, the staring Hank pointed. O. K. I'll take off those handcuffs and then you call up your folks and tell them you won't be home for awhile. Tell them you'll get in touch with them later on. Don't try to trick us now. As the man was speaking he ran his hands through his pockets in a seemingly vain effort to find the key. With a look of disgust he finally turned to the others and exclaimed, I can't find the keys. I must have given them to one of you. ' After searching their pockets the others protested that none of them had the keys. Don, for he seemed to be the leader of the gang, almost shouted, I remember. I gave them to Buck and he stayed in town. Well, 'kid', it seems you'll have to call with those things on. Make it snappy. 19

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THE TOWER LIGHT Two Cents Apiece HEN you buy a newspaper you seldom realize what is behind the purchase. Last summer in New York I stepped out of the seeth- ing congestion into a dignified hall of science and art to marvel at a twelve foot revolving globe, many and varied barometers and scien- tihc instruments g-the lobby of the News Building. Then up I went twenty-tWO stories to the busy ofhce of the Chicago Tribune. In one corner was the concealed entrance to the private office of Colonel Robert R. McCormick, editor and publisher of the Chicago Tribune. The door- way was a part of the Zebra Wood and of the mural which covered the inside walls, and opened into what seemed living wall pictures 3- From Trees To Tribunes . Beginning in the southeast corner of the room was a scene of the primeval forests with birds, beasts, and Indians pictured life size. Into these spruce woods came the pulp wood cutters slaughtering the towering spruce. The unknown powers of the wilderness stream then transported the logs to the pulp mills, where the progress from pulp to newsprint was shown before you on the wall. But the final picture on the east wall climaxed the whole, for it revealed the actual contents of the newspaper. It is utterly impossible to imagine anything which gets into print that was not depicted in this extraordinary mural with the map of the world and the Tribune Tower in the background. Every phase of news in the uni- verse was represented, including the most unusual, the essence of all news, a man biting a dog. It took more than two years for the artists to obtain the necessary data for the preliminary sketches alone, and not only was there the next great problem of retouching and elaborating the sketches, but also of grouping these facts on a huge wall sixteen feet high and twenty-two feet square. Covering the four walls on the inside of the office and acting as a foundation for the artist's brush was, as I have mentioned, African Zebra wood, especially imported and so called because of light and dark brown stripes in its grain. The artists in preparing the mural tried as much as possible, by toning down, sand papering, and mellowing all colors, to make their work seem a part of the exquisite grain contained in the wood. Everything in the office blended harmoniously with the unusual set- ting. The floor of imported ebony was in four inch blocks in tone with the walls, and the skillful matching of its grain gave the impression of a continuous board. The large sofa and the window seats had air cush- 18

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THE TOWER LIGHT Hank was certainly puzzled now. Thoughts followed each other in rapid succession. What were these fellows doing with the other one? They looked almost like young kids with their old, unkempt, mud-caked clothes and the torn shirts and pants. But look at that livid, sinister cut under the eye of that one standing over by the case-what's he leering at me for? I bet I know what they are. Tough gangsters. Probably taking this kid for a ride. I've seen it in the movies. Or maybe they are kidnappers. The papers have been full of that kind of stuff lately. Who do they think they are kidnapping citizens of this country? They won't get away with it, though! I'll stop them- But what shall I do? There are three of them here and one out in the car, four against one! What should I do? At this point in Hank's reflections the prisoner finished his call, and as all walked out of the store, Hank stared helplessly after them. The black car sped along the road with four very jolly men and one sullen, dejected one. The chief topic seemed to be centered on the gloating words, They'll never catch us now. They won't even trace us where we are going. Don, who was driving, suddenly slammed on his brakes and ex- claimed, What's wrong here-look at that car drawn right across the middle of the road? Before anyone had time to answer their car was surrounded by men yelling, Put them up. Don't try to get away. State cops , came weakly from one of the occupants of the car. The more original driver began with, Listen, officers, we were not doing a bit over thirty-five-- No, that's not what we want you for. Come along to the judge and explain the handcuffs on that young man. We had a call that you devils were coming along this road. Well .... l, it's like this .... Tell it to the judge. Four very confident young men stood in front of the judgeg the look on their faces implied- this is going to be just too easy. The other man stood off to one side while the police tried diEerent keys to remove the handcuffs. One of the policemen who had aided in the capturing of the gang was talking, We received a call a little while ago from the storekeeper in Pleasantburg. He said these men came in his store and acted like kidnappers, so he called us up. Why, surely. It's like this. This is the season of the freshmen- sophomore banquets at the college. The freshmen try to hold the presi- fContinued on Page 231 20