Tag Archives: WWII

February 24, 1942

Tuesday night 2/24-42

My dear Sweetheart,

The money on the repellent project $44800 became available today and things will pick up now. The present work on fumigants including tests with the Army will require approximately 2 weeks. At a conference this PM Dr. Armand is willing for Bruce to complete these. They will wire Bruce tomorrow to come into Wash. & if I can see him first I think the job he now has will be consolidated with ours and he will be my second man at Orlando. Bish has been opposing it to Armand, but Armand had agreed to it several days ago. The situation is that a lot of Bureau men are on the end of a limit due to curtailment & Armand is now looking for places for them. Our work will be filled by transfer within the division except for Mr. Glass & 4 juniors who come from the outside. Cushing will then consider transfers of others to fill temporary places vacated by men who are coming to our projects.

February 24, 1942

Bishopp is as pale as a ghost. I’ve never seen him looking as badly. I do not know if the merger mentioned in the enclosed clipping has anything to do with it. All divisions of the Bureau were called upon today to stream line their activities in line with war needs and this means that the Bureau of the Budget can then pick out ones to be eliminated or reduced. They seem to be going after it great shape. I believe that the Bureau part is confidential but it would be OK to let Simmons know.

My return ticket is dated the 27th & today is the 24th. I may not be able to get away by that time but I’ll come as soon as Bruce can get here and I can turn this work over to him. I would telephone him tonight but the only news I can get of his present address is the state of Texas. Mrs. Townsend has his itinerary and she had already gone when the conference was over. I could try San Antonio and Dallas, but anyway they can wire him tomorrow morning, and the orders for him to come here will have to come from the office anyway.

Lots of love,
Always
Walter.

February 22, 1942

Sunday 2/22.

My dear Ina & Boys,

I am enclosing a clipping from the Washington Post of today which is of much interest. They tried to get voluntary releases of personnel from government agencies but this failed, so now they are trying a new wrinkle. If you wanted a transfer to Wash. instead of Orlando, I imagine it would be easy because it could not be blocked in the Bureau. If it were not for Cushing I would not mind so much, because you know how I feel about the rest of them. The work at Orlando will be the most important war work in the Bureau & probably just as important as any except firing bullets.*

February 22, 1942

I kept the sedan delivery here today but I did not go out to Beltsville. It has been real cold yesterday & today and it was not especially urgent that I go over the fumigated material until tomorrow. I hope I can get away about the end of the week but cannot tell yet. I want to get the answer if I can by that time.

If you have any strong convictions about transferring, please let me know. After the war it may be difficult to get into other govt work which might mean taking the retirement. It would amount to about $150 per month at present. After about 6 yrs more or 30 yrs service would amount to about $200 per mo. I doubt if I could leave the Bureau before about 6 yrs. By that time we may be in the middle of another depression & it would be difficult to get started in something else.

With love,
Walter.

P.S. Think I’ll talk to the Public Health Service. Theirs should be permanent.

* Walter is not bragging. Louse-borne typhus was deadlier than any weapon in World War I, and all indications were that it would take a similar toll in this war. An army that could prevent and/or treat louse infestations would have an immense advantage over one that couldn’t.

February 4, 1942

Wednesday Feb. 4

My dear Sweetheart & Boys,

It was great to get two letters from home, so I’m sending another one. It seems ages since I left but it was just one week ago this AM that I arrived here.

February 4, 1942

Cushing came back on Monday AM and I was glad to see him. He is very helpful on this program, even if I have not yet made any fumigation tests. My first cooperators did not come through because of the effect of the gas on the equipment and the possible danger of releasing it in the city. The quantities are small but it is a tear gas. Arrangements have been made to do the tests at Beltsville where I can borrow from three different places. I borrowed a car from a third office today, and I’ll get it tomorrow. Yesterday I purchased 24 suits of underwear for prisoners of the District jail. They will be exchanged to individuals for ones that I can fumigate.

Annand & Bishopp are at the Memphis meetings, also Prof. Harned at his own expense.

Talked with Hoyt this PM. I called upon him for a little visit. He does not seem like the same one to me. Like the others (Rohner and Spencer) he is strictly in line with Annand & without regard to Strong or the past. I’m disappointed in him, but of course I did not try to draw him out or to ask for anything. A friendly visit regarding the dog fly control & the present work, then he suggested a young man from Colorado for the new work. Wakeland is here and sent word that he wanted to see me. I’ll see him tomorrow and I’ll guess that he mentions the same man. Also Cushing & I are calling on Major Stone tomorrow AM to get some gas masks, & for a conference.

Every division of the Bureau is getting a cut except Man & Animals & it is getting two new projects amounting to $94,000 on defense. Also the dog fly control program is coming back to the Bureau. I am to talk to the Biological Society of Washington on Sat. eve. 8 PM for 35 min. on “dog fly control in N.W. Fla.”

There will be no money for control of salt marsh mosquitoes & sand flies & Dr. Williams is returning to malaria in the USPHS.

With love
Walter.

Sent Kodak pictures last night. New ones not yet developed.

February 1, 1942

Sunday Noon.

My dear Ina & Boys,

Yesterday morning we had an air raid drill in the agricultural buildings, which amounted to a concentration of the personnel on certain floors at designated places. There was nothing exciting about it, but some of them seemed to like the idea of being wardens or First Aid people.

February 1, 1942

Mr. Hall phoned that his neighbor was a secretary to Congressman Sikes & asked if I would join them at noon. We had lunch in the Capitol Bldg. with the Congressman and Mr. Terry Lee the secretary who lives at Marianna. It was a sociable visit with some discussion of the dog fly control work. The Congressman asked if anyone objected to the use of creosote, and I told him that they did not make it known to me. We heard of one unfavorable comment which anticipated the use of creosote but that none was used on such premises. Also told him of the Park Supt. at Santa Rosa who wanted to know if shore birds walking on treated grass would be burned. Mr. Sikes said that not a single complaint had been received by his office, and that he had heard favorable comments on the work. They expect to get a project through for the Bureau.*

Most every research division is to get a cut, except Man & Animals. Prof. Harned expects to be reduced from $145,000 to $120,000. There is much uneasiness in the Bureau. Rumors float about on moving the whole Bureau to Kansas City or somewhere else. They have no instructions to move, but may get them. From what I can hear, Annand is making a lot of changes and they are coming gradually but fast enough to put things on edge. Different ones have told me that my standing was ace high now, with no comments on what it has been. They expect Mr. G to be shorn of most of his projects but do not say in what way. I’ve seen Bish a few times and I’ve never seen him as worried looking as at present.

There is some good news on retirements. Anyone can retire before he is 55 if he has had 15 years service, but will not draw any retirement money until he reaches 55. Then he can get 15/30 of 70% of his regular rate of pay at the time he quits. The rate increases with years of service and one must retire at 62. Dr. B is about 60, so that he could not be in longer than 2 more years. I would expect King Parman and Laake to retire within a couple of years, though I am not certain of their ages.

There will be a memo on the subject of retirement before long & it should give all of the information we want. Until then we have this to think about, and I think it is OK.

With lots of love to all of you.

Daddy.

* Remember, this was a project that involved spraying thousands of gallons of oil and creosote over the beaches near Pensacola. Priorities were different in 1942.

January 29, 1942

Thursday Night

My dear Sweetheart,

When I mailed your letter last night I thought of the Jax property & I put a note on the outside of the envelope. Could you write the Tax Assessor, County Clerk House & ask for our statement for last year. I would do this, but I do not remember the description.

January 29, 1942

This AM I called upon Major Stone and I learned more of his exact needs. When I determine the fumigation periods & can get a portable fumigation box I am to get it into use at Camp Jackson at Columbia S.C. I found a fairly good article on chloropicrin & believe it may help a lot because the Army prefers to use this material.

Miss Trembley & I called on the City Health authorities this PM & we believe we will have some addresses to work soon. Also we are getting an arrangement with the jail authorities.

This PM Mrs. Cushing was in the office and I asked her to eat dinner with me. We ate at the Chinese restaurant and she left for home as soon as we finished. She had a letter from Claudelle saying that she (Claudelle) and BM would be back on Feb. 5. It was written from Harbinger.

Permission was cancelled by the Bureau for our attendance at Memphis. This would have happened even if I had been able to go there. Bish will go but I did not ask him to read our papers.

I have been invited to talk on dog flies before the Biological Society one week from Sat. if I am here & it looks like I’ll be here. I think Mr. Stage asked Dr. Simmons to send the slides. If not, will you ask Dr. Simmons to send them to me at the Bureau. I’ll write him in a few days.

It was a pleasure to visit with Mrs. Cushing. The Bureau visits are so unsatisfactory during the day that it is a relief. There is a lot of uncertainty in the changes about the Bureau and most of the folks seem jittery. Things are not like they used to be and we have to recognize that fact.

With love to WW, Lewis, Tommie and my wife,

Sincerely & always,
Walter

January 28, 1942

Stationery from the Bellevue Hotel, 15 E Street NW, Washington, DC.

Wednesday Night 1/28-42

My dear Sweetheart,

We got to Jax just in time to get the 7:45 ACL and I arrived here at 8:30 AM and was in the office at 9 AM the new time for starting in the Bureau. Hours are to 5:30 PM now. After a conference called by FC consisting of Stage, Back, Miss Trembley and myself, which did not amount to anything not already arranged for, I went over the different places with Miss Trembley and this PM we tried to find one that would furnish us some lousy clothes for fumigation tests. We spent some time in the Dist. Jail & got some encouragement, if we can give some new underwear to replace the old. We are trying to get a dispensation to do this.

January 28, 1942

Tomorrow morning I am to call on Major Stone (alone) and see what he can do to help and to let him know I’m here etc. I think he can command some cooperation from the city, because Wash. DC City is a federal agency. Anyway I am going to try it. It is just as difficult to get things done, except more so at present. Too much red tape and increased machinery.

Dr. Wakeland is here but I have not seen him. He was appointed as a division leader for ‘hoppers & crickets today.

Think I’ll ask for a conference with Ammand & talk to him. Dog fly will be in Bureau for Gulfport office next year, at least it is lined up that way. Would you like Gulfport?

A big hello to WW, Lewis & Tommie,

With love,
Walter

January 7, 1942

Walter and Ina were together in December 1941, so we don’t have any insight on their immediate thoughts about the US entry into WWII. However, Walter’s work is about to change directions because of that. The USDA is now consolidating various research and control teams, and will soon reassign Walter to direct a project that will define both his career and the future trajectory of entomology.

Tuesday Night

May get away in a day or two but I am not having all of the luck that was anticipated. We think that time will bring consolidation but objections are not easy to overcome.

Walter.

January 7, 1942