Official Publication of The Wichita Rotary Club

 

Volume 23
The Fighting Heart

“Phog” Allen Is In No Fog

 

Verne Brooks had
the honor (and honor
it was) of introduc-
ing Dr. Forrest C.
(Phog) Allen, coach
of the University of

Kansas, senior state

university, located at

Lawrence. Verne re-
ferred to the coach as
a maker of champions
and told us that Allen
Wichita  Beacas was a former Rotari-
an of 18 years’ experience. Halfway
through Phog Allen’s talk, it was easy
to see how he built the astounding rec-
ord of 22 conference championships in
his 29 years of coaching, and more re-
cently to tie for the Big Six with Okla-
homa and Missouri, and then win the
Western N. C. A. A. championship last
winter.

 

F.C..PHOG ALLEN
KANSAS
Cut courtesy of

If you ever wondered where Forrest
got the name “Phog,” let us explain. We
wondered about it years ago when his
name first became prominent in the
Kansas City newspapers, and they al-
ways used this monniker. It seems that
Allen used a megaphone to call orders
to his boys, and his voice came through
pretty loudly, so much so that one of
the reporters said it was like a fog-horn.
Another bright fellow changed it to
“Phog Allen.”

Phog took the floor at 12:55, and after
a couple of remarks told a story of Ger-
many, which was not only original but
could easily have been true. We will
repeat it as accurately as possible. “Two
German soldiers were traveling in their
country when suddenly a peasant’s shep-
herd dog ran out in the road, and they
hit the dog and it was killed. Said
Adolph, the higher ranking one, “Her-
mann, you go inside, tell the farmer we
accidentally killed his animal, and offer
to pay for it.” Hermann climbed down,

Friday, May 3, 1940

 

Regular Meeting

MONDAY, MAY 6, 1940

HOTEL LASSEN
12:15 p. m.

SPEAKER—HON. PAYNE H.
RATNER, Governor of the State
of Kansas.

This talk will be broadcast over

KFBI and affiliated stations in

Kansas.

 

 

 

went inside, and was gone several min-
utes. When he returned to the car he
was carrying all manner of foodstuffs
over his arms, in baskets, and around
his neck, literally loaded down with “pre-
cious” food. Adolph sharply remon-
strated at this. “Shame, Herman, to take
the poor farmer’s savings, and after
killing his dog besides. Your head I
should punch in.” Then Herman made
answer, “Let me explain, let me ex-
plain. When [ got inside, a wedding
party was in progress, and they were
making merry. I raised my arm in the
regular salute, saying ‘Heil Hitler, the
dog is dead.’ And they loaded me down

(Continued on page 2)

 

WHY ATTEND ROTARY?

 

Attendance is the key to oppor-
tunity. Rotary, if I understand it
correctly, is an inspiration. If it
fails in being such, and if I am
lukewarm in my interest, then I
don’t understand Rotary. As a
speaker at Hays said, “Rotary is
not a book to be read, but it is a
life to be led.” How can I better
understand Rotary—by being pres-
ent and getting what Rotary of-
fers me—food for the body—facts
for the mind—uplift for the soul.
Are you getting it? Come and
get it.

Harry Stanley.

 

 

 

Number 44

"The Air War’

Being a resume of the war, as reported
officially in the London Rotarian for
March 30, 1940.

Remarks by Wm. Courtenay, Esq. M.
A. R. Ae S.

THE CONDUCT OF THE WAR
BY THE ALLIES

An authoritative discussion by the Air
Correspondent of The Evening Standard.

“Before I deal with the actual work of the
Royal Air Force at war, I would like to stress
the importance of never losing sight of the
fact that our air activity must be related to
the general strategy of the Allies. If German
raiders achieve a sporadic success here or
make a spectacular forage elsewhere, it is
obviously foolish that we should be dragooned
by ill-informed opinion into throwing over-
board that carefully considered, long studied
strategy, for. the sake of some speedy spectac-
ular but ill-timed action.

“It is said that whereas Germany’s air ac-
tivities over these islands are part of a care-
fully thought out plan, ours are merely oc-
casionally retaliative action which follow her
and in which the enemy appears to have the
lead. Nothing could be more shallow or falla-
cious.

“The Allies have taken the offensive at sea
from the first day of the war. Day and night,
without spectacular appeal but with remorse-
less and inexorable pressure, the ships of H.
M. Fleet, and those of our gallant and glorious
ally, France, have blockaded Germany. Every
German air raid on Britain has been nothing
but a weak and ineffectual attempt to reply to
our blockade. Every air attack on our shipping
round the coast is the measure of her impotent
reply. Every air raid on Scapa or elsewhere is
Germany’s effort to follow the Allies and to
strike in reply to this relentless and remorse-
less pressure. When viewed in this light it will
be seen that it is the Allies who have taken
the initiative and the enemy who has been
compelled. to pursue a frantic search for a
means of finding the answer to our method
of waging war.

“I do not pretend to know what is the
strategy of the Allied High Command, but of
this we may be sure. The Cabinets of England,
and of France, have sought the highest, most
skilled, and most experienced scientific advice
from their military, naval and air officers.
Strategy based on that advice should not be
lightly set aside, because the enemy with com-
mendable cunning and clever organization suc-
ceeds in accomplishing an air raid which
achieves no worth-while results.

“Tf we recall the last conflict it will be re-
membered that it took us all of the first two
years of that war to raise, recruit, train, equip
and transport an army to France, of a size

(Continued on page 3)