Manna for Hanna

When someone telephones a newspaper office and says, "This is Calvin Coolidge. I have a story for you," the customary answer is, "Is that so?" and a bang of the receiver. Mr. Coolidge makes no habit of telephoning newspaper offices. Neither do Herbert Clark Hoover, Andrew William Mellon, John Pierpont Morgan, Charles Augustus Lindbergh.

Last week Assistant City Editor Arthur F. Spaeth of the Cleveland News (published by big, blond Dan R. Hanna, Jr., grandson of Mark Hanna) picked up his jangling telephone, heard a voice say: "This is Col. Lindbergh speaking." Newsman Spaeth was too surprised to hang up. He gasped, stammered, mumbled, found his wits, began to talk. As nearly as he could remember it later, the conversation ran like this:

Voice: Did someone call me for an interview?

Newsman Spaeth: We sure did, Col. Lindbergh. . . . Would you mind telling us the purpose of your visit to Cleveland?

Voice: We're just here for a short visit to Mrs. Lindbergh's grandmother and aunt.

Newsman Spaeth: How long will you and your wife be in town?

Voice: We are leaving the city later today. We're not sure where we will go, inasmuch as we often do not decide until we get into the air.

Perspiring freely, Newsman Spaeth hung up, blurted out his story to City Editor A. E. M. Bergener. A hard-boiled newsman, City Editor Bergener was skeptical. He recalled how he had sent a reporter to the residence of Mrs. Charles Long Cutter, Mrs. Lindbergh's grandmother, earlier in the day. The reporter had reported "No interview." Still, there was just a chance. The News had been courteous to Mrs. Lindbergh when she visited Cleveland just before her marriage. Perhaps the Lindberghs had remembered that, decided to return the courtesy. City Editor Bergener ordered another newsman to telephone the Cutter house. Amused, Col. Lindbergh answered, confirmed, amplified. Flying from Cleveland to Detroit, Col. Lindbergh furnished many another newspaper with good "copy" by visiting President Alvan Macauley of Packard Motor Co., trying out one of the new Diesel-powered Packard airplanes, driving a Packard speed car round a concrete track at 112 m.p.h.*

*By chance or otherwise, the day after Col. Lindbergh inspected Packard products, old issue Packard stock went up 7 1/4 points on the New York exchange; new issue Packard stock rose 1 7/8 points.