By Hap Arnold

The small (circ. 2,200) Sonoma (Calif.) Index-Tribune had a new, big-name columnist last week, and had him all to itself. His name: General of the Army Henry H. Arnold, lately boss of the A.A.F. During the war Hap Arnold bought a ranch in Jack London's famed Valley of the Moon, and told his next-door neighbors, co-Publishers Walter and Celeste Murphy, that he'd like to write for their weekly some time. They believed it a fortnight ago when they saw his first contribution, a bucolic homily titled Back to the Farm. Excerpts:

"It was some 43 years ago that I left a farm back in Pennsylvania and started my military career. Last March I . . . left [it] behind. It was not long before we, Mrs. Arnold and I, found out that there is still just as much mud back on the farm as there was 40-odd years ago. Our automobile became mired while we were driving up the lane to our new house." They had debated taking some refresher courses ("turkey watching, pig wallowing, or vegetable ripening"), but figured that "there are always lots of neighbors who are only too willing to give advice . . . and they have the experience, so why worry?"

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