Dear Comrade:

I was delighted to receive your good long letter this morning. I'm glad you wrote me all that about the magazine and your feeling. Your feeling is right, but it remains true that your magazine has been a credit to you. Still, I know that it has not been what you could make it if you could get the right fellows on the job. I have an intellectual carpenter here who writes for me occasionally. His name is J. E. Robinson, and he will try his hand on a thing for you. It may be a very good thing. He seemed pleased this morning when I broached the subject.

Wonderful reception at the State Teachers' Assn. in Oklahoma City. 10,000 teachers and lots of enthusiasm. My last audience, which was very large, fell hard for me. The other was a section meeting - English teachers - not so large, but very much for me evidently. The newspaper over there gave me a dinner, and it was a joy. Golden evening. I wound up by taking a plane back, but got only as far as Tulsa as the plane did not go through that day. Wonderful way to travel - seems the slowest possible mode of transportation, but we made 110 in 45 minutes with a brisk tail wind. It's the only way to travel, I feel. And hereafter, when ever possible I'll take a plane. Try it, and you'll be converted at once.

I'm going to take a three weeks trip through the Indian country in July. Sig will drive me in our Ford, and we'll have a time. Can you accompany us? Both Sig and I are looking forward to the trip. I bought a Ford sedan - old model T - in fine shape with this in mind. We use it now to drive in and out morning and evening. Saves carfare, as all three of us now come to town every day. The Gardner is in the garage for the winter.

Comrade, your continuing affection is one of the few really valuable things in this world for me. It I feel that way about you all the time. It seems wonderful that such a relation should actually persist year after year with no signs of petering out. Pretty good for this world, I'd say.

In my last letter to you I made a remark about this civilization of ours being a fool. I did not mean that the men and women in it are fools. Many are, of course, but millions certainly are not. I meant that the social scheme, based as it is so largely on lying and shenanigan and on the ideal of acquisition, is certainly leading us to terrible catastrophe. Maybe not very soon, but it must come. I call that sort of civilization a fool. Your remark about Carlyle's generalization is quite correct; but I could not make that sort of statement. I do love poor human beings like myself. I can't help loving them, for surely I need love as much as they.

Kindest thoughts for Mrs. House and our Mary. And the old and enduring love to you.

Jno.

Write Prof. B. A. Botkin, University of Oklahoma, Norman, asking him to write an article for you on what he and others down there are doing in the way of collecting folk lore. He publishes a very interesting and valuable magazine called FOLK-SAY, A Regional Miscellany. Tell him I told you to write. This may be a good connection for you.

He's a real fellow.

Yes, I'll give you an article - maybe on "Tolerance".

Neihardt
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Dr. Julius T. House, New River State College, Montgomery, West Virginia.