European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - March 13, 1948, Darmstadt, Hesse                                W Mauldin addresses a veterans rally. His Sharp jabs at the american legion and its policies earned him the Label Radical the two Bill Mauldin h # the former i and in his new new York Hen William Henry Mauldin received his final pay and ruptured Duck at fort Dix new Jersey nearly three years ago he was As he later pointed out just As much a Rookie to civilian life As he had been to Mili tary life some five years earlier when reenlisted in the army at the age of eighteen. Rookie or no however he was expected to deliver to his Bosses a big feature Syndicate cartoons up to the Aliber of his wartime stars and stripes work which had netted him a pulitzer prize a Book of the month and a couple of Hundred thousand  an unsuccessful attempt at persuading the Syndicate to agree to a Lon vacation so Mauldin could acquaint himself with the problems of civilian life he jumped in. I was faced with two alternatives he explains in Back  i could draw Veteran pictures with some accuracy but they would Lack a certain spark because i d be weekend March 13, ism by William Stuyt Esais author of up front has found things can he pretty complicated As a civilian Book Back Home he gives the Story of his reconversion to peacetime life drawing situations that i myself had lived a i could draw civilian cartoons which would often fall Flat on their faces because half the time i would not know what the hell i was drawing about. In the following two years i did a great number of both kinds of car  Syndicate s customers seemed to feel the same Way about Mauldin postwar work cancelling contracts right and left until Only seventy nine of the original Hundred eighty newspapers were still printing his stuff. Now the have levelled off and so More or less has  up front Mauldin had written and drawn pictures of things he knew first hand and his work had an authenticity that impressed even the infantry Man in the line. As the new civilian he found himself far removed from the actual problems of the Veteran. As he himself wrote How could a Guy identify himself with veterans who needed housing while he could afford to pay shyster prices for real estate he also wondered How anyone could feel ill used and draw Strong pictures about unemployment when he had a Fatback account and no financial worries for some years to come when Mauldin first started to work As a civilian he had the material of disown trip through the separation Center and a few first impressions to draw on but soon his cartoons began to reflect the Gap Between himself and the Reali ties of civilian ," Mauldin says i have never been qualified As a profound intellectual but my perverse nature does lean toward the rebellious which makes me somewhat Radical in any established  turning this perverse nature Loose on political and social problems produced a flock of Cai Toons that brought angry growls from newspapers in areas where the things Mauldin was slugging at were considered proper. The Syndicate took to censoring his work which made him even More rebellious. Pretty soon i found myself doing Noth ing but straight political drawings he writes and very bad ones at that be cause instead of trying to be Clever or Subtle i said to hell with everybody Andi climbed on a Soapbox and let Fly with a Sledge Hammer when i should have used a Needle. Cartoons Are no Good it they re Soapbox or  Mauldin consoled himself with the loss of customers he writes by the. Ancient lame excuse that my rapid downhill slide was due to the fact that there is no such thing As Freedom of opinion Inthis land of dirty old reactionaries that the press is the tool of the National association of  while in this mood he would he says generally dream up a wonderful series of Plau sible excuses for not improving the Quality of my  new peacetime William Henry Mauldin was a pretty unhappy Guy. Continued on next Page. Ii