Foreign News: Hitler Had a Mother

On the uncensored New York stage public personages of the day, domestic or foreign, are impersonated and lampooned with impunity. Appearing in New York this season are Adolf Hitlers, Benito Mussolinis, Joseph Stalins. In other seasons "appearances" have been made by King George V and Queen Mary, the Duke of Windsor, President & Mrs. Roosevelt, the Roosevelt Cabinet, the Supreme Court.

In Britain, however, the 6th Earl of Clarendon, the Lord Chamberlain (alias, censor of Britain's stage and literature), keeps an eagle eye out not only for theatrical obscenity, profanity, sacrilege and references to royalty but also for possible insults to heads of foreign States. Last week, perusing the book and lyrics of a new London revue, Censor Lord Clarendon spotted a song entitled Even Hitler Had a Mother, hastily banned the piece. The forbidden ditty*:

Though we may get furious with Hitler if we're not of Aryan race, Let's remember that when he was littler someone called him Angelface.†

Though we may not idolize the Duce when the news gets rather grim, Someone called him hoochy-koochy- koochy, that was how she humored him.

Even Hitler had a mother, even Mussolini had a ma; When they were babies they were cross, perhaps, But all they needed was a change of naps—maps—

Don't be hard upon the Black Shirts, they may be rather Swastika, But even Hitler had a mother and even Mussolini had a ma.