.
Eyes Ahead, Toward The World Of
Tomorrow! In Tune With The
Times, The Post’s Streamlined
Makeup Anticipates The Newspa-
per Of The Future. It’s Easier On
The Eyes!
THE DALLAS POST
{More Than A Newspaper, A Community Institution
For Facts, Read The Post’s News
Columns; For Opinion, Turn To
Page Six, Where Each Week The
Editor, Mrs. Blez And Mr. Mat-
thews Air Their Likes And Hates.
Vol. 49
- THE DALLAS POST,
FRIDAY, APRIL 28, 1939
No. 17
POST
SCRIPTS
ODDS
AND
ENDS
OF A
WEEK
In the midst of this week's search
for material to fill these columns we
encountered for a fleeting moment a
gentle old man sitting beside a window
with his coat in his lap, and it seemed
that he was very wise, because of all
‘the people we saw this week, including
a six-months-old baby, he was the only
one who wasn’t seeking more than he
had.
It occured to us, walking away from
his presence, that he had a standard
of values far better than ours, and we
wondered how fame and popularity ‘and
the luxury of money came to seem so
important to anyone.
We wished then that we could be an
old, white-haired man, rising every
morning with the sun, pulling our
galluses over our clean, faded blue
shirt, and sitting thoughtfully all day
long in a rocking chair beside a big
window in the country.
We can’t, of course. Not until the
philosophers make this world over,
from the bottom up, and convince ev-
erybody that fame is hollow, that love
is tyranny, that ambition is a curse,
that money is a lure for discontent
and that hope is merely a beginning
of defeat. If, with one rough sweep,
they could establish a new order, in
which neckties would be abandoned
salad forks outlawed and men made
to look inside themselves, instead of
at their neighbors, there might be some
chance for peace of mind.
A good many times during the day,
around the Prothonotary’s Office in
Luzerne County Court House, you hear
someone yelling, ‘“John!”, ‘“John!”,
“John Heffernan!” and the odds are
that it’s some newspaperman, desperate
for a story, searching for the affable,
smartly-dressed, spectacled oracle who,
after thirty-some years of newspaper
work, is becoming a legendary one-man
news bureau.
it may be a repcrier from Cae of the
local newspapers, checking with John
on some important story, or it may just
as well be a telephone call from the
New York Times or’ the Philadelphia
Record. They all depend upon John's
amazing fund of information, his keen
nose for news. Almost any day you
choose, you can find John’s tips peek-
ing through prime stories’ in half a
dozen newspapers.
We suppose there is no man in Lu-
zerne County, in or out of newspaper
work, who is better able to answer that
trite query, “What's new ?”’ than John
V. Heffernan. Reporters confide in
him. Important public figures seek his
advice, For more than three decades
he has been watching the ebb and
flow of news, until he has accumulated
a staggering volume of background in-
formation, and an invaluable memory
which enables him to delve into his
mental files and come up with exactly
the angle you wanted.
A newspaperman’s newspaperman, he
spurns by-lines, and his best stories
frequently appear, in this paper or that,
anonymously. Those who know him
recognize his style, though, and when
they encounter a story built of sen-
tences which sting like whip-lashes or
sparkle with color they know that yarn
was spun under John’s swiftly-flying
fingers. The nearest he comes to taking |
credit for his work is when he uses
his tongue-in-the-cheek nom de plume,
“Javie Aiche”.
We stopped in to see John the other
afternoon. It was typical, we thought,
that we had to wait a few minutes be-
fore he greeted us. He was talking on
the telephone to an old schoolmate of
his, fellow by the name of Arthur H.
James, and they were making arrange-
ments to attend the Baron’s opening
baseball game together.
QUIDNUNC
If people have been telling the truth
to us, half of Dallas will be on the
“sleeper” at 12:40 Sunday morning
when it makes its farewell trip from
Public Square to Dallas . . . Next morn-
ing the 42-year-old trolley line will pass
(Continued on Page 8)
Street Car System
To Be Abandoned
Monday Morning
Tracks On 42-Year-Old
Line Will Be Torn Up
To Make Way For By-Pass
Slick, 31-passenger gasoline busses
will supplant the 42-year-old trolley
line between Dallas and Wilkes-Barre
next Monday as Wilkes-Barre Rail
way Corp. begins tearing up tracks
on Buckingham Avenue, Luzerne, to
make way for the by-pass.
The “sleeper” car which will leave
Public Square at 12:40 a. m. Sun-
day morning will be the last to roll
over the tracks. At 5 a. m. that
morning the first of the busses will
pull out of Public Square, beginning
the half-ho e:
Authority to abandon the street car
right-of-way was granted to the trac-
tion company last Spring by the Public
Utility Commission, without opposition
from any local group.
Busses will operate over the lower
road, through Shavertown, and the up-
per road, through Mt. Greenwood,
changing their route on alternate trips.
The busses will ply between Public
Square and the Dallas station. For the
time being the Harvey's Lake bus
will operate between here and the lake.
The schedule will be the same as is
maintained now by street cars and has
been announced tentatively as follows:
Dallas busses will leave Public Square
on hour and half hour from 5 a. m. to
11:30 p. m. Leave Dallas for Wilkes-
Barre each 30 minutes from 5:45 a. m.
to 12:15 a. m. “Sleepers” leave Public
Square for Dallas at 12:40 a. m. and
leave Dallas at 1:10 a. m.
Harvey's Lake busses will leave Pub-
lic Square for Picnic Ground at 6:40,
8, 12:40, 4 and 6; leave Picnic Gronnd
for Square at 6:45, 7:45, 9:10, 1:10, 3:45
and 5:10.
Will Tear Up Tracks
On Monday morning the traction
company, which is: responsible for re-
moval of i J tracks. will begin tearing
up the doabic cracks along Buckingham
Avenue and moving back its poles.
Experimental trips were made
through Dallas on Tuesday with new
diesel busses, but these are not the type
to be used here when the changeover is
made on Monday.
Originally a steam railroad, built in
1896 to compete with the Bowman's
Creek Branch of the Lehigh Valley Rail-
road, the street car line was electrified
shortly after financial difficulties had
resulted in a reorganization in 1898.
Work on the by-pass is moving ahead
steadily. One bridge has been com-
pleted and the second is nearing com-
pletion. Some grading has been done
and within a month or so paving will
be started.
Dallas Borough Bandsmen
Turn Tables On Director
Howard Hallock, supervisor of music
at Dallas Borough High School, and the
members of the borough high school
band changed places Monday.
With the school musicians in the
audience, Mr. Hallock played with The
Alexander Band in its’ annual Spring
concert at the Irem Temple, Wilkes-
Barre, Monday night. The borough
band director was in the cornet section
lof the 30- -piece band;” took part in a
brass quartet rendition of “The Lost
Chord.”
Gypsy Moths Cost
Local Man Five Bucks
Gypsy Moths deserted tree trunks
for scrap iron this week, and the tran-
sition cost Robert Snyder of Sutton
Creek, Centremoreland, $5 and costs.
Mr. ‘Snyder, who took a moth-laden
load of scrap automobile parts to Han-
over Township, was hailed before Al-
derman Frank B. Brown of Wilkes-
Barre Tuesday night on the complaint
of C. F. Campbell, gypsy moth control
agent of this area. The Centremore-
land man explained he was sorry, es-
caped the maximum fine of $100.
FISKE SCORES DECISION OVER
DROPCHINSKT IN HARD BATTLE
Paul Fiske of Dallas, lean, lightning-
quick amateur boxer, scored a deci-
sion over larruping Tommy Dropchin-
ski, up-and-coming Lehman athlete,
in a hard-fought match in 109th Field
Artillery Armory on Tuesday night.
It was Fiske’s third consecutive vic-
tory and Dropchinski’s first defeat in
four bouts.
Dropchinski, who has had a severe
cold for several weeks, started slowly
and, in the opinion of observers, lost
the first round on points. In the second
stanza, Fiske shot across a jolting right
to Tommy's face, a blow which ob-
viously confused Dropchinski and
clouded his prospects.
With Fiske leading, Tommy came
back strong in the. third and his cour-
ageous rally brought a roar of en-
couragement from the crowd. He
landed blows frequently in the closing
minutes of the fight, but Fiske’s early
advantage gave him a clean decision,
About 30 fans from this section who
have followed the® budding careers of
the two promising boys were in the
audience. There was talk yesterday of
promoting a return bout between the
‘two amateurs, possibly in the ring of
the Dallas Gymnasium Association.
Clit Space Gives
Joint Committee
Farmers’ View
Testifies As Senate And
of the witnesses at the first ses
sion of the joint investigation of milk
control at Harrisburg this week was
C. W. Space of Dallas, who produced
figures to support the contention of
dairymen that they cannot produce
milk at a profit under prices enforced
by Pennsylvania's milk control board.
Mr. Space, who testified for about
20 minutes, told the committee of
Senators and Representatives that his
cost records showed a sizable loss for
January and February and that a
profit recorded in March would have
been a loss if prices which went into
effect early this month had been in
force then.
W. A. Spaulding of Hazelton, re-
presenting the Luzerne County Far-
mers’ Co-operative Dairy, and Herbert
Thomas of Scranton, chairman of the
Milk Producers’ Association of North-
eastern Pennsylvania, which is organiz-
ing farmers’ unions throughout this
section, were among others who testi-
fied, protesting that “the farmer is not
getting a square deal”.
Questions Pasteurization
During a discussion of the dealers’
cost of pasteurizing milk, the audience
cheered a farmer’s wife who inter-
jected:
“If pasteurization makes children
healthy, how is it that our children
are so strong? On the farm we never
give them anything but raw milk.”
During the hearing, the milk control
board came in for severe criticism. The
testimony was confined to producers
and it is likely more dairymen will be
heard when the inquiry is resumed
next Monday morning. Later, dealers
and consumers will be given an oppor-
tunity to testify before the committee.
Meanwhile, dairymen in this section
are continuing with their efforts to
organize branches of the Milk Pro-
ducers’ Association of Northeastern
Pennsylvania. Already the association
has about 200 paid members, about 25
per cent of whom are from the Dallas
area.
A meeting will be held in the Eaton-
ville school house tonight (Friday) to
explain the purposes of the association
to dairymen in that section.
Borough Senior Accepts
Misericordia Scholarship
Doris McCarty, salutatorian of the
Senior Class at Dallas Borough High
School, accepted a scholarship to Col-
lege Misericordia this week. The scho-
larship is open to the two girls with
the highest averages of each graduating
class. The borough faculty awarded the
International Correspondence School
scholarship ‘to Wanda Henson, third
ranking student, at a meeting Wednes-
day.
TWO MINUTES WERE LONG
ENOUGH FOR FIRST SWIM
IN LAKE, PEG DECLARES
Miss Peg Casterline, 18, Carpen-
ter Road, Harvey’s Lake, this week
achieved the chilly distinction of
being the first girl to take a dip
in the Lake this year.
At 6:30 Monday night, to cele-
brate Monday's long-awaited bal-
miness, Miss Casterline waded into
the water at Sunset Beach. Two
minutes was quite long enough for
her first dip, but even that was
time enough for a number of
amazed spectators to gather.
Miss Casterline, who swims
across the Lake nearly every day
during the smmer, decided to take
her early season dip as a stimula-
tor after a day of housecleaning,
according - to her friend, Leah
Husted, who just stood on the
beach and shivered. :
Farm Machinery
Sales Running High
Farmers Are "Keeping Up
With Times’ In County
Sale contracts for farm machinery
recorded: at Luzerne County Court
House prove that farmers in this sec-
tion are ‘keeping up with the times’.
More than $55,000 worth of farm
machinery has been purchased this
month from three nearby equipment
supply firms, the records show.
Smith Bros., Nescopeck, has the
largest volume of contracts, about
$21,000. Rural Supply Co. of Shick-
shinny is: second with $19,000, and
Gay-Murray of Tunkhannock had about
$15,000 worth of equipment sale con-
tracts in Luzerne County in April.
These figures do not include cash
salew or contracts not recorded. Be-
sides proving the farmer’s progressive-
nesg, the unusual volume of sales this
Spring reflects the sound credit of buy-
ers in this section.
Prof. Williammee Named
President Of Principals
Prof. T. A. Williammee, supervising
El of Dallas "
zerne County last Thursday*during a
meeting at Hotel Sterling, Wilkes-
Barre.
The organization, formed for the ad-
vancement of teaching in the county,
meets monthly to discuss school ex-
ecutive problems and improvements.
Mr. Williammee was named vice-
president of the association last fall to
replace Harry L. Tennyson, former
principal of the borough high school.
when The Evening News will retire
Times-Leader.
Evening News To Print Last Edition
Saturday; Merges With Leader Monday
The first step toward consolidation of Wilkes-Barre’s three daily news-
papers, anticipated for several months, will take place on Saturday afternoon
from the field and metge with ‘The
Delegation Meets
Highway Secretary
Hughes Will Co-operate
With Luzerne Committee
A delegation of civic leaders from
Luzerne Borough met yesterday after-
noon with I. Lamont Hughes, Secretary
of Highways, at Harrisburg and se-
cured a promise of co-operation in ef-
forts to have Main and Bennett Streets,
Luzerne, paved.
Discussing the promise made by of-
ficials under the Earle Administration
to pave the two main thoroughfares in
conjunction with construction of the
by-pass, Mr.
financial difficulties involved now and
assured the delegation of his sincere
interest in improving the roads.
Hughes = explained the
Among those who went to Harris-
burg for the conference were Burgess
John = Adams, Councilman C. H.
Ahrendts, Stanley Johnson, Attorney
Henry Greenwald, borough solicitor and
president of Luzerne Civic Association,
| Frank Shivy, secretary of the associa-
tion; Abe Finkelstein, chairman of the
business men, Arthur Bolender of the
Chamber of Commerce, and Norman
Johnstone and John O'Donnell of Wen
ming Valley Motor Club.
The first edition of dhe eneoliduted
newspaper, which will retain The Times-
Leader's name, will be printed in The
Times-Leader’s plant. It will be admin-
istered by the recently-chartered
Wilkes-Barre Publishing Co., whose of-
ficers are the top officials of the three
Wilkes-Barre dailies.
It was reported yesterday that in
September The Times-Leader will move
into The Record’s plant, and Wilkes-
Barre will then have a morning and
evening newspaper under joint owner-
ship, publishing in the same quarters.
John Hourigan, publisher of the
Evening News, and Col. Ernest G.
Smith, publisher of The Times-Leader,
will be co-publishers of the new paper.
As far as possible, the news, circulation
and advertising staffs of the two papers
will be merged.
Official statements on the merger
were lacking this week because officials
of the three newspapers were in New
York City to attend the convention of
the American Newspaper Publishers’
Association but a full announcement of
the plans is expected in the Saturday
afternoon edition of both newspapers.
The Evening News’ INS press service
will be transferred to The Time s-
Leader, which will continue its AP
franchise.
The contract the publishers negoti-
ated with Wilkes-Barre Typographical
Union early this month provides for the
adoption of a four-day week for prin-
ters in case of a merger of any morning
and evening publications.- It does not
mention any concession to be made to |
printers in case of the merger of two
evening newspapers.
fi
Utility Ready To Launch
$7,000 Improvement Plan
Complainants Agree To Await Test
Of Program Explained To PUC By Craig
Dallas Water Co. is ready to launch immediately a $7,000 improve
ment program, which, it is believed,
water shortage, Robert Hall Craig of Harrisburg, general manager of the
utility, told the Public Utility Commission during a hearing at Luzerne
will end the borough's long-standing
Two Lake Youths
Jailed Thursday
Byres Arrested For Theft
Of Car; Weiss For Conduct
Investigation of the theft of an auto-
mobile from Wilkes-Barre two weeks
ago culminated in the arrest of Frank
Byres, 23, stepson of Berkley Herson of
Warden Place, by Harvey's Lake police
Wednesday night.
Byres pleaded guilty to stealing a car
belonging to Felix Dressler of North
Main Street, Wilkes-Barre, from Plains
on April 15, at a hearing before Squire
Ralph Davis of Alderson, Thursday
morning. The car was recovered on
‘Carpenter’s Road, Harvey's Lake, Mon-
day.
The youth also admitted to having
broken into a cottage at the lake be-
longing to D. Gurdani of Miller Street,
Luzerne. A large bread knife was found
in his possession and he ve charged
with carrying concealed deal weap-
ons. 4
He was committed to Luzerne County
Prison yesterday by Police Chief Ira C.
Stevenson on the charges of larceny,
breaking and entering and carrying
concealed weapons. Byres was paroled
from Kis-Lyn Reformatory three
months ago after serving eighteen
months for a Williamsport burglary.
Jack Weiss, 16, ward of Mrs. Nick
Weiss of Warden Place, pleaded guilty
on charges of disorderly conduct and
using obscene’ language at a hearing
before Squire Davis Thursday morning
and was committed to Luzerne County
He was arrested Thursday morning
by Patrolman Fred Swanson on com-
plaint of a neighbor, Mrs. John H. Wil-
liams, who was offended by his con-
duct last Sunday.
Weiss, sent to Kis-Lyn Reformatory
in 1936 for setting, fire to three cot-
tages at Warden Place, was paroled a
‘| year ago in the custody of his aunt,
Mrs. Nick Weiss.
Coaches To Meet With
Scholastic League Prexy
Baseball coaches from local high
schools will meet with J. Austin Snyder
of Lehman Township High School presi-
dent of the rural athletic league, early
next week to make arrangements for
the scholastic season.
An opening date will be announced
and schedules will be drawn up. If
Laketon High, which withdrew from
rural league several years ago, enters
a team this spring, the league will be
1expanded to five teams and individual
playing schedules increased from six
to eight games.
A class battle for the league cham-
pionship, won last year by Kingston
Township High School, looms, with
little to choose between the competing
teams.
Will Discuss Meeting
Place For Lake G. 0. P.
Possible permanent meeting places
for the Lake Township Republican
Club will be discussed by Grover Ander-
son, Sr., before members of the organ-
ization at the Martha Washington Tea
Room, Sandy Beach, Tuesday evening.
The office of the Sheriff will be ex-
plained by Miss Louella Gosart, presi-
dent of the club, at the meeting, which
will be attended by county officials of
the Republican party. Two prominent
men from the courthouse will speak.
County Court House yesterday.
After listening to Mr. Craig's out-
line of the proposed improvements,
the complainants, who are seeking
better service, agreed to a postpone-
ment of further hearings until about
July 15, by which time the utility's
program will have bee completed
and consumers will knoweif the im-
provements solve the problem.
The motion to hold the case open
until the expansion program has been
carried out was accepted by the PUC
examiner who heard the case and there
is little question but what the Com-
mission will approve the arrangement.
The improvements, which will in-
clude the sinking of at least one new
well and the laying of new mains, are
expected to be completed by July 1.
Only a sprinkling of local persons
were in the courtroom when Examiner ,
Caspar opened the case against Dallas
H. Turner, borough solicitor, represent-
ed the complainants and Attorney
Douglas Storey of Harrisburg was coun-
sel for the utility. At the table with
Attorney Turner were Burgess Herbert
E. Smith, Councilman Morgan T. Wil-
cox and Borough Engineer John T.
Jeter. Mr. Craig and Leslie Warhola,
local manager of the water company,
were seated with Mr. Storey.
Craig Is Sole Witness
Because the utility admitted frankly
the inadequacy of service in certain
sections of Dallas, eliminating the need
for testimony from dissatisfied con-
sumers, the only witness was Mr. Craig,
who qualified by responding to routine
questions about his experience as an
engineer.
Using a large map, he outlined the
improvements the company proposed to
make. A deep well will be sunk at
Columbia Avenue and Center Hill
Road, equipped with an electric auto-
matic centrifugal pump: Mr. Craig
estimated the capacity of that well will
be in excess of 150 gallons per minute.
He said he believed the new well
would solve the problem of an ade-
quate supply.
To move the supply, the company
will lay a six-inch main along Machell
Avenue, from Main to Monroe, where
there is no connection now, will install
mains on Saginaw Street, from Hill-
donia to Grandview, where new homes
are under construction, and will lay
a four-inch pipe parallel to the two-
inch pipe which now connects the Par-
rish Heights area with the main system.
Mr. Craig explained that the water
company’s system is made of three dis-
tinct areas, the main Dallas system, the
Parrish Heights section and the Maple-
wood Heights area. Parrish Heights,
where most of the complaints originate,
has as its chief source, a drilled well
adjacent to the district, and the sup-
ply from this well has, Mr. Craig said, |
been diminishing for three or four
years.
If the new well near Center Hill
Road does not provide an adequate
supply for Parrish Heights consumers,
another well will be drilled on Par-
rish Heights later, Mr. Craig promised.
Program Ready To Start
Questioned concerning the speed
with which the improvement program
could be executed, Mr. Craig said that
the pipes have been ordered, a check
for purchase of the lot for the well has
been turned over to the local agent,
three bids have been received for drill-
ing of the well and are ready to be let
and the company has funds available
to carry out the balance of the pro-
gram.
“I feel,” Mr. Craig concluded, that
these improvements will satisfy the
consumers. If there are minor defects
(Continued on Page 8)
SPRING FIRES BRING WARNING
An alarming number of grass fires | fore W. M. Hewitt, warden,
| men controlled it. g
and wood blazes throughout this sec-
tion during the last week brought a
warning from E. W. Whispell, warden
at Dallas fire tower, who urged farm-
ers and fishermen to exercise utmost
care in the woods.
Depite occasional rains recently, the
forests in this section are dry and
there were three woods fires and a
OF DANGER FROM WARDEN HERE ~~
d his
More than 200 woodland fires have
{ been reported in Pennsylvania in the
last week, many of them caused by
careless fishermen. The heaviest loss
was on the popular “Barrens” hunting
ground, west of State College, where
2,000 acres were burned over.
Mr. Whispell asked that he be noti-
fied at Dallas 153-R-16 immediately
number of grass fires reported within | upon the discovery of any forest fire.
the last week. Mr. Whispell has had | He suggested also that farmers who in-
‘ville blaze, where 31%
forest fires at Trucksville, Larksville!tend to burn over fields adjacent to
Mountain and Fernbrook within the!
last week, the largest being the Trucks-
acres burned be-
woodlands inform him in advance so he
can be prepared in case the conflagra-
tion gets out of control.
Water Co. about 2:15. Attorney Arthur 4