La
| SECOND THOUGHTS
By javie aiche
Readers of this column, all three of them, confess emotions a-kin
to enjoyment after perusal of only a partial record of the 24-hour saga
of John J. “Butch” McDevitt as an evanescent millionaire. As Ye Editor
of The Post suggests, there must be lots more to the story. There is.
Of the genesis of the devil-may-care Hyde that finally absorbed the
Dr. Jekyll in John McDevitt, this much he told himself in the only serious
moment between Wilkes-Barre and Broadway back there in 1912: He had
ambition when he was younger and to give it material expression he
opened a small dairy. All Butch knew about dairy business was that it
involved purchase of milk from a farmer and distribution to consumers.
So, it was more than disconcert-
ing to him when a State inspector
happened around one day, took a
sample of the lacteal liquid, found
in it an admixture based on the
preservative formaldehyde and sent
McDevitt to jail. “In that cell,”
said John J., “I made up my mind
that never again would I seek a
livelihood by hard work.”
The year. 1911 found the Re-
publican Party, of Luzerne County
entrenched in the court house and
the Democracy only a cumulus
nebula on the far horizon of poli-
tics. It was a mere matter of habit
for Butch to seek a nomination, but
there was precedent to his aspira-
tions for county treasurer, because
this time he won.
Then a group of Democrats
brought about renascence of their
party. They put up an unbeatable
ticket of erudite S. J. Strauss and
silver-tongued Peter A. O’Boyle for
judges, soldier and tailor George
Buss for sheriff, great-lawyer John
Bigelow for District Attorney, bank-
er John Moore and good fellow
John Todd Walsh for Commissioners
—and so on down through a ticket
of perfect appeal—excepting for Mc-
Devitt.
They wanted the treasurership to
be piloted by Joe Gillis, eminent
Pole. They could have it, said
Butch, for $1,200 cash and a good
job, by which agreement he got the
money but in subsequent victory
rejected the lure of regular employ-
ment away from his happy exis-
tence on the broad support of his
acknowledged wits.
What to do with so much
money? More than McDevitt had
ever before seen, excepting on the
secure side of a bank cage. Sudden-
ly in his conversations on possibil-
ities he said: “This chap Kirby
must have a helluva good time with
all his dough. Wonder what it’s
like to do anything you please and
never think about the cost? Say!
that’s an idea.” #
Percy A. Ridsdale, author and
metropolitan correspondent
in Wilkes-Barre, had turned over
his news bureau to George W.
Williams, retired and living in Dal-
las today but at that time the peer
of the best journalists. He heard
of McDevitt’'s idea and, better yet,
of “Butch’s” plan to prove it out.
Williams gave the story to Frank
Ward O'Malley of The Sun; and
Frank, as the man who left Wilkes-
Barre and the Press Club to become
the world’s greatest reporter, made
the most of it.
Other newspapers followed suit.
So, there was great fanfare over
preparations, but when the event-
ful moment of departure of the
“Millionaire-for-a-Day’’ arrived, Mc-
Devitt approved an entourage of
only eight persons. They included
his physician, Dr. Sweeney; his
secretary, John Lenahan; Frank
Ward O'Malley of The Sun, George
Summerville of The World, Charles
Fitzgerald of The Herald, Allan
Davis of The Inquirer and Collier’s,
George Williams and this narrator.
Back of the Lehigh Valley engine
heading, the special train there was
a baggage car containing exactly
nothing. Back of that was an ex-
press car also devoid of impedi-
menta. Back of that was the club-
car for the party, with regulation
observation platform. There you
found the luggage of John McDevitt,
a simple hand-bag whose contents
were one tooth brush and one clean
collar. Each of the newspapermen
had a traveling bag tossed into a
convenient seat.
As related last week, it was
necessary that the train stop at:
every station big and small between
Wilkes-Barre and Hoboken, teeming
crowds having gathered with rau-
cous demands for a speech. Butch
always spoke. Between stations he
never sat down, because upon de-
mand from O’Malley, Summerville
and Fitzgerald, backed by the other
scribes, he must tell stories. Born
on the down trip, in the determina-
tion of Summerville, was the plan
to make McDevitt a vaudevillian,
he and O'Malley to put together the
necessary materials from the wealth
of McDevitt’s extemporary offerings.
So, at Hoboken the party lost all |
the buttons of its clothes to the
souvenir hunters, along with all the
flowers sent to decorate the train.
In New York there awaited George
Cohan and a coterie of theater
managers that comprised all of
Broadway. And the party was
whisked to the Waldorf-Astoria
sumptuously to feed, to be inter-
viewed, to be cartooned and, finally,
to be photographed for The World
at a cost of violating the most
sacred tradition the Waldorf had,
its prohibition against flashlight
powder in its gold-filigreed main
dining hall. The manager was so
wroth he fumed, but to no avail.
Of that incident the denoue-
ment was a frantic protest to The
World's editors, a demand that the
news photographer be fired, which
dire punishment was substituted by
praise and an increase in salary.
In and out of the hotel came the
great T. A. Dorgan, “Tad,” Arthur
Brisbane, the Mayor's committee,
all to be dispersed with Butch’s de-
THE LOW DOWN FROM
HICKORY GROVE
A kind of horseback
opinion on what is wrong
with this country is we
have gotten away from
eating breakfast.
A faint nibble of toast
is about all our tired im-
wards will now stand for
at 7 a. m.
This country, when it
was growing up, it would
swap some stories in the
evening, around the fire-
stde—with a bushel of ap-
ples close at hand—and
by 9 or 10 it would be in
bed.
And at 6 in the morn-
ing, the aroma of bacon
and the other grand
kitchen smells, they
would waft in, and they
meant something. They
got the household togeth-
er, clear-eyed and clear-
headed, and in a cheer-
ful mood. Sourpusses at
breakfast time—they did-
n't have them.
But today it is wice
versa — mothing gets
steamed-up until up
around midnight. And the
the next day, with a fuzzy
‘tongue and a muddled
noggin, we are ripe for
any duck who happens
along with some new ism
or recipe for Govt., where
everybody basks in the
shade—and prospers.
Yours, with the low down,
JO SERRA.
EDITORIAL
(Contributed)
Maybe the United States is mere-
ly “the Melting Pot of the Nations”,
but there have been those cooks
who thought certain utensils im-
parted a flavor of their own to the
foods they cooked. In regard to
the United States, I am inclined to
favor said cooks. Take a typical,
present-day American, as we speak
of him. He will have the self con-
trol of the English, the frankness of
the Scandinavian, the artistic trend
of the French, but still there is
something there which can be
[likened to the national character-
istic of no other country. He may
possess the jollity of the Dutch, the
keen perception of the Italian, but
there is yet that certain something
which does not come under these
classifications.
i What is it, you ask? Well, there
is no definite name for it. Some
call it ambition; this is not quite
| it, for certainly other nations are
i ambitious. Some call it restless-
ness; but, are we the only people
who, figuratively, have ants in their
pants? Nevertheless, that elusive
| quality prevails. It is the unwill-
|ingness to continue doing the same
things in the same way at the same
time, day after day. A general
run-of-the-mill Englishman, when
he becomes a success in business,
is only too delighted to continue.
Maybe he’s right. An American,
though, if he becomes successful
while yet able to hobble about, is
more than likely to chuck his busi-
ness and start something new. It
can’t be explained, it is undefinable.
| You can’t call his action pure dis-
| regard, either. He IS worried about
i his chance of succeeding in his new
I line, but he just could'nt stand
ithe monotony of assured success.
|Tt is a rather selfish attitude to
| take, for a man who has depen-
| dents, but “what's bred in the
| bone—."” And yet, his dependents,
|if they are true Americans them-
selves, understand perfectly, and
are willing to go all the way with
him.
So, maybe there is such a thing
as a true American, not meaning
our original Indians. We are the
product of all other nations com-
bined, but the United States, our
{melting pot, has given us a flavor
all our own.
cision to accept the George Cohan
invitation to take a party box at
that night's showing of “The Little
Millionaire.”
Suppose we leave him there, at
the conclusion of the first act, back
of the curtain presenting George
{ with an anthracite baton and shak-
ing hands with the Cohan pater
| familias and such progeny as were
{then available, There are space re-
strictions, you know, in The Post
as in all other publications.
Until next week, then, au revoir
but not goodbye.
oy
THE POST, FRIDAY, MARCH 22, 1940
WHAT'S WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE?
O!
aePLY os CATING
“” Copyright 1940 Lincoln Newspaper Features. Inc.
Sto
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4 TR Yap,
IN;
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THE SAFETY
VALVE
This column is open to
everyone. Letters should be
plainly written and signed.
Editor:
With the aid of an unscrupulous
state agent who attacked without
warning the owners of dogs in the
valley, a dispenser of justice in
Shavertown was the unwitting tool
in attaching Easter money from
many residents who in many cases
could ill afford to do so, by fines
and costs. That the proceeds this
justice and his accomplice, the State
Agent managed to make the unfor-
tunates pay, will weigh heavy on
their conscience, if they have any,
is the hope of those who have been
deprived of the money which would
have gladdened the hearts of their
families during the Easter period.
Up in the Hillcrest section of
Shavertown lives a taxpayer and
homeowner who has done very little
work this winter due to being laid
off on account of the slack season.
This man’s wife is seriously ill and
the fine which he was forced to pay
or go to jail was sorely needed for
medicine and doctor. :
From Luzerne section was anoth-
er man hailed to appear and pay
up or go to jail. This man is on
relief and needs every cent he has.
He had no alternative but to pay.
In all cases these hearings were
held in private with the State
- Agent doing the talking and the
Justice looking on, avidly antici-
pating his share of the costs. No
excuses were accepted, you plead
guilty or not guilty, but you pay
the fine just the same. The State
Agent's word against the taxpayers
and the taxpayer's word was no
good. Although each dog owner
protested against the method in
which these hearings were held, no
witnesses were allowed to be
heard and not one dog was offered
in evidence to disprove the testi-
mony of the State Agent.
The unfortunates were very bit-
ter in their feelings against this
method of subjugation and claimed
that even Hitler gave the people of
his own country a better break
than they received from their home
townsman who they in all sincerity
elected as their dispenser of justice.
And like the people of Shenandoah,
the state can’t do anything about
it. Oh, yeah? Probably our local
officials can do something about
bringing the ridicule on this town-
ship, by those hailed to appear here
from other towns, to an end by
putting the bug on this justice of
the peace who can’t make a living
except from using his office to fine
those who can ill afford to give.
—Indignant.
Editor:
Dallas Borough School District
lays claim to the shortest-named
group of school directors in the
County Maybe the State:
Ayre, four letters; Baker, five
letters; Durbin, six letters; Jeter,
five letters; Lapp, four letters, To-
tal, ‘24 letters.
This board is the printers’ de-
light; requires only: three A’s, two
B’s, one D, four E's, one J, one I,
one K, one L, one N, two P’s, four
R’s, one T, one U, one Y.
Also had 24 letters for past two
years before Durbin replaced Dis-
que. What have you?
NOT by order of the Board.
—D. A. Waters, Secretary.
March 18, 1940.
“More than a mewspaper,
a community institution”
ESTABLISHED 1889
THE DALLAS POST
A non-partisan, liberal
progressive mewspaper
published ev ery Friday
morning at its plant on
Lehman Avenue, Dallas,
Penna., by the Dallas
Post, Inc.
Entered as second class
matter at the post office at
Dallas, Pa., under the Act of
March 3, 1879. Subscription,
$2 a year, payable in advance.
Single copy, five cents.
Howard W. Risley.......... Manager
Howell E. Rees.................. Editor
Harold J. Price... Mech. Supt.
<
HARRISBURG
WHIRLIGIG
Harrisburg, March 21 (Special)—
You may definitely schedule your
Thanksgiving dinner for Thursday,
November 28. Requests from col-
leges making up vacation and foot-
ball schedules, as well as inquiries
from business men, prompted Gov-
ernor James to announce a definite
date last week, regardless of the
President’s proclamation.
Governor James has accepted an
invitation to address the Oil City
Chamber of Commerce, Tuesday,
April 2, and visit New Castle, Erie,
Warren, Tionest, Oil City, Clearfield,
and possibly DuBois. The Governor
accepted few speaking engagements
during this first year in office.
Recommending the extension of
the Job Mobilization campaign for
an indefinite period, leaders of the
Committee suggest that a sub-com-
mittee be appointed to devise means
of making the program permanent.
They pointed out that the drive
has created 35,000 job opportunities
and still has great potentialities.
Pennsylvania is the first State
‘in the Union in the value of eggs
produced. The poultry business in
this State is a $65,000,000 industry
and the Pennsylvania hen census
show more than 19,000,000 young
fowls and laying hens. The annual
“Spring Egg Festival”, designed by
egg producers and the Department
of Agriculture to promote the use
of eggs as food, is being held this
year from March 14 to April 11. It
is estimated that a million dozen
eggs will be sold during that period.
DAILY DOZEN
(From the Medical Society of
the State of Pennsylvania)
Cleanliness is indeed next to
godliness.
It appears that some people have
little reverence. ;
There is a moral obligation for
people to be clean.
But there are other reasons why
they should keep clean.
There is pride of personal ap-
pearance.
There is pride of cleanliness in
home and community.
Cleanliness tends to aviod disease.
It helps protect children against
contagion.
There may be two kinds of dirt,
clean, and the other kind.
Farmers, coal miners, mill hands
may be soiled many hours.
Yet they can be clean in habits
and dress.
Clean people hate filthy disease
germs — and vice versa.
FOOTNOTES
By EMMONS BLAKE
Spring vacation will be coming up
soon, and to the high school stu-
dents it will be a period of all fun
and no studies, but it will remind
me of the fun I had last Spring at
that time,
Bill, Cliff and myself had been
waiting several weeks for vacation
to start as we were planning to take
a long drive around the southern
border of California and when it
did arrive we were ready for it. We
loaded Bill's car which was a Fiat,
a car about the same size as a
Bantam, with all our equipment,
food for three days, cameras and
film, pillows, bathing trunks, and
our three bedrolls tied on the back.
The car had two seats and a large
platform behind them, which was
half, a space about two by two and
a half feet, was used as a third seat.
Every fifty miles Cliff and I would
change seats, the one on the plat-
form getting the front seat. My dog,
whom we never left behind, slept
most of the time curled up on an
old pillow or a loaf of bread or
both.
The first day we got as far as
. Yuma, Arizona, where we took a
We returned to California to spend
the night sleeping on the sand of
rolls, had a dinner of cold beans,
olives and cookies, and then pre-
pared for sleep. As soon as the
moon rose, there came the loud
buzz of mosquitoes. We were soon
driven to the car where we took
the local of the picture, “Beau
Geste,” and had a great time poking
every try. We left the desert about
| noon because we wanted to reach
Palm Springs by evening. On our
way there we saw huge date groves,
carbon dioxide wells for making
dry ice, the boiling mud pots where
salty black mud bubbled and
steamed with a strong smell of
sulphur. We saw and swam in the
Salten Sea and got bad cases of
sunburn from basking too long in
the desert sun.
We arrived in Palm Springs about
four o'clock, but found that it was
just a town of stuffed sport shirts,
and left in disgust.
We had decided to go a hundred
miles toward home and no farther.
That is, we agreed to stop and
spend the night wherever we were
when the speedometer registered a
hundred miles. Our quota was
reached when we were only twenty
miles from home but we stopped
and looked around. We were near
the beach and decided to spend
another night on the sand. This
time we did a little better job of it;
we built a big bonfire and waited
for it to die down. When it did we
raked away the coals and dug three
long pits in the hot sand, into which
we fitted our bedrolls, climbed in,
and pulled more sand on top of us
making very warm form-fitting
beds. A long swim in the morning
rounded out a perfect vacation, and
we returned home satisfied—and
sunburn, sand in our hair,
joints mosquito bites, and were
hungry. What more could one ask
of a vacation?
the desert. We laid out our bed-,
why shouldn't we be? We had al
stiff |
pa
PAGE THREE |
THE SENTIMENTAL SIDE
By EDITH BLEZ
All this week I have been haunted by faces. My world has been
peopled with faces I shall possibly never see again and faces I sincerely
hope I do see again. My days seemed filled with the faces of small chil-
dren, children I cannot put out of my mind.
There is one small boy I keep
and a very fine looking little fellow.
mother married a man, not the child's father, who treated her badly and
remembering. He is just about six
He was born out of wedlock and his
the child has grown up in the home of his aunt, because the mother didn’t
want to inflict on the child the life she has suffered. In time the sister
had to give the child up because she has too many youngsters of her own
to take care of. The boy was taken to a nearby orphanage by his mother
and left there with the hope that
someone might become interested
in him ang give him the home his
mother couldn’t provide for him.
His mother brought the boy to the
home because she felt that there
he would have enough to eat and a
quiet, peaceful place to sleep each
night.
But the boy wasn’t happy. His
childish fear was written all over
his face. He couldn’t quite under-
stand why he had been brought to
a place where there were so many
other children and where there
were so many rules and regulations
and above all he couldn’t under-
stand why he had been taken from
the place he had called home.
His face was worried and he was
trying very hard to be brave but
it was a strange world that little
fellow found himself in and he was
bewildered and afraid!
I keep remembering the face of
the young girl I saw in a T. B.
hospital. She was hopelessly de-
formed and could only get around
by means of a wheel chair. I keep
seeing her smile, She really had
very little to be cheerful about but
she was a very amiable person.
She didn’t have very much to say
but she seemed to be enjoying every
minute of her life and the head
nurse in that same hospital keeps
popping into my mind. She wasn’t
a young person and certainly her
face wasn’t beautiful but she must
have been a pleasant sight to her
patients as she made her rounds.
She was so starched and clean and
white, and her face sparkled. She
must have been a very efficient per-
son to keep her position but with all
her authority and ability she was
very humble and very gracious and
wherever she went in that hospital
she brought something the patients
didn’t get from medical treatment.
I keep remembering how shiny and
bright and alive she was!
I keep remembering the woman I
chatted with in Wanamaker’s one
morning just as the organ was play-
ing at noon time. She was a very
plain person. Her clothes were of
poor quality and she made no at-
tempt to be up to date but I was
attracted by her placid face. She
told me she was the mother of
11 children -and she lived in Al-
toona. She had come to Philadelphia
for medical treatment at the Jef-
ferson Hospital. She had gotten on
the train at 4:30 that morning and
she was waiting for the clinic to
open. She told me that she had
been suffering strange pains for the
last seven years .and she thought
the doctors at Jefferson could tell
her what the trouble was. She said
she wouldn’t have come so far
but her father had complained of
a pain all his life and he never did
anything about it and he had died
of cancer, and she wanted to find
short swim in the Colorado River. yout if her ailment was serious. Her
face glowed as she talked of her
family and she showed me a pic-
ture of her eldest son. He was just
21 and they hadn’t had money
enough to send him to college so he
was taking an I. C. S. course, She
was very proud of that boy and
evidently he was a fine boy.
She told me what a pleasure her
shelter, and spent a very cramped |family had been and what good
night. We awoke early, ate lightly [times they had together. She said
and drove into the dunes of the|they lived in a world all their own.
dunes of the desert, where we found | They had so many they didn’t need
anyone else when they went on pic-
nics. She said her eldest son had
around the synthetic fort, while the |started going with a girl for the
dog, Pepper, amused herself by try- | first time and they all liked her so
ing to climb steep sand banks, only! well they hoped he would marry
to slide back to the bottom on!|her because it would be nice to
have another girl in the house. I
marvelled at the peace and loveli-
ness in that woman’t face. She sat
Reward
There is no crown without a cross;
We all must earn our due.
Not one of us gets his reward
While he has work to do.
2 5
test
Yes, that is so all through our lives;
Man never gets his pay Er
Until his work is fully done,
And finished is his day.
Our Lord went through a life of toil -
To tread the world’s sins down.
He died in shame upon the cross,
But then—He got His crown.
There is no crown without a cross,
"Tis true—but never frown;
For in this day like that of old,
There is no cross without a crown.
—F, Schreffler.
ONLY
YESTERDAY :
Items from the columns of
The Post ten years ago this
week.
From The Post of March 28, 1930:
With a cast of 45 persons, a
12-piece orchestra and a truck load 3
of special scenery, William Jay
Thomas of Luzerne will present his
Black and White Review to-
night in Dallas high school auditor-
ium for the benefit of the Dr. Henry
M. Laing Fire Company.
Fire destroyed three cottages on ¢ 2
the Idetown-Harvey’s Lake Road,
with an estimated loss of $2,500, on ;
Wednesday morning. ¢ is
Russell Miers, son of Mr. and Mrs. :
Corey Miers of Kunkle, will be=uu
come a partner in the Devens Mill-: 2
ing Co., effective April 1. 4
A new one-story, four-room #
school building will be constructed ©
at Beaumont, near the site of the
present Monroe Township high
school.
Harold Lloyd’s Studebaker twux=
ing car was badly -<w.naged this
week wheu it caught fire while Har- g
old was driving to Wilkes-Barre.
Henry Shupp and Mary Sayre of
Kunkle were married recently.
The old building which housed /
the store of Mrs. Mame Fleming for L
several years on Main Street, Dallas,
was demolished this week.
Snow flurries this week created a ¢
driving hazard and caused motorists
to drive with extreme caution.
Rev. Harry F. Henry, pastor of
Shavertown M. E. Church, has re-
ceived another threatening letter.
“Get out of this valley or take what
comes. We will get you yet.” Rev.
Mr. Henry has been leading raids
on bootlegging estaglishiments,
a
tm
there calmly knitting and heaven
knows what she was facing. She
was on her way to find out if her
illness was serious and she was un-
afraid. She was unafraid because
she had learned how to live.
I wish I had space to tell you
about some of the other people who
have been in my mind this past
week. I would like to tell you about
the man who sells newspapers on
a busy street corner and the librar-
ian, but they will have to keep for
another time! -
VV VV VV Vv
“SMILING SERVICE ALWAYS”
OLIVER'S GARAGE
Packard and Hudson Cars
White and Indiana Trucks
DALLAS, PENNA.
lod lili loli lo lin in
USED CAR
EASTER SPECIALS
1927 7-PASSENGER
CHRYSLER SEDAN
bargain. Has had
perfect care. Was
owned by local man.
$600
Here is a beautiful car and a|get-up and go.
1934 STAKE BODY
FORD TRUCK
Here’s a truck with plenty of
In good me-
chanical condition.
One-half tone stake $325
body... an
1936 Ford Sedan
1939 Packard 8 Touring Sedan
1937" Packard 6 Touring Sedan
1937 Hudson Touring Sedan
1937 De Soto 6 Touring Sedan
1936 Dodge Touring Sedan
1938 Hudson 6 Coach ..
Ceetseitttissarsntntnsntrtntcnnne
sessesenerernenecntntesanee
MAIN STREET
AND DOZENS OF OTHER CARS
TOO NUMEROUS TO MENTION a
JAMES R.
Packard -- Hudson Automobiles
OLIVER i
DALLAS