* Ediiorially Speaking: England Takes The Ball At Last The average reader, following the official war commun- iques from the belligerent powers, goes around in something of a daze. They simply don’t make sense. The Germans, for instance, will claim the destruction of 50 British war planes with losses of but 15 of their own ships, while the British, on the same day, will reverse the figures. ; The confused reader must look largely to other sources of information if he seeks an approximation of the truth. And such other sources exist in this country. The War De- partments have channels of information which have proven extremely accurate. These observers are convinced that the British reports of give-and-take in the great war now going on in the air are far more accurate than the German. That comes as good news to most of the American people, who believe that the defeat of England would gravely endanger us. Apparently it is true that British pilots and planes are better than the German. Furthermore, it is be- lieved in some official circles that the British claim that Empire plane production has at last caught up with German is pretty close to the fact. The English have one very definite advantage in this air war. Only a handful of British planes are sent over the continent, while hundreds of German planes are sent over England. That means that when a German pilot bails out of a destroyed ship and lands safely he goes to a prison camp, while a British pilot who saves himself with his para- chute lives to fight for the Crown another day. Best estimates place the German first-line force at 12,000 ships, as against 6,000 for England. And Germany probably has more trained pilots. But Britain is catching up. Some recently captured German pilots had only half the training that is given English pilots before they are sent into combat. Whether that is the result of a shortage of planes or a policy of holding her best men in reserve for a future attack of unprecedented severity, is a matter of ques- tion. American military experts give Britain a far better chance of surviving now than they gave her two or three months back. Some cataclysm of the near future may prove them 100 per cent wrong, but they feel that Hitler has little chance of making his time-table click this time—that is, of subduing England before October comes with its fogs and storms. All through fall and winter and early spring the Bri- tish Isles are blanketed in a dripping mist. It is significant that an Italian newspaper which often speaks for Mussolini recently said that the war may last two more years. That is a very different tune than the Axis leaders were singing after the collapse of France. Britain, of course, is in grave danger. If fog prevents flying, it also provides a screen for an invasion over water. Hitler is known to have constructed armadas of shallow draft boats, equipped to carry tanks and field pieces as well as troops. At any rate, the experts are becoming more hopeful over Britain’s chances daily. And they are also becoming con- vinced that air attacks cannot produce nearly the damage and the terror the proponents of ruthless air warfare antic- ipated. POSTSCRIPTS.. AS A RULE we are just smart enough to stick in our own rural league, but when a $40,000-a-year word slugger like Mister ‘Westbrook Pegler begins fanning as badly as he has been lately we can’t resist the temptation to toss a few curves his way. We have always had a high respect for the ill-disposed Mister Pegler, if only for his inexhaustible supply of venom. He is the most unamiable of the columnists, and there is something weirdly fascinating about his consistent surliness. On at least one occasion we have sympathized with the ferocious * Mister Pegler. That was when one of his columns which was as ill-timed as it was savage brought him an embarrassing distinction at the funeral services of the late Heywood Broun. —— BROUN’S ADMIRERS had arranged a memorial service at which 21 men and women—Ilabor leaders, columnists, editors, politicians, a waiter, a taxicab driver and a catholic priest—were to deliver simple little talks about Broun. Broun and Pegler had been staunch friends for 20 years but a week before Broun died Pegler did a column—a classic of unkindliness—in which he implied that Broun was a liar and directly said that he could be coupled with Stalin and Hitler as an apostle of insincerity. So when Quentin Reynolds stood up he said he guessed Broun had never hated anyone in his life. “As far as I know,” said Reynolds, “only two men living ever hated Broun, and I think that this meeting would not be complete without mention of their names. I mean William Ran- dolph Hearst and Westbrook Pegler.” At first we felt sorry for Pegler just because his name had been linked with that of Mr. Hearst, an association which does no newspaper- man any good, in our opinion. But later our sympathy expanded be- cause Reynolds’ speech, with the others, was published in a little book, and now anyone can read about Pegler’s hatchet work on Broun, as eas- ily as you can pick up the Bible and read all about Judas. “Why Peg hates Broun, I don’t know,” Reynolds admitted. “We were great friends, Broun and Peg and Deems Taylor, all of us up in the coun- try. We played poker at Broun’s house one night and Peg’s the next week, and Peg was a genial and charming host. Then in a few weeks, a week before Broun died, Peg showed his hatred . . .” —_— WELL, IT MUST have been tough for a mugg who had been dishing it out so long to have to take it at last. It must have hurt, too, because Pegler still tries to explain occasion- ally. “I didn’t know Broun was ill.” Gosh, it sounds funny when a lion whines. (Continuel on Page 8) BEAUMONT CAPTURES PENNANT IN BI-COUNTY BASEBALL RACE The Bi-County Baseball League's rockiest season in years ended last Sunday afternoon when Beaumont defeated Vernon, 11 to 7, in the sec- ond of a long-delayed series of three games to decide the championship. Beaumont had also taken the first game, which was protested by both teams, but the protests were withdrawn this week. Making" the third game in the series unneces- sary. True to league tradition, the final tilt was sprinkled with argu- ments. The Beaumont nine, managed by Alden Deitz,- who deserves consid- erable credit for holding the team together while the league was col- lopsing elsewhere, will receive a lov- ing cup. “Mac” Taylor, ace hurler, Arch Austin, catcher, and Poad Jackson, Herb Goodwin, John Moy- er and “Daddy” Shalatta, star hit- ters, performed ably last Sunday afternoon to top off their good sea- son. “which Dallas 5. Vol. 50 FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 1940 No.38 4% 1. The election of Wendell L. Will- kie as President of the United States. 2. Emphasis locally on activities national defense measures. 8. The installation of fire plugs in Ture Darras Post: MORE THAN A NEWSPAPER, A COMMUNITY INSTITUTION er highway between Dallas and Har- vey’s Lake before 1942. tion in the Dallas area. THE POST WANTS: will train men and women in Borough. The construction of a new, short- Centralization of police protec- More sidewalks. First Draft Call Will Affect 200 Men In Dallas But Only About 5 Will Be Needed For First Contingent 01 400,000 Although Dallas Borough has an estimated 200 men who are between the ages of 21 and 35 and therefore are eligible to be conscripted for military service it is likely that not more than five will go in answer to the first call. This is based on the War Depart- ment’s estimate that men of draft age make up about 14 per cent of the population and only 1 in 40 in that age group will be conscripted to make up the first national con- tingent of 400,000 soldiers. On the same ratio, Pallas Town- ship would supply about eight men and Kingston Township would send 14. The quotas for this area may be cut further because of the large number of volunteers who have en- listed here recently. Luzerne County, which has about 62,000 men in the eligible age-group, would send about 1,550 men on the basis of the national ratio, minus any allowances made for volunteers who have already enlisted. President Roosevelt has fixed Oc- tober 16 as the day upon which eligible men will register. The draft boards will probably sit at the local polling places. After the eligible men have registered their names will be filed and numbers will be drawn by lottery to decide which will be called in the first 400,000. Stevenson Prosecutes Two, Wins Convictions Chief of Police Ira C. Stevenson of Harvey's Lake secured convictions this week against two motorists he had arrested, charged with driving under the influence of liquor. Walter Shonis, Patterson, N. J. was sentenced to six months in the county jail as a result of an acci- dent he had at Outlet, Harvey's Lake, on June 28, while driving the automobile of Earl Fittin of the Lake. : Bernard Milbrodt, Dallas R. D. 4, pleaded guilty and was given a sus- pended sentence and ordered to pay costs. He was driving a car which struck the truck of John Sabo of Forty Fort at Alderson on June 30. His license will be, reyoked. Williams Breaks Ground For Fine New Apartment R. A. Williams, contractor who | has developed Druid Hills, Shaver- town, into one of the most attractive residential subdivisions in this sec- tion, this week broke ground for a four-family apartment house of unique modern design. The architecture of the building, which embodies straight, clean lines, typical of the latest development in building design, will be the first of its kind in this section. The apart- ments will be ready for occupancy before spring. Board Is Silent On Bus Squabble None Of Complainants Attend Board Meeting * The new schedule of school buses in Dallas Township, which provoked a two-day strike among children from the Alderson-Kunkle section last week, remained unchanged this week. The school board met last Friday night but none of the parents who had complained turned up, so the board took no action on the protest. Pending further developments, di- rectors were silent on what steps they make take to adjust the com- plaint, but it was intimated that a return to last year’s schedule, as re- quested by the parents, will be ex- tremely difficult until construction is ‘completed on Rute 92, permitting the bus to follow its old route. At the board meeting Miss Mary Joanna Basehore of Mechanicsville, a highly-recommended graduate of Hood College, Md., and an M. A. at Columbia University, was appoint- ed as instructor of languages. Miss Basehore fills the position to which Miss Jean Bogart of Dallas was previously appointed, Miss Bogart having accepted a position at Leh- man. YELLOW CREEK Yellow Creek, flowing through Loysburg Gap, in Bedford County, is always of a yellow color due to certain minerals which find their NEW GATEWAY TO BLOOMSBURG FAIR GROUNDS night. Through this new ornamental gateway at the main entrance to the Bloomsburg Fair thousands of fair fans will pass next week to attend the 86th annual exposition. ern Pennsylvania, will open Monday and continue through Saturday: >” The fair, biggest in Northeast- Mrs. Yaple Was At Every Dallas Fair; Her Father Helped Build Race Track Mrs. Amanda Yaple, whose father left his crops in the spring of 1886, so he could help his neighbors level the race track for the new Dallas fair, likes to sit on the porch of her home on Church Street, Dallas, these crisp fall days and remember when the road past her home was cloudy with the dust thrown up by buggies rolling into town for the fair, a y TT FATHER TRYS TO PREVENT FAITH FROM MAKING HOME AT TRYON, N. C., COLONY A writ of habeus corpus was granted by Luzerne County court yesterday to Harry Hard- ing of Trucksville, who is seek- ing to restrain his wife from taking their daughter, Faith Hope Charity Harding, aged 5, to a permanent residence near Tryon, N. C. Mrs. Harding returned this week from Tryon, where a tem- ple altar was dedicated to the child, known as “The Little Prophet” last week. A history of the unique story of the curly- haired Trucksville « Faungster, whose followers say she can predict future events, appeared in last week’s Post. Neither Mr. nor Mrs. Hard- ing could be reached for com- ment yesterday. : Ronald Doll Asks For Year's Leave Lewis To Be Principal ~ At Dallas Township The board of school directors of Dallas Township has granted a leave of absence for the 1940-41 school term to Ronald C. Doll, the districts principal. Thorwald E. Lewis, a member of the Dallas Township high school fac- ulty, has been chosen to serve in Mr. Doll’s office during his absence. Mr. Doll, who has been employed in the schools of Dallas borough and Dallas Township for the past five years, and who has received the major portion of his undergrad- uate and graduate education at Co- lumbia University, has accepted an offer from the University to teach and study in the schools of North- eastern New Jersey. The appont- ment was made on the recom- mendations of several Columbia professors. Mr. Lewis, who takes Mr. Doll’s place, is the son of Victor E. Lewis, widely known supervisor of, schools in Edwardsville. WENDELL WILLKIE Says: “I believe that the Federal gov- ernment has a responsibility to equalize the lot of the farmer with An Even Balance that of the manufacturer. If this cannot be done by parity prices, other means must be found—with the least possible regimentation of the farmer’s affairs.” way into the stream. “This was meadowland, then,” she recalls, waving a hand toward the trim homes in her neighborhood, “and at fair time the weeds and leaves were covered with dust long after the carriages had passed by on their way out of town when the fair was over.” Not all the carriages passed Mrs. Yaple’s home, though. Some of them brought old friends, who jam-packed the Yaple home so that the family itself gave up its beds and slept on the floor for the duration of the fair. It was a great occasion for the Yaple’s and the visitors. “I can remember getting up at 3 a. m. to begin mixing batter for the big batch of pancakes we'd eat for breakfast,” Mrs. Yaple recalls. She can remember, too, the car- nival spirit which seized Dallas, and such memorable scenes as the Con- ynghams, riding to the fair in a tally ho, drawn by four spirited horses while a coachman sent sil- very notes from his trumpet floating across the tangy autumn air. He Never Saw The Fair Her father, William Apple Gar- inger, was one of the men who left their work to help build the fair. It was a sort of co-operative job, the kind you seldom see today. Mr. Yaple owned a farm on the Demunds road, now called “The Maples,” and he didn’t hesitate to neglect his own crops when Dallas decided it was going to have a fair. He prompt- ly dispatched a team and men and worked himself that spring, levelling the track. Then, on March 15, 1886, he died. So he never saw Dallas’s first fair that fall. Mrs. Yaple was there, though, and she attended every one after it until the exposition was | abandoned. She remembers every- thing, including the fact that Mr. and Mrs. Joe Rood kept the board- ing house on the fair grounds. (Continued on Page 8) Future Farmers To Match Wits 70 Students To Compete In Judging Contests | _~ The Future Farmers of America Clubs of Lehman Township and Dal- las Township high schools will hold judging contests at Lehman high school and neighboring farms on Monday. John Sidler, supervisor of voca- school agriculture at Lehman high schiol, and Gerald M. Snyder, super- visor of vocational agriculture at Dallas township high school, with the aid of H. E. Newcomer, area supervisor of vocational agriculture in Luzerne and Lackawanna coun- ties, will have charge of the contest. About 70 boys, approximately 35 from each school, will participate in the judging. The boys will have an opportunity to show their skill in the following contests: Dairy judg- ing, livestock judging, poultry judg- ing, feed identification, potato judg- ing, tree identification and corn judging. The dairy and livestock judging will take place on neighboring farms. The tree identification will be conducted in the form of a tour of trees in the vicinity of the school. The feed identification, poultry, po- tato and corn contests will be set up in the agriculture room. After the contests there will be a softball game between the two F. F. A. clubs. This promises to be a good game because there is keen rivalry being evidenced. GOP Gains Support Clark's Prophesy Of Overwhelming Willkie Vote Here Switch From Democratic To Republican Party Is Significant As Campaign Enters Crucial Stage Claiming decisive gains in registration throughout the Dallas area, local Republican forces, headed by District Chair- man Peter D. Clark, are poised for a drive to roll up an over- whelming majority for Wendell L. Willkie in this rock-ribbed Republican sector on November 5. Although the campaign until now has been a quiet one, with activity confined to the organization leaders, it has not been without concrete results. At the special registration day at the borough building on Tuesday the GOP gained 86 voters by new registrations and changes of party affiliations. = JOSEPH MacVEIGH NAMED SIXTH DISTRICT LEADER OF INDEPENDENT VOTERS Joseph H. MacVeigh of Dallas has been drafted to be Sixth Legislative District chairman of the newly-organized League of Independent Voters, which is carrying on an aggressive drive in behalf of Wendell L. Willkie. Although its activities are co- related with those of the Na- tional Republican Committee, the League is concerned pri- marily with the Willkie cam- paign, seeks no committments on local candidates and has a strong non-partisan quality. Mr. MacVeigh, a councilman in Dallas, will select committee- men throughout the Dallas area to carry on the League’s pro- gram here. — B= Margie Protests Povsell’'s Parole Court Orders Mental Test For ‘Model Youth’ A parole for Joseph Powell, 25, West Pittston “model youth” who was jailed last spring for commit- ting about $1,000 worth of damage on Walter Margie’s summer home at Harvey's Lake, was protested this week by Mr. Margie, on the grounds that he and his wife felt unsafe while Powell was at large. The strange youth was given a sentence of from one to three years after he admitted visiting Margie's cottage at Warden Place seven times in 18 months to commit acts of van- dalism in satisfaction of a grudge which arose from a petty quarrel the two men had several years be- fore. Powell slashed curtains, broke window panes, jabbed furniture with a knife and spread paint over a rug. He was arrested when he walked into a trap laid by Harvey's Lake police. On petition of Powell’s attorney, Judge Fine paroled the youth last week, . after he had served five months of his term. Alarmed, Mrs. Margie promptly left the cottage which had been the scene of Pow- ell’'s vandalism and on Monday Mr. Margie and Chief of Police Ira C. Stevenson of Harvey's Lake asked Judge Fine to reconsider the parole. As a result, the judge had Powell returned to jail for a mental ex- amination, the final decision on the disposition of his case to await the report of the physicians. Waters Knows Vichy Vichy, the seat of the new French | government, is familiar to Dan Waters, secretary of Dallas Borough school district. While with the A. E. F., during the World War Mr. Waters was stationed at the famous French watering place for. some months and had an opportunity to acquaint himself with the city and its numerous curative springs. Martin To Address League Prof. J. A. Martin, supervising principal of Kingston Township High School will speak at the Luther League devotional service at 7 Sun- day night at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church. The State campaign will move into high gear tonight when Governor Arthur H. James delivers a speech in Willkie’s behalf over a nation- wide radio hook-up. Within the next week a series of local political rallies, synchronized with the State and county cam- paign, will be started. It is also likely that a Republican head- Snarters will be opened in Dal- las. E. H. Kent of Huntsville is chair- man of the Willkie Finance Commit- tee which is soliciting contributions for the campaign fund in Luzerne County and hundreds of voters throughout this section received letters from Mr. Kent this week, inviting donations. Women’s committees are active in selling Willkie-McNary Dollar Cer- tificates to help finance the cam- paign in Pennsylvania. Miss Doro- thy James, who is chairman of the State-wide drive, sold her first cer- tificate to her father, Governor James, on Wednesday. “The sentiment in behalf of Mr. Willkie’s candidacy in our district is most gratifying,” District Chair- man Clark said last night, in an- nouncing that his committeemen are ready to plunge into the most de- cisive stage of the campaign. “Our Republican registration is bigger than it has ever been and it is still growing.” Although there will be no more registration days here, voters who desire to register, change their party affiliations or correct their voting addresses may do so at the court house in Wilkes-Barre until October 5. 5 Trend To GOP Continues The switch from the Democratic party to the Republican, a reversal of the trend which cut GOP strength here six years ago when the New Deal was attracting independent voters and splurging on patronage, continued and 10 more Democrats changed their affiliation to Repub- lican at the special registration day Tuesday. The new GOP gains this week came on the heels of similar in- creases when Kingston Township had its special registration day two weeks ago. New registrations recorded at the borough building on Tuesday were: Rep. Dem. Dallas Borough .............. 12 3 Dallas Township ...._.. 50 5 Jackson Township ... 3 Lehman Township ... 18 1 Kingston Township ...... 5 1 Twenty nine voters changed their party affiliations from Democratic to Republican and four changed from Republican to Democratic. In interesting contrast with the national situation, the Democratic party is weaker here now than it has been at any time probably in 75 years. The last official registra- tion figure for the Sixth Legislative District showed 25,632 Republicans and 16,263 Democrats, with the GOP majority being even greater than that ratio in the Dallas end of the Sixth District. Eipper Becomes Manager Of New York Dairy Farm Mr. and Mrs. Robert J. Eipper and children, Janice and Robert, have moved from the Schooley Farm at Orange to Frankfort, N. Y., where Mr. Eipper will become manager of the Strathbar Dairy Farm. The Eipper’s left Monday night for their new home. MYSTERIOUS BLAST AT KENVIL WITNESSED BY LOCAL LAWYER Attorney Peter P. Jurchak of Goss {a bus just ahead were thrown from Manor, Dallas, was in an automobile a few hundred yards from the Her- cules Power Co. plant near Ken- vil, N. J., last Thursday when a mysterious blast wrecked the fac- tory, killing 42 persons and injuring 85 more. Jurchak, with two friends, was driving along Route 6 when the blast rocked their car, jolting and dazing the occupants. Passengers in their seats and trees in the vicinity of the plant were denuded of limbs, bark and foliage. For miles, At- torney Jurchak said, window panes were shattered. Mr. and Mrs. John Bevan of Trucksville attended the funeral of one of the victims, Raymond Woods, 18, a cousin of Fred Banta. of Trucksville. Woods began working at the plant three months ago. / /
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers