fat Warms The Nation,” which, in my
smithy had first shaped his metal
better fire, at less expense, than
GIMME A MATCH
By FRED M. KIEFER
2 Obadiah Gore found that he could create a forced draft-heat in his
forge in a very satisfactory manner by pumping his bellows over that hard,
black substance he came eventually to know as anthracite coal. Obadiah,
we may correctly assume, found no great difficulty in supplying his small
forge with the mineral. All he had
replenish his needs, was to swing his
to the nearest of the numerous spots
on the surface of the hill. A little
smith was ready again to attend to his horseshoeing or gun-barrel straight-
ening or even to hammering out a skillet for wife Gore.
/
to do, when it: became necessary to
bag, or basket, over his arm and hie
where the coal was visible to the eye
digging, or picking, and the black-
Obadiah Gore was fortunate in his
choice of settlement, at least where
it concerned his business, for he had
erected his shop in the Wyoming
Valley, which, as time went on and
a great industry developed, became
the center and the greatest in de-
posits and area of the three large
Pennsylvania hard coal districts. A
~ modern chamber of commerce now
refers to the city that has grown
over and around the spot where
~ Obadiah’s bellows once blew as,
“The Heart of the Valley That
opinion, is a pretty piece of speech,
to say the least.
Approximately 40 years after the
by the new method of heating, a se-
date and enlightened gentleman
wrote on the fly-leaf of one of his
law books, “Feb. 11, 1808 made the
experiment of burning the common
stone coal of the valley in a grate,
in a common fireplace in my house,
and found it will answer the pur-
pose of fuel, making a clearer and |
burning wood in the common way.”
Jesse Fell.
, Judge Fell could not have con-
fined his discovery to the fly-leaf
alone for news of his action spread
throughout the valley and soon the
judge probably wished he had not
fooled around with the “common
stone coal” at all since his home be-
came overrun with curious neigh-
‘bors, But on the other hand, the
judge was mightily pleased with
himself. Not only that the success
of his experiment had increased his
already high standing in the com-
munity but that, since he kept a
tavern, a pleasant increase in busi-
ness resulted from the flocking na-
tives.
Before, however, advancing upon
the assumption that Judge Fell was
one of the immortal “firsts” it is no
more than fair to record that in the
archives of the Wyoming Historical
and Geological Society at Wilkes-
Barre there rests a letter from Oliv-
er Evans. Oliver Evans dated his
letter, Philadelphia, Feb. 15, 1903
‘and we have no reason to believe
that was not the day upon which
it was written. One can’t be picking
FOOTNOTES
By EMMONS BLAKE
I saw in The Post some weeks ago
stories concerning records of coun-
ty fair attendance. I can claim a
record almost as good as Mrs.
Yaple’s or Mr. Welsh’s.
The San Diego County Fair was
organized about five years ago. Now,
a perfect attendance record of five
fairs isn’t much and in fact I missed
last year’s fair as I was back East.
But I have attended four out of the
five, and last week was the first
time I used the gate.
Bill and I have always made it a
point to gain admission to the
grounds by unconventional methods;
both as a hobby and for financial
reasons. We have found this to be
true; no matter how much money
a person takes to the fair he will
come home broke. So, we are not
averse to saving admission fees for
more urgent uses.
The fair grounds are cleverly laid
out. The three sides are well pro-
tected, one by water, another by a
high fence topped with barbed wire;
the third and most dangerous side
is protected by a' gate. We have
employed devious ways of getting
in. The first year we waded across
the water barrier at low tide (the
fair grounds are built at the Del Mar
race track; practically on the beach).
This was not such fun because the
bottom was continually taking on all
the better known qualities of quick-
sand. The next year we decided to
do a better job of it. We found a
ditch used to drain the race track,
that was deep enough to hide in;
being very careful to keep our backs
low, we crawled about 200 yards
right to where we could make a run
for the crowds and safety. After
we found ourselves in the grounds
and undetected, even though our
pants were ruined from crawling,
we learned that that day was
flaws where the cloth is perfect.
Well, anyway, Oliver wrote to Jacob
information which, in all probabil-
ity, deeds to him the right of claim
to the burning of anthracite coal in
an open grate on its initial trial.
In the same year that Evans was
coming in under the wire before our
judge, operators at Summit Hill in
Carbon County were shipping an-
thracite down the Lehigh River to
Philadelphia. The Susquehanna wait-
ed four years longer to become a
conveyor of the important product,
and in 1807 arks (as they were
called) carrying 55 tons left Plym-
outh and arrived at Columbia. The
Susquehanna, being navigable only |
at times of high water, never be- |
came a large factor in shipping coal.
Today, this once beautiful river, is,
between Pittston and Sunbury, a
sewage system for mine pumpings
and its waters blend between a
dirty, slate grey color and a brown-
ish-purple horror.
Obijah Smith (don’t confuse with
Obidiah Gore) and company of
Plymouth, who had made the barge
shipments to Columbia, were per-
sistent men. Failing to sell a single
hunk of coal to the skeptical Co-
lumbians, they left the black rocks
in a pile where they had unloaded
them and returned to Plymouth. Ac-
companying their next venture of
two loaded arks was a grate and
upon arrival once more at the down
river destination they proceeded to
set up the grate and give a practi-
cal demonstration of how fine their
coal would burn.
It is pleasant to know that the
good people of Columbia liked the
little-known substance and pur-
chased the whole of it, thus starting
anthracite on its dubious—still dub-
. ious—journey.
THE
BOOK SHELF
“How To Be A Naval Officer.”
By Rear Admiral Yates Stirling,
Jr. Robert McBride & Com-
pany, N. Y. $1.75. 194 pages.
Our navy has grown with neces-
sity always the mother of invention.
When new weapons were discover-
ed, new defenses were quickly
evolved. The iron clad “Merrimac”
was answered by the revolving tur-
ret of the “Monitor.” The threat of
the airplaine and submarine will be
answered by offsetting devices of
the navy. And today, the demand
for leadership in our rapidly ex-
panding navy is answered by the
special ensign training course.
Cist wherein he puts. forth certain,
“School Day”. Every school kid was
admitted free.
In 1938 we found a worn spot in
| the fence and used it to advantage.
Just as we got through and stood
on the other side we noticed tw.
guards coming toward us. We]
hastily turned toward the fence and
yelled “get back there you kids, we
see you,” and hurled rocks at imag-
inary offenders. This ruse worked
and the guards turned back satis-
fied that we were on their side—as
we were.
Last Friday when we went I
thought we had the best chance
ever. A good friend of Bill's had
lent him an exhibitor’s sticker. We
headed confidently for the gate. Bill
started to drive through but the
gateman stopped us with “Who's
your friend there?” I thought we
were sunk, but Bill turned haughtily
and said, “Sir, since when can’t a
man bring in his own stableman to
care for his stock ?”’ After we were
in Bill laughed at my indignation.
“Boy,” he said, “it’s a good thing
your shirt was dirty.”
Of course the best way to become
a naval officer is still to graduate]
from Annapolis Naval Academy.
But there are other ways to attain
the much coveted commission in our
sea forces. The special intensive
training course is offered to young
men with a minimum of two years
of college and certain physical and
mental qualifications. Other ways
are to rise from the Naval Officers
Reserves after having graduated
from a college R. O. T. C. course, or
after having graduated from Pen-
sacola Air School. In addition, the
author explains that a Coast Guard
and Marine Corps commission, may
also be obtained with certain spe-
cial preparations.
Whether or not you want to be-
come a naval officer, however,
should have nothing to do with your
interest in the vivid little volume.
The most important quality of the
book is that any timely question
you might entertain about the navy
is concisely and adequately answer-
ed.
This might seem like a rather cold
blooded subject for any kind of;
warmth of style. Yet strangely the
author achieves just that quality.
His outline of the traditions of the
navy touches off a quick spark of
patriotism. His discussion of the
efficiency of the United States Navy
shows a glow of professional pride.
The Admiral treats of the Coast
Guard and Marines in tribute as
sincere and kind as taps at evening.
The book is profusely illustrated
with splendid photographs and con-
tains two scholarly appendices on
the most practical steps in becoming
THE POST, FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 1940
MY! HOW HE'S GROWN!
SECOND THOUGHTS
by
javie aiche
Much as I dislike the place of my
abode, I submit as fortunate one
provision of the builders. Double
doors open from the rear bedroom
to the roof of the back porch. What
if there is another door, a summer
door? It is of copper mesh design,
and for a ghost to get through re-
quires only trifling disintegration.
Friction involved in the process
merely sets up magnetic forces that
make re-assembly automatic.
A tree of what the naturalist
would call unbrageous growth rises
off-side the garage. Its branches
deliquesce comfortably athwart the
porch roof, and the leaves are of
the clinging variety, so that even
this late in the year there is the ap-
proximation of spooky shadiness
when the moon in the wane slants
its rays toward our domicile.
Add a broad-paned window just
above the porch eaves and just be-
side the bed wherein your corres-
pondent takes what an insomniac
calls rest, and you have the picture.
It was no trick at all to know the
time was a minute past midnight.
The illuminated face of the three-
dollar watch was hanging from the
pipe-holder on the handy smoking-
| stand, first to engage the sight when
what seemed less sound than sug-
gestion of it accentuated the silence
of the night.
A sigh of sleeplessness paced the
hand thrust out to pull aside the
blind. Unmistakably on the glass
was a misty impression, faintly lum-
inous and wholly indicative of a cold
palm having been thrust against the
=
=
FREEDOM
The columnists and con-
tributors on this page are
allowed great latitude in
expressing their own opin-
ions, even when their
opinions are at variance
with those of The Post
=
pane. My old eyes can make many
mistakes; so, your correspondent
arose and threw open the French
doors.
And the presence came in.
You couldn’t call it anything else,
because at first it could not be seen,
only sensed.
I do not like the violence which
incandescence inflicts when an elec-
tric bulb is switched to its current.
A better contribution to manifesta-
tion of the supernatural is the infra-
red lamp, one of which occasionally
comes to the rescue of your cor-
respondent’s neuritis and, therefore,
is kept within call for immediate
service. :
The rather astringent rays drew
the presence into tangible form.
And, may the saints preserve me
in faith and honor, if there wasn’t
Eph McCoy. About him there was
the frowziness of mould, as thought
too long he had immured in the
vasty earthiness of his repose.
“Hello, Eph,” I said.
His lips moved but he uttered no
sound.
I noticed then that in his eyes was
a look of utter despair. He pointed
to his lips. They were still moving,
soundlessly.
“Poor Eph,” I said, “now I under-
stand.”
I directed the red cylinder of the
infra-red lamp flush in the face of
the bedraggled ghost and summoned |
to my aid all I had ever heard of
the art of lip-reading.
And, over and over, Eph was try-
ing to ask:
“Where is he?”
My editor, you too must under-
stand.
There is a ghost to lay. Howell
Rees is guilty of malfeasance, non-
feasance and dereliction of duty. He
brought Eph McCoy back to interest
in mundane affairs and then went
into non-support of his resurrec-
tion. |
Eph is no Zombie. You can’t tell
him to go hunting Howell Rees away
down there in the West Indies.
{both sides.
MUSINGS OF AN
By The Bystander
We know through the medium of the press and radio that i
a devastating war is going on in Europe. We have been told
AVERAGE
MAN
that this war endangers us and that unless we arm ourselves
quickly and enormously, our very lives and surely our liberty,
are dangerously threatened.
We have been told by those in authority that a state
emergency exists, and that unless our man-power and manu-
facturing facilities are mobilized to their fullest extent, we will
not be able to arm in time to avert this catastrophe that hangs
over our heads. We have been
led to believe that planes and
more planes are our most vital
and impelling need. We have
believed this, we average peo-
ple, and feel that no sacrifice
is too great to make in this
extreme emergency.
Our sons, and our neighbors sons,
have registered for the selective
draft. Many have already volun-
teered. Our factories are being mo-
bilized and geared to work at their
utmost capacity to fill our great
need for armament. In the fore-
front of this need for armament
stands our potential ally—the coun-
try whom the average man believes
is standing almost alone between
us and this frightful fate we have
been told awaits us, not just around
the corner, but actually in full view.
This nation that we are pledged to
aid in every way possible short of
war has been clamoring for planes
and more and more planes and we
are bending every effort to supply
this need—or are we?
Out in Downey, California, is lo-
cated an airplane factory with con-
tracts for 84-million dollars worth
of military planes. This factory
employs 5,200 men. These 5,200
men are on strike. All work on
the planes that are so vital to our
own armament program and are so
sorely needed by England is stopped.
The reason for the strike is that
some workers in the lower wage
brackets want more money. The
company on its part claims that it
connot pay more and still make the
profit it feels it is entitled to on
its investment.
Now the “average man is not in-
terested in who may be right or
who may be wrong in this contro-
versy. As is always the case, in all
probability much could be said on
The thing the average
man is interested in, is that this
strike has been permitted to go on.
It has been stated, and we believe
generally accepted as a fact, that
the deathblow to the liberty of
France was delivered by striking
workers and a weak government
which permitted these strikes to]
cripple the French rearmament pro-
gram.
We could digress here and ask
what the laboring man of France
gained, even though he won his
strike; or on the other hand, ask
the investing public of France what
it gained, even though it won its
He'd get all tangled up with Voo- |
Doo and never again be the same
old Eph.
This, then, is a petition to the]
absent Postscripter. He's got to take |
the spell off Eph and give him back
to his generation.
Without Rees he’s voiceless and
he ought to be a void.
It’s disgraceful to have the heroic
pioneer in unaccustomed places, and |
playing the part of the dummy. His
Buckskin Party has given us enough
of that kind of performance.
| SENTIMENTAL
SIDE
By EDITH BLEZ
We had Thanksgiving in My
Town in New Jersey last week. It
certainly made an awful mixup with
Pennsylvania celebrating this week.
Most of our commuters go to Phila-
delphia to work, and it meant that
we had two Thanksgiving days. The
women celebrated one without their
husbands, and the other without
their children!
Officially the twenty-first was
Thanksgiving Day so we had our
traditional football game. If half
the men were working, I don’t know
what would have happened if they
had been home. There were so
many people at the game that there
wasn’t room to breathe.
The game was scheduled for two
o'clock and the crowd began gath-
ering about twelve. There were
long black streams of people coming
in all directions. Two hours before
the game began there wasn’t a place
to park within five squares of the
field. The game was played in Had-
donfield which is about a mile from
My Town. The two teams have
been bitter rivals for generations.
There was a time it was so bitter
that the Thanksgiving game was
cut out of the schedule because the
game always ended in a fight. This
year the rivalry was friendly; at
least until the game was over.
The football team in My Town
hasn’t lost a game in two years and
it was all set to defeat a team it
never suspected was so good. Both
teams were keyed to hysteria. When
the bands and cheerleaders marched
on the field the crowd went mad.
There wasn’t a vacant seat.
In My Town the members of the
high school football team are little
tin Gods. Most of the boys have
been born in My Town and when
they turn out to be good football
players the residents look on them
an officer in the United States
Navy. ;
las something out of the ordinary.
“More than a newspaper,
a community institution”
THE DALLAS POST
ESTABLISHED 1889
A non-partisan liberal
progressive newspaper pub-
lished every Friday morning
at its plant on Lehman Ave-
nue, 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.
Subscriptions, $2 a year, payable
mn advance.
H. W. Risley, Editor and Publisher
H. J: Price 0... Mech. Supt.
We have one family of four boys
and the oldest has been a football
star for four years and many a time
during an exciting play I have
heard Joe’s brother shout: “Come
on Joe—Ma says we can have two
quarts of ice cream if you make
another touchdown.” Joe's mother
never misses a game and I know
she knows as much about football
as any of her boys. At the end of
the first half the score was a tie.
It never occurred to anyone in My
Town that the team could lose!
While there was time there was al-
ways hope! When things looked the
worst the crowd on our side were
all thinking the same thing: “Joe
would get out of that huddle and
make a another touchdown some-
how. Joe would run the length of
the field, Joe couldn’t be stopped.”
But Joe didn’t get out of the huddle
and Joe didn’t make another touch-
down. When the last whistle blew
My Town had lost the biggest game
of the year!
The opposing team was hilarious
but on our side you could have cut
the gloom with a knife and when
the team arrived back home those
big husky football fellows burst into
tears, and nobody told them to stop
ed
—
THE LOW DOWN FROM
HICKORY GROVE
This Mr. Willkie don’t
need to feel too bad about
the election. He came out
second best, but any duck
who will get around 21
million votes versus
around 25 million for the
other side, is mot doing so
bad.
Mr. Willkie's outfit was
not organized. His boys
just went out there and
tackled the other side—
out in the open—uwhere-
ever they could get a toe
on the platform.
You take Red Grange
when he was runnin’ ram-
pant for Illinois, he only
went to town when his
buddies got organized and
helped open a hole for
him. This Mr. Willkie
and his young go-getting
crew are gonna be poison
too, when they get a little
more practice.
Yours with the low down,
JO SERRA.
BN — aS
crying, and no one thought they
were doing anything they shouldn’t
do, because that defeat meant as
much to every resident. There has
been a deep gloom all over town
since Thanksgiving Day. The crowd |
in the drug store talks about noth-
ing else and the members of the
| hour increase demanded by the la-|
point. We could even turn this
into a sermon and ask, “What profit
it a man if he gain the whole world
and lose his own soul.” But we
won’t do any of these things. What
the average man wants to know is,
what is our government going to
do about this strike that has tied
up one of the main gears of our vital
armament machinery. We average
people firmly believe that the prin-
ciple involved in the few cents an
borer or the firm’s denial of abil-|
ity to pay, is a very trivial matter
when weighed against the common
good of all of us.
We feel that this stoppage is sabo-
tage if it does not boarder on trea-
son. This strike may not have its
inception in sabotage; it may not be
fostered by saboteurs; but its result |
is the same as if it were.
5.200 men, eight hours a day for
a period of eight days, adds up to
a total of 332,800 man hours to
date. Laugh that off. The average
man believes that this strike is
merely a trial balloon sent up by
land do it at once.
labor leaders who are anxious to
know if the president meant what
" THEOLD |
SCRAPBOOK |
—By “Bob” Sutton —
A
Good Morning: ra
One day out of the year is ol Ae :
pecially set apart to give thanks
for blessings received. It should be
one of the happiest days, for a ¥
grateful mind and heart is a happy
one, and he enjoys much who is
thankful for little. oi
! i
I met a man last December, who
said he was going to ‘swear off” on
New Year's.
swearing on and off!
Since then he's been
of :
~~
People who spend so much’ time
“raking others over the coals” will
some day find themselves raking
coals somewhere else!
goes after the things that other peo-
ple are waiting for! vy
LETTER TO A FRIEND
I think about you often,
And I'd write you every day;
But there's so very little i
That seems worth-while to say.
It either rains, or doesn’t,
It’s either hot or cold;
My news is uninteresting,
Or else has all been told. :
I think of your smile often,
Though I can’t recall your touch;
But distance lends enchantment,
And I miss you very much. d
The only thing that matters,
Is the fact that you are there
And I am here without you,
And it’s lonesome everywhere.
—John E. Tyler
Remember: A diamond with many vi
flaws is more valuable than a per-
fect pebble!
7
he said when he asserted that la-
bor was to lose none of its gains
on account of the rearmament pro-
gram. They, we believe, are anx-
ious to know if they may use the
strike weapon with impunity to LATE
gain from the employing public the
last cent that the traffic will bear.
The average man believes that
this great country has achieved its
greatness because it was founded on
the principle of equality and he de-
nies the right of a group, large or
small, to endanger the life and lib-
erty of all of us because of selfish
interests. Surely there is one bureau
in existence in Washington that
could investigate the merits of the
case of Voultee Corporation versus
its employes and come to a fair
and unbiased settlement.
Surely, the President armed with
power as he is, has the right to stop
this evil thing and serve notice to
all who would foster subversive ac-
tivities. We average people believe
that he can and should do this—
Are we to be
saved from a fate like that of
France by a strong government, or
are we like France going down to
bitter defeat because of a weak and
vacillating administration? . Time is
growing short and we will soon
know the answers to some of these
questions.
SMARTNESS
that
Housewives
Rave About
7 Models
Now On
Display
In Our
Showroom
team are keeping out of sight. They
feel that something has died and
they are responsible for it. I doubt
if the coach had anything to say to
his defeated team. He knew they |
were grieving in silence. Tomorrow |
night the yearly football banquet 5)
to be held but I doubt very much!
if it will be much of an affair be- |
cause My Town is feeling low, and
there doesn’t seem to be very much
— VISIT OUR SHOWROOM —
EASTERN PENNA. SUPPLY CO.
56-62 South Pennsylvania Avenue—Phone 3-1181
to celebrate.
Everything comes to him who .
Fir
+24,