FROM. Editorially Spe aking: | Complacent? By Harry B. ALLEN The charge of Complacency leveled at the American people by the Government at Washington, is far from the truth. If they were complacent, would the American people be pouring out their money in record breaking amounts? Would our boys be enlisting by the thousands instead of waiting for the draft? Would everyone you talk to admit to a desperate fear for the future? NO—we're not com- placent. We realize our danger to the fullest. To be plain about it, we're frightened. Not because we doubt the fight- . ing ability of our boys, if they were properly trained; not because we doubt the ability of our country to produce the necessary equipment, if it worked at it full time, and not because we doubt the ability of our leaders, if they used it in the right direction. We are frightened because our boys are not properly trained. The reason they are not properly trained is because they have not had the proper equipment, and because the Government has played poli- tics with selfish labor leaders who have placed the inter- ests of themselves, not American labor, above the interests of our country. Complacency? Yes, there is complacency, but it does not lie at the feet of the people; rather it lies at the doorstep of our leaders. If our leaders were not complacent, would we have had Pearl Harbor? If they had not been complacent, would we have a shortage in practically every necessary defense material ? If they were not complacent, would we still have a forty-hour work week with time and a half and double time for overtime? If the government were not complacent, would men of acknowleged executive ability be sitting idly on the side lines when their services could be used to so much advantage in the defense setup? If our great Pres- ident were not complacent, would he keep insisting on a St. Lawrence seaways project when it is so evident that we have neither the time, money, material nor labor to put it through? If Congress were not complacent, would it be preparing a billion dollar pork-barrel bill, the largest in history? Complacent? Yeh, we're complacent all right— just about as complacent as a blind man who has stumbled into a hornet’s nest. Enemies to the right of us, enemies to the left of us, enemies over us and enemies under us— yet Washington carries on politics as usual. The social up-lifters are still up-lifting. Labor still is to lose none of its gains because of this emergency. Congress- men are still passing “special group legislation” designed to re-elect them next November, and dead limbs still hang on the Government tree. Is there no one in this broad land who has sufficient eloquence to awaken these sleeping intellectuals? Can they not see that our course is parallel- ing that of France almost step for step? We are taking some steps in the right direction but our strides are too short to cover the required distance in the time allotted to us. “TOO LITTLE AND TOO LATE” is right on our coat-tails and it’s been there ever since we started. Must we be actually invaded before our politicians—guardians of our welfare—lay aside their petty differences and buckle down to the job at hand ? To most of us the word “Politician” has fallen into low repute. When the word is mentioned it brings to mind one who temporizes with the truth and sacrifices principal to policy. There is a world of difference between a politic- ian and a patriot. While our public officials have proven this true time and again, it was never proven more con- clusively than last week-end when Congress voted down the Smith Amendment which would have suspended the 40-hour work week for: the duration, If we are to sven ap- proximate the President’s request for sixty’ thousand planes and other material in huge amounts, it is patent that labor must work longer days and more of them to do it. Surely the cost is high enough without adding time and a half for Saturday and double time for Sunday. The Smith Amendment had excellent prospects of pass- ing until the “LABOR LOBBY” changed the minds of congress by threatening political death for all who voted for it. When the vote was counted it revealed 226 politic- ians and 62 patriots in the House. PILLAR TO POST By Mrs. T. M. B. Hicks, Jr. Beginning with the next issue of the Dallas Post, the management will give with each and every new subscription, up to and including the sixth, a striped Kitten. This is a strictly good will offering, designed to in- crease circulation and to decrease the feline population in the Hicks house- hold. The announcement seems a little premature, but Willie has never failed us yet. She is searching in- tently around the dark corners in the basement in a worthy effort to throw us off the track in regard to her real intentions. When the zero-hour approaches she will re- tire, as is her custom, into an up- stairs closet, and produce offspring. Having never been able to sell her the idea of patronizing the base- ment, we gave up long ago and provided her with an apple basket in her favorite clothes-closet when the - Blessed Event seemed to be imminent. When Willie gives a maternal yowl and = disappears: through the half-opened door, we close it gently and leave her to her own devices. Several hours later we open the door and there is Willie with a whole basketful of kittens. Willie is quite unique, in that she never steals her kittens. Every other striped cat we have harbored—you can’t actually own a cat, according to the best legal minds—has taken her children by the scruff of the neck and dragged them all over the house. One -anxious parent, with more instinct than common-sense, got a firm grip on the front of the kitten’s neck instead of the loose skin at the back, with the result that there was one less kitten to give away. She is the same cat who later distinguished herself by hav- ing a litter of half-Manx kittens. She grew so accustomed to the sight of the tail-less wonders that the next time she welcomed half a dozen little strangers to her mater- nal bosom, she was much upset by what locked to her like unnecessary appendages. She cleaned up one kitten quite satisfactorily, leaving him with a neat stump where once had flourished a small tail, but she grew discouraged when the rest of the kittens raised objections to the (Continued on Page 8.) Drunken Driver Is Released By Court John Potter, 23, of Kingston, of- fender in a New Year's Eve drunk- en driver accident at Harvey's Lake was dismissed without charge by the Grand Jury Tuesday on motion of Chief Ira C. Stevenson of the Lake police. Potter, who struck a car owned by Kenneth Challenger of Wilkes-Barre and then plunged into the lake at Laketon with his own machine on New Year's Eve, had surrendered his license and paid in full damages to Challenger, Stevenson told the court. At the time of the accident he was arrested on charges of reckless driving while intoxicated. Local Man Enlists Theodore F. Strait of R. D. 2, Hunlock Creek was among 16 men of this county who enlisted Friday at the Army Recruiting Station in Wilkes-Barre. HE Darras Post MORE THAN A NEWSPAPER, A COMMUNITY INSTITUTION Vol. 52 | Final Day For Tomato Acres Is Wednesday Increased Interest Shown Among Local Farmers This Week With the farmers of this section showing increased interest in to- mato growing the past few days, County - Agricultural Agent Jim Hutchison has granted an extra week for the pledging of enough acreage here to establish a shipping center. Owners of a hundred additional acres in this section have expressed willingness to grow tomatoes since last week, bringing the total to- mato acreage here to 244 as of Wednesday night . . . only a hun- dred acres short of that required for a shipping center. If the shipping center is estab- lished ‘in this area, tomatoes will be weighed and graded here before be- ing shipped to the cannery at Mil- ton. Thus the growers will know the actual weight and grade of each load brought in. Once the required acreage has been pledged, officials of the Chef Boyardee Packing Company will contact the growers and will give a definite contract guaranteeing the acceptance of all tomatoes grown contract price. More than 66 farmers of northern Luzerne County, many of them from the Dallas Area, have already agreed to grow tomatoes, realizing the advantages of a cash crop to this territory and the future pos- sibility of an eventual cannery in this section. (Continued on Page 8.) New First Aid Course To Open Here March 12 Group To Train At Shavertown Under Dallas Expert The opening of a new Red Cross First Aid course was announced this week by.Mrs. Mae E. Townend of Pioneer avenue, Red Cross in- struction administrator of the Dal- las Area. Scheduled to begin next Thurs- day afternoon, March 12, at the Hose House of the Shavertown Fire Company on Main street, Shaver- town, the course will be taught by Mrs. Mildred Johnson, R. N., of 32 Lake street, Dallas. The training is open to all men and women of this area and will be held every Thursday afternoon from 1 to 3 for a period of ten weeks. Mrs. Johnson, in addition to her experience as a nurse, has com- pleted the standard, advanced and instructor's courses in First Aid at the Red Cross center in Wilkes- Barre. The ney course will bring to over 100 local persons holding First Aid certificates, and these will join an ever-expanding group of trained de- fense workers in this area. Other courses now in progress in Dallas and vicinity include training in home nursing and nutrition, and nearly 50 local women are already serving in Red Cross Canteen groups. Those planning to take the Shav- etrown First Aid course are re- quested to phone reservations to Mrs. John G. Henninger of Druid Hills. Vagrant Nearly Freezes George Soos, 59, registered as an alien at Shickshinny, was discovered trudging through the snow at Har- vey's Lake Tuesday inadequately clothed by Patrolman Fred Swan- son. Soos, who has been staying on the farm of Peter Dragan at Alder- son, was warmed and fed at the Lake police station before being re- leased to Mr. Dragan. World War Line-Ups Of 1942 Because of the confusion which frequently arises in digesting ac- counts of this largest of all wars, The Post this week publishes full rosters of both sides, the Axis and the Allies. While the majority of the South American nations, with the excep- tion of Chile and Argentina, are part of the Allied forces to all in- tents and purposes, none have de- clared open war to date and so are excluded from the list. At present, some 30 Allied pow- ers are arrayed against IT Axis countries. AXIS POWERS: Germany, Japan, Italy, Finland, Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Croatia, Albania, Manchukuo, Occupied France. ALLIED POWERS: United States, Britain, Russia, Free French, Cana- da, China, Australia ,New Zealand, Netherlands, Ethiopia, South Africa, Philippine Islands, Norway, Den- mark, Greece, Belgium, Poles in Ex- ile, Belgians in Exile, Haiti, Hondur- as, Panama, Cuba, Poland, Luxem- berg, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Domin- ican Republic, El Salvador, Gate. mala. FRIDAY, MARCH 6, 1942. Ships Of All Work British destroyers, engaged in their hum-drum but vital job of shep-| herding a convy of plodding merchantmen with food and supplies for the far-flung battle fronts of the United Nations, skitter hopefully about the waves in search of an. enemy U-boat. Occasionally they meet larger game—as recently, when British destroyers like these attacked and ser- iously damaged two powerful German battleships and a heavy cruiser dur- ing a Germany-bound sneak flight up the English Channel. Eight Lehman Township Bandsmen To Play In Northeastern Concert Local Players Make Up Largest Group Invited To Join 150-Piece Orchestra To eight students at Lehman High School will go the honor of playing with the Northeastern District Band at its annual concert the last of this month, it was announced this week by Joseph Clouser, director of the Lehman High School band. The local players, largest of any group in- vited to play in the concert will join with students from 18 counties and Orient Expert L. E. McLachlin Expert To Cover War In Far East March 12 Lecture Is Open To Public Here With the armed forces of this country now battling the enemy in all portions of the Far East, the visit of L. E. McLachlin to Dallas pert and is a widely known author- high interest to all local people. Mr. McLachlin, whose lecture at Dallas Township High School will be sponsored by the Dallas Rotary Club and open to the public at no cost, spent nearly 30 years in the Far East as a Y. M. C. A. research ex- petr and is a widely known author- ity on the situation in the Orient. Organizing Y. M. C. A. groups and studying living conditions through- out China and the Southern Pacific Islands, Mr. McLachlin gained a background of Far Eastern custom and lore which colors all his lec- tures with fascinating anecdotes and sidelights tending to give a truly = comprehensive view of the Orient. Enthusiastic over a speech on the Far East Mr. Mg¢Lachlin gave at the recent inter-city Rotary Club meeting at Scranton, members of the local club immediately bid for his services here and are proud to present such an outstanding author- ity to Dallas people. Now a resident of Scranton, Mr. McLachlin has been connected with the Scranton Y, M. C. A. for the past decade, recently retired as its general secretary. His service at Scranton followed a term of 28 years in the Far East, where the growth of Y. M. C. A. institutions since the turn of the century may be largely credited to his organizing skill and devotion to (Continued on Page 8) 35 schools in this section of the state to make up the 150 piece band, and are the only students to represent the Dallas Area, The Northeast District concert, played this year under the direction of Capt. Taylor Branson of the United States Marine Band, will be held at Canton, Pa., on March 28, with practice sessions on the 26th and 27th. The following students, three of whom will play as solo artists, were chosen from the Lehman band: Lenora Parks and Carol Crosby, solo cornetists; Betty Naugle, solo clari- net; Ted Parks, first trombone; Dor- othy Cornell, first horn; Albert Ag- new, first baritone; Roland Masters, bass, and Stewart Ehret, snare drum. Of these, two—Betty Naugle and Ted Parks—were members of the Northeastern District band last year, together with Nancy Parks, who graduated in ’41. Miss Naugle was also chosen to play in the All- State Band at Lock Haven last year. This year Miss Naugle has been ad- vanced from third clarinet to solo and Parks from second trombone ' to first. The Lehman players will be ac- companied to Canton by their band- master, Mr. Clouser. All are eligible for: places on the All-State Band, which is chosen from all the district organizations. A practice session for the Leh- man delegates and six students from Clarks Summit High School who have also been chosen for the concert will be held at Lehman High School by Mr. Clouser on Sun- day, March 15. ° The score for the district concert at Canton is of professional calibre and will include such numbers as the finale of Tschaikowski’s Fourth Symphony, Rossin’s “William Tell Overture”, and Martin Gould's “Pavanne”’. and “Jericho”. Brickels Battle Blaze In Kitchen A serious fire was averted early Monday morning when Mr. and Mrs. Ralph L. Brickel of Main street discovered and disconnected their flaming refrigerator before the blaze could spread to nearby inflam- mable articles. Black, acrid. smoke, generated when the motor of the refrigerator burned out and broke into flames, spread through the Brickel home and awoke the couple before any serious damage was done. The fire was discovered about 1:30 a. m. Mr. Brickel called the Henry M. Laing Volunteer Fire. Company and Jim Besecker arrived promptly to aid in quelling the blaze. Eggs and other produce in the refrigerator were thoroughly fried by the fire. Number Draft Cards New classification cards—1800 in | all—of the February 16th registra- tion will be numbered Monday night | by the officials of Local Board No. 1 at Wyoming, Chairman Joseph H. MacVeigh announced this week. Or- der numbers will be determined in the next draft lottery at Washing- ton. No. 10 7\¢ More Sweat, Less Blood And Tears! New Dallas Tunkhannock Highway | | | will be designated U. S. Route 309, To Be Designated As U.S. Route wg! Local Artery Will Replace Sullivan" Trail In National Highway Network New vistas of commercial and real estate development in the Dallas Area were opened this week with the announcement of the redesignation | of the Trucksville-Tunkhannock highway as a U. S. Highway. According to an advice from the State Department of Highways, the new highway replacing the old river thoroughfare FS Tae FIREMEN’S MINSTREL HAS REPEAT PERFORMANCE AT BOROUGH SCHOOL TONIGHT After delighting a sell-out audience with their black face antics last night, the minstrel men of the Henry M. Laing ire Department re- stage of Dallas High School this eve- ing for a repeat performance. Curtain time is at eight o'clock, and patrons are urged to come as early as possible since there are no reserved seats. First come, first served. Borough Millage May Be Increased New Bank Loan To Be / Digguseed By Council e borough tax rate may be pushed up two or three mills this year if Council decides tonight on a proposed bank loan to clear up past indebtedness and provide for. needed road repairs. While the exact amount of the loan has not yet been announced, borough indebtedness is about $9,- 000 and at least $5,000 will be re- quired to carry out the road repair program, according to Councilman Joseph H. MacVeigh, chairman of the loan committee. While the borough is not in critical financial shape, between eleven and twelve thousand dollars in property and personal taxes are still due, and without this antici- pated income, the borough needs additional funds to continue nor- mal operations. Within the past half year two extra financial bur- dens have been added—the rental of four fire plugs and the lighting of the new highway intersection. If approved, the new bank loan will replace a $10,000 bond issue proposed last September to amortize debts and finance road work. Consideration of the loan tonight may be shelved for lack of a quor- um, since some of the Councilmen are participating in the fire com- pany minstrel show. Manslaughter Case Dismissed By Jury Brought before the Grand Jury Tuesday on charges of involuntary manslaughter, Richard Williams, 19, of Alderson was exonerated of all blame in the death of James Stagan of Harvey's Lake. Stagan was fatal- ly injured Sunday, December 21, when he stepped in front of Wil- liams’ automobile on the highway at Alderson. Police Chief Ira C. Stevenson of the Lake force told the jury that Williams was unable to avoid hitting Stagan when the latter stepped abruptly into the path of his machine. The deceased suffered from defective eyesight. from Tunkhannock to Wilkes-Barre via Falls and Pittston in the nat- ‘ional highway chain. This move of the Department of Highways, assuring Dallas and vi- cinity a permanent position along the east-west traffic lanes of nat- ional commerce, will, as a matter of course, bring many new homes, business and other real estate and industrial developments to this area in future years. routes, the Trucksville-Tunkhan- nock highway will be enlarged to four lanes throughout within a few years, according to Norman Johns- tone, secretary of the Wyoming Valley Motor Club. Traffic, esti- mated to reach more than 500,000 vehicles this year alone, will con- stantly increase. Future construc- tion on the highway will be financed more than 40 per cent by the fed- eral government, after the new des- ignation becomes effective. With the change in route marks ings, the highway will lose its iden- tities of State Routes 29 (Lutes’ Corners to Tunkhannock) and 92 (Lutes’ Corners to Dallas), and will replace in importance the Sullivan Trail, along the Susquehanna River. The old U. S. Highway 309, whic ran from Tunkhannock throug Falls to West Pittston, the Route 92 designation, Laketon Girls Defeat Dallas Close Game Decides Back Mountain Crown 16, in an exciting game Wednes- day night at Kingston Township High School, the Laketon High Girls carried off first place honors in the Back Mountain Girls’ Basketball League. At the end of the regular season last week, the two teams were tied for first place, with seven wins and three losses apiece. Wednesday night’s game automatically puts the borough sextet in second place. The standing of other clubs in the cir- cuit: : Tie games: Dallas Twp., 1; K. T., 2; Harter, 1. Conference To Be Held At Ruggles Tonight be held in Ruggles derson, Noxen, Kunkle, and Rug- gles Churches by Rev. David R. Morgan, pastor. Supper will be serv- ed at 6:30 and the conference will start at 7:30. Reports will be given from organizations of all four churches in preparation for the an- nual conference which will be held in the First Methodist Church, Wilkes-Barre, April 23. The processes of sugar rationing in the Dallas Area are still about as much of a mystery to the County Rationing Board in ‘Wilkes-Barre as they are to storekeepers and con- sumers in this section. When contacted early this week, all the Rationing Board knew was that trade outlets are to be regis- tered at local high schools on Mon- day and Tuesday, March 9 and 10, and that consumer registration has been set for March 17 through the 20th. Though the rationing books are now at hand, still a moot question is whether registration for both stores and consumers is to be made ac- cording to geographic location or legal residence. Local school officials, through whom registration will be conducted have the following information at hand: All local sugar dealers must reg- ister at the high school nearest their location Monday and Tues- day. It is possible that trade outlets in one municipality may legally reg- ister at the school nearest them Sugar Rationing In Dallas Still Mystery As Deadline Approaches — whether or not they are located in the same school district. Prof. T. A. Williammee, principal of Dallas High School, interprets his instruct- ions as permitting this. For example, a store in the lower section of Dal- las Township might find registration at Kingston Township High School more convenient than at Dallas Township High. Further information from the U. S. Board of Education may clarify this matter in a few days. Consumers are to register at the grade school nearest their home be- tween March 17 and 20. Although present instructions do not specify registration in the consumer's school district, such a practice is advisable, since ration books will probably be issued on a basis of population census, municipality by municipality. All local school principals were asked by the U. S. Board of Educa- tion to estimate the population cov- ered by their districts and were ad- vised by A. P. Cope, County School Superitnendent, that a house-to- house canvass would be unnece sary. : Together with all other national and from Pittston to Wilkes-Barre on the east side of the Susquehanna, will gain By defeating Dallas Borough, 20- Team W. 1." .:Pect Dallas Twp. ........... 5 4 556 Kingston Twp. 4 4 500 Lehman Twp. 4 6 400 Harter High 2 0 1 8 111 Fourth Quarterly Conference will Methodist Church this evening, Friday, for Al-
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers