SECOND THOUGHTS
By javie aiche
THE posT, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 11, 1942
\
All of us were exceedingly polite about the matter, but politest of
‘all was Private Whittaker of the Maryland Traffic Patrol entrusted witn
public safety and preservation of the war effort along the undulating
roads, treacherous curves and generally beautiful terrain of the State of
Carrolls and Howards.
In Washington they call me the
bad-weather guy. One or another
fate has seen to it that with each
trip into the capital city I shall en-
counter the worst possible atmos-
pheric conditions’ consonant with
the season of my coming. For my
part I have come to believe this.
The town known as the heart of
global war is either too hot, too
cold, too wet or too dry and that
the penalty of my own associations
~ with it must be added in personal
discomforts. I am just getting the
best of neuritis and a cold con-
tracted there late in October.
Well, December came to Wyom-
‘ing Valley with a burst of weather
for which only January and March
ought rightly to be blamed, and
even then it should be only a fifty-
fifty eulpability between those two
horrendous months. Glad to be
home and rejecting at least two
suggestions of parties near at hand
I was brain-deep in Fortune (the
magazine and not the condition)
when long-distance called. It was
Washington. Worse yet, it was or-
_ ders. I must be at Bedlam-On-The-
Potomoc by two o'clock the follow-
ing afternoon.
Try and get there. Not a seat
was available at the railroad sta-
tion, even though the one train to
suit my orders was departing at the
terrible hour of three in the morn-
ing. The bus leaving an hour later
could guarantee no more than the
railroad. So, what to do? A year
ago the answer would have been
in the garage at the back of the lot.
Now though, getting thirty-one gal-
lons of gasoline, the amount re-
quired to cover the gap between
Wyoming and Washington, counting
the return journey, is a process not
facilitated by @ ration book in
which the remaining coupons called
for only twenty-one.
But, it was a case of using the
car and trusting to luck. Luck
finally came in the form of a dis-
tressed farmer, hopelessly broken
down and needing -at once emer-
X¢ rtation from York to
On the
and all TPoinments were kept. In
fact, we both were ahead of time.
a satisfaction that alleviated later
distress in finding ourselves almost
blown off the highway by the
~ bumptious winds, blinded by snow
squalls and twice compelled to hole
“up in roadside recesses to permit
torrential and obscuring rains to
subside. Oh, yes, and once we were
completely lost by a mistaken turn
intp a mountain pass.
_ What was most heartening about
the whole thing was the Maryland
trooper. .My companion and I prob-
’ ably had -become a little careless
and undoubtedly were a little ner-
vous from the cold winds that beat
out the car heat and left us chilled
' to the bone, evem under our great-
coats. One of us must have de-
pressed the accelerator. A car
~ with a yellow shield painted on its
Lord Baltimore's estate, of course.
of national |
e gasoline:
front door shot up alongside, a horn
stopped for an interview. We were
exceeding the Victory Speed Limit;
we were past it by a good ten miles
an hour. $
To be usual about police encoun-
ters is to expect that the minion of
the law will open conversation of
rebuke with the question: “Where's
the fire?” or “What's your hurry ?”
or, with the blunt statement: “Pull
over to the side of the road and
get out your license cards.” But not
Private Whittaker. That chap has
a refreshingly different procedure.
He put his own car at the side of
the road and stepped over to the
lowered front window.
“How fast were you going?” he
asked.
I didn’t know and told him so. I
added the few pertinent facts about
wanting to get off the storm-ridden
roads, being engrossed with the
farmer in talk about the food short-
ages, and the utter necessity of
obeying official orders as to tha.
two o'clock appointment in Bedlam.
“I'm Private Whittaker,” he said.
“My uniform will acquaint you with
my duty. You were going forty-
five miles an hour. Now, that’s five
miles under the legal speed limit
but it’s ten miles in excess of the
speed required to win this war.”
Without further comment we
handed over our cards and he began
writing.
After a time he handed a sheet
of note-paper in through the win-
dow. :
“Read that when you get to
Washington,” he said.
I read it. Over the signature of
Governor Herbert O’Conor were the
heartening words that informed the
farmer and me that we were not
arrested; that we had broken no
law. We had only failed to co-op-
erate with a measure considered
necessary to achievement of victory.
All that in contrast with expecta-
tion of being, hailed to court and
suffering at least confiscation of the
one last asset, for keeping faith with
orders.
I thought there was a Taw, Now
I find that Victory Speed depends
only upon proclamation; the same
as Thanksgiving, for instance.
whether you get one of it or two.
I wasn’t surprised at al] on the
return journey when the hundred
j or more cars that passed in the
same direction were hitting it up at
fifty and sixty miles an hour. But
I am not failing to remember that if
enough of those information sheets
are written up against any motor-
ist he may be denied his ration
book, with right of appeal to only
a government bureau.
I'm determined to conquer even
absent-mindedness to forestall any
| possible contribution I might make
| to what we already have too much
tooted two gentle toots and we ,
ik Overlnok This Hideout
” —— rr —
out the world.
services from the Back Mountain Region—in camps and on
the fighting fronts—keep contact with their fellows through-
The Drummer Boy Of Virginia’
Dear Mr. Risley:
After being transferred twice, I
have finally arrived at my destina-
tion. I am stationed at the Univer-
sity of Virginia here in Charlottes-
ville. We started here on December
1st and since then we have been so
busy that we don’t know whether
we are coming or going. We have
been having 2 hours of Math., Phy-
sics, Navigation, Radio Code and
Civil Air Regulations every day.
Sunday is the only day we have to
ourselves. And let me tell you, we
need it. :
Monday our class divides into the
two squadrons, the “Red” and the
“Blue.” The ‘Red” squadron will
take flight training in the morning
and go to classes in the afternoon. I
have been assigned to “A” Flight
in the “Red” squadron, so I will
fly in the morning. The “Blue”
squadron’s schedule is just the op-
posite.
There are 30
cadets stationed
jot I mean Bureaucracy, of course.
we finish it for you?
What have you?
is all the reward we want.
We're on the ground. We want to help.
your family’s place, but we do want to aid you if our service will also aid them.
Naturally this service is gratis.
Wy ite us.
Service Men,
ATTENTION!
With this newspaper reaching all sol diers, sailors and marines from the Back
Mountain Region, it would seem to be the best medium for the Dallas Kiwanis Club
to get in touch with you all since we do not have your addresses. i
This Is What We Want To Ask You
HOW CAN WE BE OF SERVICE TO YOU?
Our Club is made up of about twenty-five men from your home community,
representing at least a dozen businesses and professions.
ourselves or through contacts—to secure ad vice for you or give you service on almost
any question that may be troubling you.
Did you leave in such a hurry that you left unfinished business behind?
Have problems come up since you have gone away that we can
aid you or your family in solving? Your problems will be treated in the strictest con-
fidence and handled with dispatch.
Somewhere among us there is probably someone who in his daily business or
profession handles the very problem that is bothering you most, or ‘who has gone
through a similar situation and knows the ropes.
Perhaps it is a will . . .
real estate or insurance . . .
We are in a position—among
or an automobile for sale . . .
maybe it’s alimony or a dozen and one other things.
We do not want to attempt to take
Give us a chance to help you. That
DALLAS KIWANIS CLUB
Service Men's Division
Dallas, Pennsylvania
Could
a problem with regard to
here now. They are from all parts
of the eastern United States. My
roommates are from Virginia, Mary-
land, and North Carolina. They
certainly are a fine bunch of fel-
lows.
Well sir, as time is growing short,
“More than a newspaper,
a community institution”
THE DALLAS POST
ESTABLISHED 1899
A non-partisan liberal
progressive newspaper pub-
lished every Friday morning
at its plant on Lehman Ave-
nue, Dallas, Penna., by the
Dallas Post.
Entered as second-class matter
at the post office at Dallas, Pa.,
under the Act of March 3, 1879.
Subscription rates: $2.00 a year;
$1.25 six months. No subscrip-
tions accepted for less than six
months. Out-of-state subscrip-
tions, $2.50 a year; $1.75 six
months or less. Back issues,
more than one week old, 10c
each.
Single copies, at a rate of Sc
each, can be obtained every Fri-
day morning at the following
newsstands: Dallas—T ally-Ho
Grille; Shavertown—Evans’ Drug
Store; Trucksville—Leonard’s
Store; Huntsville—Frantz Fair-
lawn Store.
When requesting a change of
address on mail copies subscrib-
ers are asked to give the old as
well as new address in order to
prevent delay.
We will not be responsible for
the return of unsolicited manu-
scripts, photographs and editor-
ial matter unless self-addressed,
stamped envelope is enclosed,
and in no case will we be re-
sponsible for this material for
more than 30 days.
Editor and Publisher
HOWARD W. RISLEY
Editors
% Pvt. Howell E. Rees, U.S.A.
% Cadet Warren Hicks, U.S.A.
Associate Editor
MYRA ZEISER RISLEY
Contributing Editors
JOHN V. HEFFERNAN
FRED M. KIEFER
MRS. T. M. B. HICKS
EDITH BLEZ
DR. F. B. SCHOOLEY
MARTHA HADSEL
Mechanical Superintendent
HARRY E. POST
Mechanica] Department
% S/Sgt. Alan C. Kittler, U.S.A.
% Norman Rosnick, U.S.N.
* S/Sgt. Alfred Davis, U.S.A.
% Pvt. Wm. Helmboldt, U.S.A.
If it is possible,
I wish you would put my address in
the Post. It will certainly make
me feel a lot better to hear about
the home town.
Sincerely yours, /
Louis Kelly
P. S.—Here is my address:
| Cadet Louis M. Kelly, U. S. N.A.F.R.
| University of Virginia R.A.T.C.
| 7 Elliewood Avenue
| Charlottesville, Va. {
Nice to hear from you Kelly.
You must be happy as a lark at
the school where gentlemen are
made, and Southern belles, too.
Forget the attempt at wit. Was
it a coincidence that you got in
the Red Squadron? Have a
swell time. It’s a grand place,
and write often.—Editor.
I will have to close.
|
|
|
From Fair Harvard
Dear Howard:
Promised you I'd write and give
you my address so that I might par-
ticipate in your generous and much
appreciated custom of sending the
Dallas Post to the boys who are
away.
The above address will be mine
till I complete training—presuma-
bly five months, unless, of course,
they shift us to different quarters
when new men come in. They have
imately 250 men each lettered A.
B. C. D. & E. The “A’s” will go
on active duty on ships at the end
of this month. I am now in “E”
Company and move up to “D” next
month, etc., as a new group comes
in on the first of each month. All
of the men in the Companies above
will be Communications Deck Offi-
cers if they learn it in the time
allotted. In addition there is an
Army and Navy Radio School here
and a Supply Training School. I
don’t know how many men are in
these schools but it is very seldom
one sees any students here not in
Uniform of the Day.
It's lunch time now—will finish
later.
It's now three hours later and I
have just’ finished visited Charles
DeWitt of Trucksville( formerly a
teacher at Kingston Township High
School). Charlie is in Company
“D” here and has finished the In-
doctrination course and is going
full time on Communications.
Before we finish here, from pres-
ent indications, whenever we open
our mouths it will be to say some-
thing like this,—Dah-Dah-Dit, or
| Dit. Probably, when I want to cuss
| it will be—Oh! Dit! It will certainly
come in handy for baby talk any-
way.
This is an entirely different life
than I have ever lived before. Ev-
erything is regimented and person-
} (Continued on Page Six)
EE ae
THE SENTIMENTAL SIDE
By EDITH BLEZ
here now five companies of approx-
Dear Santa Claus:
—5w
THE LOW DOWN FROM
HICKORY GROVE
2
This gas rationing, you
know, it is maybe gomna
turn out to be just what
the doctor ordered. What
we been needing 1s to
compose ourselves for a
half-hour or so. You can’t
ponder—or think — at a
50 speed limit in L-way
traffic.
“Alright,” says Henry,
“proceed, if you have
something to say.”
“Okay,” I says, “it is to
get woke up, somehow or
other, before it is too late,
on what kind of a mess
we will be in after the
war. The war is enoug
to be in, but when it is
over we don't want to
blink our eyes and find
ourselves in the middle of
some mew kind of mess.”
“Like what?” says Henry.
“Like socialism,” I says.
“Look how thick the ‘E’
cars are getting to be. Ev-
erybody in an ‘E’ car is on
t he taxpayer's payroll.
And half the folks cruis-
ing around in ‘E’ cars
don’t produce a mickle’s
worth per annum. Getting
the Govt. out of every
business where it has a
foot in the door, is staving
off socialism. With tires
getting thin and gas get-
ting scarcer, we will have
a chance to ponder.” “Fi-
nally,” says Henry, “you
got an idea.”
Yours with the low-down,
JO SERRA.
A
Health Topics
By F. B. Schooley, M. D.
s.
Public Health
There is need for a nation-wide
sustained effort for public health
work. The family physician is the
main line of defense of the health
of the community. The preventive
functions of physicians who are con-
cerned with public welfare as rela-
ted to the disease of the individual
have not been rightly understoon or
evaluated. Rural communities have
been considered fortunate in regard
to health. In many instances urban
mortality rates are lower than those
in rural communities. Health and
educational measures appropriate to
rural conditions are necessary and
essential. More attention must be
given to the proper administrative
control of medical services by quali-
fied professional advisers. Modern
health departments should be effici-
ently administered by qualified phy-
sicians or individuals who have been
trained in public health, and free
| from political influences.
The trend in the distribution of
medical care in the United States
apparently has two main objectives:
(1) a devotion to the search for
the truth about the causes of dis-
ease; the development, testing and
adoption of the appropriate means
to alleviate, control or eliminate
these causes and the elevation and
maintenance of standards of medi-
cal education and medical service
for all the people, and (2) a com-
prehensive knowledge and evalua-
tion of the facts concerning the
need for medical service, and an in-
ventory of the means to meet the
needs for medical care and an ap-
praisal of the methods by which the
services and facilities are made
available to those in need of medi-
cal care. Local health programs
would provide co-operation with
state and federal health programs,
educational preventive medicine en-
dorsed by local professional groups,
periodic health examinations for all
ages and preventive inoculations.
With the apparent cheapening of
human life by accidents and war-
fare, we must be more vitally con-
cerned in conserving our human
resources. The majority of our peo-
ple are in need of better medical
care and more adequate distribu-~
tion of medical service. Better med-
ical care through the family physi-
cian must and shall cary on for
the rest of us to be.
I know you are going to be busier than ever this year but I oie
if you would mind doing a few things for me?
be a good girl to get real rewards from you.
say on that score, but when I tell you what I want you to do maybe you
I realize that one has to
won't have to take my behavior i in-
to consideration!
I know you get around all over
the earth. I realize you can get
,into places where it is impossible for
your long journey you could make
a few side trips for me? Is it ask-
ing too much ? :
I want you to visit a few boys
for me, boys who deserve Christmas
presents, boys who possibly won't
be expecting much for Christmas.
First of all will you see to it that
my Three Musketeers get their
Christmas packages. They are some
where in England. I have had
Christmas cards from them and
they seemed allright when the cards
were mailed. Please help make
their Christmas a good one because
they really deserve it, Mr. Santa
Claus.
Then if you don’t mind will you
look up Walter Kirby, Able Seaman
who is on H. M. S. Delhi. He was
here last December and I shall al-
ways remember him at the Christ-
mas table. His blue jacket behind
the tall red candles was something
to remember. That was the first
Christmas he had been on land for
some time. He has been in the
Royal Navy since he was fourteen
and a half and I do want him to
bave another good Christmas. You
might have a little trouble finding
him. He might be in the middle of
some ocean. He might be sitting
in his gun turret waiting for tha
small bell to ring, the bell which is
the only signal he has from the out-
side world when he is in battle. See
that Wally has as good a Christmas
as possible will you Mr. Santa
Claus? Wally has been through a
lot and he is awfully young!
Then there are a few more sol-
diers I would like you to take care
of. Some of them I don’t know by
name but I remember their faces
very clearly. I saw them come into
Fort Dix and I saw them go ouf
again. I don’t know where they are
now.
Maybe they are in Alaska, maybe
they are in Egypt or Northern Afri-
ca. A few eof them might be at
‘Guadalcanal. Please Mr. Santa
just to wish thi a Merry Christ-
mas in the gbod old American way.
'Tell them we haven't forgotten
them for one little minute. Tell
them that we would willingly give
up our Christmas if we thought it
would help them any. You know,
Santa Claus, what Christmas means
to American boys. Sure,”they are
spoiled, they are used to good
things, they are used to all the good
things we are going to have for
Christmas but they are scattered
all over the earth fighting so that
we can always have a good Xmas.
Please, Mr. Santa Claus, look out
for all those boys. I have seen so
many of them march away with
their heads high and without com-
plaint. They, above everybody else
deserve a good Christmas, Mr.
Santa Caus. See what you can do
about it will you?
I don’t know just what to
I wonder if on
Claus, drop in on the boys if it is
JOHN LEIDLINGER
(“Red,” formerly with Frey Bros.)
All Kinds Of
LEATHER WORK REPAIRING
Very Neatly Done.
Harness, Collars and Horse Supplies
Dog Supplies and
LUGGAGE
117 SO. WASHINGTON ST.,
Dial 3-8459 Wilkes-Barre, Pa.
‘THE
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BANK
DALLAS, PENNA.
MEMBERS AMERICAN
BANKERS’ ASSOCIATION
DIRECTORS
R. L. Brickel, C. A. Frantz, W. B.
Jeter, Sterling Machell, W. R. Neely,
Clifford Space, A. C. Devens,
Herbert Hill.
OFFICERS
C. A. Frantz, President
Sterling Machell, Vice-President
W. R. Neely, Vice-President
W. B. Jeter, Cashier
F. J. Eck, Assistant Cashier
Vault Boxes For Rent,
No account too small to secure
the common welfare.
careful attention.
Ee Ll Cas