PAGE TWO
SECOND THOUGHTS
By javie aiche
Root and branch of what Wyoming Valley thought were un-social
growths prepared the ground for the victories the United Nations have
won in Sicily. It is interesting to
regard the disclosures, as brought
to the American Press Congress in Chicago these past several days. Of
course, Wyoming Valley was not mentioned, but the Black Hand and
Mafia definitely were. And it was
in the mining communities of Lu-
zerne County, especially those in
sections of Wyoming Valley, the
Pittston area for instance, that the
Mafia and Black Hand reached their
most fulsome flower. That is, be-
fore they came into effulgent bloom
in wartime Sicily.
Without the Sicilian members of
secret societies the story of Sicily
and the invasion might not have
‘been told. It certainly would not
have been told in terms of quick
assault and rapid conquest, nor in
the figures of negligible casualties.
So I am informed by men who were
aware of what had been going on
. since long before the African land-
ings that were only the prelude to
the sweep across the Mediterranean.
These men came to the American
Press Congress with = experience
gained from birth and long resi-
- dence and attachments in such
places as New Zealand, Egypt, Lon-
don, Mesopotamia. All are mem-
bers of the International Press Con-
gress of which the Chicago meeting
was a part.
I had to put two and two togeth-
er. As a news writer in Pennsyl-
vania, then in side-line ventures
into the courts of Luzerne County,
I had learned the dread of the Black
Hand and Mafia. From such men
as Sam Locchina of Pittston I had
known that the groundwork of the
secret bodies was in democracy, an
inborn consciousness of the im-
portance of liberty, inherited down
the centuries from Sicily’s exposure
to Greece, to Rome, to Carthaginia,
the Phoenicians and all others of
the adventuring traders and war-
riors of the years deep in history.
But, as far as Luzerne County was
concerned, the results were tragic.
In seeking their democratic bases
the secret societies were guilty of
terrible crimes.
You know all about that. But,
did you know that of eight million
so-called Italians who emigrated to
the United States over a century of
time slightly more than six million
were Sicilians? Did you know that
among those six millions at least
two millions had returned to Sicily
after accumulating what they be- |
lieved to be sufficient wealth to live
the idyllic life that the most fav-
ored terrain in all the world af-
fords? Sicily is what California or
Florida would like to be, as to cli-
mate. As to existence it is the
nearest approach to Heaven, when
it is not in war.
These editors and diplomats who
have lived in the far places of civil-
ization told me at Chicago that for
every family that had contributed
Sicilian population ‘to the United
States there had been a household
to which had returned at least one
of the adventurers. At least one of
every household returned with a
competence, with the means to en-
joy the perfect Sicilian climate and
land’s bounty. With them they had
brought back to Black Hand and
Mafia the story of American de-
mocracy, the equal chance to sur-
vive and thrive, the equality of
races, the freedom of action and
the unbounded realm afforded pro-
gressive thought. They ' planted
seeds of love for America. ‘Those
seeds sprouted and grew to a pecu-
liar shading of Sicilian thought,
and finally they became umbrageous
in shelter of American ideals when
the United States entered the war.
Long before Casablanca the secret
‘societies of Sicily were preparing
the avenues by which the United
Nations, as long as America was
part of those United Nations, could
have access to the footstool of Mus-
solini’'s Italy. United States gold
had its part in the preparations of
course, but the sagacity of the Sicil-
ians returned from the United States
had an even greater part. In pos-
session of the strategists under Gen-
eral Eisenhower were maps covering
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every landing, figures covering every
defense. Best of all, in Sicily there
were hundreds of thousands of se-
cret society members who were
leading communal determination to
welcome and not fight the invaders.
A tragedy was turned into a
comic failure of Fascism. In topo-
graphical content Sicily was a per-
fect bastion of defense. If the people
were as determined to resist as Hit-
ler's Germany might be expected to
be determined, the invasion of Sicily
would have been a matter of re-
peated assault before a beach-head
could be achieved. From there on
it would have been a battle of all
the resources of United Nations
forces against a Gibraltar of im-
munity. The reasonable expecta-
tion would have been for more than
a year of assault and at, least a
million deaths among United Na-
tions soldiers.
It is good after all these years,
and so far from home, to learn that
the ordeal suffered from the Mafia
and Black Hand in Luzerne County
was only tribulation on the way to
world salvation. When I knew Sam
Locchina, Peter Riley and others of
the secret operatives in Pittston,
either by their own names or by
assumed aliases, I never supposed
that any good could come of the
vengeful tactics and plottings of the
Sicilian emigres. We paid a dread-
ful cost back there for the shelter-
ing of them. The records are writ-
ten over and over again in the crim-
inal courts of the county. We didn’t
know the contests were between de-
mocracy and fascism then, with fas-
cism represented by the coal barons.
Now it seems that the Black Hand
and Mafia must be saluted. The
democracy they had consolidated
here from inheritance out of Sicily’s
history of contacts with Greece and
ancient Rome and ancient Cartha-
ginia has been justified. We ap-
parently owe to Sicilian love of free-
dom the lives of the men who did
not have to die to gain a spring-
board in Sicily for whatever cata-
pultic attacks shall come later on
the way to Berlin.
Health Topics
By F. B. Schooley, M. D.
= ~_|
Chronic Colitis
Chronic colitis is a chronic in-
flammation of the large bowel or
colon, with the production of excess
mucus in the colon. It is a com-
mon condition. Constipation is us-
ually present, but this may .alter-
nate with short periods of diarrhea
with abdominal colic. The appetite
is poor and abdominal distention is
often found. Chronic colitis seldom
develops unless there is stasis or
constipation of the colon.
The use of drastic purgatives or
cathartics predisposes to the de-
velopment of colitis. Other condi-
tions may be associated with this,
as chronic appendicitis, stomach
ulcer, intestinal] parasites, adhesions
of the bowel, and focal infections of
the teeth, sinuses and gall-bladder.
A ptosis or prolapse of the bowel
may be a contributing factor. Can-
cer of the bowel may be present in
older persons. An x-ray examina-
tion should be made when a thor-
ough physical examination fails to
reveal the. cause.
The symptoms wary from those
of a mild intestinal toxemia to a
severe toxic state. They may show
loss of weight or there may be little
external evidence of this condition.
Headache, backache and lassitude
are common complaints. They lack
stamina and are easily upset. They
are frequently mentally submerged,
and are irritable, depressed and
generally miserable. A person with
ptosis or falling of the bowel usual-
ly stands with drooped shoulders
and protruding abdomen, and is in-
clined to slouch when sitting. Nerv-
ous symptoms are prominent. The
most characteristic complaints are
those of constipation and the pas-
sage from the bowel of excess
amounts of mucus. The duration
may be several months or years. Ab-
dominal unrest and distention may
be the only signs in early cases.
General hygiene and diet are im-
portant. Regularity in all things is
essential. The diet should be cor-
rected so that a minimum of irri-
tating substances will reach the
large bowel. The restoration of a
normal action of the bowels is
necessary to obtain a permanent
cure. Drastic cathartics should be
avoided. Congenial environment
and relief from nagging worries are
helpful. Proper treatment of as-
sociated diseases is necessary to pre-
{Phone 25868 @ Wilkes-Barre, Pal
vent recurrences.
ee
THE POST, FRIDAY, JULY 23, 1943
THE OUTPOST
Where those at home and the men and women in the armed :
services from the Back Mountain Region—in camps and on -
the fighting fronts—keep contact with their fellows through-
Team Work Needed
: July 11, 1943.
Dear Editor: \
Well, here goes. I am almost
ashamed to write this letter. I
have been receiving the Dallas Post
for the last three months and this
is the first that I have written in
to thank you all for it. I sure do
enjoy the Dallas Post very much.
I know you people back home are
doing more than your part in this
vital war effort. Keep the good
work up. It won't take long with
all of you people working together
with the Army, Navy and the Ma-
rine Corps. That is all a nation
needs to be powerful—team work.
Well, I guess I will close this letter
with lots of thanks.
Norfolk, Va.
® Don't fuss about not writing.
Holy Smoke we folks at home know
you fellows have plenty of work
to do and letters to parents and
sweethearts come first. Haven't
seen your dad this summer. So he
must be pretty busy.—Editor.
Likes Honor Roll
July 9, 1943.
Dear Editor:
Thank you very much for sending
me the Dallas Post. I appreciate
the Post very much and wait with
anxiety to read the news from the
best part of the country.
My parents sent me a picture of
the Shavertown Honor Roll. The
people of Shavertown have done a
swell job in erecting such a nice
Honor Roll. :
I received my basic training at
Miami Beach, Florida. I was fortu-
nate in being sent to such a beau-
tiful place. There were one hun-
dred boys in our hotel from Penn-
sylvania. When we marched
through the streets to our drill field,
the people knew from our singing
that we were from the Keystone
State.
At the present time I am taking
a course in Aircraft Mechanics.
When I am finished here I expect
to go to aerial gunner’s school.
Well, it is about time for morn-
ing exercise and a run over the
obstacle course, so I'll say “so-long”
and keep the Posts coming.
Yours truly, J
Pfc. Francis G. Youngblood, Jt.,
Keesler Field, Mississippi.
® Noxen, Lake Township and
Trucksville provided us with cuts of
their Honor Rolls so that we could
publish them for all the boys to
see. Don’t know why we didn’t get
one from Shavertown because it
really is a beautiful board and set-
ting.—Editor.
Seeking No Glory -
July 8, 1943.
Dear Editor:
My first copy of the Post came
Pfc. L. E. wiv
“More than ea 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-
nus, Dallas, Penna., by the
Dallas Post.
Entered as second-class matter at
the post office at Dallas, Pa., under
the Act of March 8, 1879. Bubsecrip-
tion rates: §2.50 a year; $1.50 six
months. No subscriptions accepted
for less than six months. Out-of-
state subseriptions: $8.00 a you;
$2.00 six months or less. ack
issues, more than ome week old, 10c
ea
Single copies, at a rate of 6¢ each,
can be obtained every Friday merm-
ing at the following newsstands:
Dallas—Tally-Ho Grille, Hislop’s Res-
taurant; Shavertown, Evans’ Drug
store; Trucksville—Leonard’s Store;
Idetown—Caves Store; Huntsville—
Hontz's Store; Harvey's Lake—Ed-
wards’ Restaurant; Alderson—Dea-
ter’s Store.
When requesting a change of ad-
dress subscribers are asked to give
Vir od as well as new address in
to prevent delay.
We will not be responstble for the
return of unsolicited manuscripts,
hotographs and editorial matter un-
ess self-addressed, stamped envelope
is epclosed, and In no case will we
be responsible for this material for
more than 30 days.
National display advertising rates
66c per column inch.
Local display advertising rates
40c per column inch. 2
Classified rates 2c per word.
Minimum charge 25c.
Unless paid for at advertising
rates, we can give no assurance
that announcements of plays, par-
ties, rummage sales or any affairs
for raising money will appear in a
specific issue. In no case will such
items be taken on Thursdays.
Editor and Publisher
HOWARD W. RISLEY
Editors
% S/Sgt. Howell E. Rees, U.S.A.
% Lieut Warren Hicks, U.S.A.
Associate Editor,
MYRA ZEISER RISLEY
Contributing Editors
JOHN V. HEFFERNAN
MRS. T. M. B. HICKS
EDITH BLEZ
DR. F. B. SCHOOLEY
MARTHA HADSEL
War-Time Correspondents
MRS. J. GORDON HADSEL
Advertising Department
HELEN BOOTH
% Harry Lee Smith
American Red Cross Foreign Ser.
Mechanical Superintendent
HARRY E. POST
Mechanical Department
% S/Sgt. Alan C. Kistler, U.S.A.
vr Norman Rosnick, U.S.N.
“% S/Sgt. Alfred Davis, U.S.A.
vw Pvt. Wm. Helmboldt, U.S.A.
% Pvt. Joseph Riehl], U.S.A.
+ In Armed Serviee.
Sunday, June 27, and it sure was
a treat. About the first thing that
came to my mind was “Why didn’t
I''get around to getting the Post
before ?”’ because I know now what
I have been missing. I was fortu-
nate in having my first copy to be
the one about the Honor Roll at
Lake Township High School, with
the enlarged picture. I think the
whole idea is really swell, but I
also think that if the truth were
known, there are few fellows from
back there looking for any of the
“glory of heroism.” They're too
regular for that.
Some of us have been fortunate
enough to have a buddy of ours
stationed with us at the same post.
Such is my case. Pvt. Peter Shiner
from back at Harvey's Lake is here
at Fort Bragg, with the Field Ar-
tillery, which is about four miles
i from my station at Pope Field. Pete
is an old friend and many are the
good times we had last summer. We
try to get together about once a
month. Duty prevents more fre-
quent visits than this. Several
weeks ago we spent the weekend
in Raleigh, N. C., with our good
friend, Air Cadet Charles Kern. We
thought it was a pretty good break
to have even three of the old crowd
together once more.
But next to actually seeing the
fellows from home, I really enjoy
reading about them, and I know
they all feel the same way. So I'm
waiting now for my next copy of
the Post.
Sincerely, - :
Cpl. Howard Enders,
Pope Field, Fort Bragg,
North Carolina. (
® From Fort Benning, Ga., to San
Francisco and now to Fort Bragg.
You are certainly covering the coun-
try, Howard. Nice to hear about
Pete and Charles.—Editor.
Another Radio Man
July 6, 1943.
Dear Mr. Risley:
I am really ashamed of myself in
not thanking you long ago for the
copies of the Post. It is hard to
put in words just how much I ap-
preciate the sight and contents of
it, but the least I can do is let you
know that I appreciate it im-
mensely.
I am almost finished with my
nine weeks’ course in Radio Oper-
ating. Yes, they made me a radio
operator just like they did my two
brothers, Dick and Tom. I am sup-
posed to get a thirteen weeks’
course in Radio Mechanics when I
finish my operating course. I ex-
pect to get shipped out of this camp
for my mechanics course and noth-
ing could please me more than to
be shipped up North. The heat is
pretty bad here, but I suppose some
of the other fellows are being sub-
By EDITH BLEZ
This week I have had news of my Three Musketeers.
| THE SENTIMENTAL SIDE
Bob wrote for
the first time in many months. Bob, you will remember, is the quiet one
and he isn’t much of a letter writer.
he does he usually has something t
July 7. Bob sent pictures, pictures
THE LOW DOWN
HICKORY GROVE
I get sorta in a lather
He doesn’t write often but when
o talk about. The letter was dated
of himself taken with several very
ragged Arab boys. He has caught
up with his brother again. Bob's
brother was a captain and every
now and then they meet. They met
in England, now in Africa they have
met again. This time they man-
aged to get a day’s leave together
and do you know what they did?
They found an abandoned fishing
about a sales tax every Smack, spent a little time getting
time I see people spending |
money like it might grow
on a tree. A sales tax
would cost me some ma-
zuma but in the long run
it will cost me and every-
body else more, if we don’t
have a tax mow. If Uncle
Samuel don’t get this sur-
plus dinero, somebody else
will. The might spots, or
any place that will open
up a door, gets business.
A thirsty gent making
100 per week don’t give a
hoot whether a bottle of
hooch is 3 dollars or 4 dol-
lars. Or a dinner at 85
cents, if it was 95 cents
by tacking on a 10 per
cent tax, would mot slow
down anybody. You could
set up a roulette wheel,
and if the police did mot
get you, you would go to
town.
But I am hopeful. Con-
gress has its tail over the
dashboard and is showing
a touch of ginger and
gumption. They are start-
ing to trim off a few Gow-
ernment frills and fancy
notions — maybe a sales
tax will be next.
Yours with the low down,
JO SERRA.
jected to worse heat than I am
getting.
This camp is located in the South-
west corner of the state and it is
just a short distance to the borders
of Oklahoma and Kansas. This is |
the section that the famed Jesse |
James used to rodm over. The]
people talk quite a bit about the
timé when he was so active.
I was greatly surprised when I
ran into Bob Lewis because neither
of us knew the other was in camp.
Bob and I have been having some
pretty swell times together since
we met. It is a real pleasure to
sit and talk because no matter what
we talk about we always drift back
to those good old days that we
spent in Dallas. Bob and I used
to pal around quite a bit a few
years ago and we really have some-
thing in common to talk about.
I wish to thank you again, Mr.
Risley, for everything you are do-
ing. The appreciation that you de-
serve and that we fellows would
like to give you is unmeasurable.
Sincerely, §
Pvt. William C. Templin,
Camp Crowder,
P. S.: Have you heard that my
brother, Tommy, has been promoted
to a Corporal? He is getting some
rugged training in the Rangers and
he says that he loves it. :
® We've been thinking a lot about
Tommy since the invasion of Sicily.
If that is where he is it will prob-
ably be a long time before he gets | =
another Post, but we're sending him
one every week. Nice that you and
Bob can be together, Bill. Two boys
from the same street in Dallas meet
at Camp Crowder. That's a good
subject for a story.—Editor.
From Newport
July 10, 1943.
Dear Sir:
I am very sorry that I haven't
written sooner, but I have been kept
on the run ever since I arrived.
I have been receiving the Post
every week and want to thank you
for it. I enjoy it very much and
read every part of it every time I
get the chance. I have quite a pile
of them now, but I guess I will have
to cut .out the parts that I want
and throw the rest away, as much
as I hate to do so.
I am being trained to be a gun-
ner’'s mate. I attend school six
days a week, six hours a day and
an extra hour and a half every
other night, so you can see how
busy I am. The school will take
17 weeks to complete and after I
complete the course here, I may be
sent to an advanced gunnery school
or shipped out to sea. I hope it is
the latter.
This station isn’t quite so nice as
Sampson. Sampson was rather mod-
ern and spoiled most of us. I am
starting to get acquainted with the
rules and regulations that they have
here. They are quite a bit different
from the regulations at Sampson.
I had a very pleasant surprise last
Sunday. I was at Lincoln Park and
it into shape and then had a few
hours’ fishing in the Mediterranean.
They didn’t have much luck but
think how wonderful it must have
been for two brothers thousands of
miles from their own familiar haunts
to be able to go fishing together.
As usual Pappy’s letter was the
most amusing. War or no war,
Pappy never seems to lose his de-
lightful sense of humor. We have
always kidded Pappy about being
a cornfed boy from Iowa. He has
always boasted about the corn in
his home state but now he breaks
down and confesses that he knows
absolutely nothing about corn. But
he doesn’t want us to mention that
to the Chamber of Commerce! Pappy
is still having language trouble. One
day he wandered into a shop in
Tunis. He stuttered and stammered
around trying to tell the shopkeeper
what he wanted. Imagine Pappy’s
surprise when the shopkeeper said
in perfect English, “What do you
desire?” I imagine Pappy “blew
his cork.”
Pappy went to the dentist. Let
him tell you about it: “I went over
to have my teeth checked. You
know the way we all do, have them
checked, then just let them go re-
gardless of whether they need at-
tention or not. Well, this Army
doctor was on the ball, for he
checked my teeth, grabbed his tools
and had half of them in my mouth
before I could escape. When I left
I was a little heavier because he
had filled three of them. On the
way back to camp I was really very
happy when I thought how brave
I had been.”
Leo says he has been to Carthage
and seen the ruins. Every evening
he takes a long swim in the Med-
iterranean. He says he and Bob
and#Pap have been separated for
the present. He only sees Pappy
once a day when Pappy drives up
with the mail and Bob he sees even
less.
It has been just a year since the
boys sailed from New York. Will
I ever forget the night they sailed ?
It was hot and sticky and they had
been waiting for days for the time
to come when they would shove off
on what they termed their summer
cruise. I'll never forget their faces
| as we said “Goodbye” to them. They
| were smiling but I know they were
frightened. Now after a year they
have been through many exper-
iences they never dreamed might
happen to them. They are still
cheerful, still glad to do what is
expected of them but as Pappy says,
“We are all looking forward to see-
ing the Statue of Liberty lit up
again,”
If you haven’t gotten around
to buying a Second War Loan
Bond, stop and think what it
would mean to you if our sol-
diers hadn’t gotten round to
the fight,
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 38-9459 Wilkes-Barre, Pa.
‘THE
FIRST NATIONAL
BANK
DALLAS, PENNA.
MEMBERS AMERICAN
BANKERS’ ASSOCIATION
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,
ran into Bob Pritchard. We had
(Continued on Page 3)
No account too small to secure
careful attention. :
CeEEEe