New Britain herald., 1917-08-18
Toun Topics

During the past two weeks a ma
 jority of the local physicians and sur
 geons have shown 8 fine spirit of
 patriotism in sacrificing so much of
 their own valuable time and lucrative
 practice in order to examine regis
 tracts for the new National Army
 For this considerable work they are
 entitled to receive from Uncle Sam
 the munificent sum of ten cents per
 man. providing they do not examine
 more than forty men per day, making
 it possible for these skilled doctors to
 earn the princely sum of $4 if they
 choose to take it. While to the or
 dinary person this work of the doc
 tors may seem very simple some idea
 of the genuine financial sacrifice they
 are making may be obtained from a
 statement made by one doctor On
 one day alone. he said. he had to
 give up two maternity cases and three
 minor operations which would or
 dinarily have brought him in about
 sS0, to say nothing of several office
 patients. While the doctors have
 been working hard, conscientiously
 and faithfully there is reason to be-
 lieve, from a careful perusal of the
 accepted list, and such is always
 bound to be the case when so many
 men are examined, that in quite few instances their judgment has been
 faulty. It has even been predicted by members of the registration boards that a good many of those passed
 here will be absolutely rejected
 by the regular army surgeons at the cantonments. For instance. attention has been called to sev- eral bone fine instances where men previously rejected for enlist ment by army or navy surgeons for organic heart trouble, flat feet or other disqualifying ailments have been passed as perfect by local ex- aminers. Several others who are so much underweight that, to use their own phrases, they would have to be sent out to pasture in order to fatten up. have also been accepted. So have men totally deaf in one ear and pro- nounced cases of muscular rheuma- tism. providing the patient was not crippled at the moment, have also slipped by. The eye test too, In some instances, has not been as strict as the regular army and navy standards for at least one man known to have
 been rejected at New Haven because of poor vision has been passed here.
 But the doctors on the whole how ever, should not be criticized. Their work has been a difficult and most thankless one and their problems have been many, since not a few eligible men have been detected in attempts to outwit the doctors and secure physical discharges. If an ac- cepted man feels that he has a griev- ance he may be sure of another ex- animation at the cantonment for Uncle Sam wants only men who are
 capable of the hardeSt kind of serv- ice. In this test of Willingness the New Britain doctors have responded to the calls made upon them with alacrity and all due credit Is theirs. We wonder just what effect the war and it's consequent drain on the young men of the community will have upon the city, it's industries and its public service corporations. We wonder how long 1t will be before the fair sex dons trousers or overalls and accept "positions" as street sweepers, as window cleaners. etc Even now 1t Is hinted by the mana cement of the Connecticut company that possible plan to engage women as street car conductors has not been entirely un- thought of And already we have all read bonafide advertisements in the
 newspa pers in which the New Haven road seeks female employees to act as
 gate tenders, f1aggers and other kim ! dred jobs. For no other reason than
 because of the effect of the war upon
 the man power of the city Manager F. l.. Beardsley of the Connecticut com- pany has lowered the age limit for conductors from 21 years to 8 years,
 although motormen will not be ac-
 cepted unless they have attained their majority. When we get female "icemen," women sporting editors. fe-
 male city editors and female coal heavers then. then, we predict with
 all due respect to the fair sex, will people look back with tender memo
 ries to the good old days. For we
 cannot we'll imagine a frail young thing weighing in the neighborhood of 9S pounds carrying a fifty pound
 piece of ice up three flights of stairs, I or another sweet young thing a pow der puff in one hand and a coal
 shovel in the oher, manfully attempt ing to unload a wagon full of coal.
 Nor can we imagine the feminine sporting editor sitting at the ringside
 as the burly "pugs" hammer each other into a gory mass of flesh and blood. Neither can we imagine a 1 blonde or even brunette city editor giving due recognition to story though it might deal with topics as important as the fall of Berlin or an announced decision of the police board to have no more star cha mber sessions when there were such vitally pertinent subjects at hand as "Reve- lations of a Wife" or recipes for the 1 dainty housekeeper or, possibly, what | fashion decrees for the fall.
 l Now if you generally didn't get up until we'll after o'clock in the morn 1 ing, and didn't get through your