McNairy County independent. (Selmer, McNairy County, Tenn.) 1902-1969, 1918-07-26
New /! ork Letter

many ways. is really a godsend to
the young men of this nation. So
n1sny of them were stoop-shouldered,
slouchg, "trifing' and didn't know
What to do for themselves; all at
once Uncle Sam comes along, sboyes
intn unions and makes men Of them.
War il a mans game, and it certain
ly will make men of them. or break
them in the attempt. Ard just see
how it has made the selfish women
crawl out of their shells, too, to help
in thousands Of ways, not only to do
the work Of the boys and men that
are gone to the front, but in inDu-
merable works Of charity and loving
usefulness. OUR elevators, subways
and surface cars have lady conduct
ors, and7 lady police are appearing
with their clubs and badges, And
then comes an anti-loafiDg law of
the state which makes every man be-
tween the ages Of eighteen and fifty,
get 10 work or go to jah, No mat
ter how rich he is, no man can loaf
here, if he is within those ages. How
it has cleared away the rabble that
used to lounge around the park on
benches, waiting for a chance to
steal something or beg a dime for a
drink! There is work for everybody,
and everybody must work. That
grand reform is due to the war;. as
well as the taking over Of the rail
roads. the administration Of food and
fuel, and many, many. other reforms
long so s0rely needed, and which, /
feel sure. will not stop with the war.
And t o crown it all, here comes along
Dame Prohibitions, soaring the plug
uglias and the Hun bar-keepers into
forty-seven kinds of fits and even
nov, you can't rush the growler''
after eight o'clock; that is, beer is not
allowed to be taken from the saloon
in cans. Soon there will be no beer
and no whiskey, for there will be no
saloons, even in New York. 1t does
look like the millennium was coming,
but human nature will have to change
lot before everything /, just like it
ought to be.
New York has had hints of a bonn
bardment by Hun airplanes from the
sky;it was scheduled that bombs
were to be dropped on US to help cei-
citrate the Glorious fourth; but it was
like that march If the Germans on
Parisy II had to be postponed, just
like the German victory itself. Anti
aircrafs guns have been placed in
some Of the parks, however. and great
steam sirens have been installed on
tall buildings, that, sounding Ike
Gabriel's trumpet, are to warn the
people when the Hun airplanes be-
gin to heave in sight. The guns can
shoot miles into the air, and they will
be manned by some Of the .keenest
marksmen in the world if needed.
On the Fourth. there was a fleet
Of airplanes fsing over the City,
twenty-five in number, like iicck Of
blackbirds flying southwark in regu-
ular formation in the fall Of the year.
They looked like cross between q
mosquito hawk and a fish, their wings
spread out wide and their tails fiat
tened out behind, while their metallic
sides gistened in the snn like silver
and the hum Of their motors sounded
like big wheat threshers at work
One Caproni plane sailed along two
miles high, leaving trail Of white
smoke behind, and although it was
not much more than speck in the
sky. its drumming sound foated over
the whole city. 1t must be thrilling
to float up there about the giant me-
tropolis. but 1t is too dasngerous fol
me to try, ! fear, although frienG
who went up said is was the most
wonderful experience one could have
in this life. and man ought to b.
willing to die after having been uE
in an airplane. Mail is being deliv,
cred through the air between here
aid Washington. and soon it will be I
common thing to get letters by ali
post. They are talking about flying
across the Atlantic ocean now, ant
of taking thousands of airplane,
right ON the wing over Germany ant
bombing the Kaiser out of his owl
den. | wish they would do this be
n