New Britain herald., 1919-12-16

schools. Superintendent B. R, sho- walter stated this morning there is an alarming number of children in Hast Berlin who are suffering from defective eyesight. He could not un- derstand why East Berlin children, he said, should be affected more so than the children of other districts. Re- ports will be sent home to the parents of all children found with eye trouble. ,. Teachers Present Increase. A
 The resolution, presented to -Athe school board yesterday. by the J5erli1 teachers demanded a. flat, in crease of S350 for every teacher in the locaTl schools. The teachers and school con- mittee of the board did notstake action on the demands, however. it being vot- ed to give the measure thorough cons Sderation first. It is not expected the teachers will get the flat increase of S350, according to a member of the school board, but a. compromise prob- ably will be effected at a lower sum The board will hold another session to announce the decision of the commit tee on the salary question. ,~. =
 Comedy of Errors. .
 A modern comedy of errors" was acted near here the other evening, William H. Gibney and "Jack'' Hart being the principal characters. MT. Gibney and MT. Hart were driving towards Berlin from East Berlin Sat urday evening during the rainstorm. The roads were treacherous and travelling was difficult. MT. Hart was driving up Caesars Hill when Mir Gibney discovered the machine was on fire. The car was stopped and efforts made to put out the fire. The fire gained headway, however, and MT. Gibney and MT. Hart ran away from the car. fearing the gasoline tank would explode. A. A. North came along at this time and was halt ed by MT. Gibney who asked for a fire extinguisher. MT. North told him if the fire was at the gasoline tank, sand or mud was the only thing that would stop it.
 MT. Hart and MT. Gibney then scooped up mud enough to fill a scow, but the fear of the gasoline tank was too much for them, so they dropped the mud.
 About this time Mr. Johnson, who lives near by. came with his lantern to see what caused the trouble. He was warned to get away from the machine or be blown to eternity" Automobiles from both directions were being halted by MT. Hart and MT. Gibney, who explained it was only a matter of minutes before the machine would "go up." Many automo piles accumulated but no one ventured near the burning car for fear of the imminent explosion.
 After several minutes waiting MT Johnson with his trusty lantern went over to the burning car to see if he
 could put out the fire He noticed the flames were not near the tank but were burning the upholstery so he i'm mediately proceeded to drench the flames with water while the mob stood a hundred feet away looking on in anazement.
 When MT. Gibney and MT. Hart saw the fire was out they ventured near the
 machine.
 After seeing the engine was all right and would run they tried to start it but without success. After several minutes MT. Hart discovered his gaso- line tank was empty. Leaving MT. Gibney in charge he went around the neighborhood and finally obtained a quart of gas" MT. Hart was nervous after the excitement of the evening and only about a pint of the fluid got into the tank, the rest spiIling over.
 He had just got the cover on the tank when the gas on the outside ignited and in second the exterior was ablaZe. In less than a second Mr. Hart and Mir. Gibney put several rods between themselves and the machine, thor
 oughly convinced the machine was a