The Mena weekly star., 1921-09-22
RlnLE THouGHT ToR ToDAY
MEETING AN EMERGENCY.

After a little more than day and night without, as a result of the wrecking of the big Corless engine at the Commonwealth plant, service was resumed Thursday night at II o'clock, and working with emergency equip ment the company is supplying light and power.
 The costly accident that, in flash, utterly destroyed a splendid engine, was of character wholly unexpected, and one very difficult to guard against And no one with the heart of man can look upon the wreck and not feel sorrow that such fate should befall the fine machine that, like a living, throbbing thing had so long rendered fine service-a machine worth thous- ands of dollars one minute, and the next but an remembrance of junk.
 Naturally The Star, with it's elec- trically driven motors and heating units, was much disturbed by the calamity, but this was not, by far, all because of office inconvenience or fi- nancial loss. The Star does not merely serve it's own private interests, nor the interests alone of Mena. There were thousands of men and women to whom it owed a service--a service they had for more than twenty-five years come to look for with definite promptness. And then there was at stake the welfare of scores of adver- tisers, and thru many legal publica- lions the operation of the courts.
 With these responsibilities and these services in jeopardy 1t may be realized how anxiously each step was watched that led up to the renewal of the electric service. At closing time Thursday night the big newspaper press. with forms of the Weekly Star ready for printing, had stood silent for 24 hours-24 hours delay in is- suing the paper--the first such re- enrrenee in it's history. How well everything was organized, awaiting the signal to "go," can be understood from the simple story of what actual ly happened.
 A very few moments after II o'clock Thursday night, the machin- cry at the power plant was started--- the lights flashed over town. As quickly as 1t was seen that all was right, Mr. A. J. Connery, the general manager, phoned the editor. In less than i5 minutes seven faithful work CTS were in the Star workroom, and in 20 minutes the big press was turning cut 10-page papers at the rate of nearly 80 to the minute, and the eighth and last expected worker was as his place At l o'clock a. m. Fri day all the city, county and nearby mail was in the postoffice, and then, asked if We were 'sin the clear and the phone rang, the question was on repling in the affirmative, we were told it was quite necessary to shut down to make some adjustments, but that all would be going fin the morn- ing"
 In other words, the efforts of the force of men who had worked almost increasingly since the accident Wednes- day afternoon, had brought about resumption of service, a thing some had declared could not be done under several days Or even weeks. And the Commonwealth Company, it's stock holders and packers, or the receiver for the property, are expected to find means to purchase new equipment to make up for the loss. Such incl dents are but part of the expense of such operations.
 The Star, and it is believed all good and thoughtful citiens of Mena, are grateful to the Commonwealth, and te the officers and the men, indi- 1dually and collectively. who contrib uted to the effort that resulted in the early resumption of a service that, these days, is 3 real necessity to the comfort and welfare of the commun- fly.