New Britain herald., 1922-06-03
THE OBSER YER
Makes Random Observations
On the City and Its People

1t Is di4cult to understand the OPP
position to the public dental clinic
which sprang up almost overnight
when the public had been led to be.
lieve that all authorities on dental
matters had agreed upon the desir.
| ability of continuing the clinic al
municipal expense. Fortunately fol
those who will reap the benent. the
school children of the city the com.
mon council took a broader view OF
the subject than did critics of the
project and voted to appropriate a
| sufficient amount of money to under
write the expenses of the clinic for
the coming year.
More and more the fact is i'm
pressed upon us all that we are I'M
der a debt of responsibility to gen.
! erations yet unborn. The world be-
comes better or worse as each sue
ceedng generation makes 1t. The
peoples can decay physically or they
! can become stronger. Much of what
will happen one hundred years from
| now will depend upon what we, who
are here now, do and how we think.
In this enlightened age physical de-
terioraton is guarded against. Pre-
ventible disease is considered a crime
against the individual having 1t and
against the community in which it is
detected. Everything possible is done
to make the world place where
health predomnates and illness Is the
exception.
Because of the foregoing facts New
Britain would go contrary to the rest
of the world if we hesitated about
continuing the dental clinic. An in
formal talk about the condition of
children's teeth will astound the
average man who little realizes that
the mouth, one of the most impor-
tant organs of the body, is SO neg
lected. Narrowing tales of little chill
dren starting on the road that ends in
weakened bodies can be heard from
the lips of almost any dentist with a
large practice. Correction of these
conditions IS imperative if they are
to escape some of the ills which re-
suit from lack of care of the teeth.
Among the objections to the ap-
preparation was the point that the
sum was altogether too small to
carry out the work. That is not a
dental clinic effects results the work
can be enlarged.
Public dental clinics cannot be
longer considered fad" They
have proved in other cities that they
are worth the endeavor. The wonder
is that New Britain should not have
awakened long ago to the advantages
of oral hygiene at .ublic expense.
influential democrats should make
every effort to bring the congress
sional convention of their party to
this city Heretofore the convention
has been considered a Hartford af-
fair almost to the exclusion of other
communities. The upset the demo-
Gratis gave the republicans here in the
last municipal election should weigh
heavily in favor of bringing the con-
vention here.
1t is said that chances are bright
for putting a New Britain man into
the field this year. ExMayor Joseph
NJ. Halloran is an active candidate for
the democratic nomination and Cos
sip throughout the district is that he
will win out, although the field is
large. He has conferred with party
leaders in other places with good re-
suits. Ex-Mayor Dutton of Bristol is
also laying plans to go to the post
with the republican nominee. Mr..
Dutton was the candidate at the last
election but was swept under with
other democrats in the tidal wave
that carried the republican party to
victory. Naturally, New Britain is
roofing hard for its own favorite son
and those who guide the destinies Of
the democratic party locally are con-
fident that Haloran will win the
nomination.
Hartford is practically eliminated
for congressional honors as 1t is ex-
pected that Thomas j. Spellacy of that
city will be nominated for United
States senator. The political stars
seem to foretell new honor for New
Britain. If the convention is held
here it will have tremendous psyche
logical influence in favor of ex-Mayor
Halloran.
At last it seems as if New Britain
firemen are to receive justice by the
adoption of a two-platoon system
which will enable them to live as
other human beings live. Chairman
Hjerpe, according to well-founded re-
ports, will ask the common council at
it's June meeting to appoint a COM
mittee to confer with the fire board
and prepare a plan for installing the
system here. Furthermore, Mayor
Paonessa is said to be heartily IN
favor of the proposition.
The Herald fought steadfastly for
the installation of a two-platoon sys-
tenn but on one pretext OF another the
firemen were cheated out of the fruits