davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Milford chronicle., 1929-01-25
TRADING 1T In

Companies with many statesmen,
each of whom requires an automo-
bile to call on his trade, have evol-
we'd several methods of keeping
track of car costs, and at the same
time of keeping down the cost of car
operation. These methods vary in
particulars, but they are all direct
ed to the same end-fairness to the
company, Sfairness to the salesman,
and the determination, of the exact
point at which it is advantageous to
dispose of the car and obtain a new
one.
In nearly all these schemes it is
not cost per mile that the company
is interested in, so much as it is the
profitable life of the car. In the life
of every car the moment arrives
when it is more profitable to trade
it in for new car than to pay for
ever-increasing repairs and renew
ais. Beyond that point, its value
depreciates with great rapidity.
Several years of experience have
taught the company the average life
of each type of car it owns, Depre-
citation is charged off accordingly. If
a salesman has taken such care of
his car that at the end of its average
life it is still running efficiently and
economically, the car is kept in SER
vice and depreciation is no longer
charged against it, thus producing
an immediate saving in the sales
mans expense account. Thus the
salesman has a real inducement to
treat his car carefully. +
1t would be a good thing for the
private car owner if he, too, were to
keep books on his car, giving it a
certain life, charging monthly depre-
citation against it, and then trying, by
taking extra good care Of the ma
chine, to Iengthen its average life
period and thus build up bonus for
himself. By this method, too, he
would soon be able to figure the
moment when it would be better to
rade the car in than to begin le-
it. 1t doesn't take much CT
ort to keep tab. and in the long run
I is profitable,
Milford chronicle., 1929-01-25
COLONIAL FINANCESs IN Della:
WARE COMPILED BY JUDGE
RICHARD RODNEY

A copy of book which was COM
piled by Hon. Judge Richard S. Rod
ney, one of the associated Judges of
the Delaware Courts, has reached
the Milford Chronicle, with compli-
ments of the author. The printing
was done by authority of the Will
m1ngton Trust Company, of Will
m1ngton, Delaware, while the Kells
Print Shop at Newark, Del, turned
out handsome piece of the printers
art; both as to Typography and ar
rangement of pictures of the notes
used in the colonial period in Della
ware.
The research as to the legal au-
thority for the various issues of the
monies of that period, not to mention
the delving into forgotten hordes of
"keepsakes" of other days, now held
by private interests, required much
time and study by Judge Rodney.
This is one of the several divertis-
ments that the Judge uses to relieve
the weight of legal responsibilities
which tax the mind of sitting Judge |
in busy court.
To those interested in the history
Of early finances in the colonial days
Of Delaware, the book will afford
deep interest, and will afford them
information which may be helpful.
Judge Rodney has performed a
service for those who care for his
DRY and especially for the refer
'nces which his book supplies,
Milford chronicle., 1929-01-25
WANTED: MOTHERS!

Napoleon, when asked What
France most needed, answered
bluntIy, Mothers" 1t was "a wise
answer. America above all else
needs mothers. BY which is meant
not merely physical motherhood, but
also and chiefly those moral and
spiritual graces which make mo-
Their the hottest thing on earth. For
nine times out of ten, it is the mo-
Their who atmospheres the home with
moral and spiritual charm, subtle
sometimes, yet all-pervading. Almost
without exception the nobler men
and women of the world were great
ly mothered. They caught the con-
tagion of her character and uncon-
sciously were nodded thereby. From
Cornelia, mother of the Gracchi,
down to the youngest madonna who
regards her first born as a jewel
more precious than the tabled Kohl
moor, the glory and strength of a
nation are her mothers.
And has any generation needed
more sorely the mothering ministry
than our own? Spartan mothers sell
dom flourish when Opulence, ease
and other creature comforts abound.
Unless the mothers of prosperous
America are spiritually alert the de-
lusions of the day will possess them
also and lure them into valuing over
much the seeming happiness that
money and pleasure purchase. The
likelihood is that modern mother
hood is far too indulgent, too willing
to bear heavier burdens that the sons
and daughters of the land may be
spared much that is unpleasant and
so miss the discipline of learning to
do without and the SOLDERING results
which follow responsibilities If the
children of this generation are sell
fish beyond others, it is largely due
to parental remissness.
America needs mothers-real mo-
theirs. The sordid stories of youth
full folly, of wild drinking parties
and wilder motor rides; of poor, pa
thetic, forlorn figures paying the
piper after the mad dance, and pay
ing in full; the host of foolish flap
pers and shallow sheiks, terribly So
phisticated and amazingly blase
while still in their teens-such sig
Nifty lack Of mothering, guidance,
companionship, culture in the finer,
lobler things.
Was that mythical country only,
where "all the young men were chiv-
llrous and all the maidens chaste?"
)r was it a land of matchless mo-
herhood?
Milford chronicle., 1929-01-25
RURAL ACTIVITIES an WINTER

! According to the old idea, coun-
try towns were supposed to be in
winter quarters at about this time,
not much more active than the
grounding slumbering in his hole.
OF course roads made almost impas-
sible by snow or mud, have always
interrupted transportation over a
vast extent of rural territory. Many
people living in outlying districts
are or formerly were much cut off
from their town centers during :his
period.
But in country towns and villages,
the winter months are apt to be q
time for much social activity. Many
people who were kept hustling
through the summer months by ag-
ricultural activities, now have very
much less to do, and they can attend
to the social side of life.
So the country towns resound with
the merriment Of the people gathered
for the church and fraternal order
suppers, for country dances and
plays, whist clubs, .women's socie-
ties, etc.
1t is for the interest of the whole
country that these communities
maintain pleasant social life. If
they fail to do so, a lot of their
young people migrate to great cities
and lose by the change. But if they
can have their own fun in winter,
with plenty going on in their home
towns, the rural districts look less
forbidding. Improved roads and the
of many roads formerly i'm
passible because Of snow, had added
vastly to the comfort of winter liv-
ing in the country districts Of the
United States.
The young people of today will not
live in country district where ac-
cording to the old saying, the people
go to bed when it is dark under the
table. They demand an active out
let for their own life, and the COM
nunity must provide it or lose its
active young folks.
Milford chronicle., 1929-01-25
WORKING FOR UNCLE SAM

Much comment is heard, humorous
or impatient, about the great num-
Der of Office seekers looking for a
chance to get an appointment out of
President-elect Hoover. Despite all
the reported disadvantages of work
ing for Uncle, Sam, plenty of people
are willing to take his jobs.
Ambitious young. people are often
advised that government jobs are
not very hopeful, as the chances of
promotion are not commonly re-
garded as being as good as in pri-
vate business. Yet the demand for
these jobs continues far in excess
of the supply. One reason is that
these jobs are absolutely regular,
and the employees are not laid off
from time to time in periods of dull
business.
This fact has a suggestion for
every business man here in Della
ware and elsewhere. He not mere
ly can run his business more eco
nomically if his work runs along
without seasonal Interruptions, but
people are more DESTROYS of work 4
ing for him.
A great many business men have
learned that idea quite thoroughly,
and by advertising and offering
special inducements, they keep their
work almost or quite as regular as
a government job. This has been
demonstrated here in Milford by R.
A. Derrickson by a special sale in
mems wear.
The impression prevails that gov
eminent employees as a rule do not |
have to work very hard. The postal
workers will not agree to this, par
ticularly the carriers in cities and
towns, who cover very long routes |
with their heavy packs on their
backs. Also the government clerks
at Washington and elsewhere prob
ably work a lot harder than people
realize.
Much was done to make the gov
eminent services more attractive
when most of them were put under
civil service rules. If all these
workers could be thrown out every
time there was a change of political
party, not many people of good
judgment would desire these posi-
tons.
Milford chronicle., 1929-01-25

THE PROGRESS of any commun-
ity depends on the quality of the re-
lationship existing between employ
ees and employer. If the people en-
ployed in stores and factories have
loyal desire to build up the bust
ness that gives them their living,
trade will go ahead.
This applies in retail trade with
particular force. If the employees
of business places in Milford, or any
other town, will throw themselves
into their work with renewed ener-
gy during the year 1929, the effect
will be to build up all business.
Trade follows personal relations,
and every store worker has the,
chance to build up personal fol-
lowing by his or her enthusiasm,
which will bring new trade to his
store and the town.
Milford chronicle., 1929-01-25
@o@
CHILD POWER

Much is said about the man pow
er of the nation. We have not yet
heard much about the child power,
the things the children can do if or
ganized. Yet that is a large force
too. Some idea of its possibilities
has been given of late by reports
from the Junior Red Cross. This
organization, for instance, has just
made a gift of $4,000 to the school
children of Porto Rico who suffered
from the recent hurricane. 1t is also
caring for the needs OF. hundreds of
children in the district in Florida
that suffered by that same storm.
Organizations of children, such as
Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, etc, have
done very much to help on commun-
ity movements. It will be remem-
bered that in the time of the World
War, the Boy Scouts raised some
very large sums in liberty bond sub
scriptions.
The boys and girls everywhere
ought to have some activities of this
kind all the time. They should come
up with the idea that they are a part
of the working force of their home
town and country. If they get in the
habit of assisting community move
ments, they will grow up to become
good citizens.
There are many ways in which
they can help. For instance, in
some towns on the last election day,
the Boy Scouts paraded the streets
with their own drum corps and flags
and banners, which called on the
people to get out and vote. This :
suggestion must have reminded a !
good many people of the obligations 4
Of citizenship.
Here in Milford the boys and girls )
will enjoy doing something to help
IN civic progress. If they set out 1
rees along the streets or on private
and, or improve some school lot or J
lark, or distribute notices of COM s
nunity meetings, or anything of
hat kind, they are led to feel that q
hey have enlisted in the great army
f people who are working for a 4
etter and nobler country. {
Do@ q
1T MAY BE too much to hope that 2
will say good words for {
is home town, but some knockers .
ould at least cooperate by keeping Z
leir mouths shut. e
Milford chronicle., 1929-01-25
THE INCOME TAX AGAIN

Once again Uncle Sam sends a
good many of us that unpopular in
vitation to march up to his Office
with the annual statement of our
incomes, and if they exceed a GER
tain sum, to pay our due proportion
thereof into his treasury. Many peo-
pie with taxable incomes have
growled somewhat bitterly about
this requirement in the past, but as
the years go on. they become adjust
ed to it, and they might as well real
ize that the income tax law is a
permanent fixture a
They have the right to hope that
the taxes may be reduced as the
country grows still more prosper
GUS. Still, it can hardly be said that
the present level of taxes is any
heavy burden. Those who pay a
considerable tax do so because
they have exceptionally large in
comes. The government gives them
the benefit of its protection from
foreign war, it secures them
against disturbances and harmful
influences that might render their
property almost valueless.
In return it does not seem very
much to ask people in wealthy or
comfortable circumstances to pay
over the existing tax. If we had a
like that prevailing in
many countries, most of our tax
payers would not be called on for
any such payment, simply because
would be so bad that
everyone would be poor.
The people who are well enough
IF to pay a federal income tax have
reason to congratulate themselves.
rhey enjoy many comforts and lux
Iries that are denied to the major
ty. They would better thank their
lucky stars that they do not belong
mong the people whose incomes |
ave not yet reached the taxing ,
oint. :
1t takes lot of money to run the g
oyernment with all the demands ,
lade upon it, and the income tax =
the fairest way yet devised to get r
. So we should pay our share very
here in Delaware. :,
Milford chronicle., 1929-01-25
THE LOWLY PENNY

Recent figures from the United
States mint show that the one cent
piece is still the most numerous
of the coins turned out. The gov
eminent made 274,0OO,OOO coins last
year, and more than half of them
were the little red pennies. The
fact of all this demand for the little
lowly penny, may be a bit surpris-
ing, considering that this coin is not
held in such esteem as it used to be.
1t is no longer influential in sway
ing the conduct of children. The
older people will say that in their
early days, enthusiasm was promot-
ed in child's mind by giving him
bright new cent piece, and he took
it. to the nearest store and spent it
thOughtfully, with due appreciation
of it's power. But now you offer a
boy a cent to run an errand for you,
and he will laugh at you as tight
wad. 1t takes dime at least to
interest him in these times.
The boy who once felt proud and
regarded himself as one of the
breadwinners of the land, when he
went to work for five of these pen
MES per hour, now probably has a
son who expects rs of them for that
length of time, and he won't be
satisfied with them very long either. |
People are afraid to be seen con-
anything so small as a !
penny now. If there are two or
.hree cents change coming back to
hem, they are ashamed to wait for
t.
Our Lincoln cent is a very artis-
ic and beautiful coin, with the
triking head of Abraham Lincoln
tamped upon it. His democratic
deals make it an expression of the
ceiling that humble resources are
OF to be looked down upon. A
rise man of old once told us to
despise not the day of small
lings." We can still well teach
ur children that if they take care :
{ their pennies, the dollars will
are for themselves.
Milford chronicle., 1929-01-25
A WOMAN FOR THE CABINET9

There is considerable talk that
some woman may be appointed for
one Of the positions in President
elect Hoover's cabinet. If he can
find woman with fine qualifications,
1t would be popular move, among
the women anyway. They cast near
~ half of the votes, and many of
them think it is queer that they do
not get a greater share of the politi-
cal leadership.
A woman appointed to such a po-
sition will get no less criticism be-
cause of her sex. It will not be as
in games like lawn tennis, where
many men will not play with their
full power If their opponent is a
young woman.
No one, either man or woman,
should be appointed to or accept
such a position, unless he or she
measures fully up to its responsible |
tiles. There are a great many wo-
men who have a mentality fully
equal to cabinet position, but only
4 limited number will have had the
business and professional experience
iiaixg specific preparation for
Milford chronicle., 1929-01-25
@o@

THE POET complained of flow
ers born to blush unseen, and he
also might have written a poem
about the bargains that are unseen
as the result of failure to advertise.
Milford chronicle., 1929-01-25
SUCCESS AND FAILURE

One of the most obvious facts
about modern trade is the great
number of people who start in bus
mess, but who fail to make good.
Statistics show that the great ma
jority of the people who attempt to
run businesses of their own, fail to
make a go of it. Wherein lies the
difficulty?
Many of course fail from lack of
adequate capital, from lack of ex-
perience of their line, or from lack
of diligence and industry. But prob
ably the greatest reason of all why
people fail, is that they do not sue
coed in winning public attention.
The field of retail trade is so
crowded, that people have to give
service little above the average in
order to make good in any consid-
cradle way If they just give ordi-
nary or mediocre service, they can
expect either that they will fail to
do business at profit, or that their
profits will be so small that they
might as well have gone to work on
a salary or for wages.
People must win a conspicuous
place in the public eye in order to
make any considerable success in
the retail field. And the most mex
pensive way to get that attention, is
to talk to the public through local
newspaper advertising.
In that way public attention is
very quickly obtained. ANY mer-
chant who advertfses is sure to get
business. Peoples curiosity is ex-
cited to see the articles advertised.
Of course whether he keeps the
rade thus obtained, depends upon
whether his goods are reliable, and
onform to the statements made
bout them. Advertising can not
uild up trade, if the goods are not
rorth the money asked for them.
Tut given good goods and good ser :
ice, advertising is the sure founda-
on on which business can be built, +
ecause it wins public attention and s
ives a store a conspicuous place in S
lie public eye. il
Milford chronicle., 1929-01-25
POWER OF PUBLIC OPINION

/
Public opinion makes virtue. To
say that men are righteous because
they fear God is to express but half
of the truth; they fear God because
public opinion of their time and
place insists that they fear God.
Public opinion trains mans consci-
ence and provides his standards, and
he is a rare man who is more re-
spectacle than the standards of his
environment.
When the Mississippi and the Ohio
were the frontier of America, muscle
was the gauge OF manhood and excel
lence. If a man stood high in the
community, he was a wonder in a
rough-and-tumble fight. Incidentally,
he used his teeth and hobnails. In
that day men drank heavily; joyous
ly engaged in brawls; boosted of
their toughness; were proud of their
freedom from the decencies.
Times changed. Frontiers vanish
ed. The roughnecks were hanged. |
Public opinion established industry,
thrift and honesty as standards.
Money and learning became of more
worth than muscle. Public opinion
looked sternly on the new genera
ton and said: "Be decent; no rough
stuff will be tolerated"
In this day and age one cannot
ong defy public opinion. Each day
t becomes more difficult for the in
lividual ito get away with murder"
)nce public opinion is crystallized
gainst person or thing, something
appens. And it should be said, In I
onelusion, that public opinion is /
OF always fair and just, It
Milford chronicle., 1929-01-25

TO ACCOMPLISH anything from
any kind of human contact, you
have to convince the people that
your proposition is a good one. No
politician ever got elected to any
thing merely by keeping his mouth
shut He has to open it at suitable
times, and persuade the people that
his ideas are right.
Similarly no business is going to
get ahead, unless 1t has some plan
for convincing the people that its
goods are good value. Good con-
vincing talk when people call at the |
store is important, but good per-
suasive talk through a newspaper /
will convince a far greater number
of people.
Milford chronicle., 1929-01-25

WE ALL WANT to see new and
fine improvements come here in
Milford but they cost money and it
is often a problem how to get them.
We must keep in mind that as every
manufacturing corporation must
constantly improve its machinery,
so every municipality needs to pro-
vide some improvements each year,
in the form of better roads, improv-
ed sidewalks, new or repaired school
buildings, more parks and play
grounds, etc.
Owners of homes and business
buildings must constantly expect to
add improvements or renovations to
their property, or it falls behind the
procession of modern life. The bus
mess and home income should set |
apart a certain proportion of its re-
ceipts each year for modernization.
Milford chronicle., 1929-01-25
CREDIT

1t is commonplace of banking
that real assets and collateral are
not the true foundations of credit.
If they were, business would be
cramped and tied, enterprise would
be- handcuffed and new ability would
go begging. For the real basis of
business is personal credit; the
reputation of the individual, built
out of his record, his capacity and
character.
On the reputation of man 9th
ers will risk far more than a loan
or an Endorsement. They will pledge
their best .labors, their hopes and
futures and their own hearts de-
sire to join his venture. Men will
even dedicate their lives to a high
cause for the sake of faith in its
leaders. For it is the spirit of a
man in which we place our trust,
and serve it with loyalty and conf
dence that no lesser resources can
command.
We build for ourselves this bal
ance of credit with our fellows out |
of daily deposits, large and small.
We build it out of fair dealing and |
of kindness and courtesy,
of cheerful labor and willing sac
rifice for things worth while. It is
our greatest asset, and by it we may
command what we need of the help
and strength of our companions. 1t
has also this spiritual advantage:
hat it is its own reward and salts
action and one which we shall car
y with us into the supreme adven-
ure of eternity.
Do@
THE POET complained of flow {
rs born to blush unseen, and he q
lso might have written a poem
bout the bargains that are unseen c
Milford chronicle., 1929-01-25
MILFORD, FRIDAY, JAN. 25, 1929

WE ARE ALL looking forward t.
a new year in Milford and SUSSEX
county and wondering what new de-
velopments it Will .bring'to our COM
munity. We can see a good many
things that could and should De done
for the benefit of this community.
We have the resources and tAe ad-
vantages that should lead to a
greater development. Now the ques-
ton is as to whether our people have
the public spirit and the energy to
take hold and accomplish these
things.
There is energy and money enough
in Milford to accomplish many de-
sirable steps of progress. If we de-
vote that energy and money all to
our private affairs, and give no at
tention to the needs of the commun-
ity, we shall not get so far. It will
pay us to take little of that money
and energy, and use it in those
causes in which we all are interest
ed.