The Waterbury Democrat., 1940-03-01
SOUTH BRITAIN BRIEFS
By BILL GARRIGUs

started saving nickels, in glass jugs. Before long the man had sixty dollars saved and he took great pride in exhibiting the fruits of his thrift. One day a caller asked about the jugs of flve.cent- pieces and the collector went into the bedroom to get his wealth. Swinging a jug in either hand, the man clouted an iron bedpost and shattered one irnprovised savings bank. Nickels rolled under the bed, into corners, and lodged in cracks in the floor. As the story goes, this Tank had things figured SO closely that he missed two nickels when the recount was made, and worked a week to ind the missing ten cents. That's thrift and figuring.
 From Skeleton Hollow to Para disc, every Saturday morning be- tween 1O:3O and II o'clock, radio fans here tune i'm on Mutual net work for the First Offender pro- grams. Not even Lowell Thomas has 8 higher Crosley rating around the railfence circuit, be- cause every First Offender story has e moral if 2 yOlngster never steps over the line the first time, he will remain 1aw-abiding and respectable. It's the first Of- fense that clips character. ruins homes. Behind these popular ra- dio programs stands man, Sheriff J. Edward Slavin, of New Haven county. Sheriff Slavin's human tartan efforts to prevent crime are noteworthy; his vehicle, the radio, carries his stories cOast-to- coast. We sincerely hope that J. Edward Slavin, peace officer and gentleman, wins a sponsor with enough intelligence to appreciate the programs that rural folk find so stimulating and informative.
 One of our boys sold his End hand car by simplying installing one of those new ski racks on the roof. The purchaser cannot even man. age bear-paw s1lowsl1oes, but he advertises himself as @ ski expert every time he goes to town. These new gadgets attract the girls, too. Almost every miss wants her friends to see her in a car heading for Mount Greylock or Lake Placid.
 Thrill seekers, news reel men, and ordinary sightseers can do worse than park on WoOdbury Main street these days. Melting snow makes g few little ponds on the highway, snowbanks hide some of the speed limit signs, and the constabulary are especially alert.
 The other day, an out.of-state car loaded to the doors with gay- ly-clad winter sportsfolk, wheeled up past the Curtis House and into the stretch near Judson's drug store, doing about forty-flve. Out of the drifts sprang @ constable and the chase was underway. The sport car knuckled down to busi- ness. Children, snow, dogs, and muddy water scattered right and left to let 1t through. Traffic crowded to the curb and the con- stable put the bumper of his Packard against the rear bumper of the speeder and kept rolling. Finally, in a wide bit of road, the officer swerved wide and cut in front of the offender, gradually braking to a stop. We do not know whether the sportsmen posted a bond or spent the night in Seymour jail. Maybe 1t was just Walter Winchell, driving to Litchfield to see why hill folk do not like Broadway chatter.
 Under a new plan now receiv- ing favorable comment In several small towns, tax assessors will be selected under 8 new system of ratings. First, every assessor will have to show that he, or she, is 8 property owner and taxpayer; second, both major political par ties will have equal representa- ton, because taxation without rep" resentation Is tyranny. Lastly, each and every assessor will have to be able to do considerable travelling, especially when lists arc being filed, because taxpayers are the people who keep the wheels of town government rolling, and they deserve doorstep service. Modern izati0n of assessors under this new plan will eliminate many com- plaints, make collections easier, and enable the tax auditors to get their work out of the way earlier in the season. After few sea- sons under this new system, as- sessors will realize that they are, in fact, servants of the prOletar- ians and not overlords. If Ger many had adopted such a sys- tenn, Adolph Hitler would never have got started.