The daily monitor leader. [volume] (Mount Clemens, Mich.) 1942-19??, 1942-04-08

VI
war. Quite un- MRS MARTIN
Willingly you
may be carrying or sowing the
seeds Of disunity by repeating.
parrot fashion bits Of gossip cir
culated by your friends but which
are really propaganda circulated
by the enemy.
Menace to Safety
Mr.. Bernstein makes all this
very clear in his Illuminating arti-
Gle in which he says, Part Of our
job on the home front is to keep
our mouths shut unless we really
know whereof we speak. Loose
talk makes us, like Typhoid Mary
carriers OF disease menacing the.
safety Of the American people"
We all know this-we've been
told 1t many timeS-but the trou-
BILE is we either refuse to believe
1T or else are ineXcusably careless
when we continue TO disregard
these warnings. Mr.. Bernstein
says, The gossiper is the agent OF
the Hitler lie machine just as
much as II he were a paid sabo-
teur. His greatest danger lies in
the very fact that most of the
people like him do not even realize
what they are doing.
"A piece Of gossip can be dam
gerous simply because it is true.
A soldier may tell his mother that
he sails tomorrow for a deStina-
ton unknown. The mother tells
a friend, and the friend tells an
other, and SO 1t goes. Then. off
the East Coast an Axis submarine
picks up a coded message that
sends it Scudding after an i'm
portant convoy. 4,
These things have happened iH'
every nation at war. They are
the product OF sloppy thinking
and carelessness. They are Sabo-
tage, committed by ourselves
against our own safety. 1t is easy
to avoid them. Before you repeat
gossip, check it against these SIM
pie questions:
First. do you know whether the
story is true? Are you sure all
you trust checked them? Are you
sure?
Second, will you be aiding the
Axis II you repeat the story, true
or not, exciting or not? Use your
common sense. Will it help Amer
lea or will it help the enemy? And
again, are you sure? II you areD ID
don't talk" y
Now then. here's another little
giSt about the war, not news may
be but very well worth repeating.
1t seems to be necessary to ain
these formulas and regulations
into the heads of a public that,
under the circumstances, seems
strangely indifferent to their i'm
portance. Preparation for events
we hope may never happen are
nevertheless necessary since one
never knows, and cannot possibly
foresee, what may or may not be
vital to know for ones own pro-
lection and that OF others
How to Lessen Panic
Miss A. EStelle Lloyd. an Amer
lean who experienced air raids in
France, strongly recommends pre-
cautions which she found ehecc
tive IN lesSening panic during Tia
raids. The suggestions cover what
Miss Lloyd calls 1.-The small things
that add up to courage" These
are the steps you can take imme-
diately. the things that may save
lives and limbs and endless con-
fusion If and when the air raids
come.
1. Have a supply OF mineral
water in your house, In case water
supply is cut off. Keep a supply
IN your car. too.
2. Always have three days food
on hand.
g. Pack an overnight bag with
emergency needs. and include a
first aid kit. even cut fingers and
bruised knees must be treated.
and doctors will be needed else
where. Keep another overnight
bag. with first aid kit. in your car
4. Fill your car with gas befors
putting 1t away at night.
S. Keep your handbag, valuables
and necessities in an accessible
place.
g. Place your clothes near your
bed before retiring. When the air
raid comes. you haven't time to
tumble!
T. Keep flashlight close at
hand always.
All this adds up to common
sense preparation for practically
any emergency