Worcester Democrat and the ledger-enterprise. (Pocomoke City, Md.) 1921-1953, 1942-04-17
''Chiirps
from the
Democrats Pen
from the


won't let sleeping dogs lie. Come to
think of it tho, a sleeping dog-at
night, / mean, well, there amt no
such animal. The canine species
roams around all night, foraging, and
then sleeps all day. He'll bark at the
dark, and he'll bark at the light of
the moon He'll bark at horses, and
he'll bark just to make noise him
self. He'll howl at church bells, train
whistles, and whines when his feet get /
cold, or when he feels lonely. All this
mostly after the god of day has dis
appeared in splendor behind the wes-
tern horizon, and darkness draws its
sombre shade over a sleeping world. .
How's that?
Blest if l don't think I'll apply to
the incoming Municipal administra
ton for the job of night officer. Then I
if I'm lucky enough to receive the
nod, I'll get me shot gun, go out
to the Park and practice shooting at
a mark, and then prepare for action
against these untaxed pups. I bet I'd
make some of them howl, bark, whine,
and cut up all sorts of capers. don't .
know whether I could shoot straight /
enough to put 'em entirely out of |
action.
HOw-sOme-ever, you people all
know I've been quiet some little time
about these night pests. Quiet because
it seemed useless to chew the rag "a
bout them. I've been hoping that some
of them might turn into sleeping dogs
and let us sleep. And now here comes
a communication from a good friend
Of mine, containing a clipping telling
US about new use for the quadru-
ped in these times Of stress and dan
ger.
Here's the news about Rover and
the rest of 'em:
The Japs, they say, are a SUI
perstitious people who as in some
parts of Ireland take the bay
ing of dogs by night as sign
of disaster or death to come.
And because of this quirk, we
feel that Anderson County, Tex
as, need not worry about air
raids. Indeed, the rest of us
should take a tip from civilian
defense officials of Palestine, the
county seat.
The boys had blackout there
the other night and, because An
derson County is not rolling in
wealth, high-priced sirens were
out of the question. Instead, the
farmers lined up all the hound
dogs and deployed them strategy
cally over an area 40 miles wide
and 30 miles long. Promptly at
800 the county sheriff got him
self a blacksmith's hammer and
whanged the old plow blade that
hangs in the court house square
and serves as a firebell.
The "alert" was picked up at
once by hound dog No. station
ed a quarter mile away. Other
dogs, 1915 of them, in fact, US
ually dumped together on farms
or so far separated that their
bowls wouldn't carry, had been
planted a quarter-mile apart, up
and down the county and crisis
cross, so that no hound, unless he
was stone deaf, could miss the
call
They say that by $50 with
every hound going good, folks in Il
Dallas, a hundred miles away,
were running for cover.
Now, l wonder if these four-legged
specimens might be called the Dogs
Of War" Anyhow, it amt bad sug-
gestion to get 'em, in the mess, and
if the bombers did come along, a few
Of the bankers, howlers, winners, etc,
night be eliminated by the fortunes
Of war, and be translated where their
vocalism might be toned down to the
harmony Of angelic dog anthems, and
their raucous threats be transformed
SO as to render the finest oratories
of the celestial dog abodes.
But, my friend who sent me the
clipping knows that all that is neces
sary to get me started is to come up
behind me and bark like dog. I get
frightened mad-not to say 'cussin
mad.
Now that the local counsels of de-
Tense and other organizations have
had this idea of new use for night
providers, what are they going to do
about it? Do they think it worth try
ing? If they do, wish they'd start
IN the neighborhood of my shack to
get enlistments, or leashes, or
whatever they may call it. I can re
commend them to about a thousand
or two that would make as good 81
rens as any out West, where they say,
this method Of dog education is pur- j
sued. Get all the voices in my section
to working proper, and neither Snow
Hill, Princess Anne, Crisfield, nor
Pocomoke need invest taxpayers mon
ey in artificial bowls, whines, or
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