The Waterbury Democrat., 1943-11-12
Government toOrder
 25,OOO Fishing Kits
Servicemen to Be Presented ReCreatOna Kits; Canl-
 paign Launched By National Fish, Game Group

Twenty-Five thousand recreation al fishing kits for service men were ordered today by the Special Serv- ice Division of the War Department thus making official the efforts of the International Game Fish Asso- citation at the American Museum of Natural History in New York to provide such kits through private subscription. Sportsmen have con- tributed over sixty thousand dollars to the IGFA campaign which has already provided thirty-one thou sand fishing kits for distribution abroad by the Red Cross. It is eX- pected that the War Department order announced today will be fol- lowed by others so that every fight ing man who cares to try his luck in his hours off duty will have tackle.
 Hundreds of thousands of boys abroad want to fish" said MT. Michael Lerner, vice-president of the 1GFA today. They have time for 1t, during their hours of leave. They were anglers at home. They are posted on the finest fishing ranges in the world - rivers and lakes and the shores of the seven seas Our organization realized, as soon as the war began, that there would be a large demand for fish, ing tackle-and, also that there would be no available shipping space for rods, reels, creels, and the usual diVISnV1fc nf tho ay1o1av Nya found out that soldiers and sailors, unable to get tackle abroad, were fishing with make shift hooks-with bent pins, nails, wire, and any kind of line they could find. We designed light, compact kit. The Red Cross volunteered to distribute it to the men overseas. And Amer icas civilian anglers at home aston ished us by the contributing over sixty thousand dollars"
 The kit, now being officially pur- chased, will fit into a pocket. It con- tains two handlines, a spoon, a feather, extra hooks and sinkers, a spear head that may be fitted on any shaft and dip-net for catching minnows for bait
 It is packed in a twill bag, to- gether with instructions, printed on waterproof paper, not only for catching fish in all waters but for island and shorline living. It is al- ready in use in the far places of the world, contributing here an after noon of relaxation and there a well come addition to frontier larders Letters of appreciation are pouring into the IGFA headquarters.
 MT. Lerner, at the suggestion of ext Governor Pinchot, had pre- viously taken charge of the develop ment of the emergency life saving fishing kit now standard on the life boats, life rafts and rubber boats of all the service branches and the merchant marine. In designing the recreational kit he was assisted by Philip Wylie, writer and member of the IGFA.
 Because we knew how many of the men in service would want 8 chance at the fish in foreign waters" MT. Lerner said, it was always our hope that the campaign on which we had privately embarked would be made official. Only the govern ment can do the job properly. Our effort, which, through the generosity of folks on the home front, pro- vided thirty-on thousand kits, was also an attempt to draw this want to the attention of official eyes AS fishermen, we congratulate the Spe- cial Service Division on the quick ness with which they appreciated this desire of the myriad anglers now in the ranks. Fishing is an ideal rest and restorative - a per- feet antidote for, the strain and vio-