davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Waterbury Democrat., 1943-12-16
All of Us

Every year the nation observes Fire
Prevention Week. This year the Week,
proclaimed early in October by the Pres
ident, took on new significance. Because,
while we have taken the offensive against
the Axis, we are still on the defensive as
far as fire is concerned.
That fire prevention should be made
52-week program was graphically illus
trated by Governor Thomas E. Dewey of
New York when he recently said: 1T is
a matter of record that fire loss in the
United States, during the year 1912,
amounted to $315,0OO000, according to
the figures OF the National Board of Fire
Underwriters. Thus, in our first war year,
we lost $15,000000 more by fire than
normal. It is also a matter of record that
in two years the Nazls, with all their
bombing, inflicted damage on Great Bri-
tain amounting to $480,000,000, very
little more than our loss by fire Tin one
gear). "Our nation must make every
26Sort to avoid losses which injure our
war effort and delay victory. 1t is the
duty of all of us to be vigilant against
such aid to the enemy"
When Governor Dewey appealed to AL
of us" he put his finger on the secret of
effective fire prevention. The enemy,
luc, CdIl1lOI NC louIeu NY OH dlLuy VI
planes and tanks. 1t is not that simple.
It cannot be seen and smashed once and
for all like Panzer division. No squad
of parachutists is needed to subdue pile
of oily rags in dark corner; merely the
attention of one person, person alert to
the deadly menace of combustion. "All
of us" working in thousands of small,
often unobserved ways, can prevent most
uncomfortable fires before they start.
That was the lesson that was hammered
home during Fire Prevention Week. We
must not forget it.
The Waterbury Democrat., 1943-12-16
Fads or Freedom

We are going through period of his
tory made up of scrambled economics fla
vored with faScism, socialism, commun-
ism, bureauiSm, and countless other
"isms" Each "ism' claims to be the
"dear peoples" savior from toll, and
promises to take from those who "have"
for those who haven't" All the "isms"
claim to be the cure for war, but they all
teach class hatred-hatred of the man
who has saved
The United States has not been an ag-
gressor nation, it has fought only for
equal rights and individual freedom. We
in this country must not allow ourselves
to be fooled by "isms" We can make adj
justments without upsetting nation of
contentment. We have constitutional
government that has survived depression
and obstacles before, and it certainly can
pull out of it's present problems if 'isms"
do not undermine it's foundation.
Blaming war on capitalistic abuses and
trying to incite our people against capital
(private Savings) doesn't make sense.
The countries that claim to be non-capi-
talistic are the most war aggressive. And
anyway, where there is a wheel turning
there is investment, which is capital. No
matter whether the people do the invest
ing, or the government does it, the people
in the end are the investors. In the pro-
gress of America, the people have put up
their own capital and the government has
remained their servant as our Constitu-
ton intended it to be.
The Waterbury Democrat., 1943-12-16
Views Of The Press

become a menace to health and a
deterrent to business Is a real gain.
Health Officer Burgdorf deserves
credit for initiating the attack, and
the fire department for the manner
in which 1t was carried out.
The Hartford Chamber of Com
mere has made a report to the
board of directors dealing with the
startling nuisance. Much of it is
taken from literature of the Fish
and Wildlife Service of the De-
partment of the Interior, but con-
siderable original matter Is in
Guided. 1t is interesting that the
chamber should regard control of
the starlings as an appropriate sub
ject for discussion, because of the
economic damage they do. 1t pre-
SentS the measures taken against
the pests by other communities.
Frightening the birds. as was done
in Hartford, seems the most effec-
tive means of bringing about imme-
date relief, but it Is obvious that
If there Is to be any permanent
improvement 1t must come through
"a nationwide or at least a broad
regional program of control"
Hartford should not be content
to let the matter drop now that the
offensive birds AIRED riven from trees
that overhang public sidewalks.
Their presence on private property
is hardly any less Objectionable
While the owners Of real estate will
do everything they can to make the
creatures go elsewhere, they will
The Waterbury Democrat., 1943-12-16

Today, however, If the JapS
should counter attack some of the
islands we have taken from them,
they would find miracles OF con-
struction. These miracles have
been performed by a branch of
the Navy which was thrown to-
gether only after Pearl Harbor and
which this month celebrates its
second anniversary - the branch
known as the Sea Bees.
Official name of the Sea Bees
is &c. BIS" or "Construction Bat
taliOns". Two years ago, they did
not exist. And it was the killing
and capture of civilian construc-
ton workers on Wake, Guam and
at Cavite which emphasized the
Nays need of enlisting construc-
ton men and forming them into
fighting engineer battalions.
There are SO construction trades
enrolled in the Sea Bees-so Wid0 "a
range that their men can oper-
ate bulldozers, install water sys-
TENS, telephones, electric light
plants, build cantonments, or even
repair ships.
In the Aleutians, at Salerno, and
especially in the Southwest Pa
cific, they have had to do all OF
these things, sometimes under en-
envy attack. In the Solomon
Islands, for instance, battalion
of Negro Sea Bees landed on a
Jungle covered island and began
construction of a vitality needed
airfield. A few Gays later, de-
spite enemy fire, they had logged
and milled their own lumber from
native trees, supplied We ,er from
a mountain stream, installed lights
and telephones, and had the field
in operation all in addition to
digging fox-holes for themselves.
TROPICAL ROAD BUILDING
When u. S. troops landed on
Rendova Island. Navy o COM
munique carried one terse SEN
tence, 1.-THE corrugated road
made possible the passage of all
equipment which, to any en-
gineer, meant another construc-
ton miracle.
What happened was that the
oozy, tropic muck of the shore
made it impossible to land trucks,
tractors, artillery, ammunition.
The Sea Bees first laid down a
steel mesh net This merely sank
into the muck. Trucks began
The Waterbury Democrat., 1943-12-16
Ickes versus Ickes

Last October Is wire service stories
quoted the Bituminous Coal Institute to
the effect that the United States then
possessed one of the greatest coal stock
piles in its history, consisting of approx
imately 100,000,OOO tons. Exactly one
week later, November l, the Department
OF the Interior, headed by Secretary Har-
old L. Ickes, announced that there was
on hand a stockpile of O0,OOO,OOO tons of
coal, and second largest in history. It
would seem difficult to get quarrel out
Of that. But Honest Harold never is
daunted by seeming impossibilities. While
his Interior Department was agreeing
with the Bituminous Coal Institutes eSti-
mate, Harold L. Ickes as Solid Fuels Adj
miniStrator for War was writing to Gen.
eral Manager Harry L. Vawter of the In
stitute letter bristling with the milder
Ickes invective.
Deliberate misinterpretation" followed
the seventh word Reckless" and "false"
and Ignorance" and "mischievous led up
to public misrepresentation" and "men-
dacious" and "Mr Vawter's hot air."
Sandwiched liberately among the adjec-
lives Solid Fuels Administrator Ickes
presented masses of statistics both con-
troversial and belligerent. Yet nowhere
UlU TIC Alcl1CIOIl G11dI, Sl11lu1GdIlcOuSly
with his dictation of this letter, his alter
ego, the Secretary of the Interior, was
agreeing with what the letter purported
to dispute. The bituminous industry was
asked to produce 6O0,0OO,O00 tons this
year, compared with 580,0O0,00O in 1912.
It will not do that.
It will produce almost exactly the same
as in 1912 - 58O,O0O,O0O tons plus one or
two millions, with luck. Why? Because
of four strikes in one war year, called by
John L. Lewis and permitted by Wash
ington, which cost 100000 tons of coal
output. Mr.. Ickes criticized the institute
for saying that without strikes, absentee
ism or heavy losses to the draft, and with
necessary machinery, the industry could
supply 650,00O,00O tons next year. The
administrator said that was asking for
normal conditions in time of war;
Bituninous requirements next year are
placed at 62OOO0,0O0 tons. Stop strikes,
forget the other requirements, and the
industry should meet that goal.
The Waterbury Democrat., 1943-12-16
Current Comment

If some wise planning is not done
to meet the Generalization of chill
dren under IS who have been work.
ing and are out of step with school,
We will be confronted with a de-
linquency problem of far greater
proportions than war delinquency.
Katharine F. Lenroot, Public
Health Service Childrens Bur-
reau chief.
We must hope for no short cuts
to victory, nor must We white
away our demand for unconditional
surrender.
British Ambassador Lord Hall
fax.
There is no longer any inter-
course between the scientific
worlds of the warning nations, and
minimum Of free interchange
within the nation itself. The con-
ditions which are mandatory for
general scientific progress disap-
pear lin wartime), bound by rigid
rules of military secrecy.
DIR. Frank B. Jewett, A. T. g.
T. vice president.
The nation which loses will
have ended it's existence because
1t is madness to expect anything
else of this battle but victory or
perdition.
The Waterbury Democrat., 1943-12-16

to disappear as If in quicksand.
So an entire forest of palm trees
was felled and their trucks laid
across the roadway. This was
the corrugated road" described
in the terse one-line communique.
At Salerno, the Sea Bees to-
gether with the Army'S Amphi-
bious Engineers did some of the
most heroic and important work
of that bloody landing, laying out
"a network of roads across the
beach before heavy 0rtillery
could come ashore.
One important factor behind
the meteOric development of the
Sea Bees in two short years is
the tough, thorough going train
ing they get before being
shipped overseas. This takes.
place at three U. s. camps
one at Davisville, r.. l., under
Captain Fred F. Rogers; one Mt
Camp Peary, Va. under Cap
tain J. G. Ware; one Of To-
cation which must remain Sc
cret.
These camps in themselves
have been near miracles of con-
struction. When Captain Ware
turned up near Williamsburg, Va,
in September, 1912, to command
his new Sea Bee camp, he found
nothing, but 80 square miles of
wilderness and sWampland SO
desolate that, during the building
of the camp, the skeletons of
several negroes were found in
the sWamps.
Chief residents O. the district
were negro squatters. here was
also a large hog farm. This was
what gave Captain w re the idea
of raising hogs to provide extra
meat for the Sea Bees, and this
led to reports that he was oper-
ating the farm for his own bene-
fit. Actually, all of the proceeds
from the hog farm went to the
Ships Service Fund to benefit the
Sea Bees.
The Waterbury Democrat., 1943-12-16

ness of their faith that they lose
sight of the fact that 1t Is some
thing God intends should be used
in our life every day. The religion
that stays up in the clouds is not
religion at all-it is pious supersti-
ton. 1t is only when men bring the
Spirit of God down into their bus
mess and home Zee, into their
thoughts and aspirations, that they
can be said to have any religion at
all.
True religion is always at its best
amid the rough-and-tumble Of
everyday life. We have made mis-
take by trying to keep it within
the bounds of sanctuary. Religion
is Gods gift to man, and such be-
ing the case, it flourishes best amid
the work-a-day circumstances Of
life.
All Rights Reserved
BabSon Newspaper Syndicate
The Waterbury Democrat., 1943-12-16
ACCIDENTS IN THE HOME
Hartford Corlrant)


1t may come as somewhat Of a
shock to learn that two hundred
persons have been killed thus far
this year in accidents in Connecti-
cut homes. That figure, however, Is
given on the authority of the State
Safety Commission, the business of
which is not so much to chronicle
accident statistics as it is to try to
prevent them, on roads, in factor
les and private dwellings. One Of
the most effective ways the Com
mission cal do this is to give Con-
necticut citizenry good advice on
how to avoid such miShaps.
At this Christmas season, the
Commission warns everybody to be
sure that chairs or ladders en-
ployed to hang Christmas greens
or miStletoe are safe and solid so
that they will not give away. Boxes
and barrels should be put away once
they have been emptied. Many
have been more or less seriously in
jured by falling over such objects
left lying around on floors and
stairs. A broken back. arm or leg
is hardly conducive to celebration
of the holidays.
In this insurance capital, we
should all by now be fire hazard
conscious None the less, the Safe
ty Commission reminds folks that
they cannot pe too careful about
Christmas candles. They do help to
dress up tree and give CHEEKY
touch to our windows, and there is
nothing like a tallow-lit table for
the Yuletide feast. But once they
are tipped over, or the evergreen
branches catch fire, it's something
else again.
The Waterbury Democrat., 1943-12-16
1t Can Happen in Washington

The voters of Ell Paso, Texas, have
tossed monkey wrench into the we'll
oiled wheels of the public ownership
steamroller, bringing it 10 a grinding halt
well outside the city limits of their fair
city. It's assorted bureaucratic passen-
gers have no choice but to leave the wreck
and walk home. That's the only conclu-
sion to be drawn from the disastrous de-
feat by vote of four to enc of proposal
for the city to take over the privately
swned Ell Paso Electric Company.
AS interesting as the defeat itself, is
the manner in which il was brought
The Waterbury Democrat., 1943-12-16
Selected Poem
RETREAT IN WINTER

Marguerite Janvrin Adams in The Christian
Science Monitor)
Now that the winter raspS at The door,
In his tattered web the spider lies dormant,
Now the challenge of wind beats at reef-temples
And foam curls in acid tendrilS
Fold yourself into the respite of this dark season,
The nostalgia beyond the curve of tumultuous grief
Here the mind incarcerated,
Holds the shutters hasped against the world.
No force tramples its threshold with flare OF BAN
nerS
Reveille is muted:
Waters of death recoi from the wake of lost ships
Sound the bugecall of laSsitude, all who love and
beloved
Now that winter Grapes the hills,
Now that forests quiet within the kernel Of
their sleep.
Sound the call of passiveneSs, of languor-
Retreat against all pain.
The Waterbury Democrat., 1943-12-16
AS A MATTER OF FACT

There is shortage of Christmas tree
cutters in Maine this season. AS matter
of fact this is the situation in other fir
tree locales. Maine farmers and their
families are going out to the woods and
cutting trees in their spare times, or
at least they have been. since the dead
line for shipping has probably been
reached. Right now there are trees on
the market but it is not expected that
the allotment will last long.
The Waterbury Democrat., 1943-12-16
MIRACLE OUT OF MUD

Though, in its early stages,
Camp Peary was described by the
Navy as "hell's worst mudhole",
today Captain Ware has trans
it into a neat, orderly stretch of
"hutments' (soldiers' barracks
with rounded roofs) stretching as
far as the eye can see. Many
thousand men are now located
there, all training for construc-
ton work in the Pacific, Burma
or on the Western Front.
Morale, always difficult in any
new organization, Is now excel
lent. The training the Sea Bees
get in the swamps of Virginia,
under q retired naval captain
called back to active duty, is one
big reason for tie feats hero
ism and accomplishment in the
Southwest Pacific. In fact, the
swampy semi jungle conditions
in that part Of Virginia have
helped materially in training for
jungle warfare abroad.
A good many of the men qualify
for petty officer ratings with
base pay at $78 to $l26 a month.
If they stayed at home in the rela-
tive safety of war plant, they
would make two to three times
that much. However, the Sea
Bees have had so many recruits
that the organization has reached
its authorized strength, and re-
cruitment IS now closed.
Out in the Solomon Island is a
railroad. not long one but with
a powerful name - "Guadalcanal,
Bougainville and Tokyo Railroad.
That expresses the spirit of the
Sea Bees, some of whom built 1t
and who believe 1t is headed in
TIE right direction-stcaight tow
ard the heart of japan.
Copyright, 1913, by United
The Waterbury Democrat., 1943-12-16
A TEMPORARY VICTORY
Hartford Times)

Departure of the starlings from
the vicinity of the Morgan Memo
rial, after several attacks by fire.
men with streams of water, demon
strates that where such methods
can be employed the starlings can
be vanquished. 1t Is true that they
leave locality only to settle down
in another, but to make them move
from q location In which they had
The Waterbury Democrat., 1943-12-16
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
She That Writes May Rum

am not one to run to the doctor
with every little ache or pain, and
now that doctors are so very busy.
(MrS. -
Answer-Any dinagnosis or rem
edy I might offer without personal
examination would be pure guess
work, Ma'am. It would be better to
do nothing until you can have the
doctors advice.
That Irresistible Craving
For months before my son was
born I had an irresistible craving
for raw wheat. chewed raw wheat
every day. Now he Is 10, an avia-
ton cadet. 6 feet tall, 172 pounds,
has perfect teeth and perfect
health. My older children did not
have such good teeth or such fine
health - maybe should have
chewed wheat before they were
born! (Mrs. D. RI
Answer-Thank you, Ma'am. In
the pamphlet Wheat to Eat"
available on request if you provide
stamped envelope bearing your adj
dress) I recommend that everybody
chew some plain wheat every day.
Plain wheat purchased by the
pound or bushel from farmer. mill,
feed or seed store, wherever you can
find it, is the best food source OF
vitamin B complex, for one thing
and refined diet does not supply
enough of that to maint4.h good
nutrition or good health.
The Prospective Father
I understand you have pamphlet
advising young husband about his
actions during his wifes pregnancy.
How can get copy of such
pamphlet? (Sgt. -
Answer e Send ten cents and
stamped envelope bearing your ad-
dress, for booklet Preparing for
Maternity" The first chapters in
the booklet tell what the expectant
father should know.
Copyright, 1943, John F.. Ollie Ca
The Waterbury Democrat., 1943-12-16

These are the days when everyone
should be particular not to scrap scrap
paper. Packages and more packages
during the pre-Christmas season will be
arriving at your homes, so it is suggested
you carefully fold every piece in fair con-
dition and add to your salvage paper pile
because scrap is scarce. You are re-
minded again to save newspapers, wrap
ping paper and paper bags.
The Waterbury Democrat., 1943-12-16

the emclency en-
gineers, but 1t
isn't at all. What
1t really amounts
to is a sad recital
of one Of the more
C O l o S S a | and
wasteful procure
ment policie S
adopted early in
the war when the
tendency was to
order quantities
of everything in
the C a t a og u e,
whether there was
any need of 1t or
not.
The Waterbury Democrat., 1943-12-16
Daily Almanac

Moon rises at 1910 p. m. (war time
Sun rises at 500 a M, sets at SIS p. m.
(war time).
Vehicles must be lighted thirty minutes
after sunset Today Saturn is opposition to
the sun. The full moon ana Saturn have
been in conjunction, the angular separation
about two degrees
The Waterbury Democrat., 1943-12-16

feel that as taxpayers they are en-
titled to public protection also. The
startling problem therefore remains
challenge to the health, santa
ton and commercial interests of the
community. Persistence intelligent
ly exercised should bring victory over
these aggressive and unwelcome
avian immigrants.
The Waterbury Democrat., 1943-12-16

a e a ! m which
has no contact
with t h e every
day events of life.
They are so i'm
pressed with the
S u p e + n a t u raj
aspects of the life
of Jesus that they
forget He W a S
human as well as
divine. They have
such high regard
for the sacred
The Waterbury Democrat., 1943-12-16

Mailing has about reached the peak,
so it is reported. Early mailing has been
the order of the day and most people
have followed instructions and already
their packages and cards have been sent.
Naturally there will be the last week mail
ing, but this should be eased up some
what because of the heavy early mailing.
The Waterbury Democrat., 1943-12-16
BREATHING AND HEALTH

In this column I have often rec.
commended the practice OF belly
breathing to steady the nerves. II
may use the term as a layman
does, and to help restless, tense per-
sons to relax and drop of asleep
when they go to bed at night. Belly
breathing is natural breathing,
more efficient than the chesty type
of breathing which most poorly edu-
Gated people believe one should
cultivate.
Chest or thoracIc breathing and
cedentary life combine to produce
a moderate anoxia. Belly or nat
ural breathing and active daily
work, play or exercise combine to
produce increased absorption Of oXy-
gen, increased oxygenation Of blood,
tissues and cells. It Is hardly posi-
BILE for any one to avoid honest
work, physical play or active daily
exercise of some kind and remain
healthy, normal, well balanced.
Belly breathing is exercise, to be
sure, exertion equivalent to draw
ing up a chair and pushing it back
from table three times a day, but
you must get much more exercise
than that if you wish to prevent
or correct oxygen deficit, anoxia. ]
believe that is a direct and under
standable relation between anoxia
and anhedonia. Anhedonia is in
capacity to enjoy life. At any rate
it is something to think about when
you have nothing better to do than
sit around and gloom over your
troubles.
Breathing of air slightly polluted
with carbon monoxide (from auto
mobile engines, leaky gas fixtures,
faulty burners, etc. is a common
source of mild aSphyxia, anoxia,
and accounts for many ''neuraSthe-
mic" manifestations or complaints.
The carbon monoxide displaceS or
crowds out some of the oxygen from
the blood, and hence the tissues and
cells do not receive as much oxygen
as they require for normal function
ing.
Another common cause Of mild
anoxia, in my opinion-an opinion
based on tests of the blood, not on
theory-is excessive smoking. In
fact the harmful effects commonly
attributed to nicotine are in real
ity best explained as manifesto
tons of carbon monoxide anoxia.
Finally, calcium shortage, result
ing from overref1nement Of modern
food and insufficient consumption
of milk, cheese and greens (richest
food sources of calcium) and Insult
cient exposure to sunshine or sky
shine (Which enables the body to
manufacture its own vitamin D.
or insufficient daily intake of vita
min D (Which is essential for as
similation and utilization of cal
cium), Is directly responsible for
numerous nervous" complaints. An
important function Of calcium Is to
control neuro- muscular irritability.
More about this in pamphlet 1.-THE
Calcium Shortage" available on
written request If you provide
stamped envelope bearing your ad-
dress.
These are few of the actual con-
ditions that masquerade as nervous
trouble" nervous exhaustion" or
"neurasthenia." thought descrip-
lions of these conditions might be
helpful to Glass A Neurotics.
The Waterbury Democrat., 1943-12-16
STRENGTH
FOR THE DAY
BY EARL l.. DOUGLASS, d. d.
GIVE RELIGION A CHANCE

GIVE RELIGION A CHANCE
John Fiske, the historian, once
said: Religion is God working
among men in everyday living"
We may not regard this a sufti-
GENTLY inclusive definition of re-
ligion, but that it is admirable as
far as it goes no one can deny.
Religion is God working among
men in everyday living"
In their reverence for religion,
people sometimes push it off into
The Waterbury Democrat., 1943-12-16

Housewives are feeling a bit jubilant
this week. This is the week of the day
when they could go to market and hand
in their grease salvage and get points IN
exchange, the first break for housewives
in MANY q moon.