Evening star., 1949-06-30
Plywood Strips Not Serviceable
As Lawn Curb, Even When Painted

To the Editor OF The Star:
1t is shame that a newspaper of The
stars reputation for accurate presentation
OF news and other material should publish
an article containing as inaccurate and mis-
Leading statements as are found In the one
entitled "Plywood Strips Found to Make
Serviceable Curb on Lawn Edge" by w.
Wadsworth Wood. which appeared in the
issue OF Saturday, June l8 of your paper,
I have no quarrel with the instructions
for installing plywood curb but the state
ment: Both stake and curb will last for
great many years II they are given two
coats OF good paint before they are set In
the ground" is completely erroneous and
very misleading
Paint does not preserve wood against de-
cay. Wood which has not been treated with
preservation such as creosote zinc chloride
or sodium fluoride will decay In contact
with the ground or In any situation where
1t can collect moisture and remain damp
Tor long time. or where 1t Is alternately
wet and dry. Dampness favors the growth
Of the fungi that destroy wood. The rate
at which decay takes place depends upon
the kind OF fungus, the character Of the
wood, and the degree OF exposure to moisture
and warmth. Decay may progress so rapidly
as to destroy the usefulness Of q piece Of
wood in few months or 50 slowly that 1t
will scarcely be noticed
So the unsuspecting homeowner who in
stalls . plywood curb according to Mr..
Woods Observation-Disclosures the state
ment In the article because he read 1t in
The Starts apt to be sadly disillusioned
when he finds his curb rotted away in q
relatively short time
One more thing-unless Mr. Homeowner
uses the outdoor type OF plywood which
has been made with waterproof resin glue.
he will find that his plywood will disin-
tegrate and fall apart in a very short time,
depending upon the frequency with which
1t gets wet.
My authority for the above statements
Is contained in releases Of the Forest Prod
ucts Laboratory which Is maintained by the
United States Forest Service at Madison.
Wisconsin. in cooperation with the Univer-
sity Of Wisconsin HENRY B. STEER.
Sees No Reason Why Civilians
Should Be Less Well Treated Than Military
To the Editor Of The Star:
My hat is OF to Senator Flanders. He Is
integrating with his whole cortex when he
insists that the military pay bill shall not
receive consideration ahead Of any move to
bring the civilian pay standards also up to
the 1889 living standard. Too many Of our
legislators In the past have put entirely diff
ferent evaluationS upon the two symbols
military" and civilian" which, in the last
analysis, /. e. on the process level. stand for
the same type of activity so far as peace
time duties are concerned.
As every civilian working In a military
agency knows. the really important. scien-
tific and highly technical professional and
administrative work Is done by civilians
working side by side with the military. many
Of whom suffer no more hardships from
field work" than the civilian does. In fact
many of them serve year after year at
headquarters. without ever seeing duty In
| the field of peacetime. And in these days
Of the atom bomb. 1t is questionable whether
| the civilian does not face more risk In war
| than the military.
Why the military should retire on three
| quarters pay while the civilian retires on
| only half pay Is another matter which. In
view Of the above relative risks Of the civilian
and military in modern warfare should be
| brought down the abstraction ladder and
compared with the empirical facts
The time has come for some straight
| thinking in this matter Of Government pay
| and emoluments. and Senator Flanders Is
| doing 1t. REALIST.