Milford chronicle., 1958-04-25
MAY, 1858

May, which now looms upon US, means
that one-thrd of 1858 has passed into his
tory. When the first day of May arrives, it
is only sixty-one days until the year is half
spent.
Therefore, although it probably seems
hard for the reader to realize, the year is
approaching its midway point, with May
and June the last two months of the first
half of 1858, and the last two months in the
fiscal year.
The weather in the United States is de-
lightful in May, as it is in so many countries
In the United States, however, we do not
look upon May as an unlucky month for
marriages-which is belief still held in
many countries.
1t is said that because of this old belief
> June is the most popular month for mar
riage. In other words, those who would
normally get married in May, sometimes
wait for June, and this accounts for Junes
reputation as the marriage month.
To us in the United States May also
means Kentucky Derby month, Memorial
Day in most of the states, the end of school,
May Day, Mothers Day MAY 11th) and
Armed Forces Day MAY 17th).
The full moon occurs on May 3rd this
year, and there will be partial eclipse of
the moon-visible in many sections of the
country. In addition to these facts, there are
several most interesting anniversaries in
May. Do you remember the most import
ant of them? One concerns May 7th. 1t was
on May 7th, 1915, off the Old Head of Kins-
dale, on the coast of Ireland, that the Lusi-
tania was sunk by German U-boat, sink
ing with the loss of 1,150 lives. This was
one of the tragedies which finally brought
the United States into World | against Ger
many
On May 10th the first trans-continental
railroad met at Promontory Point, Utah,
in 1869 The first permanent English settle
ment began at jamestown, Virginia, on May
18th, 1907, when 105 colonists settled in
that small port city.
And, on May goth, 1927, Charles Angus
tus Lindbergh took off from Roosevelt Field
New York, and made his nonstop flight to
Paris-a heroic achievement which thrilled
the world.
HOW TO DISCOURAGE EMPLOYMENT
The current state of business should give
pause to those who have been advocating
extension of the federal wage-hour law to
retailing and other service businesses which
have been exempt ever since that law came
into being back in the '30s.
Cogent reasons account for this long-es-
tablished retail exemption. One is that all
retailing is local-an outlet of the biggest
national chain must still compete at the local
level in its community, and adapt itself to
living and working standards.
Another is that retailing offers job OPP
portunities for the young, the inexperienced,
the marginal worker, and the part-time
worker. The value of these people, measured
by productivity, is small. But, by working
in retail store, they can obtain experience
that will qualify them for responsible, bet
ter-paid positions both in and out of retail
trade.
&c hot ho,1r
rules, applying with equal force to the big
gest cities and small towns, must inevitably
be inequitable and disruptive.
To come back to the present, extension
of the law to retailers would force them to
pare their employment, and especially their
marginal employment, to the limit. Then
we would have mere unemployment-and
further downward dip in the economy.
1SSo&S
BOATS DANGEROUS
A newspaper editor recently posed the
question whether, in proportion to numbers
in use, boats are more deadly than automo-
biles. He was moved by the reports of sew
eral accounts of tragedies where one or more
people were drowned when their boats over
turned.
This is not subject to be lightly dismis-
sed, if you are in the habit of using boats.
They look innocent enough but, when care
lessly handled, can become as deadly as an
automobile. The victim may not be mussed
up, like he would be in traffic accident, but
he will be just as dead.
Not being what one would call an expert
on boats and boating, we suggest that per-
sons not familiar with the water avoid dang
ger by keeping in the company of someone
who knows how to handle boats. In addi-
tion, the experts can eliminate the chance
of tragedy by not becoming over-confident
and presuming that they can meet any crisis
that arises without penalty