Verhovayak Lapja, 1940. január-június (23. évfolyam, 1-26. szám)
1940-06-13 / 24. szám
1940 Junius 13. 9-ik Oldal Verhovayak Lapja TRUE STORY Beautiful mermaids in combination with precision swimmng compose striking floral designs in the water at Billy Rose’s brand new Aquacade at the World’s Fair of 1940 in New York. Opening date: Wav 11. A good many people, reading about the railroads’ problems, must wonder just why the lines are in so serieus a financial predicament. Robert S. Henry recently told a little true story that may help to clear the minds of the puzzled. Some time ago a fine railroad was built in a certain state. That state shortly afterward experienced a land boom, and the railroad naturally had to expand its plant to meet the vastly increased demand for service. Then one fine day this boom, as booms always do, collapsed. And just about that time, the people through their government, went in for “cheap transportation.” Along one side of the railroad they built a fine canal, with harbors and docks, all provided and maintained with tax money. On the other side they built a superb highway, also with tax money, with commercial trucks and busses, no less than private cars, could use “free”. Above the railroad they built an airway with beams and beacons and landing fields, also “free” to the commercial user. About all that wasn’t built, as Mr. Henry wryly observed, was a subway under the railroad. Finally the railroad, which not only had to pay its own way, but had to pay tremendous sums in taxes to help pay for the “free” facilities of its competitors, went into receivership. And then, to quote Mr. Henry “The witch doctors came around and offered glib prescriptions such as ‘put’ ’em through the wringer.” What happened to this railroad, has happened to many. It’s an old story of the public, with its tax money subsidizing one kind of carrier at the same time it soaks another to the limit. And there, in a nutshell, is the railroal problem.---------o-------TIME CHANGE Times do change. Witness the truly magnificent spectacle of thousands of merchants in virtually every county of the nation striving to dispose of the South’s surplus cotton! This is the kind of Union that Abraham Lincoln visualized over half a century ago amidst the bitterness of the bloodiest civil war in history. Cotton is the life of the South. Cotton is bread and butter to millions of people, both in the South and other sections of the country. A glutted cotton market imperils the welfare of these millions. Cotton exports are at dismal lows. The solution to the cotton problem must be found, in part at least, at home. This, in a nutshell is the impelling motive behind the cotton “campaign.” Every resource of modem distribution is being called into action. During the week from May 25th, shoppers will see store fronts and showcases banked with cotton products and appealing posters mutely reminding them that by purchasing a cotton goods article they will be helping their neighbors “down South.” The promotional campaign in behalf of “King Cotton” is far more than merely another sales promotion stunt. It is indicative of a new era, an era in which organized cooperation between producers and retailers promises to reign supreme, the kind of cooperation that benefits consumers. Efficiency, and service at minimum cost, are its bywords. Yes, there is far more than appears to the eye in the promotion of cotton week. It is a powerful example of Lincoln’s “more perfect Union.”--------o-------PREVENTION BETTER THAN CURE According to a Forest Service report, a relatively new and successful technique for fighting forest fires has been adopted. Landing fields have been built in the national forests, and airplanes are employed to fly in men and equipment. In many cases, fires can be reached in minutes where before it took days to pack the crews in over difficult trails. Aerial photography is also being used to scout fires, and has proven a great time saver. Anything which makes the job of battling fire in our forests more effective is to be welcomed. But, essential as such work is, we should never lose sight of the fact that it’s far easier to prevent a fire than to extinguish one. One careless camper, one careless motorist, can cause fire destruction that Nature must spend generations repairing. The law, as it should be, is exceedingly strict about the conduct of people visiting our forests. But a forest ranger or a fire warden cannot always be on hand to watch every visitor. The law is not enough. Public knowledge, plus public cooperation, is the main thing. Everyone knows the dangers inherent in throwing lighted tobacco from cars — yet that is done a thousand times a day. Everyone knows that a camp fire should never be left until every spark has been thoroughly extinguished , with either dirt or water — yet time and again campers take chances. A weakly glowing ember, they reason, will go out before it can do harm. Most of the time it does. But on those rare occasions when it doesn’t, red, flaming havoc is the result. Fires in the forests, fires in homes, fires in factories — practically every one of them can be prevented. Practically every one is the consequence of human failure. Yes the fire problem comes home to you, and it is a responsibility that no one can escape.--------o-------The top of a new automobile trailer for tourises can be telescoped into the lower section to give a driver of a towing automobile an unobstructed view of the road behind him. GUILTY AS CHARGED ■--------------------------' -U-.» BIG THRILL • Fire — the great destroyer — is having a fine time this year. During the first three months of the year, it turned $100,459,700 worth of property into ash and debris. It thus exceeded its record for the same period in 1939, when property valued at $87,600,000 went up in smoke and flame. No data is available on the number of lives taken by fire in the first quarter, but, going by past precedents, it took more than 2,000. That many people met one of the most horrible of deaths. It’s only human when we read figures like this, to shrug, shake our heads, say “Too bad!” and promptly forget them. And that human weakness is the main reason why fire is such a “glowing success.” Fire waxes fat on human lethargy and laziness — even as it prospers on human forgetfulness and ignorance. Few men ever start a destructive fire deliberately — but it’s a rare man who hasn’t carelessly taken a chance or overlooked a hazard that made fire more probable. And so it is up to you whether fire continues its inexcusable ravages. Don’t try to console yourself with the thought that fires are inevitable — less than two in ten fall into that category. And don’t argue that fire prevention is the other fellow’s business — it’s your own personal business, and everybody else’s business too. The fact that fire destroys around $400,000,000 worth of property and 10, 000 lives each year in this country is a severe indictment of the American people. The only possible plea is “Guilty as charged!” Will we permit fire’s ravages to continue? The 250-foot Parachute Jump, one of the big thrills of the World’s Fair of 1940 in New York has been moved at a cost of $60,000 to a :iew location at the north end of he Amusement Area for the comig season. Opening date: May 11; he “Chute” now is near the eenir of the Amusement Area. -devote itself to such constructive undertakings. Our record of progress as shown in these two great fairs, should be an object lesson to our citizens to stand firmly for policies which recognize the superiority of intelligence over brute force in securing lasting settlements of disputed questions. Let us hope that as our people visit these interesting expositions on the two sides of our continent, they will think of the important principles they represent beyond the mere giving of pleasure. Be thankful you can travel in America as a free citizen and enjoy the privileges it has to offer.--------o-------BE THANKFUL While the rest of the world is depressed by wars and misery they entail, it is interesting to know that two great fairs for education and amusement opened its doors in New York and San Francisco. What a contrast to the death, destruction and debt that face warring nations. At the fairs in California and New York will be presented a record of industrial and intellectual achievement for the betterment of humanity. This nation should feel most thankful that it can--------o-------DO YOU KNOW that Hungarians have taken a leading role in the United States since the earliest times of American history? To qupte but a few examples—Stephen Parmenius of Buda was known as the famous Latin poet of the 1583 expedition. Hungary furnished well-known missionaries, among them John Rátkay, as well as Father Konchak, both of whom lost their lives in New Mexico, martyred by Indian savages. Rev. John Kelp and Nándor Sárossy both preached the Gospel in America as early as 1694.
