The Key West Citizen Newspaper, April 6, 1939, Page 2

PAGE TWO Wlished Daily Except Sunday By ITIZEN PUBLISHING CO. INC. AKTMAN, Presid + Avxintant spaper in Key West and Monros County Florida, as second class matter ited Press "Member of the Associa i entitled to use L NOTICE £ thanks, resolutions of will be charged for at churches from which um and invites discus- s and subjects of local or general not publish anonymous communi- (MPROVEMENTS FOR KEY WEST ADVOCATED BY THE CITIZEN Water and § Co: = City Plan (Zoning). Hote werage. - 1 i Apartments. 4. Bathing Pavilion. 5. rports—Land and Sea. 6. solidation of County and City Governments. We have our cross to bear in the ited States, but Europe confronted with the double cross. is Hitler and Mussolini are constantly ing about peace—seemingly the peace | that hath no understanding. pra | s as | z 5 | Naturally there are news items The a} tian charity restrains us. | | | | | j Citizen could publish every week but ense of Chr Key West is your town and you are an integral part of what it is, so don’t fuss over it unless you have done your part to ce it better. sea ae et es AEN a | Key West still gets knocks occasion- | ally, but it isn’t Opportunity. The way | things are going along now he will be} coming along soon. | The world’s annual coal production is | estimated at a billion tons. As if that mat- | tered in sunny Key West, but the item | fills this space and that matters. | An asks the question: “When you pay your taxes do you ever} stop to think to what you are contribut- ing?” Sure, to the power to destroy. exchange A young man of exceptional ability be a failure unless he knows how to Failures are good one thing—they can dig up all kinds of excuses, oid “good excusi The United States has in her posses- sion more than half of the gold. of the | world and neg.a penny’s worth tobe spent. | It's like water, water all around and not a/ drop to drink. Tir Key Went Citizen | SPONGE INDUSTRY THREATENED Discouraging stories are drifting into Key West from the sponge fleet. A strange blight seems to have stricken the sponges usually abundant in the waters of Florida Bay. thousands of sponges have been ruined by The spongers the mysterious malady. Many sponges that appeared to be sound disintegrated when hooked from the bay bottoms. This is a serious situation. Probably 200 families here depend upon the sponge industry for food, shelter and clothing. The annual income of Key Westers gaged in the business runs into tens of thousands cf dollars. Many small busi- nesses are mainly supported by the trade of the sponge fleet. Destruction of the sponge beds would be a catastrophe for many men, women and children. Even temporary suspension of sponging opera- tiens would prove a hardship to these peo- ple. Not only Florida Bay waters are af- fected by the blight epidemic. Reports from Nassau are to the effect a similar dis- ease is ravaging the sponge beds in Bahaman waters. It is reported there that en- | thousands of sponges, marine animals with porous bodies whose skeletons form the commercial product so familiar to Key Westers, have wilted and died in the epi- demic. Sponge fishermen of the Bahamas have virtually ended operations. In one respect the Bahamans are | more fortunate than the spongers of Key West. The United States Bureau of Fish- eries has sent an expert to Nassau to in- vestigate the strange underwater outbreak of disease. This expert, paid to study con- ditions in British waters by the American government, believes the malady may be traced to a fungus-like microorganism which has attacked the sponges. What is the cause and remedy of the disease that is killing the sponges in Am- erican waters. Those are two questions the spongers of Key West would like ‘to have answered. So far as The Citizen has been able to learn the United States Bu- reau of Fisheries has not sent any experts into Flcrida waters to study the conditions affecting the sponge industry. It is all very well for the -American government to help the spongers of the Bahamas, but, like charity, such help should first be rendered at home. After all, reports to the contrary notwithstand- ing, Key West isa part of the United States and the federal government is in duty bound to help those of our citizens engaged in a business threatened with de- struction. The British have a trade slogan— “Buy British”. Let our slogan be—“Help Americans First.” FORCE MAY BE NECESSARY We yield to few people in our appre- ciation of the Christian doctrine 6f broth- erly love, but, so far as we are concerned, we would not try it on a mad dog coming | down the street; with evident intentions of | biting anything contacted: California is far in the lead in the | daily newspaper field over Florida with a | net paid circulation of 2,277,171, while | this state has only 455,430. But Florida has only 30 daily papers in comparison with California’s 93. The totalitarian governments—Italy, | Germany, Japan—are playing a_three- cornered game against the democracies in Europe. First Germany harasses Poland, then Japan antagonizes Russia, now Italy | is making leering eyes at Albania. It’s | giving the jitters to England and France. | because they are not spoilirg for a fight, but there are a lot of people in the United States that weuld like to butt in once more | as was done some 20 years ago. A bill to create a drivers’ license and state highway patrol will be introduced in the State Legislature. Such a bill will be passed if the people of Florida show the members of the Legislature that they want these safety measures. If you want to safeguard human lives and protect prop- | erty in this state, tell Representative Papy and Senator Ward. Write them a letter, | or, better still, personally contact them | and urge them to vote for these measures | at the coming session. And do this now. j If you will do this, you will have the satis- | faction-of knowing that you have had a part in making Florida a safer state in which te live. Much the same observation ‘is ap- plicable to present world affairs. We yield to no one-in advocating peace be- tween nations but we do not see how there | can be peace unless all nations are anxious to have peace. You can place a thousand men in a building and despite the desire of nine hundred“ ninety-nine of them for harmony and peace the other man, unless restrained by force, can disrupt the harmony and communion of all the others. 3 BEAUTY SCHOOLS (Tampa Morning Tribune) The State Board of Education is wasting money right and left and now pays teachers to teach beauty culture in open competition with taxpaying schools. This is done under the dis- guise of vocational training, which is in fact only another way of padding payrolls. Instead of helping underprivileged pupils by placing them in accredited private schools and teaching them beauty culture at a saving of from $10 to $25 per pupil, the State Board prefers to |i import teachers and to run in direct competition with the privately owned tax paying beauty THE KEY WEST CITIZEN ! report that untold | SHIPPEN Jr: 2 Corea aay ca nS ANSWERS— 1. He was the first public teacher of obstetrics in America. 1762 and indirectly responsible for the establishment of the first medical school in this country. 2. They did the nursing of the | sick and burying of the dead dur- ing the great plagues of the 17th and earlier centuries. KEY WEST IN DAYS Happenings Here Just Ten Years Ago Today As Taken THURSDAY, APRIL 6, 1939 GONE BY COMING HERE From The Files Of The Citizen At the regular meeting of the ¢ council last night, Frank O. Roberts addressed the body in behalf of the Red Men and Poca- hontas, requesting the council to make a donation toward a fund being raised to be used in enter- taining the visiting members of | the two organizations which pro- pose holding their annual con- vention in this city during the month of May. Mr. Roberts was accompanied by three members organization of Red Men a three members of the Poca- hontas. The council ordered that $100 be appropriated toward the fund to be expended for the pur-: pose stated. General Harry C. Hale, U.S.A, retired. has purchased from Lieu- t Commander A. H. Eddins, . the fine house at the cor- * ner of Flagler Avenue and Reyn- the enlarged Of course pse touch thyroid nine times. THE ISLAND CITY _ At Present A RATHER STRANGE CUS- TOM here when there is illness is the closing of all windows in the houses in the belief that this keeps out germs. During the re- recent flu epidemic, which was evident in Key West as it was throughout the country, tightly shuttered windows was the rule here and this fact was credited with continuing the spread of the disease. Usually, here, when one member of a family gets flu all the rest of the family eventually breaks down with it. Closed win- dows are blamed as one of the causes of thi, ANOTHER QUAINT CUSTOM. which, however, has no reference to health precaution, is the clos- ing of store doors during the Passing of a funeral cortege. The custom was brought over from Latin countries and is a mark of Tegpect to the dead. SOME OF THE NEWLY-REN- OVATED houses ‘in the city, which have been converted for tourist use, boast very beautiful modernistic furniture, comfort- able to the extreme. Good taste is snown in the splendid furnish- ing. Most surprising, though, is the difference in appearance of an old, very beautiful house after a coat of white has been applied. All the beautiful classical lines of the English fisher cottage style are brought out where one would hardly notice them before. Gables and windows and dormer win- dows of all styles and shapes may be seen throughout the town. THE NEW MECHANICAL cigar maker at the Key West-Ha- vana Cigar Factory will be used THOUGH THE LITTLE CITY .of Key West in a few years from { now chan ll show which with the modern other ci there that is v the cit Key West booklets needed for distribution throughout the coun- try at requests from distributing “agencies and from individuals. }The Chamber of Commerce regu- ‘larly reports its needs for more booklets. Folders, which are sent jout from other cities, have far jgreater beauty than the little sbooklets we have, but so much | greater is the wealth of interest- ing points of interest and about the city that our litlte book- ilets, without photos or two-color jobs. are read with the greatest interest pec many will bri standards of is one fact ery pressing as a need to That is the amount of j, facts / on of the property, and the beautiful palm fringed prem- is General Hale, formerly of ton, but spending most of his in this city in recent years, nounced that now he is a perm- anent Key Wester, and those well acquainted with him say he is an t stic one. Furniture, the general has stored in yn, will be brought to this placed in the handsome West home. He will go north this summer and return in the winter to reside permanently Carrying with them several thousand pieces of Monroe goun- ty literature, which they will distribute enroute, Mr. and Mrs. clyde Smith and family are to Sunday for their new home Angeles, Calif. Mr. Smith has been. with his family, in Key West for several years while he been connected with the Frank Johnson jewelry business. They recently decided to make their home in California. The 1929 annual convention of the South Atlantic Coastal High- yr Association will be held in during the week of il 21, it was announced, and Mayor Alsop of Jacksonville will be publicity man for the organi- zation. It is estimated that the attendance figures will reach 500. in a cigar facotory commercially! for the first time in the local es- tablishment. ~The mechanical maker for the‘ past year or two has been in the experimental stage and nas been perfected dur- ing that time by its inventor, Raul Garcia, manager of the Key West-Havana factory. Its use | makes possible rapid making of cigars. Workers, who will be trained as fast as possible to put out the cigars. The Key West- Havana Company reports that or- ders are coming in rapidly and as {tue mcrket opens up the number |of workers will be _ increased. President of the company is W. M. Woolfson, who has consider- able experience in the work and has good leads in the market. | Owner is E. W. Berriman. BOTH THE CITY AND COUN- | TY have planning boards whose }aim it is.to work ahead of Key | West in the line of 4 *tourist_re- sort. A few disagreements here and there have largely caused | each of the groups to shut down | tueir activities, more or less. Most of their relations has been with |active has been the county plan- ning board, which now hasn't | met in more than six months.-Be- schools at a greater cost to the taxpayers. This | si does not include the cost of equipment which will run about $5,000 per school. Human beings are of two kinds— those whe try to be helpful to others and | those who do not, A letter received from Editorial Comment: Congress-| Harry man Michaelson, when giving z himself np, said he wanted to read the indictment to see what it was all about. Judging from the leniency of the government in the case of lawmakers we would say that it is about all over. | | Lowe, m last year and pitched tents at the nds. Arrange- for th: site _ this was Troop 49, M ‘end camp at Key West, arriving |in the city Friday noon This troop, under Scoutmaster seaman ide an encampment here The Young Sluggers will play the Pirates at the American Legion grounds 3 o'clock tomor- row. This will be the beginnii of a five-game series for 20 c: of sodawater, and in the last: , game of the series the losers will serve the soda to the public. George E. Spencer, department adjutant of the United Spanish War Veterans, states that a re- ception will be tendered the president of the auxiliary, Nancy Stewart and Junior Vi Commander George Stewart at the legion hall tomorrow after- noon beginning at 3:30 o'clock. A request is made that all friends and members of the organization be present and meet the officials. gre 1ade This is one of the ‘have quite a few scouts who are the outstanding | troops in Miami Area and advanced in ranks of scout- ing. About 20 "leaders ¥ with their tru day ai A district meeting of the Pyth-! 78 ian Sisters, Justice Temple 17 ,_ and Key West Temple 20, will be ~~ held on Monday afternoon at the headquarters of the K. of P. Lodge on Fleming street. District Dep- an uty Grand Chief Linton Curry NOW YOUNG. will preside at the meeting. Va- sx rious parts of the ritualistic work will be demonstrated. the tr at 3 FULL OF tt s B ery Rap ames gee areal oF tr ; va Subseribe to The Citizen—20c [OSTREK]—The Now Rew Oyster Teale weekly. Vor sale At G PTS ALLZLLLZLAL AE Aired Legion Convention Committee LA CONCHA HOTE: Please call on me for a smell donation fo sei bring the | 1940 Stzte Convention to Key West. NAME ADDiESS If you are a KEY WEST BOOSTER, fill out the above coupon and mail or send te Convention Headquarters — in the La Cencha Hotel. We will gladly call to see you. IAS AAAS AAP ALALLLLLE LPR LMM MM SS BP ES SB MLA LALAAAAAALL LAL ‘ni, Who tried to set the Town Hall on fire? Who sniped at the celectmen? And WHO MUR- DERED MARY RANDALL? The salty sher- lock, Asey Mayo, faces one of the toughest cases in his career. He is the only man who can save Old Home Week for Billingsgate. SA\\\\\ f WEEK MURDER You won’t want to miss OLD Ho Starts Tomoriow, In This Paper