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Associated Press Day Wire Service For 60 Years Devoted to the Best Interests of Key West VOLUME LXI. No. 218. City Council In First Of Two Special Meets Plumbers’ Code Scheduled Tonight ; Delinquent Taxes Up For Discus sion Tomorrow City Council will keep a busy schedule over this wekend with two special meetings slated for discussions on subjects of city wide interest. First of the “specials” has been called for tonight at 8:00 o’clock, when the second and final read ing of the new Plumbers’ Code Ordinance—s4-pages long will be featured. The second special meet will open tomorrow night, scheduled as a full discussion of ways and means to collect delinquent taxes owed the city. Citizens of Kev West have ex pressed much interest in tomor row’s meeting and Indications are that a good-sized crowd will be in the gallery seats to witness council procedure on the ques tion. In that a recent maneuver pre- 1 vented collection of personal i property taxes—distress warants ! for which were issued by tax col lector Sam Pinder, only to have council interference when the po lice department was stopped from i making collections—residents are wondering what may prevent a serious attempt to collect 1030 delinquent real estate taxes. It was pointed out recently that if anv process of tax sales is to be attempted, publication of the delinauent list is necessary. The council appeared to be about evCnly divided on the subject. The estimated cost, using the countv li?t as a criterion, would be in the neighborhood of SI,OOO. National Defense The Republican View By ROBERT A. TAFT United Slates Senator from Ohio President Roosevelt is appeal ing for a third term, in vioation of the principles of the American republic, largely on the ground that he has been the only true exponent of preparedness and is the. only man competent to carry on a preparedness program. While substantial progress has been made in the last few months, the history of the last seven years shows that no one could possibly have been more incompetent in preparedness for defense than the New Deal administration. In accordance with the plat form of 1932. President Roosevelt reduced the expenditure for the army and navy during his first year. Adolf Hitler came into power in Germany in January, 1933. and the seven years of the present administration saw the rise of the German army from 100.000 to 4jQ00,000 men, with the most modem mechanical equip ment. If we waked up suddenly to find ourselves unprepared to meet a possible attack by Ger many, it could only have been the fault of the present admin istration. • • • • The causes of unpreparedness were inherent in the New Deal. When the first emergency blank check for $3,300,000,000 was vot ed by Congress in 1933, it was proposed that $2,000,000,000 be spent for mechanization of the army. The President rejected the MOTOR TUNE-UPS PROPERLY DONE WILL SAVE GAS... WE ARE EXPERTS IN THIS LINE, LOU SMITH AUTO SERVICE, DUVAL AND DIVISION STEEP (the SCcm TUrat (Eitizcu RAIN, RAIN- AND STILL MORE RAIN "We've had enough rain, thank you—at least for the present". That was the consensus of opinion in Key West this morning as more rain de scended to push the excess for the month and the year up to new high levels. Weather Bureau records today revealed that a total of 7.11 inches of rain has fallen so far this month, not in cluding the fall after 7:30 o'clock this morning, which was considerable. Excess for the month was listed at 4.38 inches—and the excess since January Ist is 3.44 inches. Last year a to tal of 42.38 inches fell. To match that figure, approxi mately 14 more inches of rain will have to fall during the next three and one-half months. CIVIL SERVICE NOTICE Comdr. G. B. Hoey, U.S.N. ! (Ret.), senior member of the Labor Board at the Naval Sta tion, notified The Citizen of the • following amendment for exami ; nations for Sailmaker and Joiner: “The United States Civil Serv ice Commission announces that as sufficient applications have been filed to meet the needs of the service, no additional ap plications for the examinations listed above will be accepted un less filed with the Recorder, Labor Board, U. S. Naval Sta tion, Key West. Florida, prior to the hour of closing business on September 18. 1940.” proposal, and turned it over to P.W.A. for all kinds of public works. Untold billions have been spent, but for purposes having a much closer relation to making votes than to making ships. New- Deal types of spending have been the first love of the administra tion. but comparatively little has gone for defense because the voting public were not interested at that time. There was not even a plan for preparedness. The possibility of German victory' has always exist ed. and should at least have been Drovided for. On May 16. 1940, the President requested a billion dollars to put us in good defense condition. Two weeks later he asked for another billion. Now he is demanding another bill for five billion dollars more. Even on May 31, when the Germans had broken through in Belgium, he was satisfied with an army of 280.000. Now he wants 1.200,- 000. Certainly the first program and the second program must (Continued on Page Four) WEEK-END SPECIALS DATE NUT and DEVIL'S FOOD LAYER QQ n CAKES OOL Maloney Bros. Bakery Phona 818 812 Fleming Street THE SOUTHERNMOST NEWSPAPER IN THE U. S. A. COUNTY HAS 1728 ROOMS FORTOURISTS HOTEL COMMISSIONER RE LEASES REPORT SHOWING 17 HOTELS AND APART MENT HOUSES (Special to The Cltlsea) TALLAHASSEE, Sept. 12. Monroe county has 1,728 rooms available for tourists and winter visitors during the 1940-’4l sea son. according to figures released by W. M. Taylor, state hotel com missioner. The facilities. Commissioner Taylor said, are approved and li censed under the strict health, sanitation and safety regulations of the state hotel commission. A breakdown of the figures, Taylor reported, shows that the epunty has 17 hotels with a com bined total of 735 rooms available for transients, 17 apartment houses wfith a combined total of 249 rooms, and 114 rooming houses with a total of 744 rooms. Permits were issued to a total of 19.582 hotels, apartment houses and rooming houses within the current license year, he went on, in all counties of the state. This represented a total of 313,979 available rooms. ONLY 94 HAVE RENEWED CARDS DRIVER’S LICENSES ARE MOVING SLOWLY; AUTO ISTS AWAIT DEADLINE In usual style, awaiting close ness of the deadline date on Octo ber Ist, Key Westers are re porting in quite desultory man ner to the office of County Judge Raymond R. Lord to renew their driver’s licenses, or to get new' ones, as the case may be. At noon today, less than 100 licenses had been renewed, this in the face of nearly 3,000 licenses that will have to be re newed according to last year’s figures. So far there has been no indication that the deadline date will be extended, it was stated. BATTERIES CHASE BOMBERS AWAY EXPECT DRAFT TO START ON OCT. 15 SENATE-HOUSE CONFERENCE DECIDES FINAL STATUS OF BILL IBt ANMOciated Prem) WASHINGTON. Sept. 12 Senate and House conferees end ed their discussions on the Burke- Wadsworth conscription bill this morning and members of the special joint-committee prepared to offer final drafts of the revis ed bill to their respective houses late today. Highlights of the new measure will find all men registering be tween the ages of 21 to 35 inclu sive with a special amendment calling on taking over factories “if the need exists”. The House amendment to de lay the measure for 60 days was turned down by the conferees. Army experts were looking forward to the start of conscrip tion by October 15th, with actual training to begin a month later. In the meantime, appropriations were being rushed to build hous ing quarters at several training camps. A total of $30,000,000 was set aside, tentatively, for that purpose. WALLET. LOST IN 1938, FOUND SOMERSET. Mass.—While at tempting to save a youth from drowning during the September. 1938. hurricane, William Sylvia lost his pocketbook contaniing $l5O. Recently, the wallet was found, battered, but intact, by an inmate of a Swansea orphanage and returned to Mr. Sylvia. KEY WEST, FLORIDA, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 1940 WANNA ‘ STAY IN BED TOMORROW? ••• * • • Science-Unbeliever, But Warns Addicts To Beware • • • ••• mm* IF SUPERSTITIOUS, YOU’D BETTER By ROBERT E. GEIGER, AP Feature Service Writer Tomorrow is Friday the Thir teenth. Some people are so super stitious about it they won’t get out of their beds, and maybe it’s just as well. If they did, there would be a good chance some thing would happen to them. Science says so. “Science doesn’t take any stock in superstitions”, says Dr. Law rence W. Miller of the University of Denver, a psychologist well versed in the reasons behind hu mand behavior. “Nevertheless, if you are des perately fearful something is go ing to happen to you on Friday the Thirteenth, it is well to stay in bed. “You may be so upset you’ll be off your guard or you may con centrate so deeply on one fear DOUBLE TROUBLE For the superstitious there's a double dose of ill luck on Friday the Thirteenth. Both Friday and 13 are associated with the goddess of trouble. Friday probably became an omen of death because of its association with the crucifixion. The numeral 13 probably first became a similar omen because of the thirteen people. Christ and the 12 apostles, seated at the last supper. that your alertness to other dan gers will be diminished. “Something entirely different from what you had expected and planned a defense against may happen and take you unawares. Thus trouble catches up with you on Friday the Thirteenth”. Some superstitions, according to Dr. Miller, are good for people. “There were superstitions about crime, adultery and property rights in olden times”, says Dr. Miller. “For instance, the ghost of the victim was supposed to in habit a murderer's soul and tor ment it. “Such beliefs tended to restrain murderous or criminal inclina British Open Up With New Gun On Nazi Bombing Planes (Bj- Aaftnciatrd I’rvnat LONDON, Sept. 12.—Anti-air craft batteries, consisting of either new guns brought on the scene or guns formerly held in reserve, opened ud on the Nazi raiding bombers last night and, for the most part, prevented any serious damage to the city in the fifth night’s effort to bring fur ther demolition to London. Banging away in grand style, the batteries fired incessantly, dispatches stated, and succeeded in bringing down a number of planes and driving all others to other points before bombs could be dropped. Daylight raids this morning, and another late this afternoon on this city were reported. One bomb this morning fell in front of famous old St. Paul's cathedral and it was feared that the struc ture had suffered irreparable damage. Ropes kept the pop ulace at considerable distance from the cathedral. Hitler’s planes conducted high pressure raids on other English cities, including Liverpool, where the R. A. F. forces put up a strong battle to drive the bomb ers away. Considerable damage, however, was inflicted on city property of all types before the raiders left with empty bomb racks. Rome dispatches carried stories of increasing action on several African sectors today, one story stating that Italian forces were on the march, heading towards Suez points. Recapitulation of plane losses, made by the i i tions at a time when there were neither laws nor policemen”. Only A Guess Many superstitions are dated so far in antiquity nothing au thentic is known of their origin. It’s only a guess how many mod ern ones were started. “Some students say the com mon superstition that it is bad luck to light three on a match had its origin in recent wars”, says Dr. Miller. “If a soldier lighted his cigaret and kept the match burning long enough for two or more other men to get a light, enemy sharp shotters had time to take careful aim and fire upon the match holder”. People who knock on wood to keep ill luck from intruding, usually after they have made a boast, are observing a ritual that once was a religious one. Form Of Supplication “In ancient times pious peoples touched a wooden cross as a form of supplication”, savs Dr. Miller. “It was a prayer. They believ ed, the cross cast a spell of good fortune about them. And so knock ing on wood became an invita tion to good luck”. The horseshoe probably is a sign of good luck because the horse had been a friend of man, Mr. Miller says. Other things, like four-leaf clovers, are good luck symbols because a series of coincidences probably occurred in which a per son had good luck immediately after he found, or otherwise had some association with, a four-leaf clover or other object. From Days Of Black Magic Similarly cats and witches are symbols of ill luck. Incidentally, says Dr. Miller, the black cat su perstition dates back to the age of black magic when darkness was a svmbnl of eerie things. People looked askance at any thing black. In one state a recent study dis closed 4,000 superstitions held by various citizens. German People Wonder j About Hitler’s Guarantees * By l*rpn) BERLIN, Sept. 12.—Adolf Hit ler s embarrassing position in re gard to vulnerability of Ger many's capital city from plane 1 attack was made all the more noticeable last night when news agencies noted a full three-hour attack by R. A. F. bombers which brought additional damage to many public buildings, the pride of the German feuhrer. Bombs fell on one of the city’s main airdromes, creating havoc and other damage was inflicted on railroad stations and trans- : porting lines from the city. Believed to be strictly re taliatory raids following the Nazi bombing of Buckingham palace yesterday, the British ap parently were centering their blows to force Hitler away from his decree to “level London". It was reported here today that j the German people are beginning to wonder about Hitler’s former assertion that Berlin’s defenses were ample to keep all British 1 planes away. So much damage j has been inflicted already, and so easily, that there is mounting fear in the city that Berlin stands in constant danger of entire de struction. Other British attacks last night were centered on the great port 1 of Hamburg, where dock facili ties were again damaged. Italians, listed a total of 370 British planes shot down in the Mediterranean Sea battles, to 63 Italian planes. Shipping losses were also listed, including 27,000- tons of British ships yesterday. IJAYCEES WILL ! CO-OPERATE IN ! GUARD PROJECT i ' BACKS UP LIONS' POST OFFICE RESOLUTION AND CONSIDERS CONDITION OF ! CITY'S STREETS Full cooperation of Junior Chamber of Commerce will be given organizers of Key West Home Guard, it was decided at a j meeting of this body last night at Delmonico Restaurant. Joe Allen presided. Jaycces were addressed by ; Major Bob Spottswood, head of I this organization, who told of its functions and benefits to the community and of the success which the new semi-military group had experienced in the first stages of its organization. , Club also went on record as supporting 100 per cent a move ment by the Key West Lions Club to open another money or der window in the local post of fice. Resolution from the Lions showed that present facilities were inadequate to handle the volume of business caused by the increased governmental and other activities. Jaycees adopted a similar resolution to be for warded to the Postmaster Gen eral. In cooperation with other Jaycee groups in this district, the local body voted to contribute to the expansion work now going on at Snapper Creek Boy Scout Camp near Miami. Lengthy discussion on condi tion of city streets brought about the appointment of a com mittee composed of William R Warren, Jr., chairman, Joe Pin der and Henry Taylor to investi- 1 gate the possibility of getting a WPA project to put streets in shape before beginning of winter season. NO WONDER HE DIED 1 KANSAS CITY—John Cleve land Price. 48. died of a heart at ■ tack while in a dentist’s chair. He had just had twenty teeth ex tracted. WILLKIE SAYS F.D.R. “DOES NOT KNOW” i • COMMENTS ON PRESIDENT S SPEECH MADE LAST NIGHT i H T Prrul ELWOOD, Ind., Sept 12— Re publican presidential candidate Wendell L. Willkie commented on President Roosevelt’s first po ! litical speech made last night be fore members of the national i teamsters’ union. Declaring that Roosevelt was heading for trouble with his i “class-conscious and economic sabotage” talk, Willkie stated that “the kindest word that could be said about the President was that ‘he just doesn’t know what's going on in the world today’.” Republican leaders are heading for Indianapolis today where a mammoth conference is sched uled for tonight. Starting tomor row, Willkie will head West on a tour of fourteen states. ADVISORY ADVISORY 10:00 a m EST The tropical disturbance of mod erate intensity was central 7:00 a. m. EST. about 200 to 250 miles north of Puerto Rico apparently moving slowly westnorth west ward or northwestward. Caution advised vessels in path WEATHER BUREAU, Jacksonville Cnly Assessor Takes Exception To M AM NINE INMATES AT COUNTY HOME A report from Icwii— War ren. superintendent of tfao Monroe County Mean. Snai the names of cone persons now supported by the cwugy at that institution. The i - was read at the cnaa misrioner s msrting loot night. Inmates are: Samuel Otis Moms .T 7. Andrew J. Barthotow 71 Thomas Wilson. 88. Chaihi H. Thompson. 78, ■obect Randal. SS. Eugene FnHnrtL 63, Emily Sawyer. 77. Mu A. Williams. 71. Mmase Rodgers. 72. APPROVE FIVE LIQUOR LICENSES ACTION TAKEN AT LAST NIGHTS SESSION TWO NEW ONES POSTED Board of C v unty Cmamummmm ers pa. sed its apprmai rm bw new liquor licenses for csiaOtaafe ments m the county at the meet ing last night Tho. c who may now praceec to sell liquor by payment of tbr license fees to the tax collector by October Ist are: Rene S. Marrhesaeau Craig. Fla.; Julius F Stone Bora Cluca Mabel McKinney. Key Larg< Fred L. Marvil. Key West, aac Edwin H Sylvester and Gbeam H Billingsley. Key West Two new applications au placed on file for act**; at the next regular meeting m October They were* from the Ha ban* Ma drid Club and from the Starhgh* Club. OUR DEFENSE {EDITOR'S NOTE: Tmm mmm m r mmr *amm f program. Future toloosos anti appaar a Tha OMbb • Thursdays and Mondays* THE UNITED STATE* NAVI A fleet is an organization that I comes alive when men have sweet and strainea. trained and anew lated deep in the bolds cf tfaear fighting ship, across a mhlw square miles of ocean, acruas a space of years. A Beet is an r -gaiuzatton of men—and aha*. A ship is a cross between fortress, a bridge, a krwwitK. a rocking horse, a skyscraper and a human being. The aate of a fighting ship are more com plex than those of a huraa br ing. but no work of man ha* an exterior more ponderous and formidable It is put tugrtarr on a set of building way*, a,a. I two or three cranes Those iranes. with a thousand men. i *~ a billion pieces of steel jnfea place, and weld them fast Un der the blue white hrssmg heat of the flaming arcs, a sftup * forged from the first stringer laid for the keel, till dr comes fully alive, a unit of our fleet The story starts a long way back of that point It starts m the Navy Building m Waakungtae. where the General Board sketch es out the needs of the flee*. TV deliberations of this lufh body go to the President, who twibod ies them in a message to Con PUCE FIVE CENTS D* U? la ba Twl Raft? la Lrtk m*~ t j Ba mri tax rsAs • * f!hr taw wl war' am* ftw ar bor rear aff aw wtM wnad #e hwn of Bhr aob •* iw oritar w lo tae^aMm a* m September Oet SL MB3L Ott IT 9 W 1 na Dar 2 888 Wm 1T 16wr m SBl ame Jaw X k Bdfc TVy, aecsr me*, it SNe tfer> wnM Imi iJNi *'*'**"*■ w* Vr ns Mr Mkfev ear ner? kam rf *mt