The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., December 31, 1919, Page 4, Image 4

About The Bridgeport times and evening farmer. (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1918-1924

Image provided by: Connecticut State Library, Hartford, CT

                
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THE TIMES : "WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 31,
SAY
SHOUL
FIRMLY
DRY" LAW THIS TEST WILL
D BE VERY PrOVE RECRUIT'S
ENFORCED INTELLIGENCE
i
(By T. Ebon Keeks, M. Hire-dor i
Bureau of Preventable Diseases. )
It -was a striking instance of the
Irony of fate that the wood alcohol
tragedies of last vveek began to occur
within twenty-four hours after tha
newspapers published tho warning
issued by the stale department o
JpeaJth. In Hartford, where most of
the Connecticut deaths took place,
the daily papers of last Tuesday gave
the bulletin prominent display, two
of the papers using' double-column
headlines. As is customary in the
publicity work of the hea'Uh depart
ment, the article dealing- with the
poisonous effects of wood alcohol was
also sunt to every f oreisrn language
newspaper printed in the state.
The disaster should not be attri
buted, however, to genera 1 ignorance
of the dangers involved in the con
sumption of wood alcohol as a bev
erage. For many years the newspapers
have been reporting cases wh"re
death resulted from its use, so it may
be accepted as a fact that the peril
is a matter of common knowledge.
The victims proba bly knew the ef
fects of the poison, but they did not
know It was contained in the drinK
they bought for whiskey.
The one thimr which this great ca
lamity emphasizes is the absolute ne
cessity for r i 2: i d enforeem e nt oft h e
p.rohibtion law. Before the mafter
had.ben adjudicated by the su
preme court of the T'nited States,
there appeared to he sufficient doubt
iB9 to the constitutionality of the
. ! I aw to justify a certain leniency in
deai'ing with lawbreakers; but the re
cent ruling of the supreme court lias
removed that doubt.
At a time when we are making
.great efforts to Americanize the for-cdfjTn-born
element of our population,
tne open and flagrant violation of
the law cannot but have an evil ef
fect on respect for authority. Aside
from the moral aspect of the mat
ter, it is evident that the stock of
liquor available for bootlegging i.
about depleted.
From now on it may be expected
that the stuff sold illegally must con
sist of the rankest grades of whiskey,
find though the results may not come
as quickly as in the case of wood al
cohol, they will be quite as deadly in
the long run.
Are you intelligent? Tou may de
clare, that you are, but one way of
proving- ft is to go to the Army Recruiting-
Station, y23 Main street, and
let Sergeant O'Brien apply the recruit
Intelligence test to you. If you score
than UO out of a possible 40 points
the army will not admit that you are
intelligent enough to be enlisted.
The test is a psychological examina
tion, by use. of simple devices, of the
fitrt-ss of illiterates anil. non-Englidh-s:
making- citizens and aliens to be ad
mitted to the. recruit educational cen
i or at Camp Upton, T. Y., to be
taught to read and write English, and
then g i e n re al a rra y s e r vi c e . Th e
examination is to test a man's com
mon sense, power of observation, and
quiekiv'-sj of thought.
The examination is made up of four
kinds of tests with ten problems in
ea-jh test. Each problem counts one
in tho score kept by Sergeant O'Brien.
Ea'-h test is so arranged that the re
cruiter can communicate the idea of
the rest to the applicant for enlistment
by demonstrating1 one problem of the
test provided that the applicant can -not
understand English. The recruit
er's dumb show of demonstration is
so comprehensible that an applicant
who cannot understand is rejected as
not having developed his intelligence
sutliciently for enlistment.
The materials for test number one
oonsisi of a pie-re of card board with
a pqtuir aperture in it and 30 small
nieces of car l board of various shapes.
The small pieces are grouped into lots
n-? three, pieces each which just fit the
aperture in te big- pie. of card board
when properly arranged, cut out pic
ture puzzle fashion. Sergeant O'Brien
Fits one side of a table or desk,
and the applicant for enlistment on
the other side. O'Brien hands a group
of three pieces of ca r d b oar d to the
ar 1 i ca n x, and the latter is al 1 owed
one minute in which to fit the pieces
properly together to fill the square.
If he cannot do it in a minute the at
tempt is counted as a failure. i lie
fitting of each group counts one for
or against the applicant.
1 1 ks est: m a tcl that a man sh oul d
be able to complete the entire test in
about five minutes. The. way in which
a man works in the test gives Ser
ge a n t O " B r i e n a clew in es t i m a t : n g
the applicant's mentality. Note is
taken" of whether or nbt a man moves
the pieces blindly about, trusting to
luck to hit the combination to fill the
spaces, whether or not he makes fool
ish moves, such as taking out a piece
that is manifestly in its proper place,
and whether or not he attempts to
place a pfeca in a space that is man
ifestly too small to receive it.
Materials for test No. 2 consist of
a sheet of ten pictures of varying
numbers of cubes piled in different
formations, and a few small wooden
cubes. O'Brien arranges the wood
en cubes in a formation and counts
them, and holds up the number of
fingers that there are cubes, showing
the non-English speaking applicant
what is desired. The applicant is
then shown the picture of cubes and
required to name the number show
ing in each formation. One appli
cant examined by Sergeant O'Brien
counted the sides of cubes that show
ed, rather than the cubes and assert
ed that there 16 cubes, when there
were but seven.
Test No. 3 romj'sts of a sheet of
ten pictures with some apparent
thing missing in each picture. Some
of the missing things are easily dis
cerned, such a man's nose in one pic
ture. Others require a little keener
observation, such as two cats fight
ing' in the sunshine, and the shadow
of one cat missing. One shows a re
volver with its trigger missing, an
other pigs at trough, with the tail of
the largest pig missing.
The fourth test consists of a blank
chart like a checkerboard and ten
similar charts each bearing three
crosses on different squares. A chart
marked with the squares is then
shown to the applicant, and is cover
ed up after he has glanced at it. He
is then required -to point out on the
blank chart before him what squares
shown him on the chart were mark
ed. He is given five seconds to desig
nate where the squares are on each
chart.
Sergeant O'Brien is careful that
the applicant is in proper mental
condition for the tests, that he is not
excited, angry , or discouraged. He
does every thins possible to make the
applicant feel at ease and does not
put him through the tests in a for
mal, hurrying manner that might an-.
tagonize the man. Though he does;
not help the man he does not dlfl-5?
courage him, and avoids emphasizing
his failures. The tests are not given
an applicant with other persons look-IJ;
ing on. The room where the tests
are given is kept as quiet as pos-1
sible during the examination.
I
f.-fe. fa Sid w cws A ta w jt
Mb Vf O s s
1140 MAIN ST.
Exceptional Values
In Our
FIRST JANUARY
CLEARANCE SALE
SEE THURSDAY'S PAPERS
A
HAPPY AND PROSPEROUS
NEW YEAR TO ALL
Government Flour
Cuts Your Living Costs
THERE has just arrived in the local mar
kets a supply of Government Flour made
of soft, winter wheat.
The Government is offering this at prices that
give every flour user in this locality a chance
to cut down flour bills. Make the most of
your opportunity by buying
United States Grain Corporation
Standard Pure Wheat Flour
Here is an excellent flour of straight grade
used by the best bakers and grocery trade.
You can buy this flour today at prices around
75 cents for 12 pound packages and $1.50
for 24 pound packages.
Retailers may buy Government Flour in pa
per sacks in car lots at $10.43 per barrel, or
in cotton sacks at$10. 80 perbarrel. (In less
than car lots, paper $11.15, cotton $11.55.)
United States' Grain Corporation Standard
Pure Wheat Flour is uu sale today at the fol
lowing dealers:
GREAT ATLANTIC & PACIFIC TEA COMPANY
The following wholesaler has ordered this flour
and will supply retail demands on arrival of
ftour:
STODDARD, GILBERT & COMPANY, Inc.
The Government is selling this flour only
where there are no similar flours selling at
similar low prices. .
For farther information write .
United States Grain Corporation
42 Broadway
rieur Division
New York
lliC
Attractive Brick Houses Large Plots of Land Beautiful Surroundings And You'll Save From 2,000 to $3,000 on
Present Building Costs. - . .
it- k Mouse, miisi
See This House at Mill Green, at Any of the Following Locations:
m nS Tt n 1 rem An m e
irate wove sells at mm i
o $7700
LOCATION FRONTAGE PRICE
18 and 24 Essex Street 60.0 $7,200
30 and 34 Essex Street 52.0 7,100
40 and 46 Essex Street 52.0 7,100
19 and 21 Hadley Street 51.23 7,200
50 and 52 Hadley Street 52.0 7,450
20 and 22 Standish Street 54.0 7,300
50 and 52 Standish Street 61.0 7,550
22 and 26 Carver Street 62.5 7,500
36 and 40 Carver Street 62.5 7,500
LOCATION
19 and 21 Plymouth Street
31 and 33 Plymouth Street
43 and 45 Plymouth Street
52 and 54 Plymouth Street
53 and 55 Plymouth Street
30 and 32 Colony Street
35 and 37 Colony Street
42 and 44 Colony Street
50 and 54 Colony Street
76 and 78 Colony Street
87 and 89 Colony Street
97 and 101 Colony Street
107 and 109 Colony Street
128 and 130 Colony Street
FRONTAGE
06.52
60.0
60.0
55.0
60.0
52.0
57.5
52.0
52.0
52.0
52.0
52.0
52.0
AO
1.08
PRICE
$7,400
7,500
7,400
7,400
7,400
7.500
7.700
7,500
7,400
7,400
7,400
7.400
7.300
7.300
Other Houses at Grasmere & Mill Green Now Offered at Low Prices
Don't let the ITevr Year pass without going to either Mill
fice at both places open all day New Year's and until 9 P.
Green or Grasmere to look over these attractive homes.
M.
Of-
BURNES,
LOCAL SELLING
AGENT
GRASMESE OFFICE - MILL GREEN OFFICE
135 Grasmere Avenue Phone Noble 240 689 Boston Avenue Phone Noble 258
UNITED STATES HOUSING CORPORATION
Office 303 First-Bridgeport Bank Building Phone Barnum 4565
EDW. J. MURPHY, Government Selling Rep. CHAS. H. BARTLETT, Asst. Selling Rep.