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This newspaper page contains 29 articles. Subscribers can read the full text of each article.
Newspaper
Athens Messenger
Location
Athens, Ohio, United States of America
Date
Aug 27, 1931
Page
4
The author argues that after drought and poor yields last year, this season shows bumper fruit and grain crops. Prices may fall while surpluses grow, prompting use of new channels to reach consumers. The piece criticizes marketing brokers and urges farmers to sell directly through cooperatives to avoid waste.
The writer laments the decline of the left hand signal used by drivers to indicate stopping or turning. While stop lights aid communication, they cannot convey intent to the following motorists. A revival of the hand signal is urged to improve road safety and reduce speed trap confusion.
A 175 million dollar Pennsylvania Railroad electrification project between New York and Washington progresses as sidetracks fill with freight cars. The Great Northern builds a 200 mile Oregon California line to reach San Francisco via Western Pacific. Dollar Line adds three steamers and Panama Mail begins three ships at Kearny New Jersey, creating jobs for two to three workers for two years.
The piece outlines how high taxes, unregulated competition, and harsh business conditions pushed railroads into a dire year. Freight revenue fell by 742 million, passenger revenue dropped by 144 million, car loadings and employment declined sharply, with total passage and freight measures collapsing from prewar levels.
A New York columnist discusses superstition about 13 as a string of misfortunes among performers, notes Peggy Davis and Lois Davidson among those linked to tragedy, and recalls Ed Allen who popularized street advertising and carnival acts. He also covers street entertainers and a recent police encounter with a stilt walker.
The text presents a mixed set of Q A items about health color vision dirigibles toeing walking and Olympic facts. It cites answers naming the Public Health Service note on color blindness and a 1902 Leo Stevens dirigible at Coney Island and Lake Placid 1982 Winter Games details with about 500 contestants from at least 25 nations.
A reflective poem contrasts a tranquil riverside retreat with the clamor and dangers of city life. The speaker cherishes a peaceful spot where birds, rain, and gentle winds soothe, yet acknowledges urban fear and looming danger from gangsters and noise.
The article notes 1929 tax totals at 48 million, with government revenue dropping due to lower earnings. Despite a historic high tax share, operating efficiency and safety progress improved. It urges solutions to boost revenue and speed up activity, citing Lane progress and responsibilities of employers, suppliers, and taxpayers.
A brief biblical reflection quotes Ecclesiastes 7 3 and links sorrow to a broken heart. The author uses the verse to note that sadness often reveals deeper emotion and can lead to healing through mourning.
Twenty years ago Athens saw busy streets with rigs and trains from north and south bringing visitors for a day of shopping. Farmers reported good crops and fall pasture as Ohio University expanded with new diploma courses in domestic science agriculture and manual training. Isaac Slaughter won a two year contract to run the Athens Opera House for 856 dollars. Ten years prior American industry began a comeback with nine nations improving and Ohio University highlighted by Geoffrey Morgan's Chautauqua tour through 63 towns.
Edward T. Allen, 4 feet 11 inches and 90 pounds, dubbed the Army's smallest, and Ransom Cowan, 7 feet 2 inches and 275 pounds, the Army's tallest, enlisted at Fort H. G. Wright. Allen played French horn while Cowan led as drum major in the Fort unit band. Bobby Gene Scott, age four, from El Reno Oklahoma, mastered 227 harmonica selections in a year, learning from his father. Tomorrow the river that takes a toll of three lives a year.
The Washington Letter notes scarce U S employment and explains Russia's fast pace, strict labor rules, and limited openings for outsiders. Amtorg Trading Corp handles Soviet relations and job inquiries, with a focus on skilled positions and high training instead of unskilled labor.
The Athens Messenger offers a government prepared booklet on MOTHS with proven methods to fight destructive worm damage. Housewives are urged to order via the Information Bureau coupon before moths spoil clothing and fabrics.
Special efforts provide living accommodations and modern quarters in cities with new apartments. Foreigners can buy familiar goods at dedicated stores in large industrial centers. On remote projects, primitive conditions prevail, but Americans and others may bring necessary belongings including radios. Wages are not comparable to U S standards, though compensating factors exist.
The article profiles engineers metallurgists and seventeen patent lawyers in the firms brains department. L A Smith is credited as industrial genius who spurred rivals to junk outdated pipe mills and imitate his rapid high volume production capabilities at half cost.
A shipment of oil pipe to Texas incurred a freight bill of 1 200 000 dollars. The businessman Smith hints at a second surprise for the pipe makers, implying further developments to come.
An automatic frame making system in the Smith factory is hailed as a remarkable national achievement. Rows of iron machines bite and rivet with precision, outdoing any imagined creature. Smith sells a frame for seven dollars and a half, down from a prior cost exceeding one hundred dollars.
The State Highway Department widened the road between Sugar Creek and Alderman and set a detour via Sugar Creek Road. Athens Rifle Range meets all government specifications per Colonel Hun ter of Columbus who shot on the range, with M. E. Grubb as club president.
Uncle Sam’s capital hosts the largest single payroll in America at about 175 million dollars a year with little fluctuation. Washington shows resilience with stable average incomes and retail prices, while depression bites mainly investors outside the district and unemployment rises modestly among Census Bureau workers and 101 Ranch show workers.
A vignette of Tommy facing a chorus about school from a grocery man, a butcher, a friend, and his mother. He endures proselytizing chatter about returning to classes as he prepares to see an oculist and adjust to the idea of school starting soon, though he longs for vacation.
A doctor warns Tommy to keep noise down as his grandmother's neuritis worsens. He notes Tommy will soon begin school, implying a change in routine and care.
L. R. Smith discusses the possible use of six hundred scientists. His mechanical building features a nearly glass surface with nine by thirteen foot window panes. The lowest bid to install the giant one inch plate glass panes was thirty five thousand dollars.
Nine workers produced the glass sheets quickly using vacuum cups costing five thousand dollars instead of thirty-five thousand. Glaziers from across the United States rushed by fast train to study the method, drawing interest from L. J. Horowits, chief glazier, who was in Europe at the time.
R Smith argues wealth comes from creating universally demanded goods and taking existing business from incumbents. He urges individuals to start their own enterprise at half the price, enabling prosperity and freedom to explore other ventures.
Wall Street reports Bernard E. Smith purchased a substantial brick of gold from a Juneau mining company for twenty five thousand dollars. The brick is stamped Brick No. 1,000 and Smith aims to prove the asset’s value matches past estimates.
The article argues that England's weakness, worsened by France taking its gold, drives a proposed coalition between Labor and the Tories, and posits the scenario as a globally pitiable scene rivaling China.
Fragmentary notes claim Americans trade wheat with Brazil while Argentina accuses the move of stealing its South American wheat market. The speaker suggests mutual irritation with neighbors and wealth.
Washington D C. Smed Butler and I rode in the Press Building elevator. Old Gimlet Eye, as his men call him, plans travel after October 1. He has served 32 years in the Marines and shaped their prestige, denying rumors of leaving Italy on October 2.
A fragmented public forum item discusses a national event in Athens with mentions of a 94th Field Artillery Battery and a date of August 24, 1931. It notes interest in a possible statement and references a wartime or ceremonial context.
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