Parachutes, Jeeps, Halftracks, Flamethrowers,
Will Be Used in Peacetime to Battle Forest Fires
_ <$* ~
Methods Devised for War
Are Being Adapted to
Save Timber Resources
The swords of war become
the plowshares of peace, and
this time Mars has some
weapons that are going to
come in mighty handy in the
never ending battle against
forest fires. Some very logical
questions are being asked to
day: Why not use fire-extin
guishing bombs to drop on
forest fires? Why not use
bombers, equipped with pre
cision sights, to aim these
bombs? Why not use fire
fighting parachute troops to
drop behind “enemy” lines or
to transport to fire regions dif
ficult to negotiate by land?
^ The man who is expected to take
A charge of this program is David
W Godwin, a veteran of the forest serv
ice, who has been active in anti-fire
experimental work for a number of
years.
Godwin already has investigated
the possibility of dive-bombing for
est fires, using bombs which in real
ity were exploding fire extinguish
ers. That, however, was a number
of years ago, and didn’t meet with
much success. It was difficult, the
experimenters found, to hit the exact
spot where the bomb-extinguishers
would do the most good, and there
was difficulty in covering a suf
ficiently large area.
Aviation enthusiasts, however, are
counting upon effective bomb-sight
and other precision instruments to
change this situation. As an alter
native, they believe there may be
great possibilities in the use of heli
copters. No doubt a fleet of bomb
ing planes could be used to advan
tage in blasting a fire out of a forest,
especially with ground support from
a paratrooper battalion.
The use of parachute-dropped
troops to fight forest fires was first
tried a few years ago, and they have
been seeing action in this capacity
ever since. But there never has
been enough of them to combat a
really big fire. This number can be
expanded greatly after the war, and
the wartime training of paratroop
combat units can bring about the
organization of a formidable fire
fighting force.
‘Jeep’ Will Be Fire Engine.
When it comes to post-war tech
niques in forest fire fighting, how
k ever, it may be not only the use of
T waves of bombing planes, and para
chute troops to augment the present
forces. The ubiquitous "jeep”—ac
customed to the jungle trails of
New Guinea and the difficult terrain
of Africa and Italy—is already rec
ommended by professional foresters
as highly suitable for service as a
miniature fire engine. Likewise, the
"walkie-talkie” radio unquestionably
will be used by the thousands to
keep in contact between fire chiefs,
their crewmen, aviation spotters, pi
lots and paratroopers overhead.
“Half-tracks,” which combine au
tomobile speeds with tank and trac
tor ability to negotiate swamps and
rugged land, can serve efficiently as
big brother to the jeeps, and for use
as bulldozers to scrape fire trail bar
riers to the progress of flames. Bull
dozers already are essential fire
fighting equipment.
Even flame-throwers developed by
the chemical warfare service may
be called upon for building “back
As soon as a forest ranger spots
a fire he radios for the flying fire
fighters. Here a “smoke jumper” is
making a “feather bed landing” in
the tops of a young coniferous
growth.
fires,” burning out areas in the path
of spreading flames. Accompany
ing them would be men with fire ex
tinguishers, to guard against the
back fires getting out of control.
The paratrooper, however, will
doubtless have a glory and a duty
all his own. His greatest service
will come from the fact that he can
get there first. Once a watcher from
a fire-tower or from a patrolling
plane spots smoke, it need be only a
few minutes until a paratrooper can
land within 50 or 100 yards of the
blaze, and by getting there while the
fire is just starting, he will be able
in many cases to extinguish it with
out additional help.
Paratroopers by Hundred.
But when long periods of dryness
have rendered the forests highly in
flammable and fires spread quickly,
a radio summons from the spotters
can bring reinforcements in a hur
ry. A single big plane may bring
a score or more paratroopers; a doz
en planes could bring them by the
hundreds.
With their faces protected by plas
tic masks, heads covered with pad
ded helmets, and bodies covered
with nqn-ripping fabrics, to spare
them injuries in case of tree-top
landings; and with coils of rope
handy for quick descent from the
trees, the paratroopers can reach a
fire many precious minutes sooner
than men on trucks or horseback can
generally arrive.
Portable fire-fighting devices that
are strapped to a man’s back are
already standard forest equipment
suitable for the paratroopers. Some
times these are hand-pumps with a
small tank of water. An alterna
tive device uses water but builds
the pressure behind it with carbon
dioxide, either in its liquid form or
in the form of “dry ice.” Some
portable extinguishers use carbon di
oxide itself to play upon the fires.
It snuffs them out by driving away
the oxygen. Extinguisher? of great
er capacity and other supplies will
be attached to parachutes and
dropped from other planes.
Meantime, the jeeps and half
tracks, trucks and bulldozers will be
moving up with other reinforce
ments and supplies. They may bring
the flame throwers to build back
fires, if necessary. They’ll bring long
lines of hose and high-pressure
pumps, powered by motors which
are twins to those used on rowboats.
With the high pressure equipment,
they’ll be able to combat fires in
“snags,” dead trees which are an
especial menace because they tend
to carry ground fires upward to the
tops of other trees.
Ground Reinforcements.
When a forest fire goes into the
tree tops it is about as difficult to
check as any fire can possibly be.
In an old forest a crown fire may
be as high above ground as the 15th
story of a skyscraper—with no au
tomatic • sprinkler system to help
After landing the ‘‘smoke jumper” unstraps his parachute and goes
to work with his portable fire extinguisher. He carries other tools such
as axes and spades. The heavier equipment can be dropped by para
chute when necessary.
combat it, and plenty of oxygen to
make it burn freely.
Thus, if the original fire does get
out of control of the first paratroop
ers to reach it, and proves too big
for the first reinforcements also, it
is almost certain that the third wave
of paratroopers and ground forces
will resort to building backfires and
digging trenches as the maximum
effort to check it. Bulldozers and
plow-equipped half-tracks will mech
anize a large part of the digging job.
Men with flame-throwers and extin
guishers will handle the backfires.
Other men with gasoline-powered
“chain-saws” will clear the path of
the bulldozers and half-tracks of
trees too big for them to bowl over.
America has a big stake in forest
lands. Forest operators are seeing
to it that our trees continue to grow,
but they know that fire is the biggest
menace to growth. They need weap
ons with which to fight fires, and
they expect those that this war pro
vides will help to keep a better con
trol over this persistent enemy.
On Land or Sea,
Navy P. 0. Gets
Mail Delivered
System of 5,000 Branches
Reaches Remotest Islands
One of the most gigantic war
time tasks confronting postal men
is delivering mail to mobile units
of the fleet. The mounting tempo of
operations in the last year means
not only that greater distances must
be spanned to effect delivery but
that a greater number of men are
involved in combat activities in
creasing all classes of mail to an
unprecedented volume.
During March, 1945, 86,132,623
pieces of letter mail passed through
Fleet Post Office, San Francisco
to navy, marine and coast guard per
sonnel in the Pacific. In March,
1944, there were 36,686,937 pieces of
letter mail dispatched to the Pacific
showing clearly that the mail vol
ume increased well over 100 per cent
in one year. It is expected that it
will rise even farther.
The nerve center of the navy mail
service is in the navy department,
Washington, D. C. Here, ship and
plane movements are traced and
communicated daily to the fleet post
offices by wire and airmail. In
formation on ship and plane move
ments come in from all over the
world—by radio, letter and messen
ger.
Throughout the world, there are
over 5,000 navy post offices, varying
greatlv in size and appearance—
some within the United States but
the vast majority are on board ship
or at advanced bases or on captured
and liberated islands. The large ones
serving the mobile units are desig
nated as fleet post offices.
What Navy Men Want.
Extensive surveys show that navy,
coast guard and marine corps per
sonnel overseas above all want let
ters—letters giving local news and
telling of things done and things
planned. Secondly, they want ob
jects with a personal sentimental
appeal such as photographs, snap
shots, drawings made by their
youngsters, and newspaper clippings
that can be enclosed in these letters.
Such surveys also show that they
positively know what they don’t
want. They don’t want cakes, soft
candies, cookies, cigarettes and fan
cy toilet kits. These foods do not
survive the trip to the Pacific and
arrive in a battered, moldy condi
tion.
To make sure your package ar
rives in good condition, the follow
ing suggestions are outlined:
1. Use a strong container (spe
cial boxes are designed for this
purpose).
2. Pack each article in shred
ded paper or some tiller material
to prevent movement inside the
package.
3. Inside each package put a
sheet of paper with a list of the
contents and the full address of
the person to whom it is sent
plus your return address.
4. Tie the box with cord, then
WRAP it in heavy paper and tie
it with strong cord.
5. PRINT the address in ink
directly on the wrapping: don’t
use gummed labels which fall
off when they are subjected to
moisture.
Experience has shown that a man
overseas places a far higher value
on a letter from home than a pack
age of candy, or a long delayed
newspaper. Because of the great
morale factor, the navy delivers first
class mail to the far Pacific as ex
peditiously as possible.
Host of Small Fires Do More Damage Than the Few Great Ones
A tough forest fire is a terrible
enemy to combat. It sometimes at
tacks on a front from one to more
than twenty miles in width. It can
sweep forward at a speed to over
take a man on horseback. It de
velops a heat that can ignite a stump
more than 100 yards removed from
any flames. It stirs air currents to
the speed of a tornado.
The great forest fires, the ones we
read about, are the more spectacu
lar and do terrific damage—but
there are 10,000 times as many little
fires, which we seldom hear about,
and the sum total of their damage
is the greater of the two. Anyhow,
every big fire was little when it start
ed. Who starts them? The public
accounts for approximately 98 per
cent of all forest fires, according to
the official records of the forest
service, careless tossing of burning
matches or tobacco is described as
the most frequent cause. Incendi
arists—people who start fires for a
thrill or for malice—rank second.
Approximately 61,000 men are
kept constantly subject to fire fight
ing duty today. Of these, some 52,
500 are responsible to state forest
ers and administrators of private
ly owned timberlands, and about
9,000 are members of the federal
land administrative agencies which
include the forest service. In spite
of their efforts, however, fire annu
ally destroys as much as 800,000,000
cubic feet of timber.
Looking at
I_JOLLYWOOD, the town that’s
made “colossal,” "gigantic,"
and "stupendous” the keynotes of
the movies, likes nothing better than
giving the fans their money’s worth.
Where the stage supplies a line of
20 girls in a musical, the movies
(bless ’em) give us 200. Such
prodigality pays off and always has.
That’s one reason studios do things
in a big way.
Some of the boys recently sat
down and figured that the fans who
pay to see Fred MacMurray or
Bette Davis in a picture would be
twice as eager to . _
see their favor
ites if said favor
ites were to do
two roles in the
same film instead
of the customary
single stint. Two
for the price of
one is the bait
held out these
days. Imagine
how the bobby
soxers would
Gene Kelly
queue up if a marquee were to read:
“Tonight: 2—Frank Sinatras—2” 1
The dual role (one star playing
two parts in the same movie) is
back in vogue with a bang. Actors
are delighted—and why not?—since
this means twice as many closeups.
But camera men and technicians
are cussin’ right out loud, for mak
ing a pair of actors sprout where
there should be one is a tricky and
tedious job. It was bad enough in
days of silent movies to match such
action, but with dialogue the prob
lem takes on the tone of a Russian
trying to translate a speech done
in Chinese.
it a an Epidemic
Over at Mutual, Fred MacMurray
is playing twin brothers in the com
edy “Pardon My Past,” on which
Leslie Fenton serves as both pro
ducer and director. This comedy has
Fred playing two distinct charac
ters, one comedy, the other a heavy.
When I asked Fred how he liked be
ing a split personality he quipped
back at me with: "Don’t forget,
Hedda, it isn’t every man who gets
a chance to shake hands with him
self. And it isn’t every man who
gets the chance of being his own ri
val for the affections of pretty Mar
guerite Chapman.”
Over at Warners’, Bette Davis is
having herself an emotional daisy
day as two girls—one good, t’other
bad—in “A Stolen Life.” Bette’s a
triple-threat gal on this. She’s also
producing it. Bette about emotes
herself to pieces when she plays a
single role, so you can imagine
what this is doing to her.
Cornel Wilde of “A Song to Re
member” is also hitting the dual
role trail in “A Thousand and One
Nights,” a technicolor extravaganza
of old Bagdad. A1 Green, director,
had his hands full on this one, for
not only does Cornel do a dual stint
but Dennis Hoey works in double
exposure throughout the story, im
personating an eastern potentate and
his wicked twin brother, Hajji. Ray
Rennahan, camera man, told me he
went berserk trying to keep the
characters straight on the film.
In “Scared Stiff,” which comes
from Pine-Thomas, Lurien Little
field also plays two parts, eccentric
twin brothers, who get mixed up in
the theft of a jewel-studded chess
set, of all things! Danny Kaye in
“Wonder Man” plays identical
twins, too.
The Hard Way
On the stage a few plays have
had a star play two separate and
distinct parts in the same show.
This causes the actor or actress to
make quick costume changes just
off the stage and switch wigs as
quickly as possible. But it really
takes a movie camera to present
anything as boisterous and blatant
as Betty Hutton singing a duet with
herself in "Here Come the Waves”
or Gene Kelly’s startling alter ego
routine in which he serves as his j
own dancing partner in “Cover
Girl.”
The dual role, however, is as old j
as the moving picture itself. ’Way ]
back in the days of short-reelers ;
technicians discovered how to make
half a film, take a scene, then wind j
back and expose the other half
I which had remained unexposed.
Crude double exposure was thus ob
tained, but it was a far cry from
such smooth achievements as hav
ing Fred MacMurray hand himself
a letter in "Pardon My Past” or
Cornel Wilde’s duel with himself in
“A Thousand and One Nights.”
The stars enjoy the glory of a
showy dual assignment. No, they
don’t get twice their salary, but the
extra footage, applause and glory
make up for the lack of bulge in
their bank accounts.
• • #
A Great Opportunity
We'll see if our big boys in the
studios can take it. They’re getting
overseas shots like mad. Two top
men from each studio have been in
vited by the government to go over.
Idea is for them to be shown the
horrors of Naziism, Fascism, con
centration camps, torture chambers,
so that from now on they can keep
this in mind when planning pictures.
Hordes of slaves from many coun
tries must be reeducated. Pictures
will teach them the meaning of free
dom.
lHI.Phillipr
THOUGHTS ON HORSE
RACING
Horse racing is a form of compe
tition between horses to determine
what shape the customers are In.
•
It is a demonstration in durability
for all participants except the horses.
» m[
It is a type of sport that combines
all the features of a subway jam, a
food riot, a Christmas shopping rush
and a panic in the madhouse.
_>
A man can get the same sensa
tions in any subway station during
i the rush hour for a nickel. And in
j addition he won’t have to listen to
| any tips that the local can heat the
express if the smart money is up.
- •
Racing is proof of the claim that,
for a chance to lose $2 swiftly, a
man will undergo all known forms ol
inconvenience and torture, provid
ed they are endured in an aroma
of steamed frankfurters, beer, B.O.
and fresh roasted peanuts.
•
Once horse racing may have been
I the Sport of Kings. Itut the prole
tariat has taken over. If a king
gets to his seat today with no ribs
broken you know he had the king's
horses running interference for him.
•_
Where once a few thousand per
sons spent leisurely afternoons, tens
of thousands today blitz the tracks,
panting, popeyed and perspiring as
they reproduce Custer's Last Fight
with the tomahawking done in tech
nicolor.
When pari mutuels stepped Into
American racing brotherly love, or
der, dignity, common sense and
laws regarding mayhem flew out
the window. Window is right!
_*_
We used to go to the track now
and then for recreation. Now we go
a couple of times a season to take
off weight, test our stamina, and get
a fair idea of what Indian warfare
was like.
_•_
We used to see a horse occasional
ly. Now we do well if we see a
horse’s ears.
Once we watchpd ’em come down
the stretch, neck and neck. Now the
best we can do is to get it by loud
speaker while hanging onto our
watch, pleading for the women and
children first and wondering where
our hat went.
Once inside it is every man for
himself and no accident or health
insurance sold on the grounds.
• • •
THE JAP LEADERS
TO THEIR EMPEROR
We offer our apologies,
As planes above you swarm,
For putting you upon a spot
And making it so warm;
We're sorry bombers do
Your royal dwelling skirt;
Excuse it, please, if it appears
That we have done you dirt!
We are so very sorry that
You even smell the smoke
And that our busy firemen
The royal grounds must soak;
We abjectly apologize
And shed a bitter tear
That war we planned so far away
Should ever come so near.
It is distressing just to know
That "smoke gets in your
eyes"— ,
And for each whiff of it we are
Glad to apologize;
We’re sorry that you had to know
The brutal facts of life;
We hoped to run this conflict as
Our little private strife.
Again we do express our grief;
We re broken hearted, too,
When we see war so near at
hand
It’s right next door to YOU
We didn't plan our war that way
It fills us with remorse,
So, once more, deep apologies
To you and TO YOUR HORSE!
• • •
President Truman’s old home at
Independence is being painted. All
we hope is that, as President, he i
will get a better paint job than most
folks are getting these days. Ye ed
bad the barn painted twice in the
last three years and the first heavy
rain washed it off. What are the
painters using for paint today? And
if so why perpetuate the custom of
thinning it out? Good luck, Harry;
you’ll need it!
0 • 0
"Hotels will not be permitted to
collect service charges on long dis- j
tance phone calls, the U. S. Supreme
court announced.”—News item.
Wanna bet?
• • •
Can You Remember—
Away back when a butcher's wife j
thought nothing of asking him to bring
home a steak?
And when the navy was thought to \
be the less dangerous branch of the
service in wartime?
• • •
The Federal Reserve board is
against lifting restrictions against
time payments in buying new auto
mobiles. It realizes that never in
history have Americans been so lit
tle apprehensive about going into
permanent hock.
SEWING CIRCLE NEEDLECRAFT
Practical Pinafore for Little Girl
CHE’D rather wear cute embroid
^ ered pinafores than her frilliest
party dress! Her friends will envy
her the baby ducks or bears.
For cooking fresh asparagus,
use an old percolator. Stand the
asparagus in the percolator, add
boiling water, cover and cook.
—•—
To starch men’s collars very
stiff, add a tablespoonful of epsom
salts to an ordinary-sized pan of
starch.
—•—
To protect the heels of rubbers
or overshoes, cut pieces of felt just
the size to fit into the heel, then
cement it in place. This will re
ceive the impact and protect the
rubber.
—•—
Since fiber door mats are hard
to replace, keep the old ones in
good repair by cutting off frayed
edges, rebinding, or overcasting
worn places.
If a rubber ring around the top
of a jar of preserves is inferior
and causes a leak, pour melted
paraffin wax around the top.
—•—
Insert small wads of cotton into
the fingertips of your rubber
gloves. This will prevent the fin
gernails from cutting through.
—•—
To crush pills for a sick person,
place the pills between two table
spoons fitted together and press
hard. There will be no mess or
loss.
Two pinafore motifs In o'le pattern. Pat
tern 844 has transfer of 12 motifs from
s,i by Hi to 6 by 9',i inches; directions;
stitches.
Due to an unusually large demand and
current war conditions, slightly more time
is required in tilling orders for a few of
the most popular pattern numbers.
Send your order to:
Sewing Circle Ncedlecraft Dept.
564 W. Randolph St. Chicago 80, 111.
Enclose 16 cents for Pattern
No__
Name___—
Ail dr oss-.. ■■ ■—■
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STABILIZER j
SNAPPY FACTS
RUBBER
Before the end of 1943, syn
thetic rubber production will
probably be at the rate of a
million tons a year. This roc
ord hat been accomplished in
three years, since the fall of
Singapore.
Since Pearl Harbor, pasienger cars
have carried 75 per cent of the
country's local essential transporta
tion load and have been the meant
of carrying four out of five war
workers to and from their jobs.
r Flavor Delights Millions/ 'S
CORN FLAKES
“The Grains Are Great Foods” —
Kellogg's Corn Flakes bring you nearly all
the protective food elements of the whole
grain declared essential to human nutrition.
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