From the files of the Bristol Phoenix, Spring 1915:

EDITORIAL

Urgent Need for an Army Reserve

The crises through which we are passing has brought forcibly to our mind the urgent need of an Army Reserve for use in time of national peril. It should be a force inexpensive to maintain, yet effective for immediate service if our country is invaded.

The best and most practical, and by far the least expensive method of maintaining such a force, would be to remove the National Guard, or State militia, from state supervision and place it unreservedly under the control of the federal government as a reserve corps of the regular army.

It could then be brought up to a maximum strength of 500,000 in times of peace, properly officered and equipped, and would be a valuable support to the regular army in the initial stages of an invasion and pending the raising of an army of volunteers, a proceeding which requires many months of valuable time.

Its presence as a federal armed force in the several states would act as a greater deterrent upon the lawless element than it would as a state organization of militiamen, for the strong arm of the government reaches far and shows but little of favoritism.   

Narragansett Rubber Co. introduced

Terrance McCarty announces that he will conduct his business of manufacturing tennis shoes, arctics and rubber footware under the name of Narragansett Rubber Company, instead of the name Terrence Mc/Carty, as heretofore.

There will be no change in ownership or management of the business, and it will conducted as heretofore.

At present, 35,000 pairs of tennis shoes are manufactured each week, and the 350 hands employed there will be kept busy on orders for some time to come. The business outlook is very promising, and big orders for arctics for next season are being received almost daily.

The weekly payroll amounts to over $3,000, and this adds greatly to the general prosperity which prevails in the town.

Additional experienced shoemakers and machine operators on tennis tops can secure employment at the factory, it was learned yesterday.

British Order 14 80-ft Launches

The plant of the Herreshoff Manufacturing Company will be busy for the next six months with the construction of 14 launches for the British navy. The original plans were for boats of 60 feet in length, but the order has been changed to 80 feet in length.

Each of the boats will have three propellers, one in the center of the keel, and one each side of the keel. They will be equipped with high speed Herreshoff engines.

Pigs in the Cellar

Health Officer Dr. Howard does not believe that pigs kept in a dwelling house are conducive to good health. He recently discovered that a family residing in the eastern part of town had kept a litter of “porkers” in the cellar since last fall. This week he sent about 30 notices to house owners and tenants in different parts of the town to abate various nuisances, or prosecution would follow,

Brickyard Reopens

The plant of the Barrington Steam Brick Company, which closed early last winter, has resumed the making of bricks.

New Poultry House

Col. S. P. Colt is to have a new poultry house erected on his estate at Poppasquash, west of the house formerly owned by Samuel W. Church. The structure will be of wood, 400 feet long and 20 feet wide, and facing the south.                   

Pastime Theatre lineup

Saturday night at the Pastime, photo plays and vaudeville. The pictures include Maurice Costello in “The Evil the Men Do,” three parts. Mary Pickford in “Just Like a Woman,” comedy drama; Charles Chaplin in “In the Park,” and Billy Sunday in action. Don’t miss the big vaudeville act, Cycling Crane, tramp cycling artist, one of the best in his line.