editoradmin
The Constitution
by Shirley E. Turner
The Constitution made in 1786 has been the foundation of our nation’s welfare for 155 years. This constitution was adopted by the 13 original states on September 17, 1786 at the time when George Washington – the father of our country – was President. This constitution upheld the rights of people who were free; it made such people as those which you see on the left of the heading of this article.
Since 1786 ‘til this date 1941 we have lived and cherished in America the rights guaranteed by this, our legal constitution of the United States. The people you see on the right side of this article’s heading is the generation of today, you and I! These rights which we now enjoy are safe-guarding our living, and our country. This constitution which is the old one, past present and future one shall always legally proclaim our liberties.
Perhaps quite far back in our minds we shall add a few amendments, such as, destroy all dictatorships, protect and defend our nation by safeguarding others; and determine without controversy the real meaning of neutral and belligerent country. These things which we can think are proof of the rights held by our constitution. The constitution by which we pattern our lives will forever “Proclaim liberty – throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof.”
Buy U.S. Savings Bonds Help Defend the Constitution of United States
Direct Mailing
by Willametta Turnepseed
The Brooklynite arrived in the same mail as notice of the death of our revered and much loved James F. Morton; thus pointing to the sad fact that NAPA has suffered an irreparable loss. Eleanor Chaffee Wood proves that an expert craftsman does not lose her skill under an immediate demand for it. Bavardage, Autumn 1941 is the happy marriage of congenial minds, aided by and abetted by that arch spinster Sophronisba.
Parallelpideon… definitely Brodieque – which is an apt synonym for puckish. The Shenanigander deserves paeans of praise for being one anonymous paper genuinely funny without treading tender toes. Apparently without an axe to grind, the publisher gives the impression of being a person (probably a male) who is socially adjusted and either very young or very wise.
The Reader and Collector is quietly making a place for itself. There is a froth of humor followed by several pages of solidly interesting material. Editor Spencer can congratulate himself on a fine August issue of The Fossil; the most interesting one received in months that I’ve been privileged to be on the mailing list.
&mpersand is proof that much value can be compressed in small space; Cosmological Twaddle is doggerel that gives poetry a run for the post. Earbender – Hey! Who let that in? It’s undignified, outrageous and we refuse to admit that it amused us heartily. Reverie – on the theory of saving best for last we couldn’t do better than this; fine conscientious workmanship, excellent contributions and an editor who is at once friendly, intelligent and able can only mean A-1 reading matter.
Musca Domestica
by A. H. Pedrick
Can you tell me why a people, with such highly developed intellects as our moderns have must resort to a revolving propeller in order to travel through the air – when – swat! These pesky little devils – swat! Can make a perfect landing – and swat – instantaneous take off SWAT.
National Defense
by Dorothy O’Niell
Gradually, people today, while the United States is at a crisis, are turning their thoughts from taxing and drafting to metal objects such as the airplanes and anti-aircraft guns which are so essential for our protection.
Can you imagine a 264 pound shell being fired in Philadelphia at exactly 10:03 and at exactly 10:06 the same shell landing in New York and blowing the top of the Empire State building completely off, or airplanes swooping down within 500 feet or war ships, dropping bombs, then flashing away at 200 miles per hour?
Just such feats were performed once in the war of 1914-1918 and if necessary will reenact them. So lets all give our support to the government of United States and try to cut down on the metal objects we use in the home, and every day uses. Help the government to build these vital objects, the airplane and the anti-aircraft gun.
Short Articles Wanted:
Will members of the National Amateur Press Association, any members, consider writing a short article for me? On any subject. Please mail all articles to the address in the corner of page two. Hoping to hear from some of you members.
One Meets Such Interesting People
(From the New Yorker)
For years it’s apparent that sometime we’d have to hunt up Hugh Troy, whose exploits include secreting ten-cent store pearls in the oysters of fellow dinner guests, and digging up 54th street without a permit. Not to put too fine a point on it, Mr. Troy is a practical joker. He’s an artist too – did the murals in the cocktail bar of the Savoy-Plaza. “People ought to be mystified more than they are” is an expression of Mr. Troy’s philosophy. “Life goes along too regularly.”
He played a lot of practical jokes in college (he’s Cornell, ‘27), of which we’ll set down only one. There was a professor noted principally for his habit of constantly wearing rubbers. One rainy day, while the professor was in the classroom, Mr. Troy got a hold of these, painted them to resemble feet, and then covered them with lampblack. It was still raining when the professor left the building and the rain washed the lampblack off in no time, leaving the educator, to his pained bewilderment and the students’ general amusement, walking along apparently in his bare and very large feet.
Once Mr. Troy and two friends sneaked into Central Park with a bench they had purchased. They carried it about until they met a cop. He arrested them, of course, for stealing park property, and took them to the Arsenal police station, where they produced the bill of sale for the bench and were released. They kept showing up at the Arsenal station all day, each time with a different cop, until the Sergeant got mad and had them escorted out of the park.
Mr. Troy is a bad man to have as an enemy. He used to go to Loew’s Sheridan Theater a lot and sit in the balcony; being six feet give inches tall, he would get into the way of the light beam from the projection booth when he stood up, and people would boo at him. He got madder and madder at this, and finally, on the opening night of Garbo’s first talkie, turned up with a can of moths, which he released about nine o’clock. They flew right up into the light beam, where they stayed all evening, raising cain with the picture.
Editor’s Note: This article was copied from the August 1939 copy of the Readers Digest: “The Talk of the Town” in the New Yorker.
Washington Correspondent
Published and mailed to members of the National Amateur Press Association – NAPA once a month every 25th. Published, edited and mimeographed by Harry F. Young Jr. H Street N.W. All letters are welcome, with comments or without. This issue was published as my part to the National Defense of America.