8 NORTHASHORESE REEZE 
North Shure Breese 
Published every Friday afternoon by 
NOBTH SHORE BREEZE CO. 
33 Beach Street Manchester, Mass. 
J. ALEX. LODGE, Editor, 
Telephones: Manchester 378, 132-M. 
Subscription rates: $2.00 a year; 3 months (trial) 50 cents. 
Advertising rates on application. 
Address all communications and make checks payable to 
North Shore Breeze Co., Manchester, Mass. 
Entered as second-class matter at the Manchester, Mass., 
Postoffice. 
VOL. XIVe 
A New Rescue Misston to look after the “down 
and outer’ has been established in Boston and was opened 
with fitting ceremonies this week. It is the Fred H. Sea- 
vey Seminary Settlement—which is operated in connection 
with the Morgan Memorial hospital. Considerable atten- 
ton has been attracted to the proposed metnod of tun- 
ning the institution and clergymen and sociological work- 
ers from all over the country are interested in watching 
its progress. The plan to be carried out is that the prodi- 
cal shall be cared for first and questions asked afterward. 
No man will be sent away without something to eat. 
Even the “drunks” will be taken in. A bath, a square 
meal and a shave go with the first night’s lodging. The 
applicant’s clothes are cleaned, disinfected and pressed, 
Curing the night, and in the morning he is sent out pre- 
sentably attired to look for a job. If successful in his 
search he is kept at the institution and fed and lodged at 
a nominal sum. If he does not find work, he is given 
employment about the institution. Every assistance in 
fnding work is provided by the persons in charge of the 
iustitution. The value of the Settlement to the com- 
munity and to the individual served is beyond question. 
Without doubt more institutions will be patterned a‘ter 
tiie Seavey Seminary Settlement by sociological workers 
in other cities. 
Feb. 25, 1916. No. 8 
Ir tHe BustNess of the New England Telephone and 
Yelegraph Company is in any degree a barometer of gen- 
eral business conditions throughout New England, 1915 
was a year of increased activity in industry and one of 
general prosperity. It is the custom of the officials of the 
company to guage general business conditions by the rise 
and fall of its own toll business. It would appear that 
this method is not at all a bad one to use. In the report 
of directors of the company just made public by President 
Spaulding, the past year was shown to be a profitable one. 
During the year the authorized capital of the company 
was increased to 750,000 shares, an increase of 250,000 
shares. Plans are being made to take care of an increased 
toll business in 1916, an indication that the officials of the 
company look for another year of widespread prosperity. 
One of the features of the report is the statement regard- 
ig the number of shares taken by employees of the com- 
pany under its co-operative plan announced the first of 
last year. Over $155,000 was paid under the benefit fund 
for pensions, accidents, sickness, etc. Some of the critics 
~of big business who find material for political argument 
in the conduct of large industries could study to advan- 
tage the advinistration of the N. E. T. & T. Co. and its 
associated companies. 
Ir 1s Time to make spring plans. There are North 
Shore workman who are wait’ng for you to begin op:r- 
ations, 
_ defensive purposes, the route selected by Congressman | 
Feb. 25, 1916. 
CONGRESSMAN WiLtiAM D. Stevens of California _ 
has introduced an unique defense measure in the form of — 
a bill to the House of Representatives providing for a _ 
National Defense Highway. While there is nothing ex- | 
traordinary or unreasonable in a National Highway for 
Sievens appears to have little value as a defensive meas 
ure. Beginning at the coast in California he would have 
it run across the southern states to Jacksonville, Florida; 
up the Atlantic Seaboard to Portland, Maine; from New | 
York City to Seattle, Wash., and thence to its starting 
point in California. Its length would be over 10,000 
niles and over 100,000 men would be employed for a 
number of years in its construction and maintenance. As 
Mr. Stevens intimates, many times the number of men _ 
could be employed in “hard times,” solving the unemploy- 
ment problem and incidentally the employees could be — 
given military drill a few hours each day, providing a 
»Jendid reserve force in emergency. The last part of 
us preparedness plan is highly commendable. , 
The vital -weakness of the scheme, however, is that 
only a shell of the defensive highway system is provided 
for. Without important “feeder” roads connecting such 
a highway with large cities and bases of: supplies in the 
interior of the country, the main road would be practic-. 
al’y useless. Another fault with the plan is that it covers 
a route already splendidly built up with state roads for — 
the most part. Perhaps, in such a vital matter as national 
defense, it is unfair to count the cost of the projects 
brought forward in countless numbers by civilian advo- 
cates of preparedness. In this case, however, a word re- 
garding the expense of the plan. At the minimum pro- 
vided by Congressman Stevens, 100,000 men would be | 
enployed at an expense of about $300,000 a day for labor 
alone. As this is about half of the expense of the con- 
struction and maintenance of the roads, over a half-mil- 
lion dollars a day would be spent “for a period of several 
years” at the minirun provided for ordinary conditions. 
As the bill provides for additional employees during “hard 
times” a conservative estimate of $2,000,000 a day would 
pay for the work at such times. : 
Preparedness is vitally essential in this country today 
and national highways should be a part of the plan for 
better defenses, but it is possible to construct roads of 
greater strategical importance than those provided in the 
Stevens Bill and at a less cost. 
GQ 
I 
GiFFoRD PincHot, ALWAys AN ARDENT CHAMPION 
of the policy of conservation of the natural resources of 
the country, is now taking up arms against the Shields 
itil, which is at present before the Senate. The measure — 
was introduced in behalf of the water power interests and 
is aimed to give them free control of the power generated 
by navigable streams. As Mr. Pinchot remarks, the bill 
provides for the return to the Government of its own 
property at the end of fifty years, provided the Govern-. 
scent will pay the unearned increament and take over the 
lighting plants. A nice little arrangement—for the power 
uiterests. ; 
Similar meastires were vetoed by President Roosevelt 
and President Taft. ‘There can be little doubt that Presi-- 
dent Wilson will veto the present measure, if passed, for 
it is a matter of public interest, entirely removed from 
political partizanship. Nevertheless, as Mr. Pinchot 
points out, unless opposition is brought to bear the meas-— 
ure tay slip by unnoticed in the consideration of the im- 
+ 
nortant international problems confronting the nation. 
FrspruAry Has BkEN a real winter month. 
ever January lacked February has made up. 
What- 
