{Begin deleted text}Thomaston, Conn.{End deleted text}
{Begin deleted text}Tuesday, Jan 3, 1939{End deleted text}
Ousted from his accustomed place in the forum members of the {Begin inserted text}fire{End inserted text} department who this week take advantage of factory closings to {Begin deleted text}[?]{End deleted text} enjoy the {Begin deleted text}[p?]{End deleted text} prerogitives of their membership, Mr. McCurrie takes refuge behind his paper in a corner of the room. None of his cronies have returned to the circle and he affects a magnificent disdain of the opinions of these brash youngsters (ages 35 to 50) but {Begin deleted text}[?]{End deleted text} the {Begin deleted text}[?]{End deleted text} emanation from behind the newspaper of sundry snorts ejaculations make it plain that he is closely following the {Begin deleted text}[?]{End deleted text} conversation. Once or twice he {Begin deleted text}[?]{End deleted text} attempts {Begin deleted text}[can x?]{End deleted text} a caustic interjection, but being flatly {Begin deleted text}[i r?]{End deleted text} ignored elapses into {Begin deleted text}[?]{End deleted text} frustrated silence.
Mr. Coburn and Mr. Brennan are engaged in a {Begin deleted text}[?]{End deleted text} discussion of economic matters.
Mr. Coburn: "I can't see any sense {Begin deleted text}[?]{End deleted text} in taking all that {Begin deleted text}[??]{End deleted text} gold and {Begin deleted text}[?]{End deleted text} burying it in a hole. I mean out there in {Begin deleted text}[?]{End deleted text} Kentucky What the hell good is it doing anyone? What good is it any way? Gold don't mean anything any more. Will the world ever return to the gold standard? {Begin deleted text}[?]{End deleted text} I doubt it. You're going to see some other kind of a money system so me day. Gold won't be {Begin deleted text}[?]{End deleted text} worth any more than any other metal. And this country will be left holding the bag, as usual."
Mr. Brennan: "Same as the war {Begin deleted text}[?]{End deleted text} debts."
Mr. Coburn: "Of course I don't {Begin deleted text}[?]{End deleted text} believe in inflation, either. But all I say is, what {Begin deleted text}[??]{End deleted text} good did it do to {Begin page no. 2}corner all that gold? What did this country ever get out of it? What good did it do to call in all the gold? They were supposed to make a big profit out of it."
Mr. Brennan: "Them war debts now. I see in the paper the other day, where England and France are fixing it up so's they can borrow money in this country to pay off their war debts to this country. Can you beat that {Begin deleted text}[?]{End deleted text} for nerve? Leave it to them to figure out some way to {Begin deleted text}[???]{End deleted text} put the screws to Uncle Samuel. I bet they do it, too. I bet this country will fall for it. This country was {Begin deleted text}[a?]{End deleted text} always a sucker for England and France. But this is the first time I ever see them try out right robbery."
Mr. Coburn: "You know why they figured that one out, don't you? They're gonna make plenty on the {Begin deleted text}[exx?]{End deleted text} exchange. They take the money from this country, change it in to their money, and then pay it back to us. They make a {Begin deleted text}[prx?]{End deleted text} profit on the difference.
Get it? The bankers in this country will probably make it too. Those are the boys {Begin deleted text}[?]{End deleted text} that benefitted the last time. The whole thing was {Begin deleted text}[axxx?]{End deleted text} arranged so they could make money."
Mr. Brennan: "Yeah. Well, I aiN't {Begin deleted text}[gxxxx?]{End deleted text} gonna worry much about it right now. I don't think many {Begin deleted text}[?]{End deleted text} other people are worryin' about it, either. I was {Begin deleted text}[oxxx?]{End deleted text} out New Year's eve havin' a good time and a lot of other people were, too, I noticed.
I took that excursion to New York and went down to Times Square. I got a kick out of it. I never see such a mob. We got pushed along, half the time our feet were off the ground. You had to go with the {Begin deleted text}[xroxxx?]{End deleted text} crowd. I got a new pair of rubbers that morning and like a fool I wore 'em. {Begin page no. 3}They were these half-rubbers, you {Begin deleted text}[?]{End deleted text} know the kind. I wasn't there two minutes before {Begin deleted text}[?]{End deleted text} somebody stepped on one in back and off it came. No use tryin' to {Begin deleted text}s?]{End deleted text} stoop down, or even stop, in that mob. {Begin deleted text}[Nxx?]{End deleted text} Worth your life. When we got out of the mob, I just kicked the other one off and let {Begin deleted text}[?]{End deleted text} it go."
Mr. Coburn: Where'd you go?"
Mr. Brennan: "Oh, we just went in a couple of places for drinks. You know how they soak you on New Year's eve. Went in Steuben's tavern and had a few, then we went into the {Begin deleted text}[Hofxxx?]{End deleted text} Hofbrau, but there was a cover charge, four dollars a person, so we came out. We went down to see the sights more than anything else. You can get all the drinks you want right at home, at the same price. Why be a sucker just because its New Year's eve?"
Mr. Coburn: "Go in Dempsey's?"
Mr. Brennan: "No, we didn't even go by it."
Mr. Coburn: "I bet it was mobed. We went in the last time I was down to New York, and it was jammed then. It wasn't any holiday either.
We saw Dempsey. He keeps runnin' between the bar and the dinin' room and he's a mighty busy man. He earns whatever they pay him. You know, he don't own that place. Probably gets a cut on what they make. {Begin deleted text}[Cxxx?]{End deleted text} A Couple of girls were in a booth the day we were there, and soon as they saw him they hollered 'OO, Jack, how about an autograph?' He says, 'I'll be right back, girls, 'but he didn't come back while we were there."
Mr. Brennan: "I don't blame him. Well, you can have {Begin page no. 4}New York. All right to go down {Begin deleted text}[txxx?]{End deleted text} there once in a while for a trip, but I wouldn't live there if they gave it to me."
Mr. Coburn: "Same here. Last time I was down there we went to see Joe Tyler, used to live here. He lives out on Long Island now. He gave us a big yarn about having an important appointment that afternoon. Said if things turned out right it would mean a big job for him."
Mr. Brennan: "Why is it that {Begin deleted text}[??]{End deleted text} everyone who goes to live down there begins to shoot the old baloney?"
Mr. Coburn: "I don't know. Must be something in the air. Anyway, Joe said for us to follow him, he had to go downtown, and he'd show us the shortest way through the city. We followed him for a while, and then we got tired of it and give him the horn. It made me {Begin deleted text}[?]{End deleted text} [laugh?]. He was creepin' along--we just passed him out and {Begin deleted text}[caxxx?]{End deleted text} came on home. What the hell, nobody has to show me the way around down there."
Mr. Brennan: "Joe ever get his good job?"
Mr. Coburn: "I don't know, I haven't seen him since.
Mr. Brennan: "Well, a lot of {Begin deleted text}[gxxx?]{End deleted text} guys from here have gone down there and landed good jobs. You can stick around here all your life, work in the clock shop, or the mill, and you'll die on the same job you went in on; but sometimes a fella moves down there, and he makes {Begin deleted text}[somxxx?]{End deleted text} somethin' out of himself.
Mr. {Begin deleted text}[?]{End deleted text} Coburn: "I guess there's more opportunities in the city at that."
Mr. Brennan: "They can have it, just the same."
Mr. [Coburn?]: "It works the other way, too. A fella comes here from {Begin page no. 5}out of town, and right away he gets himself a good job. If you're from town, you don't rate, somehow or other, they ain't got any confidence in you. I seen it happen time and again. They got some prize boneheads {Begin deleted text}[woxxx?]{End deleted text} workin' down here, they got college degrees and some kind of technical trainin' and {Begin deleted text}[?]{End deleted text} so they're supposed to know as much as God Almighty. But it's funny the place {Begin deleted text}[?]{End deleted text} ain't makin' {Begin deleted text}[?]{End deleted text} any money these days."
Mr. Brennan: "They made plenty when they took their foremen and superintendents off the {Begin deleted text}[?]{End deleted text} benches."
Mr. Coburn: "Them days are gone forever. I guess we should of gone to college."
Mr. Brennan: "I guess we should of. We probably wouldn't know any more than we do now, {Begin deleted text}[?]{End deleted text} but they'd think we did anyway."