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198

like wildfire and is based upon Capt. McGuire's (Navy Chaplain) famed remark at Pearl Harbor when this now famed Catholic priest manned a gun during the Jap attack.

^[[red check mark and dot]] The war is not going well in the South Pacific and there is much gloom at the moment. The Japs are threatening to oust the Marines from their hard won toehold in the Solomons and the great naval battles involved in the effort have been costly. We now are said to have only three major carriers left in our fleet! The war looks increasingly long and hard.

En route to Erie
Friday, Oct. 30, '42.

^[[red dot]] Miss Peters finally got me not only a reservation for tonight but a lower at that; I rushed downtown this morning to pick it up. Cause of the excessive travel this week is people going home for [[underline]] election [[/underline]]. Am somewhat ashamed to say the election worries me not. Spent the day compiling information on orders for domestic industrial locomotives for Helsper for the Requirements Committee. Gave $10 token contribution to the Community Chest finally; Lester Selig, multi-millionaire, gave $100, but has offered to make up any deficit the Branch may have. Aluminum Co. of America phoned in for a 20 ton unit to replace one at their Arkansas bauxite mines which "blew up" - one of those unforseen needs that no one seems to appreciate too well. Still no copper for G.E. - the first thing they will question me about tomorrow. Ed Harley says among other things they ought to scrap the bronze statue of "Billy" Penn on Philadelphia's City Hall.

Off for home on the 6:55 with a bad throat coming on but my usual ailment pretty well licked for the moment at least. I went to bed about 9 o'clock, read awhile and fell off to sleep while we stood in Harrisburg. It has been rather a nerve racking week somehow - not all smooth nor satisfactory.