“Christmas Mail Month” September 15 to October 15 A paper, so entitled, is being mailed to all Rotary club presidents and secretaries in the U.S.A. It car- ries the announcement that the Ad- jutant General’s Office of the Army Postal Service has designated the period of September 15 to October 15 as “Christmas mail month” for soldiers overseas, and includes rules for mailing Christmas parcels to members of the army outside con- tinental U.S.A. Club presidents can render a fine service to their government and to the men in the armed forces over- seas by making this mailing infor- mation available, at the earliest pos- sible date, to all club members. A Successful Smalltown Rotary Club Governor Paul Hunter of the 144th district echoed the sentiments of his predecessor with these words when he visited the Rotary Club of Mel- rose, Wis.: The most remarkable Rotary club I have ever heard of. Melrose is a village of only 462 people, yet it has had an ac- - - tive Rotary club for 15 years. The club. rents two rooms over a store, using one for a kitchen and the other for meetings, charges its members fifty cents per week... dues and that pays for meals, etc. When the treasury gets low, the club holds pic- nics, each man bringing his own food, but paying his fifty cents. When the governor visited this club last year, he said: Nothing but Rotary could keep a club alive under their conditions... Answering the question as to the “weak points” in this club, the gov- ernor said: With such a club there can be no weak points. The Rotary Club of Melrose has grown from 16 to 19 members during the past year; it has renewed its Fourth Object subscription to “Re- vista Rotaria”; it conducts all war activities and war drives in the com- munity; it sponsors the Boy Scouts and has raised money for Scouts to attend camp and has taken the boys to the camp. Surely all of this is ample proof that the smallness of a community is no bar to a successful Rotary club. Vacation Camp The Rotary Club of Woodstock, New York, U.S.A., owns a vacation camp for boys and girls, which rep- resents an investment, over the years, of seven or eight thousand dollars in land, buildings and equip- ment, not to mention the time spent by Woodstock Rotarians in keeping the camp in first-class condition. Last year over 450 boys and girls used the camp. Post Wax Joha<¥ onl Pile A discussion of post-war prob- fields, is being broadcast over NBC every Saturday from 7:00 to 7:30 p.m., EWT. The last broadcast, scheduled for Saturday, January 1, 1944, will be by Secretary of State Cordell Hull. The following broadcasts should be of particular interest to Rotary clubs in the U.S.A. which are de- veloping Work Pile plans for their communities: | September 11—“Post-War Jobs: Re- sponsibility of Business.’ Paul G. _ Hoffman; president, Studebaker Cor- | poration, Chairman, Committee for. Economic Development; DeWitt M. Emery, president, National Small Businessmen’s Association of Manu- facturers, and president, Thompson Products, Inc., of Cleveland. September 18—“Post-War Jobs: Re- sponsibility of Labor.” Philip Mur- ray, president, Congress of Industrial ‘ ' Organizations; George M. Harrison, vice-president, American Federation of Labor, and president, Grand Lodge of Brotherhood of Railway Clerks; A. Philip Randolph, presi-- dent, International Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters. Fire Prevention Week The President of the United States and the governors of the 48 states have designated the week of Octo- ber 3-9, 1943, as Fire Prevention Week. During this week an intensive and elaborate nation-wide effort will be made to educate the public in measures for fire prevention and control. Fire has been a principal weapon of this war and it has also been one of the most destructive agents in retarding the war production pro- gram, so it is believed that fire prevention education is more im- portant today than ever before in the history of the United States. Many Rotary clubs throughout the U.S.A. will be cooperating with other community agencies in the observance of this week. In most communities promotional material may be obtained from the local chamber of commerce or the local fire chief. It may also be obtained from the National Fire Protection Assn., 60 Batterymarch St., Boston 10, Mass., U.S.A. Victory Garden The Rotary Club of Buffalo, New York, U.S.A., is the manager of a victory garden with 60 plots avail- able to members of the club or to outsiders. The plots were plowed, harrowed, fertilized and readied for use by the club. lems, by leading experts in many | A Six Point Program: ----- The Rotary Club of Lenoir, North Carolina, has listed the following six points as a part of its program for this current year. 1. Intensification of the Rotary Program in the community as a direct contribution to the war effort of the nation. 2. A revitalized vocational service with emphasis on the FOUR-WAY TEST. 3. Undertaking at least one new and worthwhile community project. 4. A more active presentation and dis- cussion of post-war planning. 3. At least one “Fourth Object Subscrip- tion” to the Revista Rotaria. 6. Visit our neighbor clubs at every opportunity. Farm and Canning Plant Labor The Rotary Club of Lockport, New York, U.S.A., has been doing a fine piece of community service in en- listing people (members and/or out- parce for farm and canning plant abor. Beer at Rotary Meetings From time to time the question has arisen as to whether or not the serving of beer at Rotary meetings is .. proper. That is a matter to be de- termined by each Rotary club. Years ago a questionnaire was circulated among the clubs to ascer- tain the sentiment as to serving alcoholic drinks at Rotary meetings. A tabulation of the replies showed that in the majority of the clubs it was not customary to serve alco- holic drinks during the club lunch- eon or dinner, or for the members of the club individually to order such drinks during the luncheons or dinners. In an assembly of club presidents, at a convention of R.I. a number of years ago, this question was dis- cussed and it was found that a ma- jority of those present considered _it inadvisable for Rotary clubs to have alcoholic drinks at their lunch- eons and dinners. Shortly thereafter the board of directors of R.I. expressed itself as of the opinion that the general sen- timent among the United States clubs was against the serving of alcoholic drinks at Rotary lunch- eons and dinners. While it may be said that Rotary has no Official policy on this ques- tion, it can also be said that experi- ence over a long period of time and many expressions of opinion by Ro- tarians have indicated, at least in countries where it is not the estab- lished custom to serve alcoholic beverages as a part of the meal, that the best interests of the movement seem to be served when alcoholic drinks are not served at Rotary meetings.