Digest of stories from the Beds & Herts Saturday Telegraph: September 15th, 1917.

At Edwards' Restaurant, Manchester Street, last evening, a meeting was held to consider the question of forming a local Socialist organisation and after some discussion it was decided to form a Luton branch of the Independent Labour Party. There were a good number present.

In opening the meeting, Mr T. Skelton said a preliminary meeting had been held. He moved that the they form themselves into a branch of I.L.P., and after lengthy discussion it was seconded and carried.

The election of officers followed. Mr Holdstock was elected Chairman, Dr Birch (Treasurer), Mr Schofield (Secretary), Mr Edwards (Literary Secretary), Mr T. Skelton (Organising and Lecture Secretary). Executive committee - Messrs G. Bull, D. Macfarlane, T. Hawkesley, T. Knight, Mowitt and Twort, with power to co-opt ladies.

It was decided to meet fortnightly on Friday evenings, and to apply for the use of a room at the Labour Club.

• There are indications that the war will not have ended long before there is something in the nature of a volcanic disturbance in Luton's local government, predicted the Telegraph leading article. The Labour Party are making little fuss, but there are indications that they will make a bold bid for strong representation on the various public bodies, and they will not be satisfied with anything but adequate representation.

• Strong protests were made at a special meeting of the Luton Education Committee on Thursday on the proposal in the new Education Bill before Parliament to transfer part of the educational administration to the County Council.

• For a considerable time the educationalists of Luton have been concerned with the problem of dealing with mentally deficient schoolchildren. In his report for the last year, Acting School Medical Officer, Dr W. J. Cox advocated the setting up of a special school in the town with the teaching of occupations rather than the "three Rs". At present mentally deficient children in ordinary schools were a great nuisance to other children and a source of anxiety to the teachers. His report, however, showed that the health of the children generally was exceptionally good.

• News has reached Luton that Gunner John Patrick Driscoll, a former employee at the Midland Passenger Station, Luton, is missing, believe killed. Born in Cheltenham, he was serving with the Machine Gun Section attached to the Gloucestershire Regiment.

• The Luton friends of Pte Sidney Murden will be pleased to hear that he is going on satisfactorily in a Canterbury hospital after being recently wounded in action in France. Pte Murden worked on the Great Northern Railway before joining up at the beginning of the year, and resided at 62 Wenlock Street with a relative, Insp William Peach, of the G.N.R. He was also a popular Sunday school teacher at St Matthew's.

• On Thursday at Messrs Hudson's engineering works in Langley Road, Albert Leakey, of 23 Shirley Road, was working on a lathe when his left hand was caught in the gear. One of his fingers was badly crushed and he is now being medically attended at the Bute Hospital.

• The appearance of rabbits on the menu of our fighting men may not be without its influence on the price of felt hats. Skins of dead bunnies go to the making of felt hats among other things, and when the trade learned that the Government had purchased for the troops the whole of the surplus of Australian rabbits available for export, there was pertubation lest the skins should be lost and the present shortage of fur accentuated. In round figures, 24 million rabbits are involved and their skins would yield 300 tons of fur.

• In the correspondence column, "Vigilant" asked if nothing could be done to awaken the Tramways Company. "Yesterday at quarter past one, when the workers were hurrying to dinner, all cars en route came to a dead stop at Dallow Road end and at the Town Hall. It was no laughing matter to the workers, for whom there is no excuse if they are late at their various factories. The chronic irregularity of time keeping and the unexpected stoppages of current are a discredit to the town."

• Dunstable firemen responded to a call on Sunday night - at their own fire station behind the Town Hall. The blaze broke out in the upper storey, used as a store room for corn for the borough horses. Considerable damage was done to equipment, including eight lengths of hose, but the fire engine was saved.

• Goals by a young Will Lawson, standing in for Tempest, after 20 minutes and from 'Bullet' Jones seven minutes from time gave Luton Town a 2-0 victory at home over the 48th Highlanders (134th Canadian Infantry Battalion) today. It was not a great match, but it was only the second match the 'Kilties' had failed to win out of 35.

• Remember on going to bed tomorrow night either to put on the clock for all hours, or to stop it altogether for one hour, because summer time ends at 3 am on Monday morning.