RANDOM NOTES

Dominion, Volume 22, Issue 261, 31 July 1929, Page 10

RANDOM NOTES

SIDELIGHTS ON CURRENT EVENTS

LOCAL AND GENERAL

(By

Cosmos.)

A comforting thought from an optimistic reader: “The further we are from the last fine day, the nearer we are to the next one.”

“Imperialistic-minded” persons were not permitted to march in the parade at the funeral of Dr. Sun Yat-Sen. or even to review it. Enforcing the edict must have kept the mind-readers busy.

General Dawes, the recentlyappointed United States Ambassador to Great Britain, once wrote a song entitled “Melody.” The genial ambassador no doubt hopes his next composition will be known as “Harmony.”

History w’ould repeat itself, with variations, if the authorities of the Berlin State library should adopt the plan they are considering of replacing many of their books with rolls of photographic films reproducing the contents of the volumes in one-fortieth of the space. The modern successor of the ancient scroll would be provided with projection apparatus to make its reading possible. If we had any faith in Communistic propaganda, we would awake this morning with the fear that a world-wide revolution was about to commence. But having heard some pretty tall tales from Russia, we hardly pause to think of August the first as a day of impending disaster. Ever since the Russian revolution there have been “Red” scares and predictions about the commencement of a world revolution. Before the general strike In England it became almost an accepted fact that the coming spring would u-’ier in this state of affairs. Similar predictions come now and then from almost every well-known country in the world. Even America has had her predictions. So common have these warnings, advices, and prognostications become, it seems a pity to discover that no less a person than a President of the Third International itself has gone and spoilt it ail. In a speech he delivered a couple oi’ years ago in China he said: “Comrades often ask whether we have not made a mistake in betting on world revolution. My answer is it has already come. It is a great mistake to think that the world revolution Is an instantaneous stroke which must light the ‘world fire’ in the twinkling of an eye.” Nevertheless the same president decided in order to make doubly sure, that China should be made the world’s central depot of revolution. We know at this moment what China thinks of these good intentions; it must be a thankless task trying to find a safe home for an embryonic revolution. Aviation experts tell us that the time has come to discover a suitable scale whereby air travellers may bf charged for their journey. On land we are all treated alike; thin and fat. short and tall, all are charged the same. According to Dr. Eckener. president of the famous Zeppelin works, one-time pilot of the Los Angeles and recently pilot of the Graf Zeppelin, this will have to be altered. Passengers will have to pay according to weight He suggests tentatively that one pound sterling per pound of flesh world be about correct. Heavy men would then find air travel an expensive luxury, whilst jockeys would never travel in any other way. Analysing a possible commercial service across the Atlantic he estimates that the cost of the trip all told would amount to about £12.000. Against this must be credited thirty passengers of unknown weight at about £20.000. mails £3500 and parcels and goods £5OOO. On that basis, air transport seems to be a highly profitable proposition. It would seem that refuelling has now been brought to such a pitch of perfection that an aeroplane might well remain aloft for months, or until either the engines wore out or the pilots went mad. Although it is not stated what method is being used in the present record-breaking flight, it is unlikely to be very different fundamentally from the original experiment in this respect, when Lieutenant Lowell Smith and J. P. Richter made a series of refuelling experiments in the States as far back as 1923. They used nothing more spectacular than forty feet of 11-lnch metal-lined hose pipe, fitted with suitable valves at the far end. The aeroplane to be refuelled flew under the fuel ’plane, and caught the trailing hose. The tank was opened, the hose was inserted, and the special valve was opened. After a day in the air so expert did these two become that a ’plane could leave the ground, deliver 90 gallons of petrol, and be back on the ground within fifteen minutes. Subsequent t these initial tests, the first refuelling record was set up. Smith and Richter remained in the air for 37 hours 15 minutes. They covered 3293 miles, used 687 gallons of petrol, and 38 gallons of oil. Incidentally. four hot meals were transferred to them from the refuelling machine. So impressed were the authorities with the new idea that a plan was put forward to fly non-stop from the Canadian border of the United f tes due south to Mexico. This flight of 1297 miles was carried out quite successfully in a series of refuel jumps of some four hundred miles. Fog. it was discovered, was the chief refuelling trouble, because it forced the machines to fly dangerously close to the ground during the process. * # r • Although there are some women who manage to wear a heavy fur coat in the middle of summer, itls the present weather conditions that are responsible for an unprecedented outbreak of them. It is doubtful, however, if those who wear fur coats really know what they are wearing. Few products lend themselves so readily to imitations as furs. Even ermine may be satisfactorily imitated in white coney, with the tell-tale creases, the hall mark of real ermine, skilfully put in with a hot iron. Right along the fur scale there are to be found whole lists of animals impersonating one another under a multitude of fancy names. The sable's chief imitators are the Canadian martens and weasels. Even monkey trimmings at times ar'- imitated by Chinese human hair 'lst skunks and racoons alternate ; mltnting one another, according as to whether it has heen a good or a bad skunk or racoon year. As a matter of fact, skunk itself is cleverly imitated by rabbit under various fancy names,