General News Items

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20768, 10 January 1931, Page 5 (Supplement)

General News Items

PRAYER FOR DEAN INGE. Speaking at the dinner of the Society iS Apothecaries, in London, recently, J)ean Inge said he had received an extraordinary anonymous letter, apparently J rnni a woman. The writer of (lie letter said: " I am praying for your death. I have been veiy successful in two other instances." PARKING OF PERAMBULATORS. New York has imposed parking restrictions upon perambulators in the famous Central Park, where hundreds of'whitecapped nurses daily tako their ease while their charges sleep peacefully in their carriages, drawn up on the lawns. On a recent morning 84 women, in various stages of excitement, appeared in court to answer to summonses for breaches of the. regulation. CASTOR OIL FOR MUSHROOMS. Dr. Frederick Cook, of Seattle, California, has as his hobby, the raising of mushrooms the like of which are raised nowhere else. One of his prize specimens measures 16in. across. The weight is a lit tie over 51b. Dr. Cook states that his secret of raising these monster mushrooms is the periodical application of castor oil while the mushroom is in its growth. EMPIRE'S LARGEST BEACON. Visible from Seattle on clear nights, a distance of 150 miles, the largest beacon in the British Empire, 21,000,000 candlepower in its intensity, guides aviators to Vancouver. The bOft. tower, which has been erected on the roof of the Hudson Bay's Company store, displays the fust of five similar lights planned for "Western Canada. They will materially .assist the operation of the Alaska air mail soon to be established. NEW EARL OF BIRKENHEAD. The new Earl of Birkenhead, who succeeded to the title on his father's death on September 30, has resumed his studies at Christ Church, Oxford, where ho is in his third year. The Earl is 22, about 6ft. in height, with dark hair and eyes, and a keen face, with a determined chin, and he has something of his father's powerful physique. When asked whether lie would have to earn his own living, he replied, " Undoubtedly." A SILENT MOTOR-CYCLE. At the motor-cycle show at Olympia, a few weeks ago,, there was exhibited a remarkable new motor-cycle, which has been kept a secret by a Birmingham coir pruiy for two years. Its four cy 'i ders are vertical, and arc placed at the four corners ot a square. People who have ridden the machine Fav that it has 'practically no vibration, .is smooth and silent, and that it can accelerate from 20 to 60 miles an hour ill less than four seconds. RUGBY AS A WORLD CENTRE. The wireless telephone station at Rugby carries more messages than any othci commercial . service in the world. By its aerial systems anyone with a telephone in Europe can speak to all the important countries of the earth—the Viennese to the San Franciscan, Stockholm trader to Bonibav merchant. England has the central position in the long-distance telephone system erf the world, and can speak to 90 out of every 100 telephone subscribers on earth. WEALTHY DOCTOR'S YACHT. A wealthy doctor of Buenos Aires has done a verv romantic thing. Some time urn he ordered from a firm ot I'rench shipbuilders a beautiful yacht, a brig of the Portuguese type, to be built on the lines of the high afterdecked vessels ol the licet of Louis the Fourteenth. An exact copy of one of these beautiful old ships, named tbo Izarra, has been launched as a pleasure yacht, lhe dec., and all the outside fittings are copied from models and designs in tho museum at llonflenrs, but concealed within is a Diesel engine of 120 horse-power. GOOD THING COMES TO SPAIN. A dispensary for animals has been opened at Guadalajara, near Madrid. Ihe first of its kind in Spain, it is a memoria to Mrs. Millard, the wife of the Medical Officer for Cvprus, whose life was spent in bringing 'relief to the suffering animals of Cvprus and Crete. This little dispensary may be the beginning of a changed outlook in Spain. It will benefit the people as well as the animals, for tho quality of compassion and the spirit of justice may grow among them, and in time it is suggested bullfights may be as extinct as the gladiatorial fights of Roman days. FRANCE'S SNORING DOGS. French bulldogs—squat, like the English bulldog, but. smaller and not, bowlegged—a re becoming more popular m EngI/,nd. Before the war the suburbs of Paris were overrun by them; but now I hey have lost a great part of their hold on French dog-lovers and have found tliejr way instead into tho heaits of lhe English, Austrians, and Germans. Ferocious as fhev look. French bull<l..g.s „ro ieallv most, affectionate animals. They seldom 'bark, though their sporting instincts are aroused by the very smell of a Mi, and their coats are easily kept glussv. They make excellent watcliand are a great asset to the town house, for they behave well among \ i.-itors and have not that craving for i xercise which larger dogs display. 1 hev have onlv one disadvantage which they share with, the English bulldog—a lendcpcy to snore while they are sleeping. FORTUNE FOR A BUTLERr.utler. soldier, husband of an American millionairess?—and now a widowei vith a substantial and assured income. These are phases in the life romance of John Burden, a middle-aged Scotsman, v. hose elopement two years ago with his ? evenly-two-year-old employer, Mrs. J. Pierrepont Edwards, caused a sensation in New York society circles. Mrs. Edwards, whose first was the American Consul-General in Great Britain, took Burden back into her seiviec as butler on his demobilisation from the Black Watch at the end of the uai, and after their secret marriage tjiey lived in a large house in a New \ork suburb. The will left by Mrs. Edwards, provides that if relatives contest the substantial trust fund she established for her second husband, ho is to be given outright tho securities from which the income is derived. The residue of the estate, which is believed to amount to nearly £1,000,000, is left to children and grandchildren.

WEARING HAT BEFORE THE KING. Evening dress was worn by parents and sponsors at the christening at St. Jude's Church, Southsea, lately, of the infant son of Lieutenant Michael John Ranee de Courcy, R.N., and Mrs. de Gourcy. The infant is a great grandson of Lord Ivingsale, who, by hereditary right, has the privilege of keeping his head covered in the presence of tho King. BETTER PHYSIQUE IN MEN. Inquiries in the hosiery and clothing trades in London suggest that masculine physique is improving, and that the chest measurement has increased. The head of the men's wear department in a largo London departmental store states that nowadays he takes the 38in. chest as the standard size in suits, where 10 or 15 years ago tho largest demand -was for 36in. The explanation is not that men prefer more loosely fitting clothes than in the old days, but that the average man of tho younger generation measures moro round the chest than his father. MECHANICAL " PAGE BOY." A device to do some of tho work of page boys is performing its duties with great success in London. It is described as an electric sign placed in a prominent position in every public room in an hotel. On to it can be flashed any name or number of a guest. The device is controlled by an operator in the inquiry office. Within a few seconds of an inquiry being made the person's name appears on the signs in all the public rooms at the same time, accompanied by a faint bufez. PACT KEPT FOR 25 YEARS. Four men met on the steps of St. Paul's Cathedral a few weeks ago, greeted each other, and then, to the surprise of tho passers-by, joined hands and sang " Auld Lang Syne." They were the survivors of eight young men who, in 1910, made a pact to meet on the steps of the cathedral in 20 years' time. The four who camo were the Rev. J. P. Goodenough, Mr. H. J. Artiss, Mr. W. E. Horn, and Mr. J. S. Duerden, and the day of their meeting was the 25th anniversary of the original pact. Tho Rev. J. P. Goodenough said We hope to meet here 20 years from now. I wonder!" RADIUM FOUND IN CLINKERS. Four platinum needles, containing radium worth £240, belonging to the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital, after being lost for several days, have been discovered by means of an ionometer. As soon as the loss was discovered the hospital authorities obtained the assistance of Professor Newman, of the University College of tho South-West, who investigated with the ionometer, an instrument something like a camera, with an electrical fitment, which acts when radium is present. He found the needles among some clinkers in the boiler house. They had become mixed accidentally with material for incineration,' and had been through tho fire. CHARLES LAMB'S OLD SCHOOL. Christ's Hospital, the famous Bluecoat School where Charles Lamb and many other illustrious Englishmen went as poor boys, is the happy possessor of some fine new buildings. A block of science workshops and a quadrangle have been added to tho school at Horsham. The chief aim of the donors is to educato the boys in scientific agriculture. On the flat roof experimental work will be carried on under glass. In ornamental waters iij the quadrangle aquatic plants are to be grown for study, and the 300-year-old Amicable Society of Blues, to which the Old Boys belong, has given a lead cast of Verrocchio's Boy, with a Dolphin to watch over this pleasant scene. TRAGEDY OF THE FLOODS. A young engineer in the Isle of Man built a wonderful water wheel in 1854 to work the pumps of the lead mines of Laxey, eight miles from Douglas. It turned out to be the largest water wheel in the world, 226 ft. in circumference, with 48 spokes and 188 buckets. Water from the hills above Laxey drove this giant wheel, which made two revolutions a minute, and pumped water from the mines 1800 ft. below the surface of the earth. Water not only drove the ! wheel but water has destroyed it, for the heavy floods in tho Isle of Man not long ago have so damaged this famous wheel that it is feared that it will never work again. FERRUCCI ON A STAMP. Italy has issued a fine set of stamps cornmorating the exploits of Francesco Furrucci. In 1530 Fcrrucci was wellknown in Florence as a soldier of great, daring, and he put himself at the head of the Republican troops. At first he met with success, but on the Imperialists receiving reinforcements under Maramaldo' the Florentines were routed and Fcrrucci was wounded and made prisoner. There was nothing noble about Maramaldo, and when he saw his enemy lying at his feet, wounded and a captive, he killed hint with his sword. This was the end of the Florentine Republic. On ono of the new stamps Fcrrucci is shown on his charger, and on another the coward Maramaldo is i/i tho act of killing him. A GREAT BIRTHDAY BOOK. A Liverpool lady, Maggie Kelly, who has passed to rest at 83 years af age, was for twenty years crippled with rheumatism and unable' to walk. No suffering, however, could crush the cheery spirits of this liravc old lady, whose one desire was that she might still be useful in spite of her affliction. Miss Kelly's wish was granted, for one day somebody suggested that she, should start a Missionary Birthday Book, to which her friends might subscribe a shilling each birthday in thankfulness for mercies received throughout the ycai. She gladly took up the idea, and her book met with "such success that, one mission hospital in China has already received between £IOO and £2OO as a result of her labour. The good work is still going on. INVALID'S MECHANICAL TRIUMPH. Three years ago Mr. Henry Dovin, a partner ii) a London business, was stricken hv a painful disease which confined him to his home. Undaunted, he decided to tako up a hobby. During tho three years lie has built a model railway that is a veritable masterpiece. In his garage lie has erected a railway system containing a hundred yards of miniature track. A little lake is spanned by a bridge Bft. in i.ngtl which weighs 251bs, and took five months to construct. The whole system is electrical y operated and six engines, all beautifully con " structed, haul model trains oyer it, A wonderful switchboard controls the system. Standing before it Mr. Dev.n can set his trains in motion, increase or decrease their speed and perform elaborate shunting operations. There is also a complete system of signals and signalboxes also controlled from a central board.

WELL-DRESSED POLICE OFFICERS. New police regulations in Los Angeles ordain that uniformed officers must keep their hair trimmed, shave once a day, clean and press uniforms once a fortnight, wear black shoes, and keep them polished. Socks warn by these officers must he black, and all buttons, badges and cappieces must be gold-plated. BURGLARS SEIZE OPPORTUNITY. Mrs. Clynes, wife of the Homo Secretary in tho British Labour Cabinet, and her eldest son recently went to a Sunday afternoon concert in one of the larger London prisons, and helped in their own way to bring happiness and joy into the lives of the boys and men. When M.rs. Clynes and her son got back to their house they found that the burglars had been in. CHILDREN IN CHARGE OF TREES. The Rev. Basil Bourchier, rector of St. Anne's, Soho, recently dedicated the Harrietsham bv-pass road, near Maidstone, and its planting with trees as a Road of Remembrance in honour of Sir John Cockburn, the Australian statesman, who, during the later years of his life, resided at Harrietsham. Tho village children gathered to witness tho ceremony were described as the'most important persons present, as the trees are to be placed in their care. SLATE QUARRY 350 YEARS OLD. There is nothing else in England quite like Cornwall, and there is nothing else in Cornwall like Old Delabole. It has been a slate quarry for hardly less than 550 years. Slates were taken from there when Shakespeare was writing Hamlet, when Drake was driving tho Armada off the seas; and workers are still doing it, apparently in vast quantities. It is something like a vision of the end of tho world to look out across this marvellous hole dug out in Mother Earth, hundreds of feet from where one stands down to the bottom where men work. It is one of the most extraordinary basins to be seen in England, a basin from which millions of slates, weighing hundreds of thousands of tons, must have been brought up.

URUGUAY'S CENTENARY. Uruguay has been celebrating the centenary of lier independence. Up to 1828 Uruguay was still nominally a Spanish colony, 1 nit in that year, through the mediation of England, she becamo a, free and independent .State. It was not till 1830 that the republic came, and this was recently celebrated l>y a fine set of large pictorial stamps.- The portrait of General Artigas, who led the Uruguayans in their struggle for liberty, appears on several of the stamps. BANK FOR PROMOTING THRIFT. Bournemouth has the honour of opening the first, trustee savings hank in Britain under the Savings Bank Act of 1929. lis Mayoress opened the first account and paid in a deposit of a pound. The Act empowered the National Debt Commissioners to advance _ money for starting new trustees savings banks, which are not run for profit lull solely for promoting thrift. The money received is invested only in official securities, so that every town has a special interest in 11 m establishment of such a bank within its boundaries. MERGER OF 216 COALMINES. The coalowners of Lancashire and ( lieshire have decided to amalgamate all theninterests There are 216 mines in Lancashire and 14 in Cheshire, and they employ 80,000 workers. . Some of the colliery companies in tins area amalgamated in 1926 and have effected great economies. The new merger will place Lancashire at the head of the coalfields of England, and will enable large areas of nnworked coal to be developed, with a. pooling of knowledge and experience which will benefit owner, worker, and consumer. HOLLAND'S GRAND OLD MAN. Dr Samuel van Tfoulen. the Grand Old Man of Holland, has passed away at 93. Ho was the social reformer who, at an International Medical Congress as long a<rn as 1879, pleaded for the abolition of child labour and afterwards by his influence secured the abolition of tho employment of children under twelve. As Minister for Home Affairs ha carried through a large extension of the suffiage. Dr. van Houten was a champion ot equal' rights for men and women, and obtained for the workers the legal right o! combination, though he. was a stiong opponent of State Socialism. A great politic.il economist, lie continued to write essays almost to the last.

SOCIAL CLIMBERS. -As tlia largo pink motor-coach reached a certain locality, the guide turned to the sightseers from Little Mudhaven. " Wo are now pasing Mayfair," he shouted, " the home of London society." " Ain't.iL wunnerful!" gasped old Mrs. Bootle, much impressed. Then she observed a steeplejack at work on a high building. " And will yond," she inquired eagerly, " bo one o' they social climbers?" A MIRACLE. Two men played a round of golf in tho morning and then sat down to a very heavy luncheon. Indeed, they had not finished their last glass of kuminel —which for some reason is considered to improve one's putting—until 3..10 p.m. Finally, they started out and maintained a hazy silence until tho seventh hole. When they reached the green one said to 1110 other, " I sny, old boy, how do wo stand Said th<> other, "1 don't know. I call it a miracle." LOOKING AFTER THE DRINKS. A young man asked an old actor to have, a drink. As soon as it was served it was gone. " 1. say," said the host, " that was quick work. Havo another?" " I will, laddie," said the old actor. The drink came and went in tho same rapid fashion. The young man was fascinated and kept ordering drinks and watching them vanish like lightning. " You'll pardon me," he said at Inst, " but. would you mind telling mo why you consume each drink so rapidly?" " Laddie." said the old man, " !> had one knocked over in '96." HE WAS SHY. Mrs. Jones awoke in the early hours of morning, and heard a movement coming from the direction of tho drawing room. " Timothy," sho whispered to her husJjand, " I believe there's somebody downstairs. Go down and see who it is." Her husband gave a nervous start and puiled the sheets over his head. " Timothy," his wife persisted, " did you hear what I said? Are you afraid to go down and face a burglar?" "Afraid? Certainly not!" came a mumbled reply from under the clothes. " But you know, my dear, how I hate meeting strangers.".

SOMETHING CHEAP. Mrs. Clnimley was iu a dilemma,, She wanted to buy something for her husband, but was not quito certain what would bo tho correct thing to buy. " What would, you suggest as a present to a husband?" she asked tho shopassistant. " May I ask how long you've been married, madam ?" inquired the assistant. " Oh, about ]6 years," Mrs. Chumley replied. " Bargain counter in the basement, said the other stiffly. ,

HUNGRY ACTOR'S RESOURCE. An American movie actor had bad luck in Hollywood and at last reached a state of starvation. In this sad plight a letter reached him from a small company accepting a scenario he had previously written and suggesting that ho play the principal part. But there was a snag. No payment was offered until the completion of rehearsals. Tho hungry actor then thought of a bright idea.., Obtaining permission to rewrite part of the scenario, he inserted a fresh scene in which the principal character had to dispose of an excellent lunch. On these oft-rehearsed lunches he existed until the conclusion of the picture.

BOTH THE SAME. The very " green " young constable was walking along tho villago high street when he camo to a crowd of people gathered round a shop window. " Hallo," ho said, drawing out his notebook in readiness, ".what's happened here?" The shopkeeper gave him a very exasperated glare. "Can't you see, man; someone has smashed my window," ho explained. " This is serious," said tho young constable. " 1 must make some notes." • lie then went inside the shop to. take a look at the window. Suddenly he gave an exclamation of surprise. " By gum," he cried, " this is moro serious than I thought. It's broken on the inside as well." GETTING HIS OWN BACK. A 100 per cent. American was staying with a hospitable tea-planter in Assam and thought ho would send a cablegram home. It read: " All well. Staying on the borders of Mongolia." J lis hostess pointed out that Mongolia was hundreds of miles away. Tho eounUircd this by remarking that his people knew whero Mongolia was but most probably had never heard of Assam. The hostess, a loyalist, was rather hurt. In due course they repaired to the telegraph oflico whero the cablegram was handed in. Iu a moment, a dusky face appeared at the pigeon-hole and tho clerk said, "Sab . . . whero is New York?" " What." shouted tho irate American, " have you never hoard of the United States?" "Oh, yes, sab," said the halm, brightening up, " Part of Canada, eh ? " THE WAY OF THE NAVY. The very liverish old admiral had a terrifying habit of pouncing upon his " middies " with tho most unexpected and sometimes un nautical questions to test their alertness and intelligence. The young middies became fed-up with this unnerving treatment and determined to discourage it. One day the admiral happened to choose the coolest of the youngsters, at whom ho fired this question: " What animals eat grass ?" The middy, quite unmoved, replied as politely as possible: " I don't think any of them do." "What!" barked the admiral. "You say no animals eat grass. Where's your intelligence, boy?" " Oh," replied the youngster, " I beg your pardon, sir, I thought you said admirals."