General News Items

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIX, Issue 21136, 19 March 1932, Page 5 (Supplement)

General News Items

TOM THUMB OF AEROPLANES. Two Italian inventors, the brothers Frignani, have constructed probably the ' smallest aeroplane in the world. The machine is to be placed on the market, and is to be called the Dwarf. It is under 15ft. across the wings. The trials, made at. Turin, have given every i ORIGIN OF COMMON SAYING. This is how a popular American saying Originated:—Th 9 occupant of a room in an American hotel was kept awake by his next-room neighbour, who paced his room groaning loudly, Finally he knocked at the door and asked what was the matter. The afflicted person explained that he was in very great trouble. H e owed Smith 100.000 dollars, and was unable to pay him. " Oh," said No. 1, "i s that all"? Well, go to sleep; it is Smith's job to do the walking." Hence arose the proverb " Let Smith walk." REMARKABLY WINDY PLACE. •Port, Elizabeth, in South Africa, is waking a serious claim to be called'the most windy place in the world. According to the tables compiled from records of the instruments at the Algoa Bay lighthouse there was wind from one direction or another almost every day last year. The lowest velocity was nine miles an hour, and the highest 68 miles an hour. On the great majority of days the maximum velocity was between 35 and 40 -miles an hour and the average daily wind velocity through the year was 33 miles in hour. BOY SCOUTS IN SHANGHAI. The Boy Scout motto, " Do a Good Turn Daily," might as well be "Do a Hundred Good Turns Daily," so far as Boy Scouts of Shanghai are concerned during the present emergency. W hen the bino-Japanese hostilities began the scouts were among the first to volunteer their services to the Shanghai Volunteer Corps. After that they were busy day and night serving as messengers, guides, clerks, telephone operators and orderlies; and -doing light patrol duty. They also assisted in the relief of suffering refugees. The local scout council includes 20 nationalities. £2OOO FOR NEW NAME. Conditional upon "her assuming the turnama of Rogers, a legacy of £2OOO to his step-daughter, Phyllis Marguerite Reeve, is included in the, will of Sir Hallewell Roger!!, of Edgbaston, Birmingham, late deputy chairman of the Birmingham Small Arms Company, Ltd., who left £22,891. ■ Sir Hallewell also gave £IOOO to bis adopted daughter, Esther Lilian Rogers, and other property to his wife absolutely. Another direction was that anyone disputing the conditions of the will should forfeit any interest under it. It is understood that Miss Reeve has complied with tbe condition, PRISONERS' CHARITABLE ACT. The convicts in Czechoslovakia work «t profitable trades, and are paid at most 3d a day. Half of this money kept by the State until a convict's sentence is finished, so that 110 man can leave prison quite penniless. The other half is the convict's own; no doubt he can spend it on jam or some other flavouring for prison fare. The convicts of Karthaus, during the recent winter, have been saving their half-pence until they had £2B. This money tiiey gavi3 to a fund for helping \he children of the unemployed. As a writer remarks, "there is good even in the woijgt of us; and so there is hope for mankind." ROYALTY AND TELEPHONES. Buckingham Rulace telephones have just been changed over to the automatic system, but neither the King nor the Queen is likely to be troubled by the usual dialling. Their Majesties have telephones in their private aps.rtments, hut when they want to initiate'a call, ifc is usually passed on by an equerry to the private exchange in the Palace. Male operators only are employed in this exchange. No one can "'listen in " when either the King or the Queen is speaking on the telephone. Such a possibility is guarded against by an ingenious, arrangement. This is a very natural precaution, as important State secrets have sometimes been surprised " through unauthorised persons hearing a telephone conversation between statesmen or diplomats. IRON FILINGS IN TEA. Analysts' finds of iron filings in tea, Coal tar disinfectant in stout, arrowroot in cocoa, and excess of sand in certain milled or ground foods, are mentioned in tbe Sale of Food and Drugs report, just issued in Britain. The report states that 135,515 samples of food and drugs were analysed in 1930, and that 6496 were reported as adulterated or not up to standard-—4.8 per cent., compared with 5.8 per cent, in 1928, and 6.4 per cent, in 1929. Samples contravening the regulations included 307 sausage and other meat products. There were 4581 samples of adulterated or not-up-to-sample milk, traces of tin in three samples of rum, lead in two of beer, and synthetic flavouring, and no butter in " ruin and butter toffee." Twelve samples of polonies, etc., were defic sent in meat. FROM MINISTER TO TRAMP. Not long ago the Russian police arrested in Moscow a tramp in rags who was much under the influence of drink. He was astonishingly like Tchitcherin, the former Minister for Foreign Affairs, whom Stalin dismissed from office. When the man's papers were examined it was found that he was, in fact, none other than Tchitcherin himself. Profoundly affected by his misfortune B'id afflicted by an incurable disease, the former minister had fallen into the depths of misery. Jle asked in vain for any post, however subordinate, hut his request was refused 011 the ground that lie had shown in the past willingness to treat with capitalist Governments. 'Order was given to the sentinels that he was not to he allowed to approach any of the Government, offices, and in despair Tchitcherin had taken to drink. On his arrest he passed the night in the cells. PRISONERS TRY TO FLY AWAY. The Federal Prison, at Leavenworth, in Kansas, United .States, at which the Warden, Mi-. Thomas White, was kidnapped by seven prisoners, four of whom Were subsequently shot to death by guards, was tbe scene of a novel attempt at esrnp t . recently. One of the prisoners, a rum-running "viator, whose aieoplune, flying between Canada and the United States, crashed 18 Months is die foiled hero of the plot. Employed in the plumber's shop of tbe gaol, he, with the aid of two comrades, cons'rueted a glider with a wing spread r, f 16ft. Two bicycle wheels were used tor a landing gear. the glider was assembled on the roof °f the prison, 011 which it awaited a Etron g south wind for the conspirators to . Ay to liberty.' Unfortunately, the glider was large enough to carry only two men. The third man, baulked of {■is share of the fruits of the enterprise, '"formed the authorities, who seized the G»der before Lhe arrival of tho expected wind.

NEW ERA FOR YOUNG COUNTRY, Electrical machinery has boon sent to Yugo-Slavia by Germany as part of her reparation payments. This will mean a transformation of this new country. Tho machinery is being set-up in a vast powerhouse in Slavouia, where the falls of the river Save will generate electricity cheaply. A second power station has been planned for Moste, and others will follow, until the valley of the great tributary of the Danube will supply power to the whole country. BIRTHPLACE OF JOHN WESLEY. Following a petition by 400 residents of Epworth, near Doncaster, England, against the proposed sale of Epworth Rectory, the birthplace of John Wesley, the Dilapidation Board have decided that the building shall bo retained and preserved. Recent rcictors have complained that the rectory is too large and unwieldy, but the petitioners urged that certain portions added since Wesley's time might be removed. GOLDEN STREET OF BRISTOL. At Bushy Park in Bristol there are three houses in a row and a golden wedding couple in each house—as bright a patch of gold as one will find in any city in the world, s Mr. and Mrs. Wilding celebrated their > golden wedding on Christmas Day; Mr. and Mrs. Webber had changed their silver into gold a week or two earlier; but Mr. and Mrs. Gibson are well on the way to their diamond wedding day. Mr. Gibson delivered tho letters in Bristol before there was a parcel post, and he remembers being chosen in 18$3 to take round the first parcels because 110 knew every street in Bristol. THRILL ON BEACHY HEAD. A brave rescue on Beaehy Head has earned the Bronze Medal of the Royal Humane Society for two Eastbourne policemen. Venturing too close to tho edge during a violent gale a London visitor was blown over and was caught on a projecting rock some distance down. Sergeant John Arnold went down tho face of the cl:ff on a rope, and Sergeant Cyril Simmons followed him on another. Both ropes proved too short, but luckily Arnold had a short piece with him which he knotted to the rope from which he dangled in the wind and rain. He thus succeeded in reaching the injured man. Aided by men of the signal station above, the two policemen dragged him safely to the top. ENGINE jLOSES ITS TRAIN. In the middle of a cold night near Bordeaux the sleepy passengers felt their carriages gradually slowing down and finally stopping without the usual grinding of the brakes. The stoppage continued and they feared that it might become dangerous, so they went to ask the engine-driver what was the matter. To the surprise of the passengers there was no engine on the train. They were abandoned in the countryside, in the dark, in a dense fog, and with the thermometer showing no less than nine degrees of frost. At' his next stoppingplace the driver found that be had dropped his train, and- went cautiously back to recover it. GERMANY'S NEW GROWTH. I Germany is gradually but steadily increasing in size at the rate of one and a third square -miles in five years. This new " territory " is making its appearance between the North Frisian Islands and the coast of Schleswig-Holstein. It was in the channel behind Sylt and Roem Islands that tho German submarines had their chief nest duriqg the Great "War. The same waters were the retreat of the German Fleet after the Battle of Jutland in 1916. A barrier, known as the Hindenburg Dam, was constructed from the islands some years ago. Behind it silt and other deposits are accumulating and gradually joining the islands to the mainland. The ground.is still too soft for cultivation, although marine plants have been growing on it for the past few seasons. It will take years of work before it can be put to practical use. HATTON AND ITS CRAFTSMEN. The Derbyshire Community Council is proud of a family of members from the tiny village of Hatton. The Wrights have been blacksmiths for 100 years, and their forge has been an efficient centre of industry in the village life. It began in Tissington, where Robert Wright made fine blacksmiths of his four sons and sent them out to establish forges for themselves. In due time about 30 descendants were carrying on the tradition all over Derbyshire. Edward Wnight had six sons, four of whom carried the family craft to Brisbane, Winnipeg, and also to Liverpool. The younger generation have added all the modern scientific knowledge to their skill of hand and eye, and are to be found in all parts of the world. They hold important posts as oxy-acetylene and engineering experts, and one, with an engineering degree, is with the Cunard Company as expert on oil-burning engines. HOW DOGS ARE LICENSED. Licences for nearly 3,000,000 dogs owned by people in Britain were taken out on January 1. Many grumbled at having to pay 7s 6d apiece for their pets, but they can take consolation from the fact that dog owners in other countries are much worse off, says the Sunday Express. German owners have to pay as much as £3 for a licence, according to the size and weight of the clog. Even a dachshund costs £2 a year. France taxes its animals according to their value or utility. Mongrels may be kept for as little as Is a year, but a dog worth £2O or £3O may be taxed as high as 30s. Switzerland's cheapest licence is the same price as the British permit. Licences there are graduated according to size. Toy dogs cost only 7s 6d, terriers 10s, bulldogs £l, and wolfhounds and mastiffs as much as £2. The authorities make certain that every dog is paid for by demanding that every animal wears the licence 011 its collar. Canada and America charge £1 for dogs, and keep the canine population down by demanding £1 10s for bitches. MISSISSIPPI FLOODS PROBLEM. Since 1874 there have been some twenty disastrous floods in the Mississippi Valley. The v»ilue of the property destroyed on these occasions would run into many millions of pounds sterling, while thousands of lives have been lost. fertile districts as large as Ireland, where- cotton, sugar and tropical fruits were under cultivation, have been suddenly swamped and wiped out of existence, and large towns inundated. It has not been a case of the river rising to a gi'fat height and then subsiding into its original channel. It has a knack at times of permanently changing its course, with the result that important towns, whose very existence depends upon their river-borne trade, suddenly became stranded several miles inland. This hap* pened to Vicksburg. If, used to bo on the river and boasted of miles of wharves and docks. Now the river runs five miles away. How to control this mighty river is the problem the United States Government is determined to solve. If it succeeds, it will in many respects be the greatest engineering feat yet attempted. Levees are the engineer's trenches by winch ho keeps the river in check. Already there are 1500 miles of them.

MAN DIVORCED 76 TIMES, A record in divorces is held by .Tbn Saud, Sultan of Nejd, a powerful Arabian ruler. He lias been divorced 76 times. The kingdom of Nejd is ruled by tho law of the Wahabis, which is an extreme interpretation of the Mohammedan rode. By this law a man may divorce his wife by simple repudiation. PRISONERS AND LECTURERS. It was recently reported at, a meeting of the Glamorgan Agricultural Committee in Wales that lectures on horticulture had been given at Cardiff and Swansea prisons. A member of the committee said that after one of the lectures at Cardiff some of the prisoners went to the governor and protested against the lectures on tho ground that they were not included in their sentences. TWO MILLION SIGNATURES. Hundreds of packages of disarmament declaration forms, containing 2,071,944 signatures, petitioning for disarmament, which had been collected by the Women's International League, were piled in a decorated horse van recently outside the headquarters of the league in Gower Street, London. After the van bad been loaded it was driven away amid cheers 011 the first stage of its -journey to Geneva. ALPINIST'S WONDERFUL ESCAPE. An alpinist, Pasquale Rometti, while gathering edelweiss 011 the high summit of Mount Onipio, overlooking Lake Maggiore, in Italy, reached out too far for a bunch, slipped and fell 1000 ft. over a precipice to the ground. His body was seen turning several times during the fall, and his friends, taking it for granted that he had been killed, hastened down the mountain and collected a rescue party at tho nearest village. When after much difficulty the party carrying a stretcher, reached the foot of the precipice, it was surprised to find Pasquale sitting 011 a rock and looking none the worse for his fall. He begged his friends to hurry, as he felt cold.

PARIS' GREAT TOWN BELT. Work in connection with the development of the " Zone " —the area liberated by the destruction of the fortifications of Paris—continues steadily. During the coming year, at least £BOO,OOO will be spent on various schemes already adopted and probably others which have been proposed. Apart from the construction of the new highways across this belt of free, land running round the city, special attention will be paid during this year to the provision of playing fields. At least two grounds will be laid out before the year ends. They will both be near the Porte de St. Cloud, and will cost about £48,000. FIXING A SIXPENNY CHAIN. The foreman at one of the suburban railway stations in England noticed that a chain hanging from a gas lamp 011 one of the platforms was loose. He pointed it out to the travelling lamp cleaner. The cleaner replied that it was not his job. He said he would report it. The next morning a fitter and his assistant arrived. They inspected the lamp and decided that a new chain was needed. The assistant was sent to Fir.sbury Parkto obtain a new chain. He returned in the afternoon, and two skilled workmen attached tbe chain to the lamp, returned to Fjtisbury Park, and " clocked off." The cost of the chain was 6d. The cost of fitting it was 255. CRICKET-BAT WILLOW DISEASE. The cricket-bat willow, which is grown on an extensive scale in tho eastern counties of England, particularly Essex, is being increasingly threatened by the spread of watermark disease. This disease, for which there is no cure, is bac terial, and it attacks the trees first at their tops. Apart from the menace to the supply of tho most suitable known timber for making cricket bats, there is the risk of serious loss to the large number of persons who have planted this willow as a farm crop. Research is being iconducted at tbe Imperial Forestry Institute at Oxford into the disease, and also with a view to discovering what other willow or willows may prove to be an adequate substitute. DENTISTS' GOLD FAMINE. As a result, of the Austrian financial restrictions, dentists in Vienna are unable to supply their patients with gold fillings. The Central Association of Dentists was lately negotiating with the Ministry of Finance and the National Bank for a supply of gold for their work, but without definite result. They declared that the situation was very serious for dentistry. The Austrian National Bank states that, the situation arises only from their desire to keep a firm ho]d*on the gold in the country, and that favourable decision for the dentists will be made soori. The last financial restriction order forbids all dealing in unwrought or half-wrought gold except through tho National Bank. Platinum and silver are subjected to the same restrictions.