HERE AND THERE.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 16736, 18 May 1922, Page 6

HERE AND THERE.

" SCANDALOUS " The Pop© has ordered instructions to be prepared regarding the “ present immodesty of fashions ” and sent to all Catholic bishops, says a repor t from th© Vatican. In recent years all Popes have condemned many twentiethcenturv customs and fads. The most notable condemnation was that of Pius X. (190 J-1914) hjg famous diatribe against modern dancing, especially th** Tango. The present Pope. Pius XI-. is the first specifically to take exception to women’s dress, though former Pontiffs several times exhorted women to return to more modest ways. Pius XI. began, his campaign during a reception to the Roman aristocracy when he invited the women of the nobility to join in a crusade against certain present fashions, which he described as “ scandalous and indecorous. ” It is well known that this is a point on which tho Pope feeLs strongly: all the more because he has the highest opinion of women and is a strong believer in their value as a powerful factor in the struggle of humanity to reach a higher plane. When Archbishop of Milan he one© said. 11 Women are a great power for good. It is merely the shameless few who, by keeping themselves always conspicuously before the e>*es of the public, give cynics and cheap humorists their chance to throw mud at women in general. But a world without woman’s refining influence is a thought terribh* to contemplate- Women should agree not to allow a few of their number to bring discredit upon them all, an l the Church should do all in its power to prevent the bad Horn contaniinatkig the good.**

VENTILATION EQUIPMENT. Another unique ventilation equipment recently installed in London is at a large film studio. The frequent occurrence of fog and the still more frequent tendenev* to haze in the atmosphere causes great expense and delay in the taking of film pictures in London studios. In order to ensure continuous working an automatic system of warming and damping the atmosphere of th© building was designedAll the air entering the studio is washed, filtered, and warmed; and the control is so arranged that whatever change of temperature or condition of the outside air takes place the inside air is altered in such a way that no fog is produced. The control is so delicate that even the switching on of one or two lamps in th© studio meets with an immediate response bv the automatic riant. An endeavour is now being made to remove from the incoming air various gases which are contained in a London fog. These gases have no effect on the photographs taken, but they cause headache and lassitude among the performers. Tt is claimed that this apparatus solves the problem of continuous film production in Great Britain.

MUSHROOMS OR METEORS. The slogan, which may bo described, as half-brother to the epigram, is nowadays much favoured in advertising circles. The use of th© slogan is not a new idea—it is many years since the public was first informed that certain pills were “ worth a guinea a box”— but latterly th© craze for phrase has extended. It is quit© appropriate (say® the Melbourne “ Age ”) that ad vert ing men, the people who calculate the “ pulling power ” of their appeals and play upon the susceptibilities of human nature, should themselves become addicted to the habit. At a luncheon in Melbourne given by the Victorian Institute of Advertising Men, Mr H Pool© delivered, an address entitled “ Are You Looking for Mushrooms or Meteors? *' which was a plea for tho cultivation of a broad outlook on lifeTh© ambitious man. he said, should remember that there was still room at the top. Henry Ford started life as a bicycle mechanic; Edi-son began as a telegraph operator. Many men who were performing the humbler duties of society hunted mushrooms all their lives, and often gathered onlv toadstools. "What was wanted was vision ; the creation of a great factory was aft much a work of imagination as a poem or a picture. Let them gather mushrooms in the day. but at night, if the\- looked at the stars and dreamed dreams, success would be theirs.

HOPE FOR DIABETES SUFFERERS. The discovery of an active “elixir’' which it is hoped will prolong the lives of persons suffering from diabetes .s anmmnced at the medical research laboratories of Toronto I niversity. Two young doctors, Brantling and Best, directing the experiments, first prolonged the life of a diabetic dog for fifty-six days beyond previous records. Then, after the injection under the skin of seven human beings suffering from the disease of highly potent extract discovered through animal experiments, a distinct improvement was brought about. The doctors do not claim that the new discovery will effect a cure, hut they believe that it will prolong life considerably.

LORD ASTOR’S ESTATE Some surprise is being expressed that the American estate of the late Lord Astor should be found to be no more than eighteen millions sterling. That is a substantial sum for one man to possess. but rumour credited Lord Astor with vastly more, and with by far the largest income of any man in Britain. A good deal depends, no doubt, on th© system of valuation. The Astor wealth springs from the ownership 'f large areas of land in New 1 ork. and »s constantlv growing as that city expands. Between the present and the prospective value of sites in New York there is an enormous difference. But the total of Lord Astor’s wealth is made to appear as little more than half the year's income with which Mr Henry Ford has been credited.

AN EYE FOR EVERYTHING.