ROUND THE COMPASS.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 18466, 18 May 1928, Page 8

ROUND THE COMPASS.

UNKNOWN PRESIDENT. AMERICA has just made the discovery that there was once a President of the United States whose name is not in any list of Presidents and who has remained unknown to fame until the present moment. His memory now emerges from obscurity because the State of Missouri, whence he came, has decided to erect a statue to him. The mystery man of the White House, who, while President, yet never dwelt there, is David R. Atkinson, who served thirty-six hours as ad interim Chief Executive of the United States from March 4 to March 5. 1849. General Zachary Taylor was elected twelfth President in November, 1848. The inauguration of all Presidents takes place on the 4th of March following their election, as required by law but March 4, 1849, fell on a Sunday. The principal part of the inauguration proceedings in those days was the inaugu-

ration ball attended by all and sundry. Religion scruples prevented a ball being held on Sundky, so the inauguration was postponed by mutual consent until March 5. The term of General Taylor’s predecessor in the Presidency, N James Polk, expired automatically on March 4. The term of the VicePresident, who is also presiding officer of the Senate, expired at the same time. So from 1 a.m. on March 4 until noon on March 5, when General Taylor was inaugurated, the United States was without a President, according to the belief prevailing at the time. The State of Missouri now 'claims that during those thirty-six hours David R. Atkinson, who was one of Missouri’s two representatives in the United States Senate, was acting President of the United States as well, so £3OOO has been appropriated by the Missouri legislature for a statue to him. MOST ILLUSTRIOUS WOMEN AN interesting controversy has been aroused by a scheme adopted by a Paris newspaper inviting its readers to name the sixty most illustrious women of modern times. The first 25,000 replies have been examined, and show that Madame Curie, the famous Pole who discovered radium, heads the list with more than 24.000 votes. Sarah Bernhardt is second with 21,000, and Edith Cavell third with 19,000 votes. Then follow General Evelyn Booth, George Sand, Louise Michel and Madame de Noailles, the poetess. Suzanne Lenglen is ninth on the list, followed by Ruth Elder and Madame de Stael. Florence Nightingale is fourteenth, Mary Pickford Duncan twenty-fourth and Mrs Pank.hurst twenty-eighth. George Eliot (thirty-ninth) is the only other Englishwoman on the list* REVOLT AGAINST JAZZ. T£ING JAZZ is at last threatened by an organised revolt against his supremacy in England. Bournemouth has taken the lead in starting an association which pledges itself to ban the syncopated form of dance mu.-ic, and to substitute the polka anu mazurka of our fathers. Will it succeed ? One cannot say, but one can-, no: deny that, while the present type cf jazz tune is geared lower, so 1o speak, than the frantic saxophonie outbursts of five years ago, the movement is still distinctly “ rag time,” and the dance mad public still seem to like it. The lancers and the schottische have made a somewhat embarrassed appearance at several London dance resorts lately, and have been received with amused curiosity rather than with enthusiasm. It is really astonishing how the whole world is dancing at present to the same lively American airs. Right round the world one finds,.these staccato “ Mammy ” songs and variegated “ Blues ” played in exactly the same way by the same type of crooning syncopaters in black poats. King Jazzs dependents can even be found in such out of the way places as Karachi and Samarang, specially imported, saxophones and all, from the United States and the Philippines. The aristocracy of this new post-war profession earn enormous sums. Shanghai alone has two bands 1 of jazz fiends, the members

of 'which earn about £2O a week each. One may be sure that they win do their best to fight the insidious revolutionary movement which has been started at Bournemouth. JAPANESE CENSOR. JL RECENT American “release" depicting the queen of an imaginary kingdom abdicating in favour of a republic has been challenged by the Tokio censor, who decrees that not even on the movies may a sovereign renounce a throne in Japan. All the objectionable scenes, therefore, have had to be cut. and every sub-title reflecting on the duty of loyalty to the throne completely altered. The Japanese censorship. not only of films btit of plays and books, has always been severe, but is exercised in accordance with a standard of ethics somewhat different from our own. A few years ago, for instance, a translation of Moliere was pronounced undesirable by the Japanese censor, not because of breaches of the Seventh Commandment, but because of the lack of respect shown in the plays by wives towards their husbands and sons towards their parents. That parents and «sjiusbands should be represented in undignified positions was declared contrary to Japanese ideas of morality. BACK TO RINGLETS. r PHE “ Union of Sons and Daughters of Vienna Coiffeurs ” recently held an exhibition of new* Viennese hair modes designed to show that they had nothing to learn from their parents in the art of hairdressing. The main idea of the exhibition was the resurrection, of course in a new form, of ringlets. They were of the variety known here as “ Papilloten Lockchen.” to be worn at the back of the neck by girls and held together by a “ Mozart comb.” In this, the year of the Schubert festival.

evening headdress is in Vienna to revert to the “ Biedermeier,” or “ PostEmpire,” style of Schubert’s days. Apart from this return to the past, the budding hairdressers produced some startling new flower coiffures. A blonde head was profusely decorated with cherry blossoms, a brunette with ears of corn and cornflowers. All the leading hairdressers of Vienna attended this display, and in many cases were glad to adopt from their sons and daughter* new ideas to be imposed on their customers at the earliest opportunity. ’PLANE SALOON BAR. Jk NEW 'use has been discovered in South Africa for the various airplanes which have crashed during flights from London to Cape Town or from the Cape to Cairo during the past ten years. The Vickers biplane in which Broome and Cockerell tried to fly from London to Cape Town eight years ago lay neglected in the jungle until settlers in need of a club building conceived the brilliant idea of converting the fuselage into a neat saloon bar and the undamaged wings into the nucleus of a cool verandah. The Silver Queen, which was flown by the South African airmen, Van Ryneveld and Brand, from Cairo to Rhodesia, and was badly damaged in a forced landing ncuT Bulawayo, is also being put to good use. The petrol tanks are to day being used by a farmer as grain-bins for his poultry, the broken propeller decorates the farm gate, while the rudder and tailplanes hang as historic relics in the Bulawayo drill hall.