North Carolina Newspapers

i r THE BURNSVILLE VOL. 17. BURNSVILLE, N. C., SEPTEMBER 3, 1926. NO. 23. Where Chicago Land Is Worth $27,000 a Front Foot ii ii j b 4 -Mvif » I. * ^ 5 liiLi RffiiMI If--. .M'i ^'* '* * ^ >^, , S'-in ■ M ?i| Chicago’s most valuable land Is on the west side of State street, between Madison and Monroe streets. Its value is estimated at $27,000 per front foot of an inside lot of 100-foot depth. For corner lots, lots on the allej-^ and lots with more than 100-foot depth, the value would be even higher. These valuations have been recently made by an appraisal company In a report to the tax equalization committee of the city council. ■■^Paris Customs That Surprise Tourist Should Accept the French Way of Doing Things When There. Washington. — Americans recently have been reminded on high author ity that they will find many things that are different in Paris, and that it is the part of courtesy, as well as common sense, to accept the Parisian ways of doing things when one Is in Paris. There is no doubt about the differ ence in many customs, says a bulletin from the Washington headquarters of the National Geographic society. Sometimes the Parisian way seems most welcome, at other times it seems strange, but in either event, one has not far to look to find there is a reason back of every custom. At times the Parisian seems to have outdone his American friends in effi ciency. For example, there is the blll- inff device of ,qome of the larger side walk cafes. Each plate and cup bears a price mark—50 centimes, one franc, etc., and the refreshments are served in containers bearing the proper cost mark. If a second cupful of choco late is ordered, the empty cup will be set to one side; and another cupful bearing the price mark served. When the customer is ready to pay, he does not have to depend on the memory of the waiter, or scan a bill of fare, nor does the waiter have to juggle with checks. The addition of the empty containers is obviously the amount of his bill. In contrast is the rather cumber some method of booking a seat in a Paris theater. In some theaters, at least, one must first purchase the right to sit in a certain part of the house— the orchestra, balcony or a box. This coupon then must be taken t# another desk to have a seat assigned. Even if one buys a designated seat, this ex change always is necessary. Finding a Theater Seat. The patron next turns to a head usher, who leads him to the program seller, and after he has purchased a program, a custom which also prevails in English theaters, he encounters the peculiar Parisian practice of having an usher charge to show him to a seat. And there is little hope of his finding his own seat because seats are identified only by numbers, not by rows which are lettered, and then num bered by rows. The American, impatient at his cir cuitous progress to, his seat, and hav ing reached into his pocket three or four times so far, is apt to become an noyed and conclude he is being over charged. This often Is his feeling even when he was buying a seat % which, at an exchange rate of about 8 cents for the franc, cost' him less than $2, even adding in the price of program, the price of being shown to his seat, and the 50 centimes collect ed if he went to a lavatory between the acts. This price is for the best orchestra seat in the best theaters in Paris, when comparable locations would have cost him $4 or $5 in any New York theater, even without the specu lator’s tax which he would have to pay there for popular shows. And the Parisians have reasons for each of the charges; for there is not one, but there are several taxes, lev ied on theater seats, and these vary with the locations in the house. Several features of the best Pari sian theaters, however, must appeal to even the casual visitor. One is the large amount of standing room pro vided for and sold at a low price, so that any one who Is alone, wishes to remain only an hour, or is skeptical about the merits of a show, may go in for a short time, and go on his way without having expended the full price of a seat. Another feature which adds to the enjoyment of Paris theater attendance is the large prom enade and refreshment rooms which permit a stroll between acts and make It possible to sit down at a table and enjoy a beverag^ dr a smoke, or to walk about and do some “window shopping” at the many displays and exhibitions which merchants have con tracted for in these super-lobbies. The length of Intermission, of course, is much longer than those In Ameri can theaters, frequently being from 20 to 30 minutes. The Search tor Soap. Another difficulty which the visitor in Paris might as well make up his mind to accept is that his hotel room, no matter what the price, nor how elegantly it may be furnished and pro vided with every other comfort, is not going to have any soap. One expla nation of this lack may be in the fact that all toilet articles are expensive, being heavily taxed; a more plausible one, in view of the fact that good Paris hotels stop at no expense or pains for their guests’ comfort, Is that the Parisian regards the soap he uses much as we do a toothbrush, as a pe culiarly personal and individual thing, not to be provided by some one else. Ice is scarce in Paris, as it is In England. In ^.neither London nor Paris is the climate such that cold drinks are necessary to comfort; any way, t^e Europeans may be right in their belief that chilled drinks impede the processes of digestion. Many American doctors concur; and nobody will argue with the French about gas- trenomic topics. It is almost unnecessary to inquire, “Where is a good place to eat in Paris?” One can hardly go wrong if he visits a Paris cafe, serving Pari sians, and having the earmarks of a reasonably good establishment. Here again the Parisian habit, which pri- vails all over Europe, of allocating small charges-simply sum up in “overhead” nihy rise to mis understanding. At the price of the franc in recent months one may eat, in any French hotel or Wfe, which is not one of the few plaies especially designed to cater to “fireigners,” a bountiful meal, prepaied by the world’s best chefs at a price which 0>0X>>0-0->0-CK>0K>>>0K>>>0-(>00 “Golf Widower^’ 0 Makes Pity Plea v Brooklyn, N. Y.—Xova Adol- Q phiis Brown, “golf widower,” re- p cited a piteous plea in Supreme ^ court recently. 1 According to Brojl'n, his wife is so abstracted by *olf that she will not sew butrbns on hia shirt, will not take care of their five-year-old son aijd pays the fees and other exV^nses of men who belong to ti e exclusive Wheatly Hills club. The husband’s c0f(iplaint came ' in answer to Mrs. Nephele Bun nell Brown's petkion for ali mony and couusiT. fees, pend ing trial of her '.-jilt for separa tion. IS| ’] f SIX ARE KILLED BY MaNT bats Mexican State Terrorized by Monster Mammals. seems ridiculously low. At French cafes which are world-famous for their cuisine, it is hard for one to spend more than the equivalent of a dollar for a meal. Yet the charges on the bill, included In that amount for cover service, and even for napkin, being unexpected, loom large In the visitor’s mind. The extreme thrift of the French is nowhere better illustrated than in some of the smaller cafes where reg ular patrons file their napkins in a sort of rack, suggestive of the rows of shaving mugs in our old-time bar ber shop.s and pay once a week for the laundry of that bit of linen. Street Cars and Taxis. On a street car In Paris one pays only for the distance he wishes to ride. This is done by zoning the routes, and requires considerable bookkeeping on the part of’ the con ductor, and also obliges the passen ger to keep his receipt to be shown on demand, If he remains on the car to anotlier zone. Pew visitors patronize street c&rs; the taxis are too convenient and too cheap. The tariffs are ridiculously low. Here again, however, arise mis understandings because after eleven o’clock at night taxi drivers can put down their white metal flag (which ordinarily means that the taxi Is emp ty and Is required to accept any fare at the regular tariff) and may charge double fare. Unfortunately the me ters do not register the excess fare, the driver usually cannot speak enough English to explain the reason for asking twice as much as the me ter indicates, and there ensue frequent arguments. No one can be in Paris long without being impressed by the courtesy of the policemen; Americans, however, may fail to note, or noting the fact they may rebel at the custom which is to touch one’s hat to a policeman when asking him a question. Now the Frenchman who Is one of the, most liberty-loving and Independent per sons in the world, sees .nothing de meaning in that practice. And any one who does It receives a salute and a bow in return which more than atones for his pains. A visitor in Paris cannot help won dering what would happen If the po licemen, public officials, shop keepers, and many pedestrians on the down town streets of any American city were some month suddenly to be ac costed all day long by foreigners who either addressed them in a strange tongue or bombarded them with questions in lame efforts to speak their own language. But that is what occurs in all the boulevards and prin cipal streets of Paris during the heavy tourist seasons; and the courtesy with which the Parisian, official or layman, tries to understand and, understand ing, the trouble he takes to give in formation or directions,, is one of the finest evidences of his innate courtesy. Sisters in Triple Wedding Chico, Calif.—'Three weddings took place simultaneously the other night when three daughters of Mrs. Joy Al ien were married to schoolday chums. The ceremonies were at the Allen home, where three ministers Eclat ed. Miss Marian Allen became the bride* of Vincent Tranor of Los An geles, Miss Virginia Allen the bride of Ilichaj-d Miller of Los Angeles and Miss Catherine Allen the bride of Lyrel Bullard of Chico. SEVENTEEN-YEAR LOCUSTS ARE DUE TO COME ^ 1927 8^ All Sections Are Asked to Notify Na ture Association if Any Are Seen This Year. Wa.shington.—The question now be fore the scientific house is: Will the 17-year locusts appear on time? The scientific world is going to try to find out, for an investigation by the bu- I'eau of entomology is going to inves tigate the ])elief whether the 17-year locusts, sclieduled to make their ap- jicarance this summer In Virginia, tteorgla, Iowa and Missouri, has any oxhstence in fact. Entomologists in these states have been asked to keep a sharp lookout for the insects and to report to Washington when and where they are discovered. The 17-year locusts live under ground all that time and then come put by millions. If you see this peri odical cicada, let the American Nature association of Washington, D. 0., know at once. The cicada Is e forest Insect and a very large of its life Is as an underground gmbllke form feeding upon the roots otforest trees. Toward the end of the pe’.iod the full- grown grubs make their/ vay to near the surface of the grouai and under certain conditions conffruct peculiar above-ground chambers of pellets of soil. The large stout Hack Insect Is about inches long, aid has a wing- spread of nearly 3 Incies, the veins of the fore-wings and he eyes being red. It is stated that in 1)27 large num bers of 17-year locusts will emerge in certain sections of Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, Vest Virginia, Kentucky, Indiana, Illdois and Kan sas. This is based upon ecords back to 1724, and It is said tb locusts which will suddenly come otj by the thou sands and literally co'dr the bark of trees and fill the alrwlth their per sistent clatter next jpr are the di rect descendants of the first brood of locusts-ever recorded In this country. There are some 17-year locusts com ing out somewhere In this country nearly every year, but those coming out one year belong to different broods from those coming out the next. Padded Bunk Turns Out to Be a Coffin New York.—Lawrence Phillips, who came from North Carolina, found him self in Long Island City with no place to sleep. Being a youth of resource, he gained entrance to a building in which In the darkness he managed to find a padded bunk and fell asleep. On awakening he was shocked to discover that he had passed the night In a coffin in the plant of the National Casket company. As he was emerg ing from the building a policeman ar rested him as a burglar. As nothing had been stolen, Phillips was dis charged in Flushing police court. Poison gas Is now used to kill rats that gather in tunnels and undef buildings Mexico City. — Bloo^-sucklng bats measuring 20 Inches from tip to tip of extended wings ar? reported to be terrorizing inhabitants of the south ern Mexican state of Oaxaca, as the Egyptians were terrorized by the bib lical plagues. \ Martlniano Caso,/«n Oaxaca farmer, who has just ar ’ ; here to procure expert medical ^^’Ment for a young son, reports that ^ny children and animals have died Iiif' his native state recently from loss of blood to bats there is a movement on foot to ap point a commission to come to the capital and request the federal govern ment’s aid In the matter. Sir children, ranging In age from six months tfour years, died in one night from the silent visitations of blood-sucking bats, according to Senor Caso, and this in one small town. The bats are said to enter bedrooms noiselessly, settle down upon their Bleeping victims with less disturbance than a falling leaf and suck blood so painlessly that even light sleepers are not awakened, except sometimes by a subconscious warning that something Is wrong. Lightning Bum's! Off Nebraska Mean’s Beard Alliance, Neb.—Struck on the head by lightning, Joe W. .Kennedy, forty- five, farmer, ^ejl the tale, and the attending physician says he will recover. Kennedy was riBing a gang plow pulled by four hokes. He saw the storm approaching, but not regarding it as particularly threatening, he kept on with his work. He says he saw no flash and heard ilo thunder, but the next thing he knew was when he found a doctor bendiag over him in the hospital here. The lightning struck Kennedy above the right ear, burned the crown of his hat, scorched the hair from his head and plowed its way across his cheek, jumping from there to his chest, which was seared, and onto his legs, where deep burns were left. From there it entered the iron seat of the plow on which he was riding, melting the metal into a mass and then passed along a steel cable to which his lead team of horses was attached to the plow. One of the four w'as Instantly killed. Kennedy was knocked unconscious and was found a half-hour later by his wife and daughter. The lightning put out of commission most of the telephones in the neighborhood. The course of the lightning could be clearly traced from where it struck Kennedy to where it leaped from his body. A full set of whiskers that adorned his face went up in smoke. Reclines Nude on lee and Fans to Keep Cool Atlanta, Ga.—Albert Allen, negro, who, despite the lack of clothing and the aid of a block of Ice, still suffered from the heat,- was given 30 days in which to cool off. Allen, It was nWoaled in ' police court, owed his excessive lieat to three drinks of corn liquor. After taking them, he told Judge A. W. Callaway, he -went home and went to bed, but couldn’t sleep. He walked around In an attempt to get cool, and then took off all his cloth ing and went back to bed. But the bed was too hot. lie got up and de cided to walk around a bit, forgetting his lack of clotliing. A policeman found Allen peacefully reclining on a 100-pound block of ice in front of a drug store. And Allen, clothesless as he was on his icy bed, was fantastically fanning himself with an enormous piece of 'cardboard. At court, Allen, still sans clothing, appeared before the judge wrapped in a jail blanket—and still perspiring. The judge’s sentence w’as immedi ate—16 or 30 days. And Allen, having no clothes, natu rally had no pockets, and wdth no pockets carried no money. Marines as Colonial Troops at the Sesqui Pageant These colonial troops really are members of the Forty-thira company, rifth marine corps, taking part in the High street historical pageant, “In 1770,” at the Sesquicentennlal exposition in Philadelphia. London Its Displeased Cafe Patron Hurls Pie at Owner Sacramento, Calif.—Pics, calces and other foodstuffs were hurled at a res taurant proprietor here recently by Douglas Slocum, who was displeased at the meal served him. The human target evaded the mis siles successfully. “But every time the boss ducked, I got hit,” testified John Lament, a waiter, shortly before Slocum was fined $25. Losing Old Signs Famous Emblems Vanishing as Modern Structures Are Erected. London.—New building construction In Fleet street, on a scale almost com parable to recent construction in the Strand, reminds us of the scores of old shop signs that are being steadily reduced In number along this famous newspaper street. There Is no mod ern equivalent for these Eighteenth century signs. The adoption of num bered shops and houses has done away with the necessity for what have be come anachronisms. They go back to the days when a tradesman was accustomed to adver tise that he “maketh and selleth all sorts of leather-breeches” at the “Sign of the Boot and Breeches,” or when an old private bank was located “at the Sign of the Three Squirrels.” Now- adas's u breeches maker would an nounce that his shop was located at 7 Fleet street, or a Fleet street bank would give as Its address simply Fleet street, E. 0. 4. But a number of the old shop signs have survived to this day and every time an pld building Is torn out to' make room for a new one, a few more relics disappear. In the Eighteenth century, when the art of the old sign was at its height, the best of artists were not above sup plying them, and some of those that survive are of real artistic value. This Is the case at the Cock tavern, one of the oldest establishments in London’s newspaper row. The gilded chanti cleer that hangs outside Is a copy of the original, preserved indoors. It was done by the great Grinling Gibbons himself. Originally the tavern stood “at the Sign of the Cock.”. “Three Squirrels" Gone. Then there is Gosling’s bank, where ■Warren Hastings, Clive and Pope once kept their accounts. It stood “at the Sign of the Three Squirrels,” but the squirrels have been taken down. Gos ling’s Itself has been swallowed up by Barclay’s bank, one of the “Big Five” of the London banking world; and in the new building the three squirrels have been reproduced In the windows. As for the Sign of the Boot and Breeches, which once stood in Fleet street, even the site has been forgot ten. Within the last year or two, suc^ old signs as the beehive at 64, the hogshead of wine, the Caxton’s head, the duke’s arms, the race horse, the “sun of righteousness” and the torch extinguisher—all of them once famil iar—have gone. Who first put them up, what shops they once marked, where they are now, nobody knows. New buildings have taken the place of the old buildings that bore them, or alterations In the old buildings have caused them to be removed. Today we can only suppose that a dealer in honey once had his shop “at the Sign of the Bee Hive,” that a wine mer chant was formerly located “at the Sign of the Hogshead” and that a printer sought his custom “at the Sign of the Caxton’s Head.” Some of Them Remain. Numbers of old signs, fortunately, are still in place, although even the societies that have delved into this rich mine of Eighteenth century art are unable to tell the stories of some of them. A banner, a Chinese head, a death’s head, a fiddle, a fleur-de-lls device, a globe, a mask, a group of the Muses and a group of winged Hons are disclosed by a single walk through Fleet street today. Angels, balances, golden bottles, marigolds, a phoenix, a shamrock and a thistle reveal the whereabouts of shops that have long since vanished before the tide that has swept all of London’s newspaper of fices, and most of the London offices of the world’s great newspapers, into the Fleet street area. Barrels, shields, daggers, a portcullis, posthorns, a red crosfe, wheat sheaves, a white horse and a white faloona, p>>j’?njays., red lions and the picture.^ of dead kings and queens are there to take our minds back to the days before it had occurred to London to number its shops. New heraldic devices are, of course, occasionally put up in various parts of London, including Fleet street, but these are not to be confused with shop signs, for the college of heralds l.s the last authority in the world that could ever be suspected of dabbling in trade. Everybody knows the griffin, which stands on its pedestal at the west end of Fleet street It ts easily the most famous of that highway’s heraldic de vices—possibly the most famous in all London, for it marks the boundary line of the city proper, where the lord mayor tenders his sword of state to the sovereign on the occasion of royal visits to the city. The sovereign, in accordance with ancient custom, touches the sword and returns it to the lord mayor’s keeping—a rite ex emplifying the city’s status of semi independence, The griffin is presum ably intended for one of the dragons, supporters of the city’s arms; and in Fleet street it is affectionately knowc as the “Ace of Clubs.” Dooms All Shrines Where Animals Are Worshiped Tokyo.—The shrines bureau of the home department has ordered the de struction of thousands of small shrines throughout Japan dedicated to the primitive superstitious w’orship of foxes, snakes and other .animals. These small shrines come down from times when animal worship and various forms of nature worship were part of the lives of the simple country people, and are doomed now on the ground that they are antagonistic to the progress of the nation. Little opposition to the move is ex pected, because with the spread of education the more primitive forms of worship are dying out. Origin of Flag ; Washington.—The origin of the Stars and Stripes has been traced. Army historians have found that the garrison at Fort Stanwix, N. Y., made a flag of red, white and blue out of their clothes and an enemy coat and hoisted it after recapturing the fort August 2, 1777. Sick Ex-Fighters Breed Canaries Ears that are especially tuned to the clear, commanding call of a battle bugle are none the less appreciative of the soft notes of song birds. Ex- service men at the Municipal Tuberculosis sanitarium in Chicago have under taken the raising of canarie.s. Many of the cages for the birds raised ai'e furnished gratis. “SLEEPER” ON CONTINENT • STRANGE TO AMERICANS Each Compartment Has Two Bunks and Many "Gadgets”—Etiquette of the Car for Travelers. Washington.—Life on a Continental “sleeper” Is described In a bulletin from the Washington l>eadquarters of the National Geographic society. French sleeping cars are different from the usual sleepers In America, although they have some things In common with the most recent Ameri can compartment conches, stfys the bulletin. An aisle extends down one side of the car, about the length of an American coach, and from this aisle doors open Into the compartments. The latter have a floor plan some what like that of a gi*and piano; they are narrow at the entrance door, and flare to a greater width at the other side of the oar. In the “scallop” is a door leading to n small lavatory which is sandwiched between two adjoining compartments aid Is shared by their occupants. An ligenlous derice bolts both lavatory d^^prs at once. You ai'e nlraos /ready to believe that the electrical dfljlgner sought to play a joke on the | .Issengers. Switches are cleverly hldLfi so that they seem a part of the di!>^>rations. In the compartments two bunks may be prepared, a and an upper, placed across thu^.raln, not in the di rection of trave)^is in America. No curtains are useu ’ nd you necessarily share the little ’n rather intimately with whomever ? other ticket has been sold to. Tl'^.et agents must, of course, be exceed^ 'ly careful In their sales. There can Vc no haphazard sell ing of uppers an(i (towers to men and women as in Amenta, j Continental sleei.jpg cars are filled I to overflowing with' gadgets,” partlcu- j larly the upper bfl,th, by way, per- • haps, of consolatloi for loss of the lower. Little nests of nickeled hooks fold out of eacli other fanwise so that you may hang every garment you pos sess on a separate hook, and still have rack^s and nets and hammocks besides. The ?ower berth even has a special lit tle sloping plush rest and hook for your watch so tliat you may hang it open beside your head. From the ceil ing a broad web strap extends down to the side of the upper berth at the middle to keep it's occupant from roll ing out—the original, no doubt, of the similar devices now being Introduced into America. The generally accepted cu.stom at bedtime Is for the holder of the lower berth to surrender the compartment to his fellow traveler until the latter retires, and then to retire himself. In the morning the order is reversed; the occupant of the lower berth rises first unless destinations differ and the up per traveler must leave the train first. There are no smoking rooms on Conti nental sleepers. In the corridor, held against the outer wall by a spring, are hinged seats which may be lowered. Here one sits and smokes If he likes.