THE ALAMANCE GLEANER
VOL. LII.
HAPPENNINGS
NEWS REVIEW OF
CURRENT EVENTS
Doings of Congres» Prior to
Adjournment for Christ
mas Holidays.
By EDWARD W. PICKARD
CONGRESS adjourned Wednesday
night for the holidays, and will not
reassemble until January 8. Though
the house was quite busy in the week
preceding the recess, most of the In
terest centered In the senate., Tues
day night the house river and harbor
bill was put to a vote, and despite the
bitter attack that had been made on
parts of it, the measure passed by the
overwhelming vote, of 57 to 9. Those
voting in the Mgatlve were Oouzens
of Michigan, Frazier of Norfh Da
kota, Howell and Norrls of Nebraska,
Lenroot of Wisconsin, Willis of Ohio,
Republicans; and Blease of South
Carolina, Ferris of Michigan and King
of Utah, Democrats. As passed by the
senate the measure carries appropria
tions of $75,000,000, almost $10,000,000
in new projects and surveys being
added In the closing hours of/debate.
Therefore it went to conference, but
with a certainty that the differences
would be adjusted.
For the Middle West the item of
great interest Is that providing for
completion of the Illinois river link of
the lakes-to-thfr>pal{. waterway by the
ot a fchanoftt in the r|yer
nine feet deep and 200 feet wide frohi
Dtica to Its,mouth. A clause whs in
serted which specifies that the meas?
are shall not be construed Us author:
Izing water diversion froth Lake Mlch
'gan- ; .
This gives Illinois a gateway to the
ocean," Senator Deneen asserted. "We
will be on the longest waterway in the
world, runnipg.,from the Gulf of . Mex
ico to the St. Lawrence river. The
Illinois provision satisfied the senate
and I am sure It will satisfy the
house."
Aside from the Illinois Improvement,
the most important items in the meas
ure include an authorization of $12.-
000,000 fot beginning the Improvement
of the Missouri'river between Kansas
City and Sioux City; an agreement for
the purchase of the Cape Cod canal
for ;i1,500,00Q, and $4,000,000. authori
zation for the construction of the in
' t/acoastal waterway from Jacksonville,
Fla., to Miami.
(Senators Gooding of Idaho and Pitt
man of Nevada attempted to tack on
a long and abort,haul rider but were
defeated and said they would bring
up that measure iht a , liter date.
SENATOR HARRIS'Of Georgia on
Monday Introduced a resolution
for investigation of charges that fed
eral appointments in the South are
commonly bartered and sold by Re
publican national committeemen. This
went to the Judiciary committee, and
Senator Ernst of Kentucky moved
that the resolution be broadened to in
elude similar charges against Demo
cratic leaders and .to inquire Into the
extent of the disfranchisement of Ne
troes in the South with a view to the
enforcement of the Fourteenth amend
ment to the Constitution. This nat
urally didn't please, the Democrats at
*l. and the matter was referred to a
subcommittee.
THE case of Frank L. Smith oif Illi
nois, appointed by Governor Small
to fill out Mc&nley'a unexpired terra,
e Pt the senate on tiptoe. Smith was
Presumed to have accepted the ap
pointment, though he did not appear
0 Present his credentials, and Demo
crat* and Republicans alike, with
*°®e exceptions, were ready to throw
m out when he should show up.
atson of Indiana, assistant Repub
*n leader of the senate, said:
lik l!t h can come- down here if he
/***• but in my opinion the senate
take summary action is bis-case
without delay." jklcNary of Ore
•°u said: '"There are too many votes
ealnst seating him ever JO p€?mlt
mto take the oath, l' and this was
■*° ed by various others. Ashurst of
r * onn declared, hi would call op his!
Jetton disqualifying Smith as soon
his certificate' of appointment was
to the senate. - *
Demand Abroad
ft-/or Arjnerican,Food*
; I I
'yi ii safesmtfCship, have enteral 1
7 1 wantty of th* world.
r^ ent survey shows that "buyers'
•#^ gastronomic prej-
of hom e-fed natives have cap-
J« el to a tlck, * d Palate.
Pan and China smack their lips
steaming corned beef hash and
" el sausage. India is growing
, y on Columbia river salmon and
It Is to avoid the possibility of an
extra session of congress that the Re
publican leaders are lining up against
Smith and In favor of an immediate
vote on the Ashurst resolution without
too much debate. Adoption of the res
olution would send the whole matter
to the Reed committee, taking It off
the floor until supply bills and other
important legislation can be dis
posed of.
SENATOR HEFLIN of Alabama
broke loose Monday with a Speech
in which he repeated the old story that
Jess W. Smith, confidant of Harry
Paugherty when the latter was at
torney general, did not commit suicide
but was murdered. He asser ed that
Smith 'was slain to prevent exposure
ofia plan, whereby Secretary of the
Treasury Meilon was to be reimbursed
for a loan of $5,000,000 to the Hardlng-
Coolldget campaign fund by contrlbu
tiona .forced from, bootleggers and
btejveirs. "Jess Smith knew so much
th!at It was desired to get rid of him,"
declared Heflln. "We were conduct
ing a general Investigation of the
whole thing. It was rumored, also,
that Jess Smith grew exceedingly
nervous over It and that he haj} made
up his mind to make a clean breast
of it all, but Jes?never lived to make
that clean breast. He died. He was
murdered."
"Sounds like delirium to me," was
Secretary Mellon's only comment when
told of Senator Heflln's attack.
PRESIDENT COOLIDGE let It be
known that he will not approve
appropriations for the construction of
additional cruisers for the navy at
this session of congress. This followed
on the action of the house naval af
fairs committee in submitting formal
ly the Butler bill authorizing the build
ing of ten light cruisers with the
unanimous recommendation that. an
appropriation be made at once for the
completion of the three cruisers al
ready authorized In the 1924 building
program. It was stated at the White
House that while acknowledging the
need of more cruisers If the fleet Is to
be rounded out as a balanced unit In
comparison with other major powers,
the President feels the present naval
construction bill Is heavy enough for
the American public to stand at this
time. He Is insistent that the present
airplane carriers, the Lexington and
the Saratoga, together with fleet sub
marines now building, should be com
pleted before cruiser building is begun.
FIVE bills revising postal rates were
passed by the house. One Is for
restoration of the one cent rate for
private post cards; another author
izes transmission of business reply
cards, the return postage of not more
than two cents to be paid by tjlie
original 'mailer when the card" is re
turned. A third bill amending the
postal act would fix at one cent an
ounce the' rate on publications when
mailed as second-class matter by others
than the publisher or bis agent. An
other would provide for an additional
charge on first-class Batter mailed
with insufficient postage. i
EFFORTS of the house and senate
conference committee to agree on
legislation to regulate radio broad
t casting were futile and the mattei'was
I deferred until January 4. If no agree
ment is reached next month the house
conferees purpose to move the pas
sage of an emergency resolution sus
pending the granting of broadcasting
licenses pending regulatory legislation
by the Seventieth congress.
REPRESENTATIVE BLACK of
.New York, author of a pending
bill under which the United States
would relinquish its extraterrltdrialty
rights in China, sharply attacked the
report of Silas H. Strawn on condi
tions there. He said Mr. Strawn s
utterances since he- returned from
China have not pnly created a wrong
lmprCsslon here and In China as well,
but have "worked irreparable harm
to the American cause in China," and
compelled President Coolldge to point
out that they express merely Mr.
Strawa's and not the
policy of the administration.
L ITHUANIA'S Socialist government
having been overthrown by the
military and Catholic partlefc, that
country now has a president-dictator
In the person of Antona Smetona, for
mer head of the republic. Professor
California fruit. And Brazil keeps
the American market swamped with
for .canned asparagus.
' tariff-w&Jsjs which? the* Eu
ropean, nations erected, hastily after
the ato»i*tice, have bfcen Ef
fective before the onslaught, export
records show.
Salesmen in foreign countries gener
ally adopt the same methods used In
America, It !■ pointed out It pays to
advertise anywhere. And canned
milk with a Burmese label appeals
juat as strongly to th« Asiatic fancy
Waldeiharas Is premier and forelflj
minister. Doctor Grenlua, the ousted
president, and several hundred So
cialists and Communists were arrested.
The radicals declare the parties of the
right are Influenced by England, which
seeks to unite the Baltic states into
a federation against Russia. Smetona
says he is going- to have the Lithu
anian constitution revised and It and
the country Americanized. The un
official Btate of war with Poland con
tinues.
AS WAS forecast last week, the
German cabinet could not main
tain Its majority in the reichstag,
therefore Chancellor Marx *Vnd his
ministers submitted their resignations.
These were accepted by President Von
Hindenbnrg with the' understanding
that the cabinet would continue to
function until after the new • year. .
Germany is about to get back a
small piece of the vast colQnlal hold
ings she lost In the war. The council
of ministers of Portugal has voted to
return the territory south of the
Rovuma river, known as the Kionga
triangle, this being a part of the
former German East Africa that was
allotted to Portugal by the treaty of
Versailles.
m
POPE PIUS, as an allocution in pri
vate consistory, made a strong at
tack an the Fascist state which'has
aroused much comment. The pontiff,
wlille expressing thanks for the es
cape of Mussolini from assassination,
dealt harshly with the duce's followers
for depredations and deeds of vio
lence against the persons and property
of Catholics. The government refuses
to be drawn into a controversy with
the po(£ because, It says, the past
acts he referred to have hot been re
peated in recent weeks and the orders
of the government for the preserva
tion of order have been severe. " .
NEITHER Brazil nor Argentina la
said to like the plan which Secre
tary of State Kellogg suggested to end
the Tacna-Arica dispute, and now It
is understood Peru has offered an al
ternative scheme, which probably has
no chance of acceptance by Chile or
Bolivia. According to a La Paz paper,
this is Peru's offer:
1. Peru will remain in possession of
Tacna and the city of Arlca, including
Morro castle, which protects the har
bor.
2. Peru and Chile, In common agree
ment, without demanding any pecuni
ary or territorial compensation, will
cede to Bolivia all territory south of
Tacna and Arlca as far as the River
Camarones.
3. Chile will retain possession of
the Chiicaya nitrate field.
4. Bolivia will remain In possession
of the port of Vltor, which Is the only
one that exists in that zone.
DELATED for a day by foggy
weather, the five United States
army airplanes, New York, Detroit. San
. Francisco, San Antonio and St. Louis,
began their pan-American tour Mon
day auspiciously. The start was from
San Antonio,' Texas, and the first jump
took the planes to Laguna Madre, near
Brownsville. Wednesday afternoon
they took off for Tamplco, with the
intention of going thence to Vera Cruz
and then to Mexico City for the Christ
mas holidays. The 20,000-mile tour
will take the planes to scores of Cen
tral and South American cities and
will last more than four months. Maj.
-*H. A. Dargue commands the squadron,
the other aviators being Capt. A. B.
McDaniel, Capt. Ira O. Eaker, Capt
Clinton F. Woolsey, and Lieuts. B.
S. Thompson, C. McK. Robinson. M.
S. Falrchlld, J. W. Benton and L. D.
Weddington.
RELATIONS between the United
States and Panama have not al
ways been pleasant of late, but a new
ly signed treaty submitted to the sen
ate for approval will Improve them.
In one of Its most Important ar
ticles Panama agrees to consider her
self in a state of war In case of a con
flict In which the United States should
be. a belligerent.
Under this treaty, Panama agrees to
co-operate with the United States In
the protection and defense of the Pan
ama canal. Complete control of radio
and other communications, aircraft
and aviation, transit of the canal, and
other questions involved in the na
tional defense Is lodged with the
United States.
I 1
as the American label appeals here.
In most cases American goods are
not competing with native goods.
They are flUlng a demand they have
themselves created.
Americans are demanding more and
more European goods, Importers say,
while immigrants, conservative in
adopting a new country's dishes, cling
to their own cuisine. Hard sausage,
black bread flour and strong cheese
Immigrants want, and there is a large
Import market in New York thai ca
ten to the demand.
*&ftAHA.M, IN, c., THURSDAY NOVEMBER 11,' 1926
HER
LESSON IN
MAJRIMONY
By FRED BROWN
(Copyright br W. O. Chapman.)
UA ND she said," concluded
/\ little Mrs. Clemons, " the
/ \ truth Is my husband is bru
tal, and so I have come
back to be among friends while I am
saving up enough money to get my
freedom.'"
There was silence at the table. Kv
ery one of the boardiers felt that In a
way Dora Symons' action was a re
flection on the establishment. Dora
and Charles Symons had met there,
become engaged and married, all with
in the space of a year. Arid the Went
worths, the Fields and the Stuarts had
met and mated and were still living
under Mrs. Jones' hospitable roof.
"I always knew Mrs. Symons was
quick-tempered," said Herbert Went
worth. s
"But It*B so absurd," said Mrs. Clem
ons. "Just because' Charlie Is a little
tyasty —why, she knew herself that
he was quick-tempered before she mar
ried him. "And just because lie com
plained' of her cooking and threw n
slice of pie across at the cat —that
Isn't cause for leaving him."
■f "We must Influence her to go back
to him," said Mrs. Field.
"We can't," said Mrs. Clemons. "She
thinks we all sympathize with her
against Charlie. What can be done?
She came here to get our sympathy."
Then Jim Stuart rose up. "She'll
get It," he said. "She'll get It thick,
and she'll sop It up like a muffin."
"What do you mean, Jim?" asked
his wife.
"Children," said Jim, "come hither
and put your heads together, and I'll
ttell you."
He had Just finished telling them
when Dora enme Into the room.
The men withdrew after supper and
the ladles opened the ball.
"I think It's a shame," said Mrs.
Stuart warmly, "and ,1 entirely ap
prove of your action. No self-respect
ing woman will endure a life with a
brute."
"I honor you for your act, my dear,"
said Mrs. Field. "If my husband
threw the pie at my cat I wouldn't
stay in the house another second."
"My dear, you have done Just right,"
said motherly Mrs. Wentworth, pat
ting Dora's cheek. "Just the right thing
In the right way, as you always did.
But who would have thought that
Charles would have turned out so
abominably?"
Dora Symons' eyes filled with tears.
The sympathy of her old friends was
Inexpressibly grateful to her. And
during the week that followed her ani
mosity against her husband Increased
tenfold. Mhe haJT'never dreamed that
men could show their wives such cour
tesy, such tenderness, as Messrs.'
Wentworth. Stuart and Field.
It was about a week after Dora's
arrival that she was awakened one
night, toward twelve, by the sounds
of a heavy body tolling up the stairs,
and apparently slipping down as fast
as It came up. Bump, bump! went the
footsteps. Dora flew to open the door.
On the landing outside stood Mr.
Wentworth.
"Have you hurt yourself?" she
apked.
"Bleshef, no," snorted Mr. Went
worth. "ttlmme your hand, darling."
Dora looked at him in terror foifc an
Instant. Then she flew into her room
and locked,the door. The wretch!
Mr. Wentworth, the paragon, had
come home In a terrible state.
He did rtot appear at breakfast the
next morning, but Mrs. Wentworth
was as smiling and happy as usual.
And Dora dared not condole with her
on this terrible - domestic affliction un
til she said something.
Two days passed. Mr. Wentworth
looked at Dora as If he were a little
ashamed when they met. Dora cut
him stonily. At last his wife asked
I the reason.
"Don't you know?" demanded Dora.
"I do hope you haven't quarreled
with Henry." said Mrs. Wentworth.
"I thought we were all to be such good
friends."
"Mrs. Wentworth," said Dora trag
ically, "your husband came home the
other night. And he tried to take my
hand and called me 'darling.'"
Mrs. Wentworth laughed cheerily.
"Is that all the trouble?" she asked
cheerfully. "Yes. Henry does go on
an outing occasionally, and then he's
liable to' do more than that. I thought
he would have wanted to kiss you.
But honest, honey, he's a good sort
and I think the world of him. Now
It Isn't like throwing tbe pie at the
cat. Just going out for a good time,
Is It, my dear? If he were that sort
of man —"
But Dora fled to her room. And the
next evening something worse oc
curred.
"Help! Help!" came In shrill tones
from Mrs. Stuart's room.
The boarders rushed to the door,
Dora among them. Mr. Stuart was
seen within; he had hfs wife by the
throat and was pounding her unmer
cifully with liia fists.
"Brute!" shrieked Dora, running
toward him. She (matched his finger#
from his wife's neck and struck him
violently across the face. Mr. Stuart
staggered back, dazed.
"How dare you lay your hands upon
my husband?" exclaimed Mrs. Stuart,
turning upon her.
'."The brute!" cried Dora. "To strike
his wife I"
'Til have you know, young woman,
that I don't allow Interference be
tween my husband and myself,"
snapped Mrs. Stuart. "Now kindly
take yourself off to your own room
and leave Jim and. me to settle our
differences In our own way."
Dora staggered from the room
blindly. The boarders were congre
gating outside. "Too bad!" said little
Mrs. Clemons sympathetically.
"Is that what you call It?" cried
Dora hysterically. "Too bad? Why,
he was beating his wife, beating her!
I never saw anything so outrageous
In my life! Listen! There he Is at It
again!"
In fact, Jim Stuart's voice was loud
enough to penetrate a dozen doors.
"Vm sick of you, miserable female!"
he roared. "Get out of this house.
Don't let me.see your fare again. It's
sour enough toJceep me In homemade
vinegar for the rest of my life. It's
ugly enough to frighten a strong ele
phant Into convulsions. Hire It out to
go bulldog don't practice
it on me." V
"Jim, dear, don't get so excited,"
came his wife's smooth remonstrance.
"You know It's bad for your diges
tion." M
"Digestion be hanged!" roared Jim.
"You black-and-tan whelp of a blight
ed toadstool, you—"
But bora had fled to her own room
and locked herself In. The next morn- ,
Ing she was too 111 to leaVe It. Mrs.
Stuart entered at ten with a tray of
breakfast.
"I'm sorry I was a little cross last
night," she said, setting It down be
side her. "You know, Jim is the best
man In the world, but once in a while
he gets Irritated. Now, If he were
real bad, like throwing the pie at the
cat, I wouldn't stand for It a minute."
"N-no." said Dora feebly. And after
a few casual remarks her visitor took
her departure.
Dora crept limply down to dinner.
The guests were as chatty as ever,
and Mrs. Stuart particularly amlabl&
Nobody noticed her distress, and Mr.
Stuart was even sympathetic as he
passed the mustard.
She had Just reached her room when
Mr. Field emerged from the passage.
"Mrs. Symons." he said, "I want to
tell you how sorry I feel for your
dreadful experience."
'Tfiank you," said Dora gratefully.
Bhe was on the' verge of .tears. The
Fields had always been her best
friends; she longed to tell him all, to
the Stuarts. But suddenly
lTe caught her in his arms.
"Darling!" he cried rapturously.
"Will you fly with me somewhere —
anywhere that I can get out of sight
of that old cat I'm married lo? f
"Mr. Field! I/et me go at once I"
cried Dora furiously. And she strug
gled out of his arms, but not before
lie had succeeded In imprinting a kiss
upon her cheek.
"I'll take you West," he said. "I
have plenty of money. We'll give the
old woman the slip, irnd nobody will
know we aren't mar—"
"Oh, ME*. Field!" shrieked Dora,
seeing his wife come up the stairs.
"Help me. Your husband has Insult
ed me abominably.?*
"What has he «lone, my dear?"
asked Mrs. Field. "Dearest, remem
ber Mrs. Symons must be treated re
spectfully."
"He asked me to elope with him,'"
wept Dora, covering her face.
"Is that all," asked Mrs. Field, ap
parently relieved. "Well, It's Just his
way, you know. He asked me to elope
with him, too, and I did. Don't take
him too seriously."
Dora lookW up. All the doors were
suspiciously open, and both Mr. and
Mrs. Field were on the verge of un
controllable laughter.
"Now, If he had thrown the pie at
the cat —" continued Mrs. Field.
"Oh!" cried Dora with sudden Illu
mination. And, frenzied at the trick
that had been played on her, she
dashed into her room and began to
pack furiously.
But an hour later, wet cheeks
and humble looks, she went down
stairs. The boarders were all at the
table. I t
"My dear friends," said Dora, "I
want to thank you all. I have been
very foolish, and you have taught
me—"
"Hurrah!" shouted Jim Stuart, seiz
ing her by the hands and beginning
the first step of a dance. "I knew
it We knew you were a trump, Mrs.
Symons. I took the responsibility of
writing somebody, and he'll be here—
say, let me take you In a cab to the
station to meet him!"
A Needed Reform
If somebody would suggest a calen
dar with more pay days we would be
strong for calendar reform.
E>irm ATKJCA
r
jyffiP
tmm Jm
Grave of Cocil Rhodes in Bouth Africa.
(Prepared by th» National OMfnphle
Society. Washington, IX C.)
OF THE three largest overseas
units that make up the British
commonwealth of nations, the
Union ot South Africa is the
oply one presenting serious racial
problems. The white population of
about a million and a half is divided
between people of British and Dutch
origin, while the population of blacks
Is more than three times that of the
whites. This racial situation has af
fected the molding of the govern
mental machinery.
The Union of South Africa, although
half around the world from America
and little known to Americans, has in
Its history chapters which we know by
heart It has vast areas taken over
from aborigines; thousands of Its
white settlers were massacred by sav
ages, but others, undaunted, pressed
on in their prairie schooners ever
farther Into the interior of an un
known continent; a gold rush won a
new empire; and the land Is pos
sessed today of a stubborn race prob
lem.
. In one. respect, however, the carving
out of what Is now the Union of South
Africa Is without Its parallel In the
development of the United States.
There the strife of two white peoples
for control has been an all Important
factor. For about a century and a
half the Dutch had possession of Cape
Town and the small area surrounding
It which harbored all the whites In
South Africa. The Napoleonic wars
transferred possession to England, knd
In 1806 the English assumed a final
control, which many of the Dutch In
habitants resented. In 1836 many of
the Dutch farmers or "Boers" began
trekking into the Interior with the In
tention of settling beyond English In
fluence. When Englishmen followed
them they trekked farther. Finally,
beyond the Orange river they founded
the Orange Free State, and beyond the
Vaal river, the Transvaal Republic.
First diamonds and then gold were
discovered In the new states. They
brought great prosperity to the Boer
republics, but they brought many out
siders as well; and the presence of
these finally led to the Boer war;as
a result of which the republics came
Into the possession of Great Britain.
Creation of the Union.
Aside from the war-born republics
and monarchies of the last eight years,
the Union of South Africa Is one of
the youngest of the Important coun
tries of the world. It too, was largely
war-born. Shortly after the conclu
sion of the Boer war plans were set on
foot to fuse the two old republics with
Cape Colony, the oldest South African
government and Natal, next In point
of age, to form the new union. It was
finally created by an act signed In
1910.
The territory of the Union occupies
the whole southern and southeastern
tip of Africa In a wide strip extending
about 250 miles inland from the Indian
ocean. Its area lacks only 25,000
square miles of reaching the half mil
lion mark. Of Its four provinces, Cape
Colony is slightly iarger than Texas,
the Transvaal aboht the size of Ne
vadu. and Orange Free State slightly
smaller than Alabama, while Natal ex
ceeds South Carolina by a few thou
sand square miles.
From the south and southeast
South Africa is a series of mighty ter
races, ench with a rim of high moun
tains from below and low ones from
above. Most of the slopes near the
sea are fertile, well wooded and well
watered. The ascending steps vary In
moisture and fertility.
Great Diamond Mine*.
Toward the inner edge of the terri
fM-w nf rlm Frr' i r nrt* -
NO. 40.
greatest diamond ■lues, where earth
•ufflcient to All thousands of can if
screened yearly for the sake of a peck
or two of diamonds. But the few
handfuls of diamonds exported in 1913.
the last year before the World war,
were worth more than fifty million dol
lars and exceeded in value the com
bined value of the many shiploads of
wool, ostrich feathers, hides and coal
that sailed away from Sooth Africa
the same year.
Some 200 miles to the northeast of
the diamond country are the gotfi
fields. In their midst Is the gold
built, wonder city of Johannesburg,
metropolis of South Africa. After the
discovery of gold In the eighties the
city sprang up almost over night, and
the people flocked there by the thou
sands.
About the Provinces.
Cape of Good Hope province (or
"Cape Colony" as It is still usually
termed) Is the premier unit of the
Union both In age and size. With its
area of approximately 277,000 square
miles It is more than one-tenth as large
as the entire United States, and It is
more extensive than Its three sister
provinces combined. From the sea
much of Cape Colony seems barren,
but the soil Is rich and after the rainy
season, productive.
Natal lies Just around Africa's cor
ner, only a little way beyond the Cape
of Good Hope. It fronts, therefore,
on the southern part of the Indian
ocean. It extends roughly between
south latitudes 27 and 32, and has a
position corresponding In the northern
hemisphere to that of northern Florida
and the southern aqd central portions
of the other Gulf states. In the matter
of location, then. It can be seen that
Natal should have an excellent chance
to become South Africa's "Dixie." The °
coastal belt Is relatively low and warm
with a sub-tropical climate. In this
zone it Is believed that Natal can de
velop an Important cotton production.
There, too, is a considerable sugar In
dustry and large tea plantations. Back
about 30 miles from the coast the
midland b*lt begins. This zone is
higher and cooler as Is the back coun
try of the American Gulf states and
constitutes a "corn belt." Still farther
from the coast are the uplands of
Natal, where higher altitude and low
er temperature combine to create con
ditions like those of the plains of
Texas and Oklahoma. And, as in the
uplands of those states, stock raising
and cereal production are the dom
inant Industries. Natal has a popula
tion of about 140,000 whites and ap
proximately ten times as many negroes
and East Indians.
Orange Free Stat# province is en
tirely inland, separated from the In
dian ocean by the high Drakensberg
range, and from the Atlantic by half
the width of the continent It lies
on the great South African tableland
at an elevation of more than 4,000
feet. The country is made up for the
most part of rolling plains with here
and there "rands" or ridges. The pop
ulation is largely of Dutch origin.
Still farther inland ties the fourth
province, Transvaal, with an area
twice that of Orange Free State and a
population more than three times as
great The white population, as in all
the other provinces, Is greatly In the
minority. Physically, Transvaal Is
much like Orange Free State, a land
of rather dry upland plains.
The Union of Sooth Africa has a
system of divided capitals. From Pre
toria, capital of the old Transvaal Re
public, the administrative activities of
the Union are carried on. The parlia
ment meets in Cape Town; while the
Supreme Oourt of Appeals alts in