THE ALAMANCE GLEANER
? H T ? 1W ' ".If. ? .?????? I * . ? =
VOL. LV. GRAHAM, N, C., THURSDAY MAY 16, 1929. NO. 15.
* ' T!?**?*M**f??????^nr?^
WHAT'S GOING ON I
NEWS REVIEW OF
CURRENT EVENTS
Senate Coalition Deal* a
Rebuff to President in
Farm Legislation.
By EDWARD W. PICKARD
T~\ K MOCHA Til I and radical ltepub
licans in the senate combined last
week to deal a rebuff to the farm re
lief plans of President Hoover and
his administration. The McNary bill
was under consideration In the upper
house and the elements named suc
ceeded in inserting into that measure
the export debenture scheme to which
the President had declared his op
position. The senate committee on
agriculture already had declared it
self in favor of the plan, which the
house had rejected when it passed the
Hangen bill. The motion of Senator
Watson of Indiana to eliminate the
debenture provision from the McNary
measure was beaten by a vote of 44
to 47.
Consideration of the line-up In this
vote leads the unprejudiced observer
to the conclusion that the supporters
of the debenture plan were not neces
sarily sincere., Their number Includ
ed all but two of the Democratic sen
ators (Ransdell of Louisiana and Wag
ner of New York) and thirteen Repub
licans, nearly ail of whom are classed
as radicals. The Democrats bad de
cided to make a party issue of the
matter, and the radicals have a habit
of opposing the "regular" Republicans.
Senator Johnson of California was
among those who spoke for the de
benture scheme, and he could not re
frain from giving Mr. Hoover some
slaps.
There was no doubt that thq Mc
Nary bill would be passed after con
sideration of some suggested amend
ments, and It was equally certain that
when it went to conference the house
conferees would insist on the elimina
tion of the export debenture provision.
It was understood in Washington that
President Hoover would veto the farm
bill rather than permit It to become
law with that plan included.
As approved by the senate the de
benture provision authorizes the farm
board to provide an export bounty on
any or all farm products. The bounty
would be equal to one-half of the ex
isting tariff rates on the same com
modity. Debentures equivalent to
these rates would be issued by the
Treasury department to exporters who
could realize cosh by selling them to
importers. The debentures would be
redeemable in the payment of customs
duties on all kinds of imports.
I
PROMISING even a sharper conflict
than the farm legislation, the new
tariff bill was introduced in the house
with the harking of the Republican ma
jority of the ways and means commit
tee and the united opposition of the
Democratic members. The formula
tors of the measure, seeking to con
form with the President's wish to
avoid, as far as possible, ill feeling
and retaliatory action by Canada and
other countries, did not raise the tar
iff duties on agrlcultpral products
nearly as high as the farm Organisa
tions had desired; and, according to
the Democratic spokesmen, they did
Increase the duties on many articles
which the farmer buys. Republican
congressmen of the Central and Far
Western states also were dissatisfied
with the agricultural features of the
bill. Meat duties are about doubled,
and this pleases the farm groups, but
their request for a tariff on hides was
rejected. The rates on sugar are con
siderably Increased, sugar importa
tions from the Philippines being ex
cepted. This brought loud wails from
Cuba sugar producers and importers of
Cuban sugar and from bottlers of car
bonated beverages and other groups,
and the fanners, as users of sugar,
also objected. The bill is more in
clusive than Mr. Hoover desired.
Space Is lacking for even a summary
of the bill as offered In the house. In
Its entirety it pleased scarcely any
one, some of its clauses being dis
tasteful to administration congress
men as well as to the Democrats. So
It was certain that there would be a
great battle over the meaaure In both
the house and the senate.'
I_J ARRY F. SINCLAIR, oil magnate,
* Is In the Washington Jail serv
ing out his sentence of 90 days for
contempt of the senate. But still his
foes are not satisfied. Maj. William
Peake, superintendent of the Jail, de
clared his noted prisoner would be
given no special privileges; but Dr.
Morris Hyraan, the Jail physician,
needed a pharmacist, and as Sinclair
Is the holder of a degree In pharmacy
he was assigned to the Job. This saved
him from being put In the "bull gang"
at the Occoquan workhouse brick fac
tory. Then suddenly an order was is
sued by George S. Wilson, director of
the local bourd of public welfare, bar
ring newspaper men from the Jail
while Sinclair Is a prisoner there.
Naturally this created something of a
rumpus and Senator Heflin of Ala
bama took the occasion to make a
speech denouncing what he called "of
ficial truckling to a millionaire crim
inal." Other senators admitted they
were making inquiries Into rumors
that the oil man was receiving undue
consideration, some of these rumors
comlug by "grapevine" from his fel
low prisoners.
CONGRESSMAN M. ALFRED MI
CHAELSON of Chicago Is "not
guilty" of Importing liquor Into the
United States from Havana. So de
clared the Jury which heard the case
against MIchaelson In Key West, Fla.
The government proved that the con
gressman and his party brought six
trunks labeled with his name, that
one of them leaked at Jacksonville
and that two of them were found to
contain liquor. But Walter Gramm
of Chicago, brother-in-law of Michael
son, came to the rescue and swore
that those two trunks were his and
that the legislator didn't know what
was In them, and MIchaelson testified
to the same effect. Therefore the Jury
brought In a verdict of acquittal.
Gramm, standing on his constitution
al rights, refused to tell what he had
put In the trunks. Federal officials
very promptly arrested the complai
sant brother-in-law otf nearly the same
charges brought against the congress
man.
HOPE for an agreement on German
reparations based on a plan of
fered by Owen D. Young, one of the
American experts. Is not abandoned
but seems rather slim. The details
of the plan have not been made pub
lic, but protests are made by England,
France and BelgHim. each of which
fears It would suffer by the proposed
revised schedule of payments. None
of them Is willing to have Its receipts
from Germany cut down, especially If
the United States makes no further
concessions In the allied debts due It
The British government was trying to
stall off any parliamentary discussion
of the matter because of the pending
elections, but Chancellor of the Ex
chequer Churchill told the house of
commons that the proposals In ques
tion would be lnacceptable to the
Baldwin cabinet
CLEAR weather was vouchsafed to
most of the scientists who went to
the East Indies to observe the total
eclipse of the sun, but the British
party at Patanl, Slam, saw nothing for
the phenomenon was entirely obscured
by clouds. At Ilollo, Philippine Is
lands, where several American groups
were stationed, and on the Island of
Cebu, where there were others _ from
this country, the weather conditions
were excellent. The eclipse was seen
for about Ave hours, though Its total
ity lasted only four minutes. What
the astronomers and physicists learned
will be madd known to the world later.
THOUGH the preparatory disarm
ament commission In Genera ad
journed until an Indefinite date later
In the summer without apparently
baring accomplished anything definite.
President Hoorer expressed gratifica
tion over the "promising character"
of the results obtained by the naval
powers represented. Said he: "All
of the principal naval powers bare ex
pressed adherence to the principles
suggested by the American delegation,
which Include the conception of re
duction lnaiead of limitation of naval
strength. They hare expressed their
desire for full and frank dlscusalon
and the development of the American
formula Into a practical step. The
?
manner by which these discussion*
are to be Initiated has not yet been
determined, out tbe question will be
followed op promptly."
Traveling about 900 miles, from
Pittsburgh to Prince Edward Is
land, the navy balloon No. 1, piloted
by Lieut. Thomas Settle and Ensign
Wilfred Bushnell, won the national
elimination race and will represent
America In the International contest
The navy bag was in the air about
forty-four hours. For a time It was
feared that the Detroit Times balloon,
with E. J. Hill and Arthur G. Schlos
ser aboard, was lost. But after hours
of travel In rain and mists It came
down In a desolate region of the Adl
rondacks.
"T'HERE were three pieces of news
last week of especial interest to
the movie fans. fc"Irst, Constance
Talmadge, long one of the most popu
lar of the screen gtars, became the
wife of Townsend Netcher, Chicago
millionaire, and announced that she
had retired to private life. Then Ina
Claire and John Gilbert, both prom
inent motion picture actors, were
married in Las Vegas, Nev.; but there
was no intimation that either of them
would quit the screen. Thirdly, Tom
Ml*, hero of scores of "Westerns,"
was Indicted by a federal grand Jury
In Los Angeles on charges of with
holding (100,000 in Income taxes and
conspiring to defraud the government
out of about (75,000 In Income taxes
for the years 1925. 1926 and 1927.
The conspiracy charge Is also made
against E. J. Forde, brother-in-law of
Mix, and J.' Marjorle Berger, Holly
wood Income tax counselor.
In announcing Mix's Indictment fed
eral officials Intimated that similar
action would* follow against other
prominent film performers. It was
said that the government's losses from
Income tax frauds In the film colony
have been approximately (10,000,000
In the last few years.
\X7ASHINGTON social circles are
* ? upset again by a revival of the
Mrs. Gnnn controversy brought about
by the action of Mrs. Alice Roosevelt
Longworth. Tbe speaker's wife de
clined to conform to the decision of
the foreign diplomats giving the Vice
President's sister the ranking place,
and for the time being those two la
dles are not to be seen at the same
dinners. Mrs. Gann has plenty of
friends and supporters, but the wives
of most of the senators and Supreme
court Justices are In the opposite
camp. Of course, when Mrs. Gann
stays away from a function. Vice
President Curtis also Is absent In
December President and Mrs. Hoover
will entertain the cabinet members
and their wives for the first time, and
Mrs. Hoover's method of solving the
troublesome problem will be viewed
with greatest interest
BERLIN'S bloody May day riots, that
lasted through nearly a week,
were finally ended by the vigorous ef
forts of the government. Tbe Reds
threatened a general strike on the day
the 24 victims of the demonstration
were burled, but the workers failed to
heed the plea of the Communists and
funeral ceremonies were not marked
by further serious disorders. The
government In Berlin asserts It has
proof that the riots were deliberately
staged by agents from Moscow and
the minister of the Interior read to the
relchstag telegrams substantiating the
charge. On the other hand the Com
munist leaders accuse the National
ists and Monarchists of provoking the
battles with the police as a means of
forcing the authorities to disband the
powerful Red organization. The
Communist fighters were dissolved
throughout Prussian and Bavaria and
In the free city of Hamburg and all
their funds were confiscated.
THE University of Porto Rico sus
tained a severe loss In the sadden
death of Dr. Albert B. Hale, profes
sor of economic geography there for
the last three years. Doctor Hale In
former years was commercial attache
of the state government at Buenos
Aires and later was connected with
the Pan-American Union. He was an
authority on Latin-America.
Col. Idas Bauer, chief adviser to
General Ludendorff during the World
war and afterward the organizer of
the Chinese Nationalist armies, died
In Shanghai of smallpox.
Woman Ties Marriage
Knot at Gretna Green
One of the latest English elopements,
culminating In a wedding ceremony at
the blacksmith's forge of historic
shrine of true love, the Gretna Green,
Involved not the knot-tying smith him
self, but his wife.
Richard ltennlson, the smith to
whom. In accordance with the ancient
Gretna Green tradition, young couples
apply for matrimonial shackles, was
absent from his forge when Olive Rid
set and Hector Happln dropped to and
bloshingly asked to be married. 80
Mrs. RennlsoD presided at the anvil.
Strictly speaking, no upset of time
honored marriage regulations was In
volved. for onder the law of the land
any resident of Gretna Green can per
form the ceremony at the anvIL The
words of the ritual are simple.
The bride and bridegroom merely
affirm that they take each other for
man and wife; the blacksmith re
sponds with "Righto I Carry on," or
words to that offset, and the mar
rlage Is duly recorded lo the archives.
Rennlson marries sn average of
foor couples s week at the old anvil.
Last year 200 loving pain sought bis
famous smithy?few, however, because
an Irate father was pnnulng them.
In the old days It was Gretna Green's
position Jnst across the 8cottlsh boon
dary that led so many English lads
and lassies hither.
Many who fled across the River Sark
seeking unimpeded marriage at Gretna
Green were children of Important fam
ilies.
TOOTHPICKS
AND
ROMANCE
I? by D. J. Wil?h.)
PHYLLIS, brown-eyed and slender,
bad Ideals, Inherited from the
romantic, seml-lnvalld mother
who named her Phyllis May.
Bot there was little time for the nur
turing of Ideals In the Gregory house
hold. Phyllis began work at four
teen, standing on her feet all day be
hind the counter In a 10-cent store
and dragging her weary body to school
three nights a week. By the time she
was eighteen she had finished night
high school and mastered shorthand
and typewriting. Now, at nineteen,
she had secured her first stenographic
position and was beginning to feel
that her feet were firmly set at last
on the first round of the ladder of
success.
From her couch In the frgpt room
Mrs. Gregory nominally supervised the
household. 'Tim, you must wash your
hands more carefully. They are posi
tively grimy. And your nails?"
"Aw, for Pete's sake, mother," and
the overgrown sixteen-year-old boy
would look guiltily at the offending
nails, then awkwardly pat his moth
er's thin shoulder. "What with you
and Phil, I don't never got no peace 1"
"And you studied grammar at
school," Phyllis would exclaim, dis
gustedly.
"Grammar don't mean anything," be
retorted. "It's what yon do, not what
yon say, that counts."
Phyllis had to admit that he was
right fundamentally. "Bnt still," she
Insisted, "being able to talk correctly
Indicates good breeding."
"Sure, and I'm a well-bred plumber's
assistant," be boasted, closing the ar
gument.
Phyllis hated Tim's work. To her It
was dirty In every sense of the word.
But he had been forced to accept any
thing he could get. He speedily found
something Intriguing about bathroom
fixtures, and boasted that one day he
would be a millionaire plumber and
live In a porcelain-lined borne.
But with the entry of Curtis Asbe
Into Phyllis' life minor worries were
forgotten. Toung and good looking,
with that well-groomed air that wom
en so admire, he seemed the mate
rialization of all she had dreamed.
Curtis was one of the richest custom
ers of Harvle Bros., where she was
employed. He came Into the office
occasionally to talk with Mr. Harvle.
and after a few casual chats with
Phyllis came oftener, Invited her to
lunch and even suggested dinner and
the theater.
Phyllis accepted the luncheon Invi
tations and eventually the theater, but
she declined to take dinner with him.
"It's my only meal with mother," she
explained, "and she looks forward
to It"
"I should think yonr brother could
entertain her for once," Curtis grum
bled.
"I also prepare the dinner," she
laughingly replied.
Curtia had smiled, she thought with
annoyed surprise. "I'd like to meet
your mother," be said presently.
Phyllis felt herself flushing hotly.
"Mother would be delighted to have
yon take dinner with us one eve
ning," she suggested, diffidently.
Curtis accepted with alacrity, and
Phyllis did her best with the dinner.
I She was not ashamed of the apart
! ment It was comfortable and taste
i fully If not expensively furnished. Her
I mother had a real Irish linen table
I cloth, relic of better days, and the old
j mahogany sideboard. Incongruously
i massive, gave dignity to the dining
i room. Tim consented, with some urg
ing, to scrub his nails clean for once.
But good-natured, well-meaning Tim
j almost spoiled things Id the end. The
, dinner, from roost chicken to home
| made Ice cream and caramel cake, had
been perfect Curtis had become
genial and expansive, Phyllis was very
happy. Before they left the table Tim
looked aronnd inquiringly, then rose
and rummaged through the kitchen
cabinet He came back with what he
sought "Sis forgot to put them on
tbe table."
"No, no thank yon," Curtis waved
them away with a strained expression.
Tim helped blmself. "Take one, sis,"
he Invited. ?
After ber guest had gone Phyllis
gave way to angry tears. "He'll think
we're common and don't kDow any
thing," she sobbed.
"If be really cares for you be won't
notice a little slip like that" Mrs.
Gregory tried to comfort her. Tim,
staring at his carefully scrubbed nails,
said nothlDg.
A montb passed and Curtis showed
nnmlstakably that a little matter of
toothpicks could not come between
him and his love. Shy and tremulous.
Phyllis crept Into ber mother's arms
to tell the wonderful news. "Curtis
loves m- He wants to be msrrrlcd
right away."
"Tou deserve the best." her ro
mantic mother answered, satisfied.
Then came plans for tbe wedding
and afterwards "We'll take a abort
trip," Curtis bad said, pressing ber
dark bend against bis shoulder. "I'm
buying you tbe borne you admired In
Lakevlew."
"A real borne, at last!" breathed
Phyllis
"Just we two," and Curtis' arms
tightened. Phyllis tensed suddenly,
and a stab of tear pierced her heart
"You forget mother, Curtis," she
whispered, brushing ber Hps lightly
across his
"No, I've thought It all out She and
Tim can keep the apartment and
I'll engage a good reliable woman to
come In every day and take charge."
"But," Phyllis remonstrated aghast,
"a maid can't take my place with
mother. It would take all the joy out
of her life If?If?she didn't live with
us! And Tim?" she stopped, ber
voice thick with tears
"You'll decide differently after you
think It over," he declared. "Trust to
my judgment Phyllis."
But In this one matter she stood
Arm, and for days the silent battle
of wills continued. Phyllis loved Cur
tis passionately; life without htro
would be an arid desert But her
mother needed her I Tbe girl moved
through the dally routine with a sense
of unreality. There were faint
smudges under tier eyes that told of
sleepless nights, but her mechanical
set smile never faltered.
A week passed, torturing hours in
which self-sufficient Curtis found bow
wholly and completely love had taken
possession of him. It could no more
be uprooted than could his very heart
be tQrn from his bosom. And all this
anguish was because a delicate old
lady and a hardworking boy would
be In the way In his new fourteen
room home.
Curtis resolutely got out of bed. Be
had been a fool, be re'allzed. Snap
ping on the lights, be wrote a note
?tore It up?tried again till one sat
isfied him. Then be telephoned for
a messenger. "He's to be here by sev
en o'clock," he instructed the sleepy
voiced operator. "The letter I'm send
ing Is of vital Importance 1" Then Cur
tis returned to bed, and slept soundly
for the first time In a week.
Phyllis, too, was asleep, with tear
stains on her cheeks, but peace '?>
her heart For earlier that night Mrs.
Gregory bad called Iter daughter. She
was embarrassed and tearful, but de
termined. What Phyllis finally under
stood from her mother's rather inco
herent words was this: Mrs. Gregory
didn't want to live with Phyllis and
Curtis I She didn't want to give up
the freedom of her tiny apartment
"I hate for us to be separated, but
you will have Curtis," Mrs. Gregory
sobbed.
"Yes?Curtis," bewildered Phyllis
half whispered.
' Besides," Mrs. Gregory was hold
ing her daughter's bunds tightly, "I
can take better care of Tlmmy here,
and the neighbors can come In dur
ing the day and gossip a bit, as they've
always done, and I'll feel?well?Inde
pendent."
"Whatever will make you happiest"
Phyllis managed to say.
"And," Mrs. Gregory half lauglietf,
shamefacedly, "Tlmmy and I both like
to keep toothpicks on the table."
Wonder* of tho Dusky Land
Carveth Wells, a British traveler
and scientist, has seen many wonder
ful things In the course of his career
ing through the countries of Africa
and other out-of-the-way spots. On
his return from the Mountains of
the Moon he tells among the other
strange things he noted was an ele
phant with tusks so enormous that
they trailed before hlra along fhe
ground. At least be found his tracks,
the tnnrks of four feet and, running
always with them, two parallel grooves
which could have been made by noth
ing else than his tusks. On another
occasion he saw a herd of gnus and
zebras which-- he estimated to be 30
miles wide and 5 miles deep. He saw
them passing below blm one morning
and. camping at the same spot three
days later, be saw them still passing.
Sympathetic lak*
Various methods are used for writ
ing and for bringing out the writing,
In the case of so-called Invisible or
sympathetic Inks. Heat and sunlight
bring out most of them, but such chem
ical solutlona as hydrogen sulphide,
ammonia, oxalic acid, copper nitrate,
ferrocyanlde of potassium, etc., may
be necessary In Individual cases, de
pending. of course, on what was used
for the "Ink."
First Stamp Primitive
The first postage stamp Is said to
have been used In Paris In 1053. It
took the form of a receipt printed on
the wrappers In which letters were
sent, and was originated by a French
man named Velayer.
Symbol
"How's the auction business. Dan}"
"The old red flag ain't what It used
to be. Every time* I hang It out some
comrade assembles and attempts to
apeak."
WHY STUDY
?CLIPSES?
Flames Shooting Out From Surface of the Sun.
(Prepared by the National Oeorraphlc
Society, Washington. D. C.)
ON THE ninth of May the ion
and moon staged another ol
their great periodic dramas In
which the Queen of the Night
for a few minutes banished the King
of the Day and ruled the slty.
No one In America or Europe conld
see this great show of the heavens,
for the moon's shadow swept over
only a narrow band extending from
the middle of the Indian ocean to be
yond the Philippine Islands; and the
pencil of darknesa traced most of Its
line over water. But it crossed land
In northern Sumatra, the southern tip
of Slam and the northern Malay
Btates; lust touched southern Cam
bodia, and swept across the middle
Philippines. But so Important was this
brief blotting out of the sun to the
scientists of the world that parties of
them journeyed to these far off lands
In the path of the shadow, taking
with them elaborate Instruments and
cameras. Yet the total eclipse that
brought about all tbls travel and ex
pense lasted only five minutes In
Sumatra, and less than four In the
Philippines.
It was not the darkness Itself that
Interested the observers, but rather
the baze of light that appeared around
the circumference of the llghtless
moon, for that Is the chromosphere of
the sun and It holds many secrets.
Also, they wanted to see the stars
that shine Immediately past the edge
of the blotted-out sun, for their posi
tion may shed new light on the Ein
stein theory.
Meanwhile the man In the street
will be wanting to know what is the
use of such Investigations anyway;
and If the astronomer takes time to
answer, It will be to say, "I don't
know."
rtor could anyone loreieu wum uew
truths would be discovered, or fore
see what new applications to human
welfare they may have.
But new scientific knowledge alwsys
has a way of turning men's minds to
Its application to human necessities.
Today, lo peace times, we see the
great dirigible, the I-os Angeles, fly
ing through our skies without fear of
the gas explosion which has wrecked
so many superb lighter-than-alr craft.
And oil largely because Lockyer, In
| 1868, training his spectroscope on the
great flames that shoot out from the
rim of the sun, detected a new line In -
their spectrum. He noticed Its close
resemblance to the lines of hydrogen
and concluded It must be the spectro
scopic signature of a light gas un
known to terrestrial chemists.
How Hsllum Was Found.
Twenty-eight years passed, with
everybody thinking that this gas was
a stranger to the earth. Then 81r
William Ramsay obtained minute
quantities, of a new gas from uranlnlte.
Imprisoned In a test tube and elec
trically excited. It began to glow.
Studied with the spectroscope. It
showed the same telltale autograph
that Lockyer had observed.
More years passed. The World war
was on, and America had entered It.
The housewives of the plains of Kan
sas had been complaining of the qual
ity of their natural gas. It didn't
make enough heat or sufficient light.
A middle-western university professor,
H. P. Cady, was sent down to And out
the trouble. In bis spectroscope ap
peared once more the unmistakable
signature that had come to Lockyer,
Ramsay, and to 8lr Ernest Rutherford
In his manifold Investigations of radio
activity. It told him why that gas
wouldn't produce sufficient heat and
light?It contained helium, as Inert
as stone and playing the same role
In natural gas that slate plays In coal.
Then the American Chemical society
met. The university professor was
put on the program to tell of bis dis
covery. He apologised for Intruding
a theme upon the attention of that
great body which could not. by the
longest stretch at his Imagtnattnw,
hare any bearing on the momentous
iaane before which all other matters
slionld stand silent. But after he
spoke, a venerable British savant de
clared that he need offer no apology;
that If the war went on another two
years the professor's contribution
would do more to promote victory
than all the other contributions to
the proceedings.
Thus came helium as the straw that
would break the Hobenzollern bock,
if all other weights should falL It
made possible the construction of
giant dirigibles which could conduct
raids over the enemy lines without
fear of Inflammable bullets.
And It was the training of a spec
troscope on a huge flame on the rim
of the sun during an eclipse that had
first revealed this element.
Thrills in Astronomy.
Romance? Astronomy offers more
thrills to the alert human mind than
all the fiction in the Library of Con
gress could provide!
Recently millions of people listened
In on the election speeches and re
turns, and marveled once more at the
wonders of radio. But they little
dreamed that a patient Danish as
tronomer had done the pioneer work
which released Bell's telephone from
the bondage of wires and made the
ether of space Its servant.
When ltoeroer found that eclipses
of the moons of Jupiter occurred 18
minutes earlier when Jnplter and the
earth were on the same side of the
sun than when on opposite sides, be
deduced that light was not Instanta
neous, but traveled at about 18G.OOO
miles a second.
Clerk Maxwell concluded mat ngnr,
to travel at such a velocity, mn*t be
electro-magnetic, and that there most
be other wave lengths than thoae
which register on the bnman eye.
Hertz detected these hypothetical
waves, Marconi harnessed them to sig
naling, and Pupln made them the har
den hearers of Sound. Vacuum lubes
can now take the Infinitesimal bit of
energy these wavea possess after
spanning a continent?a bit of energy
no greater than a tiny fraction of
that expended by a fly in crawling np
a window pane?and. "stepping them
up" and amplifying them, make them
capable of producing a room-filling
sound.
Here Is an Inkling of a solution of
the problem of power sources after
coal and oil supplies sre gone. Study
ing Slrlus, the gay Dog Star, and his
less brilliant companion, astronomers
have found Indications that this satel
lite of the Dog Star has nearly as
much mass at the sun. although It ts
only a little larger than the earth.
If that he true, then there are
states of matter of which man never
dreamed before. On that basis this
dark star would be 90.000 time* as
heary as the same bnlk of water. In
other words, a pint of the material
composing that star wonld weigh 29
tons.
The world Is looking for a good con
ductor of electricity that will enable
Industry to transmit power long dis
tances without undue loss of energy.
It Is possible that this new under
standing of the constitution of mat
ter might lead to the open door of a
new and better conductor to take the
place of the diminishing supply of
copper In the transmission of elec
trical power. Sbonld such a conduc
tor be found, then the melting snows
of the Rockies and the Andes, of the
Alps and the Himalayas, might torn
the wheels of tbo world's Industries,
light the lamps of Its homes, and pro
duce all the fires of Its kitchen ranges
and sitting-room flrtplacea.
The astronomer and the physicist
have pooled their forces in cross-ex
amining the atom. In the test tubes
of the laboratory and the cosmic
crucibles of the skies, they are at
tacking It with X-rays, spectroscopes,
and other Instruments of atomic tor
tore, to make It surrender the secret
It has withheld from humanity loa
so tarn*