VOL. XXVI._VADKINVILLE, YADKIN CO., N. C., THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 23. 1920 Na 39 SUPER-CANNON WAS PATCHWORK — SiantjGun Used for Long-Dis tance Shelling of Paris No New Invention. Was 122 Feet Long, Weighed 318,000 °ounds and Threw Projectile Weighing 264 Pounds a Die t&nce of 75 Miles. Paris. — The super-cannon with which the Germans began shelling Paris, March 23, 1918, was just pieces of old, wornout guns put together, in stead of a startling new invention, ac cording to American army officers, who were permitted recently by the Germans to visit some of their huge armories. It was actually just a neat bit of patchwork that startled the world when the terrific explosions began det esting in the streets of the city of Paris, although the verdict at that time was unanimous’that the Germans had Invented a marvelous new cannon. Naval Gun Wa* Foundation. To begin on the super-cannon, the Germans took a wornout 15-inch naval ispm, 56 feet in length. It was bored out and a very heavy tube with an in aide diameter of 8.3 inches was insert ed, with about 40 feet of it projecting beyond the end of the original gun. ■Over that another hoop was shrunk and locked to the forward hoop. There also was a patch of 19.7 feet, which was attached at the muzzle of the *un. The bore of the gun was treated to a uniform rifling, the lanes and grooves which impart a rotary motion to the projectile. The six-meter sec tion of the gun at the muzzle, how ever, was unrifled, probably designed to steady the projectile and defeat its Slight tendency to “tumble” or yaw and fail to travel directly to its mark. £?uch “tumbling” is caused by the con tlict of two forces, one spinning the projectile to the right, the other send-*, Sng it forward. Such a force had to be •obviated as the shell had to travel up ward 24 miles on its arc in order to •cover the horizontal distance of 75 kniles. Clevor Expedient to Prolong Life. The life of the giant gun, which was pounds in weight and 122 feet *long, under the heavy pressure of its Shigh velocity projectile was very lim ited. But when the Germans found *the span of the gun amounted to only •50 pounds they hit upon a clever ex pedient. They bored out the 21-centi taetar tube, wtolch was very thick, to 24 centimeters, and later to 26 centime ters, giving it just so much more life at each caliber, with only a change to larger ammunition required. The shell hurled by the cannon weighed 264 pounds and was 19 inches in length. COLLISION BRINGS NEW STAR Explanation of Recent Phenomenon Is Given by Prof. Charles C. Conroy of Los Angeles. Vallejo, Cal.—The new star in the (constellation Cygnus, lately reported through Harvard observatory, was Ipi educed by a collision in the heav ens between a large comet and a com paratively dim sun. ! This is the information given out by iCapt. Thomas J. J. See of the naval (observatory at Mare jsland, from Prof. Charles C. Conroy of Los Angeles. | The star forms a comer of the par allelogram 6t Alpha, Gamma and Del tft Cygnl, Captain See said he had been pdvised. At present it is of the sec ond magnitude and the magnitude may jbe expected to increase for several days, but will die down in the course of a few months, he reported. I Catch Blue Lobster Off ij: Shore pf Massachusetts •||; i Nantucket, Mass.—Capt. Syl- ■<« via of the steamboat Sankaty ;j; I' was presented with a rarity—a ; j! bftie* lobster. A fisherman !j! brought him ashore, much elated ;j; over his rare find, and handed ! him over with some pomp and j! ceremony. The freak was a deep, ; rich navy-blue in color, instead ;j of the customary green, but, i boiled, he turned red. just the jj same as his ordinary brother. \\ «. < Choked Girt by “God's Orders.” \ Moss Point. Miss.—Louis Smith, ^c / IwMftrs « *€>* \ WLU0Ni 4Mdl¥ \ [shake* we 1 . MUST HAVE i GONE TO ThP ) SAME BUSINESSES. J Ugg^i^lX I -I o** *** l jCl4f ~ I '•Ow »»uc Kit * '<*'** OT^ —- if <■ _ va^5. ^POfajf W?°°' g': t*. ^estJ : «MEtN | I —--—1—— Reproduced by permiesien New York Tribune, Ine., Copyrighted 1920. MEXICO TRIES FARM COLONIES Government Takes Action to Satisfy the Land Hunger of the Peasants. Mexico City.—To satisfy the land hunger of the Mexican peasantry, the government is establishing farm col onies in the states of San Luis Potosi and Guanajuato. Other settlements will be founded as soon as these first two are com pletely launched. In these colonies, the small proprie- I tors will live like the Mormons in | Chihuahua and Sonora—each commun ity having its own streets, market, garden, mixed school and moving pic- j ture theater. Apportionment of the - adjacent farm lands will be made so : that each petty landholder will literal- ] ly have his own “row to hoe,” thus j obviating one of the greatest causes i for the many recent uprisings that ; have occurred in Mexico. Each farm- 1 er will he furnished with agricultural j implements and seed. These farms will be nontransferable in any form, whether by mortgage, sale or exchange. They may be in herited, however, and are to be free from taxation. It is planned to establish the pro posed communities near railroad lines, so that the products will find ready markets. THIS TOWN LIKES AMERICA All Men in Spanish Village P??~i Emigrate to the United States. Madrid.—Every man in the village of Huerta Pelayo. in the province of Guadalajaro, has decided to emigrate to the United States, according to Pe dro Martinez Embil.^e town clerk who appeared at the American consul ate with 25 companions to secure vises for passports. He declared the mayor of the town would have decided to go to America had he not been aged and infirm. The families of the emigrants will follow as soon as the men are settled in America. The number of emigrants from every village and township of the prov ince of Salamanca Is increasing daily, recent strikes in the mining district* having caused large parties of work ers to decide to leave the country. $ Separated for 41 Years, Then Kiss and Make Up • When Mrs. Mary Walrad and li ft Charles L. Walrad, each seven- ;j: » ty-six years old, met at the Sol- j J H diers’ home at Leavenworth, ;j; 8 Kan., recently, it was the first ;j: g time they had seen each other.in j I S 41 years. It was also the first < ; $ time Walrad * had seen his ,5 daughter ski^e she was five i|| r months old. Mrs. Walrad lives ■ $1 at North Miami, Okla. She and j ; j her husband separated In Joplin. ! ; | Mo., in 1879. Three weeks ago