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About The North Platte semi-weekly tribune. (North Platte, Neb.) 1895-1922 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 9, 1920)
THE NORTTT PLATTE SEMT-WTCEKLY TltTRTTNE. SYcfertd Hy Thi Nitiol Gmgrtfhll J S MANILA: KANSAS CITY OF THE PHILIPPINES In connection with tho contlnticl (lis "cusslon of Independence for tho Phil ippines' the cnpltnl city of tho Islands, Mnnlla becomes of speclul Interest. As n transport wends Inwnrd from tho China sou, It passes the Island of Corregldor, beyond which stretches Manila bny, whoso 120-mlIo circumfer ence could surround tho navies of the world. Its rival will not bo found In tho far East. On tho right of Its en tranco stands Cnvlte, where Dewey sank tho Spanish fleet From tho bay tho city of Manila seems to He almost at water level with hazy mountains for a back ground. Before the United States dime to tho Islands Manila was a sleepy town, sprawled luzlly beyond tho bay and tho wharves of the river l'nslg, which bisects It. Its streets were quiet and almost deserted at times, lis suburbs shady and pretty, and n general air of "mamma" per vaded its atmosphere. Today its estimated population equals that of Jersey City, Indianap olis or Kansas City; the river Is allvo with launches and vessels of every description, Including the houseboats of a lltorally floating population of fifteen thousand; and through Its port It sends yearly to other countries near ly a hundred million dollars' worth of hemp, sugar, copra, tobacco and other comodltles. A unlquo sight in Manila Is the Pnco cemetery, which at present has fallen Into disuse. It Is composed of two con centric walls about six feet thick, honeycombed with holes Just large enough for a coflln. In the olden days theso wero leased for periods of live years. At. tho end of that time If no ono was sufllclcntly Interested In tho remains of an Inmate to pay. his rent for another flvo years his bones wero thrown on a heap at tho back of the cemetery. Imagine tho "shimmy" tho flesh on an ancestor-worshiping China man's backbono would perform should ha behold tho queuo of ono of his pro genitors protruding from this Golgotha. Out from tho walled city near tho bay shore Is Luneta, a small amuse ment park, and Wnllnco Held, used for sports and the nnnual carnival. In the days of Spanish ruin Wallace Held was an execution ground for po litical prisoners, and here Dr. Jose Wzal, tho Filipino surgeon, novelist and patriot, was executed. Manila's chief shopping district is north of tho river, and enterprising Filipinos, Americans and Chinese have net up stores, banks, factories and restaurants, giving this portion Of the City nu up-and-dolng air. WHAT'S IN THE NAME ! "AMERICA" Millions sing "America"; compara tively few know tho origin of tho name. Its history and its symbolism nre described In a communication to tho National Geographic society by John1I. Flnley as follows: "'America a namo that was flrst heard on tho planet, or at any rate flrst put on a printed puge, according to tho best authorities, in tho vlllago of St. Die, among the Vosges moun tains In the cast of France, often call cd tho baptismal font of America. "On a pllgrlniago to this valloy of the Vosges some years ago, I found Btlll standing the cloisters where the scholars hud lived who wrote Tho In traduction to Ptolemy's Cosmography' the book In which It was suggested that tho namo 'America bo given to tho nowly-dlscovcred fourth continent and who prepared the now famous map on which tho emerging continent was Idcntlfled. There, too, I found tho slto of tho old printing shop, nnd the house Itself In which the printer, Jcnn BubIii, had lived. "At tho beginning of tho war tho Germans had occupied It, and In 1017 their guns looked down upon It from tho 'blue lino of the Vosges.' Tho cloisters, close under tho mountains, I found In n recent nnd second pll grlmngn hud not been damaged, but there wero many houses that had been destroyed by shell or by wanton llro, though Jean Basin's was still stand ing. "Europe could not readily forget tho geography of Its Infancy and child hood, but America began from Us God fearing settlement with nn astronomy of Inllnlto distances, with a geography partaking of tho Bky an well as of tho tsca and land. "As there was no feudal system of Hoclety for America to unlearn, be ginning, as It did with tho 'compact nnd 'constitutional, so there wns no physical theory of the universe for It to abandon. It wns democratic and Copernlcan from' Its flrst national con sciousness. "With this Oopornlcun consciousness p'f tjib universe, Atriorlca should bo tho loiuC provincial of the continents, for Asia and. Africa, ns well as Europo, tlll remember Uie old cosmography Hud In BOino darker regions still cling jito It" . BARBADOS: ISLAND OF VAST RESOURCES Barbados Is one of the most inter esting nnd least known of tho pos sessions of Great Ilrltaln. I'enr-slmped, solitary, fnrthest cast of tho West Indies, Ilarbados general ly is accounted tho most healthful of the group, even though It Is the most populous country In tho world, per square mile, except China, and George Washington carried to his grnvo tho marks of smallpox contracted on n visit there. Tho island there Is but one despite tho misleading plural name Is but an. eighth tho size of our Rhode Island, but tins twice as ninny Inhabitants per squnre mile ns our smallest and most densely populated state. Seldom does n volcnno become nn asset, but volcanic eruptions have con tributed largely to the fertility of Bar bados. When tho sun wns obscured throughout one dny In May, 1012, the Itnrhndans wero panic stricken, but when tho gentle rain of blnck dust subsided, tho deposit was found to be nshes from nn eruption of St. Vin cent Soufrlors, nenrly 100 miles to the west, which enriched the soil. Long beforo that time, though, Bar bados wns productive. Oldest of Brit ish colonial possessions except New foundland, It nlso was tho flrst plneo In tho British empire where sugar cane wns planted. Its nverngo crop of this now high-priced commodity Is C0.000 tons. It nlso hns 2,000 lucres planted In Ben-Island or long-stnple cotton ; raises 40,000 bunches yearly of tho Chinese banana, and exports mo lasses. Ono phenomenon of Barbados has not been accounted for. For years tho so-culled "Barbados Coflln Story" furnished a mystery which would In terest present-day psychic Investiga tors. In the yard of n church near OlBtln's Town Is n churchyard burlnl vault, hown from rock nnd arched with cemented stone. A womnn wns burled thcro In a lead coflln, according to Bnrbadan custom. Several years Inter when tho vault was opened again to receive another body, the colli n had been removed from Its original po sition. Upon the second occasion spe cial precautions wero taken to seal tho vault. Sovcral times thereafter, though seals wero unbroken and there seemed no other modo of entering tho solid rock nnd masonry, the cof fins wero displaced. Finally tho mouth of the vault wns cemented, nnd when It wns tlmo to receive another body ofllclnls of tho Island and nn Im mense crowd gathered for the core monj. Once more all the leaden cask ets wero found to hnvo been disturbed nnd the family had their dead removed to Another burying ground. No satis factory solution of these strange oc currences hns been offered. A natural curiosity of Barbados Is tho "Animal Flower Cnvo," tho so called flowers being sea worms. Not so ngrccablo are the Maucltlneel, or poison trees, along the shores, whoso leaves blister tho skin and con taminate tho water. WHAT IS THE UKRAINE? In tho heart of the-Ukrainian ter ritory Poles nnd Ukrainians partici pated in a struggle wltli tho Bolsho vlkl. "What Is tho Ukraine? Tho Polos nnd tho .Lithuanians of u few centuries ngo know well tills most turbulent sec tion over which they nttemptcu to rule, and Imperial Itussla for a long tlmo wns greatly troubled by tills very unruly part of her expansive domain.. The Tatars and tho Turks felt. Its proximity because of tho many raids made upon them by tho wild warriors of tho steppes," says Novln O. Winter In n communication to tho Nntlonnl Geographic society. "Tho Ukraine includes southeastern Itussla, with tho exception of tho province known as Bessarabia, which Ukraine Peasant Girt. partakes of the character of the Bal kan Btatcs and Is peopled with ItoU' inaulnns and Bulgarians. Tho great seaport of Odessa and surrounding country havo been added to It under tho now alignment "Tho Ukrnlno docs not reach much north of Klov or cast of Kharkov, but It Is a largo Btato In Itself, about as largo m tho former Gennnn empire, with somo twenty-flvo or thirty mil Uoiih of peopto living In It. 'Thera is u lure about tho limitless stretches of tho steppes In tho Ukraine. In wide, level Hpuces, or In gentle undulations, they reach out un til sky nnd horizon meet In a barely perceptible line. Parts of It remind one very much of our own western prairies. In spring and summer It Is an ocean of verdure, with the vnrlcd shades of green of the growing vego- tatlon interspersed with flowers of many hues; later, In the autumn aftei tho crops are harvested, it becomes a brown waste of stubble and burncd-up pastures; In winter It Is a white, glis tening expanse of snow. "Thcro are not many old towns In tho Ukraine. Kxcept In Kiev nnd Kharkov, one will hardly And a build ing more than a hundred years aid. No old medieval churches- built up by Iho toil of generations of devout hands, no Old chateaux of the nobil ity, no palnces rich In pictures will be encountered. The great mujorlty of tho towns are still big, overgrown villages. 4 "The towns nre scpnrntcd from each other by enormous distances, with Im perfect communication. The peasants plant their vlllnges In the Iccof somo swell In tho surface or by tho edge of a stream In which they can water their flocks during tho drought which may come." SOME BIG GAME OF THREE MILLION YEARS AGO' Speaklng of tho brontosnurus, If any one ever did, one might paraphrase Gclett Burgess: . ' "I never saw a dinosaur, I never hope to seo one." Yet, nccordlng to reports from Af rican explorers a Uvo dinosaur, a hrontosnurus has been foimd In Africa. now mat tne dinosaur is witu us, potentially, big game enthusiasts will bo Interested In this description of pre historic big game, quoted from a com munication to the National Geographic society by Barntnn Brown: k Today we must go to Africa for. tho biggest galne; but there was a time In tho dim distant past when America produced animals larger than any now living. That was so long ago that nothing remains of these creatures ex cept their lioncs, nnd they nre turned to stone. "Tho animals nro dinosaurs; for tho moment we will call them lizards not tho creeplifg, crawling kind, but huge reptiles thnt stalked- upright through the jungles, rivaling In size tho elephant, the hippopotamus and the rhinoceros. . - "Tho place Is Alberta, Canada,- and tho tlmo of their exlstenco 3,000,000 years ago. "In theso marshes of prehistoric times dwelt a host of reptiles, somo large, somo small and of various forms, flesh enters and herb eaters, but .all sharing certain characters In common and known ns dinosaurs. Not .any wero closely related to any living rep tile, yet they had some characters common to Uie lizards, crocodiles and birds. "Of tho kinds characteristic of tlio period ono species, a herb eater named TrnchQdon, was more than 80 feet long nnd nbout 15 feet-high when standing erect. Its' head, with broadiy-cxpanu- ed mouth, resombles that of a duck, but back of the beak thero aro moro than 2,000 small teeth, disposed In many- vertical rows each containing sovernl Individual teeth, the now ones coming up from below as tho old ones woro out. "The long hind legs terminated In threo largo-hoofed toes, and tho short-, or. slender front feet wero partly webbed. A lone. thin. Blender tall act ed ns it nowerful mvlmhilng organ, nnd hn hndv wns covered witu rougn iu- berculato Bkln. Having no means of iii.ff.nsn. it lived chiefly In two water, whoro It was' free from attacks of tho flosh eaters." SEA SLEDS FOR- AIRPLANES o...i nf niant Floats cvibkcb ino . . iL . Taklna Off From omau opaco Matter of Ease. rsinnt sea sleds capable pt carrylni nlminnes out In raldocean nro helm developed b.v n Boston concern, ouiuu . n nro equipped with four motors, total- in 1.7R0 norsenower. ami nave a Hneetl of 55 miles an hour. In the event of war witn n roreign nntlou theso sou sleds would, bo utll lr.id to transport heavy bombing nlnncs across tho ocean. Thousands could bo sent at a comparatively iow 1 cost. While It Is possible for an airplane to lcn"votho deck of a Ben sled, there Is not sufficient room for n lanuing to bo mnde. The flying machine would hnvo to work out Its own salvation onco its wheels left tho sled. Those sen sleds nre built to lift and run on tho surface of tho water. When a speed of 00 miles' an hour la reached It Is posslblo for nn airplane to open Its motors nnd leave tho deck without any further runway, Experiments mudo off tho Now Kng- lnnd coast show that a small airplane can "tuko ore" when tho Ben sled Is making but 40 miles an hour In a heavy sea. Other tests nre being mndo to develop tho high power pinning sea sleds Into plensuro craft ns well ns for military nnd naval purposes. Gordon S. Ormo of Now Orleans, a wealthy sportsman, has had a 32-foot- or built for his ubo In tho Gulf or Mex ico. Factories have been established In Atlantic City to aid In producing tho sea sleds, which are now being tested off tho New England coast Paiilno True. "Tho leading lady of tho play made her mark In tho flrst scene." "Yes, I saw her do It when she leaned her powdered faco on tho hero's black dress coat shoulder." Bolshevists Invade Mexico's Presidential Palace Crowd of BoUtievlsts outside the nce, nnd the man In tho tenter on horseback, holding the "Bed" flag, Is reported to have waved It from one of the balconies. . Irish Families Fleeing From Burning Town. Itcsldents of Mallow, county Cork, British troops burned nnd .sacked In Society Woman Louiso Q. Beavor, society woman a mounted policeman, who wero wed secretly not long ngo. The brldo is re lated to many prominent families, nnd Is n well-known horsewoman, and tho groom has been a member of tho Central park mounted squad for several years. Church Given by Frank J. Gould I Tho Gould Memorial church of opeaklng colony at Malson Lafltte, a American millionaire sportsman, was ,of England. presidential palace In Mexico City. They Ireland, fleeing with such furniture ns reprisal for raids by Sljin Fein sympathizers. Weds Policeman of New York, und Thomas J. Leonard. ilrS 1 FOR HOMELESS BIRDS the Holy Trinity, presented to tho English suburb of Paris, by Frank J. Gould, tho consecrated recently by Bishop Orracby . . were bold enough to invade the pul- they could save, from their town, which DONATES FAMOUS SWORD Lord Garloch, only son of the thirty-third earl of Mnr, premier earl of Scotland, hns just presented tho sword worn by "BonnloPrlnce Charlie," ono of the most famous nnd historical Id Great Britain, to Mrs. Clarence Crit tenden Calhoun of Washington, a de scendant on her mother's Bide of tho Jiouse of Mar. Tho illustration shows Lord Gnrloch nnd the sword. Tho girl scouts of New York city have undertaken to provide homes for tho birds that wish to spend the win ter there. One of them Is hero Been putting up a bird house In a tree la Central park.