TTTE NORTH, EfcATTE SEMT-WEEKLT TRIBUNE.
HAITI: MAGIC ISLE OF
THE INDIES
Picture tin Island more wonderful,
mora beautiful and more richly en
dowed by nature even than the raided
IhIcb that medieval mariners loved to
dream about; a country of pleasant
peaks, charming vales and fertile
Plains ; an Idyllic land net In a summer
sea.
Picture then a land where the ava
rice of conquerors, ruthlessly exploiting,-
has blasted promises of progress ;
where the passions of men have run
riot; where tyrant after tyrant, some
great, some petty, hnve waded to
power through pools of blood; a land
from which the gods of peace and In
dustry seem to hnve turned nwny.
Both nre pictures of Haiti, the rela
tions between which country and the
United States uro now under discus
slon. To nvold confusion It must be ex
plained at the outset that the dame
Jlaltl Is used sometimes to denote the
entire Island, which Is tho second larg
est land mass In the West Indies,
sometimes to denote merely the He
public of Haiti, which occupies the
western third of Its nrcn. Tho possi
bilities of confusion are Increased by
tho fact that the Island Is also known
as Santo Domingo and San Domingo,
names applied likewise to Dip Domini
can Republic, which occupies the east
ern two-thirds pf tho land tmlt.
The name Haiti Is much used be
cause It was the descriptive term,
meaning "high land," given to tho
Island by Its nborlglnes. This wus tho
favorite Island of the West Indies to
Columbus, who reserved for It tho most
complimentary namo bestowed on tho
hinds which ho discovered Illspan
loin, "little Spain." Something of tho
Impression which this beautiful and
promising island rundo on the great
discoverer can bo gleaned from his
reference to It ns a "Gnrdcn of Eden,"
and from tho fact that ho named the
point nt which he first sot foot In
Haiti. December 0, 1402, "tho Vale of
Paradise."
History has been prodigal to tho
Island of Haiti and has crowded ono
Interesting und tragic event after nn
olhor Into the relatively short span of
years since tho eyes of whlto men first
beheld Its towering peaks. On Its
northern coast, near tho present Capu
Haltlen, the Santn Mnrla, which bore
Columbus to tho now world, was
wrecked on Christmas eve, 1402, and
from Its broken, historic boards was
set tip by tho crow the first structure
erected by Ruropoans In tho. western
hemisphere. Thin was the fortress of
Nnvldud, In which tho men of tho
Santa Maria were killed whllo Colum
bus was on hjs return voyngo to Spnln
to report his epoch-making discovery
of "tho Indies."
Farthor to tho cast on thc northern
const of the Island Columbus built on
his return the first whlto settlement In
tho now world, naming tho little town
"Isabella" for tho queen who hnd
mndo his voyage of discovery possible.
On this second trip Columbus brought
,wlth him to his mnglc isle-a groat lloot
bearing n large force of soldiers nnd
ildventurcrs. After defeating tho na
tives tho conquerors Journeyed to tho
south coast and there laid tho foun
dations of tho city of Santo Domingo
first permanent city established by Eu
ropeans In America, for many years
the most Important outpost of western
civilization, nnd forerunner of tho
countless cities nnd villages that aro
the seats today of tho Industry, com
merce nnd culture of tho three Amer
kns. j CAROLINE ISLANDS: AN
OCEANIC MUSEUM
Whatever tho political future of tho
Caroline, islands, which Japan seized
from Germany, they are bound to bo
objects of scientific Interest for gen
erations to como.
t Who built tho massive stono struc
tures which glvo ovldenco of n high
degree of civilization at soma prehis
toric tlmo?
What was tho origin of tho stono
currency, some "coins" of which weigh
flvo toust
Theso nro but two of tho many
questions which these Pacific islands
df mystery present
The-stono ruins extend from Ponapo,
nn island toward tho oust of the group.
to Ynp, on the west. Ynp will ho re
called us tho Island which figured so
conspicuously In tho peaco treaty dis
cussion bocuuso of the prop&sal to cede
It to the United States.
On Ynp aro great stone tcrmces, em
bankments and roods, composed of
neatly laid stono blocks, stono graves,
stono platforms nnd enormous cham
bers resembling council lodges with
gables 'nnd tall pillars, frequently
carved.
Ponapo is tho "Pacific Venice." Thero
the ruins nro paYtly sublncrgod. Ap
parently they onco stood on nn island
city, unless" their site wus connected
with", other Islands before n terrific
upheaval Ijiijnduted them,
y'hut renin tnsoduy Is moro than
liiilf n , hundred rectangular walled
(in' lTg above the waters of a
Ingoon. There Is on outer lagoon, sep
arated by a breakwater three miles
long. In nil this construction huge .ba
salt blocks were used. Apparently
they were untouched by Iron tools.
Heccnt study' has continued the belief
that these mighty megallthlc monu
ments antedate the present native pop
ulation of the Carolines.
Origin of tho unique stone coinage
Is not known. Shell money seems to
have supplanted the unwieldy stone
disks for "smnll change" long before
the whlto' man arrived. Tho stono
"money" Is made from limestone or
cnlcltc. It probably was employed for
primitive bnnklhg rather than for gen
eral circulation. Its security, from
theft was assured by Its weight. Spec
imens nre found piled about tho homes
of native chieftains.
Including reefs not Inhabited, tho
Caroline Islands number more thnn
BOO. Of tho total land nrea of 390
squaro mlleS SOT square miles Is com-
King of Mual District and One of His
Wives.
prised In Ponnpc, Ynp, Kusale nnd Ho
golu, or Tunk. In 1011 tho totul pop
ulation was about 55,000, and of these
fewer than 400 were Europeans.
The Islands extend for about one
thousand miles east nnd west. They
lie 'more than fifteen hundred miles to
tho east of tho Philippines and about
u thousand miles north of Now Guinea.
ODESSA: PARIS OF THE
UKRAINE
' llcforo the war no city of tho Near
East save Bucharest so nearly resem
bled Paris and Vienna .In Its hectic
night life as did Odessu, conspicuous
In the lighting of Ukrainians, Poles
and Uolshovlkl.
Odessa had hundreds of sidewalk
enfes, Its municipal Opera and Its.pal
aces of chance. It had morcthan half
a million population, yet It Is ono of
tho newest cities In Europe. Moscow's
history extends over a thousand
years, that of Odessa only a little be
yond a century.
Thoro Is a unique analogy between
Odessa and tho capital city of the"
United States. Both wero started at
about tho saino time during the Inst
decade of the eighteenth century and
both wero begun because of the far
seeing wisdom of the chief executives
of the two nations.
Perhaps tho oddest coincidence Is
tho fact that they both were planned
by f orolgu civil engineers of the same
nation. Whllo Major L'Enfaut was de
vising tho "city of mngnlllcent dis
tances" to bo erected on tho banks of
tho Potomac, Voland, also a French
man, laid out Odessa on the shore of
tho Dlnck seu. Whllo President Wash
ington was streaming ' Into being the
beautiful cltywhlch bears his name,
Czarina Catherine tho Great was spon
soring tho upbuilding of a municipal
stepping stono toward tho chief object
of tho Russian Rear's stealthy tread
Constantinople. Like Washington, Odessa was laid
out In tho midst of u vlrtunl wilder
ness and swnmp. An Isolated Turkish
fort, Klmjl-Boy, stood on tho site of
tho present clty-ftt the time, J780,
when It passed to Russia. In early
years of tho Christian era Greek colo
nists had taken advantage of tho bay
of Odessa. -
Until five years ago tho railway dls
tanco between Odessa and Moscow was
moro than a thousand miles, but a new
line, via nnkhmntch, reduced that dis
tancp to 814 miles. The steamship
distance betweon Odessa and, Constan
tinople Is 800 miles.
From Its history l Is evident why
Odessa was far from n typical Rus
sian city. Mark Twain found tho only
Russian things about It to bo tho shape
of tho droshkls and tho dress of the
drivers. Ho might have mentioned tho
glided domes of a few churches. Thero
tho Russian likeness ends.
A few miles to the north and also to
tho southwest uro three "lltnans," or
lagoons, famous for mud baths believed
to benefit persons with rheumatism,.
gout nnd skin diseases. Tho most pop
ular of these Is 20 miles long, a mllo
wide, 10 ifeet deep and lies 10 feet
below the level of tho Rlack sea.
THE ORIGINAL
SKYSCRAPER CHURCHES
Plans to erect In nn American city
a "skyscraper church.'ito bo used bojh
as a placo of worship and .an otllca
building, recall that tho anclt'nt .mon
asteries of Thcssaly nro natura-mudo
Hlcyscrapers, reached by unique ele
vators. In a communication to tho Na
tional Geographic society Elizabeth
Perkins describes these structures of
the Greek church us followtf :
"There is a legend, perhaps Tt Is his
tory, that thero was once a ruldr In
Constantinople who disliked, his broth
er and wished to banish him to' tho re
motest comer of his kingdom Con
sequently the monarch built a monas
tery on a well-nigh Inaccessible moun
tain In Thessnly and founded a broth
erhood, about four hundred years ago,
in what seemed to bo the uttermost
corner of the earth.
"Tho monastery was cnljed' 'Mete
ora,' meaning 'domicile of the sky
After the original was built 23 Others
grouped themselves around and were
Inhabited for a while. They were,
however, finally abandoned, with the
exception of threo wlilch nre still In
use.
"As . we looked In wonder ut ono de
tached pillar of stono we discovered
on Its seemingly unattainable summit
a building. This habitation of man,
half natural rock and half . artificial,
seemed most cxtruoFUInnry. Our guides
drew attention to tho higher precipices,
und as we grew accustomed to their
outlines wo saw on nil sides monas
teries tucked Into the ledges, of the
perpendicular walls. They are not nil
Inhabited today, but they aro there,
bearing testimony that man has
climbed and bunt and lived on crags
that seem impossible for goats to
climb,
"The whole of tho west plain of
Thessnly lay at our feet, and tho white
mountains of tho Pludos range rose
rugged and Imposing before us. At
the base of the rock on which Trinity
la perched, Ilka nn engle's nest, , our
guides hallooed nnd bout with a stick
on a tin can found In tho bushes. Soon
nn .answering call came back, and over
tho precipice, some three hundred feet
nbove us, tho peering faces.of several
monks wero seen. Then something ser
pentine flow Into tho air, and as It
dropped perpendicularly we saw dan
gling from a coll of rope what looked
like n small fish net. Down came the
cnblo until It touched the earth at our
feet, and the fish net proved to be n
large-sized rope hag which opened and
spread out 'flat on the ground.
"Ono nt n time we .were invited to
step Into the middle of this net nnd
squat Turk-fashion. The edges were
gathered together Ohto a largo Iron
hook, a shout was given and tho net
soared upward, while Its occupant felt
somewhat like nn orange nt the bot
tom of a market woman's bag.
"Tho ascent takes Just three min
utes. Occasionally the openwork ele
vator swings Into the rock with a
bump, but the monks at the top wind
the windlass slowly, nnd tho bumping
docs not hurt, and as n compensation
tho view grows n)6re bcnutlful every
second. At last the top was reached."
A MUSICAL ADVENTURE
FOR AMERICA
Newspaper dispatches " state that
there Is n plan afoot to have a na
tional carillon nt Washington, D. C.,
ns a tribute to the soldier dead.
Contact with the men nnd women of
Flanders has directed American at
tention to ono kind of music, vital in
tho national lives of these people,
which cannot even be heard In this
country, '
A carillon Is nmdo up of a set of
tower bells attuned to the Intervals
of tho chromatic scale, usually cover
ing a range of four octaves. Ttf attain
bucIi a range tho bell producing the
lowest note must weigh several tons,
while the smallest weighs scarcely
twenty pounds. The bells are connect
ed to a keyboard or" to a clockwork
mechanism which causes their clap
pers to strike.
Producing music from the bells re
quires groat skill and-dexterlty on the
part of the bellmnstcr, for ho must use
his feet for tho lurger bells, and the
muscles of both his wrist und elbow
are brought Into piny In producing tho
trcmolundo effect usually given. A
flue carillon Is not the result of a
chnncp molding of metal but Its. mak
ing is as much an achievement wrought
by a wlso combination of excellent ma
terial and deep, thought ns a gtradf
varlus, Lovers of carillon music com
pare tho tones to those of a pianoforte
In delicacy and to an orgun In majesty.
When touched by tho hand of a master
like Denyn, the wizard of Mallnes, the
music seems to c6mo veritably from
the heavens nnd to settle In pence and
benediction over tho surrounding coun
try.
From tho even rows of red-topped
roofa und tho trees of the surrounding
level spaces In Mallnes tho Immense
flat-toppod Gothic splro of St. Rom
bnuld onco arose. Tho cathedral dated
from tho thirteenth century and has
for hundreds of years been known tho
world over for the remarkable silvery
quality of Its bells. So much attention
had been given to making It the best
of Its kind that Its bell makers gained
wide reputations and tho town Itself
became tho headquarters of bell found
ing. Tho tower, vast 'and. mysterious
against the luminous sky, seemed to
dominate tho city. Whllo compelling
tho attention It stirred tho Imagination
as It kept watch over Mallnes and
tolled tho passing of tho hours with
Us- hugest bell. When not attached
to tho, wonderful mechanism that con
trolled tho rlnglug of tho carillon, this
bell required eight men to ring It. The
range of tho bells of this carillon wua
great enough to admit of many dim
cult operatic selections. Today tho
majestic tower mingles Its dust with
that of tho ruined city over which It
had for centuries guarded.
The carillon of Antwerp possessed
tho greatest number of bells of any In
Flanders sixty-five, It has been said
that from the cathedral tower on a
clear morning 120 carillons could bo
seen.
View during tho International speed typewriting contest nt the Grand Central naluce. New York, nnd nortrnlt of
George Hossflcld, the winner.
Ships of the Air
The Santa Mnrla and the Plnjn,
Columbia Yacht club, New York, for
West and Havana, Cuba, opened.
Painting Danger Signal Buoys
Uncle Snm Is prepnring for n hard winter nloug our consts. A good num
ber of tho danger signal buoys which clank their warning to liners nro .being
repaired. This photograph shows one of the hugs buoys being painted.
Earl Hanson and His Invention
Earl C. Hanson, American Inventor wlio served In the navy department
of engineering during thu war, with the receiving apparatus of his now In
vention on tho United States tornedo boat destroyer Serames. whllo his ap
paratus was guiding tho vessel through Ambrose channel. An apparatus on
tho ship receives impulses from a sunmanno cnuio mm ror tho purpose, uan
Bon invented nn amplifier which renders the electric signal currents ns undor
stnndable ns a telegraph message.
out sounds through car pieces so tho
tho sound In each car -when ho Is over
International Speed Typewriting Contest
Named After Columbus' Caravels
it
two li-passenger air liners named after
Key West, wliero oa November 1 n passenger nnd mall service between Key
Receivers on each 'side oftho ship glvo
navigator can tell by tho loudness of
the cable.
t q .
Columbus' caravels, "honned" from the
WARNS MANUFACTURERS
"Manufacturers must get out of tho
habit of relying upon the government."
says Edmund Piatt, vice governor of
the federal reserve board, ne als
points out that prices aro coming down"
because the public, not the gotgern-
mcnt. Is In charge now and that' the
general drop In prices will make the
credit situation much easier.
MRS. MALCOLM KING
Mrs. Malcolm King, . wife of Com
munder King, the new assistant nnval
attache of the British embassy, hns
recently Joined her husband, having
crossed on the same steamer with,
Lady "Geddes.