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About The frontier. (O'Neill City, Holt County, Neb.) 1880-1965 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 1, 1934)
Bares Massacre of Old Alaskan Race Scientists Find Skeletons on Kodiak Island Washington.—Evidence of a pre historic “massacre” on desolate Kodiak Island. Alaska, at a time when It was Inhabited by an un known race of advanced culture, was uncovered this summer by Dr. Ales Hrdlleka, curator of physical anthropology of the Smithsonian In stitution, who has Just returned to Washington. This was the sixth expedition of Doctor Hrdlleka to Alaska, and the third summer he has conducted ex tensive excavations on this site, which in some respects probably represents the highest aboriginal art In North America north of Mex ico, although there Is as yet prac tically no clew to the exact Identity of the people who developed It or brought It from Asia. "N««t Burials” Puzzle. In past years Doctor Hrdllcka has been puzzled by what he terms "Dent burials," where a number of skeletons would be found together, of all ages and both sex*s and without any of the customary mor tuary offerings which the ancient people ordinarily placed in graves. The clew came with the discovery that many of the skeletons had cracked skulls and other evidences of combat. This Is a strong Indi cation that they were not wiped out by some epidemic and Justifies a picture of a village massacre from which few escaped, to return later and bury their (lend In heaps. Assisted by live volunteer col lege students, Doctor Hrdllcka was able to make substantial progress this summer In uncovering the re mains of the old settlement—ap parently the “metropolis" of the bay on which It Is located In the days when the Island was an Important center of population. The site rests on glacial till and in places on a peculiar geological formation called by Doctor Hrdllcka "butter earth." a gritless, yellow clay. Iden tified by geologists as representing old metamorphosed volcanic ash. Had Higher Culture. There were three stages of set tlement The first and second, by far the longest, were those of the unknown people who had a consid erable higher culture than their suc cessors. They show slight affinities with the Eskimo, but can hardly be considered as of the same strain. And then came the Konlags, who were identical with the Aleuts of today. The unknown people were master craftsmen, especially In the mak ing of beautiful stone lamps and in the carving of Ivory. The latter art they carried to the extent of carving individual portraits. Doctor Ilrdllcka added extensive ly to hit collection of skeleton re ..... Farmers Cheering as Bug Fights Bug Medford, Ore.—Oregon or chardlsts are hoping that the law of nature, survival of the Attest, will rid pear and apple trees of moths. Larvae parasites have been liberated in orchards in this dis trict by entomologists. The parasite, a black, four winged, wasp-like insect, lays Its eggs In codling moth eggs. The egg hatches quickly and the grub enters the body of the young codling moth worm be fore It leaves Its own egg. * Oodlln moths lay their eggs on apple or pear blossoms. The eggs hatch, with the worms eat ing Into the growing fruit. mains and artifacts gathered there in other years; besides what was sent previously there are more than forty boxes of material on the way to the Institution. But, he reports, one of the most Important results of the excavations this summer was the great family difference found In the many ancient house holds studied. All partook of a common culture, yet each family group had its own variation. Some were good lamp carvers, others specialized in other artifacts. The work furnishes a po tent Illustration of the fallacy of considering a prehistoric culture as almost Invariable from Individual to individual, or of Judging of the whole culture of a people from a localized sample. THE NEW HATS Br CURRIE NICHOLAS An entirety new order of things is taking place I n the millinery realm. In the first place high crowns, sometimes very high, are coming back. As to sports hats the trend Is toward the picturesque headgear of the Alpine mountain eers or the swashbuckling effects of brigand and wandering minstrel. You wear these dashing hats non chalantly and to sny that with their gay feathers they add grently to the colorful autumn picture Is but putting It mildly. The Persian green velour sports hat with Its Al pine crown and picturesque rolling hrtra shown at the top Is as hand some a model as even the most dls criminating taste would want The grosgaln hand Is In brown nnd bright colors. From Blanche nnd Simone comes the velvet toque with Its jaunty little feather nnd Its perky crown which goes to a peak as so many of the newer crowns are wont to do. Kansas Plants Million Fish in Streams, Lakes Pratt, Kan.—Approximately 1,000, 000 tlsh have been planted In the streams, ponds nnd state lakes of Kansas, about 300,000 being chan nel cat from 0 to 12 Inches long, which were distributed In fresh wa ters to the delight of fishermen. EQUAL SUFFRAGE IS AIM OF TURK WOMEN Princess Tells of Changes Brought by War. Chicago.—From harem slavery to the freedom of the ballot box In five swift, tradition-shattering years Is the goal of Turkish women. Princess Lulu Sabrey, seventeen year-old member of a ruling Circas sian family, who Is a visitor In Chi cago, has seen the rapid emancipa tion of her sex and hopes that by the time she returns the final vic tory— equal suffrage—will have been achieved, Educated on the continent and in English schools In her native Stam boul and Constantinople, the prin cess Is n pretty, subdebutante rep resentative of the New Turkey that arose from the war under the leadership of the dictator, Mustapha Kemal Pasha. Posing In the native costumes of her country. Princess Sabry said: “The charsaf, or street dress, Is fast being discarded for tailored suits, and Paris gowns are replac ing the shalvar and other ornate costumes of the harem. English Is being taught In the schools and there are a multitude of outward Blgns of the change In my country. "But there Is a swift change In the moral and social standards. Our women not only dress In the Eu ropean fashion, but they are think ing that way. The men are grad ually learning that women have a place In the world.” The transition of the minds of the men has been more difficult than of the women, the princess found. It was only with reluctance that they are learning that their wives and daughters are fellow be ings with equal rights and not veiled prisoners within harem walls. Princess Sabry. the daughter of Sabry Bey. a Stamboul Journalist. Is traveling In this country with Dr. Cosette Faust-Newton, whom she met in Constantinople. Fire Fighting by Plane With Chemicals Likely Syracuse.—Chemical compounds may be used In the future for ex tinguishing forest fires. The oppor tunity for the employment of chem icals In this field may become much broader than has ever been possi ble in combating other types of fires, says the New York State Col lege of Forestry. The use of dust chemical combinations from the air eventually may be developed which would probably be Impracticable In connection with building conflagra tions In city or country unless the fire covered an extensive area. It is known that efficient dust mixtures have been developed which can be applied from an airplane and that these dust combinations can be produced In commercial quantities at fairly reasonable prices. More over, the needed material can be stowed ut convenient points avail able for use on short notice. Trade in Farm Products at School Restaurant OJus, Fla.—“May I trade In three carrots for a piece of cherry pie?” This and many similar questions will be asked this fall In the OJus school cafeteria. A plan by which school children may trade In home-grown vege tables and farm products for hot lunches hus been worked out by Mrs. Alise Tyree, I>ade county home economics supervisor. The plan, she explains, will in sure against malnutrition among students and In addition provide the school cafeteria with vege tables for the lunches. County educational authorities were So delighted over the plan that they will extend It to other rural schools if it proves success ful. Getting the Capitol Ready for Congress t'uihura are aeen busily ai wo*1* in the mam corridor of tUe senate wing of the Capitol. A program of painting, redecorating, elevator Installing, reconditioning of plunildng mid general Improvement such us hns never bean equalled since the British raid of 1814, has been uuder way. Aa a result It wouldn't be surprising If many congressmen fall to recognise the old place when—and If—they return. II -I SEEN-'HEARD •round th» National Capital ■HHMSSBy CARTER FIELD**" Washington.—Unemployment In surance will be one of the big ac complishments of the congress to meet in January, unless something like a political earthquake occurs between now and then. The Pres ident has definitely swung to the ne cessity for some such plan, and ex haustive studies are going on for him right now. He has not com mitted himself to any detail, though some shrewd participants believe that the plan will be something like this—that workers In private Indus try will finance the Insurance so far as direct capital outlay Is concerned, while the government will provide the overhead. The most favorably considered do vice would be for every worker to have an insurance card begin ning with his first job. Small as sessments would be deducted from his pay by his employer, who would turn these collections over to the federal government. His card would at all times show that he has kept up his assessments—which in ef fect would be the premiums on his Insurance. Meanwhile the government woulu have a big new bureau In Washing ton, at leust as big, some actuaries figure, as the veterans' bureau, which would handle the whole thing. This bureau would take in the money, put it in government bonds, and pay out the unemployment pay ments when necessary. Insurance experts say that the most difficult thing to figure about the whole plan would be to deter mine what would be the actual ef fect of workers knowing in advance that they would be paid If they did not have jobs. Statistics would show, with very little study, they point out, just how many months an average worker in any given in dustry would be Idle. In fact, the Insurance companies, especially those operating under the weekly payment or Industrial Insurance plan, have plenty of figures now to compute such a thing. But there is no record, of course, which would indicate how much additional time would have to be added to the average In each Indus try because the men would take “va cations,” knowing they were en titled to the payments when not working. Favor Some Plan Already the Department of Com merce has received some thousands of answers to a questionnaire it sent to private employers asking what they thought of unemployment insurance, and what plan they would favor. Most of the answers favor some plan for unemployment Insur ance, but they dlfTer so widely as to plans approved that the va rious groups President Roosevelt has working on the idea feel they have a free hand, for there seems to be no pressure for any given plan. Unless It is that employers generally would like to see the gov ernment take the whole burden of cost, aud there is certainly no In tention on the part of anyone in the administration to do that New Dealers feel that if the gov ernment is willing to pay for all overhead and administration, the in dividual lines of business should stand the unemployment dips in their own industries. Walter C. Teagle heads one of the committees which is studying the question. This is really a sub committee of Secretary Roper's business advisory and planning council. But apparently the main function of Tengle's committee la to keep in touch with the various agencies that the President has put to work on this problem. It Is a rather novel way of shap ing legislation—to have a large num ber of separate groups working in dependently on it, but a sort of liai son body moving in between. It is no novelty for Mr, Roosevelt to have different groups work out a prob lem, though frequently the members of each group have thought that they were the only ones doing the Job. This time there is actually a cen tral body—the Teagle committee— which circulates, telling Group A that Group It abandoned this par ticular Idea for this or that reason. Does Not Want “Boom” President Itooscvelt does not want a “boom." He would not reproduce 1928 conditions If he could, und he admits frankly that he could not In the near future. That Is the substance of what many of the big business leaders took back to New York with them after recent Wtilte House confer ences. und it disturbs them no lit tie. Not existing economic facts, but the theory behind the Presi dent's attitude. Keally It Is very sltntde. Ills pol icies with respect to “leveling off’ as between the big fellow and the under dog were recently outlined by this writer ns a practical working out of the slogan "Pass Prosperity Around" used by the Bull Moose In backing his fourth cousin—or was It fifth— back In 1012. But this leveling off apparently goes much further. It spplles not only to Individuals, but to years. As for individuals, be dose not want big I profits, or speculative profits of any I size. He wants to bring the little incomes up and the big Incomes down. The latter, both by govern ment action in holdieg down profits, and by taxes. But he also wants to eliminate the fat and lean years. In agricul ture it would be done by huge gov ernment warehouses, which would store up surpluses of fat years for distribution in lean years. In busi ness it would be done by checking undue Inflation—not in the sense of currency but in the sense of busi ness activity. So there would be no 1928s in the future. Nor any 1929s and 1932s. Just an even level, with everybody gradually getting a “more abundant life,” nobody getting rich suddenly, and nobody in want. That is the picture. But it is not very encouraging to he big business men who have been talking with him. Don't Like New System What they say is that it Is Just a dream. That It cannot be done. What they mean is, they do not like the new system. It puts a cushion under failure and it takes the fat out of success, to a very consider able degree. Even if they admitted it would work, which they do not, they would not like it They are "rugged individualists.’' me point probaniy ts tnat tney are successful men—or they would not have been talking about this sit uation to the President at all. Be ing successful, they like the game In which they made a success. The poker player who averages a hand some winning at the end of a year doesn’t want to change the rules. He wants to go on winning. He thinks the Institution a good thing. It muy not be u fair comparison. Certainly the business men would not admit It. And they have some thing of logic for their objection. For they contend that the man who makes a big success in this country, as for example Henry Ford, or John D. Rockefeller, or Walter Chrysler, makes a very real con tribution to the entire country’s welfare by his success. Also that he eats only a certain amount, or wears a certain amount of clothes. And that even If he sports a big yacht he gives employment to the crew. Whereas, most of his profits are reinvested and help develop the general prosperity. It’s that very reinvestment of profits which is so obnoxious to President Roosevelt in the pres ent system. He thinks It tends to overdevelopment—to overexpansion. He often speaks of the additions to plants built In the boom of 1927 to 1929, and comments caustically that they are now standing “stark and Idle"—wasted wealth. Some of the business men, of course, while conceding that Roose velt personally wants to preserve the capitalistic system, say his the ories, if carried out, will lead straight to socialism. Special Taxes Senators from copper producing states are casting about to see what they can do about the present special taxes on Imported copper, oil, lumber and coal. Actually tar iffs, thege are classified as taxes, and were carried in the tax bill, there being no turiff measure to put them on at the time. As a matter of fact, there has been no general revision of the tariff since the Smoot-Hawley bill of 1929, and no Immediate prospect of one, as what with quotas, special trade agree ments—such as that with Cuba— and the depreciated dollar, there would be no particular point to try to draft a new measure. But the special tariff duties Just mentioned expire by limitation this coming June, or after congress has been in session barely five months. Unless there is congressional action continuing them, they will die. The “tax” on Imported copper, for Instance, is four cents. It is the thought of some experts In the tar iff commission that this should be cut to two cents. Copper miners in many western states think their only salvation would lie in doubling It, instead of cutting It In half. They would like to see the duty made eight cents, and they are tell ing their senators and congressmen about It in no uncertain terms. It is all very complicated. Oppo nents of the boost, und for that mat ter, of the present tariff on copper, say that In this particular case more work is made, more Jobs are provid ed, in this country by free copper than by a tariff on copper. Other Entanglements Then there are corporation entan glements. Some of the big com panies owning copper mines in the West also own rich copper deposits in other countries, notably Chile. Some also are more Interested In fabricating copper than they are In producing It. At lenst one of these big companies is very close to the border line financially. Hut. politically, the pressure la all for the tariff, from the copper producing states, and against the tariff, from Connecticut. Hut the Nutmeg state does not have very much political Influence, belug one of the six states which went down with the O. O. P. flag In 18*2. Whereas the copper producing states have not only a considerable array of New IH*al senatorial talent, but are flushed with the success of their move In having put a tariff on cop per. Oopvr'.vbt.—WNV Svrvtoa. Cora! Reefs Truk Islands, Surrounded by Coral Reef. Prepared by National Oppsrraphlc Society. WashlnBton, D. C.—WNU Service. AlONG the marvelous myster ies concealed by the surface of the ocean are the vast stony structures built by ceaseless activities of the tiny coral animals that ply their trade in the warm wa ters skirting the continents and oceanic islands of tropic seas. These fragile fairylike creatures multiply by millions on the sea bot tom and erect castles of limestone which rise turreted and domed, among forests of marble trees until they pierce the surface of the sea, and lo, a coral reef is born ! Oora] reefs may grow in isolated clumps or they may fringe the beach close to the shore. They often parallel the coast for miles, form ing a barrier against the open sea, and enclose a strip of quiet water between It and the mainland. The longest barrier reef In the world is the Great Barrier reef of Australia, which parallels the east ern shore of that continent for more than 1,200 miles, enclosing a lagoon varying in width from seven to a hundred miles. Most barrier reefs are located on the eastern side of the body of land which they skirt, facing the equa torial trade winds. Consequently, the sea outside Is dashed violently against the barrier and breaks upon its serrated face In long rollers of whife foam, in striking contrast to the smooth waters sheltered within the lagoon. In times of storm, ves sels that can make the channel find a haven, but a far different fate be sets the craft driven by the tempest upon the front of the reef. Those stern ramparts, though erected by fairy polyps of the ut most delicacy, will crush and utter ly destroy the proudest ship. The finest barrier reef in the West Indies borders the eastern, shore of Andros island. In the Ba hamas. It is some one hundred miles long and grows near the edge of a submerged cliff facing the trade winds. A short distance to windward the submarine precipice plunges vertically more than a mile into the depths of the Tongue of the Ocean, an arm of the sea pene trating the heart of the Bahaman archipelago. Studied by Scientists. On the sea floor outside this reef scientists made studies of the bnr Mer with a view to reproducing a portion of It In the Hall of Ocean Life In the American Museum of Natural History, New York city, making five trips for that purpose during the past ten years, begin ning in December, 1923. The fol lowing summer, with the aid of a submarine tube, a chain hoist mounted on pontoons, and diving helmets, the expedition obtained 40 tons of cornl, thousands of feet of undersea motion pictures, and many color sketches of the wonderful sub marine forest. On three subsequent expeditions, equipped with diving helmets, un dersea explorers made careful studies of the living reefs of Andros and other islands of the Bahamas. They wandered on the sea floor, four fathoms below the surface, through coral jungles of limestone trees which spread their grotesque ly Interlacing branches far above ‘heir heads, peered into vaulted cav erns of eroded cornl rock, and threaded their way between fan tastic columns capped with domes of Orblcella coral, which rose like giant mushrooms above them. Now nnd then they gaaed through arches of living coral, buttressed with contorted growths, nnd adorned with brilliant encrusting sponges of scarlet, purple and green. Huge blue pnrrntflshes leered at them from shadowy corners nnd gorgeous queen trlggerflshes sailed mnjes I tlcally Into view, their kite-shaped nrange-and-green bodies slashed with Irregulnr stripes of startlingly vivid azure. The undersea gardens are a per petual wonder. It Is hard to real ize as you gaze through the windows of a diving helmet at the towering pinnacles of the reef, and clamber In half-floating <leaps over the round ed heads of massive coral that rise in terraces to the water surface, that these huge castellated struc tures were erected through the vital energy of such delicate coral polyps. Yet there they are by the millions covering every square inch of the growing coral. Among the Living Polyps. In the mellow light of the more protected areas, their serried com munities expand with outreaching, feathery tentacles surrounding their miniature mouth slits — veritable petals of animal flowers. In patches of stronger sunlight, whole pha lanxes are flattened to a mere in vestment of the underlying hard parts with thin gossamer films of living tissue, often embossed with close-set hemispheres, marking the location of the contracted polyps. The tapering, tawny branches of the staghorns are crowded with star like living forms, while the waving gorgonians, rising toward the sunlit water surface in moving forest growths of vertical branchlets. A show each slender subdivision ^ limned as with a halo of translu cent white or golden polyps. These myriads of tiny creatures are the architects and builders of the coral limestone structure, as well as the horny supporting sub stance forming the flexible gor gonian “skeleton.” They, In part nership with calcareous sea plants, shell-bearing mollucks, and protozoa, are largely responsible for the amazing submerged limestone bar riers so perilous to navigators of tropic seas. Many varying species of coral are associated to form the community of the living reef. What Is the se cret of their marvelous power to multiply their kind, the technique by which they construct their rnm parts, and the mysterious source of their building materials? Over here, on this submerged ledge, where the sunlight dances through the flickering waves, a beau tiful lettuce coral expands its clus tered polyps like a nosegay of green and lavender blossoms. A half dozen polyps, with partially united bodies, each an inch or more in di ameter, compose the colony, and display their mottled green and brown shafts, crowned with flower like disks of lavender and gray flecked with white. Close-Up of the Cluster. The diver draws nearer and, look ing through the windows of his div ing helmet, examines the cluster more closely. Each Individual is a cylindrical sac crowned with a circular disk, in the center of which is an oval mouth slit. A circlet of about forty-eight slender, petallike tentacles radiate from the edge of the disk and contributes to the flow erlike appearance of the creature. Some of the polyps are almost separated from their fellows, while the others are still more or less united. It is obvious that a proc ess of division is going on, the num ber of Individuals increasing by splitting or budding from each oth er. As one watches, a small ma rine worm wriggles out from a crev ice and starts to crawl with rhyth mic undulations over the coral. A dozen tentacles bend over from the margin of the first polyp it touches and seize hold of it. It struggles for un Instant then be comes limp. Other tentacles reach over and grasp It, first from one ^ polyp, then another. Neighboring mouths protrude their oval lips and start to engulf it. pulling In oppo site directions until the poor crea ture's Iwwly is torn apart and the fragments an* swallowed hv the con tending mouths. The tentacles of coral polyps are equipped with batteries of minute sting cells, which, when touched, elect tiny threads like so many las sos, armed with poison durt* at their extremities. These penetrate the prey, paralyzing It. and leave It to the tender mercies of the him gry mouths with which It is Imme diately surrounded.