Perfects Cure for
Pernicious Anemia
Doctor’s Discovery Wins
for Him Nobel Prize.
Boston. — Dr. George Richards
Minot Is the name. The world hns
beaten a path to his door at the
Thorndyke laboratories In City hos
pital.
He has won the coveted Nobel
prize for discovering that liver ex
tract from cows, horses and hogs
will cure pernicious anemia In hu
mans—that dread malady that has
claimed thousands of lives since
time began
Today, all over the world chem
ical firms are turning out hundreds
of vials of the precious fluid. And
untold numbers of humans, who
might have been dead were it not
for him, are sending him silent
benedictions.
It wns Just a mere Idea, he said,
in explaining how It passed that
be fell upon his eventful discovery.
Noted Medical Men.
He had been working on a means
to cure the disease which destroys
organs, stomach, nerves and tis
sues. Perhaps It was atavism that
impelled him. For wasn’t his
great-great-grandfather the second
professor of medicine at Harvard.
And his great-grandfather, grand
father and father before him dis
tinguished medical men?
In 1923—to use Ills own words—
he had an embryonic thought. If
that mysterious fluid which the
liver requires could not he supplied
by the system, why couldn’t he
adapt that manufactured naturally
by animals?
Toward the last he was Joined In
perfecting the discovery by anoth
er young and fumous savant, Dr.
William P. Murphy, who shares the
INobel honors with him.
Explaining the chronology of his
momentous contribution to medical
science. Doctor Minot said:
"Others thought that In perni
cious anemia, blood was destroyed
too fast. 1 chose to think that
blood stopped growing.
“It seemed to me that the vic
tims needed something to make the
■-—
blood cells grow.
"And then I thought that liver of
animals might be appropriate. 1
started treating patients In 1025
and Doctor Murphy Joined me.
Treatment Succeeds.
"A year after that we found most
of the forty-five cases we had
treated with liver were doing well.
Instead of dying, some of them
lived. That Indicate! to us that In
order to stay well they hud to eat
or put In their stomach a large
amount of liver—about eight
ounces—a day.
"Now that’s an awful big amount
to ask a fellow to eat. The next
question, therefore, was what Is
the nature of the substance in liver
Discovers Bone of Prehistoric Snake
Scientist Finds Relic on Beach
in Virginia.
Washington.—Monster sen ser
pents swarmed in the sea 00,000,000
years ago. A single vertebra of the
largest fossil snake known from
North America has Just been depos
ited with the Smithsonian Institu
tion by Dr. W. Gardner Lynn of
Johns Hopkins university, who
picked It up on Belvedere Beach.
Va., In the so-called Aqula geologic
formation. This was a marine form
ation laid down during the Ivocene,
or ••dawn,’’ period. The Aqula
formation hns yielded many other
valuable fossils of sen creatures.
From the single bone about all
that cnn be told of the ancient ser
pent Is that It was a monster, ac
cording to Dr. C. W. Gilmore.
Smithsonian curator of vertebrate
paleontology. Comparing the size
of this vertebrae with those of ex
isting snakes It would appear that
the creature was eompnrnble In siz.e
with the largest snakes known to
day. It must have been approxi
mately 25 feet long and with a pro
portionately thick body. It Is be
lieved to have been distantly re
lated to the present python family.
Jungle Trails Are
Hard to Negotiate
Penetrated Only in Quest
of Ruins and Chicle.
Washington.—Central American
Jungles are penetrated only by
archeologists In search of rulus,
and chicle-bleeders looking for
chewing-gum Ingredients, the Car
negie Institution believes.
For twenty years. Institution
scientists have Invaded the Jun
gles In quest of the complete story
of early Central American civiliza
tion.
Dr. Oliver It. ltlcketson, Jr.. Cnr
negle stair member, penetrated the
heart of the Guatemalan Jungles to
study ruins of an ancient Maya
site. He has recorded Impressions
gathered while traveling through
the region.
Doctor ltlcketson visited the ruins
of Uaxuctun, In the north central
portion of the department of Feten,
Guatemala. The ruins lie In a
dense, high Jungle which today Is
devolded of all permanent habita
tion between Feto, Yucatan, on the
north, and Flores, Gautemala, on
the south.
Travel Conditions Difficult.
"So dllticult are conditions of
travel,” he said, "that we may
safely say the only people who
penetrate the region are archeolo
gists In search of ruins und chicle
bleeders In search of the Indispens
able Ingredient of chewing-gum—the
gum derived from the latex of the
sapote tree."
Although Uaxuctun lies only UX)
miles In an air line from Belize,
British Honduras. Doctor ltlcketson
aald the Journey generally con
sumes a week or more.
Three or four days are needed
to ascend the Belize river In a 00
foot launch and live days more are
spent on mule back. Twelve or tlf
teen miles Is considered a day's
Journey during the “dry" season.
Location of "aguadas," or water
holes, the scientists said, also is a
factor on determining the length of
the Journey.
Feels Suffocating Sensation.
As the outsider enters the Jungle
he undergoes a suffocating sensa
tion, not from the heat, but from
the subdued, green light, and still,
silent air.
Contrary to popular opinion. Doc
tor Uickctson pointed out, the mo
notony of the Jungle trail seldom
Is broken by animnl life, except,
possibly, for the wall of a howler
monkey. Bird life, however, he
suld, Is plentiful.
Snakes ure well represented, but
Doctor lUcketson again refuted
popular opinion by saying that
snakebites are gulned only by
treading upon the reptiles.
“In fact,” he concluded, “life In
the Jungle Is a great deu) safer
than In one of our modern cities—
the only enemies being malaria,
fever and Intestinal Infections
neither of which are even remote
ly liable to prove fatal with our
present-day tnedleul equipment.’’
When • Jail Isn't • Hotel
Norwalk, Ohio.—When tourists
traveling through Norwalk began
applying for “hotel accommoda
tions” at the county Jail, Sherlfl
David A. Berry scratched his head
He discovered finally that the mix
up was caused by a large sign Iti
front of the Jail, advertising a near
by hostelry.
that does this. Dr. Edward J.
Oohn of Harvard Medical school
studied tlie nature of the sub
stance."
At this point. Doctor Minot said,
they evolved a liver extract, which
they tested. They found that a
tahiespoonful of liver extract taken
by mouth would do quite ns well
as asking people to eat eight ounces
of liver.
“As time passed, we found that
the extract may ho given by needle
Into the muscle. When given this
way. It Is thirty times as effective
as by mouth, and assures the pa
tient that he will retain It In the
system and no trouble hud In Its
absorption by the stomach or in
testines."
If a person does not get cured
hy Doctor Minot's toxin, there are
three reasons, he said. He wasn’t
given enough of the extract; the
diagnosis was wrong, or he had a
complication—such ns pneumonia
—serious enough In Itself to cause
death.
although probably not ancestral to
those snakes.
Paleophts vlrgininnus, os the
newly discovered fossil has been
named, had some contemporaries
nearly os big. two of which have
been found In New Jersey and a
third In Alabama. All were marine
creatures.
The earliest snake known from
North America—also represented
by a single bone. In the Smithson
ian collection—was found in Wyo
ming In a formation dating from the
upper cretaceous geologic period,
approximately 100.000.000 years ago.
It was a tiny creature, the bone
measuring only a quarter Inch in
diameter. During the two geologic
eras succeeding the Eocene a few
snake fossils have been found, hut
all appear to have been small rep
tiles, nnd probably not poisonous.
LONG CAPES
By CHERIE NlfHOU*
■ 11 )i ill1'll—Mil1 'illlll1 ill HI1 Ililll"ii
They lire the latest—long capes
for evening wear. The one nt tha
top In the picture Is of red corded
silk shot with gold. Worn flung
hack over the shoulders It shows a
rich black velvet lining. Deep
tawny zinnia orange Is the lus
cious color of the longer cape be
low. The material Is transparent
velvet reversed with the same vel
vet as a lining. The yoke and col
lar of dark Kolinsky tunes admir
ably to the rich color values In the
velvet.
Crow Follows Boy to School
Dover, Ohio.— Mary had her lit
tle lamb, but 1’aul llnuetcr of
Strnsburg, near here, has his pet
crow which follows him to school.
Dutch Submarine Starts on Long Cruise
Thousand# of person# lined the docks at Den fielder. IIoIIhimI. iis the Dtitrh stilumuin** K IN left *»n wltat Is
the longest trip eter undertaken bjr an undersea boat She will tlsit nve continent* on her t ight months' cruise.
SEEN-™'' HEARD
•round the
National Capital
t-ft-By CARTER FIELD——*
Washington.—Under much of the
talk about merger of the telegraph
' companies, and whether the tele
I phone company’s commercial wires
! should be included, lies in the minds
of lieutennnts of the President a
far more important plan. This Is
nothing short of the merger Into one
unit of all telegraph and wireless
companies, as far as International
business is concerned.
In this proposal are Interested
not only corporation officials direct
ly concerned, but three departments
of the government, which are sel
dom thought of In this connection—
State, War and Navy,
For communications, far from be
ing merely a question of local rates
and service. Is of the vastest Impor
tance not only from the standpoint
of national defense—or offense—In
time of war, but of International
maneuvering in the meantime. It Is
a very Important cog in all phases
of international trade.
President Wilson, when he was
advocating an American merchant
marine, was fond of saying that
for America to try to sell her goods
In foreign markets, If they had to
be delivered in foreign bottoms, was
like one department store trying to
compete with another If the rival
did all the delivering. With the
plnln inference that the store do
ing the delivering would see to it
that Its products hod the right of
way and any other advantage which
this control of delivery offered.
Even more Important, the Roose
velt administration believes. Is con
trol of the commercial messages
which concern sales and deliveries
of American goods to foreign coun
tries. If these communications are
bandied by the facilities of com
petitors for the business. It Is ex
pecting something superhuman to
hope that our competitors will not
take advantage of the situation.
Blocked by Law
At the present moment there is a
small provision of law which stands
in the way of what the administra
tion would like to see, though at
the time the law was passed this
angle did not occur to anyone advo
cating It. The law forbids a tele
graph company to acquire control
of a wireless company. Obviously
the law was intended to prevent the
stifling of competition between the
wire and the wireless agencies.
It is true that one telegraph com
pany has embarked in the wireless
business on the Pacific coast, but
it got around the law by building
up a new wireless system. It did
not buy out an existing wireless
outfit.
There Is no real desire to go back
on the spirit of that law. The
government would like to encour
age competition. The present atti
tude, however. Is that government
regulation of rates and service will,
solve that problem.
But Internationally the need for
merging all Ainericun communica
tions companies into one, so that a
united front will be held against
other and competing countries, is
regarded us much more important.
Por example, at the time many of
the present contracts were made be
tween American agencies and for
sign governments, mere was reuny
only one American company. So
If the foreigners wanted the busi
ness, they had to deal with It.
When these contracts expire It Is
feared that terms will be Imposed,
due to the keen competition be
tween American companies for the
business, which will no. only be
hurtful to American revenues and
Impose what amounts to a foreign
tax on American cables and wire
less messages, but which may be
come actually of grave danger In
the event of war.
What makes the point of more
Importance is that outside of the
United States and Canada, com
munications are virtually govern
ment monopolies. There is a com
pany In Britain, but the govern
ment controls It. Elsewhere It Is
mostly straight-out government own
ership and operation. .Japan does
not even permit a foreign cable
company to get Its wires anywhere
near Its homeland. All messages to
Hiid from Japan pass through gov
ernment channels.
Ickes-Moffett Squabble
Sometimes victories are so costly
that it would have been better for
the victor If there had been no bat
tle. Which old military axiom
seems to apply with considerable
force to the recent encounter be
tween Public Works Administrator
lekes aud Housing Director Moffett.
Ickes took the side of cheap gov
ernment money to build homes at
low cost, disregarding what effect
such action, if on a large st ale,
would have on existing property
values, on existing mortgages, ami
hence on Insurance companies and
banks.
Moffett took the side or using
only private capital for home con
struction. except where Hie re|n*r
j cusslona would do no harm to the
j present financial structure.
President Itoosevelt sided with
! Moffett, which was a victory. But
Moffett a* a result seems headed
tor the toboggan. Congress will b*
yapping at Moffett's heels within u
month. <u the more radical of the
New Dealers are already. And
Moffett Is handicapped, In such an
encounter, by the fact that he is
hopelessly tagged as being allied
with the “predatory Interests.” For
did he not work for the Standard
Oil before coming to the govern
ment? Can any man, the radicals
demand, have a heart that beats
for the plain people who once has
been contaminated with a corpora- :
tion that wrings its profits from the j
defenseless consumer?
As it happens, the radicals are [
particularly sore with Moffett over
this victory. And they are very apt
to get his head on a silver charger. !
Which is most interesting in view
of the fact that in this fight, which
so angered them, Moffett expressed
precisely the Roosevelt- view on the
most important of economic ques
tions of the moment.
Ickes May Not Win
For in the opinion of nearly all
disinterested — personally—observ
ers the Ickes method would defeat
Roosevelt’s hope to preserve the
capitalistic system. Certainly It
would be a long step in that direc
tion, tending to force all returns
on Investment from whatever they !
may be at present down to around j
3 per cent. Roosevelt has made j
It clear that personally he favors 5
per cent. And very few economists, ,
Including the radicals, believe that '
private capital would take any risk j
at all merely to get a 3 per cent
investment. And. obviously, there Is
a certain amount of risk In build
ing a house to be rented, or in plac
ing a mortgage on that house.
The fact that Mr. Moffett's polit
ical life seems in grave danger does
not mean that the Ickes ideas will
prevail. Roosevelt Is a very stub
born man about his own Ideas, and
it may be taken for granted that
the Moffett plan, having been ap
proved by him after mature delib
eration, and along lines previously
Indicated by his 5 per cent state
ment, the President will stand firm
on tbe issue.
But this will not be enough to
save Moffett. The radicals will never
forgive him, will never fall to pin
the “Standard Oil” tag on him, and
will wear him down on every issue
presented from now on.
All of which is complicated by
the fact that, although in this par
ticular battle Roosevelt agrees with
Moffett, and not Ickes, actually the
Public Works administrator is much
closer to the throne than Moffett.
There is more personal affection.
There is a much closer tie on gen
eral political and economic lines.
Cheap Grain and Flour
The loud screams of those object
ing to the deluge of cheap grain
and flour that has been pouring into
tills country—despite the tariff wall
—since the droutli situation became
acute, were based on the fact that
much of this grain and flour was
subsidized by the governments of
the countries in which it was pro
duced. In some instances the boun
ty for wheat ran as high as 50 cents
a bushel American money. So the
producer did not have to get a very
high price in America for his grain
to net him a very satisfactory profit,
even after paying the normal duty.
It appears from what has been
happening that tiiis business of
sending bounty-paid grain to Amer
ica has been increasing very rapid
ly, to the great distress of Ameri
can millers and farmers. Not al
ways has the charge ttiat the grain
is bounty-paid been accurate, but
it has been true in enough Instances
to Justify the campaign that has
been brought to Washington.
Strangely enough, congress fore
saw this situation, and provided
against it, but so far the law lias
not been enforced. The power to
enforce it has lain with the customs
division of the treasury, but its
teeth were not brought into action.
In fact, up to date it lias been a
dead letter.
The law provided that if any for
eign government subsidized the pro
duction of grain, the precise amount
of the subsidy should be ndded to
the ordinary tnriff when grain from
that country was brought into
American ports. But none of these
excess tariff duties have been levied,
despite the fact that grain, which
in some instances was subsidized
by the producing country up to 50
cents n bushel, has been pouring in.
Sought Feed Abroad
When the drouth picture began
to loom up in true proportions last
year, there was quite a movement
to acquire cattle feed from abroad
to prevent the sacrifice of American
cattle for which there was no do
mestic feed. Thousands of head
of cattle were moved, of course, by
the government from parched areas
to {duces where feed was available.
But tills was not enough.
Also, the government Itself, In Its
relief activities, went into the mar
ket to buy large amounts of grain
and flour for human lieings. Due
to these two complications, the
treasury was not much Interested
In taking any steps, which would
check the billow of cheap food for
man and beast. Especially, as the
existing tartlTs seemed high enough.
In u way the whole problem Is a
most curious one, from the cold
standpoint "f the economist. For
It would teem at tlrst Mush that If
Europe, for example, wauls to sub
sidise foodstuffs productions, thus
feeding workers In another country
partly nt her expense, she 1s handi
capping herself In the light for
world market*
Copyright.—WNU Sorvlco.
about Elephants
Pedicuring a Circus Elephant
Prepared by National GeoBraphle Society,
Washington, l> c.—WNU Service.
HE elephant, who3e huge
bulk and many human quali
ties have made him the fore
most citizen of zoo and circus, is
an indispensable “laborer” in the
East where he is a combination
royal transport, truck, tractor and
derrick. He also is the leading
source of food for many native
tribes in Africa.
Nature gave the elephant the
thickest of hides, hut failed to be
stow upon him a good heating sys
tem, thus the pachyderm prefers to
live near the Equator. With its
inch thick skin the elephant should
be able to defy cold. Instead, the
animal is as sensitive to cold as a
geranium. The slightest trace of
cold curls it up with severe cramps
in its stomach.
In the state of nature, elephants
are very sociable and live in herds,
or family parties, usually from 20
to 40 animals. Herds of 100 or more
have been reported by hunters, espe
cially in Africa. Such associations
are not herds but a number of
herds living together in the same
locality.
True herds of 40 or so elephants
remain together for years. There
are usually as many bulls as cows,
but, as a rule, the herd is led by
a cow. The stronger bulls do not
drive out either the younger or the
older and infirm bulls. A spirit of
friendlness seems to exist among
them, such as is found in no other
gregarious animal.
Elephants of opposite sex often
form strong attachments for each
other which endure as long as they
live. Such love matches have oc
curred among zoo elephants. When
separated, such elephants often re
fuse all food and show every in
dication of profound mourning. Be
cause of their fondness for one an
other, elephants are seldom kept
solitary. Zoos usually keep them
in pairs; circuses, as a rule, carry
a herd consisting of females, all
the same species—Indian.
“Rogue” Elephants Are Savage.
When an individual breaks the
laws of the herd he is driven out
and becomes a so-called “rogue.” He
is a social outcast and becomes a
savage animal. Rogues charge men
or other animals on sight; they are
a menace to natives and nre hunt
ed down and shot. They have^even
been known to raid villages by
night, charging through the flimsy
grass huts and trampling them in
the dust.
me COIOSSHI IIUIK Ul lilt? ncpimiu
leaves him Immune to attacks of all
other animals except other ele
phants, such as the “rogues,” or
outlaws. In Africa the elephant Is
associated with the hippopotamus,
the rhinoceros, the fearsome lion,
and the buffalo, but there is no en
mity among these jungle monarchs.
I5aby elephants, though quite help
less, are so energetically protect
ed by the herd that no predatory
animal is known to molest them.
The large tusks of the hull ele
phant are useful to him on rare oc
casions, when his social position is
menaced by an outsider or when a
herd brother starts a family quar
rel. Occasionally single-tusk ele
phnnts are found In Africa, one tusk
having been broken off In fighting
or In prying up trees. Tusks In
some Individuals do not develop,
and such elephnnts remain tuskless
i through life. Sueh bulls often at
tain large bodies and seem able
| to hold their own in the herd. Tusk
| less hulls are especially common in
; India.
In old African bulls tasks average
40 pounds apiece: tusks weighing
1(H) pounds each are not rare, and
I really hig tusks weigh 150 pounds
; each. The heaviest known single
tusk weighs 285 pounds and has
a circumference of 2(1 Inches. Tusks
1 of Indian elephants are much smnll
! or than those of the African animal.
Man His Only Enemy.
Man is virtually the only enemy
j 0f elephants In a wild state. Since
Immemorial times he hns attacked
the animals In their Jungle homes
Elephant* usually light him by
trampling him with their feet or
knocking 1dm out with their trunks.
Methods of capturing and killing
employed by the African savages to
day probably are similar to those
! of prehistoric man.
The Africans hunt the elephant
for Us meat, which they especially
relish. When the news Is spread
that ■ white man has killed an ele
phant. all the natives within miles
converge. With their long sword
like knives, which are their home
made weapons, they squat abont
the camp fires built to roast the
meat.
When the skin is off, pandemo
nium starts. Instantly the huge
carcass is smothered by a fighting,
howling mob, each hacking and
chopping out chunks of meat and
fleeing to the camp fires, where the
steaks are slightly roasted and
greedily eaten.
After the gorge is over the re
maining meat is placed in baskets
and carried to their villages, where
it is “jerked” and partly sun-dried
in the smoke of a slow fire, which
protects it from insects.
The hunting tribes of Africa cap
ture elephants In deep pits cleverly
excavated in the elephant paths of
the forest. These pits are cunning
ly hidden by a covering of branches
and leaves, but such camouflage sel
dom deceives mature elephants.
They detect the pits as hollows by
their sensitive feet, or by some
other unknown sense, for their
sight is not nearly as keen as man’s.
It is the young elephants which are
captured and promptly eaten.
Some tribes set poisoned spears
above elephant paths so that they
will fall and pierce a passing ele
phant which has tripped on the vine
attached to the trigger, releasing
the spear.
Their Uses When Domesticated.
In very early times, in Asia, man
accomplished the miracle of domr
ticating the elephant. By frien
ship and intelligence he made
servant of the mightiest beast
all times. Probably the Asian man
began with baby elephants. He,
too, captured them in pits, but in
stead of killing them he took the cap
tives home as pets for his chil
dren. Baby elephants are as play
ful as dogs and are quite ns intel
ligent as our most clever canine
friends.
As time went on and such ele
phants grew to adults they re- I
mained docile and finally were ^
trained to be beasts of burden.
Probably the first use of adult ele
phants after their early domestica
tion was In war. Any tribe in In
dia possessing elephants capable of
being ridden into battle was sure
to win.
in India toaay eiepnanrs are cap
tured by driving them into forest
stockades built of logs strong
enough to withstand the charges of
the enraged monsters. In some dis
tricts this round-up occurs annu
ally; in others every two or three
years.
An astounding difference between
elephants and ail other animals is
their submissiveness to training
when adult. Mature jungle ele
phants, which have led a life of
complete freedom in the jungle, can
be trained as quickly as those
reared in captivity from babyhood.
No other wild animals captured in
the wilderness when adult can be
domesticated as can the elephant
Playful Baby Elephant.
For tills reason elephants are sel
dom bred In captivity. Their slow
ness In reaching maturity would
make them much more expensive
than the wild-caught specimens.
All the so-called “baby elephants”
brought from India are wild-caught,
and have been taken away from
their mothers at the age of wean- *
ing, about three or four years old,
when they are able to eat solid
food. Circuses usually exhibit with
the baby a foster mother.
Very young baby elephants are
as amusing as kittens and Indulge
In all sorts of mischief making with
a seeming Intent to bully or frighten
their Indulgent mothers. They run
Into corners and hide, then emit
squeals of distress, and when the
frightened mother comes to the
rescue they will rush out and butt
her in the belly as hard as they
can. At birth they have a woolly
coat of downy hair over their gray-* ~
lib-pink skin. Their heads are cov\ j
ered with erect, coarse hlack hair *
At flr»t the trunk hnnsrs limp, the
baby having no control ovf-r It, Aft
er a few months the youngster be
gins to lift Its trunk a bit and Is
slowly taught by ttie mother how to
use that appurtenance.
Then coims the amusing day
when the youngster tries to drlnl, »
water ns Its mother does, throngii I
the trunk. At first It blows hubbies f
In the water, or draws out mm*
trunk and sprays the content* al>
over the ground.
