” “What Shall the G. O. P. Do to Be Saved?”
Left to right, Senator William E. Borah of Idaho, liov. Harry W. Nice of Maryland and William Allen
White of Kansas, In earnest conversation concerning the best course to be adopted by the Republican party
In preparation for the national campaign of 1930.
Odd Plants Rival
Freaks in Animals
■ <$—■■■-- - ■ .. ■'
Poached-Egg Tree, Sau
sage Tree Oddities.
Washington.—Add another plant
to the already large collection of
botanical freaks. A Princeton pro
fessor recently found among his ex
perimental plants a new variety of
evening primrose. Its claim to dis
tinction lies In the fact that Its
buds develop to full size but never
open.
“Most Interesting among peculiar
plants are those which bear uncan
ny resemblance to something else,"
says the National Geographic soci
ety. "Lady-slippers, sunflowers, and
jack-in-the-pulplts are obvious ex
amples to most nature lovers. Doz
ens of other resemblances are not
•o well known.
"Central Africa boasts among Its
many unusual sights a sausage-tree,
from whose wide spreading crown
hang what appear to be bolngnn
sausages. A good accompaniment
to it would be the African ‘poached
egg tree,’ so-called because of Its
huge white flowers with golden cen
ters. Australia presents ns rivals a
tree whose thick -baaed trunk tapers
upward like a soda bottle; and the
blackboy tree, which thrusts a
spear-llke shaft six feet above Its
shaggy crown of leaves. From a
distance, a group of these might be
savages on the warpath.
Sinister Lilies.
"In South Africa, one may shrink
It's chic to be quaint. Which ap
plies to the "Little Women" fash
ions that are registering so smartly
in the season's style parade. The
important thing about this new
vogue Is thut one must look the
part, even to the hair-dress. “Bangs”
is the answer, curled primly to
top a smooth brow, with hair
brushed slick back over the ears
as here pictured. You can see how
leadlly this halrdress blends Into the
scheme of things, a fact which Im
pressed the delighted audience
which attended a recent style re
vue held under the auspices of the
wholesale market council, where the
charming gingham-check0** silk dress
here shown with Its big sleeves and
wide organdie ruffles proved one
of the big sensations of this style
event. The Idea of colffing hair to
the tune of the costume was staged
Sa other fascinating numbers.
from what seem to be huge red
spiders lying on the ground. They
turn out to be lilies. Equally sluis
ter-looMng are that region's blood
lilies, whose Intense red blossoms
and stalks are thrust up like the
heads of dangerous snakes. Simi
larly. In hot desert canyons of the
United States, wanderers have
quickened their pace toward the
curling smoke of a friendly camp
fire only to discover It the decep
tive bluish-green branches of a
smokebush. In New Zealand, some
of the barren mountain sides appear
dotted with sheep. Closer exami
nation proves the large rounded
gray masses to he llaastla plants,
or ‘vegetable sheep.'
“New Zealand claims possession
of many remarkable plants, such ns
buttercups three Inches across.
Large as they are, they shrink Into
Insignificance before the rafflesia.
There is little to this East Indian
parnsltlc plant except Its flowers. But
it Is the largest single flower in the
plant kingdom. It sometimes reaches
three feet In diameter and weighs
as much ns 15 pounds.
“An equally weird plant Is the
welwitschln, from Africa. Aside
from Its cotyledons, or seed leaves.
It develops only two lenves. But
these continue to grow for dozens
of years, stretching out on each
side of the trunk like green ribbons
several Inches wide and over six
feet long.
Tree That Catchee Birds.
"Those who have had experience
with poison-ivy do not need to be
reminded of the venom lurking un
suspected In Innocent-looking plants.
From the strophnnthus vine of the
Tropics comes strophanthln, one of
the most powerful poisons known.
Natives of West Africa use It to tip
their deadly arrows. Juice from
Four Million Cars
Listed in Storage
Atlantic City.—Out of the 20,
000,000 motor vehicles In the
United States, between 3,000,000
and 4,000,000 are In storage. But
by the end of 1935 Improving
conditions will bring 1,500,000
of them back Into service.
Edward P. Chalfant. of De
troit, president of the American
Trade association executives,
gave that forecast. He added
that the end of 1935 also will
see 2,500,000 new cars and trucks
produced and sold, and 1,500,
000 old autos junked.
oleander shrubs is so poisonous
that even eating the harmless-look
ing pink or white blossoms may
kill a person. In the western United
States grow powerful herbs, loco
weeds, which have a weird effect on
anlmnls. Cattle, sheep, and horses
that eat them soon lose their mtis
cular co-ordination. They stagger
drunkenly around and may eventu
ally die. They lose all sense of pro
portion and act ns If crazy, rearing
up to jump over small sticks as If
they were log barriers.
“A tree which grows In Sumatra
has an effect on birds equnlly dis
astrous. Not poison, but a glue-like
gum covering Its fruits. Is the cause.
When small birds alight near the
fruits, their wings become so glued
together that they cannot lly and
fall to the ground.
"There are many odd plants
nnmng those that man eats with
Impunity. In some sections of Cey
lon, the large Ivory-white blossoms
of the agutl tree are eaten as veg
etables. Aristocrat among the plant
products used In modern western
cooking Is vanilla, derived from an
orchid. One of the strangest fruits
encountered Is the so-called mirac
ulous fruit After eating one, every
thing, even a lemon, tastes sweet.
It causes this effect by temporarily
paralyzing some of the papillae of
the tongue."
Distinct American Type Seen Coming
- • <•
Expert Sees Gradual Disap*
pearance of Blonds.
Minneapolis.—If gentlemen of the
future will still prefer blonds they
mu.v have a difficult time to And
them In the United States. So be
lieves Prof. Albert E. Jenks, an
thropologist of the University of
Minnesota.
“Our first group of Immigrants
Included British, Germans, and
Scandinavians—tall nnd blond,”
says Professor Jenks. “Our later
arrivals included the short nnd more
heavily pigmented groups from
southern Europe. These different
groups have Intermarried nnd the
result will be a typical American
race—fairly tall, dark haired, dark
eyed, nnd dnrker skinned than the
present average.”
In time, doubtless, will evolve
a distinct American type—a compos
ite of severnl principal strains.
Whether the eventual type will be
as Professor Jenks predicts can be
answered only by time. The history
of other nations cnn be cited in sup
port of the blending processes.
In the year 177G the population of
the United States was 2,500,000,
mostly English, but with a smat
tering of other racial groups. In
1030 the population was 122,775,046.
This growth was phenomenal, al
most 50-fold in less than 200 years,
with the biggest gain, 47,000.000.
from 1000.
This meant Immigration from
countries other than the old con
tributors, and today, while the old
solid, native American strains still
predominate, the foreign groups are
far from being a small minority.
This Is shown In the complexion of
the nation's several thousand coun
ties. Before 1870 they were almost
100 per cent homogeneous. Today
they are only one-third homo
geneous.
The 1930 census showed the larg
est German groups In this order:
German. Italian. English. Scottish,
Welsh and North Irish, Polish,
Canadian. Free State Irish, Swe
dish, Slavish, Norwegian. Austrian,
and Hungarian.
Year by year Intermarriage
among groups grows, pointing to
ward an eventual American type.
Porcupine Choice Viand
in Some Bay State Homes
Concord, N. II. — Fried porcu
pine is being boomed ns a rival of
chicken with depression harassed
epicureans.
Up to now a porcupine has been
considered worth only 15 cents,
llut one Jobless New Hampshire
man, at least, has been earning
money selling porcupine meat.
Hallway officials at Milford re
port that a resident of that town
has been making shipments of por
cupine meat to Massachusetts
points. The man, unnamed by the
officials, has also been collect
ing the customary bounty of 15
cents for each porcupine nose sent
In to the state tish and game de
partment.
Bantam Hen Still
Lays After 27 Years
Petersburg, Ind.—Bettie Is be
coming known as the bantam
hen who refuses to retire. She
lives with the Mr. and Mrs. John
Tolers live miles southeast of
here. Bettie has raised a fam
ily of 2(X) In her life or twenty
seven years.
Whether from a sense of ma
ternal duty or because she sus
pects that bile hens soon leave
the barnyard to become stew,
Bettie begins the season of 1935
setting on ten eggs. She began
that career when a year old.
SEEN"'HEARD
around the
National Capital
- i SBy CARTER FIELD*-——*
Washington.—In Paris a new
Ford sedan costs, delivered. Just
about $1,700. Or about $1,000 more
than It does in most American cit
ies. Or about two and one-half
times the American price.
Which is of the essence when
it comes to the problem of remov
ing international trade barriers, as
that problem is now being attacked,
from two widely different angles
and with much animosity between
the advocates of the two plans,
by Secretary of Slate Cordell Hull
and Foreign Trade Adviser to the
President, Geotge N. Peek.
The amazing point about this
price for Fords In I’aris Is that the
French duty on automobiles has
nothing to do with It! The Ford
cars sold In Paris are not made
In the United States, but In Stras
bourg. Nor is the main element of
the astonishing difference In cost
due to high duties on the parts.
It is almost exclusively due to the
difference in cost of manufacture.
This difference In manufacturing
costs results from the fact that the
factory at Strasbourg, while as mod
ern as Ford engineers can make it,
does not have the quantity produc
tion element which makes most of
the popular small cars so cheap In
America. That one element, the
writer is informed, accounts for
about $900 of the $1,000 difference
In price here and In Paris.
Wages are an inconsequential
phase, or would be. If mass pro
duction could be utilized In Stras
bourg. It Is perfectly true that
the labor cost of constructing a car
in France Is much higher than It is
In America, but the workers are
paid less than those In Dearborn.
The difference Is comparable to
that of a man plowing with a trac
tor and one plowing with one horse.
The man with the horse may he
Just ns good a farmer, hut he takes
many times ns long to plow an acre.
The game point applies to the dif
ference between turning out twenty
cars ar.d turning out a thousand or
two thousand a day.
Dealer#* Profits
Even if there were no tariff—or
far more Important—no quota—in
France against importation of
American automobiles, of course,
they could not he sold as cheaply
in France ns they are In the United
States. The cldef additional cost
would he In dealers’ profits. French
dealers could not expect to sell ns
many, and therefore would have to
make more on each cnr than deal
ers in American cities.
The element o(, freight would be
very small. As evidenced by the
fact thnt $100 is just about the top
price for hauling a car from any
American Atlantic port to any Eu
ropean port. This is the price
chnrged by the deluxe Italian liners
from New York to Naples. It Is
much less on slower boats to the
North sea ports.
Actually, adding about $20 for
freight would he liberal.
The point of the whole case Is
that If international trade barriers
could he removed, the people of the
various countries of the world could
enjoy a much higher standard of
living than Is at present the case.
Yet fear on every hand is thnt In
stead of tending toward lowering
these barriers the whole trend in
the world Is for raising them.
As for example, the sharp lim
itation of Imports of American au
tomobiles, machinery, and other
items, by Italy and Poland. Just
last month!
Oermnn visitors to Washington in
the last few weeks have talked
gloomily about the prospects of
each nation becoming self-con
tained.
“It means black bread for our
people." one of them said, “but
we can do it. What makes us de
spondent is that it seems so un
necessary."
Teeth Extracted
A back-stair compromise has been
reached on the public utility hold
ing company bill, which has so mod
ified its original drastic provisions
thnt in all probability the White
House will apply pressure in order
to "put the teeth back in." Pres
ent prospects are that this effort,
which is expected from President
Roosevelt and the New Dealers,
will fail. There Is no discounting
the flood of protests from utility
stockholders which has poured in
on individual senntors and members
of the house. It has turned the
tide, not to the point where the
national legislators would openly
defy the White House, but to a
status where they are not willing
to jump through the hoops at the
executive command.
One of the important phases of
the new compromise is that It will
exempt from Its provision all hold
ing companies whose interests are
confined to operating companies in
side one state. This does not sound
Important, but it lets a lot of rath
er big fish through the net.
Another modification Is even
more important. It exempts from
the provisions of the promised law
holding companies whose opera
tions are chiefly in one state, but
extends for short distances beyond
Its borders. This would afl'ect such
important holdings as Consolidated
(las of New York, Public Service
of New Jersey, and People's Gas
of Chicago.
Still another compromise provi
sion would exempt holding com
panies that are interested exclusive
ly In operating companies outside
the United States. Such as Ameri
can and Foreign Power. So that
first and last a considerable number
of big holding companies, with—
far more Important politically—a
considerable army of stockholders
will be let out. Which of course
pacifies their stockholders, thus re
ducing the amount of opposition
that the final form of the bill might
bring down on the devoted heads
of senators and members of the
house who vote its final passage.
“May” and “Shall”
In the under-cover negotiations
which led to this compromise some
of the gentlemen interested in sav
ing as many utility holding com
panies as possible nearly lost their
battle after they thought they had
It won. The first draft of text that
emerged stated these exemptions in
language which used the word
“may." That is, it gave the secur
ities commission the right to ex
empt these companies if In its dis
cretion it saw fit to do so. One of
those most concerned hit the ceil
ing when he read that “may." He
got very busy, indeed, and the draft
now reads “shall." Meaning that
such companies "shall" be exempt
ed Instead of “may" be exempted.
Still another modification does
leave discretion with the securities
commission. This is to extend from
five years to seven years the length
of time in which companies still re
tained under the death sentence
may be allowed In which to wind
up their affairs and liquidate.
Which in a way is the most in
teresting of all the changes. For
the argument used to give this ad
ditional discretion would not be ap
preciated at the White House at all.
It was that enough leeway should
be provided in the holding company
act to permit a reversal of policy
by the administration “following
the Roosevelt second term!”
And the fact that the argument
got somewhere—that It has been
accepted by some very important
senators and members of the house
—would seem to indicate that some
perfectly good Democrats are no
longer taking all the proposed brain
trust legislation as having been di
vinely inspired.
More Taxes Certain
More taxes are certain, despite all
the propaganda by the administra
tion one way, and by the bonus ad
vocates the other. The taxes would
be needed even If there were no
bonus legislation at all. But there
is going to be bonus legislation.
Arguments by bonus lobbyists that
to override the veto means the sol
diers will get nothing are just so
much drivel. If the bonus veto is
sustained in the senate, as is now
generally expected, some bonus
measure will be passed later, which
President Roosevelt can and will
sign.
This will probably be something
not very far from the Harrison com
promise, though the President has
always hoped that the eventual cost
to the treasury could be held to $1,
200.000,000 which the Harrison plan
exceeds by at least $100,000,000.
E.’ery one agrees that the pres
ent so-called nuisance taxes, which
expire in June, must be continued.
The only one allowed to drop was
that of 2 cents on each check, which
expired last January.
Probability Is that the most cer
tain of all proposed new taxes to
be adopted before adjournment of
the present session of congress is
an increase In the inheritance taxes.
These fit in with the New Deal
philosophy. It must be remem
bered that the Roosevelt ideal con
templates a nation of little fellows
—qo outstanding giants. Every
man with enough to buy an automo
bile. But none with enough to buy
a yacht—unless it’s a sailboat.
This is revealed in the intense
desire to hold down profits—to hold
down bigness- to protect the little
fellow against the big. Which is
true despite tiie frequent allegation
that NRA was in the interest of
the big fellows, and against the lit
tle man.
Fly in Ointment
Another phase of New Deal pol
icy right down this same alley was
the securities act—and the stock
exchange regulation bill. The idea
was not only to hold profits on or
dinary business down to a low per
centage, but to prevent speculative
prolits of any kind.
Analyzed critically, It is easy to
see that this would tend to prevent
anyone not now rich from becoming
so. But there was one fly in the
ointment. Strict supervision of
new security issues and curtailment
of speculation, all tended in the
direction of preserving existing for
tunes.
They could snipe at them with
heavy taxation, particularly on in
comes, and on the corporation from
which the Income was derived. But
a fortune Invested in government
bonds, for example, would be im
pervious to both.
Hence the popularity with New
Dealers of inheritance taxes. Cyn
ics comment that most of the New
Dealers are young, and not worried
about death duties. But the unde
niable fact is that the New Dealers
do want to do something about
some of the very large fortunes
now in existence.
Copyright—WJTD Service.
Giant Cinnamon Trees Were Felled to Make a Jungle Home.
Prepared by National Geographic Society,
Washington, L>. C.—WNU Service.
□SiNCH life in the wilds of
Ecuador was the dream of
an adventurous American
couple. Together they have created
a delightful home In the middle of
an equatorial jungle. The Haci
enda Rio Negro is located on the
eastern slopes of the Andes, about
two degrees south of the equator,
at an altitude of some 5,000 feet,
on the north side of the Pastaza
valley.
The site itself is a tropical para
dise. A broad, beautifully wood
ed valley rises in range after range
of hills on each side of the falling
Pastaza in a series of tablelands.
The most delightful feature of
this equatorial Eden Is the fact that
there are no mosquitoes, and all
noxious insects seem to be reduced
to a minimum.
The nearest town, post office,
and general supply depot is Ba
nos, where white-walled, red-roofed
houses cling with a stoical, and sev
eral times misplaced, trust to the
base of the Black Giant, Tungurahua,
a beautifully shaped volcano.
Leaving the lava-swept base of
Tunguahua at Banos and the semi
aridnesB of the Andean cradle, one
progresses down the valley of the
Pastaza, past the Falls of Agoyan,
higher than Niagara, and finds one
self getting gradually deeper and
deeper into the jungle fringe.
At last, descending from El Mirn
dor, where one sees a large sec
tion of the Pastaza river valley
spread out, partly occupied by the
hacienda, one emerges from the gor
geously orchid-lined trails into open
pastures.
Years before, an Ecuadorian had
partially cleared some of the land
and had built a four-roomed house
in what he proudly called the
“American style.” The heavy tile
roof had fallen in; the rotten tim
bers which supported it, sagging
with fatigue, had finally given up
the struggle. A bamboo shack at
tached to one end of the house was
alive with cockroaches. A feeble
attempt by the former owner to
patch the interstices with mud plas
ter merely served to make a cozy
home for more of the objectionable
insects.
During the first few days of their
adventure, the new owners lived
ns well ns they could in this tumble
down structure, choosing the driest
corner of the four rooms for their
camp beds.
Keep in Touch by Radio.
Everything had to he done with
what resources were at hand. Im
mediate purchases were impossible,
for there were no convenient shops.
Consequently they learned to Im
provise, even when it was a ques
tion of creating such things as a
forge, blower, an efficient water
heater and pressure tank, a wa
ter wheel to run the dynamo to
charge the radio battery, a power
transmission belt, dressing for the
belt, or kitchen drainboards out of
the roofing zinc. The whole haci
enda, with its house and furnish
ings, may be put down as one
large improvisation.
Radio links the Jungle clearing
with a remote world. During one
small political uprising In Guaya
quil they heard the news broadcast
from New York before the news
papers in the mountains had pub
lished It.
The natives regarded the set
with superstitious awe; but were
more Impressed by being able to
hear programs from the mountain
cities of Rtobamba and Quito than
they wrere by European or North
American programs.
Fortunately the special osier fil>er
known as ralmhre was found grow
ing near the ranch. Tt was readily
adapted to the making of wicker
furniture. In an Incredibly short
time strongly huilt. comfortable
chairs, a chaise longue, and a table
were fashioned by a native cabinet
maker.
Passing Indians brought sacks of
kapok, which made soft cushions
for the chairs, mattresses for the
beds, and pack blankets for the
mules. The scarflike shawls,
woven by the Indian women of the
mountain region are used as cush
ion covers and curtains. These
shawls, hand-woven of white cot
ton with a geometric design in in
digo last Indefinitely and can be
washed as often as necessary.
There is no glass in the house
I windows. Heavy shutters of wood
! can be closed when the rains beat
down too heavily. The temperature
is so constantly mild that no fur
ther protection is needed. By dint
of much hard work, a complete wa
ter system was finally installed. A
flume of hardwood and bamboo
brings water from a stream on the
hillside back of the house to a
pressure and settling tank, also
built of wood. From this tank the
water is piped into the house.
An "efficient system for heating
the water was made from two 50
gallon drums. The bathroom is
lighted by candles set in sconces
made of hollow bamboo stems.
Making Their Garden.
One of the first things the young
pioneers did on arriving at their
new ranch was to look for land
which had good drainage and which
was not too far from the house, to
clear for land for the planting of
a vegetable garden. They found
a shelf of good land overlooking the
river and set men to chop down
trees, clear away brush, and free
it as far as possible of roots. Car
rots, beets, beans, spinach and rad
ishes thrive, but lettuce and cab
bage grows very tall—into small
trees, in fact—and develops disap
pointingly small heads. Tomatoes
flourish. Even stray seeds dropped
around the kitchen door grow Into
strong, healthy plants. The small
pepper, aji, so popular in Ecuador,
grows equally well.
Papaya trees give delicious mel
ons for the breakfast table. Ba
nanas, of course, were planted im
mediately. Orange and tangarine
trees grow nearby; also lemon and
lime trees.
There is also the naranjilla,
which is an orange-colored fruit
covered with a prickly, hairy coat.
The inside of this fruit is a green
ish-yellow color and is filled with
tiny seeds. One species is tasteless,
but the juice of the other, when
ripe, has a delicate, distinctive
aroma and flavor, which may be in
dicated vaguely by the sense of
taste by mentioning a combination
of orange, pineapple, and straw
berry. It makes a refreshing hot
weather drink, and also a delicious
pie similar to a lemon meringue.
Perishable foods are kept by means
of a homemade, water-cooled balsa
wood refrigerator. The mountain
stream which is diverted over this
refrigerator box keeps butter hard
and vegetables fresh and crisp.
All the Comforts of Home.
In this wilderness two modern
Crusoes have achieved the comforts
of the white man’s civilization.
Their dinner is served on a hand
rubbed mahogany table. China is
native-made and hand-decorated in
a single design which resembles
that of Italian pottery. The shawls
are effective as curtains and stand
out brightly against the soft, satiny
gleam of the cinnamon-board walls.
Against the dark wall of the liv
ing room, the paintings of a Quito
artist emphasize the rich, bold
tones of native scenes and native
faces. Between the book shelves
which flank one end of that room is
a built-in divan designed by one of
New York’s foremost stage design
ers. It is upholstered in the downy
kapok of the woods and covered
with the weaves of nimble native
fingers. A wide veranda incloses
the front and sides of the house,
and another of generous propor
tions outlines the U between the
rear wings.
Outside, in the “working"
grounds, is a blacksmith shop, with
an improvised forge and blower, to
which the stubborn little pack mules
and the riding horses are led for
shoeing. Across the driveway is a
peon shack, made of split bamboo
and covered with thatch. Near the
big gate is a corral built on the
western style, by using whole bam
goo poles instead of pine timbers.
The big gate which leads to the
hacienda house from the Pastaza
trail was an achievement in hand
labor. To the top of the huge
lignum-vltae posts, 15 feet high and
20 inches square, the men hauled
up on runners a cross-beam weigh
ing 1,700 pounds. Sheer manpower,
lacking the assistance of machin
ery, tugged and sweated that mas
sive lintel into place all one after
noon. There it is now, etched in
the moonlight, proclaiming to the
jungle and the trail the results of
two years’ effort.
