Connecticut Digs
Into Past History
Observes 300th Anniver
sary of Its Settlement.
Washington.—Connecticut Is bub
bling over with enthusiasm during
the celebration of Its tercentenary.
Every town In the state Is digging
up Its past history. Recent anni
versaries observed In connection
with the tercentenary are the Bris
tol sesqulcentennlal and the two
hundred and seventy-fifth year of
the Hopkins Grammar school In
New Haven.
‘‘Netherlanders, not the English,
were first on the Connecticut scene,”
says the National Geographic so
ciety. “They sailed up the broad
Connecticut river, mapped part of
the coastline, and later established
a trading post near the present site
of Hartford.
“But rumors of tbe fertile lands
and nrild climate of the Connecticut
valley bad reached the Plymouth
colony. Settlers from Massachu
setts hurried down from the north,
set up a rival post on the river, and
In 1635 founded the three towns of
Wethersfield, Windsor, and Hart
ford, nucleus of the colony.
“The fundamental orders adopt
ed by this little group marked the
beginning of constitutional govern
ment In this country. Later, when
Connecticut delegates played an Im
portant part In the shaping of the
federal Constitution, their stnte be
came known as yie ‘Constitution
State.*
Included Wide Territory.
"Under the charter of 1662, grant
ed by Charles U, the Connecticut
colony included Rhode Island, and
stretched westward from Narragan
sett hay to the Pacific ocean 1 The
Wyoming valley In north central
Pennsylvania, and the Western Re
serve In Ohio (near the present city
of Cleveland) were considered part
of Connecticut even late In the
Eighteenth century. The New Ha
ven colony, founded In 1638, had
not been consulted when this char
ter was procured, and It took three
years to persuade its people to
unite with the Hartford group.
Hartford was made the capital, but
from 1701 to 1873 New Haven
shared the honors as Joint capital.
“Geography molded Connecticut’s
fate. It Is a little state (the third
smallest In the Union), broken Into
smaller units by topography. The
wide valley of the Connecticut river,
running north and south through
the center of the state, separates
the rough uplands of the eastern
and western portions. Long after
the coast and central valley was
settled these highlands remained a
wilderness. They consist of a
series of hills and ridges, high in
the north and low near the coast,
paralleling the southward course
of rivers and streams.
“Rocky hillsides and narrow val
leys made large farms Impractical
In Connecticut. Only the Connecti
cut valley was particularly suited
to the raising of staple crops, such
as tobacco. So the state became a
land of small, Independent farms
and diversified crops. Agriculture
In Connecticut was never easy.
Many Important Industries.
"That Is why the people turned
to Industry as the best available
source of wealth. Here, again, ge
ography cramped them. The state
has water power, but few minerals.
The old Granby copper mines, never
very profitable, were turned Into a
prison during the Revolution. Salis
bury’s Iron mines were more suc
cessful. They have been worked
for two centuries, furnishing ore
for Revolutionary cnnnon balls and
for the anchor of the Constitution.
“Lacking raw materials Connecti
cut has concentrated on the manu
facture of brass and copper prod
ucts, machinery, firearms, ammu
nition, typewriters, and Innumer
able small articles; tableware, tacks,
machetes, coffee percolators, rubber
boots, needles, pins, hooks and eyes.
“Bridgeport’s Industries lead them
all and New Haven Is not fur be
hind. The latter owes quite as
much to Ell Whitney as to Ell Yale.
After the Inventor perfected the
cotton gin he returned to New Ha
ven. Another New Haven man.
Charles Goodyear, discovered the
process for vulcanizing rubber.
“A century ago Connecticut was
a seagoing country. Shipbuilding,
whuling and China trade brought
wealth to coastal villages and river
ports. Many of the vessels that car
ried forty-niners around the Horn
were built at Mystic. Essex launched
the Oliver Cromwell, first ship In
the U. S. navy; and Wethersfield
built the Desire, first American ves
sel to cross the Atlantic. But times
have changed. New London Is now
a submarine bnse, and the fishing
Industry confines Itself chiefly to
the oysterbeds on Long Island
Sound."
Peon Pays 60 Centavos
for Use of Another Name
San Salvador.—A new racket has
been reported from La Union, I’a
clllc port of El Salvador.
An Indian peon Inquired at the
pogt office recently for mall for
Salome Haltmayer. When asked
If he was of Swiss nationality, he
repllled that bis father's name was
Juan Anastaclo Baruca and his
mother was Sebastina Galtan, but
that he had purchased the name of
Haltmayer for 50 centavos.
"I bought the name," he added,
“from a Nicaraguan gentleman, who
told me that It was a very distin
guished name in Switzerland and
cheap at 50 centavos. There were
Find Strange Holes
on Nebraska Farms
York, Neb.—In the western
part of York county near Brad
shaw large holes are appearing
in the surface of the earth. Some
of the holes are about 5 feet
across, with a "room” JO or 12
feet square beneath. One is
about 15 feet across with the
hole underneath about 20 feet
deep. There are many smaller
boles.
These are found on the Carl
Larson and Martin Johnson
farms.
Some think the earthquake
last March caused them. Others
advance other theories. Pio
neers say such holes "came and
went” the same manner about
35 or 40 years ago.
others more expensive, and I have
friends who are now Demetrlo
Bonaparte, Balbino Edison and Ja
cobo Washington, but they had to
pay from 80 centavos to a peso for
their names."
$1,265 in Coins Almost
Too Much for Bandits
Bartley, Neb.—Bandits who loot
ed the State Bank of Bartley were
so thorough that they almost were
unable to escape with their loot.
Included In the $5,000 total was
$1,200 in silver coins and $05 in pen
nies, totaling to such a load that the
bandit who attempted to carry it as
he fled had to be supported by a
companion.
Pawnee Death Rate Cut; Births Gain
- <s . ■■ ■ —
Hospital Service Responsible
for Saving Lives.
Pawnee, Okla.—Through the Paw
nee Indian agency here the death
rate of the “native Americans" Is
being lowered and the birth rate be
ing Increased.
The picturesque agency adminis
ters the affairs of five dwindling
tribes—Pawnees, Pancas, Otoes,
Kaws, and Tonkawas. One of the
oldest tribal rolls of the Pawnees,
dated 1881, carries the names of
1,300 members of the tribe. Illus
HATS OF LACE
By niKKIK NIC HO I. AS
The hats here shown were select
ed from among the collections of
leading American designers. At
the toy Is a sailor in navy blue
with the very new and chic “pa
goda top" made of white lace.
Matching lace is softly pleated in
a flattering jabot and cape collar.
This hat, together with numerous
others by the same noted designer,
trating the decline of the tribes,
the Pawnees now number only 900,
while there are only approximately
800 Pancas, 700 Otoes, 400 Raws,
and less than 50 Tonkawas.
Five years ago the government
built a hospital with capacity for
47 beds. Expectant Indian mothers
learned to take advantage of the
services provided by the govern
ment, and a lot of lives were saved
which would have been lost tinder
previous primitive Indian customs.
Healthy Indian babies came Into
the world and fewer mothers died
in childbirth, thus increasing the
birth rate slowly, but steadily, ac
cording to P. W. Danielson, super
intendent.
Of the handful of Tonkawas re
maining none are full blood tribes
men. Their numerical weakness Is
explained by the history of the
tribe, which shows it has been per
secuted and overrun by other tribes.
Some 50 years ago an Indian war
gave the tribe its most crushing
blow, exterminating virtually all the
able-bodied Tonkawas.
Located one-half mile east of
Pnwnee, the physical equipment of
the agency consists of about 30
large buildings made of native sand
stone and housing some 500 people.
It occupies 900 acres of the most
beautiful wooded timber land to be
found in the large flve-trlbes reser
vation.
More than 200 Indian children is
the capacity of the grade school
at the agency, where the facilities
nre capable of taking the students
on thj-ough high school.
The Department of the Interior
hopes to be able to abolish the In
dian service within the next 25
years, as Intermarriage with the
whites is on the increase nnd most
of the 3,000 members of the tribes
are self-supporting—with the little
government aid provided.
made an Important showing at the
lace revue recently held In New
York. Another creation of lace
from the same artist-milliner is pic
tured below In this trio. Here the
designer used stiffened lace to
make an adorable French peasant
bonnet with matching petal cuffs.
You wear this cunning bonnet far
back on your head to show your
widow’s penk on your sculpture
curls. It’s perfect to wear with
your best black dress as you make
your social rounds in the daytime
hours. The wide-brimmed hat In
the center was worn by Lady Wil
kins, wife of the famous explorer,
Sir Hubert Wilkins, at a recent so
ciety event. It is of gray shantung
faced with navy blue lace to match
the bow trimming.
\
Barge Service Resumed on the Missouri River
After a lapse of twenty years barge service for freight has been resumed on the Missouri river between
8L Louis and Kansas City. The photograph shows the Federal barge line bout Franklin L>. Roosevelt and its
tows, as It started the service.
SEEN-'HEARD
•round the
National Capital
*=——By CARTER riELD==»
Washington.—Grave concern is
felt by high administration officials
over the lack of eagerness of so
many people, all over the country,
to get off relief rolls, even when
fairly good Jobs are offered. It is
Impossible to obtain accurate fig
ures about this phase of the situa
tion, all the bureaus, administra
tions, agencies, etc., being very
much publicity shy about this dis
turbing development.
It Is known, however, that reports
from all over have been received,
and that President Roosevelt's hopes
of getting everybody off the relief
rolls as speedily as possible have
run up against a very stiff resist
ance.
In many cities young men eligible
for the CCO camps are refusing to
take the examinations. In one large
city families are Insisting they do
not want their boys to be trained as
soldiers—that they hear beer is sold
at the camps—that their boys would
have to associate with low charac
ters.
Professing entire Ignorance of
the situation In that city, the CCC
officials here Insist they do not be
lieve the objections cited by the
parents are genuine. They say that
the talk about military training was
very widespread when the camps
were first started, hut that It broke
down of its own weight a short time
ago. They believe the sole and only
reason is unwillingness to get off
relief rolls.
In other cities, In fact In most
cities, enrollment In the CCC camps
has been way below what was ex
pected, and the answer Is believed
by officials here to he just unwilling
ness to get off relief. But in every
Instance officials say to Inquiring re
porters from the city In question:
“Please don’t mention that you
talked to me about this.’’
Incidentally the Veterans’ bureau
has been having Its trouble along
the same line.
A Real Problem
The whole question brings up the
point whether the United States is
now going through what England
went through a few years back. In
England the dole brought some In
teresting consequences, and, as they
occurred before the depression hit
this country, there was quite a self
righteous feeling in this country
that Britain was bringing her trou
bles on her own head by pamper
ing the dole collectors.
Then came the depression, and
the New Deal. Whereupon it be
came progressive in this country to
Insist that it was the duty of the
government to take care of the cold
and hungry, atid reactionary to
point to Britain’s troubles on the
same sort of problem.
Now It Is being realized that it
is a problem involving fundamental
traits of human nature, and that
the United States is not very differ
ent In the character of its people
from Britain, No one, not even the
most bitter critic of the administra
tion on Capitol Hill, is advocating
that people should be allowed to
starve or freeze. But a very Inter
esting mental transformation is be
coming apparent in New Deal cir
cles.
For example, a high official of the
Federal Emergency Relief admin
istration was told that his agents In
a large middle western city had
threatened to take families off re
lief if they refused to permit their
sons to go to the CCC camps, or If
able-bodied men in the families re
fused to take Jobs which were of
fered.
"I have not heard about that,”
he said shortly. “You see it is a
purely local problem. The man on
the ground handling the relief situ
ation has authority to handle the
matter in any way he Bees tit."
“You mean If he turns families
off the relief rolls for such reasons
as that, it is entirely up to him?”
he was asked.
“Exactly," he replied.
“Would the local officials make
a report to headquarters here about
it?" the questioner persisted.
“Nothing of the kind need be re
ported," he replied.
And his whole manner indicated,
what some of his underlings told
the writer in confidence, that he
did not want any such reports!
Cut Huge Fortunes
President Roosevelt’s objective Is
the reduction of all large fortunes
to a maximum of $7.000,000—all
large incomes to a maximum of $G0,
000 a year, lie said tlds in ft con
versation a few days ago with a
very rich Democrat, who inci
dentally had been a big campaign
fu«d contributor, and the gentle
man is still sputtering about it.
In another most interesting con
versation with a Wisconsin man
who had backed him when Roose
velt really needed backing, in the
pre-convention days, the president
advised Ids caller to "go back to
Wisconsin and make your peace
with the La Follettes. They are our
kind of people.”
Which of course is purely cor
roborative of what the President
has been saying about his tax pro
gram—that It has two objectives, a
better social order, ns well as rev
enue.
Meanwhile business men as a
whole are aghast at the prospect,
for they see in the drive against
bigness almost surely further boost
ing of the rates to apply against all
corporations which have big earn
ings.
Most business men do not agree
with the wisdom, entirely aside
from their selfish interests, of this
policy. Most of them admit that
there is some merit In the conten
tion so often made in private
conversations by Justice Brandels
against bigness in privately owned
corporations. Frequently, they ad
mit, many of the faults which char
acterize all large scale government
operations creep In when a corpora
tion attains unwieldy size. They
even admit that instances can be
cited where the mere size of the
corporation Increases the cost of
whatever unit it may manufacture,
or the item of service it may ren
der.
Take the Automobile
But they Insist that for the most
part these Instances are the excep
tions, and not the rule. A favorite
Illustration of the reverse is the au
tomobile. Anyone who knows any
thing about manufacturing admits
that if the automobiles of this coun
try were produced by say 200 man
ufacturers of fairly even size, the
cost per automobile to the pur
chaser would be more than double.
The best illustration of this is the
Ford car now manufactured by a
fairly good sized plant In Strass
burg, France. That car costs the
purchaser in Paris about $1,700.
This is not due to the protective
tariff, for the car is made in France.
Actually, of course, If the cars were
made in the big Ford plant at Dear
born, they would pay 100 per cent
tariff and still save the purchasers
a good deal of money. It is the
French quota system on imports
which forces their manufacture on
a small scale at Strassburg.
Manufacturers contend that if
Ford ears were produced by sep
arate plants of small size in this
country, each owned by a different
owner and operated Independently—
in short if the policy desired by
the administration in this use of
the taxing power against bigness
were forced into effect—the cars
would cost purchasers in this coun
try more than the $1,700 charged
in France. For it so happens that
wages in the Strassburg plant are
lower than in the Dearborn plant.
All of which helps to explain whnt
some critics of the plan mean when
they insist it is a “distribution of
poverty’’ not a “distribution of
wealth.’’
One Real Danger
Only one phase of the huge “share
the wealth”—level off the big for
tunes” and “pass prosperity around”
—taxation program of President
Roosevelt seems in any real dan
ger. This is the sliding scale tax
aimed at big corporations. There
seems no doubt whatever that the
big levies on inheritances, and the
boosts in the upper income tax
brackets, will be approved by con
gress, substantially as desired by
the President
Already a trickle of protests has
begun arriving from holders of com
mon stocks in the big corporations.
A few of them have already real
ized that heavier taxes on the com
panies in which their savings are
invested hits them, and them alone.
For the bondholders, and the pre
ferred stockholders, will continue
to get thetr Interest and dividends,
If they are earned. Additional taxes
will hit the equities, not the debts,
of these corporations.
If the big companies should do
anything like as thorough a job In
rousing their stockholders as the
utilities did, there is little doubt
that this phase of the program
would be in serious danger. For
there Is nothing like the spontane
ous appeal to this levy that there
Is to the proposal to tax big for
tunes, both when in estates and in
incomes.
Some lawyers are contending,
however, that the big Inheritance
taxes are unconstitutional. They
contend that the object of the tax is
not to raise money for the needs of
the government, but Is purely social
in character, with the object of lev
eling off fortunes. This, they con
tend, runs counter to the Constitu
tion.
Not much attention is apt to he
pnid to this by the senntors and rep
resentatives. “Sock the rich" has
always been a popular slogan, po
litically, and the theory ttiat it Is
good politics to vote for such legis
lation is strongly held.
Question of Politics
Lots of men in both house and
senate will vote for these levies
who do not really approve of them.
Hence the comparative certainty
that they will pass. Opposition to
them might prove very hurtful at
the next election.
The opposition is based chiefly
not on any theory that it is a bad
idea to cut down the big fortunes—
though there are a few who insist
that many big fortunes have proved
fur more beneficial to the public ut
large than if the same amount of
money tiad been spent by the gov
ernment—but on the old Mellon
theory of efficiency.
Andrew \V. Mellon, when secre
tary of the treasury, frequently con
tended that lower percentages of
taxes of the high brackets would
bring more money into the treasury
than higher percentages. He pointed
to the fact that every time taxes
were reduced on big incomes, re
ceipts from big incomes increased.
Critics of the Mellon regime al
ways insisted that the reason for
this was merely because it occurred
during a rapid rising tide of pros
perity.
Copyright—WNU Servlc*
Okefinokee Swamp
Okefinokee Swamp, Mystery Land of Georgia.
Prepared by National Geographic Society,
rWashington, D. C.-WND Service.
OWN in the southeastern cor
ner of Georgia lies the great
Okefinokee swamp, a prime
val wilderness rich in treasure for
the fnodern biologist. Myst&ry and
enchantment live In its coffee-col
ored waters, its moss-liung cypresses
and sunlit piney woods.
The Okefinokee owes a great
measure of its unique charm to its
“prairies"—wide, unspoiled expanses
filled in large part with a tropical
abundance of aquatic plants and
flanked with dense “bays” of state
ly cypress. On these one may de
light his soul amid scenes of un
earthly loveliness that have changed
virtually not at all since the Sem
inole warriors poled their dugouts
over them. The Okefinokee prairies
are not land, but water!
In these morasses are many areas
of open water, varying from lakes a
quarter of a mile in diameter to
"alligator holes” a rod in width.
They are also dotted here and there
with wooded islets—the so-called
prairie "heads”—of cypress, slash
pine, sweetbay, and other trees, the
taller ones hoary with moss.
The snowy blossoms of the white
waterlily gladden many acres of the
deeper water, and the golden, glob
ular flowers of yellow pond-lilies, or
"bonnets,” glow in a setting of huge
green leaves. In the shallows yel
low-eyed grass, its tall steins sway
ing, forms a sea of pleasant color.
The small pitcherplant is hardly
true to Its n«He on the Okefinokee
prairies, for fts spotted greenish
tubes reach a yard into the air—a
height unheard of elsewhere; the
parasol-like flowers of greenish
gold, each on a separate scape, stand
a little below the summit of the
leaves.
Resort of Hunters and Trappers.
For generations swamp hunters
have pushed over these prairie wa
ters, standing up in their slight
boats and bending rhythmically
with graceful thrusts of their long
poles. The skilled boatman is able
to make better progress over the
prairies than the bear he chases.
Old hunters knew well how to drive
a deer out of a prairie head in the
direction of a waiting companion.
In winter the trapper camps for
weeks at a time in these heads,
tending his line of traps and taking
the pelts of raccoon, otter, wildcat
and opossum.
To pass from the sparkling sun
shine of the prairies into the gloom
of the adjoining cypress bays is a
striking experience. The huge
trees, buttressed by "knees.” stand
In close ranks in a foot or so of
water. Their green crowns. 80 feet
or more overhead, shut out all but
a few stray beams of sunshine,
causing even at midday a sort of
twilight. Here and there a winding
channel or "run" permits the hunter
to push his tiny boat between the
tree trunks; but in the greater part
of the cypress bays there is tall,
dense undergrowth that makes even
foot travel a slow and arduous un
dertaking. The bear, having the
double advantage of bulky strength
and a tough hide, is the only large
animal that can readily and rapidly
break through such a tangle.
Welcome rifts in the cypress bays
In the heart of the swamp are
formed by long, narrow lakes, most
important of which are Blllys lake,
Mines lake, and the Big Water.
Though each of these is several
miles in length, their width aver
ages scarcely 50 yards. They are
merely expansions of "runs” on the
headwaters of the far-famed Suwan
nee river. On entering one of these
lakes the swamp boatman lays nside
his push-pole and takes up the pad
dle. He is also apt to cast out his
Ash line, for the waters shelter
multitudes of warmouths, large
mouthed bass, and other toothsome
fishes.
Good Fishing There.
More than thirty species of fishes
inhabit the Okeflnokee. Persons
who love simple pan-fishing, with
an old-fashioned reed pole, find here
their heart's content. At Suwannee
lake this sort of angling surpasses
that In almost any other part 01
the country. When one consider!
that the lake is barely a quarter 01
a mile long, with an average width
of perhaps 30 yards, a year’s catch
of more than 40,000 fish (recorded
in 1925) is astounding.
Farther within the swamp, at Bil
lys, Mines, and Buzzard Roost
lakes, or on the Big Water or the
Suwunnee canel, there is likewise
rare fishing. The bulk of a day’s
catch with hook and line is made up*
of such basses as the warmouth, the
“stump-knocker,” and the “sand-flirt
er," with a goodly proportion of
mudfish and catfish. Those who
elect trolling are more apt to land
jaekfish and large-mouthed bass.
The great state of Texas can
boast of 30 species of frogs and
toads; the Okefinokee region, with
one-two-hundredths the area of Tex
as, has 20. With varied habitats
to suit the requirements of different
species; with unlimited breeding
places in the cypress ponds, cypress,
bays, and prairies; with abundant
rains in normal years, and with a
warm and humid climate, the Oke
finokee is a veritable frog paradise.
Alligators and Birds.
Men still living can speak of the*
times when it appeared as if “a
feller could walk across Billys lake
on ’gator backs.” To this dny the
Okefinokee remains perhaps the
best stronghold of our famous cor
rugated saurian. Suwannee lake In
particular, where the alligators are
protected, provides unequaled op
portunities for making intimate
studies of the habits of wild indi
viduals.
Of the approximately 180 species
of birds recorded in the Okefinokee
region, scarcely one-half remain
during the summer and breed.
While some of these summer resi
dents move southward with the ap
proach of cool weather in the au
tumn, their places are more than
filled by hardier species coming
from the northern states and Can
ada to find a congenial winter home
In the swamp.
By far the largest mammal of the
swamp, and perhaps the most in
teresting, Is the Florida bear. From
early times It has attracted the
swamp hunters—not so much be
cause of any particular value of Its
hide and flesh as by reason of the
thrill that comes from matching;
wits and strength with so formid
able an animal. An additional rea
son for the pursuit of the bear te
Its numerous depredations on the
hogs that range through the piney
woods and the swamp borders. At
n hog’s prolonged squealing the
residents become Instantly alert.
Guns are hurriedly lifted from
pegs on the cabin walls, the dogs
are called together with the hunting
horn, and the chase is on.
Primitive Life of the People.
For generations the sturdy, self
sufficient, and gifted people of the
Okefinokee have led a rather iso
lated and primitive existence, some
of them on islands within the
swamp and others along its borders.
They represent some of the purest
Anglo-Saxon stock left in our coun
try, though a few of the families
have a slight mixture of French
Huguenot and even Seminole Indian
blood.
In ancestry, speech, folksongs,
and general social ways there is a
marked affinity between the resi
dents of the Okefinokee and those of I
the Appalachian mountains. In each
case there has been comparative
Isolation, tending to preserve the
cultural heritage from Britain of
several centuries ago. The pic
turesque regional vernacular con
tains various elements representing
survivals from the Elizabethan age
that have dropped out of general
American usage.
The old-fashioned square dance,
or “frolic,” still holds sway here us i
a leading form of social recreation.
The fiddle, the handclap, the foot
beat, and the "calling of the set” by
the leader all lend their aid to the
rhythmic performance. The late
fall days—the season of “hog-killin’'
an’ cane-grindin’ ’’—see these social
expressions at their height
