Marvelous Life Is
Led by the Oyster
Changes From Male to Fe
male and Back Again.
London. — The curator of the
aquarium at the London zoo is
astonished to find how little peo
ple know about that luscious bi
valve, the oyster. So with the aid
of Dqctor Orton, head of the Brit
lah government survey at Plym
outh, he writes a romantic blngra
phy In the Observer of London:
‘The oyster starts Its life as a
free-swimming organism, keeping
Itself afloat and moving In the wa
ter for about a fortnight by means
of the cilia, Its falry-llke paddles.
In energetic motion. Gradually Its
developing shell becomes heavier,
the weight becomes too much even
for Its moat tremendous efforts,
and It sinks to the bottom or until
It touches some solid object
“On Its luck, fo“ one can de
scribe It -!n no other fashion, at
this stage depends Its future exist
ence. Landing on mud or soft
sand, Its doom Is scaled and many
millions of oysters In this fashion
perish annually.
American Experts' Ways.
“For cheapness and for ease of
detachment of the developing oys
ters the American experts have
lately used the rectangular card
board egg holders from egg boxes
similarly coated with lime and
sand.
“Once settled the oyster has lit
erally nothing to do but eat and
grow. Its one occupation In life
Is to strain gallon after gallon of
water through Its filtering mech
anism, which retains the minute
food organisms and passes them on
into the mouth of the animal.
“Its one protection against Its
enemies Is Its hard shell and the
ability to keep the two valves firm
ly closed by the adductor muscle.
Crabs, however, can break It open.
Starfish may either pull the shell
apart, or by means of a convenient
arrangement, when the oyster Is
too big and strong for this opera
tion, and equally too big to swal
low, they may evert the stomach
and engulf the unfortunate oyster,
until at last, compelled to open Its
shells for fresh supplies of oxygen,
it Is attacked, weakened, and final
ly destroyed by the digestive Juices.
“In Its second summer the oys
ter reaches maturity, and It Is with
the Investigation of this period of
Its life that Doctor Orton has been
chiefly associated. The oyster Is
not a hermaphrodite, nor Is It pro
pagated by division. It Is bisexual;
but any one oyster does not belong
to one sex throughout its life.
Transformation of !>#x.
“At first maturity the oyster
functions as a male. Wlthlir six
weeks of that time It may be a
female carrying a full complement
of developing embryos. When these
last are ready for the free swim
ming stage they are discharged
into the water, and the parent, Its
duty done, again becomes a male,
and goes Into a resting stage from
which It will not emerge until the
following summer, or, possibly, a
year later than that, when the cycle
Is again repeated.
“Unlike the eggs of most fish,
«S=== -- -w
Lightning Bolt Restores
Use of Paralyzed Legs
Novara, Italy.—Lightning which
two years ago killed the wife and
son of a fortune teller, Giacomo
Bolsson, recently restored to him
the use of his legs, paralyzed for
years.
Bolsson was returning to Novara
from Valesla Valley In his wheel
chair, pulled by his faithful dog,
when a thunderstorm broke. He
•ought shelter under a great tree,
which was shattered by lightning.
The dog was killed and Bolsson
knocked out of his chair. When he
tried to rise, he found the full use
of his limbs had returned.
| the eggs of the oyster are fer
tilized within the body of the par
ent, where they are retained until
the developing embryos, of which
there may be a million or more,
have actually reached the form of
small oysters. They are not, how
ever, Immediately extruded Into
the water, but first spend an Inter
mediate existence In the mantle
cavity of the parent, where they
may continue to develop actually
In water, but under fully protected
conditions.
"At first, unless examined under
the microscope, they resemble a
milky fluid, and to those in the
trade the oyster Is then known as
•white sick.’ As the shell develops,
the mass becomes gray, and then
dark, when the parent oyster Is
described as ‘black sltk.’ At the
end of this stage the young oys
ters are literally blown into the
water, thereafter to fend for them
selves.”
Scientist Captures
Free Electricity
New York. — A scientist’s
dream—harnessing sunlight as
a source of electricity—has
come true.
“Free electricity," drawn from
sunlight, lit an electric bulb!
Dr. Colin G. Fink, professor
of electro-chemistry at Colum
bia university, showed how his
latest development, the “sun con
verter cell” had tripled the
amount of electricity he could
gather from the sun’s rays.
Doctor Fink placed bis cell on
a window sill. Attached to a
terminal of the apparatus was
an ordinary bulb and a galvano
meter — for measuring the
strength of the current
He pulled up a shade, allow
ing the light to strike the cell.
The sensitive galvanometer Im
mediately noted a flow of elec
tricity. A moment or two
passed. Then the filament wire
In the bulb began to glow.
Doctor Fink said he can now
collect only 1 per cent of the
solar radiation, but hopes to do
better
Paris Seeking Napoleon's Eaglet
- «
Body of Emperor’s Son May
Return to France.
Vienna.—Prince Bonaparte, head
of the dethroned French dynasty,
has renewed his negotiations with
Archduke Otto of Hapsburg, the
Austrian pretender, and with Aus
trian authorities In hopes of has
tening "homecoming” of the Eag
let.
The embalmed body of the "Eag
let," son of Napoleon I, will be
transferred from the Capuchin Cat
acombs, from the company of his
Hapsburg relatives, to the Dome of
Invalbles In Paris, to the side of
his great father, If the negotiations
are successful.
This wish of the Bonapartlsts
was refused In 1932 by the Repub
lican government of Austria. The
present government, which has
strong monarchlal leanings, may
raise no objections If the Haps
burgs are willing to deliver up the
corpse of the Eaglet to the Bona
ORCHID SILK NET
By CHER1E NICHOLAS
Here is an adorable midsummer
night party frock. Tiers of ruffles
form the skirt of this charming
gown which Is made of orchid silk
net. Anemones that shade from
orchid to deep purple are grouped
Into a lovely corsage bouquet. This
exquisite model Is a new Maln
bocher creation, fresh from Purls.
It couldn’t be prettier If It tried.
partists, whom they fought so des
perately a century ago.
Three years ago the hundredth
anniversary of the death of the
Eaglet was celebrated by France.
Next year the one hundred and
twenty-fifth anniversary of his birth
will be observed.
The Eaglet, who was made king
of Rome w'hen he was born In
Paris, died as the duke of Relch
stadt at the age of twenty-one In
the Vienna castle of Schoenbrunn.
After the fall of Napoleon, his
son was deprived of everything
that might remind him of his fa
ther.
He died of consumption, accord
ing to the official' announcements.
It was popular belief, however, that
the young prince was poisoned by
Prince Metternich, Austrian chan
cel lor.
Chinese Racial Traits
Studied in California
San Francisco.—The big Chinese
colony here, lurgest in the world
outside of China, Is being turned
Into a great experimental labora
tory. Most of young China here is
being measured and photographed
to determine If America changes
Chinese characteristics. Parents of
3,000 school children are to be ex
amined later.
Already changes nave been noted
In physical stature and cranial fea
tures. Heads of American-born Chi
nese are found to be larger, but
growth of their bodies slower than
their Chlnn-born brothers and sis
ters.
The work Is part of the most ex
tensive anthropological tests ever
made on the Chinese people. It Is
the Idea of twenty-six-year old Sam
uel D. Lee, Chinese graduate of Po
mona, and Is being carried on as
an emergency relief project.
Octopus Influx Is New
Menace for Fishermen
San Francisco.—An octupus wave
from the eoust of Mexico Is giving
northern California shallow water
fishermen plenty of thrills and
background for real “fish stories.’’
Several fishermen, particularly
those seeking crabs under crevices
and backwashes, have been seized
and have been saved only by
friends who chopped off the ten
tacles of the devil fish.
The visitation, said Dr. Alvin
Seal, director of Stelnhart aquar
ium here, Is due to a sudden shift
In current from the Mexican coast,
the usual range of the fish.
Two species are In the migration
—one small, not more than 14
Inches across the arms, and the
other large, measuring ns long as
15 feet.
Skyscrapers May Give Way to Oil Wells
*~n ..——-»
Oklahoma Clty’a new zone law permits oil wells to ne drilled in the heart of the hoslness district as shown
here. The day may come when tall buildings are tom down to make room for the skeleton like towers.
V
SEENand HEARD
around t/>e c
NATIONAL CAPITAL!
By Carter Field im
FAMOUS WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT j
Washington.—Most of the talk
about the possibility of defeating
Franklin D. Itoosevelt next year,
which still seems a most unlikely
event, but Is being discussed wher
ever politicians congregate, seems
to hinge on the possibility of either
a conservative Democratic bolt, or
of a fusion ticket—a combination of
Republicans with conservative Dem
ocrats.
Anything can happen, hut third
tickets are very difficult to start,
and fusions next to Impossible to
get going. Of the two, the fusion
would seern to have the most prom
ise of success, but by the same
token is less likely to happen.
More effective than either is sim
ply a wholesale but unofficial bolt
of party leaders. That Is what hap
pened to the Democrats when Al
fred E. Smith was nominated in
1928, and when prohibition and the
religious Issue resulted in a con
siderable fraction of the Democracy
of many states either staying home
on election day, or going all the
way and voting the Republican
ticket.
Contrasted with the La Follette
third party four years earlier, this
was tremendous in Its effects. But
for the present purposes it is inter
esting to look hack at how the La
Follette third party in 1924 worked
inversely to any conceivable hopes
of its backers.
It will be recalled that La Fol
lette carried one state, Wisconsin.
That is all his party figured, so far
as the electoral vote tabulation
showed. But the fact that the La
Follette party was In the race
changed a great many electoral
votes. The point worth considering
Is that in every ease the effect was
to drive electoral votes to the Re
publican nominee, instead of to the
Democratic nominee.
This was because the country
was prosperous, and was afraid of
any element of uncertainty being
Injected. Widespread polls taken by
various independent agencies, par
ticularly the Literary Digest, showed
early in the campaign, that there
was a possibility La Follette might
carry a number of states. For ex
ample. tills poll showed in Septem
ber that La Follette was very close
to Coolldge in California.
Scared Democrats
This resulted frightening a
grent many Democrats Into voting
for Coolldge. They preferred Cool
Idge to a period of uncertainty, with
the house of representatives fight
ing to elect some one President.
If present convictions are not
changed, a great many conserva
tive Democrats next year will pre
fer almost any situation which
might develop to the re-election of
ltoosevelt. Just as a great many
progressive Republicans will pre
fer Roosevelt’s re-election to the
success of any Republican candi
date.
Hence the situation promises to
be much more like that of 181)0,
when the Palmer and Buckner
ticket was put up by the gold Dem
ocrats, not with any thought of
really electing Palmer, but with the
frank object of giving Democrats
who would not vote for any Re
publican some place to go. The ob
ject, therefore, was really to elect
McKinley, and It succeeded tremen
dously, especially In such border
states as Maryland, Kentucky and
Missouri.
It is rather curious that the most
difficult method of attempting to
defeat Roosevelt—by a fusion
ticket—offers such possibilities this
time. There is no strong Repub
lican In sight for the nomination,
but there is a whole flock of con
servative Democrats who would fit
well in the picture for a fusion nom
ination. Kor example, Senator Byrd
of Virginia, Ex-Governor Ely of
Massachusetts, > nator Tydings or
Ex Governor Ritchie of Maryland,
Senator Donahey of Ohio.
There are those who think, how
ever, that n Republican like Gov
ernor Landon of Kansas, or Gov
ernor Hoffman of New Jersey,
might be all the stronger because
they are not so well known nation
ally—on the theory that fewer peo
ple would vote aganlst them.
Santa Claus in Politics
Seldom has the power of Santa
Claus In politics been so forcibly
demonstrated as by the recent sen
ate vote on the AAA amendments,
one of the chief purposes of which
was to freeze the processing taxes
beyond the probability of being up
set by tiie Supreme court.
But this danger is not past, and
for a most interesting reason, ex
pectancy here is tnat the present
processing taxes will be held uncon
stitutional by the high court. Legal
opinion here Is divided as to wheth
er tiie next taxes will pass the test
or not. But legal opinion is vir
tually united that If it had not been
for two factors, the high court
would uphold the next taxes.
One of these points would have
been met If congress, in fixing the
taxes, had left out the formula for
'changing them. This formula lias
to do with prices paid tiie farmers
for commodities. It provides for a
change in the processing taxes If
and when such prices reach “par
ity,” or the amount considered by
New Dealers as essentially fair for
the farmer.
The other would have been met
If congress had levied the taxes in
one bill, and put ail the other agri
cultural provisions in another.
These two changes would have
made the processing taxes, in the
opinion of some able lawyers here,
strictly excise levies, and thus well
within the clearly defined right of
congress to raise money. When the
language of a statute is perfectly
clear, the Supreme court has held
In decision after decision, it is not
up to the court to delve into the
reasons for the passage of the act—
to read the debates and reports ot
committee hearings, etc.
But the fact that the taxes are
Included in an agricultural bill, plus
the fact that a formula for chang
ing tlie taxes in the event that farm
prices of the commodities affected
change, brings the processing taxes
in the new bill close to the border
line. It opens the door to the Su
preme court to look into the mo
tives for imposing the tax. It proves
what every one of course knows,
that the tax is not levied for gen
eral revenue purposes, but to play
a part in bringing about a price
change—or to improve the estate of
a definite fraction of the popula
tion—the farmers.
Doubtful Situation
This would have been Just as true
if congress had left out the formula
for changing the taxes, and If It
had passed the taxes in a separate
bill. But In that case the court
would have been almost obliged to
follow its normal course, and exam
ine merely the text of the bill at
tached. In all probability it would
not have gone into the allegation,
which will be made wdien the pres
ent bill is attacked, that the tax is
unconstitutional because it is not
levied strictly for revenue, but to
bring about a specific reform, and
In favor of a particular class.
But congress did not dare use
this simple device for Insuring con
stitutionality of the AAA amend
ments. Because if there had been
a separate tax bill, the sales tax
nature of the measure would hava
been too glaring. The levies would
have stood out as taxing the poor
man's necessities—food and cloth
ing.
This is not a predication that the
court will hold the new law uncon
stitutional. No one knows tiiat. As
a matter of fact, it is an open ques
tion, about which there is sliarp
division of opinion. It may be that
the high court will decide that the
processing tax on wheat, or corn
and hogs, or cotton, is on all fours,
so far as constitutional authority is
concerned, with the six cents a
package federal tax on cigarettes.
Also, that It will ignore the formula
for changing the amount of the tax.
No one knows, but the fact re
mains that the whole situation Is
doubtful.
Golf Parallel
Golfing senators nnd representa
tives often chuckle about the mis
fortune of a long hitting player who
drove the difficult green of a hole
on a local course, and then putted
out of bounds. It sounds incredible,
but it is absolutely true. There
were a number of witnesses.
That, in the judgment of keen ob
servers in Washington, Is what the
utility magnates did in their tele
graphing campaign to prevent pas
sage of the “death sentence.” They
have come pretty near to nullify
ing all the effects of a remarkable
demonstration of the wide spread
of the shareholders in public utili
ties—a demonstration which caused
the house of representatives to
vote against the I’resident by a
majority of 111. And all because
they overdid the last touches.
They putted out of bounds!
Apparently Genuine
In fact, there was a great deal of
quiet checking up on writers of
these protesting letters and tele
grams by the senators and represen
tatives. And in the early stages
most of the letters and wires ap
parently were genuine. Often the
writers did not know anything at
all about the merits of the con
troversy. They wrote because the
officers of the corporations in which
they held stock asked them to—be
cause the officers told them the
“death sentence” would alfect the
value of'tlieir securities.
In this last question the legisla
tors were not so much interested.
If a number of their constituents
believed, rightly or wrongly, that a
vote for the "death sentence" was
a vote which would take money out
of their pockets, that vote might be
highly dangerous when election day
rolled around. Particularly if the
“death sentence” passed, and the
value of the stocks Id constituents’
hands did decline.
The constituent might never find
out the truth about the matter, but
he would hold his senator or mem
ber of the house responsible, and
be very apt to vote against him
both in primaries and elections.
Copyright—WNU Service
Ethiopian Army Captain in Full Dress Uniform.
□red by National Geographic 8oclety,
aahington. D. C.—WNTJ Service. '
rHIOPIA, a familiar name In
the headlines these days,
boasts a long and Imposing
history. The kings of this ancient
empire are traced from Orl of 4478
B. C. to Haile Selassie the First of
A. D. 1935—with time out, natural
ly, from the date of the Deluge un
til the fall of the Tower of Babel.
According to tradition the queen of
Sheba was an Ethiopian. She may
possibly have lived in what we now
call Ethiopia, and certainly she in
cluded it in her extended domain.
Modern Ethiopia Includes more
than 350,000 square miles of the
rich and productive northeastern
African plateau. It is mainly a
mountainous region, much broken
by deep valleys. Arid, semi-desert
country surrounds it on every side.
It does not touch the sea, although
some Ethiopian feudal chieftains
like to grasp a marine telescope as
they pose for a formal photograph.
In the population there are, per
haps, 5,000,000 Christians of the
true Ethiopian (Hamitic-Semltlc)
type. They are the inheritors of an
ancient civilization under whose
feudal form of government are es
timated to he 7,000,000 Moslems and
pagans. The latter are mainly ne
groes.
The country Is surrounded by Af
rican colonial possessions of Gr»*at
Britain, France and Italy. As the
Ethiopia of Solomon’s time, It prob
ably Included all of these adjacent
territories, with an Egyptian fron
tier, and that part of southwestern
Arabia known today as the Yemen
nnd Hadhramaut.
There is In Ethiopia a very evi
dent mixture of Asia and Africa.
Some of the blood came from an
cient Palestine, some from Arabia,
and some from the shores of the
Caspian. Authorities do not agree
as to the elements in this African
melting pot of races. But the Ethi
opian claims with pride a strong
relation to the Semites.
Getting Into Ethiopia.
The front door entrance and port
to Ethiopia is Djibouti, French
Somaliland. The French are com
mendably responsible for Djibouti.
It Is the base of their 500-mile rail
way from the coast directly inland
to Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian cap
ital. This railway is Ethiopia’s
only modern connection with the
outside world. Djibouti is, there
fore, very Important to Ethiopia.
It is headquarters for an Ethiopian
consul who gives Intending visitors
their visas.
There are two kinds of trains
now on the efficient but expensive
little Franco-Ethiopian railway. On
Sunday and Wednesday mornings
a train leaves Djibouti to arrive
three days later in Addis Ababa.
Each Tuesday evening departs the
“through express," which does the
500 miles in 36 hours. Passengers
can sleep on this “fast" train, not
in pullmans, but in adjustable
seats. .On the three-day trains
sleeping is done at little wayside
hotels the two nights en route.
The first day of this railway jour
ney ends usually at six in the aft
ernoon, at Diredawa, the first town
of importance after the train en
ters Ethiopia. It is on the fringe
of a plateau 4,000 feet above sea
level and a 200-mile climb from the
coast. An interesting side trip
from Diredawa is the old Moham
medan walled town of Harar, four
hours away by rough motor trip or
a whole day by mulebaek. Camels,
horses, or mules are available as a
means of transportation, but the
mule is considered the most appro
priate for one of actual or apparent
high station in life.
The second night of the three-day
train journey Is passed on the banks
of the Awash river, one of the pe
culiar streams of the world. At this
point it is a swiftly flowing river
in a deep canyon. Rising on the
Ethiopian plateau, it turns north
eastward toward the Red sea, but
loses Itself in the Danakii lowlands
short of Its natural destination.
Awash consists mainly of a small
railway yard, a one-story brick
building housing a hotel under
quasi-Hellenic management, a scat
tering of native shacks, and many
cats. Food and accommodations
are simple and the most essential
thing is a good mosquito net.
Addis Ababa, the Capital.
The train gets under way again
the next morning at dawn and rolls
through lovely grass and forest
lands, where gallop many herds of
gazelles and antelope. Occasional
ly one sees the dark blur of a
rhino breakfasting on the far side
of the Awash river canyon. About
four o’clock In the afternoon of this
third day the sprawling city of Ad
dis Ababa is sighted In a forest of
blue gum trees, across a rolling,
grassy plain.
A ride of 20 minutes on mule or
horseback, or five minutes by mo
tor, takes the arriving traveler to
the main part of the city. Addis
Ababa has good streets and no
“across the railway tracks” quar
ter. It has also legations, con
sulates, hotels, many American mo
torcars, airplanes of sort, and some
presentable business buildings. On
one of the two principle elevations
of the city is the ever-interesting
market place. Here once stood the
great tree which served for genera
tions as a gibbet. The other main
elevation Is crowned by the group
of buildings which make up the
Imperial palace. The most impos
ing edifice on this designated “Hll!
of the Gebbi” is the Audience Hall
of the Conquering Lion of the
Tribe of Judah, constructed of
stone and given its high-sounding
title by order of the late Emperor
Menelik. Menelik claimed his title
by virtue of his descent from that
first Menelik who was born to She
ba after her visit to Solomon.
Ethiopia claims to be the oldest
Christian sovereign state. The
teachings of Christ were introduced
about A. D. 330 by two shipwrecked
Phoenician youths.
Resources of the Country.
After the professions of priest
and soldier, agriculture is the prin
cipal occupation In Ethiopia. The
country is very fertile, though
methods of cultivation are still
primitive. Many fine beef cattle are
produced, and the people are great
meat eaters. They have what
might be called a ceremonial cus
tom of eating a bit of raw beef as
a sort of hors d’oeuvre.
In addition to the ordinary kinds
of stock, Ethiopian farmers in part*
of the country raise civet cats for
commercial purposes. From these
animals they obtain a liquid musk
marketable to French and Ameri
can perfumers at $2 an ounce. The
chase is also a commercialized in
dustry tn Ethiopia, and naturally
ivory heads the list of its products.
Many an Ethiopian leopard invol
untarily contributes his skin to
American feminine fashion. As
many as 100,000 of these spotted
skins have gone to American fur
riers In a single year. Also monkey
furs are an Item of profitable tradei
Where Fine Coffee Is Grown.
The Harar district town ant!
province, is the center of produc
tion of cultivated coffee In Ethi
opia. The bean produced is of ex
cellent quality and ranks next only
to Mocha in world markets. It i$
called “long-berry Mocha” and i»
sold to a discriminating clientele In
the United States. Although the
Harar plantations are descended
from seed introduced from the
Mocha district In Arabia, Ethiopia
is the home of coffee. The tree
was found originally by Arab trav
elers in the Ethiopian province of
Kafa, from which It took its name.
Seed was taken from Kafa to
Arabia, and thence came back to
Harar. According to the Arabs, the
cultivation of coffee also spread t4
other parts of the world from the
Yemen, in southwestern Aribia.
In Kafa and adjoining parts of
southwestern Ethiopia may be seen
today vast and virgin forests of
coffee of the indigenous variety. It
necessarily grows without cultiva
tion or care and thousands of tons
of the harries fall to the ground in i
waste each year. The outer fringes
of some of these forests are worked
by natives in sections not too faf
from export trading centers. wherO
the market value of coffee is known
Egypt buys much of this coffee
shipped via Khartoum, in place of
former importations of the Brasil
lan product.
Lions are numerous in the Harar
district. They are the fine black
maned fellows so alluring to the
big-game hunter. Probably other
kinds can chew one up just ns thor
oughly, bue the Harar fellow is par
ticularly respected. When an
Ethiopian kills a lion, he has the
right to demand a special audience
from the emperor during which to
declaim and act out the feat Aft
erwards he is privileged to wear the
mane and skin as part of his war
rior dress.
