jFLOYD GIBBONS
Adventurers' Club
“A Mother s Defense'*
By FLOYD GIBBONS
Famous Headline Hunter.
THIS time, boys and girls, it’s Mrs. Elizabeth Jacobs of
Brooklyn, N. Y. Next time it may be you.
In 1927, Mrs. Jacobs lived in a secluded part of Ridgewood,
in an apartment house that was the only one in that section at
the time. A short block away was a cemetery which stretched
out for about a mile. It was deathly quiet at night and the tomb
stones shining white in the moonlight made it seem more so.
The very atmosphere of the neighborhood, Mrs. Jacobs says, gave one
the creeps and none of the women would venture out after dark.
But this story has nothing to do with the cemetery. It only
added to the fear of the tenants when one evening at dusk
piercing screams of agony shattered the usual silence of the
night
Hearing Screams the Neighbors Rushed In.
Mrs. Jacobs nearly Jumped out of her skin when she heard them.
She rushed to the dumbwaiter and added her cries to the din. She knew
the other tenants could hear her and she called for th<*n to come to her
apartment In a few minutes several men and more women arrived and
the group of neighbors located the screams as coming from an apartment
on the first floor occupied by a young widow and her two infant children.
They burst In the apartment and a strange sight met their eyes.
A strange man. dressed partly In woman's clothes, lay on the kitchen floor
writhing In pain. A vapor rose from his wet garments as he threshed
about. He was obviously badly hurt. The two children, in a nearby
room, awakened by the noise, were doing their part by crying lustily.
The body of the widowed mother lay on the floor In the living room.
The whole Incident was wrapped In mystery. The man was
too delirious to answer questions, the children too young and the
widow unconscious. Mrs. Jacobs says the whole thing gave her
the "willies.”
While the men tried to soothe the man, the women devoted them
selves to the widow. She had fainted but soon revived and told the
whole story. Let’s reconstruct it Just as It happened:
A Little Old Woman Knocked at the Door.
Mra. Burke, the widow, hnd Just put her babies to bed and was boil
ing their underclothes In a small washboller on the stove when she heard
a rap on the kitchen door. She opened the door and there stood a little
old woman, bent over with nge and shivering from the cold. Mrs. Burke's
heart was touched at the pitiful sight and she Invited the poor creature
In to have a warm cup of tea and a bite to eat. The old woman thanked
her and came in.
Mrs. Burke then drew up a chair for her and busied herself
with the making of the tea. Suddenly as she turned from the
„ stove her heart came into her mouth.
Criminal Disguised as Woman Terrorized Widow,
ller visitor wns not a woman at all, but a man 1
She could see a man's pants leg hanging out below the tattered skirt I
The man saw her consternation and stopped Ills acting. He Jumped to
A Man’s Pants Legs Hung Below the Skirt.
his feet and straightening up to his full height grabbed Mrs. Burke
roughly by the arm.
"Gimme your money," he growled, "or I’ll kill you."
Mrs. Burke was terror-stricken. The thought of her two
babies sleeping peacefully while their mother might be murdered
made her decide not to resist. With the Intruder holding on to
her arm with a grip of steel, she led him to her bedroom and
gave him her pocketbook. She told the thief it was all she had
and begged him, for her children’s sake, not to harm her.
The man only laughed as he dragged her back to the kitchen. He
looked at her hands.
"Gimme that ring," he demanded.
The man’s eyes narrowed. He twisted her arm cruelly. He forced
her hand open and tried to tear the ring from her finger.
"Gimme that ring," he snarled, "or I'll cut off your finger."
That threat was too much for the distracted mother. She
wet her finger and started to remove the ring. But as she did
her mind worked fast. The man she knew now was a desperate
criminal. Desperate methods must be used to fight him. She
sparred for time like a boxer as she tried to think of a weapon.
The wash boiler with the babies’ clothes came to her mind!
Perhaps!
She Hurled a Steaming Wash Boiler Over Him.
The ring came off. She threw It on the floor. Kor a moment she
thought the man was going to make her pick It up. If he did all was
lost But he didn’t. Ills greenly eyes sought the ring on the floor, lie
bent down to pick It up.
And that, by golly. Is something a thief should never do.
In a Hash Mrs. Burke acted. She picked the small wash boiler off
the stove and before the thief could rise had hurled the boiling contents
over his bent form!
Wow! No wonder the tenants heard screams! The badly
scalded thief rolled on the floor In agony; the children woke up
and cried and the mother, with her precious engagement ring
safe, promptly fainted.
Of course, the police came finally and Identified the man ns an
habitual criminal. They congratulated the brave little mother and took
her attacker to Jail.
©—WNU Service.
Olive Crop in Italy Has
Much to Do With Business
“There is gold In the olive." says
an Italian proverb, and It Is true
that In many parts of Italy pros
perity depends upon the success of
the olive crop. As, for various rea
sons. this success cannot be expect
ed every year, notes a writer In the
Montreal Herald, the trees are al
ways watched with much Interest
and anxiety from the time of their
flowering until the fruit matures.
Except In a few mountainous dis
tricts. olives grow everywhere In
Italy, which leads the world in oil
production and exportation. But
Sicily and the neighborhood of Bari
contain the greatest number of
trees, although the best oil is pro
duced In slightly cooler regions, as,
for Instance, In Tuscany.
Olive trees look very much the
same the year round, since all the
leaves never fall at one time. The
flowers are small and white. The
olives are very small until toward
the end of the summer, and do not
contain oil before autumn. Most1
varieties of olives turn u durk pur
ple when ripe.
In different purts of Italy differ
ent methods of collecting the fruit
ure employed but generally It Is
picked by hand and carried with as
little bruising as possible In Hat
baskets to the mill. It must be kept
dry and clean and pressed at once
otherwise It Is likely to spoil.
Oldest Specie* of Tree
The oldest species of tree in the
world is the ginkgo, or maidenhair.
It has existed essentially unchanged
for more than 10,000.000 years.
Moreover, the ginkgo grows very
slowly, many trees having required
as long us 7o years to mature and
grow fruit.—Edith Pulver, New
York City. In Collier’s Weekly.
Smallpox Once Expected
Until comparatively recent timet
smallpox was looked upon as an ua
avoidable affliction.
BRISBANE
THIS WEEK
More Years, More Cares
Monkeys and Yellow F ever
The King Sees Poverty
Ancient Koran Found
The French have a saying, re
ferring to a man's age, “One year
Arthur llrlabane
more, one care
more” — Un an
de plus, un soln
de plus.
European na
tlons might take
for their motto,
‘‘One treaty
more, one more
danger of war.”
Italy, Austria,
Hungary have
a three - power
treaty under
which Italy
guarantees Aus
trian independ
ence against any
attempt by Germany to absorb Aus
tria, for Instance. There Is pos
sible cause for war If any eanse
were lacking.
Sao Paulo, Brazil, worries about
reports brought by health officers
from the forests of the upper Soro
cabana area. In that region, where
mosquitoes are thick, explorers fre
quently saw “monkeys with high
fevers’’ drop out of trees and die,
dozens of them, victims of yellow
fever.
Fortunately for Brazil cities, the
jungle mosquito that bites monkeys
and gives them yellow fever keeps
away from titles. The fight ngalnst
dlseuse bearing mosquitoes and
rats would keep men busy, If they
were not busy already killing each
other In war.
Edward VIII, new king of Eng
land, visited the magnificently lux
urious ocean steamer Queen Mary
In Glasgow, then went from house
to house, knocking on doors, visit
ing some of the worst slum dwell
ings in all his kingdom.
Later, talking to Lord Melchett,
the king put the problem of Eng
land, this country and the whole
world in these few words:
“How do you reconcile a world
tliut has produced this mighty ship
with the slums we have Just vis
ited?"
A marvelously illustrated ancient
manuscript of the Koran, found in
a shop of an antiquity dealer of
Cairo, Egypt, was bought for fifty
pounds. Heaven knows how many
thousands of pounds it Is actually
worth.
The Koran Is said to have been
written by a highly educated Jew,
who suggested ideas to Mohammed,
the latter being unable to write.
It is possible, however, that an
gels, supposed to have revealed
divine truth to Mohammed, also
tuught him to write.
Good news for tree growers, fruit
trees or others. You may get rid
of insect pests by hammering the
trunks of trees with a riveting ma
chine, such as is used in driving
rivets in city skyscrapers.
A California Inventor patented
the process. This writer proposes
to try It on a New Jersey orchard
at the earliest possible moment.
The riveting Is said to loosen the
Insect pests, after which it is easy
to wash them oft with a strong
spray of water, no chemicals need
ed. To save the tree from injury,
It is probably desirable to put sev
eral thicknesses of old automobile
tires or tula's between the bark and
the riveting machine.
There Is plenty of money In this
country, billions of It, Jesse Jones
will tell you, hut It Is not circu
lating, as unhealthy for money In
a country ns for blood In your veins.
You know the strange, perhaps
true, story of a man who unwit
tingly passed a counterfeit $10
bill. It went through the hands of
ten Individuals, paid for $100 worth
of goods, and came back to the man
who originally passed It. lie identi
tled and destroyed It.
One hundred dollars’ worth of
debts had been paid, nobody was
any the worse. Money Is a queer
thing.
Do not give "living toys’’ to your
children for Easter presents. Many
parents and friends thoughtlessly
give children helpless living crea
tures, easily hurt—live chicks, or
newly hatched ducklings.
The helpless creatures are rough
ly treated, mutilated, fortunate If
they happen to be promptly killed,
by children that know no better.
The hard-working. Intelligent
Swiss nation Is said to he disturbed
by the prospect of another war as
by none other.
Every Swiss under fifty Is armed, i
trained and ready. Even in the
big war nobody tried to invade j
Switzerland—too much ha*d climb
ing, and the conqueror would not
know how to run the hotels, even
If he acquired them.
The Immediate business of this
country is to find some way of con
trolling flood waters—probably not
Impossible.
Q King Features Syndicate, luc,
WNU servioa.
Fabric Accent on Pretty Woolens
By CHERIE NICHOLAS
CUIT yourself this
^ spring — it’s quite
the smartest thing to do.
To state It more em
phatically, a suit or
“compose’’ ensemble tal
lored or handsome woolen weave
Is a fashion •’must” this spring.
You are not the type to wear a
suit? Before you jump at conclu
sions see the endless variety of
suits in the spring style parade.
There’s a whole family-tree of
suits In the fashion picture, relat
ed as far as the perfectly stunning
woolens that fashion them, yet en
tirely different In the final analysis
of color moods, silhouette and gen
eral style. If you are too heavy
at the waistline to wear one of the
trim little nmn-tallored short-jacket
suits, there is a consolation prize
awaiting you in the picturesque
cape-and - skirt models tailored of
some one or other of the gorgeous
tropical woolens that make color
glory and novel weave their theme.
Such a costume is pictured to the
left in the illustration. This is a
Bruyere ensemble of a nubby gray
and green mixed summer tweed.
The classic taiileur developed in
men’s wear suitings Is an outstand
ing fashion, with definite prefer
ence for the single breasted type
with its flattering sweep of long la
pels. Both hard and soft finished
worsteds are used In these
suits, with sharkskins, herringbone
weaves, distinct checks, cheviots,
serge types, monotone and chalk
stripe flannels and wool gabardine
all important.
Men’s checked worsted is the
practical fabric for the good look
ing spring suit to the right In the
picture. It has a classic single
breasted three-button jacket with
traditional flap pockets and a slim
straight skirt. The back panel of
the jacket and the skirt are cor
respondingly slashed at the sides.
The new mixed or compose en
sembles are appearing with coats
in contrasting color and fabric. The
"baby reefer” of fingertip length
with double-breasted closing and
man-tailored styling of lapels and
pockets is frequently seen in co
vert cloth, or in wool gabardine, in
beige, tan, navy or gray worn over
tailored suits or with the one-piece
dress of contrasting woolen. A
reefer coat of the sort described
centers the group shown. It is tai
lored of a very fine wool gabardine.
Note especially its new length. The
latest "baby” swagger coats also
adopt this new length, also a hip
length.
The newest tweeds (in the lead
for travel and country wear) are
In rich deep colorings accented
with flecks and nubs of contrast
ing shades. There are also many
soft lovely tweeds in natural and
pastel colors with over-patternings
in bright color. Casual assemblings
are smart In Informal suits, the
skirts frequently being in mono
tone or flecked tweeds and the
jackets in gun club patternings,
hound’s tooth or shepherd checks
or conservative glen plaids.
A leading fashion is the adapta
tion of the masculine morning suit
with striped skirt and oxford gray
jacket in men’s wear worsted, fre
quently bound with braid. Anoth
er favorite in this class is devel
oped in men’s wear flannel with
pearl gray skirt and steel gray
jacket with revers of the lighter
skirt fabric.
© Western Newspaper Union.
TRICKY GLOVES
By CHERIE NICHOLAS
As front page news novel fabric
gloves are “it” in a big way this
season. Not only are gloves creat
ing a sensation because of their
startling colors but they are giv
en to tricks that are as practical
as they are Intriguing. A really
wonderful idea Is the glove with
a zipper pocket in the left wrist to
hold your small change. See it In
action as pictured above. Another
cute idea is the glove with an un
breakable crystal inset on left
wrist (see picture) so that your
wrist watch is visible without turn
ing back the cuff. This year there
is an endless variety of beautiful
mesh glove fabrics of betnberg
brought out
SPRING HATS REVEL
IN TOASTED TONES
In addition to black and plenty
of navy blue—especially a dark pur
plish shade—the prominent colors
in hats for spring and early sum
mer are toasted tones, blond tor
toise shell, burnt straw, naturnl
beige, fawn, tomato red and soft
tints of washed blue, as well as
tones of grayish blues on the slate
side.
Bright red Is used a great deal
in combination with black, with
navy blue and with white. The
greens are represented by soft
tones of reseda.
Pastel tones in general are fore
seen for spring and summer, and
among them Is a soft shade of pale
faded pink that Is sponsored by
all the leading milliners. This col
or is called old pink by certain
houses and ushes of roses by oth
er designers.
Fashion Notes
Helium is t lie spring fashion
name for oyster-white tone.
The popular thin smock is cer
tainly a joy for the housewife.
Babylike rompers are shown for
beacli wear by some French design
ers.
Tiny flower turbans and gay belts
will touch up your dark dress cos
tume.
A modernized dlrectolre influence
appears In some of (lie new eve
nlng gowns.
White pique plays a leading role
In trimming on spring clothes as
well us hats.
Hip-length flowing Jackets, with
all the fullness In the back, are
worn this season.
An enormous velvet bow worn on
the left shoulder Is used to trim
a graceful satin evening gown.
Petticoats made of bright prints
on a dark crepe ground are smart
to wear beneath your dark tailored
suit.
Most Important of the color fash
ions is the accent on colored
gloves, flowers, belts, even In hats,
to be worn with black or navy co»
tumes.
Tall Tales
0
As Told to:
FRANK E. HAGAN and
ELMO SCOTT WATSON
Buckie’s Bad Break
COWBOYS who rode the Mon
tana range knew him only as
Buckie. That nickname is explained
by the fact that he was just about
the best rider that ever forked a
bronc. Plenty of the wild ones had
tried to pile him but he just re
marked sadly *‘B a d horsey,
shouldn’t go bucky - bucky 1” and
stayed right in the saddle. But
even the best of riders is likely to
hit the dirt when his horse steps in
a prairie dog hole.
That’s what happened to Buckie
one day when he was out riding the
range alone. His horse's neck was
broken so the animal didn’t move
after it fell. Nor did Buckie move
—much. Just his leg was broken
and it was pined under the dead
weight of the horse. Whenever he
tried to wriggle it free, a sicken
ing pain almost made him faint. Of
course, he shouted for help. But
there was no one within 127 miles
so his shouts weren’t heard.
Night came and with it a chill
wind that cut to the bone. Not far
away a wolf howled and a moment
later it was answered by another
and another and another. Buckie
knew what that meant. He decid
ed it was time to do something. But
what? Let Buckle himself answer:
"What did I do? Why, I finally
had to walk eight miles to find a
pole thick enough and strong
enough to pry that darned hoss off
my leg.”
The Duel That Failed
OS. CLARK of Attica, Ind.,
• went to the Texas Panhan
dle when it was wild and woolly.
There he met Clay Allison, a fa
mous gun-fighter who told him
about the strangest duel he’d ever
seen. It was between two frontiers
men who didn’t like the color of
each other’s hair. So they agreed
to tight it out with long rifles—
stand back to back, then each take
ten long steps, turn and fire.
The duel began. Each with his
right eye drew a bead on the oth
er’s left eye—it wasn’t sportsman
like to shoot out the other man’s
right eye and thus spoil his aim.
They fired at the same instant but
neither bullet took effect.
They shot a second time—a third
—a fourth—and a fifth. Still noth
ing happened. In fact they kept
shooting until each man had used
up 20 cartridges. “There’s some
thing spooky about this,” said one.
“Shore is!” said the other. “May
be we ain’t supposed to kill each
other.”
“Reckon we’d better call It off
and shake hands,” suggested the
first. “Suits me!” said the second.
They started toward each other,
each one taking ten long steps so
they would meet face to face where
they had parted hack to back. As
they met and clasped hands, one
exclaimed “Ouch! Something’s
burnin' through my boot!"
They looked down. There on the
ground was a pile of melted lead.
The mystery of the bullets that
failed to kill was solved. So ac»
curate had been their aim that
their bullets had met midway with
such terrific force that they melted
each other and dropped to the
ground. Clay said he knew tfiis
was true because he saw the place
on the ground where the melted
load had been and there wasn’t a
speck of grass growing there.
Truthful Election Costs
AN OHIO law requires candi
dates for office to file a report
of all expenditures in their cam
paigns. Sometimes these reports
ure not always truthful.
But the man who ran for sheriff
of Perry county a few years ago
turned in a report that no one could
doubt. It said:
"Lost 1,349 hours of sleep think
ing about the election. Lost two
front teeth and a lot of hair In a
personal encounter with an oppo
nent. Donated one beef, four shoats
and five sheep to county barbecues.
Gave away two pairs of suspen
ders, four calico dresses, $3 in cash
and 15 baby rattles.
“Kissed 126 babies. Put up four
stoves. Kindled 14 fires. Walked
4,076 miles. Shook hands with 9,508
people. Told 10,101 lies and talked
enough to make in print 1,021 vol
umes.
“Attended 16 revivals and was
baptized four times by Immersion
apd twice by other ways. Contrib
uted $50 to foreign missions and
made love to nine widows—five
grass and four sod.
“Hugged 40 old mnids. Got dog
bit 39 times. Lost the election by
353 votes.”
® Wastern Newspaper Union.
U. S. Marines Enlistment
To be eligible to join the United
States Marines the applicant must
be an American citizen between the
ages of seventeen and thirty-five
years. Parents’ consent must be
given for the enlistment of a boy
under twenty-one. The United
States Marine corps is a branch of
the United States navy, with head
quarters in the Navy building,
Washington.
Rome Has Staircase Upon
Which Christ Once Trod
One of the most interesting cere
monies on Good Friday in Rome
takes place near the Lateran palace,
where the devout ascend the Scala
Santa on their knees. Tradition says
that these 28 steps were taken from
the house of Pontius Pilate, and that
Christ therefore had climbed them
several times.
Men of Humor
Men of humor are always In some
degree men of genius; wits are rare
ly so, although a man of genius may,
amongst other gifts possess wit, as
Shakespeare.—Coleridge.
NEW KITCHEN STOVE .
MAKES jTSOWN GAS
Housewives Marvel at Coleman Range
That Lights Instantly Like City Cas—
Cooks a Meal with 2c Worth of Fuel
A new kitchen range that offers
every cooking convenience of the
finest city gas range is now avail
able to house
wives, wherever
they live.
W. C. Coleman,
pioneer Inventor
of gas-pressure ap
pliances, brings to
a lifetime of in
ventive genius his
crowning achieve
ment in this amaz
ing new Coleman
W. L. bUktIIAN
Safety Range. This new stove make:
its own gas from ordinary, lead
free gasoline. A patented method
of carburization converts liquid
fuel into gas, much the same as
in present day automobile engines.
The Coleman Range lights in
stantly, like city gas. Its fuel-sav
ing Band-A-BIu Burners, another
of Mr. Coleman’s outstanding de- .
velopments* produce a clean, clear *
blue flame, so hot that a low flame
does all ordinary cooking. Tests
show an average family meal for
five takes about 2c worth of fuel.
Coleman Ranges are finished in
gleaming porcelain enamel. Their
pleasing colors combine outstand
ing beauty with unequalled per
formance.
Readers of this paper wishing
full information about these won
derful new Coleman Ranges will
receive beautifully illustrated lit- w
erature and a valuable stove check '
chart by simply addressing a post
card to Mr. W. C. Coleman, Dept,
WU-236, Wichita, Kansas. —Adv.
Open Door*
After learning to read, all doors of
knowledge are open to anyone who
cares to enter them.
■ ■■ .
Ctop PAINFUL
V XV / /
Apply Dr.Scholl’s Zino-pads on any
sensitive spots caused by shoe pres
sure or friction and you’ll have in>.
a tent relief. They atop pain of coma, cal
louses and bunions; prevent sore toes,
blisters; ease tight shoes. Get • bp*
today. Sold everywhere. 25* and 35*.
WNU—U 14—36
No Need to Suffer
"MorningSickness”
“Morning sickness” — is caused by an
acid condition. To avoid it, acid must be
offset by alkalis — such as magnesia.
Why Physicians Recommend
Milnesia Wafers
These mint-flavored, candy-like wafers are
pure milk of magnesia in solid form—
the most pleasant way to take it. Each
wafer is approximately equal to a full adult
dose of liquid milk of magnesia. Chewed
thoroughly, then swallowed, they correct
acidity in the mouth and throughout the
digestive system and insure quick, com
plete elimination of the waste matters that
cause gas, headaches, bloated feelings and
a dozen other discomforts.
Milnesia Wafers come in bottles of 20 and
48, at 35c and 60c respectively, and in
convenient tins for your handbag contain
ing 12 at 20c. Each wafer is approximately
! one adult dose of milk of magnesia. All
| good drug stores sell and recommend them.
Start using these delicious, effective
anti-acid, gently laxative wafers today
Professional samples sent free to registered
physicians or dentists if request is mad«
on professional letterhead. SaUct Product*,
Inc.. 4402 23rd St., Long Island City, N. Y.
35c & 60c
bottles
k 20c tins
1 Th< Original Milk o t Magnmtlm Wmttm
