! Adventurers
B*‘The Joke That W asn't Funny”
By FLOYD GIBBONS
Famous Headline Hunter
OU know, boys and girls, I don’t suppose anybody exactly
relishes the idea of death for any reason, but you can’t get
around the fact that some reasons for dying arc more pleasant
than others. The long list of the world’s martyrs seems to sug
gest that death isn’t quite so terrible when you’re dying for a
good and worthy cause.
But on the other hand. It must be pretty awful to be facing your
doom on account of nothing more important than a practical joke.
That’s what happened, though, to CHARLEY DI GIACOMO,
of Paterson, N. J., on March 8, 1923, at the Peoples Bank in
Paterson. Death came for him riding on the butterfly wings of a
laugh—came for him at his place of business, just as he was
getting ready to leave for the night.
It happened so suddenly that for a moment Charley could hardly
realize what had happened. He was putting his books away in the big
vault when his friend Bill, another clerk in the bank, called out, "Hurry
up, Charlie, or I’ll lock you in.’’ Then he heard the door click shut. It
was seconds before he realized that that ominous click meant death.
Bill’s Thoughtless Gag Threatens to Smother Charley.
Bill hadn't meant to shut that door. He'd only been kidding—only
meant to close it part way. But at the last moment the heavy portal
had slipped from his hands. Too late he realized he had shut the door
to an air-tight vault—a vault in which a man could live only a few
hours—a vault equipped with a time lock that couldn’t be opened till
the next morningl
Bill called Garret Kuiken, the assistant cashier, who was still
in the bank. Kuiken called the fire department, and the firemen
called out half of Paterson. They got crews from the electric
light company, crews of structural iron workers and concrete
workers. They sent for an ambulance for they knew Charley
Di Giacomo would need it before they got him out. Then they set
to work with drills trying to punch a bole through the side of the
vault.
While crew after crew arrived on the scene the firemen worked
frantically, but their labors were futile. A bank vault is built to keep
people out of it, but it isn’t an easy thing to GET people out of. And
“Hurry Up, Charley, Or I'll Lock You In.”
meanwhile poor Bill, the cause of all the trouble, was taken home in
a state of collapse, tormented by the thought that his joke had caused
the death of his friend Charley.
It Looked as if the Vault Would Be Charley's Tomb.
Again the drills began clattering at the top of the vault. Would he
live until they could get him out? That’s something Charley didn’t know
himself. When that door had closed on him it had taken him a few
seconds to realize the gravity of his predicament.
“When I remembered that the door couldn’t he opened till
the next morning,” he says, “I was stunned—for how long I
cannot say. Everything was quiet. I could hear the tliumpin,, of
my heart. I felt alone and helpless like a man buried a thousand
miles under ground. I pulled myself together. I knew I must
keep calm.”
The concrete workers arrived and a pneumatic drill was brought
into play on the top of the vault. After an hour's work they succeeded
in drilling a small hole in the top of the vault. Would Charley still be
conscious? The president of the bank just came on the scene, put his
mouth to the hole and called: “Are you all right boy?” There was
no answer. But after a moment a piece of twisted paper was thrust
up through the opening. On it was scrawled one word, “Hurry!”
There Wasn’t Any Air Left for Charley to Breathe.
"At first I could breathe, but I "knew that the air wouldn't last long.
I was standing up when they began to pound on the sides of the vault.
The din was so terrific that I stuffed my fingers in my ears. But I
was happy to know help had arrived.
“The place seemed to be getting hot. Breathing began to be
harder. 1 broke out In a cold sweat and got down on the floor
where the air was better. For hours 1 lay there, gasping for
breath. My body was feverish. 1 began to pray that they would
be in time.”
Charley’s lungs were aching. He was burning up inside. As time
went on breathing became almost impossible. His tongue hung out and
he licked at the side of the vault because it felt cool. His head was
spinning. Tears were rolling down his face. His stomach was turning
and he thought he would go mad.
The Cost of Humor Is Pretty High, Sometimes.
“I felt like dashing my head against the walls,” he says. “Every
thing was getting hazy. The end was near when I looked up and saw a
hole. I struggled to a chair, stood on it and pushed a note through.
Then I fell to the floor, unconscious.”
It took them five hours to open a breach in that two-foot-thick
wall of battleship steel. Charley's face was blue, his eyes bulging
and his tongue hanging out of his mouth when, at last, they
got him out into the air.
His hearing was gone and he still can't hear as well as he once
could. For weeks he lay in bed recovering from the shock. The doc
tors say he will never be quite the same again and won't be able to do
indoor work for many years. It’s a pretty tough price to pay—for an
other guy’s sense of humor.
©-WNU Servlo*.
Variety of Flavors
A classification of many of the
eucalyptus trees reads like a cata
log of flavoring extracts for cake
making. Some of them, oays the
Los Angeles Times, are the pepper
mint gum, lemon-scented gum, ap
ple-scented gum and sugar gum.
The crushed leaves of these trees
actually have the designatea odors.
The peppermints are the tallest
trees in the world. The almost un
believable heights of the tallest eu
calyptus trees vary from 400 to al
most 600 feet. It is said that there
is a eucalyptus tree near Sydney
525 feet high. One of the modest
cousins of these giants of the euca
lyptus family is known as Euca
lyptus polyanthemos, or - the Aus
tralian beech. It is one of the har
diest and most drouth resistant of
the small types of eucalyptus.
Abraham’s Gardens
Gardens are recorded in ancient
accounts of the journey of Abraham
from Ur of the Chaldees to the
Land of Cannaan, says the New
York World, gardens that flour
ished in approximately 2000 B. C.
The record is. as follows: "When
the caravan stopped for a long time
in one place the women cultivated
the soiL They raised lettuce,
onions, radishes, beans, lentils,
cauliflower, cabbage, carrots and
beets. The seeds they carefully
saved and carried from place to
place. Sometimes when they found
a new root they planted it. In
larger fields they raised wheat, rye
and barley to feed their cattle and
make bread for thmselves. The
men could not help much in culti
vating the soil because they had to
care for the herds, hunt and fight."
BRISBANE
THIS WEEK
Hoar the Noble Lord
He Sees a New Germany
A Must for the U. S. A.
Strength Alone Protects
An association called “The Anglo
German Fellowship,” a name which
shows that men
forget wars as
easily as they do
seasickness, gave
a dinner in Lon
don in honor of
the Duke and
Duchess of
Brunswick, who
are Germans, as
was the British
royal family orig
inally.
Among other
speakers at the
dinner, Lord
Lothian talked
Arthur llrl.bune about war> the
importance of doing something to
satisfy Germany, now that Germany
is strong enough to fight back.
Lord Lothian has discovered that
it is one thing to deal with dissatis
fied populations when they are un
armed, and a very different thing
to deal with the same dissatisfied
populations when they are fully
armed.
The British made that discovery
for themselves long ago, before
Lord Lothian was born, in the
process of building up their great
empire. If the Boers, Hindus, Zu
lus and some others had been as
thoroughly armed as they were
thoroughly dissatisfied, the British
empire would be smaller.
Americans who want to know
what Europeans, including the Eng
lish, are thinking and planning, will
be interested in the following state
ment by Lord Lothian concerning
Germany. It has been suggested
that England and France should
pacify Germany by giving back
some of the colonial properties tak
en from Germany at the end of the
war. Lord Lothian is one of the
numerous Englishmen who do not
believe in “giving things back.”
Said he:
“Personally, I do not believe that
the problem can be salved along the
lines of the restoration to Germany
of the old German colonies. That
would not solve Germany’s difficul
ties, and things have changed since
1914. The question must be con
sidered on much wider lines. All
the colonial nations must be willing
to make their contribution to a
transfer of territory. The new world
as well as the old must be willing
once more to reopen its doors to
trade and migration.”
The statement of the noble lord
that "the new world as well as the
old MUST be willing,” etc., has no
pleasant sound in American ears.
The word “must,” especially, is
one that a wise Englishman could
hardly apply to the United States
after 1776. Lord Lothian probably
meant that the United States
“ought,” not that it “MUST,” once
more reopen its doors to trade and
migration.
The United States, it is to be
hoped, will decide for itself about
reopening its doors to trade and
immigration. This country needs
more of the immigration that made
it what it is—it is NOT a redskin
country, its people came from Eu
rope, and it needs many millions
more of the same kind. It also
needs, and the majority of its peo
ple intend to keep, American jobs,
American wages and American
money for the people who live and
work in the United States.
There Is nothing like being strong
and prepared for trouble. You no
tice how differently Germany ap
pears in the eyes of France and
other nations surrounding her to
day, as compared with the years
after the war. Hear Lord Lothian
on that subject:
‘‘Germany i.ow has both equality
and strength. Reparations have
gone. Part V of the Treaty of Ver
sailles has gone. The demilitariza
tion of the Rhineland has gone, and
the sooner that recovery of her
natural right to self-defense is ac
cepted without further discussion
the better. Germany is rearmed. It
only remains for the British govern
ment to abandon once and for all the
fatal system whereby she first has
a conference with her friends and
then presents the results as a kind
of ultimatum to Germany—the sys
tem represented by the recent
questionnaire—and to substitute for
it free and equal and frank discus
sion around a table. The old sys
tem is not equality, either for Ger
many or for ourselves.”
V/hat telephone girl in America
has the softest, most beautiful, most
easily understood voice? That ques
tion was asked in England and a
Miss Cain won the competition ar
ranged by the British postoffice,
which owns British telephones and
telegraph. The finest voice having
been selected, a robot was manufac
tured to imitate that voice by phono
graphic process. Now, when you
want to know the time in London,
you dial “Tim” and the soft voice
of Miss Cain, perfectly reproduced,
tells you: “At the third stroke it
will be four twenty-seven and fif
teen seconds—”
® King Foaturaa Syndlcata. Inu.
WNU Sarvlca.
Flair for Hand-Quilted Fashions
By CHERIE NICHOLAS
UP TO comparatively a short
time ago handquilting was re
garded as a form of needlework to
be utilized and reserved for luxuri
ous intimate apparel, robes, bed
jackets, negligees and such. The
thought no longer holds good. The
emergence of hand-quilting from
boudoir environs becomes a high
style event—the dawn of a new era
for this exquisite needle work.
That faithful perennial back-to
college clothes problem is with us
again. By way of a new and in
teresting approach to the subject
suppose we talk about the perfect
ly fascinating hand-quilted sports
coats and evening jackets such as
are now pridefully showing in
shops that make boast of being
ever “first” in fashion.
Tuck away one or more of these
cunning and chic hand-quilted gar
ments in your back-to-school ward
robe. Wear ’em on the campus and
to parties and proms and you will
excite the admiration and e.'.vy of
the whole college. If you think
this is an exaggerated way of put
ting it, please take one long look
at the hand-quilted fashions here
pictured. The argument is closed,
n’est ce pas?
Hand - quilting really dates back
to early history, some of the oldest
pieces originating in China and
India. In the general art revival
of the Renaissance period Trapunto
quilting came into exisetnce, the
same accomplished by quilting the
design in double lines, raising the
space between into a bas relief ef
fect by drawing through wisps of
soft wool to form a padding.
Women especially in north of
England and in northern Italy cre
ated unusually artistic and original
pieces of hand-quilting. Via the
English route the art of quilting
was brought over by the English
settlers whose descendants, farm
ers’ wives, living in the mountains
of Kentucky carry on the work to
day.
Visioning the possibilities in this
attractive handiwork, current style
creators have put experts in vogu
ish costume design at the service
of native workers and thus is added
to hand- quilted garments now
showing in the shops.
The new sport coats and evening
jackets now featuring in the fash
ion picture are made mostly of
hand-blocked linens, cottons, smart
satins, sheer woolens and dainty
challis. There are flowery prints,
geometrical designs, checks and
plaids as well as plain colors in
flattering combinations.
The stunning swagger coat in the
picture is made of hand - blocked
challis in brilliant plaid. It is lined
with plain linen. Just the thing for
campus wear or to stroll about
to\yn on an early coolish autumn
day.
The good-looking model to the
right at the top makes an ideal
knockabout country club coat. The
original was done in brown lines.
The pronounced vogue for satin
this fall bespeaks the appeal of a
hand-quilted coat thereof fashioned
in like manner.
The sports cardigan “set” shown
in foreground is of bright monotone
fabric lined with a gay print, the
complementary waistcoat being of
match-color pique with silver coin
buttons to add to its lure. The eve
ning jacket (in panel) is in a Trap
unto design on silk-finished linen
with contrasting lining. This model
comes in exquisite Chinese color
ings. A perfect accessory to com
plete an autumn campus frock is
shown to left above. This round
about jacket is reversible and has
contrasting lacing.
© Western Newspaper Union.
TAILORED SILK
Rr CII Kill K NICHOLAS
Emphasis is on the tailored
theme for pajama costumes. The
pajamas pictured is typical. This
two-piece is tailored of gray silk
shantung with glove stitching to
give it fine finesse. This model is
not only good to wear at a resort
or at countryside, one may even
drop in to see a friend and wear
this conservatively styled pajama
costume with perfect propriety.
LOOKING AHEAD TO
COATS FOR WINTER
Those who prefer to ignore the
heat by focusing their thoughts on
the winter and fur coats will find
sufficient different styles in the
shops to keep them guessing for
hours as to which is the most im
portant. If they’re wise they’ll
choose the most becoming silhou
ette and forget about the others.
Outstanding in fur fashions is
the flared silhouette, the width of
hemline contrasted with the slen
derness of the waistline. A coat of
this type is obviously dressy, so the
busy woman may prefer to pass it
by in favor of a straightline ’’top
coat” model which proves service
able from morning until night.
Fall Hosiery to Glisten
in Bright Copper Tones
A penny—or rather a copper—for
your thoughts if you’re thinking of
colors that are good in hosiery at
the moment. The copper tones are
important—shades that glisten with
the bright bronze of a new penny,
or of your burnished copper tea
kettle. The copper casts will con
tinue into the fall, the fashion
makers tell us, because they con
sort so well with the new autumn
colors in fabrics and shoes. New
taupes and grays are t»L,u coming
into the picture.
Wine Tones Are Popular
in Fashions for Autumn
The prominence of wine tones,
grapes and vintage greens in the
first fall fashions springs from the
Exposition Vinecole at the Tuileries
in Paris.
American women have already
caught this Bacchanalian note in
fashion. Evidences of its presence
are seen in clusters of grapes worn
in the hair for evening, wine colors
in the first fall hats and leaf motifs
in trimming.
The Wedding
Reunion
By FLORENCE SMITH
© McClure Newspaper Syndicate.
WNU 8ervioe.
T~\DROTHY rested easily in the
^ comfortable chair of the spe
cial Pullman car that was taking
the guests to Hazel Thompson’s
wedding. It was hard to believe
that she was part of that gay throng
after staying home on the farm all
summer. After graduation the rest
of the girls in her class had been
on European trips or away at the
seashore having lively times at the
summer hotels. It really was de
cent of Hazel to have her down
now. They’d been roommates at
college of course, but Hazel knew
that Dorothy didn’t have much
money, and a lot of girls couldn’t
have included her in their party.
There were gay greetings all
around her—‘‘Hello, darling. I
hear you’re going back to Paris
this winter. So am I — we’ll have
a knockout time together!” "Joan,
did you hear about Gladys? Well,
it’s a long story' but she eloped and
her father’s fit to be tied. He says
he’s going to leave her out of his
will.”
“Oh, well, she can got a divorce
and then stage a family reconcilia
tion. You know Gladys—she’s like
ly to do anything,” retorted Joan,
dropping into the chair nearest to
Dorothy’s. “Oh, hello, Dorothy.
Haven’t seen you since graduation.
How’s tricks?”
But without waiting for Dorothy
to answer, Joan had turned her
back to Dorothy after an inspec
tion of her dress. “Speaking of love
and elopement and such things,”
she remarked to the other girls,
“wait till you see the best man.
He’s absolutely the best looking
male specimen I’ve yet laid eyes
on. With a whole week of parties
in romantic country — well, girls,
just give me free rein. I warn you
all—I’m out to kill.”
“What’s his name?” “Who is
he?” “Is he blond or brunette?”
“His name is Joe Douglass. He’s
only been out of Yale for a year
•and he’s a striking brunette. I’ve
never met anyone like him. I had
lunch with Hazel and her fiance
and him when she was in town to
buy her trousseau.”
Dorothy met Joe Douglass that
afternoon, but Joan ran over to him
with one of the latest jokes, and
pulled him away before he had
much more than acknowledged the
introduction. Dorothy liked h i s
looks — the nice steady look in his
eyes, his square chin, his broad
shoulders.
At the dance that night, everyone
appeared at his or her best. Joe
danced with Dorothy and told her a
few things about his life. He had
been working with an oil company
since he finished college and within
a couple of months he was to be
transferred to Shanghai.
The days passed. But Dorothy
saw little of Joe. There were polo
games between the men and wom
en—but Dorothy had never cared
for riding horseback. Joan was an
expert horsewoman. They all went
swimming together, but Dorothy
was not a very good swimmer.
Joan, however, was proud of her
speed in the water.
“Can’t you do anything?” cried
Joan at dinner one night as she
addressed Dorothy. Dorothy
blushed when everyone turned
around to see who Joan had spoken
to. Then, suddenly, she regained
her poise and threw her head back,
laughing.
“Well, I can cook and straighten
up a house and sew,” she said.
“And I can play the piano. Outside
of that — well, that’s about all.”
“Bravo, Dorothy!” cried Mr.
Thompson. “You’re O. K. And I
wish my daughter Hazel were as
well equipped to make Daniel as
good a wife as you’ll make the man
you marry!”
A terrible thing happened two
days later at the Thompson’s house
party. The girl who was to be
maid of honor at the wedding was
taken sick. It looked like a case
of the flu and she was required to
stay in bed.
Hazel was extremely upset. "Just
my luck,” she said to Joan.
“Well, it can’t be helped, so it’s
up to you to choose another maid
of honor. I’m an applicant for the
position—in fact the dress will just
fit me, and—” But Joan was in
terrupted.
"And it will fit Dorothy, too,” said
Hazel quietly. “I’m going to hunt
her up and tell her she’s elected.”
So when the day of -the wedding
arrived, Dorothy walked down the
aisle of the pretty church alone,
just in front of the bride. Looking
straight ahead, her eyes met those
of Joe Douglass as he and the
groom waited.
Later that evening after all the
excitement had died down Joe es
corted Dorothy to a secluded corner
of moonlit lawn.
“I don’t want to rush you,
Dorothy, but — well, I’m in love
with you, and I haven’t much time
before I’ll have to sail. Then I’ll
be so far away and for so long a
time — unless you’ll go along with
me to cook, straighten up the house
—and play the piano for me—won’t
you marry me, Dorothy dear?”
Dorothy knew from the softness
of his voice and the sincerity in his
eyes that what he said were his
true feelings. She didn't give a
verbal answer but Joe found her
way of saying yes quite understand
able and satisfying.
NEW PRESSURE LAMP
PROTECTS EYESIGHT
Provides 300 Candlepower
“Live” Natural Brilliance For
Only 1c a Night
A new mantle lamp that protect*
your eight with 300 candlepower
j “live,” air-pressure light la bring
ing "eye-health
to thousands of
homes, especially
in rural communi
ties. This lamp
gives 5 times
more light than
any mantle lamp
which has no pro
vision for air
pressure. Special
laDoratory teBts w. c. coleman
prove its brilliance ia nearest like
natural daylight . . . kind to eyes!
W. C. Coleman, pioneer inventor
of gas-pressure appliances, has
spent 36 years perfecting this lamp.
It makes its own gas ... burns
kerosene or gasoline. It operates
for only lc a night! It is clean,
safe, and is an ornament in any
home.
Eyestrain is caused by poor and
Insufficient light, and often results
in serious damage to the eyes. Now,
nobody need take chances with
their precious sight. This new Cole
man Lamp is so inexpensive that
no one can afford to be without it.
It provides plenty of light for every
home need . . . for reading, sewing,
studying, playing.
Readers of this paper can get full
details of this remarkable lamp, in
cluding illustrations of the many
beautiful models, by simply send
ing a1 postcard to W. C. Coleman,
Dept. WU-171, Wichita, Kansas.
Do Your Promises
You become a person of prom
ise, not by promising many
things, but by accomplishing what
you promise.
I S J 4
"Cap-Bruih' Applicator M
JUST a ^^^Mmal<«';iUCII LMF 40 J
DASH IN rrATHERrX°MUCHfA"THt,> M
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for Settling Dust
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Be Sure They Properly
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WOUR kidneys are constantly filter*
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Then you may suffer nagging back*
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Don't delay? Use Doan's Pills.
Doan's are especially for poorly func*
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WNU—U37—36
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