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“Spirit From the Stars ”
By FLOYD GIBBONS
f f QPIRIT from the stars.” That’s the way Anna Nolan of
Long Island City, N. Y., explains it. Anna thinks that
the sign of Aquarius, under which she was born, gave her
the courage to face the terrifying predicament she found
herself in. I don’t know whether she is right about that or
not. Where courage comes from is a question that’s a little
bit out of my line, and I’ll leave it to the doctors, or the
astrologers, or whoever wants to try to answer the question.
But adventure IS in my line and I will go on record as saying that the
one Anna Nolan had in August, 1914, in the town of Boyle, County Roscom
mon, Ireland, is a hair-raiser and no mistake.
August, 1914! That's a date that the world will long remem
ber, for it was in the early days of that month—and In that year—
that the World war got under way. All England was in a turmoil,
and that excitement reached clear over to Ireland on the other
side of the Irish sea. England was calling out the Irish reservists
—men who were called for six weeks training once a year—and
a number of these reservists lived In the town of Boyle.
Neighbor Woman Fleeing From Her Cottage.
Anna’s husband was already in the army. He was a warrant officer
at the barracks not far away. Anna hod rented a house in town—a house
that sat well back from the street with a garden in front of it. Across the
street was a tiny cottage in which lived the wife of one of the reservists,
an Itinerant tinker who had just been called to the colors.
It was about eleven o’clock at night and Anna was sitting at her
front window looking out on the garden. She had been there since early
evening, just after she had tucked her children into bed. She was all
alone. Her husband was at the barracks and too busy to come home.
And Anna had been sitting there for hours on ond. wondering about the
war, and about her husband who was going to it soon, and about a hun
dred and one other things that women wonder and worry about when the
war clouds begin gathering in the sky.
The streets of Boyle were deserted by this time. There wasn’t a soul
In sight. But suddenly, the door of the cottage across the way (lew open
and a woman, clad only in a white nightgown, came running out.
Anna sat bolt upright in her chair. The woman was running
as If for her life. She was barefooted and her long, black hair
was hanging down her back. She dashed across Anna’s garden
and took refuge in her doorway.
Husband Wanted to Kill Her and Baby.
Anna knew the woman—knew that she had a new-born baby only two
days old. Why was she running out of her house in the middle of the
night like this? She ran down the stairs threw open the hall door, and the
woman, shivering and shaking, almost fell into her arms.
"I pulled her inside,” says Anna, "wrapped a cloak around her, and
asked her what the trouble was. It seemed that her husband got leave
to come home from the barracks on account of her illness, and had cele
brated by getting very drunk. In his cups he had become abusive, and
finally decided to kill both his wife and the baby. She swore he meant it.
In her fright she had fled, leaving the baby behind, and as he did not come
after her she was sure he was killing the baby.”
There was no telephone in the house, and just about all the men in
town were at the barracks. The poor woman was begging Anna to do
something, and though Anna was just a slip of a girl weighing in the
neighborhood of a hundred pounds, she was pretty indignant. She told
the woman she’d tell that husband of hers a thing or two, and coaxed her
into going along with her. With the terrified woman following, she started
for the cottage.
She opened the door and walked in. There stood the husband,
In uniform, in the middle of the room. “He was staring into
space and didn't take the slightest notice of us,” Anna says. The
baby was unharmed. I helped the woman into bed and was bend
ing over to admire the baby, when suddenly I heard the bolt shot
in the door. I looked around quickly. There stood the husband,
opening a large knife of many blades, and staring straight at me
with the wildest eyes I ever saw or ever want to see again!”
Army Discipline Saved Them All.
For an instant the man stared at Anna, wild eyes ablaze, and then
he said slowly, "I’ll kill the two o’ you!” And right there, Anna began
to wish she hadn't been so rash as to venture into this drink-crazed mad
man’s house. "I had visions of my four children across the street all
alone,” she says. "I would be lying if I said I was not afraid. I was
never so afraid in all my life.”
The man must have sensed that she was afraid of him. With a wicked
leer, he took a step forward. But it was then that courage came to Anna’s
rescue. Anna says she got it from the stars—from the sign of Aquarius
which she was born under. As I said before, I don’t pretend to know
where people get courage from, but Anna certainly got a bunch of it
from somewhere. She pulled herself together and took a step toward the
drunken man herself. "My husband is Nolan, the warrant officer at the
barracks,” she said. "Do you know what he’d say if he knew you were
acting like this? Do you know what they’d do to you if they knew that this
was the way you used the leave they gave you to see your sick wife? You'd
better get back to the barracks. If you don't you know what will happen
to you.”
Well, maybe the stars had something to do with it, but army discipline
played its part too. The man closed his knife and turned toward the
door. Anna never took her eyes off him until he was safe outside. But
the fellow went back to the barracks and that’s the last Anna ever saw
of him.
Says she: "I had my husband see to it that he didn't have much time
for visiting before going to France. And when he arrived at the front he
was one of the first soldiers to be killed.”
e—WNU Service.
Pilgrims, Puritans Were
Not Excessive in Dress
For reasons of conscience and
economy, the Pilgrims and Puritans
frowned on extravagance in dress,
according to a writer in the Indiana
polis News. Massachusetts records
show that each settler was provided
with four pairs of shoes and stock
ings, two suits of doublet and hose,
four shirts, one woolen suit (leather
lined) with extra breeches, two
handkerchiefs, one cotton waistcoat,
leather belt, black hat. three caps,
a cloak and two pairs of gloves.
In 1634, laws passed by the Massa
chusetts general court forbade the
use of silver and gold ornaments,
lace, silk and ruffs. Young men
who defied this law by wearing long
hair and silk were arrested, and
one Hannah Lyman, age sixteen,
was haled into court for “wearing
silk in a flaunting manner."
Before the arrival of the cavaliers
in Virginia, the dress of southern
colonists was not unlike that of the
Puritan. As the colonists acquired
wealth, they began to order ward
robes from London. In 1737 Col.
John Lewis ordered for his ward
“a cap ruffle and tucker, one pair
white stays, eight pairs white kid
gloves, two pairs colored kid gloves,
two pairs worsted hose, three pairs
thread hose, one pair silk shoes
laced, one pair Morocco shoes, one
hoop coat, one hat, four pairs Span
ish shoes, two pairs calf shoes, one
mask, one fan. one necklace, onq
girdle and buckle, one piece fashion
able calico, four yards ribbon for
knots, one and one-half yards cam
bric, one mantua and coat of white
string.”
Men among the earlier settlers
wore their own hair, the cavaliers
dressing theirs in elaborate styles,
while the Puritans and Quakers
wore theirs plain and long to the
shoulders.
Commuting Death Sentences
The power of the governor to com
mute a death sentence to life im
prisonment originated in the second
decade of last century aftei a man
named Jacob Lewis of Zanesville
had been convicted of first-degree
murder and ordered to be hanged,
says the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Up
to this time no person or official
group had even the power of a re
prieve. But Lewis had influential
friends who made a plea to the leg
islature for a commutation of his
sentence. After much argument and
discussion, the legislature passed a
law giving the state’s chief execu
tive the power to reprieve and com
mutation of sentence. -ewis’ sen
tence was changed to life imprison
ment
Thomas Nast, who drew this cartoon, wrote on the bottom of it:
With Charity to All, With Malice Toward None.—Abraham Lincoln.
Taps
Fading light,
Dims the sight,
And a star gems the
gleaming bright.
From afar
Drawing nigh,
Falls the night.
Dear ones, rest!
In the West,
Sable night lulls the day
on her breast.
Sweet goodnight!
Now away,
To thy rest.
— Army Bugle Call
Selective Service Law
Brought Out 24 Million
THE first selective service or
draft law of the World war was
passed May 18, 1917. It applied to
all men of the ages of twenty-one
to thirty, inclusive, and was later
amended to provide for two supple
mentary drafts (June 5, 1918, and
August 24, 1918) in addition to the
original draft of June 5, 1917. By a
still later enactment in August, 1918,
notes the Indianapolis News, the
draft ages were extended to include
eighteen to forty-five years, and the
first registration thereunder, held
on September 12, 1918, produced
about 13,000,000 registrants.
The first registration, June 5,
1917, brought out nearly 10,000,000
young men, the second, on June 5,
1918, brought 744,865, and the third,
August 24, 1918, 157,963—a total of
nearly 24,000,000 Americans of mili
tary age.
The administration of the law was
in the hands of the War department,
under the supervision of the Pres
ident, and with the assistance of
local draft boards, with appeal
boards for each congressional dis
trict.
The President issued his first in
structions to the exemption boards
July 2, 1917, and the first men draft
ed were called to service September
5, 1917. The order in which the reg
istrants were to be called to deter
mine their availability for military
service was settled by a drawing of
numbers at Washington, in the sen
ate office building, on July 20.
Quotas were apportioned to each of
the states and territories and the
District of Columbia.
Girl Served Three Years
With Continental Army
pvEBORAH SAMPSON was born
in Plympton, Mass., 18 years be
fore she cut off her hair, put on
men’s clothes, took the name of
Robert Shurtleff and succeeded in
enlisting in the Continental army as
u common soldier. A sabre cut in
the forehead and a shot in the shoul
der did not take her out of action
and it was three years before an
attack of brain fever, while she was
serving with Washington gave her
a discharge and his thanks. Con
gress voted her a grant of lands and
a pension. She married Benjamin
Gannett, a farmer, near Sharon,
Mass., and settled down to being a
good wife and mother.
France Remembers
France's memorial to the United
States Volunteers which stands in
the Place des Etats Unis in Paris.
The statue is the work of Jean
Boucher, the figure on top being
inspired by his memory of an Amer
ican doughboy.
A DOUGHBOY OF WORLD WAR DAYS
The American doughboy who fought ‘‘to make the world safe for
democracy.'* The picture is from a drawing by Capt. Harry Townsend.
SEENand HEAR
around the <*
NATIONAL CAPITAL
By Carter Field
FAMOUS WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT
Washington.—Lightening of the
war clouds over Europe — when
viewed from any point within the
United States—is one of the most in
teresting developments for months.
Incidentally it fits in with the old
tradition that wars are started only
when the harvest is in—when na
tions have something to eat during
the war.
The real truth about the present
situation was pointed out in these
dispatches last fall as the consensus
among Washington’s diplomats—
perhaps as well informed a group
of people as exists in the world.
Nearly every nation sqnds her
shrewdest and longest-eared diplo
mats to Washington, and there are
so many spheres of influence that
there is plenty of opportunity for
swapping information.
The fact is that no one of the big
European nations that come under
the spark and tinder-box category
is really ready for war. All are
convinced that war is coming, but all
are anxious to avoid it until they
are all set for it. So that with no
body wanting to start a war now
the sparks may fly as they like;
they fall on wet powder.
Mussolini has been sounding off
again, but the diplomats point out
that he does this at frequent inter
vals. Just ten years ago, in the
spring of 1927, he made a terrific
speech—much more sabre-rattling
in tone than his recent one. He
talked then of 1935, strangely
enough, saying that by 1935 Italy
must have so many airplanes that
they would hide the sun, that then
Italy’s voice must be heard, and
much more along the same line.
Almost on that schedule he at
tacked Ethiopia, defied the League
of Nations—a fairly safe practice—
and pulled the long-suffering British
lion’s tail.
Some Friction
Recently, however, some friction
has developed between Germany
and Italy. Which confirms another
theory set forth in these dispatches
last fall, and originating in the dip
lomatic corps here. This was that
there was no certainty of allies for
the time being; that the crystalizing
process of uniting groups of nations
for the inevitable conflict had not
been completed.
The fact remains that while there
is the general idea that Japan and
Germany would fight the Soviet re
public and possibly France, there is
grave doubt as to which of the two
camps would attract certain other
nations.
Diplomats here privately point
out that Britain seems to have re
vamped part of her war policy,
striving for a huge air force and
navy in her new armament pro
gram, but obviously not planning for
a great expeditionary force to be
dispatched to the continent of Eu
rope in the event of a war, as she
did in 1914.
They point out in the same con
nection that France is concentrating
her army, and not attempting to
build that sort of navy she was
thinking about just a few years
back. She is planning two addi
tional airplane carriers of consid
erable size, and building a strong
submarine force, but she is not
going strong on battleships.
The French viewpoint is that they
are not concerned one iota with the
strength of either the British or the
United States navy! There is no
possibility, as the French view it,
cf their ever being in conflict with
either one within the possible useful
life of any ship that might be con
structed now.
In the Doldrums
Cessation of White House news
during the President’s fishing trip
in the Gulf of Mexico brought out
sharply the doldrums into which
Washington has dropped in the last
month, after what amounted to a
Pandora's box of sensations earlier
in the session.
There are very obvious reasons
for it. In the first place there has
been a series of really important
news developments in other places
— the coronation, the Spanish fiasco,
the irritation of Mussolini over the
world’s discovering that the troops
he sent to Spain were not as invin
cible as the Italians had come to
believe, the Hindenburg disaster,
etc.
But these merely shoved already
frayed or discounted subjects to the
inside pages. Let’s look at them
for a moment:
Supreme court enlargement: Suf
fering from too much wordage. Ev
ery conceivable argument on either
side has been advanced not once
but ten to a hundred times. More
over. its fate is still in suspense,
with very little new development,
no sensational flops from one side
to the other, the doubtful senators
still on the fence, and best opinion
as to the probable outcome not hav
ing changed for nearly a month.
Obviously not a likely candidate for
front page of any one's newspaper.
New taxes: Everybody knows
there must be some, sooner or later.
Everybody knows roughly that
taxes on the wealthy and corpora
tions alone will not produce su
fficient revenue. The only question is
when they will be imposed.
Cutting the Costs
Economy — cutting government
expenditures: Tremendously impor
tant, but not frightfully interesting
to the average reader. Moreover,
it is difficult for the proverbial milk
man in Omaha to get worked up
over whether economy is achieved
by a horizontal cut of ten per cent
in all appropriations, or fifteen per
cent in such appropriations as the
President, in his discretion, may
consider proper. A really self
governing people, in his school
book sense of the words, would get
all hot and bothered about this, but
there is no indication of much in
terest.
Neutrality: Promised just a few
months ago to be a real issue. But
at that time there was genuine fear
throughout the country that there
would be a big European war very
shortly, in which the United States
might easily become involved. For
reasons difficult to explain, and hav
ing very little to do with the truth,
this fear, which was so high but a
short time back, has subsided. Con
sequently there was almost a total
lack of interest when the neutrality
bill finally was passed.
Government reorganization: This
never did excite the public half as
much—not a tenth as much—as it
did the senators and representa
tives. The lawmakers have selfish
interests, friends in bureaus which
might be reduced, transferred or
abolished. But the mechanic in De
troit, the steel worker in Gary, and
the farmer in Iowa care nothing
about it whatever.
Economy Road
The economy road is not so easy
for the federal government as the
average business and professional
man seems to think. In fact it is
just about as difficult a thing as
one can imagine.
Consider the mental processes of
a senator or member of the house,
for example, when he tries to de
cide whether he will follow the
wishes of the President, and vote
for a discretionary cut of fifteen per
cent in all appropriations, or wheth
er he will follow some of the house
and senate leaders, and vote for a
horizontal ten per cent cut.
The discretionary cut means sim
ply that President Roosevelt could,
at his pleasure, make a cut in any
appropriation congress might vote,
the only limit being that the cut
must not exceed fifteen per cent of
the total.
The horizontal cut means sim
ply that congress would arbitrarily
reduce every appropriation by one
tenth, leaving the President no dis
cretion at all!
In approaching a decision as to
which way to vote the congressman
knows that both solutions are bad—
unbelievably bad. In fact, probably
the only thing that could be worse
would be not to economize at all!
The discretionary cut theory hits
the congressman right where he
lives. He knows if he votes for that
and should later on want a little
mercy shown some particular proj
ect affecting his own district or
state, he will have to go on his
hands and knees to the White House
for it. Or worse still—he might
have to go to some arbitrary and
not even politically minded bureau
crat for his favor—say Harold L.
Ickes or Harry L. Hopkins! And
before he got what he wanted—he
can be sure as he now looks at the
picture—he would have to promise
to vote for whatever the White
House or that particular bureaucrat
might want at the time.
Finds Reasons
But when he examines the ten per
cent horizontal cut, he finds there
are plenty of reasons why he should
oppose that. On its face it is un
scientific. It is clumsy. It is in
flexible. Its surgical cure not only
impairs but destroys efficiency in
the most unexpected places. Judg
ing by the results, it is like taking
a sixteen-inch naval gun to kill a
mosquito.
Yet to attempt to discriminate—
to have congress perform its logical
function of deciding just how much
shall be spent by each bureau of
the government—is impracticable
in the face of the certainty of log
rolling. You vote for my appropria
tion and I will vote for yours. Which
always winds up with the total ap
propriations bigger than ever.
Then there are the personal an
gles. A senator may believe that
economy-inspired cuts should be
imposed in bureaus A and B and C.
He may be enthusiastic about more
spending in X and Y and Z But
it suddenly appears that he has a
host of political lieutenants who are
employed in bureaus A and B and
C. Some of them would lose their
jobs if he votes with a majority to
cut the allotments of these bureaus.
So his logical course would be to
vote for larger appropriations for all
six bureaus.
Privately, most senators and rep
resentatives admit that the only
way for the federal government to
economize is to permit Presidential
discretion.
© Bell Syndicate.—WNU Service.
iwnsnoi
iM IBM I
Better Bread — Home-made
bread is lighter and keeps moist
longer when mixed with skim*
milk instead of water.
* * *
Cooking Cauliflower—To prevent
it breaking while cooking, wrap
loosely in muslin.
* • •
Bacon and Macaroni — Break
two ounces of macaroni into small
pieces and throw into quickly-boil
ing salted water. Simmer until
tender. Fry two ounces of streaky
bacon cut into small pieces, then
drain the macaroni and add it to
the bacon. Add seasoning, one
half ounce of butter, and a scrape
of nutmeg, and stir over a low
heat until the macaroni is brown.
Turn on to a hot dish and serve
with dry toast.
* * •
Using Skim-Milk—Skim-milk is
excellent for milk puddings, pro
viding a dessertspoonful of finely
grated suet is added to replace
the missing fat.
* * •
Soft-Boiled Eggs—When soft
boiling eggs, put them in boiling
water, boil for one minute and
turn off flame, leaving eggs in the
water for another four minutes.
This prevents them from harden*
ing and saves fuel.
* * •
Ladders in the Hosiery—Place
your silk stocking over a glass
tumbler when repairing a ladder.
The light shows up the cross
threads, which can then be picked
up easily with a-fine steel crochet
hook.
WNU Service.
Foreign Words m
and Phrases *
Au fond. (F!) To the bottom;
thoroughly.
Discerner le faux d’avec le vrai.
(F.) To discern the false from
the true.
Aequo animo. (L.) With equa
nimity.
La critique est son fort. (F.)
Criticism is his forte.
Je parle. (F.) I speak.
Beau geste. (F.) Beautiful ges
ture.
A l’impossible nul n’est tenu.
(F.) There is no doing impossi
bilities.
Argot. (F.) The slang of the
streets; thieves’ jargon.
Billet doux. (F.) Love letter.
Tout a fait. (F.) Wholly perfect;
nothing less than.
Prendre le chemin de la greve.
(F.) To be on the high road to the
gallows.
Ad infinitum. (L.) To infinity. 1
What SHE TOLD
WORN OUT HUSBAND
She could have reproached him for
bis fits of temper—his “all in” com*
plaints. But wisely she saw in hia
frequent colds, his “fagged out,’!
“on edge” condition the very
trouble she herself had whipped.
Constipation! x ne
very morning after
taking NR (Na
ture's Remedy),
as she advised, he
felt like himself {
again — keenly/J
alert, peppy,cheertul. NR—the;
safe, dependable, all-vegetable^
laxative and corrective —
worksgently.thoroughly.nat^^^
urally Itstimulatestheelim-M
■native tract to complete,
regular luncuoir
ing. Non-habit
forming Try a A ~ illfflkllTiIM
box tonight. 25c ^ W x^TjffrTTr-^WlilHay
— at druggists,
Counsel From All
Take counsel of him who is
greater, and of him who is less,
than yourself, and then recur to
yourownjudgmertt.--Arab Proverb.
KILL ALL FLIES ^1
Placed anywhere. Daley FIT I
> Killer attracts and kills Dies. ■
Guaranteed, edeotlve. Neat, ■
convenient — Cannot eplll— ■
Will not Roll or Injure anything. ■
Lasts all season. 20o at ail ■
dealers. Harold Somers, Inc., ■
150De Kalb Ave-.B'klyn.N.Y. |
Nurses Training School
NURSES TRAINING
The Frances M. Willard Hospital offers a 3 year
course to high school graduates of good character
and scholastic standing. Class A school. Kxpense
small. Writ* DIKECTOK TRA I NINO
SCHOOL, 645 South Central. Chicago
"Quotations"
-A
The <1 iflic 1111y is not that enough
treaties have not been signed, but
that enough treaties are not being
kept.—Sir Austen Chamberlain.
The only good conversation today
is embalmed in books.— Fannie
Hurst.
It is still the greatest, the freest
and the sanest country in the world,
and I still get the greatest kirk in
life coming back to America. —
Ludwig Lewisnhn.
1 think if you can see the funny
side of some things it‘s easier now
anti then.— Mrs. Franklin l). House
•’elt.
The public schools and some of
our colleges have taught the masses
just enough to make them discon
tented.—Chase S. Osborn.