The frontier. (O'Neill City, Holt County, Neb.) 1880-1965, May 27, 1937, Image 2
YWJi rrm “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.