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About The frontier. (O'Neill City, Holt County, Neb.) 1880-1965 | View Entire Issue (April 21, 1938)
Boy Scouts Learn Mounting of Wild Life. Practical Varied and Widespread Are Activities of the Boy Scouts Prepared by National Geographic Society, Cm~»h!ngton, D. C.-WNU Service. SADERS among organ ized youth in this country are the Boy Scouts, although municipali ties, churches, and fraternal organizations are promoting other youth movements. Many practical things, not taught in schools, must be learned if a boy would work up from Tenderfoot to Eagle Scout. They include flrst-aid treatment in severe accidents; knowing the difference between sun stroke and heat exhaustion; how to revive drowning persons, or those unconscious from gas, smoke, or electrical contact; how to treat snake and dog bites; how to dis tinguish between simple and com pound fractures, and what splints to use. Also, how to identify birds, especially those that protect trees and plants from insects; how to un dress in deep water; to swim 100 yards carrying a person of one’s own weight, and how to break a strangle hold in the water. Because they "hike’' so much, these boys, exploring the hills, woods, swamps, and streams about their home towns, are masters of local geography. Map-making they learn, too; photography and natural history. Men s Jobs in Boys’ sue* "Every task In Scouting," says Dr. James Russell, of Columbia uni versity, "is a man’s job cut down to boy’s size. The appeal to a boy’s interest is not because he is a boy, but because he wants to be a man.” The average boy is In school less than one-fifth of the hours in a year. But in free time he is just as recep tive as in school, getting impres sions, using ideas, reaching conclu sions, forming habits, and organiz ing his mode of behavior. So habit becomes the basis of all efficiency; otherwise "we should spend our days learning anew the art of lacing our shoes, or holding a pen. Writ ing, made habitual, becomes so easy that the writer’s whole atten tion may be centered on what he writes.” Inspiring boys to observe birds, plants, and animals, to map new country and build trails, arouses in them the explorer’s instinct and a keener understanding of geography. No part of Scout training receives more attention. Nature study, geography, and ge ology, whether carried on during hikes or at summer camps are par ticularly useful in stimulating the love of outdoor life in the city-bred boy. Led by adult geologists, small groups of hand-picked Eagle Scouts have made exploring trips into many parts of Arizona, Utah, Ne vada, and California. Good Helpers of Scientists. From Central America a natural ist expedition of American Boy Scouts brought back skeletons of a crocodile, a six-foot iguana, and va rious monkeys. They also made photographs of the active volcanoes of Irazu and Poas, in Costa Rica. One boy in this party made a fine collection of lichens. Scouts of Montreal and St. Johns, Canada, worked with the scientists of McGill university in checking the path of the sun's eclipse across Que ber in 1932. Some newly discovered peaks and glaciers were added to our maps by Seattle Boy Scouts through their re cent explorations in the wilderness of the Olympic peninsula of Wash ington. Boy Scouts of Great Barrington, Mass., helped build a link in the Appalachian trail, planned to ex tend along the crest of the Appala chians from the Canadian border to the extremities of the mountain range in the far south. In this work they joined with the Green Moun tain club, which has built a trail i along the crest of the Vermont high lands. Boy Scouts worked on one link in western Massachusetts, stretching from the Vermont line, running over Mount Greylock and other mountains to the New York state border. Working with the state forestry service, Boy Scouts of Waterbury, Conn., started cutting fire trails through the Mattatuck forest near that city. The work of the Water bury Boy Scouts is a part of the program in which Boy Scouts throughout Connecticut are working in the formation of patrols to mark { trails and then patrol all state for ests in order to prevent forest fires. As a result of the work, the Scouts | gained a first-hand knowledge of surveying and general forestry. While exploring ancient mounds In Ohio, Scouts found many skele- j tons, pottery, arrowheads, skinning knives, and a grinding pestle. When Syracuse university sent an expedition to the Andes, it was ac companied by an Eagle Scout, who spent six months there and helped the expedition with its study of rare birds, animals, and reptiles. Boy Scouts of Washington found a de posit of shellfish fossils on the bank of a stream, perfectly preserved since the days when the ocean cov ered the southwestern part of that state. Scouts went with the East Tennessee Archeological society when its expedition explored the Little Tennessee river in quest of the ruins of old Indian villages. Learn Geography by Travel. More than 1,700 separate camps for Scouts were conducted in the United States in 1933. Since an average trip to and from camp is about 50 miles, and 300,000 boys attended, they traveled a to tal distance of 15,000,000 miles. Add to this the many tramps out of camp and back, and the frequent hikes made by troops from their home town into the country, and a rough idea is gained of how the boys' knowledge of geography is en< hanced. Finding his direction by the com pass; the skillful use of tools in building huts and bridges; how to cook his own food in the open and set up a tent—are all among the practical phases of outdoor life taught to boys. No such mass of boys ever as sembled as met for the Scout World Jamboree at Birkenhead, England, in 1929, with more than 50,000 pres ent, representing 73 different na tionalities. With the duke of Connaught, to review the opening parade, was Lord Baden-Powell, who gave the signal by blowing a blast on the kudu horn, the tocsin of Zulu war riors. To the bagpipe music of a Scottish boys’ band, the army marched past. As they came in alphabetical order, the Americans marched first, followed by the Aus tralians. Their Jamboree in England. “It was the youth of the world that passed,” wrote Sir Philip Gibbs. “Arabs from Palestine, Morocco, and Algeria in white robes, Indians in green turbans, black boys from the Gold Coast and Nigeria, natives of Jamaica, Kenya, Barbados, Cey lon. and other far countries of the British empire. Latin America was there, with splendid contingents from Brazil and Chile. The old countries of Europe—Spain, France, Holland, Denmark, Norway, Ger many—had sent their young man hood, and new nations like Czecho slovakia, Estonia, Latvia, and Lith uania were strongly represented. "The Danish Sea Rovers came like our own naval boys. The Bra- | zilians were all in blue, except for white caps. The Irish Free State advanced under the green flag and the harp. The sons of former ene mies—Bulgarians, Hungarians, Bel gians, Austrians, Greeks, Finns, Swedes, Japanese. An unforgettable moment for the American boys was when the prince j of Wales, later Edward VIII, stood at attention to reoeive their salute. ■ Scouts in War and Disaster. On mine sweepers, colliers, and auxiliary ships British Sea Scouts served with distinction in the World war. Some were drafted to the grand fleet itself. When the 47.000-ton hospital ship Britannic was torpedoed in the Med iterranean, several Scouts were among her crew. When a Brooklyn garage burned, two men were overcome by smoke. A Scout carried one man out by the "fireman’s drag,” which he had been taught, and then rescued the other by dragging him out with a belt. He restored both men by giv ing artificial respiration, also learned in his troop. A thirteen-year-old Texas Scout crawled on hands and knees into a burning house and brought out a baby. Another saved a comrade in Kansas who was caught on a live wire while climbing a tree. A Cali fornia Scout lost his life trying to save tv.o smaller boys from drown ing. An Italian Boy Scout on New York’s East Side saved six people and a dog from a burning house. SEEN and HEARD around the NATIONAL CAPITAL By. Carter Field Washington. — With Jesse H. Jones, chairman of the Reconstruc tion Finance corporation, leading one side, and Senator George W. Norris leading the other, a terrific battle has been going on for months as to whether the government shall go ahead with its spending, and gradually encroach more and more on private initiative, or whether it shall stop where it is now despite an unemployment situation which seems to cry to heaven for more government spending. Jones’ viewpoint is represented by the bill now being rushed through congress to provide liberal long term loans to business. Senator Norris’ viewpoint is ad vocated by Marriner S. Eccles, of the federal reserve board, by Harry L. Hopkins of WPA, and by Harold L. Ickes, of PWA and whatnot. Jones’ view is that relief is "just a shot in the arm," that employ ment must be taken care of by pri vate business, which therefore must be aided by the government, if nec essary, by liberal, long-term, low interest loans. At the moment President Roose velt is on Jones’ side. But it is interesting to read a pub lic statement made by the federal power commission right in the midst of this battle. It is dated April 1, and is headed “Federal power commission prepared to begin Fort Worth (Texas) survey on or about April 10.” It is interesting chiefly because of various things the President has said in the last few months—since he became worried about the reces sion. He Asks Why? For instance, his talk with the Philadelphia and Pittsburgh elec tric utility officials, about which he at once told the newspaper men. Summed up, he asked these utility magnates if any government compe petition threatened their systems. They said not. Then why, he asked them, and the press later, did not investors rush in to supply the estimated billion dollars a year that the electric industry should spend to keep abreast of the grow ing demand? Apparently there was no answer. Still later, after the Supreme court decision upholding PWA loans and grants for municipal power plants and distribution systems, the President told the press he as sumed negotiations would be be gun with the owners of the pri vate plants, looking to their pur chase by the local governments, so as to avoid duplication of facilities. Consider how encouraging this sentence from the April 1 power commission statement must be to any prospective investor in the elec tric industry: “The proposed sur vey does not contemplate appraisal and valuation of the privately owned electric facilities now serving the city, but an engineering estimate of the cost of constructing a new distribution system capable of serv ing the entire city at the present time and for some years in the fu ture.” The power commission’s state ment also explains the expected source of power for this proposed municipal system: “The Lower Colorado River authority is a state agency created by the Texas legislature for flood control, reclamation, and hydro electric purposes. Its program provides for the construction of four dams, all to produce electric power, on the Colorado river, of which two are practically completed and two are under construction. The pro gram is being financed by a $15, 000,000 federal loan and grant from the PWA, and by direct appropri ations of approximately $10,000,000 from the bureau of reclamation from federal relief funds.” Here’* Optimism There is more optimism, and more agreement, about the possibilities of the new industrial loans bill than anything so far proposed to help in the present business recession. On taxes the congress and the Presi dent are almost at opposite poles. The senate, for example, is deter mined to wipe out the tax on un distributed earnings, and even the house would leave only a face-sav ing trace of it Almost the same difference exists between the Cap itol and the White House on the cap ital gains tax. But on the idea of industrial loans there seems to be very general agreement, except that Harold L. Ickes, public works administrator, does not like it. Nor does Harry L. Hopkins like some of the implica tions involved, particularly that re lief is only a “shot in the arm” and that the real way to solve the unemployment problem is to en i courage private business. Ickes, of course, objects primar ily to one feature of the bill. This i would tend to take away from his PWA some of the functions it has performed He says, with some truth, that there is not much like i lihood of getting projects with no subsidy attached after such a long period of granting gifts along with loans. But the main features of the bill, the feature on which its backers really place their hope, is not this project feature at all, but the plan for lending money to private indus tries which, for one reason or an other, have not been able to borrow the money they would like to use for plant additions and for new equipment. Their difficulty has been created, it is freely admitted, by the govern ment, so it seems fair that the gov ernment should take a hand in rec tifying the trouble. Where Trouble Lies The difficulty has been with the securities and exchange commis sion law. This has made almost impossible the floating of small se curity issues by local industries. The penalties involved for any mis statement, any holding out of hope for profits not absolutely justified, etc., are such that the little business managers have been terrified. So they have just done nothing. Nor mally of course they could find plen ty of investors, or “suckers" to buy their securities, promising them all sorts of profits. SEC has made that too dangerous. So the new corporation loans will be made to these enterprises, gov ernment money being lent with no time-limit required—by the law—as to when it must be repaid. The present reconstruction finance cor poration law requires that no loans can be made with a maturity date later than February 1, 1945. The idea will be to require some local participation in the loan, pref erably from a local bank, so as to have a watchdog, on the ground, for the government’s money. President Roosevelt is sold not only on the idea of hurdling the difficulties imposed by SEC restric tions, but of encouraging employ ment. He definitely swings, for the time being, to some of his more conservative supporters, and tem porarily, at least, he is convinced that relief is just a “shot in the arm,” while permanent aid must come from private employment. Incidentally Jesse H. Jones, to off set the often made charge that he is a miser with RFC money, told the senate committee that from 15 to 20 per cent of RFC loans are in some stage of default. Which is Jones’ way of promising that he will be liberal on the industrial loans. Mexican Affairs Mexican affairs will take a very different turn from that generally expected in the oil controversy, according to well advised sources in Washington. Not only will Presi dent Lazaro Cardenas stand firm on his seizure of American and other oil-fields, but he will force the pri vate oil interests dispossessed to market the oil from them! The point is that Cardenas is expected to agree to pay for the wells, but will agree to pay for them in oil. So that it will be up to the companies to see to it the oil is refined and sold, or else get no money. On the silver policy, Mexico is worried, but will not be forced to yield. She needs silver for her own currency, and she needs the sale of silver to provide exchange. Already some of her mines are closed down, also the plant of the American Smelting and Refining company at Monterey. Cardenas plans to tell the company to operate or he will seize that, too. Cardenas knows perfectly that his seizure of the oil fields was not the main reason for the United States Treasury’s reduction of the price of silver, but that it was only the ex cuse. He knows that President Roosevelt had been looking for some excuse to stop propping up the world silver price for a long time, as a backdown from the sil ver policy that the United States embarked on in the early days of the New Deal in order to placate our silver producers and the inflationists. Cardenas is not encouraged, therefore, by the specious argument that, under the law, the Treasury must buy silver, and, if it buys it abroad, will merely be adding a two way freight charge to Mexican sil ver. Cardenas does not weigh the text of laws as do some Americans, nor does he think the Washington government will be too much ham pered in that direction. In which opinion he is joined by some shrewd observers here, especially the sil ver and inflationist senators, who are frankly worried. Cut* Silver Subsidy Roosevelt discovered on New Year’s day that he could reduce the domestic silver subsidy without an earthquake, despite the plaintive cries of senators from the silver states. Mexico’s program of government ownership of everything is march ing on. The silver move is more likely to expedite it than to delay it. Cardenas realizes also that he has the whip hand from a diplomatic standpoint. Secretary of State Cor dell Hull is already very much dis turbed at the repercussions through out Latin-America, where the strength of Mexico’s position is not yet realized and the picture seems to be of the “Colossus of the North” using her financial strength to co erce an economically weaker neigh bor. Up to a few years ago only a landing party of marines could have aroused much sympathy for the invaded country or indignation against Washington. But the Latin Americans now realize the implica tions of economic domination. © Bell Syndicate.—WNU Service. TUydQMoHt' ADVENTURERS’ CLUB HEADLINES FROM THE LIVES OF PEOPLE LIKE YOURSELF! *‘Death in the Grandstand” By FLOYD GIBBONS Famous Headline Hunter Hello everybody: Here’s Harold T. Leach cf Newark, N. J., with a story for us—the story of how he went out looking for thrills, and got one he never expected. The sort of thrill Hal was looking for was the kind you watch from the grandstand. He didn’t expect to participate in any of the doggone things himself. But—well—before he knew it, Old Lady Adven ture was climbing right up into that grandstand after him. A dirty trick on the part of Old Lady Adventure, sez you? Well, let’s not be too hasty in judging the old dame that packs the thrill bag. As a matter of fact, she played not one trick, but two, on Hal Leach on that bright Sunday morning in 1912 and Hal swears that one of those tricks saved his life. Now let’s look over the first trick the old girl played on Hal. Hal set out that Sunday morning to go to the motorcycle races which were being run on a wooden track on South Orange avenue. And right from the beginning it looked to Hal as if the whole trip were hoodooed. He wanted to get to the track early and get a certain seat that was a favorite of his, right down in the front row and just above the tent where the riders rested, but one thing and another turned up to delay him. Couldn’t Get His Favorite Seat. He started from home late, and just missed a trolley. He had to wait ten minutes for another one, and then, at the point where he had' to transfer to the old South Orange avenue line, doggoned if he didn’t just miss another car. He got to the track before the races started, but too late to get his favorite seat in the front row. He had to be content with one right back of it in the second row. And maybe he didn’t cuss his luck over that. He didn’t know then that it was Old Gal Adventure that was putting the jinx on him. There was a great crowd at the track that day. Every seat in the stands was filled before the races started, and the overflow of the Hasha’s Motorcycle Plunged Into the Grandstand. mob was jamming the bull pen. Excitement was running high, for there were some doggone good races being run, and there was one particular event that everybody was interested in. That was a race between Eddie Hasha and Johnnie Albright. A great rivalry had sprung up between these two. They were the fastest riders on the track, and this race was to decide which of them was the champ. There were three other riders in the race—just to make it more spectacular. But nobody was paying much attention to those other three guys. Every pair of eyes in the place were focused on Hasha and Albright. Last Ride for These Racers. It was a big day for Eddie Hasha and Johnnie Albright—and well it might be. For those two fellows were setting out on their last ride. The race was a corker, right from the start. Hasha took the lead and held it. Johnnie Albright was right behind him. The other three riders trailed along in the rear. Eddie had run up a lead of a hundred yards or so on Albright, when suddenly things began to happen. There was a four-inch black line circling the track, above which the racers were not allowed to go. Beyond that line the track banked up tc a perpendicular wall four feet high. Above that was a fence of heavy wire behind which the spectators sat. That was for their protection in case of accident. But there are times when even the best of protections fail to protect. Hasha, still in the lead, was clipping it off at eight-five miles an hour, when suddenly he hit the deadline—that four-inch black line that went around the entire track. Immediately, the referee fired a gun, signalling a foul and ordering Eddie Hasha out of the race. Hal Was in the Midst of Death. But Eddie didn’t stop. To the consternation of the crowd he kept right on going. His motorcycle whizzed right up that four feet of straight wall—right up the heavy mesh wire in front of the specta tors—shot over the top of the fence and toppled into the grandstand, RIGHT WHERE HAL LEACH HAD WANTED TO SIT. There followed the wildest ten seconds that Hal ever saw in his life. Hasha dived headlong into a timber upright that sup ported the grandstand roof, and was killed. His machine landed in the midst of a shrieking mob of race fans in the front row, and right in front of Hal. Its motor still going at top speed, it hopped crazily along that front row, killing and maiming as it went. Then it leaped high in the air, hurdled the wire fence again, and fell on top of Johnnie Albright as he sped on down the track in the lead of the other three riders. Johnnie Albright was thrown from his motorcycle, and he was dead when they picked him up. Seven other men died in the grandstand from injuries they sustained when the motorcycle landed among them. Says Hal Leach: "I helped lower the bodies down to the track, and then passed out of the picture—just from the shock—and was lowered down in my turn. Do you wonder why I get the shivers, even now, whenever a motorcycle dashes past me?” Copyright.—WNU Service. American Seamen’s Friend Society The American Seamen’s Friend society was organized in 1828 and incorporated in 1833. It has been a pioneer in seamen’s work, establish ing the Sailor’s Magazine, erecting the first sailors’ home in New York city, and maintaining a loan library service for use of seamen on Amer ican ships sailing from New York 1 since 1859. In 1908 it built the Sailors’ Home and Institute and it co-operated with two other organ izations in the erection of the Sea men’s house at Eleventh avenue and Twentieth street. New York city. The Sunspot Cycle The sunspot cycle of 11% years, approximately, has been identified among the weather records left in trees and ancient rocks. This seems to prove that whatever causes the variability of the sun, it has been varying for perhaps a billion years. Fish Has Elastic Stomach The black swallower, a fish of the Atlantic depths, has an elastic stom ach and often swallows fish thrice its size, stretching its stomach to transparency. I Distributed "Mourning Rings" In George Washington’s day the curious custom of distributing 1 "mourning rings" among relatives and close friends was common. When a person felt that he had only a short while to live he would order a supply of rings made up, into which could be inserted strands of his hair. A Smithsonin institution col* lection contains several "mourn ing rings” of less notable individu als of Revolutionary days. The strands of hair in the Washington ring are gray. Washington in his younger days had sandy hair. Qualifications for Ohio Governor In Ohio a candidate for governor need possess only the qualifica tions of an elector. Article XV, Paragraph 4 of the constitution, states: “No person shall be elected to any office in this state unless he is an elector.” Bald Eagle Easily lndentified The bald eagle is the emblem of our country. It is better known than the American eagle and is eas ily identified by the white feathered head. Angina Pectoris By DR. JAMES W. BARTON © Bell Syndicate.—WNU Service. WHEN there is a “grip ping” pain in the region of the heart which may go up the left side of the chest and sometimes down the left arm, it is only natural that this pain would be con sidered angina pectoris or breast pang. If the other symptoms—stopping still and supporting the body with the hand and the other hand held over the heart—are present it would be definitely called angina pectoris. Another point about true angina pectoris is that it always comes on _ during effort—work or exercise. When the pain comes on at other times — when the individual is at rest or lying down— it is not considered to be a true but a false angina. Drs. J. E. F. Rise man and M. G. Brown, Boston, m ■BfeX'^Vv- ■. Ji ■■ the American Heart Dr. Barton Journal, recorded their investigation of 207 patients suspected of having angina pectoris. All the usual meth ods of testing were used; that is, the history of the symptoms, X-ray, tracing the outline of the heart, the heart rate, the metabolism (rate at which body processes work), effect of exercise or work. Five Chief Symptoms. These physicians state the five important characteristics or symp toms of angina pectoris: 1. The attacks were sudden in onset. 2. The attacks lasted but a short time, usually just a few seconds. 3. The pain was located in the front of the chest and -inner side of the arm. 4. The attacks were brought on by exertion in the cold. 5. The attacks consisted of a vague, indescribable sensation of unrest or distress. “Patients who lacked one or more of these five characteristics or symptoms proved to have either no heart disorder as the cause of their symptoms or to have not only an gina pectoris but some other com plicating ailment.” When there was difficulty in de ciding definitely as to whether the case was true angina pectoris, the effect of exercise—running upstairs, walking briskly, hopping or running on the one spot—usually decided the matter, as true angina pectoris oc curs during exercise or effort. Thus when you feel any pain over the heart or under the breast bone do not become alarmed and think you have angina pectoris, as most pains in this region are due to pres sure of gas in the stomach or intes tine. • • • Removal of Teeth. A champion amateur and later professional boxer consulted his physician regarding a pain in his lower back. He stated that the pain got easier or even passed away when he was exercising, but was so bad at night that he couldn’t get much sleep. He felt "tired” all the time. As the physician could find no other trouble present—tonsils, gall bladder, sinuses—and X-ray showed some infection at roots of two teeth, the boxer referred to his dentist. The dentist admitted that there was a little trouble present, but not enough to justify the removal of such other wise good teeth in a young man of twenty-one. The young man then consulted an other dentist, equipped with his own X-ray apparatus, who, after exam ining these new films, declared that the two teeth should be removed at once. Both teeth were removed and found to be infected, the odor from, one being particularly disagreeable. The pain in the lower back disap peared within two or three days, and the young man resumed train ing in less than a week and a few weeks afterward won the boxing championship. It is in such cases as the above fhat the physician and the dentist are placed in an awkward position. The dentist could readily extract the tooth or teeth and insert some bridge work but he knows that noth ing can do the work as well as the patient’s own teeth and he tries to save them. Perhaps he feels that there may be some other source of infection that is causing the symp toms and if teeth are not removed this source may be found. On the other hand, the physician feels that as he has checked all oth er possible sources, the teeth must be to blame, and that the infection present may be due to very danger ous organisms which may sooner or later cause serious complications and possibly death. Tortoise Mentioned in Treaty A large tortoise once lived on the island of Mauritius for so long that it became a national possession, and in 1890, when the French ceded the island to England, the tortoise was specifically mentioned in the treaty.