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The Brussels Post, 1960-06-16, Page 6.40 • - II cuirreft• • HRONICLE INGERFARM , Gwendoltme P. Ctoxice t. !!!!!'Vyl'I h,lll~l'i Ills II 1 ,!!!1111!! 1'111;1111111j ,,I11,!11 1,1 1,11,11 1 , I 1 1,(1111 11(11:111111 ;11,11 ! • VISITS AILING DAD — Princess Grace of Monaco flashes a smile as she gets into an auto in Philadelphia after visiting her father, millionaire sportsman John B. Kelly Sr., 69, who was recovering from an abdominal operation at Woman's Medical Hospital. The Princess spent 40 minutes at the bedside of her father, A Glainorop Way To Go Broke The scene: An apartment high over New York's central Perk, East Side or West, grand piano dominant. The cast: A Broadway producer serving up highballs, his wife serving up espresso with nervous, birdlike motions, a composer, a brace of actors (clutching seriPts), and about two-dozen speculators intent on the spiel, The producer is speak- ing. ",1 think you can see 'South Dakota!' will be a topical musi- cal with a real message for everyone. Throw in two top Hollywood names, the all-girl band for comic relief, and chore- agraphy like the Stampede num- ber and you've got all the in- gredients of a smash. I don't have a doubt in the world about it, myself." (The composer, hum- ming his own stuff, nods fer- vent agreement,) In such manner, several hun- dred sophisticated Americans are lured each year to sink any- thing from $250 to $50,000 or more apiece into the brightest wackiest corner of the invest- ment world — the business of Broadway production, In fact, only a hard-pressed producer with a dubious property need ordinarily resort to such `'back- ers' auditions," sketehing-, out show-stopping scenesAb'taiie the money that will pay for the scenery. A routine letter or even a rumor can bring angels flock- ing to any top producer's door. Like stock-market players, their goal is profit. But what is simple coveteousness at Merrill Lynch can be intoxication at the Moros- co. Only theater buffs know the Ecisy To Make Vro, to/A "vi .e/e, No tot can ever have too many sunsuits, Easy to sew and em- broider, you will quickly finish one for a boy and a similar one, only ruffled, for a girl. For boy and girl. Pattern 564: embroidery transf e r, pattern pieces sizes 1, 2, 3, 4 included. Send THIRTY-FIVE CENTS (stamps cannot be accepted, use postal note for safety) for this pattern to Laura Wheeler, Box 1, 123 Eighteenth St., New Tor- onto, Ont. Print plainly PAT- TERN NUMBER, your NAME and ADDRESS. New ! New ! New ! Our 1960 Laura Wheeler Needlecraft Book is ready NOW ! Crammed with exciting, unusual, popular de- signs to crochet, knit, sew, em- broider, quilt, weave—fashions, home furnishings, toys, gifts, bazaar hits. In the book FREE —3 quilt patterns. Hurry, send 25 cents for your copy. joy of a market steeped in ,cul, ture end stars, where things. either boom or .crash but almost never do anything in between. Yet even the most stage-struck .4-Nestor might be chilled by some doleful figures released last month by the League of New York Theaters. Understand- ably anxious, to dramatize its .fin- ancial troubles in the face of some stiff wage and pension de- mends by the Actors $quit Union, the league (representing producers and Milers of Broad- way's 3. legitimate • theaters) totted up results for the 1959-60 season and reported that 49 of the 62 plays have been "total or partial failures," The 49 flops, including nine plays thut were headed for Broadway but failed on the road, fell short by some $3.4 million of refunding the $9.7 million their. backers had sunk in them. The thirteen hits have returned only $244,000 in profits. Profits still to come on hits like the Rodgers az Hammer- stein-Mary Martin "The Sound of Music" and Lillian Heliman's "Toys in the Attic" that have yet to reach the break-even point will probably add $2 million or $3 million to the credit side, But the handwriting on the card- board wall is clear: Broadway is solidly in the red after one of the most disastrous seasons in its history. As a place to invest money, in short, Brodaway seemed to have all the appeal of a • brokerage house under suspension by the SEC. Are things really that bad at the nation's most glamorous box office? To many theater men like pro- ducer Fred Coe ("The Miracle Worker," "Two for the Seesaw") they are. Broadway's "Fabulous Invalid," says. Coe, is really a "terrible invalid" crippled by inefficiency and swollen costs that put producers and investors in an increasingly thorny dilem- ma. A play must succeed in e big way if it is to succeed at all, but is likely to flop hard when it flops. "The time is gone when a hit would pay off at 20 or 30 to 1 and start paying off in a few weeks," says Coe. "The 'Miracle Worker' has been running at standing-room-only since it opened in October, and it still hasn't earned anything." One reason: The sizable ($150,000) production cost, Another: Fierce competition for space forced Coe to settle for a theater too small even as flop shows played to 'empty, cavernous halls. Yet Coe, with a big hit run- ning, was front row center com- pared to some other producers this season. Backers of the musi- cal "Saratoga" laid out a wal- loping $400,000 for their big, heavily advertised show before the first curtain — and got back only $10,000 of this before dwin- dling audiences forced the show to close. "The Girls Against the Boys," • another $400,000 block- buster-turned-dud, Married Bliss! Can you imagine this happen- ing at a -wedding in Canada? The priest pronounces the words "love and obey," and at once the bridegroom steps firmly on the bride's toes to drive home the word "obey"! It's a traditional Cypriot custom, says Louise Mme' itland in a vivid account cif travels in Iran, the Near Ea.SY' and North Africa: "Forest \Ten:. ture," Nowadays, however, the bride tries to step on the bridegroom's toes first to show she's going to be boss! Before marriage she gives her fiance a pair of pantaloons woven by herself. A few days before the wedding a mattress is made by seven married brides- women to violin and folk-song accompaniment, then coins are sewn in the corners and a baby boy is rolled on it in the hope that a son will be conceived. Then the mattress is carried to the new home, WeOhy, Yet Pie Starve iP.111 Two old women ware found deed recently in a. dirty and barely - furnished house. They had died amid want and squalor. When the authorities entered the house and examined its eon, tents they found some biscuit boxee in which were hidden t small fortune in cash. Medical evieenee revealed that these elderly stairs' had died vi semi-starvation and exposure. They lacked proper bed eovees and had no heating whatsoever. Clothes and their way of liv- ing are no guide to a person's ft- nencial status, Many people live very well — for a time — en credit, They are the "poor rich." There are also the "rich poor," like those two old women. Some years ago a shabbily dressed man went every morn- ing to a small office near the Bank of England. His business premises consisted of one large room in which the clerks sat on stools at high desks, while he, the proprietor of the busie ness, sat alone at a small table. Had you gone in you would have thought that here was a emalt and none-too-prosperous one-man business, You would have been entirely wrong. For it was from this meagre headquarters that one of the wealthiest merchant bankers of the early years of this century conducted his business. Then there was the late Mar- quess of Chanricarde. This multi- millionaire Irish landowner was a familiar figure in London's West End. At lunchtime he would leave his club and sit on a public bench in St. Jame's Park. There, dressed in clothes almost In rags, he ate two or three stale sandwiches from a paper bag. For many years, and long af- ter he had become an important figure in the business world, the late Lord Leverhulme continued to live in a small red-brick villa that would have suited an ill- paid clerk, while his wife did the housework. This was not miserliness, but established habit. He lived as he did because that simple way of life suited him. John Elwes, who died at the dawn of the nineteenth century, inherited a magnificent country property and a string of Lon- don houses, yet he lived in utter poverty, squalor and misery. When he had a journey to make, he walked, When the rain made the highway muddy, he removed his boots and stockings and went barefoot. When his journey was a long one he did not sleep or eat at a tavern, but crept under a hedge. His idea of a meal was to buy a penny loaf, tie it up in a bag, boil it and then eat it, wash- ing it down with water. His great mansion fell into ruin for lack of upkeep. Rain dripped through the ceilings of the rooms, but he would not spend a penny on repairs, Once when the nephew to whom this vast property was to pass came to visit him, the un- fortunate visitor was drenched to the skin as he lay in his bed. In the morning he protested ,to his uncle. "Oh, that," replied the miser. "I don't mind that at all myself." Whenever one of his London houses became untenanted, he would walk to London with the old woman who "did" for him, and take up his residence in the unfurnished house, And it was in one of these that he was found dead. He lay on an old mattress on the floor of an unfurnished bedroom. Two days later they found the old woman. She, too, was dead in the attic bedroom. Both, it transpired, had died of natural causes accelerated by cold and semi-starvation. And now for the unexpected. This man, who had grudged him- self the bare necessities of life and let his properties fall into ruin, had a soft heart, He could not resist a hard-luck story. And though he scrimped and saved, he would tend money on a hard-luck story. When the lawyers had finished with his affairs they found that he had lent $750,000 that had never been repaid. DIVORCE NO PROBLEN1 In Algiers there arc Profes- sional bridegrooms. A IVIussul. man is permitted tour lawful wives, but free himself of any one, any time, simply by saying "I divorce thee," Should he reg- ret the separation he cannot have her back until she has been again rn:eried and divorced. So a professional bridegroom is hir- ed to marry her one clay and divorce her the text, But some- times she prefers the "pro" and sticks to him! If OpportUnity passe:.) you by, hurry your step and meet it 'at the next corner. It has been said "there is a sucker born every minute." I guess I can now be included in that number. However, we live and learn. As you who read this column may know I am a great lover of trees — trees for shade, trees for beauty and trees to encourage birds. We have quite a few trees around here but none close enough to the house to provide shade. We have planted quite a number of small trees since we came but as you know it takes a long time for a tree to grow. So, when I saw trees advertised that would provide shade in one sea- son I decided to gamble. The name of the tree was "alien- thus." The dictionary described ailanthus as "the tree of hea- ven" — fast growing and would thrive anywhere. So I sent for two, They came in a 30-inch carton — two straight sticks that looked like raspberry canes! However, they did have fairly good roots so Partner and I planted them hopefully in the ground, spaced where their shade (?) would do the most good. A few weeks later I was buy- ing plants at a local nursery and asked the man if he knew any- thing about the tree of heaven. "Oh yes, it's just a weed—it'll grow anywhere. In fact they •do say that wherever the tree of heaven grows that district will eventually become a slum!" He also said that I had paid too much for them — that a certain well-known nursery had ten- foot trees catalogued at the seine price. Partner thinks it is quite a joke and takes every- one to see my "trees." How- ever, the sticks are living and sprouting so at least they will be interesting to watch. We have also discovered that a neighbour living farther clown the road put in just such a tree three years'ago. It is now about 20 feet high — straight and slender with a few branches at the top. The species has a na- tural tendency to reach heaven- wards which I suppose accounts for its name. It also has a liter- ary history — it is the tree that features in that well-known book, published some years ago — "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn." Now may I tell you about two interesting books I have read just lately. One "Black Moses" by Jessie L. Beattie is the bio- graphy of Josiah Henson, more commonly known as the main 'Why have a little home hi 'Id &vitt:** When there's so niece: e,t out hero?" character in "Uncle Tom's Ca- bin." The characterization of Uncle Tom and Josiah is similar but their life story is very dif- ferent. Henson was a remark- able man; a slave who became a leader of his people. He escap- ed to Canada and established a negro colony near Chatham. He longed to read and write and eventually did but not until his own ten-year-old son was able to teach him. He became a preacher and a great orator. He journeyed to England on behalf of his people; preached to huge congregations over there and was presented to Queen Vic- toria, During his life he suffer- ed greatly but yet lived to a great age. He was buried at Dresden. I can thoroughly re- commend "Black Moses" to any- one interested in the tragic his- tory of the black people. The other book was "Folk Medicine" by D. C. Jarvis, M.D. — an eye, ear, nose and throat specialist practising in Vermont. He found the people of Vermont were so steeped in folk medi- cine that in self-defence he was obliged to make a study of it himself. His findings are fas- cinating and apparently well- founded on fact. He' discovered that a mixture of honey and ap- ple cider vinegar will kill almost any bacteria such as the com- mon cold, arthritis, kidney in- fection and other ailments, Two teaspoons of honey and two of apple cider vinegar in a glass of water at each meal, Honey is also a' sedative and will en- courage sleep. Two teaspoons of honey at night will also prevent bed-wetting in children. Then there is the external use of castor oil. It is good for warts, corns, callouses and soft corns. (I have a friend who went to a Toronto foot -specialist recently and castor oil was what he re- commended, rubbed well into the feet night and morning, with thin cotton socks as a protec- tion against sheets and shoes.) Mole spots treated with castor oil are supposed to disappear, also "liver spots" often trouble- some to older, people. Here is a cure for sleepless- ness that he doesn't explain. After getting to bed at night imagine you are painting a large 3 with white paint on a black- board. When you have finished one 3 start another, Dr. Jarvis says you will probably be asleep before you can paint a third. Those are just a few of the ideas that the book brings out — and maybe not as, fantastic as we might suppose. We should remember that pioneers lived close to nature; remedies were concocted from native herbs and roots. Indians, too, were well versed in the curative value of native herbs and roots. Incidcri-• tallY, d•aridhi is said to have chewed the roots of rauwollia all his life, And now rauwolfici derivatives are used extensively as the basis of many drugs to relieve high blood pressure. vrtivt tAttEtutLY -= The life yeti'save may be your oWit. ISSt1lE 25 160 Rpo,din9 Meetly Touch..,1 Dees it seem that your child not Able to read ens early or as well through modern .eduta- lion Methods as in yesteryear? Perhaps the answer is that read- ing has become a much more intricate process than it used to, be. In Noah Webster's primitive day reading was described by hint ass follow s: to take in the sense Of language by interpret- Mg the characters in. which it is expressed. But when the Inter- national Reading Association, a group of 4,000 experts, met in New York the other day they heard a new definition of read, ing given by a California psy- chologist: A processing skill of symbolic reasoning sustained by the inteulacilitation of an. intri- cate hierarchy of substrata fac- tors that have been mobilized as a psychological working system and pressed into service in ac- cordance with the purpose of the reader. You must admit that it's much easier to take in the sense of a language than it is to sustain symbolic reasoning by a process of interfacilitation of an intri- cate. hierarchy. No wonder John- ny has trouble! — Hartford Courant, • Modern Etiquette By Anne Ashley Q. If a girl visits a friend for a week-end, one whom she has known for years, is it necessary for her to write a bread-and- butter letter? A, Certainly. No matter how often you visit a certain friend for an overnight stay, a thank- you note is in order each time. Q. When a couple are to be married, and both are living in a city other titan their home- town, should the announcements be sent from that city or from the home of the bride? A. Wedding announcements are always sent in the name of and from the home of the bride's nearest relatives. Q. I can't decide between twc/ good friends for the role of best man at any wedding. Would it be all right, for me to have two "best men"?' A. Sorry;; the maximum is On best man, You can, how- ever, :designate One of.these good frienda of yew's as head fish, r, which is a position almost E11,174 to that of best man. PRINTEQ PA' TV 4963 3 sit s 6-4Et The two-piece dress — ideal for every busy day or as a suit for vacation trips. Note deeeer cut of the collar that's so sm_rt and slimming above the smooth- ly curved jacket. Printed Pattern 4963: Women's Sizes 36, 38, 40, 42, 44, 46, 43. Size 36 takes 4 yards 39-inch. Printed directions on each pat- tern part, Easier, accurate. Send FIFTY CENTS (stamps cannot be accepted, use p ntal note for safety) for this pattern_ Please print p la in ly NAME, ADDRESS, STYLE NUMBER. Send order to ANNE ADAMS, Box 1, 123 Eighteenth St., New Toronto, Ont. FROM MISSOURI Fortner Paetideht Harry Truman and Sen. Stuart ,gyertrrigfort, of Missouri, are all Chicago. Truman Symington for bertiotroile presidential Spot. LOVE ME, LOVE Mt '8ALLO6NSt. Petite passenger is Katherine Ann Onuske arriving' in Montreal front France in the Cunarder Ve'eLilici. Kati-farina Ann, 20 months;weft born in Fontainebleau white he father was stationed there with the RCAF. Now katherfrie will live in Ottawa with her father'i her mother" and her Balloons: