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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Seaforth News, 1950-03-30, Page 3Cainels Are Desert "rNewly,,Arrived's" it itr etal'tlittg, but iueontestably etrte, that the cannel, ,whish we al- waysassociate with the desert scene, was not used in the Sahara until well into the Christian Era, The mune( was imported into North A£Iiea front the East and canto tardily and gradually, Or rather came back. In prehistoric days it had existed in the coastal regions that are now called Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco. Its bones have been dug up. But the wild mmol died off before man learned to use it, The slowness of the process by which the camel—the much-needed cancel—moved westward from Asia Minor toward and into the Salsar•ra is a puzzle, One would have thought that this seemingly Heav- en-sent desert vehicle of transport would have swept into popularity in a few years, But it took cent- uries. In early,historic days even Egypt so close to the East, had no camels. The father of Ranteses I1 was obliged, to have a cistern built in the desert east of the Nile so that his men could reach the gold mines without risking death by thirst, they having had .no transport but asses to carry water for their jour- ney. By the seventh century B.C., •there is noted the limited use of eantels in Egypt .. , A small; but significant circum- stance which I have noted is that Jut Alexandria, which was far closer to the East whence camels came, and at a considerably later date than that of Alexander the Great's pil- grimage, the celebrated procession . , . included camels along with exotic and unfamiliar beasts like zebras, a white bear, a rhinoceros. It seems obvious that camels must skill have been much of a rarity, else they would not have been given a place in this great show , , In short, at least a thousand years elapsed between the first in- troduction of the camel into North Africa, in Egypt, and its adoption as a regular means of transport. Yet it was the camel alone that was capable of, and eventually did, open up that immense trans Saharan trade which made Mediterranean ,Africa rich and brilliant in the lefidclle Ages and gave splendor and culture to the Negro empires by the Niger. Before cancels carne, such desert travel as there was used horses specially trained to go two days without a drink. Pack oxen, also so trained, carried water skies. Asses helped, too,—From "North African Prelude; The First 7,000 Years," by Galbraith Welds, Cost Of Living High In Russia The British Foreign. Office has given, without continent, s list of prices in Russia after the February 28 revaluation of the ruble, quoting the wage of a skilled Russian work - or as from 500 to 1,500 rubles, equivalent to $126 to $378 a month. Unskilled workers' wages were said to rauge from 250 rubles. or $63, a month. Taking the value of the ruble --at 25 cents, the prices gives were: Black bread: 2 rubles (50 cents) a two -pound loaf. Milk: 3 rubles 60 kopeks a liter, or about 50 cents a pint. Chocolate: 145 to 200 rubles a klogram, or about $16.80 to $25 a pound. Beef: 35 rubles or $4,34 a kilo (2.2 pounds). 1-lani: 47 rubles, or more than .$5.60 a pound. Toilet soap: 3 rubles, or 70 cents A cake, women's shoes: From '50 to 540 rubles, or $63 to $134 a pair, Men's shoes: Front 200 to 470 rubles, or $50 to $117 a pair. a Handicapped, But Game—This boy, Robin Sutherland, is crippled but happy. Picture was taken at Blue Mountain camp, near Collingwood. It's one of three summer camps operated by the Ontario Society for Crippled Children, The Society's annual Easter Seals campaign for funds continues until April 9. Donations may be sent to "Tunny, Toronto." Searching For "Extinct" Monsters For many years scientists have agreed that there are more myster- ies in the sea than are ever likely to be solved. Unlike the majority of us they have rarely been incred- ulous of the stories of monsters and mermaids •that have entertained us for so long. And they have been even less so since December 22nd, 1938, On that day they received the big- gest shock In scientific history, A trawler fishing off the coast of East London, South Africa, found a strange, steel -blue fish in the catch, Fins Like Arms - It measured five feet in length and its most unusual feature •were "No Substance"—Ambassador- at-Large Philip Jessup speaks into a microphone as he arrives in New York from London, Jes- sup, who was accused by Sen. Joseph McCarthy of having"an unusual affinity for Communist causes," saidthere was "no sub- stance" to McCarthy's claim of Communists in the State Dept. — Sy Harold Arnett lig!: HOT PLATE ---- "-s MAKE HOT PLATE PROM TIN CAN tttr1;111ri AND HEAT -LAMP ELEMENT, SCREW iMbr, TOAWIHICH A PLNG EMEUG AND CORD ARE MTAT INTO USN b`HED AND FIT RECEPTACLEOVER HOLE IN 11004 OP TIN CAN . LET ED6E OF CAN EXTEND SLIGHTLY ABOVE TOP OF ELEMENT AND PUNCH HOLES INED01p. it CAN FOR WIRES TO SUPPORT A GRIM. PAINT MATCHING To MIX PAINT TO MATCH WORK ALREADY PONE, SMEAR SOME OF MIXTURE ON PIECE OF GLASS AND HOLD GLASS AGAINST SURFACE FOR COMPANot IF SWATCH DOESN'T MAIN, WIPE IT FROM GLASS BEFORE APP-LYINO ll_ANOTHER SAMPLE. its fins which had developed until they looked like arms or legs. Because it was so unusual, the skipper had it preserved and sent to Dr, J. L. B. Smith of Rhodes University, Dr. Smith examined the fish and his subsequent story shook the scientific world to its foundations. The strange fish belonged to a species that has been extinct for 50,000,000- years—or thought to be, In other. words this species has actually lived all that time, un- known to man. Unfortunately, after Dr. Smith had finished, the mysterious fish was handed to a local taxidermist who stuffed it ,throwing the head and entrails away before biologists could examine there. That is why, early in the New Year, an expedition of twenty-five scientists sailed to discover, if pos- sible, the area where the species, must spawn and also to look for proof of the existence of other strange marine creatures. If the seas can hold such a secret for so long, how many more sur- prises might there be in store for us? Perhaps in the not -so -distant future sceptics will be made to think again about the existence of the Loch Ness monster, for iri- statrce. We—the laymen—laughed when officers of the Mauretania reported seeing a curious monster, even though their story was supported by passengers. We laughed when Hans Egede, the missionary, vouch- ed for one, and even when members of _the Zoological Society reported another, We were even disbelieving when fifty foot carcases of unknown species have been washed up on the shores of India and Africa. Scientists, however, have not been so sceptical—at least not since 1938. But what of mermaids? Both Beebe and Barton have re- ported strange deep-sea fish that looked almost human, seen through the windowsof their bathyspheres. At the same time every sailor who sails the seas toes not spend his life trying to spoof people. Scores of times tltey have told of mermaids, until constant jeers forc- ed them to keep quiet. Yet they cannot all be wrong All Nonsense? In 1891 a mermaid was reported to have been seen off the Orkneys, and all the newspapers oarried the story. She was described as having a small black head and a milk -white body with long arms. Two years later another mermaid was seen by a mar[ sad his wife at almost the same spot, They agreed she was beautiful end had lots of thick brown hair. Nonsense? Of course it is all silly nonsense. So was the atom bomb once. So wan the motor ear and the aero- plane. a Radio Murder Convicted criminals in a state penitentiary are supposed to he a hardened lot, But some things are too much even for them to stom- ach. Judging by an article in the Monthly Record, a publication pro- duced by inmates of the Connec- ticut State Prison radio crime is one of those things. One contributor wrote: I get glass -eyed wit' anger (when) .[ think how the radio crimp presentation industry oper- ates its debasing orime schools, A barrage of how -to -do -it crime programs is pouring into the homes of the susceptible American pub- lic, Your kids are constantly being shown that if they aren't as stupid as the villains of the programs, they can easily get away with crime. Every teen ager brows he's not that stupid, so he begins getting ideas, and there's another young- ster headed for skid row to get a gun and maybe ultimately a trip to the hot seat, Headed "15,000 Murders a Month," the article expressed the view of a number of prisoners in the institution that programs drip- ping with guile and gore occupy altogether too large a proportion of the time on radio station schedules. That is expert testimony. Who should know better what it takes to make a criminal than those who have serade the grade, the down- grade? The men in Wetltersfiel i Prison are paying their debt to society When will the professional and commercial exploiters of a de- praved taste for crime—tire pro- ducers and sponsors of thinly veneered glorifications of the gun- man and gun moll—begin to do as much: Investigate" Before You Jain. Before you isuvest, investigate, 'That's the advise of the Better Business Bureau and it makes senses whether applied in purchasing e Nothing machine, a seeurlty er joining tonne popular movement. It fs Particularly applicable just now *hen It's hard to tell a Communist shys.er front a genuine social re- former. Already a lot of organization with fine democratic names have been exposed as ideological boiler shops. A lot of unthinking liberals and do-gooders who didn't investi- gate what they were getting into, have been left holding the bag. To- day there are three or four world- wide Communist sales organiza- tiosns. All are selling a highly mar- ketable and desirable product --- "Peace." The line is this: "If war conies it will be the fault of the Trumast- iacs. The Soviet Uniou wants to bast the Bomb. 'Cine others refuse to do SO." .ln other words, condition our minds to accept the Big Lie that II war does come, it will be of our making, not Russia's. One sales force aiets at labor: another at women; a third at the "cultural" level—the arts, science, etc.—and a fourth at youth. The latter organization is called the World Federation of Demo- cratic Youth. There's also a Women's International Democratic Federation and a World Federation of Trade Unions. The kingpin is the World Peace Congress. The boss of the Canadian branch, Dr. James Endicott, ex -United Church missionary, was in Moscow re- cently, His mission: to give a first- hand report on the Canadian Peace Movement. Recently, the Communist youth movement staged a World Youth & Student Festival in Budapest, behind the Iron Curtain, A. young American who attended, writing in a U.S. magazine artiele, said he was "appalled" by what he called the "defamation" of the West. Among the hundresd of young delegates were 32 Canadians repre- senting these organizations National Federation of Labor Youth, National Committee of LPP Students, The Canadian Tri- bune, Student Christian Movement, Canadian Seamen's Union, United Jewish People's Order, Association of United Ukrainian Canadians, B, C. Woodworkers' International Union, CIO Fur and Leather Workers, "Vochenblatt" (Canadian Jewish Weekly) Kossuth: Sick Bane$lt Society ('Hungarian), _Fe- deration of Russian Canadians, Except for the Studs it Christian Movement, all are either outright Communist affiliates or front or- ganizations. At least 20 of the 32 delegates were known Communists. $esnme were members of the "Bea- ver Brigade," This is a Communist youth shock troop group. Since the war, they have made annual trips behind the Iron Curtain to work with pick and shovel on Communist work projects, The Canadian party also included a contingent of musicians, dancers and singers. At least two of then are members of the Toronto Sym- phony and one holds a staff posi- tion with the Toronto Royal Conservatory of Music. The leader of the delegation was Norman Penner, long a Conttnusnist. He is tine head of the LPP's youth movement. From hitn and his Que- bec deputy Camille Dionne, the conference got its report on the state of culture in Canada. When he came back, Penner made a coast-to-coast tour carry- ing the Budapest message to the Canadian faithful and sympathizers, What Penner and hit world youth movement and all Communists are selling is totalitarianism done up in a fancy package, In a wrapper labeled "Democracy," it has been forced down the throat of much of Europe and now China. Today more than ever before we should investigate before lending support bo causes no matter how attraetively presented. If we don't we are quite likely to find that our nuances and financial contributions are being used to undermine the very things we cherish most, —From The Financial Post, Hoeing Problem( In a big city department store, a woman was extremely interested in it display of doll houses. She examined each one very minutely. Finally, she stood in front of one, and when she read the exorbi tant price tag, she was petrified. The saleslady, noticing her star- ing at the expensive doll house asked: "May I help you, madam?" The woman smiled sweetly and replied: "Of course, you arrange jfor the mortgage on this!" Blind Man is TV Fixer—Al- though he's though lie's been blind for 13 years, John- ny Lizza, 25, is expanding his radio repair shop to televi- sion. 13t' his sense of touch alone, Lizza can make most repairs on the do nt p 1 i Gated sets. He open- ed his radio shop in 1945, and hopes to save enough money for an eye operation. "A Man Gets Mad Sometimes"—Emanuel Silva wrecked his cement truck oft a hillside and es- caped unhurt. That he could take A couple of days later, he was helping to haul the big truck up an embankment when it suddenly burst into flames, Then Silva saw red. He dash- ed to his sedan parked at the top of the etnbanktne tr gtttutgd is and crashed into the burning truck. ftinerging from his wrecked ear unhurt, 5lva said: A man bets mad sometimes.' By Arthur Pointer