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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Seaforth News, 1959-06-25, Page 2WWII All Be Smiths Sooner Or Later Even if your name isn't Smith, Ws likely that you know sonic cane named Smith, :Cor the *�nniths are to -day the largest family In the world. In Great Britain alone there Ie more than 800,000 Smiths., he United States has another 500,000 Smiths. All spell their name S -M -I -T -H. In addition there are uncounted numbers of. Mimythes, Schmldts, Smith and others bearing versions and variations of the name Smith. "One day," declared Fara G. Smith, an Amerioan steel mil onaire who w a s specially proud of his world-famous name, "every person in Britain Xtr will be named Smith." He omitted to add that this is not likely to happen until millions and millions of years have passed! Believe it or not, there are now many more Smiths than MacDonalds in Scotland, One Smith who checked up on the number of Scottish Smiths some years ago calculated that in some parts of the country one tlut of every fifty persons in Scotland was named Smith. A Londoner named Smith reckoned that, placed end to end, the Smiths in the telephone directory would make a column ten miles high. Open any dictionary of bio- graphy and you'll find scores of famous Smiths. The Rev, Sydney Smith, for instance, was one of the most famous wits of his day. "There is not the least use in preaching to anyone unless you chance to catch them ill," he once said. The great Lord Macaulay described him as "the Smith of Smiths." ' Some Smiths like their world- famous name, others hate it be- sause it has sometimes proved an embarrassment, "What's your name?" asked a Midlands police station ser- geant when a man was brought before him by a constable. "'Smith," replied the prisoner. to "I want your real name," said the sergeant. "Well, put me down as William Shakespeare," said the annoyed Man. "That's better," the sergeant maid with great satisfaction. "You can't fool me with that old Smith stuff." When a certain Mr. J. Holt Schooling tried to find out why there are so many Smiths in the world, he reported that the root of the name Smith is the Sax on smitan, meaning to smite. This term, he said, was originally applied to all workers in metal (blacksmiths) and workers in wood "such as wheelwrights, masons and amiters in general." He also calculated that during a walk from Charing Cross through the Strand and Fleet Street to Ludgate Circus on a busy day he met a Smith once every minute. Another investigator dis- covered that there was a man named Smith living in Egypt as long ago as 227 B.C. and said there may have been even earlier Smiths. A banquet was once held in the United States at which all the 500 guests were Smiths. The host was named Smith, the man who presided w a s Captain Smith, then Governor of Vir- ginia. The chefs who prepared the food were Smiths to a man. An ode was specially com- posed for the occasion by a poet named Smith and this was COLD COMFORT FOR SUFFERERS from the curs ent heat wave h this under -zero, underground view of an ice cavern In Antarctica. Explorers are weather personnel. deso issued in book form by a pub- lisher named Smith. American humorist Mark Twain dedicated one of his books to John Smith. "Every- one who has a book dedicated to him usually buys at least one copy," he -explained, "and as there are thousands of John Smiths in America, so the volume is pretty sure to become a best-seller. Endurance Tests His fellow students kept a nineteen -year-old youth supplied with gallons of orange juice and soup recently when he achieved en endurance record of fifty hours' continuous table tennis playing in the 'United States. In a marathon contest he played a dozen opponents, win- ning 165 games and losing 138. ft$ remarkable what folk will do to show their powers of en- durance. A man named Dobril- le swung Indian clubs for 144 hours continuously; Professor Cartier waltzed for sixteen con- secutive hours. Two Cambridge under -graduates walked back- wards from Cambridge to New- market in five and a half hours. As a test of stamina it would be hard to beat the performance of a Sheffield man named Ram- sey, who skipped 10,617 times in an hour. Then there was a blacksmith, W. R. Hayes, who trundled two large carriage wheels each weighing 72 lb, and four feet ten inches in diameter, front Portsmouth to Newcastle and `back to Portsmouth by way of Penzance. Some years ago two under- " graduates hit the headlines by organizing their own "Olympic Games." Within four days, they opposed each other in nineteen varieties of sporting contests, beginning with outside sports and ending up with boxing, wrestling, bil- liards and chess. Their hard - fought games prompted a number of leading sportsmen to reward the young men with a magnificent dinner in a London hotel. In Milwaukee, Leo Stoll was fined $100 after he put a pistol to a cabby's head, said, "If you don't drive carefully, I'm going to kill you" WATCH OUT BELO•O-O.O4—Enough to make one Cringe away from the picture is the sight of Osyp Paraszczak, hurtling to. ward you down 'he side of this building. He's perfectly safe, etop glass conopy on lower level of a skyscraper Thief's Downfall — Ginger . Mel As the 'phone bell jangled through the apartment house the janitor dragged himself out of bed and went, grumbling, to answer it. He resented being rung up at five in the morning, The voice of the other end was courteous: "I think someone should go to apartment seven. The lady there is in need of help." With this, the caller rang off. The janitor, scowling at the tele- phone, had a good mind to go back to bed. But he was puzzled and curious, and the young wo- man in No. 7 was one of his favourites, because she tipped "well, He got his pass -key and took the lift to the second floor. To pis knock on the doer of No. there was no reply. The young lady should be there, he reason- ed. She never spent a night away without telling him. When he had knocked and called out in vain, he tried the door -handle. The door was unlocked, •so in he went. The lady did need help. In the large apartment which served her as bedroom and sit- ting -room, she was lying on the bed, tied up and gagged. The roomwas in disorder, drawers were open and their contents scattered about. When the start- led porter released the victim, she proved to be unhurt, though the electric light wiring with which her arms and legs were bound had cut into the skin. She had been roused in the night (she told him) to find a masked man bending over her. He threatened her with an automatic, warning her to keep silent, and then gagged her and bound her with lengths of wir- ing from his pocket. Putting on gloves, he ransacked the apart- ment, stowing money and jewels and other small valuables in a' brief -case. He was very methodical,, and seemed to be in no hurry. His next step, in fact, was to go into the small kitchen and collect food from the refrigerator. Sit- ting beside the helpless woman on the bed, he ate a heart/ meal, washing it down with mineral water. ,Between mouth- fuls he talked boastfully of crimes he said he had commit- ted. As he kept his mask on, it was difficult to guess his age, but he appeared to be young. His meal finished, he lay down on the bed and seemed to go to sleep. Soon after four o'clock he rose, had a washin the bathroom, picked up his brief -case, bade the trussed -up and indignant owner of the apartment a polite good-bye; and left. He rang up the jani- tor from a public call -box. This was the beginning of a series of similar robberies in Boston, Massachusetts, that year. It was obvious that one man was responsible. for them,for has technique was always the same. His victims were invariably well-to-dowomen, living alone in apartment houses. Locked doors were no protection; the thief was expert at picking locks, He was fond of using electric -light wiring to tie up his victims. He always remained until daylight, no doubt to avoid questioning police who might be inquisitive about the brief -case or bag in which he carried the spoils. He passed the time by having a meal, and often a short nap. He drank only mineral era- ' ter which eventually brought about his downfall. His behaviour in general was polite and considerate, and he never omitted the last thought- ful touch of ringing up this apartment house to report that Miss So -and -So required assi,:t- ance. Once at Least he used a vic- tim's telephone to call a taxi- cab company, giving the name of Stephens, and the cab driver found him waiting in the street, bag in hand. He was put down at the main railway station. The cabman's description of his fare was too vague to be of use. Equally unhelpful was that given by a pawn -broker with whom a man calling himself Frank Stephens pawned a stolen watch. Boston, being a city with a tradition of learning and gentle- manly manners, was at first amused. But as robbery fol- lowed robbery there was a mild panic among women living alone. The story made headlines in the Press, and the police were • blamed for not catching the thief. This publicity went to the successful robber's head, and he sent boastful messages to the newspapers. Since he always wore gloves, the Boston police had for long iearched in vain for a finger- print. At last, on the scene of one of his raids, a man's right thumbprint was found on a ginger -ale bottle. At that date, 1926, the nation- al fingerprint collection formed by the F.B.I. at Washington was only a few years old, and many of the numerous state and city police forces had not learnt to us it. The thumbprint was at first circulated only among other police forces in massaehu- setts. Then, very late in the day, it was sent to Washington. With- in a few hours the F.B.I.'s Fingerprint Unit, as it was then called, had identified the print. It was that of James E. Wal- ters, who came from Richmond, Virginia. Though still a young man, he had' a long criminal record. He had been dismissed from the Army, and had desert- ed from the Navy, and he was wanted for car stealing. A.s his full particulars, includ- ing photographs, were filed with his fingerprints at Washington, he was soon picked up in the streets of Boston. After his arrest, the known list of his rob- beries in that city was consider- ably increased. Women who had felt too humiliated at the time to call the police now came for- ward to report raids of the familiar type. None of them suffered any ill-treatment once they had been gagged and bo"!md. Walters never forgot his good manners. Before his trial he put on an act, pretending to be insane. This did not deceive a Boston judge and jury. And because of his criminal record and also perhaps from a certain vindic- tiveness towards the cheeky Young rogue who had fooled a respectable city for so long, he was given the heavy sentence of life imprisonment. Leaping The score in Australia, ac- cording to the latest dispatch from Sydney: Australians 10 million Kehgaroos 8 million But the kangaroos are gain- ing. Overrunning the sheep -graz- ing lands of New South Wales, millions of the drought -crazed animals recently had depleted the pastures to a point where ranchers called for ' army pro. tection. Possible outcome: A massive onslaught, like the one undertaken with machine guns in 1935 against migrating emus. UNSETTLED FORECAST The. U.S. Weather Bureau has received a bill for $250 for the Loss of farmer Starkey's cow: A weather iialloon, released by the Bureau, travelled on and up and eventually burst at a high altitude. Thefragments floated down to earth and landed in the farmer's field et Okemeh, Bessie, a tares year-old Hereford, ate the remnants and later died. ►BLE TALI �M VEAL STEAKS X, veal steaks t tablespoon fat 11 clove garlic, sliced 1 small onion, sliced 1 can cream of celery Salt and pepper Stuffed Olives Melt fat and brown garlic; then brown the meat in garlic - fat mixture. Add onion, salt, pepper, soup, and % soup -can of water. Simmer over low heat 45 minutes town hour, covered.. Remove lid last 15 minutes and add a few sliced, stuffed olives. Serves 2, * * * LEFTOVER VEAL ROAST Cut up leftover veal roast in bite -size pieces; place in sauce- pan. Dihsolve a bouillon cube in a cup of boiling water; pour over meat. Heat to boiling and add salt, pepper, a little garlic salt, and a small package of cultured sour cream, Serve with rice or noodles. Serves 2. * * ROUND STEAK R pounds top round 3 tablespoons .bacon grease 1 cup finely chopped onion 1 cup finely chopped green pepper 2 cans tomato sauce 1% cups water Season steak and dip in flour. Brown on both sides in the bacon grease. Add Onions, green peppers, tomato sauce, and water. Cover and cook for 2 hours at 300°F. Serves 6. * * * BEET SALAD 1 package lemon -flavored. gelatin 1 cup hot water Vs cup beet juice 3 tablespoons vinegar 2 teaspoons grated or chopped onion 1 teaspoon grated horse -radish 4 teaspoon salt % cup dined celery R cups diced beets Dissolve gelatin in hot water, add beet juice and vinegar, Cool; add grated onion,horse-radish, salt, beets, and celery, Chill un- til firm. Turn out on ' crisp greens, Serves 6. soup ISSUE 28 — 1858 ROQUEFORT CHEESE DRESSINGr, 1 carton (% portnd) our IMAM list carton mammals, (use cream carton for measure) % tablespoon lemon juice 1 tablespoon horeradish ' teaspoon dry mustard W olove garlic, crushed 1 small green onion, chopped 3 pound Roquefort cheese (blue cheese may be used) Salt and pepper to taste Mash cheese until smooth. Add other ingredients in the order given and - beat well, * The following recipe makes a very large salad and may be cut in two. HAWAIIAN DELIGHT SALAD 1 package each, lemon- and lime -flavored gelatin 2 cups out marshmallows 9% cups hot water 34 cup salad dressing, mayos- naise type 234 cups crushed pineapple, un- drained 2 cups finely chopped cabbage Dissolved gelatin in the hot water; add marshmallows. When partly cool, add salad dressing and pineapple. When the mix- ture ixture is beginning to set, add cabbage. Chill until firm, 5 '5 * With your meat and salad perhaps you will want to serve a cold drink. This one can be prepared and stored in the re- frigerator. ORANGE MINT 2% cups water' Juice of 2 oranges and grated rind 2 cups sugar Juice 6 lemons 2 handfuls of mint leaves Make a syrup of the sugar and water by mixing and boiling for 10 minutes. Add fruit juices and grated rind of orange; pour over mint leaves. Cover tightly and let stand for an hqur or longer. Strain through a sieve, ' then through 1 thickness of cloth. This can also be made by using 1 can each of frozen orange and. lemon juice, small cans. Fill tall glasses with finely chopped ice and pour 5 to 1 tablespoons, of the mixture over it; fill glasses with ginger ale or cold water. FASHION HINT