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HomeMy WebLinkAboutZurich Herald, 1928-05-10, Page 7• Leap Year Again Invites Women to "Pop the Question" PrO Lucy Stone League Member Thinks Modern Girl Soon Will 'Discard Con- vention The period is well oa he waY—the leap year, 1928—when women have the opportunity to provide themselves with the initial step to the marriage state; that is, they can propose if they wish to, while man has the mon- opolized privilege the other three years, according to the traditional custom of "wooing." During the last summer, says "The Washington Sun- day .Star," Mrs, Borden Harriman and Dorothy Dix anticipated the leap year season when women Way usually hit the courtship trail, and advised the girls to "go to it" now and not wait. In leap year reflections it might be recalled that woman proposes in other lands, and even in our own country. as 'in the case of the Hopi Indian maiden of Arizona. She "dolls up" and says she is going a -courting. In a number of countries women have the privilege of choosiug their own husbands, as in bygone days in India, and there is one. country whesre a girl may express her preference for a man by presenting him with a bottle of spirits. It she is afraid that her pro- cedure has not the sanction of her parents she may lower the fluid at night from her chamber window. It is thought that the women of the ancient Egyptians had the privilege of select- ing their husbands. Margaret Olmstead, o the Lucy Stone League, says the time is near at hand "when it will be entirely --,-ethical and become the custom for the fair sex to "pop the question—the last step intile Modern wonian's eetarilletel einencipatien.", It is Suggested that "Woman fills now any position hither- to held by man alone." She now can ask , for any job that a men 'can ask for, It has not been customary in the past for her to' make applicationfor one positIon—that of wife. The additional day in February which makes what le called the calen- dar "leap year" recalls Interesting hla- toeical traditions. The astronomers of Julius Caesar, 46 years before' Christ, fixedethe solar year at 365 days and 6 hours, Thorn) extra hours were ;set aside and at the end of four years make a day, which, was added to the fourth year on Fehr - eery 2, a date which "leaps over" the day of the week on which it wotild fall In ordinary years. Since 1662, when the Anglican lit- urgy was relaxed February 29 has been regarded as the intercalated day in all English-speaking countries. In the ecclesiastical calendar of conti- nental Europe, however, the twenty- fourth day of the month is still reck- oned as the intercalary day. In the civil calendar the day Is still the twenty-ninth of the month, perhaps adopted from astronomical practice through the astronomical almanacs, made in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. The origin of the custom for women to woo and not to be wooed during leap year has never been discovered. I It is authentic history that in the year .1288 a law was passed in Scotland for this year; known ae leap year, provid- ing that any me.yden ladye of beetle high and low estate shall have the liberte to bespeak ye man in mar- riage," and his refusal to accept 'met a levy of "one pundis," on his es- tate, and his only release from the penalty was proof of his betrothal to some other 'layde." There also was !was a similar law in France and in Genoa and Florence in the fifteenth century. Latest Method of . Constructing Sky Scrapers • DOES AWAY WITH THE AWFUL RAT-A-TATTAT Using the new method of noiselesselectric arc welding which ie to replace the old ear-splitting steel riveting. The -city dwellers will be truly thankful. Wild Horses Are Outgrowth of Few Lost by De Soto metaa....0 Indian Moved Afoot Before Whites Lost Animals and They Multiplied Here Washington—Herds of wild horses have recently been rounded up and slaughtered in Oregon and Wlashing- ton, that their hidea might be pre- served and their meat sold to fox farmers. "It is an ignominious end to horses 'whose lineage could be traced to the first horse families of America," says a bulletin from the Washington, D.C., hearquarters of the National Georgra- phic Society. "And, incidentally, it brings" to mind one of the most re- markable revolutions in folk cue. thins that the world has known in the last 500 years. "Practically all of the wild horses of the west came from the few animals which escaped from the army of Goe- tz in Maxie°, between 1520 and 1530, orfrom the still fewer horses that De Soto's adventurers left on the west of the Mississippi in 1542. Although horses had lived in North America in prehistoric times, as shown by fele!i bones, none had existed on the conti- nent for many thousands of years when EtIropeans first landed, "The Indian lived without the help of domestie mantels save the dog. When he moved, he went on foot. As a result, both the hunting and agri- cultural Indiana lived in feemepertett- tent villages; and the bunters did not range over a large territory. • "I3ut when the estaped Spanish horses had multiplied and began to appear In herds on the Western priries, the Indians catight, them, tam- ed them, and begarl hunting the but. falo from horseback. Soon they adopt, cd a roving Wes following the hada horseback uiutI their winter' up, ply of Meat was obtained and oured, This movement over a gtgater tory brought the tribes into regions previously recognized as the abode of other tribes, and war followed. The Western tribes soon were in a. con- pnual state of warfare, for which. the home was largely responsible. "So rapidly did the herds of homes increase ('mustang,' they came to e called) •that they were itt a fair way to equal the buffalo in numbers,. The advance of civilization and the fene- ing of the prairies put an end to their increase, however, and in late decades they ;hay run wild in relative- ly few regions in the least -settled parts of such states as, Nebraska, Arizona, Nevada. Oregon and Wash- ington. "The American 'wild horse' is not so classified by biologists. Officially, he lea 'feral' horse, a strain run -wild from previously clennesticated stock. The true wild horse exists now only in, Asia, chiefly in the Gobi Desert and the Altai Mountain regions. During elle early Christian era wild horses overran the steppes of Russia and the Carpathian country of Europe, and smaller herds were kniewn in the Ger- _man forests, in Switzerland and in Al - sue. These creatures were hunted along Vtith stags, and their meat was eaten. In 1832 A.D. Pope Gregory III issued an interdict against the eating of the flesh of wild horses." British Fihns ,London Morning Post (Cons.) — ("Dawn" has now been passed by the London County Connell.) All who saw the film unofficially were persuaded that it was a work of art worthy ot its subject, and that its suppression would be a folly, In matters such a,s this, WO have already pointed out, the public, and the public alone, is the fin. al court of appeal, and any censorship whiclt makes blundering efforts to pre- vent the public from forming its own OPlaiOn only defeats ito own neetic flt the end common sense prevent!. Mit not before the British film industry has been heectleifttly diadouraged. The 'three RN of matriMonyl Re. raStnele,Ric, • Osgme. a Bucking se' klead-:Ses, "WreNT.FYrkV •le 1,y ONE OF BRITAIN'S BULWARKS HEADING INTO A "BIG ONE" Huge waves partly covering the decks of H.M.S. Marlborough, passing through the Bay of Biscay, euroute to the Mediterrian or a tour of duty. The Value of Sympathy We read and hear so much about the faults and general misconduct of children, but tow many parents, do you know who really measure up to, standard? A Sunday School worker started out one morning, trying to get mothers and their children more interested in Sunday School It diad been raining the day beforee-and 14t.tle -puddles-were standing everywhere. Her knock at the door of a pretty little home was • answered by . a rather tired, nervous -looking woman. Before she had finished explaining her miesion, a boy about ten years of age came in. His clothing, face, hands and feet showed very painly he had been enjoying the rain and mud. In a moment the mother oempletely lost her self-control; her temper flex- ed, and Jimmy received a, severe scolding. Tears came to his eyeseand he attempted a meek apology, but the mother stormed, "Husla go at once to your room. I'll see you later." In a sullen, rebellious mood, Jimmy started away, but before he was out of hearing, his mother turned to he caller, and in a high-pitched, angry voice gave vent to her–feeling's. "He is the most ,careless child I have. He has no consideration for me whatever. I slave away from morning till night and he's forever making extra work for me, such as this. I'm sure he will Come to some bad end, he so reckless and hard to manage." As the Sunday School worker lis- tened to Jimmy's mother, she, too, was afraid that perhaps some day Jimmy might come to some bad end. She made several. appeals to this, mother with regard to the Sunday School but could not get her thoughts far enough away from her home and its im- mediate troubles to arouse her inter- est. As she walked toward the next home, she pondered over Jimmy, his playmates and general environment. When she knocked at this' door, she heard a general 1118h and scurry of bare feet about the room, mingled with little giggles, but in a moment everything was quiet. Then a rather large but pleasant -looking woman opened the door. The merry twinkle in her eyes and her kindly smile radiated good cheer and sympathy. In a matter-of-fact way she said, "Harry and the little boy next door have been enjoying themselves. in the mud this morning," Then she seem- ed to dismiss the whole affair from her mind and gave her undivided at- tention to her caller. We all love an understanding mother--cne who can sympathize, and will kiss away the tears, or laugh. anti enjoy our pleasures With us! "Harry will surely come to some good end with such a mother," thought the visitor, Strange, isn't it, that some parents fail to realize the importance of sympathy and often alienate their children's, affections by being cross and unreasonable. These people seem toforget they once were children. Yet the end to which childish be- havior leade generally depends much more upon the parent than upon the child. Rubber Restriction London Daily Telegraph' (Cons.): (The Stevenson scheme will definitely expire on November 1 this year. Rub- ber growers are alarmed), The best hope Is that the Dutch rubber inter- ests, which bave profited enormously by standing outside the Stevenson scheme and taking full advantage of the improved prices, which that scheme brought to them, will now be I persuaded that the time has come for them to enter into a working uncler- standieg with the British rubber lee terests of Ceylon and Malaya for the stabilization of rubber at a price which shall leave the growers a rea- sonable margin of profit.. . The tran- sition from restriction to freedom of ,export is bound to hurt many. but the true transition should be from a one - aided restriction to a joint under- standing or working alliance, without which both British. and Dutch rubber cornpaniee will provide the feathers for another's nest. Wisdom points to the reintroduction of reetrictiou in a new guise, which would give hopes ' of meter permanency than that which Is to end on November 1. Scent of the 'Wallflower Fragrance, you come to me Like some sweet melody Waked out of sleeping, You have restored again A lost link in Memory's chain Into my keeping. Memories, once fraught with tears, Now, mellowed by the years, Bring to the heart of me Joy, freed from transient pain; There only now remain Love and tranquility. —Donald Bain. All Silk and a Yard Wide. "Miss Passes has caught a man at last. She says he is all silk." "Yea; but nobody else would him because he's a yard wide." • In Merry England At Riaster-tide, at Easter -tide, Ono Sees the wistful wouid-be•bride On every promenade and beach. "Wise bachelors keep out of reach And pass by an the other aide, At Eastetr-tide, At Easter -tide, at Easter -tide, The spinsterone and all decide, "With frock and parasol combined Some man's impressionable mind I'll stun, and bring him to tnY side 1 At BasterLtide." At Easter -tide, at Baster-tide, The shoulder cold, the berth there wide -- Give these to every pretty maid, 0 bachelors, if You'd evade The knots for Bertedlok supplied— At Easter-tidel The Farmer's Eye • London Times (Ind.): When Mr. Amery was ctudying egricuutural con- ditions during his Dominion tour it was suggested tre him that the super- lative excellence iot British, pedigree stock must be due either to the °Um- ete of the United Kingdom or to the eye which its experienced farmers have for points that are(likely to make good breeding animate, There can be no question that the second of these two reasons is the real secret of the place which the stock that they produce has won in the estimation ot the world. Farmees are born and not made. It is became their island fore- fathers have for generations worked on the land and learnt its l•eseRna itt the production of flocksand berths— to say nothing of orope—that they have the gift of the seeing eye. To- day, in ever increasing numbers, they and their sons are being driven by sheer necessity to leave their farms for the towns, where the gift must Inevitably atrophy feam disuse; and fewer and fewer are beiag, left on the land to .cai'ry on and hand dawn the old traditions, Punjab Promotes VVeaving Inctusi Province Builds and Equips Model Factory, First of Its Bombay,—In order to rake the stop WS of the weaving industry in the Punjab and increase it output, the Department of Industries in that pro. vince has built and equipped' a model weaving factory and institution at Sisandara,,, tbe brat of its kind in In- dia. The Siuthdara model weaving fez. tory is now nearly ccenplete, The building has been designed on the best factory lines, with special attention to climatic coneitilons in the Punjab. The looms are in position and the work of installing the power plant is now proceeding. The Punjab Government is deter- mined that the new factory should be worked on commercial lines—a fea- ture which will distinguish it from many other institutions. The object is not merely to train workers, but to show that institutions of this kind can be made self-supporting. The factory can- accommodate 115 students, and it will have, a capacity of 100 leorns. There will also be a complete mechanical section, so that every student will gain an insight into this important part of the modern weaver's art Space will be left for a further 100 looms at a later date, and also a spinning section, where stu- dents will learn to produce designs and patterns of all grades of cotton cloth- The customer had complained to the barber of the high charge for shaving. "Yes, but have you con- sidered the extra labor involved, sir?" asked the barber. "What extra la- bor?" snapped the customer. "Well, sir," replied the barber, "with trade depression and bad times generally, men's faces are considerably longer than they were," WAVE CRUSHES LEVIATHAN'S OkCia A wall o water that rose 90 feet high struck the world's largest steam- ship and caused damage estimated at $4,0,-000. A torn and twisted ventilator funnel. This occurred during her last voyage to New York recently. Harvesting the Howler Crop Parenthood: A Profession New York Sun: It is city life which warrants use of the word profession in discussing ;parenthood. In s more leisurely era and in an environment more natural ohildren may be lett largely to look after their own de. velopment. The terra, the field, the swimming hole, the barn, the bali lot, the trout stream afford opportunities for faeaithful recreation and enjoyable Instruction. The absence of these in the city makes the problem of the thinking parent no easy one. lie sends his child to a school weU equip- ped to carry out the requirements of the curriculum but, for the vast ma- jority of ehildren, sohool lastsbut five home a day. Time devoted to play is spent on the streets or itt whatever concrete paved playgrounde there may be available. No wonder one observer, comparing the city child with his country cousin, has declared that the urban youngster is fed with canned education from *etch the viteeniues have been removed. From schoolboys' science papers: The earth makes a resolution every twenty-four hours, The difference between air and water is that air can be made wetter and water cannot. We are now the master& of steam and eccentricity. Things that are equal to each other are equal to anything else. Gravity is chiefly no.ticoable in the autumn, when the apples are falling from the trees. The axis ot the earth is an Imag- inary line on which the earth takes its daily routine. A parallel straight lino is one which if produced to most itself does not meet. —Boston Trans crip t. --*: Emplower---"How would you find the greatest. COMMOn denominator?" have Applieant for Position—"I should ad- vertise for it" A New Sport Soon To Be Popular In Cas saa .... . . ••• • • .'• f;, '4^ 51 41 58 33 45 TAKING, SPECTACULAR, THIRTY-FIVE FOOT LEAP WITH MOTOREOAT Pop, 18 -Year-old outboard motorboat pilot, making his little craft jump from a platform after a 'minting start. The stunt was performed during a recent outboard inotorhont regatta at Winter Haven, Placid L The craft, Is . the tiny Winter Raven 3rd, and is shown in nxidatr‘ Toronto Bay has many of these fast "putters." Lots of 'Em Get That Way. Onion—"What's the matter with, Mr,. Cucumber? Sick?" Potato—"No, pickled!" A girl I like is Ethel Sweet, �h doesn't powder on the street. rIrl 1 like is Maud Mahagy, She doesn't lipstick in the cafe. The "talking book" just invented, 4yJflundoubtedly need no advertising, ft should speak for itself, "So your father know e the °met nieMent he will die, (lees he, the litaai nor, month and dart" au1 h* ought to. The judge told law...