Zurich Herald, 1952-08-07, Page 6___.--te=
Houses u, es In . ritairt Cracking Up
"ee �t use Of Incurable Soil Tr • utile
'0a
All over Britain houses are crack-
ing up faster than folks can build
them, foundations settling, doors
,lamming, ceilings crashing, as the
w'esult of a nevely-discovered in-
curable soul trouble. Ileavy repair
bills mainly incurred by ordinary
1Oouseholdcrc, are zooming to up-
wards of £.10,000,000 a year.
In many areas whole streets and
suburbs are affected. Bricks and
plaster split, walls bulge, plumbing
and expensive fitments fracture .. .
and as fast as owners repair time
damage this strange blitz happens
again
In 'black spots from Eastbourne
to Rugby. Luton to Harwick,
broken drains and road fissures
:impose new bills on the ratepayers.
Factory machinery is flung out of
true, church spires tilt, and in one
ease buildings were found to be
slipping clean off their foundations.
According to scientists of the
Building Research Station, Wat-
ford, the trouble is "shrinkable
clay,' Entire suburbs of London
and many new housing estates
throughout the eastern counties
have been built on clay of large
shrinkage capacity which swells or
urrinks with the season.
Heavy rainfall over the past six
years has increased these minature
earthquakes. Some houses have
.bopped into pre-shrunk pockets of
soil overnight, with drastic effects
on the structure. There's no easy
remedy. Such trees as poplar, wil-
low and elm, when close to a house
can, however, heighten the peril.
And this is just one of Britain's
Iaush-hush housing troubles this
year, 'quake problems that are
baffling local authorities. In Shrop-
shire, for instance, disused clay
quarries have filled with water and
:now a landslide threatens to carry
the village of Jackfield into the
Severn. Five hundred people hear
the earth groaning at night and
fond their houses tilting under them.
Some families have been evacuat-
ed. Even the postal service has
stopped. Notices warn the public
that they use the yawning village
road "at their own risk and peril."
Once collapse starts, surveyors
cannot forecast what may happen.
Near Wigan. an engine -driver was
backing his loaded coal train when
the earth opened beneath him and
;swallowed him up.
The engine and thirteen trucks
were engulfed to a depth of over
100 feet and the driver was killed.
His mate jumped clear but, with
some workmen on the line, he
could only stand helpless while
steam hissed from the crumbling
shaft as though an active volcano.
Today a disused. railed -off siding
is the only sign of this fantastic
vanishing. The engine and trucks
were never retrieved but had to
be buried in. beneath thousands of
tons of earth and rubble.
Then there's the trouble at
Swadlincote, Debyshire, where
houses lurch, ceilings fall and the
landlord at one of the locals can-
not put an even pint on the
counter of the bar. so steep is the
;slope.
Mining subsidence is to blame
and government experts have re-
somn'ended the evacuation of the
town. Houses built as recently as
1938 have been abandoned because
they are slowly disappearing into
the ground. Fifteen housing
:schemes in neighbouring areas have
been scrapped because there was
AO assurance of stability for any
buildings erected there
In For a Shock?
Many townships are similarly
threatened. But what's worse is an
expert theory that a series of
earthquakes in England is now
overdue.
It is fifty-six years since the big
Herefordshire earthquake, when
chimney -stacks tumbled and many
walls collapsed over an aea of
several hundred square miles.
Shortly after the turn of the
tcentury a 'quake north-west of
Derby stopped scores of public
clocks. At one time Connie, in
Perthshire, received no fewer than
143 tremors within three months,
Comparative stillness has made
many people believe that earth
tremors never happen in that coun-
try, But perhaps they're in for a
rude shock 1
—From "Tit -Bits".
SO NEAR, AND YET
Victor 'Jorge, the clever Danish
raconteur, told a banker, "A. man
you really should finance is my
uncle, who was determined to in-
vent a new soft drink. He worked
on a formula for a whole year,
and came up . with something he
called '4 Up'. It was a failure, but
my uncle was not discouraged. He
worked another year, and produced
a new concoction which he named
'5 Up'. Again it failed to sell, but
my uncle persevered. He took all
the rest of his money, secluded
himself for two years this time, and
turned up with still another drink
that he called '6 Up.' Alas, it failed
like the others, and my uncle, dis-
couraged at last, gave up in dis-
gust."
"The point of your story eludes
me," said the banker. "Why do
you tell me alI this?"
"I just wanted you to know,"
said Borge, "how close my uncle
came to inventing '7 Up'!"
Malayans Believe
In "The Third Eye"
There is a strange boom these
days in Malaya which does not
seen to be affected by the bandit
warfare.
On the Island of Penang, for
example, the Chinese appear to
have become more inclined to mys-
ticism than ever. There are to -day
more than a dozen new "religions"
whose leaders claim that various
gods may be appeased, so that the
sick may be cured and evil spirits
vanquished.
The names of the cults that seem
to be the most flourishing are: The
Cult of the Monkey God; The Cult
of the Three Mountains; The Third
Eye Cult.
Although these cults have differ-
ent titles, the methods of starting
them varies little; and the drive for
members seldom changes. The
method of collecting subscriptions
from followers invariably displays
the enterprise for which the Chi-
nese are famous.
A cult is launched by some Chi-
nese getting an idea and giving it
a name. The Cult of the Third Eye
may be taken as an example.
"Divine Sight"
In this case it was a Chinese boy
who claimed that "divine sight"
came to him in the night. This
sight was given the name of "The
Third Eye" and followers had to
paint an extra eye on their fore-
heads between their natural eyes.
It cost practically nothing at all
to make a new cult known, because
it soon becomes a sort of whisper-
ing advertising propaganda up and
down the narrow crowded alleys.
A boost is given to a new cult .
by the simple method of affirming
that the more followers the cult
has, the more influence there can
be brought to bear on the spirits,
good or evil For some cults have
good spirts to watch over the fol-
lowers, whereas others have bad
spirits only, which must be kept
in check.
In the case of The Third Eye
Cult, the boy who started it be-
came a sort of medium. He goes
into trances and contacts numer-
ous gods and godesses.
When there are a good number
of followers, the sick among them
are given crams' which they are
L
PITCHING HORSESHOES
—From Countryman's Year, by Haydn S. Pearson
W E are glad there is a national association to guide officially the
destinies of pitching horseshoes. If the people who enjoy projecting
arrows frons semicircular pieces of wood or knocking around an inoffen
sive wooden ball have organizations behind them, then those who pitch
horseshoes deserve the dignity of similar treatment.
A game after supper on the farm, however, needs no official sanction
Two deeply driven stakes of oak or ash forty feet apart and a fen
old horseshoes are all the equipment needed, A man who pitches
regularly is particular about his "shoes." They can be neither too
heavy nor too light, They must feel right in a man's hands. The
countryman who enjoys the game from April to December is just as
hussy about his prize pair of old horseshoes as he is about his favorite
att or his pet hoe.
One of the pleasant things about pitching horseshoes ;q the diversn,
of opinion regarding the techniques—and that's the way it should h<
in a democracy where one's opinion is respected among one's peers
Some amen insist that a ringer conies easier from holding the shoes he
she calk at the rear center and letting the shoes go three tim .s end over
end. Others maintain that one end -over -end revolution is best. There art
those who stoutly argue the only proper way is to hold the shoes side
ways, with a thumb curled around a front calk. Othere balance tie
rahoe on several fingers and figure that two and three-quarter turns tri''
produce the most ringers.
These arguments of course, are merely the technicalities of a bl000
etirring, traditional American sport. For some three centuries men an t
boys have been exercising thea skill with the pieces of curved iron
It's the good-natured rivalry, the masculine banter, and the pitting of
one's skill against another's that gives zest to pitching ,horseshoes
When the shout "It's a ringed" comes, n man lute a feeling that hr•'•
)' rnrltali'.bed something worthwhile.
All Puffed Up—Jimmy Wingo, 5, has a quiet smoke with his good
friend Frank Wilson. ;Jimmy was given a cigar by his father,
C. N. Wingo, at the age of two to cure him of picking up and
smoking cigaret butts. No cure resulted, but the cigar business
has a steadfast customer.
told to burn, then to mix the ashes
with water and drink it.
The medium meets his disciples
in various temples.
Not all cult leaders make claims
to powers of clairvoyance in any
form; indeed, some ^have been
heard to declare that almost any-
one can acquire the power to serve
the gods by practising concentra-
tion and making sincere efforts.
Although there is such an up-
surge of mysticism and new cults,
there are still others practised,
both in Penang and the mainland,
by Chinese whose forebears
brought the rituals from the home-
land in China, mystic rites whose
origins are deeply buried in antiq-
uity,
Such a ritual is the Chinese
"cure" for sick children. The ar-
ticles necessary for such "cures"
are temple joss sticks, green beans,
a piece of pig's fat, a pair of paper
shoes, cut-out figures to represent
the sick child, a scroll of red rice -
paper, and a duck's egg.
All the articles except the egg
are burned during the ceremony.
Nothing happens to the egg, but' it
is not seen again. Rumor has it that
the medium makes a meal with it.
"Top Balling" Made
Life -Time Enemies
That two brilliant geniuses could
engage in a lengthy feud over a
childish dispute shows how small
great men can sometimes be. Inigo
Jones, landscape painter, designer
and architect; Ben Jonson, once
deemed Shakespeare's equal, poet,
draniatist and satirist . , . these
were the two giants whose fierce
squabble set the whole of seven-
teenth -century London laughing.
Inigo Jones was the son of an
unsuccessful cloth -merchant of
Smithfield (where once was held
the Great Cloth Fair). He had so
little 'education that he could not
spell the simplest words. But he
had that mysterious quality called
genius.
In those days aristocrats acted as
patrons to promising artists. And
the Earl of Pembroke, hearing
Horace Walpole praise the young
architect, sent Inigo to Italy and
on a tour round Europe to see
the great buildings of the past.
He cane back and found many
other patrons. He designed build-
ings, interiors, and costumes for
the great masques, which were
then the rage.
King Became Curious
. James I commissioned him to
design a great banqueting Hall at
Westminster, which stands as one
of his many monuments to this day.
Then the King became curious
about Stonehenge. What was the
mystery of those great stones set
up on the plain? Jnigo Jones was
the pian to unravel that mystery.
A good deal puffed tip by success
and unable to tolerate criticise,
Inigo reported back to his royal
master that Stonehenge was the
remains of a Roman temple to a
heathen god. The King was sells.,
fied with this opinion; and he com-
missioned Jones to make all the
coenmmea for a grand masque which
was to be written by no less a big-
wig than Ben Jonson, the famous
playwright and poet.
Ben wrote his masque; and Inigo
designed the scenery (the first
movable stage scenery ever used in
England) as well as some gorgeous
costumes. And now we come to
the cause of the great quarrel that
made all London town laugh at
the two giants. Inigo Jones's name
was put above Ben Jonson on
the programmes !
For years after that Ben Jonson
pursued Jones with amazing venom.
He poked fun at him in his famous
comic poem, "A Tale of a Tub."
He went about maligning him
everywhere.
Once Johnson said to the King:
"If I wanted words to express the
greatest villain in the world I
would call him an Inigo."
Rich but Not ' Popular
But the King took Jones's side
and Jonson never again wrote a
masque for royalty, He neither
forgave nor forgot this, and the two
men remained bitter enemies for
T. life.
It was Inigo Jones who intro-
duced the Italian style of archi-
tecture, into England. He built
fine mansions and churches. He
died justlithree hundred years ago,
on June 1st, rich but not popular.
He was vain, pompous and in-
tolerant. But he had his virtues.
He was very, very generous and
gave freely to all who asked finan-
cial help of him.
QUIZ PROGRAMS
On one of those quiz shows
where they give dollar bilis for
guessing Agnes MacPhail's first
name, a plump housewife walked
off with time five -hundred -dollar
jackpot. "What's the first thing
you're going to do with this mon-
ey?" gurgled the delirious M.C.
"Count it," said the housewife
simply.
Another show specialized in
wrapping. objects in deceiving and
inappropriate packages, and pre-
senting them to the first member
of the studio audience who could
identify same. The announcer step-
ped into a soundproof booth on
stage to let the radio audience. in
on the secret.
Edwin O'Connor was present one
day when the announcer stepped
out of the booth and held up to
view a package big enough to con-
tain a set of the Encyclopedia
Britannica. "What have we here?"
he asked playfully. "A set of dish-
es? An elephant?" "You have
there," said a lady in the audience,
"a small diamond ring."
"Wonderful," said the announcer,
hauling the lucky lady onto the
stage. "Have you X-ray eyes? Or
could you hear what I was saying
in that soundproof booth?" "Not
exactly," said the lady. "l'm a lip
reader."
i'Marriage is a step so grave and
decisive that it attracts light-headed
variable men by its very awful
ness," -- (R, L. Stevenson).
Dutch Go 1n For
"Hopped -up" Bkcyde*
The modern-day "Flying Dutch-
man" is a middle-aged gentleman
riding a hopped -up bicycle which
makes a noise varying between that
of an overgrown mosquito and a
wartime V -bomb,
With motorcars difficult fo get
because of high prices and small
import quotas, there has been a
big switchover from ordinary
bicycles to what are called there
buzz bikes, or bicycles fitted with
a wide variety of small auxiliary
motors.
Holland has about 5,000,000 bi-
cycles. In the past 18 months the
number fitted with motors has
grown from 50,000 to about 180,-
000. The total is expected to reach
225,000 before the end of the year,
and 500,000 by 1956.
License Not Required
An increase of 50 per cent in
highway accidents in the Nether-
lands during the past year has
been attributed to the "buzz bikes."
The government regards them as
m bicycle—which means no license
is necessary, and riders use both
highways and the special bicycle
tracks provided alongside every
Dutch road.
The Dutch bicyclist has long
been known as a sort of circus
rider because of his amazing dex-
terity and speed—and the many
traffic risks he takes.
As long as he was using ordi-
nary bicycles, motorists and pedes-
trians could estimate his speed
fairly accurately and get out of
the way. But since the bicyclists be-
gan attaching motors to their bi-
cycles, which gave them a remark-
able variety of speeds, the accident
rate has risen alarmingly.
Confusion Increases
By behaving sometimes as
cyclists and sometime:, as motor •
-
ists, the motorized cyclists befuddle
traffic policemen as well as motor-
ists. The confusion is increased by
the fact that few of the "buzz
bikes" look any different from or-
dinary bicycles. Some of the motors
are so small that they cannot be
seen except at close range, while
those tucked away at the rear of
the machine give no indication that
the "bicycle" is not an ordinary
bike.
Motorists in Holland are accus-
tomed to droves of ordinary bi-
cyclists bearing down on them at
the peak hours, when every second
Dutch person rides a bicycle.
But when several buzz bikes
suddenly looms out of a phalanx of
bicyclists and dart alongside or in
front of cars without any warning
other than the normal bike bell—
it's a terrifying experience for a
driver.
The problem of what to do about
them is unsolved.
The bicycling organizations ob-
ject to the "speed demons" using
the bicycle paths.
The automobile associations say
they are less of a. menace on the
bike paths than on highways.
And the government, after a
year's careful consideration, has
ruled they are bikes, which means -
they can go anywhere.
Consequently, ITollanders walk
and drive with their ears cocked
for a noise like a refrigerator
motor with a shot bearing.
By Rev. R. Barclay Warren,
B.A.. B.Y.
God Prepares A Leader
1 Samuel 1:20, 24-28; 3:1, 16-21: 4
Memory Selection: The child
Samuel grew on, and was in favor
both with the Lord, and also with
men. 1 Samuel 2:26,
A famous man when asked how
early in life the training of a child
should begin, answered, "With his
grandparents." Well, we don't
know about Samuel's grandparents
but we do know that both his par-
ents were godly. His name, which
means, "asked -of -God" reminds us
of Hannah's prayer for a child.
Before his birth her prayers ascend-
ed for hint. She knew the first rule
of sound vocational guidance, a
dedication of her child to God. The
home in which he was reared while
young put God first. The prayers
he heard were marked by a warm
and lively devotion, creating an at-
mosphere where reverence, that-
highest emotion among men, took
precedence over other passions.
The pleasant, courteous spirit, of
the mother would never be forgot-
ten by the boy. The same high
quality which enabled her to reply
graciously to the unjust censure
of Eli was no doubt observed by
her son on many occasions, and as
a lode star held him to the teach-
ings of home.
While Samuel was still a boy,
God revealed Himself. Samuel
missed out on the guntoting, crime -
comics, movie gangsterism which
most boys have today. But he
heard God's voice and he obedi-
ently responded. For many years
he was destined to he God's great
and good leader in Israel.
FA.NNYISMS
The late Fanny Brice (Baby
Snooks to you) displayed her pers-
picacity at a tender age when she
was Helping out in her aunt's candy
store. Her aunt had stocked up
heavily on peppermint sticks, but
though the price seemed right (a
penny a stick) the neighborhood
kids weren't having any. The ten-
year -old Fanny borrowed a ham-
mer, broke the sticks in twelve
pieces each, and put a hand -made
sign in the window: "Big bargain
today only! A dozen pieces of pep-
permint for a cent." The entire
stock was cleaned out in three
hours.
Miss Brice's advice to young
ladies: "Never marry a man for
his money. The thing to look for
in a husband is a gentle, even dis-
position. Of course, a man without
a big bank account is always
grouchy and bad-tempered. Re-
member, girls, every household
gets the same amount of ice—hut
the rich get it in August and the
poor get it in January."
"I owe my own success," confi-
ded Miss Brice, "to the peaceful
hone life I enjoyed as a child.
Anything my mother wanted to db,
Pop let her, saying that she had
a perfect right." Miss Brice
thought for a moment and added,
"She had a pretty good left too."
How Ham 1 Charles?—Following actor Charles Laughton snarl
for snarl, former heavyweight boxer Lou Nova gets a lesson
in emoting from the famous thespian at a Hollywood studio.
Both are featured in a forthcoming movie.
JITThR
} IF YOU MUST RESP THAT PET LOBSTER
AT LEAST HOLD HIM WHER6 PEOPLE
WON'T SEE HIM. J -••"-
By Arthur Pointer
• TRY TO FLIRT
WITH M6, WILI. HE'
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