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The Brussels Post, 1952-2-27, Page 3Not A Good Risk By Maud McCurdy Janet had said, "I'm not going to marry you, George!" Ile had bought a run-down man- cion at the edge of town, which he'd had converted "into apartments. The place was surrounded by meadows. Janet and George were out on the grounds, looking over the patios, the tennis courts, and the lily pond, There was still space left over for playgrounds of most any size. This was where the trouble start- ed, Janet said, "Think what this will mean to children who've never had room to run and play." George looked startled. "We can't take children, Janet" he said. She was astonished, "But this is such an ideal place for them." George shook his head and Janet flushed angrily, "1 don't believe you even like children, What else would you do with all this ground?" She hesitated a moment, then add- ed, "I'm not marrying you, George. You wouldn't be a very good matri- monial risk. George tried the best he could tcL defend himself, explaining that children were destructive, He ar- gued, but Janet only looked at him in bewilderment. "If you feel :that way," she whis- pered, 'you really are not a very - George looked startled. "We can't take children, Janet," he said. When Fate Plays Strange Tricks Among the thousands of seri- dents recorded every year are some strange examples of the ca- ' pricious tricks that Fate can play. At Dartford a man fell in front of a two -ton streamroller, which. passed over Jilin from head to foot. His companions were astounded to see the man get up and walk away. The machine had pressed hint pito soft, newly dug earth, and he suf- fered no after effects, just as strange a case .occurred in a United States hotel, where an employee stepped into an open lift shaft and Was killed. No such acci- dent had ever happened before, but a few minutes later another work- man stepped- into the same shaft and landed on the body of his com- panion, thus escaping any serious injury. Sometimes the tricks that Fate plays are terrible ones. Take the ease of the United States Richard's family—father, mother, ' and six chi 1 d r e u. Mathematically, the chances, are a million to one against any two people being killed in motor accidents in a four-year period. But one day three children were killed in a level -crossing accident. Within the year their father was bit and killed by a passing 'car, Two years after that the four re- maining members of the fancily lost their lives is another level -crossing accident. A man who narrowly escaped death was the motorist who decid- ed, one cold morning, to warn his engine in a closed garage. Over- come • by fumes of carbon mon- oxide, he slumped against the steer- ing wheel, A few moments longer and he would have been dead, but his body was leaning against the horn but- ton, sounding a steady alarm. His family heard it and arrived in time to rescue him. Many accidents have their lighter side. One hospital had so many patients brought in to have billiard balls removed from their mouths (after betting, they could get them. in) that they invented a special apparatus for dealing with the problem. ' This contrapion was in constant demand. In one record week, no less than four ball - swallowing gentlemen came to have them removed. good 'matrimonial risk." She left hint standing there still trying to defend himself. George tried to see her. He called her every day at the newspaper office, but she was out. It was plain Janet didn't want to see him again and there seemed to be nothing he could do about it. No matter what he tried, he could not get to see her. Finally the apart m e n t s and grounds were complete. Peter Bol- ton, his partner, put a full page ad- vertisement in the newspaper. Within an hour after the paper came out people began coming, prosperous -looking young couples, every one with children. They were excited over the place, anxious to sign leases at once. George was bewildered. He asked Peter What on earth had he put in the ad, "Only couples without chil- dren," Peter said firmly. George began to feel a little des- perate. There was on pretty young mother, with violet eyes. almost the . color of Janet's, who said feelingly, "Mr. Hartley, the mothers of this town Will call you blessed." "But 1 , .." George started to say a mistake had been made, but was stopped..by another young couple shaking his hand and saying, "This is wonderful. It's like a dream." George was perspiring. tie found a moment, and took a look at the ad. There it was int bold type, "Only couples with children need apply.,, -. Leaving Peter in charge. George drove to the newspaper office. Be- fore he could get to the advertising department a reporter button -holed hint. "tilt. Hartley, the whole town is talking about what you've done. You've really matin news. This will snake every newspaper in the state." George pulled away from t him, hurried to the advertising depart- atenl. A voice said, "Yes?" and a pair of violet eyes looked up and ntet George's. A quick flush caste to her face. 'George, they only put me on this desk yesterday and I I made the mistake. I'm sorry." Georgi' stood there looking at her as if he never wanted to stop, "Look, Janet, 1 was looking at the matter in a cold-blooded, business way.", He drew a long breath and event on, "You didn't make a mis- take, 1 did. The place is just like you said, a natural for children. And they're there already, about a dozen of them with their parents." "George, you mean that?" Janet asked. "You're not just saying it to get me to change my mind?" "I 'never meant anything more," George answered, glad," Janet said. "You know , - . l must have itad ncy mind on the r.ltildrrn. I didn't make the mistake in your ad on purpose. 1 really didn't George, and don't yott ever say 1 did," George just smiled, The whole of- fice force might be looking, batt Ile didn't care. He bent his head and kissed her, How Horace Greeley Took To Printing Maty (Greeley) sent Horace over to her father's broad farm in Lond- onderry to board there during term - time, since the Woodburn place lay nearer to a schoolhouse than Zan's. There he saw a more ample life than at home. The Woodburn patriarch showed off the grandson to his valley neighbors. A retired sea captain across the way lent Horace books and tested him be- fore company on his reading: "How do you spell Nebuchadnezzar? Who 'fought the b at t l e' of Eutaw Springs?" The boy was now ac- cumulating an audience. One day, when a girl arrived in the village bearing the name ''Asenath," the elders asked themselves wherever she could have gotten it, and the seven-year-old Horace piped up _w. "Small for its age, isn't it?" Operation Excavation—Road crews, working in deep crevice cut in the snow, prepare to dynamite more packed snow near Donner Summit. The scene is near where a crack streamliner recently was snowbound for several clays. with the answer that the name was to be found "in the forty-first chapter of Genesis, verse forty- five." So, at least, the elders re- counted it, checking their Bibles and discovering that the astounding youngster was right.... One day when he was eleven, having heard that a newspaper printer in Whitehall just across the New York State line was looking for an apprentice, he had trudged eight hilly miles to confront him aitd be told that he was too young for the job. Four years later another opening occurred on the weekly Northern Spectator over in Eaat Poultney, a handsome Vermont valley town that boasted of two thousand people, six sawmills, and a stately green. Zac Greeley was just then on the point of pulling out for Pennsylvania. Hurriedly, be- fore it might be too late, Horace tramped the dozen miles down the Rutland road to the white gate' of Amos Bliss, East Poultney's town clerk, drygoods merchant and news- paper manager. Bliss was out back of his house planting potatoes in, the spring sunshine. "Are you the man that carries on the printing office?" said a high-' pitched voice close behind him. Amos Bliss looked up from his hoe. Restraining himself from laugh- ing at the sight, Bliss admitted he was the man, "Don't you want a boy to learn the trade?" asked the stranger. "Well," said Bliss, "we have been thinking of it. Do you want to learn to print?" "I've had some notion of it," said , the backwoods boy. Bliss gazed at him with astonish- ment, "Well, my boy—but, you know, it takes considerable learning to be h printer. Have you been to school much?" "No, I haven't had much chance at school. I've read some." "What have you read?" "Well, I've read some history, and some travels, and a little of most everything." "Where do you live?" "At Westhaven." "How did you come over?" "On foot." Bliss who, among his other ac- complishments, . was also on the side an inspector of common schools—gave him a quick exam- ination on his general knowledge on the spot, and then sent him over to the foreman at the Northern Spectator shop across the green. After a quarter hour Horace sauntered back to Bliss' garden, waving a slip of proof paper bear- ing the foreman's notation: "Guess we'd better try him." — From "Horace Greeley: Voice of the People," by William Harlan Hale. QW BY • HAROLD ARNETT READING WITHOUT YOUR GLASSES IN AN E'Mt=RGENCY CAN SE ACCOMPLISHED SY CROOKING THE FINGER AS SHOWN, AND READING THROUGH THE HOLE, WHICH MAGNIFIES THE PRINT, TlEFARM FRONT Joktdameti I don't .suppose many farmers are regular readers of The Finan- cial Post,—a journal designed to appeal more to the Bay Street crowd than to those of us on the back concessions. Still, in a recent issue, under the heading "THEY DON'T PLAY FAIR" there is an editorial that should strike ,a responsi¢e note in the mind of every Canadian who tries to make a living by growing things and trying to sell them at a reasonable price. Here it is; * * * A United States Senator from Indiana has introduced a bill ask- ing Congress to protect the Ameri- can farmer front imports of Cana- dian feed grain. • * * With a big crop of coarse grains and large quantities of winter - damaged wheat, Canadian farmers were counting on tr substantial market for feed in the United States this year. Andwith mors than normal numbers of livestock, American feeders would have been glad to get additional feed sup- plies from Canada at moderate prices. But a U.S. Senator from a grain -growing state objects a n d undoubtedly he will be able to ral- ly a pressure lobby in Congress to back him up. * * * This sort of thing has become very frequent in recent months. Almost every attempt of the U.S. authorities torevive international rade through easing tariffs and ether restrictions has men with 'opposition from special interests. At Havana, Torquay and other trade conferences, official negoti- ators of the United States Gov- ernment have signed solemn agree- ments to lower barriers. Then, as soon as . new trade starts, some group in Congress, with a special bill or some other trick, starts to block it. * * * This happened with potatoes, with cheese, with aluminum and several other commodities in which Canada has a direct and important interest. Now grain is threatened. * * * Under the General Agrfement on Trades and Tariffs, Canada or any other signatory nation can take retaliatory action when any agreement h a s been violated. Wisely, Ottawa has hesitated to make this drastic move in the hope that saner counsel would finally prevail at Washington, But we cannot go on hoping forever. In some way, Canada must make it clear that when we open our mar- ket, we expect the other fellow to do the same. * * * So much for The Financial Jost; and I will only add the comment that, in a whole lot of Itis dealings with other nations, Uncle Samuel is something like the wealthy old farmer who complained, "In spite of what folks say I'm not a land - hog. All I've ever wanted all my life is just what adjoins mine." * * * Now, here's news about a "some- thing -for -nothing" offer; and un- like most deals of that nature the "something" seems to he really worth while. From the Ontario Agricultural College at Guelph conies word about two of their publications, one new and the other revised. The first is entitled EX- HAUST FAN VENTILATION, and the O.A.C: Department of Publications has the following to say about it, * * * "The dairy cow produces from one to two gallons of water per day in the form of water vapor, and unless sufitcient air is circu- lated through the stable to remove this moisture it condenses on the walls, ceiling, and windows. The removal of excess moisture keeps the stable dry, and helps prevent the bard, the peeling of paint on the building, and the corrosion of metal and electrical fixtures. "In a new circular entitled "Ex- haust Fan, Ventilation for Dairy Stables", Professor C. G. E. Down- ing, Head of the Department of Agricultural Engineering at the College reveals how such moisture can be removed by fan ventilation. He discusses the amount of ven- tilation required, the various types and sizes of ventilation, the lo- cation of fans and fresh air inlets, and also supplies directions on mo- tors and wiring, Photographs and simple diagrams are used to assist in the understanding of the direc- tions." * * * The second of these publications is a revised circular on TRENCH SILOS, and replaces the one is- sued by the College last Summer. It deals specifically with the lo- cation, construction, ining, filling and covering of trench silos, be- sides supplying measurements for trench silo construction depending on the size of your herd. * * * I have received copies of both these circulars and they are very well gotten up, highly readable, and really worth while having. You can get copies of either—or both—from your local agricultural representative, or by writing direct to the Ontario Agricultural Col- lege, Guelph. * * * Paved Streets With Platinum Ore Ever Pincep atimmm hes been found eeeential to the manufacture of guided missiles and atom bombs Rs value has steadily increased. To-, day it is almost four times the price of gold on the free market. Yet this rather dull -looking metal was once 'eonsidered worthless, When the Spaniards went to South America they found, in the region of the River Pinto, Colombia, that the Indians made a metal they call- ed "white gold" by mixing' gold with grains of grey, untarnishable material, They christened this Platino del Pinto, or Little Silver of the Pinto, and eventually the phrase was corrupted into platinum. The Spaniards considered plati- num a nuisance, And where they found ore of gold and platinum mixed they refined it and threw away the platinum, until the town of Quibdo, capital of the Choco district, was disfigured by huge dumps of the stuff. When passing mule trains churn- ed the streets of Quibdo into a quagmire during the rainy season, the Spaniards salvaged this plati- num ore and paved the streets with it! In time, platinum became the plaything of chemists and scientists. In the eighteenth century the French scientist, Chabaneau,.enter- tained the Spanish nobleman, Count Arendt:, in his laboratory. "My dear Count," he chuckled, "just hand me that tiny block," He indicated a four -inch cube. "Delighted," volunteered the Count, eager for some scientific adventure. But when he found that the cube would not budge, he ex- claimed testily: "Come, come, Chabaneau, it's a poor sort of joke to screw it down." World's Mad Scramble When Chabaneau assured him the metal was not fastened, the Count grasped at it with both hands and placed it on the bench. "This," explained the scientist, "is pure platinum and weighs about sixty pounds." He could hardly have dreamed, however, that it would one day be worth some $150,000; for 'he considered it of such little value that he used it as a doorstop and scraped his boots on it I About a century and a half after the Spaniards had used it as build- ing material, the new metal be- came rare. Scientists realied that, like gold, it did not lose lustre, rust or corrode, was proof against most chemicals, and had a very high melting point. They found it very useful as a catalyst; a substance that assists a chemical process without altering its own nature. Up zoomed the price. All over the world began a mad acramble for platinum. Then someone re- membered the dumps at Quibdo. Owners knocked down their houses, ground the walls and refined the material to extract the platinum that was in them. The authorities dug up the streets and salvaged the ore. Those who once lived in plati- num -walled hovels became rich overnight. One country bitten badly by the Some Canadians think we are producing as much as we can and that most of the arable land in the country is in use. But increased production does not necessarily re- a, quire more soil. It may be achiev- ed by getting more out of the ex- isting farm acreage. An announce- ment by the National Association verifies this, The Association said that if grasslands in the United States were fertilized as recom- mended by the nation's agricultur- al colleges, the additional fertilizer would have made possible the pro- duction of almost 3,000,000 extra tons of beef. Moreover, if adequate amounts of fertilizer had been ap- plied to land devoted to field crops, U.S. farmers could have in- creased their corn output by 22 per cent, wheat by 13 per cent and cotton my 28 per cent. * * * If this could be done across the border, the same should be possible in Canada where facilities to pro- duce fertilizer and other agricul- tural chemicals have kept pate with increased demands in recent years, platinum craze was Russia. The astute Peter the Great sent 1I, pet metallurgist, Ivan Dimuoff, to the Ural Mountains to*search for mineral deposits. The cunning Nlus' eovite discovered immense deposits of platinum, but reported that the mineral was worthless, Peter, who knew more about wood than metal, -he was an ex- pert boat builder --had 'a tniserlY streak in his nature. "For all your trouble," he - told Diminodf, "1 award you a life concession of the platinum deposits," and he tossed in a couple of high Russian orders, For the next twenty-five years Diminoff and his associates dug like beavers, only to (tnd that the Tsar had learned that platinum was a valuable mineral and re- voked the concessions he had made them, Diminoff was not unduly up- set, however, or he had already net- ted a cool twenty million dollars. A later Tsar minted coins of platinum, at that time worth about a sixth the value of gold. But his subjects hoarded these hardly - come -by pieces, And when in 1920 the price of platinum soared, the families unloaded their platinum roubles, and for every dime's worth harvested something like four dol- lars! Because of its indestructibility, our standards of weights and mea- sures are made of platinum. Make -and -break contacts in all electrical machinery are tipped with platinum{ radio, television, artificial silks, synthetic fertilizers, and a thousand other materials could not be produced without it. Happy — Helen Keller, world- famous blind and deaf author, beams her happiness at recover- ing her cherished watch. It has raised gold bars on the face and other special construction to en- able her to tell time by touch. Miss Keller says it has been "part of her" ever since she re- ceived it as a gift when she was 14 years old. Her recent "appeal 10 the public' brought it back from a pawnbroker, at whose shop it was pawned. Home Owners Far From Their Native Canada --A trifle displeased over the prospects of spending the rest of their Korean tours of duty in a fox -hole, these two enterprising Canadian soldiers built themselves this cozy cottage near the front lines. They are putting the finishing touches on the landscaping around their home built of ration boxes, Ey Arthur Pointer 40 1:Ill 4,1 d Nil rCRarwytr,..r t