Zurich Herald, 1930-09-18, Page 6Midget Golf Popular in Lonon Course Makers Work Overtime
Cion. --Midget golf, which has
• been all the rage in the United States
far some time, quickly conquered Lon-
don on its inauguration here last
week; Star golfers played on the min-
iature course opened by the Kit -Kat
Club and another widely advertised
course attracted a record number of
Londoners, all eager to try the new
genie for themselves.
Designers and makers of baby golf
courses are working day and night.
because the promoters are eager to
take advantage of the public's present
interest. The fact that it is an indoor
as well as an outdoor game is. regard-
ed as a considerable advantage and it
is believed that the rapidly multiply-
ing Bourses should draw some of the
large crowds that thronged the ice.
skating rinks which were so popular
last Winter.
The green fee for an eighteen -hole
round with the use of a putter and
ball varies from the equivalent of 25
to 50 cents,
Doctors Declare Tropics Again Hear
Turk Is Only 100 Roar of Hurricane
Official Records Show 111 Years As• The T+rrP�'on's Brother Is An 'neva-
Extreme Case of Longevity—TtsrVs b":a d'ie'ts°:- in Southern Regions,
156 Years Disputed.
a .� n •tip the :error of the illtl'ri-
Is Zara Agha really lir' yeas. + w- n.� ::, - 3t 11-::+47 Ti'S in the doldrums of
the daily papers tell use He wel 'nee :e .h A, t ",tic has been roused to
a hard time proving it thinks.
` e e +rk: •.s. -a- that it period^
News -Letter, a Science Se vi,: i
cation (Washingtoiin Says .s* > * , visiee. The great storm that
"The old Turk, Zero a iia. 'ti `eerack an Domingo last week and
birth certificate showing 15fi yctL ; otz ee ed heavy loss of life had entered
age, who is now being proeltmeei t+ lra Caribbean Sea earlier in the week,
credulous New York as the oldest hu i,ain n rth of Martinique, touching
man in the world, will have a hard P ` g
time convincing scientific skeptics
that he bas lived so many yeare.
"Old he is, 'without a doubt, but
those who have looked into such
claims in the past are laying their
scientific wagers that he is not much.
more than a hundred or so.
"In fact, the most extreme case of
longevity that medical records show
fully autheaticated was not quite 111
years. That record was substantiated
by the English investigator, Dr. T. E.
Young, who in. the early part of this
century considered close to a million
cases of supposed centenarians and
found only thirty persons who from
other outside evidence could be shown
to have lived a Hundred years or more.
Of the thirty, 21 were women and 9
were men.
"Medical statisticians hold to their
idea that extreme old age is a rare
phenomenon although in the million
or more deaths annually in the United
States at least several hundred death
certificates show ages ot over a hun-
dred and occasional ones will show
such startling records as 120 years.
"When such cases are looked into
it is often found that mistaken iden-
tity confers upon the supposed cen-
tenarian
eptenarian his remarkable record. Re-
peatedly instances like this are no -
covered: John Jones was born and his
baptism duly recorded, but he died at
the age of fifteen years and through
an oversight his death was not regis-
tered. In the same year that he died
another male child was born to the
same parents and named John Jones,
. perhaps in commemoration of his de-
ceased brother. The second John
Jones was never baptized. When be
reaches the age of 85 or 90 his appear-
ance of extreme senility attracts at-
tention and the baptismal records ap-
parently show that he is a hundred
Dominica and moving in a northwest-
erly direction along a path that;luir-
ricanes have traversed many times
before.
September is the great month for
the hurricanes that time and again
have cost hundreds of lives and mil-
lions of dollars in property losses. The
season begins toward the end of July,,
and usually ends in October, although
there are November hurricanes. As
to the path they take, these brothers
of the typhoon are capricious. Some=
tines they spend their ful' force
harmlessly at sea, and only scientific
observers in their recording laborator-
ies and captains of stray ships who
observe the portents afar know of their
existence. At other times they run
the full course of those Caribbean
islands that stretch like a by-path of
stepping stones from South America
to the North American coast.
LONG PATH OF DESTRUCTION
A. hurricane moves along its course
like a gigantic tumbleweed rolling
across a prairie. It is a whirl of
wind with a usual velocity of from
80 to 100 miles an hour, though higher
velocities have been recorded. The
+whole storm moves forward at a rate
of from 10 to 15 miles an hour. Within
the centre there is a partial vacuum.
This is usually about twenty miles
wide. The storm area roiling around
it is often 300 or 400 miles wide, cut-
ting a swath with its furious power
of wind and rain through the country
it traverses.
How does a hurricane originate?
The absolute answer to that question
cannot be stated. Bat most scientists
believe that in some small sea area
below the paths of the trade winds
the equatorial heat causes a central
plass of air to rise, starting a vertical
circulation. Eventually the rising air
Interesting photograph showing an officer tent -pegging at mounted police
tournament and horse show, held recently` at Gordon Fields, Ilford, England.
blow themselves out quickly and cause
little or no dainage.
Although the weather man cannot
control the hurricane, he has, with
the aid of radio, so perfected his sys-
tem of reporting any tropical disturb-
ance that the storm is plotted almost
as soon as it makes its appearance.
When a hurricane develops in the
Caribbean the news is promptly broad-
cast to vessels at sea, and the path is
traced day by day. Due warning is
given to all ports likely to be involved.
SAN DOMINGO RAZED
BY FIERCE HURRICANE
or over. The aged gentleman basks in I reaches a level of sufficient cold to
his seemingly well authenticated re- change its water vapor to drops of
cord of extreme age. water. This produces what is called
"America has had its claimants to , heat of condensation.
age records. Uncle John Shell, of Ken-
tucky, who was exhibited as 'the old-
est living human being' with a claimed
sea of 131 years, was pronounced at -
If the rising air mass is small, a
thunderstorm is formed, but if the
developmentis of sufficient magnitude
hurricane may be on its way to crea-
ter a careful investigation of his case tion. The heat liberated establishes
to be `about one hundred years old, i relatively high temperatures in the
Possibly a year younger or older.' rising mass, accelerating the circula-
"Despite the fact that authenticated tion and the rate of condensation. This
cases of human longevity to over ai recurring process is probably the man -
hundred years are few, man is nearly ier in which the hurricane, revolving
the longest lived of all mammals. The! i in a counter -clock -wise direction as it
common idea that whales and e1e-' travels, maintains itself.
phants attain many more years than/ The devastation that the hurricane
man is not credited hi scientific f leaves in its wake is a phenomenon
circles. But some species of fish may known to all who have lived in its re-
live to over 260 years according to the
best evideace and reptiles are report-
ed to have lived 175 years. Birds may
have a life span of a few years longer
than man in some instances."
WHEN MEDICOS MEET
One of the most famous organiza-
tions in the world ---the British Medi-
cal Association—has just recently
finished its annual meeting. But not
anywhere in Great Britain—this year
the "Doctors' Parliament," as the five-
day meeting of the Association is
sometimes called, is being held in
Canada.
This isn't the first time that the
R.M.A. has met in the Dominion,
though it has not gone there wince
1906. Some of the greatest doctors
in the Empire attended the meeting.
To the man in the street, the meet-
ings of the B.M.A. are always very
Interesting, btcause the discussions
cover n wide range of subjects, many
of them of a kind that appeals to
everybody.
The human side of the gathering
also iiterests the general public, Last
year, for instance, an enterprising
gion. Last September a hurricane
visited Nassau in the Bahamas that
damaged practically every building on
the island. Many lives were lost. For
days the city was flooded and in Bare-
ness. Telephones were out of commis-
sion, and it was some time before com-
reanication could be established with
the outside world even by radio. The
sea wail was broken in several places
by the force of the wind -driven sea.
Many vessels anchored in the harbor
were wrecked. Boats were swept up
out of the water and carried across
roads to land near the steps of resi-
dences.
Florida has many times •felt the
force of the hurricanes that sweep
through the Caribbean. The disaster
of 1926 is still vivid in many menior-
iest It was first noticed on Sept. 14.
The nex4 morning it was north of
Porto Rico, and on the afternoon of
the 16th it passed over lonely Turk's
Island. Twenty-four hours later the
storm had crossed the Bahamas, anal)
on the morning of Sept. 18 it was bat-
tering the Florida towns at the end of
the peninsula, By the afternoon of
the next day the hurricane had crossed
y'ournalist discovered that the doctors, $he northern bight of the Gulf of Mex
Santo Domingo, Dominican Repub-
lic—The city of Santo Domingo, most
ancient setlement of the white man in'
the new world, was almost totally
destroyed by a hurricane that swept
over the ett'tern eetti of the island of
Haiti.
The hurricane struck Santo Dom-
ingo at 2. p.m., Sept. 6, and blew for
four hours. Houses in the aristocratic
quarter wore razed to their founda-
tions. Dwellings of the poor disap-
peared on the wings of a wind esti-
mated t. be blowing around 150 miles
an hour.
Scenes, whose horror exceeded any-
thing witnessed here in ten years, fol-
lowed its passage. President Rafael
Trujillo took personal charge of the
relief work The entire army was
called cut.
It is believed that 900 persons were
killed or injured.
Who, knew all about the benefits of a
light diet, were consuming large q'tan-
titiee of beefsteaks and similarly
"solid" eatables.—Answers.
Will Oar Chair Leg
One of the strangest wills on record
will soon be filed for probate In Paris.
who
It is that of M, Auguste Pas qu%er r
had it engraved on a leg of one of his
dining -room chairs.
leo and was approaching Pensacola,
where it renewed its havoc.
AN INEVITABLE VISITOR
The hurricane is a part of life in
the West Indies The natives look for
it as practically an inevitable occur-
rence during the hurricane months.
And, more often than not, they are
tation.
f� annual
inthe 1
exec
correct
To have their houses blown down,
their crops ruined, and much of their
persosal property destroyed is a part
LONDONERS WITNESS
$5,000,000
New Device That "Hears Light"
Will Overcome "Fog" Danger
BLAZE
Chicago, Ill. --A new aid for air-
plane pilots seeking to laud on a fog-
bound airport, a device that "hears"
light, was revealed recently,
It is the invention of Earl C. Han-
son, Chicago scientist, who disclosed
the development to a group of aero-
nautic experts attending the national
air races, including Major James Doo
little, noted for his blind -landing work
last year for the Guggenheim fund.
Hanson utilizes inVibihle magnetic
waves emanating from a bank of neon
tubes, intercepting them with a device
in the cockpit that causes a steady
hum in earphones clapped to the
pilot's ears and activates an electrical
altimeter that shows the number of
feet the plane is above the ground.
Impurities Give
Glow to Radium
Radlethorium and Mesothorium Com-
pounds. Used to Produce. Luminous
Paint.
Only impure radium is luminous,
according to a report made by Paul M.
Tyler, chief engineer of the rare met-
als and non-metals division of the
Bureau of Mines, Department of Com-
merce. The fact that a faint glow
often comes from tubes of radium
salts is explained by the fact that the
salts contain impurities, Mr. Tyler
said.
"Radium alone is not luminous,"
Mr. Tylers statement reads, "The
faint glow that sometimes is Exhibited
by tubes of radium salts• is owing to
impurities. By mixing radioactive
material with phosphorescent sub-
stances, notably with zinc sulphide, a
paint that will glow in the dark niay
be produced.
"According to one authority, it was
a shoemaker of Bologna who noted
more than 300 years ago, that heavy
spar heated in charcoal possessed the
property of glowing in the dark after
it had been exposed to light. Other
phosphorescent powders, mostly blends
of zinc sulphide and alkali sulphide,
were discovered subsequently, and
were used for producing temporary
stage effects, for example, long before
the discovery of radh.m made it pos-
sible to maintain the phosphorescent
glow for an indefinite period."
Mr. Tyler said that the ingredients
and formulas for producing luminous
paints change from time to time. In
the United States, he said, paint used
on watch dials had consisted mainly
of crystalline zinc sulphide mixed with
various proportions of radium, meso-
thorium and radiothorium to obtain
the greatest degree of luminosity. At
first zinc sulphide was made luminous
by radium alone, but later cheaper
methods were found by using meso-
thorium and radiothoriuni.
"As reported by Dr. Hartland, the
paint used by girls in a New Jersey
faetory contained chiefly zinc sulphide,
rendered luminous by activation with
about 20 to 30 per cent. radium and
from 70 to 80 •per cent mesothorium
containing radiothoriuin. He quotes
other authorities to the effect that
these paints may contain all the way
from 7 to 3 and even 4 milligrams of
radium element to 100 grams of zinc
sulphide. Impurities may be added to
the zinc sulphide as follows: Cadmium,
.05 per cent; copper, .001 per cent.;
manganese, .0002 per cent."
Mr. Tyler describes the British prac-
tice of using luminous paints, saying
that they are of great military signifi-
cance. Iii England luminous paints
are used for the illumination of watch
dials, gun sights and compass cards
and any other forms which would not
betray the presence of the, military to
the enemy. During the World War the
British .government bought eighteen
grams of radium for war purposes.
2,000 Flee From Tenement Homes in
Wapping District.
Loudon.—Two thousand persons fled
frons tenement homes before flames
which broke out in Wapping, London
East End district, recently.
Three huudred firemen used ten
miles of hose in fighting the, fire.
It was estimated that the blaze
which started in a spice warehouse,
did damage of about £1,000,000 (about
$5,000,000).
SPANIARDS FIND JOY
IN SILENT FILM
Madrid.—Old silent films, made and
shown in the United States 10 years
ago, and in some eases more, are hav-
ing quite a rnn•in Spain this summer.
The programs of most of the movie
theatres here just now are made up
of reels that Hollywood ground out
long before the talkie era. This is to
fill the gap until a sufficient supply of
Spanish-language talkies can be pro-
duced, whether in the United States
or in Spain itself, to give a steady run
of talkie programs to the Spanish
theatres equipped for them.
There are 74.,800 agricultural work-
ers in Great Britain; this is 28,500, or
nearly four per cent., less than last
years
Aviatrix Honored in Wales
World's Airmen
Iegin Congress
Boss --- "You're sacked!" Clerk — of the implacable scheme of things. In
413014, Vve done absolutely nothing." some years, however, there are no vie-
I3ollM-"That's why." lent hurricxres--n'erely gales that
Thousands watched unveiling of 'nommen t. to
aviatrix of Boston, et Burry Port, Weles, UnelanJ, to
of '.crogsing the Atlantic with Wilmer Stu s iu 1025.
Port, Sir Arthur Whitten 13rewa, r" -pilot wi h late ."*1• -
Amelia
Lighting of Routes As Aid to Night
Flying and Insurance of Fares
on Program,
The Hague.—Since 1918, when com-
petition between nations in aviation
turned to the scientific and commer•
cial side, four great international con-
gresses have taken place—in Paris,
London, Brussels and Rome. A fifth
is being organized at The Hague. The
meetings, except for the first, which
is being held in the Arts and Sciences
Building, which accommodates 3,000
persons, are being held in the Binnen-
hof, famous in recent years for the
Reparations and Peace Conferences.
Some idea of the magnitude of the
work may be gained from the fact that
500 experts in various branches of
aviation, traffic, science and technics,'
legal natters, medical questions and
tourism, have inscribed their names as
members. Twenty-one countries aro
represented..
.TO DISCUSS NIGHT TRAVEL
A number of papers of great gen.
eral interest in natters will be entered
and read which directly concern the
airplane passenger. On of these is
that of the lighting of air routes for
night travel. On this subject mem-
bers of three different nationalities
are presenting papers. P. van Braam
van Vloten, a Dutch member, deals
with the subject from the scientific
point of view; W. H. Hampton and'
C. E. Ward, of the British Air De-
partment, discuss "the requirements
for aerodrome and air route lighting
at the present time,' and two Germans,
P. Born and H. Strahler, discuss the
effect of large neon tubes by which the
loss of power resulting from filtration
of red lights is avoided.
To the business roan who either
travels by air or uses the airplane for
consigning goods, the paper by Herr
Wrongsky, director of the Lufthansa
undertaking on "Co-operation between
the airplane and other means of trans-
port" will be of exceptional interest.
OBLIGATORY INSURANCE
URGED.
The papers by the Frenchman, A.
Grandjean, on "Uniform rules for
marks of identification on military
airplanes," and that by Andre Kaftal
on "Obligatory insurance of passen-
gers in aerial transport," will have a
wide and general appeal to public in- -
terest.
Curiously, the subject of aerial tour-
ism has found little favor, and only
three papers have been submitted.
These, however, cover the subject very
thoroughly, one dealing with formali-
ties and facilities, another with secur-
ity in aviation, while the third deals
indirectly with this subject by discuss-
ing that of instruction and examina-
tion of apprentice pilots of .airplanes
engaged in tourism.
Equally important to the passenger
is the section given over to medical
matters, for not only is air -sickness
in all its aspects being discussed, but
the health conditions of the pilot are
receiving considerable attention. The
need for specialists in these matters is
generally admitted, and two Dutch
doctors roundly assert that "the maedi-'
cal specialist in aeronautic complaints:
must himself be a "ilot.'t Between!
thirty and forty papers on medical
subjects have been entered.
I.NFLUENCE OF RADIO STUDIED
The influence of radio on aviation is
not ignored, and besides the references
to it in the report of the American
liaison committee there are contribu-'
tions to the discussion by the Marconi
Wireless Telegraph Company, Dr. W.
Moller and Herr F. Eisner (Ger-
=many), and A. Cellon, F. Marino and
U. Cuerra (Italy). Captain N. Mac-
millan, the Eneelish pilot, will talk
about "Problems of air transport from
the pilot's point of view."
Besides the theorists and those who
have ideas they wish to advance, the
membership includes many distin-i
guished aviators. From. England Sir
Sefton Brancker is coining, Lady
Bailey, of "Cape to England" fame;
also is to be present.
HIDDEN CiTY FOUND
BY 'MEXICAN SCOUTS
Mexico .City.—The U.S. Department
of Education announced recently that
Boy Scouts had discovered a new arch-
aeological zine in the wilds of the
State of Guerrero. Among the figures
discovered is a large stone sphinx
bearing a marked resemblance to that
in Egypt.
Government archaeologists are leav-
ing forthwith to study the zone, which,
according to the discoverers' prelinine
ary reports, probably includes an en-
tire buried city. A number o_ hills in
the zone are believed to rover pyra-
mids. On the summit of one there is
a huge globular stone covered with a
kind of hieroglyphics.
The department communique said
that there was no known record of
the zone, which it was believed 'had
never been seen before by a white
n.an. The discoverers brought photo-
graphs of the sphinx and other relics
with them as proofs of their find.
"The past is a bucket ot ashes."—
.Carl Sandburg.
lilarhart, famous
coutmeuiorate
her
feat
and landing at flurry
Jelin Alcock, efitclated.
Large `Frees Successfully Moved
With the Help of Trucks
Tree moving is no longer a mystery
or a novelty.. Giant elms and oaks
that have been three or four genera-
tions growing, are uprooted, eased
upon underslung trucks specially con-
structed for their great weight and
may be transeorted many miles at
the behest of landscape architects.
One of the record feats of tree
moving was performed recently ntl
in Ja-
pan.
-pan. A venerable gingko tree— an
elder statesman of the species planted
.
in front of New X'orl. s. City I•Ia11—
was transplanted its the new Congress
Park in Tokyo. Tae tree is live feet
in diameter. Moved with it was a ball
of earth surrounding the roots that
measured twenty feet across and near-
ly eigh„ feet thick.- The entire weight
was eighty tins. Five hundred men
labored a month to 'move the tree --a
painful operation involving beams and
rollers, for motor trailers and innova.
tion that have not reached Japan.
The Japanese have long been exper.,
at tree moving. In Shiba Park i
Tokyoo iisea a
gingkoc
o tree
nearly
40
years old and eight feet in diaptete.
Originally it sto
oda quarter of 11
mil(
away.
44