Evening Star Newspaper, August 15, 1926, Page 78

iy HE SUNDAY STAR. WASHI NGTON, D. C, AUGUST 15 1926—PART Peril Encountered in the Jaws of a Panther and a Python’s Coils Swedish Nobleman and His Re- markably Courageous Bull Terrier Forced to Mortal Combats With Ter- rors of African Jungle—Pounced Upon in the Dark—Raked by Claws of Savage Beast-—Dog Responds to Cry for Help. The Ceiling That Terrible Embrace. v years were spent by Count ils Cornstedt in northern Nigeria —in explorations, in mapping the tributaries of the Niger River, and in maintaining order in that Brit ish colony. His inseparable com panion during a part of those years was an English bull terrier, Grip, with the bluest of canine blue blood In his veins, a descendant ot Champion Charlwood Vietor Wild, of world-wide fame Himeif a prize winner in many @og shaws, CGrip was en Nigersa his master, Sir Fred- erick TAgmrd, when he went as high eommissfoner of the colony. There the dog, because of improper handling, grew vicious and became 88 much feared by the natives as any wild animal. So, regarded as a ne'erdo-well, Grip was given to Count Cornstedt, who soon won his friendship and lifelonx devotion Of Grip, Count Cornstedt has written elsewhere, “White as snow @&nd without a spot on him, he stood like u rock. The head, with the tering eyes and strons. deep Jaws, zave him an expression of both intelligence and power. The muscular neck and the perfectly symmetrical body, with every muscle well developed, showed a tremendous strength. His coat short and glossy, fitted him like a glove. He was, in short, the al most perfect example of the canine gladiators, bull terriers have ben called Two of Grip's are recounted in on his feet oval-shaped fine dark of bravery article o feats this BY COUNT NII NE 1 canoe on som 1 h: CRONSTEDT. was in my the Gurara from its drawing board in f of me and was hard at work when I caught sight of a couple of eprin which had come down to the river to drink They came to a stop some distance from the v Ige. startled by the sight of the biz, white-painted canoe. Wild beasts are as curious as human beings, and as evervthing was quite still and peaceful on hoard they re mained where they were, gazing at me for several minutes. Suddenly, they both raised their heads simuitancously and began to sniff, and in another moment they had vanished into the long grass which grew higher up on the bank At first 1 could not make out why they had taken to flight, for none of the canoe had stirred, but now 1 another animal of some sort creeping stealthily down through the brushwood to the river on it emerged into the open. It was pa nd conld get a she it appeared into the grass. My field within reach 1 sefzed it, but just as 1 got my the tr, the panther we of sight and 1 had to fire at a hazard In order to 1 jumped up on the reof of the canoe. From this elevation I had quite a good view, and from the indications of the panther's movements in the long grass it seemed certain t was continuing his chase of the epringbok, and would not be seen out in the open again vet a whila. Before doing anything further I took the precaution of sending some of my men on land to if they could descry any traces blood which would tell me the panther had been hit by 1 stupidl; 414 not note how long they were awa. but presently they returned declaring they had seen nothing In the evening, after darkness set tn, I bad some observations st %o make, #o T had the canoe brought abngside the river bank and happencd on just the spot whence I had seen the panther. Taking my theodolite jn my hand, 1 got out, accompanied by Grip, w dly wanted a bit of exercise, for L been shut up in the canoe almost the whole day When 1 the long grass 1 found 1t gre I could not set up my instrur where T intended and that 1 would have to go forward I ze s 50 yards ' about half way tpere and was sull in the thick of +he long grass when something sprang up just in front of me and fell upon me so violently that I was knocked t on my back lte—my Tig self-defense sripped instan jaws. The ¢ steel River, miles mouth er's 1 thought before he 1 had the theodo pstinctively in feel my wrist a pair of power- witho 1 o by panther was towel fortunately. wriat wrapped round with a thick which on such occasions 1 was wi 10 ufe to protect myself againstefje. my Moved—Held in a ving this first, but wrist to It now | night flies. T had been carr: | towel loose in my hand at | T had wound it about my | make sure of not dropping it | prevented the panther from biting | through and breaking my arm. My left hand was being squeezed between the legs of my instrument and I | coula not get it loose Skl ek ok ’l’“l‘ll{l') 1 lay, absolutely helpless, with the be: on top of me. 1 had my hunting knife and re- volver in my belt, but there was no getting at either. I strove to shift my position, but the high grass was too_thick. Very soon the panther had got his claws into one of my shoulders—the | pain was terrific. 1 had only a shirt on. Now I could see the I N green eyes fixed on me and gleaming like live coals, and in my nostrils I had his hot, blood-saturated breath. | My right arm was so pressed against |y i(lm' mouth by the weight of his body t I could not emit a sound At last, however, I got my left hand free, and, shoving up the pan ther's head with it a few inches 1 freed my mouth also and was able to yell, “Grip!” But that wasn't nec. essary. At the same moment I could feel that Grip was already at work The panther, attacked by him from behind, dug in his claws more deeply for a moment, but then had to let go my arm. Grip had got his teeth into its neck., and in its sudden pain it | | i | ECRUITING workers to fill the 50,000 gaps which occur each year in the immense army of Government em- ployes involves such tasks as !approving eppointments, deciding | what punishment shall be meted out to 2 woman who falsifies her age:on | her application blank. and the President concerning changes in the Civil Service rules. he three membe of the Civil Service Commission—its jovial dean, the sparkling. white-haived George R. | Wales: Willlam C. Deming, the quiet- {1y observant president, and their_en shusiastic colleague, Miss Jessie Dell “find life as emplovment agents and advisers for all Government busi- hesses and professions full of a num- of things, most of them prob- proposed Not only is the United States Gov- ernment the largest employer in the Wide world, but the civil positions un- der it cover every occupation known to man and are scattered all over the country, fn all its territories, wher: ever the American flag casts a shadow Mr. De Wyoming Wales of Vermont and Miss Dell Georgla work from their offices on the top floor of the commission build ing on ¥ street. Every morning lh?)j disappear behind the mountains of papers piled high on their desks. At the end of the day. when the mahog- any tops are again visible and the commissioners emerge, slightly fraved but triumphant, ®hey find they have | fssued certificates for the appointment lof a rural carrier who plies a leis urely route out of Enid. Okla.: an immigrant inspector in New York, @ acher for the Pechanga Indian hool, a meat inspector in Chicago {a stenographer for the customhouse |in Boston, the junior chemists for the | Bureau of Agriculture in Washing ton, & tea tester in San Francisco, the killed mechanic in the Atlanta ship {Jards and several hundreds of others. i* The three commissioners in Wash- | {ngton set in motion the machinery } which winnows out empioyes of all ages and descriptions. It 1s their sig tures, aflixed in Washington, which | authorize appointments on the staff |of the Government workers at sal les ranging from $690, for a cem mon laborer, to $6,500, for a senior {educatianal advi The present commissioners, g9 ed for conference, constitute a thor oughly representative group. Two men and a woman, divided politically | they come from three different and | widely separated parts of the coun- {try. Mr, Deming of the great Ngth west andl Mr. Wales of New England !are both Republicans; Miss Dell, true daughter of the Sunny South. Democrat. Mr. Wales has spent most of his ing of |employ of the commission. of which [he {s now the senior member Miss Dell, too, was in the Government em- nt { ploy, but in the War Department. Mr. g, however was-asbusinessman thin | advising | A | of | ther- | had opened wide its horrible red mouth. Swiftly T shook loose the towel and wound it round the panther’s lower jaw and held it fast. Now the fight was at its most desperate point, We rolled right round, all three of us, but neither Grip nor 1 let go, and it was soon my turn to lie on top—in a sec- cnd my knife was out and plunged right up to its shaft in the panther’s tawny breast. The brute had still strength enough in it for some nasty blows with its paws, which drew a lot more blood from me, but in a few seconds more ]its limbs spread out, its claws were drawn in convulsively and it lay dead. 1 then returned to the canoe and attended to my wounds—Grip luckily had come out of it without a scratch! Two of my men went up and brought the panther’s body down to the boat. Before they began to skin it 1 exam- ined it carefully and found that it had had a bullet through its back- bone high up. So my shot had been a lucky one, but it was a shot that never should have been fired. That night the pain from my shoul- der prevented me from sleeping much, and as I lay awake I mused upon the panther and his end. He also had been in torture, and he had sought to avenge himself, as he had every right to do. When you come to think of it, man is the worst of all beasts of prey, for he kills mostly just for his own amusement. ’ Grip at least was entitled to the sleep of the just. He had not been gullty of wanton murder. He had but saved his master's life. During the wet season. which in northern ‘Nigeria begins toward the end of April and lasts until the mid- dle of October. the change in the as- pect of the Niger Valley is very re- markable. The never-ending sand banks, which during the tropical Winter are the resort of countless birds as well as \ R L\ “IN THE TWINKLING OF AN EYE. THE SNAKE HAD COIL- ED ITSELF AROUND ME AS WELL.” of hippotamuses, crocodiles and other engaging creatures, disappear, bit by bit, under the surface of the brown- ishcolored water of the stream. The withered-looking grass along the sides of the river grows suddenly thick and green, and the naked-looking trees quickly take on leaves again and bear fruit. In the middle of September, when it has reached its greatest height, the Niger is more like an fmmense sea than a_river, for its breadth, along most of its lower reaches, extends to five or six miles. At this period both men and animals have to transplant themselves to avoid the rising waters. The natives quit their usual fishing places, their tobacco plantations and their rice fields. They cannot take with them their dwellings, built of bamboo and grass, which are speedily carried off by the flood. As both labor and materials are cheap in these regions, however, their owners do not worry much over the loss. As for the birds, ducks, geese and many. waders make off to cooler climes, while the rest assemble in the marshes round Lake Tchad and breed there. The hippopotamuses disappear into the lower forest-regions, or else keep to the wooded Islands, now argely under water. There being no longer any sandbanks for them to lie out on in the sun, the crocodiles have to make shift with what accom- modation they can find among tree- trunks and heaps of stones. L NOTHER habitue of_the Niger's banks during the dry season is the python. Its normal home is in the brush-wood which adjoins the soft, grassy meadows and marshlands, but when these dry up and the grass withers, it has to resort to the river- side. Creeping in among the reeds or the sedgy clumps, it lles in walt for birds and beasts that come down to the water to drink. Ducks and geese fall an easy prey, but sometimes it goes for bigger game, such as wild boars and antelopes. When the river rises again and its banks become flooded, the python re turns to its usual haunts, but as it is loath to leave a neighborhood in which it has lived for months, it “hangs on” as long as it can. At however, a day comes when the water enforces its retreat, and that is why one so often sees these great serpents swimming down-stream dur- ing the rainy season. On one occasion, at the beginning of August, I was journeying down the Benue, the Niger's biggest tributary, after spending some months at Yola, where I had been taking part in the work of defining the boundary be- tween Nigerfa and the Cameroons. ‘As I was anxious to be back in Lo koja by a certain date, T had not waited for the arrival of the river- steamer at Yola, but had decided to Aravel in a large, steel canoe, manned by eight powerful Nupe negroes, quite capable, if necessary, of keeping up a speed ‘of from six to seven knots an hour. Late one afternoon I landed at the village of Mosum, on the left bank, about 20 miles from the Benue's mouth. The N/ tion there given it ger Company had had a sta some years earlier, but had up on account of the un healthful situation of the place. Mosum is surrounded by great marshes, which, during the rainy sea- son, are under water. All the vear round they are infestefl by mosquitoes nd other flies, and most of the Eu- ropeans who were so unlucky as to go there died of malaria The station now belonged to the na- val administration of the colony, and was utilized as a coaling station for the river steamers. A native clerk and 20 Hausa negroes, employed in coaling the vessels, constituted the entire population of the village. In addition to a blg coal shed and the dwellings of the clerk and the negroes, the naval administration had put up two huts for the use of Kuro- peans traveling in this nelghborhood and needing to spend a night there. They wera, like the native huts, cir- cular in shape, but somewhat strong- er, and provided with windows. The floors and walls were made of sun- dried clay, the roofs of stout bamboo canes, covered with thick prairie grass. As I had to go through the sta | accounts and inspect the stock of coal, it was too late for me to continue my journey the same day, and as it cemed much more convenient to spend the night in one of the huts than on board the canoe, I got my crew to carry up part of my baggage to_the quarters. When I had finished my inspection and gone through the books, I had my dinner, and then, about 8 o'clock in the evening, went over to the hut, in which my man had arranged things for me for the night. On these jour neys of mine I always used a kind of collapsible canvas bed, provided with four fairly long brass rods upon which my mosquito net was fixed up. On this occasion I did not have Grip’s basket brought up, but allowed the dog to lie on a mat beside the bed and so near it that he was protected by the mos®ito net. E HAD hardly fallen asleep when 1 was awakened by barks from Grip. for as a rule the dog never disturbed me when 1 slept. Whenever any living creature, man or beast, approached my sleeping place he was always on the alert, but quite noiselessly. Jackals and but without there being any need for Only did me fo take part in the game. in cases of the utmost urgency he begin to bark. During my long wilds of equatorial Africa, where any moment I might have to hold my own against either some beast of prey or some unfriendly native, I al- ways slept with a revolver, a hunting knife and an electric torch under my pillow. On this occasion I had them all_ under my pillow as usual. Somewhat startled, I up in bed, turned on my electric torch and let Grip out from under the mos- quito net. The dog stood beside the bed, barking widly with his head up toward the ceiling. Turning the torch in that direction, I saw an extraordi- nary sight. The whole ceiling was in movement—a wavy, sinuous kind of movement! It seemed to be alive! I was just about to jump out bed, when, to my horror, I saw the head of an enormous snake swing down between me and the dog. The sojourn in the thieves he saw to “off his own bat."s. at | of | | This was a most unusual occurrence, | | creature’s head was as big as my two | hands clasped together, but when it | proceeded to open wide its jaws they looked as thougl they could swallow a young calf. & Quickly I reached out for my re volver, but at that moment the whole ceiling seemed to falll Down it cam W / bed. Eve /e e i ry mi ’ me and oment 1 What he striking me over the head and on my legs, and it seemed to be trving to force itself in between the expected to find myself completely in its grasp. That 1 escaped this fate was very largely due to Grip. up to I could not see, for it was pitch was toppling on to the mosquito net and |dark, but the sounds of worrying con- myself, the brass rods bending und the impact like wire. The electric tinued. At last T got free of the entangling | torch was dashed out of my hand, [ mosquito net and rolled out of the in the mos underneath a entangled buried which found myself quito net and | cold, damp ma: I knew must | be the snake. | Grip now had stopped barking. 1 gathered from the confused sounds | that reached my ears that he was en |gaged in a furious battle. In the midst of my desperate attempts to get imy hands and feet free I could feel | the great serpent wriggling about on top of me. It hit me repeatedly with its tail, » Bridge, over Colombia, UNDER the Tconon: the Sumpaz River in uth America, is a black gulf 300 feet deep. A few feet below the bridge is a great bowlder, which can be reached by going down the rocky sides of the ravine, and from which the river can be seen and heard as it dashes against the rocks. This abyss was explored some years ago. Twelve strong men took their places around an opening in the rocks over the gulf. They fastened.stout leather ropes to Jean Lopez, who was to make the descent, and arranged an- other rope for ‘“telegraphic cor- respondence,” by means of little pieces of paper, in case Jean’s voice could not be heard They lowered him slowly, and soon he stood on a ledge beneath the great bowlder. Thence he was lowered some 90 feet farther, and stopped again to explore a cavern filled with owls. He captured a bird, and took a nest with some eggs. Thirty feet below, he ex- plored another cavern, where the air was black with birds. The floor of this cavern projected IN THE NICK OF TIME. into could not be seen the gulf, and below that Jean from above. Now ‘began_the dangers of his_ undertak- ing. He hung like a spider on the end of a thread, and could be neither seen nor heard from above, and the elegraph line” had been broken At the next cavern he was attacked by the owls. He defended himself against their sharp beaks and claw: as best he could with his knife, and shouted to the men at the ropes to draw him up; but they continued to lower him. He went down until his feet touched the water, He shouted and shouted, but still the rope was let out, and the water reached his waist. There was {only one thing to do—cut the rope and swim out of the gulf, if he could, at the risk of being dashed against the rocks As he his knife to cut the rope he gave last despairing cry. It was heard, and the men began drawing up the ropes. A few minutes later Jean stood on the Icononzo bowlder. He had been badly frightened, but was none the worse for his adventure. raised a the darkr | for | was. 1 had free. I wa T last luckily I low me. Then I the floor. First 1 ness ‘or did T dare make a the room toward the door. thing for me to do, 1 concluded, was | to get out through the window, which was only a few steps away. Carefully I crept along the wall and had just got hold of the window frame when something that felt like a coil | of rope gripped my leg. snake had got me! In a second I was rolling helplessly on the floor, struggling madly to get was dragged along the | wall, then my leg was drawn up, and s pulled farther into the | until 1 came into contact with the pil- |lar in the center of the hut. to_this with both hands. The snake tried to pull me awa failed, and at last it released m AppaYently it needed to have its tail | free in order to cope with Grip * the open® Dashing out, I h: the second hut, were to have spent the night. of them had gone to the village, but | found my cook inside. shouted to him to gt & light and fol rushe ment_was precious. was fighting for his life, and I knew he could hold his own for only a few | seconds in such a struggle. By the light of the cook's lantern [ saw an enormous python writhing on 1 dared not ris where the The su * % x way to the door where my ser d_back, for eve raised myself ' the foot of the bed gave way, and I [bed and up against the wall, where I hurriedly scrambled to my feet In k a search for my torch and the revolver, no notion ake holt across afest The great room clung bt leg. was stened to | other skin diseas ants Most 1 My truest friend Of Grip all that could be seen was his hea d. He had his teeth fixed in the brute's throat, but it had and a journalist. Al three commissioners are college graduates. The genial Mr. Wales was born, bred and launched into the activities {of an adult world in Vermont. At Middlebury College he acquired the Phi Beta Kappa key which dangles on his watch chain. For a few years before he came to Washington he was the principal of a village school in Bristol. A stocky man, immaculately dressed and dis- tinguished looking, Mr. Wales i3 the | movie type of the successful, un. worried business man. Everything about him radiates a splendid vital. ity. His hair is unusually silky, and smoothly combed to_his large head. His face s ruddy and smooth shaven, his vofce low, attractive, firmly based. The bottom rung of the ladder to Mr. Wales was a position as clerk for the commission when Theodore Roosevelt was the dominating_Civil | Service Commissioner. Mr. Wales {served as an examiner, law clerk, | chief of division, assistant chief e {aminer and chief examiner on' his |way up to his present position as commissioner. Any motlon picture director would ast Mr. Deming for the part of the Englander, rather than Mr. The representative of sreat Northwest bears greater resem- blance to Calvin Coolldge than does the nativeborn Vermonter on the commission. The president of the commisslon, retiring in appearance and manner. is slender, wiry and dark. his hair touched with gray. He has the traditional Western warmth of manner, overlaid with fine reserve. He looks the editor, a perfect listen- rer, alert for important facts, patient | with detail and encouraging. Mr. | Deming had no connection with the | Civil vice until President Harding | picked him off the editorial staff of | his_own newspaper in his own State of Wyominz, where he had already become a conspicuous public figure. | Miss Dell smilingly claims she is | 50, looks 40, and has the genuinely | jovous disposition of 30. Sitting in conference, a large woman beautiful- v dressed, blue twinkling hair_piled softly, she makes a gracious figure. In the days when the suffrage movement was gathering momentum, but a_gentlewoman who worked w -4 upon with ruaised eye. Miss Dell, the daughter of tocratic Southern lawyer, was « law in her father's office with his full and approving consent, because he believed, in advance of his time. that a woman should be able to earn her own living. | Upon her father’s sudden and un timely death, Miss Dell came to Wash- | 1s alington and entered the Government | | service She was for many years { before her appointment to the com a|life In the Civil Service and in the |mission an employe of the War De- is still | partment. Today. Miss Dell interested in furthering her father's |ideas in improving the independent I position of women generaly, and in the Government employ in{ particular. of the| the | | | Between conferences, the commis sioners, in the solitude of their sep- arate offices, reflect on the case papers stacked for their perusal. There are examination announcements to be approved, certifications to be signed, requests for transfer and reinstate- ments to be considered. From the Bureau of Investigation and Review, come papers bearing evidence that one applicant has taken 10 years off her life in order to fit into the prescribed age limit. An other group of papers concerns a case of fraud in the examination itself, In a third, a would-be Government employe states he was born in New Mexico, which does not agree with the findings of the Investigation De- partment to the effect that he is a native of Ttaly. One department head has sent in a notice of a vacancy under him, stating to his employment agents the qualifications he wants in the person to fill it. There are letters to and from mem- bers of the congressional Civil Service committee about the extension of the service and the classification of em- ployes, or about the retirement act and its workings. Inquiring competitors, visiting Con- gressmen, conferring department heads break in on the commissioners reflections. They, too, are a part of the routine of the d In conference, the commissioners compare notes, ar- gue differences and settle policies af- fecting many thousands of workers in one way or another “The positions we have to fill are limited only by the scope of human endeavor,” declared Mr. Wales. ‘That is literadly true. There isn't anything anybody does that the Government does not also do. 'his past year the commission con- ducted 979 different examinations. In GEORGE R.-WALES. the Government service, as well as | outside, you will find laborers and ap- prentices, business exccutives and chemists, doctors, lawyers, dentists nurses, editors, artists, social worker: ountants, office boys stenogra- s, skilled mechanics and foremen he number of large private b nesses,” continued Mr. Wales, ““which are selecting employes on the same basis as the Civil Service is increasing every day. One large employers’ sociation, at an annual meeting, stated that the Government was many vears ahead of the private employer in the matter of selecting employes. “The essence of the Civil Service is open competition. Through that, W Tope to secure the most efficient force. | We have to preserve and protect it every day, and see that it is not re stricted. We must live up to it. In order to do s0, we have to set certain standards and we must stick to them “Take the matter of an age limit of raflway clerks, for example. Taken by and large, we know that : man not exceeding 35 1s bound to be better for the position than a man over that age. That does not mean that a man 35 years and 11 months is not just as good. But we have to stop somewhere. If we let one man in over the age limit we must let them all in, otherwise our open competition Stops. The private employer is coming to this, although he does not have to be s0 strict. b “I do not recognize that there is {any red tape in the Government pro. cedure in any bad sense’ declared Mr. Wales emphatically. *“In Govern- ment work there cannot help being more detail, what is called more or less red tape.” “The reason is,” said Miss Dell, from the other side of the desk, “that in private establishments heads are not responsible to anybody but oo oa, R 4 <> ‘WM.C.DEMING. No record or explanation In a Government de- never know when the least important, the smallest detail will be raised to the height of im portance by Congress. We have to show a complete record for every act, | every dollar and every cent. It's the themselve: is necessar. partment, you red tape. It's public money, the peo- ple’s money, that we are dealing with. We must show records for everything. The Civil Service is everybody’s busi- ness. “It's an awfully good thing to re- | member,” commented Mr. Wales, with President Deming and Miss Dell ap- proving, “that when we are dealing with the humblest servant we are his servant. I can't understand the cocki- ness of some Government officials.” | Being the humblest servant to the humblest servant, acting as employ- ment agent to engage as employes | the people who, in their taxpaying capacity, contribute to the salaries of both, the commission desires to | temper -efficiency with justice. Great care is taken in seeing that Civil Service examinations are rated cor rectly to a fraction of a point. Any private employer would consider the effort for such complete accuracy wasted energy on the part of his or ganization. “It's true,” chances are that efliciency competitor does mnot vary much among those rated in the highest 10 per cent. As far as the proper con duct of the Government goes, any one of these might be chosen and considerable work cut down. But it would not be just to the individual. Every qualified citizen has as much right to a position as any other. Who shall get that position is to be decided in open competition. Its principles we must preserve strict- 1y, even when it seems at a glarnice to said Mr. Wales, “the of the Miss. JESSIEDELL. WARRTS 5 BWiING Puorod: completeness of detail that makes for | husiness | Ci;il Board Shows Interest in All of Uncle Sam’s Workers be a lessening of efficiency and an in crease of red tape. “But we are not ahead of the private employer after Wales admitted why.” H Miss mission” tem, the servic view alon our tests. system. this matte no immedi: The pointment: with the Increases a commi smiled. tinua W on routine, reinstaten up b employe smiled {any come one. in | mission i out selects President Senate.”™ commis e, to nodded appointment,” “I don’t know in appointment, It was from one poin agreement Dell’s observation that the com- authorized supervising stops after appointment “The Civil Service law was passed in an effort to check the spoils sys- where every aj of a clerk or a watchman, was a mat ter of utmost importance. cerned largely with the entrance into Mr. Just to even con “A follow-up system would be ve fmportant for us, it of see how well the ap- pointee is performing his work, so that we might see how predictive are We get it now one way or another, hit or miss It the follow-up. required to extend our authority over ate o s are , but there f: our great weak Legislation woull “We only that in ‘accord; n sees made s no ness, d, be “We ought to he employment mana- gers for the Government, but we are not,” continued Mr. Wales. ontrol over the employ have ap ance v, and that employes are sioner’s “We commissioners 1y writing notes to each other. carry spondence, giving our 1 individual on Paper ing through from one commiis: office to another, concerning announce- ments of examinations, certifications, lents without examination, penalties to be imposed for cases of fraud and many legal “In one conference, Deming, amused, “we had a hot de bate over the appointmgnt of a char- woman in the Custom House Building. It involved a nice legal point, brought the fact temporary there President Deming, sions are not always unanimous. it's merely a difference | without any feelin “It requires no formality to see the commisSioners, within law.” a_typical desk, Mr. da; Der are tremendous sonal v cases in the s are constant 1 of former empl transfer c uestion: that the is an alfen. our of We receive and a gl promoted in accordance with the law. of salary are wholly out of our hands. lies with the department head erned somewhat by Questioned about rade That KoV at ning con orre. fews regular Hlter ner's loye ases, | continued Mr. No, dect But inion hear Inquiring competitors ma: perso teelf. perience and education tests the highest names to the Postmaster General. one for and n, and do come, quently from long distances. |~ “Occasionally,” “we have some presidential master examinations to rea are the only ones handled by the com i added Mr. 4. They are wh We three nomination by confirmation by fre- Wales, post Those ex pick and send the He the the “THE PANTHER, ATTACKED FROM BEHIND. DUG_IN_HIS CLAWS MORE DEEPLY. NOW THE FIGHT WAS AT ITS MOST DESPERATE.” colled itself several times round ! body. ‘Without stopping to think, T dartad forward, trying to get past then the bed in order to smatch m volver. Unfortunately, however | slipped, and fell right on top of {In the twinkling of an eye the < | had cofled itself roumd me as we Now we were in a pickle. indee both I and the dog were held tast | velled to the startled cook to ju | the bed, get hold of the revolve: put a bullet through the snake's hea taking care not to miss it and hit Gr Luckily the cook had been a soldier | the Niger Company’s service, and ha learned how to handle such weapons He found the revolver and, placing the muzzle near the python's head, fired and blew it to bits. The great brute's end came none ‘oo soon, for neither 1 nor Grip conld have endured that terrible embrace n longer. Next mor n ng [ got my servan drag the dead monster out on the outside the hut. It was a loa strictor, the biggest T had et in Africa. 1t me ed over in length, and at the thickes its body was 14 inches round It had probably been caught {awares by the swift rising of the river for Mosum was now completely fl ed, and it had found a refuge in the roof of the unoccupied hut. At night, when its habit was to go in sarch of food. it had caught sight of Grip, who looked a delectable marsel with which to fill its empty stomach I felt_the effects of the squeezing received for several weeks afterward and as for Grip, he really looked to me as though he had been lengthe several inches! But perhaps that w just my imagination (Copsright 'I'He Mon.th Stone. Wear a sardonyx, or for thes No conjuzal felicity The August-bern. without thi= stone. Tis sald. nmst unloved iorie HE sardonyx. the natal stone for August, is the gem of self-control {1t is symbolic of matrimonial bliss | and according to ancient belief, girls | born in August will never marry if | they fail to wear this stone. The s is under the heavenly Leo | of diac, the sign of sensation | and feeling, and to it is attributed the | power of banishing grief and woe. As {late as the Middl§ Azes sardonyx was | used as a remedy for fula and and even today Persia as a cure part of ur | 1026, it is employed in | for_epilepsy’ This stone was Sciplo Africanus, t jes before Chr is said, believed in its spir Throughout its history . heen associated with | religion, for it was one of the st in the breastplate of the | Hebrews and is mentioned lations as forming a part of foundation of the holy city. The clent Egyptians carved from this the sacred searab, which was a sis of their religion, much in the same way as the cross is the symbel of Christianity Sardonyx Is a variety of chalcedonic quartz composed of different colored layers. In its commonest form it exhibits sard, reddish brown in eolor. alternating with white chalcedony. the latter formerly called onyx. ~ This stone, however, not infrequently dis plays as many as four or five col and by artificial processes lasting a pleasing color effects may be had the various shades of ye brown and orange. This artistic dis play of colors makes it highly desir able for cameo manufacture, since the different layers are utilized appro priately in the finished engravins Many of the famous cameos of history are cut from this In olden | times the requirements for a high grade sardonyx cameo was a black e for humility, a white zone for virtue and wer of red or browr for fearlessness. but many of the lat cameos cut in this stone display many as five differently colored zones The largest known donyx cameo a fivelayer stone, 12 by 16 inches, w formerly in the possession of Cardinal Carpegna, but is now in the Vatican 1t Rome. The famous Sainte Chapelle, 11 by 13 inches, the second largest sardonys cameo was also a fivelaver stone. This cameo, now in the Biblio theque Nationale at Paris, was long thought to typify the triumph of Joseph in Egypt and was regarded as a sacred reli Perhaps the most famous stone cameo in history was a sardonyx up which Queen Elizabeth's portrait was cut. According to tradition, this camen was set in the famous fing which she gave the Earl of Essex a & pledge of her friendship. When gentenced to death, Essex sent this ring to his cousin, Lady Seroop, to deliver to Elizabeth. By ristake t messenger gave the ring to Lad roop's sister, Countess Nottingham. an enemy of the earl; the venget countess did not deliver the talismanic )ring and in consequence the fated | earl was executed. The Countess > | tingham confessed this act ver { geance to Elizabeth when the | was on her deathbed, which, acc ing to the chroniclers of Klizabett life history, so infuriated the Queen that she shook the dying noblewoman, saying, “God may forgive you, but I cannot.” made fashion o first |able in Rome by elder, two cen in 1 in stone. Tall Men Need More Food. It two men are of the same weight but one of them is short and fat and | the other is very tall and thin—which one needs the most food, the most ories? Dr. Takahira of Japan b Qiscovered that the tall, thin man needs many more of the heat-produc ing calories than does the fat one. It all depends on the total area—not welght—of & person's body. The greater the area the more calories are needed. Dr. Takahira has devised a formula for finding out what the area of any one's body is. With the aid of some friend who knows algebra the follow ing formula. can be applied. and it can be found who among any given group needs the mos: calories The area of the body is W0.425xHO.T25X42.16 1y means body weight in kilograms “H" height of the body in centimeters, herey equa