Evening Star Newspaper, January 2, 1933, Page 5

PICCARD STARTS ONVISITTOU.S. Stratosphere Explorer Sails for America—Finds Work and Play Are One. #pecial Dispatch to The Star, PARIS, January 2 (N.AN.A. —Prof. Auguste Piccard, famous for his record- breaking balloon ascents into the stratosphere, who is en route to the United States, is spontaneously spectac- ular, His instinct for doing what has not been done already explains why his researches are interesting to sclentists and the public alike, and why every gesture of his has a dramatic inflection. In the laboratory of his father, who was professor of physics and chemistry in the University of Basle, where he was born in 1884, he and his twin brother played with electrical instru- ments at the age of 8 and young Auguste continually surprised his father by his success at working out set prob- Jems by processes undiscovered before. The record-breaking nature was al- end an old friend of his, his first flight into the t year, said: “That is nothing new- \v' kku:‘s! been exploring spheres all his life.” '"u"‘notx?‘:n_ when Prof. Piccard went from Basle to Zurich, electrophysics and chemistry commanded him to the exclusion of everything else, but family Jife, and even here at the fireside, these favorite subjects were familiar to all. His father’s brother had installed the first turbines that transformed Niag- ara’s energy into utilizable power, his own brother’s studies had until the: been practically the 1:B‘me nthL;‘snn all sides were relatives workin| Peighboring scientific fields, so that this was a pet topic. Work and Play Are One. J ntrated study continued 8 zu(r:socr;\sethen teaching and more study—— in experimental physics learning and teaching go hand in hand. Work an play are one for this physicist, who re- cently began & lecture to fellow-scien- tists with the sentence: “I must COE- gratulate you heartily for being like me—that is, you have been paid all your Jives for doing the thing that gives you, st pleasure.” mr’}herlccard home in Brussels is at| the far end of a walled garden, & three- \ story house with wide windows. A stone’s throw away is the university and the professor's physical laboratories where the stratospheric nacelle and its nstruments for naeasunnglecdosmlc nui v ipped and assembled. his middle-heig! dark-featured I“; and their five children, one thinks 'i)d the church steeple in an Old Worl village, austere and apart. with houses huddling together in its shadow. “Precision is the byword of this house- hold. The professor has no secretary | and the only servant is a Swiss country girl who runs German and French sfl}- Tences together in a conversation only families like the Piccards, where these languages are spoken alternately, could understand. If he answers the tele- hone he says, “Piccard”! If ”Mmt iccard answers she merely says, “Mme. Piccard,” and the children follow suit. His whims are original. He drinks nothing but water and abhors smok- ing. but despite being a teetotaller him- self he was buoyantly delighted to hear the end of prohibition had been fore- told by the recent American elections. ‘He refuses to be measured by a tatlor, and cuts his own hair. He dislikes automobiles and hates traveling by air- plane, only availing himself of these modes of _transportation when they serve to advance him toward 8 scientific goal. Photography Is Hobby. s e loves walking and mountain climb- in? and cold water bathing, and has often broken the ice on some Swiss mountain lake to take a plunge. He has never been to the opera and never goes to theaters or moving pictures. His chief hobby is photography. Spt‘;\‘m if dissociated from knowledge, strike him as useless, and collectors of every- thing from books to snuff boxes um} period furniture are qully disposed o as “deluded jackasses.” 5 He carries a rule everywhere an makes measurements endlessly. Preci- sion is his religion and with this rule in sight, protruding from his pod(ett‘ you are apt to speak with great exact- ness, for he will bring it out at the| most embarrassing times and show you your mistake no matter who you &re. He carried this rule to a state ‘tanquet given in his honor and openly used 1[l to check upon the accuracy of the atements made bv speakers. He loathes fussiness aad personal adornment; he and his home are ex- emples of simplicity, and his family ghares these tastes. He is not a literary scholar and Mark Twain's “Huckle- berry Finn” is the only book by an American author he has read: his read- ing is restricted to scientific works. At present he is studying all works touching upon travel by rocket, for he was the first physicist to foretell the eventual possibility of rendering this mode of travel practicable, and now that the problem of crossing from Paris to New York in six hours via lhe‘ stratosphere has been solved—his part of it. at least—he is returning to con- siderations of rocketeering which will be evolved in time to refreshen a jaded world accustomed to 800-miles-an-hour speed of stratoplaning. He belleves just as ardently in the ultimate prac- tical utility of the rocket for traveling at great speed as in the stratoplane. Fiyers Are Heroes. His greatest American heroes are Col. Lindbergh and Amelia Earhart, because he admires pioneering cour- age in scientific experiments. He loves animals and possesses vast knowledge of their habits. Often he has got down on all fours and for a full hour amused himself romping about with a pet. His delight in the company of children is immeasurable. He has five of his own and when each of these invites five others the Piccard house is literall turned into a kindergarten, with a | chorus of wild laughter spreading all over the neighborhood Undisturbed by this uproar, the pro- fessor at a plain table, without reference books and working from his phenomenal ory. writes away in his study on a treatise upon special seismographs, one of which he himself invented for the detection of slight earthquakes such as frequently occur in Switzerland. Children are welcome no matter what he is doing and more than once he has put aside a scientific task to go into the d repair a swing or inflate a returning_to his composi- tion where he left off and contlauing as though nothing had happened. He is neither moody nor temperamental, but smooth-natured and hard to ruffle. Prof. Piccard possesses a dry humor that excites risibility in his audience while leaving him apparently uncon- scicus of the effect he produces. In the class room he has a subtle faculty for trating his problems in ex- perimental physics by the most seem- ingly opposite similes. He holds his students breathless with emotion, or turns their sobriety into laughter, or rouses them to unbounded enthusiasm. Uses Sleight-of-hand. He has a bag of countless tricks that he uses in teaching. Often he performs sleight-of-hand and _other _surprises from the magician's repertoire in the ciass room to increase interest and make the graver parts of the lesson seem easier. Himself the target of every imaginable story about the tra- ditional “absent-minded professor,” this nevertheless is his own favorite kind of story and he has a rich collection, s0 that students ray his best stories are told at his own expense Blackboards abound and some of the other devices of n:‘g:’umu that come naturally to this larly showman of the University of Brusseis are lavish use ol and exaggerated in“ | the ground, | diagrams caricaturing the real fact he is trying to drive home, “because laugh- | ter will do the trick when all else fails,” and anything else noisy and not too much beside the point. Once after a demonstration of ex- perimental physics conducted in an air- plane he brought this craft into the spacious . class room and discoursed | upon the varying degres of atmospheric | pressure encountered by the propeller at different altitudes. With a character- istic gest he started the engine going, filling the hall with its deafening roar, | As the speed increased his voice lifted to make itself heard, giving his audi- ence much of the thrilling illusion of being above the clouds where the de- scribed experiment took place. For 20 minutes he made this motor serve as an accompaniment to his re- marks, and while the students' ears were fairly split, they went away with all the. satisfaction of having seen a good show, and what is more they will tell you lessons thus dramatized are not easily forgotten. Favorite Story of Professor. One of his favorite stories is about | the biology professor who, while speci- men-hunting on the edge of a lake, found a frog and held it in one hand, with a watch in the other, counting the pulsations of its heart. The counting finished, he pockets the frogz absent- mindedly and throws his gold watch into the lake, returning home happy for having accomplished*such a suc- cessful day's work. Another is about the biology professor who comes onto the platform to lecture on the toad. After a few preliminary remarks which he intends to illustrate with a live specimen, he takes a small | package from his pocket and appears nauseated as well as surprised when he sees this contains two ham sandwiches. | Prof. Piccard also delights in recalling that Amprere, who discovered the unit of | electrical intensity, was of the absent- | minded rgnks. Ampere left his house | early one morning intending to be gone all day, and left a note pinned to his door saying he would be back at sun- down. Once in the town he Jearned it was a national holiday and all business | places were closed, so, unable to carry | out his program, he returned home. Seeing the notice he would not be back until sundown, he went off and sat on waiting until such time when he could return and find him- | self in. i That Prof. Piccard intimidates hi: | students is not denied, not even by | himself. He is not the professor who big brother. Far from it. They admire | and respect him, stand convinced of his | greatness and feel keen pride in hav- ing a man of his eminence as their intellectual guiding star, but they fear him with awe and trembling, knowing that when the searchlight of his mind turnc upon their inaccuracies and blunders they are going to be shown to the world. Humiliates Students. Students will tell you a feature of his method of teaching is to humiliate them so that they will go to any painful limits to learn the next lesson rathe: than go through such an embarrassing experience again. He asks questions ol students, and while the replies given may be obviously wrong, from the be- ginning the professor listens attentively. Encouraged by this, the student ex- pands his view to the limit. ‘Then when he has hanged himself properly and hasn't a Chinaman’s chance of acquitting himself, the pro- fessor pounces upon him and spares no effort to persuade the unfortunate of his unworthiness to enjoy the hospi- tality of an alienist's retreat. The de- rision of fellow students is brought in to support his own and the guilty stu- dent holds his tongue for many a day, but in the meantime remempbers the lesson learned. Prof. Piccard does not insist on a student memorizing a great number of formulas, but those they knew must be known thoroughly. His examina- tions are cheat-proof, as he asks ques- tions out of the beaten track and set down in no pony. | “You are a perfect example—and one I feel most thankful for having an op- portunity of observing,” he told a student who expanded his chest proud- ly on hearing all this unexpected praise in the presence of his classmates; “you illustrate better than anybody I ever saw how physics should not be learned.” Clumsiest of Men. | | A clumsier man never existed. His arms and legs are incredibly long, and his enormous hands and feet seem con- stantly in the way. Their size is ac- centuated by the most awkward poses which are imitated by the students at every opportunity. A favorite pose is to walk to and fro before the class with the left forearm passed behind the back and the left hand tightly clutching | the right arm just above the elbow. He can do the most unbelievable stunts with his feet, too, literally wrapping them around his legs Every time the students hold an | amateur theatrical Prof. Piccard is cari- catured and these peculiarities are fully exploited, as well as the famous Pic- |card haircut. The proverbial absent- mindedness of the great professor is also brought out in all its glory. A stratospheric cabin is rolled onto the stage, the caricature of the professor gets in and then the flight is delayed | while numerous attempts are made to push his feet in afterward. Then up| goes the balloon bound for the strato- sphere. It bounces about, sputters and then falls with a great crash. | “Ah,” sighs the “professor” among | the ruins of his unlucky craft, “I must | have made a slight error in my calcu- lations; instead of going up 15 miles I| must have figured on 15 feat!” Again _he was featured by a carlea- | | turist who represented him as being approached by his friend Einstein, who | said in tremondous excitement: “Ah, Auguste, old_dear, the world is coming to end in five minutes; I have just made a calculation that shows beyond any doubt the earth will cease imme- diately to exist.” “I've just time to make a few final ts,” sald the professor, Mme. Piccard with her five children in garden of Piccard home in Brussels, |to nail file and toothpick; | logarithms. THE EVENING STAR. WASHINGTON, D. C, MONDAY, the explorer of the stratosphere as close | friends know him: the audience runred‘ with laughter. but the professor, look- | ing on, took this as a serious portrayal | |of what he actually would do in the circumstances and saw no joke in the representation. Turning to the writer quite gravely, he asked: “What are the people laugh- | ing at? What is the joke?” He still | sees nothing funny about that last minute use of his rule and agrees noth- ing would be more natural than for him | to take it out even in the face of such a happening. The rule is his religion. A prince of precision, this rule is the sign and sym. bol of all he believes in and all he sur- veys. This and his watch are always in’ pocket, on all occasions, and one of the most typical glimpses you can get of this man is when he is in full eve- ning dress with an inch or two of this rule protruding from a pocket and brought out often during the evening to fllustrate some point in his own con- versation or to contradict some point in another’s. It is the most resourceful of rules, more intricate than one of those many- bladed pocketknives that contain every- | thing from shoehorn and dinner fork it has all | manner of hinges, and besides ordinary | measurements will work out analyses in chemistry and algebra, and even do | It will translate different systems of weights and measures and tell you in & moment how many miles | equal so many kilometers, how many yards equal so many meters, and how many gallons equal so many litres. It also acts as an adding machine, Prof. Piccard invented this rule, but he possesses the only specimen of his in- vention Somebody told him he might have made a fortune by having it | patented and manufactured, but he will not part with it long enough for a copy to be made. He actually sleeps with it under his pillow! This is not his only invention. as most of the in- struments of precision for measuring electromagnetism in liquids were also designed and perfected by him. Shows Barometer Dropping. Life for the professor is resolved into | terms of measurement, and where more poetic minds see beauty in a setting sun or rising moon, he sees some riddle re- lating to space or number. When he and the writer were gathering beech- | nuts one afternoon in the Bois de la | Cambre a flock of wild ducks darted | out of the underbrush and flew off in | semblance of symmetry and incident to | crowds gather around him and he takes | photograph to any Berlin newspaper, | crutches, he gave friends & demonstra- | scope on me constantly. |leave Brussels, though I now sympa- | The writer commented upon their re- a Japanese print. He replied, “Their flighl' shows the barometer is drop- in, P'His watch, though less important than the rule, also plays a big part and speaks a language all its own. Accord- ing to the pocket it is in and its posi- tion in that pocket, its message is to be divined. For example, if it is in the | lower right-hand side of his vest, but with the crystal turned outward, it means he must take his camera to the university next morning: in other pock- ets, differently disposed, it means some- thing else. If he is hurried, Mme. Piccard, who speaks the watch’s language fluently, sees jto it that nothing is forgotten. | Punctuality reigns in their household, | where everything is arranged with sci- | entific precision, and if the- professor practices precision himself, he also de- mands it of those he deals with. A cake ordered delivered at 1 o'clock is not the cake he ordered if it is deliv- ered later than 1 o'clock. Recently he had linoleum laid on his | kitchen floor and the dealer, in answer | /| to certain precise questions of the pro- | fessor concerning the likelihood of its | getting warped and turning up at the edges, said: “Professor, you have the guarantee of my word that if anything goes wrong you will only have to tele- phone me and in 15 minutes I will be | there to put everything right.” Edges Start Curling. A few weeks later the edges started | curling up and the dealer was notified. He would be over next day. Reminded again next week, he explained his wife was ill; again it was a legal holiday to tlame, or rheumatism, or a sprained ankle, and after these excuses went on for six months the matter seemed to have been forgotten. | Prof. Piccard rang up. “You know, I | was thinking linoleum on the nursery fioor would be a good idea. Could you | come over and measure the two top- | story rooms and make an estimate?” In | five’ minutes the measurements were | |being made. “But what guarantee would I have that, the edges would not turn up like the Others? You gave me your word as guarantee, but it was worth- | less, now that I come to think of the kitchen floor that you never fixed.” | “Ah, monsieur le professor, I will at- | tend to that at once,” and he did, after | which he started figuring the estimate for the upstairs order. | “Youd better take your hat instead | of your order blank,” admonished Hle‘ professor. “You have helped me illus- trate a fable. No matter how shrewd | we think ourselves, there is always some- body just around the corner who is shrewder still. You had me yesterday, but I've had you today, so let’s call it equal and let it go at that!” Fame weighs lightly on his tall shoul- ders and the professor turns much of his celebrity into nonsense. When crossing Brussels on foot, pedestrians spy him and start pointing. He turns and points back at them. Sometimes to his long legs and runs a race in which few are qualified to compete. Einstein used to refuse to give his saying: “I would be hounded to death forever afterward if ever§ eye in Berlin recognized and followed me. I could never live there again.” Prof. Piccard heard this remark, and if he did not then understand it, he does now, for he has become the most recognizable man alive, perhaps with the exception | of Gandhi. | A disguise enabling him to bask oc- | casionally in the comfortable obscurity | of an ordinary citizen while he and the | writer are crossing America has been | planned, and with wig, beard and | tion of this masquerade recently, dur- ing which the beard fell off. As the wig, despite its queer cut, looked little unlike his own hair and the | crutches would only serve to attract at- | tention to the unforgettable face, he said: “Like Einstein, I must become re- signed to having the world’s micro- Any pleas- ant thrills connected with such re- nown very quickly wear off, but I won't | thize with Einstein's feeling he would | have to leave Berlin. Ah, being studied | closely at close range like this is the | privilege of microbes and great men, I | suppose!"” Perhaps only in that silvery king- | dom of the stratosphere that brought | you all this fame, professor, will you be | able to find respite from the sentence | of that celebrity! | (Copyright, by North American News- | paver Alliance. Inc.) P | ‘Wool mills working shoddy in Italy ity. “pals around” with his students like a |8 symmetrical design toward Waterloo. 'are working at full ca; | ments, AZORES ENVISIONED 45 TORS CENTER Island Crowds Urge Huge Qutlay for Modern Conveniences. PONTA DELGADA, Azores (#)—De- corous throngs gathered here the other day to ask the Portuguese government for & gambling casino, an airport, two good hotels, parks, asphalt roads, pave- restaurants and modern con- veniences at the local hot sulphur springs. The people of Ponta Delgada do not demand these .mprovements for them- selves, but for thousands of tourists yet unseen. With these developments, they feel, Ponta Delgada would become a mecca for tourist money now spent elsewhere. Demonstration Orderly. The manifestation of public desire was orderly but firm. The greatest as- sets Ponta Delgada has are its climate and its beauty, the people argued. They said it _should be capitalized. The Portuguese government last May appointed a committee to investigate the situation on St. Michael's—the island where Ponta Delgada lies—and to report on works needed to lure the tourist hither. The committee, accom- panied by most of the local citizenry, made its report to the civil governor. He promised action. This island lies in the track of many North Atlantic shipping routes. It might be ceveloped into & regular port of call, observers hope. It lies on the track by airplane between the Euro- pean and the American continents. In the course of time this factor should become very important, they feel. Many Projects Listed. What the committee recommends is as_follows: Flood prevention works in the Pur- nas Valley. Improvement of the hot sulphur baths there. A good hotel at Furnas, with a prop- erly :aid out park. Asphalt roads throughout the island. Drainage of water from the Seven Citles Valley. A good tourist hotel at Ponta Del- gada, Good pavements and streets at Ponta Delgada. A gambling casino at Ponta Delgada, licensed by the State. And a flying fleld. Collegtiv;:. H;)ll—sing Proposal Is Cause Of Lively Debates Complaints That House- wives Would Become Lazy Is Advanced. By the Assoclated Pre: STOCKHOLM.—Proposals for “col- lective housing,” in which a group of families would live as in & hotel, with & community restaurant, nursery, gym- nasium, and recreation rooms, have aroused lively debate in newspapers, with one of the complaints that house- wives would become “lazy.” Architects for this advanced housing idea are indignant in their denials, pointing cut the increased freedom for other interests. Even a central nur- sery, they argue, would not necessarily destroy family life. Many of the modern workers’ apart- ment houses in Stockholm now are equipped with gymnasiums and special rooms for the care of children while the parents are working. High Price for Land. For a piece of land required for street widening, Middlesex, England, must pay at the rate of $62,500 an acre. ff LAST CALL MEMBERSHIP in a 1933 Christmas Club Clubs close in all banks Thursday, January 5 Just think of all the practical uses to which this systematic method of saving can be put, such as Reducing the mortgage on your home Paying life insurance premiums and tc Accumulating for investments An education for your children Funds for the Community Chest—the gift th~* reflects the spirit of true giving A trousseau an endless i for your daughter . . . list of practical uses—and Money for next Christmas Budget Your Savings Wisely and Join at Your Bank Today District of Columbia Bankers Association JANUARY 2, 1933. THE MOST MODER! MEN'S WEAR STORE IN AMERICA ~ We are Discontinuing Business BECAUSE of the inability of Parker-Bridget Co. to secure the additional capital needed to carry on, it is necessary to discontinue the business. Store Closed Tomorrow Sale Begins Wednesday THE store will be closed all day to- morrow for the purpose of marking down our entire stock of men’s and boys’ clothing and furnishings. Nothing will be reserved. THE quality of o merchandise s well known. We carry only the better grades of clothing, furnishings, hats and shoes. THE sale will begin at 8 o’clock Wed. nesday morning. Extra salespeople will be here to serve you quickly. The usual courteous Parker-Bridget Co. ser- vice will prevail in every respect. ALL sales will be final; all transactions for cash only. By order of the court, I invite private bids on the store fixtures and good will of the Parker-Bridget Co. FRANK M. LOW Ancillary Receiver Free Parking at the Capital Garage While Shopping Here d‘ NATIONALTY KNOWN Ll