Evening Star Newspaper, June 16, 1935, Page 57

Stage — Screen Auto Part 4—10 Pages FROM SATURDAY AFTERNOON UNTIL SUNDAY EVENING s — Radio For This Period W ashington Is Turned Into ital of the Na the Sports Cap- tion—An In- teresting Journcy IntoThis Land of Play With Thousands En- Joying the Public Parks—Sur- prising Statistics on the W eck- EndTravel to Field and Stream. By John HEN the beat of the busi- ness heart of Washington sends forth its flow of workers at 1 o'clock on Saturday afternoons the course is in one direction, but at its next beat you will observe the human corpuscles changed in appearance and headed in the oppogite diréction, with golf clubs or tennis racquets in hand, for “now is the time for all good men” to cast aside routine, red tape and worry and substitute therefor relaxation, sport and enjoyment. And what a place Washington is to spend the 42 hours from 1 o'clock Saturday to 9 o'clock Monday. Name vour sport and you may have it— either as participant or as spectator. Week ends in Washington change it | from the National Capital to the Sports Capital. Subconsciously, the writer had often thought of this and then, one Saturday, the idea “jelled”: He would set out to see in just how many different ways people were spending their Saturdays and Sun- days! he embarked on a journey of ex- ploration into the Land of Play. Wouid you believe that in short order he found people enjoying them- zelves in 20 different ways? And all this in an area less than two miles square, bounded on the White House, on the east by the Commerce Building, on the south and west by the Potomac River. A LONG the Speedway and that area were groups of laughing, tering people on horseback. of them rode with ease and and looked as though they could traverse every one of the 57 miles of Washington bridle paths with pleas- Some grace So, grabbing his trusty camera, | the north by | Thomas. ,ure. Many of these paused long enough at the hurdles to try their luck at jumping, and took them easily and fully. Others were just lnr%‘%dl and did tricks all over h in their efforts to stay on, to their own evident dismay and suffering, but much to the quiet amusement of the onlookers. \Perhups they wouldn’t have felt so conspicuous had they realized that in the preceding year 30,000 others had ridden these same paths—and all of them had to learn at some i time. | Here, too, an endless stream of | cars purred softly along. In some |of them were stiff, dignified couples | or older groups; in others young lov- ers so intent on each other that traffic was in constant danger. Again, there were harassed-looking young | fathers attempting to drive carefully, | see that the load of squirming, restless children didn't fall out of the bulging' windows and at the | same time answer at least every | tenth question of the constant stream conjured up by young, eager and | inquisitive minds. Turning up by the “Lincoln Im- | moral,” as one small daughter calls | in shorts, furiously pumping their bi- cycles along, their screams and laugh- | ter dying away as they dodged through | traffic in speedy and dazzling flight. Believe is or not, but 8,200 people rode and there were three regular bicycle |races in which 32 contestants took | part and which were officially sched- chat- | yjed, ~ Prom the looks of things this year, the number of cyclists will be far greater than last year's figure. | Then, down by the Reflecting Pool |to watch the little boats—a mever- | ending lure to men and boys. If they Cupid Across the Sea HE bride who takes a journey across the Atlantic for her honeymoon W have more than a tourist'’s interest in the honeymoon customs in for- eign lands. When the “sweetest joy and wildest woe” attacks youth in Eu- rope, it usually comes within certain prescribed rules. in Holland, for in- stance, it not infrequently starts with & shy glance in church or at the rollicking festivais which the Hol- landers call kirmesses. Then the shy swain puts on his best suit and visits the girl in her home, carrying a large cake, which he sets on the table. He is quietly received by the parents, smiled at by the girl and her sisters, who piobably nudge one another. Nothing, however, is said about the reason for his coming. Late in the evening, sisters, brothers and parents go to bed. Instead of choosing this moment to fall on his knees, the young man sits around the fire and talks of everythirg but Jove. That is verboten. If the girl yikes her caller, she throws soms peat on| the fire, they cut the cake and everything is settied huppily. Should the gir! let the fire go out, it is a'sign that the young man 1= not suitable, and bundling up the cake, he departs into the night, never to return. In Hungary cupid postpones the “freworks” until the wedding day. Onise day of her marriage the bride piles her pillows, feather beds and wedding chest high on a wagon and is driven across the plgins to her future home. On the way, however, the men of the party usually gel ex- cited, whip their horses to a gallop, and shoot off pistols as they clatter through villages. After the wedding ceremony, which has the usual biending of tears and smiles, a great feast is spread, gypsy play and dancing goes on stars go home, but-until they come again. In some of the delightful old French villages of Provence the girl “puts the question.” She makes a cake, called & fougasse, and -sets it Wibh 8 jar of wine somewhere oule: k1 | side her house. Some old homes have niches in the wall specially ieft by the builders for this purpose. When her lover comes, he eats the cake, drinks the wine and leaves a token in the niche, usually something of silk, which, if he is acceptable, the girl wears at church the following Sunday. The girls of this region used to rejuse a young man in a novel way. When they wanted to give one “the mitt,” of oats. Holding up the bridal party after the wedding is still common, espe- clally in old English villages. A flower-decked rope is stretched across the street and kept there until the bridegroom pays the toll to cupid’s highwaymen. In French Savoy, when & girl marries a young man from another village, her old friends bar- ricade the road until the groom “sets them up.” Far from resenting this custom, the bride judges her popu- larity by the size of the crowd that stops her. In Sweden the besi place to see a wedding is in Dalecarlia. When the betrothed helong to substantial families, the affair is very fine. For weeks every one is kept busy pre- paring food and drink—barrels of dark ale, kegs of sherry, port and Swedish punch; iots of knackel R bacon, butter, cheese, puddings and cakes of all kinds. Every gnest is | i i ES 2 8 2 i i 2 ¥5:86 § i ] g 8553 i : R ExFE iigi | it, we were almost run dowr. by a be- | ;wudering array of feminine legs clad | bicycles in the District parks in 1934, | they offered him a handful | "FEAT URES The Sy Star WASHINGTON, D. C, SUNDAY MORNING, JUNE 16, 1935, | can’t have big ones they will have lit- tle ones, and some of the homemade miniature yachts and motor boats | that ply the rippling waters of the pool surely must bring a gleam of joy | and interest to the stony eyes of Lin- | coln as he sits high on his throne in | his shrine, WHILE many may look at these lit- tle boats as just an amusing way to pass an afternoon, the sport is quite seriously taken by its followers and interest is international. The writer learned this when he discovered that there is a Washington Model Yacht Club and that right there on our, own Reflecting Pool they hold races from which last year were picked the best boats to be entered in the Interna- tional Model Boat Races held at Lewes, England. Furthermore, when you discover that 9,000 people partici- pated in the sailing of such model boats and some 14,400 others stood by and watched you can better under- stand why it is that when a real big race like the President’s Cup Regatta comes off there were 613 contestants and 246,000 spectators. Or, again, why it is that nearly 8,000 people made use of the boats, canoes and swan boats at the Tidal Basin boat house alone and another 13,000 rode in the speed boats down near Hains Point, to say nothing of the thousands that follow the water from | other boat houses and yacht clubs. And, speaking of the swan boat, it is interesting to note. that of the pas- sengers carried on it there were almost exactly twice as many.adults riding as there were children. Soun: strangely Lke the old joke about “Tak- ing Johnny io the Circus.” Overhead the helium-filled blimp drones busily along like some huge, | lumbering bumble-bee carrying its | load of passengers who want to see what the city looks like from the air and can pay for a trip to satisfy their curiosity. At the same time the more wasp-like airplanes play - the same game, while not many miles away en- thusiastic- amateur pilots are- training their wings and becoming proficient lx;.tihetno{nylngjmfor-flumn of it. Before we leave the Reflecting Pool i A Week End of Sport in Washington Here are pictured only a few of the ways in which sport-loving Washingtonians spend the time from Saturday afternoon until Sunday evening. There is model boat racing, the picnic, kite-flying, archery, hockey, polo (photograph by Underwood & Underwood), automobil- ing, horseback riding, base ball, tennis, bicycling, golf and soccer (photographs by the author). erable. strength, for the larger bows may be what are known as 60-pound | bows, that is, to draw such & bow it | requires the same effort as to 1ift 60| pounds from the ground. The catch | is that you have to draw this bow with a set of muscles not trained for | 1ifting. s PAsamG on to snother sport that is even older, we find that there were 22,000 fishermen indulging their | hobby and trying their patience. Of these probably 75 per cent were col- ored and angled for catfish and carp, the remainder seeking usually bass, of East and West Potomac Park ex- cept for the special runs near Chain Bridge or around Anacostia way. While the number of spectators is not - given the writer can vouch for the fact that for every fisherman you E3E2 L : fa E : il £ 11111 ¥ noon sun as she perfected her recov- ery. One of the beauties of Washington week ends is that you can really en- joy yourself without spending a penny if you so desire, or you can spend just | a nominal sum, or again you can make it pretty costly. depending en- tirely on your pocketbook and your | taste in sports. For instance, you can take the children cut in Rock Creek Park and jet them go wading (as nearly 3,000 other waders have done), eat your own picnic lunch and have a good time, and it won't cost you a nieckel more thaa if you had stayed at home to eat and then gone for a little ride. More than 485,000 people made use of the numerous picnic grounds avail- able. Or you can take a walk around the Ellipse and Monument Grounds and have a good time just watching other folks play, for which you don’t even have to buy golf ciubs or balls, tennis racquets or anything. There are so many things to look at and enjoy if cne has eyes to see. A couple of hundred yards away from the soccer field a battery, herd galaxy, flock, accumulation, or what- ever it is you call a “bunch” of tennis courts, was i full blast, with other players on benches impatiently await- games has a professional game beaten in every way, for there are us plenty of hits, runs and errors. Foot ball, on the other hand, is played on 18 fields by 11,000 players and cheered by 96,500 fans, while golf that ancient and erroneously thought- of Scotch game (when, as a matter of fact, it was played in Holland to such an extent that in the fifteenth cen- tury an order was issued in the town of Naarden which stated that “no one is allowed in the churches or.church- yards to play with golf clubs or balls,” and some even claim that it goes back to the gods of mythological times), chalks up a score of nearly 338,000 rounds played. On the two basket ball courts there was about one onlooker to each player, and the same ratio holds for the two in for high and broad jumps, pole vaults, discus and hammer throwing, shotput and so on. But croguet—yes, that's right, croquet—attracts about 114 spectators to each of the 4610 players. And the writer thought this game went Into the discard about the time he began wearing long pants. ‘The sport of enjoying food in pleas- ant surroundings accounted for 69,599 people around the Hains Point tea Books — Music Children’s paper into the air—and if you stand by with ear cocked you will hear a strange jargon about “plane surface kites,” “box Kkites,” “combinations, with or without tails,” “dragon and butterfly kites.” “angles,” “lift,” “pull” and so on that makes you remember where the early aviators got their start and the beginning of their language. From personal observation and a study of the annual report of the recreation division of the National mentioning sports that range from quoits to sleeping in the parks on hot ple did just that last Summer) and | feed out statistics of players and spec- tators until you'd ‘think nobody ever worked in Washington. 48 parks in the District contain 367 permanent sport facilities and more are being added as the demands justify, and for the year 1934 the re- port shows that there were 2,640,332 players and 2,108,460 spectators— which is a healthy sign. for it shows that people here enjoy their sports in the way it does them the most good— means greater efficiency in the work of such people, for it is a known fact ually | that & healthy body and vigorous bloodstream lend keenness and per- ception to the bra'n as well as giving it a rest from the routine of the week. Park records show that there has been an increase of around 100 per cent in the last five years of people making use of the facilities offered for games and sports. One reason given for this increase is that the depres- sion resulted in more people having time to give to such things, and as conditions improved the attendance kept up, for they evidently found these activities both interesting and worth while. For a good many of the sports it is necessary to obtain a permit, so that the people in charge of such things were kept busy handing out the 19,- 249 permits for tennis, base ball, foot ball and so on that were called for last year. Another sport that attracts many spectators is polo. There are two fields and last year the international polo tournament between the Mexican and American teams played to a gal- of 30,000 spectators. During the of the vear 958 players made fields and over 50.000 this game, which has us from the far-gone days of Emperors via the hills even today a rough BRERYELS ggigggg 3l : H : 'a i £ W E ! g E ¢ s 5B E5 & Capital Parks the writer could go on | nights (and, incidentally, 585,000 peo- | that is, by actual participation. This | Page keep that much-desired ecallipygian figure. For the aquatic-minded there are boats galore, ranging from the mod- est, flat-bottomed row boat up to the sleek shells of the various boat clubs; | from canoes to cat boats and from outboard motor boats to palatial yachts, according to one’s pocketbook and the condition of the stock mar- | ket, or something. Swimming pools, indoor and out, and river bathing add | their lure. ‘Then there is walking—just walk- ing around in the parks and watch- ing others, or taking vigorous hikes. As a matter of fact, Washington has practically everything on the sports calendar. Bureau of Mines to Expand. THE Bureau of Mines, which has been carrying on on a rather re- stricted basis for the past few years because of insufficient appropriation, is about to launch out on an expanded program. A net increase of about $600,000 in the appropriations for the coming year will permit a resumption of research and preventive work which has in the past reduced greatly the loss of | life and health in the mines of the | country. The N. R. A. has added a fresh problem to the Bureau of Mines, for data on the subject of fuel value of | various codes are required, these fig- | ures being used as a basis of figuring proper prices under the code system. ‘The additional funds will permit an expansion of the economic and satis- | tical studies of the bureau 50 as to give the mineral industry a complete picture of mineral resources, produc- tion, consumption and trade condi- tions, as well as factors affecting the movement and utilization of mineral commodities. This information will also be extremely valuable to con- gressional committees. _permanent agencies of the Federal Government | and emergency or recovery organiza- | tions. | Investigations of health hazards in | the mineral industries, which were suspended two years ago, will be re- sumed. This work includes studies of harmful dusts and gases and other causes of occupational diseases con- tracted by miners. Instruction in safety and first-aid, particularly at small-scale mining operations, can be | extended. Such operations have at- | tracted many inexperienced and un- | employed men and as a rule do not | provide means of avoiding dangers | that may result in accidents or ill | health. Training in first-aid is one of | the most effective ways of education in safety. _ The bureau will be able to increase its activities at the experimental mine, Bruceton. Pa., in studying mine | ventilation, roof support and explo- | slons of gas-air mixtures or mixtures of coal dust and air. Even the 200,000 analyses of coal | made by the Bureau of Mines are in- adequate to meet the demand, stimu- lated by the N. R. A. codes, for data on comparative fuel values of deliv~ | ered coal and for a suitable classifica- | tion of the different American coals. Modern industry also needs to know how coal disintegrates on handling or | storage, whether it cakes in the fuel | bed, how easily it can be pulverized, whether it is suitable for making gas {or coke, and what chemicals can be | derived from it. A portion of the | increased funds will be expended for | research on these important problems. The bureau will expand its studies on low-temperature carbonization of | coal in the effort to find a solution for the smokeless fuel problem, and thus prevent waste of fuel value in the soot and tar composing the smoke, and will avoid damage to buildings, | clothing, etc.; to accelerate the devel- | opment by the industry of commereial | carbonizing processes, and to deter- mine the composition of by-product oils and tars and develop commercial uses for them. Among the new studies to be ini~ tiated will be electro-metallurgical research to develop possible uses for rBanleepited 3, orsied o8] and of the exploitation of ulju:ez? mlnn:yl fl;p:m and fm prodncd tion of alumi- , magnesium and other m electrolytic or electrothermic mnmhnd&b’ Guide for Readers PART 4 JoAh;zu flazett v{;roctor‘u cle on a Washing- ton Church. . P2 “Those Were tl Days,” by Dick Maney Rt i it i e oo P2 Radio-ized Cavalry Book Reviews. ... Morgan Miniatures Stage and Screen World of Music.. . 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