Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (April 16, 1956)
Even Experts Can Be FooleH By Fossil Perpetrations Washington In the field of utan. The skull was a real Jossil. fossil study, where serious de bates have raged over which end of a backbone a skull should be fastened to, it is inevitable that even the experts can be fooled. Dr. Harry Ladd and Dr. Rol and W. Brown, of the United States Geological Survey, tell of several frauds that have been perpetrated on paleontologists. The falsity of one. fossil,, as a matter of fact, was proved through research in preparing the article. - - Dr. Ladd, remembering spe cimen he had seen 30 years ago in an Australian museum, wrote for information about it. It was a piece of selenite (a variety of gypsum in crystals) with the wing of a large insect trapped inside. A Put-Up Job When the museum director photographed the specimen for Dr. Ladd, he noticed that, under pressure, tiny air bubbles near the wing shifted position. Closer scrutiny revealed that the crys tal of selenite had been cut open, the wing slipped inside, and the crack pounded srriooth over it. The wing, long believed to be a fossil of the Tertiary period, was nothing more than that of a com mon grasshopper. experts once identified a Wedgwood teacup handle as the stem of a "calamie," a fossil plant. But their shame was small compared to that of poor Johann Bennger, the credulous profes sor of Wurzburg. An avid fossil collector, Ber inger used to take his students digging in his favorite hillside. He believed that the Creator had planted fossils there for him But the students didn't. They carved weird stone images and smuggled them into the hill for the professor to discover. As fast as the students carved, the professor gathered. Not until after he had pub lished his unusual findings in an illustrated volume in 1726 did Beringer tumble to the trick. Then he spent all he had trying to buy back the copies of his book. He died shortly thereafter, penniless and humiliated. Iron ically, the book was reissued in 1767 and sold for profit as a collector's item. The Piltdown Plot The most recent if not the greatest hoax of all was the Piltdown man. For 40 years after Charles Dawson, a Sussex lawyer and amateur antiquarian, dis covered the skull and jaw bones near Piltdown, they were be lieved to have belonged to the earliest Englishman a "beetle browed chap with a murderous jaw" who roamed the land 500, 000 years ago. So rare were the fossils that they were locked up, like the crown jewels, for safe keeping. Because a few authorities among them, the late Dr. Gerrit Miller of the Smithsonian Insti tution doubted that the jaw be longed to a man, a team of Brit ish scientists finally decided in 1949 to re-examine the bones. Through radiation and chemi cal tests, they proved that the jaw belonged to a modern orang- But it had been doctored to make it look 10 times older than its actual 50,000 years. Like the skull and jaw, other animal re mains found with them abo had been artificially aged. AK the "fossils," moreover, had come from somewhere else and been planted at Piltdown. So far, the faker of the fossils remains officially unidentified. But it is certain that,, in making a man of a monkey, he made monkeys of men. Bitter Fighting Rages in Algeria Algiers, Algeria (U.R) Bitter hand-to-hand fighting between French forces and "Army of Allah" rebeis raged Saturday in the mountains of western Al geria. French army headquarters re ported the rebels have suffered "high losses" and that the bat tle is continuing. At lease 70 guerrillas were killed in sporadic clashes Fri day. Twenty rebels were reported killed in a clash early Saturday at Mestaoua, 100 miles south west of Philippeville in terrorist-ridden Constantine province. Seven French soldiers were wounded. Veteran Foreign Legionnaires led new French conscripts into battle for the first time in the close-up fighting in western Algeria. British Reporter Gets Varied Replies London (U.R) A British re porter got confusing replies Sunday when he welcomed part of the advance Russian delegation for Wednesday's Bulganin-Khrushchev visit. The Daily Express reporter went up to four of the Rus sians and said "Welcome to England" in English. He got these greetings from each one: "Very nice sir," ... "Yes. thank you, please, sir" . . . "Please excuse, sir" . . . and "Excuse please, the wea ther, she is very nice sir." Milwaukee Transit Strike Unsettled Milwaukee, Wis. U.R) Mil-i waukee entered the fourth day j of its street car and bus strike j today with no signs of settle-1 ,ment in sight. , Police said they did not ex pect a repetition of the traffic j jams which developed Friday ; when about 2,100 employees of j the Milwaukee Transport Co. went on strike. I On The Side By E. V. DURLING (Distributed by King Features Syndicate, Inc.) We loved, sir used to meet, How sad and bad and mad it was But then how it was sweet! Robert Brownin? Who is the richest man in the world? There is much disagree ment as to who rates that title. It was held for years by the Nizam of Hyderabad. However, it is said he is not even among the first six at present. That some Texas oil men are richer. Still, let us shed no tears for the Nizam. He is still doing all right. His annual salary paid by the Indian government is the equivalent of 82,000,000 a year, tax free. He also has an annual income of about $250,000 from government bonds. Then he has a fortune in cash and gilt-edged securities amounting to $470, 000,000. I don't know what Texan has more than that. Rich est resident of the Lone Star State I know of is H. L. Hunt, oil man of Dallas. However, his fortune is said to be only $260, 000,000. Says She "My girl friend and I, both Aquarians, have been noticing your repeated reports that the stargazers rate Scorpians the 'Oomph Girls' of the Zodiac," writes a young woman of Man hattan. "It is quite evident your horses and women department has not checked this claim. My friend and I have. We have checked on a great many women and fine! that a Scorpio with a bust measurement of more than 34 or 35 is a rarity. The real 'Oomph Girls' are the Aquar ians. As for example, Lana Turner, the original sweater girl is an Aquarian." Among the Married Are you an expectant father? Are you insured against the extra expense that will be incurred if the blessed event expected is twins, triplets, quadruplets or quintuplets? Just heard of a young husband who took out insurance such as aforemention ed. The policy cost him $7. It called for the following pay offs: Twins, $700, triplets, S980, quadruplets, S1400, and quin tuplets, $2,800. The birth was twins. So the young father col lected $700. That was 100 to one. According to the experts on birth probabilities, the chances of having twins are one in 86. Unusual Family Mr. and Mrs. George Thorn of Cudahy, Wis., have four chil dren all born on Jan. 22 in dif ferent years. The births were alternate. First a girl, then a boy, then a girl, then a boy. Of additional interest, is that the births were each two years apart. Asking Queries from clients. Q. Saw item saying Charles Coburn in troduced the song titled "The Man Who Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo." That song is over 60 years old. How old is Coburn? A. Song referred to was not in troduced by Coburn, the Ameri can actor, but by a British com edian named Charles Coborn. Was first sung in this country by the comedian named "Old Hoss" Hoey in the play titled "A Parlor Match." Sleep What is your favorite position when sleeping? Don't answer me. That certainly is none of my business. However, you may be interested in hearing that Dr. Marie Stopes, an expert on rest ful sleep, says the best position is on the left side, with legs nearly straight and touching. Arms lightly crossed and sup ported on mattress. Doctor Stopes says that is the position favored by animals who really know how to relax. Longevity The death rate among bach elors is two-thirds greater than among husbands. Divorced men die twice as fast as those who stay married. So says a sta tistician. That is not a recent development. It was being dis cussed years ago. In fact, I re call when a lad hearing a male and female vaudeville team give out with the following jest: She "They say married men live longer than single men." He "It only seems longer." PEACE CONFERENCE Gen. E. L. M. Burns (left), United Nations Palestine truce supervisor, and Dag Hammarskjold (second from left), UN secy.-gen., confer with Egyptian Premier Gamal Abdel Nasser (second from right) concerning peace be tween Israel and the Arab countries. Nasser's government accepted Hammarskjold's eight-point peace plan after four days of ta Iks. The UN trouble shooter is now at tempting to get Israel's Premier Ben Gurion to accept the same pact. Man on right is unidentified. Gloria Swanson Has Hunch Marriage Of Grace arid Prince Due Happy Ending Monday, April IB, 1958 MEDFORD (OREGON) MAIL TRIBUNE SEVEN Mcnegasques Think Troubles Are Over Now That Prince Will Marry American By GLORIA SWANSON Written for United Press Monte Carlo U.R) I have a hunch but it has nothing to do with playing a lucky number in the Monte Carlo casino, hereto fore the hub around which life revolved in this wee paradise. Now, all the activity and ex citement is no longer centered in the house where the wheel of chance rules but rather on the rock of Monaco around the pal ace and cathedral. Only a few days ago Prince Rainier spent the evening at the Monte Carlo opera watching An tonio and his company of Span ish dancers. Having seen An tonio's inimitable dancing many times in Rome, I watched the Prince instead. Rather Refreshing His shyness is the most obvi ous thing about him and is rather refreshing. It is true, I'm sure, that he thoroughly dislikes crowds. And now with his wed ding near he has not only his own subjects massed around him but visitors from north, east, south and west. So I felt sorry for him. Miss Kelly, in all her movie career, had never had such a welcome or ovation. The Mona gesques have opened their hearts and arms to her. Wher ever and whenever you ask the citizens of Monaco how they feel about the Prince marrying an American, you get a genuine smile of approval an unusual experience for an American in Europe. So the road ahead should be an easy one in Monaco for these two nice people if the outside world including well-meaning friends and acquaintances, gos sip-mongers, the press, and rela tives wanting to share the lime light will allow them the pri vacy that any marriage needs to find its way along a normal and sane road to happiness. An Old Hand I have been in the limelight ever since I was 15 years old, so it is part of my breathing, and I suppose if it were taken away Federal Agencies Ready for Floods Salem (U.R) Gov. Elmo Smith said here Friday that Army engineers and other fed eral agencies would play a big part in any flood emergency which might occur in the state this spring. However, the governor said the "primary responsibility for meeting any flood threat still rests with the individual, local and state government agencies." The governor said he had been informed that the magnitude of the potential flooding in the Co lumbia river basin was depend ent almost entirely on the weather of the next 60 to 90 days. He said high water of at least moderate flood magnitude could be expected, but that a major flood would depend on very par ticular temperature and precipi tation conditions. State agencies were preparing to meet the most extreme condi tions, the governor said. Washington U.P.) Rep James T. Patterson (R-Conn.) said Saturday the forthcoming H-bomb test in the Pacific will be "the most devastating explo sion ever known to mainkind PICTURE TUBES REJUVENATED Is your picture tuba dull and weak? Most picture tubes can be restored to original brightness at only fraction of the cost of replacement. For further information CALL Electronic Service 18 N. GRAPE PH. 3-1971 I Daily's U-Drive Medford Airport from me at this late date I might wilt. Though a hundred times over I have screamed for privacy. In the case of Prince Rainier, understand it is his pleasure to go about the world unnoticed. As for Grace Kelly, who has only had a couple of years of fame, I don't know whether it has got into her blood or not, but even so I still have a feeling that she would happily exchange a movier career for a successful marriage. With his dignity and her re serve they have a fighting chance against the trouble mak ers. Therefore I repeat, I have a hunch that their story will end as it should ". . . and they lived happily ever after." Monaco (U.R) Monegas- ques can dream too and now that theii Prince is marrying the daughter of an American multi millionaire they think their troubles are over. The Monegasques are a clan nish, tight-lipped -4,000 among the 20,000 population of this lit tle principality. Prince Rainier knows them all by name. They always refer to him as "le Prince Souverain." It is only to these 4,000 that the Prince will make the tradi tional presentation of his prin cess from the top of the great marble staircase of Hercules in the palace courtyard, after the civil marriage ceremony April 18. Special Glasses Blown Then Princess Grace will min gle with her new people at a cocktail party in the gardens of the palace for which special glasses have been blown with the red and white arms of Mon aco. The Mcnegasques are as im penetrable as small-town people anywhere are to strangers, but several chatted the other day un der the exhilaration of the spec tacular arrival of Miss Kelly, and a strange tale they told. Frankly the choice of a film star by the Prince hadn't filled them with wild delight at first. They dutifully contributed to the $100,000 jewelry present for her but how much better it would have been, they thought if he had married a princess. When Miss Kelly democratic ally announced a mixed group of bridesmaids, the Monegasques whispered to each other that doubtless these were all nice people but wouldn't it have been nicer if there were more titles among them? Rumor Takes Hold The majority title is "Amer ican housewife" except for the Prince's sister, Princess An toinette. But gradually rumor spread and took hold. Of course! John Kelly, father of the bride, is a millionaire builder. His friends are rich, too. Without a doubt they would get together and re build the older hotels and add amenities that would enable Monaco to withstand the chal lenge of rjewer resorts. The appointment of Conrad Hilton, the hotel owner, as rep resentative of President Eisen hower, confirmed this story for them. When they heard about 17 Builders Supply QUALITY BLOCKS Bricks. Flues Drain Tile 721 W. McAndrews Phone 2-410? it they decided that Hilton wai going to build a huge hotel here and rumor even selected the supposed site. Fast Frequent Flights to Eugene $8.90 plus tax Albsny-Corvallis $9.60 plus tax Portland $14.85 plus tax Scheduled local Service Use Tribune Want Ads IBM For all of us, something to cheer about Green A ssistant cheer leader Allan Green is a J. sophomore in the College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences of the University of Southern California. He's also, through foresight, one of the youngest of the 46,175 people who hold shares in Union Oil, the 40th largest indus trial company in the country. And his 55 shares entitle him to a report on our 65th year of business. In 1955 our customers paid us the record amount of $368,760,900. $59,286,200 of this amount, or 16.1, was paid our 8,839 employees as wages and for benefits to protect them and their families. Taxes took 3.6. This does not include the $65,875,000 we also collected from cus tomers as fuel taxes for governmental agencies. We spent 72 with more than fffteen thousand other companies and individuals with whom we do business. This left 8.3 of the $368,760,900 as net profit. Slighdy more than half of these earn ings were paid in cash dividends to Allan Green and our other 46,174 share owners, who also received one additional share of stock for each ten held. The balance of net earnings, eqttal to 3.9 of the customers' dollars, we reinvested in the business for necessary expansion and modernization of faculties. Whether or not you own stock in mis or any other company, it seems to us that this report is of vital concern to you. For so long as companies like Union Ofl have the incentive to compete and make a profit, Allan Green and others like him will have the incentive to hold shares in mat company. This is the best possible economic climate for continuing prosperity. Which is, for afl of us, something to cheer about. your comments are invited. Write: The President, UmonOUConuy,UOUBidLuAdesZ7,Ckd. Union Oil Company 0F caufornia. MANUFACTURERS OF ROYAL TRITON, THE AMAZING PURPLE MOTOR OTL
