Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1920-09-21
Here and There.


quakes which did considerable damage,
killed and frightened great many PEG
pie. The quake destroyed some build
ings and shook many more, among
others that famous campanile, the lean
ing tower Of Pisa. Most people are of
the opinion this Is not the first lit OF
ague it has had. They believe the first
one was away back in 1l74 when the
thing was built, that is, its getting four
teen feet out of perpendicular was the
result of the settling Of one side Instead
of freak of the architects. Neverthe-
less the beauty and slant of the tower
have attracted attention to 1t for over
eight hundred years. Every tourist to
Italy wished to climb its 1S3 feet, and
most of them felt sure it shook when
they assembled to the bell tower. The
late Congressman Nelson Dingley with
friend made the usual climb when Wis
iting Italy some more than forty years
ago. When they had descended and
again stood on the ground they gazed
back at this peculiar piece of architect
ure with awe. Mr.. Dingley being of a
religious turn of mind controlled his
emotions, but his friend, who evidently
was lacking in this respect, blurted out,
Now let the damned thing fsllp'
A few weeks ago attention was called
In the Democrat to that far of isle
Tahiti and it's connection with Oxford |
County because a wandering daughter |
of Paris settled there many years ago. |
At that time the island was a favorite |
exhortation ground for missionaries, |
because the natives had gods, temples |
and religious ceremonies after their own |
fashion, while the missionaries believed |
in uniformity, and so began to destroy |
all three. The missionaries, or, to be /
more correct, their descendants, are now |
sorry they did so-st least they are sorry |
they destroyed the temples, which many |
times were extensive and wonderful |
structures, and would be worth vista
ton and study as much as the pyramids |
Of Egypt. Efforts are now being made
to restore some of them that were not |
entirely obliterated; also to gather |
relics and forms of a nearly forgotten |
worship. Thus can be seen the revolu-
lions the whirligig of time can bring
forth.
Did older readers of the Democrat |
ever stop to think that whiting has be-
come lost art to Yankees? Not so
many years ago no New Highlander could |
loiter long in any place without taking |
his jackknife from his pocket and pro-
coed to whittle-whittle anything that |
came handy. New benches and desks
had to be placed in school houses every
few terms because of the propensity of
~ -. t.
possible to keep benches in the waiting
rooms of railroad station for the same
reason. Old-fashioned store keepers
always placed fresh boxes about the
store of an evening for their customers
and swept up the whittlings next morn
ing to build fires with.
Oxford County people are much inter-
ested in concrete, seeing II is being used
to such an extent at the present time in
buildings and in road construction.
The longest concrete arch in the world /
is now being constructed as part of
new bridge thrown across the Mis-
slssippi River at Minneapolis. 1t is four
hundred feet long with two separate
ribs each twelve feet wide, eighteen feet
thick at the base and eight feet thick at
the crown, with a rise of eighty-eight
feet. There are two end arches to the
bridge, one two hundred feet long and
the other fifty-five feet long.
One of the next things-the American
housewife will call for is liquid coal.
There is such stuff 1t is called "col-
loidal fuel" 1t is made from Ignite
combined with petroleum. The parti-
cles OF Ignite are suspended in the
liquid by colloid chemistry and buned
like oil. The petroleum used is q prod
uct left after gasoline, kerosene, and
other products have been extracted
from Ii, and therefore q refuse product.
The Ignite Is also valueless at the pres
ent time.
or late years there has been a growing
tendency to equip boots and shoes with
rubber heels to act as human shock
sbsorbers, How many there are used
probably Is not known, but the Good
year Tire & Rubber Company, Akron,
Ohio, turned out 312, 900 individual heels
one day recently, or enough to equip
158, 900 persons. 1t took $50 persons to
produce this number. each worker fur
nishing heels for 625 pedestrians.
The French government has been
asked by the American Army Graves
Service to purchase hill
and slope on one side Of the Romsgne
Cemetery upon which are buried $4,000
American soldiers, to prevent CONNER
cial encroachment. The Romagne, n
Suresnes and Belleau Wood cemeteries
have been approved BY the secretary Of
war as permanent resting places for
30, 900 dead soldiers, who will continue
to sleep In French soil. liz
As showing one of the ravsges Of war, g
the state Of New York is about to erect
\ hospital for treating veterans OF the
world war who have become insane be- p
cause Of shocks or other causes. In