Oxford Democrat., 1921-10-11
Here and There.

How would You Ike TO live In TongaY
It is q country without an army, with
out a navy, without national debt and
without an income tax. Where is this
favored land? In the Pacific Ocean-in
the South Seas. II is not a white mans
country-it's q brown mans country,
which would seem an indication they
were doing the white man one better.
D1n't think the above list OF "white
mems burdens are skipped because the
inhabitants of this land are barbsrians.
They are civilized. They have Q parlia-
ment. They have schools and public
works, so Of course have taxes. Last
year they had Q surplus Of revenues
amounting to over S400, ,0O0 Every man
has TO do bis part in Tonga. The males
become of age at sixteen years and are
expected to support q family &C that
time. At that age he must own eight
and one-qusrter acres Of land (shere 10
no trouble with his owning 1t for the
government donates it), and be Is sx-
pected to plant cocoanuts, yams and
other food enough to support bis family.
This does not sound progressive. It
may be all right to scream the slogan
"back TO the soil" but back TO the mon
key 10 going some. Yet that Is the cry
In New York. II is not only matter of
words but Of works. They graft mon
key glands into man of middle age and
think they are going to make q boy of
him, or 8 monkey, they have not found
out which yet. lt seems to be case of
Backward, turn backward, oh, time In
thy flight, make me q boy" or some
thing not quite so bright. One man has
already tried the process so perhaps we
shall know soon just what II did to him.
One sometimes hears about the church
militant, although that organization is
supposed to follow the man OF peace.
Most church fights occur among the per-
sonnsl of choirs and members of social
committees, caused by attempting to fol-
low th7 Biblical Injunction Of putting
ain q word in season" to see IL the rest
of the sentence, show good 10 is," will
come true. But they had q real church
militant In New York Last week, when
one member was killed, Il is said by
some OF the observers, BY being struck
over the head with q gold candlestlck,
and several injured by the Bibles and
hymn books buried about the church,
which proved as effective for ammuni-
ton as for praise.
About seven hundred miles northwest
OF Hawaii 10 . little island called Lay
san, which for many years was the home
OF sea birds. It had issthered popula-
ton Of millions, and In nesting time the
ground wss white with eggs. In the
year 1909 poachers from the feather and
plume industry reached this island and
10 single year more than three hundred
thousand beautiful birds were slaugh-
tered. To-day revenue cutters drive OF
the poaehers but the island 10 heaped
with the bones Of victims. Is is esti-
mated there are forty thousand tons OF
these bones, which the government has
just sold TO be ground into fertilizer.
This Is what scientists say: "The old
spheroid known as Earth is emerging
from what some human diaguosticians
might call q severe attack OF meteor
illogical mumps. IL has been accom-
panied by an intermittent fever, mani
tested In . worldwide heat wave of un-
usual length and intensity. In spite OF
crises and relapses, earthquakes, tidal
waves, cloudbursts, typhoons, water
spouts, hailstorms, floods and hurricanes
In many widely separated parts, from
Ksmchatks to Cape Horn and from
Guam TO Guadslupe-the doctors are
confident the patient will recover"
Some people are away searching for
the straight and narrow way, or pretend
they are. Such people are recommended
to 60 to the Argentine Republic, where
there Is the longest stretch of straight
and narrow way In the world. It 10 Q
railrosd-the Argentine and Pacific
which extends from Buenos Ayres to
the foot of the Andes, q distances of 2l1
miles, without curve. The land 10 so
level there is no cutting or embankment
deeper than two or three feet.
There 10 the old saying that clsanli-
ness 10 next to godliness; but with our
ideas Of godliness, ID seems that cannot
always be accepted as gospel truth.
Some i've hundred cakes OF soap were
recently stolen from Q Boston store iu
the Charlestown district, and lhe thief
was traced by patrolnen because certain
school children, usually dirty, appeared
With clean hands, necks and ears.
Oxford County Notes.