The Washington times., 1921-07-12

What 10 Finance?
Hays No catspaw.
When Women Steal.
The BasiIlsk Eye.
ARTHUR BRISBANE
Copyright. 1871

European money and various
United States stocks dropped gent
ly together yesterday. A few years
ago any statesman in Europe or
AmericA would have undertaken
to tell all about finance. Now the
wise admit they know nothing
about it. Germany starts paying
billions to France and England,
and French and English money 60
down. even more rapidly than Ger
man money.
Over here, there was q stock
gambling effort to cheer up be-
cause the President was talking
disarmament" which would cut
down taxation. But somebody
asked. "What will happen to the
poor steel companies, If they stop
building warships?" And the cheer
,fulness died out.
Some bankers don't like Post
master General Hays plan for put
ting tho postoffice savings bank on
a sensible strong basis.
They offer to instruct and guide
Mr.. Hays, suggesting that he make
himself a collecting agency to
gather savings and turn them over
to savings banks. AS a Govern
ment cat, employed to pull chest
nuts out of the fire for others,
Mr.. Hays will not prove sue
cess.
Mr.. Hays plan win bring out Of
hiding into circulation hundreds Of
millions of dollars that the coun-
try needs. 1t will interest millions
of little savers In Government and
Its management, all Of which is
more important than the opinion
of the President Of the savings
bank division Of the American
Bankers' Association"
Thomas Loyden, young detec-
tive, understands women. He
wanted a confession from Jean
Cunningham, accused of stealing
jeHelry from her employer. His
first words to the lady were:
II suppose you know that bird
you stole for went and got mar
ried, don't you7"
The detective simply guessed at
the "bird" in question, and was
also guessing at the woman's guilt,
but says he, when a woman steals,
she always steals for some man."
He was right, the woman con-
fessed.
Even in the thievery women are
better than men. A man steals
because he wants something for
himself. A woman because she
wants something for somebody
else, usually.
Ancient superstition described
the Basilisk that kills you with a
glance of the eye. Now, DR.. Russ
describes a "vision ray" as actual
projecting Of force from the eye.
Everybody is conscious, especial
ly in anger, of an actual effort to
"strike" with the eye at the OBJ
ject hated. There are in history
many men whose eye other men
could not endure. Bismarck, for
instance, was a man hard to look
at when in anger.
When John L. Sullivan in New
York fought professor declared
to be "the perfect physical man."
he looked once at the professor as
he stepped toward him. The pro-
fessor fell down without being
touched and that was the end of
the fight. Not bad Basilisk imi-
tation.
Skov, Danish captain of a
twenty -six-year-old sailing ship,
ran INTO an iceberg. He turned
his starboard side to the blow,
that his masts might not be up
rooted by a head-on collision.
Ordinarily the big hole in the
ships side would have taken
everybody to the bottom. But
Skov has not sailed for nothing.
He laid his ship broadside to the
wind, the ship rolled over and
the hole was lifted out Of the
water. Then he filled up the hole
with a casing of cement, sand and
coal. For two days he sailed
with the wind against his beam,
keeping the cement out of the
water to dry.
He and the crew are safe, and
all he wrote in his log was:
"Hit iceberg" and made two
castings and stopped water"
That reminds you Of Crom-
wells literary style. 1t is not
unlikely that the blood in Cap
tain Skov got into Cromwell
when men from Denmark landed
on the English coast. long ago.