Evening star., 1921-03-26
bERMUDA'S PAST
LINKED WITH j. s.
Former President Taft Tells
Geographic Society of Is
Hands Unique Distinctions.

Bermuda. according to William
i Howard Taft. who lectured before
! the National Geographic Society last
evening. has some unique distinctions.
among which are:
A precursor of a famous national
delicacy. the Virginia ham, for its
dlscoverer, Juan Bermudes. en- route
to Virginia, was shipwrecked there
and some hogs he had on board es-
caped to the island and multiplied.
The locale of Shakespeares play.
The Tempest" according to some
scholars. because the Bermudas were
so generally associated with storms
in the minds of Englishmen of that
period
factor in our American revolu-
ton, because. when George Washing
ton was in desperate straits for pow
der. a Philadelphia vessel went to
Bermuda, and. with the connivance of
the colonists. broke open the powder
magazine. took the entire supply
aboard the ship and conveyed it to
Philadelphia.
A place where direct taxes are
lighter than anywhere else in the
world
Earlier in the day, following a call
upon President Harding. Judge Taft
was guest of honor of Gilbert Gros-
venor. president of the National Geo
graphic Society, who also had as his
guests the board of trustees of the
society. of which Mr. Taft is a men,
Der, at the Cosmos Club. In the after
noon he attended the annual meeting
of the trustees at Hubbard Memorial
Extracts From Address.
Extracts from Judge Taft's speech
follow:
1T was during one of the periods Of
famine and suffering among the Bermu-
dan colonists that the Revolutionary
war broke, out in the United States
Washington was in desperate straits Tor
a lack of powder. and vessel from
Philadelphia. went to Bermuda. and
with the connivance of the colonists.
for it could not otherwise have been
done, broke opensthe powder magazine
and took the entire supply aboard the
ship and conveyed it to Philadelphia.
NO man can be a member Of the
assembly unless he possesses free
hold rated at $1,000. just as one who
votes for him must own a freehold
rated at 5000. freeholder may have
several votes-that is. he may vote
in each parish in which he owns
enough to constitute himself voter.
NhIu0te hVtIoct1 - De AVOAAD"'
1.-The beauties of this island home.
it's fine climate and scenery. its con-
venicnce of access from the United
States, it's efficient government, at
tract. during the colder and uncom-
Portable seasons Of the year. from the
United States a large number of visit
ors. Indeed in time past there have
been as many sojourners in the is
lands from the United States as there
were permanent residents.
1.-The land owners pay no general tax
on their land or property. No man is
compelled to pay an income. tax. for
the income tax levied by Great Brit
ain does not apply to British sub
jects beyond the British Isles. There
are some small parish dues which the
land owners pay. but they are insig-
nificant. Nowhere in the world. l ven-
ture to think. are the taxes lighter.
There are two things in the islands
that determine much of the socia al
economy, one is the presence of build
with hand saw and after some ex-
posure is ready for use. and the other
is the total absence of wells. 1t is
necessary to get their drinking water
from the clouds, and that as meas
ure of health requires that every roof
from which the water is to be derived
should be kept clean by whitewash.
From the happiness that seems to
prevail. from philosophic contentment
with which the people of these islands
look out upon the rest of the world,
we may derive many lessons with re-
spect to. our pursuit of happiness,
which the Declaration of Independence
postulates as one Of our rights