New Britain herald., 1928-10-31
I resonant stage floor. without car- pet" An experimental theater for sound
 tests is being designed at the Uni-
 versity of Illinois.
AIR LANES OVER
 HISTORIC LANDS
Plane Service Thrice Weekly
 Over Ancient America

Washington, D. C.. Oct. 31.-A Maya Indians once worshipped the Sun-God is now receiving airplane service. It is announced from Mexi- co City that Yucatan will be visited by airplane thrice weekly from now on. According to bulletin from the Washington. D. c. headquarters of the National Geographic Society, Yucatan has perhaps the most in- teresting historical background of any part of Mexico.
 ''The Mayan Indians had the fore- most civilization in pre- Columbian America" the bulletin states. When parts of Europe were barbarous lands the Mayans were building great cities of stone and stucco structures. They had formulated a working system of astronomy and developed a system of writing. main- ly ideographic, but containing some phonetic elements. They cast copper and gold and spun and wove cot ton which was dyed with brilliant colors. Their calendar which divided the year into eighteen months was with five nameless days left over each year. was more nearly accurate than the Julian calendar.
 Mayan Influence Remains
 Although this ancient civilization has vanished except for its ruins, it has left its impress on the Y1ca- teco of today. Yucatan teens with place names entirely unchanged from their ancient designation. The Indian dances contain positions like those pictured on the carvings Of ruined temples. Mayan is spoken as much as Spanish. Many of its words baffle the ordinary student Of pronunciation. Examples are hue hueu' meaning drum; 'xtoles' which means dancers, and, 'h'men,' sor- cerer
 "The pure Mayan types are sell dom found now except in the jun gles of the south or little known Quintana Roo. The Yucatecos. with a touch of white blood, in contrast to many Mexican tribes. have q passion for cleanliness. They re- semble the Japanese in their devo. tion to the daily bath.
 Merida Is Gay Capital
 Modern Yucatan is prosperous The raising of henequen from which binder twine is manufactured has made it so. This twine is used chief ly in the United States on harvest ing machines. Merida, the capital. Is clean. colorful city.
 "The Meridanos themselves offer colorful contrast sts. Parisian gowns are seen side by side with the old fashioned huipil and pix, the white, square-necked overblouse and long underskirt formerly decreed by law for the Indians and MestizaA. De- scendants of Mayas, once nobles of ancient Mayapan. ride through the streets in trim little Fords, which they call 'Fotingos.'
 Carrying Firearms Prohibited
 "Innumerable bootblacks swarm the city. Shines may be had for the equivalent of fifty cents. Prices for everything are correspondingly high. Money is plentiful in Merida as the numerous hotels, restaurants and clubs. The two-gun guerrilla of story-book fame is not to be found in Yucatan. The carrying of fire. arms is forbidden by law.
 Sale of alcoholic beverages is prohibited. Light wines and beer es- cape this ultimatum. However the light wines are light in everything but price. The beer is so mild that it's intoxicating quality is about equal to that of big strong drink of water, according to the Yucatc' can connoisseurs."