Evening star., 1928-12-30
Continued From Third Page.)

Continued From Third Page.)
In his message to Congress the Presi-
dent dwelt with satisfaction on our
progress in commercial aeronauticS
Over seventeen thousand persons, he
said, have applied for Federal air-pilot
licenses or permits, more than eighty
per cent of them within the past year
"Our national airway system" OBJ
serves the President, exceeds $4,000
miles In length and has $500 miles
lighted for night operations. Provision
has been made for lighting 1000 miles
more during the current fiscal year,
and equipping an equal mileage with
radio facilities. Three quarters of our
people are now served by these routes.
With the rapid growth of air mail, ex-
press and passenger service, this new
transportation medium is daily becom-
ing a more important factor in COM
merce It is noteworthy that this de-
velopment has taken place without
governmental subsidies. Commercial
passenger flights operating on schedule
have reached $4,000 miles per day"
The aggregate value of our exports in
the fiscal year, 1928, fell OH by 1.8 per
cent from the record of the fiscal year,
1927 that of our imports fell of by 20
per cent.
On June 30, 1928, the gross public
debt of the United States GovernmenI
amounted to $17,6o4 290, ,563, the total
having been reduced by $905, 1888, ,7O3
during the fiscal year then ended. Dur
ing that fiscal year the Treasury re-
ceived $208, 1925, ,942 on account OF the
indebtedness of foreign governments.
In the fiscal year of 1928 the total
loans and investments of bankers In
the United States increased by 6H2 per
cent. New domestic securities issues
exceeded those of the fiscal year 1927
bv per cent; new foreign issues ex-
ceeded those of the fiscal year 1927
by IL per cent. The new da11estic
and foreign security issues combined
exceeded those of the fiscal year 1877
by $3.50, 900. 900.
The national death rate for 1927 was
liza per 1000 of population. OF all the
States Idaho had the best record, with
| IL.
About 1850 900 automotive vehicles
were produced in the United States in
1928, as against 3,580,00O in 1927 and
4,500,00 in 1926.
| The eighty-fifth meeting of the AS
sociation for the Advancement OF
| Science opened in New York on De-
| cember 81, and will end on January 2.
Comdr. Byrd has reached his base on
| the shore of King Edward VII Lano,
Bay of Whales, Ross Sea, the Antarctic.
THE GREAT METEORITE.-Prof.
Kulik, Russian geologist, is returning
to Leningrad from the wilds Of North
east Siberia. where he has been study
ing one of the most extraordinary phe-
nomena of recent times: namely, the
I havoc wrought by meteorite, far the
greatest meteorite known to have land
ed on our planet.
| Persisting rumorS having reached
European Russia Of the descent OF the
God of Thunder in flaming
chariot" upon the land of the Tungueses
| at last Prof. Kulik prevailed on the
government to send an expedition under
his leadership to investigate. In the
Summer of 1927 the little group ap'
preached the area vaguely indicated by
the Tungueses as the place OF the
thunder gods descent; vaguely, because
the natives gave it wide BERTH A
last the explorers Il quote Mr.. Walter
! Duranty) "came out on plateau more
than 100 square miles in extent, from
which all living growth had vanished
Neither beast nor bird, tree nor shrub
was visible on this blasted heath, which
was pitted by enormous craters hkt
shellholes, SO or more meters II
diameter, where the meteorite had spill
into million fragments and hat
literally bembarded the earth"
Il The majority of the expedition wer'
compelled by scurvy to return after
brief stay, but Prof. Kulik, with ;
handful of assistants, remained on, ant
|, such was his obstinate enthusiasm tina
he is, so to speak, being brought bacl
. by main force by relief expedition.
fully equipped expedition is about to b
sent for adequate study Of what ha
, : been happily named the "Kulik Plateau.