Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-03-08
DEL COMERCIO, Bar
ranquilla.-At the moment of
going to press with today's
edition we received informa-
fiOr NV faleohn1Aa fhaf Soyanro

ranqu1lla.-At the moment Of
going to press with today's
~ edition We received informa-
ton by telephone that Sonora
Josefina Gonzalez, whose home Is sit
lated in the Gala Paciflco, near Gale
a powerful dose of poison. Without
losing a minute we seized an auto
mobile and transported ourselves tc
the address given, but upon arriving
at the home Of the presumed suicide
we found 1t Theoretically closed. ano
apparently uninhabited. The neigh
bors informed us that of Q truth the
Sonora Gonzalez had been taken away
from there in extreme agony. but that
they did not know anything more about
the matter.
We Immediately gave ourselves to the
task then of finding out the hospitals
of the city. but at none Of these es-
tabl shments were we able to find out
anything about the dying woman, for
she had not as yet arrived at any Of
them.
This was a result strange enough, to
say the least, and makes mystery
of the presumed suicide of Sonora
Josefina Gonzalez. Without any more
time to use in investigating the affair
for today's paper, we prom sc our read.
and detailed account OF this unfortu-
nate event.
Stamp Has
Political Significance.
Ell Mercurio, Santiago.--A curious
philatelic anomaly Is q recent postage
stamp issued by the Bolivian govern
ment which bears . map of Paraguay
A portion of the territory of the latter
country is heavily shaded, the whole
purpose of the issue being, apparently
to indicate in q quiet, unobtruSive way
that a certain extensive portion of the
Chaco Plateau, or "Altiplano," from
considerations political, historical, geo.
graphical and anthropological, really
appertains to Bolivia and should be
ceded to her.
Believe Dead
Ancestors Protect Living.
North China Herald, Shanghai.-The
Chinese all believe that dead ancestors
are in a position to protect the living
and therefore have to be kept in good
h,Irnor at all cost. Therefore Chinese
funerals are very elaborate, with many
rites of great antiquity. some Of them
owing their origin to superstition, and
old wives gossip, passed on from gen.
Grafton to generation until the In
spiring idea is entirely lost. Chinese
are never too sure which of two cults
Buddhism or Taoism. is the proper
one to eSpouSe. so, to be on the safe
side. Chinese obsequies are q mixture
of both. Many of the rites were un-
doubtedly formulated by Duke Chow
of the Crow era, the great master Of
all ceremonies, while others are in
vented by the Buddhist and Taoist
priests in order to exc out a living
1t is q glaring instance Of exploiting
the ignorance of the general masyes.
Chinese funerals are expensive, and
it is considered q great misfortune to
be buried by charity. A mans family,
If able to pay, will never permit his
casket or the clothes in which the
body is dressed to 90 out Of the house
before everything Is paid for by the
deceased's own children, or. IN their
absence, by other members of HIS FAM
lily. Hundreds, even thousands, of dol
lars worth of joss paper are burned
at the funeral. It Is much like the
various sorts of paper money, and Is
supposed to pay all the expenses of
the deceased on his way TO the Western
Heaven, the land of Buddha. After
death, one or two days are permitted
friends to view the body. which lies in
state in the family hall, after which
it Is put in a wooden casket. large
enough TO contain three bodies instead
of one. The casket costs from $40 to