The Coolidge examiner., 1933-02-17

Prepared by National Geographic Society
Washington. ID. C.-WNU Service.
THE farm problem Is not con-
fined to America. Recently
farmers of Syria, quiet, pic
turesque, Austrian valley, were I'M
able to pay taxes and refused to al
low auctioneers on their property
Tax collectors had hoped to sat
isfy the governments claims by sell
ing farm stock and equipment.
Syria is both the Shenandoah
valley and the Birmingham of Aus
tria. In an Alpine country whose
borders touch no salt water, Aus
tria's city jewellers take to the
grassy slopes of her tall mountains.
or to rural villages tucked away
in smiling valleys. when their an
nual playtime rolls around.
Hiking along winding mountain
paths; wearing deerskin or chamois
shorts. hobnailed boots, green
trimmed jackets. and hats plumed
with a trophy of some other years
outing; hunting the cock-of-the-
wood or other game; taking part in
the rural festivals of the village,
where young and old don the cos
tune of their home town and join
in the folk songs and dances; and
Notwithstanding to dizzy heights
on Austria's Alpine sentinels, are
some of the attractions which crowd
the spotless Syrian hostelries with
city families holiday bent.
Hunting the chamois is the favor
lite sport for city dwelling Austrian
and German visitors. Living in
mountain Businesses difficult of ap-
proach, the chamois are perhaps the
most agile of all EurOpe's Alpine
animals. Their plant skin fur
nished the original leather Of that
name, and the stiff black hairs
tipped with creamy yellow. which
grow on the back of the animals
neck, are worn in the hat as badge
Of hunting prowess. Quail. cock-of.
the-wood, pheasant. partridge, and
many other game birds are found
in Syria and neighboring Tyrol.
Tail feathers from the cOck-of-the-
wood also are valued as hat plumes
to supplement Austrian costumes,
and silver pins which hold the feath-
ers In place are huntsmen's heir
looms. often handed down for gen.
erations.
Iron and Water Power.
Steiermark, as the Austrians call
this little province astride the Me
dere Tauern, struggling eastern
outpost of Europe's mighty Alpine
range, supplies 80 per cent of the
republics iron needs: and. by har-
Messing the latent water power in
it's mountain streams, 1t provides
a substitute for the missing link in
Austria's chain of raw materials
coal deposits which the latter lost
after the reorganization of the
AustrO- Hungarian empire.
From the Vordernberg- Eisenerz
range, in the north of Syria, comes
the bulk of the raw material for the
iron works of Graz, Leoben, and
Donawitz. Since the OutcrOpping
ore is of such high iron content, it
is mined from the surface, not
through deep shafts and chambers
as is the general practice in other
parts of the world. While the mines
have been worked for more than
twelve centuries and were once con-
sidered as the largest known depos-
it's, their total production for all
time is less than third of the
worlds annual output today.
In the iron-mountain regions espe-
cially, where arsenic is a by-prod-
uct of iron smelling, some peasants
eat this virulent poison. 1t is taken
in small doses, which are gradually
increased as the system becomes
used to it. until it may be taken
daily, without visible i'll effect, In
a quantity sufficient to kill an aver
age person. The arsenic is sup
posed to clear the complexion, in
crease the appetite, and improve