Evening star., 1940-09-16
Of Stors, Men
And Atoms
Notebook Of Science Progress
In Field, Laboratory
And Study
By Thomas r. Henri.

By Thomas r. Henry.
A great concrete fortifcation housing
a 225-ton gun" is being buried under a
Rock Greek hillside.
1t is under construction, however, not
for offense or defense against any human
foe, but for the ceaseless war against the
invisible foes of mankind which lurk in
the outer darkness of the infinitesimally
little.
The gun is cyclotron-one of the
three largest in the world. This is the
most efficient of atom smashers. With it
are produced new radioactive elements,
not known in nature, for the treatment
of human diseases and for basic physical
research. 1t will be ready, say officials of
the Carnegie Institution of Washington,
which is installing the apparatus, about
the first of the year.
Extreme precautions are being taken to
protect not only the workers at the ter
restrial magnetism laboratory, but the
neighborS. the nearest of whom live about
300 feet away. The apparatus will give
rise to extremely powerful short wave ra-
beings, if it was allowed to escape into
the surrounding atmosphere, might be
quite unpleasant. To prevent any such
possibility, the gun" itself not only is
sunk IN the hillside where it is COM
pletely surrounded with earth on three
sides, but there will be a barrier of eight
feet of earth on top of it. The front,
which opens into the side of the hill,
will be protected by door in the middle
of which will be an eight-foot- wide tank
full of water. This will be kept closed at
all times while the apparatus is in
operation.
Altogether the great atom smasher
contains more than 200 tons of metal,
including 13 tons of copper wire in its
coils. The base and the top are great
chunks of iron weighing 56 tons each,
while the sides weigh nearly Is tons each.
This composes the magnet, which is an
integral part of the apparatus
The pieces were so heavy that they
had to be brought to Washington on
special cars. A total Of 5000 cubic yards
Of earth had to be removed to make place
for the construction.
Washington is considered a strategic
place for the big atom smasher. because
of the presence here of so many indi-
viduals competent not only in basic phys
ical research, but in the biological appli-
cation of the products produced by the
cyclotron.
xE y
Transition Of an Indian tribe between
two fundamental stages of human cul-
ture has been studied this summer by Dr.
Julian Stewart, Smithsonian Institution
anthropologist
He worked among the Carriers Of Brit
lsh Columbia. This primitive tribe is a
branch of the great AthapaScan family
of redmen, probably the last Of the race
to emigrate from Asia. They populated
much of interior Canada and pushed far
to the South where they now are repre-
sented by the Navajos.
The Athapascans were hunters. They
operated in bands. The band owned-or
at least controlled-the territory over
which it hunted. There was no individ-
ual ownership Of land.
Established on the Pacific Coast we're
a group of Indian tribes of much high
er culture. They lived primarily by fish
ing. This involved sedentary life, out
Of which grew individual land ownership
and an hereditary aristocracy which in
herited estates. These people were among
the most advanced Of all the New World
primitives.
Land was inherited through the moth
ers, whereas patrimonial system of
family inheritance. insofar as there was
any, was the practice among the Atha-
paScanS.
The Carriers spilled over into the ter
ritory of the Northwest Coast Indians.
There was considerable mixing of blood
and the primitive Athapascans adopted
some of the customs of the more ad-
vanced people. They combined hunting
and salmon fishing as a means of liveli-
hood and, with the coming of the white
men, the land inheritance scheme and
the hereditary aristocracy had been
adopted. This has been maintained up
to the present.
Land is held according to the ''potlatch
system" familiar to anthropologists
among the Northwest Coast Indians
The inheritor must use the resources of
his estate to provide feasts for his tribes
men. This is an inviolable custom.
any departure from which would be alb
solutely unthinkable.
DR.. Stewart found that the Carriers
have adopted it without any question:
ing, although it is completely foreign to
anything known among other Athapas-
can peoples. The great 'potlatches,"
however, are held on more frugal basis.
Whereas it is common for the rich SAL
mon fishers of the Pacific Coast to give
away dozens of Hudson Bay blankets on
such an occasion the poor Carrier can
only afford one blanket and will cut it
up into many small pieces to distribute
among his friends. A person who at
tends many potlatches eventually will
get enough pieces to patch together one
complete blanket.
Among the curiosities noted by DR..
Stewart among the present-day Car
riers were dugout canoes. of the type used
long before the discovery of America,
equipped with outboard motors. The In
dians still wear the moccasins of their
ancestors, but they prudently buy rub
bers to wear over them in rainy weather.
One of the conclusions of DR.. Stewart
= IL.