RANDOM NOTES

Dominion, Volume 28, Issue 86, 5 January 1935, Page 10

RANDOM NOTES

Sidelights on Current Events (By Kickshaws.) Japan’s duty is to save the world, if we are to believe General Araki—a Japanned finish for the world, in fact. ♦ ♦ ♦ A cake of proteins weighing Soz. has been produced that will keep a man alive for 4S hours. Yes—but would he want to? ■ ' *♦ . • The real truth about Notts and bodyline is that Notts would not undo the knot if it were not a knot, but it is not a knot for Knotts, but a line, and a knot that is not a knot for Knotts is not a whatnot for nitwits to- untie. So the only knot Knotts is. not in is a knot at sea, is it not Knotts?

“Here is the proper translation of the paragraph about ‘good cooks going,’ ” says ‘‘French Coach”: —“Elie etait bonne cuisiniere en taut que le sont les bonnes cuislnieres; et, comme bonne cuisiniere, elle s’en alia.” “H.R.” gives another version:—“Elie ! etait une bonne cuisiniere, comme toute cuisiniere, et, comme de bonnes cuisinieres s’en vont, elle s’en alia.” The English equivalent for which “Hamurana” asked for a French translation ran:—“She was a-good cook as good cooks go, and, as good cooks go, she went.”

Accents have been omitted owing' to typographical limitations. Readers may care to criticise the translations, which cannot hope to render idiomatic English into straightforward French.

News that a man in England, ori.ginally worth two millions, has died and left a bare £5OOO is not as surprising as it looks. It is not stated how the money was lost; but the experiences of the last few years have been sufficient to reduce the fortunes of many rich men by large amounts. In England during the last three years the number of millionaires has been on the decline by some 100 a year. Perhaps it is as well to define a millionaire. The usually accepted definition is a man with an income of £50,000 a year. At five-per cent, this works out at a capital of one million pounds. Death duties have taken a severe toll of the millions, one might add. In fact, the 100 less millionaires annually during the three years of the slump may be partly attributable to the fact that over £76 million had to be paid in death duties. The result was that the heirs of many millionaires were not millionaires subsequent to inheriting the money. . An idea of the toll taken by death duties may also be had by the fact that a man worth a million parts with nearly half of it to the State when he dies.

The decline of millionaires in America during the last few years has been as great if not greater than the decline in England, In fact at the moment there are many more millionaires in England if we take the same standard as the test for a millionaire. There is a difference one should point out between a million dollars and a million pounds. From 1919 to 1929 the ranks (jf American millionaires rose from 65 to 513. A steady decline started after that. It was estimated last June that there were only 20 real millionaires left in the whole of America. Actually what has happened is that a few millionaires have become very much richer at the expanse of their brother millionaires. In fact the' slump, if it eliminated millionaires, is also calculated to make others. In a few -years we shall be hearing of the slump magnates who by shrewd buying when things were low soared to the top on rising prices. A slump period is always a sort of bran tub — most of us get the bran.

When one starts to get dovm to actual facts it becomes oibvious that many exceedingly wealthy families were badly hit by the slump. Solly Joel, for example, who was worth £l2 million in 1925, died two years ago worth only £1 million. This is al2 to 1 shrinkage. Lord Melchett is sa>d to have been worth £5 million in 1927. When he died in 1930 his solicitors were unable to scrape together even £200,000. This represents a swifter decline. Mrs. Hornby Lewis, who was worth £2 million in 1926, left only £650,000 when she died some four years later.

A fair idea of the way millionaire fortunes decreased may be had from the fact that the £5 million left by Mr. Bernhard Baron dropped nearly £l4 million between his death in January 1929 and January 1930. A further £2,300,000 went in death duties, leaving only £1,300,000 in round figures. One could give many more personal instances. The result is that most people were very much’ poorer in 1933 than they wege five years before. In 1928' and 1929 twenty-nine persons died' in.'Englanfi leading a million or more. In 1931 barely 25 people died worth a million or more. » • »

The temperature in London is reported to be only a few degrees below that in June. Spring flowers are blooming in- Scotland two months before their "time, and roses are blooming in Wales. Heat' waves of this nature are uncommon admittedly at this time of year. January and. February in England are usually the dreariest and the coldest months of the whole year. Yet in 1913 ripe raspberries were picked in Kentish gardens at Christmas time. In Dorsetshire apple trees were blooming into the New Yeai. In 1872 and 1882 the thermometer registered 56 degrees on Christmas Day. These high temperatures persisted, for nearly a week. In 1923 there was another mild qpell at the turn of the year. Warm air from the South Atlantic is said to be responsible for these freak heat waves. On one occasion, in fact, warm air from the Bermudas, some 3000 miles away, actually found its way to England. Just which is the better, a hot Christmas or a cold one. is a matter of taste. We revel in the open air at this time of year. In England one revels by the Yuie Log. Which usually persistently refuses to burn. * t

“Quite logically and reasonably yon have come to be regarded by the lay public as almost omniscient.” says “Here’s Spring,” “but—l repeat, but—can you tell me why even in these enlightened days do all ‘pubs’ (excuse the vulgarity, but I am trying to be up-to-date in this vulgar age) still continue to have printed iu large anti prominent letters on their windows: A single bottle at wholesale price,’ when it never deludes the publie or themselves—answer that,-if you can!”[Kickshaws accepts this in the spirit in which it is given, and asks all good publicans to rally round him with suggestions; that, is, if the publicans can without cant.]