NEWS OF THE WORLD

Evening Star, Issue 21742, 9 June 1934, Page 7

NEWS OF THE WORLD

A LOST AIR-LINER MAN ARRESTED FOR ROBBING ■ v ■ THE DEAD Solution of the mystery of a vanished air-liner in' South America has led to the arrest of a man on, a charge of robbing the dead. The air-liner San Jose, carrying six passengers and a crew of two, ■ crashed while crossing the Andes In a snowstorm in July, 1932. In spite of intensive searches by aeroplanes and mountaineers, no trace of the 'plane was found until, a few weeks ago. It is now suspected that the man arrested found the wreckage last year, and had kept the secret in order to rob the bodies of the eight victims, who were believed to be in possession of considerable sums of money. LIKE FATHER. LIKE DAUGHTER . PIANIST JOINS A CIRCUS Bianca Bordini, a daughter of Greek, the famous clown, plays one of the leading parts in a new show at the Cirque Medrano at Montmartre in France. Another performer is Marshal Hall, an American pianist, to whom Bianca was secretly married in Cannes a few weeks ■ ago, after running away from her father’s home on the Italian Riviera. Bianca Bordini is herself a talented pianist. Her father, who made his name and fortune as a clown, and knows better than anyone the difficulties of such a life says he will never allow his' daughter to become a professional entertainer. 1 Bianca’s brother stated recently that Grock, who was in Berlin, was not yet aware of her marriage, and he certainly had not been consulted about her circus debut. Brother and sister hoped that later Crock would relent and send his blessing. ■ DEATH OF FAMOUS SINGER STREET CHARITY WORK FOR POOR Eugenie Buffet, the singer of popular songs, who 40 years ago was one of the stars of the Parisian cafe-concerts, recently died at the age of 68. She sang about the man and woman in the street, their simple pleasures and their trials. Eugenie was a servant girl in Algeria when she discovered the gift for singing which , was to make her one of the best-known artists in Paris. She died poor, for though in her time she had been able, to command large fees, she was always generous. • During the war Eugenie went as near as she, was \allowed to the front line, from the Yser to Verdun, to’sing to the soldiers and the Wounded in hospitals. Whenever she heard of a family or charitable cause in distress she would go singing in the streets to help, and the financial results from such help were- invariably satisfactory. Shortly before she died this charming woman said to one of her nurses: “I have been singing all my life; I shall sing with my last breath.”

MEMORY OF RORKE’S DRIFT BATTLE HONOURS ASKED FOR BORDERERS Just over 55 years ago England was stirred by one of the finest episodes in the country’s military history—the defence of Rorke’s Drift, in which about 90 men of the South Wales Borderers held up a,rush of-. 3000 Zulus. .: Natal, which was thus-saved from invasion, is now petitioning the King to grant the battle honour of Rorke’s Drift to the Borderers. ' , The petition is to be made by the Natal Provincial Council, and statest—- . "It would be in accordance with the wish of the people of Natal if the Prime Minister would-convey to the King thp desire that he should graciously consider a grant of this battle honour in view of the great service'rendered to Natal by the gallant defence of Rorke’s Drift.” Rorke’s Drift was a post guarding the crossing on the Buffalo River. On January 22, 1879, it was successfully defended for 12 hours by the men of the 2nd Battalion South Wales Borderers — then the - 24th Regiment—under Lieutenants Chard and Bromhead against the strong Zulu force. The two officers and six other men won the'V-C. for gallantry on this occasion. This is the greatest number of ' Y.C.’s ever gained by one regiment in a single day. The last of these. Private John Williams, V.C., died in November, 1932. When disaster befell the camp at Isandhlwaha. Lieutenants Melvill and Coghill rode away with, the Queen’s Colour, but were pursued and killed by the Zulus. They were posthumously awarded the V.C. The Colour was found several days later wedged in some rocks in the river. It was taken to Queen Victoria, who placed on the staff a wreath of immortelles, a replica of which in silver has been carried ever since. The Colour was recently laid up in the Regimental War Memorial Chapel at .Brecon Cathedral.

EXPLOSION IN DURHAM MINE LOCAL BOXER AMONG THE • KILLED The shadow of death was lately hanging over the little Durham village of Dipton. An explosion in one of the workings of the . South Medomsley Colliery involved the HVes of three men and serious injury to two' others. The killed were Luke Newton, aged 20, pony putter; George Nicholson, aged 28, married; and Joseph Herrington, aged 37, married. Two men taken to hospital were David Gregory; deputy overman, and Christopher Young, a miner. The cause of the explosion is unknown, but apparently it was confined to the area in which these five men were • employed. Half an hour later they would have been on the surface, finished for the week-end. Both Mr Nicholson and Mr Herrington contemplated taking their families away for Easter, while Mr Newton, a local boxer of repute, had signed for two contests.

Directly news of the disaster became known, hundreds of people rushed to the pit-head. All the modern rescue appliances were brought into use, but two and a-half hours elapsed before Messrs Gregory and Young could be got out of what threatened to be a living tomb. Two hours later the bodies of the dead, terribly burned and disfigured, were recovered. Frequent falls of roof hampered the rescue'party,-an'd at times imperilled their own lives, while the deadly afterdamp was a constant menace. Among the volunteers who went down the mine to assist in the work was the Rev. W. M. Woodward, vicar of Dipton. Later Mr William Carr, the Coroner, opened an inquest on the victims. “I have visited the homes of the bereaved,’ he said, "and seen the sorrow and the anguish there. The sympathy of the country is with them. “Yet while the hearts of the bereaved are heavy with distress, we are stirred by the unselfish deeds of heroism wrought by the mine manager, Mr Davidson, and the members of the rescue brigade,"

GATE CRASHED WHITE HOUSE A man named Harry Yoder, now under examination in a police hospital, “gate-crashed” into the White House in Washington lately. While the President and most of the Secret Service men were absent at a National Press Club dinner, the man evaded the White House guard and slipped into the residential section of the mansion. He gained the second floor and there encountered Mrs Roosevelt, to whom he presented a letter. WAYS OF CHICAGO GUNMEN WOULD HAVE FEELINGS HURT IN ENGLAND , Mr H. B. Lees-Smith, who was the British Postmaster-General in 1931, arrived at New York lately from Chicago, where he had been studying crime and police methods. “In three or four hours I saw,” he said, “things that would turn the Government out in England—raids without search warrants, and most extraordinary procedure.” Third degree methods, Mr Lees-Smith said, were not necessary in England, “because,” he explained, “the gangster has not yet convinced England that he means business. When he says ‘Hands up!’ hands will not go up. Some old woman will throw an ink-pot at him.” PRISONER’S GRATITUDE SAVED BY TALK FROM JUDGE “Sometimes I have found it worth while to say a word or. two to a prisoner who comes before me for the first time,” remarked' Lord Justice Greer to a first offender at East Sussex Quarter Sessions, recently. "I had a remarkable instance,” the Judge continued, “of a man I sentenced at Manchester, who wrote to me nine years afterward an account of his life since. He said: T have always remembered what you said to me, in passing sentence, as to the folly of the course on which I had embarked. I have never forgotten it. When I got out of prison I made up my mind never to get into trouble again. For the past five years I have been in the same employment.’ ” The Judge added that he hoped that this would be the first and last time the prisoner before him would be found in a criminal court.

. BURGLAR’S MISTAKE DUM-DUM BULLETS FOR REVOLVER Bullets that were said to have been turned into the dum-dum type, and a revolver, were produced at the Horsham Quarter Sessions, when Leonard Doick, aged 22, porter, of Worthing, was charged with breaking into a Worthing cinema and stealing £BB and a ring. He was also accused of having the revolver and ammunition, which were stated to have been found at. his home. "The serious point about this case,” said the prosecuting counsel, "is that in these cartridges a hole has been drilled through, the top. That has the effect of turning them into soft-nosed bullets, and. when these strike a man they spread like dum-dum bullets and make a most terrible wound.” Doick explained that he found the bullets in an hotel where/ he had worked. He bought the revolver from a friend who needed money. He was sentenced to 12 months’; imprisonment. THE MODERN . ELOPEMENT AERODROME FOR GRETNA GREEN A lovers’ aerodrome is to be provided at Gretna Green, the most romantic village in the world, for sky-way elopements. The landing ground will adjoin the famous Gretna Green smithy, three centuries old, where thousands of marriages have been performed over the blacksmith’s anvil. The first runaway couple to arrive by air were promised a free-of-fee marriage and a handsome wedding presentgiven to them. Since Mr Hugh Mackie, the 84-year-old laird of the village and owner of the smithy, died recently the blacksmith’s shop has become a family concern, and Mr George B. Mackie, a son, has planned out the airport on his own farm land. “Even the old smithy has to move with the times.” Mr Mackie said recently, “I am now preparing plans for the Air Ministry, and I hope to get the license granted for opening the aerodrome on Whit Monday. “Eventually we may have our own honeymoon aeroplane and pilot at the smithy, which, contrary to rumours, is not changing hands out of the family.” During his six years as the black-smith-priest, Mr Richard Rennison, a Tynesider and former Methodist preacher, has married over 1700 couples over the anvil.

OIL FIRE THREATENS TOWN BRIGADE FIGHTS DOWN THE FLAMES About 3000 gallons of fuel oil caught fire at a Liverpool garage lately, and the police ordered neighbouring houses to be evacuated in case of . a disastrous explosion. The fire broke out at Marston’s Road Service Garage in Great Howard Street at 9.55 ,pun. This is one of the most famous haulage firms in the north of England. Their vehicles are all run on heavy Diesel oil.' In the garage were 20 of their lorries, and two private cars. The garage also contained an oil reservoir holding 3000 gallons of fuel oil; Beneath the floor'were huge storage tarfks containing oil and petrol. There was enough fuel to blow up everything within- a square mile. A watchman gave the alarm. Every fire brigade in the city arrived—to find the place blazing. All available police were called to encircle the garage. Flames lit up the sky for miles around. Then strange things happened. All the people in surrounding houses began to run to safety. They came out carrying every valuable possession they had.

Some walked through the flame-lit streets carrying articles of furniture. At the same time .hundreds ran to the garage,, trying to break through the police barrier. Meanwhile the firemen, gasmasked and using the latest foam chemicals for fighting oil fires, were cutting the flames off from the storage tank beneath.

Suddenly there was a muffled roar, a burst of flames licking the clouds, and streams of fire poured down the gutters of ’ the streets into the drains. One tank of oil had burst. It blew off the roof. The side of the garage crumbled. But the worst was over.

The firemen fought down the flames that threatened the large underground reservoir. After two hours’ fighting the fire brigades won. The refugees returned to their homes —carrying their furniture with them. The sightseers wandered back through the silent strr