MISCELLANEOUS

Hokitika Guardian, 5 February 1921, Page 1

MISCELLANEOUS

CHASE OF MR FORD

MOTOR MANUFACTURER ELUDES AUTHORITIES.

NEW YORK December 23,

There is much amusement here at the failure of the Federal authorities, after months of chase, to serve a subpoena on Mr Henry Ford who is wanted as a witness in the case of the alleged purchase of the ‘‘Evening Mail” by Germany for propaganda purposes. Mr Ford, possibly accompanied by Mr Edison, has completely disappeared, and his automobile, doubtless resembling others cannot !>e identified. Mr Ford's hobby is to act as a chauffeur incognito, and whatever disguise he has adopted has so far proved effective. MYSTERY QF ’A BANKER, STORY OF DRUGGING AND THEFT. PARIS, December 23. The “Liberte” asserts that M. Antonin Frezouls, the well-known banker, and former Colonial Governor, who disappeared last Monday in peculiar circumstances, is not dead, and that he has written two letters since his disapl>earnnce, both on paper headed with the address of the company of which he is a director. In the first letter, addressed to (he Public Prosecutor for the Seine, the paper asserts that M. Frezouls states that he drew out a sum of half a million francs at Melon, and that while he had this sum on him an unknown person made him breathe some form of anaesthetic and that when he recovered he found that the money had disappeared. In the second letter, addressed to a business associate, M. Frezouls is reported as saying that lie is in a position of some financial embarrassment, but that there is nothing to worry about.—Reuter.

NAVAL COURT MARTI AI

STORES ON H.M.S. NEW ZEALAND

SENTENCE OF 50 DAYS' DETENTION. LONDON. December 10. At a naval court-martial on board H.M.S. Crescent, the depot ship at Rosytli Dockyard, Stoker Petty Officer William Domn. of H.M.S. New Zealand was charged with having had in his possession Government property consisting of ship’s stores valued at over £7O. The evidence for the prosecution was that the stores, which included tea, chocolate candles, chamois leather, hack saw blades, etc. were dispatched from Inverkeithing station in boxes. They were consigned Tby passenger train to Plymouth, and afterwards found by metropolitan police officers at a dwelling house there occupied by the aeetiseil.

Accused's evidence was to the effect that when the New Zealand left DevonI orl with Lord .fellicoc on his worldtour in 1910 the departure was made so hurriedly that there was no time to cheek the ship’s .stores. On the vo\nge, at Bombay, lie reported to the cn- | gineer- commander that there were deficiencies. These were made up at Bombay. several of the articles having been obtained at considerable expense to himself. When lie. left the New Zealand in August he sent the stores to his home in Plymouth, with the idea of transferring them to another ship to which lie had reasonably expected to be sent as storekeeper. Officers of the New corroborated the accused as to the shortage of stores being reported by accused, but pointed out that he had no business to go outside regulation service channels to make up any deficiency. The court found the charge proved, ami ordered 50 days' detention. MARTIAL LAW. THE IRISH PROCLAMATION. LONDON, December 16.

Posted in those parts of Ireland specified to he under martial law—Cork, Tipperary, Kerry and Limerick—is the proclamation issued by Sir Xevil Macready.

“Irishmen I Understand this,” it reads, “Great Britain has no quarrel with Irishmen ; her sole quarrel is with crime, outrage and disorder; her sole object in declaring martial law is to restore peace to a distracted, and unhappy country; her sole enemies are those who have countenanced, inspired, and participated in rebellion, murder, and outrage. It is to put an end, once, and for all, to this campaign of outrage that martial law has been declared.”

The paragraphs of the proclamation demand the surrender of arms by December 27th. After that date any un authorised person found in possession of arms, ammunition, or explosives will be liable, on. conviction bv a mil - tary court to suffer death. Any unauthorised person wearing the uniform of equipment of His Majesty’s naval, military, air or police forces, or wealing similar clothing likely to deceive, will be liable on conviction to sutler death.

Special attention is drawn to the fact “that a state of armed insm-recti" 1 tion exists, that any person taking part therein, or harbouring any povson, who has taken part therein. | guilty of levying war against His Majesty the King and is liable on conviction by a military court to suffer death.”

bedroom. The reason given by the accused for the trespass was, according to tho evidence of the detective, a false one. After a short retirement the jury returned a verdict of not guilty, and the prisoner was accordingly discharged.

“SEXITIS.” MONTREAL, Dec. 4. Social Canada lias been stirred to the core by a ferocious attack on dancing and what lie calls “sexitis” delivered by Dr Straton, pastor of Cavalry Baptist Church, New York. Dancing masters here threatened him with an actian for £2,000 damages unless lie withdrew what they regarded as slanderous statements regarding their profession. In response lie camp here and spoke out more fiercely than ever. St. James’ Methodist Church, the largest Protestant church in Canada, was crowded to hoar him. “The modern dance is only part of a larger evil,” he said. “It is only one phase of the wrong relationship between the sexes, which is the greatest danger to our modern civilisation today. The root of the trouble is that, there is so close an intimacy between the sexes in our modern life.”

He quoted Dr Frank C. Richardson, of Boston, to the effect that “the dance hall is the nursery of the divorce courts the training ship of prostitution, and the graduation school of infamy. The various poses and stops of the dance are contributed with devilish ingenuity to excite the instincts of sex.” “I am so old-fashioned,” Dr Straton continued, “that my mind cannot discriminate between a young man hugging a young woman upon a sofa and hugging her upon the dancing floor. If there is any choice between the two things, the odds are all in favour of the hugging on the sofa, as the dance is hugging set to music, and music always has an exciting effect.”

‘ DO UNTO OTHERS.’

NEW YORK, December 1

To minimise suffering from unemployment in the clothing industry, the employees of the Nash Clothing Company, Cincinnati, yesterday decided to surrender their positions in the factory for one month to unemployed workers in the industry. The employees also informed the management that if it were found necessary to reduce the prices of the firm’s products to stimulate business any reduction of wages would be borne by employees earning more than 255. daily. At tin* conclusion of an employees' meeting at which these decisions were adopted, a 60-year-old woman, addressing the chairman of the company who was present, offered to give up her position at once to some poor man with a family.” £122,000 DAMAGES.

NEW YORK. Doc. 4. Damages to t4ic extent of C 122,000 against the Outlaid Line were given in the Admiralty Court in connection with the sinking of the cargo boat Lord Dnflerin (4,(i(j4 tons) by the Ac[uitania (4o,(40() tons) in February last year. The Lord Dufl’erin, loaded with a valuable cargo of sugar, was' rammed by the giant Onnarder in New York Harbour near the Statue of Liberty, The Culture! Line admitted that the Aquitania was in fault, but contended that the plaintiffs, a New York firm of shipowners, could not sue, being only the chatterers ami not the owners of the Lord Dufferin, LONDON ACTRESS’S FATE. NEW YORK, Dec 4. Recently arrived from London, where her husband is said to be connected with Lloyd’s, Miss Marjorie Lesiomb, a 20-years-old kinenta actress, and a friend, Miss Hetty Jones, also from London, have been burnt to death in a New York boarding-liouse fire.

Miss Lcsconib, it is said, was hying dragged to safety, when she returned to try to rescue Miss Jones. ‘•£■‘2(so A YEAR, OR ” PARIS, Dee. 5. “Ray me £2(50 a year or I will commit suicide,” was the argument which, it was alleged in a Paris court yesterday, was successfully used to his creditors by an ex-banker, named Lucien Rivier. Reforo the war Rivier founded a savings bank which offered a fortnightly return on capital invested. It failed, and the promoter was arrested in England and sont to prison for five years. He had previously invested £32,000 h an annuity for himself, This was seized by Ida British aid Krench creditors, who, in order to pievent him from carrying out his threat, and killing himself, in which case the annuity would lapse, have now consented to pay him a life pension of £2OO.

£120,000 ROBBERY

NEW YORK, Dei

The business community has been startled by the latest series of daring daylight highway robberies in New York. Yesterday afternoon two bath messengers were attacked and robbed of securities valued at £120,000. The messengers were within a stone’s throw of their destination when three well-dressed loiterers sprang upon them in the middle of the crowded street, secured the bag containing the securities after a short tussle, then retired rapidly to a waiting motor-car behind a barrage of revolver bullets, and drove away. All trace of them was quickly lost.

One of the messengers managed to read the license number of the <a-, but when investigated this was toun.l to he fictitious.

The police arr.ested the head messenger of the bank, who received, two mysterious telephone calls just before the messengers left the bank. A “BURGLAR” TRAGEDY. PARIS, Dec. 4. After mortally wounding his son, a leather merchant named Kessler, was