OBSERVATORY.

Putaruru Press, Volume VI, Issue 225, 23 February 1928, Page 1

OBSERVATORY.

A Modern Raffles. What is the most profitable employment in London for a young man with ideas and plenty of nerve ? According to ex-Chief Inspector Gough, of Scotland Yard, burglary must be in the running. The ex-inspector tells of a Mr. Graha, who was known to criminals as the “ spider,” and who averaged round about £30,000 a year for 20 years from his nefarious occupation. His garden in Highbury Crescent was one of the show places of the district, and upon it, particularly in the cultivation of geraniums, he spent sufficient to keep an average family in modest comfort. For a period of 20 years his activities were entirely unsuspected, and in his whole career he only suffered one term of imprisonment. When at “ work ” he never carried his tools away from a “ job,” so that if he had been stopped by an inquisitive policeman no telltale jemmy or drill could be found upon him. The “ spider ” was aided by a jeweller, whose function it was to alter jewelley so that it would be unrecognisable, even to its owners, before it was passed on to the “fence” or receiver. The lathe and tools in his workshop cost over £SOO. Big Bill Thompson. A new light, given for what it is worth, is thrown on “ Big Bill ” Thompson, Chicago’s anti-British mayor. It appears that while Mr. Thompson was conducting his tirade against Britain, he was also organising a party of 16 of the city’s finest experts to tour Britain to study conditions and to bring him back ideas to aid him in the government of Chicago. Mike Flaherty, “ Bill’s ” right-hand man, who led the party, stated in an interview in London that his chief was grossly misunderstood. He said: “ Bill ” is descended from the Adamses of Massachusetts, who have supplied two Presidents of the United States, and his family has lived in Chicago since 1833. “ Big Bill ” isn’t anti-British or anti-any-thing, only a bit anti-MacAndrews because he turned George Washington’s picture to the wall in the schoolrooms of Chicago. “ Bill ” weighs 2621 b, and was one of the finest footballers we have raised. He is a wonderful swimmer and water-polo player. He has also been a cowboy and still loves to wear his cowboy hat. In Flaherty’s opinion Thompson is the most misunderstood man on earth. Quality not Quantity. Size does not always count, even in ' brain po,wer. This is proved by an examination of the brain of Anatole France, the great French writer, by Drs. Guillaume Louis and Dubreuil Chamberdel. The examination reveals that whereas the average weight of an adult brain is ’about 48oz, the brain of Anatole France weighed only about 360 z. After describing all the special features of this brain, the doctors declare that the effect of the peculiarities was to cause a marked increase in the area of grey matter. What the brain lost in weight it gained in content, quality superseding quantity. The shape of the brain was admirable, and contained mechanism of perfect precision.