Miscellaneous.

Waipukurau Press, Issue 304, 5 September 1908, Page 3

Miscellaneous.

Mrs Florance Fairview Wieland, a well-known society woman of Washington, has announced her intention of adopting 600 babies—6o every year for the next ten years. A large factory is being built in Pekin for the making of window glass, which is largely used in China and forms one of its principal imports jfrom foreign countries. The capital is Chinese, the machinery British, and Germans will manage the factory. The glassworks at Posham, province of Shantung, are a success. A Bill has been introduced into the Legislature of the State of Georgia providing that all marriages become null and void when the husband is entrapped by the woman’s use of cosmetics, paints, powder, scents, aitificial teeth and hair, lingerie, padding, open-work hose, high-heeled shoes, transparent “ waists,” or “ Peekaboo blouses,” and any other artificial aids to beauty whatsoever. The author of the Bill, Mr George Glenn, is a married man and forty years of age. The women of Georgia are furious, and are bringing powerful pressure to bear on the members of the committee to report unfavourably on the Bill. The American papers have been making jokes about the height and weight of the Republican candidate for the Presidency. Mr Taft is six feet in height and weighs over 21 stones. While he was in the Philippines he had a serious illness. As soon as he was convalescent he cabled Mr Elihu Root, then War Secretary, as follows : “ Feel fine ; rode 18 miles on an army mule to-day.” Mr Root cableci back :—“ Glad you are all right. How is the mule ?” It is said of Mr Taft that he is the most courteous man in America ; he has often been known to rise in a tramcar and give his seat to three ladies. • The census bureau is the authority for the statement that the output of pins in the United States for the year 1907 alone reached the stupendous figure of one hundred and thirty-three million gross. It is not stange that mankind has for many years wondered where all the pins go to. Nineteen billion pins supply 225 for every man, woman, and child in America. Nor is this all. These figures are for the common pin and do not include hairpins, safety pins, nor the importation of an unstated quantity of pins from other countries. If we assume that the average length of pins is an inch, it appears that in a single year America produces 19,000,000,000 inches of pins, 1,600,000,000 feet of pins, 320,000 miles of pins, pins enough if laid end to ead to go around the world 13 times, pins enough to make 100strand cable between New York and Liverpool. Their cost was about £140,000.

A story which' illustrates the sympathy and tenderness of Queen Helena of Italy comes from Rome. One day, when Her Majesty was driving with King Victor Emmanuel in a valley of Upper Piedmont, a baby girl was led forward to hand her a bunch of flowers. As she stooped to kiss the child, who kept her eyes cast down, Queen Helena said : 11 Look up, my dear, that I may kiss you.” Then as the little one turned her eyes upwards the Queen noticed that she was blind. The child was at once taken into the Royal carriage and driven to her mother’s cottage. A doctor had said that the sight could be restored by an operation, but the mother w T as full of ignorant fears and would not consent. Eventually she yielded to the Queen’s persuasions and the little one was sent to Turin and handed over to a leading oculist, who performed the operation with complete success. The girl returned to her native valley, not only seeing as well as anyone, but also laden with presents from her Royal benefactress.