1929-03-09 — Page 12

· PAGE TWO

VICISSITUDES OF A FAMOUS SHIP.

FROM LINER AND BATTLESHIP TO STOREHOUSE.

HONGKONG TELEGRAPH, MARCH 9th, 1929.

CALENDAR REFORM.

QUESTION SERIOUSLY TAKEN UP IN THE U.S.A.

PICTORIAL SUPPLEMENT.

GLIMPSES OF NATIVE LIFE.

The chequered carver of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary Ruthenia, which left Hongkong for Singapore last week to become part of a' jetty at Singapore, is vividly shown by the above pictures which reveal the transformations undergone by the vessel from time to time since she first left the slipways in 1900,

A telegram addressed to the League of Nations states that the Hon. Stephen G, Porter, Chairman of the Foreign Relations Commit- tee of the Amorlean House of Re- presentives, has introduced into the House the following resul- tions

"Resolved by the Senate and Bouse of Representatives of the United States in, Congress asšem- bled that the President is respect- fully requested to propose on be half of the United States to the nations of the world the falling of an international conference for The simplification of the calendar, or to accept an invitation on behalf of the United States to,par- ticipate in such a conference upon the proposal of some other nation or group of nations."

The question of calendar reform has been taken up seriously in the United States, and the National Committee formed to ercate public. opinion is a powerful one (says the Daily News and Westminster Gazette. Presided over by Mr. George Eastman, President of the Eastinan Kodak Company, it in cludes leading men and women in nearly every walk in life.

It is safe to say that if such, national committees were to be formed in other countries it would not be long before something was done.

Conferences.

The League of Nations has, in fagt, invited all its members to set up national committees to con- sider this matter. but so fasily Hungary has done so,

Many admit the disadvantages of the present Gregorian calendar, with its unequal months, quarters and half-years, and its changes. but the difeulty is to agree upon

⚫ better.

Probably few people realise that the Gregorian calendar dates only from the end of the sixteenth cen tury. It was adopted by Germany and the Netherlands at the end of the seventeenth century, by Switzerland in 1701, by England in 1752, and by Sweden in the following year: Bulgaria, Greece, Rumania, Serbia and Russia did not give up the Julian enkondar until after the war of 1914-18, and Turkey introduced the Gregorian enlendar in 1927.

·Several conferences have been held on the subject since the open- Ing of the present century, and in 1926 the maffer was taken um by the Communications and Tran- sports Committee of the League of Nations. The Committee's suggestion that national organisa- Hions should be formed to study the question received the approval of the Assembly of the League in [September of that year.

185 Schemes.

In the meantime the Canmittee has gone ahead with its inquiries, and, in reply to a questionaire, if reived 185 suggested schemes of

riform. These were found on ex- amination to fall into three groups, The first group merely proposed to render the various quarters more or less equal, each arter consisting of two months of 30 days and one of 31, while one quarter contained an additional day.

Destined to became the "Teenumandeered by the Admiralty engines have been installed for piece of an ciling jetty at the and taken to Scapa Flow as the berthing of vessels, and pump- Singapore Naval Base, the RAF store ship and fuel depot. Ruthenia weighed her anchors at Later she was docked and con- which was once a feature of the ing oil, etc. Her grand staircase, the Naval anchorage at Kowloni vertes into a dummy battleship hip when she was a crack liner, on Thursday, Feb, 28th at noon with wooden guns, canvas turrets, and which throughout the former and headed for her final destina dunny funnels and other artificial tions.

fixtures, emerging and doing duty ed, has been torn out. Practically reconstructions remained untouch. The Ruthenia has bad won-jas H.M.S., King George V derful career, and still possesses i

The war

the whole interior of the vessel ended, she was re- a sturdy old hull and a remarkably (converted and sent to the China has undergone change, and she fine set of engines. She began life Station as an attendant ofler and left the China Station but a mere

nan Atlantic liner, the 58, lake store ship and has remained here shadow of her former self. Champlain, a sister ship of the ever since, spending most of her On arival at Singapore the ship 8.s. Monteagle, built by Barclay, fine swinging round, the sure will go alongside a jetty, when a Curle and Co., Ltd, Chegow." busy. in Hongkong, weathering hole will be cut in her side to al- || Coutside the week), but though She was in all respects a first class typhoons, and slowly ageing in in low for the fixing of a pontoon certain calculations would liner, being 346 feet long. 52 feet vetivity.

which will form a landing stage. | simplified in this way, and though in beam and 27.5 deep. For many Some five or six months ago she As stated above, the ship will the levelling up of quarters would years she was a fast-passenger was taken in hand for the last form the "T" piece at the head of liner on the Atlantic but during changes it is expected she will be a jetty a not too glorious ending the early stages of the war was called, upon to undergo. Donkey for a crack liner and a battleship.

RIGGEST GORILLA EVER CAPTURED.

:..

HUNTER'S DESPERATE HAND.

TO-HAND FIGHT,

equal, and he would not have all beavily through the loose-meshed but captured me. A moment of fibre and looking

ninet with those powerful arins, age,

There was no blank day

be

he of a advantage from the point of view of quarterly statistics, the calendar thus established would still, like the present calendar, be "ariable.

The second and third group a huge sans-ruposals involved the introduc

tion of a blank day - (with two blank days in leap years), and established a perpetual calendar.

'Thirteen-Month Plan.

and I knew I had grabbed a band-! At length I roste and took ful.

stock of my

surroundings. For Whether by accident or instinet¦fifteen feet in a circle the grasses of gorilla-capturing, I clutched his and young trees were beaten Bat throat and hung on with despera-jin the struggle that had laken tian born of the knowledge that place. One side of my bunting which a tribe of nutives in ('en. Was haltling for my life. The din shirt, with shoulder and sleeve, month rather than the quarter is:

Hula Matadi was the

name

of snarls and the thrashing of un- was missing. Both hands were

Couldn't Get Away.

The thirteen-month system would appear to be of greater uli- it from the point of view of statistics and commerce if the

life; but if the quarter is chosen to be taken as the unit of economic

as unit, the twelve-month system would be preferable.

A preliminary inquiry among the various Governments and com purcial organisations has shown that they are more favourable to the twelve-month system, which would cause less disturbance to established customs,

tral Africa gave 10 a young gorilla. derbrush as we rolled over and angled, one thumb broken and The words mean "great master."

He was a monster for his age:

over aroused my men to rush toferushed; but my wounds seemed he weighed nine

light when I thought of what assistance." stone when

might have happened. caught, and is the largest speci Twice I fore out of the worilla's men recorded as having been cap., 'eeth and left a part of my cloth. tured alive..

in AN a peace-offering, Again. Grimly I remembered that I had Bula Mutati was captured in a

and again I broke from clutches bitten the gorilla's fingers when band-to-hand fight-a rough and that dragged my hend and throat they were in my mouth. My men tumble

affair which maken na downward toward his open jaws. were little better off than I, their

maked bodies had suffered sally. 'thrilling reading as any elory ever My gun-boy, racing through the:

An increasing number of com- written for boys,

Jungle ahend

As I looked at our prize strug-mercial organisations, however, of them all threw gling futilely in the sacks, I was It is told by Ben Burbridge in himself into the fray,

Reem to favour the thirteen-month reminded of a friend who once his book, "Gorilla: Tracking and

system, which is already employed One after another piled on top fought with an epileptic in an auxillary calendur hy many Capturing the Ape Man of Africa,” of the young gorilla, who fought crowded store. He writes!

large enterprises, with the fury of a midman as he "It was heroice to have held him To capture

The question is one for public ប twenty-pound heaved and buelted under the as you did," I told him afterward. opinion, and, as already stated, it gorilla is a good sized undertaking' weight of his enemies, refusing to "Hold him!" he almost yelled, "I has been taken up with enthusiasm for a strong man. One weighing nerent defeat until 'sprendengled suldn't get away from him." in the United States, where news- 126 pounds is an impossible an- and his bands and feet tied.

This seemed to fit my position papers and review are now devol- exactly. But Bula Matadi was our ing numerous articles to its dis- tagonist for a man of 18h. It was)

While I lav gasping for breath,prisoner, and the Batwa, who had cusafon. at these catch-wolghts we fought.

Though Hungary is no my men finally got him in a sack, witnessed the battle from a safe far the only other country which "Grabbed a Handful,"

and as this ripped from his at-distance joined us with caution, has constituted a national com- Had this one been muzzled and tempts to escape two more were their pop-eyed gaze sweeping the mittee, other countries have an hand-cuffed, perhaps the battle slipped over him and fled. In thickets for the possible return of nounced their intention of duleur would have been more nearly these he lay packed, breathing the gorilla band,

so shortly.

1

ין

One of the sumpan homes that find shelter at Cansoway Bay. Photo: W, Stone, ¡

STAGE TRICKS,

You just walk into it?"

Alas! for those infantile peram- bulations! The revived slow fox-

IDEAS OF SIR JAMES BARRIE-trot at 12 bars to the minute

has completely dished the facile "Every time an insience' stops¦ feet of yesterday. Nobody can do a play to guffaw, the illusion of the the open turns; couples learned in stage is lost, and the actor has the high-speed Charleston er the hard task of creating it again, quickstep fall by the wayside when

"Don't force the laugh. An au-jit comes to the slow rhythm. dience can enjoy itself without There is an appalling ignoraneo roaring--as the French know." of dancing. A friend of mine,

This Sir James Barrie, in a note accomplished in all the minor arta on the acting version of "Peter of social intercourse, took twelve Pan," now revived by Eva Le Gal-lessons in duneing so as not to be lienne at the Civic Repertory eut off from one of its universni Theatre, New York, says the Sunpleasures.

day Times, showing how the rent i And what is the result? Hel dramatist achieves the atmos-danees so well, that he cannot find! phere of the supernatural on the yone to dance with him. Similar- ly, the girl who is clever with her stage.

Are YOUR EYES Tired?

Eyesight is your most pre-

One thing that has put peoplecious possession. Safeguard it!

"The difference between a fairy feet finds herself partnered with a play and a realistic one," saya Sirman who scarcely knows his right James, "is that in the former all from his left. the characters are really children with a child's outlook on life. of taking their dancing seriously This applies to the so-called adults the number of worthless dances, introduced with great solemnity of the story as well as to the and technical exposition a young people. Pull the bead off change from the "monotony" of the Fairy King and you will find the older dances. the face of a child. The actors in a fairy play should feel that it is written by a child in deadly carnestness and that they are chil- dren playing it in the same spirit, j The scenic artist is another, child in league with them. In England | the tendency is always to be too elaborate; to overact. This is par ticularly offensive in a fairy piece. where all should be quick and spontaneous and should seem art- less.

"A very natural desire of the actor is to get everything pos sible out of a line-to squeeze it dryt hit the audiened a blow with it as from a hammer, instend of making a point lightly and pass - | ing on as if unaware that he had made a point. There are many ricks of the stage for increasing this emphasis, and they are specially in favour to strengthen the degraded thing called The laugh,' which is one of the curses, of the English; stage. In short the cumulative effect of naturalness

is the one thing to aim at. In a fairly play you may have many things to do that are not possible in real life, but you conceive your- self in a world in which they are ordinary occurrences, and act me

cordingly. Never do anything be Cause there is an audience,' but you only and entirely because Think this is how the character in that fanciful world would do it.

"No doubt there should be a eertain exaggeration in neting, but just as much as there is in thes sluge: Brenery, which is exag- gerated, not to be real but to reem real"

WHY DON'T THEY DANCE?

(By Antony Quindle.) We have just been passing through the height of the dancing season-private dances, gala nights at the hotels, brilliant little katherings at the clubs. Yet how many of those who take part in. these affairs can really dance? Ten per cent, would, be a liberal estimate. It does not need a pro- fessional eye, cast disdainfully at the moving multitudes, to perceive that there is more discomfort and ugliness at dances than smooth- news and grace.

Why don't dancers dance? Are lessona alill considered effeminate

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