Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page. It is also available as plain text as well as XML.

WHAT IS YOUR PET SUPERSTITION?! _ I You Have None? Of Cour?e Not! But See the Voodoos Others Are Siaves To! (From the New York Sun) What is your pet superstition? "My pet superstition?" you'll pro bably answer, with elevated eye brows. "Why, I haven't any. Super stitions are for the ignorant people." But pause a moment and rummage around the shelves of your cerebel lum among your store of modern in formation and see if there isn't tucked away in the corner some old, .musty, long-forgotten superstition you'd forgotten was there. Do you pick up the pin you see lyin in the street? If you break a mirror does it give you a moment's uneasiness? Honest, npw? When you knock over the salt cel lar, do you?not because you believe it does any good of course, but be cause it can't do an^ harm?do you take a pinch and throw it over your left shoulder? Do you dislike to accept a two dol lar bill? Would you give your friend a knife without adding a penny to - ?f.?U _11. break tne cnarm: wouia you w?m under a ladder? Do you mind being the thirteenth at dinner? These superstitions are the most popular, and they aren't at all con fined to uneducated, or even uncul v tured people, as has been demon strated. Of recent years an eminent scien tist who had collected much inter esting data on superstitions among, educated people decided to-put his theory to a high test. He went to one of the leading universities of this country. They Deny Superstitions. "My pet superstition?" The dig nified old college professor echoed the question, removing his eyeglass to get i better view of the impertinent stranger. "My dear fellow! Pre posterous! Superstitions belong to the dark ages. We live in a period of culture." x Whereupon the professor proceed ed to enlighten the stranger with a lengthy dissertion on his university and its high literary standing, say ing: "One of the oldest universities in the country, sir, one of the finest. At present we have an exceptionally high attendance. Everything has been running smoothly " here the intellectual professor halted to lean over and tap lightly the wooden top of his d?sk. It developed that twenty-six per cenH of the college professors at this university were wholly without superstitions. But some of them had their fingers crossed. A great many of our superstitions have grown up with us through so many generations that we are hardly conscious of their presence. Many of these date back to the early Romans and Greeks. Salt in ancient times was used in religious rites, and supposed to pos sess propitiary powers. But when some careless emperor's elbow knocked the salt dish over its powers were lost, and the only way to in sure a peaceful resumption of the meal was to appease the evil powers by throwing a pinch of the spilled salt over the left shoulder. The superstition connected with a broken mirror dates from Napoleon's campaign in Italy, when .he acci dently broke the glass over the pic ture pf. Josephine; Since glass ha;l always been connected in any form as symbolic of life and death, Na poleon was overcome with fear that" some evil had befalleh Josephine. And because the broken glass caused the great Emperor uneasiness, the woman on the street car today pales when she drops her pocketbook and her mirror breaks. . Origia of Other Superstition*. Other superstitions are supposed to have originated from theories based on the workings of the subconscious mind, or some deductions arrived at by observing old sages who knew how to put two and two together. Giving a knife to a friend, says the philosopher, was considered a likely way to bi;eak off a friendship because it denoted some subsconscious but sinister thought on the part of the giver. He doped out the bad luck that was supposed to follow a fellow who walked under a ladder in this wise: If a fellow is so lazy he takes the chance of walking under a ladder in COLLAPSE OF WHEAT DOES NOT MENACE PRICE OF BREAD Some Men Who Claim to Know Say The Price Will Go Back To The 1919 Level Chicago, Nov. 27.?Pessimists can take comfort. Collapse of the wheat market does not menace the nation's supply of bread. There is plenty of wheat to feed us. Not a tremendous oversupply nor a tremendous shortage. The farmer, raging against the! low price he had to take for hie wheat the past few months, is not going to inflict the reprisal of not growing wheat. He is not going to "cf-rntp"?holdiner tJcn i y uia iuv^hv ? w back wheat shipments for $3 a bu shel?to the length of going out of business. These reassuring words are a di gest of the opinons of grain brokers wheat growers, millers, railroad men and wheat experts generally, ob tained in a survey of the situation. Readjustment is coming, they say, Everyone, with a single exception, predicts an increase in the price of wheat. Conservative ones do not look for a return of "war prices," but an increase sufficient to satisfy the farmer. The one exception is a well-known grain broker who thinks wheat prices will stay under $2 a bushel. Peak wheat prices were $3.23 a bushel. The government war-time guarantee was $2.26. Wheat recent ly dropped to $1.75. Before the war it wa3 90 cents. The ; Depart ment of Agriculture thinks, with present labor conditions, the farmer should get $2.65 to make a fair profit. EQUAL RIGHTS FOR AMERICA DEMANDED OF GREAT BRITAIN Washington Insists Upon Equal Rights For All Nations In Territories Placed Under British Rale by Mandates Washington, Nov. 27.?Frank rep resentation to the British govern ment that the United States will in sist upon strict applicaion of the principle of equal opportunity and treatment for all nations in terri tories placed under the British or other mandate by the peace treaties was conveyed in a note by Secretary Colby to Earl Curzon, the British secretary of state for foreign af fairs, made public here following its delivery to the British govern ment early this week. ? Discussing specifically the ques tion of the British mandate in Meso potamia, Secretary Colby's note, cvhich was in reply to an unpublish ed British note of last August 9, de :lared the American government 'finds difficulty in reconciling" the issurances of equal treatment for ill nations in British mandates given ;herein with the special agreement jetween France and Great Britian 'egarding the petroleum resources >f Mesopotamia. Secretary Colby, ipginb fullest publicity for all pro josed mandate agreements and reaties, asserted the right of the Jnited Statest and all the associated 4-1 /vwcid rcgai uicaa vi wiieuier mvy ire members of the League of Na tions, to consider such agreements ind to "ful participation in the, ights and privileges secured under nandates provided in the peace ;reaties." jtead of going around, he's likely to neet with an accident before long. Picking up a pirn he says is a ;hrifty habit, and the man who picks t up is both saving and observant, ind so likely to have success in what >vtr he does. is for the innocent two-dollar bill, t got its reputation when some care less shopper first handed it out by mistake for a one dollar bill and didn't get the right change. And the poor two-dollar bill, that really is as nice as any of the Long Green family has been regarded with a cold and suspicious eye. The bride who drops her ring shows she is either careless or indif ferent to her husband, says the philosopher, so can you wonder that their married life isn't going to be smooth? And here the musty old hander out of information leaves us with some thing to think about. "The custom of the wedding ring, now that we are on the subject," he tells us with his dryest smile, "dates back to the savage tribes. This, one of our most respected customs, had its origin, too, in one of the early superstitious rites." PRINCIPLES LAID DOWN BY COLBY MAY BE ACCEPTED Washington, Nov. 27.?Fear of re prisals by the United States is ex pected to induce Great Britain to ac cept the principles laid down in Sec retary Colby's note demanding equal participation in oil fields and other fields of enterprise in mandate ter ritories it was learned officially today. The oil-leasing act passed by con gress and forbidding the entrance of foreigners into American oil fields unless Americans are given the same privilege in territory controlled by I foreign nations, gives the United j States a decided whip land in the con-j troversy. More British capital than that of any other foreign nation is now invested in American fields, one company obtaining 47 per cent of its production from thib source. It is learned that in addition to sending the formal note Secretary; Colby made sure that the term of this law were called to the attention of the British government. These developments became known following a visit by Sir Auckland Ged des, the British ambassador, to the the state department, this afternpon. The ambassador was in conference with Secretary Colby for two hours but declined to make a statement as to the reason for his visit. It was generally understood, however, that it had to do with the Colby note. If Great Britain yields on the point of equal opportunity in mandate ter ritory for all nations it is probable she will yield also on the other point insisted upon by Secretary Colby, that the United States be made ac quainted with the provisions of all submitted to the league of nations. Numerous reasons exist as to why Great Britain would be unwilling to permit such a demand as this to dis turb the harmonious relations be tween the two tountries, although it strikes at the very heart of the old world practice of making territorial distributions by secret agreement. Legal Blanks for Sale Here.? ?he Press and Banner Company. | 1 k \ 19 more shopping days until YMAQ ? AlVlfiiJ \dkJSm As in the past, our HOLI! and most complete to be r |j have spared no pains in m even greater than ever befoi We beg to announce that our Toy Depart [j ment is now open] {I for inspection..... Adair's Dep. Hot Hustler Racket Make Victor C A Victrola and Victor you can give the family nc oldest down, each and evei their favorite music sung greatest artists. You won't ?each month brings its n which people look for like th Victrolas to suit all purses I your selection! Easy terms. McMURRAY ABBEVILL CHOICE of first selections are offered you. Shop Now! 1 || II DAY STOCK is the largest \ j ound in this section, and we taking the collection this year ? re Our advice to yoti is to buv early?stocks are scarce and there 11 will be no duplicates. Abbeville, S. C. this a hristmas Records!, This Christmas 11 .. . i better present. From the y one will be glad to hear or played by the world's grow tired of your Victrola ew list of Victor Records, e morning news. There are -come in today and make DRUG CO. ,E, S. C.