Miscellany: Jun. 9, 1930

Beggars

At Cardiff, South Wales, constables discovered that professional beggars were renting sad-looking babies for 50¢ a week.

Spinster

At Villers-sur-Marne, France, Leonie Lebsche, deceased spinster, left $6,000, the income of which is to be given to young married women who promise to raise French families.

Parents

At Tuxtla Gutierrez, Mexico, Senora Leoncio Chavarria presented herself as Mexico’s most prolific mother. In 40 years she has borne by one husband 37 children—23 boys, 14 girls. There were 18 pairs of twins.

Whipper

In Emerald, Australia, Joseph Smith, drover, flicked the head off a poisonous adder with a bull whip. The head, entangled in the snapper, swung around, bit Mr. Smith.

Demonstrator

At Oakland, Calif., Mrs. Emil Schlichtmann, noting her young daughters’ fear of a snake in their yard, told them: “Little beasties like this are harmless, and you must not be afraid.” She patted the snake’s head, was promptly bitten. The snake was a young rattler.

Geese

In Chicago, where Michigan Boulevard (one of the world’s busiest motor highways) meets Lincoln Park, all traffic stopped—to let a goose and her five goslings cross the street.

Bull

At Prince Frederick, Md., Jack Wildstein, motorist, met a bull on the highway, stopped politely. Impolite, the bull charged the car, butted it 15 ft. backwards. Jack Wildstein turned his car around, drove away.

Gull

In Long Island Sound, off Mayville, L. I., Henry Pester was fishing. A sea gull frisked greedily about his catch. He kept chasing it away. The gull darted at the water, caught a 1-lb. weakfish, dropped it squarely in Mr. Fester’s lap, flew away.

Commuter

To and from Chicago, George Crowner commuted for months on one 25-trip ticket. He would catch the bits of paste-board the conductor punched out of his ticket and carefully paste them back in place.

Boss

In Manhattan, Jack Abrahams, owner of Frances Negligee Corp., was absorbed in noting how his new underwear looked on models. His stockgirl, Lillian Wasserman, tried to tell him something. He waved her away. When she finally got his attention, gone were the gunmen who had been robbing his cashier.

Bill Collector

In St. Louis, Federal agents got after one Irving R. Gaertner, professional bill collector who, besides sending scurrilous duns through the mails, shamed debtors by parking his car before their homes. On the car were painted jibes: “Dead Beats Advertised,” “Bad Bills Collected,” “Why Be an Easy Mark?”

Contempt

At Wappingers Falls, N. Y., a man ordered Judd Schmidt to move his motor car from a restricted parking area. “Where d’y’ get your authority?” demanded Mr. Judd. The man displayed a gold badge. Scoffed Mr. Judd: “Pooh, pooh, you’re only a fireman.” The badged man was Mayor John Flood of Wappingers Falls, who forthwith arrested contemptuous Mr. Judd.

Confidence

At Bellwood, Pa., Donald W. Wertz, driving a loaded ice truck, hailed a stranger confidently: “I have 20 cases of beer on that truck. You can help yourself if you watch it while I take a nap.” The stranger arrested sleepy Mr. Wertz, for he was E. D. James, local chief of police.

Letter

In Chicago, Walter Boesse, iron worker, toppled five stories to the ground, broke only his left foot, was content because “I had to come down to post this letter anyhow.” The letter was Mrs. Boesse’s, which he had forgotten to mail.

Fireman

In Manhattan, Thomas Brophy, fireman off duty, rang fire alarms four successive times, to prove his theory that he could pull a false alarm and get away uncaught. Police nabbed him.

Swimmer

At Newburgh, N. Y., Warren MacIlray, mentally unbalanced, put on a bathing suit and “swam” into the Congregational Church’s services.

Tar

In Ventura, Calif., municipal authorities observed cracks and seepages in streets and highways, issued an edict against children who removed tar from the streets and ate it.

Pastry Cook

In The Bronx, N. Y. Louis Capetta, 42, pastry cook, felt pains in his side,seized a razor, performed an appendectomy, sewed himself up with a darning needle. When the pain recurred, Loius Capetta again sliced himself open and when unrelieved went to a hospital, died. Doctorsdiscovered he had not had appendicitis but hernia.

Singer

In Griffin, Ga., Mrs. Kite Gaston swallowed her false teeth when choir-singing, died of strangulation.