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a oa Sar "New Port in Atomic Storm * KX kk hk kk * * hk hk Rk x x hk Xk hk Kx Roger Babson's Atom -Bomb - Proof College Will Be Disguised as Old Red Kansas Barn FAR FROM REGULAR airline routes, Utopia College will build its barn-like classrooms and farmhouse- like dormitories on the gently rolling countryside near Eureka, Kans. Connecting the buildings will be underground passageways. This is an artist's conception of what the new school may look like. WELLESLEY HILLS, Mass, Dec. 21--Atom-bomb-proof Utop- ia. College has just received a + $75,000 send-off gift from its founder, Roger W. Babson, tall, greying statistician who predict- ed the 1929 crash and now proph- esies that resurgence of Repub- lican power brings World War III "closer than ever." That's why he plans to build a camouflaged school in almost the exact centre of the U.S.--at Eureka, Kans. Babson's new school will be de- signed 'to teach students how and where to live in the coming "five to 20 years" before another war hits. Eureka was picked because it is not on any airplane beam ("bombers always bomb on air beams") and because the "centre of the country is the natural place in which to locate a school to tell them where in the United States they should live." As an added precaution against enemy attack, classrooms will be dis- guised as red barns and will be connected to farmhouse - like dormitories by underground pass- ageways. Babson calls M. I. T. and Har- vard "crazy for throwing money into new buildings in the east." "When the next war comes the first bombs to land-in Boston will send every inhabitant still living out to the suburbs. The gover- nor of Massachusetts will take over all of these college buildings for refugees. Those who don't have a car left to ride out here will push a baby carriage. If bombers struck Boston today, 12 to 20 people would be sleeping in this very room a week from now." Babson wants to have some place to go when this happens. "You won't be able to buy mid- western property when war comes," he believes. "The Fed- eral government is even now sur- veying all southeast Kansas and western Missouri." Eureka, whose name means "I have found it," seemed to Bab- son the proper place to have ready for wartime use. If war comes all of his Babson Institute students will have a place in whith they can take refuge. Bab- son already owns 160 acres on the outskirts of the Kansas town and a building in Eureka. He'll start building his new college "just as soon as we can get ma- terials." Eureka is on what Babson calls a '"jerkwater railroad," about 45 miles south of Emporia which William Allen White used to call the centre of the United States. The town has 5,000 people and lies in a rolling coun- tryside. It was founded in 1857 during the long struggle in Kan- sas over the slavery question. Babson would like to. see the national capital moved out to the same area, where it could not so eaily be cut off from the rest of the country in event of war. Sen. Arthur Capper, of Kansas, agrees with him, Babson says. The whole problem of concen- tration of population bothers Babson. "President Truman should im- mediately appoint a commission to study the problem," he says. "Perhaps the first step would be to ask all families in large vul- nerable cities, who can afford to do so, to build a cottage in some safe rural locality to which they could flee in time of emergency." He also wants the government The sane Newton" Telescope x k x k kx * Britain's New Reflector * hk k hk k *& * & k& ® & * Will Span 200 Million Light Years By Rolf Tell How far can we see into the universe? With the newest and most modern telescopes the as- tronomer can reach stars 200 million light years. away. Com- pared with these, Isaac Newton's telescope in 1668 was an insignifi- cant toy; nevertheless, it was the first reflecting telescope, using a mirror instead of a lens to collect the light. In 1789, 121 years later, the famous British astron- omer Sir William Herschel con- structed a telescope with a 48- inch reflector; 56 years after that, in 1845, Lord Rosse built one with a 72-inch reflector in Ireland, a great achievement for the time. Ever since 1917, a 100-inch telescope * has been in use on Mount Wilson in Califor- nia, while at the present moment, one with a 200-inch reflector is in course of construction on Mount Palomar also situated in California, and it should be ready for use in about two years time. Now, from the point of view of climate, California is probably much better suited for carrying out astronomical observations. In Southern England, statistics al- low for an annual total of 1,515 hours of clear night sky, while in the' ca®e. of 'California, this figure is 2,700-.hours. Britain's climate is, accordingly, not well suited for observing the heavens, but a' native scientific tradition, - coupled with enterprise, have drawn the obvious conclusions-- if the periods of clear sky are 80 short, then the greater the need for .an ultra-modern tele- scope, especially receptive to light, so that the results of ob- servation can be photographed with greater speed. For this reason the Royal Astronomical Society developed a strong case for building a large telescope in Britain. This new instrument is to be called the "Isaac Newton" Tele- scope, in memory of Britain's greatest scientist, whose tercen- tenary was celebrated during 1946 and who constructed the first re- flecting telescope at the early age of 26. We have, as yet far too little knowledge of the physical condi- tions obtaining on the celestial bodies, and scientists are, in any case, of the opinion that the stars still hold many secrets which can and must be made to serve mankind 'on our planet. Still greater prominence to as- trophysics has been given by the most "topical" of all modern pro- blems, atomic energy. This earth of ours lives on the light and heat given out to us by the sun through the constant conversion of its atomic energy. But as- tronomers 'have discovered a great number of stars, each emitting vastly more light than the sun, and one--S. Doradus -- about 300,000 times more lumino- sity. One of the many tasks of the Isaac Newton telescope will be to explore the secrets of such atomic conversion. The construction of the mirror® for a giant telescope such as this demands not only the most accur- ate and detailed calculations, but a vast share of good luck as well. When the mirror of the Mount "A Dickens Favorite LONDON, Dee. 21--Christmas in Britain would not be complete without the annual version of the Dickens story "A Christmas Carol." For many years now this has featured mm the Christmas- tide programs. The evils which the great nine- teenth century reformer-novelist describes have, of course, passed away--Bob Crachit's fifteen shill- ings a week and one day's holiday a year as Scrooge's clerk would be impossible in present-day Britain. But the Christmas spirit of the novel remains. The story opens with Ebenezer Scrooge seated in his counting house on Christmas eve, return- ing "Bah! Humbug!". to his nephew's seasonable good wishes. But when he returns that night to his gloomy, solitary lodgings, the ghost of his former partner appears to him and tells Scrooge, shivering with fear, of the miser- able fate that awaits him if he does not change his ways -- an eternity of loneliness and regret. Then. come three more ghosts-- the Ghost of Christmas Past, who takes the old miser back to the scenes of his childhood and earlier manhood, showing him what might have been had greed not become his master: the Ghost of Christmas Present who shows Scrooge the simple happy Christ- * mas festivities of his despised-and poverty-stricken clerk, Bob Cra- chit: and the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, who shows him his own death, lonely and 'unwept. When he awakes on Christmas morning Scrooge . hears the church bells ringing; sends the biggest turkey he can buy to Bob Crachit and increases his pittance to a living wage; makes up his quarrel with his nephew, and be- comes the 'soul of generosity to charity. Britain's listeners know it almost off by heart, but still they tune in. It has become part of the Christmas ritual. , * Wilson telescope was cut, ex- perts feared that perhaps a small air-bubble on the surface would be enough to wreck the whole work of construction, thus wast- ing the vast sum that had been involved. The mirror designed for the Isaac Newton telescope will weigh more than four tons. 'The whole telescope, with all its moving parts, will weigh about 100 tons. The number of problems to be studied with the aid of the Isaac Newton telescope cannot be ex- pressed in figures, nor can the number of stars coming within the range of the 100-inch reflec- tor. The most important pro- blems are those connected with spectroscopy, for which tele- scopes hitherto in existence in Britain have proved inadequate. Some time should elapse be- the new telescope can be set up in the Royal Observatory at Hurstmonceaux in Sussex, which will supersede Greenwich, since the telescope Is only now in the preliminary stages of design. But when it is completed, Britain's astronomers will indeed have work enough, for these scient- ists know that the time spent in observation or in taking photo- graphs at the telescope comes to less than one per cent. of that needed for the scientific prepara- tion of the results obtained from their work. * * Gearless Auto, Arouses Interest * * LONDON, Dec. 21--A revolu- tionary new car, which has al- ready attracted considerable at- tention overseas, was shown in London recently for the first time. This is the six-cylinder "Black Prince," a luxury car which is claimed to provide for the first time in the civilian motoring history a form of trans- mission which eliminates both gear lever and clutch pedal. To start the vehicle, the driver merely releases the brake and presses the accelerator. To stop it, he only has to remove the pressure from the accelerator and apply the brake. With the elimination of the clutch pedal and gear lever, the number of main controls is reduced from five to three--steering wheel, ac celerator pedal and brake pedal. There is a fourth control -- a small switch with "forward" and "reverse" positions but this is operated only when the car is standing still. The "Black Prince" has a coachwork wholly of alum inum, built in a single unit, shielding not only the passenger accommodation buf also the en- gine and radiator block. . nuclear research, "now" tq erect barracks camps-- "well dagcentralized"--25 or more miles frém every large city which is vulnerable to enemy destruc- tion. "It's just as reasonable to build the camps as to build those ships and bombs," he says. For the present, Babson's new school isn't going to give a regu- lar course although its charter al- lows it to teach engineering and other professions as well as lib- eral arts. "We are going to concentrate on placement. Every day one of the students here asks me, 'Mr, Babson, where should I locate? 1 think the time has come to found a school for the sole pur- pose of answering that question. Men can come--our domitories will be built largely for couples --and stay until the courses they take have provided the answer they need. It may take a year, it may take a month, When a man feels he knows where he wants to go and what he wants to do we will give him our cer- tificate and he can leave right then." The school will be coeducation=- al. Students can study geog- raphy, climate, natural resources, soil, transportation, and popula- tion, characteristics, Babson says. People of Eureka still are a little confused about the new school. "Is Eureka really the safest place in the world or just the dullest?" .asks Edwin T. Wood, editor of the Eureka Herald. * * World In Process Of Electrification * Throughout the entire world, especially in the British Com» monwealth, the switch-over to peace-time requirements entails an increase in electrification. There were big orders for electri- cal machinery waiting to be plac- ed by the Union of South Af- rica, Australia, New Zealand and India for modernizing these countries' industries. Manufactur- ers of electrical machinery from Sweden, Switzerland, Britain and the United States had 'a hard fight competing on all markets, but Britain's manufacturers em- erged from the contest with so many orders that they are sup- plied with work for many years to come. India ordered hydro- electrical machinery for setting up three large new factories. Many electrically operated rail- way vehicles were needed by Aus- tralia and India. New Zealand, also, ordered nearly &£2,000,000 worth of electrical railway equip- ment, while the Union of South Africa placed a large order for mining equipment for her diam- ond, coal and gold mines. Egypt has ordered 27 Diesel electric lo- comotives, Turkey placed large orders for telephones and Russia is at present negotiating large orders on the condition that priority be give t» her require- ments. * Britain's Finest War Memorial * * One of the finest war memor- jals in Britain has been given to a Sussex country town by an un- known man. East Grinstead, at one time in the "Battle of Brit- ain" country and with a high civ- ilian death role for its size, is to have 120 acres of park laid out as puBlic recreation grounds. The Garden of Remembrance will be dedicated not onlyi to the town's own war dead but to all who died for Britain. Among the wood- lands will be a swimming pool and an open-air theatre, and in the park football grounds will be provided and a cricket pitch, as big as that at Lords in Lon- don, where county matches will be played. * * Shipyards Get Big Repair Job Two of Britain's shipyards, Vickers-Armstrong of Barrow, and Yarrow & Company, of Scotstoun, have accepted an or- der from the Portuguese gove ernment for repairing and mod- ernizing Portuguese destroyers. This order, to the value of £1,400,000, is to be completed within three years. The ma- jority of overseas orders for Britain's shipyards come, as be- fore, from Norway. 36 differ ent Norwegian shipping compan- ies have recently ordered 56 new ships, including'seven tankers, 27 motorships and 22 steamers, totalling 280,000 tons dead- weight. ER ell "Parking Bans, Underground Garages Ease, Not Solve Cities' Traffic 1roubles Santa Claus * * LONDON, Dec. 21 -- Young children in Britain go to bed early on Christmas eve. For they expect that kindly old Father Christmas will come riding over the rooftops in his sleigh drawn by his magic reindeer; and that he will slide quietly down the chimney into their bedrooms, carrying on his back his sack of gifts. And he will pop one of these gifts into every stocking that is hung up ready for him a! the foot of the bed. : Toys in Britain are not so easy to come by, these days as they were before the war; but still, most children get something even today. The legend of Father Christmas goes back to the good bishop and Saint Nicholas, who lived over 1,600 years ago. But why does he come in down the chimney? Many people believe that this dates from very ancient days in Britain--2,000 years be- fore the birth of Christ; when people lived in holes in the ground, and the only entrance was through a hole in the roof of boughs and bushes. The holes or pits have been found in var- ious parts of Britain, and discov- eries in and around them have enabled experts to build up a pic- ture of the life lived these far- off days. But the children of Britain don't worry about the origin of the legend. To the 1Mtle ones it is still the literal truth; and they hang up their stockings on Chrisfmas Eve with complete confidence in "Father - Christ mas." * * Novel Exhibition In British Isles * * At Matlock, in Derbyshire, the local juvenile employment com- mittee has just held a vocational guidance exhibition--the first of its kind in Britain. Children due to leave school in the next two years saw displays of local activi- ties including forging and stamp- ing of aircraft parts, cotton spin- ning, nursing, quarrying, print- ing, motor - engineering, house decorating and many other voca- tions. Representatives of various industrial firms were there to ex- plain the jobs. Children and par- ents thus obtained a sound and realistic idea of the alternatives before them and have a better chance to select a really congen- ial career. * Should Put An End To Seasickness Britain's Southern Railway has had a new turbine-ship, the "Falaise," built for passenger traffic between Southampton and the Channel Islands. This ship, which was launched cently, is fitted with the "Denny-Brown Stabilizer." Ex- perts say that the stabilizer is guaranteed to keep the ship on an even keel in rough weather and can be adapted to any ship, even the largest. It only takes 25 h.p. to drive the "Falaise's" stabilizer; for a ship the size of the "Queen Elizabeth," 100 h.p. would be required, an infinitesi- mal amount in comparison with the giant liner's engine power. * * Form New Branch Of the Royal Navy * An unprecedented increase in electrical equipment in United Kingdom naval ships has necessi- tated the formation of a new branch of the Royal Navy. It will be known as "L" Branch, and will be responsible for all electrical and engineering mat- ters in the Fleet. Officers will have special training, including a three years' advanced techni- cal course at Cambridge, follow- ed by a further two years' in- struction in naval matters and gommercial electrical engineer- ng. * * Welfare Work For The Blind * * Miss Helen Keller, the blind American, who has done yeo- man-service in welfare for the blind, recently arrived in Britain to study the most modern meth- ods as well as the progress achieved in training the blind. "We have nothing like this in America," she said, after visit- ing St. Dunstan's Institute and its training centre at Oving- dean near Brighton. Now that the automobile has 80 effectively replaced the horse, U.S. traffic engineers would like to find something to replace the automobile on eity streets. In every large city and most of the smaller ones the traffic problem has become one of the most acute municipal authorities have to deal with, Proffered solutions vary all the way from "no parking" bans over downtown areas to gigantic un- derground garages. Philadelphia was the first major city to try the "no par " treatment. Robert A. Mitchell, city traffic engineer, foreseeing opposition by merchants to the ban, made a survey of the area that produced these findings: 1. Eighty-eight per cent of all shoppers came into town on pub- lic transit vehicles or by rail 2. Eight per cent came by pri- vate automobile. 3. Three per cent walked. 4. One per cent came by taxi- cab. 5. Only two per cent of all the parked cars lining the curbs in the downtown area belonged to shoppers. Armed with this Information, Mitchell had no trouble convinc- ing merchants that abolition of curb parking would cause little or no inconvenience to retail buy- ers. ' As a result of the parking ban, motorists now can whiz through downtown Philadelphia in half the time required formerly. Street car and bus riders save 15 to 22 per cent in time, and bunching of transit vehicles has been practi- cally eliminated. Stop lights have been readjusted for faster traffic speeds and the accident rate in the affected area has been reduc- ed five per cent against an in- crease in the city -wide accident rate of 29 per cent. New York, Indianapolis and other cities are experimenting with the no-parking ban but all experience so far proves that to be at all effective enforcement must be complete. One parked car bottles up one entire traffic lane for an entire block. Notwithstanding effectiveness of elimination of curb parking, it has only eased and not solved the traffic problems of cities. Widen- ing of streets, once suggested as a possibility, has not proved prac- tical. In some cases this would mean shaving the face from struc- tures like the Empire State building in New York to add 10 feet to a crowded side street. Cleveland and Baltimore both have made progress towards re- ducing downtown traffic by THIS PHILADELPHIA street was jammed with traffic before "no parking" orders were issued. Now traffic has speeded up, accidents * lessened. Merchants were convinced parking ban would have little effect on sales. building parking lots away from congested areas and arranged for established transit systems to carry shoppers into the shopping areas. Cleveland's city government converted several acres of waste land along Lake Erie into a huge parking lot, supervised by city employees, where automobilists may park free of charge. Cleve- land Transit Sytem provides transportation between the park- ing lot and downtown. In Bal- timore, Adrian Hughes, manager of the Baltimore Transit Co, adopted the idea and built a parking lot on the fringe of the downtown area where motorists may park for a small fee and continue their trip on a special transit line. Hughes visualizes a perimeter of such parking lots surrounding downtown Baltimore which he feels will materially re- duge the traffic load on Balti- more's narrow city streets. San Francisco built an under- ground garage at a cost of $1,- 500,000, capable of handling 1,700 automobiles. Los Angeles, Kansas City, Philadelphia and New York all are considering underground parking and Hartford, Conn, plans an above-ground skyscrap- er garage. New York City and Madison Square Garden Corp. are talking of co-operating on a $20,000,000 two-block-square ex- hibition and sports arena to be built in connection with a garage large enough to handle 2,000 automobiles. A number of cities are work- ing on plans for express highways leading into and through con- gested areas. But these, like un- derground or skyscraper garages are expensive undertakings and other city agencies such as schools, neglected during the war years, are clamoring for bigger cuts of the municipal tax dollar. ¢ George C. Diehl, past president 4 of the American Automobile As- sociation, thinks the substitution of public transportation lines for private cars in congested areas may, after all, be the best out. "Guiding precept in all ate tempts to improve traffic should be the greatest good for the greatest number," he says. 'Just as the motorist is restrained from driving as fast as he pleases, so he must be barred from driving anywhere he pleases." : 28,000 Citizen-Magistrates a 7 More than 28,000 men and women in Britain fill the honor- able office of J.P.--common ab- breviation of Justice of 'the Peace. They are not regular government officials but private citizens who act as magistrates without fee of any kind; the dig- nity of the appointment is their only reward. Thus they have come to be known as "The Great Unpaid." They act in both a legal and administrative capacity and, by much preferable methods, dispose of cases which in many Europ- ean countries are adjudicated on by police judges. Indeed, 99.7 per cent. of all cases are dealt with in the courts of summary jurisdiction where sit justices of the peace, and some 42 stipend- jary magistrates at busier urban centres. Only three cases in 1,000, involving really sericus offences, go to higher courts. This affords some indication of the importance of an office which first figured in English history nearly 700 years 8ago. Since then the duties of Justices of the Peace have changed con- stantly but the value of the sere vices they render have in no way diminished. Justices. of the Peace are drawn from all sections of the community. Neither social nor financial standing enters into the question of their appointment. The blacksmith and the squire may sit side by side on the Bench. For the main qualifica- tions for office are that the holder, (either man or, since 1919, woman) must be of up- right character, unprejudiced and intelligent--in short, a person from whom his neighbors are confident they will be accorded impartial treatment. Neverthe- less, publicans, however good their reputation, are debarred from appointment, though they sre endeavoring to get the re- striction, which they regard as a stigma, removed. There are two classes of Jus- tices of the Peace--county and borough, the jurisdiction of the former being wider. According. the Bells * * The Betatron For Nuclear Research * * A 20 million volt Betatron is to be built by the firm of Metro- politan Vickers for Glasgow Uni- versity following a substantial grant to the University by Bri. tain's Department of Scientific and Industrial Research. An im- portant piece of equipment .in the Betatron accelerates electrons to high energy levels for the production of X-rays of great penetration, Beauty of LONDON, Dec. 21--Many lands will hear the Christmas message rung on bells which owe their tunefulness and beauty to a "lost art" Ancient craftsmen knew the secret of true harmonic tun- .ing, but for a long period the formula was lost. Knowledge of it had died with the craftsmen. Much experiment was made to rediscover the skill of accurate tuning, but not until about 30 years ago was the lost art finally found again in the bell foundries of Britain. This e which be lains the supremacy from Britain have gained throughout the world. One foundry alone in London has made bells for Canada, Australi, New Zealand, Union of South Africa, Palestine, Argentine, the West Indies, Egypt, Persia, Hol- land, Belgium and Malta. old bells have been sent to Britain from many lands to be retuned according = to the = rediscovered formula, which has been improved upon since first it yielded up its ancient secret. The casting of bells has not changed basically since medieval days, thought it' has advanced technically. Tuning is still the most important pro- cess in bell-making. S--] ; to the penalties laid down for the particular offence, they can pass sentences up to six months' imprisonment or impose fines up to £100, though in certain spe- cial cases their powers are much greater. Their decisions are, of course, subject to revision by a higher court on appeal. In addi- tion to the Justices of the Peace there are 26 stipendiary magis- trates in London and 16 in other parts of Britain who are ap- pointed by the Government at big centres for full-time duty. Justices of the Peace could not afford the time from their pro- fessions and trades. Apart from their judicial du- ties Justices of the Peace carry out administrative work, though less so than formerly. They sign search and other warrants, cer- tify signatures on certain docu- merits, endorse passport applica- tions where satisfied, and control the grant of liquor license appli- cations. A relic of their execu- tive character is to be found in their duty to read the Riot Act, a 230-year-old statute, as a warning to rioters to disperse quietly. Justices of the Peace are not, of course, professional lawyers, though a few such may be found among them. They are conse- quently unversed in the rules of evidence and other matters that crop up in comnection with the hearing of court cases. Every police court is staffed with a salaried clerk, who is a barrister or solicitor of long standing or has other suitable legal experi- ence. In order that Justices of the Peace may acquire a better knowledge of the law and legal proceduré as far as these touch * Quakers Launch Great Experiment * To commemorate the centen- ary of the death of Elizabeth Fry, Britain's great prison re- "former, the Society of Friends-- the Quakers -- plans to raise £20,000 for a training centre for mothers who have neglected their families. The scheme, which has the support of the Home Secre- tary, aims at giving mothers sen- tenced for neglecting children the choice between going to prison or to a school where they will be taught homecraft and parént- hood. They will not be separated from their small children and their husbands will be allowed to visit them. In the past when mothers. have gone to prison there has been a complete break in the home life. Now the aim fs to keep the 'home together while the mother is taught new ways--to take pride in herself and her family. Courses at the centre will last six months, Each mother will have her own bed- roop and there will be separate rooms for the children. By L. E. Sessel on their duties, Britain's Magis- trates' Association has arranged a correspondence course of 20 lectures. These lectures will be sent out over a period of 20 weeks at a fee of £580. At trl end of the term a test paper may' be taken under examination con- ditions. The taking of the course and the examination will be optional, but some hundreds of Magistrates have already decided to take 'advantage of the are rangement. In another direction a step aimed at improving the Justice of the Peace system is engaging attention. This is a Royal Commission, appointed earlier in the year under the presidency of Lord du Parcq, a distinguished lawyer who is. a member of the House of Lords Appeal Court. Among cther matters that the Commission is investigating and will report on, will be a recome mendation regarding the appointe ments of Justices of the Peace, whether these shall be for a term of years or subject to a retiring age. * * Rubber Control Off In U.K. * * The United Kingdom goverp- ment's decision to restore private trade in rubber and allow the re- establishment of London as the main world rubber market was taken after careful consultation with the trade. The secretary for overseas trade, Mr. Marquand, announced on November 4 that normal activities may be resumed on November 18, and Imports on private account may start on January 1 when the United King- dom Board of Trade will cease to purchase rubber. This, Mr, Marquand said, follows the rapid improvement in natural supply over the past few months, par. ticularly in Malaya. As a result the combined rubber committee in Washington agreed that inter. national allocation should cease after the end of the year. * * Great Speed-Up In Housing Drive * * The latest White Paper on Bri. tain's housing drive, published recently discloses the fact that nearly 250,000 families have been housed since the end of March' last year by building, conversion, repairing and requisition, nearly 23,000 of them during Septem. ber. This compares well with nearly 19,000 in August; Nearly 17,000 temporary an | : houses NH built in Great Bri tain during September--ithe pe. cord monthly. total of the whole campaign and 44 per cent higher than the August total. y A a