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THE COLBORNE EXPRESS. COLBORIfE, ONT., THURSDAY, JANUARY 12, 1928 WOMAN'S PREMONITION SAVES TWELVE LIVES Peculiar Ether Freak Enables Hamilton Woman to Hear Signal That Passed All Coastal Stations LUCKY "HUNCH" Radio Costal Stations missed an S.O.S. when Coastal Patrol Boat Bl wirelessed for aid on a 700 meter wavelength. Due to some unexplai able freak of ether waves it remained for an amateur--a more "listener in" like you or I--to hear "clicking" in her home-made set, get a hunch it was an S.O.S. call and secure services of a local "fan" to read the Morse, and so save the lives of twelve. HEARD STRANGE TICKING. The incident almost defies belief, yet there are many facts to substantiate it. Thursday night at 7.30 o'clock as Mrs. Parke sat listening to the radio she heard a ticking come from the loudspeaker. She immediately recognized it as a message of some sort in the Morse code. She feared, too, that it was an S.O.S. call, as she had heard the same sound before and then read next day of disaster at sea. This strange message was picked up by her radio at 700 metres, and it persisted until after midnight. There was no response. When Mr. Parke returned home about 11 o'clock he was told of the strange call, and he, too, was convinced it was some message RJ1 Ireland Suffei n Morse. Mr. Parke knew a friend vho could interpret the Morse code,] md this friend was rushed to the "IN TROUBLE--IN TROUBLE." j Ho listened to the call and this was: his of it: 'Boat trouble--in trouble. Water in hold. Lights out. Battery down. Shaft gone." That was all that could be gathered early Friday morning. Mrs. Parke phoned the operators at i the local C.N.R. Telegraphs and they ' rushed the strange news to Toronto. Toronto flashed it to the Atlantic coast. Word came back that efforts were being made to locate the stricken craft and learn its name. The proper authorities at last tuned in on the appeal and a message hours later read: "On our way. Three cruisers in tow. Two knots. Latitude 23, longitude 20. Back about mid- As near as could be determined, the boats position in the foregoing message would be in Hamilton Bay, off the coast of Labrador, itself a strange coincidence, inasmuch as the only point to get her cry in the night Hamilton, Ont. Another message picked up advised that the B-l was rescued by the Coast Guards G-134, G-24 and B-129. The radio set in tlie Parke home i an amateur production,.made by Mrs Parke's brother. Lloyd's Marine Insurance thanked Mrs. Parkes and wanted to know the make of the set used. Antrim, smashed by heavy Great Britain h; seas during the s SEA CAN HIT HEAVY Bl ive not left Irelan evere gales. LOWS iged. The promenade at Whitehead, County SPECTACULAR PARIS The French love electrical display, above is the Bazar de L' Hotel de Vllle it appeared putting on a realistic electrical waterfall. ^^^^^^^^^^^ Blackmail Cases Worry England Crime Rampant in London and Scotland Yard is Busy REGULAR GANGS Members of Society Fall Victims to Decoys and Rogues London.--The blackmail racket is worrying Scotland Yard. Since the celebrated "Mr. A" case several years ago, in which a wealthy and influential Indian potentate was involved blackmail has become rampant in this country. So serious has the menace become, that judges now are agreed that the names of the victims should be kept secret in order that they may be encouraged to prosecute cases in which they are involved. Sir Henry Maddocks, the recorder of the city of Birmingham, advocated a further step in the suppression of this crime, and suggested that all blackmailers should be flogged as a part of their punishment. Several gangs who live and carry on their operations from a prominent section of the exclusive West End district of London are said to be responsible for the increase in blackmail. Recent police investigations have disclosed that these gangs have women members who act as decoys. They sit in the lounges of the most exclusive hotels and night clubs,! where they become acquainted with ■wealthy business men, particularly those from the provinces. SOME METHODS. The usual method is for the woman to take her victim to her flat, where they are surprised by her alleged hus>-band, who demands money as th« price of silence. Once the victims part with money, there is always demand for more. It was recently revealed that the son of a well-known peer fell into the hands of a blackmailer, who knew that the victim's father was a lionaire. In three years the father paid more than $3,000,000 to keep the case quiet. Then the blackmailer was prosecuted. The names of the persons involved were kept secret. There are other methods equally favored by blackmailers. One i find a professional man, preferably one who is just starting out in his profession. The woman coolly demands money, threatening to complain publicly of the man's conduct. Dancing partners in public dance halls are another reason why some men or women become bankrupt. A young man who was engaged as a dancing partner in a public place recently tricked the daughter of a prominent peer into a compromising position. He then proceeded to blackmail her and had practically bankrupted her before her father learned of the circumstances of the case and had the man prosecuted. Four years of penal servitude is the usual penalty in such cases and many judges are demanding alterations of the law to permit more severe sentences. It's entirely proper to give our murderers plenty of rope, provided the rope is properly applied.--Arkansas Gazette. IRAQ GOVERNMENT PROPOSES TO PUNISH WARLIKE WAHABIS Are Asking Royal Air Forc< To Assist But Neighbors Attitude May Alter Situation SHEIK FLEES The Iraq Government has concurred with the British Government in sending a punitive expedition against the Wahabi tribesmen, who have been carrying out raids on Iraqui frontier tribes. Making announcements in Parliament, Jaffar Pasha El Askari, the Prime Minister, said: "In co-operation with the British military forces, we are preparing a sufficiently powerful punitive expedition to punish the Nedji tribesmen responsible for the outrages. Our military plans have been sanctioned. Operations will not be prolonged for more than a month." The Prime Minister added that Iraq was not in a state of war with the Wahabi tribe, which had disclaimed responsibility for the acts of Sheik Feisal Ed Dowish, leader of the raiding tribesmen, and said he would cooperate against the latter with a loyal Wahabi force. It is possible that the King will find difficulty raising a large force for his proposed attack on Feisal Ed Dowish's headquarters at Artawiyah, as the Sheik's two triUes dominating that locality are believed to sympathize with Feisal Ed Dowish. The latter, for the moment, has vanished into the desert. Survivors of his last raid speak with terror of the barbarous savagery of his tribesmen. It- is understood that the Royal Air Force in co-operation with the Iraq army is preparing to act with the utmost vigor. FLOODS IN ENGLAND CAUSE UNTOLD MISERY an acute-mature among very old Thames Four Miles Wide in County of Surrey; Nearly at Maximum Private dispatches begin to come in descriptive of England's plight when real winter weather sets in. Fires from overheated grates, suffering of nature_ id very youi impossibility to keep warm are the high points of the recent unusual cold snap accompanied with heavy snows. Now comes the milder weather, rains and floods, the press despatches say. While flood conditions have improved in some sections of the country, they have become worse in others, and new areas affected by the rising waters include Dartford, Kent, where 200 families were marooned in their homes during the night, but they were released before experiencing any undue hardship as the waters rapidly sub- The River Thames also burst its banks at many new points, but the Conservancy Board expressed opinion that the floods in the upper reaches of the Thames have nearly reached a maximum, providing no more rain falls. Cool weathei panied by frosts at night is helping the evacuation of the floods. Between Chertsey and Weybridge, wide, while near Maidenhead, Berks, they are two miles wide, and deep enough to enable one to enjoy a swim on the King's Highway. The River Thames at Windsor is four and a half feet above normal, resulting in Eton-town presenting an island-like appearance, while the grounds at Windsor Castla are also inundated. In, the meantime responsible 'meteorologists aeclare that the unusual weather of the present winter is merely a sample of what is to come next year when the River Thames freezes over. Surrey, the floods i City of Liverpool Trains Her Boys Object Being to Make Them Good Canadian Citizens able them to "set up independently." Such boys, he said, were too good to be lost to this country. The Council, however, decided to try the training scheme. The Boot. A daily says that Italians play excellent football. Why shouldn't they? Look at the shape of their country.-Passing Show. Reduced Express Rate Instituted Parcels of 1 5 Pounds are Now. Cheaper to Send Charges on express parcels, whose! weight is not in exces sof 15 pounds' and not over 3% feet in length, width' and depth, were reduced on Jan. 1.' The arrangement under which the ex-; press companies give protection' against loss and damage up to $50 on! such parcels without extra charge isi also continued. The reduced rates are calculated upon packages ranging from 5 pounds or less; 6 to 10 and 11 to 15 pounds inclusive. The three Maritime Pro-, vlnces are linked as one. Between; points in the same province the rates are from 30 cents to a maximum of 60 cents, according to weight. Between points In adjoining provinces, from 40 cents to a maximum of 80 cents, and betwen more distantly separated provinces the rate is from 50 cents to a maximum of $1.55 for the greatest distance. Goods prohibited under the regula-; tion and to which the regulations will' not apply, are money bonds, bullion, securities, live animals, birds, fowl,' iced goods, and liquid oils and greases! unless packed in sufficient, absorbent' material to fully absorb the contents should the container be broken. A package will not be accepted whose i length and girth combined exceed six i feet. Winter Sport in Canada "SKIING" THE GREATEST TH Wonderful popularity is developing for this N :ity and town with hills in Canada. G. B. S. Human Shaw Champions Cause of an Old Postman Who Stole Ten Shillings and Lost Pension" London. -- George Bernard Shaw Line vigorously to the defense of a sixty-year-old London postman who recently lost his job. his pension, nis and his wife because of his theft of ten shillings from a letter. When arraigned in Marylcbone a police magistrate released the postman, who was a first offender, stating that he already had been punished enough. _^ It was said in court that the post-Liverpool.--Liverpool City Council man's wife died from shock when she decided to adopt a scheme for the learned of Irer husband's training of prospective boy migrants to Canada. One member of the Council objected that boys trained in England for Canadian farm work had to milk wooden cows and harness timber Councillor Richardson said boys sent to Canada could save $500 in five' indicate that the pilferer should years out of wages of $150 a year, j retired as worn out for positions of and then receive grants of $500 each j trust. from the Canadian Government to en- ] "This man earned by thirty-six "In your issue of Dec. 17," writes Mr. Shaw to The Evening Standard, "you rightly feature as appalling the consequences to a postman aged sixty who had been convicted in Maryle-bone police court of the theft of ten shillings. It was obviously one of those cases of senile pilfering which The Result of the Death Blow years of public service state insurance, a £300 pension and two pounds and fiften shillings a week. The appalling consequences to which you call attention are not the ordinary consequences Incurred by the theft of teu shillings but the assumed inten-tion »f the Governnnin >■ .connscate his insurance. May one ask under what law the Government has power to commit this monstrous outrage? "When eminent financiers, criminally negligent company directors, fraudulent trustees, income tax evaders and other gentlemanly culprits pass through the dock to penal servitude, are their insurances confiscated? I have never heard of such P "What I want to know is why after this confiscation has been abolished and forgotten in the case of propertied classes it is still calmly continued without a word of protest a3 if it were tha most natural thing and obvious course on earth in the caso of poor men like postmen, police constables and weekly wage earnera gen- "Is there any warrant except thoughtless usage at the expense of men too poor to appeal to the courts for a declaration of law for thi3 Kil-burn infamy, whic hnot only inflicts on the postman punishment savage enough for the most brutal crime but reduces his innocent dependents to penury as well?" THE BOW OF THE CUTTER PAULDING A view of the unfortunate cutt(|r that sank the S-4, near Cape Cod, showing the damage done in the accident. The Kaiser "Wasn't Speaking" Critic of Emperor's Policies in War Refused to Meet Chief of Cabinet Berlin.--After having carried on his relentless editorial warfare against William II. for many years, the late Maximilian Harden toward the end of the World War thought the time" had come for a heart to heart talk with the Kaiser with the object of^ finding a way to avoid the ultimate' disaster to the German fatherland. On October 16, 1918, Harden telegraphed the Kaiser at the latter's headquarters: "My conscience urges me to reqeust an interview at the earliest possible. - As every hour now is fateful I neither fear a refusal nor the imputation of being considered presumptuous, and shall hold to account that official who suppresses this Harden received the curt official reply that though the Kaiser had taken cognizance of his dispatch, his majesty was not in a position to grant the desired interview, but that the chief of the Imporial cabinet had been Instructed to receive any information Hrr Harden might have to convey for transmission to his majesty. As a "palaver" with the chief of cabinet did not in the least conform with Harden's intentions, the projected trip of the severest political critic of the Kaiser's reign to the imperial headquarters did not come off.