CURRENT NEWS

JANITOR AN HEIR.

Charles Wineland, an $8 a month janitor at the City Hall, Fort Wayne, Ind., leaned on the handle of his broom long enough to read a letter the other day and then a few hours later started for California to claim a 114-acre fruit farm on the outskirts of San Francisco and $28,000 deposited in a bank there. The letter informed him that his brother had died leaving his estate to the janitor and a sister, Mrs. Caroline Bowman, of Burlington, Ind. The farm is appraised for taxation at $78,000, according to the letter.

SETS HIMSELF ON FIRE.

Pedro Sacherelli, a boy in the eighth grade in the Little Falls, N. Y., High School, was sitting at his desk, wiggling, as boys do. Another boy, sitting near him, saw a column of smoke ascending along Pedro's backbone and circling toward the ceiling. A quick look revealed the fact that matches in Pedro's pocket had been rubbed violently enough to set them on fire.

Other pupils and the teacher jumped to the rescue and Pedro's sweater was jerked off, the fire beat out and the small boy returned to his seat. A considerable hole was burned through Pedro's clothes and he was not hurt, though the fire extinguishers shook him up considerably.

MUSICAL PITCHFORKS IN SOUTH AFRICA.

A tale comes out of England which illustrates admirably the sort of unexpected demand which may have to be met in building up a foreign trade. A British manufacturer of edge tools made up his mind to secure a share of the trade in Kaffir picks, and obtained a sample of the native-made pick, which he reproduced so exactly that it seemed to be impossible to detect the difference between it and the native article. His tools, however, did not sell, and a representative was sent out to investigate. He found there was one thing for which the Kaffir used the pick that had not been taken into consideration. The native took it out of its haft and used it as a cattle call, and every Kaffir had found that the British-made pick had not quite the right note. It speaks well for the enterprise of the maker that, having discovered this, he produced a Kaffir pick with the right note and established a trade which, the story goes, he has retained ever since.

A PARIS HOLD-UP.

Paris Apaches, imitating their New York brothers, got away with one of the most daring robberies in the history of the city, carrying off 500,000 francs' worth of jewels from a shop in the center of the town and distancing their pursuers after an exciting motor car chase.

About 9 o'clock in the evening a policeman passing across the street from a jewelry shop in the Rue Tronchet running from the Place de la Madeleine to the Boulevard Haussmann saw a man deliberately break a window of the store with a hammer, seize a tray of jewels and jump into a car, which drove away at high speed. The gendarme succeeded in getting on the running board of the car, but was pushed off by the robber. The thief fired twice at him. The policeman commandeered a passing taxi and began a vain chase, for the bandit's car disappeared in a network of side streets.

SCORES OF GIRLS LOSE $50.

Dreams of becoming cinema stars are being shattered in the minds of scores of girls throughout the Middle West as a result of the bursting of an alleged promotion bubble in Kansas City, Mo., known as the International Pictures Corporation.

The scheme, according to Federal officers, was simple. An advertisement in an Eastern theatrical magazine asked for chorus girls and leads. On beautifully engraved stationery, the applicants were told of a trip to California, a chartered yacht that was to sail the South Seas, drop anchor in Egypt and cruise European waters. The only requisite was a deposit of $50 to "keep away curiosity seekers."

The money came with answers such as the following:

"I am five feet four and very pretty. Inclosed is $50."

Then along came the agents of the post-office department and spoiled the plan. Hubert Settles and his wife were arrested. Post-office inspectors say they have scores of the letters from girls.

NAVY RECRUITING STOPPED.

Secretary of the Navy Daniels announced on January 4 that recruiting for the Navy has been stopped for the present, the enlisted strength having reached 132,000. The naval appropriations for the current fiscal year were made to take care of the pay of an average of 120,000 enlisted men. By expiration of enlistments the number soon will drop to about 122,000, which will give the Navy an average of 120,000 for the fiscal year ending June 30. One reason for the action is uncertainty as to the number of enlisted men Congress will authorize for the next fiscal year. Navy authorities have recommended 143,000. Another reason is found in the fact that the U. S. Atlantic and Pacific Fleets soon will sail for their rendezvous at the Pacific entrance to the Panama Canal. It was not deemed desirable to go ahead with further enlistments with most of the active ships in distant waters. Although the Marine Corps has not suspended recruiting, the standard has been raised, requiring a minimum of twenty-one years of age, five feet five inches height, and 130 pounds weight. The quota for January has been cut to 1,400 and this low figure will keep the enlisted personnel of the corps within the average of 20,000 for the fiscal year 1921 for which appropriations are available. Two-year enlistments have been suspended, and recruits confined to a choice of enlisting for either three or four years.