Show t b a t J- THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE SUNDAY MORNING MAY For Amateur Writers r ' ter" Henry's eyes clouded and became "You better look out You betternot say that" Michael's lips drooped pityingly "What you afraid of? What you afraid of? There ain't any God!" "There is too!" Henry said with choked defiance 'There is too and you better look out!" "Look it" Michael said tolerantly "Lookit You just prove there's a God You just try to show me an old God Go ahead Go on Just brittle with fear try" Henry looked furtively up at the skii- - God must have heard Michael God would send down a terrible 'flash of lightning and kill Michael God was in heavfor saying that en and He liAened to what you said and if you didn't be good He'd kill you and send you to—to—to hell He said numbly: "You better look out God'il strike you dead if you say that" Michael waved his hand in conafraid? temptuous dismissal-Mho'- s Lookit If there is an old God why don't He do something? Why don't He do something huh?" Henry drew his breath shudderIngly through his teeth and looked up into the sky But there was only g the blue only the brilliance of the sun- -1 "See!" Michael said triumphantly "What did I tell you? There ain't any God!" Henry said with blind insistence: "There is too! Everybody says' there is It says so in the Bible lt says so in the Bible! I guess that shows! It says so in th--e Michael stared with open scorn "The Bible don't know everything I guess the Bible don't know evgryA thing Lookit "It says in the Bible it says that when the rainbow come after the flood it says that meant there wouldn't be no more rain That's what it say ain't it A rainbow means there Won't be no more rain" Henry nodded dumbly his lips set in stubborn rigid lines "All right!" Michael said eagerly "It rained all morning day before yesterday didn't it? Then just before lunch a rainbow come out It stretched clean across the sky Remember? Well and then when we wanted to go out it rained all afternoon!" His finger pointed in stern accusation "That shows The Bible is The Bible just SAYS wrong there's a God It don't prove nothing See?" Henry shook his head obstinately "You just say that That's all you know! It tells all about the miraIt tells about cles in the Bible those miracles People prayed to God and He did those miracles You got to have faith You got to believe in God or He'll kill you He'll kill you and send you to— to hell!" Michael's stomach stirred unWhat easily Henry was so sure if Henry were right? What if there WERE a God? What if there were a God and He sent you to hell? The lurking fears came up to haunt him but he said the words coming more easily as the sound of his voice gave him courage: "Listen You listen When I was little I believed in God too I prayed to Him every night I did I thought He could do anything I asked Him to "Well and I had a red wagon— remember that wagon?—and Dan ran over it with the car and busted it He busted it all to pieces Well that night when I said my prayers I asked God to fix' it I prayed as hard as I could and I told Him how Atheist By DALE LOWELL MORGAN Salt white-blindin- sun-wash- - I With the new call for more and more of the rare gases found in the air folInduslowing their wide adoption in of the Improvement try chiellrfOr electric lamps scientists have devel aped new methods of extracting argon neon helium krypton and xenon from the atmosphere similar to modern ing hydrogen Oxygen with its wide range of uses In medicine and for obtaining high temperatures through its use in torches for welding and cutting purposes is perhaps the roost valuable Nitrogen in the hands of chemists d sword It is has become a used for making fertilizers to enrich nations during times of peace and for making explosives during Oime of war of nitrates through this process is thus becoming more and more important Through the "air mining" procese oxygen and nitrogen are obtained by tooling and compressing the air until two-edge- a- Criticism Made of 'Every Story Submitted 0 - J would let him find it now— But aS he moved down the sidewalk the leaves eontinlied to swirl about his hands to blow up from the walk and spin and dance about his fingers The dollar was lost It was lost somewhere under all these leaves He prayed again snaking his voice urgent heavy with appeal "Please God please please! Let me have my dollar and I'll pray every night Honest I willGod I'll pray every night and I won't ever forget I'm sorry for saying that God I'm just a little boy I won't be bad again Please let me have my dollar back again—" But dreading lest he had somehow missed the coin in his search afraid to hunt further lest he should not find it at all he came at last to the pile of leaves where he and Henry had lain Now he knew God wasn't going to forgive him God wasn't going to let him have his dollar back again He swallowed and tried to smile but the world became a bright moving blur before his eyes If only he If only—because hadn't said that then he would still have his dollar God wouldn't have made him lose it— As he blinked back the tears again he saw the dollar It lay on the leaves a bright drop of silver light gleaming up at him He snatched at it seizing it in one hand to crush hi S fingers about it to feel it bite into the flesh of his hand He laughed in his throat rubbing the dollar between his hands fecling its hardness its round corrugated edge His dollar! He had his dollar! He had his dollar! God had let him find his dollar again! He said quickly the laughter quick in his breath "Thank you God! Thank you a million billion times God!" God had known he was just a iittle boy so God had forgiven him and let him find his dollar again God had done that! God had let him find it! God had let him find his dollar again! God had let him— God hadt— He frowned suddenly and drew his lip between his teeth to bite at it God had let him— But—but what had God had to do with it? What had God had to do with it? The dollar must have fallen out of his pocket while he had been lying there with Henry That's what happened to the dollar Of course it would btvvIght there all the time— God Ildn't had anything to do with it at all He sure had been dumb to pray to it! He began to laugh at his own foolishness God hadn't had anything to do with it at all! There wasn't any 0 God! Goct--kt)- It Editor's Note': We are quite delighted with thisstory for it meets all the requi- sites of a good story in that it is fresh simple sincere and honest There is not one bit here of what W D Howells called "effectivism" There is no seeking to make the reader believe something thal is wholly illogical or irnbelievab1e:Wó wish that more of our young writers could realize what this story proves: their best chance for turning out good product in the story field lies right at home This man is but making use of thoughts that have come 4) all children and he does it well What is particularly good here la the follows the thoughts of way in a child These thoughts are not intricate and are often disconnected and incoherent and this has been caught Children are given to monotonous iteration with a belief that by so doing they are making a thing true or at least are enforcing it on others beyond the possiMr Morgan also has bility of denial seen this The reasoning which is put into the mouth of the children seems It us wholly true we have seen children reason thus and the imaginary children are wholly within the terms of our experience The two types of mind common td all humanity are very well represented: the stubbornly credulous and the incurable doubter with recurrent doubts of his doubts There is nothing so well done in the whole story as that portion right at the very last where he lets his doubting boy doubt his recent doubt of his first doubt It is true and wholly In character It will hardly be right from our critical point of view to let this author get away without some adverse com- ment He of course has flaws: who has not? His largest one is that he might have let his boys talk more in the jargon of boys they speak too pure an English and consequently at times seem rather mature He let Michael laugh under his breath at Henry we wonder if he ever saw a boy who had just overcome another in any manner with the other in retreat laugh softly We never have consequently we have to be shown Then there is one misusage of a word (the mans English is excellent) which should be called to his attention for his aid In saying "brittle with fear" Mr Morgan probably was guilty of a slight working for effect Does he not sea that the combination is impossible? Let him look up "brittle" even with all of its metaphorical leanings 0 I - 4 6 b I 4 Notice to Writers Editor's Note: All manuscripts submitted in The Tribune's eontest for writers must be accompanied by the signed certificate below This certificate can be clipped from your paper and signed or you may copy it on your typewriter The Tribune reserves the right to reject any manuscript not I accompanied by a signed certificate AUTHOR'S CERTIFICATE State city Street Number Date 1 - hereby certify that the short story enclose 19 titled Is submitted to The Salt Lake Tribune as an original that no part of the same has bee taken or copied from any other story ir publication and that the entire composition has never been printed or published before in any other publication or in any form 1 further 'tree that any payment I receive from The Salt Lake Tribune in the event that this story is accepted for publication will be accepted by me as evidence of good faith that this is an original composition its stated composition 11 above Signed 0 "Mined" for Various ustry ustry ustry How Air - Lake City dumb he is of course there isn't a God It's perfectly plain Nbbody ever saw God'except in the Bible and the Bible's wrong Henry thinks God is going to do something to me because I said there ain't any God That shows Itow dumb he is! How can God do anything to you if there I wonder what ain't any God? I'll get with my dollar What shall I get with it ? He reached into his pocket to pull out the dollar and look at it But the dollar wasn't there The dollar wasn't there! Sudden fear slashed down his spine and he caught his breath sharply He plunged his hands in his pock-etand felt for the money Where was it? Where was the dollar? A pulse began to hammer in his throat and he felt suddenly dizzy WHERE WAS HIS DOLLAR? Turning out their varied contents to rummage through he felt in all his packets He pulled them inside out and ran his convulsed fingers over his body to see if he could feel the dollar under his clothes He turned his pockets inside out again and ran his fingers over the cloth with blind sick intensity The dollar was gone He blinked fast to drive the blurring tears back and swallowed hard His throat was burning but he was too big to cry The dollar was He must have dropped it gone He must have dropped it somewhere He whirled and began to rake aside the leaves about his feet The leaves spun and swirled and danced mocking his shaking fingers The dollar was somewhere under all these leaves How could he find it? How could he find it under all these leaves? Suddenly he writhed erect turning colt inside God had done this! God was getting even with him just like Henry had said! Now he knew what had happened—God was getting even with him! He groaned Why had he been such a big fool? Why did he have to get smart and say there wasn't any God? Why hadn't he kept his mouth shut? Now look what God Now God was gethad done ting even with him He looked up into the sky expecting to see the stern awesome face God must be lookof God there ing right down on him But maybe God would forgive him Maybe God would forgive him and let him have his dollar back again He was just a little boy who didn't know better He didn't realMaybe if he ly mean to be bad prayed God would forgive him and give back his dollar— He said huskily: "Please God I didn't mean it Honest God I'm sorry I won't do it again I'm just a little boy God I'm just a little boy who don't know any better Please God let me find it I'll be Honest God good honest I will Thank you God Amen" He began to look for the dollar again Now he would find it God -- NOTICE TO WRITERS Attention is again directed to all amateur writers submitting manuscripts In The Salt Lake Tribune's Short Story and Short Short Story contests that manuscripts will not be returned unless stamps to cover postage are inclosed Neither will The Tribune enter into any correspondence concerning disposal of such manuscripts Criticism is made of each manuscript received and this is returned to the writer along with the manuscript if the story is found not acceptable providing return postage has been sent mining methods The miner digs away at the metal eledeposit carefully separating other much ore In desired the from ments the same way the chemist "digs away" at the air carefully taking away the oxygen then the nitrogen and other undesired elements until only the sought for element is left such as Excluding the impurities the dioxide carbon water vapor add air is composed of eight elements Nitrogen is by far the most plentiful comprising about 78 per cent Oxygen amounts 'to about 21 per cent and this leaves only about 1 per cent of the volume for the six other gues includ- It are stubborn Henry's stubborn I told him just as plain and all he did was just get mad He's just dumb Some day he'll wake up and see how much I liked that wagon and how much I wanted thit ' red wagon fixed up It was the best red wagon in the world I said and please God would He- - fix it— "But when I got out of bed in the morning and went out there invthe back yard to play with it it wasn't fixed at all It was just like it was the night before If ''See? I guess that shows there is a God why didn't He fix it? WHY DIDN'T HE FIX IT?" Henry said out of a long silence: "Maybe you didn't pray enough Maybe that's why" "Oh didn't I?" Michael said bitterly "I prayed every night for a whole week and sometimes I prayed in the daytime too and it never got fixed at all It always stayed just the same" Henry rubbed his hands on his overalls feeling sick and afraid and resentful Could it be possible that ? But there was a God There had to be a God Why his Dad said there was a God! He said triumphantly throwing this fact up against everything Michael had said: "Well my Dad says there's a God and I guess he knows more than you I guess he knows! And he says there's a God!" "Oh my gosh!" Michael said dis"I guess you think your gustedly Dad knows everything! I guess you think he knows more than anybody! People just say there's a God That's all It's just like Santa Claus just make believe" "I don't care what you say!" "I don't Henry said rebelliously care if you talk for a hundred million trillion billion years And you better look out God hasn't killed you because maybe you're so little and you don't know what you're talking about but He'll get even with you! He'll make you sorry you ever said that! You just wait and see Just wait and see!" He scrambled to his feet and stood shaking with rage over the grinning Michael "You just wait and see! God'll get even with you He'll make you wish you never said said!" Michael spat derisively "You big dumbbell! How many times I got to tell you? There ain't any God! I never saw such a dumb guy I told you a thousand times there ain't any God!" Henry started down the street his eyes pale and blue his face in stiff unyielding lines "You just wait and see!" he flung back over his shoulder "You just wait and see what happens You just wait—" Laughing under his breath at Henry's futile outrage Michael lay on the leaves looking after him until Henry turned the corner and Then he stretched disappeared lazily and rolling to his feet walked up the street toward home The leaves littering the sidewalk were crisp shattering to brittle 'fragments under his feet Absently he noted how the stark skeletons o'f the trees were emerging from the thinning masses of leaves how the fallen leaves were mottling the lawns and street and sidewalks with dull flooding color He thought vaguely: It'll be winter pretty soon Then I'll go coastPeoplo ing up on High street I 12 1935 Short Stories An Exclusive Opportunity Lying on his back on the pile of drifted leaves Michael stared into the wide blue immensity of the:autumn sky his left hand screening his eyes from the white fire oft the sun The volee of Henry was a low murmurous sound dimly pleasing to the ear but without depth or meaning Then Henry yoice died out leaving the air heavy with siknee and sunlight : he Michael let Consciousness-driftthought with a dim sensuous pleasure of the dollar in his pocket now s thigh pressing hard against-hiShould he get a bat with the money? Should he get a new bladder for his football? Should he just get anything he wanted? Maybe he would just keep it so he could feel rich It was great just to feel its hard roundness and know that he had a whole dollar to do anything he liked with He rolled his head lazily and looked- at Henry sprawled tit his and side Henry was freckle-face- d had china-blu- e eyes and matted sandy hair Suddenly Michael sat up drawing inthis breath as he remembered what he had been going to tell Henry "Listen" he said slowly "Listen Do you think there's a a minute God? Do you think there is one huh?" Henry turned his head slightly 'What d' you mean?" he said blankly "What you talking about?" "I Michael stirred impatiently mean just what Isaid dumbbell! Do you think there's a God?" "Sure Henry smiled uncertainly I think there's a God Of course there's a God What you asking crazy questions like that for?" Michael began to powder some leaves between his hands making brief crisp cracklings to punctuHe said excitedly: ate his words "You know what? You know what? There ain't any God!" Again smiling uncertainly Henry said doubtfully: "You're just saying that You're just saying that You're just fooling" Michael said impatiently: "That's what I said You heard what I said I said there ain't any God" A queer pallor came into Henry's face and his smile faded "You betternot say that" he said uneasily "You better not say that You better look out" "I guess you think I'm afraid!" Machael derided "I guess you think I'm afraid there's a God liskeninl Well I'm not There ain't any God! If you think there is you're just dumb You just don't know any bet- --- - 1 11 ' ' ' ) A ki L ( i ? 1 I ) I I a '1 - (I :":::s i :: ::'" te'' '':: ' A471 ‘ t 44 t? 1 -- 1 : e4 f 'Nditot a c: s: ' 7!:t::i4:iv: v - ' it )'' e k 4i 4 (4 SquealTrig diem icals and x- tracting rare gases from the atmosphere for practical use y t t ( c ' 11 It:) '' - ''- ' t it liquefies Liquid air is formed only at temperatures under 105 degrebelow zero on the Centigrade scale Now the boiling point of oxygenls above that of nitrogen and by allowing the liquid air to boil the nitrogen will evaporate first The nitrogen is al lowed to evaporate and is collected in a separate chamber and the oxygen is left Minipg the rare gases presents an other problem and a far more diffi colt one The easiest to isolate of 014 rare gases' remaining la argon the most plentiful With the boiling point of argon falling about 10 degrees above 4 ) IP jorr 'that of nitrogen and three degrees be low that of oxygen the argon can be withdrawn by distillation 'following the separation of the nitrogen As the gas then obtained still contains large amounts of the other elements it must be purified again through the use of further distillation and by burning off the remaining oxygen with an exact amount of hydrogen The remaining 'nitrogen is combined with metallic calcium at a high temperature and thus removed As these rare gases are among the least chemically active of all the elements the extraction of the last four present in air is extremely difficult An idea of the small volume of these gases present can t1t obtained- when it is realized that there is only one pthibd of xenon in 1208 tons of air As the remaining gases have bolling 1pints considerably above the boil$eint of oxygen they remain in the oxygen drawn off from the nitrogen and argon By repeatedly distilling the oxygen the krypton and xenon finally may be separated in a small amount of liquid oxygen Allowing the vapor to evaporate the gas is treated with activated charcoal which acts as a filter absorbing some gases and refusing to itouse others Neon and helium with extremely low boiling points are almost impossible to liquefy They remain in the vapor left after the other gases have been extracted They are purified Rnd separated by the IMP of netivRtPd charcoal taking advantage of its selective properties The familiar orange-reglow of th d "neon" signs calling attention to the attractions of "Jake's Lunch" or "Madame Celeste's" beauty chop is really caused by a mixture of neon and hell urn The color can be changed by the Introduction of small amounts of va- 1 rious other gases) Argon is chiletly used to fill electrie light bulbs replacing nitrogen for this purpose A mixture of krypton and xenon is even more efficient although too expensive for commercial use This "air mining" process can be reproduced in your own home if you have an experimental turn of mind That is nitrogen may be separated from oxygen—the other gases had beet be left for the technical laboratories and manufacturers By uniting three dry cells in series with a spark moil and to a jar with a stopper fitted with two wires to form a spark gap an electric circuit may be formed Two glass tubes through the stopper allow air to be pumped Into the jar and also allow it to pass out into a test tube filled with water as shown in the diagram With a bicycle pump force the ail through the jar and at the same time turn on the current so that sparks jump across the gap Allow the sparks to continue for a minute at e time with short lapses to allow the wires to cool After several minutes light brown fumes will be seen In the jar a gas These are nitrogen peroxide which unites with water to form nitric acid A piece of blue litmus paper dipped in the water in the test tubs will turn red indicating nitric &CUL S It |