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Show THE RICH COUNTY REAPER. RANDOLPH, UTAH Sleuth Has Some Very Odd Relics $. Collection of Souvenirs of Noted Crimes Most Com plete in World. t Kansas City. In a loon In Shanghai 18 years ago an angered Chinese coolie threw a knife at an American sailor. Merle A. Gill,' 900 Kensington avenue, now a nationally known criminologist, was the sailor marked for death. He saw the lethal blade poised in the Chinaman's hand. He felt his time bad come, for coolies seldom miss when they flash their long knives. But Gill was not destined to die at the hand of that Chinese assailant As the knife was drawn back for the throw, a shipmate of Sailor Gill drew his service revolver and shot the coolie through the head. He dropped to the floor lifeless as his blade sped through the air and barely grazed water-fro- sa- nt Gills bead. Starts a Collection. ' Gill picked up the knife and carried It With him as he and his shipmate fled back to their ship. It started Gill on his hobby of collecting souvenirs of violent death and crime. In 15 years of police work, which, has followed his retirement from the navy, he has acquired an extensive collection. A room in Gills residence just south of Swope park has been set aside for his strange collection. It Is a museum of unusual interest, especially for the student of criminology. From ail parts of the country law enforcement off- confined there in 1879. An old Oregon boot, a peculiar type of leg Iron, made In 1876, is another feature of his exhibit. Leg irons used on the. battleship Maine, an old handmade iron prison lock used on the Leverett street jail in Boston for more than 100 years, thumb screws, band mitts and types of shackles obsolete for generations are included In the collection. Gills grim collection represents the expenditure of thousands of dollars and more than a decade of travel and research. The monetary value Is difficult to estimate, he explained, for many of the pieces could never be teplaced. For more than five years Gill was a special agent for the United States Department of Labor, Investigating the activities of L W. W,s and Communists. He traveled widely throughout the country and made friends of peace officers in scores of cities. He holds police commissions in hundreds of counties throughout the Middle West He Is a member of the Peace Officers association of Missouri, Kansas, and Oklahoma, and of the International Association for Identification. A Simple Trick. In his study of handcuffs and development of shackles from which escape is impossible, Gill has learned all the tricks of escape artists. With a small piece of wire, such as a stick pin or a paper clip, be is able to escape from virtually all types of shackles. He has demonstrated various methods of escape to thousands of police officers to show them how to forestall escape of clever prisoners. It is comparatively easy for a dexterous prisoner to escape from the type of handcuffs usually carried by and sheriffs, he said. policemen Many peace officers have lost their lives because they do not know how to keep dangerous criminals shackled. A few months ago the chief of police of a Kansas town told me he had a pair of handcuffs from which no one could escape. I called his bet just to Parachute Jumping Payn Hi Tuition p 9 Hopkinsville, Ky. Parachute p jumping on Sundays and holl- 9 days to thrill crowds has earned p enough money for Hugh Thom- x asson, sixteen, to pay his way P through school. 6 He says he has nearly saved 9 enough for a course at the Uni- P versity of Southern California, 9 He is said to be the youngest P professional parachute jumper 6 in the country. P p , 9 i Outdoor Living Room for. Summer Is Provided by This Front Porch 6 9 6 9 P 6 9 p x o 9 oooooooooooooooooooooooooo Ingly to visitors who are Interested. He knows the history of each object In his museum. Each piece has a long and fascinating story. Thrills and shudders are wrapped around many of those grewsome relics. There is one piece in his collection which has real beauty, however. It is a .38 caliber Colts automatic pistol of polished blue steel, which was made especially for him, primarily for exhibition purposes. It has a matched mother-of-peahandle studded with amethysts and emeralds and all the metal surfaces are covered with elaborate hand engraving. Gill avows it would be almost a pleasure to be shot by such a beautiful gun. rl Man Divorced 14th Time Tells How to Win Wife El Paso. Texas. Bruce Steele, El Paso plumber, was confident that, despite the fact that he has been divorced 14 times, he not only can win another wife quickly, but he can win her.for keeps if he wants to. Women who love me keep on loving me, declared the plumber after Fannie K. Steele had been granted her third divorce from him on grounds that he went around with other women, Including some of his former wives. Mrs. Steele told the judge that the first time she married the handsome plumber she divorced him because he ran around with a previous wife. Then, she said, he remarried the previous wife, divorced her, remarried Fanny, divorced her and then remar- Second Floor Plan. By W. A. RADFORD Mr. William A. Radford will answer questions and give advice FREE OF COST on all subjects pertaining to practical home building, for the readers of this paper. On account of h( wide experience as editor, author and manufacturer, he is, without doubt, the highest authority on all these subjects. Address all Inquiries to William A. Radford, No. 407 South Dearborn street, Chicago, 111., and only Inclose two-cestamp for reply. icials and collectors of crime souvenirs come to Kansas City to see Gills collection. It has been exhibited at the convention of peace officers associations in many states. Efforts now are being made to induce Mr. Gill to show his collection at the Worlds fair to be held in Chicago In 1933. So many houses are being built ried her again. Plenty of Variety. these days without front porches that Fanny was not the only repeater" many will welcome a design offering The nooses which have bung famous the 11 women he has married, a front among criminals, the revolvers earned by show him he had too much porch with all the summer Steele disclosed. Another wife diconfidence as comforts that it suggests, as such notorious gunmen Jesse James, in handcuffs. evening vorced him once, he said, then re- an outdoor Cole Younger, Henry Starr and Sam living room during the I permitted him to search me thormarried him and later divorced him Additional Carr, pictures of virtually every gang period. for anything I might be carry- again. comfort is suggested by the killing and nationally publicized crime, oughly It Isnt because they quit loving striped awnings which, protecting the mementos of the careers of Billy the ing to pick the lock, and then he on me with my hands me, though, said Steele. locked cuffs the The only windows from the direct rays of the Kid and other early day bad men are included in his grim and fascinating behind my back. He left me alone reason they get divorced is Jealousy. sun, may be drawn up out of the way in a cell for a few minutes and when "Women are easy for me to win, be- when cooler weather makes the collection. he returned I handed him his unlocked cause of a way I have with them. warmth of the sun more welcome. The most important department In cuffs. The secret is to find their weakness, This Is a substantial frame house, museum handcollection Is a of GUIs Uses then play up to it. Trick. designed after the style of the Dutch cuffs, leg irons, strait jackets and othColonial and finished with the wide er devices for shackling prisoners. I I never told him how I escaped, but merely utilized one of the simplest Students Contribute to Gill claims that his collection Is the siding which has, of late years, won tricks used by criminals. Before I such well merited favor. It varies, most complete In the world. visited that chief of police I attached Washington Cathedral in plan, from the Dutch Colonial in Gill Is the inventor of several difa small piece of bent wire to the inWashington. Students from 76 high ferent types of handcuffs used by poof with foot adhesive schools in 15 states contributed to the step my tape. lice departments and sheriffs through-o- u he searched me thoroughly building fund of Washington CatheAlthough Defective Chimneys the United States. For many years he never found dral during the last two months, it was it a was manufacturer of he police equipCause of Many Fires By stepping through my shackled announced by the Right Rev. James ment The new chimney for your house arms and the handcuffs in E. Freeman, bishop of Washington. Although he has made and patented front, of me,getting be of brick, concrete blocks, holwas able to remove my I were of may visitmembers They parties various types of shackles. Gill has spe- shoe and low tile, stone, but whatever Its masock, obtain the piece of ing the national capital and including cialized in the manufacture of handit should have a fire ..lay lining wire and lock. When unfasten the edifice the terial, great being erected on cuffs. That specialization started him one to secure a straight flue of uniform knows just how to do it the unAlban Mount Saint in their to collecting handcuffs. More than 100 itineraries. Their offerings were dimensions. This smooth inner surlocking of almost any handcuff with pairs are included in his collection. face eliminates the possibility of a a small piece of wire can be done made in the names of their schools. Has "Oregon Boot The gifts included provision for chimney fire. In case the lining Is quickly and easily." One of the treasures of the collecGill can talk for hours of Intereststones used for construction of the omitted, be sure there is an extra tion is half, of an old wrought-iroing experiences he has had as fed- north transept, the portion expected thickness of brick on the inside. h&ndcuff made In England In 1620, the eral agent, detective, and policeman. to be completed for use during the Many chimneys in old houses have no fire lining, and their walls are built the at landed He finger-priPlyma is as well as Mayflower of the George Washington year observance expert outh Rock. The other half of that an authority on locks and shackles Bicentennial next year, and for mem- only one brick in thickness, the Inside auclent relic now Is in the Guild hall and he has aided many police departberships in the National Cathedral as- of the flue plastered with mortar. This kind of chimney remains tight for a museum in London. ments in capturing criminals by the sociation. finger-primethod. Gill also owns a pair of heavy handNames of the high schools are to be time, but after a while the heat makes Gill is particularly proud of his uncuffs used in the old Linclon county inscribed in the Cathedrals Book of the mortar dry. It falls out of place, and an uneven flue results. This In Kid was he Texas willusual when the and shows Remembrance. it collection, Billy jail single brick joint between the hot flue and any surrounding woodwork Is the cause of many fires. Insurance companies claim that defective chimneys and sparks on the roof are responsible for nearly 20 per cent of all fires in homes. Thi shows that good chimney construction Is as important as a good fire resistant or fireproof roof in the modern home. One method or testing a chimney to discover Its strength or Its weakness is to use the smoke test. Build a smudge fire at the bottom of the flue, and then when the smoke begins to flow freely, close It tightly. If the smoke escapes into other flues or through the chimney walls, it indicates that there are openings which must be closed before the chimney is used. Remember that with chimneys, as well as many other things In life, appearances are deceitful. On examination many a chimney Is found to be an acute fire menace. It Is much cheaper to rebuild a chimney, or build It correctly in the first place, than to build a new house . nt er warm-weath- Well-Know- n sight-seein- g n nt nt Dedication of the Floyd Bennett Airport 1 New York Architects Plan Houses of Glass A general view at Floyd Bennett airport. New York, as Mayor James J. Walker dedicated it. The field .s largest in the country and is named for the heroic aviator who lost his life in rescuing fellow airmen. iIip Building plans filed with the New York city government indicate that nearly a dozen skyscrapers, construct i that the characteristic central hall is not found on the first floor. The entrance is at one side of the front elevation and directly into one end of the large living room which occupies nearly half of the lower floor space. At the opposite end of this living room is the stairway leading directly from the room to the upper floor instead of from the hall as seen in most houses. The almost square plan of this house indicates maximum floor space and minimum building cost, a point which it Is well to remember when planning a home where finances are limited and space is at a premium. In this case it makes possible, within the overall dimensions of 26 by 24 feet, a large living room, ample dining room and - kitchen, on the first floor and three roomy bedrooms with closets and a comfortable bathroom, on the second floor. In spite of Its simplicity, this house possesses a most pleasing appearance due largely to its excellent lines, Its cheerful awnings, and the and placed shrubbery which surrounds it. good-size- d well-select- ed with glass walls, are to be erected during the coming year. As the proposed structures include one hotel and two big apartment houses, it appears that several thousand people will shortly be living in real glass houses. Another of the glass buildings is a warehouse, 15 stories high and with 40 acres of floor space. Glass skyscrapers 70 stories high are being planned by various architectural firms. The frame work of these structures, according to the American Magazine, will be of steel or some light strong alloy. Window sash, spandrels and trim will be of a rustless metal like aluminum or chrome-nicksteel, Glass bricks made with surair cells and faces, in translucent paste shades of color, or faced anc transparent, will form the walls. In the sunshine they will glitter like a frost picture in a silver frame. After nightfall, when the interior Is lighted, they will become glowing towers of many-huebeauty. We are just beginning to study the effect of light and color on disposition, moods and general human efficiency, declares Albert E. Marshall, who has developed a hollow brick , of glass that will withstand the heaviest loads and resist 1,000 degrees of heat without damage. Structural glass walls will open a new field for the practical application of color science of living. sky-scrap- ei steel-frame- d, glass-walle- d el heat-insulati- light-diffusin- g d Practical Builder Knows What Materials Are Best The builder knows from experience what construction materials wear the longest, look the best and satisfy the home owner most. Accordingly. he makes helpful and valuable suggestions. For the roof a type of roofing which has proved good. For the trim a kind he knows will please. And for wails, wail paper because It adds life, color, beauty and is recommended as: correct style by the countrys leading decorators. te |