MLADINSKI LIST A Magazine for SNPJ Juveniles MAY 1942 Mladinski List JUVENILE IVAN MOLEK -PHILIP GODINA - - - - Editor - Business Manager CONTENTS FOR MAY, 1942 Vsebina majske številke POEMS, STORIES, ETC. Page Dolga pravda ..........................................................31 Hrastova veja ............-......................................... - 5 Križaste limanice (pesem)...................... -----................. 1 “Modra” Minka (pesem)............................................... 5 FEATURES Birthdays of the Great Men........................................... 8 Information Desk, The..................................................10 Introducing Book Friends.............................................. 32 Just for Fun.......................................................... 9 Origin of the World, The............................................... 2 Our Own Juvenile Circles of the SNPJ.................................. 23 Our Pen Pals Write.................................................... 26 Our School .....................-..................................... 11 Zakladi sveta ................................................... 6 Published monthly by the Slovene National Benefit Society for the members of its Juvenile Department. Annual subscription, $1.20; half year, 60c; foreign subscription, $1.50. Address: 2657 S. Lawndale Ave„ Chicago, 111. Entered as second-class matter August 2, 1922, at the post office at Chicago, 111., under Act of August 24,1912. MLADINSKI LIST JUVENILE______________________________ LETO XXI—Št. 5 CHICAGO, ILL.. MAY, 1942 VOL. XXI—NO. 5 Križaste limanice Katka Zupančič V kotu pajek dom ima, lepe mreže plesti zna. Muha mrežo obletuje, delo pajka občuduje. Pravi pajek ji tako: “Pridi, drži nitko to! Spredel mrežo bom za dva: zame, zate—hopsasa! Noč in dan bova plesala, žužkom vsem gospodovala . . Čuteč se silno počaščeno, da na pajčjo sme kopreno— muhi pamet odpove, pa pomagat pajku gre . . . Pajek pa, ne bodi len— vrže se na mastni plen. Krila ji na mah odstriže; posmehljivo se obliže: “Nisi prva, he-he-he, sedla mi na limance . . THE ORIGIN OF THE WORLD (Continued.) If you want to know how big Canopus is, then you must remember that it would hold thousands of our suns. One of the world’s great teachers, Carl Snyder, says that to think of human beings in the universe is a very hopeless task. He says: “A microbe upon the surface of a microscopic drop of mist in a fog covering the Atlantic Ocean would not be more hopelessly situated in his endeavors to discover his whereabouts.” Somebody may say that I have no right to tell children such things as these. Nevertheless they are true, am! I am never afraid of telling the truth to anybody. The only thing I am afraid of is ignorance. CHAPTER II The Depths of the Sky In reading over the previous chapter I noticed I had mentioned the “sky,” and I felt that it would be quite wrong of me to go any further without explaining what I mean when I say “the sky.” There is no such thing as the sky. Men have imagined one, that is all! The blue you see when you look up during the day is not a real thing, but is just the effect of the sunlight. If you could look through the haze of sunlight, you would see the stars shining in the daytime just the same as they do at night. There is no “sky,” but I have to say “sky” so that you may understand me when I speak about things that appear to be above us. But what is above us? Nothing at all! What is all about us? Space! But space is nothing? Yes, space is nothing also! Outside of this little world of ours there is no “up” or “down,” or “east” or “west,” or “north” or “south,” or any direction at all. Having said that, I feel as if I ought to stop and give you a month’s vacation to think about it. But that would be of no use, for you would never be able to arrive at the truth merely by thinking. You must have facts in order to arrive at the truth. Your own senses deceive you more than anybody could do with the printed page of a book. It appears so simple for you to ask how the world began, but as soon as ever I begin to explain it I realize that you have got to learn quite a lot of facts which are necessary for an understanding. And the first of them is, What is the “sky”? As I have told you, there is no “sky” at all, but if you look out into space at night you will see the stars shining. I told you that the stars were suns, some of them a million times brighter than our sun. But what is holding them still? They are not still. They are not being held up at all. Every star is flying as fast as we are, or faster. Some are traveling so fast that a cannon-ball in flight alongside of them would appear to be creeping. Nothing is standing still in all the wide universe. Nothing is fixed; nothing stays where it is for a single second. That may be difficult, very difficult, for you to understand; but it is true, and that is why it would be of no use for me to begin telling you how the world came to be unless I first told you some of the facts of the universe which are quite well known to all scholars. When you look up into the sky at night you see the stars, thousands of them. And they seem quite a long way off, do they not? Suppose you were asked how far away you thought the stars were, I wonder what you would say. It is very wonderful to learn how distant they are, and then ask people about it, just to find out how little they know about the world they live in. Very few people know, and very few people know that they do not know. I know people who spend years and years reading silly books, and think they are “well read”; but they have no idea of what sort of a world they live in, or how far away the stars are, or how the world came to be, or how it will end. You would think that people who came to live in a little world for threescore years and ten would want to know what kind of a world it was, would you not? But they do not! Millions upon millions of them die and never dream of the glory of the miracle-world they are voyaging in, and they live complaining and die disappointed crying “Vanity of Vanities, all is vanity.” But it is not! All is miracle, and romance, and delight, and great joy if you know what life means, what the world means, and the story of it. It is a wonderful world—a world of never-enamg giory, and we ought to know about it, and realize what a wonderful thing it is to live. You know the Southern Cross, do you not? The early Spanish navigators, when they saw these stars, said that they formed a cross, and they worshipped it. But lots of people say that it does not form a cross at ail, and if you know what the stars mean you soon realize yourself that they do not form a cross in any sense of the word. That, however, has nothing to do with what I want to tell you. If you know the Southern Cross, you probably know the “Pointers” which point to the Cross. Well, one of these pointers is called by astronomers “Alpha Centauri”— that is the first star (Alpha is the first letter of the Greek alphabet) in the constellation of the Centaur. That was the first star that was measured in our hemisphere, and the distance of Alpha Centauri from Australia is—how far do you think? It is the nearest star, as far as we know; and its distance is 26,000,000,000,000 miles. I do not know how far that means; neither does any one else. Neither you nor I really understand what a billion means. I know that among the Americans a billion means—I find, when I come to write it, that I have forgotten, and it is not worth while looking it up. But you are quite safe in thinking that an American billion and an English billion are quite different things, and they are both quite beyond our grasp. Astronomers long ago gave up using ordinary figures for starry distances. The stars are too remote for our puny measuring rod of miles. They have a different measure entirely, and that is the velocity of light. D you know how fast light travels? When I first heard that light travels at a rate that could be measured, I was astonished. I had never thought about it at all, but light seemed to me to be there all the time, just as the force of gravity is. If you let a cup fall, it seems to fall at once. I did not know that a force pulled it down at a certain speed. In fact, I did not know there was such a thing as gravitation till I was a man. Light was the same sort of thing to me—a something that is, that always had been, like the air or the sun. Light travels at the rate of 186,000 miles a second. You ought to make a note of that, for it is terribly upsetting, and you ought to be quite sure about it. Light travels at the rate of 186,000 miles a second; and if the world is 25,000 miles round, then light would travel—how many times round the earth in a second? You work it out, and you will remember it. Do not take my word for anything. Find it out for yourself, and if you can show me that I am wrong I will thank you for setting me right. Suppose a ray of light left your house tonight to travel to the nearest star, how long do you think it would take to get there, travelling at the rate of 186,000 miles a second? You could never guess, so I had better tell you. It would take a ray of light three and a-half years to reach the nearest star, travelling at the rate of 186,000 miles a second. And that star is the nearest! If the nearest star is so far away, how far is the furthest? I do not know—nobody does. If you went out on the wings of light to that star Alpha Centauri, and make a dwelling there for yourself among the flaming gases of which it is composed, and then had a look for the next star, you would not be one mile closer to it, from all appearances, than when you left Australia. The distance of the next star to it might be sixty “light years” off, or a hundred “light years” away. There are stars known to science now that are distant thousands of years from us, measured by the velocity of light. Out we go on the wings of thought, to vast stars and suns without end, forever and forever —no stop, no stay, no pause through all the mighty depths of the shoreless sea; and yet there is no end, as there was no beginning! And this fathomless abyss of space is what you thought was the sky. But there is no sky. There is no end, no beginning, and no sky; yet you ask, “How did the world begin?” CHAPTER III The Speed of the Earth A short time ago I received a letter from a bush girl who was very keen to “travel.” She told me that life was so dull and grey at home, where “nothing ever happened,” that she was “sick to death” of the monotony of existence. There are thousands of people who are like that, because they never ask what sort of a place the world is, or how the world began. They never take the trouble to study things. If that girl only knew it, she could lie down on some secluded bank in the country, quite close to home, and look up at the stars and realize the stupendous fact that she was travelling at an enormous speed and seeing all the wonders of the heavens on her journey. When you lean on a fence at night and watch the stars, they appear to be very still, do they not? And this world is as quiet as the Seven Sleepers, giving no sound of life or movement. You can almost hear your heart beating, the stillness grows so deep. You would think that this world of ours, this great earth, was anchored solidly in the universe; and if you believed your senses alone, they would tell you that the world is solid and immovable. But you can never believe your senses by themselves, and that is why the world of human beings is always in trouble. People believe things that are not true, and they always have done so. This great solid world that we think so much of, and love so well, is flying through space so fast that you cannot even imagine how fast it goes. You never saw a cannonball flying, did you? There are no big guns in the bush where you live,* so of course you have never seen them. Let me tell you about one. A modern 16-inch cannon fires a shot, weighing a ton, with a velocity of 2,000 feet a second. That is so fast that your eye could scarcely see it fly. I have watched the passage of big cannon-balls that came dangerously near to me, and I watched them with deadly interest; but I could hardly ever see them, till they struck the water and went ricochetting along the surface as if the water was solid iron. Yet some of my fellows could see them, maybe because they had quicker eyes, or perhaps because they had a more vivid imagination than I had. When a cannon-shot leaves the muzzle of * The reader should bear in mind, now and later, that the author is addressing a resident in Australia, where he also lives. the gun at the rate of 2,000 feet a second, it is too fast for us to see it. Well, this great big solid earth has about seven different motions, and one of them is the motion of revolution. When you see the sun at its highest point today, at twelve o’clock, you say it is noon. And at twelve o’clock tomorrow it will be noon again. Do you understand what brings “noon”? Perhaps I ought to tell you. The sun is standing still (in a sense, but nothing in the universe is really still), and the earth turns round. Your part of the world is nearest the sun at twelve o’clock today. Very well, the earth revolves on its axis, so as to bring you round to the same place at the same time tomorrow. But if the earth is 25,000 miles round, and the world takes twenty-four hours to turn round, like that, then it must be turning at the rate of more than a thousand miles an hour! A thousand miles an hour means 1,500 feet a second. That is nearly as fast as the cannonball which we could not see. Do you believe that? It does not sound reasonable, does it? And you can lean on the gate of the homestead and think that the world is quite still. But it is not. It is revolving at the rate of 1,500 feet, or say a quarter of a mile, between two beats of your pulse. It travels at the rate of seventeen miles a minute to bi’ing noon-time to your home. How long will it take you to realize that, I wonder? You ask how the world began, but you have first got to understand something about it as it is; and that is not so easy, for our senses have betrayed us, and we have got to learn the difficult lesson that we cannot believe our eyes. When you have tried an experiment with a ball of worsted and a lamp, you will begin to understand what I am saying. Get a ball of worsted and stick a knitting-needle through it to make the “pole,” then hold it somewhere near the lamp and turn the ball round, and you will have a fair picture of the revolving earth. When you have learned that the knitting-needle must be inclined at an angle of twenty-three degrees, to represent the position of the poles properly, you will understand how difficult the subject is; but you will understand it, all the same. (Continued next month) Hrastova veja Pahič Stanko Na šolskem vrtu so zorele črešnje. Sladki sadovi so se pozibavali v lahnem vetru in vzbujali hude skomine. Bil je glavni odmor; krik in vik se je razlegal po dvorišču. Fantje so se spravili pod črešnje in poželjivo pogledovali navzgor. Tudi jaz sem bil med njimi. Oprezali so, če bi se kje pojavil učitelj, in ko ga ni bilo videti, so pričeli metati na drevesa, polna sočnih črešenj, polenca. Pogosto so zletela v zrak, če pa je z njimi padel na zemljo še kak sočen sad, so planili dečki po njem in se valjali po travi. Nisem se jim pridružil, ker se mi ni zdelo vredno, da bi se za eno samo črešnjo valjal in ruval po travi. Če bi jih bilo več, potem že. Hrup pod črešnjami je dosegel višek in fantje so pozabili na nevarnost, da bi jih kdo videl. Lojze je prinesel od nekod poleno, pravo poleno. Bila je hrastova veja, ki jo ie pobral v jarku ob cesti. Zamahnil je z njo, da jo vrže med veje. V zadnjem hipu sem ga prestregel: “Kaj si neumen! Naj pade taka rogovila komu na glavo!” Nejevoljno se me je hotel otresti, pa se me ni mogel, držal sem ga trdo. Misel, da bi veja utegnila komu pasti na glavo in ga pobiti, mi je dajala moč. Nazadnje se je Lojze vdal in mi prepustil vejo. Držal sem jo v rokah, deloma slonel na njej in opazoval dečke, kako so se pulili za sladke črešnje. Nato sem jo zalučal nazaj v jarek. Zvonilo je; na vrt se je naselila tišina. Posedli smo v razredu in vstopil je upravitelj. Mrko je bilo njegovo lice, kar ni bila njegova navada. Molčali smo, kajti zavest krivde je bila z nami. Motril sem ga z radovednostjo, kajti nisem si imel ničesar očitati. Slednjič se je upravitelj obrnil proti nam. Bridek je bil njegov glas, ko nam je očital naše dejanje. Skoraj smilil se mi je, zakaj njegove črešnje so bile korenito opustošene. Zal mu je bilo za nje, pa ne morda iz sebičnosti. Saj nam jih je leto za letom sam delil, zdaj pa je ležalo okoli dreves vse polno polomljenih vej. Žalostno jih je bilo videti. Nazadnje se je obrnil tudi k meni. “Tudi ti si bil med njimi,” je dejal, “od tebe nisem pričakoval kaj takega.” “Nobene črešnje nisem pojedel,” sem dejal. “Saj sem te videl,” je obtoževal nadučitelj, “še vejo si imel v rokah.” “Ne, vejo sem vzel . . .” Ni me več poslušal, mene pa je krivična obdol-žitev hudo zadela. Mar sem se zato pulil za vejo, da bi bil tat radi nje? Upravitelj pa se ni več menil za mene; v njegovih očeh nisem bil več poštenjak. Naslednjo uro je prišel šolski nadzornik. Tudi njemu je upravitelj potožil svojo bol in ni izvzel niti mene, ki me je stara, trhla veja napravila nepošten jaka. Klavrno so črešnje povešale svoje polomljene veje v sončni dan. "Modra" Minka Katka Zupančič Na vrtu je Minka, pa gode in gode, da stradala ona nikoli ne bode. Zemljo rahlja si in vrtec gradi; krompirje prinese, jih v zemljo vsadi. Po delu storjenem veselo si de; “Krompirčki vsajeni pečeni so že. Naj drugi bedaki sirove sadijo — pečeni krompirčki pečene rodijo . . Drawn by Evelyn Sa-bich, age 15, McKeesport, Pa. Lodge 347. ZAKLADI SVETA Riž in otroci v Zadnji Indiji Iz avstralske suše poglejmo še v kraje, kjer imajo vsaj polovico leta toliko dežja, da bi mi obupali, če bi pri nas tako zelo deževalo. Toda tam, to je v jugovzhodni Aziji, kjer se razprostira silna Prednja Indija, Zadnja Indija in pa južno-vzhodna Kitajska, jim to nič ne de; nasprotno, ravno temu dežju se morajo zahvaliti, da morejo tam živeti ljudje tako na gosto. Kajti nikjer na zemlji ne biva toliko ljudi kakor tam, kjer topli dež pod vročim soncem čara iz tal toliko hrane, da more tudi naj večje množice nasititi. Pomislite, da biva v onem delu Azije skoraj osem sto milijonov ljudi, v ostalem, mnogo večjem delu pa ne dosti nad dve sto milijonov. Pa si ta dež vsaj malo natančneje oglejmo. Južno Azijo oblivajo topdla morja in ko poleti sonce v onih krajih navpično sije, pihajo od morja proti Aziji zelo vlažni vetrovi. Ti vetrovi pihajo okoli šest mesecev in prinašajo toliko dežja, da bi stala na nekaterih krajih voda že po enem letu kar po več metrov visoko, če ne bi sproti odtekala. Zato se zbirajo tam tudi res ogromni veletoki, v katerih mrgoli rib in drugih živali, posebno krokodilov. Od vseh strani pritekajo z gora in gričev pritoki in polnijo vodne struge, poplavljajo pa tudi ravnine, kjer puščajo velike množine rodovitnega blata. Čudežna priroda iz-preminja to blato v hrano za človeštvo in živalstvo. Izmed vseh rastlin, ki uspevajo v onih vlažnih krajih, na mokrih poljih in pobočjih gričev, je najkoristnejša in najrodovitnejša — riž. Težko si je predstavljati, kolikšne ogromne množine riža pridelajo tam in koliko pomeni riž za tiste ljudi, Indijce, Burmane, Siamce, Kitajce in prebivalce Malajskih in japonskih otokov. Skoraj polovica človeštva se preživlja z njim! V pradavnih časih je bil riž še divja rastlina, neke vrste trava. Toda človek je kmalu spoznal njegovo koristnost in hranilno vrednost. Posebno gosto naseljeni Kitajci ga imajo v čislih in pomislite, da so ga tam sejali in uživali že 2800 let pred Kristusovim rojstvom, kajti takratna kitajska zgodovina pripoveduje, da ga je v počaščenje sejal sam cesar Čin-nung, a njegovi sinovi prav tako štiri druge vrste riža. Pozneje se je razširil riž po vsej južni in vzhodni Aziji, v novejših časih pa tudi po južni Evropi, Ameriki in Afriki. Kako sade riž in kako ga pridelujejo? V različnih deželah ga različno obdelujejo, v glavnem pa tako kakor v Zadnji Indiji, kjer riža toliko pridelajo, da ga pošiljajo celo v Evropo. Silovita riževa polja so velik del leta podobna plitvemu jezeru, iz katerega mole nešteti nizki jezovi, meje med posameznimi njivami. Riž uspeva po večini namreč le v — vodi. Zato kmetje vsako malo polje, vsako njivo skrbno ograde s prstenim nasipom. Od potokov in rek in rečic pa napeljejo neštete kanale, ki dovajajo vodo na polje. Nizki nasipi služijo obenem kot steze, kadar je njiva pod vodo. Toda kmet po večini ne seje riža naravnost na njivo. Povsod imajo posebne njive, kjer prav tako pod vodo goje riževe sadike. Medtem ko sadike rastejo, pripravljajo kmetje svoje njive. To vam je težko delo! V preproste pluge vprežejo vole ali še bolj počasne, pa jako krotke bivole, ki so sicer grde, dolgorogate živali, pa za težavno delo na blatnih poljih kakor nalašč ustvarjene. Orati je treba namreč tudi v — vodi. Le počasi se pomikata človek in žival po kalni vodi in počasi se obrača namočena;, težka, bolj blatu podobna, a silno rodovitna zemlja. Toda zanimivo je, da ta zemlja, ki rodi na gotovih krajih dvakrat, včasih pa trikrat na leto riž, v suhem stanju ne bi dobro služila za druge rastline. Tudi prav nič ali prav redko kdaj izmenjavajo polja in tako stotine in tisoče let rodi ista zemlja bogate letine riža. Šele potem, ko je polje preorano, napulijo riževe sadike in moški in ženske jih nato sade. Bredejo po blatni vodi in vtikajo sadike, nazaj stopajoč, v luknje po deset centimetrov narazen. Kaj hitro sedaj zazelene poplavljena polja! Pomislite samo, da rastejo začetkoma sadike kar do 18 centimetrov na dan v višino. Taka je pač moč velike toplote in rodovitne zemlje. Na Malajskih otokih, najbolj pa na Javi, se to posebno pozna, ker ne poznajo nobene prave suhe dobe. Zato zemlja neprestano deluje in prav nič ne počiva, riž pa pridelajo trikrat na leto! Če pa je narava tako naklonjena rižu, ni nič manj naklonjena plevelu. Saj vemo, kako ga je treba celo pri nas skrbno zatirati, sicer,nam bi vse prerasel in uničil. Tam v onih vročih krajih pa je seveda še vse drugače in plevel tekmuje z riževimi sadikami. Zato pač ni časa počivati in kmetje so neprestano na polju na blatnih njivah. Šele ko začne riž zoreti, se polja posuše, kajti že prej speljejo vodo drugam in polja ožive izno-va. Celo otroci gredo s starši na žetev. Riž žanjejo s srpi, pa ne vedno prav do tal, ker na str-nišče poženo za kratek čas govedo, ki se pase do naslednja oranja. Riž pa v snopih prepeljejo domov in ga razprostro na kraju, kjer so steptali ilovico ali drugače utrdili tla. Preko kupa snopov nato poganjajo v krogu bivole toliko časa, da odpade vse zrnje iz klasov. Cepcev, kakršnih se poslužuje kmet pri nas, ali pa celo mlatilnic, ne poznajo. Tem večji pa je zato kup riža in plev. Toda narava tudi tukaj pomaga. Prijazni veter je pri čiščenju riža najboljši pomagač. S košarami mečejo riž v zrak in veter odnese lahke smeti, težko zrnje pa pade nazaj na kup. Pa ni še konec dela. Za domačo rabo, deloma tudi za izvoz, je treba riž izluščiti in žene in otroci se tega dela pridno lotijo. V ta namen vzamejo zelo globoke, lesene, vrčem podobne posode in tolčejo z lesenimi bati po rižu. Zato tudi vedno slišiš zamolkle udarce od vseh strani, če se bližaš naselbinam v Burmi in drugod v Zadnji Indiji. Tako smo s polja prišli v vas in si bomo nekoliko ogledali njene prebivalce, posebno otroke. Prebivalci Zadnje Indije so Mongoli in podobni Kitajcem. Majhni so, a zato tem trdnejši; imajo žolto kožo, gladke črne lase in široke obraze. Svoje stavbe, koče, stavijo ob rekah ali vsaj blizu kake druge vode, to pa zato, ker v onih deželah ni dobrih cest in deželo pokrivaj.o velika blatna polja ali pa veliki pragozdovi. Vode pa je toliko, da je dežela preprežena z nekaterimi ogromnimi veletoki in številnimi plovnimi rekami. Zato se velik del vsega prometa vrši po vodi, ki daje narodu tudi del hrane — številne dobre ribe. Tukaj ni težko za gradbeni material, saj se povsod razprostira bujen pragozd. In kakšne koristne rastline uspevajo v njem! Neizmerno trpežno tikovo drevo in bambus rasteta povsod in ta dva ter široko listje in razna dolga, močna trava — to so predmeti, s katerimi si spretni Bur-mani, Siamci in drugi naglo zgrade koče. Tla so po večini iz klanega bambusa, kole pa, ki podpirajo streho, prepletejo z močnimi rogoznicami, spletenimi iz raznih trav, a največ zopet iz finega bambusa. Da človek lahko veselo in srečno živi brez avtomobilov, asfaltiranih cest in udobnosti, nam dokazujejo ravno te koče, v katerih živi toliko zadovoljnega ljudstva. V njih ne najdeš niti stolov, niti postelj in druge ropotije. Ljudje spe, jedo, se pogovarjajo in opravljajo druga domača dela na rogoznicah, lepo in spretno spletenih iz raznih trav in fino narezanega bambusa. Številne koče so zgrajene na trpežnih visokih kolih iz tikovega lesa, posebno tiste, ki stoje blizu vode, ob bregovih rek in jezer. Vhod v mnogotere koče je sploh mogoč samo od vode in po lestvi. Zato pa ima vsaka taka koča najmanj en čoln in prebivalci so vajeni vode kakor ribe. Zgodi se, da zna otrok prej plavati kakor hoditi, gotovo pa zna plavati vsaj istočasno, ko shodi. Malo nerodno pa je za dojenčke, ki neredkokrat štrbunk-nejo iz višine naravnost v vodo. Pa to nikogar preveč ne prestraši, kajti če drugega ni blizu, se požene za njim tudi stara mati, in ga prav tako spretno reši kakor kak mlajši človek! Otroci pa so itak vedno radi pri vodi in kaj kmalu znajo sami veslati v čolnih ter se spuščajo na njih tudi na široke reke in v divje džungle, kjer jim preti mnogo nevarnosti. A tudi teh se kmalu privadijo in jih kmalu obvladajo. Ce otroci ne gredo s starši, so tudi doma dokaj na varnem, kajti naselbine so mnogokrat obdane z visokimi plotovi. V mehka tla zabijejo vaščani dolge koničaste kole in jih obdajo s trnjem ali pa tudi namečejo in nastavijo na visoko žilavega grmičja, iz katerega mole zelo dolgi in nevarni trni. Tak plot je kaj koristen, kajti v samotni džungli si kak tiger večkrat zaželi človeške pečenke in posebno otroci so mu dobro došli. Pa tudi zli ljudje se dobe povsod na svetu. — Ponoči vhod zapro in postavijo stražo. Če se pa že dalj časa ničesar ni zgodilo, ta straža kaj rada sladko zaspi. Pa še nekaj najde tujec ob vhodih pri plotu, skoraj povsod so postavljeni vrči z vodo in kupice iz kokosovih orehov, da si more do-šlec takoj pogasiti pekočo žejo, ki jo pod vročim tropskim soncem vsakdo kmalu občuti. Kakor povsod, so tudi tamkajšnji otroci vedno veseli in prav živahni. Malčki se valjajo brez oblek po tleh ali se v varstvu odraslih igrajo pri vodi, če jih ne odnese mati s seboj na hrbtu na polje ali k drugemu delu. Toda prav kmalu znajo pomagati svojim staršem, kajti dela je vedno dovolj tudi v taki samotni vasi v džungli. Kaj čudno je, če takle mal deček, ki je komaj dobro shodil, žene s palico v roki pred seboj velike, nerodne, a dobrodušne bivole! Mnogi otroci porabijo svoj prosti čas, da se seznanijo s skrivnostmi bližnje, a mnogokrat nevarne džungle. Manj časa za zabavo in igre imajo deklice, ki se morajo prav kmalu navaditi kuhanj^ in čiščenja riža. Še prav mlade morajo že plesti preproste tkanine za obleke svojcev in če drugega dela ni, morajo hoditi po kurjavo v gozd in pa prinašati vodo od reke. Če pa je koča pri vodi ali celo nad njo, je stvar bolj enostavna: vrč se spusti v vodo in potegne zopet navzgor. Tam je tudi laže čistiti in pospravljati kočo: smeti enostavno vržejo skozi luknjo v tleh, kajti pogoste poplave itak sproti odnesejo vso nesnago. V onih deželah nekoliko bolj pazijo na preprosto izobrazbo dečkov, kakor v samotnih oazah Afrike. Zanimivo je namreč, da je v vsaki večji vasi gotovo kaka večja koča, ki jo imenujejo “samostan”, v katerem živi eden ali več budistovskih menihov. Tam zelo mnogo moških vstopa v samostane, od katerih pa so nekateri zelo preprosti. V njih žive menihi svoji veri in posvečajo precej časa tudi vzgoji mladine. V šolski sobi seveda ni nikakih klopi, ampak prekrižanih nog sede na rogoznicah učitelji in učenci in s table se uče črk. Včasih čitajo vsi obenem in vsak po svoje, zato je mnogokrat zelo glasno v teh razredih, a to je v vzhodnih deželah že tako in nihče si zaradi tega ne beli las. Menihi nauče dečke tudi pisati, a le tu in tam znajo tudi računati. Šele v novejšem času so začeli ustanavljati boljše šole in posebno v Burmi, kjer so tudi angleške šole po vaseh, se otroci nauče tudi drugega, kar rabijo za življenje in za nadaljnjo izobrazbo. Angleški učitelji ali pa domačini, ki so hodili v angleške šole, so prinesli v samotne vasi tudi nove igre. Tako izpopolnjujejo dečki svojo zabavo v gozdu in na vodi tudi z nogometom, zmaji, s sestavljanjem malih zgradb s kamenčki in izdelovanjem jadrnic, a deklice so po evropskih tovarišicah prevzele — punčke. V novejšem času je posebno priljubljena tale igra z žogo: Igralci se razvrstijo v krog in eden vrže žogo v zrak. Naloga vseh je, da obdrže žogo tolikor mogoče dolgo v zraku. Odbijati jo morajo in smejo z glavo, ramami, petami, koleni — samo z rokami ne. Pa tudi, če pade žoga iz kroga, jo mora najbližji igralec nazaj grede dohiteti in brcniti zopet v krog, kjer jo sprejmejo noge drugih igralcev. Vera zapadnoindijskih narodov je v bistvu prav lepa in mnogo lepih naukov se nauče otroci od učenih menihov. Le škoda, da je polna raznih vraž. Otroci trdno verujejo v dobre in zle duhove. Vsa priroda jim je polna teh skrivnostnih bitij, od katerih žive nekatera v drevesih, druga v lepih cveticah, ki jih je ona dežela polna. Odrasli in otroci se hočejo prikupiti škratom in vilam v gozdu in postavljajo jim majhne hišice na drevesa, da bi bivali v njih. Tako so uverjeni o njihovem življenju, da gredo vedno popolnoma (Dalje na 25. strani) Birthdays of the Great Men rnerion Ralph Waldo Emerson, eminent American essayist and poet, was born on May 25, 1803, in Boston, Massachusetts. His father was a prominent minister as were several ancestors on both sides of his family. As was to be< expected, Waldo received good preparatory and higher education and was intended to follow in the footsteps of his father. However, young Emerson decided otherwise, abandoned his ministerial career for that of freedom of thought and thus became an outstanding thinker in America. Emerson graduated from Harvard College at the age of eighteen and then taught school for three years. At the age of twenty-two he entered the divinity school at Cambridge and tivo years later received his degree. He then became pastor of the leading church (Unitarian) in Boston. It was mainly because of his ability as speaker that he received this appointment. But young Emerson was destined to “belong” to no church; he was moving toward a condition of absolute freedom of thought, and soon after left the church altogether. If he had chosen to remain in the rather easy path of orthodoxy marked out by the church, he might have continued a very comfortable life as long as he lived. Instead, he wanted to be free. It was during his early college years that Emerson distinguished himself in literature and oratory. At the age of seventeen he received three prizes: one for declamation, and two for his first two essays, “The Character of Socrates” and “The Present State of Ethical Philosophy.” He was fond of reading and writing poems, and was chosen as class day poet. At this point it is necessary to mention Emerson’s connection with a new school of thought of his day, Transcendentalism, of which he was the leader. Transcendentalism is a belief in a “system of philosophy founded on the assumption that there are certain great truths, not based on experience, not susceptible to proof, which transcend human life, and are perceived directly and intuitively by the human mind.” Two years after his withdrawal from church Emerson moved to Concord, where he lived for nearly all the half century which remained to him, and became known as the “Sage of ConcordIt was here that he wrote his first important essay, “Nature,” which contained an appeal for vigorous independence of thought. In it he urged the people to abandon looking at nature through the eyes of the past, but instead that they should enjoy an original, realistic relation to the Universe. At the age of thirty-four Emerson wrote his second great essay, “The American Scholar,” in which he teaches the gospel of independence of mind and sounds the cry of freedom. In this essay he expounds three great influences which surround the scholar: that of nature, that of the past, that of life. All of them, says Emerson, demand that he have confidence in himself. His other works include two volumes of “Essays,” “Representative Men,” “English Traits,” “The Conduct of Life,” “Society and Solitude” and “Letters and. Social Aims.” Also, lectures printed in separate form and in various combinations. It was on the lecture platform that Emerson found his great power and won his fame. The result of his withdrawal from the church was simply that he continued to preach under secular auspices, exchanging the pulpit for the lecture platform. Emerson’s poetry, though in form inferior to his prose, was perhaps a truer expression of his genius. In his two volumes of verse, “Poems” and “May Day and Other Pieces,” there are many passages of beautiful insight and profound feeling. These volumes contain such poems as “The Snowstorm,” “Ode to Beauty,” “The Concord Ode” and others. In 1866, Harvard College conferred upon him the degree of doctor of laws. Later he delivered a course of lectures before the university on “The Natural History of Intellect.” Ralph Waldo Emerson died on April 27, 1882, and his body was laid to rest in the-cemetery of Sleepy Hollow, in the grove on the edge of the village of Concord. JUST FOR FUN Mothers don’t need a special day to be remembered, because every day should be a day to do something nice for mother. But since the second Sunday in May is designated as Mother’s Day (this year May 10th), we’ll all remember our mothers just a little more with flowers or candy or some small favor. Our poem this month is dedicated to Mother. MOTHER'S DAY Who curls my hair so sofi and fine And brushes it io make it shine. Who mends my clothes and keeps them new And buys me candy., a whole stick or two. Who tells me of mistakes I do And shows me how to work them thru. By now I s'pose you must've guessed There's only one from all the rest; To do these things for me each day And never ask for any pay. It is My Mother. * * * HAPPENINGS IN MAY 1. The first permanent English settlement was established on May 13, 1607, by Captain John Smith and 100 colonists. 2. May 19, 1884—Pasteur announced discovery of cure for rabies. 3. On May 22, 1802, Martha Washington died. 4. Dante, Italy’s greatest poet, was born May 27, 1265. 5. On May 28, 1934, the famous Dionne quintuplets were born in Callender. * * * A NEW TWIST TO AN OLD RHYME Mary, Mary, quite contrary How does you Victory garden grow? With beans in a line growing tall and fine And radishes all in a row. * * * WORD PUZZLE Here are some jumbled words and if you can unscramble them three times, each time differently, then we’ll say you’re pretty good. The first word is an example: 12 3 Tema mate team meat Drea -----------— ------ --------- Lade ------------- --------- --------- Repa ------------ --------- --------- Rpta ------- -------- Acer ------------- --------- ——— S*I sfi sj* A LITTLE BIT OF SPANISH If you want to be a bit different, then instead of the ordinary way of saying “Keep ’Em Flying” say “Mantenga las Volando.” By Ernestine Jugg “All Out for Victory” say “Trabajemos por una victoria absoluta.” “Good-night friends” is “Buenos noches, amigos.” * * * PROBLEM OF THE MONTH If you had four sixes, and they would equal 42 as 6 6 6 6 = 42 How would you arrive at the answer? You can either divide, subtract, multiply or add to obtain the answer. Can you figure it out? sj; * * WORD BUILDER My first is in valiant but not in weak. My second is in win though not in peak; My third is in courage but not in fame. My fourth is in terrible but left out in shame; My fifth is in history though also in old. My sixth is in war but never in gold; My last is in every but never in free. My whole is what America will see When to this war an end there will be. * * * JOGGERFY LESSON In what countries do you place the following cities? Darwin, Delhi, Shanghai, Bengasi, Batavia, Sydney, Rangoon, Kiev? * * * TRICKSTERS Incomplete Sayings United we stand, divided we---------------. We must all hang together or we’ll all hang In unity there is--------------. Buy----------------and------------------for Victory. A chain is no stronger than its weakest-------------. * * * STAR MIX-UPS Here are names of favorite radio, stage and screen stars, but their names have become mixed-up. Can you re-arrange them correctly? (a) (b) 1. Helen Dietrich 2. Jack McCarthy 3. Tyrone Hayes 4. Marlene Power 5. Charlie Benny (Answers are on inside back cover page) Change for the Better Mike: “So the doctor advised you to take steps to cure your indigestion?” Pike: “Yes, but I am going to change doctors.” Mike: “Why?” Pike: “He wants me to take 5000 steps a day.” Yes, Indeed Tony: “Bill got his nose broken in three places.” Frank: “Why doesn’t he keep out of those places.” THE INFORMATION DESK By Michael Vrhovnik WHAT DO YOU KNOW about the Victory Campaign for new members, the Our School Achievement Contest, and the sports activities conducted by the SNPJ? Below you will find the answers to many questions pertaining to these three subjects. Be sure to read them over carefully for there might be something in them that will help you, or help you to help someone else. If you’d like to try a memory test, have your Circle Manager ask these questions at the regular meeting with everyone participating in the fun. A still better test would be to have him include the previous month’s questions, for after all, knowing the right answers for just a day, or two, doesn’t mean that you really know them. You’ve got to memorize them in such a way that, if someone were to ask you the same question next week or the following month, you will be able to give a reasonably correct answer. So here we go to the INFORMATION DESK to see what we can find that holds knowledge and, perhaps, a bit of education. By the way, do you know the meaning of the two words, knowledge and education? Before we go any farther, let’s look them up to make sure, and then proceed with the questions and answers which follow. 1. Ques.—What important patriotic and fraternal program had its beginning on March 1, 1942? Ans.—The SNPJ Victory Campaign for new members. 2. Ques.—What is the slogan of this campaign? Ans.—Help defend America by enrolling new members in the SNPJ! 3. Ques.—How is the Victory Campaign expected to help defend America? Ans.—All prizes for new members shall be awarded in form of United States Savings Bonds and Stamps. 4. Ques.—What regular prizes are offered for the enrollment of new members? Ans.—ONE DOLLAR for each new juvenile member, and from ONE to FOUR DOLLARS, depending on the amount of protection desired, for each new adult member. 5. Ques.-—What special prizes are offered as additional inducement to help Uncle Sam and the SNPJ? Ans.—The spegial prizes are for $25, $50 and $100, awarded to Lodge and individual winners as state, district and national awards, respectively. 6. Ques.—Who can be a Victory Campaign Con- testant? Ans.—Any member of the SNPJ in good standing, juvenile or adult. 7. Ques.—What procedure must be followed to qualify as a contestant? Ans.—An official entry form, furnished by the local Lodge Secretary, must be filled out and sent to the National Office along with one or more applications for new members. 8. Ques.—How many new members must a Ju- venile Circle enroll to qualify for the special national prize of $25? Ans.—The minimum quota- is 25 members, and the prize goes to the Circle with the highest gain. 9.—Ques.—Are medical examinations required for juveniles before admission into the Society? Ans.—Except in the State of Ohio, juveniles are now admitted without such examination. 10. Ques.—Besides a prize in form of Savings Bonds and or Stamps, what else does the Society offer to every contestant and new member? Ans.—An attractive Victory Campaign pin or button. 11. Ques.—Into how many campaign districts are the states grouped? Ans.—There is one for every District Vice-President on the Supreme Board—six in all. 12. Ques.—Into how many campaign districts are Victory Campaign? The National Chairman? Ans.—Michael Vrhovnik, Juvenile Director. Vincent Cainkar, Supreme President. 13. Ques.—How can juvenile members best help to make the Victory Campaign a great success? Ans.—By encouraging their friends to join the SNPJ. By explaining to them the finer things offered through membership. By setting good examples of achievement. 14. Ques.—Now that you have read the rules gov- erning the OUR SCHOOL ACHIEVEMENT CONTEST, can you quote the philosophical introduction appearing over the rules? Ans.—The answer most likely will be negative, but here it is: “To strive for worthwhile goals not for material reward, but for the enjoyment and self-satisfaction one derives from the doing, is an outstanding achievement.” 15. Ques.—How can the “Our Page” feature of the contest be adapted to your Circle? Ans.—By having the members collaborate in writing their articles and submitting them all together to the Editor with a request that, if possible, they be published on the same page. 16. Ques.—What qualification must a group of juvenile members have in order to be eligible for one of the three trophies provided in Rule Seven? Ans.—The group must be organized as a Juvenile Circle. (Continued on page 32.) OUR SCHOOL OUR SCHOOL ACHIEVEMENT CONTEST To slrive for worthwhile goals not for material reward, but for the enjoyment and self-satisfaction one derives from the doing, is an outstanding achievement. RULES FOR 1942 1. A sum of $400 has been appropriated for awards for Juvenile members who will contribute to the OUR SCHOOL ACHIEVEMENT CONTEST during 1942. 2. All contributions shall be grouped into two classes, LITERARY and DRAWINGS. The literary class shall consist of Letters to the Editor, stories, news articles, essays and poems, while Drawings shall include cartoons, games, cross-word puzzles, etc., done up in India ink. Contributions in either Class may be rejected if deemed unacceptable by the Editor. 3. Every contributor must be a member of the Juvenile Department of the SNPJ and may submit as many original contributions as is his desire. Each contribution must be signed by the member, who, also, must state his age and number of the Lodge or Circle. 4. All achievement awards shall be distributed after the conclusion of the contest. Two attractive trophies, each emblematic of the highest individual literary achievement, shall be awarded to the two members, preferably a boy and girl, chosen as the outstanding writers of the year. Similar awards shall be made to the two members who shall contrib A COUNTRYSIDE IN MAY Drawn by Louise Lekse, age 15, Roundup, Mont. Lodge 700. ute the best and most original drawings. All other prize winners will receive other valuable achievement awards designated by the Juvenile Director and approved by the Supreme Executive Committee. 5. A special feature of the OUR SCHOOL ACHIEVEMENT CONTEST shall be the "Our Page" section for Juvenile Circles. The purpose of this feature is to encourage boys and girls, who are members of active Juvenile Circles, to work together and combine their written ideas, plans, drawings, etc., under a common heading for the benefit of the whole Circle. The same rules shall apply here as to individual contributions; whether submitted individually or collectively they shall lose none of their value when winners are selected and awards distributed. 6. Any Circle can have its own "Our Page" by enclosing a request to the Editor along with the contributions, and provided that two or more members share in its composition. 7. A trophy, emblematic of the highest OUR SCHOOL group achievement, shall be awarded to the Circle, whose members have contributed the best and most original literary contributions and drawings. Trophies shall also be awarded to Circles winning second and third place honors. 8. To qualify for one of the final achievement awards, members are required to contribute to not less than six issues of the Mia dinski List during the year. Three contributions in as many different issues in the same period shall entitle one to an attractive SNPJ Junior pin. 9. The publication of contributions in OUR SCHOOL is not an indication that they will be awarded prizes; contributions appearing elsewhere, either in the Mladinski List or the Prosveta, although intended for OUR SCHOOL, will be awarded under the same rules if qualifying. 10. All contributions shall be judged for originality, choice and treatment of subject, and composition. The judges of the contest are the Juvenile Director, Editor and Supreme President. 11. Every contribution must be in the hands of the Editor by the first of the month if intended for the issue of the Mladinski List of the following month. CLOUDS AND PRECIPITATION Clouds are a mass of small droplets of water, or of ice and snow, suspended in the air. They are formed by the evaporation of water from land and sea. The warmer the air, the more moisture it can carry. When the air has all the moisture it can carry, it is said to be saturated. If saturated air is warmed, it can take up more moisture. If saturated air is cooled, it must drop part of its moisture, and we have a shower, a rain, or a dew. During the day as the air is warmed, water evaporates into the air from the moist earth, from plants, and from lakes, rivers, and other bodies of water. When the sun goes down, the earth cools off. The heat is radiated out into space through the air. The air close to the earth and to objects on the earth is sometimes cooled below its saturation point, or dew point (as mentioned above). The moisture, called “dew”, forms upon the ground, building, and other objects. If the temperature at which the saturation point is reached is below freezing, moisture will come out of the air in the form of feathery crystals of ice that we call “frost.” Many people think that frost is frozen dew. Frost is not frozen dew because the water vapor in the air changes directly to a solid (frost) as it separates from the air. Before “rain” will fall from a cloud, the droplets of water must get so large that they can no longer float in the air. If a cloud once formed by the cooling of the air is cooled still further, the air can hold less water vapor, and condensation will take place. Some of the water vapor will condense on the drops of water already present in the cloud. This will make these drops larger. As the air moves, drops of water are brought close together. When they touch, they unite and form larger drops of water. In these two ways the dorplets that make up the cloud finally get so large that they fall to the ground as rain. Sometimes raindrops fall into a layer of ice near the surface of the earth that is below freezing. When this happens, the drops freeze and fall to the ground as “sleet.” At other times, especially during summer thunder-storms, there are strong upward currents of air. Small bits of ice form in the cold air above the earth. These particles fall into air that is warmer and are covered with water. Then they are caught by the upward currents and again lifted into the cold upper air, where they freeze again. This process continues until the balls of ice that are found are too heavy to be held up by air currents. These pieces of ice then fall to the earth as “hail.” “Snow,” like frost, is formed when the saturation point of air is below freezing. The water vapor in the air forms tiny particles of ice as it separates from the air. These particles of ice grow and form crystals of snow. The very large flakes that fall in some snowstorms are really made of many crystals that happened to join together as they fell. Like rain, the snow falls when the flakes are so large that they are no longer able to float in the air. Clouds are classified according to their form and height. The three chief kinds are: 1. The “cirrus” is a light, feathery cloud fre-qrently seen streaming across the sky. They move swiftly and are high up in a wind-swept region. 2. The “cumulus” or fleecy cloud is piled up like a fleece of wool. The bases of cumulus clouds are flat and the upper parts are dome-shaped. They usually precede a local or a thunder-storm. 3. The “nimbus” is a dark, low rain cloud. There are ten other familiar clouds: 1) “Cirro- stratus”, a fine whitish veil of tangled cirrus fibers. 2) “Cirro-cumbus”, a shadowless cloud composed of little fleecy balls. 3) “Alto-cumbus”, a denser shadowed fleecy cloud of larger balls. 4) “Alto-stratus”, a thick gray or bluish veil through which the sun or moon may peer surrounded by a corona or circular band of ghostly lights. 5) “Strato-cumulus”, a still darker cloud. 6) “Cumulus”, a wool packed cloud. 7) “Fracto-cumulus”. 8) “Stratus”, a sheet of fog. 9) “Fracto-stratus”, and 10) “Cumulo-nimbus”, a thunder-cloud and a towering mountainous mass. (Source: Discussion in school and outside reading.) ZORA GOSTOVICH, 13, lodge 297, Box 531, Raton, New Mexico. * TERMS AND FACTS ABOUT COINS I’ll start in by talking of designers’ initials on United States coins. The 1864 Indian head cents and later issues have the letter “L” on the ribbon hanging from the bonnet. The 1849 double eagle and the 1854 $3 gold pieces have the “L” on the trunction of the neck for the engraver of the coins, J. B. Longrave. Another engraver was George F. Morgan, the engraver of the 1878 silver dollars. His initial “M” is placed on both sides of the coin. This shows IN TIME OF WAR Drawn by Louise Lekse, age 15, Roundup, Mont. Lodge 700. \V\n\C\yS\/; Send all your questions and requests for your Juvenile Circles to Bro. Michael Vrhovnik, Director of the SNPJ Juvenile Dept., 2657 S. Lawndale Ave., Chicago, III. He has been elected the Director of Juvenile Circles, and your Advisers should keep in touch with him. Help Make the "Information Desk" Interesting Send In Your Questions and Answers MOTHER’S DAY CELEBRATIONS I came across a poem the other day, which is very appropriate for this issue of the Mladinski List. It is entitled My Mother, and was composed by a little-known poet, James Rowe: I know a lot of mothers Who always are jyst fine; And yet I know no others Who are as nice as mine. She never fails to thank me For doing something good, And never fails to spank me When—well, just when she should. So, precious to each other, We play life’s jolly game, And, hugs or slaps from mother I love her just the same. The glorification of Mother is not new in human history, for Mother worship, with its rites and ceremonies, dates back to pagan times when the people of Asia Minor worshipped the great goddess, Rhea, as the mother of all ancient gods. The reverence held for Mother is as old as life itself, and through all the centuries of man’s struggles for existence, of sorrows and disappointments, of misery and failure, the guiding light of njpther love has lost none of its radiant brilliance. Mother’s Day, as most of you know, falls on the second Sunday in the month of May—May 10 this year. It is a day set aside by national proclamation to pay tribute to Mother, and to make those, who are not mothers, realize more fully the place which motherhood holds in our civilization and the part it is destined to play in molding its future. Nothing would be more fitting on that day than to have our Circle members, their Managers and Supervisors meet at the local lodge hall and celebrate the occasion with a program of music, recitations, a short play or skit, etc. Of course, you must invite your mothers to the celebration. Your friends, top, should be included in your invitation. And when the program is over, refreshments for everyone will add just what is needed to make the event a perfect success. Let us resolve that this coming Mother’s Day will not go by unhonored and unsung by putting on a program that will be the “talk of the community.” If you, personally, wish to make your Mother happier on Mother’s Day, do something that will make her more proud of you and keep right on making every day after that just as happy. “Our Page” Invites You The rules of the OUR SCHOOL ACHIEVEMENT CONTEST appear, again, in this issue of the Mladinski List and you are requested, once more, to read them carefully. Particular note should be made of Rule FIVE which provides for the “Our Page” section, a feature that is more or less new to the writers of the ML. In order to get the most out of this featyre, it is suggested that each Ju- venile Circle organize a news staff or committee, consisting of an editor, assistant editor and one or more reporters, the number depending on the kind of talent at hand. Organized in this manner with the Circle Manager as the editor-in-chief, and working together as a team, it will be an easy matter to fill one or two pages every month with a variety of interesting news, poems, etc. Give your page a name! You might even suggest to the Editor how you’d like to have it set up; so, come on, boys and girls, here’s your chance to have a page all of your own in our wonderful Mladinski List! Work to give your Circle its first “Our Page.” INFORMATION DESK As you were informed in the April issue of the ML, the INFORMATION DESK is intended for the use of all members who have something interesting an important to impart to its readers. We want this page to be your page, so help make it as interesting as possible. Here are a few rules by which to guide yourself. Practice care in selection of all questions. Be sure the answers you send in are correct. Do not send in more than three questions with answers a month. Your choice of subject should be of interest to hoys and girls of your own age. Make your questions and answers as brief as possible. Members, who contribute to INFORMATION DESK, are expected to wirte for other sections of the M. L. Your name and number of Circle, or Lodge, must be signed to your contribution. MICHAEL VRHOVNIK, Juvenile Director. CIRCLE II READY FOR MAY DAY EVENT GIRARD, KANS.—After not writing to this wonderful magazine for a few months, I have finally decided to wake up and start writing again. I have been busy with my school work. Our Circle is progressing rapidly. Our last meeting was held at the SNPJ hall at Franklin on March 1st. The meeting was called to order at two o’clock by our president. We had a fairly large attendance. The attendance prizes consisting of a quarter, a dime, and a nickel were won by Betty Jean Ales, Mildred Ales and Carl Ulepich. At the meeting, among other things, we also discussed the May Day celebration to be given under the sponsorship of the SNPJ federation. The event will be held at the Blue Moon Casino in Arma, on Saturday, May 2. After the business session was over, refreshments were served to all members present. Music was furnished by John Zibert with his accordion. It was also decided that our next meeting would be held at Breezy Hill on the 5th of April, Easter Sunday. Old and young were invited to attend this meeting and spend an enjoyable time with us. Pep up, Jolly Kansans, and see if we can have a better attendance at each meeting and thus improve the standard of our Circle. So—don’t fail to attend the next meeting on May 3. I am also asking you one and all to keep in mini May 2, the date of our May Day Federation celebration, at the Blue Moon Casino, Arma, Kans. DOROTHY YOGER, Secretary, R. R. 3, Box 1612, Girard, Kans. * WARREN CIRCLE 31 MEETS 2ND SUNDAY WARREN, OHIO.—This is Circle No. 31 broadcasting its news briefly. Here it is in a nutshell: First of all, as recording secretary of our group, I want to give the names of our officers. Our Circle officers are as follows: Albert Stanich, president; Edward Smuke, vice president; Frances Smuke, secretary; Dorothy Tomazin, recording secretary; Jerry Banozich, treasurer. Our Circle meets each second Sunday of the month at a place chosen at the previous meeting. We meet at private homes. By the way, this is my second letter to the M. L. I am 14 years old and in the eighth grade. I have only one pen pal, namely, Florence Rupor-cich of Chisholm, Minnesota. I hope more would write to me. I will answer all letters promptly. DOROTHY TOMAZIN, Rec. Secretary, 2285 Burton St. S. E., Warren, O. * BRIEF REPORT FROM CIRCLE NO. 1 WALSENBURG, COLO.—My report of Circle No. 1 for this month will be short. I’ll mention only a few things concerning our February meeting. On February 15, we had our regular monthly meeting. It was very interesting. After the meeting was adjourned, we had a quiz program. There were two prizes for the winners of this quiz program, one for the girls and one for the boys. The girls’ prize was won by Ann Urban and the boys’ prize was won by Joe Dernovshek. After the quiz program was over refreshments were served. I wish to add that our Circle meets regularly on the 3rd Sunday of each month at Kapusin's Hall. All members are urged to attend the next meeting. ELIZABETH DUZENACK, Circle No. 1, 709 W. 6th St., Walsenburg, Colo. * ACTIVITIES OF GOWANDA CIRCLE GOWANDA, N. Y.—This is Circle No. 40, known under the name of “Dawn Patrol”, broadcasting its latest news. Our Circle held its regular meeting on March 8. At this meeting we elected new officers. This was due to the fact that Frances Smrke, secretary, and Henry Skrabec, vice president, were transferred to the Adult Department. Bill Dekleva was elected vice president and I was elected secretary. The boys and girls of our Circle are going to buy two bonds. The boys are collecting papers and the girls are selling patriotic pictures. We are also giving fifty cents worth of Defense Stamps at every meeting. We are glad to have as our new manager Sister Rose Matekovich. Sister Rose Korbar was our manager but left due to the fact that she obtained a job. This is my first letter to the Mladinski List. I am thirteen years old and in the ninth grade at Gowanda High School. ANNE SLADICH, Secretary, 57 Broadway Ave., Gowanda, N. Y. * CIRCLE 21 PLANS NEW ACTIVITIES FARRELL, PA.—This is my first letter to the Mladinski List. I belong to the Sharon Circle No. 21. Our Circle has been very active in many programs, plays and other engagements. During the past year we traveled to many different places to entertain with our songs and dances. We went to Girard, Ohio, and Pittsburgh, Sygan, and Bessemer, Pennsylvania. Through the help of our adviser, Miss Frances Novak, our Circle has been very successful. On May 2, our Circle is having a Fourth Anniversary dance. It will be a novelty dance and the music will be furnished by a very popular orchestra, Martin Kukovich from North Irwin, Pennsylvania. As a special feature our Circle will give a program of singing and dancing, and I’m sure you’ll all enjoy it. So why don’t you all come and help us make this celebration a success? We really would appreciate it. Our regular monthly meetings are held the third Sunday of each month at the Slovene Home in Sharon at 3:30 in the afternoon. All members are urged to attend each and every meeting of our Circle. FRANK ZICKAR, Circle No. 21, 1106 Beechwood Ave., Farrell, Pa. * GOWANDA CIRCLE ON ACTIVE LIST GOWANDA, N. Y.—It has been so long since I have written to the Mladinski List, that I don’t know what it is like to be writing again. Nevertheless, I am making an attempt to write a few lines now. Our Juvenile Circle “Dawn Patrol” No. 40, formerly Vrtec of the former SSPZ, iz progressing steadily. However, most of the bigger boys are now transferring to the Adult Department in the adult lodge. And right now when we need them for a softball team! In spite of that, I am very sure that we will have a good team this year, with such players as Dick Klancer, Anthony Kota, Walter Kota, Henry Skrabec, Ralph Korbar and many others along with the writer. And next winter we are going to have a bowling team and hope to have the other Circles as opponents. Our Circle is working hard for two defense bonds, both boys and girls. The boys are collecting paper and the girls are selling patriotic pictures. We have almost two tons of paper and plan to have more! The girls are doing fine with their pictures—which all means that we haven’t anything to kick about, have we? I am sending a drawing of General McArthur for the cover of the ML and I do hope it is published. If it is published, it will be my first drawing in the ML and I’ll be proud of it. (All drawings intended for publication in the ML must be drawn in India ink on drawing paper. They must not be folded; they must be sent between two card-boards in a large envelope. Try again, Johnny.—Ed.) JOHN MATEKOVICH JR., Circle 40, 145 Miller St., Gowanda, N. Y. DETROIT CIRCLE 29 WILL STAGE PLAY DETROIT, MICH.—The Juvenile Spirits, Circle 29, wish to report that our Mother’s Day program is progressing nicely. By the time these lines will appear in the Mladinski List, in the May number, our program will be in its final stages of preparation. The play we selected for the occasion is called “Mothers On Strike.” It shows what happens when Mothers’ Local No. 1 decides to strike, because they want the position of home-keeper differentiated from the job of house-keeper. The outcome is very amusing. At our last regular meeting we elected the following officers for the year: President, Dorothy Karun; Vice President, Edbin Spendal; Secretary, Frances Zorman; Treasurer, Rose Marie Millek. Our Circle meets each other Friday at 17153 John R. Street. All members are urged to attend each meeting. FRANCES ZORMAN, Secretary 5554 French Rd., Detroit, Mich. Newspaper Notables Clip from newspapers or magazines the photographs of ten people who at the present time are well-known national figures. Number the pictures from one to ten, but do not identify them in any way. Then place them about the room where all present may see them. Number One, for example, may be that of some favorite radio star; Number Two, a famous general; Number Three, some administration leader. And so on. Give each person present a sheet of paper and a pencil and tell them to write down the names of as many of the ten as they can, opposite the figure from one to ten. Some very surprising lists will be the result. The one who writes the most accurate list should get a prize. * Reveille Sergeant: “How come you didn’t turn out? Didn’t you hear the bugle blow reveille?” Recruit: “Honest, sergeant, I’m afraid I’m going to be a flop as a soldier. I don’t know one darn tune from another!” Be Careful Barber: “Here comes a man for a shave.” New Helper: “Let me practice on him.” Barber: “All right, but be careful and don’t cut yourself.” ZAKLADI SVETA (Nadaljevanje s 7. strani) tiho mimo takih krajev, da ne bi motili teh bitij, ki so se naselila v malih hišicah. Tako je tam v daljnjih krajih južne Azije. Povsod bivajo ljudje, povsod se trudijo in trpe za vsakdanji kruh — a povsod je drugače. Le otroci so povsod veseli in prijazno oživljajo svoj kraj. Our Pen Pals Write (Naši čiialeljčki pišejo) ROSE WAS SURPRISED Dear Editor:—This is my second letter to the M. L. And boy! was I surprised to see my letter and the article on Washington, D. C., in the March issue. It seems good to see things like that printed and it makes Drawn by you proud. Zita Bozanec, 14, I meant to tell you last Worcester. N. Y., lodge 393 time that I go to Coble-skill High School, and I take the following subjects: Introduction to Business 9a, General Science 9a, Civics 9a and English 9a. The weather in New York is swell, if I must express it that way. It is beginning to look like spring (March 15). This time I am also sending a poem entitled “Spring” and I would like to see it published. Along with the poem and letter, I am sending a story, “Isaac and His Troubles.” I centainly would appreciate it if it woud also be published. By the way, if any of my cousins in Cleveland and Pennsylvania take the M. L., I wish they would also contribute a few lines. I think that will be all for this time and maybe next time I will submit a contribution in Slovene for I can read, write and talk Slovene. Until next time I remain a proud member of the Mladinski List—Rose Lipar (13), R. D. No. 1, Hyndsville, New York. (Lodge 393) * HER THIRD LETTER Dear Editor:—This is my third letter to the M. L. I have been studying hard for my six weeks test which I hope to pass. I have a niece named Janet Lee Petrovič and she belongs to the same lodge. My birthday is on the second of April. Now I am 11 years old. I was born on April 2, 1931. Mr. Snow Man had us all snowed in on March 3, and I couldn’t attend school for two days. Best wishes to all SNPJ members.—Helen Petrovič, R. D. 5, Box 362, Crafton Branch, Pittsburgh, Pa. (Lodge 166) * HELPING UNCLE SAM Dear Editor:—First of all, I must apologize for not writing sooner to this fine magazine. I will try and write more often. I was “sweet sixteen” on March 4 and I received many lovely gifts and birthday cards. We people in Jenners are doing our very best in buying defense bonds and stamps to help Uncle Sam in making of airplanes, tanks, guns ad ships. I know everyone is doing his share in buying bonds and stamps. To win this war, we must cooperate with our boys in the armed forces. I know we will help by doing our utmost for our country, and that is by buying bonds and stamps and thus helping to speed our war production. By doing this we will help make this world a better place to live in. I would like to say hello to Mary Hevalo and Eddie Kroper. Regards to all.—Sieffie Kaber (age 16), Jenners, Pennsylvania. * SAVING FOR DEFENSE Dear Editor:—I was so surprised when I saw my letter in the March issue of the Mladinski List. I do enjoy reading this fine magazine. This is about the fourth year we have been receiving the M. L., but I wrote my first letter to it last month. In our history class we started saving paper for defense. Then the principal and the superintendent called the children together and asked them to bring as much paper to school as they possibly could. Now we are bringing as much rubber as we possibly can, too. Our school is doing all it can in defense work. I hope my letter will be printed. Best regards to one and all.—Margaret Barbo, Box 272, LAnse, Mich. (Lodge 753) * OUR BIG FLAG Dear Editor:—I am nine years old, and in the fourth grade. My teacher’s name is Miss Dorothy Townsend, and she is a nice teacher. This is my first letter to the Mladinski List, but I am going to write often, now. Here is a verse about Our Flag: See our big flag! Up, up it goes! Red as a rose, white as the snow. Blue as the sky, long it may fly! My best regards to all.—Eva Frances Yezek, 49 Palmer St., Gowanda, N. Y. * "EXTRA LONG LETTER" Dear Editor:—I am sorry that I didn’t write a letter for the March issue of the Mladinski List. But I decided to write an extra long letter for the May number, because I also failed to write one for the April issue. I was 12 years old in February and I received many beautiful gifts for my birthday; also, I had a birthday party. In March, I had the measles and I couldn’t answer my pen pals’ letters. I hope they will forgive me. I had a pen pal from Scio, but I am sorry to say her letter was misplaced and I have lost her address. If she reads this letter, I wish she would send me a card with her address on it, and I will gladly answer her. In the February M. L. I mentioned the names of two of my friends. I am happy to say that Helen Curtis, age 17, received seven letters from pen pals through this fine magazine. But I am sorry to say that Mary Curtis has not received any. Will some pen pals please write to her. She is a very nice looking girl, she is 14 years old and is in the eighth grade. She is a blond, has blue eyes, and is about five feet and four inches tall. Her address: Mary Curtis, Box 363, Piney Fork, Ohio. I would like to say hello to my pen pals Elma Pazell, Dorothy Miklavčič, Barbara Hwastow, Rose Vicich, Dorothy Vilcnek and Helen Tatier. I don’t think I ever saw any of my pen pals’ letters in the M. L. lately. Come on, pen pals, show the readers that you can write! 1 womd like to have some post-card pen pals. Please write to me. Best regards to all.—Dorothy Skerbelz (12), Box 7, Piney Fork, O. (Lodge 176) * MARGARET'S "FIRST" Dear Editor:—This is my first letter to the Mladinski List. I am 12 years old, I have brown eyes and brown hair, and I am 5 ft. tall. I sure would like to have some pen pals. Skating is my favorite winter sport. Swimming is my favorite summer sport. I also like bike riding. Regards to all.—Margaret Bobish, Box 41, L’Anse, Mich. * LIKES JOKES AND RIDDLES Dear Editor:—I thought it was about time I wrote to this fine magazine again. I am 14 years old and in the eighth grade. I have brown hair, hazel eyes and I am about five feet tall. My hobby is collecting movie stars. My favorite stars are Betty Grable, Jean Parker, Ronald Reagan and Tyrone Power. I like to read the poems, jokes, and riddles which are published in this magazine, and I also like to read the pen-pal letters. I want to say hello to my pen pals, Norma Scavina and Naomi Kranker. I wish Naomi would answer my letter soon. I would like to have some pen pals from ages 13 to 14. I promise to answer all letters promptly. Best regards to all.—Irene Magayna, Box 37, Vestaburg, Pa. (Lodge 288) * ASKS FORGIVENESS Dear Edito r:—In the March issue of the ML, I noticed one of my favorite pen pal’s first letter. I hope her request for pen pals from Cleveland was answered. Let’s see more' of your letters in the M. L., M. Hevalo. I still have a lot of pen pal letters to answer. I doubt I’ll be able to answer them. So to you pen pals whose letters and cards I didn’t answer, please don’t be disappointed. I am still hoping to receive at least one picture-postcard from each and every pen pal that I have. Also from you pen pals that I am not familiar with. My collection of post-cards is increasing very slowly. I repeat I hope to get a batch of picture postcards from all of you pen pals. Collecting cards is my favorite hobby. Perhaps in the near future I’ll be able to answer all of your cards and letters. I want to thank Helen Mance from Coceburg, Pennsylvania, for the card she sent me. I want to say hello to all of my pen pals, including my new pen pal from Canada, Margaret (Margie) Dalesan- du, Helen Mance, Rudolph Bellan, Frank J. Turkal, and Steffie K. Before I close a word to my pen pals. I want to thank all of you pen pals that wrote to me. I’m very sorry I can’t answer all of your letters. 1 hope you all understand my situation. I would like very much to receive a snapshot from you pen pals. If that is impossible, please send it in to the M. L. I will not forget you pen pais, n any of you care to write to me, please drop me a card or a letter. I will appreciate it very much. Enclosed you will find my snapshot which was taken on September 20, 1941. All of you pen pals that asked me for a picture, and if you are disappointed, I don’t blame you. I certainly hope it won’t spoil the magazine for this month. I hope I’ll receive a batch of cards. I have pen pals from different states, but none from Texa Florida, and California. I have mostly all girl pe:i pals. I would like very much to correspond with boys between the ages of 17 and 19. I will answer letters from boys, from far and near. I also want to thank Louise Lekse for the gifts she sent to me. So long to each and every pen pal, until I write again.—Edward William Kroper (age 15), P. O. Box 384, Yukon, Pa. * THREE RIVERS, MICHIGAN Dear Editor:—This is my first letter to the Mladinski List. I enjoy reading it very much. I wanted to write to this magazine many times before. I am ten years old and I am in the 6th grade. I like to go to school. Besides my school work, I am taking cornet lessons and enjoy it very much. At our school, I am on patrol every week and also treasurer of our school Book Club. I have a sister, Aria Faye, 3 years old. She likes to sing and dance. We haven’t lived in Michigan very long. Our former home was in Kansas. When we made our trip to Michigan, we stopped in Chicago for a two weeks visit. We had a very nice time. During our stay in Chicago, we also visited the SNPJ building. We were very much interested in seeing it and were favorably impressed by its offices and the personnel. My favorite hobby is to draw pictures free hand. I am sending in one drawing. 1 hope it will be published. Best regards.—John Sarley Jr., 1100 7th St., Three Rivers, Michigan. * RED CROSS PLAY Dear Editor:—I must confess that I have been rather lazy these past months. But I now promise that I’ll write more often. I am sending in some jokes which I hope will be published. Our school is giving a play for the Red Cross, which I hope will be a big success. Our class is giving a school play, too. I am one of the characters. I enjoy reading the Mladinski List and working the Just for Fun puzzles very much. I wish some pen pals would write to me. I have several of them. Best regards to all.—Agnes Marzel (age 12), R. R. 1, La Salle, 111. (Lodge 98) FROM BROOKLYN, N. Y. Dear Editor:—This is my first letter to the Mladinski List. I am eleven years old and in the 6B grade. My teacher’s name is Miss Kuhn, and she is a very good teacher. My favorite subject is Spelling, and my favorite sport is roller skating. I have a brother who is five and a half years old and he goes to kindergarten. We all belong to the SNPJ lodge 580 in Brooklyn. How about some of my cousins from Uniontown, Pennsylvania, writing to the M. L. This is my first letter but it will not be the last. I would like to have some pen pals from different parts of the West. Best regards.—Geriruda D. Mikoley, 14 Menahan St., Brooklyn, New York. * A FAMILY OF 10 SNPJers Dear Editor:-—I am 10 years old and I am in the fifth grade at the Taylor school in South Chicago. My teacher’s name is Mrs. Shea, and I sure like her. My name is Frank Kosic Jr. Our family consists of 10 persons and we all belong to the SNPJ. We all like to read the Mladinski List. Four of us go to Taylor grade school. My sister Lucille is 16 years old and is a senior in high school; she will graduate in February, 1943. Dolores is 12 years old and will graduate in February from grade school. I would like to have some pen pals from everywhere. I will close now, hoping to hear from someone soon. Regards to all.—Frank ("Sonny") Kcsic, 9758 Ave. J., So. Chicago, 111. (Lodge 8) * ENJOYS READING LETTERS Dear Editor:—I am twelve years old and in the eighth grade. Our entire family is in the SNPJ. I can do many things, most of all I like to sing, dance, acrobatic dancing, and especially twirl the baton. I have many friends, and we have a park about two blocks away where we play. Our school is only a block away. It is called Taylor school. I like to read other children’s letters, stories and jokes. I will be glad to have pen pals and I hope both boys and girls would write to me. I will close by repeating that I would like to have some pen pals. I know I’ll enioy reading their letters and I will answer each letter. My best regards to one and all.'—Dolores Kosic (age 12), 9758 Ave. J., S. Chicago, 111. ♦ MOTHER NATURE IS GRAND! Dear Editor:—Spring has finally come. Soon flowers will bloom, trees will bud, and everything will be lovely again. We can hear the birds sing, the bees buzz and it sounds wonderful. Mother Nature sure can make things look grand! Well, school will soon be out. In some way I’ll be glad. Then we can go back to our summer sports. Mother will be able to start a garden. She is going to plant celery, parsley, carrots, beets, radishes, endive, lettuce, tomatoes. Also, flowers such as petunias, chrysanthemums (mums), cos- mas, marigolds, astors, and so many others. She also has roses of different colors, and carnations. She has a 5 ft. cactus plant and orange plants. Now for pen pals. I would like to have some pen pals from all over the United States. It is my hobby and I am keeping it up. Best wishes and luck to everyone.—Caroline Tavzelj (age 12), 1425 McKinstry, Detroit, Mich. (Lodge 518) * FLORENCE WAS SURPRISED Dear Editor:—This is my second letter to this fine magazine. I certainly was surprised to see my first one printed, and aiso my poem . Last time I promised that the next letter would be in Slovene, but I thought I’d postpone it until next time, for I’m probably late now. 1 was very much surprised also that I received two letters in succession from two girls. They were Helen Zadeli from Jerome, Pennsylvania, and Helen Horcar (if that is the way you spell it) from McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania. Everyone here is all excited over the big event that is on its way. Every year, students at C. H. S. put on an annual gym demonstration. We seniors are going to square dance. Other features are marching, tap dancing, tumbling, apparatus, etc. With that I will close and until next time I remain—Florence Lipar (17), R. D. 1, Hyndsville, N. Y. (Lodge 393) * VIOLET HAS 9 SUBJECTS Dear Editor:—This is my first letter to the Mladinski List. I now regret that I haven’t written to it before. I am thirteen years old and in the eighth grade at Stewart school. I have four teachers and nine subjects. They are: spelling, arithmetic, history geography, English, health, art, music, and literature. I make good grades in school and like school fairly well. Our teacher has started a First Ai1 Class in our room. We all like it very much anr1 learn many interesting things: to tie bandages, treat wounds and injuries, etc. I will close now but I hope to write more next time. I also hope some pen pals would write to me. Best wishes to all.—Violet Ocepek, Box 6. Library, Pennsylvania. (Lodge 386) * M. L. IS A FINE MAGAZINE Dear Editor:—This is my first letter to the Mladinski List. It is a very fine magazine to read. I am a sophomore in North Versailles Township High School in Allegheny County. I have taken the commercial course and some of my subjects are—typewriting, history, English, biology, and geography. I read all the letters and puzzles and I am sending in some scrambled names of birds, and also a picture for the cover (I wish it will be published). I am sorry I didn’t write sooner and will try to write every month or at least send in a drawing for the month. Fraternally yours—Edward Ben-vin (ase 16), Vermont and Congress Sts., McKeesport, Pa. (Lodge 347) "THIS BELOVED MAGAZINE" Dear Editor:—I am again writing to this beloved magazine, the Mladinski List. Time flies by so quickly that it seems that I am neglecting to write to the Mladinski List. That is, I am putting it off until the last few days. But from now on I am going to write regularly before the first of the month in order that my letter will reach your office by the first of each month. If I don’t find anything of mine in the M. L., I don’t care to read it so much. It really does delight me when I read my articles in our magazine. School will probably be out in May, and then we’ll have a long vacation. Spring is here in all its glory, and am I glad! I have planted a lot of flowers and by the time this letter is published, they will be out of the ground and will be in full bloom. I am hoping to have a real pretty bed of assorted flowers. Down here at Camp Chaffee the soldiers are coming in all the time. My brother, Leo, worked four months in the Ft. Smith Postoffice. He has been transferred to the Camp Chaffee Postoffice. He comes home every Sunday and we certainly are glad to see him. Best regards to all.—Annie Čretnik (age 15), R. 2, Box 425, Ft. Smith, Ark. * SCHOOL'S ALMOST OUT Dear Editor:—I am writing to this wonderful magazine again. I didn’t write in the April issue and I was very sorry because I didn’t. School will be out soon and then I will have enough time to write to the ML every month. Spring is already here and it is very close to summer now. I will go fishing, play softball and do other things. Early in spring our school went on a trip. The camp down here is almost finished. The school has a defense room. We sold about 25 old tires and about 500 pounds of paper. We got the money in stamps. The paper and tires netted us $7.50. The Jenny Lind girls played Greenwood girls on March 20 and the former won by one point. But now everything is green outside. Even the mountains are green and the gardens are pretty now. I will close now. Best regards to all.— Willie Čretnik (age 11), R. 2, Box 425, Ft. Smith, Ark. (Lodge 24) * HER TWO HOBBIES Dear Editor:-—Here is my letter to the M. L. I am 14 years old, and I am in the eighth grade. This is my first letter to the M. L. I am a brunette, five feet and three inches tall. Some of my hobbies are—collecting movie stars and stamps. I like to ice skate and swim, also roller skating. I like to listen to the “Thin Man.” This is one of my favorite programs. We had a big doing here in Milwaukee recently. I belong to a singing society, and I play piano. Best regards to all. —Bessie Theresa Zajec (age 14), 1600 S. 1st St., Milwaukee, Wis. (P. S.: I also would like to have some pen pals. I promise to answer each letter promptly.) HER FOURTH LETTER Dear Editor:—This is my fourth letter to the Mladinski List. As I said before, this magazine is a very fine juvenile monthly for the young people. I am hoping to receive many post cards from you pen pals. I want to say hello to the following pen pals: Jenny Mayich, Rose Manley and Rose Pierry-nowski, all three from Sydney, N. S., Canada; Dorothy Pivac and Doris Munari from Superior, Wyo.; Rose Lipar from Hydnsville, N. Y., and Anne Ales. Hoping to hear from you real soon, Anne. My girl friend, who is not a member of the SNPJ, would like to receive letters from you pen pals. She promises to answer all letters promptly. Her name is Helen Repnik, Box 193, Yukon, Pa. She is 17 years old. She would prefer to have pen pals from the Western states, Texas included. I will close now, hoping to receive a batch of pictured post cards. I am also hoping to hear from new pen pals. My best regards to all M. L. readers and writers.—Frances Jean Kroper, P. O. Box 384, Yukon, Pa. (P. S.: To all pen pals whose letters I did not answer yet: I will try to answer them as soon as possible.) * FROM STRABANE, PA. Dear Editor:—This is my first letter to the Mladinski List. I hope to contribute more letters. I go to the Alexander School. I am in the seventh grade, and I am 15 years of age. My teachers’ names are: Mrs. Heville, Mr. Smith, Miss Pod-boy, Miss Giffin and Mrs. Jones. I would appreciate it more if other children in Strabane would write in the M. L. Recently, we moved from Latimer Ave. to View Ave. We have been very busy lately. When we get settled, I will again write to this magazine.—Dorothy Yonack (age 15), Box 104, Strabane, Pa. * SPRINGTIME IN MINNESOTA Dear Editor:—Here I am again, writing to the ML on March 21, the first day of spring. And what an awful day it started with! We are having a big snowstorm, with high winds blowing the snow around. Joe, my brother, is stationed at Fort Leonard in Missouri, out in the Ozark hills. I hope this war situation changes in the near future. I hope the U. S. will win the final victory. I wish to say hello to Martha Gasser as well as to all my other pen pals. Only one more month of school left, but that also means hard examinations. I’ve run out of words for this time. Best wishes to all.—Florence Alich (age 15), Box 607, Aurora, Minn. (Lodge 111.) * "THE MOST INTERESTING MAGAZINE" Dear Editor:—I think the M. L. is the most interesting juvenile magazine there is. This is my first letter to this fine magazine, but not the last. I have two pen pals; namely, Rose-Mary Marin- sek, of Gallup, New Mexico, and Josephine Vidmar of Wisconsin. I wish Josephine would please answer my letter. I should like to say hello to all my pen pals. I have seen only one letter in the ML from Gowanda, and that one was from Agnes Vončina. Good work, Agnes. Keep it up. Gowanda, please wake up! I am in the seventh grade in the Gowanda High School and have eight teachers. I am in a volleyball tournament and we play every Friday. The name of our team is the “Blue Birds.” I am sending in a poem and I hope it will be published. I have a brother in the Air Corps in Florida. He has been in the army for two and one half years. He was just promoted to Sergeant 1st Class Air Mechanic. He has been in the Florida Air Corps very long and may be transferred up north soon. I would like to have some pen pals and I will answer all letters promptly. A proud SNPJ member—Dorothy Marie Kerne (age 12), 87 Beech Street, Gowanda, New York. (Lodge 728). * ENJOYS READING THE M. L. Dear Editor:—This is my first letter to the Mladinski List, which I enjoy reading every month. I can hardly wait till the month passes by to receive the next issue. I enjoy reading the Pen Pal Section most of all. I am fourteen years old, and a freshman plus at La Salle-Peru High School where I am taking a commercial course. My hobbies are collecting stamps and match tops. I am also trying to get together a collection of picture post-cards from different states. I would like to have some pen pals. Best regards to one and all.—Mildred Derzieh, 242 Seventh Street, La Salle, Illinois. (Lodge 337) WILL MAKE UP FOR LOST TIME Dear Editor:—I am sorry to say this, but I am almost ashamed of myself for not writing to this fine magazine, and I—belonging to the SNPJ for such a long time, too. However, I am going to make up for it and try to write every month. I am a junior in high school and will be seventeen in May. My hobbies are collecting news articles, college songs, and pictures of Ray MacDonald and Jane Russell, Hollywood stars. My favorite sports, although I can’t take part in them, are boxing, football and horse racing. Our town had its first blackout and it was a great success. Our high school sells defense stamps. Now how’s that for being “in there pitching”? I would like to have some pen pals from all over and I promise to answer each one promptly. That’s all. Best regards to all Mladinski List readers.—Virginia Drazenovich, Bridge Street, West Brownsville, Pa. (Lodge 759) * "JUST THE FOUR" Dear Editor:—This is my second letter to this fine magazine, which I like to read very much. I have four pen pals already, and I wish to thank them for writing to me. I will continue to answer their letters as promptly as possible. However, I do not want any more pen pals. Just the four. They are Grace Smolich, Dorothy Tomazin, Ethel Switko and Marjorie Stuhken. I wish to thank them again very much. My best regards to all.—William Koren, R. D. No. 5, Washington, Pa. (Lodge 617) Hs GLORIA'S INTRODUCTION Dear Editor:—This is my second letter to the M. L. I wanted to write sooner, but I just couldn’t find time to do so. Here is my introduction: I am graduating from grammar school sometime in May. I play the piano a little, and my hobbies are: ice-skating, swimming, bicycling, drawing, reading, dancing and singing. Recently I sang on the air. I am a constant reader of the M. L. I like the movies and the comic-book, “Calling All Girls.” I have dark hair and blue eyes. My hair is short now, although last year, before it was cut, it was 36 inches long. I weigh 120 pounds and am very tall for my age, 5 feet and 5 inches. My favorite radio programs are, Lux Theater, Bob Hope and Red Skelton. I lived across the Mississippi River, in St. Louis, for 8 years. Last summer I moved back here to Madison, Illinois, where I was born. My mother sells defense stamps at her work, in St. Louis. I have a lot of fun and go to parties, although I still keep up to a high place in school. I would like to have many pen pals and I promise to answer promptly. My best regards to one and all. Gloria Lou Naumhofj, 1111 Madison Ave., Madison, 111. (Lodge 230) OUR SCHOOL (Continued from page 22) HISTORICAL EVENTS IN MAY May 1,1898—Dewey’s Victory at Manila. May 3, 1765—First Medical School in U. S. A. May 9, 1926—Richard Byrd flew over North Pole. May 11, 1926—Amundsen reached North Pole. May 16, 1860—President Lincoln nominated. May 17, 1790—Benjamin Franklin died. May 21, 1881—U. S. Red Cross founded. May 25, 1827—Friction matches invented. May 30, 1914—Decoration (Memorial) Day. ANNIE ČRETNIK, 15, lodge 24 R. 2, Box 425, Ft. Smith, Ark. * JUST THREE JOKES A sailor recounting his experiences to a dear old lady. Old Lady: “But what rank did you hold?” Sailor: “Ship’s optician, lady.” Old lady: “Why, I never heard there was such a rank in the navy. What did your duty consist of, my boy?” Sailor: “Scraping the eyes out of the potatoes, madam.” Sammy: “Ma! Ma! I got a hundred in school.” Mother: “Fine! What subject did you get a hundred in?” Sammy: “Two—60 in readin’ and 40 in spellin’.” Immigration Official: “Name?” Chinese Immigrant: “Sneeze.” Officer: “Is that yQur Chinese name?” Chinese: “No, Melican.” Officer: “Then let’s have your native name.” Chinese: “Ah Choo.” MILDRED DERZICH, 14, lodge 337 242 7th Street, La, Salle, 111. * FAMOUS "FIRSTS" 1524—Kidnaping recorded July 8. 1588—Map of a city of St. Augustine, Fla. 1635—Cod liver oil described by Thomas Morton. 1651—Lead mined in Connecticut. 1712-—Calico printery established in Boston, Mass. 1728—Shorthand book printed by S. Keimer in Pa. 1761—Greenhouse in New York. 1796—Cook Book, Hartford, Conn. 1804—Printing ink successfully manufactured. 1808—Brushes manufactured in Medfield, Mass. 1811—Exports to exceed imports. 1826—Telescopes, reflecting type. 1849—Safety pins patented. ROSIE J. MATKO, 15, lodge 560, Rt. 1, Box 244, Hoquiam, Wash. * A QUIZ Porto Ricans are citizens of what country? Answer: The United States. Who invented the first successful fountain pen? Answer: L. E. Waterman. Did Babe Ruth ever hit 60 home runs in one year? Answer: Yes, in 1927. What is the highest city in the world? Answer: Phari, Tibet, altitude 14,300 feet. Who is said to have started the fashion for bobbed hair? Answer: Irene Castle. What is kapok made of? Answer: The silky fibers about the seeds of the silkcotton tree. How does the movement of a cat’s jaw differ from that of a dog’s? Answer: A cat’s jaw moves up and down, not sideways, a dog’s moves in either direction. How many pairs of legs do insects possess? Answer: Three pairs. ROSIE J. MATKO, 15, lodge 560, Rt. 1, Box 244, Hoquiam, Wash. * PENGUINS Ages ago a penguin could fly as well as any other sea-bird, but today its wings are short paddle-like flappers, entirely useless for flight. Generation after generation failed to use its wings fo1' flying, and so in the course of long evolution those wings became very small and stiff and lost their long feathers until now they cannot be moved at the middle joint like the wings of flying birds. But the penguins became wonderful divers and swimmers, using their wings one after the other as you would paddle a canoe, and steer with their feet. They stand erect and flat footed, often drawn up in long regular files, like soldiers, and they walk with a tread so stately and dignified that the sight is irresistibly comical. In the species known as the king penguin, the resemblance to man is heightened by the coat of grayish-blue which covers the back, set off by the black plumage of the head and the white of the breast, with yellow cravat at throat. Penguins feed on fish and crustacca, they havr few enemies, the leapord-seal or sea-leapord, and the worst the McCormicks skua. The penguins belong to the southern hemisphere, none extending farther north than Galapagos islands, while the majority do not reach the tropics. ROSIE J. MATKO, 15, lodge 560, Rt. 1, Box 244, Hoquiam, Wash. Dolga pravda (Narodni motiv) Petelinček in putka sta šla v leskovje nabirat lešnike. Kar zagleda putka na veji lep lešnik in reče petelinčku: “Tistegale mi utrgaj in vrzi sem doli.” Petelinček se skočno požene na vejo, utrga lešnik in ji ga vrže. Toda nesreča je hotela, da ji je padel ravno v oko. Putka seveda v jok: “Le počakaj, boš že videl! Oko si mi zlil.” Petelinček ko j najde izgovor in pravi: “Tega nisem kriv jaz, ampak veja, ki me je ošvrknila.” Mislite, da je bila s tem krivda dognana? Le poslušajte, kako so se izgovarjali vsi povrsti. Veja je rekla: “Da imam še mehke zelene liste, te ne bi ošvrknila, toda koza me je prejle osmukala. Ona je kriva.” Koza: “Kaj sem hotela! Lačna sem bila, ker me pastir ni napasel.” Pastir: “Jaz bi te že bil napasel, če bi mi dekla skuhala prej kosilo.” Dekla: “Kako naj kuham kosilo, ko mi mlinar še ni zmlel moke.” Mlinar: “Volk mi je izpil vso vodo, nisem mogel mleti. Volk je vsega kriv.” Volk: “Moral sem piti, ker sem bil žejen. Zakaj mi je sonce sijalo v golt?” Sonce se je nasmejalo in dejalo: “Tako mi je ukazal Bog.” —A. S. I am to see that the world is the better because of me and to find my reward in the act. —Emerson. Introducing Book Friends Long May it Wave, by Leslie Thomas. This recent timely book tells us how our national standard came into existence. A flag is not just a piece of cloth with some designs put on it just to please someone’s fancy. A flag has a profound meaning. It is a symbol which joins men together to promote their welfare, and when the occasion arises, to march against the foe who would destroy their homes. Man, in long ago times, made emblems to describe the tribe to which he belonged. He chose animals and birds which would best symbolize his tribe. Animals and birds herd or flock with their own kind; some animals get together in packs to hunt, or to defend themselves. Let us say that men, who lived in tribes hunting and fishing together, might take for their emblem, the beaver, if they were peaceful and industrious. If they were proujd of being fierce, they might take the wolf; or perhaps they might take the crow as a sign that they were clever and wide awake. To them the tribal emblem, or totem, was a rallying sign. A reminder that they belonged together; and it was a warning to their foes that together they would always stand. The earliest flag on this continent was flown by the Aztec empire. This empire was the early American Indian civilization that existed before the white man settled here. Their capital was where Mexico City is situated today. In 1519, a Spanish conqueror, Hernando Cortes, who had burned up his ships so that none of his followers could return to their homeland, fought with the Aztecs for two years before he defeated them. On the banner carried by the Aztecs were the serpent and the eagle. These symbols are significant, because in the early colonial days, the soldiers of the American Revolution chose these very symbols to adorn the banners under which they marched out to battle against the red-coats. There are a number of reasons why the early patriots finally decided to use the red, the white, and the blue to design their flag. Possibly, the biggest reason for adopting these particular colors is that the pioneers had become so accustomed to them while they liver under the British flag. I think, perhaps, we should know a little something about the flag of England, for after all England was the mother-land of our ancestors. The first flag of England was called the St. George’s Cross. It consisted of a red cross on a white field. Later, when Scotland \yas joined to England, the Scotch flag—St. Andrew’s Cross—was added. This flag had a white cross diagonally placed over a blue field. And still later, the flag of Ireland—the red diagonal cross of St. Patrick, was also added to the flag. You have but to look at the Union Jack to see how cleverly these three crosses were combined to make a rather striking banner. Another reason why red, white, and blue, were popular coloi's for flags is that they are easier for seamen to distinguish on the seas. When the colonies declared their independence from Great Britain on July 4, 1776, the people pere confused as to which flag should become their national standard since many states and armies carried their own independendently designed banners. Nearly a year after the Declaration of Independence was signed, the Congress of the United States proclaimed that our flag was to have thirteen stripes alternating red and white to signify the thirteen original states; and that thirteen white stars (formed in a circle so that none of the stars came ahead of the rest) on a blue field was to symbolize the union. The next great change made in our flag was in 1818, after twenty states had joined the union. The stars signifying the union had been formed into a single Great Star, as it was called. For a number of years this flag was hoisted over public buildings and army posts, but in the Navy the twenty stars were set in parallel lines. And it is the naval usage which prevails to this date. Finally, in 1912, the forty-eighth state joined the union; and so today we have forty-eight stars on a blue field symbolizing the forty-eight states, and thirteen alternating red and white stripes for the original thirteen colonies. This is some of the story of the flag which the book gives us. but the flag will have a bigger story for us in time to come. Can this emblem of the idea that all men are equal survive? Will it be able to lift up men’s eyes and cheer their hearts on the far flung battle-fields of this war? Oh yes, men in Jugoslavia, Soviet Union, the Republic of China, they hail it, but can the inheritors of the greatest revolution—the American Revolution—proudly wave it? Well, if all of us can do half the justice to this emblem that Mac-Arthur and his men have done, victory is ours. Let’s fly old glory on every occasion custom demands, let’s be proud of our flag—symbol of freedom. LONG MAY IT WAVE! THE INFORMATION DESK (Continued from page 10.) 17. Ques.—What outstanding sports event of the SNPJ was staged in Milwaukee on April 24-25-26? Ans.—The 9th National Bowling Tournament. 18. Ques.—Where will the National SNPJ Day be held this year? When? Ans.—Cleveland, Ohio, on September 5-6-7. 19. Ques.—What sports event is the major attrac- tion at the National SNPJ Day? Ans.—The play-offs for the SNPJ softball championship. 20. Ques.—In what sports are the following terms used: stymie, foot-fault, squeeze play, and puck? Ans.—Golf, tennis, baseball and hockey. DIZZIE DOT DRAWING PUZZLES By HARVEY FULLER What is this our little farmer is looking at with such great admiration? Draw a line from dot to dot and you will soon see. EDITOR'S NOTE Vera, Ann B., Worcester, N. Y.—Your snapshot cannot be reproduced. One of the faces is a perfect “blackout.” Can’t you send us a decent photo of yourself? To our artists: We are still receiving the drawings with no name, age, address and Lodge No. on the reverse side in spite of all pleadings we have made. In future all such drawings, no matter how good, will be disregarded. Every piece of drawing MUST have the name, age, address and Lodge No. (or Circle No.) of the author on its reverse side. Is this such a terrible ordeal? And another warning! Do not copy! Sooner or later we will find out, and all such cheaters will be excluded from the Mladinski List columns forever after. Be honest with yourself and with us! W. S., Herminie, Pa.—“Our Page” is the idea of our new Juvenile Director, Bro. Mike Verhovnik. He thinks such a page would serve our Circles for short contributions in regard to their activities and on other matters. Mother’s Day May gives us the day on which we honor our mothers. This day is set aside out of all the days of the year to remember all the mothers of of the world, and especially our own. Shower your mother with gifts of love on this day. Present her with something you know she has been wanting. Surprise her with a bouquet of beautiful flowers. Gladden her day and then, when it is over, remember to go on giving her those lit- tle gifts of love and affection which she so fully deserves. Remember there is no mother in the whole wide world quite like your own. And try to remember your mother every single day of the year, not only on Mother’s Day. OUR FRONTISPIECE The front cover drawing of this issue of the Mladinski List was sent by William Smolich, Herminie, Pa., his age and lodge affiliation not given. ANSWERS TO PUZZLES ON JUST FOR FUN PAGE: Word Puzzle: Drea read dear dare Lade lead deal dale Repa pear pare reap Rpta part trap rapt Acer acre race care Problem of the Month: Divide 6 by 6 to equal 1, add 6 to equal 7 and then multiply by 6 to equal 42. Word Builder: VICTORY Joggerfy Lesson: Darwin, Australia; Delhi, India; Shanghai, China; Bengasi, Africa (Libya); Batavia, Dutch E. Indies; Sydney, Australia; Rangoon, China; Kiev, Russia. Incomplete Sayings: fall; separate; strength; bonds and stamps; link. Star Mix-Ups: 1—Helen Hayes; 2—Jack Benny; 3—Tyrone Power; 4—Marlene Dietrich; 5—Charlie MacCarthy. Help in the Victory Campaign! Beauty on the Junk Pile Take it easy, boys, don’t push. Nobody’s thrown these lovely creatures on the scrap heap. Bernice Walker and Mary Smith are volunteer workers in the “Scrap for Victory Week” campaign in Pittsburg, Cal. That discarded buzz saw makes a pretty nifty hat for Mary, while Bernice toys around with a couple of practice bombs once used by the air force. (Central Press)