8 THE ACORN At a White House Conference on Dependent Children, it was unanimously resolved to urge upon congress the desirability of establishing a children's Bureau in one of the executive departments. The president is strongly in favor of the proposal and has promised to send a special message urging the passage of bills embodying its features that have already been introduced in both houses of congress. Among the conclusions of the conference were, that, wherever possible, children should be placed in homes rather than in asylums and that far greater care should be taken to protect children against illness or accident, that the reform of child labor should be promoted and that private homes and institutions in which dependent children are placed should be subject to much stricter supervision. The Literary Digest The Chinese are a conservative nation and it is with the greatest reluctance that they make the slightest change in any of their ancient rules or customs. Therefore the announcement comes as a surprise that their system of weights and measures has been revised. Foreigners long ago recognized the impossibility of ever understanding the Chinese measures, because the units vary with each province, and often in the same town carpenters, surveyors and others will differ to a considerable extent in their estimates of the units of measures supposed to be identical. An imperial edict was issued on October 9, 1907, which ordered the Board of Revenue and Commerce to devise a new system of weights and measures for general use throughout the Chinese Empire. The table which the board submitted was accepted by the Committee of Reforms and has now become a law. The metric system is used for defining the new units, which are as follows: the unit of weight is the "Han" or 37.301 gram; the unit of length is the "t'chi" equal to 32 centimeters; and the unit of capacity is the "to", which is equivalant to 10.355 liters. Harper's Weekly What is regarded as an important help in guessing as to the probable age of the human race has been unearthed in Canada. Human footprints in abundance were found in the interglacial clay at a depth which indicates that they were made from 50,000 to 100,000 years ago-The pedestrians "toed in," a peculiarity of gait much effected by t e latter day descendants of the North American aborigines. THE ACORN 9 The distinguished line of succession, which began in 1640 with the first president of Harvard College, the Rev. Henry Dunster, is to be continued in 1909 by the inauguration of a new president, Abbott Lawrence Lowell, Harvard H. B. in 1877, L. L. D., Williams, in 1908, author, administrator, and professor of science of government in Harvard University. His name will be the twenty-fourth to be inscribed on the roll of Harvard presidents. Theme Department Some of the Uses of Flowers What is more beautiful than a rose? When we feel discontended and tired of life, what makes us appreciate the joys of this world more than flowers? Flowers have many uses; they beautify our homes and our country. They liven up a gloomy apartment and make it seem bright and cheerful. A flower brings joy, hope and happiness to the sick room and cheers the lonely and oppressed. They really have so many uses that it would be almost impossible to name them all, but if every one would cultivate flowers, not only for the beautifying of their homes and for their own satisfaction but also for that of their country and fellow citizens, the world would be the better for it. Mary Parker '11 The Fire The city is clothed in slumber; hardly a sound is heard save that of a cab as it bowles along the street crossings, the occasional footsteps of a belated person as he wends his way homeward, or the bell in the town hall as it chimes off the hour. Against the inky blackness of the sky a faint red glow appears. It grows larger and larger until it becomes a horrid glare. Presently all is excitement. There is a scurry of many feet, and the still night air is filled with the cries of men and boys, the clang of the fire wagons as they dash madly to the fire, the tired horses straining frantically at the bits, and the crowd of People surging wildly behind. At last the burning house is reached, men are seen dragging furniture and carpets from the doomed building while the inmates stand by, cold and shivering, bemoaning the fate of their home. The sound of the fireman's ax can be heard above the din and roar of the fire as they try to check the flames. Finally the fire is extinguished, the crowd disperses and the darkness of night reigns supreme. Azalia Goddard '11.