Useful Fat

President Antonio Barcelo of the Porto Rican Senate is fat.

Sometimes a great deal of fat may be extremely useful.

Last fortnight in San Juan, Senior Barcelo's life was probably saved by his excessive girth when one Jose Matos, demented, nudged up and stabbed him quite ineffectually with a short chisel.

President Barcelo publishes the newspaper Democratica, recently received an honorary degree at Columbia University (TIME, June 18), was there and then described by President Nicholas Murray Butler as "the captain of his island people."

Beloved, the "Island Captain" was avenged, last week, by a Porto Rican who made good his escape after firing a probably fatal bullet into the stomach of would-be-assassin Jose Matos as he was being led to jail by the police.