Evening Star Newspaper, February 3, 1883, Page 2

‘ihe iad bo CONCERNING Fi Egg Ares. Schemes that Wii Not Work—One that wi. To the Editor of Tae Evestxe Star: Every catustrephe which causes the loss of human fite ts succeeded by suggestions in that number, intended as preventions against a re- currence of disaster. Laudable motives these, and @ proper appreciation greets them, but because they are conceived on the very heels of some horrible mishap, the public opens wide Its ears and takes to heart any scheme or device which may inhibit a repetition of danger. This is natural enough, because when one is In trouble reason does not have the fallest play. It will be our purpose in this paper to give il- Justrations of the variety of certain schemes in the nature of fire-escapes, and then append a proposition of our own, to which we invite at- tack. THE BAT.CONY First, let us notice the out who lived several years in the east. His sug- xestion Js that all buildings erected for habita- tion, which are more than two stories high, should have balconies, with the floor just below | the windoy-sills om each story running the} whole lenufi? and width of the building, with stairs on each end. The mind of the flreman which harbored this } than num * to a house too open to the deeds of | Wicked me He forgot, too, the probable | Janwer to cuildren—the real jewels of the house- i nes not sec her, to have entered into | It the fireman's calculations that_panic-strie People would dread a mode of escape wh Mmicht find fireshooting out fromall the windows | or trom tleors below. Anotaer point of objec- | tion and fail of moment is the damp.ess created houses by such balconie: iy in the | iter season when the snows are holding ling disease and death in the form | mand pneumonia. To our mind project substitutes a big danver by | If one should burn up that is t Think of spending ten or fifteen or twenty years on this earth with inilammatory rheumatism or a cough that has | degenerated into consumption. THE BASKET SCHEME. Another scheme to which we desire to call | attention as being faulty to the last degree is “The basket scheme.” This device consists in having baskets swung from pulleys fastened to the highest portion of the house, and hoisted or lowered to sult the exigency. The man, woman or child in danger supposed to get in the basket which swings in the air five or six stories high ona dark night and sail to safety: under the guidance of an assistant on the street below. The inventor of this scheme has surely never _acquatnted If with pante-stricken people orhe would ised that not one of one hundred grown (not to speak of women, who lose thelr ds in calamity, or children without the aid of lectual development) would be deliberate enough to v re into the basket. But for ake, let_us suppose this objection We will appear in another shape. How many persons in an hour's time could be by the basket scheme? Certainly bas- uid not swing from every window, and if they did, what if the flames were leaping and hissing, and the night was cold, and the firemen at play with their huge streams bf water. Mem- ory tnust serve you to know thatall thesethings are calculated upon by panic-stricken people on the one side and highly-excited people on the other. ANOTHER SCHEME CONSISTS IN IRON STEPS applied to the outside of the house, reaching from. the street up from story to story. But the ebjections to this are the same as those made to the balcony scheme. The human brain has indeed tired itself by its ceaseless activity In the effort to find a mode ot relief from such calamities as fire sends us, but nothing Practical has yet found issue. Theories in profusion have been the only outcome. ‘The proper remedy is not found in make- shifts of any kind. but must be looked for at a deeper level: It 1s the architect who must solve the problem; he who puts up houses. and whose highest thought in their construction must be | Seappres and shelter. To him the public must bok. As he pleases you in other things which pertain to the building he is asked to design and superintend. he will not fail you inthis. When the body is awry you send for the doctor, and with the confidence of a child you permit h'm,to build you up and make you whole again. The house Is the architect's patient. He knows its ins and outs, and where to plant the pin of safety. Therefore took to him. As that the sun shines, It is obvious that by Panic-stricken people greater or less injuries must be sustained, and there can be no remedy against certain accidents, but great disasters may be obviated by a little timely knowledge in advance. Barring such accidents and infirmities that have the shape of lameness, deafness, blind- Ress, or ills that deny to one the power of loco- motion, there is absolutely no excuse for loss of life through the agency oi fire. FIRE-PROOF PASSAGES AND STONE STAIRS. The proposition is a very simple one and would do much to save life in case of conflagra- tion. Every hotel, hospital, tenement house, mannfacturing establishment, in fact every structure which is intended to contain a large number of people should have its passages or halls, which are the solé communicating me- diums, made of perfectly fire-proof material, ex- tending the whole length and width of the building, and from cellar to garret, and these halls should be so constructed as direotly to communicate with all the rooms on either side, and at the ends of these halls there should be | stone steps provided in flights over each other. | These corridors or halls would not only afford ; every hale man, woman or child free egress, but enable many sick persons to be moved or sound sleepers to be awakened and saved. Again,this fire-proof condition would operate as an effec- tive check against the spread of the fire, bein; Virtually a fire-proot vault of the length an breadth, as well as height of the building, which lays in the center, dividing the whole structure and preventing the flames-on one side from striking across and going to the other. A further advantaze appears in this that the firemen will have a safe place in the heart ot the building to operate in all directions and in Closest proximity to the seat of the fire, There are many minor advantages gained b; the introduction of this fire-proof passage and stone stair project too numerous to mention. Certainly it is patent that it would establiah the safest place for Lfe and security in the heart of the buliding. be under shelter and within most convenient reach of every occupant of a room in the house. In connection with this sugges- tion the manner of locating the elevators is | of commanding importance —placed as they usually are, viz.: in the very center of the house | and surrounded by the main stairway, they form a most dangerous flue in case of a } fire which Is rapidly communicated from i one story to another. embracing the stair-_ way and making escape literally impossible. | The location of the elevator may not be so con- | venient to guests if attached to the rear end or | to one of the sides of the building, but it is the only safe place tor it, and much ought to be for- | ‘The Earth is Full of Seed. WRITTEN ‘FOR THE STAR BY D. TURNER. A Scotch writer, in Chamber's Edinburgh Jour- nal, more than’a quarter of a century ago, cited a number of interesting and curious facts on the subject of “Long Vitality of Seeds,” claiming that seeds and plants, which had laid dormant at & great depth under the surface of the earth for @ succession of ages, germinated either by being exposed to the air or the action of some com- post or manure. “It is well known,” said this writer, ‘that if a pine forest of America were to be cut down, and the ground cultivated and afterward allowed to return to a state ot nature it would produce plants quite different from those by which it had been previously occupied.” The above statement brings fresh to my mind instance which occurred about thirty years and of which I was an eye-witness of a part of the tacts set forth. In the summer of 1850 extensive and destructive fires extended over the mountains and valleys dt the Adiron- dack region. The east side of Whitetace moun- tain was particularly noted tor its heavy and closely-compact growth of thnber of all the va- rieties produced in that latitude. of the mountain the fire rage a week or more—in fact until the last tree, twig and plant was consumed—and #0 in- tense was the heat that the very rocks crumbled and the roots of the largest trees sumed to the depth of several feet below surface of the earth. For miles in length and breadth nothing remained but ashes and barren rocks, and it was reasonable to sup- pose that it would so remain for a long series of years, without a blade of grass, a shrub or any- thing in the shape of vegetation. But, to the surprise of the inhabitants of that region, this thoroughly burnt section was on the second »n followin the fire almost completely cov- with blackberry and huckleberry bashes, ot the most Juxurious zrowth. It waa a ques- tion that greatly puzzled the most intelligent people of that vicinity, nameiy, from whence came the seeds and materials to produce this sudden and rapid srowth of vegetation. It was reasonable to suppose that a fire of such tense heat aid le duration would have de- stroyed every root and particle of seed down to the depth of three to five feet. And what seemed still more strange to all familiar with the facts was that on the large tract of land over which the fire had raged an entire different class of vegetation sprung up in the places of the trees and plants destroyed by the fire. Blackberry and huckleberry bushes are seldom found on sections of land densely covered with large trees and the usual growth of sap- lings and brush. This incident most emphati- On this part furiously tor | cally verifies the statement published in the Edinlmrgh Journal, in reference to a pine torest being cut down and cultivated, and afterwards allowed to return to a state of nature, would produce plants and trees different from those with which ft had been previously occupied; it also verifies another statement found in Jesse’s Gleanings of Natural History, that ‘‘so com- pletely is the ground impregnated with seeds, that if earth is brought te the surface from the lowest depths some vegetable matter will spring from it.” Here are two other remarkable instances of seeds, Phoenix-like, having sprung up from the ashes of large tires. There is an account in “‘Monson’s Perludia Botanica,” of the appear- ance ofa species of mustard found growing in the ruins and ashes produced by the great fire in London; and a similar plant suddenly made its appearance among the ruins after the fire of Moscow, and continued to grow abundantly for many years afterwards. The above facts, and many others which could be added, sustains the theory that the “earth is full of seed.” LONG VITALITY OF § A striing instance of the vitality of seeds oc- curred in trenching some ground for a planta- tion at Bushy park, England, which had been undisturbed by the spade or plow since, and perhaps long before, the reign of Charles the First. The ground was turned up in the winter, and in the following summer it was covered with a profusion of the tree mignonette, pan- sies, and the wild raspberry plants, which were no where found in a wild state in the neizhbor- hood; and in a plantation made in Richmond park, a number of fox gloves appeared afier the soll had been deeply trenched. The plant called Hypeocoum procumbens was lost in the Upsal gardens for forty years. but was accidentally resuscitated by digging the ground which it had formerly occupied. In Glamorganshire, Wales, a crop of barley was produced where oats had been sown, and the farmer to whom it belonged declared that the ground had not been stirred for thirty years before, so that the seeds must have been all that time lying in a dormant state. About fifty years ago, when some laborers were boring for water near Kingston-on- Thames, earth was brought up from a depth of 360 feet. Tie earth was carefully covered over with glass to preyent the possibility ot any other seeds being deposited upon it, yet, ina short time, plants began to germinate from it. in Scotland there is an old castle, near Moffat, which belonged tothe Regent Murray. Some of the lands which surround it are covered with peat, of about six or eight inches in thickness, under which there Is a stratum of soil, supposed to have been cultivated as a garden in the time of Murray. Some years ago the turf was re- moved and the soil turned up, from which sprang a variety of flowers and plants, several of them but little known in Scotland at that time. Sir Thomas Dick Lander, Bart., made some curious and interesting experiments on the ger- mination of seeds. He had a friend that pos- sessed an estate, a part of which had been, for more than sixty years, covered with sand brought there by strong westerly winds, which 80 overwhelmed cultivated fields that the owner was forced to abandon them altogether. Under this sand. at the depth of eight feet, was black soil. Some of this black soil was taken from under the sand, carefully avoiding any mixture of the latter, was instantly put in ajar and sealed up until wanted. From the Jar this soil Was put in flower-pot flats and then placed In Sir Thomas’ library. This was done on the 17th of February, and on the 6th of May following the flower pots were examined and forty-six plants were found of four different varieties, the mouse-ear, the scorpion grass, the red arch- angel and thecorn-spurrey. The seeds of these four varieties of plants had, no doubt, been bu- | ried under sand at the depth of eight feet, more than sixty years. Such are a few cases of long vitality of seeds; and go far to prove that soil from whatever depth it is brought, is impregnated with seeds which grow freely on being exposed to the influ- ence of light and air. “Bobtail Cars.” To the Editor of Tu Evermna Stan: Should that peevish, fretful bill now before Congress become a law it will work great incon- venience and discomfort to many people. For instance, the extra bire of a conductor and the cost of an extra horse to draw a large car, added to the losses of selling the small cars in a dull market, and the cost of new and larger cars, may even bankrupt some ot the companies now using the small cars and vacate the roads. All who live along the ruined lines, or who do busi- ness on the streets they now supply, will then suffer inconvenience and loss now difficult to estimate. But even if such great loss and depri- vation should not result the companies thus driven into losses and increased expenses could not afford to run as many cars as now, for on their routes there are not ngers enough to fill the large cars profitably. Hence fewer cara at doubly long intervals must be the rule, com- pelling tedious waiting and loss of time, if not given for the assurance it promises ina time of | Of business, to the travelers—evils much greater serious need. and harder to bear than paying one’s fare into These remarks are thrown out with a view of | tbe prescribed box. aiding the public. Wé hope they will be ac- And now let us consider the arduous labor cepted in the spirit with which they are offered. | 924 great hardship ot putting fare (or ticket) The late fires. desolating so many homes and | !mto the box, instead of having @ conductor wrecking so many hearts, would seem to be a | it on you to collect it! good excuse for the obtrusion of any thoughts lam an old man, and may not, therefore, be that might serve as a preventive of similar die- | W4lified to judge of the sufferings thus im- asters in the future. J. L. 8. How te Deal with Sewer Gas, ‘To the Editor of Taz Eventxe Stan. I noticed in your issue of the 27th instant something of a controversy going on in refer- | Offer to receive the fares ence to plumbing matters, and respectfully beg the liberty to state that if the people of the District ot Columbia wish tomake Washington one of the era wealth in winter, all that is necessary to ac- complish the first object ts to put a ¥ on tothe sewer pipe at or near the |. and rune Short Independent pipe into ‘minate the same in immediate the heat the flues in this city to it will keep them ‘at all times clear of gas; and opie the latter will become Gon of time. Rozert C. Anwsrrona, ———_-e-—_ PP spn Sua Lz cava two-thirds ot the sae ene oe v medicines consumed in the | so prone to admit the use United state if range flue, ter- | sire thon comfort and ent Connection with | cheap travel for my fellow beings and myssif: | 8. the firat object ac-| in a Morman posed on younger men—eapecially on M. C.’s, 80 heavily burdened with the cares of the na— tion !—but so far as I can observe, none of them seem to suffer more than myself. Nor do I ever hear complaints from my fellow passengers. They cheerfally go front and put in their fares, or others, as cheerfully. Like true Americans, all seem to be not oni ly self-helpful, but willing helpers of others, and to find more satisfaction and pleasure in h than in being helped. And ott te more rie ” Do not, then, compel AN OcToorNaRiN. N. B.—I own no stock in say rosa te not ride on a free ticket, and never di + Nor have I any interest in the matter. But I do de- ———_~-e-—____ The following lines are sung by the children Sunday school “a only ® ques-| 4 toving band of children, we're all to Zion mothers, For our father loves our ‘every one ali around. From a statement in the Medical Times and English athletic clubs are of beer in training the are sold in the forin of secret nos: | that new Mal er lhc aero a to test phystological advantagesof total THE NIGHT LODGING HOUSE. Its Origin and. Histery—How it is Managed—The Strict Rules Agninst Tramps—The mmodations Em Joyéd by the kee The night lodging house opened this year under new, and it ts hoped, brighter auspices than inany preceding year. This practteal charity was Incorporated and established in’ 1876 by a number of gentlemen, including also some of the most benovolent ladies of this District, at a time when there was much suffering among the poor of this District, and very many cases of destitution and suffering among persons coml here trom the states to present claims agains! the government. Among this class were many feeble old men and women from the raral dis- tricts, ignorant of the methods of transacting business with the government departments; poor in purse and without the means of living in Washingten hotels and boarding houses. In very many cases fathers came to look after money due their sons lost in the war, soldiers’ widows to secure pensions, orto endeavor to unravel intricacies in the meshes of red tape, which kept them from their monthly or quar- terly moiety, and bundreds of cases of real hard-- ship are Temembered and related by the managers and superintendents of the lodging house. , After the abandonment by the police of THE OLD CENTRAL GUARD HOUSE, that building was taken posseasion of by the managers, by permission of the District authori- ties, and the cells and dormitories fitted up for th use, It was used until the present year, when the’old guard house antogrounds were sold and rebuilt for private business purposes, which forced the managers to seek elsewhere for ac- commodations. It was finally @etermined by them to purchase a suitable building and grounds exclusively for their purpore, which has been done, the property adjoining the new fifth | precinct station house having been selected. This property was bought on reasonable terms, and the building isvery well adapted for the pur- pose intended, having many rooms. There are, however, many improvements in contem- plation after the purchase money is collected. This charity being supported entirely by contri- butions, the purchase money will also have to come from the same source. The institution is not what many suppose it to be—a “harbor for tramps.” This class, as a rule, give it the cold shoulder rather than submit to the regulations Imposed. No one is admitted without a ticket, which Is obtained from the police station-house keepers, who are instructed to give none to per- ln ee have the smell of liquor on their reath. HOW LODGERS ARE TREATED. Admission being obtained the applicant 1s taken to the bath-room, where he undergoes a thorough washing all over with elther cold or warm water, as is preferred; his clothing ts put in a separate crib and a good, long, warm night shirt given him for the night. He is given good wholesome beef and vegetable soup and the best of bread for supper, and bread and coffee for breakfast before he starts out to look for work. Three nights are allowed for each person to enjoy such tree hospitalities If needed, but in very many cases employment is found without a day’s delay, pecially by mechanics and artizans. A better e of persons have been benefited this year than ever before, indicating that the genus “tramps” are growing scarce year by year. Quite a num- ber of the needy poor of our own District have availed themselves occasionally of a bed and lodging house diet under stress of circum- stances. A colored woman sixty years old came from Baltimore to look for her three children a few nights ago, and arriving on a late train, without any means to pay for supper and b was directed by the police to this place, she was made comfortable, and the next m ing she started out and hunted up her child: who are all employed and doing well. Another old woman, white. 70 years old. from a neizh- boring state, applied one night last week for lodgings. It was a cold night when she arri and she was nearly frozen and very hun She was in search of her two boys, whom she had not heard from for many months,.and she feared they were sick or dead. She stayed three days and nights, and finding her lost boys, went away happy and grateful for what she bad re- ceived. An attorney about 60 years old, impecunious from misfortune, living in a distant state, and whose only recourse was to press to settlement a claim on the government, arrived here not long ago without @ dime in his pocket, and was very grateful for the hospitalities of the night lodging house while he found time to obtain his Just dues. These cases can be noted by dozens, and not a night passes that there are not some very worthy persons who find rest there, and leave with feelings of true gratitude. BUMMERS, DRUNKARDS AND CHRONIC TRAMPS are not tolerated there, and it is the purpose of the managers to discourage all such this season. Frequent visits are made by: the members of the board of directors to see how the Institution progresses, and speak a word of encourazement. to the guests. The superintendent, Mr. Haines, is always ready to say or do a kind act, and make the poor people who are torced to do the best they can feel at home. Among those who take great interest in this institution, and have done much for it, are Messrs. John T. Mitchell, Fred. McGuire, A.S.Solo- mons, Edward Simpson, M. @. Emery and many others of our substantial business-men. The average number ot lodgers nightly since the opening, January 2, this year, has been about twenty—considerably less than the aver- age of former years, — roo —______ For Tax Evex1No S7aR. SOMETHING NEW ABOUT BUILD- ING STONES. Science vs. Age. The great variety of building stones daily coming into the markets of our infant republic present objects of study, admiration, and wonder. Men of science, as well as practical’ builders, are engaged in testing the properties and values of the new specimens offered, and we find almost every state in the Union possess- ing within its limits material with which pala- tial residences may be constructed, and which only await capital, labor, and enterprise to ex- tract in quantities, place on railroad, and put in the hands of architects for use in building up ‘for every mana palace of Venetian or Alhgm- bran grandeur. Even in the southern states, hitherto devoted to cereal products, have turned their attention to the building and ornamental stores found in their borders, and to-day Texas and North Carolina present the most chaste, beautiful, and cara Siena marbles in the coun- try; that of North lina having a ground of rose pink, with a few pure white veins running through it. These building stones are there, and need only to be developed to furnish ma- terial that will give all beantifal and enduring homes. We trust the network of railroads will soon furnish rtation that will enable the architects to interchange these varieties of stones, and combine the granite foundations furnished by New England, with the soft gray and browns of Kansas, Ohio, and Pennsylvanii with the green serpentine and red sandstone o} Maryland, the clear straw colored marble of Vir- ginia, andthe pure white and pink of North Carolina, while our forests will furnish the wal- nut, Ae oak, maple, and gum for the lighter work. The chemical properties found in many of these marbles, and which give them their color- ing, in many cases. from the materials which mar their durability and render them useless. Greater care has to be exercised in the selegtion of stones for building than even in the selection of timber; and the stone must be seasoned and hardened by exposure to make it reliable, Age ie generaliy the test of the enduring les of stone, but ngwadays Science has | eaires place of age, experience, time and distance, and the everlasting hills of praniie are but as play- things to a student of stones, who with one stroke of his chisel and hammer can knock a man’s hopes ot fortune in a hill of marble, or sparkling dust, “higher than Gilde- roy’s kite;” for, if he says your marble “is no good,” “it is decomposed "or “co} pyrites,” you may as well hang your fid and look te pastures new for a fortine. it he says it ts firm and hard, susceptible of high ish, enduring in color, and ae easily pele jou Extent jou pletse ent yor Bclence ie & wonderfui tribunal ay quarry your marble to “and realize a fortune front of THE FUTURE OF THE TELEPHONE. mic Confident of Great Im-| Provement. PLAQY OF FER i OFFERED FOR SOLUTION—THE REASONS War TELEPHONE SERVIOR AT LONG DISTANORS Hus HITHRRTO REEN IMPRACTICABLE, &0. There la nowubject which arouses such a keen. interesta electricians at the present time ag the impr ent of the telephone. generat" pubtlo are not, perhaps, aware that thie infiint, WHich, a few years ago, came into the world as asort of scientific plaything and then gradually found its place as a helper in the activities of business and social life, is not yet out of its long clothes. It is such a com- mon experience in every-day-life, so intimately associated with the daily transactions of men and women, that it has ceased to be a subject of wondering comment, and is accept in much the same way as the thousand other mysteries of the natural world which surround us. The history of the telephone promises to re- semble the development of steam in its various forms and the progress made in telegraphy. Al- ready practical business men with hard heads that are not apt to be turned by an enthusiastic mania are interesting themselves in the tele phone and are banking upon the bright prom- Vet of its future. An interesting question is en “What do they see in the future of the tele- phone?” The broad and general answer is that: ‘they See that there can be one general telephone ex- change for the whole country; that just as a re- sident of Washington can now ring up the gen- eral office at the top of the Evans building and be placed in communication with his friend at the other end of the city so in the same way can he be placed in communication with his_friend in New York, Chicago and San Francisco. That may sound absurd, and It must be admitted that the idea of two men separated by two or even conversation with each other does seem rather a bit of exaggeration and scientific moonshine. Yet the best electricians to-day will not only tell you that the thing is possiple, but that they _be- lieve its consummation is not far distant. Cap- italists are anticipating this = FUTURE OF THE TELEPHONE, by buying up companies and forming consoli- service to asingle town or city are disappear- ing, and in their places are appearing one gene- ral company, controlling the business of one central locality and all the outlying points. ‘Take, for instance, the city of Harrisburg, Pa., which ts the headquarters of the Pennsylvania Telephone company. That company not only supplies the telephone service for the clty, but is also connected with nearly all the neighboring towns and villages, and performs the local ser- vice for each one, besides providing communi- cation between the different towns and the cen- tral place. Harrisburg. In this way Lancaster, York, Chambersburg, Bethlehem, Easton, Read- ing, Pottstown, Carlisle and Columbia are all connected with one another, and the service tor the entire district is coutrolied by one company. Then Boston forms the center of another group, composed of 18 exchanges, ail controlled by one oompany, and comprising the outlying towns 4nd yillages. In the town of Lowell, which is about twenty miles from Boston, and connectéd witH the Boston exchange, one of the morning papers receives every night from Bos- ton by telepliotle between three and four col- umns oftelegtaphic matter, and its di ches, instead of be:ng headed “By Telegraph,” could very properly be designated “By Telephone.” Detroif, Miehigan, is another telephonic cen- ter, with Adrian, Ann Arbor, Jackson, Saginaw and other outlying places connected with each other. [nthe same way all over the country these ceters are increasing in number, and the ABSORPTION OP SMALL COMPANIES into the large: is constantly going on. After @ while these centers will in turn be abandoned and new’ centers be formed with radii of longer sweep. The ‘Harrisburg center will become absorbed into the Philadelphia or Baltimore ex- change, and this latter again will become con- solidated with the New York exchange, which will extend to Boston in the north and to some point in the west. With audible communication thus established between such remote points, the telephone will come more and more into general use, usurping largely the present place of the telegraph, not only in the transaction of private business but also In the distribution of news matter for the daily press. But this is rather anticipating the actual condition of things at the present time. This is the possibility in the fature of the telephone, and practical elec- tricians say that it {s by no means a remote one. There are several problems which electrictans are just now hard at work upon, andon their so- lution depends the realization of these posibili- ies. TELEPHONING AT LONG RANGE. Perhaps the most important matter which is engaging their attention just now is that of sending messages between points widely sepa- rated. The longest distance that one continu- ous message can be sent at the present time is about 100 miles—tnat is to say, this is the long- est distance for practical commercial purposes. Experimental lines for a much greater distance have been worked successfully, and Mr. Geo. C. Maynard, the well-known electrician of this city, several years ago worked a line from Balti- more to Boston, a distance of 418 miles, with reasonable success. The wire used was an ordi- nary telegraph wire, which is not the best adapted for telephonic purposes. In several localities in this country. continuous telephone wire for a greater distance than 100 miles is being worked with good results, and where the wire rans through the woods and is away from telegraph and other wires long circuits can be successfully established. But it is the general experience that for practical purposes the pres- ent instrument now in use cannot transmit a message farther than 100 miles. How can the long distance problem in regard to the telephone be solved? That is the ques- tion, and any one familiar with electrical appli- ances will tell you that hardly a week but that some one will come forward with a long distance telephone, which, it 1s claimed, meets this great want. But no invention has yet been. made that meets the requirement of jong dis- tance service. To the unscientific mind that re- flects upon the matter at all, the query will na- turally occur: If telegraph messages can be sent one and two th: miles one continuous: why can’t a telephone message be so sent. The one !saseries of sounds, produced by sharp breaks in a current, and the other continuous sound waves carried forward by pace ee tel messages over a long wire, the el tric current is renewed at certain points by fresh currents, which conduct the on- ward. For instance, there is a continuous tele- egraph wire between New York and New Orleans, a distance of some 1,200 miles. A pow- erfal battery at New York transmits the mes-| OY sage some known as a “relay station,” is an” apparatus called the board,” ‘ into which the wire battery, and the dispatch, with its fresh horse, so'to speak, hastens on for another inter- val, where there {s a similar “relay station,"and the same, of transferring is formed. In this way the telegram makes its long jour- ney. In the case of the telegraph THE PROBLEM OF LONG DISTANCES is solved “by retiewing the electric current, and | to 100,000 bushels of wheat or corn o! the natural cofclusion is that the telephone | of from 10 to 25 per Message could ‘conquer distance by a similar method. the trangmission of telegraph and telephone ot eer ae messages, while complete in many particulars, breaks down at this point. In the transmission of telopheng messages they tell you that current is not the vital factor, and that the werful batteries would not solve thé strument and certain changes and cations in tts present construction. As what — these electricians £ i Besa bezel \| was devised by the sendiug of four m three thousand miles carrying on an audible | dations. Telephone companies that supply the } known, after many years of experiments and vawous improvements, the quadraplex system Edison. By means of this system ‘Be wo in cach ai- reotion—over a single wire is a matter of dail experience in the telephone Is one oe which electricians are bually working out. How it can be done will, per- haps, be as dificult to explain as It is now to an explanation of the quadruplex “min lly use in telegraphy. To understand the latter system requires a very —— knowledge of the science of electricity, there are but few operators that Jhave a clear idea of ite workings. When a question in regard to the possibility of duplex or quadruplex systems in connection with the telephone was put to a ———— elec- trician by a Star reporter, he said: “Such a system has not yet been Invented, but I think that it will be. You can readily understand yourself, if you think about it, how it will be possible. For instance, if you put your ear to a telephone receiver and heard two Voices, you would be apt to distinguish the one you wanted to hear, and disregard the other. I only use It as an illustration, and not as a de- scription of juplex or quadruplex system ac- tually in use. So far the attempts to cend more than one tel- ephone message at the sanie time over one wire have been in the nature of experiments, and its {tradi has not as yet been demonstrated. fut in this direction as in all others of tele- phonic improvement, the brightest minds of the age are at work, and no doubt before long their labors will bear fruit in some sort of a system that will stand the test of practical every day use. There is suificient in the possibilities that open up to the mind in the study of the tele phone to stimulate the inventive. faculties of men to the highest pitch. Its unsolved prob- Jems are many and great. There is, in the first place, such an improvement in the instrument itself to be made as to enabie messages to be transmitted through it for long di es. In the second place, some form of peating board” is to be invented, and in the third place a duplex or quadraplex ‘system of transinission, These are the chief problems in which the gaunt- | let of the Unknown is thrown down as a chal- | lenge to the scientific minds of the present age. OTHER UNSOLVED QUESTIONS There are other unsolved questions which will arise in the attempts to master the main dim- culties. Such, for instance, is the disturbing Influence upon telephone currents when brought into proximity with the currents of telegraph or electric light wires. The telephone current is much lighter than either of these, and a close contact with them weakens its force. Even the ordinary methods of insulation, such as enclos- ing the wires in glass or asphaltum, have utterly failed, owing tothe influence of induction. There is, no doubt, but that these and other difficulties will give away to the inventive genius of the age, which is now bending every energy to the work. With their solution will be inaugurated the system of general communica- tion throughout the country, which the electri- cians now say is only a matter of time. People in the near future wif telephone not telegraph, and one general exchange will exist for the whole country. For instance, a citizen of Washington will go to his telephone and ringing up the main office will call: “Hello, Central! Give me New York,” or tive me Chicago!” and then calling over the | Wires to the main office in either of those places he will be put in communication with the person with whom he wishes to talk. That is the con- summation that electricians of the present time are working for and capitalists are backing them with their money and buying up telephone stock, so as to be in the front ranks when the harvest begins. <2 SWINDLING BEOXKERS, How Chicago Sharpers Impose on Green Specuiators—Thonsands of Dol- Jars Sent Throuch the Mails—Co- operative Speculation. The account or the operations of bogus broker firms in Chicago, and their being placed on the “fraud list” by the Postmaster General, was pub- jlished In Tue Stak early in the week. There was, however, but brief mention made of the extent and character of their operations, and as these were of a magnitude rarely reached by such concerns, further details will be of interest. Such details are given in the report of the special ageat of the Post Office depart- ment, D. A. Ray. He says that the receipt’ ‘of Fleming, Merriam & Co., one of these firms, were simply enormous, and the receipts ofthe four concerns had an ‘gregate averaye daily for the past sixty days of not less than £10,000. -The firm of Fleming, Merriam & Co.have in the 20 days from January Ist, 1883, to January 20, 1883, received throush the Chicago post office 775 registered letters. None of these letters contained less than #10, and very muny of them contained amounts rang- ing from $100 to $500. They have at the same time received about 820 money orders, agure- gating 620.416. They received last week over $10,000 by express, and it is represented that their receipts by express for the 20 days were not less than $30.000, They have received nearly 80.000 from all sources since January Ist. In the same period of 20 days the firm of R. E. Kendall & Co. have had cashed abont 635 money orders tor the sum of $15,867, and 531 registered letters, none containing less than $10 and many from #100 to $500. Their business on a fair estimate would aggregate #53.000 in 20 days. The other two firms Henri & Co. and Cudworth & Co., probably aggregated $50,000 during the same time.” THE MODE OF DOING BUSINESS. As to the character of the business the special agent says that none of the firms are known at the state inspection department asin any way connected with the actual grain trade. “The pretense in their circular that they are commis- sion merchants is fictitious. The principal tea- ture of this fraud is this—they pretend to con- duct what is termed vy them a mutual invest- ment club’ or a ‘mutual co-operative fund,’ composed of the money of suckers and green- herns who buy shares at $10 each and take the chances that the managers use the aggre- gate funds subscribed by shareholders in speculating in grain, stocks, &c. The man- agers, every few days or weeks, make reports showing that they have made or lost so much money; and if the latter, they return to share- ders a pretended profit of so much per cent. They cannot show Irenag they have ever made the rofits or losses they report by any reputable Seont What money they return as profits is solely Just what tney choose, and thi choose to retarn just what they think will luce the shareholders to invest more largely. In some cases tl Gone to small investors returned as profites, ious showing of alarge percentage of the investment. The result has been that such m from investors, mostly a remote place and in distant states, have been induced to invest esty between men are necessary adjuncts to success.” invite persons to buy $10 shares in the tund, which is by the ‘the fand psanen ct patie epee emis jount of Rak i aL LE t i i f i} fe Provisions of the Bill Last Monday Mr. Harris\\introduced in the Seuage a dill “To regutate 11 trict of Columbia,” which was chandise of any kind whatever, not ot! Provided for, shall pay annually ten dollars, ant that when the amount of capital invested does not exceed twenty dollars, no license shall be required. The Hcense tax on the various trades and businesses are fixed annually as follows: Auctioneers, $100, and a semi-annual tax on gross receipts of one-fourth of one per centum. Real estate agents, $50. The license as real es- tate agent shall not authorize any person to act as auctioneer without obtaining a license as such. Brokers, @75. Every person whose busi- ness it is to negotiate purchases or sales of stocks, bonds, exchange, bullion, coin money, bank notes, promissory notes, or other securk thes, for himeelf or others, shall be regarded as a broker; and any person having paid a license tax as banker shall not be required to pay a li- cense tax as broker. Cattle brokers, 20. Liv- ery stable keepers, who have taken out a license as such, may buy and sell horses on their own account without obtainingan additional licens: Commission merchants, $40. Every except commercial agents, whose business as agents,for others, to negotiate sales or pur- chases of goods, wares, or merchandi: of any owners of ships or vessels, or for the shipper, or consignee or consignees of freizht carried by ships or vessels, shall be regarded as x commis- sion merchant; that license as commis T- chant shall not be construed to grant the nt to buy and sell goods as deal or te allow. said merchant, his agent, or employe to buy and sell goods as dealers, or to allow said merchant, iis agent, or employe to solicit orders or offer for sale merchandise of any kind whatever by sample or catalogue outside of the office or store of said commission merchant. Merclian- dise brokers, $100. Every person whose busi- neas it is to sell, or offer for sale, or solicit orders for the sale’ of goods, wares, or merchan- dise, as owner or agent. by sample, catalogue, or otherwise, shall be regarded as a merchan- dise broker. Fire insurance companies, fifty cents on each thousand dollars of capital invested. Life in- surance companies, fifty cents on each thousand dollars of capital invested. Insurance agents, twenty dollars, and, in addition, semi-annually, a tax of one per centum on the gross recelpts of such ney, whether such receipts are cash or notes for the part payment of premiums. Au- thorized insurance agents may employ solicitors of Insurance for any company they tay be au- thorized to act for withont obtaining an addi- tional license, Street railway companies, $6 on each and every one-horse car and $10 on each and every two-horse car. Telegraph companies, £250, and #1n each telegraph pole in use, and all poles shall be painted.and numbered in the manner Sedan by the Commissioners of the District. ‘elephone companies, $100 annually, aud #1 telephone instrument in use. Gas or manufacturers of illuminating gas or electric light, fifty cents on each one th sand dollars of the par value of their c: stock. al Ice dealers, fifty cents on each thousand of capital’ invested, and 10 on each sed in their business. ers, $1 on each £1,000 of capl- B ings banks €50. Bar rooms, sample-rooms and tipp!ing-houses, $100. The possession of distil jermented, er other intoxicating liquors, with the means and appliances for carrying on the business of disposing of the same, to be drunk where sold, shall constitute the premises a bar-room, sample- room, or tippling-house, within the meaning of this act. Where during the year no complaint has been made againgt the proprietor of any such place on the part of a majority of the prop- erty holders and residents, such proprietor sgall not be required to file every year with hjs appli- cation for license such written permission of persons owning real estate and residents; but if such complaint has been made, the proprietor shall be required to obtain anew the written pre of such owners of real estate and resi- jents. Hotels containing 20 rooms or less suitable for the accommodation of queats, $25; the same, containing more than 20 rooms suitable for the accommodation of guests, $1 for each room over 20. Restaurants, $25. Every place where are ard meals and refreshments, except distilled or fermented liquors, wines or cordials, for casual visitors, shall be regarded as 4 restaurant or eating-house. Games of chance.—Billiard, bagatelle, and Jenny Lind tables, and shuffie-boarda, for public hire or gain, $10 for eaoh table or board; and such tables or boards kept in connection with any other business shall be as kept for public hire or gain. Peddlers, $50. Persons engaged in this bust- ness whose capital invested does not exceed 610 shall not be required to obtain a license, but shall be required to obtain in lieu thereof a permit from the Commissioners of the District. Bowling alley 10 for each alley. Shooting galleries, $10. Race tracks or grounds used for tournamenta, #10 day when so used. Intelli- gence offices, $10. Building associations, @50. Book agents, $12. Circuses, #250 for each week or part thereof. Theaters, $150. Skating rinks, #50. Natatoriums, $50. of ammo- nia works and manufacturers of poudrette, $100. Public entertainments of any kind where an ad- mission fee is charged, @5 per day or $15 per week. Variety theaters, $500. Brewers, #50. Dealers In distilled or fermented liquors, wines, or cordials sold in quantities not Jess than a pint, $15 for $1,000 of capital invested. Whole- sale dealers in malt liquors and bottlers of the | 8@ same, $50. Liquor manufacturers and distil- lers. $50 in addition. Rectifiers, 50. Pawn- brokers, $250. Junk shops, 50. Persons who peddle wood and coal from carts or wagons, $5 for each wagon orcart. Butchers. $25 foreach place of business. Produce dealers, $20, and for each Be] stand or wagon a license. Persons selling fruit, cakes, sweetmeats, or other eata- bles, from baskets or stands, whoseaverage cap- ital does not exceed $20, shall not be required to obtaina license. Persons who buy and sell milk shall pay a license equivalent to $5 for each wagon used for its delivery. Any person selling produce of his own ing shall not be deemed a produce dealer. 250. Cos- tumers, Barbers from one to three chairs, $10. Barbers using over three chairs, ‘@2 for each additional chair. Keepers of medi- a and hygienic baths, @25. Bill posters, Hacks and cabs, $10; one-horse cabs. $6; om- vehictes.: nibuses, $10; for other capable of carry- ing ten at eo; =e eer one time, excecding ten stalls, and $3 each addi- eres and @20n each $1,000. or Al . sractiousl miseg honky of capital CINNATI PRSTIVAL — GRACE GREENWOOD'S DAUGHTER—MRS. LANGTRY 4GAIN—WHERE TER STARS ARE, ETC. —The Vokes family fill the bill all of next week at the National. — Miss Minnie Maddern, called In New On Monday night. — The Wyndham company open in Philadel. ‘ia on Monday for a two weeks engagement. The Boston deal Opera Company alae their engagement in Philadelphia on Mom aay tt. end Intend to add “lolanthe” to thela list of oPagps. — Mrs. ty and her company closee® week's engagetgat at the St. Charles theater, New Orleans, thisSxgning. The bill contatmed ~The Honeymoon,” “An Unequal Mateh,” “Ap You Like It” and “She Stoops to Conquer.” — Mille. Rhea and her company were at the Grand Opera House this week in that city with the following r Adrienne Lecouv- “Camille,” “Ro- “Much Ado About —Wallack’s old theater, corner of Rroadway and 13th , New York, ts to be christened tie a, and stars and combinations will be played there. Among the ceftaintles are Boucicault and Henry Irving. izhts o' London” was played to the ¢a- of the Grand Opera House Wednesday night, in Chicazo. The new scenery which bas been painted after the recent accident was use@ for the first time and ts finely executed. —Mary Anderson will be seen at the Gran@ Opera House, New York, in the spring, having arranged a two weeks engagement with Heary E. Abbey. —The dramatic festival to be held in Musto Hall, Cincinnati, commencing on Monday, April 30, will have an efficient orchestra of one hun- dred musicians. —Virginia” is drawing good houses at the Bijou Opera House, New York. It will proba bly run_until the last nights of “Tolanthe” at the Standard Theater are announced, when Mr. Mo» ‘aull will at once bring out 's “The Heart and the Hand.” vo — Mrs. Zelda Sezuin-Wallace is In New York. She has lately been so fl that by the advice of her physicians she will shortly proceed so! probably as far as Florida > ~ — Sadie Martinot has brought with her from Europe numerous costumes made by Felix, of Paris. They are to be worn in the new written by Dion Boucicauit expressly for Miss Martinot, entitled “ Vice Versa.” — Miss Helen Bancroft was noted a year or so ago as the most beautiful woman on the New York stage. Since then she has stadled and on Monday last was int ced to a New York audience of unusual prominence as Julia in “The Hunchback.” She looked a picture, — Mrs. Langtry made the following statement the other day to a reporterot the Memphis Appeal: ‘1 shall not return to London until £ have a new play. I may remain in this coun next season, but cannot say now wucther oriek I shall play here. I can tell you, though, that no arrangement has yet been made for hext season. T had a contract with } y at Mr. Irving's theater in Lond house under Mr. Abbey's r. Irving is in t antry, to be released, and Mr. Abbey jax done #0, thereby leaving me perfectly free, ao far as the future ts concerned, after next Muy.” —I Chicazo this week the Barton comie opera company produced “Tolauthe.” It was the first time the opera had been seen there, A great number of musical people were who evinced no little curiosity to hear Gill and Sullivan's latest work. The critical sudi- efce departed with an air of satisfaction. — The dramatic event of the year thus far is the success at Wallack’s, New York, of “The pied Ma “Palyee tatest seer a la lon. 8 melodrama by janry 4. Jones. and Henry Herman, an the fanguaze, situa- tions and plot are all strong. The authors bave found a theme in the following lines of Tenny- 80D: Theld ft trath with him who sings To ope clear harp in divers tones, That ‘on ng-Stones Of their dead selves to higher’ Uiags. —The Cincinnati Musical Festival opened Monday evening to one of the largest audiences ever present at a performance in that , 6,300 having been present. Mme. Patti hy) did voice. Tuesday night “L’Africaine” was produced,with Mme. Furech-Madi as Selika,whe was gen | received; Signor Ravelii as Vasco Gama, Signor Galassi as Nelusko, both whom were well geceived. The audience was estimated at 4,500, being 1.000 less than the first night. The night was —tin Boston, the Hanlon Brothers appeared at the Globe Theater this week in “Le Voyage en Suisse.” John McCullough continued his ecess at the Boston Theater, in:*Virginius.” “Arrah-na-Pogue” was continued at the Boston Museum. “Courage,” at the Park Theater, at- tracted large audiences, as also “‘Jolanthe,” a the Bijou Theater, with ‘Equine Paradox” the Windsor. —The many friends in Washington of Mra Lippincott (“Grace Greenwood”) and her bright following: “The concert, gi aaprpergclanTeempacens degen. to in our previous number, proved a cess. Not only did Mile. Laure Le Tourneax meet with a cordial j ies a li id fia gard to the enfotcomeat of the’ peoseding ane: ie forcement 8e0- tions, and provide suitable pol magne their . + Hi-Heaith. Among the papers left behind him by a wort circuit. to 8t. Louts. Miss Lotta is in Cincinnati... .Mr. remains at the Boston Museum, and is dragring crowds. ... Alice Harrison appeared in St. Louis, Mme. Modjeska devoted this week leans “a gleam of sunshine,” opens at Forts . , 7