Evening Star Newspaper, January 31, 1891, Page 15

14 TO FLY THRO THE AIR. Newest Development of the Science of rial Navigation. WITH SPEED AND COMFORT. A Line of Air Ships Between Baltimore and Washington—The Principle of the Hre- plane— Support Without Balloons— The Steering Problem Solved. ‘Written for the Evening Star. EFORE LONG A LINE OF AIR SHIPS will be running between Washington and Baltimore. ‘These vessels, built to traverse the atmos- pheric route, will not be balloons of any sort, but will depend for their flotation in the air upon what are called aeroplanes. ‘An aeroplane isa framework made so as to hold extended horizontally enormous sheets, ‘one above the other, of canvas or other mate- rial. It is designed to imitate in its operation ‘the soaring of a bird, as will presently be de- scribed. Beneath the aeroplane hangs the car for passengers, the entire apparatus being affoat, though on the Washington and Balti- more line the car will be connected with a wire below that rans from one city to the other. A current of electricity will pass along the wire, giving the propulsive force, just as in the case Of the street car with an overhead wire. Such is to be the first step in practical aeroc- tation. To realize its importance as a new scientific departure it must be understood first that the two great difficulties recognized as ob- structing the progress of the art hitherto have Been the problem of steering and the weight of the motor. The latter obstacle has seemed well nigh insurmountable, inasmuch as, whether steam or stored electricity was used, the apparatus necessary to work the propelling fans was so heavy as to be a hopeless load. But, mark you, this sort of air ship does not have to carry any motor at all, its fans being worked from a dynamo station at a distance by means of an electric current passing along the wire referred to and up tothe vessel by the two wires which connect it with the aforesaid wire ‘that runs all the way from Baltimore to Wash- ington. As for steering the wire does that, the two comnesting wives running along om trol- leys, just like the street car spoken of. "Ts short, to be sure that it is all ciear there is the great aeroplane 200 feet from the ground, the passenger car hanging beneath it, and two wires connecting the car with the Washington to Baltimore wire strung on earth~driven poles far beneath. TRE PRINCIPLE INVOLVED. Obviously it should be explained next by what principle of mechanics this extraordinary contrivance called an aeroplane is expected to support itself and the car it carries. That is the whole point of the idea. Did youever seo a bird fy? How does it sustain itself in the air? By flap- Ping its wings? Not so. The best flyer cannot sustain its own weight by flapping. It takes ad- ‘vantage of the buoyancy of the air currents, which at great heights. even where the atmos- here is rarified and therefore harder to float EoM"upholds the eagle and. the frigate bird, soaring for hours with unmoved pinions or ised aloft so motionless that a telescope can Ee'trained upon them. And yet either of these birds, starting from the ground, is obliged to take along run before being able to rise into the air. So it is with all biz birds, while the smaller ones have to begin with violent fiappings, which they cannot keep up more than briefly. When practicable, birds prefer to start their fight from a high perch, because ity gives them a helping impulse. How is that Hermann, the prestidigitator, is able to throw playing cards easily from the stage into the fourth gallery of the biggest theater? Simply that the card, given a skillful impetus, is upborne by the air currents. A toy kite isa still better illustration. Well, that is the entire notion of the aeroplane, which,with its great expanse of horizontal areas, is actually sustained by the currents of air. ‘Suppose a case, easy to un- derstand. of one of these air ship way to Baltimore at a speed of fifty miles an hour, the day being absolutely calm. This means a fifty- dle current of air, of course, in effect. It o the progress of the vessel, but very slightly, yuse the latter presents merely the edges of its planes to the breeze. The captain at the helm inclines the planes upward a trifle at the front, so that the powerful air current is made to exercise its lifting power and keep the craft afloat. But whichever way the current comes the planes are governed accordingly. The wing planes on either side are slanted slightly up- ward, so that any tendency to tilt will develop greater pressure in that direction and thus re- store equilibrium. ADVANTAGES OF THE AEROPLANE. Two most important discoveries have re- cently been made in this connection. One by Prof. Langle, secretary of the Smithsonian In- stitution, to the effect that the resistance offered by the atmosphere to «uch an aeroplane as that described is only one-fiftieth part of what has heretofore been supposed, implying that so much less motive force is necessary. The other is that the power of the propeller for pro- ducing speed in sir is vastly greater than has up %o this time been dreamed of. Intense interest is felt by Prof. Lang- ley in the problem of serial navigation, and in his investigations of the rubject he is being as- sisted by J. Elfreth Watkins, the well known ‘expert in engineering and the science of trans- portation. In trath the matter is being taken Up toa surprising extent nowadays by practi- eal engineers. foremost advocate of the ticability of the idea, Prof. Octave Chanute, to be the next president of the American So- ciety of Engineers, his name appearing on all four of the election tickets. And yet only ten years agoa man who lad the temerity to so auch as deliver a serious lecture on the pros- te of navigating the air would have ruined professional reputation by the indiscretion. TRE CHICAGO SCHEME. Ashort time ago there was much talk in the Rewspapers about an Illinois company hat Promised to run aluminum air ships between New York and Chicago, carrying passengers from one city to the other in six hours, “The first ship was advertised to start by the first of January, but the scheme has failed to material- ize thus far and it scems to have developed some symptoms of a fizzle, though it is claimed that the fault is that of contractors, who did not supply certain materials as” quickly as Team agreed. There ie it excitement in the district round about Mount Carmel, where the building "of ships is going on secretly under sheds, but not so much asa car has been put together eee tat _ittcalty is bein ex] lering jaminum. Well, ‘one would rather smile, for the fact is that no ‘one has yet discovered ‘a successful method of soldering aluminum, and it is not at all un- likely that no one ever will. Of course, alumi- pum is being employed for its lightness, but if it has to be riveted instead of soldered it will Ihave to be so thick that the object aimed at =a be lost. R ly on account of this matter soldering at present asif the possi- bilities of aluminum were as yet rather limited after all THE LAST PROBLEM. ‘This question of aerial navigation is the last transportation problem remaining for man to solve; the doubt is no longer whether he will solve it, buthow. Science is now for the first time plying ite serious attention to the sub- a t is apt to be thus with great inventions. they are imagined without especial design by dreamers, next the more imaginative in- Yentors try to carry them out and finaly men akilled in ‘mechanics reduce them to concrete form. Be it understood incidentally that no company has actually been formed as ee Siiablishing '@ line of air ships in ‘Will be such a line as that described at the of this article before ten more — P- | heads the mechanical means in imitation of yy aes tures. The aviators may be said to be again divided into three, clasee-she, flappers, whe ik that the motion ings should be imitated ‘metkanialiyy te. osrett i ty fans should be em; for raising the con- ee ne ena cs et pee and the believers in the aeroplane with propellers for go-ahead motion. THE AVIATOR VERSUS THE AERONAUT. The aviators declare that the gas bag must g0: it is unscientific, unmanageable and not to be relied upon. And yet the seronauts assert with trath that cigar shaped balloons can be run nowonacalm day in any desired direc- tion by means of pi at the rate of four- miles an hour. In fact the teen been repeatedly done. say that a wravtrants angaaet tae not carry man; or much nor evald go up at on unpleasant | days; in resort must be had to another form of apparatus al gether for real practicability. It is worth mentioning, by the way, ‘at wonderfully clever mec! birds, which actually will fy quite a distance, have been made in France; but their principles do not seem flying machines on a large scale. motive power utilized in these toys is twisted india rubber, Cea ~ more power, weight for weight, than nest steel q It isa comfort to know ‘Bat fe taster the aeroplane air ship travels the more easily it is upheld, though would seem to be some danger of a spill cecmalenelly, comes by an unexpected cross current or by « slight un- steadiness on the part of the a a an accident, occurring at even an hour and an elevation of 200 feet or so above the ground, would be apt to be. unpleasant. However, what is the use of accident insur- ance if One cannot take risks in tra Indeed, the speed attained is = indefinite, my weeny i size of the fans and the rate at which they are made to revolve. In order to sustain the considerable weights necessary to be carried the aeroplane and car will be obliged to traverse space at rate far exceeding the flight of the fastest and a journey across the continent will be ac- complished in scarcely more than s few con- secutive twinklings. +02 —____ INSECT-INFESTED TOBACCO, ‘The French Government Declines to Receive ‘an Importation of Kentucky Leaf. 'XPORTERS OF AMERICAN TOBACCO lare much agitated just at present over an oceurrence which seriously threatens their trade. ‘Three hundred and thirty hogsheads of Ken- tacky tobacco shipped from New York recently have been rejected by the French government, to which the goods were consigned. Upon its arrival at Marseilles the shipment was found to be filled with insects, which the experts over there declare to have been bred in the tobacco. Accordingly, the entire shipment was refused. ‘The loss is considerable, as Tux Sta is in- formed, but this is not regarded as of much importance compared with the prospect of pos- sible injury to the entire trade in tobacco between this country and France. In France the government has an entire monoply of the tobacco manufacture, and it would be a very serious thing if it should take a notion that tt Kentucky leaf was likely to be infested with b erefore, the merchants interested have appealed to the it of Agricul- ture here on the sul id United States Entomologist Rile; opinion which the +h experts cannot help regarding as authoritative. ‘According to his statement the insect in uestion it bell age —— as the — which commonly preys u; torts of animal matter, being most often: found among hoofs, bones’ and hides. It likewise attacks hams and other cured meats, and has for years been known as more or less serious enemy to the leather trade, manufactured boots and shoes having been assailed by it with dis- astrous results. Skins coming to this country from Russia, Turkey, India and elsewhere are often damaged by this beetle. Its appearance as a destroyer of tobacco is quite anew thing. However, it is asserted by Prof. Riley that the beetle was certainly not bred in the tol 0. It must have made its way in the larval stage of its existence into the hogsheads either when they were waiting on the wharf for shipment or on shipboard ‘Having entered the hoge- ry@ bored their way into the con- tents and, being transformed through the pupa stage, became beetles. But in no event is it ble that these beeties could breed in the tobacco; they must either have made their way out of the hogs- beads or have died in them. It is deemed of the utmost importance that the French govern- ment should be convinced that the Kentuck; leaf is not shipped scross the ocean filled wit the germs of bags. If such a notion were mitted to stand undisputed Européan nations would be prejudiced against all to- bacco and great detriment would arise to the growers and the trade. As some $20,000 damages were involved and as the question raised has important ulterior bearings, Prof. Riley has been slowand cau- tious in forming a final opinion, having had the matter under consi ion for several weeks and personally is the tobacco in New York. The interesting point entomo- logically was whether the insect could develop and propagate in tobacco, as some of the French experts maintained that it could. Prof. Riley after reviewing all the facts, pronounces pnbestitatingly that such is not the case, and emphatically declares that no injury has ever been caused to tobacco by this beetle, except where the tobacco was stored adjacent to infested animal matter; that the evidence all shows conclusively that no damage occurred during the shipment to the seaboard from interior points, and that with- out much doubt it took place on the, whatves of the railroad duri @ period while the tobacco was stored prior to shipment. paced sista Errors in English. ‘From Notes and Queries. Whether or no, in such phrases as “The right honorable gentleman should tell us whether or no he abides by his declarations.” “No” should, of course, be not; “‘or not,” how- ever, is redundant. “I should have liked to have,” in phrases such as “I should have liked to have witnessed the effect upon gentleman's auditors when,” &c. ought to be “I should like to have witnessed.” The s liking is pree- ent: it is the witnessing that is “I almost think.” pay ‘Ris ie nonsense, for if aman does not think s thing he knows nothing about it. mon newspaper error and a literal from the French. “I.don't think,” in phrases such as “T shall ot go to London this season, T don't think.” jes are very fon constraction sre seldom pleased to be told that they any the ° w yy mean, the second nega- Retdecteuying the eon “That statement is the most unsatisfactory of any I ever heard from that bench,” favor ite house of commons 3 and the Dail Nave! advertisement that 1 as he circulation of any ” err in the use of the word “any,” which is’ proper used of one thing only. The “4 have the largest circ 8 but could not have it of one only. sortof e instead of that sort. “Either side,” in phrases such as “On either tall trees,” should i side of the road be customer vtgal impossible. The quite is used for —— ” contest, EXITS tale abe Thor cennat strange characters find this ‘in the Pattison. note Gp amneni dep that,” &c. "But te wiihaborious” for industrious and “That ont saying” are very translations the French and much liked by newspaper to- | species are am: THE EVENING STAR: WASHINGTO UNITED STATES MUSHROOMS. ‘It Would Be Well Worth While for the Peo- ple of This Country to Grow Them, China did this a century or more ago, Tax Stax is informed. For ever so many years past the authorities of that nation have pub- lished annual treatises for gratuitous distribu- tion describing the different herbs which are susceptible of uso for food. One of these treatises, called the “Anti-Famine Herbal,” con- sists of six volumes, containing descriptions with illustrations of over 400 odible plants. These volumes are of inestimable value in districts where the ravages of insects, drought, &c., have destroyed the and rice and famine is imminent. Mushrooms of various growths dis cussed. As for their value as a comestible, it is sufficient to say that they compare favorabl With meat as sources of nitrogenous nu! fally fostered in this country jucing ind would be brought {nto Being ou the hither side of the Atlantic. In France mushrooms form a very large art- icle of consumption and are widely grown. ‘Mushroom are cultivated in caves, fro- quently miles in extent. One cave at contains more than twenty miles of beds an; Produces not less than 3,000 pounds of mush- daily; another at has sixteen Paris and Moulin de la Roche, Sous Bicetre, and produce immonse quantities of mash- are all under government super- ir ted like the The mushroom cultivated in those and caves almost to the exclusion of others is the “snowball.” Another fungus, the truffle, is largely exported from France, the quantity produced ‘for f markets being not less than $2,000,000 worth yearly. ible mushrooms of ‘many ¥ ‘grow largely in the United States without cultivation. Fow of them, however, are used: owing to the ity of most ‘inguit e icretisla coristtag bet tha” potseneyn; cone: Exrder thet ile tently ay be sonoma az, tent done awa} ‘pamphlet spoken bas been issued by the Department of Agricul- ture. The list of edible fungi is a very remarkable one, | Most surprising among them is one native to New , which grows out of the body of a large caterpillar, practically converting the “latior into ‘vegetable. substance. The caterpillar lives under ground springs upward through the soil until it Feaches «| height of eight or ten inches. It in eaton by who employ it also when burned as a coloring matter. Another fangus from New Zealand is used by the Chinese for soup, also for medicine and for making « valuable dye for silk. The natives of rt use ly a truffle, which obtains weight of more than two pounds and is known under the nanre of ‘‘native bread.” The Japanese grow several species of edible fungi from loge of decaying wood in a manner peciliar to themselves. ‘Among’ the north- astern tribes of “Asia one species of fangus when ‘pounded is utilized ae mutt, whi another, regarded in Europe as poisonous, is employed by these people of the orient ss substitute for ardent spirits, one being sufficient to produce toxication for a whole day. In most European countries mushrooms bronght to market are regularly inspected and sometimes taxed, the former precaution being taken to exclude poisonous varieties. The traffic of the world in this sort of fun- ous food amounts to many millions of dol- firs early. ‘This is almost the only nation which does not recognize it as a source of main- tenance and revenue. ee MES. STOWE’S PRESENT. A Fine Specimen of Ivory Carving as a New Year Gift. ‘From the Chicago Herald. Last summer two New York women met on the top of a coach in the Scotch highlands and formed each other's acquaintance on the strength of a common admiration for the high- lands of the Hudson and “Uncle Tom's Cabin.” A month later in Paris they came face to face in the Avenue de l'Opera and chatted over » dejeuner ala fourchette of the success of the “American Girl Abroad” and a fanny French dramatization of “Uncle Tom.” Still again, whén several weeks had passed, these two, without previous agreement, found themselves bend- ing over a Dutch translation of their favorite book in the Rijks museum at Amsterdam. “This,” said one of them, “must have s meaning. “Let's get upa class in coincidences,” said the other, “next winter at home.” In September—London is » big city, but truth is stranger than fiction—they recognized each other's travel-stained bonnets in an old curiosity shop in Oxford street. “I know,” said the first, “the meaning—” “We ate destined,” began the second— “To buy this for Mrs. Stowe.” “This” proved to be a strange but very beau- tiful spectacle case chatelaine of yellowish ivory, wonderfully carved, asgonly the Chineso have the secret, mounted quaftly in silver and hung by silver chain. it old?” vsked the newcomer. “Not at all,” returned she who had first spoken. ‘The vender of antiques explained that th> trinket was brought him by a man in London, who was clever st such delicate workmanship, i : men pleasart in- had learned many curious things, among them skill in the carving of ivory. an art that had caused him to drift westward finally. ‘The chatelaine was purchased and tought home, and but for some small which came to the lace-like arg thes the voyage would have been sent to Hartford a month ago. Rather than have it in any degree imperfect it was to London, whence word was re- ceived that it would make its second journey to America in season, it was hoped, for a New Year's giftto Mrs. Stowe, the work of the black man toher who spoke for black men. The carving, which is fairy like in its refine- —— negro children amid tropical vege- ——+eo—_____ PAID IN HIS OWN COIN. “Allee Light in China, but No Good in ‘Melica—No Takee.” ‘From the New York Sun. a ‘A young man who seemed to stand very much in need of clean shirt and collar, walked briskly into » Chinese laundry in Yorkville, and, presenting to the head washerman a ticket bearing the well-known hieroglyphics, hhe said laconically: “Gimme them.” The Chinaman scrutinized the ticket care- fally to assure himself, possibly, that his cus- tomer hadn't forged it, and, after passing a & i e Fl it i Hag s' i E : 238 EFS tH ! if £ i fi tf itd Willy Est tel ial fi a #4 ii ie iH i dl E SCHLIEMANN’S LAST DAYS. He Barely Escaped Dying Unknown in = ‘Hospital. From the London Daily correspondent, who telegraphed on last an account of Dr. Schliemann’s death, now sends us yet fuller details. It ap- Pears that Dr. Schliemann arrived at Naples on the 19th from Germany, where he had been treated for the malady inthe ear by Dr. Schwartz of Halle, who prescribed that hg should still remain five weeks in Germany to complete the cure. Schliemann would not do that, however, and went to Naples on the way to Athens, lodging at the Grand Hotel, the pro- prietor of which knew him well. On the 20th Schliemann went to consult Dr. Cozzolini, and tented, feeling the cated injes He dined at table d’hote on Christmas eve and as noual, in a ‘Se lctt the hotel, ns woot obeet 3 7 Otel, as am. m to see he teil te assembled, eight in number, at § p.m. on Fri- day, and near 4p. m., when they bad decided that an operation would be of no use, nurse, « German d came in to say that consiantly advised by tls aon inh onabl-aoe co ntly legray it cor not leave Athens on Friday, there’ being no ship. Prof. Schliemann (our correspondent adds) had every possible care. If the card with the name of the hotel had not been upon him he might have aled unknown tn some hospital oF o 0 MUCH TOO INDULGENT. Another Small Boy Shows Up as a Terror to the New Minister. From the New York Herald. “Yes,” said Mr. Easyman to the Rev. Dr. Prudent, the new minister, who was paying his parishioner a friendly visit, “you are unques- tionably right. I do not believe in being over- stern with children. Now mine treat me as they would an elder brother or playmate. No scampering up stairs when they hear my latch key turn in the door. Not much! Make your home cheerful—that's my motto.” A frowsy-haired youth of some six summers ‘appeared on the scene at this juncture. After eyeing the clergyman critically for a moment he broke out with: “Say, pa, what's 8 jay?” An ominous frown settled upon the brow of the indulgent parent as he replied: “A jay, my son, is a rather showy bird, having a low, erectile crest of feathers and——" “Bat, pa, they can fly, can't they?” “Certainly, my boy. They are noted, too, for their Propensity to chatter, and, fof. in- stance, to ask foolish questions.” The frown deepened as the boy went on: ‘wiBut, how can they fiy, pe, without any in “My son, I think I heard your ma calling you & few moments ago—” “Yea, pa, I'm going, only as I heard you tell ma last night that our now minister was a reg- ular jay, Ijust wanted to come in here and see whether he could fly. Say, mister (to the as- tonished lecgyman}, ‘youain’t gotany feathers, have you?” There was a sudden rush on the part of the indulgent parent, followed by the sudden dis- appearance of the youthful inguisito:. Then camo a series of discordant howls from the hall yon “My dear sir,” observed the parent upon en- tering the room, ‘while I admit that I ama kind and indulgent parent—why !” At this point the front door was heard to slam violently, ‘The minister had disappeared, and now Mr. Easyman is talking about rent ‘8 pew in another church. a a THE TWO BROTHERS. ee Long Lost to Each Other They Drift To- gether at Newport, R.I. From the Newport News. Thirty or forty years ago two boys were born of aslave mother in the city of New Orleans. They grew and prospered an other boys of their kind did until the breaking out of the war, when both gained their liberty and entered the service of the Union, one as asailor and the other inthe infantry. The boys we> thus separated and neither knew whether the othe: were living or dead. One, Joseph Michell, came to Newport some years since and has sup- ported himself and family by doing odd jobs. Recently the brother, Eugene Louis, also came to Newport and, strango to say, hired a tene- ment in the house of his long-lost ani unknown brother. The two went in and out of the same door daily for months, until one day ‘a neigh- bor suggested to Louis that Michell was also born in New Orleans and the two ought to be- come better acquainted. Louis saw no reason in that fact why he should trouble himself, as New Orleans was a big lace and many children beside himself were Dorn there. Howover, one day he did speak to Michell and mentioned the coincidence of the same place of nativity. Each asked the other if he knew certain people there, and, when the name of the master and mother were men- tioned; their kinship was discovered. | Louis told his brother of the death of their mother, Louiza Herrin, soon after the close of the war, and the two are now trying to find a third brother, whom they have reason to suspect is living in Providence. Tho two are now close companions and the case forms another romance of the war. ee WHAT IT COSTS. Government Expenses Assuming Alarming Senator Carlisle in the February Forum. While our population in 1890 was only sixteen times as great as in 1790 the expenditures of the national government, excluding all pay- ments upon the interest and principal of the public debt, were more than 130 times as great. In other words the population increased from 9,929,214 in 1790 to 62,480,540 in 1890, while the ordinary annual expenditures rose from $1,- 919,592 to the eum of $261,687.23. If we take | $ha4? the year 1810, twenty years after the adoption of the Constitution, we find that the popula- tion was 7,289,881 and that the expenditures were $5,811,082, or 78 cents per capits. In 1890, eighty years afterward, the population was less than nine times as great as it was then, but the ordinary expenditures were more than forty- eight times as great and amounted to @4.19 per capita. ‘From 1890 to 1840, inch the of the Seminole war, the population increased 82.67 per cent and’ the expenditures increased 80 per cent; from 1840 to 150, during which time the war with Mexico was commenced and Prosecuted to a successful termination, the per cent and the ex- the population, as shown by the recent census, is inorsasing af a rato of lees than 254 per cent, ‘That Horse Knew How It Tasted. From the Detroit Free Press. During © certain Frosty morning in mid- winter a Calico-Colored Horse was Tied to a Hitching post on Cass avenue while his owner entered a House near by to collect the Balance | and due on a Linen Duster sold in the previous | off' than who brought | jac July. The man had no sooner along came « Red-Headod ith a Sudden Stop and sald to himself: “Now here's Going to be more oe a Berrel of could make, and Shi gete Ribeaetler i °* —_ ~— , D.C, SATURDAY, JANUARY 81, On ali sides was heard a horrible chorus of oaths, crying and on “Yor-rrk.”” For the first time in my ce with sea- sickness I thought I should die. It did not seem possible that any stomach endure such wrenching without I ion; swept horizontally under them and drenched all on that side of the ship's house. It was. cold rain indeed, but it helped us. I saw one man lyin, forward very near the rail, an unusually wave dash the side and the crest of it rose high above the rail and came down on | bill him in a solid mass. It was as if a hogshead of cold salt water had been dashed on one’s chest and midriff. Yet he never stirred even shivered. He told me after wo got ashore that sl working wear: wonrtagieaing so"beieg working away, was rin} blood. ‘The reealt was such am intolerable burning that the cold water actually felt good. ——— 99 INFLUENZA’S CRADLE. ‘The Bacillus Cultivated by the Conditions of Life in Russia. Paris Correspondent of the London Standard. Prof. Tessier of tho medical faculty of Lyons has returned from Russia, whither he was sent last March tp take evidence upon the course of influenza there and the various conditions of its evolution. Thave had a conversation with him. Dr. Tes- sier began his sojourn in St. Petersburg, where he stayed for some time. He also went to Mos- cow, Kiev and Warsaw. Scientists in all these cities readily gave him information. He was struck with the closeness of diagnosis as shown in the hospital and other medical reports which they showed him. He found that influenza is a growth of Russian soil, and when not a raging malady is a smoldering one. The way the people live in winter, locked up in heated houses, the flatness of the soil, its consequent bad drainage and universally sod- den condition when the April thaw begins; the filthiness of the farmyards, the village streets and the rivers, which become suddenly swollen and in falling leave a putrid mud behind, all conduce to make influenza epidemic. ' Its microbe is in fact to be found in this mud. Dr. Tessier calls it a strepso-bacillus. What is peculiar in this disease is the alli-| age. ance with this bacillus of pneumococeus, which also lives in Russian marshes, river mud and village pools. The strepsococcus first gets hold of the human organism and. then’ the pneu- mococeus entets, like camp followers behind anarmy. It lodges in the chest and shows its presence in pleurisy and pneumonia, Dr. ‘essier does not believe the dengue fever is identical with influenza, though they resemble each other. They are both infectious and contagious and are best propagated when tho air is warm and moist and the barometer low. ———_+e+___—_ A WOMAN'S POLITICAL FORESIGHT. She Wins Two Wagers From Her Sweetheart on an Election. Milwaukee Evening Wisconsin. The friends of a very bright West Side young Indy teli with a good deal of enjoyment a cam- paign story in which she figures. Before the democrati¢ conventim the young lady, whose cleverness enabled her to to scan the political horizon with the glance of a statesman, made a wager with a young man of her acquaintanse that G. W. Peck would be the nominee for gov- ernor. Then, thinking that she was taking an unfair advantage of him, because she consid- ared it glaringly apparent that she would win, sho attempted to square things by making another bet that he would be elected. The young man was a democrat, but he took the second bet for the purpose of” “whedging.” Their surprise was mutual on the morning of November 5, when the young man found that | squii instead of “hedging” he had doubled up his bet. ‘He promptly paid both wagers and the young Indy, still bent upon squaring things, Presented to him, asa souvenir of the occa sion, a copy of “Peck's Boss, Book.” ‘On the eat, she wrote the following witty inscrip~ tioa: “The Earl of Beaconsfield used literature to rise in politics. Let us pray—in German only—that George W. Peck may use politics to rise in literature.” Chicago 1s Getting There. From the New York Sun. The irrepressible Ghicago man shouted as he stood in the rotunda of the hotel: “You New Yorkers don’t seem to know what we are doing to make Chicago the iridescent metropolis of this cosmopolitan country. You may be sur- prised, when we hold the world’s fair next year, to see that Chicago has become a great rt for European steamships, and that the ers of the new commercial fleet are running between Liverpool and Chicago, over the ocean, up the St. Lawrence, through the Canadian canals and across the lakes. Where will New York be when these liners bring their cargoes to our Chicago docks and take their cargoes from our Chicago warchouses? Even the im- migragts will come our way, for most of them it now Iand in New York are bound for the It isan English enterprise, that’s true, but I notice that the foreign steamers in the New York docks are also English, or German or French. I tell you that within the next ten fests European fteamshipe willbe ewarming in @ Michigan and. Chicago will ‘ye metropolis of North America!” He Knew Grammar. From the New York Sun. ‘When Sheridan's first line at Chickamauga was rolled back on the second I went down with a bullet through the calf of my right leg, and the foot of the same leg badly crushed by spent cannon ball which rolled over it. I hugged the ground as close as possible until the confederate line had passed by and the bul- rst lets ceased to fly, and then sat up to find the nearest other victim to be a Union soldier with his right leg smashed by a piece of shell, and» though | confederate with his left arm and shoulder badly mutilated by some other missile. As soon as the two men saw ench other they ar ot words although both must hare sae Joma hey finally done it, hevn’t Done wha you oi grayback?” replied the ; rt ie . i [ fi HM rel aft i ie i ii Ef tt u ki It ato past lem 1891—SIXTEEN PAGES. Distinguished Men Tell What May Possibly ‘Happen in 1891. ‘was not by any nation for more than eighty Preceding the outbreak of the existing ible. ‘Thomas A. Edison— and improvement of Pasteur’s germ theory of dis Robert Bonner— with Sunol that ‘California is the foremost state in the Union for and horse. settlement of the question of a site for the new that city. director of the United States mint—The of the Farmers’ Alliance movement through internal dissen- cial condition of the country. Gen. William T. Sherman—We'll all be burned up, burned up, and California first. Robert P. Porter, census superintendent— ‘The discovery of the means of generating on ® commercial ecale electric currents from heat derived from fuel. W. J. Arkell—The passage of a free silver event in 1891 would be the destruction of the world. Senator John H. Mitchell—I must give it up. Ballard Smith—The assombling of a Congress with one hundred and fifty odd democratic majority to succeed a Congress with some ten republican majority. james W. Scott, publisher of the ‘The laying of the corner stone of the world’s fair in Chi Rudolph Aronson—A revulsion of public taste, the decline of horse play, the suppression of comedians with craniumsand healthy appetite tor operas Toveid of pink tights and glittering tinsel. ‘Senator Leland Stanford—The adoption of » bill to provide the government with means sufficient to supply the national want of a sound circulating medium. Congressman James B. McCreary—The meet- ing of the Fifty-second Congress with an un- precedented majority of democrats in the House of Representatives. Congressman. Seth L. Milliken —Unprece- dented prosperity for the labor and industries of this country. in Marion Biggs—The adjourning of the Fifty-first Congress Congressman William W. Morrow—The or- ganization of the Inter-Continental Railway ny. John Russell Young—Financial trouble aris- ing out of the kindergarten legislation in Con- grees. Archibald C. Gunter—The repeal or modifi- cation of the McKinley bill. George M. Pullman—The consolidation of railway interests. De Witt C. Cregier, mayor of Chicago—The it progress made in the preparations for the jumbian exposition. Capt. I. W. Lees, chief of the detective force of San Francisco—The advent of the aluminum ‘Congressman J. C. Burrows—The final ad- journment of the Fifty-first Congress. John W. Noble, Secretary of the Interior— The unexpected. siGtt: W- HL. Barnos—The free coinage of ver. Adolph Spreckele—The steamship subsidy bill in operation. Congressman J. McKenna—The unexpected. “PLEASE REMOVE YOUR HATS.” A Little Man Works a Theatrical Reform ‘Trick in a Neat Manner. The theater was crowded. The curtain had Just risen. Jewels fiashed, gay plumes on won- drous head dresses fluttered in the heated air, costly fans waved slowly to and fro and the fashionable audience turned its eyes and opera glasses toward the stage and settled into the hush of expectation that precedes the opening of the play when the experienced stage man- ager has waited considerably for all the late comers to be seated before the bell taps for the curtain to rise. Ine conspicuous location, about half way | had between the orchestra and the front seats of the parquet circle, were three ladies who had | of come in unattended about five minutes before. The were noticeable for the wide, flaring um- brageous hats they wore. Directly behind them sat a nervous looking. despairing man, who was making wild but fruitless efforts to sce the st . The wide hats, with their wealth of tropical bird foliage, hid everything he ‘wanted to see from his view. In vain he wriggled and irmed and craned his neck from side to side. The hats wero too large, too close to- gether and too richly upholstered. ‘Apparently unconscious that he was attract- ing the attention of everybody in his neighbor- hood and bringing the ladies in front of him into unpleasant prominence, he persevered til! sounds of ill-suppressed laughter were heard onall sides of him. Then he settled himeclf back in his chair with a world-weary sigh, but the next moment took advantage of a lull in the performance on the stage to lean forward and address one of the ladies—the one who sat in the middle. “Madam,” he sai?’ in a loud whisper, “I beg pardon, but it is utterly impossible for me to see through your hat and the Lord made me too small to see over it. If you will kindly re- move it you will make a wretched man happy fore whole evening.” aan forty or fifty persons who were looki on saw the lady remove her hat at once, tars within the next half minute, much to the relief | Hi the War of the evening sapped on the stage star e on pil te stontton of tebendince ens atten to the performance again. The details of this little incident are ‘iven in full for the purpose of explaining to ose who witnessed : it'thet the Necbemites peter A mes Important Nickle-in-the-Slot Decision. From the Chicago Journal. If you drop a nickel with @ string attached, keeping the end of the string in your band, have you really dropped the coin? An Iowa thas decided in the affirmative. An in- probably abate a nuisnes. Slavery im San Francisco. Interview with San Franciscaa. itt ri A if t i f it i eries, but in every instance hushed up. The are teen years. The Fras bave i i i i : i i ti soi A PASTE DECEIVER. A Blighted Love the Result of Indulging in ‘Sham ‘From the Detroit Free Press, “You seem ” he as they| “See here, T , Fou" ui said, ‘ommy, you've called Otto often self. world. I will reserve it for Arizona.” It is true that Dr. Gunsaulus had 165 acres of wheat out in Arizona that needed looking after, but it is more than likely that an ambi tion to wear that new, splendid red necktie spired in Dr. Gunsaulus a ceaseless yearnit to go west. At any rate he went, accompanied | = his son, a little fellow of ten or twelve years | | the dem: age. To such as have never seen Dr. Gunsanius decked in that array which he affects when in- ting wheat or hunting rare bibliomaniac in Arizona, we will say that this costume the of weirdness. Its most conspicuous feature is a black felt hat with an enormous flexible brim. An especial flavor of | spice—of wickedness, if you please-—was given | to this costume by the superb red necktie. be candid, Dr. Gunsaulus, attired for looked very like one of those heroic far western characters of which Brot Harte loves to treat. Now it happened that Dr. Gunsaulus traveled free pass obtained through the kindly offices of one of the influential lambs of his was made continuous ail cago to Arizona and back | again. It fell clearly within the lines of the interstate commerce act, for it was made out to the necount of (and was to be paid in) adver- worked all right until Dr. Gun- the Santa Fe country. It was then that a coarse, unfeeling, one-eyed conductor came through the train collecting tickets at the int of a murderous-looking horse pistol. He been sheriff of a county in New o % ‘ickets!”” demanded this fierce monster. Dr. Gunsaulus mildly produced his free pass. The conductor read the free pass. hallowed fire of scepticism illumined his cyclo- t's yer name?” asked the conductor. “The Rev. F. W. Gunsaulus,” ans vered the The conductor took as rapid a view of Dr. Gugsaulus as his one eye would admit of. “No, yer don’t!” exclaimed the conductor “Yer don’t play that game on me! very good preacher, flock. This free the way from Yer no her.” “Indeed T am, and a too,” remonstrated Dr. Gunsaulns. said the conductor, “it's no 3 tocome any monkey business with me; I reckon I know a dominy when I see ‘Yer'll have to put up yer good money or | get off'n the train.” There seemed to be no alternative. Dr. Gun- saulus looked out of the car window; it would never do for him to be set down in that desert of cactuses and prairie dogs. He sought to rea- #on with the conductor; every gift, every power, every artifice of eloquence at his command he brought to bear upon the callous creature, but all in vain. In vain, also, did gentleman's little boy plaintively but stoutly was a minister;” the unre- conductor was not to be | last jeft. Murr; maintain that “ generate heart of ed. No dominy ever wore a necktie like that,” “Yer'll have to put up the Dr. Gunsaulus did put up, but not util he secured a receipt therefor from the eyed aceptic. The next three hours were hours migery, for not even so long-suffering and so tient a clergyman as Dr. Gunsaulus cares to separated from his worldly possessions by the unfecling agent of «soulless rail poration. But about a hundred miles further down the road the mayor of Santa Fe boarded the train, ily able to identify Dr. Gun- saulus as being indeed entitled to all the ae yo it free dingorged the money and ‘an apology as “I've been livin’ out here now for goin’ on twenty-three years,” he said, “and I've seen of human bein’ from bonanza kings down to three-card monte sharks, but I never seen a preacher with a red necktie afore! Sa pardner, yer a daisy, Tl bet. Although it's agin the ‘rules, I don't mind lookin’ at yer if yer've got yer bottle handy!” His Wife Should Be Satisfied. From the Detroit Free Press. He was standing ins doorway on Jefferson id the conductor. stuff or git off'n the A Lost cnonD. Patey Preaches a Sermoa, Eaward W. Townsend in The Anronaut. enough. Let's go home.” Tommy Paget stared at the anarchist: he was usually the last to leave the supper table. It was there he had his cherished opportunitiee that she won't be home this evening—very | toexpound all the “ins” his editor disap- year, and #0 | proved, and so long as Lynn, Dunnigan, Paget or any of the lete men be chummed with would stay at the supper gable, Patsy, the anarchist, never enggested leaving. am about drinking, after you have bad as much asa man should drink with his supper.” This of Patsy's was greeted with to mame asks ™e lisughter by all the men atthe table, Patey never having distinguished himself by conti nencein cups. Patey himeelf grinned « litte then said: It's all right for you, Dunni and Lynn, who have been drinking with your euppers every night these fifteen years, and always go home as sober as a judge should be, but for this aceon J cub to try to get ahead of the malt Serage production of the countrymakes me—* “It makes prosy, Patey, Paget: “life is Tootdne. as it is, for LC —— — the anarchist turned prosy. Otto! y Paget trilled those lines as if they had the significance of a sentimental song —and The Rev. Dr. F. W. Gunsaulus had an inter- | no more: but the anarchist started angrily, then esting experience out in Arizona last summer. It will bear narrating. It seems that a friend in London, aware of the reverend gentlema: fondness for vivid color, sent Dr. Gunsaulus | | present virtuous Taughed, and wad: ~Well, Tommy, since you won't go, I'll tell you a story about the Inst time I beard a drunken man quote a Rubsiyat. The story may also throw an illuminating side light on my ‘of mind concerning Tum. All right, Otto. “As vou know, I was up north last week gathering pearls’of scandal to embroider on t sensation Dunni has woven out of the inson case. “To catch a night train down I was driven over from Oroville to the town of Gridley, and upon ingairing bow mach late the train would be, found I should have the social delights of the town at my disposal until 2 o'clock in the morning. Thad a book and found a beer ball, 80 wae Going very well until I was distracted by ni an insufficiently dranken tramp to supply hira with ‘the forbidden cap,’ for which he offered to exhange a song. “It is my belief that the cup ix a beneficent agency in promoting the survival of the fittest, othe bargain was made. | He took whisky Gridley whisky !—and as much as the barkeeper would permit. Then he wobbied piano, which had a tone I over toa a keg of nails, and proceeded to make noises that gradually assumed a resemblance to ‘The Lost Chord.” As he reached the bravura, ‘It may be that only in Heaven,’ I suddenly became very much in- terested. ie had swung into the big accom- paniment as no one could who had not once pared st pertectly, his voice cleared on the st notes and he took them with evidence of careful training. “I was suddenly conscions that I was listening ton man whose name, seven or eight ras constantly in every social column in He had been a society feature. Fis PloR!s were good; his musical education bril- innt; handsome, well dressed and—clerk in a mining office at $60 a month. “You remember the case, Dunni—only a few thousand short—friends ‘squared it—disap- peared—forgotten. ~There were tears in his poor, shallow eyes when I thanked him and asked’ him to sit at my table. He had n mustache and beard like a chrysanthemum and very little re- semblance to a human being, vet it pleased to act as if he were what I bad known him to be. | After he had sccepted several payments song, and had a brave and merry heart, that I knew him—he had never “He told me graciously that be had just opened up a tremendously rich quertz mine end was then on his way to the city to order a mill, but would be delayed aday or s0, as he had lost his trunk from the stage coming down from the tountains, “The game soon bored me, and I left him there. I walked up and down the main street for an hour, meditating on the all-pervading sweetness and light of existence and the muta- bility of railroad time tables until I was dis turbed by cries from the balls of pleasnre I had ng back there—it is deadly dull waiting’ ielayed train past midnight—I found the proprietor of the place strengthening himself ir: righteousness by kicking my singer into the gutter. As he had already kicked him into insensibility, which was all the victim even could have asked, I suggested that hostilities cease. They did not, sol accepted the pleasant opportunity of warming myvelf by thrashing somewhat amazed proprietor. ;“Tomms, when sou give up being « Jonrnal- ist and become a newspaper man. by all means endeavor to get out-of-town details. The; ford many plcasant and ennobling vd some time it may even be your knightly tate to bark your knuckles against a bumpkin s heed in defouse of a fellow creatare who is as drunk as he wants to be. “I made the silent singer as comfortable as the facilities of the gutter permitted and re- sumed my waik, my pleasant meditations now enriched with reminiscences of the last time I had seen my singer. He had taken the leading part in a society drama played by swell ama- feurs for a fashionable charity. Ihed reported fair. “When I went to the station at 2 o'clock the agent told me that I had an hour to wait, so I was not half sorry to find my Lost Chord on the platform. I wanted some one to talk to, and the station agent wanted to sleep. “The Lost Chord was in ® pretty bad way. The warmth of iis cups hed left him, and bis clothes not being weather proof he was rapidly thy Liking, tho specter eguny of > 4 © supe! agony inc! it dclcium, Making ‘the sche of Uruieed boses matt: of indifference. It scemed both wise and charitable to assist him to expire with o flash, rather than let him merely cease to exist for lack of energy to shiver longer, so him my flask—a full one. He was soon as and happy a being as—as you were « minutes ago, Tommy, and when my trai slong he was, reciting eloquence. His ani upturned to the glinting stare, co a i i tt Fi BIE avenue and presently he halted a pedestrian with a waveof hishand and beckoned him to pproach “How do I look?” “Why, you present a pretty red . who couldn't get out of this town too fast?” “That's about it.” “Thanks. Here isa letter Ihave written to my wife asking for money to get home. She's a woman she won't take my write at the bottom: Hy Hi : L g it i te fF eral: ago I secured pension for a phe ches ars amas ‘and then, i t i i ut \s8 ies ey eerd He E i i E f f ‘Driuk! for you know not why you go, or where!" “Ins few minutes he went—where?—end they shoveled it off to one side of the track. “Otto! Fill Mr. Paget's a “No, Patsy! Let's go home.” ABOUT GLASS EYES. Not Always to Be Detected When Seen—The ‘Trade in Them. From the Buffalo News. “Good glass eyes come high,” said an oove- list recently. “Cost a big price, do they?” “Yes, the good ones do.” “Then there is a good deal of difference?” | i i t ii i y iil i | i ; i i | f t i ‘ { i 5 Ul 8, i | if i ie rt Ht i ; i i t F i : fe My i H alli fet i i £ i t