Evening Star Newspaper, May 23, 1896, Page 17

THE EVENING STAR, SATURDAY, MAY 28, 189¢~-TWENTY-FOUR PAGES. : n” 1T LANGLEY’S AIRSHIP Something About the Aerodrome Re- cently Tested With Success. PROCESS OF ITS GRADUAL EVOLUTION Secret of the Bird’s Power to Soar Through the Air. a COMMERCIAL USE URING THE PAST ten days a more than usual share of public attention has been directed toward Secretary Langley of the Smithsonian In- the stitution, emi- nent phy who has gained for him- self and for Amer- ica the glory of hav- ing accomplished what even the most SBS AT advanced minds have Geemed impossible and visionary. fotographs of the aero-irome—the- in- Secretary Langley—in flight have been made, but these, together with all other illustratio: of its structure, are held for a future scien be written by the secreta: In fact, the wonderful macitine itself has been seen only by the confidential em- ployes of the secretary. It is the inventor's purpose to avoid errors by describing the maen first-hand, so that all who may interest themselves in his invention may seription in his own words. n the vague information al- ee it may be said that the e has a srea‘er expanse rgest of known birds— » to tip being fourteen distance from t Flying Screw. feet, whik Anc that of the great condor of the s is but nine feet. The wings, extend- ing uniformly from each side, are not put in motion, but incline at an angle, like those of a bird in the act of aring. A pair of screw propell h having four paddies of a very li 1, revolve earings on oppe of the the frame. 1 framework, forming the skele- f the machine and supporting uring an ene h of surface, mous pressure this strength u ipally to ite cylin:trical shape It was thought that aluminum Would be utilized, but that metal carnot be fasi d into tubes as light and still as strong as those of steel. Compact Steam Engine. anism of the compact steam iS greater strength per pound ‘Ss any other engine ever built, experience been arranged ubtle: er long Born at Roxbury, Bostorf, ih 1834, a few Years after the locomotive became a prac- tical success, he devoted the first fifty or more years of his life to astronomy. On becoming secretary of the Smithsonian Institution in 1887 he began the construc- fion of paraphernalia with which within less than nine years he has “learned of every bird its secret.” During these years he has been the busiest man in the national capital. In his working hours he has minded not the tick- ing of the clock. When seen to shut hini- self behind the docrs of his laboratory no one could ever guess at the hour when he Was to emerge again to the outer world. He has told it to a few friends that in early youth he watched the flights of birds and conceived tne strong determination to fathom their mysteries. The First Apparatus. His first sti dies were rade with a whirl- ing’ table, constructed before he left the Allegheny observatory. On_ establishing himself in this city he eonstruct2d an in- strument of this kind on a more elaborate scale. It consisted in a vertical rod termi- nating in bearings at ceiling and_ floor. From above the center of this extended at right-angles a horizontal arm, giving wie instrument somewhat the appeararce of a derrick. By turning a crank the contriv- ance was made to revolve in its bearings. Stringfellow Machine. To the end of the arm he attached aero- planes, Lke kites of varicus forms. By attaching balances and recording devices to these plenes ke le 4 how =nuch power was required to dr them through the air at a given speed and how much weight driven could lift. After t aeroplanes of many weights, a@ plane thus ing pes sizes he I d which kind would give the least resistance to the air and which would lift the greater weight per square inch of surfac his problem solved, the next was to a certain the proper motive power for pr. pelling the aeroplanes. The choice wa between wings, screws or both. A few toy birds had been known to make actual flights of a few seconds. Prof. Langley knew from the first that if a small aero- drome would fly a larger cne would do so even more readily. Minute flying machin of various form and size were purchased or constructed by. the secreta Tho: which made actual flights and which may be called the direct ancestors of the aero: Grome which flew the other day the writer has been allowed to examine and sketch. The fi s were made with “mechan: | freight being, earned eo ical birds.” imported from France. As] rail‘or water early as 1870 M. Penaud, a rising your here sine a i Hietapine Frenchman, invented a’ “flying screw.” | ion, why airshi; Ase and during the ten years following several | comfort and sat a steam- Winged devices which supported them-| ship, To insure the irome of selves in the air for a few seconds. P2-| the “future must. be provided with Hf naud workcd diligently upon the problem | poate and a full complement of parachur until 1889, when he lost heart and died at} Tt must havi ve set of engines and less than thirty years of age. propellers, and if a buoyant envelope be A Rubber Motor. used, there must be carried generators Another Frenchman named Pinchancourt FOE ee cieTine Spurs Eee continued to manufacture models of Pe-| successful Invention or rshiiy Have naud’s inventions, which he sold to physi- | patented all sorts of devices for acrial nav. cists. These were the devices which Prof. | igation. None, however, ver flown. Langley imported and studied at the be- | Over 150 patents: for ai ae sinning of his devoticn to the’ subject, | Ere "for teescia wien tema a often improving them. Penaud had con-| ment. None resembles’ the oe ceived the idea cf utilizing the energy | drome in principle. The earllest of his inventions, bought by anes the ore is y THE ROMAN ROADS. light wooden frame, or axle, with a crescent-ske ped wing at either end. These wings were made of double that advantage has been taken of al- m every portion of the framework Which forms the cylinders, rods and tubes. In an tn 1 of the machine there is rcth esting the presence of a steam erin vehicle over all is said to weig twenty pounds. The addi- tional weight of a condensing engine was omitted because unnec to demon- strate the principle of aeria! flight. Had there been attached a suitable con- Genser, the aerodrome, instead of ventui ing only a half mile, would theoretical have traveled around the world, had the fuel been sufficient. Altnough the theo- retical loss of a condenser is nothing, the actual | is estimated at less than five per cent. The additional fuel might have been carried had the secretary made his engine run at the rate of thirty-six rather than eighteen miles per hour. ‘The theory is that an aerodrome will double its power of support when it doubles its speed. It is upoh is problem of the conden: that Maxim has lately worked with great suc- cess That the Langley aerodrome mounted “he air in a spiral path was not due to an un- evenness of e, as has been supposed, It is very probable that all aerodromes of the fu I a until reaching th din a corkscrew path trata in which the desired current und. This trick ot al nas been learned from pally the sparrow Mechanical Bird. pawk. The common theory that large birds elevate themselves by repeatedly flapping their wings downward, thereby ing pressure of the air ight, has been exploded igations. It Is the more ad- sory of Prof. Langley and others that birds cannot support themselves fn this way. They travel almost entirely by soaring. Purely Scientific Interest. It 1s thought that in the larger aero- @romes of the future gas engines will re- place those of steam. Electricity might be employed should success be obtained in @ecreasing the weight and increasing the retaining powers of storage batteries. It is not thought, however, that Prof. Lang- ley will interest himself in the commercial side of the question. His function has been the difficult ayientific demonstration of the rinciple. There are many mora scientific Problems concerning aerlal flight which the great inventor is said to have before him for solution. Important ones relate to Means of launching and landing aero- Pinchanconrt’s Bird. @romes without danger. Birds have tricks if thelr gwn for accomplishing these ends, Sian fun some gatas along the gro nd, ive off high structures 3 starting, ile in landing they utilize 1 i wings arachutes and their legs and toes as aprings, hé story of Langley’s success js an ine ¢ wyce of the seward which falls to him rho féarlessly and courageously, ea. Langley’s Aerodrome of 1892. thicknesses of silk, cut to form triangles and fastened with the corresponding points overlapping, to give a spiral effect. Many rubber strings inside the frame were previously twisted. As they unwound the wings revolved In opposite directions. Prof. Langley altered this device until he succeeded in making it ascend as high ag the Smithsonian building. Another of Penaud’s inventions was a rod twenty inches long, supporting a rubber motor. Near the center and at right angles was @ bow-shaped rod, covered with silk and measuring fifteen inches from tip to tip. In the rear was a screw propeller of two paddles. Between this and the bow-aero- plane was a sail made of an oval frame, covered with silk, having a fin rising at right angles, in a vertical plane. With this additional flights were made and further lessons learned. A Mechanical Bird. In 1889 Pinchancourt had improved upon the inventions of Penaud by constructing a mechanical bird, with a strong rubber motor revolving a triple eccentric. This eccentric moved three sets of levers, each fastened to a different part of the wings. Prof. Langley purchased one of these. It measured fourteen and one-half inches in length and sixteen and one-half inches from tip to tip of wings, weighing about ene and one-hal? ounces. A similar one, if not the actual one, had previous!y flown seventy feet in France against the wind. Experiments with this added to the fast increasing knowledge of the laws of flight. Further sttdies were devoted to the Stringfellow airship, which hangs above the historic John Bull train in the Na- tional Museum. In 1868 this had been awarded a prize of $500 at the Crystal Pal- ace, London. It then had the lightest steam engine, in proportion to its power, ever made. It consists of three aeroplanes, one above the other, and a tail, the whole weighing but twelve pounds, with fuel and water. It flew, suspended on a wire, but never independently. Combining the lessons demonstrated by these machines, as well as by the whirling- table, Secretary Langley, about the year 1892, built for himsalf an original model, differing from any other which had pre- viously navigated the air. This is a direct ancestor of the last aerodrome, and its re- lationship may be counted within a few gererations. It measured 41 inches in great- est length, $1 inches from tip to tip of widest wings. It had two aeroplanes of thin silk, one above the other, and a long and sleader tail, tipped with a sall of paper, made of three triangles, joined. It Beat the Record. ‘The main frame consisted of two parallel rods of bamboo, between the aeroplanes, held together with cross wires. Each rod contained inside a long skein of rubber strings, which, when twisted and released, set in motion a pair of double-paddle pro- Rellers of thick paper. This model flew ‘urther than any of its predecessors. On one eventful day it propelled itself, in free alr, over the picturesque towers of the Smithsonian, Its rubber motor is said t have created more motive power per ounce! than any other motor ever before invented. The difficult problem now to be solved wag the construction of a sufficiently light and genet steam engine, to replace the rub- Aoopt is tim American inyoutor in named Copeland begun to succeed uilding steam engines éxcelling all other: Borpyncinces: ae Baal ullt weighe ogi mu ten pounds to one horse 5 ower. 4 is the secre’ demonstra: hat such an engine wo jupport & weight of over 200 pounds in the air at a horizontal velocity of about forty-five miles per hour and st{ll more at a higher velocity, the sur- face of fhe aeroplanes being appropriately increased in area or number. It was not until the eventful 6th day of the present month that one of these compact steam en- gines was arranged upon the aerodrome successfully. It is reasonably certain that aerial flight, by mechanical means, will be practically successful within a very few years after Prof. Langley lays bare all of the details of his wonderful aerodrome. There are many engineers in this and foreign coun- tries who, after some practice will be com- petent to build a giant aerodrome when given a small model to fashion after. The highest authorities on aerodynamics agree that the first practical adaptation of the vehicle will be as a means of warfare. Attacked From Above. Fortifications for which Uncle Sam now Proposes to expend millions would be use- less wrecks if attacked by such vessels fashioned to drop explosives from aloft. Batile ships would hkewise be wiped from the bosom of the sea in the twinkling of an eye. Batleries on land would have to be devised for shooting vertically, as birds are shot on the wing. It would be much more diticult to hit an acrodrome in this manne: than a butloon, on acount of the form: much smaller surface and much gr velocit A well-informed aerodynamist who ex- pressed this view t> the writer gave it as is further belief that ihe speed of aer dromes will some day reach as high a miles an hour. It would be very ditli- cult to hlt one while in motion, and if struck the chances are that a projectiie would pass through it without impaiz its tight. Aerodromes, he says, will not carry guns of present Gesign heavicr than sixty to seventy pounds. A successful cdreme will Goubucss be able to run all itheut renewing fuel or water, if a day sutlicientiy light condenser can be perfect- ed. Gt military values of aerodromes will be their uses as signaling appa us, and as observatories for investigating the fortifications of an enem: Although Secretary Langley has ignored the adaptation of buoyant gas to his fly- ing machine, it is the opinion of many Ura without this the airship will never be- come a commercial success. Gas envelopes would impair the speed of such a vehicle, however, and make it a prey for the wind. Sull it is said that as his ascent is con. tinued the aeronaut will sooner or ter find some air current blowing in the de- sired direction. For Long Distance Lin neer who has paid great atten- tion to the practical and economic view of aerial navigation tells the writer that it ts improbable that any system can ever compete succes fully Ways or steamships, as far tances are concerned. Their use will be shooting over long distances quickly. distance airship lin firs of a with ‘ships rail- short dis- for Some of Them Still in Use for No Repnirs, From the New York The Roman road was built for eternity. When the roadbed had and Call dependent. been pre by excavation it was carefully ed, regardless of expense, with lay- ers of sand, stones and cement. The surface was so solidly dressed that the wear and tear was reduced to a mini- mum. Thvestigations with regard to the Preparation of the roadbeds were made years ago by Bergier on Roman road that are still in use in France, and ¥ the following results: In one road ihe excavation down to hardpan wa three feet deep. This trench was filled up first with a layer of sand and cement an inch thick; then came a foot layer of tish stones and cement; then a foot layer of small traveled stones and cement. These last two la: ers were so hard and nly knit together that tools could break oft fragments only with great difliculty. The next layer consisted of a foot of cement and sand, covered with a top-dressing of gravel. In another road in France the foot layer of cement and sand chang places with the layer of cement and trav- eied stones. A third road in jrance was examined at a point where it had been raised twenty feet above the | of the surrounding country, and a vertical tion revealed a structure of five First came the great fill of 16% feet; on top of this fill they placed first a Toot layer of flattish stones and cement, then a foot layer of flattish stones without mortar of any kind, then a half-foot layer of firmiy packed dirt, then a half-foot layer of small gravel in hard cement, and lastly, a half-foot layer of cement and large gravel. Paved roads were exceptional. An ample of paved road is the Via Appia, whose pavement consists of a hard kind of stone, such as is used for mill ‘The stones of this pavement are c layers. ly hewn and fitted together so precisely to be that the road often rock, and has proved to be ible that after 2,000. y use it is still a magnificent road. Ordi- narily, however, the top dressing of the read consisted of gravel and hard cement, and when, in the countless inscriptions such and such a governor is said to have restored a given road, reference is made top dressing ‘of gravel and ce- ment. The width of the military road was usually sixty feet; the raised center being twenty feet wide, with side tracks each of the width of twenty feet. In some roads the raised center was paved, while the side tracks were dressed with’ gravel and cement. The viae privatae and the feeders of the military roads were usually dirt roads, They were much narrower than the military roads; cometimes they had a width of only ten feet, and, indeed, the feeders of the Via Appia were only’ two feet wide, but paved. The width of the Roman roads, alf told, varied, therefore, from 2 to 120 feet. —_——-+ +. No Wonder. From the Philadelphia Press, Stranger—‘Your city hall is quite impres- appears truct- 's of continuous sive, but it lacks warmth of color. It gives one an impression of chilliness, Philadelphian—“Chilliness! Well, rather! It cost about $16,000,000 in cold cash!” —_—— ~+es. Determined to Win. From the Chicago Post. “Weyler will win in Cuba yet. He is a most persistent and determined man,” “What has he done now?” “He has sent to Spain for more telegraph operators, in order that he may increase the number of his victories.” —__+e+_____. Under Certain Conditions. From Harper's Bazar. Wosterner—“As a New Yorker, you are of course fond of New York, Aren’t you?” New Yorker—‘Certainly, If you tan af- ford to live in the country during the aun- mer, and to go abroad or down south in the inten New York is & pleasant place to, | ive POST OFFICE SQUARE ———_+-— z Interesting Points About the History of the Department B ilding, WHERE ONCE A HOTEL stoop —___+—__ Location of a Telegraph Station in the Early Days. t A STREET WOOD PILE (Copyright.) HEN THE SEAT OF ment was moved to the new federal city, as Washington was then termed,the Post Office Department was located in a building on the north- west and corner of 9th F streets and soon after trans- 1 to rooms in the VS Navy Department AAO” puilding. In 1810 the government purchased for the use of the Post Office Department and the patent office a large brick building, known as Blodgett’s Hotel, on EF street between 7th and Sth streets, being the south front of the square now occupied by the Post Ottice Department. After the burning of the Capitol by the British troops, Augu: , ISH, the build- Ing was taken for the use of Congress, and the department removed to the Gunton building, northwest corner of Pennsyl ja avenue and {th street, returning in two years later to the Blodgett building. It s an old building, with wooden floors. The cellars were stored with large quan- of wood and coal. A fire started in the lower part of the building at lock on the morning of December 15, 1836, The structure was totally destroyed. It took half an hour to get an alarm sounded by a church bell, and it was another half hour before any water was thrown on the fire. Amos Ken 1, the Postmast General, in 2 0% his report to Congress, relates that he aroused from sleep by the alarm, and lea ing his residence—a few doors’ from the department—though sick at the time, went at once to the burning building. The Po master eral did at a grea risk ent the build after the fire S Well under way, and, sted t a few clerks, sue- ec 1 in saving valuable docyments an come of the cords of the P m. © Gereral’s office, the mest valuable pre bly at this date being the ledgers and let- ters in Benj. Frarklin’s ha writing now exhibited in the Post Office Department museum, The city post office occ pied a part of the building ard the outgoing m had been sent off, but the mail matter local d livery wa. all destroyed. All.of the mo els {i the patent office were urt The foundation walls of the present pat- ent office building, on the. square ju north of the one where the Post Office D. partmert building ts located. were at the time of th © already laid. Amos Ke 1, reporting the fire to President And “The corpanation of th with honorable promp- sd the department the use of the » City Hail, new occupied 1 and their officer: and the officers of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Company, ‘The proprietors of the eal college also tendered the use of building or nd-offers were made of the city. other buildings in the central part amination was made of y their magrttude to af- ford sufti room for the force employed in the department, but none Were found equal In the commodiowsness of their terlor structure and alg@mda: 3 le to @h€ building occupied by the Treasury Deparggept on Penn: nia avenue. ~ { such as promised t In Faller's Hot This hotel was called the Mansion House. It was then rented by a man named Ful- ler and belonged to Benjamin Ogle Taylo and is now Willard’s Hotel. The govern- ment rented this building from Mr. Fuller to the expiration of his lease, and then leased it from Mr. Tayloe. The official force of the Post Office Department con- sisted at that time of the Postmaster Gen- eral, three assistant postmasters general and other employes, numbering in all fifty- four. The annual appropriation, including salaries, contingent expenses and rent, The present number of employ, department is 689, and the apr for salaries and the running of the department buildings is near- $100,000, The department occupied this Ma Hotel building up to the end of the IS]. When it was vacated by the d- ment, Mr. Tayloe wrote a letter to Pres!- dent Tyler complaining of the bad condi- tion in which the building had been left, and claiming that it should be put in good repair at the expense of the government. On the smallest of note paper, and which corresponded with the delicacy of the hand- writing, the President wrote to the Post- Ger 5 . Wickliffe, * ting that he should have an ins le of the building, and the Pos General, in a lette that appointé ostmuster General and Mr. Marron, his own chief clerk, committee “to give a general supervision, and order what repairs are necessary to be done. and which the terms and nature of the lease impose upon the government.” There was much correspondence on the subject, and although certain repairs were made, a suit in the United States Court of Claims was the final result. The Entire Square. The south front of the present building was begun in 1889. It was designed and built by Robt. Mills, architect of public buildings, and the departmental force moved into it January 1, 1842, when va- cating Fuller's Hotel. At the suggestion of Robt. Mills the Postmaster General start- ed at once negotiations for the purchase of the other lots on this square for the vse of the government, and by 1845 the entire square was acquired. The names of those who deeded their property to the government by this pur- chase were Wm. Kibbe, H. Hardisty, Thos. Laws, Jas. Caden, Jno. P. Van Ness, C. F. Wood, Jacob Gideon, Elbert G. Emack and Ann Benning. With the deed of one of the lots is filed a deed of trust, dated 1826, which besides the lot includes also his ne- gro slave, called Charles , aged about eight,” also “the goods and chattels, house- hold stuff and furniture mentfoned or can. tained in the schedule heréto, annexed. The schedule, attached to the deed w wafers, was written by some one with original teas as to spelling, as the fol- lewing examples tndicate:” “Two beads ard beading, one burow and three tables, nine chears and one tub and two buckets.” The Post Office Department, like most of the other government departinents, has at the present time outgrown its. own bulld- ing, and is occupying several rented bulld- ings; so that it Is gratifying to know that at one time Uncle Sam held the position of a landlord. There were sevéral houses on the lots purchased for the Post Office De- partinent, and prior to the extension of the building ‘these hou werd rented, and there was considerable correspondence in the way of notices to quit, demands for payment of rent, demands for repairs and excuses for non-payment of rent. A Woman's Leiter. Among these letters is one written by a woman. It is addressed to C. A, Wickliffe, Postmaster General, under date of July 5, 1843, and is as follows: “On the 30th ultimo Mr, Marron, the chiet clerk, rendered me an account of f! 00 for rent due the Post Office Depart- ent, accompanied by a notification of dis- traint for the same in default of payment cing made fn a few days, As this course, {f persisted In, will take from me the very limited means I have to shield myself and helpless children from absolute destitution and penury, I am constrained to offer a re- spectful remonsftance, feeling assured of meeting with whatever clemency may up- der the circumstances be deemed consist- ent with public duty. “‘Somé extenuation for my delinquency, cand harmony of the design, may be found fn the fact that the unte! able situation of the buildings has been such, and the time when it was known the department would requjre them for its own use so near at hand, as to deter per- sons from seeking board in them, circum- Stances which have constftuted the prix cipal obstacle in the way of acquiring the means wherewith to pay the rent; and for the same reason it is more than probable that had the house now occupied by me, and for which the rent is mainly due, been vacated on the Ist of April last, with the adjacent one, it would, like that, have re- mained unoccupied; so that my occupancy cannot have been productive of any act- ual loss to the United States. “I much regret my present inability to cancel this debt, yet hope that the day is not distant when I shall have it in my power to do so, when it will give me mi pleasure. “In conclusion, sir, let me hope that the eppeal in behalf of the helpless and the orphan may avert from them the conse- quences of the course intimated in Mr. Marrcn’s note, and that time may be granted me to pay the amount due with- out the sacrifice of the litue unsalable furniture I have. The Postmaster General, after reading this letter, indorsed on the back of it the following instructions to his chief elerk: “Say to this good lady for me that if this were my ewn debt she would not be trou- bled, but I am acting for the government, and cannot justify a failure to secure the debt; that if she will give security to pay the debt in one and two years I will so in- dulge here and take the responsibility, Th ation of the bond shows that sh y security, and Was able to remain in the house, and that the rent was eventually paid. A Telegraph Office. When Robt. Mills, the architect of public xildings, recommended, in 1842, the pur- of the additicnal ground for future ion he suggested that some of the old buildings on the lots might be put to immediate use for the post office, and when the purchase was made this idea was cerricd out. There was a row of thre brick heuses, painted yellow, facing on h street, and but a few feet from the com- pleted front of the department buildin ‘The post office occupied two of these houses until the extension was begun. When Congress appropriated $30,000 to defray the cost of experimenting with Morse’s telegraph, the expenditure was made under the care of the Secret of the Treasury, and the first line esi from an upper room in Mount Clare ctric 5, Congre: Merse’s offer 1 to the for $100,000, but on March 1 $4,000 for the maintenance graph between Baltimore and Washington, and placed expenditure cf the mcney under the charge of the Postni hi order fixing atiol shown to t once issued a department salary of Prof. Mor regulating the that where it e city post office, and that the Balt office could be moved to the post office of that cit the same time pro- viding for the expense of extending the from the former at Mount C! Baltir magn wire tic e on, blished to New York, Buffa- Iphia. ernment Control Advocated. irch, 1847, as Congr k no action in the matter, the control of the new invention passed into the hands of private individuals. Cave Johnson, Postmaster General, however, in two of h reports, recommended the pur of this system of ra on between di: nt cities, ed figures showing its practi- many arguments in favor cf ition, closed with words: “In my last communication 1 then expressed the opinion that strument so powerful for good or for € could not with safety to the citizen be p. mitted to remain in the hands of individa- als uncontrolled by law. Another year's experience gives additional weight to the opinion then expressed.”” ‘The maintenance of a limited postal tele- graph by the Post Office Department is not a new idea by any means, and the many Postmasters General who have reported in favor of the scheme are but following the lead of the cabinet officer who was in charge of the department at the time the electric telegraph was first’ made known, and under whose direction and control it was operated for nearly two years. During the Mexican war the news from the south came up by rail to Aquia creek and from there by boat to W The boat was always delayed dria and made slow progre contr ne commu He fur cability and tke propa these see an in- il and and in those times of great an: war news some of the em- ployed mounted men to re at Alex- andria the peckages from their war cor- respondents, and, riding across the Long bridge, nurry them to the fice over the city post office. legraph of- ery after- E noon an excited little crowd would gather on 7th street ard wait to see the flying horsem: appear. Postmaste V. H. Hall in 1861 made a re- port to Congress showing the need of the departinent for more room and at the same time called on Robt. Mills, the architect of public buildings, who planned and built the south front, and who recommended the purchase of the rest of the square, to fur- nish a plan for the new portion of the build- ing. Mr. Mills at o sent a grou and this plan with but few chang adopted when the extens'cn was made. nator J. A. Bayard of Delawar succeeded in the Senate by yard, cur present ambassador reported from the committee iblic buildirgs four yeurs later a. bill we the Post Otfice Department building for the use of its employes and to accommodate the city pest offi S extension was made under the di- rection of the late General M. C. Meigs then.a captain of United States engineers. When th: building was near completion the work was in charge of Capt. W. B. Franklin, then of the tcpographical | en- gineers, S. A., now president of the board of managers of the National Home for Voluntcer Soldiers. The well-lighted and ventilated halls and rooms of the Post Oftice Department, in which respect it surpasses all the other epartment buildings in the city, make it a very cheerful and wholesome building. The Old and the New. The ceilings in the old portion are arched in a style that is effective, and the door and window frames are of sandstone, while in the new portion the ceilings are flat and the door and window frames are of iron. In the halls running north and south pilas- ters and arches mark the division of the old building from the new. The simplicity representing, us it dces, the Corinthian style of archi: tecture, has always been commended by the most artistic critics. Before the English sparrow made his “Norman conqui of this city, the pur- ple martins or swallows used to build their nests by hundreds in the architectural nooks and crannies of this building, and the deafening noise they made as’ they wheeled and circled in the alr with their sharp cries, or hung chattering on the walls, was a feature of the neignborhood. Firewood on Seventh Street. When the old department building was destroyed by fire in 1836, the committee of Congressmen appointed to investigate the affair reported against the storing of lerge qvantilies of firewood in the basement, and it then became the custom of the depart- ment, followed for many years, to pile its winter's supply of wood in the street on the 7th street side. For some time after the war persons walking along the pave- ment were hemmed in from the street by a wall of firewood. During the late war, arms and ammuni- tion were furnished tg the employes of the Post Office Department, and they were or- ganized and were regularly exercised in infantry tactics every afternoon, using the court yard as a drill ground in good weath- er and drilling in the halls when it was stormy. At the time of the second battle of Bull Run, they were under arms for ong night, moving about in the streets of the » but were never taken outside of the city. The employes of all of the govern- ment departments were similarly organ- ized and drilled. More room being needed, the supervising architect of the treasury, A. B. Mullett, In 1870, prepared a plan to add two stories to the Fost Oifice Department building, but soon after that the grade of U sireetg was lowered so that the basement wags above ground sufficfently to be fitted up for office use, and the pjan of enlargement was not carried out. At present the de- partment leases six buildings in order to furnish quarters for the clerks necessary to transact the public business, FOR WOMEN IN THE SPRING, he Ablest of Women Journalists Indorses Paine’s Celery Compound, Mrs. H. B. Sperry, fs now the eminent ident of the W Neticuul Presk Ass 1, Was assistant editor of the Wasbiuc World. Her vj 8 editorials in Ohio and Wash nh uewspapere first brought her into national | ninenee, active fession ‘of journalism bas kept | Spery up to’ date in information and restive in’ thought. When there was evident need remedy in her fa she was well celery compound was beat to | ent letter shows the use of is greatest ot | ardson Co., A few wee Burlingt | | al er and proved to my | sing Like it for the | suess incident to iimpatred | digestion, A niece of my family was aleo cured | of insomnia by using one bottle of Paine’s celery | compound. | AH B. SPERRY. | In every part of this country women are utilizing these blessed spring days by taking Paine’s celery compound and insisting ou its use by the members | of their fatuiltes. It speaks volumes for this | worderful remedy that of all the women who | have recovered bealth by its means very many Were induced to take it through the persuasion of | other women—sisters, mothers, friends or rela- | tives. Many a man slowly falling in health, but stub- Dernly sbutting bis eyes to the alarming fact, has been led to (ake Paine’s celery compound from sceing its remarkable health-giving effect in the case of his own Wife, sister or some other member of his househcld. When a sick and fecble sufferer is seen to gain sterdily in health and vigor from taking Paine's | celery compound, not much reom for doubt is left | tot Most stubbern-tninded perso from wickness to heal nds of howes gcroms the wi ry. Feputution of Palue's celery compount has #rown by word of touth from persons wade well, ‘Pils Joyous is going extent to others who weeded its healing, strengthening ower, ‘The age of opinion san © bent informed, most observant Class of people, in the Weil-to-do homes of our largest cities, as well as in the more frugal town commut places | Paine’s celery compe far in advance of any remedy, Paine’s compound fx, in fact, the culy spring remedy ever beard of in the howe of practicing physicians. This great remedy ts not an ordinary epring samaparilla, bitters, tonte or nervine. Paine’s ry comp ad as far apart from any of these sucsswork remedies as black is from white in the exes of physicians who regularly prescrile 1t) use it thenwelves and carry it home to thelr own famle Falue's celery compound ie the famous for- maula of that thoughtful and studious physician, ‘of. Edward E. Phelps, M.D., LLD., of the I artmouth Medical School. It ts the duty of every man or woman who has teen benefited by Paine’s celery compound to Om press on friends and neighbors its wonderful ef- ficacy as @ spring remedy that fe in every way, worthy of the name. The past of Paine’s celery compound, as every one who keeps informed of current events is well aware, is @ remarkuble story of sick people made well, and of many persons, who had given up health as wholly lost, made strong as ever they were in their lives, Paine’s celery compound is the spring remedy per excellence. No invigo- | Tator has been so much praised, discussed, recom- mended and used by physicians, and discerning, conservative men and women in every walk of life. The story of Paine’s celery compound in @ mut- makes people well. Scotch Farm Laborers. From the Westinirster Review. During the last ten or twelve years we have witnessed in Scctland an enormous decrease in the numter of “hands” em- ployed in agricultural work. In 1871 there were in Scotland 165,096 farm servants, in A881 there were 149,765 and in 1801 only | 120,770. Doubtless more than one cau: has ccntributed to this result; but in the main it must be traced back to two great central facts. () During the last twenty years large tracts of arable land have gone out cf cultivation. During the same period there has taken place an enormous displacement of hend labor by machinery. Take the effect of but one single invention. During the past few seascns -binding | reapers have rapidly spring into popul ity. According to the Agricultural Economist, reaping aad tying corn by manual labor | used to cost from 8s. to 10s. per acre; but | with the new machines it costs only from | Is. Gi. to 2s. 6d. per a In other words, | some twenty or thirty youths can now per- form th t formerly required fifty able-bodied men and an equal number of young lads ard lasses. This is but one ex- ample out of mery. True it a limited num of these crowded out peasants may, and coubt'e: do, find employment at some | of the varicus kinds of unskilled labor, | even in a comparatively Cverstocked city | market. Nevertheless, the inevitable re- | sult of all this must be the intcnsification | of the unemployed problem in town and | country alike. —_—_—_+e+_____ His Great Advantage. From the Chicago Fost. “After all, the ‘scorcher’ has one great advantage over the ordinary mortal,” said the pedertrion, thoughtfully. “Of course he has,” returned the bie: clist. “Have you just fcvnd that out?” “Well, it hadn't occurred to me before that he never has to hang on the strap of a street car “I should along on bi: “Oh, I wien't thinking of that feature of it,” interrupted the pedestrian, “Besides, that’s an ggeration, anyway. He does haye to ride on street cars at times, and has to ride on crowced ores, too, but his advantage lies solely in the fact that h doesn’t have to hold to a strap a foot above his head—his back is so curved that he can steady himself by putting one hand on the floor.” not. He just goes spinning Since then the bicyclist and the pedes- trian have not been on very friendly terms. i had a fight yesterday es, THE DOCTOR'S ADVICE. He Stuttered and Thereby Some Little Misunderstanding. From the Cleveland Plain Dealer. There is a physician in Cleveland who {g pretty sure to stutter when under the ress of excitement. Some time ago he had occasion to professionally officiate on an interesting occasion, and his vocal in-* firmity was the cause of a funny prehension, ‘The husband and prospective father, who, by the way, had set his heart on a son and heir, was nervously pacing the Mbrary when his doctor entered. “Well, doctor,” cries the husband, forc= ing a smile, “is it twins?” T'r—tr—tr,” began the doctor. Triplets! Great Caesar!” Qu—qu—qu misap- tammered the doctor. Juadruplets! Holy smoke!” No, no,” cries the doctor. “Qu—qu— quite the contra Tr—tr—tr and take i ph—philesephically. 1s “just @ girl. ss — Of Bikes and Typewriters. From the Chicago ‘Tribune. Jaded Tourist—“Mister, can’t you do mething for a poor man that's out of @ job? I'm a horse trainer by profession, but there ain't any horses to train nowa- day Dejected Citizen I'm as b writing teacher. (on_the door: diy off as you “My rma +e-- Danger in the Female Vote. Frow the Cincinnati Enyuirer. “The time has come,” she ‘or woman to be no longer tra conventions.” “That is one of the main reas don’t want you to vote, explained the man who carries two wards in nis pocket. The best thing about a man is his habit of sticking to the decision of the conven- tions, no mafter whether the ticket sults him or not. You women would be making all sorts of bolts. announced, meled by me why we os Destructive March of Science. From the Chic ‘Tribune. Three Card Monte Pete No, BIlt You're lookin’ dead tough. Ain't dere any more money in workin’ de shell game?” Thimblerig Bill v1! Feller come along wid X ray Son. Cleaned me out in five minutes. with the boy next doon” , his father called at my ofce ere it” al hope you camo out as well did."—Lite,