Evening Star Newspaper, November 14, 1896, Page 19

THE EVENING STAR,.SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 1896—-TWENTY-FOUR PAGES. 19 WORK AMONG WIRES Experiences and Hardships of Tele- graph and Telephone Linemen. BITTER EXPOSURES OF THE WINTER ee They Welcome the Growing Use. f the Underground Conduit. a IMBING POLES os T ELEGRAPH Cc L AND telephore linemen are “standing by” for the winter cam- paign. Wires laden with sicet and snow go down in winter like leaves before the blasts of au- tumn. When they give way, they al- most fall upon the heads of the line- men, so quickly do these electrical fer- rets appear upon the scenes of damage with their repairing kits. Linemen are not fond of winter. Their work in the summer time, when they are engaged in repairing the injuries wrought to wire systems by hot weather cyclones, is easy junketing, compared with the exposure and hardship of their labors during the cold months. Tkey do not particularly mind local work on “trunk” or city lines when the cold on, but they abominate winter . when, after bi'zzards, the wires gled and twisted in the wilder- lines of railroad. Tecome ja nesses alo ‘Then ve to rough it after the fashion of railroad construction gangs. ‘They h: if they lay ld their jebs. There is no iiday for a Ineman if his ires bad shape. Neither y night. He has got to keep at werk is performed. In an emergency rot supposed to know the meani * He must . If he can, be im) he is e to get wire he is en- gaged operat hape quicker ay the 1 tinkering the paral ie of the ¢ . Ith & this, ne is giv credit a the newspap reparte red-hot, Weather. y days in the pends on the Netwit ng these & experience of the lireman. his lot is by no mears an happy one. He on aitings a good rt of the + and can more than the average amount But he cannot make social 1. The weather is his monitor, atches the skies with the seruti- ni ve of the sailor. He becomes so proficient in forecasting at all seasons that he n often be- fore a_ wire-der pole-leveling form that he will soon have to strap on his pole clutches. Sometimes he has noth- ing to do for months, if he {s a field line- man. If he is a local lineman, he is apt to be pottering around on the poles nearly al of the time. ‘The telegraph companies that have offices in this city employ numbers of linemen to keep the local lin in shape. So does the orders: indulge of a Ieating. » company. The work of tel- -phone linemen is practically an, to be con- ness, must be nt in underground wiring as in Underground wiring, a com local egraph the s idere compet wiring. stivedy le. is p ferent meth from p oon as it Be- an established institution the best of and mastered it, so as round work. does not understand does not command as cam the linemen tac! to fit themselves for all The lineman who underground work much pay by the lineman who does. Field linemen gen- erally work by the day, and get from $3 to 34.50 for a day's work, according to their ability. Local linemen who understand un- derground wiring are usually paid salaries ranging from $60 to $100 a month. Fore- men get considerably more. Few Telegraph Wires Undergroun Nearly all of the underground wiring of Washingion is done by the telephone line- men. The telegraph companies operating here have scarcely any of their wires un- derground. The Western Union’s wires into the Capitel are underground, and the same company has a few small conduits running from its main office at 15th and F streets to the near-by departments. ‘The company has made no effort to establish a general underground system within the Washing- ton Hmits, although this is in contempla- tion. The local telephone company, however, has a considerable underground system in the more thickly settled portions of the A Warning From Below. city, and even In some of the suburbs, al- though suburban underground telephone systems are profitiess affairs. It costs al- most as much to carry an underground conduit to one suburban subscriber as it does to give the same underground service to a hundred suburban subscribers. The only difference is in the matter of wiring. the cost of which is comparatively trifting after the trench has been dug and the con- duit gear placed. The very tall poles, from seventy to eighty-five fect in height, which are a fea- ture of Washington back yard, alley, va. cant lot and even main street landscape, are nearly all telephone poles. These lofty poles are the distributors of the under- more than a dollar a day as | hundred wires. They tap the underground conduits, and carry off the wires in all di- rections. Use of the Big Poles. The exceedingly ta!l poles are only used for underground conduit tapping. There ts, for instance, a line of these big poles on B street, adjoining the Smithsonian grounds, between 7th and 10th streets, and these poles, taking up. the wires from the underground conduits extended to their bases, carry the telephone service through- out the major portion of the southwestern district of the city. The telegraph com- panies only have these tall poles in the neighborhood cf their “main and auxil- jary offices, making use of them to carry the scores of wires leading from the offices to the cross-arms of smaller poles. A Star reporter asked Mr. Morell Marean, the manager of the local Western Union office, who lost some flesh and a powerful amount of sleep in directing the patching up of his company’s wires hereabouts after the late September cyclone, how 1inemen contrived to hit upon the exact point of a break in a wire that doesn’t work. A lineman who is sent to the field to repair a break in a wire paralleling the railroad upon which he is riding never pays any attention to the line running alongside the track. He sits in the smoking car and reads a newspaper until he comes to the point of breakage, seeming to know the exact place of the break before he sets out on the expedition. “It is simple enough,” replied Mr. Ma- rean. ‘Before a field lineman sets out with his‘ repairing kit he knows precisely vhere ke is going. When a wire de- clines to work, and we feel reasonably certain that it is down somewhere or an- The Descent. other, we test it by the use of the gal- vanometer. For instance, supposing one of our P’ a wires refuses duty. We frst ascertain if it is all right as far as Baltimore. If it is, then Baltimore finds out whether the wire is working as far as Wiimirgton. “If it is all right to that point, we know that the break must be somewhere between Wilmington and Philadelphia, but we do not know exactly where, and if it were not for the galvanometer it would be nece: sary for a lineman to trace the wire all the way from Wilmington to Philadelphia. But the galvanometer measures with arith- metical precision the quantly of electrical escape in proportion to the mile of wire, and by means of its registering figures when it is used for testing in s he it is perfectly easy to ascertain within a few rods the exact distance of the break from the point at which the test is made. Thus the work of the lineman 1s mapped out for him before he starts ou Looking for Brenks. This is well enough when only one wire has suspended business, owing to the falling of a rotten pole or the snapping of the wire itself by reason of the ex- pansion and contraction of heat and cold. It is when a heavy storm has battered up a company’s whole em within a large area of «ountry, when it is impossible for a central office to call up anybody any- where, owing to the universal toppling of poles and breaking of wires, that the line- mer have to do ther own discovering. At such times they go out in gangs from the various district headquarters on regular repairing trains, made up of three or four cers, according to the number of men in the gang. There is a car for the wire end tools, a car or two for the men’s sleeping berths and a cooking car. A ia’ engine is attached to the train. A chief lineman is the-foreman of the gang. and dragging the pole | | | | | | which is composed of linemen, “ground hands” and “pole raisers.’” * are the heavy labor- s of the gans, digging holes for the poles, which are strewn under sheds at inter: to their proper pi to be clevated by the are experts in this who though they nay know nothing of the linemen. ‘The men who in position must be climb- ir business to nail the to the poles, after the poles placed vertically. These extra workmen are only taken ajong on a re- iring expedition, however, when it is Enown that there are poles down along the e. Otherwise, the gang is made up en- rely of linemen. One Wire at a Time. When the storm’s injury to the system has been so general that the greater num- ber of a company’s wires are down, the hief lineman does not attempt to get all of the wices running over the same poles in working order as he goes along. If the poles carrying five wires from Washington to Baltimore are down at intervals, he, of course, has to raise or renew them. This done, he.directs all of his own energies and those of his gang to getting one of the wires in working shape, letting the other four wires remain in their broken condition until this task is accomplished. ‘This was dcne when the September storm laid low every one of the wires between this city and Baltimore. The linemen de- voted themselves exclusively to the patch- ing up of one wire, and then repaired the others in more leisurely fashion, if any of the work performed by field linemen can be called leisurely. In order to get one wire in operating condition between two polnts, the wire is often simply strung, without being attached, along the poles for the time being. When the crush is over the ree linemen repair it in the regular fash- jen. It looks simpie enough to climb a tele- graph pole by means of the pole-clutches which linemen strap to their legs. Wash- ington folks had a chance to see a good deal of this pole climbing when the local teiegraph and telephone linemen were making their repairs in the city after the September storm, and, because of the facil- ity with which the linemen did it, a ubiquitous Star reporter heard a good many young men express the belief that they could do it on the first attempt without half trying, and with one hand tied behind their backs. They were mistaken. DiMicult to Learn. It is difficult, painful and exhausting feat to climb a pole by means of the pole- clutches. It takes a long time to acquire the art, and there are many degrees of pro- ficiency in doing i: even among the Hnemen themselves. The novice who attempts it discovers, upon trying to take the first up- ward step, that the clutch on the inside of his instep has no more grasping power than. the runner of a skate. It requires a dis- tinct knack to dig the spur into the pole so that it will sustain the weight of the elimber’s body. The novice would also find that his first ascending step would cause a sharp thrill of pain to run from the instep of the foot im use up along his spine to the top of his head. The pain would be particularly felt at the point of the strap’s contact with the leg. The pressure of the straps against the leg is so great that the circulation is soon stopped, and linemen suffer greatly front this. When they ascend to the top of a pole not supplied with cross-arms they have te hold themselves in position while doing their repairing by driving both clutches into the pele when the cut-off circulation causes their legs to “sleep. They have to be extremely careful in coming down under such circumstances. The climbing of a lineman is dangerous when he is working on a rotten pole. The decayed wood offers little or no resistance to the grasp of his clutches, and when he the duties of place the pole: ers, for it i armas been ground system, and many of them carry a! does obtain a good foothold the wood is als ali along the line, | likely to give way and precipitate him to the ground if he is not very careful. Linemen are often given a job by the de- partments here te set tangled fiags free. The flags become twisted on their staffs, or the pulleys get out of order, and, with- out lowering the steffs, it is necessary to employ a_climber to set the trouble straight. It is exceedingly dangerous work, for nearly all of the flagstaffs stand upon the very verge of the buildings, so that a fall would mean instant death. A lineman is paid $5 for performing a job of this sort. Cost of Poles. Steps are nailed to the very large tele- graph and telephone poles, which the line- man uses in climbing them. It was prob- ably not out of consideration for the line- men that these steps were placed, but to save the poles from being hacked by the linemen’s pole-clutches. The tall poles are exceedingly expensive. An eighty-five-foot pole costs about $80, and one seventy feet in height about $60. They must be pur- chased and kept on hand by the companies for emergencies, else when they are urg- ently needed to replace storm-broken poles the companies would be in a predicament, for it takes months to get them. The tele- graph and telephone poles of ordinary size are of chestnut and red cedar wood, and their average cost is $3. The difficulty which the lineman might encounter in tracing a single wire among a great number of wires in an underground conduit, in order to repair it, is only ap- parent owing to the use of diagrams. Each conduit is elaborately charted as to the relative position of each wire, und the wires are all numbered. They ‘are never changed from their original positions, which agree with their charted positions, so that the lineman has no troubie in sing- ling out the wire he wishes ta.work upon, —_« MASSAGE BY ELECTRICITY. An Ingenious Device by Which the Current in Applied. rom the New York ‘Tribune That there are still sorac new things un- der the sun is proved by the appearance recently of an ingeniously devised instru- ment that makes possible for the {i in medica! annals anything [ke tory massaging of the nose, th It is only within the last few years that the value of massage as applied to the mucous membranes of these organs has been appre- ciated, and not until the Fr: caver took the subject up as a matter of fact much interest felt in it. Even when the es cellence of the treatment was « was almost imori sage nad to be “tm ators were rare. The new ins vented by an American an@ a pari ¢ outcome of the recent delving into clectri- city for medical purposes, solves the prob- lem by working almest automaticaily and requiring little else than simple guid _Itas electrovibratory in its operaiton; t is, a button and a spring work <o 4s turn on and shut off an electric with great rapidity 3 causes a vibration metal, on th button coming dire the mucous membran probes cn be attached quires. What the new instrument aciie is extreme ravidity in us vibratic a satis t and ear. coming at regular intervals and nis form intensity of the strek+s. Without electricity these three conditions cannot be realized. The instrument ts construction. It is so held in the hand. A short cylinder «| holds two magnets, a rod d-signed to move forward and backward running hetween them, ending in frent ot the extreme! probe. At its rear end is a meti : . which is movable. On the yeck of the ap- paratus is an ivory bu 5 upon pressure of the forefinge closes the circuit. The m: jate is at that insiant drawn forward > magnet and the rod likewise. A fra a sec ond later the metal plate reaches its fore- most point, and the centact being int rrupt- ed is thrown back by a spring. The button beirg still held down by the finger, the cir cuit is immediately made again, and vibra- tion follows vibration ‘The operator genera’ rts i t to work though th For the » treatment, the probe 1s. p! Tight angics to the place to he tre at an acute angle. Placed in this does not tap, but rubs. Disintected Wisses. B Ub St. Lowls [tepublic. The gratitude of lovers is due Dr. Hurty of the Indiana state board of health for extracting the sting of fear from the Kiss of love. been t nt practice lip: to discour- of sipping the of love and beauty ed with the honey ia that were ng the pleas: from the by intimating that mi were swarms of horrid bect likely to give the age nectar ES Although we believe that there are love who will tell the scientists and their bac- teria to go to blazes take their nectar at the risk of 2 mb, yet the information is disturbin tends to embitter the hone d the edgc off the relish. There is a fly in the precious ointment of Icve delight, and the cour of weet dailiance are haunted by the specters of the sick room. But Dr. Hurty has sho these specters may be mortal men mey again revel in the of the ruby lip. as they did in the old da. when ignor 5 He say that is nece nake kissing health- ful is to carefully hh the mouth wita a disinfectant before indulgence in the simplifies matters for lovers. they need do is to make free use of dis infectants and they can hit the lips as often as they please. Of course, the first question when a man calls on his love will be, ‘Have you disinfe if the answer is mutually and we presume if it is not a ! disinfectant will be handy—then c: lips may meet carbolized lips in a dr of bacterialess bliss. : _ Thus romance, with the aid of scien survives, somewhat battered, but al: the march of progres ++ Eyslashex Made to Order. From the Chiezgo Chronicle. In a fashionable hair-dressing perlor on one of the down-town streets one reads the sign: “Eyelashes made to order.” “[ do not know that there is anything particularly novel about it,” said the blonde young woman who was asked for informa- tion. ‘We have done this sort of work for months.” “And have you many patrons line?” “Not so many as we have in the other branch of our business, the removal of hair or wrinkles by means of electricity,’ but still we have some.” And then she explained the process of making artificial eyelashes. An exceeding- ly delicate little instrument is used. It consists of a needle operated through a spring by means of the finger. At one end of the needle is a hair inserted. When the operator is ready to work on the person she takes the eyelid between two fingers of the left hand. The needle is then thrust into the fleshy part of the eyelid, as close to the eye as possible, and the tiny hairs are actually sewed on. Eyelashes thus manufactured are war- ranted to last two weeks without repairs. Of course the process hurts the patient, but what woman will not willingly submit to suffering to retain her beauty and her Powers to charm? : or oe Confessions of an Autograph Fiend. From the New York Weekly. First Autograph Fiend—“I don't see how you got the autographs from all those great poets.” Second Autograph Fiend—“Easy enough. I would write some ‘Sweet Singer of Michi- gan’ sort of verses, and print them in our local paper under the name of the poet I wanted to strike. Then I'd write to him, asking if it was true that they were written that in by him. I'd get a red-hot letter in reply ev- ery time. : +, e+ _____ A Jewel of a Maid. From Truth, =e Mistress—“Do you understand all the du- ties of a waitress?” Servant—“Yes, ma’am.” Mistress—“‘Can you make mayonnaise dressing?” Servant- sewing.” “No, ma’am; but I can do plain LOCAL HORSE SHOW] Elegant Equipages That Roll Over Washington Asphalt, STYLISH ANIMALS AND FINECARRIAGES ee Well-Known Residents Who Enjoy the Luxuriés of Life on Wheels. —— 7 INTERESTING GALAXY ——_+—____. HE ANNUAL RE- currence of the New York horse show al- ways awakens inter- est in equines and equipages in all parts of the country and attracts the attention of communities to their own possessions along these particu- lar lines. While no other city can prob- ably boast of the number or quality of turnouts that distinguish the great metrop- olis on Manhattan Island, there are num- bers of other places which are worthy of the highest and most complimentary re- mark regarding the character of their pri- vate equipages. This is especially true of the national capital, and the fact need not be looked on as surprising, because Washington Is steadily but surely becoming the center of attraction for the wealth, culture and re- finement of the entire country, and the repre: of Ameri- can life natu surround themselves with ompaniments, in the of the well-known res- s gton who support well- appointed stabics are enumerated, but it is not intended to convey the idea that they at is elegant or attractive in the 3, way of eat because there ar ny more of which the limits of a nes r article prevent a description. Mrs. Richard W. ‘Townshend is particu- larly fortunate in her stable. She ow: jandau, a brougham and a smaller > the former vehicles a big pair of i some browrs of fine action are usually while a pair of chestnut cobs take at a lively rate. In the summ pleasant days Me: . ipage, which is low prote Sena a large stable. comprise a number of d There is a large victoria, a iandau -r "bus, to which a pair of big driven. He has several smalier ment of light vehicles. > are fond of driving and r a spider, but th yelsis us well. Miss Kate nd of horseback riding and are A Notable Stabie, s. Bogher and her son, Mr. Frederick Bugher, have a notable stable. Mrs, Bugher divides her preference between a landau, a brougham and a cabriolet. There six horses—three » a gray and two Mr. Bugher drives the only ovri- in-haadesin town, except that elongiag to young Beale McLean. It is a dsome brake, and its osner is an ex. » alsa drives a tandem occa- 8 thor He bend it. She has exteedingly handsome traps, Victoria, landau, brougham yWsh open vehicles. — Her a pair of large dun horses fear, which attrac nereyer they an attractive nd black of fine action. He has a 1 u and a brougham and sev- eral light faney traps, He owns also four or five smaller horses HM. Hutenins: t appointed stables equipages are always well turned out. is frequently seen in a iandau beh a great big handsome pair of gray! a.so whirls aloag ¢rawn by span of bays of splendid action. Her s men are all experienced men, and great pride in their charges.’ Of course Hutchinson has a varied assortment light vehicles, and all are out and in accord with the rees of the fashion in such things. = es avdhand- Ly with very: tong piimentary reva Col. ign Hay, ¢ boa large bay ailed bays to a lanidau or a victoria, and Mr. John R. McLean's trap with its orange running gear is one ne mi) t familiar turnouts in Washing- number of other traps and excellent horses, besides ponies, but he takes more his little son’s four-in-hand nan he does in any of he others, probably an interest equally shared by Mrs. McLea he three bays ef Mr. Chart art: which he drives to three handsome traps, a, a landau and a brougham, are ers, reckoned and are ea: among tie best horses in this neighborhood. ‘The arsest of the bays 18 a particularly animal. The § husiastiec Legares, Mr. and Mrs, Aiexander B. Legare are well known for their devotion to horses apd their expert knowledge of eversthing pertaining to them. They have a well- appointed cabriolet and a brougham and there are three bays and a chestnut pony in the stalls. M Legare is a splendid ‘and fearless rider and is fond of the exer- cise. Mr. and Mrs. Hugh Legare are similarly enthusiastic and Mr. Legare is probably the best authority on horses and the ap- propriate accompaniments of a proper stable than any other gentleman in Wash- ington. He is an accomplished whip, being equally at home behind a four-in-nand, a tandem, a spike or a pair, while he has few equals as a cross country rider. In the tooling of a four-in-hand he receivet his finishing touches from Howlett, in Paris, who is admitted to be the greatest teacher {a the world. Mr. and Mrs. Le- gare kave cross matched teams of browns and chestnuts, one large and the other smaller. These are driven to well turned out landau and brougham and there are several fancy traps. Of course the Le- gares retain “Susette.”” This famous hun- ter is eighteen years old, but is apparently as active and lively as she ever was in her filly days. Mrs, Legare, riding Susette, is frequently seen cn the suburban roads. Well Knawn Horsemen. Mr. Jesse Brown is another enthusiastic horseman, who hes been foremost in vro- moting the sport‘ef kings in this neigh- borhood and who’ has by the influence of his example done a world of good in im- proving the character of both horses and equipages in the ‘ational capit Mr. Ercwn has three cliestnuts and two bays and drives them to different kinds of fancy His sister, Mrs. Wallach, also pos- sceses a large and well-appointed stable, and her cross-iaatched pair, a vig gray and a big black, make a fine appearance when driven to the victoria or dau. Mr. Clarence Moore drives a fine pair of high-stepping black cobs to a brougham. Mr. Moore is an expert whip and tovled the four-in-hands that«mad2 so many popu- lar trips out to the Chevy Chase Club from the Shoreham Hotel in recent seasons. Mr. Moore also occasionally drives a tan- dem and does it well, and the same is the case, by the way, with Mr. Jesse Brown and Mr. Hugh Legare. The stable of Mr. L. Z. Leiter is a large one, and the horses are well selected and stylish. The carriage house contains an enviable assortment of different kinds of traps, including, of course, the large and light carriages necessary to those in social |Mfe at the capital. ‘The English Ambassador. Like ali Englishmen of means and culti- vation, Sir Julian Pauncefote has a well- appointed stable, and his equipages are always properly turned out. A big pair of chestnuts are utilized for the theater "bus, which Sir Julian brought over from England last year, and occasionally are seen before the vittoria or landau. The Misses Pauncefote all drive, and their fa- vorite turnout is a fancy trap drawn by @ very pretty high-stepping chestnut horse, Mrs. Seaton Perry is generally envied her gocd fortune in possessing the handsome bay cobs which she drives to her brougham or cabriolet. Mr. and Mrs. James F. Oyster have a new team in addition to their others, which corsists of a cross-matched pair, a black and a light gray cob. They are driven to a victoria or a brougham, while Mr. Oyster frequéntly spins them along to a brake. Mr. W. B. Hibbs owns what is generally regarded as the prettiest cob in this sec- tion. He ts a high-stepping bay, with action excellent all around, and ‘he is driven to a fancy trap. ‘The German ambassador has a finely ap- pointed stable. There are half a dozen horses in the stalls and the carriages com- prise the victoria, landau, brougham and two or three fancy traps.” A big pair of Cleveland bays of good action are driven ‘on state and social occasions. Secretary Olney has a very attractive turnout. “He drives two bays and a black, alternating the latter with one of the pair, and all are high steppers. Mr. Henry May owns a pair of bays an? @ pair of chestnuts, fine animals, that make a striking appearance to the well- appointed traps to which they are driven. Mrs. G. W. Childs drives a pair of big blue roans to her landau and victoria. Other Fine Tuarnouts. Madame Bonaparte favors a landau, to which she drives a big pair of light browns well matched and of exccilent action. Miss Bonaparte is very fond of driving and is frequently seen in a fancy trap behind a high-stepping black cob. Mrs. B. H. Warder has a well-appointed Stable. She has five horses, and they are all gocd ones. Her carriages comprise the usual fashionable assortment ‘The Misses Warder both drive. Lieutenant Clover of the navy drives a big pair of handsome grays to a very large landau. He also has a victoria and a brougham. Congressman Hitt owns a particularly stylish pair of chestnuts and a gray. He mixes the latter in with the others, making a very effective turnout. Mr. A. C. Barney, Mr. S. 8. Howiand and Mr. and Mrs. Carroll Mercer have well-ap- pointed stables, bul they will not be he this winter. The list might be lengthened out atmost indefinitely, but enough “have been scribed to ‘give a good idea of the and. character of the equipagcs owned in Washington. It may be well to explain that the word cob utilized to describe some of the horses mentioned in the foregoing dees not indicate a breed of horses, bu Wc this winter — there mereiy the type of an animal, whethe = will be mare of them he be blooded or not. A cob is a short ; a ee legged. stocky, compactly built animal, dae A cae Ae dens: standing from thirteen hands three inc! since the visit. of to fourteen hands three inches. A no Coxey’s army. of this description standing from fou = eee Sereny a ee mps has already passed through here. oye GNn a ose oo Seo ‘though it is as yet eatly in the season, than a cob. and many of them reinained behind to | - > — greet jose who will come to witness the CHOP Wood FOR A HUSBAND. inaugural ceremonies. Just what is to be done with them the police don’t know, for Axes Vigorously Wielted by Pretty] that is a matter for the courts to settie. Girln—Lovers Referees, tts From the snercial Gazette. THE VISIT OF TRAMPS Annual drip to the Capital of the Nation. POLICE RECEPTION ARRANGEMENTS ——— Ambitious to Make Washington Known as a Workhouse Town. ° ‘ —— WORKING THE GROWLER VERY TRAMP IN the country is head- ed this way, re- marked a police lieu- tenant to a Star re- porter the other day. “Presidential always bring them r large numbe a Th pol will continue and take them to court, to arrest t nd if Judge K m m- There was a novel wood-cutting co! ball sees tit to take their personal bonds in the nth ward of Wiiliamsport, I and releases them the police officials say Tuesday, in which five young women t they can do idthing io prevent it. Like part. The girls are all employed in the Ly- | Judze Miller, the pol eneraliy believe cS rubber factery, and, having a boli- | that Washington should be known to th day, they turned their time to good ai “Knights of the Road” as a “workhou: count we settling a much-disputed | town,” and this, they believe, would have tion as te which was the most the effect of turning the course of many of titled to a husband. The girls are b the travelers from the city to the country, Mayers, Fiora Mahl, Lill Mahl, Lillie ] and those en route to the war climate Dunlap, Belle Gouldy and Mary Russell, ail pretty, vivacious young women, who ¢: their ewn living and make good ¥. 5 the rubber factory. In a banter the other day one of the girls proposed that have a wood-chopping contest, and th who proved herself to be the c cutter should be entitled to a husbani while the others, it was agreed. must w two years before joining fortunes with her av morning the girls, exch with ax Thes brand new and blue yard an assault on the man is a he!piess ir hert herself ushter bedecked with red, marched into t tman white back home and made pile. Widew he hav dly la vou works in thi too, and she was one of i in the wood-cutting scheme, took no part in the contest. Five loads ci hemleck slab wood steve lengths, had been delivered at Widow Hartmz place the day before- Hart- the girls of terial for them on which test strengih and skill. But the the rib- bened axes flew and tongues waged was only equaled by the shower of split stie that xradually piled themselves up 9roand each chopping block. William Baski paying for it—so there was plent to of the south would 7 the river without wing a police- Tran to see them. tramp of toda: ered by the police to be entirely om the iramp of years ago. In S past the tramp was (he man who was considered in- Watching the Pot. who was on the road not ex- matter of ¢! Joseph Schell were there as referce One is and of the young men, however, had a more of food. Girect interest in the contest 1 ever did he th tel, som j Tor one of the girls was } fortable places as the Mv nal Lodging 3 and, according “io the conipact, House or the Central Union Mission, al- s ved one of the losers in the conte: hough he ceeasionally rounded up at he would be compelled to wait two t police station and spent the night in the years before she could become his wife. lodgers’ room or in a police cell. four hours the weod-chopping went Seidom did these genuine tramps hav« ihe girls got red in the face: they ro} much to say, uy questio ind occa- their slee until their plump. almost to the s y at the hemlock instead of a bh p Vinally 1 eclock cams, and at the ei who was will- vels and who inment ng Wi during m n, doing the wash- ionally the police found or ng to tell the i expressed grat in the station: concerned, they only got in water the wafm weather, every on: was his own laundryn of that time there were five weary, pers; ing girls and five big piles of nic: ly. TES Ge 2 ON ai Ee hes hemlock wood for Widow Hartman. But | 0T at a city we for the Ife of them the referees could not | cit¥ was bh ict decide between the piles of wood eut by | Of Well water. Miss Duriap and Miss Russell as to which An Old Lodging Place. was the larger. And, indeed, ufter raking | ne o)4 sixth precinct etation was th over al! the sticks and counting =hem sepa- rately, the discove Ss made that the two girls had cut exactly alike. The con- test was declared a draw. And now all the marriageable young of the seventh ward are casting their eyes with favor in the direction of these fair young women who so gallantly demonstrated their «bili- ty to cut firewood. soo A Petrified Bronco. Denver Field and Farm. H. Clay Emmet, a young cowboy from Belton, Tex., reports a singular find made by him during a cattie-hunting round-up in the Pan-handle country recently. The find was nothing more ncr less than a petri- fied pony, standing crect and complete in all its paris. Emmet says that he and his partner, B. C. Woodville, were riding across the prairie late one afternoon, when their tired ponies neighed and whinnied as if they were aware of the presence of another animal. Looking around, they discovered what they thought was a bronco tethered to @ mesquite which crowned the summit of a little knoll to the northward. They rode up to the spot and found that the horse was fastened by a chain, but stood so rigidly and seemed altogether so mysterious that their own horses reared and plunged as if in fright. Finally dismounted and found that the pony was petrified, not a hair or a hoof amiss. Em- met says that. some ranchman years ago must have chained the poor horse there, leaving it to starve upon the plains. As the ribs of the animal were plainly visible In the petrifaction, and it seemed to have been otherwise much emaciated, this is most probably the case. Emmet will ar- range to have the strange find exhibited in some museum. It frequently happens that horses fall into the hablt of going to sleep while standing, and it must have been under these circumstances that the Pan- handle bronco departed this life to join the great majority. Frm t they Jules Verne Sued for Libcl. From Le Figaro. A libel suit was recently brought by Mr. Eugene Turpin, the inventor of melinite, a highly explosive substance, against Jules Verne and his publisher, Hetzel. The in- ventor considers himself-insulted by the latest work of the French novelist, and, therefore, sues him for damages. The new took is called “Face au Drapeau” (Facing the Flag). and its hero is described as an unscrupulous intriguant. In this character the great explosionist thinks he has dis- covered a resemblance to his own personal- ity, but in reality it now appears that the Panciastic Company, thé manufacturers of relinite, are the real plaintiffs, although Mr. Turpin is but a stockholder in that con- cern. It is very likely that a scandal will develop from this apparently simple libel suit, and it is said that already some 200 Bitnesses have been supoenaed for the trial. ee A Wicked Joke. From the Pittsburg News. Checks—“They say the Esquimaux are an unenlightened people.” Drafts—“Funny, and yet they live on can- dies and lamp oil. stopping place for tr: for several erd cold nights as man as a score of them huddled together on the inclined plane in the lodgers’ reom, where, perhaps, there had Leen dead bodies stretc ing the day, and where. indeed, dead bod- ies sometimes rested only a few feet from the sleepers. This room was apart fre the main building, but was well heated a big railroad stove, and the suppe that were spread on the edge of the bed were not calculated to tempi the a) etile of any one who had had a square meal for a ‘week. It was a frequent occurrence that the tramps would cpen their sacks in this rocm and spread out their supplies of food that had been cellected from houses. and there enjoy themselves much more than the average well fed ciiizen would enjoy a spread at Delmonicos. There about the supper table they would discuss events and compare notes, and there many of the walking fraternity jearn- el of the locaticn of houses where cher By the Ways. would be well treated and also of t where there were dogs or w! instead of bread would be give those days the road men wer¢ to spend not more than three n station, but during gcod weather they dom remained longer than a day, unl they were taken sick cr were particulai well cared for. In severe and stor veather most of them remained to wei cut their welcome, and a continuar bad weather almost meant that they were permanent guests of the city. In this way they were able to go from one station to nother, and by spending three nights at a station could put in almost a month's time. The hardest part of it all, so far a the tramps were concerned, was the ¢: that they were not permitted to enier th stations until after dark, and had to icav scon after daybreak, whether the weathe Was good or bad. Many of them had sa stcries to tell of why they road, and many a pitiful story of this kind brought tears to the eyes of the tendc: hearted and often times resulted in of nies to help him on his journey. The Modern Tramp. But the more modern tramp, the known to the police now, is an entirely di ferent individual, and the genuine tramp n effort to cross | <7 were on the | re | tramp being well fed and given a few pen- | shurs them as much as they shun anyt 4 like work. It is true, there are a few of the real cid-time tran the road, but the average tramp, as the police knows hia now, is what they call a “pum.” Many of them are of the c of a majority of the Coxey army following, always willing and ready to do anything that is not work, no matter whether that something be to steal, beg or obtain goods } intimidation. They are chiefly men who have this mode of Ife rather than struggle to become good and useful cit The mere mentior of work almost prts them in condition for hospital treatment, and «ven in a hospital, were they asked to clean a floor they would manage to get out window m. On the outskirts of the city, as well as before the wat was sent to in Ube county, people are being annoyed by | their appearing at back doors and asking | for feod. Some of them go so far as to | demand food enough for a day or two, and vot complied with bout tions wh and > what and many 4 j m has been the i profane or indecent son of the year th tores and commit ar ably ninety per cent of t are exccedingly for sperd al their mo! or steal, in che: il many occasio: during the past few days | they have been given money and then fol- lowed to drinking saloons Depends on the Weather. | ‘The condition of the weather has a great | deal to do with where they spend their nights, for if the weather is mild they don't mind seeking shelter in areaways and do: ways, but when too cold for this they go to bles, box cars, and other places w they are protected from the frost, and i ere weather they will actually ir pride and saw wood for a pla -p aud something hot to eat. But e institutions many of them refus in ne: work, and walk out in the cold rather than saw w sticks of wood. In the institu- tio: in cheap lodging houses it is not an unusual thing sor one of them in the morning and tind that has been taken by an early riser. The 1 Ohio sand house is a favorite stopping place for the tramps dur- his hing evere Weather, and although scores of have been taken from there and up, there arr 1 seme who will to the temptation of a bed in the hot chance a se on the farm morning. This is piled on s for use on the railroad, and as kept dry, the steam is always and by making a sort of 1 nd they find it a comfortats the freight yards, especially and Eckington, as well as the quite an atira of tramps have been taken from he cars or from around camp fires. About the vicinity of the Long bridge they tind 1 box cars ar ne Tu fats the little rou nstructed shacks attract’ man) ds made there by the police have b H sful, and each time the timbers ar housed in th s have been burned In the vast army of men on the road, how- ever, there are many who do not belong to S class. Some of them are unemployed chanics looking for work n away from their homes or who have and a ning to resume work in the mills s that have opened their doors since | ction last week. | ule there are very few colored men | caught in the crowds of so-called tramps, | but the police say that nu : j to be in each year. year many associa 2 and some have that they taken aleng to do the beggiog and With a very few exceptions, all the of this kind are tried in Juige Kimt court, and when there has made it is not an unusual thing re cr more of the trataps in line | the next morning. Judge Kin! announced ary tixed rule of | these $s, but renders his de | ecrding to the merits of the part As a rule, those who are found b given but short terms on the farm longer terms are given those who are in sulting cr who are old offenders. A great many of them are released on their per- sonal bonds to leave the city, and if they fail to leave and are brought into court tos they ere pretty certain of a long sentence, ae Knew Better. From the Detroit Free Press, Miss Kissam-“You seem depressed to- night, Mr. Dexter.” Mr. Dexter—“Yes, | am. I went to a for- fate, and I would not tune teller today to find out m Was told that the girl I loved Mr. De: to spe er, no fo k for me. Ruined he muttered, * said they whe “L was speak- ink, deah boy? That Il today, and it is beastly ta A @ week yet until the Ist. Freddie: yas sending early to avo'd the re The Cuaning Ostrich. jo Blatter