Evening Star Newspaper, November 18, 1897, Page 11

THE EVENING STAR. PUBLISHED D. AT THE STAR BUILDINGS, 1101 Pennsvivania Avewue, or. Lith 3t, The Eveni “SHE .Y EXCEPT SUNDAY. by Star Newspaper Com AUFEMANN. rest. Few York Offce, 49 Fotter Building, ‘The Evening Star ty served to subscribers to the tity by carriers. on their own account, at 10 cents per week. o- 44 certs per monts. Copies at the founter 2 cents each. By mail-anywhere in the United States or Canada—pestage prepaid—30 cents per month. Saturday Qcintuple Sheet Star, $1 per year, with foreizm postage added. $3.C0. Part. Che # ening Star. Pages 11-14. —_—_—_—_—_———————— | Advertising is not an expense. It is a business investment. If you want to invest your money profitably you will therefore put your advertisements in such a paper as The Evening Star, that is read regularly and thoroughly by everybody worth reaching. The Star is the recognized household and family journal of the National Capital, and has (Entered at the Post Office at Washingt. D. C.. as second-cle + muii matter.) | 57 All mail subscriptions must be pall in advance. Rates of advertising made known on application. WASHINGTON, D. ©., THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 1897—-FOURTEEN PAGES Senator Wellington Will Support Gov- ernor Lowndes. —— 0 DIRECT THE LATTER'S FIGHT Has Now a Lead Over Other Can- didates. THE ASSEMBLY OFFICES Gorrespondence of The Evening Star. BALTIMORE, Md., November 17, 1897. The official announcement by Governor Lowndes of his candidacy for the United States senatorship, coupled with the intelli- gence that Senator Wellington will ald the executive with all the resources at his comr-and. has placed Mr. Lowndes far In the leaf of other aspirants, and it was ad- mitted on all sides among republican poli- ticians today that the Lowndes boom was very much in the ascendant. Senator Wel- lington’s attitude has been a subject of general speculation ever since the result of the election was known, and great hope has been expressed by the friends of Gen- eral Shryock, Postmaster General Gary and even of Majo~ Alexander Shaw that when the time for balloting arrived the senator would be found behind their par- ticular idol. A prominent state official, who fs an inti- mate friend of Mr. Wellington and who stands close to the administration, told The Star correspondent today that the sena- tor has been favorable to the governor's candidacy all along, and that he was pre- pared to-exert himself to the utmost in his behalf. Even Mr. Wellirgton’s bitterest eremies corcede that he will be an import- ant factor in deciding the election, and his friends claim that when the legisla- ture convenes he will have fully twenty- one votes to bestow on his favorite as- pirant. ‘The Star correspondent was also told to- day that the senator would go to Annapo- lis in person and conduct the governor's f: d that he would have entire charge of the preliminary campaign to be waged among the members-elect prior to the meet- Ing of the assembly. It is said that the contest will be shert and decisive, and the scnator’s lieutenants declare that with Wellington at the helm not many days will be lost in fruitless balloting. Patronage of the Governor. Even if Mr. Wellington should not sup- pert Mr. Lowndes, the governor would still be the favorite in the race. Owing to the laws which prevail in this state of concen- trating power in the hands of the exec! tive, Mr. Lowndes has a wealth of patron- age to distribute, which gives him a strong handicap over the other competitors. The office holders under his administration, who are leoking for reappointment, are active- ly working in his interests, and no country or city member-elect who is available is allowed to escape an opportunity of “‘talk- ing over the situation.” The many candi- Gates for the police and civil magistrates’ offices, the coroners, notaries public, berths in the tobacco warehouses and other places are “whooping things up for Lowndes” in most approved fashion, and if the members of the assembly—especially those from Bal- timore city—should fail to lean toward the governor it will not be because the desir: bility of his election has not been point out to them. In addition to this, no less than six members-elect of the house of delegates from the city are candidates for police justices, which places pay $2,100 per year and are nine in number, to be named by the governor. Two members-elect are candidates for liquor license commissioner. of which there are three to be named, and with skillful handling these would give Mr. Lowndes eight votes from the city. Votes Certain for Lowndes. State Senator Wilkinson of St. Mary’s county told The Star correspondent today that if the governor wanted his vote and the two votes of the St. Mary's delegates in the house he should have them. The governor placed a tobacco warehouse at Mr. Wilkinson's disposal, and the latter was thus enabled to find places for between twenty and thirty enthusiastic republicans from his county, and he says he feels in duty bound to stand by the governor, as he wants these men to be reappointed. Other votes that Mr. Lowndes can rely on personally are those of State Senator Dryden and the three members of the house from Somerset, and the senator and republican member from Caroline. It will thus be seen that the governor is strong personally, and that his own power, coupled with the influence and skill of Senator Wellington as a manager, is quite sufficient to send the Towndes stock well to the front. It is not likely that any effort will be made on the part of the eastern shore mem- bers to regain their “right” of a senator. Plans e been laid whereby they will have for the presidency of the and it is detail of the Lowndes-Wellington scheme not to oppose them in this respect. It is probable that State Senator V rott of Kent county will be the “shore” candidate for this honor, and it is expected that Wellington will endeavor to see that he gets it. eby to-EYrgm5 thxton,4 The Speakership. Great interest is felt over the fight for the speakership of the house. The only two candidates in the field who are well quali- fied for the place are Mr. Ashley M. Gould of Monigomery county and Mr. Charles R. Schirm of the third legislative district of Baltimore c‘ty. The only other republican who is being discussed as a senatorial possibility, and ho has any patronage to confer, is Mayor Maister. There has been some talk of i sing him out,” but this has been de- rided as absurd, and no one has laughed at it mere heartily than Mr. Malster himself. But should Mr. Malster enter the tight, with the city hall cffices to back him, he could easily keep the governer from get- ting many of the city votes by a judicious disposal of patronage. But so far as the county members are concerned, the mayor would be powerless, for he could not give anything in the way of official spoils to those who are not resident voters of the municipality. ‘Trying to Pick the Winner. Every day members-elect from the coun- ties are in town, and it fs easy to see, after @ few moments’ talk with them, that all are anxicus to be “jn with the winner” in the senatorial contest, and, what is of more importance to those who are en- gineering Gov. Lowndes’ campaign, that nearly all want offices either for ‘them- Selves or for some of their relatives or friends. It is Clearly evident that with the tobacco warehouses and their large number of emplcyes at his disposal Gov. Lowndes can get the votes of both St. Mary's and Calvert counties, and can per- haps capture a part of the votes from Charles county. With the police magis- trates and other lucrative positions at his Gisposal in Baltimore city he can divide the twenty-one votes from the three dis- tricts and get a large share of them, and with the votes from his own and Garrett counties at his back, nine in all, he can, of lis own strength, get close to a majority of the caucus. As the republican member- ship is sixty-seven, of which thirty-four Diake a majority, with the aid of Senator Wellington and his friends, he has, to all outward appearances, the best cards in the deck with which to play the game. | FOR GORMAN’S pth SE ST ene Ek IU IETS AUEE I ALL PRESENT BUT TWO. Sessions of the Monetary Commis- sion Resumed. The monetary commission resumed its sessions last night, with all the members present except two. Mr. Stuyvesant Fish, who bas been prevented by other engage- ments from attending the sessions of the commission heretofore, sat with the body last night. Most of the time was occupied with a general review of the work already accomplished, for the purpose of acquaint- ing Mr. Fish with what had been done. The preliminary reperts of the principal committees have been considered fully by the whole body, and a general idea obtain- ed thereby of the individual views of all the members. The future work of the com- be devoted mainly to a dis- cussion ef the repcrts and measures to be subnutted for the consideration of Con- gress. It is not probable that any reports will be ready when Congr onvenes curly in December, but it is hoved that be- fere the end of the month some 2relimi- nary suggestions at least will be ready for submission, to be followed later by more general and claborate reports. INTERNAL RE ENU INCREASING. Receipts of the Four Months of the Fiscal Year. The monthly statement ef the collections of internal revenue shows that the tots! receipts from all sources fer the month ef October aggregated $14,036, crease over October, 1896, of $761 receipts from the several sources of reve- nue during October are given as follows: Spirits, $8,27- increase over October, 1806, $364,803. Tobacco, $3,088,652; increase, rmented liquors, 301; de- $87,307. Oleomargarine, $ 3 in- crease, Filled cheese, $1, in- $29,68 $1 Crease, $2,316. For tne foer months of the present fiscal year tne total receipts exceeded those of the corresponding period in 1896 by $6,- 759,069. Miscellaneous, $33 de- Ce To Inspect Naval Militia, The Navy Department has just issued a circular prescribing the conditions under which the naval militia of the states may be inspected by naval officers. An order Prepared for issue today also provides for the nec--ary details for the inspection. Provision is made for an inspection at every place where a naval militia organiza- tion exists. Generally the officers detailed for this service are those connected with the nearest navy yards, .-branch hydro- graphic offices and torpedo stations, discre- tion being left with the commanding offi- cers to name the particular individual offi- cer to conduct the inspection. All corre- spondence with the departmext on the sub- ject of the naval miliuia must be conducted through thé adjutant gererat-of the state, and the preliminary arrangements for all inspections must be made between that offi- cer and the naval officer detailed for the purpose. The naval officers age not to per- mit the inspections to interfére with their regular duties, and are to be the judges of the times of Inspectién. ‘The inspecting officer is to give particular attention to du- ties and exercises that are essentially naval rather thah to infantry, artillery and other erills common to both branches of the Na- tional Guard. The Navy Department has formally adopted the views as to the proper field of usefulness of the naval miutia la.1 down by the Naval War College, as wis is set down as the basis of inspection for all officers. ———_-o—_____ Army and Navy Orders. The retirement of Lieut. Col. William E. Waters, deputy surgeon general of the United States army, is announced. Capt. Charles E. Woodruff, assistant sur- geon at Fort Custer, Montana, has been or- dered to Jackson barracks, Louisiana, to relieve Maj: William C.-Shannon, surgeon. Capt. Richard W...Johnson,..assistant sur- geon at Fort Logan, Colorado, has been ordered to Fort D. A. Russell, Wyoming. The leave of absence granted Capt. Thom- as C. Woodbury, 16th Infantry, has been extended one inonth and fifteen days. The following transfers have been made in the 13th Infantry: Second Lieut. Paul B. Malone, from Company E°to Company C, and Second Lieut, Louis H. Bash, from Company C to Company E. The leave of absence granted Second Lieut. Ora E. Hunt, 14th Infantry, has peen extended two months. The leave of absence granted Second Lieut. Frank W. Coe, Ist Artillery, has been extendcd one month. Ensign R. W. McNeely has been detached from the Iowa and ordered to the Annap- olis as watch and division officer; Surgeon Cc. G. Horndon, from the bureau of medi- cine and surgery to await orders; Assistant Surgeon J. C. Thompson, from the naval laboratory at Brooklyn to the Naval Hos- pital at Mare Island; Assistant Surgeon W. B. Grove, from the Naval Hospital at Mare Island to the Oregen. ——_ News of the Navy. Orders have been given to put the dis- patch boat Dolphin out of commission at the New York navy yard in order that she may be thoroughly overhauled and put in condition for active ser¥ice next spring. The Dolphin is one of the Roach cruisers, the pioneers of the new navy, and cost originally $315,000. She has been in con- stant service for about twelve years, and has cost the government less for repairs than almost any other ship in the navy. It is estimated that it will cost $75,000 and take four months’ time to put her in com- plete repair. The Navy Department is contemplating some joint maneuvers between the North Atlantic squadron and the torpedo boat flotilla probably off Brunswick, Ga., in the course of a few weeks. The squadron is go- ing southward that far, and as the flotilla is now in the vicinity the oportunity to make some trials of the torpedo boats as assaii- ants of battleships and as blockade runners is good. re Notes of the Army. General Merritt, commanding the depart- ment of the east, has ordered the remission of so much of the sentence imposed on Charles E. Smith, late private battery G, 4th Artillery, as may remain unexecuted on the 20th proximo, provided his conduct shall continue to be good until that date. Lieut. Charles G. Dwyer, 3d Infantry, has been relieved from duty as military at- tache of the United States legation at the City of Mexico, and will return to the United States upon the arrival of his suc- cessor. Under fnstructions from the headquarters of the army, the commanding officer of Washington barracks will send one acting hospital steward and three privates of the hospital corps with Battery I, 4th Artillery, to Fort Delaware, Del., for duty at that post. ———_-e-—_____ Presidential Postmasters. The President has appointed the follow- ing postmasters: Connecticut—Bridgeport, William H. Mar- igold. Massachusetts—Salem, W. Harvey Mer- rill. New Jersey—Eng.ewood, James sarris. Virginia—Winchester, Charles H. Hardy. Pe roar de City, George W. Colorado—Blackhawk, E. i Lemar, Daniel E. Couper; Visi, eae Tiiinots—Duauoin, H. B. Mount uquoin, H. ‘Ward; Sterling, George W. Curry. =< anee eewes W. F. fee Missouri—Maysville, Frank B. Miller. Oklahoma—Hennessey, J. A. Felt, THE CITY’S PARKS In Them May Be Read the Story of the Passing Year. ONE GREAT CHARM OF WASHINGTAN How the Capitol and White House Grounds Were Laid Out. NEAR TO NATURE’S HEART] The history, evolution and advantages of the Washingtcn park system are subjects of more than passing interest. When Clovis chose to create Paris on an island of the Seine, and Peter the Great bade St. Petersburg rise as if by magic from the black waters of the Neva, they made their marvelous creations more com- plete by the interjection of public squares, courts of honor and boulevards; but to Pierre L'Enfant remained the unique dis tinction of excelling all former conceptions of grandeur in city building by planning a capital more magnificent than had yet been dreamed fer kingdom or empire. The first tree planting in Washington gave the avenue in 1801 two rows of Lom- bardy poplars. The first four Presidents of the United States were farmers, and they paid a good deal of attention to the cultural improvements of the capital. Washington and Jefferson were inveterate searchers for the exquisite and rare in horticulture, and many new trees and shrubs were imported frcm the old world by them. Those were the halcyon days when the odor of the newly imported calycanthus bushes rivaled in fragrance the sacredly guarded box hedges. These forefathers had a keen in- isht into the needs of the future. Ever since man’s hasty exit from Eden and his just sentence of having to earn his bread by the sweat of his brow, there has been an inherent affection for pastoral land- scapes and “‘scerery as distinct from scenes.” The crude arts of man need the softening surroundings of nature's drapery. ‘Tis the rich setting to the picture. Brick walls grow obtrusively monotonous with- out bits of interesting bright landscape. Capitol Park. Capitol Park was the first reservation to receive the artistic touches of the land- scape gardener. The roadway wound in close proximity to the Capitol, giving to the finest piece of architecture on the globe the appearance of a huge ship stranded on the beach. Two blocks of buildings, both north and south of the Capitol, were condemned and torn away, and, as if touched by a magician’s wand, Capitol Park gleamed out “a thing of beauty and a joy forever.” About 1850 Mr. Wm. D. Breckinridge, the Scotch botanist who accompanied Commo- dore Perry's expedition round the world, brought to this country a curious and rare collection of plants. He obtained an ap- propriation from Congress to erect a green- house on the north side of the patent office. This collection soon outgrew its cramped quarters, and he obtained permission to build a more spacious greenhouse along Tiber creek, on the mall west of Capitol Park. This was the embryo of the Botanic Garden. A second appropriation from Congress built an addition to the east wing, which made the rotunda of the present greenhouse. A terrific hailstorm visited the city very soon afterward, played smash with the greenhouses and broke nearly all the two-inch plate glass in the roof of the Capitol. The appropriation for reglazing was more than sufficient, and from this fund a second addition was made to thé greenhouse, which in point of plan re- sembles the Capitol in miniature, Mr. Breckinridge was succeeded by his first assistant, Mr. Wm. R. Smith, to whose admirable skill the Botanic Garden owes much of its beauty and charm. White House Grounds. Mr. A. J. Downing, an assistant to Mr, Breckinridge, had the honor of planning the White House grounds. He religiously bore in mind L’Enfant’s original idea that each public building must be the center for: diverging avenues. If Mr. Downing had been left to his own artistic taste he would have imitated Napoleon’s idea of Paris on a more magnificent scale. He planned a grand Arc de Triomphe for the 15th street entrance to White Lot, and that lot would have been laid out on a scale so magnifi- cent as to eclipse anything of its kind previously attempted. Unfortunately for Mr. Downing, he planned a lake for the center of the lot, but an unusually damp season had caused the wife of President Pierce an attack of malaria. The lake was promptly filled up, and the reason given for this abrupt order was that the lake was a disease breeder. Mr. Downing’s ardor was dampened, his original plans were left at the White House, and the children of the household gained possession of them and used them for playthings. Few of his Ce ideas exist on paper at the present lay. Mr. Downing and Mr. John Saul were commissioned to lay out the Smithsonian grounds. These grounds up to that time comprised a part of a reeking cattle yard, of which the present Agricultural grounds formed the remainder. The plan was but partially completed when-Mr. Downing met his tragic death by a fall from a burning steamer into the Hudson river. Mr. Geo. R. Brown, public gardener, assisted Mr. Saul in completing the work, A Large Acreage. Within the city limits there are 30° reser- vations, varying in area from less than 1,000 feet to 60 acres, that comprise the parks, squares, circles and other designs more or less geometrical, with which the city is beautified. The parks within the city limits approximate 650 acres, 405 of wnlcn ae a ne immediate supe! vision of . George R. Brown of the = lic gardens, = ee the Scotch landscape gardeners-- pioneers in their line of activity—the city oes rruch of its beauty; they have in- deed builded better than they knew. To their talent for scenic effect is due the gutspread panorama of Capitol Park, Smithsonian, Agricultural, Naval Observa- tory ard Arsenal grounds, Lincoln, Carroll, Lafayette and other parks. From the city’s inception, the official rulers seemed cognizant of the fact that the twin urts of architecture and landscape gardening mvst go hand in hand to produce a perfest picture. It would have done scant juatice to the setting of a public building to heve no landscape art about it. The Jandevape artists have dealt with infinite and ex- quisite detail to produce that harmony of oar ey, effect which we now enjoy in these parl Gov. Shepherd was a man of unticing energy and indomitable will, and while he had naught to do with the park system, he left the city the.rich legacy of many thousands of noble shade trees that adorn humble thoroughfares as well as magnifi- cent avenues, and give the charming bands of verdure that are not only a source of enjoyment to lovers of the beautiful, but form a conrecting link between the series of parks. Story of the Year. no rival as an advertising med- ium. all the year we would weary of purple. The first flowers of spring are _pale as becomes the season of the new year. After the blush~of the Judas tree is gone the dacgwood sprinkles its barren branches with white stars, and the seent of the laurel fills the air. Pale blue forgeteme-nots of the June time are succeeded by the gorgeous scarlet geraniums of July, the yellow chrys- anthemums of August an@ September and the glorious wealth ef crimson, gold and russet foliage in October. ~ No more delightful change from the hard and narrow lines of eity life can be found than a stroll into these parks where the rocks are moss-painted bysthe Great Arch- itect of the universe, andi the trees uplift their arms In song, the ¥ery leaves quiver- ing with melody. he great value of the city parks is to furnish the rest and re- freshment of mind amd bedy which come with the tranquillizing infmence of contact with the natural scenery. The Beantital im Nature. This getting “near to nature’s heart” stimulates a desire fer better home sur- roundings. Every example of the beauti- tiful in nature tends to chasten and purify taste and to strengthen ideals. It enables people to resist harmful influences as well as those elements of barbarity which still lurk in them from heredity. Medicinally considered the parks are a healing and curative agent of vital value. They tend to establish a sound mind in a sound body, and no drug store in the city can be of as much value as a good-sized park. The beauty of natural scenery has much to do with mental healing. Philosophers and Poets, voices for the great struggling mass of humanity behind them, have long ex- pressed these sentiments. Parks attract the poor from stifling tenements. This breathing of pure air is the husbanding of a source of health which in turn is the source of all wage-earning power, as well as the nucleus of all wealth. It has been truly said that without more cheer and more wholesoze outdoor exercises, coming generations will bear witness to the de- pressing power of the pitiless grind of the work-a-day world, in dulled minds and dwarfed bodies. Aside from sentiment, from a hygienic point of view, “the lungs of the city”—our park areas—should be ex- tended. ——-—_ TABERNACLE WANTED. President Appleton on the Interna- tional Rendezvous in Washington. President A. Stewart: Appleton of the People’s Church of America—known as “the church without a creed’—has issued a call to the world, to people of all de- ncminations, or no denominations, Cath- olics, Protestants, Free-thinkers, Budd- Fists, Methodists, Baptists, agnostics, sclen- tists, or whatever opinion anywhere pre- vails, for funds to erect a building in Washington, to be called the International Rendezvous—a rostrum to which speakers of all religions will be welcome. ~The only doctrine,” said President Ap- pleton to a reporter, at his residence, 1325 lith street northwest, “which our church and it is hardly fair to call it a church, for its membership is made up of so many diverse elements, so that it may more prop- erly be called a religion, the twentieth cen- tury dispensation—our only doctrine ia that avity person be allowed to think and wor- ship-according.to the dictates of his’own conscience. Our appeal is to persons of all shades of belief for the necessary money to build a tabernacle in the national cap- ital, with, of course, library, reading rooms and necessary business and social rooms, where representatives of every relizious and scientific thought may associate ayd work harmoniously for exchange of opin- ion, tHe advancement cf education and the uy olding jof mankind. = “This,” ‘continued Pyestfent Appleton, handing the reporter. a printed page, “is the only so-called ‘creed’ the People’s Church of America has ever given out. It is not a creed, but mther a distinct dis- avowal of any—merely am association of ideas. It was promulgated in 1883, and. you will observe, embrares most every posstble ‘shatié of beltef.”” The .decument was headed “The Twen- | tieth Century Dispensation—the - New Awakening, or the Social Movement of the Nineteenth Century, Religious, Eco- nomic, Scientific.” “The object of our prepased tabernacle,” said President Appleton, “is to have new speakers and lecturers every week—the most noted- men and women in religion, science, literature, art and every great thenie-who will give to the people easily and by word of mouth the results of the latest discoveries in) knewledge. These have been kept in the boeks. The secular press is doing much te popularize knowl- edge, but the people Joye to hear us well as to read. Let us have the funds to rear such a tabernacle in Washington and more good will be done by it than by any other educational institution ever erected. It is a kind of work that directly reaches the people—not alone the scholars. “I know whereof I speak, for a consid- erable part of our work in the north and in some parts of the south has been the erection of summer resort schools of phil- osophy, where all branches of knowledge are tdught, by lectures chiefly, so that the summer resorter may learn without weari- some research. Kindergarten work is taught; typewriting, also, and stenography, as well as science, philosophy, histcry, art, music and whatever the lecturers choose to speak upon. “James G. Stevenson, the well-known liberal thinker and guthor of ‘The Medita- tions of an Idealist,’ who is with us in these things, is now in Georgia Jooking up land for a winter school of philosophy, in connection with which we shall have an agricultural community laid cut in five and ten-acre farms. “But wkat we want here in Washington is a headquarters building—an international rendezvous. It will be a great resgrt for travelers who visit the national capital, and from it we expect to issue a weekly Rewspaper, containing the addresses of our speakers, in the principal lenguages which educate the world—English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Scandinavian, Russian, Chinese, Ji Hindoostan, Gujarati—others, if n ——————— KAIULANI REACHES HAWAII. Natives. Covered Her With Flowers . on Her Arrival. A dispatch from Honolulu, dated Novem- ber 10, via San Francisco, says: The ar- rival of Princess Katulani caused a flutter yesterday. A large crowd of people, prin- cipally natives, greeted her at the wharf. As the princess. walked down the gang- plank the Hawaiians covered -her with flowers. < She was driven to her home, where a re- ception was held: last night. It is under- stood that Katulani; will remain here sev- eral months. ee A. 8. Cleghorn, her father, is quoted os saying that his daughter's visit has no po- litical significance. If it had it would not be policy for him to admit ‘the fact, as the young woman is new recel' @ substan- tial’ pension from: the Hawailan govern- Bent cough, to support herself in com- 01 os if this government 4 THE X-RAY BURNS Discovery of a Method Whereby They May Be Avoided. TESTED BY PRACTICAL EXPERIENCE Some Interesting Experiments Made by Mr. Elliott Woods. THE RESULTS EXPLAINED A recent publication declares that “‘scien- tists are greatly puzzled over the curious malady caused by frequent exposure to the X rays.” They call it a burn, because it develops and heals like one, “but exactly what the injury is or what causes its ap- Pearance is as deep a mystery as is the wonderful light which produces it.” The benefits derived from the discovery of the power of that ‘wonderful light” were manifold. Yet as an agent for good it was in large part neutralized by the ills which followed its application, and the ele- ment of mystery referred to, and the inabil- ity of the learned scientists to expiain it away or provide a means to avert the harmful effects of “frequent exposure” to the X ray, was a bar to its progress as an aid to the medical science. It remained for a Washingtonian to de- velop a method of protecticn against the X ray, which, while not diminishing its benefits, has rendered it comparatively, if not altogether, hurmless. The discoverer of that method is Mr. Elliott Woods, who under Architect Clark has charge of the United States Capitol building. An X-ray burn is peculiar, and it is pain- ful. It is estimated that the injuries from that source “during the few months the ray has been in use will number nearly 100 distinct cases.” It is also stated that “the injuries have been inflicted almost entirely upon exhibitors, or scientists, who were constantly working with the machines; cases where the exposure was very long or where ignorance or carelessness was to blame.” There are instances of record, however, of burns inflicted upon patients with very serious consequences, some subjects being permanently injured, while others lest their hair and had their flesh scorched beyond cure. Continuous exposure of the flesh to the X ray for an hour or frequent expos- ures gave the surface the appearance of having been baked before a hot blaze in some instances and in certain lights the cuticle seeming to have but just healed after having been blisterea. Mr. Woods followed closely the experi- ments made by the eminent scientist, Tesla, in New York, and improved upon his meth- ods with great success. Tesla had sought to minimize the ill effects of the X ray by the use of aluminum as a shield. Mr. Woods substituted gold fcil. Speaking of the experiments he made and their results, Mr. Woods said: Carelessness Responsible. “From an earnest examination into the cases which have come to my notice, and from tite statements of those who have suffered, I firmly believe that carelessness is responsible for three-fourths of the dam- age sustained from application of the X ray, the balance being due to bodily con- ditions of the person experimented upon. No matter how careful a surgeon may be with the knife, to the deft handling of which he has been thoroughly trained, when he takes hold of a powerful X-ray apparatus he is certainly in a new field of experiment. He has little or no knowledge ofthe apparatus, as a general rule, and all he thinks he has to do is to put the tube in connection with the induction coil, and, finding he is getting the characteris- tic fluorescent glow, make the photographic exposure, or examination, as the case may “In order that he may realize his hopes he keeps the patient under the rays as lorg as he can, with the result that after a few days he finds he has done some con- siderable damage. I have known cases where the exposure was as much as an hour, when from an inquiry into the capa- bilities of the tube used the work to be dcne could have been accomplished in ten to fifteen minutes. The Focus Taube. “I find that a great number of burns have been made with the so-called focus tube. In the focus tube the molecular bombardment is concentrated on the central portion of a thin plate of platinum, centrally located. This platinum is the source of the energy which we call the X ray. When the tube is in operation a zone of light which is visible on the glass bulb shows that the energy is being given off from the seat of bombardment, and that the radiations are the same as if the platinum sheet were a source of light. “In the old form of tubes, where the sources were electrodes, more or less, of different shapes and inclined at various angles, the glass bulb showed diffused ra- diation and less concentration of action. Now, this is an important fact, for it shows that in early cases patients were operated on with tubes giving less of direct energy, and the older forms of bulbs did not give the remarkable distinctness of the focus type. For this reason, also, the number of cases of burning reported were not nearly so many as after the introduction of the focus tube. In this latter every ray of energy, or nearly every one, is utilized, and soe effects are correspondingly accentu- ated. “But with the introduction of the focus tube has come a corresponding increase in power of the induction coils used to ener- gize it, for it is capable of withstanding a very much greater input,of energy, due to its construction. The jowledge of its greater power seems not to have warned operating surgeons, and they have gone on regardless of the added energy which they were driving through the fiesh and bone of the patient. Remedy in the Seree: The remedy of prevention would seem to be in the screen, which is generally used to produce a shadowgraph. This, you may have noted, is an ordinary cardboard coat- ed with a chemical salt which fluoresces under the action of the rays. There is a certain relation between the energy of the tube and the distinctness with which the bones appear. If the vacuum in the bulb is high, that is, what we experimenters would call very high, the bones still appear rather transparent, so much so that, when shown on the screen, it is easy to place objects behind them and view such objects through the bones. “At this stage the heart may be readily seen, and, by a proper arrangement of the person before the tube, the shoulder and NEW ASSISTANT COMMISSIONE! RAPID TRANSIT TESTS Railroad Companies Looking for Sat- isfactory Systems. ADVANTAGES OF THE THIRD RAIL Ex-Represen : ive Mondell Goes Into the Land Office. Frark W. Mondell of Wyoming has been appointed by the President to be assistant commissioner of the general land office, vice Judge Best. Mr. Mondell was one of the youngest members of the last Congress. He is a native of St. Lcuis and was born thirty- seven years ago. He was left an orphan when seven years old and for eleven years afterward lived on a farm with friends The Button Method Under Trial Now at Pittsburg. ous western states and territories; settled in Wyoming in 1887, and the following year was elected mayor of the new town of Newcastle, serving until two years ago. He was a member of the first state senate in 1890, was its president at the session of 1892, and was a delegate to the Minneapolis republican convention in that year. M-. Mondell succeeded Henry A. Coffeen, a democrat, in the House. QUESTIONS OF ECONOMY He will begin his new duties at once. As indicated in The Star several days ago, Judge Best of Georgia, late assistant commissioner of the general noon. —s SECRETARY LONG’S REPORT. It Wu Be Given Out for Publication Next Week. Secretary Long has completed the prep- aration of his annual report and it will be given out for publication next week. struction of two more battleships of the type of the Iowa, and six first-class torpedo boats. He indorses the recommendation of the chief of ordnance for an appropriation of $500,000 for reserve guns, to be manufac- tured at the Washington navy yard, and for the construction of a government pow- der factory. An improvement of the sys- tem of dry docks with an increase in their number and an increase of 1,500 in the en- listed strength to meet the growing wants of the navy are also among the more im- portant recommendations. The Dauntless Lands Another Fili- bustering Party in A dispatch from Havana says: The new secretary general of Cuba, Dr. Jose Con- gcsto, formerly Spanish consul at Philade!- phia, continues to make himself unpopular. He bas had a dispute with a prominent conservative, Senor Francisco de las Santos Guzman, a former president of the con- gress, and he has also had a misunder- standing vith Senor Cueto, a prominent autonomist, with the result, it is under- stood, that letters have been written to Madrid calling attention to the alleged eccentricities of the secretary general, and also dwelling upon his peculiar political sentiments. In fact, the dispute between Dr. Congosto and Senor Guzman became so heated that it nearly-ended in a most disagreeable manner, and their conversa- tion, becoming generally known, has been much commented upon and has had a very unfavorable effect among the Spanish resi- dents. It is believed here that there will be great, excitement in Spain as soon as the United States Congress meets. Letters found upon captured insurgents and re- ceived from Spain recently indicate that the insurgents were recently advised to keep up the struggle for three months longer, pointing out that the first act of the Sagasta government would be the re- moval of General Weyler, and adding that war would be made on the Spanish min- ister at Washington, Senor Dupuy de Lome. It is charged that Senor Dupuy de Lome and Dr. Congosto are to blame for the spread in the United States of the senti- ment in favor of autonomy, and it is even alleged that they have induced American newspapers te advecate this policy. There is much excitement here at pres- ent over the news Of the landing of an- other filibustering expedition by the Daunt- less, and the hard feelings against Ameri- cans have, consequently, been increased in bitterness. CHARGED WITH MANY CRIMES. Lawyer Howe Preparing to Spring Surprises on Mrs. hk. -A New York dispatch say: Lawyer Howe, counsel for Martin Thorn, is profit- ing by the suspension of the trial, and when the case is opened next week, and Mrs. Nack goes on the stand, he will con- front her with a list of murders in which she is alleged to have been implicated. Since the confessions as to her part in the killing of the bath rubber in the Wood- side cottage men have been at work ferret- ing out every detail of her life with re- newed energy. Many new facts have been disclosed and new witnesses found, who will testify that she crushed out other hu- man lives as calmly and with less trouble than the affair of Woodside cottage. That Mrs. Nack was the direct cause of the death of a young woman who had been the sweetheart of a wealthy New Yorker is now stated by Mr. Howe, who asserts that ke intends to make the full story known at the new trial. The second jury is likely to be made up principally of farm- ers who live in the backwoods of Long Island, and who do not read the newspa- pers to any extent. = ——+e-+_____ TRUE BILLS AGAINST FOUR. Finding of Grand Jury in Case of Olive Pecker’s Crew. A special to the Baltimore American from Norfolk seys: Seven indictments, the penalty attached to each being death, have been found against four of the six mem- ters of the mutinous crew of the ill-fated Boston schooner Oiive Pecker, which was burned cff the South American coast after her captain and mate had been murdered. At 3 o'clock the grand jury returned the following true bills: John Anderson, for murder of Capt. John W. Whitman; same for murder cf Mate William Wallace Saun- Gers, two indiciinents; same for destruc- tion of the vessel. William Horsburgh, John Lind and Juan eBios Barrial, alias Manuel Barrial, accessories after the crime to the murder of Mate Saunders; same, accessories after the murder of Capt. Whit- [on John Anderson, William Horsburgh, fohn Lind and Juan DeBios Barrial, for destruction of vessel. The two seamen, Martin Barstad and Andrew March, have been acquitted by Commissioner Ackiss, but are held as witnesses. ———_-e-—_. ARBITRATION TREATY OPPOSED. Resolutions Adopted by the K. of L. Assembly. x At the afternoon session of the Knights of Labor at Louisville Tuesday the assem- bly passed resolutions expressing a strong sentiment against the formulation of an arbitration treaty between the United land office, was appointed assistant attorney in the Department of the Interior yesterday affer- It is in Iowa. He engaged in mercantile pur- suits and in ra!lway construction in vari- : that he recommends the con- From the New York Correspondent Phila, Press, When the Metropolitan Street Railway Company of this city decided, after long Geliberation and many experiments, to In- stall an underground trolley system upon all of the avenue lines that that company centrols, it seemed to many who had been watching the vast development of street and suburban railway capital and traffic, that probably this New York experiment pointed the way to changes from the over- head to the underground trolley system in all cities where there are crowded thor- oughfares, and, hereafter, when new lines are established, the motive power will be furnished, at least in the cities, by the underground trolley system. Some of the greater capitalists of this country, some of the most capable me- chanical engineers and scientists, and many of the steam railway managers, are not at all sure that we are any further than upon the threshold of the perfectly developed system for the propulsion of Street cars and for suburban traffic. President Clark of the New Haven rail- road, who had the courage to make an ex- pensive experiment with the third-rail sys- tem, is satisfied that that method is in most respects the most satisfactory for the open season—that is, from the middle of the spring until the middie of autumn. Whether its results will prove as satisfactory dur- ing the winter season is something which is to be determined in the winter which will shortly begin. If the experiments President Clark is making prove io be as satisfactory during the next six months as they have sliown themselves to be in the past six months, it is probable that the great railway system of which Mr. Clark is the head will, as soon as possible, adopt the chird rail for all its branch and suburban lin and ft will sur- prise none of those who have talked with President Clark if, ultimately, that system is adopted for the main line. Yet the experts say that, while the sys- tem may contain the highest possibilities for satisfactory power for short and long haulage, yet it is by no means perfect, and the element of danger has not been over- come. It is true that President Clark is of the opinion that the danger that lurks in the live third rail is greatiy exaggerated, and that only by the grossest carelessness or by intention could a mortal shock be re- ceived by any ene through contact with that rail. As no one cares to make the experiment, however, and as there have been no acci- dental tests of the capacity of the third rail to kill or dangerously shock a person, Mr. Clark's view is received with some in- credulity. The Pennsylvania Company has already laid a track for the purpose of making ex- periments, wh:ch offers five miles of track- age, and is placed in a singularly conve- nient region for the accurate testing of va- rious plans and inventions, the swift rem- edy of defects and the careful study of every appliance which any person may effer for inspection or test. The tracks have been laid down in East Pitts! mest paralle! with the Pennsylvania rai road tracks (although in the valley beneath those tracks, in which the Westinghouse works are situated). Already in those vast yards a system of electric propulsion has been in use for eral years. By it the freight cars, which are switched into the yard and which carry from the works the machines destined for distant markets, have been hauled with economy, perfect ease and method. That system is what is known as the but- ton system. Nothing of the plant is dis. cernible to the eye, except an iron button which projects just above the surface, and is so made as to interfere in no way with ordinary traffic. The electric car passing over this system is propelled by means of a current communicated.to a shoe from the button. The system is absolutely safe, the button is not alive, excepting at the instant of lime when it is in contact with the shoe. This system is to be still further tested thoroughly, without stint as to expense that it may be established to the satisfac- tion of capitalists, mechanical and scien- Uific engineers, whether it is the best or whether it has such defects as will make it not reasonable to expect that it will have great commercial opportunities. The Double Third Rail. Next, the third-rail system is to be tested in every detail. The tracks which the Pennsylvania railroad have established, and which the Westinghouse people are utilizing with an electric car, are supple- mented by two interior rails. That is to say, it is not a single third-rail system, but is what may be called the double third-rail system. This system is now being tested upon these tracks, very largely for the purpose of determining whether the element of danger can be completely eliminated, and, if this can be done, whether the system thus established can be operated as eco- nomi and as satisfactorily in other ways as the third-rail system with the live rail, such as President Clark is using upon the branch line near Hartford, Conn. The Westinghouse people have "great hopes that this system will be solved satis- factorily, and in the near future. The sys- tem which they are using only causes the rails to be alive when the electric car is in contact with them. The problem is to see whether this can be accomplished with one rail, thus avoiding the great expense en- talled by the laying of the additional rail now used in the double third-rail system. The problem is being carefully worked out, and, in fact, has progressed so far that the main features of the proposed system are capable of explanation to rail- way and scientific men, although they would be too technical and abstruse for the understanding of laymen. Individual Motors. Elaborate and exhaustive experiments and tests are to be made to determine whether it is better to have each car fitted with a motor, so that it is capable of act- ing independently, and whether or not it is more economical and satisfactory to run single cars thus equipped, or to run several cars, each capable of acting independently of the other and yet connected into a sin- gle train. are experiments; and yet, involved in that question are, of course, the safety, the lation and of satisfactory service to the patrons of a or suburban rail- way. On the other @ system may be