Grand Rapids Herald-Review Newspaper, June 19, 1897, Page 3

os emma x a ah renee rere 2 ge ects ne ee [T IS° EASILY ~ DONE. UNDERGROUND RAILWAY A SIMPLE PROBLEM, Baise the Street Level a Few Feet and Bulla the Tracks Below the Surface S\-Ne Tunneling is Necessary—Like a Oovered Ditch. NE of the finest # and most commo- dious railways in the world is now in operation in Buda- pest, in Hungary. It is known as the Franz Josef Elec- trical Underground _ Railroad, and it runs from the heart fe of the capital to the suburbs, For many years the peo- ple of Budapest have been anxious to have a railroad through beautiful An- drassy street, but, for apparently valid reasons, the Minister of the Interior persistently refused to give his con- sent to any such project. The original proposition was that a horse railroad should be constructed, but the Minister promptly vetoed it. His argument was that Andrassy street was mainly used as a public promenade, and that its beauty and usefulness would be lessened by the introduction of a horse railroad. ~ Five years later—in 1887—the pro- ject of an electric street railroad with an underground current was broached, but when the Minister who was then in office heard of it he refused to sanc- tion it, and on the same grounds as his predecessor. Finally the project of an under- ground electric railroad came to the front, and, after some delay, the ne- cessary consent of the authorities was secured. According to this new plan a road was to be constructed beginning at the Gisella platz and thence passing under the Waltzner boulevard and An- drassy street to the Stadtwaldehen. The greatest thoroughfares in the city would thus be threaded, or, rather, un- dermined, and a ready means of tran- sit would be secured from one import- Ta regard to the management of the new road some rigid rules have been laid down. Thus, it was enacted that during the first fifteen years the fare of each passenger shall not exceed ten kreuzers, After that time a change may be made if the interests of the road or the passengers require it, If the road succeeds—and there seems no doubt about it—the city of Budapest will share in the success. Ac- cording to the terms of the concession, Budapest is to receive no taxes from the road for the first twenty years, but after that time it is to receive one per cent of the gross receipts between the twentieth and the thirtieth year, two per cent betweeen the thirtieth and the fortieth year, three per cent be- tween the fortieth and the fiftieth year, four per cent between the fiftieth and the sixtieth year and five per cent thereafter. Furthermore, it is enacted that during the first twenty-five years of the concession no other line shall be built from the interior of the city to the suburbs. THE DIANA VAUGHN HUMBUG. A Scandal Which Interests Many Coun- tries—Gigantic Hoax. A scandal which interests many countries was revealed in Paris re- cently. A man named Leo Taxil, by birth a Marseillais, has for a long time been puffing a woman named Diana Vaughan, who he declared was the secret head of the freemasons, who were alleged, in America at least, to be devoted to the worship of Satan, says the London Spectator. She her- self, under the auspices of Gen. Pike, an old and respected American mason, was married to Asmodeus, a devil of high rank. This rubbish found be- lief among some clerical and ignorant catholics, Leo Taxil was received in audience by the pope and the greatest interest was manifested in Diana Vaughan, who was represented as sin- cerely repentant and a convert to catholicism, and to whom Cardinal Parocehio, a candidate for the papacy, actually wrote a letter of sympathy. Taxil has now made a public speech in Paris, in which, in the presence of many priests, be confessed that the whole story was a gigantic hoax got STATION OF THE UNDERGROUND RAILWAY AT BUDAPEST. ant point to another. This plan was adopted January 22, 1894, and there was a distinct stipulation that the road should be in working order by the time of Hungary’s millennium, in 1896. Quick work therefore was neces- sam’, for the task was gigantic in its way, and not to be easily accomplished within two years. Actual work was begun on August 13, 1894, and it was kept up without in- termission till the completion of the road. The line was laid with two rails, the entire length being 3,700 meters. Along the route there are eleven sta- tions, at which passengers get on or off, Nine of these stations are under- ground and two are in the open air. Everything appertaining to the work is of the strongest and most durable material, and the utmost pains have been taken to insure for the passengers comfort and safety. Lights are scat- tered freely through the tunnel, some being used as danger signals. Thus a red light shows that the train is to stop and a white light that the road is clear. In case the lights get out of or- der a telephone can be used, for each station is provided with a telephone. The carriages are spacious, luxur- jous, and are constructed after the most approved models. They are twenty in number, fourteen of which can be used singly. The road was finished at the ap- pointed time, and has been running since then from 6 a. m. to 1 a. m. Trains follow each other in rapid suc- cesssion, and during the busiest time of the day there is only two minutes’ headway. From the start the road has € ~m popular, which is proved by the yet that during the first five months the number of passengers amounted to 2,261,940. The capital of the road is 3,600,000 florins, of which 100,000 flor- ins are kept as a reserve fund. The government, or municipal, con- cession lasts for ninety years. In 1940, however, the concession to the Buda- pest Bleetric Railroad Company will lapse, and then the franchise of the present road will revert to the city of Budapest. Until then the Franz Josef and the Budapest Electric eompanies will appparently work together, up by him out of sheer love of mysti- fication, Diana Vaughan being a type- writer of his acquaintance who knew nothing of Gen, Pike or Asmodeus either. The auditors were very much inclined to lynch M. Taxil, who had to be protected by the police, and whose motive for his discreditable im- posture they evidently doubted. He was probably seeking cash. His stories had a ready sale, and there are men in Paris who would do anything to dis- credit the catholic church, which, no doubt, is inclined by tradition to be rather credulous about free-masonry. It is probable that a good many of the stories about Satanism in Paris have been got up in the same way, by men who traded at once on catholic credul- ity and on the appetite for the horrible and the nasty. First Rate Rule. Hojack—Can you give me a good rule for playing poker? Tomdik—I ean. “Go ahead.” “Don’t poke.”— Louisville Courier-Journal. PERSONALS, Rey. John MeNéeill, the evangelist, was a railway porter for years before he became a preacher. C. W. Walton, justice of the Supreme Court of Maine, will soon retire after a service of forty years. Mrs. Langtry possesses a dressing bag which is, perhaps, the costliest of its kind. It is adorned with gold and jeweled fittings, and cost $7,500. John Bryan, an Ohioan, will estab- lish a public school for farming on the Miami river, near Yellow Springs, Greene county. He will devote 150 acres to the project, hoping to correct the tendency of people to rush to the larger cities. William Schenck of Pine Grove, Wis., who has been town treasurer for 19 years, has recently made the first mistake in his books, and even this one is one of very little importance. He is 83 years old, and the townsmen intend to keep him in office for the rest, of his life, ¥ PEARL LIVERS OF CEYLON. Marco Polo Tells of Charmers Whe Keep Away Sharks. ‘When you leave the island of Seilan) and sail westward abotit sixty miles you come to the great province of Maa-. bar, which is styled India the greater; it is the best of all the Indies and is on! the mainland, says St. Nicholas. In’ this province there are five kings, who are own brothers. I will tell you about’ each in turn. The province is the fin- est and noblest in the world. At the end of the province reigns one of those five royal brothers, who is a crowned king and whose name is Sonder Bandi Davar. In this kingdom they find fine and great pearls; and I will tell how they are got. The sea here forms a gulf between the island of Seilan and the mainland. And all round this gulf the water has a depth of no more than ten or twelve fathoms and in some places no more than two fathoms. The pearl-fishers take their vessels, great and small, and proced to this gulf, where they stop from the beginning of April till the middle of May. They go first to a place called Bettelar and then go sixty miles into the gulf. Here they cast anchor and shift from their large vessels into small boats. The merchants divide imto various companies and each of these must en- gage a number of men on wages, hir- ing them for April and half of May. Of all the produce they have first to pay the king, as his royalty, the tenth part. And they must also pay those men who charm the great fishes, to prevent them from injuring the divers while engaged in seeking pearls under water, one-twentieth part of all that they may take. These fish-charmers are termed Abriaman; and their charm holds good for that day only, for at night they dissolve the charms so that the fishes can work mischief at their will. These Abraiaman know also how to charm beasts and birds and every little thing. When the men have got into the small boats they jump into the water and dive to the bottom, which may be at the depth of from four to twelve fathoms, and there they remain as long as they are able. And there they find the shells that contain the pearls and these they put into a net bag tied around the waist and mount up to the surface with them and then dive anew. When they can’t hold their breath any longer they come up again and after a little down they go once more and so they go on all day. These shells are in shape like oysters or sea hoods, And in these shells are fcund pearls, great and small, of every kind, sticking in the flesh of the shell- fish. In this manner pearls are fished in great quantities, for thence, in fact, come the pearls which are spread all over the world. And the king of that state hath a very great receipt and treasure from his dues upon those pearls. THE JUNIOR GOT EVEN. A Younger Member of the Hospital Staff Laughed Last. The younger members of a hospital house staff, who are generally spoken of as the “juniors,” do not lead an ab- solutely joyous and unclouded exist- ence in the course of their daily work, says the New York Tribune. To catch a “junior” in error is regarded as emi- nently desirable by the older physi- cians, on general principles, and even the nurses derive great amusement from such an occurrence. It may be that the “junior’s” proverbial confi- dence in his own abilities has had something to do with bringing about this state of things, and that he often deserves what he gets, but the follow- ing is the story of one instance where he laughed last. It happened not long ago in St. Luke’s hospital, and in this way: A “junior,” through carelessness or haste, had made a mistake in dating the order-book for the day. This was discovered presently by a nurse, who communicated it gleefully to one of the senior physicians, and made the sug- gestion, which was received with great favor, that he should write under the incorrect entry: “This was done by the ‘junior.’” On the following day, when the vic- tim of the criticism had occasion to examine the book, he was watched closely by the nurses to see what he would do when the above line met his eye. Greatly to their disappointment, he said nothing and did not even ap- pear to have noticed the words. But a few minutes later a nurse found out the reason for his silence. There, on the first page for that day, which, by an amusing coincidence, had also been dated wrongly—this time by a nurse— was inscribed the following observa- tion: “This was not done by the ‘junior.’” Home Life of Emperor William II. Like Frederick the Great, William II. likes good company at table; so there are always several guests at the 6 o’clock dinner—as at the supper that follows at 9—who are welcomed by him with a hearty shake of the hand. The meal generally consists of but few ccurses; but, however small the ecom- pany, the table is dlways laid with costly plate and the choicest flowers. Of the latter the emperor is particular- ly fond. It is at these small gather- ings, after which cigars and Munich beer are handed round, that he shows himself most unconstrained. Almost every department of public life is fres- ly handled on these occasions; and the emperor encourages his guests, who are often scholars and artists, to speak freely. It frequently happens at such times that opinions differ to ar. extent unbefitting such a place; but the emperor always knows how to in- terpose in a conciliatory way, or to put an end to the war of words by a | sharp speech.—The Forum, ‘ ABOVE THE CLOUDS. HOW KNOWLEDGE OF HEAVEN- LY BODIES IS GLEANED. The Mountain Observatories—The Top- most Point Is the Misti, Which Is 19,- 200 Feet Above the Sea—On Mount Hamilton. DWARD S. HOL- den, the astronom- ical expert and di- rector of Lick ob- servatory, has just issued through the Smithsonian insti- tute the first book ever written giving an accurate idea of the mountain ob- servatories of the world. Few works of fiction are more interesting than this plain recital of facts. It is a story of hardship, star- vation and deadly peril that have be- fallen men who have labored on and on in the interests of science. It shows that much of the information concerning the heavenly bodies of which we read is gained under circum- stances and at heights which would fill us with awe if we only knew the real truth. It tells how scientists find twinkling of stars is the result of curvature of atmospheric strata caused by air currents. When these air cur- rents do not act, then the atmosphere is steady and correct observation is rendered easy. All these things being realized by the astronomers, they acted upon them just as the tradition of an undiscov- ered country affeets the explorer. The results as told by Professor Holden seem marvelous. Observatories on high mountains must either be aband- oned altogether during the winter sea- son, or, if occupied, the observer must be subjected to extremely trying con- ditions and to some danger from ter- rific storms of wind, snow, hail, from lightning, etc. The discomfort and monotony of such life subjected to very low temperatures and surrounded by clouds and snow for long periods will unfit any ordinary individual for mak- ing the best use of the few clear days which an Alpine winter presents. Telephone and telegraph lines cannot be maintained in working order under such conditions without taking ex- traordinary precautions, and there must be days and weeks together when travel between the summit and the valley is shut off. The highest meteorologieal observa- tory in the world has been located by the Harvard college observatory expe- dition on the mountain peak known as IN THE CLOUDS ON THE SANTIS. wonderful facts above the clouds. Professor Holden’s object in inditing this work is to outline the conditions suitable for astronomical labor at high levels. It tells of the work of the Har- vard college expedition on El Misti, that stands 19,200 feet above the sea’s level. It describes the meteorological station on the Sonnblick which is 9,843 feet above old ocean. It tells us of the hairbreadth escapes and con- stant danger that fall to the lot of those who take observations on Mont Blane. The results of Dr. Muller’s labors on the Santis is revealed and the story is told of what transpires on the summit of famous Mount Hamil- ton. In a word, it is a resume of the efforts of scientists on mountain peaks from the time of Professor Piazzi- Smyth at the peak of Teneriffe in 1856 to the latest achievements in far-away India. The modern mountain astronomical observatory is the legitimate descend- ant, Professor Holden says, of Galileo’s tower of Arcetri. The inhabitants of the earth know the external universe directly only through the sense of sight, and our terrestrial views of the planets and stars are much modified by the action of our own atmosphere upon the rays of their light which reach our eyes. We are, as it were, immersed in an ocean of air, and one of the first problems of astronomical physics is to determine the effects of this overlying ocean upon the light from external bodies which penetrates its depth. Light moves in straight lines in empty space, but light enter- ing our atmosphere is refracted from its course so that the ray which en- ters our eye from a star no longer travels in its primitive direction. The necessity for mountain obscry- atories arises from the fact that in or- der to secure correct observation of the heavenly bodies it is necessary that the telescope be as far as possible from what is known as the dust shell of the earth, and in an atmosphere which is steady. By steady atmosphere is meant that where the air is not con- stantly in motion. The air is in strata just as in the earth. When one is above the strata that are more generally af- fected by the air currents, it will be noticed that the stars twinkle far less ‘than under other conditions. Now, the El Misti, one of the Andes, whose height is 19,200 feet, or 4,800 feet high- er than Pike’s Peak, The best known of all our own ob- servatories is that on Mount Hamilton, in California, which bears the name of the man through whose generosity it was built—Mr. James Lick. It was erected under the direction of trustees appointed by Mr. Lick and according to the plans prepared by Prof. Holden and Prof. Newton. This observatory, while not so notable in point of height above the level of the sea, 4,209 feet, has attracted wide attention because of 15,780 feet from the surface of the ocean. The story of this observatory, of the dangers of those who have util- ized it, are succeeding chapters in the tragedy of human existence such as sci- ence cannot elsewhere produce. This observatory was erected by M. Jans- sen, upon compressed snow, because no rock foundations were available. It is provided with jack screws, in order that it may be leveled if necessary. The base of the structure is 10 by 5 meters, and the snow always covers the lower story. It was the intention to have the upper story in free air, and during observation a telescope is mounted in an aluminum dome above the upper story. The construction is very solid and strong, with double walls and floors, and no pains have been spared to make it safe and rigid. As an indication of the character of the foundation of the observatory tunnels were run thirty-six feet below the sur- face without meeting rock. The tem- perature in these tunnels is at all times three degrees above zero. The cost of building on these heights is very great. The building erected by M. Janssen caused an expense of $60,- 000. Ordinary laborers are paid twen- ty francs a day. The price for trans- porting material to the summit was twenty-three cents a pound. The or- dinary load for a porter in such cases was twenty-six pounds. The minimum temperature on the summit of Mont Blanc is forty-three degrees below zero. The top of the mountain is, in fact, a glacier. On the Sonnblick observatory there is eight times as much snowfall as rain- fall. The twinkling of the stars is regularly observed at this point, and, strangely enough,is considerably great- er than at the lower station. The movements of the barometer, the wind pressures and velocities, the relative humidity, the formation and move- ments of clouds, the amount of atmos- pheric electricity and all meteorological phenomena are daily observed. There are at this observatory on the average 250 days each year when the mercury stands at zero or below. The observatory of the Santis is one of the least expensive, considering its importance, of any that exists, for the total expense of maintaining it is $1,200 a year. Its original cost was $12,000. In all of the observations taken the steadiness of the air, as well as its transparency, are notable. The star images are entirely free from twink- ling. Each star, viewed from the observatory, shows a magnitude one- tenth brighter than that observed at a point on a level with the sea. The highest German meteorological station or observatory is the Wondel- stein, on the northern slopes of the Alps, near Munich. Its altitude is 1,837 meters. The most famous station in France is Puy-de-Dome, 1,400 meters above the level of the sea, It was here that Pascal caused his barometric experiment to be tried in 1648. The highest French station is the Pic-du- Midi, 2,877 meters high. The Ben Ne- vis observatory, 4,368 feet above the sea’s level, located on one of the high- | | i y free OBSERVATORY ON THE SUMMIT OF MT. HAMILTON. its equipment, for here is located the largest telescope in the world, excepting the great Yerkes telescope, placed in Position not long ago at a point on the shore of Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. Prof. Holden, by the way, thinks that unless the conditions at Lake Geneva are dis- tinctly better than those of the region near by, its selection for the site of the largest of telescopes may prove to have been an error of judgment. No observatory exists around which more interest clusters than that of Mont Blanc, which rears its snowy head SONNBLICK NEARLY 10,000 FEET ABOVE THE SEA. est mountains of Scotland, is devoted purely to meteorological observation, because of the rarity of sunshine there. For instance, in December, 1893, the sun shone for but a single-hour and that was all the time it was seen dur- ing. the entire year. The newest observatory, and one of which astronomers hope much, has just been erected in the Palani Hills, in India, at a height of 7,700 feet. It is known as the Kodiakanal Solar Phys- ics observatory. There are over 2,000 hours of sunshine at this point yearly, and the experiments thus far conduct- ed show that the atmosphere is steady as well as clear. The climate of the location is utterly different from any- thing with which Europeans or Amer- icans are familiar. Why Two Ears Are Necessary. Sound travels by waves radiating from a central point of disturbance, just as waves radiate when a stone is dropped into still water. So far as the hearing of each individ- ual is concerned, these waves move in a direct line from the cause of the sound to his ear, the impact being the greatest in the ear nearest to the source. This being the case, a person who has totally lost the sense of hearing in one ear, although he may imagine that the defect is of little consequence, cannot locate the direction of a sound to save his life, even when the center of disturbance is quite near him.—An- swers. The toughest beefsteak in New York is found in the tenderloin distri-+ * i: ONO RCanURSA ; { :