Omaha Daily Bee Newspaper, June 17, 1894, Page 11

UTOPIA TIOPES BLASTED Bitter and Costly Experience of the Sinaloa Colot TOPOLOBAMPO BAY THE EDEN AT punistic Dream t the History of A. K. Owen's Con and How 1t Faded—-Sufferings Duped Colonists—Millions The story of the riso and fall of the Sinaloa co-operative colony scheme contains much of bitler truth, disappointed hopes and blasted ambition. The state of Kansas, the home of vagarists, has many duped and dis- appointed residents to bear witness to the suffering and hardship endured in the Mex- fean Utopla, where lie buried, with many of the best years of thelr lives, hopes that were @& buoyant as the Sinaloa bubble it- selt, and, as time has proved, fully as fragile. Ther are men here respondent of the G writes a Kansas cor- sbe-Democrat, as well as In many other states in the union, who wacrificed their all to emigrate to the new Dorado. Th were from the middle class usually, they readily gave up their little secured after years of might find means and homes, toll and saving, that they With which to join one or the other of the numerous parties that have taken the long and arduous journey to “‘the land of prom- ise," only to find disappointment, disaster and, in many Instances, death. A’ gentleman who is in a position to know the truth is authority for the statement that no less than $1,000,000 have been lo:t by the colonists. Many have returned, penniless and disheartened, but yet glad to escape the horrors and discomforts of the ex- pected Eden. Others found graves in the far distant land, while some still remain in the colony, too destitute to get away, and yet buoyant by the ever receding hope that Bome day fortune will so fayor them that they can return to the land of their fathers CONCEIVED BY A NEW YORKER. The man who first conceived the co-opera- tive colony of Sinaloa was A. K. Owen, formerly an engineer of Chester, Pa., after- wards a resident of New York city. He went to Mexico in the 70s and secured em- ployment on one of the roads in which ex- President Grant, Willlam Windom, ex-secre- tary of the treasury, and other prominent citizens were Interested. Owen learned of a fine harbor on the west coast of Mexico where there had been no settlements, and which presented, to his mind, a fine field for speculaton. A consultation with Mr. Windom and others was held. They de- termined that if the harbor was as re- ported it would make a great place for a railroad terminal and the building up of a great city. Owen made the trip of about 400 miles from Chihuahua on horseback over the Sierra Madre mountains to Topolobampo bay, and found there a landlocked harbor, with moun- tains on three sides. Level and. fertile plains stretched from the bay for miles to the north and east. It was an ideal spot for a city, but it had one great drawback— the nearest known fresh water was the Fuerte river, twenty-five miles north. The soil was rich with silt from the moun- tains, and to the imagmation of Owen it fulfilled all the requirements of the fideal colony he had in mind. Returning from the trip, Owen secured from the Mexican government a concession to build a railroad from Topolobampo bay to Eagle Pass, Tex., on the Rio Grande river. He also sought to obtain a grant and as- sistance from the United States to build a connecting line from Norfolk, Va., to Eaglo Pass. The latter scheme falled, as dia several others of a kindred nature. Owen's main idea appeared to have congress au- thorize a specific issue of greenbacks with which to defray the expenses of the under- taking, but it failed, The chief argument made by Owen in favor of the scheme was that by building a railroad to Topolobampo bay a harbor would be abtained nearly $00 miles nearer New York than San Francisco, and thus it would become the port of the commercial trade ot North America and Europe with Japan, China and Australia. At this-time the co-operative colony had not suggested itself to the mind of Owen, and 1t was not until his efforts to enlist this government in his plans failed that he con ceived the idea of forming the Credit Fon- cler company, and making it a_co-operative concern, which would carry out his plans. The malin feature of this idea was the cre- ation of a city which, as an incorporated community, should own and control all the natural resources. within its domain, and that the commune should include farms, or- chards and factories. Private property was to be permitted under certain restrictions in the interest of the commonweal. Ten di- rectors were to control the Credit Foncier, and Pacific City was first selected as the name for the town, though afterward this was several times changed to meet the ne- cessitles of later concessions, but all of which were finally lost. The concessions sccured from Mexico in- cluded nearly 1,000,000 acres of land, sup- posed to be yaluable both for agriculture and mining purposes. It was stipulated that work on the proposed railroad should be completed within a specified time. Failure to interest the American government neces- sitated the co-operative colony scheme, the colonists being expected to begin work on the road. The Credit Foncler of Sinaloa was char- tered in 1886 under the laws of Colorado. Among the principal incorporators were Owen, Edward and Maria Howland of Ham- monton, N. J.; Dr. Shellhouse of California; Dr. Peet of Denver; John W. Lovell, thy New York publisher, and D. D. Chidester of Ohlo. The plan and prospectus were advers tised in a little paper edited by Mrs, How- land, in which it was proposed that as soon as 15,000 shares of stock at $10 each had been sold colonization upon the lands at Topolobampo bay would begin. ORGANIZING THE FIRST COLONY. Golden-hued stories of the coming city and the ideal life that was to be lived there filled the columns of the little paper, which a boomer was for a time a marked success. The tales of the beautiful homes to be bullt, of the virgin soil that was as rich as gold, of the lovely climate, grand scenery and pure water, of the love and higher life of harmony and equity, fired the minds of many, and in the fall of 1886 all the stock had been sold and the first colony was ready to start. It was designed to send a thoroughly equipped force of 100 single men as an ad- vance guard for preliminary work, but those who had sacrificed their homes and were ready to go refused to wait, and when it was time for, the colony to start, not 100 single men, but 600 men, women and chils dren, from half the states of the union, went forward, going by rail to Guaymas and thence about 200 miles by boat to Topo- lobampo bay, the site of the future great city. The first colonists arrived in the bay In De- cember, 1 They found the fine harbor but that was all. Instead of a beautiful and fcturesque country, rich in possibilities, they found a land covered by almost impenetrable shrubbery, every bush of which was a mass of thorns. This was alike in valley and on mountain, and there was not enough clear land to pitch a single tent. The colonlsts, most of them unused to frontier life, were fll-prepared for the life they were compelled 10 lead for the next few months. The near- est fresh water was twenty-five miles away fnland, but later a supply was procured from the island of Los Capas, eight miles out in the bay. The provisions were soon exhausted, small- pox broke out, and death depleted the band. It was sixty miles to the nearest postoffic and the Mexican malls are slow and uncer- tain. - Many of the colonists had mouey, but the natives had naught to sell save a little corn, and it was weeks before ald came from the United States in response to the money and appeals sent out. In the meantime, many died, some of smallpox, and more of starvation, and the future of the pioneers looked dark indeed. Supplies finally reached them, a road was opened around the mountain and communi- cation with the towns in the valley of the Fuerto established. A preliminary survey was also made for the first stretch of the proposed railroad, thirty miles in length, be- tween the bay and the river, where was to be established Vegation, the first town on the line. To this point most of the colonists went. Ground was leased, some bulldings of brick and adobe erected and a sort of crop mad Meantime one A. J. Wilber had been left ax director in charge of the colony by Owen The lund leased belonged to an American named Haskell, who had long lived in the country and had married a Mexiean. The leased rights were forfeited, and the colo- e destitute nists were again homeless and m than ever. MORE FUNDS RAISED. When the Haskell land lost, Owen, who had returned in April to the states, was appealed to, and succeeded In ralsing money for a land fund, He promisel to return to the colony in six months with an abund- ance of money and provisions to carry out his plans, but it was nearly four years fore he again appear Leav the Has- kel farm, the co'onists went to La Log which had been selected by Wilber, though the coloniste preferred a desirable tract of lani near Ahome, which had been offercd to them. This place had a highwater ditch La Logla lands were leased under a con- tract that finally compelled thelr purchase from the owner, Don Ochoa, and this land still the property of the company. The trac contalns ubout 68,000 acres, of which at pres- ent about 10,000 acres can be irrigated dur- ing high water. Only 1,000 acres, however, are under cultivation. wéré brightened in rchase, A number of n C. B. Hoffman, r and_capitalist, the color after the n, among th the Interprise (Kan) mi took an interest in the colony. . J. Lamb of Kerwin, another prominent labor man, visited Sinaloa in 1888, and on his return In- terested others to such a degree that, as- sisted by Hoffman, funds were raised to clear La Logia lands of debt, and the Kansas- Sinaloa Investment company was organl s an auxillary to the Credit Foncier charter stated that its purposes were “to buy land in the state of Sinaloa, Mex., and assist the Credit Foncler company in its phil throple work.” Among the Incorporators were some men who have become prominent in Kansas poll- tics since the populists came into power. They include State Bank Commissioner Breidenthal, James Butler, steward at the Asylum for the Insane, and G. C. Clemens, the lawyer, of Topeka. Up to this time the affairs of the colon had gone from bad to worse, the food suj ply being inadequate, money scarce, and company scrip valueless as a circulating medium among the ‘natives. Hoffman went to Sinaloa with supplies in 1889, and a small colony, the second to go out. This gave new life to the move- ment, and during 1889 and 1800 several more colonfes were added to the list, the largest leaving Enterprise, Kan., in Novem- ber, 1890. It consisted of 189 persons, who took with them 150 head of horses, fifty cows and thirteen freight car loads of sup- plies. Hoffman was in charge of the col- onists, and William Butler, now editor of a populist paper in this city, loeked after the supplies. Hoffman’s object was to build ditches from the Fuerte to the Mochis lands, near the bay, to which it was proposed to change the seitlement. This work was undertaken by the Kansas company as trustees for_the colonists who worked upon the ditch. Pay- ment for labor was mada in what is known as fmprovement fund scrip, and which has been worth all the way from par down to 10 cents. It was on this ditch that the col- ony as a co-operative institution finally went to pieces. The ditch, desigaed for a low- water canal, was completed seven miles in from the river to the Mochis land, and is a failure, despite the two years of labor put upon it. In time of high water it is serv- iceable, but it is above low-water mark, and at the time when the water was most needed to make crops none could be ob- tained except for famlly use by pumping, thus making farming a practical failure. At least $25,000 will be required to remedy the defect and complete the main ditch. But the colonlsts are disgusted and divided, there is no more money to be had and the work, stopped in 1889, is at an end, so far as the colony is concerned. DIVIDED INTO FACTIONS. Wilber was superseded as director in charge, but the breach made never healed and there are now two colonies. Owcen heads the faction known as the Wilberites, and the Westerners sympathize with that known as ‘“the kickers.” After the ditch failure Hoffman visited Europe and interested Michael Fleurscheim, a German millionaire, in the colony. An attempt at recrganization was made, but miscarried. An agreement was made with Owen In 1892 for the proposed reorganiza- tion, but that failed, owing to a disagree- ment with Hoffman and Fleurscheim over details. Al efforts at a reconciliation hav- ing failed, two distinct organizations re- sulted, the Owen faction retaining the old name of the Credit Foncler, and the other being known as the Free Land company. One of the contentions of the latter from the first of the difficulty was that all power should rest in the people of the commune, while the Wilberites held that, as Owen was the founder of the colony, his wishes should be supreme, and the colonists should obey his commands as expressed through Wilber, his_lieutenant. This factional fight, together with the hardships the colonists have been compelled to endure, has caused the colony to dwindle from more than 700 to about 250, of whom only about 100 remain in the original Credit Fonefer, which, to all intents and purposes, has gone out of existence, With its death vanished the dream of a great co-operative colony that was to roll in wealth and luxury, ralse all its own food, manufacture all its own clothing and machinery and own a railroad in its own right. W. A. Witherspoon of this clty has just returned from Sinaloa, where he has been as the legal representative of the Kan:as Sinaloa branch, endeavoring to straighten out the affairs of the factions in the courts. As a co-operative venture he says the col- ony has proved a complete failure. The Kansas-Sinaloa company, which still holds a large tract of land, will attempt to complete the ditch and colonize its lands by the sale of small parcels to actual set- tlers. A, J. Streeter of Illinols, once union labor candidate for president, also has titles to some 38.000 acres of land in the Mochis district, and would like to secure comtrol of and complete the ditch. He wants to establish a vast sugar plantation there. James Butler, editor of the Monitor of this city, and who spent elghteen months at the colony, gives some detalls of the routine of the colony. All colonists, he says, were wage earners, men and women alike recelving $3 per day in scrip for a day's work of eight hours. All supplies were obtalned from a general commissary department, where but one set of books were kept and settlements made monthly. The colonists were credited with all labor and charged with all suplies received or labor performed for them, scrip belng Issued for any balance due at the close of the month. Some $200,000 of this serip is held by 500 or more persons, but it has little if any value, When provisions were to be obtained at all they were reasonably cheap, but the accommodations were always meager, and there were no comforts of civilized life. At times there was actual suffering for the common necessaries of life, and luxuries were always absent, “The colonists,” sald Mr. as a rule of the middle class, In the mat- ter of religious bellef they were not sec- tarfans of any kind, but were chiefly spir- itualists, materialists, athelsts and agnostics. The report once spread that free love ruled the colony was purely sensational, for the people are moral and honest. The educa- tional facilities while I was there were good, but we had no churches or church services, our Sunday meetings being beld In the na- ture of a literary sceiety. “The newspaper, the Credit Foncler, es- tablished when the colony was first lo- cated, I+ still in existence, and with a sim- ilar paper, the New City, published in New York, supports the Owen faction. The Kan- sas-Sinoloa company also publishes a paper, the Integral Co-operator, the place of pub: lication being at Enterprise, in this county, and its editor is C. F. Lindstrcm, who also spent some time in Sinaloa. In my judg- ment Sinaloa is a state of poss bilities, but the Owen experiment has proved the fallacy of a co-operative colony. This has been a failure, absolutely so, and I can conceive of no condition under which It could have been otherwise.” e One word describes it, “perfection.” We refer to DeWitt's Witch Hazel Salve, cures plles. . e Dr. Gaiser of Tecumseh exhibited a straw- berry plant one day last week upon which there were 106 well developed berries, and on another plant at home he found 128 per- fectly formed berries. ffairs of 1887, sooon western m Butler, “were, | | THE OMAHA DAILY BEE: .{H‘NI)AY, JUNE 17, 1894 GIANTS BEFORE THE BAR Uncle fam and the Telephone Monoyolies Lock Horns in Court, THE VALIDITY OF THE BERLINER PATENT Fifty tee- Marvelous Progress of Telegraphy | Years—Latest De triclty In Vi tivity at bior elopment of Flelds of Ac- and Abroad, The suit instituted by the United States in the federal court for the district of Boston to annul the Berliner patent and break the Bell telephcne monopoly s set for trial June 14, The patent covers what Is known in the art a “microphone,” that is, a transmitter in which the electrodes of the apparatus, which are the parts through which the current passes, remafn in con- stant contact, and by the variations of that contact produced by the vibration of the diaphragm cause undulations in the cur- rent similar in form to the sound waves produced by the human volce. It is a dif- ferent Instrument from thatt described by Mr. Bell in his original telephone patent, and a very much better one for practical use. Some facts in regard to its history are related in an interview by Judge Taylor of Fort Wiyne, Ind., of counsel for the gov- ernment. When the experiments of Mr. Bell and Prof. Gray began to be talked about In the latter part of the 70's Mr. Orton, president of the Western Union Telegranh company, sent for Mr. Edison and told him that if there was going to be such a thing as a speaking telephone the Western Union Telegraph company wanted to handle it and employed him to eutor the fleld and pro- duce one if the thing could be done. Mr. Bell, however, was ahead with his funda- mental patent, which was the first disclos- ure of the use of an undulating current as distinguished from a make and break cur- rent. Mr. Edisch, nevertieless, took up the subject with his customary thorough- ness cof research, and by the spring of W78 roduced a practical ‘microphone, having ectrodes made of carbon. It was a_very much superior instrument to Mr. Bell's transmitter, which the Bell company was tnen putting on the marhet. The Western Unfon company took it up and began Introducing it with great energy. Suit was brought by the Bell company for in- fringement of Bell's fundamental patent. When the case was about ready for trial, it was compromised by what is known as the telephone consolidation agreement of 1579 By that agreement the American Bell tele- phone company obtained exclusive control of the valuable patents relating to telephony, in exchange for which the Western Union company was to have a share of the profits of the business for forty-seven years. The Bell company then immediately substituted throughout the country- for the Bell trans- mitter a carbon microphone, using in the place of the form made by Mr. Edison a modification of it invented by Mr. Blake, and known as the Blake transmitter. This is the instrument out of which the Bell company has made its money, and for the fundamental invention of which the world is indebted to Mr. Edison. The Berliner application was filed June 4, 1877. As filed it is hard to say what it described. It was a hodge podge of contradictoiry and unintelligible stuff. ~ But it contained a suggestion of a form of trans- mitter in which the current should be va- ried by variation of pressure between the electrodes. And as the time went on it was amended by varlous cnanges and addi- ticns as practical experlence In the business showed the way, until, as issued, the patent describes accurafely and sufficiently a microphone transmitter having metal elec- trodes in constant contact and operating by varying pre:sure. Such a transmitter, while of no practical value for use, is suf- ficient to illustrate the principle involved, and upon that basis the patent claims the invention in terms so broad as to include every form of microphone which it is pos- sible to make. The appiication remained pending in the patent office under one pretext and another, for more than fourteen years, and finally issued only sixteen months before the funda- mental patent to Mr. Bell was to expire. The invention is one of the greatest impor- tance in the business of telephony. The magneto transmitter of Mr. Bell answers a very good purpose in certain situations and for short distances, but for exchange service and for the-uses of the telephone which are most valuable it Is not suitable. If the Bell company can hold the Berliner patent it will go a great way toward prolonging the monopoly of the business until 1908. At the same time it has enjoyed the monopoly of the microphone under various patents to Edison and Blake and others ever since 1878, So that the effect of the Berliner patent, it it is upheld, will be to extend the monop- oly of the Bell company for nearly double the period contemplated by law. HALF A CENTURY OF TELEGRAPHY. The celebration of the golden jubilee of the telegraph in America suggests what a gigantic industry the telegraph is today. Taking only its main figures of land lines and submarine telegraphy, it is found that there are at thewpresent moment very close upon 1,000,000 miles of telegraph lines in the world, representing more than 2,500,- 000 miles of separate wiring. There are about 465,000 telegraph stations scattered all over the world, which handle yearly about 0,000,000 messages, of which number about ,000,000 are transmitted from one country to another. The telegraph service of the world earns yearly a sum of from $450,000,- 000 to $500,000,000. Supplementing the enor- mous mileage of land lines, there are about 140,000 of cable, of which Great Dritain owns about 100,000. To lay and maintain these girdles of telephonic intercommunication re- quires a fleet from thirty-five to forty steamers, of an aggregate of over 60,000 tons. This is the enormous development that has been seen in fifty years from the days of Wheatstone and Morse, and it is curious to read, as onme can, the elaborate instructions given just half a century ago for maintain- ing the single line then operating in this country between Baltimore and Washington. One very remarkable feature of these instruc- tions Is seen in the advice of Prof. Morse that as the line paralleled the old Baltimore & Ohlo railway, it would be a good thing, if a break were observed, to stop the train and have either the train gang or the passengers t out and make a temporary repair. As Morse sald: “Very little interruption would take place it the train that discovered the break would stop not more than five min- utes, and, being furnished with pleces of wire already prepared for the purpose, would unwrap and scrape the broken ends and unite them by twisting the ends of the pieces of wire to them, and then give notice of the place to the inspector at either town.” Morse also proposes that if anybody break the line intentionally, the offender shall be caught, convicted and fined, and the fine be applied to the payment of the superintendent of the line. His idea was that this little extra money would help give the superin- tendent or station master an interest in hav- ing the telegraph line retained in repair. ELECTRIC LIGHT WIRING. It was but natural that the first attempt to account for the fire at the Talmage tabernacle in Brooklyn should result in a verdict of “electric light wires." Although there is no reason to belleve that the fire was the work of an incendiary, no barm has been done in drawing attention to the very important question of wiring. There Is no department of electrical work on which the safety and the lives of the people are so de- pendent, and it is to be hoped that the crim- inal economy of cheap wiring will eventually be 8o beset by heavy penalties that the public will no longer be menaced by its ever-pres- ent dangers. The practice of putting in {mperfect wiring on board ship has just been severely criticised in an English ‘electrical journal. Nothing more horrible than a fire on board ship can well be imagined, and it is a matter for wonder that shipping lines, and more particularly marine insurance com- panies, should permit ships carrying the electric light to g0 to sea with such inefi- clent workmanship as Is often met with One of the principals of a large firm ot shippers In England desir- ing to install the electric light on some of their vessels, sent for their en- tineer, and told him he must carry out the He contessed thadife knew about electric lighting, but was told that he work nothing ( | would be held responsible for the proper exe | cution of the work. The result was that | several ships were wiredoin a rough-and | tumble way, and electrig lighting plants | were instalicd, and the WP considered that | they had done u rather clever thing in thus | avolding the expense of expert. In a | case like this, the engdineér receives bids from a number of firms, and usually gives | the contract to the lowest bidder. He does not know bad work from sgood, and if he | meets with an_unprineiplgd contractor, %o { much the wors the safety chances of the { ship and crew. There ¥ many points on which the maximum efelency of a ship lighting plant depends, such as the methods of running the cir wrranging the plant, etc., and it has advisedly been pointed out that as many firms are committed to speclal | systems of ship lighting, the independent | opinion of & professional man is highly & sirable | TRANSMISSION BY LIGHT | Prof. Alexander Graham Bell is spending | these months at his summer place in Nova in a series of Investigations important results. His to experiments in | Scotia engaged which may have r utdoor 15 devote T in connection with Prof Langley of the Smithsonian institute, while | in his Jaboratory he is endeavoring to dem- onstrate a_probiem to which he has given a great deal of thought, and in which he thoroughly belleves. ~ It Is to harness elec- tricity to light as it has been harnessed to sound, so that people may be able to see a great distance, just as the telegraph en ables them to write and the telephone en- abies them to speak at a distance Prot. Bell firmly belicves that it will be possible some day to see from Washington to New York as easily as one can convey the sound of the voice that dists He insists that the fact has already been dem onstrated, and that it only remains to con- struct the necessary apparatus to bring the discovery into actual and practical use This is exceedingly difficult, much more dif- ferent than the construction of the tele- graph instrument or the telephone, for the reason that the vibrations of light are so much more rapid than the vibrations of sound. But Prof. Bell is confident that he Wil soon be ab'e to discover a diaphragm the vibrs sufficiently sensitive to receive tions of light and produce the effect ne essary to convey the impressions to the human vision. ELECTRIC LOCOMOTIVES. The French railways are busily engaged n bringing out electric locomotives. The Heilman locomotive, $o_often mentioned of late, is now in regular service, while the Paris, Lyons and Mediterranean road has nearly finished a new type of ®lectric motor. It has four driving wheels, a four-wheel leading truck and a two-wheel trailing truck s0 mounted as to form a rigid wheel base 15 feet 7 inches long. According to the Railroad Gazette, the two motors are slow speed, six-pole machines, one for each driv- ing axle, around which the armature shaft fits loosely. The commutator is close to the armature and surrounded by the pole pieces, between which are openings giving access to the brushes. The flell magnets are sup- ported by heavy lugs on the motdr frames bearing on vertical rods in such a way as to allow a slight lateral motion of the motors. The motor Is thus held clear of the axle, motion being communicated to the drivers by means of a number of short links, and a plate taking the place of a crank. In order to avofdl, if possible, the use of overhead conductors, especially on branch lines, the company proposes to make its first experiments with storage batteries, which are to be carrled’ over the leading truck of the locomotive. 'The necessary ap- paratus for controlling the current and for applying the brakes i8 placed at the front of the engine, where te motorman will have a clear view of the track. The whole locomotive is to be covered in like a box car, and is expected fo ‘veigh about sixty- eight tons, as much as‘a fair size steam locomotive and tender for passenger service on one of our roads. ’ THE TELEPHONE. The use of the telephone in operating street railways i$ now(well established in this country, and there:are a few small steam roads on’whichthe train dispatching is done by telephone.instead of the more common itelegraph ; instrument. Abroad, however, the practice is much more com- mon, and it is of interest to note that on the secondary or branch railways in Bel- gium the telephone has completely replaced the telegraph. There are no stations as a rule at the stopping places along these lines, and the instruments are placed in a locked box in a neighboring tavern. Each box contains a transmitter, two receivers and a magneto-electric call apparatus. All the stations on a road are on the same circuit, and conversation has been held between the end stations of a line thirty-six miles long, having eighteen stations. At first the line was made of No. § iron wire, but now No. 15 phosphor-bronze wire is preferred. The total length of these roads is 675 miles, of which 170 miles have the old iron wire conductors, and the total number of sta- tions is 197. In France, the telephone is used on many main lines for all orders ex- cept such as affect the safety of trains. On a portion of the Vincennes railway there is a rather novel systém in vogue, by which at a given signal on the telegraph instru- ment the operator connects the telegraph wires with a telephone for verbal communi- cation. The large Austrian railways use field telephones, which may be connected with the telegraph wires at any point, with- out interrupting the telegraphic communi- ation. AUTOGRAPH TIME RECORDER. An ingenious clock with. special attach- ment_has just been put on the market for recording the work done by individual work- men In electric light and power stations. The clock which drives the record dial is supported In the casting, the ends of which are securely fastened to a wooden frame. The record dial is divided by parallel radial lines Into thirty-minute spaces, so that a record can be made every half hour of the amperes, volts, steam pressure, vacuum, dy- namos cut out and dynamos started, the space for each record being appropriately indicated. It is absolutely necessary that the dynamo tender ‘ghould make his record regularly at stated intervals, as in case of faiiure to do so the portion of the dial which presents itself at the proper moment for his Inscription will pass on under the glass, and appear as a blank record of his negligence. The register shows the exact time each dy- namo was started and cut out, and the length of time each has been running, be- sides giving all the information necessary for ascertaining the average or total day or night load. This instrument can be adapted by a single change in the printing of the dial, to any other kind of business where a half-hourly or hourly record is desired. Electrical Notes. Suit has been begun‘at Henderson against the Bell Telephone company and the Southern Telephone and Telegraph company by Milo Kellogg, a stockholder ga the latter company, for an accounting and the apppointment of a recelver, if necessary. The petition al- leges, In effect, that the Bell company, which controls a_majority. of. the stock of the Southern, has attempted. to “'freeze out” the smaller stockholders by, depreclating the stock through unscrupmlous management. A very handy little: poftable plant is being used on vessels navigating the Manchester ship canal at night. The apparatus is prac- tically & duplicate of that employed for lighting vessels thraugh the Suez canal during the last twelve months. It com- prises a small engine and dynamo combined, a search-light projector of the admiralty pattern, and a mast aro lamp and reflector. The projector barrel {8 twenty Inches in diameter, rolled outiof’steel sheet, all the mountings being of gun metal finished bright. The mirror is twenty inches in di- ameter, ten-inch focus, with a bayonet socket attachment to the barrel, so as to facilitate removal for cleaning, etc. The electrical connections are carried Inside the projector, and an instrument similar to a amera {8 provided at one side of the pro- jector for viewing the arc image. thrown on ground glass. An electric light bath is the latest scheme of medical scientists. It is operated as fol- lows, says Chambers Journal: A closet of sufficient size to accommodate a pefson, con- stracted of polished nickel to, give a good reflecting ~ surface, I8 fit- ted “up with a‘ number of six- teen-candle incandescent lamps, so arranged as to take up the least possible room and afford the largest possible radiating surface, while the temperature can be regulated by passing the current through a resistance coil. As the temperature in the’ inclosure can be raised in ten minutes to 150 degrees Fahrenhelt, the result is equivalent to a 4 combined 1ght and vapor bath. The sk browned as If by sunburning, and the 4 claimed to be most saluta New Fac « o ffect Treigation “Irrigation, [ts History, Mathods, Statistics and Results,” (s the title of the latest of the Unton Pacific serles of publications, n- ing as It does at u time when greater west I allve to the importance of this ques tion. Irrigation is one of the vital problems of the hour and the salvation of the Union Pacific largely hinges upon the reclamation of the arid lands along its n of rails The little t which s a mine of useful Information, is fssued by th passenger de partment of the *we and d's pictorial line includes, in addition to short historfes of the d nt irrigation companies, tables of statistics tha we been compiled with the greatest possible The history of irrigation js found in the following The first flelds were cultivated in arid lands, the first flocks were distributed on arid lands, the first cities were b in arid lands’ and the first civilized govern- ments were organized in arid lands. Under torrid skies, on rainless, treeless plains, agriculture, the domestication animals art in motals, temple building, cities and civilization had their beginning. “Irrigation Is one of the oldest arts used by man. It was practiced by the Egyptians, Arabians, Assyrians, Babylonians and Chinese, and has from time Immemorial formed a part of the agriculture of the ries Mediterrancan, co bordering on the The Valley of Mareb, in Yemen, Arabia was Irrigated by waters distributed from a vast reservolr made by a dam two miles long and 120 feet high, constructed by a king who reigned long before the times of Solomon. This dam was built of enormous blocks of hewn stone and must certainly have been the work of a skilled engineer, s it stood and restrained the current of a large stream of seventy tributaries for up- ward of 2,000 years, when t burst with desolating effect. The canal of the Pharaohs connecting ancient Pelusium with the Red a was constructed for irrigation purposes. The plains of Assyria and Babylonia were covered with an immense system of canals, some of them hundreds of miles in length The Romans during several centuries con structed extensive works which are still in use and the Saracens carried the art into he extent of the arid lands in the great west, according to the book, comprises 900,- 000,000 acres. Of this immense tract 600,000,- 000" acres are good arable land when irri- gated. The arid area embraces eight states or parts of states and three territories, an area eleven times larger than the British Isles. Within this great area of arid land the statistical men say there is ample room for a population of from §,000,000 to 9,000,000 people and territory enough to make eight states the size of Indiana. The following table gives the number of Irrigators and the area irrigated as ascer- tained by the enumeration above mentioned, made in 1890: Wyoming...... Sub-humid Tegion Total. 3 g 3621551 “It must be distinctly understood and re- membered, says the author of ‘Irrigation,’ Mr. B. H. Barrows of the passen- ger department, “that arid lands are not unproductive because of any deficiency in the soil. It s lack of moisture only. One fact regarding the irrigated land is sufficient proof to the contrary, and that is, that the largest possi- ble crop can be and is raised on irrigated land as against ordinary farm land. This fact, however, as applied to irrigated lands along the lines of the Union Pacific system has a deeper significance. Have you ever stopped to think how long the lands of Italy and Sicily have been in use, and how far from being worn ont’ they -are? In many sections of our own comparatively new coun- try artificial aids have been used for many years, and In the oldest settled reghns the Soil will not produce a crop without the aid of fertilizers. Now, a soil which remains practically fresh after thirty centuries or more of constant cultivation must have some element of restoration, some way of renew- ing itself without the aid of man. This is duc to the basaltic substratum of the soil, and wherever soil has an underlying found tion of lava rock it is practically indettructi- ble. many districts on the Union Pacific systen® where irrigation is now being suc- cessfully practiced, this firm bed rock of lava stone is found, and thus the soil is one whicl humanly speaking, will never wear out. There {s something in the chemical composi- tion of lava rock which appears sclf-renew- ing and it vivifies and restores the soll above it and successfully resists the natural pro- cesses of decay which are inexorable in other sections. There is no question about this en- rich’ng power or of the proven ability of such a soill to produce better and larger crops than those grown under different conditions." There is one chapter in the book worthy of the closest study, and is entitled, “The Coming Man With Ten Acres.” In introduc- ing the subject a quotation from an old Roman orator seems practically pertinent, “He is not to be accounted a good citizen, but rather a dangerous man to the state who cannot content himself with seven dcres of land.” Continuing, the author says: ‘“The time has passed in this country when the owner- ship and operation of thousands of acres in one ‘farm’ are vested in a single individual. As the public domain slowly decreases, and our population increases, there will of ne- cessity be fewer large holdings. “The present time is a veritable golden op- portunity for the man of small means. Ten acres of Irrigated land in Wyoming, Idaho or Utah, producing fruit and vegetables, will afford a living and an income for a man and his family. In the old countries, notably in Treland, it is amazing to see how small a plece of land will support a family. In China and Jepen appears the same condition. In either of these countries a family of four people get along comfortably on an acre of ground, and this is done in Ireland at an expensé of not more than two months labor in the year. “Irrigation, more than any other device of which we can avail ourselyes, does away with the element of chance. By making the crop larger and more certain it reduces the number of acres that the farmer must cultivate. ~This enables him to give better cultivation to that land, which fact in turn again operates toward better crops. “The man who finds himself fully occupfed with and gaining a satisfactory renumera- tion from the cuitivation of a few acres, is very near to the attainment of the highest degree of agricultural success. ““This is the best outcome of the practical operation of irrigation, It heralds the era of the small farmer, who secures from a few acres all that is needed {0 wmake and main- tain a comfortable home, and the surplus from which the gain in value—that is as certain to come as the land is to remain— will make a satisfactory provision for his old_age.” ‘The book comes at a most opportune time when the country, and particularly the west, is alive to the subject of irrigation, and in the language of the Arizona Kicker, “will fill a long felt want.” A boon Companion. At the Sea-shore, in the Mountains, on the Ocean. No matter where you may spend your Summer, do not fail to take with you that most delightful and refreshing of traveling companions Murray & Lanman’s FLORIDA WATER, 1 .| THE ONLY GREAT SHOW THIS SUMMER. SELLS BROTHERS’ ENORMOUS 'UNITED R. R. SHOWS AUGMENTED BY ALL THAT IS Great, Grand and Gorgeous. A CYCLONE OF SUCCESS. The Big Hali-Dollar Show has Lowered its Price within reach of all. DF - CENTS ADMITS TO COMBINED SHOWS - 25 e CIRCUS, MENAGERIE AND HIPPODROME A REMARK BLE RECO D BREAKER—THOUSAND3 TUSNED AWAY AT EVZRY PERFORM \NCE COLOSSAL 3-RING CIRCUS Royal Romun Hippodrome Sports, Huge Elevated Stages, 50-Cage Me age diatorial Combats, African Aquarium, Australian Aviary, Arabian Caravan. Spectacular Pageants and Trans-Pacific Wild Beast Exhibit, OMAHA, SATURDAY, JUNE 30, Exhibition Grounds 20th and Charlos Stre>sts, Presenting Every Aet and all New Foatures as Reprowntal, em'razing all of the Celebrities of the Avenic World. 200 STARTLING ACTS in Three Separate Rings and Two Elevated Stages Ithas all tha Graat Equastr ennes, Equ striays, 30-Horso Riders, E lu- cated Hors2s, Train:d Ponles, Paerfor ning Zlephants, Trained Seals and Sea Lions, Traiinod Hipposrstam', Trained Storks, Rooster Orchistra, Comical Clowns, Jolly Jasters, G'a fiators, Jock3ys. Chari tesrs. 3icyclista Leapers. Danse s, in fact all th> champ on periorm:rs of America and Europe g-oupad in an Uspresedont:d Programme. SELLS BROTHERS' BIG SHOW of the World Is the C_nerous Master of the Situation. ROGRESSIVE, ERPETUAL, EERLESS, RINCELY, RE-EMINENT. WAIT FOR IT! S3E IT! DON'T MIS3 IC! TT3 LIKE IS NOT ON EAR HI Grend Glorious Free Strest Parads at 10 A M. on the Pay of the Exhibitioa. 2 CENTS ADMITS TO COMBINED SHOWS CIRCUS, M NAGERIE AND HIPPODROME Special T o'et Sele at Branch I icket Cffice, Merch=n s Hotel Oigar £tand, COUN IL BLUFFS,JULY 2, OPULAR, TWO PERFORMANZES D*ILY,AT 2 AND 8 P. M. Special Excursion Rates on All Lines of Travel, BIG CLEARANCE SALE OF Clothing, Gen's Furnishings and Shoss Commencing Saturday, June 9:h, at Western Clothing Co Ourbuvyer left Thursday last for the Eastern markets to order our Fall goods, meantime we have concluded to reduze our stock by a sweepe duction sale. 5 If you are in doubt, come in and see us. We are the oldest clothing house in Omahu, and you can rely on the goods and prices being right. We quote a few of the cut down price: 22.00 Men’s Suits go at $10.50. 15.00 Men’s Suits go at $7.75. $10.00 Men's Suits go at 0. $5.00 Men's Suits go at $2.75. Boys' Suits Cut. $12.50 Boys' Suits go at $6.75. 8.00 Boys’ Suits go at $4.50. $5.00 Boys’ Suits go at $2.25. Underwear. Full suit Balbriggan Underwear for 50:. White or Colored Laundered Shirts go at 50c. Men'’s black and tan Socks, all sizes, former price 25z, go at 102, Shoes—-—-Big Cut. $5.00 genuine Kangaroo Shoes go during this sale at $2.73. $4.00 Calfskin Shoes go during this sale at $2.25. $2.50 solid leather shoes go at $1.25, STRAW HAT PICNI!C THIS WEEK AT THE WESTERN OCLOTHING GO, 1317-1319 Douglas Street. - - 3 Doors East from Corner 14th St. DOCT QR Deer Perk and Oakland SEARLES On the Crest of the Alleghenies, (MAIN LINE B, & O. R, R.) & SEARLES SPECIALISTS Chroaiz, Nervos, Privata AND pasial Dis31333, Season opens June 23d, 1894 Rutes 860, £75 and $90 a month, according 4 ‘Mountefin Lake Park ITELD: urk, ( Manager, wrrett County, Md, GEORGE Dy BETWELN DEER PARK AND OARLAND Sesason opens June Ist, 1894, MOUNT:IN LAKE CAMP ¥EETING, MOUNTA'N LAKE CHAUTAUQUA, (W. L. DAVIDSON, D, Sup't of Instruction.) IN (1 RSTATE W, 0. T. U, GONVENTION, Rates #7 to $16 pur weck, Address L. A RUDISIL'., Superiutendent, Mountaliu Lake Park, Md. CONSULATION FREE TREATMENT BY MAIL We cure Ca‘arrh, All Diseas>3 of the Nose, Throat, Chest, Stomach, ~Liver, Blood, Skin and Ki-’ney Dis- eases, Female Weaknesses, Lost Manhocd AND ALL PRIVATE DIs- EASES OF MEN REMOVED TO 1416 FARNAM STREET. Call on or Audress, Dr. Searles & Searles, CONSUMPTION SURELY CURED. To taE Epitor—Please inform your read- ers that T have o positive remedy for the above named discase. By its timely use thousands of hopeless cases have been per- manently cured. I shall be glad to send two bottles of my remedy free to any of your readers who Lave consumption if they will send me their express and post office address, T. A. Slocum, M.C., 183 Pearl 8t., New York. firnoid’s Brome-Gelerg. Splendid curative agent for Nervous or Siok Floadactio, Brain Tahiaustion, Klsoplossnea, acoctal” 07 geieral Nairalali aud for fiwa: watism, Gout, Kiduey Disorders, Ack e Debeia, ' Anwiin. Aptidota {of Ajeobolis gnd other excessca. Frice, 10, 2 and 0 centa, Hervowcont. i | 5, THE AitNoLD cHEmICAL co. e 1151 5. Wostarn Avannn. CHICAGDY For sale by all drugggists, Omaha. PARROTS ! We have reee PARROTS ! d the first 1ot In this scason of Young Mexican Ye'lowheadsd Purrots, spaclal price of only $16.00 old this kind bafora for this lot has been 1416 FARNAM ST OMAHA, NEB. 10 talk the cnt (thelr volee K the s3mg ). wo will sell every parrot wit ritten guarantee 1o turn A No. Order 800D, before all are g GEISLER'S BIRD STORE, 406 North 1Gth Street. =t W e NS ok 7z S fla@// BEAUTIFUL TEETH. A FULL SET 85.00. DR. BAILEY, Dentist, THIRD FLOOR, PAXTON BLOCK. { Palnless extraction without gas. Teeth out A s a hum Teeth Filled 50¢ V™ @old Orowns and Bridge Work DR. WITH RS, 4th Ploor, Browa Block,, 10th aad Douglas. | | IS'RILIE 00" BUR: ¢oli mitaes. $5.08 ek officy. Genuan spoken. Telcphoue 1083, v