Omaha Daily Bee Newspaper, August 26, 1894, Page 16

16 THE OMAHA DAILY SOME ROCKY OBSERVATIONS An Omaha Pilgrim Views the “‘Waving Fields"” of Bou'ders in Vermont. STONY YARNS AND ANIMATED REFLECTIONS Celestinl Flights of Fancy Mingled with Btuggering Comparisons of Cult and Graveyards—Then the Baud Played. Mr. Henry D. ¥stabrook of Omaha. who s recreating among the rocks and rills of ‘ermont, or rather that portion of it sur- founding Montpelier, was pounced upon by the irrepressible interviewer and ylelded to the pressure, His observations of men and hings In that section, published in the ontpelier Watchman, are interesting, plquant and instructive, “I do not elaim,” he sald, “to be a son of Nermont by consanguinity, nor yet by pur- thase; but by afinity. That is to say, I married a Vermont girl; and the fact that I am in Vermont today Is because, first, 1 wished to verify my wife's statement that gthere was such a place, and then, secondly, % had a natural curiosity to see the state #hich could produce so wonderful a woman, That portion of Vermont around and about Montp:lier 1 have visited under the guidance ©f Mr. Joel Foster, a man with the wooderaft of an Indian and the knowledge of a scientist. Bvery woodchuck hole he has located and ®xplored; every bird song he knows and #hat it portends of storm or sunshine; the sititude of every hill, the history of every building, every tree and shrub, and weed— @1l are as familiar to him as the faces of 01a friends. I have sailed on Lake Cham- Pplain, have corkscrowed my way among the :rlnllu quarries of Barre, have spent one ay in Vergennes, one in Waitsfield, and veral in Montpelier, and my verdict hat Vermont is very, very beautiful. “Of course this I8 no news to you, but, like a pretty girl, you may enjoy the fre- quent confirmation of your own opinion on he subject. Vermont has a beauty p:culiar herself; but fs it not one of the chief ories of the Almighty that His expression f beauty is as infinite as Himself? If in he human face (which only measures about fght by twelve inches, he can put such end- 8 varlety of appearance, £0 that of the lions on this earth no two faces are just ike, what may k= not do with all nature work upon! “There 18 the mocurnful beauty of the lains, so monotonous and vast, Where lse does the sun reveal itself in such profli- te splendor? I have seen him go down n a perfect explosion of color—the clouds alrly dripping their crimson light, the very Ir incarnadined. There Is the stupendous auty of the Rocky mountains. Geologists trace the life of animal and plant in the fos- 8ils of the rocks, but the Rocky mountains!— s¢ domes and pinnacles and bastions of sonry—what are they but fossilized Euwer, the witness to old Chaos, the foot rints of God himself! In the presence of puch awful beauty the soul of man had not tven struggled to utter itself until Coleridge, n behalf of humanity, breathed his hymn o0 Mount Blanc: fO, dread and silent mount! I gazea upon Ml thou. still present to the boc Didst vanish from my mm:fifl;‘x‘;'r’,’ a1 tranced in prayer, worshiped the Invisible alone.” ! ‘There is the 1500 miles of Alagkan beauty, from Victoria to Chileat. Those Jwonderful islands—strung on a silver thread of water, like nature's rosary—have a con- tinuous, incessant, persistent beauty which is most cloying—like ‘linked sweetness long rawn out.’ “Then there fs—but I was about to speak ©E. Vermont. Vermont is the perfection of /Jandscape gardening. It does not awak-n tacy, but it promises content. Tt wel- (omes you. Its valleys, like loving arme, jopen and invite you o nestle in them. And then, was there ever anything so green its mountains? As I flew past them on e cars they secemed reeling, staggering nk with ‘green. I have picked out /4,000,000 “spots where T should lfke to bufld home. Home! that word expresses it to {& T. Just as there is no place like home, ®o there Is no place like Vermont. There @re considerations, however, which will !Moubtless prevent my permanent residence Gere. For one thing, I fear I am too lazy |0 make my living in' Vermont. I thought ho life of a Nebraska farmor was hard {¥nough, but, bless me, compared with his ‘ermont brother he has only to touch the {button and nature does the rest. Your na- Ive, spontuneous crop seems to be stones, erywhere you look the back of a boulder /Burges up through a sea of grass like some 1d whale who has come up to spout. A arb wire fence fs not so picturesque, but Melther is it so discouraging as a hand made stone hedge, or that cheval de frise, other- wise locally known as a ‘stump fenc:.’ “Then, foo, your farms, stretched along he valleys and on the hilisides, marked off unm lozenges or city lots, seem 5o very mall compared with the western cornfields. }; all means, however, that if life is not so road,’ not to say reckless, as in the west, {Jt has its compensations in an enforced cul {Rivation of such virtues as frugality, pa- tlence, industry and the like. Cortalnly I ave failed to observe the inequalities of con- ition which characterize the west, Poor ple In the west are so very, very poor. i the other hahd, I have seen no evi- lences of that parsimony and penuriousness hich I was half prepared to expect. 1 Bad read awiul storles about the closeness ©f the Yankee. One told about a Ver- mont farmer who swallowed a $5 gold plece, knd all they could get out of him with a tomach pump was $4.50. Another was to he effect that Deacon Skinflint sat in the ex- me rear of his church in order to save @ interest on hi§ nickel while the contribu- lon box was coming down the alsle. I ish to give the lle to any story which re- ects upon the generous hospitality of the WVermonter. 1 have experienced only the most whole-souled and thoughtful kindness in every farm house I have visited, whether ¥ came as a stranger on my own recommend- tion or as a quasl acquaintance on the in- oduction of some mutual friend, i “And yet I fancy there is n degree of exclusiveness in the Vermont character quite unknown to the west, and having its origin in Engiish ancestry. I make this inference, 0t from any treatment I have received from e living, but from what I have observed ©of the dead, viz., graveyards. I never saw B0 many graveyards per capita. Each little F.uus has its half-dozen or so—one for the is b tholics, one for the Methodists, one for he Congregationalists— #One for the master, and one for the dame, Wnd one for the little boy that lives in the lane.” | “This thing of sorting demominations into arcels for the ultimate convenience of Ga- rlel is—it you will pardon me—utter non- #ense. 1 am glad It does not obtain in Mont- pelier. *T have had no thrilling adventure or hair- breadth escape during this vacation, unless my experience with a feather bed might come ithin that category. 1 tackled one of these ings for the first time the other night in Maitsfield. The hotel where they kept it was scrupulously clean and well conducted, and my room was a marvel of spick-spanness. No such country hotel in Nebraska, 1 tell ou! The landlord donbtless thought he was oing me & speclal favor by giving me a Beatler bed. When I sat down on the side Pf it to take off my shoes I got up suddenly, hinking I had sat down on something—a ather poultice, for Instance. When 1 Bnally lay me down in it for the night all Rho feathers retreated in huge billows to @ opposite side—I was about to say shore. § mounted the crest of this wave only to Bnd that it had ebbed away, leaving me anded on the edge of a board. I never paw suything act so lke quiisilver, I ¢d that night that I was jetsam and | Blotsam on & sea cf feathers with men in life- ! poats throwing me a rope. I suppose there s a knack about s in a feather bed | avhich I have not yet acquired. I know that | w broncho is a very mild sort of horse when e is finally conquered to saddle, and 1 have ‘ doubt that flery uutamed feather bed ! a real nice sort of bed when it is once Bomesticated. | © “Culture and refinement are more general win Vermont than in Nebraska; and this, of course, I8 to be expected, considering our youth and remoteness from the Hub. Last Sunday I heard a minister who, were he once known in Chicago, would fill its largest auditorfum to overflowing. In matter and form and impressiveness of delivery his & mon was a masterplece. The choir, too, was exceedingly well-behaved and sang with taste and finish. But, musically speaking, Mont- pelier’s brass band is an eye-opener. Do you suppose you can (magine what a brass band is in a western village? No, you canuot. It is something to swear at when you are awake and groan about in your sleep. It is the anarchy of noise. It drives you to drink. It_reconciles you with death. When 1 was asked one evening to attend a band concert on the plaza, or square, or whatever you call it, T promptiy declined; but later, sitting on the front steps of the Fullerton, there was wafted me through the night the rich, full, swelling harmonies of brass-throated instru- ments. I was off like a shot and stayed till the lights on the band stand went out and the echo of the last bugle note died among the hills. There is nothing like it! An orchestra can make you feel ticklish, or spooney, or even maudiin; but there s something in a trumpet blare which challenges the soul of a man. I conld die to martial music—if it be only music! " Sl i, FOR A MILITARY COLLEGE. SOUTH OMAHA, Aug. 20.—To the Editor of The Bee: [ notice with interest and pleas- ure your public spirited editorial as to the future disposition of Fort Omaha. The sug- gestion that it be converted into a military school is not new. I think The Bee has formerly given space in its columns to this subject. In any event, the suggestion s timely, the moment opportune, and the neces- sity of action strikingly apparent. All who have noted the many occasions for the use of the National Guard during the past year, say nothing of the late necessity in Chicago and even in South Omaha, may well join with The Bee in insisting that Fort Omaha shall, for years to come, represent, as it has in the past, the military spirit. Few such opportunities come as here presents itself for Omaha and Nebraska to secure valuable grounds, buildings and privileges, and an institution that may add materially to the repute of the state and city, and be as well the harbinger of days when the state will be better prepared than mow to meet all the conditions that in time invariably eonfront organized government. 1t goes without saying that congress would grant the reservation of Fort Omaha to the state of Nebraska for the purpose of a mill- tary college. What should such a college be? Not simply a military academy, but a mili- tary college ir fact and name, the inaugura- tion of the day when each state shall have its own military college, wherein she shail educate her young men and prepare them to creditably fill the ranks of the National Guard. While the curriculum of such a school can be easily and wisely arranged by compe- tent educators, yet I venture to suggest some of the factors essential to its military suc- cess. 1t should, first of all, be under the com- mand of an officer of the United States army, detailed by the War department on account of his particular fitness, taken from the ac- tive service, and such officer ought mot to be of a rank lower than captain Its entire military equipment, including rifles, ammunition, ar- tilley, tents, uniforms, etc., should be fur- nished by the War department, and in every such respect it ought to equal West Point, znd as all the equipment would be new and modern it would probably excel West Point. If the military commandant needed one or more tactical officers they could easily be drawn from Fort Crook, or, at a later date, from the school’s alumni. The purpos. of the college should be to conduct an elemenwry | school of a standard equal to that of a first- class city grammar school, but under mili- tary discipline. From those who graduated, after a necessary term of years, should come the men who would constitute the privates and noncommissioned officers of the state National Guard. A higher course, taking an additional term of one or more years, should furnish the officers of the National Guard. From this higher grade all appointments to West Point and Annapolis should be made. Thus, in time, both of these schools would receive the select young men of the country, already prepared to take up and carry the science of the art of war further than is now possible, where crude material is taken from which to make our future military and naval leaders, in & course covering from four to six years. Leét us fancy for a moment what such a school would do for Omaha and Nebraska. On this school, from the date of its open- ing, the eyes of the entire nation would be placed, and until other states followed, as they surely would, the campus of Fort Omaha would be filled with yonug men from all sec- tlons, anxious to receive an education possi- ble in no other institution. Regulations, of course, must be made as to tuition, whether gratuitous or at a stated price, covering also what military duty its graduates owed the state, and legislation should in time provide that only its graduates should be ofi- cers of the National Guard. (It is already & fact that in one state every National Guard officer s a graduate from a military academy.) A spe- cial or post graduate course being provided for the education of the prusent National Guard officers, thus it should not be possible for a National Guard officer, after say five years from the inauguration of the schocl, to hold his office unless he had taken a military course at the state military college. A late European writer has written of the United States Military scademy that, after most thorough inspection, he was con- vinced that it was the leading military school of the world, It is yet more; it is the literary school. Where else in a period of four years are such thorough students, such all around equipped young men, such models of physicil training, ideal soldiers and gen- tlemen of honor created out of raw ma- terial; where else the mental and physical strain so easily balanced; where else does food, wisely chosen, supply the waste, not- withstanding the severity of discipline, ‘study and other duties; where is to be found a cadet who breaks down physically or men- tally? . The United States Naval academy at Annapohs divides the honors easily, her chosen sons taking the honors almost in- variably at the high European technical schools, competing against the select of the world. A state m'litary college may never hope to rival matchless West Point. Let us, how- ever, hope for an eventual earnest attempt to at least imitate it in each of our forty- eight states. In this respect shall Nebraska l¢éad? What we need is not a school to rival Faribault or Sweet Springs, etc., but a school that will build up the young men of the state, make them better equipped to meet all conditions of life, better citizens because learning cipline of mind and body, and such soldiers that a regiment from Nebraska State Military college would be worth a brigade taken at random from farm and work shop. It can be done, and where else but in N braska’s only great city? A few prominint men can give the school & successful start; Senator Manderson and Hon. Mr. Mercer are sufficient to send a bill booming through congress, and even pass the presidential chair. Let The Bee take up the matter again fn its inimitable manner; let us all take it up; consider it from every possible standpoint; boom it if you will. The times are pregnant, the need of such a school never so evident, Shall we have it? We can if we may. A school such as I have outlined, if with a competent faculty, an earnest military commandant, and good business manage- ment, can have at least 500 students within three years. In not a word that I have written do I wish to reflect on the rank and file of the National Guard. AN honor to the men who at the call of duty leave pleas- ant homes, business and professions to re- spond with cheerfulness and promptitude to the call, but as the days of volunteers and the methods of 1861 are of the past, so are the days of the present National Guard num bered. War is a sclence; to not comprehend its mysteries 1s to be unprepared and to invite defeat. The era of the trained soldiery confronts us. It is not practicable to supply the country’s requirements wholly through the regular army, therefore the necessity of the state taking some action. Are we ready to meet these new conditions? As it Is the custom of the War department to detail, when practicable, any officer that is requested by a school faculty, should occa- son occur, 1 should be glad fo suggest as the military commandant of the Nebraska State Military college an officer of the United States army Whose eminent military and literary attainments, his experience as & soldier and a writer on military topics, his enthusiasm and knowledge in this line of work, would make him a most fitting selection, A. E. DICKINSON, POTENTATE OF PROGRESS Elcotricitys Trresistible Maroh Azound the World, LATE EXPERIMENTS AND DEVELOPMENTS Every Fleld of Activity In ficial Results Achioved--Usetul os Well s Novel Applications of the Subtle Fluld, ded and Bene. In the train of modern scientific and in- dustrial achlevement has come a number of new physieal allments—the price that eivil- ization appears to be called upon to pay for its advancement. Electricity is credited with two or three of these recently diagnosed disorders, and physiclans are now paying more attention than ever before to the effect of the electric current and electric phe- nemena on the human body. Just now, in France, says the Western Rlectrician, some of the doctors are endeavoring to find a ren edy for what has borne the clumsy and nigleading name of “electric sunstroke.” This modern affection frequently befalls workmen employed in factories where metals are fused or welded by the arc process. The light produced during the period of con- nection is of course intense, and even at a distance of thirty feet the rays produce a painful, hot, pricking seneation, like that of a burn on such uncovered portions of the body as the throat, face and more especially the forehead. The skin of the parts affected is said to become either copper-colored or assumes a bronze hue; the eyes, in spite of black glasses, are so intensely dazzled as to be useless for some minutes, after which anthopsia or yellow vision sets in, every- thing appearing saffron-colored; the con- junctiva are inflamed and there Is a gritty feeling as of sand under the eyelids; there is frequently considrable pain, also sleep- lessness and in_some cases fever. The physicians have discussed the effects of tne blinding flash with much learning, but have as yet proposed no better remedy than that which would naturally suggest itself to any layman—perfect rest in a subdued ligh.t So long as the voltaic arc is employed in metal worlking it s not likely that any means will be discovered to prevent occasional tem- porary injury to the eyes of the Work- men. ELECTRIC BULLET PROBE. The electric bullet finder or probe, an in- vention of Dr. John H. Girdner of New York, consists of an ordinary telephone re- ceiver, an ordinary metal probe and an extra bulb of the same metal that the probe is made of. Inasmuch as there is no battery connected with the apparatus it may puzzle even an electriclan to discover wherein the elcetrical element lies. Just here is where the instrument assumes its truly sclentific aspect, for its invention proves that there is a definite quantity of electricity in the battery which supplies the current. Dr. Girdner had tried for years to devise some surer means of locating bullets than was possible with the ordinary probe. Some years ago somebody had invented an electric bullet probe which depended on a battery cell to supply the current. But the trouble was that as soon as the end of the probe was inserted in the flesh an electric eircuit would be established through the fiesh itsell and the clectric bell would ring. So it was not known whether a bullet had been touched or not. One night it occurred to Dr. Girdner that the body itself might contain enough of & current to operate a bell or a telephone receiver. Experiment proved the The principle of the Instrument Is as The metal bulb is placed in the wounded person’s mouth, the telephone re- ceiver is held to the surgeon's ear and the probe in the hole made by the bullet. The bulb in the mouth and the probe are made of the same metal, copper being prefcrred, and because they are the same no manifesta- tion is heard in the telephor:. But as soon as the lecaden bullet is touched it brings an- other metal into the dircuit. The human body then immediately becomes one fin- mense cell, which generates a current strong enough to op:tate the telephone, so that as soon as the bullet is touched a click is heard in the telephone and the location of the bullet is established beyond a doubt. MEASURING ELECTRICITY. One of the greatest trials of the central station superintendent is the erratic na- ture of the record of his “‘diagram,” or, in other words, the irregularity of the demand for current on the part of his customers, A “demand Indicator” has been Introduced, the object of which is to furnish a correct means of ascertaining the actual call each con- sumer makes upon the generating plant of the central station. She influence of this insirument on the habits of the corsumer is said to bc most salutary for himself as well as for the sta- tion. Instead of burning a great many lamps at a time for short periods, he is in- duced to burn a normal number of lamps for long periods, thereby unconsciously “flattening”’ the station load diagram, and equalizing the work of the plant over an extended period. At the same time a gen- crous provision is made whenever the con- sumer wishes to have a special blaze of light. Once a month he gets an electric light “bonus.” He gives twenty-four hours' notice in writing to the station, and the in- dicator is short circuited for the space of time he desires. He can then burn any number of lamps in excess of his usual maximum, and the demand is not registered. Another meter for the recording of curr¢nt used is the invention of an Englishman. It is said to measure the supply of clectricity to consumers with as much simplicity and accuracy as can now be obtained in the use of gas. Its action Is obviously simple. It is well known that when an electric current is applied to water it generates; the gas thus generated 18 callected in a receiver, and, by ingenious mechanism, the discharge of this gas each time it fills the receiver moves a recording dial similar to that on a gas meter. All the attention the meter requires is said to be the addition of a little water in the course of three or four months. THE OLD AND THE NEW. Nothing could more forcibly illustrate the sclentific and inventive progress of the last quarter of a century, says the Philadelphia Enquirer, than the story of the laying of the new Atlantic cable. Two attempts to lay a cable were made by Cyrus W. Field, in 1857 and 1858, but both were unsuccessful. In 1866 another cable broke after 1,200 miles had been laid, and although grapling went on for it for several days, it could not be found. In 1866, however, a cable was lald, the end of the one lost the previous year was re- covered and joined to that on board and the work was completed. Far different, however, was the experience with the cable just laid A plece of heavy cable was laid from Ireland 143 miles to the westward, and the end wa buoyed. Then 502 miles were lald in the same way eastward from Canso, and the deep water cable was sent out on the steamer Faraday. The buoy at the end of the eastern shore cable was found, brought up, spliced and lowered, and 1,500 miles were run out without accident. Then the end of the west- ern shore cable was found, the main cable was spliced to it and the work was done. During the voyage the Faraday was in con- stant tclegraphic communication with Eng- land, and while in mid-Atlantic received the news of Europe as promptly as did English- men or Americans at home, The completion of the enterprise is another triumph of latter-day skill and genius. WASTE ELECTRICITY. The latest sufferer from electric railway currents which have gone astray from their proper theoretical eircuits is the Brooklyn (N. Y.) elevated railway. In bullding an extension of that road the company had difficulty in securing certain property righis, 80 a short section was left out until the rest of the line was finished. While hoisting the last four longitudinal girders into position ¥0 as to complete the line the end of one of the girders happened to touch both sections at once. An electric arc was at once formed and heat enough generated to melt part of the metal, which fell to the street below. The trouble was due to the fact that the feeder wires of the electric railway in the city had lost their insulation in places, allow- ing a strong p.ositi e curreat to esxape tiro gh the girders as soon as a connection was made to the ground. While this s the most marked trouble which has resulted to the elevated road from wandering elec'ricity, it has been found that the foundatiou bo*. of the columns, the water pipes to the stations and other parts of the metal work are being corroded just as are the underground water and gas pipes here in Omaba. Unfor- tunately the trclley roads now have un- doubted legal right to attach thelr wires to the elovated stravtdre and the only satisfac- th he elevate@qecole have Is the fact that the electricity vewospes in such quantities that all the telegraph lines can be operated by It, thus doigg @way with the expense of maintaining basterdes. In this connection it is of interestito mote that Brooklyn people have begun to Mollow the example of those in Boston and ‘intend to utilize the stray current passing. into thelr houses on the water and gas pipes to drive electric fans, STRANGE ACCIDENT. The strange dlectrical accident at the Nor- folk navy yard appears to have been ex- plained, and with the explanation comes the necessily of making provision to “‘ground” steel or fron vessels that are in dry dock, especlally during the season of electiical storms. ° Two men standing In water under the vessel, which was insulated by its sup- ports of ary wood, were apparently struck by lightning, although men on the deck of the vessel felt no shock: One of the men was killed instantly, and the other died in a few hours. The explanation now given, says the Philadelphia Ledger, is that the vessel was not struck by lightning in the ordinary sense, but that it acted as an enormous condenser, such as is used for collecting static elee- tricity. As it was insulated from the ground it became heavily charged, and was dis- charged through the men when they, stand- ing in the water, and, thus making a good ground, touched’ the metal sides. The remedy will be to “ground" such vessels while they are in dry dock that is, to provide a means of electrical discharge from them into_the ground. VENTILATING BY ELECTRICITY. A new system of ventllation has appeared which should prove serviceable in hospitals, canservatories and public bulldings where the temperature has to be kept within certain limits. ~ The apparatus consists of an electro- magnet, placed in circuit with a battery, and a revolving drum, and its operation is dependent on the electrical control of one or more air valves by means of a thermostat or thermometer adjustable to certain predeter- mined degrees of heat or cold. It can be adapted to any existing air shafts or any form of ventilator, and it can also be applied to the working of ventilating fans for start- ing and stopp!ng at certain temperatures. Supposing that it Is desired to keep a room between 65 and 75 degrees F. The apparatus is adjusted to these two points on the ther- mometer or thermostat, and as the tempera- ture rises to 75 degrees contact is made, the drum turns a quarter of a revolution, opens a ventilator and cools the room. The circuit is then broken. When the tem- perature falls to 65 degrees contact {8 again made, and the drum rotates and closes the ventilator. The action is reeated every time either limit is reached. The apparatus can be s0 nicely regulated s ‘n work with a variation of 2 degrees of \ yerature, and it requires very little current--:onsiderably less than that required to ring an ordinary clec- tric bell. A NEW TELEPHONE. William Marshall of New York had pre- pared a curlosity for the electricians. He began by taking up an ordinary book, and placing 'in the leaves several slips of tin foil one and one-half inches wide and four inches long. Then he attached a couple of fine wires, closed the book and carried the other end of the wires to another room, whera they were attached to the transmitter of a telephone: Then a conversation began, with Mr. Marshall in one room and one of the per- sons in the room where the book lay. Each word that came from the book could be dis- tinctly heard in every corner of the room. It is sald the new principle is the direct oppo- site of the Bell principle. The latter is the magnetic receiver; the new one electro-static. As described by Mr. Marshall, the fnvention consists esentially of a telephonic system comprising speaking condensers and an in- duction coil at each station, each induction coll having two. seeondary wires and a pri- mary wire, the opposite ends of each scc- ondary wire being eonnected with the oppo- site poles of the speaking condensers. UTILIZING THE SEA WAVES, The expense ineldental to running electric plant at Coney Island has suggested the possibility of utilizing the energy of the waves of the sea. It has long been known that by floating & series of large corks at- tached to each other by chains and anchored 80 as to rise. and fall with the waves they could by means of veds communicating with ratchet” wheels placed In the power houses on shore, be made to revolve dynamos, thus generating electricity and doing away with engines, engineers, coal and all the incidental expense connected with an electrical instal- lation. On the beach, near the concourse, workmen are now busy erecting three port- able houses. Inquiry as to what use they are to be put simply elicited the response from the sphinx-like superintendent: “For Edison, Watch and wait.” ELECTRIC NOTES. The clvil engineers of Germany have de- cided to erect a monument to the memory of Dr. Werner von Siemens, the famous el¢ctri- cian and inventor, in the German capital, A well known sculptor will carry out the work. What will prove to be the most useful in- dustrial development is the application of electricity to the cleansing and preservation of boilers. The metliod employed is the send- ing of electric currents periodically through the shells of the boiler. By this means the scale formed on the shell and tubes is disin- tegrated and easily removed. An electric plant is to be put in at the canon of the Santa Anna river, near Rodands, Cal., which will furnish light and powcr to cities and towns within a radius of filty m'l2s. It will also supply the power for several trolley lines connecting neighboring towns. It may be mentioned that there is a steady demand from East India for all the latest electrical novelties. An electrical engineer now in New York made & small fortune when the electric light first came out by going around Indla with a portable plant, with which he attended and illuminated all kinds of native ceremonies and festivities It has Leen shown by recent experiments that there is practically no difference in cost between cooking by electricity and by coal, while the advantages of the former method in point of comfort, cleanliness and safety are considerable. Of over 100 fons of coal burned in an ordinary cooking stove ninety- six tons are, it is said, practically wasted, whereas with electricity the expense is not 80 much on the fuel as on labor and interest on_machinery. The long distance telephone line now being constructed from Pitisburg to St. Louis is rapidly nearing. completion. Within a fort- night it is expected that there will be through service from New York to St. Louis. A very simple improvement In fire hose has been made by which the hoseman at the nozzle and The engineer are put in instant communication. Througn the fabric of the hose two insulated wires are run., They are connected with the metal couplings so that as soon as the hose is put together in the or- dinary way, signaling apparatus .on the en- gine and nozzle, with & dry baltery to fur- nish the current, completes the apparatus, In a recent discussion on electric rallroading L. B. Stillwell, in a few simple figures, em- bodied a most Instructive comparison of the relative efficiency of electricity and the cable for power tranemission. A steel cable one and a bhalf inches In dinmeter, traveling tweleve miles an hour, cin transmit nearly 2,000 horse power. A’ copper wire with a section of one square inch will carry an elec trie_current of 10,000 volts at 1,000 amperes 1o the square inch, and such a current s now belng transmitted in this country. This is equal to 18,000 horse power, which is enough to Instantly rupture six cables such as are ordinarily used In cable trafic. A novel plan of telephone exchange opera- tion has lately been put on trial in San Fran- clsco, and is pronounced Dy the exchange girls to be ‘“Just too lovely for anything.” A phonograph is placed In a shunt circuit in such a manner that when a subscriber |nsisis on asking several times in one minute for a number reported “busy,” the machine takes the place of the operator, and goes on inform- ing him with cheerful alacrity and persistency that the line in question remains busy. A Philadelphia electrician electrocuted 100 rats by attaching a current to a sewer grat- ing through which the rodents were obliged to retreat. Philadelphia and St. Louis are banishing overhead wires. An electric bair bleacher is a late Inven- ton, The Department of State has recelved from Consul General Jones at Rome a profusely il- Justrated pamphlet, with translation, giving full detalls of the plant and appliances used in generating and transmitting 2,000 horse power a distance of eighteen miles across the Campagna from Trivoli to Rome. The consul general says (hat Rome Is the first city to be lighted by electricity at a long distance. Italy is essentially agricultural, producing no coal, but hiving magnificent water power, and her future industrial development may spring from the transmicaion of energy gen- erated by watcr pover. the | yellow metal laid out in the form of plate BEE_SUNDAY, AUGUST 26, 1891. S MILLIONS IN GOLD PLATE =0lnlon'nl’o‘lolololiloliou Cheffoniers at Half Price, Rich New Yorkers Put Fortunes in Gorgeous Tableware, MAGNIFICENT SHOW ON STATE OCCASIONS Appetiving Spreads on Plates and Dishes of the Yetlow Metal—Three Million Do lars Worth of Plate O a Few Families. It Is, perbaps, not generally known that there are hundreds and hundreds of thou- sands of dollars tied up in sclid gold dinner sets, owned and used by New York million- tires! Pounds and pounds of the precio soup tureens and vegetable dishes! For- | tunes Invested In such a way that only the | select guests of the millionaire owners can | gaze on them as they eat the meal that is | spread in state before them. Every one has | heard of the magnificint gold dinner service which Mrs. Willlam Astor owns, but it is not generally known that there are at least twelve other sets in the possession of wealthy New Yorkers which, according to the Morning Journal, compare very favorabiy in design and quality with the famous one that has been written and talked about so frequently. Mrs. Astor's set cost was purchased several years ago, and has been used possibly not more than twenty times since it came into her possssion. In all there are some thirty pieces, so that the average cost of each piece would be $2,000. This valuable plate is guarded even more jealously than Mrs. Astor's jewels. Afer having been used on these state oceasions it io carefully _canedind dried, wrapped up in chamols and_pink cotton and then taken in the morning' to the safe deposit vaults of the Astors, where it rests quietly until it 1s needed to do service on another state ve- casion, GUARDIAN OF THE GOLD PLATE, Each set of this golden plate belonging to the wealthiest of New York's millionaires has a special guardian. This guardian is generally a man servant, who occupies a po- sitfon between that of butler and private | secretary. His responsibilities are almost as great as those of a secretary and Infinitely | greater than those of the menial who si- | lently answers your every beck and call He Is, in short, 2 shrewd diplomat, who saves his employer a great deal of trouble and worry, Mrs. Astor's house diplomat is a suave, well-dressed and apparently weil-edu- cated man of middle age and his name Is “Thomas.” Every one in the 400" kiaw Thomas, and Thomas knows every one whom | Mrs. Astor knows. Evidence of the man's sagacity was given | some years ago. After dinner one evening when the $60,000 gold set was on the table Mrs. Astor noticed that the vessels were badly scratched. The metal of which they are made is almost pure, and if by chance a fork or knife touches any of them lightly a scar fs left. After the gu:sts departed | Mrs, Astor consulted Thomas as to | the best means of erasing the disfigurements and having the vessels cleaned and bur- nished. He suggested that they be taken (o Tiffany’s, with instructions to that great firm | to return them as good as new. In about a fortnight the bandsome set was delivered at | the Astor mansion by one of Tiffany's trusted messengers. They were, as a matter of course, handed over to Thomas for his in- spection. Tiffany certainly had done an e cellent plece of work. Thomas knew almost to the pennyweight how much each picce of the set weighed before it left his hands. Hi first move after accepting the cleaned rl and expressing in a note to Mr. Tiffan signed for Mrs. Astor, that lady's sa isfac- tion over the way in which the work had been performed, was to take the set to the troy scales and weigh it in bulk. What was the result? Ob, one of comparatively little slgnificance to an Astor, but one of a great deal of importance to Thomas, PROFITABLE JOB FOR TIFFANY. He discovered that in the peculiar process of cleaning which the great jeweler em- ployed the precious metal in the vessels had been so worn down that a net loss of $2,000 had been entailed, to say nothing of the $1,600 “*fee” that had been paid for the opera- tion. Thomas communicated his discove to Mrs. Astor. He went up 100 per cent im- mediately in the estimation of that estima- ble grand dame, but she merely said: “Thomas, I don’'t think I ever want the gold set cleaned again unless you superin- tend the operation.” Not a vessel in the lot inside of a jewelry store siuce. now the sole guardian. Mrs. Astor never (hinks of using this $60,000 set of plate without telling Thomas of her intentions at least forty-eight hours in advance. As soon as notice is served on him he drives to the safe deposit vault, takes cut the valuable ware, and then prepares it for use. Next to Mrs. Astor Mrs. Bradley-Martin possesses probably the most valuable gold dinner set in New York. There are not as many pieces in it as therc are in Mrs. Astor's, but they are heavier and of finer workmanship. The last time they were seen on the table was at the dinuer given by the Bradley-Martins several months ago to their prospective son-in-law, the earl of Craven. Well-bred Englishman’ as he was, he could not refrain from commenting on the hand- some set to his future mother-in-law before the dinner was over. He said in a whisper: “Mrs. Martin, that is the handsomest plate I have ever seen.” The hostess' face broke into a smile, Her son-in-law was not only a connisseur, but an appreciative diplomat. a cool $60,000. It EOECHOIOROROERPLORNOEOHOUONOEAHOES cver seen the Thomas is PLATE MIRRORS, most convenient, and no home i $7.75 for useful, Good Ingrain Ca Heavy Ingrain h All Wool Tng irpets. Body Bruss:ls Carpets. . Velvet Carpets . 30x60 inch Rug Linoleums Vene ir Carpet........ Terms: w q DOING THE LANDLORD, Story of a Man Whoge Well. A doctor on the West Side was called to the resldence of a man in great haste, says the Chicago Tribune. Arriving there he found the man’s head battered and torn to such a degree that sewing it up reminded him of an old-fashioned quilting bee. When the patlent was able to give an account of the accident that disabled him he related this sad tale: “I &m behind three months with my rent. That's one-half of the secret of my misery; the other half is that some boys in my neighborhood have lately becn ringing my doorbell at all hours of the night, greatly to my annoyance. Time after time I was called to the door, only to find nobody there. Finally T ran a wire from a battery to the doorbell, %o that the next boy who played the trick on me would be held there until 1 could reach him and rend him' limb from Timb. “About an hour ago I heard a ring at the door and went there exulting. 1 opened the door, and there was my landlord, stand- ing on his head and hanging on to the handle of the doorbell; about a thousand volts of electricity were chasing each other through his system, and the way he kicked at the door casing and clawed aroupnd with his free hand was a sight to be seen. I was scared worse than he was, though, and 1 turned off the current and went to carry him into the house.”” “DId you carry him?" “I don't think I did. Everything that happened after 1 returned to the door Is vague and Indistinct. 1 heve a confused recollection that he grabbed a passing street car and knocked me on the head with it and that he tore off the door bell and made me swailow it, wires and all, but I cannot say positively what occurred. I expect him to return at any hour, and 1 think the next time you come you had better bring along a sewing machine. The old plan of stitching by hand is too slow and tedious.” bl heme Worked Too Millionaire J. Pierpont Morgan is also the happy possessor of a solid gold dinner ser ice, for which the Wall stre:t magnate gave an’ English jeweier a check for $50,000 a few years ago. Mr. Morgan, it is £aid, bought the set at the earnest solicitation of his wife. He does not care much for elaborate display, whether {t be on dinner table or on the &treet, and the yellow metal vesgels are seldom in evi- dence. They have n-t been used more than half a dozen times since they left the hands of the English gold worker. But little more than ordinary care s pald to the expensive sel. Each vessel rests in a chamols bag in one of the sideboards. The set 18 not a very farge one, but the vessels are heavy and the designs of the simplest. They are as plain as Is the life of the suc cessful flnancier. ONE AMONG THE VANDERBILTS, The only member of the Vanderbilt family who has seen fit to fndulge in the luxury of a golden dinner set {8 Mrs. Fred Vander- bilt. There are about thirty pleces in It of the most delicate design. The dishes are capacious, but the gold is beaten almost to the weight of thin cardboard. Mrs. Van- derbilt does not spare her service. When- ever she gives a swell dinner—as she does o great many times during the season—the plate s brought out and put upon the table It 18 not generally known that there is one man whose office is in the dirty thorough- fare known as Mulberry street who is the first to bo advised of the date of all these fetes when the golden plates and dishes are to be layed before guests, He knows the day of display long before the favored guests receive their cards or letters of Invitation He is none other than that distinguished per- sonage, Superintendent Byrnes. As soon s a date for a dinner Is fixed, say by Mrs. stor, a polite note is sent ta the superin- tendent by Mrs. Astor's private secretary. Its recelpt Is acknowledged ‘and contents noted.” It Is unnecessary for Mr. Byrnes to say more. Mrs. Asior knows that what she | wants will be attended to. i As soon as the plate is taken from the | safe deposit vault by the falthful Thomas in the case of Mrs. Astor nnd placed in the house, there appear on the scene two or three of those gentlemen known as *police beadquarters men.” They patrol the pave- ment before and at the side of the house. Nor Is their vigilance relaxed even after the festivities are over. They guard the house until the plate is again taken back to ils resting place in the vaults of the safe de- posit_company. ot It is safe to say that the amount of money tied up In gold plate in the houses and safes of wealthy New Yorkers is not less thau $3,000,000, i A PATHETIC SCENE. The Little Girl Meets Her Papa In n Hospita There is 80 much pathos in life that one almost sees it at every turn of tie eye. The other day a writer on the Philadelphia Times dropped 1nto a hospital, and at once noticed a little group, a sort of a famlily gathering in the far corner of one of the yerds, Th father, -a bright, brainy man of mercantile life, had met with an accldent a year ago His skull had been fractured severely and It was thought at first that he would not re- cover. The physiclan, however, labored very hard on the case and the man had become so far improved that he was about to be taken from the hospital. His pretty wife and flaxen-haired and blue-eysd child had called to see him as they had done dally for the weeks that his life had been hanging by a thread On this day they found the husband and tather propped up in his bed, His eye looked bright for the first time and the wife thought the time of recognition of her on his part had arrived. He had failed to do so before. “James, are you feeling better?" the pretty wife Inquired, as she placed one of her hands on his bandaged forchead. The patient looked at the woman he had once loved so well with a vacant stare and then mumbled out some Inarticulate words. “Don’t you know me, dear, your wife?” cried the unfortunate woman, choking back her sobs. Again the stare and inarticulate words Papal Papa!” cried the little child, “kiss me,” stretching out the little arms. But the littio one was recelved as the mother. “Papa doesn't love me any more,” sobbed the little one, as she placed her curly head in her mother's lap. Tears rolled down the mother's cheeks as she kissed her child, She made no reply. She couldn’t. It was what the doctors had told her. Her husband's life before the accident was & blank to him. He was nothing more than the babe in the cradle. He would even have to be taught how to speak, but the saddest of all was the thought that the love he once possessed for her and the child was dead. sl s Y. Live People In Show Windows. + That the introduction of the human form in advertising fs a good idea Is & well known fact—witness the tickct scalper's cavalry brigade, the girls who make up packages of candy in shop windows and the tall youth Who parades the streets of this city clad in the glittering robes of royalty. The lates wrinkle fn these lines, says the Boston Ad- Vertiser, was sprung by a Washington street “orckeeper recently by Dutting s man and almost complete without one. Cheffonier worth $16, JO for a Cheffonier worth $20, $11.50 for a Cheffonier worth i $12.50 for a Cheflonier w 313.50 for a Cheffonier worth $27. $17.50 for a Cheffonier worth $35. $19.50 for a Cheffonicr worth $40, $: EXTRA---BIG CARPET SALE. -~ Cash or ‘Eis‘y“fiajments. Formerly Pesple’s Mammoth Instal nd 10 cents for postage on Big '9% Cata Write for Baby Carriage C talogu Goods sold on payments in Council Bluffs & South Omah Clos: evening at 6:30 except Satur Windows (] WE PLACE ON SALE this week 100 lurge, elegant Chet. @ foniers, made of solid oak, polish finish, with LARGE,. FRENCH @ at half former prices, to sell them quic L ' , to sel quick. 3y reason of having the largest amount of drawe ® room, a choffonie suble piece isa indis of furniture, o rth $25. 4.50 for a Cheffonier worth $50 y worth 35¢ ¢, worth 80¢ worth 78¢ )2, worth $1.25 e, worth $1.40 s worth $2.( 37¢, worth $1.0 12¢, wor EAR, DRUC. —Mailed Free. fl’ RANGISCAN DROPS . Vegotable, Prepared from the original f served in tie Archives of fie Holy Land, s ing an authentic history dating bucik 600 yeara, A POSITIVE CURE for all Stomach, Kidney and Bowel troubles, especially CHRONIC CONSTIPATION, Price 50 cents. Sold by all drugglsts. The Franciscan Remedy Co., 134 VAN BUREN 8T., CHICAGO, ILL. Send for Circular and Illustrated Calendar. are, MCCREW 1s the only SPECIALIET WIHO TEEATS Aia. PRIVATE DISEASES and DEBILITIES of ¢ MEN ONLY. Women Excluded, 18 years experionce < in his window to advertise a new exerclsing machine. The man wore a slcoveless bluo Jersey, a pair of striped trousers and a look of stern determination, and so far ns catoh- Ing the public eye went ho was certainly a success, for he had a crowd in front of him from tho momont ho appearsd until he left the window at 12 o'clock. His work was to show how the machine was used, and this he did in an sasy and graceful manner which caught and held the attention of the multi- tude. The crowd was the same crowd which stands on the sidewalk a little farther down the street and watches the man In the win- dow fry buckwheat cakes, but there was more of it. It blocked the sidowalk pretty effectually, and overflowed into the street and Into the store itself, so that an employe had to stand In the doorway and keep a clear passage. A row of boys occupled front seats next to the window and held to them like grim death. In epite of the crowd, it was not noticed that any abnormal sales wero made, and when the man left the window for his dinner the crowd melted away to the place to which all street crowds go. - NEW REFINING PRCCESS. Separating Small Quantities of Gold from Rough Shiver. At smelting works in Pittsburg and St Louls there has lately been introduced a process of refining by which it is possible to separate from rough silver the small quantities of gold sometimes found with it, even when the gold occurs In such minute portion as 2-10 per ¢ The rough silvor is cast Into plates about ten inches long, elght Inches wide and two and one-half inches thick, two of which are placed in a Ilinen bag to form ono pole of an eleotric plating battery, with a rolled plate of fine silver for & corresponding second or pps! tive pole. ‘The batterles are wooden vats divided Into seven cells and rendered im= permeable by a coating of bitumen, each vat containing seventy pairs of electrod arranged in series. The eleotromotive force required for each bath is one and one-half volts. ‘The current is furnished in St. Louls g by a dynamo of 100 volts and 200 amperes, * driven by a thirty-horse power Westinghou engine. The rough silver plates are entirely dissolved in from thirty to forty hours; the reduced silver separates in a crystalline form, shooting across trom one pole to the other so that special apparatus has to be provided to keep the p o silver falls Into boxes with placed below the baths. The gold 18 re~ tained in the linen bage In a state of a fine powder and it is allowed to accumulate for a week before the bags are cleared out. The powder is bolled with nitric wel washed, dried and melted with a little sas or borax into a bullion averaging 999 flne. -