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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (March 26, 1905)
TITE CWA1TA' ILLUSTRATED BEE. March ao. Opening the New Illinois Central Steel Draw Bridge at East Omaha v A IKv t f'7 1 . vf Vs ill v:-' r i r ! 1 I U v Miii , i"",''w.. VIEW ON THE BRIDGE FROM THE WEST END. NK more permanent viaduct over Ol the Missouri river was formally 1 dedicated to commerce on Satur day, March IS. The ceremonies were of tho simplest sort, owing o tho rain, that prevented much move nent outside the special train that took he railroad officials and guests to the iridge. The visit was merely a form, for lie bridge has been In actual service for Several years, and although tho western ifllf was completed but a few months ago, it lias had alt the essentials of per- nanency. The East Omaha bridge la In many re peets a very notable structure. Both tht leslgn and the construction, present more ntercstlng features of bridge engineering nan are often found in connection with a tingle bridge. There are at present three bridges over he Missouri river In tho vicinity of imalia. The Union Pacific Railway com any's bridge, located near the central ortlon of tho city, provides for a double rack railway between the trusses and for ilghway and pedestrian travel on cantl- over brackets outside. The Omaha & Council Bluffs Street Railway company's bridge, located about two-thirds of a niilo fabovo the Union Faclllc bridge, provides jfor double-track street railway, highway land pedestrian traffic. During the latter toart of the year 1890 tho proposition to build a third bridge, now known as the East Omaha bridge, was taken up by Ar thur 8. Potter of Omaha. The first plan was to build a single-track railway bridge, with highways and cantilever brackets out side the trusses and with sidewalks just inside, but it was afterward decided to build a double-track railway structure, providing for the addition later of canti lever brackets supporting highway, motor- fway and sidewalk floorsyutslde tho trusses. During tho earlier stages of its develop ment the structure was designated as the interstate bridge, and the Interstate Bridge and Street Railway company was incorpo rated to construct and operuto It. The lo cation Anally selected for the crossing is about two and one-half miles above tho Omaha & Council Bluffs Street Railway bridge near the settlement known us East Omaha. l-'our Typea Suggested. At the outset J. A. L. Wuddell, chief engineer of Kansas' City, Mo., was retained by the Interstate Bridge and Street Rail way company as chief engineer, to design and supervise the construction of tho pro posed bridge. Tho llrst work of the en gineer consisted of an examination of the crossing and a report upon tho probable costs of four different types. of bridge, as follows; 1. A structure with a slnjtle-track rail way and a highway between tho trusscu; estimated cost,- 1765,000. 4 A structure with a slnn-ln rnllwav track and two-foot walks Inside, tho trusses and roadways and motorwuvs on cantilever brackets outside of trusses; esti- inmru com. wu,uuu, 8. A Structure with n silicic rallwnv track and two-foot walks Inside the trusses, roadways and cantilever brackets outside the trusses, at the same elevation ine railway tracks, and motorways on brockets outside of trusses above the road ways; esumaiea cost, gwo.ujo. 4. A Structure with rlntihlf.triiclr fnllwnv Inside of trusses, with roudwavH und nar row sidewalks outside of trusses, at same elevation as railway, and with motorwavs novo inc. rouiiways and sidewalks; esti mated cost, Jl,220,0oo. A structure ot type No. 4 was , finally adopted, except that the motor tracks were placed on tho roadway floor,' but It was decided that the cantilevers should not be put In place until tho demands of traffic re quired them. The space between trusses, however, was floored over to provide for highway and motor traffic. All parta of the structure which would be affected by these additional loads were designed to take cure of them. In December, 1K90, surveys and soundings were mude In the vicinity of the bridge Bite and borings wete made at tho crossing to determine the depth of bedrock. From the data thus secured the bridge was de signed. Provision was made for n system of dykes and shore protection work to reduce the width between shore lines from 1,550 feet to about 1.050 feet. Tho structure, as designed and approved by tho War de partment, was to consist of one 520-foot draw span, one DOO-foot fixed span, one 240-foot fixed span, and about 200 feet of timber trestle. HaNding to Meet Foods. Plans were prepured on this basis, but as this was an Independent enterprise, hav ing no affiliation with any railroad or other corporation. It was at last found im practicable to raise the amount of money reguired to carry out this scheme. Then arose the problem of what plan could be carried out with the money available, which would take care of the traffic tem porarily and would at the same time per mit the consummation of the adopted plan, with tho least possible loss in the future, when the requirements of traffic would de mand it, and when the necessary capital could be secured. The resourcefulness of the chief engineer proved equal to the emergency, and he proposed the plan of building the draw span, as outlined, and substituting tem porary single track spans for the re mainder of the structure. The superstructure was to consist of one 520-foot double track, steel draw span; three 192-foot single track, combination wood and Iron spans, and 510 feet of single track timber trestle; one railway track and 'one motor track, spaced about four feet, center to center, to be laid across the structure, and the entire space between trusses to be floored for highway traffic. The substructure was to consist of one permanent pivot pier, sunk to the bed rock, and five temporary pile piers. This structure could be completed for the money available. The plans were adopted by the company and were approved by the War department, and the contracts for tin; entire construction were awarded In August and September, 1892. Hold Plan Successful. The Idea of using pile piers In the chan nel of the Missouri river at this location was certainly a very bold one, but the fact that the piers have withstood suc cessfully the high waters of twelve years demonstrates more forcibly than words the feasibility of the plan and the carefulness nmt thoroughness of their designing and construction. In order to permit of the construction of the permanent bridge at some later time, without either hampering the new work or Interfering in any way with the traffic, the temporary structure was built on a tangent, making an angle of 10 de grees and 53 minutes with the tangent of the profwjsed permanent structure, the two tangents Intersecting on the axis of the pivot pier of the draw span. This ar rangement permitted the permanent draw span to be used with the temporary struc ture and to become a part of the perma nent structure when revolved Into line with the final tangent. The new part of the permanent structure was located as originally planned and was completed without the fllghtest Interfer ence with traffic. When the new part was finished and ready for use, the old diaw was turned onto the new tangent, and the new and finished structure went into actual service without a single train being d.'lf-I'ed. (oonlrnelloa unoriginal Hrlclsre. The i?:-fixit Combination wood and Iron spans were designed for much lighter loads than they have since had to carry, but they have given very satisfactory service. The 520-foot draw span was designed to carry a double track railway Inside the trusses, and roadways, motorways and side walks out aide the trusses. The length ot span, center to center of end bearings ! 620 feet. The length of the center panel is thirty feet, and each arm Is divided into seven equal panels of thirty-five feet each. The height of trusses at the outer hips Is thirty-rive, feet, r.t the Inner hips sixty feet and at the towers ninety-live feet. This span und the new one of the same length are the longest draw spans ever built, and among the heaviest. Tho total weight on the rollers of the old draw span is about 3.150 tons. The span turns on forty-four conical roller, one of which when tested supported a load cf 0:5 tons without failure or permanent distortion. Machinery was provided for operating tho span by hand power or by electric motors, either of which may he used independently of the other. For the hand-turning ma chinery heavy leverB or keys were provided, which are attached to capstans at the cen ter of span. Jt requires about sixteen men to raise or lower the ends, or to turn the draw tinder ordinary conditions, and more when there Is an unbalanced wind load act ing against the span. The substructure as constructed for the original bridge consisted of one permanent pivot pier for the draw span and five tem porary pile piers. Sinking: theVenter Pier. The extremely heavy weight to be sup ported by the pivot pier made It necesmry to carry the foundation down to rock, which lies at a depth of nearly 120 feet be low extreme low watjer. This great depth made It impracticable' to use the pneumatic process for sinking, consequently a founda tion to be sunk by open dredging was de signed. The base was constructed of two steel shells, the outer one of which was forty feet and the Inner one twenty feet in diam eter. A cutting edge was formed by flaring out the inner phe.ll to meet the outer shell, and riveting heavy wcb-dlaphragms be tween them. A number of three-inch jet pipes, with the nozzle.? so arranged ns to discharge just inside the cutting edge, were carried up through the concrete as the work pro gressed. The object of these jets was to assist In drawing In the material from under the cutting edge, and they proved a valuable aid in sinking the caisson. The bottom portion of this steel cylinder was riveted up on shore and a false bottom of timber was put In so that the caisson would float when launched. A channel had to be cut in the Ice in order to float the' caisson to tho piet site. Then the Ire on tho down stream side was cut to fit the cylinder, and no other guide was needed during the sinking. The material through which thig pier was sunk was chiefly sand, brit there were some pockets of fine gravel. Just overly- 0 . m-S - ' ' f 0 e o a o in n o ., X 0 From T.eft to Right John R. Webster, Stuyvcsant Fish, Charles F. Manderson, J. T. Harrahan. George W. lloldrege, George F. Hid well. i. O. Rawn. GROUP OF RAILROAD MEN WHO ATTENDED THE OPENING OF THE EA8T OMAHA RAILROAD BRIDGE. Inir the bedrock some large boulders were encountered. Two logs were encountered In pinking, one of which caused a great ileal of trouble, as It extended out under the cutting edge and threw the. caisson out of position. After working at It for thirty six hours the orange-peel dredge got a good hold on it and broke it off at the cutting edge. Dlfflcnltles In the Wny. The excavation was all done through the center well. A large clam-shell dredge was used for the soft materials and when hard materials were encountered the orange peel dredge was used. For the first sixty feet of sinking air syphons were also em ployed in the excavation and did very good work, but below that depth they be came useless, for they would clog up at the Intake and .then discharge nothing but water. Concrete was deposited in the annular space between the two shells as the sink ing progressed and as rapidly as necessary to keep the concrete work above the sur face of the water or to give sufficient weight for sinking. Timber struts and tlo rods were used to brace the two shells to gether as the succeeding sections of metal were riveted up. The tlo rods were left permanently In the work, but tho timber struts were removed as the concrete was placed. - ' Tho sinking was continued as long as the dredges would bring up any material and then the caisson was settled still fur ther by discharging three shots of dyna mite In the bottom of the well. The first charge contained one-quarter pound and the secoittl and third one-half pound each. These charges were lowered to the bottom, through the center of the well, and dis charged electrically. The cutting edge finally rested on boulders at an elevation of 432.75 feet, or within about two feet and nine inches of the bedrock. Sinking; Wai Xuccemfnl. The caisson was never more than five Inches out of position and was finally landed within four Inches of the correct location. When it showed a tendency to get out of position the dredges, or air syphons were worked as closely as prac ticable to the high side of the caisson and water was forced through the correspond ing Jet pipes provided around tho cutting edge. To provide additional weight, on the high side the concrete was stepped up on that side. The sinking was remarkably successful, considering the great depth to which this foundation was carried. The temporary piers were built of red cypress piles seventy feet long. Such long piles could not be driven In the ordinary manner, and accordingly they were put down by attaching to them Jet pipes, through which water waj pumped at such a heavy pressure, that the material would literally he washed away from under the piles, thus allowing them to Fink.. This work was very suc cessfully done under the direction of the late C. E. H. Campbell, civil engineer, of Council Bluffs,. Each pier was protected by a willow mattress, the piles being driven directly through it. vr Portion ot the Bridge. A controlling interest In the Omaha Finest Beef from Prize Winning Nebraska Steers t LOIX ClTfS OF THE THREE STEERS. SHOWING PROPORTION OF LEAN TO FAT-CHA LLENGER II ON TITK RIGHT, STANTON IN THE MIDDLE AND THE MEDIUM GRADE STEER ON THE LEFT. dressing percentage of 07.77. The rations fed the two steers Hre as follows: February 3, 1904, Challenger was receiving sixteen pounds of grain per day. This was increased to eighteen pounds March 3 and to twenty-one pounds April 30. He was then given grass pasture dur ing the day, on account of which the grain ration was dropped to sixteen pounds per day. This was again increased to eighteen pounds June 3, twenty-one pounds August 3, twenty-three pounds October 3, and twenty-seven pounds November 3. During the latter part of November the ration was again reduced on account of the trip to the Chicago show. At no time was more than twenty-seven pounds fed: pep what more appetizing. In the case of Chal lenger heavy gains were desired and It was thought that a large variety would cause hint to consume more feed and therefore make more rapid gains. Neither steer refused feed at any time. It became necessary at one time to reduce considerably the daily ration, owing to the fact that a large quantity of smoke was Inhaled during the progress of an acci dental fire in close proximity. This was something of a setback to their growth at the time. Both steers were excellent types of butcher steers and at the same time were thrifty doers In the feed lot up to the time of ripeness for market. II. R. SMITH'. n N TEACHING the art of stock judging it Is necessary to have models of animal form for pur poses of illustration. In tho Uni versity of Nebraska cattle judging begins by placing before students finished beef steers, possessing a conformation and quality which meet the requirements of the dressed berf market and certain other char acters which indicate profitable growth to the feeder. In other words, Ihft work begins by giving the student the proper conception of high quality In the finished product com bined with thrift in the feed lot in order that he may have something tangible as a standard to strive for In Ills feeding and breeding operations. Such knowledge is fundamental to the producers of hlgh-clas sires as well as to tho feeder of market stock. During the last four years the de partment of animal husbandry of the Uni versity of Nebraska has had each year two or three cholco steers bred on the farm or Quaint Features of Current Life Presentiment ot Ilanajrer. N A SERMON Sunday, March 5. Rev. Mr. Rudy, pastor, of the First Christian church in Sedalla, to Illustrate a point: "About ten years ago I talked with a man in Henry county, Missouri, who gave me this peculiar experience of his. He said: I was plowing com. and about tho middle of the afternoon, when I camo to tho end of the Held, I had a peculiar sense of dread or fear. I unhooked my team and drove hem. I could give Uttlo reason for what I was doing quilting my work lii the mid dle of the afternoon but I was not home ten minutes until I was hurrying my wife and children Into a cyclone cave. Our little house was swept away, and had I not fol lowed what seemed a vague Impluse my family might have been killed.' " Xatnre's Herumneuae.. During her liabyhood Emma Lou Lawson 'ot Pulaski. Tenn., now 14, lost both hands by amputation, made necessary by necrosis of the wrist bones. The little miss is an ex ceedingly bright child, an orphan, and not withstanding her physical disability, can write a beautiful hand and work examples in arithmetic. She can thread a, needle al most as quickly as anyone, and sews well. All this, coupled with her cheerful disposi tion, makes her a favorite with all who know her.' Voodoo Wnu 0t the Money. The Jersey City police are looking for a middle aged woman, wearing a tight-fitting brown coat and a black skirt, who scared. at least one negresa out Of her senses by plac tng what she called a voodoo upon her. The victim In a servant la the employ of a law yer living on the heights. The voodoo woman represented that she hud cast a spell on the negress, and told her she would shrivel up and die unless sho paid over all the money she had. The sorvant gave her J22. all her savings, and begged the visitor to take away the voodoo. The woman said nhe couldn't do it for such a small amount, and the terrified colored girl handed over u f'klrt, a shirt waist and a pair of shoes. Tften the voodoo duct reus made a few passes with her hands to remove the voo doo and passed out with her collection. She is described as five feet six inches taH, with brown eyes and daik hair. Midulitht Mo.lc nt a (J rave. At midnight, March 17, Prof. Alvah O. Schaeffer, Reading's cornetlst. kept bin pledge to his departed friend, Thomas XV Hannahoe. in life better known as the "mayor of Irishtown," when he flayed several selections over his grave. Accom panied by several friends and a crowd of interested spectators, ho proceeded- to the Catholic cemetery, Reading, Pa., and when the court house clock struck 12 he played In distinct tones, "The I-nii of Gowery," which was tho favorite song of the de ceased. After n pause he struck up "Nearer, My Uod, to Thee." When Mr. Hannahoe lived he would al ways entertain a party of his friends at his Stars and Stripes hotel,' and Cornetlst Schaeffer .furnished the music. When he was lying on hla deathbed, he called his friend to his side and made him promise that he would play the above selections at his grave each St. Patrick's day at mid night. After the music a goat lunch was held it a nearby hotel, when a toast wa drunk to the memory of the departed and la mented "maor cf Irishtown.'' purchased, when young, within the state. These steers are carefully fed for class room work and not for experimental data on tho relative value of rations. To give the general public, as well as matriculated students, an opportunity to see these specimens It has been the custom of the department to exhibit at the state and International Live Stock Show each year. That a fair degree of success has been reached in selecting and fitting such Individuals It will not be out of place to state that, out of seven steers fxhlbited at tho Chicugo International Live Stock expo sition during three years, six have been prize winners, varying from third In spe cials to the grand championship over all Lreeds, the whole amounting to 770 In prize money. rhraika Prise Winners. At the last International show Challenger II, a full brother to the grand champion of 1903, and Stanton were exhibited. The former won first In Hereford special, second In the open class of 2-year-old grades and crossbreeds nnd third In the college special. Stanton won second In Hereford speclul for yearlings, fifth in the open class and second In college class. The former was bred by Mr. Murphy of Vesta, Neb., and tho latter by the Stanton breeding farm, Madison, Neb. Challnnger II weighed when purchased December 20, 1903, 1,000 pounds. The follow-, ing October, ten months later, ho weighed 1.800 pounds. Individual records on each steer were begun February, 1904. at which time Challenger II weighed 1,200 pounds and Stanton 9ti0 pound During the twelve months following the former gained 780 pounds and the latter 500 pounds. The gain made by Challenger II was good for a 2-year-old. taking Into consideration the fact It was made during the summer season after the steer hud taken on considerable flesh and had received two or three set backs by having been transported for ex hibition purposes. Both would have shown larger average monthly gains had they not been held three months, after having be come ripe, to be uaed In stock judging. Challenger II gained well until lie weighed 1,800 pounds, because he was larger In frame and on the later maturing order. Stanton wus strictly a baby beef type, short, very compact," extremely broad on the back and naturally thick fleshed. He was a perfect box and completely finished at 1,200 pounds, when he would have topped any market. His propensity for getting fat rather than grow was such that It be came necessary to feed him a ration almost devoid of corn. Had this not betn done he wvuld have been extremely patchy when shown at the International in De cember. He was then under slie for ag, but almost perfect In conformation. Stan ton was of a type to make feeding beyond 1,200 pounds unprofitable, but up to thin weight very profitable. ' Challenger U oonsuiBod 7,361 pounds of Wii.ii.biiwiii in mi. 1 ii lili iIIiimiiii iHHiiim I PTf--"n-"n"TrW-TT WmTTiii.iiiJiiiiiiwi.iiJUh iii idi ' 'ii11 i " i T T"" " " I - : ti n 4i-i.:ff TiTT? CTTS OF TTTE THRPJK STEERS, BTTOWTNfJ PTtOrORTTOX OF LEAN TO FAT CHALLENGER H ON THE TUGIIT, STANTON IN THE MIDDLE AND THE MEDIUM GRADE STEER ON THE LEFT. Bridge and Terminal Railway conipanr was acquired a few years ago by the Illi nois Central Railroad company. The old temporary spans having been lit place for about eight years, and as they were designed for a light loading compared with modern railway traffic, the Illinois Central railroad officials soon decided to have the permanent structure completed. In May, 1901, Waddell & Iledrlck, consult ing engineers, were retained to make new surveys of the river In the vicinity of the bridge In order to determine tho conditions as they then were. Since the old draw span was built the channel had shifted to the other side of the river. For this and other reasons it was decided to build another draw span having the same general dimensions ns the old one. However It was designed for a much heavier loading and differs from the old span in many details. H is very heavy, the total load on the rollers being nearly five thousand tons. The rest of the new superstructure con sisted of nine sixty-foot plate girder spans, eight on the west shore at the end of the new draw spnn nnd one on the east shore at the end of the old draw span. This makes the total length of tho bridge about Blxtoen hundred and twenty feet. The new substructure work Involved the hulldlng of several different kinds of foun dations. The pivot pier was nn almost ex act duplicate of the old one and was sunk In the same manner. The piers at either end of the new span were put down by the pneumatic process, while that st the east end of the old span was founded on piles, s were also the small piers and one of the abutments. Mneh Trouble ITere. In sinking these piers many difficulties were encountered. The driving of tho plies In tho east shore pier proved a very diffi cult pieco of work on account of tho great length of the piles, they being eighty feet long. The average number of piles driven per day was only two and one-half. The pier between the two draw spans had lo ,be sunk through tho mattress and riprap that surrounded the old pile pier, and these obstructions caused much trouble. Much difficulty was experienced in keeping tho caissons plumb and In correct position as they sank. In some cases t was necessary to pull the caisson back Into place by put ting an enormous strain on heavy cables fastened to the top. Tn sinking the cylin der for the pivot pier a mass of debris was encountered. A diver was sent down to re move this, but he could not do so and con sequently an air-tight roof was put over the excavating shaft and the cylinder op erated as a pneumatic caisson until the obstructions had been passed. After that the excavation was carried on with a clam shell dredgo and a hydraulic sand pump. This plnr Is the deepest ever sunk in the Mlpsouri river. The finished bridge is one of the finest in the country and all who took part in Its design und construction mny well be proud of it. Tho new draw span Is equipped with the very latest and best electric and pneu matic machinery, and Is so controlled by an electrical Interlocking system that It is Im possible to perform the various operations except In a certain sequence. Trains pass ing over the brldgo uro protected by an electrically operated semaphore signal sys tem. The total cost of the completed bridge was about Jl.OOO.OOO over and above that of the temporary portion of the structure. grain from February 3, 1904, to February 3, 1906, the equivalent of 9.8 pounds of grain for one pound of increase in weight. Stanton consumed 4,990 pounds In that time, requiring 10.6 pounds of grain for each peund of gain. This shows that Stanton) was placed at a greater disad vantage by virtue of being held over. He was eight months younger than Chal lenger, but matured four months earlier, making him mature one year younger. This was due In port early feeding, but largely because of his more compact build. Ft and Lean. The Illustration snowing trie rib and loin cms of the two steers in comparison with a medium grade furnished by Swift and Company, South Omaha, brings out the fact already mentioned that Stanton was too fat, having a layer over the lean one and one-half Inches thick, while Chal lenger, the larger steer, had but one inch. Nevertheless, Stanton showed a remark ably high percentage of high priced meat. Challenger II was somrwhat lower, and the medium grade considerably below, as shown 'by its size in the Illustration.1 The fat and lean in Challenger's carcass were perfectly mixed, giving the marbling sought for in dressed beef. The presence of the larsis flakes of fat In the lean made his meat tender, juicy, and at the same time les wasteful than though more fat had been distributed outside tho lean. In tho marbling the medium grade was deficient. The carcass demonstration was nude In connection wfth a fine divplay of packing huuse products, prepared for the student of the I'nlveislty School i.f Agri culture through the courtesy of Swift Company at South Omaha. The live weight of Challenger II was l.&M) pounds and the dressed weight 1,245 pounds, which made a dressing percentage of 66.22. Stanton's live weight was 1.390 pounds and bis dressed weight 'l42 pouude, making a day. This was considered a very heavy ration and It was necessary to be ex tremely careful about being irregular. He was heavily fed because of a luck of flesh shortly before tlie stock show. Sele n tTfle Ted 1 n a. Stanton received February 3, 1904, thir teen pounds of grain per day. This was Increased to fifteen pounds April 30, when he also was given grass pasture and the grain ration dropped to twelve pounds per day. This was again increased' until sixteen pounds was fed In November. At first both steers were fed the same ration, consisting of corn 50 per cent, oats 20 per cent, brun 20 per cent, oil meal 10 per cent. They were given' in addition a few beets. June 9 the bran wus reduced to 10 per cent and ID per cent of wheat added. At the same time Stanton's allowance of corn was reduced 10 per cent and his oats increased 10 per cent. Stanton's corn was further reduced August 13 to 15 per cent and the oats Increased to 50 per cent. At the same time the proportion of oil meal for both steors was Increased to 15 per cent. Cliallcnger's ration September 3 con sisted of corn 30 per cent, wheat 20 per cent, oats 15 per cent, hurley 10 per cent, bran 10 per cent, oil meal 15 per cent. On this date Stanton received corn 15 per cent, oats 30 per cent, wheat 20 per tent, barley 10 per cent, bran 10 per cent, and oil meal 15 per cent. October 1, Challenger received corn 30 per cent, oats 15 per cent, bran 10 per cent, wheat 10 per cent, barley 10 per cent, rye 10 per cent, and oil meal & per tent. Stanton on that date was re ceiving, corn 15 per cent, outs 30 per cent, bran 10 per cent, wheat 10 per cent, barley 10 per cent, ,rH lo per cent, and oil meal 15 per cent. November 5, 6 per cent was taken from the oats und added to the oil niepl. Cndoubtedly good results would have been secured without the addition of the wheat and rye to the ration. It was done solely for the aka of greater variety, which tends to make the daily ration soma- Tersely Told Tales Both Grim and Gay A Thought froiu Msgara. OHN JACOB ASTOR, at a dinner In Philadelphia, talked about Niagara. "Everyone who goes to Niagara," ho said, "hears some absurd, ridiculous and Inept re mark there. You stand and gaze at the falls, profoundly moved, unspeakably im pressed, and then, all of a sudden, some thing fatuous Is slid, nnd the effect of all that grandeur Is dissipated forever. "Who, hlnce the falls were discovered, has been followed In peace to drink in their superb beauty? Not I, for one. "The day I first saw Niagara a man to'iched my arm us I looked up at those whlto waters. I turnod to the man. II' had Hie silly and vacuous smile of a confirmed Joker. " 'It seem a shame,' lie maid, 'to see all this going to waste.' " "What ure you?" said I, 'an electrical engineer?' t " 'No,' he answered, 'a milkman.' " Doubtful Mattaract Ion. An English newspaper says that a school master was In the hublt of punishing yehol ars who came late to school In the morning by ke ping them In the afternoon. One who was live minutes lute was kept In ten min utes, und ro on In proportion. One morn ing it chanced that the schoolmaster w.-u half an hour lute, and a smart boy among his pupils was not slow to remind him of the fact. "I'm very sorry for being late, hoyV' said the schoolmaster, with a twinkle in his eye, "and as I punish you, It's only fair that you in turn should punlnh me. so you will all stay and keep me In for an hour this afternoon." New York Tribune. Bill llaekney'a Inscription. The prominent part that William P. Hackney la taking In legiblatlve affair! has led to the revival by the Kan.as papers of the old story of one of his in vestments in Winfleld. During the boom days he built a lurge three-story brick business building, In the front of which was set a tablet bearing In lurge letters his Initials, W. P. H. Years afterward after the buoin had collapsed and Mr. Hackney had lost his property, nnd while the building was almost temnil less and deserted, he drove past the building with a friend, who asked him -what tho letters stood for, and Mr. Hackney answered: "Why, don't you know? They stand for 'William Played 11.' "-Kansas City Joornu!. ill is Work. Prof. Nieholi-, the Cornell physicist, dur ing the leciiuilou of a freshman class in natural philosophy, observed a tall, lanky youth in a rear seal, his head in a recum lienl position, his body in a languid pose, his eyes half closed, anil his legs extended far out in an udjinent aisle, lie was either asleep or about to lose consciousness. "Mr. Frnier," said the great scientist, "you may recite." The ireshiuuii opened his eyes slowly. Ho .lid not change his somnolent pose. "Mr. Frazer, what i'i woik?" "Everything I work," was the drawling rerly. "Sir." exclaimed the professor, "remem ber that you are no longer in a prepara tory school: Do you ineun lo tell me that Is a reiiKonuble answer to my question?'' "Ver,. sir." ' "What! Everything is'work?" "Ves. sir." "Then I take It you would like me nnd the clam to believe that this dftkk is work?" "Yes, sir," replied the youth wearily, "that desk I woodwork," 1'liilsaslpbia tier. s,,.. .