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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 18, 1921)
TUB BKK : OMAHA. SUNDAY. SEl'TBMBISR 18. 1U21. ' S3 sera S3 A. C. TELLS" US IWirelcss Steers New Air Bomb Toward Target A "dirigible bomb." that can be teerfd toward the target by Hire leu after being let (alt from an air plane, it the novel invention of El mer A. Sperry of Brooklyn. , Ordinarily, when , bombs are dropped from aircraft the chances of a mill are great. The ipeed and al titude of the plane or balloon have to be taken into account, and the wind alto. Obviously it would be of utmost advantage if the path of descent of a gravity projectile could be changed at will while it was fall ing. The Sperry dirigible bomb carries a parachute, which, unfolding at it starts to drop, not only alowi the rate of its descent, but Incidentally serves as a "drag-rudder." By tilt ing this drag-rudder in one direction or another the bomb s path of dc scent is controlled. As the projectile starts to fall a - second and very tiny parachute is liberated from the top of the bomb to support vertically a wire that .nerves the purpose -of an antenna, )t is by the help of this antenna that the man in the airplane is enabled so to operate the radio apparatus car ried in his machine as to alter at will the angle of the drag-rudder. While the bomb is going down lie. circles about and steers it by radio. All he has to do to make the bomb turn this way or that is to turn a handle connected with his radio sender in the desired direction. Thus the bomb is made to land exactly where it will do the most good meaning, of course, the most, mis chief. Volcanoes Toss Out Much Water "A volcano let us say Stromboli. which just now is making a lot of trouble ejects materials of various kinds. One of these is water. It is the last thing we should expect a, bum: ing mountain to produce, but, as a matter of fact, volcanoes vomit enor mous quantities of water, formed by the cooling and consequent con densation of gases rising through the vent pipe. Volcanic dust, thrown high into the air during an eruption, is so finely divided that much of it will float in the upper levels of the at mosphere for years. Its particles . seem mostly to be minute bubbles, hollow inside. Together with water, volcanoes emit vast quantities ot mud, which, hardening into rock, form what is called "tuff a friable materia! which in parts of our own west cov ers great areas to a depth of thou sands of feet. , ' . A familiar volcanic product is pum ice, which is so porous, and there fore so light in -weight, that .it will float on water. Another is obsidian, or "volcanic glass," a substance of the same chemical composition as pumice, but extremely hard, being of high density. ; Typical of the "eruptive rocks, representing material thrown up from the depths, it granite. Such rocks are practically impervious to water, whereas the- sedimentary rocks sandstones, limestones and shales are sufficiently porous to allow water to percolate through them. It is these sedimentary rocks tha contain the so-called "pools" of petroleum, usually with water underlying the oil. (Continued Fram Pa Three M.) of itt It's simply got to be a habit with me. '' , .: - v-; - ; "We've been married nearly twenty-seven years, and I've hai to go to the pen six times merely as a mat ter of self-respect But, as soon as I'd get out, I'd go back to her like a damn fool. This time I went up for life. Habitual offender, you see. But, damn it all, what do you suppose happened? The fellow that actually committed the crime I was - sent up for blew, into the state's attorney's office in Chicago a couple of weeks ago and confessed. Said he couldn't stand seeing an innocent man suffer in his place. And, mind you, I had pleaded guilty. Can you beat it They turned me loose a week ago, and here I am, the same old boob trailing her down again. Of course, she doesn't know I'm out I didn't want her to know it till I walked in on her and, be sides, I thought I was entitled to a few days of real freedom. I've got a daughter working in Chicago grownup girl and as fine as they make 'em. Naturally I steer clear of her, not wishing to have people get on to the fact that her dad's a bad one so I had a pal of mine a lawyer find out from her where her mother is living. That's how I happened to learn she was What say?" . . "I said, is she a manicuris4? rr peated Mr. Crumley, seizing the rail -for support - His orain .as sp;n- . ning. t, ; . - "She is, and a blamed good one. a I do say it myself. See here, what do you know about my girl?" "N'ev never . mind," murmured -Mr. Crumley, tightening his grip Cn the rail. Things seemed "to be going ' round a little faster. "Excuse me. Yom were saying?" Tm """ " """" " " mmmm """""" """ "" T . -, x "" The S p orting Chance Ramie, Silk Fiber Plant, Thrives in. California A mM Ada Freshly-harvested ANEW machine for separating the much-valued fiber from the "ramie" plant has been in vented by William A. Shcly, and is said to have undergone successful tests in Chicago. One finds in dry goods stores dress goods, upholstery goods, table cloths, napkins, etc., made ot ramie. They are beautiful, silklike and guaranteed to wear extraordinarily well. Unfortunately, they are very expensive. Ramie is one of the most prolific of plants, and easily cultivated, buc to separate the fiber from the stalk is a laborious task, no machine that would do the - work satisfactorily having been invented up to now. That is why fabrics made of it cost so much.-,,':" ';:,:",".: The silky , fiber was familiarly known to the ancient Egyptians and Babylonians and was m ijommoii 'That's how I found out she had settled in this burg. V You won't be lieve me, I suppose, but at least five times on the wayv down here from Chicago, I took thte most desperate chances on being killed, and every etack I came through all right. I let a brakeman kick me off a freight er last night a little guy no bigger than you, and I was unconscious for God knows how long, lying smack across the rails on the north bound track. The northbound flyer hit an automobile at a crossing not more than half a mile from where I was lying, killing three people, and never even got to me. No, sir, it was written that I had to come back to her,and here I am, hating myself like poison but doing it." "What is her name?'' oozed thick ly from Mr. Crumley's lips. "I don't know. She' changes it every time I get sent up. Good pol icy, yon understand. She's one of the slickest little business women go ing. Now, mind you, I shan't "be able to stick it out with her for more than a week it's absolutely Impossible for me to live with her longer than that. But " ' "What is her business? I-ftirry up! Don't take all night. What's her business?" "Why the excitement? Don't pinch my arm like that or I'll biff vou one over the " . "Is she a milliner " , "She is." - .. "Got two children? Boy and girl?" - "Righto! By gosh, I sec you know her." - ' - "You bet I know her," barked Mr. Crumley. He was on the point of adding, "She's my -wife!" but thought better of it. Now that frcc-i dom and happiness and the oy of living opened up a beautiful vista! o "ramie" in California. I use by them before the dawn of his tory; but among those early peoples hand labor was plentiful and cheap.- It is exactly- for the same reason that nowadays we get our ramie from China. ; Ramie belongs to--the ' nettle fam ily, being : sometimes called the 'stingless nettle." It is also known as 'China grass, having been culti vated in that country since time im memorial. Recent experiments with it in California have proved that it can be grown there in unlimited fuan.tities, thus adding another to its agricultural achievements- In the rich irrigated soil of the Imperial valley, in California, under an almos.t tropical ' sun, the ramie plant attains a height of 10 feet. The roots rapidly, spread, so that in the second year production reaches eight or nine tons, to the acre. The plants are cut like hay, with sclf raking harvesters. -' .- " - for him, why spoil ; everything by giving this ruffian an excuse for mur dering him in cold blood? He sud denly became as wily . as a China man. '".; , -a v , 'xf;- ;: :- "She owns the Bon Ton Milli nery rhop and lives in the same boarding house with. me. ' She goes by the name of Kingsbury." , - The stranger shook his bead. , "Then, she's not the one, pardner. 1 hat isn't the name she goes by, according -to what my pal found out from my daughter. " ' " i. Mr. Crumley drooped limply. , s "Her latest alias " is -' Crumley," went on the other. . - ; ' His companion suppressed the im pulse to jump up iand'ycll and kick his heels together. ' "Before I answer any more ques tions," he managed to say, controll ing his voice with an effort, "you've got to tell me whether you have the legal right to to annoy her. Are you still married to her?:' How do I -know . that she hasn't been di vorced from yon op" "Weir, she hasn't, so don't let that worry you. No such luck. She's finicky about such things. Doe6n't believe in divorce. Considers di vorce a crime. ; Do you know a lady here by the name of Crumley!" "Come with me,'' said Mr, Crum ley crisply. ; ' - And off they started in the direc tion of town. As they left the bridge 'and strode down into Main street, the big stranger said: ' '. "- "I've got a dollar and a half or so in my jeans, old chap, and I'd like to blow you off to a little feed. Sup pose we stop in the first restaurant and have a stack or two of pancakes, maple sirup, and fresh country sau sage and " ", ' "No. thank you. It's gcttingIatc."; y- - - i t Inquisitive Physiologists Tell Just What Happens When Body Dies Recent study has led physiologists to the conclusion that the brain may live for 20 minutes or half an hour after a person has apparently "given tip the ghost." The heart, taken out of the body, will continue to beat for 24 hours if a stream of oxygenated blood be kept flowing through tt. Death from loss of blood is at tended by no pain. The ancients, appreciating this fact, commonly had resort to "opening the veins" when they sought to commit suicide. Drowning is air easy death, de scribed by persons w ho have ' sur vived the process as "like falling asleep." It is said to be more pain ful to be resuscitated than to drown. In the "dying hour" the sense of smell fails first; then taste, sight, touch and finally hearing. Now They're Expanding Universe Very recent discoveries have con vinced astronomers that the stellar universe which wc call the Milky Way is far larger than was hither to supposed in fact, that it is more than 100.000 times as big. It has the form of a flattened disc, like a watch (though much thinner in proportion to width), its thickness being about 4,000 light I years, and its diameter .100,000 light years. A light year, be it under stood, represents the distance which a ray of light, traveling 186.000 miles a second, will cover, m 12 months. Hitherto it has been believed that our sun was not far from the cen ter of the universe of stars; but now this is declared an error. The cen ter of gravity of the whole sidereal system appears to be in the con stellation Sagittarius, so far away that a ray of light would require 60,000 years to reach us from there. That is a region of dense "star clouds" congeries of suns that must he numbered in billions. Nobody knows much about those star clouds, but the suns composing them must surely be of giant size. A sun the size of ours would not be telescopic ally visible at such a distance. The more we learn about the won ders of the heavens, the more insig nificant do we feel. Our sun is but a tiny star and the- earth on which we dwell a mere particle of star dust. , - . : k Not so very long ago, when it was imagined that the earth was the hub of the universe, our com panion planets were called "wander ing stars," while the term ."fixed stars" was applied to other heaven- Some Utah Rabbits Poisonous Nobody hitherto has thought of regarding the jackrabbit as a dan gerous animal. But if it happens to be bitten by a horsefly and the fly thereafter bites a human being, tin: latter may die. , . - There is trouble of this kind in Utah, and the public health service is making a painstaking study of it. The first cause of the "mischief is a bacterium.- Some jack-rabbits in Utah are infected with it. The horse fly is a blood sucker, and.j having de--rived the infection from a jackrab bit, it passes the germ on to man." The sufferers are mostly farm people who work in the fields, and who are therefore exposed to horsefly- bites. One bite inflicted by an infected fly will sicken and disable a man for several weeks. There is a "Oh, come on! Be a sport. I feel like throwing money away." "I am going to see my' wile t damn her! and say, are you tak ing me to her?" ; , , ' t :j r ,i.. ' 1 iiii, aaiu mi. v.! mint,?. ltie stranger stopped suaacniy, "Hold on a second. 1 ve got a favor to ask of you 'before we go any farther. I know I'm going to regret this thing tomorrow. Inside of three or four days I'm going to wish I was - in . jail Aha! You thought I was go.ing to say . hell, didn't you? and I want you , to promise me one thing. , I stood by. you tonight, - and , I want you to stand by" me tomor row or day after tomorrow at tile outside. I want you to positively luentify me as the man who held you up and robbed you tonight- and gave you that rap On the head. I did as much for you tonight, old chap. I worked out that sporting chance for you, and if you've got a grain of decency in you, you'll see that I get the same sort, of a chance. Of course, I realize that luck was against you, but that wasn't my fault. You can easily get me five years by pointing me out to a cop as the man who knocked you down and robbed you Oh, you needn't worry 1 1 11 give you the' signal when you re to do it, old man. All I ask of you is not to fail me. What do you say, pardner?" - "Yon may depend on me," said Mr. Crumley, solemnly, 'as they turned into Fourth street. "I'll do anything anything, to help you out, old fellow." (Copyright, mi, by Oeorfe' Barr ' - ' McCotcheon.) Bread Sells at 2 Cents A Loaf at South Bend South Bend, Ind.. Sept. 17. Bread is being sold at the -cheapest price ever offered here 2 cents a loaf. It ha rirormpd from W rntc In 5 1-2 cents and 2 cents per loaf, according to size, as a result of the price-slashing war. The "death struggle" or "death agony" is an imaginary phenomenon. Convulsive movements usually occur toward the last, but they are mere nervous reactions of which the dying person is unconscious. A last illness may be painful, but death is painless. One person in every 1.000 dies a "natural" death that is to say, of old age. The remaining 999 die of disease. It often happens in extreme old age that a marked weakening of the mental faculties is observable. Per sons thus afflicted arc said to be in their "dotage." They have to be cared for like small children. It is a trouble due to structural disinteg ration of the brain, which, like any other organ, is liable to wear out. As a matter of fact the brain, in these persons, wore out before their bodies. ly bodies because they seemed not to move. Not until 1718 was the discovery announced by Halley (after whom the famous comet is named) that four bright stars Sirius, Ariturus, Aldebaran and Betegue.se really did move. Today we know that ail the so-called fixed stars are really traveling at tremendous speed and that our own sun is a gigantic pro jectile passing through space with inconceivable velocity and carrying the earth with it. New Wave Motor ' . The newest invention for utilizing the energy of ocean waves has been paten-ted by Thomas A. McCulley of San Francisco. It is an arrange ment of two buoys connected with a horizontal shaft that rests upon a supporting structure mounted on a stone pier. The floating buoys al ternately rise and fall with each wave, thereby actuating driving arms, winch cause a pair of large ratchet wheels to revolve. The en ergy thus developed is communi cated through suitable gearing to a vertical snatt tor power purposes. "Atomized" Coal "Atomized" coal different from merely "powdered" coal b( cause very minutely divided is a new oro- duct that is finding important uses. It is used tor making a high-grade paint and also as a substitute for lampblack in the manufacture of ink. Another valuable employment for it is in ''facing" foundry molds, to give the surfaces a smooth finish in preparation for castings. sudden' onset of severe pain, with symptoms of septic fever. The bit ten place swells and suppuration fol lows. A few cases have terminated fatally. Giant Searchlight Crossing the bay from San Fran cisco in the direction of Sausalito, one sees in the distance the most enormous piece of sculpture in the world, the figure of a beautiful wom an, wonderfully realistic. It is Mount Tnmalpais, on the summit of . which is being installed a searchlight of 500,000,000 candle power. Equipped with a lens five feet .in- diameter, its light, in .the clear California atmosphere, is ex pected to be visible from Mount Shasta, 175 miles distant. . . (Continued From I'axs One M.I members of my company. They rushed me to the police station, where a police surgeon adminis ' tered first aid. They wanted to take me home, but I was for re turning to work, , which they Chief Charles Salter, yrs with r inn. : uisascrous Diazes in umana ' : -' : " ' ': , I As She Rests and Rocks, Churn Turns, Butter,Made THE rocking-chair has never ap pealed to the taste of people in Europe.- Over there they call tt an "American chair," and admit their failure to understand why any body should wish to take exorcise while sitting down. We, of course, could hardly get along without rockers. In every farm houi-e oni finds at least one rocking chair; and in this connection it seems worth while to call attention- to the novel idea of Moses W. Carden of Opclika, Vanishing Chairs In these days when rents arc so high people are commonly obliged to economize space as much as pos sible, the family kitchen may be.no more than a closet ingeniously fitted with a gas range and other essentials. Couches cbnvertible into Tieds and ether clever contrivances useful for more, than one' purpose are at a premium. . The newest invention in this line, patented by Frank Gilarski of South Chicago, is an arrangement whereby chairs, when not. in use, may be folded and stowed beneath a table. Each chair, attached by a bncket to the inner sideof a table leg, may be slid out on a rod to a comfortable sitting distance, a slot in the rod en abling this to be done, whereupon, a thumb screw makes it fast, ' When it is desired to get the chair out of the way, its back is folded down, the screw is loosened and the chair, after being slid inward along the slot, is turned bodily over, the rod being pivoted at the bracket. would not let me do. . I did not realize I was so seriously injured. And I was afraid that if they car ried me home the wife and fam ily would be frightened. I finally , agreed to be taken to a hospital, where I remained three months." I, the fire department He joined when V Ala. He has constructed a chair which makes it practicable, lor the farmer's wife to churn her cream for butter by the mere performance of rocking. Fastened to the fide of the chair is a box-shaped churn which, for additional support, is up held by two uprights resting upon a third and supplementary rocker. As the farmer's wife rocks the cream in the churn is agitated. The final re sult is, butter. When the butter is made the churn can be detatched. for Small Flats 1 hiK arrnmnliliAfl l if qL-pc hut a moment), the chair rests on its feet oeneatn tne tabic tacing the opposite way. A reversal of the- process bruigs the chair mto view a.gain. An Elastic Metal The most remarkable thing about vanadium, steels their almost mi raculous elacity. Today i he metal vanadium is comparatively- cheaa Yet only 30 years ago it sold at $450 a pound, and was hardly more than a curiosity of the chemical labora tory, v- ,.: : -; When a use is found for a. rare metal, sources from which, it may be obtained . in quantity are sure to be discovered. Thus, when the value of vanadium for steel alloys was as certained the fact was soon disclosed that vast -ore beds containing it ex isted in Colorado. It is. from these beds that the demand is ' now sup plied. The ores are sandstone, im pregnated with .vanadium, and arc dug Out in enormous quantities. John. Coyle,- battalion chief on the . South ; Side, was captain of engine house No. 2 on Thanks giving morning, November 26, 1903, when four of his men were killed at Allen Bros.' wholesale , grocery hoise. When the fire it was a volunteer organization. lish Product s Being Offered In New Forms ''Salmon loaf." paste made by mixing salmon flesh with flour and other ingredients is now put ui in ran for market by several packer on the I'acilic cocM. One leading packer is cai'i.iug a "straight salmon" paste, with admix ture of oil and spiers. A cannery on Chilkoot Inlet, Alas ka, is putting up smoked almon shaved to thiu strips, like dried beef, and packed in oil. It is exceedingly palatable, and specially good for sandwiches. Another canning concern at Point Roberts is packing salmon fish-bal!;, which are prepared by grinding the fish fine, cooking and seasoning with spices. They liave only to be warmed over to be ready to cat. A Seattle firm has been ex perimenting with the manufacture of wienerwnrst sausages from salmon and halibut. Another company, on the Columbia river, put up in cans so-called "fish pudding," made bv grinding salmon flesh and mixing it with milk and eggs. It did not prove a success commercially. A market for much of the wa-te of the salmon fisheries has been found with farmers and poultrymen, who are demanding great quantities of fish meal and scrap for mixing with other feed for cattle, hogs and chickens. This lish feed causes animals to take on weight rapidly. Pundit Tells of Planes of 500 B. C. Now comes Dp Ixbal A!i Shah, a pundit of India, with a statement that in his country airplanes were familiarly known 24 centuries ago. Representations ot them, he says, are found in rock sculptures dating back to 500 B. C. in Southern India. Indeed (so he declares), "flyinar carriages" are spoken of in Brahmin books written even earlier than that. A stirring piece of literature, writ- ' ten about 500 B. C, tells how Rawun, king of Ceylon, flew over an enemy army and dropped bombs; causing many casualties. Eventual ly, he was slain, and his "flying car riage felt into the hands ot the Hindu chieftain Ramchandcr, who flew in it all the way-from Ceylon to his capital, at Ajudbia, m North cm India. In -the Mahabharatta, one of the eldest of Brahman classics, mention is made of the gift of a flying ma chine by a king to a brother mon arch, as a token of friendship. The bombs spoken of in the story of Rawun are . called "explosive torches," which, .the tale explains, were thrown down upon the heads of the enemy. The method of making these primitive bombs is described in other ancient books. A pasteboard cylinder ' two feet long was filled with a mix ture of charcoal, saltpeter and m'tter, to which naiJs and sharp pieces of glass were added. The fuse, of co conut fiber, was ignited before the "torch" was thrown. When the flame from the fuse burned to the body of the bomb' there was an ex- plosion, terrifying to the enemy. Motor Street Sweeper v One of the latest cleaning devices for highways is a motor propelled vacuum street sweeper which sucks the dirt into a box, the capacity- of -which is two cubic yards. When the box becomes tilled it automatically dumps, leaving the dirt in a neat pile, department " arrived the middle section of the first floor of the five-story building was a roaring furbace. Lieutenant Burmeister -of Hcae company No. 2, with three ' of his men, LeRoy . Lester, H. C. Goldborough and William Barrett, carried a line of hose into tbe middle section of the building, which was burning fiercely. They, had gone about 15 feet into the . building when the floor gave way with a crash ' and the four men were thrown into the midst of the burning mass." i Series of Groans. "I called to the boys just be fore the floor caved in, to come out, - but it was too late. Their only answer was a scries of groans ' which I will never forget," said the battalion chief. The alarm for this fire was sent in at 3 a. m. In a rear room of tbe engine bouse on Tenth street a table had been set for Thanksgiv ing breakfast. Four men of this house did not return to join their associates at the Thanksgiving table. . Capt. Charles R. Fleming of No. 16, Patrick H. Dcmpsey, cap tain of No. 14; Fred Verveka, cap tain of No. 9; Thomas Tobin and others of the old guard have been through all sorts of thrilling ex periences and they all seem to take it as part of the day's work. . There are many other brave fire- -men, some of whom are still in the service, others on the retired list and some who have made th great sacrifice. These fire fight ers are reticent about relating their combats with the destructive) force of combustion. Through in tense heat and blinding smoke they rush at their own peril to -save the lives of others. i