December 19, 1901
THE NEBRASKA INDEPENDENT.
i i h iii iir mil ii in n
u oiuiuo ur Dunn viwn.
British Troops In Splendid Con
dition, but More Needed.
STRAIN OH OPFIOEBS; DTCE5SE,
Military Correipondent Says E
land's General In loutk Africa
Bm Worked Twelye Hoar Dally
For Tenn- Thc Dnrghen , Still
Hopcfal.
A military correspondent of the Lon
don Times, 'a message sent from Pre
toria, rteolnres that the statements that
the British troops in South. Africa are
'stale" are, untrue. He says, on the
1 contrary, th"t tnt men are in spienam
condition, and, though they would be
giaa to get come,7! tney nave nox iost.
their zest for fighting-. This refers
both to the regulars and the volunteers
attached, to the various battalions.
Some , colonials recently 'recruited at
South African seaports are less satis
factory, but the best colonials, those
from Canada, New: Zealand, and Aus
tralia, are invaluable, and the new yeo
manry are improving. .
The correspondent says it is undenia
ble that the strain on the generals and
their staffs Is excessive. Many of these
officers have worked for twelve hours
daily for two years. Lord Kitchener
alne seems absolutely impervious to
wear and tear. The regimental officers
'are all right. . v '
Re-enforcements to the number of
25,000 would be' immensely valuable,
savs the correspondent, and would ren
der the last stage of the war rapid and
complete. The Boers keeping in the
field number from 8,000 to 10,000, anrt
they are mostly In as good condition
as the British. They are seasoned sol
diers and get pleny of supplies from
the Kaffir kraals and from parts of the
country that are only accessible to
themselves: The Kaffir kraals also
serve as remount depots, and for each
' Boer there are two Kaffirs, who, even
when unarmed, are useful auxiliaries.
For fighting purposes, says the corre
spondent, the enemy must be estimat
ed as numbering 20,000 exceedingly
mobile troops. ' ..
The- Boers still believe that European
Intervention Is .imminent that Great
Britain is tired pf the war and that
they have only to hold out long enough
In order to make the British so weary
that they will .surrender. The burgh
ers are fighting to win and are convinc-
ed that they will win. . ... J.. -'
The Boers pay attention to the Brit
ish press, but may not believe the poli
ticians' speeches, as they consider poli
ticians professional liars. They note
every word indicating the weakening
of British determination, lamenting the
cost of the war and speaking of the In
ter national 'complications to which" its
continuance may give rise. They have
no particular enmity toward the Brit
ish nation and rather like the "khakis,"
but their one thought Is the restoration
of their Independence under their own
flag. Openly they say that when a
Liberal government comes Into power
they will get justice.
The correspondent dwells on the dif
ficulties of Lord Kitchener's position.
He has 3,000 miles of communication?
to protect, civil governments are being
re-established, the English populations
are being brought back, and the ene-
in v ri in liiiurs Mir uciuk ivru &.vru .! lvtjl.
All is being done with a much smaller
T number or effective troops tnan nas
iV been imagined.
The removal of Lord Kitchener
would be fatal, eays the correspondent,
and would be construed by the Boers
as a great triumph for themselves. He
(Kitchener) knows . the Boers better
than any other man In South Africa,
and the army trusts and believes In
him.
A dispatch to the London Times from
Wellington, New Zealand, says respon
sible New Zealanders returning from
South Africa declare that more sol
diers are needed to finish the war. The
troops have the utmost confidence In
Lord v Kitchener, but, bis efforts are
hampered by the 111 advised agitation
in the United Kingdom.
ANNOVING THE PRE8IDENT.
Reply Sent to a. Womta Vko Leo
tared Hint For Sabbath Breaking.
Among the annoyance! of a presi
dent's Ufa are the Intrusions of well
lntentioned people upon bit private
and personal affairs, says Harper's
Weekly. He is the common property
of the nation. He has no home, or as
little of one as the public is compelled
to leave him. He is worse off than any
private citizen in the country in this
respect, for when he and his wife ask
some friends to call on them on a cer
tain day of the week persons who are
not asked and who do not know them
accept the Invitation which was not
given them and go also. Not so an
noying perhaps are the people who
open upon the president as teachers of
personal morality. They have no dell
lcacy. They rush In where they are
sot asked, and they insist that now the
president Is In the' White House he
shall conform bis life to theirs, shall
live as they think is right and is a
monster of iniquity If he does not ac
cept 'their tutelage. .-' There is. not a
president who has escaped them., .and.
there never will be until -yre have a
score or so of presidents each of whom
win , not 'heed them, who will .not an
swer their letters, , who will insist on
haying, bis own habits and on living
According to his own light and not ac
cording to the light of another, A
We have recently had a temperance
president who has been called a drunk
ard because some one said he saw him
drink a glass of champagne at dinner.
Denials of the truth of the statement
merely whetted the appetite for ob
jurgation. And now we have another
president, a very abstemious man, who
receives letters nearly every day whose
writers express the regret that we
have a "winebibber" in the White
House. These letters, we are told, are
not answered, .but a reply was sent to
the woman who reminded the presi
dent of the commandment, "Six days
shalt thou labor," and then lectured
him for Sabbath breaking. The reply
was written by Secretary Cortelyou
and was this:
"I am directed by the president to
say that he goes to church on Sunday
morning and takes his wife and chil
dren into the country Sunday after
noon. v
"To which of these occupations do
you object?" . ' ' ' ,'
HUGE RAILWAY COMBINE
Details of Plan Advanced by
1' Paul Morton.
V
i A
Anecdote of the President' To wilt.
. Stories of President Roosevelt's youth
and. precocity are now coming to the
fore, says the Wnshington correspond
ent of the New York World. An ast
ern senator starts off with this:
When Roosevelt was five years old,
he came around to the family church
early one Monday morning. He found
the sexton busy cleaning up. Young
Roosevelt opened the door and looked
in. The sexton noticed him and told
him to come in if he wanted to. Teddy
made no reply, but carefully looked at
roof, ceiling and floor. When young
Roosevelt returned home," his mother
asked him where he had been.
"I have been, to -church looking for
the zeal," replied the boy. ,
"The zeal L" exclaimed the mother.
"What do you mean
"Why," replied .Teddy, "the preacher
spoke yesterday .about the 'zeal that
devoureth man,' and I wanted to se
it." . -
The president shook bis bead sadly
when this story was told to him.
Balloon for Marconi's Experiment.
Wjlliam Marconi, the Inventor of
wireless telegraphy, who Is at St
John's, N. p.. conducting experiments
with his system, succeeded the other
afternoon in floating a balloon 200 feet
above the summit of Signal hill, which
is 600 feet high and overlooks the har
bor of . St. John's, says the New York
Tribune. This balloon is fastened by a
series of stays which render It almost
motionless. It holds up the vertical
steel wire which is used in the system
of wireless telegraphy in communicat
ing with distant ships.
HALO OF HEVELIUS S RARE
St. Lonts Astronomer Talks Un
nsaal Phenomenon.
"The great halo of Hevelius observed
recently at Cleveland, O.'. said the
Rev, M. S. Brennan, lecturer on astron
omy, at St. Louis university, to a re
porter of the St. Louis Republic, the
other day, "is a phenomenon remarka
ble only, tor its rarity. ' It is produced
by the same condition that gives us
rainbows, parhelia, paraselenae, sun
dogs and a number of other balos about
the sun and moon.
"All these are caused by light both
reflected and refracted by vesiculous
clouds - that is, clouds which carry
small particles of water. In these the
light Is separated as in a prism, the
white rays of the sun or moon coming
forth in bars showing all the colors of
the spectrum. That is refraction. If
this Is then reflected upon the earth, It
Is visible to us. We then see the vari
ous phenomena I have mentioned.
"The common sun ring, or halo, Is at
a distance of 22 degrees. There Is an
other, less common, at a distance of 46
degrees. The third, very rare indeed,
at a distance of 90 degrees, is that first
accurately described by Hevelius about
the time of Galilei, though observed
previously. This has been seen since
its description only seven times until
the recent observation of the Rev. Fred
erick Odenbach of St. Ignatius' college
in Cleveland, i
"Though this observation has not yet
been reported officially, I have no doubt
It was substantially correct 41s related
in the press dispatches. The r.lmospher-
lc conditions over the country are now
In a state calculated to exhibit such
phenomena. This great halo may not
be seen agpin in hundreds of years, or
it might possibly appear every day fo
a week." t
MOVING SIDEWALK URGED.
i
Novel Unerflrronnd System Snn-arest-ed
to Relieve Pari Streets.
A novel plan to relieve the congested
condition of Paris streets has just been
submitted at a meeting of prominent
engineers which was held to discuns
further improvements in public trans
portation. M. Cassalonga, a well known
civil engineer, suggested that an under
ground moving sidewalk similar to that
at the Paris exposition of 1900, but
much larger, be constructed. Accord
ing to his plan, there would be four
platforms,, each moving at a different
rate of speed from the others, the fast
est going at the rate of thirteen miles
an hour. - ; ' ' ;' ' " M
M. Cassalonga convinced bis hearers
that such a scheme would be cheaper
than an electric underground railway
and that It would multiply greatly the
accommodation of the public. He said
to the Paris correspondent of the Chi
cago Dally News: v
"Part of the platform might be given
up to the use of heavy teams, the city
thus gaining both from an aesthetic
and a pecuniary point of view, since
the paving department would save
hundreds of thousands of francs annu
ally by the reduction, of wear on the
street surfaces. I am sure also that the
public, would prefer the rolling side
walk to stuffy cars, not to mention the
elimination of danger from collision'
Plans and estimates of the curious
undertaking were submitted recently
to the traction committee of the mu
nicipal council, members of which re
ported that they were vastly attracted
by the idea, provided electric power for
It would not prove too costly.
NATIONAL 0WUEESHIP SUGGESTED
Tleo President of the Santa Fe Sys
. tern, la a Lecture at Chicago I'nl
ersrty, Favored the Consolidation
ot All ; Iilnes In the United States.
, Plea. For .Pooling-, j ,
Consolidation of all the railway lines
of the country under the control of a
single cdrp oration," either private or
public, was advanced by Vice Presi
dent Paul ' Morton of the Santa Fe
system the other evening as the ulti
mate solution of the weighty trans
portation problems that are at present
vexing the business world.
This, Mr. Morton declared, is the re
sult toward which the large railway
systems driven by the legal restric
tions' on pooling, which work against
their business interests, are now rap
idly tending. . ; ' 5 '
' He Imparted these, views on the sub
ject In a lecture on "Some Railway
Problems," delivered before the stu
dents and faculty' of the University of
Chicago In Cobb hall; Chicago, says
the New York Journal.
Whether the ownership of the. con
solidated lines would . remain in " the
hands of private individuals or betak
en' over-by the national government
Mr. Morton expressed; himself as un
able to foretell, but-that consolidation
itself was bound to come in the near
future he stated as certain from pres
ent conditions in the railway world
and the underlying tendencies of mod
ern industrial progress.
"The best minds of the business
world are engaged today," said Mr.
Morton, "in working out plans for the
further consolidation of industrial op
erations under great corporations. The
same tendency is at work in the rail
way world.
"Under the present laws 'there is a
great deal of unlawful pooling done In
secret, and it 'is remarkable that there
is not more.
"I see only three . solutions to the
problems which are at present vexing
the railroad world. These are:
"First. Legalizing of legitimate pool
ing. , , ...
"Second. Unification of ownership of
all the railway systems..
"Third. Government, ownership and
management. . .. . . .,."..,
. "I .have., always been In favor , of le
gitimate pooling. . Its absence, as I say.
is at present hastening the consolida
tion of Interests between' the different
railroads. Personally I view the solu
tion of unity of ownership as much bet
ter than legalized pooling, and I do not
see' any, harm that would ensue from
a consolidation 'of all' the railway in
terests of the country under a single
private management.
"A vast amount of money could be
saved "under such a system of control,
and the railroad management would
certainly give a part of this gain to the
public in the shape of lower rates and
better service."
SURPRISED BY BOLOMEN.
Bow Unarmed American Soldiers
Defeated a Number of Filipinos. ,
Interesting details are drifting in of
the bravery of the soldiers surprised
and massacred at Balangiga, writes
the Manila correspondent of the New
York Evening Post. Prodigies of valor
were performed by some of the men,
armed with table knives, stones, clubs
or other rude weapons. A hospital
corps man is credited with killing elev
en natives with a shovel, while anoth
er man beat out the brains of four
bolomen with a baseball bat before he
went down. . A sergeant of Company
C and six men fought their way to the
headquarters building to rescue the
officers if possible. The officers were
all dead; but , the little squad held its
ground until it had hauled down and
saved the flag, when it fought its way
back to the beach and sailed away.
One explanation, of , how so. many
men with bolos could be so near the
quarters of the troops is that between
100 and 200 - natives were employed
to clear the surrounding grounds'.
These men were furnished by the pres
idents of the village, and they were
permitted to carry their bolos, as part
of their work was the cutting of un
derbrush. These were the men who,
on a preconcerted signal, threw them
selves on the unarmed soldiers.
BIG RAILWAY STATION HOTEL
. Ibsen and His Work.
A Norwegian recently arrived in
New York tells this, says the New
York Times: v- . '" v ,
Henrik Ibsen,, the Norwegian dram
atist, was one day at dinner asked
by a pushing maid how . many words
he wrote per day.. Replied he:
"My dear miss, I haven't written -a
single word In ten years!" r
' Of course bis questioner and those
who happened tp overhear the conver
sation 1 were fairly startled. One of
the party was bold enough to say it
was incredible, drawing especial at
tention to .the fact that the poet's
work, "When We Dead Awake," had
Just run . off the press, adding trium
phantly. - ''-v .
"Now, master, you don't mean to say
you dldn,'t write that f
And then the Norse skeptic unbent
and explained:
: "I did not write that play, I merely
thought it out. My secretary wrote
it." : - .
A Novelty In Foods.
One of the newest things in the way
of foods . Is fish powder, which, it Is
claimed, Is a highly nutritious article,
easy , of digestion, and therefore par
ticularly suitable for Invalids, It Is
Intended for ordinary, household use.
There Will , Be One In New , York's
New Pennsylvania Depot.
In addition to being a novelty,
through Its possession of underground
trackage, the projected union ; station
of the Pennsylvania Railroad company
will be the first building of it kind in
or around New York to bold a hotel,
says the New York Herald,
It will be on the west or Eighth ave
nue side of the big station The great
structure will . be live and one-half
stories above ground. , There will be
two stories below ground, leading to
and providing for the tracks. A pas
senger entering the building on the east
side will walk down a. long incline to
the first story, eighteen feet under
ground. h.'V.-:::;:-:-
' Ticket offices and waiting rooms will
probably be placed on the ground floor,
but some of the ticket' offices are exi
pected td be on the underground floor.
On that floor will be a wide gallery
overlooking rthe tracks. ; From it pas
sengers will descend sixteen ' feet by
stairways to the train platforms. Pro
vision Is to be made for carriage drives
down to the level of the long gallery
over the. tracks. ' ,rV ; ,
The Long Island road will occupy the
north half of the station and the Penn
sylvania the south section. A simple
switching arrangement provides for the
receipt of -trains on th outside
tunnels and their dispatch , by . the
Thirty-second street lines. The Thirty-second
and Thirty-first street tubes
can be used for direct traffic? such as
through trains to Long 'Island points
from Philadelphia or places farther
west and for through trains from cities
south of New York for New England
points. : - ' v .'v
Two express trains that are the pride
of the Pennsylvania road the Federal
and the Colonial which run from Bos
ton to Washington and vice versa with
out change, will undoubtedly go
through this tunnel when the flew Hell
Gate bridge is completed and connec
tion established by it between (the Long
Island and the New York, New Haven
and Hartford roads. These trains are
now ferried around New York and
make no stop in that city.
NEW MEXICANS FOOLED.
8w ."Gamble" Over- ti Senator'
Door and Wanted a Game.
Down iii the .basement of the capitol
at Washington there Is a, row of com
mittee rooms used by: members of the
senate and house whocannot get bet
ter ones up stairs. ., Over the door of
each room is. painted the, name of the
occupactr Senator ' Gamble of North
Dakota, while waiting for the senate
painter to prepare him a, sign, printed
the word "Gamble" insprawly capi
tal letters . on 4 a large sheet of paper
and pasted it on the frosted glass door.
Three visitors from f(flew Mexico
wandered . past i4 the t other .afternoon
reading the signs on .the, doors, says the
New York World. When, ..they came to
Senator Gamble's room, i with Jts pa
per sign, one of them nudged another
and said, "Let's go in and look her
over" . They ; opened .. the door and
walked In, to the astonishment of a
mild mannered young man at work at
a typewriter. The three New Mexi
cans stood, together near the door and
looked around. -Finally one of tbem
said, "Where's it?" : r
"Where's what?" asked the young
man at the typewriter.
"Why, the layout or , the wheel?
What's the game, and how much is a
stack?"
"I don't understand you," said the
young man at the typewriter.
"Aw, that s all right." said one of the
party. "We're all right too. Open up.
and we'll take a chance." ,
By this time the young man was be
ginning tp think the visitors were cra
zy. He protested that he did not know
what the New Mexicans meant, and
they, after a whispered conversation,
stalked out Into the hall."
"Guess our game ain't good enough
for him," was the only comment made.
"But It says 'Gamble' on the sign, sure
enough." ' " ; , . ' " ;
BABY QUENTIN DISSATISFIED
Yoana-est Roosevelt Lonn-s For the
Freedom of His Old Home.
Quentln, the youngest son of Presi
dent Roosevelt,. Is the only member of
the family who can boast the Capital
City as a birthplace. He was born Just
prior to the Spanish-American war at
1735 N street. Washington, while his
father was organising the rougb riders.
He often wears a little rough rider's
uniform, and the attendants of the
White House must maneuver through
all drills whenever the infant warrior
takes a notion. J
Quentln does not think much of
Washington as a plae V of residence,
says the New York World. The lother
day , he desired to jrark through' the
nower beds'bn, stilts. ',Hls. father told
blin tbatUhe gardener objected.: .The
youngster answered: ;
"t don't see ! what good it does. for
yon to "be president. Tbere are so many
things we can't do here.-1 wish I was
home again.", ' , v .; ? zl ,
. ...New Species '. of'Otter. J, , T,. '
Way down In Soutb America.' from
Guiana to Argentina, there has been
discovered the arifanha, recognized, a
the largest species of the otter. ' It
grows -to -a length of five feet The
oddest thing about it Is that its skin
seems( to be much too large for . Its
body.ays the Philadelphia Times. In
liveliness it surpasses even the playful
seal. Aa ariranha has been tamed and
has a bound for Its playfellow. At a
certain hour the eaptive goes to the
door of its cage and there whines and
yells until turned loose in the garden,
where it rushes around, barking joy
ously. It deftly eatches the fish thrown
to it and skillfully prevents the dog
from appropriating any of the food. . "
FUTURE OF OKLAHOMA
DeTelopment of the Territory
Discussed by Delegate Flynn.
TBAINS CROWDED WITH SETTLERS
Enormous Influx, of Immlajratlon Is
. Making the Great ' Sonthwest Rich
' In Capital and ResonrceoPeoplo
Happy and Frosperons, bnt Want
to Come Into the Union. - -
; Delegate Dennis T. Flynn is enthusi
astic over the growth and prosperity of
Oklahoma. In conversation v with the
St. Louis Globe-Democrat's Washington
correspondent he discussed tbe develop
ment of the territory enthusiastically.
He said; "There was never such ft
steady flow of good people with money
Into any new possession of this country
as has been and is today converging
into Oklahoma, and the peoplt of the
east have no conception of it ; ' -
. "If you don't believe it, try to get ft
seat in a Pullman car going through
tbe territory. Tbey are as crowded aa
the day coaches.; It . is Impossible for
the average passenger at a way station
to get a seat on any train in the terri
tory, so great is the multitude of peo
ple . traveling. It is estimated that,'
aside from the rush of settlers, 20,000
people from, the two states of Iowa
and Illinois alone have come to us and
bought farms inside of two years. Not
withstanding that, where the main lines
formerly operated one through train
each way a day three are now run to
meet these conditions of Immense pas
senger, traffic. '
"And what do. you think of this:
Many of the farms that were given to
settlers as free homesteads only, two
years ago are now selling for $10,000
each. There is something doing s out
with us.
"Oklahoma has a territorial extent
nearly as large as that of the' great
state of Ohio. It has a population of
half a million. It has an assessed valu
ation of taxable property of $300,000,
000. It has the largest native born pop
ulation of any state or' territory in the
Union. We boast of the largest and
best public school system of any state
admitted within recent years. Our cli
mate is unsurpassed, and we can raise
corn, wheat, oats, cotton, peanuts, rye,
sweet potatoes and other agricultural
products on the same piece of land,
which Is a good combination to play to
for a farmer.' ".. -.
"The opening of the new lands under
the wise and able administration ' of
Secretary Hitchcock has added fully
100,000 new people to our population.
The manner of opening these new lands
was an. entire change from all prece
dents since the government was organ
ized and has redounded not only bene
ficially to the people of the territory,
but to the administration as well ;
"Oklahoma has more state and na
tional banks and more money on de
posit in them than any other agricul
tural section in the country. Brick and
frame bouses are being erected faster
than the material can be supplied. The
people are not only prosperous, but are
happy. They only ask now - for one
right to which , they are entitled, and
that is statehood. We raised a surplus
of SO.000,000 bushels of wheat last
year, and the total crop was 40,000,000
bushels. We wear smiles with our good
clothes. The various industries and oc
cupations are all -thriving and, while
there has been a short cotton and corn
crop by reason of the drought, an abun
dance of other l crops and great com
mercial activity have prevented any
stringency in financial matters.
"When . we come into the Union, we
will come in with colors flying. Okla
homa raises the finest staple cotton,
only being surpassed by that of the
south sea islands. More miles of rail
road have been and are being con
structed there .during the past two
years than in any other part of the
country. The territory is fairly being
gridlroned by the old trunk lines as
well as by new companies who want
our traffic. The fruit crop, of which
little is said, is one of the best. The
Jobbers are now using our peaches to
compete . with, the best' California
brands. The prospect of the next
wheat crop is very promising, and
thousands of cattle' are being wintered
on the wheat lands'. The opening of the
Kiowa and Comanche country has giv
en great impetus to the development
of these rich lands, and oil and gas
have already been discovered.
"I shall advocate that all future
lands shall be opened to settlement in
the same manner as were the last
lands opened. Under the present man
agement by the interior department
tb -settlers are guaranteed freedom
from blackmail and contest, while the
counties are guaranteed freedom from
Indebtedness by the sale of lots in the
county seat towns and the proceeds
used for Improvements.
"Just think: of three county. seats
containing - 320- acres in what was a
wilderness on the 6th of August last
bringing within twenty days thereafter
about $7J50,0o6 from the sale of lots,
the money to be expended for improve
ments In the counties In which they
are located. ,- And we still have, several
Indian reservations of several million
acres of public lands, which can be
entered in 160 acre tracts under the
homestead law,
"Our people have the greatest per
sonal admiration for President Roose
velt, as they think he Is a man of
great courage and ability, and," con
cluded Mr. Flynn as be disappeared
within the door of the committee room,
"when he signs the bill this winter
making Oklahoma a state,, wo will
love him all the more."
Several Japanese women barbers are
employed la Honolulu,
WONDERFUL CAVE FOUND.
Marvels of a Frehlstorio trwellles;
Plaee In the Rookies,
A new cave that gives promise of
developing into the moat wonderful of
its kind in the known world has bin
discovered, In the. mountains about
forty-eight miles east of Butte, Men.,
in Jefferson canyon, says the St. Louis
G lobe-Democrat. Its extent is as yet
unknown, though It has been explored
for a. distance- of ten miles and to a
depth of about S00 fett Thev entrance
to .the cave, which Is near the track of
the Northern Pacific railway, and abaut
1,600 feet above tbe bed of the river,
was discovered ft few weeks ago by ft
hunter, and the cavern has just ben
explored by ft party beaded by J. W.
Gilbert, a newspaper writer of Butte.
Mr, Gilbert returned , recently with
evidence of his . discoveries and tbe
wonders of the cave. Several skele
tons were found In one of the many
rooms, and many articles and utensils
of stone and copper were lying about,
some of which have been brought out
The skeletons are of people of gigantic
stature, and the belief of Mr. Gilbert
Is that the cave was tbe abode of a
prehistoric people and that further ex
planation win bring , to Wght proof of
that fact and more remains of its in
habitants.'::.,: r f '"Vii.': f
A theory is that by a sudden change
and disturbance of the earth , tbe en
trance to the ancient home , was closed
and the inhabitants walled up and
left to diel A .large river, with a fall
of, 100 feet at one place. Is one of the
wonders of the cave, and. a' score of
apartments, some hundreds of feet in
extent, are decorated with the wonder
ful formations of nature, r One room
resembles the Interior of a cathedral,
with a gigantic pipe organ, the pipes
being formed of stalactites tuned by
nature to give forth beautiful noten of
harmony. A member of the exploring
party; by striking the , pipes with a
stick, played "Nearer, My God, to
Thee," and the explorers declare it was
the grandest music ever heard.'
Access to the cave Is very difficult,
as a direct descent of 400 feet is nec
essary before any footing can be se
cured. Another party will shortly visit
the cave fully equipped for a thorough
exploration. . 1
HEATING THE WHITE HOUSE
Open Fireplaces Made t?se of by the
,: President.- ...
With a thought to solid comfort the
architects of ' the White House planned
an open fireplace for ; almost every
room in the house, but 'not since the
furnaces were put in years ago have
they been generally used until the ad
vent of President Roosevelt and his
family, writes tbe Washington corre
spondent of the Philadelphia Press.
Mrs. Roosevelt always has open fires
in tbe rooms in which she received her
guests, on reception days. , - . J '.. .
The president and, In fact, tbe entire
family use the'library more' than has
any president's family in many years,
and an open fire glows on the hearth
all the time. Each of tbe other li ving
rooms have open grates, and they are
kept In use most of the time. In the
executive part of the White House the
open fires also are used, and nothing
so accentuates the southern air of the
White House as the carrying of coal
In huge scuttles from room to room to
replenish the fires. A
It is a matter of unceasing interest
to the northern bred children of tbe
president to watch the firemen keep
the fires going. They Sire planning
great times for Christmas, when corn
popping over the bright coals will be
one of their amusements.
NEGRO WORLD'S FAIR.
Company Has Been Ora-anlaed and
Cities Are Asked to Bid. .
The Negro World's Fair company
has been organized, the plan beiag to
hold the fair some time In 1004, and
cities throughout the country are be
ing asked to bid for it, says a dispatch
from Savannah to the New York Trib
une. The Rev. H. N. Newsome of
Opelika, Ala., Is president ' of the or
ganization that purposes to hold a
mammoth fair for the, amusement and
enlightenment of the colored race. lie
has urged the Savannah city council to
make an offer to secure the fahv"
The north, east, south and wetit are
already represented In the company.
The promoters say that the fair will
attract persons from the four corners
of the globe ind are enthusiastic for
the undertaking. '
For Nnrslna- Tramp, : 5,000.
George Adams, a miner living at
Shaner, near McKeesport, Pa., ten
years go was summoned to his door
one cold night, A stranger was there
almost famished from hunger and cold.
Adams gave him food and a bed. In
the morning the stranger was too ill to
proceed on his way.. Adams and his
wife nursed bim for two weeks. .After
he recovered the stranger, who gave
bis name as David' Craig, left. Adams
has just received a letter, according to
the New York World, from a lawyer In
Denver saying that Craig,; who had
died In that city, had left $5,000 in his
will to Adams and his wife.
. The Loac Ynletlde. '
Whrs ipend ye the eve ot the Holy One'n birth,
Oh, child who bt wtadertd wy from my
hesrthT - , . ' V ;
The Joy of the ChrUtmaatide fllla til the earth;
Where pasi y the Yule of the yeert :
There stuAa a lone flr In the Held of the dead.
Bedecked with froet tinsel beside thy white bed;
For candies the glint of the ctara overhead.
But still is thy chamber and drear.
ft ens sf yea afar could bnt guide me to thee,
Td follow its beam to the ittermt sea; :
rd hang thee my gifts on aome paradise (xee
M death would but let me anear.
O mother of Christ, by the lowe that ye bore
The. Bethlehem babe, by the Christ ye adsre, ,;
Oh, And ye my motherless child. I implore, :,
ad give bar thy love's Christmas cheer.
-aarpera Weekly.
HEW ELECTRIC DEVICE
Present Street Railway Systems
May Be Revolutionized by It.
DOES ' AW AT WITH TE0LLEYS,
Cost of Constrnctton Is JUweh ; Less
Than , the Troller or Third Rail
retona The Current Is lader-gresad-No
Danger of Live Wires
Froia It. "'
A nw system of operating, electrio
'street railways, which promises o rev
oiutlonize the business and do awaj
With the dangerous and unsightly trol.
ley wires and poles, has been Invented
by an electrician of Milbury, Mass.,
says a Boston dispatch to the St. Louli
Globe-Democrat It consists of a row
of square Iron boxes Imbedded in thi
street between the tracks and fed by an
underground current, ingeniously cu1
off wten not In use and tbe power tak
en up by a shoe on the car. The boxes
may be placed at a distance of ten feet,
if desired, and It has been illustrated
tbat tliere is no danger to horse or man
In crossing or coming in contact with
them.; ; ."'V"'' - :
, For several months experiments have
been going on in the vicinity of the cat
barns of the Milbury and Blackstone
electric road in Milbury, where a long
piece , of track has been laid and an
equipment of Iron boxes placed between
the rails, surrounded with half a dozen
kinds of paving and street construction
materials. No one was let into the de
tails of the affair until the other day,
owing to. the fact that all the patents
applied for had not been . granted.
Scoren of street railway men and elec
tricians have thoroughly investigated
the system while it has been in opera
tion. ; In every test made It has proved
its success, and all the railway men
have been convinced upon investiga
tion that the new system of under
ground power is a marvel of inventive
genius and certain to revolutionize
street railroading..
Instead of feeding the current
through overhead wires this system
feeds It through an underground wire
into a cast Iron box, which is covered
with manganese steel, insulated there
from. Oie end of this cover Is slightly
elevated and rounded, but when set
into the pavement is in no way an Im
pediment to travel. Within this box Is
a sh!et of copper, imbedded in a slate
backing at one end of the box. In the
center of the box and extending toward
the opposite end bent at right angles
and inserted Into a pressed steel arma
ture rests a solid block of insulation.
The top of the armature lies within an
inch or so below the underside of th
cover of the box. 1
Underneath the car a long shoe Is
strung, ta, which is attached at regulai
Intervals, In pairs, magnets "wound ' f oi
6(IB volts. Attached to the shoe art
plates of nonmagnetic steel which art
movable and used as tbe contact shot
and susceptible to nnevenness or rise
and fall necessary to always come in
contuct with the boxes. When the cur
rent Is on, the armature In the box is
drawn up in contact with the cover ol
the box in such a way as to make s
contact and with a sufficient , surface
to aSlow the carrying of 300 or more
amperes, If required, into the motor ol
the car. r
When a car is immediately over and
the shoe is In contact with the pro
jecting part of tbe box, the boxes and
shoe are then alive, but as soon as the
car passes from over said point the
armature yields and drops by gravity
to its normal condition, resting upon
the block of insulation.
The cost of the construction depends
entirely upon the number of boxes and
amount of feed wire used to the mile.
The road now 4n operation in Milbury
is constructed with a car shoe 21 feel
long and with the boxes 10 feet apart
In large cities, however, it Is thoughl
that it would be more practicable to
hav the boxes within 5 or 6 feet and
use a shoe of 8 or 10 feet. , The cost oi
construction is much les3 than the trol
ley system or even the third rail sys
tem, and there is less danger, as the
boxes througb which the power is de.
rived are alive only when a car is ovel
them. 7 ,. " ' ' . ' '
One of the tests made was to set the
brakes on a car containing thirty pas
sengers and then apply the power, and
to the surprise of the electricians and
railroad men who were present tbe cat
moved off with ease. It has been dem
onstrated that a car can be run up a
grade of 5 per cent with 100 passen
gers when all the brakes an; set, which
Is considered a remarkable test of tbe
strength of current supplied through
the boxes on tbe ground. ;
Honse Under the ICarth.'
Y
. An - Interesting discovery '.. has . been
made ontbeestate of the Marquis ol
Zetland, lot Orkney, says j be London
Express. Workmen came across s
subterranean - house about thirty-sii
feet long, -and further .explorations
brdught to light several signs of habita
tions;, including the remains of ruined
walls, the' bones of sheep. Oxen, boars,
fish and whales, deer horns stone tres
tleib, pottery, and charcoaL toge'fbei
with some implements fashioned from
bones.: The most remarkable t feature
In 'the bulldtng Is that the roofing ii
supported by four massive pillars, eaci
consisting of a water worn stone plac
ed on end, - k
... , x . "
Flow to Qnarrel With a Kewipapen
"Never quarrel with a newspaper,"
saj's Isidor Rayner, Rear Admiral
Schley's lawyer, "unless you own one
yourself."
; ...:: 'v . A Breadwinner,
Friend Jove, your office Is as hot ai
an oven.
lawyer It ought to be; 1 make mj
bnmd here-Detrolt Free Press. .
