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About The Loup City northwestern. (Loup City, Neb.) 189?-1917 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 23, 1908)
Br"CA/?M£N ciYLV/A' Q/J££A/ or WUmN/A WUU'I HUf n.ini-L—TV*K,, J f I T < Some years ago a young man who had just {finished his period of con scription entered my service. He was a capable stenographer, and had com mand of several languages. 1 had en gaged him that he might lighten } somewhat the arduousness of my i work by copying manuscripts for publication, but principally that 1 ! might intrust to him the manage ment of many minor matters. Ver? soon cruel Fate struck him blow after blow. The death of his i first child, then of his wife, and finally of his mother—one loss suc ceeding another with sad swiftness— overwhelmed him with grief and de spair. I have always found that in great sorrow work is the supreme al leviator. I decided that if I could give him work up to the limits of his physical endurance I should make it possible for him to support his af flictions and sustain him in his soli tude. Just then I heard of Nowak's in vention for the blind, and I had same of his machines procured. 1 had for a long time sought to aid the blind in tny own and other countries in a manner that others had not till then attempted. 1 had found that those who instructed the blind demanded not enough of brain work and too much manual labor, which deprived their hands of that fineness of touch which helps them to perform the functions of eyes for those bereft of their visual organs. The machine did not justify its rei> utation, and 1 had another sent from America, a very heavy and expensive printing machine, which cost almost £120. and the manipulation of which was so fatiguing that a vigorous yooti' could not operate it for longer .than three hours each day. We bad established an asylum for the aged. As 1 traversed its passages, whence opened little rooms where the patients were already installed two in a room, I passed a youth wearing dark spectacles and with the gait of a bllw} man. I asked about him. He was blind. "But." I replied, he is still young." My remark suggested that he ought to work, and that a home for the aged wa» not his proper place. I was told that the youth had been a typographer iD a newspaper office, earning about £8 a month even when his sight had begun to fail, and be had finally become blind. But his employer died, and the youth, who was married, was driven to beg ging. Charity is not always wise. Some charitable ladies, thinking to ! succor him. parted him from his wife, and placed him with one of the aged inmates. it 1 cannot see iar, uoa nas p:aceu In my heart eyes that can see at once when prompt help is needed. “When 1 had returned home I hade Monske hasten with all speed and hire a small house, where he was to install Theodoresco and his wife. The blind man began at once to 1 make proofs of the pages which Monske then printed, and they -worked in harmony in a little garret in my residence. Again Theodoresco earned his bread and lived happily with his arrfiable young wife, thank ing God daily for his fortune. In the Sommer we went to Sinaia, while The odoresco was sent to the waters, as he suffered from muscular atrophy, probably caused by lead poisoning, to which typographers are subject. Soon after our return Monske came to me. *T think that Theodoresco has discov ered something." And he 'explained that his blind friend had passed the -■summer months in trying to invent a better printing machine than that he was using. He had decided that the Braille Characters made upon i»per could he mounted on a paper cylinder an such a manner that to take fur ther impressions was easy. Only a practical typographer would have solved the problem thus. Monske worked day and night, making experiments upon paper, upon card, upon wood, and Snallv. upon metal, until the invention owed noth ing to Theodoresco except the first , divine inspiration. We patented the machine in the principal countries of the world Monske worked incessantly. Christ mas, 1906, he presented me with a dainty little model, but when 1 worked ■with it it revealed some few defects. He set himself to work again, and at last produced the present pattern, so incredibly simple that my comment was ’The egg of Columbus.” A man completely blind is now able to print 5.000 sheets every day without fatigue, and soon the blind will have as many books as they can desire. This then will come to pass! We shail be able to impart to the blind a high culture, and .shall profit by their teaching. They will be de barred only from studies demanding the use of the microscope and the telescope, but in the empire of thought they shall be kings, because they will be free from distraction. Monske and I developed our plans after prolonged consultations. I asked our first oculist how many blind peo ple were in Roumania, and when he informed me that there were 20,000 I was astonished. We soon became conscious that it was impossible to proceed as in other countries. In my native town of Xeuwied is situated the blind asylum for the province. It contains only 70 inmates, and it cost £25,000 in round figures. But here we had absolutely no money, only the knowledge that we had a valuable commercial asset in the machine. Neither Theodoresco nor Monske wished to make any personal profit, although their patents might have brought to them enormous wealth. We decided to deliver the machines at extremely reasonable prices, re taining only a small profit for the cause of our blind. Business began during October, 1906. We couid have made deliveries much sooner if we had gone to foreign manufacturers; tint to this 1 would not agree, as 1 wished the money to remain in the country. Thus we had to practice the virtue of patience, but the call of the blind was impatient. Just at this time our exhibition was opened; and we had an exhibit, mounting both an old machine and a new one, and hav ing both manipulated by blind opera tors, thereby showing to the world the superiority of our invention. I have never felt within me a sen sation of greater pride than when I wrote upon one panel of wood "Print ing Machine for the Blind—old Amer ican System" and upon another: "New Invention by the Roumanian Theodoresco.” Monske refused abso lutely to take any credit to himself. His sole desire was that to Rou mania should come the glory of the invention and that the name of a Roumanian should be pronounced blessed by the world. And when the article had been exposed to public in spection, offers flowed in like a swol len torrent. In a short time our cap ital, was £3,200, but what was this when we had to consider 20,000 blind? Our plan developed. \\e deter mined to found a colony of the blind, a city of the blind, where both those with and without sight might dwell together, for the greater number of the blind were married, or wished to be. They should come to us with wives and children, and we should form a hive of industry. We had already 21 fathers of families, remuneratively employed in chair making. Formerly they begged, now they sang as they worked. A lady presented me with a field of 50 acres, and we laid this out as a garden. We built all around it small cottages, and had for all a common kitchen, so that the women might be free to work without burdening the blind husbands with the care of the families. We started many indus tries—a rope and twine making de partment. a brush factory, a shot foundry, and others which are suited for blind operatives. We established a school, presided over by blind mas ters. We taught music, one of the blind teachers being an expert violin ist, and he mastered the piano so as to convey instruction in that instru ment also. Our city of the blind promises to be bright and its inhabitants happy; iue.nce 1 ’ have christened it "Vatra Luminpasa,” the Home of Light. j "_ Women love dress because they en joy the admiration of men and the chagrin of other women. I THE PROFjfcR STORAGE OF THE CORN CROP Building Should Facilitate Curing, and Be Arranged to Minimize Work of Unloading and Loading— By Prof, C. P. Hartley. There was a time in the history of the corn-producing belt when rail pens were about the only available means of storing the corn crop. Much to the discredit of some corn growers this method of storing is still in vogue, even in sections where good means of storage could be afforded at little ex pense. It is no uncommon sight to see rail pen after rail pen filled with ears of corn and without any cover, ex posed to ali the rains and snows of winter, and these in sections of the country that produce the most corn and are consequently most interested in higher-priced corn. This corn re mains in apparently good condition r the market price of corn insist that the price be influenced in proportion to the moisture content of the com. In addition to affording thorough ventilation to the stored grain and protection from driving rains, the cribs should be constructed in such a manner that they can be filled and emptied with the least possible labor. For level ground, double cribs with an elevated driveway and approaches that will enable the loads to be driven through the cribs and dumped or scooped out of the wagons without any high pitching are very satisfac tory, A crib of this kind which is filled and emptied from the central 1 —--—-—--—- —— — Double Cribs Arranged fcr Both Loading and Unloading from a Central ; Driveway. The Eaves Should Extend Farther Over the Sides. tjuiiiiu iuiu wtauifi ami is usu ally placed upon the market in early spring. Filled with water, it is not long after it is leaded into hox cars or vessels until it heats and spoils. The installation ol' elevators where such corn can be kiln dried has been brought about by this poor manner of storing the corn crop. There is now a general prejudice against kiln-dried corn resulting from the fact that kiln drying was first employed and is at present employed to a very large ex tent to prevent further heating and fermentation of corn that was not al lowed to dry properly or was poorly stored before being placed upon the market. This state of affairs, which results from allowing the corn to re ui Jtcna.t is* suu«» in vji lustrations. This arrangement puts the laborers under shefter while filling the wagons in removing the crop from the crib, but it necessitates somewhat high pitching of the corn in unloading the wagons. On sloping ground equal ly convenient cribs can be constructed at less expense by extending the crib in such a manner that it can he filled from the upper side and emptied from the lower side. This is a very convenient arrangement, and if the slope of the hill is considerable a driveway can be made below the crib so that with properly constructed chutes the ears can be allowed to roll into the wagons, avoiding the labor of scooping. Such a sidehill crib is .. . * - ^ - I |-- " - . ■■ ••-<-*• -• • . - ■■.-• - , • • . Convenient Side-Hill Crib—Easily Filled from Upper Side and Very Easily Emptied from Lower Side. main wet during ninte: and necessi tates the removal of the water by ex pensive means, keeps the price of corn lower than il would be if the corn were allowed to dry in the fields and kept dr> until placed upon the market. Grain buyers would pay a better price if the general supply cf corn reached them in a condition that would insure its preservation without drying and the resulting shrinkage. Less than four per cent, of the corn crop of the United States is shipped from this country either as corn or as cornmeal, and there is in some of UK? Rail **en* Without Cover Sometimes Used for Storing Corn. the European countries a strong preju dice against American corn, due to the fact that much of it reaches these for eign countries in a condition untit for human food. It is clearly not profita ble to transport a low grade of corn such distances to be sold as poor food for stock. This state of affairs can be entirely overcome by allowing the corn to dry thoroughly in the field and then keeping it well stored until it is transported. The proper method of treating the corn crop can be quick ly brought into general practice if farmers, grain buyers, boards of trade, l shippers and all who have a voice in i shown herewith. As the sides should be left as open as possible to permit j of a pood eirculaton of air. it is quite necessary that the eaves extend well down over the sides of the crib so as . to protect the corn from driving rains 1 and snows. PROVIDE HOME GROWN FEEDS 1 i*y W. J. McSparrat, In addition to the fact that home grown feeds, that may be made to suc cessfully displace at least a portion of the purchased concentrates, are cheaper in cost than boughten ones, we have the recommendation always standing for them that they are nat ural feeds, and are, therefore, more nearly measurable to the natural needs of the animal than the feeds of commerce, that have been sub jected to the manipulation of the vari ous manufacturers, who, indeed, have given us merely by-products of widely variable values. Among all our experimenters and investigators, we have probably no more practical one than Dr. Voorhees of New Jersey. He says: •'Nature has provided in the whole grain good proportions of the pure nutrients, usually associated with the crude fiber in such a way as to make it a difficult matter to cause injury even from careless methods of feed ing, while the manufacturer, on the other hand, removes more or less oi one of these nutrients, which, there fore, disturbs the proportions of the constituents, and the resultant feed, decidedly unbalanced, must be used mere carefully and with other prod ucts, if equally good results are to be obtained.” FeMflner The first Americans never haunted feathers upon their heads with more extravagance than their fair successors have seen fit to this season. It would be futile to attempt to describe the endless variety of fancy feathers, but it is absolutely true that there is no description of feather decoration that is ignored. If it's a feather it has a chance of being worn. We are no longer content with a plume or two, or a modest bunch of aigrettes. Even the precious paradise and the rare goura are brave in full quantities, for those millionaires who can afford them. If this extravagance gees on one will have to sell a farm to buy a hat. To enumerate the feathers it is not necessary since all are used, but it is well to know that flufliness is theit general characteristic. The willow plume continues a favorite on big, high-class hats. Narrow uncurled plumes or wide quill effects are among the novelties that have pleased designers and resulted in many exquisite effects. Short piumes in wreaths and pompons are amoug the strongest cards in the hands of the trimmer. Wings are medium in size, shown in beautiful colorings, and. while nearly all "made" are very natural looking in contour, and smooth in arrangement of featT _-s. Long breasts of rich, dark colorings are forging ahead for use on the smaller shapes that are expected to make their appearance with cold weather. Pompon, cockade and "fountain” mountings are carried out with many different kinds of feathers, while fans and trailing sprays are arranged to com pletely trim a hat. Ostrich and other feathers in spiral mountings are best liked in the "fountain" mountings. Boa effects in marabout, coque, down and other feathers are quite popular. Quills are broad and beautifully colored, but not yet much in evidence on trimmed millinery. Willowy Back Now in Fashion’s Favor Paper doll days are over with Dame Fashion. We must have backs, and they must be things of beauty— that is. for the girl who wants to look stylish. A year or two ago it was a matter of choice whether or not one cultivated the Ethel Barrymore back, but there is no choice aoout the new back. We must get willowy. Women will all have to become contortionists if they keep getting new backs or fronts every year. Some say the cor set's the thing, but girls who have tried of laced into some of these new "no hips" affairs say it’s all a de lusion and a snare. The only way to get the new back is to grow thin. This new back goes in sharply at the waist line and the owner of it stands so straight that she seems to be bending over backward. Girls who have really acquired it say they did it by walking. One girl never takes a street car for any' place that she can reach by walking. Incidentally, it saves carfare. She started by being tired to death after a one-mile jaunt, but now she walks ten quite easily. Strange to say, although she -was rather a fat girl when she started in. instead of tightening her corsets for the "no hips” effect, she loosened them. “That's so my muscles can get a chance to work,” said she. The thin girls who have the back al ready are giving up corsets entirely. "We may as well be comfortable while it lasts," say they. The main point is to hold the chest high, the abdomen in and the shoulders flat as you walk. A good exercise to get the new back is taken on the floor. Lie perfectly flat on the back, with the arms extended directly out at the sides. Then with out changing the relative position ol the arms try sitting up straight. Af ter you’ve succeeded in doing it once which won’t be the first time you try get so that you can sit up several times in succession. This hardens the muscles of the abdomen and back anc gives the sharp curve at the waisi line, which every up-to-date girl is working for. A collar lining of taffeta should be cut so that the front part is on the straight of the material, and the curved part of the collar will ther come on the bias. When altering a blouse it is a mis take to move the shoulder seam to the front. A better plan is to let <t droi backward instead of forward. It is a good plan to bead steels oi whalebones at the waist line whei making a bodice before putting then into the casings, as the bodices wil then fit closer to the figure. In sewing a piece of material on the bias to a straight piece the former is apt to become stretched. To avoic this the bias should be placed un derneath, and it will then be sewn it evenly. Always make the neck of a bloust slightly smaller than the base of th< collar band, and in tacking it int< position it is an excellent plan to cu a few notches in the blouse so as t( avoid wrinkles when the collar is finally stitched on. Teaches Girls How to Look Their Best A certain eastern physical culture teacher is busy teaching girls how to walk, stand and manage their clothes. "I teach them how' to look their best." said she. "It is a hard job, for most of them come to me in the raw state, bad complexion and bad walk. "I get girls ready to be bridesmaids, and not long ago I prepared a young woman to be maid of honor at a wed ding. I taught her how to walk, how to stand, how to sit and how to stoop over. These things all come under the head of physical culture. "The training of the back is the most important of our tasks. There is a new carriage for the back, and I am teaching it to my society pupils. "I train the girls to be wedding guests. This means a proper manage ment of a train. The girl who wears a trained gown must be nimble with her heels. Of course, it is not con sidered polite to kick one s train. Yet this is exactly what a gir! is compelled to do. She must learn to kick it so that the kick is invisible, however. "For the woman who is going to adopt the new long skirt—a little longer than convenient walking length —there are some suggestions. If your skirt is very fashionable—two inches too long in front—practice walking with a glide. Touch the ball of your foot first, then gradually sink upon, your heels. This gives you the gliding carriage. One hand must slightly lift your gown in front. I teach my pupils how to handle their elbows. They must use them prettily and deliberate ly and they must learn to hold them easily." For Shirt Waists. There is nothing prettier for shirt waists than silk-faced poplin, for the goods can be neatly plaited, tucked and made into practically any dainty shirt waist from the plain tailored one to the dressy affair with lace or vel vet garniture. The whit.’ poplin has countless advantages. it sells for about 50 cents a yard, and possesses innumerable good qualities which make it valuable to the economical woman. The materia! washes beau tifully and may be ironed while per fectly dry and has a soft cashmere ap perance, or the beautiful tailored effect is produced in starching the goods. It launders as beautifully as fine white linen. Poplins of this kind may be purchased in various colors, though nothing quite takes the place of the white for shirt waists, and the madras effects with white figures are very dainty. New Millinery Fad. Among the many new fancies in mil linery are hats with velvet brims and soft silk crowns, which are usually trimmed with coq feathers. Another fancy is to cover a wire frame with pink taffeta ruchings, placed so close ly together that the effect is that of feathers. These are trimmed with a twist of velvet and a buckle and are very becoming.—The Housekeeper. A Manicuring Tip. If the hands are not good and the nails badly shaped, try to improve the latter by training the cuticle. Every ' night soak the fingers in hot water for five minutes. Then with an orange 1 wood stick press back the cuticle to lengthen the nails. Afterward rub «n 1 cold cream. Do not omit this or the soaking will make the cuticle very dry.