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About The Loup City northwestern. (Loup City, Neb.) 189?-1917 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 27, 1910)
dally, the greatest private telephone e* changes in tie world are those at the United States capitol, and in the most extensive go-ernment departments at Washington, as, for instance, the war and navy dei artir ents, and the depart ment of agriculture. Such an exchange covers hundreds of ’phones, and there is a “night service:’’ which enables com munication with all the more impor tant officials at their homes. The equipment of the more notable of these governmental exchanges is perfection itself. The switchboards, for instance, are of the illuminated type. That is. instead of the receipt of each call heing marked by the fall of a small metal tab —something that may easily be over looked by a 'hello girl”-—the summons for "central” to make a connection is given by the illumination of a small electric lamp—something that cannot readily escape notice. The switchboard of this type provides, of course, one THE TELEPHONE, tlotoh car or the U.S. oSSGJTAE CORPS r. >«'CLE SAM has been quick to adapt to his own uses all the notable inventions and innova tions of the age. The tele phone, wireless telegraphy, the automobile, the flying machine and all the other notable scien tific and mechanical advances of the generation have been pressed into service by the fed eral government as quickly or almost as quickly as spheres of usefulness have been opened to them in the commercial field. Of all the nineteenth and twen tieth century revolutionary cre ations, however, no one has come to have such dependency placed upon it by the national gov ernment as has the telephone. Certain it is that there would be occasion for universal sur prise were it possible to compile statistics that would show what proportion of the government business is now transacted by telephone. Every federal official, from the president to the most subordinate of the nation's public servants, has a telephone on his desk, and con siderations of time saving and monetary econ omy, to say nothing of the conveniences, impel the almost universal employment of the "in stantaneous” communicative system. It has, to a great extent, displaced the mails and tele graph Washington, our national capital, is ’ fam-ous as the "best telephoned city in the world,” and it is likewise known far and wide as the "City of Magnificent Distances”—two circumstances which combine to influence heavy dependency upon the telephone by the 30,000 federal employes at Uncle Sam’s head quarters. More than this, however, the execu tive branch of the government is coming to rely more and more upon the telephone for the transaction of official business between the seat of government and federal offices in oth er cities. Aside from this extension of long distance telephone operations, Uncle Sam, thoroughly abreast the times, is now conduct ing practical experiments with wireless tele phony. Perhaps the most convincing evidence that could be offered of the degree of dependency which Uncle Sam now places on the telephone is to be founa in the attention paid to the in stallation of telephone facilities in the new $50,000 office building recently completed for the use of President Taft and his business staff. Ever since the Spanish-American war the telephone room at the executive offices has been considered one of the most important features of this model business establishment, but the equipment of the reconstructed White House annex Is infinitely superior to the tele phone facilities In the- old structure, and is. In deed, probably the finest and most complete to be found in America—that, is the most notable that has been provided in any private resi dence or corporate business office, or else where than In the up-to-date telephone ex changes in our largest cities. The new telephone room at the White House adjoins, on one hand, the general staff room— the working quarters of the president’s clerks and stenographers—and, on the other hand, the office of the secretary to the president. Just beyond this is the presi dent's private office, so that the chief executive of his "right-hand man’’ can reach the telephonic nerve center with very lit tle trouble. The private branch exchange in the matter of switchboard and all the details of equip m e n t, represents the latest approved practice and the wiring of the of fice is thoroughly up-to date. By no means the least important feature of the telephone room is a specially designed tele phone booth, claimed to be the finest booth and the only one of its kind in the world. This is for the use of the president, when using the long distance telephone, and the structure is sound proof in the highest degree. In general appearance the president’s new telephone booth conforms very closely to the usual type of booth found in hotels, railroad stations and business houses all over the coun try To be sure, the oak wocd of which it is constructed has been specially selected for its beautiful grain and the plate glass in the door and windows is unusually heavy, but in gen eral appearance the booth conforms closely to prevailing standards. The distinctive charac teristics is the roominess of the interior. Not only will the booth accommodate satisfactor ily so bfg a man as President Taft, but there is ample space for a stenographer to sand beside the president’s chair inside the booth in case the executive should desire to have a memo randa taken down in shorthard as he received it over the telephone. There are also facilities whereby if desired, this booth can in warm weather, be connected with the novel air cool ing system which has been installed in the new White House offices for the purpose of making them habitable to a weighty president during the dog days. Through the medium of this telephone clear ing house—with an operator on duty night and day—the president has the entire official world at his ear. First of all, it serves as the ■'central” of the White House private telephone system. This system has 18 “inside stations” as they are known in technical jargon—that is, it controls a dozen and a half different tele phones distributed about the presidential man sion, the White House offices and the grounds and thereby linking the business offices, the living quarters, the kitchens, laundry, stable and garage, etc., etc., not forgetting the head quarters of the police froce of 32 men that guard the White House, and the members of which may be needed at some point quickly, to control a crow-d or remove a crank. Via the president’s private exchange his ’phone or any of the other 18 may be quickly connected to any of the thousands of ’phones—official and non-official—embraced in the public telephone system of the city of Washington. little incandescent light for each subscriber In the sys tem. The expense of such installation may be surmised however, from the fact that the switchboard of this pat tern recently placed in one of the governmental ex changes cost $5,000. Some few public men in Washington who do not wish to be bothered with business after office hours, have adopted the expedient of having secret or unlisted tele phones at their residences. Under this scheme the public man confides the number of his confidential 'phone to intimates or others whom he is willing to have call him up, but so far as the telephone directories show, he has no ’phone at his residence, and “central” is forbidden to connect persons who cannot give the confidential number that acts as a password. A possible disadvantage of th<s system was illustrated in the recent predicament of Senator Henry Cabot Lodge of Massachusetts, who. in en deavoring to call his own residence by 'phone, discovered that he had forgotten the number. After several unsuc cessful attempts at a solution of the difficulty, he was finally obliged to call up the White House and obtain his number from the operator in charge there, who, fortu nately, recognized the senator's voice. The United States arriv and navy have for some time past placed great dependence upon the telephone. Aside from the extensive use of the Invention at navy yards, the telephone has been emp’oyed universally for interior communication aboard our battleships, and the keynote of the new fire control system on the reconstructed battleships is found in the telephone installation which permits nuick communication between the officers at the top of the new fire control towers and the officers who are directing gunnery operations from protected stations in the heart of the ship The army similarly, has utilized the telephone for all sorts of communicative purposes at forts and military posts, probably the most important being its employment for communicating determinations of range from the fire control and batttle direction stations to the various bat teries. The army has also emploved the telephone for a variety of field operations, including experiments with the motor telephone and telegraph car of the United States Signal corps, and a particularly mobile system which has enabled the laying of telephone wires and com munication by telephone betwreen horsemen riding at a gallop in opposite directions. However, the higher circles of officialdom are by no means dependent upon the public service for their telephone facilities. They have a very ingenious system of their own. It is a secret network of wires, and, very natural ly, it is centered in the White House. Pri marily, this confidential telephone web consists of a special private telephone wire leading from the White House to each of the nine de partments of the government. The main pur pose of this is to enable the chief magistrate to at any moment consult with any of his nine cabinet officers without any danger of eaves dropping, but of course, should the president desire to communicate confidentially by ’phone with any subordinate in any of the depart ments, it is a simple matter to summon such individual to the secret ’phone, rather than to have him communicate with the White House via the regular telephonic channels. Equally important as arteries of quick com munication, are the two special telephone wires leading from the White House to the United States capitol. One of these lines leads into the great exchange at the big white-domed building, and through this “central” the presi dent can get connection with the private office of any senator or representative, or with the cloak rooms or other rendezvous of the law makers. The other line from the White House to the capitol is a strictly secret line. Not only does it not lead into the exchange at the capitol, but the terminal Is not accessible to any person save with the president’s sanction. It Is safe to say that there are men who have been in congress for years, who do not know of the existence of this secret line to the W’hite House, much less know the location of its terminal. However, the line serves a most important purpose, for it enables the president to at any time, confer with the vice-president or with any senator or representative—for in stance, the administration spokesman or floor leader—In absolute security as to the confiden tial character of the verbal exchanges. Not even a “hello girl” can overhear what is said. In number of connected telephones, and in point of the average number of calls handled Latterly both the army and the navy have taken up the wire'ess telephone. It may be re membered that during the round the world cruise of the battleship fleet, the wireless tele phone was employed extensive’y for communi cation between the various ships. Now the United States Army Signal corps Is taking up wireless telephony with long distance installa tions, with a view to determining the utility of the system for field service. With the in struments in use it is possible to communicate in an ordinary conversational tone for a dis tance of 15 to 20 mites. The army experi ments are designed especially to develop ap paratus that will combine compactness and lightness. VIEW OF SELF-SACRIFICE A question which frequently arises in so cial relations is to what extent should one sac rifice one’s self to oblige one’s friends. More than half the social pleasures entail a sacri fice on somebody’s part. Money has to be spared that can ill be afforded, people whom one doesn't like have to be met and health has to be disregarded in order to keep an en gagement. The life of the average woman seems to de mand of each successive day just a little more of her time and consequently of his vitality, and when she adds to her own burdens those of other people, by filling in a place at the last moment, or by doing any one of the mul titudinous other little things that oblige so cially, she is on the road to destruction and had better learn to say “No” before she has to go to a sanatorium. Every social leader has on her list some of these tried and true mortals whom she can coax into working over time. For this reason her dinners are never clouded by a vacant place; her entertainments are always a success. But the woman upon whom she leans pays for it all, even though she has her good time. ALL SUNSETS ARE NOT ALIKE Domestic Happening Helped Mrs. Pe terby to See the Beauty of This Particular One. Mr. and Mrs. Peterby were sitting on their piazza. It was late after noon and the sun was making his final preparations to gild the western heav ens. Peterby sat in mute admiration. ‘‘Did you ever see such a superb sunset?” he exclaimed, rapturously. “It is simply wonderful! Amazing!” Mrs. Peterby did not join in his enthusiasm. She shifted uneasily in her chair. “You would think anything was good,” she replied. "You’ve just had a good dinner. But it’s just an ordi nary sunset, nothing more.” “Where are you going?” asked Pe terby. “Why can’t you sit still? Just like a woman. No artistic apprecia tion.” “I’ll be back presently,” replied Mrs. Peterby. Four or five minutes passed. She came back and sat down. There was silence. “It is beautiful," whispered Mrs. Pe terby. “Don’t think I ever saw a finer sunset. See that exquisite coloring ofT there—and those feather effects. Perfectly lovely!” Peterby turned his face slowly and gazed at her. "What did you do in the house just now?” he asked. Mrs. Peterby’s face beamed. "Why,” she replied, “the cook was going to leave, but she told me she would stay another month.”-^-Success Magazine. A Modern Woman. A Massachusetts woman can talk 54 languages. And It was a Puritan poet who decided that one tongue was enough for a woman. — Cleveland Leader. Church Bell Kills Sexton. M. Dumet, sexton of the church at Bayet. was killed by the bell falling from the tower. He had gone to ring it to announce religious service, when it snapped ofT and dropped, killing him on the spot. Making a Life. Many a man has made a good Ily ina who has made a poor life. Some man have made splendid lives who have made very moderate and even scanty livings.—Success Magazine. By F©IIy95 Aid By ELEANOR B. PORTER (Copyright, by Short Stories Co., Ltd.) The schoolroom was very quiet. The master sat at the desk, wearily leaning his head on his hand, his eyes fixed on a boyish scrawl decorating the blackboard across the room. “This world is all a fleeting show for man’s delusion given,” he read ! with a mild wonder as to how Hobby Green chanced to express so pessi mistic a doctrine. The misquotation, as it stood, was certainly in sad accord with his own ideas but that was no reason why the children should learn the truth thus early in life. Scott Fairfield the -ew master of the district school at the Corners, had the name of being a “powerful hand for grammar and composition,” but today he nad outdone himself. After a lengthy and painstaking explanation 01 the word “biography” he had startled the children by requesting each one to write the biography of some friend or relative; and it was with many laborious sharpenings of pencils and much rattling of paper that the youthful writers had begun their task At the Deans’ supper table that night, during a momentary lull in the conversation, came Polly’s oppor tunity "Mamma, what’s a biography?” “Bless the child—what is she up to ; exclaimed airs. Dean in gentle surprise. "It's writing a whole lot of nice things about somebody—praising him way to the skies, when it isn't true at all!" snapped Aunt Madge, who had just been reading the eulogy of a man she cordially disliked "It's telling of everything a person did do. and a few things he didn't,'* declared brother Ned with a shrug of his shoulders "My dear, it's a fi’M account of one’s life which one would never recognize as one's own." said her father, as he Now and Then She Stole an Upward Glance at His Face. pushed back his chair: and in the general laugh that followed. Polly slipped away The biographies were to be read on Friday afternoon When the appoint ed time arrived, the youthful authors betrayed some excitement and nerv ousness as they rose one after an other to offer their contributions The master looked down very kindly at Polly's flushed cheeks and shining eyes, but he started slightly as she announced in a shrill trable: THU BIOGRAPHY OK MY AU.N1 M ADGK This beautiful lady was born. oh. i don’’ know how manv years ago but ever so ti any-much as 20. maybe She isn't dead yet. so i don't know when she died She is tall and slim, and has got a lot or shiny gold hair piled way up on top of her head, and she is the prettiest lady I ever saw 1 love her very, very much She is never cross and never says "Run away." I don't know anybody else who don’t say: "Run away" sometimes Hu: this beautiful lady is very sad Some times when I look at her I want to cry but I don't know why. so I don't Once upon a time she had a lover. I know this because she has got his picture upstairs In ner room. I don't think he is as pret tv as she Is. and I told her so one day She looked awful funnv. and took the picture away quick. He looks a little like my teacher, only my teacher has i-n. whiskers, and he hasn't This lovely Ud. has not been here very long, but 1 wish she would stay forever. That is all i know about her. POLLY ANN DEAN Scott Fairfield's lace was white and his voice was very low and husky as he called on Tommy Brown for the next biography When Polly started for home that night, she found the master beside her May 1 walk w'ltb you. dear?” be asked, with a wonderfully sweet smile Poliy was raised at once to the sev enth heaven of delight. She blushed and hung her head, but she looked sideways out of her eyes to see if Mary Ellen and Susie were watching —the master was not wont to be so gracious "Do you think your Aunt Madge Is at home to-night?" questioned Fair field again, with a strange diffidence. Polly nodded. "Perhaps you will take me to see her,” he suggested, almost deferential ly, and then he was strangely silent. “It must be Madge." he was think ing. "It is just like her own pround self to make no sign Pride? What was pride worth, anyhow! He was sure he would throw' his to the winds His blood was coursing madly through his veins and he was ting ing to his finger-tips when Polly opened the gate before a pretty white cot tage; but he contrived to watk with proper sedateness behind his small guide, who was iairly quivering with the delightful importance of the oc casion. He was pacing nervously up and down the parlor, however, when Polly disappeared in quest or Aunt Madge. Scott Fairfield started quickly for ward as the door opened, but his im passioned "Madge" qku un ms ups, and Ms outstretciied baud mopped to his side Poll* was leading a small, | dark-haired, bright-eyed woman up to him and saying: "This is my Aunt Madge, Mr. Fair field.'' Every vestige of self-possession left the master of the village school, and he stumbled and blundered in hope less confusion, while his lace went from white to red, and red to white. “I—er—oh—there is some mistake —er—I'm delighted. I’m sure—" then to Polly with wrathful recklessness— “Why, child, you said she was tall and—" he stopped short with a sud den realization of the vivid color that was staining scarlet the face of the pretty little woman at his side. “Aijparently my niece has been fa voring you with my personal descrip tion—and the reality disappoints you,” she began frigidly, but with the suggestion of a twinkle in her eyes— there was something wonderfully ludicrous in the picture of confusion before her. The poor man opened his mouth to speak, but Polly came to his rescue. "Papa said you wouldn't recognize it!” said she, gleefully. “Recognize what?" questioned Aunt Madge, turning to Polly in surprise. "Your biography, of course, and you said it was praising 'em way to the skies when it wasn't true, too!” Aunt Madge colored and bit her lip, and the ghost of a smile flickered for an instant across the distressed face of the man; then he gathered all his scattered wits and made a mighty ef fort. “1 sincerely beg your pardon. The fault was all my own l was led, by what this little maid said In her biog raphy, to think that in her Aunt Madge 1 had discovered a long-lost friend. I only hope you will kindiy excuse my awkward stupidity when you realize how great must have been my surprise as 1 saw. not my friend, but an entire stranger enter the room." Then he turned to Polly with a faint smile, but a deep pain far down in his eyes "I fear, my dear, that my meaning was not quite clear to you about the biography i did not intend that you should imagine it all.” “1 didn't!” asserted Polly, stoutly. "I was telling all the time about a beautiful lady that I love very dear ly, and it's all true, every bit of a word It’s Miss Weston, over at Cousin Mabel's I just wrote about her for Aunt Madge's biography— that’s all.” added Polly with a sob in her voice. “She means Madge Weston w:ho is visiting my brother's family across the street: the young lady has sud denly become Polly's idol." explained Aunt Madge hastily, marveling at the great light which transformed the face of the man before her, as the name passed her lips. Five minutes later he had mingled hasty adieus and apologies and had turned quick steps toward the house across the way Aunt Madge, with a sympathetic lit tle thrill for that other woman's com ing joy. saw through the window the door of the opposite house open and close on Fairfield's stalwart form; then Polly was surprised with a spas modic hug and a fervent kiss from her usually undemonstrative auntie. Women as Inventors. A writer in Cassier's Magazine cele brates the inventive skill of women. He notes in the long list of me chanical devices “springing from the fertile brain of American womanhood” a machine for driving barrel hoops, a steam generator, a baling press, a steam and fume box. an automatic floor for elevator shafts, a rail for street railways, an electric apparatus, packing for piston rods, locomotive wheels, a railway tie. a stock car. a boring machine for drilling gun stocks, etc That is all very well, but no woman has ever invented a ma chine that will button her up the back She has to marry a man to get that done with neatness and dispatch. Future Living Conditions. M. Jules Bois, the distinguished French writer, who has discovered much concerning ancient civilization, predicts that in a hundred years' time the great cities of Europe will b* practically uninhabited except for business purposes during the daytime. All classes will live in the country or in garden cities, to which access will be cheap and extremely rapid, owing to the development of pneu matic railways or flying cars. The motor car will have gone completely out of fashion, but the bicycle will come again in favor, for a sort of fly ing bicycle will be invented, which will enable the rider to soar in mid air. Korean Mining Industry. The mining industry in Korea gives employment, directly and indirectly, to some 8,000 Koreans. As regards copper deposits the Kapsan mine, in the northeast of Korea, which is now held by an American company, has for centuries been worked by Koreans, and preliminary surveys of the prop^ erty revealed the possibilities of rich deposits of the metal. Coal and Iron are widely diffused, but difficulties of transport render the working of these deposits even where rich, impossible at present except in the case of the anthracite coal mines near Pyeng Yang. which are under the control of the Korean government. Pictures Future for Rabbit. A theorist on the rabbit problem suggest* that some day the rabbits will actually be cultivated and im proved <n Australia, as the sheep was. his fu. lengthened and the value of his skin thus improved, both as cloth ing in cold climates and as the basis of felt for hats. He pictures possible future stud rabbit sales. But that is a dream of the future. At present the rabbit in Australia is a declared pub lic enemy, to which no man can give harborage without incurring the re sentment of the law.
