A RADIUM ACCUMULATOR.
Italian Scientist Discoverer of an Im
portant Process.
The presence in certain mineral
springs of radium or some other
radioactive substance was demon
strated some time ago, and an Italian
scientist now says that he can extract
this substance from water and store
it in on accumulator. The Literary
Digest relates from the Corriere della
Sera (Milan) the following descrip
tion of the process:
"Prof. Katelli observed that the
mineral springs ot San Giuluano, near
Pisa, were strongly radioactive, and
he decided to try to isolate the em
anation; his idea was to obtain the
substance directly from the water,
and for this purpose he erected a lab
oratory at the springs. In this lab
oratory we find first a pump which
produces a vacuum in a receptacle sit
uated about 30 feet above the level
of the spring water; when the water
enters this receptacle the gas in so
lution escapes, and with it the radio
active substance. The water then
passes oft by a discharge tube, and
a new supply enters below. There is
ihua a continual current of water flow-
Sleeping Car With
Raising th
A radical change in the construction
of sleeping cars is proposed, which
will afford all the room and comfort
of a parlor car during the day with
plenty of light, and better ventilation
at night. In this car the berths are
entirely below the floor during the
day, the space being occupied by com
fortable arm chairs which may be
moved about as desired. In making
up a berth the chairs are removed
and tray doors are raised which be
come the partitions between the sec
tions, and the porter by means of a
sprocket raises one or borth berths
into position. The berths lock secure
ly at any desired height. The com
pany intends to make no charge for
an upper berth when it is not oc
cupied, and in such event only one
berth is raised above the floor, leaving
a room unobstructed to the ceiling of
the car.
The occupant can have his berth
at whatever height he desires, like a
low or high bed, says Railway and
Locomotive Engineering. The new
plan enables the porter to make up or
put away the berths in less time than
by the present system In sleeping
cars. In the day, when the beds are
down out of sight below the closed
LIFE COUNTERFEITED.
Wonderful Results Obtained by Means
of Artificial Devices.
Life has been so nearly counter
feited in recent experiments that It is
almost impossible to detect any dif
ference between the forms manufac
tured in the chemist's laboratory and
the actual organisms of life, according
to Dr.. Alfred Gradenwitz, whose ar
ticle in the Technical World Maga
zine, entitled "Life Artificially Coun
terfeited," presents a very able re
sume of what biologists have recently
been ablo to accomplish towards pro
ducing life by artificial means. He
describes the experiments of Dr. Sta
delmann, who, by the action of elec
tricity on certain chemical compounds,
has produced many curious forms
which closely resemble organic struc
tures. Photographs of these forms
are reproduced with. the article. Dr.
Gradenwitz not only tells or the re
sults which Dr. Stadeimann has ac
complished, but describes how he
came to discover the process, and tells
other interesting stories about, scien
tists in their search for the answer to
the great question which has puzzled
.man from the beginning of time
jcanjfe be produced artificially?
' p7 J mm,
Ins through the receptacle while the
gas passes off into a gasometer. . . .
"The gas is composed almost entire
ly of carbonic anhydrid and nitrogen
mixed with radium emanation, and. to
isolate the latter from the anhydrid
another operation, partly physical
and partly chemical, is necessary.
The physical operation consists in
liquefying the gas by compressing it
in a brass receptacle, and in then
drawing it off by a stop-cock. There
remains, however, a quantity of an
hydrid in a gaseous form, and in or
der to get rid of this completely it
j ogWAn
kutw or cwmk
Diagram of the Radium Accumulator.
is passed through bottles containing
caustic soda in solution. The gas
is then filtered through pumice soaked
in sulphuric acid, which attracts the
water, and lastly it is injected into
a bath of liquid air. At the low tem
perature of the liquid air the radium
emanation is liquefied and the nitro
gen passes off by a tube."
The Corriere says further that the
presence of the radium is revealed
by the green fluorescence of the zinc
sulphide in the condensing tube, and
that in the dark the light from the
tube can be seen for a long distance.
Berths Under Floor
e Berths.
up floor, a current of pure air is al
lowed to get at the beds all the
time. It passes through dustproof
Berth Raised and Made Up.
screens, and the beds get an all-day
airing, and at night are sweet and
clean, and moreover, they are made
up and ready for use the moment they
are wanted.
Alcohol in Bread.
There has been much discussion
about the quantity of alcohol con
tained in ordinary bread as the result
of the fermentative process to which,
it is subjected before baking. Evi
dently the quantity is small, says the
Yonth's Companion, but until recently,
it would appear, chemists have not
succeeded in accurately measuring it.
Now, however, it is announced that
D. O. Pohl, by an elaborate process
based upon the distillation of the
bread to be tested in a Papin digester,
has ascertained that ordinary bread
normally contains .0753 of a gram of
alcohol for every 100 grams of bread,
or a little more than seven parts in
10,000. It is well to be precise even
in small things.
Stephenson's "Invlcta."
Stephenson's old "Invieta" locomo
tive, which seventy years ago used to
run between Canterbury and Whit
stable, was formally unveiled at Can
terbury recently by Sir David Salo
mons, who presented this interesting
railway relic to the town council.
Names Mountain Peaks.
The Duke of Abruzzi has named the
three highest peaks of Mount Ruwen
zori after Queen Margherita, Queen
Alexandra, and King Leopold.
JOURNAL IS UNIQUE
DIMINUTIVE PERIODICAL PUB
LISHED AT WASHINGTON.
'Postal Information" Has No Sub
scription List and No Paid Ad
vertisements, But It Is Widely
Circulated and Read.
There is a little newspaper pub
lished in Washington which modestly
lays no claim to having the largest
circulation in the city, or, in fact, to
any circulation at all, neither does
it assert that as an advertising me
dium its columns will be found of value
to our merchants, for no paid adver
tisements are received, yet it goes
right on coming out every week and
doing business at the same old stand.
The name of this unique and di
minutive periodical, as there are but
two or three like it in the United
States, is Postal Information, and it
sees the light every Saturday in the
city post office. Postal Information is
scarcely a year old, and though its
exchange list can be counted on the
hand,' and it has no purchase price,
it nevertheless is a thriving youngster
in the field of Washington journalism,
and its managers are not worried over
the ever-present question of a bona
fide, guaranteed, paid circulation.
Some time ago a small appropria
tion was obtained, and a plant suffi
ciently large to get out a folio eight
and a half by eleven inches was in
stalled in the basement of the regis
tration division of the city post office.
Every Saturday Postal Information
"goes to press," being run off on a
small electric motor press and set up
a day or so previously by one of the
employes of the office who' under
stands the work. While some of its
matter is "standing," yet much of it
is new weekly, and altogether it
presents a very smart and up-to-date
appearance.
"We have found this little paper of
much service to the officers and em
ployes of the Washington city post
office and its stations, for whose bene
fit Postal Information is published,"
said an official of the city post office.
"We run off weekly about 150
copies, distributing them among the
employes of the office where they
may be of ready access to all em
ployes, and sending copies to the va
rious stations throughout the city, the
respective employes in these stations
being expected to read it weekly, as
it may be used by the postmaster to
convey certain notices and orders af
fecting the service in the city to theii
attention. I
"Washington is now one of i the larg-
4r post offices in the service, having
incorporated the various towis within
the District in its jurisdiction, with
ten named stations, half a dozen or
so lettered stations, 64 numbered sta
tions, doing a business of" about
$1,300,000 annually. ' .and ranking
third in the per capita use of the
mails. It has a regiment of employes
numbering about 1,300 in all.
"Very often the employes of other
post offices wish to secure transfer to
the Washington city post office, and
vice versa, and where these applica
tions come to our notice we insert
paragraphs in Postal Information giv
ing the name of the clerk, the post
office at which he or she may be sta
tioned and the grade and salary. Any
clerk who may be interested may then
address a communication to the post
master, and frequently the exchange
is effected. These requests for trans
fer to our office comb from all over
the country, and we have on file now-
one from as far south as Portsmouth,
Va,, from Boston, Mass., on the north
and Lincoln, Neb., on the west.
"AH offenses committed by and pen
alties imposed upon employes for in
fraction of the rules are also given
weekly, as they serve as reminders
to the entire force, as in the instances
of carriers being derelict in reporting
for duty or for failure to record time
All recent fraud orders issued by. the
department against such concerns are
weekly enumerated by na-me and ad
dress, etc., and would-be money-or
der purchasers and those who would
send registered letters to such firms
are warned by the postal clerks. All
orders of the Postmaster General and
his assistants which it is desired to
call to the attention of our force are
also published.
"A similar little folio of postal in
formation is published in Philadel
phia, Pa., under the title of the Post
Office News, and the New York office
gets out another along the same lines
which is called the Official Circular.
Real Fonetic Spelling.
Fonetic spelling seems to be gain
Ing in popularity everywhere, and the
announcement that the reforms would
be adopted in the district government
probably had much to do with the plan
followed by a dusky "citizeness" of
Willow Tree alley in making applica
tion to the commissioners for a certain
position. Her letter speaks for itself
"District Comeisions,
' "Dear Sir I noticed that you all
might be kneding some femail help
and not nowing weather you all had
ingaged some one or not I thought
would ask you all if it could be pos
sible to alow me the pleasure as
wont work this will be my first time
working out and the reason I have
not my mother keeps a little store in
willow tree court and it has kept me
quite bizzy until now and it Is so meny
stores around in this court untill it
makes bisiness very dull and I am
married and have two children to
pervide far and I can give you the
best reptashion from good bisness
cidersons I hope you all will helyp one
ho wonts to get along arnest."
Washington Star.
SAILORS AND THE "WIRELESS."
Officials Now Keep Close Tab on Ves
sels' Movements.
All sorts of things can be turned
to all sorts of uses, and an additional
illustration in this line was given when
wireless telegraphy was used to help
out the building of the House and
Senate office building near the Capi
tol. Mr. Elliott Woods, the superin
tendent of the Capitol, and who has
charge of the construction of the two
new office buildings, is regarded as an
expert in wireless telegraphy. There
is one of the finest wireless plants
in the United States in the Senate
laboratory, and the relations between
this plant, which is Mr. Woods', and
the regular plants is cordial.
These was a much wanted cargo of
stone for the House office building
missing. It was needed to get up the
B street front of the building and it
was known that it had left New York
and started down the coast. There had
been bad weather and there was no
telling what had happened to the flo
tilla and no way of getting at it out
at sea. So the wireless plant was
called into requisition and with the
sanction of the Washington navy yard
station, messages were sent to all of
the naval plants along the coast where
the stone cargo was likely to be
sighted. Henlopen, Cape Henry and
the other points were all notified to
keep a lookout for the stone cargo and
report to Washington if it were
sighted..
Cape Henry was the first to pick it
up and reported that the boat had
been having trouble with theweather,
Din. was then off the capes. Sure
enougn, next morning the boat
reached Washington and the build
ing was going on merrily.
Orders have been issued to the
captains of the stone boats hereafter
to set the international signal when
they are passing the wireless stations
on the coast and Mr. Woods will there
by be able to keep tab on the vessels'
movements all the way from New
York without going out of his office
on Capitol Hill. And the captain and
crew won't be able to put in at any of
the coast ports for a quiet rest and
spree even if they want to and as
they have been known to do in times
past. Truly the wireless is a mighty
source of trouble to the one-time in
dependent sea-faring man.
SHOULD BE IN CAPITAL.
Most Appropriate Place for Headquar
ters of Patriotic Orders.
"All the soldier and other patriotic
organizations in this country should
have their headquarters in Washing
ton, and eventually they will." This
statement was made by Capt. Edward
Trenchard of the Army and Navy
Club and the Aztec club, before the
national encampment committee of
the United Spanish War Veterans, at
the Hotel Regent. Capt. Trenchard
was introduced to the assemblage by
Capt. Orville G. Victor as one who "is
intensely interested in soldiers and
their societies."
Continuing, Capt. Trenchard said
that even though the national com
manders of patriotic organizations be
elected from the states, there should
be a grand central structure erected
in this city in which headquarters of
all the associations could be located.
He predicted that there would be
such a consummation, and requested
the Spanish war veterans to push the
project along. He said the war with
Spain had produced great and lasting
results, and gave the American peo
ple "an imperial republic" with ter
ritory beyond the sea.
"There cannot be too many patri
otic associations," declared Capt.
Trenchard in conclusion. "They are
the great, leaven of true Americanism
and are destined eventually to save
this country."
Washington Landmarks for Sale.
Love of home in the full accept
ance of the word, is not a distinguish
ing quality of American women, if re
cent real estate deals in Washington
and its vicinity serve as an index. The
great-granddaughter of Francis Scott
Key has just sold the ancestral home
of her family to a traction company,;
that it may be pulled down for the
building of a station. Mrs. Sheridan,
widow of "Little Phil," sold the house,
which was presented to the warrior
by the grateful American nation, for
the reason that the locality was get
ting unfashionable and she wished to
move further west. Selling the homes
of dead statesmen is epidemic and the
houses locally, famous through their
occupancy by Senator Quay, the Key
stone state boss, by Senator William
McMillen. of Michigan, and by Rob
ert R. Hitt, of Illinois, are all on the
market. The widows of these Illus
trious men all desire other domiciles.
Expert on Army Clothing.
Prof. W. E. France, editor of the
Philadelphia Textile School, and one
of the world's recognized experts in
wools and woolen fabrics, for a year
past has been employed to pass upon
every bolt of cloth offered army of
ficers for clothing contracts. He is
called to "Washington or sent to other
centers of army supplies whenever a
new clothing contract is being filled
With critical eye and deft touch he
passes upon the utility of the prof
fered cloth and the quartermaster
general's department accepts without
question his judgment. For a time
contractors endeavored to have him
removed, but without success. The
result of Dr. France's work is that
the army is better clothed than ever
be Ewe.
HER END A MYSTERY
NO ONE KNOWS WHAT BECAME
OF OLD ENGINE.
Famous Locomotive "Orange" Is Sup
posed to Have Found Its Grave
yard in the Old Scrap Heap
at Susquehanna.
If the scrap heap at Susquehanna
could speak it might possibly be able
to tell what became of th old engine
Orange. No living person seems
able to do so. Ed. H. Mott, the his
torian of the Erie, tried for years to
trace her ending after the close of
a famous career, but failed. His con
clusion was that she ultimately
reached the scrap heap in Susquehan
na. But of that he was not at all
certain. It was the best guess he
could make.
The Orange was the fourth locomo
tive owned by the Erie, the first three
being named Eleazer Lord, Piermont'
and Rockland, respectively.
The Orange had a mate in the
Ramapo, all five having been built by
William Norris of Philadelphia in
1740-41, at an approximate cost of
$8,000 each. The Orange drew the
first train moved over the Erie from
Piedmont to Goshen, September 23,
1841, making the trip in three hours,
drawing two passenger cars (all the
Erie then owned) and two flat cars,
Gov. Seward and the members of his
staff being passengers. "Joe" Megin
ness was the engineer.
The Orange was engaged in build
ing the road at intervals all the way
from Piedmont to Dunkirk and was
used for like work, after having been
sold by the Erie, on the Attica &
Hornellsville, and the Buffalo, Brad-
The Orange, as It
ford & Pittsburg roads. In 1859 she
was abandoned on a siding at Car
rollton, N. Y. An employe who heard
she was to be seized for debt, fired
her up and ran her to Bradford,' Pa.,
out of the jurisdiction of New York
state officers, and left her on the
track there. The next morning she
had disappeared. Where she had gone
or who took her away was never
learned, and an old employe says;
"No trace of her has ever been found,
so far as I know, and I have made
all sorts of inquiries everywhere dur
ing the past 40 years. It is supposed
that she was run back to Susquehan
na in the night which would have
been an easy task in those days.
There is a theory that she was
broken up in Susquehanna, but that
was a rumor that could never be ver
ified. There was no reason why she
should have been taken to Susque
hanna and none why she should have
been broken up, except that she was
useless worn out by hard work."
In 1852 the Orange was taken apart
and ferried piecemeal across the Gen
esee river, put together and used to
haul Iron to finish the road from
Warwick to Attica. She had previous
ly drawn the first train over the
Hornellsville & Attica railroad, Janu
ary 22, 1852, from Hornellsville to
Portage, and on August 9 of that same
year drew the first train across the
completed Portage bridge then one
of the engineering wonders of the
world. Erie Railroad Employes'
Magazine.
SOME CAUSES OF ACCIDENTS.
Author Points Out Reasons for Dis
asters to Train Crews.
Most of the common accidents
caused by neglect of the train crew
are summarized by Mr. Richardson, in
his book, "Railroad Accidents; Their
Causes and Prevention," as follows:
Failure to watch for and observe
signals.
Trains following each other too
closely.
Trains following at too high a rate
of speed.
Failure to protect trains stopped on
the main track.
Cars not being left into clear at
sidings.
Switches being left wrong.
Lack of caution in time of storm or
fog.
General carelessness. 1
Most of the injuries to employes
caused by their own carelessness are
from coupling cars, getting on and off,
or falling from trains and engines.
Mr. Richards cannot imagine why a
brakeman of common sense should
stand on a footboard and when fhe
couplers are almost together put his
hand in between them, nor why he
should stand in the middle of the
track and wait for a car or engine to
approach and then step on the foot
board, or brakebeam, when by step
ping to one side he could get oa in
safety. Why do men jump on an en
gine pilot to ride a few feet to make
a switch when the engine is going so
fast jig tobe dangerous ?
'
MORE KILLED AND INJURED.
Railway Casualties in Fiscal Year
1906 Compared with 1905.
Accident bulletin No. 20, issued by
the interstate commerce commission
for the three months ended June 30j
1906, shows the total number of cas-i
ualties to passengers and to employes
while on duty to be 16,937, as against
18,296 reported in the preceding three
months.
The number of passengers and em
ployes killed in train accidents was
194, as against 274 reported in the
preceding three months. The total
number of collisions and derailments
was 3,103 (1,588 collisions and 1,515
derailments), of which 173 collisions
and 153 derailments affected passen
ger trains. The damage to cars, en
gines and roadway by these accidents
amounted to $2,373,924.
The number of employes killed In
coupling and uncoupling cars and en
gines was 68, being 16 less than the
number reported killed in the pre
vious quarter. ,
The two most disastrous accidents
reported in the present bulletin was a
butting collision of passenger trains
that killed 10 passengers and em
ployes, and one derailment, killing
nine passengers.
The total number of persons killed
recorded in this bulletin is less than
in the last preceding quarter, but is
more than in the corresponding quar
ter of 1905. The same is true as to
the number of employes killed in coup
ling accidents. In train accidents
there is a gratifying diminution, both
in passengers and employes, killed,
compared with either of the two
earlier quarters mentioned.
The bulletin completes the publica
tion of the records, of accidents for
the year ended June 30, 1906, which
Looked When Built.
show an increase of 646 in the total .
number of employes killed and 10,098
in the number injured, while there is
a decrease of . Ilj9 ..in. the. .number ot
passengers killed and an increase of
1,145 in the number injured, as com
pared with the number reported for
the year ended June 30, 1905. In
coupling accidents, which occur wholi. ' ,
ly to employes, there is an increase V
of 68 in the total number killed and
of 393 in the number injured, as com
pared with those reported during the
preceding year.
Reports received up to October 28
for the year 1906, representing 213,000
miles of track, show an increase of
15,695 in the number of trainmen em
ployed, as compared with the total
for 1905.
, Had No Use for "Wildcats."
"I'm not a train dispatcher," said
Frank Fox of the Union Pacific local
freight office, "and I'm glad of it.
My brother, however, who visits me
occasionally, is dispatcher at Buffalo
for the Lackawanna. He told me a
yarn the last time he was out here
that isn't so bad. It seems that ex
tra trains upon his road were at one
time regularly and officially desig
nated as 'wildcats.' The only running
orders given to such trains leaving
East Btfffalc, far example, read 'Wild
cat to Elmita.' One day a rew man.
was being examined for the position
of flagman. The examiner asked
many questions intended to bring out
the applicant's fund of information
and ,his qualifications for the position
sought. Finally 7 this question was
asked:
" 'What would you do if you were
out flagging and you saw a wildcat
approaching?'
"Thoughtfully scratching his head a,
moment, the candidate for railrqad; -honors
replied : 'Shoot if I had a gun,,
or take to the tall timber.'" Kansas
City Star.
Railroad's Eucalyptus Grove.
The Santa Fe has begun planting
trees on its land in San Diego coun
ty, southern California. The tract is
8,650 acres in extent, and is known as
the Rancho San Diegito. It is near
Del Mar. It will be converted into
a eucalyptus grove. About 700 acres
a year will be planted for a number
of years. The wood will be used for
ties and piles. F. P. Hosp, who has
charge of this class of work, esti
mates that 3,000 worth of timber for
ties can be raised on one acre. The
red gum will be planted, as this, as
well -as the sugar and iron bark va-'
rieties of eucalyptus, has been shownWli
by experiments in Australia to last
more than 25 years underground,
while the blue gum will not last more
than three years underground. Rail
road Gazette.
Hard and Soft Whistles.
Belgian railway engines are fitted
with two whistles, one producing a
much softer tone than the other. In
order to spare residents nerves, the
"soft" whistle is used when the train
is passing through towns and railway
stations. .... , -.
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