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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 14, 1887)
10 THE OMAHA DAILY BEE : SUNDAY. AUGUST 14. 1887.-TWELYE PAGES. THE FAITH CURE DISCUSSED , Chapter II. , Relating to tbo Healing Miracles of tbo Gospel. * NUMEROUS OTHER MIRACLES Cures by 81mm Medical Appliances THO Power or Pore Mental ImprcHqlnns to Heal Disease. That I may not pain the feelings ot any reader says Francis Power Cobbo in his article in the Contemporary Uoviow on Faith Healing and Fear Killing I will not attempt to analyze from tins point of view the healing miracles of the gospoh ( notably the cures of epileptics and * ' maniacs ) , but cite the observations upon them of the Bishop of London , than which In my humbla judgment nothing can bo moro just or philosophical. Hero are his rcmurksTh his Bampton Leclutcs 'for 1884 : Take , again , our Lord's miracles of Heal ing. There Is no question at all that the power of the mind over the body Is exceert- inely great , and has .never yet been thor oughly exainlnrd. Homo have assigned to this cause the extraordinary cures that have been undeniably wrought at the shrines , oren on sight or touch of relics , of Koman Catholic Halnts. . . . It Is quite conceivable that nrnny of Ills miracles ot henllng may have peon the result ot this power of mind over body which we are now considering. It Is possible that they may be duo , not to an In terference with the uniformity of Nature , but to a superiority In his mental power to the similar power possessed by other men. Men seem to possess this power both over their own bodies and over the bodies ol others. In different degrees. ( Tim Relations of llcltitlon and Science , p. 10' ' . ) , et feoq. ) Putting aside , however , the miracles ol the gospel as not desirabln subjects for our argument , wo nro elsewhere supplied with abundance of others ; as , for exam ple , in the records of the miracles of St. Francis and numberless other saints , of Apollonius of T.yana , of Valentino Groalrakcs , of Prince Ilohenlohe , and of Father Matbow. If such "miracles" then , bo explicable 8 results of strong mental excitement the same in kind though greater in de gree than wo have all experienced , wo are forbidden by the law of parsimony to seek an explanation of them farther away , in any material force or effluence. b. The second class of faith healing supports the dame conclusion with even greater cogency. As I have already said , a healing force proceeding from a living saint is just conceivable ; but one issuing from holy water , oil , thorns , old bones , nails , hairs , and bits of wood , is hardly within rational acceptance. Especially when it Is noted that fictitious rclfcssuoFi ( as the pieces of the "true cross , " of which there are said to be enough to build a shin ) are just ns cfllcacious as others , we cannot fail to see that It Is through the believing mind of the patient that the healing Is achieved. As ho approaches the holy shrine , to which he has perhaps made a long and toilsome pilgrimage the longer and moro toilsome the bottoi or is annointed on his sick bedamid the tears and solemn prayers of his friends , the tide of religious omollpn rises in the man's soul as in the presence of u living upostlc. The third class ( c ) of faith healings , wrought by charms and amulets , com mon among uneducated people to this day in England , and everywhere implic itly believed among savages , are so obvi ously cures wrought by mental stimulus alone ( whenever wrought at all ) , that it is needless to speak of them at any lengll in this connection. The fourth class ( d ) of cures include : those wrought by men supposed to pos sess natural healing powers. Hero we find ourselves in the midst of the mes meric and hypnotic controversies , into which I confess myself unable to pene trate. Ouo point connected with them which supports the view that faith heal ings are purely subjective , is-that tht phenomena produced when a powcrfu mesmerist makes passes over his patien and seems to fling the magnetic Huh upon him , are very nearly matched b > the phenomena produced by Braidisn and hypnotism , whore no mesmerist ii concerned. As I have said , I feel incom petent to deal with this matter. Then nro many other cures , however , worket by faith in men or women quito independently pendontly of either mesmeric or religion ! pretensions , c. g. , in the case of doctor of great reputation , whoso mcro presenci in the sick room docs moro good thai their prescriptions. Lastly , wo reach tbo fifth ( o ) class o faith healings euros wrought by shun medical nppliancos supposed to posses ; natural healing powers. In this depart raont of the subject wo have certainly ovi donee galore of the power of purcl1 nontallmprossions to heal disease. It i . impossible to catalogue the absurd am absolutely inert drugs and agencies whicl necessarily impotent on the body of tin patient have been powerful enough ii their influence on his mind to enable tha mind to euro his body. As Hunter re marked of one of thorn ( a spider's wol made into pills ) , it is necessary that thoj be administered "with the knowledge o the patient , else they ha/o no effect a all.1' It is , then , his mental impressioi of their potency wherein all their potonc1 resides. Dr. Carpenter admits that tiles' ! eham medicines produce their cfl'ect no only in maladies in which nervous dlsor dors have a sbaro , but also in some , sucl as scurvy and gout , which "seem to dc pond on the existence of a definite per version in the condition of the blood. " 11 quotes from Lmd "On Scurvy , " a stor ' of the siege of Breda in 1625 , when th'i garrison were in so deplorable a stati from scurvy that they were on the poin of capitulating when the prince of Urang managed to semi three small phials con taining a decoction of chamomllo am camphor to the doctors , who gave ou that four or five drops In a gallon o water , was an infallible remedy fo scurvy. The "princo's romedy"thorough ly checked the diseosc.and restored mini burs who had been invalided. ( So "Mental Physiology , " p. 083. ) Wo have now briefly surveyed the dii foreut kinds of faith healings , from th noblest to the basest , and having fouiv reason to attribute the euro to an iulluonc exerted primarily on the mind of the patient tiont , wo are in a position to proceed t the main inquiry : What is the nature o that influence on tha mind which enable it to conquer the diseases of the body ? Wo must dismiss the Idle notion whlc Booms so strangely to have contented th majority of writers and talkers on tin subject , that It is enough to name som ono faculty of the mind as concerned I the case , as if by so doing wo explainc the modus operand ! of the euro ; such , c g. , as hope , expectant attention , orimaf iuatlon. Most absurd is It to socak of iniagiui : tlon , as Is constantly done oven b thoughtful medical writersas if it were faculty which not only "images" i. c supplies unreal pictures in the mind bi : is llkewiji * capable of projecting itsul into the material world as a forco. Ilk electricity. Indolent and ballled ii qulrers seem to think it convenient t refer in this way to Imagination , bocaus it appear * a sort pf Puck or Ariel nmon our faculties , and loss amenable to la' than memory or judgment , cither c which it would bo just as monstrous t cite as the proximate causa of the cm of a disease. It is to throw psycholog into hotch-pot to apply the name of tl ; vision-creating faculty to somothin Which performs physical miracles. ( course it is open.to any ono to maiutai in each given case that the original dii tuo was imaginary , and. con quontl that the supposed euro was only the pa tient's restoration to reason ; as when a man awakes from a dream and says , "I imagined I bad lost my leg , and am glad to tlnd I have done nothing of the kind , " Dut it Is sheer nonsense to describe hla awakening and coming back to his senses as the result of Imagination. When n disease has been accurately diag nosed by a competent phvslciani\nd pro nounced to be serious , there is no room left for Imagination to play in the cure. The cure , if wrought at all must be ef fected by some real agent , such as wo assume the soul Itself to bo ; for the mcro picturing faculty which wo call nnaglna- nation can nt the most have only sup plied some stimulus to the mind or soul , Ikit if neither imagination nor , for simi lar reasons , hope nor attention can of themselves produce a bodily dlcascwhnt are wo to think of the entity , of which they are but faculties and phrases which must bo the real agent an agent which , without recognizable machinery suddenly steps forth to asstiago pain and to send a Hood of fresh vitality through the dis eased tissues and palsied limbs of its own 'loshly companion ? \ \ ith all duo hesitation in treating such n matter I would say that the truth scorns to mo to bo this : That part of us which wo call mind , soul , or spirit , and which in its ordinary relations with the body resembles a coupled dog , now pulling iU companion its own way , now pulled by it In an opposite direction , is capable , under certain exceptional ami yet obscure conditions , of entirely mastering its mate. It can render the body insensible to the p > > 'n of mutilation on the battle- Holder of fiery dissolution at the martyr's stake ; and It can effect , independently of nny extraneous agency , such a change in the processes of physical life the circu lation , the mnervation , we know not what as to banish disease and reinstate health. So far as we understand them at pres ent , the conditions under which this soul healing is accomplished seem always to bo those of excitement. They are not capable of being produced voluntarily and spontaneously by the subject , but must bo created by something outside ol himself. That something may bo and in the higher kinds of soul healing 1 pre sume always is an exalting idea pre sented to the mind either by souin grand personality , or by a rollc or token sug gestive of sacred or patriotic sentiments , and touching those cords which vibrate deepest in the human heart. The theory recently put forth by Messrs. Myers and Gurney , speaking of Braidisiu that the state in which tno mind is abnormally concentrated on u bodily condition is that wherein its influence is at a maximum- is , in < my humble opinion , the very reverse - verse of the truth. It is. I hold , precisely when tbo mind is most completely lifted above the body and its pahological conditions , that it can exert its supreme spiritual facultv of healing. Concentration of the mind on the body is the source , I concnlvo , always of disease , not of health. There are also , as wo have noted , other and lower stimu lants of the excitement which may sullicc to produce healing results ; the most com monly effectual being tbo hope of recov ery through the use of some nostrum. The last and supreme problem regard ing soul healing , can wo ilntl out how to apply it ? is.of course , the real crux of all Unfortunately the persons who are jusl now so busy In endeavoring to accom plish faith cures of the religious kind- some of them very humble and obviously silly folks.othurs on a much higher social and intellectual level are all on the wiong tack ( if the views stated in this paper bo correct ) to discover a real method of faith healing. They persist in looking "for the angel to stir the WiXters , " instead of seeking the natural fount of hope and courage and piety k each man's bosom. ' * Wo now reach the gravest side of thii matter. If faith and piety and hope s ( elnvato and stimulate the soul as to en able it to dispel disease like Gabriel ir Guido's picture striking down Lucifer then , beyond all doubt , mistrust and pes simism and feaf must correspondinglj depress the soul iiad luavo Lucifer mas ter of the hituation. In this case also , ii is literally true that "hoylio will savi his life shall lose it. " ilo who values hi ; life beyond the purposes for which lift was given , will forfeit it by his sickly iinzietios. As Mill found of happinessst It holds gooil of health ; neither are to bi attained by making it the chief object o mortal caro. How then do wo now stanc ns regards fear killing , the antithesis o faitli healing ? It seems to mo tha < alongside of the gains which have uc crued to our generation from the progress gross of hygienic science wo have ao quired habits of mind which go far t < counterbalance thorn. Proverbially a bravo man dies but onco. n cow ard a thousand times ; and wo an coming perilously near the verge of cow * I am Informed that the "true" faith healing people do not allow tbe use ot an ; "means"vhatover. . If any reader desire to see the exceedlnf nonsense which can be written and prlnte < on this subject , ho Is referred to a book whlcl has passed through nine editions In Amerlc ; viz. , "Science and Health , with a Key t < the Scriptures , " by Mrs. Eady , president o the Massachusetts Metapnyslcal college 0 vols. 8vo , Boston , 1881) ) . The following an specimens ot the counsels of Mrs. Eddy 01 "healing the sick , " vol. 1. , p. 180 : "Arcuo there Is no disease. It Is but tin evidence and object of the senses you have ti destroy , not a reality..Say to the nation mentally , you are not sick , and hold you : crouud with the skill of n lawyer. Ariu < down the witnesses azalnst your plea , anc you will destroy those witnesses , and the dla ease will dlsapixmr. Holy not In the least 01 the ovldenco of the senses , but on the evi dences in metaphysical science of man's hat inony and immortality..Avoid talking ilia case to the sick. Make no unnecessary in quiries relative to their symptoms ; neve . . . .clvo them names tor their diseases. . . . "If the case to be treated is consumption beuin your argument by taking up the lead Inir points..showiui ; that It Is not Inher Ited ; that inltaimnaUon , tubercles , hwuior rhoKO , and decomposition are but thoughts bclluts , mental Images before mortal minds not the Immortal mind. Hence they are no the truth of man , and should be treated a : error put out of mind , and then they wll disappear fioiu the body. . . . " And auain , vol. l.p. KG : "Conservation 01 dishonesty (1) ( ) In thn theory or practice o metaphysirs applied to the treatment ot dls ease would betray a gross Ignorance of th > whole subject. Disease can neither b < treated nor healed metaphysically If drugs o external applications are employed ; and.pc tltlonlnt ; a personal God to do your work , o : enable you to do It , Is not inctaphyslc wherein truth works , and you undnrstam the divine principle of your demonstration Animal magnetism , clairvoyance , medium ehlp , or mesmerism are antagonistic to thi science. " Vol. 1. . p. 24S : "llathlng and brushlnjj. t correct the secretions or remove unhealtlr exhalations trora thn cuticle , receive a usofu rebuke from Christian healing , that make not clean the outside of tha platter. " Vol. 1. , p. 2M : "That mother Is not a metn physician , and her atTcctions nend better al < to their duration , who says to her child , 'yoi look sick , ' or 'vou look tired. ' etc. , or win goes to her little one fallen un her nosu 01 the carr.ot.nnd mnanlngmore childishly thai IHT child , says , 'Mamma knows you are hurt. Drucs. cataplasms and whisky are shockln substitutes lor the dlznlty and potency o mind and the divine power to heal. Througl the byways of physiology and mat rl medlcn to lead man into temptation In ever direction Is pitiful. " "Palsy Is a belief that attacks niortil mind and this mind paralyzes the body throne ; : fear. Ossiilcation or any abnormal condltlo of the bones Is the action of mortal mind a directly as Insanity. Hones have no nior bubstanca than thoughts , and are onlv wlia they are named by and appear to mortal mind What wo call matter was primitively error 11 solution. " ( ! ) 1' , 8SI : "Called to the bed of death , wlin remedy have wo In matter when all it remedies have failed ? Mind must be on only resort at last There Is no death. AI Is mind. There U no matter ; 'He U nc dead , but sleepeth. ' " What tun ' "president" means by "meU phyMc-V'lutheia volumes can only be known we'snould tlunlt. by thn fortunate students o the Massachusetts Metaphysical Coilece. ardice. Forty years ago Kingnley too ! up his parable , and preached well and wisely of religious obedience to the natu ral law.i of health. But had his noble life lasted till now , his voice , I think , would have boon loudest in the denuncia tion of that hygoiolatry which threatens to become our only religion. Klngsloy adjured Us to preserve nealth that wo might the batter sorvn God with vigorous brains and hands. Wo coddle ourselves , cblelly , It is to bo feared , for our own comfort , and ardently cherish this life , having no particular expectation of an other. While our fathers considered the most sublime line in French poetry to bo the profession of Joad , Jo cralns Dleu , chcr Abnor , et n'at point d'autre cralnto : we have ceased to fear God , p.nd learned to fear microbes , Two causes contribute to this change. One is the decline of faith ; the other is that advancement of sciunco which places us in the position of tlio poor Hrahmin who was cruelly induced to look through n microscope and porcolvo all the unsuspected monsters in n drop of the water ho was drinking. Whether the old belief in nn over-ruling Providence was , of was not , well founded , Its super ior suitability to produce courage as con trasted with scientific physical determin ism , is obvious enough. Upon our gen eration it has como to lose in great do- reo that Abhangigkoitsgefuhl which § chlelcrmaclier deemed the very founda tion of religion ; and with it tlio sense of being Safe In the hand of one disposing Power , As In the natal , in the mortal hour. No one talks now of "every bullet hav ing its billet , " or thinks of lifo as an "ap pointed span. " The bullet proceeds by the laws of dynamics , and the length of lifo is determined by these of biology. If wo desire that our days may bo long in the land , wo know that that end must besought sought exclusively by sanitary and hygienic precautions ; and that ( barring accidents ) it depends exclusively on how successfully we "struggle for existence" whether our existence will bo extended for a longer or shorter period. No ono can doubt that this scientific view must prove in the long run moro conducive to caution than the motion of a providential span , or of fate , or a planet , or kismet' ; and accordingly wo practi cally find all around ns evidences of re doubled care concerning the conditions of health. Of course in many directions this now caution is good and rational. Moro temperate diet , moro airy bed rooms , better drained houses , and moro effectual ablutions , are real Im provements on the habits of our nucos- tors.but the excess to which hygenic precautions - cautions are carried , the proportion which such cares now ocupy amid the serious interests of life , is becoming ab- surd.and conducting us rapidly to a state of things wherein , if wo are not killed by tear. wo arc paralyzed by it for all natural enjoyment. The old healthful , buoyant spirit seems already fled from the ma jority of English homes. Aged people [ from this and , no doubt , other concur rent causes ) seldom exhibit now that gentle - tlo gaiety which so often brightened with hues of sunset the long , calm evening of a well-spent life , after the ' 'six days' work" was dono. The middlo-aged are ono and all bag-ridden by anxiety ; and as to the young , if we may trust the reports which roach ns troin the ' great schools , a very marked change 'has como over thorn , curiously indicative of the sensitiveness of young souls to the chill breath of the. Zeitgeist. The lads have grown colder and harder , and are interested in pecu niary profits rather than in nobler pro fessional ambitions. Nay ( no hare boon told ( it is a largo demand upon cred ulity ! ) that English schoolboys have al most ceased to bo reckless about heat and cold , about eating indigestible things , about climbing trees and. precipices , about going on deep water in unseawor- thy boats : in short , about nil these pursuits which excited the perennial alarms of their fond mothers. Many boys are to be found , it is stated ( I write always under reservation ) , who may bo described as Molly-coddlcs.so cautious are they about their health and their limbs. Urchins in round jackets spoik of the danger of checking perspiration after cricket , and decline to partake of unripe apples and pastry on the never- beforc-heard-of ground of dyspepsia. Invited in the holidays to the ecstatic "lark" of a long excursion on horseback , they have declined with reference to the playfulness of their pony's heels ; and have been seen to shrink from a puppy's caressing tongue , murmuring the omin ous word "rabies.1' In short , our girls , who are just acquiring physical courage as a now virtue , are sometimes .braver than their brothers , who think it "good form" to profess disinclination to risk their valuable persons. It is not a small matter that this ebb should bo noticeable anywhere in tno tide of English manly courage. On the contrary , lf It continue the results must bo deplorable. For our present purpose it is enough to point out that all this new born caution about their health ( to which , perhaps , the very undesirable study of physiology by schoolboys has in some schools contributed ) will at the best cre ate a generation of hypochondriacs and valitudinarians , not ot robust and stal wart Englishmen. The fears of which wo have been speak- ing.fostercd by over-attention to the con ditions of health and longevity , may not literally kill anybody. It may be carryIng - Ing the paradox too far to say we shall die of them , or even that they may not bo successful in lengthening our calendar by a few days. But the gain will bo nil if they render every ono of these davs piti ful and moan and mcsquln. Life , to bo worth living , must bo concerned with quito other things besides diseases , draughts and drains ; and wo want to live , not merely to postpone death and die by inches through half a century. The general pessimism which weigh" ! on us all , the atra cura who has mounted behind every horseman and whom no amount of tobacco smoking seems to dis lodge , are lowering the vitality of our generation. Hope is the true elixir vitaj , and instead of hoping all things with St. Paul , wo fear al' ' things with Dr. Mich- arclson. Ono of the greatest artists of the day gave us two years ago possibly without precisely Intending ; it a bitter satire on our ago. The radiant goddess , whom Collins described with T'eycs so fair , " trilling her "delighted measure , " Mr. Watts depicted as a blindfolded pa- tlont out of the Brompton hospital , bent in a curve like an aramonlto rather than u vertebrate creature , over a broken- stringed lyre. Such is the hope of the closing decades of the Victorian oral [ Concluded nxt Soalp Grafts Wanted. Hartford Times : Several months ago Miss Emma Neuman , of Bristol , had her scalp torn from her head by her hair catching in machinery in thn mill where bhe was employed. lr. J. Wilson of Bristol has been diligently engaged since in building up a now scalp i > y grafting on the head ruinuto bits of skin taken from the arms of various persons. Prob ably ho has exhausted the list of Miss Neuman'a friends who were willing to contribute to her relief , for at this time ho calls for ousido aid in the following card : "Young persons , not over thirty , who nro willing to confer a favor on Miss Knima Nouman , will greatly oblige her und her friends if they will allow seeds for grafting in the now scalp to bo taken from their arms. The family and friends have furnished material , and a good scalp 13 being made , but the lack of suf- liolent material is now the greatest obsta cle In successfully covering the entire head. The piece for grafting is pinched up and slipped off without pain or bad effect on the person. Thow who will as < sist the recovery of Miss Neuman mat call on Dr. WlUon at his office at 0:80 : a. 'm. or notify him , and arrangements will be made for the convenience of 'parties. " ELECTRICITY IN HARNESS , Great Expectations Bearding Electrical Inventions. THE TELEPHONE IN CHINA. Lighting CUM With Klootrlolty How Rods Should bo rinced Magni tude of tlio TolcgrnpU Business Queer ICloctrlc Antics , The Telephone In Clilnn. Chicago Tribune : The syndlcalo or ganized by Wharton Barker ami Si Hung Chang for the introdction of a telephone system In China has a line Hold before It. The telephone is ouo of the simplest , liaudiust , anil most useful of modern In ventions , and it lias coma It.to such gen eral use the world over , that it is only surprising the Chinese have delayed tak ing It up so long. So far as the Chinese tire concerned the telephone must be ranked as marking the introduction of anew now art , and not , as has been so strongly claimed In this country , "an improve ment In telegraphy. " The Chinese have never boon able to tiso the telegraph , owing to the existence of over 4,000 characters in their alphabet. Even if a system of dots and dashes could be devised - vised to represent such an alphabet it would bo practically impossible to em ploy it in any commercial use of the telegraph. Of course no such dilVicultlcs attend the telephone , which will "talk" Chinese or any other tongue with as much accuracy as it docs English , quality of voice and onnunciatiou being equal. The telephone , therefore , offers the Chincso their ilrst opportunity to so- euro the spcody transmission of intelli gence between distant parts of the em pire. Whenever the Chincso Inivo used the telegraph in other countries , as in sending messages to diplomatic agents and ministers , the dispatches had to bo sent in English and translated at both the sending and receiving stations. Odd as It may seem , there is a strong probability that the telephone may re ceive great improvement in China. The purpose there is to use it not simply iu- side towns and cities but for long distance communication between remote points , and hence it is likely that the capacity of the instrument for such work will bo greatly improved. In this coun try the contract between the Western Union and the Doll company binds the latter not to compete " 'ith the telegrapher or give the public the advantages of lone-distance communication by tolo phono. The boll company is in fact bribed not to permit any considerable improvement of the telephone service. In China , on the contrary , every induce ment is held out to have the invention brought up to its full capacity. If the Chinese make any such general use of the telephone as is expected , marked im provements will doubtless follow , and by the time the Boll patent expires or is sot aside by the supreme court , the United States may adopt a system of communi cation as simple , rapid , cheap and satis factory as the telephone service of China. Underground Wires. Boston Commercial Bulletin : Th6 placing of wires underground has been often advocated by the newspapers and would no doubt bo a popular movement with the great body of the citizens. The great web of overhead wires is not only un eyesore but an iuoumbranco and in jury lo roofs and a menanco to the safety of property in preventing proper work by firemen in addition to being , unless properly issulatcd , dangerous to people who come in coqtact with them as well as liable to causojircu. Poles in a public street are a nuisancQ and only partially lessen the objections 0 overhead wires. It is merely a question of years when the wires in all ( the great cities must to a great extent go.underground and if no practical systempxists it must bo devised , for the popular sentiment on this matter is becoming strpuger every day. The matter of underground wires has re ceived some attention in Boston from tli'u various electric companies and from the city government''for several years past , but has been given n.o sucn thorough at tention as in other American cities where commissions have .been appointed to in vestigate various systems and make ar rangements for placing all wires under ground. C , In Boston , about five or six years ago an attempt was made to run arc lights underground m front of the Providence railroad stationbut it was not successful , owing to the disiutegation of the insu lating material. For the past three or four years a system of underground wires has been in successful use for a short distance , in lighting the Park tboa- tre , the light being the Ellison incandes cent The only telegraph line under ground is a line from the Western Union headquarters on State street down through Adams square to the Eastern depot. It is not a good system , being merely iron pipes through which the or dinary cables arc drawn. As the pipes have been down for a tew years the in sulating material has rotted , as no at tempt has been made to renew it. Last year marked the only attempt of any magrthudo to put wires underground. The Edison Electric Light company applied to the city government for permission to lay wires undergroundand the New England Telephone and Tele graph company asked for the same privi leges , but on different streets , and this year they have asked for additional priv ileges , and each has now some miles of conduit underground , some of it in the principal streets , and propose to extend their systems further underground in the city proper. 1 ho systems which llicso concerns have adopted have so far worked successfully , though they have not been in operation a sufficient length of time to judge. The Edison system consists of an iron pipe of different diameters , according to the amount of wires to bo placed in them. The pipe is covered witli an impervious asphalt preparation. It is about twenty- foot lengths , and the joints are boxed and rendered impervious by a coating at the joints. The wires are put inside the pipe in cables , each wire bomg insulated from the other by rubber insulating prep aration , and the cables are surrounded with an asphalt insulating compound. These pipes can bo tapped like water or cas pipes. The system in u o by the telephone company consists of crcsoted hard pine boxes about fifteen inches square and about twenty foot long. These boxes are subdivided by creosotedwoodon partitions into nine chambers. In each of these chambers is laid a lead pipe which contains a hundred or more wires , according to their size , each wire being insulated by being wound with cotton thread soared with parattino. The cro- oaoted boxes are covered with tar paper and tar at the joints , over which strips ol croosotcd planksiaro laid. HighU have also been granted to the American Conduit icorapany to lay Its conduits , which consists of a conduit or pipe composed lof cement and sand , chemically treated to render it Imporri- ous to water. Each conduit Is divided into chambers. The practical value nl this system is yet to bo fully determined. From the testimony of noted electricians it appears that Incandescent electric light wires , telegraph wires and telephone wires can he laid underground without any danger to the public , the only trou ble being to get a perfect system of in sulation , though-thircan be arrived at. . The current of { he-above wires ii not dangerous , but tbe very much , stronger current of the arc light is very dangeroui unless properly Insulated , and there tire great doubts among electricians of the success of any system of arc lights under ground , though It is claimed that they arc successfully operated m Philadelphia. Outside of the arc light wires the main objection to placing wires underground by the companies fa the question of ox- punso , but this will not count in the face of a strong public demand for it. A Carbon Feeder For Electric Unlit * . Hartford ( Conn. ; Times : Mr. Julian Donison , an employe of the Connecticut LIcctrio company , of Now Haven , has made nn invention of special importance to electric light companies. It is an ap paratus to feed now carbons automati cally as fast as the old ones burn out and arc exhausted. In plain words , it docs away with the mnn and ladder now In use , whereby the carbons have to bo thrown to tlio street and fresh ones put in , The carbon feeder or magazine will con tain seventeen carbons , ten upper and seven lower sticks. Under the Ucnison patent nn electric light will burn steadily without watching for , say , ninety hours or more on a stretch. Tlio first public experiment will probably bo with a magazine , throwing six "upper carbons calculated to burn for sixty hours. The magazine will revolve as fast as the lighted carbons become exhausted' and drop new ones into place in an instant. It is practically a self-feeder , and is cal culated to do away with the constant worry and fuss under the present system of adjusting carbons. Within a week erse so one of the Denison patent feeders will bo attached to an electric light in Now Haven. Queer blootrlo Antics. Hartford ( Conn. ) Times : Over in Now Preston , in the Litclilicld county town of Washington , the other day. a light ning bolt struck E. J. Cable's house with some of the strangest results on record. The lightning rods were evidently of no protection. As soon as the smoke cleared away it was found that the north side of the house had been badly shattered , the clapboards blown off and the windows and glass flung out into the grass. Plas ter iiad been torn oil'of every room as the lightning distributed itself along the beams in divers directions. Closed doors were wrenched off their hinges and hurled across the rooms , and every thing , as the urchins say , "knocked fourteen ways from Sunday. " Two pounds of blasting powder were exploded , but a 'flask' of rillo powder nnar by escaped. The side of a big bottle containing tur pentine was knocked out , but the fluid did not catch tire. Seemingly the largest current ran easterly , shivering the sill of the house , dodged into the pantry , tore a big hole in the cupboard , betting it on fire , bored holes as largo as a man's thumb through two tin pails , shattered some dishes , skittered across the floor , splintered the woodwork , tore off the plaster , almost melted a hole through the cast iron sink and plunged into the water pipe , ruining it , stopping the flow of waters. Down ccllar.tho fluid ran along the chain of a stool trap which was set fqr rats and sprung the trap. Several holes were scorched in the flan nel case of a violoncello , and the instru ment was shattered. Several lamps and a clock were knocked off a mantel. The clock was destroyed with the hands pointing exactly at 0:15. : which was the precise instant of the shock. Ono person who saw the flash said it was a fool wide , and another said it looked as red as fire. John Gunu , John Ludgate and Mr. Uahan ran over from Hollo's marble shop , whore they were at work , expecting to find everybody dead. but were agreeably snrprisad to find all the inmates lively and Hinging water with great energy. The astonishing tiling is that no one was hurt or oven shocked ! Great Electrical JSxpootattonq. Electrical Itaviow : The public expect much of improvements in which electri city is employed. Millions may be spent in digging a canal where the channel fills up from a slow movement of the soil ns fast as it is removed by the dredging machines ; failure after failure may bo re corded in the annals of mining develop ments until success scorns to bo the ex ception , but lot there be a failure of an electrical piece of mechanism and every one wonders. In the early days oft ho dcvolopemcnt of the systems of electric Ifghting , Btomgo , and transmission of power , tiiero were few failures , and those were instructive. The first devices for automatically lighting and extinguishing gas were somewhat crude. Now , how ever , with careful installation , faiuro is unknown ; yet ten years ago the great system of lighting by electricity had only been dreamed of. It required thirty years to perfect the system of telegraphy. The methods used in gas-making were not improved for a long period. And it is possibly that the old process would have been in use for half a century longer if the competition of electric lighting had not necessitated improvements. So much has been accomplished that still more is expected of our electricians. The inven tor or experimenter was once called a crank. Now largo sums of money arc expended yearly in systematic experi menting , the highest skill , education and abiljty is employed and the professors in the universities find technical schools are retained as consulting electricians. Mannltudo oftliu Tolnijrixph BnsineHP. New York Commercial Advertiser : No country in the world begins to approach the United States in the magnitude of it ? telegraphic business. In 1880 there were 007,710 miles of wire in this country. Franco came next , with 203,470 mile's ; Germany third , 180,000 miles , and Great Britain fourth , with 138,5(18 ( miles. It is not only in extent of plant that the United States takes first rank. Wo not only have wires , but wo use thorn. In 1880 the num ber of messages sent in this country was 72,000,000 , more than double the number sent in Great Britain , which came second , with 33,278,450 messages , Franco taking thoithird place , with 20,453,708 messages , and Germany fourth , with 18,740,855. There arc also now in existence m the United States 123.231 miles of wires used by telephone companies , through which , in 1880 , 312,005,710 messages were trans mitted. There is no data for compari son at hand , but a recent writer in the Nineteenth Century makes the statement that tho.telophono is , practically speak ing , not in general use Great Britain , nud that Its benefits aru not appreciated to any appreciable extent on the conti nent. Engineering News : Prof. Michael Fara day says that the conductor should bo of half-inch coppur rod , and should rise above the top of a chimney by a quantity equal lo the width of the chnnncv at the top. The lengths of rod should ho well joined metallically to each other , and this is perhaps best done by screwing the ends into a copper socket. The connec tion at the bottom should bo good ; if there arc any pump pipes at hand going into a well they should bo useful in that respect. As respects electrical conduc tion , no advantage is gained by expand ing the rod horizontally into n strap or tube surface does nothing ; the solid section is the essential element. There is no occasion of insulation of the con ductor for this reason. A flash of light ning has an intensity that enables it to break through many hundred yards , per haps miles , of air , and therefore an insu lation of G inches or 1 foot in length could have no power in preventing its lead to trie brickwork , supposing that the ' conductor were not able to carry it away. Again 6 Inches or 1 foot is so little that it is equivalent almost to nothing. A very feblo electricity could break through that barrier , and n flash thr.t could not . break 5 or .10 feet coulddo no harm to 'the chimney. . A very gre.it point is to nave no insulated masses of metal. If , therefore , hoops are pnt around the chitnnoy each should be connected metallically with the con ductor , otherwise a flash might strike a hoop at a corner on the opposite side on passing to tlio conductor , from the near est part of the hoop , there might bo au explosion , and the chimney Injured there or even broken through. Again , no rods or tius of metal should bo wrought into the chimney parallel to its length , and therefore , to the conductor , and then to bo loft unconnected , with It. The rod may bo close along the brick or stone , It makes no difference. There will be no need of a rod on each side of the build ing , but lot the cast iron hoop and others you speak of bo connected with the rod.if there wcro rods on every side of the chim ney. A three-fourth rod is no doubt bolter than a half inch , and , except for the expanse , I like it better. But' a half inch has never yet failed. A rod at Coutt's brewery has been put up 1 } inches in diameter ; but they did not mind oxponso. The Nelson Column in London has n half-inch rod thrcn fourths is bet ter. I do not know of any case of harm from hoop-iron inclosed in the building , but If not in connection with the conduc tor I should not like it ; oven then it might cause harm if the lightning touk the end furthest from the conductor. Kleotrlo bprlnge. ST. Loots , July 12. To the Editor of the Globo-Democrat : The peculiar freaks of lightning are proverbial , and at times its wonderful power is manifested in dis astrous results , while on other occasions it proves to bo beneficial. In this article , with your kind permission , it is my plea sure to chronicle a beneficial freak. On May 39,1887 , near Lorena , McLen nan county , Tex. , lightning slruck on a limestone.cropping on the prairie land owned by Mr. H. C. Williams , at a point about one mile west of his residence. Several persons witnessed the electrical discharge , and they state the stroke was a very heavy one , as the appearance of the earth clearly demonstrates. The sur roundings looked as though they had been blown up with dynamite , and pieces of rook wcro scattered around in every direction for a distance of seventy-five to 100 yards. Within 100 yards of where the spring lightning struck there is a periodi calwinch flows only in very wet weather , but which has boon dry for over a voar. There are several other springs with a half-mile that have all been dry for over a year. That part of the country has had a severe drought for the past two years and water is very scarce. Upon examination of the place where the discharge took place , it was noticed that a number of springs had broken forth , discharging a stream of crystal purity in volume sufllciont to fill n four- inch pipe. This heavy flow continued for two weeks , but smco then the volume has slightly diminished. Mr. Williams states tiiat these sprlmrs will bo of untold value to him if they prove permanent , as ho will bo able to utili/,0 the water to irri gate land that will bo highly productive. The water discharged varies in tcmpora- true , some being delightfully cold. My theory of the opening of those springs is that the discharge falling on the stratiliod limestone forced its way through the stratified formations , which probably contained some moisture , and found a line of least rosisffhnce over which it passed to some subterranean cavern or reservoir , which it opened and permitted the confined waters to pass out. On the other hand it may have simply diverted a subterranean flow that supplied some other spring or springs , causing it to break forth at this point , and possibly stopping the flow of some other springs or greatly diminishing their volume. The Klontrlc Motor. Memphis Avalanche : Whirling along through the open country at the rate of forty or fifty miles an hour , comfortably seated by an open window in a well-ven tilated coach , the mind of the summer traveler is not likely to busy itself with speculations upon the development of the electric motor as if ho fiat behind a pair of froth-covered animals tugging along with a street car load of passengers. Sympathy with the brutes is calculated to make a warm man warmer and a hot man hotter. Electricity would bo cleaner , cooler and cheaper , if anything is to bo argued from the successful trials lately made with improved motors in Philadelphia. Its use is not a new thing , but it has never yet been so successfully applied as to lead to its general adoption. It is still the exception rather than the rule. Montgomery , Ala. , has a line of street cars run by electricity , so has Kansas City , Mo. , and similar lines run out of Baltimore and Hamdon. Now York city is about to try the experiment on Fulton street and Philadelphia has a line fairly under way. The Philadelphia Press is inclined to tlio view that as soon as the single question of cost can bo over come , stored electricity as a motor is likely to displace both the use of horses and the cable system in that and other cities. Considerable progress has been made in the direction of electric strcot cars since the days of the Centennial , when a car was successfully run about the grounds. The objection to overhead wires common to all cities will bo a bar to the introduction of that crude method oxcoyt for suburban lines , and it is plain that the plan of sending the current along the rails will never bo popular un til horses are shod with rubber instead of iron. A current in order to bo effec tive is strong enough to shock horses whoso feet touch the rails. If the plan of placing the conduit below the rails can bo brought to perfection , the prob lem will bo practically solved. Hero is a rich field for the electrician. Electricity as a Street-Car Motor. Philadelphia correspondence New York World : A satisfactory test of a surface car operated by electricity was made yesterday at the establishment of Whar ton & Co. , in the pr&sonco of a number of railway officials. The car "was supplied by eighty-four storage batteries placed beneath the seats , which furnished elec tricity to a Spragtio motor geared to the axle of the front wheels. The car was run about experimentally , after whidi it was run out on the Union line and switched to the tracks of the Spruce and Pine streets lino. A round trip was made , the carwhen the track was clear for any considerable distance , attaining a suood of eight miles un hour. At times tlio car was completely filled , and it was considered , that a thoroughly practical test was givnn it. All the sharp curves were rounded satisfactorily. At all times the car was under absolute con trol. The man in charge can , by the device - vice at his hand , readily stop , start and hack the oar as well as regulate its speed. An electric bell is sounded as a warning signal. By means of push-buttons the conductor can signal the driver to stop or start. It is estimated that the cost of running the oloctrio cars is from two- thirds to throe-fourths the cost of horse power. A car of this kind Is running rgularly in London and another in Ber lin. An Klootrlc Miuli , Chicago News : During a thunderstorm at Hamilton , PH. , lightning struck a pen knife in the hands of High Sheriff Zlurdt , who was bathing in a tub. When ho re covered ho found nothing but small splinters of the tub he had be-on bathing in , and the water It contained was equally distributed over the floor , as if domi with n mop in the hands of a scrub woman. The metal m tln > knife wa molted. No other evidence that the lightning had en tered the room could bp found. Kloctrlo liroyUlea. There is a scarcity of skilled labor in clecirlc-al establishments. Three largo Edison stations to supply poirurarn to bo creeled in the upper part of New York city. A trial will soon be made in this city with electricity in strcot cars. Block * of cUcap houses arc being fitted up with the finest electrical appliances , and cleo trioal snpply manufacturers are expand1 ing their plants dally. It is stated in Nowburg. N. Y. , that la a shipyard in that place there Is bolnc constructed tbo first vessel to bo pro * polled by electricity ever built In the United States. It is a yacht 37 feet long , 7 feet wido.and 5 feet deep. It is to bo run by stored electricity. It is building for a Newark ( N. J , , ) electric company , and will run between this city and Now York. A dynamo of 23,000 pounds weight and 500 horse power , with an armnturo of forly-sof on inches diameter , Is at work i at Comlcf , Ala , , to separate aluminum ' from clay. < American electrical supply houses are building up a largo trade in Australia. A company has boon organized with a cap ital of $500,000 to control the business. A French engineer soaks rags in petrol- cum and ignites them by electricity nt lixod intervals when the mon are out of the mines to burn the tiro-damp. Musical Arkansas Traveler : Congregational singing may carry the appearance of brotherly love and sisterly regard ( if there is such a thing ) , but It Is souietimoa far from entertaining to the person who takes no part in the performance. Re cently , at a very fashionable pliico of religious worship , whore many untrained and unmusical voices run riot over per suasive tunesa man who know more about the grain market than of "buckwheat lifted up his presumed voice to assist in the presentation of a hymn of long and hallowed standing. A modest but de termined-looking follow who stood lust in front of film turned around , touched the singer on the arm and said : "Do you live in this town ? " "Yes , " the singer replied , after allow ing his voice to fall to tlio floor. "Arc you a member of this congrega tion ? " "I nm , sir. " "Is it not ono of the aims of this church to treat strangers witli marked cour tesy ? " "His. " ' 'Well , then , will you plcaso do mo n favor ? " "Certainly , If it is within my power. What can I do for you ? " "Hush. " "Hush I" the singer gasped. "That's what I said. " "is it possible , sir , that you don't want a man to sing1' "Oh , I don't mind a man's singing ; don't care how much ho sings , bull dotrt want him to give himself up to such dis tressing noises as you have been mak ing. " 'My ' gracious alive ! has it come to such a pass that a man can't sing in his own church11 "it has como to such n pass that you can't sing in any church. " "You are insulting , sir. " "And you arc tormenting. " "If you don't like my singing " "I toll you that I've got'no objection to anybody's singing. " "Well , if you don't like me , yon " "Got no objections to you at all. " By this time the hymn was finished and tlio congregation sat down , but pretty soon another hymn was announced. Tha annoying singer again lifted his voice , The man in front of him turned and touched him on the arm. "What do you want with mo , sir J1' "Want hush. " you to . "I came hero to sing and " " ' then Don'l "Why don't you sing ? object to your singing , understand , butte to toll you the truth , your voice carries mo back to a time when I was very un happy , : i time when 1 raised hogs in tlio south , and , sir , since then , whenever i hear anything that sounds like " "I won't worship In the same house with you , sir , " said the singer. "I will leave this place. " "Thank you , " the stranger replied , and , smoothing out the unpleasant ex pression from his face , ho sat nimsoll down and gave himself up to the cnjoy ment of the sermon. OMAHA MEDICAL & SURGICAL INSTITUTE. 1 Cor , ISthSt. anil Capitol Ave. , OMAHA , NEB. - , roil HIE THEATMl OK ALL CHRONIC m SURGICAL DISEASES BRACES AND APPLIAKCES FOR DEFORMITIES. TRUSSES , AND THE NEW YtmctioEU SIISPEKSOHY DUMP COMPRESS. frit farlllllra , apparMui nnj wtvttlrt fir amn-mfullreatmenl of M-rr form ol dlL'tMMrvqulrlnir . MnJIettlor Hnnrica I treatment. 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