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Coat of Mn(r Trains.
'aw I the economy of operating motor
Jdlary and feeding sections of A
j-unk railroad. In comparison
v . ..o expense of maintaining and work
lug similar lines by steam locomoUvea and
short trains, have been furnished by the
TaftT Vale railroad la Great Britain.
The running cost per train mile by motor
car equals 4.19 cents, as compared with
10.63 cents by steam locomotive and four
carriages of the ordinary type. The cost
of repair and renewals of the motor car Is
much less than that of the other system,
being only 2.92 cents per train mllo, its
against 12.44 cents for the steam-propelled
train. The wages represent 8.S6 cents in
the former case, and 6.34 cents In the latter
Instance.
Taken on the whole, therefore, It will be
observed that the total cost per train mile
of the motor car works out at only 10.96
cents, while the cost for the locomotive
and carriages is 30 cents per train mile,
representing a saving In the case of the
former of 19.04 cents, or some 60 per cent
cheaper. The economy thereby effected Is
' very appreciable, and represents quite a
considerable sum In the course of a yoar's
operation. This result Is highly encourag
ing and will lead to a more extensive de
velopments of the motor-car system of
handling short-distance traffic.
Already several of the other trunk rail
roads of the country. Impressed with the
figures obtained by the Taff Vale railroad,
are completing arrangements for the intro
duction of motor-propelled coaches upon
their systems In those sections whore the
capacity of the traffic does not sufficiently
warrant the employment of a locomotive
and train, and wherein the working of the
latter at present represents a heavy loss.
Telephones (or Farmers.
Progressive farmers In different parts of
the country are availing themselves of the
opportunities that make life worth living
In the country In these days. The agri
culturists of Genesee county, 'New York,
are thoroughly up-to-date. Not content
with the benefits of the free rural delivery
system, they are enjoying the luxury of
a telephone system. It Is of Incalculable
benefit to many an Isolated farmer.
One man connected with the family of a
neighbor by telephone. From this it grew
tmtil fifteen farmers connected their
homes. Finally they formed a stock com
pany and spread the 'phone system
throughout the county, making also long
distant connections. No one who has once
had the telephone will do without it will
ingly. Now 200 farmers of the county enjoy
the bervice. It enables them to keep con
stantly In touch with the markets and to
gather news of all kinds, to talk with
the grocer, the preacher and In fact to
be In instant communication with the
outer world. The original fifteen fanners
still control the ptock company, and now
furnish telephones to their fellows at as
low a rate as Is possible. For convenience,
and to Insure perfect working1 of the line,
the farmers are divided Into sections and
the number of telephones In a district
Is limited. The telephone and mall eer- .
vice and the great Improvements being
made along good roads augur well for
the future social and business outlook of
those who dwell so near to nature.
Electric Pan Novelties.
The newest thing In electric fans Is a
little one that can be attached to any
electric light fixture In place of a lamp.
Tou simply unscrew a lamp bulb and
Screw Into Its place tho little fan and turn
the key and the fan starts buzzing.
Another new small fan is an electrlo
vaporizer, used for spraying perfume, or
disinfectant.
Still another little elcctrio fan may now
be found installed In telephone booths, to
make those often confined and clone lit
tle compartments more comfortable to the
person using the telephone.
Many improvements have been made In
electric fans since their first Introduction,
and they are now made In very great va
riety. Now there are fans attached to
their support by a swivel, on which the
fan can be turned sideways, while the fan
motor Is supported on trunnions, on which
It can be Inclined to any angle, upward or
downward, from the vertical; so that the
fan can be made to deliver Its breeses
In any desired direction without moving Its
support.
And there are now fans which as they
run revolve continuously on their support,
throwing off the air currents In all, di
rections. There are also oscillating fans, that swing
constantly back and forth within any aro
of a circle.
There are fans with the fan set In a
horizontal plane to deliver the air verti
cally where the direct currents would
be disturbing, as in dining rooms.
Jfew Wireless Telegraph Heeelver.
According to LEclalrage Eleetrtque of
Paris, a new receiver for wireless teleg
raphy has been Invented by a French elec
trician, which Is described as follows: "As
Is well known, the surface tension at the
surface of contact between mercury and
acidulated water Is affected by the passage
of an electric current from the one to the
other. This action may be made to cause
the mercury to shift Its position In the
tube, and In this way close a local circuit.
The apparatus consists simply of a capil
' lary tube partially filled with mercury,
having the part above the mercury filled
with acidulated water, and having its
lower end dipping Into a similar solution.
The antenna is connected to a wire lead
ing Into the upper part of this tube, and
connection is made to the ground from the
vessel by means of a wire, good conduc
tivity being secured by a layer of mercury
on the bottom of this vessel. Two wire
from a local signalling circuit are led Into
the capillary tube, one being below and the
other Just above the normal position of the
upper surface of the mercury. When elec
tric waves encounter the' antenna, the
changes in potential set tip at the surface
of the mercury cause tfce latter to rise and,
close the local circuit, thus giving the sig
nal. A variation of this device consists of
two capillary tubes, both sealed into a
glass vessel, which Is partially filled with a
acidulated water, and covered with a flex
ible diaphragm. The diaphragm la then
covered by a second vessel from which two
rubber tubes are led off. The oscillations of
the mercury, due to electric waves, are
thus communicated to the diaphragm, and
the latter converts them Into audible sig
nals which can be heard by applying the
tubes to the ear."
Electric Wiring- Herniations.
After a long delay tho commissioners
have at last adopted a code of regulations
governing the practice In electric wiring In
the District of Columbia based upon an act
of congress, . the securing of which was
marked by much difficulty. Tho growth of
the electrical Installments outstripped tho
legal safeguards until It Is known there
were some very bad examples of wiring,
perhaps highly dangerous. Under the new
regulations It will bo possible for the com
missioners to overhaul all such bad work
and to set up new standards to be reached
by all equipments, whether old or new.
The electrical science has now progressed
to the point at which It Is possible to re
duce the danger from this source to an al
most negtlgiblo minimum. Enough is known
of the character and the tendencies of the
eleetrlcal current and of the methods to be
adopted for its safe confinement to enable
skilled workmen, using proper materials,
to wire a residence, store, theater or other
largo establishment so that no danger need
aver be apprehended. It Is, however, a
suggestive fact that whenever a lire of
mysterious origin occurs ine first assump
tion of the authorities Is that It was caused
by electric wires. If such are on the prem
ises. For it Is well known that In tba early
days of the use of electricity for lighting
and power purposes, and even during tha
late days of insufficient regulation, sues
bad work was done and such poor ma
terials were used that the chances of lira
being caused in this way are high. Of
course much depends upon the thorough
ness with which tha regulations ara en
forced and upon the spirit in which tha
property owners meet them.
A Telephone Paradox Explained.
An engineer explaining the apparent
paradox that the moro business a tele
phone company does the less profit Is
makes per subscriber, says that the switch
board in the exchange is built In sections,
each of which contains on an average tha
terminals of the lines of 200 Incoming sub
scribers. These terminals are called
"Jacks," and the panel containing them
Is called the answering panel. In addi
tion to these 200 incoming Jacks, each
section must contain the outgoing Jacks
of each subscriber In the exchange. This
Is necessary In order that tho operator in
each section may be able to connect any
of the incoming sulscribers In a section
with any other subscriber in the exchange.
The panel containing theBe outgoing Jacks
is called the multiple panel. On the above
basis the switchboard In an exchange of
2,0(4 subscribers would contain ten sec
tions, that of a 5,000 exchange, twenty-live
sections, and that of a 10,000 exchange
fifty sections; consequently each section
In exchanges of these capacities would
contain respectively 2,200 Jacks, 6,200 Jacks
and 10,200 Jacks. The total number of
Jacks In a 2,000 exchange Is therefor 22,000.
Tha average mind would at once arrive at
the conclusion that the total number of
Jaoks In a 6,000 switchboard would be two
and one-half times that of a 2,000 (or
65,000), and that tba total number in a
10,000 switchboard fives times that of the
2,000. A 5.000 capacity switchboard, how
ever, would contain twenty-five sections of
6,200 Jacks each, or a total of 130,000, while
a 10,000 capacity switchboard with Its fifty
sections of 10,200 Jacks each would contain
610,000 Jacks. For sake of argument we will
say that each jack with Its connection and
labor represents a cost of IL Kach new
subscriber added to a 2.000 exchange has
to be "multiplied" Into ten sections, neces
sitating ten jacks; but each new subscriber
added to a 6,000 exchange has to be "multi
plied" Into twenty-five sections, requiring
twenty-five Jacks; while each new sub
scriber added to s 10,000 exchange has to be
multiplied into fifty sections, requiring fifty
Jacks. Now, as to the number of "hello
girls" necessary to operate exchanges of
the size mentioned: While one operator can
take care of each section of a 2,000 capacity
switchboard, the larger exchanges require
three or more operators per section, besides
assistants, relief operators and monitors.
It Is, therefore, evident that a company
starting out with 2,000 subscribers, on a
basis of say $50 per year for service, makes
less profit on each 200 subscribers added;
and such Is the decrease In the profit as
the exchange mounts up to 5,000 or 10,000
that the company must either Increase its
rates or quit. One of the most Interesting
exhibits In the St. Louis exposition Is that
of the Invention of a German named Kallcr,
who has succeeded In eliminating the mul
tiple feature, not only from automatic prac
tice, but also from present manual prac
tice. Elect rte Heatlotr and Cooking;
As to the cost of electric domestic heat
ing and cooking, an authority makes the
point that while low rates for current will
be necessary to popularize the electrlo
method generally. It has a wide field at
higher cost than Its competitor, gas, and
for the same reasons that gas has had
such general recognition, although it costs
more than coal. Klectrlc lighting, too. It
may be called to mind, costs more than gas
dirsctly, bnt Its many advantages, such as
cleanliness, convenience and safety, ore
gains that aro now appreciated to have a
cash value. In houses where the work is
In the hands of the Ignorant "help," there
Is not a good field today for electric cook
ing, but In (he home whore the mistress la
the cook, entirely, or In part, and In small
houses In suburban towns and the smaller
cities, the field Is wider. Tha freedom from
heat, offensive products of combustion and
leaky valves; the Inevitable soot, dirt and
chance explosions Incident to gas and the
absence of all cooking devices between
periods of use. owing to the portability of
electric healers, are tangible advantages In
addition to the more perfect results ob
tained. In thousands of homes gas Is used
as an auxiliary to the coal range for soma
of the lighter meals at all seasons, and for
much of the general cooking In summer,
when the range Is not required to be put
In oommh'sion for other purposes. For all
such purposes, this authority states, elec
tric cooking Is not only possible but mora
attractive and satisfactory, all things con
sidered, than any other method.
Electric lrimn(lTri,
Evidently the electric locomotive Is soon
to appear on tho steam railroad for general
use, as well as for hauling trains through
tunnels and where smoke and cinders be
come partlcul:irly objectionable. According;
to a report published In New York, the
New York Central company Is having
several big electric locomotives constructed
on plans prepared by a commission of
railroad and electrical expert These ma
chines will weigh nearly 190,000 pounds
each, and will possess on Indicated horse
power of from 2,200 to 2.SC0, or considerably
more than the big steam locomotives which
haul the company's fast express trains.
It is understood that while these huga
electric motors will be available for any
service on any part of tho Central's sys
tem, they will be used st first on tha
Hudson river division, and presumably In
hauling express trains, for they will have
a poBFlble speed of seventy-five miles an
hour.
Why Ills INoe Was Red.
A man fom Mexico, Jacques Forbes by
name, at the Gait house last night, claims
to have a typical mother-in-law. Inflicted
with that strange and almost universal
womanly failing of asking promiscuous
questions.
"It was only a few weeks ago," said
Mr. Forbes, "that, a dilapidated-looking
tramp, with a long, strikingly red nose,
one of those all-abluzo noses applied
at the back door of my mother-in-law's
homo for food.
" 'Sure,' sold my mother-in-law, In re
sponse to his request for food, 'I'll give
you something to eat, but my good man,
won't you please tell me what makes your
nose so very red?
" 'Not the least objection, madam,' re
plied the tramp, 'it's simply blooming
With pride that it doesn't stick Itself Into
other people's business. Good day,
madam.' "Louisville Herald.
A Bachelor's Reflections
Everybody would have a good deal mora
money If It wasn't any use to him.
The best way to make a girl understand
bow much you love her Is to tell her how
lovable she Is.
There doesn't Sfem to be much sense In,
the way a girl's hair musses up Just be
cause you are kissing her.
A bachelor can save a lot of money by
spending so much on horse races that be
can't afford to get married.
A man thinks he Is ambitious to go out
Into the world and do something when bo
is only anxious to get a vacation from
home. New York Press.