The Omaha Illustrated) Bee
NUMBER 302.
I;ntercd Second Class at Omaha Tostofflco Published Weekly by The Bee Publishing Co. Subscription, ?2.o0 Per Year.
.march mor.
Gossip and Stories
About
Prominent People
President of the Illinois Ccntrol Railroad Company
mi
nrp(rd Head of Beef Trl.
HB most cmsplcuous and striking
figure In t lie packing: industry in
Jonatlmn Ogden Armour, head of
the great packing house and
grain firm of Armour & Co., and
reputed head jf the Beef trust. Mr.
Ogden waa born In Milwaukee forty-one
J"ai sgo. lie went to the public school
until he was prepared for college, then
entered Tale, where he did not remain
to be graduated. After an extended Euro
pean tour he returned to Chicago, and
the second day after his arrival he vu
Invited by his father to accompany him
to the stock yards. From that time he
hen worked steadily. Ills first Job was
that of oftlce boy, but he was soon pro-,
moted to a clerkship, with a salary of flO
a week. Under so exacting a taskmaster
a h the elder Armour, It was a long and
weary struggle) before the young man
reached a place near tha head of the
firm, but when ha did reach It he had a
first-class business education. "Since he
st ?pped Into the shoe of his father," saya
the New York Tribune, "J. Ogden Armour
hue shown a remarkable business faculty
and a judgment In affairs fur In excess
of lil years. Tha business associates of
the father have long looked upon the
son as a man of the same power and
force. He is, in their estimation, a man
to be reckoned with and to be feared, for
In many shrewd transactions he has dis
played tho same ability which made his
father famous.
"J. Ogden Armour Is as calm In action
as at rest. Ho lacks impulsiveness to the
verge of coldness. He is not a 'mixer' in
public affairs and has few Intimate friends.
Hi; Is devoted to his family, especially his
little daughter, Lollla, patient of the fa
mous surgeon of Vienna, Dr. Ixirens. Mrs.
Armour was formerly Miss Lollla Sheldon
of Cincinnati."
I,cir Wallace and Llacola.
The few uneventful years General Wal
luee spent in Covington were distinguished
by one important event, says Harper's
Weekly. It was there that he saw Abra
ham Lincoln for the first time. The In
diana bar had even then some brilliant
and notable men among Its members, and
a case of extraordinary interest had called
them together at the fall term of the cir
cuit court. In relating the circumstance
General Wallace aald: "During the session
wo were in the habit of gathering at tha
old tavern In the evening, after adjourn
ment. It waa a brilliant company, whoso
talk wu well worth hearing. One even
ing there appeared suddenly in our midst
a tail, ungainly man, homely of vtsaga
and rather shabbily dressed. He did not
Intrude himself, but sat on the outskirts
of the company, noither proffering opinions
nor taking aides in the controversies that
occasionally became pretty warm. No ona
seemed to know anything about him. and
when I asked -a. friend who be was he re
plied, carelessly: Oh, that Is some third
rate lawyer; a man named Lincoln from
somewhere in Illinois.' One evening, how
ever, after he had been there some time,"
General Wallace continued, "something
moved him to speak, ant then he began to
talk. We all sat spellbound.
"I have never," General Wallace said,
"heard anything that approached It; the
IokIc, the wit, the pertinent anecdote that
poured otit In an unceasing stream. He
talked thus for three solid hours. Some
one said: 'Whoever that fellow Is, we
Khali bear from him again some day.' It
was my first meeting with Abraham Lin
coln," he said, "and tho prophecy that we
should hear from him again. It must lis
admitted, was abundantly verified."
Goveraor Rasaeil's Panlshment.
The lata Governor William B. Russell of
Massachusetts had a hobby for horseback
riding from his home in Cambridge to the
state house. He would Jokingly remark
that he was cheating the west end out
of his car fare.
After the heaviest snow storm of ths year
tho city of Cambrldgo and the street rail-i-o-.d
company were at odds, ths olty clolm
I..., the railroad should remove the snow,
aiid the company claiming the city should.
Piles of snow remained on the streets as a
result, and one day while passing through
It rattle square the governor's horse stum-.
bled badly, throwing him Into the snow.
One of the first to offer him assistance
was tho late Joseph Deothen, division su
perintendent of the street railway, who
aaked: "Are you hurt, governor?" y
"No, not hurt, Joseph, but I knew you
fellows would puntah ms some day. for
evading my car fare."
A Woman Astronomer.
By continuing the work of the celebrated
English astronomer, R. A. Proctor, his
daughter. Miss Mary Proctor, is doing
much to make the study of astronomy pop
ular. In 1S96 Miss Proctor successfully
conducted an expedition to Norway to view
a total eclipse of the sun, and she is or
ganising a similar ona to go to Burgos,
Bnaln, to witness the one scheduled for
August 80. A program Is being arranged
for covering the minor details of an
eclipse, such as observations of the dimin
ishing sunlight, the peculiar shadows, cast
by the foliage on the ground when the sun
Is nearly eclipsed, the strange wavering
lines or shadow bands, as thoy are called,
which make their appearance a few mo
ment before totality, tho swift onrush of
shadow and tho glorious but Indescribable
corona.
servants and workmen to work at 6 o'clock
In the morning; the majestic tolling of the
great bell wakening at 7 o'clock professors
(and students, too, I believe. In the old-m
times, when students lived in colleg");
then. again, the lively little tinkling boll
coiling the professorsand students of moral
phlloHosphy and tenor Greek and junior
Latin at 7.30 to work In their classroom.
"Woo to the student of ltln who reached
the door ten seconds after the quick Utile
bell's last stroke. He was shut out by
the doorkeeper unfailingly, ruthlessly, by
Inexorable order, and had to wend his way
through the darkness to his lodgings, sor
rowfully losing the happy hour's reading of
Virgil or I loraco or Uvy with his comrades,
under their bright young professor, William
Ramsay, and knowing that he had got an
Indelible black mark against his name.
Barely did even a single student of a large
class experience this disaster."
Tha Late Sens tor Woleott.
The late Senator Edward O. Woleott of
Colorado was fond sometimes of telling
stories of which he was the butt. He used
to tell how, at the beginning of his pro
fessional career In the west, he established
a law and real estate office In George
town, Colo. As the future statesman was
In partnership with a brother, the firm sign
read: "Eward Woleott & Brother."' Ths
young lawyer, however, found that busi
ness would not come to him, so he decided
to move to a neighboring town In search
of it. He bought a donkey, packed his '
few belongings upon It and started for his
new field. He took with him the firm sign,
thinking after the addition of fresh paint
it might bo made to do duty again. On
arrival at his new field of endeavor hs
found a group of miners awaiting him.
All eyes were fixed on the side of the pack
animal. For a moment there was silence,
' and then an old miner drawled out: "Say,
young fellow, which of you-all Is Ed?"
John Morley's Impressions.
John Morley's visit to the United States
made a profound Impression on his mind,
and In an article on "Democracy and Re
action," Just published, he says: "Of a
democracy originally British, the most as
tonishingly triumphant achievement so far
has been the persevering absorption and
Incorporation across the Atlantic of a cease
less torrent of heterogeneous elements from
every point of the compass Into one united,
stable. Industrious, pacific state with 80,
000,000, combining tho centralized concert of
a federal system with local independence,
and uniting collective energy with Individ
ual freedom."
. ... - ; r;;v ....
Recent Progress
in the
Field of Electricity
What 1ie Electricians Are F.nrnlna.
IHB scope and development of the
w " I electrical industries In the United
I Slate riiirina- 1i. particularly
the financial returns, iomi tho
subject of an abridged review In
BTUY VESAyT FlSIX-rnoto for Tils. Bos fey Staff nxotographei'
Floctriclty. Although most of the figures
given represent glgantlo amounts, torn
larative records show a steady If not a
remarkable Increase each year In the ear
nings and profits derived from such enter
prises. First in tho Hut ns enrncrs come
the electric railways, which aggregate the
sum of $'J9o,i,0tO; second In earning ca
pacity are the great manufacturing inter
est, representing $175.000 .000; the electric
light companies then appear as third with
an earning capacity of L5.nno,0iO: the tele
phono companies fourth with a record ot
$110,000,000, and tho telegraph companies
fifth with earnings of I40,fl00,ort. The total
runs very close to $7ri0.C00,00O and In all
probability at the present rapid rate at
which various important portions of steam
roads are being e loctrlfleil, large power
transmission plants being Inaugurated, nnd
a host of smaller electrical enterprises
reaching a large and healthy stage of de
velopment, ll.imo.KW.i'CO will not fall very
far short of the great new total.
"At the present wrttlniT," says Electri
city, "thet United Stntes possesses a de
gree of wealth estimated at 110 billions
and many conservative and fair minded
statisticians attribute a considerable por
tion of it to the Influence of Invention and
the application of electricity to industrial
purposes. Charles M. Harvey in the
World's Work states that 'Invention and
discovery have made the SIOWOO Ameri
cans of 1905 three times as productive as
were the 32,000,000 of lSTA" The striking
statement, which we nil realize to be true.
Is tho Increased power of each Individual
as a producer of wealth, throunh the In
fluence of greater knowledge, by means of
which more of our natural resources are
turned to profit with a more far reaching
economy both as regards time und effort.
It seems that this vast organization of
forces. Internal and external. Instituting
the present republic, Is operating, In spite
of Its greater responsibilities and bur
dens, with a remarkable national and In
dividual efficiency. It could not be re
garded os egotism to claim, that this
rising tide of prosperity has never been
equalled In tho history of any other poli
tical aggregation, either aa regards its
scope or the comparatively short period of
Its history.
"Could we but trace the correct relation
ship between cause and effect, not only to
day, but for the not for distant future, It
would be found that prophesy will Indi
cate that our national und domestic life Is
interwoven with' electrical discovery; that
the larger earnings to which this land will
some day point with pride have been made
by tho electrician, that tho loudest and
busiest hum f-om the wheels of Industry
come from the titanic workshops of these
hew wizards of progress."
Wireless Station Hallt by a Bny.
The only wireless telegraph station In
Rrooklyn. N. T.. except that maintained
by Uie United States government at ths
navy yard to keep track of war vessels, la
located In a private house In the Borough
Turk section, und is operated by a lfi-yeor-old
boy.
The young operator Is Ivun Lee and ths
station U at his home, Ijo. A Forty
eighth street.
"Young Lee, who, as far back as he can
remembi r, has been greatly Interested in
machanlcs and electrical contrivances, be
came absorbed about a year ago in the
subject of wireless telegraphy. An article
in a scientific magazine describing how a
station could bo established at a small ex
pense attracted his attention somn months
ago, and he at once started In to put It
to a practical test.
Aa a foundation for the station a relative
made young Ivan a present of an Induction
coll, and by degrees ho gathered the other
materials, and a couple of months ago the
system was dociared to be in working
order.
Young Ivan's first experiments consisted
in sending nnd receiving messages from his
grandfather's store, only a couple of blocks
away. But his field was gradually ex
tended, until now he is not only able to
call up the navy yard station, but fre
quently attunea his instrument so that he
can catch messages from stations as far
away as Pntersnn, N. J. He has also been
able to catch messages from coastwise
steamers for a couple of hours after they
bavo left port,
Power for Omaha Why Not Dam the Missouri?
mm
I.ord Kelvin, Scientist.
"I am a child of tho University of Glas
gow." writes Lord Kelvin, the scientist.
"1 lived in It sixty-seven years, from 1S32
to lswt. But my veneration for tha ancient
Sluttish unlvers'ty, then practically the
university for Ulster, began earlier than
that happy part of nay Ufa My father,
bin n in County Down, was for four years
1SI0 to lSla student of ths University of
Glasgow. There wero no steamers nor
railways nor motor cars in those days.
My father and his comrade students had
to cross ths channel from Belfast twice a
year in whatever sailing craft they could
Dud to iaks them. At tbo beginning of
his fourth and last university session,
UlS-JMt. my father and a party of fellow
siu.U'iiU, after lauding at Greenock, walked
tUcnco to Glasgow. On their, way they
f.tw a prodigy a black chimney moving
lupldly beyond a field on the left hand side
of inelr road. They jumped the fence,
ran across the field and saw to their as
tonishmert Henry Bell's Comet, then not a
car old. traveling on the river Clyde, be
tween Olasgow and Greenock.
"In istt, fo years after my father was
promoted from Belfast to tho Glasgow
professorship of muthemetlcs, I became a
ii:iiilculated member of the University of
aiutgow. The little tinkling bell In the
tuv vX the codecs to wor, calling college
HE struggle by cities in the west
for commercial supremacy is re
solving itself into a question of
cheap fuel and power, as well as
hipping facilities by rail and
river. Omaha has railroads, but lacks In
cheap fuel and power for manufacturing
purposes. Time and again has tbo water
power problem been before the peuplo.
Some have suggested the Platte river canal
be built and bring the power within a few
miles of Omaha. Others have had In mind
the construction of a "wing dam" along the
shore of the Missouri river. Some have
mentioned and suggested tapping the Mis
souri river above Florence, bringing the
water by canal to Omaha, getting perhaps
20,000 horse power continuously. The latter
would require an act of congress before
such a privilege could be enjoyed.
Every attempt Is being made nowadays
to utilize tho forces of nature, and all sorts
of plans have been thought of to utilize
tho power in rivers having a swift current.
Scientists havs written upon the heat in
the "sun's rays" or how a tbimblefull of
water If properly applied might generate
sufficient power to move a freight train.
But tho "harnessing" of the old "Father of
Waters" by constructing an immense dam
across the river at the Des Molues rapids
at Keokuk, for water power purposes, and
applying the 130,000 horse power to turblns,
motors, etc., has recently opened the eyes
of the western people. Had anyone sug
gested this five years ago he would have
been looked upon as being a dreamer, or
flighty In the mind.
Mississippi Uves Power.
It was at first proposed to construct a
wing dam or arm at this point on the Illi
nois shore line for a distance of seven miles
up- the river over the rapids, and an act
was passed giving such a right by congress,
but it was found that this would not pro
duce more than 30,000 horse power, and cost
about tho same amount of money as con
structing a dam across the river " and
thereby securing 130.000 horse power. Forty
years ago at Keokuk J when It was proposed
to construct a bridge across ths Mississippi
river, an injunction was granted by tha
United States district court , to stop ths
same, the case was appealed to the circuit
court and heard by three federal judges and
the Injunction sustained, that to construct
a bridge across a river of this kind was In
terfering with the highways of commerce.
The case was appealed to the supreme court
of tho United States which by only a ma
jority of one reversed the lower courts.
Tho city and locality in tho west which
will be ,ubfo to supply cheap power will bo
in lino of promotion and Increase In popu
lation, and there is an awakening to this
fact, that 111 order to gain commercial su
premacy cheap power will be tho problem
and factor and cause of building up that
particular section of the country. Coal
has been all right for the past; it has be
come expensive and there is much waste;
but this is an sge of electrcity and monster
water powers. Nlngiara has been "har
nessed" and Is producing from tho three
plants about 130,000-hojse power continu
ously every twenty-four hours. in fact,
the struggles for water power right has
become so fierce that there has been a
strong appeal made to stop the commercial
powers who are destroying the waterfalls,
and legislators have appealed to the gov
ernment at Washington, urging treaty ne
gotiations with Great Britain prohibiting
further grants for water power rlfiht.
Cos cress Is f'o-Operatlag.
If one hod said five years ago that the
consress of the United States would paza
an act permitting tha construction of a
thirty-foot dam acrcat the Mlstflsslpiii river
at Keokuk, la., or. In fact, across any
other navigable river of this magnitude and
Impui taiiee, he would have been considered
a "dreamer" or a "crank."
Luring tha last session of cougress there
was passed on . act, and signed by the
president, on February D, 1906, giving the
Keokuk and Hamilton Water Power com
pany composed! of citizens of Iowa and
Illinois adjacent to that territory', the right
to construct such a dam across the river
from Keokuk to Hamilton, Uio same to be
done without expenso to tho government,
under tha engineers of the War deport
ment and In accordance with plans on file
In tho War department. When this dam
is completed the mid-continent will have
one of the largest, If not tho largest, water
power in the world, which will develop
120,0CO-horse power. It will generate elec
trical powor sufficient to turnish power for
illuminating and manufacturing purposes
for It miles distance. It will cover a ter
ritory from and Including Muscatine, la.,
south to Hannibal, Mo., and from Peoria
on tho east to Ottumwa, la., on the west.
From Keokuk northward the Mississippi
runs over what is called the Des Moines
rapids, which extend northward about
twelve miles. Here the water In the river
is shallow and is confined between high)
bluffs. In early days of steamboating,
before tho present canal was built, it
necessitated transferlng all freight over tho
rapids by Hat barges.' It is at this point
where a thirty-foot dam will be thrown
across, the river, of cement, stone and ma
sonry. This will back tho water up about
forty miles, to Burlington, la,, forming an
Immense lake forty miles long by one mllo
wide, confined between the Iowa and Illi
nois shore line, and make deep water at
all times. And the head of deep water
will bo moved up the river from Keokuk
to this point on account of the rapids at '
Keokuk. The government In 1868 began
the work on tho present government canal
along tho Iowa shore, from Keokuk to
Montrose, la. This canal has three locks
and was opened for business In 1877 and
finally- completed in 1S1'3 at a cost of
16,000,000. Tho fall In tho river from Mont-,
-rose to Keokuk is about fifteen foot, ths
Distance being twelve miles.
Estimates of Cost.
The proposed dam will be built at tho
foot of the rapids, directly opposite Keokuk
and Hamilton, with the crest of tho river
from thirty to thirty-five feet above low
water mark. The estimated cost for tho
dam, buildings, machinery, towers, tur
blns, generators, etc.. Is 14,000,000. ' Tho act
of congress provides that work must be
commenced within five years and com
pleted within ten years from the passage
of the law. The War department has ap
proved the plans, as this was necessary be
fore congress would even consider the mat
ter. It will deepen the water of the river
between Keokuk and Turlington and dis
pense with the two upper locks In the canal
and be a saving of about J40.OO0 per annum
to the government for operating expenses,
and when completed will be . the largest
water power In the world.
Lyrmin E. Coolcy of Chicago is tho en
gineer in charge (lie is nt present tho con
sulting engineer in the matter of the pur
chase of the water works In Omaha). In
ills report as to the horse powor, when
completed, he says:
The Keokuk project may be compared
with some of the notable water power de
velopments. The rating is on the bants
of installation, which runs from l'i to 2'a
times tho average load line, or the con
stant power, according to use:
Horso Power.
Niagara Falls Power company 65,000
Electric Development company of On
tario (laid out for 118.00K) 63,000
Canadian Niagara Falls Power com
pany , SO.Cno
Messenn. N. V 40,000
St Lawrence Power eoniiwny (laid
out for 75,(100), Sault Ste. Marie
Michigan -Superior ' Power company
Haul out for 40.000,1 11.000
Canadian company, use assumed 15,000
Spiers Falls (N. Y.) Hudson River
Electrical company ...r 18,000
Seattle tWush.) Columbia Develop
ment company V,(f)0
liuluth, Mlnn.( under construction
Great Northern Power company (Ul
timate plan 91,000) 81,000
Keokuk (la.), Keokuk & Hamilton
Water Power cotnpuny 120,000
It will be seen that the project for Keo
kuk Is among tho greatest that have been
undertaken. It will be seen that no other
great power point Is so centrally located
for industrial materlul and for market.
Industrial communities that have grown
up about water powers have a population
.jtt three to five per effective horse power.
The investment in Industrial plants run
over Jl.OOi per horse power. Assuming tho
uso of the Keokuk power for industrial
purposes?" the Increase In population should
be from 180,000 to 800,000, and investment In
capital nt $120,000,000 In the country and
cities tributary to the rower. It's a natural
resource, a permanent work, nominal
charges for maintenance and operation,
which absorb the larger proportion of tho
earnings in other Industrial agents. The
development of electrical transmission, the
superior of efficiency of electrical Installa
tion In industrial establishments, lightening
transportation, has given to water power a
great Impetus in recent years, and tho pos
sibilities liave been scarcely touched.
Let Omaha Do Likewise.
Omaha should awaken to utilizing Its
natural resources. Much has been said and
written about the Platte River canal. About
constructing a "wing dam" or "arm" in the
Missouri river to make a water power noth
ing has been paid. If the power Is here,
'why not develop It? It may not be on as
gigantic a scale as some of the water pow
ers In this list, but if It's only ir.,000 to 30,noo
horse powor, that Is sufficient to cause
Omaha to triple its population In ten years.
For twenty years the good people of Keo
kuk talked water power, but they slept all
these years. Still electricity was almost an
unknown quantity at that time; nnd unless
a man wanted to ' be called crazy it was
Head of Nebraska State Historical Society
T TTTF. lnct muHn nf tha KobrnsVa Rtntn TTis.
I torlca! society Henry T. Clarko of this city waa
as of the Nebraska Territorial Pioneers' associa
tion,, which f really the purcut of the 11 rut named
organization. Nebraska liecauw a state in March, 1M07,
and those who came to this state before that Uttte are ter
ritorial pioneers. The pioneers' association was organized
to tlraw the old settlers together, while the historical so
ciety U a state Institution to preserve all inattcr relating
to the eurly hhstory of the state and its people.
In April, lsr4, Mr. Clarke started by rail from the
northern part of New York state for the west. He was
bound for Lawrence tired with the thought of assisting in
making: Kansas n free state.' He had to drive the entire
distance from Chicago. That journey if told . in detail
would make an Interesting look. It was during this Jour
ney that Mr. Clarke was taken ill, and the woman who
afterward became the wife of John Brown, the abolition
ist, offered to take care of lilni dining his sicklies.
Eveutually Mr. Clarke drifted to Hellfvue, Neb.,
where he engaged In buslucss and accumulated a fortune.
He also contracted to furnish the government with feed
and built several railroad lines which have long since been
swallowed up by the Burlington and other systems of this
state. He built seven bridges over tho riatte. In three of
which at one time he owned a controlling Interest. Just
before tho outbreak of the Sioux war iu 1S7U be was
located ut Camp Clark, where he bad finished 'a viaduct
over the North Platte IS.Oltt feet in length. The bridge
was used and protected by the government, which at Mr.
Clark's request built a block house at one end and sta
tioned a company of infantry there, while at the other end
It stationed a, troop of cavalry. The Indian never 1ls
turlied Clark, although it was -not infrequent to nnd their
victims along tb truil in groups of two and three.
Mr. Clarke was th first Maxtor Mason In Nebraska
aud Bcllevue lecanie the home of ihe first Nebraska Ma
sonic Imlge. The nicetlnga were held at the trading toxt.
Mr. Clarko tried to have Bellevue made the eastern termi
nus of the Union Pacific, as he believed 'it to bo the moat
natural terminal, but be did not succeed. v
teNnr'T." CLAIIKB OF OMAHA.
best not to talk of "damming" the "Father
of 'Waters." They are going to ttso tho
pure, clear water which now goes to waste
and has been for ages. The Now England
manufacturing cities do most all their man
ufacturing along the small streams by
water power. "But they are too far from
tho consumers, and its only a question of
time when the factories and mills will have
to follow in the footsteps of tho farmers
' of those states und come west to manufac
ture their goods to save transportation.
And cheap watea, power will bring them to
the cities and localities having tho advan
tages. ( W. F. WAPPICII.
Will Enter a New World
For forty-five years John Warren, wife
murderer, has been Immured In the Con
necticut state prison, and he Is about to
seek clemency from the hoard of pardons.
Since his confinement began tho great
world has been steadily spinning down tho
rapid grooves of change.
In 1K9, tho year when Warren's lung per
iod of civil death commenced, Darwin's
"Origin of Species," startling the world
and revolutionizing scientific thought, came
from the printing press. In that year the
use and development of petroleum began.
In that year Oregon, discarding the short
trousers of a territory, donned the garb of
statehood and made the thirty-third mem
ber of the union; now there are forty-five
states. In 1859 the population of the
Vnited States was 81.000,000; now it is 82,-000,000.-
In 1S59 the peoplo of Connecticut
numbered 430,000, and a count of noses In
the biggest town of the commonwealth
disclosed scarcely 39.000 dwellers; now the
census of the state has bounded forward
to 970.000 and of New Ilaven to 130,000.
Warren had behind grim walls nearly
two years when the first shot of the re
bellion was fired, nearly four years when
the awful carnage at Gettysburg was mow
ing down the flower of both the northern
and the southern armies and nearly six
years when the hlstorlo meeting between
Tee and Orant at Appomattox courthouse
let loose the dove of peace.
The first. web-perfecting printing press a
crude affair, but the forerunner of the
wonderful mechanism which now turns off
the printed dally message with the rapidity
of the lightning wasn't Invented until lRii.1.
The first successful submarine cable, span
ning the Atlantic and narrowing the gap
between the old world and the new, was
laid In 1W6. The deadly Catling gun, which
can shoot down a dozen men ns quickly ns
one could be previously, dates from 1&G7.
In the year when Warren was rounding
out his first full decade of penal servitude
the Initial transcontinental railroad, unit
ing with bands of steel the mighty Atlantlo
and the mightier Pacific, was completed. In
W3, too, the antiseptic principle of treating
wounds a great advance in surgery wus
first applied. Warren hud hen CVad to the
world seventeen years when. In 1S71. tho
telephone wus Invented. The next year the
phonograph first began to absorb nnd re
produce the human volrek In 1878 the elec
tric light first dazzled the eyes of the wnn
oVrlng world. Water gas was produced five
years later, and in the same year of 1JM
the Brooklyn bridge was finished. Medical
science was making grcut strides the wliMe.
and In 185 Pasteur first Inoculated for
hydrophobia.
farren had reeled off twenty-seven years
of his life sentence when In lXSrt at B. ran
tnn, Pa., the first successful American trol
ley was put In operation. The Mergen
thaler linotype machine, the delicate and
complete mechanism by which this article
is put into'type and which is now a leading
feature of the equipment of every large
dnlly newspaper, was imde practicable.
Warren's term of Imprisonment had
Trnnnted up to t least thirtv-flve year
when the automobile was Introduce, and'
It had passed two-score year when wireless
messages began to be transmitted. Hart
ford Times,
Telephone on the Congo.
Thn telegraph and telephone lines of the
Pelglan Congo region show some peculiari
ties both In the construction of the lines
and their operation, owing to the climate
and the character of the country.
Whero the lines run through the fprests
tho wires are placed as much as possible
upon trees and In other cases upon Iron
poles, says the Scientific American. The
wire, which is of phosphor-bronze, Is
painted black, so as not to attract the at
tention of the natives, who lay hands upon
all the copper they can find.
Tho other brilliant objects of the line,
block. A cutting thirty feet wide Is msde
through the forest for ths line, so that there
such as tha Insulators, are also painted
The latter are used for communicating with
Is no risk of fire or from falling trees. .
Besides the telegraph offices of topold
vllle, Kwamouth and Coqulthatvllle, there
are nine telephone offices and six cabins,
tho steamboats on the river.
Tho first hours after sunset are the best
for telephoning, and it is possible to tele
phone direct from Matada to Kwamouth,
or 380 miles. From the latter point to
Bonlo, or 410 miles, the voice can still be
heard.
After 10 o'clock a. m. the heat makes It
Impossible to use the telephone, especially
In the rainy season. This os due to the
fact that a return wire Is not used, and the
uso of the earth return Is accompanied by
great disturbances In the mlddlo of the day.
The greatest enemies of the telephone
lines are the wild animals. In the rainy
season atmospheric discharges often strike
the wires,' therefore the lines need to be
constantly Inspected and repaired.
Klectrle Hallways in Kngland.
The march of electricity as applied to
tramways and light railways Is shown in a
Ihltish board of trade return Just issued,
giving the figures for street and road tram
ways for 190;!-4, with comparative statis
tics for past years. The return covers the
period from 1878 to 1903-4 and divides it
Into three periods horse, steam and elec
tricity. The maximum year of tho horse
porlod was 1879, that of tho steam period
1898, while the use of electricity is stilt
growing. A selection from tho figures
given in the return shows some of the
results of the new method of traction:
Miles of Route 1879. ISf. 19003-4.
open 269 1,064 1,840
Passengers
(total i 146,000,223 858,485,543 1,799,342,6?3
Passengers
(per mile).. 4i9.il R0S.703 977,951
Net receipts ZM.m 1,062,231 2,912.110
Gross receipts JU,0U9,271 X4.&60.126 X&,604,884
Average fare
per iiassen-
ger l.K4d 1.23d 1.11
Capital 4,207,360 16.492,889 M,4M,444
' In IKH 33,777 horses and 540 steam loco
motives were employed on the tramways.
In 1903-4 there were only 15,353 horses and
200 steam locomotives. The places of those
which have gone have been taken by 7,132
electric cars. In other words, over 1,460
miles of tramway nnd light railway lino
ore now under electric traction, and only
235 under horse and 108 under steam. . Of
the total of 312 tramway and light railway
undertakings In the United Kingdom, 163
are now owned by local authorities, with
a total of 1.147 miles of track. A total capi
tal expenditure of 28,000,524 has been In
curred by local authorities.
From tho profits of theso municipal un
dertakings a sum of 207.087 was ill 1903-4
handed over to the relief of tho rates.
Among tho places at which this satisfac
tory result was achieved were tho follow-In;:
Irfeds
Manchester
Liverpool
tilnsgow
N( UllL'llUlll
Half..nl
Hull
Other Interesting figures given in the
return show that the tramways and light
railways paid 287.733 In rates and taxes,
and that l,29,li;i was paid in dividends.
4 ''
ovel I an for Wireless.
William J. Hummer, tho electrical fen
gincer, has found a novel uso for the wire
less t'icgrnph. In his New York home he
Is employing It to cull the servats. On Ms
dlniriK-rooni table Is a dainty transmitter
and pole connected by means of a flexible
Ilk cord with Latteries under thn table
iM.wn In the kitchen is another pole, will)
transmitter arul receiver, connected with
an electric bell. The I raiirnilttei are no
bigger than paper weights. When Mr.
II iniiner vtunts the niiihl he mjkIm a wire,
lens ciirr. iit lliriiiigh tlx. walls of the room.
The elcclncul waves are caught by the pole
iu the kin In n and the bell rings. A sys
tem of slgnuls permits him to vail fer
scything ha desires.
Paid to the Rates.
52.0irt
bd.twtt
27,1171
2f..iO
la. nm
12,iO
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