Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, July 23, 1905, Page 4, Image 20

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    Public Playgrounds
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LL WORK and no play makea
Jack a dull boy."
ThrouKh manyorm and fll-
tered t1irouli many lansuageg.
i I from the time of the original cave
dweller, probably, we of today have
hae framed In this saylnK the concrete
belief derived from ages of experience.
We shquld couple Jill with Jack, If we
were revising the axiom, for glrla stand
equal with boya In this aire of the world.
And we all know that the word work as
here used Is meant to comprise everything
that is not play; yet some kinds of work
are really play for Jack to Instance, car
rying water to the elephant for a peep at
the show.
To mention play ground Is to call up
visions of a big lot with many trees making
shady spots, . with hedges and grass and
wings and sand piles. This Is the set and
proper play ground. Another kind not to
be despised vis a gravel pit or a side hill
alongside a creek or a lake; or a vacant
lot where there Is room to swing a bat
and knock the cover off the ball. The
publlo road or alley will do In an , emer
gency. Hew Some Games Started.
Children of the loe age on real hot daya
Gossip nud Stories Aboul Noted People
An Inaersolllan Boast.
Fl gathered many anecdotes during
I KlvtMn venm artlvlf. ut th
New York bar. He told a good
story the other day of the most
severe arraignment he ever heard In a court
room. "It was uttered by Colonel Robert
Ingersoll, who was usually the soul of good
nature," he said. "In a case which aroused
his Indignation he requested the Jury to
study the defendant's face. 'I mark out In
hlm,' he exclaimed, 'the meanest man, I,
know a mnn so mean that nature wasted
her time In making him, and the dirt of
which he is composed would have been bet
ter employed in filling the grave of some
other such man. If such another ever
lived.' "
Johnny Let Go.
President Roosevelt, on one of his bunt
ing tours In the Adirondacks, spent a very
long day In restless pursuit of big game.
By the time success had finally Justified
the chase, he made the discovery that he
was a very hungry man. At his urgent
request, the guide conducted the party
to the nearest inn the wilderness afforded.
The journey was not a brief one, and, by
the time the hostelry was reached, Mr.
Roosevelt was still more hungry.
When informed that the only fare ob
tainable at the establishment was corned
beef and cabbage, relates Success. Invol
untarily he made use of the expression
which has' long been famous:
"Delighted!"
Amusement was created In the " presi
dential party when the chief executive,
whose Identity had been kept a secret, was
given a seat at the family buard. It was
Increased when the huge portions of corned
beof and cabbage was passed from the
head of the table where sat the host. The
first plate to make Its appearance was
heaped very high. It reached a small, boy
and got no further. The president sighed
to express his envy and disappointment.
"Johnny!" exclaimed the host, sharply,
"thet ben't fei you; thet be fer the
stranger."
Much to the amusement of all, the presi
dent seised the rim of the plau on one side
while Johnny held to the other.
There waa a moment of doubt.
Then the president, softly and. with a
twinkle in his eye. but with Inexorable de
cision, leaned over and spoke into the red,
resentful faco of the hungry boy:
"Johnny," he said, "let go!"
Johnny let go.
A Frrtrhrr Hashed.
During the heat of the anti-slavery agita
tion while on a railroad train Wendell
Phillips was thus addressed by a clergy
man: "Mr. Phillips, why do you and your
associates tontlnue to exalte our people
of the north when no slavery exists here?
Why do you not go to the south whero
slavery does exist and stop the Importa
tion of slaves?" "I believe you are a min
ister of the gospel." said Phillips. "That
la my vocation." replied the clergyman.
"And yotir mission la to save souls from
hell?" "That Is my mission." replied the
other. "Then." replied Phillips, "why do
you not go there and stop the importation
of souls V
p"" Gronp Hedeeen to Tw,
Of all the persons who stood about the
deathbed of President Lincoln when he
died in the Peterson home in Washington
only two are now living. The death of
secretary Hay removed another of tho
famous group of twenty-two, and now
Robert Lincoln, son of the former president,
and Dr. Ctiarles A. Leal of (04 Madison
avenue alone remain. '
Dr. Leale was the surgeon In attendance
on President Lincoln during the entire time
after he was shot. The doctor was then
executive oflWr of the United States army
general hospital In Armory Square, Wash
used to consider the locality of a glacial
rill quite desirable; and In tile stone age
caves and mountains we may be sure of
fered attractions to the hardy youngsters
of the men who used to crack the bones
of mastodons with their trenchant teeth.
Out on the wild prairies the wild lads o
the aboriginal vagabonds used to practice
the capture1 of fierce cacti against the day
when they could leave mimic warfare for
the real thing. Long before the days of
Brian Boru the gossoons of the Emerald
Isle coursed the green fields with hurling
sticks. They were the original "shlnhy"
players and set the pace for modern hockqy
tricks. Over on Auld Scotia's hills the
canny balms Indulged In a rough game we
know In Its tame aspect as "duck on the
rock." Grownup folk afterward developed,
this Into the roarln' game of curling. The
first marble playerj were In glorious Egypt
and ancient Persia and laid the founda
tions for the useful and healthful gam
of golf.
Even the Chinese and Esquimaux are no
doubt responsible for some playground
games. The young Esqulmo hitched him
self to a reindeer, most likely, and thus
we get the hunch the boys of many lands
have evinced for bobby horses and hitching
on. Perhaps some genius of the slant-eyed
ington, and was summoned by Mrs. Lincoln
to take charge of the president.
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Obeyeil Orders.
The late General Negley of Pennsylvania
waa a strict disciplinarian. During one of
the winters of the civil war he concluded
that a certain guard house was altogether
too comfortable quarters for prisoners and
ordered Colonel Maiston, who later won
fame as a soldier, lawyer and statesman,
to build a dungeon without so much as a
crack or opening anywhere, so that it
should be perfectly dark. The dungeon
waa built with four solid walls, according
to the Chicago News. One day General
Negley came over to Inspect It. He waa
accompanied by Colonel Marston. "Where)
is the jntrance," said the general, "and
how dc you get anybody into It?" "Oh,"
said Cv!onel Marston, "that Is not my
lookout. I simply obeyed your orders."
Recent Progress Made in the
Electrifying- Railroads.
COMPANY has been organized In
A I New York for the purpose of in
Xt I troducing on steam roads the
three-phase alternating current
electric traction system which has
bvcu perfected in Europe by the engineer
ing firm of Gans A Co. of Budapest. The
company has acquired all the Gans eleo
trlo traction patents and manufacturing
rights covering the United States, Mexico
and Cuba and all of the West Indies other
than those under British control. A di
rector of the company describes its pur
poses tn the New York Evening Post:
"The huge Initial cost of- converting
steam railroads on this side of the Atlan
tic has been a stumbling block to tho
various managements considering change
of motive power. The Installation of tho
three-phuse system, costs about 40 per
cent less than that of direct current, which
Is the prevailing mode of electric traction
so far Installed by the large American
electrical companies. Another important
claim made for the three-phase system Is
that it is the only method which provided
for recuperation of power on down grades.
In other words, the power usually wasted
In braking and coasting down grades Is
by this system returned to the line as
useful energy for handling other trains.
It futhermore saves the wear and tear
In rails, brake-shnrs. wheel tires, caused
by mechanical braking.
"Tli most stru.i..K illustration of the
three-phase system is ths slxty-flve mile
Valtelllna line of the Italian State rail
ways, which has been inspected by elec
trical experts from all over the world.
The operating cost had been reduced by
upwards of bo per cent over steam loco
motive operation, which was formerly the
power deed."
Negotiations were stated to be under way
with one of the large trunk lines looking
toward the conversion of part of Its road
Into electric motive power by the Gans
system.
Electricity Ceaancrs the Alps.
The summit of the Jungfrau. one of the
highest of the 8lss'Alps, has been made
accessible to tourists without running any
of the risks that have hitherto been taken
by Alpine climbers through the completion
of the Jungfrau electric railway. The rail
way starts at the Little Scheldegg station
of the Wengern Alps railway, a cog line
operated by powerful steam locomotives.
Little Scheldegg station is located at an
elevation of s.770 feet above sea level. The
summit of ths Jungfrau is 11.(70 feet high,
and the electric trolley ascends to within
W feet of the highest point In a distance
and Outdoor Games for Omaha Boys
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r eV., " M !.f.vv.'. ' 1 r a
iflrst proposed' "button, button, who's
got Ahe button?" A man doesn't carry
much weight In China, even today, unless,
he sports a button of some kind for a
topknot The sending afloat of boats by
seashore urchins Is but the continuation of
the play of the vikings' sons. "Ring around
the rosy" was old before the glory that
was Greece ever began to appear over the
horizon. Top time had Its earliest Incep
tion, quite likely, when the young dervishes,
despairing Of spinning like their elders, de
termined to make something else spin. Klta
flying, it appears, was practiced by the an
cestors of the high-flyers of many ancient
lands.
riaygronads In Modern Times.
Nature provided the playgrounds for the
boys and men of the untamed lands. Today
the school, college, or municipality fur
nishes them. The world Is getting pretty
well crowded where children most do con
gregate and to provide places where they
can expend their surplus energy is become
something of a problem. Men like George
Gould, who want to be pals with their boys,
can build wonderful courts ' whereon they
may disport themselves to exhaustion's
edge. The great universities and the pre
paratory schools also devote many ducats
to places to play; and schools and colleges
for girls vie with those for boys In laying
' out campuses and their annexes whereon
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IN THE SAND PILE.
of 7.1 miles. For the first 1.1 miles the
road climbs along the ' base of the Elger
and a grade ranging from 10 to 20 per cent.
Then It plunges Into the mountain rock and
Is for the remainder of the distance In
closed tn a tunnel, except at the three way
stations and the terminal, where the sides
of the bore are loopholed with windows for
observation purposes. The highest gradi
ent on the line is 25 per cent.
At the upper terminal of the road an ele
vator shaft 240 feet In height reaches the
summit of the peaki where an observa
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MRS B. H 8 PRAGUE, 1 RANSMISSISBIPPI CHAM
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MERRY-GO-ROUND IS POPULAR.
the body may be made strong, supple and
enduring. But It is not of these private
abodes of healthful play and physical pleas
ure that the great publia Is concerned. It
Is of the crowded districts of cities t?.at
modern philanthropy takes note when plan
ning playgrounds.
A scholar and traveler of a bygone cen
tury on his return home from a heathen
land shocked all educated Europe with the
questionable statement that the hearts of
18,000 boys were offered in sacrifice 'yearly.
The heart of every boy in Omaha and
throughout the great cities of the United
States is to some extent sacrificed when
he cannot have healthful play. It Is the
belief of all who have studied the subject
that young hearts become ossified and throb
small for high endeavor when pleasurable
exertion along the bent of play Is prevented
from any cause.
Thus It is that today we find parks In
which the "Keep Off the Grass" sign Is
abolished; sand piles In school yards; pub
lic natatortums and base ball grounds; pub
lic golf links; neighborhood, breathing spots
and play rooms In churches. Close at home,
comparatively, may be mentioned St. Paul,
with costly publlo baths and extensive play
grounds fitted up with athletic apparatus,
swings, running tracks, and a boo. Kansas
City has done almost as well with a publlo
natatorlum and a generous plasa for ball
playing In summer and skating In winter.
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SWING FOR THE GIRLS.
tory has been erected for the accommoda
tion of tourists and sightseers. The view
obtained from the top of the Jungfrau Is
said to be one of the finest In the Swiss
Alps and one of the moat impressive In
any part of the world. The entire cost of
the road. Including construction and equip
ment, has approximated $2,000,000. It was
financled on an estimated trafflo of 10,000
passengers a year and the franchise was
obtained on a maximum round trip rate of
IS.68, but It Is understood that the company
contemplates establishing a $6.75 rate. The
Omaha Women Who Won Honors at Golf
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In nearly alt the larger cities, especially la
the east, much or little has been done on
the same line. Canada, too, has followed
suit. It Is a saving game that all sociolo
gists are willingly learning and teaching.
Omaha Makes Start.
Only the other night Omaha's first publlo
playground was opened. It Is nothing much
to look at, but it typifies good and un
selfish work by earnest bodies of men and
women. And It may be mentioned that
the money spenders for this Initial effort
at a publlo gathering and playing place for
little ones were the members of the Wo
man's club. Time and materials were con
tributed in quite generous measure by men,
but the women put up the coin, to the ex
tent of (ISO. They expect to draw interest
In the satisfaction of witnessing the good
they have done.
Lacking trees or grass, the people manag
ing, the playground have laid a cinder
foundation with a clay surfacing and have
provided an invalided street car and a tent
for shade when playing In the sun has be
come tiresome. That there 'was a need
for this publlo place to be vigorously Joyful
Is proved by the crowds of lads and lassies
who are to be seen swinging, using the
rings and riding on the rather primitive
merry-go-round. This consists of a wagon
wheel fitted onto a support In the ground
and two boards thrown across It. It serves
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FOR LITTLE BOYS
Field of
company figures on a total annual Income
of $139,360 from the traffic, and the operat
ing expenses, reserve fund and Interest on
Its bonded Indebtedness are estimated at'
tS6.$0, which will give Its stockholders ?
per cent Interest on the $800,000 capital In
vested In the enterprise.
' The successful construction of this rail
way will probably lead to the invasion of
other Alpine peaks by similar methods,
and, bringing the matter nearer home. It
may suggest the construction some day of
electric railways to the summits of Mounts
in SI. Louis
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MRS. W. T. BURNS, RUNNER-UP TRAN8MISSISSIPn
CHAMPIONSHIP, 1.
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the purpose and the toddler who falls off
hasn't far to drop.
-What tho Play Lends To.
While In ancient days children could play
with wooly rhinoceroses and draw pictures
In stone caves during rough weather, they
demanded wider chances for doing things
and undoubtedly got them. In our day a
dog is a treasure for a real boy and a doll
Is a darling for a girl, but they will not
suffice. To run and romp, and shout, and
Jump, and engage in feats of skill or of
strength; to choose sides and struggle
mightily, to climb, and "skin the cat," to
play hide and seek, to fight a few licks
mayhap, Is as necessary to nature's own
loved ones as is eating. Children have been
known to take a large chance on losing a
meal for a few minutes or an hour more
of good strong play. And if they had tn
lose the meal they could always play even
at the next session' around the table.
Telemachua gave his life In the Roman
arena to stop one-kind of sport that de
Real Life Illustrated by Anecdotes
He Obeyed the ' Uir.'
T T Y7 1BA T - TIM. T.' n'lOuU 1t
I " I known In the Methodist church,
A I was an admirer of ; conatstencv. '
relates the Boston Herald. When
preparing for college he attended
a co-ed ucatlonal school, the old Newbury
seminary in Vermont, where very strict
rules were laid down to regulate the asso- -elation
of the sexes.
One morning as he reached the entrance
to the campus a 'young lady also arrived
from the opposite direction, and at the
same moment a drenching shower began.
Young. Peck had an umbrella, but the lady
had none, so he gallantly held his over her
head until he left her at the ladles' en
trance to the chapel.
Being called to account for this. Peck re
plied: "No wrong was intended, but I could -not
see the lady get wet when I could pre
vent it; neither did I wish to get drenched
myself, so saw no other way but to share
my umbrella with her."
"But," remonstrated the grave professor,
"do you not know, Mr. Peck, that ladles and
Electricity
Shasta, Whitney and other Slerran peaks
which could be operated cheaply with elec
tric power derived from the streams flow
ing down their flanks, and would doubtless
be patronised by tens of thousands of lov
ers of mountain scenery annually.
Electrle Train Test.
Details of the. first electrloo train test
held on the Long Island railroad with the
cars and apparatus to be used everywhere
on the line when the equipping of the road
with electricity Is accomplished, has been
made public. Ths test was made two weeks
ago. A maximum speed of fifty-seven miles
an hour was attained.
The train was equipped with the Westing
house multiple control apparatus, which
has been selected for the road. The motor
man bad no trouble with the train. The
opinion was expressed that there would be
no trouble In keeping up an average sped!
Of forty-five miles an hour or better. The
ordinary subway express runs about forty,
two miles an hour. When the work of elec
trification was started it was predicted
that electric trains would be running on
the Rockway branch by July. It la now
said that the work will be delayed possibly
a month or more. It Is understood that ths
delay Is due to the protests of property
owners agvlnst the surface third rail, but
It Is declared that this opposition Is soon
to be overcome.
Electrle Knalnes for gnbwny.
There Is under construction at the Juni
ata shops of the Pennsylvania railroad a
unique expe rlmental electrical englre for
use. If satisfactory, In ths company's New
York subway and Long Island tunnel con
nections. The engine Is to be built In two
sections, with a truck under each, the
trucks h&vlng four wheels slxty-flve Inches
In diameter. The length of the engine will
be thlrty-scren feet ten and a half lnrh- s
over all. All parts of the machine will be
built for strength, the trucks constructed
of steel castings of extra heaviness.
Washlnitlnn-Baltlmore by Trolley.
From ths heart of Baltimore to the heart
of Washington by trolley has been an oft
recurring dream that has constantly flitted
and refused to come true. At last, how
ever. It seems that the connection la to be
a wideawake fact. . It la a result which
the people of both cities will welcome, ex
claims the Baltimore American. I the
through passenger rates are made so mod
erate as to be popular, as It Is to be as
auined thay will be. the movement each way
will be of large proportions. The two cities
will And great future eatlsfaeUon In an ex
change of attractions.
and Girls
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FOR ARTIST.
lighted bloodthirsty onlookers and was play
for all hands. Some new Telemachus may
yet plunge Into a foot ball game with his
life in his hands, but If he gets killed It
will be In a rush of husky lads of good
moral training whose veins are throbbing
with warm red blood. They are but re-
ponding to the world-old spring of life
that bids them bound and spring and hold'
hard for "our side."
There are small youngsters who can make
noise enough to shatter the nerves of many
male and female non-players, but the ef
forts of the latter to stop the noise won't
count. Hardly permissible at home as
folks live nowadays, the noise and vim and
vociferous ebullitions must find veat some
where. The playground Solves the problem, '
and these open air, regulated romping spots
for the boys and girls promise to Increase
with the passing years. If the municipali
ties will not provide them the general
bunch of citizens will. - '
He was a wise man who wrote recently
that "The boy without a playground is '
father to the man without a Job."
gentlemen, while students at this seminary,
are not allowed to walk together without
permission from some member of the fac
ulty." "I do sir; but allow me to ask if a lady
and gentleman thus chance to meet on their
way to the seminary, how far apart they
must valk hot to Infringe upon this rule?"
"Really ahem! I should say ten feet at
the least."
An exchange of notes between Mr. Peck
and the young lady caused the two to reach
the campus entrance the following morn
ing at the same moment, and Peck was car
rying In his hand a ten-foot pole. Politely
handing one end of tho pole to her, he
carried the other and thus they went to
chatl.
Dream Told of Mother's Death.
William Craw, a 18-year-old patient In
the Bridgeport (Conn.) hospital, has amazed
the surgeons by a mysterious faculty of
"seeing things" In dreams before they
happen, or about the time they happen.
Mrs. Rose Jepson, a sister of the young
man, who Is recovering from the loss of a
leg In a railroad accident, called on him.
His mother died after he was taken to the
hospital and his sister feared to break tho
news.
"Mother had another of those bad spells
last night," she said.
"Why, mother is dead now," said the
young man, sadly. Then he told of a
dream. "I knew she was dead last night
when I had a dream at 10 o'clock," he said.
"I dreamed that I was in the open air.
Suddenly two stars descended. One of them
burst open and I saw mother's face. She
smiled and I felt her Angers running
through my hair. She said: 'Oh, Willis!'
Then I awoke."
The boy's mother died at 10 o'clock, the
hour the lad had. the dream.
Three nlshts before Craw met with the
accident he dreamed that he was Injured
and told his friends at the time.
. Novelties In Lanadry Tags.
The number of letters used by American
laundries to distinguish their patron's gar
ments are disfiguring enough, but we are
fortunate In that the collars and cuffs do
not come back from the wash tagged with
the business card of the laundry.
In certain parts of France the name and
address of the laundry are stamped on each
piece sent home, and should several laun
dries be patronized one after another a
Ane collection will soon be found In addi
tion to geometrical marks Indicative of
the owner of the garment.
In Rusnlan towns laundry marks are
unilor police supervision, and in this man
ner a refugee who makes his way to an
other town upon a forged paanport is liable
to detection unless he can borrow linen
with the mark of one of the town laun
dries upon It.
Bulgarian laundries employ rubber
stamps with ornamental designs, while In
Germany the laundry comes home tagged
with a small cloth label attached with a
heat and waterproof cement.
Activities of Weatlnit honae.
George Westinghouse of Pittsburg, who
has been chosen to act as trualne in the
Equitable society's affairs, controls fifteen
great manufacturing companies, nlna In
the United States, one In Canada and five
In Eurore. Bu3lness Is his recreation, tak
ing the place of automobiles and yachts
and race horses and picture gallerlr-s, widen
other hard-worked millionaires find neces
sary to rest tlielr tired faculties. As an
Inventor he takes high rank. On one' oc
casion, while engineering a lart' financial
movement In New York City, in lilea for
a mechanical device suggeated Itself. As
soon as possible ie took the train for Pitts
burg, busying himself while en route by
drawing a sketch of the proposed Inven
tion. On reaching his declination he
drove to one of his factories and, placing
the drawing In the hands of a master work
man, said: "Make that." The machine
proved to be a great success.