Evening Republican, Volume 14, Number 256, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 27 October 1910 — Page 2

Music in the United States Navy

enlisted men In the United States nary M work hard upon occa- » | sion and it is conseJ quently only right that they should play hard "When tne time comes for relaxation and diversion. That they have the ability to play hard as well as to work hard is most apparant to any person who watches the bluejackets during their leisure moments either afloat or ashore, and the best part of it is

lhat Jack’s pastimes are of the tvholesouled, healthful sort that refresh him in mind and body as well as amuse him. Music plays a most important part in the lighter side of life in the American navy, both as the accompaniment of the frolics of all kinds and as an enteitainer In itself. The foremost factor in the musical resources of a U. S. warship is, of course, tho ship’s band which may number anywhere from a dozen to sixteen pieces and is made up'of men regularly enjisted as musicians. The bandsmen, perhaps because they devote their entire time to the musical vocation and have ample opportunity for practise are almost invariably skilled musicians and their ensemble work is excellent. Not only do they play on all festal occasions on shipboard and in the parades on shore but their music is also brought into requisition at times to hearten Jack for his work, notably on the occasion of the always arduous chore of “coaling ship.” While the bluejackets, hot and grimy, are hoisting the fuel aboard, the band is stationed on deck discoursing the liveliest airs to keep their spirits from flagging. The band also gives dally concerts or, board, sometimes several times a dfcy, but probably the one that is enjoyed most by the Jackies is tho recital at the noon hour for half an hour following tb.e nld-day meal. The selections are almost always of the most enlivening character, —waltzes and two steps,—and numbers of the boys dance on deck during this interim. Indeed, there is no more picturesque spectacle in tho routine of naval life than tint afforded by the tars in their •white duck uniforms circling round nnd round the cleared space on the forward deck, the smooth boards of which make an Ideal dancing floor. The bluejackets have their own mu-

The World’s Greatest Oil Well

HITI'ATED tWjO miles north or Maricopa, in Kern cotnty. California, in wl.at is known as the Kern River oil field, there is the greatest oil well known to the world. It is known as Lakeview No. 1. For some months It has been spouting forth a daily average of 50,000 barrels of oil, worth 65 cents a barrel where it gushes from the earth. This extraordinary well has an interesting history. Its sinking was begun in the simmer of 1909, and by October a detith of nearly 2,200 feet bad been reached. jAt that point the drill encountered an enof&ious pressure, which forced earth, gravel, and rock upward in the hole for a distance of several feet. New r wells are often filled in’ that way, the matter forced upward in the tube being so loose that in can be removed with a bailer. In she present case, however, the well was packed so t’ghtly that redrilling was necessary. Sometimes the drillers would gain on the pressure in the=>ep.rth; at other times they would lose. The result was that in five months, or to March 15, 1910 the net increase in depth of the bore was only 50 feet. The wc-11 had been sunk into aa oil sand, but' it A r as believed that by going to a greater depth the chance of securing a targe flow of oil would be increased. Finally, however, when five months' work had accomplished no greater result than is often gained in a single day under ordinary circumArmnces, the directors of the company owning the Lakeview well decided that it would be unwise to try to d/111 farther. The local superintendent, accordingly, was instructed to strip drilling and to permit the well to" producing at the depth -e/vc' rfl Cit C-trne V/ith a Pcsr. v,- .{ojlvercd.

sic quite aside from that contributed by the band. As might be expected a floating community of from 500 to 1,000 men includes many musicians and they are seldom loath to display their accomplishments for the benefit of their shipmates. Among the boys, banjos, guitars and mandolins are the favorite instruments but there are a number of violins and other Instruments. On some ships the boys have formed glee clubs, whose songs, usually specially composed, are a distinct aid to the program at the minstrel shows and other entertainments held on shipboard from time to time. After all, however, the greatest enthusiasm aroused by any form of music on shipboard Is that evoked by the comparatively new mediums, the phonograph and the player piano. There is scarcely a ship in Uncle Sam’s navy that has not its talking machine and player piano and sometimes there are several of the instru-

the Well was spouting oil at the rate of 10,000 barrels a day. This was on March 15. In 24 hours the flow Increased to 20,000 barrels dally, and In a week the average output was 40,000. In another week the average yield rose,to 50,000 barrels, varying usually from • 46,000 to 54,000. Occasionally, for a few hours, the well produced at the rate of 90,000 barrels a day. This enormous production followed the ejection of rock and shell from the tube, these having formed obstructions that temporarily checked the flow. The oil came from the earfh with a roar like that of a great conflagration. Forced by tremendous pressure, it shot as high as 350 feet into the air, the black, smoky-looking ebb® umn being visible miles away. It was scattered In spray for a long distance around the well, making it impossible to rontinue operations on adjacent j properties, owing to the danger of ’ Are. A hundred-barrel well is a good one, and a well that yielded 2,000 barrels daily bad been regarded as a phenomenon. Such a gusher as the Lakeview was beyond all previous calculations, and the problem of saving and storing its enormous output was no easy one. The tanks had been provided were like infantile clothing for a giant. As many men and teams as could be secured at double rates of pay were put to work, night and day, building earthen reservoirs. . Finally, a dam was thrown across a canyon a mile.from the well, and a mniion-barrel reservoir formed. Fortunately a pipe line Just completed between the Interior oil fields and tidewater passes near the well, and soon oil was running through it to tank steamers, - Controlling the Output. In the meantime there was another p-obtem, that of controlling the flow ;o< *be well, so that more of tho out-

nients on one vessel. The seamen, and the officers as well seem to never tire of the concerts made possible by these inventions and they have gone far, in conjunction with moving pictures, to relieve the monotony that was once a disadvantage of life in the navy.

The money to purchase the talking machines and. pianos Is raised by subscription or assessment of the ship’s company and Jack, with proverbial prodigality always insists upon .the best instrument obtainable regardless of price. In similar manner funds are raised for the purchase at regular intervals of new supplies of phonograph records and player piano rolls but ofttimes the bluejackets will make individual purchases on their own hook and donate the new acquisitions to the ship. Especially is this the case with phonograph records and the haste manifested by the boys embraces everything from grand opera by world famous singers to the latest topical songs by vaudeville favorites. The ships of the navy also have an “exchange” system whereby records and rolls, alike to moving picture films, are exchanged In order to give the men on each vessel the widest possible variety.

put might be saved —for much was being lost by scattering, and by evaporation and percolation—and to hemove the danger to adjacent property. The tubing or casing that is put down from top to bottom of an oil well can ordinarly be capped by the use of valves at the top of the well, but with the Lakeview that was impossible. There was no practical method of applying weights or force sufficient to restrain the great pressure coming up from the depths of the earth; and had it been possible to do so, the destruction of the casing and the ruin of th® well would probably nave resulted. Such a problem had never been presented to oil men before. But, after many efforts, it was solved, and the solution seemed as simple as it was efficient. Working in a shower of oil, a large number of men built rapidly around the top of the well a huge bank, which was buttressed with stones and with sacks of sand and earth. This tank filled quickly with oil. Into which the stream of petroleum from the well was shot. With all its speed and force, the outflow could make its way but a few feet above the springy mass of Impounded soil. Thus the monster was fettered. The conquered pressure now expands Its final energy in hissing and writhing, making the oil tank boil like some huge caldron. A small river of oil flows as gently as a brook from the well to the reservoirs. At first it was impossible to approach the well nearer than a mile without being spattered with oil. People who traveled from all parts of the state to see the gusher watched it from adjacent hills. Now visitors can go within a few feet of the welL They are watched constantly by more than a score of guards, whose principal business it is to see that there are no lighted cigars or matches that might start a conflagration.

REULBACH HAD MANY STARTS

Crack Pitcher of the Champion Chicago Cubs Says College Training Assisted Him Greatly. By ED REULBACH. (Copyright, 1»10, by Joseph B. Bowles.) My start in professional baseball is hard to find, as I had started several times. I am willing to tell the ‘facts of the case now, and defend them, because I always thought a college pitcher had the right to pitch for money when not at his own college. I did not consider It wrong. I had pitched around Detroit and St. Louis as a boy, and, being strong and having a lot of speed, had made some little reputation among the fellows. I wanted to go to college, and I did not want my family to have to bear all the expense. In fact, while they could have afforded it, I thought It better to earn my way. I could make money pitching baseball, and I was offered certain favors, which would materially reduce the expense, if I would go to a certain college and go in for athletics. I did not consider this as a salary or bribe, and as I would have gone to the college, anyhow, I thought it as legitimate for me to pay part of my expenses by playing ball as it would have been for a skillful student to keep books for the varsity and help pay his way. Also I determined to pitch during vacations and to make it pay my college expenses. Under the rules 1 did not dare use my own name, as that would have barred me. So I pitched under an assumed name. This might be considei'ed unfair to pitchers for rival colleges, and taken to give me an unfair advantage, but the truth is that it was not so, for two reasons. In the first place the rival pitchers also were pitching all summer, whether or not they were paid for it. But the second reason is better. It is a fact that what I learned about pitching at college helped me more in the minor leagues than what I learned in the minor leagues helped me at college. So I did not gain any unsportsmanlike advantage at all. My real start was with the Chicago

Ed Reulbach.

Cubs, and I guess it was about the warmest start ever a young pitcher made. I made my first two appearances against New York, had them beat each time and each time blew up In the ninth inning and threw away the game. That I stuck to baseball after what the old players said to me after those games showed that I was determined to succeed. They had me on the point of jumping out of windows both times, but I got mad and determined 4o stick and show them I could pitch. I guess that was about all that kept me. They figured If I could stand what they said to me I would have nerve enough to stick through anything. The only reason I write this Is to defend summer baseball for college players. I think a college player ought to be permitted to earn money in summer playing baseball if he has the ability, and allowed a chance to earn his college expenses just as well as the student who sells books should be allowed to pay his way through school.

SHARKEY YELLS FOR ‘ARTHUR'

Once Noted Fighter Witnesses Initial Performance of Play and Mis-/ understands Host. Tim McGrath is as full of stories concerning Tom Sharkey as a cocoanut Is full of milk. For the last ten years the McGrath stories have been making the rounds. Here’s the latest: It seems that Tim and a friend of his who had just written a play, and was to have the same produced at the Central theater In San FYancisco, Induced Sharkey to be a first nighter and witness the initial performance. All went well, and after the first act th®* players were called out and cheered and applauded. Then Tim turned to Sharkey and said: “Yell for the author.” “Yell for who?” “The author.” “Is that the guy’s name? All right. Arthur!! Arthur! Arthur?” It took Tim five minutes to stop the enthusiastic sailor and tell him where he was off.

Coach Has Hard Job.

Coach Hammett finds his work at Northwestern no easy job, but still hopes to turn out a winning combir.a tion from the Evanston school.

MICHIGAN TO SET NEW RECORDS

Everyone who has watched MicHjgan football teams train in other years and then has taken a daily look at the squad while at work at Whitmore Lake recently, is convinced that the 1910 eleven is going to set some records. Yost thinks so, although as yet lie isn’t saying so; Coach Douglass of the freshman eleven thinks so, and has not the slightest compunction about saying so; while Athletic Director Bartelme, Assistant Coach Dave Ailerdice and Trainer Kraenzlein are equally optimistic. That being so, the team could hardly keep from making some records and already one new mark has been established by the 1910 squad. When Don Green, Herrington ahd Cornwell joined the squad at the

STAGG SEVERE WITH MAROONS

Midway Candidates Treated to Strenuous Daily Practise—lgnorant of New Rules. Capt. “Bill” Crawley has been busy recently lining up the candidates for the University of Chicago football team. At the start Crawley and Coach Stagg put the men through a severe course of practise. This was kept up for several days. Coach Stagg departed long enough from regular practise one afternoon to give his entire squad a quiz lecture on the new rules, which lasted over an hour, and to his great surprise he found few of his men acquainted with them. The mentor of the university not only gave each man a formal introduction to the new code, but invited them, one and all,

Capt. “Bill” Crawley.

to get familiar with a. rule book for this year at once. Some of the answers to his questions were amusing, and good-natured Old Man of the Midway could not help but smile at the ignorance of some of the regulars.

Hamilton Is Barred.

Hamilton, the star on last year's Notre Dame team who is charged with having played professional ball with the Louisville club, has been barred from football competition at Notre Dame. His loss will he a severe blow to th« Catholic Institution’s football lineup.

Le Baron Injured.

Le Baron, a candidate for quarterback at Northwestern, was seriously injured the other day when tackled. His back was wrenched and ha probably will be out of the game fur a nonth. , '

Captain Benbrook.

training camp the other day it swelled the list to 25, and of the 25 no less than seven woA their “M” by playing on the team that downed Pennsylvania and Minnesota last year. For- uniformity In size, this year’s group of line candidates surpassed the teams of 1903, 1904 and 1905. Captain Benbrook easily towers above the others, but with that one exception the men are about equal in weight. When it is considered that the bunch of line-men will average more thfcn 185 pounds, one can readily see why Yost is so well pleased with the prospects for a formidable set of forwarda for this year’s eleven. Captain Benbrook will be left at guard, where last year he showed so well that Walter Camp chose him for his imaginary All-America eleven.

MENTOR SAYS YALE IS WEAK

Walter Camp Declares Old Eli’s Material Is Lacking in Strength— Talks of New Rules. V\ alter Camp, the football mentor at Yale, gave out an interview recently in which he stated Yale will not have as strong a football team next fall a® in the last two or three seasons. The material is said to be not as good as In lormer years, and It Is Camp's opinion that both Harvard and Princeton will have strong teams, but he would not say whether they would be able to deffeat Yale. Speaking of the new rules formulated last spring, Mr. Camp said; "I think we ought tb have a great game this fall If the coaches and players are quick to grasp the possibilities. Of course, there are a number of tech- » nicalitles In the rules which are going to make the work of the officials mighty hard. One of the hardest kind of tasks for the officials is to determine when one player 1® pushing another. When the players are massed, It will be hard to designate the man who la pushing or pulling another. In this connection It might be said that one of the hardest problems for coaches to solve is to stop the players from pulling or pushing. Before this season the words pull and push were heard more than any others in practise and tho players have been coached so much In this that It will be a task to stop them. “Of course, this is only my opinion, but I hope the rules work for the satisfaction of all.” Camp said it was a hard fight to agree on many of the points which have been adopted, as each member of tho committee had certain suggestions which he wanted converted into a rule. As a result, several compromises had to be made.

The performance of Second Base- j man Charles of the Milwaukee (Amer- j ican association) team, the former I Cardinal, who went in exchange for 1 Harry Mowrey, in the field meet in Minneapolis recently, when he encircled the bases in 13 3-5 seconds, created a great deal of interest in baseball circles. It Is a new world’s record. In the record book, Marty Hogan, while a member of the Indianapolis team, encircled the bases in Indianapolis in 13 1-5 seconds in 1895, but this mark is said to have been unofficial. Ty Cobb is credited with doing the stunt in 13 4-5 seconds ifi Chicago, October 18. 1908, and thlrt has been considered the real official mark, as the trial was made under th«t sanction of the national commission. Hans Lobert of the Reds has a marl; of 14 secouds for the trip around the bases.

Fast Run by Charles.