Evening Republican, Volume 14, Number 266, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 8 November 1910 — Page 3

Dre Ghosts Realstuff?

// * FTER all, It seems that there really are such things aa ghosts. Sci- /// Ml ence at last accords /if M H them a somewhat be[f— Ml | lated recognition—--111 «\ 1 tllou Sh, of course, reMV H fusin S to acknowledge | that they are super JJ natural. On the conthe newly accepted theory), they are to be classed as natural phenomena, chemical in character. . Why is ft that ghosts, since time immemorial, have been so intimately associated with graveyards? Why is t that the deaß in cemeteries are so universally believed to “walk” at night? Why, when specters walk, are hey so generally accustomed (in popular belief) to be sheeted —that is to say - ulad in winding sheets —though nowadays people are nearly always buried in ordinary clothing? These questions, and others- equally nteresting, in regard to phantoms, science is now for the first time prepared to answer. As to the first point, the reputation graveyards have for being haunted is attributable to the fact that ghosts, of the kind now recognized as real, do actually and not infrequently walk about in such places. They are seen at night (rather than jn the daytime) because their chem•cal constitution is such that they can not be visible except in darkness. Finally, they are (or rather, appear to be) ‘sheeted” for the reason that the gases of which they are composed—here we begin to come to the explana tton flicker and waver in a fashion suggestive of garments. For some reason not easy to explain, the dead are supposed to be hostile to the living. Few people there be who would not run, terrorstricken, from a ghost, if they thought they saw one. But, making all allowance for this fact, and for the influence of imagination, it still seems strange that the conviction that a graveyard is a dangerous and dreadful place to venture into at night should be so widespread even among educated persons. Nobody objects to entering, or wandering through, a burying ground in the daytime—rather the contrary, indeed, most cemeteries being attractive spots. But at night it is different. The real cause of this fear lies in the circumstance that phantoms, for Reasons presently to be made clear, are, and always havebeen, haunters of graveyards. People have been frightened by them time and time again, in such places. Other persons, who have not _ seen them, and who have professed disbelief, have nevertheless been influenced by testimony of the sort. Not often has anybody, witnessing a phenomenon of this kind, attempted to investigate it. Much .safer does it seem under such circumstances to take to one’s heels. Nothing but the skepticism of science can fortify a man against the terror of such an experience. But, as it chanced, some years ago, a government antkfdpblbglst; of Mgk reputation (now connected with the department of agriculture), Prof. W. J. McGee, had an opportunity to study this matter at first hand. He was living at the time in a small town, in the middle west, where, only a few weeks earlier, a burglar, engaged in the exiercise of his hazardous profession, had been shot to death. Hastily buried, he might have been expected to refrain from disturbing the community further —instead of which, he proceeded to “walk,” his ghost being repeatedly seen by a number of reliable witnesses, stalking about the potter's field where his grave was located. a Professor McGee, being appealed to on the subject, in his capacity of scientific investigator, finally consented to look into it. He went to the potter’s field on a moonless night, sat down a short distance from the grave (carelessly left only half filled up) which had been pointed out to him as that of the late burglar, and proceeded to wait for something to happen. Nothing did happen for quite a while, and he was just making up his mind that he had come on a fool’s errand when he descried a dim light imrne-

Speaking Over the Wire

Some Painter* to Be Remembered by Those Who Are Ueers of the Telephone. Most men—and women —use more nervous force In Bpeaking through the telephone-4tfan .would be needed to keep them strong and healthy for years. Nature knows no strain. True science knows no strain. Therefore a strained, high-pitched voice does not carry over the telephone wire as well as a low one. Impatience, rudeness, Indecision and diffuseness blur communication by telephone even more than they do when one is face to face with the person talking., It is as if the wire itself resented these Inhuman phases of humanity and spit back at the person who insulted It by trying to transmit over it such unintelligent bosh. To a demanding woman, who is strained and tired herself, a wait of ten seconds seems ten minutes. I have heard such a woman ring the telephone bell almost without ceasing for 15 minutes. I could hear her strain gnd anger reflected In the ringing of

By RENE BACEH

diately over the grave. As he gazed it became steadily more vivid and distinqtj. appearing to hover in the air—a flame-like, restless thing, about the height of a man and rather strikingly resembling the popular conception of a ghost. When he attempted to approach the strange object it disappeared. He went back to the place where he had been seated, and it became visible again. Every now and then a gust of wind would seem to “blow it out," and it would vanish for the moment, presently reappearing. Apparently its movements were caused by the breeze, its wavering suggesting drapery. But presently the professor saw another ghost, of similar aspect, not far away, and then another and another, until there were at least half a dozen. It was not surprising that the townspeople (crediting a report to the effect that the burglar’s wife and children, deprived of the family breadwinner] had died of starvation) should declare that these unfortunates came at night to dance over the graves. Porfessor McGee found it impossible to get within a dozen feet of the phantoms, which would always vanish on his near approach. He is unable to explain this circumstance; but he became convinced through careful study of the apparitions that they were nothing more nor less than gaseous emanations of a self-luminous character. In all probability.- they were largely composed of phosphorus, derived from the dead bodies of people buried in the potter’s field. Here, then, is an explanation of the reason why ghosts haunt burying grounds. They are in fact a natural (not supernatural) projdupt of graveyards, as one might say. jn the body of an adult human being there are 55 ounces of phosphorus, seven-eighths of this quantity being contained in the bones (where it goes to make phosphate of lime), while there are ounces in the red corpuscles of the blood, and nearly half an ounce in the brain. The processes of decay set this phosphorus lree in the gaseous state — under which circumstances, atmospheric conditions being favorable, it is liable to produce, in the night time, effects such as those above described. As is well known, decomposing vegetable matter in swampy places yields

the bell. When finally she “got her party" the strain in her high-pitched voice made it impossible for her to be clearly understood. Then she got angry again because “central" had not “given her a better connection," and finally came away from the telephone nearly in a state of nervous collapse, and insisted that the telephone would finally end her life. Ido not think that she once suspected that the whole state of fatigue which had almost brought an Illness upon her was absolutely and entirely her own fault.— Annie Payson Call, in Nerves and Common Sense.

New Phase of the Moon.

“See, papa—see!” little prattler, pointing toward the moon which, for some moments, had been hidden by a cloud; “the moon is open again.”

Enjoyed It.

“Did you enjoy your vacation f” “Best in the world.” ’“Where’d you go?” “My wife spent a month with her folks." ; v. •

an emanation that 18 highly phosphorescent, causing the phenomenon termed “will-o’-the-wisp," or "elf Are.” It is not reasonable to suppose that there is some relation, in respect to cause, between the will-o'-the-wisp (which occasionally misleads unfortunate travelers into boggy places) and the “corpse candles” said to be often seen moving about in the mysterious and awesome darkness of cemeteries? The “sheeted dead” are alleged to carry these candles in their ghostly hands when they walk about among the graves at night. The skeleton of an adult human being contains about four pounds of the metal calcium. This, in fact, is the most abundant metallic element of the body, structure. In the fluids of the body, also, there is a good deal of it. But calcium and phosphorus, when combined, form a self-ignitable substance. Indeed, water will Bet it on Are. If a bit of phosphide of calcium be. dropped into a saucer of water, it will instantly burst into flame, on which account, in the laboratory, to protect it from dampness, it lias to be kept in an air-tight jar. Three other self-ignitable substances, all of them metals, are contained in the human body. One of these (about two ounces in quantity) is the silvery-white magnesium—of familiar use for flashlight purposes by photographers. The other two are sodium and potassium—rather more than five ounces of each. A piece of the former, if thrown into water, bursts into a rosy flame, and swims about violently on surface until burned out. The latter is likewise set afire by contact with water, on touching which it explodes like fireworks, throwing a shower of sparks into the atr - As for magnesium, it is so fiercely combustible that it has to be kept tightly corked in glass bottles to prevent it from igniting. Thus Is appears that tho human body contains, in considerable quantities, quite a number of substances which are self-ignitable. and fiercely so, on coming into contact with water The marvel is that we refrain from going off by spontaneous combustion so to speak, while we are alive When' burned, these substances, of course convert themselves into gases, which are luminous. Under favoring grave yard conditions (the processes of decay on very gradually) they Sot S in°a S, ° W, K y - by evap °raUon, *Z scribed Thev *** that ab ° Ve de the view !n l. P J° Bent them «elves to , . Vlew - in darkness, as mere ical emanations—luminescent n? about bv Ho-ht „« ,ununesc ent. blown tirely for h ‘ a,r8 ’ ° r diß «'P*ted enureiy ror the moment bv «. no- . SM 2kll P *L™” kjn o “ e ®. annot ca Pture a ghost of this kind. It cannot be trapped in „ k or a bottle and conveyed to a scientific laboratory for examination or analv sis. Henco It is likely that the%™« composition of phantoms will remain as much a mystery as it Is today. But (supposing the theory here set forth to be correct) it is a comfort to know, in a general way, what grave yard spectres are made of. When people are murdered their bodies often hapenj) are buried in cellars or other damp places theii ghosts, for the chemical reasons already given, are particualrly likely to walk. So says Prof. Charles S Munroe, a famous chemist ami a of the George Washington ’universltT who even goes so far as to declare that ha could at a pinch psoduce Z his laboratory phantoms In all im portant respects corerspondini those are popularly supposed to'manufactura. 7

HARD WORK TO GET STARTED

Harmon, Considered One of Coming Pitchers of Country, Tells of Hie Early Playing.

BY ROBERT HARMON.

(Copyright, 1910, by Joseph B. Bowles.) I broke into baseball on a bluff, or a dare, i had not the slightest intention of making baseball my business in life, but J. loved the game, and never lost a chance to play it, no matter what happened. I remember that when I was at school at my home in Liberal, MO., where I was born in 1887, I used to play “hookey” to play ball, and whenever the West Side and the East Side teams played on Saturday afternoon I was either pitcher or catcher. No one could chase ipe into the outfield. I moved down into the southwest and started to play ball at Morenci, in Arizona, not so much for what they paid me as for the honor of playing on the teams. I don’t exactly know how they happened to find me out there y : but the Portland, Ore., team offered me a trial in the spring of 1908 and the boys bluffed me, saying I couldn’t make good. I didn’t, but the fact that Portland gave me a short trial and

Robert Harmon.

then sent me home aroused my determination to show them I could pitch whether they thought so of not. It happenea that Shreveport, La., offered me a trial in the spring of 1909, and over there I met a catcher who knew, something. He was Lee Garvin, an old timer who knew more about pitching that I ever will know if I live to be a hundred. Garvin began showing me a lot of the tricks of the trade and teaching me how to use the natural curves and speed I had. He started me to thinking in earnest about how to pitch scientific-, ally instead of shutting my eyes and shooting the ball around the plate as hard as I could. Under Garvin and Dale Gear, who was managing the team, I began to learn the rudiments of scientific pitching. I was successful in the Texas league, and before the season was half over the St. Louis club bought me. I was raw even then, but managed to stick it out and hy studying and working I have managed to last this long. A pitcher never gets through learning, and the moment he thinks he is master of all the trickß of the trade he is t’eady to go back to the minor leagues. A fellow has to keep working and studying all the time, learning to do new things with a ball, and learning to use his head. It is hard work, but I never have regretted trying to break out into the big leagues. Even if I slip back now, on damage my arm so I never can pitch again, the experience and training gained will help me in any line of business or trade. I think I have learned self-control, patience and to keep my temper; to respect the rights of others and to look on things with the other man’s view as well as my own, and I think it has been as good an education as 1 could have gained in any way.

BAR MAN COACH FOR WOMEN

Secretary Sullivan Says Athletics for Fait Sex Should Be Confined to Themselves. “I am very decidedly opposed to employment of men as athletic instructors or coaches for girls or'women,” says James E. Sullivan, secretary of the Amateur Athletic association. “It Is a mistake to have a man, for example, In a girls’ gymnasium, or to have him coach or direct girls in their athletic exercises. “A man coach in a girls’ school will naturally present his theories from a masculine standpoint. He will tell his pupils to play a good, rough game and instruct them to do things as a boy or man would do them. “Girls’ athletics when conducted along safe and sane lines. Is a real benefit to the health of the girls. They must not be jxploited, however, as female Sandtfws, Sheppards, Sheridans, or as show girls. A girls’ basketball team must not be trained in tricks, nor should it be sent around the country to exhibit the players for gate money. “Competition for girls should be in its own group and in private, without an admission fee, and without the sensation-seeking crowd. Girls should be kept in their own group and not permitted to take part in publio sports.”

MICHIGAN’S FOOTBALL SQUAD

Michigan’s close game with the Michigan Aggies, in which the Wolverines were victorious, 6 to 3, should not be taken too seriously, as the Aggies have one of the strongest teams in years this season and in Hill the farmers have a player who continually can keep his team from being scored upon by his beautiful punting. -i The game demonstrated one thing, and that is that Michigan has a strongdefense, one that will be mighty hard for Pennsylvania, Syracuse and Minnesota to penetrate. If Coach Yost is satisfied with this defense he surely will develop an ofTense which will be equally effective. Followers of football should not take this contest or the one with Case as criterions of Michigan’s strength. Yost Is going to have a strong and powerful eleven and he is sure to have a team which will make things exceedingly interesting for

MAKE-UP OF ALL-STAR TEAM

Honus Wagner, Christy Mathewson and Mordecai Brown Among Those Relegated to Bench. Relegating Honus Wagner, Christy Mathewson and Brown to the bench of oblivion, but naming five Cubs and two Sox as the peers in their respective positions, E. C. Patterson, in Collier’s Weekly, picks this All-Star baseball team with the following comment: Catcher —Kling. Pitchers—Coombs, Walsh, Johnson. Cole, Ford. First Base —Chance. Second Base—LaJoie. - - ■■ Shortstop—Tinker. Third Base —Lord. Outfielders —Cobb, Speaker, Schulte. As a catcher Kling has no equal today. It is a mistake, however, to give him credit for the work of the Chicago pitchers. It should be borne in mind that Chance selects his pitchers and also takes them out of the game. Heaven knows, most of them, except Cole, have been taken out many times this season! All hats off to Chance as a manager and first baseman, for intelligence and baseball brains. LaJoie needs no comment. Wagner has not played the game this year in the field, at the bat, or on the bases that Tinker has. I hope my prediction will not come true, but I think “Honus” has seen his best days. Lord, at third, has given the White Sox new life. The outfielders are fast and furious at the bat, on the bases, and in the field, v Take the five pitchers named, and with batting behind them they will win a pennant for any league, any time, and any season. If you will stop to analyze it, the teams that they represent would not be anywhere near where they are today in the race without the services bt these pitchers, excepting Walsh, and be is the champion hard luck pitcher of the year.

GIVE SPALDING “GOLD BRICK”

Baseball Presented to Him by President Murphy Is Not Genuine, Declares Thomas Foley. Some one has "gold-bricked” Charles W. Murphy, president of the Chicago Cubs, and depended on the flight of time to cover his footprints. The other day Murphy presented to A. G. Spalding, one-time champion pitcher, the ball which was used In Spalding’s great game against the Chicago White Stockings, at that time managed by Thomas Foley, one of the oldest billiard .magnates. How Murphy got the ball Is a mystery, for the ball used in that game was burned when Foley’s billiard hall, in Chicago, was destroyed in the great fire of 1871. 1 \ - Foley, to use his own words, was "breathless” when he read a story to the effect that Murphy had given Spalding the old hall. Foley had clung to that hall with great care up to the time it was burned, as it was proof that his club had beaten the greatest pitcher at that time In the world, and says he, knew positively that the ball was lost In the fire of 1871.

Fight Club for Winnipeg.

A number of Winnipeg sporting men soon will organize a club similar to the National Sporting club of London. Before leaving for Chicago the other day Harry Gilmore, who has been asked to organize the club, had a long conference with members of the grain exchange, who are leaders in the scbemeT*and on his return to the city be will take up the matter

Strong and Powerful Eleven.

Michigan’s opponents. Whatever use Michigan may make of the changes in the rules this yedr, it is certain that the opportunities offered by the rule allowing unrestricted direct passes is to be taken full advantage of by the Wolverine eleven. Yost himself doesn’t say that he is going to use the direct pass exclusively, and probably he won’t. But it is a good bet that the big majority of the plays upon which he pins his faith in the Notre Dame, Minnesota and Pennsylvania games will be plays in which there is no middleman —in other words, plays in which the quarterback is the man who calls the signals, and nothing more. The Wolverine leader always has been strong for crossbucks and straight bucks by the halfbacks, and under the new code the chances for success of those plays seem to have increased Immeasurably.

DROP KICK BEATS CHICAGOS

Toe of Quarter Otto Beiler Gives 1111(11 First Victory Cver Maroons In Nine Years. 7 Playing with grim determination and struggling against an Impregnable defense, Chicago went down to defeat the other day on Illinois field 3 to 0 in the first victory of the Orange and Blue eleven over the Maroon since 1901. Otto Seller, the doughty Illinois quarter, in making a beautiful drop kick from.the forty yard line in the first quarter was all that kept the game from resulting in a tie, although

Illinois outplayed and outgeneraled Chicago throughout one of the most bitterly fought struggles between these ancient rivals in recent yean. The wildest scenes occurred at thai call of time at ‘he end of the final, quarter. Revolvers were shot off and! the cannon roared. The playing field was one mass of wildly shouting persons who seemed unable to control theii* happiness. Everything that possibly could be done to celebrate vie-' tory was done and finished in a manner which seldom has been witnessed. Hats were torn, women’s hats were thrown in the ai{, stands broken, and what took place that night will be remembered for some time.

That football players should 'oe numbered as are track athletes is the belief of many Michigan university athletic authorities. An agitation was begun the other day to place numbers on the players as they take part in a regular contest and print the numbers with the players’ names in the program. : - ■ . By this means it would be possible for the spectators to identify individual players and keep track of the numerous substitutions made possible by the new rules. The scheme has been used at Ohio State tor several year* with marked success.

Otto Seiler.

Numbers on Football Players.