Evening Republican, Volume 15, Number 261, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 4 November 1911 — Page 2

Tim inclined position of the arm. Indicates that the "block” which the train is about to enter Is "clear."

When you travel on a train that speeds over many miles of Intricate

system carried ten per cent of the estimated passenger traffic of the United States, or 49,491,000 people, without a fatal accident to any of the number. This remarkable achievement, which la an unparallelled record in railroading, is attributed directly to the installation of safety devices. The victory of safety devices has reduced the possibilities of accidents and collisions to the minimum. In America the accident problem has been the most serious to deal with in modern railroad affairs. The long lists of casualties have been presented as evidence that railroad men in general held a reckless disregard for life and property However, this cannot be proven true, an railroad progress has been too rapid to permit of a great deal of time for the developing systems for the safe handling of trains. But the publicity given to all forms of accidents, and their investigation, has been a spur to greater efforts to safeguard lives and property. This effort has developed s universal campaign calling for the expenditure of millions of dollars, which has already resulted in a big reduction of accidents and the' guarantee of greater safety to the traveling public. When you have occasion to travel again, you will find it an interesting study to watch the signals along the track. Ton will then understand why the “semaphore arms” prevent one train from crashing into another, guard against all kinds of accidents, and observe Just how railroad travel Is aaade safe. This system of providing safeguards against accidents and loss of life is known as “the automatic block signal system." Principle a Simple One. The principle governing the operation of this system is simple and easy to understand. Along any line where automatic block signals have been installed the track is divided into sections called “blocks,” the average ot each being a mile or a mile and a halt, la length. At the end of every "block” a signal In the form of a “semaphore arm” is erected, which controls the section on which it is stationed. The position of the arm of the semaphore tells the engineers or approaching trains whether to stop or go ahead. If a block Is occupied by a train, the signal dfriTwifl extend tn a horizontal position, meaning “stop." or "danger,” and it holds that position as long as the train remains in that Mock. Or if any obstruction, such as a broken rail, a misplaced switch, or any object is on tbe track in the "block section,” tbe arm will remain at the “stop” signal until tbe obstacle is removed. In this way the electric semaphore prevents all kinds of accidents, which in tbe past have occurred because no one was there to give warning, or perhaps It was the mistake of some trainman. But the trustworthy block signal places around the traveler zones of safety from terminal to terminal. Through the two rails of the track there flows an electric current from a battery at tbe opposite end of the block. This current controls a small motor, which pulls the semaphore arm down and holds it in that position as long as the block section is unobstructed. But when a train passes the semaphore and enters the block the wheels aad axles of the engine and cars Interrupt the current flowing through the rails. When this occurs the “semaphore arm ” immediately flies to the "stop” position Easy Rules for Crew. It is quite as possible for the current In the rails to be interrupted by an open switch, a broken rail, or any obstruction on tbs track. When this takes plaoe, the semaphore arm comes to the “stop” position. Or should any part of the electric automatic system get out of order, the arm will fly to the “stop” position, and will in no esse give the “clear” signal unless tbe “block" is clear. Bo even when’ tb*. automatic apparatus is not working properly it I. safe. The train craws have simple rules to rotlow. If the arm la in an inclined position, tbe train may go ahead to the next signal. If the arm is In a

HOW RAILROAD Is MADE SAFE

laws MMM&TO ! msm msmL tmmicm I m mm 1

tracks, and then dashes into some city across a network of puzzling switches, 'have i you ever wondered why it was you, felt so secure? Somehow, you are conscious of the engineer’s confidence in his route by the masterful way he rushes his train over the tracks and through the great yards of terminals. Last year one large railway

rThls train has Just entered a "block," automatically signaling “•top” to following trains.

horizontal position, the train must stop, and not enter tbe block until “proceed” orders are received or a flagman has been Bent ahead to investigate. These signals operate as well at night as by day. At night when the semaphore arm comes to the “stop” position, It displays a red light. When the arm is in an Inclined position, Indicating a clear block, a green light is displayed. If the lights should fail to work, there is a warning signal in the absence of either the red or green lights. The mute orders are to stop, just as though a red light was flashed down the track. Thus the engineer runs his train with confidence in the electric automatic block system. He knows the man tn the signal tower in giving him the right of way automatically seta signals against all other trains from entering the block which he occupies. Work of the Towerman. After studying the signals of the semaphore arm, which prevent collisions and accidents, the man in the tower who operates the signals comes next. In front of the man in the switching tower Is a map covered with little lines corresponding to the confusing network of tracks which make upsthe Tallway yards and main tracks. On this map each track is numbered and each switch is designated by a symbol. By means of the map in the switch tower, the great problem of receiving and dispatching trains is solved. Tbe tower man has planned the rapid movement of all trains without waste of time or disastrous accidents long before their arrival at signals or stations. In this way hundreds of trains travel over the right tracks with speed and safety, because all switches and block signals are under the control of the man in the tower, whose map tells him when and where all trains are to go.

Mistakes and collisions are almost Impossible, because when the man in the signal tower has set certain switches he cannot open other switches without changing his first signals automatically. It is the same way with every clock signal along the line; once a signal is given it cannot be changed without setting instantly other signals against it On single tracks trains enter the blocks from both directions, and it is necessary to provide signals at both ends of every block. In making the block signals overlap each other, two trains approaching the same block from opposite directions at the same time are prevented from getting “clear” signals to enter the block simultaneously. On many roads of double tracks the semaphores are provided with two arms for controlling two blocks instead of one. This system of overlapping the various block sections gives advanced signals to approaching trains. The extra arm tells the engineer whether the second block signal beyond is at a “slop" or a “proceed” position, and if the first block is clear, and the second obstructed, the train can thus proceed with caution to the next signal. At railroad crossings, ends of double track, and ail places where tracks cross or converge, the switches are operated by “interlocking signals.” By means of levers the switches and signals are so interlocked that it is impossible to give “clear” signals over the same track for two different trains. The interlocking signals differ from the block signals in that two or more semaphore arms are used. Certain arms are used for certain trains.'

Emergency Tests for Efficiency. Quite a few of the leading railway systems, which have a large mileage of automatic signals, have adopted a plan of carrying out “surprise” or “efficiency” testa for trainmen. These are sometimes chlled “emergency” tests, and the object is to make sure that the trainmen are obeying operating rules and respecting all signal warnings. On a western railroad tbe safety movement is being advanced throughout the entire system by a campaign known as the "safety habit button plan.” The slogan that is printed on each button is “Get the Safety Habit" These novelty buttons have been freely distributed among the army of railroad workers with excellent results. .. Another large railroad system has started et the roundatlon of things to promote the safety movement among employes. For the purpose of developing individual efforts and efficiency in maintaining the tracks and roadbed in the best condition, this company oas established a system of awarding cash prizes. Tbe money Is to be paid to the roadniasters and section foremen whose divisions show the greatest improvement for the year. This railway system considers a good condition of tracks to be the first and most Important accomplishment in their work of development. It directly promotes greater safety and efficiency in operating train*.

DON A NEW UNIFORM

Spectators Get Glimpse es French Soldiers' in New Togs. -V < J Color Is Something Between Khaki and Bage Green to Blend With Nature—To Give as Much Invisibility as Possible. Paris.—Spectators about the Gars de l’Est, the other day. had their first glimpse of French soldiers dressed in the new uniform, when a number of privates came from their “caserne” to exhibit themselves. They had obtained a leave of absence of 25 boors in order to parade about the streets and advertise the innovation in military fashions. The uniform is known as "l’unifrome reseda,” the color being something between khaki and sage green. The purpose of the color is to blend the hue of a regiment with that of the country in which they, are marching jjr fighting, thus adding a new French arm to strategy and endeavorand if possible to reduce the number of wounded and killed by rendering the soldiers invisible to scouts. The dull yellowish rose and green of the mignonette have wrought the color of the new dress. When the soldiers drill upon a green or yellowish place in the full light of tbe gun, the illusion of invisibility is said to be marvelous. When the sun is behind them the illusion disappears. A similar innovation worked well In the case of armies other than those of France. During the war in the Transvaal, the English discarded their ornate dress and put on khaki, which color blended with the sandy country. This assured them a nearly complete invisibility at times. The purpose of

FORM TOMATO LINE

Evanston Has Procession That

Gets Vegetables Free.

Col. Henry M. Kidder Is the Giver and He Also Contributes Flowers From His Garden —Hospital One of Beneficiaries.

Chicago.—Evanston has no “bread line,” for there is no Institution to which the poor may line up with baskets as they do every night around a certain group of Chicago restaurants maintained by a charitable management that gives away, bushels of bread and cake and roils at the day’s close. Evanston has, though, and it is even more unique, is a “tomato line.” Col. Henry M. Kidder is the owner of r “farm” which distributes tomatoes gratis. So far as he knows his Is the only recognized and regularly operated free tomato dispensary extant Its beneficiaries number scores of families of the poor of Evanston proper and North Evanston, besides many less impecunious ones who accept gifts from the distributer In consideration of his plea that the vegetables will spoil on the vines unless housewives contrive to convert large quantities into pickle, piccalilli, catchup, chill sauce and allied concoctions. As a result of his invitation there are daily pilgrimages to that quarter of North Evanston where the Kidder homestead is situated, and children form a large proportion of the basket Bearers who go to get the tomatoes. A charity hospital for convalescents in North Evanston also shares bountifully in the distribution. Colonel Kidder supplies the hospital with flowers also, and almost every little girl who goes with her basket for tomatoes re-

PROUD OF BOYS’ CORN EARS

Exhibits Grown by Pennsylvania Youngsters Is One of Most Inter esting Products at Fairs.

Harrisburg. Pa.—“ Exhibits of corn grown by boys’ corn-raising clubs and sons of farmers hav® formed one of the most Interesting displays at every county fair and agricultural exhibition visited this fall.” declared A. L. Martin, Deputy Secretary of Agriculture, today. Mr. Martin is in charge of the supervision of county fairs, and has visited most of those held in this state so far. He says the boys’ corn shows are among the most valuable adjuncts to the agriculture of Pennsylvania. *T was struck with the quality and the size of the exhibits made by boys st ths various county fairs, and marked the keen rivalry between clubs rspresenting townships or districts and between hoys In the same neighborhood. The exhibits were well presented, and in some cases histories of the corn were given. There is no question; these corn clubs are proving a stimulus to agriculture and inculcating in the boys greater Interest in ths farm."

Gets Relic of Washington.

Dedham. Mass. —The notes from which Washington delivered his farewell address are bequeathed to Miss Llsxie C. Faxon of this city by the will of her grandmother, filed for probate here. Mias Faxon la a descendant of Thomas Jefferson and has a valuable collection of Jefferson letter* and pa~

HIS MAJESTY’S DURBAR YACHT

WTHIN a short time King George and his party will sail from England (or India, where the imperial durbar will be held at Delhi in December. The Lie w p. and O. liner Medina has been chartered lor the royal party and will be added to the navy for the time and manned by navy officers and crew. During her commission she will be one of the smartest and most graceful ships on the ocean. She will be painted white, with a ribbon of royal blue and gold, and a third mast is to be stepped amidships, from which the royal standard will be flown. In these respects the Medina will differ considerably from her sister ship, the Maloja, which is taking distinguished visitors to the durbar, for the Maloja will be painted black with a white ribbon, and have only two masts. Tbe vessels are of 20,000 tons displacement. ’

the reseda uniform is to blend well with both yellowish and green land.scapes. *■ - The helmet is a tiny thing and fits close to the private’s head. There is a jacket that extends half way to the knees. Long heavy trousers of the same width at the bottom as at the top of the leg, are confined about the ankle and calf by puttees of coarse cloth. The heavy, unwieldy breath-stop-

turns wih a bunch of fresh cut posies as well. Colonel Kidder Is over seventy years of age. Erect, white haired and wearing a goatee, he would be set down anywhere as a “Kaintucky colonel of the old school, suh.” He is a southerner in appearance and manner only, though, for he was reared In Evanston and his Rev. Dr. Kidder, a professor in the Garrett Biblical institute, was one of the pioneers of the north shore town.

PLAY STAGED BY CONVICTS

San Quentin Prisoners Erect Structure and Make Properties for a Dramatic Performance. San Quentin, Cal. —In the shadow of “murders’ row” of the state penitentiary and with convicts in stripes, both men and women, as an audience, a dramatic performance has been given on a stage erected bjetbe convicts in the prison yard. The play selected was one dealing with the struggles toward honesty of « reformed safe cracker. Stage properties for the most- part were manufactured by the convicts, who threw themselves into the work of preparation in a way that, rivaled their reception of the play itself. Among the audience were men serving life terms. Some of these figured in the prison band, which supplied the music for the piece.

Plague Squirrels.

Stockton, Cal.—One thousand farmers, representing 80,000 acres, have imposed a tax of five cents per acre on themselves to exterminate ground squirrels in San Joaquin county, which are said jto. be infected with bubonic plague.

This Justice Needs Scales

Missouri Divorce Suit Has So Many Angles Judge Has Hard Time in Solving Difficult Problems. St Louis. —In deciding a divorce suit at Clayton. Judge McElhlnney Is having to measure Justice with a yard stick and weigh testimony In the terms of pounds and ounces. These two problems have been offered for his consideration: L Can a man, who weighs 140 pounds, knock down his wife, who weighs 200 pounds, twice on Sunday and several times during the week 7 3 Can a man who Is only 4 feet 10 inches tall kick his wife in the shoulder without getting on a chair, when she is standing up and la 5 feet 10 Inches tall? The principals In the case'are Mia. Julia Haemmerele and William Haemmerele of University City. The two problems indicate their conflicting testimony In the case. Other testimony had to do with stories of quarrels In fie Haemmerele home. The wife denied she once broke some of her* husband’s riba with a nightstick after he had been arrested tor breaking some of her fruit Jars with an ax. In reply to a bartender, who said Mr*. Haemmerele had come to his place dally to buy liquor, the wife said her husband sent her because If he went himself he might have to buy somebody a drink. * Thera was much other testimony at the warns sort which kept the courtroom !n a titter and provoked a re monstrance from the woman’s attor-

THE MEDINA

ping straps that crossed tfie soldier's chest and supported hiß knapsack and canteen across his back, have been discarded for a simple affair that crosses in the back, and fastens in front to a single strap, down the copter of tbe man’s coat To this bang his- knapsack and canteen. There is a strap that goes about the waist, which Is fastened to the upper arrangement The whole may be put on with a single movement

SHIFTS A DISPLACED HEART

Fluid in the Left Pleural Cavity Had Pushed It Out—Surgeon Put* It In Place Again. Philadelphia.—With his heart in the right place again, Harry Baylies of Bloomfield, N. J., left the Mountainside hospital, Montclair. The boy, son of Polico Sergeant John R. Baylies. entered the hospital a few weeks ago. The uistory of his case was not clear. The surgeons found that much fluid had accumulated in the cavity that contains his left lung; its pressure had pushed his heart out of its normal position and to the right, so that Harry would have had to lay his hand over his breastbone if he wanted to make love with appropriate gestures. The surgeons tapped Harry's left pleural cavity very much in the same way and "with the same kind of instrument as a nurse taps a bottle ot champagne to draw off one glass for the patient But the surgeons drew all the liquid from the cavity. Then Harry’s heart, being relieved from pressure, returned to its proper position and cesumed pumping at the same old stand. Literally, Harry breathed freer, but that had not so much to do vith his heart as with his left lung; there was more room for air In it after the fluid was removed. The surgeons advised Harry .to keep as quiet as possible, else the fluid may accumulate again. But if it doe* they will draw it off.

Increased Price of Platinum.

New York. —Platinum has been advancing rapidly in prices recently and now it is quoted in Maiden lane at 947.50 an ounce. This is the highest price on record and Indicates an advance of $5 an ounce since the first

of the year. Local dealers predict a lurther increase. At the present quotation platinum is worth nearly two and, a half times as mfcch as Sold.

ney, who declared the case was being made a travesty. SURPRISE FOR POLICE JUDGE Certain Magistrate, Name Not Mentioned, Starts Out to Buy Suspenders, Finds Watch. Baltimore. Md. —It so fell out that in the city of Baltimore, in the of Maryland, on or about this date, a certain police magistrate, whose name lk withheld, as it would make him a marked man in his profession, after the toil and heat of administering Justice to ths public, had betaken himself to the business section tor the purpose of purchasing the wherewithal to maintain, support and uphold his dignity, both as a jurist and a man, towit: A p-r of s-ep-ad-rs. And as he wended his way through the crowded street* what should his eye behold but an object far mors valuable even than that at which he was in search, yes, even more costly than a P-r or s-sp-nd-ra—a gold watch. Now comas the truly wonderful peprt t fit all. Albeit this man was a police magistrate, he forsook his quest, and. retracing his steps to the stations he had just quitted, delivered the aforesaid watch to the police, from whom the owner shortly after recovered It / And If any doubt this tale, but chance to know the justice referred to, let him seek the station and behold the squire wearing the new p-r of s-sp-nd-rs which he bought after returning-the watch.

POWER FROM RAINFALL

WATER OF MONSOON SEASONS WILL BE UTILIZED. sindian Company Plans to Construct . Three Immense Reservoirs and to Develop 40,000 Horsepower of Electric Energy. —— Owing to the irregularity of the amount of water in the rivers of India uninterrupted power from them for industrial purposes cannot be depended - upon. During the monsoon season, from the middle of June to the middle of September, for instance, the average rainfall at Lanoull, on the west ccast, is 175 Inches, although sometimes greatly exceeding that amount During the other nine months there is scarcely any rain. Soon lifter the. opening of the preent century the plan of storing water and using it for industrial purposes was conceived, and after a thorough investigation by engineers, native capital to the amount of |6,486,666 was raised, and on-November 7, 1910, the Tata Hydroelectic Power and Supply company ..was incorporated. , It Is planned to erect three lakes or reservoirs. The Lanouil reservoir, which will store water to be used during the long breaks of rainfall in the monsoon season, will approximate 100 acres, formed by a dam 3,800 feet long and 26 feet high, with a capacity of 380,000 000 cubic feet The Walwhan lake, situated about one and one-half miles from Lanoull, will be formed between two spurs of hills by a dam 4,500 feet long and 68 feet high. The area of the lake will two and one-half square miles, with a capacity of 2,600,000 feet of water. The dam will be of solid masonry, fitted with sluices. Later oh a third reservoir will he constructed beyond Walwhan lake, with which It will be connected by a tunnel nearly a mile long running through the dividing ridges of steep hills, which, will form a watershed 1,200 feet above the level of the valley. This reservoir will have an area of 3,174 acres, or nearly five square miles, with a capacity of 7,000,000 cubic feet of water, which, after traversing a distance of four miles, will he led through masonry ducts from the lakes to a fore bay, 2,040 feet above the sea level. There it will enter pipes six feet In diameter and run down steep slopes and precipices to Khopoli, where the generating station will be located 200 feet above sea level. The head will be 1,730 feet, and the static pressure 680 pounds per square inch. This generating station is 90 miles from Bombay, where the electric ensrgy, estimated at 40,000 horse power, will bemused for manufacturing purposes.

Phrases and Their Use.

How 1b it that the phrase “well alight” is used in all descriptions of disastrous fires; in the news items, in the underlines of illustrations, in the very report of the firemen to headquarters? Whence this suggestion of satisfaction? Does it come from some sympathy with the energy of fire, such as SL Francis of Assisi confessed when he would not deprive the “jocund fire” of its prey—his shirt? “Chasfte water,” “Jocund fire” —what a poet was that saint, by the way. But “well alight” seems rather to have more obscure reference to some unsaintly pleasure in tyranny, expressed also by the common phrase “a good whipping,” "a good ducking.” The latter sayage journalese is applied to ill-fed and 111-clad little boys when they go through the ice. Well-fed skaters “sustain immersion.” —London Chronicle.

No Hope For Him.

“Do you object to me because I am prematurely bald?” he asked after she had refused for the third time to promise to be his wife. “No, it isn’t that," she replied. “You could of course hide your baldness by wearing a wig.” / ; “Then what is it? There Is some reason why you will not be mine. Tell me what it is. If It is anything I can possibly change or overcome I will do it.” ‘l’m sorry, but it is something you cannot possibly overcome without losing my love.” . “Yon make the thing more mysterious. Please tell me what It la? I must know." • Well, If I must Hi tell you. Your ears stick out so that they get on my nerves; but if you were to have them amputated I shouldn’t care tor you at all." ~

Conan Doyle on Divoroe.

If I were given supreme power, a power as great as both houses of parliament, for a single day, writes Conan Doyle tn the Strand, I would exercise it In the direction of the reform of the divorce law*. Th* divorce laws In England are so arranged at present that divorce Is practically Impossible for a poor man. that people are tied without hope of release to lunatics, drunkards and criminals, and great numbers (more than 200,000 Individuals) are separated by law, and yet are not free to marry again—a fact which cannot be conducive to public morality.

So They Say Who Have Tried it

A Michigan paper, referring to the bereavement of one bf its subscribers, said: “She was left a widow through tbe death of her husband ”