Evening Republican, Volume 17, Number 8, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 9 January 1913 — Page 3

POCKET STAMP CASE ACCEPTABLE SMALL GIFT FOR MAN OF BUSINESS May Be Made an Attractive Uttie Article, Especially If the Initials of the Recipient are Worked With Those of Donor The waistcoat pocket stamp case shown accompanying sketch would make an acceptable little gift Ifor a man on an unimportant occasion it is made in two separate ipieces, and the portion containing the Stamps, shown in the upper sketch, ifits into the lower portion In making it, two heart-shaped ipieces of thin cardboard are cut out in the size indicated, and neatly covered with thin silk and then sewn together at the edges to the points indicated by A and A, the upper part Ibeihg left open For the pocket for the staiftps, a iplece of cardboard an inch and a quarter in width, and an inch and a (half in length, is covered with some

of the same silk, and at the top a loop of narrow ribbon Is sewn on and the pocket arranged across the lower half. A glance at the sketch will this. » The Initials of the recipient can be worked upon one side and perhaps those of the donor on the other. Silk in some dark shade of color should be selected, as it will show and wear less quickly than more lightly colored material; this little case would look very well carried out in grey silk with red ribbon and initials worked in a color to match the latter. The initials, by the way, must, of course, be worked upon the material prior to covering the cardboard, and some pretty little floral design might be embroidered in place of them, if preferred.

Variety In Fur Scarfs.

With low cut gowns the fur scarfs are more than ever in demand. There are wide scarfs of moleskin bordered with ermine, and there are stunning comblnalons of ermine and ohlffon

GIVES COLLAR RIGHT TOUCH

Dainty Design of Trailing Flowers and Foliage Makes a Pretty Finish for the Neck. Those who admire dainty neckwear will embroider a collar, using net as a foundation. Be careful when purchasing the net that you select a firm quality, with not too large a mesh. Cut the collar the desired shape and stamp it with a simple design of trailing flowers and foliage, a festoon of tiny blossoms Of a chain of daisy heads arranged one after the other. Pad the petals and leaves lengthwise with darning cotton and stitch across this, using soft mercerized cotton. Buttonhole stitch the outside edge in scallops and finish with a frill of narrow Valenciennes lace. Bind the neck line with a bias strip of lawn, which slips beneath the dress. Insuring a well-fitting collar. A butterfly bow of embroidered net, or a jabot If preferred, gives a dainty finish to the collar.

To Wash Chenille.

To wash a chenille tablecloth boll half a pint of bran in two quarts of water for half an hour. To this add cold water to make it Just the right heat for holding the hands In comand then wash the cloth In It, using no soap... If the cloth Is much soiled, make more bran water and use It undiluted when sufficiently cool. More or less bran water will be needed, according to the else of the cloth, and a second supply may be had from the same bran. If this be enclosed In a muslin bag the trouble of straining will be obviated. ,

The HOME DEPARTMENT

which are soft and most becoming. The muffs, too, are very lovely. The white fox is an especially appropriate evening! fur, and, in fact, all the members of the fox family are favorably looked upon this season. A striking combination of black 'and white furs is produced by combining lynx with ermine. Another effective combination is that of black and gold brocade with lynx trimmings.

THIN GOWN IS THE DECREE

Idea Certainly a Pretty One, Though There Should Be Much Discretion. Exercised in Its Wear. Paris has decreed that once again the winter gown shall be diaphanous, carried out in chiffon or muslin velvet, or at very thickest crepe de Chine orßalmost gauzy satin. Except in the severest weather there is something to be said for these dresses, when they are worn by th& possessors of magnificent furs. A long fur coat is far too warm to be healthy. If worn over a thick dress, except on very exceptional days. Unfortunately a fashion may be intended for one class, but it will be copied by others, and the result of such a mode as that of the thin winter gown spells pneumonia for a good many people. However, at least the frocks are pretty, especially when trimmed with fur. Fur and. old lace combined are a very fashionable trimming at the. moment, although a far mous French dressmaker has denounced the mixture as in bad taste, and being bad art. / For the evenings, of course, thin gowns have it all their own way. Even brocades have now been brought to such a degree of lightness and suppleness that they are practically like gauze. Indoor gowns are still being trimmed with pink or pale /ground cameos, and they were also seen on hats and qoats, so those who possess these fine ornaments can still wear them in this very effective manner.

smart cravats and stocks

Old Fashion, Which Has Much to Recommend It, Will Be Welcomed Back to Favor. . One rejoices to see that again we are to wear cravats and stocks of folded black silk and satin, with small turned-down stock collars of white lawn showing narrowly at the top. Severe as it is, this is the most becoming form of neckwear possible, and if the lawn turnover Is not starched (but the laundress will stiffen it if she .gets the chance) the severity is by no means too great The finishing touches of the cravat, too, help to remove the touch of sternness. Neat and small the bow may be —but with what pointed ends, and with how much dash in its crisp lines! A very smart notion is to have the bow at the base of the throat made of narrow ribbon, three-quarters of an inch wide. This enables the bow to have the requisite spring in its lines, and alsd to be small, where ribbon of the same width as that around the neck ts altogether too flowing. For the little lawn turnovers, plain hemstitching is the ideal adornment, though a norrow edging of crochet is permissible, or a little white embroidery. Small pin-in bows in spotted foulards or soft satin are also much worn just now.

WITH SNAKE EMBROIDERY

Parisian glove makers, following the stockking designs, have embroidered them to match. The photograph ' shows an evening glove of white silk embroidered with a green snake.

Dally Thought.

Time misspent Is uot lived, but list. —Fuller.

Call of Niagara Falls

THE ordinary visitor to Niagara finds the excursion to the Cave of the Winds quite sensational enough for his peace of mind. With proper care the trip is perfectly safe, but there is one moment of the journey when the mist and spray from the falls blot out from sight his nearest companion, which gives the man of average nerve as keen a thrill as he cares for. His verdict when he is “through” is that he is glad to have done it once, but will be content not to attempt it again. There is i certain temperament, however, which the very sight of these appalling Waters seems to goad to a frenzy of mad adventure. Some time ago, for instance, a man who normally followed the unheroic occupation of keeping a restaurant, went over the Horseshoe falls in a steel barrel and was safely fished out afterward, having suffered no damage but a broken leg. This act of foolhardiness at any rate cannot be charged to youthful rashness, for the man was in his seventieth year, nor can it be explained by ignorance of what such a feat must involve, for he had already made the passage of the seething rapids some distance below in similar fashion. In some of the most remarkable feats of which Niagara has been the scene the fascination of the encounter itself has been seconded by a certain commercial instinct. The performances of Blondin, we may be sure, were shfedwly calculated with a view to future box office receipts. In 1859 and 1860 he Crossed the falls several times on a tight rope three and a quarter inches in diameter, 1,100 feet long and 160 feet above the water. He was not satisfied with the mere promenade, but would raise the hair of the spectators—sometimes there would be as many as, 25,000 watching him —by all manner of freakish variations. Perhaps he would make the journey blindfold, or he would trundle a wheelbarrow in front’ of him, or he would appear burdened with heavy shackles from head to foot in the character of a. Siberian slave, or he would carry a cooking stove and stop to make an omelette on the way, or he would stand on his head when half way across. Once he carried a man on his back and the uneasy movements of his passenger, so it is reported, drew from him the threat: "If you don’t sit quiet I shall have to put you down.” The late king of England, then prince of Wales, was among the spectators one day when Blondin crossed on stilts, and in spite of the success this feat declined the acrobat’s .offer to take him over. Gorge Below the Falls. Since Blondin’s day there have been several ‘‘equilibrist” exhibitions at Niagara, but no imitator has quite rivaled the example of daring set by the matter of the profession. Perhaps the nearest approach to his triumphs was that of Dixon in 1890. He crossed the river below the falls on a threequarter inch wire cable, and in one. of his feats lay for a time with his back on the wire. But, startling as such performances may be, presumably they do not surpass either in actual risk or in trial of the nerves some of the ordinary feats of acrobats in the circus or even the dally round and common task of steeplejacks and other useful persons whose work requires a cool head and a sure step. A quite different kind of problem Is that of “shooting Niagara,” either at the falls themselves or at the rapids Every one has seen pictures of the falls and can form some conception of what it must mean to take the drop over the cataract The Niagara rapids are less familiar, so a brief topographical note may be helpful. One set of rapids occurs about the fads, just before the waters gather

CAVE OF THE WINDS

themselves for their great leap. But the more notable series is further down. Below the falls the river moves sleepily along for a while, but presently it is compressed into a narrow gorge through which it makes its descent to Lake Ontario. This sudden narrowing into a defile whose bed is studded with rocks churns the immense volume of water into a mass of turbulent waves, where the main current, traveling at 30 miles an hour, is swung backward and forward and from side to side like a drunken thing. These whirlpool rapids, as they are called, empty the stream into the whirlpool itself, from which it has still to surge through the Devil’s Hole rapids, no less triumphant, before it once more becomes navigable near Lewiston. The Whirlpool rapids were safely threaded in 1861 by the Maid of the Mist, but the ordeal turned the captain of the steamer into an old man. Many years later a man named Perry made the same trip in a lifeboat. A rival, R. W. Flack, challenged him to a race over the course, and lost his life .in a preliminary rehearsal. But the most tragic story Niagara has to tell is that of Captain Matthew Webb. The son of an English country doctor, he entered the mercantile marine as a lad, but before he was thirty he abandoned a seafaring life to become a professional swimmer. In 1875 he swam from Dover to Calais. In 1883, though warned that physically he was not what he had been, he made the desperate resolve to swim the Whirlpool rapids. In describing his plans he explained that when he found the water very bad he would go under, and would remain under until compelled to come up for breath. He Intended at the whirlpool to strike out with all his strength to keep out of the suck hole in the center. “My life," he added, “will then depend upon my muscles and my breath, with a little touch of science behind them.” On the afternoon of July 24 he took tne plunge from a small boat. On entering the whirlpool rapids he was almost turned over by the force of the water, but he recovered himself, and in about five minutes he had traversed the mile and a quarter from the old suspension bridge to the entrance of the whirlpool. Here he seemed for a moment to be doing well. Then be threw up his arms and disappeared. Swimming Whirlpool Rapids.

In July, 1890, John Soules was more fortunate than Captain Webb, for his defeat came earlier. While he was in the whirlpool rapids the breakers dashed him against the rocks, and he was washed ashore, badly bruised, before reaching the whirlpool. Other swimmers who have attempted the passage have hesitated to -trust their unaided strength and skill. W. J. Kendall, a Boston policeman, got through in 1886, but he wore a cork vest He reported at the end of his journey that he had found his swimming abilities useless. The current took him into its main eddy and sucked him down like a flash. When he reached the spot where Webb lost his life the water went from under him and a wave knocked him unconscious. He was seen to be shot out from the pool 50 feet from the center. On regaining consciousness he swam ashore, thus avoiding being dashed down the devil’s hole rapids. On Septemper 7, 1889, Steven Brodie, who some time before had jumped off Brooklyn bridge, descended the falls themselves, clad in an India rubber suit surrounded with steel bands and' thickly padded. About a week later another adventurer, Walter Campbell, wearing a cork jacket, equalled Kendall's feat, and even excelled It, for he made his way as far down nt Lewiston.

MAKING TRAVEL SAFE

EXPERIENCED MEN AT WORK ON IMPORTANT SUBJECT. Prevention of Railroad Accidents • Matter to Which Grave Attention Is Being Given, and Results Are Already. Seen. Thirty-ohe wideawake and seasoned men are helping to make traveling

these men are known as inspectors of safety appliances. Under the law they are expected to note whether railroads are working their employes more than 16 hours a day and if the cars are equipped with self-couplers, and their trains —freight and passenger—with automatic brakes. The investigation of accidents, also, is an important ]Art of their business. Two inspectors are permanently stationed in each of the 14 districts which stretch across and up and down the country. They read the newspapers for reports of bad accidents, and when one occurs they hasten to the scene and get the facts, shielding no one, neither the railroad nor its trainmen, switchmen or telegraphers, if found culpable. Often they are ordered into action by a telegram from Washington. Among them are those who have been locomotive engineers, conductors, superintendents, train dispatchers and trainmasters. At a recent civil examination of men hopeful of becoming Inspectors only 41 passed out of about 900 applicants.

Over the Inspectors and chief among them in skill, activity and intelligence is H. W. Belknap, once a telegrapher, and later a brakeman conductor. An inspector must have had eight years of practical experience on a railway. Mr. Belknop came to his office after a service of 14 years. From the track and from the train he brought to his work an everyday knowledge of signals, of time tables, and of rules and orders and likewise of the human elements which must be reckoned with in the operation of railroads. He Is a compact and hearty man and goes straight to the point of everything. His eyes are keen, his mind is quick, and he can talk like a lawyer when such language is necessary. “This is a big and disputed question,” he answered, when I asked him to name the principal causes of accidents on railroads. “My own opinion is that most accidents are traceable to man himself, rather than to machinery, broken rails and defects tn roadbeds. We print a bulletin every three months giving the facts about serious casualties. Here are the bulletins covering six months, of last year and the first quarter of this year. Go through them and you will find the detailed reports of 48 accidents, 32 of which were collisions and 23 of the 32 were head-on collisions. Orders were disobeyed, or wrongly given, or signals were disregarded. Only man is censurable under such circumstances. “The bulletin contains reports of none but the worst accidents. There were 1,674 accidents of that kind during the first three months of this year. Men grow careless or they try to make up lost time and' trains come together. Then there are hundreds of derailments every year—rails or car wheels break or the tracks give way in weak spots. The Lehigh Valley wreck near Manchester, N. Y., in which 29 persons were killed and 62 injured, was occasioned by a new rail that was defectively manufactured. “Against my off-hand views on the subject of accidents, I am willing to put the sworn testimony of F. C. Rice, general inspector of transportation on a leading western line, who has said that ‘excessive speed was the cause of about 75 or 80 per cent, of the catastrophles in the last few years.* I quote Mr. Riee;-because he is accurate, technically. Every man in the train service of a railroad is geared up to his highest speed physically and mentally. The boy who calls a trainman out of bed is In a hurry. From the time he gets up until he is through with the trainman is pushed by spoken word and orders by telegraph. Americans in all walks of life are speed crazy. Moreover, I want to say right here that the railroad managers themselves sensationally demonstrated to the public that the 1,000 miles between New York and Chicago could be traveled in 18 houra The people ' didn't know anything about it until they saw it done.”

Good Polish for Brass.

Sift coal ashes fine and mix with kerosene oil to a thick paste; add as much air-slaked lime as can be conveniently mixed with it. Apply this polish to the bright parts, rubbing hard; wipe off the polish with dry slaked lime. Whiting and ammonia mixed to a paste is another good polish for brass, says the Railway and Locomotive Engineer. ,

on railroads safe in - the United States. The public rarely hears any of their names, yet they are officers of the national government, and some of them are usually present before the wreckage of an accident has been gathered up and carried away, writes James B. Morrow In the Philadelphia Record. Officially

SHALL LINES THAT DO WELL

Have Small Trackage, but Volume of Business Means Dividends for Those Who Hold Shares. One of the most prosperous of the little fellows among railroads is the Lake Champlain and Moriah railroad, that runs frbm Port Henry to Seville, N. Y., a distance of between seven and eight miles. In 1910 its net earnings were >51,000, and this year, so it is claimed, that amount will be greatly surpassed. It was opened in 1869, so that it is quite an old timer. It has six locomotives, three passenger cars and 326 ore cars. It is operated almost entirely in i connection with the iron mines of Mineville. Last year it moved 626,631 tons of freight. Its surplus is >128,360. Not so bad for a dwarf road. Public interest in the work of the Tuskegee Institute, Ala., of which, Booker T. Washington is founder an<t president, to a very great extent i» explanatory of the present prosperity' of the Tuskegee Railroad. This roa<* runs from Chehaw, Ala., to the institute, a distance of about six miles. Iti has only two locomotives, one passenger and one mail and express car. yet in 1910 it earned net >30,773, carried 24,487 passengers and paid a dividend of 14 per cent. But the little road has had its troubles. It was incorporated in I860;* was reorganized in 1871, after its public sale for debt; chartered in 1902, and opened for traffic about a year later. Between its incorporation and. its first operation its history is that of tedious and Intricate litigation.

Railroads in Spain.

Spain has just experienced a railway strike on such an extensive scale that the government has been compelled to call out the whole army to suppress it. Unlike many other European countries, Spain hds no state railways, and 64 per cent, of its main line mileage is in the hands of two French companies. Much of the locomotives and rolling stock have, accordingly, originated in Continental countries other than Spain, although at present a considerable proportion of the rolling stock is being built in the country. There are, four British-owned lines. These employ British material, but their combined length is only some 394 miles. The railway system as a whole radiates from Madrid, and few extension* have been made during the past few years. The two chief companies entered into a pooling arrangement a few years ago, and have thereby much improved their financial position. Tracks are being improved and doubled and the rolling stock on the through expresses now compares favorably with other Continental trains. Speed is another matter, but difficult country, barren stretches, and the conditions of night travel have much to do with its limitation.

Buck Tangled Under Box Car.

Members of an Erie freight crew running between Honesdale, Pa., and Lackawaxen had an interesting experience when their train stopped at Glen Eyre. A targe buck deer with a head decoration of five double prongs swam the Delaware river, clambered up the embankment and without hesitation proceeded to crawl under the cars. Several trainmen ran to the scene and one succeeded in grabbing the. buck’s tall. The animal became tangled In the under construction of the car and for a time it seemed that it would be captured, but by twisting and turning it managed to extricate its antlers, and with a bound it shot from under the car. The tail-hold of the trainmen had slipped, and before the spectators realized what bad happened the buck had bounded up the side of the mountain to a thicket, where it stopped and viewed the situation. It watched the crew for a few minutes and then disappeared.

Was There to Give Advice, Not Aid.

“Pat” Burns, one of the old-time engineers on the northern division of the Missouri Pacific, recently ran into a split switch, as the railroad men call it. The Jam derailed the wheels of the front truck and the engineer and fireman, with crow bars, jacks and other necessary equipment, were earnestly striving to get the wheels back on the rail. A villager was an interested observer of the operations and with painful regularity made recommendations as to how the work should be done." Burns-finally lost patience and ejaculated: "Mister, we're not looking for advice as to how to get this engine back on the track; what we need is help. Put your hand to that jack there and pump a little if you want to participate in these proceedings." But the stranger hastily beat It toward the postoffice. He was not looking for work.

May Settle Vexed Question.

In the course of a few weeks it !• expected the electric locomotive in Chicago’s Northwest Side freight yard will be drawing 100 heavily loaded freight cars a day over a mile of track, shunting them onto the correct switch, and sending an equal number of emptied cars back to the main line, with almost no disturbance to the residence neighborhood in which ~ the which the work is done. While the use of electricity is common in passenger traffic, this is the first, time the current has been used to any large extent in switching freight cars. Doubt as to the practicability of using electrlcUocomatlves in Chicago freight yards is considered the greatest obstacle to electrification, and records made by the new line are expected to help in settling the question.