Evening Republican, Volume 18, Number 20, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 23 January 1914 — Page 2

ADMIRAL FLETCHER THE SCIENTIFIC SAILOR OF UNCLE SAM’S BIG HAW

Noted Naval Officer Has Invented Some of the Most Valuable Mechanical Contrivances in Use in the Service—He Is Also Exceedingly Well Read in International Law— Was Born in Oskaloosa, Iowa, in 1855.

♦ '' Washington.—Friday Fletcher evIha n.iry willa him He got his nickname in a rather odd way. It so chanced that the officer who .now commands the American naval forces in Mexican waters was born on the sixth day of the week in the

Admiral Frank Friday Fletcher.

town of Oskalooßa, la. The exact date was November 23, 1855. His father on this account ÜBed to call him “my little man Friday.” When he was a little chap of seven his father died. At fourteen he was appointed to Annapolis, and in due course was escorted thither by an older brother, who when called upon to put the youngster's name down on The roster of boys entering the Naval academy, wrote “Frank Friday Fletcher.” \ -This did not particularly please the family, because Friday was not really a part of his name. But naturally under the circumstances it stuck. He was called Friday all through the five years he spent at The academy—he dropped back one class, being rather young to keep up—and ever since that time his fellow officers in the service have known him as Friday Fletcher and nothing else. Young Fletcher was graduated from Annapolis on June 21, 1875, and soon afterward was assigned to duty on board the United States steamer Tuscarora. which was engaged in surveying a submarine route for a projected cable to connect California with Japan. This, by the way, was a very interesting job. ' R involved an exploration of the oc&an depths, almost the first ever made, and specimens of the materials composing the sea floor were brought up from the bottom all the way across the Pacific. Just east of Japan the Tuscarora discovered the deepest hole that exists anywhere in the world, a marine- abyss, known to this day as the Tuscarora Deep, the soundings failing to touch bottom at five and a quarter miles below the waves. Although accident first directed young Fletcher’s attention to scientific matters, incidentally to his professional duties, he soon showed a special aptitude for such pursuits. He has an investigative turn of mind, and if he had not happened to. become a naval officer it is altogether likely that he would have been an inventor. Indeed, some of the most valuable mechanical contrivances used in the navy, especially *n connection with guns, were originated by him. Among these are improvements in telescopic sights; -he well-known Fletcher breech closing mechanism, and a frictionless gun mount for quick fire rifles. Another very remarkable cruise, in 1879-1881, took the young officer to Korea, on the steam sloop Ticonderoga. then a formidable warship. Commanded by Commodore R. W. Shufeldt, she was sent around the world in obedience to a special order of congress. and in behalf of the department of state, to make what was called a commercial and diplomatic cruise. The most important object of the expedition was to open negotiations with the government of Korea for a treaty which would insure the protection of the lives and property of Americans It v/as also desired to open Korea to American commerce, and Japan, being at that time on very cordial terms with the United States, had signified her willingness to lend assistance toward this end. But when the Tlcorideroga entered the harbor of Fusan, fused tc accept the letter hand'd to them b; Commodore Slrufeldt, on the ground that it was addressed »-> the king of Korea, whereas their monarch was properly designated as the king of Chro-Sen —which, being translated, means “Land of the Morning Calm." Accordingly, the American vessel was Obliged to withdraw with nothing acoompllshed, her departure being sig-

nalized by a derisive salute from a Korean fort _ Korea, although nominally an independent monarchy, was in reality under the suzerainty of China. Accordingly, the expedition proceeded to Chi-’ nese waters and, after spending a year there all difficulties were surmounted, and the Ticonderoga returned t 8 Korea, thereupon negotiating a treaty which was signed b;~ thebigh contractittg parties in a temporary pavilion erected on an point of land opposite the ship. The next noteworthy duty to which Fletcher was assigned was an expedition of a purely scientific character, the object in view being to determine with accuracy the longitude of a series of points in South and Central America. This .work was accomplished by observation of the stars, supplemented by the use of telegraph, the task being part of a network of longitude determinations made by various civilized nations and encircling the entire earth. ~ On the way back from the Peruvian Andes, where the last longtitude observations had been made, Fletcher reached the city of Panama just in time to find that town suffering from a more than ordinarily severe epidemic of yellow fever. People were dying of the disease like flies, and during a fortnight which he spent in the harbor much against his will landing parties were going ashore from the vessels every day to bury victims. That was in 1884. Since then professional dutieo have been of a much varied character. At different times* he has commanded the torpedo boat Cushing, the gunboats Kanawha and Eagle, the cruiser Raleigh and the battleship Vermont. Three years ago, although only a captain at the time, he was made aid for material to the secretary of the navy, a place ordinarily not assigned to an officer under the grade of rear admiral. For some time he was in command of the torpedo station at Newport, and in regard to torpedo boats and subma-

The Battleship Rhode Island.

rines he is considered an expert. Noteworthy improvements in fleet tactics have been suggested by him. But his most remarkable inventive ideas have been developed in connection with naval ordnance.

MR. AND MRS. FRANCIS B. SAYRE IN LONDON

Mrs. and Mrs. Francis B. Sayre In the home of Ambassador Page la Grosvenor square, London. Here In the ambassador’s splendid home tht forme*' Miss Jessie Wilson, daughter of the president, and her busbaud hast been enjoying a few days of their quiet honeymoon.

THE EVENING REPTTBIJCAy, RENSSELAER. ilfo.

It to said of Admiral Fletcher that he is forever inventing something. He was born with a mechanical bent. At the naval academy, however, he attracted no special attention, being quiet, shy and studious. has always been a conspicuous attribute ol his, bnt yrhen something important if to be done he is the readiest man in the tvorld. Fletcher and efficiency are almost -Synonymous. Even his mechanical in ventkras are—suggestive of the same quality. The .Fletcher breech closing mechanism shuts the breech of a rapid-fire gun in the quickest imagin able time and with the fewest possible motions. The gun mount already men tioned is an arrangement of truncated cone Von a roller path by which fric tiop is reduced to such a point that a weapon weighing thousands of pounds can be trained literally with one finger ahd*clamped instantly to fix it upon the target. He is a man of medium height, neither stout nor tbinrand too rugged looking to be handsome. Unlike most naval officers Be did not marry until he had reached middle age. His wife was a Washington girl. Miss Susan H. Stetson. The Fletcher home is in Washington at 1441 Massachusetts avenue, and they have two young daughters. Admiral Fletcher’s flagship in Mexican water is the battleship Rhode Island. In addition there are under his command the battleships Nebraska. Virginia, New Jersey, Michigan. South Carolina and Louisiana; the cruisers Tacoma and Chester, the gunboat Wheeling and the supply ship Culgoa. It is a formidable fleet.

CUPID A VERY “QUEER KID"

Beginning and Ending of Romance in . Which Not a Single Word Was Spoken. Huntington, W. Va. —For two year* persons living near the railroad tracks here have watched for the Overland freight, which is due through here at 4:30 in the afternoon. To those who were disinterested watchers the event simply meant a glimpse at the "mad fireman,” as they called him, for, as the train whirled by here that member of the crew would hang out of the cabin, wave a piece of waste or a handkerchief in the direction of the long hill and presently throw kisses until the train was out of sight. “Some nut” was the verdict of the spectator*. But away up on the hill Miss Sylvey Price, standing on the veranda ot her father’s house, waited for the daily performance, and when it had ended sighed “seme dreami**—She had never spoken to the fireman, but more than two years ago began to correspond with him. He waved each day, and finally one day when she stood on the platform at the little railroad station he dropped a card with his name and address near her. The courtship began by correspondence and continued until all arrangements had been made for their marriage. She had never heard his voice, and her only impressions of him were obtained from his letters and his performance at the door of’the engine. Recently Miss Price went to Ashland, Ky., to be married to the fireman, who corresponded with her under the name of F. L. Francis. She waited at the church for hours and then went to the railroad .offices. No one of that name was employed there, she was told. She returned to her home heartbroken. Next day the Overland pulled through town; an old man was stoking the engine, and he didn’t even look up. Cupid's a queer kid, isn't he?

Futurist Musicians on Job.

Paris.—Jealous of the laurels won by fulfurist painters, an orchestra of futurist musicians will give a concert and attempt to reproduce the sounds of a railroad collision.

Insure Pear Tree for $30,000.

Los Angeles. —An alligator pear tree, owned by H. A. Woodworth, ha* been insured for $30,000 by Lloyds of London against fire or frost.

QUICK TO EXTEND AID

MINISTER'S TRIBUTE TO FINE QUALITIES OF RAILROADERS. ' 7' " ~ ’ '• '* • ■■ • Hl* Experience is That Both Manager* and Trainmen Are Eager at Any Time to Help Out the ~Unfortunate. One sometimes hears that large railway corporations have no souls—that the magnates who direct the affairs seek only for dividends and care nothing whatever about the men who earn them. In like manner, also, thßf traveling public receives a secondary consideration, writes the Rev. Charles T. rector of Bury, Quebec. While that may be true In a few isolated cases, my own experience, extending over, twenty years with the Canadian Pacific railroad —proves directly to the contrary. First, in regard to the men - themselves : Two section foremen and their families occupied the station house in a desolate and wild piece, of country eight miles from the nearest village. In order to minister to the railroads in this locality permission was readily granted by the president—now Sir Thomas Shaughnessy —which enabled me to use whatever train —passenger or freight—that first came^along. The engineers and trainmen soon became my best friends. Here is one example: An urgent call came to me to visit a very old woman, the mother of one of the section gang. She was lying seriously ill, twelve miles distant, in a log house beside the track. It was just after a severe snow storm and the lines were blocked in places. A special came in with a rq--tary -plow.. and empty passenger coaches for the engineiS was a “wild Irishman,” but a warmerhearted man never handled the throttle. A quick run was made. The train stopped opposite the log house to let me off, the next minute I was at the bedside of the poor woman. For some time week-night services were held at the station for the men and their families. The congregation grew—settlels around were glad to avail themselves of this privilege. A ,little church was built and afterward a scboolhouse. It was a hot summer evening. The Soo express had just left the divisional point at Chalk river. Shortly afterward word came over to the boarding house that a man over at the depot was badly injured. Hurrying over, I found a French Canadian, who couldn’t speak a word of English, bleeding profusely from a wound accidentally inflicted by bis, own ax. He had been working in the woods and a main artery had been severed. My surgical knowledge enabled me to arrest the bleeding, but proper treatment was needed immediately to save the man’s life. He was suffering intensely. Pembroke, a town 22 miles distant, was where I wanted to take my patient, but there was not a train in sight—not even a freight was being madden in the yard. The Winnipeg express would not arrive for nearly four hours. I appealed for help. Soon tfye dispatcher received instructions to order out a light engine from the roundhouse. In the case of an emergency no other man’s- brains and limbs move faster than the railroader's in. an errand of mercy, and no hearts beat more sympathetically. Quickly the engineer had his locomotive coupled to a freight car and backed up to the depot. The usual declaration being signed by me on behalf of myself and the injured man, we carried the sufferer on a stretcher into the car. The kind-hearted engineer came in and asked me: “Will it hurt to run fast, sir?” My reply was: “The quicker the better.” Those twenty-tw'o miles were covered in record *time.. My patient was duly landed at the hospital, the arteries tied up properly, the foot stewed up, and eventually he fully recovered.

Accidents Beget Others.

Accidents appear to breed accidents, as admirable railway servants with unimpeachable records are found at fault in making some elementary blunder. These may be symptoms, of which there are many others, that the present generation is losing its nerve and that the number of men qualified for the tremendous responsibilities of the higher railway work is diminishing. For one thing, remarks the London National Review, the full and detailed accounts instantly published of every accident cannot fail to increase the anxiety of other engine drivers, guards and signalmen and make them more likely to lose their heads at critical moments. A serious feature of the business is that the Inquiries, though full and productive as regards a particular accident, fail to indicate methods of preventing other accidents at different placed. A very large public is bo anxious to get about at the present time that a premium is put on Bpeed.

Steam Shovel and Dredge.

•’ It is gratifying to observe the attention being given to the safety first movement throughout the country. The United States has bpen backward In Its regard for-the safety of the life and limb of its citizens. Our aim has been in the direction of excelling other nations in the volume and cheapness of out output, and to attaint this end we have had too little regard for the safety of those who made the increase in cur output possible.

AUTOMATIC DEVICE IS BEST

Railroad Men of Wide Experience Go on Record in the Matter of Safeguards. Herewith are extracts from la report in the Los Angeles Times of August 1, 1913, of a joint conference of the California state railroad commission, represented by Commissioners Edgetton and Gordon, Chief Engineer Earle, Service Expert Witepn and Assistant Inspector Shakespeare; the Los Angeles board of public represented by President Mcßeynolds; the Lps Angeles county board of supervisors and various railroad officials considering the question of proper protection at grade crossings: Here the investigation veered to the consideration of safeguards other than the separation of grades. Earie,_ Wilson and Shakespeare on"the~Stand went on record as absolutely against the human flagman and in favor of the automatic flagman as, the safer and more effective. At this point President Mcßeynolds of the board of public utilities came out flatly for no more grade crossings afid asserted his conviction that the automatic flagman, bell and all, is the next best grades. > “You want somethifag they can see and hear better, that they can smell and taste,” said Mcßeynolds. Commendation of the near perfection of. the automatic flagman was voiced 6y Shakespeare, who asserted that, in an investigation covering twenty-five days, he had found but one of these flagmen out of service on the Pacific Electric, and that this was repaired in forty minutes after being reported.

FAIRFAX HARRISON

Recently chosen as president of th« Southern Railroad company.

Near Death in Tunnel.

A train began to slip backwards after it had entered the tunnel of the Aural, one night recently not far from Corunna, Spain. The guard of the train, surmising that something was wrong, immediately made use of the rear brake, and brought the train to s standstill, thus preventing what mighl have been a terrible accident. It was soon noticed that the air in the tunnel was rapidly becoming Impossible tc breathe. The guard made his waj back to the engine, and there found both the driver and the stoker lying insensible, asphyxiated by the condi tion of the air, under the influence ot the dense smoke issuing from the en gine. All were in imminent danger when the guard, who fortunately knew the mechanism of the engine, seized the levers and started the train on its way. It reached Montiorie in safetj the next morning. Aurel tunnel though two to three miles in length is entirely without Ventilation.

26,122 “Rail Failures” Annually.

According to the rail committee ol the American Railway Engineering as Bociation there were 26,122 rail break ages for the year ending October 31, 1912. The statistics cover 182,000 miles ot railway with 14,132,982 tons of rail (10,156,395 Bessemer, 3,580,021 open hearth, 396,026 tons special steel oi special sections). The reeults of wear tests are quoted in the report, but they are conflicting and in no case point to marked superiority of one, type of Bteel, or indeed of the special steel over normal rail steel. In this the wear tests agree with the breakage records', although the latter are far too few to permit • conclusion even as definite as this.— Engineering News.

Section Man a Power.

A section foreman’s position Is o pfi of the most important in railroading and - we ought to realise the responsl billty that lies upon us for the safetj of the traveling public and of all en ployes. We Bhould keep our lantern* trimmed and ready for immediate um at all times, and in case of a heavj rain or windstorm, go at once and p» trol our entire section to see If every thing is B ale.

SALTED NUTS MADE AT HOME

Old Favorite for Afternoon add Evdau Ing Entertainment* Need Not Be Expensive. Salted nuts are always acceptable; as a part of the refreshments for af-< ternoon and evening entertainment*.! and as an adjunct to the simple homo; dinner as well as to the formal one. They are expensive when they are bought ready salted, and unless they are bought of a reliable caterer they sometimes taste stale. They can be easily, inexpensively and well made at home. Peanuts are appetizing and se much less expensive than almonds that it is a wonder they are not more often substituted for almonds. To salt them, buy. unroasted peanuts—which can be easily purchased from any street vender of peanuts. Shell them and remove the inside skins by letting them stand for a minute or so in boiling water, after which the skins may be removed between the thumb and forefinger. Leave them in the hot water only long enough to loosen the skins —not long enough to wilt or cook the nuts. There are several ways of browning the nuts. One way is to put two teaspoonfuls of olive oil—it must be of good quality—in a pan and roll the nuts in it. Then put them in a brisk oven and leave them there until they are brown. Another way is to put a tablespoonful of oil in the bottom of a chafing dish, turn the heat full on, and drop in enough nuts at a time to cover the bottom of the pan. Keep the nuts moving over the flame until they have turned a delicate brown. Almonds, blanched and shelled, and pecans, carefully cracked but not blanched, can be salted in the same manner as peanuts. Whenihey are brown. turn them in a paper and sprinkle them with salt. Let them cool before taking them from the'paper, which absorbs the superfluous oil and makes them pleasanter to handle.

KEEPS SPICE BOXES HANDY

Bhelves That Hang on the Inside of Cupboard Door the Latest Thing in Conveniences. To keep the spice boxes in a handy place where they would be together and not behind the larger articles om the cupboard shelves, I made a Bpe-

Shelf Will Hold All the Spice Boxes and Keep Them Handy.

dal spice-box shelf, as shown,hang on the Inside of the cupboard door. The shelf swings out with the door as it opens, and is made of two bracket ends to which a bottom board and front crosspiece is nailed. The size of the shelf and its capacity are only limited by the space on the door. — Popular Mechanics.

Norwegian Prune Pudding.

One-half pound prunes, two cups cold water, one cup sugar, one-inch piece stick cinnamon, one-third cup boiling water, one-third cup cornstarch, one tablespoon lemon Juice. Pick over and wash prunes, then soak one hour in cold water, and boil until soft; remove stones, obtain meat from stones and add to prunes. Then add sugar, cinnamon, boiling water, and simmer ten minutes. Dilute cornstarch with enough cold water to pour easily, add to prune mixture and cook five Remove cinnamon, mold, then chill, and serve with cream.

Cream Puffs.

One cup boiling water, one-half cup melted butter, boiled together. While boiling stir in one heaping cup of flour. As soon as it cools add four well-beaten eggs. Bake in greased gem pans in moderately hot oven about forty-five minuteß. Cream for Pilling—One and onehalf pints milk heated to a boiling point in double boiler. Add one cup sugar, two tablespoons cornstarch, and two eggs beaten together. Cook until it thickens. You might flavor the cream with vanilla or lemon.

Stale Bread Left-Overs.

There is always great waste in bread as well. Stale bread can always be utilized. It may be dried out thoroughly In the oven and then crushed to a powder for breading croquettes or veal chops or cutlets. Or else It may be soaked in milk and used for pudding. It is all these little economics which tend to reduce the cost ot living and make the business side of the kitchen a profitable instead of an extravagant part of household management

Turnips With White Sauce.

Peel some small turnips, as nearly as possible the-same size, boil them in milk and water till tender; drain and cover with vhite sauce in which a tablespoonful of grated cheese has been mixed. Sprinkle a little minced parsley over and serve.

To Prevent Pat From Sputtering.

To prevent fat from spattering, when frying eggs or bacon, put a pinch of flour in the fat This helps to keep the stove clean and saves you many a burn from the hot fat