Evening Republican, Volume 19, Number 232, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 30 September 1915 — Page 2

IN TEHUANTEPEC

AN KPOCH marking event in the development of closer trade and traffic relations between the United States and the countries of Central America will be the opening of the new railway connecting Mexico and Guatemala, writes W. D. Hornaday in Grit. But for the revolution in Mexico this Important link in the long-talked of line of railway, that is destined ultimately to extend all the way to the Isthmus of Panama, and perhaps to the countries of South America that border upon the Pacific ocean, would have been in regular operation ere this.

According to reports from Guatemala the work of extending the Pacific division of the International Railways of Central America from Champerico to Ayutla. situated on the Mexieo-Guatemala border, is practically finished. At Ayutla this line connects with the Pan-American railroad, which runs to San Geronimo on the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, a distance of 284 miles. The Suchiate river forms the boundary line between Mexico and Guatemala. This stream is spanned by a costly bridge. On the Mexican side is the town of Marlscal and just across the river is Ayutla. The Guatemala link in the PanAmerican keeps close in towards the Pacific coast, and in places the blue waters of the ocean may be seen by travelers on the trains. At the port of San Jose the road connects with the main line that crosses Guatemala from southwest to northeast, forming a direct route to the capital and to Port Barrios, the Atlantic terminus. The Isthmus of Tehuantepec and tii«» part of far southeastern Mexico that is traversed by the Pan-Ameri-can railroad possesses many features of interest to the world-traveler or to the man who takes delight in penetrating out-of-the-way places and who loves the beauties of nature. It also has attracted many American colonists. When travel to and from Mexico was interrupted by the internal strife that has so long afflicted the country. American colonists and tourists were just beginning to get acquainted with the remote region that was made accessible to them by the construction of the Mexico division of the Pan-American railroad. Region of Great Interest. All the way from Cordoba to Mariscal there are many wonderful things to be seen, but it is not until the Isthmus of Tehuantepec is reached that the full bloom beauty of riotous nature, with its deep-green hued verdure, its picturesque life and customs Of the careful natives, greet the eye. ; The encroachment of civilizing Influences b** left but little impress upon the town and, village of the Tehuana Indians. Their chief population center is Tehuantepec, which is located on the National Tehuantepec railroad within & few miles of Safina {Crux, the Pacific coast terminus of that, trans-isthmian line, hi all Mexico there is no place of more absorbing interest and strange attraction to the ffirttoor than Tehuantepec.'** There is utfi« in common between the Tehuana Indiana and the other native tribes of the country in the matter of customs and everyday life. The Tehuana men are of very ordinary type, both in point of physique mil standard of intelligence, but the women "'as a class are the prettiest and most attractive in all Mexico. They resemble in mobility and beauty of features as well as in physical charm the famous native Polynesian women of some of the groups of South Pacific islands. They are the heads of the households. The Tehuana men are anything but their lords and mastarn. Practically all of the trade in the markets andaiares is carried on by the women. The sloven-looking aad unattractive msje members of the tribe lounge around and live, off

VIEW OF TEHUANTEPEC

of the labors of their women folk. Occasionally, the local authorities round up a bunch of the men and set them to work upon neighboring plantations, but it is said that they are so weak and indolent as to be of little value when It comes to manual labor. The women are noted for their love of gold coins and colored finery of dress. Their penchant for collecting gold coins which they wear in the form of necklaces had its origin, it is said, during the period when great numbers of American adventurers made their mad rush across the Isthmus of Tehuantepec on their way to the California gold fields in the late 40’s. When a Tehuana woman once comes into possession of a gold piece she will not part with it no matter to what degree of poverty she may become reduced, Many of these women,’ whom one sees in the wonderful market places, wear strings of gold coins aggregating several hundred dollars. , Great Chiapas Forests.

Bordering on the north the level region through which the Pan-American railroad runs is a stretch of rich timber and agricultural lands of the state of Chiapas. The hand of modern developers and upbuilders has . barely touched that little known port of Mexico. I’ue state is abundantly supplied with perpetual flowing rivers, the most notable of which are the Grijalva and the Usumacinta, which are navigable for large boats for long distances. The forests have been little explored. They are filled with many kinds of birds of brilliant plumage, and roaming through the wilderness of tropical trees and plants are leopards, tigers, wild boars, deer, monkeys and many other animals. The interior region is a veritable sportsman's paradise. Orchids of enormous size and the deepest colors add to the wonderful beauty of the pristine forests. It is said that more than 12,000 different varieties of orchids have been collected and classified. It is interesting to note that several celebrated ethnologists who made research into the existing native tribes of Chiapas and the ruins of a prehistoric civilization that existed there, believe it to have been the “cradle of the human race.” In this connection it may be stated that the mountain tribes of Indians of Chiapas as well as the Tehuana Indians of Tehuantepec bear in many respects a remarkable resemblance to the Orientals, both in personal characteristics and in their established customs. It is in the northern part of Chiapas that the ruins of Palenqne, which have long afforded an inspiring work of research on the part of archeologists, are located. The most authentic estimate of the history of the remains of the city that is now called Palenque is that it was abandoned more than 800 years ago.

A nonprofessor, defending his position outside the church, said: “Why should I join the church and receive the sacraments? How much better would I be for the observance of a mere formality, like hand-shaking?” _ The answer was: “If you think that hand shaking is a mere formality, refuse to take the hand of your friend some day, and you wifi learn that it has a meaning, and that your action will be interpreted as an expression of distrust or dislike. Then remember that you are treating your bedt Friend as you.could treat no other friend and retain his friendship.”— United Presbyterian.

A Bird Story.

Irate Diner—Hey. waiter! There’s not a drop of real coffee in this mixture. Fresh Waiter —Some little bird told you, I suppose? Irate Diner—Yes, a swallow—Lon don Answer*. ' -

Hand Shaking.

THE EVENING REPUBLICAN, RENSSELAER, IND.

KNOWING TRAIN SPEED

•Ebl|S TO BE LARGELY A MATTER OF INBTINCT. Engineers Can Tell Exactly the Pace They Are Traveling, Though They pant Tell How They Know It. - In answer to a correspondent who inquired how an engineer knows how fast his train is going, a technical paper recently said: "He gauges speed by the motion of the crosshead or other movable part.” His reply does not meet with the approval of Railway and Locomotive Engineering (Chicago). Says this paper: “From long experience gained in the locomotive cab, we are disposed to think that the person who gave that answer had no experience in judging the speed of a locomotive. As on most locomotives, the motion of . the cross-head cannot be watetaed from the cab unless a person leans out of the window, it is certainly a very deceptive way of judging speed, especially on a dark night, or when the thermometer mercury has lost its way down in the bulb. An engineer who had to watch the motion of the crosshead on such a night, in order to tell how close he could make a meeting point would be apt to lose an ear during the process.

“Every efficient engineer can tell pretty accurately how fast an engine is running, day or night, under circumstances that would be terribly confusing to a novice; but very few engineers can tell how they understand about the speed. Judging accurately the speed of a train is, like all operations, based on skill reached only by practice, and the men most expert at the work can seldom explain clearly how it is done.

“In a court of justice dealing with a train accident the magistrate asked the engineer, ‘Will you take your oath that you were running 55 miles an hour?’

'“Yes,’ was the reply; ‘I swear that I was running 55 miles an hour.’ “Magistrate—Will you swear how you know that you were running 55 miles an hour?

“Engineer—l swear that I was running 55 miles an hour, but I also swear that I don’t know why I know that I was running at that speed. "In daylight, the trained man can readily tell whether or not he is keeping time by the movement past telegraph poles and other stationary objects; but when dense darkness makes all objects invisible, other means of judging speed must be found. Express trains keep time as well in the night as they do in daylight, so it must be concluded that the engineers in charge know how to regulate the speed. They do so by a sort of instinctive process, various small things that to the untrained ear or eye would be meaningless supplying the means of judging speed. Objects are seen differently in a clear night from what they are in a dark night, and high wind or heavy rain introduces their own confusing elements; while a rough piece of track would make a raw runner imagine he was running a terrific speed when he was losing time. The instinctive power of training raises the experienced engineer above the influence of deceptive surroundings, and in the worst night that blows the click of the wheels on the rail joints, the rumble of the’ wheels upon the rails, or the flash of iight upon a passing object, enables the expert to tell how he is getting along, but the cross-head is seldom seen between stations.” —Popular Mechanics.

KEEPS SNOW FROM TRACK

Device Should Be of Great Value to the Railroads in Times of Severe Weatheh

To prevent the drifting of Bnow in railroad cuts is the object of an invention patented by Benjamin F. Swezey of Bellingham, Minn. The device consists of a framework of notched beams running parallel with the sides

of the railroad put, In the notches are placed strips extending at'angles of approximately 60 degrees with thehorizon. It is claimed that when the wind stakes the strips the snow willbe deflected downward around the forwa rd end of the device on one side of the ixaqk and up under the strips on the other aide. _ i

Tearing “Car Springs.

Cir springs are tested in a majcnine which alternately oompresses and re, leases them beneath a heavy weight, (thus imitating closely the rocking of a ear in rapid motion. After thou? sands of compressions, which are automatically recorded, the machine i 8 stopped and the spring taken out and measured for loss of elasticity and for permanent seL ( ,-J ..f“- * f •* -

On Steep Gratis.

{ Always remember thaf yon pot hold your car on & steep gUMP with the brakes, you can shut off the engine and put the car In low gear. The engine will then assist maqtjttß as a brake. In extreme caafta you can go into reverse gear with the engine

MEET DEATH WITH DIGNITY

When the End Has to* y. Be Faeed. Why is it that some disasters cause a greater shock to the public than others of greater’ magnitude? No doubt the presence of the heroic" elswentr the popularity*! the victims, the murderous intent, the narrow escape from greater disaster, aU contribute to the human interest which attaches to such wreckß as that which recently befell the fast Pennsylvania train east of: the city. Two faithful employees, old in the service, met death instantly. Accompanied by the expression of re-, gret over the loss of valued lives was the rejoicing that many passengers were almost miraculously spared. The destruction of property of itself is an item of importance, but it dwindles in the light of the more consequential loss of life. These railroad men every day faced the possibility of that which finally happened—sudden and violent death—yet they were unafraid and died nobly. Their loss will be felt, and yet the manner of their going is not without its consolation. Death must come, and it is something not to be obliged to meet it after a long and painful illness under the distressing circumstances that so frequently accompany the last days of an active life. —Indianapolis News.

LOCOMOTIVE IS CENTURY OLD

First Put Into Operation in 1814 By George Btephenson—Rocket Had Speed of 35 Miles.

The first locomotive was completed and put into operation just a century ago, in 1814, by George Stephenson, who was bom in Wylam, England, June 9, 1781. He was engineer at a colliery when he invented a traveling engine to draw wagons along a tramway. Stephenson’s first locomotive attained a speed of six miles an hour. Improvement after improvement was made, not only in the locomotive, but in the rails, and in 1822 Stephenson opened the first railway, which waß eight miles in length. ,: ■ In 1829 his locomotive, the Rocket, reached a speed of 35 miles an hour, winning the prize of $2,500 offered by the Liverpool & Manchester Railway company. , The entire system of railway locomotion, with stations, signals, tenders and carriages, was completed with the inauguration of the Liverpool & Manchester line in 1830. Stephenson was largely instrumental in establishing all the English and foreign lines during the first period of railroading. He died in 1848. The centenary of steam locomotives finds those engines improved and enlarged beyond the wildest dreams of the inventory but already threatened with extinction’ by the electric locomotive.

TURNS WATER BACK TO TANK

Locomotive Injector Attachment That Does Away With Considerable Annoyance.

In ordinary practice the overflow from locomotive boiler injectors is discharged alongside and near the railroad tracks. In cold weather this overflow freezes, forming coatings of ice

near the tracks in railroad yards, resulting oftentimes in very serious accidents to the railroad employees, and causing constant trouble and expense -in removing it. This invention overcomes these difficulties by providing means for returning the overflow war ter back to the boiler feed Bystem, thus preventing the promiscuous disr charge of the overflow alongside the tracks. —Scientific American.

Farmers and Automobiles.

Take the 10 states of the Middle West known as the grain belt: Illinois, lowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Missouri, Kansas, South Dekota. North Dakota and Oklahoma. Four years ago these 10 states owned 130,000 automobiles; the proportion of farm machines was perhaps one in ten. The number of motor-cars in these 10 states has quadrupled in the last three years and more than don: bled in the last two years, so that on January 1, 1915, by figures furnished by the various secretaries of state, the number of cars was 659,730. jOf.this, immense total fully one-half -belong to fanners. The number in the 10 states js increasing at the rate of 13,000 machines a month, 425 a day. The average value of these machines was S9BO. —Farm and Fireside. . m . ' : ■? .. •* ui « - - :

No Power in Raw Gas.

It is not the amount of gasoline that determines the amount of power to be derived from a given-sized cylinder. It •is the amount that can be changed into, vapor and mixed with air to a. propel degree before ignition. In winter much gasoline is wasted by being carried *a liquid, into the cylinders. Such material burns very slowly compared to the proper mixture, and leaves moc> at the carbon deposited in the combos Upo chambers. This la not econo:*i

Folk We Touch In Passing

By Julia Chandler Manz

YOUR FRIEND TODAY Elizabeth and Martha were friends. Elizabeth said the word should always be written with a capital F. Martha declared that every letter that went into the making of so precious a name should be a capital, whereupon Elizabeth kissed her affectionately, and they both declared that no matter what the years might bring them they would keep their tie of friendship pure, and true, and lofty. “And," said Martha, who was the more ardent and imaginative of the two, “there are to be no secrets between us; not even thought secrets.” To which Elizabeth agreed in an abstracted manner which did not quite satisfy her friend. So Martha suggested that they draw up an agreement of eternal love and loyalty to be solemnly signed by each of them, and when Elizabeth said she didn’t see the use of such a thing, her friend burst into a storm of grief that quite took the less intense girl off her feet. “Why, you darling Martha," comforted Elizabeth. “Of write the vow, and sign itT I only meant that all the vows in the jvorld couldn’t make mi trner to our fileStef, ship, or more certain that I shall always love ybd I $9 Whereupon ftct and spent many Veeks in the composition of a vow of friendship which

"But He Doesn't Known You as I Do. He Doesn't Know You."

t| 1 '-At'rjlxi •„,} iystffVlll *} '?• i- *rt >; i J j would have seemed more like, a con:, tract of the relinquishment of all personal liberty than a promise of undying love to an outsider. But the .document quite satisfied the friends, who considered it a masterpiece in its own way. _ jr* - J In the wl«4r and iCl* lowed confidences became almost an ottfesMon with the gilt Martha. An for fear that she would depart from the letter of her promise and hold back the admission of some thought or action from EU^beth.. The vow was taken less seriously by Elizabeth, upon whom friendship sat with lighter meaning ,v * ~ Martha, in her frank and girlish ardor, would have.; called, her friepd a. traitor, had she known that she did not share the deeper life of ‘Elizabeth. Elizabeth whuld have said - that she merely protected a God-gtvee right, and that the matter of the vow was a silly thing, to which she had agreed merely to’ humor her friend. =»i

So the years went by, and. ft® friends became wonlengrbwn' Their compudOhslilp had been very close, and their affection for each other was a matter ton admiration among their associates. ■ People said that they had never seen such remarkable confidence between two yqung, wqmen, So far as Martha was concerned this was true, the rfhsypd-. her every thought of consequence with Elisabeth. She unveiled her weaknesses as well as her strength -to the elder girl, nor did she notice that every year had brought Elizabeth more reserve, so great was her •abaorptMs in hfcr own eon fldencea. \ One day The Wise Woman, who had r

heard much of Martha and Elizabetn, sat quietly by while the former expressed it as her belief that friendship is the greatest thing in the world. “The sort that will stand the test of actual self-denial is very rare," said The Wise Woman. “YOUR FRIEND TODAY IS OFTEN YOUR ENEMY TOMORROW. THEREFORE, NEVER TELL YOUR FRIEND WHAT YOU WOULD NOT WANT YOUR ENEMY TO KNOW.” Martha listened as one might listen to treason. Then, remembering Elizabeth, she abruptly left the room. “She is young,” remarked The Wise Woman. “She will learn.” It came to pass that the personal interests of the friends conflicted for the first time since, in that far away yesterday, they each signbd the vow of eternal love and loyalty. * They fell in love with the same man. For a time The Man, knowing the closeness of the tie which bound the two young women, was very nice to Jwth of them. * ; Tprejij it;. Imgamer apparent that he - was more inTerested in Martha, and a little he her hand ,in .maWatfeOil IjUUtfOO SltJ I And for the first tinie in her life to her ’friend. Instinctively, she hugged'her secret.' It was so precious <Sfl(flff4(n Mllvbl ft

a thing—this matterso| ’loving and be- i| .I m GiaiiMildmidiaimnzia[>aMrisndtfidasasStfiuaaait«JtasiiaAa«>».*■» shfc reulefflucrecl wuo vow> TDe lttllo* of which- she had kept for years;-so- , shyly she told Elisabeth, that she and * me this, you sly minx!” hissed tne lifetime friend of the girl, Martha. i‘ 4 |T|u&f iy|#fec|UdjH<vsMak, that's are! ’Boh’W enticed him into this with your confiding little ways. But he doesn’t know you as I do ! He doesn’t: know you!" she . cried, beside herself with rage and disappoiiitineUt, for'the girl, Elizabeth, also loved The 1 Man and wanted tb be his wife more than she anything else in pJI the world, ~ , , Because of the vow which Martha had'wlwdjte kept to the letter, and which the' wiser girl- had always Bet aside as & mighty foolish sort otthing. Elizabeth; was .as familiar with the . weaknesses at her friend as she was with her own. She knew ber as she knew herself, for in her interpretation of the word friendship Martha had always uncovered her very soul for the other girl's inspection. And, so it was that the confidences which the girl, Martha, had given U» the sacred name of friendship were made the prpperfy qf all who carqd to hear them, and bounded hack like, boomerangs to hurt her a thousand times with a hurt so poignant that sometimes _ the injuries . deme hei seemed more than she coma bear. And The Wise Woman shook hei head gravely and remarked again that so long as human nature is human nature, it will never be safe to tell yoni dearest friend anything that you we n Id not want year bitterest enemy m know, *