Evening Republican, Volume 20, Number 271, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 11 November 1916 — Page 3

The Problem

By FRANK FILSON

t r t ■ ■ . (Copyright, 1»16. by W. O. Chapman.) Jacques Dubonnet, once professor of mathematics in the University of Lyons, looked through his trench periscope and Black with rich Flanders mud, dish’eveled, with grubby nails and a sky-blue uniform barely distinguishable under the various kinds of clay that covered it, he looked like anything except wjjat he had been. His fat body shook with fear as he watched the periscopes along the German trench opposite him. He wiped the sweat from his forehead, leaving the trail of a grimy hand there. “Pestel I am not a soldier, I am a professor,” he said. “I am a cow’ard. Why could they not have set me an easier and cleaner job than this one?” An expansive smile broke over his face.

“Why did they not set me to solving the problem of the relation of the radii of a circle drawn within an isohedrous triangle tangental to a fixed point on a parabola?” he asked. Fifty yards „ distant Tians Ernest Muller looked through his periscope toward the French trenches and groaned in bitterness of spirit. Dressed in his gray-green uniform, his stout form hardly covered by the ill-fitting clothing, he looked more like a ragpicker than an ex-professor of Jena.

“Himmel, I wish I had that fellow Dubonnet here,” he said. “He, who thinks he has solved the problem on which we were both working at the outbreak of the war, of the relation of the radii of a circle drawn within an isohedrous triangle tangental to a fixed point on a parabola !” Seized with a sudden idea, born, perhaps, of weeks of inaction, the proses-

“Pestel I am Not a Soldier, I am a Professor.”

sor picked up a sheet of board and a charcoal pencil, such as was kept handy for writing insulting messages to be displayed to the foemen opposite, and began to sketch out his circle and triangle. Fifty yards away Professor Dubonnet was suddenly taken wlth’an idea. Perhaps it was a case of thought transference; perhaps the Inaction of trench life had stimulated his thinking faculties. At any rate, he wrote hurriedly upon a miniature blackboard, with a piece of white chalk kept handy for writing insulting messages to the enemy across the barbed wire opposite. While these two great minds were at work, other minds were laboring under different problems. “Have you got your men ready?” Inquired Captain Dupont of the young lieutenant in the section of the trench where Dubonnet was actively mapping out his mathematical, campaign. “Yes, sir. But that fellow Dubonnet —I dbn’t know what to do with him. Look at him notv! He’s drawing diagrams and seems totally Ignorant that a charge is about to begin.” “Leave the poor devil. He’d only discourage the rest,” the captain answered. In the trenches opposite Captain Schmidt was twirling his mustache fiercely as he addressed Lieutenant Schwartz. ' “The shelling has ceased; I think the French are going to charge,” he said. “Are your men ready?” “All except that fool of a Muller,” replied the young officer, r “I don’t know what to do with him. Look at him now, scribbling there as if the •war was over, or hadn’t begun.” “Leave him alone. Perhaps he’ll get killed and we’ll be rid of him,” the other answered. At that moment a whistle blew in the trenches opposite. The French scrambled over the parapet of their trench, and, with fikCp bayonets, rushed madly forward, i The Germans, equally rip to receive ithem. In a few seconds (the two line*

were inextricably interwoven. To and fro they swayed upon the parapet of the German trench. ’ Professor Dubonnet, wholly forgetful of the signs of battle, worked busily at his .problem. He had a new solution which had never occurred to him before. If it was tangental to a fixed point-on a parabola, would not Epperman’s formula solve the whole difficulty? Herr Muller, formerly professor at Jena, had a brilliant Inspiration. The relation of the radii must vary in Inverse relationship to the segment in-

tersected by the . , . no, there he had got off the track. He bent, frowning, to his work. The body of a dead soldier dropped with a thud into the trench beside him. He shook his head Impatiently. “A little less noise, please, gentlemen,” he muttered. "Do not slam the door when you go out, even if you disapprove of my exposition.” He had stood up as if in the class room, and was now declaiming violently, the piece of board in his hand. The struggle had moved away from 'him, and by luck none of the flying bullets came his way. “I have it!” shrieked Professor Dubonnet. “Epperman’s formula has solved the problem.” He sprang to his feet. “This means the opening of a new era In mathematics!” lie qrled. “What wouldn’t I give to see that ass Muller now, who thinks he has the solutionl”

At that moment, to his amazement, he saw Muller’s face across the intervening space. He raised his fist and shook it angrily. The movement caught Muller’s eye. “Gentlemen, please be less violent In your disapproval,” he said. “I cannot hope to carry conviction at the first attempt. Copernicus, as you art aware —” 1 He paused and looked about him. “But where am I?” he inquired. “There seems to be some disturbance —”

At That Instant he saw Dubonnet running at full speed across the intervening ground. Meanwhile the Germans, repulsed from their trench, had withdrawn, and the French were following them, firing and hurling bombs. “It is you, scoundrel!” screamed Professor. Muller, shaking his fist at_ his enemy. “Is it not enough that you should oppose the march of mathematics, but you must also create a disturbance in my classroom?” With a yell Dubonnet leaped into the trench. “It’s Epperman’s formula,” he shouted. “I tell you Epperman’s does it.” “Nonsense. You can’t solve it by a formula,” said Muller. “Don’t you see it depends upon the relationship of —• ugh 1” He rolled over, still clutching the board, as a spent bullet struck him in the ribs.

At the same Instant both men realized what had occurred. They were in the midst of a battle. Dubonnet leaned over the German. “Muller! You must not die!” he shouted. “Tell me your solution. Tell me. Where are the police? The doctors?” In an agony }of terror lest death should rob him of his triumph he raised Muller In his arms and began to puff his way back toward the lines. Once, when the weight became too heavy, he stopped. “Will you tell me your solution, or shall I throw a bayonet—l mean a bomb—at you?” he demanded. “No, no. I tell you,” Muller grunted.

“To you, Dubonnet, for having saved the life of an enemy at the great risk of your own, is awarded the Medal of Honor." said the commander in chief. He kissed him on both cheeks and pinned the ribbon upon his breast. The medal w’as a circle, and the loops, of ribbon formed an isohedrous triangle. Dubonnet stared at it. “I knew the government would recognize my work some day,” he muttered. Then, with supreme generosity, “With your permission, I shall bestow this upon Professor Muller.”

The Devil Baby.

The knowledge of the existence of the devil baby burst upon the residents of Hull house one day when three Italian women, with an excited rush through the door, demanded that he be shown to them. No amount of denial convinced them that he was not there, for they knew exactly what he was like, with his cloven hoofs, his pointed ears and diminutive tail; moreover, the devil baby had been ablo to speak as soon as he was born and was most shockingly profane. His mother, they declared, was a pious Italian girl married to an atheist Her husband tore a holy picture from the bedroom wall, saying that he would quite as (Soon have a devil In the house as that; whereupon the devil incarnated himself in her coming child. As soon* as the devil baby was born, he ran about the table shaking his fingers in deep reproach at his father, who finally caught him in fear and trembling brought him to Hull house. When the residents there, in spite of the baby’s shocking appearance, wishing to save his soul, took him to church for baptism, they found that the shawl was empty and the devil baby, fleeing from the holy waiter, ran lightly over the backs of the pews.—Jane Addams in Atlantic.

Still Has 'Em.

‘Til bet you don't have any howling old times now you’re married, old chap,” H • “Don’t I, though? That shows you don’t .know anything about that kid oi our*.”

THE EVENING REPUBLICAN, RENSSELAER, IND.

British big guns are hammering the Germans with the heaviest artillery tire tn history. Photograph shows the bring Zow„ »p In front of U..- gun I. tap KhKMrn. Often gun. nr. covered WIU. lb. .urroundln, verdure to make it harmonize with the background, disguising It perfectly.

BUILD A SUBWAY TO VERDUN FRONT

Tunnel, 45 Feet Underground, Leads tn Within 300 Yards of Germans. AMERICANS MAKE THE TRIP New York Lawyer Narrowly Escapes Shots as He Views Trenches — Tunnel Cook Was Formerly Chef to an Ambassador. Verdun. —Just west of here, In the forest of Argonne, there is a remarkable military tunnel, 45 feet underground, running right up to within 300 yards of the German trendies. It is one of the most hard-pressed points around Verdun, but through this tunnel re-enforcements move forward without danger, relieving every two hours the men on the firing line. There was a very American atmosphere about this tunnel when the writer visited it, for the curious fact developed that the two officers In command were American residents, one a stock raiser in Alberta, Canada, and the other a bank official of the FrancoAmerican bank at Los Angeles, Cal. Both were born in France, and when the war broke out left their American businesses to come home trtid fight And now they are in full charge of this underground highway, leading up to one of the most desperate positions along the front They are so American that they speak English instead of French, and the commandant’s headquarters—a little nest in the clay—has a big picture of Uncle Sam hanging on the wall.

Creeping through this tunnel toward the front line, the members of the visiting party knocked their steel casques on the roof, and plunged through water ankle deep. Paul D. Cravath, the New York lawyer, a man of large build, 6 feet 6 inches tall, was bent double in the struggle through the tunnel. Along the way they passed an electric plant, throbbing with energy, and pumping the fresh air which keeps the tunnel habitable. Farther on. In a large clay hole, a kitchen was in full operation, with soldiers eating bowls of noodles.

Chef to an Ambassador. “Let me introduce you to our chef,” said the commandant, as a young soldier cook came forward. “He is now the cook for this tunnel —and he ought to be a good cook, for before the war he was chef to the French ambassador at Rome.” Emerging from the tunnel into the front line, the German trenches were plainly visible on the crest only 300 yards away. The intervening space was swept clear as though by a cyclone. Instead of the beautiful green of the forest, that was left at the other end of the tunnel, here the whole outlook. was gray and desolate; the ground'Jagged and torn as by eccentric plows, not a vestige of grass or verdure, and the few gaunt trunks of trees stripped of their last leaf and looking like so many scarecrows. “This has been a rather quiet day—only two mine explosions,” said the commandant, “two men injured, one in the shoulder, the other in the leg. That is little, for often we have forty to Sixty men killed or injured in these mine explosions, which go on continually as the Germans try to mine under our trenches and we try to mine under theirs.”

Even beyond the front line French trenches the French soldiers had pushed their observation posts into the fire-swept dividing line, 300 yards wide. Some of these daring men could be seen almost up to the cresL where the German line ran. They were crouched behind heaps of, bowlders, rifles ready. “Those men are only ten yards from the Germans,” said the commandant. As he spoke, Mr. Cravath of New York, said: “I see a German; there he is on the crest; you can see his uniform with the round cap.” •'And he sees you too.” said the commandant. “You have been under Are,” he added as he led Mr. Cravath and the others to a more secure position. Americans Are Lucky. “It’s good that German didn’t fire,” remarked Cravath. “It- might have been an international incident Think of it —killing an American visitor to the French trenches.” Coming back from the front-line

CONCEALING THE BIG.BRITISH GUNS

trenches one had a view of the ninny ceaseless activities in carrying on this great battle. At one point soldiers in shirt sleeves were digging graves in an improvised cemetery along the forest path. The cemetery was very large and had been given a name, “Maison Forrestiere,” or Forest Home. Every grave had a wooden cross above it with the name and regiment of the dead soldier. The shells kept whizzing and bursting as the party moved along, and it got to be a pleasant pastime to note the long s-z-z-z as the shells flew overhead. One of them struck a few hundred feet away, throwing up trees, earth and clouds of smoke. To those who wanted souvenirs there were big fragments of shrapnel lying at every turn. It was pleasant at first to pick them up, but after three or four of these heavy chunks of steel were carried half a mile the task was abandoned. The ingenuity of some of the trench quarters along the way Is shown in the use of empty glass bottles for windows. One officer pointed with pride to the very artistic effect he had secured with these empty wine bottles., A triple row extended all across the front of his log shack, giving light within and having rather a cathedral window effect without. The bottles are of white glass, used for* bottling the white wine of Bordeaux. Lives Outside City. The headquarters of General Nivelle, in command of the operations at Verdun, are quite a way outside the city, at a little crossroad hamlet, which cannot be named for military reasons. The general’s offices are in the town courthouse, a two-story stone structure. It was in this same building that General Petain, who preceded Nlvelle, and General de Castelnau quickly made the plans at the first onrush of the Germans, which held them until re-enforcements could be brought up.

General Nivelle goes to Verdun and along the trench front frequently. But most of his time is at headquarters, in telegraph and telephone communication with the whole circle- of defenses, and in touch, too, with the -other army corps and masses of supplies ready to be moved forward to fill any gap the Germans may make. As we were at General Nivelle’s headquarters a party of German prisoners came by. They marched two and two, their gray uniforms and round caps contrasting with the French blue and casque. Already they were being set to work, and instead of a gun each German carried a spade over his shoulder. At Verdun there is no civilian life whatever, but around General Nivelle’s headquarters there were peasant women and girls mingling with the poilus, indicating civilian life still existed thus near to the bombarded town.

The roads back of Verdun present the most varied scenes of activity. On one side is a vast aeroplane camp, with some twenty enormous hangars of basket steel construction covered witli canvas. Across the road is a riding course running for miles. Where officers can exercise their mounts and cavalry can push forward in emergency without blocking the highroad. Every now and then one sees a big vehicle shoot by bearing the sign “American Ambulance Cbrps.” Mules in Good Shape.

The thousands of horses and mules along the road are in good condition. Many of . the horses came from America and were run down by sea voyage, but after a month’s feeding they proved very serviceable. Ou seeing the mules one of the officers said: “The demobilization of the Greek army had one very important result for the allies—it released 10.000 mules which the Greeks had been using, and now these mules are proving invaluable to the allies." While the fields back of Verdun are rich with yellow grain, yet there is one melancholy evidence of the war in the burning of manure, usually the very life blood of the soil. The grain can be gathered by the soldiers and the women who remain, but there is no time to distribute tlie manure over the land, and so it is burned. The last glimpse of Verdun came as the party passed a detachment of French soldiers'just out of the trenches and going to the rear for reSt. They were tired and heavily laden, but happy and cheerful as they swung along in irregular ranks, laughing and smoking as though they came from some agreeable occupation. They were ail fine looking young fellows, and they typified that calm and Invincible spirit which the young French- soldiers are putting Into their service.

ITALIAN FINDS LOCKJAW CURE

Professor Ingianni Invents Portable Bath for Hot Immersions. J GIVES SATISFACTORY RESULTS After Few Days Treatment the Wound Begins to Heal, Suppuration Disappears, Swelling Subsides and Fever Ceases. Headquarters of the Italian Army In the Field. —Surgec’ Major Professor Ingianni of the Italian medical corps, In charge of a field hospital, has applied on a large scale a special treatment for lockjaw which is giving most satisfactory results. The antitoxin treatment of lockjaw Is extensively used in the Italian army a 3 a preventive and, thanks to it, the cases of tetanus have been greatly diminished.

Naturally in field hospitals local conditions are such that it is impossible to resort to prolonged antiseptic bathing of the wounded or infected part, and the most effective remedy consisted in amputation. But even early amputation often proved of no avail when the germs in the wound already had set free a lethal dose of their toxin. Besides, even when amputation saved a man’s life it left him a cripple. Doctors Amputate Too Freely. Often for fear of infection surgeons in the field resort freely to amputation knowing full well that it would be impossible for them to keep the wound clean until it is completely healed. Professor Ingiannl instead is convinced that amputation should only be resorted to in extreme cases, as a doctor’s first duty is to cure, not to cripple a man. Prolonged warm bath of the wound is an almost infallible remedy against lockjaw, and nothing prevents its being administered even in the field under ordinary conditions. The professor has invented a special portable bath which can be folded, as It is made of rubber and shaped in- such a way that any limb can be immersed in IL The bath is then tied to the patient by means of bandages and placed in any position, either horizontal or vertical. Antiseptic Solution Is Used.

A warm antiseptic solution can be easily kept in it at the same temperature for five or six hours. As a rule a 3 per cent solution of hypochlorite is used or else corrosive sublimate in the proportion of one-half per 1,000. But permanganate of potassium, iodine or lead water also can be used to advantage. It has been found better to alternate the employment of these antiseptics. The results of this treatment are wonderful. After a few days the wound beigns to heal, suppuration disappears, swelling subsides and fever ceases. Recovery follows as a matter of course even in cases where amputation was considered the only remedy. The danger of lockjaw is entirely obviated.

SHOULD HELP HER HUSBAND

Court Decides Crime Is No Cause for Divorce —Defines Habitual Drunkard. Des Moines, la.—The lowa supreme court, in session here, has handed down several Soloj»o t nlc decisions. In one ruling, the court held that confession of a crime on the part of a husband does not constitute grounds for divorce proceedings. “It ill becomes a wife,” said the court, “to prefer criminal charges against her husband. She took him for better or for worse, and she should try to redeem him.” In the same decision the court defined a habitual drunkard as “one who becomes even moderately intoxicated whenever the opportunity Is presented.”

Is Single Again.

Chicago. —Adolph Kausal, musician, is a single man again because his wife was so anxious to hold his love that she put love powders in his food and even his shoes. Kausal told Judge Thomson the powders ruined his stomach. Ha was given the divorce he asked. —,

Home Town Helps

TOWNS COULD SET EXAMPLES Streets In Many Small Cities Worts Than Country Roads—Farmers Have Better Public BpiriL It Is high time that the rural sections of America called to the towns to mend their ways and their streets, says a Writer In the Country Gentleman. This is our conclusion after a recent tour of hundreds of miles through a prosperous country. We found highways In rural sections well kept and comfortable, but there was a far different story In the small cities and In the numerous towns and villages through which we passed. The main country roads were smooth boulevards compared with the streets in the average town or city. In some places where the homes were handsome and the factories busy the streets were full of holes. It was a striking Illustration of the greatest roads failure In America. Small cities and towns have lagged. A roads expert, who recently has traveled over most of the country, says the fault Is general. In the past five years the rural situation has improved vastly, but the small city and town showing is sad. When you near a settlement you begin to bump. For this the explanation is that the town or city has too much local indifference. A banker said to us:“We have two factions and each is so busy fighting the other that nothing is done for the town.” It is a great pity. The very communities that ought tQ be ahead on good thoroughfares are behind. Perhaps farmers might jog them into right action by taking their patronage to towns and cities that provide good streets to travel over. —-Chicago News.

THE WAY TO PLAN YOUR HOME

Each Room Should Have Favorable Exposure—Here’s How to Make Things Comfortable. No more important question confronts the homebuilder than the exposure of the rooms in his prospective home, for no matter how charming a house may be nor how convenient its interior arrangement, it cannot be entirely successful unless each room has a favorable exposure. A living room having windows on its east and west side may capture both the morning and afternoon sun, and if, in addition, it opens out on a porch facing the south, no more satis--factory arrangement is possible. A porch facing the south makes a pleasant open-air living*room in warm weather and a cheery, glassed-in sun parlor in winter. For the dining room, an easterly exposure is desirable, thus giving one a cheerful amount of sunshine for what is apt to be In many households the most trying meal of the day. The model kitchen will have window’s facing both north and south. This makes for comfort in summer and admits.ihe late afternoon sun, which considerably lengthens the hours of daylight. South and west for the chambers is the correct exposure, with windows facing both ways, if possible.

Trees for the Streets.

The city forestry department of Cleveland, 0., plans the setting out of about 5,900 tfees, chiefly in the streets, during the autumn. The use to be made of them has been definitely decided. It is a public improvement which is especially welcome after much extremely hot weather, says the Cleveland Leader. Shaded streets plead their own cause when the temperature is not far below blood heat or even a little higher, at the worst hours of the day. And in a long drought, when it is almost impossible to keep lawns green and flowers bloomirig, healthy trees, fairly treated, resist the adverse weather conditions better than any other verdure and do more than their share to save the streets of cities from the dreariness of masonry unbroken by nature’s fresh tints and unfailing life. Cleveland is not the “Forest City" in the sense that it used to be, but there are still hundreds of thousands of trees Inside the municipal limits and many of them are fine specimens of their kind. All that can reasonably be done to improve these conditions and make the streets still more shady and attractive ought to be the constant aim and care of the city government and of public-spirited citizens, also.

Put Bones Under Ground.

Most people do not suspect the great fertilizing value there is in bones. To the ordinary amateur gardener is a wide difference between the bone he holds in his hand and the soluble plant food so necessary to plant development. But the fertilizer companies know that bones are the highestclass fertilizers (not counting war prices of potash) except dried blood. Ground bones sell at over S3O a ton wholesale, when other fertilizers sell around S2O to $25 a ton. The scientific farmers use large quantities of ground bone, even in the growing of such c ops as wheat, corn and oats. Remember this next spring.