Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 27, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 9 February 1918 — Page 3

PASSENGER TRAIN DERAILED AFTER COLLIDING WITH HEAVY MOTORTRUCK

i. The photograph shows "the Santa Fe train which was derailed near Le Grande, Cal., after colliding with a heavy motortruck of the Unlop Oil company. The drive)* of the truck signaled the train that he was stalled on the crossing, but failed to' attract the attention of the engineer In time. The engine turned over on Its side, and the baggage car and smoker left the track after, tearing up more than 100 feet of track. The engineer was probably •fatally hurt.

ROADS FOR ARMIES

One of Important War Issues Is That of Transportation. MUCH EQUIPMENT IS NEEDED Mlle* of Railroads Must Be Built to Carry Soldiers Through Eastern France and Western Belgium —Engineers In Danger. The transportation problem back of the allied armies has become one of the most important issues of the war. The maintenance of the English and French armies has required the use of thousands of miles of railroad lines and huge quantities of rolling stock and other, equipment. Need for this equipment became more and more imperative each time the allied armies dented the German line. “The Can* railroad, an abbreviation of the Chicago, Anamosa and Northern, supplied six freight cars, two combination passenger cars, three locomotives, six steel bridges, 36 miles of rails, not including several switching tracks, and numerous other equipment. A similar service has been performed by-half a dozen other railroad lines which have ceased to exist. i

One Problem of French'. s One of the problems In connection with the Installation of an American army of several million men on the western front will be the building of miles of other railroad lines through eastern France and western Belgium. The task facing the engineers can scarcely be appreciated by the laymnn. To begin with, the task of building and equipping these lines in the short space of time available for this work would be difficult enough even In times Cf peace. One of the problems now before the engineering staff of the army Is to find equipment with which to" build. Hard pressed steel mills, which make a specialty of railroad equipment, must be pressed into service, .even at the risk of sacrificing other Imperative orders, or America must •surrender many additional miles of little used" railroads. Either that or else some of the great railroad systems must spare what little equipment and rolling stock they can with other demands already overwhelming them. - Most of these railroad lines will be laid within the zone of gunfire back of the American lines, and the dangers to the American lines, and the dangers to be encountered by the American engineers will be even greater Than the perils encountered by the pioneer •engineers who built the first lines through Indian country in the wild west days. British engineers have averaged a mile of road a day under shellfire, working with gas masks and steel helmets always at hand. The rivalry between the corps of AmerlcaiK,e‘*K lneerß who have been engaged In the arduous task of building subways, dams, deepening rivers,_ etc., and the Royal engineers is expected to result in even*-greater accomplishment In this respect.

Narrow Gauge the Exception. s . Despite the popular impression, narrow gauge lines are not the rule at ‘the front. To be truthful, they are the (exception,‘for the huge guns and the tremendous quantities of supplies •which must be moved Over these lines demand the heaviest of equipment, Miles and miles of standard railroad track run right up to the big guns which ahe belching death into the Gerinan rinks. * Shell holes must be filled up, the wreckage of German narrow gauge lines moved to one aide; bridges Installed and equipment brought up, .sometimes under fire so. galling that the work is even more dangerous than .trench fighting. It Is to such tasks as these, with 'what ndw material and equipment can |>e commandeered to supplement the

relics of the days when railroad promoting was in vogue, that the engineers recruited from the subways and street railway lines of New York will give most of their attention. Subway building has fitted scores of these men admirably for the work ahead.

WOLF IS REALLY HERE NOW

If Every Individual Does His Duty Problem of Freight Congestion Will Be Solved. We are regularly told about this time of year to do our duty by the freight car—to load It heavily and unload it speedily, so that It may go on its way rejoicing to the next man who is waiting. There Is danger that we minimize the present freight congestion by thinking this is the same old trouble, and that it doesn’t amount to much, anyway. We have heard the cry of “wolf” a good many times, and nothing disastrous ever happened. But let us not be deceived. This year the wolf is really upon the flock —the wolf of hunger and of cold. It is hard to get wheat to the mills, and perhaps even harder to get coal to the city yards. So let’s keep the cars moving. If every Individual does his part the national problem of freight congestion will be rendered much simpler of solution.—Farm Life.

CABLE IS SHORT - CIRCUITED

Trouble During Spell of Hot Weather Prevented by Use of White I Cheesecloth. During a period of hot weather in New York last summer, when the-tem-perature averaged more than 90 degrees F. at midday, some 11,000-vqlt, three-phase cables, carried on a New York Central viaduct became shortcircuited and temporarily crippled the division, which is in the electrified area. It was "discovered that the temperature Inside of the conduits approximated' 140 degrees and that the trouble was primarily due to that

Cheesecloth Covering.

cause. In order to reduce the heat and thereby prevent-recurrence of the short-circuiting, long canopies of white cheesecloth were erected over the conduits carrying the cables. The cloth prevented the pipes from absorbing the heat of the sun and caused * temperature of from ten tc twelve degrees in them. That sufficed to meet the problem.—Popular Mechanics.

BAR RAILWAYS FROM CITIES

Introduction of Roads Into England Accompanied by Many Direful Predictions of DJsaster. ' The attitude of many people toward airplanes reminds a writer for the London Chronicle oi the fears with which the introductlcm of railways Into England was met. Then the direful prophecy that engines would explode like a rocket frequently was heard, and it was a general belief that locomotive would devastate towns, blast the countryside and choke the farmers’ stock. ' City officials In many towns vigorously protested against the proach of railways, and there were many ordinances drafted prohibiting the laying of tracks nearer than one mile to a village. For many years'lt was necessary for persons wishing tt> travel from Leeds to- go by cab to Hunslet, more than a mile away, iv order to reach a railway station.

' • ■ • • ,5. * THE EVENING REPUBLICAN, RENSSELAER, IND.

TALES FROM BIG CITIES

Asks “Why Wait?” When One Feels Love’s Impulse LOS ANGELES.—After waiting 30 years before proposing to the sweetheart of his youth, Calvin Mitchell, now fifty-eight years ,old, feels competent to advise bashful suitors, and that advice is to “speed up.” During the 30 years Mentioned Mr. Mitchell has been a

of Gold.” In It he urges bashful suitors not to wait until they are, gray for a marriage ceremony. Girl stenographers also he advises to make the most of the opportunities in their offices. For example, read of Annie, who typed an “Air Castle” in the “Crater of Gold.” _ “Mother, I have fallen in love with Mr. Zackley, my employer. I could not help it. As I thought I had no chance to win hfs love and didn’t wish to embarrass our relations, I haven’t let him suspect my love. I might give way to tears and reveal my love; I fear to return to the office.” “My dear child,” replied her mother, “you are sweet and sincere. You have been doing your work so well it may be that Mr. Zackley loves you. Being an honorable man, he is afraid to declare himself for’ fear of a refusal. Such men would rather face a cannon’s mouth than a thundering ‘No’ from a woman. “If you love him, my advice is that you go back to the office tomorrow and do not act so formal. Place your band on his arm carelessly, let a little love light shine in your eyes and say In a cheerful voice, ‘I am ready for work again, Mr. Zackley.’ “Instead of cultivating a “deferential demeanor assume a* companionable attitude, This will break the ice. If Mr. Zackley has serious intentions he will meet you half way and soon both of you will be happy in each other’s love.” _

Surely Here Is- Story of Prize Bone-Headed Thief CLEVELAND.— Joe Elko, 507 South Sangamon street, wishes the emperor of Austria, his former lord and master of his soul, would hang an iron cross on Cleveland’s prize bone-headed thief. A generous mood prompts Joe s

thought, for he has his old shoes back —also the $685 he had cached In one of them. Joe came from Austria a few years ago to the land of liberty. He soon found he was at liberty to work on the railroads as a construction laborer and he has been juggling ties, handling' shovels and driving spikes with more or less freedom ever since. It was a fond notion with Joe that some time he would bring his wife to America. Recently he revised his

plan to read “when the war is ended.” He saved his money until he hau $685 in bills, real honest to goodness currency of the good old U. S. A. ' He had been living in the suburbs. He decided to broaden his field of labor and came to - Cleveland. So he came, his ivorldly possessions in his arms. It was no difficulty to move—he had his extra pants and sweater in one parcel, and his old shoes in the other. His savings he had tucked in the toe of one shoe. On a preceding visit he had selected a lodging place at the Sangamon street address. Joe found the right building, but he inadvertently stepped into the wrong hallway—the one at 509 Sangamon street.. He knocked at the door, and, receiving no response, laid down his bundles and went to the rear, with which he was better acquainted. Joe had no difficulty in finding the rear entrance at 507. He went upstairs, passed through the flat and went oij the front landing. The bundles were not there. Joe was troubled, but decided to sleep over it Then he informed Detective Sergeant Joyce and Smith of 1 the police. , It turned out that the detectives’ deductions were correct, for they found the shoes in a pawnshop. And the money, all unconscious of its danger, was still in its hiding place.

Authorities Had to Disturb This Young Girl’s Plan NEW YORK. —A servant in the employ of Mrs. Alfred Duane Pell, wife of the rector of the Church of the Resurrection, answered a ring at the door of the Pell home at 22 West Fifty-third street and admitted a well-dressed

visiting cards,” said Mrs. Pell. She' then scrutinized her caller closely. “It is that,” said the girl. “I just stopped in to tell you that your husband and I are to be married in about an hour. I thought you might like to know about it.” The girl then calmly seated herself and said she guessed she d have the rector perform the ceremony himself in the Pell home. Mrs, Pell called the Kast Fifty-first street police station. When Patrolman Gutman reached the Pell home, Miss Livingson jumped to her feet and •exclaimed: _ “Oh, look at the pretty cop! ‘Now I guess we all go to the police station.” Patrolman Geiman took her to the station, where the lieutenant on duty telephoned Bellevue hospital for an ambulance. The girl asked what they were going to do with her,'and when she was told she would have to go to Bellevue for a while she laughed and said: "Oh, I know. I’m going to be observed. Well, I’m not crazy, but go ahead and put me in the psychopathic ward. It’ll be a fine psychological experiment” ’■ _ • Chose Festive Season to Give Up- Life’s Straggle CHICAGO.— “Merry Christmas,” said J. K. Kesl pleasantly to the clerk at the Marion hotel, as he left his key on the desk. He walked to the lake at the foot of Van Buren street glanced at the cold, forbidding water a

moment, and then plunged into it The police recovered the body. A letter addressed to the “City Authorities” was found in the man’s clothing. It is believed financial dtflculties had prompted Kesl to take ids life. The letter read in part: “My house is gone—so is the money. About the latter I wouldn t care, because I could jnake it again, and make it honest, too. ■ But what’s the use of suffering?

“I knew I couldn’t last very long, . ' so I’ve been giving my money away? almost freely. Without mentioning my name I gave many and many a dollar to the shivering kids and cripples, and I contributed to ail good purposes. My parents are suffering in poor Bohemia< I have not seen them for 25 years. ‘’Hurrah for Uncle Sam; free Bohemia, Belgium. Viva la -Cevna, Nora and the whole world’s democracy. “Toll with the kaiser.” x •

prospector in California, with a residence here. Then one day, all of a sudden like, he realized his love was not dead, and forthwith he sent a query to Mrs. Katherine Gordon, 4016 North Pauline street. “Will you parry me?” he asked. At 4:30 o’clock yesterday afternoon the knot was tied by Elder It. F. Mallott of the .Maywood Church of Christ. Mr. Mitchell has a mysterious manuscript which he calls “The Crater

girl who said she- wanted to see Mrs. Pell at once. She rose and bowed very formally when Mrs. Pell entered the room a few minutes later. “Jdy name, madam,” she said, “is Bertha Livingson, nineteen years old, unmarried, living in 25 East Ninetyninth street. Do you recognize this, madam?” ’ She held out a visiting card upon which was engraved “Alfred Duane Pell, ». D.” “It looks like one of my husband’s

OLDEST HOUSE in UNITED STATES

Rensselaer is a small city on the east bank of the Hudson river, opposite Albany, N. Y. - Although it can* boast'of few attractions, it has the honor of possessing within its city limits the oldest building in the United States. There has been much talk of uniting these two cities and at some futura day this old building may be found in Greater Albany. As we stood in front of this old house (facing the river) one beautiful October afternoon we thought a more desirable location for a dwelling could not have been selected, writes Mrs. Halsey Hayford, in the Utica Globe. At our left we have a view for miles dOwn the Hudson. Over at our right is. the city of Albany, the upper portion of its $27,000,000-dollar pile of marble (the capitol) being plainly visible. This old mansion faces the southern part of Albany and what we see are old broken-down buildings along the docks, old black foundries, old ice houses, etc. It has been said that everything earthly has something to mar its perfection and we thought this view Is not an exception. We turned toward the house. It towers above the good-sized dwellings on either side and looks very much like a fbrt. Between the'two front windows of our left is a bronzed tablet upon which isr the following inscription : .■

SUPPOSED to be the OLDEST in the , UNITED STATES. % ] AND to have been erected Jn ( 1642 AS a manor house and ] place of defense KNOWN as FORT CRAILO. GEN’L ABERCROMBIE’S head- < quarters ] while marching to attack FORT i TICONDEROGA in 1758 where j it is said, That at the cantonment east of ] the house Near the old well the army sur- ] geon < R. SCHUCKBURG coffiposed the ; popular 1 • J song of YANKEE DOODLE. ]

We entered the small front half in the middle of the house. Two doors opposite each othey admit us into the two main rooms. At the back of the hall, at our left, is an unattractive staircase. The main rooms have oddfashioned fireplaces with woqflen mantles ornamented with wreaths and garlands. Under each window is a teat. Back of the room at the left is a larger hall extending across the house, with a door at either end. The north door is in two halves, upper and lower. Back of is another good-sized room. All the rooms in this building are of good size and the ceilings are about’ nine feet high. When we had ascended the front ytairs we took about three steps to our right and at the top of a short flight of. stairs at our left is a small room with low ceilings. This was called the “dead room." Any member of the family dying was laid, in this room. It was never used for any other purpose. Going down from this room and ascending a short flight of stairs in front of us we reached the upper hall. The arrangement of the three floors of this house is the same. One room at the right, three at the left How the House was built On July 27, 1630, Kllfaen Van Rensselaer, a gentleman who resided In Holland, purchased of the Indians (through his agent) a tract of land, 48 miles one way and 24 the other, containing more than 700,000 acres. Ifc was divided In two parts by the Hudson river. The western half comprised the whole ebunty of Albany, while the eastern half was more than two-thirds of Rensselaer county. Later additional purchases were made. It was found necessary to have a manor house qnd place of protection 'against -the hostile Mohicans and the Lord' Patroon, or the Patroon, as he was called, ordered his agent to build a fort This he did in 1641, the date which Is cut on a stone In the cellar wall. Inside of this old building. TJie brick, shingles and nails used in its construction were sent from Holland. The fort was named Crailo after the Patroon’s estate near Hulzen.

The Van Rensselaer House.

Many times when the Indians became particularly hostile the people fled to this fort for safety. Two port holes are still in the front walls of this buildfng. There were nine of these port holes. In the cellar is an underground passage leading to the well. It was made so that when the house was surrounded by the*knemy, the Inmates could still have a water supply. The well is about 12 feet from the rear of the house, and Is nearly filled with water, but is covered with boards. It was said to be 175 feet deep, and was famous for the purity of its water. Until recently there were bones in the cellar, said to have been the bones of Indians. Perhaps they were put there through the trap defer still seen in the floor.

Ktiiaen Van Rensselaer died at Amsterdam in 1647, never having visited America. Aftdr a time his descendants came from Holland, and occupied this building as a dwelling. As the country became njpre settled, they rented farms to the colonists, and were to receive annually, as rent, six bushels of oats, two pairs of chickens and a cord of wood, or their equivalent In cash. Many who paid this rent through two or three generations, for the farms which they had occupied, refused to pay it longer. This was the commencement of the “antirent war,” which was long and bitter. Sent Their "Wash” to Holland. The Van Rensselaers sent annually their soiled linen to Holland to be washed, although the Hudson river was in front of their home. Two old chests .in which they sent their soiled linen, were in the attic of this old house until recently. - An addition was built on this old manor house in 1740, and in the early part of 1800, Italian marble mantels took the place of the old wooden ones. They were the first In this country. Later they were replaced by the wooden ones now In the building.

Doctor Jeremiah Van Rensselaer lived here In 1852, and was the last member of the family to occupy this house. After his death it was owned by different individuals. The last gentleman who resided here endeavored to have a bill 'passed by the legislature at Albany for its purchase by the , state. The bill was not passed, and, soon after, he vacated the house, it being “covered with mortgage.” Anyone seeing this old manor house a few months after ’this would not have had the least doubt of its being the oldest building in the United States. Children played In it by day, and it was a rendezvous for tramps at night. The only reason there was a whole pane of glass left was because it was beyond the reach of a stone thrown by the average small boy. Later it was sold at auction, and purchased by a company of ice dealers. There are but a few feet left on either side of this old mansion, as the lawn at the north was sold last year, and, upon it, a modern dwelling was erected. A similar fate was awaiting the old house when it was purchased by Mrs. Susan De Laney Van Rentselaer Strong of New Tory city. Mrs. Strong is a descendant of Kiliaen Van Rensselaer, and is very enthusiastic in regard to the restoration of this home of her forefathers. The front hall and two large rooms on either side are now being repaired by the order of three patriotic societies. They hope a sufficient number of societies will become Interested in the building until it is entirely restored. It will soon be opened to the public, and “kept aS a depository of articles of colonial or revolutionary Interest.” If there Is the least doubt about Its being the oldest building In the United States, it is certainly very old, and of sufficient historical renown to be worthy of preservation.

Scientists have figured out the average amount of salt carried by the-, rivers of the world as a total, and have compared with the total quantity of salt in the oceans. From these data (taking into account evaporation and rate of stream flow), it is.possible to reckon how many years have been required to make the seas as salt aa they are today. On this basis. Prof.' Frank Clarke of the United Stales geological survey, one of the foremost authorities, estimates that the ojeana are about 90,000,000 years old.

Age of the Oceans.