Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 40, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 25 February 1918 — Page 2

NEED SEXTANTS FOR NAVIGATORS

United States Swept Bare of Instruments Used to Guide Ships. OLD CAPTAINS TO RESCUE Out of Closets and Attics Are Dug Sextants That Have Not Been Used for Years—Navigators’ Aid Columbus Did Not Have. Washington.—One of the early effects of the war was an acute shortage of the instrument most used in navigating ships at sea, the sextant In a few weeks after the United States became a party to the great struggle, the market was swept bare of what might be termed the floating supply of these important instruments. Since then, importations from England, Canada and France have eased the American market somewhat, but there is still a sufficient shortage to hold the price far above what it formerly was. In. the early months of this country’s participation in the war, when the United States shipping board was establishing the chain of navigation schools at which it is training officers for the new merchant marine, there was such a scarcity of these necessary instruments —which are used daily in the schools to teach methods of determining a ship's position at sea—that an appeal was made for the loan of instruments. The result was striking. Out of the closets and attics of former captain's homes, particularly in New England, sextants appeared that had not seen the light, in some cases, since the days of the clipper-ship era, when the United States was supreme on the sea. Many of these instruments had been on long voyages to the mysterious East; others had been In the whale fishery to the far North; a few had been carried among the Cannibal Islands of the South Pacific, others among the pirates of the China seas. It had not been thought, when these instruments were stowed away by careful hands, years ago, that they would ever again serve the merchant marine. Today many of them are being used by young men who will qualify as officers on the new and greater merchant marine, while others, which have been presented to the shipping board, are actually making voyages again, this time among the pirates of the submarine zone.

A sextant, unlike, a watch or any instrument with constantly moving parts, is very slow to wear out. There is not much difference in the sextant of today and the original sextants produced in England when the instrument was first perfected by John Hadley, back in 1731. First Was an Octant. Hadley called his instrument at first an octant, because it represented in its scale of degrees but an eighth part of the circle, that is, 45 degrees. Later Instruments were termed quadrants, as they represented a quarter of a circle, 90 degrees. The sextant, or sixth of a circle, 60 degrees, was found to be most practical, and in time came into general use. The practical distinction between these three instruments is slight, however. The first sextant was not an invention, as might be supposed, but an adaptation of ancient instruments used by astronomers from time immemorial to determine the sun’s elevation, or latitude. The oldest of these ancient instruments w;as the astrolabe, a disk of copper or brass, cut to the full circle of 360 degrees. This was fitted with a plumb line, and on its face a bar pivoted on the center, and having at one end a pin. One man held up the disk by the line, another sighted the sun over the pin in the end of the bar, and another noted where the shadow cast by the pin fell on the scale of degrees marked on the disk.

It thus took three men to make an observation, which was usually faulty, while the use of such an instrument on a moving ship was almost an impossibility. Another ancient observing Instrument was the cross-staff. This consist- \ ed of a bar of wood —some of them were seven feet long—fitted with a sliding upright bar, or cross. The long bar was held toward the sun, and the observer was posted at one end. The shorter bar wasjfcen moved back or forth until the observer saw the sun over its upper tip and the horizon at the same time under Its lower lip. The angle thus determined was marked on a scale on the long bar. A grave objection to this Instrument was that the observer was obliged to look at the sun and the horizon at the same time. Columbus used both Instruments on his voyage to the new world, bujxftpparently neither helped him mtfch in determining the position of hft ships, which he could only guess At until he made a landfall in the WesUlndies. Hadley Invents Instrument John Hadley conceived the idea of employing the principle of tfie crossistiiff in an instrument that wbuld en- ’ able the observer to see b\th the sun and the horizon when looking at the latter. This he accomplished by arranging a series of mirrors in such a way that the observer by the movement of an arm, or lever, attached to

an arc brought the sun down to touch the horizon. When the observer using the sextant gets the sun down to the horizon, he fixes the arm on the scale by means of a screw, and proceeds to read the scale, which gives him the sun’s altitude in degrees. When Hadley brought his sextant out in 1731, it was given a trial by the British authorities, on the yacht Chatham, off Spithead, on a gusty day in August. We read that the weather “was too rough for unsatisfactory test” Rough weather Is a frequent cause for trouble in handling the sextant as it is difficult to “catch” the sun and bring it down when on

SEA TO MAKE UP SHORTAGE IN FATS

Even Oleomargarine Is Now Being Manufactured in Norway From Fish Oil. TROPICS TO BE DEVELOPED Subjugation of the Sea Not the Only Important Step Being Contemplated Toward More Effective Utilization of Nature. London. —The world’s supply of oils and fats is going to be derived in rapidly Increasing measure hereafter from the seas. This is the conclusion to which investigators of this problem, which was one of the first to become acute after the war started, have brought themselves. The problem indeed was beginning to be a real one before the war started. The production of live stock for a long time had not been peeping pace with" the world’s requirements. This has been in considerable part because of the increasing number of peoples that are requiring more and more meat in their diet, and partly from other causes.

The net result is that in the search for new oils and fats, and indeed for new uses of fish as a substitute for meat, important progress has been made. Some recent developments suggest that the seas are altogether likely In coming generations to take the place of the great ranges of the Americas and Australia for the production of some important food articles. Butter Substitute From Fish. The announcement recently from Norway that a satisfactory substitute for oleomargarine had been produced from fish oils, while it was regarded as extremely Important, is in fact only one evidence of this increasing dependency of the world upon the seas’ sources of supply for various necessaries. Now it is asserted that the denizens of the deep waters are presently 'going to be put under contribution for a variety of new foods and substitutes for leather in many uses. The subjugation of the sea is not the only great step that men are contemplating toward a more effective utilization of nature’s bounty. The tropics are going to be developed, after this war, at a rate never before imagined, unless all signs fail. Not only are the governments preparing to give more systematic and scientific encouragement to proper colonial development in the tropical areas but the colonizing spirit has been receiving a great revival. One hears soldiers from every army, Englishmen, Scotchmen, Frenchmen, Italians and, it is said, German prisoners, talking of the possibilities of South America, Africa, the Pacific islands, in fact, the whole great undeveloped empires of the world. Price Will Be Higher. In Norway milk and butter supplies are very short, but the Morgenblatt announces that the. problem of a substitute for oleomargarine has been solved and that the Norwegian oleomargarine could be made of purely

CUBAN SHIPBUILDERS AID IN WAR WORK

The shipyards of Cuba have been scenes of much activity since Cuba entered the war. The construction of wooden ships, so as to release steel ■hips for war requirements, is going on without delay. The photograph shows one of the wooden ships under construction.

THE EVENING REPUBLICAN. RENSSELAER. IND.

the uncertain platform of a moving deck. The value of Hadley’s instrument was jnot at once recognized by mariners, but its worth has been amply demonstrated by the fact that no essential change'has been made in it since it first appeared, nearly two centuries ago. With the sextant perfected, the apparatus used by a navigator was greatly reduced in bulk. Some of the ancieht ships, bound on long voyages, took along a great variety of appliances that today would be valuable only as junk or curios. Now the American officer, ready tu ship for service overseas, takes his sextant, the most important of all nav. igating instruments next to the compass, in a neat mahogany case only nine inches square by five Inches deep, and needs nothing further, except the ship’s chronometer, to enable him to tell where he is every day on his voyage across the vasty deep.

Norwegian materials without the admixture of foreign vegetable oils, which experts had declared to be essential. The discovery is due to the researches of a committee appointed by Hr. Vik, the minister of supply. For the present the Vera fat refinery will manufacture the article, apd it is asserted that the factory will be able to meet the requirements of the whole country. The secret is the use of different kinds of fish oil, of which there la plenty on hand, both of whale and other fish. The price will be slightly higher than the former oleomargarine, because there is a duty on fish oils higher than that on the vegetable oils previously used. A representative of the Morgenblatt has been given the opportunity of tasting the new product and asserts that in flavor and appearance it is equal to the best oleomargarine. It is expected to be on the market as soon as a supply can be manufactured.

MISS EMMA FROHMAN

Miss Emma Frohman, sister of Daniel Frohman, the famous theatrical manager who went down with the Lusitania, is sponsoring the work of making woolen undergarments for soldiers. Through her efforts, a special undergarment has been designed here after a French model, and is being turned out in quantity at the workrooms of "the—Vacation War Relief in New York city.

Whisky Prices Soar in England.

London—Three years ago a bottle of whisky containing about twentyeight ounces could be purchased for 84 cents, but as the government prohibited the distilling of whisky and the vending of spirits under three years of age, the price has since that time been steadily rising. Where supplies are still available the price has ranged between $2.60 and $5.

EXPLAINS LAUGH OF BABIES

We Come Into Thia World of Sorrows Witk* Mysterious Sense of Humor. The human love of nonsense is a divine mystery. We have often heard pessimists declare that we come into, the world weeping. It is truer, I think, .to say that we come into it laughing. For laughter in a baby seems to be its first conscious apprehension of something outside its small needs and pains. It may cry merely because a pin is sticking into it, but it laughs because already it sees something that makes it laugh, it knows not why, something that catches the eye or ear and seems irresistibly funny to it. There is nothing more mysterious than a baby’s sense, of humor. It frequently loses it as it grows up, together with the other trailing Clouds of glory, but most babies are born with it To satisfy it nursery rhymes were invented, and to satisfy the same instinct in gfbwn people “The Hunting of the Snark,” that Incomparable classic, came into being, and Caverly and Gilbert and Lear stood on their heads, so to speak, and performed such verbal antics before high heaven as must have made the very angels laugh. When the Owl and the Pussy Cat, having dined on mice and slices of quince, “hand in hand, on the edge of the sand,” “dance by the light of the moon,” there is something which, as Stevenson was fond of saying, delights the great heart of man. But, of course, with these modern artists of nonsense there is usually a deliberate attempt at the grotesque and the absurd. We know why we are laughing, but with the old-fashioned rhymes of which I am chiefly thinking, we laugh—or, for that matter, cry, perhaps—without having any reason to give.—Richard Le Gallienne, in Harper’s Magazine.

WHERE TO LOOK FOR WIFE

Seek Her in Butcher’s Shop, Says This Writer, and Mark Just How She Buys. A good housewife will look at least two square meals ahead of her nose. The modern system of marketing during the high cost regime is such a fine art that a youth contemplating matrimony should hie to the market place for selecting a bride. My boy, Zim advises in Cartoons Magazine, when you see a maiden pinching, smelling and pricing a soup bone, you may rely on her sense of economy, for she is looking forward not less than two meals. The soup bone, when cooked, is merely food in the rough or primitive state. Its choicest by-products are realized after bouillon stage. Thereafter comes goulash, the croquettes and the luscious hash. By all means avoid the girl who orders choice cuts of porterhouse or English mutton chops. She will not make a good helpmate. But the girl who selects the chuck or neck pieces or the tail end of a ham bone, and renders them into dainty, palatable dishes is the one you want. So take.my advice and seek the rparket place when you feel that you have had your fill of bachelor loneliness and wish a taste of wedlock. Follow such a girl around until you are perfectly satisfied, then nail her.

Way to Success.

Power is. the goal of every worthy ambition and only weakness comes from imitation orx dependence on others, says a writer in Success. Power is self-developed, self-generated. We cannot increase the strength of our muscles by sitting in a gymnasium and letting another exercise for us. Nothing else so destroys the power to stand alone as the habit of leaning upon others. If you lean you never will be strong or original. Stand alone or bury your ambition to be somebody in the world. The man who tries to give his children a start in the world so that they will not have so hard a time as he had is unknowingly bringing disaster upon them. What he calls giving them a start probably will give them a setback In the world. Young people need all the motive power they can get. They are naturally leaners, imitators, copiers, and it is easy for them, to develop into echoes or imitations. They will not walk alone while you furnish crutches; they will lean upon you just as long as you will let them. One of the greatest delusions that a human being could* have is that he is permanently benefited by continued assistance from others.

Miners Live Long.

It is an extraordinary fact that even when deaths from accident are included, the rate of mortality among miners of Great Britain is materially lower than that among any other big class of labor, except agriculturists, and appreciably lower than the average rate of mortality among males. This fact was discovered by Doctor Tatham, while acting as superintendent of statistics in the office of the registrar general.. Doctor Tatham points out that while the risk of fatal accidents among the coal miners is much greater than among other males generally, their risk of death by disease is much lower, being 16.6 per cent less than all occupied males, and 23.2 per cent less than that of all males. While coal miners appear rto suffer more than the average mortality from bronchitis, they show marked immunity from consumption, their mortality from that disease being less than half the average. From diseases of the nervous system their mortality is 1» per cent lower; heart disease, 10 per cent lower, and from disease of the liver, 10 per cent lower than among all males.

Spring Suits Gracefully Economical

Four and a half yards, no more, but as much less as your ingenuity can manage with, that is the edict as to the allowance of wool for this spring’s suits. Four and a half yards of 54inch goods will make a suit on accepted lines for the woman of average figure. It almost goes without saying that skirts are a yard and a half to two yards wide,, coats about 28 inches long and furbelows conspicuous by their absence. The new suits are excellent. Many of them are made of silk and many more of silk and wool combined and In others the accustomed order of things is changed, the suit is of silk and the trimmings and accessories—collar, cuffs, belt —of wool. Two of the new spring suits, pictured above, are representative models. Since the appearance of the wool suit at the left of the two, coats have

Tn the last exhibitions of styles in the fall there appeared some unusual combinations of cloth in dresses, among them broadcloth and linen in handsome “flapper” frocks, that proved very attractive. The idea is coming to the front again in the displays of spring apparel for little girls, as well as in clothes for their elders. Aside from this there is very little that Is altogether new in spring styles for children.

Fancy stitching, French knots and smocking appear to be the main reliance of designers in the matter of decorative touches for the small girl’s frock. Voiles and the finer chambrays lend themselves to smocking so well that one is always running across Lt Narrow frills of white organdie used as a finish on collar and cuffs, pockets and girdle are another strong factor in decorative schemes. The frills have plcot edges and are wonderfully dainty. They are used with chambray mostly, and on the plain colors like pink, blue, tan and corn color. A dress of fine white voile for the little girl of eleven or so is shown in the picture. It is made with a little

Spring Styles for Children

tended to grow shorter. It was among: the earliest arrivals, and compromised with the newest ideas by adopting a lengthened back panel which is laid 1 in three shallow, invested plaits. At the right a suit made of peacock satin is handsomely finished with embroidery in the same color of silk. A shaped band of it, about the waist, simulates a very graceful girdle in the coat, and the bottom of the skirt is embellished with it. The liking for large buckles Is revealed in a handsome circular one which is placed at the left side where the graceful coat fastens. One wholly new’spring suit in war time may be the meager allowance that our patriotism will concede, along with an easy conscience. But styles point the way to much remodeling and the transformation of last year’s leftovers into this year’s utility clothes.

jacket or coatee effect, with a smocked panel of voile set in at the front. Light blue silk is used in the smoyking, thel stitches forming bands of color across the short waistline at the front A collar, cuffs and narrow girdle of the broadcloth are in blue and small white buttons make a pretty finish for' them. Voile is durable and dainty and will stand wear and tubbing. The blue broadcloth must be handled with care when the time comes to wash it The dress for the little girl of three at (the right of the picture is of blue chambray. It has collar and cjffs of heavy white cotton goods and pockets of the chambray. Needlework in b’ack is used- to outline a border at the bottom of the pockets. The skirt has a few shallow plaits, but the bodice is plain. /.

The silver inkstand In Mr. McKenna’s room in the British treasury has been used. by 44 chancellors of the exchequer. It was presented to Pitt when chancellor of the cabinet