Rensselaer Journal, Volume 10, Number 45, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 18 April 1901 — Page 7

People and Events

Queerest of Men’s Clubs.

The most unique of men’s clubs has recently been organized at the University of Pennsylvania. Its membership

is regulated not by blackballs, but by a foot rule; No man can be elected a member unless he 'stands at least 6 feet in his stockings. Furthermore, the membership of the club is limited to eighty feet. That Is, if the aggregate height of the club members x reaches

John R. Maris.

that figure the club is filled, and other applicants must wait, unless under the foot rule they prove to be taller than the shortest man who is already a club member. In that case, the giant la taken into the club, and the comparative dwarf retires to an associate membership. In all matters which come before the club for action each member has one vote for each inch he stapds above six feet in height. To amend the constitution of the club requires fifty-four feet, or two-thirds of the active membership of eighty feet, in Its favor. The founder of this club of giants is John R. Maris of Chestnut Hill, Pa., who height. The club’s tallest member is Montgomery, a boy of 6 feet 10 inches. At the next annual meeting of officers of the club he expects to be chosen Supreme Skyscraper.

Grouble With Venezuela.

Venezuela has been independent for eighty years. During that period it has nominally been a republic. The different constitutions it has had have recognized the principles of free, democratic government as completely as does that of the United States, which was taken as a model. Nevertheless, Venezuela is not yet a genuine republic. It has not yet free institutions, except on paper. It is not ruled by laws, but by a despot. While the account of the existing condition of affairs in Venezuela printed in the New York Tribune last week may not be correct in all its details, it is correct as to the main points. Eighteen months ago Cipriano Castro headed a revolutionary movement, drove out President Andrade, and installed himself as dictator. There is a congress, but it is made up of men chosen by the dictator. There are judges, but if their decisions do not suit him, he throws them into prison and keeps them there until they admit they were quite mistaken as to the law. All officials hold their places only so long M the dictator does not distrust them. Those whom he suspects he removes, and flbmetimes imprisons. During his flr*t month of power the dictator had a number of wealthy bankers and merchants brought before him and assessed them from $20,000 to $60,000 apiece for the support of his government

P. C. Knox.

The New Attorney-General of the S , United States.

Russell Harrison's Debt.

It is claimed that "the chief debt of Russell B. Harrison to his father, all of which was remitted in the will, consisted of expended in fitting him out foK service during the Spanish-A.merican war. General Harrison wished to present his son with equipment, but Russell would not accept it save as a loan. That loan was never repaid that is the debt which was remitted in the will. The bequest of General Harrison of his sash and sword to any posthumous son that might be born is said by this friend of the former president to be due to his desire to have these emblems of his military service descend to a member of the family bearing his full name. It appears that when Russell B. Harrison’s son was born he and his father disagreed as to the name the boy should have. The former president wished and urged that he be given the name of Benjamin. Russell would not agree to this, but gave the boy the name of William Henry Harrison, the name of his distinguished great-grandfather. The sash and sword will in all probability, descend under the provisions of the will to the general’s grandson.

To Confound the Wise Men.

On April 1, 1851, an April Fool party was given at Newburg, N. Y. Among the guests were Edward Watkins and a young woman whom he had known for a year or two. It happened also that it was Mr. Watkins’ twenty-first birthday. As he finished a dance with the young woman in question some friends began to banter him and proposed that the couple should get married then and there as a sort of April Fool joke on themselves and the rest of the world. They were willing, a minister was sent for, and the marriage ceremony was performed. Mr. Watkins took his bride home, and all the village gossips predicted that they would be unhappy and would soon separate. By way of confounding their critics, almost all of whom are dead, Mr. and Mrs. Watkins celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of their wedding on April 1, 1901, at their home in Williamsport, Pa. Their four children and a number of grandchildren met with them to help in the celebration. Mr. and Mrs. Watkins joined the Baptist church seven years after they were married.

A Famous Churchman.

Very Rev. Frederick W. Farrar, dean of Canterbury, was, when taken ill lately, 70 years old. He was ordained

BISHOP FARRAR.

deacon in 1854 by the bishop of Salisbury, and three years later was admitted into holy orders by the bishop of Ely. Until 1871 he was one of the masters at Harrow, and for five years thereafter was head master of Marlborough college, a position he held with great distinction. Among his other offices was that of honorary chaplain to the queen and chaplain in ordinary. In 1883 he was appointed archdeacon of Westminster, and in 1895 he was appointed dean of Canterbury. Dean Farrar has written voluminously upon religious topics, but his fame will rest upon his "Life of Christ,” which was published in 1874.

SeVerity at Castle Carden.

According to the law, an alien who goes from this country to Europe and returns must be inspected and passed upon as rigidly as a new immigrant. When the Germanic arrived at New York the other day it had on board a well-to-do Philadelphia merchant, Albert Priestman, who had been abroad to buy goods. Though Mr. Priestman has lived in Philadelphia fifteen years, has married an American wife and is the father of several children born in this country, he has not taken advantage of the opportunity to become a citizen of the United States, not caring to relieve himself of allegiance to the British crown. Accordingly he was inspected to see whether he was liable to|b,ecome a charge and hence should not be allowed to enter the country. The official of the marine hospital ‘service who examined him discovered that he had an artificial left arm, and though Mr. Priestman brought proof of his business standing and showed the officials a certified check for SIO,OOO, they insisted that he must be detained on Ellis island for examination and investigation. In vain did Mr. Priestman protest that he had been across the ocean a dozen times before with this same artificial arm, or that he would furnish bonds for his appearance. Finally he was paroled over night in custody of the superintendent of the steamship line, and the next morning he was compelled to undergo an examination.

Alcoholism and Microbes.

There is nothing new in the recently vaunted animal experiments at Paris showing 'that lower grades of living creatures if alcoholized are more sensitive to disease than others of temperate habits. Alcoholized animals are unable to resist infection with the bacilli of consumption, cancer, diphtheria and kindred diseases. The progeny of alcoholized guinea pigs have proved so weak that they live but a short time or are born dead. Medical history abounds in corroborative proofs that intemperance curses not only its practitioners but their offspring, the curse moral generally accompanying the curse physical. In times of contagion persons who have lived abstemiously prove more able to withstand exposure or recover more quickly and more completely from any form of pestilence. Temperance, like virtue, is its own reward. Luckless Cassio was right—the inordinate cup is unblessed.

QUEER USES OF INDIGO.

Its Relation to Lyddite Sheila, Which Tarn Things Yellow. “Naturally, the next thing to consider should be indigo, because speaking of ‘water’ and ‘clean* makes you think of washing and Monday morning and the blue-bag. Also, it makes you think of the Boers by indirection, for those defenders of their institutions make one wet rag in the morning do duty for the faces and hands of pap and mother and the eleven children; and then, too, the British fired shells of lyddite at them, and the fumes of the explosion turned them a gaudy yellow in complexion. Now, lyddite Is indigo on which nitric acid has been poured. It is not only a thing to be melted and loaded into shells and set off with a primer of guncotton, but it is a brilliant yellow dye. When the explosive is made In England It is called lyddite; when it Is made In France it is called melinite, but It will answer to either name It it Is touched off In the right way. “This may seem a queer use of indigo, but it is still queerer that all the bright colors that we call the aniline dyes, and which we know are derived from the coal tar products, are so named from indigo’s other name, ‘anil,’ made In the laboratory. So many and so wonderful are the uses to which chemists have put the common, black, ill-smelling tar, that byproduct which the early manufacturers of Illuminating gas tried so piteously to get carted away, that one hardly dares to speaks of them as queer. They are too great. They are amazing. They are even awe-inspir-ing, for to see whither experimentation with the carbon compounds has brought us is to realize that there we are very near to the spot where the profoundest secrets of the living, growing world, lie hid. Some of the triumphs of the chemist in his domain come so near to mortal man’s having a hand in creation itself that it almost scares. When a human being can make from tar an indigo so good and so cheap that within the last four years it has risen to be the successful rival of the indigo that the Good Lord causes to grow in plants, we may well pause and look back upon the long and tortuous way we have come since first our ancestors began to make queer uses of common things.”— Harvey Sutherland, In Ainslee’s.

WORDS OF WISDOM.

Stability wins." Tact is not policy. There are no harmless sins. Deceit at last deceives itself. Fortune fails him who fears. Expediency is seldom expedient. Indulging self sorrow. Crookedness cannot be consecrated. He who will not obey cannot be free. The true instructor learns more than he teaches. A double-minded man is but halfwitted. A troubled conscience makes a hard pillow. You cannot purify the tenant by painting the house. If every bridal moon saw the bridling of the tongue happier homes would be the result. Greatness is not so much in ability to plan masterpieces as in persistency in pursuing them.—Ram’s Horn.

Lafayette’s Rose-Leaf Bed.

Mrs. Sarah H. Bradford, mother of the wife of Admiral Crowinshield, tells an amusing incident of Lafayette’s visit to New York in 1824, which almost became a tragedy for the hero. Some of the society belles and their smaller sisters, among them Mrs. Crowninshield, resolved that he should have a bed of roses to lie on, and for days before his expected visit they busied themselves gathering rose leaves, and, having filled a white silk sack with them, conveyed it to the house at which he was to spend the night. When, however, the Marquis made his appearance next morning he was suffering with influenza of the most pronounced character. With French tact he endeavored to ignore his condition, the horrid concomitants meanwhile proclaiming it, and the anxiety of his friends being equally hard to silence, the truth of the matter was gradually revealed. Lafayette was subject to a malady known as rose cold, and the odor of the flowers tortured him. In an effort to escape from it he rolled himself in a blanket upon the floor. It pursued him, and the draughts from the doors aggravating the situation a cold was the logical sequence.—Philadelphia Record.

Working Age For Children.

Labor legislation in the United {states is df very recent date. The factory inspection laws of Maine were not made till 1887, nor those jof Connecticut till the same year. Those es York were enacted in 1886, and of New Jersey in 1882, while those of Pennsylvania did not go into operation till two years before their passage in 1889. The laws of England in the employment of children are well known. In France the employment of children is prohibited until they reach thirteen years of age. In Switzerland children are not allowed to work until they are fourteen years of age. In the Netherlands a law was passed placing working hours for all women, girls and boys under sixteen years of age at eleven hours, with at least one hour of rest. Italy forbids children of either sex who are under nine years of age to work in manufactories. Denmark prohibits the employment of children un der ten years of age. Sweden forbids’ the employment, of children under twelve years of age, and Russia children under twelve years of age.

THE LOGAN STATVE.

THE EQUESTRIAN STATUE OF GEN. JOHN A. LOGAN AT WASHINGTON, D. C.

When Stephen B. Elkins was secretary of war he asked Mr. Franklin Simmons, who chanced to be in Washington at the time, if he would kindly give him (Elkins) his ideas in regard to a monument to be erected in memory of Gen. John A. Logan, congress having appropriated $50,000 for such work. Mr. Simmons replied that as there were half a dozen statues in Washington, all on plain granite pedestals, and all of nearly the same size, he would recommend, for the sake of variety, that this one be entirely different, and that the pedestal, as well as the statue, be wholly of bronze; that, furthermore, the pedestal be decorated with life-size figures in high relief of historical interest. The sculptor was asked to make a small model illustrating his idea. He did so, and his conception was adopted without competition. As a result, we have today in Washington one of the finest equestrian monuments that has ever been erected in this, or, for that matter, in any country. It is unique

The Harrison Children.

CARTERH. HARRISON III

There are two members of the Carter H. Harrison household of whom the public has heard but little, but who are, according to the mayor and Mrs. Harrison, the most important members of the whole family, writes a Chicago oorrespondent. They are Carter H. Harrison the third, and Edith Ogden Harrison. Carter H. Harrison the third is in reality Carter H. Harrison the seventh, for seven generations of the Harrison family have had a Carter Henry Harrison, yet Chicagoans know best and claim cldsest ties with the former mayor, the present mayor and his little son, and so it is he has been called the third. Just now he is a bright little fellow with the burden of 10% years on his shoulders, of whom his tutors say most flattering things of his aptitude at learning, and of whom his parents are justly proud. Baby Edith, 5 years old, who bears her mother’s maiden name of Edith Ogden, is a handsome little miss with brown eyes and rosy cheeks and light brown curly hair, almost the image of her father. She is too young as yet to show decided characteristics aside from her love of pets and dolls, of her parents and brother, and of a devotion which is well-nigh worship for

in being the only monument in America constructed entirely of bronze. On this account the pedestal of the Logan monument was a novelty even in Italy. Great crowds flocked to see it while it was on exhibition in Rome, and the then king, Humbert, was so impressed by the beauty and originality of the work that he straightway knighted Mr. Simmons. The pedestal is about twenty-five feet in height. On one side is a group representing Gen. Logan in consultation with the officers of his command. There are portraits of the leading generals of the Army of the Tennessee, namely: Dodge, Hazen, Slocum, Leggett, Mower and Blair, and of Cap:. Strong. On the opposite side of the pedestal Gen. Logan is represented as taking the oath of office as senator of the United States before Vice-Presi-dent Arthur. Grouped around are Senators Cullom, Evarts, Conkling, Morton, Miller, Voorhees and Thurman, of whom there are now living only Gen. Dodge and Senator Cullom.

EDITH OGDEH HARRiSON

her German-American nurse, Mary, who has been her constant attendant since early babyhood. Edith has never known another nurse aside from her mother, who is most devoted to her children, and like the little lamb of nursery rhymes, everywhere Mary goes Edith goes likewise. A pretty practice in the Harrison household at Christmas is the giving away of all the toys of the nursery each yuletide to the little poor folk of the neighborhood, and in return the receiving of another stock. “We want them to feel always they must give of their happiness to others,” says Mrs. Harrison.

Sunday Opening—An Opinion.

The managers of the Buffalo fair have decided that the Pan-American Exposition shall remain open on Sundays. We congratulate John N. Scatcherd, John Milburn and the other directing minds of the great Buffalo undertaking on their sound common sense, says the Chicago American. We cannot find words to express adequately contempt for the federal authorities who refused any special appropriation unless the fair should be closed on the Sabbath day.

On the front of this beautful pedestal is an ideal figure, about life-size, representing the “Defense of the Union,” and on the other end a figure of the same size representing “Preservation of the Union.” These allegorical figures are beautifully and appropriately draped and are stately and imposing. Surmounting the pedestal is the equestrian figure, which measures fourteen and a half feet in height. Gen. Logan is represented as riding along the line of battle, his sword unsheathed and the horse moving forward at a gentle trot, slightly held in check. The general’s appearance exhibits great force and energy, and the whole impression given by the statue is one of dignity, beauty and power. A feature worthy of special notice is the harmonious relation of the statue to the pedestal, which contributes much to the success of the work, and the observer feels that in every part of it is the work of a master hand. It was unveiled last week with imposing ceremonies.

The great Pan-American Exposition at Buffalo is peculiarly well located to impress, even on the stupidest, the folly of closing on Sunday. They are working day and night and on Sundays at present on the exposition striving to have it ready on time. It would be reasonable to urge that the workmen who are permitted to work on Sundays and at night to get the fair ready might also be permitted to see the fair when it is finished. Their only chance of seeing it with their families, of course, would be on Sundays, since they must work at something else on weekdays when their work in the fair grounds is over. But an argument for Sunday opening far stronger than any other exists in the great falls of Niagara very close to the fair grounds. The power of that wonderful waterfall moves all the machinery in the fair, lights the buildings, transports visitors. Niagara falls is not closed on Sundays. The gentlemen who insist on Sunday closing for the fair will probably note that Niagara falls, the great attraction of the fair, is kept open weekdays and Sundays. Niagara falls is under the control of the great power that made the world and made the falls. That power could close up the falls on Sundays, stopping the supply of water and of power for that one sacred day. The days of foolish superstition have gradually gone by. Both the falls and tile exposition which the falls supply with power will be open all through the week. * * • It is amusing, by the way, to recollect that only a few years ago, when the Sunday closing stupidity controlled the whole world, gullible travelers used to be shown so-called “Sacred Springs,” springs which refused to flow on Sundays. The easily fooled travelers were probably shown intermittent springs that dry up occasionally without reference to the day of the week. But the easily fooled traveler—thanks to public schools—is getting scarce, and he will soon die out. Senator Pettus, who is 80 years old, says his age is telling against him. “I can’t keep up with the procession,” he says . “I can only stagger along.” On the other hand, Senator Morgan, who is 77, is remarkably active and' vigor, ous.

The WeeKly Panorama .

International Flirtations.

The latest organization to come from the idea factory of William T. Stead, the English editor, is one for promoting what he calls “international flirtations.” Primarily the scheme is intended to promote correspondence between the school children of all nations. He would have a German school girl write a faulty letter in English to an English school boy, who in turn will send back an answer written in more or less faulty German. In the

W. T. STEAD.

same way French and American pupils may correspond, or any two pupils who speak and write different languages. So far as he has already gone, Mr. Stead has succeeded in getting more than 9,000 school children —English, French and German —busy in murdering each other’s languages on paper. He works through the school teachers. For instance, he finds a school teacher in England who has a dozen pupils who would like German correspondents, and he puts him In communication with a German teacher who wants an equal number of English correspondents for his children.

Russia Never Wavers.

At present, with disavowals by Russia as to any intention of permanent occupation of Manchuria, It 1s somewhat difficult to understand just why there should be all this bother about the Manchurian convention, which China, backed by Japan, refuses to sign. A little light, however, may be thrown upon the subject by considering Russa’s general policy in the extension of her Asiatic empire. When that is considered, it will be seen that her final absorption of Manchuria and Liaotung and the establishment at least of a protectorate over the whole of Mongolia, Sungaria and eastern Turkestan —in other words, of nearly half the Chinese empire—seems a forethis consummation, and Russian diplomacy for years has been advancing to this consummation, and Russian diplomats, once determined upon a course of policy, sever waver. They may be temporarily repulsed, but they bide their time, and, in the end, generally succeed. An instance in point was the request some years ago to establish a consulate at Bombay. England, not desiring to give Russia such a vantage point for secret intelligence as to her Indian empire, refused as courteously as she could on the grounds that Russian trade did not require such a concession. This, however, was not the end of the matter. Year after year, whenever circumstances seemed to favor, the request was renewed, and recently it has been granted and Russia has won her point.

From Pulpit to Stage.

Mrs. J. Clarence Lee is the pretty young wife of the pastor of the Church of the Restoration, Sixteenth and Mas-

ters streets, Philadelphia. Six weeks ago, during the temporary absence of her husband from the city, she surprised and pleased her husband’s congregation by herself filling his pulpit. She preached at two services and the innovation proved a

Mrs. J. C. Lee.

popular one. Now she is about to take an even more radical step. She has written a two-act comedy called "Cupid’s Arrow,” in which she is to take the leading part, and which is to be produced in Philadelphia within a few weeks. She declares that her idea of going into theatricals is that of benefiting both professions. “More education and refinement are much needed on the stage,” says Mrs. Lee, “while a little real dramatic force in the pulpit would be greatly appreciated by churchgoers.

Illegal Expector a tions.

New York city is engaged at present in a crusade against spitting on the floors in public buildings and conveyances. The board of health recently passed a resolution calling for the strict enforcement of the ordinance on this subject, and fifty or sixty persons have thus far been arrested for violating it. The ordinance makes the offense punishable by an excessive penalty, but in spite of this handicap the magistrates have shown a disposition to apply the law strictly. Already good results are said to be apparent. The notoriety given to the matter by the New York papers has made people more careful, and the nuisance is said to be abating to a noticeable degree.

SCIENCE AND PROGRESS

Edison’* Jtetv Storage Hattery.

The latest invention of Thomas A. Edison will revolutionize electrical industry by supplying a storage battery which will vastly Increase the uses to which electric motors are applied. Edison’s invention reduces the weight of the battery by one-half and diminishes deterioration to one-tenth. He will sell the machine for his own enrichment, retaining control of his patent, which is to be shown at the Buffalo Exposition. Comparison of the diagrams with the annexed key will show the construction of the new battery: Figure 1 gives a perspective view of a plate, figure 2 a horizontal crosssection of a pair of plates and figure S & vertical cross-section of a cell with two pairs of plates. The plate marked 1 is made of relatively thin sheet nickel. The lower parts of the plates arc connected by insulating rods, 4; passed through the holes, 4. The pins, 5; in the holes, 5; in the upper parts of the plates are used for the electrical connection. On one side of the plates there are reservoirs or “pockets," marked 6, for the electrode metals. Cadmium is very finely divided, fibrous and very pure condition, is obtained by electrolysis of a weak solution of cadmium sulphate between a thin platinum wire as cathode and a cadmium sheet as anode, using a strong current Finely divided copper is obtained by the reduction, of fine carbonate with

PLAN OF EDISON’S INVENTION.

hydrogen. The finely divided copper thus obtained is poured under slight pressure into thin blocks which fit the “pockets” accurately. The plates ara then heated in a closed compartment for six or seven hours to not more than 260 degrees centigrade, until tha eopper is changed into the black cuprio oxide. The cupric oxide blocks are next reduced to metal electrolytically, and are then changed Into the red cuprous oxide by charging. After the pockets have been filled and the plates of equal size have been connected together, they are placed in a case, 7, which contains as electrolyta a 10 per cent solution of pure hydroxide of sodium. During the charging of the cell cuprous oxide is formed and water is decomposed. During the discharge cadmium oxide is formed and water is regenerated. As only a very small amount of liquid is required, it is sufficient to place thin sheets of asbestos or another light, powerful material which is not attacked by alkalis, between the plates and to moisten with the electrolyte. The case may ba sealed for liquids, the opening, 9, being required only for the gases which are formed when the cell is overcharged.

BloW for Medicine Men.

An important decision is that of tka Circuit court of Milwaukee in a cast where two Christian Scientists were arrested for “practicing medicine without a license.” It would seem to a person of ordinary intelligence that a healer who does not use drugs does not practice medicine. But it took a circuit court in Milwaukee several days to legally determine this fact, and it may now be definitely settled that Christian Scientists are not "practitioners of medicine.”

GroWth of Drvorce.

In 1870 3% per cent of all marriages in the United States ended in divorce courts. In 1881 the percentage had

risen to 4.8. In 1890 it was 6.2, and in 1900 it was 8 per cent. In other words, the percentage of divorces to marriages in this country has more than doubled since 1870. The total number of divorces in the United States for a given year was

23,427. During the same year 20,111 divorces were granted in all ths world outside of the United States. There was an excess of 3,361 divorces in this country as compared with ths remainder of the world. Of foreign countries the smallest number of divorces in the given year was In Canada, where only twelve were granted. Next to the United States the largest number was in France, with 6,245 in the year. Germany was a close second with only 100 leas. More than 40 per cent of all divorces granted in the United States is on the ground of desertion, and divorces are five times as frequent in the city a m in the country districts.