Rensselaer Journal, Volume 11, Number 2, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 20 June 1901 — Page 7

some: new inventions

Saves Clumbers’ Utils.Many a housewife who thinks she Is careful not to throw anything in the t sink is surprised at the amount of waste brought to light by the plumber

tachment to catch the waste products before they fall into the trap, thus making it easy for the material to be removed by any one Without the aid of a plumber. The device is composed of a wire basket of fine mesh, which is suspended inside an enlarged section of outlet pipe, with means for removing the lid and lifting out the basket to empty the contents. Around the central lid is a perforated rim, through which the water flows into the slanting gutter below, passing thence through a coarse screen into the wire basket, where the liquid is drained of all foreign matter. Suspended is a wire handle by which to remote the basket, and the cover can be lifted by the sliding loop at the center. the Mud Off "Rapidly. No one likes to go into the house with mud on the sides of his shoes, and yet no device which could be handily utilized to wipe the feet has hitherto been brought forward for this purpose, if we exclude the mat and old-fash-ioned iron scraper, which do the work but poorly. It is not an easy task with the aid of both the mat and scraper to dislodge the mud from the sides of the soles or the uppers, and to accomplish this special object the boot and shoe cleaner recently patented by Monroe Powell will fill its own place on the front doorstep. There is nothing expensive or complicated about the cleaner, which consists of a pair of brushes and sufficient spring wire to support them with their faces toward each other and elevated at the proper height from the step. The wire is bent to afford-A base, which is secured to

HOW IT OPERATES.

the step by double-pointed tacks, and screws are inserted through the eyelets at the ends of the wires and screwed Into the backs of the brushes. When the foot is inserted between the cleaners the wire allows them to spring outward until the shoe will pass through the bristles. By kicking the foot through once or twice the edges of the shoe will be wiped clean. X/nique Indicator. Here is a handy French letter balance which shows at a glance the correct amount of postage necessary to prepay any mail matter, the novelty

placed in a wire loop at the upper end of a post attached to one end of the « tMting beam and at the opposite end of the beam is aupended the weight carrier. The lower weight is a fouraided cone, and is of proper size to fit the interior of the weight next above, which In turn fits the next higher, and ao on until al) the weights are suspended in the same plane on the central support, each weight representing a unit of'postage. "Rapid Comb Cleaner. The invention shown below has been designed for cleaning combs of hair, dandruff and other matter which clogs up the teeth after the comb is in use

The arrangements consists of a box with a removable top, in which is mounted a rotary brnsh of wire or stiff bristles, with a crank at one end by which It is revolved. In the bottom of the box is a row of curved fingers, which serve to remove from the bristles whatever the latter dislodge from the comb, it being a small task to remove this matter from the bottom of the box at intervals as it accumlates.

who has been sent for to discover the cause of the cloggeed drain, for the matter will accumulate in spite of extreme care. A Chicoganhas designed this new sink at-

being in the manner in which the weights are automatically adjusted to counterbalance different-B 1 z e d packages on the opposite end of the beam. The letter o r package 1 s

a short time, the machine being especially useful in barber shops and hairdressing parlors, where the combs are tn constant use, and It is necessary to have them always clean.

T*rof. Moore and the Hail Shooters. Professr Willis L. Moore, chief of the weather bureau, appears to be somewhat irritated because American horticulturists, as a result of the reports submitted by our consul at Lyons, are asking why this government does not adopt the French method of cannon-firing for the protection of orchards from hall and frost. In a statement which he issues as a reply to the numerous inquiries received concerning the matter. Professor Moore says the idea that the atmosphere can be bombarded into submission to man’s demands in this direction is a popular delusion “as remarkable as is the belief in the effect of the moon on the weather,” adding that “the uneducated peasantry of Europe seem to be looking for something miraculous.” “They would rather,” he says, “believe in cannonading as a means of protection, and spend on it abundance of money, time and labor, than adopt the very simple expedient of mutual Insurance against losses that must inevitably occur.” Improvement in Currycombs. Here is an improvement in currycombs which will be appreciated by every horseman, as it will do in an instant the work he is apt to neglect until it becomes absolutely necessary

slotted to s conform with the row of teeth in the comb, with a hinge at one end to attach it to the side of the comb frame. The plate is provided at its opposite edge with a crimp extending either part way or clear across, which serves to lock the plate against the back of the comb while the latter is in use. When it is desired to clean the currycomb a slight pressure of the thumb on the locking crimp will allow the plate to spring clear of the teeth, and assume its natural curve again, at the same time ridding itself of the dirt and hair which it has dislodged from the teeth. The best feature of the improvement is the curving of the cleaner so that it will fly clear of the teeth without the necessity of pulling it free with the hand. The inventor says it will be only a question of time when all currycombs are made with the improvement be has invented. Shadobuless In an improved form of arc lamp for street and other lighting purposes the carbons are so placed as to throw no shadow un-

d e r n e ath the lamp. One of the objections to the arc light her etofore has been the shadow cast by the mechanism necessary to support the lowe r carbon, but the new lamp over-

comes this .by suspending both carbons in an oblique position from the top of the lamp, as illustrated. It is understood that the light in an arc lamp is produced by the passage of the electric current between the slightly separated points of the carbons, and to maintain these points in proper relation the Inventor has provided a clamping mechanism actuated by the expansion and contraction of the central rod of the governor. The first action as the rod expands is the clamping ofr-the carbon pencils to prevent further downward movement, and the second is the spreading of the points until the arc is formed between them. As soon as the points are consumed partially the rod is again drawn upward, allowing the points of the carbons to fall together once more, which feed is assisted by the coiled springs attached at the upper ends of the carbons. TAe (Telautograph. The illustration shows an apparatus for the receiving of written messages by wire. In receiving messages by this machine, the electrical current is made

t o actuate the point of the pen by means of the pairs of electro- magnets located o n either side of the tab1e t, as

shown. Between eacu pair ot magnets Is a movable arm, which rises or falls according as it is attracted or repelled by the magnet, and the motion ot the arm turns a toothed wheel pivoted at the side of the tablet. Thia wheel is in connection with a sliding rod, which has a rack to receive the teeth, and by the combined action of the two rotating wheels on the rods the pen point at their Juncture Is guided across the paper to transcribe the message. At the right side is an Ink fountain, which is connected with the pen point by a flexible tube, and when the pen is at rest it is placed on a pad of gelatin or like material to prevent the ink from clogging the tip ot the pen.

ENDS THIRD-TERM TALK.

President McK|nley Is Oat with An Official Statement. The following statement has been given out at the White House: “I regret that the suggestion of a third term has been made. 1 doubt whether I ani called upon to give it •notice. But there are how questions of the gravest importance before the administration and the country, and their just consideration should not be prejudiced in the public mine! by even the suspicion of the thought of a third term. In view, therefore, of the reiteration of the suggestion of it, I will say now, once for all, expressing a long-settled conviction that I not only am not and will not l?e a candidate for a third term, but would not accept a nomination for it if it were tendered me. My only ambition is to serve through my second term tp the acceptance of my countrymen, whose generous confidence I so deeply appreciate, and then with them do my duty in the ranks of private citizenship. “WILLIAM M’KINLEY. “Executive Mansion, Washington June 10. 1901.”

One member of the freshaaen class of the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, a girl, bright, attractive, and a good student, was not present at the college commencement. In disgrace she was taken by her father to her home near Columbus, dismissed from the university after being convicted of theft from fellow-students. Physicians gave it as their opinion that the girt Is a kleptomaniac and -morally irresponsible. University authorities and civil officers took this charitable view of the case, and there will be no prosecution. In a trunk in the girl’s room were found a large number of missing articles of wearing apparel and books, which she admitted stealing. She has been a member of the university a year.

-| spring plate curved vld e s a tion pr o - in his inven- > The inventor and dirt, with hair the teeth clogging of _Jfrom the

Three men —Harry Slmmington, Stacey, and Givens —held In the county jail at Fort Morgan, Colo., on a charge of burglary, with the aid of confederates on the outside, sawed their way out. Slmmington had secured a revolver and ammunition. As they were leaving the jail they were discovered by Sheriff Calvert, who tried to stop them and was shot through the abdomen by Slmmington. He probably will die. Deputy Sheriff Nelson raised a posse and soon recaptured Stacey and Givens, but Slmmington eluded his pursuers. The authorities have sent to Pueblo for bloodhounds. Lynching Is threatened if the man Is caught. Slmmington is from Macomb, 111.

As a result of Monday night’s explosion in the Port Royal (Pa.) mines of the Pittsburg Coal company, sixteen men are dead, seven injured, and thousands of dollars’ worth Qf property destroyed. The official list of dead and Injured was made public by the coal company’s officials last night Among the victims is William F. Allison, assistant superintendent of mines. He was a second cousin of President McKinley and leaves a widow and five children. William McCune, superintendent of the company’s mines along the Baltimore and Ohio railroad, was also killed. He left a family.

An Emporia (Kan.) dispatch says that an epidemic of suicides, which has caused in the towns and county two dozen suicides or attempts in as many months, has led the mayor and board of health to forbid* the publication of details of the crimes in local papers. Their action is taken on the theory that publication spreads the contagion by psychic suggestion. Three attempts at suicide were mads at Emporia Tuesday.

Henry M. Flagler, the Standard Oil magnate, has sued, at West Palm Beach, Fla., for a divorce from his wife, and it is expected the decree will be granted about Aug. 1. The ground on which the divorce is asked is insanity. The Florida legislature, which has just adjourned, passed a law making insanity a ground for divorce, and it has been said the measure was enacted through the influence of Mr. Flagler.

Free vaccination with pure virus for the entire population of Indiana is a proposition of the state board of health. The governor has been consulted, for in order to carry out the scheme the board will have to draw on the contingent fund, which only the executive has power to spend. Secretary Hurty of the state board predicts that smallpox will spread to every corner of Indiana.

At Montreal, Quebec, the management of the Canadian Pacific railway having failed to reply to the final demands of the committee of their trackmen. Grand Master Wilson of the Brotherhood of Railway Trackmen ordered a strike over the whole road, from the Atlantic to the Pacific, beginning Monday. The order affects over 3,000 men.

Since John Gray Foster, a planter, wan shot and killed by Prince Edwards, a negro employed on the Footer plantation, five miles east of Shreveport, La., armed posses of white men have been out trying to capture Edwards. A dozen or more negroes are under arrest In Kennebrew’s store, and what fate may have In store for them is uncertain. Footer was widely known and popular. He was a brother-in-law of Gov. McMillin of Tennessee, and belonged to one of the oldest families tn that state.

Girl Student Is a Thief.

Break Jail and Shoot Sheriff.

Sixteen Killed In Mine Horror.

News of Saleidea Suppressed.

Flagler Asks a Divorce.

May Vaccinate Whole State.

Strike of Trackmen Ordered.

Lynchers Seek a Negro.

SOONERS MUST GET OUT

Secretary of the Interior Hitchcock has requested Secretary of War Root to send into the Kiowa, Comanche and Apache reservations, in the Indian Territory, a body of United States troops to clear these reservations, which are soon to be thrown open for settlement of squatters, or "sooners," as they are known on the frontier. More than 1,000 of these "sooners” have entered the Wichita mountains and taken up mineral claims. The district, which is to be divided into homesteads of 160 acres each, is in the Oklahoma country, and is regarded as the most desirable farming land in the southwest. The department is determined that there shall be no injustice done to the settlers of this new reservation, and it does not propose that the scenes enact-

CARNEGIES’S CASTLE.

; Andrew Carnegie is continuing In Scotland the munificent generosity to the aid of education as he began in the United States. We were told recently of his donation of $500,000 to establish branch libraries in Glasgow upon the same plan for which he gave $3,000,000 to Greater New York. Last week came the news of his gift of $10,000,000 to establish free scholarships in the historic Scotch universities for z poor young Scotchmen. Of course, this is a materialistic age, and no one, on this side of the Atlantic at least, pays any attention to superstititions. But there are folks in Scotland (no Insinuation is meant against the Scotch, but their old legends have greater influence than in this new country, especially among the folk on the country side) —who believe that by these donations, Andrew Carnegie will lift the curse from Skibo Castle, the old estate which he has purchased as his home In the Highlands. Every one north of the Tweed is cognizant of the fact that a bloodcurdling curse rests upon Skibo Castle, and the Scots are asking, whether this curse will work against the American owner in the same way that the curse pronounced against the third Ixird Byron (who made a drinking cup of the skull of one of the old Abbots of Newstead Abbey),-continued to blight not only all the subsequent owners and occupants of Newstead Abbey, including the poet Lord Byron, until the late Colonel Webb a few years ago found the long lost drinking cup in an old curiosity shop in London, and by restoring it to the Abbot’s tomb at Newstead put an end to the curse that rested on the place. The ban resting upon Skibo Castle dates from the early part of the eighteenth century, when by some foul wrong the Grays, who had owned the castld for several hundred years, were deprived of their ancestral possessions

Many-Tongued telephone.

One of the most striking inventions recently made is the telegraphone, which may be described as a combination of telephone and phonograph. It was devised by Mr. Poulsen of Copenhagen, Denmark. The telegraphon1c distributor, as the Instrument is called, enables any one to send a message to a number of destinations by speaking once. The instrument depends for its action upon the fact that the variations of the magnetic field of an electro-magnet are so accurately represented by the magnetization of a steel wire which is drawn through it, that if the wire be again passed through the field, currents exactly similar to those which reproduced the magnetization of the wire are repro-

MR. POULSEN'S TELEPHONIC DISTRIBUTOR.

ed when Oklahoma was thrown open to settlement shall be repeated. A plan has been devised whereby each claimant will have an equal chance with every other claimant, although only a small percentage of those filing claims will secure homesteads. Already the applications on file exceed "By many thousands the number of tracts'> of 160 acres each which are to be disposed of to claimants. The town of Duncan, Okla., has made a protest against the location of 20,000 acres of grazing land directly opposite and adjoining the military forest reserve, because it raises a wall against the town in communicating with the new reservation when settled, ft is claimed that the land is too valuable for pasturage and could be easily settled with a prosperous population.

by the family of Doul. Misfortune overtook the latter, and since that time the curse has been fulfilled in this that no family has possessed Skibo for more than one generation. It has passed through many hands, including the Mackays, the Gordons, the Dempsters and the Chirnsldes, illluck pursuing them all, until the place was acquired by Andrew Carnegie, who apparently is not superstitious, as ho assured his tenants and neighbors the other day that he intended Skibo to be the home of bls family "for many generations.” He is very popular in the district by reason of the money he has brought into the country, and is known there as "Skibo,” in the same way as most other territorial magnates are known

SKIBO CASTLE—ANDREW CARNEGIE'S SCOTTISH BEAT.

duced in the coils of the magnet. A steel wire is wound in spiral grooves, on a revolving non-magnetlc drum. Upon this wire rests two poles of an electro-magnet connected with a microphone transmitter. Any sounds such as vocal speech, or instrumental music, actuating the diaphram of the transmitter, are transferred as magnet impulses to the electro-magnet, which, when the drum Is set in motion, at once communicates them to the revolving wire. The two poles of the magnet gripping the sides of the wire are carried along a sliding rod laterally, until the end of the coiled wire is reached. Thereupon a device shunts the carrier—l. e„ the traveling elec-tro-magnet— on«to another meeban-

which would do business at Duncan. On the other hand a protest has come from Texas because the location of the main pasture qf 400,000 acres on the Texas boundary interferes with free intercourse of Texas people with the new settlement and likewise rears h wall against the people of that state. v Secretary Root has directed that a Koop of cavalry from Fort Sill, I. T., beKpnt Into the reservation to clear them of the lawless element'that has entered. The soldiers will probably be kept there until the day the lands are thrown* open to settlement. In the meantime the Kiowa Indians have sent a representative to Washington asking that the opening day be postponed until Congress can examine the treaty under which the act was passed.

by the name of their land, rather than by their patronymic.

Arbitration for China.

If the international tribunal established by the conference at The Hague has any practical usefulness the dispute among the powers at Pekin affords an opportunity to put it to the test. The suggestion of the United States to refer the question of indemnity to this tribunal is worthy of a civilized nation. Its adoption is scarcely probable unless the powers should And It impossible to reach an agreement in any other way. The Island of Chios, in the Aegean sea, has an oak the age of which is believed to be twenty-two centuries.

ically revolving spiral, which quickly takes the carrier back to Its original position. The Instrument is now ready to reproduce all that the wire has received. Connect the magnetic-carrier to an ordinary telephone receiver, and, traveling over the same ground as before, the poles will be actuated this time by the magnetized wire, and will retransmit to the receiver what they had previously imparted to the wire. The result Is that the telephone receiver now speaks everything that had been spoken Into the microphone transmitter. In the distributor a number of electro-magnets take the place of the second (re transmitting) magnet.

Always Two Sides.

Many seem to think that there Is but a single side to the question of electing senators by direct vote of the people. The National Civic Federation recently undertook to get an expression of the popular sense on this subject. They held a kind of refer, endum and, in reply to their inquiries, received a great many replies. There are two sides to every question and they ascertained that there were two also to this. Mrs. Hanna Omeger of New York city, according to Law Notes, recently recovered 1750 damages for injuries sustained by an icicle falling from a tank on top of the defendant's building through the skylight of her bouse and striking the good dame on the crown of her head. She was not only knocked senseless, but was Interrupted in the midst of her dinner, which, when she recovered, had grown cold. For all of these things she asked 915,000 damages. ■ - I - --- Professors George F. Jewett of Youngstown, 0., who recently resigned aa principal of the Raven High school, has accepted the presidency of La Salle Seminary for Young Women in Boston.

THE SUN’S HEAT.

Why It Seems Greater on the Barth Ths* ' Out in Space. A correspondent asks: “Docs the heat of the sun come to the earth the same as it would from a Are from which we stood only a short distance away? And, if so, why is it so cold between us and the sun?” These questions have doubtless puzzled a good many people. It Is suspected that the temperature of interstellar space, outside the earth's atmospheric envelope. Is several hundred degrees colder by the Fahrenheit scale than the lowermost stratum of air in the sunshine of a summer day. Yet When one stands-before a stove he notices that the heat diminishes'' steadily with distance. The two phenomena do not appear to be alike at Arst sight Nevertheless, a comparatively simple explanation for the difference is given. The wisest students of the sun have yet a great deal to learn concerning it, and it is possible that existing theories on the subject may be upset in the futiire. But at the present time It is believed that light, heat and electricity are all vibrations of the other. Light has the shortest waves, and these in turn are of unequal length, the violet and blue waves of the spectrum being shorter than the orange and red. The waves that produce the sensation of heat when they reach us are still longer, while these in turn are exceeded by those which give rise to electrical phenomena. Heat and electricity, though, differ somewhat from light rays in their behavior. The energy which comes to us from the sun or a lamp in the form of light cannot be stored up on arrival; that is, not as light. It is thought that when light waves hit us they aro converted into heat, but the quantity is so small we are not sensible of it. Now, it seems probable that under certain circumstances, nnd up to a certain limit, electricity can accumulate in the air. But however that may be, bent certainly does, and the moisture in the earth’s atmosphere is largely responsible for catching it and retaining It There are other materials (of which glass is one) that will let heat go through in one direction and not In the other. Thus it is possible to develop greater warmth In a greenhouse than outdoors,, even when no artificial means of developing heat Is employed. The heat comes through the glass and is there imprisoned. The molsturo of the atmosphere behaves in the same manner. Theoretically at least it should be possible to Imitate this phenomenon with a stove in a large room. All Interchange of air with adjacent regions should be absolutely checked for a sufficient time to prevent changes of temperature from this cause, and some way should be found to keep the heat radiation from the stove uniform during the experiment. Then a glass fronted and perfectly tight case, placed a suitable distance away, ought to store up heat in such a manner that after a time a delicate thermometer Inside would read a little higher than one outside and close to the glass. But it Is doubtful whether the experiment could be conducted in any ordinary household in such a manner as to yield results of any sclcntlAc value. It would be better to undertake it in a specially arranged laboratory.

Tooth and Responsibility,

By way of illustrating the opportunities, enterprise and rapid advancement of Industrious young men of America a city merchant tells the story of the ylait of an Englishman to a large wholesale house In Philadelphia. The English firm had been buy. Ing goods of the American house for years, and the traveling partner called to pay his respects. He went into the office, asked for the manager, and when he was presented, said hesitatingly and apologetically: “I—ah—beg your pardon, but I should like to see your father, the manager of the concern.” When the young man smilingly assured him that he was the manager of the house, the Englishman was amazed. Such a thing could be hardly possible In his own country, and be could not understand how so young a man could be entrusted with a position of such importance. ' Similar surprise and gratiflcatlon. were expressed by the correspondent of the London Clmes, who sent beck from America a series of brilliant papers on local economic conditions. He contrasted, favorably to the republic, the opportunities afforded to young men in America with the limitations and handicaps of youth in Europe, and paid the highest compliment to the business energy and sagacity of young American manhood.

The Namaes of the New Shades.

The prettiest greens are dracaena, which Is of the light lily leaf tone, and the acaucarla, which is a little darker. Soft mauvps are the clemetlte, orchids and peneee, and a very beautiful shade Is the volubllls, the delicate tint of the convolvulus. One of the newest colors is a sort of fawn, which le called Maryland. A fashionable pink Is laurler. Others are Belne, which has a magenta tint in it and Rol, the now pinky red. Jacqueminot is a name which denotes the color and needs no explanation. Orient is a beautiful light blue with a touch of green In It Precieuse is the new pink —an old rose. the blues are barbeau, matelot and admiral, which io dark. There is a beautiful new turquoise Petta. Glacier is the greenyblue of the hue of ice, and near aklo is alpine. Slam is after the apricot order, with a dash of red In it Ceylon is a little darker. The most vlvlu yellow-green is Casplanne. Many of the new glace ribbons In all these colors are Interwoven with tinsel threads. —New York Commercial Advertiser.