RECORD 1C
EBERG YEAR
Nothing Like It Up North For
Over Forty Years.
PERIL IN FLOATING ISLETS.
pff Newfoundland Coast and on the
Grand Banks Floes and Bergs Are
Proving a Menace to Shipping Fish
ing Fleets' Business Sadly Hampered.
The present year continues to main
tain its unenviable notoriety for the
seriousness of the iceberg peril. In
the first week of August icebergs
were as numerous about the New
foundland coast as they have ever
been in midwinter and more numer
ous than at the same time in any year
of the past quarter century. The
whole of Newfoundland's eastern sea
board and the Grand banks also are
thickly strewn with these ' floating
Islets that spell destruction for every
vessel that hits them. Daily the steam
ships plying in these waters report
sighting scores, if not hundreds, of
bergs, and one passenger ship from
New York to St. John's, N. F., counted
over a thousand during twenty-four
hours.
What they mean to ships at this
season is shown by the fact of three
steamers having been crippled by them
In the past few days. On July 23 the
steam freighter Bergulus entered St.
John's with her bow battered in by
contact with a berg in a dense fog off
Cape Kace. She was so seriously in
jured that a deck load of machinery
had to be jettisoned and 100 tons of
coal thrown overboard, but even with
this relief she barely succeeded in
making port. Three days later the
.Black Diamond lmer Bonavista, with
' npvonrv nacpn(rpra annum rnnnn nnrr
1 . . ., r ( i . i . i . ,. . ...... t t. 4-ln
HllU UUW BLUVC 111. Xi. L LUC
Impact her passengers stampeded to
the deck and rushed for the boats, and
only the most strenuous exertions on
the part of the officers averted a trag
edy. At the same time the Canadian
Pacific line steamship Montrose was
lying off Cape Race for four days, re
pairing damages causea oy running
Into another berg while on her way to
Montreal with 300 passengers. She
was badly battered forward, and the
British warship Brilliant stood by her
until she effected repairs to enable her
to reach her destination.
Several other steamships more or
less crippled from contact with ice
had to make the same port recently,
and there are a few missing and over
due vessels.
Fishing Fleets Hampered.
' Navigation along the Canadian route
has been seriously hampered by the
presence" of the bergs and floes in
these latitudes. Belle Isle strait' has
been closed till an unusually late pe
riod, and the Labrador waters have
been rendered very dangerous. The
fishing fleet from Newfoundland, num-
ueruig a,ouvj .vessels uuu, uiyiu;uig
some 25,000 persons, had been unable
to operate there up to a recent date,
and it looks as if the catch of cod on
the coast for this summer would be
seriously curtailed, owing to the long
continuance of the ice pack. Even on
the section of the Newfoundland sea
board from St. John's to Cape Race
bergs are so abundant now that fish
ing operations are practically suspend
ed, as men have to take their nets out
of the water to prevent them irora De
tng destroyed.
As the Labrador fishery represents
one-third of the anmial catch of cod by
the people of Newfoundland, it can
easily be seen how serious a situation
this iceberg incubus represents, and as
the season is short at best the situation
is causing much concern.
On the Grand banks, too, the trawl
ers are hampered by the presence of
bergs, and all the big liners are obliged
to slow down in passing. The story of
Icebergs in the north Atlantic shows
nothing to resemble the conditions that
prevail at present.
Cause of Many Marine Tragedies.
No one can explain why . these ice
conditions exist in certain years and
not in others. Not since 1863 has thsre
been any approach to the present con
dition, and in that year much less in
convenience was felt, as business in
terests did not demand such regular'
communication as at present. In the
spring of 1890 floes and bergs were nu
merous in the north Atlantic, and a
number of marine tragedies resulted
"which are attributed to this cause.
Four stout steamers, with an aggre
gate list of nearly 300, one or two
having some passengers aboard, van
ished, and It has always been believed
that ice was' the cause of their disap
pearance1. In the spring of 1899, again,
ten freight steamships, with 380 souls,
vanished in the same way. All had
left American ports at. dates which
would bring them together on the
Grand banks, and the theory always
has been that they were caught in
the floes there and, a hurricane spring
ing up, were Bounded to pieces. In the
present year, however, the floes have
been even worse than on these occa
sions, and the harbor of St. John's
has been icebound and sealed up
against all arriving and departing ves
sels even more securely than ' if, sur
rounded by a blockading fleet.
Monster Masses of Ice.
The worst feature of this Iceberg
situation is that all the bergs and
floes are now drifting .south into the
track of New York liners. The more
ice there is the more, fog i will follow,
since the mist that always overhangs
the Grpnd banks is due to the isteam
generated by the commingling of the
gulf stream with the arctic current
and its burden of. Ice. The bergs,
moreover, are of monstrous size, and
the larger they are, of course, the
longer they take to melt and the far
ther south they are carried before they
disappear. There are always during
the summer months more or less of
these silent destroyers cruising to
ward the ocean lane south of the
Grand banks, and this year promises
to witness a record number. Until
ten years ago accidents to liners from
collision with these were numerous, as
then the -sailing track of the New
York "greyhounds" traversed the
southern end of the Grand banks,
which,' owing to the meeting of the
currents, is where most of the bergs
are found. Disasters became so com
mon that au international conference
was called which resulted 'in shifting
the ocean lane nearly 200 miles farther
south.
Last year one of the big German
fliers struck a berg, luckily without
injuring herself, but it is rarely that
steamers survive an encounter with
these ice masses, as only one-eighth of
the total volume of the berg appears
above water, and its contour below
may be very different from that, above,
so that when a steamer rams an ice
berg she may disturb its equilibrium
and cause it to topple over. St John's
(N. F.) Cor. New York Post.
HAPPYriYET IN JAIL
Sculptor tells Advantages of Be
ing Incarcerated.
A GOOD PLACE TO STUDY-
NOTED PREACHER-HUMORIST.
Story Told About Robert J. Burdette
by a Brother Humorist.
Rev. Robert J. Burdette of Los An
geles, Cal., one of the last of the bril
liant galaxy of old school humorists, is
the subject of the following story,
which Is told by his friend, Strickland
W. Gillilan, also a humorist, who hails
from Baltimore:
One day as a California clubwoman coats.
was driving an eastern inena aiong
Orange Grove avenue, ' Pasadena, Cal.,
she pointed to the beautiful Spanish
home of the Burdettes on the hilltop.
"That," she said, "is the home of
Rev. Robert J. Burdette. You've heard
of him and read his prose and poetry."
"I've heard of his prose, of course,"
replied the eastern lady, "but I don't
recall his poetry."
"No, 8f course not," replied her Cal
ifornia hostess, "for it's the funniest
thing he signs all his prose writings
'Robert J. Burdette' and all his poetry
'James- Whitcomb Riley.' "
During his seven years of newspaper
work in New York Mr. Burdette made
a host of friends and gained a larger
host of admirers in the metropolis. His
career began obscurely on a little
newspaper published in Peoria, 111. It
was there that his humorous writings
first attracted attention in 1S74. He
soon went to the Burlington (la.)
Hawkeye, on which paper he worked
with increasing brilliancy and success
for several years. :
The vein -of sweet seriousness which
marked so much of even his most hu
morous .writing; was traceable, in part.
to a,' living tragedy that clouded his
early career. His young wife, to whom
he referred as "her little serene hap
piness," became an incurable invalid.
But she never ceased to share with
him the pleasure and the labor of his
literary work. He did most of his
writing at a table close to her bedside,
and she read every word of his pro
lific output, often criticising, often sug
gesting a thought or an abridgment
It was years after she died before
Burdette could resume entirely his
work as humorist. - But after many
years he was married again to Mrs.
Presley Charlton Baker, a brilliant wo
man possessing vast estates in . and
around Pasadena, Cal.
Roland H. Perry, Who Refuses to Pay
Alimony, Has at Last Found Time In
New York Jail to Read Great Au
thors Sure No Burglar Can Break
In and Disturb His Slumber.
The advantages of being in jail, while
not likely to impress the average free
citizen nor even the majority of those
whose view is based on personal ex
perience, are many. At least such is
the conclusion of Roland Hinton Per
ry, sculptor, who has served four
months of his six months' term in the
Ludlow street jail, in New York city,
for contempt of court in refusing to
pay alimony to his first wife.
Leaving the blistering heat of the
lower east side, a reporter found one
of the aforesaid advantages when
Keeper Murphy led him into the dim,
cool reception room of the jaiL Perry
came down from the cell floor attired
in slippers, light trousers and a thin,
soft collared shirt, open at the throat,
"This Is one of the primary advan
tages of being in jaiL" said Perry. "I
wear what I please and have no both
ersome changes into evening dress to
make. I haven't had a stiff collar on
since I came here, ndt to mention pat
ent leather shoes, silk hats or frock
GOLDEN'S HARD SNOWSTORM.
Incident In Career of Actor Famous as
Old Jed Prouty.
Richard Golden, the actor, who re
cently died on a private yacht which
was anchored off the Brooklyn (N. Y.)
Yacht club, Gravesend bay, achieved
fame in the role of Jed ina comedy en- 1
titled "Old Jed Prouty." At one time
he was an actor in a stock company.
"One night at the old Tremont thea
ter in Boston," he remarked some time
ago, ia speaking of the experience, "we
were putting on the old melodrama,
'Storm Beaten,' in which I was com
pelled to play the aged father. It was
a 'Hazel Kirke' affair, the only scene
of importance that I had being in a
snowstorm,- when I had to grope
around with my face upturned to
heaven, murmuring, 'My child, my
child, where are you tonight? -
'I got a fair start, and I was looking
heavenward and reading the lines with
all the pathos at my command when
suddenly something about the size of
a toy balloon, it seemed to me, struck
my front teeth and passed on into my
throat. I stopped, coughed, choked.
got red in the face and threw myself
forward in a spasm, and, to my great
relief, an object struck the stage with
a sharp click and bounded out into the
audience.
"The darned property man had put
a rock in the snow. Alter tne auai-
Good Place For Study.
"What are some of the other advan
tages?" was asked.
"In the first place," the sculptor re
plied, "there is no life more conducive
to " deep thinking and study. I came
here on April 1. In four months I have
accomplished what I have been trying
to find time to do all my life- I have
read practically every one of Balzac's
novels. I have also brushed up on the
Elizabethan dramatists and read many
lighter books and magazines.
"In no other place except another
jail could I find time for this reading.
"Really," smiling through his care
fully trimmed Vandyke beard, "I
should advise every young man who
wishes to go through a course of home
study and finds it impossible under his
present circumstances to get in con
tempt of court and be sent to this jail
for six months or a year. .
Life There Safe and Sane.
"It is not at all a bad place. While
somewhat monotonous, the life here is
decidedly of the safe and sane variety.
I go to bed at 10. . I arise at (i and have
my fruit, bread and coffee, f I return to
illy -ten, w muu is i eau.y a luom vv imi
two windows and a comfortable bed. j
where I stay until 10 o'clock. Then we
are permitted to roam about until din
ner time. There is the yard to exer
cise in and fairly congenial prisoners
to chat with or play cards with. Some
of us play handball. Sensible hours,
good plain fopd, plenty of light, air and
exercise such a life should put any
one in good physical trim."
Wives Need Have No Fears.
Perry looked the part. . His eyes
were clear and his skin glowed..
"There are several other advan
tages," he continued. "One's wife can
go to the country confident that her
husband will not be np to any mischief.
I imagine there are many wives out
of town who would rest easier were
their husbands in my position.
"Then, too, one goes to bed here with
such a sense of security. There are no
burglars to break in, though there may
be a few who would like to break out.
There are no frantic telephone calls in
the middle of the night, no bill col
lectors in the morning.
"Of course I shall be glad when
Sept. 30 comes and I am free.
"I have commissions to execute, and
there are more in sight. My imprison
ment has not hurt me professionally,
I believe. I am assured by friends
that I have done the sensible and'prop
er thing. . I could not pay all the money
my first wife demanded, and I had the
choice of leaving New York state or
going to jail. My professional future
would be jeoparded by banishing my
self permanently from New- York, so
I took this way out of the difficulty.", '
In jail Perry has received frequent
visits from his second wife and artist
friends. Miss Irma Perry, the first
wife, is in East Aurora, N. Y., at the
Roycroft colony. New York World.
WATERWAYS COMMISSION.
Work In Europe-For the Board Ap
pointed by Congress.
To investigate the waterways of Eu
rope for the purpose of making recom- :
meudations" for the improvement of
the rivers, harbors and canals of the
United States eight members of the
national waterways commission ap
pointed by congress recently left New
York city on the Kronprinzessin Ce
cilie. The party is headed by Thee-'
dore E. Burton, senator from Ohio,
chairman, and he Is accompanied by
iroressor JSmory R. Johnson of the-'
University of Pennsylvania -r Colonel -W.
H. Bixby,. corps of engineers. U. S.
A.; Herbert Knox Smith, commission-;
er of the bureau of corporations, de- ,
partment of commerce and labor, and
three secretaries..
The other members of the commis- :
sion will leave later, and the whole
commission will unite' at Strassburg,
Germany, Sept. 8,. when an investlga
tion of the Rhine- wilL be begun.
Professor Johnson represents the
national - rivers and" harbors congress
and, besides making: a report of his;
independent findings to the- commis
sion, will submit also a statement to
the national rivers and harbors con
vention, which will be held iini Wash--ington
Dec. 8, 9 and 10. Hfr occupies
the chair of transportation and com-;
merce in the University of Pennsyl
vania and has on other occasions made
investigations of the waterways, of
Europe. He will give special atten
tion to the relation of waterways- to-,
railways and the Industry and trade
of the waters so connected!.
' An Investigation of the canals and
rivers around Berlin will be the- first
work of the commission. ; After- visit--:-ing
Dresden, Prague and' Yienna a.
stop of three days at Budapest will
be made for an investigation, of. the
waters of the Danube. The-Rhine-will:'
be Teached Sept. 10, and a four-day
trip is planned on that waterway..
" The commission will .also study Hoi- ,
land's dikes and canals and the canal
system of Belgium, regarded as the
best in the world. Eight days Willi be
spent in Paris, which will allow the
party to reach London Oct.. 1. The
harbors and waters of England,, in
cluding trips on the Manchester ship
canal, "will demand attention until
Sept. 15, when the party will prepare
for the return home, arriving in -New
York on Oct. 23.
Immediately thereafter the commis
sion will go up the Hudson river as far
as Albany, then on to Buffalo;, from
which point a tour of the great lakes
will be begun. - '
MENACE IN MAGAZINES.
Automobile to Run on Rails.
1 A motor inspection car, convertible
Into an automobile, has been built by
the Chicago and Northwestern railway
for the use of one of its division super
intendents.' The car has flanged steel
wheels' like an ordinary one for use
Editor Thinks Constant Reading of
Them Will Harm Americans.
'Frank Chapin Bray, editor of the
Chautauqua . Magazine, in a recent ad
dressat Chautauqua; K. Y., said:
'There is - a . menace in the maga
zines, xne magazine naoit may De
come as bad as the morphine habit.
Mere desultory reading of magazines
may result in a loss of the power to
select good reading and to think about
it intelligently. '
"Carolyn Wells has aptly defined a
magazine as a small body of literature
entirely surrounded by advertisements.
Some magazines are playing the ad
vertising game to such an extent that
their productions seem to be made up
of anything that will hold the adver
tising and support a picture of a
vaudeville actress on the cover. There
are notable exceptions, however. In
many cases one magazine one month
is so like another magazine for an
other month that they are practically
indistinguishable.
"Careless reading of the magazines
will make us as a nation more hyster
terical than ever before and worse
than the French in not having a back
ground of steadiness and a sense of
proportions. We shall lose our power
of thinking."
on the rails. These may be replaced
ence quit having hysterics I continued, ! by pneumatic tired wheels and the
but I refused to look- squarely at .steering wheel unlocked, so that the
heaven again during the run of that'
play."
' Marriage of Chimpanzees.
- James. Reid, whose title of "Marry
ing Squire" -was gained after he had
married 400 couples within four years,
recently 'officiated at the "wedding" of
Julia Krager and Master Tony, chim
panzees owned by August Larmbrig-
car may be used as an ordinary auto
mobile. It carries seven passengers,
is driven by a twenty-two horsepower
engine and to. a certain - extent "will
take the place of the superintendent's
private car. r v
V Curfew' For Adults.
- As soon as the ordinance is signed
bv the mayor and the reauired nubli-
ger, a banker of Orville, O., in the cation is made It will be unlawful for
presence of over 200 , people. Master j ally person to be on the streets- of
Tony's !bride" was -a tiny monkey, j Paragould, Ark., between the hours of
The license,, which bears the name of ; midnight and 4 o'clock in the morn
Edward Hankee, clerk of the circuit Jing. Violation is punishable with a
court,-announced the bridegroom to be '. flne) if a g00d excuse Is not forthcom-
two years old, the bride a year, a ing. A curfew law for children is al
daughter of Oom Paul, of Palshye, ready in effect, the youngsters' scam
Africa.: Chief of Police Vincent Skel- j pering' home with the ringing of the
ton volunteered to give the bride away. 9 o'clock bell. The law for -adults,
Reid: used his usual ceremony and however, is an innovation in the Unit
pocketed $5 tendered by Larmbrigger. 1 ed States.
FARM FOR SHORT SERMONS,
Indiana Clergyman Given Valuable
Land For Concise Preaching.
The Rev, J. M. Williams? a Metho
dist minister at Pine Village, Ind.,' re
ceived a deed recently for sixty acres
of land worth $125 an acre from Mr.
and Mrs. Burgoyne Davis because he
preached short sermons while pastor
of the church which they attended. .
Mr. Davis is wealthy and was so im
pressed with the brevity and pointed
ness of the sermons of Mr. Williams
that he determined to make him inde
pendent. The deed specifies the brev
ity of Williams' discourses as the con
sideration received for the land. The
sixty acres comprise one of the most
fertile tracts of land in Montgomery
county.
New Compass For Warships.
The new compass recently adopted
by the German government for their
warships is a remarkable Instrument.
It Is known as the gyroscope compass
and Is the invention of Dr. Anschuetz
Haempfe. A nine pound wheel mount
ed In a holder of quicksilver is' made
to rotate at the rate of 21,000 revolu
tions a minute by an electric ; motor.
After running for two hours the wheel
is set In the direction of the mathe
matical, meridian,- which direction it
maintains. The advantage vt the new
compass is that it is entirely unaffect
ed by' neighboring iron or steel or by
vibrations and rolling , of the vessel.
A compass card, attached indicates di
rection in the usual way. .
X
a-
v -'-
i
DR. MANNS AND WIFE
Chiropodists and Foot
Specialists
Located at 136 North Second Street
CORVALLIS, OREGON
Free Consultation Phone UI01
BEST
ROMP -REC0PE8ATE
At the Seashore
NEWPORT
Is a delightful resort and a happy combination of pleas
ure ground possibilities. An ideal climate diversion of
recreation perfect bathing boating fishing riding driv
ing, and exploring, make Newport a most charming and.
popular play ground.
Southern Pacific Co.
H AS A
Special Summer Excursion Rate to Newport of 1
$3.75
From CORVALLIS, OREGON
Ask for our booklet "Outings in Oregon."
R. C. LINVILLE Agent, CORVALLIS ORE.
WM. M'MURRAY, General Passenger Ageat
Portland, Oregon
J
Fishing Tackle
and all kinds of
Sporting Goods
Can be found here at prices that
cannot be duplicated for goods
of similar fine quality. A good
fisherman knows and appreciates
good rods, lines, etc. All of
which can be had at our estab
ishment. Heater & Harrington
- SUCCESSORS TO M. M. LONG
Phone 126 Corvallis, Oregon
Postal Innovation. .
By way of expediting the transmis
sion of letters the Belgium postal au
thorities have recommended that all
letters Intended for Brussels should be
inclosed in . red envelopes, those for
other Belgium points in yellow and
foreign letters in green envelopes.
GEO. W; DENMAN :
Attorney at Law
CORVALLIS, OREGON
Office In Fischer building over Graham
& Wortham drug store
THE PALM CAFE
VIDITO & RDSTMAN. Props.
Six o'clock Dinners Banquets, Dinner
- Parties and Sunday Dinners'
N ext Palace Theater, Corvallis.Ore.
HYDRAULIC WELL
DRILLING
Powerful and rapid well ma
chine run by gasoline engine.
Wind mill pump repairing,
and drove wells a specialty.
Place your orders now before the
season's rush work is on,
A. N. HARLAN
Box 526 Corvallis, Oregon
Taunton & Burnap
Cement Contractors
Makers of Best Cement Walks in Town
All work guaranteed first
class.
Corvallis, Ore
1 The Daily Gazette- Times
By carrier or mail, 50c per mo.
Let us send it to you
the 0ty Stables
Everything new and up to
date. Rigs furnished on
short notice. ; Call
and ' give' us a
trial. Cor.
Madison .
and " .
3d
L. F.GRAY,
" Manager