OREGON CIT1 ENTERPRISE, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 23, 1913.
THE CITY
HARMONY IN PRIVATE
BUILDINGS NECESSARY.
Edward M. ' Bassett Would Make It
, , Compulsory by Law. T "
No community can oarry out any
worthy plan if any individual can
build any ahapo anywhere and for any
purpose, say New York expert.
The legal sides of city planning the
police power to control housing condi
tions,, height of buildings and similar
matters that are developing in this age
of progress Jwere discussed by Edward
M. Bassett of New York before the re
cent national conference on city plan
ning. In a paper which was heard
with interest he said:
"Broad exercise of community control
of the use of private property is requi
site. The city should have the power to
. HOW INDIVIDUAL IDEAS HAVE SPOILED i
. BTBKET IN AN ENGLISH TOWN.
Impose restrictions on the, use of pri
vate land so that the community's
needs shall be observed. These needs
extend not only to sanitation and safe
building construction, but include
adaptation of buildings to tber sur
roundings, distances of buildings from
and relation to streets arid public
places, creation of zones for industry,
business or residence and prohibition
r regulation of unsightly objects.
"The courts have chosen to limit the
joliee powers to health and safety on
the ground that a more extensive ap
plication would violate the constitu
tion both as to taking without compen
sation and without due course of law.
Yet no one can doubt that the city of
the future will need to enforce har
mony of buildings, the setting back of
buildings in certain areas, the limita
tion of heights and to some extent the
segregation of residential, business and
industrial structures.
"The community cannot carry out
any worthy plan if a private' owner
can build any shape anywhere and for
any purpose. The city architect in
many foreign cities has the power to
disapprove the plans of unsuitable and
inharmonious buildings. Modern Ger
man cities like Cologne. FAnkfort and
Dusseldorf have planned and restricted
their suburbs as to height of buildings,
their use and the proportion of private
land to be covered.
"It is unthinkable that the city must
compensate ail of the private owners
if reasonable aesthetic restrictions are
placed on their use of city land. Yet
if the police powers cannot be invoked
there Is no resort but to eminent
domain which always requires com
pensation. No city can afford to pay
money to all private owners to make
them respect community rights, and
community rights will at some time ex
tend to regulating advertising signs,
harmonizing buildings and segregating
industries. Trogressive legislation is
required, and if all else fails consti
tutional amendments must be made.
These should be general and 'extend
police powers to reasonable aestnetie
objects rather than to enumerate the
various forms of community necessi
ties.
PURPOSELESS PILLARS.
Owners Would Do Better to Erect
Lights or Flowerpots.
Many real estate firms and tract own
ers continue to erect pillars of stone or
. britfk on street coiners which are of no
use. possess no beauty and represent a
decided lack of taste and good judg
ment. S'mple pillars shouid either carry
lights, ornamental plants and vines in
pots, vases or, better still, hollow cen
ters, or they should be finished by
parts of walls abutting. They should
never merely stand alone without use.
A fraction of a wall on one or more
sides, of full height against the pillar
lyjd stepping down by sharp degrees to
the base, would render them necessary
to stop such winged buttresses, but pil
Jars alone are abominations and blots
on the landscape, no matter how ornate
or whatever .their style.
DOES THIS FIT YOU? J;
We should regard one inflamed
-of no love for his city or desire
to serve it as a useless character.
Dr. John H. Finley. President X
of College of City of New York.
;. ,. .t .fr .t .
The Letter M.
. The Hebrew name of M was Mem,
water, and it is curious to note that
the original form of this character in
the most ancient manuscript is a wav
ing line, which to the not too particular
; ancients .represented water. . By some
philologists the letter M as used by the
Phoenicians is supposed to have come
from a picture representing the human
face, the two down,,stroke3 represent
ing the contour of the countenance, the
V stroke signifying the nose, the two
" dots, long since disused, and a stroke
beneath the V representing the eyes
and the mouth. The old Phoenician
form of the letter does Indeed bear a
comical sort of resemblance to the hu
man fa
t
vMBimm rim
IWIiiliWIilBI
EARLY RAILROADS
In the Days When Making a Red'
ord Was Quite an Event v
FIRST MILE A MINUTE TRAIN.
This Honor Was ' Claimed by Two
Roads, the Boston and Maine, With
the Locomotive Antelope, and the
Mohawk and Hudson, With the Davy
'Crockett. , &
The first achievements of American
railroading are, in -the greater number
of cases, lost in the obscurity of tradi
tion, and there has sprung up a host
of interesting stories that go the
rounds like1 Homeric tales. The honor
of having created a record or a custom
that is now commonplace has had
many claimants in nearly every In
stance. Take the first train to run a mile a
minute The Antelope, an engine on
the Boston and Maine railroad, accord
ing to one of the most cherished of
these legends, pulled the first train
that made this record. Her run was
between Boston and Lawrence, a dis
tance of twenty-six miles, and one
day in 1848 she is said to have made
her last fourteen miles in thirteen min
utes. But it is Just as earnestly upheld
that the Davy Crockett of the Mohawk
and Hudson railroad has this distinc
tion. The Davy Crockett was the
pride of the road inther day. It is said
that . her engineer; David Matthew,
loved her better than he did his fam
ily. But she reached the pinnacle of
her fame locally when In 1832, six
teen years before the Antelope was
beard of, according to this other story,
she covered a fourteen mile straight
away level stretch between Albany
and Schenectady in thirteen minutes
and made one stop for water besides.
A letter written by Matthew in that
year mentions having done better than
a mile a minute with her on several
occasions.
Running an engine at a mile a min
ute In those days was many times
more dangerous than it is now. Three
quarters of a century ago the rails
were light strips of iron spiked down
to all sorts of ties. There were no tie
or fish plates then, and in hot weather
especially the sleepers and the rails
would warp in the torrid sun and pull
apart.
Not infrequently the ends of the light
rails would curve upward from the
track, forming the" much dreaded
"snake heads" which were the horror
of engineers and passengers alike.
Many tales are told of "snake heads"
springing up under the jolting train,
piercing the flimsy car floors and im:
paling passengers in their seats. Until
a remedy was found for these "snake
heads" by using better fastenings and
more seasoned ties a large force of
men was continually employed to walk
the tracks and nail them down.
Broken car wheels were another ever
present danger in those remote days.
The present stand;Trd gauge is said to
have been originally established by
taking the distance between the
wheels of the carts used on English
highways. For the same reason, ap
parently, the first rolling stock was
equipped not with solid wheels, but
with cast iron models of the wooden
wagon wheel, though of smaller di
ameter. These were not submitted to
the drop test that is now universal
and were of a dangerously light pat
tern. The result was that often inte
rior defects in the casting would pass
unnoticed until the wheel broke and
the train was ditched. It took a bad
accident, in which a number of peo
ple were killed, so runs the tradition,
to bring about the testing of car
wheels by tapping them.
Real time saving in running trains'
did not begin until 1S51. Charles Mi
not.superiutendentof the Erie railroad,
was one of those given credit for in
augurating telegraph signals for the
handling of traius.
He was in the cab of a passenger
train one day, so the stpry goes. There
were no double track railroads in those
days, and trains had to lie out on sid
ings and wait for the train bound in
the opposite direction to come along.
However long the delay, the train on
the siding waited.
On this particular occasion Minot's
train took its siding. The operator at
the little country station strolled over,
remarking that the train in the oppo
site direction had got stalled on the
grade some fifty miles down the line
nnd that it would be two or three
hours before she could patch up her
leaky flues and get power enough to
climb the hill
Minot was in a hurry, and he decided
to telegraph down the line that the
train he was on would not wait at the
siding, but would proceed for station
agents to watch out for the other train
and have it wait on the siding nearest
the spot where they would meet The
engineer refused point blank to take
any such risk, saying that it was
against all railroad law and custom
Minot finally discharged him. put him
off the engine and ran the train him
self to the end of the division, keeping
posted by telegraph at each station
Everything worked out just as he had
planned and was so satisfactory that
be at once Inaugurated a system of
moving all trains on telegraph signals.
-Thaddeus S. Dayton in Chicago Record-Herald.
. -
Within oneself must be the sourcs
of strength, the basis of consolatJon.
Marcus Anrelins
5, Fate's Perversity. .
A commuter was in a dreadful wreck.
The collision had .been head on, four
coaches were telescoped, flames burst
forth, the shrieks and groans of the
dying mingled with the hiss of escap
ing steam.
The commuter, black as a coal, was
dragged out by the feet from under a
mound of charred and badly mangled
corpses.
' "Are you hurt?" he was asked. ,
The commuter opened his eyes and
stretched himself, then, rising, snarled:
"Hurt? Me? Of course I ain't hurt!
I never am! I can't be! I carry an ac
cident Insurance policy." Detroit Free
WHAT THE SMOKE
NUISANGE COSTS
Dub Entirely to Ignorance and
Carelessness. '
DETRIMENTAL TO HEALTH.
Black Smoke Means a Waste of Fuel to
the Manufacturer and Waste of
Money to Town General Appearance
of the Community Suffers.
The smoke nuisance is beginning to
be recognized ' as one of the greatest
civic problems confronting the mod
ern Industrial community, says Dr. R.
C. Benner in the American City.
Why this crime of our cities is not
remedied, when, so doing would result
in profit to all concerned, is a question
that can be answered by the two
words, ignorance and carelessness.
There is, of course, the excuse that,
in this case the damage done is ob
scure and difficult to prove in a tangible
way. But as scientific studies of the
problem are made the injurious effects
of smoke are gradually becoming more
clearly defined and publicly recognized.
There is a crying need for the educa
tion of the public along smoke lines.
They need to know that soft coal can
be burned without smoke with profit
to the consumer, and they need like
wise to know the damage smoke does
in dollars 'and cents to the residents of
a smoky city.
It has been proved by the best me
chanical engineers and government
bureaus that the emission of black
smoke means waste of fuel. Many
men who have been compelled to make
installations of the proper kind for
the abatement of smoke say that such
improvements have been big dividend
payers from the start. In fact, the
loss to the producer of the smoke nui
sance forms the largest single item in
our budget. This in Pittsburgh amounts
to nearly $4,000,000 per year.
One cannot reckon in figures the loss
in personal efficiency. Those of us
who are called upon to travel about to
tpy extent cannot fail to notice a
marked "difference in our feelings in
different localities. In the sunny town
with pure air we are so buoyed up that
tfii l-Z --S 5
THE SMOKE SPOILED iPPKOACH TO A
MANUFACTTTRIN3 TOWN.
more and better work i accomplished.
Getting back to Jhe foj-Vy, smoke pol
luted atmosphere of the city, there re
turns the dull, depressed feeling, due
in great measure to the gloom, and the
character and amount of work within
our capabilities are greatly diminished.
Carefully conducted experiments have
shown that there are oi'ten two or three
times as much light in ..he clear coun
try surrouuding a smoky city as in the
city itself.. This is due t-, the black pall
hovering over the city. The cost of ar
tificial illumination due to lack of sun
light is no small item, and the lighting
bills for a large and smoky city are in
creased thousands of dollars. '
Smoke is detrimental to health. Fol
lowing the weekly course of mortality,
one cannot fail to be struck with the
manner in which the mortality from
many respiratory diseases increases
after a fog. The large amounts of soot
(in one casn ten grams, equivalent to
about three-quarters of a pint) found
iu the lungs of dwellers ,;n a smoky
city cannot but be detrimental, at least
to some extent, to the tyecution of
their normal function. Within the cor
porate limits of the city oi. Pittsburgh
we have found that in those sections of
the -city where the soot ckud hangs
heaviest the death rate from pneu
monia is the greatest. Singe-s visiting
Pittsburgh get the Pittsburgh sore
throat.
From the standpoint of aesthetics tht
damage is more pronounced than In
any- other phase of the problem. The
smoke cloud continually hanging over
our city is extrsmely injuriois to all
vegetation. Mi-.ny trees nnd shrubs
will not grow In the snitkc laden at
mosphere, whije those tu;t do soon
become so begdrned that tLjeir value
from a decorative viewpoint is in great
measure destrc 'ed.
The abolition of the smoke nuisance
therefore, unlike many otfciar soeh'l
evils against which an outcry has beer
made, will result in direct and Un
mediate gain both to the public at Hrg
and to those ch'efiy responsible for tii.
nuisance itself.
Turning a Tight Screw, J
Any one who has attempted to re
move a very tight screw knows what a
very difficult business it is. After
straining and twisting for a consider
able time the operator frequently ends
by losing his temper and destroying
the bite of the screw, which remains
fixed as tightly as ever. With the aid
of a pair of pinchers, however, the af
fair is quite a simple ono. Place the
screwdriver in position and then catch
hold of, the blade with the pinchers
just above the head of the screw.
Press the screwdriver firmly and at
the same time twist round the blade
with the pinchers. The tightest screw
will yield immediately to this sort of
n.miia oinv
. t -.
GR1PPEDBY A LION
Livingstone's Fearful Ordeal and
.His Narrow Escape.
A BATTLE WITH A MAN EATER.
The Wounded and Maddened Monster,
In a Paroxysm of Dying Rage,
Caught the Explorer In His Jaws and
Shook Him as a Terrier Would a Rat.
David Livingstone, the famous Afri
can explorer and missionary, once had
a singular encounter-with a wounded
lion that almost put an end to the ex
plorer's remarkable career before it
had fairly begun. But the story must
be unfamiliar to many persons who
have never read Dr. Livingstone's
books. The adventure occurred while
he was living among the Bakatlas, not
far from the present town of Mafe
king. This account is from his own
narrative:
The people of Mabotsa were trou
bled by lions, which leaped into the
cattle pens by night and destroyed
their milk and draft animals. They
even attacked the herds boldly by day
light and although several expeditions
against the wild beasts were planned
the people had not the courage to tar
ry tbem through successfully.
It is well known that if one in a
troop of lions is killed the others leave
that part of the country. I therefore
went out with the people to help them
destroy one of the marauders. We
found the animals on a small hill cov
ered with trees. The men formed
round it in a circle and gradually
closed up. Being below on the plain
with a native schoolmaster named Ma
hal we, I saw one of the lions sitting
on a piece of rock. Mabalwe fired at
him, and the ball hit the rock. The
lion bit at the spot as a dog does at a
stick or stone thrown at him, and then,
leaping away, broke through the cir
cle and escaped. The Bakatlas ought
to have speared him in his attempt to
get out, but they were afraid.
When the circle was reformed we
saw two other lions in it, but dared
not fire lest we should shoot some of
the people. The beasts burst through
the line, and as it was evident the men
could not face their foes we turned
back toward the village.
In going round the end of the hill
I saw a lion sitting on a piece of rock,
about thirty yards off, with a little
bush in front of him. I took good aim
at him through the bush and fired both
barrels.
The men called out, "He is shot, he
Is shot!" Others cried, "Let us go to
him !" .
I saw the lion's tail erect in anger
and said, "Stop a little till I load
again!" I was in the act of ramming
down the bullets when 1 heard a
shout, nnd, looking half round, 1 saw
the lion in the act of springing at me.
" He caught me by the shoulder, and
we both came to the ground together.
Orowling horribly, he shook me as a
terrier do does a rat. The shock pro
duced a stupor like that felt by a
mouse in"the grip of the cat. It caused
a sort of dreaminess, in which there
was no sense of pain or feeling of ter
ror, although 1 was quite conscious of
what was happening. This placidity
!s probably produced in all animals
killed by the carnivora, and. if so, it is
a merciful provision of the Creator for
lessening the pain of death.
As he had one paw on the back of
my head. I turned round to relieve my
self of the weight and saw his eyes
directed to Mabalwe, who was aiming
at him from a distance of ten or fif
teen yards. The gun missed fire in
both barrels. The animal immediately
left me to attack him and bit his
thigh. Another man. whose life I had
saved after lie had been tossed by a
buffalo, tried to spear the lion, upon
which he turned -from Mabalwe. and
seized this fresh foe by the shoulder.
At that moment the bullets the beast
had received took effect, and he fell
down dead. The whole was the work
of a few moments and must have
been his paroxysm of dying rage. In
order to take out the charm from him
the Bakatlas on the following day
made a huge bonfire over the carcass,
which was declared to be the largest
ever seen.
. Besides crunching the bone, into
splinters, "eleven of his teeth had pen
etrated the upper part of my arni The
bite of a lion resembles a gunshot
wound. , It is generally followed by a
great deal of sloughing and discharge,
and ever afterward pains are felt pe
riodically in the part 1 had on a tar
tan jacket, which I believe wiped off
the virus from the teeth that pierced
the flesh, for my two companions in
the affray have both suffered from -the
usual pains, while I have escaped with
only the inconvenience of a false joint
in my limb.
Old China.
The beauty of old china Is often de
stroyed by brown spots which appear
on the surface. An effective way to
remove these Is to bury the dish in the
earth, covering it completely. The
darker spots reqMire more time to re
move them than the lighter ones. This
method will not harm, the most deli
cate china. New York Telegram.
Universal.
"There Is one thought which comes
daily to every man."
"What's that?"
"That nothing is too good for him."
Chicago Record-Herald.
Either I will find a way or 1 .will
awke one -Sir Philip Sidney.
, Lewis Carroll's Humor. ,
An English magazine gives 2 some
amusing pieces of Lewis Carroll's hu
mor from the forgotten pages of Ox
ford pamphlets. During the election at
Oxford in 1865 he gave Tent to the fol
lowing Euclidean definition: "Plain su
perficiality is the character of a speech
in which, any two points being taken,
the speaker Is found to lie wholly with
regard to those two points." .A note is
also given on the right appreciation of
examiners: "A takes in ten books and
gets a third class; B takes in the ex
aminers and gets a second. Find the
value of the examiners in terms of
books, also their value in terms when
no examination is haul .
TO OUR PATRONS
617 Main Street,
We iave numerous electrical
devices on display in our. show
room that you will be interested
in knowing about
Portland Railway, Light & Power Company
THE ELECTRIC STORE
Beaver Building, Main Street
TeI.Home, A228 Pacific, Mainl 15
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