Lincoln County leader., July 20, 1900, Image 3

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WHEN the first water of the
great Chicago drainage canal
topped over the big bear-trap
dam at Lockport, to most residents of
the" vicinity It signalized the end of a
titanic undertaking the sanitary wa
terway had been completed, and there
ended the Job. When that water first
plunged, hissing and writhing, down
the valley of the Desplales to its Junc
tion with the Illinois Blver on its way
to the "Father of Waters," men who
watched the work felt that a great les
on was ended.
An offertory of some $33,000,000 had
been poured out by Chicago, ostensibly
to purify the water supply, vitiated by
a thousand sewer conduits. But the
real service had not commenced, for
the sanitary feature of the mighty
canal was and is but a subsidiary ele
ment. The real object sought to be
Attained when the work was under
taken was and is the beginning of a
ship canal to unite the chain of inland
seas with the salt tide-water of the
delta of the Mississippi River, some
3,200 miles away.
The opening of the mammoth chan
nel,, over 200 feet wide and deep enough
In all Its thirty miles to float the heavi
est warship, was really the opening
wedge of a project which has been
HOW A PLANT FEEDS.
Van Helmont's Interesting Experi
ment Showing How a Tree Grows.
It Is more than 2,000 years since phil
osophers began to speculate about the
food of plants and what we may term
their "digestive" processes, but it is
only during the latter half of this cen
tury that really clear and definite no
tions concerning the food supplies of
the vegetable world have been gener
ally accepted by scientific men. As far
as is known, says a writer iu Knowl
edge, the first botanical experiment
ever performed was conducted by Van
Helmont. He placed In a pot 200
pounds of dried earth, and in it he
planted a willow branch which weigh
ed five pounds. He kept the whole cov
ered up and dally watered the earth
with rain water. After five years'
growth the willow was taken up and
again weighed, and was found to have
gained 164 pounds. The earth In the
pot dried and weighed, and had lost
only two ounces.
Knowlege was not yet sufficiently ad
vanced to enable Van Helmont to Inter
pret these striking results correctly, and
be came to the erroneous conclusion
that the increased weight of the plant
was due to the water which had been
supplied to the roots. He therefore
looked upon this experiment as sup
porting the theory which he had ad
vanced, viz., that plants required no
food but water. Stephen Hales ad
vanced the subject a great step by in
dicating that much of the Increase in
weight of plants was derived from
carbon dioxide in the air.
Vegetable cells contain a liquid
known as "cell sap," which Is water
holding in solution various materials
which have been taken up from with-
out by the roots and leaves. These ma
"lr terials are thus brought in contact with
the protoplasm, which causes them to
OCEAN GOING FREIGHTERS LOADING IN CHICAGO.
dreamed of, legislated upon and striven
after for half a century. It means that
the expressed fears of Federal engi
neers, of communities dreading water
contagion, of shippers anticipating a
loss of co'mmerclal prestige, the deple
tion of our lakes, have all been set at
rest. It means that the Hennepin canal
Idea the father of the sanitary canal
Is In a fair way of accomplishment,
and by the use of a grand natural wa
terway the largest chain of fresh water
on the globe unites with one of the
largest livers in the world, piercing a
mighty nation down Its middle.
Never since the first hasty $r0,000 sur
vey was made In the shallow Illinois
has the general government been able
to rid itself of the idea that the frui
tion of the plan would encompass the
triumph of the grandest scheme of In
ternal Improvement ever undertaken in
this land. .The first great step to con
summate all this is the proposed turn
ing over of the Chicago River to the
drainage canal trustees, to enlarge, to
Improve, to change, on the same prin
ciple that can make of the veriest creek
in the land that would not float a skiff
a channel wide enough and deep
enough to float a warship of the first
class with a draft of twenty-eight feet.
Without a particle of Improvement the
Chicago River can to-day carry vessels
which haul 100,000 bushels of grain
undergo changes in composition which
prepare them to be added to the sub
stance of the plant. Thus It is in the
protoplasm of the living cells of the
plant that those "digestive" processes
are carried on which Aristotle believed
to occur In the soil. We see, then, that
the living cells are microscopic labora
tories In which the digestion of the food
of the plant Is carried on.
When Crowds Are Useful.
Quite a brisk business exists in the
crowd line, said a well-dressed man to
the writer, and I make a fairly good
living by supplying them. All sorts of
people find a crowd useful at times.
For instance, a young man who is
about to make his debut as a lecturer
or musician can, by coming to me,
make sure of having not only a nu
merically speaking respectable, but
highly appreciative, audience. Again,
CHINESE THE
CHIME!!
80S Million.
80 Million. 110 Million. 116 Million.
The relative proportion of persons speaking the chief languages of the world Is represented by this series of nntiouui
types. The total Population of the world lis L452,()00 000. The languages not repre.euted iu the above llluatratlou iu
uuu miaucK, iuiuiu, uiatiimu, tic
that means something more than 4,000
ton of cargo. Brief work In the line
done on the canal and an ocean high
way Is opened up for Chicago and the
West, In meats, In grain, In all those
commodities that now go to Liverpool
by other and more expensive routes
for water carriage Is much cheaper
than rail carriage, and farmers who
grow grain in Kansas, Nebraska aud
Iowa are to-day In a measure at the
mercy of the rail lines. Ocean rates
from Galveston and New Orleans
would enable them to beat the sea
coast rates from New York by from
10 to 20 cents on a bushel. "
It Is said that nothing but money and
the authority to go ahead is needed in
the work south of Lockport. Half or
$25,000,000 would make the lower chan
nel adequate. There Is a great deal of
boring and dredging to do; docking,
and the straightening out of crooked
courses; but competent engineers have
been looking over the field, and the plan
Is simple when understood.
The lower Mississippi problem Is one
of the worst to the canal project. Many
millions of dollars have been 'lumped
Into that river by succeeding Con
gresses and engineering boards without
substantial Improvement. The river
has depth sufficient for present com
merce, and no decided effort has been
made to deepen it at certain "cross-
a big crowd outside the pit and gallery
doors of a theater creates In the minds
of passers-by the idea that the piece
must be worth seeing to attract so
mauy patient waiters. A few shop
keepers, too, have found out that half
a dozen well-dressed people, gazing in
tently into a shop window, leads others
to do the same thing, and constitutes a
far better "draw" than anything put
in the window Itself. I have even sup
plied spectators for a wedding, In a
case where the bridegroom was a
wealthy parvenu who had a great de
sire for popularity. An artist once
hired from me about a dozen well-at-tlred
people to stand in front of his
picture at an exhibition, the conse
quence being that his painting attract
ed considerable attention. Where do I
get the people? Oh, there is no diffi
culty about that. Some of them are
sandwich men in the daytime, and
MOST WIDELY SPOKEN
an WUU iHUM luau &hAA),UW.
AFRICA IXOLUH XDIIIAN
Ings" where sand has piled up and the
lightest vessels run danger of striklug
the bottom. Engineers of uatloual rep
utation are a unit that the Government
should begin the Work of improvement,
substituting docks of masonry lor
wooden wharfs.
The pace has been set by the drain
age canal. It has beeu demonstrated
to the world that ship highways can
be constructed inland wide enough aud
deep enough to float any warship on
the high sens. The West now offers the
finished product of Its efforts to that
higher authority which alone can exe
cute one of the grandest projects of In
ternal Improvement ever presented to
a nation.
In this project every farmer In the
West Is vitally Interested. The agricul
turists of this section ship through
Chicago nearly 40,000,000 bushels of
grain a year. Upon this, should the
transportation be made by the pro
posed route, the saving would be some
thing euormous. Aside from the strict
commercial Interpretation, there Is the
problem of making the great lakes a
useful body of water for defense. No
outlet to the sea now exists, but Can
ada aud Great Britain have an Inlet
which Is controlled by them. The Mis
sissippi project would be purely of the
country and for the country, Involving
a new grand highway.
work for me at night; others work for
me In the day, and appear on the stage
as "supers" In the evening. I pay
them so much per hour, and find the
clothes. I have a most elaborate stock
of garments, and can turn out quite
an aristocratic looking crowd.
Morn Ornamental than Useful.
Dorothy Papa, we girls have a new
name for those men who call on us, but
never take us out anywhere.
Papa What Is it. daughter?
"We call them 'fireside compan
ions.' "-Life.
Newfoundland Crinh.
The annual export of codfish from
Newfoundland Is about 1,350,000 hun
dredweight. Unfortunately a willing person
nearly always a stupid person.
Is
LANGUAGE.
OIRNAIf FRBMOR IPAKIKH JAPAMEHB ITALIAN
8J Million. SO Million. 62 MllPn. 44 Mlll'n. 40Mllllon. 14 Million.
SHE GOT HER BOTTLE OF INK,
But the Parcel Was Big- Enough to
Contain a Safe.
One woman who lives in Pine avenue
went shopping. This happened last
Monday. She left her home with purpla
plumes in her bounet, aud she lost not
one of them In her trip downtown.
She had read an advertisement In a
Sunday newspaper. It told her that she
could buy a bottle of ink for 1 cent.
The woman bought the Ink for a penny
and asked that it be delivered to her
home. The clerk said nothing. Neither
did the man in the parcel-room. Ha
worked by himself. Delivering a penny
purchase was ripe walnuts to the man.
Next day a wagon with a silk hatted
man on the driver's scat and a freckle
faced boy as a tiger on the rear step
rolled up in front of the house In Tina
avenue.
The freckle-faced lad ran up the
steps aud crushed the electric button
with a thumb which he had used but a
few moments before In "shooting
I nia. aula giiiut-, uy me uj, is uuv
of chance. He hold in his arms a box
of goodly size. The woman of the house
opened the door.
"Mrs. So and So?" asked the boy wlta
the freckles.
"Yes," was the woman's reply.
"Kindly receipt this slip."
"Why, I have nothing coming In such
bulk," the woman said.
"But you are So aud So?" the frec
kled boy Innnlrod.
"Yes," declared the woman, "but
there must be a mistake."
However, the box was taken to the
kitchen aud opened with sledge and
hammer. Excelsior was strewn upon
the floor in the woman's wild endeavor
to solve the secret of the lnclosure. It
c!ung In yellow strands about the pipes
of the sink, puffed its way Into the door
leading to the wild roses In the back
yard and clogged the passage to the
dining-room.
Then the woman In Tine avenue
found her 1-cent bottle of Ink. It was
In the center of this great wad of shav
ings. The man In the parcel-room was one of
lest aud merriment. He rolled nonsense
Into a Joke and enjoys the fun, even if
It did cost a penny or two more to the
Arm. Chicago Chronicle.
DICK'S GOOD TIME.
A Very Human Boy Enjoying Ilia
Welt-Knrned Howard.
A portly gentleman sat on the porch
and smiled, while a small boy, also
smiling, painted the front fence.
"Look at that boy," the portly man
remarked to a visitor; "he thinks he la
having a good time. A small boy la
surely the drollest creature on earth.
When I was a youngster I remember
that there were certain kinds of work
considered play, and one of them was
painting. I was always crazy to paint.
Many times I have taken a bucket of
muddy, water and an old paint brush,
and have spent a whole half day put
ting a thick coat on the side of my
father's barn.
"So with my boy, Dick, the little chap
paluting the fence; he has always been.
Diazy to paint. He Is enjoying himself,
uow you can see he is; and he will
paint that whole fence, too, Just as well
as he knows how. I don't care If it Is a
trifle smeared; he's getting Joy, solid
oy, thicker than the paint on his hands
and clothes.
"There's a mean side to It, too; ha
wanted to paint the fence and I wanted
the weeds pulled out of the yard. So,
like an underhanded rascal, I bargain
ed with him; I told him that If he would
pull all the weeds out 1 would let hint
paint the fence. He went through the
sther Job like a soldier he hates to pull
weeds all boys do and now he thinks
he Is getting his reward. It Is a down
right , shame to fool him that way
Son't you think so?"
The portly gentleman chuckled again.
ind the small boy, wild with Joy, went
n plastering paint on the fence. De
troit Free Press.
Money Uaed In Mafeklng.
Colonel Baden-Powell and his band
of soldiers, who withstood the repeated
and unsuccessful attacks of from 4,000
to 0,000 Boers on Mafeklng, showed his
resourcefulness when he created the
. n m at
currency notes for circulation In the
besieged city. The one-pound note,
which Is reproduced here, is attractive
iu design and general appearance.
Capacity of Lalior-Havln Machines.
It is estimated that the productive
capacity of the labor-saving machinery
In the United States Is now equal to a
bard-working population of 400,000,000.
Work and don't worry if you would
be happy. Wory and don't work It
you would be otherwise.
ONgpirJD ,
WW
J.