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About Lincoln County leader. (Toledo, Lincoln County, Or.) 1893-1987 | View Entire Issue (June 9, 1911)
ORIGIN OF MAIL CAR Railway Postal Service First Op erated in Missouri. William A. Davis, Before the War, Postmaster at St. Joseph, Devised 8ystem Now In Vogue for Dis tributing Mall En Route. St. Joseph, Mo. Progress in the carrying and distribution of United States mails has been remarkable in this country In the last fifty years. A nulf century ago, the first railroad west of the Mississippi river, from Hannibal to St. Joseph. Mo., was constructed, and on this road the railway mall serv ice of the country had Its origin and inception. Then, only the malls for the whole western country came In bulk on freight and passenger trains to be distributed In ton lots and carried to many destinations by courier, by buck-' board, horseback and stage lines, the only methods In those days. It remained for William A. Davis, postmaster at 8t Joseph from 1855 to 18C1, to Invent and inaugurate the great system now In vogue. Before this time the malls, all mixed and In bulk, were carried to some central dis tributing point. Independence, Mo., was one of these and St. Joseph later was another. When the railroad waB built the task all came to the St Jo seph office, in distributing the entire overland mall. The idea occurred to Mr. Davis that these mails could be distributed while In transit. It seemed to him In every way possible and desirable. So he wrote to the people In Washington for authority to fit up some carB on the Hannibal & St. Joseph railroad to try out the experiment The authority came and Mr. Davis went to the rail way headquarters at Hannibal and su terlntended the arrangemont of sev eral way cars with pigeon holes, doors, windows and other conveniences and William A. Davit. the initial run with a carload of mail was made from Hannibal to St. Joseph In record time, the malls properly dis tributed and ready for the overland stages, couriers, etc. The first trial was so satisfactory that other cars were brought into re quisition and soon a most remarkable change for tho better waa made In the receipt and distribution of mails. The great railway mall Bervlce had been inaugurated 1 The problem of forwarding overland malls without delay was solved, and Mr. Davis was soon made a special agent of the department and given full charge of the branch of the service which he had originated. William A. Davis, inventor of the railway mall service, was born In Bar ren County, Kentucky, in September, 1809. In early youth he went to Vlr- GEESE ON THE STAGE REBEL glnla. whtre he entered the postal service, at Richmond and other places, and with his career In St. Joseph he had been In the postal service about fifty years. The first car for the distribution of the malls was an old-time "way" car, .fitted up with pigeon holes. Extra windows were arranged and the "dis tributors" used candles to assist In lighting the cars. Mr. Davis made a trip on the first car as far as Palmyra, Mo., and then left the work with an as sistant while he returned to Hannibal for the second car. There are many old railroaders yet alive who remem ber the first mall cars. CATTLE GUARD IS EFFECTIVE Novel Device Prevents Cow From Wandering on Rails and Meeting Injury. Chicago The old story about some one asking George Stephenson, the In ventor of the locomotive, what would happen to a train if a cow wandered on tie line, to which the latter re plied he would "be very sorry for the oow," seems to have found a sym pathetic echo in the western states In the form of a novel cattle guard on railways, the practical utility of which is demonstrated in the illustration. The device claims to effectually pre vent cattle straying up the railway line and thus meeting with injury or death from oncoming trains. As the cow walks along the track she meets a tilting platform between the rails which tips up as she steps upon it The cow, Imagining her progress to be barred and not endowed by nature with a superabundance of Intelligence Novel Cattle Guard. a fact which the wily inventor mt have borne in mind Instead of walk ing round the obstruction proceeds to compliment the exceeding Ingenuity and foresight of its originator by walk ing off the line altogether. SAUERKRAUT LONGEVITY AID Object to Understudy for Singer In Halle Performance of Humper dlnck's "Konlgsklnder." Berlin. An amusing incident oc curred this week at a performance of Humperdinck's "Konlgsklnder" at the Halle opera house. Live geese are employed for the Halle production in contrast to the palter mache variety which indulge In make believe cackles at Berlin. The prima donna who regularly sings the part of the goose maid was taken 111 suddenly and it became necessary to obtain an understudy. When the lat ter, however, went on the stage the geese rebelled against the Intrusion ol a stranger. They became so enraged they threatened to do the singer bod ily injury. The conductor of the orchestra had to stop the performance until the geese could be quelled. They refused to subside until the familiar figures or the wood chopper and the broom mak r came upon the scene. Rev. Flynn of California Makes Some Peppery Remarks on Diet and Fat Two Meals Enough. Cincinnati. "Any man who Is bo fat that he cannot see his feet while walking, ought to be arrested," said the Rev. Earl Flynn of Berkeley, Cal to a Y. M. C. A. audience the other day. "Two meals a day are enough for the average person to eat and remain In a healthy condition. The person who eats three meals a day needs 12 hours sleep to refresh him self." Mr. Flynn, who Is 75 years old. con tinued: "The food which collects the long evity germ Is sauerkraut The man or woman who keepB on a diet of this kind, ought to live a century or more. Sauerkraut Is very nutritious and should be on the table of everybody." Continuing his health talk, Mr. Flynn wound up with saying: "To be healthy every minister must sweat twice a week. A good many minis ters only sweat once a month, when they draw their salaries." No Blasphemy In Japan. Blasphemy in Japan Is another rnde disillusionment for the credulous t--v-eler. Prof. B. H. Chamberlain, in his "Things Japanese," remarks: "The Japanese vocubulary, though extraor dinarily rich and constantly growing, Is honorably deficient In terms of abuse. It affords absolutely no means of cursing and swearing." An Extraordinary Family. "Lord Brokelelgh comes of an ex traordinary family." "I have never heard of any member of it who was an eminent statesman or a great sol dier." "No, but there is no record that anyone belonging to the house of Brokelelgh ever married a cory-ubee." The Exact Snot. Teacher "Robert, where are the Rocky mountains?" Robert "In the geography, teacher; page four! " Puck. Pay Out Much Money. The British Imports of carbons for electric lights amount to nearly fifty millions a year. SOME QUEER TRADES Unusual Occupations Revealed in Census Report Kansas City Man Who Bottles Smoke Unique Task Performed by Gov ernment Employees In Washing ton Ralae Frogs for Profit. Washington. As a part of the task of compiling the thirteenth census of the United States, the bureau will pub lish a report on the various occupa tions by which men and women In this country earn their dally bread. Though it will be many months before this re port will be given to the public, a conservative estimate places the num ber of classifications of industry at between 7,000 and 8,000. It seems a safe prediction to state that there will be found but one man In the entire country making a living from bottling the smoke of burning hickory wood. This man, who lives in Kansas City, contends that his bot tled smoke, let loose In an air tight compartment In which meat has been placed, will produce the same effect upon the meat as though cured by hickory smoke in the usual manner. Nor would the uninitiated expect to find profit In raising bullfrogs for their legs. Two New Jersey women, how ever, are making a good livelihood by so doing and a certain California wom an obtains over $100 an ounce whole sale for the seeds of petunias. In some of the reports of the census enumerators In the field are found tab ulations so unusual that they require no end of labor In properly classify ing them at the bureau. One man frankly asserted that he was a "booze fighter," and another, who works in a saloon, styled himeslf as a "destroyer of men." Such occupations as "pouncer," in a hat factory; "tobies." a maker of stogies; "whittler," in a straw works; "dock walloper," a longshoreman; "vi brator," in a clock fa. lory; "tonger," In connection with oysters; "teaser," in a glass factory; "scabbier," In quarry- IE! Shows Danger In Digging Weils. lng; "flosser," In a corset factory, and "dubber," In ship building, are all unusual occupations that must be listed. In Washington especially are there a large nuiaber of persons who earn their living by performing unusual tasks. Tne majority of them are employed by the government There Is a young man in the National museum Henry Hendley who Is known as the official portrait bust maker of Indian features for a unique portrait gallery of the North American redskins. L B. Mlllner is an expert modeler In papier mache of things past, present DIAMONDS FOUND IN CANADA Those Discovered Thus Far Are Quite Small, but Further Search May Reveal Larger Ones. New York. The first definite an nouncement of the finding of diamonds in places in Canada has Just been made by R. W. Brock, the director of the Canadian geological survey. Mr. Brock states that diamonds have been discovered in perlodotite rock on the Olivine mountain, near the Tulameen river, British Columbia. Samples of the rock collected by Charles Camsell of the survey were sent to Ottawa for analysis and were found to contain insoluble fragments of crystals which on being subjected to series of tests were pronounced to be genuine diamonds. They were all. however, of small size, none being larger than the head of a pin. The discovery for this reason is not regarded as of much commercial im portance. It la believed possible, though not very likely, that further search will result In finding larger stones. and future for the National museum. Along similar lines Is the work of EJwin Howell, a maker of maps. In bis workshop he evolves relief maps of certain sections of the country which not only Indicate rivers and mountains and towns, but all the minerals, rocks, flowers, trees, and varying soils to be found there. One of the most interesting of his maps was made for the marine hos pital and public health service. It Is intended as a warning against allowing people ignorant of geological condi tions to dig wells, and as a plea for the artesian well. There are expert tea and coffee tast ers In the treasury department who tell the value and grades of these com modities by placing a few grains on the tongue. And in the department of agriculture there is a squaa of young men who eat drugged foods to deter mine Just how poisonous they are. IS FRIEND OF FISHERMAN Humble Silkworm Furnishes Cat-Gut Much Used by Disciples of Isaak Walton. Rome, Italy. It Is doubtful whether the average rod and reel fisherman who angles with flies and hooks strung with fine translucent cat-gut is aware Resists Their Fleroeet Struggles. of tr Invaluable friend he has In the htiM.... silkworm. The cat-gut Is the most unbreakable substance that holds the hooks against the fiercest struggles of the struck fish and comes from silkworms. The principal center of the manufacture of this kind of cat gut is the island of Proclda, in the Bay of Naples, but most of the silk worms employed are raised near Torre Annunzlata, at the foot of Vesuvius. The caterpillars are killed Just as they are about to begin the spinning of cocoons, the silk glands are removed and subjected to a process of pickling, which Is a secret of the trade, and afterward the threads are carefully drawn out by skilled workers, mostly women. The length of the thread varies from a foot to nearly twenty Inches. One In 275 Is Insane. New York. One out of every 275 persons In New York city la Insane, according to Dr. Albert W. Ferris, president of the state lunacy commis sion, who is delivering a course of lec tures before the New York School of Philanthropy. The state hospitals for the Insane now house 32,000 patients and private institutions care for 11,000 more. New cases admitted to the state asylums average about 150 a week The cost of caring for an Insane pa tient is approximately $200 a year. Noted Inns to Qo. New York. Two of New York city's famous hotels the Hoffman house and the Gilsey house will close their doors immediately. The Gilsey house will be converted to business purposes. Both hotels in their day have had the names of many men of national prominence upon their registers. Stuff Rabbits With Quail. Topeka, Kan. Stuffing cleaned rab bits with quail and Bhipping them out of the state has enabled many hunt ers to evade the quall-shootlng law in Kansas this season. Prof. L. L. Dyche, Btate fish and game warden, who has Just obtained proof of the violations, said warrants probably would be sworn out for the hunters. The Dog and the Flea. Dog fanciers realize the difficulty of separating the animals from the fleas which often inhabit them. Few of the older methods are entirely satisfac tory, but a Chicago electrical man is authority for the statement that the use of the vacuum cleaner Is most ef (lcacloua Must Ever Be Before Us. But, were all its representations ol objects, deeds and men, which are out of the range of our sights, obliter ated, the moat of the globe and its history would no more exlat to our material senses than the scenery and affairs of other planet LARGEST VALVE IN WORLD Automobile Driven Through Opening of Monster Device at Niagara Falls. Niagara Falls, N. Y. One of the largest valves In the world has Just been Installed In a power plant on the Canadian side of Niagara Falls. This monster affair weighs nine tons and was made for controlling one of three 12,000 horsepower turbines. The valve Is thirty feet high and has a nine-foot opening through which, as seen in our illustration, an automobile was drives 1 l.o r 1 - I Largest Valve In World. Just before the valve was ready for in stallation. The valve will withstand a pressure of over 550,000 pounds. The valve-gate will be moved by a low geared fifteen horse power motor. TO REVIVE "BARREN" ISLAND Paper Mills Are to Make Use of Great Pulp 8upply Mentor's Invest ment Is Justified. Boston. The island described in the encyclopedia as "barren," which di vides the Gulf of St. Lawrence In two channels Is about to add a new chap ter to its strange, romantic history. Sleur Joliet was Its first owner and ruler. It coat him nothing and he did nothing with it and successive owner ships found and left little but records of expenditures snd failure. In 1898 the island was purchased from a Brit ish syndicate by Henri Menier, a French manufacturer of chocolate, for $160,000. Antlcoetl is densely wooded. Th great paper mills on this Bide of the boundary are "In the"market" for an al most unlimited quantity of pulp wood. Beginning this spring a mill already in operation will be providing this com modity in exportable form, as "rossey" or barked wood, probably to the amount of 30,000 cords during the shipping season. Thus M. Mentors in vestment finds its abundant justification. Inks Fish to Sell Them. South Norwalk. Conn. A youthful genius of this town has sold Beveral hundred pounds of frost fish to h,n ...... keepers as trout The frost flBh had been decorated with red ink to make them look like trout As frost fish they were worth less than 8 cents a pound, but as trout they sold for 25 to 35 cents a pound. Ely to Be Aviation Instructor. San Francisco. The coast corps, National Guard of California, has completed arrangements for Eu gene Ely, the aviator, to act as in structor for the aviation squad. This Is said to be the first aviation squad organized by a militia corps. Youth and Happiness. Make youth the most attract I v no. rlod possible crowd every pleasure mil bit of sunshine Imaginable Into that day for the sorrows will enter all too soon but in doing so watch the recipient of your favors and sacrifices Chat he or she does not develop into a 6elfish boy or glrL Queensland's Sheep Queen. E. Jowette, one of Queensland's best- known squatters, has about ten sheep stations In Queensland, and shears over 1,000,000 sheen. On one of the stations. Kynuna, he shears 200,000, anil he has Just bought two other iheep stations. London Standard. Ends the Discussion. And then shrieks one, "Who wants a husband who marries to escape pav ing a bachelor tax?" Peace, woman. peace. They have decided to pa. New York Telegram. Farming Annoyance. One of Abe Martin's sayings was this: "The hardest thing a farmer does, next to plowln', is glvln' hall the road to a touring car."