NEED SEXTANTS
FOR NAVIGATORS
United States Swept Bare of In
j. struments Used to Guide
I Ships.
OLD CAPTAINS TO RESCUE
Out of Closets and Attics Are Dug
8extnti Tht Have Not Been Used
for Years Navigators' Aid Co-
lutnbus Did Not Hav.
' Washington. One of the early ef
fects of the war was an acute short
age of the Instrument most used in
navigating ships at sea, the sextant
In a few weeks after the United
States became a party to the great
struggle, the market was swept bare
of what might be termed the floating
supply of these important Instruments.
Since then, Importations from Eng
land, Canadu and France have eased
the Amerlcun market somewhat, but
there Is still a sufficient shortage to
hold the price fur above what It for
merly was.
In the early months of this coun
try' participation In the war, when
the United States shipping board was
establishing the chain of navigation
schools at which it is training offi
cers for the new merchant marine,
there was such a scarcity of these
necessary ' instruments which are
used dully In the schools to teach
methods of determining a ship's posi
tion at sea that an appeal was made
for the loan of Instruments.
The result was striking. Out of the
closets and attics of former captain's
homes, particularly In New England,
sextants appeared thut had not seen
the light, In some cases, since the days
of the cllpper-shlp era, when the Unit
ed States was supreme on the sea.
Many of these instruments had been
on long voyages to .the mysterious
East; others had been In the whale
fishery to the far North; a few had
been carried among the Cannibal
islands of the South Pacific, others
among the pirates of the China seas.
It had not been thought, when these
Instruments were stowed away by
careful hands, years ago, that they
would ever again serve the merchant
marine. Today many of them are be
ing used by young men who will qual
ify as officers on the new and greater
merchant marine, while others, which
have been presented to the shipping
board, -are actually making voyages
again, this time among the pirates of
the submarine zone.
A sextant, unlike a watch or any
instrument with constantly moving
parts, Is very slow to wear out. There
is not much difference in the sextant
of today and the original sextants pro
duced In England when the instru
ment was first perfected by John
Hadley, back In 1731.
First Was an Octant
Hadley called his Instrument at first
an octant, because It represented In
its scale of degrees but an eighth part
of the circle, that Is, 45 degrees. Later
instruments were termed quadrants,
as they represented a quarter of a cir
cle, 90 degrees. The sextant, or sixth
of a circle, 60 degrees, wus found to
be most practical, and In time came
Into general use. The practical dis
tinction between these three Instru
ments Is slight, however.
The first sextant was not an Inven
tion, as might be supposed, but an
adaptation of ancient Instruments
used by astronomers from time Imme
morial to determine the sun's eleva
tion, or latitude. The oldest of these
ancleut Instruments wns the astrolabe,
a disk of copper or brass, cut to the
full circle of SCO degrees. This was
fitted with a plumb line, and on Its
face a bar pivoted on the center, and
having at one end a pin. One man
held up the disk by the line, another
sighted the sun over the pin In the end
of the bar, and another noted where
the shadow cast by the pin fell on
the scale of degrees marked on the
disk.
It thus took three men to make an
observation, which was usually faulty,
while the use of such an Instrument
on a moving ship was almost an Im
possibility. Another ancient observing instru
ment was the cross-staff. This consist
ed of a bar of wood some of them
were seven feet long fitted with a
sliding upright bar, or cross. The
long bar was held toward the sun, and
the observer wns posted at one end.
The shorter bur was then moved back
or forth until the observer saw the
sun over Its upper tip and the horl
son at the same time under Its lower
tip. The angle thus determined was
murked on a scale on the long bar.
A grave objection to tills Instru
ment wns that the observer was
obliged to look at the sun and the
horizon at the same time.
Columbus used both Instruments on
his voyage to the new world, but ap
parently neither helped him much In
determining the position of his ships,
which he could only guess at until he
made a landfall in the West Indies.
Hadley Invents Instrument
John Hadley conceived the idea of
employing the principle of the cross
staff In an Instrument that would en
able the observer to see both the
sun and the horizon when looking at
the latter. This he accomplished by
arranging a series of mirror in such
k way that the observer by to move
ment of an arm, or lever, attached to
an arc brought the sun down to touch
the horizon,
When the observer using the sex
tant gets the sun down to the horizon,
be fixes the arm on the scale by means
of a screw, and proceeds to read the
scale, which gives blm the sun's alti
tude in degrees.
When Hadley brought bis sextant
out in 1731, it was given a trial by
the British authorities, on the yacht
Chatham, off Spltbead, on a gusty
day in August. We read that the
weather "was too rough for a satisfac
tory test." Bough weather is a fre
quent cause fo: trouble in handling
the sextant, as it Is difficult to "catch"
the sun and bring it down when on
SEA TO MAKE UP
SHORTAGE IN FATS
Even Oleomargarine Is Now Be
ing Manufactured in Norway
From Fish Oil.
TROPICS TO BE DEVELOPED
Subjugation of the Sea Not the Only
Important 8tep Being Contem
plated Toward More Effective
. Utilization of Nature.
London. The world's supply of oils
and fats is going to be derived in rap
idly increasing measure hereafter from
the seas. This Is the conclusion to
which investigators of this problem,
which was one of the first to become
acute after the war started, have
brought themselves.
The problem Indeed was beginning
to be a real one before the war start
ed. The production of live stock for
a long time bad not been keeping pace
with the world's requirements. This
has been In considerable part because
of the increasing number of peoples
that are requiring more and more meat
In their diet, and partly from other
causes.
The net result Is that In the search
for new oils and fats, and Indeed for
new uses of fish as a substitute for
meat, Important progress has been
made. Some recent developments sug
gest that the seas are altogether likely
In coming generations to take the place
of the great ranges of the Americas
and Australia for the production of
some Important food articles.
Butter Substitute From Fish.
The announcement recently from
Norway that a satisfactory substitute
for oleomargarine bad been produced
from fish oils, while It was regarded
as extremely Important, is in fact only
one evidence of this increasing de
pendency of the world upon the seas'
sources of supply for various neces
saries. Now it Is asserted that the
denizens of the deep waters are pres
ently going to be put under contribu
tion for a variety, of new foods and
substitutes for leather In many uses.
The subjugation of the sea Is not
the only great step that men ore con
templating toward a more effective
utilization of nature's bounty. The
tropics are going to be developed, after
this war, at a rate never before ima
gined, unless all signs fail. Not only
are the governments preparing to give
more systematic and scientific encour
agement to proper colonial develop
ment in the tropical areas but the col
onizing spirit has been receiving a
great revival. One hears soldiers from
every army, Englishmen, Scotchmen,
Frenchmen, Italians and, It is said,
German prisoners, talking of the pos
sibilities of South America, Africa,
the Pacific lslnuds, In fact, the whole
great undeveloped empires of the
world.
Price Will Be Higher.
In Norway milk and butter supplies
are very short, but the Morgenblatt
announces that the problem of a sub
stitute for .oleomargarine has been
solved and that the Norwegian oleo
margarine could be tnndo of purely
CUBAN SHIPBUILDERS
The shipyards of Cuba have been scenes of much activity since Cuba
entered the war, The construction of wooden ships, so as to release steel
Ships for war requirements, Is going on without delay. The photograph show
en of the wooden ships under construction.
- -
the uncurtain platform of a moving
deck.
' The vnlue of Hadlcy's Instrument
was not at once recognized by mari
ners, but Its worth has been amply dem
onstrated by the fact that no essen
tial change has been mude In it since
It first appeared, nearly two centuries
ago.
With the sextant perfected, the ap
paratus used by a navigator was
greatly reduced In bulk. Some of the
ancient ships, bound on long voyages,
took along a great variety of appli
ances that today would be valuable
only as Junk or curios.
Now the American officer, ready to
ship for service overseas, takes his
sextant, the most Important of all nav
igating Instruments next to the com
pass, in a. neat mahogany case only
nine Inches square by five Inches deep,
and needs nothing further, except the
ship's chronometer, to enable him to
tell where he is every day on his voy
age across the vasty deep.
Norwegian materials without the ad
mixture of foreign vegetable oils,
which experts had declared to be es
sential. The discovery Is due to the research
es of a committee appointed by Hr.
Vlk, the minister of supply. For the
present the Vera fat refinery will
manufacture the article, and it is as
serted that the factory will be able to
meet the requirements of the whole
country.
The secret is the use of different
kinds of fish oil, of which there is
plenty on hand, both of whale and
other fish. The price will be slightly
higher than the former oleomargarine,
because there Is a duty on fish oils
higher than that on the vegetable oils
previously used.
A representative of the Morgenblatt
has been given the opportunity of tast
ing the new product and asserts that
In flavor and appearance it is equal to
the best oleomargarine. It is expected
to be on the market ns soon as a sup
ply can be manufactured.
MISS EMMA FROHMAN
Miss Kniuin Frohman, sister of Dan
iel Frohmnn, the famous theatrical
manager who went down with the Lu
sttnnln, Is sponsoring the work of
making woolen undergarments for sol
diers. Through her efforts, a special
undergarment has been designed here
after a French model, and Is being
turned out in quantity nt the work
rooms of the Vacation War Relief In
New York city.
Whisky Prices Soar In England.
London. Three yearn ngo a bottle
of whisky containing about twenty
eight ounces could be purchnsed for
84 cents, but ns the government pro
hibited the distilling of whisky and the
vending of spirits under three years of
age, the price has since that time been
steadily rising. Where supplies are
still available the price has ranged
between $2.00 and $5.
AID IN WAR WORK
jj
( T:
1
r,
Wwa jriyqfc.Wif.wa?g. I Mill I L
Brief Resume Most Important
Daily News Items.
COMPILED FOR YOU
Event of Noted People, Governments
and Pacific Northwest and Other
Things Worth Knowing.
Many persons have been Injured and
more than 100 houses collapsed by
earthquake shocks at Amoy, China,
Wednesday.
The Prussian budget for 1918 calls
for 2,250,000 marks to be devoted to
German propaganda in Polish terri
tory, according an official dispatch
Wednesday from Switzerland.
Women who can qualify will be em
ployed as ship draftsmen In the Navy
department and in the navy-yard serv
ice throughout the country, the Civil
Service commission announces.
The first woman and child, in the
Eastern states to be interned as enemy
aliens were placed in a detention camp
at Gloucester, N. Y. They are Mrs.
Matilda Hansen and her 12-year-old
daughter.
Private J. W. Boucher, of the 257th
Canadian Railway Battalion, has been
sent home from France because he is
"too old to fight." He is 73 and
fought in the American Civil War
with the 23d Michigan Volunteers.
Twenty-five thousand Filipinos are
under arms and drilling in the hope
of being called into the United States
Army for service in France, according
to C. W. O'Brien, an attorney, who
has just returned to San Francisco
from Manila.
President Willson's intervention has
terminated the Eastern shipyard
strikes. Reports Monday night to the
Shipping Board from union heads in
all districts in which carpenters are
out said the strikers would be back at
work by noon Tuessday.
With the Yolande, Castle and
Searles mines idle, strikes of coal min
ers in the Birmingham district of Ala
bama had spread to three new com
panies, with approximatey 15,000 min
ers idle. , The miners claim the Gar
field proposals are not being lived
up to.
Count Emerich Karolyi, according to
a dispatch from Budapest to the Am
sterdam Frankfurter Zeitung, has sub
mitted to the Hungarian military au
thorities a charge of alleged high trea
son against his cousin, Count Michael
Karolyi, president of the Hungarian
Independence party.
At a private conference of leaders
of the Farmers' Nonpartisan League
in Sioux Falls, S. D., Tuesday, at
tended by A. C. Townley, National
president of the organization, it was
decided not to enter the South Dakota
primary race next May, according to
reliable information.
Arthur Soule, a wealthy rancher of
Sanders county, Mont., who is await
ing trial at Thompson Falls for the
murder of Ben Soule, his neighbor and
nephew, last month, is charged with
the murder of his own baby daughter
21 years ago. The Information was
filed by the county attorney.
Discharge of E. Dana Durand, for
mer director of the census, from his
position in the economics department
of the University of Minnesota was
demanded at a meeting of the regents
of that institution Wednesday by a
delegation of representatives of organ
ized labor and the Nonpartisan League,
a farmers'- political organization.
The necessity for increased wages
for railroad employes was concedeed
Wednesday by representatives of a
majority of the railroads of the Unit
ed States, appearing for the first time
before the government's railroad wage
commission. They said they came, not
to oppose requests of the employes,
but merely to Bid the commission by
giving information.
A big raid was carried out Wednes
day by the French southwest of Butte
Mesnil. The German positions were
entered up to the third line and many
defenses and shelters were destroyed.
Sir William Goode, who, since the
entry of the United States into the
war has occupied the important post of
liason officer between the British food
ministry and the United State food
administration, discussed the present
food situation in an address Thursday
to the London Rotary club.
Enthusiastic applause and cheers for
America met the declaration of the
Italian Premier Orlando, at the open
ing of the parliament Wednesday, that
the war situation was growing better,
due to help from the United States re
placing Russia.
The Stockholm Aftonbladet says that
after a massacre which occurred at
Kervo (Kerava) the Red Guard wired
to Helsingfora for surgeons and am
bulances. Five surgeons who left im
mediately, add the Dsoer. were mur
dered by the Red Guard on their ar
rival.
WORLD
I
CURRENT
WEEK
I STATE NEWS
5 IN BRIEF, t
Walter Brobect was arrested Satur
day at Medford, for failure to support
his four children, ranging from 2 to 11
years old. On failure to supply $500
bail he was given a room in the county
jail.
The Corvallis fire department was
presented with a service flag Wednes
day. The flag contains 27 stars, one
of them being of gold to represent the
death of George Watts, of Company
K, who died of pneumonia in France.
The county court at Pendleton will
be required, under three suits filed
against the Spokane Flouring Mills
company, to determine the damages
suffered by three Umatilla county
farmers whoBe grain last year did not
come up to expectations.
Edward D. Pierce, the 15-year-old
son of Mr. and Mrs. Alfred D. Pierce,
of Blind Slough, near Astoria, fell off
a logging train on Larkin-Green road
Tuesday evening and was run over and
so badly crushed that he died before
medical attention reached him.
The Humburg Manufacturing com
pany, of Mount Angel, has shipped a
car of 65,000 tent stakes which they
made for the government. They are
still working on an order of 120,000 to
be delivered later. Up to this time
they have shipped 475,000 stakes.
Insurance Commissioner Harvey
Wells has advised the Ford Car Own
ers' Protective association, of Chica
go, which is transacting business in
Portland and other points of the state,
to either comply with the insurance
laws of Oregon or cease doing busi
ness. Seven hundred Lane county farmers
had returned agricultural survey
blanks, in connection with the plan of
the Federal government to obtain
knowledge of food resources, Saturday
night, according to a statement made
by County Agricultural Agent N. S.
Robb.
Out of 17 men examined last week
by the Umatilla Medical Advisory
board, only five were passed for serv
ice. The county examiners, on the
other hand, have had a much better
record, for, out of 20 examined Wed
nesday, only one was referred to the
advisory board.
O. O. Calderhead, of the Washing
ton Public Service commission, has
been designated by the Oregon com
mission to represent it at a hearing to
be held in Chicago within a few days
by an Interstate Commerce commis
sion examiner to reopen the question
of rates on glass bottles from the east
to the Pacific Coast.
. In the foreclosure of delinquent tax
certificates issued to counties, service
can be obtained on delinquent taxpay
ers by publication alone, Attorney
General Brown held Wednesday in an
opinion to District Attorney Biggs, of
Harney county. But the attorney gen
eral emphasizes the point that this
opinion applies only to cases in which
the counties themselves are bringing
the foreclosure suits.
A drive has been started throughout
the state to Becure information about
farm crops and farm labor conditions,
according by Labor Commissioner
Hoff. Follow-up letters have been
sent to all of the granges, farmers'
unions and others interested through
out the state, to get this informtion in
shape and forward it at the earliest
possible moment so that it will be
ready for compilation within the next
two weeks if possible. The labor com
missioner hopes by this census to have
a complete and accurate estimate of all
crops in the state upon which to base
an estimate of the amount of farm la
bor needed to handle the crops for the
1918 season.
Information which has been received
in Salem is to the effect that the great
Horst Brothers' hop ranch near Inde
pendence, said to be one of the largest
in the world, will be converted largely
into a vegetable ranch and that the
dryers will be used for evaporation of
vegetables. It is stated that 400 acres
ef the ranch are to be leased for vege
table growing.
W. S. Brown, Oregon Agricultural
college extension specialist, will open
a pruning school in Dallas next Wed
nesday morning. This school is to
illustrate the pruning of the Italian
prune tree in the formative period in
the young orchard and also the pruning
for fruit in a bearing orchard. . Reju
venating of old orchards also will be
given some attention.
Fire which apparently started from
an overheated forge Thursday night
damaged tools and machinery in the
welding and machine shop belonging
to H. R. Riley, of Bend. The build
ing was saved.
Miss Eunice Ramsdell shipped on
Monday's outgoing train the last two
ol the lour boxes of ready-to-wear
clothing contributed by citizens of
Cove and vicinity for immediate relief
of destitute Belgium children and
women.
The Beaver Cement company, of
Gold Hill, has announced that it is
ready to make delivery of four carloads
of lime to farmers in Corvallis. The
price is $4.55 per ton in bulk and 7.55
in sacks, with a rebate of 12 cents
for return of sacks.
Miss Evelyn Hanks, of Perdue, a
small settlement in Douglas rnnntv
has the distinction of being the largest
individual buyer of war savings
stamps, having purchased $500 worth.
A camDaiirn is on amonir thn nhnnl
children of Roseburg for the war cause
ana many are investing.
TO
Battle Line Forming in Ukraine
Territory for Onslaught.
WAR AGAIN CERTAIN
Berlin Fears Prisoner Held by Slav
May Be Killed One-Day Strike
Called Monday in Poland.
Amsterdam German forces are al
ready being concentrated in Ukraine
to attack the Bolsheviki, according to
a Berlin dispatch to the Tidd, and dec
larations looking to the active prose
cution of the war against the Boslshe
viki in North Russia also will be made
at Berlin this week.
The German authorities are anxious
regarding the fate of German prison
ers in North Russia, whom the Bol
sheviki are holding as hostage and
who, Berlin dispatches say, may be
killed if the Bolsheviki are driven to
desperation. Germany has already
served notice on the Boslsheviki au
thorities that she will enforce repris
als if the German prisoners are
harmed.
Count Cernin, the Austro-Hungarian
foreign minister, has notified Berlin
that Austrian troops must not be used
against Russia to support any policy
which Austria has not approved, but
only for purposes of self-defense
against marauding bands.
Amsterdam The Bolsheviki are
making wholesale arrests of Germans
in Russia and holding them as hos
tages, according to a Riga dispatch re
ceived by way of Berlin. Three hun
dred Germans and many pro-German
Esthonians at Dorpat have been ar
rested and transferred to Kronstadt.
All the food in the Dorpat district has
been confiscated and it is almost im
possible to feed the German women
and children.
The lives of those arrested, as well
as Germans and German supporters
who have not yet been arrested, are
hourly in, great danger, adds the dis
patch, as the Bolsheviki threaten
wholesale butchery. The Bolsheviki
have officially declared the Baltic no
bility outlaws.
The Lokal Anzeiger of Berlin says
there is great excitement at Warsaw,
Cracow and Lemberg as a result of the
Ukraine treaty. The Warsaw news
papers are appearing in black borders.
Soldiers, mounted and on foot, are
patrolling the Btreets to prevent dem
onstrations. The director of affairs,
Count Rostvorovski, has resigned.
At Cracow the papers appeal to Pol
ish parties to declare on one-day gen
eral strike. A general strike was
called at Lemberg for Monday, when
work was suspended in all the Polish
factories, shops and government offices
and the schools will be closed.
HUNS BOMB U. S. HOSPITAL
Relief Station is Shelled Without Suc
cessNo Fatalities Occur.
With the American Army in France
An American field hospital in a town
within our lines apparently was the
target for a German airplane which
flew over it Sunday night and dropped
several unusually heavy bombs.
The hospital, in which were a num
ber of sick and wounded officer and
men, was the building nearest the
places where the German airman
dropped two different sets of bombs.
Fortunately none of the missiles
reached their mark, although the hos
pital patients and the residents of the
town were severely shaken by the ex
plosions. American anti-aircraft guns
engaged the enemy, but without suc
cess. The hospital probably will be moved
to a lees dangerous spot.
Price of Rice to Drop.
Washington, D. C. Reduction in
the price of rice is in prospect for
April 1, the food administration an
nounced Sunday. Distribution figures
show that there is a surplus, after de
ducting the million bags purchased for
export to Europe, of 150,000,000
pounds. This is ample for domestic
requirements.
The increase in the cost of rice dur
ing the last few months, the adminis
tration explains, has been due to the
fact that most rice mills are working
to capacity in supplying the allies.
Belgian Courts Defiant.
Washington, D. C. Belgian courts
and lawyers have defied the Germans
in Flanders, an official dispatch re
ceived here Sunday said. The trouble
began with the instituting of proceed
ings in the court of appeals against the
members of the council of Flanders,
composed of Flemish supporters of, the
Teutons. The Germans ordered the
court of appeals to cease its session,
and in protest all other courts ad
journed and lawyers refused to appear.
Glass Found in Candies.
Chattanooga, Tenn. Twenty enlist
ed men of the 52nd infantry at Camp
forest are confined to the bass hospital
as the result of eating candy contain
ing particles of ground glass. At the
camp it was said that the condition of
some of the men is serious.
Ell
MASS
STRIKE
BOLSHEVIK