Newspaper Page Text
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70L. 37 NO. 25
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TOXIC CANDLES
i AS WAR WEAPON
Diphenylchlorarsine Develops Va
por Which Penetrates Gas
Masks, Says Expert.
SMOKE CANDLES ARE USEFUL
fConceal Movements of Small Groups
of Men Close at HandBritish De
veloped Candles Which Were
Used by All the Allies.
i Philadelphia.Toxic smoke candles,
jrecently developed, will have an ex
pensive use in future wars, in the opin
ion of L. I. Shaw of the internal bu
jreau of mines, who recently spoke on
l"Smoke and Incendiary Material" be
jfore the Franklin institute.
"Smoke candles, so called," he said,
!"are small cylindrical boxes which are
Ignited by some sort of friction de
vice, and which contains smoke pro
ducing mixtures. Their use is in set
ting up a smoke screen close at hand,
for after ignition they are simply set
on the ground, not being thrown or
projected in any way. The need is
very apparent to make the movements
jof small groups of men close at hand
'possible.
Tried by British.
"The British, early in the war, de
veloped very satisfactory smoke can
jdles which were used by all the al
[lies. The Americans also developed a
candle which was satisfactory, but
iwhich did not get Into production and
juse in France before the armistice.
IThe smoke is normally white, must
|have maximum capacity and be cool
jenough to prevent the setting up of
I air currents and thus rise from the
jground. It must be heavy so as to be
'displaced by the minimum amount of
wind at low velocity. These require
ments are admirably met by candles
which produce a smoke consisting of
zinc- chloride.
"As regards the future of incendiary
material, my own opinion, which opin
ion, however, is substantiated by at
least some of the military critics, is
[that incendiary material, except for
i small arms and long range shell and
drop bombs, will have at least a lim
ited and, perhaps, no use. The flame
projectors will probably never be used
jin a future war. Smoke material, on
I the other hand, will have a very exten
sive and ever-increasing use. By the
use of the smoke screen during an at
tack the casualties can be largely re
duced.
New Use of Smoke.
There was in progress of develop
ment by the British and Americans,
during the latter part of the war smoke
candles which would give a toxic
smoke. The toxic material em
ployed was diphenylchlorarsine. Dl
phenylchlorarsine is a solid which va
porizes in the heat of the candle and
is obtained in such a state of division
that it will penetrate most gas masks.
Such toxic smokes, of which there will
probably be others developed, will find
a very extensive use in the future. It
is the greatest step made thus far in
the new use of smoke."
CATS DO NOT RECOGNIZE MILK
Refuse to Drink Strange Liquid In
HungaryPet Dogs Turn
Vagrants.
Budapest.Even the cats and dogs
of Central Europe have degenerated
as a/result of the war, says Professor
Balkanyi, director of the veterinary
schools here, who is investigating how
the habits of domestic animals have
been influenced by that couse.
Most of the town-bred cats In this
part of the world refuse to drink milk,
because it is unknown to them, due to
the lack of milk during the war, the
professor asserts.
"Both cats and dogs are relapsing to
the savage ways of their untamed an
cestors," he says. "The vagrancy of
dogs is startling. Pet dogs elope from
heart-broken mistresses, joining packs
of mangy village dogs, where they live
in communist equality."
The same authority stated that, be
sides hydrophobia, nervous diseases
are very frequent among animals, and
that stock must be replenished from
overseas.
It
Man's Gold Tooth Stolen
by Expert Pickpocket
New Orleans. There is in
New Orleans a pickpocket who
is expert enough to fulfill the
time-honored specification test
of being "able to steal a man's
gold teeth." He demonstrated
this when he stole a gold tooth
which had previously been the
property of Adrien A. Chazulle,
1030 St. Philip street However,
the tooth happened to be in Mr.
Chazulle's purse at the time,
and it was the purse which the
pickpocket took while its owner
was a passenger in the Louis
iana avenue street car.
*~......,i. i|n|i,|
Slow Clock Costs Railroad Money."
Decatur, Ala.Because the clock ta
a railroad station was slow, causing
her to miss the train on which the
-body of her dead son was being coa
lveyed,
ViaM%fbiit
Mrs. Ellen Oarey has been
-awarded $500 damages against the
Louisville and Nashville railroad. t'i
INCREASE OF ALIENS
Net Growth in Immigrant Popu
lation for Year 193,514.
Total of 633,371 Sought Entrance
United States in Last Fiscal
Year.
Washington.Establishment of ma
chinery overseas in co-operation with
foreign governments through which
aliens before breaking up their homes
may determine whether they will be
admitted to the United States and leg
islative consideration of the proposals
of the second industrial conference are
1 outstanding recommendations in the
annual report of Secretary ofJLabor
Wilson.
The report shows that 633,371 aliens
arrived in this country during the last
fiscal year, as compared with 237,021
the year before. Of the total arrivals,
11,795 were excluded at the ports
where they sought to enter. Of those
arriving 430,001 are classed as immi
grant aliens and 195,575 as nonimmi
grant aliens. Departures of aliens to
taled 428,062, including-288,315 immi
grant aliens and 139,747 nonimmigrant
aliens, making the net increase in the
immigrant population for the year
193,514.
Japanese admitted number 16,174, as
compared with 14,904 the year before.
The total number of Japanese depart
ing is placed at 15,653, making, the re.
port says, the indicated increase in
Japanese population, 521. Of those ad
mitted, 9,193 were males and 6,981 fe
males.
Besides the immigrants turned
back at the port of arrival, 2,762 were
ordered deported during the year on
departmental warrants, as compared
with 3,068 the year before. Of those
deported, 469 were classed as anar
chists and criminals. In addition, 591
others are awaiting deportation.
During the year 519,003 aliens took
the initial or final steps toward citi
zenship.
Mr. Wilson urges legislative action
to carry out the recommendations of
the second industrial conference, pro
posing joint organizations of manage
ment and employees for prevention of
industrial disputes and a comprehen
sive plan for adjusting such disputes
when they occur.
DIGGERS TURN UP TREASURE
Sewer Workers Find Collection
Rings and Watches in a Bos
ton Slime Pit.
of
Boston.A sewer gang quit work at
noon the other day with a valuable
treasure trove. In the slime of an
old pit near the Quincy house they
had found three gold rings, coins,
watches and other valuables.
Hotel employees suggested that the
hotel had a claim on the articles, as
the property probably of guests of by
gone days.' The police suspected that
they were part of the loot of thieves.
But when the men showed coins dat
ing back to 1787, stamped with a pine
tree on one side and "Massachusetts"
on the other, they insisted that the
statute of limitations made the prop
erty theirs.
With the ancient coins they found
beer checks, which the foreman of the
gang said he intended to keep with
a "pine tree shilling," as a souvenir
of the past The foreman estimated
that the deposit of mud in which the
valuables were found had not been dis
turbed in 75 years.
It's No Fault of Mint
If You're Shy of Coin
,r Washington.The mints es
tablished a record in coinage
during the last fiscal year, ac
cording to the annual report of
Director Ray Baker made pub
lic. A total of 809,500,000 coins
were executed, which, Mr. Baker
declares, is a world's record.
The figures show an increase of
446 per cent over 1915.
Public demand for smaller
coins, particularly pennies, is re
flected in the report, which dis
closes that more than 512,500,-
000 coins in the record output
were 1-cent pieces.
KING SPLITS ROYAL ESTATE
Spanish Monarch to Parcel Out 2,500
Acres of Land in Small
Farm Plots.
Madrid.Instructions have been
given by King Alfonso for the forma
tion of an agricultural syndicate, the
object of which, will be the parceling
out of the king's royal estate af El
Pardo, nine miles west of this city,
for cultivation under the auspices of
the Catholic Agrarian federation.
The property contains nearly 2,500
acres and will be divided into small
plots.
A plan has been devised which will
permit laborers to acquire the land
allotted to them.
"The Yellow Ostrich Feather."
Booneville, Ky.Nancy and Cyn
thia Hale, aged fourteen and fifteen,
respectively, who cook and wash, and
sew for six little motherless brothers
and. sisters, have .made a quilt which
they have christened "The Yellow Os
trich Feather.** Neighbors thought so
much of it that it was sent to.Louis
ville to be sold for the benefit of
en of the monntainsi3^3'^^r''rwom-
^51
LIVE IN OLD BOATS
One Way Philadelphia People
Solve House Problem.
Tenant Population Are in
Straits Owing to the
Rents.
to
been
Dtiv/v+
Desperate
High
Philadelphia.A campaign for build
ing homes is Philadelphia's answer to
the question of how to keep rents
down to a reasonable basis. The ten
ant population is in desperate straits,
for rents have been going higher and
no end seems to be in sight The
scramble for homes in the suburbs is
so acute that when one woman moved
some of the furniture out of her home
the otherday in_ order to clean, the
house 25 persons tried" to rent iFfrom
her within a few hours.
.~i
Tent manufacturers say more orders
have been placed for tents this month
J.-U~_ than ever before in Philadelphia's his-
FARMERS SPURN GRAND PIANO
Instrument Sells for $2.50 as
Yorkers Pay $150 for Blind
Horse.
To stop the profiteering in rents and S "Xf^S? o JT^
nes. aevprm nrmi..
homes several organization are at
tempting to unite on a program of
house building to continue for at least
six months, or until the shortage has ITL"^
relieved Thefel ^ff
been organization.s/ in
S/sssa* of unions, representatives the buildin
trades and mortgaging companies.
They have been asked to undertake
this work by the department of public
welfare.
Meanwhile, camping ground access!
Wo htr
tory.
There is an unprecedented amount
of building of cheap cottages and bun
galows within a radius of 30 miles of
Philadelphia to accommodate the rusb
of tenants that is expected when mild
weather comes. Those erected in onethe
community cost about $600 each and
are eagerly rented at $350 for the sea
son.
Old canal-boats lying along the
Schuylkill river are being fitted out as
dwellings, and families are glad to rent
them as temporary homes,
New
Rlverhead, L. I.The eastern Long
Island farmer seems to be a critical
fellow.
Just because he cannot use a piano
to raise potatoesthere is no sort of
affiliation, apparently, between music
and potato growingthe farmer re
fuses to pay as much for the piano as
he wit* for a blind horse.
Frank J. Corwin, the auctioneer, re
cently astonished the countryside when
he got the farmers tumbling all over
themselves to bid in a blind horse t
$150 and loose hay for the sensational
price of $75 a ton. He sort of reasoned
that if a blind horse was worth that
much a grand piano that could make
jazz music without much effort ought
to bring around $500.
But the farmers fooled him this time.
In spite of all his coaxing, in spite of
all his claims that Paderewskl would
be glad to have this instrument, it was
knocked down for $2.50.
TRIES "MOVIE" STUNT DIES
New York Lad, Aged Fifteen, Strangles
Himself to Death with "Third De
gree" Device.
New York.The death of fifteen
year-old Solomon Bernstein is attrib
uted by his two younger brothers,
Samuel, thirteen, and Isador, ten, to
what he learned of criminal methods
from moving picture plays.
Solomon was found strangled to
death on the cellar floor of his home.
Around his neck was a small rope,
tied in a noose. The other end wasof
swung over a rafter. Tied to the end
over a rafter were two iron weights.
On the floor beside the body was a
butter tub, kicked to pieces, evidently
in his efforts to avoid a fatal end to
his test of the improvised "third de-
gree." According to the younger boys,
the rope and weights were to be ap
plied to Isadore, whom Solomon had
accused of stealing a fountain pen
cap. AGREE ON REMOVING DEAD
French to Permit Disinterment of U.
S. Men in the Fighting Zones
September 15.
Washington.Removal of the Amer
ican dead from within the fighting
zones in France for transportation to
the United States will begin after
September 15 under an agreement be
tween the American and French gov
ernment. Bodies of men buried out
side these zones now are being moved
to this country.
The war department, In announcing
the agreement, said the terms of the
understanding limited the return of
bodies of those whose removal to
America had been specifically requests
ed by the next of kin.
In transporting the bodies to French
ports the American government has
agreed to use not exceeding a maxi
mum of 100 standard box cars at a
time.
No More Fixln* for Him. S
Covington, Ky.Hugh Jones says
he is done fixing something for some
body without knowing what he's got
to fix, because, as he says, **I got my
self in a fix fixin' things to be fixed.**
A $25 fine fixed it with the court
when Jones was charged with having
connected a copper coil tea still. Rer
enue agents came upon Jones white
fefc* was at work.
Defective Page
ST. PAUL AND MINNEAPOLIS, MINIL SATURDAY JUNE 18, 1921
OPEN SHRINETO
DEAD EMPEROR
Strange Ceremony in Japan, In
pluding Vaudeville, Marks
Two Days of Worship.
BUILDING COST $10,000,000
Impressive Manifestations of Loyalty
Featured the Solemn Shinto Cere-
moniesVoices Silent Dur
ing Worship.
Tokyo.After six years' labor and
the nationafl shrine thSe late
Emperor Mutsuhito was opened re
cently with solemn Shinto ceremonies,
and amid impressivee manifestations pr
lya"y^ Fo three days the popu
S^^TSSSUKS.
lace of Tokyo celebrated the occasion
ing, and from the humblest door lan
terns were displayed at night.
The municipality gave a flower show
and open-air performances and the
atrical performances park
buIt' fo the most part the festivities
UU JLU,r
%FJSSZ5 iFT^St org***At* the
*"wt partin mHibiya lesuviues,
*MV
citizens in different wards. hun
dreds of centrall points stages had
VU.CV1B UJL VJCUUltt UU1UUJ SlUKco U&U
bee erected, where vaudeville shows
were given and there lirere fireworks
both night and day.
Thousands From Country.
Over 250,000 persons from the coun
try districts visited the city during
estival.
The shrine is a typical Shinto build
ing of plain wood, and of the simplest
possible construction. The opening
ceremony was attended by over 2,000
persons and officials, and lasted about
three hours The central feature was
the delivery to Prince Ichljo, warder
of the shrine, of the name tablets of
the late emperor, and,their installa
tion in the inner sanctuary.
Prince Kujo, a relative of the em
peror, delivered a commemorative ora
tion to which Prince Ichijo replied.
The shrine was thereafter Opened to
the public and at least 500,000 people
worshiped before it during the re
mainder of the day.
The scene where these multitudes
of people were paying their respects
to the memory of the dead emperor
was impressive. The main entrance
to the shrine is by means of anew
and very broad road about two miles
in length. Along this road all the day
and evening two great strings of peo
ple poured, one going to the shrine,
the other returning.
The whole of this roadway "was
brilliantly lighted and decorated with
flags and ornamental lanterns. But
once the torli at the entrance to the
shrine had been passed a great change
came over the-scene. The modern
world was left behind, the gold and
red ornamentation ceased and the rest
of the way was made under the shade
of gigantic pine trees, which might
have been part of the virgin forests
of old Japan.
Pilgrims were admitted in groups of
about 200. Their Journey ended in a
small paved courtyard inclosed with a
low wall. The shrine, a low, severely
plain building, was opposite the gate
way, and by the dim light of two large
paper lanterns about a dozen white
robed priests were seen moving slow
ly back and forth within the doorway.
They'were sweeping up the coins that
rained continually on the steps of the
shrine.
Voices Are Silent.
Not a sound could be heard except
the light hand-clapping of the wor
shipers calling on the enshrined spirit
the emperor. No human voice was
heard. There was not even an audible
prayer in complete silence the multi
tude paid their respects to the spirit
of Meiji and passed on.
On the two following days the
shrine was again visited by hundreds
of thousands, and the proceedings
were enlightened by wrestling and oth
er public entertainments near the
shrine. The crown prince," on behalf
of the emperor, worshiped at the
shrine on the second day.
It is intended to associate the young
men of Japan especially with the
Meiji shrine. A huge stadium will be
built in the grounds of the shrine,
and it is expected that the principal
athletic events of Japan will be con
tested there in the future.
BONES OF PILGRIMS MOVED
Taken From Canopy Over Plymouth
Rock, Which Is Being Reset
to Shore Level.
Plymouth, Mass.The bones of
some of the Pilgrim fathers were ex
posed for a time when the box in
which they have been kept was taken
from the canopy.over Plymouth rock,
where it had rested since 1880.
The records do not identify the
bodies, but the two relatively well
preserved skulls and other bones
found in the casket are reputed to be
those of members of the colony who
died during the ordeal: ofvthe first win
ter.
The canopy is to be removed and
the rock reset under conditions that
will bring it again to shore level.
n.XHeart in the Right f?lace.
Anderson, Ind.Firemen hoisted a
40-foot ladder to rescue a pigeon sus
pended over a high ledge of S Mary's
church. The pigeon was entangled In
twine. Women in the crowd which
watched the rescue applauded.
HAS 9-EGG^REAKFAST
"A Square Meal at Last," Says
English Adventurer.
Makes Three Months' Canoe Trip In
Far North of Canada and
Alaska.
Winnipeg, Man.Hugh Kindergley,
twenty-one years old, son of Sir Rob
ert Kindersley, governor of the Hud
son Bay company, has returned from
a three months' canoe trip through
the Far North of Canada and Alaska.
With Capt. Tom O'Kelly, a veteran
of the company's service, as his guide
and only companion, he set out from
Athabasca Landing in a 19-foot
canoe. He traveled by Athabasca
river, Athabasca lake, Slave river,
Great Slave lake and the Mackenzie
river to within 90 miles of the Arctic
ocean, visiting the old Hudson bay
fur posts on his way. At Fort Good
Hope he crossed the Arctic circle and
was then in the region of the midnight
sun and continuous daylight As he
says, he "saw no stars from early in
June until August 7."
Beyond Fort McPherson and Arctic
Red river he ascended Rat river, "a
narrow torrent of rushing glacier wa
ter that drops as much in 60 miles as
the Yukon in 2,000," crossed the
Rocky mountains and, with supplies
completely exhausted, reached Fort
Yukon August 13.
"A square meal at last," wrote the
young Englishman in his diary.
"Never before have I eaten nine eggs
for breakfast' not to mention ham,
bread, jam, "cake, coffee and whap-
sing."
From Fort Yukon he went up the
Yukon past Dawson and White Horse,
through the old Klondike gold fields
and took steamer at Skagway for Van
couver. The two adventurers camped
out constantly and the young scion of
the house of Kindersley became an
expert camp cook.
"While fighting our way up Rat
river," he said, "mosquitoes swarmed
about in dense clouds. If I removed
my gauntlets, my hands were instant
ly hidden with the insects. Stumbling
through the tundra, I lost my mos
quito-bar helmet and soon my face
was covered with the blood of crushed
mosquitoes. But I enjoyed every min
ute of it"
ONTARIO BUYS UP RAILWAYS
Canadian Province to Pay $32,734,000
for Public Utilities in and
Around Toronto.
Toronto, OntA deal, subject only
to ratification by the Ontario govern
ment was completed whereby ,the
province will purchase virtually all of
the MacKenzie power interests in and
around this city for $32,834,000.
Property concerned comprises, in
addition to various suburban railways
and power plants, the Electric Devel
opment company at Niagara Falls,
Ont, with its transmission line to
Toronto.
The deal marks the close of two
years' negotiations between Sir Wil
liam MacKenzie and Sir Adam Beck.
It means that with the exception of
the Dominion Power company at Ham
ilton, all the larger hydro concerns in
the province are publicly owned.
Breaks Glass to Get
Kiss Finds Girl Wax
Philadelphia.Louis Katraly
came down from Coatesville,
Pa., to see the city sights. He
was passing a department store
when he saw the beautiful fig
ure of a girl in one of the win
dows, casting an alluring smile
in his direction. He beckoned
to her to come out and join him,
but she did not move and kept
right on smiling. Louis decided
to pursue her. He smashed the
window and grabbed the figure
around the waist He was about
to kiss the wax lips with the
frozen smile when a policeman
grabbed him.
FINDS $1,100 ON TRASH PILE
Stolen War Savings Stamps
Hidden in Old Valise in
Guthrie. Okla.
1
Were
Guthrie, Okla.Six weeks ago W. F.
Davis of this city found an old valise
under a house he was moving and
threw it on a trash pile in the yard.
It laid there until he started to haul
the trash away and on close examina
tion found $1,100 in War Savings
stamps under a false bottom. Inquiry
developed the fact that the valise was
lonce stolen from in front of a local
hotel last spring and belonged to Da
vid Secko, a traveling man from Enid.
The stamps were all registered in his
.name.
Nineteen His Fateful Number.
Madisonville, Ky."Nineteen" sure
ly played a tragic role in the last days
of Roscoe Ashley, buried at Grapevine.
He enlisted September 19, 1917, was
wounded September 19,-1918, died No
vember 19 of the same year and bis
body arrived in the United States
November 19,1920.
ir What Little Brother Bagged.
Madisonville, Ky.Roy Oakley, aged
fifteen, will live, though 71 shot bad to
be picked from his body by a surgeon.
'He and bis little brother, Tommy,
went rabbit hunting. Tommy shot Boy
(instead of the bnnny ^r "J *~r
^i^i^lSy^M^K^fe^K
CASH AND LOVE GONE
Once Wealthy Man Brings Action
Against Girl Wife.
Aged Husband Demands an Account
ing for $50,000 Turned Over to
Wife and Relatives.
Atlantic City.Penniless and sixty
five years old, William P. Riffle, once
a wealthy resident of Uniontown, Pa.,
appeared before vice chancellor Learn
ing here in an action he has brought
against his nineteen-year-old wife and
her uncle and aunt Mr. and Mrs.
Frank Mathews, formerly of New.
York, but for the past year residents
of this city. He sues to compel the
latter to give an accounting for $50,-
000 which he turned over to them.
Riffle testified that two years ago
Mrs. Mathews showed him the pic
ture of her niece, then seventeen,
when he went to her hotel on South
Illinois avenue, in search of health.
He said that he became enamoured
of the girl and Mrs. Mathews brought
her to the hotel. They became en
gaged after he had promised to give
her $10,000. Shortly afterward they
were married. He testified that he
gave Mr. and Mrs. Mathews nearly
$50,000, with the understanding that
the money was to be invested in real
estate.
After his money was gone, he
charged^ his wife sola the furniture
he had bought for their home despite
his protest She then gave him $16
of the proceeds to go to his home, he
added, and even tried, he swore, to
take that away from him before he
left
The defense sought to show that
the money had paid for $6,000 worth
of clothes for the young wife, an
automobile, diamonds and jewelry.
Riffle admitted the money lasted only
six months. Then, he charged, the
Mathews sent him home to Union
town to raise more funds, but he had
been unsuccessful.
He declared that he was forced to
leave his wife in March of this year.
COURT 0. K.'S HAIR PULLING
Wife Justified In "Remonstrating"
With Rival, Massachusetts
Judge Rules.
Lynn, Mass.A hair-pulling match
between a wife and another woman
who is found with the husband is per
fectly in order from the spouse's view
point, according to the ruling of As
sociate Justice Edward B. O'Brien of
the District court here.
He was called upon to render a de
cision at the trial of Mrs. Lillian
Miner, a divorcee,^ charged with as
sault with a revolver upon Mrs. Cath
erine Curtis, the wife of a Boston po
liceman. Although it was charged
that Mrs. Curtis made the first move
in the hostilities, the justice said:
"I think the wife is justified in re
monstrating, even to the extent of
pulling hair, and if such a case came
before me for trial I should rule in
favor of the aggrieved wife."
Love of Music Traps
Robber of Poor Box
Philadelphia.It was his love
for music which led to the ar
rest of Jacob Katz, twenty-four
years old. Katz entered the
Emanuel Lutheran church here
shortly after midnight and
found the poor box which he
emptied of its contents, $3.
Then he found the new organ.
Katz had musical talent and he
ran his fingers over the keys.
Then he became so absorbed in
.the instrument that he forgot
where he was, pulled out the
diaphone and thundered away.
The strains awakened the pas
tor, Rev. Rudolph Nieder, who
lives next door, and he called
the police.
ROBBER OFFERS VICTIM $10
"You Need It Worse Than I," He Says
to Holdup on Finding Man
Penniless.
Steubenville, O.Daniel Cable, a
pottery worker, reported to the police
here that a robber, who had held him
up while he was on his way home in
a suburb, offered to give him $10 after
the highwayman discovered that he
was penniless.
Cable said that the robber leaped
upon, overpowered him, and then went
through his pockets. Finding no
money, Cable said, the highwayman
reached Into his own pocket pulled
out a roll of bills and offered to give
him $10, saying: "Here, brother, you
need it worse than I do."
Cable said he was too surprised to
accept the money.
Laborer Gets $150,000.
Anaconda, MontFrom a laborer's
task at the Washoe smelter to the
possession of $150,000 was the realiza
tion here recently- of Claude Sheuma
ker, who received a telegram from an
Eastern broker advising him that he
bad realized this fortune on the sale
of oil stock. Sheumaker Immediately
drew his earnings, purchased a rail
road ticket and started East Sheu
maker conceived the idea of buying oil
stock while in the army. While serv
ing overseas with the Twenty-third di
vision be was wounded. His original
investment wajr$300 of back army pay.
He intends purchasing a ranch in Ore
gon, he said.
2.40 PER TEAR
FOR PREVENTION
OF BLINDNESS
Wonderful Progress Made by the
National Committee in That
Direction.
WORK IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Conservation of Vision Classes Grow
ing in Number as Educators Dis
cover It Is Practicable to Open
Classes in Small Cities.
New York.More than 4,000 sup
porters of the work of the National
Committee for the Prevention of
Blindness were reported at the sixth
annual meeting in this city. This re
port shows a remarkable increase
from the 65 charter members in 1915.
The work for the last year showed
much progress for the conservation
of vision in the public schools and col
leges.
The report continues:
"Conservation of vision classes in
the public schools are growing in
number as educators have discovered,
through the efforts of our committee,
that it is practicable to open such
classes even in cities smaller than
the largest The present census of
such classes is 62, of which 12 have
been established within the last year.
So far as known, the classes which
now support such classes include Illi
nois, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minne
sota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania
and Washington. There is no more
hopeful part of our work than this,
and we are proud to have contributed
a considerable part to the establish
ment of these classes.
Blindness in Children.
"The chief cause of blindness
among children is due to ophthalmia
noeonatorum. The percentage this
year is 22.5 per cent as compared
with 15.7 per cent for last year of
those who have newly entered the
residential schools. This disease is
an inflammation of the eye usually
contracted by newly born children.
The percentage is even higher In the
public classes. We have reason to re
gret this unfortunate relapse. This is
the first year but one that has not
shown a considerable decrease, but we
are quite sure that our figures are
more accurate than in the years gone
by, and possibly some of this increase
is due to the greater accuracy of our
reports. We must faithfully and per
sistently pursue our fight against
babies' sore eyes and continue to re
duce the number of children who need
not have been blind.
"Trachoma's victims (one of the
most dreaded of contagious eye dis
eases) have been discovered in sev
eral states where it was not suspect
ed this scourge could be prevalent
Not less than nine states have during
this year Initiated or renewed their
fight against the spread of trachoma.
In Illinois, particularly, there has
been a marshaling of the forces for
systematic operation In the stamp
ing out of this disease. In all cases
It has been the function of this com
mittee to serve as a helpful agency in
this work.
Caused by Wood Alcohol.
"Wood alcohol poisoning still causes
much blindness through drinking this
substance masquerading as a familiar
stimulant. This condition was not a
surprise to us, and we had issued a
warning which was used throughout
the United States. Much activity re
sulted because of the newspaper ac
counts of the dreadful situation, and
considerable work has been done by
them toward eliminating this cause of
needless blindness."
H. F. J. Porter of the Society for
Electrical Development delivered the
annual address. The subject of Mr.
Porter's address was "Through Life's
Windows.". He showed the great de
pendence of man on healthy and well
cared for eyes, which he compared to
a pair of motion picture cameras. "In-
deed, the motion picture camera is
made in Imitation of the eye," he con
tinued. "The better the condition of
the lens and the better the Illumina
tion of the object the better the re
sult of the photographer's effort. Just
so with the more perfect instrument,
the eye, and it behooves every one to
see that his eyes are kept in good con
dition and free from eyestrain due to
improper lighting. As it takes a long
er time to take a good picture In poor
light than in good light so it takes
longer to obtain a good conception of
what Is before us with poor eyesight
and in poor light Employers are wise
who provide against accidents from
poor lighting."
Return Hero Medal.
Connellsville, Pa.While a negro
woman held up Mrs. Annabelle Gemas
plong the West Penn street car line,
Kiear the Gemas home, two negfoes
searched her, took her pocketbook,
Containing about $30, bat returning a
gold service medal which the wom
an's husband, the late George Gemas,
had been awarded for service in the
Spanish-American war. The trio halt
ed Mrs. Gemas with the request,
"Please give us your money, lady."
1 Something Funny, All Right
Tntonville, O.There was some
thing funny about the chicken dinner
served Mayor Charles Beswick. He
was guest of honor at a stag party
where the chicken was served in lib
eral portions. On returning home
Beswick found that 15 of his choice
pullets had disappeared.,
'W&>
