The Washington herald. [volume], September 05, 1915, FEATURE SECTION, Image 29

About The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939

Image provided by: Library of Congress, Washington, DC

                
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MUZZLE Loading Cannon
a niwv p i a-
WORK in
TRENCHES
MUZZLE LOADING cannon, declared
obsolete a half century or more
ago by armament eperts. have re
turned in Europe, alone with the hand
grenade and armor, also believed of a past
age until the world war developed in all
It fury. French and Russian soldiers
are very frankly and openly wearing steel
helmets to ward off bullets and the hand
grenade has been one of the most ef
fective of trench weapons.
Now the British are equipping their
trenches in Flanders and France with
hundreds of muzzle-loading annon,
fnuiid to be the ideal weapon for trench
warfare But it is only in that the
weapon is loaded through the muzzle and
r"t through the breech, that the new
weapon resembles the ordnance of a cen
t ir ago. Otherwise, it is the most mod
f n of weapons invisible to the enemy,
i ipid fire and automatically aimed Tho
c nners are protected by a steel canopv
'J rt gan is aimed and fired through a
P -is-cone. The barrel of the gun follows
tif- range finder, so that when the gun
ner sights an obiective. the gun is trained
and aimed automatically at the object
The shell, which weighs 2S0 pounds, is
dronped down the muzzle of the gun It
ba a cartndse on the end which strikes
a Fpike m the bottom of the cun. dis
charging the shell immediatelv Bv an
inebrious loading device, fr- shells e-e
dropped into the muzzle of tc gun and
fe old shells ejected with sreat rapiditv
Tva pew muzzle-loading cannon is the
pi-ndnct of a hitherto unknown inventor
r ,-ried Stokes, who had haunted th
rr't'.-h war office for eleven vears prior
t t"e war. He had nver even received
n -irmg. With th coming of war bovv
er r the war office was reorganized.
Tff i blood was injected and Stokes"
.t., dug out from the mustv pigeon
y r,)f 12 which thev had reposed tor .n
e tovernmert set aside - plot of
i.t .und for Stokes and the tnentor ,-no-i
demonstrated the efficacy of his gun
F'oks wa given a substantial sum
of tennev bv the British government, and
'm, 'n his own laboratorv. he is busy
wr'King out plan? to improve hi- devire.
w c . it is predicted bv the official1 is
d- -etireci to revolutionize trench warfare
SAND Is Frozen
Then CUT Away
v'LKY ronrf lvjhle nciiie-nng ciif-
rrul
llty has been met a' ) overcome
by the builders of New York's ad-
i'tion..l subways. One of the problems
f . d bv the engineei - wa caused bv
1 ir-- hodies of quicksand far below sur
i ,r Removal of this quicksand threat
ened tho collapse of Urge sections of
fc'-itorv. So the engineer- borrowed an
id .i from Europe and froze ihe t-and
in old world mines, when bis 'w
t nnN of quicksand are encountered in a
ra't, p. pes .ire driven in a circle around
tv 'h ift and cold brine rirculatc-d
thrush them until the quicksai.d is.
T-r.v. n solid T'len the -halt i- rut
t v '-. in-hi and the -ides nailed up '-r
i id ft- method been empoed in Ainer
r . tm the -iihwa' b'iildei a no i. i
. n v tH, principle should not be aj
; . ! in uhwiv constructor It a,
v h "t re s.j, cess
BACK to FIRST
Principles in Motor
boat Construction
Ac -1 tre -r-il . ' ele ha- Ufu
d. "-locti iied ih.- time in motor
t.nat i nn-.tr u t ion The nr- water
TjfT on re. oid l.is-t"l lelis u.-. v.-r"
i-i-iiowd-o i' '"- jirime 1 boa's which
h'o .-''! i.-e.) bv the aties of Afru i
nd th- Sou'h .-ei Th-ie i- now in
' rmtnv.-ioii another hnv built ftom a
s'Hhie l-i. and it l- acknowledged to be
ffc finest displacement motorhoat e-.er
built
The Vr.-uia was constructed by the
finois British motorhoat engineer. S E
S-i ind-rs. of Cowes It wis, built from
n Mngle mahogany log that had lain at
tho i.i.-ndon docks for twenty ears. Foi
Kracf and lightness the I rsula has no
rival
Another record breiking motorhoat
ha i 1. 1 been finished hv Saunders It is
a s xfeen-foot yacht tender and cost more
t-ar $1,200. The builder's price for
on -ntctmp the hull and installing the
n ,-Mnr was $700 The enmne. gear, pro
r M. r ird silencer were purchas-ed
si r irately.
!'or the hull of the motor-tender, there
fl.- . three thicknesses of selected thin red
crdar planking, with a laer of oiled silk
between, the whole being sewn together
wh copper wire, no rivets being used
Tl s makes a iory t-trong. light, resilient
c ift hut the work has to be carried out
w ' ce'reme care, each wire hole being
rir .-.i.ert 0ff before drilling, and grooves
rut h.Mwf.n alternate holes to make the
ture tl . h with the planking.
Farmers Use Phone
.-m report just issued shovs that
r--f i. th of the telephones operated by
a 'ic.'ng company are located in farm
' - The spread of the telephone in
-i--' five years has been surprisingly
' but hardly outstrips the use of elec
'cal appliances in the home, in the fac-
' op the farm in fact, in nearly every
-oc of life.
WIRELESS Chain Now Extends (mu I
TWO-THIRDS Around WORLD Ufc"
THE Marioni t Tf . triejraph terKe now extends nearly two-thirds of the way
a,ound t'.e c!i i.e r.. in another e it will be po.-sible to relay a message the
entire 2.i. n li .- of the earths circumference The distance covered will
be much Iirr. a i he -utions are not situated on the same parallel of latitude.
Nine stations will l.e crip!ofd in circling the earth
The latest station in thi worldwide chain to be opened is the great station at
Funabashi. ne,n Yokohama The next to be opened will be at Singapore on the
Malav pecm-uU frnm Singapore messages will be transmitted to a station to be
erected at Bangalore, rapnal ot the province of Mysore. India. Aden, on the south
ernmost tip o; Arahii. will then receive and send the message to the last link in
the rhj n to be formed. Alexandria. Egvpt Alexandria will send messages east to
Aden and wet to the great station now in the use of the British government at
( arti mon. ale-
1 he rariurion station has been in operation some time. At the beginning of
the war it was taken over hv the British government, which uses It almost exclusively
Kir -ommunication with Petrograd
The new Funaha'hi station l already in communication with Vladivostok. Rus--.a
on the west and Koko head, Oahu island. Hawaii, eastward, so that it is possible
to re;av me-ages irom the Marconi station at Belmar. N J . to Vladivostok, via the
Bol nas hav plant, uear San Francisco and the Koko head station, although under
ordman e ireum-tancee the .Marconi people use wires for transcontinental service In
America
The stations :n San Francisco. Hawaii and Japan are among the most powerful
in the world The transmitting apparatus at each station is equipped with thirteen
towers, each i 00 feet high The hae 300-kiIowatt transmitters, which are three
times as powerful as iki-i- ued at the Savwlle station in sending messages to Nauen,
Oermani. ..O.'io miU-
.lihotis.n ii i.- n.ore than 'loo miles farther from Savvllle to Nauen than from
Haw-in '.- Japan, n- i ote powerful apparatus was installed in the Pacific stations
fo- ihe purpo.-e ot fl:r n Ming fmm the start most of the difficulties due to the so
cal'cd atmospheric lOiiVion" " While the station at Sayville is only in operation
at certain periods wh n ond'tion are favorable, the stations on the Pacific can be
operated during eer minute of the twenty-four hours The 300-kilowatt transmitter
is r- pahle of making ns.-i f, it over almost any electrical disturbance.
Double-Headed Locomotives
Supply French TRENCHES
THAT Fr'
,i-r a lo
T France i. ion- ago prepared
ing war i v i nced bv the
rei er,t deuer to ., of 100 dou-
t ia-i, ended crsin'-. baiii n America, to
he u.-i-d on ihe temp rit lines of rails
runni.'E from tne jegular rulwajs to the
trenche. The locomoi if. are narrow -cauge
of the Perhot fne They are
mo mted on two bodies, or pivotal
ttucks s" that S'lddec "irns and sharp
curv. in ih" tiack 'an b ne-otiated at
top speed
The loromo'.io- are douhle-harreled
throiishou' The'e are four boilers and
ti'o r.ieroxe- h th" 'ab" in the cen-ie-
? arr.te -ets of ivrs are used, de-
cndine on which w the engine is
Motion Picture
1 sYJK? .-
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!T will soon be possible for the tired business man to see a motion picture show
on his way home from work. The stenographer and the shop girl will be given
an opportunity to see Charley Chaplin's latest capers on their way down town in
the morning. A boon to suburbanites has been invented which threatens to reduce
considerably the popularity of the daily paper and the Six Best Sellers as "time
killers" to and from work
The invention is a motion ricture car. in which films may be shown to an
audience comfortably seated in an Inclined auditorium. The cars should prove ex-oeed-ngly
attractive to commuters They can be hooked up with either steam or
electrical cars, as the platforms are of standard sire, permitting standard coupling
devices.
The motion picture car is the invention of Antonl Truchan, of Flint, Mich. Mr.
Truchan has applied for and received a patent on his Idea. The cars can be made
to seat from 75 to 100 persons comfortably
The film reel operator is stationed in the rear of the car just above the last tier
of seats. The screen, of course, is thrown across the space where the front door
ordinarily would be. In between are the seats, the floor sloping gently downward
to enable everyone to see the pictures plainly. A peculiar arrangement of Mr.
Truchan's car is that the windows, too. are on a sloping line; so that between pictures
the spectators may look out without Inconvenience and a perfect circulation of fresh
air is assured.
Is Reintroduced Into British
-., s sr i 1
headed The locomotives look as if the
rear part of two small ones had been
joined together
Each boiler barrel has a separate set
of tubes and Is supported on saddles
placed immediately over the center pins
of the bogies An outside' shell, between
the two trucks, and supported on plate
frames riveted to the saddle, carries the
two fireboxes The inside of these is
made of copper, tho tubes are of brass
and the boiler shell of steel.
Switzerland announces Its readiness to
receive sick and wounded prisoners of all
belligerent countries, in accordance with
the pope's proposal.
Car Is Latest
tflopTtUM. lilS.br tf
t r ,-, wsmmw'
at. Al. " . x imm w-
The barrel r,f the pun is about fftern
feet tnnn and restt on two pedestals (D
and E). v hirh arc damped down to the
bottom of a deep trenrh. The shell (G)
has a larqc cartridge (U) attached, avd n
)ust dropped into the muzzle. As tt
reaches the barrel thii rartrtdgp strikci
a spike (Cl. trhirh explodes it mstan
taneouslu. A steel shield (K) protects
the gunners from shrapnel.
Boats Stronger
Than the Crews
T
HE cruising radius of the latest
German submarine cruisers is said
to be limited only by the endurance
of the crew. Fitted with Diesel engines,
burning about ten tons of oil for everv
thousand miles, the SOO-ton submersi
bles have an oil storage capacity of fifty
tons, which would carry the craft S,00u
miles, the distance probably covered by
the submarines that made the journey
from Germanv around the north of
Scotland and through the Mediterra
nean to the Dardanelles
The oil capacity of the submersible
can be greatly increased, however, by
carrying many tons of oil in tho water
ballast tanks
Human endurance, however, will not
stand an indefinite stay on a submarine,
especially when quarters are more than
ordinarilv cramped by the carrying of
extra stores There is, too, a continuous
oozing of oil from the bulkheads and
doors throughout the ship, and this, cou
pled with the incessant pounding of the
engines at close quarters, taxes the en
durance of the most hardened navigator
of the undersea waters
Why H.-P.ls Used
to Figure Power
WHEN Bolton and Watt first placed
their steam engine on the world's
market, they arbitrarily declared
the drawing power of p horse to he
33.000 foot-pounds, or the ability to lift
33,000 pounds a ml-iUte. Power was
represented in termB of horse-power be
cause the steam engine was designed to
take the place of horses. The unit has
been used every since and probably will
endure long after horses have disap
peared from the face of the globe.
The following are the various values of
horse-power: 33,000 foot-pounds per
minute, 550 foot-pounds per second,
2,565 thermal units per hour, 42.75 ther
mal units per minute. The horse-power
of a boiler depends on its capacity for
evaporation. The evaporation of 30
pounds of water from 100 degrees
Fahrenheit into steam at 70 pounds
gauge pressure equals 34 1-2 pounds and
at 212 degrees Fahrenheit is equivalent
to a horse-power.
Tune-Deafness DE;FECT of the GREAT
T HE defect In many persons known
I as "tune-aeainess, or tne inabil
ity to carry or distinguish a tune, is
not an indication of lack of artistic or
poetic character. The fault Is with the
nerves. Musical appreciation extends to
a great extent on the exercise of mental
and physical faculties, and the delight in
music calls.for an alert sympathy between
the nerves and the cerebral faculties,
without which connection there is defi
nite musical lack, although the nerves
perform their ordinary function of com
municating sound to the mind.
Among the notable cases of "tune
deafness" among the great were Presi
dent Grant, Queen Catherine of Russia
Otrwluul
RADIUM Cures
X-Rav DISEASE
X-Ray DISEASE
In EARLY Stage
EPITHELIOMA, the dread and curse of
the Roentgenologist, has been found,
in its early stages, amenable to
radium cure, so that a distinct step in the
advancement of Roentgen-ray science has
been achieved. Epithelioma is skin can
cer caused by the X-ray and has been the
cause of the loss of fingers, hands and
even the lives of Roentgen-ray experts.
At a recent meeting of the British Med
ical Association, the Roentgenologist sec
tion was notable for the large number of
disfigured hands, arms and faces. In some
cases epithelioma has spread to the chin
and chest. Skin grafting, freezing and
other desperate measures have been used
in vain to arrest the course of the dread
disease.
It Is now firmly established, however,
that radium rays will cure the malady in
Its early stages and relief has been ob
tained, even when the disease had ran a
couple of years Tho effect of radium on
long standing cancers, however, is nil.
It seems almost a paradox of radiology
that the accepted use of a heavy gamma
radiation from a Roentgen tube will cause
a diseased condition of the skin, wbicn a
similar radiation from a tube of radium
will cure The output of the Roentgen-ray
tube is almost wholly composed of hard,
penetrating, irritating gamma rays. The
radium discharges the beta ray in great
quantity, as well as the gamma ray. It is
the beta ray that has been proved beyond
question to be the efficient curatie power,
and it is only the secondary betas gen
erated by the gamma when striking any
resisting substances, that gives it its value
in the Roentgen-ray tube work. Hence, a
surface lesion of morbid cell growth, be
It hyperkeratosis or basal cell, is cured by
tho large output of soft beta radiation of
radium.
It is not possible that. If it were pos
sible to gauge the output of the Roentgen
rav tube in power enough to generate the
curative beta rays by impact on the su
perficial disease, it could be cured, as
well as by radium, but in so doing it
would be necessarv to discharge energy
enough of the hard gamma variety to be
highly injurious to the deeper tissue of
the vessels, muscle and skeleton.
SPEED of Auto
Seen at Glance
A
COMBINATION license tag holder
and speed indicator for automobiles
has been patented by a trio of
Easton. Pa. inventors The deice is in
the form of a square board, to the top of
which tho license tag is attached. At
fhe bottom of the board is a speed indi
cator and pointer, the different speeds
being indicated by different zones in or
der to make it more eas to lead
Sweden A Richards. Eben H. Van Em
burgh and Claytor Zeller are the pat
entees Speed of ten miles an hour and
under is indicated by one color, fifteen to
tv.enty-fle miles by another and more than
thlrtv miles by a third hue of the indicator.
Tho pointer i3 regulated by a goxernor
and spring, to keep it steady. The combi
nation tag holder and speed indicator is
primarily for the benefit of city and coun
try police officials, who mav see by a
glance whether the machine is running
faster than the prescribed speed limits.
Machine DRIES
YOUR HANDS
U
IVCLE SAM has abolished the band
towel in some of his Washington de
partments and In its place has in
stalled electric hand driers. The devico
looks like a rectangular box with the face
front knocked out. It is about as high as
a cabinet phonograph. The aperture is
Just large enough to accommodate two
hands. An electric heating and blowing
device forces a stream of warm, dry air
Into the opening, the flow being led into
the lower chamber of the box.
Girl employees in the departments in
which the electrical driers are installed,
with truly feminine resourcefulness, haw
converted the driers into hand beautifying
accessories. They rub their hands with
cold cream and let the electro-towel do the
rest.
and Dean Stanley. The latter, although
he was the first person to introduce
Bach's passionate music Into the re
ligious service of the English church,
often declared that "he had not a note
of music in his head." Queen Catherine,
famous for the relentless warfare she
waged on Frederick the Great, used to
tay she would give tho world to be able
to appreciate and lovef music, declaring
that for her "music was noiss and noth
ing but noise."
President Grant's attitude towards
music Is ably summoned up in his famous
remark: "I can distinguish but two tunes
one is 'Yankee Doodle' and the other
Isn't."
o t y, .Vs-r I o
Highly Charged
Drinks Declared
to Be Dangerous
EFFERVESCENT drinks are becoming
more and more popular, but no-
comes a part of the medical profes
sion to tell us they are more unhealthful
than light wines and beers. Cider and un
fermented juices of fruits are declared far
superior to both, when physiological cor
rectness is considered.
The chief fault with the effervescent
drink seems to be that one calls for an
other, in ever pyramiding stle The
scientific explanation of this Is that tje
slight stinging or pricking ot tho palate
caused by the highly charged drink pro
duces immediately an increased flow of
saliva. The salivary glands are no more
susceptible to perpetual stimulation than
any other, and after each period of ex
citement one of depression follows. Thus,
while tho effervescent quaff may for tho
moment effectually quench the thirst, it
Is not long before tne thirst is back,
stronger than ever.
Another fault laid at the doors of tha
effervescent drink is that it is generally
charged with carbonic acid. Now the
stomach, especially when it is empty, al
ways contains a quantity of carbonic
acid for purposes nature knows best. When
to this natural supply is added the amount
in the effervescent drinks, nature is over
supplied and the general system suffers.
Certain physicians, in deploring tha
vogue of the effervescent drinking liquid,
hopefully assert that it is merely a fad
and that soon we will return to the mora
wholesome natural drinks of our fore
fathers. MUSIC Softens
Fear of KNIFE
DO ou prefer to have your appendix
removed to the lilting tune of "Cali
fornia and You," or to the mora
sombre strains of 'The Rosary"? Or per
haps, according to vour unneutrality. vou
vould like to go under the knife with
"Tipperary" or "Germany Over AH" ring
ing in vour ears
It's the newest adjunct to surgery, music
in connection with operations And tho
anesthetic is not permitted to interfere
with your enjoyment of our favorite selec
tion, for the music continues until you are
wafted off to sweet unconsciousness on the
wings of the ether sponge
Dr Ma Thorek. surgeon-in-chief of th
American hospital. New York city was the
first to employ music as a first .ud to
surgery A vaudevill" player Marie Aller
ton of the sisters' team of that name, was
about to have her appendix removed, but
was extremely nervous Dr Thorek. be
lieving nervousness a deleterious condition
just before an operation, induced the ac
tress to sing, all the nures and attend
ants joining in the chorus Miss Allerton
chose to face the knife with 'Moonlight
on the Rhine" on her lips At the third
stanza she" succumbed to the effects of the
anesthetic, skillfully administered, and
passed off to unconsciousness, with a smila
on her face.
The operation was emtnentlv success
ful, much of the credit for whirli was laid
to the music by Dr Thorek
VOLCANOES
Now Harnessed
VOLCANOES are being harnessed in
Italy Steam Is generated and from
the steam electricitv And the novel
part of the affair is that the power issues
from the volcano in the shape of steam,
but it is too full of impurities to be very
eftective in its original form So fresh
water steam is generated by means of tho
escaping steam
Borings of thirty or forty feet yield an
unfailing supply of steam at pressures up
-o more than three atmospheres, and of
temperatures up to more than 700 Fahren
heit The steam is found in Tuscany, near
the village of Volterra. in a volcanic he:
springs region.
The steam has been wasteful!? used In
small engines of an old. noncondensing
type, but in recent experiments the heat
of the springs on account of tho impuri
ties contained Is made to generate steam
from fresh water, and this is employed in
low-pressure turbines for driving electrio
generators The large area to be served
with electric energy from the earth's owr
heat, if present expectations are realized,
will include the neighboring cities of Vol
terra. Siena and Leghorn.
One-Millionth Inch
Measured by Device
AN instrument .so delicate that it vvill
measure one-millionth of an inch has
been invented by a British scientist.
Prof C W Chamberlain, president and
head of the physics departing of Denison
miversity. Some idea of how small one
millionth of an inch is may be gained by
comprehending, if possible, the size of tho
head of an ordinary pin viewed from a dis
tance of 227 miles
Professor Chamberlain calls his instru
ment a compound interferometer. It Is
400 times as powerful as the most perfect
compound microscope.
Cost of Sugar Beets
A recent investigation into the cost of
sugar beet growing in England showed
that the expense incurred by the farmer
tn growing an acre of sugar beets was
approximately $40, representing a cost
per ton of beets of $4.15. The charge
for loading and transportation brought
the cost of the beets delivered At tha
factory up to $5.1 0 a ton.
rx.
$1.1-' --j
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