The Point Pleasant register. [volume], October 27, 1909, Page PAGE TWO, Image 2

About The Point Pleasant register. [volume] (Point Pleasant, W. Va.) 1909-1939

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BUREAU OF PUBLICITY
lffllONAL RIVERS AND HARBORS COH
aESS.F0RRELEASESDNDAT0Cr.24.
Washington, D. C., October?
(Special) "When the Supreme
Court of the United States / gave its
fiat decision on the commerce
?f the Constitution by defining 'com
?aerce' as 'comprehending naviga
tion,' the way was paved for others
t?follow and lighted for the benefit
flFCongress in the enactment of future
legislation and thus the first great
monopoly was struck do^n."
Senator Duncan U. Fletcher made
Has statement in the course of an
interesting discussion on the impera
tive need for improving the water
ways of the country to keep abreast
?fthe Nation's production. Senator
Fletcher is president of the Missis
sippi-to-Atlantic Waterway Associa
tion which will hold its second annual
-convention at Jacksonville, Florida,
November 15, 16 and 17 terminating
its sessions just as the Atlantic Deep
er Waterways Association begins its
meetings in Norfolk, Va., November
17, 18, 19 and 20.
The junior Senator from Florida is
as enthusiastic advocate of a brood,
comprehensive and systematic policy
of waterway betterments in order
tiat the rivers, harbors and canals of
t ie country may be preserved, de
veloped, and maintained.
"We are face to face with a gigan
tic Industrialism," said Senator
\ Fletcher. "We must have a care
for the producers and see that no
monopoly of transportation can injure
the people upon whom our prosperity
?most depend. We have had actual
-experience in traffic demoralization,
?and the losses and inconveniences
already experienced can scarcely be
calculated. Wisdom demands that
something be done looking to an in
crease of transportation facilities, to
relieve congestion and the only way
-relief to the producer and consumer
can be brought about is through
proper care of our waterways, a re
sponsibility resting with the general
government.
? It is claimed, with strong sup
_port, that the movement of traffic
long distances is more rapid by water
than by rail. The productions of the
farms, mines, manufactures and the
various other industries of the coun
try are making tremendous gains.
The problem is to reach the markets.
The interchange of commodities re
quires increased facilities. It is a
wholesome thing to add to the ways
and means of communication among
the people. It strengthens the Re
public by cementing all its parts in
close business and social relation.
The interior must have access to the
seaboard. The various terminals at
the seaboard should be accessible to
each other. Our foreign trade must
grow, and we should ,prepare for the
expanding commerce, aided by the
Panama. Canal and other influences
-it work in that direction. Posterity
will be the beneficiary and posterity
ought ?nd will be in position to con
tribute towards the cost of thus utili
zation of natural advantages, increase
National economies, enabling us to
meet the commercial competition of
the world.
"A commission to determine upon
the scope and plan of a complete
s\ stem of waterway improvement
should be created and enough money
should be raised by bond issue, as
needed, to do the work within a
.period of ten years.
"We can utilize our plant as it is
released at Panama with a great sav
ing in expense. This is a matter of
far reaching importance and delay is
short-sighted and wicked.
"The Mississippi-to-Atlantic-Wat
erway Association advocates band
of unity cementing the interests of
the Mississippi Valley, Gulf and At
lantic coasts. While the association
stands for a project, differing in that
respect from the National Rivers and
Harbors Congress, whose convention
will be held in Washington next
December, in, that it fkvors a policy
and not a project for waterway im
provement the two associations have
verv much in common. The associa
tion of which I am President is a
warm supporter of the National
Rivers and Harbors Congress, for
with a comprehensive policy estab
listed, the section of the country
which I have the honor to represent
in Part, cannot help but be benefited
when the work of increasing the
facilities for water transportation is
j accomplished."
DO YOD KNOW THAT
??
The Sou til's agricultural produi-,
tions now exceed tb.e total value of
the agricultural output of the United
States in 1880, and are almost as
great in value as the total of the
United States in 1890?
Do you know that the South is
mining more than ' twice as much I
bituminous coal as the United States;
mined in 1880?
Do you know that southern rail
roads must spend $2,000,000,000 in
ten years to provide facilities needed
i.i Southern growth?
Do you know that the most com
prehensive and remarkable ware
housing system i? the world is in
operation in a Southern town?
j Do you know that the South is
! buiIdinK tvo of the most remarkable
railroads ever constructed in America,
and that on of them is the most
unique ever built in the world?
Do yon know that the Steel Cor
poration having $50,000,000 invested
in Alabama is carrying out vast im
provements which will add immense
ly to the prosperity of the whole
South?
Do you know that good roads,
which mean more for agricultural
prosperity than anything else before
the public, are being built all over
the South as never before at a cost
of many millions of dollnrsb
Do you know that this drain has
largely stopped, and that Southern
men and boys are now finding more
j avenues of employment at home than
j elsewhere?
| Do you know that the tide of in
vestment of American and foreign
capital and the movement of popula
tion is turning southward as never
before, and that wonderful things
are in store for this section?
i Do : ou know that you would have
j known all these things and a thous
and more which affect the life of the
South if you had read the Manufac
turers' Record during the last twelve
I months? But you will learn still
! more if you read it during the not
! twelve. It is the final authority on
all information about the South and
its resources.
Do you know that you can receive
this paper every week from now till
January 1st, 1911 by sending $4.00,
which is the regular annual subscrip
tion price, to us now at Baltimore,
Md.
1
UNHAPPY WIFE IS SEEKING DIVORCE.
j Judge Com, of the probate court
| of Lawrence county, Ohio, now has
under consideration the case of Mrs.
Lafon vs. Isaac Lafon, a chancerv
action in which the plaintiff seeks
divorce and alimony. Extreme cruel
ty is the chief cause of action.
I The affair will be of particular in
terest to the i>eople of tile tri-state
region owing to the fact that it is
the outgrowth of a sensational at
tempt made several months ago by
? Mrs Lafon to go to her relatives in
Florida. In order to get money the
woman drove two cows to Hunting
ton and sold them to a butcher and,
in company with her daughter, went
to Guyandotte, there intending to
board a Chesapeake & Ohio train
j for Charleston, at which point she
meant to take a train for Florida.
Her plans failed, however, for Fann
er Lafon learned of the sale of his
cows and came to Huntington at
once. He secured two warrants for
his wife, one charging larceny and
the other kidnapping, and Mrs. Lafon
was arrested just as her train reached
the Guyandotte depot. The whole
thing ended in her going back to her
i home near Chesapeake.
However, amicable relations were'
never resumed and the woman
brought suit for divorce.
Many a man who wouldn't steal a
penny robs his employer of valuable !
time.
It'5 ?n,y a matter of time until peo
pie who want some other kind of
weather will get it?only to be dis
satisfied again.
beckoning time.
Tha Sexagesimal Syttem, Which W?
deed In Babylonia.
Why is the honr divided intc
sixty minutes, each minute io'i
sixty seconds, etc.? Simply and
solely because, in Babylonia, there
existed by the side of the decimal
system of nations another svstem
the sexagesimal, which counted bv
sixties. Why that number should
have been chosen is dear enough
but it speaks well for the practical
sense of those ancient Babylonian
merchants.
There is no number which has so
many divisors as sixty. The Babv
lonians divided the sun's daily jour
rlo tw?nty-fonr Pawsangs, or
720 stadia. Each parasang, or hour.
suMmded into sixty minutes.
A parasang is about a German mile,
and the Babylonian astronomers
compared the progress made by the
sun during one hour at the time of
the equinox to the progress made
by a good walker during the same
time, both accomplishing one para
sang.
I The whole course of the sun dur
ing the twenty-four equinoctial
? hours-was fixed at twenty-four paru
! rangs, or 720 stadia, or 360 degrees.
! This system was handed on to the
Greeks, and Hippalchus, the Greek
: philosopher, who lived about JSO
B. C- introduced the Babylonian
hour into Europe.
Ptolemy, who wrote about 150
A. D., whose name still lives in the
Ptolemaic system of astronomy."ave
still wider currency to the Babv
loman way of reckoning time. He
I popularize-* it.
It was carried along on the quiet
I stream of traditional knowled"
through the middle ages, ami
strange to say. it sailed down safe!:
over the Niagara of the French rev
! olution, for the French, when
revolutionizing weights; measures
coins and dates and subjecting all
! to the decimal system of reckonim .
I ?ere induced by some unexplainen
motive to respect our clock au.l
: tvatches and allow our dials to re
main sexagesimal?that is, Babv
lonian, each hour consisting of six'tv
minutes. ?
Here you see again the wondcr
! lul coherence of the world and
how what we cull knowledge is the
| result of an unbroken tradition, of
j a teaching descending from father
i to son. Not more than about 100
i fri?K woaW reach from us to the
: bunders of the palaces of Babvlon
and cnabie us to shake hands with
I the founders of the oldest pvramids.
| ?Scrap Book.
Such Stuff at Dreams Are Made Of.
j The materials of dreams mav be
; enumerated as memories of wakin"
, sensations, memories of waking
I thoughts and new sensations re
: ceived in sleep, whether from with
I ?ut "thin. Dr. Gregory. men
: tions of himself that, having no one
i occasion gone to bed with a 'bottle
| of hot water at his feet, he dreamed
; of walking up the crater of Mount
Etna and feeling the ground warm
under him. He had at an earlv
; period of his life visited .Mount Ve
! suvius and actually felt a stron
: sensation of warmth in his feet
when walking up the side of the
i crater, and he had more recent
iv, ^ Bn-dones description of
Mount l-.tna. On another occasion.
? having thrown off the bedclothes in
? his sleep, he dreamed of spending
a vnnter at Hudson bav and o?
suffering distress from the intense
, frost. He nad been reading a few
| days before a very particular ae
j co.unt of the weather in that region
dunn? winter?Cassell's Magazine.
A Winning Compliment
. beautiful girl shook her head
m the negative.
jJZ?'"jhe sa!r after a moment's
? iteration, * I can never?no,
never?be your wife. But I'll tell
;-n\wV d?- JlJSt to show
you that there is no hard feeling on
my part I will be present when vou
maJ2:S?EC othcr ^rl nnd bombard
yoo^ith my shoes for luck."
Ah. here was an opportunitv!
Quick as a flash the voung man re
sponded: ?
,,T!easc dont- If you must throw
old shoes, borrow them."
"And why not use my own?"
"Because they are so small we
codd never detect them from the j
Flattery won. The beautiful girl
ldecided then and there that the!
young man was altogether too clev
er foJ anv other girl, so she re
i versed her decision, and the cards
are out.?2vew lork Times.
Not Exempt.
I An evangelist was exhorting his
hearers to flee from the wrath to
SSS waral0^" he thundered,
^hat there will be weeping and
wailing and gnashing of teeth!'?
At this moment an old woman in
the gallery stood np. "Sir." she
shouted, "I have no teeth."
"Madam," returned the evangel
i* severely, "teeth will be prorid
ed. ?Success Magazine.
a"sTRANGE LAKE '
Th? Peculiarities of a Body of Wltar
In Aurtrilia.
Lake George is situated about
four miles from the railway station
at Bungendore, Australia, and has
for many years engaged the atten
tion of scientific men by reason of
the singular and inexplicable phe
nomena connected with it The es
timates of its size vary considerably
according to circumstances, bat
when moderately full about 20 by 7
miles will be found tolerably cor
rect At either end the land is
fully 100 feet above the highest
recorded surface of the lake, which
possesses no known outlet, although
it is fed by numerous mountain
creeks.
The lake was discovered by a
bushman in 1820 and was known to'
the blacks as the "big water." It
was then supposed to form the
source of a river having its mouth
on the south coast, but subsequent
visitors were much perplexed at the
manner in which the blacks avoided
the lake, of which they appeared to
entertain a superstitious dread, one
aged aboriginal stating she had seen
it all covercd with trees, another
explaining that the whole of the
water sank through the bottom and
disappeared, while others remem
bered the lake only as a scries of
small ponds.
During the following twenty
years considerable variations were
noted in the depth and extent of
the lake. In 1841 the lake became
partially dried up. the moist por
tions being simply grassy swamps.
A few months later large number*
of sheep were pastured in the bed
of the lake, but fresh water had to
be carted for the use of the shep
herds. that of the lake being too
J salt for human consumption. The
! place remained more or less dry
: until 1852. the year of the great
floods in that part of the colony,
when it again became filled, with
an average depth of nine feet.
Since then the surface level of the
lake has varied considerably, but
the bed has never been so dry as in
former years. There are indica
j tions that many hundreds of year*
ago the lake covered a far larger
area than any yet recorded, remains
of trees over 100 years old beins
found in spots formerly under
water. The saline character of the
lake is the more remarkable bv rea
son of its being fed by pure and
sparkling fresh water streams.?St~
| James' Gazette.
laughter.
Laughter is a positive sweet
ness of life: but, like good co5ee, it
should be weLJ c'.eared of deleteri
ous substances before use EI will
and malice and the desire to wound
are worse than chicorj. Between ?
laugh and a giggle there is the
width of the horizons I could sit
all day and listen tc the hearty and
heartsome ha-ha of a lot of bright
and jol!v people, but would rather
be shot than be forced to stay with
in earshot of a coup!? of silly gos
sips. Cultivate that part of your
nature that is quick to see the
mirthful side of things, so you shal'
be enabled to shed many of life"?
troubles, as the plumage of the bird
sheds the rain. But discourage a'.i
tendencies to seek your amusement
at the expense of another's feelings
or in aught that is impure. It wa?
Goethe who said. "Teii me what a
man laughs at and I will read yon
his character."?Exchange.
The Air In a Room.
Given a medium sized sitting
room with four people and two gas
jets, the air must be changed ever
fifty minutes to keep it pure. As
air is heatea it expands and becomes
lighter per cubic foot. If all the
air is br.-.'o'' equally it remains at
re5' - on, but if hot air
is r. the r.re-e: ce of cold air th?
lattv: bv -?r-on of its heaviness,
force.- :i- down and drives the
hot aii :p. The moving force of
air currents is the greater weight
of the colder air. This, then, is the
force by which we are to drive out I
foul air and put pure air in its place
Pure external air will always drivi- ;
out foul air if you give it a chance.
Saccharine Sarcasm.
They were at luncheon. One had
a very sweet tooth. He was insert
ing into his demi-tasse a surprising
number of lumps of sugar. His
companion watched the operation
quizzically.
"Say," he observed at length,
"why den't you eat your sugar
straight instead of saturating it in
coffee? Ir's much more healthy."
?Exchange.
He Waa Perfectly Willing.
Art emus Ward and a friend were
one day discussing sacrifices when {
the friend asked the humorist,
"Don't you think, for instance, that !
if a war should break out we should |
be willing to sacrifice our relations
for the sake of-our country?"
"Yes," said Ward. "Ill be will
ing, for the sake of my country, to ;
sacrifice all my wife's relations if ,
need be."
FLATFISHES' EYES.
A Migration Which Tik*s Place A*
the Creatures' Birth.
Flatfishes keep their white and
blind tide on ths muddy or sandy
bottom and pretend that the upper
and speckled side is a part of that
bottom. This they do to. avoid ob
servation, for in spite of their awk
ward shape they are swallowed ai
sight bv pertinacious enemies, to
i the manifest discomfort of both. A
I greedy cormorant curling up and
attempting to swallow a plaice,
which trie? to be as disobliging as
possible, affords an object lesson
not soon forgotten on the way not
i to-behave at meal times. But the
bird usually succeeds in its object,
and the flatfish, in spite of persis
tant efforts to retain its natnral
1 flatness. at last disappears down the
j round, elastic throat of the cormo
| rant With a view to avoid unpleas
.antnesses of this kind soles are
; wont to hide themselves in the sand.
? keeping only their eyes above the
' surface to act as sentinels.
; In reality the dark surface of a*
j sole, plaice or turbot is its side and
not its back.- It is true that both
: eyes are visible, which is not the
case when a mackerel or a conge/
: ls .d on its side, but this is simply
j owing to the fact tbat one eye of a
flatfish has since the creature's birth
passed across what wc may call the
bridge of its nose to keep'companr
i with the other eve.
The wandering eye begins its
j migration at a verv early a"e so
early, indeed, that it is a little dif
ficult to detect it on its journev. A
JC? a of aD incl1 in length
and five days old carries one eve on
; each side of its nose. When three
tilths of an inch long and about two
months old the left eye has crossed
over to the ri<*ht side. Lemon soles
when one inch long or two months
old have the left eve on the edge of
: the head, but when double that size
and sis months oid both eyes are
found on i!<e right side. A sole as
sumes its lopsided aspect by the
time it has. been hatched tw<
months. V hen a turbot is half an
j inch in length the right eye just be
gins to peep over the center arch of
; the bridge, at three-quarters of an
? u 'Vs w"-v across> an(l at an
inch the passage is complete and
the two eyes look out from the left
side of the head.?Westminster Ga
, ictte.
i
Barrymore and Modjejka.
Maurice Barrymore earned a
reputation as a wit and really de
cerved it. His stvle could be less
i successfully transferred to the
stage, as his efforts at comic writing
showed, but in its spontaneous
i phases its effect always told One
of the stories related was about hi1
experiences with lime. -Modieska.
with -whom he acted for severa!
years. He had been as careless as
he often was on the stage, acc
-Ume. llodjeska, with all the con
scientiousness of a great artist, pre
tested that he had no right to takr
his calling so lightly and that ij he
j j n.?t ?we -t to his reputation t'
;do his best he a! least owed it to
her, because she had done so much
in his behalf and had put him bo
fore the public in a dignif-ed and
serious line of parts.
"Why, madam," he said, "it is not
i you who brought me before the
public and made me known. Peo
pie had heard of me all over the
United States when they thought
that Mocjeska was onlv the name o'
a tooth wash."
He Knew the Fact.
A small boy had a dog that was
rough, as most small boys' dogs are,
and a young girl who lived" next 1
door had a kitten, sly, as all cats are
One day the small boy came non
lastly 'nto the girl's presence, j
and a.ter 6ome desultory converse- 1
tion he said:
"You know my dog Barca and i
vour cat Derlin^?"
^Tes."
Wc.l, my dog had a piece of j
meat, and he thought your cat was !
going to ta-ce it awav from him." i
'Thought!" eiciaimed the wise !
, 'e F-rl- makes vou -av I
that the dog thought? You know ;
dop don t think; they instinct."
"Weil," said the bov, "I don't I
care whether he thought it or I
*het..er he instincted it; but, jlev
how, he failed vour cat."?London :
run.
Opened Hit Eyes*
The manager of a small country i
estate decided to sell his property
and consulted an estate agent in 1
the nearest town about the matter.
After visiting the place the agent
wrote a description of it and sub
to his cIient f?r approval
Tiead that again," said the own
cr, closing hi* eyes and leaning back
m his chair contentedly.
After the second Trading he was
silent a few moments and then said
thoughtfully, "I don't think IU
sell. I've been looking for that kind
of place all my life, but until you
read that description I didn't know
l nad ^ o, i.Tvon't sell now."
THE PLUSH COAT.
Sarah Jane Was Told the True Reason
She Couldn't Get It.
Fifteen years ago the community
of Wigglesquack Center was startled
by the report that Eben Crabshaw
was going to bny his wife a plash
coat Eben didn't deny the rumor,
and Sarah Jane, his wife, contented
herself'with replying to all queries
that where there was so much smoke
she guessed there must be some fire.
Jared Mintborn, who kept the gen
eral store, was much exercised and
wanted to take the order,, but Eben
saI8 he guessed he'd select "it from
the catalogue of the Chicago TneiV
order house, which caused consider
able hard feeling between Eben and
Jared.
As the years went by and Sarah
Jane didn't get her plush coat the
storekeeper began to get skeptical.
After ten years had elapsed he be
came facetious, and the thirteenth
year he began to taunt her. aI
hain't seen that there plush coat
yit, Sar' Jane." be said
Sarah Jane went home and told
Eben. and Eben was so wrought up
tiiat he determined to trade with
j Harvey Stackpole over at Burnt
j Meadows. although Burnt Meadows
| was three miles farther away.
! But the legend of the plush coat
. had penetrated even to Burnt Mead
ows. and after a couple of years had
elapsed Harvey Stackpole said to
Sarah Jane one day, "How about
that there plush coat K ben's u-goin'
to get you ?"
But this time Sarah Jane was
primed. Eben had tutored her.
Drawing herself up proudlv, she re
plied:
"Mr. Stackpole, ef you Snowed
as much about furs as you do about
! mixin sand an sujrar vou'd know
: that the United States gov'ment
J has been compelled to perfect the
species_ from foreign invasion, that
the animal is rapidly becomin" ex
? tinct and that there ain't no- more
j plushes bein" killed!"? Woman's
Home Companion.
What Troubled Him.
The impecunious poet liatl long
: worshiped the editors daughter,
and now?oh, joy!?his dream of
bliss had come true, for she had
said that she would Le His, with a
capital H. Still, in the first throe*
l of his rapture fie seemed strangely
ill at ease. She was quick to notice
it, and a shadow chased the sun
shine from her fair face.
"Are you not happy?" she whis
:pered.
e-es," he faltered.
"But something troubles von,""
she insisted. "What is it, darling ?"
"Nun-nothing, dearest,'" he stain-'
; mered.
j "Tell me." she demanded. "There
J should be no secrets between us now
: that you have been accepted."
"Does your ?does vour father
pay on acceptance or?or?publica
tion .* faltered the impecunious
! poet.
; The glad light died from the eves
,of the editor's daughter, and for
| the rest of the evening thev talked
Led" crlhe weat'ier" ? Philadelphia.
Serviceable and Cheap.
The old gentleman showed a good
deal of displeasure.
Tt seems to me," he exclaimed
testily, "rather presumptuous for a
(youth in vour position to ask for mv
daughter s hand! Can you advance
any good reason why I'should give
my consent ?"
; "Certainly, sir," promptly re
plied the suitor. (He refrained
from adding, "Because I suit 'er,"
j being a respectable voumr gentle
man.)
Presse<^ the old man.
" am comparatively modest and
economical in my personal expendi
ture," replied the suitor, "and I
think, sir, tha% altogether, vou will
find me less costly to maintain than
almost any other son-in-law vou
|wOuld select. ?London Answers.
Modern Novels.
Our novels are usually much ado
about nothing. The ado is well
done, on the whole, but still ifs.
about nothing. The people in them
aren t so atrociously bad, only thev
ao make themselves seem rather un
real by the seriousness with which
they take the tangled web we weave
when we practice to write a seller
? hen nature is too much for us we
hold the mirror up to a species of
supernature conceiving demigods
of lath and plaster and makingma
tenal of their queer loves and hates
and hopes and fears. That is toler
ably safe ground, because nobody
anderstands the psychology of demi
gods, and one man's guess ts as
good as another's.?Puck.
Swindled.
"To be in the swim I p#id#4 ad
mtsnon to hear that mw pianist
last night"
"Well, do you begrudge It?"
He Redout to be
F? *eDof1 complained to tbepo
u? for thumping the piano all jay
tnd ill night in the next 3af
Jo to.
* ? k