Illinois News Index

McHenry Plaindealer (McHenry, IL), 30 Jul 1914, p. 7

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WPP PiilL^J!!. iWs^aJSW M'HENRY PLAI^fDEAL-ER, 1THENBY, ILL. «i!T 5t&*& 8 a ":Jlr StVjWF'W > .-* *I:". . • « '•» ' '••• \ ;. :V-:- orirq rt R.houlton HERE i« & man tn Chicago who can measure one-flve-mllllonUl of an inch--a distance amountr lug to one-fiftieth of the small* est distance revealed by a theoretically perfect micro­ scope. He can rule on a piece of polished fclaRa, one Inch wide, 50,000 straight, parallel Tines, equally spaced. ^ He has determined the length of the standard ' Hetar so accurately that his figures cannot be •Hbject to a fault exceeding more than one part in 4,000,000. He has measured the rate at which ttght travels 'with a possibility Of error not more than one-fortieth of one per cent of the quantity Jtteasured--and light flies 186,330 miles a second and, as a crowning achievement, he has de­ termined the rigidity of the earth. ^ ThiB man is the first American to receive the flobel prize in science and the only American Who has ever received the Copley medal of the Moyal Society of London. Despite achievement! that are staggering in their significance, thif man's name is little known outside of scientific' circles. He is Albert Abraham Michelson, Ph. D., ' tic. D., LL.D., professor and head of the depart* ^ttent of physics at the University of Chicago. ~ " Mfrfapfygn'a > ijCTPfTlnipntB to deter- J RAILWAY EXPENSES UP •MGINE8, CARS, MATERIALS AMD LABOR C08T MORE. !f • "1I-- : 'i v.V • .. T . of TT«j« and Other Items Have ; Nearly Doubled In Ten Yiin--A*' &?fC>CtZ5S!AsZ? zrar K .MM the rigidity ottte «oO are Intensely intw*- •sting. Science has long needed to know ttje physical properties of this globe. It is impossi­ ble to learn this directly, as the deepest mines j(et sunk penetrate less than two miles below tH| Surface, a distance proportionately no greater than the thickness of the varnish on a twofoet fflobe. The interior of the earth is believed til be Intensely hot. This theory Is based on tlm, fact that molten lav» Is thrown forth by erupting, volcanoes. Also, In descending .a mine, there is a fflse in temperature, amounting to 50 degrees per *ifle of descent. If this rate of Increase Is con­ stant, the temperature at only 100 miles down la tibove the melting point of all substances under conditions as they exist on the surface of the earth. However, despite the high temperature, -Ihe interior of the earth may be held In soH4 State by the tremendous pressure to which it to •objected. Under the now accepted theory of the celestial mechanics, scientists assume that a heavenly body is held In its course by the attractive fordt , exerted by' the other heavenly bodies on all sides Of It. In this way Is determined the earth'® course around the sun and the motion of the entire solar system through space. Assuming that the earth Is not a solid mass, scientists have long struggled to discover how it resisted the ajfr tractive forces exerted by other planets and stars --whether as a viscous mass or as a perfect^ Mastic body. They have long known that the earth did rfK list these forces in some degree. The ocean tides which sweep oar shores twice daily ant proof of this. It has long been known that the tides are caused by the attraction of the sun and;, the moon. If the earth offered no resistance to this attraction, the whole earth would respond quickly to it and there would be no tides. On thq other hand, if the earth were a perfectly rigid body, it would resist this attraction completely and the tides would reach their maximum helgh|«\J The amount that the tides fall short of tlietf . theoretical maximum height would measure thfc. degree of rigidity which the earth possesses. '-*• > The next step was to determine the actuif height of the tides. This long proved the stun* bling block. If shore lines were perfectly straight • the f?----t of *hr ocean i^vr.v height of the tides could be measured directlyj; The mail main tide* in tkeee ftp* did not oeed one-thouBan<5ih of an Inch; but so perfect was the apparatus and so accurate the readings by Professor Micheleoa that all the variations to the tides were accurately determined. Tides are complex things. Their height varies with the position and dlstasce of both the sua a&u t|J® . moon and, therefore. Is never the same two da*p In succession. Professor Michelson's experiments revealed Si of these variations, which corresponded almost exactly with the variations obtained theoretically by computing the variations In the attractive forces exerted by the sun and the moon. The practical correspondence of the actual height of the tides with the theoretical height proved that ̂ the earth through and through is as rigid as steal end that It yields to outside forces as a perfectly elastic body and not as a viscous mass. This experiment reveals the imagination and the striking originality of Professor Michetsoo. The first achievement to bring his name to the' attention of the scientific world was his accurate determination of the velocity of light, accom­ plished also after overcoming tremendous expert- jmental difficulties. Light is the fastest thing In 1 nature; it represents the absolute limit of speed. After four years of work and study, Professor "Michelson announced that tight travels with it velocity of 186,330 miles per second. The mall* ipum error in this figure does not exceed on%> fortieth of one per cent. ,r^- On the subject of spectrum analysis. Professor Michelson has devoted many of the best years of his life. Spectrum analyses are obtained by means of the spectroscope. Every substance when heated emits a characteristic l\^ht. By v means of the spectroscope this light Is analysed and the elements giving off the light are thereby revealed. The spectroscope has enabled sci­ entists to determine the elements In far distant fetars. It has made possible tremendously impof* tant discoveries concerning the nature of atomic the minute particles of which all matter is com- i^sed-v The difficulties of spectrum analysis wilt be realized when It Is learned that a single atom Of vfiodlura emits 800,000,000,000 vibrations per seO- . ond of two slightly different kinds of light. Pne» . ;!?03=or Michelsoii wa» engaged in spectrum analysis very long before he improved the spec­ troscope, calling the improved type an echelon but crooked shore lines and shelving beaches re- * j .... sist the motion of the tides and make It impof :^ 7 spectroscope. This wonderful machine dlvidse sible to determine their height with the accuracy light into its various constituents and makes pa* demanded by science. 1 .f-%^ible their separate analysis Sir George Darwin made elaborate experiments i - to determine the height of the tides, but was , , obliged to give up the problem in despair. Pro­ fessor Michelson solved this difficulty by laying, two lengths of pige, each five hundred feet long, - and measuring the rise and fall of the water in them. One length of pipe was laid north and south, and the other length east and west, in, order to measure the tides In both directions, The pipes were burled six feet under ground to- obtain a uniform temperature. At both ends of the pipes tees were inserted7* - having glass windows for observatory parpose*. The pipes were half filled with water; and the changes in the height of the water were obtained' by measuring through a microscope the distance • between a pointer inserted just under the surface of the water and the image of the pointer reflect ed above the water. . , The echelon spectroscope uses a glass grating ; «--a piece of highly polished glass on which is - ruled from 15.000 to 50,000 straight equally-spaced Jines to the inch. To make these gratings Pro­ cessor Michelson invented a ruling engine that tS' ; the most accurately constructed mechanical de­ vice in the world. It is oiterated in a room the temperature of which is kept constant to wlth|n. :ione-hundredth of a degree. f"*- « To assist in analysing the lines of the spectrum- •' Into their fundamental constituents, Professor •Michelson Invented the "harmonic analyser," a tnachine as complicated and as delicate as the linotype machine. By Its use an assistant can to ft few minutes make calculations that would take a skilled computer weeks to accomplish. Scientists have long endeavored to determine -the absolute motion of the earth through spacer It Is known that the earth swings around the .sun and that the entire solar system Is moving toward ' the constellation Hercules at the rate of 12 miles per second, or 400,000,000 miles per year. How­ ever, as scientists have not yet been able to measure the motion of Hercules, they still do not know the absolute motion of the earth. In 1880 . Professor Michclson attacked the problem of <3e- v, termining the motion of the earth with reference ' to the ether, the all-pervading medium that fills Interstellar space. All of us have noticed that, when walking through the rain, although It Is actually falling vertically, it seems to be falling at an angle, the degree of this apparent deflection depending upon the speed with which we have moved. Looking out the window of a fast-moving train, scientists ' have noticed a similar deflection In the angle of the light coming to the earth from some far die tant star. As the medium that carries the light between heavenly bodies is the ether, scientists argue that the deflection is due to the relative motion of the earth through the ether. Professor Michelson eventually overcame th# tremendous experimental difficulties in connec­ tion with this problem: but no motion of the earth with respect to the ether was found. This result came as a profound surprise to the entire scientific world In order to solve this problem Professor Mich­ elson invented a most marvelous instrument which he called the "interferometer." This in­ strument is 50 times more powerful than an ab •nsolutely perfect microscope would be. The micro " scope's power is limited by the length of a Hghi wave; and the smallest distance it can reveal If one-half a wave length, or one hundred-thou­ sandths of an Inch. By utilizing the properties ol light in another manner, the interferometer can reveal distances equivalent tp one five-millionth of an inch. The microscope has been of immense value both In scientific work and In practical life; " and the invention of the interferometer, an in­ strument 50 times more powerful, is In Itself an achievement that should win for Professor Mich- kelson undying fame. He used this Instrument to aid blm In measur lng the standard meter, the foundation of the metric system, itf terms of infinite exactitude and In a manner that will make this unit perpetual The original meter length is carefu'iy preserved ' at Paris, but scientists have long worried over . the possibility of Its destruction. In 1893 an In ternational commission on weights and measure# asked Professor Michelson to devise some method by which the meter length could be accuratelj reproduced. The meter is theoretically one forty {millionth of the earth's circumference; but thh definition Is not accurate enough for sctentifi< purposes. Professor Michelson announced the length of the meter in terms of cadmium light waves, with a maximum error of one part in two million. This definition will always enable sci­ entists to reproduce the meter accurately, as s)ong as the earth exists. These are the most striking achievements of i America's greatest scientist Any one of them Is sufficient to perpetuate a man's name in the annals of science. The result of Professor Michel- son's experiments with reference to the motion of the earth has raised question® that it will take science many years to answer satisfactorily; and his determination of the rigidity of the earth has made possible further and more wonderful progress in the sphere of celestial mechanics. £a!n| apd Renewals ArV/ ,;y, , ;fV ' irtieSiitfli cost of living has Kit file1 T&iIr0ou8| and has hit them hard, ac­ cording to some figures issued by the Lehigh Valley railroad. Taking a pe­ riod of 15 years, from 1898 to 1913, the Lehigh Valley shows with figures from its own books that all items>of expense have increased astonishingly. In some cases expense has doubled. Take the important question of the track. The maintenance of way ex­ pense per mile of track was $725.66 in 1898. Last year it was $1,524.13, more than twice as much. This is princi­ pally due to more expensive and heav­ ier rails, ties that have almost doubled In price, heavier ballasting and the in­ creased cost of labor. The necessity Cor a heavier track to carry heavier equipment has, of course, had some­ thing to do with it, and, then, again, creosotlng ties has also doubled their oost, making the cost of ties today four times what it was 15 years ago. Per mile of road the same proportion holds, the expense having jumped In 15 years from $1,417.47 a year to 93,924,56. A wooden passenger coach used to cost $8,000. The new steel coaches, which the Lehigh Valley is using, cost ,000. Meanwhile, however, there / i Is the undoubted assurance that they are safer. A standard freight locomotive costs $25,000, where It cost only $15,000 in 1898. Repairs have jumped in pro­ portion per locomotive from $1,508.05 a year to $2,692.38. This is largely off­ set, however, by the Increased trac­ tive power of the standard locomo­ tive. Where the high coat of railroading Is most apparent, though, is in gen­ eral repairs* and renewals. Here the Increased cost of both material and labor shows convincingly. On a pas­ senger car this item has increased tmom $510,27 to $824.15. On a fmight car it is now $70.06, where it was IS1.69 15 years ago. For locomotives there Is the difference in the oost of upkeep between 10 cents and 4 cents a mile. In these Items labor, of course, is OQunted on. This has figured for all railroads as a 10 per cent increase. In the operating of trains it is much more than 10 per cent, however, as the engineers, conductors and trainmen have had the biggest increases in pay, and the full train-crew hills in passen­ ger runs increased the pay roll by 40.2 per cent The interesting part of these extra sspenses have been largely met "by efficiency and better methods of rail­ roading. It has been impossible to meet them entirely, and that is why the railroads have been asking for a 5 per cent increase in freight rates, but it is remarkable how much the railroads have done in the face of the big expenses. As fast as they can they are replacing wooden cars with steel cars, costing half as much again; their roadbeds are far ahead of what they were 15 years ago, and any one who ships freight knowB that the freight service of today is so far ahead in promptness and certainty that there is no comparing it with 18 years ago. your thirst V5.V!. Arrow NO EXPERT WITNESS NEEDED Quite Evident Mr. Migge Wee Right When He Testified as te the - i Handwriting, "Libel, Indeed r Old Miggs repeated the words to himself dully and uncomprehendlng- ly, as he tramped along to the court, where he was to appear- as witness in a local libel suit. Nervously he entered the witness box. The fierce looking lawyer eyed him calculatingly. "Do you- swear," he asked, "that this is not your handwriting?" '1 don't think so," stammered Miggs. "Now, be careful," Insinuated the lawyer. "Are you prepared to swear that this handwriting does not resem­ ble yours?" "Yes," answered Miggs trembling. • "You take your oath that this does not in any way resemble your hand­ writing?" solemnly queried the learned man. "Y-yes, sir," stammered the witness, now thoroughly frightened. • "Well, theh, prove it!" denounced the lawyer, triumphantly, as he thrust his head toward the witness. This action woke the last spark of drooping courage In poor Miggs, and thrusting forth his head, he yelled: " 'Cos I can't write!" American Engl nee for Xustralin- A striking and reassuring example of the present confidence abroad in American railroad equipment 1b ben ing furnished by Australia in connec­ tion with the construction of its first great transcontinental line, Lewis R. Freeman writes in the World's Work. No country or colony In the world is so zealous in forwarding home in­ dustries as Australia is. But in build- 'ng this line an additional locomotive is required for every 50 miles of trade; and track is being laid at the rate of a mile or two a day. This ex­ traordinary demand is much beyond the power of the home manufacturers to suppfy. Bids from abroad showed that the Baldwin Locomotive company of America was the only concern that would guarantee to make the deliver­ ies at the intervals specified, and -as a result this company has supplied, and will doubtless continue to supply, all the locomotives for the great trans­ continental line that cannot be built in that country. How much Australia's commercial patriotism in buying home built locomotives at all is cost­ ing that country was shown In a re­ cent debate In tne commonwealth par­ liament, when it came out that thef, Aiii&rlcsxi engines wrrg being pur­ chased, delivered, at Port Augusta, for approximately $23,000, whereas Aus­ tralian engines were costing more than $30,000 apiece. Revolutionary Patriot.' James Lovell, a distinguished pfh triot of the Revolution, died 100 year* figo in the town of Windham, Me. MrJ jLovell was born in Boston in 17ST and graduated from Harvard college at the age of nineteen. He delivered, April 2, 1771, the oration before Ukn* town authorities on the Boston mas? sacre. Because of his display of pa­ triotism he was imprisoned by Gen­ eral Gage immediately after the battle of Bunker Hill. Subsequently he wan conveyed to Halifax with the British army, and remained in confinement until exchanged for Governor Skene In the latter part of 1776. Prom 17Tt until 1782 Mr. Lovell was a member of the Continental congress. In later life he filled a number .of public qf- fices In Boston. , < ' 4* - -\:rV . 5s-. Your Body Requires It " S If you suffer from constipation orstom* ; ach trouble, drugs will not permanently? cure you. In fact, they will make von worse. Eat every morning for breakfast three tablespoons of Lenfestey Hygienic Bran with cream and vosi ~ill have no further trouble. Large ft qt. bagsentanv- wliere postpaid for 30c. Lenfestey Mill- iog Co.*li>W.Kidzie St.,Chicago«liL A4V., 'M- Law's Uncertaintlse. "When you poke a toad," said old Farmer Hornbeck, philosophically, "you cant tell which way he will jump, nor how far; an' it is Jest about the same way with a jury." "That so?" returned young Jay Green, in a noncommittal way. "Yep. For instance. In the case of Plnnk Jarvis, who has jest been tried over at Kickyhasset courthouse for pullin' out his brother-in-law's whis­ kers by the roots in a fight the Jury discharged Plunk an' fined his brother- in-law ten cents, the regular price of a ehave.*,u-puck. •• Absurd Comment. Theodore Dreiser, the realist, of an idealist at the Players' elnb Uu New York: "The man's comments on life are- ludicrous and abstird. They remind me- of the old lady's comment on the wortt- of the militant suffragettes. x "After the suffragettes In London* had slashed a Valesques, a Bellini andt- a Gentile, the old lady said, «with ia kind of saintly expression; • »• "'But, thank goodness, they're nil old pictures that are being* slashed.*** I 1 'Nfe Important to Mothers Examine carefully every bottle ot* CASTOBIA, a safe and sure remedy for" inijents and children, and see that it« In Use For Over 30 Years. J Outspoken. Mrs. Smith's four sons made the life ot her old colored servant a burden. One day Uncle Andy was busy in the garden, hoeing corn, and for half an hour Tom. the most mischievous of the quartette had amused himself throwing clods of dirt at him. At last Andy threw down his hoe and stamped indig­ nantly down to the house. "Miss Ella," he said to the little cul* prit's mother, "Ah jes' has to tell yu dat dat boy Tawm am de meanes' chile yu got--an' Ah tells yu fo' yo* face and tells you behlne yo' back I" > hev 'ti|' • -\M Children Cry for Fletcher̂ Gp^O|ig ̂ , ̂ • * - -Mole Trap the Best .Jl. ; "The best way to extermlhsfe Che ground mole is to use a mole trap. A I., good trap will probably be successful ^ eventually. STORMS OF FOREIGN ORIGIN These Visiting the United Stat$« i^y . Develop In Japan, 8lberl« -1 or Canada.' *• *:'•' Most of the severe storms do not originate In the United States. They come from us from the Philippines. Japan. Siberia, Alaska, Canada or the Gulf of Mexico. Our weather bureau gets cable, telegraphic or wireless no­ tice of a foreign storm. Station after of the Whether bursas an* ves? sel after vessel In the path of the storm report its arrival, so that the general direction the speed with which it tvuvels can be very nearly determined. Some storma be fore­ told as much as ten days in advance of their arrival at a given point. When a storm from Siberia drifts eastward around the North pole and reappears in Alaska, the speed with which it haa covered that section of its course Is mau« the basis of the cal It should get to the great lakes, and finally to the Atlantic coast, and each section is warned in advance. Unexpected conditions may deluy the storms or divert them from their course. Tabs are kept on the cold waves In much the same manner. The weather reports from Canada, lee- land, Europe, Russia and Siberia are studied and predictions made as to when the cold waves from these coun­ tries will reach the United States. culation of the time when it should ap-. • To predict floods information is reo- pear la Washington and Oregon; when] orded es to the amount ol ralutall nt^thelr stiidies lot shoFteriiine thM sack headwaters of streasns. As the rain reaches the main channel the height of the water Is recorded from gaugings. Records bhov,- -what height of ?.0 fe« at Dubuque, la., will prodnce at Daven­ port, 90 miles down the Mississippi. This plan is followed on all the large rivers, and at each station full allow­ ance is made for the effects of water from tributaries, and from additional and local rainfalls.--Leslie's Weekly. Women medical students complete Uganda Railway's Success." The Uganda railway sanctioned by Lord Salisbury, as a move in the game of high politics and for years consid­ ered a magnificent folly, has proved its usefulness in British East Africa, for the road haa wakened the heart of a big continent to life. Land In thou­ sands of square miles then deemed useless has since revealed itBelf as rolling downs, green as Devonshire, and as rich aa Canada! There Is no comparison between the present and the country of but a few years ago. Everywhere farms are be­ ing laid out, towns being erected and sa a result the people are becoming, or will become, prosperous and happy. Blown From Cab Window. . With the eastrbound freight train his locomotive was drawing running at a high rate of speed west of Stamford, Couii., a etcaui pipe burst, and Frr-fft Esterbrook, the engineer, was blown out of the cab window. His hand wa£ on the airbrake regulator, and he in stinctively applied the air. The train stopped a short distance beyond where he lay- - Esterbrook's right leg Vas broken at the ankle, and he was hadiy braise# and scalded. Snakes Got His Roll. "I lost $325 trying to kill rattle­ snakes, and now I am going to walk back to my home in Brooklyn," ex­ plained a man about forty-five years old, who said he Is Ezra Sellen. Sellen said he started for a walk from^his boarding place, encountered a lot of rattlesnakes, killed some, fled from the others, waded a stream, and then missed his roll of bills. He said he had just money enough left to ride to this city and took the state road out of town.--Middletown (N. T.) Dle- patch to New York World. Still In Vogue. , : John Vincent Honeywell, the veter­ an life guard of Bar Harbor, was talk­ ing about bathing suits. "They tell me," eaid the wise old man, "that the girl's 11 wear suits thla summer to match the eyes." He added with a chuckle: "Suits to catch the eyes 11 stm be popular, too." PRISE roofe. Palatable, Economical,? Nouriahtng, A Nebr. woman has outlined the prize food in a few words, and that from personal experience. She writes: "After oar long experience with Grape-Nuts, I cannot say enough in Its favor. We have used this food al­ most continually for seven years. "We sometimes tried other adver­ tised breakfast foods but we invariably returned to Grape-Nuts as the most palatable, economical and nourishing »f alL "When I quit tea and coffee and began to use Postum and Grape-Nuts, t was almost a nervous wreck. I waa 10 irritable I could not sleep nights, had no Interest in life. "After using Grape-Nuts ft short time I began to improve and all these ailments have disappeared and now I am a well woman. My two children have been almost raised on Qrape- Nuts, which they eat three times a day. "They are pictures of health and have never had the least symptom of stomach trouble, even through the most severe siege of whooping cough they could retain Grape Nutti vK'n ^ else failed. "Grape-Nuts food has saved doctor bills, and has been, therefore, a most economical food for us." Name given by Postum Col, Battle Creek, Mich. Read "The Road to Well- ville," in pkgs. "There's a Reason." FT*r md the above letter? A aew one appears fna tlat la tin tlW are ff^nuUti Mi nl liH •» MM® tUtereat. Luncheon Delicacies - v 'TO DM Ba* A*! wafer *<>. WUr mU and «ib • choica laid Ari fta wfimivte. Vmh 3«aii|i jan fM* (or Rad Hal* «rt» •m wML Try aarred KW Am On ot hwJktfciaai, Mii»i*a»a»riU--4 fwnirt. Calk LUr'iViaaaSaaapiiyi, lagMikkrwM. PlaoaMtapahkMMMaa • LUr'tfcGdbrtPlclhi Caw •Mn<isd|ii iflni I 111 ii Mil »isiln|. "" SV x- • -zi. •, yenr way. cago in tb« A thoreeeli education in Law Is BOW within rownKb. Lack of time or Ucfc *t if Deed aot stand in Study Is CM. of the Chicago Kent Collegeof Law. during the day and study in tha evening. Law employment ftmod formanratadmti. A regular l niv*nitf Cqmrm at UmoMm^ University of Notre Dams NOTRE BAKE, INDIANA Thmrmmgh EJmemtUn, Moral Twenty-tm© oonr«M leadlngr to degrees fa 1 Classic*, Modern LetMrs, Journalism, PvlitlcaT Economy, Commerce, Chemistry, Biology, Pharmacy, Kngineeilug. Architecture, La^ Preparatory School. Tartous octane* For Catalogues adi -^ess BOX H. -N'OTRi. DAME. IN'DIAIIA - 'Sal .TV* DAISY FIT KILLER ylac«4 «aj |W«. at* ui kill* a|& ti*>. f«s. alaan.» aaEi«ntal. oh**p. Ititi all. •taitB. Va4t HtrT'-'i caal^Ultrte «T*r; will DO* Mil e I ajar* aaytktaC* toXXSl, IH PaTalfc S. f. CM CI I E to} acre tile drained lawtm<4 Pa rlM| MLC / l»o Oo , low* fn.ru.. 1._k»u4 liiatfti uortM;< Of lie Ust i particulars* Of LCf L-V-St i. I'fitv I . i- i addTMSOUik aut4-Mm. H n -- I lifcH. U f c . BARGAIN iSiMSKs Sis De3y Drowning* W. N. CHICAOO. NO. St-ltK 4 ' i: ' 'K '• '•

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