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• 1 * " ' V - v " " - ' * ' * - v . • •*rv,ri rc».,r ,-^j * - - • . . • • - * » - * * * x * » j j <**«<••:• • --v.,.,' .. * »-•* .. ' ' * " "" " lit w- HE modern battleship f» ^ marvel of concentra­ tion and space economy. There is no room for things purely ornamen­ tal. but every foot of space is used to some t.uiK-se connection ^*mr with the storage or op- JR" eraiion of the myriad ad- juncts necessary for the work, the safety and the comfort of tie hundreds o? men who crowd one of these floating fortresses. If one were to choose, however, the one section of a battleship which above all others is a veritable nest of wonder8 and snrprises choice would nnbesitatlngly fall upon the "bridge - that elevated structure which is so appropriately named and which ex­ tends the full width of the deck on the forward part of the ship--In front of the huge smokestacks, as a "land lub­ ber" might designate its location. For one thing, we find on the bridge an even greater array than any­ where else on the ship of those re­ markable mechanical and electrical devices which do so much of the work on shipboard that would seem to require human intelligence. But the bridge has in addition a spe­ cial significance which multiplies many times its importance and the Interest of its equipment It is the "nerve center" of the ship, the seat of authority and command which directs all the operations within the bounds of the big armorclad, and also the in­ telligence office through which this warship community communicates other vessels of the fleet and. indeed, with the entire outside world. Under ordinary conditions when the battleship is cruising at sea, par­ ticipating in battle drill or target prac- titse or engaged in any of the other Important functions of a sea warrior the captain commanding, the navigat­ ing officer and other responsible offi­ cials of the ship have their positions on the bridge. In time of actual battle those directing heads of the fighting machine would not expose themselves ou the bridge, but they would not be far away. Sheltered by conning tow- art or mm* other protective screens, * 1. mm fo# 0RE (SI<^AL,N<i)Q#i* R O A T * < » " * S P L I T - L O G D R A G F O R R O A D S ~W£$/PS*MMLWr they would be as near as possible to the vantage points to be found only on the exposed bridge and from those substitute observatories--some of them located directly behind or otherwise adja­ cent to the bridge--would direct the action of the battling armorclad. In order to enable the officers on the bridge to be at all times closely in touch with all parts of the ship this elevated promenade is made the nerve center of elaborate telephone, telegraph and signaling systems that afford Instantaneous communication with the engine and fire rooms, the ammunition magazines, all the different "gun stations" throughout the ship, and, In fact, every scene of activity that has part in the complex mission of one of these great fighting machines. The telephone system on a battleship is much like the private telephone Bystem In a great store or manufactory, but with the difference that on shipboard most of the receivers are of the pattern which fit close to the head, covering both ears and strongly resembling those used by the hello girls in telephone exchanges. This special equip­ ment is designed to shut out disturbing noises and is very essential when officer? and men may be called upon to listen to telephone conversation when the guns are roaring or against the opposi­ tion of the various distracting noises always to be encountered on shipboard. Near the bridge of a battleship is the wireless telegraph station which is one of the newer yet easily one of the most important adjuncts of the up-to-date battleship However, the wireless tele­ graph is not ustd for interior communication aboard the battleship but solely for the exchange of messages with other ships and with shore sta­ tions. What are sometimes referred to as "tele­ graphs" ou shipboard are not telegraphs at all, as the lay reader understands them, but are rather signaling systems. The most common of these ccmmunlcative systems is that whereby the pressure of a button or lever at one station on a battleship--say on the l>ridg%--will cause a print­ ed comnpnd to suddenly appear in illuminated form In f distant part of the ship. For instance, the movement of a certain lever on the bridge of the battleship will cause an illuminated sign to suddenly appear before the eyes of the engi­ neers, 'way down below the water line, reading. Full Bpeed Ahead," or "Full Speed Astern," or any other command which it is desired to give. By means of this method of signaling a command can, If need be, be communicated simultaneously to a number of different stations scattered throughout the ship. Indeed It is by this expedi­ ent that the captain of the battleship insures uni­ formity of action during target practise or in battle. In a twinkling he can send the command "Begin firing" or "Cease firing," or any other in­ structions to each and <?very gun crew scattered throug&cmt the length of the ship. On the bridge, likewise, we find all the paraphernalia fcr steering the ship, including the gr£*t wheel, the electrical control, the compasses, the chart board, with Its stores of charts and all the other me­ chanical adjuncts for keeping the huge vessel on the proper course. Here, too, are the seeming­ ly simple devices w h i c h n o w c o n ­ trol the manipula­ tion of the huge searchlights perched up aloft on skeleton steel towers a means of manag­ ing the searchlights which is not only more rapid but more effective than the old plan of turning them this way and that by manual labor. On the bridge, too, are no end of signaling devices for supplementing the wireless telegraph In communication with other ships or with the shore. There are signal flags for use with various codes and with the always useful "wigwag; there are the semaphore and Ardois systems for signal­ ing at night by means of different combinations of red and white lights, and there is the electric torch for unofficial messages. The American navy has been the most suc­ cessful military organization, from its very Incep­ tion, which the world has ever seen. That is a pretty broad statement, but it is absolutely true. There are good reasons for this. In the early days we were a commercial people. We were natural sallormen. Our people lived along the shores. They made their money In commercial pursuits. The nven who commanded merchant ships were not only good sailors; they were good merchants, and the foundations for many of the great fortunes of this country have come from that source. In order to protect them­ selves they were obliged vto go armed. Their ships were armed as were privateers in time of war. The result Is that they not only knew navi­ gation, but they knew gunnery, and combined with these qualities the Intelligence which makes great merchants. Naturally, when those men came into positions where they commanded men-of-war, they were equal to the occasion, although they had had no naval training. .As time went on they acquired a naval training, bo that in the later wars, in the early part of the nineteenth century, they met every requirement, and in the recent wars the graduates of the Naval academy have been equal to every duty which has been imposed upon them. They have made a record of which everv American citizen should be proud. The American 6allorman has always been effi­ cient. They were good men in the time of the Revolution; competent men in the time of the war of 1812. They are better men today than they were in those days, because today 96 per cent, of them are American citizens, and not a man Is shipped in the American navy who has not de­ clared his intention to become a citizen. Twenty five years ago not more than 30 per cent, of our men-of-war's men were American citizens. The American navy has been successful be­ cause our ships have always been as good ships as any that were built in the world Our merchant­ men, in the Revolutionary times, and down to the Civil war, were the best merchant ships sail­ ing the seas. They were, no doubt, the best manned, and they made the fastest time. During the period of wooden ships, when we built men- of-war they were of the same general character. Our men-of-war, gun for gun, were equal to, and probably superior, to those of any other nation. We have always been able to shoot better than most people. Go back to the early times, to the revolutionary war. We lost 24 men-of-war, carry­ ing less than 500 guns, in the Revolutionary war, while the British lost 102 men-of-war, carrying more than 2,500 guns. We captured 800 bt their merchant ships, and it is not too much to say that if it had not been for the damage caused by the American navy we would not hare won the Revolutionary war at all; that is, it might have been necessary later to have fought that war over again. The same relative skill prevailed In the War of 1812. Our ships of the same class were superler to the ships of our opponents. This statement is confirmed when we study the exact figures. For instance, in the Hornet- Peacock contest the British Bhip lost five men killed and 37 wounded, out of a crew of 130, while the American ship had but three wounded--this In eleven minutes. In- the Wasp-Frolic fight the British ship lost 15 men killed and 47 wounded, out of a crew of 110, while the American ship lost but five killed and five wounded from a crew of the same size. I could mention a number of similar instance which demonstrate my statement that at that time we were able to shoot well, and we have been shooting better ever since. Not only the men of the north, but the men of the south, shot well dur­ ing the Civil war; they shot well during the Span­ ish war; and we can shoot half a dozen times as well today as we could during the Spanish war. Never has the American navy made such a rec ord as it is making today, and never has there been a navy having a rrcord excelling the one which our navy is now making for capacity to hit the target. That is really the whol-a war problem-- to hit what you are shooting at. We have not in the past built homogeneous fleets. We build a surplus of battleships and then provide the men to man them, and frequently pro­ vide more than we hnve ships for We build auxil­ iaries and torpedo boats, if we do it at all, without any regard to the relation which such craft should bear to the battleship fleet, and while we have built or have in construction 29 battleships, we have practically no means of furnishing tenders for them under service conditions. When the battleship fleet was sent to the Pa cific recently it was necessary to charter 40 foreign ships to carry coal for it. If it had been found necessary to send the fleet around the horn in time of war it could not have been attempted, because we could not have furnished American vessels In which to carry the coal. Very few people realize the deplorable condition we are in, as far as our merchant marine is con cerned. If we had a large merchant marine w« could draw from it without having special auxll iaries for the navy, but we are so lacking In both that it makes our present situation almost hope­ less. When the Spanish war broke out it was neces­ sary to purchase colliers and transports. One hun­ dred and two vessels were bought at a cost pf some thing.over $17,000,000, but they cost a very large percentage more than their market value, and more than twice as much as they could have been sold for if they had been put on the market at the ter­ mination of the war. In other words, we paid out millions of dollars because we had not provided ourselves with suitable auxiliaries for our battle ship fleet. We_should have a navy adequate for our needs; not only adequate in battleships, but adequate in every other respect. Surgery on Heart Surgical operations upon the heart have become more or less of a commonplace in medical history. Something approximating 100 cases of the sewing up of heart wounds are on record, and the recov­ eries have been considerable when one considers the highly dangerous character of such work. Hith­ erto, however, heart surgery has been limited to ac cident cases. In a recent issue of the annals of surgery one of the workers at the Rockefeller institute for medical research discusses the possibility of treating diseased hearts surgically. He has made numerous experiments on animals and believes that such operations will be successfully performed on human beings in the near future. His tests have convinced him that the heart can be opened, scraped out (cleaned, so to speak), sewed up and started off on its "beating" path- again without any great, at least insuperable, difficulty. By an in­ genious system of side piping ami new channeling he {« able temporarily to cut out of the circulation portions of such Important vessels as the descend­ ing aorta the largest artery in the body, without killing the animal. Among his suggested opera­ tions is one on the coropary arteries of the heart for the cure of angina pectoris. This doctor has apparently proved to his own sat­ isfaction on animals that successful surgical inter­ ference with the great vessels and the heart Itself is a possibility. It is, of course, a long step from these experiments to actual operations on human beings, but there is every indication that the latter feat will be attempted in the near future. The In­ tractability ef cardiac affections and their high fa­ tality make the proposed new surgery a thing of great general Interest, and w*y Justify the extre$»$ boldness of the proposal. J > Little an« Highway*---It Is the Poor Man'* Friend. GRADING LAWNS AND FIELDS For Smoothing Uneven Places Plank . Smoother Is Useful--Buckscraper Also Used. Where irrigation is practised it is necessary to bring the surface to a uniform grade. The appearance of lawns is also improved by grading. For simply smoothing uneven places the plank smoother is very useful, says Farm and Home. This is made eight to ten feet long and of heavy Joist, shod with a piece of fiat steel on the lower edge. A plank is Ktty-. Split-Log Smoother. fastened at the middle for the driver to stand on. His added weight will aid materially In the work accom­ plished. Either two or four horses can be used on a drag of this sort. Where there is much grading to be done the buckscraper is the best de­ vice. A very useful one ia made four feet along the cutting edge, three feet deep and one foot three inches high. It will carry one-half cubic yard at a load, and must be made of two-inch plank, well braced with strap iron. The cutting edge should be of steel. The Buckscraper. The drawbow works on pins fixed near the middle of the sides. The handle Is about seven feet long, and by it the scoop is kept under control for filling or tipping. SOIL ROBBER IS DISCOVERED Ttoo English Scientists Announce They Have Pound Micro-Organism Which Destroys Bacteria. Two English scientists, Drs. Russell and Hutchinson, announce that they have discovered the micro-organism which destroys the bacteria essential to the fertility of the soil. Other sci­ entists declare the discovery the most important made in half a century. Having found the culprit,' the next thing for the scientists to do will be to discover his "natural enemy" and proceed to eliminate him from the cos­ mic scheme. The discovery seems to have come none too soon, since, ac­ cording to estimates made by reliable experts, the soil of the United States has been robbed of $1,000,000,000 worth of fertility in the last 30 years. The Loss in farm values has varied in the different states from $1,000,000 to $160,000,000, according to the figures given out by the census bureau. The question of "soil robbery" is not one for future generations to solve, but for those of the present day. Rich as is the United States, it cannot afford to be robbed of a billion dollars in 30 years, with the prospect that if the robber isn't stopped he will take two billions or more in the next 30 years. Whatever that micro-organism dis­ covered by Russell and Hutchinson may look like, however small he may be, he should be chased out of the country and off the earth, writes John A. How land In Chicago Tribune. A step in this direction has already been taken, even before the announcement of the discovery. It was learned some time ago that certain bacteria were generated by the introduction of ni­ trates into the soil and that these bac­ teria were the "fertility" of the earth. Certain placts, such as . the legumes were found to be peculiarly adapted to the culture of these "good bacteria." That is why alfalfa is being heralded a good thing for the farmer to planL u.ut the process,of raising the fertil­ ity making bacteria by natural process is rather slow, so man decided to help nature along. These bacteria have the faculty of extracting the nitrogen from the air and introducing it Into the earth. A process has been invented by which the nitrogen is artificially ex­ tracted from the air, formed into a powder, and the powder used to fer­ tilize the soil. This eliminates a long process of natural fertilization. How­ ever, if some one can find a way to prevent the fertility from being eaten up by the micro-organism, he will make artificial fertilization unneces­ sary. Mrs. Wiggin as Playwright *-- Popular Author Tells of Her Amusing Verbal Conflicts With the Stage Director. I coulfi write pages concerning my farbal conflicts with the stage director, fcnd most atuusiitg they would b6, only I am certain he would publish his 9wn reosUitscencM of the same pe­ te bo absolutely opaque to all Iramatic situations!" he would exclaim; and I would retort: "And stage managers seem to be blind and deaf to anything that is simple and human and natural." "That will never go oyer the foot­ lights," he would assert. "Then let it go through them for a change 1" I would reply. He was wonderful with the children as well as most ingenious In Inventing stage business, ar/d in all our differ­ ences we each preserved respect and admiration for the other's work. I "wrote in" bits erf dialogue at rehearsal for delightful persons who had not nearly enough to say for the salaries they received. I took home certain pathetic scenes very dear to me, and brought them back next day wreathed in smiles; as everybody concerned, from the Olympian head himself to the fourth stage assistant, detested tears and approved of laughter, both on moral and financial grounds. Why they * Zr'r* • " / A -•.< • i• deplored my gentle April showers of pathos when the rivers of tears that flow in such plays as "Madame X." wash thousands of dollars into the bok office, I shall never understand, but so It was.--Kate Douglas Wiggin, in Harper's Bazar. Credulous. Hojax--You say Dixmyth has a sub­ lime faith In humanltyT Tomdix--He certainly has. Why, he even believes that his wife believes everything ty tolls her." Pride In Qood Road's. Heretofore the average farmer has taken a pride in the public schools and churches, in farm buildings and In the appearanco of his field fences; but pride in the roads passing his field, and over which he has to travel whenever he stirs from his farm, has been totally lacking. But an awaken­ ing hiw taken place, and already the farmer is beginning to ask himself why he should not put his roads first instead of laat. He is the chief suffer­ er when they are bad--and they near­ ly always are bad. Conversely, he will be the chief beneficiary if they are good and it depends chiefly on him whether they are good or bad.--Auto­ mobile Topics. Protect the Lawn. If leaves have fallen on the lawn, let them remain there during the win­ ter. They will serve as a protection to the sward. You may not think that the sward needs any protection, but if you do not think it receives a benefit from such a covering as leaves provide, take observations, this sea- eon. You will find next spring, that the' grass where the leaves were thickest Is greener and stronger than elsewhere, and It will start Into growth sooner In the spring. "We hate more than once out," says Southern Good Koads, that where a bond issue or a heavy road tax IS impossible owing to the strength of the opposition or to pov­ erty, there can be nevertheless per­ fectly good earth roads built at very small expense. The chief thing Is co­ operation among the people of the community. There is no excuse for a bad read is say village' or farming section--none whatever. For the split-log drag is the poor man's friend, and with it any people, however poor, however far from the day of macad- < i *yt /inn ntnlrA n n /I am 4 />%* nui, vou uiaao auu cujoj gvuu * wuu*. "Let us take, for example, a stretch of bad road in the country. Say it is ten miles in' length and that ten farmers live at intervals along its course. It is very bad in summer and next to Impassable in winter. Those ter farmers decide that they are not going to put up with holes and ruts agd washouts any longer, and they come together. They agree that they will divide the road into ten sections of one mile each, and every farmer Is to take charge of a mile. They select one of their number to act as fore­ man of all. They fall to work and build split-log drags. These cost prac­ tically nothing. The office of public roads, United States department of ag­ riculture, will gladly furnish informa­ tion as to the construction, and If pos­ sible will doubtless send an expert to give preliminary instructions. "When the farmers have everything ready, the foreman calls them out after each rain to drag their several sections. This is repeated until with­ in an amazingly short time that miser­ able old road has been transformed into a splendid highway, smooth, well- drained, well-shaped, a thing of beauty and a joy forever, without the expend­ iture of enough money for the farmers to miss it. They receive incalcula­ ble benefit from the road, and it serves as an object lesson to the rest of their county, causing others to go and do likewise, until in the course of no great time the road situation in the county has been revolutionized and the way paved for the day when permanent stone roads will be built. "Why not try It in your community?" DRYING RACK IS IMPORTANT Few Hours' Work This Pall Will Ma­ terially Add to Corn Crop Yield Next Year. The Importance of selecting and drying seed corn in the fall cannot be too strongly urged. A good drying rack is a great convenience and may easily be made. The rack should be Seed Corn Drying Rack. placed In a dry room, but one that ts not too warm. By the use of this rack it will be easy to keep certain grades of corn separate. A few hours' work this fall may increase the corn crop very ma­ terially next year. Baling Straw. In the northern states, and in other parts of the country as well, a great deal of straw is being baled. Consid­ erable of it will be used for feeding purposes. If baled when bright it can be kept in good condition and the chaff will also be saved. The chaff has the best feeding value of the straw. ' No Inexhaustible Soil. There Is no such a thing as an inex* haustible soil. This fact has been brought home to us with terrible em­ phasis of late. You must put back to the soil what you took from it, per­ haps not in the eyuiie form or of equal money value, but an equivalent. Heat in Potatoes. Potatoes in large piles or in un- ventilated cellars oft^n heat so that they will not grow well, and if for seed, are most vigorous if stored in boxes, crates or open barrels, or if thinly spread upon the floor. CURETHATC0L0 TODAY w&ucd :cihcr preserve ncaiih • nation than bt lis ruler. "--MUNYON. Thousands of people who are sufferteg; with colds are about today. Tomorrow they may be prostrated with pneumonia. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Get a 25 cent bottle of Man- yon's Cold Cure st the nearest drug •tore. This bottle may be conveniently carried in the vest pocket. If you are not satisfied with the effects of the rem­ edy, send us your empty bottle and ws will refund your money. Munyon's Cold Cure will speedily break up all forms of colds and prevent grippe and pneumonia. It checks discharges of the nose and eyeSj •tops sneezing, allays inflammation and fever, and tones up the system. If you need Medical Advice, write to Muuyou's Doctors. They will carefully diajpiese your cate and a^viee you by mail, absolutely free. You are under no obligation. Address Munyon's Doctors, Munyon's Laboratory, 53d and Jefferson streets, Phil­ adelphia. Fa. Lrrr7.E INDIAN LISIEEWT for that heavy racking coUft that other remedies do not benefit. A wonaerfil preventative of diphtheria. Guaranteed harmie*. Children use It. Should be In every home. Order now 10 and % cents, Little Indian Company, Mecca* lad* He Was a Boston Boy. "Tour little boy must be very In­ telligent," said a visitor to a Bostos school teacher whose five-year-old son was forming Greek words with build­ ing blocks. "Intelligent!" exclaimed the proud parent. "He is phenomenally gifted. As an example of his early erudition, what do you suppose was the first words he ever spoke?" " 'Papa' and 'mamma?* " "Stuff and nonsense!" ejaculated tho father, in a tone of disgust. "Why. tho day he was 12 months old he suddenly laid down his algebra and said to mo: 'Father, the longer I live the more in­ dubitable proofs I perceive that there is in Boston as much culture to the square inch as there ever was in the ambient area of ancient Athens!'" An Awful Moment. The company always included many delightful women, and I remember tho consternation caused among them one day by Burnham, the scout. He ex­ plained that he attributed his success as a scout to the acuteness of hl> seride of smell; It was like a blood­ hound's. / "There's no one here today," ho affirmed, "who at any time anywhere in the future I could not recognise in the dark. Yes, I could tell you, and you, and you," nodding at an alluring group in modish apparel, "by the way you smell." For an awful moment the conversar tlon flagged.--McClure's. With a Sour Laugh. A Chicago editor has brought from London an amusing story about Hum­ phrey Ward. "Humphry Ward," he said, "was in his bachelor days, a really well-known art critic. But now! "I met Humphry Ward at a dinner in Soho, and he said to me, with a sour laugh: " 'When a girl wants to retire from the world and be lost In oblivion, she has to enter a nunnery. But a man, to achieve the same end, need only marry a' famous woman.'" Reporter in Luck. City Editor (hurriedly)--Anythia# new about that suicide in the St. Fash­ ion hotel? Reporter--Not much. The man was a stranger, about my size. Shot him­ self with a .32 caliber revolver. Had on a dress suit at the time. The body had been taken to the morgue. City Editor--'Bout your size. That's lucky. I want you to report a big so­ ciety wedding in an hour. Rush around to the morgue and' ask tho keeper to lend you that dress sulL A Realist on Hope. William Dean Howells, discussing realism at one of his Sunday after­ noons in New York, let fall a neat epigram on hope. "Hope," said the famous novelist, "is not, really, an angel In a dia­ phanous robe of white, but only tho wisp of hay held before a donkey's nose to make him go." STOPPED SHORT Taking Tonics, and Built Up Right Food. Organic matter is very essential in a soil. Leave no piece of work half done. Drive the hoops down good on every job you do. It will be much easier to husk corn this month than during the few com­ ing months. Sometimes the ice crop comes early. No matter when it comes, be ready for U. It may be your only chance. Pulling and chopping out the big weeds in the garden and truck patches will be in order uintil frost Invest in a gallon or two of paint and go over the implements. Cover the steel parts with raw linseed oil. By covering tomato vines with cloths or matting when frosts come the yield may be prolonged for some time. System in ' harvesting and selling farm products are just as essential as good cultivation. It 16 waste to pro­ duce crops and let them deteriorate in ralue before harvesting and storing. The mistake is frequently made ot trying to build up a worn-out nervous system on so-called tonics--drugs. New material from which to rebuild wasted nerve cells is what should he supplied, and this can be obtained only from proper food. "Two years ago I found myself on the verge of a complete nervous col­ lapse, due to overwork and study, and to illness in the family," write* a Wi» consin young mother. "My friends became alarmed bo- cause I grew pale and thin and could not sleep nights. I took various tonlos prescribed by physicians, but their effects wore off shortly after 1 stopped taking them. My food did not seem to nourish me and I gained no flesh nor blood. "Reading of Grape-Nuts, I de­ termined to stop the tonics and soo what a change of diet would do. I ate Grape-Nuts four times a day, with cream and drank milk also, went to bed early after eating a dish at Grape-r^uts. "In about }wo weeks I was sleeping soundly. In a short time gained M pounds in weight and felt like fr different woman. My little daughter whom I was obliged to keep out of school last spring on account ot chronic catarrh has changed from s thin, pale, nervous child to a rosy, healthy girl and has gone back to school this fall. "Grape-Nuts and fresh air were "the only agents used to accomplish tho happy results." Read "The Road to Wellrilto." In pkgs. "There's a Reason." fvpr read th« akare letter? A tmr «nr m*c«ra front (Im« <• time. Th«y tre item •Imi t*Mfc aal tall mt Iatarut.