Demonia
Belletonte, Pa., July 27, 1917.
“The Pin’s Sharp Little Sister.”
This is 2 name which some one has
given to—what? The needle, of
course. Its duties are similar to that
of the pin, but the needle is far more
thorough in its work. The pin, to be
sure, holds things together, but usu-
ally this is only for a short time; the
needle is called into play to join
things which are meant to stay to-
gether for a long time. The needle
can be trusted to do its work effect-
ually. In and out, in and out, it
thrusts its little body, guided by the
sewing machine or by your mother’s
fingers. Up and down and round
about it goes, piercing sometimes sev-
eral thicknesses of the gingham ma-
terial which is to be a dress for you;
vet, when it is removed from the
scene, it scarcely leaves a trace of its
work—only a tiny little line of foot-
steps like those a rabbit leaves in the
smooth snow. :
A great many centuries ago men
discovered the need of sewing things
together. First of all, they probably
uesd bones and thorns, as they did for
pins also; but the thorns which they
wished to use for needles they made
in something the shape of an awl,
attaching to them long fibres of plants
or tiny strips of leather with which
their skins could be held together.
Later men found out how to pierce
these primitive needles with eyes;
such needles have been found in
Egypt, in the ruins of Greece, even
near ancient settlements of the lake
dwellers. Then it is supposed that
the first steel needles were invented
by the Chinese—those skillful people
who invented so many useful things
long before the people of the West
knew of them. Possibly these needles
were introduced into Europe by the
Moors who settled in Spain in the
Middle Ages. After that it was not
long before others began to copy
them, making steel needies of their
own. Probably the Germans manu-
factured them first, but the English
were not long in following their ex-
ample, for needles were known in
Elizabethan London. Soon England
was producing more needles than any
other country. Hand needles are still
largely made in England and Germa-
ny, though the United States manu-
factures more of the needles used in
sewing machines. Hundreds of mil-
lions of them are produced every year.
Needles are made of steel wire. In
the common sewing needle, the wire
is first wound in a coil, which is cut
by machinery into lengths of just the
right size to make two needles each.
The coiling of the wire curves it a
little, and it must be made perfectly
straight before the work can go on.
For this purpose the little pieces are
collected into bundles and placed in
two iron rings which hold them
loosely together. They are now
heated slightly and then rolled over
and over on a flat iron plate. The ac-
tion of the wires upon each other
tends to straighten them, and after
a while the curve is all taken out, and
the bits of wire are as straight as the
needles sold in the stores.
The next operation is pointing or
grinding the blunt ends to the ex-
quisite sharpness required, writes
Frank G. Carpenter in “How the
World is Clothed.” This was once
done by hand, but it is now performed
at the rate of 40,000 an hour by means
of a little machine that the Germans
have invented. This is a metal wheel
upon which the blunt wires drop from
an inclined tray, and are held fast by
an India rubber band that runs around
the wheel. They lie in such a way
on the wheel that the two ends of the
wires just touch a wire grindstone
placed near it, and so that each end
is made sharp as the wheel flies
around.
The double needle wires are now
ready for their eyes. The process of
making these is important, for
roughly done, the thread will be cut
and frayed as it goes through. The
work begins in what is .called the
stamping rooni. The double needles,
pointed at each end, are placed upon a
solid block, to which is fastened a
mass .of iron. On the upper side of
this moves the under half of the
stamp which cuts the groove for the
eye of the needle. The upper half of
the stamp is fastened te a heavy ham-
mer, and, when worked by machinery,
it falls down upon the needles with
such force that the grooves or depres-
sions for the eyes are made.
The wires now go to the piercers,
who are usually small boys working
at hand presses. It is said that
the best of them can punch a hole
through a human hair. These boys
first spread out the wires upon an
iron slab, laying them under the press
in the form of a faa. They then
punch wire after wire, making two
eyes each time. The wires are now
taken out and so arranged that the
roughness is divided between the
eyes, making two needles. The heads
are then filed into shape.
But the needles are not yet ready
for use. They must be hardened,
tempered, polished and brightened be-
fore ihey can be stuck in the papers
and packed up for sale. The first pro-
cess is performed by baking them in
a furnace until they are white hot;
and then cooling them in a bath: of
water and oil. They are then washed
and dried and tempered by slightly
heating them once more. The polish-
ing is done by putting them in begs
with a mixture of soft soap, oil, em-
ery and sand; and then rolling the
bags over and over between heavy
slabs, weighted with iron, until at the
end they come out smooth and bright.
They are next shaken up in a sieve to
separate them from the dirt, and are
then further smoothed and polished.
Altogether, every needle has to go
through many hands, and it takes
quite a long time to make one.
—Timothy hay is a dangerous feed
for sheep. It is coarse and woody; it
causes more indigestion than any oth-
er feed, and hundreds of sheep are
lost each year from being fed on tim-
othy hay. It leaves the wool around
their heads and necks filled with
heads, which prevents the wool from
bringing the highest price.
An Old Mobilization Camp.
One of the military camps which |
the State of Pennsylvania established
during the Civil war is to be purchas-
ed and set aside as a public park
through the Legislature’s appropria-
tion of $25,000 for the purchase and
development of Camp Curtin, says a
writer in the Philadelphia Evening
Bulletin. Named after Andrew G.
Curtin, the war Governor of the State,
this camp, which was set up in the
outskirts of Harrisburg three days |
after Sumpter was fired on, became
the chief rendezvous for the troops
raised in Pennsylvania, and, although
there were many other camps
throughout the State, none gained as
much prominence throughout the war
or housed a greater number of sol-
diers.
The rush of volunteers to respond
to President Lincoln’s call during the
first week of the war flooded Camp
Curtin with recruits. On the morning
that the camp was established a com-
pany of recruits from Johnstown ar-
rived and, inside of a week, companies
came in from every county in the
State, battalions were organized hur-
riedly and nine regiments dispatched
to the front.
Nearly ninety regiments, emprac-
ing all arms of the service, were quar- !
tered at Camp Curtin at various times
during that period.
months of the war, 60,000 men report-
ed at the camp; many others drifted
in and out during the war, and, in ad-
dition to the Pennsylvania regiments,
there were a number of commands
from the other States that occasional-
ly stopped for the rest and training at
Harrisburg. After the first rush,
Governor Curtin’s call for the re-
serve regiments to protect the State
against invasion brought many more
soldiers to the camp; at that time, too,
the three months’ men were returning
to be mustered out, and the soldiers
at the camp were kept busy doing po-
lice duty about the Arsenal af Harris-
burg, which was besieged by the
stranded soldiers left dependent on
the townspeople. The second batch of
men was just getting into shape with
squad and company drills, moreover,
when the news came of the Bull Run
disaster accompanied by frantic ap-
peals from Washington for more men.
These alarms always seemed to ar-
rive at Camp Curtin as soon as it had |
a quota of men on hand and the ma-
jority of the regiments mobilized
there had to be sent forward with lit-
tle training. Stonewall Jackson’s
raid on Hagerstown drew a number
away; the second battle of Bull Run
called for more, and the Gettysburg
campaign witnessed the hurried as-
sembling of the emergency regiments.
Quite a number of Philadelphians
traveled to the war by way of Camp
Curtin, although the major portion of
the city’s volunteers went direct to the
South from training camps in this
city. Among those who were trained
under the shadow of the State Capitol,
too, were three soldiers who afterward
controlled affairs
Beaver, Hartranft and Quay.
In addition, the State also main-
tained large camps at Easton, West
Chester and Pittsburgh, while Phila-
delphia had a number of regimental '
and brigade camps.—Pittsburgh Dis-
patch.
Land Will be Taxed.
Legislation is to be presented to |
Congress soon to levy a federal land i
tax of 1 per cent. on the assessed val- |
ue of all improved land and of 2 per
cent. upon the value of all unimprov-
ed land. The proceeds are to be used
for the war in place of further taxes
upon industry and workers.
Along with the land value tax laws
are proposed for the immediate acqui-
sition by the federal government of all
natural resources (such as coal and
oil lands, iron ores, timber, water
power sites, etc.) to be owned and op-
erated by the public for the public at
least for the duration of the war. The
principal. of compensation to the pri-
vate owners is to be a return on the
actual, honest investment and noth-
ing for the fictitious “values” of
“good will,” etc.
The committee on the high cost of
living in whose name the legislation
will be presented, has held exhibits
and recent conferences before and
since the war came to the United
States.
Another still larger conference will
be held in the Raliegh Hotel, Wash-
ington, D. C., July 30 and 31.
From a statement prepared by Ben-
jamin C. Marsh, executive secretary
of the committee, the following ex-
tracts are made:
“The committee comprises in its
membership, drawn from twenty-
eight States, men and women like
John Fitzpatrick, president of the Chi-
cago Federation of Labor; C. B. Keg-
ley, just elected for the twelfth time,
master of the Washington State
Grange; Mrs. Joseph Fels, Commis-
sioner Frederick C. Howe, Frank P.
Walsh and Amos Pinchot. The com-
mittee also favors government owner-
ship and operation of natural monopo-
lies, such as railroads, in the fight to
cut living costs. '
“The committee estimates that the
aggregate unearned profits of land
speculators, owners of natural re-
sources and natural monopolies is ap-
proximately $5,500,000,000 in taxes,
because land owners are permitted to
retain most of the ground rent. De-
spite the shortage of crops, nearly
half of the arable farm land of the
country is held idle, most of it for
speculative purposes. To secure more
food the slackers who hold land idle,
must be heavily taxed, so they will
produce or let some one else produce.”
rR ————————————
——Declaring that he was going
back to the trenches to rest, an Amer-
ican who had been wounded three
times while serving in Europe with
the Canadian forces and who had
been decorated for gallantry in action,
left the reserve officers’ training camp
at Plattsburg the other day, after
looking at the training schedule.
—Goat’s milk as a food in cases of
typhoid fever has no equal. A pa-
tient who had a severe attack lived
entirely on goat’s milk for nine weeks,
and his temperature never got above
102 during the time. His digestion
was perfect.
——Subseribe for the “Watchman,”
In the first eight |
at Harrisburg— :
Essentials in Aviation Corps.
One would naturally expect, on
| joining the flying division, to board a
| plane and joyride skyward with an
| experienced pilot, then go through the
motions with the various controls and
. levers in a dummy machine on earth;
‘a few days later go up agair with a
| teacher; and the next to fly with an
{instructor as a passenger, writes H.
H. Windsor in August Popular Me-
| chanics Magazine. But. not so fast,
son, notwithstanding your ambition
| to distinguish is most noble and
| praiseworthy. Remember, the quali-
fications for the air corps include not
jonly all the physical conditions of
{ both army and navy, but a great many
i more. The candidate must be sound
{in every part of nis body; possess in-
| ternal organs equal to the rapia
| change in altitude, for he will often
{ drop a mile in a minute; perfect vis-
{ ion, which will instantly and unfail-
ingly adjust itself one instant to ob-
jects far away and the next to those
| close by; and he must have no failing
{as to colors; his hearing must be
| faultless; he must possess a mental
balance which will remain true and
undisturbed when shells from the air
guns are bursting uncomfortably close
by; and, finally, that difficult-to-de-
scribe natural gift which turns his
| face toward his own lines instead of
the enemies’, when clouds or smoke
blot out all landmarks. It is the same
! kind of intuitive quality which in a
newspaper man is termed “a nose for
news” and which leads the skillful
physician to correctly diagnose a pa-
tient when the usual symptoms are
absent, or the navigator to head his
vessel into port when fog shuts him
in and the tide swerves him from his
course.
The responsibility attaching to the
aviation corps is almost beyond esti-
mate, and the ability is of a single air
scout to discern and comprehend, or
failure to do so, may easily win or lose
a battle. His signals bring the artil-
lery into action dropping shells in the
right place and correct the fire of
those guns whose faulty range is
throwing away tons of projectiles
each minute. The airman is more
than the familiar term, “the eye of
the army”—he must be a thinking
(eye. The submarine may even better
( do without the periscope than the ar-
my without its aeroplane.
Thus it will be seer that, setting
aside all the other numerous and rad-
{ical changes which the present war
| has called into being, the submarine
| for the sea forces and the aeroplane
; for the land forces are the two weap-
i ons which stand out pre-eminent; and
i of the two, the aeroplane is the more
| essential. A service so thrilling, so
| responsible, so possible of great ac-
complishment, cannot fail to appeal
to the best there isin the young
American; and while all service at the
front is fraught with danger, it will
comfort the airman’s mother to know
that, contrary to generally accepted
belief, service in the air fleet is sever-
al degrees removed from the most dan-
gerous military occupations.
Our ability to win this war will lie
largely in two efforts; to defeat the
submarine, and to produce at the ear-
liest possible moment a fleet of aero-
planes which will be numbered by tens
of thousands.
Women Excel in Airplane Work.
New York, N. Y.—Airplane man-
ufactarers all over the country are
employing women, and thousands of
airplanes that will carry the Stars
and Stripes over the battlefields of
Europe will represent the work of the
women of this country. Women have
bezn found to excel in making wings
and wing surfaces of airplanes, and,
with this country’s plan to build im-
mense fleets of aireraft, such work
will be vitally important.
At the Plainfield (N. J.) plant of
the Standard Aero Corporation, which
| obtained the first large war order of
airplanes for the Government, more
than 60 per cent. of the employees
making wings are women. Harry
Bowers Mingle, president, told why
his company preferred women for this
work: “Preparing the linen wing sur-
faces and making the wings,” he said,
“is light work, requiring deft fingers
and close application. It is ideal work
for women. Before undertaking the
manufacture of airplanes in large
quantities such as the Government de-
mands, we thoroughly investigated
the question of labor. We found that
women were extensively used in Eng-
land and in France in making wings,
and that they had proved to be better
at this work than men. We soon sat-
isfied ourselves that this was the cor-
rect practice, and started tc employ
women for the same class of work.
In a very short time we found that the
women were better workmen than the
men, and we will soon be employing
500 of them at our Plainfield plant
alone. We found women to Le pains-
taking and fast in their work, and, in
addition, they are precise, which
means much when you are doing the
highest grade work. Soon we will be
employing women in other depart-
ments Our superintendent wants to
have at least 35 per cent. of the ma-
i chine shop work done by women, and
will put that many at work as soon as
i the shops are enlarged.—Monitor.
| Te SS——
Those who wish ‘to hazard a
guess upon the probable duration of
the war will be able to derive some in-
formation from the fresh leases which
the British Governments are signing
| on the property which they are using
in French ports. The cld leases are
running out, and are being renewed
for a period of three years.
/
\
1¢
LA
IE
GEO. A. BEEZER,
Belletonte, Pa.
LL
N\
1
)/
» eS
Agent,
/
FOURS.
Touring from § 940.00 to $ 985.00
Roadster a 930.00 ** 985.00
Everyweather 1,140.00 * 1,185.00
hassis te 850.00 ““ 885.00
North Water St.
Effective March 1st, Prices Advanced as Follows:
STANDS FOR
EFFICIENCY.
DURABILITY.
SIXES.
from $1,180.00
2 170.00
Touring ,
Roadster is > y
veryweather
Chassis Nn
Heaslet Victoria Top
Exten. * *
-~
4
gg
I —_
3
2
00
00 :
.00 “1,575.
,450.00
GEORGE A. BEEZER, AGENT,
61-tf.
BELLEFONTE, PA.
Honest Clothes
Priced Honestly
AT THE
FAUBLE STORES.
We will surely surprise
and please you with the
values we are showing.
We will prove to you
that The Best Clothes
made in America are
here, and our prices will -
positively show you a
big saving.
FAUBLE’S.
Allegheny St.
BELLEFONTE, PA.
58-4
LYON @& COMPANY.
Lyon & Company’s July Clearances
bring wonderful values.
We still have a full line of colors in
stripes and floral designs in voiles that
we sold so fast at 10c.
The bettter quality voiles that sold at
20 and 25 cents now must go at 14ec.
Everything in wash fabrics must be
sold now at great reductions.
CHILDREN’S HOSE.
One lot of Mercerized Hose for infants
in light blue, pink and sand shades, sizes,
4 1-2 to 6. included qualities 25 cents,
our price 12 1-2c.
Ladies’ Out Size Silk Hose.
One lot of black Silk Hcese, out size,
regular values 90c¢, our price 30c.
WHITE SALE.
We are going to continue our White
Sale of Under Muslins, Night Gowns,
Drawers, Petticoats, Corset Covers, En-
velope Chemise, Camisoles, at less than
cost to make them.
White Shoes.
-All our White Summer Shoes for Ladies
and Children, in high and low, at less
than cost to manufacture.
Also Men’s Fine Dress and Work Shoes
at greatly reduced prices.
Come in and see what great bargains we have.
Lyon & Co. = Bellefonte.