1 i aldo, | PLATINUM “FAKE” IN OREGON | Bellefonte, Pa., November 15, 1918. Officers’ Straps for War Nurses. | Nurses in this war are exposed to! many perils. Sometimes they are obliged in the course of their duties | to venture within five miles or less of | the firing line. Many have been: drowned on submarined hospital ships; many more have been killed in | field hospitals by German bombs. ' Some have been gassed. | To guard against this last danger, | our war nurses are now provided with | gas masks, and they are taught how | to use them before being sent “over | there.” Like the soldier boys, they! are required, for the sake of practice ! and to give them confidence, to enter | chambers filled with poison gas. : So far, so good. They are not] afraid. But one thing they are ur- | gently demanding, and that is recog- i nized military rank as officers of the, army. A bill granting them such rank | has been introduced in both Senate and House, and the Congress will probably pass it. Vanity or martial pride has noth-: ing to do with this demand. It is| purely a question of efficiency. En-| isted men (there are now more than | 150,000 of them) assigned to ward du- | ty in the hospitals have as a rule no' training in the care of sick and] wounded. Often such duty is given them as a punishment. They are un- willing to take orders from the nurs-' es because the latter have no recog- nized rank, and the patients suffer in consequence. Indeed, this trouble has cost many a soldier’s life already. In one in- stance, which will serve for illustra- tion, a number of gassed and wound- ed men were brought into a field hos- pital together after a battle. The nurse in charge ordered the gassed men brought to the ward first, because only quick action could save them; but the orderly refused to obey and some of the gassed men died. . There is just one thing a soldier will obey quickly and unhesitatingly, and that is shoulder-straps. It is for them the nurses are asking, in order that they may be able to do their work efficiently. Canadian and Aus- tralian nurses have rank as officers, with corresponding pay and quarters. The bill now before Congress does not bestow commissions or increased pay upon nurses. It merely pre- scribes for them relative rank and permits them to wear the appropriate insignia. Ordinary war nurses would rank as second lieutenants; chief nurses as first lieutenants; assistant superintendents and directors as cap- tains. The head of the corps (with headquarters at Washington) would be a major. But all of them would be at all times under the orders of med- ical officers of the army. Steam Engineers Wanted for the Navy. If they step lively there is a chance for 100 Pennsylvanians to become of- ficers in the United States Navy at a salary of $1556 a month, or if mar- ried, $185. The United States navy needs more steam engineers and needs them in- stantly. Men betwen the ages of 20 and 40 years are eligible, but they must have had either a practical ex- perience as steam engineers, or a technical or civil or electrical engi- neering course at college. To get into the ranks of commis- sioned officers of the United States Navy by this short route, an appli- cant must follow this course, approx- imately five months divided as fol- lows: One month military training at Na- val Training Camp, Pelham Bay Park, N. Y. Six weeks of technical instruction at the U. S. Navy Steam Engineering School, Hoboken, N. J. Six weeks practical training on board ships and in shops in the vicin- ity of New York. One month final instruction in U. S. Navy Steam Engineering School. Applicants for admission will be inducted into the navy as apprentice seamen and upon qualifying for ad- mission to the school will be rated as Chief Machinist Mates at a salary of $83 per month and in addition lodg- ing and subsistence. Graduates will be commissioned as Ensigns in the U. S. Naval Reserve Force. The salary of an ensign at sea is $155 per month if without de- pendents, and $185, if having depend- ents. : Applicants for admission should ap- ply to Ensign C. L. McIntyre, 225 W. 42nd St., New York, N. Y. Deserters Will be Brought to Trial. Deserters from the military and na- val service and men absent without leave have been comparatively few, considering the magnitude of the new American army and navy. The gov- ernment is determined that there will be no “easing up” of punishment ac- corded to the few men who have vol- untarily placed themselves on the “missing” list. To the government’s other means of apprehending such men in this State have been added the resurces of the Pennsylvania Council of National Defense. The Defense Council is au- thorized to locate and bring to justice such runaways. To aid it in its work, it is furnished with regular reports by the United States Adjutant Gen- eral, giving full name, rank, organi- zation and home addresses of the men who have deserted or are absent with- out leave. In half the counties of the State, the Council has well organized Volun- teer Home Defense Police units, ca- pable of dealing with desertions. Elsewhere, its Military Service De- partments and executive officials will assist the government in the work. The fact that the Council’s organiza- tion extends to every district of the State leaves small chance of deser- ters returning to their old haunts um- detected. . “What is your favorite text in the Bible 7” asked Brown. “John xxi., 8,” replied Jones. “And what is John xxi., 37” asked . Brown, “‘I go fishing,” ” replied Jones. Geological Survey Explodes Report of Find of Precious Metals in a Western District. The present shortage of platinum and the consequent greatly increased price of the metal bid fair to result in a considerable increase in the do- mestic production of platinum during the coming year, according to the Unit- ed States geological survey. At the same time, while legitimate miners are increasing their production and to some extent relieving he country’s shortage, other persons are using the interest aroused by the present nation-wide search for the metal to make extrava- gant claims for wtterly worthless de- posits, and some honest prospectors are led by false assays, made by in- efficient or venal assayers, to believe mistakenly that they have valuable platinum deposits. Reports of plati- num in some mythical combination— “volatile platinum” or “colloidal plati- nun"—should be regarded as sufficient evidence of the incompetence or dis- honesty of the assayer. During the season of 1917 the geolo- gists of the United States geological survey, department of the interior, spent much time in visiting platinum deposits that proved to be worthless. A notable example is seen in the sup- posed platiniferous sands of the Des- chutes river, near Terrebone, Ore. The material collected there con- sists of loosely cemented dark volcanic sand and conglomerate interbedded with basalt and volcanic tuff. The black basaltic sand is supposed to have the richest content of gold and plati- num, but neither in panning the ma- terial in the field nor in the chemical tests made by the geological survey could any trace of platinum or other metals of the platinum group be found. Neither was any gold found in the con- centrates, and it is concluded that ma- terial of this type is very unlikely to contain workable amounts of gold. MONEY LOANED FOR THE WAR Dollars Invested in Bonds Expend- ed for Food, Clothing, Ammuni- tion and Other Necessaries. What becomes of the dollar which is invested in government bonds? Here is the course it takes as visual- ized by Secretary of the Treasury Mec- Adoo in his annual report to congress: I'irst, it goes to the government as a loan for the war. Second, it is expended by the gov- ernment for food. clothing and am- munition, which go directly to a gal- lant soldier or saiior whose fighting strength is kept up by the food, whose body is kept warm by the clothing, and whose enemy is hit by the ammuni- tion, It has not been expended in the purchase of needless food and cloth- ing for the man at home, and is, there- fore, released for the use of the sol- dier, it is saved wealth to the man at home and can be loaned to his gov- crnment at interest with resulting benefit to himself and to his govern- ment. Utilized Artificial Flood. By means of an artificial rise, start- od on October 18, 1917, at Dam No. 7, Ohio river, and augmented by water from the Muskingum, Kahawha and Big Sandy rivers, more than 80,000 tons of coal from the Kanawha river were delivered to Cincinnati and other river cities, says a bulletin of the depart- ment of commerce. Every available tugboat and barge was used in this movement, even the small harbor boat of one of the coal companies being utilized to bring down four coal boats, and a snowboat pusher was chartered to bring down ten barges. Fourteen tows of more than 200 craft were in the movement. I.ast August, during a period of extremely low water, a fleet of barges, which carried 13,000 tons of coal, was successfully moved by means of artificial floods. About a vear ago two similar experiments were carried ont successfully at a time when there was a shortage of coal in Cin- cinnatl, Unmanned Boats Foiled. The Germans recently attempted an attack on British warships by means of small boats loaded with high ex- plosives, unmanned and controlled hy ‘wireless, The idea was originally an American one, and was developed in the Hammond wwireless controlled tor- | pedo. But the drawback in all these radio-controlled devices is that the enemy can send out “interfering” waves and throw the boat off its course. Che latest improvement in boats con- rolled from shore is said to be a craft hose course is directed by playing a archlight on aa selenium cell. The octrical resistance of selenium varies | 1 light and darkness, and this fact can ¢ taken advantage of to manipulate steering apparatus by means of the ager of the searchlight beam. Government to Use Buildings. Prof, C. C. Nutting, who will lead a arty of Iowa scientists in an expedi- ion to the West Indies next summer, 119 received word, says the Towa Uni- versity News Letter, that the English aovernment building on the Pelican islands, which will be the base of the expedition, will not be turned over to the explorers without cost. Some of “he men who intended to go with this oxpodition at first have since entered var service, but plans are going for- ward rapidly ane the outlook is most mwoamising, Professor Nutting declares. te made a preliminary visit to the “lof the expedition last summer, and wa that he lias never ceen a places tra the onportnity for scientific re- SEG WIS any greatur. ignorea Body Evaporation. In the early days of steam vessels a firing suit was invented. A thin metal or asbestos cover was lined with rub- ber. ter tank on his back. By opening a small valve near his shoulder he could sprinkle his bare skin. The inventor scalded to death, notes a writer, trying to prove his point. The sad part of it was that he was on the wrong track entirely. The suit made body evapora- tion nearly impossible, and that is real- ly what cools us. Clear Conscience. Say, old fellow, don’t carry the joke too far. Send the umbrella to Room 11, Fraternity Building. If the owner is not in just set it up beside the door. Or if you have that weak feeling and are in need of a tonic, and not able to climb the stairway, you can just pitch the shower stick in at the lower door entrance and return home, or any old place you like, carrying a clear conscience of one having done a good and worthy deed. Try it once—Win- chester Sun. Right of Choice. You cannot always choose your as- sociates, but you can select your com- panions, observes a sage. stances may throw you with people who are distasteful to you, but circum- stances cannot force you to take them to your hearts and into your confi- dence. Choice is stronger than en- vironment. Wherever you are, you al- ways have the privilege of choosing. Live Right. Right living and the right kind of work have changed many a stunted boy into a well-developed man, asserts an educator. Spiritual growth is not greatly aided by sitting down and thinking about it. Live in the sun- shine of trust. Rely on a strength higher than your own. Reach out helpfully to others, and growth in the | divine life will look after itself. The Shawm. A shawm was a wind instrument of the oboe class but with a wider bell. It is a very old type of musical instru- ment, as it is spoken of by the Psalm- ist. The Romans used it freely. There were treble shawms and bass shawms, and the name gradually gave way about the sixteenth century to “mo- boy” or “howboy,” eventually evolv-! ing to “oboe.” Working and Thinking. There is no less virtue, rather more, in events, tasks, duties, obligations, than there is in books. Work itself has a singular power to unfold and develop our nature. The difference is not be- tween working people and thinking people, but between people who work without thinking and people who think while they work.—Henry Van Dyke. Written Before Christ. All the books of the Old Testament were written long before the birth of Christ, some of them as much as 1,400 years before, others from 500 to 1,000 years before, and none less than 300 to 400 years before. The Gospels and other books of the New Testament , were written from 33 to 60 or 70 years after the birth of Christ. Might Have Saved French. In the Franco-Prussian war a dis- patch was “lost” which might have averted the French defeat in 1870. Ba- zaine, whose message Marshal Mac- Mahon never received, was after the war ordered shot for treason, a sen- tence which was commuted to 20 years’ imprisonment. Needless to Copy Others. To do anything because others do it, and not because the thing is good, or kind, or honest in its own right, is to resign all moral control and cap- taincy upon yourself, and go post haste to the devil with the greatest number.—Stevenson. Are Parrots Left-Handed? It has been noticed that parrots seize objects with the left claw by preference or exclusively, and they make a readier use of the left claw for climbing than the right. Are they “left-handed ?’—IZxchange. Curious. Just happened to think—funny, but true—that every man who ever made a pioneer of himself was considered looney! Can you locate a single ex- ception? Look ’em over.—Richmond Times-Dispatch. Women Carry All Wealth. In Dutch Guiana the women carry upon their persons aH the family sav- ings in the shape of heavy bracelets, anklets, necklaces and even crowns of gold and silver. The Excuse. “Many a man,” said Uncle Eben, “thinks he has done a day’s work when he has made up a good excuse foh not doin’ no work yesterday.” The Minuet. The old-time “minuet” derives its ‘name from the Latin minutes—small, ‘applying to the short steps peculiar to this dance. Ce Cheerful! Don’t he a gloom-dictributor. join the Silver Lining cinb.—Bostan Glohe. The wearer carried a small wa- | Circum- | SCIENTISTS AIDING IN WAR | | Experts Have Found a New Work in Which They Are Materially As- sisting the Government. Secretary of the Interior Lane, in his recent annual report, portrays the i transition of a peaceful democracy | into a nation organized for war. Pos- session of resources alone, he warns | the country, does not win wars, and recounting the enormous progress made on every hand, declares the phys- ical resources of the United States are almost completely at the command of the world’s needs. “‘What can you do to serve me?” quotes the secretary, replying: “The answer of this department is that it has put every agency and activity which it has at the service of those departments more directly concerned with war-making. “Our men of scientific knowledge— metallurgists, chemists, engineers, typographers—have found new work at their hands. “The patent office has been searched for new devices that could be brought into use to kill the submarine or limit its destructiveness, for the plans of heretofore unused lethai weapons and ! for the formulae of improved or un- known sources of power. “The scientific bureau of the gov- ernment found themselves converted overnight into adjuncts and auxil- faries in the great international con- test. Men who had regarded them- selves as modestly useful only in the discovering and revealing of new sources of material strength found that their years of experience in the mountains and on the desert, in lah- oratories and in mines, called them ot once into the thick of the European struggle.” NOT COLDEST AT SOLSTICE Crest of Winter Weather Comes Much Later Than the Accredited Be- ginning of That Season. Though the day as a whole begins to lengthen December 22, we have the puzzling fact that the sun continues to rise later for some days, a scientist states. The earth is actually nearer to the sun at this season than it is in summer, but the sun’s low angle pre- vents it from warming things up as it otherwise would. Though nominally “winter begins” December 22, this is an arbitrary date, and everybody knows from experience that this is not the coldest part of the vear. The crest of the cold comes in January and February. The reason for this lag of the cold season is that in December the earth is still enjoying the heat it stored up from the sun in the summer and it does not _cool off to its maximum point till a month or two later. In the same way the hottest part of summer is not at the summer sol- stice, June 21 and 22, but from a month to two months later, for it takes the earth that long to get warmed up. An Incident of Sea War. William McFce, author of “Casuals of the Sea,” tells in an English paper, Land and Water, of an attack by a submarine upon a steamer and de- scribes this incident of the engine room before the boat was sunk: “Tor those three men (the officers) stood by for the better part of an hour. The stokehold was empty, the steam was dropping, and there was considerable water in the bilges, but they stood by watching the speaking tube and the blind white face of the telegraph pointing irresolutely to ‘Stand By’ (the orders from the bridge). And present- ly the strain of waiting grew oppres- sive, so that the chief, looking up to- ward the skylight, said to my friend, ‘Mister, go up and sce what's doing. It must be daylight now. And he went up, and came out on deck and found himself face to face with a problem of some complexity. For the deck of the ship was deserted, and far across the dark sparkle of the sea he saw the boats crawling toward a smear of smoke on the skyline.” Training for War. If Englishmen considered the foot- ball field as the place to win their bat- tles, Prussians have always held that the best way to prepare for victory is by training their young officers in the hunting field, notes a writer. Since medieval times the chase, especially on the continent of Europe, has been advocated by the school of warriors. In the old days, when men were only in- terested in fighting, and when there weren't really enough wars to keep a healthy feudal nobleman continuously occupied and happy, warring upon wild animals was discovered to be the next best thing to warring on humans. Officer Ignored Orders. Early in the war when Field Mar- shal John French and General Joffre were straining every nerve to hold back the German advance whizh they did finally at the Marne a French gen- eral, so the story goes, refused to open orders sent by an officer who had been promoted over his head. The message, like the dispatch in the Franco-Prus- sian war, was “lost” and a division, which was left without support, was almost annihilated. The story goes that the general was ordered shot. | Marriages in England. The war. has resulted in 200,000 English people being married between August, 1914, and June, 1917, who in the ordinary course would not have Mallet, registrar general of | Geaths and marriages in Englest births, | married. The marriage rate for 1915 was the highest recorded, 19.4. These | fiztres are given out by Sir Bernand | | Shoes. School Shoes FOR BOYS, Th kind of shoes that wear, made by the J. E. Dayton Com- pany, and guaranteed to be all solid leather, high and low tops, $4.50 Per Parr, Purchase your Rub- bers now. YEAGER'S SHOE STORE THE SHOE STORE FOR THE POOR MAN Bush Arcade Building 58-27 BELLEFONTE, PA. Come to the “Watchman” office for High Class Job work. LYON @ COMPANY. Peace at Last. The world is now looking for better things from our country and people. We will celebrate peace now by making a special sale in our Coat and Suit depart- ment. 200 Coats, all colors and sizes, black included, special- ly priced to put a new Coat within the reach of every woman, Miss and child. W aists. SILK AND COTTON SHIRT WAISTS. We have just opened a full assortment of Silk Waists with high and low collars in all the new colors—white, flesh and yellow. All sixes up to 56, at especially low prices. Linens. The largest and best assortment of Table Linens, Nap- kins to match, that cannot be matched in price. ~ Shoes. Shoes. Still saving money on all Shoes bought at our store. All styles for men, women and children. Blankets and Comfortables To keep you warm these cold nights. Prices the ; lowest. Lyon & Co. ... Bellefonte.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers