HOW BLOCK SIGNALS WORK Operation of Ingenious System Thai Insures the Safety of Railroad Passenger*. Comparatively few people know just what is meant by block signals when they read that a railroad has es tablished the system on its lines. The block is a length of track which, on double track roads, has at its en trance a post and movable arm, and on single track lines one at each end. To say that a 'lne has every inch protected by this system means that the entire line is divided into consec utive blocks. Only one line from Chi cago to New York is thus protected, and of the total in the United States, one-third is on the Union and South ern Pacific. The operation of the block system is simple but absolute. In a few words, it means that a train cannot move from one block into the next until the latter block is empty. As a train moves forward, the signal arm is set to show that the block just left may be entered by the next train t'ollowirir. When a train enters a block it so affects the en ergy that is a part of sig naling that the sema phore arm remains hori- A 1 ill' if zontal until the block is vacated, when the arm automatically drops and points diagonally toward the ground. Therefore, as long as the engineer sees only drooping sig nals he can keep on go ing, but the instant he finds the arm stretching out over the track, he must come to a stop, knowing that that block is occupied by another train. The energy mentioned above is elec tricity; the current being obtained from a battery near each post. The rails of each block are made as if all of one ! i we by connecting the joints with wire. The extreme ends are then connected and thus a circi is formed in which the current flows. When no train is in the block, the mechanism operated by the current pulls the arm down and holds it there. When a train enters the block the wheels and nxles, combined with the rails, form a shorter circuit, the energy that held the arm down is withdrawn and up it swings to a horizontal position. ' Each block is independent of all other blocks. When the last wheels of a train leave it, the current re sumes its flow and the signal arm at the entrance is pulled down to the "proceed" position. But before the hind wheels have finished doing this, the front wheels of the locomotive have entered the next block and caused the arm there to rise to the "stop." For a single track line the auto matic arrangement is the same, but there is a signal at each end of the block. To prevent two trains on a single track line entering a block at the same time from opposite ends, be fore the entrance to a single track block is reached the train sets a stop signal at the far end of that block, and as it enters it sets the entrance signal to stop just as is done on double track. Half a mile or more before reaching the entrance signal of each block the engineer comes to what is called the "distant," which tells him how the other or "home" signal is set. As the automatic signal is con structed, it cannot show "go ahead" unless the entire combination of rails, wire, current, magnet, etc., is work ing perfectly. If a wire parts, a rail breaks, a battery fails,a switch point \ opens the slightest, the combinatior fails and the r« leased arm re Vt.?\ sumes the horl- 'jV \ zontal position. So, T K \ when ihe engineer \ \ sees i lie stop sig- I \ \ nal, ho knows that j there may be a | j train on the block, I j 1 M an opt n switch, or a broken rail or signaling appa- jj, ratus. At night colored lights are display ed on the same posts. The lamps will burn eight days without replen ishing, but are refilled every four or five days. When the home signal is at stop, the engineer sees the flame through a red glass. The caution light on the distant is yellow. A green lights means go ahead and is used on both the home and distant signals. Where two or more lines cross at grade the general plan of semaphore arms for day and colored light for night is the same, but owing to the complications all signals are con trolled by levers operated by men from a central station. The crossing and contiguous tracks are governed by the interlocking system. When this is in perfect order and the cross ing unoccupied, it displays "stop" to every track approaching the crossing. Any change must be made by the sig nalman, and to display "proceed" he must first lock all other approaches with the stop signal. There are now about 11,000 miles of railway equipped with the block system. The only line thus protected every inch from Chicago to California Is via the Northwestern, Union and Southern Pacific. One-third of the 11,000 miles of automatic signaling is on the Harriman lines—and the North western has more miles of double track automatic than any other rail way. For the Hostess Chat on Interesting Topics <rf Many Kinds, by a Recognized Authority A Novel Shower. A dozen girls who lived for years as neighborhood friends showered one of their number, who is to be a De cember bride, in this unusual manner: The hostess asked them all to meet at her house informally at two o'clock, the bride-elect was asked to come at three. In this way the host ess explained her scheme, which was ■as follows. She had material for each one to make the following articles: A dusting cap. three dusters, a broom bag, ironing holder, laundry bag, kitch en apron, clothespin bag, roller towel and a case to wind linen doilies on. The entire cost was added and divided equally and then each article was wrapped in tissue paper, "tied with rib bon and hidden throughout the rooms. When the honored guest arrived, they chatted awhile, then the hostess an nounced that a fairy godmother had confided to her that there were pack ages of value concealed within the portals of the room, to be discovered only by a bride-elect and to the tune of bridal music. Whereupon the host ess sat down to the piano and played wedding marches while the merry lit tle bride hunted the hidden treasures, guided by the loud or soft tones on the piano. All the packages being dis covered, they were opened and the girls all set to work on which ever piece they chose. They pronounced this a utility "shower," and it certain ly was practical, for the guest of honor said her mind was so in the clouds that she had never even dreamed of the articles presented. Besides it was a jolly afternoon. Refreshments were English toasted mufllns, orange mar malade, preserved ginger and delicious tea, brewed by the hostess. The Golden Wedding. A fiftieth anniversary to be cele brated this month is going t6 be o most beautiful affair. The invitations are lettered in gold engraving anc' ask you to arrive between the hour? of eight and ten. The decoration? throughout the rooms are to be in yellow, consisting of showers of gilt wedding bells, which are to swing from every chandelier and be sus pended by yellow tulle and yellow satin ribbon over the heads of the couple where they will stand to re ceive congratulations. This corner is to be made a perfect bower of greens studded with yellow cliysanthemums. Brass candlesticks holding yellow can dies are to stand on piano, mantel, bookcases, etc. The honored bride will carry a bouquet composed of 50 yel low roses, and the refreshments are to be orange ice, New York ice cream, sunshine cake iced with yellow, and the bonbons are to be wrapped in gill paper. Gilt bell-shaped boxes are to be given as souvenirs, bearing the monogram of the happy pair. The November stone is the topaz, and it works up beautifully into seals, with handle of gold, into watch fobs and pins. I have seen all these articles and they will go as gifts to this wed ding. As every one likes to give a toast and often people are not pre pared, there are to be perfectly ex quisite cards passed to each one to be read aloud after refreshments. These cards ate done in gold lettering, with a mother of pearl inotif worked out beautifully. The choicest gems of our best writers are found on these latest creations. I must admit they are only postcards, as the reverse side shows. For want of a better name I call them Fashion's On the left is a house gown of Linden green satin with trimming of old gold velvet and gold buttons. On the right Is a reception gown of king's blue panne velvet, with trim ming of Venetian point. CAMERON COUNTY PRESS, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 1909. "Sentiment" cards. After the guests have paid this pretty tribute the cards are to be collected and putin a box covered with cloth of gold and pre sented to the aged couple. A Guessing Contest. This clever little stunt was the fin ale at a shower given for a November bride. A table was brought into the room having on it a lot of things, each one representing a cake; cards were passed bearing the duplicate numbers of those on the articles. Great fun was had in the guessing. Here are some of the objects, and a hostess may enlarge the list as she desires: A sponge (sponge cake), a little toy hen for "layer cake," a chocolate lozenge (chocolate cake), two little Cupids (angel a picture of a bride in full wedding costume (wedding cake), a bit of gold and silver gauze or rib bon (gold and silver cake), etc. For prizes there were recipe books and several beautifully decorated cakes. MADAME MERRI. CARE OF THE TABLE LINEN Best Quality Will Quickly Spoil If Not Handled in the Proper, Manner. The careful keeping of table linen will mean more toward a perfect ta ble than perhaps the quality of the linen itself. The most ex quisite table linen will look no better than the poorest quality if it be thrown into a too small drawer or ,iloset. Just a pair of tablecloths will go further if they are kept well flattened or, better still, rolled on a pasteboard IY wooden roller than a dozen ill-kept ones. AU centerpieces. If not rolled, be spread flat, In a full-sized box or a 'inen-covered portfolio. The portfolio is a reliable addition to the dining room or pantry, and it may be made at home by covering two pieces of pasteboard with tan-colored linen or crash, hinging them together with coarse linen thread or with narrow ribbon strips an inch In length, so that the portfolio will hold more flat linen pieces." This, when filled, is tied together with ribbons and kept in a napkin drawer, where even the sud den rush for napkins can no longer wrinkle the embroidered linens. Skeleton bodies are popular. There Is quite a fad for opal matrix. The Japanese wash silks are love lier than ever. Foliage colorings abound. Enormous black cherries are used on some of the hats. Coats for girls' suits are plain and almost straight. The latest Parisian novelty is the hand-tucked waist. Some of the standing collars are hemstitched around the top. Belts will match the skirts instead of the waists this season. Most of the new crepe blouses are inset with Irish crochet lace. Pretty little neck bowS are made of colored -open-work embroidery. Swiss embroidery, whether hand done or machine, gives excellent ef fects. NEW STRENGTH FOR WOMEN'S BACKS. How to Mako a Bad Back Better. Women who Buffer with backache, bearing down pains, dizzy spells and 11 that constant feeling ES/mF I of dullness and tired ncss, will And hope ,vOTf advice of Mrs. Mary Hinson of 21 Strother St., Mt. WVy H Sterling. Ky. "Had Yt ' <■ I not used Doan's I 1 \ trM Kidney Pills, I be lieve I would not be living today." says Mrs. Hinson. "My eyesight was poor, I suffered with nervous, splitting head aches, spots would dance before my eyes and at times I would be so dizzy I would have to grasp something for support. My back was so weak and painful I could hardly bend over to but ton my shoes and could not get around without suffering severely. Doan's Kid ney Pills helped me from the first, and I continued until practically well again." Remember the name—Doan's. Sold by all dealers. 50 cents a box. Foster* Mllburn Co., Buffalo, N. Y. THE REASON. Weary—Gee! I wonder wot dat dorg bit me on the foot for? His Friend—l suppose it's cause he couldn't reach no higher. Mistake Somewhere. A story comes from a Kentucky town that is worth repeating. There lives there a woman who says that she has immediate communion with the Almighty, and now and then de livers to those of common clay a mes sage that she has received from on high. The fact that these messages sometimes take on a very materialis tic hue does not alter their effective ness, in her opinion. One day she went into the office of a well known attorney and approached him solemnly as one about to reveal an awe-inspiring secret. "The Lord sent me to you for $25," she announced. The attorney looked up and smiled. "That must be a mistake," he re plied, blandly, "because the Lord knows I have not got It." Celestial communication was there upon broken off. As to the Hessian Fly. The Hessian fly is a German product which was conceived In iniquity and born in sauerkraut. It is a long, rangy fly with a bite like a steel trap, and It lays a pale blue, oblong egg at the rate or 30,000 an hour. The Hessian fly will eat anything from decayed custard pie to a glass inkwell, but its favorite dish is the double neck of a fat sent. This bird can perform a two-step on sticky fly-paper without crooking its toes, and is proof against rough on rats, the daisy fly killer, and a strychnine hypodermic. No Hessian fly was ever known to die of anything but old age, which accounts for the color of its whiskers. If it ever fas tens upon your jowl, it will stay until removed by the undertaker.—Man chester (la.) Press. Looking Brighter. "Things are looking brighter now," says a Billville citizen. "The sheriff is now my hrcther-in-law, and he won't levy on my crop; the town doctor boards with me, and doesn't charge a cent for tellin' me that if I don't quit eatin' six meals a day I'll not live to be a hundred, and last of all, the head undertaker is my best friend, and has promised to fix me finally. "I feel that I don't half deserve so many blessings, but I've got 'em and I'm going to hold onto them."— Atlanta Constitution. SOME HARD KNOCKS Woman Gets Rid of "Coffee Heart." The injurious action »112 Coffee on the heart of many persons is well known by physicians to be caused by caf feine. This is the drug found by cbem ists in coffee and tea. A woman suffered a long time with severe heart trouble and finally her doctor told her she must give up cof fee, as that was the principal cause of the trouble. She writes: "My heart was so weak it could not do its work properly. My husbahd would sometimes have to carry me from the table, and it would seem that I would never breathe again. "The doctor told me that coffee was causing the weakness of my heart. He said I must stop it, but It seemed I could not give it up until I was down In bed with nervous prostration. "For eleven weeks I lay there and suffered. Finally Husband brought home some Postum and I quit coffee and started new and right. Slowly I got well. Now I do not have any head aches, nor those spells with weak heart. We ltnow it is Postum that helped me. The Dr. said the other day, 'I never thought you would be what you are.' I used to weigh 92 pounds and now I weigh 158. "Postum has done much for me and I would not go back to coffee again for any money, for I believe it would kill me if I kept at it. Postum must be well boiled according to directions on pkg., then it has a rich flavour and with cream is fine." Read "The Road to Wellville," found in pkgs. "There's a Reason." Ever read the nlxtvr lettorT A nrn one anpenr* from time to time. They ■re Renulne, true, and full of human Interest. S Th riiM U li| Cbttp ) J J. F. PARSONS' ? CUBES! RHEUMATISM! LUHBiaO, SCIATICA | NEURALGIA and! KIDNEY TROUBLEI taken Internally, rids the blood H of the poisonous matter and acids which H are the dlreot causes of these diseases. H Applied externally It affords almost In- B ■tant relief from pain, while a permanent ■ oure is being effected by purifying the ■ blood, dissolving the poisonous sub- ■ ■tanoe and removing It from the system. ■ DR. 8. D. BLAND I Of Brewton, Ga.. wrltMi ijp "1 bad been a sufferer for a nnmber of years Kj with Lumbago and Rheumatism In my arme IH and lege, and tried all the remedies that I oould ■ gather from medical works, and also oonaulted with a number of the best pb/slslans. but found H sjthlnar that gav* the relief obtained from Ml "t-DROPB." 1 shall prescribe It In my praoUos H Cor rhsumatttm and kindred diseases.*' |p FREE! If yon are suffering with Rheumatism, Bj Neuralgia. Kidney Trouble or any kin* 1 dred disease, write to us for a trial boule ■ of "I-DROPS," and test It yourself. H "•-DROPS" can be used any length of Br Um# without acquiring a "drug habit." ■ aa It is entirely free of opium, oocaine. E aloohol. laudanum, and other similar t ingredients. .4. -Ksra ztsrzzzL™ | gWAIMM IHtOSATIO OUR! OOSPAIY.g Baft U. lit Lake Stra.t, H n mm n ■■■n Gives TOO the reading matter I* 112 n& no me r&pOP Which you have the creates in ——— i■ i ——- ... terest —the home news. Itseverv Issue will prove a welcome visitor to overy member of the family- U should head your list of newspaper and periodical subscriptions. G.SCHMIDT'S.^ FO* J gopdlar t—, # CONFECTIONERY DaflV Delivery. All °rd«r« given prompt and skillful attention. Enlarging Your Business If you are In annually, and then carefully business and you note the effect it has in in« want to make creasing your volume of busi» , more money you ness; whether ft io, so or 50 I B will read every P er cen * increase. If you word we have to watch this gain from year to Bay . Are you y°u will become intensely in- HI Hia spending your terested in your advertising, O gfffl money for ad- * n d how you cm make it ea» Egg tej| vertising in hap- large your business. V H hazard fashion If you try this method wo Wn as if intended believe you will not want to for charity, or do you advar- let a single issue of this paper tise for direct results? goto press without something Did you ever stop to think from your store, how your advertising can be k® pleased to havo made a source of profit you call on us, and we will you, and how its value can be tßke in explaining measured in dollars and our annu al contract for so cents. If you have not, you many inches, and how it can be are throwing money away. used in whatever amount that Advertising is a moderm « eems ne-essary to you. business necessity, but must If you can sell goods over be conducted on business the counter we can also show principles. If you are not you why this paper will best satisfied with your advertising serve your interests when you you should set aside a certain want to reach the people of amount of money to be spent this community. JOB PRINTING A can do that class just a little cheaper than the other fellow. Wedding invitations, letter heads, bill heads, sale bills, statements, dodgers, cards, etc., all receive the same careful treatment —just a little better than seems necessary. Prompt delivery always. If you are a business man, did you ever think of the field of opportunity that advertis irg opens to you? There ia almost no limit to the possi bilities of your buainess if you •tudy how to turn trade into your store. If you are not get ting your share of the business of your community Hurt's m reason. People go where they are attracted where they know what they can get and how much it is sold for. If you make direct statements ia your advertising see to it that you are able to fulfill every promise you make. You will add to your business reputa tion and hold your customers, i It will not cost as much to run your ad in this paper as you think. It is the persistent ad vertiser who gets there. Have something in the paper every issue, no matter how small. We will be pleased to quote you our advertising rates, par ticularly on the year's busi ness. fc* I I Hiagq MAKE YOUR APPEAL 9 to the public through the SzL columns of this paper. With every issue it carries its message into the homes and lives of the people, Your competitor has his store news in this issue. Why don't you have yours? Don't blame the people for flocking to his store. They know what he haa. 3
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers