4, r
5 A- Tt
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FUN WITH A CAMERA.
Interesting Symposium of Articles
on Amateur Photography.
PLEASURES
OF PH0T0GEAPH1KG.
Houses
in Motion, Tessels Under Sail and
Other Moving Objects.
60HE OP THE LATEST IMPEOTEMENTS
nmm FOE Tmt DIJIM.TCH.1
Amateur photography has made rapid
strides in tbe few years since its inception.
There are thousands of knights of the
camera in all parts of the country. A sym
posium of articles descriptive of the growth
ot tbe art, its present condition and future
prospects, by such eminent amateur pho
tographers as C. W. Canficld, the President
of the If ew York Society of Amateur Pho
tographers; H. T. Duffield, a scientific
writer and lecturer; Alfred Ii. Simpson, a
prominent business man with photography
for a hobby; E. Peebles Smith, a scientific
photographer, and Bichard A. Anthony, a
well-known manufacturer, is interesting.
AMATEUR PHOTOGRAPHY.
Iu Plcasnrec, nnd the Improvements Made
In tbe Necessary Outfit.
Amateur photography has come into ex
istence in tbe last eight or nine years. The
introduction of the dry plate made photog
raphy so cleanly, so pleasant and so simple
that many people took up the art as an
amusement. Improved methods have done
away with the difficulties of the old regime,
and made what was formerly only a business
a popular pastime. Photographic outfits are
now so compact that they can be carried any
where, and the work is now enjoyable. By
the old process one had to clean a piece of
glass, cover it with collodion, sensitize it
with silver and erpose it while moist. To
produce a picture it was necessary to have a
dark room, a silver bath, and chemicals at
the place at which the picture is made.
The process required 20 or 30 times as long
as the dry plate process, and for that reason
moving objects could not be taken. The
pleasure of photographing horses in
motion, vessels under lull sail and other
moving objects was impossible under
the old process, but is easy now. The ad
vantages of the new process are that the
plates are already prepared, they may be
used at any time, they are remarkably
sensitive, and may be laid aside two or three
years before the picture is taken, and then
they may be developed instantly or at
leisure within a year. The plates are so
compact that many extra ones may be car
ried in the outfit. A celluloid film is now
being adopted as a substitute for glass, thus
doing away with tbe weight and the danger
of breakage. These films produce equally
good results and are a great advantage.
Paper is also being used as a substitute lor
glass. The paper in the shape of a roll is
attached to the back of the camera. It
takes the place of a plate, and by turning a
screw the paper is shifted like a panorama.
The only difficulty is that the grain of the
paper shows in the picture, but this will be
overcome in time.
Great improvements in developing have
been made. Instead of requiring several
developing liquids and processes, a single
liquid has been discovered that develops the
picture. It is called hydroquinon. Itis re
markably convenient It is colorless and
may be used repeatedly. The form of cam
era now most popular is the detective cam
era. There are many kinds and shapes of
these, some of them taking the form of a
traveling bag, a cigar box or a case such as
musicians carry. The object is to deceive
the looker-on and enable the operator to
take vie ws of people, street scenes and real
lite without discovery. These cameras are '
held in the hand, they are capable of being
adjusted and focused, and they do as good
work as an aparatus mounted on a tripod.
Another field of study and improvement
is the shutter, which is now made ot very
delicate mechanism, in order to be accurate
and rapid. Complete exposure has been ob
tained in one two-hundreth part of a second.
It is seldom necessary to use such a rapid
shutter; but it is important that the time of
exposure should be under absolute control.
Constant improvements are being made in
the shutter to make it illuminate the plate
in the best manner working from the
smallest to the largest opening. Among
the people interested in amateur photog
raphy are professional men and men of
scientific ability, men of mature age, and
men of prominence in the business world.
The many advantages that amateur photog
raphy has will undoubtedly make it the
scientific amusement of the future.
Alfbed Ii. Simpson.
AMATEUR SOCIETIES.
The
Work Done bv Them nnd Their Ad-
vantnees to Beginners.
" Amateur photographers' societies are a
great advantage to beginners. The firstjso
ciety formed in this country was the pho
tographic section of the American Institute.
This was organized March 26, 1859. The
next one formed was the Photographic So
ciety of Philadelphia, in 1862. "Within the
last two or three years societies have in
creased in number with great rapidity.
There are now 04 societies of amateur pho
tographers in the United States. The So
ciety of Amateur Photographers of Hew
York is the lamest and best known organi
zation of photographers in the country. It
wasstartedinl884, and no whas 300 members
Frequent meetings are held at their rooms,
and matters of interest to photographers
are discussed, lantern-slide exhibitions
given, and new methods demonstrated. The
proceedings of the society are published
every month. A library of works on
photography is kept, and periodicals are on
file. The society has a professional
photographer in attendance, to do printing
for the members, and to assist them in their
v work. There is a large camera, a coDvinp
camera, an optical lantern, a dark room and
all the facilities necessary for the most diffi
cult work. Membership in the society is a
great advantage to amateurs. They get the
benefitcof the experience ot others, and have
a certain standing when they travel. The
society collectively can do many things that
individuals cannot do. The use of the dark
room is of great importance to the many
amateurs who live in boarding houses, or
have not suitable rooms at their ownhouse.
Among soiue of the prominent men who
are membe s of the society are Sydney
Bishop, T. T. Eckcrt, Jr., J.'M. Corn-11, E.
If. Dicfcerson, Jr., Joseph "W. Drexel, H.
T. Dnffield, Tracy Dows, H. Edwards
Ficken, Franklin Harper, Charles "W.
Hull, J. H- Janeway, M. D., J. F. D.
Lanier, Henry J. Newton, Robert B. Roose
velt, George P. Rowell, M. Roosevelt
Schuyler, Major George Shorkley, Paul G.
Thebaud, John T. Nagle, J. Wells Champ
ney, the Rev. Dr. E. C. Bolles, Prof.
L. H, Landv, Mr. Willard Parker and the
Hon. John Boyd Thatcher.
C. W. Canfield.
President Society Amateur Photographers
ofNewYbrk.
HINTS TO BEGINNERS.
The Kind of Ontflt to Bar nnd How to
Use Ir.
The first thing for a beginner in amateur
photography to do is to buy a good outfit.
He should pay a good price and get a
camera with all the modern improvements.
It should have a double vswing back and a
bellows of good length. For instance, a
camera with a lens of nine inches in facial
length should have a bellows 19 inches in
length. This will enable the operator to
use different sized lenses. The camera
shouldbe light and tbe tripod steady, as it
is important that the apparatus should
stand as rigid as possible. The most im
portant part of the outfit is the lens. Only
those of first-class makers should be pur
chased. One of the style called "rapid
rectilinear" is most used, and is best for all
purposes and all kinds of work. The focal
length of the lens should be one-half
greater than the length of the plate. Thus
tor a 5x8 plate a whole plate lens of a focal
length of as near 12 inches as possible
should be used. The length of the average
lens is 11 inches.
Beginners should not use a very rapid
plate, as these require accurate timing to
make good pictures. Of course accurate
timing is necessary with every plate to pro
duce first-class work, but a slow plate allows
more latitude of exposure and inexperienced
operatorssucceedbetlerwith them. Almost
everv Dlate made in this country is of good
quality. Every man should develop his own j
plates, for that is the only way to learn cor
rect exposure. He will soon learn to time
the exposure to suit the developer that he is
using. He should use one brand of plates
and one formula lor the developer. The
best way is to get developer, formula and
plates together.
Printing is not so important for the begin
ner to attempt, as it is difficult to learn.
The negative can be placed in the hands of
a professional printer wHo, guided by the
character of tbe negative', can make a better
print than the beginner. After one has be
come accustomed ' to the work of taking
pictures he should learn to printthem. It
is a good thing to join a photographers'
society, if there is one in the town in which
the beginner lives, as he may thus obtain
aid and advice from the older heads. One
thing he must make up his mind to not to
be disheartened by failure. Photography
is not an eisv thin? tit learn nnd one has to
contend with many disadvantages, such as
the variation in the light or the movement
of the object. He should not mind th'e
spoiling of a great manv plates and many
sheets of paper. A beginner should seek
the advice ot one more skillful than himself
in photography, and follow blindly the ad
vice given, which may be wrong in some
particulars, but far better lor the beginner
than to map out his own course. Don't at
tempt too much at first Rather make fine
negatives' and good blue prints than to at
tempt transparencies, lantern slides, prints
on bromide paper, etc After one knows
something of the art these will be easy to
do.
The most difficult part of photography is
portrait work. Even the most skillful pro
fessionals, who have fine galleries and all
the necessary apiiaratus, often make failure,
owing to variations in the light or other
causes. The amateur, who has no gallery
arranged for the special lighting of the sitter
and the ground, attempts his work in an
ordinary room. Good pictures can be made
in this manner, but only by the most ex
perienced photographers. It is better lor the
beginner to take groups of people in the
open air and to do landscape work. This is
difficult, but the beginner will soon learn to
do better work in this line than any other.
Tbe cost of an outfit is anywhere irom $10
to S100, or even higher. Th'e cheap outfits
do fair work, but one soon wants to get
something better, and they are usually dis
carded at a loss. Therefore it is better to
bny a good outfit to begin with. Cameras
taking a 4x5 or a 4Jx5 plate are better at
the start than one taking a 5x8 plate, as the
plate used is a considerable item. A good
lens costs about $40 and a camera from $20
to $30. The chemical outfit necessary costs
about $10 more, making the total cost of a
good working apparatus from $70 to $80.
Such an outfit as this will last a man all
his life, and will always be, nseful, even if
he a ft ei ward buys a full plate outfit costing
$150.
There are many prominent men who are
amateur photographers. The Hon. A. A.
Adee, Assistant Secretary of State, is an ex
pert. Senator Kenna, of "West Virginia;
the Hon.John Boyd Thacher, of Albany;
ex-Congressman Allen, of Massachusetts;
W. K. Vanderbilt and F. A. Constable are
all successful photographers. Mrs. Andrew
Carnegie, Mrs. Wi Hard Parker arid Miss
Catherine Weed Barnes do excellent work.
The Prince of Wales is President of an
English club and the Czar of Russia is in
terested in the art. The Archduchess Maria
Theresa, of Austria, and the Crown Prince
of Italy are also amateur photographers.
H. T. Duffield.
RECENT IMPROVEMENTS.
Tbe Dry Flnte nnd Photographing Under
Water by Electric Light.
The improvements in photographic plates
and apparatus has enabled us to do work
now that would not have been possible a few
years ago. The present may te called an
era in plate making. With one of the latest
plates made, and one that works more rap
idly than any one we have, I took a room 15
feet long and 10 feet wide Dy the light of
two ordinary gas jets in two and one-half
.minutes. The result was a perfect photo
graph. This feat has only been possible
since the new plate came into use. With a
flash light I have taken a whole audience
in an uptown theater. The flash light con
sists of magnesium powder combined with
pulverized carbon, and when ignited it pro
duces a brilliant white light for an instant.
Flash lighting was first introduced in 38S1,
when a ribbon of magnesium was used. The
present flash light has been in use only
about 18 months.
Photographing under water is one of the
latest things that have been done. Electric
light is used to illuminate the water, and
the camera is placed below the surface in a
case similar to a diving bell. The bottom
of the ocean, with all of its curious forma
tions and vegetable life, can be taken in
this way. Photography has a wide and im
portant use in astronomy, and quite a num-
c-er ot pnoiograpns irom oaiioons have been
taken by the instantaneous process to illus
trate the use of the camera in war times:
The introduction of the dry plate has
made "instantaneous photography possible,
and many curious views are produced.
Crowds of people, parades, horse races and
many other occurrences are reproduced.
With a flash light and a camera the horrors
of the slums are taken. I have been in
.queer places with a detective camera under
my arm and a companion with me to
op'erate the flash light The picture is taken
the instant the flash goes off, and then we
often find it convenient to get out of the
way. At some of the seaside resorts where
bathing is the chief amusement amateur
photographers are ruled out, and anvone
carrying a suspicious-looking box is politely
requested to leave the beach.
E. Peebles Smith.
A POPULAR CRAZET
The Ranks of Amateur PbotoKrapbers Re
cervine Thousands of Accessions.
Amateur photographers are so numerous
now that it is impossible to make any accu
rate guess as to their number. Previous to
the introduction of the dry plate, in 1879,
there war,e no amateurs in this country. Now
there are fully ten times as maay amateurs
as there are professionals. The old method
made it impossible to take pictures without
very elaborate facilities and costly appa
ratus. It was a method of insurmountable
difficulties for amateurs. Pictures could
only be taken when there was a dark room
at Hand Tor developing the plates. Outdoor
views were impossible, unless a tent was
taken along. '
The introduction of the dry plate enabled
a photographer to take views whenever con
venient, and to finish them at his leisure.
He can take pictures in the daytime and
finish them at night in any room Irom whTch
all light is excluded except that of a ruby
lantern.
The advantages of the dry plate and im
proved apparatus have made photography
so easy and pleasant that it has been taken
up by thousands of people all over the
United States. The amateurs include pro
fessional and business men who have leisure
time during tbe day, and also many clerks
and others who have only Saturday after
noons and their summer vacations in which
THE
to indulge in the pastime. Every amateur
who takes it up and goes through the coun
try taking viewspnduces others to join the
ranks. Thus amateur photography has
spread ana become a popular craze through
out the country. It is not a temporary
craze, either, but has come to stay, and the
number of photographers is constantly in
creasing. The Improvements in photography have
enabled it to be applied to mauy uses for
which it was formerly not available. The
flash-light has made it possible to photo
graph tunnels and rooms where the sunlight
does not penetrate. Manufacturers are
using photographic, views of their machin
ery much more than in former years. Ex
ploring and surveying parties are fitted with
photographic apparatus. All of the re
cently fitted np men-of-war have amateur
outfits on board, and tbe departments at
Washington employ the camera for many
purposes. Insurance men have taken ad
vantage of instantaneous photography to
obtain views of 'fires, explosions and acci
dents as a means of advancing their busi
ness. In fact, there is scarcely a line of
business in which photography is not now
used in some manner. The outlook for the
future is that still further improvements
will be made in the methods and the appa
ratus, and that the utility of photography
will be greatly increased.
RlCHABD A. ANTHONT.
A WORLD-WIDE MARKET.
That Is the Secret of One Specialty Mnnn
fnctnrer. Success Only Specialists or
Rich Men Wake Iron Go.
Speaking of the depression in the iron
trade, a prominent broker, who does much
business with iron manufacturers and
knows their condition almost as well as
they themselves do, and fetter than almost
any other outsider, says: "Most of the
manufacturers who are out of debt and
operate largely are making some money;
but they are doing it by putting out an
enormous amount of goods. The time has
come when a small manufacturer making a
general line of goods can no more make
money than could a carpenter of the olden
time who made all his doors, sash, etc. It
takes an enormous amount of capital to run"
a general iron manufactory, and, while a
small concern might make a living on a
100-ton output a day, it would lose money
on one of 50 tons.
"As in the shoe trade and several others
where one man performs a single part of the
work, and can make wages at it, but would
starve were he to distribute himself over
several departments, owners of small
factories must confine themselves to special
ties. "Take for instance tHe Rochester Tumbler
Company, of Beaver county. It isn't a very
large concern; but it makes money by con
fining itself to making one class of goods.
It doesn't even make a stem glass of any
kind; but it turns out an enormous number
without stems, and it makes them of over
500 designs, turning out 60,000 dozens a
week. Its profits are of the smallest kind,
and yet it makes money. For instance, on
one large order theie was no profit on the
tumblers whatever; but the company was
able to charge 25 cents for the? package sur
rounding each two dozen. This package
cost but 8 cents, so that a profit ot 17 cents,
or S cents on a dozen tumblers, was thus
secured.
"The company doesn't do business on a
small scale, although itself isn't large. It
has men traveling over most of the world,
and sometimes when an agent starts cut he
isn't expected to get back before five years.
He not only canvasses South America, Aus
tralia, Africa, India and China, but also
England,tFrance and Spain all the world
over and bacK acain, what the company
cannot sell at home and to the countries
generally named, it sends to England,
using England as a dumping ground lor its
surplus."
It would appear from the above that
Americans can make goods quite exten
sively for foreign markets.
ANDERSON'S MCTIONABY OF LAW.
A Promising Ken- Boole by' a Member
of
the Fitubnrc Bar.
If there is any sort of reading as to which
time is money, and precision and reliability
count vitally, it is in respect to law books.
The Dispatch is glad to notice this morn
ing a new treatise by a well-known member
of the Pittsburg bar, William C. Anderson,
Esq., which is launched with every pros
pect of great' success. "Anderson's Dic
tionarvof the Law," as it is called, pub
lished by T. H. Flood & Co., of Chicago, is
indeed one of the most important contribu
tions to our legal literature issued in the
last ten years. Its success is deserved bv
the wide range of illustration and lucid ex
position of principles applicable to judicial
definitions, words, phrases and maxims.
Acting on the principle that the treatment
of such a work must be "lucid in order and
logical in sequence," the author, bv ex
ample and precept, rule and decision drawn
from the courts of last resort, has illustrated
the leading principles within the whole cir-cle-of
American and English jurisprudence.
The work is the result of ten years con
scientious, painstaking, enthusiastic labor.
It would not be possible, in a limited re
view of so valuable a treatise, to enumerate
the invaluable professional aids that hang
like jewels on every page. Among the
leading topics, copiously illustrated by the
latest and freshest decisions, are, for in
stance, such following ones of late growth
in public interest: Boycotting, commerce,
corporation, discrimination, extradition,
license, libel, monopoly, oleomargarine,
photograph, police powers, prohibition,
siriKes, ounuay, iciegram, leiepnone, etc.
Under these and the other subjects of the
work, forming a scholarly cyclopaedia of
the law, are cited upward of 28,000 cases,
with names of parties and dates of decision
in the footnotes. To every student, profes
sional or lay, who would keep abreast of
modern judicial expression, the work is a
veritable necessity.
E7EEI MAN HIS OWN PE0PHET.
How to Forecast the Weather by Watch
ing the Floating Clouds.
ChsmDersbnrg Splrit.l '
"How do I know so much about the
weather," came from a man not in the Sig
nal Service. "Well, I'll give you a pointer.
When you wish to know what the weather
is going to be go out and select the smallest
cloud you see. Keep your eye on it, and if
it decreases or disappears it shows a state of
the air that is sure to be followed by fine
weather; but if it increases take your over
coat with you if you are going awav from
home, for falling weather is not far off.
"The reason is this: When the air is be
coming charged with electricity you wilt see
every cloud attracting all lesser ones toward
it until it gathers into a shower, and, on the
contrary, when the fluid is passing off or
diffusing itself, then a large cloud will be
seen breaking into pieces and dissolving."
The celebrated XXX 1855 pure rye
whisky, the finest in the United States, can
always be had at G. W. Schmidt's, 95 and
97 Fifth avenue.
For RenI Bnrcalna
In diamonds, watches and silverware, go to
Hauch's, No. 295 Fifth ave. Special low
prices in fine parlor clocks and bronzes to
match. It will pay yon to call this week
and see the immense stock of goods just re
ceived at 295 Fifth ave. Tvrsu
Bananas.
Just received, three cars of bananas, ex
tra selected stock; largest receivers in this
market, five to ten cars weekly. Come and
see us. We are headquarters.
PrrxsBUBO Pbodtjce Commission Co.,
Myers & Tate, Props.,
813 Liberty st.
You can buy 50 delicious imported cigars
for U SO at G. W. Schmidt's, 95 and 97
Fifth are.
4 - r
PITTSBURG
DISPATCH,
EDUCATIONAL ERROR.
How Earnest Reformers Can Help the
Young Ideas of the Nation.
FAULTS OP OUR SCHOOL SYSTEM.
Why Some of the Text Books Should ha
Consigned to Oblivion.
SPELLING SEEMINGLY A LOST ABT
rwarrrBH Ton tux DisrATcn.i
Did it ever strike you that our common
school training might be better than it is?
If you do not like the word "common" you
may style it "public," "democratic," "the
bulwark of liberty," "the conservator of
civilization," or whatever else may please
your fancy, but please do not fall into the
demagogic style of -praise that hides a mul
titude of sins. It isn't necessary to call at
tention at this time to the chalk-and-water
stuff that is put out by publishing houses as
nutriment for the infantile brain, such as:
"John has a dog. Did, you see his dog?
John'is a good boy and loves his dog. Our
TTpflVPnlv "Father marie dncra nii it l nuf
duty to "treat them kindly," etc. Any
teachzr of experience and sense knows that
such twaddle is an insult to the intelligence
of a 7-year-old boy or girl, unless such girl
or boy be feeble-minded.
The trouble is that waste effort does not
end here. The memory is taxed in the
learning of many things which do not tend
to awaken thought or stimulate the reason
ing powers, and the process is not only con
tinued through the public school course.
but runs in a measure through high schools
and colleges, and people are frequently
turned out ot college who cannot spell cor
rectly one-half of the words which form the
basis of our language, and in practice trans
gress in composition the simplest rules in its
grammar. And this is largely because studies
mainly ornamental are . forced on pupils,
taking time that should be devoted to essen
tials. If a child be born rich and have 20
years in which to complete a course, it is all
well enough, perhaps, if he have the inclina
tion, to study the fine arts and three or four
dead languages, but when parents are poor
and the education of their children is only
accomplished at a sacrifice of comfort, not to
say health, the object of common school
training should be to equip children for
future struggles, and this is generally ob
tained without the knowledge of many
ologies now superficially taught. If any
thing more be necessary
LET THE STATE TAKE CHARGE,
as some Socialists urge, and not only pro
vide the school, but the books, clothing and
food of the child also. Edward Everett,
who rated as a ripe scholar, fs quoted as
saying that a liberal education consisted in
the ability to read English nnderstandingly,
to know arithmetic, to spell well and to be
able to write English grammatically and
forcibly. He admitted that to be an en
gineer, or a chemist, or a theologian, or. a
lawyer, etc., additional special training
would be necessary, but the child that had
the rudiments first named could, if pos
sessed of the force requisite to success, soon
acquire the needed extra training.
A. short time ago I heard two boys cate
chising each other on their history lesson,
so as to assure themselves that th'ey would
be able to recite. The firsts question was.
"On what day did Columbus discover
America?" The answer was given with
year, day ot the weefc and date ot the month,
and tnen tne interrogator wanted to know
nterroeati
what had happened the next dav and the
next and so on, and after I had listened half
an hour I wondered how the poor, little
heads could contain such a mass of rubbish.
Bight here Lwould like to asfc what par
ticular bearing the exact day of the week
and month, or even whether it were sum
mer, autumn, winter or spring when Colum
bus got here has on the future welfare of the
child or his relations to the country. It
strikes me that too much attention is paid
to the opinions of scholiasts, no
matter how eminent they may be.
While the value of real edu
cation cannot be over-estimated, cramming
is not always education. .Educated me
diocrity may excel in finish in the pulpit or
lorum, just as it aoes in tne case of tbe
mechanical arts, but sometimes the vigor of
invention will be found on the side of
those who have not been trained to think by
arbitrary rules. It has been asserted so
frequently that one cannot be a correct
reasoner unless he be a mathematician, and
yet I have known acute reasoners who were
not even arithmeticians; and I have known
eminent mathematicians who in any other
sphere were very ordinary reasoners.- JL
have also known lairly good logicians who
could not define the word "logic." Asser
tions are frequently received as axiomatic
on very slight evidence. Educational train
ing cannot be made too broad, if the pupil
have time and brain for its reception, but
m scnoois iur we masses me essentials
should come first, and if the cornice never
be erected or the frescoing be done, the re
cipient may nevertheless get through life
quite respectably and profitably, and if his
penetrative powers be stimulated his or her
conversation in the evening of life mav be
more entertaining than would be bythe" pos
session of what are termed the accomplish
ments. A NEGLECTED STUDY.
Suppose that, in our public schools, as
much time were spent in the study of politi
cal economy, unbiased by the political
views oi any party, as is now spent on
chronology and other non-essentials, would
the people continue to be willing to be fed
on the wind pudding that the candidates for
Congress now passoff for argument? It is a
notorious fact that a considerable number of
men sent to Congress do not even know the
rudiments of political economy, and when
they must deliver themselves for the benefit
of their constituents are either forced to
memorize or get newspaper correspondents
or doctrinaires to write their speeches for
them. Is it any wonder that our legislation is
ring-streaked, striped, speckled and griz
zled, and that Jacob gets all the; benefit and
Lalian the offal? Instances might be given
of alleged argument delivered on the hust
ings which otherwise intelligent people re
ceive as the sincere milk of the word and
yet so ridiculous that the late Mr. .Crowley,
of the New York Zoo, might have detected
their fallacies.
But leaving out of sight the weightier
matters of the law, justice, judgment, mercy
and truth, it is humiliating to confess that
our elementary schools tail to give us much
more than "English as she is spoke" in the
ordinary business of life, Leaving out of
question the solocisms heard from morn
until night in promiscuous discourses, the
great majority of people (not the illiterate)
cannot spell correctly words in every
day use. As to grammatical con
struction the child Js generally handicapped
by learning to talk irom parents who have
only a speaking acquaintance with Lindiey
Murray and his descendants. It should Ae
the office of teachers in primarv schools to
correct bad usages of this kind, and some of
them exercise it, but for some reason sub
stantives and verbs, as a rule, can no more
agree in person, number and case than can
Mills and McKiuley on the tariff question.
Let philologists rave and the people im
agine a vain thing as long as they please,
but it stands to reason that to require a
child to spend more time and labor learning
to spell the thousands of words in necessary
use than is required to get a tolerable ac
quaintance with a foreign language is ab
surd. Let us have as many characters as
we have sounds, and then only an
idiot should be excused if he did
not spell correctly. It may be a difficult
task to reduce the science of using language
correctly to practice, but there wonld lie no
excuse tor poor spellers. As it is now, stu
dents leave tbe primary school without ,t he
ability to either spell common words cor
rectly or to put their theoretical knowledge
of grammar into practice, and often they
come out of college almost as ignorant in
this respect as when they entered.
8PELLIHG A LOST AEXr
If you want to know how few people can
SUNDAY,. N APRIL 14,
spell make a study of all the signs that
greet you in a two hours' walk any of these
bunny afternoons. You will see lots for
"Sail" on every hand. Go into a restaurant
and you will find that vou can have
"pickled pigs' feet," though the feet and
the pigs parted in Chicago and very few can
swear whether the pigs were or were not
pickled. A clerk in a bookstore, and not
an ignorant clerk, either, not long since
put a sign in the window read
ing: "Flexible backed teachers'
Bibles for sale at $1." He soon caught
on when asked what kind of teachers flexible-backed
ones were, and the sign came
down in a twinkle. A man in Coraopolis
announces that be his a house and two
' acquers" of ground to sell. A man ad
dressed his affianced: "Deer angle of my
hart," and the consequence was that the
lady was disgusted and broke off the match,
although the young man was intelligent,
wealthy and in general what is known as a
'catch." Experience has shown that the
less one knows about orthographical rules
the more liable he is to spell his words as
though he had shaken the letters out of a
dicebox and accepted .the arrangement re
sulting from the shake. It may be explaina
ble by Dr. Wood's ideas regarding heredity.
Our ancestors 50 years aco and beyond
seemed to exercise their ingenuity in form
ing combinations like "phthisick," pro
nounced tizic.
Eminent writers and speakers write and
say "politics are, were, have been," etc.
Why not say news are? Hundreds of news
papers announce somethinglike this: "This
paper having a larger circulation than any
in the city," etc. Now it would seem that
the few rules governing this and that of
"black ladies' hose" and all related expres
sions might be mastered in early youth if
explained by competent teachers with ordi
nary horse sense.
These may appear to some people as small
things, but they are not. Bloody battles
have been fought' on account of a misappre
hension of the meaning of terms, and bad
spelling, like sin, is a reproach to any peo
ple. D.
SUPERVISORS AND ROADS.
How the Farmer Slay Utilize Roman Art
Isrs at aComfortnbie Margin Highways
Cnrbed and in Good Shape.
Speaking of the money wasted yearly in
the patching of country roads, said a Bob
inson township farmer: "The office of Su
pervisor in some of the townships near the
city has become a very important one, for,
although the supervisors get but meager
salaries, they have found a way to make
the office quite profitable. They are al
lowed a dollar a day for each laborer em
ployed, and in townships like Stowe a
large portion of the taxpayers pay their
road taxes in money instead o'f work.
"The supervisors hire Italians with ease
at 510 a month, and, by doing their own
cooking, they can save money at it, and the
work is not hard. This gives the supervisor
a clean profit of 516 a month on each hand
he employs; and much political hustling is
done to secure the office."
Under this system it is evident that some
Supervisors would not try very hard to
make roads so that remaking would not be
necessary each year; but neither country
npr city can afford to thus build up Super
visors' fortunes. By use of road scrapers,
now coming into pretty general favor,' roads
on which there is little heavy hauling
could be made quite good at small expense.
The scraper does the main part of the ditch
ing, ana it rotinds the road high in the
middle, so that, if the earth were retained
there and well packed, ordinarv hauling
would not greatly injure it. After the
ditches ate made the roads should be
I curDea. At would not be necessary
T '" aress ine curostone, and they
are in nearly all cases close at hand.
The ditches should be paved by setting
stone on edee. Heavy four-horse rollers
should be drawn over the roadbed until it
is compact, and, being higher in the center
than at the sides, most of the water would
run off it without saturating the earth.
Then in the winter, if the road be some
what cut up, the rollers should be drawn
over it just when freezing begins. This
wonid cause it to freeze as smoothly as a
macadamized road.
Macadamizing will not be done on all
country roads in this century, possiblv not
in the next; but if the main roads near the
city were made permanent, the converging
ones could be kept in good order by the
method mentioned and at but little cost.
WAEMLT WELCOMED.
Hot. C. E. Folton Begins His Labors In
FlttHbnra To-dar.
Bev. C. E. Fulton, the new minister of
the Christ M.E. Church, will preach for
the first time to-day. Mr. Fulton comes
from St. Louis,-and was warmly welcomed
to Pittsburg by his new congregation. He
left behind him many friends in St. Louis
who were sorry to see him leave.
PENNSYLVANIA HOUSES.
The Best Are Always Fonnd In the Sale Sta
bles of This City.
A fine horse is admired under any and all
circumstances, whether it be on the race
track or attached to one of the heavy iron
wagons .seen so frequently on the streets of
this city. Pittsburg draught horses are
noted for their beauty. They are obtained
from the surrounding counties and are al
ways to bo-found in the sale stables of the
city. This is especially true of the large
sale stables of Mr. James Kerr, 523 to 527
Penn avenue, between Fifth and sixth
streets. His stables are large, airy and
well lighted, affording 'every facility for a
careful examination of the animal in the
stall.
Mr. Kerr obtains his horses from the ad
joining counties. For this reason they are
acclimated and are much better than the
Western horse. They are always well
broken and ready to go into the harness as
soon as taken out of the stable. They are
from 5 to 7 years old. He receives from 75
to 100 horses every week.
A match gray team and a match bay team,
weighing 3,200 pounds, are now the most
attractive of the many match teams he con
stantly has in his stables. Besides these
teams, Mr. Kerr has a number of fine saddle
and driving horses suitable for general pui
poses. A number of horses were received
yesterday, and can be seen at his stables on
Penn avenue, near Sixth street, at any
time.
Mr. Kerr has been dealing in horses for
20 years, and has a reputation for fair deal
ing and straightforward transactions. His
motto has always been quick sales and
small profits. For these reasons he has
secured a centrally located and convenient
stable at which to transact his sales. A
lover of horseflesh can find some fine
animals in the stalls.ot bis stable.
Crayon Portraits Take a Drop.
Mr. Treganowan, the art dealer, of 152
Wylie ave., who, in connection with his
general art store and picture frame estab
lishment, carried on the portrait business
for the past 8 years, has fitted up a studio
especially for making crayon portraits, and
will from date of this insertion make life
size crayon portraits for the small sum of
$6. He has become convinced that many
people would have life-size pictures made
but for the enormous price asked for them.
In order to bring the price within the reach
of all, he will from this date make crayon
portraits, life size, at 56. Who would not
pay this price for a large crayon portrait.
Mr. Tregahowan's work is well known and
has always given satisfaction. He has been
in business in this city for 8 years and is
well and favorably known. A guarantee
will be given with each order to insure sat
isfaction. Orders by mail promptly at
tended to. Correspondence in reference to his
wort solicited. His prices in picture
frames, engravings, etc., is conceded to be
the cheapest place to deal.
TREOANOWAIT,
152 Wylie avenue.
Ohio river gas field. For control of it,
attention is called ,to the advertisement
headed "Capitalists! Investors 1" yesterday.
Cash paid for old gold and
Hauch's, No. 295 Fifth aye.
silver at
yrsan
' 1889.
SOME STAGE BABIES.
Distinguished Actors and Actresses
Who Made Their
FIRST APPEARANCE ON THE STAGE
In Boles That Eeqnirea Only a Calm Display J
of'epose.
GOOD SALAEIES PAID CHILD. ACTOES
ICORKESFpN DISCI OV THE PISrATCH.1
New Yobk, April 12. Since little Elsie
Leslie Lyde has made.herself tbe pet of the
town by her performance of Little Lord
FauntUroy, Mrs. Frances Hodgson Bur
nett's youthful hero, considerable attention
has been attracted to the dramatic perform
ances of children ingeneral. How far chil
dren are susceptible to dramatic training
and whether dramatic talent or genius is
permanently improved or permanently in
jured bv the attempt to develop it in child
hood are questions now meeting with much
discussion, while mord than one New York
manager, anxious to duplicate little Elsie's
success, has in training some pretty pink
chernb whom he contemplates bringing out
as a star, and to fit whom he is having a
play written, just as Mr. Vincent Crummies
employed Nicholas Nickleby to construct
one to fit the pump and tubs he had pur
chased at an auction sale.
Though the general opinion heretofore has
not been favorable to "Infant Phenome
nons" and "Juvenile Prodigies," and
though the interesting fact remains that in
the theatrical profession, as in every other
.walk of life, precocious childhood seldom
develops into brilliant manhood or woman
hood, yet many of the most distinguished
actors and actresses of that indefinite period
"the olden time" as well as several of
our own day, began their professional ca
reerinot onlv in childhood but even in in
fancy.
"WOULDN'T STAND A DUMMT.
.Theater-goers of the present day are ac
customed to see dramatic babies personated
by large dolls so enveloped in wraps that
their faces are invisible. There was a time,
in the old days of stock companies, when a
manager would no more have thought of
producing a play in which one of the char
acters was an infant without a live well
spring of pleasure than he would of having
the principal male character played by a
tailor's dummy.
There was no trouble in procuring babies
in those days. Every theater had a settled
company, and if none of its members could
boast an infant, there was pretty sure to be a
doorkeeper, stage carpenter, scene shifter or
musician.who could.
There is scarcely a prominent actor or
actress now in the profession, who is a mem
ber of an old theatrical family, but has been
carried on the stoge as the infant in "Mr.
and Mrs. Peter White," "The Swiss Cot
tage," "The Mariner's Compass," or some
of the numerous other old-time pieces in
which a baby is made to play a prominent
part. Every one of the children of the late
E. L. Davenport Fanny, Lillie, May,
Edgar L. and Harry thus made his or her
first appearance on any stage at a very early
period ot infantile existence. So did Effie
EUsler and. her mother, Effie Murray, be
fore her, at the Walnut Street Theater,
Philadelphia, where her father, John Mur
ray, was stage manager for many years.
EDWIN BOOTH'S TIBST APPEABANCE.
The children of the great Junius Brutus
Booth were all made to do duty in this way,
and old "Uncle" John EUsler, the veteran
actor and manager, laughs heartily when
he tells how Master Edwin Booth kicked
and screamed when he was carried on at
the age of 3 months as the infant in "Mad
elaine, the Belle of the Fauburg."
Joseph Jefferson tells me that the first in
stance in which he ever knew an artificial
baby to be substituted for a real one was a
Charleston, S. C, in 1852. It was before he
struck his big bonanza, "Kip Van Winkle,"
and he was playing a round of eccentric and
low comedy characters, aided by his first
wife, Maggie Lockyer, a very clever sou
brette. The baby "who was to appear in
their favorite farce of "Mr. and Mrs.
Peter White" was suddenly taken ill, and
as it was found impossible to procure an
other on short notice a dummy or "prop
erly Dauy naaio oe suostituted.
It sometimes happened that the only
babies obtainable would not tamely submit
to being carried into the glare of the foot
lights, but would protest at the top of their
voices to such an extent as to interrupt the
dialogue and prevent the audience from en
joying the play. Then a "property" baby
would have to be substituted.
THE PROPEETT BABY'S BEION.
At length, finding that this kind of infant
answered every purpose, that the pieces
seemed to go just as well and that the spec
tators seemed just as well pleased as when
live babies, which were infinitely 'more
troublesome, were used, manneers discarded
the latter class, and the property baby
reigned supreme.
At length, when no live babies had been,
seen on the stage for many years, it occurred
to Kate Claxton that a revival of the old
custom of having a real live baby in plays
might prove a highly attractive novelty to
theater goers of the present' generation. Ac
cordingly she tried the experiment when she
produced "A Double Marriage" in this city
in the fall of 1879. The result proved that
she was right, the real live baby making the
most pronounced hit of the piece. When
Dave Belasco and James Hearne brought
out their "Hearts of Oak" in the season of
1879-'80, they followed Miss Claxton's exam
ple and a live baby was made the most
prominent feature of the play, which it still
continues to be, and there have been many
other pieces of late years in which real
babies have borne a prominent part.
WELL-PAID CHILDREN.
Staae babies often earn excellent salaries,
usually receiving from $10 to ?20 per week,
together with their expenses and those ot
their mother or other relative who travel
with them. Thus many an infantile actor
or actress supports a whole family. These
infants are the pet of the entire company,
and no fleet-footed racer, valued at thou
sands of pounds or dollars and entered for
the Derby or the Futurity, is more solicit
ously and carefully groomed, watched and
guarded. '
Children who play speaking parts often
receive higher salaries than many older
performers. A little girl named Frenoh,
who played the child ifadelaine in "A
Celebrated Case," when it was first produced
at the Union Square Theater in the season
of 1877-'78, received a salary of 575 per
week. This little lady made at that'time
fully as great a success as that achieved by
little Elsie Lyde in "Little Lord Fauntle
roy." - FbankFebn.
Bnnnntn.
Just received, three cars of bananas, ex
tra selected stock; largest receivers in this
market, five to ten cars weekly. Come and
see us. -We are headquarters.
PIXTSBUEO PeODUCB COMMISSION CO.,
Myers & Tate, Props.,
813 Liberty at.
.Am. the leading brands of imported
cigars, wholesale and retail.
Q. W. Schmidt, 95 and 9T Fifth ave.
Call nnd See Neiv Store
And elegant line of diamonds, watches,
clocks, jewelry, silverware, etc.
Jas. McKze, Jeweler,
420 Smithfield street, one door below Dia
mond street.
Fob parlor, bedroom, dining or kitchen,
furniture call on Dain & Daschbach, 111
Smithfield street. Prices guaranteed to be
the lowest in the city for first-class goods.
1
NEW ADVERTISEMENTS.
COME
IIISIBMKRrf STOCK
' $65,000 Worth of Choice Dry Goods,
Of J. E. ANDERSON, at
138 FEDERAL STREET. ALLEGHENY.
Purchased at Sheriff Sale by T. M. Latimer for Spot Cash, and must be turned at
once. The store has been closed for five days to mark: down the goods. They will be sold
at 60c on the dollar less than the original cost And such an endless variety of Silks,
Dress Goods, Ladies' and Gent's Underwear, Umbrellas and general line of Dry Goq$s is
sure to attract great crowds of ready buyers, who are looking for spot cash bargains.
1.000 Pairs- of
WILL BE SOLD AT
THIS IS A SPOT CASH SALE!
Among this Immense stock are 10,400 BOLLS OF CARPET, bought at auction
prices from Sanford & Co., New York, and will be sold at'bargains never before heard of
in Pittsburg.
Everybody Should Take Advantage of This Opportunity,
DON'T FORGET THE PLACE!
BANKRUPT STOCK SELLING AT SHERIFF SALE PRICES!
T. M. LATIMER,
i
No. 138 Federal Street, Allegheny.
apM-115
ft Hest Miieit M !
And TJndoubtxdly The
MOST POPULAE
Is the Old Reliable House of
PJGKERI NG'SM
You canjust depend on it that despite the loud-mouthed croakings of dealers who
have sprung up like mushrooms, and who really have little or no standing in business
circles, we are f
, Tie Leaders of tie Business i His Cifj. '
-We will not Permit any dealer in Pittsburg to sell Household Furniture, Carpets.
Baby Carnages. Toilet Sets. Cookine Stoves. Refrimtnr. Tri,h -- ... i7l
low or lower prices than we will. We're not
pay wen lor) columns after
trnth tn,U nnt ?n fcnlH rpfj.fa. K.lll; -.
---. -.-- --. .-. .v.w. M utiuMut ao
PICKERING, THE EVER
Sells goods for lower prices than anybody else !
Does a better business than other dealers 1
Shows the finest goods in the city I 1
-rr j i .. , . , J?as the finest store and stock In Pittsbnrz I
Hammers prices down to the lowest living profit ! uiug s
Cheerfully refunds money to all dissatisfied patrons I "'
Treats everyone alike, be thev rich or . r
J Ask your Fathers I Ask your Mothers 1 Ask your Grandparents where the- hrm.T,
their Furniture years ago, and they'll teU you Pickering's. And "it's Tas fgood tVday"
These are some of the elements that attract trade to our store. We do business on
ousiness principles, and ask the custom of no one on the whining and whimperinz nlea of
sympathy. It we do not sell you goods for less money than other dealers; if e don't'
don't'tradewithus: emember, 6"
CASH OR EASY
Don't Forget the Address.
PICKERING-'
COB. TZEIsTTIEa:
Near Union
Open Every Evening Until 8 o'clock. Saturdays TJnifl 10 p. it
i
AND SE
THIS
Lace Curtains !
A GREAT SACRIFICE.
OP THIS CITY
built that way. We ask for vour welcome
colnmm nt m. ; (, .... v i-
Vu- ." jiTI"'" V" ""1'-1, uu UIO
uic uuujuuueu noonaay sun mat
POPULAR DEALER
Makes honesty the foundation of all dealings I - M
you'll get elaewhere,
PAYMENTS I
i
No Branch Stores.
-
.
'V
JUSTID E2STfJ
Depot
apl&s
m
I