Encon raging Signs of the Opening of
the National League Base
ball Season;
COMMENT ABOOT THE LOCAL CLUB.
A Few Leading Features Eejardinff th6
Fining of Manager Hanlon by
Umpire Powers.
HALL AND FITZSIilUOUS CONTEST.
Eoiscm Wtj Ecaa Definite CcnditioEj Ehesld Bciii Uu
CtsEpiemiip TitU.
Lovers of the national game had nothing
to complain of on "Wednesday, as far as en
thusiasm was concerned. The weather was,
no doubt, a. little bit faulty, but it is a long
time since I saw so much enthusiasm on an
opening came as I did on "Wednesday. And
judging from reports a similar state of
things prevailed at other cities, and in New
York particularly there was an extraordin
ary condition of affairs. "Well, no doubt,
we were all glad that such was the case, be
cause many have been the predictions that
have been made of late regarding the inter
est in the national game. Those who tried
to wreck it last year and who failed have
steadily maintained that the national inter
est in it was dead. The wish was father to
the thought. But the contests of the week
have proven beyond all doubt that Ameri
cans still lore their national pastime, and
that they like it best when it is free from
strife. There is little room yet to make any
general comments about the various teams.
"We cannot judge a season by taking
one or two days into consideration. The
contest will have to continue for weeks yet
before we can venture anything definite on
the respective merits of the teams. But
there are one or two things that can safely
be said, I think. One is that the League
has eight excellent teams. Each team con
tains first-class men, and this makes it diffi
cult to say how things will turn. But I am
extremely pleased to note that our neigh
bors at Cleveland hare a team that I venture
to say will be a credit to the city. I have
come to the conclusion that those who think
Mr. Leadley's team are anything like marks
will be badly fooled. Nobody deserves suc
cess more than Leadley, and I know of no
manager whose success would please me
more than his. He has a good lot of men.
About the Home Flayers.
There are many interesting features con
nected with the home team, and I venture to
say that local patrons of the game will have
more to say abont this team than any other
that has hailed from Pittsburg. Every de
feat, or at least the vast majority of defeats
of the team, will be the theme of censuring
remarks by thousands of admirers of the
club. This has been the case already, and
there indeed has been little reason for it. I
still hold the opinion that Pittsburg has
one of the best teams in the country, and at
the same time I do not expect to see them
make a great showing for several weeks
to come. Baseball playing stands out alone
irom other sports, and one particular feat
ure oi it is that we may get together nine of
the best men in the country and still have a
somewhat inferior ball team. It is only
when the nine individualities can be
harmonized into a unit that we
can expect to have a successful
team. I have known four of the best rowers
in their day, who, as!a crew, could nut de
feat other crews who individually were
their inferiors to a great extent. In this one
case unity of action was lacking and as a
result the great efforts of one rower im
paired the efforts of another. But this
-unity and harmony is not only a neces
sary factor in a successful baseball team,
"but a steady maintenance of good form is
just as Decessary. A team may be playing
in the most harmonious wav and yet lack
ing their best form. "When that is so we
may expect to see that team cutting a figure
far below its standard. "Well, then, it is
only when we find a team of good players
-working in unity and in their best form that
we find a victorious team as a rule. Of
course we may find exceptions, but this only
proves the rule, I don't think any of us will
disagree on this point. This fact brings us
face to lace with our local team, and there
we find a team of great universal merit and
players who are also working in unity. Bnt,
(and take notice of this "but"), they are
not in form, and when a team is not in form
the best kind of unity does not go very far.
The two must go together to win just as sure
as victory is made more certain by putting a
good jockey on a good horse. The local
players sre not in form, and that is the end
ot it. Mark, I am not entirely referring to
condition, because I make a distinction be
tween form and condition. We all have
seen many good men in the best of condition
add still not in their best form. This is the
case with our local ball team at present
Some Particular Features
Several ot our very best hitters are in ex
cellent condition, but they are not in good
batting form. This in itself is a very serious
drawback to the team's chances of victory.
Nobody for one moment will contend that it
is the regular form of such men as Beckley,
Browning, Carroll, Miller, Bierbauer and
one or two others to go up and face ihe
pitcher time after time without hitting the
ball safely. Their ordinary lorm is quite
different to that, and it is only because they
have not yet reached their ordinary stand
ard that they have made such a compara
tively bad beginning. "What a great differ
ence it would make were these men to net
into their usual batting form. They have
been engaged on that form, and certainlv it
cannot have entirely left in one winter. But
there is another feature in the team worthy
ot comment, and that is the pitching depart
ment. Here we find matters a little differ
ent and even a little worse than
In the other departments. "We have
some of the best pitchers in the country
but they are neither in form or condition. I
can never think of the pitching department
of the ciub without becoming a little dis
couraged. There has been what I may call
so much ill-luck connected with the pitch
ing department in the past that one begins
to think there must be "a jonah aboard"
somewhere. Stratton ison asick bed; Bald
win is not in his best form, nor are Staler
and Galvin. No matter how we may reason
as to the causes of all this, we have the fact
to deal with. And this reminds me of an
other fact that is of interest to pitchers par
ticularly, that is, to take the best of care of
'themselves during the winter. But all these
shortcomings which I have just noticed in
connection with the club are likely to
disappear on any day, because the club
.has in it the very best material, and
naturally the present defeats are only
of a temporry nature. If the
patrons of the team will only exercise a lit
tle patience ana wait until the players have
had a iair chance to demonstrate what they
really can do it will be better for all round.
The contest is a long one yet, and it may be
that many will fall bv the wayside before it
is over. It has barely started, and certainly
3bere is no sound cause of clamoring against
anybody or any team who start out slowly
in such a long race. It may be that we will
have to wait some time before onr team gets
into line, but when they do we will be re
warded. If they do not then it will only
prove that form on paper is not worth any
thing at all.
Umpires and Flayers.
On Thursday there ocenrred an incident
in the local game that brines up the old
question of the methods of umpires in en
forcing discipline, or I might say submis
sion, to their decisions. The incident I
refer to was that relating to llanarer JTn.
,Jon and Uojplr Powers. Th latter mad j
one of the most unfair decisions I have ever
seen. Of course, I don't fay the mistake
waswillul. I do not even insinuate that it
was wilful; but I do say that it waB a blun
der of the grossest kind Hanlon caught a
ball about two or three inches from the
ground, and Powers declared that be did
not catch it until it struck the ground.
Now, Hanlon was right and Powers wae
wrong. There is now no doubt on that
point. "Well, Hanlon naturally enough
walked in to Umpire Powers and wanted to
know definitely if such a decision could be
made. Powers emphatically told Hanlon
to his face that he did not catch the bill be
fore it struck the earth. Hanlon said he
did, and Mr. Powers rejoined by insinu
ating that Hanlon was lying. Hanlon
then told Mr. Powers that he lied, and
Hanlon was fined $25 and $25 more for ob
jecting to the first $25. Now all this arose
br a too despotic attitude assumed by Mr.
Powers. If he had been less imperious and
gentlemanly andsaid: "Hanlon.Idon'tthink
you caught that ball," the matter would
not then have become one ot veracity be
tween the pair. But Mr. Powers chose to
tell Hanlon in the most definite wav that he
I did not catch the hall, even after Hanlon
li aa said ne Qia. xn piaia terms, ivr.
Powers gave Hanlon to understand that he,
Powers, thought Hanlon was a liar, and
because Manager Hanlon resented this Um
pire Powers fined him. Now, I submit that
this is no way to proceed at all. The "kill
and genius of Mr. Powers have human
limits and that means he can err, and U he
can only be brought to know that very im
portant tact he will have a little
more respect for the judgment and opinions
of others. B.ut the very fact that his posi
tivism is so strong as to impel him to
charge other persons with lying who ex
press a contrary opinion is sufficient to stir
any amount of ire. I don't know what are
the instrnctions given to umpires on this
point, but most certainly I claim that an
umpire should have no right to make a
statement to a player directly inferring that
the latter is a liar. By all means I am for
having respect for the umpire, but I do claim
that on Thursday Mr. Powers was chiefly
responsible for the unpleasant dialogue be
tween himself and Hanlon and that there
was no justification at all for the lining that
followed. But a captain has a certain duty
to perform In justice to himself. If he stands
idly by and allows apparently bad decisions
to go with objecting the public will soon
demand his discbarge. This has become a
custom and nobody knows it better than the
umpires and even the magnates themselves.
Of course firmness is needed in an umpire,
but it shouM never develop into tyranny
and it is necessary that an umpire should
have plenty of civility and no bigotry. By
all means the fining of Manager Hanlon
was an injustice, and I say this regardless
of whether Hanlon is connected with the
local club or not.
The Association Outlook.
Since the League season opened baseball
patrons in League cities have paid little or
no attention to the American Association;
and, indeed, I Jail to observe that very
many people at all are paying much atten
tion to it. The events of the week have gone
far to strengthen my conviction that before
the season is out some clubs in the Associa
tion will be in difficulties. The other day I
noticed that the attendance at Boston was
below 500. Jnst think of that at this stage
and with such a high-priced team. Well,
that proves exactly what I contended when
it was first decided to put an Association
clnb in Boston. At that time I said tha: it
was a very dangerous experiment for those
who were to find the money for the new
club. Boston, I pointed out, was a League
city and had been so long a League city that
baseball patrons there had an- idea that
no other organization in the world could
have ball players like the League. This is
becoming true; so true that if the Boston
Associaeion club holds on to the end of the
season somebody's bank account will be con
siderably less, just mark my words. "When
the Boston League club opens up at
home it will be seen what place
in popular favor the League team
holds. Look at the matter as
we will we cannot avoid the conviction that
Association ball is much inferior to the
League article, and added to this is the fact
that the League has the prestige. But the
prospects of the Cincinnati Association team
are anything but flattering, and how they
are going to hold their own or anything like
it financially I fail to see. In short, it is
becoming more apparent every day that the
Association has made a very serious blunder
and is persisting in it. I am frank enough
to admit that I hare no sympathy for an
organization that tries to down the national
agreement, because, as I have before said,
were an organization of that kind to be suc
cessful it would he so much the worse for
the national agreement. I labor to uphold
the national agreement and, therefore, op
pose anything which aims at its destruction.
There is one featnre in connection with the
Association, and that is that a number of
good and pupular players who for years have
been daily before the world have joined it
and snnk into comparative oblivion., "We
scarcely ever hear of that once famous man
Mike Kelly now. This, indeed, must be
exceedingly depressing to "King Kel," who
lores notoriety mere than anybody I know
of; indeed it is his great love in this respect
that has landed him where he is. Alto
gether I fail to see where there are many
bright spots in the Association's future.
The Reinstated Wheelmen.
During the week newspapers hare in
formed us that the L. A. V . and the A. A.
U. have joined hands and that the batch of
amateur bicyclists who were suspended
some time ago by the L. A. "W. hare all
been reinstated. I trust this news is true,
because matters hare already gone far
enongh. There may hare been some neces
sity for the L. A. V. calling a halt on the
rapid steps, toward professionalism, bnt as
soon as the matter was brought to promi
nence and dealt with by the leading author
ities in the amateur world, no good could be
obtained by prolonging hostilities. The ex
pense question has ever been a troublesome
thing to deal with among amateurs because
it is so difficult to draw the line. I hare al
ways been an adrocate ot rigid rules on the
matter, as the greater the laxity the less the
purity of the sport. And in this respect it
may not he out oi place to say that it does
not augur well for amateurism to have
professional boxers mixed up with it in any
way. There was a time when even profes
sional boxing and prize fighting were con
ducted on principles of honor, bnt irom the
day when the professional gambler, or
"sport," got hold of them, they have been
on a decline in all respects. But I don't
confine myself to boxing or prize fighting,as
there are many other branches of sports
that have been similarly ruined. There
should even be a distinct line drawn be
tween professionalism and amateurism, and
friends of the latter cannot be too mindful
of this. If this "expense" qnestion is not
boldly taken hold of and dealt'with in a
hroic way we may expect it to be cropping
up continually and I trust that the leading
organizations will settle the matter in a way
that will be lasting. Certainly I want to
see amateurs who cannot afford to absent
themselves from their employment compen
sated when ther do absent themselves in the
interest of sport, but the compensation
should not in any shape or form be for other
than actual expenses. The long controversy
on the question has, I think, drawn pnblio
attention to amateur sports more than ever
and as a result I expect we will hare a great
year. In all branches there is an actirity
tbat has not been found for some time. This
is a very hopeful sign and promoters of
amateur sports should be careful not to al
low anything to transpire that will in the
least tarnish the good name of bona fide
amateurism.
The Football Flayers.
Lot me say jnst a few words about our
football kickers. Their season, which has
been somewhat of a long one, is almost
ended, and I am glad to know that it ends
amid considerable enthusiasm. The con
test for the Pratt pennant has not been as
satisfactory as it might hare because of
the large number of games that hare been
forfeited. For instance one or two of the
leading olubs have secured most of their
victories by other clubs not appearing
against them. Thus the leading clubs in
question hare had an easy time of it. Be
came of this many patrons of the gtm are
urging that the four leading clubs should
draw off and then the tw wisieri ihealt
play for the pennant "While this May
sound plausible enough it is hot lair, be
cause it would be making the winner of the
pennant contest twice for it. "While it m ay
be true that the McDonalds, for instance,
have seenred several victories because of
the non-appearance of other clnbs, there is
nothing to show that they wouldn't haVe
won had those clubs been there. Besides,
the present pennant winners hare beaten
the other leaders. But no rule has been
violated, and as long as that is the case it
will be useless to talk about playing again
for the present pennant. The season has
proven one thing, viz: that a good Associa
tion football league can be established in
this section. There are plenty ot players,
and good ones. "What is needed is for rep
resentatives of the various clubs to meet in
good time this year, and have the best possi
ble arrangements made for a league next
tall. Beside this it might be wise to hare
a special team made up of the best players
in the district to go and do battle with the
Association teams of Chicago and St Louis.
If this were done it would cause greater in
terest than ever. Before leaving this sub
ject let me say that the league has in George
Macpberson an able Secretary. He has
worked hard and faithfully during the sea
son, and I believe that to him is due much
of the success of the league.
Fltzsimmons and Hall.
According to report, Fitzsimmons and Jim
Hall, the two Australians, hare been
matched, or, rather, have agreed to fight
with glores at Minneapolis for a reputed
purse of $12,000. In the light of recent
events and utterances of Fltzsimmons, this
is somewhat ot a surprise to me, and, to
speak frankly on the matter, I am not very
clear as to the bona fide nature of the affair.
Of course I bave"s,n idea that Fitzsimnions
will win, but if it is true tbat $12,000 are to
be offered to the men to fight for, and tbat
the arrangements have been made by
"Parson" Davies and Mr. Clarke, there is
little to prevent one from coming to the con
clusion that the $12,000 will be split up in
shares. "Whether this may be true or not,
there are facts which would lead us to be
lieve that it will be so. Let me relate facts
which I know to be facts. "When Fitzsim
mons was here he distinctly stated in my
hearing that he would put up a forfeit to
fight Smith at 154 pounds. He knew the
Smith party meant business, and he had to
make some definite more or statement But
he never pnt up the forfeit, and it soon
transpired that the "forfeit" notion was
simply a little scheme to allow him
to get out of the city without being
shamed. But he also said in my hearing
tbat he would not fight Smith or anybody
else abore 151 pounds, and he also urged
Smith's backer to match his man against
Hall. Amid all this the Smith party
offered to bet $2,500, in addition to any
purse that might be offered. Now after all
this, isn't it surprising to find Fitzsimmons
in Chicago agreeing to fight Hall at 166
pounds, or two pounds heavier than what
Smith agreed to fight him at? "We cannot
rery well come to any other conclusion than
the "go" between the two Australians is a
business "go." or that Fitzsimmons rates
Smith as a rery dangerous man. It must
be one or the other. But I heard Fitzsim
mons say that he would not under any cir
cumstances back himself for a cent against
Smith, and that he wonld only fight for a
"fat" purse. "Well, then, I may not be
wide of the mark when I sar that Fitzsim
mons shirked a match here that was to be on
its merits, the winner to take all,
to make arrangements for a contest
that on the face of it is much
a business transaction. It seems to me tbat
Messrs. Fitzsimmons and Hall, or at least
those rery "enterprising" and scheming
managers who hare them in charge hare
worked them rery well. Fitzsimmons has
been traveling from the Atlantic noising
forth his opinions and threat regarding
Hall, and the latter has been traveling from
the Pacific noising similarly about Fitz
simmons. Now they meet in Chicago, and
as a result there is a great hurrah and a
$12,000 purse offered. That is good business,
no doubt of it From a business point of
view probably Fitzsimmons is only doing
what others wonld do, but it only shows
that the great object of modern pugilism is
to gull the public
Championship Claims.
But sooner or later there must be some
thing definite done about the holding of a
championship title. The title of champion
is gradually descending into a farce. The
time was when a man who won the title and
who wanted to retain it was compelled to
defend it against the first man who pnt up a
reasonable stake, sar $250, rarely $500, and
about only once $1,000. The champion, of
course, was allowed plenty of time to get
ready, but he was compelled to defend bis
title or relinquish it Then the title was
worth something, as far as pugilism was
concerned, because a man who held it could
be looked upon as being really the superior
of anybody else his weight But that is not
the custom now. Under the present rule a
man may by mere accident or otherwise
win a championship battle, and he will then
pose before the world as champion for 12 or
21 months, or maybe a lifetime without
agreeing to fight anybody else. All he
need do is to state that he has "en
gagements" ahead and cannot en
gage to fight anybody until they
are fulfilled. And even if he does finally
resolve to meet an opponent he pleases
himself as to who the opponent shall be.
The first challenger has no more olaim than
the last and at that rate it is possible for the
best pugilist who ever lived to never have a
chance at all to fight for the championship.
If this is not ontrageous I do not know
what is, and at best it only reduces tbe title
of champion to a worthless degree. "What
is needed is that some definite conditions be
formulated and agreed on by a sufficient
number of representative men and author
ities. Then these conditions Bhould be
adopted and strictly adhered to so that
every aspirant for championship honors in
any class who conld find a reasonable
amount of backing should have a fair
chance to win the title. No fair-minded
man can well objectto a suggestion of this
kiud, because as long as things go on as
they are going it is nonsense to acknowledge
Fitzsimmons as the champion.
Pbinolb.
DECEIVING THE EYE.
Two Drawings That Show How Unreliable
the Sense of Sight Is.
Toledo Blade.:
The illustration shows what wonderful
tricks can be played upon the human
eye by knowing persons. Although the
lower of the two segments appears to be
much larger than the upper one, it is
really not so. By cutting out one ot tbe
segments and placing it on top of the other
the reader may deteimine which is the
larger. " This trick is as certain to deceive a
perfect pair of eyes as it is to mislead any
other kind. There is, therefore, no reason
why the reader should consult an oculist
after having solved the (rick.
Taking Orders.
""What are you doing?" asked a friend of
another who had just gone into the book
canvassing business.
v "Taking, orders," he sighed Wearily.
"That's the tenth place they told ate to get
out ? they'd kmk my seek."
Which It Wk Largtrf
WIRING IN CONDUITS
Kecognized as the Best and Safest
Way to Handle Electricity.
INCANDESCENT LAMPS FOE DESKS.
Machines to Tarn Lire Figs Into Fried
Saasages and Brashes.
THE CHLORIDE 0F 8ILYER BATTERY.
rwnrrout rem thx nuTXTca. s
In visiting most of the large new build
ings in our towns and eities just before the
last coat of plaster goes on the walls, and
even when everything is done bnt the deco
ration and the putting up of the fixtures,
one's eye is apt to be caught by same black
looking tubes that ramify in various direc
tions. These tubes are the latest develop
ment in electric wiring, and mark a great
advance. Until recently the wires for elec
tric lighting and other purposes, were, laid
right in the plaster, and then when they
were covered up it was a great nuisance if a
fault betrayed itself and the wires had to be
gotat'again. Very often nobody knew just
where the wires had been installed, and
thns the walls would hare to be broken into
here and there before they could be found."
Besides, many people have not put in elec
tric wires because they did not want
wooden moldings to be nailed over their
decorated ceilings and handsome paper and
lincrustas.
The new method is as great an improve
ment as a modern paved highway is over the
primitive cowpath. These tubes are in
sulated conduits or raceways, which have a
predetermined location jnat the same as
water pipes or gas pipes, and through which
the wires can be drawn or withdrawn at will
at any time. Not only are these tubes an
additional safeguard against fire, but the
architect can dispose them as he will in pre
paring his plans. It is also a recommenda
tion that by this means a house can be con
duited or tubed when it is bnilt, at rery
small cost, and then when the electrio light
station comes along, as it does in every pro
gressive community, it is an easy matter to
pull the wires in and avail one's self of the
new illumlnant. The tubes are also being
used for bell wiring, telephone wiring and
the like.
Perhaps the most notable use of this novel
departure, so far, is seen at Mr. Bockefeller's
new palace at Tarrytown, on the Hudson,
where the tubes not only run all over the
building, but are led through the very heart
of a big stone buttress along the drive, com
ing up out of the parapet every few yards
to carry the wires to the lampposts, which
are thus under direct control from the resi
dence.
Electrio Elevators.
A large number of electric elevators are
now running in this country. The original
plan in this class of work was to put a motor
on the elevator car and to let it engage by
means of spur gear with a rack extending
from bottom to top of the Bhaft More re
cent and more correct practice is to place a
stationary electrio motor either at the bot
tom of the shaft, or at tht top, and to use it
in place of the ordinary steam or hydraulic
plant Yet another practice is to have the
electric motor pump up tbe water for the
hydraulic elevator. A recent reversion to
the earlier methods, but with a decided
novelty in the application, is to place the
the motor under the elevator car, and to
connect it with a series of gear wheels which
grip the guy ropes very strongly and thus
cause the car to travel up or down in a sort
of "hand over fist" style.
To put it another way, the guy ropes are
simply flexible rails on which traction is
secured by an inorease oi friction that does
not greatly check speed. The gear locks
automatically whenever the motor stops,
and hence the guy ropes become factors of
safety as they wind in and out of the gears.
Should a stoppage occur, the attendant in
the elevator merely attaches a crank to the
gear and winds tbe car up or down until a
point is reached where the passengers can
alight in comfort
Telephones and District messengers.
A viyid idea of the extent to which the
telephone takes the place of the "errand
boy" of our forefathers was given a few
days ago in Boston, when the representative
of the New England Telephone Company
stated before a legislative committee tbat
the messages it handled would require the
employment of 10,000 messenger boys if they
had to be carried through the streets instead
of over the wire. The average use of a tele
phone by the man in whose office it hangs,
and by his friends who don't pay anything
for its use, and who rail at tbe "telephone
monopoly" in good set terms, is from 6 to 12
messages per day. Hence, in a citv like
New York, with 9,000 or 10,000 subscribers,
the number of telephone messages will run
up some days to 75,000. If ten of these were
given to one boy as Mb day's work, as letters
or telegrams tor delivery, this would figure
out not less than 7,600 boys on active ser
vice. Thus it will be seen that the telepone man
was not at all wide of the mark in his fig
ures, and any interruption of telephonic
communication is now felt acutely in the
sharp tax that it at once puts on the district
messenger system, which still remains an
absolute necessity for many purposes, and
is every year put to some new work. The
absence of it is one of the first things that
strikes an American in London, and it puz
zles him to understand the grounds on which
it can be objected to, as it lately has been by
the British Postmaster General.
Incandescent Lamp for Desks.
A new lamp has appeared which will be
a boon to those who are anxious to save the
eyes all unnecessary strain while carrying
on clerical work. This lamp is designed
especially for desks or tables where it is de
sirable to concentrate a bright light for
writing or reading, while the eye is afforded
the maximum amount ot rest possible. The
sides of the lamp are almost straight, while
the bottom, or large end, is as nearly flat as
possible. It is claimed that the striigbt
lines provide better reflecting surfaces, and
prevent, as much as possible, uneven inten
sities of light upon the object
The inside of the butt and the outside of
the globe are silvered, and the incandescent
filament is actually surrounded on three
sides by a mirror reflecting all the light
downward. "While the lamp may be placed
on a level, or a little abore the level of the
eye, no light strikes the eye directly from
the lamp, as the silvering is covered and
protected by an opaque substance.
Electrio Pinnace.
The electrio pinnace recently designed for
the English Government, for the convey
ance of troops, is likely to effect a revolu
tion in crafts used for that purpose, for tbe
propulsion of which steam has heretofore
been used. The new launch is 48 feet 6
inches in length by 8 feet 9 inches beam,
with an average draft of '3 feet 3 inches, and
will carry 40 soldiers fully equiped. Her
speed will be eight knots an hour, and she
is so fitted as to be either sailed or propelled
electrically. .
The actual cost of propulsion is not
greater than that of steam vessels with sim
ilar carrying capacity, and there is to be
taken into consideration the great advan
tage that no skilled hands are required for
stoking and engineering purposes.
Stiff Balls for Speed.
It has been found that one of the most
important elements in decreasing train re
sistance and thns increasing speed is in tbe
improvement oi the track by adopting itlffer
rails. This has the effect Of reducing the
deflection er ware motion under each of the
Wheels, so that on the best roads where the
improved rails have been laid down, there
is scarcely any oscillation, and there is rery
little difference in oscillation In riding on a
tangent or a curve. All the trials hitherto
made show that the train resistance de
creases in exactly the proportion that the
rail is stiffened.
It is olaimed that with a stiffened 105
pound rail nearly 200-horse power per mile
is saved on the fast express trains, as com
pared with 60 or 65-pour.d rails. The oscil
lation when riding on heavy rails at a speed
ot 75 miles an hour'Is less than that of 45
miles an hour on light rails. There is con
siderable ground for the belief that before
long 120 wiles an hour can be sa'ely cov
ered by an electric locomotive on a track of
105-pound rails.
New Circuit Transfer System.
A new system has been designed to meet
a new but promising demand for the use of
private telephone and telegraph facilities,
by subscribers whose business with their
correspondents at distant points will not
warrant the expense Of a wire for their own
useexclusively. The new system transfers
a wire simultaneously at both ends from one
pair oT subscribers' to another every five
minutes if desired. The service is divided
into segments, and if a subscriber and his
correspondent are connected to one
segment they can communicate for
five minutes each hour by paying
the . minimum fixed yearly rental
for these facilities. Should" they find that
their business required te'n minutes each
hour they could be could be connected to
two adjoining segments, or ir prelerred, to
one segment on each side of the segment
circle, which would enable them to commu
nicate for five minutes every half hour.
Other subscribers would hare" the line for
whatever portion of the time they arranged
for, the object being to accommodate sub
scribers with whatever facilities they choose
to pay tor.
An important adyantage of the system is
the futility of the subscriber's disposition
to cajole the switch into allowing him to
hare the circuit "just half a second longer."
When the time is up he is unceremoniously
cut off until the line comes round again.
The arrival of the line is announced by an
alarm bell, and the subscriber, knowing the
arbitrary and unfeeling character of the au
tomatic switchman, will naturally make the
best use of his time.
An Electrio Cane.
A novel application of the chloride of sil
ver battery has been made in the manufact
ure of the electric light cane. Four cells
are placed end to end in a small tube of card
board and Inserted in a hollow cane. The
silver wire at one end ia connected to one
end of the carbon filament of a small incan
descent lamp, snugly placed in the head of
tbe cane, and a small brass strip of spring is
extended upward from the zinc bottom, so as
to make contact possible with the other end
of the carbon filament
"When a light is required, pressure on a
sm,all push button on the side of the cane
closes the circuit and ignites the lamp. The
head of the cane is solid silver, which makes
a good reflector for the light, and a very
thick lens is fitted into the top. These canes
have been used with great success for
theatrical purposes, and hare a rery pleas
ing effect.
Sausage Making by Electricity.
One of the novelties at the St Pancras
Exhibition in London, England, last week,
was a sausage machine driven by electric
motor. In conjunction with this machine
it has been proposed to employ an electrio
heatingattachment, whereby the savory dish
can be delivered cooked and smoking hot to
the purchaser.
It begins to look as if the shrewd indi
vidual who conceived the idea of a uni
versal pig-utilizing machine, into which the
animal could be put at one end, to emerge
at the other as cured hams and blacking
brushes, was no visionary, but only a
prophet a little in advance of his times.
A tong Aerial Telegraph Line.
A great event in the annals of Indian
telegraphy was the completion recently of
the new copper wire between Calcutta and
Bombay, along the line of the Bengal-Nag-pore
Railway. The total length of the cir
cuit is nearly 1,300 miles, and the Indian
Department oan now boast that it works the
longest aerial circuit in the world.
New Insulator Wanted.
A most singular relio was exhibited at a
meeting at Calcutta of the Asiatic Society
of Bengal, consisting of a piece of cable, the
rubber covering of which" had been pietced
by a blade ot grass. The piercing was so
complete, and the contact with the copper
core' so perfect, that the effioienoy of the
cable was destroyed.
THE BASEBALL CHANK.
How He Acts When He Goes Over to the
Allegheny Park.
He didn't miss a game last week, and for
weeks past had played hundreds in imag
ination. As early as 3 P. M. he was on the
bleachers and these were a few of his ex
pressions: "Oh, sayl Catch on to the grounds. Get
on to the woods. I could paste a ball out
there myself.
(After the Chicigos hare taken the field.)
"I wonder if they think they can play ball.
They'll not be in it "Why, those fellows
are old enough to die. Ia that man going to
pitch? What 'a picnic! He used to be
fair, but the company is too fast for him."
Then bis pets appear and up goes a yell
from our "crank" that can be heard to the
farthest confines of Allegheny. Now the
game opens, and when the heavy hitter from
Chicago lines her out for three bags, listen
to the comment: "That's all right; he let
him hit it" As the side retires with a blank
he gleefully observes: "I told you so, now
watch our man. See him smash it in tbe
face." and when he gets his base. "He's a
sticker; oh, be can wait When the run
ner reacueB vuiru bue wnu ucugut oi me
crank almost amounts to frenzy.
But presently his face begins to clond.
His pets appear to be in danger, and as
things go from bad to worse, he greets every
play with increasing rage. "With every
breath comes, "Oh, he can't play ball."
"That fellow sees double." "He's got too
many hands." "He wants a basket"
"See him try to walk over himself."
"That's a dirty muff." "Oh, come, let's go
home." He swears that is his last game,
but when 24 hours have rolled by he is in
his accustomed seat, the home nine are still
his darlings, and all past failures forgiven
if not forgotten.
THACKERAY ADHIBED DICKENS.
The Rivalry Between the Great Authors Did
Not Prejudice the Former.
One of the most charming traits of Thack
eray's character was his whole-hearted ad
miration for his great rival, Charles Dick
ens. "There is a fellow by the name of
Dickens" so he writes in one of the letters
I hare referred to "who is bringing out a
riral publication and who has written beau
tifully. Braro, Dlckensl 'David Copper
field' has beautiful things in it; those sweet
little inimitable bits which make one so fond
of him. And let me tell your ladyship tbat
I think he has been reading a certain
yellow-covered book, and with advantage,
too, for he has simplified his style; kept ont
of fine words, and, in fact, is doing his best
I am glad of it I hope it will put Some
body on his mettle; somebody who has been
careless of everything of late."
The "certain yellow-covered book" was,
of course, "Vanity Fair," which had re
cently been published. Thackeray was
at tbe time busy upon "Pendennis" a
"pie" which he purposed tov "cram with
beef, pigeons, hard-boiled eggl and the most
delicious pepper and spice."
"Will call at your residence with samples
and furnish estimates on furniture reuphols
tery. HaUoh & KEEtfAtf, 83 Waiter street
su
1 - r
The ilnch-LoYed Hawthorn Can be
Seen In Bloom at Edgewood.
WILD BEADTIES OP TBE CLIMATE.
now the Day Was Observed in .Early limes
in Merrie England.
GE0WH3 FOE FBETTI LITTLE QUEENS
rwniTTXK roa tdi dispatch, l
Kay Day is, or was, essentially an English
holiday, as it dates from the time ot the
Druids, who, the old English chroniclers
say, went a-maying with the same golden
pruning hooks in han d, with which,
in December, they cut down the sacred
mistletoe from the ancient oaks.
"With us, the season is not far enough ad-'
ranced to allow of May Day being cele
brated as it was in "Merrie England,"
where, as Thomas Miller says, "If May
produced not another blossom beyond those
which she hangs out upon our thousands of
miles of hawthorn hedges, we should still
hail her as queen of tbe year. Our ances
tors used to rise early to welcome in this
sweet season, and with joyous shouts and
merry music bring home the May, as they
call the hawthorn blossoms. They deco
rated the tall May poles with garlands of
flowers and selected some lovely girl, whom
they crowned Queen of May; and ther
danced and made merry on the village
freen to welcome in the month of flowers.
Iven kings and qneens left their castles
and rode forth into tbe country to gather
the sweet May blossoms."
To City-Dried People.
And he adds: "There is a familiar home
smell in the aroma of May buds, better
liked by country people than any other
fragrance. "Who that has been young there
are hearts erer old and has spent part of
his life in the country, can erer forget the
fragrance of May or the smell of the sweet
briar? Then to be city-dried for years, and
return to the same spot, abounding with the
same odor how the pulse is quickened with
a sense of revived youth."
In old English books we read of maidens
rising early and going into tbe fields to
wash their faces in May dew, which was
found only on the hawthorn blossoms, and
was said to make them most beautiful.
The fair maid who. tbe first of May.
Goes to the fields at break of dav.
And wasbes in dew from the hawthorn tree.
Will ever after handsome be.
Old Pepys, in his diary, speaks of his
wife having "gone down to Woolwich to get
tbe fresh air and to gather May dew, which
is the only thing to wash tbe face with."
In the Hearts of the Cities.
The celebration of May Day was not con
fined to the country; for in towns, and even
in London, May poles were brought in from
Kent and Epping Forest and raised in the
heart of the city, and green branches waved
from the windows. Herrick alludes to this
in his invitation to Corinna to go a-maying,
where he says:
Come, mv Corinna, come, and coming mark
How each field turns a street, each street a
park.
Mads green and trimmed with trees see how
Devotion elves each house a bough.
Can such delights be in the street
And open fields and we not see'tT
Come, we'll abroad and let's obey
Tbe proclamation made for May.
Many allusions are made to May Day by
old English poets, especially by Chaucer,
who took such exquisite delight in the early
flowers that the sun never found him in bed
on May Day; but he was up and out in the
meadow to see the daisy, with its "flowers
white and red, against the sun spread." So
great was his delight in May, "the time of
love and jollity," that he bewails the case
of any one who is insensible to all this
pleasure:
Hard Is his heart tbat loveth not
In May, when all this mirth is wrought
When we may on these branches hear
Tbe small birds singing clear.
Herrick, in his eulogy on country life,
speaks of dancing around the May-pole:
Thou hast thy eves and holy days.
On which tbe young men and maids aest
To exercise their dancing feet;
Tripping the comely country round,
witn aanoaus ana names crowned.
A Hawthorn Grove at Edge worth.
Some of the hawthorns have white blooms.
Burns speaks of the "milk-white thorn"
making fr.igrant the evening air; others
again and these are tbe most beautiful
are tinged with pink, owing, it is said, to
the red clayey soil in which they grow.
Our hawthorn is unlike the English; ihe
green leaves being more finely cut and tbe
flowers not so large. There is a grove of
English hawthorn at Edgeworth, growing
in the yard of what was, some years ago,
the Edgeworth Seminary, whioh is a beau
tiful sight when in bloom.
Although dancing around the May pole
here on the 1st of May would be rather
soppy and more suggestive of colds than
pleasure, yet we would be at no loss for
wild flowers for the garland with which to
crown the Queen of May. The arbutus
loveliest of all our spring flowers has
gone, but hepaticas still bloom in moist
places, and in the woods the anemones
grow in profusion, waving their delicate
flowers "tinged with color faintly" in
the spring breeze; while in open places,
blood root shows its blossoms of pure white
netals and bright yellow stamens, which,
with its broad, green leaves, makes a sight
to gladden tbe eyes of Any lover of wild
flowers. These and many others too numer
ous to mention, are now in full bloom.
Lillie N. Houston.
HUSIO 07 THE JAPS.
So Different Prom Ours That It Is Very
Hard to Translate.
The Japanese have a mnsis of their own;
a music essentially different from ours, but
nevertheless a style which possesses melody,
and is capable of harmonization. To
render this music in the characters em
ployed in America and Europe to represent
musical productions is a matter of no small
difficulty for the reason that the Japanese
instruments are not attuned to our scale, but
differ irom it by intervals sometimes as
great as a half tone. The difficulty is only
partly remored when a gek-kin, the Japa
nese guitar, and farorite instrument,
is toned to accord with a piano
forte, but eren in this ease so
widely is the Japanese idea of interrai and
of what constitutes a melody'at rariance
from that entertained in Europe and
America that a rendition of a Japanese
tune in our notation is no easy task. There
are now in this country two Japanese ladies,
Miss Hana Abe and Miss Kaku Sndo, ot
Yokohama, who are visiting the United
States for the purpose of completing a medi
cal education begun in Japan. In St. Louis,
says tbe Qlobe-Dimocrat, they were pre
railed on to sing some of the Japanese
music, and, irom patient repetitions of the
same melody, success in noting it down was
finally achieved.- The song above is one of
the results.
No Tenable Claim,
Philadelphia Times.
Kentucky puts in no claim to Noah being
a native of that State for the reason that in
connection with the Ark he lived upon
water for a considerable period.
Itlpe In Experience.
Hew York "World.!
"What a di14ra.ee this lottery business
is I"
"You're right it's a blanked shame."
That Will Double in 12 Months
Paying Dividends April and October.
STOCK OF THE
GiULII, IH.E0TMM MD DEVELOPMENT COMPART.
Capital Stock; $4,600,000. Shards, $10 eaoh, full paid and subject to
no assessment.
Hon. BBNJ. F. BTJTLER, of Massachusetts, ... President
Hon. JAMES W. HYATT, late Treasurer U. S., - - - Treasurer.
DIRECTORS.
Qen. Benj. F. Butler, of Massachusetts.
Hon. Logan H. Koots, ot Arkansas.
Hon. A. U. Wyman, ex-Treas. of TJ. K, of Neb.
Hon. Jas. W. Hyatt,ex-Trpaa. of U. S..of Conn.
Thos. C. Smith, Pres. 17th "Ward Bank, Brook
lyn. N. Y.
It 11. Banf ord.Pres. Bank or New Castle of Ky.
ADVISORY BOARD.
Hon. John B. Gordon, ex-Governor of Georgia.
Hon. Robert L. Taylor. ex-Governor of Ten
nessee. Hon. 3. B. Foraker, ex-Ctovernor of Ohio.
Hon. Rich. H. Bright, ex-U. S. Printer, of
Washington. IX li
Hon. E. F. Mann. Sunt. Concord and Montreal
Railroad of New Hampshire.
Hon. D. C. Scoville, of New York, N. Y.
SUFFOLK TRUST CO., Transfer Agents,
EXCHANGE BUILDINGr. BOSTON, MASS.
THE PROPERTY OP THE COMPANY CONSISTS OP
FIRST. 8,000 City Lots; or 2.022 acres of land In the city of Tallapoosa, Haralson csanty.
Georgia, tha residue remaining nnsold of 2,500 acres, on the canter of which the oitv was orizia
ally built. Present value, Sl.CS4.7tJ5.
SECOND. 2,458 acres of valuable mineral land, adjacent to the city of Tallapoosa, all located
within a radios of six miles from the center or tbe city. Present value. $122 W0.
THIRD. The issued Capital Stock of the Ueorzla. Tennessee and Illinois Railroad Company,
chartered for the purpose of building a railroad from Tallapoosa, Gx. to Stevenson. Ala 130
miles, that will net the company nearly 12,000,000 of the capital stock of railroad, paylns 7 per
cent dividends. -.-
FOURTH. The Tallapoosa Furnace on the line of the Georgia Pacific Railroad, In the city
of Tallaooosa. Ga tbe said furnace being of 60 tons capacity, manufacturing tbe highest grade
of cold and hot blast charcoal car wheel iron. yrnnntTiln ionm
FIFTH. The Piedmont Glass Works, siuatad on the line of the Georgia Pacific Railroad. In
tbe city of Tallapoosa, Ga said plant being 12-poc furnace capacity, and manufacturing flint
glass flasKS ana prescription ware. Present value, S100.000.
There are already located on the property ef this company. In the city of Tallapoosa, 2.800 In
habitants, 2.000 of whom are Northern people who have settled in Tallapoosa within the lass
three years, 632 bouses. 15 manufacturing industries and 40 business houses, schools, churches,
water works, elect nc lights, 175,000 hotel and new manufacturing industries building.
THE INCOME OP THE COMPANY
Will be derived principally rrom six sources:
FIRST. Earnings of its manufaoturing establishments, now In operation and to be built
(now $76,235 M yearly).
SECOND. Rentals of Its farming lands and sales of timber in "stumpage" (estimated,
$3,000 yearly). r
TH I R D. Sales of its city lots in Tallapoosa, Ga., for Improvement and Investment (estimated
$250,000 vearly).
FOURTH. Working of its mines and quarries, by themselves or on "royalties." (estlaateA
$10,000 vearly).
FIFTH. Profits on mineral, timber and town site options and purchases on the line of Geor
gia, Tennessee and Illinois Railroad (estimated $50,000 yearly).
SIXTH. Earnings of stock of Georgia, Tennessee and Illinois Railroad (estimated $138,403
yearly).
Toial estimated yearly Income ofeompany after construction of railroad, $523,633 04,
Toial estimated yearly Income of company prior io coastrnetlon of railroad, $339,235 04.
PRINCIPAL absolutely secure under any circumstances.
DIVIDEND of nearly 7 per cent on present selling priee. paid in ApnL
PROBABILITY of much larger dividend in October, increasing rapidly thereafter.
CERTAINTY of a very rapid advance In the Intrinsic value and selling price of the stock
Itself.
PRESENT PRICE OF
THE STOCK
ONLY A LIMITED AMOUNT OFFERED AT THIS PRICE, AND SUBJECT
TO ADVANCE WITHOUT NOTICE.
Tbe Directors of tbe GEORGIA-ALABAMA INVESTMENT AND DEVELOPMErVrraTft..
PANY have decided to offer to tbe public for a short time only a limited amount of tha Treasury
Stock of the company at $3 50 per share (par value, $10).
This stock Is f nil paid and subject to no future assessments under any circumstances.
The property on which It is based is owned absolutely br the company, without indebtedness
or deferred payments, and the present earnings of tbe manufacturing plants alone are sufficient
to ply a 2 per cent annual dividend on the capital stock (par value).
Ibis is equivalent to over 6 per cent dividend on $3 50 per share, the present price at which
tha stock is offered, aside from the receipts from sale of city lots.
One million dollars of tbe $4,500,000 capital stock has been placed In tbe treasnry of tbe com
pany for the future development of its properties and tha enhancement and protection of tns
interests of its stockholders.
It Is the stated policy ot the directors of tbe company to pay semi-annual dividends of at least
1 per cent on tha stock (par valne). These dividends can readily bo paid from the present fixed
earnings of tha manufacturing properties alone without the sals of any of tha real estate owned
by the company or Income from other sources.
Tbe dividend fund, however, will be largely augmented by the receipts from the sale of city
lots, rents, leases, eta, and tbe dividends will be increased as fast a? the earnings of tbe com
panv from its various sources of Income and sales of city lots will warrant.
Under the plan of tbe organization of the comnany all receipts from the sale of tha Treasury
stock of the company now offered are expended at once for improving and developing ths
property of the company, increasing its assets to tha extent of the amount received.
The entire properties of the company being paid for in full, all tba receipts from tha sal at
city lots go at once to tha dividend fund of the company, In addition to the earnings of its manu
facturing establishments in operation and Its Income from other sources.
The stock of the company will not only earn gratifying dividends for the investor, but will
increase rapidly in tbe market valne with tha development of the company's property.
Money invested in this stock is as safe as in the savings bank; will earn much Iirger Interest,
lnd stock purchased at $3 60 per share now will certainly find ready purchasers at $5 per share in,
a short time.
The stock will be listed on botb the New York and Boston Consolidated Stock Exchanges.
Orders for stock will be filed as received in any amount from one share npward, as it is de
sired to have as many small holders In all sections of tba country as possible, who will, by their
Interest in the company, influence emigration to Tallapoosa and advance thelnteresss ot tha
country.
The toial receipts from ssle of Treasury slock of the oompsnyfrom Monday morning to
Friday night, Maroh 16 to 20, Inclusive, 5 days, when ths transfer books were olosed far pay
ment of April dividend, were over $85,000.
Every dollar of this money Is expended to seeur new manufacturing establishments and
improvements at Tallapoosa, Ga., and not for Purchase money, as the property of the eompsaw
u... naM fn. In full ef the time of lit oroanizaflon.
r vin TinrohMn 2 shares or $20 par
14 will purchase
35 will purchase
70 will purchase
105 will purchase
210 will pnrchase
3S0 will purchase
4 shares or
10 shares or
20' shares or
30 shares or
60 shares or
100 shares or
hm par
100 par
200 par
300 par
600 par
1000 par
1500 par
3000 par
523 will purcnase
150 snares or
1050 will purchase 300 shares or
Address all applications for stock and
orders payable to
HON. JAMES W. HYATT, Treas.Ga.-Ala.
(Lata Treasurer of tha United States.)
ROOM 9 44 DREXEL BUILDING, PHILADELPHIA.
Southern Offices, Tallapoosa, Haralson County, Ga., Xew York Of
fices, 11 Wall St., Booms 31 and 32. Boston Offices, 244 Washing
ton St.. Booms 8, 9 and 10. Philadelphia Offices, Boom 944
Drexel Building. Chicago Office, Boom 720 Insurance Exchang
Building.
Z3T 80-page illustrated prospectus of Tallapoosa, Stock prospectus
of Company, and Flat of City, with Price List of Building Ms,
mailed free on application to any of the offices of the Company.
The direct result of the excursion of 100 to Tallapoosa that returned Feb. 27 was 20.000 share
of Treasnry Stock of the Company sold, a 15-ton Ice plant, a Clothing Factory employing M
hands. Woolen Mills employing 75 hands, a Canning Factory, a Wagon Factory employing 6M
hands, a $500,000 Cotton MilC an Industrial BaUdlng 200 feet long, utilising the water powsriia
the Tallapooia River tor furnishing electric power tor small manufacturers to be located in th
building, a $75,000 company to build a logging road to tha timber south of Tallapoosa and brlfif
it there tobe worked; Stove Works employing 180 handstall of whioh were inaugurated tuth
nartv with excellent prospects of consummation, and several of them definitely arranged rot
and entire capital subscribed, an d tha indorsement of the enterprise by every on of tha ut
immata.
TOAAIctct AaoK fr m
C. W. Fencing, Cash. Mass. rational Bank,
Boston. Mass.
Geo. C. ScbofleJd, Pres. S. T. Contract Co. el
New York.
E. R. True. Cash. TJ. S. Treasury, Washington,
D. C.
Henrv Feuchtwanger. Member N. Y. Stock
Exchange, New York.
P. K. Roots. Cashier First National Bank,
Little Rock, Ark.
F. Y. Robertson, President First National
Bank, Kearney, Neb.
3.51 PER SHffi
valne of stock.
vaiuo wl biwk.
value of stock.
valne of stock.
value of stock.
value of stock.
value of stock.
value ot stock.
value of stock.
Checks for the April divi
dend, which includes only earn,
ings of tbe Manufacturing Es
tablishments owned by tbe Com
pany, and receipts from the sal
of City Lots, were mailed from
April 1 to April 15.
prospectuses and make checks, drafts or money
Investment & Development Co; M
-r
SUPERFLUOUS HAIR
On any part of tha body afflicting eltlr Mf
removed by the
ELECTRIO NEEDIJB
Without Fain. Scar or BhocJc
TnnnAtWwMftn It h rfmiA tuirm nnt
and without Injury. Tbe operation Is scJenalwj
and indorsed by all physicians. Birthmarks,
moles, red nose, enlarged veins ot tha bos,
pimples, blackheads, liver spots, freckle,
coarse, deep pores, all facial blemishes, die.
ease, defects of the complexion and hair ttt.
cessfnlly treated by
BR. J. VAN BYCK,
602 PENNAVJE.,
book FRfiE. prrrsauBe.
f
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