The
i& 1 ,lc ifl?
1 TECHNICAL WORLD |
[This Department is devoted to technical
subjects of interest. Any questions sent to M
the Editor of the STATE COLLEGIAN or
tu* dropped in the box at 323 Main will be an-
W swered in subsequent issues by experts i n the JJg
subject about which information is desired. J
Electrical
The Mallory Steamship Line is
having its vessels equipped with the
De Forest system of wireless tele-
graphy,
A bill has been introduced into
Congress to provide for the laying
of a cable between the Isthmus of
Panama and the United States.
It is stated that the amount of
water power utilized for electrical
purposes is over 2,000,000 H. P.
Of this amount United States uses
527,467 H. P.
That wireless telegraphy is suc
cessful in rarefied atmosphere, was
proven December 17 when a
wireless telegram was transmitted
from Cornwall to Italy without a
mistake.
The Electrical World and Engi
neer for Dec. 17 contains an inter
esting article on new forms of the
Cooper Hewitt converter. Patents
for the same were granted Mr. P. H.
Thomas.
An electric clutch has been de
signed and is on the market. Its
principle consists in the clamping of
a number of disks by the action
of magnetism. The mechanism is
is very compact and efficient.
Charles A. Parsons, the inventor
of a steam turbine, expects to ex
plore the interior of the earth. He
says that it will take eighty-five
years to accomplish this, and that
$25,000,000 will be required for the
consummation of his plans.
Observations of the humming of
telegraph and telephone wires have
been made by Herr Bock, of Ger
many. He noticed that the hum
ming of wires running east and west
presaged a fall of temperature, often
ten hours in advance of the thermo
meter. In the same way wires ex
tending north and south foretold a
rise in temperature.
Letters,
The Editor of the Collegian :
At a regular class meeting, Friday
evening, Jan. 6th, the class of 1907
agreed, that the class of 1908 had
lost the picture scrap, because they
did not try to have their picture taken
within the allotted time i. e. be
tween the class football game and
the Christmas vacation, and that
the class of 1908 could have their
picture taken now without fear of
being molested by the class of
1907.
W. A. Slater, Secretary,
[Editor's Notef] The claim of the
Sophomores that the “scrap”
should take place before Christmas
is supported by the fact that the
“scraps” of the last three years,
have all taken place before the holi
days began. The new rules which
were drawn up for just such exigen
cies as this, place Exam week as
the limit. But these rules have not
been adopted. According to the
precedent established by the last
three years, therefore, the Freshmen
have lost by default. However
there very likely has been misunder
standing on the part of the class of
1908, caused by these unadopted
rules, which allow them until the be
ginning of Exam week to take their
picture. If the Sophs were to al
low the Freshmen to have their
picture taken now without a contest,
both sides would claim the victory
and the dispute would be never end
ing. We recommend that the
Sophs allow the Freshmen until the
beginning of Exam week to have
their picture taken in accordance
with the new rules. If they do not
pull it off in that time, the claim of
the class of 1907 to the victory will
be undisputed.
Frenzied Finance,
Editor of the COLLEGIAN: —
Most of us have read lately the
articles on Frenzied Finance by Thos.
W. Lawson. Some of the students
here think that “frenzied finance” is
not confined alone to Wall Street
but is doing a flourishing business
right here at “State.”
When ten of the students who
room in the Main Building came
back from their Christmas vacation
they were confronted by a New
Year’s gift in the shape of bills of $1
each for the use of one extra mat
tress during the previous term.
Naturally they all objected to
squandering their money in so reck
less a manner and went to the Presi
dent of the College about it.
The President turned out to be
just like “The System” when they get
some one cornered and said, “The
charge will stand.” No doubt he
meant this as a money making
scheme as well as a punishment and
and it can be easily seen that he did
not think of how much he was ask
ing.
The way the fellows figure it out
is this: $1 from each fellow and two
fellows in a room makes $2 a quar
ter or $8 a year. The President
says that the mattresses are worth
$5. He makes $8 a year out of a
$5 investment. Thus we all see how
Standard Oil is relegated to the ex
treme rear.
What are the fellows going to do
about it? Nothing —only pay the
money and console themselves by
saying “We are victims of Frenzied
Finance.”
A Victim,
Junior Sleigh Ride.
Those of the Junior class who
were not afraid of getting “soaked”
took advantage of the fact that there
was a show in Bellefonte that even
ing and had their annual sleigh ride
on Friday afternoon, Jan. 6th. A
good many saw the performance of
“Way Down East,” at the Opera
House. Others didn’t get that far,
but enjoyed themselves in a variety
of ways. Excluding the discomfoit
attending the rain on the return jour
ney, the usual good time was ex
perienced.