BKL.u.t .."J ilreek moun taineers hove mmh to learn from the tuperlor Occidental method of the Omaha kidnappers In collecting a ransom. The original Book of Morman has been found again. It Is pleasant to ee the third member of the Immor tal trio turning up. The last member of the Light Brigade and the aged lave who held George Washington's horse have been overworked lately. Maurus Jokal, who, when In his sev entieth year married a young actress, aid the other day: "I began a new life with my mnrrlage. We have mnde for ourselves a small world which quite compensates for the absence of the great one outside." Not all aged bridegrooms find matrimony of this ort an elixir of life. John Benjamin Parsons, head of the Philadelphia Union Traction company, has risen from a "f 5-a-week Job" to a post that pays him $30,000 a year. Surface car lines have furnished a peculiarly profitable field for execu tive ability, and the "traction million aire" Ib one of the most Interesting of his kind, as he Is the newest. A prisoner In an Ohio Jail has been punished because he Insisted on having his striped trousers creased. It was ridiculous for the authorities to object A man who could give thought to bis personal appearance under such cir cumstances must have something good In him. And seeing that one of the difficulties with convicts Is to make them keep neat, this fellow. Instead of being punished, ought to have been made a "trusty." Cows were the first street commis sioners In Boston, but that city Is now less pastoral than New York City. The all-revealing census shows that New York City had 4633 cows, or one cow to every 741 Inhabitants, whereas Boston has but 496 cows, or one cow to every 1135 Inhabitants. Chicago has a brighter station In the milky way. She has nearly 20,000 cows, one cow to every 86 Inhabitants. But the real Boopolls or Cowtown Is Peoria, which has nearly 14,000 cows, a bossy to every four Inhabitants. Peoria is proud to be called the Cow city. The Washington monument Is slow ly but surely disappearing. Vandals are carrying it away In their pockets. The Interior is constantly being de faced. In may places the Inscriptions on stones contributed by the various states of the Union, as well as those Bont by organizations, have been great ly Injured. From the appearance of some of the marble It has been attack ed with Iron Instruments. Letters have been broken oft tablets. While the great bulk of the damage Is doubt less done by relic hunters, some of the highly polished stones have been injured simply for the sake of defac ing them. Revelations made recently regard ing Bombay municipal elections show that Hindu election agents can excel the wildest achievements in Europe or America. It appears to be a com mon practice to dress up lads to Im personate female ratepayers who are either dead or are reluctant to vote. In many other cases women are hired to represent such voters. Persona tion by men of male voters who are dead or traveling is too common to excite remark. The most amazing dig covery is that there Is now a class of men who call themselves "profession al vote brokers," ' and openly under take to secure votes at a fixed price a head. Inferlor magistrates In Great Brit aln are subjected to much criticism for the undue severity and also for the undue leniency of the sentences which they impose upon offenders against the criminal laws. Indeed, Mr. Labouchere In Truth publishes every week a "legal pillory," as he calls it. In which he contrasts In par allel columns such extraordinary magisterial Judgments as fall under bis notice. None of those Is really more remarkable, however, than a sentence recently imposed by Mr. Jus tice Blgham, ono of the Judges of the high court of justice at the Pem brokeshire assizes. The offender was a sailor who had quarrelled with a fellow-passenger In a railway carriage. He first tried to stab tbo complain ant In the breast with a clasp knlfo and, falling in this, the prisoner got bis victim's beud under hid arm and cut open an eyeball, entirely destroy ing the slgLt of one eye and probably that of the other. Upon a verdict finding the defendant guilty of caus ing grievous bodily harm, (lie judge sentenced him to be imprisoned for a term of only ulna months. 30O0O0O0O00OG0O0OO00 ooooo Manufacturing Phonograph Records. OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOi IT HE phonograph has become , such a fnmlllnr object In our modern borne life, and its inechnnlsui, In spite of Its marvelous Ingenuity, Is so straightfor ward and easily understood, that It Is difficult, In giving a description of this prince of toys, to tell the multltu dlnous possessors of them anything that they did not know before. If one were nsked to nnme the particular part of the phonograph which possesses the greatest Interest and which Is the most essential to Its success, be would have MARINO BAND to mention the cylinder of wax upon which the waves of sound are cut by the dainty little sapphire turning-toot known as the stylus. The great growth In popularity of the phonograph, and the necessity for keeping Hie owners supplied with fresh "literature," has caused the mere work of manufacturing the records to as sume truly enormous proportions. CiSTINO BLANK BBOOuDS. The first process In the manufacture of records takes place In the melting room, where the proper constituents to form the speclul grade of wax em ployed In making the records are brought together and melted in several large vats, each of which contains about 1000 pounds. There are three meltings lu all, and between each the fluid Is caro'ully strained .to remove any hard or gritty impurities which it might contain; for It Is evident that the presence of foreign substances, even a few particles of fine dust, might easily produce fatal Irregulari ties In the grooves of the record. The first two meltings take pi ce in the melting room. On entering this room the most conspicuous featvre Is several large, circular, rotating tables, set around the periphery of which Is a number of round. Iron pins which form the core of tho mold. Concentri cally around each of these pine Is placed a brass sleeved The wax Is taken from the mpltlng vats in a can and poured into the molds In the manner shown In our Illustration. The tables are constantly rotated, thus MAKINO VIOLIN bringing the molds, which cool very rapidly, round to tho workers ou the opposite side ot the table, whore the wax cyllrders are removed. The mov ing table brings the empty molds back to the starting point, where they are, again filled from the pouring can. 5 The cylinder are cast with an Inter ior spiral thread, which adds some what to the strength of the cylinder, and forms the bearing surface when the was cylinder Is placed on the mandrel of the phono graph. After they have cooled, the cylinders are first reamed out to gage, then edged and rough-turned, and finally given a finishing cut, the finish turning being done with a fine sap phire knife. One of the npper floors of a large building In the record department Is divided Into a number of rooms, ' In which the specialists are kept steadily at work speaking, playing or singing Into the recording machines. One of our Illustrations shows the methods adopted In producing solo records, wacther Instrumental or vocal. In'thls case the violinist stands with his In strument Immediately and closely In front of three converging horns, each of which connects with a recording phonograph. The only difference be- RUCOHD3. tween a recording and a producing phonograph Is In the nature of the lit tle sapphire tool by which the dia phragm rents upon the wax - jeord. In making the record, the "recording sty lus" Is used, and lu reproducing the record the "reproducing ball" Is sub stituted. The difference between the Btylus and the ball is that the point of the stylus Is cup-shnped and ground to a fine cutting edge, which, as It travels over the surface of the wax cylinder, Is driven more or less deeply Into the materlnl, and turns off a shav ing which varies In thickness, accord ing to the quality of the sound waves which fall upon the dlnphragm. One of t-e first things thnt strikes a visi tor to the record room Is the rapidity with which the artlBts sing, the speed being much greater than that to which ono Is accustomed In a music hnll or opera house. Moreover, the songs are sung with the full power which would be used before a public audience. As soon as the record Is made, It Is taken off tho mandrel and placed In a phono graph and reproduced to test Its quali ty. If there Is the slightest defect, It Is, of course, rejected. Among the most popular records are TBSTIKO TUB BKOOBDS. those of band music, and for making these the company maintains a full In strumental band, which Is occupied steadily, under the baton of a conduc tor, lu ploying popular airs, marches, wait see, etc. The testing of the phonograph rec ords Is done In a separata room by a corps of experts, who are careful to SOLO RECORDS. throw out every record that gives the slightest suggestion of a defect. Long training In this work has made tbem sensitive to Irregularities in tone and quality which would scarcely be no ticed by the average listener. Sclei tlflc American. TALKS ABtllTn Cnlqn ftimily flown. The daughter of a vicar of a rural parish not very far from London has collected all the buttons placed In the offertory bags for the past twelve months when special collections were made for the charities connected with the church. The young lady Intends to figure at a local fancy dress ball, which Is to be given soon, In the char acter of charity, and she means In an Ironical spirit to have those souvenirs of meanness the buttons sewn In patterns on her dress. Fa ding thn Bnbr. An Infant Bhoutd not be more than 20 minutes taking his bottle; when he refuses food do not force It. Never save what Is left In the bottle for an other feeding, or give It a little later; throw It away and give the child noth ing until Its regular toed I tig-hour comes round again. Where diges tion Is weak a few teaspoonfuls of hot water given Just before feeding stim ulates the stomach to action. Feed the child at regular Intervals. Harper's Bazar. Onn of tltf I.nt f ncU In Fnnhlnnt, Among barbarous nations the prac tice of staining the skin for decorative purposes has always been found, and even civilization has continued the custom In Its use of rouge and India Ink. A decided novelty, however, tho "very latent" In fOBhlon's caprices, Is to paint trails of flowers on the front of evening bodices, and continue the tendrils or sprays on the skin of the cheBt. The strap of velvet or ribbon that serves as a sleeve Is similarly treated, and the arm is used to com plete the design. Probably a new oc cupation will appear soon, that of cor sage artist. Nnvnl Ilrftrnion. Something of a novelty Is the ad vertisement tea, now popular In Lon don. The reference to the ware ad vertised must bo as remoto as possi ble, and must be attached In the form of a poster to the back of the Inventor, Blank cards with pencils fastened to tbem, are given to each guest, who writes on them what she considers to be the articles advertised by the dif ferent posters. When every one has been Inspected and each has Inspected the others, the hostess reads the names of the posters, and tho person who has made the greatest number of correct guesses receives a prize. Some times there are second and third prizes, and a booby prize In addition, It is said that the advertisement tea was Invented In Australia. Iaw firPMlng of the ffnlr. The prevalence of the low dressing of the hair Is very noticeable in the day time, but most especially with evening toilets, and It Is most often decked with a fragile, airy rose of gold or silver gauze near, the ear. The coll may be low on the nape of the neck or It may be arranged on the back of the head, according to the shape of the head and profile It crowns. Tho middle parting usually accompanies it, when it Is arranged on the back of the head, the sides In tight, bunchy ringlets that suggest the Louis Philippe. These gold and sil ver gauze roses are quite the prettiest of trifles. It Is possible to spoil the effect by using too many of them In deed, but one. or at most, two, should be used on a toilet but If well done the result Is charming. Thn f!nprprl Wife. The normal girl naturally looks for ward to the time when she will have the care of home, husband and chil dren, yet, sad to say, she Is often wholly unprepared to assume the re sponsibilities when they come to her. To assume to make a home and care for a family without preparation Is parallel to a physician attempting the practice of modiclne without study and with the expectation of gaining knowledge from experiments on bis patients. We would bo horrified at the temerity of such a physician, and yet we complacently leave our girls without Instruction In reference to the highest, holleBt duty of womanhood. Under these circumstances can we wonder that many homes are abso lute failures T One of the first things a girl should be taucht is that wealth and social position count for nothing unless united with purity of thought and Ufa and houeaty of purpose. Until sucti standards are required by young women In choosing their husbands the marriage relation cannot bo what God intended It to be tho highest type of earthly happiness. Woman's Home Companion. The Woman Without a Trndo. For the girl whose parents have rec ognized the changed conditions, and allowed her to fit herself for a profes sion or trade, the question of suste nance has no terrors; but It Is the woman with no particular qualifica tion, with a meager education, who, when suddenly brought to the brink ot necessity cries. In bitterness and alarm, "What can I do?" When her hour of need comes she finds herself a competitor with a few millions of women, each one of whom Is by schooling made mistress of some one art or craft, and is thus safely launched on a career. For such a one, provided sat kai sufficient money probably the true sol ution of the difficulty Is to qualify her self to enter the lists go at once to one of the training schools, such as Cooper Institute, In New York, Pratt Institute, In Brooklyn, Drexel Insti tute, In Philadelphia, Armour Insti tute, In Chicago, where, thanks to the perfected methods of Instruction and a thorough Understanding of the needs of the applicants, a working knowl edge of the useful or the fine arts may be had In an amazingly brief space. Carolyn C. Mumford, In the Woman's Home Companion. The r!flVriit of HrhamM, ' We must christen "the cleverest yet" a certain costume which a fair one who ransacks the four corners of the earth for sartorial schemes has appeared In. This costume started out simply enough with a black velu tina skirt, exquisitely cut, with a flared flounce but quite plain. And the dainty blouse was a cream-white satin, veiled with Renaissance lace of a yellowish cast. There was a slight ornamentation of black velvet ribbon lattice, with black spangles, which partly outlined a yoke, not meeting across the vest portion. Otherwise the only notable features were the sleeves of black velvet. They were snug, with cream-like appliques at the small cuffs. While all this Is not particularly surprising, you'll admit that the finish Is. It consists of a trig bolero of the black velutlna. and this bolero la sleeveless. It has none of the unfin ished look of tho usual sleeveless bo lero, however, being ample and very finished In appearance. Though very dressy, this get-up Is extremely useful. With the bolero on It Is not too dressy for the fashion able promenade, and Is, Indeed, as at tractive a rig as could be found for visiting or matinee. And the one In question, with the bolero off, would do credit to an Informal dinner party. It could be worked out as handsome ly In blue, brown, castor or gray. In deed, most of us think velutlna looks better In colors. For a matron black velvet would be the choice. Philadelphia Record. New muff chains have leaves of tinted gold or enamel Instead of Jewels. Fur gowns, with a deep flounce of a different fur, have appeared lately, and with some success. There are new slender, oval-band Empire bracelets, with a medallion top framed In a hoop of diamonds. Dainty waists of India mull In pale tints are worn with the tailor-made skirts and coats. They are finely tucked and finished with a lace yoke, belt and cuffs. New hats for bridesmaids' wear are formed of white chiffon and ermine fur, with a bunch of shaded roses and a soft white aigrette set at one side towards the front of the hat. Ono of the prettiest novelties In purses is of plain suede leather simply stitched around the edges and fastened with a button hole, and jew elled buttons which vary In elegance and price. So many Russian blouses of baby Iamb have been made to wear with skirts of cloth, the furriers declare that the tailors and dressmakers have already nearly exhausted their winter supply of the uncut pelts. Combinations of cloth and corduroy are seen upon a number of the latest Parisian models, designed for walking, traveling, and skating costumes. Gowns made entirely of panne velvet are also among the winter fancies of the French. The raglan overcoat, so fashionable for men, appears among the tailor garments for women, but only the fair ones with sporting proclivities ven ture to don one of these most unbe coming of all outside garments possi ble to women. Lace as a garniture Is still greatly favored, but more In the form of beau tiful half-yokes at the edge of the low-necked bodice, or as oddly ar ranged appliques and Insertions Jacket-fronts, flat epaulettes, and revers rather than In full jabots, cascades, or gathered ruffles. , Chnnirfor In llMndwrltlne:- It is as easy for us to recognize our friends by their handwriting as by their faces. Everybody imparts to hla handwriting a certain Individuality, a certain mannerum, when serves to Identify the writer. His style ot pen manship Is as much a part of his per sonality as la his tone of voice or bis maimer of walking. It Is very clearly evident that there Is a direct relation ship between tho writing and the writ er; and a study ot this Interesting sub ject reveals the fact that every pecu liarity of a handwriting has a particu lar" significance and Indicates a corre sponding trait or peculiarity In the writer. In other words, a person's character la revealed In bis handwriting.- Woman's Home Companion. mall Plana for Chlldran. Half-size pianos are being being made In Germany tor the use of chil dren who are learning to play. Doctors declare that much permanent injury Is done to the m'tscles of the fingers by endeavoring to stretch an octave or more; so the new piauoa are made with keys half the usual width In order to prevent such injury. Phila delphia Record. KEYSTONE STATE W CONDENSED PENSIONS GRANTED. lingular Spook at Etit EtrMs Terrorizes Citizen Mercer County Relnttilei Stent Pile for Prisoner. Pensions have been granted to the fol lowing ptrsons: Robert Donoughe, Ciallitzin, $8; Smith M. Henry, Indiana, $io; Noah A. Dishong, Dcarmin, $30; John V. Rossell. Scottdale, $8; John Dc walt, Scottdafe, $io; George W. Young, Mingovillc, $10; James Hunter, Endeav or, $12; Samuel R. Jenkins. Clarke Mills, $17; Jesse Akin. Blairsville, $8; William R. Hartley, Bellefonte, $10; George W. Bell, Mercer, $0; Mary Y'cater, Lewistown. $8. The residents of East Berlin are ter rorized by a spook, Women refuse to venture on the street at night fearing to meet the ghost or hobgoblin. It ap pears on the street late at night dressed in a white gown, wears a white fascina tor, barred shawl, and gum boots. The person passes along at a steady gait, molests nobody, and tries to get away from people meeting it along the (trcets. The Mercer county commissioners- have decided to reinstate the stone pile for prisoners in Mercer jail for petty of fense. If they do their work well they will be fed on good food, but if thrv rebel a bread and water diet will be their portion. Giis A. Dick, who disappeared recent ly from Jeannette, has not been heard from. Since his departure ten notes for from $1,500 down to $75. and aggregating ?3,,ooo, with the signatures of his moth er and Michael Seller, of Jeannette, hav t'irned up. Birch Longneckcr.inail carrier between romt Marion and Wvley, Greene coun ty, lias been arrested on a charge of robbing tile mail. In July a number of letters were taken and were laler found in a coal bank near Longneckcr' Home. The people of Fairfield township, Westmoreland county, arc excited over what appears to be a rich find of oil. A spring which issues from a swamo oi the Jacob West farm near Bolivar is thoroughly impregnated with the fluid. In attempting to prevent his removal from the Blair county almshouse to the Martinsburg Industrial home 9-year-old victor urv tell down a hav chute 111 the almshouse barn, breaking both wrists and injuring himself internally. The Sharon works of the American Clay Manufacturing Company have closed down for an indefinite period. About 75 hands are affected. Extensive repairs will be made during the shut flown, Thomas Carrollton. of Summit Mines. Fayette county, has been arrested on a charge of selling Iinuor without a li cense. It is claimed that Carrollton had a large trade among foreigners, selling a peculiar drink called Yikki. Taylor & Johnson, of Jefferson coun ty, have bought from J. M. Murdock and Harry bwank, of Johnstown, the timber on a tract of land in Shade town ship, Somerset county, for $25,000, and will begin lumbering operations at once. Edw-ird L. Smith, aged 33 years, a Pennsylvania railroad brakcinan. com mitted suicide at Altoona, by shooting himself through the head. Despondency over his Drother s illness with consump tion is believed to be the cause. John Lanffcr, who is believed to be the oldest man in Westmoreland coun ty, celebrated his 08th birthdav Satur day, having as one of the guests his eldest son, Squire H. P. Lauffer. who i 73 years old. An effort is being made to secure a pardon for John Coslett, Canonsburg's ex-chief of police, who was sent up for eight years in 1897 for shooting an! killing his brother-in-law, William Pi-.gh. State Treasurer Barnett's January re ports shows that he has advanced $nH.- 775 in cash to members and employe 01 tne Legislature on their salaries. The balance in the general fund at the close ot the month was $3,085,403.41. A small Vev of dynamite exploded irr the Fernwood mines at Pittston. fos- eph Santino had an arm blown off anf an eye destroyed. The skull of Anthony" Hres Santino was fractured. Both incu will probably die. The Uniontown owners of the Acme radiator works have sold their entire holdings of stock to the Kellogg-Mac- Kay, lameron company, of Chicago, who will operate the plant under its for mer name and management. The First Presbvterian Church sr Castle has decided to purchase, for $15.- 00, an organ on wnicn an -eccentric German is said to have had built fnr hi.. $j ,000,000 mansion in Fifth avenue, New 1 urn George H. Brown and F. W. Otto have purchased 250 acres of land at Nin eveh. Westmoreland countv. and will erect a brick plant. There is an exten sile bed of fire clay on the property. The Erie county authorities have of fered ix reward of $1,500 for the capture and conviction of the murderers of Dnl ton Peckham, who was shot at hi home in Cranesville. The Roval Oak colliery at Sli.nuok-m was completely tied up by the 250 em ployes going on strike for enforcement the semi-monthly pay. and against hj order to wtrk in a burning mine. Grove Ci.y College will send two companies of uniformed cadets, of 50 mei each, with a band, to Wasliingto-i to take part in the presidential inaugura tion. Frank Fisher, the man. who recently sold his girl wile for 50 cents, wns drowned in the Delaware river at Eas ton. while trying to escape from an offi cer. An niflnlti,- nf ,.fil,i Kfia l.ct'on among domestic animals in West FinL-y luwiismp, wasmngion county, wimn. has caused great excitement among the miiucia auu llulll raisers Ul me U1M The Butler board of trade annc that it has about completed and to terms oy wnicn three great m turing plants employing i.oco 111 oe estauusnea there. Henry Davis attempted to act maner during a oarroom right ion. -une 01 the scrappers razor ana cut r.is throat TUT 1 1 J ougiltet irora Nile. O. T f t
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers