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MAGAZINE SECTIOK
NEW BERN, NORTH CAROLINA, FRIDAY, kAY 4, 1906.
PAGES 1 TO 4,
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MISS HELEN GiHSOH. -
One of the First ladies of Official
Society at National Capital.
She Often- Graciously ; Presides at
, War Councils ; of ;. the Nation's
. Chiefs. Democratic In Manner and
a Famous Housekeeper.
The distinction of being the best
posted woman in America on politics
.and. statecraft, is generally accorded
. to Miss Helen- Cannon, daughter of
the Speaker of the TJ. 3. House of Re
presentatives. 1 8peaker Cannon who
Is genial and democratic In manner
is a man of man close friendships, but
no one is so close to him aff bis only
unmarried daughter who has presided
over his household since the death of
his wife, many years ago. , '
Miss Cannon emphatically disproves
the theory that a woman cannot keep,
a secret. ,Asvthe confidante of the
official, who, next to the President, Is
the most powerful man in the United
States, she probably learns more of
what Is going on "behind the scenes"
MISS HELEN CANNON.
DAUGHTER OF THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.
.In official life than any other member
- of her sex, yet never so" much as once
has she let her tongue slip when
"mum" wasthe word, and this is more
than can be said of some men of exalt
ed position. - ; ' v -.
Moreover, Speaker Cannon's confl
uence in his daughter's discretion and
common sense is shared by the leaders
In the lower house of Congress who
have occasion to confer frequently
with the presiding officer. Many of
these confidential confabs are held at
the unpretentious vine-covered brick
house which constitutes Speaker Can
non's Washington home, -and many
times a newcomer at such a conference
has been surprised to see the wheel
horses of our national legislature freely
telling state secrets before he hostess.
Joys of Oood Cooking. .
, Incidentally it may be noted that
Miss Cannon Is largely responsible for
so many of these political star cham
ber sessions being held at the Cannon
residence Instead of In the Speaker's
private' office at the Capitol or some
where else. Few readers of this need
be told that the average man sety
great store by good cooking, and the
popularity won by Senator Hanna's
-famous "hash breakfasts" goes to
prove that the President and other
high officials of the nation are no ex
ception to the masculine rule.
Well, Just here one has a h'nt as to
the magnet which helps to draw many
men of affairs to the Speaker's home
Instead of to his, office. Miss Cannon
la a splendid housekeeper, and is an ex
pert in preparing or superintending
the preparation of those plain, whole
some dishes which never fall totnole
a hit with men who are weary of hot !
cwldnjr. In things to eat, as In Jrn,
f ' -r Cannon does not go in f r
r v. h In the way of "frills", but no n .1
Knows 'w hat Is In store tor hi t
ever d -dines an Invitation to d'ia at
tla houne. ...
When Congress is not In session,
Miss cannon is mistress of her fathers
home' at Danville. Illinois. There.
in Washington, she is always prepared
for company, for the Speaker's married
daughter with her children, spends
much time at the Cannon home, and
relatives and friends always feel free
to drop in" at almost any time.
, Official Feminine Calls.
- In the social life -of the national cap
ital. Miss Cannon occupies, by virtue
01 her fathers position, a unique posi
tion. Possibly not all our readers are
aware of the many unwritten laws that
govern the exchange of calls between
women whose. husbands or fathers oc
cupy prominent positions at Washing
ton. - For instance, official etiquette
prescribes that the wife of a newly
elected Senator or Representative
must make the first call upon the wives
ef all those Congressmen who are her
husband's seniors in service. v. Miss
Cannon, however, ' ' In accordance
with, these same unwritten laws, Is not
compelled to make a "first call upon
any ladies in -Washington, save the
wife, of the President and the wife of
the Vice President, All this fuss as to
who shall call first may appear ridicu
lous to persons who are not brought
In contact with life at our seat of gov
ernment, and possibly Miss Cannon
who Is thoroughly democratic may re-
gard it In that light too, but the fact
remains that the enforcement of such
recognition is due the dignity of her
father's position, and she is too good
a politician not to Insist upon the
Speaker of the House enjoying all the
prestige which Is due him. Should Mr.
Cannon one day be President of the
United States, as is by no means im
possible, his daughter will .by reason
of her kindliness and democracy, make
an ideal First Lady of the Land.
URGES EASY SPELLLNG.
Supreme Court Justice Joins With
Other Well-Known Men Carnegie
Gives Fund to Aid Cause. '
Associate Justice David J. Brewer of
the United States Supreme Court is
deeply interested In the adoption of a
scientific regulation of English spell
ing. ::.,- .
Justice Brewer is a member of the
board of which Brander-Mathews, of
New York, is chairman. About 760
have agreed to adopt for customary
use in their own personal correspond
ence the following twelve .simplified
spellings, heretofore recommended and
used by the National Educational So
ciety, namely, program, catalog, deca
log, prolog, demagog, pedagog, tho, al
tho, thoro, thorof are, thru and thruout
In May and June, 1906, many distin
guished scholars, literary men, and
scientists signed the promise, and now
the committee has been permanently
organized, under tlJ name of the Sim-,
pllfled Spelling Board. Funds ade
quate for the purpose have been given
by Andrew Carnegie, the justice
thinks, to the amount of $16,000, the
income of which Is to be devoted to the
Interests of the organization.
Among the members of the board
are E. Benjamin Andrews, chancellor
of the University of Nebraska; David
J. Erewer, associate Justice of the Su
preme Court of the United States;
Nicholas Murray Butler, president of
Columbia University; Andrew earne
rs, I -iMK-1 L. Clemens (Mark Twain),
i g Wentworth Hlpglnson, Will
! 1 I '' nn Howells, Prof. Lownsbury
f Y... I of. Jamos of Harvard, Ben
1 ,ii.Sn il t !:h. ed'tor of the Century
i s. V. H. Ward, eilltnr of the
Iu : . ; id, and Andrew D. White.
ICEBERG IN DELAWARE.
Huge Mountain of lee Towed From
Grand Banka of Newfoundland.
The Strenuous Work of a Tug's
Crew One of the Strangest and
Perhaps the Most Valuable Prize
Ever Taken by a Ship. :
In order that the city of Philadelphia-might
be rescued from an ice fam
ine a powerful ocean-going tug has ac
complished the almost impossible feat
of capturing a huge Iceberg, and tow
ing It Into port. Never in the world's
history has this wonderful achieve
ment been duplicated, and contrasted
with it the v fascinating exploits re
counted by the marine historian Sin-
bad, the sailor, appear commonplace
ana trivial. ,
With its mountain of ice in tow, the
tug passed .up the Delaware River
creating consternation among the-fioat"
tag world on the' stream,' as observers
could not imagine other than that the
floating mountain was belffg. driven np
the bay by some freak of wind and cur
rent to the great danger of shipping.
Its approach Was responsible for some
frenzied telegraphing, which threw the
shipping interests into a panic. Orders
were Issued to hold up the sailing of
every vessel due to leave, and mes
sages were dispatched to lower Dela
ware station to intercept several out
bound steamers and warn them to seek
anchorage out of the berg's path.
; Maritime Interests Excited.
For several hours maritime Inter
ests were intensely excited by the unheard-of
presence of an iceberg In the
bay.. Later, when the true story of the
wonderful feat was flashed over the
wire, it seemed so utterly Incredible
that the excitement, It anything, was
increased. It was not until one of the
fastest tugs in' the harbor had steamed
down the bay and wired verification of
the story that the panto was allayed.
Only the providential co-operation of
the winds and tides, and the mop fa
vorable weather- conditions enauled
the tug to accomplish the feat In spite
of the almost inconceivable risks at
tendant upon the berg's capture, not a
member of the tug's crew was injured.
Two Men Frost-Bltten. . ,
Two men suffered from bad frost
bites, but this was due to their own
carelessness in braving the arctic tem
perature in the berg's vicinity without
proper clothing. Their experience was
a warning to the rest of the crew, and
when the tug with the prize passed the
Breakwater every man- aboard was
muffled as if for a Peary relief expedi
tion. ;...
The length of the iceberg was 600
feet, and it is estimated that it will
yield fully 600,000 tons, which is nearly
sufficient to make up the shortage in
ice crop due to the mild winter. The
work of cutting up the fflbuntaln of Ice
will have to be pushed because of the
rapidity with which it will melt under
the spring sunshine. '
. The monster berg was captured oft
the Grand Banks of Newfoundland.
It was made fast at great risk by the
daring men on the tug, who, in small
boats tied staunch ropes around the
mountain of ice,' and then let out a
long tow-line from the tug and, with
grappling hooks, secured a fastening
which held firm after several attempts
had resulted in failure. The crew of
the tug will share In the money the
prize will yield, As icebergs are brok
en off portions of glaciers, the ice
yielded will be of good quality... .
School Garden Education.
Every child likes to play In the mud
and dirt, to make sand houses and
caves, mud pies,, and even to plant a
garden, breaking off the twigs of trees
and pulling weeds, which are carefully
planted and watered, furnishing diver
sion and pleasure for the day. It is
an easy matter to direct the youthful
mind a little further along this line
and Interest it in a real miniature gar
den. It is not an untried theory, but
a fact abundantly proven in all the
large and many of our small cities.
Philadelphia has what are- called
"Municipal Gardens;" Boston has a
dozen "School Gardens;" Chicago,
Detroit Washington, Cleveland, Los
Angeles, In fact almost all cities have
successfully worked out either the
school garden or the vacant lot culti
vation idea, two separate propositions,
rlt is true, but closely allied. The
school garden Idea opens up an easy
and agreeable' avenue to what proves
more of a diversion than a task to the
young. New York has only one such
farm garden, but on its one or two
acres, the children plant and raise both
flowers and vegetables, while in an
extemporized cook-house they prepare
the vegetables for the table and enjoy
the flavor of the fruits of their labor.
Besides this instruction In the culinary
art, bedroom In miniature furnishes
an opportunity for the girls to learn
how to care for rooms. In Phila
delphia the relation of the municipal
gardens and the schools is Intimate.
But to see this Idea worked out per
haps, at its best one must study it as
It is In Boston. There, a private organ
ization known as the School Garden
Association, for six years or more has
been developing little centers where
the children delight to plant and culti
vate, furnlahlng object lessons of the
utility of such work which it Is hoped,
may load to its addition to the school
curriculum, and with this Idea In
mind these school gardens are located
quite generally on land adjacent to
sehooHioupPs, some cf the regular
school touchers p'nflly acting the part
of Instructors. The e". 'tt upon the
little workers In t' f;,e plots is in every
way harry and shouij lead to their
more general use.
MADE FORTUNE IN WORMS.
Maine Florist Returns to Sweden
- After Breeding Bait.
By far the most popular bait for
all kinds of fishing in Maine are liv
ing earthworms, which have the odor
01 the ground about them and which
seem to be choice tidbits, not only tor
trout and landlocked salmon, but also
for pickerel, perch, black bass and. in
deed, every species of food, fish that
swims, in1 fresh water. As the Maine
soil is deficient In humus and lacking
in decaying vegetable matter, angle
worms are not plentiful.
. More than ten years ago Carl Beers,
a florist of Bangor, went into the busi
ness of rearing earthworms for the
purpose of selling them to the local
fishermen, as well as for shipment to
tsoston. He imported a breed of dark
purple worms from Belgium, which
were prolific breeders, though
course and strong flavored, and later
he 'Secured a box of giant angleworms
from India. : ' In the course of a few
years he was able to supply live
worms by the million to his custom
era. '- 'r ;
Those shipped to Boston were sold
in Job Jots of 76 cents a pound. To
the home customers he sold worms of
average;' she for 10 cents a .dozen.
Thongluhls green house was a small
one, anf though his trade in flowers
was never extensive, he made money
rapidly from the sale of worms, un
til la8tyear, when he retired, and
went to his old home in Sweden, a
wealthy man.
Sidney Cook, of Presque, Isle, the
Inventor of several diving appliances
used by men who work in deep wat
ers, was the next man to attract at
tention as a public benefactor in the
bait line. Mr. Cook says his inven
tion was made possible through hav
ing watched the IndlarJh of Canada
when they sought worms for bait
"All earthworms come to the sur
face at night"-said he, "and feed on
the grasses and rotting, leaves neai
the entrance to their burrows. While
the worms were busy eating, the In
dians of Canada had a habit of drag
ging a blanket with its under side
smeared with bird lime along the sur
face of the land, thus picking np the
fat worms together with sticks and
lumps of earth and small pebbles.
"After dredging the land for a time
the Indians carried the blanket to the
camp, picked off the worms, and add
ed another coating of bird lime.
Though I have been praised very
much for my invention, it is not mine
by rights, as I gained the idea from
Indians. ..v.
Already the
Scenery '
Around the '
Falls ii Marred
by Power
Plants.
The only change I have made is
to go out With a light giving forth a
violet- color and allowing it to shine
for a few minutes upon the land to
be visited with the smeared blanket
Most lights frighten earthworms and
drive them underground, which 'is the
reason why they feed in the dark, but
a light that carries a blue or a violet
blue shade seems to soothe the crea
tures and .makes them careless of
danger. '
"Or perhaps the worms are hypno
tized by the strange glare and cannot
get away. That is the way a dash
lamp acts upon deer at night and I
think a deer should know as much as
an angleworm."
IN ROCKEFELLER'S CLASS.
Chief Quanah Parker, of the Co-
manches, has all the great man's hor
ror of the camera. While waiting for
a train at Stanton, Okla., a young
man - began making photographs of
him. The Indian grew angry, opened
his pocket knife, and threw It at
the camera man. As this did not de
ter the latter, Parker went indoors,
took a revolver from his valise, and
started on the warpath. The police
had to disarm him. '
J. Plerrorit Korean, John D. Rock
efeller, II. H. Rogers, and ""others
doubtk s have sent messages cf ap
proval to tLe tig Comanche.
7 '?: r
v ;SiiiiilC:-
NIAGARA FALLS IN DANGER
Joint Resolution in Congress For
Their Preservation.
Proposal to Unite With Canada In
an Effort to 5top Further Depre
dation Which Will Destroy the
Scenic Orandeur.
At last the national law-makers
have come to a realizing sense of the
danger which threatens Niagara Falls,
the most beautiful of all the world's
natural wonders.
By, a joint resolution of the Senate
and House of Representatives the
International Commission, created un
der the River and Harbor Act of 1902,
was requested to report to Congreso,
at an early day, what action was, In
their Judgment necessary and destr
able to prevent the further depletion
of water-flowing over Niagara Falls
and were further directed to exert,
in conjunction' with the members of
said Commission representing th
Dominion of Canada, If practicable,
all possible efforts for the preserva
tion of the falls in their natural con
dition. "!
Report of Committee.
This Commission promptly reported
that (f any benefit was to be derived
by legislation, Immediate action was
necessary and outlined a plan which
It believed would have the desired
effect providing Canada would unite
with this government in curbing the
greed of promoters and speculators. .
The report says, in part: "As a step
in that direction we recommend that
legislation be enacted which shall con
tain the following provisions, viz:
"The Secretary of War to be author
ized to grant permits for the diversion
of 28,600 cubic feet of water per
second, and no more, from the waters
naturally tributary to Niagara Falls.
' All other diversions of
water which is naturally tributary to
Niagara Falls to be prohibited,, ex
cept such as may be required toi
locks In navigation of canals.
The foregoing prohibition to remain
in force two years, and then to bu
come the permanent law of the land,
if, in tne meantime the Canadian
government 'shall have enacted legis
lation proniDiting tne diversion of
water which Is naturally tributary to
Niagara Falls In excess of 86,000 cubic
feet per second."
. Dependent on Canada.
It will be noted ' that unless the
British government unites . with this
country In its effort to save the natural
The American
Falls Threat
" ened to be
Destroyed by
Water
Diversion.
beauty of Niagara Falls little can be
accomplished, and from past experi
ence It seems more than doubtful that
such will be the case. In the matter
of the International boundary aud the
seal controversy, Canada certainly did
not show an over friendly? spirit and
there is no reason to assume that her
attitude has changed in the least, but
It would seem probable that she will
use all her great Influence with th
mother country to defeat any friendly
agreement that might be proposed.
. This conclusion of Canada's probable
attitude Is not reached entirely on ac
count of any unfriendly feeling, but
because of two very Important facts:
one of these Is the greater width and
depth of the channel on the Canadian
side, which would Insure a splendid
flow over the Horseshoe Falls after
the American side Is entirely dry.
It Is asserted that Ontario Province
now receives from the Commissioners
of Queen Victoria Niagara Park, h
minimum annual rental of 100,000 for
the water rights granted there, and
when the plants for which these
rrants were made are In full operation,
the annual rentals to the government
will amount to over $300,000.
It Is further asserted that additional
water could be granted ty Canada
which would produce an annual rental
of another l.'iOO.OOO, and still not seri
ously affect the Canadian side of the
l a;, 8, while the American Falls would
be entirely drained long before tkta
enormous rental was due.
There would seem, however, to be a
remedy for the evil which is belnb
done, and one which Is not dependent
on Canadian ' co-operation. This
remedy could be accomplished by New
York State alone, and would be to so
deepen the river channel south of
Goat Island,- between that Island and
the New York State bank, that tnt,
American Falls would divide with the
Horseshoe whatever water was not
diverted from ' its natural bed. The '
Treaty of Ghent places the American
boundary at a point well out Into the
deep part of the river channel and
affords ample opportunity to make
necessary excavations.
II Jj
(Trotn eteh In Ledla How Journal. )
HOW THE AMERICAN FALLS MIGHT AP- '
PEAR IN THE NEAR FUTURE.
If anything Is to be accomplished
In the matter It is necessary to act
at once, for if more corporations ob
tain control of the water rights it
will be Impossible for either the nation
or New York State to repurchase them
without an absolutely enormous ex- .
pendlture of money.
Lack of Interest.
It is certainly to be regretted that
the "American people have so long
neglected the most beautiful fall of
water In the world, and have allowed
any part of It to be converted to pri-
vate gain or corporate greed.
Even now, in the face of all that
has been said and written on the
subject there seems to be an attitude
of habT-beartedness on the part of
the people to act which Is well illus
trated by the fact that Senator L'Hom
medieu, of the- New-York State legla
lature, has asked the Senate to kill his -bill
restricting the taking of water
from Niagara River above the falls for
power purposes and says in defense
of bis action, "I cannot find any senti
ment In favor of protecting Niagara
Falls, and I'm tired of being attacked
on the subject of my bills relating to
this subject"
. MAMMOTH INCUBATOR.
A Hatching Machine That Does the
wore 01 une Thousand setting
v Hens. :, - ,
The largest incubator in the world,
with a capacity of 16,000 eggs, has
just been completed by W. P. Hall of .
Pembroke, N. Y. It is 102 feet long,
and 4 feet 4 Inches wide. Partitions
divide it into 100 compartments, each
accommodating two trays. The trays
have wire bottoms, and hold 75 eggs
each. To fill this Incubator a single
time with common not thorough- '
bred eggs woud require an expendi
ture of 16,000, for eggs of the requis
ite freshness would cost forty cents a
dozen. As ohe hen covers fifteen eggs
for hatching, the incubator does the
work of 1,000 fowls, or has the capa
city of one hen sitting constantly for
nearly ten years.
The incubator is heated by means
of a coil of eight steam pipes passing
over the top of the egg chamber on
one side and returning on the other.
These pipes are connected, at one end
of the structure, to a water tank and "
heater. The water flowing through
the pipes is heated to exactly the
right temperature, a thermostat at
tached to the stove opening and clos- 1
lng the drafts to make this possible. -The
only attention required by the
heater is supplying it with coal night
and morning. The thermostat is an
expansion tank, 10 by .18 inches,
which stands over the heater.- The .
tank is filled with oil, In which is a
float As the beat of the furnace ;
warms the water, the water in the
jacket surrounding the heater ex
pands, and the float In the oil rises.
This movement closes a throttle at
tached to the floatarm, and shuts the
draft of the heater; another lever at
the same time opens the cold-air draft
of the furnace. In this' way the tem
perature is regulated automatically,
with extremely little variation, the
eggs being kept at 102 degrees F.
A second novel feature Is that the
heat of the eggs Is regulated by rats- '
lng or lowering them in the egg cham
ber, which is nearly a foot high in
side, burlap separating It from tne
pipes. The egg trays rest on double
frames hinged by galvanized arms
or levers. As the chicks develop, the
trays are lowered on these supports,
the first drop. being made In six days,
and others at Intervals, until, on the
twenty-flret day, the trays are rest- '
lng on the bottoms of the chambers.
All Infertile erss are tested out on
the seventh day.
Mr. Iiall built small Incubators at
first but the oil bill for f-rty cf his
small incubators, with I.CO t i c 1
paclty, was 1G0 for a ", a
Iur0 Incubator was run t' ne r ;."
at an expense of less taa Ii t.t
coal.