St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1881-11-18

pand to breaks some day. 1t has been
seriously proposed to fill up the nearer
reservoirs at once, put every one on
short supply, and go to work at repairs
at once. Meantime, another plan has
been suggested for the Add street reser-
voir to have the Hudson River water
pumped into it by means of hydraulic
rams, operated by the force of the tide,
and kept for putting out fires and
flushing sewers, etc. The only oppo-
sitiOn to the use of salt water seems to
come from the insurance companies,
who revolt at the idea of paying for
the extra loss by salt water over that
OccasiOned by fresh, but it is pointed
out, think reasonably, that the Hud-
son River water isn't SO very salt after
all, especially at ebb tide, and then if
you put out fire in five minutes, the
damage by water or fire is apt to he
less than if it burns for fifty minutes.
But, of course, all this is matter for
figuring, and as Aston and other ada
cent property owners want to make "a
park out of the demolished reservoir
and get bigger rents for their houses,
there is another element in the prob
lem to be considered.
nopoly hobby. 1t makes me cross and
that isn't a fit or pleasant frame of
mind for your Radix. A great anti
monopoly man gave me great treat
the other day and took. me all over his
store, the grocery store of the Thurber's.
It's wonderful place, literally as busy
as any hive with labor saving and con
sequently money saving devices in
profusiOn. One machine i'll particular
discounts the famous pinmaking and
envelope machines, and was amusing
itself apparently with almost intelli-
gence, and more than human accuracy,
by cutting paper boxes from cardboard,
shaping, folding, cumming and filling
them with exactly-weighed coffee,
sugar, tea, spices, or what not, faster
than one could count. The aesthetic
demand of the day for attractive pack
ages, as well as for wholesome and
tOOthsOme contents, seems to compel
invention in the direction of such
marvellous machines. | fully expect
to see the day when locomotive will
have little donkey engine to run
around and gather up the necessary
supplies of water, coal, etc, without
the engineer or fireman having more
bother than man winding his watch.
And if the packing is wonderful, the
things packed are scarcely less so,
or the novel way in which they are
presented to the public. For one
thing, at this house, you get what you
pay for, pure goods, adulteratiOn being
an objectionable sin, and then you can
get good things you can't get elsewhere,
in bewildering variety. The latest
idea, | fancy, is the packing of whole
roasted coffee in the bean, the coffee
being prepared on a grand scale so as
to surpass any domestic work of the
kind with a uniformity of the burning
and a retention of the fragrant aroma,
which is delicious. The Autographed
show card showing how coffee looks
upon the tree, which is furnished to
every customer who sells the coffee, is
temptation in itself for everybody to
go into the coffee business, and deci-
dedly most interesting and decora-
tive work of art.
The father of a poor boy who was
wantOnly shot by policeman few
weeks ago (of course the "cop" was
exOnerated for his '|mistake,") has
taken to getting down on his knees be
fore the police station, and praying for
the blue coats there. They don't like
it and have had him arrested, and he
has been ordered not to do it again.
Our little New York school girl-she's
somewhat (only somewhaO naughty,
but she's nice-Adelina Patti, is back
again at last, and singing like an angel.
People seem to have forgiven her
method of discharging her obligation
to her brute of husband, and hear
nothing but her sweet voice. She is
charming, that's a fact. RADIX.