St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-08-24
TOPICAL TALK.

The Cat as That popular pet of
the household. the tom
Diphtheria cat, is supposed to be
the most innocent OF
Breeder. domestic animals; yet,
according to state
ment recently made by Prof. Klein be
fore the royal society in London, the
feline favorite is really a most danger
Gus animal. Cats are frequently az
fected with wheeling cough. which.
Prof. Klein says. is nothing more or
less than a diphtheric ailment, and can
readily be communicated to a human
being. When kitty is ailing it is the
first impulse of child to fondle him,
to inllale the breath of the cat. Dr.
Klein says that in every case where he
,experlmented with inoculatlng cats
with the diphtheric bicilluS it produced
The pulmonary trouble referred TO; and
where children have nursed a cat with
this pulmonary trouble they have
sickened .afterward with well marked
diphtheria. A jealous eye upon the
family cat and upon the milk supply
would, according to DR.. Klein, prevent
many death now considered due to an
iinscrutable providence.
To Burn A gentleman who is
skilled in the mechan-
Slow. ical artSrenarked yes
terday Oh passing a
new building that presented only iron
pillars between the ascending stories,
That it was one of the fallacies OF
the day that iron offers the great
est security in case of fire. In the
instance named he said that fire IN the
basement would soon warp the iron and
endanger the entire structure. In sup
port of his view he asserted that the
vast warehouse of Marshall Field, OIL
Jackson street and Fifth avenue in
Chicago, had not used iron supports.
Brick and oak wood he regarded as
offering the greatest security, but an
absolutely fireproof structure lad not
yet been devised, as was apparent in
the great Chicago Ilre. The aim
of builders now is to secure slow
burning buildings. Some elabor-
ate papers have recently been pub
lished on the subject, based
on facts gathered by Edward Atkinson.
The system urged is founded upon the
princiC,,a of consolidating wood material
in such manner that there shall be no
concealed space in frame, floor or roof.
This allows time to meet the danger be-
fore the fire spreads beyond the room in
which it originates. Many of the more
recently constructed warehouses and
factories embody the main points sug-
geSted by the advocates OF this method.
1t is insisted that it may be applied to
dwellings at but nominal expense. 80
many of the modern buildings are fire
traps because of the open spaces IN the
partitions and walls atfording flues for
the flames. The plan advocated is to
extend the lining floors in each story to
the outside boards, and lay between the
Studding a course of brick or small
stones, fill the partitions the in same
Way,and leave no odeningS about pipes.
This will stop the rats and mice as well
as check the progress OF fire.
Mr.. WINDOWS There is a very
strong suspicion, and
Dangerous very good ground for
the suspicion, that See
Game. rotary Window stands
"cheek by jowl'' with
the Wall street bears who are forcing
stocks down. There is combination
among the very wealthy men of Gotham
to create stock panic, and when every
thing has gone down to bedrock prices
then to loose their purse strings and
buy everything In sight. Illefe Is no
apparent movement on the part of the
treasury department to ease the sltua-
ton in Wall street. as was done Oh sim
liar occasions during the Cleveland adj
ADMINISTRATION. In just such crisis as
now portends. both Secretaries Manning
and Fairchild let out sfeW mill
ions of the surplus i'll the
purchase of bonds, and then
the bears had to take to their denS. But
Secretary Windom looks on the panicky
state of affairs in Wall street with a
eomplacency that Indicates he knows
more of the causes than he cares to tell.
Still the secretary had betterlook a little
shy This is very dangerous time 10
be monkeying with the finances. Things
are little too shaky for tritling. Times
are hard, the crop prospect is not as
tlattering as we would like it, big
strike is threatened. there may be
general cessation of trade for an indeh-
mite time, and taking all things together
the occasion is most unpropitious one
for the treasury department. to be back
ing the spectators in their sculduggery.
A financial crash would involve the
Gripping of all industries and most
surely would be the utter destruction OF
the party in power.