davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Athena press. [volume] (Athena, Umatilla County, Or.) 18??-1942, 1895-04-12

telephone litigation. An organization
using his instrument known as the
American Cushman Telephone company
was enjoined from doing business at
the suit of the American Bell Telephone
company in 1883.
DIR. Cushman has for years claimed to
be the original inventor OF the tele-
phone. He is a white-haired man sew
enty-four years of age, and for forty
five of these has been connected with
electrical work of various kinds The
telephone, he says, was discovery in
which colony Of Wisconsin bullfrogs
played a prominent part. The story Of
his claims has been told before in the
accounts OF the litigations in which he
has figured. The other day he retold them
before rough painting which hangs
on the wall Of his Office. 1t shows a
swampy landscape, stretching into the
foreground of which is telegraph line.
The wire drops to the ground and en-
ters a box which contains at one end
two iron disks, separated and fitted on
their inner surfaces with platinum
polntS, winch dpprOacH eacH ouncr, OuU
do not touch. From the disk not con-
nected with the line wire wire is run
into the ground. Another wire runs
from this disk to horseshoe magnet,
about which, supported on wooden up
rights, is piece of iron stretching
across the poles Of the magnet The
wire which is connected with the latter
from the disk energies again at the 9TH
er side of the magnet and at that point
is fastened to ground wire. Near the
box is large bullfrog seated on lit
tie knoll.
s'In 1851 was engaged in building a
telegraph line out of Racine, Wis" said
the doctor. eve ran short of poles on
reaching the stream shown in the pic
ture. wanted a lightning-arrester
and rugged up the device shown in the
picture. If the wire were struck by
lightning the first ground wire, be-
lieyed, would carry to the earth most
Of the current and the second one
would provide -""""ge for any that
The Athena press. [volume] (Athena, Umatilla County, Or.) 18??-1942, 1895-04-12

senior branch, although they are no
longer reigning family.
Her German birth and Lutheran
religion might not be considered bar
to her union with the czareviteh by
the Russian people, but the hereditary
afiliction of her house, namely, blind
ness, would lead them to look aslxance
at such marriage. The elder Of her
two surviving brothers is completely
blind, while her other brother, who
married the younger sister of Emperor
William of Germany, last January, is
on the eve of becoming so, He has
been forced to leave the army and to
place himself in the hands of the lead
ing oculists of the day, who express
little hope Of saving his sight. Princess
Sibylle's elder sister, Elizabeth, the
widow Of the late prince of Anhalt, is
almost entirely blind, while her eldest
brother committed suicide in most
mysterious way some five years ago,
half way between Singapore and
Batavia, when threatened with the
loss Of his sight,
The Athena press. [volume] (Athena, Umatilla County, Or.) 18??-1942, 1895-04-12

Chauncey NJ. Depew made speech in
his honor. and the Ancient Mariner"
was exhibited to the admiring dele
gates. Richard w. Thompson was born
in June, 1909, in Culpeper county, Va.
Both his grandfathers fought in the
war for independence. His stepmother
was Mildred Ball, q great-niece of
George Washington. In 1881 young
Thompson went 10 Indiana, taught
school, was clerk in dry goods store,
studied law and was admitted to the
bar in 1884. That year he was elected
to the Indiana house of representatives.
He was reelected in 1886, and at the next
election became state senator. In 1910
hewas one of Harrison's electors, and the
reputation he gainedIon the stump in the
stormy campaign of "Tippecanoe and
Tyler, too" resulted in his election to
congress in 1841. He held his own in
congress, and it was day of big men,
too. He declined denomination, and in
1S43 took up residence in Terre Haute
and began the practice of law. In 1S47
he was again elected to congress by the
wings over John A. Wright, afterwards
governor of Indiana. In 1849 President
Taylor appointed him minister to Aus
tria, and later President Fillmore ap-
The Athena press. [volume] (Athena, Umatilla County, Or.) 18??-1942, 1895-04-12

was left The use of the magnet and
the bar over 1t was to tell me whether
the wire had been struck by lightning.
The device was inclosed id glass box
md buried under leaves.
In few days l was informed that
n peculiar cracking noise was heard at
the other end of the wire at Racine.
visited the box and heard q slight
noise. Iadjusted the metal piece over
the magnets finer, and immediately
heard the eroalsing of frogs issue from
the box The telephone had whispered
its secret.
II began to develop it Mt once. Boxes
were made and placed one above the
} other and one used for listening and
the other for talking. The boxes were
known rs talking boxes People used
them to order their groceries by, and
we carried ON conversations over a dis
tance Of several miles. The volume Of
sound in the original box was as great
as . that developed in the modern tel.
ephone and the latter instrument does
not differ in the least from my original
discovery. All of Its principles are en-
bodied in the Bell instrument"
DR.. Cushman says after the injunction
tying up the American Cushman Tele-
phone company was issued, it was
found that the courts edict did not stop
the manufacture of the instrument
which he had elaborated out of the
glass box which gave ont the tidings
that sound could be transmitted over a
wire. He went south and telephone
exchange was fitted with his instru.
ments at point in Arkansas.
eve have recently fitted up another
exchange in this state" said he, land
have besides gone on selling the instru-
ments and many nre in use. A broad
patent is now pending which win pro
aaa4
The Athena press. [volume] (Athena, Umatilla County, Or.) 18??-1942, 1895-04-12
INTELLIGENCE or BIRDS.
Two stories That Demonstrate Their Good
Sense.


Sense.
A correspondent OF the Indiana
Farmer writes: "Once I noticed tur-
key buzzard that had taken a position
on fence near by where adead chick
en- had been thrown when crow made
every effort to dislodge him, but the
buzzard only put up his left or right
wing in the direction the crow came at
him and held his r1ace with defiant
mieD, when Mr.. Grow alighted on
fence stake near by and began to
''caw" in rapid manner that soon
brought two comrades on swift wings,
when after brief interval of CONVEX
sation two of them approached him
from either side simultaneously, with
the third one going at him from the
rear. The buzzard was soon dislodged
and hustled out of the vicinity by the
successive sparrings administered.
Another instance came to my notice
several years ago that for sympathy
has but few parallels outside of the
human family. Gazing toward the
barn one day saw about half dozen
sparrows on the ground greatly
agitated over something, and stopped
to watch the proceedings. soon saw
that one of them was in great distress.
With dropping wings and mouth wide,
open the Others lowered close about it
and seemingly peered down the little
sufferers throat. After time the sick
bird hoped up on the lower board of
the fence, stretching itself up to its
full length, when one of the other
birds few up on board higher direct
ly above and nervously made some cal
culations for few seconds, then quick
ly lowered itself, and. clutching the
lower side of the top board with its
claws, put its bill down into the open
mouth of the other one, and, as each
bird steadily drew back with some
force, the bird from above pulled out
from the others throat white, thin
looking object about the size of silver
quarter, darting away, letting it drop
on the grass some rods of, but, as
could not find the piece, thought it
was possibly piece of bone that the
too greedy little fellow had attempted
to swallow. After being relieved it
flew away with the others, chirping q
chorus of notes with apparent delight.
af,,l ER pl ATE COEElNS,
The Athena press. [volume] (Athena, Umatilla County, Or.) 18??-1942, 1895-04-12
RICHARD W. THOMPSON.
The Chairman OF she American Panama
Canal Committee.

The name of Col, Richard w. Thomp-
son, of Terre Haute, Ind, the Ancient
Mariner of the Wabash" is muchin the
mouths of men nowadays, owing to his
alleged connection with the Panama
canal scandal. But "Uncle Dick"
Thompson was noted man long before
the Panama canal was thought OF. He
is eighty-four years old and man who
received the compliment he did last
June 1T Minneapolis ought to live to be
one hundred at the least. The national
republican convention discovered one
day that it was "Uncle Dicks birthday,
and straightway suspended business.
The Athena press. [volume] (Athena, Umatilla County, Or.) 18??-1942, 1895-04-12

Stambouloff, the Bulgarian ex-min-
lister, was in his younger days ap-
prenticed to cohhler. On becoming
PRIME minister he appointed his former
master, the cobhler, prefect of police
at Sofia as a mark of respect for his
Just and unerring severity and his re-
markable talent for flogging.
The Athena press. [volume] (Athena, Umatilla County, Or.) 18??-1942, 1895-04-12
RolLsR PLATG oOFFINS.
An Invention to Thwart the Purpose of
Grave Robbers

During the past few weeks Washing
ton has been canvassed by the agent OF
one of the most peculiar pieces of
funeral paraphernalia ever inveRted,
says the News of that city. 1t is a bur
glar and fire-proof coffin, with SO many
strange adjuncts that person seeing
it for the first time would throw up his
hands in holy horror at the audacity of
the inventor and the admirable nerve
Of q manufacturer that viii place such
an article ON the market, Despite the
many ghastly features in connection
with these cofins and the almost
blaspheInous talk of the enterprising
agent. this city has proved 70 be a
lucrative field for him 70 ssas., and
The Athena press. [volume] (Athena, Umatilla County, Or.) 18??-1942, 1895-04-12

with the strangest burial appliance Of
the decade. The description of the
coffin, as given by the agent, is as fol-
lows:
Primarily the coffin is fire and bur
glar-pvoof. The case is made out of
boiler iron hardened with old bone,
spruce bark and leather, which forms
an enamel that cannot be penetrated
by chisel or drill. 1t is put together
with angle iron and flush rivets. The
locks are all on the inside, so con-
structed with hooks and staples with a
spring behind them that when pin is
drawn out from the outside the bolts
spring down and lock automatically
and the coffin is then locked so that, 1t
cannot be[opened from the outside
The only person who can unlock the
strange coffin is the person inside"
There are two grades of cofins-
those for vaults and those to be in
tered in graves. The coffin to be
placed in vault is equipped with tor
pedoes that can be exploded from the
inside. The theory of this is that in
case person is buried alive he can
throw back the bolts, explode the tor
pedoes and warn the sexton, and thus
escape. The coffin to be placed in a
grave has attached strong spr1ng and
arm. In case the person inside finds
that he wishes to get out, all he has to
do is to throw back the spring, and this
arm is thereby released and cuts its
way to the top, exploding torpedo
and warning the keeper of the grave
yard.
These cofiins are sold at so much per
pound, and the first purchaser does
not have to pay anything down. He
simply gives written guarantee to
the manufacturer that he will pay for
the coffin from his estate within fifteen
days after death, or, failing to do this,
the manufacturer can claim his body
to do what he may wish with it. The
cofins were originally invented al
Ypsilanti, Mich, and the invention was
due to necessity. At the time that the
company gained its inception Ypsilanti
and Ann Arbor and other Michigan
towns were being overrun with grave
robbers 1t was to counteract the eff
fects of this that the coffins were made
The scare had become SO bad there
that the people had got in the habit Of
placing body in receiving vault
guarded by an armed sentry. Then il
was this company began operations.
Hollis sells fOur-fOot Cord.
The Athena press. [volume] (Athena, Umatilla County, Or.) 18??-1942, 1895-04-12
WHISKY rRuLY sANcTIEIED.
flask Is walled Up in New Jsrsey
Church.

The distinction Of having quart
flask of whisky walled up in the
structure belongs TO the Sacred Heart
church OF this city, says New Bruins
wick special to the New York Sun. AL
though the church has been built for
over ten years, this was not generally
known until recently. Ten years ago
The Athena press. [volume] (Athena, Umatilla County, Or.) 18??-1942, 1895-04-12

sentler SEX every one of W oka slaud subscribe to
bemorest's Magazine. II you are nnacqGanted with
ts merits, send for a specimen copy freel. and
rou will admit that seeing these THUMBS has put
rou In the way of saving morcy by fi,diag in one
Magazine everything to satisfy the literary wants Of
he whole family.
The Athena press. [volume] (Athena, Umatilla County, Or.) 18??-1942, 1895-04-12
Hood'S Pills are hand made, and perfect
in proportion and appearance. 25c. box.

now number OF citizens are equipped
with the strangest burial appliance Of
the decade. The description of the
coffin, as given by the agent, is as fol-
The Athena press. [volume] (Athena, Umatilla County, Or.) 18??-1942, 1895-04-12

Pays interest en- time deposits. Proper attention
given 10 collections. Deals in foreign and
domestic exchange,
The Athena press. [volume] (Athena, Umatilla County, Or.) 18??-1942, 1895-04-12

flesh and strength / cannot praise Hoods
Sarsaparua too much" MRS. II. M. PECK,
Tracy, California. Get HOODS.
Pierre weekly free press. (Pierre, S.D.) 1889-19??, 1895-09-26
A National Shame.

The spectacle of the treasury waiting
upon the pleasure Of the syndicate bank
crs to know what they intend to do for
tho replenishment of the gold reserve is
too humiliating to be regarded with pa
tience
Such spectacle, to be plain about it,
is utterly unworthy Of our nation. No
country i'll the world has larger flnan-
cial resources than the United States
possesses. Our government ought to en-
Joy the very highest credit. It should
be and with proper handling it un-
doubtedly would be able to raise any,
amount of money that it might require.
Remembering what he has done in
the past, Uncle Sam may we'll rub his
eyes to see whether he is awake when
he sees the treasury officials soliciting
the kindly intervention of syndicate
for tho preservation Of the national
oredit.-Boston Herald. Is
Pierre weekly free press. (Pierre, S.D.) 1889-19??, 1895-09-26
Sneak. Well For St. Louis.

Tho bids received by the city for its
current deposits speak volumes for the
condition of business i'll st. Louis and
the surrounding territory.
For most of this money-all of it
when the amount falls below $500, 900
tile city will receive interest at the
rate of 3.G5 per year. This means, of
course, that the bidder, one of our lar
gest banks, has its capital and regular
deposits pretty we'll loaned out and ut
considerably moro than 3.G5.
Millions of dollars awaiting invest
ment may h. piled mp i'll the banks of
some cities, Int that is not the case in
ST. Louis. Our banks have managed to
keep their available cash loaned out al
most up to the legal limit.
st. Louis suffered less from the panic
than any other large city i'll the coun-
lry.-St. Louis Republic.
Pierre weekly free press. (Pierre, S.D.) 1889-19??, 1895-09-26

water navigation canal mag say III
brief that am heartily il accord with
the projected canal. A measure like this
means so much to the people of the
northwest. III this country there is no
question Of tho ability Of cur engineers
to perform such q work. nor nf the cap
ital that will be necessary, nor OF tho
speedy and lasting benefits that will re-
suit from deep water navigation.
Senator Pettigrew of South Dakota
writes: In relation to u deep canal
from the great lakes to the sea, am i'll
favor Of this project and thinl; it shonld
Eo accomplished before we build the
Nicaragua canal. "
Senator Hansbroush Of North Dakota
writes: "Will say that have always
been i'll favor Of the great project con
cerning which your organization is so
deeply interested Since have been IL
congress I have invariably voted for
deep waterways.
Congressman Jenkins OF Wisconsin
writes: .'It is not necessary for mo to
become inspired or to increase my syn
pathy with the movement i'll favor OF q
uniform deep water route ecolnectinS the
whole Chain of great lakes with the At
lunt;c ocean. am greatly interested i'll
the subject and am hoping for the success
CT tho enterprise, which will he benef-
cinl to the people of this nation"
President Garfield, formerly of Ne
braska university, now of Ohio State
university, writes: "You can count on
NE every time and all the time for such
assistance as can possibly render i'll
forwarding the general plan Of deep
{ water connection with the eastern coast.
I have lived too long i'll the states west
of the Mississippi not to fully apprcci,
ate what such connection means, and 1t
| is not for these states only, but for the
entire country"
Senator Proctor of Vermont writes
81 shall do anything i'll my power tc
| aid this movement. take, as l thinl
every one along the northern border
! must, !. great interest i'll the project fo1
water communication between tho lake
and the sea.
Governor Woodbury. Of Vernon
writes: "Am very glad that deep Wi
ter navigation from the west to tho At
lantic is being asitatcd. l sincerel.
hope that the project may be accom-
plished i'll the near future. heprosper
ity of the whole country, especially 0
the west, depends upon cheap freigh
rates to tho Atlantic seaboard. The Pee
pie Of this section feel deeply intesestc
and are willing to lend all the aid the
can to further tho accomplishment &
the project
Pierre weekly free press. (Pierre, S.D.) 1889-19??, 1895-09-26
1.d,.a... Silver Denoer....

The provisional committee Of the H.
diana Silve- league, composed of news
paper editors, has issued circular, OF
which the following is II paragraph:
And now we especially urge upon the
friends of independent bimetallism the
importance Of Immediate organization
in wards. townships and counties
throughout the state Of Indiana for the
purpose Of furthering this movement for
the common good Of all her people. Tho
time has come when the people must
look sharply to their interests and must
themselves take a hand in selecting del
ogates to nominating conventions. We
believe that tho only way to win this
battle is by close organization within
the ranks OF tho Dem party
that founded and fostered the double
standard money system that we are
working to restore. Prompt. aggressive,
persistent aud thorough work must be
done. It should be our purpose to avoid
all possible conflict within party ranks
excepe where it becomes evident that q
minority purpose to thwart the will Of
the majority, by the selection Of dele
gates who will not represent the ma.
jcrity. hut in such cases no hypocritical
appeals fur "peace and harmony" should
l.e permitted to deter the friends Of sill
ver from insisting upon and exacting
the full recognition and representation
to which their numbers entitle them.
Pierre weekly free press. (Pierre, S.D.) 1889-19??, 1895-09-26
THE. YACHTING FlAsco.
Opinions of tho Press Concerning Dan
raven and the Merits of tho Yachts.

Opinions of tho Press Concerning Dan
raven and the Merits of the Yachts.
Was it sportsmnnlike TO start u race
yesterday and then sulll off and go to
New York OH the specious plea that The
excursion boats might get i'll the road?
Was it gentlemanly? Does it not put
Lord Dunraven i'll the light of losing
both race and temper ut the same time:
Philadelphia Inquirer.
If Lord Dunraven S reason for not tax
ing the British yacht over the course has
been accurately reported, it will be, VIC
think, the deliberate, impartial and just
Judgment of all fair minds that what he
did lacked dignity, frankness and cour-
tesy, and that his conduct was not that
Of y sportsman who pursuos sport for
sports sake Philadelphia Ledger.
The decision Of the yacht committee
in regard to the previous race was ulas-
sailablo, and as Dunraven did not want
to sail tho race over again there seems
to be only one inference-he recognized
himself us beaten. His course does not
appear defensible. ladelphia Press.
The contest of 1895, should yester-
days iiasco be tho end of it, demon
strates that the Americans are still tho
supcriors of the British in constructive
genius and their peers i'll skill and sea-
manship.-Baltimore American.
Nothing could be more deplorable
than the muddlc over the yacht races.
Defender has Won, and Vallsyrie has lost
in Just tho manner least desired by either
Americans or Englishmen. Each side
thinks the other in the wrong, and the
long and honorable record of racing for
the America's IS cup ends i'll squabble.-
Philadelphia Times.
There does not appear to have been
| sufficient provocation for Lord Dun
ravens action i'll withdrawing the Val
kyrie from the race Immediately afte,
| she had crossed tho line, but the man
ner in which the course has been pa
trolled during the races furnished hin
with IL pretext for his conduct, and i
must be held to be mainly accountable
for the failure of the international yacht
races this ear.-Boston Herald.
Although Mr.. Iselin has shown ;
sportsmanliko generosity from first tt
last, tho American lovers of yachting
are disappointed at winning the cup il
such peculiar fashion. Boston Jour
nal.
It would have been better had Lor,
Dunrayen, who was well aware of th
disadvantages Of the course, made hi
j protest against it before this year.
Pierre weekly free press. (Pierre, S.D.) 1889-19??, 1895-09-26
A Giant Gusher.

Excitement is running high at Wood
side, o., over the coming i'll of a new
we'll OH tho famous Deist farm. It came
i'll at the rate of 60 barrels all hour, but
has increased to 1875 barrels per hour,
or 5000 barrels per day. In flowing the
we'll makes Il rouring sound similar to
that of Niagara falls and shakes the
earth for considerable distance around.
The large tanks erected to save the oil
from this we'll were inadequate, and
connections were at once made with the
pipe line.
Besides this we'll there are i'll tho
same pool tho Eikelberry No. l., 1900
barrels per day, aud Deist Nos. l., 2 and
8, which together make 1900 barrels
per day. The Dog Skin pool, q mile
east, has some very fine wells, produc-
ing from so to 600 barrels per day. The
late developments have brought i'll many
oil men and dozens Of wildcat wells
will likely go down i'll the near future.
-Exchange.
Pierre weekly free press. (Pierre, S.D.) 1889-19??, 1895-09-26
THE POWER OF GOLD.
t Should Re Diminished In Accordance
With a Grand American Principle.

It Should Re Diminished In Accordance
With Grand American Principle.
Judge T. NJ. Longley of La Grange,
Ca, writes as follows to the New York
Herald:
Whether the restoration of silver to
its former place in our system will af-
ford too much standard money for the
people is an American question and
should be solved Oh that American
principle. the greatest good to the great
est number. That the agricultural class
cs would be vastly bettered under free
coinage is not II matter Of conjecture;
reason and experience demonstrate it.
That the power of gold over men and
property would be immensely dimin-
ished should be cause of congratulation.
Golditcs say the act of 1873 simply
lcgalized what had existed since 1888,
tho gold basis. If the old coinage law
was imperative, why this deep concern
lest it he restored, for if they are right
the law would be valueless? When de-
monetized. silver was sound and worth a
premium i'll gold. The mint value of
the metals regulates the commercial
worth and also the relative value of the
coins. Opponents admit this by protest.
ing against tho colossal fortunes to the
mine owners Then what becomes of
the so cent dollar argument, which as
su,nes the metal would not rise at all?
The law can indirectly create and de-
stroy value by creating or destroying
demand.
To goldites the double standard is an
inexplicable mystery, but common sense
defines it-tho right Of the debtor to
pay i'll either coin at his option, making
silver equal to gold in debt paying pow
er, thus affording protection against
money corners. Free coinage is not sill
yer monometallism.