Evening star., 1898-05-21


There will be no lack of photographs
this time" remarked a well-known army
officer to a Star reporter, land already.
though we have only entered into 1t, thou
sands of fine photographs have been filed
in the War Department and even more by
naval officers in the Navy Department.
Every conceivable view is instantly photo
graphed. there being hundreds of the Maine
In all her stages of life and death, as also
all of the other vezs lis, crews, guns and
other belongings. Photography has in re-
cent years been study at West Point and
thu Naval Academy, and many of the lead
ing officers are now as expert at taking pic
lures as they are at the other branches of
their profession photograph explains
many things that officers who are possessed
OF the most yolubie descriptive powers
would be unable to explain without it
When the official reports of the war with
SIain are prepared they can be most thor
oughly illustrated by these photographs.
BE sides. thu volunteers are equally well
equipped as photographers. there being one
or more fns photographers with each COM
pany, and with the thirty thousand soldiers
now at Tampa, Chickamauga and other
places there are at the lowest calculation
several hundred who are thoroughly pre-
pared TO take snap shots, with double that
number of skilled amateurs, which will be
the means of permanently preserving In a
pictorial way every scene and Incident i'll
which they will take any part. Blessings,
they say, always come in Disguise and this
war will prove blessing to the various
makers of camsras and other parapherna-
liza and material that is used in connection
with the up-to-date Photographic art The
soldier boys are already loading down the
mails With the photos they have taken,
and it will not be long before the govern
ment will not only have a picture of each
organization in the service. but also of
every soldier and sailor who is paTtici-
pating in the war and every temporary
and DernaueuT and OIittiJ ~
x
"A most curious campaign is now pro-
crossing in Lee county, Georgia. remark
ed a Georgia repreS entatiYe to a Star Re-
porter. between two popular men who are
running for the legislature in that state.
Politically there is not much difference
between them: they are plain democrats
with no side line in the shape of money
issues, but on the issues of the local cam
paign they are very wide apart. The issue
between them IS FISH baskets or fish
baskets. and all the other questions of
the day are temporarily laid aside. The
present Incumbent OF legislative hOnOrS
had a dill passed by the legislature during
its last session prohibiting the placing OF
fish baskets, which is but another name
for fish traps, in the waters of that county.
The man %ho is enGeayOring to succeed
him has quite a strong following. He
thinks that fish traps should be allowed
so that the fish may catch themselves.
They are speechifying to their adherents
nightly and have already got into lively
tight"
x < i <
The telegraph has got back to where Il
started as q science and revolutionized the
world explained q prominent telegraph
line constructor to a S;ar reporter. lin the
matter of a copper wire. In all o. the ex-
periments made by Prof. Morse. the invent
or. well as those by Prof. Henry, who
SO a 1a5fI in, h.
science. copper wire was used. The day
following the sending of the original mes
sage between this city and Baltimore. What
God hath wrought the wires broke down
and for some weeks there was no comInuui-
canon, In IN electrical way at least. Con-
traction and expansion had not been pro-
Vlded for. and as a result down fell the
wires. All kinds of eSyuses were made and
all kinds vi me hoes were used to keep
the wires in working order. but they were
not Sratiiyln2ly successful. The result of
the Investigations then made was that iron
wire was the InGst reliable. taking all the
Cireurns, ,aHCes and conditions OF temper;t-
tuTe into consideration. and iron wire sup
planted the copper wire, notwithsta nding
the protest OF Morse. One of the greatest
difficulties in the use OF iron wire was the
laplity with which il wore out by rusting
IL fifteen years or this was reInedied
by the process Of galyanizing the wire
which gave il twice three times its life
by preserving the wire from oxidation
When the telephone came into extensive
use even more diiHculty was experienced
with iron wire. OF course every one knew
iron sire was not as good a conductor as
copper. but those VINO lad stuffed the mat
ter also knew that copper wire would more
easily break III consequence of the con-
fractions produced by the changes in
Temperature. The only thing remaining to
De uonc was to make a copper wire which
would not be So sensitive to the weather.
This was done in time, and today all the
trunk-line wires FOR telephones are copper
without them Iong-distance telephoning
would be impracticable. as iron wires could
not be used for any extended distances
x X x
THE life insurance companies do not cal
culate that there will be much loss of life
among our troops during the war;,
plained an officer of a strong New York
life insurance company to a Star reporter,
'and all OF the large companies have al
ready officially announced that there will
be no extra risks charged for those who are
serving IN the war. The only condition that
they impose upon policy holders is that
they inform the companies that they have
enlisted Their idea in this is to get fig
ureS upon which they calculate future
risks Now the great insurance COMPANIES
OF thlS country have as good a means OF
foreteliinS the extent of the war and its
ending. If not better, than most people, and
the mere fact that they have reached the
conclusion they have is a very important
one In reaching this conclusion they have
had the assistance and counsel of many OF
the best informed men i'll public life n this
country and abroad AS | understand it
however. If the war lasts over year they
reserve the right to increase the rate. for
next year This decision has resulted in an
enormous amount of policy writing during
the past three or four weeks All of the
larss companies have agents around the
camps in the south. soliciting business and
the reports show that they are doing con-
siderable"
There are rules for coachmen priyate
as well as public" said the coachman OF n
West End family to a Star reporter. land
no hrst-class man ever allows himself to
forget that there should be etiquette on
the box as well as inside. In the Old coun-
try these rules are taught by the older
house and stable servants to the younger
ones, but in this country many drivers only
learn them by observation or picking them
up There is one to teach them. In
England. where 1 was first put on the box
I worked In the stable three years before
l was allowed TO even clean the harness
was on the harness a year before 1 could
even clean the outside Of a carriage Here