davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Worthington advance., 1900-04-06

been made here was by an engine
company that went distance of 121
feet to the first hydrant, laid 300
feet of hose and had 100 pounds of
water pressure playing on the flames
in 1 minute and 18 seconds after the
alarm was turned in.
AS much care is exercised in the
selection of firemen as the govern
ment exercises in the enlistment of
men in the army and navy. A man
to be eligible for the Chicago fire
department must be between the ages
of 21 and 33 years; he must be not
less than feet Z inches in height
and must weigh not less than 1876
pounds. In addition to this there is
a rigid examination and investigation
as to health and morals.
This in brief shows the system of
the fire department of Chicago, one
of the greatest organizations in the
world, composed of brave men and
conscientious officials.
FREDERICK BOYD STEVENSON.
The Worthington advance., 1900-04-06

"a alarm is turned in the number Of
the box is indicated automatically at
the headquarters of the fire depart
ment in the city hall and in the en-
gine houses which must respond on
the first call. On the first alarm the.
fire marshal, or the chief of the battal.
ion, responds in person. The average
number of engine companies called
out is Ave and one hook and ladder
company. If the chief of the. battal-
ion sees that the fire promises to
spread, he pulls the box again and
turns in what is known as a Pill,
On this second alarm five more en-
gines and another truck generally re.
spond-but this depends entirely
upon the locality. A third alarm,
known as 3-11, calls out fve more en-
gines. Sometimes after the first
alarm is given, when the conflagra-
ton is quite threatening. a Ali is
turned in, combining a second and a
third alarm. When the second alarm
is turned in-that is, the 2-11-the
chief of the battalion goes direct to
the fire alarm office in the city hall
where large board is fastened to
the wall. This board has holes in it
each representing an engine and
truck company. The chief places
pegs in the hole of each company that
has been called out and in this way
the department keeps track of all the
companies. AS territory becomes
unprotected ON account of large fire,
companies are called from more re-
mote districts to take the place of the
absent men. Thus are the firemen
shifted back and forth in order that
the whole city may be protected.
There are 16 battalion districts in the
city with as many chiefs.
Probably the. most interesting fea-
ture Of the fire, department is the
celerity with which the firemen re-
spond to alarms. In each of the en-
gine houses-day or night-a man
is continually .on watch at the SWITCH
board where the alarms are Indicated.
Above the engine room are the sleep
ing apartments of the men. On the
first floor are the horses in their
stalls. Adjoining them is the engine
with kindling and coal ready for the
touch of match. Above the engine
are the harnesses which can be in-
stantly adjusted at the touch of
button. If, for instance. the man on
watch gets an alarm at midnight he
instantly turns the switch, gong is
sounded, the horses are Immediately
released automatically and. trained to
their work, they spring to their places
in front of the engine ami the harness
falls upon their backs. While this is
going on the men spring from their
beds and, in a twinkling, slip on their
"bunkers"-this is, rubber boots with
trousers attached-slide down the
brass poles to the floor below and
well, before you can count three they
are ripping down the street to the
fire. The best time that has ever
The Worthington advance., 1900-04-06
NElGh6ORS.

!, In garret, and she-well- a day.
Looking through curtains of lace.
Dreaming the beautiful moments away,
While sing song of her face.
But never q glance from her beautiful
eyes:
She knows not my songs. and she hears
rot my sighs.
Here IS her picture. And is it not fart
See-the red lips, and the fall
OF her sunshiny tresses! the gold Of her
hair
And the bright eyes that dream over
all!
This Is her picture-too glad for saint:
The picture that Love led the Unknown to
have passed the fiowered window that
looks DER the lawn.
And carried the light of that fact
(The light that was bright as the rosiest
= dawn.)
Up to this desolate place.
And here I have fashioned It. What is
her name?
And where shall gather the gold for q
frameO
have fashioned it here. where my heart
hopes have died
Toiling unlOved and alone.
(.The carriage Is there. She is going to
ride,
And she speaks in a silvery tone
To the fOOtman. Away! from this
desolate place;
But she leaves me-thank Heaven-the
light of her faceD
IF. l.. Stanton, in Atlanta Constitution.
The Worthington advance., 1900-04-06

There were 6,423 alarms turned in DUR
ing that year, and of those 1896 were
first alarms, 64 second alarms, % third
alarms and 80 fourth alarms, or as they
ere called, Ali. In addition to this
there were 26 special calls and 2.752
"stilp' alarms-that is, alarms turned
in by telephone or messenger.
There are 1900 fire alarm boxes and
the same number of police boxes in the
various fire districts of Chicago. This
box, 333, at the corner of Halsted and
Madison streets, represents one of the
worst fire districts in Chicago, but just
south, at the corner of Halsted and
Fourteenth streets, is the banner box.
No. 325. Last year this box was pulled
~ times.
One who is not familiar with the
workings of the fire department of a
large city can scarcely have an idea of
Its scope and magnitude.
The chief of the department in Chi
cago is d. J. Swenie, who celebrated
his .fiftieth anniversary as a fireman
December 3, 1899. And yet he is 10
hale and hearty and active that one
would not venture in putting his age
a day above IS. wv, 49,
The rank and file are as we'll drilled
as soldiers in an army. There are
LOO ffremen in this city, 81 engines,
27 trucks, 4 fire boats. and 2 hose com
panies located in the suburbs where
there are high pressure water sys-
TENS.
The perfect arrangement Of the fire
telegraph system has reduced to q
minimum the time it takes for the
nremen to respond to fire. When
The Worthington advance., 1900-04-06

they will die very soon, and out of
their decayed forms will come full
fedged beetles. In this jar are several
immature grasshoppers, buried in the
earth. They have been there six
years. Eleven years more will elapse,
when they will come forth from their
graves as full-fedged locusts of the
17-year variety.
Naturally, we who see and study
these phenomena of nature are not
staggered with the statements of the
ologians that out of the death of hu-
man beings there will arise new forms
of life. There is a very slight border
line of demarkation between science
and philosophy. Science ascertains
facts. Philosophy asks: 'Why?' and
tries to give the reason. Theology
goes a little farther. But all stu
dents, all scientists, philosophers and
theologians are striving for the ad-
vancement of human knowledge. And
sometimes our bitter divergences and
controversies result in bringing forth
truths which might never be devel-
oped but for the earnestness and in
creased energy which are let loose by
acrimony and controversy"
But to return to the Jars: In one
of them, which is half full of beans,
there are hundreds of bean-eatinR
bugs which will continue to live and
reproduce their kind SO long as the
food supply is continued. In one small
jelly glass there is large Irish no.
tato, where a lot of little flies have
laid their larvae, and the potato is
fairly riddled with the holes which
have been made by the larvae. An
other larger glass jar contains few
yucca pods. In the sand beneath
them are buried number of grubs
which have deserted the yucca pods.
Some time in April they will emerge,
not as grubs, but as moths. The yuc.
ca will then be blossoming, and the
moths will live on the blossoms. Na-
The Worthington advance., 1900-04-06
Eels ~ Water.PueiHe

Few people would be gratified il
they should find an eel in their rain.
water cistern, aid probably the last
conclusion come to would be that the
water was thereby improved. Yet, &C.
cording to Prof. SoDrero, of Turin, this
would be the case. The professor has
recently suggested that eels should be
used as purifiers of water. All one has
to do in order to keep the water in the
cistern pure is to put two or three eels,
not very big, but lively, into it. With
marvellous rapidity they will devour
everything Objectionable that may
drop into the water or generate
there. All that the water NAV
chance to contain in. the way of
animalcules, infusoria, vegetable mat
ter or animal matter, is accept.
able to them. Their mission end.
ed, they may in turn be eaten, or may
be saved as scavengersin in other depart
ments of the water-supply:- y:-Br;tbh
Medical Journal.
The Worthington advance., 1900-04-06

sIure Suppne6 1000 10f 4ll manner 01
lite, and the food-eating insects bring
death to these forms of vegetable life.
i One of the strangest things in this
collection of wonders is the fact that
half dozen huge oak gals not only
nourish the gall bugs, but protect
their destroyers. Just as cancer is
concealed within the body of a human
being and protected from medical and
surgical agencies while it eats away
q human life. the oak is stung in hum
dreds of places by gnatlike insects;
forms over the injured parts, where
eggs are deposited, odd-looking
growths which protect the offspring
Of the gall bug until they are able to
come forth, lay other eggs, and per-
haps sting the very stem which fos-
tered them.
A microscope is required to see the
wood-boring larvae. In one jar, which
is partially filed with sawdust instead
of sand, several pieces of bark ire to
be seen, completely riddled and honey.
combed by wood-borers. They bury
themselves in the sawdust during the
the winter, just as others bury them
seles in the sand. When they come
forth and are large enough to be seen
with the naked eye, they are removed,
killed and stuck on pins in boxes, ac-
cording to their species, numbered and
described in the scientific library of
reference books. Each insect has it's
scientific name, and the students here
give the full history of it's develop
ment.
Dealers in large quantities of wheat
and flour have lost on their invest
ments, sometimes heavily, because -four
beetles and wheat moths have de-
stroyed their property. Here in jelly
The Worthington advance., 1900-04-06

glass containing little wheat flour
are some of the beetles at work. They
are watched in their progress from egg
to larvae and from larvae to beetle.
The wheat worms and joint worms are
seen feeding upon the stems of the
wheat plant. There are also jars show
ing the work of root-devouring bugs
When they have eaten up the roots in
their jars they come to the surface, but
cannot escape, because inverted jars
cover them. They do not burrow
through the ground. They eat roots
destroying plant life. Then they come
to the surface and travel to the near
est contiguous plant, burrow to it's
roots, and begin their deadly work.
Most singular of all to an uneducated
observer of these singular things is
the fact that upon all of these insects
the microscope discloses parasites
which devour the insects themselves
Long years ago DR.. johnson said:
"Great feas have little fleas upon their
backs to bite 'em; while they, in turn,
have lesser ones, anu so ad infinitum." )"
The writer was not great scientist,
but he had some idea of what these
learned students of insect life have
disclosed so plainly. Cyrano de Ber.
gerac, in the sixteenth century, wrote
of some discoveries of the same kind.
made by himself. But these writer's
were only able to imagine that what
they saw with the naked eye must be
going on in the lower forms of life.
There is no Imagination, however, in
the things which are now to be seen in
the agricultural department., and in
the scientific institutions of some OF
the great universities.
This study of parasites is distinct
from the study of the insects. When it
is known that certain parasites speed.
lily destroy the insects, the parasites
are cultivated and encouraged to in
crease and multiply. The oranges of
California which have been destroyed
by the fiuted scale insect are now
saved by the dissemination of the Aus.
tralian ladybug, which preys upon the
scale, but does not injure the oranges.
The chinch bugs of Kansas are being
destroyed by the fungus which eats
the chinch.
This is the practical part of the
story. These bug students have learned
which parasites will kill the bugs, and
then they have sent the parasites forth
on their mission in various sections of
the country. Vegetation is destroyed
by the insects, and the insects are de-
stroyed by the parasites. BY putting
into the field big armies of parasites
the insects are eaten up, and vegeta-
tion is saved from it's almost invisible
enemies.
These pale-faced young men and
these bald-headed veterans in the sci
ence of bugology are quietly doing
whole lot of good for all of us; for the
farmers in the fields, and for the dwell
ers in cities who depend upon the farm
ers for the food which sustains their
lives. SMITH D. FRY.
The Worthington advance., 1900-04-06
FIREMEN ARE BRA d.
Often Risk Their Lives to Save
Those Of Others.
Chicago's Fire Department ana How
1t IL Managed - Men and
Horses Trained to Re- H.
spond Without Delay.
Especial Chicago Letter.

.: Especial Chicago letter.
n MAN without hat or coat ran
'H to the corner of Halsted and
Madison streets, Q few nights
ago, and. with nervous hands, ul-
loceked the red fire-box. In an in
slant he had turned in the alarm.
There was a slight buzzing in the
electric ticker in the fire department
in the city hall.
''Box $685." said the man in charge.
At the same time the tickers were
buzzing in engine houses Nos. s, Z, II.
81, 40, and in hook and ladder houses
Nos. 2, 6, and the alarm was given for
fire-marshals A, and 6.
The coatless and hatless man had
put in motion the machinery of the
great fire department of Chicago. In
The Worthington advance., 1900-04-06
MRS. M'KINLEY'S PICTURE.
Poses Before a Washinxton Photoa.
rapher, and Her Photographs
Will Be ON Sale Shortly.

Mrs. Mckinley gave a Washington
photographer a number of sittings a
few days ago, and has approved three
or four of the proofs. She posed in sew
era1 different gowns, having as back
ground the various living rooms of the
executive mansion. Fifteen pictures
were taken IN all, each intending to
show the characteristic attitudes ia.
miliar to her friends and the public.
This is the first time that Mrs. McKin-
ley has been prevailed upon to give
regular sittings for pictures since those
made shortly after her advent as the
first lady of the land. Anumber of ric-
lures were taken of both the president
and Mrs. Mckinley together, but, hav.
ing some aversion to having them fall
into the hands of the general public,
she had the plates destroyed. The new
pictures will be on sale in about
weeks time.
The Worthington advance., 1900-04-06
TO CUT DISTANCE AND TIME.
cagO and New York by Air Line
Reducing Time to 10 HOurl.

A New York paper says that, stimu.
lated by the boom in railroad earnings
and the general condition of prosper
ity, a group of eastern railroad men
and New York financiers are disposed
to revive the scheme to construct an
air line railroad between New York
and Chicago. Men who command large
capital have been sufficiently inter-
ested in this project to have surveys
made and maps prepared, showing ap-
proximately the course of the proposed
new road.
| Roughly described, this proposed
railroad is to extend between New
York and Chicago in almost straight
line. 1t will cut across the northern
part of New Jersey, and will pass
through the Mauch Chunk coal fields in
Pennsylvania. According to the route
as now marked out the new line will
skip most of the large cities in Pennsyl-
vania, taking in only Oil City.
Passing through Ohio, the road will
touch at Cleveland and Toledo, and will
pursue nearly a straight course to Chi
cago, via South Bend.
This ''air line, " it's projectors declare,
will be more than 300 miles shorter
than any other route between the At
lantic seaboard and Chicago, and
trains are to be run from New York to
Chicago. in 16 hours-perhaps a little
less. One feature of the proposed road
will be the running of speedy freight
trains.
In the construction of this new road
some old railroad charters would, it is
said, be made available.
The Worthington advance., 1900-04-06
PUNGENT PARAGRAPHS.

Pa, what had q feller orter do.
when he gifts water on the brain ?''
oh, dry up."-Indianapolis Sun.
Lets play tag" said the New York
boy You play it," replied the Bos-:
ton boy; Il cannot play anything.
never studied music. Town Topics.
A New York Symphony.-He-"So
far, dear, our married life has been
one grand, sweet son ng.'' She
eyes, darling; in one fat.'-Philadel-
phia Bulletin.
''What paper do you take?" ''It de.
pends little on which way the wind
blows. Sometimes 1 take Browns.
sometimes I get Smiths s''-Cleveland
Plain Dealer.
The Wayside Missionary-''Why do
you drink that vile stuff" Dismal
Dawson" Cause it's the easiest way
to git it down; can't breathe it, kin
1"'-1ndianapolis Press.
There is a young man in Dayton SO
careful that in calling on his girl he
always knocks, for fear if he came
with a ring she might consider it q
proposal.-Cincinnati Enquirer.
It All Depended.-Moses, Jr.-"Fad-
der, shentleman in the shop wants
to know if that all-wool nonshrink-
able shirt will shrink?" Moses, Sr.-
docs it fit him." ''No; id is too big"
"Yah, id will shrink.'-N. o. Times
Democrat.
''What have you got?" he inquired,
as he seated himself at table in the
restaurant. almost everything" re-
piled the waiter. "Almost everything?
Well, give me a plate of that" Scr
tainly. 'Hash!'" screamed the waiter.
Ohio State Journal.
''The door is open!" cried the own
er of the house adjoining the fire.
"You need not smash the window!"
"Sir!" cried the foreman of the fire
company, sending his. AK through the
glass, 1--WE know our business!"-
Philadelphia North American.
The Worthington advance., 1900-04-06
Who Supports Grand Operae

"hO supports Grand Opera?
There is general opinion that the
stockholders support the opera, and
that the general public may consider
itself highly privileged to be admitted
at all to the sacred precincts. AS
matter of fact, if the opera depended
for it's existence upon the support
of the stockholders, the doors of the
Metropolitan opera house would
never be open. The bottom would
drop out of the whole enterprise.
The parquet and the galleries are the
managers chief reliance Opera is
not a social function; it is a public
institution, and without the public's
support would collapse like house
of cards. have referred to the half
million dollars paid during the
season to the principal singers. The
next largest item is $4,000 for the
orchestra, and next to that comes
$4,000 for transportation. In speak
ing of expensive performances, I
have mentioned that of Les Hugue-
nots' when it cost over $4,000 to raise
the curtain. At that performance,
however, scenery, costumes and prop
critics were not new. When an opera
is produced for the first time the
cost of these must be added to the
salaries for the night.-Ainslie's Mag
aZine
The Worthington advance., 1900-04-06

less time almost than it takes to write
it the sturdy little engines with their
snorting furnaces were putting out big
clouds Of black smoke, the snake-like
coils of the heavy rubber hose were
scattered here and there across the
street, while the firemen were throw
ing strong streams of fire into the win
dows of the shambling tenement build
ing from which fierce flames were dart
ing. There was Chief Swenie himself.
the veteran fire fighter of half cen
tury, in top rubber boots and rubber
hat, cool and deliberate. There were
his two assistants. On each side of the
street were little piles of coal to feed
the engines. On the sidewalk was a
crowd of men, women and children,
who had gathered there in an incredi.
bly, short space of time.
The second alarm had been already
turned in, calling out engines Nos. 1, 8.
10, 12, 18 and truck No. 4, with two ad-
ditional marshals. Still the flames
grew higher and snapped more fiercely,
and the third alarm was turned in,
bringing out five more engines, another
truck and another marshal. For four
hours the department fought steadily
with the flames and then. smouldering
and black, the ruins stood like specters
in the deserted street.
This is but an an outline of the daily
work of the fire department. of the city
of Chicago. There are incidents
enough and stories enough connected
with every fire around which one might
weave romance more thrilling, more
pathetic and abounding more with
the bravery of noble men than is por-
trayed in the most imaginative work of
fiction.
Here are the stories of heroes who
brave without fear the flames - and
risk without question their own lives,
to save the lives of others.
But back of it all is most remark
able system-a system so replete with
minutiae and details that the most
trivial fire of the great city is as much
part of the records as the most dis
astrous conflagration.
An idea of the magnitude of the work
in hand may be obtained when it is
known that in the year 1898 there were
5,04S fires in the city of Chicago, involv-
ing valuation of property amount
ing to sol ,922, ,21O, with loss of So, $751;
735 and an insurance of $56,550, 740.
The Worthington advance., 1900-04-06
CANNOT REMEMBER NOUNS,
Or's Special Forgetfulness-
A Rare Case.

At the Boston City hospital recently
the peculiar case of Russian sailor,
who could speak English fairly we'll,
but who could not remember nouns,
was brought to the attention of Har-
ward medical students, reports the
Boston Transcript. The sailor had al
ways carried such familiar articles as
watch, matches and knife, and
knew the uses of each one, but the
faculty of remembering their names
had totally gone from him. The ex-
animation into his case was carried on
somewhat after this fashion.
The examining physician took out
his watch, and holding it in front of the
man said: do you know what this is?"
A smile of recognition passed over
the mans face and he said: "Oh, yes; I
know what that is; it is match. No,
that isn't match. It's a-a''- and q
blank, irritated expression came upon
his face. Then the doctor said: isn't
this watch?"
"Oh, yes!" exclaimed the sailor,
''that's a watch-a watch"
The same performance was repeated
with tumbler, and then with match.
The Russian could remember the name
of an object or thing for about five Sec
onds, but for any greater length of
time his mind could not retain the
name.
The medical explanation of the case
is this: Over two years ago the sailor
was troubled with heart disease. A
particle from a valvular vegetation
which had grown on his heart becom-
ing detached, started on a Journey
through one of the large arteries
which lead up through the neck into
the head, and became fixed in the little
brain area which commands the power
of speech. AS long as that bit of for
eign matter remains in that spot the
sailor will be unable to remember the
names of objects or things. In every
other way the man is enjoying normal
health.
The medical name for the disease ia
motor aphasia. Cases ,of it are rare.
and do not appear oftener than once in
three or four years. If the treatment
which the man is undergoing is suc-
cessful he will probably regain this
most important power. At present.
however. the loss of this faculty is de-
cldedly irritating to the Russian.
The Worthington advance., 1900-04-06
Merely q SuExestion,

=. Husband-What's- the matter with
the biscuits this morning?
.Wife-1t's the fault Of the yeast. It
failed to make the rise. T.. &fE
Husband-Why don't you use an
alarm clock? k?-Chicago Daily News.
The Worthington advance., 1900-04-06
The Gold.Bricsx rale.

Same old story, same old finis- .'.>
Bought mining stock-mine. miner, minus.
-Elliott's Magazine. r. y, i.
The Worthington advance., 1900-04-06
Not 4 HoroeIeaa Joke.

: j. Not Horseless Joke.
] Horseless wagons are increasing in
number, says the Chicago Tribune, ID
Seleaguered Mafekine every day. ! :