St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1902-09-24
WASHINGTON LETTER.
Especial Correspondence

| uSned by the cltlZenS' executive COM
mittee Of the Grand Army encamp-
ment. They are to be distributed to
the veterans for their guidance during
encampment week.
The maps are issued in the form of
folder and contain much additional
information helpful to strangers. On
the maps are marked the line Of
Wednesdays parade, the presidents
reviewing stand, the different places
where ambulances will be stationed
and an illustration of the reunion
grounds on the White lot, showing the
location of the principal tents. In ad-
dition the folder contains list of the
| numerous places of interest in Wash
| ington as well as those in the immedi-
| ate vicinity. Full directions as to how
the stranger can arrive at desired
place also are given as well as the
routes of the different street car lines
of the city and it's suburbs. 1t was de-
sired to make the information folder
tanned by the visitor as souvenir of
the encampment These souvenirs will
be distributed through the various
booths of information, of which there
are to be twenty at prominent places
in different parts of Washington.
Substitute For Coal.
The patent office is doing a very live
ly business in looking into inventions
for burning oil for fuel purposes both
for the production of heat and power.
There have been granted up to date
1880 patents for using oil as fuel. For
the use of gas and vapors 2,700 pat
ents have been issued The office is
now receiving weekly applications for
patents of these two classes to the aY-
erage number of twenty-five, of which
about fifteen are for crude oil burners
for household purposes, locomotives,
steamboats, and manufacturing plants.
There are two main lines of invention
to be utilized for these purposes which
have been patented for many years.
One Is for supplying the oil mixed with
steam for combustion, and the other is
for turning it into vapor and burning
it In that form. These two plans for
utilizing oil for fuel are at the base of
the multitude of inventions that are
recorded in the patent office and which
are coming in there daily. When the
problem has been worked out so that
oil may be used conveniently for house
hold purposes, it will probably be done
by improvements on existing devices.
"The New. White House"
The interior decorative work ON the
White House has gone so far that it is
possible to appreciate the beauty of
the scheme of Improvement that is be-
ing wrought out. The state dining
room will have a massive fireplace,
the jambs Of which are wide apart, to
take in the good old fashioned hickory
logs that have always been one of the
distinctive features of the mansion
from the days of John Adams, when
the fireplaces were fed from trees cut
TO clear Pennsylvania avenue and open
out the grounds surrounding the man
sion.
The ceiling Of the state dining room
is finished. The work that has been
done on the east front to construct the
new entrance has been pushed at a
rapid pace lately, and the new porte
cochere is well along, so that the visit
ing public can begin to get an idea of
what the new White House is to be.
The Squadron Chase.
Admiral Higginson will soon submit
to the navy department an elaborate
report upon the results of the chase of
the white squadron by the north At
lantic squadron. For obvious reasons
such parts of this report as treat of
any imperfections developed probably
will be withheld from publication.
Naval officers here say that while
the capture of the white squadron
seemed to be foregone conclusion,
owing to the discrepancy in strength
between the two squadrons, yet this
chase has had instructive and imp0r-
tant results. 1t is the expectation that
perhaps next year another such chase
will be made in which the problem
presented to the defending squadron
will be much more difficult than that
in which it recently engaged.
Tanned the Chauffeurs.
Notices sent out by Major John Bid
die, secretary of the board of control
of Rock Creek park, offering 500 re-
ward for the arrest and conviction of
any automobilist seen running his
machine through the park at a greater
rate Of speed than fifteen miles an
hour, have already borne good fruit.
Since the decree that the chauffeurs
must comply with the requirements of
the law has gone forth it is no longer
dangerous for people to drive their
horses in the grounds, and pedestrians
who go to the park for a quiet after
noon stroll can walk along the road |
ways without the constant fear of be- |
ing annihilated by some automobile |
rushing into them from q nearby curve, |
Illiteracy In the Country.
llliteracy among adult males is less |
than half as prevalent in the large cit |
les as it is in the rest of the United |
States, according to a report made |
public by the census office giving the |
result of the enumeration in the year |
&C