The Washington herald., 1907-12-29

Gay Gordon. Dr. S. Soils Cohen. Albert
II. Smyth. late professor of literature at
the Central High School; Judge Abraham
NJ. Betler. District Attorney Samuel p.
Rotan Dr. Judson Daland. John c. Bell
Ellis Gimbel. Joseph II. Bromley, Frank
lin Spencer Edmonds, Edwin $. Cramp
Daniel Guggenheim, Judge Ferguson.
Charles Biddle William II. Greene, Frank
p. Pritchard, Peter Well, William Charge
Mason, Frank r. Shattuck. Clinton ROg-
ers Woodruff, and Albert b. Weimer.
In the field OF electricity Prof. Houston
has done his most conspicuous work.
He was twice president Of the American
Institute of Electrical Engineers, an hon
or accorded to no other man. He was
chief electrician Of the great Worlds
Fair at Chicago and also of the exhibit
ton held in Philadelphia in 1888. He Is
member of the most learned societies,
and has written eighty books on scientific
subjects.
Houstons New Physical Geography has
had sale of 10000 copies a year for
thirty-fve years His dictionary Of cleo
trical words, terms. and phrases has gone
through many editions, and has been re-
vised and brought up 10 date several
times. The professor says any dictionary
on electrical words and terms two weeks
old is a back number, so rapid has been
the progress of this wonderful science
AID its applications.
In addition TO his literary work Prof.
Houston has had time TO build up a
profitable business as an expert in pat
ert causes.
This is the man who is giving up his
valuable time 10 the writing stories for
presenting his subject in a manner which
VIII attract a boy and hold his attention
he can instill in that boy a thirst for
knowledge which will lead him in search
of truths which he might otherwise never
find
Il am trying to write boys books of
such a nature that by reaGing them, in
stead of being untitled for study. they
will be filed with a desire TO know more
concerning those subjects which are
treated in the book" This is Prof. Hous-
tons own explanation of the work he has
attempted.
First Book for Boys.
Prof Houstons first boys book was The
Boy Prospector.' In it he teaches his
youthful readers mining engineering.
mineralogy. and geology. The boy does
>
II he did he would not begin il. But by
the time he finishes the concluding chap
ter he knows more about these subjects
than he would learn concerning them in
school in months And the knowledge
sticks.
This is one of the professors yellow"
stories. The first chapter s descriptive Of
Dead Mans Gulch. Chapted two is about
the Dead Man Of Dead Mans Gulch,
while the third chapter tells of the son
OF the dead man OF Dead Mans Gulch.
Pretty yellow even in the chapter
/ headings. And the book is full OF cow
boys. Indians and frontier adventures.
They are not the usual story book kind,
either Dr. Houston knows the West in
timately, having Travelled there extern
siyely. He Knows the mining business.
being thorough mining engineer. He
makes the dead man of the gulch dis
cover a gold mine Just before his death.
Then two prospectors come along and
build camp in the gulch and start 10
look for gold. They search for several
years without success.
Then the son of the dead man who
originally discovered the gold deposit
comes along and begins to search He
finds the rich deposit just outside the
back door OF the old prospectors cabin.
Any boy said the professor, who
reads that book can't help learning lot
about geology and mining engineering"
Friend OF Thomas Edison.
The same may be said Of THE Boy
Electrician" Any boy who has a natural
bent for electricity will devour this book.
1t viii settle his business in life. Many
of the incidents in the story are happen
ings in the life Of Thomas A. Edison.
who is a warm personal friend Of DR..
Houston. The Boy. Geologist'' is a thrill
ling story which viii teach more geology
in one reading than a boy could absorb
in a term of school study
More thTillers from the professors pen
are three books. forming the North Pole
series and called The. Search for Fhe
North Pole" THE Discovery of the
North Pole" and Cast Away at the
North Pole" They describe the success
ful attempt Of his young heroes to reach
the north pole by means OF an airship
equipped with all the latest apparatus
and tell how they Overcame tremendous
difficulties and recorded scientific facts.
Nine books for boys have thus far come
from DR.. Houston's pen. all in q wear
He is "A rapid thinker and the ordinary
method of writing or even writing with
"a typewriter is much too slow for him
He Is an expert stenographer and writes
all OF his books by that method Then a
stenographer, whose time Is not nearly
so valuable as his own. transcribes what
he writes and puts his manuscript in
typewriter form.
Nor is the writing Of books the only
effort DR. Houston is making 20 reach
the boys Of Philadelphia and Pennsyl-
vania. Nearly every Sunday he gives a
talk, or lay sermon, at some large insti-
tuition He is a great favOrite at Girard
College, where he talks once a month.
and at the Boys House OF Refuge.
Glenn Mills, where he talks at least one
Sunday in each month
1 During the summer DR. Houston goes
camping with boys from the Brotherhood
House, generally at the seashore. and
romps and frolics with them in the surf
or on the beach, as much Of a boy as
any one there.
I)r. Houston has no boys Of his own.
being bachelor. That is probably why
he is able to feel a keen interest in every
boy he sees. He lives with a sister at
1919 Chester avenue, where he entertains
whole clubs ot boys. throwing his large
house wide open to his young visitors.
Jack London Among the I,epers.