The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1907-05-10
IN UST RIAL
More Broken Rails Than Ever.


steam lines of the state during the
first quarter, as compared with 826
during the same period Of last year.
This matter has been called to the at
tention Of the American Railway asso-
citation in convention at Chicago, with
the request that 1t be placed before the
rail manufacturers to discover whether
the increase in breakages Is due to
new methods of manufacture or to de-
terioration In the metal composition.
Railway Accidents at Night.
George NJ. Stratton, the Johns Hop
kins university expert on railway sta
tistics, discusses In the May Century
the subject OF railway disasters at
night and makes practical suggestions
for change Of system which would
minimize accidents. Professor STRAIT
ton wants to shift the responsibility of
the travellers safety from the color
faculty to the space sense by making
the vane of the semaphOre luminous
at night. Such line of fire would be
strikingly different from the usual
lights of buildings on streets and
ored lights which 1t might seem wise
to continue for other purposes. This
continuous line of light, moreover,
would be visible at far greater dis
lance than is the present single light.
1t would at once remove all need of
discerning whether the light burned
white or green or red, with all the risk
which the distinction brings. 1t would
be virtually continuing at night the
same system of signals which is used
during the day.
A Steel Irrigation Canal.
The New York Engineering News re-
ports the completion of an irrigation
canal built out of sheet steel near the
Assuan dam, in upper Egypt. The ca
nal is built of semicylindrical riveted
steel, erected upon the surface of the
ground and then filed around to its
top level with earth. 1t Is nine feet
eight inches in diameter and has a
depth of twenty one feet four inches.
Steamship Men Winning Strike.
Most of the Atlantic coastwise steam
ship lines had acceded to the demands
of the masters mates and other officers
for higher wages when their official res
ignations went into effect May ], and a
conference was in progress with the
owners of the other lines.
Alcohol the Future Fuel.
Secretary Of Agriculture Wilson in
recent address before the Americas
club at Pittsburg referred at consider
able length to the work the depart
ment is doing toward the development
Of the production of alcohol for indus
trial uses. He said: mo more coal is
being made. Our wood fuel Is getting
scarce, and the supply of mineral oils
will some day cease. 1t Is high time
we were looking about for sources Of
light, heat and power. Other countries
are doing this. Alcohol meets the re-
quirements, and starchy plants yield
alcohol. One Of our explorers last year
found the S;berians at Tomsk growing
large variety Of potato for the alco-
hol it yields. He brought back half a
ton of them, which will be distributed
this spring among the experiment sta
TONS" He made the further state
ment that corncobs made eleven gal
corn stalks seven, and that alcohol
could be made from unmarketabe fruit
and vegetable matter and many refuse
plants.
An Epidemic of Strikes.
May day was observed in many cities
as a suitable time for commencing
strikes for the correction of labor griev-
ances. In San Francisco 5000 men
employed in the iron trades went out
and strike on the lines Of the United
Railways and in the offices Of the Pa
cific States Telephone and Telegraph
company is threatened. In Rochester
N. Y, 100 sections hands on the New
York Central went on strike for an in
crease Of wages. In Chicago mechan-
les employed on the new plant of the
Western Electric company went out
on sympathetic strike. ThreeS hun
dred carpenters In Youngstown, o.,
went on strike for an increase Of %
cents per day In wages. Milwaukee
(Wis.) carpenters and painters to the
increase of PA cents per hour Five
hundred slate workers In the quarres
at Fairhaven. VT, struck for nine
hour day. A NUMBER of mill workers
also went out. Practically all the
quarrles In Fairhaven, Castleton and
Poultney are tied up. In Denver,
Colo, strike of woodworkers in the
planning mills and lumber yards, In
volving 1000 men, was inaugurated.
Wilmington Del) carpenters to the
number of 900 struck for an Increase
In wages ~
AZ Boston the master teamsters have
asked the courts TO enjoin the striking
teamstors from interfering with the
new employees. Mayor Fitzgerald hav-
Ing refused to exert pressure after
Governor Guild had failed to send
troops as was desired 10y the employ
ers.
At New York the strike of the long
shoremen attained alarming proper
tons when more than 5000 Of them re-
fused to go back to work loading or
unloading vessels unless they got an
increase from so cents to 40 cents an
hotfe for dav work and from Ak IN 20