Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-11-12
PROGRESS OF THE DAY.
Denmark has the highest suicide rate.
The railroad engines of the world cover
Z ,OOO, 600 miles day In the aggregate.

Inc railroad engines or the world cover
100000 miles day In the aggregate.
A machine has been introduced recent
ly which can be built to produce either
the narrow or wide-necked variety of
bottles at an extraordinary rate. It's
capacity is estimated at twelve bottles per
minute, and one man can look after
three machines at the same time. The
speed Of the machines IS not sufficient
for them to run hot; they can there
every day, which makes the output about
800 gross bottles per day at labor ex-
pense of three men on eight-hour turns
or two on twelve.
The beneficial effect of storage upon the
sanitary quality of water is now well es-
tablished. A further contribution to the
data of the subject has just been made
public in the form of report by DR.. A.
C. Houston, director of water examina-
tions, metropolitan water board, London.
Eighteen 1000 C. c. portions Of water.
divided equally between the Thames Lee
and New rivers, were infected with from
40 to 5000, 600 typhoid bacilli. At weekly
intervals bacterial counts were made un-
til no typhoid germs were found.
Aluminium may be soldered by means of
solder of tin and zinc. or of tin. bismuth
mum are to be preferred. According to
the working which the soldered pieces
have to undergo the soldiers must have
different compositions. If the metal is
to be nodded an alloy of forty-five parts
of tin and ten parts of aluminium should
be used. which is malleablc enough to
Withstand the hammering. Pieces which
are not to be further worked are easily
soldered with an alloy VI tin and a small
quantity of aluminium. The process Is the
same as in soldering tin plate. or it can
be effected still better with the fame
A non-spinning rope has been recently
made for use in quarries, mines and
similar places where it is desired to hoist
heavy weights with a single rope. With
the use of the rope Of standard design
the load has a tendency to rotate because
the action of the weight is to untwist the
strands, and this tendency must be over
come by the use Of guide rope, bv which
the load is controlled on its journey
through the air. AS test a block OF
marble suspended by the single line was
raised from a depth of more than 25O
feet without making a half turn in its
ascent. No guide rope was necessary.
In the construction OF this rope an inner
direction over core, and an outer
series of wire strands Is wound in the
opposite direction about the inner series
as core. The wires which make up each
Of the individual inner strands are twisted
In the same direction as the lay of the
strands, but in the outer strands the
individual wires are laid in opposite
directions to the lay of the strands
The number Of strands required for the
second or outer layer must, of course be
greater than the number of strands in the
inner layer. For this reason the inner
layer has the wires as we'll as the strands
all laid in one direction as described,
thereby giving them tendency to untwist
very much faster than If they were twist
ed in the direction opposite to the lay of
the strands. The wires in the outer layer,
being laid In an opposite direction to the
lay OF the strands. do not tend to I'M
twist as fast as the inner layer. The
strands in the outer layer, however, coun-
teract the tendency of untwisting the rope
as whole. When a weight is applied
to the end Of the rope the greater num-
Der of strands Of the outer layer has a
tendency to untwist in one direction.
whereas the fewer strands Of the inner
layer have a tendency to untwist very
much faster in the opposite direction, and
1t is found in practice that these two ac-
lions almost perfectly balance each other.
DR.. Harvey w. Wiley. chief of the bu
reau of chemistry, Department of Agri-
culture. was honorary president of the
first international congress for the repres-
sion Of adulteration Of alimentary and
pharmaceutical products, which met at
Geneva recently.
Lieuts. Colin, Jeance and MERCER of the
French navy have obtained excellent re-
suits with a wireless telephone of their
invention. Communication has been
maintained between Paris and a wireless
station at Raj de Seine, department of
Finistere, distance about 800 miles.
The ravages of consumption, trachoma
and other diseases of a like nature are
SO great among the natives of Alaska
that in a few decades the races of that
section will be extinct. Statistics from
a typical settlement of the natives show
a greater mortality than that of any
other primitive race which has come In
contact with Anglo-Saxon civilization. A
report by Army Surgeon Paul Churchill
Hutton states that he doubts If any coun-
try in the world can show such a per-
centage of tuberculosis natives, and the
mortality from this disease is really terri
ble He proposes that Alaska be divided
into sanitary districts and that sixteen
sanitary officers be appointed. He also
suggests that an intelligent Indian in
spector be appointed for each town hav-
ing 200 or more inhabitants. and that each
Indian inspector study under the regular
inspector and disseminate his knowledge
among his own people.
The tantalum lamp is very desirable
from the fact that it is of high efficiency,
but it is not adapted for many of the
fixtures at present in use. for the rea
son that 1t must hang vertically. where
as more often than not the lamps in
the existing fixtures hang at an angle.
An adapter has been recently invented
by which this discrepancy is overcome.
In order that the plug of the adapter
may make contact with the socket of the
alact roller and at the same time have its