Omaha daily bee., 1909-04-14

that city have street car tracks on whicl
cars have not been operated for years. Blu
the maintenance OF certain franchises
owned by the Metropolitan company he
ponds on the operation of cars over thos'
tracks. So at long intervals, perhaps o
months. an ancient car, known as tn,
ghost car is slowly driven over tn,
otherwise unused tracks. Nobody rides IL
the car except the conductor and driver
II anybody boards it no fare is demanded
But it Is liable to stop indefinitely at any
point on the line. so the passenger car
get nowhere Yet this farce has been held
a sufficient operation of the road. over
the streets in question, to keep alive the
coTpany's alleged perpetual franchise. And
the courts hold that the ghost car system
of operation gives continuous life to the
franchise.
Measured by the combined length and ca.
pacity of its five main spans, says Col
lier's Weekly, the Q-ueensborough bridge
across the East river from Fifty-ninth
street, New York, to R-avenswood, Queens
Is the greatest bridge in the world. In
GLIDING approaches, its total length is S.6OC
feet, width Sc feet, and greatest height
over 800 feet above the water. 1t crosses
- ~ W Aou AGC obOf1 nv AANNat
with three enormous spans Of 1,1S2 feet, 6St
feet and 9S4 feet, the middle one reaching
across the full width of Blackwell's island,
Besides these there are two more great
anchor" spans, one at each end, wholly
over dry land, with a length of 3,724 feet
for the five, which, together, contain over
1850 600 pounds of steel. No other spans
In this country, except suspension bridges,
approach the longest of these, and the only
trussed span in the world which exceeds
1t is the Forth bridge, which, although LILO
feet long, has a capacity for only two rail-
road tracks, less than one-third OF this.
There are two decks, the lower one desig-
mated for a wide driveway and four cleo
trio car tracks, and the upper one for
two sidewalks and two elevated railroad
tracks. and having, in all, an estimated
capacity Of 200. .Co0 car passengers and
millions of vehicles and pedestrians an
nually. 1t will cost over $50, Oo0.
When one OF the large ocean liners
which reached New York a few days ago
had been less than three days out on its
trip from Europe it became known to the
first class passengers that there were
people aboard with whom It would be
dangerous to play bridge. Several men and
women had already been induced to play,
and had lost at games ranging from /
| cent a point to Is cents. One passenger.
who never went into the smoking room,
and who avoided card parties because he
was not quite well, felt strong enough on
the fourth day to wish to play cards in
order to kill time. and made the sugges
ton to several people who declined for
various reasons. As a final attempt, ac-
cording to his own story. he approached a
man who looked ''as though he knew a no.
trumper when he saw one" and said:
How about a little bridge?' His fellow
passenger looked at him a little quizzi-
cally and said, with a wink. the captain
won't let me-" The exclusive passenger
did not know until he had landed that he
had invited one of the professionals.
One OF the odd ways OF earning a living
in New York is that of the confidential
~bookbinder. He is in great demand IN
banks and other large financial institutions.
His tasks are usually patchwork, but occa-
sionally OF late he is entrusted with the
building of a complete set of covers for a
collection OF papers Or records that have
accumulated In some of the new fashioned
filing or recording devices.
There is a man who owns a farm away
out in New Jersey and spends the spring
and summer on It amusing himself with
his hay and butter and fruit and garden
truck. About the end of September he runs
up to New York and makes the round of
his customers. Then he arranges a schedule
according to their needs.
He will spend a week In one institution
mending the backs of old ledgers and put
ting new leather corners on the covers.
Then he will pass on to another and patch
up its used up day books before they are
stored away for reference. The books he
handles could not possibly be sent out TO
a regular bindery; indeed, none but a thor
oughly trusted man. one who could be re-
lied on to see nothing and say less, could
be allowed to handle them, at all.
The job brings in something like double
the ordinary day wages of first rate Jour
neymen for about eight months a year.
New York people are a superstitious lot,
according to a local auctioneer. As proof
Of his contention he adduces this incident:
One day there came into his shop a table
to be auctioned off. II was a table with a
past, 1t had belonged to more than one
medium and had figured in many a tip
ping seance. The auctioneer expected that
psychic history to boost the price of the
table, Instead of exciting competition the
table inspired fear. 1t was regarded as an
interesting curiosity, everybody wanted
to examine ii, but no one would buy. A
price had been set on 1t under which II
was not TO be sold, and no one bidding
up to that figure 1t was withdrawn from
the sale. Later the auctioneer omitted all
reference to the tables psychic powers
and it fetched a good price.
Americans are again wearing diamonds.
Trade may still halt. and labor is not
yet fully employed, but, the gem trade.
which slumped tremendously at the time
Of the panic, is again brisk. Maiden Lane
announces that the American market for
diamonds is again in a satisfactory con-
dition. The value of precious stones and
pearls imported In March was about nine
times as great as the value OF those i'm
ported a year ago.
The treatment that arrested ONO
speeders have received In court is one rea-
son for their persisten recklessness. The
record last year In Manhattan was: Con-
v%ictions' 2S5; jail sentences. none; sus-
pended sentences, forty-one; bonds for