The National tribune., 1909-08-26
WASHINGTON NEWS.

The Post Office Department has ac-
cepted for testing purposes a device for
catching and delivering mail on the
cars, and it will first be tried on the
Rock Island & Pacific Railway between
Davenport and Council Bluffs, Iowa.
The officials think that this device viii
reduce to minimum the possible in
jury to persons and property. The de-
vice has worked successfully, but has
not been subjected as yet to all the con-
ditions which attend the delivering and
catching of mail from moving trains,
and they are therefore going to give it
thoro test. Heretofore mail has been
thrNe.n out by hand but with the use
of this device that operation will be
done mechanically and automatically,
so 1t will always land the mail bag in
the same place and not endanger the
lives of people who may be standing
near when the train passes.
An American tourist just returning
from Europe says that we take a great
deal better care of our battlefields in
the United States than they do in Eu-
rope. Gettysburg Is so marked with
monuments that a visitor can get very
vivid impression of that great conflict,
and most of our other battIefields are
marked in similar fashion, but the bat
tlefield of Waterloo is rapidly being
-.
The houses are being torn down, roads
and paths obliterated, and soon there
will be nothing left to remind one of
Napofeon's last stand but the great
mount upon which rests the Waterloo
Lion. The museum there was never
very pretentfous institution. yet it held
the battlefield trophies, which never
failed to impress the visitor Now this
is also to be dismantled, and the relics
Will be distributed among the museums
of Belgium. where as individual exhib-
its they viii lose much of their interest.
A beautiful new scout cruiser, the
Salem, which is named after the quaint
old town in Massachusetts, has Just
been presented with magnificent solid
silver service. The gift was purchased
by popular subscription, and Salem
seems to have awakened from a century
of sleep, as the ceremonies were very
elaborate
Now comes the International Aerial
Company with a million-doIiar capital,
organized in Texas, to establish a
freight and passenger airship service to
all parts of the United States and other
countries. DR.. Frederick Fielding, an
aeronaut, is President, and has plans
ready for the construction of IL pas
senSer airships to be built in st. Louis.
]. w. Oman, the inventor, declares he
'dS overcome most of the difficulties
that beset other aviators. He says their
machines will travel over 100 miles an
hour with safety.
The Isthmian Canal Commission in a
report says that the last traces of
Gatun, Panama, are being wiped out to
make room for the great Gatun Dam.
Fhis hamlet was within the limits of
the dam, and it's entire site will be
covered. The new town of Gatun is
being built on the hills overlooking the
ste of the dam, and is now one of the
largest settlements in the Canal Zone.
After being out of service for several
years the artistic drinking fountain pre-
5ented to the District of Columbia BY
Californian, located at the intersection
# Pennsylvania avenue and Seventh
street, is again in operation, with good,
pure, filtered ice water. Washington
S far better supplied with drinking
yountainS for horses than for human
oeings. On nearly every street can be
found the fountains that were donated
" lady friend of the dunno beasts.
md are in operation the year around.