The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1909-07-04
KAISER WILLIAM
AND ELECTRICITY
New System Of Stimulating
Growth Of Plants
SONS MURDER FATHER
Feared the Old Man Was Past Work
and Would Make Inroads on
Their Savings-Old Man
Is StranaIed.
SONS MURDER FATHER
BY MALCOLM CLARKE.


Berlin, July 3.-The Kaiser has intro
duced on his private estates at Dahen, a
few miles from Berlin, the new system
Of stimulating the growth of plants by
electricity. Experiments Systematically
conducted under the supervision of DR..
Hochstermann have already demon
strated that the growth of plants flowers,
cereals and, in fact, all kinds of vege-
tations thus far tested can be stimulated
by charging the air above and around
them with electricity. Further systematic
experiments are now being carried out
to ascertain the precise differences in the
growth of plants in an atmosphere
charged with electricity and plants which
grow under normal conditions, and also
to find a cheap and simple method of
charging the atmosphere with the neces-
sary electricity.
On approaching the fields where the ex-
perlments are In progress one notices red
poles supporting network of wires. In
one corner of this area machines are
working to produce an electric current
of 10000 volts. A wire connects the neg
alive pole with the earth, while the posi-
tive pole is connected with the network
of wires spread over the fields. By this
means between the negative earth cleo
tricity and the positive air electricity
there is discharge and In this atmos-
phere charged with electricity plants grow
more rapidly and attain greater size.
Two sons of peasant named Baran-
20 have been arrested at Kecskemet
ON a charge of numbering their father
under revolving circumstances. They
Killed him because he was past work, and
feared that he would make an inroad on
their savings.
One of the sons knocked the old man
down while the other strangled him
The body was buried in garden. A fort
night afterward the sons learned thai
gendarmes suspected them. They then
dlslnterred the body and burnt it in an
oven, scattering the ashes in a field The
bones We're found and the sons were ar
rested. They denied the crime at first
but subsequently, confessed.
An edict just issued by the railway
authorities regarding the use of dining
cars has caused a good deal of grum-
bling among the travelling public The
edict is directed against class of peo-
pie, asserted to be growing larger every
year, who, though belonging to the
category of first and second-class pas
sengers, have acquired the habit let us
say, of taking a third-class ticket and
then spending the whole of the Journey
IN the first and second-class dining car
now for some considerable time also
thrown open to the third-class passengers
Such people, the authorities allege, after
making the whole trip on the comfortable
seats of the dining cars, are accustomed
to boast at the end of it that they have
Travelled more cheaply than they would
have done in the first or second class and
have had "A fiT-Sf-rata hasid
those who do not subscribe to the doc
trine that it is no offense to cheat a rail
or steamboat company this seems like
not playing the game quite fairly, but, as
Is pointed out, it is not quite fair on tho
companys part either to make the whole
body of third-class Passengers suffer. as
II proposes to Go by establishing sep
arate third-class dining car, for the dongs
of some first and second-class sinners
The opponents of the new edict contend
that the company have only to look after
their transport and economic interests and
have no right to determine the social DO
sition of passenger by RELOCATING him to
special third-class car simply because
he has a third-class ticket. Certainly its
doing SO would seem reasonable enough
IN other countries. where the Glasses are
socially distinct, treated as IL they
were; but it does not seem so in Ger
many, where the Burgerfum or great
middle class, is in social matters prac-
ucally vast republic.
The theatrical record of the week
contains little more in the way of
novelty than the new Summer opera"
experiment being made by Herr Gura.
The fmpresarfo is hardly known here,
hence the announcement of the "Gura
Opera" plaza rded about the city has
been puzzling Berliners for the last
month. 1t Is doing fairly we'll at
~lI 4.
has not been running long enough to
enable ous to estimate its chances of
continued life.
Meantime. It looks as though Bay
reuth were going to prove profitable
this sesson. for the subscriptions are
already said to have reached a very
comfortable amount. This years pro-
gramme provides for seven productions
Of "Parsifal." the dates being July 20
and 81 and August 4. 7, 8. IL and 20.
There will be two complete produce
ttons of the ring" the first cycle be-
ginning on July rs and the second on
August IA. All the productions are to
be under the superintendence of Eieg-
fried Wagner, who, by the way. has
just celebrated his 10th birthday The
leading roles will be allotted almost
exclusively to German singers, but an
American artist, Clarence Whitehill, Is
cast for Amfortas.
All the scavengers and other work
men employed by the municipality Of
Kiel are on strike. Those willing to
work have been forced to Join the
strikers.
Riotous scenes took place on Friday
night. Five thousand persons inctud-
ing women and children, collected be-
fore the scavengers building. Eighty
police attempted to clear them away
but the crowd started throwing ston IS
Thereupon the police charged with
drawn swords and were met by a show
er of brickends. Then they rushed
upon the crowd, dealing blows in all
directions. The confusion was i1i-
creased by some one turning out the
gas The fray lasted four hours, and
many were conveyed to the hospital
with serious sabre wounds
Men from the country have taken the
places of the strikers