davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Catoctin clarion., 1911-04-20

STEEL BRIDGES; LOWER ONE SHOWS CON
CRETE ABUTMEkIS
span There is no doubt but that
when the funds are on hand and the
conditions at the site are favorable it
is best to build concrete arch. 1t
will also be found to be economical in
the long run to build concrete floors
on all steel bridges regardless of the
length of span.
Many county officials through an err
roneous idea that they are saving the
county money build spans much too
short for the waterway required. This
Is serious mistake and the cause of
the destruction of nearly all Of those
smaller bridges which have been de
stroyed by high water. County engi
neers should see that bridges are plac-
ed at sufficient height above high
water so that they will not catch
drift. Particular attention should also
be given to the placing of anchor bolts.
have seen several expensive bridges
washed off abutments during II time
of high water when anchor bolts
which had been omitted would have
saved them.
The state highway engineer is fire.
quently askes about tubular piers. and
the inquirer Is generally prejudi ed
against them. The proper material out
of which to build piers or ahutments
is stone and concrete. Tubular piers
are, however. an excellent substitute.
They have been used for years not
only on highway work, but also by
railroads. There are several reasons
for this In the first place. there Is
usually Il vast difference in the cost.
and were II not for the tubular pier
many bridges In Missouri cou!d not
have bt built Concrete or masonry
piers require more excavation, and
when water level il reached an expen.
sive cofrerdam is required along with
much more pumping than is necessary
In sinking a tubular pier which itself
always acts as II cofferdam. When
there Is no rock foundation the differ
ence In cost is even greater.
There have been more failures of
concrete and masonry piers than there
have been of tubular piers. In most
cases this Is due to the poor construc-
tion of the masonry.
Therefore there are many masonry
piers built of the same class Of stuff
and in the same manner the mason
employs when building cellar wall
in his locality.
The pressure against a tubular pier
at time Of high water is not great Ow-
Ing to Its cylindrical form; 1t is also
not apt to hold drift for this reason.
y is bad practice to set tubular pier
on rock foundation In a stream
where II has only n foot or two OF
gravel or clay to penetrate. In this
case 1t is best policy to build con
crete or masonry pier even though the
first cost he twice that of Il tubular
pier.
Catoctin clarion., 1911-04-20
OILING ROADS CHEAP.
How Evanston any Highways Are
Kept Dustless.

How Evanston UII.) Highways Are
Kept Dustiess.
A noiseless. asphaltlike road sur
face. dustess-which asphalt Is not
and mudless. new every year and at
a cost no greater than for the sprin
king Of ordinary roads or pavements. IN
made possible by the use of what Is
left OF petroleum after kerosene. gas
oline and paraffin have been removed
that is. If the road upon which 1t is
used Is macadam. Francis BuZZell
In the Popular Mechanics Magazine
tells how this has been demonstrated
on the roads OF Evanston, II wealthy
suburb of Chicago
He says that the city buys the road
oil at 3 cents Il gallon. 1t Is delivered
In tank cars Of the standard type,
which cars are run on to siding and
held until the oil is used up on the
streets, The average application Is one
quarter gallon to Il square yard,
The force required for the work
does not exceed eight men. One of
this number is foreman. paid wage
Of 81 per day. and the other seven,
stationed at the tank ear to aid In
pumping the oil out when this Is nee
essary. receive 81 per day.
Catoctin clarion., 1911-04-20
MODERN BRIDGE ~
CONSTRUCTION
Why Bridges Are Built Less Per-
manent To-day.
ANCHORAGE MOST IMPORTANT.

Missouri Engineer Says He Has Seen
Several Structures, Otherwise Firm,
Which Have Been Swept Away Be-
cause Of Their Insecure Anchorage.
Tubular Piers as Substitutes.
The question is frequently asked,
"Why are the bridges which we build
today less permanent than those which
the ancients built?" says f. j. Kersting,
deputy state highway engineer of Mis-
souri,, In Good Roads. New York. One
answer is the item of cost. chiefly be
cause we build vastly greater num-
Der of bridges than did the ancients
We build solely for the accommodate
tion Of the public. as we live by
peaceful pursuits. whereas the an
clients lived by conquest. being almost
continually at strife. and built mainly
for army maneuvers.
Heretofore financial conditions and
the rapid growth OF progress have
made ii necessary to do some things In
the line of bridge building which We're
regrettable because the prime object
was to build cheap and sometimes
quickly built structures. That state
Of affairs Is improving, and | am sure
we all agree that the class Of bridges
we are to build In this state In the fu-
ture should keep pace with the I'M
proved conditions.
There are conditions when II Is the
best policy to build masonry arch.
steel deck span. a concrete arch. per-
haps steel arch or steel through
Catoctin clarion., 1911-04-20
ASPHALT FOR ROADS.
Will Make Excellent Binding. Says
London Engineer.

IonCon CnSiHceT.
Cecil Nathan. an engineer OF Lon.
don who gives especial attention to
roadmaking. expresses the belief that
asphalt is destined to take the place
of tar rs Il binder Of macadam roads.
He defines the essential desiderata"
of a satisfactory road as smooth ap-
pearance and even surface following
the Gambler Of the road. which must
be sanitary, dustless. noiseless and
nonslippery." Mr. Nathan also stipu-
lates that the ideal road must not only
have these qualities, but he reasonable
In initial cost and above all In main
tenance.
MANY Of the present generation will
remember the phrase. Electricity Is
only In its infancy" says Mr., Nathan
"Well. today the road board is In its
infancy. and have no doubt that 1t
will grow into as fine and healthy a
child as electricity did Like other in
fants, the road board Is just beginning
to speak. and the first word that 1t has
been taught Ia tar Now. hope 1t
Will very Soon eioN W. o''N 'Ss~' -
words Of two syllables, such as as
phalt,' and then be able to expound
to road engineers the real meaning of
this much misunderstood word
This Is the tar age. and as an in
different palliative tar Is serving Its
purpose today as temporary expedi-
ent. but something much more perma,
nent than the primitive methods OF tar
spraying or even tar macadam Is re-
auired for the future. and | maintain
that permanency will be obtained only
from the adoption as waterproof road
crust binders of either Lake Trinidad
asphalt or Cuban asphalt. but prefer
ably Cuban asphalt. owing to its hav-
ing d higher melting point and Its ab1l-
ity to withstand the rotting effects or
water"
Catoctin clarion., 1911-04-20
The Cock [ ane Ghost.

st Johns. ti.rkrnwell. IL a mean
stru, ture arhifeciurally. but possesses
two Interesting historical associations,
one romant.. aud The other ludicrOus.
st. John nt .IerlS.l lem. part OF the
choir of whose ancient priory can still
be seen In the early English crypt.
This cryp, WAS the haunt Of the Cock
lane ghost whi h excited all Lon
don in February. lT;:.. and attracted
Johnson Goldsmith and Horace Wal
poie The ghost" proved. as DR.
Johnson surmsrd. to he the mischiev-
ous little daughter of II parish clerk
Westminster Gazette.
Catoctin clarion., 1911-04-20
TELESCOPE LENSES.
Tho Small Glass Magn;fies tho Picture
l.. L. 4

Tho Small Glass Magn;fies tho Picture
Made By tho Large One.
People sometimes wonder why a tele-
scoye has two glasses. one at the big
end and one at the little end. and they
want to know the difference The glass
at the big end Is to gather light II
Is simply big eye. II 1t Is a hundred
times bigger than the eye In your head
1t will gather hundred times more
light. 1t gathers the rays OF light COM
Ing from stur and bends them all into
common meeting point called TO.
Gus. which is a picture of the star.
You can look at this picture OF the star
with your naked eye II you like. But
you can see 1t better and examine II
more closely II you look at 1t with a
small magnifying glass. And this Is
the glass at the small end Of the tele
by the big glass at the other end Of the
instrument. All telescopes arc built on
this principle. Sir William Hersrhel
was the first to arrange matters lit
tie differently. He took away the
glass from the big end and admitted
the rays coming straight into the tube
In parallel lines. Then at the bottom
Of the big tube be placed bright con
cave mirror made Of FURNISHED metal
When the entering rays fell upon this
mirror they were again bent to point
called Il focus. which was the picture
Of the star. To look at this picture be
had to place the little magnifying glass
at the side Of the tube because the
mirror hnd stopped up its lower end
Louisville Courier Journal.
Catoctin clarion., 1911-04-20
t:ASTERING A TEMPER.
The E.thod by Which Marion craw-
f,ed Haak.allAA Aia AanAa

The E.thod by Which Marion craw-
tord Controlled His Anger.
Mrs. Hugh Fraser. sister Of the late
F. Marion Crawford. tells some inter.
estinr stories OF him In her book. "A
Din'omatist's Wife In Many Lands"
II vas 1T the villa Negroni Rome. that
Crawford was born. an event which
so delighted his father that. as Mrs.
Fraser snys. my father was beside
himself with Joy and showered pres
pnts on al Of US to make US understand
and share It."
When Young Francis was about ten
years old 1t dawned upon him that he
had n violent and uncomfortable tenn
per and with the simplicity which
marked al his character he decided to
get II In hind.
"Onp meniber OF the family constant
ly irri'ated him to the verge Of frenzy.
and he invented a form Of self disci-
rlinp which very few children would
have thou"ht of imposing on them.
selves NJ mother entered his room
ore dav and found him walking round
and round It. carrying on his back
bcavv wooden shutter which be had
lifted Off It's hinges at the window.
"'My dear child she exclaimed.
what are yn, dOing?'
"Getting over rage he replied
dopredly. continuing the exercise.
When | am So angry that want to
kill somehodv | come 10 here and carry
the shutter three times round the room
before | answer them. 1t Is the only
Wuy'"
Catoctin clarion., 1911-04-20
WORK OF THE GOVERNMENT
IN PRESERVING ROADS.
Experiments In Dust Preventives and
Binders Being Made.

During the past year the work OF
the office of public roads of the de.
partment of agriculture relative to the
investigation of the problems OF dust
prevention and road preservation has
advanced rapidly. Routine tests or
analyses Of bituminous road materials
made In the laboratories during the
past year were more than double the
number made during the preceding
year.
A number Of these examinations
were made In conjunction with the
experimental field work Of the office.
It Is expected that these examinations
will be Of great service In determining
the value Of certain classes Of binders.
as the experimental work Is carefully
inspected from time to time, and the
results are made matter Of record.
Through its laboratory work the Of
fee has been able to offer valuable
advice In regard to specifications for
bituminous road binders and In many
Instances to frame such specifications
upon request of various public service
bodies. A number Of the state high
way commissions have profited by this
opportunity.
Many worthless road preparations
have been and are ut present being
manufactured and sold to the public
through ignorance on the part Of both
producer and consumer with regard
to the requisite characteristics Of such
materials to meet local conditions.
These materials are sold under trade
names and as a rule carry no valid
guaranty Of quality.
Specifications for such materials are
therefore much needed for the protec-
ton of the public. and this phase OF
the work will he given continued at
tention by the office. Special investi-
cations of bituminous road materials
carried on by the laboratory have GOV
cred improvements In the methods OF
ANALYSIS. the effect OF various methods
of distillation upon the physical and
chemical properties of tars and the
development of a test for determining
the binding value Of bitumens.
Catoctin clarion., 1911-04-20

No .ia,,anrIr society woman has com.
pleleL her pdnra ion unless she can tell
just what grade of tea Is being served
to her I'll. Alikiido or II hundred 9th
erS- and NJ len~: he able to distinguish
BY taste AZ IcaSt II dozen "blendS" In
brand thai mas that many or more.
Such accomplishments are partly a
for japan Is ii country where tea has
been raised and used for centuries
With tea plantations five centuries old
ana tea plants .uu years of age there
Is no need for tea commissions to fix
hold standards The Japanese house
wife decides them herself.
Catoctin clarion., 1911-04-20
CHILDREN OF UAP.
They Don't have to Worry About
Food, Clothes or Shelter.

Food, Clothes or Shelter.
In describing Jap. one OF the Caro-
line isl.lnds. DR.. W. II. Furness says
that children become more or iess pub
lie property on that island as soon az
they nre able to run about from house
to house.
They cannot without extraordinary
exertion fall off the island. and like
little guinea pigs. can find food any
where. Their clothing grows by every
roadside. and any shelter or no shelter
is good enough for the night. They
cannot starve. There are no wild
beasts or snakes to harm them. What
matters II If they sleep under the high.
star powdered ceiling of their foster
mothers nursery rr curl up on mats
beneath their fathers thatch?
There is no implication here that
parents are not fond of their children.
On the contrary. they love them 80
much that they see their own children
in all children It is the ease OF life
and Its surroundings which have afro
phied the emotion of parental love.
When father has merely to say to
his wife and children. Go out and
shake your breakfast of the trees"
or. "Go to the thicket and gather your
Clothes" to him the struggle for ex-
istence is meaningless. and without a
struggle the prizes of life are held in
light esteem.
Somebody's children are always
about the houses and to the fore In
all cxcitements. and never did | see
them roughly handled or harshly treat
Catoctin clarion., 1911-04-20

OF these given forces resistance of
friction. collision and gravity that Of
e...vity stands alone. constant In reln-
tin, to the load 1t is constantly draw
lug you back and with a force proper
tional to the incline as shown In the
accompanying table:
RESISTANCE OF GRAVITY ON DIFF
FERENT GRADES,
(The following table is practically
correct for all grades given. To make
II apply to conditions as met with we
will assume that the load consists OF
wagon. 1900 pounds, and corn. 1900
pounds. amounting to 5000 poundsJ
Pounds.
per cent grade. force Of gravity..... 80
per cent grade, force of gravity..... 60
per cent grade. force of gravity..... $50
10 per cent grade. force Of gravity. 800
This is always constant regardless
Of the condition Of the road.
1t seems to me idle to talk about
mi king good roads without reducing
III" excessive grades. 1t has been said
"a road Is as good as its worst mile
team should draw 5000 pounds. II
now we meet with hill of. say, 10
per cent steepness the effect would
be to reduce the above figures to some
thing like one-third. or to LOO or 1900
pounds aud your team actually loses
effective strength on these uphill
pulls.
Catoctin clarion., 1911-04-20
catehino tho Spe aker's Eve.

The practice Of catching the speak
er's eye' dates back to the session of
1640. when heated dispute arose be-
tween members of the house. several
Of whom claimed precedence Of speech.
1t was then decided that whoever first
caught the speakers eye should have
the right to address the house. This
rule worked smoothly until 1885. when
Sir John Trevor was elected to the
chair. The new speaker was afflicted
with un abominable squint: consequent
" two members would often catch his
eye simultaneously and decline to give
way to one another. To obyiate this
further rule was framed to the effect
that the speaker should call by name
upon the member privileged to address
the house So every holder Of the Of
fee has to possess good memory for
names as well as keen eyesight.
don Chronicle.
Catoctin clarion., 1911-04-20

Horses are fond OF rolling on the
ground. and no animal more thorough
ly shakes itself than they do. After
a roll they give themselves shake
or two to remove anything adhering
to the coat. The habit is of much
service to horses living In open plains.
On being turned loose at the en- of a
journey an Arab horse rolls the
sand, which acts as blotting paper.
absorbing exudations from the body.
A shake removes the sand. and the
coat soon dries. Cavalrymen In hot
climates sometimes put sand on their
horses as the simplest and quickest
way OF drying them.-Selborne Maya
zine.
Catoctin clarion., 1911-04-20

verts built. bitches cut, roadbeds
crowned and steep grades eliminated.
And as we make roads we want to
use the drag as one Of the best means
of improving and maintaining them.
If you have given a roadway along
your farm and 1t Is thirty feet wide
through your best land. 1t is only
fraction less than an acre along your
forty acres and is perhaps yielding
you tenfold the greater profit Of any
acre in the forty. You should be a
promoter of happiness and prosper
ity, not "knocker"
In hilly country we must be gov
erned by the topography. Try to cross
the high ridges in the lowest gaps;
get decent grade If you must zigzag
to do 1t.
The most essential feature Of any
road is drainage. Without good drain.
age IT ls impossible to maintain
good road. All other road work de-
pends on this for success. Make your
road In such shape that 1t will shed
the water. The surfacing Is the roof
Catoctin clarion., 1911-04-20
Sometime Blind.

In one of the crowded streets of
New York a beggar was In the habit
of taking his stand every day and ap-
pealing to the charity of the passers-
by. BY means of a short string he
held dog. around the neck of which
card was fastened with the words,
~ Am Blind" A very kind old gen.
tleman. who had been in the habit of
dropping penny into the beggar's
hat. passed rapidly one morning with
out doing so. Instantly the beggar
rushed after him and asked for the
penny to be given. rs usual. The gen
tleman. turning in surprise. said
"Why. thought you were blind"
"Oh. no. sir" was the cool reply.
at IL the dog that is blind, as the
card says"
Catoctin clarion., 1911-04-20
CONVENTIONS IN MUSIC.
Rules Which Song Composers Seem to
Feel They Must Follow.

Rules Which Song Composers Seem to
Feel They Must Follow.
Why is it that all our musicians In
writing nautical song invariably use
u portion Of the best known hornpl,e
as the introduction. "vamp," or roun-
ter-melody? Why do the open ffths
in the bass always appear In rustic
songs? Because 1t can't be helped. 1t
seems. Our popular Irish songs al
ways have Il hnr or to OF well
known old Irish melody or drone
bass, otherwise they wouldn't he Irish.
The exhausted rh Turkey and his
partner. the Sirn:'. com" To the r"stiir
of every "rui,t' sunc %. dame tlH', Is
DerletratrL. ara nur n;iinnal airs
must run ~. .lr"uGh the arcolnpani.
ment OF pu'riotlc songs t" give them
''favor."
Because all of these things are ''set"
they nre conventions. Why must rv.
cry sony end on the tonic note. with
the preceding tone either the second
or seventh of the S'':lie. unless we ex-
cent tie .Ietestable third or the hollow
fifth? Because our audiences expect
1t.
Should one Of your composers In
moment Of bravery or reckessness
produre II score in which he disregard.
cd these many conventions his first
night hearers would 10 away rcnlark-
ing that the music was crazy. They
do not realize that they expect to hear
the same old thing. served up trife
differently, OF course. but still the
same.-From "Whcle Have | Heard
That Tune Beforey' In Metropolitan
Magazine.
Catoctin clarion., 1911-04-20
The Cruel Wolf Spider.

One OF the most unnatural things In
nature. If the expression IL allowable.
is the manner I'm which the young of
the common wolf spider treat their
mother After the little creature has
laid her eggs she envelops them In
silken covering, SO as to make ball
about the size Of a pea. and this she
carries about with her wherever she
goes and will defend II with her life.
When the young are hatched they
climb on her back. giving her II mon
strous appearance. and ride about un.
til nearly half grown. and as soon as
they discover their strength they fall
to and devOur their mother.
Catoctin clarion., 1911-04-20
The Furtive Look.

Here is something worth while for
bachelors to consider.
A Boston woman says she can detect
a bachelor as far as she can see him.
She always knows bachelor by his
furtive look. The furtive look. she ex.
plains, Is something akin to that Of a
hunted animal. always on the watch
for snares and pitfalls. or course this
may apply only to Boston bachelors.
but 1t would be we'll for all other sin
gle unfortunates to take good look
at themselves In the mirror and ind
that telltale look. II they do there IL
an easy way to efface it.-Cleveland
Plain Dealer
Catoctin clarion., 1911-04-20
A REGULAR Attendant.

Az the new minister OF the village
was on his way To evening service he
met n rising young man Of the place
whom he was anxious to have become
a member of his church.
"Good evening. my young friend"
he said solpmniy. "Do you ever at
tend Il place of worShip|
Eyes. indeed. sir. regularly every
Sunday night" replied the young fel,
low with y smile I'm on my way to
see her now" metropolitan Magazine
Catoctin clarion., 1911-04-20
$ENWVStSs>Ss>SSVS1N.N>S'NNSN
A ROAD WASTE.

Tho appropriations made by
the different states for improved
roads have been wasted to
very large extent. New York
has built about $50 miles Of i'm
proved highways, Pennsylvania
perhaps ono third as much. And
neither state nor any other so
far as we know has made proper
provision for their maintenance.
Hero is where the waste comes
in. More millions will be vast
ed unless some plan of keeping
state roads in repair is put into
operation soon. No sense in
building costly roads and then
letting them go to pieces for the
want of attention at the right
time.
Catoctin clarion., 1911-04-20
maintenance OF
COUNTRY ROADS
Way Rural Highways Should Be
Cared For.
CONDITIONS N H|LLY SECTIONS

Get q Decent Grade If You Must Zigzao
:t-Take Roads Out Of Creek and
Branch Beds and Keep Thorn Out.
Drainage is the Most Essential
Feature Of Any Road.
In speaking OF country highways III
his county J. II. Murray, county high
way engineer Of Douglas county. Mo-,
gives many interesting facts which
may be Of help to many counties In tho
country where similar conditions pre-
vail. He says:
We need 80 many things done and
have SO little to do with that one hard
" knows where to begin. We need the
right Of way cut out. bridges and cul-
Catoctin clarion., 1911-04-20
His Last Request.

AS the doomed man was led TO the
scaf'old the sheriff asked:
'Have you any last request to
make?"
''Yes." said the wretch. II would
like TO have pair of suspenders."
SO they assigned two hangmen TO the
job instead Of Que. Baltimore Sun
Catoctin clarion., 1911-04-20
Untainted.

Tempted by an offer Of considerably
more than the property had cost him.
Mr.. Kreezus. who counted his wealth
In millions. had parted with his subur.
ban villa.
"You didn't need the money" said
his disgusted business partner. who
had just heard of the transaction.
"yet for little filthy lucre you sold
that beautiful home"
81 didn'tr exclaimed the equally in
dignant Mr. Kreezus. II sold 1t for
clean casb!-Youth's Compa
Catoctin clarion., 1911-04-20
lmpertinonco.

Mr. Todgers- Why have you sent
Maria. the servant girl. away so sud
denly! You told me yesterday that
she WAS fhe best girl you ever had
Mrs. TUdgers She's an impertinent
hussy wanted 10 borrow her rub
bers. and she said she was afraid |
couldn't get them on.