The Calumet news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 1907-1938, 1913-10-02

Formerly he said. we used tho
Croton water In making our beer OF
course, this meant big bin for water
every year, and In addition. there was
the great expense and trouble connect.
ed with filteriDg 1t. The worknen who
cleaned the filters always were sick
after they finished the job. and unable
TO work.
I'VE studied the problem of securing
our own water supply for some time,
arriving at no satisfactory solution.
one day, while my father was staying
in the Catslllls. he happened 10 tell a
farmer, who lived near his camp, Of his
difficulty.
why don't YOU get Hallock To help
your asked the farmer. Tie has found
good many springs in this neighbor-
hood
MY father went over to Greenvilla
Centre and saw Mr.. Halock. \ few
weeks later Mr.. IIallock, with his
peach-tree rod, arrived in New York.
II accompanied him on his survey
ono Of the branches of the Y, and
walked backward and forward over
the grounds. For a long time tho
diVining rod was undisturbed. Al last
ii seemed To plunge downward as If
magnetically attracted To some sub
stance in the earth.
so strong was the pull that the
bark on the twigs in the mans hands
was rubbed and twisted off. He mark
ed the place and continued his rounds.
soon, in a different part of the proper
~, the same thing occurred.
My father was sufficiently Interest,"
ed To nave wells bored where the di-
vining rod appeared 10 indicate water.
The men went down 500 feet i'm one
place and 400 in the other, and found
abundance of clear, sparkling water.
Formerly" he said we spent $l2,-
600 n year For city water. Now we
spend 81 200. And we save great deal
tor this water has a very low tempera-
ture"
That the use of the divining rod is
of great antiquity can scarcely he de-
MED. Believers i'm it's efficacy trace it
back To the time of Moses. when
Moses found the water at Mcribeh-
Rephidim and Meribeh- Kadesh.
Whether or not this theory is tcn-
able, ii has the support of one writer
of unqucstioncd responsibility. Mr.
Charles Latimer called attention 10 II
in his essay on The Dvining Rod"
which he read some years ago in Chi
cage before the civil Engineers club
of the Northwest. Mr.. Latimer's essay
Is worthy of special attention because
ii is the work not of a spiritist or a
student of physic phenomena the di-
yining rod is a favoritc topic with
writer's on the "occult,D but of an eX
perienced civil engineer, a man whose
solid common sense was mistaken by
the winds Of superstition.
Mr.. Latimer's account of his cX
periments with the divining rod are in
tcresting. He had read, he says, of this
phenomenon in Sir David Brewstcrs
Philosophy. Visiting with his brother,
asked his opinion of the subject.
The judge said that he himself pos
sesscd the power Of finding water. Mr.
Latimcr went with his brother and the
judge To a place where there was IN
underground stream. The judge cut
three torkcd branches from a peach
tree. and every member of the party
took one. At Il certain ipoint the
switches in the hands of Mr.. Latmcr
and the Judge went down simultanc'
ously. but that in the hands of Mr..
I.atimers brother did not move.
Mr. Latimcr evolved the theory that
the switch turned by electric force.
Having evolved his theory, he set about
sustaining it by experiment. He found,
he writes, that the idea that only
witch hazel and peach possessed the
desired qualities was groundless. He
used apple, willow, dogwood, beech,
maple iron. steel, copper. whalcbone,
even an old barrel hoop.
To test his electrical theory, he
bought number of ink bottles. and
fastened them To wooden sandals.
While wearing these he found that
his divining rod was powcrless Also
when he wore rubber shoes he could
detect no movement i'm his rod
He then gave his attention to the
of the exact position of
the water. He discovered that the
switch commenced to turn at an angle
of a. degrees from the edge of the
water. and that the distance from his
hand to the water would he measured