davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening capital news. (Boise, Idaho) 1901-1927, 1916-10-22
Cooking Our Meals
with Sunbeams

brake horsepower hours, or Ills per cent
of the heat value, while in the case of
gas engine the corresponding figure is
25.5 per cent, and of Diesel oil engine
81 per cent.
THE chief loss Is In converting the
steam into mechanical energy, and most
of the loss is inevitably for thermodynamic
reasons. With this fact in mind you will
not be so surprised to learn that the best
overall thermal efficiency obtained from
the Shuman-Boys plant in Egypt was
only 432 per cent, the chief reasons for
this being SO much less than lis per
cent being that the steam pressure was
80 low, and that the best efficiency of
the sun-heat absorber was only 40.1 per
cent, compared with rs per cent for the
best coal-fired boiler. But 1t has taken
boilermakers many years to attain this
efficiency, SO that 40.1 per cent is not a
bad result when the number of sun
boilers that have been made is taken
into account.
at is interesting to realize from the
foregoing figures that the value of PA
acres of bright sunshine for an hour is
one ton Of coal.
The demonstration in Egypt, to which
Mr.. Alderman refers, was made three
years ago at Meadi-on-the-Nile, seven
miles South of Cairo. Conditions were
peculiarly favorable in this location, as
uninterrupted sunlight could be depended
upon for many successive days. The
apparatus used-the Shuman-Boys-
represented a refinement and improve
ment upon several different devices ex-
perimented with in this country and
Europe since 1887.
The earlier reflectors resembled hugo
inverted lampshades lined with polished
metal, or of glass backed with quick
silver after the fashion of mirrors in
ordinary use. These refiectors were
mounted upon mechanism which caused
them to follow the course of the sun.
Standing upright in the centre-like the
lamp chimney which its shade surrounds
was water boiler upon which the
rays OF the sun thus reflected were con.
centrated. In due time the water boiled,
steam was generated and a pressure pro-
Evening capital news. (Boise, Idaho) 1901-1927, 1916-10-22
The Value of Laughter.

The physiological benefits of
laughter cannot be overestimatsd.
1t shakes up the diaphrag GIN. sets the
pulses beating to a lively measure.
stimulates the blood. and enlivens
the brain. Used with discretion,
laughter is as inspiring as sea
breeze. as refreshing as a needed
shower.
It's moral erect is beyond compu-
tation. 1t has killed more ridiculous
superAtitions by its rollicking roars
of unbelief than any other agency.
What can be more derisive than a
laugh? The man who laughs never
kills himself.
In some situations laughter is as
gracious in its influence as tears.
An instance is recalled OF a man
fated to die of consumption at a
sanitarium. Did he sit out on the
veranda ENORMOUSLY pouring the
tale of his physical and mental woes
into the ears of every other victim
whom he metz Not bit of It! He
wore the cap and bells of the Jester
In order that he might distract the
thoughts of mis- miserable compan-
ions from the contemplation of their
own sufferings.
Evening capital news. (Boise, Idaho) 1901-1927, 1916-10-22
Marriage Customs.

Many marriage customs observed
at the present time are relics OF
the time when women were simply
the chattels or slaves of their hus-
bands. The wedding ring is but
substitute for the chain or fetter.
or perhaps the metal badge. of the
female slave of the past Then
there Is the custom of throwing an
old shoe. In ancient times a ruler
would signify his domain over a
place by casting his shoe across IL,
or over a serf by touching the
serfs head with his shoe. The cast
ing of a shoe therefore signifies the
transfer of authority over the
woman to the bridegroom. In the
good old days" a man who wanted
wife sometimes went with
companion to neighboring tribe
and carried a girl of by force. 1t
was then necessary for him to take
a hurried journey to escape the
vengeance of the pursuing friends
of the girl. So to-day the BRIDE
groom has a companion in the shape
of his best man. and his honey-
moon trip commentaries the flight
from the wife's friends.
Copyright. 1915, b,
Evening capital news. (Boise, Idaho) 1901-1927, 1916-10-22

zinc and failed before the official tests
could be made. His boiler was replaced
by castiron one in 1913.
In addition to the alteration OF the
shape of the refectors, another very i'm
portant change was made. Their axes
were placed north and south, and they
were automatically heeled over from an
eastern aspect In the morning to a west
ern one In the evening. so as to follow
the sun. Thus the same number Of solar
rays were caught all day long, and the
small decrease In steam production in
the morning and evening was almost en-
tirely due to the greater thickness of
atmosphere through which the rays had
to pass. The total area of sunshine col
iected was 1929 square feet.
Evening capital news. (Boise, Idaho) 1901-1927, 1916-10-22
View SunPower Plant Near Philadelphia Utility
in Pumping Water for Irrigation Purposes

(Messrs. A. s. e. Alderman and G. T.
Walrond) to select and invite some dis
tinguished physicist to Join them in a
consultative capacity. Hence Professor
q. V. Boys, F. r. s.. became associated
with the work, and he suggested vital
change In the design of the absorber.
viz. that the boilers should be placed
on edge In channel-shaped reflector of
parabolic cross section. so that solar
radiation was received on both their sur
faces, instead of one being worse than
idle, as 1t was when the boilers were
placed side on to the sun .
An absorber OF this design was con-
structed and erected at Meadi on the
Nile. seven miles south of Cairo, In 1912,
but the boiler was constructed of thin
pany. Great Britain Rights Reserved.
Evening capital news. (Boise, Idaho) 1901-1927, 1916-10-22

pipes. The ether boiled, and its
steam drove a small vertical,
simple single-cylinder engine.
The exhaust ether vapor passed
into an air surface condenser,
and the liquid ether vapor from
this was pumped back into the
tubes of the boiler already de-
scribed.
THE best run of an hours du-
ration produced steam at at
mospheric pressure at the rate
of z pounds per 100 square feet
Of sunshine falling on the box.
Toward the end of 1911 the
Sun power Company Eastern
Hemisphere), Utd.), requested
their consulting engineers
Evening capital news. (Boise, Idaho) 1901-1927, 1916-10-22
Most Recent
Experiments
in Running
Engines,
Heating and
Lighting
Our Homes
and Even

duced in the boiler sufficient to run a
small engine with pump, printing
press or some other machines attached
to it.
The objections to this type of reflector
were its great cost on a scale large enough
producing accurate curvature on large
scale, and the great amount of labor
called for in preventing the polished
surface from becoming furnished.
The celebrated inventor, John Ericsson,
discarded the circular reflector for a
long trough with a curved bottom lined
with polished metal which reflected the
suns rays upon a cylindrical heater fixed
longitudnally just above the trough. BY
this method there was distinct gain in
the amount of power produced, together
with dimnution of the cost of the appa-
ratus.
The Shuman-Boys invention which has
been developed so successfully In Egypt
by Mr.. Ackermann and his associates Is
thus described by him in his report to
the Smithsonian Institution:
Frank Shuman, of Americaystartedo on
the problem in 1906, and in 1907 he had
a plant running which developed about
az horsepower; 1900 square feet of sun
shine fell onto a fixed, horizontal water
box with a glass top. In the water there
were rows of parallel horizontal black
pipes containing ether, and exposing 900
square feet of surface to the solar radia-
ton. The water also became heated and
conveyed heat to the under sides of the
pipes. The ether boiled, and its
Of a M
Evening capital news. (Boise, Idaho) 1901-1927, 1916-10-22

The Adams Solar Cooker in Which
Panes of Glass Surrounding a
Boiler Concentrate the
Suns Heat Upon It.
"The boilers were placed at the focua
81 the reiectors and were covered with
single layer of glass enclosing an air
space around the boilers Each channel
shaped reflector and its boiler was 205
feet long, and there were five such sec
tons placed side by side.
1.-THE maximum quantity Of steam pro-
duced was twelve pounds per 100 square
feet OF sunshine, equivalent to 1873 square
feet per brake horsepower, and the maxi
mum thermal efficiency was 40.1 per
cent. The best hours run gave 1442
pounds OF steam at atmospheric pressure.
hence, allowing the twenty-five pounds
oil steam per brake horse-power-hour. the
maximum output for an hour was sos
brake horsepower result about ten
times as large as anything previouly at
tanned, and equal to sixty-three brake
horsepower per acre of land occupied by
the plant"
Mr.. Ackermann's conclusion Is that the
problem OF Harvesting the sun and max
ing 1t run our machinery Is solved in
all localities where there Is plenty of
sunshine and the price of coal is more
than SIS per ton. He remarks that where
coal is dear sunshine is often plentiful
and that sun-power plants are admirably
suited for pumping in connection with
irrigation-for where there is most sun
shine there Is the greatest need for II.
rigation.
The sun., 1916-11-26

oi the road takes up the matter with
the Pullman people and tries to recover
the lost property.
Contrary to a somewhat general i'm
preston the fiXer is allowed no funds
t. entertain compliments. He re-
ceives merely his personal expenses.
Inquiry shows that more complaints
are received from men than from
m This Is partially explained by
the fact that many women send men to
represent them.
Women have all kinds OF trouble with
tickets. For instance. a woman buys
a ticket for Cleveland. She IL told Of
the limited trains upon which that
ticket is good. With the skittishness
attributed tn her sex she boards the
particular limited upon which that
particular pa%steboard is not good.
She has To a her fare and she
* advised by the conductor, who
listens respectfully to her opinion Of
the horrid old road, to take up the
matter with headquarters in Cleveland.
Headquarters at Cleveland receives
Il scented note that almost freezes the
fingers Of the man who opens IL. One
Of the Brummels OF the fixing force
is despatched forthwith to the dwell
ing Of the complainant.
She receives him coldly and calmly.
There IL an established injury in her
mind. She had bought II ticket for
Cleveland. and she had to pay her
fare. why? The fact that the agent
from whom she bought the ticket
The sun., 1916-11-26

warned her hat II was not good on
that particular train. why, tina, is an
irrelevant incident.
Sympathetically, with infinite tact.
the fXer bends To his lahors. He does
not argue. All his effort is directed
to getting her to forgive the poor old
laundering road in spite OF all. And
she finally does.
She does IL because he Is a nice
young man and she Is sorry for him
because he has TO work for such a cor
poration. She has not shifted her
point Of grievance in the least. She
has not acknowledged herself in the
wrong. She has simply shown herself
large enough To forgive.
A handsome men would say. I'm
wrong, old chap. Have a cigar" But
u woman-well, the fiXers say 4, is al
WAYS as above recorded.
The successful fXer must know hu-
man nature like the alphabet. He
never approaches two complaining per-
sons in exactly the same way. Some
men he handles IN such a way that
they have the Illusion that they are
debating the arrangement themselves.
Such a man may say that the Of
Tending agent Of the Dad should he
discharged. The fiXer agrees. and SAYS
that he will recommend that this he
done. Then the complainant repents.
gives up his idea OF demanding the
luckless offenders job. and afterward
believes that his change Of front saved
It for him.
The sun., 1916-11-26

In an upstate city. Some items, Of a
suburban schedule were sharply dues-
toned. One Of the smoothest Of the
fixers was sent To see the writer.
He returned with a rueful grin. II
guess we'll have tn give him what he
wants" he told his chief.
The chief looked at him keenly.
What the Natter he asked
Doesn't your head feel good?'
My heads all right" responded the
assistant, las far as IL goes. Troub.e
Is his goes further. Further than those
OF the whole timetable committee"
Make out a new one ironically di-
reCted the chief. THE gentleman's
recommendations are all accepted In
advance Of course"
assistant.
Il developed that the kicker had
kicked i~ntelligently. He had held
about forty railroad jobs before he was
80 and had then left the rails to be-
come "A millionaire. But he had not
forgot his cunning. He was a rail-
road man from the ground up.
That schedule was later revised in
accordance with his suggestions.
In its present obliging attitude
toward compliments the railroad even
goes outside it's own province. II a
passenger has lost property on "A
sleeper Ne is more likely to go to an
agent of the road that was hauling the
car than To the Pullman Company's
representative. Then tSe fN it man
The sun., 1916-11-26
The Publisher Blamed.
~ HoLWoRTHY HALL.

OF the twenty short stories l like best
not one was written by an American,
but out Of the next hundred short
stories I like ninety mine were written
by Americans and the other by II Cana
dian. So that although I concede the
superiority of the Briton or the Conti-
mental as a spasmOdic performer l
6rmly believe that tho average OF merit
Of American short stories In higher
than the average Of those OF foreign
nations. And this - In spite OF the fact
that writer's Of short stories In Amer
lea are working under the incredible
handicap Of modern ultra convention.
The marvel ~ moi that 30 many COED
stories are written In America but tnat
sny GOOD stories are written at all. No
man il ever free from direct or Indirect
dom;oation by some boss. The short
story writer must write what the edl-
tors demand: the editors demand not
what they think their subscribers want
hut what they know the business office
wants: the business Office wants what
aver will please the greatest number OF
advertisers. So that although the short
story 10 essentially fitted to the tenn
persmsut OF the American public and
the American writer 10 nervously quail
ned TO acquire the greatest proficiency
In this particular form Of literature the
suthor 10 constantly tripped BY the OBJ
The sun., 1916-11-26
A pEsSlMiST A A

say a half hour would be sufficient Ia
complete a toilet" was Miss Green's
answer. AT least twenty-eight min
utes OF this time should go TO the per-
sOnal details-coinure. hands. face. The
other three minutes are allowed for
the dress. a minute for each hook.
no dress need have more than
three fa%stenings. When there are
more than three it begins to grow
complicated and then the lines are lost.
Follow the natural lines OF the fig ure.
Bring m the good ones and conceal
the bad ones. strive for freedom OF
motion. Avoid pnffs and frills and
ruffies.
Put the money YOU would spend on
these folderols into the quality OF
the material. Put the time you would
spend hunting out ~ the way hooks
and eyes on m~assaging yonr face with
cold water or improving the shape OF
your nails. You are the picture-your
Owl Is only the frame The most
beautiful frame in the world is lost on
a NJ picture"
The vampire in the movies
brought o some Of her Namping
gowns to prove Ia me there was no
shoehorn in the case. Also she showed
me the hooks. Three, EN-. three.
ON the own looked Ike several
yards Of slinky velvet or Clingins crepe
innocent Of needle OF thread or dress
ma ker's SCISSORS. A few simple ~ lists
~ the wrist and they were moulded on
their owners figure exactly as II she
had been poured INTO them from a hot
IRE.
The sun., 1916-11-26
AUTHORS STIRRED UP BY CRITICISM OF AMERICAN FICTION

lost his best friend. the editor: he
learned that on account OF the fierce
competition among the standard mag
azines he must also study the half
tone process AS applied to fiction; he
discovered that circulation could he
sold in bulk like merchandise. and that
the attitude Of all publications toward
their subscribers had consequently un-
dcrgone a complete change; he learned
TO his sorrow that fiction was now to
be bought like merchandise.
During the text Ave years the pub
fishing business is certain to be shaken
from top to bottom. II the present
price OF white paper continues. and II
other manufacturing costs remain at
their present levels, IA great many very
digniied periodicals are certain to go
into liquidation, and this will be a very
fine thing both for the surviving pub
fishers and for the surviving authors.
because ii Is practically impossible
that after the reformation OF the in
dustry the old fashioned ideals should
fail of "A rehcaring.
Given the power To publish what
they like, a score OF American editors
are competent to produce magazines
Of an infinitely higher quality than
anything We have to-day. Given the
certainty that II they write what they
want to write they can sell their work
to such editors. there are "A score of
men and in America who
simply couldn't he overlooked by pos
terity.
In general, the work Of the American
novelist is dcteriorating. This Is be-
cause it IL almost in~eSitahte that q
novel he suited TO rehabilitation, and
specialization implies n set OF arbitrary
| cllmaXcs, regardless Of the logical de-
velopment OF the narrative. We are
The sun., 1916-11-26

siJl subject to the ancient theory that
any instalment OF a serial should end
when the heroine has Just fallen over
the cliff, And the reason why the ma
jority of modern novels are written,
and must be written, with serialization
In mind, Is that the sale OF books IL
decreasing 80 rapidly that unless "A
novel Is listed for many months among
likely to bring TO the author a much
greater evenue than the book rights.
Since 1900 the novels in which |
have found the greatest pleasure have
been %Tarkington's THE Ffirt." Hutch
lnson's "The Clean Heart" Whitman's
"Predestined" and BENEFITS "Clay-
hanger" And these books have inter-
ested me because they are not in any
sense halftones.
or curse the ascendency of plot has
tended to destroy style. and the man OF
the present generation Who has done
most to blast a healthily increasing
tendency toward stylistic art Is o.
Henry. believe that q. Henry will
rank as a great writer not because Of
his style but in spite OF It. l believe
that a man like Leonard Merrick could
have created out of the typical o.
Henry plot "A greater story than any
O. Henry ever wrote.
The chief trouble with the whole
situation IL that as a result OF continued
placidity and freedom from any sig
niiicant intellectual reaction the whole
country has suffered a softening of its
mentality. All OF us are too comfort
ahle-authors as well as readers, And
no editor or publisher n conceivably
succeed in improving the quality Of his
publication. no author can succeed in
uplifting the quality Of his work until
we all realize tho incontrovertible
The sun., 1916-11-26
Mpost 5tW

back to the soil that they roll the skirt
of an effete civilization up in a bundle
and check II somewhere against their
return. 1t does not take the quarter
part Of q second to turn the trick.
From a woman who n fond OF social
diversions ] learn that ut least ne
third OF the waking day, Of a social
butterfly is given to putting on clothes
and taking them Off again.
please do not quote me- begged
Nine. Select Few, but the life OF a
butterfly is not all gilt and glitter.
Downing the gilt and glitter comes
pretty close to making 1t a burden.
Not only does 1t take time, but 1t takes
patience, endurance. nerves. vitality,
thought.
For example. here are the clothes
of an average day: Nesligee. riding
toys. walking suit. gymnasium suit.
street coustume. afternoon gown. din
ner dress. This means at least two
hairdresses. more often three. Fig
ure 1t out for yourself.
my idea Of a happy state would be
one In which we arose in the morning.
put on some sort Of flowing robe such
Al the Grecian women affected. and
wea It straight through the day and
evening. No hooks. buttons or fasten-
ers to think ab0ut-nothing but a belt
or a cord to wind around the waist.
Wouldn't It be heavenly
There you are. Is 1t TO be the bloom
er-middie period or the Grecian robe ?
Both sound sensible. Both are calcu-
lated to cut down the records estab-
The sun., 1916-11-26

stacles placed in his way by the eco
nOmic development OF American publl-
cations.
To the best OF my acknowledgement
myself am a publisher--there Is only
one fiction magazine in the United
States which IL wholly independent of
external influence, and simply because
IL IL independent its financial condi-
ton makes 1t impossible for 1t to af-
ford to buy good stories at prices at
which authors can AFFORD to write good
ones. Our magazines are afraid OF the
truth. They require stories in which
the facts are carefully mortised to fit
the lemons Of utter conservatism. They
are afflicted with the obsession that
the sympathies Of the average reader
are so tender and delicate that unless
every story IL finished of with a happy
ending the subscribers will desert In
a body and the advertisers will cancel
all outstanding contracts.
Furthermore very few magazines
will publish stories which are really
short; indeed. we have many maya
zines which frankly pay for length,
and II foreign productions are I'm any
respect better than the best American
stories their superiority lies In the last
three paragraphs.
The old fashioned editor ceased to
exist at about the time that the half
tone process was perfected. Az a natu-
raj consequence the literary artist
gave way to the literary blacksmith.
Conditions especially favorable for the
publishing business caused a vast num-
Der OF mushroom periodicals to spring
up during the period from 1900 to
1915. The author. instead of retaining
his former position az a man Of some
small importance In fixing the char
acter OF q magazine, found that he had
The sun., 1916-11-26
By OLIN L. LYMAN
N the old days when they were

tHV oIu uuys WHVh 'hVs WV
arrogant the railroad companies
L used to receive and file" COM
plants. Now the personal touch
and the glad hand are used In ad-
~justing passenger and freight misun-
derstandings. The men who adjust
these differences between the public
and the roads are known az FIX it,
men.
Says one Of the most successful OF
the Pennsylvania fixers: In all the
big trunk lines nowadays fixing II sn't
confined to the passenger and freight
departments. The whole operating
department is instructed to wear the
Billikin smile. IL you meet a man
with a crouch extract It.. A railroad
can't afford to have enemies"
In order TO profit from mistakes the
big trunk lines keep tabs or COM
plants with a view to improving the
service. Many a grain Of wheat. other
wise constructive criticism. has been
separated from the chan which drib-
bles in by telephone, mail and word of
mouth.
Amusing anecdotes are reported
every day in the activities OF the
fixers OF the passenger departments.
One Of them illustrates the kind Of
constructive criticism that counts.
The story comes from the Grand
Central. A letter OF complaint was re-
ceived by the general agent stationed