davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The sun., 1916-11-14
NATIONAL HOTEL DISEASE
Its Cause, the Infection Of Water
Was Long n Secret.

To THE EDITOR OF THE SrN-Sir. In
ascr!bing the so-cailed National Hotel
disease of the early part of the year
1857 to the bad sewerage OF Washing
ton at the time your correspondent MIR.
Tones repeats "A long current ~explana-
ton OF the sickness bearing that name.
and ~ 81 doing errs in good company.
In his admirable History of the Ma
,!pnal Capital MIR. W. II. Bryan says
volume H.. page 30SJ. that. notwith-
standing the poor sewer facilities OF the
city. there was 10 outbreak OF disease
until the spring OF 1851. shortly after
the Inauguration az James Buchanan.
when the National Hotel sickness oc-
Cured. 1t was caused hy poisonous
gases from obstructed sewers and was
confined in its extent to those in the
building"
As authority FOR his statement Mr..
Bryan cites the Er,niuJ star Of this
city Of March II and 80, and July IL.
l>11. and tue statement. also often made
by others. has met with general accent
ance. In fact. the cause ~ this sickness
was one OF the best kept secrets Of
Washington. II 50 far as ! know has
never been published.
At the time Washington had no gem
eral water system, and reliance for that
indispensable article was had upon the
c!ty's springs and wells. The National
Hotel had AZ It's top a capacious tank,
which was kept well supplied with water
for both drinking and other purposes.
In preparation for Mr.. ~Ruchanan's in.
a~uguratlon the house received "A gem
eral overhauling and renovation. in the
course Of which rats I'm great numbers
were discovered and TO get rid Of them
poison was rsorted To-. with the result
that the rats sought the tank. in which
Il very great many of them were
drowned. ot necessity injecting the water.
Before discovery Of this fact. however.
the mischief was wrought. and many of
the hotels patrons We're made gravcly
III. With the removal of the cause the
sickness of course disappeared bu; 1t
was obviously ~aGalns' the hotels inter
est Ia disclose the cause. and So the
generally II unjustly condemned sewer
axe got The blame.
Among my authorities for this state.
ment is the late Robert q. Campbell, for
many Years one Of Washiugton's hest
known and most expert plumbers and
a man of the highest personal charac-
ter. When long after the event men.
toned 10 him the cause of the sickness
he expressed surprise at my knowledge
of 1t. hut confirmed ii. SAYING that he
was an apprentice At work on the house
At the time, and that he had. with his
W hands, removed many uf the
drowned rats from the tank.
ON another occasion "A well known
Confederate General told me that he was
IN Washington at the time. and being
abpu. to return to his home in Virginia
was invited by a friend to have n stir
rup cup" This occurring in front of the
hotel. the two repaired to it's bar. where
each took whiskey, the General taking
his straight but his friend taking
water in his a." as the saving runs. The
friend was very shortly taken III with
the sickness and the General was not.
HENR +. DAVIS.
WAsrlNGToN, n. G.. November 10.
The sun., 1916-11-14

work at which those whom It affects
are employed and the terms on which
they are held. But It Is worth while
pointing out that the Dutch have com.
planned because of the refusal Of Bel
gian refugees in Holland to work. and
to remember that no community, large
or small, can practise ldleness for n
long period Of time without suffering
disastrous consequences. The custom
of industry once abandoned Is diff
cult to resume on a small scale a COM
mnrison may he made with the pau
perizntiOn Of applicants for public aid
In emergencies, among whom are al
ways, and In every country, many who
will not try to help themselves rs
long as they can lean on others. Bel
GUM Is In n situation In which the
possibilities for r~etrogression Of this
kind are unlimited. To It's people re.
fusal TO work may seem n high pa-
triotic duty In such circumstances
the future OF the whole population
may he menaced by the melancholy
and abnormal condition In which II Is
temporarily placed.
The immediate results Of war. the
wastage of It's human and material
victims, shocks the understanding and
arouses the Imagination It's more
lasting and not less terrible conse.
quenccs. to which eyes are blinded
by the overwhelming nature Of the
spectacle unfolded before us. may he
glimpsed In such happenings as those
which have brought the Belgian
population and the German admins.
trntion Of their country once more to
n grave crisis.
The sun., 1916-11-14

The Evening Post explained on Sat
'urday some circumstances which 1t
deemed obstacles to the choice Of n
President and vice.P President Of the
United States by popular vote alone.
OF these the first was that difficulties
might arise from the differing quail
icatiOns of voters In the various
States. Another was the delay that
would he occasioned In determining
the result n third was the multiplica-
ton OF chances for fraud.
To the first of these objections there
can be only one answer. and that is
this: Whatever the qualifications
each State may choose tn demand Of
voters for State offices, the qunlifica.
lions Of voters choosing the President
should be identical throughout the
length and breadth of the Union. And
to bring about that uniformity Of
qualification the Constitution should
he amended.
But, IL will he said. this would be
forcing oma suffrage on the States
that have not adopted 1t. Not 81, for
the acknowledgements of the women In
those States would extend only to the
Federal elections. Each State would
he free to restrict voters for other
Offices In any way 1t saw At: no in.
vasion of the self-gOvernment Of the
States,is involved.
As for the delay in nsc~ertaining the
result of the election, 1t could hardly
exceed the time required to find out
this years result generally, Of course,
the verdict would be known much
more quickly. The fear that OppOr-
tunities for frauds would he enhanced
Is n bugaboo pure and simple. The
only real election crisis In American
history was that Of 1876, and 1t was
a crisis accustomed wholly by the ex'
istence Of the machinery Of Presi-
dental electors.
Whatever force may he conceded
to the arguments raised 10y the Ere
ming Post Is more than offset by the
facts of our history.
In 1876 SAMUEL j. 1ILDEN had d.
324 more votes than RUTHERFORD Il,
HAYES, yet HAYES became President
by the vote Of me elector.
In 1884 GROVER CLEVELAND carried
New York by 1.l40 votes. He had
30 electoral votes, 81 more than were
given to JAMES G. BLAINE. OF the 81
oil but one were cast by New York
That Is to say, LAO voters pollet
80 electoral votes. At that same cleo
tiOn Maine went for BLAINE by 90
O60; and Pennsylvania by S1.O19
Maine cast six electoral votes and
Pennsylvania thirty. Maine and
Pennsylvania together gave BLAINE
a plurality Of 1O1 ,0Ss votes, carrying
thirty.siX electoral votes, the mum
her cast for CLEVELAND by New York.
In other words, LAO votes In New
York counted for just ms much as
1O1 ,OSS votes that were cast In Maine
and Pennsylvania.
This Is n sample Of the ineQuity OF
Our present system Of choosing the
head OF the nation.
The sun., 1916-11-14
Vocational and Cultural Education

The Federal Bureau of Educntion
In Its report upon the Wisconsin
training schools for teachers In rural
schools makes m interesting con-
tribution to the present widespread
discussion upon vocational and Gull
tural education.
This issue has caused n division
among the more progressive Of
American educators, between the
defenders Of a specialized education
and those who insist that without n
fundamental early training the best
citizenship and the highest success.
even in practical pursuits. cannot he
realized. An extreme exponent OF the
first doctrine Is DIR. ABRAHAM FLEx.
NER. and a less radical one DIR.
CHARLES W. ELIOT, who gave IN early
recognition to speciallsm by his pref
erence for elective studies ut Harvard.
The opposite side Is championed by
Dir. ALFRED +. STEARNs In the current
number Of the atlantic M0nfhIU.
The report on the Wisconsin schools
Is enlightenlng because 1t gives pmc.
teal results. The students have no
training In the classical languages
or higher mathematics. ever nlgcbr,
having been dropped that more time
might be given to special work. And
no classical education Is necessary for
entrance to the schools. There Ia no
uniform course Of study, hut most OF
the time Is given "to subjects taught
in the commO schools"
The principal object Is 81 to special
lie ns to meet the demands of rural
communities. Twenty weeks Is given
Ia the study Of agriculture, nature
study Is emphasized, domestic science
and manual training, rural sociology
and rural economies nre taught. The
students are taught sewing by mnk-
ing clothes. corn anil milk values by
testing samples submitted. the geog.
raphy OF n country by n study Of It's
products and resources.
Here are vocational schools. with
the purely cultural element eliminated,
not for the student alone. but for the
teacher, who will train the youths OF
the community he enters. The result
OF the system Is shown In the report
upon the work Of graduates:
"she was imbued with the spirit o,
community service"
"she was no common teacher. but wal
a real spirit Of progress In the com,
The sun., 1916-11-14
FOOD VALUES.
Comparative Percentages give Rice
the Greatest NutritIve Value.

To THE EplTog NJ THE SrN-Sir: The
report OF the United Stttes Department
of Agriculture on comparative food value
gives these percentages for potatoes and
rice: Water. 7N.3 and ia; protein.
and T9.4 mineral matter, 10 ana a,
The food value of u pound of potatoes
being 375 units, that Of n pound OF rice
Is 1880. 4 table uf comparative food
values shows Rice. $500 per cent,
wheat. N@5i: rye, -. a.: oats, 1i.O2
maize. s2.97 potatoes. .3.2i; fat beef,
i603. and lean beef. 26,N3.
one pound VI potatoes furnishes nour
ishm"nt for one person. One pound of
rice furnishes nourishment for six per-
The sun., 1916-11-14
Westward the Star Of EmpirIcism
Takes Its Way.

FROM me anaconda Sfdnddri.
New Works provincial!sm was bril-
liantly illustrated Tuesday night when
at an early hour the New York news
papers. even those that have sup
ported Nj Wilson. flashed announce
mcnts that Hughes was elected. They
knew at the time that New York State
had gone Republican. hut they had
nothing else to go on except a few in
dications pointing to Republican vie
tory in lpinois. They reasoned tha, as
goes New York so always and necessa-
rily must go the country, II took New
York several hours to wake up to the
fact that It is possible for the United
States to elect "A President without her
aid or consent. Such action by the rest
OF the country is downright impcrti-
nenCc.
The sun., 1916-11-14
THE SHIFT.

Are you rcady?" said the author
to his wife. who was also his amanucn-
sis. She "a ready.
Lets see.' said the author. where
was at? We haven't worked on this
story In more than a week."
You were on the first chapter OF
Soaked in the Sunset replied the
wife. You had written the opening
scenic description OF the boundless
plains and had begun the conversation
between characters. thus:
The man with the gray mustaches laid
his gun on the bar and poured out three
fingers Of whiskey with steady though
SCARED hand.
stranger said he, you might as we'll
understand now that out here in Gods
country money means nothing. We don't
love the West because It's bountiful or
because we can raise wheat and steers and
sell 'em , we love II for Itself alone and It's
spirit. We amt for taking anybody's sass.
man or nation. Our finger is a,ways on
the trigger. We don't want to borrow
anything from the Government and our
pocket Is our savings hank. Out here you
nnd Americanism. not the craven, com
mercial greed Of the East. and"
strike out that said the author.
and we'll begin all over:
Tho man with the gray mustaches laid
his Erenino Post on the soda counter and
called for a caramel sundae. He welded
his spoon delicately. his little finger at a
quaint angle.
stranger said he. at IL useless for you
70 remain In tho West unless you are Will
Ing to enter into the spiritual unity which
%pervades all. Even two dollar wheat and
She farm loan scheme are trifes compared
with national abnesation. out here II IL
altruism and alfalfa. with the a~ltruism
bounded on tn" east by the Mississippi
II YOU arc repaired TO calm down and
abandon the blood ,hirs, Of the East, re.
main with us. Norman Angel has prom
ised to be our next shcrin and
How queer that sounds" said the
authors wife. rs this to be a new
kind Of Western novel;"
THE real kind" said the author.
Approved by the critics before it is
written. The returns from the widest
eight States prove II. But let's hurry
up with IL. ! am keen to get at u
next book. a genuine thriller. Bridge
port Bob. or Corralled in Connecticut
There will always he a market in the
East for q gunman story"
The sun., 1916-11-14
JONAH'S WHALE.
A German student Song Tells IN,
Woes Of a Stranded Mariner.

To THE EDITOR OF THE SuN-Sir, on
the editorial PAGE OF November - YOU
print a communication by II. J. s.
relative to the story OF Jonah and the
Whale in which ~. J. s. adduccs AS
his " theory that the Whale may
have been the name ~ an inn. from
which Jonah was elected after a three
days s%ojourn,
The author OF the old German student
song. from which III. j. =" has Dor
rowed his theory without Acknowledge
ment, is probably too dead to asser; his
rights. so ! take II on myself to pro-
tect him. These are the lines OF the
II which Is as well known in Ger
many rs "My Bonnie Lies over the
Ocean Is here. o. ID. w.
= YORK. November 10.
The sun., 1916-11-14
A GUARDSMAN'S PROTEST.
Conditions Of Border Service Are Hard
on the Men and Their Families.

VI" thC VI q uuu uClG TuItIibCSs
To THE EDITOR OF THE sUN-sir: I
should like to correct some false i'm
pressions about tho National Guard on
the border prevailing In New York. In
July the newspapers printed IN Item
that the troops had been supplied with
cots and board floors for their tents. As
a matter Of fact. our company and
numerous other companies had neither
eli the second week In September. The
result was thai numerous soldiers con-
tracted rheumatism and other diseases.
The New York papers have printed items
from time to time about the health Of
the troops as evidenced by the absence
of cases In the camp hospitals. Since
September. there has not been a time
when the camp hospital could
date all the sick troops In need of hos
pitai care. A statement also y red.
ascribed to a stan officer. that the troops
did not get hard tack instead OF bread.
had plenty Of meat and were otherwise
well fed. During the month OF October
Dur company had hard tack instead OF
bread at least once. and generally twice.
every day. Meat has been served three
times a week.
November 10 will complete five months
of service by the National Guard. For
these five months the priva,es will re-
ceive S7j. Owing to conditions prevail
ing In military camps many OF the
troops have contracted various diseases,
In addition many have lost their sala-
riesI their positions and other things Of
commercial value For these losses they
receive no COMPENSATION. The antilles
Of many men are suffering. not actually
alta but undergoing unnecessary
and unjust hardships and invitations
Is this Just? In view of the above facts
the men In the National Guard are en-.
titled to know why the ration
keeps them on the border.
II the United States is in actual dam
ger OF invasion, so that Zoe. 600 National
%Guardsmen are needed on the border to
defend IL. then the men and the country
should he told 90. II tho country 4.
not in danger OF invasion then there 60
no need for a military guard on the
border.
II a police force IL necessary. thcp tho
Administration should get n notice force
G%uardsmen enlisted for military duty.
not to sit on the Mexican lid uh,,c ,bcy
Use their material possessions
The following statistics Of orr rom.
pany should he OF interest Total NUM-
Der OF men in the company. lo5: men
who are losing salary. 1913 men who
have los, positions. SIS men whose fani.
les are suffering prlya,ions. 81
II may he assumed tina, those figures
are a fair index OF the state of affairs
throughout the National Guard. Re.
The sun., 1916-11-14
IS THE AEROPLANE THE DEFENCE
AGAINST THE SUBMARINE?
The Views Of Some European Writers on the Most Pulling Of Naval
Problems.

1T may he we'll" says a writer In
the National ReUicp of October. 1915
that the true defence against the
dangers under the water will be found
not on but over the water" This Is
an entirely sincere and accurate opin-
ion cast In the form OF popular jour.
nalism Of one Of the most complex
strategical problems ever faced by
modern civilization. The simple truth
conveyed in IA single sentence Illus
trates an immense number OF military
and naval facts where the most ex.
haustive and scientific demonstrations
would fail. The opinion m from
"A layman, but as the authoritative
work of I.aubpuf reminds us. 1t is
equally shared by specialists and ex-
perts. Thus. he writes in his most re-
cent book. "Sous-marins ct Submcr-
sibles": THE acroplane is the sole
weapon of war that can hunt out the
submarine effectively and discover its
position" And in his still later and
altogether convincing essay ON the
dirigible. Sui 1mpiego del Dirigi-
bili,' in the Riristd Martina of May,
i'i"' iNoSo'hi vi wv i'"'i"h navy says
'The Ieppelins constitute the most
notabie dangers 10 the Enelsh ana
RUSSIAN submarines IN n Balti'.
Here are briefly the reasons why the
Germans have "A special sort OF pride
In two particular weapons of var the
submarine and the Zeppelin. As Ros-
SIM points out. Germany has in prac-
tice specialized in the use Of under
water ana air craft and is justly re-
garded by nautical nations as essen
raily an underwater n air Power.
lie ADDS that the Allies. ana especially
the officers OF thc grand fleet know
this by painful experience. They have
found out that the airship Is the best
means OF discovering a ubmarine and
hence are beginning to build a fleet OF
these dirigibles known as "air scouts
and coast patrol" But in the use OF
Allies have so far had no very brilliant
suit they have. in TACT. suffered
grave losses. On the other hand, Ger
many has raidcd England thirty times,
Paris twice. France. Russia and Sa-
%lonica. and has lost at most three
Zeppelins. The reason is that the
Allies possess no airships that can
maxi ninety to ninety-five kilometers
an -Four, which Is the speed maintained
Ivy Ieppelins. The latest types. accord
ing tn the Italian officer. measure 40
meters In length. have a capacity OF
lN.ooo cubic meters or gas. possess an
armament. a wireless and Sondolas.
iiossini relates "A surprising instance
of the efficiency and audacity of these
craft. In the Baltic h Liz. having
haiied and stopped a small steamer
descended upon the sea. manned one
OK us ondol ana sent an offiCer on
board the steamer. That so free and
powerful a craft as the Zeppelin should
nave other uses thar dropping bombs
mas not been missed by experts. and
incidentally reveals even To IN" man
IN the street "a degre" or offensive ana
defensive strength thdt h" iinds II
dificult to credit IN the midst OF his
terrestrial security.
hut the appearance OF works 10y
laymcn on this subject Is another indi
cation OF the sense IN the dif-
fcrent countries that II may perhaps
he the duty or the pubic 10 study the
The sun., 1916-11-14
A HOT AIR PIPE LINE.
Let Us Import the Warmth "i the
Tropics and Defy the Goal Rarun>.

To THE Enron or TIE : p.
account of the high pri,, and .
~ coal ! have though, that .,,
he brought To our Northern 500,
the region of the equator De-, r,,.-. -
tubes. 1t may he that pro,iFcr a., ,'
that strip Of land between Naf, rrI
South America for that ulrr,,, ..
could he "A main tuh. ,>,,uur.-
the region OF the cuu,,o~ to- T,>
northward along the hank Of , ".
sissipi to ~. Paul. MINI. and t..,.
he branch tubes through tr,
the Northern and oth,r state.
The cost Of cnustru,ttu- 90. ,
would not he great. as tho, v.... .,
low the surface Of the earth %. '.-
would last for several h,rlral t,.r..
The sun., 1916-11-14

Thru the news We learn that the
Colorado Teachers Association has
adopted the Twelve Words recon-
mended turnout the land by those who
thoroly approve the program Of the
simplifed spoilers. Hereafter, when
composing a prolog, a catalog or a
decalog the pedagog. altho thoro, will
stick to the twelve wen tho those of
the thorofare reject the reform.
The sun., 1916-11-14
"Too Much Johnson"

There are n hundred explanations,
one rs good us another.
Too Much JOHNSON Is as good as
any other. and perhaps better than
all the others put together.
California decided 1t. and Too Much
JOHNSON Is what allied the Republi-
can party In California.
The sun., 1916-11-14

CHArScEr NJ. DrPEw will deliver the
anniversary address at the New York
Academy OF Medicine. II West Forty
third street. next Thursday evening at
S:i5 O'Clock. Mr.. DEPEw's subject Will
be THE Art OF Growing Oider."-Yes-
tcridy's newspapers.
What does CHAuNcEY DEpEw know
about growing old:
The sun., 1916-11-14

The German newspapers speak OF
the deportation Of Belgian men into
slavery in Germany as "a humani-
tartan measure" They have already
proved To their own satisfaction that
Frightfulness is an ally OF the higher
civilization.
The sun., 1916-11-14
MauCh Chunk. Zig Night.

All roads lend to the I'm Tonight. TN.
magnet being the great annual Halloween
celebration by the people. Three band.
will furnish the music. Think ~ IT, Thrc.
big bands. The air viii he filled with soul
stirring. merry, dancing music, II VIII
inspire cveryhody, Make the oid fee
young, II vii, he II tonic, the new elixir
Of life. shake the blues and take q dos.
Of the live stun.
The sun., 1916-11-14

Is the fact that the Carranzistas
take their wives with them when they
go to war a suffrage or an anti
suffrage argument?
The sun., 1916-11-14

Perhaps 1t Is easier to he a mi
nority President with a majority In
the House than a majority President
with a minority In the House.
The sun., 1916-11-14
Literary Work NJ Sing Sing.
From tho Star oJ Hone.

thought that had some small literary
ability, but | fear ! have not. ! have been
working Tor fifteen years on a single sen
tence and It Isn't completed yet.
The sun., 1916-11-14

II prosperity is estimated by the
purchasing power OF a dollar. these
are very hard times.
The sun., 1916-11-14

VILLA seems to he growing more de
facto every day.
The sun., 1916-11-14

Stogies smaller: price to he raised
Newspaper headline.
The high cost Of strong smokes.
The sun., 1916-11-14

f CARRANzA. VILLA. ZAPArA and
others have their way We shall have
no returns from Mexico.
The sun., 1916-11-14

n our frtends vAo favor " rttA wdnv.
eevtpfs AND Illustrations for pvbtcdtton rteA
- Asre rejected %drficles returned het mtst
~ ~ coses send sfomss for fAaf psrpose.
The sun., 1916-11-14

London once. lO.43 Fleet street. -
Paris once, q Rue de la Michodiere' o."
Rue du QuAtre Septembre.
Washington once. Munsey Building. a..
Brooklyn once. Room 2O2. Eagle buiio-
ln6. 303 Warrington street.
The sun., 1916-11-14

Colonel ROOSEVELT says that he Is
not indulging In pipe dreams. Is
HIRAM JOHNSON?
The sun., 1916-11-14
All checks, money orders, Ac.. to d
MADE payable to The Sun.

Published daily. Including sunday. 6y tne
Bun Printing and Publishing AnsotittiSn 81
$50 Nassau street. In tho Borough. OF Man
haitian. New York. President, rrans -
Nunsey,. $50 Nassau street. ice.Pres',sn
Erwin wardman, $50 Nassau street; sec.
rotary. Il. Il. Titherinxton. $50 Nassau
strset: Treasurer. Vim. T. Dewart. lou Mas
eau street.
The sun., 1916-11-14

THE EVENING SUN. Per Month";. :
THE EVENING sun ,Foreign). Per Mo. 1
The evening herald. [volume] (Albuquerque, New Mexico) 1914-1922, 1916-05-11

Results uT the first round uf 'n,
men handicap Jt th. golf cluu FOB.
..H D. g. N'Wtll nDat g. = VIM, H
Hu Il A. Wurcestai bent Iwur, Ia
up .uj 3 fu ni1t r. = Yl-
sry. Jr beat Euy Mcdonald Uu
TO- n Powell beat r. 4. Efiu @ uU
nud D Co PLAY a g. Simns beat d. f..
N1I,ou q up aui % q" play A. "
Wand dr,t 70 n,' a- asa Grover foe,
Vino.