davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
, 1922-11-30
PEG Leqs as Racers.

A novel London-tO-Brighton (51
London Morning Post. The race,
walked by two men, n with u steel
artificial leg and the other with n
wooden leg. arising out of an argument
Is to the rival merits of different arti-
icial limbs. resulted in a win for V. f.
Bell, wearing a steel leg. He did the
distance from London in 10 hours and
81 minutes. w. j. Ellison, with a
wooden leg, took half an hour longer.
, 1922-11-30

Observation-Disclosures w. Powell.
director of the Americanism commits
sion of the American Legion. In u
statement issued here. protested
against the proposed American lecture
tour OF Capt. Helmuth Won Muecke,
former German naval officer in com
mand OF the cruiser Emden. Captain
Won Muecke's coming to the United
States to lecture is deplorable," the
statement said.
, 1922-11-30

half of my time in
bed, being afflicted
with a trouble which
women of a certain
age are apt to have.
1. took Lydia E.
Pinkham'sV Vegetable
Compound Tablets
and used Lydia E.
Pinkham's Sanative
Wash. / am a well
now and have
been for two years.
II can work 40 wall nc
, 1922-11-30
Not In That Lexicon.

She wrote him n note which read:
Dear John: Meet me at the tryst-
ing place at $50 this evening. without
ale"
And John answered:
"1n that lexicon of youth which fate
as reserved for a bright manhood
here Is no such word as 'fale.'"
, 1922-11-30
CkasM Lake FYunt uf
King ufthe Rockies Is
Scaled at Last
BY JOHN DICKINSON SHERMAN

p THE sheer face of Longs Peak
Chasm Lake front OF the king of the
Rockies Is scaled ut lasti Good
headlines. but not literally and ex-
actly true. Nobody has climbed the
sheer face Of Longs and nobody ever
will, for the greater part of 1t Is
straight up and down for a thousand
feet. But ascent has been made up
the Chasm Lake front for the first
, 1922-11-30
SPENT half HER
Time IN BED
Farmers Wife Tells How Lydia E.
Pinkham's Vegetable Compound
Made Her a Well Woman

Carter's Creek, Tenn. Three years
e / was almost an invalid. snent
Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1922-01-05
THE FORTUNE HUNTER
Bv RUBY NJ. AYRES

Il "Tb. Bachelor Husband" "The One Unuuantsd" etc
Author " copyright by Wheeler Syndicate INC.
The mirror., 1922-03-02


X novel idea to me. Joseph c. Hoover,
an amateur Detroit chemist of recog-
nized standing, assured me it was not at
all unlikely that within few years many
families would have a tube of "radium"
in the home for medical and other pur-
poses.
had read that radium costs more than
$3,000,000 an ounce, so l was pretty GER
tain that at that rate our family for one
would probably forego the benefits of
radium, even if it were possible to buy it
in infnitesimal Jumps and on the install
ment plan. The down payment alone
would be out of our reach. But MIR.
Hoover and lit developed-were think
ing about two different things.
Mr.. Hoover is sales manager for a tool
and drill company. But for years he has
made radium his hobby. While his busi-
ness friends are chasing little white ball
around the golf links, Hoover is in his
laboratory engaged in the pastime of pur-
suing minutiae of matter that emanate
from radioactive substances with his sem
sitive apparatus. Or he is devoting his
time to another hobby of his--the growing
of crystals and the study of crystallogra-
ply.
My impression had been that radium is
SO rare and expensive that only scientists
with the unusual facilities of Madame
Curie or "a Professor Rutherford could
afford to experiment with it. And it is
true the amount of pure radium in the
world is limited. But there are 81 radio
active compounds which give off emana-
tons or rays similar to those of pure
radium. A study of them is gradually
revealing possible uses to which they may
be put which promise many benefits to
mankind.
infnitestimal amount of radium af-
fects plants and the human system. Small
quantities. small that according to the
mathematics of everyday life they may
almost be said to be non-existent-are
stimulating to plant growth while minute
doses of greater strength are destructive
and cause the plant to wither and die.
When first called at Mr.. Hoover's Of
flee, l noticed that the large inverted bot
tie of drinking water, which stood in the
corner, had cork floating in it to which
was suspended small glass tube.
assumed it was thermometer, and
couldn't figure out what value it would
have because the water is cooled by pass
ing through iced coils after leaving the
bottle. asked Mr.. Hoover about it.
That's an emanation tube" he ex-
planned. 81 charge my drinking water
with radioactive gas by keeping that
tube suspended there. The charging re-
quires "a hours and the radio activity per-
sists in the water for +8 hours after the
tube is removed"
He opened his desk and pulled out
little plush-lined box, inside of which was
a glass tube about half as thick as lead
pencil and three inches long.
THAT tube contains concentrate of
radium-bearing ore. 1t is far from being
chemically pure radium, but there is
enough radio-activity given off from
tube like this to charge drinking water
The mirror., 1922-03-02


w That is the first question the aver
age farmer who is in the market
for machine wants answered. He
will spend great deal of time and money
in looking into the merits of different
makes and often will go many miles to see
machine in operation so that he can
learn for himself what can be expected of
that type and make of machine.
There are around 147 manufacturers of
gas tractors of all kinds in the u. S. and
of the whole number no two makes are
alike, unless you call all four wheel trac-
tors alike, but they are not. There are
two general types of tractors in use on the
farms today. They are the wheel and
creeper or crawler, or what is called the
track laying type.
The late Benjamin Holt of Stockton,
California, was manufacturer of wheel
type tractors, but realizing the disadvan-
tages of that type of machine, he designed
what is now known as the caterpillar type,
that is manufactured by the Holt Manu-
featuring Co., Stockton, California, and
Peoria, ILL.,
In the Sacramento valley, California, it
was common sight to see large steam
tractors with extension rims fifteen feet
wide or their drive wheels. A machine of
this kind, including the tractor between
the wheels, occupied space of at least
thirty-six feet in width, when it turned
around the farmer in the next county
had to be careful.
The first track laying type of tractor
was tried out on California land and
where. the wheel traitor would stall the
caterpillar would pull its rivals out of the
mud. This demonstrated to the farmers
that here was machine that would fill
their needs. The new tractors of this type
that are being put on the market are all
built on the same principle.
When you take into consideration that
the lotion Caterpillar" has weight of
only 6M pounds per square inch on the
ground, and that the average weight of a
man walking on the ground is nine pounds
per square inch, or difference of III
pounds in the tractors favor, you can
readily understand why you can cross
swampy land with the Caterpillar"
where man would mire. The endless
treads of the "Creeper" tractors are like
railroad track with the rails cut in two
between each tie and hinged, or jointed,
and the ties cut between the rails and Just
as leather belt passes over pulley, so
do the tracks of the creepers work. The
drive member must have well proportioned
sprocket wheels to drive the machine
forward
Another item of importance is, that the
power delivered at the drawbar is claimed
to be greater than that of the wheel type
machines. The wheel tractors can only
deliver fifty per cent of their horse power
rating at the drawbar, while the manufac-
urers of the Holt claim eighty per cent for
their Caterpillar" tractors.
In the round wheel tractors the point of
contact on the ground is very small in
comparison with the size of the wheel,
while the other type of fPage 3, OoL 81
The mirror., 1922-03-02

with the benehcent properties of radium."
''What good is it to the human body?"
| asked
1T seems to have revitalizing effect
and acts favorably on the kidneys and
eliminative organs. But to tell the truth,
we know practically nothing as yet about
the therapeutic uses of radium."
Mr.. Hoover then told me he would have
to go into more or less technical explain
alton to make clear what uncertain points
would have to be settled before radium
could be safely prescribed for therapeutic
purposes.
"Radium gives off three kinds of rays"
he elucidated, "the Alpha, Beta, and Gam
ma rays. The Alpha rays are atoms of
heium with a positive charge of electric
ity. They travel at the amazing speed of
10000 feet per second. The Beta rays are
corpuscles of matter negatively charged
The Gamma rays are not material at all
but vibrations of ether that resemble in a
way the Xray. Almost all the radio-ac-
tive substances give off one or more of
these rays, but the proportions and inten-
stiles vary"
Before radioactive substances can be
accurately used for medical purposes it
will be necessary to study the effect of
each of these rays, what intensities and
proportions are beneficial and what
dosages are harmful. At present we
know too little of the specific effects of
radioactive medicines absolutely to be GER
tain of the right results We simply know
that in general radium possesses reju-
venating properties that eventually will
make it health promoter of first impor-
tance.
II have amused myself by expert
menting with radium on flowers and vege-
tables. My experiments are not original,
as the French scientists have already de-
voted much attention to this phase of re-
search. | tried out the effect of radium
in little greenhouse and in my back yard
ON the theory that if plants were benefited
the human body might also profit by its
application.
"My first experiment was with two
boxes of pansies. One box contained ordi-
nary soil while to the dirt in the other
added some low-grade, water-soluble,
radioactive salts. The plants in the
treated soil grew more luxuriantly, bore
more blossoms, and developed richer colors
and more pungent perfume than those
in the other box. Similar results were
later obtained by further experiments with
tomatoes, peanuts, geraniums, sweet peas
and potatoes.
"In the sweet pea experiment, l didn't
put any radioactive substances in the soil.
l merely sprinkled the plants each day
with water which came from container
with radioactive walls. The results were
perceptible, even with the use of the small
quantities of radium which were rendered
effective by this indirect method. In each
instance, l had control-plant; that is,
plant growing under normal conditions
BY checking up with the control-plant l
could determine the effects of the radium
treatment. found out what the French :.
men had previously discovered - that
radio active compounds in small doses ac-
celerate termination, increase the number
of nitrogen-fxing microbes, speed up the
metabolism and promote the free assimila-
ton of food constituents from the SOIL" 2.
The mirror., 1922-03-02
Saltwater, Minnesota, Thursday, March 2, 1922

apparently little radium goes long
way" interjected.
That's right" replied Mr.. Hoover. He
went into another room and brought out
Boston bag made of heavy leather. "I
usually take Wednesday afternoon off to
go out to the research laboratory of COL
lege near here to do some experimenting.
Recently made trip out there, taking
this bag and the bottles you see here. Be
fore | was in the laboratory-while was
still in the hall-the professor in charge
remarked: Hoover is here again. The
sensitive instruments they were working
with registered the effects from the radium
in this bag while was still outside. The
clothes and body of a person experiment.
ing with radium give off emanations
after he has left the laboratory"
l steered the conversation back to the
medical phase of radium.
"If we find out for example," said Mr..
Hoover, that certain intensity of Alpha
rays is beneficial for certain disease or
condition of the system, it will be easy to
find a radio-activ substance which throws
off rays of the proper kind and intensity.
The use of pure radium will not be
necessary; in fact, it might be dangerous.
A cheaper and much more common radio
active compound may be used to do the
work.
"If you want to blow up stump, you
will be wise in using ordinary black pow
der to do the work instead of nitrogly-
cerine, which is much more explosive. Or
another example may illustrate the princi-
pie. A small amount of hydrochloric acid
in the stomach is necessary for digestion
but if person took dose of real hydro
chloric acid of the kind found in labora-
tory it would kill him. So the diluteness
and impurity of the radio-activ prepara-
tions used in medical work is an advan-
tage rather than the reverse"
I asked Mr.. Hoover what he meant by
his previous assertion that radium would
be used for household purposes.
"One of these days, some company
which supplies office buildings and homes
with drinking water in bottles will install
a system for making the water radio
active. Such water would have virtues
that would entitle it to more favorable
consideration than the mineral water that
people travel far to get at famous health
resorts. A tube in large reservoir would
emanate enough radio-activity to charge
the water"
''How long would the water retain its
radioactive properties after being bot
tled?' l inquired
Twenty to forty-eight hours" he
replied, "but a scientific correspondent
writes me that he has devised a method
to keep water charged for longer time.
What / really had reference to in my
statemnet about using radium in the home
was the immersion of tubes containing
radio active concentrates in drinking and
bathing water. Any substances on which
the rays impinge become radioactive. The
,manations are soluble in water and make
any water in which they are absorbed
radio active. Water will dissolve only a
certain amount of these emanations, after
which it gives them of as fast as they are
dissolved"
rs it possible to charge water so highly
that the person drinking it page 4, Col, u
The mirror., 1922-03-02
TRACTORS
BY Mr.. L. B.

Xk1HAT kind of tractor shall buy?
w That is the first question the aver
The mirror., 1922-03-02
RADIUM
BY Edqoard J. Beck

N ADIUM foE household use was a
novel idea to me. Joseph c. Hoover,
The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1922-03-10

amt got the heart to kill him in cold
blood. Consequently, we got to let
the villain live, an if you go to beatin'
him up, Mac, you'll make him sore an
he'll peach on us when we get to Homo
lulu. If us three could get back to San
Francisco with clean hands, I'd say
lick the beggar an lick him for fair.
But we got to remember that this mate
was one O. the original filibuster crew
o. the old Maggie /. The day we
tackled the Mexican navy an took
this power schooner away from 'em,
we put ourselves forty fathom plumb
outside the law, an this mate was
present an knows it. We've changed
the vessels name an rig, an doctored
up the old Maggie's papers to suit the
Maggie III, an we've give her a new
dress. But at that, it's hard to dis
guise ship in live port, an the Sc
cret service agents o. the Mexican gov
eminent may be a-layin' for us in San
Francisco; and with this here mate
agin us an ready to turn states evil
dence, we're pirates under the law, an
it don't take much imagination to see
three pirates swingin' from the same
yard-arm. No, sir, Mac. l amt got
no wish, now that we're fixed nice an
comfortable with the worlds goods, to
be hung for a pirate In the mere shank
o. my youth. Why, amt fifty year
old yet"
(TO BE CONTINuEDl
The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1922-03-10
CHAPTER XIV.

The lookout on the power schooner
Maggie II had sighted Diamond head
before Commodore Adelbert P. Gibney,
Captain Phineas p. Scraggs. and En-
gineer Bartholomew McGuffey were
enabled to declare, in all sincerity Cor
at least with as much sincerity as one
might reasonably expect from this band
of rowing rascals), that they had en-
tirely recovered from their narrowing
experiences on the desert island of Tu-
vana-tholo, in the Friendly group.
At the shout of LAND, hor' Mr.. Nc
Guffey yawned, stretched himself, and
sat up in the wicker lounging chair
where he had sprawled for days with
Mr.. Gibney and Captain Scraggs, I'M
der the awning on top of the house.
He flexed his biceps refiectively, while
his companions, stretched at full
length in their respective chairs,
watched him lazily.
GAS a member o. the Maggie syndi-
cate an ownin' an votin' quarter in
terest," doomed the engineer, 81 here
by call a meetin' o. the said syndicate
for the purpose o. transactin' any an
all business that may properly come
before the meetin'."
"Pass the word for Neils Halvor-
sen," suggested Mr.. Gibney. ''Bless
his squarehead SOUL" he added.
"We got a quorum without him. an
besides this business is just between
US three"
"Meetin'll come to order" The
commodore tapped the hot deck with
The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1922-03-10


he had heard sound that was not the
moaning of their remorseless prison
keeper. the sea. And ~
Hands off," shrieked Mr. Gibney
and struck feebly at the imaginary fig
ure rushing toward him. No use. He
felt himself swept into strong arms
and carried an Unreasonable distance
down the beach. Then somebody
threw water In his face and pressed a
drink of brandy and sweet water to
his parched lips. His swimming senses
rallied moment, and he discovered
that he was lying in the bottom of a
whaleboat. McGuffey lay beside him,
and on thwart in front of him sat
good old Neils Halvorsen with Captain
Scraggs' head on his knees. AS Mr..
Gibney looked at this strange tableau
Captain Scraggs opened his eyes.
glanced up at Neils Halvorsen, and
spoke:
why If 1t amt old squarehead
Neils," he muttered wonderingly. eff
it amt Neils, I'll go to hades or some
other seaport" He closed his eyes
again and subsidized into sort of leth-
argy, for he was content. He knew he
was saved.
Mr.. Gibney rolled over, and, strug-
Cling to his knees, leaned over Nc
Guffey and peered into his drawn face.
''Mac, old shipmate! Mac, speak to
me. Are you alive?"
r MPCuffou Ecn1.iro ononod a nair
of glazed eyes and stared at the COM
modore.
did we lick 'em?" he whispered.
"The last I remember the king was
putin it all over Scraggsy. And that
Tabu boy-was-no SLOUGH" McGuf
fey paused, and glanced warily around
the boat, while dawning horror APP
peared in his sunken eyes go back,
Neils-go back-for Gods sake.
There's two niggers-still-on the
island. Bring-'em some-water.
They're cannibals-Neils, but never
mind. Get them-aboard-th poor
devils-if they're living. I-wouldn't
leave a--crocodile on that-hell hole,
if 1 could-help It,"
An hour later the Robinson CrusOe
syndicate, including the man Friday
and the Goat, were safe aboard the
Maggie II, and Neils Halvorsen, with
the tears streaming down his bronzed
cheeks, was sparingly doing out to
them a mixture of brandy and water.
And when the syndicate was strong
enough to be allowed all the water it
wanted, Neils Halvorsen propped them
up on deck and told the story. When
he had finished, Captain Scraggs
turned TO Mr.. Gibney.
''Gib, my dear boy" he said, make
a motion"
81 move" said the commodore, "that
we set Tabu-Tabu and the king down
on the first inhabited island we can
find. They've suffered enough. And
further move that we readjust the
ownership of the Maggie II syndicate
and cut the best Swede on earth in on
a quarter of the profits"
Second the motion" said McGuffey.
Carried" said Captain Scraggs.
The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1922-03-10
SALT WATER MORE BUoYANT
Fact That Is Well Known to Mariners
May Be News to Some of Our
Readers.

A boy dropped a ball into smap
hole and could not get it out, so he
poured water into the hole, thinking the
ball would float to the surface. AS the
ball was slightly heavier than the wa
ter it remained on the bottom. Then
the boy thought of mixing salt with the
water, since he knew salt water would
float heavier objects than fresh water
would. He tried this and was reward
ed with the floating ball.
This particular fact is demonstrated
at the mouths of rivers. Objects roll
ing along the bottom Of river, too
heavy to come to the top, will rise
when carried out to sea. The rule also
applies to boats. A ship with cargo
on the sea will sink sometimes foot
or two on entering fresh water port.
If she leaves the port with her cargo,
she will rise on entering the ocean.
For that reason a ship may be loaded
apparently too heavily at a pier and
still be all right on the waves.
In building dam, the fact Of salt
waters being heavier than fresh must
be observation-disclosures City Star.
The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1922-03-10

island that it would develop into a
case of dog eat dog or somethin' of
that nature"
Captain Scraggs sprang to his feet,
his face white with new terror.
However, he had endured so much
since embarking with Mr.. Gibney on
a life of wild adventure that his
nerves had become rather Injured to
impending death, and presently his
fear gave way to an overmastering
rage He hurled his hat on the sands
and jumped on it until 1t was a mere
shapeless rag.
Lets call meetin' of the Robin
son Crusoe syndicate" said Mr.. Glib
ney.
Second the notion" rumbled Nc
Guffey.
Carried" said the commodore
1.-THE first business before the meetin'
is the organization of expedition to
chase these two cannibals to the
other end of the island. / amt got
the heart to kill 'em, so let's chase 'em
away before they get fresh with u.s."
Good idea," responded McGuffey,
whereupon he picked up rock and
threw it at the king. Mr.. Gibney fol-
lowed with two rocks, Captain
Scraggs screamed defiance at the en-
envy, and the enemy fled In wild dis
order, pursued by the syndicate. After
chase of half mile Mr.. Gibney led
his cohorts back to the beach.
Lets build a fire-not that we
need it, but just for company-and
sleep till mornin'. By that time my
imagination1l be in workin' order and
I'll scheme breakfast out of this
Godforsaken hole"
At the first hint of dawn Mr.. Glib
ney, true to his promise, was up and
scouting for breakfast. He found
some gooneys on a rocky crag and
killed half dozen Of them with a
club. On his way back to camp he
discovered few handfuls of sea salt
In crevice between some rocks, and
the syndicate breakfasted an hour
later on roast gooney. 1t was oily and
fshy but an excellent substitute for
nothing at all. and the syndicate was
grateful. The breakfast would have
been cheerful, In fact, If Captain
Scraggs had not made repeated ref
erence to his excessive thirst. Nc
Guffey lost patience before the meal
was over. aud cuffed Captain Scraggs,
who .lereupon subsidized with tears In
The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1922-03-10

didn't Scraggsy fight the king o. Kan.
davu? / amt had no fghtiD' this en-
tire wage an / did cal'late to lick
that doggone mate"
Mac, it can't be done nohow."
ooh, it can't, Ell? Well, I'll just bet
you two boys my interest in the syndi-
cate"
at amt that, Mac, 1t amt that. No
body's doubtin' your natural ability
to mop him up. But 1t amt policy.
You wasn't sore agin 'em cannibal
savages, was you? You made Neils
go back an save em, an 1t took us
two days to beat up to the first in
habited island an crop 'em Off
"But cannibal's like a dumb beast,
Glib. He amt responsible. This mate
knows better"
"Ah!" Mr.. Gibney leveled a horny
forefnger at the engineer. THAT'S
where you hit the nail on the head.
He's too fly, and there's only two
ways to keep him from flynn away
with US. The first is to feed him to
the sharks and the second is to treat
him like long-lost brother. l know
he ought to be hove overheard. but /
The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1922-03-10

"Good times" must be paid for.