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EDIJORML PrIGB
Many Electrical Problems Now Solved by
Edison's Discovery
HE announcement that
Thomas A. Edison has
r invented a storage bat
tery of great economic
possibilities lias been
1 widely heralded as an
other achievement of
this wonderful construc
tive genius, but because
/3BIGJKffl- „ we are so used to bis
‘ perennial power for
wonder working the
true significance of the
event is apt to be un
derestimated, yet tills
latest achievement of
Ellison is probably des
tined to work as great
changes in its way as
did the electric light, it is the successful
realization of an idea on which millions
of dollars have been spent and for which
scores of inventors have labored the best
part of their lives. Since 1 SCO, when Plante
discovered the lead cell, there has never
been a- moment when some experimental
ist hns%not been working to achieve what
Edison has just achieved—the successful
bottling up of power tvhich might lie
transported safely and used again at any
time and place, just like any other form
of merchandise. Hundreds of forms of
storage batteries have been invented, but
the limitations have generally far out
weighed the good points of each, and it
lias become an axiom in the trade that
storage batteries are far more delicate
and much more unreliable in critical mo
ments than race horses.
The fact must be easily apparent to
everybody that the ability to carry around
in tile patm of one’s hand the power that
can, so to speak, move mountains, would
he almost,an omnipotent possession. And
tills, in a lesser degree, is what the suc
cessful storage battery means to man
kind. Storage batteries composed hereto
fore of d(stH'uctible lead have in the first
place been too heavy for anything but
stationary work, and in the next place
ton delicate to be handled by anybody
but a highly skilled engineer. The Edi
son battery, made of remarkably thin,
but indestructible steel, is so light that
you may hold fn your hand a ceil which
is equal in power to one of the lead va
riety that could hardly be lifted by two
men and which defies even a deliberate
attempt to <lo it harm; a fact proven by-
Mr. Edison, who commissioned one of
his men to try every means of wrecking
jh“ cel! short of actually tearing it apart.
Jt is an axiom with Edison that if an
invention shows one or more defects the
underlying principle must be wrong; his
idea being that if the correct principle is
determined upon in the first place all of
the details of flic mechanism will become
evolved naturally and take their allotted
places in the completed machine. He will
never consent to "patch tip’’ a faulty in
vention. In ills mining plant on Mount
Musconetoong. the writer lias admired
the complicated working of mechanism
that filled a large building from cellar to
roof, and then has been amazed at the
inventor’s determination to raze the
whole affair, building and all, to the
ground because the impossibility of elimi
nating some defect convinced lilm that
1 lie principle was wrong in the first
place. But Edison’s indefatigability ap
parently carries him to the very ends of
things. For instance, he made exactly
1.S00 experiments before be bit upon
tungstate of calslum to be used in con
nection with the tluorseope for making
the penetrating power of X-rays visible
to the human eye. He made several
thousand experiments before lie succeed
ed in manufacturing a proper adhesive
substance for binding together the par
ticles of finely divided iron ore so that
the ore could be smelted. I once saw
him laboring with an ore furnace trying
to repair the draft so that there would be
exactly the same heat in all parts of the
furnace. It was midday, and lie was eat
ing his luncheon on a work bench. lie
had not slept for twenty-four hours. I
asked him how long he expected to keep
it up. lie answered; "All night tonight
and tomorrow and tomorrow night and
tlie day after tomorrow if I can stand
it.” He perfected the flue system, how
ever, before the next night.
In view of his axiom, therefore it could
have been asserted l>y any one who knew
him that his new battery would differ
radically in principle from all that had
been used before, that it would differ
even from the -undreds he had himself
invented and discarded. He set himself
the task of inventing a battery- that
would not deteriorate by work: that
would stand rapid charging and dis
charging aid careless treatment; that
would have a very large storage capacity
and would he inexpensive.
•.Tust what that means.” said one of his
men to the writer in the laboratory re
cently. "may not strike the popular mind.
In the first place Mr. Edison set out to
discover what was the matter with the old
lead ceil, and after a number of experi
ments he made up his mind that ‘the
principle was all wrong.’ He tried to com
bine other materials with the lead. He
tried dozens of solutions known to chemis
try and other dozens known only to him
self. He dropped lead and turned to
other metals, trying one combination
after another. He changed the form
and tile capacity and the density of each
and he discarded them one after another.
Sometimes certain metals would seem to
work, and we often thought him on the
high road to success. Then there would
arise some defect. The celt would not
stand up to enforced work, or it would
not stand rapid charging, or perhaps it
was perfect except in that it would not
stand careless treatment—and then away
it would go after its feilows—into the
scrap pile Finally- Mr. Edison made up
his mind that iron and nickel variously
combined with other substances must be
the metals he wanted. And after that
he began to see the end of the struggle.”
But here arose a contingency which the
man in the laboratory did not mention—
a contingency which would have balked
most men. In order to use iron and nickel
the metal first must be treated that very-
peculiar shapes and a remarkable degree
of thinness could ho obtained. There
were no machines in existence that could
give it tlie peculiar shapes, and not one
of th<- rolling factories then working
could turn it out thin enough to suit the
inventor’s needs. Mr. Edison, therefore,
immediately turned his attention to the
invention of. machinery that would give
him what he wanted. He made a re
markable hydraulic press that in itself is
a wonder, and a rolling machine that will
render nickel-steel so thin that any one
seeing and holding it for the
first time might declare it a
piece of thin aluminum of per
haps a form of stiffened tinfoil. Doubt
less the public will never see these ma
chines. for with many others which Edi
son has invented for similar preparatory
offices, they will be held from view as
trade secrets. After all, however, the
public cares in tills case only for the com
pleted cell and what It will do.
Of course, cells may- he made of any
thickness according to the number of
By Theodore Waters
plates put in each, but those to be used
for automobiles, which is the kind made
so far by Edison, appear externally to be
about tho size of those hat tin boxes Into
which brokers thrust stock certificates
and which can be slipped into tiie outside
coat pocket. Nevertheless, this fiat box
is made of thin sheet steel. The plates
that are contained in the box are the es
sential elements of the battery. They also
are steel and when first made resemble
small window- frames 1n which oblong
slits have been cut to receive the panes.
Into each of the silts , In lieu of window
glass- go little flat perforated steel boxes,
which contain tho active material in
which the electricity is stored. The boxes
in the positive plate contain a finely di
vided compound of iron mixed with thin
flakes of graphite. The boxes in the neg
ative plate contain a. -finely divided com
pound of nickel mixed also with graphite.
A little flat perforated box of the mate
rial is placed in each window of the
plate, and then tho whole plate, boxes
and ail. Is placed in a hydraulic press and
subjected to a, pressure of 100 tons, which
so thoroughly amalgamates the combina
tion into one solid plate that only the
most remarkable ingenuity could sepa
rate the various parts. The plates, posi
tives and negatives alternated, and sepa
rated by perforated rubber plates, are
then placed in the steel box cell which
contains a solution of potash. The cell
is then ready to b e stored full of current.
In other words, if the current from a
dynamo is sent into it for a number of
hours, a like quantity of electricity may
he drawn off from It again at any time.
Now the Inventor reached this stage of
his work nearly a year ago. In . other
words, he perfected the .buttery during
the latter part of 1900. But cautious lest
some unnoticed weakness might develop
after all. he made a number of personal
tests, at the end of which he seemed wor
ried. “Why,” he said, “I cannot break
it down. It is too good to be true.” Then
he. followed Darwin in the manner of
fronting his discovery. When Darwin
evolved his system of evolution his natu
ral scientific caution prevented him pub
lishing it. He was afraid his brother sci
entists might see in it some flaw which
had escaped his own observation. He
thereupon set to work to find arguments
against it. He waited a number of years
before he (hared announce it to the world,
and he did so then only after he had suc
cessfully answered every objection that
could be raised. Edison in the same way
has always followed this rule, although,
of course, the time limit for inventions is
naturally shorter. When he perfected the
phonograph he made a test of its endur
ance. He handed a cylinder to one of his
men with the laconic direction: “Work
this until it wears out!” Tho man set to
work counting the number of times he
t’sed the cylinder. Several days later,
when It had “talked” for the ten thou
sandth time, he told Edison that, far from
wearing (rut, its "voice" sounded clearer
than ever. Edison told him he might dis
continue the test. And in the same way
the Inventor handed ids storage battery
to a workman with directions to use
every legitimate means to wear it out.
So. reckoning from his knowledge of lead
batteries the workman overcharged It.
It remained intact. He discharged It
many times faster than the normal rate.
Still no harm. He allowed the solution to
become low. He subjected It to quick and
violent changes of temperature. He
moved It about more as he might have an
old coal scuttle than a storage battery.
In short, he used against it every me-
' chanical argument he could think of. He
placed it in a shocking condition, ns bat
teries go, and left the result to time. A
lead battery would have gone to the scrap
heap long ere that. Yet, after months
had passed, the battery, like the phono
graph cylinder, was in as good “voice” ns
ever. Then Mr. Edison, without flourish
of trumpet, announced the result to the
world.
And what a result this really Is can
scarcely be realized. The old lead bat
tery. such as Is nowjused In automobiles
and street cars, varies in weight from 124
to 186 pounds per horsepower, and, gen
erally speaking, would be capable of
raising Its own weight two to three
miles. The Edison battery weighs fifty-
three pounds per horsepower, and would
he capable, under circumstances similar
to those imposed on the lead battery, of
raising its own weight through a vertical
distance of seven miles. Approximately
an Edison battery of equal power with a
lead battery will weigh one-third as
much. Also the solution is of such a
character that the top of the cell may
be closed and the cell Itself used as a dry
battery, so that In the case of a horseless
vehicle it may be jolted about as much
as necessary without fear of a col
lapse.
The advantage of the new battery
over tile old will be easily seen in every
instance of portable electric power now
in tise. and the possibilities of new and
greater uses are manifold. In traction
there is the feasibility of getting rid of
objectionable trolley wires. Its bearing
on the development of the automobile
is too obvious to need extended com
ment. The value of the storage battery
for launch propulsion was well proven
at the Columbian exposition with lead
batteries three times as heavy as the
Edison cell. Perhaps the difference In
weight will warrant the adoption of the
cell on fairly large yachts. But the
feature which more nearly concerns the
home comfort of the greater mass of the
people is the adaptability of the cell
for country house lighting. The cell may
he charged In three and a half hours,
hence the farmer or the country house
holder generally may employ the re
sources of an adjacent trolley line for
charging his cells a short time each day.
or with a windmill coupled to a small
electric generator he could bottle up
enough current to give him light at
night. It would be quite possible to es
tablish central stations in various towns
throughout the country which could be
used as cell charging stations, from
which workmen might set out each day
In wagons collecting cells to be charged
and delivering full cells In their stead to
be used by the householder for purpose
of illumination. Such a scheme could bo
operated at a cost much lower than the
present price of gas.
But better than all is the contempla
tion of that remarkable incentive which
begot this cell and the other wonders
that seem to emanate perennially from
the inventor’s brain. Four years ago the
writer, describing Edison's Iron mining
plant, wrote;
“The present enterprise was planned
years ago and now that it Is finally com
pleted Mr. Edison’s mind will reverift to
even greater schemes of conquest; and
at this moment it Is safe to say that he
Is planning out some great achievement
which will take, the world more by storm
than have the great things he has al
ready accomplished.
And by that was meant this storage
battery which he has just given to the
world. Edison more than any other
mechanical genius has realized the truth
of the Kipling aphorism that the "joy of
the working” is more to be desired than
the fame which results.
15he Biog'raphy of Ring' Cotton
itten for
By Helen Harcourt
Written for CAe Sunny South
DATEY paper in these
days that did not con
tain a reference of some
sort to "King Cotton”
would be a rara avis.
The flossy white king
ha.<5 become one of the
ruling "powers that
be.” Reports of His
movements are eagerly
watched for all over
the civilized world.
They form one of the
most important finger
posts in the commercial
highways. Merchants
and manufacturers are
familiar with tHe story
of the dally edicts of
the great king. Well they know that by
these they themselves must stand or fall.
And yet, strange anomaly! no man
knowelh whence came "King Cotton.”
neither Ills ancestry nor the land of his
nativity! Before history was, he waved
the unpretending symbol of his destined
power over the fortunes of men, for weal
or woe.
From this lovelv plant in the field,
to its final resting place on the proud
human form, is a curious path, and one
full of interest. Shall wo journey along
it together? It is a path leading down
through long, long ages, even from the
days when history itself was a thing un
known. It is a path trending its way
through deep shadows and mysterious by
ways, until all at once it debouches into
the bright light of civilization. Then,
with one sharp turn, the narrow path
becomes a broad highway, with rami'j^a-
tions reaching the world over, and
thronged bv people of all nations, and
this within the memory of the passing
generation.
Those early days of "King Cotton’s"
wand are enveloped in a mysterious haze
that has never yet been penetrated. The
gossamer filament, that, stronger than
chains of steel, binds together great na
tions In the blessed bonds of peaceful
commerce and mutual help, has no one
particular home that it can claim as its
own.
Herodotus, who traveled through Egypt
and was familiar with its production,
makes no mention of the cotton plant as
among them, but does refer to a plant of
India which bore instead of fruit, a
kind of wool softer and finer than that
of sheep, from which the natives made
their clothing. In describing the corslet
of Amasis, he names one of the materials
of which it was made, “tree wool,” just
as the Germans term cotton to this day.
Herodotus describes in detail the Egyptian
linen garments, but not once does he
mention “tree wool” garments in refer
ence to Egypt.
The belief that the cotton plant was
not utilized by the Egyptians is further
confirmed by the utter absence of cotton
amidst the profusion of cloths that en
velope thel% mummies. These are in
variably linen. Nor can it be claimed
that (hey were made especially for that
purpose. The opposite is proven by the na
ture of the wrappings themselves. These
arc of all sorts and descriptions, and al
ways in part composed of the sheets and
towels that were doubtless considered des
ecrated by contact with the body of the
dying, and no longer fit for use by the
living.
In discussing this question about a
century ago a French savant contended
that the mummy wrappings were cotton
as they had the look, feel and texture of
cotton. He had made careful Investiga
tions with this result. Some accepted
his verdict, others doubted still. Among
these latter were two practical scientists.
They applied the unfailing test of the
microscope to the fiber of cotton and flax,
this showed that the former was com
posed of transparent tubes, while the flax
was jointed like cane. Then they put to
the same test the fiber of the threads
of the mummy cloth. It was jointed.
Thus did the microscope prove tho fal
lacy of the investigations of the French
savant and the truth of tradition and
history, which affirmed that the Egyp
tians used linen cloth alone. At the same
time It is improbable that the value of
the cotton plant was unknown to them.
Hindoos, Persians, Arabs have from time
immemorial made their loose, flowing
garments of cotton. Their merchants
must certainly have made the material
familiar in the streets of Memphis and
Thebes.
There ran he but one explanation of the
total absence in Egypt of cotton and
cotton goods. For some strong reason its
use much have been under religious pro
scription. On the Egyptian tombs we
CAN YOU DRAW?
l to
te.1V
Then why not lenrn to
mate »wnpnprr Pie
turethat can be printed -
It i*» easily learned at a very
small expense. You do not h
be ;
(that is the old method). Make the sketches cor
rectly and with the proper mediums and the news
paper does the rest. There is an unlimited demur d
lor drawings in a professional shape. Hook of Illus
trated lessons and all other information concerning
materials and the work of the modern newspaper
artist sent, postpaid, for $1.00.
W. F. HENDERSON.
Care of Art Department, Atlanta Constitution.
(Box ftlSl Atlanta, fin.
find sculptured pictures of the employ
ments of the people. The flax field, from
which was spun the “fine linen” of the
scriptures, is there over and over again.
But nowhere' do we find the cotton plant
thus pictured.
Some five centuries later. however,
Pliny, in his Natural History, refers to
the cotton plant as “the seed of which is
surrounded by a down of dazzling white
ness which is manufactured into a cioth
much prized by the Egyptian priests.” So
by this time the proscription must have
been removed.
Pliny also tells us that cotton was sel
dom used in Rome, even in the first cen
tury of the Christian era. and it was
ages after tills before it was introduced
info Europe. Tn fact, it was not until
Mohammed began agitating the East that
Cotton came into general notice. The fol
lowers of tlie prophet wore cotton cloth
ing; nay, more, thev attached to it a sort
of reverence. Hence, as they spread over
Asia and southern Europe, their exam
ple Influenced those with whom they came
in contact.
It was then and for this reason that cot
ton made the first of its wonderful leaps
toward the center of the commercial
arena, but still its advance into
Christendom was slew, and this main
ly because the Moors, who then
occupied Spain, were famous for its man
ufacture into costly fabrics, and wearing
the cloth in profusion, it became a sort
of badge of the “accursed infidel,” Hence
a prejudice arose against the wearing of
cotton fabrics that was many years in
passing away.
There are numerous varieties of the
cotton plant, and whatever may once have
b’-en the case, certain It is ihai no other'
is now more widely distributed over the
world. Columbus found it growing wild
in the AA'est Indies. Cortez found it in
Mexico, and sent borne to Spain mantles
of cotton which were remarkable for thrir
perfection of beauty. The Spanish invad
ers of Peru found the cotton plant flour
ishing there and so esteemed that the
Incas’ favoriio robes were woven from
its fiber.
These discoveries gax-e another and
greater impetus to tho popularity of cot
ton in Europe than it had vet received.
Rut even so, the manufacturers felt I heir
way along the new lines, with a caution
that to us of these modern days seems
little short of ludicrous. Einen was first
adulterated with cotton. But no one told
the tale. He dare not I Then gradually
cotton crept into use as a filling in the
linen warp. Next, oh wonderful discov
ery! a daring manufacturer found that
cotton could stand alone, that cloth pro
duced from this hitherto suspected mate
rial was smooth, cool, pleasant to the
touch, durable in use: in short, altogether
excellent.
This was the “last straw” that broke
poor linen's back and its monopoly. At
once prejudice was swept away, as by a
tidal wave, and then and there was laid
the corner stone of the wealth and power
of great nations. The star of King Cotton
arose above the horizon, though none as
yet even dreamed of the immense extent
of his destined sway.
Eater on, in the United States, an en
terprising planter, here and there, raised
small patches of the cotton plant more as
a curiosity than with any view to ulti
mate profit. In this humble way did
‘‘King Cotton" take possession of his
largest and most important kingdom.
Improvements in machinery
Meantime, improvements in cotton ma
chinery were slowly but surely progress
ing, and th» se gave a further impulse to
the extended cultivation of the plant. It
rapidly became no Inconsiderable article
of commerce.
Nothing but the want of adequate ma
chinery now prevented the establishment
of an immense business In cotton manu
factures. Tbe hand loom speedily became
totally inadequate to supply the demand.
Tlie “fly scuttle,” which was drawn across
the loom without direct hand work, as
heretofore, was the first step forward.
Next, the “spinning jennv” was produced.
And then came a great leap forward. Ark
wright succeeded in producing cotton
cloth entirely by machinery.
But still the demand kept far ahead of
the supply. The tedious hand-carding
was next displaced by tlie work of wood
and iron. Man’s ingenuity was exercised
to its utmost in the effort to combine ail
the powers necessary to perfect the manu
facture of cotton cloth without the direct
interposition of human hands.
At last tills result was attained. Cot
ton goods became cheaper than linen, and
for the first time In the history of the
world, cotton stepped to the front as a
prime factor in the affairs of men, anl
therefore of nations.
At this very time, 1784. the culture of
cotton had become a matter of great in
terest to the planters of Georgia and
South Carolina. At this very time, also,
they were aware that Egypt and Hln-
dostan hid failed- to supply England’s
rapidly increasing demand. And now
mark the curious result of this combina
tion.
An American vessel unloaded at Eiv-
erpool eight bags of cotton. Those were
at once seized by the custom house of
ficers because they suspected fratid or
robbery, as it was not believed that such
a great amount of cotton could have been
raised in the United States!
And now came another halt In the
rapid march of “King Cotton.” The ma
chinery for the manufacture of cotton
goods had been brought to perfection, ns
it seemed, but the fiber Was closely at
tached to tlie seed, and the labor of sep
arating and preparing it for the market
was so slow and expensive that all hope
of its ever coming into universal nse was
almost abandoned. Even putting aside
the question of expense, it was impossible
for handpicking to keep pace with the
demands of tlie busy looms.
But once again the Ingenuity of man
solved the problem of “how to do it.”
Eli AA’hitriey, a v.oung New Englander,
went to Georgia to seek his fortune. The
cotton fields attracted ills altr-ntlon at
once. He saw the need, and set his bright
genius to supply it. From weeks of pa
tient thought and experiment was evolv
ed the saw gin. which from the very first
did its appointed work In perfection.
What is the saw gin? It consists of a
roller, say of about 9 Inches in diameter,
having a series of circular saws fixed
upon it, parallel to each other, at a
distance of 1V 2 inches. Above this roller is
a hopper, tiie bottom of which is formed
of a wire grating through which the teeth
of the saws project to a certain depth.
The cotton to be cleaned is placed in the
hopper, the cylinder revolves, the teeth
of the saws reach through, grasping the
filmy substance, and dragging it through
the wire bottom of the hopper. The latter
is inclined at an angle so sharp that the
seeds, thus freed from their snowy enve
lope. roll down and are conveyed out of
the way bv a spout in the machine.
tide turns
Thus simple was the invention that
turned the stream of cotton manufacture
into a great tidal wave that brought for
tune and prosperity to individuals and
nations like the egg set on end by Co
lumbus. It was ver5’ easy after one
has seen it done.
But alas, here, as so often before and
since, the man who had done so great a
service to his fellowmen, was left with
out reward. In making his machine he
worked under great disadvantages, be
ing compelled to lirst manufacture his
tools, and these from cr’ude material, too.
He even drew his own wire. Just as his
great invention was completed, some un
scrupulous person broke into his work
shop, stole the machine and got others
made before he could secure a patent. All
after efforts to protect his rights only re
sulted in weary lawsuits, which ate up
the profits of the cotton gin factory he
sought to establish In Connecticut.
And so it was that one of the most im
portant inventions connected with tho
whole scries of cotton manufacture
brought its inventor only barren honor.
In the process of cleaning cotton by
hand, about 1 pound a day was consider
ed quick work. Today there arc mills,
aye, thousands of them, where one alone
of their many machines, with the atten
tion of very few persons, will cleanse SoO
and 900 pounds a day.
These cotton gins merit a passing de
scription. They consist of two wooden
rollers, an inch in diameter, placed hori
zontally, parallel and touching each oth
er. Above them is an iron-toothed comb,
the same length as the rollers, anrl almost
touching thorn. AVh’en the machine is at
work the rollers revolve rapidly in oppo
site directions. The cotton being laid
upon them is drawn in between, no space
being left for the seeds, which are thus
forced to part company with their flossy
companions. To detatch them from the
clinging fiber the toothed comb above
moves with a quick to-and-fre motion,
which tears the pod open just as they fall
on the rollers. Tlie seeds thus released
fly off to the right and left, like black
sparks, while the fiber passes serenely on
Its way through the rollers. Some times
a broken seed goes with it and these un
welcome intruders have to be carefully
removed later on.
There is a saying among cotton buyers,
“In man. cleanliness is next to godliness,
but in cotton cleanliness is before god
liness.” So true is this, at least so far
as the condition of cotton affects its value
on the markets of the world, that ship
pers are learning to discriminate as to
the ports they ship from. The negro ste
vedores handle the bales so roughly at
New Orleans and Galveston, for instance,
that the cotton arrives at its destination
in bad shape, as compared with that
shipped from Baltimore or Philadelphia.
Cleanliness a necessity
So essential Is the perfect cleansing of
the cotton from the seed particles that it
passes from the gin to 5 - et another proc
ess. It Is whisked about in a light wheel
through which a current of air is made to
pass. From the winnowing machine, it is
carried to the packing house, where
screws force it into bags, which hold front
450 to 500 pounds. A bale of this weight
represents about 1,500 pounds of cotton as
it came from the field. 900 pounds of seed,
100 of trash and 500 of salable cotton.
I^ate in August and early In September
a great army of cotton buyers invades
the sunny south. Not every man can
judge cotton intelligently. It requires ex
perience, tact and patience to make a
successful buyer. The large manufactur
ing firms send out their regular buyers
all over the south, a hundred or more of
them seeking that which they “can de
vour” on the most favorable terms. The
buyer must be able to distinguish grades
with rapidity. All grades start with
“middlings” as a basis. From this cen
ter the grades run up and down. Grad
ing Includes many points, the manner of
ginning, the texture, the length, and above
all. the degree of cleanliness. Of course
“sea island," or long staple, ranks first.
See a group of buyers examining the
bales previous to an auction sale. Each
man has a knife in his pocket with which
he slashes ft bale, then inserts his hand
and draws forth a bunch of its snowy
contents. He gazes at it closely, pulls
it apart, rubs it in his hands and finally
tosses it on the ground. A street in
which cotton buyers most do congregate
soon looks ns if it bad been visited by a
storm of durable snow. Before the sale
begins, each buyer Is supposed to know
ail about every bale offered. His firm
has instructed him by telegraph as to the
state of the market and his bidding limit.-
For you are not for a. moment to suppose
that he is a free agent 1n these matters.
No soldier was ever more strictly under
orders.
As soon as a bale Is bought the buver
puts his firm's tag on it. numbers it. en
ters this in his notebook, also the number
put on it at the gin. He also records the
name of the man who sold it and of the
man who raised it. Then if there is any
thing wrong with that hale when !t
reaches its final destination, even If that
he England or still farther afield, it can
he traced back to the compress, the buyer,
the ginner and the producer. Persians nil
this may seem useless care and trouble.
T.et ns see.
Queer tricks with bales
Once upon a time—nay, more than once
—the body of a negro baby was found in
a hale opened at Manchester, England.
Bv means of the record the bale was
traced back, and the murder, for murder
it was. avenged. the criminal hefng
brought to justice.
Sometimes, too, a poor grade of cotton
is put in the center and good cotton haled
around it. Such hales are always traced
hack and the fraud severely punished.
This Is not so common an offense as it
was before the "tracing back" system
became so complete and effective and
before the laws of several of the southern
states made “mixed packing.” ns It is
termed, a penitentiary offense.
After the sales are made the bales go
to the compress, there to he reduced to
less than half their former size, to save
space in shipping This process, of course,
destroys all the old marks, hut they are
carefully replaced on the new sacking,
together with the new numbers of th«1r
new owner.
A glance at the beautiful fabrics now in
common use would lead one to the con
clusion that there can he no closer ap
proach to perfection. This was the
thought of the world when the spinning-
jenny was invented, .and from 1 pound of
Pomarnra cotton was spun a line 750 miles
long. At the present time this fineness
has heen so far exceeded that it is im
possible to draw a line, and say: “Thus
far anil no farther shalt thou go.”
There is a great difference in the tensile
strength of cotton, some kinds breaking
at S3 grains, while others sustain a weight
of 1(0 grains. The amount of twisting in
cotton thread is a very important ele
ment in its strength.
The famous Dacoa muslins of India
owe much of their superiority of lightness
and strength to the very tight twist of
the delicate filaments of which it is com
posed. An idea of the wonderful lightness
of this Dacoa muslin may he formed
from the statement that a piece 1 yard
wide and over 10 yards long weighs only
a trifle more than 3 ounces. This certain
ly comes very near the ancient Greek
fabric, poetically called by the writers
of that country, “wgven wind.”
Batavia, Holland's
Vast Eastern Do
main
Continued from first page
bers. Both have club houses which would
be considered fine In New York or AVash-
ington, and the Concordia has a great
garden about It where every Saturday
night its members give a concert to their
families and friends. The music Is fur
nished by one of the military bands and
it is as good as any you will hear in the
great gardens of Europe.
Last Saturday night the band sat in a
stand in the open air, while the audience
seated on chairs about the t.tb.es in
the tropical garden in front of the club
house. The light was furnished by hun
dreds of white-globed lamps, which hung
from the trees, and also by the rays "t
the full moon, filtered through the green
palms.
There were, T judge, at least a thousand
ladles and gentlemen present, and as we
sat there chatting and drinking, stately
native waiters in turbans and livery trot
ted about in their bare feet and waited
upon us. The people at the table were as
well dressed as any European crowd arid
as fashionably dressed as the average au
dience of our concerts at home. AA ith the
exception of the military officers who
were clad in white duck, with gold lace
and brass buttons, the men wore black
clothes and the women wore bonnets at;d
well-fitting dresses.
In the Intervals T walked through ih •
club house. Tt was floored with Italian
marble, and parts of it were walled with
great mirrors. Tt has a library and news,
paper room, a large billiard room and
halls for dancing and card playing and
all the conveniences of the ' est clubs all
tbe world over. Another night T spent at
the Harmonle Club, where the concert
was equally good.
Queer hotels these
I am stopping at the Hotel dcs Ind. one
of the largest in the Far East and by a'i
odds the largest in the Dutch East Tn
dies.
It is situated on the right side of the
canal on the edge of Weltcvreden a? volt
come up from Batavia, ft has something
like ten acres of gardens about it. all
shaded by magnificent trees There is _a
banyan tree covering a good city lot in
front of the veranda, and there are palms
and other trees in front of my room. The
house consists of two long rows of rooms
opening out on arcades or cloisters on
each side of the grounds, with a parlor
and dining room and offices at the back.
I don’t know how many rooms there arc
hut they must number hundreds, and
every one is on the first floor. I have two
rooms opening into each other, and T also
use the pavement in front of my door. It
is there I loaf in my pajamas and bare
feet from daybreak until S or 9 o’clock in
the morning, and also again after my af
ternoon nap from 3 until 5. T am by no
means the only barefooted, light clad
guest. There is a woman next door who
wears ontv a thin mother hubbard and
toe slippers, without stockings, except
when she Is dressed for the evening. T
see her and her husband trotting by every
morning in their bare feet, each carrying
a towel, on their way to the bath, and
they eat beside me in much the same cos
tume.
Cf»tt meal of a Dutch mnlden
I ean better describe it hy telling yon
what one slender Dutch girl who sat be
side me today ate at this meal. As she
came in to the table T could see the out
lines of her form plainly through her thin
jacket and calico sarong or single skirt.
which the ladies here consider enough ex
cept when on dress parade; and had I
dared look I might, I doubt not, have seen
her. as Sam AA'eller’s father said of the
women of the tea party, "swelling visibly
before mv very eyes.” At any rate, she
took the whole course, nnd I made a mem
oranda of the dishes on a visiting card on
the other side of my plate as she did so.
First came the rice. Her ladyship gouged
out a quart of the flaky white grains with
a short-handled silver trowel, here used
for the purpose, and then sme.ared two
spoonfuls of curry upon it. The next
waiter brought forth a pyramid of sau
sages, swimming in gravy, and the lady
took a spoonful of the sausage and some
of the gravy. She next took a leg and a
second joint of broiled chicken, and from
another waiter a spoonful of green pep
pers and meat out fine, and then fried
eggs, hashed beef, fried bananas and
fried fish. The plate wag now- pretty well
filled, but mademoiselle mixed the rice,
hash and other things together, and sat
back until the rest of the food was
brought on. This consisted of pickled
olives, pickled eggs stuffed with peppers,
shaved beef stewed, raw cucumbers and
one or two other things, the names of
which I do not know. There must have
been a dozen different ingredients in that
rice on the plate, and when she had
smoothed the pile up it looked like a Chi
nese grave. Her delicate ladyship ate the
whole with a fork and tablespoon, work
ing the two together to convey the food
to her mouth. There were others about
her doing the same, and, strange to say,
none seemed to suffer inconvenience.
After this 'course there was one of beef
steak, cooked in American style, and a
desert of bananas, cheese and coffee. The
benanas and cheese were eaten together
in alternate bites, and the coffee was of
the same cold, hot milk nature as that I
had at my breakfast. The waiters were
natives, in white cotton jackets and bright
colored petticoats over white pantaloons,
trimmed with turkey red. They went
about in their bare feet and although they
could not speak English they did very
well.
Russia’s Retvizan, tHe Greatest of
BattlesHips jz?
Continued from first page
vies, would likely result in half of them
being declared failures.
First, they want no assisted or forced
draught used: next they insist that the
vessel shall maintain the contract speed
for twelve consecutive hours, nnd inci
dentally they stand about to watcli the
indicator cards and see that it is done.
AA'hen it is considered that the United
States government proving course off the
new England coast is only 50 knots long,
and that Uncle Sam’s ships steam it oyer
twice to prove their merit, the difficulty
of having deep sea room enough to run a
vessel twelve hours on a stretch and all
the time at IS knots an hour must be
evident.
But there is a way to overcome this
difficulty. The modern battleship is
nothing if not a piece of machinery, and
machinery well geared, like figures cor
rectly totaled, never lie. So they will
run the Retvizan over the measured
course, and knowing the exact distance
from mark to mark, will keep a record
of the revolutions of the big twin screws
until the time comes when a carefully
measured space is covered exactly at the
required speed.
Then the time will be ripe for the
main test, and for twelve hours the
ship will be forced onward over a course
laid - anvwhere in the sea that gives the
required area of deep water, and through
out the revolutions of the propellers
must average at least up to the turns
that were found necessary, to make the
contract speed.
The coming first trial of the big battle
ship is called a preliminary, or builders’
test, but it is much more interesting and
far more important than the final accept
ance trial of twelve hours, for it really
shows the qualities of the ship for the
first time, and in addition every gun will
be tested, a feature totally eliminated
from United States warship trials. Th.-ir
guns keep silence until long after the
vessel is In commission, then the firing
trial is ordered.
The Retvizan carries a terrific hattery.
and the big guns are novel to American
eyes, for the Russians manufacture all
their own heavy ordnance at the Obru-
koff works. They are really a modifi
cation of the famous French Uanet type,
and have practically the same style of
breech block, and like ail such weapons,
are fired by electricity and loaded bv
machinery, except for the pushing of
the shell into the yawning breech.
There are four 12-lneh. twelve 6-inch
and twenty 3-inch guns in the main bat
tery. while the secondary group is made
up of twenty 47-millimeter Hotchkiss
rapid-fire cannon. Every one of these
has to be tested, not because the Rus
sians fear the efficiency of the guns
themselves, but to enable them to learn
just how the carriages and the fittings
stand the strain, and also what sort of a
gun vdatform the vessel is.
Therefore the Cramps will man the
ship with a crew from their yards, all
of them skilled engineers and firemen,
and Captain Stechensnoviteh. the future
commander, will take aboard gun crews
made up from the 100 or more men who
are here as a part of the crew that will
take the ship home.
Once compasses are adjusted the nose
of the Retvizan will be pointed out of the
Delaware capes to the open sea. and
she will be run slowly to the deep wa-
