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IS A MAN OF GENIUS.
THE REMARKABLE CAREER OF
PROF. PUPIN.
Jnvpntor of On-an Telephone IVu a
I’oor B'ar Emigrant Boy—Came to
ThU Country from Austria in 1874 —
A Iteiuarkahle Career.
Prof. Ptipin, of Columbia university,
v.’bo has recently gained international
reputation as the inventor of the ocean
telephone, is the hero of a remarkable
career.
Few men even in America have risen
so quickly and in the face of so many
obstacles as lie. The man who has an
nounced the greatest invention since
the telephone, came to New York in
1874, almost penniless and without a
word of English. In 26 .years he has
become an authority on electricity, a
professor in Columbia university and
disposes of a single one of his inven
tions for half a million dollars.
Of Slavonian I)e<rent.
Prof. Michael 1 Pupin is a Slav, com
ing from the military frontier of Aus
tria. Lika all young men of his coun
try, he was sent to a military school.
He ran away in 1874 and came to this
country. The appearance of New York
struck the young Slav with terror. He
was unable to ask for a direction, and
every business seemed barred against
him. He was without a single friend.
Like most immigrants in his posi
tion, he went to the country and began
work on a farm as a day laborer. With
in a month he had learned to speak
enough English to warrant his return
ing to New York His teacher was the
daughter of the farmer who employed
him. The lesaous followed the long
day's wotk and lasted usually till past
midnight.
The neit five years saw’ a severe
struggle. Pupin worked at anything
' \
PROF. MICHAEL I. PUPIN.
and everything which would yielfl an
honest living. Then he invented a hold
er for newspapers, and this little ven
ture netted him several thousands in
profit. He immediately prepared him
self for Columbia, entering the college
in 1579. He graduated in 1883.
Self Supporting Student,
While still supporting himself, Pupin
went to the’ University of Cambridge,
Eng., and afterward to Berlin, where
lie specialized under the famous Prof.
Helmholtz. He took his degree of Ph.
1). with honor in Merlin, returned to
New York and was appointed an in
structor at Columbia in 1889. When the
electrical engineering department was
started at Columbia he was placed in
charge.
Prof. Pupin lias been favorably
kuown for years as a practical elec
trician. He has patented electrical in
ventions which promise wide utility.
The importance of his latest discovery
can scarcely he overestimated. It en
ables telephone circuits to be connected
over ordinary telegraph wires, thus
disposing of the necessity of using cop
per wires, it will be possible to tele
graph and telephone over the same
wire at the same time. With the new
system we will soon talk across the
continent. Within five years, says
Prof. Pupin. we will talk by telephone
from New York to Ixmdon.
Kgg# That Will Keep.
It is said that a carload of evaporat
ed eggs, valued at $14,000, was lately
shipped from Springfield, Mass., for San
Francisco, where it will be placed on
a steamer hound for Cape Nome. The
eggs were put in one-pound screwtop
cans, sixty cans in a case, and will
answer any purpose in the culinary
line except boiling. The moisture be
ing taken out of them when they are
prepared leaves nothing to boil. The
largest egg-evaporating establishment
In the world is located at Springfield.
The process of evaporating is done
with hot air. and it takes eight hours
to thoroughly evaporate an egg. About
four dozen are equal to a pound of the
preparation. The Springfield factory
employs seventy-five people, and Its
capacity for consuming eggs is about
400 cases a day. The goods are shipped
to all foreign countries, and in Europe
especially there is a big demand, as
the English government has placed the
preparation on the hospital supply list.
The Klondike country is a heavy user
of this brand of evaporated eggs, as
no matter what the price of the fresh
hen fruit may be or how scarce it is,
tne evaporated egg retains its old
price, and is always on hand and ready
for business.—New England Grocer.
Only MoaquitnuK tarry Yellow Fever.
The commission consisting of Drs
Reed, Cairoll and Agramonte, which
has been investigating yellow fever
near Havana, has arrived at two im
portant conclusions, first, that the spe
cific cause of the disease is unknown,
and second, that it can be carried onlv
by mosquitoes. Consequently the dis
infection of clothing and houses is use
less. it has been settled furthermore,
that yellow fever is not due to dirt.
•It may 00.-nr in the cleanest localities.
AN HEREDITARY MOLE.
And the Influence It Exerted Over One
Family ■ Fortune.
They were in the Turkish bathhouse
and a loosely-draped sheet exposed a
mole on the left shoulder of the blonde
one. That started the conversation.
“Have it removed!" she echoed in
j response to the suggestion of her dark
j friend. “Well, not just now. It would
I be somewhat of a trial, I’ll admit, if
! it was a little higher up, but my even
ing gowns are not cut dowu to it yet.
“Even if fashion decreed that they
should be, I would hesitate about part
ing with it. Have you one? No?
Well, perhaps that has nothing to do
with the case after all. I don’t know
that ordinary moles have any effect
on the fortunes of their possessors, but
there is something about this one of
mine that makes it very dear to me.
Oh, there’s no secret about it and I
don’t mind telling you.
“You know I am quite superstitious
about many things. Well, this mole is
not the first to appear in our family.
In fact, my great-grandfather, my
grandfather and my father each had
one, and as there were no sons of my
parents the family mole seems to have
descended to me. None of the other
girls has one.
“What happened to my great-grand
father's mole does no: appear in the
family records and he probably kept it
to the end of his days. Not so with
my grandfather. He yielded to per
sonal vanity and got rid of it in the
old-fashioned way by tying a silk
thread around it. Luck promptly
turned against him and he died poor.
“My father started in life with little
or nothing, but was successful in a
central New York business, and while
still a young man amassed a comfort
able fortune. About this time some
new electrical treatment for the cure
of skin blemishes was widely adver
tised and my father fell a victim to it
and had his mole .aken off. Shortly
afterward he decided to give up his
business in New York to enter what
looked like a more promising field in
California.
“We all moved out there and the
country and climate were admirable,
but business was not and complete
failure followed. Of course, you may
think that the removal of the mole
had nothing to do with this fact, but
1 am firmly convinced that it had all
to do with it.
“Now, I have been fairly prosperous
in my limited career, and I intend to
avoid the errors of my ancestors and
cling to the mole.*’
And the dark one nodded her head
in silent approval.
HAS NO USE FOR A LIAR.
How Minister Wn KquelrlieU an Untruth
ful Correspondent.
One of the most commendable char
acteristics of the Chinese minister at
Washington is his franksess. He does
not hesitate to express his opinion up
on all matters that are brought to his
attenion. One day he was visited by a
Washington newspaper correspondent,
who is perhaps not alone in his profes
sion in regarding himself as a great
man. Before he had learned anything
whatever from Mr. Wu, Mr. Wu was
plying him with his usual questions.
When the query as to the amount of
his weekly stipend was put the cor
respondent heaved up his chest,
stroked his mustache with pride and
prepared to astonish the simple celes
tial. “One hundred and fifty dollars a
week!” he exclaimed. “It is foo much,”
came quick as a shet from the minis
ter’s lips; “It is altogether too much
—you are not worth more than $25 a
week.”
Later on, by dint of cross-examina
tion of other newspaper men, Mr. Wu
learned that his $l5O-a-week visitor
had prevaricated to the extent of about
S9O per week. The next time this gen
tleman called at the Chinese legation
and sent his card to the minister he
was accorded an audience, but the first
thing the minister said to him was:
“You 1. i to me about your salary. If
you will lie about such a thing as that
you will lie about anything. I do not
trust you. 1 have nothing to tell you.
I want to revise my former estimate of
your value —instead of being worth $25
a week you are not worth anything,
sir. Good day.”
Mr*. Theodor® KooHpvelL
As the wife of vice-president of the
United States Mrs. Roosevelt will be
obliged to assume a prominent position
in the world, and it must be said for
her that she has yielded to the inevi
table with grace and dignity. The
state of Mrs. McKinley’s health pre
cludes the possibility of her taking
active part in society, which relegates
the responsibilities of “the first lady
in the land” to Mrs. Roosevelt. There
is much curiosity in Washington so
ciety concerning the new leader. There
will not be much seen of her until next
year, however. The vice-president's
family will not take up a permanent
residence iu Washington until next
fall.
Mrs. Roosevelt was a Miss Edith
Kerrnit Carow. She is now about 38
years old, and, while not a beautiful
woman, possesses an unusual attract
iveness of face and figure. She has an
unmistakable appearance of racial dis
tinction, and has also the simple,, gra
cious manners of a truly aristocratic
woman. She dresses extremely well.
Value of Municipal Waterworks.
Greater New York has $125,000,000
invested in water works, Chicago $30,-
000,000; Boston, $15,000,000; Baltimore,
$18,000,000; Cincinnati. $10,000,000; St!
I.ouis, $20,000,000; Philadelphia, $35,-
000,000; Pittsburg, $8,000,000; New
ark, $10,000,000, Milwaukee, $5,000,-
000; San Francisco, $25,000,000; Cleve
land, $10,000,000; New Orleans, $5,-
000,000, and Providence $6,000,000.
THE WEEKLY NEWS. CARTERSVILLE. GA.
“Precedence
Is All
There is a deal of formality and
rpd tape in the business of being a
diplomat, and the family affairs of
a diplomat also come into the tangle
at times, for the woman who is the
head of the household of one of the
representatives of a foreign power of
ten finds that her social plans are all
upset because her position is not suffi
ciently exalted to warrant her ad
j vances.
One of those who learned that le3-
! son is Countess Cassini, who is the
head of the household of the Russian
ambassador.
Privileges of Matrons.
When Mile. Cassini was in Wash
ington last winter she learned that,
under the rules which govern official
society, only matrons are given the
privileges and precedents of heads
of the households of ambassadors.
Asa maiden she must give way to
all the married ladies of the Diplo
matic Corps. This was very galling
to the high-spirited young lady. Her
august uncle, Count Cassini, the Rus
sian ambassador, one of Russia’s
strongest men, sympathized with her,
since through his influence she was
made a countess in her own right by
the czar while in Russia last summer.
She expected a good deal from this,
although just why is hardly clear.
When the first diplomatic event was
announced at the White House she
prepared to assert her rights as a
countess. She received intimation
that, so far as precedent was con
cerned, she was only Mile. Cassini,
and at the White House matrons
were given precedence over maidens.
This was a blow to the little lady, so
she ran off to New York and imperi
ously declared that she would never
have anything to do with the unap
preciative American capital. The
count smiled. He Is used to the young
Fierce Italian Soldiers.
The Bersoglieri, quartered at Sau
Remo, are the fleetest infantrymen in
the world. La Marmora created the
corps, asking his sovereign, Carlos
Alberto for “the worst soldiers in your
majesty’s army,” in order that the
general might form them into a force
after his own heart. He aimed at mak
ing his men sharp and resourceful
mentally and physically thoroughly
active. One of his ideas to these ends,
an Italian general tells me. was to
have all the doors very quietly locked
when the men were in quarter, and to
have the first dinner bugle sounded;
one moment afterward he had the sec
ond dinner bugle blown. The men ,in
obedience to the call, rushed.w’ith their
pannikins in hand, to the doors —to
find themselves locked in. The stand
ing order were to present themselves
immediately after the second call, get
thei. rations, and return at once to
quarters. So the men let themselves
down from the windows by means of
sheets and blankets, their pannikins
held between their teeth. They re
ceived their portion of the usual thick
soup and bread. The bread they pock
eted. but the soup was more difficult
to deal with. Some spilled a few drops
of it; others lost half their supply, but
out of 700 men all but two hauled
themselves up. hand over hand, into
lady. She has lived in his house from
the time she was three years old, and
for ten years in China he bowed to
her caprices. The count is an amiable
gentleman, fond of kittens and child
ren.
Angered by “Yellow” Journals.
In New York she was amazed to
find her conduct set forth in the
newspapers. She read this through
carefully, and, acting with fine dip
lomatic training, decided she would
return to Washington to convince
the people the articles were not so.
She knew when she returned that she
would have to take her place below
married ladies of other embassies, and
she was prepared to do so without a
murmur. She went to the White
House dinner and had a famous time
that evening with Minister Wu, who
is great company for dinner or any
where else. In fact, he is the catch
of the lot. Mrs. Wu was taken out by
Count Cassini. She is also good com
pany. In short, the Russians ware in
luck.
Next day there were society reports
to the effect that the dashing little
Countess had been sat down on again,
when in reality she had been well
treated and was delighted. She had
got over her disappointment and was
feeling that she was well out of it.
The real objects of the reports was to
try to “rub it in.”
It must be confessed, however, that
Countess Cassini has but little tact,
and, with her uncertain temper, is
sure to have social trouble before long.
The ladies of the other embassies do
not like her; they resent her being
called the belle of the diplomatic
corps. They are laying skillfully hid
den traps for her. It is not even sup
posed that she will avoid them; she
probably will not try.
COUNTESS CASSINI.
the dormitories. The commander saic
on that, and on many other occasions
“I am proud of your agility.”
Hying: Woman Tried Homemade Coffin.
The coffin made for her by her hus
band in the chamber where she lay
dying, and in which she reclined foi
the purpose of ascertaining whether it
was a good fit, so well pleased Mrs.
Mary Moore Humphrey, of New Ha
ven, Conn., that she encouraged Mr
Humphrey to make others for him
self and his mother. He has accord
ingly done so and says they give
great satisfaction. The only criticism
Mrs. Humphrey had to offer was that
the coffin was “a trifle snug” at the
shoulders. It caused no great incon
vcnience, however, and as she ex
pected less discomfort when she occu
pied it for the last time, she called foi
no alterations. Monday she was laid
p way in a coffin built in her presence
A Tail Mn'i Club.
A I all Men’s Club has been organ
ized in the University of Pennsylvania.
It has twelve members, each of whom
is six feet two inches or more in
height. Six other men, termed “shor
ties,” because they are only six feet
one inch in height, are associate mem
bers.
Thai Prevents
Countess Cassini's
Triumph
WILL HONOR A HERO.
MONUMENT TO BE ERECTED TO
GEN. MONTGOMERY.
He Fell at Quebec Fighting for the
Cause of the Young Ilepublle m l Its
Constitution —-Almost Forgotten Keen
in lIlsU
The city of Quebec is to be embel
lished by a monument to the memory
of an American hero, the Massachu
setts Society of Sons of the Revolution
having decided to erect there a me
morial shaft to Gen. Richard Mont
gomery, who fell in the desperate at
tack upon that city.
Gen. Montgomery was one of the
first eight brigadier generals of the
revolution, and had not an untimely
death cut short his brilliant career he
would undoubtedly have been one of
the most distinguished generals gar
landed on the pages of American his
tory.
The spot where he fell, pierced by
an English bullet, is very imperfectly
marked by a wooden signboard high
up on the cliff. This is far from wor
thy of the gallant general whose fall
it so crudely commemmorates. Walter
Gillman Page in a visit to Quebec
last yeaf visited this historic spot, and
the result of this visit was the deter
mination on his part to secure a more
fitting memorial.
Wal of Irish Origin.
Gen. Montgomery was an Irishman
by birth. During his youth lie served
in the British army and took part in
the old French and Indian wars. After
the close cf this seven years’ struggle
he went back to England. But so
warmly had his sympathies turned to
the new world that he returned before
the outbreak of ths revolution and
settled in a beautiful country place on
the banks of the Hudson.
He was chosen a member of the
first provincial congress that met in
‘ji
GEN. MONTGOMERY.
New York in April 1775, and shortly
after was appointed a brigadier gen
eral in the Continental army. As he
bade his wife good-bye he said:
“Trust me, you shall never blush for
your Montgomery.”
Gen. Montgomery fell while leading
his men in the attack of December 31,
1775. Through the courtesy of the
British general, who greatly respected
him, Gen. Montgomery was buried with
all the honors of war within the city
walls of Quebec.
EVARTS GOT HIS FEE.
Ills Unanswerable Armament When Re
duction Was Intimated.
From a story related by a New York
lawyer it can be inferred that the late
William M. Evarts held his services
at a good round figure. It also seems
that he was clever in avoiding any re
duction in his charges when the time
for payment came. The lawyer says,
“I was employed once in a suit of con
siderable importance in which my
client was a lady. To insure success
it was thought advisable to secure the
services of distinguished counsel, and
accordingly I was authorized to em
ploy Mr. Evarts. After talking over
the matter with him, on rising to go,
I said to Mr. Evarts that it would be
the proper thing to give him a retain
er, and asked him for what amount I
should make out a check in his favor.
“ ‘Oh,’ said he, ‘I guess SI,OOO will
suffice,’ and thereupon I tendered him
the paper for that sum.
“Not long afterward the suit was
settled to our satisfaction, and again
I called on Mr. Evarts, this time to
pay him in full for his services, which
had not been of an arduous nature.
“‘How much do we owe you?’ I
said.
“ ‘Call it $5,000,’ he responded, with
out a moment’s hesitation. I thought
this a little steep in view of the cir
cumstances. and I stalled in with a
mild protest.
“ ‘You know Mr. Evarts, that you’ve
had $1,000.’
“ ’Yes,’ he said, with a dry smile,
‘but I’ve spent that.’
“This was an unanswerable argu
ment, and all further effort at reduc
tion ceased.”
Tito Mounter Locomotiv?*.
The two largest locomotives in the
world have just been placed in opera
tion on the Pittsburg, Bessemer &
J-*ake Erie Railroad. They are now
hauling the great Carnegie ore trains
between Albion and Conneaut, O. Fol
lowing are some interesting statistics
of these steel monsters: Weight, each,
370,000 pounds, or ISB tons; diameter
of the smallest ring in the boiler, 73
inches; w-ater supply, 7,500 gallons;
length, 64 feet 8 inches; working steam
pressure, 220 pounds to the square
inch. The connecting rod alone weighs
1,700 pounds, and is made of armor
steel. A man of average height can
easily stand erect in the fire box.
DIVINOJor pearls.
Filipino# Show Gr* t Endur.no. ,
Exhaustng Labor,.
As everyone kn> ws . pearls
tained from the IC ean’s bed Th
are found in the sLjlls that were
the homes of deepwater clams and
ether bivalves. F shiag for n
precious stones is a )roatable lndu^ e
and some of the riciest fields where
they are found are on t he shores of the
Philippine Islands. 0
Early in the morni.g the Sulu or
Viscayan, denuded of attire, r> v ° la
his banca. or boat, tc the bed 7 n !
anchors it with a heav; stone. He
provided with a smal but heavy
cuchillo and a bag of noting D ron
Ping overboard, he sink, rapidly b _
the aid of a lump of raw opper Th's
is prevented from being lot by a rope
and as the waters are traisparent the
actions of the divers can be easily
seen. They are experts a aquatic
work and can remain beneati the clear
waters for an incrediole kngth of
time. The usual depth of tie opera
tions is not more than 30 tc 40 feet
though 80 feet has been att.ined at
Palawan.
Once at the bottom the diver tuicklj
and deftly cuts the shells from the
rocks in his immediate vicinitj and
then draws himself to the su-face
while filling his net he usually retrains
under water for a period of 60 ti 90
seconds, though some of the most ex
pert hold records that reach five end
three-quarter minutes. While at work
they are often attacked by ravenoas
sharks. These they either frighten or
fight off, but there is one thing far
deadlier they all succcmb to. That is
the exhausting nature o? their labor,
accentuated by the contrasting tem
peratures of the cold water and the
tropica] sun above. Their lives are of
short duration after once adopting
pearl diving as a profession.
OVERCAME GREAT OBSTACLES.
An India Railway That Cost SIOO.OOO
-and (>,OOO Lives.
Probably the biggest triumph ever
achieved by the Britons, wrought into
a success after a fearful harvest of des
pair and ruin, is the Sibbi railway, in
India. It was a bigger job than any
war that occurred in the country, and
in the first year of its construction 200
lives were lost. The second year saw
the whole trunk work ruined by storm,
snow and a mob of natives, who de
stroyed the line. Another three
months brought the building to a
standstill through disease and want of
material, and all who were not en
gaged in the work wanted it stopped
for good. Nothing daunted the toilers,
however, and the next year brought
famine and plague—a combination
which killed off 2,000 men, and left
the management crippled for want of
hands and officers. The odds were said
to be 200 to 1 against success; but the
band of workers went stubbornly on,
and before long had all the native
tribes in the neighborhood about their
ears. A regiment had to be brought
up to defend the half-made line, all
the workers were armed, and they had
equal spells of fighting and toiling
every day. There were 30,000 men
engaged on the business at once,
apart from the military; when, during
the third year, a second visitation of
fever and draught threatened to effec
tually finish off the last chance of suc
cess. There was no beating them,
however, and the line was finally com
pleted and made into a brilliant suc
cess, after six years of work at a cost
of $100,000,000, 6,000 lives and 15,000
cases of sickness and wounds.
SCARED THE WILD BEASTS.
Travelers f avert from Lion* by Imitating
the Howls of Wolyes.
M. Foa, the French explorer, says
that lions have a wholesome fear of
African wolves, which hunt in packs
and do not scruple to attack even the
lion. There are terrible battles, in
which the lion succumbs to numbers
and dies fighting. In connection with
the lion’s fear of wolves, Mr. Foa tells
a story from his own experience. It
was a very dark night, so dark that
trees could not be distinguished until
the travelers were close upon them.
Lions prowled about the party, one of
them roaring from a point so close
as to have an alarming effect on the
nerves. Reaching a tree the men
found one of their comrades, with rifle
cocked, peering into the darkness, try
ing to discover the whereabouts of the
animals, which could be plainly heard
walking among the leaves. A second
man was trying to relight a half-ex
tinguished torch. Still the lions could
be heard coming and going in
darkness. At this point the native
servant whispered the advice to imi
tate the cry of wolves in the distance.
The party at once began barking and
crying “Hu! hu! hu!” in an undertone,
as if the pack were still at a distance,
while the man at the camp made the
same well-imitated cry. The effect was
instantaneous. There was the sound
of a rapid stampede across the dry
leaves. The lions decamped in a panic,
driven off by the supposed approach
of a pack of wolves. For the rest of
the night the party was undisturbed.
Complimentary Words.
In a letter to the Globe, referring to
a biography of himself, printed a few
weeks ago, ex-Gov. Frederick Hol
brook, of Vermont, says: “it was in
strictly good taste, complimentary,
without being too fulsome. The pic
ture of me is an exceptionally well
executed piece of newspaper work; in
deed, one very seldom sees its equal in
work of newspaper and printer’s ink.
Complimentary words, the source of
which adds to their value and makes
them all tthe more appreciated.