Newspaper Page Text
8
1913 by the Star
Ureai Liriiaui KlgkiU Ueserv^U.
New Tricks
COALDEALERS
Have For
CHEATING YOU
T WO THOUSAND POUNDS is what you ought to
get when you buy a ton o£ coal. Uut the chances
are you will be cheated unless you watch yom
coal dealer. Recent prosecutions in New York City and
New Jersey have revealed some new tricks and devices
which dishonest dealers have resorted to fbr cheating
theii customers.
Some coal wagons are provided with a secret chamber
made to retain anywhere frmo 200 to 300 pounds of the
coal making up the load. This box is located under the
driver’s seat and is so constructed that it seems to be
a part of it. The customer pays for the coal in this
box, but he doesn't get it.
\ Why, it may be asked, does the dishonest dealer
I who employs this device go to the trouble of loading
this coal on to the wagon at all if he doesn’t intend to
deliver ft?
^ That is easily explained. The Bureau of Weights
and Measures employs numerous inspectors whose duty
it is, among other things, to keep an eye on coal wagons
anti protect the purchasers of coal from being imposed
How a Secret Chamber in a Coal Wagjon Can Rob You of Several Hundred Pounds
upon. One of these inspectors is apt to stop a loaded
coal wagon m the street, compel the driver to show
the ticket he carries giving the weight of his load, and
then direct him to drive to the nearest weighing station
to have the loaded wagon weighed. Alter the coal is
delivered the driver is compelled to weigh the empty
wagon. In this manner the inspector ascertains tlje
exact weight of the coal delivered.
When a wagon equipped with a secret chamber is
held up in this way the driver realizes that it is dan
gerous for him to attempt, to deliver short weight. In
making the delivery, therefore, he releases a bolt which
holds the cover of the secret chamber in place and the
coal which the chamber contains is then delivered with
the rest. When the empty wagon is weighed the figures
show that a full load was delivered.
But if the driver of this wagon happens to arrive at
his destination without encountering an inspector the
little bolt which holds the cover of tile secret chamber
in place is not released, and the coal contained in the
chamber, which the customer pays for, goes back to the
dealer to be used again to defraud the purchaser of the
next wagon load.
Commissioner Walsty, the head of the Bureau of
Weights and Measures in New York, a week or so ago
prosecuted a coal dealer named Barnet Fishman for
using one of these secret chambers In his coal wagon,
and the dealer was held for trial.
in that case it appeared that the secret chamber
held U!4 pounds of coal. The caso was an aggravated
one because the class of customers supplied by this
dealer were principally Bast Siders who were so poor
that tliej had to pay for their coal on the installment
plan!
An even more general mode of cheating the public
practiced by dishonest coal dealers is that of fraudulent
coal tickets.
There i- a i lly ordinance wlich pro
vides Unit null dealers shall deliver
io their drivers a eertlticute show
ing I he weight of the coal in the
loud and the weight of the tv agon
mid the name of the purchaser.
A and B, The Two-Slip Trick. One
for Oevrweight Charge If No In-
apector Is About. C, Trap for
Holding Back 200 or 300 Pounds
from You.
Ii one of these certificate calls for ,2,000 pounds of
coal and upon weighing the wagon before and after de
livery the inspector discovered that it contained only
1,300 there would, of course, be a clear ease against the
dealer.
To overcome this the dishonest dealers have resorted
io a system of double certificates. Their drivers are
supplied with one certificate containing the actual
amount of coal contained in the wagon and another
specifying the amount ordered by the customer and
supposed to be in the wagon. '
If. then, the driver who has only 1.5UU .pounds of
coal with which to make a delivery of 2,U0U pounds is
held up by an inspector and asked to show his ticket he
shows the 1,500-pound ticket. Realizing that in this in
stance it is dangerous to go through with his original
fraudulent programme, he frankly tells the customer
that the load delivered contains onjy 1,500 pounds, ex
plaining lhat that was al] the yard could supply at the
time.
If, however, no inspector happens to intercept the
driver on his way to deliver the coal he delivers the
1,500 pounds of coal and ^ets the customer to sign his
delivery ticket for a full 2,000 pounds.
This lraud was freely practiced until a lew months
ago, when Commissioner Walsh succeeded in convicting
one of the worst offenders, a dial dealer named Ehler J.
Ernst.
in the particular case in which the fraud was dis
covered the wagon contained 3,000 pounds of coal.
When it left ihe yard it was trailed by an inspector as
a result of complaints which the bureau had received
against the dealer.
From a nearby point of advantage the inspector saw
the driver hand a delivery slip to the customer. This
slip called for 4,000 pounds, the amount ordered, and
the customer signed it.
Then the inspector pounced upoii the driver,
snatched his hat from his head, and in the hatband dis
covered the emergency siip calling for 3,0oo pounds, the
amount the wagon actually contained. This emerge :ic.
certificate would, of course, have been exhibited to the
inspector had lie intercepted the wagon on the way >o
its destination. /
The coal dealer got thirty days in jail and had to
pay a $500 fine and his conviction resulted not only in
putting him out of business but in discouraging similar
frauds upon the part of other coal dealers, although
there are, no doubt, many ot them still practicing them.
“Without the co-operation of this bureau," declared
Commissioner Walsh, "the consumer can do very little
to protect himself against the dishonest coal dealer.
While there are numerous public weighing stations in
various parts of the city and the law provides that a
purchaser may compel a coal dealer to have liis wagon
load weighed at one of these stations, there is no pen
alty provided for the coal dealer’s refusal to comply
with this demand. All that the purchaser can do in
such a case is to refuse to receive the coal.
“The best plan for the consumer to follow when
ever he has the least suspicion that his coal dealer is
not overscrupulous is to notify this bureau when he is
expecting a load of coal. Upon receipt of such informa
tion an inspector will be assigned to compel the weigh
ing of the load and to see that the customer gets every
pound he pays for. Information received-in this way is
regarded as confidential and the coal dealer has no way
of ascertaining that the inspection was the result of the
customer's action unless the customer tells him.
If the driver refuses to accompany the inspector to
the weighing station the bureau realizes that it is deal
ing with a dishonest dealer and proceedings promptly
follow.”
Just WHAT YOtllt HEART SAYS to the Doctor
W HEN the doctor puls ills ear to your chest or
applies the stethoscope, which only conducts
the sounds more clearly, what does he hear?
The sound of the normal heart is like the pronounciation
of the syllables “lub-dup” close to each other. These
syllables are heard in quick succession, and then conies
a pause—the diastole, or resting period of the great
force-pump. The sound “lub” is that of the blood flow
ing out under muscular pressure, and the “dup" is the
closing of the aortic valves, if this sound “dup” is not
heard, it shows that the aortic valves arc destroyed or
not working. The latest explanation of the first sound,
•’lub,” is that it is caused by ttie muscular contraction
of the heart and the impulse of the heart against the
chest-wall. The first sound is heard more clearly over
the apex of the heart, the point of the chest nearest to
tlie ventricle. The second sound is best heard over the
aortic valves, which lie beneath the left side of the
chest just by the third rib.
If you close a door with great force the slam is very
loud, and if the tension in the aorta is vorj high the
sound “dup” is louder than usual. This is most im
portant to the physician, for he then knows that there is
high arterial tension, due to what is termed an
aneurism.
If the sound “lub” is weaker than normal, it would
indicate a weakness of the heart muscle, and this is the
cate in fevers. In typhoid fever, for instance, when this
first sound is very weak, we know that the heart is so
weak as to make the case alarming.
A heart is said to have a “murmur” when the sharp
“dup” disappears and the listening physician hears a
softened noise, called a “murmur.” If you try to say
“dup” with your lips open, the sound uttered will be
like that the doctor hears in the diseased heart whose
valves do not close properly. The sound produced is
something like “duff,” and if the mitral valve does not
work well the first syllable is softened into “luff." If
both valves work poorly, the sound is “luff-duff—luff-
duff,” but if both valves are very much out of order the
sound is like that of a bellows, “oho-oho."
Most persons speak of the heart as if it were a single
organ, but actually it is two hearts joined together, the
right and the left heart. The right sends the blood
through the lungs so that it may be aerated, or acted
upon by the oxygen in the inlialeu air, while the left
heart sends the blood through the body in order to
nourish the tissues. Both of these hearts receive the
blood from the large veins into the auricles, which, by
contracting, send the blood on into the ventricles, and
when these powerful muscles contract, the right ven
tricle pumps the blood intq the pulmonary artery on the
way to the lungs and from the left ventricle into the
aorta, which distributes the blood all over the body, e
that after having nourished the nerves and muscles it
returns through the veins to. the heart, there to be
pumped into the lungs for purification by the oxygen
before again passing through the system.
The difference in the sounds of the right and left
ventricles is traced to the difference in resistance of the
aorta and the pulmonary artery. The pulmonary artery
resists with only one-third the strength of the aorta, so
the pumping force required is less and the noise of the
closing gates is that much less.
It is true, then, that when the physician listens to the
beating of a patient’s heart through his stethoscope the
heart speaks to him in unmistakable language. When
it plainly says “lub-dup" he knows that all is well with
this important organ and he pats the patient on the
shoulder, saying: “Nothing serious—you’ll be all right
in a day or two.” When, however, the heart says Tub-
duff” he knows that the aortic valve is not working prop
erly and takes the proper steps to correct It. When the
heart says “luff-dup” he is sure that the mitral valves
are out of order, and he tries to reach them.
When the heart says “luff-duff” he draws a solemn
lace, for both valves are out of order, and when it says
“oho-oho” he digs down into his bag and goes to work
at once, for all is radically wrong.
Why the MOULD on JELLY
Is a GERM-PROOF SEAL
M OULD has always been regarded by
most people as unclean, harmful and
something to be quickly rid of. But
as for the mould that housekeepers so
fiercely combat, there is really no danger in
it; on the other hand, it is indeed most beau
tiful.
Housekeepers, however, do not go about,
looking at the mould on tile top of their jelly
and preserves with a powerful microscope.
They are busy trying to keep the mould
away. If they were to study this mould by
means of a microscope they would see the
most beautiful floral and vegetable forms
imaginable. They would see in the mould a
little forest of marvelous tropical-appearing
“trees” of dainty gossamer appearance,
frost-like and in wonderful tints.
Unless the can of jelly or preserves is to
be used at once it is not always best to clean
the mould off because this mould first spreads
a water-tight skin over the surface and then
the fuzzy, greenish-looking growth comes up
from that. But no dust or dirt or germs can
get through that mould, and it really protects
the contents of the jar.
This mould is called, scientifically, “Peni-
cillium glaucum,” and it is, of course, a form
of fungus. It first forms this protective gray
ish-green mat while the growth above that
gives off a dust when disturbed. Most people
are afraid of mould because they connect it
with death and decay, but mould does no!
always mean this. The mould on preserves
certainly does not. Handsome mould will
form on the top of the cleanest soil and these
little mould plants are quite harmless. E”en
the most beautiful of lilies will grow from the
depths of the foulest pond.
The little mould plants, although so deli
cate in appearance, are in reality quite hardy
and have many peculiar means of fighting
for their existence. There are no seeds,
grow tli taking place by means of spores, and
scientists are even yet unable to learn just
why it is that these spores may pass into a
resting stage and remain without germinat
ing for anywhere from two weeks to two
years. They seem to come out of their resting
state as best suits their own wishes, without
any apparent reason to make them do so as
far as scientists can discover.
Counting MICROBES in
the DUST PARTICLES
l
E XPERIMENTS made in counting the par
tides of dust in a cubic inch have led
to many remarkable discoveries, among
them being the surprising scarcity of bac
teria ^ in dust. This does not mean there is
no bacteria in dust, or that there is not the
danger in breathing dust popularly supposed.
Rather, it means there are more particles oi
dust in a given area than anyone would
imagine.
By means of Aitken's dust counter one
scientist learned that in the open suburbs of
London there are 40,000 dust particles in
every cubic inch of air. While in the crowd
ed and busy part of London he found a mil
lion dust -particles in a cubic inch of air. Oi
; course this is due to the fact that constant
I traffic keeps the dust stirred up and afloat,
I while in the open suburbs the roads are
I made nearly' dust proof with oil and such
! substances aud but little dust arises from
! tbe fields and lawns.
| The same investigator found but one mi
cro-organism to every 38,300,000 particles
dust in the London open air. In plainer
terms, there was but one microbe to every (
thirty-eight cubic inches of air. But when
air is constantly floating about and man is
constantly moving about, he comes in con
tact with a great deal of air space and so in 1
the course of a day runs a chance of breath- t
ing many microbes into his lungs.
If, however, every dark and damp place could
suddenly be dried up and stirred up, the mi- \
cro-orgauisms would be found in terrifyingly {
large numbers. It is the heat of the sun
and the bright light that keep down these mi
cro-organisms and so, even on a dusty day, (
there is a poverty of microbes in the air if
the sun be bright and hot.
To get an idea of the smallness of dust
particles is almost impossible. Competent \
statisticians among scientists have estimated ,
that there are four thousand millions of dust
particles in tbe puff of cigarette smoke! A
still better example of the minuteness of dust
particles may be had from the chemically
pure water experiment. Scientists declare
that chemically pure water is a non-conductor
of electricity. This means that being chernic- t
ally pure there is lie foreign matter in the J
water to make tbe connection between mole
cules ot water.
Now if one grain of salt is added to one
hundred tons of chemically pure water, pro
viding so much water could lie made chemic
ally pure, that grain of salt would supply the
needed foreign matter in a sufficient quantity
to make the water a conductor of electricity,
and the electric current would then link every
molecule of water together and pass through
them. i
Whenever anyone stops to think that dust
ceases to be dust when it is firmly attached
to other matter, the value of dampness In
keeping dust down is better appreciated.
The moment dampness, which will attach dust
to other substances, appears, dust ceases to
be and so the need of keeping streets oiled
io lay the dust, and the necessity of dusting
with damp clothes rather than by increasing
the dust by means of a duster or dry cloth
which simply sets it fluttering about in
creases the number of dust particles in each
cubic inch of air.
YOU MIGHT TRY---
Keeping Cheese Fresh.
T O prevent cheese from getting hard, cut a small piece oft for pres
ent use and place the remainedr in cool safe. Spread a thin
film of butter over the cut part and cover vviin a clean cloth.
This will prevent that hard, cracked condition which ruins Ihe best of
cheese.
How a TUNING FORK
Will OPEN A SAFE
I
Rejuvenating Shoe Polish.
F your shoe polish becomes hardened in the tin, do not moisten with
water, but with milk, it will improve the polish tenfold.
IF
For Fruit Stains.
1NGERS stained with hulling strawberries or
cleaned by scrubbing them with strong tea.
other fruit may be
I
Storing Silver.
F silver is to be stored away for some time, pack it with dry flour;
it will remain untarnished.
A
Tarnished Faucets.
LITTLE lemon juice rubbed on tarnished faucets will easily
quickly brighten them.
and
O open # a rather massive steel safe
! solely by striking an ordinary tuning
fork and resting it on top of the safe
is the very remarkable invention of a Lon
don man, Thorne Baker, who is an electrical
expert and connected with a big London
newspaper.
Of course electricity is used with this in
vention, but it is actually nothing more or
less than the vibration of the tuning fork
that starts an electric current and thereby
operates the bolts that lock the door., The
safe is made as many others of chilled steel
and has a knob, but minus the usual me
chanism of a combination lock.
Instead of this there are electro-magnets
attached to the bolts of the door and these
magnets are connected by wires with a cir
cuit of batteries. From these batteries is
still another connection with a set of dry
batteries which in turn are connected with
a peculiar sort of sounding board made in
an obtuse angle and bearing one “string” of
An Easy Way to Grow SEEDLINGS FOR TRANSPLANTING
I T is a lot of bother and considerable ex
pense to supply those small earthenware
pots in which to raise seedlings to the
proper age for transplanting. The average
amateur gardener w'ould need at least half a
hundred of them. They are bothersome to
store, always getting broken and making an
additional expense.
A simple way to do w ithout these little pots
was suggested by the paper drinking cup.
Directions for folding paper into a drinking
cup have frequently been printed in all sorts
of periodicals, but as it is always difficult to
locate just the clipping you want, it is well
enough to give outline instructions for fold
ing these cups, only, of course, they are made
larger and ecu be folded into any size.
Made of tough paper and set closa together
in a long wooden tray for indoor growing, oi
in racks for hot or cold frames, they will last
until the raedling has grown the --roper size
to transplant, .in .hey may be burned up or
thrown away, an ’ . ; plenty of trong wrap
ping paper is a. i and, ;V a i nothing.
To make these paper seedling flower pots
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L'y Mak nj Year Little “Flower Pots” Out of Thick Paper You Avoid Dis
turbing the Roots in Transplanting
take a square of this tough paper, from eight
to twelve inches, according to the size of the
pots you want. A few experiments will tell
you better what size they will come out.
Take the proper size, cut square, as in Fig.
1. Fold it diagonally along A and B, malting
a firm, sharp crease. Then, when it is like
C in Fig. 2, fold the point F at D and E and
crease in a like manner as in Fig. 3. Now
fold the point G across again as in Fig. 4,
making a crease between X and XX. Take
the two points at H and fold them over on
either side, Fig. 5 showing how this is done.
The other point is folded back in the same
manner on the back side. Open this cup or
flower pot with the fingers, fill with dirt
and plant your seedlings. These pots will
not stand alone very w'ell, but when set to
gether in a shallow box frame, they will be
all right and it is the simplest thing in the
world to rip them open when ready to trans
plant, making it much easier and less danger
ous to the seedling, in fact, than with the old
method of trying to dump them out of
earthen pots.
wire, a harp, violin or other musical in
strument string, supported with a bridge
like a violin bridge.
Now the tuning fork is struck and the
string on the soundirig board is put in exact
tune with the tuning fork, after which this
sounding board or musical lock, is connected
with the set of dry batteries and the door
of the safe is closed. By striking the tun
ing fork to make it vibrate, then resting the
base of the fork on top of the safe, the vibra
tion is received inside on the string of the
sounding board and, being tuned the same,
these vibrations are in unison.
The moment these vibrations, those of the
tuning fork outside the safe and those of the
string inside the safe, are in unison the wire
vibrations pass through a coil and down
into the small circuit of dry batteries which
closes that circuit and an electric current is
created which travels on to the larger cir
cuit of batteries. These give the necessary
strong current which acts on the electro
magnets that promptly throw open, by re
leasing and allowing to drop, the bolts in the
door, enabling one to simply take hold of
the knob and open it
No two tuning forks ever made possessed
exactly the same tone, it is t^tid, and so the
inventor claims only that fork lo which the
musical string inside has beejt exactly attuned
will open his safe. Of course the safe can be
reset to any tuning fork simply by tuning the
string on the sounding board inside the safe
to that fork. There may be a number of
drawbacks to this safe, at least it so appears,
although the inventor may explain them
away. But if the tuning fork is lost and no
other fork has the same tone, it will be neces
sary to break open the safe. Or if the wire
inside that is tuned to the fork should stretch
or contract a hair's breadth, it would mean
an entirely different note, and every musician
knows how necessary it is to constantly keep
tuning stringed instruments, even those with
wire strings.
If such a thing were to occur, the puzzle
is, how could the safe be opened, except by
the one chance in a billion or more of finding
a tuning fork with exactly the same tone as
the new tone inside the safe caused by the
flatting or sharping of the wire? Except,
of course, to break the safe. ■>
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