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Artless Aspiring

A SCHOOL-TEACHER one day, during the hour for drawing, suggested to her pupils that each draw what he or she would like to be when grown up.

At the end of the lesson, one little girl showed an empty slate.

"Why," said the teacher, "isn't there anything you would like to be when you grow up?"

"Yes," said the little girl, "I would like to be married, but I don't know how to draw it."Life.

One on John

A MANHATTAN woman when asked how she liked the recent earthquake there replied: "Fine. It's the first thing that has happened at our house since we were married that John didn't blame me for."-Manhattan (Kan.) Republic.

The Last Bridge

Gushed the Lady, "Of course one agrees
That Bridge is a form of disease;

But I feel I could play

Till the Last Judgment Day,

Then cry, 'Gabriel, no trumps! if you please!"

No Denying It

SUNDAY-SCHOOL TEACHER-Have you ever been baptized, Johnny?

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When Saunders Wanted a Change

BISHOP DOANE, of Albany, who is keenly interested in the abolition of the divorce evil, paused for a moment, in an earnest discussion of divorce, to narrate a pat anecdote.

"The motive of these people," he said, "is like the motive of a Scot who was found weeping one day by his comfortable hearth.

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'Eh, Saunders, mon,' said a neighbor, peeping in at the open door, attracted by the sounds of woe, 'what's ailin' ye?'

"Oh, dear; oh, dear,' sobbed Saunders, 'Donald Mackintosh's wife is dead.'

"Aweel,' said the neighbor, 'what o' that? She's nae relation o' yours.'

"I ken she's no',' wailed Saunders. 'I ken she's no'. But it just seems as if everybody's gettin' a change but me.'

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Swiss Road Building

IT is a question whether, quite apart from its insignificant size, little Switzerland has not even numerically more railroads than any other country on earth. The lovely little republic has been called "a country of mountains run by hotel-keepers;" and certainly every considerable peak, from the Savoy to the Austrian frontier, has its "rack-andpinion" system, and other scenic railroads are projected or else in actual process of construction.

For example, the far-famed St. Gotthard Railroad, which pierces the Alps be

tween Switzerland and Italy, is at this moment constructing a branch line from Brunnen, on the lovely Lake Lucerne, to Morschach, a quaint little village beyond Axenstein. This important spur line was begun last season from Altdorf in Canton Uri-where, by the way, the country folk give a great open-air representation of Schiller's "William Tell" in summer, which attracts visitors from all parts of Europe. A road for the tracks has literally to be blasted out of the wall-like faces of terrific precipices that run sheer from the level of Lake Lucerne to a height of three or four thousand feet; and on this account the work is exceed

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RAILROAD CONSTRUCTION IN SWITZERLAND.

Cutting the roadway at a precarious point on the route between Brunnen and Morschach.

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ingly costly, difficult, and dangerous. The Swiss, when constructing a new rail

road of this kind, employ thousands of Italian laborers, who come through the St. Gotthard tunnel from Milan and Southern Italy.

A scenic railroad is being built up the 13,000-foot Jungfrau; and at the Eigergletschen station (7,565 ft.) there is a regular workmen's colony, with stores, huts for the men, restaurants, etc. Here the rock-blasters and general laborers live all the year round. A big baking oven supplies fresh bread daily, and the huts are lit with electric light, for which power is obtained from the waterfalls. There is even a small emergency hospital, and minor accidents are treated by the senior engineers.

Among the best known of the scenic railroads of Switzerland are the Rigi, whose summit commands a 300-mile panorama; Pilatus; the Brunig Pass; the Bernese Oberland; the St. Gotthard itself, which cost $52,400,000; the Gornergrat of Zermatt; the Albula, one of the latest of all; the Mont Salève; and the Rochers de Naye.

But the greatest of all scenic railroads is just begun, and that is the one up Mont Blanc itself, the colossal 16,000-foot giant of the Alps. The fare will be as much as $20 for a bare ten-mile run; but then the enormous cost of the undertaking must be borne in mind, and also the fact that passengers can be carried only for a few weeks during the entire year.-W. G. FITZ-GERALD.

Sprays Huge Tube THE accompanying illustrations show a machine used in whitewashing a London tube railway. E. P. Grove, head engineer of the Central London Railroad, conceived the idea that the tunnel would be better illuminated if the walls were whitened so as to diffuse the light. The ordinary paint-spraying machines, he decided, would not perform adequate service, as the maker could not meet his exact requirements. With some changes, he has found what he wanted in a machine used for washing hop-fields. The nozzles. of this have been increased to forty in number, the tank being mounted on the car and connected with a motor which drives the pump. An additional tank has been included for the purpose of keeping the whitewash thoroughly mixed. From a ter-softening plant in the railroad depot, hugh iron tank forming part of the waand standing close to the track, the car tank when empty can readily be refilled. The car, when at work, progresses at a

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New Rim for Autos THE recent Grand Prix automobile

races in France introduced to the world a new invention-the detachable rim. The merit of this novelty is said to lie more in its labor-saving than in its time-saving qualities. This fact is of considerable moment to the autoist, however, when one considers the hard work experienced by him in replacing his tire by the old method. The detachable rim is flanged in the ordinary way. Near the outer edge of the rim six projecting ears are riveted. On the wheel itself, six bolts project. Bolts and ears interlock. In order to inflate the tire, it must first be dismounted. However, an improved model is now being constructed with the special end in view of overcoming this difficulty.

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PORTABLE ROCK-CRUSHER AT WORK IN SAN FRANCISCO.

the route. The beams are thrown across the chasm, with no other support than the banks. Hence no concern need be had for freshets. Moreover, to save expense, as well as to secure a most effective cattle guard, no floor was laid. The automobile, as the illustration shows, practically runs on a track. This track is constructed in the form of two shallow, narrow troughs, so that the tires fit in with no danger of the machine meeting disaster. The chauffeurs cross the bridge at full speed, with no more concern than if the bridge were of the customary sort. Nervous passengers do not enjoy this feature of the ride, however. In length, the bridge is sixty-four feet, and has proved most satisfactory.

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THE

Portable Rock

Crushers

HE work of rehabilitating the streetcar system of San Francisco is proving a herculean task. As all of the various cable lines were practically wrecked by shock and fire, they are now being converted into electric trolley lines.

In the tearing up of the cable roadbeds, and in the laying of new I-beam rails, a vast amount of ballasting is necessary. To expedite this colossal undertaking, the United Railroads Company have improvised several small portable rock-crushers. These are placed on strong platform cars, and are driven by motors, obtaining power from the overhead trolley wire.

All along the lines of roads are scattered masses of old Belgian blocks, shatThis tered concrete, and broken stone.

material is all utilized for ballasting the ing on for three years. During this time new roads.

The crushers are placed over the center of the track, and deposit the ballast where it is most needed and in the required quantities. They are moved forward as the work progresses. The crushers are fed from each side of the track and keep several men busily employed.

With the aid of these portable "ballasters," the roadbeds are very rapidly and cheaply made ready for heavy traffic. This is only another illustration of the motto, "Necessity is the mother of invention."

there has been no interference with railroad traffic in either direction. The new bridge is only one of many improvements which, when all are completed, will reduce the schedule time between Washington and New York by half an hour.

Barge Pumping Station N working out its reclamation projects the National Government is adopting various methods to put water on the land for irrigation pur

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PENNSYLVANIA LINES' NEW BRIDGE OVER SUSQUEHANNA RIVER.

Located between Havre de Grace and Perryville. One of the many improvements now under way which are expected to shorten the distance between New York and Washington by over half an hour. The bridge is double-tracked; length, 4,154 ft.; clear height above mean low tide at draw-span, 54% ft.

Big Bridge Finished

THE Pennsylvania Railroad's

new

bridge over the Susquehanna river, between Perryville and Havre de Grace, is one of the finest examples of modern bridge engineering. Massive stone piers support a steel superstructure 4,154 feet in length and containing 10,000 tons of the metal. Eighteen spans are found in this distance-eight of 260 feet each, seven of 200 feet, two of 197 feet, and one draw-span of 280 feet. This last is so arranged as to give two waterways, each of about 100 feet clear.

The piers rest on solid foundations. Deep drilling beneath the river's bed in many instances to

poses. The engineers have been investigating the conditions in North Dakota for some time with a view to undertaking irrigation, but owing to the topography of the country, have been unable to find any feasible projects for a gravity system. Three pumping projects will, however, soon be taken up, known as the "Buford-Trenton Project," the "Williston Project," and the "Nesson Project." An interesting feature of this development is the proposed utilization of the great lignite beds which extend over large areas of the State. Lignite is a soft coal which has the distinguishing feature of air-slaking. It outcrops in various places along the Missouri river, and can be mined, and possibly delivered, for considerably less than

was necessary
reach rock bottom.
The work of construction has been go- $1 a ton.

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