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Regrading a City WHILE no great technical problems are involved, the present regrading work that is being carried on in Seattle, Washington, is of a stupendous character. Seattle is naturally a very hilly city, and the effort to level off some of the rises is being conducted on a scale probably never before attempted by any city. The work is conducted under a specially provided regrade department, and there are years of work in sight.

The greatest and most picturesque piece of work at the present time in progress, is the cutting away of the hill upon which Hotel Washington is located. This

hotel was erected about twenty years ago at a cost of about $1,000,000. The cutting away of this hill was started at First avenue, just above the waterfront. The picture shows the cut at Third avenue, two blocks up. The hotel occupies the summit of the hill, and the cutting is to extend about an equal distance beyond -or nearly half a mile in all.

To the right in the picture can be seen. a new seven-story building in the course of construction, which has reached the sixth story. This is being erected on leveled-off ground. Just below the hotel can be seen evidences of breaking ground for another large building.

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CUTTING AWAY A HILL TO MAKE ROOM FOR BUILDINGS. View taken in Seattle, Washington. Building on hill is the costly Washington Hotel.

Wireless Run by

Bicycle AN interesting type of portable wireless telegraph equipment has recently been adopted for use in the German army. For supporting the antennæ,

transport and erect the whole outfit, while two men are enough to man and operate the station, after it is set up.

Absolutely Fireproof FIREPROOF buildings, so called, are

often such in name only, inasmuch as important parts of these structures consist of inflammable material, such as wood used in the floors, sashes, mouldings, etc. A structure, however, which will be absolutely fireproof is now being. built in Bridgeport, Conn. It is attracting much attention from engineers and insurance men, because of the fact that it will not contain a single scrap of wood.

Another unique feature about this building is that it will not possess one single piece of natural stone. The staircases, of the winding order, will be made of concrete. The building is constructed on the cantilever plan, supported by foundations of unusual strength.

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The

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GERMAN RECEIVING AND TRANSMITTING APPARATUS OF MILITARY WIRELESS TELEGRAPH STATION.

a metal pole sixty feet in height is provided. This pole is transported in eight sections, and, when erected, is supported by steel guy ropes. The equipment includes a complete sending and receiving apparatus, folding tables and chair and dynamo, the latter driven by a bicycle. arrangement, which can be worked by one man. Eight or ten men can easily

PORTABLE WIRELESS TELEGRAPH STATION AS NOW IN

OPERATION AT STEGLITZ, NEAR BERLIN, GERMANY.

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supports extend outward beneath the sidewalk and street, and are solid masses of concrete and iron work. The walls are of concrete, and in no case exceed eight inches in thickness. The floors are made of a fireproof composition; and the doors, window-sills, and frames are of metal.

There is still another remarkable feature of the building-namely, its wearing qualities, as nothing in it can wear out, except perhaps the hinges on the doors, or something of that order. In the opinion of architects who have inspected it, the structure should stand and be useful under ordinary natural conditions, for a thousand years.

Handling Wounded

Jackies

THE illustration shows a bluejacket in a very unusual and remarkable position. The picture is taken on board King Edward's battleship Sans Pareil, and displays an example of the adaptability of sailors in overcoming difficulties, and also of the inevitable progress which is constantly going on in small matters as well as great. On board ship, as may be imagined, it frequently happens that a man is injured, or taken suddenly ill, in some very inconvenient place-aloft, or over the side, with nothing but a rope

ladder to get back by. The picture shows how he may be lowered, or hoisted, in perfect safety to the deck. The ambulance is an an ordinary canvas-stretcher for conreying the wounded; but it is here provided with sundry broad and strong pieces of webbing or canvas, cunningly adjusted so that the man is supported in every part. By means of a short chain to the head, and a long rope to the foot, of the stretcher, he is kept at a convenient angle for hoisting, while the men in attendance

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carefully guide the stretcher clear of the side. The saving of pain and worry to an injured man by this means, will be readily appreciated. To be slung in a rope and dragged up under such circumstances, is not a process to be contemplated with any degree of delight.

Self-Contained Railroad Cars THERE have been from time to time

numerous attempts to provide a railway car suitable for light work which

SELF-CONTAINED GASOLINE-ELECTRIC CAR.

will contain its own motive power and can operate independently of overhead trolley lines or power stations. It is recognized that a car of this type would prove very useful for operating in sparsely settled localities where the traffic is not sufficient to warrant the building of a steam railway or an overhead trolley system. It would also prove useful in operating on trolley roads at night after the power station is shut down.

One of the most recent cars of this type is shown in the accompanying illustrations. The equipment consists of a four-cylinder gasoline engine connected to an electric generator, the latter supplying current for the motors on the car trucks. It also contains an air-compressor and a storage battery. This car has been in use on the lines of the St. Joseph Valley Traction Company for about eight months, during which time it has covered over 12,000 miles, making three trips daily and hauling from one to three 19-ton passenger coaches. The distance covered per trip is about 22 miles, in which four stops are made. The

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NEW TYPE GASOLINE RAILROAD MOTOR-CAR. View of interior, with seating accommodations for seventy-five passengers.

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average consumption of gasoline has been about 12 gallons per mile while drawing one coach.

A useful feature of this car is the equipment of storage batteries, which are of sufficient capacity to operate the car. independently of the engine for a distance of about 12 miles, so that, in case objections are made by the city authorities to operating through the cities with the gasoline engine, the latter could be shut down and the car run entirely by the storage batteries. The makers of this car report that from the results of a number of tests it has been found that the cost of operating from an electrical standpoint is less than that of operating a heavy interurban car directly from an

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Gold from a Stack THERE is an old saying that "gold

is where it is found," no difference where that may be. This was very recently demonstrated in the little town of Vallejo, California. In this instance, the precious metal was found in a chimney. For several days the men employed at the great Selby Smelting Works located near Vallejo, had been engaged in cleaning out one of the big stacks. There was found to be a large quantity of soot and other refuse in the stack. A thorough cleaning-up resulted in the saving of over $7,000 in gold. The smelter company is now planning to put in apparatus in the chimney to catch and save

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