STARTLING ADVENTURE. UPTON SINCLAIR'S LATEST. NEW ELEGTRIG LIGHT INVENTION.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XXXIII, Issue 10770, 15 September 1906, Page 6

STARTLING ADVENTURE.

UPTON SINCLAIR'S LATEST.

NEW ELEGTRIG LIGHT INVENTION.

"KISSING THE BOOK."' Iu a recent number of the Edinburgh Medical Journal an editorial note calls attention to the extraordinary tenacity with which dwellers on this side of the Tweed cling to certain bad habits, among which the writer reckons "smacking the calf skin," as ono of the characters in the Heart of Midlothian calls it, or anglice kissing the Book. For many years (as is well known) Mr Lowndes of Liverpool has been pointing out the danger of this insanitary practice, and we are now once .more reminded that since 1888, when the form of swearing by uplifted hand, the Scottish oath, as it is called, was made legal in English courts of law, it has been quite unnecessary for any witness to expose himself to such danger. Progress in such matters is slow in such a conservative nation as the English, but we have noticed of late years that many medical witnesses seek to avoid the danger of "smacking the calf's skin" by opening the book and kissing one of the leaves. Nevertheless we should be glad if a notice could be posted in all English courts reminding witnesses of the provisions of the Oaths Act 51 and 52 "Vict, cap. 46, and inviting them to take advantage of those provisions.

The Imperial canal m China is the longest m the world, and connects no fewer than 41 cities m the course of its 800 miles.

It is expected that next year from 20,000 to 25,000 emigrants will go to Canada under the. care of the Salvation Army.

The Municipality of Freiburg carries on a pawnshop, an insurance business, a theatre, several restaurants, and a newspaper, as well as the schools. A seat can be procured at the opera m this German city for 4jd, uiul supper afterwards for 3d. The authorities also own a cemetery, m which the citizens can be interred cheaply.

NARROW ESCAPE OF PRINCE

OK WALES.

The Daily Telegraph of July 25th, m its account of the visit of the Prince and Princess of Wales to Hertford on Monday to declare open the new buildings which are to house the girls on the foundation of that beneficent City charity, Christ's Hospital, says : — The arrival of the Prince and Princess of Wales within the precincts of the hospital was marked by a startling incident. Their Royal Hghnesses were travelling m a cee-spring semi-State landau belonging to the Marquis of Salisbury, who had just received the appoinment of High Steward of Hertford. The demonstration m Fore street was both loyal and loud, and the shouts from the deeply packed crowd were too much for the spirited horses drawing the Royal carnage. The animals were slightly restive before they reached the gates of the institution, and directly they entered the broad avenue, at the end of which stands the main door of old school hall, they took the bits between their teeth and bolted.

The coachman's efforts to control the horses were not successful, and when about twenty yards from the brilliantlydraped pavilion under which were the Royal seats the near-wheeler swerved to the left, as if alarmed by the bright colors fluttering m the breeze. Pulling its companion with him, the horse hauled the carriage smartly round towards one of the new blocks which the Prince was to declare open. The situation looked desperate, but a combination of circumstances saved the Royal carriage from disaster. In the first place, a tightly stretched rope broke the pace ol the animal which crashed through it. A lime tree, whose scarred bark bears testimony to its staunch resistance to the weight of the runaways, stood m the path selected by the horses m their llight, and as there was not sufficient room for them to turn between the trees, one horse went to the left of the ■ tree from the end of the avenue, aud the other to the right. They were thus brought up, and half a dozen policemen were at their heads m an instant to prevent an attempt to take a fresh line of retreat from the. noise m the street.

Their Royal iiighnessos were calm, and smiled as they walked past the empty dais, whereon they were to have- been received with due ceremonial by the chief officers of the City.

CO-OPERATIVE HOME LIFE

Mr Upton Sinclair, whose literary work largely helped to secure leform of the packing-house evils, is now devoting him. self heart and soul to a very important social experiment. He is forming a sort of co-operative home colony, whicli he and some influential friends who are backing him believe will enable small wage-earn-ers to spend i,heir income to much better advantage, and incidentally solve the servant problem, which is ten times more acute m America than m England. Near, ly a hundred! people have already consented to join tlie organisation by depositing the entrance fee of £2. The applicants range from the professional to the working classes, and £10,000 has been subscribed to put the scheme on a "sound footing."

From a preliminary investigation it is apparent tlmt tli6 requirements of the applicants vary very much. Some want •hotel life, others a cottage, some would like a French table d'hote, while 'others are vegetarians; some limit the number of children, others encourage big families. Nobody wanted the charge for an individual adult to exceed £125 yearly. How large a number of people are going to benefit by the co-operative kitchen when tastes are so divergent, how ohildrenlovers and children-haters, meat-eaters, vegetarians, and French "table d'hoters" aye going to fraternise m one big association remains to be seen. However, Mr Upton Sinclair and the men on his committee are serious people, and 1 they undoubtedly intend to make the experiment. It is probable tliat the first batch of applicants yearning for co-operative home life within easy reach of New York are somewhat unrepresentative people. A correspondent had the advantage of iwadinnr the questions propounded! to them, and the answers, given reluctantly, was forced to the conclusion that Mr Sinclair now runs a lisle of 'being worried to death by a .set of cranks. If, however, anyone can solve the servant problem almost the entire American nation will rise and call him. blessed. f

A new electric bump, whicli threatens to revolutionise the present system of lighting by means of 'the electric current, has been devised -by an Austrian chemist — Dr. Hans Kuzel — who has spent many years m studying the principle involved m his invention. He has succeeded m devising a lamp which lie calls the Syrius lamp, and which promises to reduce the price of electi'icoil lighting to a wonderful degree? As is well known, incandescent gas lighting is much cheaper' than electric light under the present system, because the filament wires of the latter are very expensive, and the glass bulbs soon wear out m service. Dr. Ktusel has invented a substitute for the glow thread, by forming out of common and cheap metals and metalloids colloids m ni plastic mass, which can be handled like clay, and which, when dry, become as bard as stone. Out of this mass very thiiAvire threads aie then shaped, which are of uniform thickness and of great value m the technics of incandescent lamps. The Kuzel or Syrius lamp requires scarcely one-quarter of the electric current which the ordinary electric lamp with a filament wire requires. Experiments have shown, it is asserted, that the new Syrius lamp can bum for 3500 hours at a stretch. Another advantage claimed for the Syrius is that the intensity of the light always remains the same, the lamp bulbs never becoming blackened, as is the case with the ordinary bulb.