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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Brussels Post, 1915-6-10, Page 6I3 Under Weight of Orders Yee much manufacturers would; irefersto be contributing toe tlaa ti{ ot, pier eoonomie ,grass, au forced theap to tarn- th@@ at ri� 'ea *eh.rnuniixione, icii Oki karat, 'tiitatthe malts of the eimetry aro gr a>aing under the weight of tremendous, orders. Con, tracts, sunning up to imillions of dollars have already been placed ab the, behest of European beyliger. cuts, As yet only a fraotlon of what will be ultimately demanded if the conflict continues has been ordered. But with the business now in band producers of steel, powder, &nit$mobiles and hundreds of allied commodities are riding the platting contracts 'for future deli - ,very., The impetus iiieh, the steel industry received was marked, but r other lines were quiokly affected peoh'as the automobile =kera unci aeauf+returers of baJibed wire, au'bmarines, powder, cartridges, shells and many other implements of war. The intense activity wit- neesed tit the outbreak of the war has only increased as the months have gassed, and many are confi- dent that floodtid'e 'is by no means in sight. Russia is probably the most help-. ess nation among the belligerents when it comes to manufacturing her own munitions of war. Prance could full tide of prosperity and making take care of herself in a case•of dire big plana for the future, necessity, while England is in a Astounded by the preparedness of position to turn over her great Germany, end realizing the hope- manufacturing centres to the mak- lessness of meeting the Teuton ou ing of war mraterials, Russia, how - anywhere near equal terms in the ever, with her millions of fighting state they found themselves last men, is so largely an agricultural August, the Allies were quickly itnt• nation that she cannot make in pressed by the need of taking • ex- months the ammunition wheidh hex traordinary measures to cope with hosts could use up in a few weeks, the situation.. Russia, with ex-' Aeeese to the Czar's realm has tremely limited facilities to equip been difficult except across the Pa- hei' millions of soldiers; Franoe, cific and over Siberia. With Arch - with factories none too large to angel frozen solid and the Deals, keep her own men supplied, and nelles in the hands of the enemy, England, fete to face with the tre- Russia, has been well sealed up, mendous proposition of creating and though a certain amount of vast hosts of trained, fully equip- material has filtered in •by way of ped fighters out of raw recruits, the Scandinavian peninsula, there perceived at uirce that the full out- has been by no mean's the freedom put of all the available factories in the world was needed before the desired end was attained,' With control of the seas practical- ly assured, the problem was sim- The other nations will consume plified to a great degree. Only the their quota as rapidly as it can be obstacle of time for manufacture of implements, and supplies stood in the way of the complete equipment of the allied armies. The trade routes of the ocean were open for the passage of ships bearing the needed munitions, :so that no ,diffi- culty could be experienced in trans- portation once the commodities were ready-, ll rsentatives uf foreign coun- tile . swarmed to America, buying up all the supplies in eigiltt and of communication desired. The fall of Constantinople, however, would double the opportunity to get munitions to the Czar's armies, made, and the new millions that• England is expected to be put into the field will require powder and shot in almost incomprehensible amounts-- NO mounts:NO small feature of the renewed activity is the construction of many buildings to enlarge the facilities uf the factories. Makers of struc- tural steel have been much encour- aged by the influx of orders, which indicate much building throughout the country. LIFE li ilk LIGI IIUU[ BEACON LIGHTS WHICH WARN OL'Ei N TRA YELLERS. The First Lighthouse Was Built in the Eighteenth Century on the lddiladone Rock. I. rectly man began to navigate th rots, he fennd it o:cential to lights at night as a warning of t . • nearntrs of rucks, or uf any ether &Inger to his maritime ex- pi:.it.., , L„nden .'ns.'ers. I F •teemes are biiliac all round u ...ads wherever flare is the s:-_'ite•t danger tc shipping; on heel. to mark a hzadland, etc.; me, ea .lire where there are kid- der, i ,:4 •,r sand; or right out at sea uh"ir .tuer solitary rocks hap- pen to h a clanger to unsuspecting marl ir•rs. the United hingdom to- dny there arc 259 lighthouses and 84 'u :t:•h r=, the total number oz out at about one light for e -et 15 miles of coast. The 11.1'4 stone lighthouse was built 1),- J' hn Smeaton in the eig'•it:•enth century on the famous Eddystone Rork, outside Plymouth. This era .1 Wonderful Snecoas, a.nd r:hi•hsi _d the elements for 123 years, when it was pulled down and re -erected on Plymouth Hoe, velpre it stands to -day, Since Stn a± -•n s time stone lighthouses have been put up all over the world, and bate proved themselves to be the very best means of pro- tecting shipping from hidden dan- gers. Lighthouses at sea generally have four men attached to •them. Three are always on duty, while a fourth is on leave ashore. Lighthouse men spend alternately two months on duty„and one on shore, although, of oouree, in case of very rough wea- ther,when it is ,impossible for a boat to relieve them, they have to epencl perhaps weeks working t,Fertime" as it were: Tis interior of the modern Eddy- stone Lighthouse is a Wonder of Compaetneee, oonteining, as it does, eleven sepa- nate compartments. Lying fourteen miles off Ply - month, this lighthouse is fully ex- postd to the south-west gales, and is the fourth tower to be built on this reef. The stone boas is forty-four feet In dianneter, and twenty-two in height, Above this the tower is solid, save for the water -tank, to a height of twenty-five feet six inches above the thigh -water mark. From this height upwards, the walls wary in thickness from eight feet six inches at the bate to two feet three inches under the .gaillery. Cost 'Thousands of Pountljs. The - present Eddystone Light- house took about three years to build, being ,completed in 7882 at a oast of nearly, 001'000" It contains 4,688 tons of granite. As can be well understood, the building of a lighthouse is a very hazetdous and costly undertaking. '1 Some modern lighthouses cost as mut-Ii as £150,000 to build and equip, and net, in all cases, is the erection unaccompanied with loss of life. The Bell Ruck Lighthouse, off the east coast of Scotland, and nearly opposite the mouth of the Tay, took four ,Fears to build, and cost nearly £60,000. The Skerryvore Lighthouse, situ- ated in the open Atlantic, also off the coast of Scotland, was as much as six years in building, and the expenditure was over £70,000. This is the highest lighthouse round the British Isles, towering nearly 140 feet above the sea level, or 20 feet higher than the Bell Rock Light- house. Terrific weather has to be faced by lighthouse builders, and blocks of stone, weighing as much as two tons, have been torn out and swept away by the rough seas. When the present lighthouse was being erect- ed on the Bishop Rock, near the Scilly Isles, a blacksmith's anvil., weighing 134, ewt., was placed for safety in a cavity Oft. 6in.. deep and eft, wide. This anvil was Washed Right Out of the Role during a storm. Here is another example of the furious waves light- houses have to withstand. During a storm round an American light- house a year or so ago a rock, weighing 14815., was lifted by the waves and dropped clean through the top of the lighthouse, over 130 feet above high -waiter level, The most wonderful portion of a lighthouse is the lantern. It is of enormuous size, and consists of prisms, lenses and reflectors that cost hundreds of pounds. The light thrown by one of the latest lanterns is equal to 60 million candles, and, in some canes, can be seen nearly forty miles -away. Besides acting as a warning, each lighthouse has its own system of signalling, by which seamen may tell their position. This is done by the number of times the light shows, and the arrangement of long and short flashes. In some eases, two colors are used—red and White. In foggy weather, when the light is practically useless, fog eignals are exploded to warn manners. What the railway siggnal is to the engine -delver,, so is the lighthouse to the skipper of a boat, and the wordier of wrecks round our coasts annually world be appalling, were it not for these "guardians" and their keepers. 1 - Small Kitchens. In building a house, it is a great mistake to build a large kitchen, unless it must also he used as a dieing -room. A big kitchen means an enormous number of extra steps for the housewife in preparing. her meals, and a wholly unnecessary amount of .labor in sweeping and clewing. Have your kitchen made just Iarge enough to contain comfort- ably your range, work table, cup- board, and a couple of chairs. If you need extra space for washing or work of that sort have as room par- titioned off from the kitchen to be used for these purposes alone, and shut up'duringthe ordinary routine of kitchen work. Women as Railway Porters. Since the Government instituted the Register of Women for War Service, with a view to filling up gaps in the ranks of labor for mak- ing war material, and also to releasing men of military rage for the Army, large numbers of women have •regisibemed as willing to under- take work of various kinds, and some have already entered on their new duties, Bonds nd Their Yields Railroad Bonds—There is a Splendid Market for Railroad Bonds Which are Quoted on Most Exchanges. Few general classes of bonds of- fer such a wide range of choice as the railroad bond. This kind of in- vestment offers a great variety of bends, ranging from the strictly staid and sober prior lien or first mortgage bond to the , third and fourthgeneraldebenture issue ; and. short-term notes ranking either pari passu with the one or theother ' of the mortgages, or as a secondary lien after all the others have been looked alter. If the investor wants absolute security for his money to- gether with a steady rate of inter- est, he can get this in a certain type of railway bond: or if the spe- eulator wants to take a little Bier in something which has a great many elements of safety lacking in shares, and yet hes sufficient price - variation to net a decent profit on the turn., he will find his desires ful- filled by yet another type of rail- road bond. And so it is all the way down the line; practically every re- quirement of the average investor will be found to be fulfilled by some one of the numerous kinds of railway mortgage securities, The Straight Mortgage. Probalbly the best known repre- sentative of this large class, is the ordivary railroad mortgage bond. This is an obligation of a railroad company, which runs for a certain length of time at a certain definite rate of interest, and is usually se- cured by a mortgage upon railroad property. In the case of the first mortgage bonds, they are secured by a mortgage against all or the greater part 4S1 the company's pro- perty ; while in the case of the other subsequent issues of bonds 'they may be secured by separate properties or as second or third mortgages on the same property. The short-term notes may be secur- ed in either of these two ways, or a certain amount of treasury stook may be set aside as special security, inadditiont the general dee of 0 d g hypotheo against the property it- self. There is still another type of railroad bonds known as equipment trust certificates, which are special- ly secured by the equipment they are issued to purchase, These are usually amortization bonds and are redeemable serially. They are dif- ferent from the ,ordinary railroad mortgage bond in that their secur- ity is rolling stock and not fixed assets, The Beet Kind of Security. Where tabsoiute security is the paramount consideration, it would be difficult to find better bands than the first mortgage and even the second mortgage bonds of the big railways of the United States and Canada. It has been the cus- tom of most railway builders on this continent when building new lines to issue ;bonds for so muchper mild ,of line, securing the bonds by a mortgage against the property on either side of the right-of-way, as well as upon the actual railway line itself. Usually a good deal more money has been needed to build the railway than is represent- ed by the bond issue, and this ad- ditional moiley is often raised by the sale' of stook and secondary bonds, all of whioh increase the se- curity behind the first mortgage bonds. These hatter are the safest kind of security, .because in the first piece they aro a real estate mort- gage against property which the very building 'of the railroad has mode more valuable; and in the second place they are a mortgage against other corporate property which has a definite marketable value aside from the value of the land itself. When is Seourity Sufficient? There are various tests to apply to railroad bonds to ascertain the amount of security behind them, and as to whether they are or are not an absolutely safe investment. Exainination of the trust deed will show the nature of amortgage; but the investor' need not !bother much about this as the bond house will, give him all the necessary informa- tion. The total market value of the road, its cost and replacement value are, however, important fact- ors. These can be arrived at only by careful consideration of all the securities outstanding and their selling price in the open market. The bonds should be covered twice over. Then there is the earnings feat- ure of the case. It is essential that the railroad be operating at a good profit. Bond interest must be earn- ed and well earned. Further, be- fore profits are shown the property must be well maintained, sufficient allowance being set aside for re- placements and renewals. The issue of swbsequent mort- gages is a good thing for the prior lien holders. It shows that others have confidence in the property, and moreover it proiides a buyer for the road should it fail to meet expenses ; for the second and subse- ugent mortgagors must buy in the road at a sum equal to the first mortgage or lose their money, Why They Are a Good Buy. Many Canadian and American railroad •bonds are an unusually good buy et the present time. The security behind the issues of the more prominent companies is of the best; and particularly in the case of Canadian railroads largely financed through sale of stock. is the, market value of the roads greatly in excess of the bonded indebtedness. For various reasons railroad bonds have kept down below normal values and appear cheap compared with some other investment secur- ities, Their extremely wide range of offerings together with general stability of price make them an at- tractive buy. As some of these bonds are quite speculative in • na- ture, however; the counsel of a thoroughly reliable bond dealer is advised where safe investment is the first consideration. Seeing Europe. An American who had been "see- ing Europe" was describing itis ex- perience in the rush eo get home when war was declared. The ,boab was crowded. The third day a man went up to the purser and said — "You will have to get me a place to sleep." "Where haus you been sleeping?" asked the purser. "Well," the passenger answered, "I've been ,sleeping on a man who was sea -sick, but he's ,getting bet- ter now and says I'll have to move." A Grave 'Topic. An odd Scotcbmen having a friend on a visit one day took ham to see 'an wnoient cemetery in the village --the only sight it could boast of. "What dee ye think o' that'" he inquired. "Mote, men," said his friend, viewing the dilapi- dated -condition of the graves, "be- fore I'd be buried there I'd die frust." "Aw, weer," said Sandy, "as far as I'm concerned I mann to be buried Imo ither p]aoe if I'm spared." The Anelent reteitanians. To the suggestion of the Ameri- can Agriculturist that the word a"lusitauinen" be adopted into all language& to denote Ibhe "atpp.'ne of bantam atrocity," the New York Herald replies that this would be "rather unfair t9 ancient Lu•sf- bania, the territory of which is now comprised in the new republic of Portugal," If the Herald had gene further into history, it would have found a parallel in the past that gives s oertain kind of sup - pont to the freakish, but well- meant, suggestion, In the Encyclo- pedia Britannica, under the nemo fiervius ISulpioius Galba, one reads that this Roman general and ora- tor, who served as praetor in lea- ther Spain in 101 B.O., "made him- self infamous 'by the treacherous murder of a ,number of Iasi,tan- ans, with their wives and chil- dren." For ithis misdeed he was brought to trial in 149, but escaped punishment by holding up his own children ;before .the people to gain their sympathy. The Lusitanians were subdued by P. B. 'Orassus when he was Governor of Spain some 00 years later. Eventually, under Auguebus or Tiberius, 'when the .Government of Spain was reor- ganized, Lusitania was set apart as a pr.ovinoe. bt was known as a fer- tile and peateeful country, and ib did is:whale that territory which in the Middle Ages became the king- dom of Portugal, ,though it is said. that the inhabitants of Portugal are not descended from ,the anoient Lusitaniens. All the Cunard stewmships have Ibsen named after provinces or dnstriets of the old Roman Empire, end melodious, rid -:sounding Latin names . they have been, ending, as 'the public is well aware, in "as." 4. STILL LOSE THIi1 G S IN PARIS. War Brings No Relief to Lost Pro- perty Department.. The lost property department at the Prefecture of Police has not found its labors sensibly diminish- ed by the war, although the popu- lation of Paris has been reduced by mobilization. Mr. Dubois, the head of the service, says: "Of ten ob- jects brought heals aa having been found in one day, mins have been lost by women, and as the female population of Paris has not been affected by the war, our work has been almost as great as usual. In. September, when the great exodus occurred at the 'approach of the Germans, the number of articles brought in dropped from ,the aver- age of 8,000 or 7,000 to 4,350, but since the victory of the Marne the normal average has been resum- ed." r--- vaoxtauz t. l•�'wn� laxsAtty Arte entrgarezri Tiff ST911y111'tBi 'PO MADE IN CANADA A Puzzle. The lady of the house was ex- plaining things to the new maid. "An' what's this, mrissus'1" asked the girl, indicating a metal bottle. "That is a bottle, which will keep things either hot or cold, whichever you desire," replied the mistress. Weld, foh the land sake I" ejacu- lated ;the girl. "How is it gwine to know whether you want things hot or cold'" Aunt Virginia Says When we are told a disagreeable thing that has been said about us we are likely to share our dislike about equally between the person who said it end the person who re- peated it. Talebearer's would do well to remember this. Dancing was originally a relig- ious observance. A High Grade + "A .E �o Investment CITY OF CALGARY 6% TREASURY BILLS. Due 1918. Interest payable 15th March and September, in Toronto, Mont- real, and New York. Assessment X134,886,425 Population 80,000 PRICE: Par and Interest. YIELDING 6%. JOHN STARK & CO. 24 ADELAIDE ST. E•, Toronto. 0 Pure Ice C •r am THE the Howe !t HE BRICK has greatly popularized City Dairy Ice Cream with the housewife. There is no other dessert that can compete with City Dairy Ice Cream in the summer, Our Service makes it possible for your, dealer to supply you with City Dairy Ice Cream in brick form so that you can serve it in your own home at Dinner, Afternoon Tea or Evening Party, just the same as your City Sister, For snob by UJsorlm/na5I.p abopkbepora Look for The Sign. TORONTO. t/o wont an agent In every town. • WHAT AUTOS SHOULD BE ACCESSIBILITY, AS A RULE,. DOES NOT EXIST, The Average Motorist Ras Some Ideas In Designing for the General Automobile. Aetiveand personal experienoe of motoring gaves every aubome- biliot certain ideas :about what lye would do if he were the unanufao- tures of `automobiles. There is Seine old saying about what every one believes he can do in the way of managing a restaurant or a newspaper. Certainly the average motorist believes he could do i. pretty good job in designing a car that would more nearly fit in with the needs of the general run of au- tomobiliste then do many of those st present on the. market. The writer, although not desirous of posing as a redesbgner of cars, has at least two ideas which are hobbies of his. For one it/ling, he would make the average automobile Absolutely Accessible. There is probably mo word more misused than that word accessibil- ity, except that it may be elle phrase "touring car." Some auto- mobiles are described as accessible in which nothing short of two hours work will make it possible to get at tabs valves for .grinding, There are ears marked accessible where grease cups cannot be reached by anybody shoat of a contortionist, and where to drain oil out of the crank case means the toughest kind of a job, tarring off a refractory en- gine pan before he can be ready to clean out the oil. There are many cans whose con- struction is such that placing grease in the differential and trans- mission is an all -day job. Of course, it is an exaggeration to say Au All -Day Job, but it means in good many hours. How to make a motor accessible and at the same time'build securely and strongly, is a big problem, but surely by this time automobile de- sign has advanced to e point where this can be acoompliehed. Now as to the "touring car." The writer has seen actually in his experience very few automobiles which de erve this name. There are four passenger or five passenger automobiles, but there is not the slightest vestige of preparation for a tont in any one of them. A tour- ing car is one in which a main and hos family may take Trips Aroid Country. It should bus's luruggagethe parrying de- vices so attached that the spare tires which naturally have to go with every touring car can be got at without trouble. It is a safe bet thata great many of the automobiles turned out as touring oars have been manufac- tured without any reference at all to the possibility of their use as automobiles for making trips. And right in this connection, some mention should be evade of the ,tool carrying •compartments, If these tools are carried under the rear •seat, which is a bad enough piece, the well should be deep enough to provide actuate -Pace for the earrying of these tools. A lot of manufacturers in their desire to set a body low on the frame leave an inadequate amount of room un- der the seats for the Carrying of Necessary Tools. Those are a few of the points that a brief experience with automo- biling brings to the mind of the writer. The ideal automobile of course can be got if the man has the price to pay for everything that he wants. abs. Bob why should not tho manttfaeturer of the moderete- priced ear, Who buys best because he buys in groat quantity, take into consideration some of these points aid buy a ,large quantity of intelli- gence: to work out as trulycomforb- able, adequate, accessible, touring oar' 'h Palmer Was Astounded. Old Tom Hopkins had worked on the same farm for twenty years, and until his master .took to pout- ery-£arming he was quite satisfied with life, But the poultry !business was a, bit too much. lie had to take the eggs as they were laid, and write the date on them with an in- delible pencil; and, worse than that he had also to write on the eggs the breed of the hen thet laid thean. "I'm about fed up," said he one day to the farmer, "and I'm going to leave," The faimer -te,as .L1;0)4'714 -1- B. ".Sully, Tom, Saul "you're not goltig fro leave me after all theles years1" "Yes, but I am I" replied the old man. "I've don.e every kind of queer job on this here farm, but I'd ratifier starve than go on being secretary to a lot of .hens." Not So Bnd. Mrs, Busybody : "Do you feel lonedy, Mrs. Tinley, now that your three lade '.ave 'Heard?" "Not so bad," was the reply. "It do cone over me terrible on waslydaps, though, when I've none of their .things to do. Indeed, 'nave to borrow some of a neighbor's • washing just Le iieep myself ehessr- £ul,t"