THE WHITE HOUSE KINDERGARTEN

Cortland Evening Standard, Thursday, March 26, 1896.

THE WHITE HOUSE KINDERGARTEN.

Miss Frieda Barthman Teaches Ruth and Esther Cleveland.

   Miss Frieda Barthman, who has been engaged as special instructress for the children of the White House, is regarded as one of the brightest kindergartners in the country. She comes from Boston, where she held the position as principal instructor in the kindergarten department of the Thomas N. Hart school. Miss Barthman owes her present good fortune, for the fame which she will gain by her new engagement may well be regarded as such, partly to an accident, but mainly to her well earned reputation as a successful teacher of children. She first met Mrs. Cleveland at Marion a few years ago while taking a summer vacation. The president's wife was attracted by her cheerful, winning ways and when she wanted an instructress for her children she sent for the Boston girl.

   Miss Barthman comes naturally by her talent for teaching, for her mother, Mrs. Emilie Barthman, is one of the foremost of the pioneer kindergartners and has been employed in the Boston school ever since the inception of the Froebel system, having been the first teacher selected by Mrs. Mary Quincy Shaw when she inaugurated kindergarten teaching 18 years ago as a purely philanthropic venture.

   Miss Barthman is a rather pretty young lady of about 25. She began teaching eight years ago as an assistant to her mother. She is of German extraction and comes of an excellent family which, previous to reverses, was wealthy. She is well prepared for the instruction of the first children of the land, for she has passed through the several grades of the public schools in Boston as well as the girls' high school, and has taken a course of special instruction in private schools, including a course under the noted kindergartner, Miss Lucy H. Symonds.

   At first she was engaged to teach only the president's two older children, Ruth and Esther, but the wives of some of the cabinet officers wished to take advantage of the opportunity, and a class of about ten children, representing Uncle Sam's official family, was made up, and Miss Barthman will have them under her charge in the White House nursery for three hours a day for the next few months. She will tell them pretty little stories, teach them cute little songs, show them how to make mud pies of artistic design, and generally prepare their young minds for the more serious instruction which is to come later.

Cartoon image of Nicolas Tesla.

PAGE TWO—EDITORIALS.

They Make Time Pass Quickly.

   One of Tesla's experiments with X rays should not be lost sight of by the American people or by anybody. He and one of his assistants as well find that if these mysterious rays are directed powerfully upon the human head the top of the head gets warm, and there supervenes throughout a pleasing, soothing sensation and a tendency to sleep. While the experiments do not seem to have progressed to the point of actually putting the patient to sleep, they make him feel sleepy. Most and best of all, while the Roentgen rays are streaming upon your head, the time seems to pass away very quickly. Both Tesla and his assistant noticed that fact.

   Exquisite and wondrous are the possibilities to be deduced. The nervous irritability of the American people can be brought down and tempered to the point where they will be the gentlest, steadiest people in the world. When the little emperor of Germany shows a disposition to make a break, all the court physician will need to do will be to subject William to the sweet and soothing influence of the Roentgen rays. He can do this without his majesty's knowledge.

   Again, when American congressmen begin to shout and rant and roar and say things that set the teeth of European newspaper editors on edge, a mild application of Roentgen rays upon their heads will make them roar as gently as sucking doves. If simultaneously those who must listen to their speeches try an application to their own heads with a pocket machine while the orations are in process of deliverment, "the time will seem to pass very quickly," as Tesla says. It is always known beforehand when any pet bore in the United States senate is to orate, and it will be easy enough for the presiding officer and those whom decorum forces to remain to slyly apply the Roentgen rays. Nay, the Roentgen ray machine may even be taken to church.

   ◘ The rapidity with which electrical discoveries and inventions follow one another tends to take the breath away. It is impossible even to keep up with Tesla, leaving out all the rest. If Tesla's latest reported achievement results as he believes it will, there need be no more telegraph or telephone wires. It is reported that he has been able to telegraph through Pike's peak from one side to the other without the intervention of wires or any conducting medium. He tapped the earth current and sent a communication through the solid bed of rock.

   A romantic tale is printed of how he add a companion stationed themselves on different sides of the mountain. They had each one of the little harmonicons which in various patterns are common. The friend on his side of the mountain, so the story goes, played "Ben Bolt" on his harmonicon. Tesla on the other side of the mountain connected his harp with the ground by means of wires and waited. In due course of time, so the tale told in the New York World informs us, his harp also vibrated to the familiar strains of "Ben Bolt." If the music had been anything but "Ben Bolt," the story would not be so open to suspicion. As it is, who knows but the friend Svengalied Tesla, or Tesla Svengalied the friend? At any rate, one waits further developments.

   ◘ A curious adaptation of the bicycle principle to water travel has been made. A boat is provided with wheels that partly pass through the bottom. They are worked in the ordinary cycle fashion by men who sit above them in the boat and pedal. The front man steers with his handle bar. The whole outfit is termed a water tandem cycle, and it has been made to travel ten miles an hour. Here is opportunity for rare sport. The water bicycle boat carries one passenger.

   ◘ All the world wishes well to Italy and is consequently glad that the Italian banks have come to the aid of King Humbert and offered to lend the government sufficient money for present needs.

   ◘ Spain has a queer idea of the government of the United States. Shortly after the senate had passed its resolutions, requesting the recognition of the Cubans as belligerents, the prime minister of Spain sent a most courteously worded message to our state department asking that the "government" disavow the senate resolutions. Poor old Spain does not know, even after all these years, that congress, and not the president and his cabinet, is the real government of this country, some of our presidents to the contrary notwithstanding. Spain is apparently not aware that if a two-thirds majority of congress passed even over a president's veto a measure the most abhorrent to him he would have to let it become law.

   ◘ It is not patriotism to burn the little king of Spain in effigy and tear and trample on Spanish flags. It is foolishness, and a very low order of foolishness. By so doing young American college gentlemen place themselves on the precise level of the ignorant Spanish mob that insulted the American consulate at Barcelona.

FORTUNATE WRECK

ON THE LEHIGH VALLEY NEAR CANASTOTA.

Nine Coal Cars Roll Down an Embankment—One Man Hurt, Nobody Killed.

   Quite a serious wreck occurred on the Lehigh Valley railroad about four miles west of Canastota yesterday afternoon. Freight train 13 eastbound was rounding a curve when the rails spread derailing eighteen cars. The first three cars and the engine remained on the track. Nine cars and the caboose rolled down a fifty-foot embankment. The track was badly torn up and a number of trucks were broken under cars that did not go over the bank. Brakeman Thomas Simpson of Elmira went down with one of the cars and was quite seriously hurt, though no bones were broken. He was taken to Canastota to his boarding place and a physician was summoned. He thought the injured man would recover. Conductor P. Carmody and the two other brakemen escaped injury.

   The cars which went down the embankment broke off a telegraph pole and broke the wire. At the train dispatcher's office in Cortland it was suddenly found that no point east of Perryviile could be reached. It was then feared that something had happened. Shortly afterward the news of the accident was telegraphed in a roundabout way, and a wrecking train started from Cortland at 5 o'clock for the scene of the accident. Roadmaster Clancy was at the east end of the line at the time and he hurried to the wreck. Trainmaster Auger went out on this train and remained until 3 o'clock this morning when the wreck was cleared up and the road opened again.

   Passengers east and west were last night transferred around the wreck and the trains proceeded as usual.

   It was a fortunate wreck in that no one was killed and that there is good reason to believe that the one man injured will speedily recover.

Improvements at the Arlington.

   Mr. M. H. Ray, proprietor of the Arlington hotel near the Lehigh Valley station on Railway-ave., has been making some decided improvements upon the hotel property since the recent fire. New floors have been laid and several changes made in the arrangement of rooms on the first floor. The interior has been newly painted and repapered throughout. A number of rooms have been newly carpeted and considerable new furniture has been added. As soon as the weather permits the outside of the building will be treated to a new coat of paint and the building will then present as attractive an appearance as any hotel of its size to be found anywhere.

TO FORM A MCKINLEY CLUB.

Temporary Organization Effected—Adjourned to Friday Night.

   Twenty men assembled in Beaudry hall last night pursuant to a call for a meeting to organize a McKinley club. The meeting was called to order by H.

M. Kellogg, and Major Aaron Sager was elected chairman. Mr. Sager said in part, "We are met here to effect a temporary organization in the interest of one whose name has become a household word. He is pre-eminently an American in every sense of the word. We believe that McKinley will be the next Republican candidate for president and the next president of the United States and anticipating this we are met here to-night. What is your further pleasure?"

   Dr. E. M. Santee nominated L. E. Edgcomb for secretary and he was elected.

   Dr. E. M. Santee moved that a committee of five on permanent organization be appointed, to report Friday night. The chair appointed as such committee C. P. Walrad, W. E. Powers, H. M. Kellogg, G. J. Mager and Dr. E. M. Santee.

   On motion of Dr. E. M. Santee, the meeting adjourned to Friday night at 8 o'clock.

BREVITIES.

   —New advertisements to-day are—W. J. Perkins, when you paint, page 4;

Will Grady, bicycles, page 6.

   —The National Express Co. wagon appeared on the streets this morning in a fresh coat of paint.

   —Mr. C. E. Wills was yesterday appointed by President Cleveland as postmaster at Homer to succeed Pembroke Pierce.

   —Miss Elizabeth Phillips will give a reception and ball for her dancing class in Vesta lodge parlors on Friday evening, April 10.

   —The City drug store will now be lighted with gas, twelve new Wellsbach burners and gas fixtures having been put in yesterday.

   —In Justice Dowd's court this morning judgment for money loaned was rendered in favor of Charles Dix against H. P. Miller for $9.85.

   —Mills the tailor has rented the store in the Keator block, corner Main and Port Watson-sts. formerly occupied by J. D. Green. Ha takes possession April 1.

   —Regular meeting of W. C. T. U. on Saturday, March 28, at 3 P. M. Consecration service will be held by the president. An interesting program will be given for the after meeting.

   —Dr. and Mrs. George H. Smith entertained a dozen friends very pleasantly last night at their home, 6 East Main-st. A very elegant tea was served at 6:30 o'clock, and whist was the order of the evening.

   —Mr. Joseph H. Fisher, eldest son of Mr. and Mrs. George Fisher, died this afternoon, aged 15 years. He had been ill only since Sunday night with inflammation of the bowels. The funeral arrangements have not yet been made.

   —Bennett & Hartwell are making preparations for the exhibition of bread-making at their store on Railroad-st. which occurs to-morrow. The material has arrived. A barrel of flour will be baked into bread which will be given away.

   —The long looked for incandescent light system was put into operation last week, and so far as we are able to learn is giving the best of satisfaction. The light produced is a clear, penetrating light, and at the prices which Manager

O'Connell has established is as cheap as kerosene, when the care of lamps, and the absence of all heat and smoke, is considered. For use in dwellings he makes a very liberal rate, and many others, not now using them, will undoubtedly do so, soon.—Marathon Independent.