A most remarkable work has been accomplished in the last twelve years by Mr. Anthony Comstock and his associates. When he put his hand to the work in 1872 there was a systemized business for spreading vile literature and vile pictures over the land. Out of 201 books published in New York, the plates of 199 have been seized, 230,955 pictures, 1,402,444 circulars and leaflets have been destroyed, and 982,010 names which the managers of this infamous business had collected from the catalogues of schools and seminaries seized. In 1877 there were six hundred open gambling dens and nine lotteries in New York City; to-day there is not an open saloon or lottery in the city where gambling can be done or lottery tickets purchased. The character of criminal papers has been so restricted by law that two out of the four worst papers scattered through the country have died of enforced respectability. The circulation of a third has been reduced from 125,000 to 67,000, and that of another has fallen fifty per cent.
There is probably no doubt in the mind of the magic-working electrician that the horse car of the future, and, indeed, the railway car, will be run by electricity, and the public has seen so much of the wonderful that it is quite ready to believe in anything promised. Already a very successful experiment with a tram car has been made in Millwall, England, where it has been proven that the electric machine necessary has in weight an advantage of five to one compared with a steam or air locomotion, that the speed can be increased much more easily than with horse power, and if necessary, a propelling power equal to sixteen horses can be gained. The changing of batteries requires less time than the change of horses; the arrangement of bells and lamps is much superior, and the cost per mile just one half. Another consideration suggests itself to the member of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals—it will prevent much wicked abuse of horses.
There is a society in London which has undertaken to furnish two-cent dinners to poor children. The first thought would be that such a scheme must fail entirely of paying its own way, and sooner or later collapse if not endowed. The organization sends out a report, however, which declares that it is a financial success—such a success, in fact, that a second society has undertaken to furnish one-cent dinners to the very poor children. This latter enterprise, it is believed, will nearly pay its way. Here is one of the worthiest schemes for the philanthropists of our cities and larger towns, and one which can be conducted without taxing anybody’s pocket-book.
Mr. Richard Proctor says: “One of the most remarkable inventions of the age is the ammoniaphone.” The inventor, Dr. Carter Moffat, has for years believed the beauty of Italian vocal tones was due to something in the air of Italy. Visiting Southern Italy he made over seventy-five analyses of the air and dew, and finally became convinced that its peculiar characteristic was its saturation with ammonia and hydrogen peroxide. He has spent nine years in perfecting an instrument for inhaling vapors. Mr. Proctor says after testing the instrument: “One draught of air was inhaled, when, to our great astonishment, the intensity of the voice was about doubled, while its cleanness was as greatly increased.” The inventor claims that the “employment of the ammoniaphone according to direction Italianizes the voice, and makes a weak voice or a drawing room voice strong, rich, clear, and ringing.”