Chapter 38
The pyramids were supposed to have been constructed between the 5th and 12th dynasties in Middle Egypt and not to have been used for tombs. They are built upon a square base with sides facing the points of the compass and the earlier pyramids were constructed of horizontal layers of rough blocks fastened together with mortar. In the centre of the pyramid near the base was built a chamber
reached by a passage from the north side. It is said that some of them contain emblems or symbols which are now used in masonry. Whether or not there were masons at the time they were built has not yet been discovered. Many of the stones weigh as much as 30 tons each and no one has yet been able to ascertain the power used for their transmission. Railroads. The railroads of the United
States employ nearly 1,700,000 men or about 680 per hundred miles of track. The railroads occupy over 244,000 miles of track. The most powerful locomotive in the world runs in Virginia and weighs 540,000 pounds. The heaviest electric locomotive is maintained by the Boston and Maine Railroad and weighs about 192,000 pounds. The most expensive locomotives cost about $37,000 and an
ordinary locomotive costs from $15,000 to $20,000. An ordinary boxcar weighs 36,000 pounds and a day coach about 112,000 pounds. Sleeping cars weigh from 115,000 to 152,000 pounds. The fastest short-distance run on record was made by the Empire State Express at the rate of 112 and a half miles per hour. A New York train run a distance of 44 miles in 33 minutes or at the rate of
80 miles an hour and a New York Central train made the distance between New York and Chicago 965 miles in 15 hours and 43 minutes or at the rate of 62 and a half miles per hour. A New York Central train run a short distance at the rate of about 112 and a half miles an hour and a Florida train run five miles at the rate of 120 miles an hour. During the last year there were 5,483
accidents by collision and 8,215 by derailments and a total of 15,743 accidents. 318 passengers were killed and 16,386 were injured. 3,635 employees were killed and 142,442 injured. 6,632 persons not connected with the railroads and not riding on trains were killed and 10,710 injured. The number of passengers carried during the year was nearly a billion. The railroads
of the United States not including the switching and terminal companies employ nearly 670,000 men or about 678 men to every 100 miles of track. Referendum. A law by which all legislation may be referred to the people either for its gratification or rejection. The initiative is a process by which any law may be enacted if requested by a specified number of citizens. The
initiative and referendum are becoming common and their advocates believe that they are the solution to many of our political problems. Religious denominations. In the United States there are 95,800 Adventists, about 5,635,000 Baptists, about 739,000 Congregationalists, about 1,534,000 Disciples of Christ, about 2,290,000 Lutherans, about 6,280,000 Methodists,
about 1,944,000 Presbyterians, about 957,000 Protestant Episcopalians, about 312,000 United Brethren, about 71,000 Unitarians, about 53,000 Universalists and about 13 million Roman Catholics. Roads. The mileage of all public roads in the United States is about 2,200,000 miles, there being a little over 59,000 miles of stone road and about 103,000 of gravel road. A sand clay road costs
about $725 per mile, gravel a little over $2,000, macadam about $5,000 and bituminous macadam about $10,350. End of section 38. Recording by Pam Jameson.
