112 Popular Science Monthly 



Make the Collapsible Metal Telegraph The Soldier's Cobbler Kit. 

 Pole an Ornament — Not an Eyesore 



He Car- 



AN innovation in telegraph pole con- 

 . struction has been introduced by a 

 Belgian inventor, Oscar Valenne, of New 

 York city. It requires no skilled workmen 

 to erect it, for there are no 



!i^? 



-Cement base 





intricate connections or adjustments to 

 be made. The pole is shipped collapsed 

 into a very small space; but it opens out 

 into a structure of considerable height. 



Three V-shaped irons are required to 

 form the bodywork. These are held 

 rigid by six triangular crossbars 



The laborers take the three 

 separate V-pieces, run them 

 through the slots at the cor- 

 ners of the largest triangular 

 crossbar, and bury their 

 ends in a block of 

 newly made cement. 

 The crossbar is slid 

 into place, and the 

 smallest one is tem- 

 porarily placed 

 on top. The 

 top cross bar, or 

 cap, is then re- 

 moved and, 

 beginning with 

 the largest, 



the other „. . . , , .^ . , ^ . 



, The cobbler kit is used to mend 



croSSDars are Ic^Kings and saddle traps as 



easily slid on. well as to repair worn shoes 



ries It in His Pocket 



OUR soldier boys learn many things 

 besides actual soldiering. When they 

 return to their prosaic tasks after the war, 

 there will be many a bank clerk, for in- 

 stance, who will be 

 eligible to join the 

 cobblers' union. Of 

 course there are 

 shoe-repair stations 

 all along the lines of 

 battle, but so much 

 depends upon the 

 condition of his 

 shoes and his conse- 

 quent foot-comfort, 

 that most of the 

 boys carry the little 

 cobbler's kit shown 

 in the illustration, 

 and make small re- 

 pairs themselves. 



The kit consists 

 primarily of a hol- 

 low handle, the top 

 of which unscrews 

 to disclose the awl, 

 screwdriver, cob- 

 blers' tacks, and other essentials for re- 

 pair work. At the opposite end of the 

 device is a spool of waxed twine, which 

 threads immediately into the awl when 

 the awl is screwed into place. When 

 some other tool, such as a screwdriver 

 or knifeblade, is to be used, it is screwed 

 into place instead of the awl. In addi- 

 tion to his shoes the soldier may mend 

 his torn leggings and his saddle traps. 



The triangular crossbars hold 

 the telescoping sections of this 

 pole absolutely rigid and upright 



