Show test is made on a dying animal in stock yards san francisco dec 15 dr albert J atkins of this city claims to nave proved by an experiment made on a steer in the stock yards at butcher town that brain action Is an electrical phenomenon his theory has the support ot captain L D of the united states signal corps who assisted him in the experiment the apparatus used consisted of two platinum electrodes connected with a long copper wire running to a very sensitive galvanometer the electrodes were inserted into two lobes of the brain of a dying steer after the first quiver caused by the insertion of the platinum points the animal lay quiet and yet the needle of the galvanometer was deflected four points on the scale and remained so tor nearly alc minutes then the animals throat was cut immediately the needle deflected nineteen points in tho same direction then the needle gradually returned to its normal position As no battery was used dr atkins is ot the opinion that the electrical current the galvanometer originated in the animals brai n in other words that it was the brain action itself dr atkins has previously demonstrated anat electrical force is developed in the lungs and hearts of animals and in a paper recently read before the san francisco county society or physicians and surgeons he argued that the mystery of gravitation could only be solved by attributing it to electrical action in fact he declared the life principle itself is of electrical origin CARNEGIE OFFERS to provide a college for electrical engineering instructions new york dec 15 announcement was made at a dinner of the union college alumni association here last night that andrew carnegie had offered to donate the sum of for equipping the building to be devoted to electrical engineering at schenectady providing the college raised another to endow the school the building itself was presented to the college by the general electric company president V V raymond of union devoted a large part of his address to a discussion of the influence of the college in counteracting the modern spirit of commercialism he declared no duty was plainer than that of keeping the colleges free from the taint of the commercial spirit it may be a wise dispensation of providence said dr raymond that keeps professors on meagre salaries at all events they are the least worldly of men and so long as the faculty dominates tho life of an institution there Is little danger of corruption CHANGES IN CATHOLIC CHURCH chicago dec 15 changes of a far reaching nature in the temporal affairs ot tho roman catholic church were made by the synod of the archdiocese pt chicago held here yesterday the purely temporal matters of every parish will bo administered hereafter by a board of trustees composed of seven laymen and tho priest of the parish who shall be the chairman of the board under this agreement the church gives official recognition to tho laymen and does away with tho old policy which places the entire burden of temporal and spiritual administration upon the priests of the p tho enactment extending that power to lay members Is a part of archbishop Quig leya aggressive gres sive policy and follows closely the recommendations made by the third plenary council of baltimore HAS A RARE DISEASE md dec 15 man cooper oas been examined by all the medical men attached to the academy who believe that his Is a case of grails a very rare disease only sixty cases of which are said to have been reported it Is aft ascribed scribed as a nervous disease during which the nerve centers governing certain muscles refuse to do their work it is salu that overexertion over exertion may cause it and that one 01 its most peculiar fea urea ig that the paralysis cased ca sed by it is intermittent rest and q u et bavei at least temporary recovery coopers family haap becu advised of bli condl don 1111 last night h as showed to write to his mother |