SCREAMER 303 SCRIBE History. — The city was established in 1840 by George W. and Joseph H. Scran- ton. It was made a borough in 1854, and was chartered as a city in 1866. Pop. (1910) 129,867; (1920) 137,783. SCREAMER, in ornithology, a popular name for any individual of the South American family Palamedeidss. They have a horn on the forehead, and strong HORNED SCREAMER spurs on their powerful wings. They are gentle and shy, and the crested screamer (Chauna chavaria) is said to be domesticated, and to defend the poul- try of its master from birds of prey. Chauna derbiana is the derbian screamer, and Palamedea cornuta the horned screamer. SCREW, in mechanics, a cylinder sur- rounded by a spiral ridge or groove, every part of which forms an equal angle with the axis of the cylinder, so that if developed on a plane surface it would be an inclined plane. The screw is con- sidered as one of the six mechanical powers, but is really only a modification of the inclined plane. A convex screw is known as the external or male screw, a concave or hollow screw (generally termed a nut) is an internal or female screw. The mechanical effect of a screw is increased by lessening the distance be- tween the threads, or by making them finer, or by lengthening the lever to which the power is applied; this law is, how- ever, greatly modified by the friction, which is very great. The parts of a screw are the head, barrel or stem, thread, and point. The head has a slit, nick, or square. In number screws vary, as single, double, triple; the numbers rep- resenting the individual threads, and those above single being known as multi- plex-threaded. A right and left screw is one in which the threads on the oppo- site ends run in different directions. SCREW PROPELLER, a spiral blade on a cylindrical axis, called the shaft or spindle, parallel with the keel of vessels, made to revolve by power beneath the surface of the water, usually at the stern, as a means of propulsion. In 1802, Shorter, an English mechanician, produced motion through the water by means of a screw, but his discovery had no practical value, and it was not till 1837 that its practicability was demon- strated by the American inventor, Cap- tain Ericsson, since which time the screw has steadily gained in favor as a means of propulsion for vessels all over the world. In 1860 the first steamer operated by twin-screws was constructed by Messrs. Dudgeon of London, England. SCRIBE (Hebrew, sofer), among the Jews, originally a kind of military of- ficer, whose business appears to have been the recruiting and organizing of troops, the levying of war-taxes, and the like. Later the Hebrew name sofer seems to have been especially bestowed on a copy- ist of the law books. After the exile, under Ezra, apparently the copyist be- came more and more an expounder of the law. In Christ's time the name had come to designate a learned man, a doctor of the law. Christ himself recognizes scribes as a legal authority (Matt, xxiii. 2) ; they were the preservers of traditions, and formed a kind of police in the Temple and synagogues, together with the high priest; and the people reverenced them, or were expected to reverence them, in an eminent degree. They were to be found all over the country of Palestine, and occupied the rank and profession of both lawyers and theologians. Their pub- lic field of action was probably three- fold: they were either assessors of the Sanhedrim, or public teachers, or admin- istrators and lawyers. Many of these teachers had special class-rooms some- where in the Temple of Jerusalem, where the pupils destined to the calling of a rabbi sat at their feet. The calling of a scribe being gratuitous, it was incumbent on every one of them to learn and to exercise some trade. As a rule they were Pharisees (q. v.), and zealous to keep the law pure from any foreign influence. Among famous scribes are to be reckoned Hillel, Shammai, and Gamaliel. SCRIBE, AUGUSTIN EUGENE (skreb), a French dramatist; born in Paris, Dec. 24, 1791. For nearly 40 years he was the most conspicuous playwright living. His collected "QSuvres" (76 vols., issued 1874-1885) contain all his works,
