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TORIAIS
SPELLINQ REFORM TENDENCIES.
iSTl'DV of spelling reform by F. Slurgls Allen
I sIiown Unit lion' Ih loss evidence of nc
I ! sM'llliig In Itrl t ImIi usage tliitn there Ih
I i.. 1 1 LII...II II II.. I. ..I I. .11 ....
iii mnri leiiii. niniii vr kjii'ii item iivi m: hi
"esthetic?" ItrlllHli publishers do not hike to
tli !n tier. On the oilier hand, "American
publishers who publish Tor the Ifrlllsh as
wll Ihe American market," .Mr. Allen tolls us, "find
thai adopting t lit e (wlileli Ih considered an American
Ism) tends to Injure Hie mile of llielr books to tlie Itrlt
UU trade" Considerable changes, lie adds, uie taking
place In Ainerieiin usage In the direction or returning to
'llrltlsh usage; ns, for example, "honour" for honor, "con
trv" for center nnd "traveller" for traveler. After nil,
American publishers who wiuit the wldeHt market for
'fwoks of certain class have to consider the fastidious
r buyers In Australia, Canada, South Africa and other
Hriflsh colonies as well iih In the I'ulted Stales. It thus
tbnppens that the personal Interest of ninny bookmaker:
Jn this country run counter to the project of extended
"spelling reform" endowed hy Mr. Carnegie. The type
vrller nnd typesetting machines seem to he ohletly re
sponsible for the common Hulmtltuttoii for the dlpthougs,
as the machines would become much more complicated If
they provided for them. "Should the dictionaries" Mr.
.Altai asks, "give the preference to V forms when
usage does not, without Indicating that UHiige prefers the
illpthoug fomiH In thofo oases?" Usage, after all. Ih and
should he the miiHler. The time l.s punt when dictionary
...linker could undertake to dictate. Baltimore Hun.
FUTURE OF SAN FRANCISCO.
AX FRANCISCO Klarted to rebuild even be
fore she had any assurance that she could
establish li'THflf more securely against, fur
ther earthquakes. That showed the quality
of her courage. It litis, nevertheless, been
giving her satisfaction to hear the testimony
of earthquake exports and architects and
'builders to the etVect that she can make her buildings
-strong enough to resist even worse shocks than they have
experienced.
Professor Nakiimura, of the Imperial Fnlverslty of
Toklo, the architect sent by Japan to Inspect conditions
-nl. San Francisco, retried some time ngo that oik of
'the great causes of damage had been the floor uallty of
v mortar and the faulty construction with the use of hollow
tiling and lire blocks Instead of concrete. He gave the
S.'in Francisco people formulas for the kind of mortar
which, according to Japanese experience, will resist
hocks, and he told them that even brick buildings, if
.properly set In inortnr, can be made proof against damage.
The writer on applied science In the current Forum
ndds Jiis testimony as to the stability of the steel frame
' buildings, when properly braced and when established
on sullklontly solid foundations. For the smaller build
ings re-onforood concrete that Is. oncrcte with an lm-
liiedded metallic network Is approved for Its resistance
lioth to shock and to tire.
lEveu the light and water problems of San Francisco
.ire Riild to be susceptible of entirely successful solutions,
both from technical and from commercial standpoints. The
Miubstllutlon of electricity for gas will do away with one
af the worHt of the tire dangers that coming from the
-,xsn Junius the eartlniuake has broken. The water pipes
-can -probably be made secure against the worst breaks
liy laying them on concrete foundations. Indirectly
( 8an Francisco Is planning to make great conflagrations
' Improbable hereafter by establishing a system of broad
boulevards, which the lire will not be opt to leap, even
If the water supply Is In part Interrupted. Some of these
boulevards are planned to be put through at once, others
after live years and others after ten years.
Snti Francisco has every reason to feel contldent that It
Is as safe as nny other city, and much safer than inuny,
against the recurrence of disaster with destructive results
aklu to thohe of last April.--Chicago Uncord Herald.
f
CHECKS' ON PROSPERITY.
II 10 rich belli Utile of the L'enei'iit burden tt
'jl I taxation, In any country, proportionately to
I I the poor. The British Chancellor of the Ex-
....... 1.1. .4.. II.... .... ..II ..4. ...Ill 1...
i-iicijik.-! mum inn I mi iii;iii)il win uu iiniui;
to throw the Income tax more heavily on
the rich. The Liberal pnrty may also adopt
the principle, practiced In several European
countries, of taxing income from property more heavily
than Income based on effort. Prussia, Saxony and Wur
teuiherg tax Income from property about three times as
much ns Income from work, and Denmark twice as much.
The principle Is recognised In Italy. The only objection
to a progressive Income tax Is the encouragement that It
gives to perjury, and this objection It shares with the
ordinary forms of taxing personal property. Income tax
es, Inheritance taxes, and laws In restraint of monopoly
are all efforts, of course, toward the one goal of so ar
ranging the laws that society shall grant to the Individual
only as much as Is for the material unci spiritual wel
fare of the race. Massachusetts bus Just, declared,
through her Supreme Court, that no person or body In
that State shall make It a condition of sales that the
purchaser shall not handle the goods of other dealers a
significant example of whnt Is to be expected more every
year In the direction of preventing the Individual or the
corporation from having too much In common with the
supposed disposition of tlie much-wronged hog. -Collier's
Weekly.
THE COLLEGE ADDRESSES.
HEN a man l.s called upon to speak to col-
1 A r lege students he usually weighs his words
YY I most carefully. However extreme a partisan
I unit twt til tfkllliil t fftt1til(if it tuwku ttrltir.it LfttMttw.
tn u j in- wiin i i iii uiiini ti iiv vtif tT Hi; 1.1 iMjllillg
forth bis views In the presence of those who
aro learning about the great problems of
life he strives to be Judicial and fair-minded.
eonscipieutly, the annual college addresses afford a dis
tinct guide to what the leaders of thought really think.
Those itddrfX'svH this year were remarkable for their
cheerful optimism and for their faith In the honesty and
uprightness of the men of the present generation. There
were some exceptions, but the rule was that the young
men nlwiut. to begin the struggle for survival were told
that the old-fashioned virtues have not gone out of style,
that honesty and uprightness are still highly prized, that
greed for gain Is us despicable as It bus always been, nnd
that, the road to success lies along the straight and nar
row way which has commended Itself to men by centuries
of experience.
This word Is needed. It l.s Important that a true and
wholesome standard shall 1m; held up for udmlratlou
at tho time when young men begin to find u standard
necessary.
It Is a most gratifying sign of tlie firmness of the
moral foundations that neither the colleges nor the men
whom they honor by Invitations to speak have been
swept from their feet by the tide of sordid accusations
too many, ulus! proved that ba.n lately been flooding the
country. Youth'H Companion.
THINK PLANTS HAVE EYES.
WrlcnlUU TkiiN lUlnlii Vh Tliey
.1rU to Avoid (he .Huo' Hri-.
Plants are by no means so stupid or
mi lielpless as they commonly get cred
it Cor being. No matter how a heoch
tip2tt?i38 to be placed In tho ground,
''(hi root will turn down and the stem
grow up Into the air and there manage
WMiieliow or other to llnd Its way to
tus nearest support,
Especially remarkable Is the bcha
'lor of vegetables toward light. House
. jdaiits, as every cue knows, grow in
Jin dlrecllon of the window, but If the
til be- turned halfway round the leaves
will nevertheless manage to screw
nheniHelves back Into their old posi
tion, and the sunllowor will "rubber
roiiuU" alt day long so as to stare at
:lu sun. In temperate countries leaves
.gnnv at right angles to the rays of
ittghL to get as much of It as possible;
lln the tropics they set themselves
yslKRwIso to get as little.
'ErJdcntly, thou, plants come at. least
near seeing as do some animals.
VreLty much all that bus been known
"ibout tho inalter, however, is that they
rIJimhI only to the blue rays of tlie
inn; for though they will grow per-
rfirftt'by well hi red or yellow light they
- allow not the slightest Inclination to
iurn toward It.
A German botanist, Ilaberlaudt, who
.'for ninny years has been studying these
pnrhloms, has concluded that the whole
npjwr HinTace of each leaf Is u sort of
. compound eye. The thin, translucent
nfcln which In most plants covers the
..KtrtMi, succulent tissue of the leaf Is
ir.lt In certain cases, composed of
.Innumerable rounded cells. These,
chJukft Professor I labor land t, are so
-many minute lenses which concentrato
the light upon the living substance Isv
ihiw and enable the plant lo distinguish
fioUvcon light aud diirkneai, or be
tween, weak light aud strong, though
mot, of course, lo see obJecLs. Such
PUTTING HIS F09T IN IT.
Airs. Hk nippy Oh! Why didn't I marry u sensible man?
Skrappy lteoause, uuidam, a sensible man would never have married you.
primitive lenses be finds In the tig,
Ivy, magnolia, wood-sorrel and other
plants. Certain plants, like the pcpior
aud the balsam, have In addition little
eye spots wlileli In structure approach
the eyes of many of tho simplest ani
mals and appear, In a seiwe, to Ik real
eyes.
.it any rate, plants do net us if they
could hoc and Professor Ilaberlaudt has
found that each of tluwe supposed sense
organs can be made to print a bright
spot on a photographic plato.Col-Iter's.
t'Thn American I.tdy."
The home life of a typical American
ludy Is tho slncerest index of her ego.
In It Hho Indelibly expresses herself.
Here It Is tbut she exercises to the
maximum her potentiality ami that her
personality scores. Presumably abe Is
a wire ttnd mother. Her age? Pouf!
A lady of cleverness nonpluses Time.
She Is her sou's best girl, her daugh
ter's chum, a hostess suns reprocbe.
She rules her home with thrift and
skill. Her husband safely trusts In ber,
and her price Is above bur blrtbstone.
Her house Is beautiful. Its atmos
phere line and clear. She Is never too
busy to listen to ber "boy" or advise
her "girl" or read to their father.
Young people en masse delight In ber.
She Is their Ideal mother and friend.
Laughter Is never bushed In her home.
Muale Is welcomed and budding merit
of whatever sort finds in her uu oar-
nest and sympathetic ear. Tliomus An
trim, In Llpplncott's.
We are In favor of throwing out Unit
word "palatial" unless the house d
scrltwd bus closet In very room.
Professor Ernst Jlaeckcl's Important
work, "The illddle of the Universe,"
has recently been translated Into Jap
anese, Chinese and Hebrew. At differ
ent times the volume has appeared In
twelve other languages, while more
than 20J,(H)0 copies of the (Jenntin
original have been sold.
ltev. John Francis Lee, pastor of the
Metropolitan African Methodist Epis
copal Zlon Church, of Norfolk, Vn is
attracting much attention In the South
us u poet, many believing that be Is the
coming negro poet of America, taking
lip the minstrel barf) dropped by the
lute Paul Laurence Dunbar.
The Itusslim military commander,
Cen. Kurojatklu, has finished his his
torical work In relation to the causes
of the Russian defeat In the far east
and the English translation will doubt
less soon be got under way. Gen. Kn
ropntkin undertakes to prove that bis
plans were repeatedly upset by orders
from St. Petersburg.
The astonishing fact bus Just come
to light that. Professor Richard Gar
uett, librarian of the British Museum,
who died recently, for years bad de
voted much time to the "black art" of
astrology. Even more extraordinary Is
the circumstance that the business men
of New York and other cities regular
ly consulted him regarding contempla
ted ventures.
The novel-reader who fondly believes
that his favorite "refreshers" are of
imagination all compact Is much de
ceived. The novelist of genius Is even
more given to (he taking of notes than
Is the lesser writer who turns oft' sto
ries "In the way of trade." Hulzac, his
sister has told us, wherever he went
studied whitt he saw, setting down
everything which revealed a character
or painted a situation. His "meat
safe" was the odd name he gave to
the book which held these notes. Dick
ens recorded diligently bis observations
of peculiarity In person as well as
strange incidents, suggestive names,
available scenery and the like. Even
one so little given to "realism" In the
modern sense as Hawthorne had an
ample store of useful notes. Wllkle
Collins Js quoted by an old acquaint
ance. In Chambers' Journal, as declar
ing that he founded nearly all his
plots on facts, on Incidents he had
heard of or read, or en a desire to ex
pose or correct some abuse of his time.
Great was his wrath when he was ac
cused of Introducing sensational and
Improbable episodes in bis book, "The
Woman in White." lie knew, he said,
of vory few Instances In which fiction
exceeded the probability of reality ; nnd
then he revealed the source of muny
of his plots In the shape of a dilapi
dated collection of records of French
crime picked up on an old bookstull In
Paris. "Here Is a prize!" he exclaim
ed, and so It turned out to be. "The
Woman In White" was derived from
those mouldering i-eeords. "The plot
of tbut," suld Collins, "has been called
outrageous; tho substitution and burial
of the mud girl for Lady Clyde, nnd
the incarceration of Ludy Clyde us the
mud girl. It was true, and It was
from the trial of the villain of the plot
Count Fosco of the novel I got my
story."
8EARCH GLOBE FOR RUBBER.
ln- I'crlln .Ire Kitcuiintrr-l lit
Unthf-rliiK thr (inm,
From Southern Mexico In the north
to Northern Paraguay In the south;
from the Atlantic on the oust, right
through the devious wandering of the
many branches and tributaries of the
mighty Amazon and right on, out to the
Pacific, on the west; through the mys
terious, trackless and utterly unknown
solitudes of the Paraguayan and Bo
livian Chocos out into Peru, the rub
ber hunters are at work on the plants
and trees put ready to their use hy the
bounteous hand of nature. Where they
go on their Journeys or precisely what
they do, no white man knows to this
day, or Is over likely to know, says the
Philadelphia Lodger.
Lass than a year ago I met with and
spoke In English to an Italian mer
chant In the wilds of Matto Grosso, the
northwestern province of ltrazll, whose
capital city Is live weeks' Journey from
the seat of government at UIo do Jane
iro. For twenty years he had not heard
the sound of English voice and during
all those years rubber lias been flow
ing through his hands, down the giant
Ulver Paraguay, on Its way to the mar
kets or the world, via Buenos Ay res or
Montevideo. Yet of its actual produc
tion ho knows little.
To skip, In spirit, from the north
east coast of South America across the
south Atlantic, to tropical Afrlcn, the
Congo, the Gold Coust, the Zambesi,
Ugundu nnd other purts, Is not a dif
ficult undertaking. But hero nil s
changed, and, Instead of having noblo
forest trees at his disposal, tho rub
lierhunter rinds himself dependent on
, smuty, eiiiuomsr, twisting vines fee his
rubber supplies, vlnea which usurp
cry Inch of territory they can Invade
and render a passage through tho for
eats a matter of groat dllliculty and
some danger.
These vines, known a "landolpltfus,"
of which thero are several species, aro
, members of tho natural order apoiM
naceie and are common to the whotd
I of tropical Africa.. They differ from
j the American' trees,, la that; they pro-
uuce ruuiier in the center of the stein,
ns well as from the cells underlying
the Inner cimblum, but what quantity
each plant will produce there nro no
datn to ba.M! an estimate upon.
Although the Inndolphlus form tho
main sourco of the African rubber sup
ply, yet. there l.s at least one family of
trees which yields a supplementary
contribution to the sum totnl. The
funtumlii or klcksla, of which thero lire
two species, elastlea and Afrlcauln,
was worked to a. considerable extent
a quarter of a. century ago, hut It docs
iKt now seem to be a fashlonnblc plant
lo cultivate a close assoclntlonsbii
with. If resembles the hevca to soimi
degree, but Is smaller, of softer growth,
and requires a little less rainfall to
luxuriate.
Turning to India, and to Asia gener
ally, It will not be found that tho con
tinent Is rich In Indigenous rubber
bearing plants. Tho ileus elastlea, the
Indian rubber plant of the window
gardener, Is found In Assam and But
ma and the federated 'Malay states, M?
Its produce Is of very Inferior quality.
(Vrtaln climbers also yield rubber, tho
three chief ones being tho urcoola,
chononiorpha, and the Wllloughbla.
The fact that. Para and other rubber
nro lx'lng cultivated In India, etc., Is
.sutllclent proof of the poorness of tho
continent of Asia In Indigenous rubber
bearing plants.
Ceara rubber Is collected by stabbing
the tree In a nurnbor of places close
together, and as the Juice exudes It
coagulates in the air. and Is rolled up
Into balls by the collectors. It Is
usually In a dirty state when It conies
to the market.
Tho product of the tlcus elastlea and
the other Asiatic plnnts Is usually sim
ply suiMlrled ; the rubber from tho
former can be Identified at a glance by
Its peculiar red color.
MINE FOUND BY A BADGER.
IVoNiirelorn IMitkIiiic lllm Out l)lK
eovt-reil n Jlloh Claim.
X. II. George, Santa Fe ynnlmastcr,
has taken a layoff of throe weeks and
gone to Nevada to develop a gold min
ing t-lalni which he has there. There
is quite a story back of his going.
Mr. George grubstaked an old miner
who had struck a streak of bad luck.
This miner finally found some excel
lent surface Indications In the Nevada
mountains and staked his claim. The
prospects wero so good that Mr. George,
his brother and his brother-in-law tool'
three adjoining claims. The old grlz
zlwl miner worked away all winter on
the funds supplied him by Mr. George.
His developments were encouraging,
but diit not pan out large quantities of
the yellow metal.
A short time since another old miner
In bard luck cume past the llrst miner's
claim carrying his kit of tools with
him. Mr. George's friend was natural
ly lonesome and Invited tho stranger
to take a claim. After looking over
the situation this strangoi decided to
do so. An evening or two later tho
two minors sat on a ledge of rqck talk
ing when a badger came Into sight;
The miners gave chase and the badger
ran Into a hole on the stranger's clnlm.
They went to work with their ptcka
and soon dug the badger out, and In so
doing they made a remarkable discov
ery. Ills bed in tho bottom of the holm
was made on a big chunk of the very
richest of gold ore. The gold In tho
stone on which he lay was worth $10,
000. In this way they discovered a
rich vein of gold bearing quartz which
runs through both their mines as well
as those belonging to Mr. George, his
brother and the brothor-ln-law. Mr..
George's trip to Nevada Is for the pur
pose of fully Investigating his new gold
mine. Wellington Mall.
Aula Aro ToiirIi Ouch.
Ants are really very long lived, con
sidering their minuteness. Janet had'
two queens under observation for ten
years, and one of Sir John Lubbock'H
ant pets lived into her fifteenth year.
Ants aro very tenacious of life after
severe Injury. Following loss of tho
entire abdomen they sometimes Hvo
two weeks, and In one case a head
less ant, carefully decapitated by an
tiseptic surgery, lived for forty-ono
days. A carpenter nut after being sub
merged eight days in distilled water
came to life upon being dried, so that
they are practlcnlly proof against
drowning.
They can live for long periods with
out food; In one case tho fast lusted
nearly nine months before the ant
starved to death. Scientific. American.
Myalery fu I.onift-r.
"I w;e Prof. Held says the earth lint
a big hole In its center."
"Ah, perhaps that explains why th
world h such a hollow mockery."
Women can throw as well ns thvj"
can run.