OPINIONS OF GREAT PAPERS ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS
THE HUMAN FACTOR.
TT 1b . rerr ffooil nen that thn rnllrnnil Afllpnn nnrl mnn-
Iagera themselves aro much exercised over the Interstate
Commerce Commission's appalling ahowlug of railroad
accident for the past fiscal year. It Is a still further
good sign that, in discussing the matter, the railroad men
are very generally admitting that the fault Is the railroads',
and not that of the public itself, or of Divine Providence,
r the infernal powers.
Lucius Tuttle', president of the Boston and Maine Rail
road, mukea the mlleago system, which puts undue pressure
vpon the men, primarily responsible. And in an interview
with on Evening Mail reporter W. C. Brown, third vice
president of the New York Central, aald yesterday that in
almost every case Included In the report of the Interstate
Commission the accident was the result of carelessness or
fqrgetfulness on the part of one or more employes.
Mr Brown apparently thinks that mechanical safoty ap
pliances have gono almost as 'far as they can go. Elec
trically locked switches may render tho operation of fast
passenger trains Bufcr; but the rest depends on the em
ployes He wants the cxtremeat care exorcised to get
"only men of natural intelligence and fairly educated" for
tlds responsible and rao3t exacting service.
Itnilroad men should certainly be intelligent and fairly
educated. But the most Intelligent man cannot bo alto
gether depended on If ho understands that speed Is the
llrst requirement and safety only a secondary one, or if
his faculties are so strained by long hours or by Intense
pressure that his Impressions become confused and his per
ceptions dulled.
" Rails sometimes spread and wreck trains under an un
usual strain. The human brain Is liable to u similar col
lapse under similar conditions. It is to be noted that, ac
cording to the Interstate Commission's accident bulletin.
the gravest disasters reported In tho last year were the
results of blunders of "experienced men." Now York Mull.
Peary's Latest PJan.
COMMODORE PEAKY, In his speech at New York,
before' the International Geographical Congress, out
lined the one most rational attack upon the polo yet
proposed.
Now that the narrow circle still sealed about tho North
Pole has been approached from all quarters It has grown
clear that the final achievement of reaching the North Pole
will turn upon one of three methods; a vessel strong enough
to stand drift, a vessel powerful enough to breast the Ice,
nnd a dash with Blcdges across tho pack. Commodore Peary
proposes to uulte all three, nis new vessel, about the size
of the English Antarctic Discovery, will bo built upon the
lines and have all the strength of Nansen's craft, which sur
vived the long pressure of moving Ice through the Arctic
night.
Instead of being, like that vessel, the mere sport of the
elements, it will be strong enough to push its way through
moving Ice. For this purpose It will be provided with tho
heaviest engines which have ever been sent north of the
Arctic circle. Its screw will be calculated for pressure
rather than for speed. Its structure will be made, not for
mere ramming, but for that steady, continuous pushing,
which, applied to the largest Ice floe weighing millions of
tons, will gradually move it, as tho experience of whalers in
warping during the Melville pack demonstrated years ago.
Tho fashion in which ono of these vessels, by the steady
pressure or wmuiass, wouia grauuany tnreau its way
through an Ico Hoe square miles in extent, which gradually
yielded to steady, continuous pressure applied along its
-leads, can scarcely be believed. Lastly, having these two
requisites of a vessel both strong and powerful, Commodore
Peary proposes at the last stage of hl3 campaign to use the
Ice slc"h;c and a dash across the pack from a base as far
north as can bo secured.
A northern base. Eskimo helpers and a miuglirig of all
the various tools which other explorers have employed are
three factors by which Commodore Peary proposes to re
solve that geographical surd, the North Pole. The open
door toward tho greatest northing for his base la Smith
Sound and the waterway which runs west of Greenland.
I'he winter through, and much more in summer, this chan
nel Is full of moving ico, through which a vessel such as
Commodore Peary now proposes can be forcbd to a point
north of Greenland, probably a very considerable distance
if the season chances to bo open over the water which
separates tho most northern part of Greenland from the
pole. Philadelphia Press.
Enormous Loss by Tire
EVERY now and then writers on economic subjects
direct attention to tho terrlblo losses cauBed by lire.
Ono of the most vigorous summaries of this vast
modem waste Is offered by tho Wisconsin State In
surunco Department, which remarks thut tho waste by
Ore in tho United States during the tweuty-flvo years ended
Dec. 31 last hus averaged 9130,000,000 a year, if condi
tions remain normal during the fraction of 1901 yet re
maining that Is to say, if no other serious conflagration
occurs the lire bill for this year cannot be less thau $300,
000,000, a tax rate equal to 3-100 of the national wealth.
When it is remembered that this Immense sum Is absolute
ly wiped out of existence, eternally removed from the use
of mankind, tho seriousness of the problem which con
fronts us may bo appreciated.'
Insurance Engineering has been considering the same
subject, and It attributes the wasto largely to the over
prevalence of wooden buildings. It Is said that In Chicago
more than half of tho buildings are of frame construction.
In Newark, a town with n population of a quarter of a
million, two-thirds of the buildings aro frame. Even in
Boston the frame buildings are more than two-thirds of
the whole. In San Francisco more than nine-tenths are
frame. Insurance Engineering gives a list of about sev
enty towns In which frame construction predominates so
greatly that, to use its words, they have a "kindling wood
outlook." The same remark the New York Sun thinks
might be made of about all tho -13S towns enumerated in
the census bureau's computation of the urban population.
The next era in our material progress should bo known
as tho Ore-proof age. Pittsburg Press.
T!:o Cost of War.
USSIA, as well as Japan, Is beginning to count the
cost of a long war. Count Okuma, as we have seen,
reckons Japan's military expenses at half a billion
dollars a year. Tho financial agent attached to the
Russian embassy ut Washington estimates the war expendi
ture of Rpssla up to the end of tho year at nearly the same
3um 0."O,00O,CO0 rubles being equivalent to a little over
.?o00,000,000. It Is not likely that either estimate Is too
high. Think what a billion dollars might have done for the
peaceful development of Manchuria. And these figures do
not include the loss to tho country that Is fought over.
Russia, of course, has vastly greater resources than
Japan. While the remoteness of the war Is a military dis
advantage, It leaves tho country Itself practically undis
turbed, and tho drafts for military service make little im
pression upon the enormous population of the empire.
Japan, on the contrary, must be sending an appreciable pro
portion of lier productive hands Into the war, and the bur
den of their support falls on a relatively limited territory.
Russia has u particular advantage at this time also In
the great horde of gold that has been accumulated in the
country as the basis of an excellent currency system, which
has thus far suffered no disturbance. Japan has likewise
managed her currency issues successfully as yet, but they
are on a small scale, and when the public outlay rises in
tile hundreds of millions It is questionable If tho system Is
adequate to stand the strain.
In the shock of battle, victory Is likely to rest with the
strongest battalions. In the wear and tear of a long war,
the advantage Is with the largest exchequer. Japan's best
hope Is In an early and decisive success. Russia's reliance
is still in her unlimited powers of endurance. But the
wanton waste of a billion dollars a year Is the least part of
the awful cost of war. Philadelphia Ledger.
The Wood Crocs of tho Far North
huve a groat itwpect for their "Illtlj
brother," makwa, tho bear, and the
braves array themselves for a bear
hunt In their finest dress of ceremony.
In "Tho Silent Places," Stewart Ed
wurd White describes an attack on n
bear by a party of Indiamj, as wlt
uessH.i by two woodsmen.
Dick and Sam perceived a suddyn
excitement In the leading canoes.
Hnukeutah stopped, then cautiously
backed uulil well behind tho screen of
the poinl.
"It's a bear," said Sam, quietly.
"They've gone to get their war paint
on."
In a abort time the Indian canoes re
appeared. The Indians had Intercept
ed their women, unpacked their bag
guge, and arrayed themselves in buck
skin, elaborately embroidered with
beads and silks in thn flower pattern.
Ornaments of brass anil silver, sacral
skins of tho beaver, broad dashes of
ochor and vermilion on tho naked skin,
twisted streamers of colored wool all
added to the barbaric gorgeousucss.
Phantom-like, without apparently
the slightest directing motion, the
bows of tho canoes swung like wlnJ
vunes to point toward a Uttio heap
of drift logs undor tho shadow of an
elder bush. Tho bear was wallowlag
in the cool wet sand.
Now old Uaukeninh rose to his
height In the bow of his canoe, and
began to speak rapidly in a low voice,
in tho soft Crco tongue.
"O makwa, our little brother," he
said, "we come to you not in anger,
nor In disrespect We come to do you
a kindness. Here are hunger and col l
and enemies. In the Afterlaad Is ouly
happiness. So If we shoot you, O
ir.akwu, our little brolhor, be not an
gry with us."
With the Bhock of a dozen little bul
lets the bear went down, but was Im
mediately ufoot again. He was badly
wounded and thoroughly enraged. B3
fore the astonished Indians could baok
water, he had dasVed into the shal
lows and planted his paws on tin
bow of old Haukemah's canoe.
Hnukemah stood valiantly to the do
fense, but was promptly upset and
pouncetl upon by the enraged animal
Dick Horron rose suddenly to his feet
and shot. The bear collapsed into the
muddled water.
Haukemah and his steersman rose,
dripping. Tho Indians gathered to r:
amino In respectful admiration. Dick's
bullet had passed from ear to ear.
CARAVAN ROAD 5,000 YEARS.
Bcunet Alone One of tho Most Auclcnt
Highways in tho World,
The road from Horns to llama run.-
almost due north, a straight white
lino cutting across the green fields. It
Is one of tho oldest routes in tha
world. Caravans have beeu passing
along It for at least Ave thousand
years, just as wo saw them long
strings of slow-moving camels, with
their bright-colored bags of wheat.
Ono could almost imagine that
Pharaoh was again calling down the
corn of Hamnth to fill his garments
against the seven years of famine.
Rut even hero the old things are pass
lug. Just beyond tho long line of
camels was a longer lino of fellah
women, their dirty blue robes killed
above their knees, carrying upon their
shoulders baskets of earth and stone
for tho roadbed of tho new French
railway. The carriage road is French,
too; and a very good road Is It. Some
men were repairing it with a most In
genious roller. It was a groat round
stone, drawn by two oxen, and having
its axle prolonged by a twenty-foot
pole, at the end of which a bare
legged Arab was fastened to balance
the whole affair. If the Btom had top
pled over the picture of tho Arab
dangling at the top of the sbnder flag
staff would have been worth watch
lug. All along the ride we were reminded
of the past, it is a fertile f.o'.l, but
the very wheat fields are different
from ours. Only n few yards in widlh,
they are often of tremendous length.
I hesitate to commit myself to figures;
but it Is certain that the thin, green
fields would stretch nway in tho dis
tance until lost over some little eleva
tion. At one place the road was cut
through a hill honeycombed with rock
tombs, which the linj said were Jew
Ish. Every now nnd thn wo passed
a toll, or great hemispherical mound,
built up of the rubbish of a dozen
ruined towns; for even as Jato as
Roman times this was a well cult!
vatcd and populous country. There U
now no lumber available for building
purposes, and in n number of villages
the houses are all built with conical
roofs of stone. Where the rock hap
pens to be of a reddisli tinge tho
houses remind one of nothing so much
as a collection of Indian wigwams:
where the stone Is white, as at Tell
ol-RIsch, it glitters and sparkles like
a fairy city cut out of loaf sugar.
Serlbner's Magazine.
I OLD- 1
And Yet It In Never Advertise!.
Wiggles What is your favorite
breakfast food?
Waggles Ham and eggs. Somer
vlile Journal.
FAVORITES f
I;.i;ii;..i.jj..j...jj...,j....j..;.,j,,.j..j...,...
Uhiucu on tho Klihic.
A soldier of the Legion lay dying in Al
geria ;
Thcro was lack of woman's nursing,
thero was dearth of woman's
tears;
But a comrade stood beside him, while
IiIb life-blood ebbed away,
And bent with pitying glance to hear
what he might say.
The dying soldier faltered as he took that
comrade s baud,
And he snid: "I never more shall see my
own, mr native land.
Take a message and a token to some dis
tant friends of mine;
For I was born at Bingen nt Bingrn on
the Rhine!
Tell my brothers and companions, when
they meet and crowd a round
To hear my mournful Htory, In the pleas
ant vineyard ground,
That wo fought thu battle bravely; nnd
when the day was done
Full many a corpse lay ghastly pale be
neath the setting sun.
And 'midst tho dead and dying were
some crown old in war.
The death-wounds on their gallant
breasts the last of many scars;
But some were young, and suddenly be
held life's morn decline;
And one had coma from Bingen fair
Bingcu on tho Rhine!
'Tell my mother that her other moiim
shall comfort her old age,
For I was still a truant bird that thought
his homo a cage;
For my father was a soldier, and even as
a child
My heart leaped forth to hear hhu tell
of struggles fierce and wild;
And when ho died, and loft us to divide
his ecanty hoard,
I let them take whate'er they would-
but kept my father s sword;
And witii boyish love I hung It where
the bright light used to whine
On the cottage wall at Bingen calm
Bingen on the Rhine!
"Tell my sister not to weep for me, and
sob with droopmg head.
When the troops come marching home
again with glad aud gallant tread.
But to look upon them proudly, wlt.i .i
calm and steadfast eye.
For her brother was a sol.iur. ton. i.i:d
not afraid to die;
And If a comrade seek her Invo, l m
her in my name
To listen to him frankly, without regret
or shame,
And to hang the old sword in its pluce,
my father's sword and mine,
For the- honor of old Bingen dear Bin
gen on the Rhine!
"There's another, not n nlator; iu tho
happy days gone by
You'd have known her by tho merriment
that sparkled in her eye;
Too Innocent for coquetry, too fond for
Idle scorning;
O friend, I fear the Hghtctit heart makes
sometimes heaviest morning.
Tell her the last night of my lifo (for ere
this moon be risen
My body will be out of pain, my soul be
out of prison),
I dreamed I stood with her, aud saw the
yellow sunlight shiua
On the vine-clad liills of Bingen fair
Bingen ou the Rhine!
"I saw the blue Rhine sweep along; I
heard, or seemed to hear,
Tho German songs we used to sing, In
chorus sweet and clear;
And down the pleasant river, and up the
slanting hill,
Tho echoing chorus sounded through the
evening calm and still;
Aud her glad blue eyes wero on me as
we passed, with friendly talk,
Down mauy a path beloved of yore, nnd
well-remembered walk,
And her llttlo hand lay lightly, confid
ingly in mine;
Bnt we'll meet no more at Bingen loved
Bingen ou the Rhine!"
His voice grew falat aad hoarse his
grasp Was childish weak;
Ills eyes put on a dying look ho sighed,
and ceased to speak;
Ills comrade beat to lift him, but the
spark of Ufa had fled;
Tho soldier of tho Legion in a foreign
land was dead!
And the soft moon rose up slowly, and
calmly sho looked down
On tho red sand of the battlefield, with
bloody corpses strewn.
Yea, calmly on that dreadful bcouu her
pale light seemed to shine,
As it shouo on distant Bingen fair Bin
gen on the Rhine!
Caroline E. Norton.
DIGS CYCLONE CELLAR.
Differences Between tho Ilabltn of u
Hure uud u Rabbit.
Tho difference between u hare and a
rabbit la, the former lives on the sur
face of the ground, while the latter
digs a cyclone cellar and uses it as a
reception room, writes Thomas A.
llerndon In the Washington Post.
Thero are about 30 species of rab
bits and hares in the world, aud all
countries except Australia originally
possessed some specimens, but even
Australia cannot now complain that
she Is without representatives of a spe
cies that make themselves a power in
the earth.
The polar hare, tho Eskimo of its
species, dwells amid the snow and ico
of that desolate region, and nature has
so arranged that tho color of his clothes
harmonizes with his surroundings,!
South America Is poorest In having but
one species.
Lopus callotls Is tho name which sci
ence gives to n species of this wonder
ful animal, that when danger threatens
knowH so well what to do with Its foot,
but in common vernacular, and for
business purposes, ho is kuown as tho
Jackass rabbit, or Jack rabbit. Ho de
rives his euphonious name- from ou:
great American mocking bird, thu Jack
ass, from the supposed resemblance of
their long ears, aud tltc Jack rabbit n:i
far excels all of his species In speed
as his namesake docs In strenuous
song.
Jack rabbits aro the largest of nil
the hares, ( being 25 inches In length,
while the ordinary rabbit, or cotton
tall, Is 17 Inches. Tltc hind legs and
ears are long, color above yellowish
gra3, sides and back of neck lighter,
below white, tall sometimes black, but
In the north entirely white. Llko nil
hares, they do not burrow, but build a
nest on the top of the ground.
In northern climates the rabbit turns
pure white In winter, while farther
south the change is partial, or docs not
occur at all. Their homo Is iu tho
boundless west, from Texas to Min
nesota and westward to California.
The two big front teetli of tho upper
Jaw are the sign of tho rodent, but
behind these are two llttlo teeth, which;
do not reach far enough down to aid
in the gnawing, aud scii'tillsts havo
agreed that those little teeth aro to
the rabbit what the appendix is to a
man a perfectly useless piece of fur
niture, a grandfather's clock, so to
speak, onco useful to his ancestors, but
now outlawed by more recent discov
eries and Inventions. But those llttlo
teeth prove that the rabbit's ancestors
had four instead of two largo teeth, us
at present.
On account of the peculiar anatomi
cal structure and arrangement of the
bones of tho forelegs, a rabbit cannot
turn them Inwardly and use them as
hands, as can tho squirrel and other
todcnls when feeding; but tho forelegs
neem licj.Igncd to be used in running
or the curious stamping in which rab
bits Indulge when angry or excited.
Jack rabbits are not believers in or ex
ponents of race suicide, and at tho
close of each season they cAn point
with pride to I he Increase in the uum-
-v o.' their ; tjiily. Unlike kittens, tho
yuung nuoi!H cume iMti this sinful
world it'i Lhclr eyes wide open, and
whoti a we.:; old they are active and
wt-'.l able t'i lake i:are of themselves
ami lo-ik ar.tv their own safely. At
tho ci.il a mouth or two they aro
wcunod and Me t.oon ready to set up
housekeeping for themselves.
I.. ..........! J1...I- I.... I
jlii ii milium siuiu u 11:11 inn uudi; la
hold in check by the scarcity of food,
but when the fnrmer produces enough
food suited to their taste they fed it la
their moral duty to produce enough
young rabbits to eat It. Tho eagle and
hawk frequently kill Jack rabbits, es
pecially the young, but their most de
structive Iocs, next to the great assass
in, man, aro the wolves and foxes.
The coyote is said to bo an exp -it on
the sub. ect of rabbit hunting, and He
considers it an unlucky day when ho
docs not carry In his inside pocket tho
left hind foot of a rabbit. During tho
autumn and winter Jack rabbits aro
hunted and killed in great numbers.
Tho most popular method Is shooting
them from wagons or buckboards, with
the assistance of dogs, who start tho
Jades from their cover.
One man will sometimes kill dozens
of the rabbits iu a day. But the jjTeat
oat number, however, are killed in
drives. An urea of several miles In
extent is beaten over by men on horse
back and on foot, who close in an they
advance, driving the game before them -into
some kind of an luclosure or cor
ral, from which there Is no escape.
The number of rabbits taken In this
manner runs from a few hundred to
several thousand.
Thcmost sportsmahlikc wayof buhl
lug tho Jack rabbit is by coursing u ltli
greyhounds, ufter tho manner In an
cient hunts In Europe, nnd tho speed
of tho rabbit does not allow any loaf
ing on tho part of the greyhound, and
If the rabbit Is not off his training ha
will give the greyhound his money'!
worth In tho prelinilnary spin.
If the Jack rabbt has a fair start lo
the raco he can outdistance tho grey
hound and does hot turn or double' un
less closely pressed, but then he takei
advantage of every trick or turn which
ho has learned In the school of expert
enco, and the greyhound that beats bin! .
fairly must not be a "tenderfoot," but
to the manner born. .
Miutu an Impression.
Flrsst Bee I don't believe that small
boy will Lother us tiny more.
Second Bee Do you think he under
stands that his presence Is not
wanted?
First Bee Well, I gave him a
strong pointer to that effect. Detroit
Free Press.
lllHlllUUtiltU.
"There's no use trying to do good1
things In this world. They aren't an-'
pruciatud."
"How do you know?" Cleveland)
Plain Dealer.
Old ago can dye its whiskers, but
old age can't look young.
