* "WHAR DEW I CUM IN?” (Being the Soliloquy of a Farmer on the Free Raw Sugar Question.): r **Thar’s a mighty lot er talkin’ about farmers 'n tliar rights, N the wonderful prosperity thet beet growin’ invites, i liar a a heap er foolish crowin’ ’n the ‘beats’ begin ter shout n holler fer the laritf ter keep free raw sugar out! But 1 notis thet the beet-producin’ farms are very few, An the farmers through tile country ain't got much ef it ter dew. The hull land ain't a-raisin’ beets, ’it ain't goin’ ter begin. Beet growin's right fer sum, I guess—but, whar dew l cum in? 'The farmer gits four dollars now fer every ton o' beets— A hansom price, I must allow—-but hidin’ sum deceits. Beet sugar manyfacterers admit cs they liev found "Ibet "granylated” costs ’em sumthin' like tew cents a pound. In fact thet leaves a profit on which they’d greatly thrive— And—if it kin be sold fer three, why should we pay ’em FIVE? It seems ter me es thet's a game thet’s mighty like a skin— But—if tliar's any benefit—waal,—whar dew / cum in? When Unde Sam's in want o' cash we’re glad ter help him out, 'N well stand all the taxes thet are needed. ne\er doubt. But when his pocket-book's well lined an’ nary cent lie lacks, Et seems ter ntc bis duty’s ter repeal thet sugar tax. 1 hem fellers wot is interested sez its to protect The beet-producin’ farmer thet the duty they collect, But I guess thet explanation es a little bit too thin— 1 he sugar maker,—lie's all right;—but—whar dew ivc cum in? Take off raw sugar duty an’ the price will quickly fall, To everybody’s benefit, fer sugar’s used by all. The poor will bless the Government thet placed it in tliar reach— (’n millions of our citizens free sugar now beseech) The dealer 'll be delighted—less expenditure fer him— More demand ’n bigger profits—which at present are but slim. An' the farmer ’ll be as well paid as he ever yet lies ben— But he’ll buy his sugar cheaper—thet’s whar he an’ I’ll cum in. Now, wliar’s the sense er reason of the sugar tax to day, When our treasury's a-bulgin’ an’ we liev no debts ter pay? The duty on raw sugar's Fifty million every year— An’ the people’s got ter pay it—thet’s a fact thet’s very clear. Fifty million! Great Jerusha! Ter protect beet magnates, too. Why should they tax ALL the people—just ter help a scattered FEW? And the FEW? Beet-sugar MAKERS! Don’t it really seem a sin Thus ter help an’ fill tliar coffers? Whar dew you an’ I cum in? The farmer growin’ beets lies got a contract price fer years,— Free raw sugar wouldn’t hurt him, an' of it he lies no fears. But mebbe, like myself—lie's also growing fruit so nice— Ter preserve it—at a profit—be needs sugar—at a price! The repealing of the duty surely cuts the price in two— Thet’ll make a mighty difference, neighbor, both ter me an’ you! Let the sugar manyfactrer make such profits a* lie kin— Ter him it may seem right enuff—but whar dew I cum in? An’ I ain’t a-goin' ter swaller all the argyments they shout Thet the farmers need protection—an’ must bar raw sugar out. Common sense is plainly showin' that the people in the land Want raw sugar free in future—an’ its freedom will demand. ’Tis a tax no longer needed—hateful to the public view,— Taxing millions of our people to enrich a favored few. They can't blind me any longer with the foolish yarns they spin.— While they’re busy niakin’ money—whar dew you and I come in? I’ni a-goin’ ter keep on hustlin’, talkin’, pleadin’ with my frends,— Ain't no sense in lettin' others gain tliar selfish privet ends. I'm a-g"in' ter write ter-niorrer to my Congressman 'nd say Thet he oughter do bis best ter kill that tax without delay! Feller-farmers, do your utmost—whether you grow beets or not To repeal the tax on sugar—you can but improve your lot! Cheaper sugar helps your pocket, greater blessings you can win— When we’ve threc-cent granylated—that’s whar you an’ I come in!” 1 The Lincoln Eye and Ear Infirmary i *J«H J Successfully[ treats all curable * • diseases and in- s juries of the i EYE, EAR, NOSE and THROAT, I Including | BLINDNESS, DEAENESS and CATARRH. • Contarious and incurable cases not admil t ted. 1'atieniR boarded, nursed and treated, s Letters of inquiry promptly answered, i Write for announcement. DRS. CiARTEN & COOK, ! Oculists and Aurists in attendance. Lincoln.Net). When Answering Advertisements Kindi; Meutiofl This Taper. Better go about than fall iuto the j ditch. PIT© Permanently ruren. No fits or nerTotinnePs after ■ ISO flrat use oi i»r. Kline's Great Nerve Ke*tor> *-r. Bend for FKKK 9 3.00 trial bottle ami treatise. i>B. H. il. ki.ijfK, I,td , 031 Arch Street, Philadelphia, l a. A man doesn’t mind being a fool a3 long as he doesn’t know it. There is no trick in dyeing. You can do it just as well as any one if vou use PUTNAM FADELESS DYES. Boiling the goods for half an hour iB all there Is to it. Sold by druggists, 10c. package. Few men have enough self-confi dence to enable them to ignore their own mistakes. A good companion makes good com pany. Vcriatllf Nlro'ay The late John G. Nicolay was a man of many and varied accom plishments. Beginning his career as a clerk in a country store, he became successively a printer, editor, pub lisher and proprietor of a newspaper, a private secretary, a diplomat and an author. Besides, he was an accom plished linquist. a connoisseur of mu bIc and art and something of a poet. As to his part in the preparation ol the biography of Lincoln, which was jointly the work of Mr. Nicolay and john Hay, the latter is credited with the graceful explanation that he did half and Mr. Nicolay the other half. Hero of M^mpliiH Dead. Father Aloysius Wiever, a Francis can priest, who died in the Santa Barbara mission, in southern Califor nia, on the morning made memorable by the death of President McKinley, was the man who. in 1878, earned the title of "the hero of Memphis." He was a native of Vreden, Germany, hav ing been born sixty-three years ago. Ho came to this country when 20 years old. In 1870 he removed to St. Louis, and in 1873, when the plague of yellow fever broke out in Memphis, he voluntarily went to the stricken city and remained through the plague, rendering assistance alike to whith and black. CANADA'S^ CAPITAL AFOUSED. Never Wu There Sacli Kxetteiuciit— riijildMui' Amim tiitiou Trying; to Fx|»l*lii. Ottawa, Canada. Nov. 25th.—This city is stirred up as never before. Some seven years ago the local papers published an account of a man named George H. Kent of 408 Gilinour street, who was dying of Bright's Disease and who at the very last moment after several of our best physicians had de clared he couldn't live twelve hours, was saved by Dodd's Kidney Pills. People who know how low Mr. Kent was refused to believe that he was cured permanently and the other day In order to clinch the matter the pa pers published the whole case over again and backed up their story by sworn statements made by Mr. Kent, in which be declares most positively that in 1894 he W'as given up by the doctors and that Dodd's Kidney Pills and nothing else saved him, and fur ther that since the day that Dodd’s Kidney Pills sent him back to work seven years ago, he has not lost a single minute from his work. (He is I a printer in the American Bank Note Printing Company.) Mr. Kent is kept quite busy during his spare hours answering inquiries personally and by letter, but he is so grateful that he counts the time well silent. Indeed he and his wife have shown their gratitude to Dodd's Kid nej Pills in a very striking way by having their little girl—born in 1890— christened by the name of "Dodds." Altogether it is the most sensational case that has ever occurred in the his tory of medicine in Canada and the perfect substantiation of every detail leaves no room to doubt either the completeness or the permanency of the cure. The local physicians have made the case of Kent and Dodd's Kidney Pills the subject of discussion at several of the private meetings of their associa tion. Helen Gould's Vn*«r Git*. Miss Helen Miller Gould has given to Vassar college two scholarships ot 110,000 each for the benefit of grad uates of the Tarrytown high school and of the Washington Irving high school at Irvington, N. Y. M Ejcceil eHt fAH'iy l^-XAT^6 CEltBMT 'a ro the^as^ *t is F?EFRBSf1'^ and Acts & , „ Pleasantly and (Jently. i^SS'STS 0Ne. ^Co^, t° OvER.COfAt Permanently ^ With many millions of families Syrup of Figs has become the ideal home laxative. The combination is a simple and wholesome one, and the method of manufacture by the California Fig Syrup Company ensures that perfect purity and uniformity of product, which have commended it to the favorable consideration of the most eminent physicians and to the intelligent appreciation of all who are well informed in reference to medicinal agents. Syrup of Figs has truly a laxative effect and acts gently with out in any way disturbing the natural functions and with perfect freedom from any unpleasant alter effects. In the process of manufacturing, figs are used, as they are pleasant to the taste, but the medicinally laxative principles of the combination are obtained from plants known to act most bene ficially on the system. To r an Isthmian canal must be made bets * -n the Nicaragua and Panama locations. Furthermore, the complete problem In volves both the sea level plan of canal and that with locks. The Panama route alone Is feasible for a sea level eanal, al though both are entirely practicable and feasible for a canal with locks. The time required to complete a sen level canal on the Panama route, probably more than twlre that needed to build a canal with locks, excludes It from favorable consideration, aside from other serious features of its construction. It Is the conclusion of this commission, therefore, that a plan of cnnal with locks should be adopted. A comparison of the prin cipal physical features, both natural and artificial of the two routes, reveals some points of similarity. Both routes cross the continental divide less than ten miles from the Pacific Ocean, the Pana ma summit being about double the height of that In Nicaragua. Both Routes Require Costly Dains. l-'or more than half Its length the loca tion of each route on the Atlantic side is governed by the course of a river, the flow from whose drainage basin is the only source of water supply for the pro posed canal; and the summit levels, dif fering about twenty feet In elevation— Panama being the lower are formed by lakes, natural In the one case and arti ficial In the other, requiring costly dams and water ways for tiielr regulation and for the Impounding of surplus waters to reduce the effect of floods and meet op erating demands during low water sea sons. The Investigations made In con nection with the regulations of Lake Nicaragua have demonstrated that the lake affords an Inexhaustible water sup ply for the canal by that route. The In itial proposition, on the other hand, for the Panama route, is to form Lake Bohlo so as to yield a water supply for a traffic of 10,000.000 tons, which can be supple mented when needed by an amount suffi cient for more than four times that traflic by means of the Alhajut-li reser voir. For all practical purposes this may be considered an unlimited supply for the Panama route. So far ns the practical operation of a ship canal Is concerned, therefore, the water supply features on both lines are satisfactory. The difficulties disclosed and likely to be encountered in the construction of the dams are less at Oonehuila, on the Nica ragua line, than at Bohlo, on the Pana ma route. Both dams, however, are practicable, but the cost of that at Bohlo is one-half more than that at Con chuda. Commission Desires a Perfect Structure. A less expensive dam at Bohlo has been proposed, but through a portion of its length it would he underlaid by a de posit of sand and gravel, pervious to wa ter. The seepage might not prove dan gerous, hut tiie security of the canal Is directly dependent upon this dam, and the policy of the commission has been to select the more perfect structure, even at a somewhat greater cost. The water ways at both locations present no seri ous difficulties. The advantages in the design and construction of the dams are In favor of the Nicaragua route. The system of regulation at Lake Bohlo con sists of the discharge of water over the crest of a weir, ns the lake level rises under the influence of floods In the Chargres River. The plan of regulating the level of Lake Nicaragua Is less sim ple, though perfectly practicable. It In volves the operation of movable gates at such times and to such extent as the rainfall on the lake basin may require. The experience nnd judgment of the op erator are essential elements to effective regulation of this lake. The regulation of Lake Bohlo Is automatic. The only means of transportation now found on the Nicaragua route are the narrow gauge Sillco Lake Railroad about six miles In length, and the limited naviga tion of San Juan River and lake; but the Nicaraguan Government Is now building a railroad along the beach from Grey town to Monkey Point, about forty-five miles to the northward, where it pro poses to establish a commercial port. By means of a pier In the area protect ed by the point goods and material for canal purposes can readily be landed and transported by rail to Greytown. Such piers are In constant use on our Pacific coast. This railroad and port would be uf great value during the pe riod of preparation and harbor construc tion. and should materially shorten that period. Panama Has Railroad In Operation. A well equipped railroad is In opera tion along the entire length of the Pana ma route, and existing conditions there afford Immediate accommodation for a large force of laborers. The Nicaragua route has no natural harbor at either end. At both the Atlantic and Pacific terminal, however, satisfactory harbors may be created by the removal of ma terial at low prices and by the construc tion of protective works of well estab lished design. An excellent roadstead, protected bv Islands, already exists at Panama, and no work need be done there for either harbor construction or main tenance. At Colon, the Atlantic termin us of the Panama route, a serviceable harbor already exists. It has afforded harbor accommodations for many years, but Is open to northers, which a few times In each year are liable to damage ships or force them to put to sea. Con siderable work must be done there to create a suitable harbor at the entrance of the canal, which can he easily entered and will give complete protection to ship ping lying within. Kxcavatlon Work Compared. The completion of the harbors, as planned for both routes, would yield but little advantage to either, but the bal ance of advantages, including those of maintenance and operation, is probably in favor of the Panama route. The ex istence of a harbor at each terminus of the Panama route and a line of railroad across the isthmus will make It practi cable to commence work there, after the concessions are acquired, as soon as the necessary plant can tie collected and put In place nnd the working force organized. This period of preparation is estimated at one year. In Nicaragua this period is estimated at two years, so as to include also the construction of working harbors and terminal and railroad facilities. The work of excavation on the Nica ragua route is distributed; it Is heaviest near Conchuda. at Tainberolto and in the divide west of the lake. On the Panama route It Is largely cono'uitruted In the Culebra and Kmptiador cuts, which are practically one. As a rule, distributed work affords a greater number of avail able points of attack, contributing a qulckst completion, but In either of these cases t vi h difficulties as may exist can be successfully met with suitable organi zation and efficient appliances. labor Scarce There. *rhe time required for constructing the Nicaragua Canal will depend largely on the promptness with which the requisite force of laborers can he brought to Nica ragua, housed and organized with the lo co tons of heaviest work along the route. The cut through the divide west of the lake probably will require the longest time of any single feature of construc tion. It contains 1.4,000.000 cubic yards of earth and rock execration, or a little less than 10 per cent of the total work of all classes Included. With adequate force ami plant this commission estimates that It can be completed In four years. This 'ndlcates, under reasonable allowance for ordinary delays. If force and plant enough were obtainable, to secure a practically concurrent execution of all portions of work on the route the com pletion of the entire work might be exe cuted within six years after Its being started, exclusive of the two years esti mated for the period of preparation. The securing and organizing of the great force of laborers needed, largely foreign ers. so as to adjust the execution of the various portions of the work to such a definite program of close fitting parts In a practically unpopulated tropical country involves unusual difficulties and would prolong the time required for com pletion. The greatest single feature of work on the Panama route is the excava tion In the Culebra section, amounting to about 43,000,000 cubic yards of hard clay, much of which is classed as soft rock, nearly 45 per cent of all classes of material to be removed. Eight Yeais Required, Tt Is estimated that this out ran he completed In eight years, with allowance for ordinary delays, but exclusive of a two-year period for preparation and for unforeseen delays, and that the remain der of the work can be tlnlshed within the some period. The great concentra tion of work on this route and its less amount will require a smaller force of laborers than on the Nicaragua route. Hence the difficulties and delays Involved In securing them will be correspondingly diminished. The total length of the Nica ragua route, from sea to sea, Is 183.06 miles, while the total length of the Panama route Is 49.09 miles. Tho length In standard canal section, and on the harbors and entrances. Is 73.78 miles for the Nicaragua route and 36.41 miles for the Panama route. The length of sailing line In l.ake Nicaragua is 70 51 miles, while that In Bake Bohlo is 13.68 miles. That portion of the Nicaragua route In the canalized San Juan Is 39.37 miles. The preceding physical features of the two lines measure the magnitude of the work to be done in the construction of water ways along the two routes. The esti mated cost of constructing the canal on the Nicaragua route Is $15,630,704 more than that of completing the Panama • "anal, omitting the cost of acquiring the latter property. This sum measures tho difference In the magnitude of the ob stacles to be overcome In the actual con struction of the two canals and covers all physical considerations, such as the greater or less height of darns, the great er or less depth of cuts, the presence or absence of natural harbors, the presence or absence of a railroad, and the amount of work remaining to he done. The esti mated annual cost of maintaining and operating the Nicaragua Canal is $1,350, (4)0 greater than the corresponding charges for the Panama Canal. Piumma Route Shorter. ~Tl~Pnn!ima route would be 131.57 miles short< r, from sea to sea, than the Nica ragua route. It would have less summit elevation, fewer locks, and 66.44 miles hs< curvature. The estimated lime for a deep draft vessel to pass through is about twelve hours for Panama and thlr t\-three hours for Nicaragua. These pe rn,ds are practically the measure of the relative advantages of the two canals as water ways connecting the two oceans, hut not entirely, because the risks to vessels and the dangers of delay are greater In a canal than In the open sea. Except for tin' items of riHk and delays the time required to pass through the canals need he taken into account otdy as an element In the time required by vessels to make their voyage between terminal ports. Compared on this basis, tin' Nicaragua route Is the more advan tageous for all translsthmlan commerce except that originating or ending on the west coast of South America. For the commerce In which the United States Is most Interested, that between our Pacific ports and Atlantic ports, European and American, the Nicaraguan route is short er by one day. The same advantage ex ists between our Atlantic ports and the Orient. For our gulf posts the advan tage of the Nicaragua route Is nearly two days. For commerce between North Atlantic ports and the west coast of South America the Panama route is shorter by about two days. Between gull ports and the west const of South America the saving Is about one day. The Nicaraguan route would be the more favorable one for sailing vessels, because of the uncertain winds In tho Bay of Panama. This Is not, however, n ma terial matter, as sailing ships are rapid ly being displaced by steamships. A canal by the Panama route will be sim ply a means of communication between the two oceans. The route has been a highway of commerce for more than 300 years, and a railroad has been in oper ation there for nearly fifty years; hut this has affected industrial changes hut little, and the natural features of the country through which the route passes are such that no considerable develop ment Is likely to occur as a result of the construction and operation of a canal. In addition to Its use as a means of com munication between the two oceans, a canal by the Nicaragua route would bring Nicaragua and a large portion of Costa Rica and other Central American states into close and easy communication with the United States and with Europe. The Intimate business relations that would be established with the people of the United States during the period of construction by the expenditure of vast sums of money in these stutes, and the use of American products and manufac tures would be likely to continue after the completion of the work, to the bene fit of our manufacturing, agricultural and other Interests. Nicaragua the Healthier. The Nicaragua route lies In a region of sparse population and not In a path way of much trade or movement of peo ple. Conditions productive of much sick ness do not extst. On the other hand, a considerable population has long existed on the Panama route and It lies on a pathway of comparatively large trade, along which currents of moving people frominfected places sometimes converge, thus creating conditions favorable to epidemics. Existing conditions Indicate hygienic advantages for the Nicaragua route, although It is probable that no less effective sanitary measures must be taken during construction In the one case than in the other. The cost of construct ing a canal by the Nicaragua route and of completing the Panama Canal, with out Including the cost of acquiring the concessions from the different govern ments, Is estimated as follows; Nicaragua- .»180,804,0(13 Panama. 144,338,308 For a proper comparison there must be added to the Inner the cost of acquir ing the rights and property of the New Panama Canal Company. This commis sion has estimated the value of these In the project recommended by It at $;0,060.000. In order to exercise the rights necessary for the const ruction of ths canal and for Its management alter com pletion the United States should acquire control of a strip of territory from sea to sea sufficient In area for the conveni ent and efficient accomplishment of these purposes. Measures must also be taken to protect the line from unlawful acts of all kinds to Insure sanitary control and to render police jurisdiction effective. The strip should be not less than five miles wide on each side of the center line of the canal, or ten miles in total width. No treaties now exist with any of the states within whose territory ths two routes He authorizing the Unite® States to occupy Its territory for the con struction ami operation of a canal. When It has been determined to undertake ths work and the route has been selected, the consent of Colombia, or of Nicaragua and Costa Rica, for such occupation must be obtained before the Inauguration of the enterprise, and one or more con tentions must be entered into by the United States to secure the necessary privileges anti authority. The republic* of Nicaragua nnd Costa Ulca are un trammeled by any existing concession* or treaty obligations, and are free to giant to the United States the rights necessary for the attainment of these ends, and in December, 1300, demonstrat ed their willingness to have their terri tory so occupied by the United States by executing protocols by which It wa* agreed that they would enter Into ne gotiations to si ttle In detail the plan ami agreements necessary to accomplish the construction and provide for th* ownership of the proposed canal when ever the President of the United State* is authorized by law to acquire tne nec essary control and authority. Colombia Not Free. The government of Colombia, on the contrary, In whose territory the Panama route lies, has granted concessions which belong to. or are controlled by the New Panama Canal Company, and have many years to run These concessions, limit ed In time and defective in other wnya, would not hp adequate authority for the purposes of the United States, hut while they exist Colombia Is not free to treat with this government. If the Panama route Is selected these concessions must be removed In order tliut the republics may enter Into a treaty to enable the Pnlted Htntea to acquire the control upon the Isthmus Mint will he necessary and to fix the consideration. An agree ment with the New Panama Canal Com pany to surrender or transfer Its con cessions must Include a sale of Its canal property ami unfinished work, and the commission undertook, soon after Its or ganization, to ascertain upon what terms this could be accomplished. Much cor respondence and many conferences fol lowed, but no proposition naming a price was presented until the middle of Octo ber. 1301, nnd after prolonged discussion It was submitted to the commission in a modified form on the 4tli of November, to be Included Iti Its report to the Presi dent. The Itemized statements appear m an earlier chapter of the report. The total amount for which the company offers to sell and transfer Its canal prop erty to the United States Is $10!*.141.500. This, added to flic cost of completing the work, makes the whole cost of a canal by the Panama route $253,371,858, while the cost by the Nicaragua route Is $189, 884 0fi2, n difference of $63,510,796 in favor of the Nicaragua route. States Must Ho t'onip* nsated. In each ense there must be added the coat of obtaining the use of the terri tory to be occupied and such other privi leges as may be necessary for the con struction uml operation of the canal In perpetuity. The compensation that the different states will ask for granting these privileges is now unknown. There are certain physical advantages such ns a shorter canal lino, a more complete knowledge of the country through which it passes arid lower cost of maintenance and operation. In favor of the Panama route, hut the price fixed liy the PanainB Canal Company for a sale of its prop erty nnd franchises Is so unreasonable that Its acceptance cannot be recom mended by lids commission. After eon sbb ring all the facta developed by the Investigations made by the commission, the actual situation as It now stands, and having Irt view the terms offered by tin New Panama Canal company, this commission Is of the opln'nn that "the most practicable and feasible route” for an Isthmian canal to be "under the con trol. management and ownership of the Pnlted States" is that known es the Nicaragua route. THE MINORITY REPORT. George Morrison of tlie Uunal Commli sion Favors I’unanin Route. Following Is a summary of the minority report of George 8. Morrison of the Nic aragua Canal Commission: While concurring In the excellence of the greater part of the majority report, I was unable to accept the conclusions at , which my colleagues have arrived. I ac eept the location for the Nicaraguan Canal as one to which I can suggest no Improvements. I consider that the esti mate does not make enough provision for unknown conditions and contingencies. The cost of the work on both tho Nic aragua and the Panama routes has been estimated at the same unit prices and with the addition of the same percentage to cover "Engineering, Police, Sanitation, and General Contingencies." Tho excavation of tho Panama Canall has been opened for nearly its entire length, and the character of the material' to be removed can be examined in posi tion. On the Nicaragua route tlie character of material has been determined by bor ings which, though unusually complete, do not give the definite information that is visible at Panama. At Panama there are fair harbors at bom eii*is of the canal that are fully ade quate for all demands during construc tion and connected by a railroad In high condition, the country is settled and i many of the necessary accommodations for a large working force nre there. Be fore the eastern section of the Nicaragua Canal can be begun a harbor must be created at Grcytown, convenient lines of transportation which do not now exist must be provided, ns must also the means of housing and caring for a large labor ing population, neatly ail of which must be imported. The preliminary engineering has been done at Panama and the general contin gencies have been reduced to a minimum. Comparing modified estimates, the com of completing the Panama Canal would Vs- $67,000,000 less than the cost of building the Nicaragua Canal. On the Panama route two concessions must be extinguished before such rights can be acquired. They are the contract of 1867, by which the Panama railroad holds Its present rights, nnd the Wyso concessions, under which the French ca nal companies have beer: operating. The settlement with the French must be simply an extinguishment of their rights: the authority to build the canal must lie derived from a new treaty with the republic of Colombia. The Panama route has advantages over I the Nicaragua route in cost of construc tion, in cost of operation and In conven ience when clone, while its use Is less likely to lead to local International com plications. If the United States govern ment Is to build an isthmian canal the Panama route is the best. The French rights must first be extin guished, and whatever this government may pay lor such extinguishment will be salvage to tlie French, if these rights cannot be extinguished the Nicaragua route Is available. GKOKGE S MORRISON. Method for Concentrating Blood. A cheap and rapid method for con- i centrating the enormous quantities of j blood collecting In abattoirs has been Invented recently. The blood Is inject ed into an oven-shaped chamber, open at the top, and brought into contact with a current of hot air ascending from below. All the water is evapo- , rated in this manner, and the blood powder Is carried to the receiving ; chamber. The product thus obtained is tasteless, and contains 78.4 per cent of digestible albumen. SCRAPS. To be vain of one's rank or place, is to show that one is below it.—Stan islaus. At all seasons of the year 5 o’clock in the morning is the "oldest hour of the twenty-four. Wo are made ridiculous less by our 1 defects than by the affectation of qual- j ities which arc not ours. This year’s harvest in the south of Ireland is stated to be the uest experi enced for a quarter of a century. Steel Koofa. A new patent steel rooting will short ly be placed on the market, and it 1b asserted that this product will com pletely displace galvanized iron for rooting purposes. The system of man ufacture consists of steel strips bent cold in the press, the coveriug being formed of plain galvanized sheets bent back on the edges and locked into tubular rafters. Works for the manu facture of this product on a larg* scale are being constructed at Dar lington. England.