Nebraska Newspapers

    I THE NEWS IN NEBRASKA
OVER THE STATE.
Rev. Mr. Davis of Bedford, Mo., has
accepted a call from the Christian
church of Beatrice to become its pas
tor.
The State Banking Board has issued
a charter to Hayden Brothers, bank
ers, Omaha. The capital stock is
$70,000.
Ray Turner was adjudged a dipso
maniac by the insanity commission at
Hastings and ordered taken to the Lin
coln asylum. He is a slave to the co
caine habit.
The contractors putting in the wa
terworks at Arlington have nearly
completed the laying of the main line,
although hampered by the recent cold
weather, causing eight inches of
frost.
Two bloodhounds that had belonged
for some years to William Stine of
Norfolk, have been sold to the sheriff
of Lawrence county, S. D„ and will be
used in the Black Hills to trail crim
inals.
In the November statements of the
nineteen banks of Saunders county,
the sum of $3,013,513.83 was listed as
deposits, making a total of $131 per
capita, according to the last published
eensus of the county.
A telegram received from Lewiston,
Idaho, told of the accidental death of
Mrs. W'esley Kesler at that point by
being burned, presumably by a gaso
line stove explosion. She lived six
hours after the accident.
James Hoed, aged about 70 years,
who lived two miles northwest of
Table Rock,.was killed in a cornfield.
He was driving a team, and when
turning at the end of a row, the wagon
was backed into a ditch twenty feet
deep.
A bay mare, weighing about 1,200
pounds, was stolen from the stable of
Mr. Powell of Irvington. A single har
ness and buggy was taken at the
same time. The stolen animal was
traced as far as Bennington in the
same county.
Frank L. Heinke, a Great Northern
laborer, was seriously but not fatally
injured at Oakland, by a loud of
frozen dirt falling and catching him
between his wagon and timbers of a
trestle, breaking a number of ribs
loose from the backbone.
Mrs. George Stump, living near Vir
ginia, Gage county, while in a delir
ium caused by sickness from typhoid
fever, wandered away from home. She
was found unconscious on the ice in
a ditch. Her clothing was torn and
her hands and feet cut and frozen.
Max Caplan, the young sailor who
committed suicide at the Norfolk navy
yards, was the son of J. L. Caplan, a
farmer living near Odessa, Buffalo
county. Young Caplan arrived in
Kearney about three months ago from
San Francisco, where he had just
been discharged from the navy. He
was 22 years of age.
A complaint, signed by Rev. D. A.
Youtzy, president of the Plattsmouth
l aw and Order league, has been filed
in county court, which charges Mans
Goos, one of the eight saloon keep
ers in that city, with having violated
the Sloenmb law, by keeping the win
dows and doors of his saloon obstruct
ed by curtains. The case will be
heard January 3.
Canon William T. Whitmarsh, prom
inent among the Episcopal clergy of
this state for many years, died in
Omaha, at the age of 71 years. He
had been a sufferer from rheumatism
for several years. Captain Whitmarsh
served for some time as private secre
tary to Bishop Worthington and as
registrar of this diocese. For some
years he was a missionary in Neb
raska.
Benjamin Bailey, son of ex-County
Judge Bailey of Adams county, who
has occupied the position of light and
water commissioner at Okmulgee. I
T„ has heen appointed by Mayor Miles
as city electrician. Word was received
from him accepting the position made
vacant by resignation of Electrician
McFadden, the day previous to elec
tion. Mr. Bailey is a graduate of the
Nebraska state university.
A pretty, blue-eyed baby, apparently
about 2 weeks old, was found the
other night snugly packed in a suit
case on the porch a tthe home of Mr.
and Mrs. Victor Palm, of Hastings.
Pinned to its clothes was a note in a
woman’s handwriting reading: “Please
take your baby. My name is Carl. Jr.
I was born November 19. .1 have no
home. I will never see my mamma
again. Be good to me.”
Charles Russell, formerly a wealthy
man of Lorton and owner of an eleva
tor at that place and many acres of
land, was arrested by Sheriff Shrader
of Otoe county and placed in jail on
the charge of breaking into a store
at Lorton. Mr. Russel has been drink
ing very heavily for several years and
some time ago went to Lorton from
Nebraska City, after one of his sprees
and breaking open one of the stores
at that place pulled down a large
amount of shelf goods and went to
sleep on them.
W. H. Conklin, representing a wire
less telegraph company of Denver, has
been in Hastings some weeks to ar
range for the location of a station
there. He has succeeded in his mis
sion. but has not yet announced defi
nitely the time when the station wiil
be ready for operation.
News of the death of William J.
Bryan, a distant relative of the former
presidential candidate, reached Ash
land. Mr. Bvran died at his home at
N ewkirk, Okl., where he had resided
for the last four years, aged 77 years.
He was a former resident of Saunders
county.
Fire destroyed the barn and five
fine horses belonging to George Lln
derkugel. six miles south of Tobias.
A railroad meeting that was largely
attended was held by the Commercial
club of Broken Bow with Mayor Apple
presiding. After much sensible talk
had been Indulged in by prominent cit
Izens in regard to the benefits to be
derived from other roads touching that
point. Secretary Purcell was author
ised to write General Manager Russell
of the Missouri Pacific at Omaha and
ascertain, if possible, if that road
could be induced to extend a branch
from Prosser to Broken Bow
NEBRASKA OFFICIALS REMOVED
Register and Receiver of Valentine
Land Office Out.
WASHINGTON — President Roose
velt has removed from office James C
Pettijohn, register of the land office
at Valentine, Neb., for participation in
alleged land frauds in that state and
has demanded the immediate resigns
ion of the receiver, Albert L. Towle,
Ten days ago Chief Pollock of the
special service division of the land of
fice reported on an investigation he
las been making at Valentine, Neb,
He found Pettijohn had fenced govern
ment lands and then hired men to file
on the fenced lands and turn over to
him their relinquishments. He was
-ailed on to explain and when his ex
olanation admitted these charges he
was removed.
Receiver Towle of the Valentine of
fice was called on to resign at once
'or failure to attend to duties. The
land office was unwilling to leave the
office, even temporarily, in charge in
view of the fact that he had permitted
without protest the irregularities of
Pettijohn. W. B. Pugh, special agent
has been placed in charge of the office.
It is believed here that there will be
prosecutions growing out of conditions
at Valentine.
TUBERCULOSIS IN HOGS.
It Is Prevailing to an Alarming .Ex
tent.
State Veterinarian McKim said that
tuberculosis in hogs is prevailing
throughout the state to an alarming ex
tent. Recently at a South Omaha
racking house 57 out of 1,100 hogs
were rejected on that account. He at
tributes the prevalence of the disease
to the fact that the animals are being
fed milk from infected cows. So far
no means of coping with the disease
has been discovered. Dr. McKim will
read a paper on the subject of tuber
"Ulosis in hogs before the State Swine
Breeders’ association, which convenes
in January.
Several cases of hydrophobia in cat
tle have been reported from Sprayue.
Lancaster county. The animlas were
bitten by a mad dog. An assistant
veterinarian has been sent out to look
into the situation. The state official
said that the infected animals will
have to be killed, since they convey
infection by lighting with other cat
tle.
JEALOUS HUSBAND BRAINS WIFE.
J. A. McCarthy Crushes Woman’s Skull
and Commits Suicide.
WYMORE—Mrs. J. A. McCarthy,
who was brutally assaulted with an
axe by her husband, died from her in
juries.
Hearing reports concerning his wife
and a young man in town. McCarthy
fell in a faint upon the floor at his
home. After recovering from his
fainting spell McCarthy walked down
town and procured a revolver. Unon
returning home he entered the house
in a fit of jealous raee. and, pointing
the revolver at his wife, the cartridge
failed to explode. Seizing an axe
which lay in the kitchen, McCarthy
then struck his wife on the head, fell
ing her to the floor. Believing she
was dead, the crazed man rushed into
a bedroom and placing the revolver in
his mouth killed himself instantly.
The tragedy was enacted in the pres
ence of a daughter and an aged aunt,
who were unable to interfere.
AS TO EXTRA SESSION.
Governor Refuses to D scuss Question
at Present.
LINCOLN—Governor R'ickev re
fuses to discuss the special session
talk. He is quoted as having told
friends that he had not given the mat
ter consideration recently, except
when it is called to his attention by
some inquiring individual. There is a
considerable element which object®
to a special sess'or on the ground of
expense and the difficulty of getting
the people to vote for amendments
although it is conceded that mu"h
time will he saved by formulating
them in a special session. There i~
a disposition to couple with the de
mand for amendments the plan to
have maximum freight rate and anti
pass laws adopted.
Lindsay Preoaring His Report.
I.INCOT N—The semiannual report
of II. C. Lindsay, clerk of the sunreme
court, is being prenared for presenta
tion to the governor. The renort
shows that on June 1, 18.240 copies
of supreme court renorts were on
hand. Since then 203 copies have
been distributed free of chartre, ft.94
have been sold and 17.043 copies re
main on hand. The sales realized $1 -
0(16.50. Seven copies of the session
laws of 1003 have been sold for S3 5°
and 128 conies of the session laws o*
1005 for $96. or at the rate of 75
c ents each. The total amount turned
over to the state treasurer on the
sale of books is $1,166.
New Way to Ship Game.
Game Warden Carter has received
word from Penver that a trunk f"!'
of game, labeled “nhoto sunnl'es,” h"s
oeen captured. The shipment r'
made from '"me point in northern XT°
hraska. The warden has had all kinds
of deception to contend with in these
'hinmentp, but this is the first time
that any one has ventured to sh'n
•’rder such a guise. Barrels labeled
“saner kraut.” trunks billed as “lace ”
-'ream can. hay cars, bales of "alfalfa”
ard "prairie grass” have been used
with varying success.
Steals Watch a"d Money.
AINSWORTH—Fred Zylrnan was ar.
-oafed charged with stealing a watc*>
and $12 from Night Onerator R te
He nleaded eu'lty and was bound over
to the district court. Zviman was for
merly night operator here and was re
H°ved a day or two ago.
Ca'ford is F!n»d $170.
TECUMSFH— In th° district court
here Harry Oa«*"rd utoaued guilty tc
the charge of aeeanit and battery ind
—aa *100 and 'c-•« Judge W. K
Kelligar.
Immense Crops: Good Prices
Tar m
*1.216.000.000 * 665.000000
*601.000000 *575000.000 *525.000.000.
Comparative Value of Farm Products in 1905.
Secretary Wilson’s comments upon
the wonderful prosperity of the farm
era of the country have attracted gen
eral attention to the fact that never
before have crops been harvested at
such a general high level of produc
tion and price.
Corn, Mr. Wilson says, has reached
its highest production, 2,708,000,000
bushels, and its highest value, which
may be $1,216,000. No other crpp is
worth half as much.
The nearest crop In value to corn
is that of hay the figures being $605,
000,000. For the preceding two years
cotton held second place, but it drops
to third rank this year, when Its
value, including seed, is expected to
be nearly or quite $575,000,000.
Wheat, according to the report, is
the second in size of that grain the
country has ever produced, 684,000,000
bushels, while its value, $525,000,000,
is $11,000,000 more than ever before
reached.
Mr. Wilson places oats fifth in order
of value of the year's crops, the yield
being 939,000,000 bushels, worth $282,
000.000. Then in order come potatoej,
$138,000,000; barley, $58,000,000; to
fcacco, estimated at $52,000,000; sugar
cane and sugar beets, worth $50,000,
000, and rice, which is expected to ex
ceed in value last year's crop, which
was worth $13,892,000.
Of the total production, Secretary
Wilson remarks that “the wealth
production on farms in 1905 reached
the highest amount ever attained by
the farmer of this or any other coun
try. a stupendous aggregate of results
of brain and muscle and machine,
amounting in value to $6,415,000,000,”
which is $256,000,000 greater than ,the
figures for 1904.
Besides this enormous value of
crops, the secretary states that the
value of farm lands has increased
$6,133,000,000 since the census of
1900, which means that “every sunset
during the last five years has register
ed an increase of $3,400,000 in the
value of the farms of this country.”
Secretary Wilson gravely asserts
that “the results accomplished by the
Weather Bureau for the benefit of
the farmer, the mariner, the shipper,
the manufacturer and the seeker after
health or pleasure prove that there is
no weather service anywhere in the
i world comparable with it.”
THE FIRST MOUNTAIN RAILROAD.
American Transcontinental Lines
Were Not the Pioneers.
Uncle Sam perhaps thinks that the
construction of mountain railroads in
their greatest and most comprehen
sive sense was practically pioneered
by the construction of his own great
transcontinental lines, the Union Pa
cific leading the way. But one Amer
ican engineer notes that he rode over
the railroad from Vienna to Venice,
two-thirds of the distance between
New York and Chicago, passing over
several ranges of the Alps, and par
ticularly the Semmering pass, over
a mountain railroad constructed be
tween the years 1848 and 1854, or
within fifteen or twenty years of the
introduction of the railway into civil
ization, and twenty years before
America’s first transcontinental rail
way. Thirty-five miles over that pass
the Semmering, southwest of Vienna,
was constructed during those years,
having in its length fifteen tunnels
and sixteen viaducts, with a maximum
grade of 2% per cent. The cost of
the thirty-five miles was $300,000 per
mile. It was built, as was the en
tire line, from Vienna to Venice, 600
or more miles owned owned and op
erated by the Austrian government,
since at that time Venice and that
portion of Italy wras under the do
minion of the Austrian and Italian
governments jointly.
_
SEES IRON A PRECIOUS METAL.
Exhaustion of Present Ore Fields Pre
dicted by Scientist.
Iron as a precious metal is a pos
sibility indicated by Prof. Tornebaum
of the Swedish geological survey. He
predicts that the ore fields of the
present large producing countries—
namely: North America, Great Brit
ain, and Germany—will be exhausted
within one or two centuries and the
high grade ores much earlier. The
future center of the iron industry will
as now, be located where natural fuel
abounds, since the ore travels to the
coal, and not vice versa. As a con
sequence Great Britain, where the coal
supply, it is estimated, will be ex
hausted in 250 years, will thereupon
cease to be an iron producing country,
while in the United States and Ger
many, with their much larger coal
areas, the iron industry will continue,
although being dependent upon im
ported ores. For the same reason
north China, where coal and iron are
found associated, is regarded as a
promising iron center. Prof. Sjogren
of the same survey declares that a
great iron industry depends on other
factors as important as the fuel ques
tion. Of these factors are the ex
tent, richness, and purity of the ores,
freight charges for ores, coal, and iron
products, traffic regulations, etc.
Rich Man’s Odd Fancy.
Most extraordinary was the little
luxury of a Mr. Skidmore, who ac
cumulated a goodly pile in the pro
vision trade. He engaged two valets,
one to tickle the crown of his head
and the other the soles of his feet.
He said he liked the sensation im
mensely, and when remonstrated with
by his doctor declared it to be “ever
so much better than massage.” The
case was recorded in the medical
journals of the time as an example of
a strange development of a well rec
ognized physical liking.
Gov. Warfield and Thirteen.
Gov. Edwin Warfield of Maryland
laughs at the thirteen superstition,
though according to the common view
he ought to regard It with respect. He
is the thirteenth governor of Mary
land to occupy the executive mansion
at Annapolis. He was elected by a
majority of 13,000 votes, has thirteen
letters in his name and was inaugu
rated Jan. 13, 1904. So far nothing
has occurred in his political career
to warrant any fear for the thirteen
sunerstition.
RIVAL FOR YANKEE FARMERS
Enlightened Russian Peasant New
Factor in World.
Illustrations of the world’s economic
solidarity are the recent Russian in
fluences on the security markets
everywhere. Russian enlightenment
and freedom promise to make mark
ed impressions on future American
farming. Henry D. Baker says that
agriculture now gives employment to
87% per cent of Russia's population,
but Russian agriculture is now in a
terrible condition. The Russian peas
ant enlightened will prove a powerful
rival to the Yankee farmer. The
average return per hectare of land
in Russia is said to be 382 kilos,
while the German return is 1,300 kilos.
Russia has to use 25 per cent of her
harvest as seed for future sowing,
which is about double what other na
tions use. Curiously, even in the
direst times, like during the recent
war and late chaotic conditions, Rus
sia still makes heavy exports of
wheat. This doubtless is because
wheat is one of the chief quick assets
of the country. The Russian peasant
ry have wheat to export to England
when they scarcely can afford to buy
rye bread for their own hamlets. Their
exports of wheat will help pay the
interest on their nation’s enormous
foreign obligations, but individually
they yield trifling cash returns.
PICTURES SENT BY TELEGRAPH.
I
"Photograms” the Invention of Prof.
Korn of Munich.
Photograms are photographs tele
graphically transmitted. Prof. Korn
of Munich uses as dispatcher a se
lenium tube revolving on a small
shaft and surrounded by a glass cy
linder, on which is wrapped the trans
parency, negative or positive, which
is to be telegraphed. Light from an
electric arc lamp is thrown through
the transparency and falls upon the
selenium tube in a small patch or
spot. Every part of the tube and
every part of the photograph passes
in turn under the spot of light. The
receiver is a cylinder carrying a sen
sitive film, revolving, and also trav
eling along the line of its axis at the
same speed as the transmitting cy
linder. Near it is a vacuum tube light
shielded by inactive material, except
for a tiny window whence a ray of
light falls upon the revolving sensitive
film. The strength of this light con
stantly varies, as it is controlled -by
the electric current, which in turn
is controlled by the light playing
through the transmitter’s transparency
upon the selenium coil. Every part
of the receiving sensitive cylinder is
exposed in turn and only requires de
velopment to give a negative or posi
tive.
Great Prize.
Robinson Crusoe stood on the cliff
and gazed in depressed loneliness at
the vast waters that surrounded his
prisonlike island. “It’s pretty tough,”
he sighed, “to be marooned afar from
civilization.”
Just then he observed faithfully
Friday preparing a turtle stew.
“But there is one consolation," he
continued, brightening up. “I have a
cook who cannot leave on short notice
like the cooks do in civilization.”
And Robinson felt so exuberant he
went out and jested with the parrot.
Plan Monument to Great Artist.
The International Society of Sculp
tors and Painters at London has Init
iated a scheme to erect at Chelsea
a public monument to James McNeill
Whistler. Auguste Rodin, the French
sculptor, who is president of the so
ciety, has consented to execute the
-work, which, it is estimated, will cost
$10,000. If sufficient funds can be
raised replicas of the monument will
be erected in Paris and the United
States. The society started the list
with a subscrip;ion of $2,500.
WEST POINT'S NEW CHAPLAIN,
Rev. Edward S. Travers Popular and
an Athlete.
Rev. Edward S. Travers, who .has
been appointed chaplain of the United
States military academy at West
Point by President Roosevelt, with
the rank of captain, is one of the
ablest young clergymen of the times.
He has been assistant rector of Trin
ity church in Boston for about two
years and has made scores of friends
among the young people. He was
born in Meriden, Conn., Oct. 10, 1874,
and was graduated from Trinity col
lege in 1898. He enlisted in the First
Connecticut regiment of volunteers
jarFrjz^mz?
S. 7Z24PZZ&
and saw service in the Spanish-Ameri
can war. He took his degree from
Trinity in 1901 and was ordained by
Bishop Brewster on June 1 of the
same year. He became interested in
the work of Bishop Huntington in New
York and was assigned to the East
Side chapel, connected with Grace
church. In 1892 he was advanced to
the priesthood and the following Sep
tember became assistant pastor of
Christ church in Poughkeepsie, N. Y.
He left there In 1904 to become assist
ant rector of Trinity church. While
at college Mr. Travers played half
back on the varsity and was a sprint
er, holding the Trinity records for the
100 and 220 yard dashes of 10 1-5 and
23 seconds respectively, and he was
also a member of the Psi Upsilon fra
ternity.
JUDGE HARMON MADE RECEIVER
Pere Marquette and C., H. & D. Rail
roads in His Hands.
United States Judge Henry Lurton
at Cincinnati ordered the Cincinnati,
Hamilton and Dayton and the Pere
" I
Marquette railroads placed in the
hands of a receiver and appointed
former Judge Judson Harmon, attor
ney general under President Cleve
land, to act in that capacity.
Astor to Erect Fine Building.
William Waldorf Astor is soon to
erect a model apartment house in
Broadway, New York, near Central
park. It will be the biggest thing of
its kind anywhere on earth, but it will
not be the tallest. William Waldorf,
unlike his cousin, John Jacob, does
not believe in tall buildings for resi
dential purposes. The new building
will cover almost a city block, but will
be only twelve stories high. When it
is stated that it will accommodate in
large and comfortable rooms 1,600
persons, some idea of its size may be
had. There will be five miles of hall
ways, seventy miles of pipes and
eight hydrostatic elevators running
day and night. No apartment will be
let under $1,000 a year.
JCZDScrr
France Seeking a President.
Several well known French citizens
are being mentioned as possible suc
cessors to President Loubet. M.
Fallieres, president of the senate, is
thought to have a good chance and
Leon Bourgeois is regarded as a like
ly candidate. M. Doumer would be
farther to the front but for opposi
tion on the part of advanced republi
cans, the same being true of M. Ri
bot. The prime minister, M. Rouvier,
Is believed to be in a receptive mood
and M. Sarrien, for many years a not
ed secret power in politics, is the most
prominent dark horse. Not a few be
lieve that at the last moment Presi
dent Loubet himself may be induced
to enter the race for a second term.
Honeymoon Amid Hardships.
A honeymoon in Tibet cannot be
recommended as a general practice. It
has its drawbacks. Count do Lesdain
and his wife, who spent their honey
moon in traveling from Pekin, through
Tibet, to India, has numerous adven
tures. While crossing one of the rivers
encountered, all the belongings of the
explorer were lost, and the party had
to subsist for some time on the game
they shot. The Countess, who is an
American, had an attack of fever while
crossing an Immense desert.
Knew Not the King of Terrors.
A little girl, coming In contact with
death for the first time in the shape
of a lifeless bird that she found in
the wood, ran with it to her nurse.
"What can be the matter with it?”
she cried. “The bird Is dead,” the
nurse answered, portentously, “we
must all die some day.” The little
girl looked at the small corpse in
her hand contemplatively, then drop
ped it with some disgust. “You may
die if you want to,” she remarked, “I
shan’t.”
Great Britain's New Premier
VjZBOPr- C47&3B£ZZ-^4Mm&Z4?r:
The political crisis in the united
kingdom reached a climax Dec. 4,
when Arthur J. Balfour, the premier,
formally tendered the resignation of
himself and the members of his cabi
net, to King Edward, who accepted
them.
His majesty intrusted Sir Henry
Campbell-Bannerman with the task of
torming a new cabinet.
“C.-B.” has been leader of the op
position since 1899, when Lord Rose
bery resigned the position. He dis
tinguished himself by his fight on
the government’s South African pol
icy and by his opposition to the war
with the Boers. He is 69 years ola,
was born in Scotland, and has been
a member of the house of commons
uninterruptedly since 1868. He was
financial secretary from 1871 to 1874,
and from 1880 to 1882. From 1882
until his party went out in 1885 he
was Irish secretary. In 1886, when
Gladstone returned to office. Sir
Henry was made secretary of war.
When Gladstone was defeated on the
Irish home rule bill Sir Henry went
out with the rest. He returned to the
war office under Lord Rosebery in
1892, and remained until the defeat of
the liberals in 1895. He was knighted
in 1895.
POSTAL REVENUES ARE LARGE.
Enormous Increase Shown in Receipts
in Recent Years.
Mercury the messenger in his my
riad personality of the United States
postal service has swelled to a gi
gantically prosperous race. The pos
tal revenues for 1904-05 were greater
by $10,000,000 than those for 1903-04,
and outside the rural branch of the
service, which has been vastly ex
tended in free deliveries, receipts
now balance expenditures. The mon
ey order business reached $1,000,000,
000, a gain of more than 20 per cent,
and 6,000,000,000 more postal cards,
stamps, and stamped wrappers were
used last year than the year previous.
Were it not for the deficit entailed
by the rural free delivery the depart
ment could at the present more than
pay its way and within the next five
or ten years might be in a position
to recommend congress some mate
rial reduction in postal rates. As a
means of education and of national
development the rural free delivery
has already proved ifls worth, and as
the system grows it will become more
and more self-supporting. It benefits
trade by bringing the country into
easy communication with the city and
increases enlightenment, contentment
and comfort in rural districts.—Chi
cago Tribune.
Making Statistics Attractive.
Secretary Wilson knows as well as
another that to the average man mere
statistics are unattractive and large
ly meaningless. When he says that
“every sunset during the last five
years has registered an increase of
$3,400,000 in the value of American
farms” the fact sticks. When he
states and proves that “the man with
the hoe has become the man with the
harvester and the depositor and share
holder of the bank” he tells a monu
mental truth that will bear some dec
orative detail. Let the good work go
on. If the purpose of a department
report is to tell the people what it
is doing for them it should be set
forth in terms that can be under
standed of the people and remember
ed by them. Figures alone will not
serve.—Cleveland Plain Dealer.
Authors in Collaboration.
The announcement of the death of
the widow of James Rice recalls the
notable collaboration between James
Rice and Walter Besant. It was like
the partnership of Erckmann and Cha
trian. To-day we have the example
of the Castles, mother and son, writ
ing novels in collaboration, and other
modern instances can be cited. An
drew Lang said years ago: ‘‘As a
rule in collaboration one man does
the work while the other looks on.”
Another opinion is that of Dumas,
who wrote: “One is always the dupe
and he is the man of talent.” Those
who knew the two men said that it
was James Rice who supplied the in
genious plots and Walter Besant who
worked out the detail.
Deaf Mutes Makers of Telephones.
Past masters of at least one trade
are the deaf mutes, who have been
found far to excel the ordinary ar
tisan in one sort of telephone mak
ing. A telephone factory of Chicago,
after a series of experiments, discov
ered that to the manufacture of the
modern telephone and its delicate
mechanism the deaf mute, by reason
of manual deftness incident to con
stant use of the sign language, is pe
culiarly adapted. This factory is now
employing at standard wages 150 peo
ple without speech or hearing.
Provides Labor for Converts.
A company has recently been or
ganized in Fatehargh, India, ‘‘to pro
vide remunerative labor for Indian
Christians,” thus striving to overcome
the difficulty of furnishing support
for native Christians who have be
come outcasts for the sake of gos
pel. The company is conducted on
the profit-sharing plan, one-fourth of
all the profits being divided among
those in service for six months or
more, in proportion to the size of
their wages.
CHANGE IN NUMERAL SYSTEM.
Use of Duodecimals Instead of Deci
mals Suggested.
Duodecimals instead of decimals
are offered from England. A notation
founded on twelve instead of ten is
believed to have been in use by the
Chaldeans, and since twelve is divisi
ble by two, three, four, and six, this
is manifestly superior to ten, which is
divisible only by two and five. It would
be necessary to forego the use of the
Arabic system of numerals and have
eleven new ones and zero before the
undoubted advantages of the duodeci
mal system could be realized in prac
tice. It is argued that there is no
necessity of displacing the old nota
tion but merely to teach every child
the new system also. The extra con
venience in calculation would soon
leave the Arabic figures stranded as
historical curiosities. It is incon
ceivable once a man acquires the hab
it of reckoning by twelves that he
should ever voluntarily return to tens.
It is suggested that a beginning be
made with scientific and technical
students, a picked class of intelligent
minds which would readily understand
the value of a duodecimal notation
and not grudge the small amount of
trouble necessary for memorizing.
Japan Sends Best Sulphur.
Look in Japan for good sulphur.
The yield of sulphur from Japanese
ore is probably the highest in the
world. It reaches 50 per cent in the
north, where ore of less than 38 per
cent is rejected. In Sicily 20 per cent
ore is considered workable. Japan’s
output has grown from 10,000 tons
in 1900 to above 20,000 tons in 1904,
and is likely to grow still further.
Domestic consumption takes only a
quarter of the output, the consuming
industries being the manufacture of
matches, for which there are numerous
plants, of explosives and of chemi
cals. Exports amount to 14,000 or 15,
000 tons per year, the western coast
of the United States and Australia
being the largest consumers. The
process of extraction is still primitive
and in northern Japan snow inter
rupts activities for five months every
year.
Claiming Victory for Turbines.
The advantages claimed for the tur
bine justified thus far by experiment
are economy in coal consumption,
smaller engine-room, lessened vibra
tion, reduced cost of attendance, over
hauling and of oils and stores. The
defects heretofore pointed out—the In
efficiency of turbines at low speed and
poor reversing and maneuvering qual
ities—are now said to have been over
come and the turbinites are asserting
a complete victory. It is confidently
believed that the time is not far dis
tant when, utilizing the saved space
for larger turbine batteries, passenger
steamers will be propelled at thirty
five statute miles an hour, or as fast
as the ordinary railway train.
Career of Richard A. McCurdy.
Richard A. McCurdy, who has re
signed the presidency of the Mutual
Life company, is a lawyer by profes
sion, having graduated from Harvard
in 1855 with the degree of LL. B. Lat
er he practiced law in New York with
Lucius Robinson, afterward governor
of the state. He first became identi
fied wdth the Mutual in 1860 as its
counsel and has been drawing salary
from the corporation ever since. A
few years ago he built a house in
Morristown, N. J„ which cost about
$1,000,000.
Modern Inventions for Ships.
All of the water-tight doors con
necting compartments of the hold of
one of the greatest ocean liners can
be closed in a few seconds, from the
bridge of the steamer, by simply
pressing an electric button. Another
useful application of science to the
protection of passengers is the fitting
of the latest type of ocean steamships
with apparatus whereby sulphuric
acid gas can be forced into a fire in
any part of the vessel, immediately
a*ter it is discovered. ^