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About The commoner. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-1923 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 9, 1901)
(VrNtw' fT pn "Tflp- Tgn.y. " 'E w ' " -V v 9 Items of Interest. Lake Huron contains over 3,000 islands. There arc in round numbers 10,000 lakes in the Btato of Minnesota. A combination of vehicle-axle plants with $10, 000,000 is practically assured. A monument to Commodore Perry -was recent ly unveiled at Kurihami, Japan. Milwaukee, since the publication of its new di rectory, boasts of a population of 300,000. The first regular newspaper in the United States was published in Boston in 1704. Nearly one-third of our exports or the past year were products of the southern states. The oldest university in Europe is the Uni versity of Paris, founded in the 12th century. Alexander the Great succeeded to his father's throne when but 19 and died at 32 years of age. The largest theatre in the world is the Theatre Francai3 in Paris, covering three acres of ground. The largest bell in America Is in the Cathedral of Notre Dame at Montreal and weighs 29,400 pounds. . Pennsylvania is the leading state in the manu facture of glass, employing some 23,000 persons in this industry. During thef civil war there were enlisted in 'Arkansas 2,000 more soldiers than the state had voters in 18C0. The density of the population of the world is about one and one-half times as great as that of tho' United States. On the ostrich farms the average price of a bird is $100, and the feathers at a single picking are often worth $25. Alfred, B. KJttredge has been lyppointedjby the governor of South Dakota to' succeed the late United States Senator Kyle. It has been estimated by electrical experts that from-the Niagara Falls a total of 8,000,000 horse power could be developed. Boston was at one time called tri-mountain from the three hills in that vicinity which formed a striking feature of the landscape. It is estimated that 2,000,000,000 passengers and nearly 2,000,000,000 tons of goods are carried yearly by the railways of the world. The first round trip by steamer from Chicago to Europe direct has just been completed, the jour ney, in both directions occupying 34 days. The highest inhabited house in Europe is the observatory building which was built in 1880 at the top of Mount Etna. It is 9.075 feet above sea level. From a statement prepared by the internal re'.enue bureau, the total receipts from the war revenue act from July 13, 1898, to May 31, 1901, amounted to $310,053,363. According to General Booth . the Salvation . Army is new operating in 47 countries, has litera ture in 30 different languages, and has more than 7,200 different societies. The highest mountain peak in the. United States, outside of Alaska, is Mount Whitney, which is 14,886 feet high, and is located in California in the Sierra Nevada mountains. ' The population of Scotland numbers 4,471,957, of- which nearly one-third is in its four largest towns. Glasgow has a population of 760,423, Edin burg 316,479, Dundee 160,871, and Aberdeen 153,108. The American people are becoming greater Bugar consumers with each succeeding year. In. 1900 we consumed 2,219,847 tons or sugar, or an average of 66 pounds for every man, woman and child. It has been ascertained by careful weighing that 5,000 bees without loads will weigh about one The Commoner. pound. But when loaded with honey as they come in from the fields It requires only about one-third that number to weigh that amount. The suggestion is made by naval officers that Admiral Dewey be given command of a fleet of our largest and finest battle ships and cruisers and be present with the. same at the -coronation of King Edward, which is to take place towards the closo of next June. The topophone is a new invention for the aid of mariners. By its aid it is possible to detect sounds far beyond the range of the human ear, en abling the detection of fog horns and the nearness of other vessels, thus lessening the chances of accidents in dangerous weather. The Great Bell, or Monarch of Moscow, is the largest bell in the world. It was cast in 1734, is over 21 feet in height and diameter and weighs 193 tons. It fell during the fire .in 1737 and remained in the earth 100 years when it was raised and is new seen above the chapel which was erected where it fell. Information has been received by the bureau of foreign commerce that a new line of nine steam ers, varying in tonnage from 4,000 to 11,000 tons, has been established between Tacoma and Liver pool. They will travel by the Suez canal route, touching the ports of the Philippines, India, Egypt, arid western Europe. In 1800 there were in the United States one and one-half persons to each square mite. In 1900 we had over 21.4 persons to each square mTle. In 1800 the density of the world's population was 11.6 persons to each square mile. In 1900 therewas1 an average population throughout the" world of 31 persons to the square mile ' -' '' ' l x ' One of the latest inventions called the gradom eter is a nickel plated casing containing a glass tube filled with spirits and operating on the prin ciple of the spirit level. It can be fastened to any vehicle, and by its aid one can readily tell the de gree of slope to any grade over which the vehiclo is passing at any instant of time. Denver Republican: Criminals are very ex pensive members of the community. They cost the people of this country about $1,000,000,000 a year. If their increase could be prevented it would bo a paying investment to give each of the 250,000 criminals a monthly pension of $300 on the condi tion that tbey take a life vacation from the stren uous demands of their profession. . Washington Times: For seven years a unique pigeon post has been in operation between Avalori on Santa Catalina island, and Los Angeles in Cali fornia, a distance of over 50 miles. Over 20 miles of this distance is across the Pacific ocean. In the ordinary course five hours are required between the two towns, but the pigeons often cover the dis tance in less than an hour. Private messages, business orders, etc., are forwarded at prices vary ing from 50 to 75 cents per message. According to revised computations on the pro duction of gold and silver throughout the world during the year 1900, there were mined $255,924,- 654 of gold and $112,205,742 of silver. The United States leads the production of both these metals, having produced during the year 1900 $78,159,674 oi gold and $36,576,900 of silver. Australasia ranks second in the production of gold, her output being $73,467,110, and Mexico ranks second in the produc tion of silver, her product for last year being $34,269,494. Scientific American: Experiments are being made in the signaling department of the English army with acetylene gas for transmitting signals at night. At present ordinary oil lamps and limelight are utilized for this purpose, but the recent tests with 4 acetylene have proved that the latter me dium is more advantageous. A whiter ray of light with increased brilliancy is obtained and it is far' more penetrative than oil or limelight, a'nd signals transmitted by this means can be read at a much greater distance than heretofore. Another ad vantage in Its favor is that tho gas can bo gen crated in about one-twontieth of tho time required to prepare a limelight, and it is also so portable that one man can easily carry tho plant necessary for two lamps. All but three small oil-cloth industries of tho country havo combined with a capital stock of $10,000,000 under the name of the Standard Tablo Oil Cloth Company. They have a capacity of near ly double the amount consumed by the entire coun try. Tho plants acquired are: The Western Lin oleum company of Akr6n, O.; the Ohio Oil Cloth company of Youngstown, O.; the Keystono Oil Cloth company of Morrlstown, Pa.; Atha & Hughes of Newark, N. J.; tho Goodlatto Oil Cloth company of Passals, N. J.; Joseph Wild & Co, of Astria, L. I , and A. F. Buchanan & Sons of Buchanan, N. Y. Together these represent nine-tenths of tho light weight oil cloth industry of the entiro country. De Careful Mr. MacVeagh. A Phi Beta Kappa oration at Cambridge is not the place in which wo usually look for revolution ary doctrines; yet this is what Mr. Wayne Mac Veagh said under such conditions: " 'Our electorate is already beginning to bo di vided, and must, in obedience to the law of social evolution,! continue more and moro to bo divided by that sharp cleavage which separates those who are; contented with their lot from those who are discontented with their lot " 'Undeit whatover disguise, called by what eTcr names inheriting' or seizing whatever parti san organizations, the alignment of tho two great political divisions at American voters who will sooner or later struggle against each other for tho possession of tho government will inevitably bo upon the basis I havo named. - " 'The party" of tho contented will be ranged under one banner, and the party of the discon tented will be ranged under the other, and that alignment will steadily develop increasing sharp ness of division, until the party of the discon tented, being the majority, has obtained tho con trol of the government, to which, under our sys-: tern, they are entitled, and then they will be sure to remodel the present system for the distribution of wealth, unless wo havo previously done so, upon bases-wiser and more equitable than those now existing. The one party will be, under what over name, the party of capital, and the other party will be, under whatever name, the party of labor "MY. MacVeagh tells tho Brahmins of Har vard not only that tho party of tho discontented will obtaiu control of the government, but that it ought to obtain It, and not only that it will re model tho system of the distribution of wealth, but that it will do so upon bases wiser and moro equitable than those now existing. That is a long advance upon the state of mind of Macaulay, when ho predicted that the time would come when this majority of tho American people would havo no breakfast and would not know where to look for a dinner, and condemned tho constitution of the United States because it seemed to him to pro vide no machinery for suppressing the efforts of those people to alter that desirable situation." New York Journal. Ne Milk With Lobster. :n My young friend has evinced a gentlemanly discrimination in favor of the petite luncheon, and during his last foray ho shocked the sensibilities of tho attendant fairy by ordering a lobster salad, roll and a glass of milk. "We aro not permitted to serve lobster and milk," ejaculated the lady sprite. 'xWhy not?" inquired tho young man, "Is it a general order or solicitude for me personally?" "Tho combination is poisonous," replied th sprite. Boston Letter to Chicago Post. i ci, 9 m j j.