if ?
$,' t-Kfrnr ? VT" '
-,
Commoner
?
JUNE 26, 1903.
and as the academic requirements became more -onerous,
Wollesley sloughed off the domestic hour.
Doos it still hold at Mount Holyoko?"
FIFTY BOER FAMILIES RECENTLY LEFT
South 'Africa to establish a colony in
Mexico. Gen. 'W. D, Snyman, formerly of the
Boer army, and General Viljoen are the leaders
in this plan. They will locate near Chihuahua
where the climate and physical conditions are
somewhat like those in the Transvaal and where
favorable terms were secured through the ef
forts of enterprising citizens. A writer in the
Milwaukee Wisconsin, describing this Boer col
ony, says: "A tract of 83,000 acres of grazing
and agricultural land was purchased, lying
along the Conchas river, twelve miles from Ortiz,
on the Mexican Central railway. Of this tract,
4,000 acres are already under irrigation, and there
are 1,000 head of cattle on the ranges. General
Snyman secured an option on 303,800 acres ad
joining the purchase, so that there will be plenty
of room for futuro growth. He nas already made
arrangements for the purchase of agricultural im
plements and supplies in the United States, and
for the purchase of a herd of Hereford short
horns in Texas. It is the intention of the Boers
to cross these Herefords with the hardy Mexican
cattle. The Mexican government has made the
purchase of land easy for the Boers by extending
payment for the same over a period of twenty-five
years."
EVERY GEOGRAPHY PUBLISHED GIVES
Tahlequah as the capital of Indian terri
tory. Tarns Bixby, chairman of the Dawes com
mission, says that the educators of the Indian
territory should endeavor to educate the various
school book publishing companies in regard to
the capitals of the Indian country. Mr. Bixby
6ays that the maps of the territory in the geog
raphies show scarcely any other towns than
Tahlequah and that that town is always printed
in "heavy black letters with the star representing
the capital. He says, however, that it is about
time that authors of geographies learn something
of the Indian country. Mr. Bixby says that as a
matter of fact, the Indian territory proper has no
capital as it Is not a regularly organized territory.
It is simply the Indian country. The seat of gov
ernment is Muskogee. Each of the five civilized
tribes, however, has a capital. Tahlequah is the
capital of the Cherokee nation. Okmulgee of the
Creek nation. Tishomingo of the nickasaw na
tion. Wewoka of the Seminole nation. Tuska
homa of the Choctow nation.
rrr
yV GENERAL STAFF PROJECT HAS BEEN
J submitted to the secretary of the navy by
the naval general board. Congress will probably
be asked, to adopt this plan in which event the
navy department will undergo an entire reorgani
zation. The Associated press explains that under
this scheme the secretary of the navy stands at
the head of the department and in his absence the
assistant secretary. Under the latter's control
are placed all the bureaus of the department with
the exception of the bureau of navigation, whose
duties are to be performed by the general staff.
In charge of the military end. of the department
will be the senior ranking naval officer on duty
at the department, who will have the position of
chief of the general staff and will probably rank
as vide admiral. This officer will be responsible
to the secretary for the movements and organi
sation of the fleets and for all matters relating to
the personnel of the service. Under the chief of
staff will be three grand divisions of the general
staff, to be known as the divisions of the per
sonnel, of the fleet and of war plans, respectively.
The chief of the division of the personnel will
rank as a rear admiral and during the absence
of the chief of the general staff will have general
supervision over the entire organization. The
plan contemplates that this officer shall be charged
with the organization of the fleets and squadrons
and shall be the advisor of the secretary on all
war plans and questions of policy affecting for
eign fleets. The chief of the division of the fleet
will rank as a rear admiral or senior captain and
under him will be assistant chiefs in charge of
the naval academy, the division of training men,
the division of enlisted men and the division of
officers. Each sub-division chief will rank as
commander in the navy. Either a captain or a
commander will be chief of the division of war
plans, and his duties will be the study and de
velopment of all war plans; the organization of
reserves, convoys and sea transports; also extra
transportation, and to co-operate with the army
general staff In plans of campaign. The scheme
further contemplates the creation of an executive
-committee whoso duties will be the formulating
of war piano and direction of tho work cf all
branches of tho general staff. Tho genoral board
will be known as tho general council. Its duties
will be of an advisory nature on all matter re
ferred to it by tho secretary,
MANY PEOPLE WILL BE SURPRISED TO
learn that the discarded tin can has como
to be quite an important piece of "raw material."
A writer in the American Machinist describes a
visit he made recently to a factory located near
New York city. The principal products of thla
factory are window sash weights, elevator weights
and ballasts for boats. This writer describes thi
methods employed in this way: "After delivery
at the foundry tho cans are first piled into a largo
iron grating, located under a sheet Iron hool
which terminates In a smokestack. They are
sprinkled liberally with crude oil, which Is set on
fire. This process consumes the labels, loosens
the dirt and melts the solder, which falls through
tho grating, is collected, washed and melted, cast
into ingots and sold to bo used again. Somo of
these cans, which have simply lapped and sold
ered joints, molt apart completely. These are
sorted out and tho sheets forming tho shell aro
straightened into bundles to bo sold to trunk
makers, who utilize them for protecting tho corn
ers of Saratoga trunks. They aro also bought by
button manufacturers, who stamp from them tho
disks used In cloth-covered buttons. Tho re
mainder of the cans, being machine made, doe3
not come apart. These aro loaded into large
carts, taken to tho charging floor on an elevator
and dumped Into the cupola. The cupola is fed
with coke and cans in alternation. There is oc
casionally an old wash boiler or a bundle of tin
roofing used, but cans form the bulk of the ma
terial. The cans aro so light that some of them
are carried out at tho top of tho stack by tho
force of tho blast and a large screen has been ar
ranged to prevent the pieces from falling on tho
roof. If among those readers of the American
Machinist to whom these facts are new there are
any who have occasion to use the elevators in
tho Bky scrapers of New York I can imagine such
wondering how many empty cans it took to make
the -weights which balance the car -in which
they ride."
If &
EVERY ONE IS FAMILIAR WITH THE EF
fort to locate water by the use of the
witch hazel weed, and now wo aro told that elec
tricity is to be put to a new use by taking the
place of the witch hazel wand. Tho officials of
the geological survey are just now experimenting
with a little electrical device which they hope will
develop into a reliable water detector. A writer
in the Kansas City Star, referring to this device,
says: "It is something like the seismograph used
for determining earthquake disturbances, and 13
so delicately adjusted that it records the slight
est vibration. By these vibrations the prcsencoot
subterranean streams are not only determined,
but the volume and direction of the flow are also
accurately recorded. This instrument will be of
great value to the irrigator and farmer, as it will
enable him to drive his wells where he will find
water. In tests made with tho new electrical de
vice steel rods are driven a short distance Into
the earth and attached to the machine. The
slightest vibration is recorded on the dial. There
is an attachment resembling tho telephone re
ceiver by which the vibrations arc converted into
sound waves. In testing for water tho, volume of
these sound waves are compared to" the total
minor vibrations from other causes In the areas
of tho same size in which It Is known no water
exists. The device will not work satisfactorily
in regions where there are volcanoes or other
seismic disturbances. The officials of the geo
logical survey believe the device can be used to
Indicate the prqsenpe of oil, but the vibrations
caused by oil are not so great as those of water
and consequently much more difficult to detect
Oil is always found at greater depths than water,
and for that reason a more delicately adjusted In
strument will be necessary."
AN INTERESTING BIT OF POLITICAL His
tory is given by the Christian Intelligencer
in this way: "Few remember how near the Re
formed church came in the election of 1844 to
giving a vice president to the United States. In
that campaign Theodore Frellnghuysen, later
president of Rutgers College, was the candidate
for vice president, with. Henry Clay for president
The election was decided by the vote of the state
of New York, and Polk and Dallas carried the
state by les& than 8,00$ majority. How this, came
about is explained In a lettor published In too
Now York Public Library Bulletin for. April. -It
prints a letter from Henry Clay to Theodore Frel
lnghuysen, dated Ashland, Ky., May 22, 1844. In
this lettor Clay asks Frellnghuysen (o adviso him
whether it would bo Judicious for him to make
public his views on a proposed change In tho
naturalization laws. Tho indorsement of tho let
ter Is moro important than tho letter Itself In ex
plaining tho loss of tho eloctlon. Tho indorse
ment is In these words: 'I advised silence. But
ho subsequently wrote a letter in favor of slavery,
which lost him his olectlon. It was a dishonest
attempt to win tho south by a letter In favor of
slavery so lato In the campaign that It could not
reach tho north In time to affect tho northern
vote. But It did reach us, and, of course, very
pioperly dofeatcd tho writer.' "
ONE OF THE MOST INTmtESTING FREAKS
of a cyclono is rolatcd by t.io Sallna (Kas.)
Republican. Tho house of a farmer named Olson
was twisted into splinters, the son was killed, and
several other membors of the family, including
tho father, wore desperate y injured. Miss Ol
son, tho daughter, was in bed convalescent from
typhoid fever. When the storm had abated, Miss
Olson was found a long distance from tho sito
of tho house, calmly reposing on tho mattress of
her bed and without the slightest Injury to her
person. The people of Salina county have given
up as hopeless tho effort to solvo tho problom as
to how the girl and the mattress could have been
lifted through tho whirling mass of broken tim
bers, carried a distance through the storm, and
dropped without injury to the girl.
&C it
NEAR VALLEY FORGE, PA., IS A FLOUR
mill which has tho distinction of being
owned and operated personally by the only woman
miller In the United States. This "woman miller"
is only seventeen and her narao Is Miss Sallle
Frelchler. She Is absolutely her own master,
making her own rules, doing her own business,
keeping her own books and carrying on her own
correspondence. Miss Frelchler learned the mil
ler's business while engaged in helping her father
In tho mill. When her father died two years ago
there was no one else to carry on the business and
she took his place and has proved herself fully
capable of tho task thrust upon her. It is said
that besides being a thoroughly capable miller tho
farmers round about tho vicinity consider her an
expert on ryo In all its stages from the seed to tha
ground product
IN BERLIN RECENTLY A MUNICIPAL COURT
found Itsplf compelled to punish an act of
filial sacrifice which would have done credit to
the days of Damon and Pythias. Tho Berlin cor
respondent for the Philadelphia Public Ledger
tells tho story In this way: "A man named Fritz
Hllle was sentenced to two months Imprisonment
for misdemeanor. The misdemeanor consisted in
the prisoner's refusal to obey a city ordinance re
garding loitering in thoroughfares. Fritz was the
solo support of a bedridden mother and several
younger brothers and sisters. In the confusion
which attended the marshaling of misdemeanants
before the magistrate for sentence one of his
brothers, Franz, took his place and suffered the
penalty. The two months had almost expired
when the authorities received an anonymous let
ter apprising them of the deception practiced.
Their lawyer pleaded that Franz might be al
lowed to serve the unexpired terra. Tho magis
trate was disposed to compromise In the follow
ing manner: He 'resentenced Franz to serve an
additional two months' imprisonment on tho
charge of forgery, because on entering and leav
ing tho prison he had signed h's brother's name.
Fritz, who was charged with being an accessory
to the deception, was acquitted."
THERE WILL BE NO LOTTERY IN CUBA
If President Palma can have his way. In
a public statement recently made, President
Palma declared that he would veto a lottery bill
it the congress passed it; and added: "I must
maintain here tho creeds that made me a revo
lutionist When we raised our flag against
Spain in 1868 one of the things that made me
liato tho government was the lottery, and the lot
tery here has continued repugnant to me the same
as everywhere. Tne lottery is a source of revenue
to the state, but the money collected thereby is
almost a hold-np. Nothing is more Immoral than
for tho country to be a great bank In which the
lottery figures. The lottery reduces the moral
level of a people; it. seems to have been Invented
for an indolent people where men do not love
work."
Nr,-
s.