s
6
The Commoner
result, and ho, therefore, concluded to retire. The
houflo Immediately seated Ills opponent.
REFERRING TO THE SIIAFROTH INCI
dent tho Detroit Tribune says. "There have
been hundreds of cases In which sitting members
have known that their success was due to similar
activities on tho part of tholr supporters or have
becomo aware of it through revelations before the
elections committee, but Mr. Sh&Sroth's frank con
fession Is believed to bo tho first Instance in which
tho beneficiary of such chicanery has frankly ac
knowledged himself convinced and declined to at
tempt to retain his hold on an ofllco thus ob
tained. Tho possiblo suspicion thp.u he made a
virtue of necossity is discounted by tho declaration
of tho chairman of the committeo that the cvi
donco showed that tho frauds wore in no way
chargeable to tho man in behalf of whoso can
didacy thoy woro perpetrated." Tho Tribune con
cludes: "Mr. Shafroth's conduct In this matter
added to an oxcollont record of service ought to be
sufficient to insure his ultlmato return, but whe
ther it does or not, ho will go down in history as
ono of tho few parties to a contested election
caso who had no desire to hold an ofllco to which
ho was not fairly elected. This Is. an almost
unique distinction."
THE ANTI-TOXIN TRUST IS RECEIVING
considerable attention these days. Tho
Massachusetts stato board of health is doing good
work In aiding tho physicians of tho country in
tholr battle against this combination. An inter
esting article on tho subject is contributed by a
writer for tho Boston Transcript. This writer
says: "When tho state board of health began to
manufacture anti-toxin, eight or nine years ago,
It placod on tho market for froo distribution an
article which was greatly in demand, and on
which It has saved tho people of Massachusetts
largo sums of money. This money-saving element
of tho enterprise, though always apparent to Die
officials, has not before received so much consid
eration as it does at the present time. What
brings it to tho front today is the consolidation of
anti-toxin manufacturers, who control tho market
and deslro to raise tho prices, which hits the city
of Chicago so hard that the health commissioners
this year havo done all in tholr power to obtain
tho drug without patronizing -the combination.
That city is oven contemplating tho establish
ment of a municipal plant for the manufacture of
anti-toxin, after hearing of tho oxperlonco Massa
chusetts has had with this proposition." .
AMERICAN NAVAL OFFICERS ARE
given credit for tho efficiency of tho Ja
panese navy by Lieutenant Henry E. Rhodes now
on duty at tho Brooklyn navy yard. Lieutenant
Rhodes was officially identified with tho navv of
Japan as early as 1868, an3 in an interview with
a representative of tho New York Tribune tho
lieutenant said that tho Japanese navy really be
gan with the purchase of the armor clad Stone
wa 1 Jackson (later named the Adzuma) from the
United States government, in 186G, although tho
construction of the naval dockyard at Yokoska
was commenced in 18G5, under the supervision of
?Q7r0nrCJ1 onSlner. This was not completed tili
1879. It cost nearly ?2,500,000. The Stonewall
ittSMthW??n "lt in FranC0' under a cont
with tho Danish .government, and was to bo
imTof tb? S,phyn,Vut aa this was 'Sou? ill
time of tho closing of the Schleswig-Holstoln war
and there was delay in tho completion of tho
vessel, Denmark became lukewarm in carrying
out tho terms of the purchase, and the boat passed
into the possession of tho confederates. She nut
to sea soon afterward, hut owing to some derange
ment of. tho steering machinery she ran Into Fe?
rol, Spain, for repairs, in February, 1865 whoro
were lying tho American war vessels N'agara nnri
Sacramento. Tho commander of tho American
vessels allowed tho Stonewall to escape and sho
wont to Lisbon, and thence across the AHaSc
to Havana. Here she lay until after tho close of
tho civil war and was then given up bv Snain t
ho United States. Later the StSnewaU wS so S
to Japan, and sho was sent over there bv thn
United Statos, under command of Captain Vow
rear admiral) George Brown, and de livored at
1868 th6 latt6r Par f the "K of
IT &
AT THE TIME REFERRED TO LIEUTENANT
Rhodes was an officer in tho Asiatio srmn
ron and his chip had been for monti s at nl"
and Osaka, whore had been the greaies nMvul f
connection with the revolution resu tinfr frn yniu
overthrow of tho Tycoonate in wh.eh f tlT th?
Rhodes and sevorother oVeUmSjS11;
armed squads ol aaildrs took partin dl?6ndlng the
American legation and other American interests
at Hiogo, following an assault by Prince Dozens
forces upon an assembly of foreign sailors, who
were quietly observing him and his rotinue pass
through tho town. Lieutenant Rhodes says:
"Another of our officers was H. Walton Grinnell,
a lieutenant in tho volunteer navy, and a nephew,
I believo, of Moses Grinnell. In March, 1868, Grin
nell was commissioned an ensign in the regular
service, but his commission did not reach him
till late in May. He then declined to accept it, and
asked for an honorable discharge, that he might
accept an offer of the Japanese government of a
commission as admiral at a salary of 42,000 itza
boos (about ?14,000 United States money) a year.
His request was granted, and ho accepted the ap
pointment of Japan and remained for about three
years."
CONTINUING HIS INTERESTING NARRA
tive, Lieutenant Rhodes says: "At the
same time the American consul at Hiogo, a Ger
man, whose name has passed from me was ap
pointed chief constructor, and to me was offered
the appointment of chief engineer. For specific
reasons I declined the office, but did offer to ac
cept service temporarily, and for two or three
months I gave a group of young Japanese engi
neer aspirants such instruction as my time would
permit in marine engineering, and gave dem
onstrations on the Stonewall, explaining to them
the mechanism of the engineer's department and
the operation of boilers, engines, etc., on a war
ship, and the use of tools. I cannot claim to
have done very much in this small way toward
creating the navy of Japan, but 'Grinnell and tho
Hiogo ex-consul gave most valuable services.
They deserve the most credit for their work in
Japan and in other countries, taking with them a
number of bright young Japanese to study con
struction, armament and navigation and tho gen
eral operation of a warship. It may be said,
therefore, that the Japanese navy had its begin
ning in 1866; and under American instructors, and
they havo gone on steadily increasing their ar
mored fleet, in addition to building up an unar
mored fleet, all armed with the best rifled guns.
The first armored ship constructed Tor Japan was
built on the Thames and was- launched in 1877
about six years before our new navy was hegun.'
She was the Foo-S'o, and had a displacement of
a, as tons. About the same time contracts wero
made in England for the two composite armor
belted corvettes, tho Kon-Go and the Hi-Yel
Then in 1885 the Nanfwa and tho Takachiho, built
by the Armstrongs in England, were launched.
I hey were protected cruisers of 3,700 tons dis
placement and 18 knots speed, and were conspic
uous in the Japan-China war."
ACCORDING TO THIS AMERICAN NA
val officer, Japan is now seventh in the list
of naval power with six battleships, three coast
defense vessels, eight armored cru sers flfS
protected cruisers and eleven small cruisers and
gunboats with a total tonnage of 237 899 C
Ladaitlon ihero arG nty-three toSSo boat
destroyers and torpedo boats. The battlcshin
Mucosa, completed in 1902, is the largest Sin?
ship in commission in the wor?d, hS a d if
Placement of 15,200 tons, and a speed of ia&"
dined often to sneak of th , T aro ln"
modern Japan, buUhe fle elopmet S uSSS.
and naval forceq of tim ;iit. J. M,tl18 military
important part in tS nAiifSplPing to play an
she has spai-ea no effort and Sr! Tlem AsIa
riflce to place herao? 'I shrunk from no sac
equipment oi a level with her Si"?, 0f armed
tors. The Japanell aw
try with so extensive , am? iifSl and a coun"
could in no cas . afford ? ulnf aDle a seaboard
partment has been CS ,of her naval de
ty conflict tttotoT?otmortVr-
agreement on the 'broafi mt ?? been no dis
largely increased nava? ofiy A "Kft 0f a
program was agreed on a Sli shIPuilding
this year tl e construotfn e.m,onths ag0 to beSin
15,000 tons eac two a?morLfUr ,battleiPs of
tons each, four second cla?s 5 ooo'ton , f 9'9C0
t- torpedo boat toSJig
ATr?nsU?4b"XEY MY -lauguage
is con g
' ' ' VOLUME 4, NUMBER .
tho Boston Transcript. This writer says- -a.
capital story has been told by an American m,
sionary who has just arrived in London
Korea. The difficulty of learning the langSacn 2
that country is increased enormously owinetn f
largo number of words which, with a sllrhf S
. flection of the voice, are used over and n :
again with an entirely different meaning Th!
missionary in question was preaching to smn
natives and assuring them that unless thev r7
pented they would go to a place of punishment
Amazement rather than terror was written on th
faces of his Oriental listeners. 'Why on earth if
they rejected his advice and refused to reiient
should they be dispatched to tho local posU
office! On another occasion a lecture was deliv
ered, in the course of which a beautiful moral
was being drawn from the gay career of tho tinv
butterfly which was suddenly cut short in the
clutches of the spider. The simile, however fell
somewhat short of its intended meaning and it
was not until the laughter had subsided that tho
lecturer became aware that the victim which had
been floundering amid the dainty silken threads
of the web was a donkey, whioh in the Korean
language, it appears, is synonymous with "butter
fly."
THE STATE OP NEW JERSEY IS REGARDED
as being first in the United States in silk
production. The Trenton correspondent for tho
New York Times says': "Winton C, Garrison, chief
of the state bureau of labor and industries, has
issued a bulletin stating that the selling value
of the silk produced in New Jersey in 1903 was
$47,849,192, and that silk manufacture Is the state's
principal industry. The aggregate capital in
vested in all the New Jersey silk mills is ?24,
872,624. The value of the material used in manu
facture was ?27,819,826. The principal item ofi
. stock was 5,087,192 pounds of raw silk, valued at
$21,380,045. Including the dye houses and throw
ing mills there are 165 establishments in the silk
industry in the state 84 owned by private par
ties and 81 operated by corporations. Tho num
ber of partners in the private concerns are 147,
while 451 stockholders own the corporations. The
average number of employes was 14,368 males and
loo ?oemales The total of wages paid was $11,
U8J,184, and the average annual earnings $410.8G.
Strikes and other causes reduced the total of
working days to 285, or 21 less than full time."
'If K
DIAMONDS ARE 60 PJiJR CENT HIGHER'
than they were in 1899 and fully 25 per cent
more than they were eighteen months ago. A1
S,ter ,in he Philadelphia Public Ledger says:
ine rise in the price has been universally put
down to the Boer war; but though inis has helped
to run up the cost, it is by no means the only
cause of the increased value of the most beautiful .
of all gems. The fact is, that the great Kimberley,
mines, which are now practically the only source
of the world's diamond supply, have been worked
to such a depth that the cost of raising the blue
clay in which the diamonds are found is much
greater than it used to be. Not only is' the cost
of working greater, but the stones are more wide
ly scattered, and they are of inferior quality. lb
seems probable that in a few years' time the best
2L ? bIU? clay wm be exhausted. Diamonds
are found in Australia and Brazil. Bur though
some of these are very fine stones, they are too
Sfr ,CUi Profltaly. At present a good quality,
diamond of one karat is worth $55 before cutting.
The price must go to $75 before it will pay to cut
Brazilian and Australian stones. The Indian
diamond fields are practically worked out, and no
other deposits of diamonds are known at present."-
as ac
TN T FY-SIXTH CONGRESS A BILE
iisnnnnn fn vuc,?i and passed appropriating
foirtwJ ?nff Tr i? buildg for the use of disabled
soldiers at Johnson City, Tenn. The home is to
Ernm as "The Mountain Branch Soldiers'
tlSfL Writer in Leslie's Weekly, describing
S 5e' Says: "The accommodations of tho
ma?Pn a i7uen, comPlGted will be for 3,500 iu
October IK iSS? nUmber haf been fitted sinco
and m rtf'in0,11, 7ing t0 the extreme demand,
Thn M JSrk Ad7ances moro wI be cared for.
000 00? Ld I01 me h0me comlete will be $3,
SmJSlt 11 comPriso many buildings,
SSaw?lcha?0 oigllt bari,acks, mess hah, hos
auartm "S,'?? Y.ard ngs and surgeons
?aundrv' dmInI5tratlon building, power house,
nursfJn,0' fiv?, buildinss for .officers and
So TQ ?atIonal board hall, chapel, thrco
ffhT? S,tables' conservatory and opera
SreSif-5 M8 and moreue. Mr. Carnegie has
ES to, the home $25,000 lor a library. This
ffiSEfSSSfigS.. ldnd he over made
A
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