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Qfe Nobrachc Indopondcnfl
SEPTEMBER 7, 1905
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IN
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THE
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A concert given for the Inmates of the Dunn
ing, Illinois, asylum recently demonstrated the
effect of music upon these patients. Four hun
dred insane men and women listened quietly
from the first number of the program until the
conclusion. Patients who, in the wards are con
tinuously restless, sat quiet and subdued. In
the words "of Dr. Podstate, general superintendent,
the. music was better than barrels of medicine,
and much more . effective than straps or strait
jackets would have been." , .
The most serious news in regard to yellow
fever near New Orleans comes from Bayou
LaFourche, where a hundred or more cases have
been reported. This is a scattered camp, at the
mouth of a bayou on the gulf coast far to the
south of , New Orleans. There is a mixed popu
lation there and the people eke out an existence
by fishing. It is In this part of the parish that
the lepers have congregated and there are many
of them to be found along the bayou. It is
alleged that many of them are victims of the
fever and in their case it Is folly to hope for
recovery.
The German Atlantic Telegraph company is
just laying out a new telegraph cable between
Constantinople and Constanga, on the Black Sea.
Thi cable' is to be connected in Constantinople
with the existing aerial telegraph lines between
Berlin and Constaotinople. In addition to the
German-Turkish telegraphic traffic, this new line
is to be used for communication between the
states of western Europe on the one hand, and
Turkey, Asia Minor and Greece on the other.
The new line is supposed to assume a high im
portance for the economical interests of Ger
many in Turkey and Asia Minor, while greatly
accelerating the transmission of telegrams be
tween Berlin and Constantinople:
A report on forest planting operations being
carried on within Pike's Peak forest reserve in
Colorado has been forwarded to .Washington.
It shows very satsifactory progress along all lines:
In Clementine gulch, near Clyde, Colo., 40,000
western yellow pine and 10,000 red fir seedlings
were planted last spring under direction of the
forest service at an elevation of 9,300 feet and,
though the season was a very unfavorable one
for tree growth, the result was encouraging.
Fire lines fifty feet wide have been cleared
around the planted area and all dry brush and
dead trees have been piled and burned. Nursery
work has progressed at - Clyde, Rosemont and
Bear Creek. Large numbers of seedlings will
soon be ready for transplanting to various points
within the reserve.
Figures only to be described as staggering
are dealt with in a return that has just been
Issued by the postal union for the year 1903,
and the mind fails to realize what is contained
in the statement that in that period of twelve
months 2,597,000,000 of . letters were posted in
Great Britain. The correspondence of all other
countries is, of course, tabulated. In regard to
postcards Germany heads the list with 1,161,
000,000, to be followed by the United States with
770,500,000 of such missives, Great Britain tak
ing the third place with 613,000,000. That, how
ever, is a striking "total and is a good evidence
of the popularity of the picture card, which, of
course, has, been a largely contributing factor
to the vast mass. Germany it is interesting to
note, has the fourth place in the world's em
ployment of postcards and used about 487,500,000
during the same period.
i Three died in Custer, S. D., the other day
one Ruf us H. Pilcher, one of two survivors of
the Black Hawk war. Had he lived until the
15th of September he would have reached the
ripe age of 101 years. At the last state census
he was one of the three centenarians of South
Dakota. He was one of the early captains on
the Missouri river in the days when it was the
DTPat avfnilP nf tr.lrtA for tho mlAMa waet TTti,
life was a rugged one, filled to the brim with
-excitement and work. He served his country in
three ' different wars, the Mexican, the Black
Hawk and the civil war. Nothing but 'his ad-
va-nt'aA '-iiiro nrnvonfarl Mo rrincr n-ItVi (tin ai. r?
the boys at' the time of the' Spanish-American
war.- His 100th anniversary-was celebrated the
15th of last September at St. Louis. He held a
reception in the afternoon at the South Dakota
mining exhibit and in the evening was enter
tained by his friends at an extensive banquet
at one of the hotels. Many telegrams powed
in upon him that, day from friends all through
.the states of Indiana, Illinois and Ohio. He was
very well known in Indianapolis, where for many
years he was a conspicuous and well known
figure. While Chicago was still a city of frame
huts he made it his home, and has seen it grow
to the greatest city in the west. He has seen
changes in all the avenues of trade, and he
helped materially in these changes. Until the
last two years, or until he reached the age of
99, his health was remarkably good. He was
strong and vigorous and a great walker. He
first went to the Black Hills in the pioneer
days of '77, and since then has always spent
more or less time there. He was interested in
mining ventures and traded considerably in
grounds.
The principle of municipal ownership of street
railways has been definitely adopted in Berlin,
and there will be no more franchises to private
parties. cablegram to the Chicago Daily News
states that municipal transportation projects
involving an expenditure of over $100,000,000,
and intending to give the city complete control
of the traffic situation, are now engaging the
attention of the Berlin government. In addition
to the fine surface system of electric railways
whihe has already been decided upon, the city's
engineers are working out a plan for extensive
underground, elevated and suspension railways.
These will traverse Berlin in all directions and
link up with it the suburbs anJ surrounding towns.
The lines of the Great Berlin Street Railway
company, the existing privately owned traction
system, will not be paralled, as those lines fall
into the city's hands in 1917, at the expiration of
the present franchise. ,
There is general belief in navy circles that,
as a result of the Bennington inquiry, it will be
demonstrated that the navy reorganization scheme
adopted some years ago has failed in the respect
that the engineering work Is neglected. Under
this reorganization the old engineering corps was
abolished and the engineering work- was placed
in charge of officers of the line, and a part of
their duty was to see that the engineering is
done. Under this arrangement it is possible for
these officers of the line to shirk engineering
duty for things more pleasant. Secretary Bona
parte has referred the report in the Bennington
case to Captain Diehl, judge advocate general,
and it is expected that a determination shortly
will be reached regarding the recommendations
at the court of inquiry. At the time of the dis
aster the president informed Secretary Bonaparte
that he desired a report from the secretary
upon the subject, and it is the Intention of Mr.
Bonaparte to forward to the president such a
report within three of four days. This report
will cover the general conditions and probably
will comment upon the working of the naval
personnel law and its relation to the steam en
gineering department of the navy.
The remarkable growth of Japanese foreign
commerce during the first six months of this
year,' especially of imports from foreign countries,
is shown in the June monthly return of the for
eign trade of the Empire of Japan, a copy of
which official publication has just reached the
department of commerce and labor through its
bureaus of statistics. As compared with the six
month's figures for the previous year, the im
ports show the remarkable increase of 5C.9 per
cent, from $90,952,000 to $142,659,000, while ex
ports for the same period show a relatively in
significant growth of less than 4 per cent, from
$68,458,000 to $71,098,000. It is of interest to
note that, while the largest increases in imports
are credited to the United States, the United
Kingdom, and British India, the largest in
creases in exports occur under the head of China,
United States, and Korea. Thus imports from
the United States for the first six months of the
year 1905 were $31,921,000, as against $13,328,000
during the same period of 1904; imports from the
t Unite Kingdom r ;were ; $32,623,000, . -.as, -against
$16,982,000; imports from British' India were $34,
034,000, as - against $21,092,000; while imports
from Germany are stated' as $10,794,000 for the
first six months of this year, as against $6,985,000
for the same period of the year 1904. As regards
imports from other countries, they have in
creased at a much lower rate, or else show de
creases. The exports during the same periods
were largest for China, which is credited with
' $21,932,000 as compared with $14,953,000 during
the first six months of 1904. The United States
ranks next among the countries to which Japa
nese products are destined, the figures for the
first six months of, 1905 being $20,304,000 as
against $19,910,000 for the previous year. In the
third place now stands Korea, with $5,852,000" as
against $3,840,000 for the same period of 1904.
The exports to France, one of Japan's large cus
tomers of silk, have fallen from $7,117,000 dur
ing the first six months of 1904 to $5,401,000 dur
ing the first six months of 1905. The exports
to the United Kingdom have likewise decreased
from $4,343,000 to $3,335,000, while exports to'
Germany have fallen from $1,098,000 in 1904 to
$1,045,000 in 1905. The leading position of the
United States in Japanese foreign commerce is
seen from the fact that this country furnished
22.4 per cent of the total imports during the
first six months of 1905 as compared with 14.7
per cent of the total imports during the same
period of 1904, and is credited with 28.6 per
cent of the total domestic exports during the
first half year in 1905 as compared with 29.1
per cent of the total domestic exports of Japan
for the first six months in 1904.
Great Britain is preparing to benefit its mil
lions of inhabitants by applying the principles of
municipal ownership to the telephone system of
the nation. Six years hence the National Tele
phone company, "the monopoly of monopolies,"
with an issued capital of over $45,000,000, will
be bought by the nation at its present valua
tion, and the postoffice will commence its am
bitious and difficult task of providing cheap
telephones. How huge the business is may , he
gathered from the fact that the company haa
326,017 "stations,? of instruments, "which bring
in an annual revenue of over $10,000,000. In
London there are 73,783 of these stations. The
business of the postoffice is a baby business by
the side of that of this company. The last annual
report of the postmaster general recorded 15,632
instruments in London and 6,874 in the provinces.
It will be the gnat swallowing the camel indeed
when the postoffice takes over the business of
the telephone company, which employs a staff
of nearly 15,000 persons and pays over $3,000,000
a year in salaries, wages and general adminis
tration expenses. But the agreement which the
government has now made with the company
the postoffice subscribers will 'Obtain free inter
communication with the company's system, and
to" two undertakings may for all practical pur
poses be regarded as one. Not until after 1911,
however, can the real "cheapening" process
commence.
The Portsmouth conference is one of the
shortest on record. There are precedents for
the waiving of monetary indemnity, the United
States having done so in the Spanish war. Among
great peace treaties which have consumed so
much time are: The treaty of Paris, January 14,
1784, in which the independence of the United
States was recognized and peace between Great
Britain and her erstwhile colonies restored, took'
fourteen months to negotiate. The treaty of
Washington, May 8, 1871, admitting the Alabama
claims to arbitration, had been under discussion
since November 20, 1862. The seven weeks' war
between Prussia and Austria, which culminated
in the battle- of Sadowa. was terminated by the
treaty of Prague, August 23, 1866, which was
seven weeks negotiating. The treaty of Zurich,
which ended the Franco-Prussian war of 1859,
was four months in being ratified. The treaty of
Frankfort, May 10, 1871, putting an end to the
Franco-Prussian war, had been - under discussion
since January 28, 1871. The treaty of Con
stantinople, December 4, 1cj7, ending the war
between Greece and Turkey, took almost three
months to arrange. The treaty of Washington,
August 12, 1898,. ending the war with Spain, was
signed in less than three weeks, but it left a
number of points to be decided by a peace con
gress,.. which, jnet- later, '.in Paris. The treaty of .
Vereeniging, ending the Boer war, was in process
of making from March 22, 1901, to. May 30, the
same year.
