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PAGE 6
NOVEMBER 23, 1905
THE
LD OF PRGGRE
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U U J U U H Emm U W U U Lraafce H U u w w u ww
X5he Nobraoko Indopondont
State Dairy Commissioner II. R. Wright of
Iowa proposes to show in his triennial report,
which will bo given to the public printer soon,
Iowa is pre-eminently a dairy, rather than a cattle
feeding state and that the reputation of the state
for feeding cattle i3 misplaced when compared
with the dairy interests. He has obtained from
the state auditor facts and figures to prove this.
The figures show that the cows of the state,
not including the heifers of 1 and 2 years, equal
in value all the steers of all ages, all the cattle
in feeding and very nearly all the bulls. The
value of the cows is $30,288,802, and the value of
all the steers, cattle in feeding and bulls is $30,
369,874. The value of the cows and the heifers
one and two years old is $41,268,965, exceeding
the value of all the other cattle. This will be
used by Mr. Wright in Impressing upon the legis
lature the importance of the dairy interests of the
state.
About a year ago work was begun on & rail
road in upper Egypt from the Red sea to the
Nile. Little has been said about it, but it is
now reported that about 180 miles of track have
been laid, leaving about 130 to complete the road,
whose Red sea terminus is now at Suakim, which
has always been the port from which the caravans
have crossed to Khartoum, but at a point thirty
miles farther north, where a better harbor is
being built. This has been called Barud, but
will be named Port Soudan. Thence the road
pursues a southwesterly direction to the point
where the Atbara falls into the Nile. Work was
begun at both ends at once. There is very heavy
work on the road and many bridges, for though
there is little rain, when it comes it conies in
torrents. The railroad may be said to be a com
petitor of many of ours, for a chief reason as
signed for building it is to encourage cotton
growing in the Soudan by giving a cheap outlet
to the sea.
The work of developing the British port
of Dover into a first rate naval base and fortress,
to rank with Gibraltar or Singapore, is proceed
ing apace. The great southern breakwater of the
edmirality harbor, 1,400 yards long, begun less
than a year ago, is to be completed in eighteen
months. To give an idea of the gigantic, nature
of this work, it may be stated that the solid
masonry is constructed in forty-five feet of water,
at low tide, is seventy feet thick at the base, and
about 100 feet high. In eighteen months the har
bor will be completely protected from the sea,
and will afford fleets lying in its complete immu
nity from torpedo attack, being, with the expec
tion of Portland, the only harbor in the United
Kingdom which offers these advantages. It is
understood that a scheme for constructing a dock
for submarines will appear in the forthcoming
parliamentary estimates, and that floating dry
docks will be stationed at Dover, although it is
proposed that these should, if necessary, be towed
in war time to any base the fleet may be actually
working from.
Unless more effective measures are taken, it
Is admitted by the police that they are power
less to defeat the army of 5,000 Camorrlstl
who Infest New York. So bold have these bri
gands become because of their success in black
mailing Italian merchants and escaping even sus
picion of complicity in the crime that their de
mands are increasing at an alarming rate. So
systematized has the campaign of brigandage be
come, according to Sergeant Petroslno, who has
applied to Commissioner McAdoo to have the
force of Italian detectives at police headquarters
Increased from five to thirty, that members of
the band are employed In many of the little Italian
banks scattered through the east side to watch
the deposits of the small merchants. "Only tho
national government can save this situation for
us," declared Sergeant Petroslno. "As tho law
Stands at present wo are helpless to a great ex
tent against these desperadoes. They know tho
penal code from etui to end. I have Information
that, there are not leu than 30.000 member of
the Camorra In this country, working under
twelvo leaders stationed In tho principal cities."
That the railroads ore looking forward at
no distant date to the time when steam railroads
will not bo used and that thU fact U m lm
por"" consideration In tho building of new
tint In the went, was lntlmatd by jamrs J.
Hill, "There I not going in bo any mad rush
for competitive railroad building In the went,"
f&id Mr. Hill. "Hteftin railroad are eipenslve
and the time may not be far off when railroads
other than steam railroads will be used for trans
portation. Some such roads would be better
adapted for the western country. The country
out west, is well supplied with railroad facilities.
It is not thickly settled, and in view of the farm
ing occupation of the people, requiring large
tracts of land, I don't think it will be much more
thickly settled for years to come. The stretch
of country, through which the St. Paul is to run
in going to the coast is about the only country
that is back in facilities." When pressed for an
explanation of his intimation regarding other
than steam transportation, Mr. Hill smiled and
refused to say anything further.
The latest projected search for a treasure
ship is being organized in Rome. In the bot
tom of Lake Nemi arc some curious antique gal
leys. According to a tradition they represent
one of Caligula's mad freaks, and exploration
confirms this report in a measure, for leaden
pipes recovered bear that emperor's name. That
is not proof, but it shows at least that the pipes
were cast in his day. And the description of
Suetonius is recalled not referring to these gal
leys, indeed, but to the pleasure craft in which
Caligula used to ail along the coast. They were
of cedar, the poops inlaid with precious stones
and the sails painted. There were baths on
board, galleries, spacious chambers, vines and
fruit trees of every sort. Those at the bottom
of Lake Nemi are big enough for such luxury.
An exact measurement of the smallest has been
taken; it is 200 feet long and sixty feet wide;
the depth could not be ascertained. The large
one is supposed to be more th..n 250 feet in
length. Many efforts have been made since that
of Cardinal Colonna in 1431 to raise the galley,
In 1904 8,600,000 pounds of aluminium were
made in the United States, an increase of 1,
100,000 pounds over 1903. In 1902 the output in
the United States was 7,300,000 pounds. The out
put in 1902 is of particular interest, because "of
the fact that twenty years before that the out
put was only 83 pounds, and at the end of the
first decade of manufacture, in 1893, only 339,629
pounds were made. Every day aluminium is ap
plied to new uses, increasing the consumption to
a wonderful degree. Aluminium paper is one
of the latest products, and it is said to be far
superior to tinfoil and similar articles. Aluminium
is used for household utensils, as well as those
for military purposes. In textile mill work
aluminium spools and bobbins are very popular,
and as a setting for lenses aluminum is much
lighter than brass. It is used on railway cars,
on locomotives, lithographic plates, letter boxes,
in patented explosives, for making acid carboys
and many other chemical vessels.
Buenos Ayres, the capital of the Argentine Re
public, has just passed the 1,000,000 mark in popu
lation. It is the mourteenth city in the world in
inhabitants, and is by far the largest city on the
western hemisphere, outside of New York, Chi
cago and Philadelphia. Fifteen years ago Rio
de Janerlo was ahead of It. Now the Brizilian
city is far behind. Thirty years ago Buenos
Ayres was exceeded In population by St. Louis,
Boston and Baltimore. It Is far in front of these
big United States towns today. It Is growing
as fast as Chicago, and faster than Berlin. Ar
gentina has an area almost as great as all the
United States east of the Mississippi, although
its population is a little less than six million,
or smaller than Pennsylvania's. It cxport3 more
corn that the United States. Before many years
pass, on account of our own home demand, Ar
gentina will surpass the United States In exporta
tion of food products in tho aggregate. For tho
first half of 1905 Its total exports wero $175.
000,000, or several times as much as those of
tho United States In proportion to population.
Some of the Parisians, ever ready to suspect
tho Hermans, are convinced that sotno sort of
Teutonic intrigue was responsible for the pla
cards recently Issued by tho "international Autl
Militarist Association of Working Men," appeal-'
Ing to iho conscripts to refuse obedience to their
ofllcers to fire on them If ordered to ue their
titles during utrtko dlHlurb.wioue, ..hi, If order
for mobilisation wero Riven, tu retort by lnur
rtciu, wince 'all war U criminal." The pla
card, which were posted up In ewal Pari
dUtrlru, were signed by a score of revolutionary
sochUUt or anarthUta, Tho question anked In
many quarters was where the money came from
to pay for the distribution of such expensive
posters. The government quickly removed the
incendiary appeals, made several arrests, and
gave stringent orders for the suppression of
every anti-patriotic or anti-military demonstra
tion during the departure of the conscripts. But
there does not appear to have been any great
necessity for the .extensive precautions which
were adopted. Indeep, the departure of the con
scripts was made the occasion of uncommon pa
triotic demonstrations by the populace.
Germany still holds the high position in
forest science which began with Hartig and Cotta.
The German forest schools, of which there are
seven of the higher grades, are still among the
very best, and the study of forestry, both in the
schools and in the forest experiment stations, is
eagerly pursued, says the National Geographic
Magazine. The forests in Prussia, Saxony and
other German states are admirably managed and
yield important returns. The total value of the
German forests, public and private, is said to be
about $4,500,000,000. Forestry in France has long
been associated with the names of famous men.
Henry of Navarre and his friend and minister,
Sully; Palissy, the great potter, who called the
neglett of the forest prevalent In his time "not
a mistake, but a calamity and a curse for France;"
Colbert, the minister of Louis XIV; the botanist
Duhamel du Monceau; Buffon, the celebrated na
turalist, are among the men to whom France owes
the rise and progress of its present excellent
forest policy. Their peculiar service was to lay
the foundation, both in law and in public opinion,
upon which modern forestry in France now' rests.
The forests of the French government are admir
ably managed. They cover only about 2,750,000
acres, but they yield a net return each year of
more than $2 an acre. Besides nandllng their
natural forests with great intelligence and suc
cess, the French foresters have done much for
the general progress of forestry.
The state census of New York for 1905,
whose results have just been announced, reveals
a continued concentration of population , in
Greater New York city. The state as a whole
gains 11 per cent in the five years, but the city
gains 16.8 per cent, reducing the increase from
the state outside of the city to 5.9 per cent.
Greater New" York contains at present substan
tially 50 per cent, or one-half of the state's popu
lation. In 1890 it contained little more than 40
per cent of the state's population, and in 1880
only 37 per cent. The figures make no account
of the business population of Greater New York
which lives on the New Jersey side of the Hud
son river. No less than twenty of the up-state
counties show a loss of population during the past
five years. The Massachusetts state census for
1905 shows a population increase of 6.9 per cent
for the five years, or little more than the in
crease for New oYrk state outside of New York
city. During the same time, which has been a
period of enormous immigration and unexampled
industrial prosperity, Iowa has lost in population
and Kansas has made no gain worth mentioning.
The trust regime is drawing wealth and popula
tion disproportionately from the country at large
and piling them up in the financial center.
An airing of Canadian life insurance methods,
suggested by the revelations elicited through the
investigations in the United States into the busi
ness of the great American companies is Inevit
able. At the last meeting of the Canadian insur
ance Institute It was stated that the Canadian
companies were ready to open their books to a
government Inquiry. In any case, an amend
met of tho existing laws, such as the federal In
spector of life Insurance has repeatedly recom
mended of late years, must bring the whole
question before a parliamentary committee. The
government Is regarded as pledged to the Intro
duction of an amending bill, and this will open
the way to such a discussion and overhauling
as alono will satisfy the country, Tho methods
of the Canadian companies have attracted tho
attention even of the Knglish weeklies and Dnnn
clal paper. Thero U no suspicion at present
of such wholesale misappropriation of tho policy,
holder' money as have como to light in tho
United States, tho main evil being the high rates
of commission pnb for tho Introduction of new
business, which have. It Is claimed, reached pro
portions tlmt are unJuftlMed. unjust to the pollev.
holders, and reckless, if nut dangerous, to all
tho Interest Involved,
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