OPINIONS OF GREAT PAPERS ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS Waste of Forests Means Ruin. ' HE people of the United States can derive an object lesson from Braril as to the climatic effects produced by the destruction of forests. Xo more striking illustration could be found of the fact that trees make the weather. In northern Brazil large states have been brought to the verge of ruin through the devas tation of the timber lands. United States Consul General Seeger at Rio de Janeiro calls attention to the chronic drouths and torrefaction in the states of Rio Grande do Norte and Ceara , where the parched country has brought such suffering that relief measures have been put in opera tion by the government. The consul geenral points out that the situation there can be definitely traced to the wanton destruction of the timber , once abundant in those regions. Now the states are being depopulated , and dcs elation reigns wh e once nature offered every inducement to the settler. The United States in recent years has taken steps toward - ward the protection of its forests , but the laws are still far from stringent The government was slow to awake to the urgency of the matter. The waste of timber in this country during the past fifty years has been almost beyond belief. The continental railroads alone destroyed millions of acres of forests. They slashed and burned recklessly In building their lines , and their engines set fire to and ruined vast areas. Settlers , with no thought of the future value of the timber , added heavily to the waste. In one : way or another , the ruthless hand of the destroyer has done damage that can be repaired only at the expense of many years. The forestry department of the government is one that ehould be built up , and strengthened by laws designed not only to foster the growing of trees , but to protect the tim ber now standing. Chicago Journal. We and Our Neighbors. MMIGRATIOX is a subject of infinite possi bilities. We had 039,830 immigrants last year ; Canada had 128,000. Who is the more advan taged ? Of ours 655,000 came from the south of Europe Latins and Slavs a class that all authorities on the subject say is little to be desired. Of Canada's comparatively small amount SO per cent came from Great Britain , Germany , France , Belgium , the Scandinavian countries and the United States the best material in the world to build up E country and make it richer materially and morally. Not the kind to people the slums of the cities , live from hand to mouth , increase the drain on pauper care , and , in large part , to get out of the country when they have got all out of it that they can or want. * * * Canada has millions of acres , and she is setting about their disposal in a way to attract the good citizen. She offers , too , a stable government ; peace , order and law , where , alas , we have and offer turbulence and a liberty that , becoming license , infringes on rights like a tyranny. Is the great republic iosing its charm ? Is the glamor pass ing off ? Our immigration total does not look like it. But again comes the question of quality. What boots it that we get the offscourings of Southern Europe and part with some of our best blood to build up our neighbor to the north , where fruits of their industry are absolutely lost to us ? Indianapolis News. The Cost and Folly of War. HE war in the far East , according to the computation - ( putation of a well-informed newspaper -of Paris , is costing the Russian government at least $1.000,000 a day , and the expense is in- I creasing daily. If the war continues for years , ( as the experts say it is pretty sure to do , Rus sia will accumulate a burden of debt that will rest heavily upon many future generations. Of course , $1,000,000 a day is not a surprisingly great sum for a first-class power to pay for the conduct of n war. Our war with Spain cost us considerably more than that But it was a short war and our financial condition was very strong. Russia , on the contrary , has been throwIng - Ing millions after millions since the new policy with re gard to the Asiatic portion of the empire was put into operation. Xobody knows how much the Trans-Siberian railway has cost. But it is an enormous amount ; and the expenditures on Port Arthur , Dalny , Harbin , Vladivostok , and the other outposts have run into the hundreds of mil- -0--- OBEYING ORDERS. - * - - fr00 - During the war with Spain 47,000 soldiers were at one time camped at Chickamauga awaiting orders for the invasion of Cuba. Some of the regi ments were made up of the finest and most earnest young men of the com munities from which they came. The exigencies of camp life necessitated duties with which they had been un familiar. From one cavalry regiment two young men , cultivated , wealthy , and graduates of colleges , were detail ed to assist in horseshoeing ; and so faithfully did they do their work that within a month they were able to make as good a horseshoe , and shoe a horse as well , as men who had been trained to the trade from youth. "It was not exactly what we had in mind when we enlisted , " said one of them , "and it was as near the battle field as we ever got ; but it was our Tvay of serving our country then , and -we tried to do our duty. " A harder duty still was assigned to another man in the same regiment. The major detailed him to keep the regimental canteen. Not only was he a total abstainer , but he was opposed to the canteen on principle , and in his conversation with his comrades had made no secret of his feeling in the matter. He hotl3T resented his assignment to this hateful labor , and could easily have ris'jn in rebellion at what seemed n gratuitous insult to his well-known principles. But he said to himself that the responsibility for his assignment to the task rested with the major , but the responsibility for the way in which he performed his duty was his own. So he took up the unpleasant work amid not a little curiosity on the part of his comrades concerning the way in which he would obey the major's or ders. lions. Indeed , it was pretty well known to the Japanesft as well as to the rest of the world that Russia's treasury was in an extremely bad way at the time war was declared. But the $1,000,000 a day is , after all , only a small part of tlie bills Russia has to face. Her losses of battleships have meant the destruction of hundreds of millions of del lars' worth of property that must be replaced , and the prospective capture of her great towns with their arma ments must make the Czar's heart sick. Considered as a plain business proposition , the war with Japan does not seem to be a very good investment E\en though Russia should Avin at last , she will have to defend her possessions more expensively than ever , and how many years of ownership of Manchuria will be required to make up her losses ? Chicago Journal. Railroads In Darkest Africa. T seems only the other day that explorers were gaining fame by penetrating to regions of Africa through which one may now ride in a drawing room car. The other day the first through train left Cape Town for Victoria falls , on the Zambesi River , near where Liv ingstone died , and on the edge of that region the exploration of which made Stanley famous. With the opening of traffic of this southern section of the Cape to Cairo road half the splendid dream of Cecil Rhodes a dream which caused men of lesser minds to say that he was touched with madness becomes materialized into a prosaic , working fact , a matter of freight rates , time tables and tips to the Pulman porter. From the north one can now travel more than a thou sand miles to where only a few years ago , "the fires of hell encircled in tlie desert lost Khartum" as easily as one can travel to Chicago , and south of Gordon's reclaimed capital the railroad Is creeping along the banks of the Upper Xile. From Cape Town to Victoria Falls is another thousand miles , leaving something like 2,500 miles more of road to be built , but much less than that if use is made , as it will be at first , of the long stretches of lake navigation available. A section of only 750 miles will carry the south ern stretch of the road to Lake Tanganyika , from the northern end of which a short section will connect with the head waters of the Xile. Before we fully realize what is being accomplished , the scream of the locomotive whistle will scare the infant Nilus in his cradle and the realm of the Pharaohs find an outlet along the shores where Table Mountain looks out toward the Antartic seas. All the schemes of ambition cherished by the dead Egyptian kings had no vision of expansion so great as this. The dream of Cecil Rhodes was greater than the dreams of the Pharaohs. New York Press. A National Peril. HERE is more in the toleration of recent auto mobile performances on the highway than the mere ignoring of the rights and the safety of other people , since the thing would not be pos sible unless we had forgotten part of the spirit of our institutions. For instance , it is impossible to avoid the conviction that the only reason some of the men who drive racing machines escape gael is that they are conspicuous in some way , generally the possession of a good deal of money. The average man would serve a term behind the bars if he caused the needless annoyance and danger and damage which these men do. But if this is true , where is the practical equality before the law of which we have boasted for years ? And without that what becomes of the basis of our system of popular government ? It is not merely in the matter of sport that the change hascome. . It is commonly observed that it is almost im possible to punish individuals or corporations of a certain prominence for some offenses. Between the complaint and the exaction of the penalty there is almost always a way of escape for these people , although there would not be for smaller fry. The exceptions are just about enough to prove the rule. It is a more or less clear perception of the fact which causes much of the discontent which existing in ignorant men , takes queer and unreasonable forms , but Is none the less founded In a certain degree of justice , and which among wiser men leads to apprehension of the future , un less we can bring about a more general regard for sound principles of justice and for the authority of law against one exactly as against another. Hartford Times. "I will give you the beer if you want it , " he said to the first man who asked for a drink of beer , "but I have some thing better here in the finest lemon ade to be found in camp. " Removing the cover , he disclosed a generous ves sel filled to the brim with rich lemon ade , and a large lump of ice in the middle. It was too tempting to re sist , and the lemonade was purchased instead of the beer. Before noon of the first day his lemonade was known throughout the camp , and the run upon the canteen was such that he was kept busy making more , and he took pains to keep the quality up to the mark. The major came by and saw how he was conducting the place , but he rais ed no objection. The men of the regi ment understood the reason for sup plying the lemonade , and although at first there had been some disposition on the part of the rougher ones to make merry over the uncomfortable situation in which the young man had been placed , even these came to ad mire the spirit in which he obeyed or ders , and they rallied to his support. When his duties at the canteen were over , he was found at the camp Young Men's Christian Association , helping in the religious work of the regiment. But the popularity of his lemonade proved so great as to de mand a steady supply of it , and in proportion as the lemonade was con sumed , the sale of other drinks dimin ished. The young soldier had obeyed his or ders , and performed a task which his soul despised , but he did it in a way that helped to give nis regiment the reputation of being one of the soberest and most orderly in camp. "Waves of Pessimism. Pessimism always exists , but it comes in waves , and a wave-.of this kind is just now sweeping oven , the world. Anyone who will take the trou ble to look over the magazine and' < newspaper files will find half a dozen times In the last 20 years when we were treated to the same pessimism and to much the same stories of na tional , moral and political decay as we are to-day. If all of these were true we would be sunk so low to-day that it would be impossible to go any lower. If , however , we compare long ranges of time we see unquestioned progress In every line , moral and political , as well as industrial and financial. We hear complaints of bad municipal gov ernment , of graft in St. Louis , crook edness in Minneapolis and rottenness in Philadelphia , but , as a matter of fact , the conditions for the country as a whole are greatly improved. The apparent decline is due to the fact that we know of all the corruption to-day , thanks to the press , whereas of old it was hidden away in darkness and se crecy. In the same way tlie apparent increase in crime , which is the basis of the English plaint , the greater number of arrests reported everywhere , the larger number of prisoners in jail , do not really mean more crime , but are due to the fact that we have a better police system and that very few crimes go undetected and unpunished , as they did formerly. New Orleans Times-Democrat. Mechanism of Gasoline Engine. It can be understood to what a nice- ry the mechanism of a gasoline engine is adjusted when it is stated that to make 1,000 revolutions a minute means that in a four-cycle engine there are 500 sprays of gasoline forced into the cylinder , 5CO times the electric battery makes a spark and 500 times the es cape valve is opened to let the gas out. Too Much to Expect. Brookeleigh I don't know what time it is. Ascum Isn't your watch running ? Brokeleigh I don't think so. I could hardly expect the pawnbroker to keep it wound up. Philadelphia Press. \ 'What has become of the old-fashion- " < kl man who ' the question ? The past week has been one of ac tivity in the Far East and severe bat tles have been fought both on land and sea. The Japanese around Port Arthur renewed their assault on the outlying defenses of the town. With Takushan , elevation 845 feet , on the northeast as a vantage ground , they kept up a con stant hammering on all the eastern lines of the enemy. At the sawe time , on the opposite flank of the Besieged , a heavy attack was developed against the forts on Liauti Mountain. Liautl- shan is 1,512 feet high , being by sev eral hundred feet the greatest eleva tion in that part of the peninsula. A battery maintained on top of the hill could direct a plunging fire upon all fortifications within range. It is un certain whether the Japanese have managed to take the hill. The Chi nese reports are contradictory. ' There have been many and circum stantial reports as to the use of land mines by the Russian defenders. The stories of the casualties caused by them must , however , have been enor mously exaggerated. It would require the mining of acres of ground to de stroy any large quantity of troops in open order. Rifle fire is less dramatic than land mines and more effective. Early in the week the Japanese gained nearly every position outside the main chain of forts , but at the cost of many lives. The Chinese report that the Japs took Fort Palichwang , near the rail road , but the subsequent evening a sortie drove them out of it again. They retreated to Suciszeying. Tuesday morning the Japanese sent an officer under a white flag to de mand the surrender of Port Arhtur. The rather fanciful terms announced by the Chinese refugees , that the fleet should be turned over intact , that the 20,000 defenders might march out with their arms and join Kouropatkin's / ft ley l/fepnor , * DTSBSHAX AXD AXTESIIAX FORTS , CAPTURED BY JAPAXESE. Etseshan fort , captured by the Japanese , is one of the principal defensive works northwest of Port Arthur. It surmounts a hill 405 feet in height , and is about two miles from Arhat is called the new city , located on the northern shore of West Port. This new city is principally occupied by Russians. Another fort that the Japanese captured is called Anteshan , and stands about a mile north of Eseshan. The hitter is considered to. bp.the key to Port Arthur. In the war oC 1894 Etseshan was captured by the brigade of Gen. Xishi , who is now fighting at Port Arthur. army in Manchuria are not confirmed In the official account received from Tokio. An answer was demanded within twenty-four hours. Whatever the terms , they were re jected by General Stoessel , who broke through his habitual taciturnity into profanity as lie considered the Japa nese proposition. Perhaps in the fu ture , when war has become more of a science and less of an art , if it can be mathematically demonstrated to a com mander that Tie is hopelessly surround ed and outnumbered , that his resist ance will merely prolong the suffering of his men , and that it will accom plish no good to his country , perhaps when that time has come the average ctlzen will throw up his hands in horror ror at the general who refuses to be governed by the logic of the situation and who prefers to fight a hopeless battle rather than to surrender. Such a general will then be called a blood thirsty butcher , a barbarian , a species of avatism. But that time has not come yet. The battle In the straits of Korea , where Vice Admiral Kamimura , with four armored cruisers , met the three armored cruisers of the Vladivostok squadron , resulted in the sinking of one , the Rurik. The Rossia and Grom obol returned to Vladivostok under their own engines. If Kamimura had fought but a little harder , 'a little longer , and a little closer , the Rossia and Gromoboi would never have got back to port. They were in a fear fully battered condition. Why he quit fighting when the Muscovites , accord ing to their own reports , were all but sinking , remains a mystery. He did not have Togo's excuse that he must preserve his ships against the possi ble advent of the Baltic squadron. Togo had already won his fight and the Japanese command of the sea was "SVar News in Brief. Fort Dalny is said to be filled with wounded men. An official dispatch from Shanghai says the Russian consul has notified the taotai that the Askold and Grozovoi have been disarmed. Two Russian torpedo-boat destroyers struck mines at the entrance of Port Ar thur. The larger one of the destroyers , a four-funneled one , was sunk. The names of the vessels and the number of lives lost are unknown. The Russian cruiser Novik , the fastest TRAGIC S10RY OF NAVAL DESTRUCTION IN EPITOME. Russian : Naval Losses. XOVIK ( cruiser ) , beached in a sinking condition Aug. 21 at Korsakovsk , Isl and of Sakhalien , after a battle with -two Japanese cruisers. RURIK ( cruiser ) , sunk Aug. 14 , in a fight with Kamimura's squadron. PETROPAVLOYSK ( battleship ) , blown up at Port Arthur April 13 , Admiral Makaroff and 700 others perishing. CZAREVITCH ( battleship ) , severely damaged in the fight of Aug. 10 , Ad miral Withoft and 220 others being killed ; vessel now at Tsingchou and dismantled. BOYARIX ( cruiser ) , reported sunk near Dalny , Feb. 14. VARIAG ( cruiser ) , blown up by the Rus sians at Chemulpo Feb. 9 , to prevent its capture by the Japanese. MAXDCHLR ( gunboat ) , dismantled at Shanghai Feb. 10 to prevent capture by the Japanese. YBXESEI , sunk by a mine at Dalny Feb. 11. SITOUTCH ( gunboat ) , scuttled at Ne\v- chwang Aug. 1 to prevent its falling into the hands of the Japanese. KORIETZ ( gunboat ) , blown up at Che mulpo Feb. 9 to prevent its being captured. BOGATYR ( cruiser ) , badly damaged by running aground at Vladivostok May 19 ; reported on May 22 to have been blown up , but is known to be in dry dock. ASKOLD ( cruiser ) , badly damaged in fight of Aug. 10 , docked at Shanghai for repairs. ROSSIA ( cruiser ) , badly damaged in fight of Aug. 14 ; now at Vladivostok. G-ROMOBOI ( cruiser ) , suffered severely in the battle of Aug. 14 ; is at Vlad ivostok. RIESHITELNI ( destroyer ) , forcibly taken from Chefoo Aug. 11 by the Japanese. GROZOVOI ( torpedo boat ) , now at Shanghai , may be dismantled. VNUSHITBLNY ( destroyer ) , driven ashore in Pigeon Bay Feb. 14. STERTJGTJTSCHI ( destroyer ) , reported sunk off Port Arthur March 10. SKORI ( destroyer ) , blown up by a mine March 1C. STRASHNI ( destroyer ) , sunk in a fiffht east of Port Arthur April 13. Two torpedo boats sunk off Wei-Hai-Wei after battle of Aug. 10. Gunboat sunk by a mine near Port Ar thur Aug. IS. Japanese Naval Losses. HATSUSE ( battleship ) , sunk by a mine near Damy May 15. YOSHINO ( cruiser ) , sunk by being ram med by the cruiser Ivasuga off Port Arthur May 15. MIYAKA ( cruiser ) , sunk by a mine in Kerr Bay May 15. KAIMOX ( gunboat ) , sunk by a mine in Talienwan Bay July 5. Five transports sunk by the Vladivostok raiders. Sixteen vessels sunk at various times with the object of ' "bottling up" Port Arthur. assured. As it Is , the Rossia and Gromobol Lave been joined at Vladi vostok by the Diana , and probably the Xovik. If the war continues into next year , as it probably will , the Vladivos tok squadron will have four cruisers to prey upon Japanese commerce. Additional reports coming in during the week regarding Togo's recent vic tory make it more sweeping. One of his torpedo boats probably sunk the cruiser Pallada. Of the eight Russian destroyers which left the harbor seven will be out of action for the rest of the war. The battleship Czarevitch at Kiaochou has been dismantled by the Germans. The Askold , protected cruis er , which reached Shanghai , was given a short time for repairs , after which it must either dismantle or leave the port. port.The The Russian battleships which got back to Port Arthur are in a bad way. protected cruiser in the world , is beached in a sinking condition at Korsakovsk , Isl and of Sakhalien , after a two days' run ning battle with the Japanese cruisers Chitose and Tsushima. The Japanese sustained small damage. The fate of the Russian sailors is not known. Russian advices received at Chefoo say that two Japanese assaults on Port Ar thur were repulsed with tremendous losses. It is added that the attempt of the Japanese to capture fort Xo. 1 cost them 10,000 men and that their attack on Fort Etseshan resulted in their losing 3,000 men killed or wounded. MAKING OF PATENT LEATHER. Each Manufacturer Han Ilia Own Pro cess. All manufacturers of patent leather have their own tanning processes , much like those of the calfskin tanner , though some patent leather is given a ! bark tanning. Horsehide and coltj skins are the chief leathers made withi a patent finish. The patent or enamel finish is really , painted and baked on , as tlie bicycle' manufacturer paints and bakes enamel onto a frame. Tanners are very par ticular about keeping their processes secret , and nobody but workmen is ever allowed into the finishing rooms. The hide or skin , having been stretched and dried as much as possi ble , is first given a coating of a mix ture of linseed oil , litharge , white leader or similar materials boiled , together untjlthey make a pasty mixture. Tins is daubed on the surface Avith a steel tool and well rubbed in , so that the pores of the leather will be filled up. Then the leather is put into the oven , its surface being exposed to steam pipes at a temperature of about 100 degrees. Xext the surface is rubbed down with pumice stone , and then it is cov ered with linseed oil and ivory black , about six layers applied , each layer being dried and rubbed down. Finally a varnish is applied , and then the sur face is rubbed down and finished off as nicely as a painter finishes a line car * riage , Cleveland Plain Dealer. Kentucky Man's Duty. Jamboree , Ky. , Aug. 29. ( Special. ) After suffering for years with pain in the back Mr. J. M. Coleman , a well- known citizen of this place- , has found a complete cure in Dodd's Kidney Pills. Knowing how general this disease is all over the cfuntry , Mr. Coleman feels it is his duty to make bis experi ence public for the benefit of other sufferers. ' I want to recommend Dodd's Kid ney Tills to everybody who has pain in the back , " Mr. Colomau says. "I suffered for years with my back. l ( used Dodd's Kidney Pills and I have not felt a pain since. My little girl , too , complained of her back and she used about half a box of Dodd's Kid ney Pills and she is sound and well. " Backache is Kidney Ache. Dodd's Kidney Pills are a sure euro for all Kidney Aches , including Rheumatism. Not n. Flying-Fish. It was "a beautiful fish ; " the butcher aid so , and Mrs. Wilcox was a beauti ful woman ; a clever one , too , and the first in her class at college for "think ing out things. " Therefore , when her maid of all work went to her cousin's wedding , Mrs. Wilcox was quite sure that she 'could prepare the fish dinner for which Mr. Wilcox had asked. What he thought about it is no part of the story as the Chicago Xews prints it. At four o'clock precisely Mrs. Wil cox put on one of her trousseau aprons and began to think. She thought out the gastronomic trimmings first , but when she had made some hollandaise sauce , and put it where it could not possibly keep hot , although that was not her intention , she began to consider the fish. To her intense annoyance , the butch er had neglected to clean it and make it ready for cooking. Very well , she would do it herself. So it came about that when Mr. Wil cox got home he found his wife with worried brow and flushed cheeks stand ing , over the sink , the fish in one hand and the teakettle in the other. "There is something wrong with this fish , " she announced. "It is most peculiar. I have poured gallons of boiling water over it , just as I re member grandmother used to treat newly killed chickens before she could pick the feathers off , and the horrid scaled stick just as tightly as ever ! " "Why don't you try singeing it ? " Wilcox managed to ask before he ex plodei Motion Overruled. "I si > f , " said the captain of bache lors' hall in the boarding school , "let's be swell and call our dormitory the Latin quarter. " "Xo ! Xo ! " shrieked the rest of the crowd. "Becanse , " ventured one of the pro testing mob , "all the other fellows will be coming here trying to borrow the quarter. " And so it was thus that the dormi tory went nameless. Baltimore Amer ican. LEARNING THINGS. TVe Are All in the Apprentice Class. When a simple change of diet brings back health and happiness the story is briefly tcJd. A lady of Springfield , 111. , says : "After being afflicted for years with nervousness and heart trou ble , I received a shock four years ago th'at left me in such a condition that my life was despaired of. I could get no relief from doctors nor from the numberless heart and nerve medicines I tried because I didn't know that the coffee was daily putting me back more than the doctors could put me ahead. "Finally at the request of a friend I left off coifee and began the use of Postum. and against my convictions I gradually improved in health until for the past six or eight months I have been entirely free from nervousness and those terrible sinking , weakening spells of heart trouble. "My troubles all came from the use * o' coffee , which I Lad drunk from , childhood , and yet they disappeared when I quit coffee and took up the use of Postum. " Xame given by Postum Co. . Battle Creek , Mich. Many people marvel at the effects of leaving off coffee and drinking Postum , but there is nothing marvelous - ous about it only common sense. Coffee is a destroyer Postum is o rebuilder. That's the reason. Look in each pkg. for the famous little book. "The Road to