14 The Conservative *
Bird Murder and Women's Hats.
lu spite of the crusade that bnmniio
and sensible persons bavo been waging
for years against what has sometimes
boon dubbed "murderous millinery , "
the ceaseless destruction of birds of nil
distinction goes on unchecked. The
gradual diminution of song birds and
others of great service to the farmer
bas been widely recognized. Massachu
setts indeed bas passed a law punishing
the shooting or trapping of other than
game birds with a heavy fine. But , in
spite of all attempts to lessen the mur
derous tribute exacted by fashion and
feminine vanity , the war against the
feathered tribes proceeds more remorse
lessly than over before. This is true
abroad as well as in America. Not long
ago a London auction room sold a sin
gle consignment of nearly 500,000
birds , which had been gathered from
different parts of the world. A late
fashionable item in a Paris paper an
nounces that "birds are worn more
than ever and blouses made entirely of
feathers are coming into fashion. "
Wings no longer suflice , but women
carry on their pretty but cruel and
thoughtless heads whole charuel houses
of beaks and claws and bones and feath
ers and glass eyes. Fashion never yet
demanded a more wicked and absurd
sacrifice on its altar , always smoking
for fresh prey. All the considerations
involved in the question its wasteful
ness in the economy of nature , the evil
and cruelty involved , the injury done
indirectly to the interest of the farmer ,
the blow struck at the aesthetic enjoy
ment of country life have been fre
quently presented , and yet feather
brains will insist on wearing feathered
hats.
The value of precious stones entered
in the appraiser's ofiice of New York
for July surpassed the showing of the
preceding month by $12,143 , 95. People
ple don't buy precious stones unless
money is plenty , so one is jubtificd in
deducing an agreeable business ouieu
from the sign
The British-American Boundary.
It seems singular at first blush that
down to the very present the exact line
separating Canada and the United
States has never been accurately chart
ed. It is one of the questions which
will bo acted on by the joint commis
sion at Quebec. Disputes over such un
certainties have often endangered the
peace of nations. It came within one of
plunging us into war with England
when the quarrel over the Oregon
boundary reached an acute stago. The
battlecry ran through the country ,
"Fifty-four forty , or fight. " Not very
long ago the situation became grave in
the matter of the Venezuelan line ,
which also involved this country as the
defender of the Monroe doctrine. These
issues lie dormant perhaps for a long
time and then suddenly spring into an
alarming activity. Wo shall now have
this open question forever settled. The
parts of the boundary which are to bo
arranged are the division between.
Alaska and northwestern Canada'th'e
portion which crosses Lakes Erie and
Ontario , and the secti in marking the
boundary between St. Alary's river aud
the Lake of the Woods.
In the first of these cases the survey
ors of Canada and the United States
have so far come to an agreement that
the basis for an understanding is clearly
defined. The rich golclfields of the region
through which a prospective line passes
have spurred prompt aud definite ac
tion. There are less accurate data for
determining the line westward of Isle
Royale , in Lake Superior , extending to
the northwestern shore of the Lake of
the Woods. The country up to this day
even has been imperfectly studied , and
the description of points of departure
in a zigzag course as laid down in the
treaty of 1842 proves to have been the
merest guesswork , some of the small
lakes specified being known not to exist
at all. The old maps in existence are
quite vague and unreliable. It would
seem that a surveying party should have
gone over this ground in anticipation of
the work of the commission. What
ground of accurate knowledge there is
in this case it is not easy tosee. . The
old line established by the treaty of
Ghent and the Webster-Ashburtou
treaty of 1842 , cutting Lakes Erie and
Ontario , is known by the late reports of
army engineers , published by the hydrographic -
drographic olHce , to bo quite incorrect.
In both sections of boundary some ap
proximate decision only can bo reached.
But with a desire on both sides to put
the matter out of future question there
will not bo much trouble in finding a
basis. The disposition of a few hundred
square miles of laud and water is unim
portant to either country. It is only
when two peoples wish to quarrel that
their commissioners would split hairs
about such a mutter.
The most readable of all books , books
which never grow stale , are memoirs of
eminent people , full of personalities
and gossip. Wo like to know the weak
nesses perhaps of celebrated men and
women. It consoles us for our own in
feriority. This may be the reason why
Tiuth and The World of London and
their congeners in other countries are
BO successful.
An interesting economic sign is perceptible
coptible in the aation of those cotton
spinning masters at Fall River , Mass. ,
who have refused to limit their produc
tion in co-operation with others who
wish to lesson loss by smaller output.
The progressives believe that by fitting
their mills with looms of more ingenious
pattern they can produce prints and the
more costly cloths which their rivals
with cruder methods and less skillful
operatives cannot make. This is the , j
sound principle of manufacturing to do
that which can bo done most effectively
under a certain sot of conditions , and
not to continue in time liouored blun
dering. The conservatives , oven of every
productive center in the north , where
the raw material is" far away , will be
ultimately driven to that class of prod
ucts where the chief cost is that of
highly skilled labor and the best ma
chinery
The movement started by the Kansas
farmers to present some substantial
memorial to .Too Leiter , whoso specula
tion in wheat put so much money in
their purses , has an element of humor
iu it. They can raise big wheat crops ,
but not crops of "Joe Leitors" so phil
anthropic as to give millions to the
horny handed sous of toil at the ex
pense of his father's millions.
Dr. Domingos Freyre of Rio Janeiro
has conducted some very timely experi
ments with soil taken from a cemetery
near Rio which had been removed from
the graves of victims of the yellow fever.
His series of cultures with the resultant
fluids produced conditions in animal
bodies exact counterparts of those cre
ated by yellow fever. From the same
cultures he also produced a fluid , to be
used as vaccine is , with the effect of
propagating , a perfectly safe form of
the dreadful disease. The statement
that the soil in tropical cemeteries is so
apt to bo germ laden suggests interest
ing hints for sanitary measures to ho
used in dealing with tropical pests.
The Egyptian sirdar , General Herbert
Kitchener , is only a practical soldier
without political pull. His great geuiua ,
however , as shown in the Egyptian
campaigns , makes it probable that ha
will yet be iu command at the Hers * *
guards. Ho and Lord Roberts are with
out doubt the most gifted soldiers in
kho British service.
The investigation held before oho in
terstate commerce commission recently ,
regarding the American status of the
Canadian Pacific railroad , made the
public acquainted with some curious
facts as alleged relating to passenger
rate schedules. It was stated that the
Canadian Pacific had forced companies
to reduce rates from New York to St.
Paul and other western points to 1 cent
a mile , and that this cut had resulted
in the loss of many millions to the
United States
The new America'soup challenger , Sir
Thomas Liptou , is not satisfied with a
sporting ambition. Ho is willing to bo
known also as a philanthropist , for he
has just sent a check for 100,000 to
the Princess of Wales , who is desirous
to organize a system of dining rooms
for the poor where they can get a good
uieal for a trifle. Wo think the more of
the sporting baronet for his generosity ,
but none the less we shall keep that
America's cup to drink his health in.
