"TIIE OMAHA SUNDAY BEE: SKPTEMHETT i:. 1007.
The Loneliest Spot on Earth
it
Do Not Fail to See
RKCLHIO9
The Acme of
Spectacular
Achievement
The islander depend very largely upon
potatoes, but these often fall, owlnjr to
hot winds that blight the crop. Tn one
season nearly "j of their cattle died of
starvation, owing to lack of foresight in
allowing the land to be overstocked."
The population remains practically sta
tionary, between seventy-five and eighty
souls. Two recent additions have been
made In the form of a couple of Italians,
shipwrecked sailors who have married
Island women. One of these castaways,
Andrea Rcpetto, Is the only man In Tristan
who can both read and write; he was a
petty officer In the Italian navy.
Great Is the excitement when a sail Is
sighted by the Islanders. They get ready
fresh provisions and vegetables, which they
hope to barter for clothes and all kinds
of unexpected novelties. But even when a
vessel puts Into the little bay, which Is the
harbor of the Island, the weather la so un-
Islsnrt. and one of tneije falls from the lower
cliffs In a beautiful cascade. The remains
of a fort can be sefn. a relic of Napoleon's
exile. For while be was confled on ft.
Helena the British government deemed it
advisable to garrison Tristan d'Acunha
with troops from Cape Colony.
The Trlstanltes have no precise form
of government, although John 8waln,
the oldest Inhabitant, Is recognised as
king and lepal head of the community.
He Is also chief Justice and referee In all
disputes that may arise. Marriages and
baptisms ate performed by the captains
of vlstlng men-o'-war. The Islanders
have Intermarried for several generations,
with conspicuous bad results In the chil
dren of today.
Round about this rock and extending,
for some miles out Into the Atlantic there
Is a curious and treacherous growth of
gigantic seaweed, or kelp. This reaches to
- - - - - - -"iin- 'n iurt-9 111 n nti nns
V-J I been called tho liitiW.PMt spot on
the Corgcons
hitt IKIHIK1 I'l 1I1P1HI1
d'Acunha. a drsnlate rock In the
South Atlantic. To the eighty
teehilcal Spectacle
white people who live there. It Is their
world. Thry are almost utterly cut oft"
from their kind. To them rallrond and tel
egraphs, electric light and all the Inven
tlona of tho last hnlf century are but a
name.
Once a year or so thry may got news of
the outer world from some nailing hlp or
a man-of-war of the British South African
quadron. A thousand miles of the Atlan
tic separates them from Africa's most
southerly extremity on the one hand, while
1.2rt) miles In the other direction South
America ends abruptly In stormy Can
Viotori StFeet Oatse Ball Park
Every IMIflht This Week
(GIRECGOIRV
Ijt.rn.
hard to Imagine a more lonely spot
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five
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than Tristan d'Acunha. Tet only lnnt year
ne of the community who vllted tho Cape
grew homralrk and went back In the boat
that conveyed the new chaplain and his
wife to the Island.
For many years Mr. Dodgaon. brother
of "Lewis Carroll" of "Alice in Wonder
land" fame, acted as chaplain, on the rock
nd strove to teach tho men and women
how to read and write. It was a pretty
hopeless tak. for they have the minds of
Children, except whci It comes to driving:
bargain, and how to do that they seem
to know by Inminct.
Last year ltev. J. C. Barrow and his wife
Volunteered to go out to the IhIrikI. The
couple landed on Palm Sunday In a furious
atorm. They and their belonging were lit
erally hurled on a Leach eight miles east
f the settlement.
They were received by the whole island
population. The Inhabitants set apart two
huts as church and school house, and Mrs.
Lucy Green, an old widow, turned herself
ut of her own home that the newcomers
from "tae world" might have omwher
to lay their heads. Moreover, the seven
teen families agreed to take turns In sup
plying the Harrows with meat, milk, pota
toes) and firewood, as well as flsh, ' butter
ana eggs when such suxurles were avail
able. k Campagna of Rome
(Continued from Page One.)
loam which repays well the least toll of
I life farmer, and yet although it is suttl
tfrenlly extensive to afford pamurage for
Vi illiona of cattle and grain field for a
Imminent only a small portion of It Is
under cultivation. It is divided into largo
farms owned by a few wealthy proprietors,
generally noble families, who lease them on
Axed rents to farmers known as Mercanil
di Campagna, men of large fortune, who
almost form a corporate body and exercise
a monopoly.
The Mrcanti find It more profitable to
use the land for pasture and prefer to
brcd horses and raise cattle instead of re
claiming the land and cultivating it. The
Italian tax laws make this the more prof
itable course.
An attempt was made to remedy the
evil by means of a special law which the
government expected to have very bene
ficial results, livery owner of land tn the
J Campagna was obliged by this law tq put
I his land under cultivation within a specified
term under the penalty not of confisca
tion, but of expropriation by the government.
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ViiylffC JTffZZTOr Zt'SiQlVWiCH.
certain that It must be kept ready for in
stant departure.
The settlement proper is built on a bold
bluff on the northwest side of the rock.
The rest of the Island rises sheer and Inac
cessible In culosoal cliffs rrom the stormy
Atlantic. Practically all the male popu
lation goes forth when a rare visiting ship
puts In, and they do a thriving trade in
muttoni butter, milk and albatroits skins.
Each householder keeps cattle, shoep,
and pigs; but all attempts to cultivate
Wheat or grain of any kind have failed,
owing to the swarms of rats that Infest the
rock. Last year the British man-o-'war
Odin called at Tristan with malls and sup
piles, which were promptly got ashore at
the landing place, haifled up on the beach
and then taken off to the different cottages
by the solitary and primitive bullock
wagon that acts as mall coach and parcels
delivery.
Fresh milk is the strongest beverage to
be obtained tn Tristan. There Is excellent
sport In the vast swarms of aquatic birds
that make their homes on the cliffs. Among
these are magnificent albatrosses, many
of them measuring nearly thirteen feet from
wing to wing. The land birds of Tristan
are very few and rare.
Beveral springs have their source on the
lofty mountain that forms the apes of the
The law was disobeyed wholesale and
the government had to start expropriating
the land. Many owners were only too
willing to find a good purchaser for their
barren property. They had the law on
their side, the value of the land had to be
appraised favorably to the owners, and
the result was that the government sud
denly realized tKat gradually all the Cam
pagna was being bought by the state at a
very high price, while the owners were
making money hand over fist. The law is
now in abeyance, and the Campagna Is
still In Its original condition, unreclaimed
and barren.
It is significant to note that the church,
which is held accountable for the malaria
In the Campagna. has done more on a
small scale that the government. The Trap
plst fathets have reclaimed several thous
and acres of land In a district which wss
considered the most pestilential In the
Campagna. the Tre Fontane, where Bt.
Paul was beheaded. By dint of hard toll
and the planting of eucalyptus trees they
have succeeded In combatting malaria
more effectively than by the laws and free
distribution of quinine undertaken by the
government.
Everything drags on tn the old rut In
the Campagna, Improvements are spoken
!
J-KJ
the surface in nearly 160 feet of water, and
forms a trap for small vessels, being a Sea
of Eargosso In miniature.
The Island waters swarm with fish, and
any kind of bait from salt pork to a bit
of bread will suffice to take any quantity
of a flsh the Trlstanltes call the Ave finger.
There Is also a kind of bass weighing from
ten to sixty pounds.
The Trlstanltes do not taste bread for
seven or eight months out of the twelve,
and have to subsist on a slight variation of
meat and potato diet. It Is easy to Imagine
how they appreciate a few sacks of flour
or meal brought by the warship, or by some
casual trader blown far out of his path.
And yet these Islanders are a singularly
healthy people. The climate Is very regular
and moist, never very hot In summer or
very , cloudy in inter. A11 the English
fruit trees will grow In Tristan, though
the fruit lacks flavor. Periodically plants
and trees are taken out to be planted there
experimentally, for there Is little timber
on Tristan at present.
An extensive guano deposit was recently
found on a little rock not far away, known
as Inaccessible Island. The Cape Gov
ernment sent for a specimen of the guano,
and a regular trade may be opened up,
thus bringing the loneliest people in the
world a little nearer to civilisation.
of, discussed and sometimes attempted,
but all to no avail. The Campagna today
is the same as in the times of the papal
rule.
Half hearted attempts at drainage have
failed, and the rain water stagnates and
breeds malaria as of yore. A new theory
has been found to account for the malaria
and one learns that mosquitoes and not
mephltlc vapors propagate It. but all the
mosquito netting that has been put up and
all the quinine that has been distributed
have not prevented the permanent invasions
of fever.
If mortality has decreased, the popula
tion of the Campagna is not Increasing;
hence the condition of the land la the same,
and every year there are fresh graves to
attest that the malaria still lurks among
the wild beauty of this land of ruins and
unshlne. over the fiat, long plain bounded
by blue hills and the blue Mediterranean.
Bay after day the sun rises and basks
over the Campagna; toward twilight It Is
transfigured In a blase of color; later a
gray veil la drawn over the plain, the
Campagna is swallowed In darkneaa and
chilled with damp and creeping winds. Then
It Is drear, mysterious and melancholy, and
It has all the sadness of a huge cemetery.
Stage 375 Ft,
in Length
50,000 Spectacular IProdluctiora
Wonderful Electrical Effects
SiOOO
The Mst Stupendous Outdoor Exhibition Ever Given
World Famed Dancers and Athletes
Pantomimists; Tons ot Fireworks
Reserved Seats on Sale at Beaton Drug Co.. 15th and Far nam Streets
Under Patronage of the Woodmen tf the World, Benefit Local Relief Fund, on Sale at the Following Places:
Sherman & McConnell Drug Store, 16th and Dodge Sts. Schaffer's Cut Price Drug Store, 15th and Douglas Sts.
The Owl Drug Store, 16th and Harney Sts. Delight's Automobile Oarage, 19th and Farnam Sts.
Dell G. Morgan's Drug Store, 142 Broadway, Council Bluffs.
PRICES General Admission, GOc; Reserved Seats, 75c;
Parquet Seats, Sl.OO; Box Seats, Sl.OO.
SPECIAL NIGHTS-Gigantic Set Pieces
Monday "Omaha Night." Wednesday "Mother Goose." Friday "Eagles."
Tuesday "Automobile and Ak-Sar-Ben." Thursday "Elks." ' Saturday W. of W.
Recent Progress in Field of
Telephone Systems Abroad.
WAT titl.-a An a Ann. In a
A study of European telephone
V V I avatems uvi t Via Thilnrtpinhla
P.ecord, is the way the telephone
service Is co-ordinated with the
telegraph and the mails. In France and
Belgium, for example, telephone subscribers
can telephone their telegrams free. In Eng
land, also, one can send telegrams free over
the telephones, and for 6 cents a message
can be telephoned to be written down at
the other end and sent out by messenger
like a telegram. Messages are also tele
phoned to a subscriber free. Such Is the
condition of affairs In a nation where the
the telephone as well as the telegraph are
as much public property as the postofllce.
In Germany it costs 2Vfc of a cent for
each word to telephone a message, tele
phone a telegram, or telephone a letter.
Tou go to your telephone and tell the
clerk at the other end what you want to
say In your message or letter and he writes
It down and sends It by messenger or posts
It for you.
Since for comparison It Is only" fair to
put alongside of one another publicly owned
and privately owned systems operated by
the same typo of people, representing the
same type of progressivenees, Europe fur
nishes enough of both conditions to admit
the conclusions. It is found there that pub
licly operated telephone systems are much
uperlor to prlvattfly-owned; and In the
nationally owned systems of Sweden and
Swltserland are furnished examples of a
service Inferior to none the world over.
It Is not surprising, with the lower cost
that a larger use of the telephone is se
cured under public ownership. In addition
to lower rates la fuller co-ordination. In
towns like Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Stock
holm, Paris London, Glasgow and other
cities, the number of subscribers has In
creased amazingly since the absorption of
the telephone lines by the respective
municipalities.
By recent data, the heart of New York
City claimed 2ft telephones per 1,000 inhabi
tants; New York City as a whole, 20; Bos
ton!! 43; Cleveland. 69; Indianapolis, 48;
Richmond, 45; Philadelphia, 23; Washington,
16 all under private management; while as
examples ct publicly-owned systems.
Zurich has W subscribers per 1000; Trond
hjem, 40; Stockholm, 68, and Berlin (larger
than Philadelphia in population) So a fact
to be noted In comparison arising out of
the oondltlon that the larger the popula
tion the less subscribers per l.OuO inhabi
tants. As a rule, the employes of publicly-owned
telephone systems get higher wsges than
those in privately-owned, the stations for
comparison being European. Again, the
public exchanges In Holland, Franc and
England are more progressive than the
private exchanges In the same localities.
The telephone Inventor In America finds
that companies do not tolerate cbangn, and
do not want competition. For Instance, the
automatlo switchboard does away with
T!7
the necessity of telephone operators, mak
ing the connections between any two sub
scribers In four seconds by automatlo
mechanism, the smoothness and -.ertalnty
of this being unequalled. This would re
duce the cost to $10 per line per year; and
yet American companies will not supplant
their present system because of tho Initial
cost. Europe as well as Canada, uses tho
automatic switchboard.
Glasgow Is always an Interesting cure
of how a people may do things for it?elf
In a whole-hearted manner; and the tele
phone sysem which the city operates la ro
exception. I'nder private ownership the
cost to each subscriber was lf, or $50 a
year. This, among other things, wns a
cause of complaint; and Anally, In July,
190, the corporation of Glasgow began to
construct Its own system, and In Mtrch,
1&01, opened exchanges with 1,600 ubacnb
ers, the rates being 5 per annum flat,
and 3 per annum for party-wire (two and
three) service. Since then the exchange
has grown with great rapidity, und to-day
has 9,tti4 lines in operation.
The Glasgow corporation lines extend to
all the neighboring towns and villages
within the licensed Glasgow telephone area,
which comprises 143 square miles. Orders
of new subscribers come at the rate of
ten a day, and the service is considered
fine. After paying the postofllce roynlties.
Interest and sinking fund, and carrying
forward to the next year, the proportion
of prepaid rentals proper to that year
showed a surplus of S&.OOO, whlfh was e'ear
pocket-money for the municipality.
KlertrlfylasT Steam Roads In Chicago.
Mayor Busse's letter to the city couutll
advocating the substitution of electricity
for steam locomotives on railroads within
Chicago has brought to the front a very
Important question, says the Chicago
News. Switch engines, suburban train
engines and through train engines on the
terminals In this greatest of railroad cen
ters pour forth soft-coal smoke day and
night to the discomfort of the citizens nnd
to tha loss of the. railroad companies.
This railroad-smoke nuisance Is unneces
sary, as engineers have proved who have
applied electricity to steam roads success
fully In other parts of this country and
In Switzerland, Italy and Sweden.
It has come to be generally accepted by
engineers that electricity ultimately will
take the place of steam as the motive
power on all railroads. The success of the
Now York Central railroad In applying
electricity to its lines near and within the
city of New York has provided a valuable
object lesson. The successful competition
of Interurban third-rail and trolley lines
Is Impelling railroad managers generally
to give serious thought to the use of elec
tricity as a motive power. The chief ob
jection they raise to making the chang) U
that the first cost of Installing electrical
equipment requires a large outlay of new
capital. But engineers are agreed that
electrical equipment when once provide!
. DISPLAY OK FIRE
WORKS NIGHTLY
outs down the cost of operation.
W. J. Wllgus, vice president of the New
York Central, who proposed and carried
out the work of applying olectrlcity to the
New York terminals of that road, says that
tha electrlo motor engines now used by
the company are 25 per cent more efficient
than steam engines. In a recent article in
the Engineering Magazine a competent en
gineer estimated the saving from operating
a line with electricity at 21.5 per cent. This
did not take into account the increase In
earnings made possible by running subur
ban trains more frequently than they are
run at present. Two distinguished engi
neers. In a Joint paper read recently lie
fore the American Institute of Electrical
Engineers, estimated that If all tho rail
roads In the tTnlted States had been , run
by electricity in 1005 the total cost of helr
operation would have been reduced $C0.
000,000. They advocated the Immediate sub
stitution of electrical power, however, only
In the large urban centers where freqoent
train service is demanded.
These expressions of opinion Indicate the
practicability of using electricity on rail
roads In Chicago. The city council wisely
Prattle of
Mamma Did you have a nice time at the
picnic, Gerald?
Small Gerald Not very. I didn't get
enough ice cream and cake to make me
sick.
"Dear Lord," prayed 6-year-old Annette
one evening before retiring, "please make
a good little girl out of me, and if at
first you done succeed, try, try again."
Doctor I am afraid you have eaten too
much cake and candy, Marie. Let me see
your tongue.
Small Marie Oh, you can look at It, hut
it won't tell.
"Papa, will you please tell ma some
thing?" "What Is It. my son?"
"Do they arm the cavalry with horse
pistols?" "I Jlst wlsht I was bigger," said mis
chievous Willi Smart.
"Indeed?" asked his mother. "How much
bigger?"
"O! Jist big enough to do all the things
I git blamed for doln' now."
Dolly Are you de doctor what brings us
our new baby?
Doctor Phlllem-Yes. my little dear.
Dolly-Well, you slop It. Every time a
new one cornea pop has to sell anudder
dog, an' we only got one pup left
Tommy was stubborn, and hla teacher
was having a hard time explaining a small
point in the geography lesson.
Tommy," teacher begao, "you can learn
350
People
ft
3C
Electricity
concurred in Mayor Busse's suggestion that
the locsl transportation committee take up
the subject. The sooner a full lnvct;a
tlon Is made of conditions In the clly the
sooner a comprehensive plan to oveicoine
the difficulties in the way of banlshlntf
steam locomotives can be formulated.
Rales for "Hello Girls." '
Telephone girls in Brooklyn are Instructed,
under a new set of rules, to look pleasant
and answer all calls In honeyed tones and
phrases. Borne of the "musts" In tha
propaganda are:
Operators will hereafter positively re
frain from discussing office matters on the
streets, In public conveyances, or In their
homes.
Operators are hereby directed when an
swering subscribers to speak In a pleasant
tone of voice. No deviation from this rule
will be tolerated.
Operators, when requesting patrons to
put money in the slot, must positively em
ploy the expression "please."
Operators on duty are atrlctly enjoined
from discussing personal matters with
other operators, especially Idle gonulp.
the Younsters
this If you make up your mind. It's not
one bit smart to appear dull I know,"
ahe continued coaxlngly, "that you are
Just as bright as any boy In the class. Re
member, Tommy, where there's a will
there's"
Little Annie (suddenly) I shouldn't think
the garbage man's wife waa very happy,
mamma.
Mamma (surprised) Why not, dear?
Uttle Annie Because he's so often in tha
dumps.
A Washington divine tells a story of a
certain clergyman's family In which It wa
the custom that each of his children re
peat a Bible verse at the beginning of
very meal In place of the mora general
formula of grace before meat.
One day one of his little girls had been
found out In some small aln, and had been
sentenced to a much curtailed dinner, to
be eaten at a table quite by herself, that
her contaminating presence should be set
apart from the others. When the family
was seated around tho dining room table
the usual little ceremonial was performed,
and when her brothers and sisters had
each repeated tha text her father called
upon her, sitting solitary at a wee table at
the other aide of the room. At first sl
demurred on the ground that being de
barred from the family circle aha saw no
reason for Joining tha family devotion..
Her father insisted; ahe remaining silent a
moment thinking; then spoke out clearly
"Thou preparest a table before me In tha
presence of mine enemlea.-WVTashliigtoa
Star.
V