D
44
Light of Asia" Just Now is the Burmese Rival of the Standard Oil
OMAHA SUNDAY BKE: APRIL 3, 1910.
t--":' .(.; f ' p ; : - L )) n . oH A V
v) C l y ... .v-- ' n; - I ' INvli wivF - M
WE "RODS THROUGH THE
WORKS OhT A TROLLEY
PUSHED BY HINDOOS.
(OopyriRht. 1910. hy Frank n. C8riHntr.)
YRIAM, Burma. 1910. (Spc:ai
('orrporilrncp of Thi B.)
;:yrlBm prnmlaeH to bprnme lh
real llrht of AhI. The Bur
nmna ur DuddhlHts and they
wurnhiD the prophet whom
Kdwln Arnold has railed the light of the
continent. In this awakening of Asia In
the twentieth century they want a ma
terle.1 mthrr than a uplrltual light, and for
that they are looking to Syrlam. The place
lies on the Iraniartl between Rangoon and
the sea and It Is the site of the refineries
of the Burma Oil company.
At present the oil trust:' of the world
are fig!itlr(T for Asln. Our Htandnrd Oil
company has practically monopo'l"l
Japan, Korea ond a large part of China.
It has Its stations on every river nmt lt
agents In every large city. The Russian
petroleum companies are furnishing the
illumination for Slherla and the landn cast
and south of the Caspian sea, while the
lutch Kast Indies. Blam and a large part
of China nr supplied by the oil flnldi of
Sumatra and Borneo. Down here In Burma
the poople are using oil from the wells
along tho IrawadI river. They have mo
nopolised Burma, and are pushing their
trade among the millions of India.
Standard Crowded Oat.
These people have crowded the Standard
Oil company out of their market. It tried
to come In and asked the governments
permission to build Its own tanks at the
mouth of the river. This wa refused,
and as a result our oil must be shipped
here In tin cases. This makes It too costly
In competition with the native product, and
It cannot Inaugurate the machinery of dis
tribution such as It has In other part of
the far east. All along the west coast of
the Pacific the storage tanks of the Stand
ard Oil company are to be seen. They are
among the big features of every large port,
and connected with them ore great fac
tories where tin cans are made and the
petroleum Is put up for shipment over the
country. The oil Is pumped Into tank
teamers at San Francisco and pumped out
Into tanks which hold tens of thousands
of barrels at Shanghai, Tientsin and even
at Hankow on the Yangtse Ktang, the lat
ter port being 600 miles In the Interior of
Chins.
Here on the IrawadI there are similar
tanks, but they belong to the British and
are the property of the Burma OH com
pany, I can see at least two score or so
from where I am writing. Each tank will
hold 1,000.000 gallons of oil. and altogether
they contain a supply which could furnish
one gallon to every man, woman and child
In the United States and leave some to
pare.
Barma'sOll Fleet.
The Burma OH company has Its own
fleet at tank steamers. These have a ca
pacity of (00,000 gallons each, and are In
tended for shipping petroleum to other taris
of the world. It has also oil bargen of
1,000,000 gallons each for bringing the crude
petroleum down the IrawadI from the na
tive oil fields up country. These are sit
uated about 870 miles In the Interior, and
pipe lines are now being laid from tbem to
Syrlam. The pipes are already aa far as
Rangoon, and within a few months tney
will be running Into the refineries here.
At first the pipes were laid on the surface
of the ground, but they were affected by
the changes of temperature, and are now
being burled.
Bast Indian Monopoly.
Purma has the third largest oil trust of
the world. The Standard comes Tlrst, then
Ri ssla, and after that Burma. Th output
of th Burmese company Is now about
160.000.000 gallons per annum and It sails
for something Ilk $30,000,000.
This is only one-eightieth of the output
of th Standard, and the value equals only
one-thirtieth that of the United States
product. The oil business here, however,
as far as modern methods are concerned.
Is only In Its Infancy, and the possibilities
are enormous. It Is Just twenty-three
yar nine th first oil wells wer drilled,
although th people had been using oil
gathered In other ways for a generation
before. It was along hack In 1W7 that th
American system of getting oil wss intro
duced, and now th fields are spotted with
derricks. Americans hav been brought
In to superintend th sinking of the wells,
and seventy such men ar now employed
at $S per day.
In the earlier stages of the drilling tho
oil was found at a depth of W0 feet, but
recent wells have gone down several thou
sand feet, and many of tho now produc
ing ar 1,000 or $.000 feet deep. There ar
tut few flowing wells and the average
oapaoity Is far under that of th United
States. W hav many wlls which yield
J 00 and mor barrel dally. Th average
well In Burma yields about fourteen bar
rels, and many less.
Since the beginning of th drilling the
production ha steadily Increased. In 18
It was only 4.000.000 gallons. Bight years
later tt was 10.000,000, and In 1908 It rose to
M.OOO.OOO. Th following year th output
was M OOO.OOO more, and in 130 th oil
.Ttni-Axlmated lM.000.fiut gallons. OH
Is now found on th island 011 m coast
of this country and new field ar being
discovered In th hill of th Interior. 80
far the roost of th prodaot come from
two parallel ravines, th wells being sunk
along th cliffs on ooin ia- au
suae between. The most of the oil seems
to II below th margin of th ravine.
-
World' First Oil Trnst.
It Is tc to find that th first oil
CAB,
trust of the world was founds in t -away
Asia. The petroleum business of Burma
has always been a monopoly. It was in
existence long before our Pennsylvania
oil was discovered, being then In tho hands
of twenty-four families who belonged to
two villages located in the Yenangyang oil
country, from which most of the petroleum
still comes. Generations ago these families
had taken possession of the oil fieldH, and
had so fixed it that no one outside their
own members could dig for petroleum or
own an oil well. The families were known
as Yoya, and their chiefs were called
Twinnaro. If a family had no descendants
It could sell only to other members of the
combined families; so that the corporation
was decidedly close.
The Yenangyang had their own rules as
to the digging and sale of the oil. These
continued In force until a tittle over half
a century ago, when King Mlndon, Thi
baw's great predecessor, Introduced the
monopoly system by which the oil was told
to him alone, the same families ' pro
ducing It.
Among; the Miners.
I understand that many of those families
are still taking out oil aa their forefathers
ill - J immiiiiimiMii I in ni. - - ,, nim hum iniiJI ajMMnlfrf 1 I
iXAi" AT wig-"T:r3aa " . T . TC
Choice Selections from the
Won the Medal.
SSEMBLYMAN John C. Hackett
of New York recently told this
story in a speoh:
"I was up in Rockland county
laut summer and there was a
A
funnel given at a country
hotel. All the farmers wer there and all
m ..,ue cnnaren. I was asked to mak
a speech. 'Now,' said I, with the usual
apologetic manner, 'it Is not fair to
you for the toastmaster to ask me to
speak. I am notorious as the worst publio
speaker In the state of New York. My
reputation extends from one end of the
state to the other. I have no rival what-
vfr when It comes 1 was Interrupted
by a lanky Ul-clad Individual, who had
tuck too ciose to the beer pitcher.
" 'Gentlemen,' said he, 'I take 'ceptlon to
what thlB here man says. He ain't the
worst publlo speaker in the state. I am
Tou all know It. an' I want It made a mat
ter of record that I took 'ceptlon,' 'Well
my friend,' eaiy I, 'suppo w leave It to
ud.is. iou sit down while
I say my
piece and then I'll sit down
and let vmi
give a demonstration.' Th f.Ti-, . ...
and I went on. I hadn't gone far when h
got up again. "S all right.' said h. ...
... , nccuii 1 Bo no rurther.'
Leader.
Cleveland
A Hla- Contract.
Winston Churchill, the novelist rt..,...K.
t a
dinner In New York th. tt
- uiiiucntg
""""" romanticism and realism In
Uont
fic-
"To
ended.
make
my meaning clear.r k.
win tak tho ....
of a young
The young
man and girl-sweethearts.
nn, a romanticist said
the girl.
passionately to
lu-lln. It .nan b, my on)
Purpose to .urround you with every com-
fort, and to anticipate and grant your
every wish.'
"The girl, a
she answered;
realist, smiled faintly as
" 'Oh, Jack, how aoort nf
and all on
a week, too.'
Success.
Btm.rii.bl, sarlnka.
A good story of a specimen of the ordi
nary theatrical landlady Is told by J. L.
Shin. On Saturday evening h nad a
fallow actor purchased a pound of sau
sage for th.ir Sunday s breskfa.t. Ther
w.r ight to th pound, but when they
-1 um isoie mere were only five,
Thereupon th landlady was called In to
account for th missing links,
"Madam." said Mr. Shine severely, "i
gave you eight sausage last night; her
uuiy rive, w bat baa become
other three T"
of the
tk. 1. a., s . . .
Th lady of th. hou.. smll.d an lnno-
cent smile, mingled with pity, and replied:
"Wall,
you see, sir, sausages always
did. Some have been bought out by the
trunt, but others still compose, working the
old way. Their oil comes from wells which
are Reldom more than 250 feet deep. They
break the rock by dropping a pointed lump
of Iron, weighing about 150 pounds, upon
it again and again, and then carrying the
debris out In buckets.
When the oil strata Is reached they wait
for the well to fill and then raise the
petroleum In buckets, which are filled by
men lowered In rope slings to the bottom.
There Is much gas In the wells and the
miners can tay below but a few minutes.
In order to make the most of their time
they blindfold their eyes before descend
ing, tearing off the bandages when they
reach the bottom, thus keeping their eyes
In focus for Immediate work. They use hats
of palm leaves to protect their heads from
the stones and earth which fall upon them
from the sides of the shaft. Their product
Is sold to the trust, and at such rates that
they can make but little more than fair
wages.
Burma's Oil Refineries.
The Burmese Oil company has to pay a
royalty to the government, but It Is largely
protected by the administration and there
is Utile chance for outalde competition. Th
do shrink In cooking." Which Information
had to suffice. Dundee Advertiser.
Chance Doesn't Altar.
"Senator Ben Conger," said an Albany
lawyer, "was praising th other day the
chang for th better that had com over
politics,
"Changes," he said smllllng, "always
occured with the passage of time, but too
often they were changes for the worn.
He Instanced the case of a Groton lad.
"This lad, from New York, where he
wis working, sent word to his father that
he wanted to get married. Bui his father
sent word back that he was too young to
marry, He must, wait a year. If, howivrr,
he was still of the same mind at the year's
end, he might then marry and welcome,
and the old man would furnish the hmise.
"Ah the year's end the on came back
home to Groton.
" 'I guess I'll get married now, father,'
he said.
" 'You don't really, after a whole year,
want to marry?' the old man shouted.
" 'Yes, 1 do. 1 certainly do,' was the
obstinate reply.
" 'Well, marry you shall, then, and I'll
furnish" the house,' said the old man. 'Son
I'm proud of you. I didn't believe such
constancy existed.'
" 'Thanks, father,' said the youth. 'But
I forgot to tell you that It Isn't tho alma
girl.' "Rochester Herald.
$
Coollna; Off a Trise Winner.
Another sample of the late Dr. William
Everett's caustlo repartee:
"I always experienced a sense of deep
obligation to you whenever I meet you or
hear of you." said Gorge Babbitt to Dr.
Everett one morning when they found
themselves pacing th deck of an ocean
steamer together.
"Why so?" piped the doctor.
"Because," said Mr. Babbitt. "I rerall
that I was once so fortunate as to win tn
Boylston prize for oratory at Harvard, and
you were ohairman of the board of Judges."
"I remember tt perfectly well," rejoined
the brusque doctor. "The Judges were rive
In number. At the conclusion of the speak
ing we retired to consider the merits of
the constetants. It was moved that you be
awarded a first prise. On th motion the
vote was three to two In you fsvor. I was
en of th two." Boston Transcrlps.
The Trouble, of A da at.
Rev. Dr. Charles Townsend of Orange
was on of th speakers at th Park Pres
byterian Church Men's club banquet re
cently and told this story of on of th
troubles of the original ancestor:
"Adam had eaten the elaborate renast
furnished by his helpmeet with vry n-
J I . . I . . u L. . - , , ,
m n rnusnea every morsel.
He complimented her upon th dainty
manner In which the blu.no.n.. w.r.
served, the flavor of the puree of pea. the
best of Hs present oil fields cover only
about 100 square miles.
During my stay at Syrlam I have gone
through the refineries. The manager
claim that they are the largest of the
world, uaylng that they surpass any owned
by the Standard OH company, which does
Its business In smaller Institutions widely
scattered throughout the United States.
The works here at Syrlam cover 100
ueres or more. They are situated on the
banks of the IrawadI, about sixteen miles
from its mouth. The river Is full of silt
and It has built up a great sand bank Just
opposite the landing so that ships cannot
come close except at high tide.. The silt is
so great that the little lake, lnslde the
works, used as a water supply, has to be
dug out to a depth of six or eight feet
every year. I saw hundreds of coolies ex
cavating this now dry lake. They were
taking out dirt which looked like cement,
and carrying It away In baskets on their
heads. The deposits of the IrawadI are so
rapidly filling the bed of the river that
Jetties similar to thoxe we have at the
mouth of the Mississippi will probably be
put In.
I went through the works with the super-
Intehdent, a Scotchman named Bishop. I
had my. camera, with ma, but he objected
seasoning of the fish
,nd tniree, and fit ally
reached a delicious salad. Adam paused,
and with a worried look on hi face he
demanded of Eve where she found the In
giedlents. She enumerated all i-xeept the
lettuce.
" 'Where did you get those leaves?' he
manded.
"Why, (hey were lying on a bush In the
back yard,' she replied sweetly.
" 'Well, tliuwe were my best Sunday
trousers," sobbed Adam, adding. 'Ah, wo
in man,' which was corrupted Into 'woman,'
the erin by which we know Eve's daugh-
ters." Newark Star.
Deuiandlugr aa Impossible.
Two old battlers at smoking In their
cabin, tar away In the backwoods. No
woman's hand had ever desecrated that
Hanctuni, snd grime reigned supreme and
triumphant. Th conversation veered round
from state politics to cooking.
"Yaas,' said the; elder of the two, with
a drawl: "I did get one o' them there cook
books nunsi, but 1 could never do nothin'
with It."
"How as that?'' Inquired the other.
"What was the hitch?"
"Waal," was the answer, "every one o'
them recelts begun in the aame way with
the same words. Every one of 'em siltrleit
off with, 'take a clean dish' and I never
got no further."
And lie slowly replaced his old black clay
pipe in his mouth and fell to ruminating
sudly on tho narrow outlook of th wuiM
of hqman beings as displayed by authors of
cookery book.. Dundee Advertiser.
Pattlna It Clearly.
Lord Hardwlcke spent ten of his early
years in America engaged In mining engi
neering. As a fact, h knows almost every
Inch of ground In that continent.
Of these days his lordship tell j a delight
ful yarn of how he once chanced upon a
resident of a sleepy hamlet down south.
"Are you a native of this place?" anked
Lord Hardwlek. striking up a conversa
tion. "Am I what?" exclaimed the other
languidly.
The question was repeated.
"What's that?"
"NaUv native of this place?''
At this moment there appeared at the
open door of th cabin th man' wife.
Closely surveying Lord Hardwlcke, she
observed: "Ain't you got no sene. Bill?
H means was you llvln' her when you
was burn, or was you born before J 011 n
llvln' heret Now tell him." M. A. P.
A Traaedr of Whisker.
Simeon Ford. Nw York' after-dinner
speaker, said the other day, apropos of
whiskers:
"I hav shaved off my whisker and It
makes me look younger. People now y
ui mor appreciatively thaa they used to
to my photographing the refineries, al
though he allowed me to take snapshots of
the laborers and the soenes outside the
plant.
I shall not attempt to describe the pro
cesses, except to say that enormous fur
naces are kept hot with oil fires and that
the boilers above them have pipes to catch
the vapor as the oil bolls. Refining
petroleum Is much like distilling whisky.
The crude oil Is heated to a vapor which
flows off into the cold pipes. As It strikes
them this condenses and runs off as pur oil.
'Wax Candles- for Bnddha.
In the meantime, the residue Is carried
from boiler to boiler, until the oil has been
won. A part of what Is left Is turned Into
wax, and In the end there Is a product
which Ih made Into a coke superior to that
from coal. The wax Is used chiefly for
candles, which are made here in great
quantities, to be used In the worship of
Buddha. Any one who can burn a candle
before a shrine acquires merit, and the
bigger the candle the greater the merit.
For this reason, the candles are of all
.Zen. from wax matches to great, round.
tapering cylinders wix and a half feet tall
and as thick as an elephant s leg. Such a
candle brings about $10, or 30 rupees. It
will burn fifteen hours, and if connumed
Story Teller's Pack
do I, unlike poor Tom Angus, have gained
by this facial chance.
"Tom Angus was an architect of Tomb
stone. When they expected Mrs. Langtry
In TombMone Tom was appointed to deco
rate the railway station and the utreets.
He did fo arid he made a good Job of it,
and after the the mayor had congratulated
him, he said;
" 'Well, Mr. Mayor, sine you like my
work, Introduce me to Mrs. Langtry st the
banquet, will you?'
" 'Sure 1 will,' said the mayor, 'but you
must knock that spinach oft your chin first.
Mrs. langtry Is a lady and she could never
n; and for a rusty alfalfa field like yours.'
" 'But,' stammered Tom, but, Mr. Mayor,
the king'
" 'Cut down the alfalfa crop,' the mayor
Interrupted, 'and I'll Introduce you. Vice
versa,' he added, very decidedly.
"So Tom removed his rich whiskers, and
that night among the banqueters his white,
nude chin was a conspicuous object.
"But the mayor didn't introduce htm to
the beautiful Mrs. Langtry after all. Be
tween every course and H through the
speeches Tom kept winking and nodding
to his honor, but it was to no purpose. He
didn't gt Introduced.
"And (he next day, after Mrs. Langtry
wss gone, the mayor, when Torn reproached
him. Kave a loud laugh.
" 'Was that you?' he roared, 'nodding
and winking all last night? By Jove, I
didn't recognlxed you, Tom. without your
whiskers!' "Philadelphia Record.
Practise A He Preaches.
Charles W. Armour, th millionaire
packer, practices what he prtaches. H
has made it a rule that none of his thou
sands of emploes shall excus themselves
from Jury service on th pica that work
Interferes.
Mr. Armour had an opportunity to gtv
his men a practical lesson In good citizen
ship. He was called to serve on a Jury in
the circuit court of Kansas City. On mon
day mol nlng st 80 o'clock, fifteen minutes
before verlremen are required to report, he
presented himself at the Jurymen waiting
room.
Every day during th wek he did not
fall to report. He waa never late and never
once asked to be excused. Though his
yearly Income equals a king's ransom, for
the sum of $2 a day he spent th weak
working for Jackson county.
Mr. Armour was called to serve In a
Metropolitan damage suit to b tried In
Judge W. U. Thomas' division of th circuit
court.
"Ar any of you In any way connected
with the street car company?" asked ths
lawyer for the plaintiff.
Two hands went up.
"I am a conductor," aald on.
"I am a director," aald another, vn
at a shrine will add much to one's chance
of reaching Nirvana.
Machinery and Labor.
The machinery of Syrlam Is up to date.
It Is nearly all English, although there are
some Yankee Inventions employed. The
Institution has can-making factories, and
th oil I run Into th can on the premises.
Th labor of the mills Is almost alto
gether Kast Indian. About 6,000 men,
women and boys are employed, the chil
dren ranging In age from 10 years upward.
I saw little Hindus who should have been
In school packing candles, carrying heavy
loads and doing all sorts of work. They
labored with all their might, and their
wages were a few cents a day. We rode
about through the works on a trolley car
pushed by four Hindus, and before leaving
took a ride on a big automobile in and
out among the great tanks where the oil
is stored. There are something like forty
or more of these tanks, each marked 1,000,
000 gallons.
This oil trust has other refineries at
Dunneedaw, on the opposite bank of the
IrawadI, and H Is steadily adding to lis
works. It makes Its own barges and has
almost as m.ny departments an the Stand
ard. I understand that the oil prices ate
rising and that the value of the field has
more modestly than the man In the blue
uniform.
"Who are you?" (was asked th director.
"Armour Is my name," ho answered.
The conductor and director were both ex
cused. Lincoln aad Dennis Hank.
Dennis Hanks was a nephew of Nancy
Hanks, the mother of Lincoln. He bad
acquired a crude education befor his
counsin Aba had a chance to learn.
"Aba was determined to try for some
thing," Hanks said to th writer one day
In Paris, III. "I reckoned It would not
amount to much, but I says, 'Go ahead,'
and befor long ha went ahead and knowed
mor than me."
Dennis Hanks moved from Kentucky
with Lincoln and the other members of
the family to Indiana and thence to Illi
nois. They settled first in Coles county,
Illinois, afterward in Macon county, where
Miss Nancy Hanks (a daughter of Dennis
Hanks and a woman of fine degree), was
born. She married In Decatur, 111., P. L.
Shoaff, who published and edited the first
newspaper In that town.
While doing local editorial work on the
Gasette the writer and old mnn Hanks,
as we called him, had frequent chats, and
In one of these chats Dennis told why he
went to Washington, D. C, when Presi
dent Abraham Lincoln occupied the White
house. Mind you, Dennis was Just as
plain and unassuming as his cousin Abe
and Just as kind hearted.
A young soldier from Coles county who
after a series of forced marches had been
placed on picket duty In the presence of
th enemy fell asleep. Dennis Hanks
was sent on to Wsshlngton to Intercede
for the young soldier, who had been eourt
martiallsd and sentenced to be shot.
Dennis Hanks in relating his cxperlanc
at th Whit house said: "I went up there
to see Abe and a porter at th door said,
'What do you want?' I says, 'I want to
Ab Lincoln.' 'Hav you a card?' he
ays to me. I says, 'No, man, I ain't got
no card. I want to st Ab Lincoln un
particular business and I want to sc him
mighty soon. mat porter says. wu,
you will hav to wait.' Just than Ah,
whom I seen through th open door In a
bsck room wrttln' at desk looked up
nd seen m and says, 'Why, hello, Dennis,
how ar you? Come right In." Then you
ought to seen that porter git away from
that door. I don't believe he meant no
harm, but hi did not know that m and
Ab was cousins and old friends."
Dennis Hanks received a pardon for the
Coles county young soldier (though Abe
Lincoln had the soldier boy com to Wash
ington for a reprimand) and Dennis was
royally .iit.rtalned and presented with Abe
Lincoln's watch, which h proudly showed
when h told this true story. Indlsnoptla
News.
quadrupled In the Inst year or so. The
whole country Is now being: prospected,
with a view to finding now oil territory.
tVherr Hnlilea Coma From.
Next to o'al oil, the blggect monopoly
In Burma Is In rubles. This country pro
duces the mlne.t of such stones and fur
nishes the most of the world's supply. The
Industry Is In the hands of he Burma
Ruby Mines company, which Is operating
in the Mogak valley, about ninety miles
from Mandalay. There Is a region tliero
4.000 feet above the sea, covering from
fifty to 100 squaro miles, which has pro
duced more and better rubies than any
other place upon earth. At rimes It ylt-lds
as muoh at $r0.OM worth of rubles a
year, and about ten years ago a single
stoue was found, weighing seventy-seven
carats, which sold for more than $100,000.
The fine ruby Is more valuable than a
dluinond of the name weight. It Is estimated
thait one the color of pigeon's blood, weigh
ing five carats, will sell for ten tlmea the
value of a five-carat diannond, and that
the price will increase with the slie. A
ruby which weighed eleven carts was re
cently sold in Kngliand for $35,000, whereas
a diamond that size would not bring more
than $r,000. The largest ruby known Is one
than come from Tibet. It weighed 2.000
carats, but It was not of the first quality.
Some of the beat stones of this kind are
owned by native Indian rajahs, who con
sider them among the most beautiful of
Jewels.
The demand for rubles Is greatly affected
by the times. The panlo of 1907 caused a
slump In the market. All sorts of precious
stones went down and for months the
London demand for Burman rubles entirely
ceased. The company then curtailed Its
production by stopping night work, and It
cut the wages of the men from 82 to
cents a daj. In 1903 no dividends wr de
clared. The time are now better and all
th mine are again working.
In the Msgok Mine.
I understand th output of the present
year will be large. Th monopoly has in
troduced modern methods. Its pumping
machinery Is now worked by waterpower,
and the aame power generates and stores
electricity, so that the mills work dny and
night. Much of the machinery Is similar
to that used in the diamond mines of
South Africa. The stones are run over
pulsators, which separate the heavier
gravel from the lighter. In taking out the
rubies the sorting is done by foreigners,
and the stones are classified by them.
The best go to London, which is the chief
ruby market, while those of a lower grade
are auctioned off to the local dealer about
the mines. The latter are great gamblers,
and will run up the prices If they think
a stone may have a valuable center.
Among the rubles ore found spinels, stones
which look much like the tru ruby, but
which are not. The Jewels ar tasted by a
glass through which the ruby shows two
different colors If viewed from different
directions, whereas the spinel and garnet
show but one. Th rubles are found In a
matrix In the rocks, and also In the clay.
Connected with them are ofteri sapphires,
blue, yellow and green, aa well as garnets
and spinels.
Jade for the Chinese.
Next to the ruby, the Jnde stones of
Burma are of great value. They are mined
In the northern part of the oountry and are
brought to Hhamo, on the IrawadI above
Mandnley, and are there sold to the
Chinese. The Chinese prise Jade almost as
highly ss pearls, rubles or diamonds. They
look upon the stone as emblematic of must
of the virtues, and use It much aa we use
the term pure gold. A fin girl Is a Jade
girl, a beautiful hand a Jade hand and a
Jade fuot is one which Is always on time.
Nearly every well-to-do Chinese girl has
Jade earrings and bracelets, and many have
Jade hair pins and brooches. In Burma
Jade Ih often used for ear plugs as well as
for rings and other Jewelry.
The Jnde found In northern Burma Is of
a beautiful green, which Is greatly desired.
The stone has always been regarded as
the property of a trlhe known as the
Kachlns, and its right to mining It has
never been ellcd In question by the native
kings. Tho amount now produced . sells
for several hundred thousand dollars a
year, and In weight It aggregates some
thing like I'iO tons. The mining Is still done
by natives, but It Is under a lessee, who
collects the government duty of 33V per
rent on all taken out.
How Jade Is ituarrled.
Mining Jade Is more like quarrying than
anything else. Bom of the stones, and
often the best, are obtained as pebbles, but
there sre mines where the Jade rock lies
in open quarrlos. The stones here are of
different gradus, varying In quality. Soma
of th. smaller pieces are worth their
weight In gold, and little bits fit for a ring
setting will sell In China for $100 or more.
On the other hand, there are enormous
blocks worth nothing and tons which run
not be worked by the poor i.ools of the
natives. The mining Is exceedingly primi
tive. The rocks are cracked by building
fires upon them. They are then broken
apart by crowbars and wedges and ahuped
up with hammers Into tho slx-s fit for
transportation. The average export value
of the stone Is about TO rents a pound, that
which la annually shipped down the IrawadI
and by Rangoon to China selling for some
thing Uk 10,000.
t'&AJVK O. CARPENTER,
