Evening Star Newspaper, January 23, 1897, Page 23

THE EVENING STAR, DIPLOMATIC GOSSI ’ What is Going on Among the Foreign Legations. “THE CHILEAN MINISTER'S DAUGHTER Goings and Comings of Social Lions at the Capital. ee BRILLIANCY AT THE = -- OPERA DIP- now EWS lomat IN THE corps includes the flitting of many, the coming of more, an ap- proaching marriage, certain engagem and uncertain and saddest of facts to the girls of the smart set is the departure of Victor Eastman of the Chilean legation, for home, to be ab- South America some months. Mr. spirited. handsome, intelli- who leaves behind a host of friends, wishing “bon voyage” and safe re- No man of his age is mor liked, ly by his colleagues, but by the men alia tas just s Eastman is a sent fel ow, turn of Washington society. “Eastman” is al- Ways well mannered, well dressed, well sroomed. well informed, and, withal, de- bonair, “A who has a way wi? him Senor Sayago. es h folk say. The girls dote on him. Lis frank smile winning forgiveness ucy compliment. Feminine sighs enough to fill the canvas of his ship, ugh she xail with seven masts, follow this bright young diplomat. Mr. Eastman « tes returning here in June, com- ax by way of Paris. Lawelcome Visitors. It is one of the unpleasant experiences of plomatic ladies to be compelled to me ir drawing rooms on their days “at men with whom n est acquaintance N » of limited intelligence, x ig curiosity and no manners evi- utly regard these receptions as free to E “ral publi “drop in” to “brush + by hearing the ianguage spoken, at livery the footmen wear,” glimpse of the paintings I've n about,” or again, “So many Id me you are charming, I've n dying to see for myself.” So fre- re the spirits of helpless must-be 1 in this way that admission * to even the most informal is being seriously contemplated. At the Ope » of the diplomatic corps a reat mand the brilliant night week, and several had ye ated ote for the occasion. In the rd Mrs. Henry May for “Die Mr. von Breuning of the abassy and Dr. Wagner. No less f art than the admirably in- asic of Wagner was the way coronet was placed on her head. The jewels were bril- derk hair massed prettily about fection of perfection was the et was worn. It was neither ‘ward, nor tilting danger- d to say very costly frequently appear here but just at the curve regally and was wouder- gue. Dr. Hansel Wagner, men- we as one of Mrs. Mays’ guests, the most agreeable foreign bache- ywing to his youth and ingenious picturesqcely known as “the ab of the Austro-Hungarian This delightful attache is no nerdy soclety man than sports- | yet seeing him alternately in the nd the field, inspires the he dance to punds and Dr. Wagner is a student on qu today, and all the days back of it rns midnight oi! with what would Li Xttavag: ce, but for the inter- vmises to derive by achieving rank sier early in his career An & etic Minister. » was among the fitters from ore »another. He is very tall, a nde, whose hair is slightly worn from passing through incon- doorways He is a man with life. He has w i de- mescles of his le rhdde “be- = ethening the tungs,” d golf “io harden the gives himself wholly to exercise is 1 athlete tly when of sug- ride a to ecause no other vously beneticial to ». “Never him in touched mi urious he digestion ister of of hyg Margarita Gana. picture of lovely young of the Chilean minister shows hor pretty gown of white satin she made her debut, and an opera wrap of brocade and fur. 4 Gana ts more like an E women of her country, being e teeth and big blue h ancestors on the maternal 8 for her fair coloring accent. She is a decided belle ‘Tair given by the young people, linguistic accomplishments and lay her with her gentle- nets manner, make her most popular among older pe nds of her parents. A Reeent Addition ¢ the Corps. nor Adolfo Mujica Y Sayago of the Mexican legation is one of the late addi- tions to the diplomatic corps. Senor Mujica 1s dark, of good helght, speaks well French, English. Itallan, and, of course, the lan- suage of his country—Spanish. He is thir- | tim ty-seven yesrs of age, and married about ten years ago Seficrita Diez de Bonilla. His wife and children reside t Mexico, where he has a handsome home. Sendz Mujica has been tn the service since ISS81, béins consecutively attache, third secretary in Central America; second secretary at the same post; second secretary supernumerary in the United States in 1880; secretary of the Mexican delegation to the pan-Ameri- can congress: second secretary to. Argen- tine and Brazil; first secretary at the same post; second secretary to the United States on commission of foreign relations, "0, and at present second secretary of the Mexican legation at Washington. Senor Mujica has heen a frequent contributor to papers and magazines, writing in clear and forcible style on topics of general interest. Diplomatic Notes. So, Antonio Padfila is going to be mar- ried before very long. His betrothed is a beauty, so says news from Spain, and one of the richest maidens In Madrid. Her name fs Carmen Satrostegui, her brother being Baron Satrostegui, and the family name is old and distinguished. The Portuguese minister ard Madame Santo Thyrso have had as guest this weck Miss Garnet, stepdaughter of Mr. E. C. I’. who was before his death minister United States to Portugal. ny story is going the rounds anent @ young foreigner who was encountered in @ corner at an evening reception wrapt in gloomy thought. “What has happened; why this pose of Napoleon after Elba?” de- manded a friend. “Ze Frainch am dor, he is a robbatr; he ts one sz! the agitated response. “More kleptomanta fn high life,” thought the friend, startled and interested. “He has stolen away ze loveliest. woman in ze world,” continued the indignant attache, “before T had even seen her- > HIS FAMILY TREE. RACING The Old Crank Was Dissatisfied Be- cause It Had Not Gone Far Enough. From the Buffalo Express. I met a man in one of the down town hotels yesterday who follows a unique pro- fession. He makes his living by hunting up, inventing or otherwise procuring pedi- grees for persons who have newly acquired wealth and social ambitions. ‘Odd experience?” he said to me, in an- swer to a question. “Oh, yes; frequently. I've just finished a job for the crankiést old ignoramus that I ever dealt with. He came to me and said that his family we one of the oldest in the United States. In fact, he was confident that some of his ancestors were among the first white men who settled on this continent. I went to work to trace back the genealogy through a succession ef obscure New England farmers, and, with only two or three breaks, I managed to establish a line for him going back to the Mayflower. 1 thought that would please him, and at first it seemed to. “But a couple of days after.he had paid and discharged me he came around to see me and he was in a towering passion. # accused me of cheating him, of having slighted my work and wanted back the money he had paid me. When £ finally got a chance to ask him to explain what he meant, he said: “Why, I told you distinctly that my ancestry went back to the first white men who landed on this continent. And here you'y= stopped with the year 1620," “Well,” [ said, ‘that was the year when the first white man came to this part of the country. You can't go any farther back.” “Can't, eh? he shouted, ‘that shows all you know. I didn't have to read a United States history half an hour to learn that white men landed on the New England coast in 1001, 1 want my ancestry traced back to those men, sir, and if it, I'M find some oné who can. coe FATHER you can't do ATING BE ‘TIME. The Mormon Bishop Was Frightened t the Speed. ecord. m the Chicago Speed was once demonstrated on a west- ern road in a fashion to curl the hair of at least one old Mormon bishop. The church- man considered it a phenomenon, and got of the train as quickly as he could. He had bull-whacked across the plains in the early days, and, strange to say, had never ridden on a railroad train until the time when he entered upon his trip from Green River to San Francisco. The speed wa: therefore, a revelation to him. He ha never before seen anything so swift. and he was scared. About twelve miles from Ogden he asked the conductor for the time of day, and was told that it was 75. He impressed this time forcibly on his mind. Now. for a wonder, the western connec- | tion at Ogden was quickly made, and after the lapse of but a few minutes the San Francisco-bound travelers were on their way Californiaward. Ogden had been left vehind only a few miles, and the train was sing along at a behind-time rate of . when the old bishop, frightened and ng. dared to ask the conductor what was the time of day. If you have traveled westward you know that at Ogden the time changes, and San Francisco time, one hour earlier, is adopt- ed. The conductor had San Francisco time and he said: “It is 7:1-ten minutes after seven.” The oll bishop, previously haunted by a Jread of impending destruction because of the horrible rate of speed at which he was being whirled through space, rose with a wild cry and made for the door. “Lemme off!” he cried. “It was thirty five minutes after seven an hour ago, an’ © goin’ so fast we are goin’ faster than - can count itself. Lemme off! Had he really been going as fast as the old man had believed, he would surely ha: been beaten to bits as he Jumped from the train. As it was, he was only rolled som thing like a half-miie, and was carried back to Ox on a handcar. ——-—_. -eee- The Royal Roa From the New York Weekly. Struggling Author—“Why, De Posey, how prosperous you look! Was your last book of poems a success?” De Posey ‘No-o, can't say that it was.” “Published a popular novel, perhaps. “Ah, then have alway: not the highes less—* “J have writ You haven't? Where did these fine othes come from? How did you pay for that handsome turnout?” “J have abandoned Hterature and am ped- dling cla! you have written a pl: held that playwriting, while t form of art, was neverthe- no pla ——+ee____ A Scottish Version, From Life. (By Rarrie Mac Tan.) Mither, may [ gae oot to sweem? Aye, mg dairiin’ dochter, Hang your kilt on a thustle, dear, Aud dou't gae nigh the wacbter For A 1 fe be pure-b 1 pert nuke Its. Se 4 Scotch, me lass, ys the mon that’s fate his bride would far pe ch unadoolterated. ~ ee Remarkable Presence ef Mind. From the Argonaut. A lady had issued invitations for a party of twely 1 on the morning of the ap- pointed day, when conferring with the foot- man. she discovered that one of the twelve silver shells in which scolloped oysters were to be served had been misplaced. Rigid search for the missing article having proved unavailing, the lady decided that, sooner than give up that particular course, yhe would decline simply oysters when they were handed her, and so the eleven shells would be sufficient. It happenéd that, when the oysters were served at dinner the hostess was engaged In a very animated conversa- tion with one or two of her neighbors, and forgetting her determination, took one of the shells of oysters and set it before her- self. If the servant's heart fell in conster- nation at this, he gave no external sign of it, but, speaking in tones distinct, though low, said, respectfully: “Excuse me, madam, but you said I was to remind you that the doctor forbade your eating oysters.” ——-— -40e ‘oo Busy for Trifling. Frem Life. “Do you mean to say that your daughter hasn't told you that she was engaged to not to bother me with ss she intended to get married, —— Quite True. From Life. Sometimes one’s pleasantest memories are of events that didn’t happen. LATEST ACHIEVEMENTS SATURDAY, J! NUARY 23, 1897-24 PAGES. 23 SCIENCE AND INDSTR Written for The Evening Star. From time to time one genius or another announces to the world that he has solved the problem of transmitting human speech across any required distance by means of some device of his own, bu: when these inventions are put'to test it {s always found that some essential point has been over- looked. . Where the next really great improvement in telephoning ts tu be looked for is here briefly outlined by one of the foremost American engineers engaged in this line of work: “In theory it is perfectly possible to lay a telephone cable across the AUantic, pro- vided a copper wire of suffictent size pr tected by a co ‘ing of sufficient thickness fs used. But ihis would mean a cabie larger perhaps than an ordinary telegraph or electric light pole, and aside from the practical impossibility of laying such a cable its great cost would bar !t from commercial suc2ess. The problem of lan-1 communication 15 somewhat simpler. In fact the problem 1s so thoroughly worked out under exiscing conditions that it :s possible for the engi neer to go ahead and extend his lines to any distance with the certainty ol suecess. At present the greatest distance over which regular comm.rcial intercourse is carried on is between Boston and Mem- phis. By the route cf the lines that ts close to 1,600 miles. But that is by 10 means the Iimit of tclephonle communica- tion and if business requirements would justify it the company would undountedly extend their lines at once to Kansas City or Denver or even further west. “In a nutshell, if you want to extend your line from Boston to Chicago, anothe thousand miles west, you can de it by ply inereasing the size our wire. Fer example, in talking from Bostun to New York a wire about the size of ordinary tele- graph wire is used, in talking from New York io Chicago the wire used Is some three times as large. and to talk from New York to Denver it would have to be considerably increased again. ; “Here a difficulty that may de described as commercial rather than scientific aris ‘This is shuply the fact that as you incre the size of the copper wire its price in- creases in almos: geometrical ratio. telephone line could be built across the continent todey, but it would be a nighty poor investment. “The problem before tclephone engineers at prevent is, therefore, bow to extend communication without increasing the sizc of the wire and thereby multiplying the cost. ‘The solution to the difficulty which has suggested itself to several persons is a telephone repeater similar In its opera- tions te the telegraph repeater or relay. A successful telephone repeater would tuke a long distance message, say every 100 miles, and start it afresh on its Journey, so that the smaller size of wire could be used all the way across the continent.” General Une of Electricity. ‘The most modern cities in the world are Great Falls, Mont. and Spokane Falls, Wash. They are entitled to the distinction because within their limits nearly every- thing is done by electricity. Not only arc the street railways and all the manufa= turing establishments operated by the cur. rent. but even the houses are Hghted and the cocking done with the same egent. Elevators, sewing machines, dumb waiters, church organs, planos, house heaters, bur glar alarms, ‘door bells, chafing dishes water heaters, hair curlers, —sadiro’ washing machines, printing presses, the telegraph, the telephone, and, In fact, every plece of mechanism that requires external force to propel it 1s dependent on electric- ity for motive power. All this looks very much as though the spirit of modern pro- gress had arbitrarily taken up her abode in Spokane and Great Falls, but this is not strictly the case. The modern grea:ness of the two cities has in a measure been thrust upon them. They could not employ any other motive power if they wanted to. They are so situated that all other sources are unavailable. Coal, for insian: is hardly to be obtained at any price. The waters of Spokane Falls and of Great Falls have been pressed into service and made to operate turbines which, in their turn, operate electric generaters. From these sufficient electricity is obtained to run every plece of mechanism and light every lamp in the two cites. w Sport and Fashion Are Devas- tating the Animal Kingdom, How extensive and rapid are the changes occurring in the fauna of the world mav not, perhaps, be generally realized. Race after race of animals has disappeared from the globe through the operation of natural causes, but the chief responsibility for th> destruction must be placed at the door of man. The extinction of the great auk, or penguin, and the rytina, or arctic sea-cow, 1s of comparatively recent date; the bison 1s nearly on his last legs—except those the curators of the museums will supply him with—and the walrus has become very seatce. Ten years ago peccaries were abundant in Texas, but hogskin goods came Into vogue, fifty cents apiece were offered for peceary hides, and in five years’ time the peceary had practically become extinct. The famous halibut {s becoming more dif- ficult to find with each recurring season, and no longer Is Chesapeake bay the inex- haustible source of supply of the succulent oyster. For years the danger of the elephant be- coming extinct has been pointed out by sclentists on account of the immense an- nual slaughter of these exceedingly useful if ponderous, animals, and the British gov- errment in India has been repeatedly warned to exercise authority in the mat- ter, This beast plays such an important part in the military, as well as in the domestic, economy of the British govern- ment in India that the authorities have at last taken alarm at the decreasing num- bers of the animal and have at length de- cidec on instituting repressive regulauions regarding thelr slaughter. ‘These are to be very stringent and to be rigidly enforced. Elephant hunting will no longer be permitted as a mere pastime, and due supervision will be exercised over the trede in ivory. To supply the world with ivory necessitates the death, every year, of 100,000 elephants; and if these were placed in sirgle file they would make a procession 1s) miles long. So rapidly, of late years, has the elephant been done to death that the next generation of museum visitors will be gazing at his remains wiih the same interest that we do, now, at the re- mains of the mastodon. Fashion—that inexorable dame whose dictates must be executed if the heavens fali—is responsible for much of the de- struction of both beasts and birds. It was the demand for its feathers that brought about the extinction of the great auk—the only Lird in the northern hemisphere that enjoyed the proud distinction of being in- capable of flight—being ruthlessly killed by thousards, both in Europe and in the nortii of America, until, about 1840, tt was no lenger to be found. Seals, despite the restrictions placed around their killing; fur-bearing animals of all kinds; birds of Bay plumage; alligators, crocodiles and reptiles of every variety, are being deci- mated to satisfy the insatiable demands of fashion. Among the items at one sin- gle sale In London, Eng., recently, were the following: 6,000 birds of paradise, 5,000 Impeyan pheasants, 400,000 humming birds, 0,000 skins of fur-bearing animals, and 0,000 "possum and 30,000 monkey skins, ‘The fashionable sealskin sacque demands the lives of 200,000 fur seals every year, and fully 1,000,000 hair seals are annually slaughtered. At the door of the sportsman also lies some of the responsibility for the extinc- ticn of animals. {n South Africa the zebra is no longer to be seen in his accustomed haunts, and the giraffe is met with but seldom. ‘The Flight of Birds. A novel application of the methods of triangulation toward determining distance and elevation has recently been put to ascertaining the rapidity of flight of the wild duck. This bird, ss is commonly a: sumed, is one of the swiftest of wing, and it bly yields but little to its near rel- ative the goose, or to the pigeon, whose ‘ninety miles an hour” ts frequenily quo- ted as the expression’ of fastest traveling of an organized body with which we are acquainted. Recently, while observations on the heights of glouds were being con- ducted at the Blue Hill Meteorological Ob- servatory, Readville, Mass. a flock of @uck.: passed over the baseline of observa- tion (8,496 feet in length), and by singular gcod fortune, @ simultaréous set of meas- Grements on the apex of the flock was ob- tained, which, together with subsequent independent observations, permitted of the determination of the height of passage and of the velocity of movement. The former was found to be 958 feet above the tower station of observation, which is situated in the valley of the Neponset river. The ve- locity of flight, deduced as an average from rreasurements made at opposite ends of the Ine, was 47.8 miles an hour. At the time of flight the wind was very light, having a velocity, Mr. Helm Clayton informs us, of only two miles an hour, as automatically record»d at Blue Hill Observatory, 615 feet above the valley station. Its direction was from the north, while that of the flying ducks was from the northeast. These ob- servations are certainly interesting, and while they cannot be accepted as conclus- ive that the wild duck does not in its flight ever attain a velocity equal to that of a moderate express train, they will certainly tend to discredit those values of flight which have 1m most cases been built up sclely on eye-measurement. The more re- Hable data that have been obtained regard- Ing the flight of the carrier-pigeon have al- ready emphasized the necessity of caution in accepting the too-ready belief in casual observation, and, doubtless, the new form of evidence will tend still farther to impre this caution, A Diver's Telephone. An American inventor has perfected and patented a highly ingenious form of tele- Phone system for the use of submarine divers. The device can be used in either deep or shallow water. The first requisite, of course, in a diver’s telephone should be that the added me- chanism can change no conditions what- ever, in so far as making any demand pon the diver's vigilance er activity. In other words, the telephonic arrangements must not be allowed to hamper the person with whom they are connected. The De Veau invention accomplishes this. The receiver of the ‘phone is within the helmet, close to the left ear of the wearer, and is of the ordinary watch-case type, No. 81 The transmitter ts just above the divers head. The circuit is formed by two wires, the lines running through the center of a marila rope attached to the helmet. There Is, outside the helmet, a little junc- tion box, and a little collar to relieve the strain that might come on the cable. Spe- cial pains were taken with the manila cable, which is wound with the spirals of the strands lying closely like those of a spring. Unusual protection is thus given to the insulated wires within it. The man on deck carries a box, strapped to his body, within which ts the induc- tion coil for the system, and all the ac- cessorles, including four cells of Mesco’s battery. To call the attention of the man below, all that has to be done ts to jerk the life line. The deck set weighs only about four pounds, and that carried by the diver adds only’ eight ounces to the weight of the helmet. Needless to say a great gain in the speed of diving op- erations will be the certain result of the new submarine telephone. Longevity and Profession? Dr. William J. O'Sullivan of Yale Uni- versity, and more recently of New York, the well-known medico-legal expert, has been at pains to evolve a table of compara- tive American longevity. “I have carefully gone over the death records in large cities,” said Dr. O'Sullivan to the writer. “for a period of ten years. I have also ex. amined the lists of two large insurance companies. As a general result, and with- out giving specific figures (for these 1 pro- pose publishing in a forthcoming volume). I find the somewhat surprising fact that the commercial traveler, drummer or agent lives longer than a man in any other bus!- ness. In point of fact the drummer's pro- ion is two degrees higher in my per- centage list than the next—which is that of the dentist. I find that after drummers and dentists comes the ordinary manual laborer—the hod-carrier, bricklayer and such like person. Negro kalsominers also are a very long-lived class. Next in the list is the teacher and professor—in- cluding music teachers—which at first sight would appear strange when one con- si€ers the worriment and nervous strain to which these persons are supposed to be put. “Hatters cBme fifth on my lst, clergymen sixth and bankers seventh. Why bankers would live longer than butchers I do not see, but such is the case, and there are three degrees difference in the average per- centages of these classes’ record of longey- ity. Following butchers I give a list of the various professions and trades in their places, as I have found them more or less long-lived: Lawyers, sailors, jewelers, peddlers, milkmen, grocers, pawn brokers gardeners, civil engineers, book agents and canvassers, army officers ‘and soldiers. You will notice that sailors come in far above soldiers, and may draw your own conclu- sions. “Newspaper men I find to be very short- lived. They are very far down on the scale —even bookkeepers, cashiers, artists and architects are far ahead of them in the matter of age. Printers live a little longer than newspaper men, says my list—but, most curious of all, the physician and sur- geon comes even lower than the journalist! It seems that Esculapius cannot prolong his own life. “Saloonkeepers, bartenders and brewery employes are very short-lived. Bo are tea tasters, apothecaries, photographers, min- ers, bakers and cigar makers. But of all my long lst the most short-lived of all are auctioneers, barbers, boarding house keep- ers and cabbies, ‘I merely claim for this list that it is the careful probing and dissection of the deaths reported in a very large section of the United States during the extended period mentioned.” Dr. O'Sullivan has also collected English and French statistics for a considerable period on this highly interesting subject. He finds that the large leisure class of Eng- land is short-lived—coming, in fact, after the newspaper man on the American list, @ fact shrewdly commentary on the “pace that kills” among the “Jeunesse doree” of Britain. In France the longevity of the leisure class would appear to be much high- er—perhaps on account of the enforced military service system. ——> When He Was Frightened, From the Cleveland Leader. “Yes,” said the retired army officer, “I can recall two occastyns when I was most terribly frightened.” “Ob,” exclaimed the romantic young lady, “do tell me about them. I suppose it hap- pened when you were fighting the Indians?” “No,” he replied, “one time was when I was married and the other time was when we had our baby christened.” + oe In a Different Branch. From the Indianapolis Journal. “I have to help Jofnny with his mental arithmetic every everiing,” sald the young woman, “and it {s a. quisance. “Do you—er—find ‘that celebrated prob- lem about one plus gne equals one?” asked the young man. “I said mental arithmtic, not sentimen- tal,” said the young won§an with great dig- nity. +9 A Superior Cud. From the New York Press, “My dear,” said the bull, tenderly, “you have not been ycurself lately. Your health has been growing precarious ever since the summer. Tell me, what is weighing on your mind?” “It is nothing much, Hector,” sobbed the cow, “only—only—since I saw those sum- mer girls up at the house chewing tuttl- frutti, I can never hold up my head again!” ———_+2-.—___—_ Wonders. From the Cineinnatt Engutrer. “What makes you. so qufet, Ferry? Are you wondering what you will say to your wife when you get home?” = “No, I was wondering what she would y to me,” INATIONAL BANK S A Talk With Controller Eckels as to Their Management, WHY WE HAVE HARD TIMES to enter upon a condition of business af- fairs which will give employment to labor and business to all conducting the opera- tions of trade and commerce.” Our Na Ranks, “How much money is there in tional banks today “According to the last report, made Oc- tober 6, the amount was $34:2.143.362, and the amount of deposits was $1,507,891,059."" “Where are these banks? “They are scattered all over the na- the Union,” replied Mr. Eckels. “Those having the largest capitalization are in the eastern states, Here you find 1.5% national banks with a@ capital stock {n round figures of More than $401,000,000. In the western states there are 1,583 such banks, with a capital stock of more than $110,000,000, while in the southern states there are 557 banks with a capital of more than $138,0000,- Carrying On the Credit Business of the World. See 000” ‘ = = sappea] “Is the number of national banks in- RECENT BOND ISSUES | creasing?” Petes ee oe “No. I do not think you could expect ae that they would increase during such a period as we are now having. The burdens of financial losses fail upon the banks, and I don’t think that banking institutions of (Copyrighted, 1897, by Frank G. Carpenter.) Written for The Evening Star. RE WE ON THE | any kind have been increasing within the edge of a panic? last year or so. On the other hand, there Shall we have a! has been a falling off, brought about by repetition of the | the failure of some banks, the liquidation of others, and the fact that there have not been many new banks organized. T im- agine that this is true as to state banks as well as to national banks.” “What is the biggest national bank of the United States?” ‘The largest national bank in po! deposits ts the National City Bank of } York, while the largest in point of cap stock are the American Exchange Bank and the National Bank of Commerce of New York city. Each of these banks is capltal- ized_at $5,000,000." “Tell me, Mr. Eckels, where do the na- tional banks make their money? They make a lot out of Uncle Sam, do t troubles of 1893? What do the bank failures of the past two months mean? These questions are uppermost in the minds of our Lus!- ness men. The last great panic had to do with banks, rather . than with business and commercial establishments. The panic of 1872 was almost altogether a business | In, utr Uncle Sam, do they nowz” pantie. It was the same with the financial | “put not now. When the barks were neck troubles of 1884, and also with those of 18%). The panic of 1893 was a bankers’ panic. Banks of all kinds failed. National ban state banks and private banks went down. Within ten weeks, beginning May, 1803, one hundred and sixty-five national banks closed their doors. Fifty of these organized there was a large amount of profit in taking out circulation, and at first the circulation feature of the banks pre- dominated. ‘Then the bonds increased in rice, and under the law which permits but ) per cent of the par value of the bonds to be issued to the banks in circulating notes, the profits of the circulation feature z vanished. The most of the morey made by had to have receivers appointed for them, | the banks now comes from ccnou aa and the others were only allowed to re-! discounts. This is the feature of profit in { banking in England, Scotland, Ireland and the United States. No, the profits of the radonal banks do not come from the Bove ernment.” sume under conditions imposed by the controller of the currency. At this time the people lost confidence in the banks. Thousands of men withdrew their money and stored it away in safe deposit bcaes. Today business men are watching the banks as they never have done before, and the real condition of such institutions 1s a matter of vital interest to all classes of our people. The man who knows more about our benks than any ocher is Mr. James H. Kckels, the controller of the currency. He is, in fact, the great financial nerve of the United States. He has his feelers reach- ing out to the banks of every town and every city. Hundreds of millions of capi- tal and more than a thousand miilion of dollars of deposits owe their safety largely to his care. All the national banks have to report to him, and he has a large corps of bank examiners, or bank detectives, who | are moving about over the United State: and writing or telegraphing nim daily as Uncle Sam and National Banks. “Does Uncle Sam lose anything by the national banks?” “No, indeed,” renlied Mr. Eckels, as he picked up a paper of figures and looked it over. “So far from losing by the nations! banks, the government has made a great deal out of them. A careful estimate of the amount of profit to the government shows that from the organization of the firs: na- tional bank up to the end of the report year of 1896 Uncle Sam has netted $157,430,248 This amount stands out in startling con- trast to the greenback issue, which, instead of having becn a source of profit, has bee a source of direct loss of hundreds of mil- lions to the people.” “Do the national banks make as much now as they did in the past 0," the reply. “For som ter their organization the profit was large. lime af- percentage of During recent years th: to how our financial institutions stand. | Profit has steadily fallen; so that, take He is in close touch with the greatest | throughout the period of twenty-seren financlers of the country, and the least | years, for which the figures are to be vo! change in our financial condition is al- | tained, the average dividend on capital and most felt by him before it comes to pass. | surplus invested in national banks has bet Mr. ckels is a financial genius. He has , only 6.4 per cent. A considerable number one of the clearest and coolest heads that | of the banks continue to add thelr dividends has ever presided over millions in the | to thelr surplus. Others have been com- Treasury Department. Still, he looks like | Pelled to charg. off losses tained to their a boy. He does not appear to be thirty, | Surplus, so that many banks during th- though I venture he has passed the forty past few years ha ther paid small divi- year mark some time ago. He makes you | dends or mone at all.” think more of an overworked college stu- | “How about the safety of national banks, dent than one of the most responsible offi- | Mr. Eckels. Is one’s money safe in them ?= cials of our government, and his pale, ins ‘As to the safety of the national banking tellectual, smooth-shaven face shows the | 8¥Stem,” was the reply, “the best test ts refinement of a scholar, rather than the | the statistics. These show that of the gross beefiness of the’ average cverfed | 5.055 banks organized since the beginning politician, of the system only 1.32% have passed into The the hands of receivers as insolvent and oe a seers of a Panic. that these on the average, taking the , estion I asked Mr. Eckels| closed and not closed, have paid in the when I met him in the Treasury De-| neighborhood of 7% per cent to. th partment today was that which begins this | PoSitors. When the banks now bein ES ; . er. The y of the note on ‘the edge of @ panic. Mir. | Eickels re-| holders in mational banke leas you keow plied: such that no note holder has ever just any- “I think not. I don't see any occasion | thing.” which suggests that a panic is poss le, much less probable. It is true there hav been a number of bank failures since Ni vember 1, but, with the exception of National Bank of Illinois, in Chicago, Officials and Examiners. “How are the banks examined?” “The banks have to send reports of their condition to the controlle: he national bank failures have been unim-| year, and these renorre Sara rages portant both as to capital and -deporita, | Jo jo ne peoores ave published. They The number of failures has alec racy | are also examined by examiners appointed slight. At the close of the report year ay | bY the controller. ‘The examiners. report 1808 “wo had 3,67) national wank a, | to the controller and it is thelr, business since that date several new ones’ have | {0 ascertain whether the capital stock of been organized. Of this number only ais, | the bank is impaired. If it is impaired the teen have closed their doors with, ‘the | Controller has to levy an assessment upon past ten weeks. This is a very small ecora | the shareholders to make such iinpair- ment good. The duty of the controller is wholly supervisory, howe: and it does | not In any way relieve the officers and di- rectors of the bank from the duties placed upon them. The controller can suggest methods of safety, but it rests with the 5 compared with the first ten weeks of So: “What were the caz I asked. he failures were in e: brought about by local condi: ses of the failures ch instance causes. They resulted either from internal | Officers of the bank and the directors to had management or from the accumula- | accept these suggestions or not. He can tion of ets during a boom period. These | Suggest methods of bookk: ng and the boom assets under the financial depression | duties which directors should discharge. If which we have had during the pas: four|the directors and officers do their duty years have not been conver-ible into cash. | there is little danger that a bank will fail, They were not good assets, in other words, | but unless they gi atiention to such and the same banks with the same charac- | dutles 365 days in every year it is unfair ter of assets in the same management! to expect the supervising officers to ac- would, I believe, have failed sooner or iater | complish the complete safety of such during a period of ordinary business con-| banks in two or three examinations a ditions. It can be confidently argued that | year. I believe that the supervision of the the recent failures do not indicate any | controller has prevented the failure of such changed condition in the Lanking | many banks, though it may be that there world as to warrant any suggestion | are here and there cases where facts have o@ a panic. On the other hand our returas, | been overlooked which might have pre- received under the ‘ast call, December 17,| vented failures. I think that such in- 1890, for a report of ihe condition of the | stances, however, are much less in num- barks show them to be scronge> in cash reserves than the law vequir ‘They show that the amount of their deposits, as well the amounts of their loans and discounts, have increased, though, of course, the crease of the last two ng has not been so large as might have been hoped for. The reason for this, I believe, has been the agitation of certain subjects, bozh domest! and foreign, which has made the investors timid and those who have money to lend doubtful about loaning it.” “But has the increase been as large as was expected, Mr. Eckels?” No, not in the way of loans and dis- counts, but the reason for this has been the agitation of subjects both foreign and domestic, which has made investors timid, and those having money to lend doubtful about loaning it. I belleve that as soon as these agitations are at an end we ought ber than the banks, which have been saved through the supervision of the controller.” “But will not the nationaf banks stop with the payment of our government debt, Mr. Eckels?” I asked. ot necessarily so," - was the reply “When the government bonds are paid some other note-issuing device will be ob- tained and substituted, Such a plan obtained in Canada, and is the basis what {s known as the Baltimore plan, as well as that suggested by Secretary Car- lisle two years ago to Congress.” What do we owe, anyhow, Mr. Eckels? What 1s the amount of the government debt?” “I can give you the figures to June 30, 1896, At that time our interest-bearing bonded debt was $847,363,s0 “It 1s enough,” said I. “And what in- terest do we pay upon it?” READY TO PROVE IT. Fiom Harper's Bazer, don't tapeline, you have any doubts, just reach right in and measure the reptile.” Doubtful Individual—“That snake Showman—“My friend, here's a. jong. locked, and if _ INTENSE SUFFERING» From Dyspepsia and Stomach: Trouble. INSLANTLY RELIEVED AND PREMANENTIT KED BY STUARTS DYSPEPSIA TABLETS. A NEW DISCOVERY RUT NOT A PATENT MoD row Redwell relates an nach trouble and echrante deapepsla by. the Of the new discovers, Saart's Dywpepata Tablets He sare: 1 > ba fered to my yeare with dysp sour and create stomach. Me had tism In the back, xl ' and distress afte ¥ ame affected, at night causing ful ner reme- but to no parpose vent Btaliy bought a fifty cout package ef Stuarts Ds pepsia Tablets at a drug store and gave them to hit, Almost immediate relief was given aud vf he had used four boxes be was to all appearances fully enved There was no more ty or sour watery rising. no bloatiaz after menis, the appetite was vigor and he hax gained betws and twelve pw thy flea Dyspepsia Tablets ug stores yet 1 consh addition to any physicls ties, ax they are perfectly harmle be xiven to invalids of the xte perfect si rales and containing not f fruit essences, pure pops! Without any question th rnost fective cure for tn tion amd all deran alight or seve tye or Stuart's Dy Stuart Co. ef Marsh c- gista everywhere at Littl book « “Last year our intet to more than $35 t does m large, but when you figure {t out you find that the rate of interest pated on the whole averages only cent This is much lower than th: rates which prevail in the deatings of private individuals or corporatio Cleveland and the Bonds. “How about the bond issucs, « erning which Cleveland much cised?” “The issuing of b ministration was n: that it was essential of the credit of the government that tts de- mand obligations known as greenbacks and Sherman 1 should be redeemed in gold, in accordance with the enacted legis lation of Congress. w ‘lared it to be the policy of the g nt that the va- rious forms of money in circulation shi be kept at parity the money © tained from the herds was no doubt used for meeting the deficiency made by lack of has been so to the maintenance revenue, but in the first instan > bods Were issued for the purpose stated, and had it not been for the law made for that purpose they could not have been issued at all I think the administration is entitled the very greatest credit for having maintained the parity of gold and silver and having pr ted a loss of national and individual lit. The amount of in- terest charged is insignificant compared with the loss th. would have come to every individual citizen if e government had permitted itself to go to a silver basis What the people will pay in taxes to meet th interest charge is a itle as to what would have bad to pay if any other policy had been pursued. Had these bonds not been issued the gov ments obliga- tions would have had to jeemed in silver. The law to main parity of the metals would have been a and our credit, both national and indi ual, would have been lost. Every foreign investor would have withdrawn his money from the United States and every lender of foreign capital would have refused to send money here, “It is said, Mr. Eckels, that we have not enough money in the country to do the Is that true?” .” replied the controier, “that volume of currency in circulation at the present time is of less importance than the quality of the currency. You will see this when you consider the norm ous amount that credit has to do in the carry- ing on of our business today. The need ef actual money has grown less aud less. It has t found on careful investigation that the average use of credit instruments in the business transactions of thix coun- try and others where banks of dis nt and deposit prevail is over ™) per cent. The ehec drafts and bills of exchan, making transfers of money inekr dollar in use an efficient dollar, so that very in- "i of s porting a single transaction, it supports many. More Banks and More Faith. “What is needed,” continued Mr. Eckel, “is an enlarged opportunity of obtaining credit on the part of those who are ¢n- titled to it. This would come through th establishment of banks of deposit and «is- count and the branches of such banks. It is demonstrable that the whole surplus loanable capital sf the world ts always allable to the people of every country where credit is maintained and where in- vestments are offered which promise a fair margin of profit. Modern methods of banking and modern methods of transpor- tation make it Immaterial whether the velume of money in the world is greater in London or New York, in Chicazo or ow Orleans, in Boston or in San Francisco. It j is equally available for one place or the other if the capitalist has proper = edge of the financial character and ability of thuse who desire to borrow. If you de- prive a community of its } e nks and bank- 's. you take from it the channel through which it can make known that it has good security to offer to investible capital. Why We Have Hard Times. “Just one more question, Mr. Eckels, What do you thin really the cause of the hard times we are having “I believe,” replied the controller of the currenc hat the present condition of the United States is due to unwise financtal legislation and the agitation of monetary questions, with the continued attempt to Substitute here a money standard which is not recognized by any great commercial people with which we have to deal. The threat of substituting the silver for the gold standard has througbou: the past few years frightened both home and joreign an= Vestors, so that capital is permitted to re- main idle, with the effect of closing up fac- tories and mills and putting an end to great undertakings. The uncertainty as to wheth- er the government would be able, because ot the Sherman law, to redeem its demand obligations in gold Was the one thing which brought to a climax a great many other things which in and of themselves would not necessarily have produced the depres- sion we have had. Undoubtedly there have been contributing causes in the overcapital- ization of corporations, the unwise specu lation of the past few years, the excrava- gance in public and private exp and the Living by inany people beyond the means and outside their incomes. These things and the agitation of foreien and do- mestic questions gave rise to a doubt in the minds of many as to our financial sta- bility, Stil, with all this we have had but few failures, and it seems to me that this is an evidence of the greai resources of our country and the energy of our people. If we -an now be free from agitation, if our people will se:tle down individually to their individual business and Lot undertake to at- tend to the business affairs of every one else, the financial future of the country will at once improve and we will again come a people commanding the confidence of all with whom we have to deal, and one which wiil be Known as such and as pe sessing the richest country of the worl: RAN: tures: The Greatest From the Boston Herald. Every man is, after all, his own hardest taskmaster, his own most monotonous com- pany. With «a ordinary bore, who calls only now and then, he can make shift to get along, but with a bore who goes to bed with bim, gets up with him, breakfasts, lunches and dines with him, and is forever- more repeating the old chestnut story of what a fool and failure and sinner he has been, is now, and will keep on being to the end of the chapter—why! with all Unis it is a very different matter. Such a bore ts each man in peril of becoming to himself. Bec ceneine sr Seah, Making No Bones of It. From Life. Sulter—“In my present precarious posi- tion, sir, and with my small salary, I don’t think there is any possibility of my being able to su your daughter.” “Then what under heaven do you want to marry her for?” AS gerd gens of pe aeeerael ened