Evening Star Newspaper, January 15, 1898, Page 19

THE EVENING STAR, SATURDAY,- JANUARY 15, 1898—24 PAGES: 19 WEDGING UP. TAUNCHING A SHIP The End in View Even Before the Keel is Laid. DONE WITH MATHEMATICAL PRECISION The Least Mistake in Caiculations Entails Great Loss. THE WORK IS DONE! 2S ee HOW Written for The Evening Stai N THE COMING launching of the bat- tle ships Kearsarge and Kentucky, on the same day, we shall celebrate the launching of the two most ponderous masses of steel ever e, In this coun- from keel blocks to water, and only a few, indeed, know what such a_ task means. From the time the sole pieces are sawed and the ship released till she has 1 from the ways and rests quietly upon the water, the whole function may be compassed within a minute. But to accomplish that safely days and w pent in material prep- aratioi of patient thought and fer must provide against acci- dent or mi A reputation may be m or rui and the welfare of thousands Ss jeopardized. In a broad the launching of a large ship begins even before the keel is laid, for everything must be considered contributory to that event. The building site must be chosen with the thought of launching up- permost in mind, and with careful appre- ciation of natural advantages. The ground should slope gently to the water's edge, and shouid be solid enough to bear with- out yielding the weight of the growing ship. Tnat should be the case not only directly under the blocks on which she rises, but beneath and throughout the ways that are to carry her to the water. The sagging of an inch may mean deformation to the growing structure, and consequent Weakness, and, at launching, may lead to delay disappointment the coxtly fabric of stecl. To the end of rigidity of foundation, it is a common prac- tice to drive into the ground many rows of | heavy piling, so fastened together that | th hall add materially to the stability of | the slip. Masonry and concrete are some- times supplemented. There must be ample Water to float the craft at launching, and the matters of tidal advantages at the sea- son of launching and the temporary hampering of a busy waterway are con- siderations of moment, too. The Keel Blocks. Next the keel blocks, heavy timbers upon which the ship is to be built, are laid. These generally decline toward the water at an ar yual to that of the coming launching are three or four fe apart. ar to conform to the ki or even damage to | line of t high eno: point aft to carry the bow of the ship clear of the ground at launching, and at the time dipping forward. The piling bearing t under-water portion of the ways may driven at any time prior to the launching, but, unless they obstruct the channel in some way, are usually driven with those on shore. On the blocks the keel is laid, a stout structure of heavy stcel plates and angles, and up from that rise the ponderous frames or “ribs,” to which are Joined the bulk- heads or transverse walis and the deck beams. and finally upon which is laid, fas. tened and water-tight the outside plating or “s as it is termed in tech- nical parlance. ceeding plating are held firmly in place by stout loxs or shores, and made to conform accurately with the “lines” of the intended craft, and. for a time, the shores bear a Part of the actual weight of the growing ship. The deck beams are riveted up be- fore the outside plating, as weil, also, as the protective deck, and then follow the minor bulkheads, the inner bottom, the Jongitudinals that stiffen the ship length- Wise, the foundations for engines, bollers and electrical motors, and, perhaps, a large Part of the other deck plating-way being eull left open for the passage of the boil- ers and engines down to their respective Places. Stanchions between decks, some of the permanent fittings and the major part of the wooden decks are laid, while the shafting for the two propellers has long since been in place. The under-water, out- board connections, with their vaives, are in place and closed; the rudder hung and Strapped rigicly fore-and-aft; and with the hull work quite two-thirds done, the time for launchi’ has been reached. Dangers in the Way. In anticipation of this the ways have been prepared for months, and, if new, Were fitted in place, taken apart, oiled, and The frames and their suc- | = then exposed to the weather for months to season. The launching apparatus, though strong, Is by comparison with the weight to be borne of so refined a nature that a slight obstruction in the shape of a stray bolt or a spring joint may lead to disap- pointment, delay or misfortune. But if, by any mischance, the ways should be act: ually weak or faulty in alignment, there is a certainty of damage and perhaps death. Delay, too, may cause a failure. After seasoning the ways are reassem- bled and placed under the ship, and this is usually done only a few days before the launching, so as not to interfere with the staging and other work about the outsida of the vessel. The launching apparatus consists princi- pally cf the ground ways and their founda- tion and of the sliding ways and the cradle which are to carry the ship to the water. The ground ways are coated with a slip- pery lubricant composed of beef tallow, soft soap, perhaps some lard oil, and should the weather be warm another ingredient tending to keep the mixture firm and to prevent its oozing out when pressure is brought to bear upon the ground ways. It may be instructive to know that something like five tons of this stuff is used in the case of large battle ships, and it costs quite 3800 or $1,000, Goes in Stern First. The ship is launched stern first, as the form of hull aft tends to make her rise more quickly from her first plunge than would be the case were she sent into the water bow first; and, too, it makes the pivoting strain upon the vessel less just at that moment when the bow on entering the water, and the stern when rising throw the burden upon the forward pop- pets. This 1s the critical moment in launching, and if the vessel have not suffi- cient stability in her very light condition she may lose her balance, careen, bury her hatches and sink. The constructor in charge must foresee this danger and make sure that his calculations be correct. Nov many years ago, in Engiand, a ship wax launched without due consideration in thi« regard, and bindreds of men working be low. as usual, were drowned like so many rats in iron boxes. At that time it was not customary to make the elaborate calcu- lations preparate to the launching of ships now in vogu hor to determine te a nicety the fore and stresses present at such a time. Carefal pro nm and forethought have made due allowance for the launching of the craft, but if in a moderately narrow ckannel, she must be brought to a stand- sull and her rush checked easily and with- in a prescribed distance. It is not always Ecssible to let her check herself in a bed of soft mud, as is done in some parts of the ccuntry, or te bring herself to rest by anchors and the gradual and easy tauten- ing of their chain cables. To stop her in a skort distance, a system of hempen cables is usualiy employed. The heavy hawsers are passcd around the stern like a bridle and led forward along the sides, carried irto some convenient port and coiled, and thence led to anchors to be dropped from the bows at a determined moment. Other heavier lines are led to the shores or to archors buried in the water at the sides at {cot of the ground ways. All of these cables are placed in coils tied with smaller Tope, which, snapping in succession, let out the lines and graduate the checking effect without undu ain to the ship. It is no urcommon thing to see a great fiftcen-inch r snapped like a kite line, and woe that stands in the way of that lash- ing whip. She Starts, She Moves. Up at the f rd end of the ways a platform has been reared, and there are to stand the fair sponsor, the honored digni- taries and the select of the invited ¢ suests. Up above them towers a great mass of some five thousand tons of steel, white above the water-line and bright red below, with fi.ttering bunting flowing from flag- steffs and impromptu poles of various sorts. At the word of com ne he: re driven home with sharp, ant nd. for half an hour, the work a gces on till the last wedge is driven ard the great ship is raised clear of the kel blocks. Then those blocks are removed and the shores tumbled to the ground, and daubs of paint are smeared upon the sur- face of the bared metal. Another half hour has been spent. With the last man out from beneath the ship, the safety chains are cast loose, and the ship is left tugging away at the solepieces with the tractive force of a mighty freight train. An hydraulic ram has been placed at the bow to start her should-she hesitate—quite unnecessary when every care has bcen taken. ard with every one’s heart throb- bing in expectation, the signal is given to saw the sole pieces. In half minute there is a stap, the big ship seems to quiver, and quite by the time her emiling sponsor can say, “In the name of the United States I christen thee ——-,” and has broken upon that ponderous prow the ribbon-decked bottle of chosen wine, the craft is away and gathering speed for her maiden plunge. With a rush of quite twelve knots, she strikes the water, buries her stern’ well above the water line, rises aft, dips grace- tully her bowing stem, and is off upon the water, and between the flanking rows of steamboats, tugs and pleasure craft noisy with their booming guns and shrieking whistles. Splash go the bow anchors, taut Stretch the binding lines and slowly -and easily the great ship is brought to rest be- fore the hastening tugs scramble to re- claim her, Every one is happy and cheering, but from the relieved hearts of the builders and the constructor, who has carried the heav- jest vurden, there is a thankfulness no words can multiply. Months of paticnet work have been brought to a happy stage, and peril, always so near, has been averted without the slightest hint of its presen: Now for the toasts and speeches, and that goodwill which comes from the heart, or somewhere nearby, on suck areasions, SKETCH EXHIBITION A COreditable Colleetion by the No- ciety of Washington Artists. A FORTNIGHT’S FREE VIEW Some Striking Work From the Easels of Well-Known Artists. SUBJECTS AND METHODS The sketch exhibition at the new gallery of the Socicty of Washington Artists, 1020 Connecticut avenue, will be thrown open to the public Monday, and will continue for two weeks. The gallery will be open from 9 to 6 daily, and Mondays, Wednes- days and Thursdays in the evening from 8 to 10:30. As the exhibition is entirely free, no cards have been issued, and through the press the artists extend to all @ cordial invitation to come and inspect the collection of sketches. The exhibit was essembled largely with a view to increas- ing the fund which the society needs to keep up the new gallery, and to this end it was stipulated that 50 per cent of the sales should go to the society. The artists lent their hearty co-operation to this scheme, and not only contributed liberally, but marked their sketches often at ridiculously low prices, so that it will be strange if there are not a goodly number of sales to enrich the treasury of the S. W. A. In- deed, not a few of the artists send sketches that are much ahead of anything they have ever shown. There is a breezy directness about work executed right from naiure that exercises a peculiar charm, and in many ways this cellection is as Il worth seeing as the annual exhibitions of more ambitious paint- irgs. One thing that adds to the interest of the exhibit is the great variety in the mediums employed. There is work in oil, water color, pastel, pen and ink, charcoal and peneil, and one finds also upon the walls a group of monotypes and a speci- men of burnt wood decoration. Of course, there is a fairly large quota of student work, but the proportion is hardly larger than in the regular exhibitions, and com- paratively few of the sketches are dis- tinctly marked with the word amateur. Some Striking Sketches. Any one who visits the gallery with the idea that because it is an exhibition of sketches the works will in general be inef- fectual an@ lacking in definite qualities, has a genuine surprise in store. Mastery is more often evident in a sketch than in a finished picture. Alice Barney’s contribu- tion will be one of the surprises, as her studies are unquestionably better than those she showed in the Water Color Club exhibit, striking as those were. There is nothing in the gallery that exhibits more cleverness than the two pastel heads that ng on either side of her large oil study. ey are executed in a very confident wey, a in the fewest possible strokes, and agair the background of gray paper the. head come out with telling effect. In oil she less fortunate, but her studies in that mi dium are equally broad and dashing in treatment. There are very few portrait studies in the exhibition, the only other notable one be- ing the pastel by Edward L. Morse. ‘ace is strong in ion, and the keen well rendered. pd Landscapes. work, of which the larger part of the exhibition is composed, Max Weyl's rich color studies easily take a leading plac He sends two sketches in which sunset colors glow in the western sky, but perhaps the most interesting of his contributions is a delicate moonlight ef- intent lock of the e G In lands fect, in which the crescent hangs bright and’ luminous over the picturesque walls of an old country cabin. E. C. Messer's breeay sketch of a couple of hay stacks with fiying clouds overhead is the most spontaneous of his canvases, but another Paxson motive which he shows has a fine harmony of tone and color, even though it smacks more of the studio. Carl Weller shows a very large and attractive collection of water color sketches of European sub- jects, and R. Le Grand Johnston Is repre- sented by some excellent work in water colors. His two sunny sketches on gray paper are in many ways superior to the rks he sent to the last exhibition, as are handled in a style more suited to vard Siebert’s representation is really ensation of the exhibition, as he has never been seen to anything like as good advantage. With an idea ! is sketches were unworthy of an exhibition of complet- ed pictures he has always kept back his tudies and has usually been represented 2 an unsatisfactory manner. This time ne sent in many studies, both new and old, and the gallery does not boast a truer tran- script frum nature than the view of a road- side watering trough. J. H. Moser shows the only monotypes that are contributed, and they are gems of His colle artistic feeling and sentiment. - tion of little sketches in color is equally at- tractive, and he is also represented by landscapes. Marietta M. Andrews arge group of water plors, in nh her grasp of the technical difficul- very evident. The old fence corner > of the most taking of her outdoor subjects. Water co medium which Bertha E. P. inher centridutions view from her brush will find especial favor. From Ross Turner's Easel. Mrs. J. M, Turner, who is known here by her artistic’ work in photography, sends in some sketches by her brother-in-law, Ross ‘Turner, two characteristic glimpses of Salem, and a bit of old Marblehead. Park- er Mann exhibits several little thumb-nail sketches jotted down abroad, and, in addi- tion to this work in pencil, shows three suggestive pastels. Frank Moss is seen to good advantage in a number of oil studies, and W. B. Chilton also sends strong work in that medium. Most of his sketches are too lacking in finish to be very popular, but a carefully studied wood interior from his hand is one of the best things he has ever done. Wells M. Sawyer is represented in a very satisfactory manner by work in oil, and his cornfield and little symphony » blue and gray are as delicate and truth- ful as anything he has ever painted. Carl Gutherz is not fortunate in his outdoor and his figure study, “The King’s and his designs for mural decora- Seal,’ tion will make a stronger bid for popular favor. George Gibbs’ Naval Scenes. In illustration, Mr. George Gibbs, of course, is at his best, and his series of na- val scenes in black and white will attract much attention. Not less interesting are the drawings of characteristic scenes about the Capitol. William F. Curtis has also some very taking specimens of black and white work, both in pencil and in pen and ink. Robert Coleman Child has on view a burnt wood decoration, which he calls the “Departure of the Angel Gabriel.” Parts of this ambitious composition are very graceful, but it is a Mttle stiff and formal inf its lines. There will be many words of praise for the quaint little figure study in | pastel whichis exhibited by Mrs. Child. Lucien Powell’s wheat-field study is notice- able for the extreme reserve with which it is handled, and it is needless to say that Hobart Nichols’ landscapes are artistic and true to nature. Jules Dieudénne sends a striking mural decoraticn and Edgar Nye a number of landscapes breathing of the woods and the open air, but it is impossible here to single out all ‘the meritorious works on view. Among the other artists represented in the exhibition are E. H. Miller, Elizabeth Mil- ler, Wilhelmina Nichols, Ernest Nelson, George Senseny, Louise Hull, Sgrah Meet- ze, S. W. Kelly, H. C. Hovefiden, Daniel Rose, Anna Lee, M. K. Porter, C. W. Zie- ber, Walter Paris, Daisy King, Bertha Schott, Edwin Lamasure, Mary Ellen Sigs- bee, Janette Messer, Francis Lane, Alice Willoughby, Edith Ward, Miriam Brooks and Margaret Baker. DEC IN Grandpa—“Don’t get scared, Willie, the tiger is about to be fed; that’ him jump up. and roar so. Willie (earnestly)—“Oh, I ain’t afraid of him, grandpa; pape’s the same way when his meals aren't ready.”—Tit-Bits. - what makes A TRIO OF=BIG MEN Senator Burrows ail His Two Re- markable Brothers. ALL HAVE ARSIEVED EMINENCE ra ? It's a Question’Which of Them is the Best Orator. BOB INGERSOLL AS A BOY Written for The Evening Star. ENATOR . JULIUS CAESAR BUR- ROWS of- Michigan is of a family of three brothers, all of whom are peculiarly gifted. They are na- tives of the little vil- lage of North Kast, which, singularly enough, is in the ex- treme northwestern part of Pennsylva- nia. The father of the Burrowses had a marked repugnance for the names commonly conferred upon boys. He was partial to the names of the great men of the world. The oldest son was named after Jerome Bonaparte, brother of the great warrior, Napoleon; and when, a few years later, another son was added to his charge, the great Julius Caesar was accorded a namesake. The third son has an equally great name, but he never uses it. His initials are S. S., and that’s all you ever hear of his name. Senator Burrows once taught school for a living. He was a young man then. It was in Madison, Ohio, and it is a signifi- cant fact, too, that the old academy where he held forth as a pedagogue has since been transformed into a national home for widows of soldiers of the late war. It was the first, and for a number of years the only, institution of the kind in the coun- try. There are living in Madison today some of Senator Burrows’ old pupils, who speak in the highest praise of his success as a teacher. Jerome Bonaparte Burrows ts a resident of Painesville, Lake county, Ohio, where for years he was the leading practitioner at the bar. He is now a judge of the cir- cuit court. Adjoining Painesville on the west is the fertile township of Mentor, where the late President Garfield had his country seat. There was a time when Garfield and Jerome Bonaparte Burrows were enemies to the extent that they did not speak. And beth were republicans and equally intense partisans. At Onts With Garfield. “Bony” Burrows, as his friends and con- stituents call him, had an enmity for Gar- field that was not effased until after the Chicago convention of 1880. Burrows had fought Garfield “tooth and nail’ for years, and once came near encompassing his de- feat. He had been a/candidate for the nomination for representative against Gar- field in one convention’ and in others the hrewd work of his opposition had been apparent. riends of Garfield, after the convention of 1880, got them together and a truce was patched up. A fet days later, when Gar- field made his memorable Fourth of July oration at Painesville, on the occasion of the unveiling of a monument to the sol- dier dead of Lake county, Burrows par- ticipated in the exercises. A great day it was in the nineteenth district, when it was known that the political hatchet was buried. For no one ever questioned that “Bony” Burrows was, the equal of Garfield in abilit Had Burrows been gent to Congress Garfield must have sunk into the oblivion of private life, and no one can say that Burrows might not have achieved great distinction. In 1890 Jerome Bonaparte Burrows was a candidate for the republican nomination for representative from the twentieth dig trict, a democratic gerymander having switched Lake county from the nineteenth. There was a spirited contest, lasting nearly a week, and, after almost innumerable bal- lots, Judge Charles P, Wickham of Nor- walk. Huron county, was successful. Lit- tle Lake came up Smiling every time with “Burrows 25." and this repeated announce- ment by the chairman of the delegation from that county became a byword. Again did Burrows make an attempt for the nomination to Congress in 189%, but was defeated by W. J. White of Cleveland, the millionaire manufacturer. Proud of “Rony: Over in Ohio they will tell you that “Bony” Burrows is an abler man than his younger brother, the senator from Michi- gan. For downright oratory, many claim that he hasn’t a superior in his state. As a corporation lawyer he ranks at the head. He also has a great reputation as a crim- inal lawyer, a reputation gained entirely through his masterly defense of Louis Webster, who was charged with murder. Twice was Webster sentenced to be hanged. but Burrows was persistent. He secured a change of venue and at the third trial his client was acquitted. His persistence in behalf made the people of Ashtabula county his cnemies, and this has been a menace to him in subsequent attempts to further his political ambitions, Bony” Burrows’ former hatred for Gen. Garfield is more than offset in his frie: ship for the martyr President’s sons. To him, perhaps, more than to any one else is due the rapid advancement in public life of young “Jim” Garfield. He has been a veritable father to “Jim” and Harry. He is their adviser in both politics and bus- iness. S. S. Burrows, the youngest of the family, is a practicing physician, but he has all the attributes that go to make up a genuine statesman. He lives at Geneva, Ashtabula county, which ds < dozen or fifteen miles east of Painesville. He is a republican. Twenty years ago he served his constit- uents as a member of the state senate, where he made a decided reputation as a debater and because of his ready under- starding af parliamentary law and usage. As a speaker he is classed with his broth- ers, and this is saying a great deal. Youngest of the Three. Dr. Burrows is 2 man who ®as the cour- age to declare his <¢onyictiors, regardless of the feelings of Policy is a sec- ondary considerattgn. ith bim. This is also true of Jerome Bofiaparte. Had they been mere politic tfi'thelr utterances, either might have reached as high a place in pub- of Webster lc life as that attained by the good-natured senator from Michigan. Dr. Burrows, though an ardent republi- can, unlike his brothers, is a devotee at the shrine of free silver. The republican committee in Ohio, in the campaign last fall, drafted Senator Burrows into the state to make a few speeches in behalf of Bush- nell and Hanna. When the senator got over into Ohio he found that his baby brother was making the hottest kind of free silver speeches. When the senator made a sound money speech, his brother followed him the next day, answering every pcint. The Saturday,night before election Senator Burrows adcressed a monster re- publican meeting in Music Hall, Cleveland. His speech, of course, was in behalf of sound money. Dr. Burrows announced, through the press, that on Monday evening, in the same place, he would reply to his brother. Music Hall was packed, and many who heard him declare that he veritably ripped “Julius Caesar” up the back. Friendly Rivalry. At one time, when conditions seemed pro- Pitious for Jerome Bonapart being sent to Congtess, there was something of a good- natured rivalry on the part of Julius Cae- sar. About this time Julius Caesar was ad- vanced to the Senate. An old friend of the family met him in the lobby of fhe Fifth Avenue Hotel, New York. “I see there is some taik of sending J. B. to Congress,” said this friend to Jultus Caesar. “Yes,” he replied, “and I hope they will. I don’t care, now that I am in the Senate. I used to tell Jerome, when he was defeat- ed for Congress, that 1 was kind of glad, as I didn’t want him to get ahead of me.” This was-said with a smile. Despite the fact that the doctor is in- clined to kick from the traces of republi- canism, there is the warmest brotherly feeling between him and his brothers, Tne Burrowses are clannish. There is a re- union of the three brothers every year over at Gerome Bonaparte’s home, and the oc- casion is always one of rare pleasure for those friends who are invitcd in. There is always a flow of wit and a time of good- fellowship. Ingersoll’s Early Home. Speaking of Senator Burrows’ early days in Madison recalls the fact which has never before been printed, that it was in Ma township that Col. Robert G. Ingersoll spent a portion of his boyhood days. About a mile directly north from the sem: where Burrows taught, is the little haz of North Madison. Until its destruction by fire a few years ago there stood en the commons the old wooden Presbyterian Church where Col. Ingersoll’s _ father preached the Gospel of Carist. The old country school house where Col. Ingersoll and his brother Ebon received their early education was supplanted by a modern building a dozen or more years ago. Perhaps the only perscn now living in North Madison who remembers the Inzer- soll brothers is Sclomon Sweamam, who werks the old farm-that his father clexred befure him. Sweatnam and the Ingersoll boys were schoolmates. They “played hookey” and went fishing together the same as the country boys of today. Not so long ago I paid a visit to “Sol.” Sweat- nam, as the rural folk about Madison call him. It was at milking time, ard 1.”” kept right on with his work as he told me of his recollections of the distinguished agnostic. “I remember Bob as well as can he,”” he said to me, as he convvlsively pulled away at the udders of a roan heifer. where t white hous blinds stands, just east of . I can now 30b and Ebon ba at play just they were then. were sort of chums. There day that we were not togeth father was a Presbyterian preach very able man. I remembe' father and mother The family was pvor. money for preachers in those da: used to live green “Bob had ideas cf his own when thir- teen years old, when his folks moved away. He used to swear a great deal. Not a vicious swearer. I supp without th ing he wouid preface a remark or a state- ment with an oath. Admonished His Father. “Well do I remember one occasion. An tinerant lecturer on spiritualism gave a series of lectures at the old Baptist Church on the middle ridgé. Many of the people who did not take kindly to the spiritualistic doctrine went wild over his speaking. He Was an eloquent talker. There was a vast interest manifested in the lecture, which was then something new for Madison. “Bob's father, who was one of the most eloquent men I have ever heard, issued a challenge from his puplit on Sunday morn- ing for a debate on the question of spir- itualism. The lecturer accepted the chal- lerge and people came from miles around to hear the much-talked-of debate. Un- der the rules decided upon the lecturer spcke first. When Ingersoll arose to re- ply young Bob, who occupied a front seat, spoke out with ‘Give ’em h—1, dad.’ “This produced great merriment on the part of the audienze. Bob's injunction to his father was for years a by-word in Madison. Do I ever hear from Bob? Yes feveral years ago I wrote to him, asking him if he remembered our boyhood days together. I received an answer that was full of sentiment. He assured me that some time, when he was near Madison he would drop off and see me. Yes, Bob has made a big mark in the world. Ebon was a bright lad, too, and he went to Con- gress.” ——_+—__. The Raw Ex Diet. From the St. Loufs Globe-Democrat. Raw cggs have always been considered of digestion, and more nourishing than fried or cooked eggs. There is no question about that. The raw eggs are readily di- gested by the weakest of stomachs. At first there is some repulsion at the thought of swallowing raw eggs; but this dislike is soon overcome. The new cult start with raw eggs and advocate their use in a most liberal manner. On rising in the morning one should mix up two or three fresh eges end swallow them down raw. They can be taken into the stomach like oysters, with- out chewing or mastication of any kind. The stomach can take care of them. An egg regimen is nourishing, strengthening and satisfying. They cause no irritation to the nerves, for there is no undigested mat- ter to cause fermentation in the stomach and poison the blood. The egg diet is recommended in particu- lar to women. Pure milk should be taken with the raw eggs, either in the morning or at noon. Under no circumstances is in- texicating liquor mixed with the egg or milk, The members of the cult generally begin with three or four eggs a day, and gradually come up to eight and ten. Some have such good appetites that they soon learn to eat fifteen and twenty raw eggs a day. They eat nothing else for breakfast than raw eggs and milk, and the same diet is taken again at noon, or just upon retir- ing. The effect of this raw egg diet with a little milk is quite apparent to those engag- ed in sedentary pursuits. The skin becomes white, soft and clear; the nerveg are quieter and more restful; and pains and aches of the stomach, kidneys and liver and head soon disappear. SHOULD LOOK AHEAD Japan Needs Much Beside an Army and a Navy. BETTER MEANS OF COMMUNICATION | At Present the Roads and Water- ways Are in Bad Condition. CAUSE OF THE BIG FLOODS) Special Correspondence of The Evening Star. YOKOHAMA, December 1897. In my last letter I gave the figures of the exports of the principal products and manufactures of Japan for the years 1872 1882 and 1896, in every one of which ther was substantial proof of a healthy growth, with the exception of tea. And even in this there was a slight increase, amount- ing to 4,308 yen in the last year, as com- pared with that of 1872. But I will now give the figures of the exports of the most important of them during the last five years, because these will bring us nearly up to date and will the better enable u: to see the condition of the larger indus Japan are subject to violent changes; those which almost disappear in dry weather te- ing, generally, the most flooded during the they rains. If these had been left alone would have dug out fer themselves svfficiently deep to carry them to the without constantly flooding the distri through which they pass. However, the Japanese are great cu tors of rice—their staple food—tne tion of which requires o ra constant water during the greater pari of the year, and more especiaily in the summer months. Therefore, in order tw Provide themselves with a good supply of water, they hare adopted ch apparently t me, what they require in the read am not blaming these rice growers for the sysiem—if the rude way in which they have done their work can possibly be called by such a term—which they have adopied, bee cause their limited means have not en- abled them to provide a better; while com= bination among themselves is simpiy im- Possible, considering the poor and ignorant way in which the majority of them live, without the intervention of the govern: ment. A Suictdal System. But the system which they have adopted | is positively the most suicidal which could bave been conceived for a cou Ty so hilly and then so flat. Instead of ieaving the rivers and streams to dig out a bed for themselves, and so throw up thelr own embankments, they have tapped them aj right angles with the land through which they run, so that all the water req for the rice fields in the vicinity can be made to flow without any other trouble ar pense than the cuiting of a furre the water to the field. In addition and with the object of protecting t! from the inundations which quent during the rainy season, these farm- tries as they are at the present time. They are as follows: Exports Silk, raw, waste, ete. Silk and cotton manufa: Gian, fi-b, iruit, provisioas. Coal, ‘chuare minerals, w! Metals and metalware Tea and tea dust.... Total, Japacese sen. Total export Japanese yen. From these: figures it will be seen that with the exception of last year, which was a bad one in many ways, there was a gradual increase of the exports under cach of the different headings. Also that the goods included in the above Ist represent | 4g per cent of the iotal experts of Is Hl and 85 per cent of those of 1896, and there- | fore that Japan may be considered, at all events up to the present time, as an agri- cultural and hand-labor «ising country be- cause, with the exception of Some 4,000,000 yen of cotton arns, little machinery worthy of the name was used in the pro- duction or manufacture of the whole of these goods. And, further, that in spite of the keen competition with machine-made and machine-produced goods of other coun- the Japanese have not only been able old their own in foreign market but have increased their exports nearly 30 per cent during the last four years, notwit Standing that the last year was less by i0 rer cent than the previcus one. Need of the Hoar. | But if this growth is to continue the gc ernment will have to put aside its g schemes of naval and military aggrandizc- ment, a direct its energies toward car. tying out those great internal improve- ments which the country is so much need of. If the millions which have ready been spent with tb t of mak ing the country a great naval and military one had been spent in rendering that side ance which the trades and in dustries of the j are so much in need of, U is no sx how much larger the ris Would ha | The above figure the trade of the c factoril been. conclusively prove tha untry is growing sat but its proper development is be- ing d for the want of that ¢ #nce which the government alone Is able to render, in order to make it really bene- ficial. 1 say “outside” assistance, ad- visedly, because I do not believe that di- lect assistance is generally necessary, or that it would eventually prove beneticial to the ordinary Japanese porducer or man- ufacturer, for, unusually, the Keener the competition among themselves and the greater the opposition with which they have to contend, the better they seem to get on. For it is not in the ease and luxu- ry of a flourishing state-supported enter- prise that the Japanese are seen to advan- tage, but in that sterner struggle for su- premacy which is the backbone of all real progress. But outside assistance, of the greatest possible value, could be given by the con- struction of proper roads, the deepening of rivers and watercourses and the building of light railways through the great produc- ing centers. All these undertakings could be made to yield a good the Trevenue—as do the postal, raph and telephone systems—and at the same time help to deveiop the great industries of the country in the very ways in which they are the most in n of help. Only those who have lived in Japan and who have made journeys into the interior know how much these improvements are necessary. Few Good Roads. As for roads, with the exception of the foreign settlements and the districts around them in which foreigners are allowed to travel without a passport, in and around the larger cities of the interior and iwo or three of the great trunk roads and a few other small exceptions, practi: y speaking there are none that have a shadow of right to be called by the name. Generally they have no metaling whatever, no channel- ing or draining, and are full of holes and ruts. But the greater part of them are merely tracks over the tural ground, formed by the ordinary pedestrian or ani- mal, both of which are usually barefooted. In bad weather the state of most of them can be better imagined than described— one continuous swamp of mud and water, | through which man and beast alike have | to wade ankle, and often knee, deep. | Nevertheless, over roads such as these it is generally found to be cheaper and more expeditious to convey goods—mainly by | human force—than by the present existing | railways. Wherever one goes in the ordi- | “ary ways of either town or country, one meets with semi-nude human beings, both men and women, tugging at an enormous | load, big enough for a full-grown ox or horse, one in front and one or more behind, according to the state of the road or the weight of the freight, as though they were | Stream, that instead of | pairing the | the work is not done in the way it shou | dustries and resources of the country ers have piled up the soll—not from the bed of the river or stream, but from the skiris 100,124,921 117,842. 760 of the rice fields—into embankmer «ral feet high, but of such a long trom what should be the cent rving the 5 for which they were made, they only to confine the sediment of the stream with- in the two embankments, instead of caus- ing it to flow down the channel, ther constantly raising the bottom of the rent above the level of the land th ts seve distance cur- which it flows. It is, th prising that when these sir siderably swollen by any jheavy fall of rain they ald | through these flimsily constructed ments, against which they are thr the scdiment heaped up in b channel, and forced over the iow , there to carry away all bef< t they find an outlet in the oper ‘This is why we hear of so many 1 Japan, and of the fearful deva ich usually accompanies them If one-half of the millions which nually lost by the we in pr y deepening ‘i streams we should he aving rec which usually ae nies them, we i be in a position to properly con- uct Waterways ne ry for the trriga- of their rice fields. What Might Be Done It is true that the governm spends comparatty y large sums annually embarkments of th But it is infin’ tis 1 in ri simal Be re- and streams. proportion to wh ary des, be. It is not to the embankments the work should be entirely directed, rather, to the deepening of th: ams. When this ts properly ams will build their own enb to a considersble of keeping them in order will be « paratively less than it is at the pres At the same time as this is being « Nght railways could be built very chea along the banks of the larger of t streams and rivers, because the material excavated could be used in the constru that but, bed of the done t nkmen extent, and the expens: ane ¥ of such railways, thereby | ning (he cost and at the same time affording cheap and easy means of conveying produce and products of the tricts: around them to the nearest markets or to the larger railways of the country. If su a system as this were adopte erly carried out the change in the co! tion of the country wouid be such what is now only the dream of the est patriot would be far advanced toward a successful realization, and more genuine manner than yet anticipated. Of course, considerable capital would be re- quired to carry out such improvements as these until such time as they become self-paying. And as this question ot finance is 10w the most perplexing of all the problems with w the Japanese government is confro it may see ua’ to propose such exiensive wor Th cas: at the prerent moment. do not believe to be the Money Could Be Had. . however, 1 There is plenty of money in the world awaiting in . and there are plenty of investors read, dd willing to put their money at the 1 of the any other government, if they vinced that it is to be employed for pur- poses which will eventually qvate return, At the quire either some reasonable the management of those yield an ade- ame time they control oy with whom th ir mcney is to be placed for disposal, or sor : nd more reliable security than © government is at present ei lor ina ion to give. It is the Want of adequate control and the abse of reliable security which prevent t vestment of foreign capital in Ja concerns. I have only mentioned one or two of the primary ways in which it could be used to the great advantage of the na- tion at large and to the profit of the in- vestors. But there are many others to which it could be profitably applied if the policy of the government was directed to- ward promoting the development of the in- a that way which would command the confi- dence of foreigners who might be dis- posed to invest money in’ Japanese con- yeasts of burden. And this state of | aeeet has been allowed to exist for 30 many centuries that the people seem to de quite unconscious of the slavery they are enduring; because the government of this enlightened and progressive country has not yet commenced te provide the inhabit- ants with theve first steps to real progress— good roads—so that often three or four men er women have to be sent to do what reg under proper conditions, could ere bs while,in certain seasons they are unable to do anything at all, for days together, because of the vile state of the roads. ‘That there is any justifiable excuse on the part of the government for this state of things it is difficult to conceive. For- eigners helding ground in the treaty ports do not pay more than double the ground rent that the Japanese pay. Yet out of this ground rent alone the roads are maintained and all the other expenses of the settle- ments paid. And so well are the roads at- tended to that they are often taken up when they are appearing in the most ex- cellent condition, so that the officials and contractors who attend to them may find an excuse for spending all they can of the funds apprcpriated for them. From this it may be assumed—and with good reason, considering the amount received from these ground rents, as compared with the amount spent on the foreign settiements—that the government makes a good profit out of them by this solitary tax alone. Native dnd Foreign. Nevertheless, it is a by-word with Japan- ese and foreigners alike that any stranger / las only to cress the boundary which sep- arates the foreign from the native settle- ments to know, instinctively, by the goads alone, where the one ceases and the other ! commences. For even in Yokohama, where the land in the rative settlement is worth censiderably more than It is in the foreign, a blind man, on crossing the boundary be- tween them, conld tell which was native and which was foreign, with the single ex- ception of the main road leading to the railway station. And if this canibe raid about the roads | cerns rather than to the building up of a large army and navy, for which there is no apparent present urgent need and which, if long continued on tne present scale, is sure to bring about results which cannot fail to considerably impede the progress of the country, if it does not in- volve it in something considerably worse. > To Make Seap of Peanuts, From the Pittsburg Dispatch, In view of the fact that there is a su- perabundance of peanuts raised every year in Virginia, North Carolina and other paris of the south, the suggestion js made that Peanut oil be used more extensively in Pharmacy, and be permitted to take the place, to a certain extent, of olive ofl. Pro- fessor 8. P. Sadtler recently produced an experimental soda soap from the oil ex- tracted from American peanuts. In report- ing this fact, he remarked significantly that the bulk of the castile soap made in Mar- seilles is made from African peanut oil. ‘The average grade of American peanuts is sughtly inferior to the East African peanut in oil-producing value, but experience has demonstrated the excellent quality of the American peanut oil. Foreign peanut oil comes to this country in large quantities under different names, much of it labeled “virgin olive oil.” Pro- fessor Sadtler says of his experiments with oil from Virginia peanuts: “The cold-pressed oi] is of a pale yellow color, and of a pleasant flavor and odor. A very slight refining makes it an agreeable table oil for salads and other culinary pur- poses. It has already been noted with Eng- lish peanut oil (and I can confirm it from my experience with American ofl) that when once freed from the free acid found in the raw state it does not tend to become rancid as easily as olive oil. posed samples to strong sunslight for weeks without developing the slightest rancidity.” ‘There has been comparatively little atten- tion given to the production of peanut ofl in this country, and at present it is not an