Evening Star Newspaper, May 14, 1898, Page 10

10 THE EVENING STAR, SATURDAY, MAY 14, 1898-24 PAGES. — The Constitution of Malt Liquors And their influence upon DIGESTION AND NUTRITION An abstract of a paper read by Dr. J. J. COLE- MAN, F.LC., F.C.S., before the Philosophical lety of Glasgow. liquid resembling in appearance sritish Porter, and __ labeled JOHANN HOFF’S MALT EX- TRACT,” has been sent to us from Germany pretty freely during the last few years. Our esteemed Presi- dent (Dr. Andrew Fergus) brought it to my notice about twelve months ago, and acquainted me with the fact of its having in many cases coming under his own observation proved of service in restoring the energies of individuals suffering from faulty nu- trition. Suffering at that time from an attack of illness which had not only reduced my strength, but brought on extreme exhaustion from inability to appropriate food, I tried the effect of Johann Hoff's Malt Extracts, in the usual dose of a wineglassful twice or three times a day. Its use was followed by mark- ed effects: (1) Food which had hith- erto been found to pass the alimen- tary canal unchanged, digested prop- erly. (2) There appeared an in- creased power of evolving animal heat and storing up fat. Passing beyond my personal ex- perience, I have experimented with it in other directions, particularly upon thin, cold and aged people, who are unanimous in attributing to the genuine liquid sustaining powers which are not commonly observed with alcoholic liquors. It was, therefore, with considera- ble interest that I undertook its e amination. Starch constitutes 47.4 per cent of wheaten bread, 58.4 per cent of oat- meal, 18.8 per cent of potatoes, 66.3 per cent of wheaten flour, 79.1 per cent of rice and 82 per cent of arrow- root, so that the whole matter seems of sufficient importance to merit care- ful experiment. It is obvious that, if malt liquors exert a solvent action upon starch, the phenomena can be investigated external to the stomach, provided the necessary temperature and other conditions of the animal digestion be imitated. Such experi- ments have been conducted not only with Johann Hoff’s liquid, but with ordinary beers and porters asbrought from neighboring public houses. I am indebted to the courte: of Messrs. Bass & Co., Messrs. Alsop & Co., Me Truman, Hanbury & Co., and Messrs. Bates & Co. for samples sent me direct from their re- spective breweries. Fifty grms. of bread were digested at blood heat, with 200 C.c. of water made faintly alkaline with sodic hy- drate. The total dissolved solids were then estimated after digestion, for six hours at blood heat, and fltra- tion in the usual way. These experiments demonstrated that with twenty-four hours’ dig tion go grms. of Hoff’s liquid dis- solved 50 per cent of the starch of 60 grms. of bread, and that it re- quires four times as much ef any of the others to effect the same resvit. The total result is as follows, the figures being calculated to avoid decimals, and to show the amount 9i starch in the bread, which became soluble by the agency of the various liquors, the bread used in each case being of the same weight: The Burton Ale dissoly cent of the starch. The London Porter di: per cent of the starch. The Wrexam Ale dissolved 26 per cent of the starch. The Genuine Johann Hofi’s Malt Extract dissolved 60 per cent of the starch. solved 40 © importance of an agent lke Johann Hoff’s 2 upon the digestion and nutrition may be timated when it is considered that starch forms S» large a proportion of the diet of man that in 1 state, it not in the sense of being capable of absorption ough a membrane (although it may become Pasty or sticky), und that before it can be ab- a by the assimilative organs it must become solub Jchann Hoff's Malt Extract is for sale by all dealers. or even when botled, is FOR PAMPHLETS APPLY TO Eisner & Mendelson Co., AGENTS, New York. Shoes of exact fashion, absolute comfort, unequal- ed wear, for ladies and men. $3.50, $4.00, $5.00, $6.00. Outitting for summer has begun earnest, and we are specially well pre- pared for ft this season. Shoes for tour- ing, for mountain and seashore use in every variety of shape and color. Our Hygiene School Shoes, hand made, on the broad sole comfort last are marvels of comfort and econow: Date of sale marked on lining shows the great wear. We daily demonstrate the use and ad- Yantage of the best dressings for all leathers, without charge. BURT’S, 1411 F St. Arthur Burt. io SUBDIVISIONS OF LAND Regulations Proposed by Commissioners and Submitted to Board of Trade. Provision for Platting and Rquiring Each House to Be Sixteen Feet in Width. The District Commissioners today for- warded to Mr. Theodore W. Noyes, pres- iéent of the Washington board of trade, for the consideration of the board, the draft of a regulation proposed by them for the subdivision and platting of land. The Commissioners state that a late ju- dicial decis‘on by Justice Cole leaves the regulations pertaiaing to lands and build- ings in an enigmatical position. The Com- missioners have long been desirous of mod- ifying in certain particulars these regula- ticns, and now it seems to them to be quite necessary that this be done. The regula- tions are, in general three—(1) as to the subdivision of land proper; (2) requiring that each house be on its own piece of land, and (3) requiring that each house shall be at least sixteen feet wide. Justice Cole, the Commissioners explain, declared that the third regulation could not be upheld in general, and that the limitations as to the size of buildings must be based on definite considerations of pub- lic health, safety and convenience. The t sulations remain unaffected by . and the Commissioners believe es of taxation quite necessary for each premises to e separate and distinct. Care Should Be Observed. “The subdivision of land,” the Commis- sioners say, “should be watched over with the greatest care, for if land is subdivided into lots that are very small, and these lots pass into the hands of different own- ers, it is evident that it would be with ex- treme difficulty that any one could obtain enough of such small lots to erect a build- ing of any size, and in fine neighborhoods such a subdivision would work very great damage to adjoining property. On the other hand, there are portions of the Dis- trict where a small subdivision might be very beneficial and work but little harm. The future beauty of Washington depends in large measure upon the preper sub- division of land, and the question is a seri- ous one, and demands serious considera- tion. It is also a pressing question, and the Commissioners would request that you please get early action from the proper committee of the board of trade, with such recommendations as they may see fit to offer, for the assistance of the Commis- sioners.”” The Regulations. The proposed regulations are zs follows: “In all subdivisions of agricultural land ito lots and blocks, lots shall not be less than sixteen feet in width, or less than sixty feet in depth, and shall abut on an alley. “When lots in squares and blocks are resubdivided, no lot shall be less than six- teen feet in width and fifty feet in depth, except where, within the fire limits, the market value of land is less than one dol- lar per square foot, in which case a mini- mum width of twelve feet will be allowed. “Where a lot is of such a width that there shall be a surplus of less than sixteen feet and more than eight feet after laying off sixteen-foot lots, then such a lot may be subdivided into equal widths, not less than fifty feet in depth and in number equal to the number of sixteen-foot lots plus one. “Where one or inore substantial houses are on the same lot, the lot may be sub- divided so as to give each house a separate lot. “Where a triangular or polygonal lot abuts on two streets, it may be subdivided into lots not less than eight hundred square feet in are ch of which shall abut on two street: TO ENJOIN TREASURER ROBERTS. Suit to Prevent Payment to Provi- dence Hospital. The case of Joseph Bradfield, appellant, against Ellis H. Roberts, treasurer of the United States, appellee, was docketed in the United States Supr2me Court today. Lorenzo A. Bailey entered an appearance for Mr. Bradfield. The case was brought before the Supreme Court on appeal from the Court of Appeals of th2 District of lumbia. It is a suit to restrain Treasurer Roberts from paying over moneys belong- ing to the United States to Providence Hos- pital, on the ground that the hospital is an instilution under sectarian control. The suit was commene=d November in the Dis triet Supreme Court. Justice Hagner grant- ed the injunction prayed for in the bill, but the Court of Appeals reversed his decree, and thereupon the plaintiff appealed. ees aa First Locomotive in Ilinois. From the Chicago Inter-Ocean. The fifty-sixth anniversary of the en- trance of the first locomotive engine into the state of Illinois was recently observed. The engine was on the Northern Cross railroad, afterward the Great Western; later the Toledo, Wabash and Western, ana now simply the Wabash. The road was chartered from Meredosia to Springfield and the first rails were laid in 1838, but the steam wagon did not maxe {ts appearance until February 17, 1842. The engineer was George Gregory, long afterward residing six miles west of Springfield, where he died a few years since at an advanced age. The rails, Which were flat bars of fron, like heavy wagon tires, were spiked upon sawed timbers laid end to end. As the heavy car passed over them the spikes, especially those in the ends of the rails, would work loose and the rail ends would stick up like the head of a blacksnake, and it was im- perative to keep forces of men along the track all the time to keep the rails spiked | down. The road soon became too danger- ous for passenger travel and the locomo- tive was taken off.~ The cars, however. were still utilized by attaching horses and mules to them and hauling freight between Meredosia and Springtield, until the road passed into the hands of a new manage- ment. a whether a situation or a servant—a “want” ad. in The Star will reach the person who can fill your need. Mr. SIMPLE AND EFFECTIVE A New Device for Laying Cables in Time of War. Now in the Hands of the British Au- the Rate ‘Twenty Knots an Hour. thorities — At of Written for The Evening Ster. An invention has lately been submitted to the British naval authorities which, if accepted, will undoubtedly prove an irapor- tant factor in future naval warfare. The designers are Lieutenant Crutchley of the royal navy reserve and Mr. Snell, a promi- nent engineer, who ‘have devised an im- proved method of laying submarine cables, at a much increased rate of speed. By means of this invention a warship or trans- atlantic liner can be used to lay a cable of special design at a rate of 20 or more knots per hour. As will be seen, it requires very little alteration to adapt these vessels to the purpose, and the slow-going special boats at present in use will be superseded. One can easily realize how important it might be to a maritime nation, especially one with vast colonial possessions or which relies for protection on a powerful fleet, to be able to lay a comparatively short cable, of from 500 to 1,000 miles, In a very short space of time, and withal so secretly and unostentatiously that the enemy would never suspect, until too late, that such communication had been established. Of course, one of the very first results of a declaration of war nowadays would be an attempt on both sides to destroy or inter- rupt any means of communication, more particularly telegraphic communication, that might prove useful to the enemy. This has been witnessed on several recent oc- casions. It is, for instance, a well-known fact that when war seemed imminent be- tween England and Russia secret prepara- tions were hastily made on the Russian side to destroy the then existing cables. England would naturally be most severely crippled by such a course. Perhaps to no nation is cable service so important, for she relies so much on her fleet that some means of sending messages rapidly and surely between outlying squadrons and sta- tions and the seat of government is of vital necessity. Many experiments have been made with a view to telegraphy with- out wires, but so far unsuccessfully at any but the shortest distances, and England's only present comfort has been that she is in possession of nearly all the special cable laying and repairing vessels. Now Messrs. Snell and Crutchley step in to the rescue with a magnificent scheme, which would seem to lay at rest the vexed question of the transmission of orders, even if the ene- my has succeeded in cutting existing cables. Lighter Cables of Less Cost. The differences between the present and the new system of laying submarine cables are many and varied. To start with, the new cable is much lighter and less expen- sive than the pcenderous affair used for spanning the Atlantic. Three hundred knots weigh only 180 tons, while the price averages only $300 per knot. Coiled on large drum, these 300 knots, ready for use, can be stowed 2way in a tank or hold about the size of a large double boiler, su that a good-sized ship, such as a cruiser or a liner, cotld easily find room for two such drums, one in the aft and the other in the forehold. Here would be 700 miles of cable, weighing but 360 tons, stowed away ready for immediate use. | Another plan is to carry the cable on small drums holding but forty knots each Joined together; these drums poss¢ rit of being light and portable and ly put away. The paying out of the cable is accom- plished very simply and ingeniously, en- gines of 150 horse power being utilized to revolve the large carrying drum and giving a delivery speed of over twenty knots per hour. Now it is necessary, in laying a cable, that a certain amount of slack should be available, so that the cable can accommodate itself to the frequent in- equalities of the ceean bed, and not be- come tightly tched from one promi- nence to another, thus throwing an ex- ive strain on the paying out machin- Accordingly, for a length of 300 knots, a bight or sleck of 2,000 feet is allowed, and is carried on a pair of drums which are staticned midway between the stern and the main drum. The cable passes from these bobbins to a revolving pulley at the ship's stern, which literally ejects the wire at a speed which can, if nec sary, be made greater than the rate of de- 1 at the tank. A controlling apparatus is attached to the slack-carrying drums to prevent the using up of the bight too sud- denly, until the strain becomes sufficient to overcome this resistance. Before the 2,000 feet have been absorbed in this way, it is evident that the ship's speed can be diminished a little, so that the excess rate of delivery will scon again accumulate suf- ficient slack. Paying Out and the e Twenty-One Knots an Hour, The results at'aired by this system in actual work ar2 said to be marvelous; of ccurse, there 1s nothing out of the way in the entire design, but usually these won- derfully sin:ple ideas, though brilliant in theory, scem to collapse when put to a therough test in practice. The Snell- Crutchley invention, however, does not ap- pear to belong to this class, and the inven- ters have demonstrated satisfactorily that a ship atle to make twenty knots can easily pay out twenty-one knots of cable. the extra knot being compensation for the uneven floor of Neptune's home. A simple calculation shows that com- munication can be established by these means between points 700 miles distant within a space of thirty hours, and the ca- ble once laid would be permanent, at least as cables go. The secrecy of the strata- gem als> would insure its succes: before. sald, a cruiser or other fas can be quickly fitted for the work at very short notice. Nothing unusual is visible to a passing ship, save perhaps what would leok like a taut rope trailing astern, and even that could be concealed without diffi- culty. And, to crown all, the work ean be as well done at night as in the daytime, | requiring, es it does, little or no super- vision. ————-+e+. Marriage Licenses. Marriage licenses have been issued to the following: White—William E. Foss of this city and Lotta M. Bond of Elk River, Va. Colored—Richard Young and Annie Lucas. -most out of it. ETHICS OF CLOTHES. Class Distinctions Effaced, but the Dress Still 3 the Man. From the American Wool and Cotton Reporter. In those days when to speak of a man as @ gentleman was to say that he was fortu- nate'y distinguished by his birth as being above and, as it were, of a race apart from the masses of the population, a gentleman Was outwardly distinguished by his clothes, which differed in many ways besides their splendor from those affected by the ca- naille. At that period the occupation pecu- iar to gentlemen was the conduct of the government, but now when gentlemen are found in every walk of life, and the word implies simply the possession of estimable inward qualities, we all dress pretty much alike. When the sword tndicated the man’s rank, he might choose his colors and the fashion of his clothes to suit himself, but at present, when the dress of a man con- yeys nothing of his station in life beyond the indications of material prosperity, uni- formity and the avoidance of display are sought. The man of leisure is to be envied, in that, unlike the busy man of affairs, he has time not only for pleasures, but that not having to enjoy them, as it were, between trains, he may adapt his costume to the pursuit of the moment, so as to get the The possession of a dress suitable to each pursuit or pastime is a condition aspired to by all patrons of tailors, and it is to the improvement of these along the lines of greater simplicity and freedom that the man of fashion now applies himself, who in 1798 would have employed artists to design costumes and select colors and jewels for him. Apart from the effacement of class dis- tinction in dress, which it took centuries to compass, no greater change has come over this matter of clothes than one which has been accomplished within the memory of man. We may reprove the tendency of our men of leisure to copy rather than emulate our English brethren in dress and deport- ment, but it is undoubtedly to them we owe our love for outdoor sports, and it is this, spreading marvelously even within the past few years, which has improved the breed of men and changed the character of their clothes. The dandy no longer trips in dain- ty shoes and shuns exertion, but is proud of his square shoulders and deep chest, and his dress is distinguished not more by its simplicity, comfort and serviceability. The manliness which is the keynote of this change finds no greater expression than in the avoidance of all pretense, sham and vain show and in the perfect fitness of the clothes of a gentleman of taste. In spite of the abandonment of arbitrary class distinction in apparel, it is by no means difficult to recognize a gentleman as such by his clothes. Quite apart from the neat- ness and avoidance of any conspicuousness, which it should be unnecessary to mention, is the absolute simplicity and reality of everything he has on, and its fitness for the occupation in hand. The fitness is the essence of good form in clothes, and as it has its seat in the most rigid common sense, it is singular that it is in this that gaucheries should most frequently occur. ———+ e+ PANTOMIME DRILL. A Company Instructed With Chalk Pictures of Guns. . From the Chicago Inter-Ocean, One of the first artillery companies or- ganized in the west at the beginning of the civil war was formed at St. Joseph, Mo. ‘It was known as long as any of the organi- zation were left as Coon Thornton's artil- lery. Thornton was a lumber merchant in the town. He was a Yankee. Prior to the war he was disregarded socially. The ccmmunity was stispicious of an eastern man, especially ode from New England. But when he; espoused the cause of the south he became a: favorite. When he or- ganized a company to fight the Union he was a hero. There was hot a cannon in the town where the company was organized. It was considered advisable to drill before going to the front. The only public hall in the town was used for this purpose. A local artist who had séen pictures of cannon chalked out the outline of one on the floor of the hall. A man who had been in the Mexican war and had a book on tactics was drillmaster. The evolutions necessary to familiarize’ the company with a cannon were made about the chalk outlines. In other words, the drill was a pantomime. But the men. were as earnest in the mo- tiens as if they had had a great gun. From some unknown source there came a cargo of Roman swords. They were ex- act copies of those worn by Caesar's le- gions. Where they had been stored and for how long no one knew, unless it was the donor, and he kept hfs personality in the background. But when Coon Thorn- ton’s artillery company went into camp with the state guard it went armed with Roman swords and no cannon. The com- pany never had a cannon until it went into its first fight. It was attached to the regi- ment of a Missouri colonel, who ordered Thornton to drop a few shells into a thick- et, where a federal squad was seen to go. Thornton said he would do it if he had the gun. There was a brass field piece in a wagon in the commissary department. and {t was brought out. It was swabbed, rammed and fised in accordance with the chalk drill, and did effective work. Coon Thornton's artillery made an effective rec- ord during the war. The Roman swords were never brought into requisition, how- ever, except when raids were made on hen roosts or on a fugitive porker. ILE POWER. UTILIZING TH It Can Be Made to Develop Eighteen Separate Industries. From the St. Louis Globe-Democrat. The far-reaching effects which would fol- low on the carrying out of the plan lately proposed for utilizing the water of the Nile cataracts give exceptional interest to the scheme. Prof. Forbes, who has gone over the ground to be covered by the prospe: tive operations, has made a special exam- ination into the ‘needs of the cultivators. He has aiready tabulated eighteen distinct industries which would be developed and made”*prosperous and profitable by the har- nessing of the Nile. He surveyed the river from Assouan, the site of the first cataract, to a point not far-from Abu Hamed, at which the fourth cataract is situated. There is between the fifth and sixth and last of the famous cataracts a stretch of country of which more will probably be heard in the near future. It is form of ancient Nile mud, and although it has been decided by the government officials engaged in the survey to let it alone for the present, it is believed that scientific irrigation would make it one of the richest tracts of land in the world. Only a rough survey was made between the third and fourth cataracts, the serious and detailed investigation being confined to the first, second and third falls. The question ¢o be settled was whether the force of the water- fall at these three points could be utilized for driving power. This famous river, from half a mile to a mile in width, flows through a country for the most part moun- tainous, sterile and sandy on both banks beyond the natrow strip of a few hundred yards on either » Which is cultivated: The new scheme, as first outlined, involved the construction of reservoirs for supply- ing the cultivators »with a constant supply of water for j-their crops—sugar, cotton, rice, corn, etc, and as steam power was found to be expensive, the engineers of the undertaking turned to electricity. If the plans drawn out Prof. Forbes are ap- proved by the; government, the whole of the engines, fagtories and works along the banks of the ancient river will soon be actuated by electric current, generated by its falling waters, ,; —— eo _____ Force,of Habit. From Answers. /« Scene, barber sHop. “Does the razor, hurt your’ No reply. {i “Is the draught too strong?’ No reply. = = “Shall I shut the door?” No reply. “Shave you pretty close?” No reply. “Getting very warm now?” No reply. “That was @ yery heavy storm last bg a = io - “Awful fire No reply. “Shampoo?” last night?” . No repiy. es ~ “Briliiantine on:the mustache?” No reply. ~ es rum?" No reply. * ‘Then the barber, who was all alone in his TT to take chances on the weather. Le eM NT in all prices. We prefer that you Ta Ta wT The least fault you can find with picion, send them back. All are tion. nai in cURTTIORMMRTTTTTRTART HN NRaTW oC Solid Oak, $4.95. est size Ice Chest), and are the best on the market. tify from experience that the “Jackson” brand gives absolute satisfac- This spring being so backward Re- frigerators and Ice Chests are piling up on us until we have not room for any more. Rather than put them in storage we will make a big cut should have the money it would cost to store them. Samples of every line are in our stores; the goods themselves will be shipped direct from the freight yards. The goods are of the very finest make—no job lots—every one is guaranteed by us. them, even though it is a mere sus- made of solid oak (except the small- Hundreds can tes- Sweeping Reductions in Prices. These we quote will show you what a chance this is: $3.00 Ice Chests reduced to. $5.00 Ice Chests, solid oak, reduced to ..... $7.00 Ice Chests, solid oak, reduced to ..... $8.00 Ice Chests, solid oak, reduced to ..... $7.00 Refrigerators, solid oak, reduced to.. $8.50 Refrigerators, solid oak, reduced to.. $9.75 Refrigerators, solid oak, reduced to $12.50 Refrigerators, solid oak, reduced to. . $13.75 Refrigerators, solid oak, reduced to. $16.75 Refrigerators, solid oak, reduced to..... $19.50 Refrigerators, solid oak, reduced to..... JACKSON BROS 917-919-921 Seventh Street Northwest. f 1a Nn MN Cash only and the narrowest margin of profit. Jackson Bros. Cutting the | Quantity Too Large for the Stores. Goods Lying at the Freight Sheds. Of course we have to give our orders a long way ahead and have s2ecceee- $9.90 cnoens MES ee i 3 Great Cash facil °9 Furniture Houses, ti WARLIKE RUSSIA. | Constant and Large Additions Being Added to Her Army and Navy. From the London Standard. The Russian army has been almost doubled since the last Turkish war, while the gen- eral staff has been increased by more than two-thirds. The three western frontier dis- tricts, Vilna, Kieff and Warsaw, now have 5S4 battalions, 396 squadrons and 282 bat- teries with 2,070 guns, all on a war foot- ing, or about six-sevenths of all the In- fantry and five-sixths of all the cav- alry and infantry which Germany keeps up in time of peace. Russia is attaching more and more value to cavalry, and has already twenty-two divisions, whereas Germany has only one cavalry division of the guard: in peace time. At the end of last year the cavalry divisions quartered around Warsaw were united to form an army corps and the war office means to extend system. In | its opinion, the value of vast bodies of cav- alry, such’ as were used in the American war, is very great, and 120 squadrons tak part in the maneuvers. ‘The Germans, however, appear to be giving up the em ployment of large masses of cavalry. The Russian cavalry is equipped and drilled ac- cordingly. Except the two cavalry di ions of the guards, which still have cui- rassiers, Uhlans, and hussars, it consists almost entirely of Cossacks and dragoon who receive an excellent training as i fantry as well to enable them to adv: as rapidly, independently and vigorously possible. Some of them have even been supplied with bayonets as an experiment. I may add that the Russian frontier guard } of 30,000 men includes 10,000 horse soldiers. Both men and horses are excellent and ad- mirably trained. On the other hand, it a distinct disadvantage that the Cossac and some of the other cavalry regiments can only ride at a quick trot, which would entail heavy losses in long distance attacks on modern artillery and infantry. — Thi disadvantage will be considerably intensi- fied by the proposed unfon of Cossacks and other cavalry in one division, for the latter can ride the “field gallop” of 550 paces a minute. The Russian navy budget for 1898 allots 671,000,000 rubles for general expenses, 195 000,000—including the 90,000,000 recently signed—for new sbips: 11,200,000 for putting ships into commission, and 5,700,000 for the improvement of the harbor at Libau. ‘The considerable outlay on the widening of the naval harbor at Sebastopol and for build- ing or improving other harbors is not in- cluded. The Pacific squadron is to have nine cruisers, two torpedo cruisers and seven sea-going gunboats; the Med- iterranean squadron three large {ron- clads, one torpedo cruiser, two sea-go- ing gunboats and two torpedo boats; t Black sea squadron, six large tronclad: one cruiser, three torpedo cruisers, six to: pedo boats, three training ships and three transports; the Baltic squadron, four large and eight coast ironclads, six cruisers, and forty-seven torpedo ar’s yachts and several other vessels for special purposes are not in- cluded. The new Russian ironclad type is 2 compromise between an ironclad and an armor-plated cruiser. The length will be 426% feet, beam 71%, and draught 26. The vessel will have triple screws, 14,500 horse power aad a speed of 18 knots; four 16- inch and eleven 6-inch guns, sixteen 3-inch guns and twenty-eight smaller quick-firers. Thirty-two new torpedo boats for the Bal- tic and Pacific ficets are building in Rus- sia. The Arctic division of the Baltic fleet will no longer winter in the Baltic ports, but in the ice-free harbor of Ekaterina, on the Murman coast of the peninsula of Kola. The bay on which Ekaterina lies is about two and one-half kilometers long, 70 meters broad and 40 deep. It has good anchorage, and, owing to the gulf stream, seldom freezes except for a few days in February. The harbor was begun in’ 18%, and a stone pier 560 meters long, a rail- way of about 1,370 meters and a lighthouse were finished at the end of iast summer. At the same time a town was planned in a sheltered valley and now has public build- ings and schools, a telegraph and tele- phones, and is connected with the harbor by the railway. The seat of the admin- istration has been transferrde thither from Kola, and the place is certain to grow quickly when the railway to St. Petersburg, which has just been begun, is finished. It is already connected by telegraph with St. Petersburg, Archangel and Norway. o+—___ Sparrows’ Light Housekeeping. From the Kansas City Star. “Sparrows build their nests in peculiar places,”” says a man who has a small fruit stand down at the Union depot, “but the birds who flit about this old building have chosen the oddest home I ever heard of.” As he spoke he pointed to an electric light that was sputtering and flaring under tfle iron-covered roof of the depot porch. A brood of iittle sparrows were flying in circles around the light, and suddenly one of them durted toward it, only to disap- pear inio the cone-shaped iron hood which overhangs the big white china globe. ‘hat’s where the birds live,” the man said. “They have nests in the top of that iron reflector or hood, whichever it is called. It must be hot up there, very hot,” he continued, ‘‘and I can’t understand why the sparrows have selected such a place to build nests in.” ——_+-0+—____. Modern Methods. From the Indianapolis Journal, Mrs. Watts—“You folks are dreadfully slow. We are using individual communion cups at our eburch.” Mrs. Potts—“Slow, are we?” Next week we begin using capsules.” ——__+0-+__ Destroyers. From the Chicago Record. ‘ “Our cocking club has volunteered to go with the army.” = - “Well, I'd be ashamed to boast so openly ~| of my sympathy with Spain.” 2 SPAIN’S TORPEDO DEFENSES, They Are a Copy of French and Eng- lish Systems, From Collier's Weekly. In the torpedo defense of her coast Spain has simply copied the Erglish and French systems, with a few chang® to suit her geographic features. She depends princi- pally upon strong land defen: supple- mented by obstructions and submarine mines. In the more important harbors a regular system of defensive torpedoes is employed. High-power rapid-fire guns pro- tect the observer and firing stations and Sweep the lines of approach to the sub- marine mines; while powerful searchlights reveal the presence of an enemy's vessel at night. The submarine mines are planted in grand groups of forty-nine each, occu- pying three parallel lines at a distance of 300 yards apart. Several large min the rear form a reserve, which ¢ oper. spaces in the lines uhead be fired at the will of the cperator. The total length of front protected br each grand group is 1,200 yards. Auto- matic mines, without circuit closer buoys, are in the first line. These contain from y to 100 pounds of guncotion or ex- in and are fired in contact with sides or bottom of a The sec- ond and third lines coasist of avtomatic mines with circuit closer buoys. tain from 200 to 500 pounds « The service of the three iin unnecessarily complex, owing to th fact that both ground and buoyant mines «re found in-the same group. it requires five officers and 104 enlisted men to cperate a single grand group. in the larger harbors several groups are planted. A peculiar feature of the Spun- ish system is the reliance that is placed upon mechanical mines. A great quantity of these are always kept on hand, and they can be planted quickly and cas all of the unimportant narbors can be r dered safe from attack in a comparatt shorc time. These mines contaia a hi charge of gunpowder, which, burning ly, instead of detonating, acts in immediat contact with the bottom of « vessel. ‘TI mechanical mine is so called from the fact that the explosion is produced by pur mechanical means. Phe mechanism, con- sisting of a buoyant case containing the charge, is fitted with a self-acting primer for igniting the explosive when the tor- pedo is struck by a passing vessel. Abel's chemical fuse is the one fitted to all of the Spanish mechanical inines. Mathieson’s model has been adopted as the regulation case, though in an emergency any suitable vessel may be used. The Spaniards en:ploy steel lined with cork for their mine cases. Though this combination gives great strength and light- ness, the use of cork diminishes the de- structive effect. This is counterbalanced, however, by lessening the danger from sympathetic action, thus rendering it more difficult for a hostile vessel to clear a pass- age by countermining. The form of case is rather international in character, and consists of the conical, the hemispherical and the cylindrical. In the ground mine they have adopted two French types; one is a cylindrical body with truncated ‘coni- cal ends, and the other a hemispherical. The buoyant mine case ts of the Dutch type, and conical in form. It is of triple steel with intermediate layers of cork. The water-excluding device is of English design. The explosive used in Spanish mines is wet guncotton, explosive gelatin and gun- powder. Detonating primers are fitted to each. The size of charge varies accordinx to the character of the mine. The cylin- arical ground mine contains from 1,000) to 1,500 pounds of gunpowder, or an equiva- lent amount of high explosives, guncotton being considered four times as effective as powder and explosive gelatin six times. The hemispherical ground mines often have as great a charge as 3,000 pounds of gun- powder, while the conical buoyant mines, acting at a less distance, contain only 500 pounds of guncotton. ——_— + e+_____ Methodic Kleptomanin, From the Philadelphia Record. MANILA ONCE CAPTURED. Taken by the British U liam Draper in From the Philadelphia Record. Manila has been once captured from Spain. The English were its captors, though they held it only for a few months. It was in 1762, a few weeks after the English capture of Havana. Spain had been rash enough to side with France in the war usually known in this country as the French and Indian war. She speedily punished for it. The expedition against Manila was the plan of Colonel William Draper, afterward a baronet and = lieutenant general. He was made a brigadier general for the ex- pedition and put in command, with Ad- miral Cornish as his naval ally. The exp: dition was fitted out and started from M ras, India. There were nine ships of the line and frigates, several troop ships and a land force of 2,300 men, including one En- glish regiment, with ler Sir Wi 62. was fore: Manila. The who was also gov- ernor general of the islands, collected and armed some 10,000 natives as a reinforee- hop of Manila, ment to the Spanish garrison of 8), Dur- ing the progress of the siege some daring attempts were made by the British to pre= vent the further construction of defens: . but the assailants were repulsed with great slaughter. A desperate sally was made by a strong body of natives, who “ren furiously on the ranks of the besiegers and fought with al- mcst incredible ferocity, and many of them died, like w: sts, gnawing with their teeth the bayonets by which they were transfixed.” On October 6 a breach was effected in the Spanish works, the English carried the'ct by storm and gave it up for several hc to the ravages of a merciless soldiery. ‘The archbishop and his officers had retired to the citadel, but this could not be defended, and a capitulation was agreed on, by which | the city and port of Manila, with several ships and the military stores, were surre dered, while for their private property the Spanish agreed to pay as ransom $2,000,000 in coin and the same sum in bills on the treasury at Madrid. This last obligation was never paid. A day or two after the capture came news of a rich prize for Admiral Cornish. He had started eastward with a frigate and a ship of the line to intercept a treasure ship. This he did not find, but fell in with and captured,a Spanish galleon bound from Manila to Acapulco, Mexico, with a cargo valued at $3,000,000. PEELE AA aT im Pest, Another Austral From the Los Angeles Times, Some few years ago some rash persons proposed as a means of keeping down ver- min on American farms to import a num- ber of mongooses from the Island of Ja- maica, which would willingly spare all that might be wanted. Fortunately, the authorities at Washington, warned in time, forbad> the importatior, and a catastrophe was thus saved. Australia, however, de- spairing of getting rid of its expensive and destructive rabbit pest, has listened to bad adviee and imported stoats and PB which are first cousins to the mong: kill the rabbits. It now finds that the, remedy is worse than the disease, and it is said that the fierce little carnivora are increasing throughout the colonies at the rate of 100,000 a day. The stoat is some fifteen inches long, being four inches Jonger \han the ordinary weasel. He hunts rab- bit like a beagle, and, being able to follow his prey, ferret-like, through the w ndings of a burrow, B'rer Rabbit has the slim- mest possible chance of escape. He is very fond of running his or looking for it in the open and is one of the nimblest of crea- tures. He gives the best terrier, when it has a fair field, all it can do to catch him. The polecat is a bigger ant- mal, and perhaps the fiercest of his tribe. The proprietor of a large Chestnut street | He is, needless to say, famous for his odor, jewelry store, while speaking of the num- bers of swindlers his trade has to contend with, told of a clever way im which he and various other jewelers were victimized a couple of years ago. One afternoon a carriage drove up, and from it alighted a man and woman, both handsomely dressed. They entered the store and asked to Le shown some diamond rings. After much talk the woman finally selected one, which the man paid for and ordered to be sent to a West Walnut street address. Some stick pins were exhibited in the show case, and these caught the wo- man’s eye. About ten minutes were spent examining these, but the couple finally left without buying. A few minutes later the man entered alone and asked to see the manager. He was shown into the private office, and, in a shamefaced way, explained to the manager that his wife had stolen two stick pins. His wife was a klepto- T™aniac, he said, and then he produced the pins and offered to pay anything to have the matter kept quiet. The manager as- sured him that nothing would be said, and the man was profuse in his thanks. Be- fore going he asked, as a favor, that if his wife was ever again seen to take anything they say nothing, but send him the bill. This the agreed to do, as the man gave the best of references. A few days later the woman came in alone, and when she left took with her came, that the Walnut street house hed only been rented furnished for a short time. It de- veloped that several other stores been swindled at the same time by the had flown to parts unknown. According to a Missouri coroner’s jury, the « ‘came to his death by being @ railroad in the hands of a@ recelver.”—Crypt. which once smelt is ‘never forgotten. He murders poultry wholesale, and has quite a weakness for young tree birds, to which he has no difficulty in helping himseif, as he is a most agile climber. His taste also runs very decidedly to fish, and he likes , nothing better than to do a little fish hunt- ing on his own account, his favorite haunts being loose stones and the rocks along the sides of a river. + —____ Even-Handed Jastice. From the New York Weekly. Justice—“You are charged with commit- ting an assault on this man and black- . ing his eye. What have you to say, sir?” Gentleman—“Your honor, my wife lost a pet dog, and I caught this fellow bring- ing it back” 4 Justice—“You are discharged. But as for you, you scalawag, the next time you steal a lady’s dog and don’t keep it, I'll send you up for six months. ——_ -+e-+-___ Like the Industrious Gas Meter. From the Boston Transcript. Kate—“They’ve got just the thing now, that we've been wanting. It is an auto- matic cyclometer. Belle—“You don’t mean it!” Kate—“Yes. It goes right on scoring miles while you rest.” > —_+o—. “Well, how did you get on with that Bos-_ “Not at all; I don't lke Emerson, and she doesn’t ride a wheel, so we had noth- ing to talk about.’’—Detroit Free Press. CASTELBERG, the reliable jew-! eler, now at 1103 Pa. Ave., will re- move to 935 Pa. Ave. May 23d.- Un- til then a discount of 20 per cent is, allowed on all Diamonds, Watches, ~ +i