Evening Star Newspaper, August 13, 1898, Page 22

‘THE EVENING STAR, SATURDAY, AUGUST 13, 1898-94 PAGES. A NITRATE FIE OVER MILES OF SALT Mountains of Silver, Copper and Tin, With Lakes of Borax. VAST HIRATE FIELDS OF CHILE Great Capital Invested and the Big Profits. —— CITIES OF THE DESERT (Copsrighted, 1898, by Frank G. Carpenter.) Special Correspondence of The Evening Star. IQUIQUE, Chile, July 5, 189 OR THE PAST three weeks I have been traveling through a: chemical laboratc of the gods. I en over miles of covered wiih have visited of the whites: have wound out among ins rich in tin, pper and sil- ver, and now write the midst of the vast nitrat te like unto which there is e of the earth. ving the silver mining town of Orure, . I came down the moun’ narrow gauge which connects that the seaport of Antofa ance is 600 miles, or abcut as great as between New York and Cleveland. The s only two feet six inches wide, and . I believe, the longest one of suge in the world. The c are of American style, having been built in achusetts. The seats on one side of car are not wider than a kitchen chair d on the other, where they are supposed hold two, not more than thirty inches. was. in fact, more like riding in a toy car than on the through trunk line which forms the only rail ccnneetion between two great countries. Still the road is smooth and well laid. Its are of Oregon pine and the stations upen it are as a rule built of corrugated fron from Europe. The fares are exceedingly nigh. I paid 51 silver dol- lars for my ticket, and in addition $36 extra baggage, as nothing whatever is al- lowed free. My meals at the dining sta- ticns each cost me $1.50 in silver, and when I stopped at night, as I was forced to do twice on the road, the hotel rates were $4 per day. The chief purpose of the road Is to carry the silver and other metals to the Seacoast. The most of the cars of our train were loaded with little chunks of silver ore, and we passed train loads of tin on its way to the Pacific. It was a ride through a desert. Shortly after leaving Oruro we entered the sait plains of Bolivia. These are of vast ex- tent, lining the road for hundreds of miles. In fact there are but few places between Orure and the sea where the ground is not more or less mixed with salt, and in Some districts it covers the land like a sheet of dirty white snow. A Mantle of Salt. Along some parts of the line It looks hard and icy, and you feel like jumping off the | cars for a skate. At others !t lies in gullies end again it only sprinkles the ground and a ragged growth of scrubby vegetation strug- | gles up through it. The road runs for | nearly the whole of its lergth throvgh a desert valley, and this salt reaches away on each side to the hills. Here and there along the road are lakes upon which seem to be floating great cakes of ice. The cakes are not ice, however. They are berax, and in the great borax lake of Ascotan, Bolivia, there is enough borax to wash the heads of all humanity. This lake has, it is estimated, more than 100,000 tons oaar aaa €-hirenre O67. Demcever tmasnyee” muses suse .* ee MTRATE ROCK. Method of Blasting Nitrate. of pure borax ready to be shipped to the maerkets of the world. I saw it on my left as I rode over the railrcad on the way to the coast. It ts about six miles square, and the borax in ft Hes in great masses, which, when taken out look for all the world like the finest of pure white spun silk wadded up or woven into lumps. The stuff is borax of lime, and is not so good, I am told, as the borax that comes from similar lakes in California. Still it is of cousidcrable value, for the lake has just been sold to a syndicate of Germans for 90,000 pounds sterling. This lake, however, is not a drop in the ocean compared with the enormous value of the nitrate flelds through which I c ed as I neared the Pacific. These fields ex- tend north and south through this part of Cbile for a distance of mcre than three hundred miles, and their product is so val- vable that they almost pave the desert of Chile with gold. They have produced mil- Hons upon millions of tons of nitr: of scda, and it is estimated tha: more than twelve hundred thousand tons of nitrate Will be shipped from them this year. Deposits Worth Millions. The value of these nitrate d=posits runs high into the millions of dollars. When they were in the hands of the Peruvixns they were rich, and now that they belong to Chile as a result of her war. with Peru, she gets more than half her revenue from the export duty which she collee:s from them. The working of the flelés in the bands of foreigners, and more than one hundred ion dollars’ worth of English capital is sted in the great oficinas or facteries by means of which the nitrate fs taken m the earth and prepared for the mar- kets of the world. Vast fortanes have been made out of these nitrate fields. I met in gland some years ago the late Col. G the nitrate king, ‘and visited him at ris magnificent country placerat Eltham, near London. He lived there like a prince and was at the time fairly rolling in wealth. All of his money was made m this region, and the champagne which we had at dinner, though its taste showed no evi- dence of the fact, was effervescent with Bitrate of soda. ‘he nitrate whicn the United States imported from this Tquique has a capital of $3,009,000 and which | district atone in 1897 cost more than three million gold dollars and the amount was more than two hundred and thirty-four mil- licn. pounds. The greater part of this has gcne into the making of powder and high explesives, and much of it has already been used in the war with Spain. Another Part of it has been sold as fertilizers, and is now enriching the soil of American farms. It is as a fertilizer that the chief demand for the nitrate comes, the bulk of the product going to Germany, where it 1s used in the growing of the sugar beet. Jest now, however, the nitrate business is rot as prosperous as it has been. A num- ber of the factories are idle, and the mar- kets are overstocked. Seatterecd Over Deserts. My first view of the nitrate ficlds was on the railroad going to Antofagasta. The de- pesits in that part of Chile, however, are not so good as those further north, and I have taken snip and come to Iquique, which is the chief shipping port of the best nitrate fields of the world. I have traveled from here to some of the richest fields and have spent a day at the great nitrate off- cina ef the Agua Santa Company, which Guces millions of pov month. But before 1 a f getting this product out of the earth, how you p It conveys the undar.es. The ered over the desc their only boundaries are white p: idea AGUA SANTA, THis usually stands in the midst lection of buildings with great smokestacks rising above them. It contains thousands of dollars’ worth of cestly machinery, vast tanks for boiling the nitrate rock, crushers Ike those of a strelter to break it to pieces and settling vats in which the. liquor containing the ptre nitrate of soda is left- until it has dzcpped its burden of valuable salt. The nitrate rock of the Agua Santa fields as we saw it blested out of the earth has oniy akout 40 per cent of nitrate of soda in it. The nitrate sent to the markets is from 95 to 96 per cent pure and the rock must be so treated as to bring about this® result. This ts done by boiling the rock just so The crushers reduce of the fields. the caliche and it is then taken to the boiling perhaps fifty feet above the ground. These tanks are each big enough to form a bath They are twenty-four nine feet wide and eight feet In them there are coils of pipe into which stcain is running, raising the tem- ure of the fluid in the tank to any de- The caliche is carried in cars up an inclined railway and dumped into Then water is admitted and is allowed to flow from tank to tank in such best advantage The nitrate of soda a lower tem- ‘This fact and tub for an elephant. sired point. on the salts within. in solution at perature than other salts. others of a scientific nature are taken ad- vantage of, everything being done with the greatest care, and the result is that when the liquor is drawn cff nearly all of the pure nitrate of soda in the rock It flows from the bofling tanks into other se Baba lie In the open air at a lower level. for all the world like pale maple molasses or thick lemon syrup. begins to erysiallize and the tank is half sugar, which is really almost pure nitrate of soda. This is now-shoveled into piles, whence it is bagged up in sacks of ie pounds each an@ hauted on the railroad to the seaccast to be shipped off to the United States or to Europe. Lessons in Economy. After the salts have settled in the tanks the liquor which Hes on top still contains a large amount of nitrate. back to the boiling tanks and is loaded with ore uitrate by being flowed over the I shall not describe the tech- nical details of the process, which is com- plicated In the extreme. plained to me by Mr. James T. Humber- the manager of man who Is perhaps of all the trate managers the best posted upon such I will only say that the greatest care is taken to get every atom of nitrate out of the rock at the lowest po and that I was again and again surprised at the careful stu€y which has been taken to save every cent in product and laber In a short time it It is conveyed fresh rock. They were ex- nethod | Oficina, the se wonderful | e, the word the corners of the different properties. Out- side of these there are no marxs. There Is not enough waste wood in tas whole desert to make a line fence about a eity lot. There is not a blade of gr: J with the exception of here and there a scrubby tree, all is pare, gray desolate sand, with yore and there a glint of white where the salt rock has caught the rays of the sun. There are few more barren places in the -vold than the Chilean desert. The coasts of the upper part of the country are as bleak as the most barren parts of the Rocky moun- tains, and this sand and rock extend in- lard almost to the tops of the Andes. Along the coast there is a low range of foot hilis rising in places to the height of a mile and more above the sea. Beyond this there is a rolling valley which runs from north to south, and on the other side of this valley the foot hills of the Andes begin. It is along the western edge of this valley that the nitrate is found. In some places it is not more than fifteen miles and in others as far as ninety miles from the Sea, but the deposits all }ie along the west- em edge of the valicy, forming a strip of an average width of about a mile and run- ning irregularly, 2s I have said, frdm north to south for a distance of more -han three hundred miles. In some places the deposit is four miles wide, and in others it plays Out altogether and crops out some distance further on. In some flelds the nitrate rock lies on the top of the ground. -In others it \s found from thirty to forty feet below the surface, with a strata of salt rock on top of it. The nitrate itself is seldom found pure in nature, though much of the rock contains from 40 to 60 per cent of nitrate. The Antofagasta rock does not contain more than 14 per cent of nitrate, and other fields vary with the nature of the deposit. It is the getting the nitrate rock out of the earth amd the extractiag the pure nitrate salts from it that consti tutes the Immense industry of the pampas or nitrate fields. As to where the nitrate comes from there are a number of theories. One is that the desert was ence the bed of an inland sea, and that the nitrate came from the decaying of the ni- trogenous sea weed. Another theory is that the ammonia rising from the vast beds of guano on the islands off the coast was car- ried by the winds over the range of hilis near the sea and there condensed, settled and united with other chemicals of the soil to form the deposits, and still a third is that the electrical discharges of the Andes, combined with the elemeats of the air to make nitric acid. This acid was cerried down through the ages in the floods of the Andes and was deposited on these beds in the form of nitrate of soda. None of these theories are entirely satisfactory, and as yet no one has absolutely solved the problem as to whence the nitrate comes. How Nitrate is Mined. We shall see how nitrate is mined by a visit to the great pampa of Tamrugal. This pampa or field has sixty miles of oficinas and nitrate fields. A railroad has been built through it to carry the nitrate t» the seacoast at Iquique, and upon it has grown up vast factories, towns of corru- gated iron huts, in which the tens of thou- sands of workmen employed in the busi- ness live aid the homes of the scores of well-educated Europeans who live here and manage the properties. Leaving Iquique railroad carries you up the hills and brirgs you right into the nitrate fields. You are soon it a pluin about twenty miles wide with low hills rising upward on the right and the left. On the side of this plain nearest the sea~the earth looks as theugh it had been plowed by giants, and {t lies in mammoth clods of all shapes and sizes. This is the nitrate fields which have been or are being worked. ‘The rest of the land is bleak, bare sand. There is no vegetation and no sign of life of. any kind. All is sand, salt rock, and amid the clods nitrate rock which is’ called caliche. It is a solutle rock of different colors. In some places it is almost white and looks like rock salt. In others it is yellow, and in others all shades of gray, lemon, violet and green. ‘The strata of nitrate usually lies two feet or more under the earth, and there is often a salt rock or conglomerate above it. The method of getting it out is to bore a round hole about a foot in diam- eier through the upper crust and to ex- tend it down for a few inches into the soft earth below it. Now into this hole a boy ts let down. He scoops out a pocket for the blasting powder and arranges the fuse. He is then pullled out and the fuse is lighted. An explesion follows. A great yellow cloud of smoke and dust goes up into the air and the earth is broken up for a radius of about thirty feet about the hole. The nitrate rock is now dug off with picks and crowbars. It is broken into pieces of thirty pounds or less and is load- ed upon iron carts to be taken to the fac- tcrv. Each of these carts will hold three tons of rock and each is hauled by three mutes, the driver sitting upon one of the th animals. At the Factory. The caliche or ritrate rock is taken in these carts from the fields to the oficina or throughout the works. lesson in economy, and when I referred to Humberstone said: profits of today are a question of small We make so much that the dif- ference of a cent in the cost of a quintal, or 100 pounds, ts an important item. would, in fact, mean to us a saving of at least §1,200 a month.” also showed me how the fodine of com- merce is made from this nitrate liquor. It is an element separate and apart from the nitrate of soda and it forms another valu- able product of the nitrate fields, precipitated in tanks by means of bisul- drawn off in the shape The powder ts and is then put into It soon turns to It was indeed a Mr. Humberstone phite of soda, and is of a dirty bl: washed and filtered iron retorts and hea vapor, which is conducted into pipes ot fire- clay, in which as it cools it changes into crystals of a beautiful violet color. are packed up and shi and to Europe. jack powder. ipped to our country The sate of fodine is a monopoly in the hands of Anthony Gibbs &C The different companies ust which controls the nd dictates just how make every year. told, 8 pence per have formed a tr product of the world ai much each factory m: The price is now, I am ‘What It Costs to Make Nitrate. People who think that money is easily made in nitrate are much mistaken. business requires large capital most careful management. nitrate lands have steadily risen of late years and today the only properties to be gotten outside of those in the hands of the 's which are now in the Chilean govern- sells at auctions, which The last auction was 2,000 acres were ap- and sold, I believe, appraisement. ppraised at $9 There is a limited demand da, and while it is believed in sight will last the world rate for fifty years and an government is anxious not to ruin the business out of which it Bets so great a revenue by lands just now on the mari the land is bought it costs an e amount to establish that of Agua Santa. $3,000,000 in gold, and 10 per cent, or $309,000 alone cost $655,000, and’ in ad has been put in a Westingh plant at a cost of $16,000 buildings which cost $212,000. supply cost $51,000. 800 hands, who receive $60, orts about the works an 3,000 soul. road to the seaport of Calet: port also belongs to it, an hips its nitrate. The prices of seventy-nine factorte: existence are from ment, which only are periodically held. held in 1804, when praised at $3 for more than their other property was ay of our money. for nitrate of so. that the amount at the present more, the Chile: throwing more a nitrate factory. Take It has a capital of it pays dividends of The factory dition there ouse electric , and its water ow employing and {t supp: of more thi It_owns a rali- a Buena, which Like all of the Tquique a Nitrate Town, f the great establish- rock has built It has built numerous other factories and it is now keeping tens of thousands of men at work. All along the nitrate railroad there houses of corrugated Stores, and at the seacoast, more barren and desert themselves, there are a of which de- rate deposits. It oe on the Tr the raj There tect This {s only one ot ments which the nitrate in a desert. are towns containing ith hotels and + Which is, 1f the nitrate fields number of thrivin, pend entirely upon these nit: Take Iquique, for instance. edge of the sea, hills which fringe & cities, all ith the springs of Pica, in , Iquique has to Valparaiso, it {: port in Chile. phones and elect; ¢, with Chilean maiden: It has newspapers, a the: an English club as you West coast of South Am. stores and markets, duces almost nothing has everything from can live as well here variety of eating as, America. Antofagasta, as Iquique, and there a: 30,000 peop) is the most It has wide ie, and, next thriving sea- Streets, tele- and a street car iS as cofductors, ater and as good will find along the It has good and though it pro- but nitrate of soda, it the outside, ana you and have as great a is almost equally ré a half dozen o: in the desert which are noi business of making and shi oda FRANK G. CAR} —— Compelling Prestige. well favored, ther ports here urished by the SHADE OF ANARCHY Paris Talks of an Iberian Republic to Supplant Monarchy. SPAIN HAS WO ‘PUBLIC OPINION —_- Anarchists Are Ignorant~and They Are Also Hungry. Hess et IN PORTUGAL AND ITALY Special Correspondence of The Evening Star. PARIS, July 27, 1808. Is the long-dreamed-of Iberian Republic any nearer to its realization than ever be- fore? They are talking a great deal about it here in Paris, and there are thosc who pretend to see in it more than a compensa- tion for the losses of French capital through untoward Spanish investments. It seems to be accepted that the present monarchy must fall. The story of the Car- lists’ hopes and plans, so often retold, is listened to incredulously. Senor Castelar has declared his people to be ready for no form of republican government that his wisdom can conceive of. It is therefore only natural that the confident predictions of the advanced social revolutionists should strike the public as something more than Picturesque. They have something new to Say. And theirs are the forces dreaded alike by the reactionists, the constitutional morarchists and the conservative republi- cans. The Oeuvre Internationale is justly rus- pected of advanced theories, sometimes so- clalistic, sometimes anarchistic. After the fashion of such revolutionary organizations among the Latin peoples, it has affiliated it- self with many and diverse secret societies in the peninsula, as in France and Italy. There is this much agamst it. But, on the ign in favor in race fed- other hand, its present camp of a Spanish republic, and a La eration seems reasonable and moderate. The head of the Portuguese branch, Ma- it to the proga- ganda in Paris, has undoub cedly been lis- galhaes Lima, now ona Vv: tened to by important goverment ofhcials. And the sertous journals have interviewed him extensively. Lima admits that there will be disorder throughout Spain when the ful: extent of tS can no longer be concealed Spanish lo: from the lower cl: sses. “1 1nok fo: lar rage and di r,” ke s - certainly lead to civil’ war, 2 en a tem- porary absence of all government. “But this will not last," ne explains. “Phe Carlists, who are organized and dis- ciplined, will, of course, attempt their coup detat; but it will come to nothing, as the revolutionary spirit, when it once breaks out, will sweep e nz before it, It will be much more reasonable to expect a mil- itary dictatorship ac tne hands of son Weyler or other. Such a fz F umph partially and temporarily; but the anti-monarchist, anti clerical and anti-mil- itary disgust of the. comiaon peopl will in the ‘end force all these parasites to the When asked to out}ipe the other stages of the evolution of (ne Lberian Republic, Citizen Magaihaes’Lithh said: Ruined by Military Ring. “I will not deny'ihat the Spanish repub- licans are divided. Some found great hopes on a republic like at of the French under Phiers, supporting chems2!ves on the army and the civil service functionaries, Its presidency would most likely fall on Senor Castelar. Others—much more numerous— see the salvation of Spain in a federalist and socialist r-public, with the eminent leader of ‘federalisia,’ Pi y Margall, as its president. This is the form of self-govern- ment that is bound to succeed in the end, as its advanced principles have the sympa- thy of nine-tenths of the discontented peas- ants and workingmea of Spain today, while a republic a la Thiers, based on ihe mil- itary and civil oftice-hotding . hierarchies, would inherit all the contempt of the pres- ent regime. The miltacy ring and the gov- ernment-clerk ring have ruined Spuin and are ruining Portugal. We raust make an end of them.” The Same in Portugal. “Is this the feeling of Portugal, also?” the interviewer inquired. “Absolutely so. Why, listen! Only a few days ago, at Lisbon, a former president of the courcil of ministers said to me: ‘Twen- ty-four hours after the proclamation of the republic at Madrid there will not be a single monarchist left in Portugal.’ “This is, perhaps, a trifle extreme; but there is no doubt that Portugal wili follow Spain. And as we have in Portugal much less clericalism and militarism to strugle against, our republic would adopt without transiticn the most advanced principles.” “And this work wecomplished,” said the interviewer, “and the twin nations disem- barraseed of the dynastic yoke, have you the hope of seeing the realization of your dream—in the Iberian federation?” At these words a flame flashed in the blue eyes of Magalhaes Lima, and to his yolce there came a tone of living faith: “Undoubtedly!” he cried. “And these two long-neglected peopies of the peninsula w.1l open a new path for all the Latin race! From the beginning the Iberian federation will exercise a notable—a decisive—influ- ence on Italy. And with Italy will come the federation of the Latin nations Influence With Lower Classes. It is unfortunate that neither citizen Lima nor any of the Spanish revolutionists so much in evidence at the present moment in the European capitals will make any de- cisive declaration of their principles. Per- haps they cannot. After the Latin habit, they purpose first to gct control of Spain. The declaration of principles, it is sus- pected, will come afterward. No one looks upon their plan as altogether visionary. Their influence with the tower ciasses in Spain is great; and it is known that the lower classes are profoundly discontented. Whether these ignorant and long-held- down workingmen and peasants are cap- able of self-government is another ques- tion. The only certainty is that they are capable of making a great revolution once their leaders get them started. I recently had opportunity to ask a priest from Cadiz his opition on these matters. “All the workingmen of Cadiz,” he re- plied, “are republicans, anti-Catholies and @ great number even anarchists.” “Why are they anarchists?” I: asked. “Because they are ignorant. A nothing, the faintest glimn.er of good sense, when {t penetrates their thick skulls, changes them as in a twinkling; and behold them trensfcrmed, convinced that society is geod; behold th=mj ‘even, perfect Chris- tians! But, unhappily, these conversions do not last long.” __ “What is the prefominating sentiment that so causes thém fb forget what they are taught?” The good man sighed.and answered cate- gorically: ‘The sentiment of hunger!” Then he went ongto explain, but without enthusiasm: wm “It has often been said that if Spain is so little prosperous it is less the fault of the Spanish themselyes, than of the land in which they live. ‘There is not enough water! It is true thatythere are great, fer- tile valleys between the mountains;’ but, egain, our people: have not the habit of living alone in isolated farm houses. The consequence is that tHére is great agricul- tural distress. At one time the church was blamed for tastonien, on etl the best ground. Since 1835, when the convents and church holdings were so pillaged, it has been the great families, the government and, above all, the bureaucratic class against whom the people have been tavght to hold their grievance. A Demoralizing Peasantry. “Whole provinces are almost entirely so- clalistic now, when they are not anarch- istic. They only dream of dividing up the land, they only aspire to revolution. Xerez, a ‘town of 60,000 inhabitants, allowed itself, only a couple of years ago, to become dom- inated by a band of a few thousand anarch- ists who came down from the mountains. It was nee to reinforee the garrison. ‘The peasants are demoralized, corrupted. Feeling that they have nothing to save, they Have Jost all sentiment of saving. If they gain’ a few extra pesetas in the course |.of a week, it is only.50 much.the more. for the bull fights. Panem et circenses, noth- names deputies; but it does not know what —= @ deputy is for! What importance is it? There is no public opinion. The only fash- ion of imagining a better future for whole masses of them is by anarchy; suppress the rich, blow up palaces, churches and public buildings—this all their polttics No American familiar with Spain can fail to be struck with’ the explanation: “It is true that there are great fertile valleys, but our people are not in the habit of living alone in ‘solated farm houses.” The Basques of the north live this way and are Prosperous, but the Spanish peasant ts too proud to live anywhere but in a town. An- other thing that astonjshes the American is the absence of any middle class in Spain. All are either great people or the lowest kind of plebeians. Glance at any of the great secondary + cities of Spain and these two facts stand out with wonderful significance. On the Plaza Real and along the Calle Mayor there will be a few decent houses with some’ pre- tention to gentility, but if there are no high government functionaries and no military the plebeians are without chiefs. The mo- ment one of these peasants, by some acci- dent of fortune, is able to lift himself so- cially, his first and only thought is to break off all relations with his relatives and friends. His fixed idea is to push on to Sevlile, Madrid, Valencia or Barcelona. He does not wish to improve his lands, inau- gurate new industries, and grow richer, more influential among his own people. His sole ambition is to dress well and to Promenade the alamedas of a greater city, and to gratify it he is willing to fast two days out of three. Deserted by Middle Class. This desertion of the middle class is £9 great that there are towns of 50,000 inhebi- tants composed exciusively of peasants Such is Lorea, a-giant village, composed of houses, tanneries and stables. The chtef hotel is a country posada. The Calle Mayor shows a few miserable shops that would shame a French town of 0) inhabitants. One confectionery store, one cafe and one casino sum up the attractions of Lorca. There is neither gas nur.electricity. In the evening the country roads eround for miles and miles are incumbered with sweating Spanish peasants returning from work in their far-away fields. Think of the lost time! And the lost labor! But it is not proper for these hidalgo peasants to live on farms. Their dignity requires a city There was never a midd!» class in Spain, but there was something that approach it—from above. The monixs from time im- memorial had been the local patrons of the people, living on them, it .s true, but ziv- ing some services in return. In 1835 th convents were mercilessly robbed and sup- pressed by the governmea:. To the monks Succeeded the govern functionaries. The monks, at least, were fixed in their places. They had the'r roct in the scil, 80 to speak, and they suve the people something back fcr thei: money. ‘They pro- vided fetes and processions, looked after education, dispensed charity and aided am- bitious youth. Their suc>: the sov- ernment functionaries, know nothing but the gathering in of taxes. From the lowest forest guard to the town municipal coun cilor, from the village octro{ collector to the civil governor of province, there are only two thoughts--to despise the com- mon people and griad fees, taxes an: bribes out of them. A Spaniard has just been teling me how in his province they got themselves ex- empted from military service. It was the duty of the mayor and the town @ 10 designate the young mea ph to be sent to Cuba. Parents wh: thirty douros—about 23 many dallar: each of these precious officials were cert of their sons’ exemption. The troubl= cam cnly when they pursued iheir industry too far. Then a descent was mwie upon the Province from Madrid, with the result of farryine off all the young mea upon the Usts, the fit and the uuft. And the mayor and the doctor would nat give back a cine gle douro! STERLING HEIL ————ree. ART AND ARTISTS, Spencer Nichols, who joined the engineer corps in the capacity of artist, is for the Present stationed at Jefferson Barracks, St, Louis, Mo. The army experience will-un. doubtedly be valuable to Mr. Nichols in his future work, as he will have an excellent opportunity to do a good deal of interest- ing sketching in the way of military scenes and incidents of soldier life. * * Mr. F. J. Fisher has Been occupied almost entirely with portrait work this summer. He recently finished an oil portrait of John W. Carroll, which has been sent to Lyneh- burg, Va., to be hung in the chamber of the common council, of which body Mr. Carroll was for many years president. In addition to this Mr. Fisher has lately com- Pleted a likeness of one of the children of Mr. James J. Mooney of this city, and is now engaged on a similar piece of work for Mr. Frizzell, also of Washington. Mr. Fisher expects to leave town shortly to spend a week or ten days in Virginia. Mrs. Fisher is giving the finishing touches to the last of a series of four clever oll studies, depicting the life of that ever-picturesque and interesting specimen, the omnipresent colored urchin. One of the best of these shows a boy with his face buried in a small pie. Another represents a youth devouring a watermelon, while a third is a sketch full of life and expression of a typical newsboy. The last of the series is a Study of a roguish-looking colored girl Plucking the petals from a large sunflower, which is happily entitled “The Marguerite.” * * At a meeting of the Salmagundi Club, held on the 29th of last month, it was de- clded to adjourn until September. * Mr. Mills Thompson is now at Deer Park, where he finds much interesting sketching in the picturesque and rugged Allegheny mountain region in which he is located, * * x The figure of A. C. Moran, which Mr. Dunbar lately completed, is now on exhi- bition at Ogram’s drug store, on the ave- nue, and is attracting unusual attention. ‘This is partly due, no doubt, to the gen- eral interest which has been awakened over the Michael-Moran bicycle race, and the fascination which such subjects have for most people, but in no less a degree is it owing to the excellence of the work, which cannot fail to win the admiration of the most discriminating and critical. In this figure the artist has represented a typical athlete, bending over his wheel, his head well down and turned slightly to one side, expressive of alertness and ex- pectancy. The rider is well developed and cleanly muscled, and the tension shown in the grms and hands is especially fine. Mr. Dunbar has put in some little work lately on the nude figure of a boy which he be- gan some time ago, and with the excep- tion of the arms the likeness is now pretty well worked up. When completed the little fellow is to stand holding a hoop in his hands, which is designed as an umbrella receiver. A head typifying winter has also been occupying Mr. Dunbar somewhat late- ly. His idea is to present a strongly out- lined, rugged face, with the beard blown back as if by a heavy storm, the hair hanging in rude masses, and the eyes look- ing straight into the north-wind. * Mr. Carl Rakemann’ who has been in Germany for the past year, was joined by his parents this summer, and will be at Gotesberg until next fall, when he will-re- turn to Dusseldorf to resume his artistic studies. Gotesberg, situated as it is on the high hills above the Rhine, has the reputation of being one of the most beau- tiful spots in Germany, and will unques- tionably prove an inspiration for his best werk. He has just completed a portrait of his mother, aud will be busy on other pertrait sv1 ature work throughout the summer. 2\*. Rakemann spent last year fm Gerriay inure as an experiment than anything 4 but his saecess was such that after apother year at Dusseldorf he will probabiy) so to Murich and Paris to continue is studies. It is possible that he may return *:o America for a visit next summer. ———— Vagre in His History. From the Detroit Free Press. “What weapn did Samson use in. slay- ing the Philistines?” asked the Sunday schéol superintendent during the general exercises, ‘tle red-headed. urchin on the back row of Gey was all sunk.” AMERICANS ARE DEGENERATING. A Writer Who Thinks We Use th Street Car and Bicycle Too Mach, From thé Springfield Republican. Some one should bring together the eta- tistics of the recent army recruiting. He should learn the number of militiamen ex- amined for admission to the United States volunteer service, the number rejected and the chief causes of rejection. He should try to determine whether the standards of Physical fitness were substantially the same at the various recruiting stations through- out the country, and whether they were applied with the same force and impar- ttality. And finally the subject should be considered particularly in respect to the locality of the volunteers, whether from a large city or small, or from the country. No fact has been developed by the war which has surprised people so much, or which begins to possess so great and dis- turbing an importance, as this failure of large percentages of ihe militiamen to meet the physical tests prescribed by the fed- eral military service. The Medical Record of New York barely refers to the subject in last week’s issue. It notes the fact that the enhsting bureau at that point had to examine 17,000 applicants to obtain 12,00) men fit for field duty; and it accepts the result as a probably fair representation of the physical state of the average metro- politan, whose city life has subjected him to enervating influences which narrow the chest, weaken the knees and impair the eyesight. “It is quite evident,” concludes the Record, rather abruptly, “that the city man 4s losing his physical grip.” This may be so, but important data are missing. It was reported at -the time that the percentage of rejections in some of the agricultural distriets—in the Dakotas, for example—was very large. This might be so and yet prove nothing in fevor of the city; since the militia"in the Dakotes and stmitar states may be, and probably is, made up largely of young men frem the villages and cities employed in stores, fac- teries and offices, where metropolitan con- ditions of life prevail to a modified ex- tent. If this be so then modern concen- tration in population begins to present no less a problem than the degeneration of the race. Wholly apart from the cigarette, whose pernicious influence is thought to be traceable in the large percentage or re- Jections among militia volunteers, are other possible generative tnfluences to be con- sidered, more directly connected with mu- nicipal centralization. What, for example, is the physical effect of the street railway and the bicycle? The street railway tempts people to ride when they ought to walk. Factory hands, clerks, business men and others ride more generally to their work than ever before. spend the whole day tn stuffy indoor quarters and ride home. Others use the bicycle where they would otherwise walk, and the swift bicycle not enty keeps them to a less extent in the open air, but exercises only a part of the muscular system which is strengthened and improved by walking. Here are two porsible causes of a cer- tain fatty degeneration which breeds weak in vital organs and troubles of the the kidneys and the liver. Quite Evolutionists tell us that the is the more perfect sique because he uses his legs more an the lower order of the human race. ape has a small leg since he travels largely on all fours, The Hottentot stands on unsightly spindles because he is indo- lent and exerts himself little in getting a liying. Gcnerally speaking, the great mass and semi-barbarous rac who are now ¢ largely to the tropi- cal belt, are physically deformed and de- fective for a similar reason. What will be the effect then, upon the more highly de- veloped races of this growing disuse of the lower muscular system through the spread oi cheap transportation facilities and bi- cycle riding? Possibly-we shall come out on a level with that race of savages whose life in canoes had left them with only slight spindles for legs, but with enor- mously developed trunks and arms—top- heavy beings of a storklike appearance. Obviously among such a people it will be hard indeed to recruit an army for forced marches and camp and field endurance. We trust that the doctors willl snake) ® closer inquiry into the facts of the army examinations and their bearing upon the present life and habits of the people. The Prince of Wale: From the Providence Jcurnal. I heard a good story about the prince, and it was well vouched for. In the eighties, when the radicals were more than ever clamorous and active, a young lord said to him: “Sir, have you ever thought of the possi- bility of this becoming a republic, and your losing your title and income? “Yes, I have,” said the prince. “And have you thought of what you would do?” the young lord persisted. “Why, yes,” sald the prince, “there would always be a’chance to lecture in America. Joke. AUCTION SALES OF REAL ESTATE, &c. jonday. Thos. J. Owen, Autt., 918 F st. n.w.—Sale of o. 2 Hanover st. n.w., on Monday, Aug. 15, at 30 p.m. H. Bradley Davidson and Luther 8. trustees. AUCTION SALES. FUTURE DAYS. JAMES W. RATCLIFFE, AUCTIONEER. (Successor to Ratcliffe, Sutton & Co.) STEE’S SALE OF A TWO-STORY BRICK ROUSE, NO. 443 8 STREET NORTHWES?. By virtue of two deeds of trust, recorded” re- spectively in Liber No. 1690, folio 130; 1. aes folio 57 et seq., of the land records for the District of Columbia, and at the request of the party se- cured thereby, the undersigned surviving trustee will offer for sale by public auction, in front of the remises, on THURSDAY, THE TWENTY F TH »AY OF AUGUST, A.D. 1898, AT HALF-PAST FOUR O'CLOCK P.M., the following described Teal estate, situate in the city of Washington, in the District of Columbia, to wit « Lot eget elghteen (18), in W. H. Stewart's subdivision of Jots two to eight, in square east of juare DUD dered four hundred and seventy tive (479), together with all the improvements, rigl wahaai Terms: One-taird cash, ‘the balance in one and two years, with interest’ from the day of sale at six per cent per annum, secured by of trust on the property sold, or all cash, at the option of the purchaser. A deposit of $100 required upon acceptance of bid. If the terms of sale are not complied with within fifteen days from the day of sale the tructee reserves the right to reseli the property at the risk and cost of the defaulting purchaser, after five days’ advertisement of such Tesule in’ some newspaper published in Washing- ton, D. All conveyancing, stamps, &c., at the cost. purchaser aN WALTSR, Jr., Surviving Trustee. aul3-d&ds PUBLIC SALE OF A SUMMER RESORT. The noted Mock Enon Springs, located in” the North meuntsin, abcut 15 ‘miles from Wiu- comprising abut 200 acres of land, with the hotels, bath hovses, swimming pool and sevcral mineral ‘springs, surounded by picturesque mountain scenery, Will be offered for sale ot publie uuction, under a decree of court, at the court house ia Winchester, on SEPTEMBER NINTH, 1998, AT TWELVE O'CLOCK. For further partie” ulars, terms, «te., address W. ROY STEPHEN- SON '& JNO. J. WILLIAMS, © Attorneys-at-Law, Winchester, V aul3-s$t J. E. FRECHIE, AUCT., 316-318 8TH ST. N.W. GROCERY SALE. On premises No. 233 7th st. s.w., TUESDAY. AUGUST. SIXTEENTH, AT TEN AM., reali Stock Cigars, Can Gcdds, Soaps, Bottle’ Goods, Molasses. Coffee. Tea and ‘a general line of Shelf Goods and Potatoes, 1 Coffee Mill. Scales, Coun- ters, Awning, Office Desk and Refrigerator. “Terms cash." aul3-2t [STEES’ OF VALUABLE IMPROVED TRUSTERS' SIS IN DOUGLAS. D_C- By virtue of a power of sale contained in 2 decd of trust dated June 10, 1807, and recorded June 15, 1897, In Liber No. 2228, folio 75, one of the land records of the District of Columbia, default having been made in the it of the indebted- ness secured therein, the request of the beneficiary therein vamed, the subscribers, trus- tees In said trast named, ‘will sell at public auc- tion, on the premises,’on FRIDAY, AUGUST TWELFTH, 1898, AT FOUR O'CLOCK P.) all that certsin piece or parcel of land described in said deed of trust and known as lots numbered five (5), six (6) and one bundred and sixty-two (162), of a subdivision called Douglas, as per plat recorded in Liber 1835, folio 438 inthe office of the recorder of deeds of said District, and more fully deseribed by metes and bounds, courses end istances in sald deed of trust. These lots cover about 25 fect x 155 feet each, and are improved by a dwelling of 6 rooms, nearly new fine barn, stable and all other necessary outbuildings, two of " MARION DUCKETT, ELBERT DENT, 85 Fest. nw., Washington, D.C. austeiss VE mut of westher te WEDNESDA TE ae SEVENTEENTH, 1008, same AUCTION SALES. MONDAY. Pe. and at! We will | preinises. 1898, "A! BX. Lot, 1m, street Lorthe west. Terms: One-third cash, balance in one and two years, with interest at 6 per cent, wecuned by deed cf trust on the property sold. ‘or nil caah: purchaser's option. 4 it of $100 required at fame of sale. Conveyancing, &., at cost of pure chaser. H. BRADLEY DAVIDSON, LUTHER 8. FRISTOE, aus-d&ds ‘Trustees. FUTURE Days. C. G. SLOAN & CO.. AUCTS., 14607 G BT. TRUSTEKS’ BALE OF VALUABLE 2 | TATE. Locatep IN “CHICHESTER by Co By virtue of a certaiz deed of trust, dated the firth day of August, I8V7, and duly recorded in Liber £248, at follo 264 et eQ., one of the land records of the District of Cclumbia, mud at the 16- quest of the parties secured thereby, we will sell, at public auction, iu fieut of the premises ay FRIDAY, AUGUST TWELFTH, 1808 AT Mali VAST PUUR P-M., the following described teed snd premises, situete in the Disuset of Columbia, aud desiguated as lots thirty-four (34) anc wirty- ‘six (96) in Williamson's sulxitvision of part of a tract of land kuewn as “Chichester,” as ould wale winced ee iu county subdivision buck jevernor , page 83, of th eyor's of cy of sald District. Eisen: me: One-third cash. balance in one (1: two (2) years, with luterce: at 6 per cent per ‘eee bum, payable semi-annurily, aud secured ty decd of trust vn the property soid, or all carb, at option of purchaser. A deposit of $100 wal be required at complied with in 15 } i i isuter se CLD, raster . GOULD, tee, 3530-0848 's07 E st C7 THE ABOVE SALE IS POSTPONED ON AC- ane ot tbe rain until THUKSDAY, AUGUST EIGHTEENTH, 1808, AT ELEVEN’ O'CLOCK A-M., in front of the premises. 18&17 BY ORDER OF THE TRUSTERS. Ep ALUABLE BUSINDSS Ser ey AEMIBES NOG. 1606 SYLVANIA AVENUE NORTH- WEST, Wa‘ IN, D.C ee Bs, Firtue of a certain deed of trast, dated the day of August, 1807, and orded i Liter 2223, “folio cen, oot of te bok records of ‘the District of request of the holder of the r We will sell, at public auction, in front niscs, on WEDNESDAY. AUGLS£ TW! URTH, 1898, AT HALF-AST F the following dcreribed real in the city of Weshtagton, D. C., to wil lot G and the east seven (7) fect nine frout by depth of lot F, in Wiliam H subdivision of lots tu square numbe dred and twenty-six (226), a8 said subdivision ts rded in the office of the trict of Co pages 142 and gether mprovements, consisting Stores with dwell ve, nurmber- 4 and 1406 Penveylvania avenue northwest. 8: Sold subject to a prior deed of trust, r 4 in Liber 2219, follo 370, for $13,000, 6t 5 Percent interest, for five %) years, from July | 20, 1897. Balance ore-half cesh and notes for Inder wt one and two years, bearing in- t 6 per cent, payable sem: and ed of trust on tf A deposit required at time of sale, Terms uplied with In 15 deys from day of sele, otherwise trustees the right to reselh at risk and cost of defculting purchaser, aft due netice published in some Washington newspaper. BERNARD A JUNIUS J. Pit aul2-d&ds_ JAMES W. RATCLIFFE, AUCTIONEER. (Successor to Ratcliffe, Sutton & Co.) HOU: By vistue of three ‘deeds of trust, Pr ore in Liber 2062, folios 479, 444 a: the land ~ecords for the District of Rill sell at public auction, on MONDAY TWENTY-SECO: AY AUGUST, A.D., 1898, commencing at FIVE O'CLOCK P.M. the’ three parcels of ground in that part of the city of Wasb- ingtcn formerly known as ongetown, known as lots numbered fifty-three (33), fifty-four (54) and Ofty-five (55), in Asbford & Kidout trustees’, eub- division of part of square one hundred and twelve 4112), ire numbered twelve bundred and eighty-1 ). formerly called Sooke Park,” per plat recorded in Liber A. R. S., follo 271 the recoras of the surveyor’s office for said District. Lot 53, improved by pase No. 3088, first offered; then lot 54, improved by . Bust, cud then lot 55, improved by of sale on erch Ict: One-third cash, bal ance in equal instalments in one two yea with interest from day of sale, payable ‘pe annually, and secuivd on the property sold, or ali cash, at’ option of purchaser. A deposit of $200 | required on each lot at time of sale. Conveyane- ing, stamps and recording at cost of purchaser. If terms cf sale are not complied with in ten days from duy of sale the trustees reserve the right to resell at risk and cost of defautting purchaser. SAM. CROSS, Trustee. aul0-u&éds WILLIAM A’ GORD JAHES W. (Succes: ‘Trustee. RATCLIFFE, AUCTK to Ratcliffe, Sutton & ¢ 5) TRUSTEES’ SALE OF FRAME HOUSE, NO. 410 A STREET SOUTHEAST. By virtue of two deeds of trust, recorded respece | tively in Libers 2134 and 2211, foltos 4%) and 26 ot #eq., one of the land records of the District of Co- | Jumbia, and at the request of the party secured thereby, we, the undersigned trustees, will offer for eale, by’ public auction, in front ises, on WEDNESDAY, THE SE’ DAY OF AUGUST, 1898, AT HALF-PAST Fol O'CLOCK P.M, the following described real es- tate, situate in the city of Washington, in the Dis- | trict of Columbia, to wit: The west hineteen and 82-100 (19.32) feet of let numbered two (2), in| square numbered eight hundred and iret (817), and all interest they, the said John Rappel Vhillp Ruppel, Joseph Ruppel and Rosie Rup may have or either of them us devisees or beirs law of said Joseph Ruppel (wentor) deceased, in bi estate, together with ell the improvements, rights, | ete. j Terms: One-third cash, balance in one and two | years, with interest from'day of sale at 6 per cent | per m, secured by deed of trust on the props | erty sold, cr all cash at option of the purchaser. 4} deposit of $100 required at time of sale. Terms of | sale to be complied with in fifteen days from day of sale, or trustees reserve the right to resell the Property at the risk and cost of the defaulting purchaser after five days’ advertisement of such re- | sale in some newspaper published in Washington, , D. C. All conveyancing, stamps, etc., at pure aser's cost. on ea SAMUEL H. WALKER, MICHAEL I. WELLER, aud-déds ‘Trustees. JAMES W. RATCLIFFE, AUCTIONEER. (Successor to Ratcliffe, Sutton & Co.) TRUSTEES’ SALE OF VALUABLE BUILDIN LOTS ON TWELFTH STREET BETWEEN AND D STREETS NORTHEAST. By virtue of a deed of trust, duly recorded in Liber No. 2096, folio 17 et s-q., one of the land rece ords for the District of Columbia, end at the re quest of the party secured thereby, the undere signed ‘rustees will offer for sale by public auction, in front of the premises, on THU DAY, EIGH- TEENTH DAY OF AUGUST, AD. i898 aT HALF-PAST FOUR O'CLOCK P.M, the following descrived real estate, situate in the city of Wasb- ington, in the District of Columbia, to wit: All of original jot numbered nine 4) abd part of lot eight (5), tp square ove thousand and nine (1000), it being ‘the north thirty-six feet and eight inches front of lot eigh’ (8) by the depth thereof, and! all of lot nine (9) by the depth thereof, con’ —— | in all about twelve thousaud apd three bund and forty feet (12,840), being the same lund con- veyed by Richard J. Collins and his wife Elizabeth to F. E. Baokhages and 5. M. Barkbages and wife, June 15, A.D. 1802, recorded June 1s. isu2, together with ‘all the improvements, rigbts, &e. erms: Onc-third cash, the balance in one and two years, with interest from the day of sale at six per cent per annum, secured bj of trust on the property sold, or all cash, ut the option of | the purchaser. A deposit of §00 required upon tance of bid. if terme of sale ate not com- plied with in fifteen days from the day of sale the trustees reserve the right to resell the property at the risk and cost of the defulting purchaser, after five days’ advertisement of such resale ip some newspaper published in Wasbington, 1. C. All conveyancing, stamps, &c., at the purchaser's cost. CHAS. H. PARKER, ©. A. RIDDLE, au6-d&ds ‘Trustees. TEOS. J. OWEN, AUCTIONEER, 913 F ST. N.W. TRUSTEES’ SALE OF IMPROVED PROPERTY OX 1 STREET SOUTHEAST. By virtue of e certain deed of trust duly re- cor in Liber 1309, folio 197, ene of the jand records of the District of Columbis, and at = request of the secured thereby, we will at iblic . im front of. the ,) om Tobsbay, AUGUST TWEATY-THIND, dae AR HALIPAST FOUR O'CLOCK P.M. ‘one-fourth coct one-half “of Set Gir epanee Goer ieee east o, 4 & two-story frame dwelling, being premises au THOS. J. OWEN, Auct., 815 F st. nw. CHANCERY SALE OF A LOT, IMPROVED ENU! NORTHEAST, Tw DA STREET, ‘NEAR TINCCLY al. ‘s. Luckett et al, t ty ry if al let & : i 4 | sue