Evening Star Newspaper, August 20, 1898, Page 22

THE EVENING STAR, SATURDAY, AUGUST 20, 1898-12 PAGES. TYPICAL SUMMER RESIDENCE, ALL-YEAR RESORT Advantages of Porto Rico for the Summer Tourist. JOST AS ATTRACTIVE IN WINTER gees Beautiful Scenery, Healthful Clim- ate, Modern Helps in Clean Cities. SAN JUAN ON TO e International Literary and vice.) ening certain that Porto Rico by the United States after cluded with It is this winter Florida strong competitor 2 ts from the north. From New York to San Juan, Porto Rico, is only fourteen hundred miles. The jour- can be made entirely by water, or it ude a trip through Georgia, the as and Florida, where passage may n from Tampa, Jacksonville or Key tar. s of tour: to Rico will present more attractions © winter tourist than Cuba, which has g torn and devastated by inter- on and by the presence of con- Years will be required to of Cuba, and tme must | e Americans can traverse the s of bloodshed without painful recol- ses we sustained before er, the country will be in m and will present nirs of strife to be or in search of pleas- al Cuba must be . the or condi anizer country that | southern or mountatr re beautiful, as they ma: al to the e nt for those who liv 1 to many the h the al- is not a coast the winter may be passed delight- fully. The hurricanes, which are not un- known in summer, never occur after No- vember. In the heated term, especially in August, they are sometimes fearful and destructive in their violence; frequently they are accompanied by earthquakes, but these are seldom serious. Another point greatly in the island's fa- A STREET IN towns on the island. There are groves of oranges, lemons and cocoanut trees on the adjacent hills. Sugar and coffee are ex- ported from this enterprising town. Here one finds gaslight and street cars. Any American should feel at home in Mayaguez. From here excursions should be made to the extensive sugar-making establishments in the vicinity. The plain of Mayaguez is wonderfully fertile. Here sugar cane reach- es perfection. Progressive, Busy People. On the south coast Ponce fs located. It is an important town, with a population of about 22,000. It lies two miles back from the sea. There is a railway to San Juan. Ponce is a progressive business town, boasting three hospitals, three theaters, markets, churches, and, most important to the tourist, hotels. The Quintana hot springs are near Ponce. On the eastern coast is Guayama, where tourists will find much to interest them in the fine old church, which contains some rare paintings. Utuado is a pretty village in the interior, embowered in the green hills. It has a church, a playa and other objects of inter- est. With the huts of the natives it pre- sents quite a Japanese appearance. One should not fail to visit the interior of the island. The valleys on the north are celebrated for their fine pasturage, where droves of cattle graze all the year round. The southern valleys are planted with sugar cane and rice. Everywhere the peo- ple will be found old-fashioned, simple and polite. Everywhere “Los Americanos” will be made welcome to their new possessions. If the prospective tourist be a capitalist, and a possible investor, it may interest him to know that the foreign trade of Porto Rico is increasing at a rate that is the best indication of the internal prosperity and possibilities of the island. In 1896 the for- SAN JUAN. vor is the entire absence of serpents and poisonous reptiles of all sorts. It is said that none of these are to be met with in the hills and valleys of Porto Rico. Picturesque valleys are dotted everywhere between fields of cane and rice and corn, and groves of plantains and the big coffee plantations. Nearly every tropical fruit is cutivated and exported. Cattle are raised and ship- ped in great numbers to the neighboring isl- ands. Bridges are scarce, and the roads, with some exceptions, indifferent. Yet a little hardship should not deter the tourist from visiting the rice fields, which here, for some reason, do not require to be inundated. The great Sugar plantations, too, are well worth ne. yachting may be popular along the it is well to say that there are a er of safe harbors, though, as the are not well known, save by the na- tive pilots, charts and ling directions are incomplete. There are reefs on the southern shores. On the e: n coast there are nine small 's emptying into the sea, and several small ports frequented only by the boats that trade with the West Indies In sugar and molasses. Port Fajardo, Bahia Honda, Humacao and Naguabo are the principal ports on the east coast. The anchorage at any of these ports is safe. The north coast of the island is rugged and uneven. It runs In an almost straight line east and west and for a considerable stretch affords no shelter whatever. Here, PEASANTS’ HUTS r olive groves mtr. won- will produce. f the greater area, it is the n the world. the size of Cuba te of Ni is half by NEAR SAN JUAN. - eign trade amounted to more than $36,000,- 000. The exports were valued at $18,340,- 000; the imports at $18,280,000. ——_—__+e + MUST HAVE THEIR SMOKE. Russian Ladies Addicted to the Habit of Using Cigarettes. From the London Telegraph. As unexpectedly as a “bolt from the blue” came the :ad tidings, promulgated a few days ago in court circles at St. Petersburg, that the gentle and gracious tsaritsa would be greatly obliged to the ladies of her household, 1f, for the future, they would forbear from smoking cigarettes in her presence, This unlooked-for intimation, reaching the Russian “dames et demoiseies @honneur” from so exalted a quarter, was unavoidedly accepted by them as a com- mand, ard they have summoned up cour- age to address e humble petition to her majesty, entreating her to revoke a request that is practically a decree. In this prayer- ful document they have ventured to remind Alexandria Feodcrovna that ladies are per- mitted to smoke cigarettes at ail the con- tinental courts; that among the august fe- male votaries of the narcotic herb, born in the purple, are the Dowager Tsaritsa and her sister, the Prir.cess Thyra, Duchess of Cumberland, as weil as the Princess Henry of Prussia, born Princess Irene of Hesse and the Rhine, own sister to the reigning Em- press of All the Russias. The petition also deferentially points out that the Austrian Kaiserin and Queen of Hungary, Maria Christina, Queen Regent of Spain, “Carmen Sylva,” Queen of Roumania and the Queen of Portugal, as well as many grand duch- esses, archduchesses and princesses of the blood, are inveterate smokers. To this category, moreover, belonged—though the Russian court ladies may not be aware of the fact—the lovely and intrepid ex-Queen of Naples, Marie von Wittelsbach, who took an active part in the defense of Gaeta, wearing the undress uniform of one of her4 husband's crack infantry regiments, and— especially when under fire—was rarely seen without a lighted cigar between her lips. Her younger sister, the Countess of Trani, was no less habitual cigar smoker than she, and so was the Countess of Girgentl, by birth an infanta of Spain. As for the “so- ciety leaders” and “grandes dames de par le monde” in Russia, Germany, Austria. Hungary, Italy, Spain and even in the realm of 'Brittannia Grundy, their name is legion, In the Turkish harem smoking is even more “de rigueur” than in the Selam- lik, for the wives and daughters of the well-to-do faithful have few recreations besides inhaling the fumes of yellow * idjte,” or “kiritschillar,” and nibbling what in the states, is generically termed ‘sweet. truck,” a designation impartially applied to “candy,” “pralines,” “fondas” and “tae hat lakoum.” too, along the eastern part are reefs which it is dangerous to approach. On this north shore, about thirty miles from the eastern end of the island is the harbor and city of San Juan. This is the quaint old town that Ponce de Leon founded three hundred and eighty-seven years ago. It is built upon an island and connected with the mainland only by the bridge of San An- tonio. The Walls of San Juan. San Juan ts a fine, well-preserved speci- men of a walled town. It has its portcullis, moat, gates and battlements. The fortifi- cations have cost millions. The massive walls extend around the city. In places the w: is from fifty to one hundred feet in height. Inside the wall the city is laid off in regular squares. Most of the houses are built of brick, two stories in height. Beside the inclosed town, there are popu- COPFEE ESTATE NEAR SAN JUAN. a8 d is visible for sixty miles Health Statistics Good. It is encouraging to those in search of pom to know that the population of * Porto Rico is now four times as great as it was at the beginning of the century. The population then numbered 163,000. It is now something in excess of 800,000.- The birth rate ts double that of the death rate. ‘These figures speak for themselves and are gore eloquent in asserting the general healthfulness of the island than any words. From November until May the north and northeast winds prevail. Nothing could be finer than the climate at this time. Qn the long slopes and foot hills of the northera 7 2 clear lous suburbs, which, combined with San Juan, brings the population of the place to about 80,000. One-half of these are negroes. San Juan has clean streets, and its sanitar: condition is good. The people are quie and orderly. It has the advantage of cable communication with the outside world, and is connected by telegraph lines with the principal towns on the island. From San Juan eastward to Arecibo {is a distance of thirty-three miles. Aguadilla has 5,000 inhabitants and a good port. It is on the west coast. The beautiful foun- tain, “The Eye of the Water,” and Fort Conception, are points of interest in the city, stn further down the western coast is Mayaguez, which has a population of 11,600, It is one of the most picturesque ++ RICHARD’S JOLLY GOOD TIME, A Very Human Boy Enjoying His Well-Earned Reward. From the Detroit Free Press. A portly gentleman sat on the porch and smiled, while a small boy, also smiling, painted the front fence. “Look at that boy,” the portly man re- marked to a visitor; “he thinks he is hav- ing a good time. A small boy is surely the drpllest creature on earth. When I was a youngster I remember that there were cer- tain kinds of work I considered play, and one of them was painting. I was always crazy to paint. Many times I have taken a bucket of muddy water and an old paint brush and have spent a whole half day putting a thick coat on the side of my father’s barn. ‘So with my boy Dick, the little chap painting the fence; he has always been crazy to paint. He is enjoying himself now—you can see he is; and he will paint that whole fence, too, just as well as he knows how. I don’t care if it is a trifle smeared; he’s getting joy, solid joy, thicker than the paint on his hands and clothes. “There's a mean side to It, too; he want- ed to paint the fence and’ I wanted the weeds pulled out of the yard. So, like an underhanded rascal, I bargained with him; I told him that if he would pull all the weeds out I would let him paint the fence. He went through the job like a soldler—he hates to pull weeds—all boys do—and now he thinks he is getting his reward. It is a downright shame to fool him that way— don’t you think so?” The portly gentleman chuckled again, and the small boy, wild with joy, went on plastering paint on the fence. ———__+e+_____ New Waterproof Clothing. From the St. Louls Globe-Demoerat. A study of much importance at this mo- ment fs that recently taken up by Dr. A. Berthier, who has applied himself to the discovery of a material for the clothing of soldiers that will repel water and yet ad- mit air for ventilation. Dr. Berthier found the clew to such a material in the dress of Arabs, who used wool which still contat: the animal grease. Experiments were made with lanoline, a product of the purification of this animal grease, deprived of soap and acid fat and made neutral. The feeal S perméable ef- were favorable, and the fect was secured by a mixture of ten to twenty grams of lanoline to 1,000 grams of spirits of petrolevm as a dissolv- ent. This spread itself rapidly in the tissuo and evaporated quickly. The material can be dipped in the mixture for a few mo- ments and then out, or the solution can be applied to the surface with a sponge. The last is the most economi: ty th ution of bee first gives the best results. A so] alum and acetate of lead has n tried with some success. The material thus treated is healthy, the tissue is not ged, the weight is not Pend he color and lure are unimpaired, a a ee ee ee eee ee eee ee LESSONS-OF THE WAR —_o Conclusions Drawn by the Officers of the Texas. BATTLE SHIP HOLDS FIRST PLAGE The Important’Part Played by the Rapid-Fire Guns. VALUE OF THE SEARCHLIGHT SA, Correspondence of The Evening Star. NEW YORK, August 18, 1998. “The big ship with big guns and the men who know how to fight on it is the one that can do the business,” said Capt. “Jack” Philip, soon to be Commodore Phil- ip, In his cabin on the famous fighting ma- chine Texas. “That is the chief naval les- son of the war, or at jeast so much of it as I have seen. Torpedoes, torpedo boats, and the small fast craft which some naval authorities expected to play se big a part in any war of the present day have scarce- ly had a showing. As for submarine mines, why there is one down on the for’ard deck that we bumped into at Guantanamo. It had barnacles growing on it so thick that the firing pins could not operate. That par- ticular modern invention did not work ex- actly as it was intended, qr else it should not be here now. “It Is not for me, however, to attempt to settle conclusions which naval experts will probably draw from the sea fighting off the Cuban coast. I am not a naval expert, only a ship's captain. I will say, though, that the magnificent utility of the battle ship that can fight and follow, too, the tremendous value of the main battery and the destructive force of rapid-fire guns have been demonstrated beyond question. Above all in importance, the men behind the guns have justified Anglo-Saxon tradi- tions and have fought with the nerve and daring that we long since learned to expect from American seamen. They are the main reliance, the blood and sinew of the ship. 1 can say for the men of the Texas that I wish never to see a ship's company do their work better or more thoroughly. “It has been said that the Texas has been put out of date by the recent improvements in battle ship construction and appliances, but if there were any deficiencies of that kind, they have been more than made up by the spirit of the men, and I think that the record of the Texas will stand with that of any of the other ships that took part in the fighting around Cuba. “In regard to such lessons as are to be drawn from the actual test of the guns or the other appliances on the ship. Lieut. Heilner, the navigating officer, and Lieut. Bristol, the executive officer, are better qualified to speak than I am.” Value of Secondary Battery. Lieutenant L. C. Hellner, the navigator of the Texas, was standing by a six-pound rapid-fire gun mounted in the officers’ mess room. His conversation soon showed that he is an enthusiastic believer in the useful- ness in action of @ considerable secondary battery. “If there is any one“lesson that has been made more clear than another by this war,” he said, “it is that our ships should have plenty of the smailer caliber rapid-fire guns in the make-up of their armament. It was the raking, seething hall of fire poured into the Spanish ships by the guns of this class that drove them on the shore at Santiago. Put a six-pound shell here,” opening the breeéh of the Hotchkiss gun by a dexterous pull at the lever as he spoke, ‘glance through the breech sig..t at the cone just ahead, pull the trigger here, and the mischief has begun. Ten times a minute these sbells,,each charged with enough explosive material to set a ship on fire, can be pumped into the target, aimed with substantial accuracy to scatter death and destruction on an enemy's decks. So great is the saving of time effected in load- ing and firing by having the ammunition in one package—powder, shell, fuse and primer—that fifteen or more shells can be fired from these guns in actton in sixty sec- onds with hurried aim. Full accuracy can be obtained with from six to ten shots in the same period. Rapid-Fire Guns. “The effect on the enemy of this raining of explosives can be imagined. Only the Spaniards can tell exactly what it is. Splin- ters flying in all directions, explosions at every turn, flames starting up in half a dozen different quarters at once—is it any wonder that the Spanish ships of Cervera burned for three or four days? If the Spanish ships had been especially con- structed to recelve the most possivie dam- age from our rapid-fire guns their arrange- ment could not have been better calculated. With their fine boats and elaborate wood- work they were easy food for the flames which the small-caliber guns started in every quarter by splintering the woodwork into kindlings. Of course, American ships and guns, American sailors and gunners didn’t have the opportunity to prove what they can do in @ good, square, standup fight. The Spanish have not learned much in the past four hundred years. Their gun- nery was wretched, their fine armored cruisers didn’t show what armored cruisers are really capable of in a sea fight, and I am afraid they will not be much of an ad- dition to our fleet 1f saved, such was the effectiveness of the American gunnery, Battle Ships Hold First Place. “Still I am of the opinion, in spite of the fact that the Spanish cruisers were not the best representatives of their class, and in spite of the fine work done by our cruisers, that the battle ships still hold the palm. If any changes in the construction of the pattle ships are to result from the expe- riences of this war, I should say that there ought to be an increase of speed power ond a strengthening of the secondary bat- tery. In this respect Manila and Santiago must rank together. The heaviest guns that Admiral Dewey had were 8-inch rifles, and, as in the case of Cervera’s fleet, the burned and shattered hulks of Montijo's far more numerous squadron lying in the Philippine waters, are witness to the effi- ciency of the secondary battery.” Lieut. M. L. Bristol, who has been on Capt. Philip's staff since the latter took command of the Texas in 1896, has been a careful and enthusiastic observer of his ship's performances in the stirring events of the past few weeks. It is to the im- provement in the fighting appliances of the Texas made by such men as Liett. Bristol and Lieut. F. G. Haeseler, who is associated with him on the captain’s staff, that the ship owes much of her splendid record, Improvements, in the Texas. A year and a half ago the Texas was so much out of date that naval men hardly counted her an effective part of our fight- ing establishment/i: Since then her interior mechanism has Béen' Almost entirely re- nodeled from plan8 @tawn by her officers, so that in the essentidls of a fighting ship she seems worthy to ‘stand beside any of her sisters. In fact, the second-rate battle ship Texas, which is not supposed to be in the same class ss the Indiana, Oregon Iowa and Massachusetts, is today in tho light of her actyal achievements better calculated perhaps than any other vessel of the navy to stand for a demonstration of up-to-date sea fighting. As the 12-inch guns Which form the main battery of the Teas were operated before Lieut. Haeseler made ‘his improvements in the arrangement of the fighting mectan- ism, they had to be trained fore and aft-or abeam before they could he loaded. Then they had to be moved into the position from which it was desired to fire them. By this laborious process they could be fired once in about eight minutes. Lieut. Haes- eler's plans practically changed the entire angement 2 the interior of the gun turrets, hut his greatest improvement was a controlling valve which énables the bi gune to be fired once in a minute an: wenty-nine seconds. The power by which the twelve 4-inch guns are fired is how fur- nished by four large hydraulic pumps in the redoubt outside the turret. The differ- ence in effect of half a dozen 850-pound shells thundering against an enemy’s sides where only one could have been fired be- fore need not be dwelt upon, Electricity Not Fairly Tested. “Electrical appliances on the modern warship and in the various auxiliaries of up to-date warfare,” said Lieutenant Bris- tol, “cannot be said to have had a fair. trial as yet. Certainly they have not been of any great use in either of our big sea fights, although this is not saying that they might not be of the greatest import- ance under other circumstances. Before war was considered a serious possibility, eminent electricians made forecasts of many new, strange and valuable uses to which electricity would be put in the next contest between civilized nations. “Ships were to be blown up while sail- ing over mine fields unconnected by wires with shore bgttery. They were even to photograph themselves’ on a chart in the shore room of an operator, who would then send a direct current to the mines through salt water. Torpedces were to be projected through the air to drop on the deck of a ship, and destroy it. Electricity was to be their propelling as well as their guiding feree. Now what of all this has heen realized? What have we learned of min and torpedoes? About all that is practical as the lesson from the mines in Santia and Guantanamo bors, of which the one on our deck is a specitnen, is that sub- marine mines ought to be taken up and inspected at least once a month to keep them efficient. Otherwise, in tropical cil mates at least, mines will be so injured by general fouling and the contact pins so overgrown with barnaeles that the whole thing will be useless and harmlets. Not a torpedo has been exploded in the course of the war, and the attempts of the Span- ish torpedo boats*to get near our vessels were so quickly frustrated by the use of the searchlights that this arm of naval warfare for which so much was prophesied, may be pronounced practically barren of results. Searchlights’ Valuable Aid. “It is in the operation of the search- light, by the way, that electricity seems to have been of the greatest practical benefit. In blockading work, such as has principal- ly occupied the American squadron off Cuba, the usefulness of the searchlight in guarding harbor entrances and sweeping the shallow inshore waters where light draught vessels may otherwise slip by un- observed, has proved of the greatest value. When Admiral. Cervera was bottled up in Santiago harbor, the Texas and the Brook- lyn, or some other of the fleet, kept their searchlights playing on the narrow har- bor entrance every night, and it would have been an impossibility for the Spanish commander to sneak out under cover of darkness, as some of his critics have sug- gested that he should have dcne. “The electric searchlight may be put down on the list as one of the modern improvements which have really a practi- cal value in war. One of the Brooklyn's turrets has been operated by electricity in- stead of by steam or hydraulic power, as the turrets of the Texas are, but we have not yet heard any report as to whether this motive power was found to possess any advantages or not. Guns Fired in the Old Way. “It is a striking fact that the carefully contrived range finders and other delicately poised appliances for improving the ac- curacy of a ship's fire seem to have been forgotten in the heat of conflict. So far as I have heard, the guns of the Oregon were sighted and fired in the old-fashioned way. I know that those of the T were, for the simple reason that o&r guns are not fitted with range finders. We used the standimeter to determine the range and sighted the rapid-firers just as used to be done with the old-style gun. And yet T think that for accuracy of fire, the work of the Texas’ gunners loft little to be de- sired. This, of course, is not saying that the range finder is not a most useful in- strument, especially for long-distance work, but merely that it was not brought into play in the Santiago fight, nor in the battle of Manila, which was fought at even shorter range. “As to armament, the 13-inch rifle has desirable becaus proved to be the most and next to the most destructive weapo! it, I think, comes the rapid-fire ound- ers. There can be no doubt that a 13-inch gun is preferable to a 12-inch, such as the Texas is armed with, when it is remember- ed that a 13-inch fires with equal velocity and penetrating power a projectile weigh- ing 1,100 pounds, while the 12-inch shell weighs only $50. So far as the results of the naval fighting have come to hand, it seems to me that the middle-caliber guns, such as the eight and 10-inch, might well be dispensed with. The most efficient armament, so far as our experience goes, is found in a main battery of say four 13-inch rities and a large number of small rapid- fire guns. This principle has already been adopted in the new battle ships which are now building.” Balloons of Slight Value. Of what value are military balloons for observation purposes on shipboard?” “So far as I know, the project of send- ing up a balloon from the ship's deck for observation purposes was not tried. It is true that the fleet carried one or two of these balloons, but I do not think they were ever tested by actual operation. idea does not seem to me to be pract From what I have heard from the s' ary balloon used on shore, about all it did was to draw the enemy’s fire and to con- centrate it where it did considerable harm. Warships Should Have Little Wood- work. “One great positive lesson of the war is the danger of having too much woodwork about a fighting ship. That was the undo- ing of the Spanish vessel They were ablaze almost as soon as the fighting began, and it didn’t take long for the flames to draw the men from the guns. Of course, wood is bound to enter in some extent into the construction of a ship. The deck of the Texas on which we were standing is ef wood with a thin covering of steel. The steel affords a fair sort of protection against igniting from any small projectiles, and the wood makes life below much more endurable. Were the decks simply steel, or steel covered with linoleum the men be- low decks would get such a continual scorching, especially in tropical waters like those about Cuba, that there wouldn’t be much fight left in them after a short ex- perience of it. Unquestionably, however, the new warships will have less and less wood in them to mitigate the dangers from fire and flying splinters. The telephone is another electrical con- trivance which has proved of effectual use in the recent operations. Its utility, like that of the searchlight, the great value of smokeless powder and the effectiveness of the megaphone, have been demonstrated tn this war quite as unmistakably as the force of the big gun and the destructiveness of the secondary battery. But the wonderful new mine cables, boats running on wheels at the bottom of the ocean, the flying tor- pedoes and the current of electricity pro- jected along a column of water, of which We read before the war, are as much in the future as ever.” — She Wanted to Know. From Tit-Bits. Little Birdie (nestling up to him)—“Tell me how rich you are, will you?” Mr. Dashing (good naturedly)—“I hardly know myself. Why do you ask? Little Birdie—Well, sister said she'd give a shilling to know, and I thougnat I might get it.” ——_—__+ e+ ____ Our Children. No. 2. From Punch. CHINESE PECULIARITIES The Army the Most Unique Organization in the World. To Become a Soldier is to Lose Caste —What an English Of- ficer Says, From the London Glebe. Major A. E. J, Cavendish, attache with the Ct arm ys thy in many respects the army of China pre- a curious example of the wu: In the broad outlines its scheme Is suited to the country; nevertheless, the characteristic Chinese love of detail, its minutiae it 1s exc2edingly complex. Ow- ing to an equally characteristic want of ex- actitude, although returns as rendered 1 separate accountants ar2 often beautiful worked out to the thousandth part of a tael, yet in a combination of these returns ncthing balances. Every province has its separate “arm: The writer gives an interesting account of these forces, and, proceeding to general r2- mark, Much of the utter inefficienc of China's army is explained by the native saying, “Do not use good steel to make a ail, nor take a good man to make a sol- duer,” which is most thoroughly acted up to. On almost every occasion in 1894-95 the Chinese tr and up to the éespised Jar Small_wonde: the hundreds of thou: hav: been “drilled” with foreign weapons not one in fifty thousand has been taught their prope . Musketry and artillery practice is limited generally to handling he weapons, and instruction in the use of rifles and field guns is rot thought nec2s- sary, nay, it is opposed. In Janu 1 several thousands of men had been collected at Shanhai-K under mpile General Wu. to reinfi the army in Mancl New rifles field guns had been out, and the ferce was to move early In February; yet on Janu men fired their rifles for the fir nd barely 1 per cent of hits d them gth one was fired with the aid of the foreigners pr th> ammunition was so defec though the gun w that laid for 3,000 yards the shell only traveled 380. Yet these men sent north to fight at Tien-chuang-tia out further training, instruction by a for- eigner having been haughtily refused To be a soldier is to lose caste in Chins to imbibe fore! is worse still, an incurs the hatred and suspicion of the civil- fans, who in reality govern the army and navy, so much so that to be a graduat> of the forelen schoo! an almost certain bar to promotion. In the military and other schools established by Sir Robert Hart and the viceroys at Pekin and elsewhere the students have to b= bribed to attend, so as to compens them for the social disad- ses of foreign education. If we add to s the natural contempt for foreigners in- grained in the Chinese nature w> have po- tent causes for the willful laziness and ig- norance of officers, which is truly appalling Alas, that they should add cowardice as well. A general near ther», being ordered to keep a sharp Icokout for the Japanese whose landing was hourly expected, did s by asking the railway station master to send two coolies to the coast to look for the enemy. His was the plan of arming his men with bags ef pepper, to be thrown in the faces of the Japanese, who, while en- gaged in sneezing, would all be slain by the Chinese spearmen. It seems a Ibel on the human race to say that out of the manhood of three hundred millions of Chinese a body of good soldiers cannot be made, and with the exampl> of the army which has been evolved from the Egyptian fellaheen it may be premature to call it impossible. But China herself can- 3 st human material and instruction would be wasted under the existing native official, who steadily resists all reform in his mal- administration. Neverthe the docile soldiers and sailers of Chir e never yet ad a chance of showing under proper man- agement what are their real capabilities Should they under European tutelage ever prove themselves In any numbers to be of real military value, the “yellow terror” may not be a mere figment of the superheated brain. a The Early Spaniards in Cuba. From the Forum. Some of the statements of Las Casas ardly bear recital, and would seem in- credible were it not for the added light thrown on the Spanish character by recent events in Cuba. The unfortunate nati were divided among the Spaniards by repartimiento (an allotment) of slave: many slaves to so much land. There be- ing an abundant supply of labor and In- dian lives being considered of no value, it was considered cheaper in the cultivation of certain of the crops to work an Indian to death under the lash and replace him with another than to give him any care. When they rebelled, as they naturally did occasionally, they were murdered by the hundred, buried alive, impaled, or torn to pieces by bloodhounds. On one occasion, in retaliation for the killing of one of their oppressors, the hands of fifty In- dians were chopped off by the Spaniards. Little children were drowned, like pupp! as useless incumbrances. La Casas writes thus of “the mingling ligious ideas with the sheerest devil- He says that once, in honor and reverence of Christ and His twelve Apostles, they hanged thirteen Indians in a row at such a height that their toes just touched, the ground, and then pricked them to death with their sword points, taking care not to kill them too quickly, and first gagging them, in order that their cries and groans should not too much disturb the Spaniards. A favorite amusement was a test of their Toledo blades by deciding who could most neatly cleave an Indian in twain at a single blow. Repartimiento then, reconcentrado now, the result is the same—extermination. In that “Pearl of the Antilles,” which Spain has worn so proudly, which she has so sadly misruled, she is at last to find her Nemesis. —__+-e ->___ A Murderer’s Letter. From the London Glote. Murderers who are sent to an insane asy- lum in England haye a pretty good time if there is any truth in a letter said to have been sent by one of them to a friend. The letter was written by Jonathan Lowe. He says: “I am very comfortable here, I am very kindely treted here; the superen- tend, the doctors, and all the attendents are all very kind and respectfull to tHe patents. We have about five hours and a half out in the gardens every day. There is books to read, periodicals, and the daly paper to read; biliards, bagatle, cards, de- monios, chess, draphs, ‘and everything that is nessery fer our amusement. Band plays out in the grounds, and there is plenty of musick amungst the patents themselves. We have our beer and tobaco and plenty of fruit; in fact, I am very comfortable. I am very well satisfied with my lot; it is better than Edmonton. * * * We can correspond with our freind wen we lik, and Yeceive visitors; all I have to do is to be- have myself. * * *” —_+e+-______ AUCTION SALES OF REAL ESTATE, &c. Monday. James W. Rateliffe, Anct., 920 Pa. ave. n.w.— Sale of whiskeys, gin, clarets, &c., on Monday, August 22, at 10 o'clock a.m. James W. Rateliffe, Auct., 920 Pa. ave. n.w.— Trustees’ sale of Nos. 3038, 3040 and 3042 Cam- bridge st. n.w. on Monday, august 22, at 5 ym. Sam Cross and William A. Gordon, trustees, ~ AUCTION SALES. FUTURE DAYS. . PUBLIC SALE OF A SUMMER RESORT. ‘The noted Rock Enon Springs, located tn the Great North mountain, abcut 15 ‘miles from Win- chester, Va., -omprising abcut 200 acres of la: with the hotels, buth hovses, swimming pool ai several mineral ‘3 surrounded by picturesqce mountain scenery, will be offered for sale st public auction, under a decree of court, at the court house ia Winchester, Va. on SEPTEMBER NINTH, 1898, AT TWELVE O'CLOCK. For further partic: ROY 8ST - ulars, terms, «tc. address W. SON '& JNO. J. WILLIAMS, ° Attorneys-at-Law, Winchester, Va. aul3-s4t tess ee AUCTION SALES. “MONDAY. JAM RATGUPPE, AUCTIONFER, (Successor to Ratcliffe, Sutton & Co.) TRUSTEES’ SALE OF BRICK HOUSES NO: 138, 3040 AND BRIDGE STR WASHINGTON By virtue (f three ‘deeds of trust, ded re spectively In Liber 206: 479, 484 and 488, « the land ~ecords for the °f Coluinhia, we Will sell at public auction, on MOADAY, THB TWENTY-SECOND DAY OF AUGUST, A.D’, isos commencing at FIVE O'CLOCK P.M. tbe pa f ground in that part of the city Ingtcn formerly known ax town, Known ae. lots numbered Gfiy-three ifty-four (4) and Dfty-tive (55), ‘nm Axbford & Kidout, b- division of part cf square one bundr (112), vow squai numbered twelve . formerly called * in Liber A. B Furvesor's mproved by d; then lot snd then lot office house improved improved No. 3094 No. 3082 ms of sale in equal i tntei 5 of si ly, 4 on the pi . at option of purcha don each lot at stamps and rding ¢ are not complied with in Ind cash, and two with ing, If terms cf from day of sale the trustees reserve the r: cont resell at risk and cost of defai SAM. CKOS aul0&ds WILL iting purchaser, , Trustee. M A! GORD( Large stock of Whiskies, Gins, Clarets, Champagnes, Cordials, Club Sodas, Ales, Porters, Cider, Soft Drinks, etc. to be sold by public auction, within my sales’ rooms, No. 920 Pa. ave. n.w., on MONDAY, 22D AUGUST, at TEN O'CLOCK A. M., to which the attention of the trade and pri- vate buyers is called. JAMES W. RATCLIFFE, aulg-2t Auctioneer, FUTURE DAYS. . SLOAN & ©O., AUCTS., 1497 G ST. NW. PTORY SALI ney F NET AND HOU ON “ACCOUNT. ¢ oF KF a LARG HING Nat LAR ULTRY SOF 9 WIRE EMBRACING & AS ARE L-STOCKED &e. suCH IN % UsUs HARI TS AN UNUSUAL orror- CHANCERY SA COMMOD! AS NO. 15 f Under and f the Supreme passed in equity © 024, on the loth di of August, 1808, being suit Mary C. Lemmon against Fronces M. Rich et al. th reigned receivers cerctoford ted in this » in fro at ab: a frontag west and r nd ts i on 15th stree e same width, 10 ning deed of trust on the prope erest at 6 p and bearing {i all cash, at the option of tt posit will be required at time cuuveyancing and revenue st of the purenaser. If the gomplied with within ten ¢ the receivers reserve the right t erty at the risk and cost of the defa chaser. JAMES. H. TAY aul8-d&ds JOHN RIDOUT, _AUCTIONE! wv. IMPROVED T CAPTDOL LIBRARY. THE New By virtue of a deed dat 1894, and recorded in Li of the land reco the Dist eurviving truste rust MONDAY, THE T ST, 1698. aT . th he ef as the east tweuty inches front of lot nu west twenty-four ( situa at estate >, and des t eke f Jot frout seven (7). by the of sald ‘ots, aumbered sey2n bi ni twenty-cig the whole fronting forty-neven (47) f st Capltol st inches oa easement over eastern four \4) f part of lot numbered seven reserved uncer deed to Benjamin recorded in after W. B. 12, folio 12. of the lx is of caid Distriet, the same being imprc substantial brick dwelling No, 122 East ste Terms of sale: Oi balance In one ard two years from sa nts to be secured by deed of trust « y sold. or all cash, at the cption rms of sule are not complied wi ys, the trustee reserves the right t after five Gays’ notice, at risk avlting ud reve- ps tobe ~ R. WOK ALE OF VALUABLE BUSINESS PREMISES NOS.” 1406 NUE NORTH- By virtue of a cer d of trust, dated the 8d day of August, 1867, and duly 4 in Liter 2223, folio 892 et’ one of the land records of ‘the Dis' and at the request of the bold; by, we will sell, at public auction, pren ises, on WEDNESDAY, Al FOURTH, 1898, AT HALP-PAST P.M., the following dereribed in the city of Washi lot G and the east se frout by depth of lot tz dred and twenty-six (2 recurded in the office of t in Book he surveyor trict of Columbia, N. K., pa, 143, together with the improvements ing. of two stores with dwelling rooms a! number- ed 1404 and 1406 Pennsylvania avenue northwest, Terms: Sold subject to a prior deed of trust; recorded in Liber 2219, folio 870, for $13,000, et 5 per cent Interest, for five (5) years. from 20, 1897. Balance one-half cash and nm the remainder at one and two years, terest at 6 per cent, payable semi-annually, secured by deed of trust on the property sold. deposit of $200 will be required at time of sale. Terms to Le complied with in 15 deys from day 6 scle, otherwise trustees reserve the right to rese at risk and cost of defaulting purchaser, after due nctice published in some Washington news) BERNARD A. DT JUNIUS J. PITTMAN, ul2-d&ds ‘Trustees. JAMES W. RATCLIFFE, AUCTIONE od (Successor to Ratcliffe, Sutton & Co.) TRUSTEE'S SALE OF A TWO-STORY BRICK HOUSE, NO. 443 8 STREET NORTHWEST. By virtue of two deeds of trust, recorded’ re- spectively in Liber No. 1690, folio 130; No. 1827, folio 57 et seq., of the land records for ihe District of Columbia, and at the request of the p cured thereby. the undersigned surviving trustee will offer for sale by public auction, in front of the remises, on THURSDAY, THE TWENTY-FIFTH DAY OF AUGUST, A.D.’ 1808, AT HALF FOUR O°CLOCK P.M. District of Columbia, eighteen (18), <n W. ‘H. subdivision of lots two to eight, in square east of square num- bered four hundred and seventy-five (47), together with all the improvements, rights, &c. Terms: One-third cash, the balance in one an@ two years, with interest from the day of sale at six per cept per aanum, secured by deed 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 sal® are hot complied with within fifteen days from the day of sale the trustee reserves the right to resell the property at the risk and cost of the rye 4 purchaser, after five days’ advertisemen: sucl Tesale in’ some newspaper published in. Washing- ton, D. C. All conveyancing, stamps, &c., at the murchaser’s cost. rs JOHN WALTER, Jr., Surviving Trustee. aul3-d&ds TEOS. J, OWEN, AUCTIONEER, 913 F ST. N.W. TRUSTEES’ SALE OF IMPROVED PROPERTY ON I STREET SOUTHEAST. By virtue of 2 certain deed of trust duly re- corded in Liber 1309, folio 397, one of the land records of the District of Columbia, and at the request of the iy secured thereby, we will sell at public auction, im front _of the ‘premises, on TUESDAY, AUGUST TWENTY-THIRD, 1608, A’ HALF-PAST FOUR O°CLOCK P.M., ' ove-foui irterest in the west one-bslf of lot’3, and the east one-half of lot 4, joare 960," improved by a two-story frame’ dwelling, being premises Ne, Sip Lapet erbenst. ‘erms co: A 100 required at time of sale. Conveyancing, ete., at cost of purchaser. " JOHN S. SWORMSTEDT, ‘Trustee. EDWARD B. HUGHES, ‘trustee. + July es for bearing in- and A