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THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C. Presidents Who Preceded Washington Among the Figures in American History|" BY WILL P, KENNEDY. EORGE WASHINGTON was not the first President of the United States, though by good right and title “the Father of His Country.” Nor does that honor be- long to John Hanson of Maryland, son of an fmmigrant Swede, whose herolc bronze statue is in Statuary Hall in the Capitol, and whose portrait by Peale hangs in Independence Hall in Phila- delphia, where he held office as “Presi- dent of the United States in Congres: Assembled,” elght years before Wash- ington was inaugurated. At the seemingly heretical statement that Washington was not the first Pres- fdent the school children of today will throw up their hands in scandalized horror, and their parents and others. even those who have been considered *“sharks” on history, will protest that th never heard of such a thing!" This is historical fa with original autograph manuscripts to prove it in the Librar; Con; even though history as fs taught allows (as James M. Back, solicitor general of the United States and author of an import- ant work on the orga: ation of this Rovernment. , “the colossal n to throw a great ike Hanson into the “Presidents” who held office be- fore Washington's election Maryland has boasted, and other stu- dents of carly American political his- tory hav stated, hat John Hanson was “President of the United States in Congress Assembled.”” under the first official government organized by the igh formal signing of the federatic tedating zoverny 3 of ess, he the constitutional vears. It was a diff rm ¢ but it was the first government of the TUnited States, through joint approval of all the then exi 1t elected its presiding officer “President of the Tnited States in Congress Assembled” and he signed dent.” Viewed ten “Presiden Washington's election light, there were * % ok * n't first Pre: will alway: nd if Hanson F WASHINGTON w dent, as Am continue to believ wasn't first Pre principally Maryla to contend, who dent? it is well to bear dates The Declaration adopted Jul The Article nders, have essayed was the first Presi- in mind these salient Maryland, nal colonies, the other coloni: rious dates in 1 John Hanson of Maryland was elected “President of the United States in Con- ovember 5, 1781, government 1788. 1 was clected Pres- form of government, as Its backbone, The c« organiz_d March ¢ George Was! ident of this new with the Const was s inaugurated 1 t on the date when Hanson and Carro!l signed the articles for Maryland, w h ipso facto gave the new nation its first real and duly au- thorized _government of the United States, by common consent of the gov- erned. Samuel Huntington of Connecti- cut was preside of the Continental Congress, which became the Congress of the Confederation. This would seem to justify Connecti- cut In setting up a rival claim against that of Maryland, to the effect that Huntington of Connecticut and mnot Hanson of Maryland or Washington of Virginia was t President of the United States Samuel Huntington was born in Windham, Conn., July 3, 1731. He was admitted to the bar in 1758 and commenced the practice of law in Norwich the 3 He was a member of the colonial assembly in 1764. He was appointed crown’s at- torney in , having been executive councilor in 1763. He was dele- gate from Connecticut to the conti- nental congress from 1776 to 1781 and its president from September 28, 79, to July 6, 1781, being its president, therefore, when Maryland signed the articles of confederation effecting the first Union of the states by consent of all the then existing states. When he retired, in 1781, he received the thanks of the congress, but was re- turned again for a short period in 1783. Samuel Huntington was also a signer of the Declaration of Indepen- dence; superior court judge from 1774 to 1784 and chief justice in 1784, lieu- tenant governor of Connecticut in 1785 and governor from 1786 until his death in Norwich, January 5, 1796. There are, however, those who will argue that Samuel Huntington only chanced to be the “holdover presir dent” from the continental congress and that he had not been elected President of the United States in Congress assembled after all of the states had by their signatures agreed to the Usion. * K K ¥ same T s Interesting to note that the first man elected President of the United States in Congress assembled after the articles of confederation had been stgned by all of the thirteen then existing states declined to serve. This unique distinction in history is held by Samuel Johnston, who had previously. been moderator of the revolutionary convention of 1775 and who later was elected as a federalist to the United States Senate, serving from November 27, 1789, to March 3, 1793. Johnston was born in Dundee, Scotland, brought to this country by his parents in 1736, educated in New England and served the state of North Carolina in many important 2ublic offices until his death in 1816. Johnston was elected July 9, 1781, but when he declined to accept the office Thomas McKean, a native of Pennsylvania, but serving as a dele- gate from Delaware, was elected “President the following day, July 10, 1781, McKean was, therefore, the first President elected and serving after the articles confederation had been formally accepted and signed by the thirteen then existing states, which established for the first time a legal government for this new nation. ‘When the surrender of Lord Corn- wallls’ army at Yorktown, October 19, 1781, virtually brought to an end government, | » papers as “Presi- | reld office before | s some few, | Washington. the Father of His Cauntry, Was First President Under the Constitution, But Others Served Under Articles of Confed- eration After They Had Been Accepted and Signed by All of the Former Colonies. JOHN HANSON OF MARYLAND. PHOTOGRAPH OF STATUE IN STATUARY HALL OF THE CAPITOL. the war which had wov this new na- tion its independence, it was Thomas McKean who led the “United States in Congress assembled” in solemn procession to the Dutch Lutheran Church in Philadelphia, where praise was given to God for the complete triumph of the American cause. McKean was born in New London. Chester Pa. November 19, 1734, He was admitted to the bar and began practice Newcastle, Del.. at the age of twenty. He was colonial representative from 1782 to 1769. He was a delegate from Delaware to the general congress in New York city in 1765 and to the continental con- gress from 1774 to 1783. He chief justice of Pennsylvania from 1776 to 1798, was elected president of the state of Delaware in 1776 and served in the revolutionary army. Moving from Delaware back to his native state, Pennsylvania, Mr. Me- county, was | Washiington Star Photo. 1782 was to recelve Gen. Congress then sitting In Philadel- phia, where the official thanks of Congress were given for the victory at Yorktown. £ ¥ * IT was during the John Hanson that triumphed over Great presidency of American arms Britain. He ! was the hero of the day on March 1, | 1781, when Congress. announced to world that all the states had signed the articles of confederation by a discharge of camnon in vard of Independence Hall, in Phila- delphia. It was due to his leadership In forcing the colonies to abandon their claims to the Northwest Territory that the orator of the occasion singled out John Hanson for signal recognition when he declared: “This the i SAMUEL HUNTINGTON. COPY OF ENGRAVING IN THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. ‘Washington Star Photo. _— Kean was chosen delegate to the state constitutfonal convention. He was governor from 1799 to 1808, and died in Philadelphia June 24, 1817. John Hanson was elected President, succeeding Thomas McKean, Novem- ber 5, 1781. The official record in the archives of the Library of Congress, in the handwriting of Samuel Ster- rett, private secretary, under that date, reads: “This day the United States in Con- gress assembled flected his excel- lency John Hanson, Esquire, Pres dent—the Honorable Thomas McKean, late President, having resigned on the 23d of October last, but acted by special request until the present time.” His was the rare privilege and proud distinction of leading in the founding of organized government for this great republic. While George Washington was the military leader under this first official government of the United States, John Hanson was the civil leader—the chlef ex- ecutive. As President, one of his last officlal acts before his retirement in & day will be memorable in the annals of America to the latest posterity. Although there is no foundation for the claim that John Hanson was the first President, yet there is abundant reason giving him an outstanding place in American history. It was through his statesmanship that Mary- land held out for ceding the great Northwest Territory to the central government. He Baw to it that Mary- land,did not sign the articles of con- federation until all of the colonies had agreed to surrender their claims to these crown lands, thus establish- ing the public domain out of which such states as Illinols, Ohio, Indiana and Michigan have been carved. Thus he was not only the central figure in formation of the federal Union, but was also responsible large- Iy for changing the whole map of the United States. The first important officlal act of President Hanson .was to draft and transmit to King Louls XVI a letter expréssing the gratitude of _the Unitea States as a nation for the ald given by France In the defeat of 2 George | Washington and present him to the| the | Cornwallls at Yorktown. This letter is preserved in the manuscript rec- ords of the Congress, and its con: cluding paragraph is: “Done at Philadelphia the 29th day of November, In the year of our Lord 1781, and in the sixth year of our independence. By the United States in Congress rssembled. Your faithful friends and allies. John Hanson. President.” Besides Samuel Huntington of Con- necticut, Thomas McKean of Dela- ware, John Hanson of Maryland, the seven others who served as President before Washington became the first President under the present constitu tional government were: Ellas Bou- dinot of New Jersev, Thomas Miffiin of Pennsylvania, Richard Henry Lee of Virginia, John Hancock of Massa- chusetts, Nathaniel Gorham of Massa- chusetts, Arthur St. Clair of Penn- sylvania and Cyrus Griffin of Vir- ginfa. The distinction between the presi- dency in‘the days of Thomas McKean, John Hanson and those seven other: who intervened before Washington and the presidency In the days of Peyton Randolph of Virginia, Henry Middleton of South Carolina, John Hancock of - Massdkhusetts, Henry Laurens of South Carolina.and John Jay of New York, who were the earlier presidents of the Continental Congress from September 5, 1774, to 1781, lies in the fact that the Ameri- can revolution was fought under a sort of gentlemen’s agreement in lieu of a legally organized government. The distinction between the presi- dency of McKean and Hanson. and that of Washington and the others who have since served as chief execu- tive is that McKean and Hanson were presidents of the goverpment under the Articles of Confederation and agreed to by the thirteen then exist- ing states, while Washington and his twenty-elght successors have served under the Constitution. Sollcitorl General Beck., in his re- cent book on the Constitution of the United States, Is a witness regarding the fact that the Continental Con- gress, when Thomas McKean and John Hanson were elected “President of the United States in Congress As- sembled,” had a more responsible standing than previous sessions of the Continental Congress under their predecessors as presidents. Mr. Beck points out that “the so-called Articles of Confederation, which were drafted in 1776, were never finally adopted by the requisite number of states until March, 1781, when the war was near- ly over. Then he goes on to ex- plain that “by the Articles of Con- federation, which, as stated became effective In 1781, the conduct of foreign affairs was vested in the new government, which was also given the power to create admiralty courts, regulate coinage, maintajn an army bills of credit; but the great limita- bills of credit, but the great limita. tion was that in all other respects the constituent states retained ab- solute power, especially with refer- ence to commerce and taxation.” * ok X ‘VVOODROW WILSON, who is one of the greatest authorities American history, explains that “the | Articles of Confederation proposed at the heart of the war-time November 15, 1777, had at last been adopted March 1, 1781, in season to create at least a government which could sign treaties and conclude wars, but nelth- er soon enough nor wisely enough to bring order out of chaos. The states, glad to think the war over, would do nothing for the Army, nothing for the public credit, nothing even for the maintenance of order;and the Ar- ticles of Confederation only gave the Congress written warranty for offer- ing advice; they did not make its shadowy powers real.” That Thomas McKean and John Hanson in assuming the presidency found themselves at the head of an authoritative government is clearly defined by James A. Garfield in one of his works: s “By the Declaration of Independ- ence the sovereignty of the colonies was withdrawn from the British crown and lodged In the Continental Congress. No one of the colonies was ever independent or sovereign. No one colony declared itself independ- ent of Great Britain; nor was the Declaration made by all the “colonies together as colonies. It was made in the name and by the authority of the 800d people of the colonies as one nation. By that act they created, not independent states, but an Independ- ent nation, and named it ‘The United States of America’; and, by the con- sent of the people, the sovereignty of the new nation was lodged in the Continenfal Congress. This is true not only In point of law, but as a historical fact. The Congress became the only leglelative, executive and judicial power of the nation; and the Army became the Army of the Conti- nental Congress. One of its regiments, which was recruited from the nation generally, was called ‘Congress’ Own," as a sort of reply to the ‘King's Own, a royal regiment stationed at Bos. ton. Officers were commissioned by Congress, and were sworn to obey its orders. The President of Congress was the chief executive officer of the nation. The, chafrmen of committees were heads of the executive depart- mnts. A committee sat as judges in admiralty and prize cases. The power of Congress was unlimited by any law or regulation, except the consent of the people themselves.” * ok ok ¥ OHN HANSON was the really big|olutions agt civic leader of those critical da: He was born in Charles county, M in 1715, son of Samuel and Elizabeth Hanson. The earll st records of the Hanson family in this country date back to 1642, when they settled in the thriving colony called New Sweden, on the Delaware river. John Hanson 1 on| {of suspecting the manufacturer JUNE 3, 1923—PART 5. Rob European Museums and Churches As Big Secret Business Is Developed Important Source of Dishonest Wealth Has. Been Growing Since the War, and America Is One of the Rich Markets—Hiding Pockets and Curiously Concealed Trays in a Motor Car—Imi- tations of Rare Objects Prepared and Substituted—Custodians Afraid to Report Their Losses. Men of Wealth and Position Lose Sense of Honor in Enthusiasm for Collections. BY STERLING HEILIG. PARIS, May 24. HE supposed leader of a con- fidence gang, coming up from Blarritz in his magnificentq 145,000-franc touring car, was found to have hid in it some 900,000 francs in French money and 800,000 francs In Spanish currency and Jewelry. He had drawn these small trifies out of Spanish bank accounts and safe-deposit boxes—to make the pleasure trip for self and wife, to “sweeten the pot” for his principal leutenants In Paris and to salt down a few hundred thousands very pri- vately! Hum, hum! Think no rather rich for the “con” game? The confidence game is good. It is a rellable bread-winner—in .the large way of palace hotels, lobster restaurants, smart clothes and a dia- mond front—as understood by its practitioners to be the real life. Sometimes they go broke. backing ponies or bucking the wheel with sev- eral zeros and an eagle-bird. And, then, by getting back to work, they have their roll again. A large, wage- paying graft! But can you see a confidence man drawing 1,000,000 francs from his Monaco bankers—and paying 3,000 francs bonus commission to receive the sum in ready cash that after- noon? ' Can you imagine him with nther bank accounts, in Spain, from which to draw the 1,400,000 francs- pesetas found hidden with the jewels in the touring car? Why, the car’s upholstery was fitted everywhere with cunning hiding pockets and quriously concealed trays in the carriage body—which had to be measured, outside and Inside, to account for the space they occupled. Why, those travs could stand frontier examinations! * ok x ok 1s it not THAT were they for? Exchanging “ pocketbooks? No. Here is a glimpse: The expensive touring cars were not designed for the confidence game—thofigh they won confidence of police and public. And the big bank accounts in Spain, France, | Monaco were not exactly velvet from exchanging pocketbooks with fuddled tourists on the Boulevard or Avenue Louise! In these unprecedented riches of “con” men do you not see glimpses of a sideline, rich beyond the dreams of bunk, and secret, not denounced even by its victims, kept quiet with a cold determination by its occasional ! practitidners and protected. camou- flaged by Interests—interests strong enough to keep the story from the public and remote enough to seem indefinitély unconnected with the “con” game, or the great, new secret business of— Robbing European museums and churches! The man who invented business was the prosperous pro- prietor of a big barrel factory at Clermont-Ferrand. Nobody dreamed in his touring car. He became famous, finally, by get- ting away with the 600,000-franc reliquary of Ambezac from the little old church of which it had been the historic treasure since the sack of the Abbey of Grammont in the rev- olution. He sold the reliquary in England, and it is supposed to be in America. He was finally jailed for robbing the museum of Gueret—250.000 francs worth of selected objects, including the jeweled gold-and-ivory bust of St. Pardoux and a lot of priceless embroideries. About that time Mr. Morgan loaned his Ascoli cope, with other precious exhibits, to the South Kensington Museum. There the cope was recog- nized and denounced by a connoisseur of textile art, and promptly restored by Mr. Morgan to the Italian gov- ernment, which had mourned its loss for three years. The loss he pocketed was $80,000. But it was never learned from whom he had bought the cope. These old thefts showed the wa —_— people of Frederick county became practically a unit in their devotion to the principles which governed the American colonies In their struggle for Independence. After the passage by the British parliament of the Bos- ton port bill of 1774, he presided at a meeting. held at the Frederick county courthouse (June 20, 1774) to protest against Great Britain's acts of oppression. At this meeting he and Alexander Contee, “his cousin, were appointed delegates to the Maryland general convention and also as members of a “committee of observation,” which had power to call general meetings of the citizens. Mr. Hanson was - chairman of this committee until it was abolished by the establishment of the state gov- ernment in 1777 As a delegate to the Maryland con- vention he was active when that body et at Annapolis in June, 1774, in securing the passage of strong res- inst the importation of goods from Great Britain. He was treasurer of Frederick county in 1775, and about this time was commis- sloned by the Maryland, convention to establish a gunlock factory at Frederick. The “committes of observation,” of which he was chairman, raised was a direct lineal descendant from|two companies of riflemen in July, Col. Hanson, who served conspicu- ously In thé Swedish army under the leadership of Gustavus Adolphus. He was educated in England, and was a leader among the people of Maryland from 1757 until the close of the war of the revolution. He was a member of the Maryland house of delegates in 176781 and of the Continental Con- gress In 1781-83. For some years he resided in Kent county, but in 1773 he removed to Frederick county, the productive fields of that part of Maryland having attracted many tarmers from various parts of the province and from Pennsylvania. Under Mr. Hanson's leadership the 1775, and these were the first troops from the south to join Gen. Washing- ton at Cambridge, Mass., covering the 550 miles In less than twefity-two days without the loss of & man. This committee also sent to Boston £200 (English pounds) for the relief of the poor of that city. He was a member of nearly all the other important committees appointed In Frederick county to carry out the wishes of the patriots, including those authorized to erect a military jail for prisoners captured by the American troops and to select officers for the Maryland troops. (Copyright, 1928, by W. P. Kennedy.) it as big| WHEN AN ART OBJECT IS RARE AND DESIRED, THE MARKET AND THE PRICE AWAIT IT. THE ONLY RISK IS TO OBTAIN IT—BECAUSE, AFTERWARD, PURSUIT IS NIL. of a business, but since the war it has developed, as it were, from re- tail to wholesale. * ok % % HE jeweled Madonna of Crozant was on the point of being taken by the Beaux-Arts for safe keeping— the little church of Crozant had been honestly offered $100,000 for it! She seemed to be in her place—but it was an excellent imitation to deceive the | eye at a short distance in the dim, religious 1light. The real Madonna is gone for good, The wholesale ton- spiracy that planned her lifting gave out the job, in sections, to varlous experts and operators: (1) To pre- pare and make the imitation, (2) to plan and execute the substitution. (3) to get the jeweled Madonna out of France and (4) to dispose of her safely for the biggest sum—in case she had not been ordered in advance! Because, here is a queer develop- ment. There are connoisseurs so wrapped up in their collection and so passionately devoted to the fas- cinating game of adding thereto. as to have lost all moral sense. There are plenty of such rich collectors. They are men possessed of wealth, position and learning. of the loftiest sense of honor and Integrity In every other respect, but absolutely unbal- anced where their collections are concerned,’and ready to resort even to crime to obtain this plece, that Diece or the other, which they covet! Here is a true tale of one of the most famous of the world collectors. I shall not name him. for so many would know him. Once he visited a special exhibition, whose gem was a fragile curio of which, perhaps, only onme duplicate existed in the world; and it had not been seen for many years. Suddenly, the fragile thing slipped from the great collector's fingers, and smashed to atoms on the floor. All right. When this collector died, a few years later, his own collection was found to possess the long-lost counterpart of the otherwise unique curio which he had broken; and those who recalled the incident believed that he had purposely smashed it— that his own specimen might be the only one In the world! A reputed theft on order was that of the gold statuette of St. Baudime, in the Church of St. Nectaire. Any antiquity dedler of Parls will tell you the story. A rich American collector wanted the gold statuette —and belleved, ‘It Is said, that it would be bought for him secretly from the vestry, and a fine substitute be furnished the good people, along with the purchase money. The “G gmuz" undertook it. Two men, a lady and nice child came into St. Nectaire in their fine touring car. Naturally, they went to see the church. G—— himself had a gilded metal statuette in a suit case; and at the dead noon hour when folks were sleeping and the church was empty, he entered, loafed up toward ' the real gold statuette, quietly made the substitution and was out into the waiting automobile in quick time. Who would suspect a wealthy tourist party? Besides, gold St. ‘Baudine seemed to be in his niche all right—and the loss was not dis- covered for weeks! * X ok % N 'VEN when they discover their loss, custodlans are loath to make it known. So the jeweled alabaster Knight Templar of Colognac, one- ‘third life-size (a bulky thing, for sure, to substitute), worth 300,000 francs to any antiquity dealer, was not proclaimed for a year as stolen. So, the priceless finger of St. Louis (King of France, lawgiver and cru- sader), In its crystal case at Polssy, | and the 1,400,000-francs treasure of the Abbey of Conques were actually denled for months to be missing! Of all the robberies in the calendar of crime none are enshrouded in such mystery—thanks - to - this secrecy in which custodians almost invariably envelop the circumstances of the theft, even to the point of denying that It T been committed, There are reasons: (1) The fact that such robberies should be possible to both custodians and public at large as a reflection on the merit of their management—since a custodian who allows a thief to get away with valuables is manifestly at fault, (2) They fear that publicity in these matters is calculated to create doubts regarding the honesty of members of their staff—since such elaborate measure are adopted for protecting the collections that, at first sight, it seems incredible that any robbery could be done from the outside without complicity of some one within! (3) Many of the most valuable objects (in museums) have been lent by citizens, who would naturally in- sist on resuming possession of their treasures if they entertained any doubt as to their safety on loan. So, see! When bank notes or bonds are stolen, the robbery is made known far aid wide—and all in- fcrmation published concerning the numbers &nd charaseter of the docu- ments. But who has losses of European museums churches since the war? German museums have been partic- ularly victimized—for cause! Like this. If average custodlans shrink from admitting loss of pre- clous objects belonging to the mu- seum, how much more shall they hesitate in the case of valuables which do not belong to the museum! * * R ¥ UCH are, exactly, the millions’ worth of art objects, antiquities, statuettes, paintings, etc.. which the German armies found in Belglum and north France—and carrled into Ger- many to “safeguard” against theft, destruction and loss by carelessness of thelr Beigian and French custo- dians, There has not been time, vet, to sort out all this mass of salvaged beauty and riches. The interally restitution commissions has been dili- gently seeking to ald in the work, with immense typewritten lists in their hands, but as the stuft was thor- cughly put in safety when brought into Germany for safeguard, the re- sults have been slow and few. Now, here the “big business com- binations,” employing various gangs for fine work—piece work, just one job or two per month—saw oppor- tunity. The “lfters” started in to aid! There are, undoubtedly, big an- tiquity dealers among them, in the shadow, glving directions—even Ger- mans. One might say, particularly Germans. They are wonderfully bet- ter posted than the restitution com- missions. They go for the selected goods, and get them. Doubtless, there in some subordinate complicity inside those German museums—see how sus- picion, In meseum cases, smirches our minds and the reputations of in- nocent custodians! How complain that wonderful ob- Jects, intrusted by the Prince of Croy to a Belgian museum, safeguarded in| Germany since 1914, have been stolen | from the Museum of Dresden—when the interallied commission had never been able to find them anywhere in Germany? | Alas, the one only comvlete historic| collection of gold coins from the reign of Philip of Valois to Charles| the Tenth! The jeweled mfniaitures | by Boucher, Fragonard and Vanloo that had been rescued from Amiens| Museum! The stuff was worth $800,- 000 at least estimate. And the jew- | eled polgnard of Francis I, the agate| of St. Chapelle, the vase of the Ptol- emys, the wonderful ivory diptych of the Borgia and the crown of King| Agilulft How complain that they are mone when it was never admitted that they were there! heard of the cruel and Where? In Berlin, of course, by ‘way of Lille! H Simply millions worth of such safe- a peep of complaint, and the inter- rational police have not been noti- fied. But the big German detective force, be sure, is hot-footed on the clues. Once they imagined they could pussy-foot up to a certain operator. known to have invented a notable tool to open museum cases. Traces of the tool were found in seven mu- seums. You just insert it in the lock. and a twist of the wrist destroys the lock entirely! * ok ok x 'HE talented large. Luxurious still pass the frontiers. Business men still offer options on the cream of art antiquities—and apportioning the labor and transportation deliver them in absolute security. There are millions in it Apart from the moral-dulling craze of rich collectors, there are other very rich men, in all countries, who care nothing for art antiquities, but see ahead—and take their precautions For one thing, they camouflage con- siderable parts of their taxable sur- plus in collections of this character whose value cannot be sworn to or often known or even imagined, by the federal and state officials who crave to make them better citizens! In one word—salting down In two words—hide the body! Museums full of hundreds of mil- lions worth of the most precious stuff in the world are there, like a mail order catalogue for them to gloat over. Get busy! Make the contact! Only, if you get the wrong contact and some one lets you down for a big sum which you have nothing but an imitation to show for, don't blame this story. This, too, is done, by the unscrupulous. The caught operator ‘“eats the plece,” or turnsy state’'s evidence. Every manjack of them is passion- ately determined to keep the busi- ness qulet, and would rather confess to exchanging pocketbooks, to get a clean bill, free from suspicion of art transportation. All over Europe the unhappy cus todians are suffering in silence. Silence! Silence! inventor is still at touring cars to Waves of Salt Lake. A GOVERNMENT official tells of “% witnessing a most convincing proof of the weight of the salt-lad waters of the Great Salt lake A strong gale of wind was blowing over the lake, and driving its surface into low, white-capped ridges, while along the shore the foam lay like flat banks of new-fallen snow. If it had passed across a lake of fresh water of equal extent that wind would unquestion- ably have produced such an agitation of its surface that navigation fir small boats would have been difficult if not highly perilous. But the waters of the Great Salt lake, although driven into ridges, as just remarked, showed a curious re sistance to the wind and the waves rising to only a slight elevation moved along with an appearance « lethargy that the eye could not b notice, Yet, there was an immense momer.- tum stored up in those low, heavy slow-moving waves. Venturing int the water at a point where the dept! did not exceed four feet, the observe found that it was impossible to stan against them. Their sheer weigh swept him resistlessly along. The curfous buoyancy of the water containing 22 per cent of salt in solv tion, Increased the helplessness of tt bather. He was not submerged, sometimes occurs in the Atlant breakers, but was lifted and carr: like a cork. It would probably have been possible to dive through an oncomi wave, after the manner practiced by bathers along the Atlantic coit In the Great Salt lake people are : drowned through sinking, but stra: gled while still afloat. The bitter wu ter may enter the air passages witl fatal effect, but the body continues ¢ float until it reaches the shore or picked up. Dangerous Trades. VERY occupation that men ~ engaged in seems to be in som way menacing to the Eealth, if w. may judge from the list of pursuits given by one expert. The dangers vary from the obvious perils of powder-making to the slow and sub- tle bad Influence on the health of less daring businesses, like leanins all day.over a cutting table or sit- ting at a cobbler's bench. 1t is comforting to know that in all countries that call themselves civ- lilzed laws are increasing in number and effectiveness to prevent thos: dangers to workmen which are not absolutely essential to their work. Among the most dangerous trades are dust-producing industries, like the manufacture of woolen and cot- ton goods, glass, pottery, and metals that require grinding, filing and pol- ishing. Tn nearly all these occupa- tions it is safe to say that care on the part of the workmen goes far toward preventing the diseases caused by the work. One industry will do as an ex- ample, an industry that looks to the average person harmless enough. Workers in cotton mills suffer from the presence of “fuft” and “flue” that escape from the cotton. Good venti- lation will in part counteract this danger. Cotton spinners have to work all the year around in a very warm, humid atmosphere, and accord- ingly suffer from debility and ex- haustion. They are also liable to colds, and need to dress carefully when they leave their work for the open air. One danger to which some English operatives are liable American oper- atives need not dread. In the oper- ation of “sizing” the yarn before weaving it into the loaded goods ar guarded treasures have been “‘Qed from German museums by wicked robbers, yet the public has not heard which are sent to some parts of Asia China clay {8 used, which finds its way into the alr passages.