Evening Star Newspaper, June 7, 1925, Page 71

THE SUNDAY STAR WASHINGTON JUNE 7, 1925—PART 5 g Where Flesh and Blood Are Cheap |Schroeder Namein D.C.Music History Chinese Coolies, Unskilled, Underpaid, Underfed—Ricksha Coolies of the Seaports— . Farming, Sedan and Wheelbarrow Coolies—Their Wages, Food and Clothing. SEDAN AND 'RIKISHA COOLIES ON HA SIDE BY SIDE. OW'S BUND. HERE ONLY CHINESE USE SEDAN CHAIRS. NOTE PALM AND PINE GROWING Hankow, China, April 24, 1925. HER words that are two descriptive always spring to mind when thinking of China or of ants; they ‘teem: ing” and “swarming.” China is teem- ing and swarming with llow people, e—oh, ants. They the unskilled and found everywhere. In the ports they plod wearily back and forth, to and from beari b ds: doing the work of horses machines. In the they dash about, drawing rickshas or harnessed to wheelbarrows. On the farms their only rivals are the big water buffa- loes—patient, uncomplaining. Sailing up and down the rivers, on the high seas, living dying in sampans and junks, the coolies. In the are serawny, very like— coolies—the they are are laborers; ships. cities and are future desire to partake of the prod- ucts therefrom. But from sunrise to sundown the coolies must toil for a hare pittance. The wages paid vary from 20 to 30 cents a day, with food to $20 and $25 a year when perma- nently employed. This includes board and lodging. but the money is loc: currency, which would equal Just about half the amount in our money, or gold currency. If you care to figure out 70 per cent of 300,000,000, vou will have a hazy idea of the num- ber of people wresting their living from the soil of China. All up the Yangtze River you can see them on the banks carrying water in buckets and by numerous crude devices back to their fields; driving or tending the huge, water buffaloes, who must every day 'have a siesta in the stream, above which only their heads are visible; plowing or digging the earth, dressed in what, from the ship, look like blue denim pajamas, with straw hats as big as cartwheels pro tecting them from the sun. Endless toil for a meager existence, and an honorarium of §13 gold a Ricksha Coolies of Seaports. In the ports you become acquainted first of all with the ricksha coolie. He Summer, glittering with sweat, their slender naked backs are burnished ' COOLIES CARRYING COTTON BALES ON HANKOW BUND. NOTE COOLIE'S TWISTED NECK. by the hot sun; in the Winter, shiv- | ering with cold, they cover them- selves with filthy rigs, eagerly gar- | nered from loathsome scrapheaps. They whatever they the river or the streets, ther a few coppers The country is cheap Chinese unskilled, | underfed, underpaid — offering its | strength in backbreaking, heartrend- eat can salvage from or scrape to- o buy. Labor?| swarming with it— ing tasks in order to avert starvation from d From the souls of those who see is wrung the cry: that h an to day “O God And fle In this the coolies with bread should be so dear blood so cheap:” article we are looking at Western eyes; con- the light counting their To us ition is pitiful beyond have never thing dif- untless generations have nd passed on to join their droning rhythmically with muscles—heyhoh! heyhoh fr of, behind “or underneath | heavy loads: conversing shrilly, | laughing loudly, shrieking incessant- ly for cumshaw, or additional cop- pers at the end of each da: shoveling into themselves a well earned bowlful of rice and draining off a cup of tea. To us, pathetic; to them—as long as they get their bowl of T maskee.” which is a pidgin English word derived from the Portu- cuese, meaning, in our vernacular, "I should worry sidering their of W wages in the who belief. known condition standards American in tern money hey, oped however, or ferent. ( thus lived ancestor straining for ar China's Farming Coolies. It has been estimated that about 70 per cent of China's population is en- gaged in agriculture. Of these farm coolies the average tourist sees but little; the usual trip to China means a short visit to a treaty port, leaving the vast interior unexplored. However, in a drive about the e virons of Shanghai you can see mar little truck farms. Enough to satisfy your eves and nostrils, for, unless it is the torpid stream from which they water it, there is nothing more of- fensively odoriferous than a Chinese farm. Few plots of ground can be seen that have not one or two un- kempt, grassgrown mounds contain ing the bones of somebody's ances. tors, and it would be bad joss to plow too close to these, though unimagina- tive cows often graze placidly on the tiptop of the grave. You would think that through their proximity to a big, progressive city they would have learned modern methods of farming, but through ignorance, poverty or pride they follow the customs of their forefathers—their tools anti- quated, their irrigation crude, their fertilizer vile. It takes but a whiff from these farms to convince any scoffer of the necessity of boiling and sterilizing vegetables and fruits to es- cape dysentery and cholera- deed, it does mot totally destroy any vhere, paddling along in front of his little brown buggy. He jogs, all occasions the people most unmerei- ful to the Chinese are their own people. The coolies are continually fleeing to the foreign concession for protection from their soldiers. Whole families are seen seateq on peculiar wheel- barrows, broad, with a ledge down the center, accommodating sometimes as many as 10 persons, and pushed by one coolie, with their worldly goods tied in a bundle on their backs or fol- lowing them in a ricksha. Thus they poured into Shanghai by the hundreds during this civil w Sedan and Wheelbarrow Coolies. sedan chair—always associated with China. However, these are almost never seen in Shanghai and 1 nkow, and are not used by foreigne! In Hongkong' they had many, but we felt so sure of meeting them else where that we lost this opportunity of trying them. They are like huge black boxes—with roof and windows— swung on two poles, which fit the shoulders of two men—one walking in front and one behind. The sedan chair coolies are blood brothers of the ricksha coolies, with the same charac- teristics when it comes to being paid. The work carts of China are all on one model—the wheelbarrow. They Where there are hills to be climbed | jand bad roads, you will still find the |50 cents per month. (1 1-3 pounds) of boiled corn meal with plums in it. * * * The third meal is made up of dry cooked broken rice grains, vegetable soup and pickled turnips, radishes or rutabagas. The radishes are often larger than either of the others. They are washed when gathered and put down in large tubs or “gongs,” in aline solution of bean sauce (soy uce), which is cheap and plentiful This pickles the radishes and they keep for months, turning dark and having a tangy flavor much esteemed by the coolie. It has little nourishing value, but is a filler. For these things it possible cost will be about 20 v, 600 coppers a_month, equivalent to about $i Mex The coolie eats no meat, nor does he drink intoxicants The food of the skilled man will be made up of the rice and corn meal and a little meat occasionally, but he will eat more, and a greater variety of vege- tables, always plentiful and cheap “The coolle will, as 'a rule, buy second-hand clothes, and in a year he will buy one blanket, though this may last him longer; three suits of clothes and a hat or two. These things will cost him about $6.50. His heaviest expense is for shoes and ocks, which will stand him about This leaves him head down, through the streets, and many an upset takes place, or col- lision, on crowded corners. If you manage to reach your destination safe- though with shattered nerve: always the question of pay vour man. You look at’ him. s ragged, emaciated, dripping with perspiration; he has an eager, hopeful appeal in his eyes. After all, vou cogi- tate, it was not his fault that the | streets were so jammed that you al- most gazed upon the face of Death three times on that short run; but the guide books say the proper fare is 40 cents an hour, and, as you have only been 10 minutes, it would not be quite fair to other foreigners or ricksha coolies to pay this one too much. In the end yvour heart rules your head, and, smiling in a friendly manner, you give the man 20 cents and a handful of coppers. Does he tip his hat and say “Thank you, ma'am.” He does not. He shrieks at you, gesticulates, rushes at you threateningly. Why? He knows you are a stranger, unfamiliar with the proper prices. It is as serious an error to overpay as it is to underpay. The only thing to do is to figure the correct amount, with a few coppers over, leap hurriedly from the ricksha the moment he drops the shafts, hand him the money murmuring “Cum- shaw,” to forestall his plea, and dash into the hotel or store before he has a chance to complain. Strange char- acters these coolies. Always out, at all hours of day and night, rain and shine. For rainy days they wear the big cart. wheel hats and capes of cocoanut husks; on hot days they wear, if any- thing but rags, a loose blue denim coat and kneelength breeches; legs and feet bare at all times. Recently they have started in Shanghai a company of “pedicabs,” or rickshas drawn by coolies on bicycles. These men are smartly uniformed in blue, with the round, small sized coolie hats trimmed with red. They receive regular wages, and must turn in all their earnings to their employers. The other coolies rent their rickshas, and sometimes even sublet them during the day, in ordav to get more out of them. Police Cruelty to Coolies. The Chinese police are very cruel to the coolies, kicking and beating them and snatching their license tags away from them for the slightest infraction. So they are always on the defensive. Very recently, in Hankow, a policeman in the British concession is alleged to have kicked a ricksha coolie in the stomach. The coolle was rushed to the hospital, where he died an hour later. The authorities immediately took ac- tion, turning the native policeman over to the Chinese court for trial, and giv- ing the family of the man $130 and $30 for funeral expenses: but at this time, with bolshevists crying “Down with the foreigner,” such an incident. (par- ticipated in entirely by natives) is suf- ficient to convert into a disastrous conflagration the smoldering hatred of the “white devil.” In fact, agitators have already printed and distributed inflammatory posters demanding that because of this happening the British should be made to turn their conces- sion back to the Chinese. Nothing could be more unfair or absurd, for on | more. come in all sizes, from the one de- scribed, which carries up to 10 hu- coolie, to the huge, clumsy wheeled bales drawn by 4 to 20 men ropes, chanting and groaning at every step. The men in back are harnessed across their shoulders. The impetus gained by these big trucks is tremen- dous. The coolies in front pull on in a coma, lulled by their own volces, heads down; the men behind are un- able to see over or around their load, so sometimes another man has to walk beside them to direct them. The other day I saw a cart piled high with boxes. At a corner they were suddenly stopped to allow a machine to go by, and the coolies were un- to control the wheelbarrow, which rolled ahead, carried by its own weight, with the result that the boxes fell off; almost burying the men in front. Patient Bearers of Heavy Burdens. Walking down the bund (water- front) of any Chinese port, you see myriads of huge bundles staggering along on bare legs; or that is what it looks like, because the body of the coolie is entirely hidden under his load. His neck is twisted cruelly, but he “carries on” for many blocks until he reaches the warehouse or is relieved by another coolie who relays the huge bale. Though many things are borne on the head and shoulders, the most popular method is to swipg the burden on a bamboo pole. A large stick is split to make an almost flat surface, strong and resilient. This is carried by one man when he has a load on each end, the center being placed on his shoulder: or by two men with the weight swung from the center. They have a low, monoto- nous song which might almost be called the national anthem of China— “Hey-hoh * * ® hey-hoh * * *" So far, the labor considered has been that of the streets and farms. But there are many industrial de- mands for coolie labor in factories and constructive enterprises. A con- structive engineer of North China sums up the economic condition of the Chinese coolies thus: Wages, Food and Clothing. “It is futile to compare the rates with rates paid in any other coun- try, for the exchange value does not enter into the calculation. The point is: What will this money buy here? ‘When a contractor keeps his coolies he provides for them matting to make sheds in which the men ‘keep comfortable in winter, which fr quently registers temperatures be- low Fahrenheit zero, and also pro- vides a cook, and for these he charges the men nothing. But the men are supposed to police their own camps. The lowest figure I have been able to get of the cost of feeding coolies is $4 (Mex.) per month. They are fed three meals a day, at 5 am. man passengers and is pushed by one [ works cheerfully for long hours of wagons piled sky-high with boxes and | it. and fon | pushed and guided by two or three |Socks, $1 The men in front pull on lnnpi\\'“l have to pa into the shaft by a strap that goes | | | about $30 per vear unaccounted for. Yet he keeps well, is strong and hard labor and seems to thrive on The skilled workman will spend clothes about $12; shoes and| : hats, $2; blanket, $6, and s about $6 for rent.” When Candy Explodes. OT long ago a serious explosion occurred in a cork factory at Ed- inburgh, Scotland, and the cause thereof was what is ordinarily held to be harmless dust. Any dust that will burn can be made to explode. All that is necessary is there shall be a mixture of air and dust in certain pro- portions Dust in flour mills sometimes is the cause of mysterious explosions, mys- terious in that the cause is sometimes not suspected by those ignorant of the above facts. When a certain amount of flour dust is placed in a box containing two cubic feet of air, it can be exploded with sufficient force to' throw four or flve bovs off their feet, should they be standing on the 1id of the box at the time. Even candy is explosive, since it contains sugar. An explosion which occurred in a candy factory some time ago originated at the tables where marshmallows were being made. Marshmallows are coated with fine sugar and the hot dry air became so laden with sugar dust that the mix- ture ignited from some cause and a violent explosion occurred, doing much damage to the building. Microscopic Movies. ICROSCOPIC moving pictures have recently been shown deal- ing with the intimate existence of the bee, the spider and the ant. So re- markable is their clarity that spec- tators can see a flea on the eyeball of an ant. The pictures incidentally brought out that a queen bee must be born upside’ down. That in losing her sting she loses her life, and that the queen stings only other female bees. Portrayal of the spider and the fly show that in a single path across a dish of food the fly leaves enough typhoid germs to give one for each man, woman and child in New York City. That the spider can in two minutes spin a thread 250 feet long. This thread when compared with human hair is barely more visible than light rays. Referring to ant life, it explains that the male is a drone, but the fe- male can lift what to a man would be 250,000 pounds. World's Largest Farm. IR SIDNEY KIDMAN, the Aus- tralian cattle king, owns what must be the world's largest farm. It embraces more than 40,000 square noon and at 8 pm. Twice a day|miles, an area roughly equivalent to they have a meal of vegetable soup, | the whole of England, less Yorkshire very thin and hot, and about a catty nd Devon. Thousands of Citizens Here Knew First Local Head of House, Whose History Is Told by the Rambler as a Matter of Public Interest. HIS ramble will tell of a mu- sician who lived in Washington 78 years. His name? August Wilhelm Schroeder. For 62 years his home was No. 524 Ninth ~ street southeast, between E and G. Thousands of Washingtonians now dead knew him and call him friend. Washingtonians living, re-| member him, and almost al: men whose eyes are on this page will think, “Yes, 1 knew him.” In July, 1924, the Rambler wrote ot the late Henry A. Linger's farm on Bowen road, opposite the country home of Sayles J. Bowen, mayor of Washington for two terms, 1868 and 1869. In that ramble was written: The old Linger house and lands on Bowen road have been occupied a good many vears by Blair Domer. Blair is a brother of Charlie, Will, Harry, Eulalie and Delia. All the old boys know Charlie. Will fs teller with the Columbia National Bank. Harry is with the Swartzell, Rheem and Hen- sey Company. Eulalie married Clar. ence Rheem. All of wHich calls up memories not alone of genial, gentle Clarence Rheem, but of poor Tom | Hensey and George Swartzell. Delia married a- gentleman, by name All man, and the Rambler has lost track of her.” These Domers are children of Rev. Samuel Domer, deceased, long pastor of St. Paul's English Lutheran | Church, southwest corner of H and Eleventh streets northwest. His Washington home was 738 Eleventh street and he bought the Linger farm as a country home. Blair Domer's wife is a daughter of August W. chroeder. She was his fourth child and was named Ellie. The Rambler set these facts in a memory-niche that he might tell you of August Schroeder and his family. He thought that a story on this subject would lead to one or more about Washington mu- siclans of other years, feeling that this matter would interest you In 1840 Christian Schroeder, his wife, Dorathea Miller Schroeder, and their son, August, landed at Baltimore from Germany after three months at sea in a sail ship. August was born at Hanover, Germany, in 1836. The family came from Baltimore to Washington a few days after entering the United States and went to live on a farm near Four Corners, this side of Burnt Mills, on the Colesville road in Mont- gomery Countyy d Christlan was a musician and from his youth had been a German military bandsman. Soon after making a home near Four Corners, Christian enlisted in the Marine Band and moved to Washington with his wife and son, renting the house on the southeast corner of Tenth and G streets south east. The house stands. Christian servell several enlistments in the band—I1 believe three of four years each, and part of a fourth—and died May 27, 1854. His grave is in Congressional Cemetery. His widow, Dorathea, lived until 1884, and the Rambler has seen a sear certificate giving her a little pension as widow of Christian Schroeder of the Marine Band, “who died of disease contracted in line of duty The Rambler has looked at issues of The Evening Star, May 27-30, 1854, but they do not hold an account of Christian Schroeder’s death. No significance is in that be- cause newspapers did not gather news | so well then, as now. * x % % UGUST SCHROEDER enlisted in the Marine Band in 1857. He was 21, had full music training under his father and others and had been play- ing the cornet in private music com- panies. The year before going with the Marine Band he bought the lot and built the house No. 524 Ninth street southeast, It was his home till death, the home of his 12 children and is the home now of four of his childreff, Leila Henderson Schroeder, Emmie May Schroeder, Mrs. Rita Schroeder von Hermann and Robert Morgan Schroeder. He was with the Marine Band till 1876—19 vears—and in that time he played his part in ceremonies gay or grim, many of them historic—inauguration of Presi- dents, reception of delegates from many nations, funerals of men who made history and parades which mil lions watched. He played his cornet with the band at Capitol and White House concerts in Summer and played in brass or strings at parties where the public went, and at dances, din- ners and fetes to which invitations were not given to unknown, humble folk like you and me. The Marine Band for all its life has played a part in great affairs, yet a man does not often know or read the name of a bandsman. I wish I could write that word “bandman’ but the copy reader and the proofreader would call me down and prove that the important dictionaries do not ad- mit it. Yet it is senseless to write “bandsman”—possessive of ‘“band” with the possessive mark outgrown— when “bandman” would meet the need and be in line of usage which has made “barbershop” from ‘‘bar- | | THE SCHROEDER HOME, AT 52 his hair parted in the middle and with a cane and spats becomes chairman of a committee to give advice to the poor, and his picture is set up in the shop windows. A chap with a fore head half a millimeter high and who can tie his ears in a bowknot over the top of his head gives a tip of $500 to a waiter and a hundred thousand people read about him till their eyes | ache. But a man who plays the| march at your wedding and the fu.| neral of your friend, Oh, well! I do| not know his name—perhaps he | hasn't one—he's just a member of | the band. The Rambler has more | thoughts on this line but he hasn't| space to spill them now. with the story. * K ok x Al‘G\fST Schroeder formed Schroe. der's Orchestra in 1878. ,Then he formed other orchestras, each known as Schroeder's Orchestra, that Schroeder’s Orchestra could be in dif ferent places at the same time chroeder’s Orchestra played for the dance at the coming-out party of your mother, at the reception which grandmother gave “in honor of AUGUST W. SCHROEDER. Princess of Anchovia when she came to Washington, and at the picnic which your Sunday school gave at ymont, or Custis Spring, Green Spring or White House Landing. At the tournament for the championship of Southern Maryland or Northern Virginia, at the coronation ball, at the oyster roast, the barbecue, lawn fete, church_soclal or political rally it is likely that Schroeder’s Orchestra made the musi He must on | § | lunch 4 NINTH STREET plaved In the parlor of the Ebbitt House and at the Raleigh. August Schroeder organized the National ard Band of the District of Colum- when Gen. Albert Ordway com manded the brigade, and he was in spector of band instruments for the United States Government during the ar with Spain. He was a life mem ber of Naval Masonic Lodge, a mem ber of the Association of Oldest In- habitants and a member of the Old Guard. He died June 25, 1918, eighty- two yvears old. He had more friends than most men and many of the Ram bler's friends “on the Navy Yard” have told him stories of August roeder’s kindness, e of August Schroeder's bovs were musicians and still are. The elde on, John Christian Schroeder, was given broad musical schooling und adopted the piano. He played in the old Wiltard Hotel orchestra ind conducted the Raleigh Hotel orchestra during the years T. J. Talty was manager of the hotel, retired from professional music, and since 1888 — 37 years—] been assistant_secre. tary of the Washington Safe Deposit Company often meet John at and with George Havenner, Hasleton of Bradbury Heights, Scanlon, Bill Cross, “Sid” Wall- Mike 'Lev Welby Small we hold a consortium on affairs of government The news: papers, commissioners, congress, and the President do not always conform to our decisfons and we have thought of asking them to sit at our table and get the right dope on how the country should be run. We would like to hand them some knock-out reasons why the income tax in the higher brackets should be lowered t W 1 Ed Ed berg. wood, Every time one of us makes a hun- | dred thousand or so we feel that the tax is heavy. * %%k ok JFRANK WILLIAM SCHROEDER, | second son of August Schroeder, died in 1894 and had become a musi clan of merit and experience. He played in his father's orchestra and was of the Academy of Music orches- tra when he died. The third son, Charles Ernest Schroeder, played with hit her in the old National Theater orchestra, was in the Columbia Thea ter orchestra for 20 years, and is in the National Theater orchestra now. Raymond Duncan Schroeder, the fourth son and eighth child of August Schroeder, is one of Washington's emi- nent violinists, conducted the Ebbitt House orchest: a long time, and is a music teach: now. Clarence Wil lard Schroeder, the fifth son, did not turn to music and has been with the Norris-Peters photo-lithographic com- pany and the Geological Survey for 5 years. The sixth son, Robert Mor- gan Schroeder, was in the Belasco Theater orchestra several years and is now of the Soldiers’ Home Band I have mentioned the daughters, Ellie, Leila, Emmie and Rita. There was a daughter, Roberta, who dled This orchestra played “Sweet Ada-[Wwhen she was a child, and if I can line,” and ““Sweet Marie,” when you sought, and did not always find, P tomac breezes by traveling on the “W W. Corcoran” and the “River Queen. In the Riverside pavilion you danced to Schroeder’'s Orchestra. For 35 Sum- read my notes, there is another daugh- ter, Mrs. David W. Bell of Petworth, No. 4318 Ninth street northwest. p to this line of my story I forgot to tell you that August Wilhelm Schroeder married Miss Altazera Hen- mers it was the orchestra of Marshall derson of Green Spring, near Winches- OLD PHOTOGRAPH OF SCHROEDER’S ORCHESTRA. ber’s shop” and scores of similar cases. We will have to let it be as “bgndsman” till dictionary -makers know better and they will not take heed of “bandman” till some bold writer gets it into print. The leader of a band becomes fa- mous—sometimes. It depends on the band. Names of the bandmen re- main unknown. They may have given a life of work to their art and some are men .of genius. They do that which. most men cannot, and which the majority of men could not learn to do. Persons who buy two phonograph records and have a plate of sandwiches sent from a delicatessen give a_musical and luncheon and their names in print. A man with Hall and its steamboats. For 15 years August Schroeder led the National Theater Orchestra and Schroeder's musicians were the orchestra. That was in the days before “stars of the screen” and “scars” of the screen’ be- gan to make $1,000,000 a week—ac- cording to press agents—by register- ing surprise and anger, by dripping glycerine tears, by jumping four feet from a 15-story house and by saving a beautiful woman—according to the story—from the raging torrent of a quiet brook. Schroeder’s Orchestra. played in the parlor of the old Willard Hotel and for 14 years, from 1901, Mr. Schroeder conducted the New Willard Orchestra. ter, Va. She was the daughter of John Towle Henderson and Mary (Duncan) Henderson, and she died in July, 1908. In the old photograph of Schroeder’s orchestra are August W. Schroeder, Frank Batista, Henry Nieman, de- ceased: Frank Schroeder, deceased; Raymond Schroeder, Charles Schroe- der, Chris. Arth and Charles Thier- bach, deceased. Names of a few of the old musicians who played with Mr. Schroeder at one time or another are Henry Nieman, Charles Thier- bach, William Schminick, Caesar Cam- pagni, John Arth, Joseph Arth, Wil liam Au, Camillo Schneider, John Boll, Philip Manco, Billy Withers, William For years Schroeder’s Orchestra also Haley, John Bonini, Antonio Pons, ~ Vincent St. George, A. Krause, Frank Lusby, Lemuel Lusby, Louls Weber, Frank Baptista, John Philip Sousa, Willlam H. Santelmann, Charles Wagner, M. Vogel, Amabile Samuels, M. Pistoria, Ed H‘{ gins, James allan, Williamy Toense Albert Tyler, Henry Schuidt, Julius Schultz, Andrew Coda, Henry Taven der, Henry Donch, . Eopollucci, Henry Fries, M. Scala, Louls Schnei- der and F. Triay. Air Mining. 'EW persons realize to what an extent the air is today being “worked” for raw materials. Many millions of dollars’ worth of chem icals are being extracted from the atmosphere every year, among them being some of the newly discovered elements which until quite recently were regarded as rare scientific curi osities. Some years ago the term “mining the air” was used by Sir William Crook: who was among the first to foresee the possible bottling of its constituents as marketable commodi. ties. Now, the air we breathe consists, roughly speaking, of a mixture of the gases nitrogen and oxygen in the proportion of four to one; but it con tains considerable quantities of argon and neon, among other things, which have already assumed a serious com- mercial importance It has been recently stated that the annual output of oxygen in the United States alone amounts to a billion cubi feet, of the present value of nearly $15,000,000 Oxygen is used on an enormous and rapidly Increasing scale in the engi- neering world—with acetylene, to make the intensely hot flame which cuts through steel rails like a knife tor welding and a dozen industrial | purposes. | Nitrogen is being trapped from the | air on an immense scale for the man ufacture of fertilizers In Norway { 115 tons of calcium nitrate fertilizer was made with atmospheric nitrogen during 1905. By 1909 the output had increased to nearly 10,000 tons. To- day it is enormous. Every modern country possesses an inexhaustible supply of nitrogen for the manufacture of explosives for military purposes. The air is driven over an intensely ho electric arc flame known as the “electric sun,” 6 feet in diameter, and the nitrogen trapped as nitre oxide, from which the nitrogen itself is ultimately com- | bined with other elements to form | nitro compounds. Argon and neon, very recently locked upon as rare and costly ele- ments, now bring a few cents a cubic foot and are used for filling incan- ides(‘knl electric lamps. The now famillar half-watt lamps, which have revolutionized electric lighting, are filled with nitrogen after first being exhausted Air mining is in fact one of the | newer industries, and one of its most | attractive features is that the supply of raw material is constantly being | replenished and therefore inexhausti- | ble, while it is free to everybody. Artificial Flooring. |JT was an ingenious Frenchman who conceived the idea arti- ficial floorings made of sawdust and other ingredients. The flooring com- | position consists of a solution of mag- nesium chloride to which pulverized | magnesia is added. Of itself, it formr a white, absolutely solid, artificias stone. 1If sawdust in considerable proportions fs added to this cement, the combination, when it becomes hard, possesses many of the qualities of both wood and stone Some of these floorings are mixed on the spot and laid, while soft, upon the space to be covered; others are molded into plates and delivered ready made. It is said that one French firm impregnates the wood meal with oil before mixing it with magnesia | paste, a process that renders it non- absorbent The cheaper grades of flooring in Europe are colored to resemble lino- leum or mosaic pavements, and in many instances have given entire satisfaction during a considerable term of years. Floors thus made are more elastic and much warmer than cement floors, and they also preserve a smoother surface. Under the fire |test this flooring chars, but does not burn. It is & poor conductor of heat and, therefore, a good matertal for use in districts where the fire hazard is great. Eyes That Glow "THE eyes of many animals glow tn the dark. This is commonly be- lieved to be due to the phosphorescent matter in the eyeballs. It is, however, all perfectly natural. The light does not proceed directly from the eyes of the creatures, but indirectly. That is to say, it is a reflected iight. The eves of an animal coming out of the forest and approaching a camp fire, glow like two balls of fire. This is because its eyes are mirrors and re. flect the light while the rest of the animal is in darkness, a spectacle that renders the effect all the more strik- ing It is claimed that black people’s eves shine in the dark, but that the eves of white persons do not. The truth is that the eves of white persons have as much shine as the eyes of negroes. The reason we do not per- celve the shine in the eves of the white man is that his skin is of so light a tint that any light shining upon his face illuminates the skin, thus detracting from the shine of the eyes. Experiments made with a number of animals shut up in rooms where absolutely no light could enter have always had the same result, there was no shine in the eyes. But when a few rays of light were permitted to enter, the creatures’ eyes took on the lumi- nous shine. Has the Sun a Companion? 'WHAT may be a genuine companion to the sun has been discovered in the constellation of Taurus, the Bull, according to a study by Dr. W. J. Layten of the Harvard College Ob- servatory. The star, which Is known as 46 Tauri, and just barely visible to the unaided eye, has been observed at the Lick Observatory in California, and the Dominion Astrophysical Ob- servatory at Victoria, British Colum.: bia. It is apprazching the sun at a speed of about half a kilometer per second, which is a very slow velocity, astronomically speaking. As its motion across the sky is also relagively slight, it is believed to be moving through space with the sun. SRS e T Tax to Support Science. (})MMERCE and Industry will be required to contribute to the financial support of scientific research in France if a measure passed by the Chamber of Deputies is also approved by the Senate. The bill provides for a tax of 5 centimes on each 100 francs paid in salaries by industrial and com- mercial concerns. The sum which the tax would raise for French sclentifio laboratories is estimated at 14,000,000 francs a year. This is about $700,000, according to the present rate of ex- change.