Omaha Daily Bee Newspaper, November 18, 1894, Page 16

4,000 yards Heavy Stair Carpet . 3,000 yards Ingrain Carpet. ... 2,000 yards Brusssls Carpet. . . 1,000 yards Velvet Carpet . ... 500 Smyrna Rugs.......... 3,000 Window Shades....... W) PRILCROTUCEES o v v v o B9, ATt SQUATES . oo vioonn st 200 Hassocks .. . 5 200 Moqueite Rugs......... 250 Kasmir Rugs.......... 100 pair Irish Point Lace Curtains. . 200 pair Nottingham Lace Curtains.. {. col§ A5 worth § .65 vee W08 worth .55 coo 4 worth 1,00 ses WMo Worth 1,25 ver 2.38 worth 5.00 oo 295 worth 7.50 voe 280 worth 4.50 2.85 worth 7.50 25 worth 4.00 voe ol WOIHE 475 .. 2.80 worth 6.50 ~oo 350 worth 45 worlh 8.00 1.00 Reduced from $12. made of oak, polish finish —the same desk would c pic Wednesday will be filled. EASY TERMS. $10.00 worth of Goods, $1 week or $6 5,00 worth of Good: $1.50 week or § ).00 worth of Goods, $2 week $75.00 worth of Goods, $2.50 week or $10 $100 worth of Goods, m $200 worth of Goods | § Foiding Bed, $9.90 them finished in antique or you clsewhere at least 16th century—has woven $12.50. Mail orders re- wire spring and is made to ceived no later than drape in front. A child can open or close it 5 month, or $8 month. $4 week or $15 month. The sture of above is an e it. We ha onth. onth. $3 week or $12 month. morrow. Send 10 cents to cover pastage on big *94 catalosus, Where can you find them better exemplified than here. the correctness of their claims every day. We have strongly proven it o with our GIGANTIC SALES. Another magnificent offering to- Don’t miss reading every line, for the line you don’t read may be the one of most interest to you. Peoplesfurnilires. I 231D We illustrate +317 FAR FORMERLY PEOPLE'S MAMMOTH INSTALLMENT HOUSE. Write Dr Baby Carriage and Stovs Catalogues, mailed free. 500 Base Burners. ..., ..., 358 0il Heaters. . 450 ‘Soft Coal Heater 210 Cannon Stoves. . . 50 Wood Stoves. oAl (111« RO s 340 Cook Stoves. o Department, < $11.60 worth §22.60 < 6.75 worth 12,50 .00 worth 10.00 350 worth 6.5 4.25 worth ~ 8.50 4,90 worth 850 $.00 worth 16.00 68 Laundry Stoves........... §75 worth 7.00 48 Ranges (B holes). ......... 10.00 worth 19.00 35 Paror CookS. .o vvnnr. .45 worlh 17.50 1,000 Joints Pipe........... .09 worth 20 1,000 EIbows.......c.ouvvue .09 worth 25 3,000/DAMPAS. oo veenoenees 08 worth 20 Penincula Range, Iron Bad, $6.75. The sume as other stores charge $12 for. It is nicely by white enameled, pateut castors and A8 trimmed, one ot the Peninsula $22.50, Reduced from $37.50. Thi mny's finest rang made as good as any of your higher nickeled and has all modern im- pricea beds We have them si three-quarters and full size. e, pro antee g ments, A written guar ‘es with each one, B i e — Presents Given Away This Wecek. With $10.00 worth of goods, 3 One Set Silver Plated Spoons Wit A Wit A Wit A Wit h $25.00 worth of goods, Beautiful Bisque Figure. h £50.00 worth of goods, Handsome Picture, h $75.00 worth of goods, Genuine Oak Center Table. h $100 worth of goods, 021 Monday and Saturdry Evenngs. An Elegant Ouak Rocker. SSHIISICIOIBICISISIBIICIBISICISIBICICIBICICIICIICIICIICICIOIISISIIICIICICIBICICK NODERY GIANTS OF JAPAY| A Race of Men Distinguished for Their Muscle and Appetite. THEIR QUEER METHODS OF TRAINING A Visit to a Great Wrestling Match and & Look at Naked Gladiators — How Human Muscle Kuns the Land of the Mikado. (Copyrighted, 18M, by Frank G. Carpenter.) I see that the most famous wrestlers of Japan have offered their services to the em- | peror in the war with China. They have sent a delegation to him at Hiroshima, ask- | ing that they be sent to Corea and ba given a place in the Japanese army. These men have done & great deal in the crude wars of the past, but it Is doubtful whether they will be of much use in connection with Gatling guns and Winchester rifles. They form a curious class of the Japanese people, and they are like no other athletes on the face of the globe. They have entirely different methods of training from our prize fighters, and John | Sullivan or Corbatt would laugh at their cor- pulent frames, They would think them puffy and flabby, and would expect to see them go all to pleces at a blow. Still, I venture the Japanese glants could stand several rounds with either Sullivan or Corbett, and the; could probably throw either of these mus. cular Americans in a wrestling bout. They | seem to be of a race of their own. They are | taller and heavier than the ordinary Jap anese, and many of them are over six feet in height. The Japanese man is no taller than the average American girl. He has a long body and short legs. He Is as straight a stick, but he is stocky rather than | tall. Theso wrestlers weigh from 200 to | 300 pounds, and they are mountains of fat and beef. They ecat quantities of meat while the other people of Japan live largely upon vegetables, rice and fish, They drink soup and beer by the gallon, and Prof Burton of the Imperial university, who has taken the best photographs of the told me how two wrestiers whom he was | entertaining one day, in order to get their plctures, each drank two dozen botties of beer and great quantities of soda water, ginger ale and claret These wrest lers have features much the same as the ordinary Japanese, though their hands are much larger, and more like cannon balls than anything else. They wrestle almost stark naked, and the only hair I could see | on thelr bodies was under their armpits and | that which was put up In the old Japanese | style on the tops of thelr heads. They shave their heads from the forehead to the crown, leaving that over the ears and at the back | to grow long, and tying it up on the top of the head In a queue like a doorknocker. They are by no means flerce looking, and when 1 visited the wrestling matches 1 was taken among them and chatted with some of them through my interpreter. 1 felt thelr muscles, and they were hard as fron and what I had supposed to be great lumps of fat I found to be bundles of muscle. MADE AN EMPEROR. These wrestlers date back almost to the beginning of Japanese history. The Dal- mios Kept a corps of them about their per- | sons, and when the princes traveled over the tountry they always had some of these men with them. They gave exhibitions at funeral and wedding processions, and they | are mentioned in Japanese history as far | back “as twenty-four years before Christ. | About 600 years before Columbus and his band of Spanish pirates discovered America the throme of Japan. was the prize of a wrestling match. The emperor had two sons. Whether they were twins or not | dop't know, but they both aspired to the throne. Thelr father told them to each pick out & champlon wrestler, and the one who backed the victor should be emperor. The boys agreed to th and the successful bacl succeeded his father. From that 10 this wrestling b and Jupanese history gone on all over s filled with ts of wrestlers, There are regular | large. Now the two glants walk to oppopite | the land of Japan, | the matches held every year in the big cities, | those in Tokio and Osaka last for weeks, | and the champions of the eastern and west- ern parts of the empire are pitted against each other. Not long ago wrestling became a great fad, and one of the cabinet min- isters, I am told, entered the ring, while the noblest men of the empire were ready to meet all comers. In 1888 Count Kuroda, the prime minister, gave wrestling a great boom, and during the past year some of the most famous matches ever held in Japan have taken place. A GREAT WRESTLING MATCH. I saw famous matches in both Tokio and | Osaka, and I spent one day at a wrestling match in the Japanese capital, in which 120 | of the g st wrestlers of Japan struggled together. The wrestling began at 10 in the morning and lasted until 5 in the afternoor and there was not a minute during that time that wrestlers were not in the ring. But let me give you some idea of one of these Japaneso prize fights. Imagine the biggest circus tent you have ever seen to be spread out upon a network of bamboo poles £o that it cov about 10,000 people. These sit on ground and in boxes or on platforms which are built up perhaps ten feet above the ground, and in the center of the crowd there is a little pavilion about twenty feet square, supported by four posts as large around as telegraph poles. This pavilion is trimmed with red, and its posts are wrapped with red cloth, while about its top there is a curtain of blue. It has a raised foundation perhaps two feet high, and & ring of rice bage runs around its floor, in- closing a circle twelve feet in diameter, which is floored with black earth. This Is the famed wrestliog ring of Japan, and in such rings all . tches are fought. The giants struggle rice bags, and if one can throw the r these or can fling him to the earth At each corner of posts, sits a sober, dark-faced, heavy browed Japanese, dressed in a black kimono. He 1s raised upon cushions, and sits cross-legged, and he forms one of the four Judges in case there s a dis- pute as to the decision of the umpire. In the center of the ring stands the umpire, wearing the old brocade costume of the days of the Diamios. He has a black lacquer fan in bis hand, and he looks like a chump.ie other o he is proclaimed the victor. this pavilion, against one of the red screeches out his volee as though he had th colic and was screaming with pain, but his shrill cries penetrate to every part of the circus, and he is a man of great importance | and long training. The spectators squat on the ground back of the ring, and on these platforms. Each has a little tobacco box before him, with some coals of fire in it. All sit cross-legged, and nearly all emoke little metal pipes with bowls as big as a thimble. NAKED GIANTS. But let us take a look at the wrestlers Tiere are scores of them squatting about the ring, just outside of the rice bags. They are entirely naked, with the exception of & band of blue silk, four inches wide, which runs round their waists and between thelr legs ard is tied in a knot at the back. This has a fringe about four Inches long, which falls to their thighs, but further than this they had no more clothes than had Adam when he was gardening before he had eaten the apple. Here come two Into the ring They ure the most famous wrestlers of the | east and the west, and the people receive them with clapping. What glants they are, and how queerly they act! At the corners there are buckets of water. They walk up to these 'and gulp down great swallows They fill thelr mouths and squirt the fluid into the air so that it falls back in a spray over their cream colored bodies, They take bits of paper and wipe themselves off and then they look about on the audience and show off their muscles, while a yell goes up from 5000 throats. They pound| their naked ochests With their fists. They slap their brawny thighs. They Mift | their legs up us high as thelr shoulders, and | they stamp their feet down on the well- | packed earth so that the pavilion trembles as though a cyclone were passing through it Look at that man's arm. It is as big round as Grover Cleveland's thigh, and the beit of the champlon would loosely fit the walst of Wilson Shatinon Bissell, He looks more like a man with the dropsy than a great athlete, and his body seems to be praded with great bunches of fat. He has a front like a saloon keeper and his face shines like a butcher's. He is the champion of the east and the man from the west s almost as sides of the ring. They bow to the umpire and judges and then squat down on their heels and look at each other. They come to the center of the ring. They bend over and rest their fists on the floor. They poke their great heads to the front and their big almond eyes almost burst from their buttonhole sockets. How they glare at each other! They are watching for the signal to close. Now they rest for a moment, picking up the dirt from the ring and rubbing it under | thelr armpits and over their bodies. Then | again. The umpire He waits until they the signal they kneel and glare s them clozely. > together, and then give 50 they crouch like tigers and spring to grab the belt of the other. their arms round one another, and you al- into each other's arms. Each tries They wrap most hear their ribs crack. The bunches of fat have become mountains of muscle, and both arms and legs look like iron. Their Dbiceps stand out. Their calves quiver. Their paunches shrink in. Now the glant of the west has reached over the straining back of him of the east, and has grasped the band of blue silk which runs round his waist. He lifts that 300 pounds as though it were nothing, and he throws him with a jerk over the rice bags. How the people yell! Some of them tear off their clothes and throw them into the ring, which they will redeem with presents of money at the end of the day. They call out the name of the victor, and some of them each other in their delight at the suc of their man. There is no sign of pool selling, though I am not sure but that some betting goes on. The defeated gathers him- self up and walks away with bowed head. The victor goes to one side of the ring and squats down on his heels while tha umpire holds up his hands and proMaims him suc- cessful. The prize is awarded and the apron of silk embroidered with gold is shown to the people. The victor receives it, and, with his seconds behind him, he marches away. Then another couple enter the ring and the same sort of struggle goes on. Some ches last no more than a minute, and some are so evenly pitted that they strain for a quarter of an hour before one is vie- torious, The snakes of the Laocoon never gripped their victims more tightly, and ribs aro often broken, and men have been killed in these terrible struggles. Some wrestlers throw their opponents from one side of the ring to the other. Now and then one strikes a post and his skull is cracked open. There is no striking or hitting, and the rules are | as rigid as those of our prize fighters, There are forty-eight different falls, and the um- pires stop the matches at a single mismove- ment, and they now and then call a halt in order that their beits may be more tightly tied. MUSCULAR JAPAN. The Japanese have very queer methods of | physical training. These wrestlers pound their muscles to make them strong. They butt with their shoulders against posts, and they stamp the earth strengthen the muscles of their legs. They have a wonder- ful strength of back and wrist, and a com- mon test of strength is what is called wrist | wrestling. Two of the men will sit opposite each other, with a little table between them On this they will rest the bare elbows of their right arms, and grasping each other's hands will twist and turn, and see which can break the hold of the other. The acro- bats can bend themselves into all sorts of shapes, and thelr little boys go about through the streets and perform acrobatle feats which would be considered wonders in our circuses. The jinrikisha is used all over Japan, and this is always pulled by men. It is, you know, a baby victoria, on two wheels, and these men pull you about In these little carriages at the rate of five to six miles per hour. I have had some human steeds which could make six miles an hour without turning a hair or getting outside of the shafts. 1 went twenty-five | miles in four hours last summer, with two | of these men to pull me, and we stopped | for lunch on the way. The road was com- paratively level, but we had some hills, and on a day's ride these men could make bet- | ter time than a horse. I have heard of | their making seventy miles in twelve hours, and they do this not on meat and milk, ‘but on rice and fish. Their calves are wonderfully developed, and they sweat pro- fusely. HUMAN MUSCLE RUNS JAPAN It 1s, In fact, human muscle that still runs There are few cattle, and outside of those used by the cavalry there are | few horses. The fields are cultivated with a hoe, a sort of a spade-like implement wiih a hoe handle, and you see little plowing. Merchandige is carted througn the cities by men. The boards used by the carpenters are all sawed by hand, and mighty tempies costing millions of dollars are now being made in Japan without the use of machinery. Logs which are used as beams are carried up by an army of men along a road which has been built up to the roof for this purpose, and which will be taken away when the building is completed. All classes of workmen use their toes al- most as much as their hands, and the cooper holds his tub between his feet while he squats on the ground and pounds on the hoops. In mountain traveling you are cer- ried by men, and it is only along the rail- roads and in the cities that you realize that Japan Is fast becoming a modern machinery- using nation. The rice fields are all culti- vated by men and women, and the tea which we driok is picked and fired by hand. Nearly every leaf of tea is picked over care- fully, and a pound of tea, which, I judge, contains at least 1,000 leaves, has had each leaf -handled by a Japanese girl about a half dozen times. It is first picked from the bushes, It is then dried in the sun, It is next put into great basins of clay or tron, with fires under them, and is rubbed about agaln and again by hand by a lulf- naked, sweating Japanese girl, whose beady drops of perspiration now and then fall down and soak into the exhilarating leaves. After the firing it is again sorted, and all the poor leaves are picked out and put into a lower grade of tea, while the others are carefully examined and each given its proper place. It is again handled when it |is packed, rehandled by the grocer until each leaf has had a chance at the bacilli of about a score of mortals on this continent and Asia. I hope some day to write a letter on “Tea Without Frills,” when I will describe some other little appetizing mat- ters in conmection with the Chinese and In- dian tea, which may add to the gusto with which it is partaken of at our afternoon parties JAPANESE MASSAGE. Speaking of the physical development of the Japanese, they understood massage long before it was brought into America or Europe, and nearly every Japanese work- man 18 shampooed two or three times a week, Every wife is supposed to know how to knead the muscles of her husband, and ome of the most affecting stories of Japanese fiction I8 about the dear little girl who leaves her play amd her companions to press her little fingers all over the skin and squeeze every bit 'of the meat on her grandfather's bones /A large part of this shampooing s done by the blind. These men make a profession ef it, and there are no blind asylums ‘required in Japan. They g0 about with pipes im their mouths, on which they whistie;rand In the past they were the money lemdems of the country. They had a blind man’s union, which, I be- leve, still exists, andcthey shampoo both women and men. ¥tosk many shampo during my stay in Jappm, and it is wonder- ful how it takes therehied feeling out of you. I usually strip myself and put on a long cotton Japanese kimens, and then sent my servant for a shampooer. He would bring in a bald-headed feMow:with a door-knocker queue fastened to lm gstening crown, and with eyes which wese amdmond slits with no light behind them. {The man was always dressed in one of ‘these night-gown-like kimonos, and he weulll pull his sleeves up 80 that his arms were bare to the shoulders. He would be led over,to my bed, or in the country, to the place' where I lay on the floor, and would at amce begin to pass his hands over my body. He would gougs my nerve centers with his thumb, and my whole frame would quiver. He would stretch each of my fingers and toes until it cracked, and he found out hundreds of muscles which I never knew existed. All of his motion comes from his wrists, and he pounds the flesh again and again. He continues his work until every molecule of your frame has been put into action, and you feel at the time as though you had bsen run through a corn sheller, At the end, however, this sensation passes off and you are a mew man. All your tired feeling has gone, and you are again glad that you are allve Kt B, Caduates Some Laws that the Legislature'Will Be Asked to Pass, REASONS WHY THEY ARE WANTED Central Labor Union Will Have a Commit- tee at Lincoln to Urge Them Which WLl Be Assisted by Attorneys —Demands 1o Detail. The question of legislation demanded by the working people of the state will most likely recelve some consideration from the legislature which meets in Lincoln January 1, after the members-clect have agreed on a man to represent this state in the United States senate. If as many men “stand up and fight for labor”" then as promised before election there should be no trouble in passing some of the laws that are asked for by those who toil. Heretofore the trouble seems to have be more or less with the workingmen them- selyes, who were often, from some cause not readily explained, unable to agree among themselves on measures, and for that reason were unable to present a ‘“‘unitéd front” when they demanded anything of the law making power, During the past summer the officers and committees of the labor organizations of Omaha made a thorough canvass among the workers to ascertain_the sentiment regarding the adoption of the day labor system on pub- lic work instead of the contract system as at present in vog REPORTS OF COMMITTEES. The committees reported their findings early in the fall to the Central Labor union to the effect that all were agreed that the day labor systam would be beneficial, and accordingly ~the unanimous demand of or ganized labor was registered in behalf of this reform. It is also generally believed in organized labor circles that the demand meets with the approval of a large ma- Jority of the unorganized workers, but as they have no system for expressing their wants this can only be surmised from individuals. In addition to this a list of ten demands was agreed upon at a meeting of the Central Labor unioa three weeks before election, which demands were printed and mailed to every legislative candidate in the state, many of whose answers were favorable and are now on file at the office of the union for future use, It is quite probable that the Central Labor union, in_accordance with its established custom, will maintain a legislative committee at the state capital during the session of the legislature, and these gentlemen will carry the favorable letters, to be used as ‘re- minders of past promises.” It is claimed by those who ought to know that it is neces- sary to have some one present directly in- ter, that the labor bills may be taken up in committee and acted upon, as other- wise some of the best bills might be al- lowed to die in the pigeon holes of the com- mittee room, The following is an exact copy of the de- mands as agreed upon by the Central Labor union and mailed to the legislative and sen- atorial candidates 1. A bill for ‘an act to provide for the | establishment of a state printing office A bill for an act to protect the health of employes In factories and workshops, to préveinl the practice of sweating the em- ployes, and the manufacture of clothing and garments in dwellings and tenement houses. 3. A blil for an act to provide for stamp- ing and branding convict made goods. [ AW for"n At to protect employes | and guarantee their right to belong to labor | | organizati | 5 A biil for an act to provide for a state board of arbitration, and fxing the duties | thereof. G. A bill for an act blish and main tain free public emplay offiecs, and to | define the duties of the ors thereof. 7. A bill for an act to provide for colle tions of small accounts for I r perforn IN THE GRAND ARMY OF LABOR | | tor a state tant plumb- metropolitar | umbin, 1bing inspector and an_ ass g insp tor in cities of the bill for an act providing fc spection of steam bollers ment of a state boiler in: > viding penalties for the violation 'ther 10. "A bill for un_ act hit dealers (r oiher pers ships or associatio any contrac combina tion to pool or fix the which lum ber or coal shall be sold, and to proviae punishment for violation of the same. REASONS The labor leaders clalm that printing office Is made grounds of economy, and the de secure fair dealing h the workmen ployed in doing the work. They can no reaso ing to the contractor unless it be to pay a political debt, which they think should be paid in a different manner if paid at all They cite the attempt of the Journal Prim- ing company to secure this work two y ago at figures at great variance with business principles on the parc of the state as one very strong reason for supporting the demand for a state printing office, and call attention to the fact that the state can em- ploy compositors as well as other la which compositors could be paid the union scale of wages and then the work would cost the state much less than when let by contract to the “lowest bidder,”” which well informed union men regard as a bluff. In short, the workers claim the establishing of a state printing office would be a great saving to the taxpayers of the state and at the same time give them a better and more agreeable em- ployer. The demand to prevent the practice of “sweating employes” is certainly endorsed by all well thinking people, especially those who have taken the trouble of posting them selves on the sweating system as practiced in many of the eastern cities. This demand is being specially forwarded by journeymen tallors of the state, who see low wages fol lowing the sweating system in large cities. It s the intention of the labor leaders to se cure this law If possible before the system gets any foothold in Nebraska. The third demand “to provide for stamping and branding convict made goods” is one of | the demands of labor that has been ignored term after term by the Nebraska legislature, but as Boss Stout and Charley Mosher are out of the wuy now the workers hope to be able to secure some legislation on this line during the next session of the legislature. It is claimed that if the products of the peni- tentiary were branded as such they would not be bought so generally and in this way would be prevented from coming into competition with honest labor. ce machinery has been in use in the penitentiary the members of the | local Coopers union claim that their trade has been nearly ruined on account of the penitentiary made barrels that are in general use in the state, Members of this union say that were it not for the competition om penitentiary made barrels that would not be used If they were branded as such they would have steady work the year around, Instead of being idle about one-third to one-half of the time as at pres- ent. Members of the Harness Makers unfon also make complaint that the contract at the penitentiary is injuring tradesmen of their craft, many of whom are idle because they cannot work cheap enough to compete with convlets. VITAL QUESTION TO BE SETTLED. The demand “for an act to protect em ployes and guarantec their right to belong | to labor organizations” reems to be one of | the principal demands of the organized | workers at the present time, The alarming | decisions rendered during the past year by scme of the higher courts has led the work ingmen to ask for a law defining thelr rights and to prevent them from being blacklisted at the sweet will of the corporate em ployers. Demand FOR WHAT 1S ASKED. the demand on the to em- | for a profit accru No. § regarding arbitratibn most likely be a vexed question for members of the next house to deal In speaking of this domand one of the bers of the Central Labor union 'here seems to be a g t differen opinion as to whether or not an arbitration law can be made to become operative, but it appears to me that something must soon be done toward a more speedy settlement of labor troubles in the future and I can sce no reason for not trying an arbitration law will the | with. | | without expense to the claim 8. A DIl for an act to provide for 4he office, appointment, duties and salary of & and see how It works.” A blll for tre¢ employment offices In cities | mittee in the prepar | man | of modern ralroading than the d was before the last legislature and urgently pushed by the committee from the Central Labor union. It was killed by opposition in the senate, but the workers are going to try it again. It is claimed that such & measure would be a great benefit to those who are unfortunate enough to be out of work and that money spent in the running expenses of the offices would be money welk invested. The advocates of this measure | point to its operation in the state of Ohlo, where, it is claimed, it works to perfection and gives general satisfaction, The demand for a bill providing for the llection of small amounts for labor per- rmed is one of the demands that were also prominently before the last legislature. Many of the workers claim that it some- tmes costs as much for a lawyer to force payment of a debt as the claim is worth and for this reason they ask for such a measure, he demand for a plumbing Inspector in cities of the metropolitan class is supported by the Central Labor unton on the ground that a competent person should fill this office for the purpose of protecting the publie health Likewise the demand for a state boiler inspector is supported for the benefit of the public good, it being claimed by men of that trade that many defective and un. safe boilers are being used in the state te the danger of the workmen and the general publ Demand No. 10 1s considered a very Ime portant question by the working people and has been given considerable attention dupe ing the past two years, and an effort will be made to secure such a law as is defined in this demand. The committee on legislation has secured the services of attorneys to assist the come tion of this bill, with the hope of framing a measure that will be practical, Bilis for all of the above demands a belng prepared with great care by those wha have been assigned to this work. 18 rinl Moy e from leather, corset factories represent an ige estment of $7,000,000, Aluminium is being introduced in band jne truments in the Austrian army. The Canton copper works of Baltimore, employing 400 men, advanced wages 10 per cent The biggest carioad of shingles ever shipped east was sent out of Washington state a few days ago. It contained 346,000 shingles, beating the previous record by 2,000, Experiments are belng made with pressed hay for paving blocks., The after being pressed, is soaked In a oil, which, it is claimed, renders it com-~ hay, drylng inde= | structible, Paper indestructible by fire has been ine vented by M. Meyer, of Paris. A specimen of it was subjected to a severe test—148 hours n a potter's furnace—and came out with its glaze almost perfect. A Manchester (Eng) man carries on his person a complete pickpocket alarm system. Removal of his watch, pin or other jewelrp causes the ringing of the beli. The electria plant welghs twenty-two ounces. It is said that a week’s work in Birming= ham, Eng., comprises, among its various res sults, the fabrication of 14,000,000 pens, 6,008 beds! 7,000 guns, 800,000,000 nails, 100,000,000 butte 1,000 saddles, 5,000,000 copper or bronze colns and 20,000 pairs of spectacles More than half the world’s supply. of tin Is mined In the Staits Scttlement at the t) of the Maluy peninsula. The sutput in 189 was 26,061 tons out of a total of 57 12,106 tons came from the Dufe Indies, chictly from the Tslatid Bast of ‘Banka, leaving only 8,384 tons for the rest of, the world Benjamin F. Hunter, a New York colored will bulld several mills in Virginla and the Carolinas, In which only black labor will he employed. ” All the cotton mills of the south are now operated exclusively by white help, who will mot work in mills where negroes are employed Nothing could better illustrate the tendency clslon of the Pennsylvania system to increase the standard welght of rails on the main line from eighty-five to 100 pounds, and the length from thirty to sixty fect. A few years Ago, fifty-six pound ralls were considered quite heavy enough and almost any kind of roads bed would de,