The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, April 11, 1904, Page 6

» PRI, AL DRI RS T New Zealand 11 onders. To the small island colony of New Zealand nature has been most bounti- ful in the contrasting variety and prod- igality of her gifts, for within the lim- jted area of the land of the Moa are to be found the greatest geysers on earth, the highest waterfall of the universe, the most extensive lce fjords that excel the fa. plored world mous inland bays of Norway and Clin ton ¥ whict its thousand feet blufls rear with gainst the perpetual southern challenge constant alley snow-capped of the threa ns to th the wondrous beauties 1ps. comparison wi of the more mous Yosemite Where nature has been lavish it seems but reasonable that man should be encouraged to great experiments, and New land has proudly risen to embarking on a tide of gislation which for some time past has commanded the close at- tention of all civii people. New land was the fir : ish ¢ munities 1« @ € chise to| women, the first to elect women to civic office and the first to admit women to the practice of law in the public courts of the colony—departures which have @1l been amply justified by results But it has not been alone in encour- aging concessions to what an eminent divine has described as the “fairer. wiser &nd begter sex” that Me i has held up the torch to modern advancement, but in all sec as a common goal the “gre st e test number” and somet for everybody ome legalized unde tem which ma fa industric the proprietor of a farm lection. Under the fostering care of the government a state savings bank has been estat hed where the mpst mod- erate sums are received and such inter- Land purc the 999 ye it e ible for to of his own se- every est and security guaranteed as to en courage thrift even among the most prodiga! The investment of capital is protected in such & manner that for s past money has been pouring into the col- ony, which, during the present year, has reached the high-water mark of unprecedented general prospertiy. For there is an act eight-hour-a-& the working which enforces principle week and special prov cla the with one-half holiday every | ions for the em- ployment of juvenile laborers in fac- tories, and there is further a govern- ment labor bureau which supplies free all information with regard to rates and the demand and supply in the vari ous districts of the ieland. For the benefit of both capital and labor there 1 has been passed an arbitration bi under which all dispu are adjuste and strikes made illegal that the two great factors in econ develop- ment may keep on their road encour- aged ard undisturbed The housing of the poor, the provision of old age pensions for respectable col- onists whose advanced years have drifted them beyond wage earning pos- sibilities and the reform measures adopted for the reclamation of children and other first offenders against country’s laws have all been dealt with field in the ex- | the | to seven seconds before lm,ln‘ the bottom. The alpine range of which the Tas- man glacier is ‘so interesting a part runs for a distance of a hundred miles and ae the line of perpetual snow is at the five thousand feet level or no less than three thousand feet lower than in Switgerland, the advantage to the traveler in search of seenie m.r-l vels may easily be imagined. One of the glaciers close to the Tasman de- scends to within a few hundred feet of the sea and boasts of semi-tropical foliage right in its terminal face. Such l‘::ra the contrasts, such are the won- | | ders! | The flora of this region is most va- ried and beautiful. Edelweiss flourish- | es Juxuriantly three thousand feet | above sea level and there are mearly | fifty flowering plants not known to exist in any other part of the world. Bushes laden with berries, which in { autumn change their color, the moun- | tain daisy and the alpine buttefcup, | tuxuriate amid a numerous bevy of | neighbors, all blossoming in purest | white, except the umique yellow ra- runculus. The native parrot, the kea, which in | this district forgets to kill sheep for | their kidney fat. the comical wingless weka and the bell bird are a few of | the songsters whose gquaint notes are frequently heard in the most inacces- | sible of passes. But these are not the | enly unique sounds to be heard on the | Tasman, for one of the favorite routes takes the traveler in a cage across the | wild, rushing Hooker River; aval- |anches of stones constantly rattle against the glacier faces as they toss | to the great moraine beneath and now and again deafening claps as of thun- der dull the ears at the coming of some great new crevasse in this ice field, | | which, while so awe-inspiring, so pic- | turesque in its unrivaled grandeur, is| vet easily* and safely accessible to the | most timid and inexperienced. Indeed, | no great sight in the world can be| seen for so slight an outlay of cash end energy as the enthralling Tasman | glacier in New Zealand. Americans Abroad. Over 120,000 citizens of the United | | States now annually visit foreign coun- tries, and their expenditures constitute a formidable claim upon the country | to be settled in International trade by | | shipments of merchandise in excess of | |imports. It is commonly calculated | that the average expenditure per capita | | is $1000, but this is probably too high an estimate, since a large majority of | the travelers are unquestionably people of moderate means. An estimate of | $700 per person would doubtless be liber- | al, but on this calculation an aggrexate | vearly expenditure of nearly $980,000,000 is reached, which constitutes so much of claim upon the material resources of | the country. The return benefits are | greatly beyond calculation, but they | are not of a material character. Quite | as interesting and significant is the | | higher clags passenger movement of | passengers nlhertan cabin—those who | | 8o abroad ift the steerage. This move- [ ment has attained noteworthy propor- | tions. Thirty years ago it averaged ! about 60,000 persons yearly. During the | past two decades it rose to about 140,000 | vearly on the average. Last year it numbered 206,494 persons, and the pres- | ent fiscal year, judging from reports of mship companies, will show a still ger outward rtush. These figures | must represent immigrants or aliens | who have acquired some little money from their labor in the. United States, and are going back home either to re- main for the rest of their days or until conditions of employment in the States have improved. They come back, if at all, as immigrants, presumably, ste |as the Government figures in |no other way account for their| return. They represent a great {increase of floating labor, and a| | great extension of the practice among | the poor of Europe to go to the United States for temporary employment. Admiral Alexieff. | The Viceroy looks younger than he MONDAY THE SAN FRANCISCO CAL! MONDAY, APRIL 11, 190s THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL JOHN D. SPRECKELS, Proprietor . .. «'. .. . . . Address All Communications to JOHN McNAUGHT, Manager . oo TRADE SITUATION FAVORABLE. HERE is not much variety to business at present. T The markets of the country are generally in a normal condition, more so than for some months, and whether we look at agriculture or finance or mer- chandising we find the same monotonous conditions. Speculation in coffee, cotton and wheat has subsided dur- ing the past month, and even Wall street exhibits little feature. The general situation, however, is favorable. The ad- vent of spring has enlivened the retail distribution of goods in the cities and started -up farming operations, which lends an air of increasing activity to the nation. As far as this is concerned, we are still doing a large business. The bank clearings of the country again ex- ceeded the index number of two billion last week, amounting in the aggregate to $2,001,977,000, and the shrinkage from 1903 was only 87 per cent, with the gains and losses about equally distributed among the largest cities. A pronounced falling off in the clearings at New Orleans indicates the subsidence of the furious cotton speculation in that city for several months, and shrinkages of 14.7 per cent at New York and 23.6 per cent at Pittsburg show how operations in general trade and finance at the former and in iron and steel at the | latter point are standing in comparison with the corre- sponding week in 1903. Chicago, where the grain and provision trades center, is. 9.7 per cent better than last year. The failures for the week were 235, against 317 last year. The staples are in a humdrum condition at the moment, but they exhibit one particular feature which must not escape attention. The record for March shows a very significant trend in prices, as eight out of thirteen classes of products, including breadstuffs, meats, textiles, hides and leather and building material, declined. The gen- eral level of prices fell off about 10 per cent for the month, but is still in excess of a year ago at this time, and not far from the highest for years past. In fact, as frequently mentioned during the past six of eéight months, the general tendency in quotations for everything in the country is toward a lower plane of values. This points to a decreasing cost of living, but it also indicates a corresponding decrease in the gross returns to the pro- ducer, whether farmer or manufacturer. The exhibit, taken as a whole, sufficiently p}‘ovcs that for some time past there has been and is now a slow but sure recession from the boom conditions of several years ago. It is unattended by excitement, is without strain and is prob- ably a good thing for the country. It is certainly to be preferred to a sudden and violent break, which condition we characterize by the sinister word, panic. These gradual recessions give everybody ample warning and plenty of time to put their business fences in repair. Supplementary to the price exhibit for March is the com- mercial record for the first quarter of the year, which showed a general decrease in the volume of trade, as compared with the corresponding quarter in 1903, = The financial conditions continue excellent. Money is in abundance all over the country and likely to ‘continue so. A significant feature in this connection is that re- cent engagements for gold to be shipped to Paris at- tracted no attention and were offset by liberal receipts of gold from Japan at San Francisco. Indeed, it is quite iikely that the shipments to Paris were nothing more than the continued journey of the Japanese gold through New York to Europe, where Japan has some large bills for war material to pay, and in this view of the case there were really no gold exports at all. Bankers continue to point seductive fingers at Wall street stocks and to assure the country that everything in that line is a safe thing for those who wish to buy. They say that with stocks on a 5 per cent dividend- paying basis and mone€y available at 2 per cent, there is little danger of any one getting his fingers burned by taking in a line or two of judiciously selected standard securities. But the public is not taking hold of the mar- ket freely and shows an inclination to wait a while Jonger and see how the cat jumps. By and by they may suddenly wake up and greedily go in for shares, in which event Wall street will have another bull market. Even as it is, the trend of quotations is upward and many good stocks are considerably higher than a few weeks ago. The crop prospects of the country, on which so much depends, are excellent. Fine weather all over the great on lines of liberal advancement that|is, bearing lightly the weight of his| wheat belt is encouraging the sowing of spring wheat, heve compelied, even fascinated the in- terest of more lethargic Jaw-makers in all parts of the world. Even while the somewhat eruptive idol of Birmingham, Joseph Chamberlain, sat preparing his first promouncement on preferential trade, New Zealand, bold and active as ever in decisive legislation, set to work and within the short period of twenty- four hours enacted a measure of fiscal reform. thus leaving him a follower, mot a leader, in the great scheme of British trade amendment with which the late years of his life are to be so closely allied. These points suggest a few of the social conditions which obtain in this wonderland of the Pacific, where 'na- ture has been pleased to make her records in geysers, waterfalls, glaciers and fjords. Of the Tasman glacier, Green, the great Alpine climber. has said that nowhere in the Alps is there such a scene of surpassing grandeur. It measures more than eighteen miles . Jong and is three miles while wide, from one voint of its dazziix crystal | beauty the eye commands a view ex- tening to the ocean on either side of the island, and the land picture stretching to the north and south takes in & vista of over four hundred miles Whiter than any marble gleams this great glacier in the summer sun and around it circles a panorama of the most impressive mountain scenery, comprising no less than forty-eight glaclers with more than a score of alpine peaks ranging up from 8000 feet until the summit of Mount Cook i# reached and snowy crested Aorangi whows its altitude of 12,349 feet against the sky. The ice-seamed sides of this emormous height have been compared to a wall of frosted silver. From the great ice plateau pear the base of the broken ice in forms, moves in un- jce caves and the unshadowed mny-un.tg: drinking trough is this inscription: “In majestic course to | sixty years. His long, flowing beard, | | burning black eyes, with an occa- | | sional yellow sheen, and his somewhat | prominent nose bespeak his Armenian | extraction. He has had no classical education, no experience of politics, no | | time for meditation, and little taste | for history. His prominent qualities are those of a clever naval officer, and | |it is in this, his own special sphere,! | that he may be reasonably ¢xpected to | | justify the high hopes Which the bulk of his countrymen repose in him;’ as/ to his gualifications for political diplo- macy, and for the administration of a | vast territory in troublous times, many | of them are very doubtful, holding that | he possesses an alert mind with no, originality, and that the source of his| strength is courage and self-mastery | { rather than intellect or statesmanship. Unless events belie their forecast and | he rises to the emergency, they will continue to assert in the future, as in the past and present, that bureau- { cracy in Russia is incapable of produc- ing a single strong man.—Review of Reviews. Tsi An’s Birthday. Chinese financiers are drawing long faces over the ways and means of rais- |ing the 25,000,000 taels (about $18,000,- 000) for the celebration of the seven- tieth birthday of that u!onmflnzl | woman, Tsi An, the modern Semiramis | of Eastern Asia. What a glittering and gorgeous celebration that will be! It will cost so much that it is not sur- Chinese authorities who are expected to provide the funds are asking for in- dulgence and delay in payment of cer- tain portions of the Boxer indemnity. Due Homor. A monument in the form of a drink- ing fountain, the gift of the Hon. Wil- liam Tebb, has been erected at Burs- tow, England. (ut on the frort of the memory of the mute fidelity of the four hundred thousand horses killed and wounded at the call of their masters during the South African War, 1899- 1902, in a cause of which they knew the growing plant looks green and flourishing, and conditions are rather below the normal they thou'g) | are Wetter than they have been, some authorities esti- mating the improvement since the first of the month as high as 20 per cent. This condition is encouraging and imparts a feeling of confidence to the whole country. The prospects on this coast are highly satisfactory. The crop ontlook could not be better, and as prices for all farm products are excellent everybody looks forward to continued good times. Our city and interior banks are still {berally supplied with funds, and few complaints/of collections are hehrd, while failures are generally small and not numerous. The export trade of the coast con- tinues large and the domestic demand for all sorts of goods “is active. The state of trade in California could not well be improved upon. — The stubborn efforts being made in Paris by repre- sentatives of the United States of Colombia to impede the construction of the Panama canal cannot serve even an evil purpose. Uncle Sam has gone too far to retrace his steps even if he wished to do so. Colombia’s clamor- ous plea for fancied rights in the matter is futile. Her claim is as dead as an Egyptian mummy. A tion was formed in Washington, to promote an arbitration treaty between the United States and Great Britain. The meeting to form this association was THE ARBITRATION TREATY. FEW weeks ago a national arbitration associa- prising if it is true, as reported, that, attended by a large number of eminent men. The lead- ing address was delivered by Cardinal Gibbons, who warmly and eloquently approved such a treaty, as in the interest of peace and civilization. His argument covered the whole field of common interests and common lan- guage, and pointed out the joint contribution of Great Britain and the United States to the world’s store of science and art, civilization and progress. The movement was evidently backed” by the best thought of the eountry, and is intended to proceed from the people onward until it impresses the Government. Great Britain is the only European power with posses- sions in this hemisphere that are in contact with us. Al- ready this kas resulted in issues such as Bering Sea, the Northeastern fisheries and. thc Alaskan boundary, that have been peacefully settled by arbitration. Both coun- tries, perceiving the benefit of this method, should seek to avoid friction over each guestion that arises, by a general arbitration treaty, under which an orderly settle- ment may be had. ) With men like Cardinal Gibbons, Jacob Dickinson, General Miles, Bishop Potter, Archbishop Ireland, Judge Gray, Edward Everett Hale and others of equal influ- ence and dignity, and of all parties and religious denom- inations, promoting such a treaty, it is to be regretted that a constant note of opposition and of bitter antag- onism is heard, caused by prejudice that has its radix in long past events to which this country was not a party. This opposition succeeded in defeating such a treaty a few years ago, but when éminent churchmen of Irish blood, like Cardinal Gibbons, stated the groudds for the treaty from their status as Americans only, al? from the standpoint of humanity, it was hoped that nore would oppose it. During the coming campaign there may be n® time to promote this movement, but it is to be hoped that next yeas public opinion on the subject, will be made known to the Government in such positive form that the initial steps will be taken by the two nations to bring it about. One statement of the opposition is conspicuously er- roneous. is is to the effect that an arbitration treaty violates the advice of Washington’s h‘ewell address against entangling alliances. An arbitration treaty is not a treaty of alliance. It is simply an international agree- ment that disputes shall be subjected to- peaceful settle- ment first, before submitting them to the cruel arbitra- ment of war. Some of our local ministers have taken occasion in ‘public discussion to castigate certain collegians that be- lieve that beer drinking, roistering, hoodlumism and cad- dishness constitute elements of success in studentship in higher culture. Such students are always in a minority in any institution of learning and the self-respecting, manly majority should assume the responsibility of mak- ing the minority behave itself or leave an environment to which it is evidently not congenial. —_— Additional escapes of-Chinese coolies from the Mail Dock detention shed have been called to the attention of the Federal authorities with a monitory reflection that something be done to prevent this cheating of the exclu- sion law. Unquestioned as is the right of the Govern- ment to enforce its laws no living creature, possessing at least the thought of §eli—preser€atiop of a rat, can be censured for accepting any avenue of escape from the terrible pen known as the iemntion shed. PR L e The Supervisors of San Francisco are of the opinion that we should have a law to stop the disgraceful race- track\ gambling which is daily drawing thousands of men and boys into a net of dishonesty and disgrace in our wide open downtown_poolrooms. Rerhaps it might be well for the Supervisors to reflect for a moment and change the course of their inquiry to insist that we have enough law to correct the evil but only a farcical make- believe administration of it. —_— It is the purpos? of the Democrats to have 4000 seats in the arena at their St. Louis national convention. Every seat will be occupied. Every occupant will have a policy of national politics: Every policy will be unlike every other and every insistent advocate will have the lung and tongue couragé of his convictions. Can imagi- nation picture the scene of the first day of tha&convcm tion in the awful heat of a July day in St. Lm{s. A The devout residents of several Indiana towns were forced this year to attend Easter services through the medium of boats, wending their watery way through canals| that had been streets. Among the compensating elements of the occasion, however, were the fact that the fellows that prayed for rain shared the disadvantages of | their success and nobody had to dig in his jeans to buy that bugbear of the masculine heart, the Easter bonnet. b R S0 S A woman of this city, whose special sphere of useful- ness in the general economy of things is divine healing, has sued her spouse for divorce on the score of cruel- ties, varied, distressing and elaborately systematized. Why in the name of all that is domestically admirable could not this divinity of spirit throw its health upon one poor, weak, malicious -man? Next to healing him- seif the physician should heal his neighbor. PPN T SR I > Another example of that wisdom which passes under- standing and rules in the administration of our Emer- gency Hospital has come to public notice. An unfortu- nate, overcome by ammonia poisoning, sought relief in this municipal house of first aid and was discharged in a few hours with the encouraging assurance that he would soon feel no effects of his injuries. He didn't. He was dead in two days. PR £ SIS S e Qur health authorities have entered the public schools with what appears to be a vigorous and intelligent pur- pose of preventing or minimizing disease among the school children. Such a campaign should have begun long ago in San Francisco and its progress will be watched with the greatest concern. This is one of the phases of municipal activity to which the heartiest ap- proval may be given. A Los Angeles man, having reached the age of dis- cretion indicated by sixty-four years and having received a sentence of two years’ imprisonment for forgery, asked the court to commit him to the penitentiary for life. The old man, unfortunate indeed in the fruits of crime, should have reflected that a higher court than that of Los An- geles may grant his request. 2 i AP In two months the defaulting Trennul" of San Jose rid himself of $8000 of the city's cash. As a high flyer this-ex-custodian of the public funds has Santos-Dumont at a disadvantage of several degrees. When the dis- graced public officer is brought to trial a plea of insanity might have some weight wm:’ jury. The creditors of Daniel J. Sully, the collapsed New York king of cotton, are frantically engaged in an en- deavor to find some of his assets, When men in the complete exercise of their senses will attempt such a task as this, who will dare assert again the futility of looking for a needle in a haystack? / 2 —_— Aftter weeks of a wearying game of hide and seck on the sea Japan and, Russia have pragressed in belligerency far enough to engage in a land battle on the soil of Korea. ~The list of casualties thus far reported wouldn’t make a showing respectably warlike for an or- Dewey and the Diver. Joe Reardon, a big strapping young Irishman, has the reputation of be- ing the best diver in the United States naval service. He has earned it by doing stunts below the surface c:t nearly every sea on which Uncle Sam’'s war vessels have sailed. Neither depth nor pressure have terrors for him and therefore he is in constant demand. The rules of the service give the man the privilege of refusing to don a helmet and suit. He cannot be compelled to dive, and it is to Joe's credit that only once during his Jong service has he refused to explore the depths. This was at Cavite, shortly after the sinking of the Spanish ves- sels, when effortsiwere being made to recover the bodies of the slain and to save what remained of the battered Spanish hulls. Then he refused be- cause the doctor on his ship, the Olympia, a stickler for discipline, re- fused him a glass of whisky. Reardon had been at work all morning on one of the sunken vessels. He sent up body after body and all sorts of ship's gear and nitde fast to the wreck numberless ropes and guys for the use of the engineers who were arranging to save the vessels. ‘When finally he came to the surface at noon he was tired out. When the face plate of his helmet was removed he asked for the glass of whisky he was accustomed to receive and which he had never been refused because it has become an unwritten law that a glass of grog is to be served to divers when they have been at work. The doctor of the ship, who did not be-/ lieve in unwritten laws and believed in running his department oh the ship according to the written code, re- fused Reardon’s request. The diver admitted that he did@ not, need it, but said he had always received it and wanted it as usual. When the doctor persisted Reardon demanded that his suit be taken off. At 1 o'clock when Admiral Dewey noticed that the wrecking operations had ceased, he sent for the executive officer, the captain and the gunner to learn what was the trouble. He was told and then he sent for Reardon. “How about this, Reardon?” he said, when the bluejacket appeared. “I am surprised that you give up.” “I am not giving up, sir,” said Rear- don, “it's the doctor. I want a glass of whisky hecause I am in the habit of getting it and he refuses to give it to me because it is against the rules of the service.” “Humph,” said Dewey, “he happens to be right.” Then he dismissed the officers, but told Reardon to remain. Inside of ten minutes the sailor was again donning his rubber suit. Just as the face plate on the helmet was being screwed on he grinned at the diving crew, smacked his lips and with a grin said: “The old man's stuff skins the doctor’s and he gives it to one in larger doses.” e Bread on the Waters. To the generosity of the late W. C. Ralston is credited a story of how he helped a young man to start in life by advancing him $100. The benefl~1 ciary himself, who is at the present a prosperous hardware merchant in this city, tells how he made for him- self a business which lifted him from poverty to independence. Blank was strapped, as he tells the story, and on hearing of Raiston’s lib- erality, he stepped into the California Bank one morning and asked if he could speak to Mr. Ralston. The boy at the private door inquired his busi- ness, remarking at the time that the manager was busy just then and would see no one except on banking business. “Well,”” replied the young man, ‘“mine is banking business.” ‘When Ralston was informed of the request he gave instructions to have the visitor admitted. The boy walked in with as much confidence as if he had a million dollar load on his shoulders and, without waiting to be catachised, he made his business known in these words: “Mr. Ralston, Iam a poor boy with a mother to sup- port; my father is dead and if I had $100 I would make\ a start in busi- ness and become rich. I promise to repay the money at some time.” Impressed by the boy's candor the generous Ralston handed him an or- der on the cashier for the amount asked and passed on to other matters demanding his attention, considering that the advance would hélp a poor woman and maybe give the boy a start. It did. The boy bought a lot of cutlery, which he peddled about the | streets until eventually he was enabled to open a little store on Bush street. Thence he moved into more commo- dious quarters and to-day he is at the head of a large hardware store, easily amassing a fortune. Just be- fore Ralston’s death the money was paid to the California Bank at a time when Ralston himself needed financial ald to help meet the crash that sent him to his untimely grave. Sunset Dreams. The moth and beetle wing about The garden ways of other days; Above the hills, a fiery shout of fild. the day dies slowly out, Li ebl some wild blast a huntsman ows; And o'er the hills my fancy goes, Following "the sunset's golden call, Unto a vine-hung wall, she awaits me in the gloom, ere Between the lily and the rose, ith arms and lips of warm per- South Africa, through all its many changes, but it is supposed to be as nearly perfect as a stamp collection ever was. It brought nearly $20,000, a record price. E. J. Nankivell made the collection, and has made a great thing out of it, chiefly because a great demand has sprung up for the rare stamps since the Transvaal became a British col- ony. There have been so many polit- ical changes in the country that Iits stamps form a sort of historic record of thirty-five years. The first and most sought for group in the lot is that issued by the first South African republic between 1869 and 1877. The plates for these were made in Gustrow, Germany, and iLe first supply was sent to the Transvaal with the plates. In 1870, when this supply was all used up, a Boer, Mr. Viljoen of Pre- toria, printed a fresh lot. These lasted two years and then a Mr. Borrius, at Potchefstrom, did a little more stamp printing. The British seized all the stamps of the republic remaining in 1t posat- office and printed over them “V. R, Transvaal,” the V. R. aboye the nams of the State. The printers worked un- der some pressure, so naturally there were a few errors. A famous one is a penny red on blue, with the pame of the State spelled “Transveal.” The stamps with these errors are so rare that experts value them at from $375 to $750 a piece. There were other errors, all of im- portance now to the philatelist. One shows the overprint inverted on the stamps. A rare print of one of these is valued at $1000. What It Costs. ey are beginning to realizse ths | fac in Russia that there is little glory |in war, and that it is immensely cost- ly. Now that the sea route between European and Asiatic Russia is closed, and the trans-Siberian line is monopo- lized by the military authorities, trade is at a standstill. Deducting the amount required by law to be held as security for outstanding paper cur- rency, the gold in the Imperial Bank amounts to 533,000,000 rubles; but the whole of this balance could be em- ployed as a war fund only at the risk of greatly disturbing the course of ex- change and impairing the credit of the Government. The Turkish war cost Russia 1,000,000,000 rubles, and it is unlikely that the cost of the present conflict will be less. The authorities are agreed that the country is taxed to the limit. Where is the money necessary to the conduct of the war come from? This is the question hich will call more and more insist- ently for an answer as the struggle in the Far East progresses.—Omaha Bee. Answers to Queries. - MOSQUITOES—S. W. B., City. Any kind of petroleum sprinkled over the surface of a pond with a sprinkler will quickly destroy the larvas of the mosquitoes. As these - pests breed about four times a year it would be in order. to sprinkle such a pond several times a year. MME, NORCROSS—M., Brooklyn, N Y. A friend of this department writes that Mme. Norcross, an opera singer, was residing for a number of years and up to last January at 146 West Thirty- sixth street, New York City. Her name is Mrs. Isaac-W. Norcross. COMMUNITY PROPERTY—R. C. H., City. If two brothers are in busi- ness and one of them marries and subsequently they jointly buy real es- tate the married brother's share is community property and he could not dispose of the same by gift without the consent of his wife. He would be empowered to sell the same without the signature of his wife to the deed, but no eareful buyer would.purchase the same without her signature. PUMPS—F. S. T., Felix, Cal. The pump of the Calumet and Hecla mine, Michigan, is of the triple expansion type, and has a daily capacity of 60, 000,000 gallons. For high lift and high duty it is believed to be u in size. For a full description of the pump, length of steam and water cyl- inders, etc.,, address a communication to the superintendent of the mine. The authorities differ as to which is the largest pump in use in the world, and this department will not attempt to decide which is correct. ALAMO—Subscriber, Alameda, Cal The Alamo was a fort in San Antonio, fume— The dream of love my fancy knows. The glow-worm and the firefly gtow Among the ways of bygone days; a A golden shaft shot from a bow Of silver, star and moon swing low e hills where m.t d my es, o} old, and rue, Wi star-bright hair - and night-dark The mn. to whom my heart is true, My dream of love that neéver dies. —In the April Reader e. Tex., memorable for a siege and mass- acre in 1836, during the war of Texan independence from Mexico. Santa Anna. with about 2000 Mexicans, be- sieged 140 Texans in the fort for two weeks. Finally on March 6 of that year the fort, nobly defended. was taken by assault, only six of the de- fenders remaining alive. These six were at once butchered by order of Santa Anna, among them being - nel Davy Crockett, the noted man, who served with General Jack- * Transvaal Stamps. son in the Creek war. u“:‘mh:.f!::;pup;?:dzn‘mn °‘a°' fif‘h artistic -0-;-: a - ‘ness_there and In this city a collection mm‘fln-m'-fl" % which has been twenty-one years in ey - R b‘i"-;- the making, says the New York Sun.| Special information supplied daily to It contained the stamps of only a sin- | houses and the gle little republic, the Transvaal, in' iromy b AL Cal-