Lincoln County leader., June 01, 1900, Image 3

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MEN OF EUROPE COMPELLED TO
BE SOLDIERS.
Precious Tears of Golden Youth Ppent
in Military Service by Helpless Men
What Conscription Means to the
Breadwinners Abroad.
lu Germany, France. Russia, Aus
tria ami Italy every able-bodied man
must expect to give from twenty-one to
twenty-nine years of his life to soldier
ing, his service commencing at ages
ranging from 17 years in Germany to
21 years in France and Italy.
At the beginning of each year lists
are prepared throughout Germany of
all youths who have reached the pre
scribed age, and during spring the Re
cruiting Commission makes a visiting
tour of all the headquarters of the vari
ous districts, where the youths are
mustered for Inspection.
All who are physically unlit for ser
vice are Dually rejected, and those who
are still physically unripe for it are put
back for a year. Men who, though
strong and healthy, fail to reach the
requisite standards are passed into the
Ersatz reserve, together with those
who are sons of widows or the support
of their families, and from those who
are passed as fit for service the re
quired number is selected by ballot. Of
the recruits certain privileged men of
birth and education are only called up
on to serve one year in the regular
army on condition that they pass cer
tain examinations and pay the cost of
their equipment, while the remainder
are expected to serve three years in the
ranks, followed by four years In the
reserve. The next five years they spend
In the first levy of the Laudwehr, and
they are then passed Into the secoud
levy until they reach the age of 3'J.
In France military service begins at
21 and lasts for twenty-five years, with
similar exemptions from service and
limitations to one year in the ranks
to those sanctioned In the German
army.
The French conscript must spend his
first three years of service in the reg
ular army, followed by seven years in
the army reserve. lie is then passed
inlo the territorial army for six years,
and the remaining nine years are spent
in the reserve of the territorial army,
which is called out only In case of abso
lute necessity.
A man's service In the ranks may be
reduced to one or two years according
to the number he draws in the ballot.
Army reserve men have only eight
weeks of drill, while the territorial
"jinny is only called on for a period of
fourteen days.
In Russia the conscription takes
place every year In the months of No
vember and December, when the re
quired recruits are selected by lot.
Clerymen of all churches are exempt
from service, while Mohammedans and
the inhabitants of certain districts In
Asia can substitute payment for ser
vice; and some of the higher classes
may reduce their term of service In
the ranks under certain conditions.
Service begins In the twenty-first
year and lasts for twenty-four years,
of which five years are spent lu the
ranks and thirteen In -the reserve. On
finishing service In the reserve the sol
dier is passed Into the militia, where
lie spends the remainder of his period
of service.
In Italy a youth Is liable for service
when he reaches his nineteenth birth
day, and Is only exempt when he reach
es his fortieth birthday. None but those
physically unfit for service are abso
lutely exempt, but sons of widows and
sole supporters of families are passed
Into the militia without being called
on to serve In the army ranks.
Army recruits are divided Into two
classes, of which the first division
spend from three to four years In the
ranks; the next five years are spent on
furlough, succeeded by four years ser
vice In the mobile militia and seven
years In the territorial militia.
Members of the second class of re
cruits must spend twelve years In the
army, more than half of which Is usu
ally spent on furlough, and the re
mainder of their service Is spent In one
liranch or other of the militia until the
limit of age Is renched.
In Austria the only exemption Is In
favor of the physically unfit, and even
they are required to pay a sum, propor
tioned to their means, In'to the army
pension fnud. Service begins at 19 and
lasts for twenty-three years, of which
three are spent In the line and seven In
the reserve. Cincinnati Enquirer.
RULES FOR HORSE TRADERS
MetnnhU Man Who Conld Give David
Haruni Points on the Ruslncss.
David Ilarum was a good horse trad
er, but a recent transaction In horse
flesh which was made by a well-known
Meinphlnn shows that there are oth
ers who know how to get the long end
of n horse trade. Several weeks ago
this Memphis man saw a fine buggy
horse which he thought he wanted. He
located the owner and asked the price.
One fifty," was the reply. After look
lug the animal over closely and trying
.jlier speed he concluded It was a good
tvaue, ana wuuuui uivrre uuu nruie u
check for the amount. The next day
lie found that the mare was as blind
a bat, but this did not hinder her speed i
nor detract from her general appear
ance. He1 drove the animal for several
weeks and succeeded In attracting the
admiration of another lover of horse
flesh, who made a proposal to pur
chase, "Well," said the Memphlan, "I gave
one fifty for her, but I will let you
have her for one sixty-five."
The prospective owner looked the an
imal over and concluded he had a bar
bain. He paid over the money and
took the mare. When the animal was
unhitched the first thing she did was
to run against a post and then, by way
of emphasizing the fact that she was
blind, fell over a barrel. The next day
the buyer came back to the Memphian
with blood In his eye.
"Colonel, you know that mare you
sold me," he began. "Well, she's stone
blind."
"I know It," replied the colonel, with
an easy air.
"You didn't say anything to me about
it," said the purchaser, his face red
deniug with anger.
"Weil, I'll tell you," replied the colo
nel. "That fellow who sold her to me
didn't tell me about it, and 1 just con
cluded that he didn't want it known."
The new owner took his medicine
and is now on the lookout for a friend:
on whom he can even things. Memphis
Sclmetar.
1 JWiM;
nvention
Spectroscopic and other observations
show the fixed stars to be self-luminous
bodies suns to the other systems of
planets. An analysis of their light IndU
cates the presence of the same chemical
elements that exist lu our own sun and
earth, together with others unknown In
our solar system.
Where Ice cannot be procured, water
may be cooled by wrapping the pitcher
containing it in a towel of loose texture
which has been previously impregnated
with ammonium nitrate (aud dried) and
moistening this witli water. The same
towel may be used repeatedly, after be
ing dried each time.
The news from Lick Observatory that
the North star, 255,000,000 of miles
away from us, has been found to be not
one star, but three swinging around in
great orbits like the moon, earth and
sun Is another remarkable result of
the application of photo-spectroscopy
to the telescopic study of the heavens.
An American electric manufactur
ing company has been awarded the en
tire contract for the equipment of nu
merous electrical plants which will be
installed along the line of the Eastern
Chinese railroad. It will consist large
ly of temporary lighting plants. It Is
thought that ultimately $200,000 will
be Involved in the contract. j
The first century began with the first
day of the year one and ended with the
last day of the year one hundred. It
could not end with the last day of the
year ninety-nine, for one hundred not
niuety-niue years make a century. The
nineteenth century, therefore, ends nt
midnight on Dec. 31, 1000, aud the
twentieth century then begins.
At a recent meeting of the Zoological
Society In Loudon a photograph was
exhibited, showing a pair of remark- j
ably large tusks which had belonged
to an African elephant. Measured along
the outer curve, each tusk was ten feet
and four Inches long, but they differed
a little In weight, one weighing 223 and
the other 235 pounds, or a total of 4(50
pounds, wleh the elephant had carried
about without the least Inconvenience.
One of the most Important American
exhibitions at the Pails exposition will
be a model, some twenty feet long, of
the Chicago drainage canal. In con
nection with this will be shown models
of all the great variety of excavating
and conveying machinery which was
used In this Important engineering
work. The models will be shown In
operation, and It Is believed that It will
be one of the most Interesting of the
engineerings exhibitions at the exposi
tion. Considerable Importance Is attached
to the distance-measuring field-glass
Invented by Mr. Zeiss, of Jena. It Is
simply an extension of the natural pow
er of the eyes to estimate the distance
of near-by objects. This power de
pends upon the fact that the space be
tween the eyes serves like a base-line
In surveying, the lines of sight con
verging upon a selected object from
the ends of the base. In the telemeter
the effective distance between the eyes
Is Increased by means of prisms, and
double Images of the objects looked at
are formed. The distance between the
Images varies with the remoteness of
the objects, and a scale shows what the
real distance Is. Up to about two miles
the results are said to be fairly ac
curate. Ladsmith Hank Third.
Ladysmlth Is the third town of Im
portance In Natal, Is 189 miles north of
Durban, has thirteen streets, a Town
Hall and a public library.
Every man thinks his community U
bothered with old barnacles.
K.I m 'Ft. - J
BIAN-EATING LIONS.
OBSTRUCT RAILROAD WORK
CENTRAL AFRICA.
IN
Voracious Beasts Kill Nearly One Hun
dred Men and Injure Many Others
Their Frightful Kuvajies Committed
in Africa and India.
Obstructing the building of a railroad
s a rather unusual feat for lions, yet
that is what two of them did some time
ago In Central Africa, near Victoria
Nynnza. The matter was referred to
by Lord Salisbury in one of his address
es In the British House of Lords.
These lions were man-eaters and for
more than eight months they terror
ized 0,000 laborers engaged in the work
3f construction. Scores of these men
they dragged off and devoured. The
greater part of the camp, having at
length moved up the country beyond
the forging ground of the lions, several
hundred were left behind to build
bridges. Upon these the lions made a
3till more sanguinary descent. Night
after night they would carry away one
and sometimes two men. They attack-
MAN-EATING LION ATTACKS
ed white engineers, doctors, soldiers
and military officers as well as laborers
from India, coolies and African na
tives. On almost any night, aud at any
time of the night, the men were liable
to be aroused by the shrieks of their
abducted comrades, and to hear the
cracking of their bones and the tearing
of their limbs a rod or two away, while
the Hons growled and quarreled over
their prey. Sick men In the hospital
died from sheer terror at these horrible
sounds and the horrible scenes they
suggested. The beasts were shot at In
the darkness, but seldom' hit. For flre
nrms, fire or torches they cared noth
ing. Oue of them leaped upon an offi
cer, tore his knapsack from his back
and then carried away aud a devoured
a soldier near hlni.
Many became so terror-stricken that
they threw themselves ou the rnlls in
front of a coastward train and Insisted
on either being run over or carried off
on the train. Those who stayed for
sook the tents and huts and camped
out on top of the water tanks, on roofs
and bridge girders or In beds lashed to
the highest branches of the trees. One
night one of these broke, letting Its
lodgers fall within a few feet of the
Hons. But, being already too occupied
with devouring a victim, the brutes
gave no heed to this "windfall," but let
the Intruders escape until another
meal.
Killed Nearly One Hundred Men.
During the eight months that these
Hons lived upon these railroad men
they would be occasionally wounded by
a shot and obliged to retire from active
life, thus giving the camp Intervals of
quiet. But they killed and nte In all
nearly thirty natives of India, twice as
many African natives, besides Injuring
many others of various nationalities.
It was Impossible to poison them be
cause they confined their diet entirely
to human beings, to the neglect of every
kind of game, with which the region
abounds. The white men were not
numerous enough to hunt them suc
cessfully and the Sepoys were too un
skilled with firearms. At length an en
gineer of the line who spent months of
his time pursuing them, worn out by
loss of sleep, sitting up In the moon
light and tracking them during the day,
succeeded lu shooting them both and
putting an end to these man-eaters'
reign of terror. They were each over
nine feet long.
Both Africa and India are In many
parts under the dominion of the Hon
and tiger. Agnlnst the Hon of South
Africa the native has to be constantly
on his guard. The Arabs nrrange their
tents In n circle in the center of which
the herds are penned, and outside the
tents Is a rude hedge. When they hear
the animal begin roaring, and he can be
heard plainly nt a distance of three
miles, sometimes faintly nine miles off,
they kindle the heaps of wood that
have been piled up before each tent so
that the occupant may hurl a lighted
brand at lilm. But some of the brutes
have become so wonted to the fire, the
yelping of the dogs and the cries of the
people that they pay no attention to
them. He boldly leaps within the In
closure. He drives men, women and
children Into their tents, alienee. tba
dogs and stampedes horses, sheep and '
dogs through the hedge and across the
desert.
From the sheep, too. frightened to
flee, he selects his supper aud carries It
away to the mountains. Or If thej
moods suit pursues the horses and
cattle. Of these he will sometimes kill
three or four and suck their blood,
leaving their carcasses where he over
took them. The power of these black
African lions Is euormous. The strong
est of them can clear an eight-foot lu
closure holding in their mouths a 3-year-old
horse. Girard, the lion-killer,
declares that he has seen one of them
charge Into the midst of 300 Arab horse
men on au open plain and drive them
back to their encampment, the boldest
of them with their horses remaining
prostrate along his path.
In India a man-eating tiger kills
more than a hundred people a year;
sometimes four or uve aud even seven
persons at once. In some districts 300
or 400 human beings are annually slain
by tigero and In lower Bengal as niauy
as 700 are killed. One tigress has beeu
known to close the public roads, cause
the desertion of thirteen villages and
put over 250 square miles of territory1
out of cultivation. They become bold
enough now and then to penetrate n
NATIVES IN CENTRAL AFRICA.
city and are accorded Its freedom until
they are shot.
He Woiil l Pay Hint.
The cultivation of his vote by the
watchful aud flattering ward politician
sometimes arouses In the breast of the
poor dweller lu the slums nn exagger -
a ted notion of his pollticnl importance.
ai a recent banquet of the Frnukllu
lypographical Society of Boston, a
prominent printer told a story which
Illustrates this fact amusingly.
Not long ago a man came to this gen
tleman and asked for work for his boy.
The applicant himself was out of work,
and his family were in want.
"If you can give work to the b'y,"
said he, "we'll git enough out of It to
pay the Hut, aud we won't be turned
out on the street, anyliow."
The printer promised to do what he
could.
"An' If ye do," the father went on, his
eye lighting up with a generous gleam,
"we'll put ye In McKInley's place!"
Long Names for Automobile.
"What is the longest word In the lan
guage?" Is an Inquiry that frequently
turns up In an editor's mall. If some
other languages were In question, he
would dread to see it; the answer would
take too much space.
Thus In Berlin one Ilerr Thlcn, who
has long been prominent In local trans
portation Interests, has recently estab
lished a motor cab service. The pleas
lug German name for his vehicles is
"automoblletexaineterdroschkeu."
It Is said that, despite the preposter
ous title, the new cabs are remarkably
handsome and graceful. But If there
Is anything In a name, the motor car
riages Introduced Into some parts of
Belgium should Instantly become sway
backed aud top-heavy. The Flemish
word for automobile Is "snelpaarde
looszoouderspoorwegpetroolrljulg." Rome Works Required.
It Is well not to overstep the line be
yond which the exercise of faith bo
comes something like negligence.
"I tell you, brudders," exclaimed a
young colored pastor, who was preach
ing a sermon on faith, "we haven't half
enough of it! De Lord will watch over
our uprlsln' an' our dowusettln' ef we
only got faith like a grain o uiusta'd
seed! He ain't gwine to let no haliiu
come to us," he went ou, fervently,
"ef we Jls' exe'clse faith!"
"All de same, Bruddah Flint," spoke
up the white-haired old patriarch upon
whom rested the burden of looking
after the temporal affairs of the church,
"we're golu' to keep dis yer meetin
house Insured agin fire an' Hghtnln'!"
A Ilir I that Hhaven.
The pretty South American bird call
ed the "mot-mot" Is said to begin shav
ing on arriving at maturity. Naturally
adorned with long blue tall feathers,
It Is not satisfied with them in their
natural state, but with Its beak nips
off the web on each side for a spnee
of about two inches, leaving a neat
little oval tuft at the end of each.
The best diamonds are of the first
water bu I H' different with milk.
The One Yes, sir; he died owing no
body. The Other What an unfortun
ate time to expire! Indianapolis Press.
1 Winks I can tell a poet the moment
I see him. Minks How? Wluks He
never looks like one. New York Week-
Doctor And the twins? Are they
well? Papa Quite well, thank you.
"How do they sleep?" "In day and
h'ght shifts."
A woman can never carry out her
resolution to snub nuother woman if
she meets her when she has on her
new hat. New York Tress.
"Going to the Paris show?" "No. I
;ompromlscd with my wife, and we're
jolng to stay at home aud study
French. Philadelphia North Ameri
can. "War can always be avoided," assert
ed the lecturer. The mau In the bnck
row laughed scornfully. "Evidently,"
lie said, "the sponsor Ig jot married."
Chicago Post. '
Joe Aren'e you rejoiced that out
door sports have beguu again?" "Out
door sports? Oh, say you don't mean
It's time to beat carpets again, do you?"
Chicago Record.
Bookkeeper Your wife Is at the door,
sir, and would like to speak to you a
moment. Mr. Sellers Yes; just seo
what my balance at the bank Is, will
you? Harper's Bazar.
"Yes, madam," sighed the ash man.
"I have seen better days. I was once
nu Ice man, but I was fired." "Ah, I
see," said the lady; "you were reduced
to ashes." Philadelphia Record.
"Marie, after we are married what
course shall you pursue to retain my
love?" "Oh, Harry, I shall spend nu
awful lot of money on fine clothes and
look just as pretty as I can." Chicago
Record.
Man's obiter dictum: He There aro
two periods In a man's life when ho
aever understands a woman. She In-
Jeed, and when are they? Ile-Befora
! lie Is married and ufterward.-CollIer's
Weekly.
Mrs. Tucker Tommy, what makes
you so late? Tommy Had some words
with the teacher, and. she kept me lu
after school. Mrs. Tucker You had
words with the teacher? Tommy
Yes'm. I couldu't spell em. Chicago
Tribune.
"I'm glad to seo the snow disappear
ing," he said. "I suppose that you are
thinking of the horrible crossings it
makes." "No, not exactly. There are
several bad boys In our neighborhood
ind they don't cure who they pelt with
soakers."
Bibbs How is it Jones has thrown
ip South Africa. I thought he volun
teered? Dlbbs-So he did, but he al
:ered his mind. Bibbs What made him
lo that? Dlbbs He got to know that
tils mother-in-law was golug out as a
ourse. Plck-Me-Up.
"Thurston Tompkins says he is In
poverty through no fault of his own."
"How does lie make that out?" "Why,
lie says he was born with expensive
tastes, but without sense enough to
;am the money to keep up with them."
Indianapolis Journal.
"I didn't know you Intended to move
this spring." "We don't. ' "But your
wife told me she was out looking at
douses all day yesterday. "Well, that's
true enough; but don't you know there
Is a vast difference between looking
at' houses and looking 'for' houses?"
Chlcugo Times.
She Oh, Harry, did you mall that
horrid, hateful letter I wrote papa? He
must have sent this $100 check the day
wrote It. He Yes, I mailed it; he's
?ot it by this time. She That's youl
Whenever I give you a letter to mall
that'll get me In trouble, you go right
aff and mall It. Indianapolis Journal.
Mrs. A. It's really extraordinary!
My nurse tells me that gentlemen are
llways stopping her lu the street to ad
ulre my little girl. Mrs. B. How love
ly she must be! Mrs. A. Oh, I don't
mow. Of course I think her pretty,
aecause I am her mother. Mrs. B.
Dh, I meant the nurse, dear. Punch.
The Farmer Why don't you work?
The Tramp D yer t'lnk everybody In
le world Is crazy? I never worked in
me life, but 1 don't owe anyone a cent,
while I s'pose you've bin worklu since
rer was able Ur drive a cow; an' I'll
M'X dey's a mor'gago on yer farm dat
leeps yer hustllu' ter pay do iut'rest
n! Puck.
A benefactor: "James," whispered
the good woman, "there's a burglar in
the parlor. He stumbled against the
piano in the dark. I heard several of
the keys struck." "All right!" said
James, "I'll go down." "Oh, James,
you're not going to do anything rash?"
"Certainly not; I'm going to help him.
You don't suppose he can get that piano
out of the house without assistance,
3o you?"-PulludeIphltt Press.
j.