Corvallis gazette., November 06, 1903, Image 4

WEALTH IN WATER.
WHAT IRRIGATION DOES FOR THE.
BARREN DESERT.
Uncle 6am Has Undertaken the Work
of Reclaiming Millions of Acres of
Arid Lands Now Has an Irrigation
Fund of $7,500,000.
'
It Is not an extravagant prophesy to
predict that the land values of the
States west of the Rockies -will, in the
next quarter of a century, double in
value and that the chief factor In
bringing about the increased valuation
will be water.
There are, in that great region In the
West, known as the arid belt, 650.000,
000 acres of vacant lands, exclusive of
more tnan 120,000,000 acres in the Gov
ernment and Indian reservations. This
Is about one-third the area of the
United States, exclusive of Alaska, and
Is a little more than one-half the area
of Arizona, California, Colorado, Ida
ho, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, Neva
da, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon,
South Dakota, Utah, Washington, ana
Wyoming.
- Most of this land, under present con
ditions, is worthless. Some of it will
never have an agricultural value, but
the greater part needs only water to
make It valuable to the agriculturist
and horticulturist.
The territory now vacant Is capable
of supporting a population as great as
that of the United States at the pres
ent time, provided ways are devised
whereby the land may be furnished
with water. It is the solution of this
problem which brings together annual
ly the body of men known as the "Ir
rigation Congress." It is this question
.which in several sections of the West,
notably In California, is being solved
in a practical way by both private and
governmental enterprise. , -
There are about 70,000,000 acres of
Western lands which are termed des
ert. It is in this desert region hat
most of . the irrigation work Is now
being done. The, deserts contain some
of the richest soil in the United States.
There -are limited sections of the des
ert, like the Salton Sink, and "The Vol
canoes" In the Colorado desert, which
may never be reclaimed, but the great
er portion have rich soil adapted to ag
riculture If water can be brought to
the lands and distributed over them.
Desert lands without water have abso
lutely no value, except ' such as 'may
have deposits of minerals, . therefore
water gives them the only real value
they have or may hope to have.
As a rule, such of the arid lands, ly
ing outside the deserts in valleys, on
the plains and upon the foothills, have
a small value to grazers, for they fur
nish sparce herbage upon which the
cattle may browse. These lands are
considered, by cattlemen, to be worth
about 50 cents per acre without water.
To such lands water adds the total
value of the reclaimed lands, minus
the 50 cents per acre. It is by bring
ing water to these lands that wealth
Is being rapidly created in the West.
A little more than two years ago
the drill was -sunken deep into the
earth upon the barren Colorado desert
at a point now known as Coachella.
Laud there was actually valueless,
though the government placed upon it
the usual price of $1.25 per acre.
The drill found a bountiful supply
of -artesian water. Other wells 'were
drilled till more than 250 flowing wells
are now pouring their streams upon
SXOWIKO WELL IK CQACHKTJ.A.
the parched lands. The result is that
a large area of land in that section of
the desert -has an actual and a market
ralue of from $100 to $600 per acre.
The season's crop of cantaloupe's,
watermelons and sweet potatoes have
netted the owners of the lands from
$80 to $160 per acre, proving that the
values placed upon the lands are not
fictitious.
Less than three years ago the Im-
rlal Canal was begun. The Colora
Rlver was tapped below Yuma and
the big ditch, seventy feet wide and
nine feet deep, has .been built 100
miles out Into the desert, and from
this has branched more than 800 miles
- of lateral canals. This has placed
upon 600,000 acres of heretofore value
less lands a present market value of
from $20 to $200 per acre and an actu
al value much greater, for the crops
this year from most "of the lands put
under cultivation have netted the
farmers from $40 to $100 or more an
acre.
Some eighteen or. twenty years ago
the town sites of Redlands and River
side were barren and unproductive.
Lying almost upon the desert the lands
Were arid and little better than the
actual desert ; lands. Water .'. was
brought to the lands, and the price
soon advanced to $20 per acre and
range and lemon groves were planted.
Borne of the optimistic ones prophesied
that the time would come' when the
lands would be worth as much as $200
. per acre, but they were laughed at for
their rosy views. Now lands wholly
unimproved, in that section, are worth
$250 and $500 per acre, and such as
are set to oranges and lemons bring
from $1,000 to $2,000 per acre. Water
has created those values.
There are several methods of irriga
tion employed and several systems In
vogue. The first systems employed In
California were in the hands of com
panies or corporations which inaugu
rated them for profit and their rates
for water were, in many cases, -almost
prohibitive. This let to the mutual
water company system, commonly
known In California as the "Holt" sys
tem, because the first mutual water
company was conceived and organized
by L. M. Holt, now identified with the
great imperial canal system In the
Colorado desert.
The first purely mutual water com
pany to be incorporated in the United
States was the Pomona Water Com
pany, which was formed in 1878, under
plans prepared by Holt The second
company was the Redlands Company,
also one of Holt's, organized in 1881.
The Imperial lands are under seven
different mutual companies which fur
nish water only to stockholders of the
company and to them at actual cost
There are still individual systems and
corporations which furnish water for
profit only, but the boards of super
visors of the various counties now fix
a water rate above which the water
companies are not allowed to charge.
The methods of Irrigation are sever
al. Damming of small streams in
mountain canyons and forming reser
voirs from which the water Is drawn
for irrigating purposes, is another
method, and drilling of artesian wells
and common method. Diverting the
waters of wells where the water is
lifted by. windmills or other power is
still another. In some sections reser
voirs have been constructed for catch
ing and holding the surplus waters
from the winter rains to be distributed
in the dry season.
The Bear Valley dam and the Sweet
water dam in Southern California are
two notable examples of the first
named methods. These dams are built
across canyons in the mountains and
catch and hold the waters of snow
fed mountain streams. From these
reservoirs large sections of country are
amply supplied with water during the
dry summer months.
The waters are conveyed from the
reservoirs to the fields in cement-lined
ditches or through expensive wooden
flumes. Some of the largest lemon
and orange orchards In the world are
watered from these reservoirs.
The Coachella district, in the north
western portion of the Colorado desert,
is the most notable example of the
artesian well system. This section is
located seventy-six feet below sea
level and the lands were absolutely
worthless two years ago. Water has
made the land very valuable and has
built a town which boasts a news-
paper, a church, schoolhouse and sev
eral stores, besides dwellings and
other institutions.
,The artesian belt is limited. Fifty
or sixty miles southeast of Coachella
a well was drilled and flowing water
was obtained, but it proved to be salt
and unfit for irrigating purposes.
Other tests have resulted in failure to
find water at all.
The notable river diversion systems
are those which have drawn from the
Rio Grande nearly all its waters, the
systems in ..vogue on the Gila River,
the Kern River system, the San Joa
quin and Sacramento River systems,
the Imperial Canal, which diverts a
portion of the waters of the Colorado
River. All the systems now operative
are . under, control of mutual compa
nies, private companies or corpora
tions. The United States has now under
taken the great work of' reclaiming
her arid districts and in the irrigation
fund is already more than $7,500,000.
A location for a dam has been selected
on the Colorado River north of Yuma
and a large section of land is soon to
be reclaimed and made valuable. Sim
ilar systems will be established In
Utah, Neva'da, Colorado, and other
States and Territories.
The government work is provided
for by the sale of public lands. Once
a territory is reclaimed the revenues
from the water system go to the irri
gation fund and the money goes to
reclaim other sections.
Under the various systems" now in
operation and under way, both pri
vate and national, millions of acres of
land will be reclaimed within the next
ten years and billions of dollars of
wealth will be added to the assets of
the nation. Arthur J. Burdick, in
Grit- ' -. .
FROGS DEVOUR THEIR KIND.
Nearly All Batrachians Are Cannibal
istic in Their Natural Tendencies.
A recent experience of C. W. Hodell
of Baltimore may serve as a warning
to other anglers who write to sporting
goods stores from fishing resorts and
order frogs in tens of dozens.
Hodell was in the Georgian bay coun
try, where the red-eyed bass were bit
ing bard at frogs, but not taking any
thing else. He telegraphed in for ten
dozen frogs of all sizes in perfect con
dition, not a dead one in the bunch.
He-was especially pleased by some
three or four dozen of the little fellows
not larger than the first joint of a
man's thumb, the ideal size of frog for
the ' small-mouthed bass. He knew
that he could take these infants, hang
them on a Bing hook which carries a
number 2 spoon,-and 'with them yank
enough and more than enough. He
went to bed filled with happy dreams
of the things that were to happen on
the morrow. .
The next morning he took a supply
of frogs and started out. It struck
him that there were not so many frogs
as on the night before, but he did not
believe that anybody around the hoter
would steal them and thought that
possibly he might be mistaken. He
caught some bass and returned late in
the afternoon.
Examining his frog trap be found that
his supply . had dwindled perceptibly.
He could not explain it and was
worried.
Rising early the next morning, he
FLOODING DESERT LANDS.
agaln looked at the rrogs and was
pained to discover that he bad not
more than a dozen of the little ones
left. He had not used more than half
a dozwi of them. He could find no
hole or ornek in the trap which would
jnfinlt theiu to WK'ape. He was mys
tified and grieved.
Then, ,ven as he looked, his problem
was solved. With a satisfied croak,
which suld as plainly as English could
say it: "This Is a good thing," one of
the Mg frogs hopped forward three
inches, opened Its mouth, seized a little
frog and swallowed it
Hodell stood staring. Another big
frog swallowed another little frog.
Looking cloeely then, Hodell saw the
legs of two or three little frogs'sticking
out of the mouths of two or three big
frogs.
He called for help and he and the
guide rescued the few little frogs that
were left and put them in a separate
compartment. The big frogs seemed
to be very fat and sleepy. New York
Sun.
JEW-BAITING IN AUSTRIA.
Or. Karl Lncger, Who 8tands at the
Head of tbe Anti-Semitic Party.
One of the strongest men in the pub
lic life of the Austro-Hungarlan em
pire is Dr. Karl Lueger, burgomaster
of Vienna, and the
leader of the anti-
Semitic party in
Austria. He is a '
self made man,
who ' rose from'
humble beginnings
to be the leader of
one of the most '
important political
parties in the dual
empire of Francis
.Joseph. Dr. Lueger
dk, kabl ruEGEK. began' political Dfe
as an agitator pure
and simple, and he addressed hundreds
of meetings In support of the anti
Semitic program, denouncing the Jews
as the origin of, all evil in the world.
The principles which he represents axe
strong in Austria to-day and have been
responsible for many political broils In
the Reicherath. - To an American it
seems singular that in the 20th cen
tury. Jew-baiting should exist In, a
country such as Austria: That it does
exist is evidence that Austrian civill-
zatlon has not progressed much since
the middle ages, when Jews were ac
cused of poisoning Christian wells and
murdering Christian children. There
was no justification for such charges
then, nor Is there any justification to
day for the anti-Semitic feeling of
which Lueger is the chief mouthpiece.
Groom Was Too Liiteral.
There is a young clergyman near
Hagerstown, Md., who might be ex
cused for saying "the guileleesness of
some rural gentry passeth all under
standing." He would probably deny
saying it should you ask him, but he
would not deny the following story,
told by a relative:
A young couple with matrimonial in
tent, freah from the green fields of
their rural homes, went recently to the
parsonage of the clergyman in ques
tion. The nuptial knot was tied. In
the pause which followed the newly
made Benedict looked even more em
barrassed than before. He fished
about in his trousers' pockets as if
loking for something.
"What's the price?',' he finally blurt
ed out.
"The State allows me a dollar," said
the clergyman, "but " and paused.
Some pauses are more eloquent than
words. Evidently this was not. .-
"Well," finally remarked the groom
as he handed, the astonished divine a
quarter, "if the State allows you a dol
lar, take this and the job will have
netted you a dollar and a quarter.
Good-day."
Wfifs Cause Trouble. .
Time-honored tradition in London
has it that only princes and peers may.
ha've bewigged footmen, on their car
riages. The fact was learned by Mrs.,
Cornelius Vanderbilt last summer just
after she had decided on . having her
servants rigged out in the fashion in
dicated. She wisely refrained, but a'
tempest in a teapot has developed over
the fact , that certain persons of the
"new rich" have been appearing in
1 I vAa Da.lr 1 4" V. tinml.mul f n i I
and, oblivious to the customs they are
trampling under foot, ride haughtily
by with their footmen grandly pow
dered. Worst of all is the wife of a
certain South African millionaire, who
has the wigs, of her footmen orna
mented with five white curls on either
side. In the days of the Georges only
the royal family used .five curls, and
the conservative element ' shuddered
when this example of lese majeste
was shown. In London it is said that
the court will soon post a list of regu
lations that will inform persons how
many curls should be worn on foot
men's wigs and also what persons are
entitled to this mark of rank.
The Sailors' Psalm.
How many people landsmen, at all
events are aware that one of the
psalms is often called the sailor's
psalm? Those who were at the open
ing of the east London "Jack's Palace"
by the Prince of Wales will know it,
for the name was used there. It is, of
course, Psalm 107, wherein occur the
beautiful and familiar words, "They
that go down., to the sea in ships, that
do business in great waters these
the works of the Lord and his wonders
In the deep." The psalm is usually
read as part of the simple services
which take place on Sunday on ships
at sea. For that reason it is known as
the sailor's psalm.
- 7 " f
,,, av
OPINIONS OF GREAT PAPERS ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS
Old Books for New Readers.
S the love for old books that is. for the works
i& I of the standard authors of the past should not
I be confined to old readers, it is gratifying to
11UIC ilia. i puuiiBiiciD uwu ucic auu ui Awu6Aauu
are making a feature of the reprints of former
favorites.
Without reflecting upon the authors
ture, It can truthfully be said that time is tbe great win
nower of literary chaff. .'That which survives the genera
tion In which it appears is usually worthy of being read
by succeeding generations, and not Infrequently better
worth universal perusal than the bulk of the books from
which the worthless and purely ephemeral have not yet
been eliminated. Plutarch never grows old with students
of biography; Cervantes and Shakspeare are as delightful
after three hundred years as when their Immortal works
were first published, and every generation has furnished
authors worthy of being read by all generations. .
Each successful author is unique. Take past writers of
American literature as examples. Irving, Cooper and Haw
thorne have had no successors in their own special fields.
Scott, , Thackeray, Dickens, , George Eliot and Charles
Reade among the English novelists of the past century
have not been excelled or even duplicated in the present
The children of those who derived pleasure and instruc
tion from these writers while living will find equal profit
and delight In their perusal now that they are dead.
"King's Treasures" is what Ruskin has fitly named collec
tions of books that have survived Time's winnowing proc
ess; and these books cannot be made too cheap, plentiful
or accessible. Philadelphia Bulletin.
Wealth and National Stamina.
XPENSIVE houses, rich furnishings, costly
sports, extravagant entertainments, criminally
expensive hotels and the like, everybody 'sees
and knows about; and there are Americans
who have a scale of living that would put the
rich men of most other countries to shame. But
the real question is not whether the amount of unnecessary
or even vulgar expenditure be large, but whether such ex
penditure vitiates taste, induces to Idleness, and encour
ages vice. The only fair answer is that there Is as large a
proportion of Idle and vicious among the poor or the well-to-do
as among the rich. Most American men have occu
pations, and most of them have engrossing occupations.
But there is probably a larger proportion of American
women who suffer from idleness than there was a genera
tion ago, and the chief social danger from great wealth is
the danger to women. Yet there comes up from the hum
bler social levels into tbe ranks of well-to-do life so many
robust and well balanced young women of every genera
tion that those who are spoiled byt, fortune are, in com
parison, inconsiderable.
Our democracy reinforces itself with a safe and vigor
ous womanhood, even more surely than with energetic
manhood. If all the women in the United States between
the ages of 18 and 40 could be appraised by the best stand
ard of womanhood, they would show such an advance
over their mothers as could perhaps not be shown by any
preceding generation of men or women since civilization
began! They owe much of it not to excessive wealth, but
to the well-diffused prosperity that they have enjoyed.
And excessive wealth and all its evils are, after all, only
unfortunate incidents of this diffused prosperity. The
World's Work.
Parental Responsibility For Spoiled Children.
NEof the saddest of sights is a spoiled child.
Seeing such a child one almost, revolts against
the system that leaves the young in the care
of their parents, however unfit those parents
may be for their important responsibilities.
There are incompetent parents in all stations
of society, but it would seem, from casual observation, that
the poor are really wiser and firmer parents than the rich.
Poor people perforce must discipline their children and
keep them well in hand. The children of the poor must
be taught to help themselves, to work about the'house, to
practice thrift. Fortunately the majority of poor parents
In this country appreciate the value of education, and they
send their young to the neighboring public or private
school even though doing so cost them much pinching and
labor.' Between being disciplined at home and knocked
VALUE OF THE EGG CROP.
Tear In, Tear Oat, It Beats Prodnc
' tion of Precious Metals.
Russia Is the largest seller of aggs
In the. world. She sells to foreign coun
tries 150,000,000 dozen eggs nearly ev
ery year. In 1896 she sent abroad 1.
175,000,000 eggs; in 1807, 1,737,000,000,
and in 1898 1,831,000,000. Her sales
are all the time increasing.
China is supposed to be the largest
producer of eggs In the world. There
Is no such thing as statistics of poultry
products in China, but there are over
400,000,000 persons In that empire who
are very fond of eggs; it takes a good
many eggs to supply them. The hum
blest farm hut has hens In plenty,
and they do their best to supply the
demand. . There is little doubt, that
China takes the cake as an egg pro
ducer. Her entire supply Is usually
consumed at home, though she some
times manages to spare a few for Jap
anese consumers.
Great Britain is the largest buyer of
foreign eggs in the world. Of course,
no English breakfast table is complete
without eggs as a complement to its
toast and marmalade. ; Great Britain
buys every year an average of 1,500,
000,000 eggs from about twenty coun
tries, and this is only 40 per cent of
the consumption. British bens man
age to produce three-fifths of the eggs
that the home market demands. In
1901 Russia sold to England 539,053,
000 eggs, and the next largest sellers
were Belgium, Denmark, tJermany,
France, . Egypt and Morocco. Great
Britain spent $26,745,194 in the pur
chase of eggs in 1901.
Our entire export of eggs In 1902
was -only 2,717,990 dozen, valued at
$528,679, which cuts a small figure In
comparison with Russia's total. - But
our hens are very Industrious, and it
is - only the enormous home demand
that keeps eur exports at such a low
figure.
In 1899 there were 233,598,005 chick
ens in this country, and they produced
1,293,818,144 dozen eggs; and the fact
that we consumed 90 per cent of them
shows that we are a nation of egg eat
ers. It is enough to make any hen
dizzy to think that a train of ordinary
refrigerator cars containing our entire
egg crop of that year would have ex
tended from Chicago to Washington,
with several miles of cars to stretch
along the track toward Baltimore.
In 1901 the receipts and consumption
of eggs In New York City were 2,872,
000 crates of thirty dozen each. Chi
cago has even a larger per capita con
sumption, or an average, of 1,581,645
crates a year. Truly the egg Industry
la a great business; and .when wt con-
of current litera
States sun
sels and take the
get your breakfast
sider it in connection with the broilers,
spring chickens, tough and tender, and
roosters we consume, the poultry in
terests assume prodigious proportions.
The total value of the poultry and
eggs we produced in the last census
year was $281,178,247. The Industry
was worth more than all tbe cattle
and hogs we slaughtered. It was
worth more than the wheat crop of
twenty-eight States and territories;
and the value of our eggs alone was
higher than that of the combined gold
and silver product of the United States
in any year since 1850, except in 1890,
when the precious metals exceeded the
eggs by $9,418,125.
"The Weaker Sex "
The women who are attempting to
run a big hotel for women in New
York are solving some interesting prob
lems. The hotel is called the Martha
Washington, and the intention of the
management, was to run it entirely
with women, as well as for women.
Little by little tbe male sex has been
encroaching, not because men were
especially anxious to work there, but
because the women could not do with
out them.
First of all, the girl "bell boys" had
to go, because the women could not
"make them . mind." Boys were in
stalled. They obey orders, but do not
stay long, because, they say, "the wom
en are nutty."
' The head woman waiter could not en
force discipline among the women
waiters. , Arid so a man had to under
take the job. It was also found that
carrying the soiled dishes from dining
room to kitchen was too heavy for
women. Men were put in to do this.
Finally the rest of the girls struck and
their places were filled with men."
; How is it that women wont "mind"
women? Would a regiment of amazons
have to be officered by men? St Louis
Post-Dispatch.
Scotland's Great Canal.
Plans for the construction of a ship
canal between the Firth of Forth, on
the east side of Scotland, across to
the River Clyde, on the west- nave
been definitely arranged, says tbe New
York Times. The canal will cost $50,
000,000. but ' powerful support is ex
pected from the British government.
One of the great engineering features
of the scheme will be the carrying of
the canal through the high ground
near the Loch Lomond end. Frequent
passing places will be made.
I An indication of tbe saving In dis
tance that would be effected by the
canal will be gained from the follow
ing figures: From tbe Clyde to ports
on the test coast of Scotland, north
about a good deal by their playmates, the children of the
poorer families grow up pretty well broken, having a
proper self-respect but not unbearably conceited or selfish
or vain.
Rich parents are prone to Indulge their children. What
with nurses, governesses, fine clothes, ponies and every toy
he cries for, the little son of the millionaire is very likely
to grow up In the notion that the world was made for his
special use and pleasure, and that the business of all other
people Is to stand about awaiting and obeying orders from
him. There are, of course, plenty of wealthy families in
which the children are not spoiled, but the conditions
make the parental duty really more difficult and perilous in
an environment of wealth than in poor surroundings.
San Francisco Bulletin.
To Fight Forest Fires.
EW realize what an immense loss the United
States suffers each year through the destruc
tion of timber by fires. In Oregon and Wash
ington last year $20,000,000 of timber was de
stroyed by fire In two weeks. From Maine to
Puget Sound every timber region in the United
:ers annually from forest fires, and th vwrlv
loss averages between $20,000,000 and $50,000,000. The
forest fires which swept over New England in the early
part of this summer will make the loss this year large
perhaps bring it up to the maximum.
This loss of timber by forest fires is an. actual loss
wealth goes up In smoke and is vanished forever. New
trees grow to take the place of the old ones burned, but
the value of those destroyed is blotted out from the na
tion's wealth. Taking the average annual loss in the last
twenty years to be $30,000,000, it means that the country
has been the loser of $600,000,000 in that time. Though
this loss has been going on year after year ever since the
settlement of the country in fact was going on before its
settlement no systematic attempt to prevent it has been
made except .In the States of New York, Pennsylvania and
Minnesota.
The danger arising from the deforesting of the great
watersheds by the axe of the woodman has received a con
siderable share of popular attention, and the checking of it
is one of the tasks set before the Bureau of Forestry. In
vestigation and study have been actively at work in that
direction, but the matter of preventing fires has been en
tirely neglected heretofore by the general governmnt, which
now proposes to take the matter up from- the beginning
and study It thoroughly. It is true that in the national
forest reserves there has been for some time a patrol sys
tem, charged, among other duties, with reporting and fight
ing fires, but no general principles have beetf laid down
and no valuable data gathered from which to work. New
York Press.
Vacation Advice.
ORB attention should be given to relaxation
and rest especially in the home circle. Noth
ing has ever been found better for exhausted
nature than sleep. Vacaitionlsts should not
overlook this important fact The stay-at-homes,
who enjoy short trips and return to
their own comfortable beds at night can congratulate
themselves on securing needed rest. Wise tourists plan
to get all the sleep they require. This class believe in the
advice of the famous writer, Dr. J. G. Holland, who once
said on this topic:
"Sleep is a thing that bells have no more business to
interfere with than with prayers and sermons. God is re
creating us. We are as unconscious as we were before we
were born; and while He holds us there, feeding anew the
springs of life and Infusing fresh fire into our brains and
preparing us for the work of another day, the pillow Is as
sacred as a sanctuary.
"If any fanatic has madeyou believ that It is good
for you to be violently wakened from your sleep at an
early hour, and to go out into the damp, raw air, morning
after morning, with your fast unbroken and your body un
fortified by the stimulus of food, forget him and- his coun
full measure of your rest When you
take your exercise If you have time, or
wait until a later hour in the day. Just as much labor
can be accomplished In ten hours as in fourteen, with more
efficiency and less fatigue, when rest and bodily exercise
are properly taken." Boston Globe. .
east of England and northwest of Eu
rope, the distance saved would be from
529 miles to 238 miles. From the
Firth of Forth to ports on the west
coast of Scotland, northwest of Eng
land, Ireland, America and the Med
iterranean the distance saved would
be from 4S7 to 141 miles. From Tyne
ports to the St. Lawrence river the dis
tance saved would be 150 miles. From
the west of Britain and northeast of
Ireland to middle western ports of the
continent the distance saved would be
from 377 to 98 miles.
A Common Weakness.
Dr. Joseph Le Conte was an author
ity, recognized by the world at large,
on the science of vision. One day, says
the New York Tribune, he was show
ing a class how to detect the blind
spot in the human eye. He took two
coins and held them, one in each hand,
before him on the table.
"Look at both of these steadily," said
he, "and gradually move them In op
posite directions. Presently they will
pass beyond the range of vision. That
is due to the Wind spot Continue the
movement, and the coins will again
emerge to view."
Then the philosopher and naturalist
had his little joke. "You can experi
ment for yourself at home," said he.
"But if you are unsuccessful, try some
other object instead of a coin. Some
people have no blind spot for money."
Oil Consumption.
For many months the oil consump
tion of the world " has exceeded the
production, for which reason financiers
and merchants have feared a possible
exhaustion of the oil fields. Reports
published in the Manual of Statistics,
however, show an extensive decrease
in the stock of crude petroleum in the
greatest of all American fields, Penn
sylvania, within the last two years and
figures of equal authority indicate thai
for months yie consumption of oil from
Pennsylvania and West Virginia welli
has been very largely in excess ol
production. The stock of crude Penn
sylvania petroleum above ground in
December, 1900, was 13,174,717 barrels,
while In December, 1902, the amount
thus stored was only 5,699,127 barrels.
.Call for Sympathy.
First Bachelor I wish I could write
a decent letter of condolence.
Second Bachelor Some one yo
know dead?
o. Engaged. Detroit Free Press.
Whenk. we visit In the country, we
like the hostess' disappearance to be
followed immediately by the sound ol
chicken iquawking in the back yard.
NEW ORLEANS' NAVAL STATION.
When Completed It Will Be One of
the Finest in America.
Whether it be the Panama or the
Nlcaraguan canal it does not matter
much which New Orleans, by very
reason of the establishment of its na
val station below Algiers, is destined
to become and is fast becoming one of
the most powerful ports of the nation
in naval construction as well as in its
merchant marine, according to the
Times-Democrat of that city.
Since standard rates for dockinsr
merchant ships have been established
by authority of the navy department
it has been actually proved by figures
that up to the present time the reve-'
nue received from docking fees has
paid the expenses of construction and
repair, together with a fair rate of in
terest on the investment.
The local heads of the naval station
have figures to show every dollar of
revenue that has come to the govern
ment by reason of the docking of mer
chant ships since the acceptance of
the floating dry dock. May 26, 1902,
and the general public, too, has been
more or less interested in the big float
ing hulk, which might be said to be
half a city block long and about four
stories hight
The docking, within exactly two
hours' time, and which was forty min
utes less time than allowed by the con
tract, tf the big battleship Illinois on
Jan. 6, 1902, marked an epoch in the
naval, maritime and commercial his
tory of New Orleans. Something over
$50,000 has been derived in revenue
from merchant ships since then.
The congressional appropriations,
amounting to $750,000, became availa
ble after July 1. Then the work on
the tract below Algiers, which will
embrace a total of more than ninety
acres, with a water frontage of 3,000 .
feet began to go forward with all rea
sonable haste.
i It is contended that by permitting
the merchant marine to use the dock
the coastwise trade is benefitted. It is
I also contended by the department that
it is non-use of every structure which
brings about deterioration, and thus
the department is subserving national
and commercial interests by using the
dock as much as possible.
The present head of all civil engi
neering work for the bureau of yards
and docks, L. F. Bellinger, has just
sent on to Washington plans and spec
ifications for three more buildings for
which appropriations have been pro
vided. One of these will be the quar
ters ef the commandant, which build
ing will cost $10,000. Two others, for
officers' quarters, will cost $7,000 each.
In the estimate of Engineer A. C.
Cunningham, who was Mr. Bellinger's
predecessor at the New Orleans naval
station, a detailed statement was giv
en, being forwarded to the chief of the
bureau of yards and docks, of the sums
that would be needed to carry on the
work for the fiscal year ending June
30, 1904. Mr. Cunningham's estimate
was $2,092,800, and included among '
other items,' the improvement of the
water, front at a cost of $500,000; naval
prison, $70,000; central heating plant.
$50,000; locomotive crane, $30,000; ord
nance building and shops, $108000;
gate and guai'dhouse, $50,000, and
many others.
WITH NATURE IN THE WOODS.
This Time We Go There, However,
Without n Fowling Piece.
I think the day will come," and it is
not, perhaps, so distant as it seems, .
when the idea of killing anything for
pleasure will seem so strange as to be
scarcely' credible. The Anglo-Saxon's
proverbial pastime of going out and
killing something will seem hardly less
amazing that the gladiatorial shows.
Ah, yes! to know all the birds of the
wood without a gun! With a gun
how can one know them, what fasci
nating knowledge a man misses! A
dead bird! A haeadfsl of blood-stained
feathers! Little more than that! Car
rion for the sexton beetle or for taa
feasting fly! But the living bird
what a vivid, mysterious creature it is,
with, its lovely bright eyes, and those
sad vowels in its throat! It seems
strange to think of what that little
head knows, secrets of nature eternal
ly hidden from us. Is not the bird it
self one of nature's secrets? The wood
land, which to us is a wilderness, is
to him a city, of which he knows all
the streets and all the inhabitants. All
the invisible highways of the air are
to him like well-trodden paths, and
when he darts off in that apparently
casual way he very well knows whith
er he is going and what business takes
him. When he sits and whistles by
the hour on some swaying pinnacle of
the greenwood there is some meaning
In all beyond the music. That mean
ing will ever be hidden from us. If
we could know it, as Tennyson said of
the "flower in the crannied wall," we
"should know what God and man are."
If, instead of shooting the bird,
scotching the snake, smashing the bee
tle and pinching the tiny life out of
the butterfly, we were to watch any
one of these creatures on a summer
day, the day would pass like an hour,
so packed with exciting experience it
would seem. Through what mysteri
ous coverts of the woodland, into what
a haunted underworld of tunneled
banks and hidden ditches and secret
passages the snake would show us the
way; and we should have strange
hearts if, as we thus watched It
through its mysterious day, we did not
find our dislike of the . clever little
creature dying away, and even chang
ing into a deep tenderness toward the
small, self-reliant life, so lonely a speck
of existence in so vast a world. Julius
Norregard in Success. ' .
Teuton and Celt in America.
Of all the foreign-born population in
the United States 52.9 per cent are of
the English-Teutonic stock and 20.9
per cent are Celts. Thus practically
three-fourths of the foreign-born in the
United Stares are of English-Teutonic
and Celtic stocks. Hence, bearing in
mind that the English people was cre
ated by the amalgamation of Teutonic
and Celtic blood it is inconceivable
that the American people will ever be
anything but essentially English.
It is always an era of hard times
with the shiftless man.
Brokers who sell short and wait for
a faJlVf ten get a hard one.