Corvallis gazette., June 16, 1905, Image 6

' if 'l"H"H"H"l"M''H"l-
Tbe Specif Correspondeot
tary existence with his family, Us herds ' irriQaTION PRODUCES 8WEET3.
ox yaas, or-ioutars," wmcnara cattia j
CHAPTER XII.
In 1870 the Russians endeavored,
without success, to establish a fair at
Tashkend, which would rival that of
Nijni-Novgorod. Some, twenty years later
the attempt would have succeeded, and
as a matter of fact the fair now exists,
owing to the making of the Transcapsian
to unite Samarkand and Tashkend. We
left Tashkend at precisely H o'clock In
the morning.
As soon as we are on the move I be
gin to think of Kinko. His little love
romance has touched me to the heart;
this sweetheart who sent himself off
this other sweetheart who is going to
pay the expenses. I am sure Major Nol
titz would be interested in these two
turtle doves, one of which is in a cage;
be would not' be too hard on this de
frauder of the company, he would be in
eapable of betraying him. Consequently
I have a great desire to tell him of my
Expedition into the baggage van. But
the secret is not mine. I must do noth
ing that might get Kinko into trouble.
And so I am silent, and to-night I will,
if possible, take a few provisions to my
. . . fi 1.1- l.n
packing case to my snau in ms ueu,
let us say. And is not the young Rou
manian like a snail in his shell, for it is
as much, as he can do to get out of it?
We reach Khodjend about three in the
afternoon. The country is fertile, green,
carefully cultivated. It is a succession
of kitchen gardens, which seem to be
well kept, immense fields sown with
clover, which yield four or five crops
a year. The roads near the town are
bordered with long, rows of ' mulberry
trees, which diversify the view with ec
centric branches. - '-
Beyond Kokhan we shall run due east,
and by Marghelan and Oeh pass through
the gorges of the Pamirs, so as to reach
the Turkesto-Chiuese frontier. '
The train had only just started when
the travelers took their seats at the ta
ble, where I failed to notice any fresh
arrival.
Ephrinell is in his usual place; With
out going as far as familiarity, . it is
obvious that a close intimacy, founded
on a similarity in tastes and aptitudes,
exists between Hiss Horatia Bluett and
the Yankee. There is no doubt, in our
opinion, but what it will end in a wed
ding as soSn as the train arrives. Both
will have their romance -of the rail.
Frankly, I like that of Kinko and Zinca
Klork much better. It is true, the pret
ty Roumanian is not here.
- The dinner lasted till rather late, and
terminated in an unexpected manner by
an offer from Caterna to recite a mono
logue.
Our train more and more resembled
email rolling town. ' It had even its
cassino, this dining car in which we were
gathered at the moment. And it was
thus in the eastern part of Turkestan
four hundred kilometers from the Pamir
plateau, at dessert, after our excellent
dinner served in a saloon of the Grand
Transasiatic, that the "Obsession" was
given with remarkable talent by Mon
sieur Caterna, grand premier comique,
engaged at the Shanghai theater for the
approaching season.
"Monsieur," said Pan Chao, "my sin
cere compliments. 1- nave neard young
Coquelin "
"A master, monsieur; a master!" said
Caterna. ,
"Whom you approach "
"Respectfully very respectfully!"
The bravos lavished on Caterna had
no effect on Sir Francis Trevellyan, who
bad been occupying himself with enoma
topic exclamations regarding the dinner,
which he considered execrable. He was
not amused. And yet nobody took any
notice of this grumbling gentleman's re
criminations. Baron Weissschnitzerdorfer had not
understood a single word of this little
masterpiece, and had he understood it,
be would not have been able to appreciate
this sample of Parisian monologo-mania.
As to my lord Faruskiar and his in
separable Ghangir, it seemed that, in
spite of their traditional reserve, the sur
prising grimaces, the significant gestures,
the comical intonations, had interested
them to a certain extent. ( '
The actor had noticed it, and appre
ciated this silent admiration. As he rose
from the table he said to me:-
"He is ' magnificent, this signeur.
What dignity! What a presence! What
a type of the furthest east! I like his
companion ' less--- third-rate fellow at
the outside."
During dinner the train had passed
Kastakos Station, sitnateu in the center
of a mountainous region. The road curv
ed a good deal, and ran over viaducts
and threlgh tunnels, as we could tell by
the noise. r
We enter Kokhan Station at 9 o'clock
In the evening. "The stoppage is to last
two hours. We. get out on to the plat
form. As we are leaving "the car I am
near Major Noltitz, who asks young Pan
Chao: ,-
"Have you ever heard of this man
" darin Yen Lmi, whose body is being tak-
"Never, Major."
"But he ought to be a personage of
consideration, to be treated with the
" honor he gets." - .-.--.
"That is possible," said Pan Chao;
"but we have so many personages of con
sideration in the Celestial Empire.".
"And so thismandarin Yen Lou ?"
"I never heard him mentioned."
Why did Major Noltitz ask the China
man this question? What was he think
' Ing about? .
CHAPTER -XIII.
Kokhan, two hours to' stop. It is
night. The majority of 'the travelers
nave already taken up tneir sleeping
. quarters in the car, and do not care to
alight.
Here am I on the platform. This is
rather an important station, and from
the engine house comes a more powerful
locomotive than , those which have
brought .the train along since we left
Uzun Ada. These early engine were, all
very well' as long as the line lay over
an almost horizontal plain, but now we
are among the gorges of the Pamir pla-
tean, there are gradita of such steep
ness as to require more engine power.
I watch the proceedings, and when the
locomotive has been detached 'with - its
tender, the baggage van with Kinko in
U U at the head of the train.
my Wo. 11 nad better ae is io remain
in his box, or, at least, in his van. I
will go and get a few provisions, liquid
and solid, and take them to him, even
before the departure of the train, if it is
possible to do so without fear of being
noticed. '' .
The refreshment room at the station is
open, and Popof is not there. If he was
to see me making purchases he would
be astonished, as the dining car contains
everything we might want.
At the bar I get a little cold meat and
some bread. The station is not wen
lighted. A few lamps give only, a feeble
light. Popof is busy with one of the
with horses' tails, his diminutive sheep.
his thick-haired goats. The molting of
these animals, if we may so phrase it, is
a natural consequence of the-climate, and
they change the dressing gown or winter
for the white fur coat of summer. It is
the same with the dog, whose coat be
comes whiter in the hot season.
As the passes are ascended, wide
breaks in the ranges yield frequent
glimpses of the more distant portions of
the plateau. In many places are clumps
of birches and junipers, which are the
principal trees of the Pamir, and on the
undulating plains crow tamarisks and
The idea occurs to me that the young
Roumanian may perhaps venture out
on the platform. , It would be an im-
nrnanna fft, Vi a nine til (. rialr fit tlptnf?
seen by the police, who move about tak- sedges and mugwort, and a sort of reed Der cantaloupes; that is, Irrigation and
mg a good look at tne passengers, vvnat '"J " ;" " the large numbers of days of sun-
Beet Sugar Making la the Wee Is
Vei-y In terestlng Process.
In some of the Western States, espe
cially Wisconsin, Nebraska, Colorado,
and the western part of Kansas, the
growing of beets for sugar, has become
a recognised Industry. Large factories
for the conversion of the beet into
sugar have been erected, and here are
employed large numbers of men daring
tne fall and winter months.
Colorado leads In the production of
beets. This can be accounted for by
the same reason that she Is noted for
shine. The sun shines on fully 300
pools, and a dwarf labiate called "ters-
kpnno" hv thn lCirirfiWoa.
The major-mentioned certain animals luays me year ana tne oeet IS BUm-
which constitute a somewhat varied uiatea to a wonaenul growth.
fauna on the heights of the Pamir. It 1 In growing beets the ground Is pre
is even necessary to keep an eye on the pared In much the same way as for
piattorms ot the cars in case a stray pan- cantaloupes, a thorough breaking and
ther or bear might seek a ride without DUiverizinr. of the srround beinir hh-
any right to travel either first or second
class. During the day our companions
were on the lookout from both ends of
the cars. What shouts arose when plan-
sary for best results. After leveling
the ground, which makes Irrigation
easier, the beet drill Is brought Into
use. This drill Is on the order' of an
tigrades or felines capered along the line
with intentions that certainly seemed ordinary grain drill, with the excep-
suspicious! A few revolver shots were Hon that It only plights four rows 18
discharged, without much necessity per- inches apart" at a time, and has no at-
railway men. The new engine has not PS. out tfiey amused as well as reas- tachments for drilling in fertilizer. On
yet been attached to the train. The mo- surea tne travelers, in tne aiternoon we tne drln are two gmall Bnoveig placed
wara tritnaoona svr a vi a -rr l n rn T snnr I ' -
; n7 r:r" ' : that they make two furrows be-
ment seems favorable. It is useless to
wait until we have left Kokhan. .If I
can reach Kinko 1 shall be able to sleep
through the night and that will be wel
come, I admit. . ..
I step on to the train, and after as
suring myself that no one is watching
me, I enter the baggage van, saying as
I do so:
"It is I.
In fact, it is as well to warn Kinko
in case he is out of his box. But he had
not thought of getting out, and I advise
him to be very careful. He is very
pleased . at the provisions, for they are
a change to his usual diet
"I do not know how to thank you,
Monsieur Bombarnac," he says to me.
When shall we be at the frontier?
"To-morrow, about one in the after
noon.
"And at Gachgar?"
"Fifteen uours afterward, on the night
of the nineteenth."
There the danger is, Monsieur Bom
barnac.
Yes, Kinko;. for if It is difficult to
enter .the Russian possessions, it is no
less difficult to get put of them, when
the Chinese are at the gates. Their oJ
cials will give us a good look over before
they will let us pass. At the same time
they examine the passengers much more
closely than they do their baggage. And
as this van is reserved for the luggage
going through to Pekin, I do not think
you have much to fear. So, good night.
As a matter of precaution, I would rath
er not prolong my visit."
I have come out; I have regained my
conchy and I really did not hear the
starting signal when the train began to
move. . .
. The only station of any importance
which the railway passed before sunrise
was that of Marghehan, where the stop
page was a short one.
Beyond this station the road reaches
the frontier which divides Russian Tur
kestan from the Pamir plateau and the
vast territory of the Kara-Khirghizes.
This part of Central Asia is continual
ly being troubled by pTutonian disturb
ances beneath its surface. Northern
Turkestan has frequently suffered from
earthquake the terrible experience of
1887 will not have been forgotten and
ther just as he was landing on the side
tween the two rows on . each side.
step of the third carriage. ine8 inrrows carry the irrigating
It was our superb Mongol to whom water, which soaks back and moistens
we were indebted for this marksman's I the seed.
masterpiece. I When through with the seeding, the
What a hand and what an eye! said wner is turned into the fnrrown mnila
I to the major, who continued to look on bv the drllL between ...-h ,
Faruskiar with suspicion.
Among the other animals of the Pa-
mirian fauna appeared wolves and foxes,
and flocks of those large wild sheep with
gnarled and gracefully curved horns,
which are known to the natives as ar-
The water Is kept running until the
seed is thoroughly soaked, care being
taken that the water does not over
flow very much, as this causes the
gre-und to bake, and the sprouts cannot
kars. High in the sky flew the vultures, force their way through the crust thus
bearded and unbearded, and amid the
clouds of white vapor we left behind us
were many crows and pigeons and turtle
doves and wagtails.
The day passed without adventure. At
6 o'clock in the evening we crossed the
frontier, after a run of nearly two thou
sand three hundred kilometers, accom
plished in four days since leaving Uzun
Ada. Two hundred and fifty kilometers
beyond we shall be at Kachgar. Al
though we are now in Chinese Turkes
tan, it will not be till we reach that town
that we shall have our first experience
of Chinese administration.
Dmner over about nine o'clock, we
stretched ourselves on our beds, in the
hope, or rather the conviction, that the'
night will be as calm as the preceding
one.
It was not to be so. At first the train
was running down the slopes of the Pa
mir at great speed. Then it resumed its
normal rate along the level.
It was about one in the morning when
I was suddenly awakened. At the same
time Major jnouuz ann most or our
companions jumped up. There were loud
shouts in the rear of the train. What
had happened?
Anxiety seized upon the travelers that
confused, unreasonable anxiety caused
by the slightest incident on a railroad.
"What is the matter? What is the
matter?"
These words were uttered in alarm'
from all sides, and In different languages.
My first thought was that we were at
tacked. I thought of the famous Ki-
Tsang, the Mongol pirate. In a moment
the train began to slow," evidently pre
formed. When plants have obtained
the height of one-half inch to an Inch,
the .cultivator is brought Into use.
This cultivator is drawn by one
all. The first lot ot water' turned la
takes out 60 per cent of the sugar, and
the second lot takes 60 per cent of the
remainder. This Is repeated ten times,
and In the. end has exhausted all the
sugar from the slices to within one
tenth of one per cent. The slices re
maining after this process are dropped
from the tanks and run through large
presses, and the partly dried pulp Is
deposited In cars and wagons to be
used for feeding cattle. It being a
great milk and flesh producer, -.
The juice remaining Is of a dark
brown color, containing much organic
matter not sugar. It Is run Into tall
tanks holding a couple thousand gal
lons, and here the lime solution which
takes out the organic matter. Is add
ed. ' It now goes through a series of
boilings, filtering and clarifying pro
cesses, which leave the fluid a moder
ately thick syrup, ready to be boiled
down to sugar. The syrup Is pumped
up into, large round vacuum pans. In
side these pans are coiled large copper
steam pipes, and a large air pump
produces a high vacuum and' removes
the evaporated water so that the syrup
boils very rapidly and at a very low
temperature. , This boiling mass Is
watched through glass windows in the
sides of the pans, and when small
grains begin to appear they are fed by
adding fresh syrup until they reach the
required size. When the size is right,
and the water evaporated sufficiently,
the steam is turned off, the pump
stopped, and the mass is allowed to
run Into the tanks below, by opening
a valve at the outlet In the bottom of
the pan.
The syrup at this stage has the ap
pearance of dark molasses, thickened
with granulated sugar, and Is so thick
that It will barely run. This is put In
to the "centrifugals," large whirling
drums having their sides perforated,
and lined with gauze. As these ma
chines whirl around, the sugar rises
along the sides of the drum, and the
THE ROCKY FORD BEET SUGAR FACTORY.
horse and cultivates two rows at a
time. It is mounted on two wheels,
each about 30 Inches In diameter. Be
hind these wheels are two horizontal
at Tashkend, as at Samarkand. I saw paring to stop.. Popof came into the van. bars, connected by two other bars to
the traces of these commotions. In fact, 1 and I asked him what had happened, the axle, on which they have a free up
An accident, he replied. 'A coupling
has broken, and the two last vans are
left behind." -
(To be continued.)
minor oscillations are continually being
observed, and this volcanic action takes
place all along the coast, where lay the
stores of petroleum and naphtha, from
the Caspian Sea to the Pamir plateau.
In short, this region is one of the most
interesting parts of Central Asia that a
tourist can visit.
CHAPTER XIV,
The Pamir, or Bam-i-Douniah, is com
monly called the "Roof of the World.
From it radiate the mighty chains of the
Thian Shan, of the Kuen Lun, of the
Kara Koruni, of the Himalaya, of the
Hindoo Koosh. This orographic system,
four hundred kilometers across, . which
iemained for so many years an impassa
ble barrier, has been surmounted by Rus-
English Epigrams to Date.
Queen Victoria transformed Great
Britain into a crowned republic, -a na
tion In which the will of the people is
the supreme law. Andrew. Carnegie.
Great poetry Is the surest antidote
to the prevailing virus of materialism.
Alfred Austin, the Poet Laureate..
The educational system of this coun
try is, chaotic and utterly behind the
age. Prime Minister Balfour.
In deaMng with education the first
and down motion. There is also a
pivot which allows a side motion, con
trolled with handles by the operator.
With the cultivator are several sets of
knives, shovels, etc., any of which can
be fastened to the horizontal bars, the
grower, using whatever kind is adapt
ed for the kind of cultivation he wish
es. . -
When plants are a couple of Inches
high they are thinned out, leaving
plants six to "ten Inches apart. This
work Is usually done by contract, the
price paid averaging from $6 to $7
per acre. -
In removing beets from the ground,
a larsre Dlow or lifter? Is used. This
sian tenacity. The Slav race and the mnS ls consider the children; the plow has a depth of IS Inches or more.
churches come afterward. Austen mnriA necessarv bv" the great depth to
Chamberlain. whtrti the beet nenetrates the soil. It
We want sometimes in this country j8 drawn by three 6r four horses, and
a little more of the spirit of tolerance.
Earl Spencer.
This Is above all a reading age, but
how many people read the Bible?
The Bishop of Manchester.
raises the beet - partly out of the
ground, so that It can be picked up by
the topper.
The beets are taken by local freight
to the factory, where they are dumped
yellow race have come Into contact.
The travelers of the Aryan people have
all attempted to explore the plateau of
the Pamir. Without going back t
Marco Polo' in the thirteenth century.
what do we find? The English with For-
svth. Douglas, Biddulph, Yonnghnsband,
and the celebrated tjrordon, who died on
the Upper Nile; the Russians with Fend-
chenko, Skobeleff, Prjevalsky, Grombt-i
chexsky, General Pevitzoff, Prince Galit
zin, the brothers Groun-Grjimailo; the
French With Auvergne, vonvakrt, Uapus.
Papin, Breteuil de Rhins, Joseph Martin,
Grenard, Jfidouard mane; tne swedes
with Doctor Swen Hedin.
This roof of the world, one would say,
is lifted up in magic hand to let us see its
mysteries. We know now that It con
sists of an inextricable entanglement of
valleys, the mean altitude of which ex
ceeds three thousand meters; we. know
that it is dominated by the peaks of
Gouroundi and Kauffmann. twenty-two
thousand feet high, and the peak of Ta
garma, which is twenty-seven thousand
feet; we know that it sends-off to tne
west the Ox as and the Amon-Radia, and
to the east the Tarim; we know that it
chiefly consists of primary ' rocks, in
which are patches of schist and quarts,
red sands of secondary age, and the
dayey, sandy loess of the quaternary
period which is so abundant in Central
Asia. -
The difficulties the Grand Traaaaslatic
had in crossing this plateau were
tiaordinary. It. was a challenge from
the genius of man to nature, and the
victory remained with genius. Throsgh
the gently sloping passes which the Kirk
hizes call "beja," viaducts, bridges, em
bankments, cuttings, tunnels had to be
made to carry the line. .Here are sharp
curves, gradients, which require the most
powerful locomotives, here and there sta
tionary engines to haul up the train with
cables; in a word, a hercuteair htbot, eo
perior to the works ot the American en
gineers in. the defiles of the Sierra Ne
vada and the IloCky mountains.
' The desolate aspect of 'these terri
tories makes a deep impression on the
imagination. As the train gains the high-
mWrS: TarTuo- tW ?" P water passes from ank to tank at-'
villages nothing bat 1 a few scattered nm 18 106 WOTtn m inamduala I sorting a little more sugar from each
4iuta, in which the Pamlrian lives a soli- composing ft. J.S. M3H. ' tank, until It has gone through them
Plenty of porridge and milk will do into long ditches, which have a stream
more for tihe physique of a nation than of water flowing through them. These
the most up-to-date physical drill. ditches, which are lined with cement,
Professor Laurie of Edinburgh Und- slope toward the factory building, near
versity. which they converge into one large
We must dispel the blight of lnquls- one. The water In these ditches serve
itorfal oppression which stunts, die- the double purpose of. carrying and
torts and withers every branch of the partially cleaning the beets. At the
national Hf e of Ireland. The Right end of this large ditch, the beets are
Honorable George Wyndham, Ohdef raised, from the water by an elevating
Secretary for Ireland. : apparatus, which deposits them in a
The Mcvcle nowadays Is Dart of the targe washing macnine. j.nis consists
nces3ary equipment of a lad. County of an Immense spiral revolving in a
Conr Judfle Sir A. Marten. New round Iron box. placed In a horizontal
York Sun. position, and with a stream of clear
water flowing tnrougn it. xne Deets,
Bettor than Anttfat. rolling and tumbling, are pushed for-
Wogglns Blowltz, the pugilist, lest ward through this water, and coming
130 pounds of flesh while training for out free from dirt, are deposited In a
his last fight - serew elevator and carried to the top
gnoosem Gt at! What are yon of the factory. Here they, find their
trying to give me, anyway? way Into an automatic weighing ma-
Wotrirlns Straight roods. His wife chine, then dumped into tne sneer
eloped with one of his trainers. where they are cut In smau pieces.
On the next noor Deiow tne sneer is
Knew Whereof He Spoke. located the diffusion battery, which is
"One-half the world," remarked the composed of a number of iron tanks,
party wita tne q notation habit placed in a group. The tanks are con
"ooeeirt know bow the ether half aected with each other by large pipes,
lives." and each tank is capable of holding
"I gxmm that s right" rejohied the three or four thousand pounds of the
married man. "bnt the feminine half slices. The first tank Is filled with
works overtime trying to find out" slices, and has water turned Into It
I'hla ! ftllnrarari te atflnd w-hllA tho
Tbey Differ. - - i, flniTir nHth kIIcph TTiAti
"TTMOry pracaee are ameront th .mlva mnTWc-r1nr th first tank
things,'" saSA the professo. . I with the second ls opened, and the
Te indeed, assented the medical wster n the first tank, havin absorb-
etudent pay tor tneory and intend ed some sugar from the slices, is
K. mtiw ill tm nil i .. .
u uwi tru ., . lorcea into tne second dt rresn water
being pumped Into the first This
molasses Is thrown out through the
holes In the sides, leaving the sugar
sticking -to the gauze. The sugar is
washed by spraying cold water and air
against it as it whirls, a little bluing
being added to give It brilliancy. The
machine is stopped and the sugar now
white and moist, ls dropped from the
bottom of the machine and conveyed
to the granulator, where it ls dried.
This granulator is a large, horizontal
revolving cylinder, heated by steam.
While drying is In process, the fine
dust of sugar ls drawn out by a suc
tion blower. The sugar passes out of
the .granulator through screens at the
end, which removes the lumps. The
sugar is now placed in bags ready for
shipment
The molasses which .has been
thrown from the centrifugals, is either
mixed with fresh syrup and boiled
again, or is boiled alone and once more
passed through the machines. The
brown sugar resulting, is refined by
mixing with fresh 'syrup.
In all beet factories, chemicals play
an important part, and the laboratory
might be called 'the heart of the fac
tory, as it is through the agency of
chemicals that .the sugar ls extracted
from the beet All beets, juice, syrups
and boiled sugars, are tested, and. the
analysis of every pound of sugar is
known, and every loss located and ac
counted for. The values -of different
soils and fertilizers for beet growing
are tested, as are also all coal, coke
and limestone used.
At Rocky Ford, In Southeastern Col
orado, is located one of the largest beet
sugar factories In the country. The
buildings are built of brick, and are
surrounded by fine grounds and fine
residences, where some of the officers
of the company live. Like all other
factories, this one runs day and night
seven days in a week, and only stops
In case of an accident or to clean up."
This factory, on an average, converts
1,100 tons of beets Into sugar every
twenty-four hours. One ton of beets
will make 260 to 275 pounds of sugar,
and from 1,100 tons, this means about
150 tons of sugar each day. Williams-
port (Pa.) Grit "
Maple-sugar-making Is getting to be
restricted Industry, and may, Indeed,
become a lost art The Bureau of For- -
estry, which has recently made a study
at the business, has brought some inter
esting facts to light Since 1850 the
area of maple-sugar-farming has great
ly changed and shrunk. In early days
maple-sugar was made even In the
South, because cane-sugar was scarce
and expensive. In New England, New
York and a few other States the in
dustry has held its own or been ex
tended. The bureau finds that seven
eighths of what Is sold as maple-sugar
or maple-syrup is spurious; but in most
cases the adulteration ls the work of
middlemen, not of the producers. The
net Income of a maple-sugar grove is
conservatively estimated at $3 an acre;
and since the work can be done at a '
time when there ls little other farm
employment and the grove will also '
furnish the family firewood without
deterioration, a sugar-orchard is a fair
ly profitable investment
Greater secrecy than ever before will
be exercised this year concerning the
scores made at target practice by the
various vessels of the Atlantic fleet
While some of the details of the re
sults may be made public. It is not the
Intention of the Navy Department to
give out the scores. This government
has never been able to gather informa
tion concerning the target practices of
other navies and there seems to be no
reason why the scores of our navy
should be made public. Great Britain
carefully guards all of the scores made
by her warships. Some years ago an
ofQcer of a British vessel on the Asiatic
station told of the results of the tar
get practice then just finished. The
information reached this country and
was published. A thorough investiga
tion was made and the officer would
have been court-martialed If It had
been possible to produce positive proof
against him.
The expenditures of the government
exceeded -its current income by more
than $9,000,000 in April, and the treas
ury deficit for the first ten months of
the fiscal year ls upward of $34,000,
000. While the months of May and
June nearly always show a balance on
the right side of the government's ac
count books, many fear that the de
ficit at the end of the fiscal year, June
30, will reach $30,000,000. The problem
of the deficit Is a serious one In the
opinion of the treasury officials. The
cash balance in the treasury has de
clined to $133,181,777, including the
amounts held by the national bank de
positories, and Secretary Shaw has
found it necessary to withdraw from
the banks $20,000,000. The cash baK
ance actually on hand In the treasury
is said by some to have fallen below
the point of absolute safety.
y
A Biographical Dictionary.
One of the most helpful books to
keep upon your table, ready to be con
sulted as you read other books, is a
biographical dictionary. Then, when
you come to some historical character
about whom your knowledge ls a little
faded. It will require but a moment to
refresh . your memory and make your
reading more intelligent You have a
right to the acquaintance of these dis
tinguished men and women, and should
beep up at -least friendly relations
with them, if for no other reason than
In gratitude for what they have done
to make your life pleasa'nt St Nich
olas. -- ... :-V .,- - ;
Some men's ideas of reciprocity are
rather one-sided.
"Beware of the high rate of inter
est" is the lesson of most of the swin
dles against which the Post Office De
partment has recently issued fraud or
ders. - An offer of exceptionally large
returns for either labor or capital
should at once awaken suspicion. If
the enterprise is so promising, why
does not the person who 'controls it
keep it for himself? The fact that
there are a few, a very few, cases
where large risks have been taken and
large profits have been realized Is the
argument most used by those who
have patent rights, gold mines and oth
er such properties to .sell at a thou
sand times their value. The person of
moderate means cannot afford to take
such risks.
-: :-
" In 1904 the number of arrivals at
Ellis Island was 606,000, the number
In the entire country bemg 800,000. Of
these 263,510 settled down In New York
City, and the great majority of the re
mainder went to other cities as labor
ers, etc., where they are not needed.
It ls now estimated that one million
Immigrants will come to this country
during the year 1905. The task of ab
sorbing this great mass Into the politi
cal system Is one of the penalties which
the United States pays for its unrival
ed economic opportunities, Its relief
from great standing armies, and Its at
mosphere of freedom . -
-! - - ' ' . -
Daring the last year more than five
thoasand rural mail routes have been
established,, and during the coming
rammer a thousand more will be open
ed. Every route over whlcb the car
rier takes his Utile packet is a thread
which binds this great spreading coun
try Into more solid nnlty.
- '
Exjransoo seems still to be the na
tional watchword. The general staff
of the army has decided to lengthen
the United States bayonet by four
teches. Still, It was a dictum of Oliver
Wendell Holmes that as nations
lengthen thetr weapons they narrow
thebr boundaries.
Tiaftor Koto,
The' teaching of typewriting will be
begun In the normal school at Zaeatecas,
Mexico, "flie government of the State
has has bought a nutnber of maehmes of
the most modern and best types for the
school.
Chicago and Alton employes have been
Instructed not only to give un drinking
intoxicating liquors, but to stay away'
from gambling places and dance halls.
The company says It means fo keep its
men np to as high a physical and mental
standard as bosslble