The Leader., October 24, 1902, Image 3

the
BRITISH FOREIGN OFFICE AND
ITS INFLUENCE ON THE WORLD.
llE R E is one man In
England whom all the
world watches, for it is
he who can keep still or let
slip the dogs of war.
He
controls more than any oth­
er individual the foreign re­
lations of one-quarter of the
globe. This prominent and
powerful individual, who
plays such an important part
in the great game o f Eng­
lish politics. Is known ns
“ the Foreign Secretary.” By virtue of his. office he is the most powerful man In
England, "the lay king o f the British Empire.” H e has, indeed, no throne— only
a leathern chair and a mahogany table in Downing street, but he has the best
organized and equipped kingdom in the world.
Ilia legions are found iu every
quarter of the habitable globe.
No department o f the British government is burdened with so much mechnn-
Ical work as the Foreign Office. The birth of a prince, the marriage of a
princess, the death o f a monarch, the fnll of a government, the outbreak of a
revolution, the overthrow of a president, anything nud everything important
among royal personages or governments, occasions work at the Foreign Office.
Even the giving o f a medal for saving life at sea comes under its notice,
and the Foreign Secretary must deal with all the complaints of harsh and unfair
treatment of British subjects in foreign countries, and issue passports when re­
quired for travel by those owing allegiance to the throne. It is his duty to
nominate all ambassadors and consuls and control the countless changes in. He
is in touch more or less with 5,000 people.
The Foreign Secretaries from 1830 to the present time number twelve, and
are as follows: Viscount Palmerston, the Earl of Aberdeen, Earl Granville, the
Earl of Malmesbury, Lord John Ilussell, the Earl of Clarendon, the Enrl of
Derby, the Marquis o f Salisbury, the Earl of Itosebery, the Earl of lddesleigh,
the Earl of Kimberley, the Marquis of Lansdowne.
The present occupant of the office has a slight, dapper figure, and Is always
neatly and carefully groomed. Always serene, always suave, with a rare, but
very pleasing, smile, he is the embodiment o f repose and self-possession.
He is not weak, but, on the contrary, very tenacious of an opinion. En­
tirely Indifferent to popular Influence, he can be at times cruelly polite, and is
an excellent example of "the iron hand in the velvet glove.”
f
P E A T FO R F U E L .
long, narrow sections, in removing
which a peculiar Implement, called a
'saumption o f W ork In th e Lon g- slain, is necessary. The slain, or turf-
Abundoned Hogs o f N ew Jersey.
spade, is made o f tw o steel plates fas­
'I'hen one thinks o f peat, as a natural tened together at righ t angles, the
consequence one turns to Ireland. In edges being sharp fo r cutting. Each
the Em erald Isle, peat fuel Is staple, plate is five Inches broad and sixteen
and "b o g trottin g” is an industry inches long, so that when used a sec­
which flourishes extensively. In Amer- tion o f peat five inches square and
8 IL K M ADE BY C H E M IS T R Y .
Reciprocity Treaty with United States
About to be Signed.
Synthetics loom large even now, al­
though it is true that attention has
Havana, Oct. 18.— Business men who
chlefiy been turned to the synthesis o f
have been called in to oonsult with
drugs. But there is no reason w hy
President Palm a on the
proposed
equal success should not attend the
efforts o f the chemist to build up ar­ Cuban-American commercial treaty feel
ticles o f food, drluk and clothing from assured that the cabinet w ill approve
their elements in the same w ay as the proposition o f the United States,
mere chemical compounds have been and that it w ill be sent to congress
constructed. It is only a question o f
within a few days for adoption. There
the grow th of knowledge o f the con­
stitution o f matters. Already the syn­ is some fear that the radical elem ent in
thesis o f many articles of common congress w ill object to approving of
dally occurrence lias been effected. The coaling stations without being informed
aniline coloring matters are practically clearly of the intentions of the United
synthetics; indigo and madder are com­ ! States with regard to the enforcement
mon products o f the laboratory, and
of the P la tt amendment.
sugar and alcohol may he prepared
The commercial treaty submitted to
from the elements which compose
Cuba by Washington is practically the
them.
The latest achievement of the build­ Bliss tariff schedule, which was drawn
ing chemist appears to be the artificial up just before the American m ilitary
production o f at any rate the most Im­ government withdrew from the island,
and which leaves the present duty in
portant constituent o f silk. Chemists
force agaiimt all other nations, but gives
have long known that the chief con­
the United States a differential from 20
stituent o f silk—Insects' eoeoons and
to 60 per cent. In return the United
spiders' threads—is an Insoluble pro-
States offers Cuba a reduction in duties
teid, behaving very much in the same
of 20 per cent.
This was considérer)
way as protelds in general, o f which
too small in proportion to the benefit
the albumins are types. Mulberry silk asked by the United States, and in the
In particular consists o f over 70 per beginning there was a strong inclina­
cent o f a proteid substance termed tion to reject the proposition, but it
fibroin, associated with 22 per cent of was explained that, under existing
a yellowish transparent substance re­ conditions in the United States, and
sembling gelatine in composition and considering that the bill was passed by
character and known ns serlclu. These the house of representatives in W ash­
two albuminous substances occur In ington, more cannot be, offered at
silk with about 3 per cent of w ax and present.
1 per cent o f mineral matter. It is
sericln, however, or rather its d eriv­
WORLD’ S COAL OUTPUT.
ative by hydrolysis, serine, which has
been successfully synthesized, and In­ United States Now Leads the W orld—For
asmuch as silk owes its peculiar aud
1901, 866,165,140 Short Tons.
delightful character largely to this
Washington, Oct. 18.— The United
substance, there is no doubt that an
States geological survey estimates th%
Important step tow ard the artificial
w orld’ s production of coal in 1901 at
manufacture o f silk has been made.
The three
Day by day synthetics are forcing 866,165,140 short ions.
themselves upon our notice and are great coal producing countries of the
threatening to take u place somewhere world are the United States, Great
or other in man's ordinary routine. The
Britain and Germany. Austria-Hung­
question has still to he settled whether
ary
comes fourth, France fifth, Belgium
a synthetically or artificially prepared
The last
sulistanee—that is, one which Is iden­ sixth and Russia seventh.
tical as fa r as can be judged w ith the country, notwithstanding ita vast area,
natural product—gives precisely the produces ouly about 6 per cent as
same satisfactory results. Most people, much coal as the United States. Prior
w e are sure, w ill confess so fa r to a to 1899 Great BritaiD led among the
sneaking preference fo r the thing w orld ’ s coal producers, but daring
which nature hikes time to elaborate 1899, 1900 aud 1901 the United States
rather than fo r the product conjured has made such remarkable increases in
up, so to speak, in a fe w hours in the coal production, due principally to the
unprecedented activity in the iron and
laboratory. But already it is getting
steel and other metal trades, that it
difficult in some directions to obtain
now stanus far in the lead of a ll com-
the natural article. It Is so, at any
petitoru, with a production in 1901 ex­
rate, with indigo, and it is just possible
ceeding that of Great Britain by 479,-
that in the near future it w ill be no
I 965,938 short tons, or 19 per cent. Up
uncommon experience to hear in the to the close of 1900 the coal production
shops a customer precise In his de­ i o f Great Britain and her colonies, taken
mand for either the synthetic or nat­ together, still exceeded that of the
ural article lu accordance with his United States, the excess in 1900 being
choice.
3,368,825 short tons, but the enormous
T H E B IC Y C L E
ca, however, where there has not been
“fed of peat, and where latterly it Is
■lniost entirely unknown. It must o f
■ourse be ranked as n novelty. It w ill
* news to many that peat bogs are
orked in N ew Jersey, w h ere opera-
luns have been especially active since
he scarcity o f coal and its consequent
dgh price. It Is not, however, being
a yet cut fo r market.
Those who
wn peat bogs are cutting the fu el for
heir own use and w ill be entirely in-
epemlcnt o f coal, either fo r beating
manufacturing purposes.
Beat Is practically coal in embryo,
is composed o f decayed vegetable
tatter which has become packed in a
one mass o f Its own w eight, aided by
weight o f soil on top o f it. I t lies
restricted areas. In bogs, and when
iken out bolds much moisture. I f le ft
f centuries peat becomes coal. In
hpearnnee It is black, w ith now and
“fl a streak o f red, caused by the
Jtk of gome tree which has not en-
'rely decayed.
W hen dried in the
"n- Peat becomes as hard as w ood and
®ch heavier. I t Ignites mnch more
lekly than coal, barns fre e ly and
sves little ash.
To cut peat properly requires a knack
w possess. I t must be go t out in
about sixteen Inches long is taken out.
In beginning the operation, tile top
Inyer o f dirt Is removed from the peat,
then the digging is started. It Is done
In sections aliout three feet In width
and as long as is desired. T h e peat
in the Columbia meadows at M orris­
town Is six feet In depth, and under
it is a layer o f bine clay. Three "le v ­
els,” as they would be called In coal
mining, are worked. That is, the turf-
spuile can he sunk down for three
times its length before the peut is ex­
hausted.
A s fast as the oblong blocks o f turf
are taken ont they are piled on a board
and a horse draws them from the bog
to high land, where they are laid In
row s to dry. W hen partially dry the
blocks are stacked up, so that the sun
and wind may get at all sides and
d rive out the moisture more quickly.
I t takes about three weeks to dry the
jieat properly.
I t is measured by the cord Instead
o f by weight, as coal is. The blocks
become much broken before they are
finally dried, but the peat burns,
whether In large or small chunks.
CUBA W IL L ACCEPT.
Science U s e F ou n d t W ay to C rea te
th e F a v o r it e F ab ric.
FA D .
Some R egrets O ver the Fact th at It
Has Vanished.
The reorganization o f the bicycle
trust upon a conservative basis is de­
clared by a financial writer to mark the
evolution o f the bicycle business from
the fad state into a sendy, legitim ate
enterprise. Thut is measurably true—
more's the pity.
W hen the bicycling fad was at Its
height hundreds o f thousands o f peo­
ple took healthful and agreeable exer­
cise daily. When the fad wuned these
people ceased to take exercise. N ow a­
days the bicycle, with few exceptions.
Is used In a business way. People ride
it to and from their work to save car­
fare. Bill collectors use it In their busi­
ness. So do book agents and solicitors.
Children are now about the only people
who ride for the mere pleasure o f rid­
ing. Thnt is to be regretted.
Never lias there been another form of
exercise which was available to so
many people. The bicycle required no
athletic training. A child or an octo­
genarian could ride. Women found the
wheel t'asy to learn and easy to ride.
Bicycling, like golf, brought people
Into the open air, but, unlike golf, it re­
quired no especial tract o f ground for
its exercise. A n y fa irly good road was
the sole requisite. T h e whole continent
lay open to the adventurous cycler. The
wheelmen and wheel women o f 1895-08
— the period o f the greatest bicycle
boom— saw more o f the country in the
vicinity o f their homes than they ever
saw before or w ill ever see again. The
bicycle was a topographical educator.
The bicycle. In short, fulfilled tw o o f
the three traditional desiderata. It
made people healthy and It made them
wise. It made some people wealthy,
too. (These, however, were the people
who manufactured bicycles,
rather
than those who rode them.) I t was a
fad which conduced to the happiness
and physical well-being o f the popula­
tion, and Ita dlsapeparnnce is occasion
for regret. There is nothing In sight to
take its place.
8altlnena.
“ Some day you'll discover.” said Mlsa
Severe, reprovingly, “ that this seaside
flirtation o f yours is not all aweet-
nrws."
“ I'v e discovered It already.” replied
Miss P e r t “ You ’d be surprised how
salty the sea breeze made George's
mustache last evening.” — Catholic
A man's wealth Isn't known by the
Standard and Tim e*.
taxes he pay».
output of the coal mines of this country
last year exceeded by about 26,000,000
short tons the entire output of Great
Britain and her dependencies, including
India and the Transvaal. Of the out­
put in 1901, the United States produced
33.86 per cent; Great Britain and her
dependencies 30.86 per cent, and Ger­
many 19.42 per cent, or combined
84.14 per cent of the total production.
SOUFFRIERE AGAIN.
Sand Showers on Island of St. Vincent,
but No Damage Yet.
Kingstown,
Oct. 18.— A terriffle
eruption of the Bouffriere volcano com­
menced last night.
BACK TO WORK
Arbitration of the Coal Trouble
Now Assured.
LABOR RECEIVES JU ST RECOGNITION
President Names Commission of Six Men,
W ho W ill Adjust All Disputes Be­
tween Operators and Men.
Washington, Oct. 17. — The great
anthracite coal strike is settled at last.
A commission of six persons, with a
seventh— Carroll D. W righ t— as record­
er, w ill adjust the differences betweeD
the operators and the miners. Presi­
dent M itchell, of the M iners’ Union,
w ill take the necessary measures to call
the strike off. The president w ill urge
the immediate resumption o f mining,
and the operators are expected to begin
next week.
Announcement that the great strike
was off was made by Becretary Root
with exuberant good humor at the
W h ite House shortly after 1 o ’ clock
yesterday.
Organized labor has a rep­
resentative on the commission in the
person ol E. E. Clark, grand chief of
the Order of Kailroad
Conductors,
named as a sociologist. The president
added Bishop Spalding, of Illin o is, to
the list ol five members suggested by
the operators. As named, the commis­
sion is perfectly satisfactory to both
piiners and operators.
Assent of the
miners was given through President
M itchell and M r. Sargent, commis­
sioner o f im m igration, and of* the
eperators through Messrs. Rober Ba­
con and George W . Perkins, o f the
banking firm of J. P . Morgan A Co.
Statement by Cortelyou.
Washington, Oct. 17. — The follow ­
ing is the official statement announcing
the close of the great coal stiike.
“ A fte r a conference with
M r.
M itchell and some further conference
with representatives of the coal opera­
tors, the president has appointed the
follow in g commission to inquire into,
consider and pass upon all questions
at issue between the operators and
miners in the anthracite coal fields:
"B rig a d ie r General John M. W ilson.
United States arm y, retired, late chie'
of engineers, U . S. A ., W ashingtonf
D. C ., as an officer of the engineer
corps of either the m ilitary or naval
service of the United States.
“ E . W . Parker, Washinton, D. C.,
as an expert m ining engineer.
M r.
Parker is chief statistician of the coal
division of the United States geological
survey, and editor of the Engineering
and M ining Journal, of N ew York.
“ George Gray, W ilm ington, Dela­
ware, as a judge of a United Statea
court.
“ E. E . Clark, Cedar Rapids, Iowa,
grand chief of the Order o f Kailroad
Conductors, as a sociologist, the presi­
dent assuming that, for the purposes of
such a commission, the term sociologist
means a man who has thought and
studied deeply on social questions, and
has practically applied his knowledge.
“ Thomas H. W atkins, Scranton, Pa.,
as a man practically acquainted with
the m ining and selling of coal.
"B ish o p John L . Spalding, Peoria,
Illin o is.
The president has added
Bishop Spalding’ s name to the com­
mission.
“ Carroll D. W righ t has been ap­
pointed recorder of the commission.’ ’
VETERAN ADMIRAL DEAD.
During the preced­
ing day earth ttemors, apparently too Thomas O. Selfridge, Sr., Oldest Living
Officer of His Rank.
slight to be considered important, were
experienced in the central and northern
part of the lisland. A t 8 o ’ clock last
night there were indications of an erup­
tion. Bum bling noises W€ * beard
They increased when the roaring vol­
cano belched out its deadly contents.
This eruption was followed by a brief
lu ll. Then, from 10 o ’ clock till 4
o ’ clock this m orning the npheaval con­
tinued. The outbreak was accompanied
by an incessant and confused cannonad­
ing. There were incandescent clouds
and sparkling matter ejected. A fte r 4
o ’ clock the ^disturbance gradually de­
creased, but the n„ipe of the boiling
cauldron is still audible at a distance.
New York Bank Fails.
Boston, Oct. 17. — Rear Adm iral
Thomas O. Selfridge, Sr., U . S. N ., re­
tired, is dead at the McLean asylum at
W averly. H e was probably the oldest
livin g officer of that rank in any nary
in the world, and there is no ether
navy which had two admirals, father
and eon, both retired.
The elder ad­
miral was horn in Massachusetts, and
was appointed to the navy from that
state on Janaary 1, 1818.
The son,
Rear Adm iral Thomas O. Bel fridge,
was born February 16, 1836, and joined
the navy at the age of 16.
The second
eldest son is Commander James Russell
Seifridge, born July 11, 1849, and in
the navy since 1864.
When the c iv il war broke out Com­
mander Selfridge was too far advanced
in years to accept active duty at sea,
and he was assigned as commandant of
the Mare Island navy yard, 1862-1864,
and again in 1873. In the latter year
all retired officers were withdrawn from
active service, and Adm iral Selfridge
resided at Georgetown, S. C ., bat for
many years be paid annual visits to
San Francisco, where he had tw o sons
residing.
New York, Oct. 18.— The failure of
the banking bouse of Gilm an, Bon &
Co., of 62 Cedar street, th i* city, was
announced late today. The liabilities,
it was said, are less than $200,000, and
it was added that no other New York
concern would be affected. The busi-
nees of Gilm an, Bon A Co. was largely
in farm mortgages.
The house was
founded in 1860 by W iinthrop 8. G il­
man, who came here from 8t. Louis
Army to be Reduced.
and Alton, III.
The failure was a
complete surprise, the firm being noted
Washington, Oct. 17.— Orders w ill be
lor carefulness and conservatism.
' issned by the war department tomorrow
ordering that the regular arm y lie re­
Shaw Buys Up More Bonds
duced to the minimum authorized by
New York , Oct. 18.— I t was reported law, 69,000 men. W ith the practical
on the stock exchange today that the cessation of outbreaks in the P h ilip -
Becretarv of the treasury had bought j pines, it is believed that this can he
government bonds to the amount of safely done. The present size of the
$15,000,000. On the best of authority army is about 67,000. The cavalry
it was stated today that a syndicate had and artillery regiments w ill be reducer)
arranged to sell a block of $10,000.000 to the minimum base, except around
to $15,000,000 4 per cent governments Fort 1-eavenworth, K an ., where the
to the secretary of the treasury.
The commands w ill be kept to fa ll size for
| price is believed to be about $137.60.
educational reasons.