Prohibitive Law May Result From
Hague Conference
United States Tskes Initiative In Fight
Against Drug Used by 150,000
The President's Floating
Home.
Washington An International agree
ment for the suppression of the opium
traffic may result from a conference
of the Interested powers at The
Hague. The United States Is taking
the Initiative In the fight and the call
tor the conference was made through
diplomatic notes from Secretary of
State Knox. The desire of this gov
eminent Is to see embodied in the In
ternatlonnl law some form of statute
(row out of the belief that only
through the co-oporatlon of opium pro
ducing and exporting countries with
our customs officials can the prohibl
tory statute of 1908 against the lm
portatlon of fumable opium Into the
United States be made effective. De
spite the uncoaslng efforts of customs
officials It Is known 68,000 pounds of
the drug wore smuggled last year for
the use of 160,000 people. Thirteen
and possibly fourteen countries will be
represented. They are the United
States, Great Drltaln, Austria-Hungary,
France, China, Germany, Italy, Japan,
the Netherlands, Portugal, Persia, Rus
sia and Slam. Turkey may bo also
represented.
The. American delegation at The
Hague will seek an International law
requiring each country to prevent the
hlpment from her ports of smoking
opium intended for countries where
that form of a drug is prohibited.
United States Has Troubles.
This government first came into di
root contact with the seriousness of
the problem when It started out to put
the Philippines In order. Investiga
tion showed that asldo from the ques
tion there, the continental United
States also presented a sorious prob
lem. In 1880 this government had
a 'Wis A
Secretary of state Knox.
made a move against the drug through
A treaty with China which prohibits
the importation of smoking opium for
the use of Chinese residents in this
country. Many Americana were then
engaged in the traffic and, aa there
yn little trouble in secretly dis
tributing the drug after it had been
brought to the United States, the
trafllo continued regardless of the
treaty and the drug acquired victims,
white and yellow, accordingly. Last
year when the statute prohibiting the
Importation of opium for anything but
Btedtclnat purposes was passed, there
were about 800,000 users of the drug
among Americans, A recent estimate
places the present number at 150,000.
Oreat Brltatln and Portugal are assum
ed to be the strongest opponents of
this measure.
The attitude of Oreat Drltaln will
be watched with interest by the dele
gates from other nations. Although in
the last few years she has shown aa
Inclination to join in the movement
tor the suppression of the misuse of
the drug. Qreat Brttatu In the past has
been open to severe criticism because
of her Indo-Chluese opium traffic It
ba been the popular impression, and
with some foundation, that the British
government forced opium on the Chi
nese by the so-called "opium war." It
may be said In extenuation that for
every pound of the drug India sent to
China the Chinese produced and con
sumed at least 30 times that amount
wtthiu their own borders a fact not
generally known.
One effect of the International
Opium commission's conference was
a pact between the British and Chi
nese governments, by which the for
mer agreed to reduce her production
and exportation of opium to China at
the rate of one-tenth a year, bcgtunlng
January, 190$. Great Brttatu has kept
her part of the contract, and China
baa more than kept up her end. It la
claimed on behalf of Cljtna that she
ba up to the present time reduced
her annual production and consump
tion of opium to 5S0.0OO piculs 50
t8M$j pound about half the former
ataouut H la now China's desire for
a new agreement with Qreat Britain,
by which the ten-year period may be
shorten! to seven or even five years,
RESIDENTS FLOATING HOME.
When the president's flag, with Its
national coat of arms emblaxoned oa
blue background, is raised over the
United mates ship Mayflower she be
comes "the President's yacht" At
other times she is a cruiser on ths
regular list of the nary. The "other
times" are few, especially in the sun
mer, since the President of the United
States, being a normal human being,
cannot help having a liking for the
beautiful ship and a desire to spend
much of his time on board of her. The
navy list says that the Mayflower is
detailed for "special service," which
means that she is assigned to the per
sonal use of the commander-in-chief
of the navy and his family.
The proximity of President Toft's
summer home at Beverly, Mass., to
the beautiful north shore of Massa
chuBetts brings naturally thoughts of
cruising, and be has made consider
able use of the Mayflower during his
vacation. Ho I.) a good sailor, thanks
to his numerous voyages on blue wa
ter, and he is believed to be quite as
fond of the Mayflower aa was Mr.
Roosevelt The latter frequently ex
pressed his delight on boarding the
yacht, and he selected her as the flag
ship when he bade adieu to the battle
ship fleet before Its departure on the
memorable around-the-world voyage.
When the big ships returned tri
umphantly to Hampton Roads It was
from the bridge of the Mayflower that
President Roosevelt welcomed them
home to Yankeelnnd.
In size and In furnishings the May
flower compares favorably with the
royal yachts of Europe. Her birth
place was Scotland, where Bhe was
built In 1806 fpr the late Ogden Ooolet,
the New York millionaire, who did not
live long to enjoy possession of the
beautiful craft. The original cost of
the Mayflower was $800,000. After
Mr. Goelet's death the yacht was of
fered for sale by his widow. It was
reported at one time that the late
King of the Belgians had acquired her,
but the report was unfounded. The
vessel was bought for $450,000 by the
United States government shortly bo
fore the Spanish-American war and
was converted into a gunboat, or small
cruiser. The price paid by the gov
ernment was considered a low one.
The Mayflower is 270 feet long and
is of 2,000 tons burden. Her engines
produce 4,700 horsepower, and she is
propelled by twin screws. She car
ries a complement of about 170 offi
cers and men. The Mayflower carries
a few light guns, principally for use
In firing salutes. Otherwise there is
nothing in her external or internal ap
pearance to distinguish her from pri
vate yachts of her size. Like all the
other vessels of the navy, she la kept
in exquisitely neat condition, her
smartness being accentuated by her
coat of dazzling white paint. The fine
lines of the Mayflower, which was
built for cruising at medium speed as
well aa for comfort have attracted the
admiring notice of many marine ob
servers. The interior of the May
flower does not resemble that of a
warship, thus belying in a way her
place on the active list of the navy's
shipe. She is docorated beautifully,
principally in white, gold, silver,
and every provision is made for the
comfort of the President and his
guests. Thousands of dollars are
spent annually in the upkeep of the
vessel
The Mayflower has been assigned to
the use of the President since 1002.
Between the close of the Spanish
American war and her assumption of
her new duties she Berved as a gun
boat The question of bee disposition
arose when it was considered by the
authorities that she had outlived her
period of naval usefulness. The deci
sion to reconvert her into a yacht and
detail her to do duty as a Presidential
vessel In place of the old Dolphin
brought forth almost universally favor
able comment as It was felt that the
President should have a yacht worthy
cf comparison with those of the beads
of other great nations.
GOVERNMENT OWN3 RECLAIMED
ACRES.
In execution of the project for Im
proving the channel of the Potomac
river along the water front of Alex
andria, the United States will obtain
about 44 acres of land in Battery cove.
Just above Jones point The question
of title to this land has been in dis
pute for several months, and it re
quired an opinion of the Attorney
General to Bottle it
The rtver and harbor act of the re
cent Congress contained an appropria
tion of $60,000 for the Improvement of
the Potomao opposite Alexandria. The
approved project contemplates dredg
ing the river channel 24 feet deep
along the water front of Alexandria
and depositing the dredged matertal
in Battery cove. That cove is within
ths limits of the District of Columbia,
and the Jurisdiction and ownership of
ths United States extend, to high-water
mark on the Virginia shore.
To use the cove tn the way pro
posed, the construction of bulkheads
and retaining walls was necessary.
Interested parties owning adjoining
land offered to make these construc
tion at their own expense, provided
the government would not dispute
their title to the land thus reclaimed.
The engineers regarded that arrange
ment as economical and advantageous
to the United States. Before entering
into any formal agreement however.
It was decided to ask the Attorney
General for an opinion as to the own
ership of the artificial accretions when
made as proposed. In his opinion the
Attorney General reviews ths law la
the matter and holds that the sub
merged area will remain the property
of the United States up to th pres
ent high-water mark on the Virginia
shore. Capt W. T. Haaoutn, the en
gtowr officer tn charge of the project
ed improvement has made an esti
mate that the reclaimed land wtU be
worth from $30,000 to $0,000
-
ALFRED WELLER, WHO IS A
REAL TELEGRAPHY PIONEER
TAKING the telegraphic returns of
every presidential election from
11848 to 1896 is the
I record of Alfred
Weller, formerly
of Milwaukee, and
residing In La
porte, Ind.
The first presi
dential election
which Mr. Weller
figured In, then
only thirteen
years of age, was
that of Zachary
Taylor At that
time he was operating in the village
of Marshall, Mich. He claims the dis
tinction of being one of the first, if
not the first, telegraph operator to
learn to read the Morse alphabet by
sound.
In a letter Bent recently to a tele
graphic Journal he refutes the state
ment of Alonzo B. Cornell, who claims
to have been the first operator who
took telegraph messages by sound,
and gives the proof of his own claim
to the distinction. He writes:
T notice in a recent number of
your paper an interview with. Alonzo
B. Cornell, wherein he claims to have
discovered, in the early fifties, that
he could take press dispatches by
sound, and considers that he was the
first telegraph operator that made
this discovery.
The interview does not state in
what year of the early fifties that
this occurred. It may not be amiss
for me to state, however, as a matter
of early telegraphic history, that in
1848 I took by sound the returns of
the eloctlon of President Zachary
Taylor, in the village of Marshall,
Mich.
I was then thirteen years of age
and was operating at that place un
der the management of Jabez Fox,
on the old Speed line, the first idle
graph wire that was strung west of
Detroit to Chicago.
"Inasmuch as this antedates Mr.
Cornell's claim by at least two years,
we will need to go back to 1848 to
find the first person who discovered
that the Morse alphabet could be
read by sound,"
w w
His
OKLAHOMA SENATOR IS
NEARLY ONE-HALF INDIAN
THE state of Oklahoma, made up of
the territory of that name and In
dian Territory and
admitted to the
Union in 1907, con
tains about 65,000
Indians, more than
any other state. It
is right and prop-
ler, therefore, that
the citizens of
aboriginal blood
should be repre
sented in the law
making bodies at
Washington. Of
Oklahoma s two United States sena
tors, one is the famous blind orator,
Gore, and the other is Curtiss. who
is part Indian. Of her five congress
men at least one, Senator Charles
Dougherty Carter, is nearly one-half
Indian. Strictly speaking hs is 7-16
Chickasaw and Cherokee and 9-16
Scotch and Irish. His ancestor, Na
than Carter, fell into the hands of the
Indians during a massacre, was adopt
ed into the tribe and married a full
blooded squaw. Since then there have
been several Intermarriages.
Recently Senator Carter has been
before the nation as one of the wit
nesses in the Indian land fraud In
vestigation. Senator Carter was born in 1868
near Boggy Depot, an old fort In the
Choctaw nation. His education was
obtained in the common schools and
in the Chickasaw manual labor acad
emy. In youth ho worked as a ranch
man and as a clerk In a store. From
1892 to 1894 he was auditor of public
accounts for the Chickasaw nation.
Since then he baa been superintendent
of public schools of Indian Territory,
member of the Chickasaw council and
congressman. He is a banker, a
Methodist a Mason and an Elk.
DARING AYIAT0R WHOSE
FEATS THRILLED THE WORLD
0
N'E of the most daring aviators.
whose feats have thrilled the
world. Is Louis
Paulhan. Ever
since bo was a
mere boy bo has
walked band In
hand with ro
mance. His parents
were ordinary peo
ple, unable to bo
stow upon him any
of the luxuries of
life, so at aa early
age he ran off
with a traveling
circus. At first he did odd Jobs about
the tents, but between performances
be practised on the tight-rope, and the
proprietor, observing bis skin, decid
ed he was sufficiently proficient tn
that art to be exhibited. Before long
tt was the star artist doing difficult
somersaults and glide with reckless
abandon and grace. It was while he
thus cavorted on a slack-wire that be
acquired the balancing facility whicc
has enabled him to attain his rank
among the "bird .men."
When the circus life began to pal!.
Paulhan signed as a sailor. Later he
became a soldier, enlisting in the
Aerostatic battalion of the French
army; Here be attained the practical
knowledge of air craft which resulted
in his adoption of his present profes
sion.
Owing to his comparative poverty
Paulhan was not able to own a ma
chine of his own, but in the fall of
1906 he engaged himself to Surcouf,
the designer of the famous dirig.ble
balloon, "Ville de Paris," and tended
the motor and steering gear in all of
the 31 celebrated flights.
' Meanwhile his interest in the heav-
ier-than-air machine Increased. A year
previous he had made a small model
of an aeroplane, and in 1909, when
the Aeronautlque club offered a prize
for the best model that would fly,
Paulhan entered his toy machine and
won the prize.
It was in the machine acquired in
this manner and without previous ex
perience in actual flying that he be
gan his hair-raising flights.
His charming young wife accom
panies him on his trips and has made
frequent ascents.
WIDOW OF LEOPOLD WEDS
A FRENCH BUSINESS MA,.
WHILE stlli greatly regretting the
If death of King Leopold of the
Belgians,' his wi
dow, Baron e si
Vaughan, has mar
r i e d Emmanuel
Durler, a French
citizen. The ba
roness is only
twenty-seven years
of age and lacking
experience is
worldly affairs
Her friends say
she finds it - diffi
cult to manage the
huge fortune left her by Leopold and
she fears that the legion of lawyers
who have been fighting her in the
courts will eventually swallow up not
only the interest, but the principal oi
her estate. Durier is said to be a
shrewd business man. The two sons
of the baroness have been sent tc
school
Since her dramatic flight from Bel
glum on the death of King Leopold,
whloh closed ber regal career, th
baroness has been living sumptuous
ly, although in the greatest privacy,
in the Chateau Ballncourt at Arron
ville. The penniless sisters of the baron
ess, who are living in Paris, are stupl
fled at the news, and express them
selves as amazed that she would mar
ry so soon after the death of the king.
The career of the Baroness Vaughn
reads like a novel. The daughter ei
a Janitor, she rose to be the acknowl
edged wife of the Belgian king. The
marriage took place on December 7,
while Leopold was on his deathbed,
in fact lust eleven days before bit
death.
The thirteenth child of a family be
longing to the lower class of "la petite
bourgeoise," though arrived at a daz
sling degree of fortune, Blanche Caro
line Delacroix never, so far as it
known, exhibited the least intention
of alleviating their lot, and all ol
them speak of her with unmistakable
coldness.
Her eldest sister, Mme. Laure L
febre, fifty years old, was until re
cently a commission merchant at the
central markets In Paris. Another,
Mme. Maria Lalultt, keeps a fruit and
vegetable stand tn Gobelins market
Another sister of the baroness is Mme
Juliette Verger, who. formerly was a
flower girl In the Place de Clythy.
The only surviving brother of the
baroness is a waiter in another cafe
not far from the Place Republique.
He alone of the family has something
kindly to say of the widow of the Bet
gian king, whom be called, half Jocu
larly, his brother-in-law.
The New Woman's Danger.
This new element in reform whlcn
seems to be poking the Are from the
top, this new woman, does not know
now to waft Haste! That is surely
the danger which walks at the elbow
of our most noble Instinct of social
responsibility. It Is this haste which
has lately driven some of us into
ludicrous and wicked disrespect for
law; it has made us, with mistaken
kindness, seek to interfere with indi
vidual development whkh comes by
wrong-doing and pain; it has robbed
us of patience and differing opinions;
it has created a god tn Its own image,
and cries out that be shall b wor
shiped only In ways of which tt ap
proves. Ob, let us learn to waft; tt
does not follow that we. most be idle
because we refuse to bo precipitate;
it may only mean that wo have a faith
that Is large tn time, and that which
shapes tt to some perfect end. In
deed, there seems to mo a certain na
il ucioro us arrogance to this bustling,
feminine baste to make over the world
tt is as tf we thought ourselves so
trc port ant that nothing could go right
without us. Margaret Delaad fia the
Atlantic Monthly-
MODES eJ Sh6 MOMENT
La
HOSE who go up the
woods to shoot have been
concerning themselves
for some weeks post with
the new tweeds, no
doubt finding, them sin
gulorly like the old
tweeds, and being 'per
suaded that in the matter
nf their maklng-up the
possibilities are very limited. Even
the sportswoman has her skirt nar
rower than last year, but she stead
fastly turns from the attractions of
ths one-and-a-quorter yard width, and
will more wisely adopt a kilt which
bears little stuff in it, or the straight
and fitting skirt which has a box-plait
down the center of the back. Person
ally I am always in favor of the flat
kilt for the genuine walking dress,
worn with knickerbockers and boots.
Boots are things of beauty, the thick
sole being no drawback to the calf
vamp and the antelope upper, but you
must have the like specially made for
yon, for the ready-made variety to
suit accurately individual Insteps Is
hard to find. Round smoked pearl
buttons are an essential to the ante
lope upper and the calf vamp, which,
I may mention, is not a common ob
ject of commercial creation, patent
leather beta for more general; and
patent leather, when serious walking
is a question of necessity, cannot be
considered comfortable, writes Ma
dame Aria, In London Madame. The
ordinary leather boots completed with
gaiters have the preferenee of some,
and among gaiters those of stocklng
ette share favor with those of cloth,
while the puttee owns more votaries,
perhaps, than either, and there are a
few, a very few, who merely wear
oaabmere stockings allied to well-fitting
boots of ordinary leather. Gray
antelope with black leather, and brown
antelope with black leather, are both
prominent fancies, while those who
have been to America, or ball from
there, declare In favor of the boot
which Is entirely made of one color,
brown or dark gray for choice, and
on all of these the smoked pearl but
tons appears. America, by the way,
does show ns how to put the beet boot
and shoe foremost To it we owe the
black satin walking boots and walk
ing shoes which have been the most
conspicuous revival of the season, and
again it Is to America we must grant
the glory of the Introduction of the
Vittoned boot of antelope skin:
Excellent Mixtures Seen.
But to return to my woods. There
are many excellent mixtures tn fries e,
and tweed, and cheviot showing green
and brown, and purple and blue as
popular combinations with antelope
skin or wide braid for collars, and
hems, and cuffs. The box-plalted coat
is again an established favorite, with
the belt passed through straps placed
very low round the hips. Most of the
skirts are made in limited corselet
fashion, but not all. the leather belt
being too becoming to discard. Thick,
diagonally -ribbed Bilk Is well used for
shirts, and dark foulard shirts spotted
with white are also tn favor; and.
again, those who are most keenly sen
sitrve to cold seek the comfort of a
Vivella shirt
The knitted woolen, coat worn un
der the long traveling coat is one of
th most conspicuous feature of
dress, and this is to bo obtained la
aQ lengths with sewn or knitted hems,
banging straight or belted round the
waist The knitted silk coats hare
not so many attractions as those of
wooL nevertheless they are firmly es
tablished in popularity, the pattern
and the color dull green or Saxe blue.
There are many, however, who prefer ;
the knitted coats made in white, and
these can be worn over dresses of any
color, a green plaid skirt looking par-
ticularly well with a white woolen
knitted coat, and a long blue overcoat
may be considered the most advisable
addition to the scheme.
The all-ln-one-plece dress made of
... r l, , 1 .1 1. t VHAm. mJ
an luuuiiwsuimi cuwa. iu uiuvu auu .
white looks well with bands of brown
leather and buttons of pearl, and this
worn with a white knitted woolen
coat may be completed with one of
the draned caDS in soft dork brown
satin with a braid and tasseled orna
ment at one side. A green knitted
woolen coat has charms over a green
and blue mixed cheviot skirt with a
blue voile shirt and blue hat of ante
lope skin, and small velvet" caps are
effectively bordered with kilted peter
sham; and these are definitely novel.
Useful Knitted Waistcoats.
And we have the knitted waistcoats
to consider, and very warm and com
fortable these are. Then again we
have at our disposal some knitted
woolen cravats made with much skill
to fit into the small V produced by the .
low crossed collar of the coat fashion
able. There is, indeed, much cry of wool
in the world of fashion for those -who
go north; and the change to silken or
velvet teagowns for the evening, of- ,
fers the pleasing condition of direct
contrast Narrower and narrower
grows the teagown, taking unto itself
the outline of the tunic and princess
dresses, bo that it is rather difficult
to distinguish "t'other from which."
lPaiTJt1ta tno avfala am of 111 AnarmAnflA
A U T VI I W UMtkUl 111 IU M W U W. UVVBW
and metal-traced lace. An admirable
example I have met was of dull rose
pink satin, with a tunio of fine black
net heavily embroidered with pink
jewels and thick gold - thread. This
was filled up to the neck with pale
pink transparent tulle, 'a tightly-fitting
collar-band finishing it round the
throat, and its possessor was ordered
to add to her belongings a long chain -of
gold set at intervals with pink
topaz, it being further suggested that
she should enhance the effect by
adorning the front of her hair with a
spiked coronet comb Bet with these
some Jewels. We must buy our jewels
to match our frocks if we want to foK ,
low faithfully the mandates of Madame
UtnAa nn J Va.ntK.il onft man. ..tin
uiuuu, ouu a uvautuui Dull ai C7t?u Dau
nf mv AftmiAfTitsinra hAnrtntf
to a long chain of olivines and gold,
and roc pearls.
Black Lace Has a Revival.
Black lace is amongst the revivals;
many attractive gowns and blouses
are made of this, the blonses being
mounted over Jetted net or ivory lace.
A foundation of Paisley chiffon is also
amongst the privileges I have seen
black lace enjoy recently. Doubtless
the autumn will find black lace more
definitely established as a fashionable
fabric But here I am, prophesying
again most rash of me considering
the vagaries of the. dress designers
who so deliberately foreshadow In one
season a proposition which does not
crystallze until three seasons after
wards. But that, Is the fault of the
English; it is well-known that we Brit
ishers take at least three seasons to
become acclimatized and truly recon
ciled to any distinct change of front
or back.
And while I am talking of lace, V -p
note that this In Ivory, embellished
with colored silks or golden thread,
may well make teagowns. But in
stead of teagowns I really should
write dinner-gowns, for, as a rule,
there 1b little time or Inclination to
lounge over the afternoon cup, and we
aro Btralffht from our dav of trnnrmn
moments to the luxury of a bath, if
we caa get one, and the consideration
or ine most easerui gown m wnicn we
can do decorative duty at dinner.
Plain ivory lace robes were bought la
quantities at the July sales, and these
with skilful manipulation will achieve
most successful evening gowns. I
strongly advise that all be made with
transparent yokes instead of bare
necks, and would further Insist that f
there is much advantage accrulng-
from the use of pale blue satin rib
bons carefully concealed and yet re
vealed through the lace, and the gen
oral daintiness of result may be
farther secured by the assistance of
chiffon. I have seen a lace tunic look
ing Its very best above an underskirt
of pale pink chiffon. And again, ta
praise of chiffon, I will note a capital
frock destined for ordinary evening:
wear, which showed the combination
of peacock blue chiffon with purple
chiffon, all the hems being adorned
with narrow borders of straight bogies
twinkling in the two colors.
The Style of 1860.
A fall bride has planned ber brides
maids gowns a!ter a fashion plate of
1SS3. The foundation of the frocks
will be of silk and the overdress of
fin white tarietan. made wtth three
skirts, the top one looped cp by tiny
bunches of pink moss rosebuds, whQe
a wreath of the same tiny flowers wta
be worn in the hair. Large anus bonv
Qtets of the rosebuds, edged with the
old-time lace paper ftCL win complete
these auaint costumes