I Topics of 1 1 the Times jj Beeple who re In the twlra ara not ping against the tide. The Santa Claus firca were compara tively few. Evidently Santa U not too eld to Warn. Cotton planters are about convinced that the boar weevil la a greater pest tUan the boll wecvlL war the great gnat on the Japanese battleehlpe put the Russian ships to f.ivtit U-ror tiey tad srpreavhei each other closer than four mile a distance too great for the six ana eight Inch guna to be effective. That the Japanese could atrtke their ad versaries at that freat distance was an achievement In niarkmanshlp which haa never been excelled. Against such markmanhlp and such cuna vessels of the cruiser class car rying amaller guns would stand u chance. The battleship with Ita thlr-teen-Inch guns wanned by expert markemen, could Bend a cruiser to tlv bottom before the tatter could get within fighting distance. r Opinions of Great Papers on Important Subjects, ft The movement for clean money means an alarming reduction la the per capita of circulation. Let ua aln "The Star-Spangled Banner." To oblige Sir Howard Vin cent please omit the third ttanxa. The people who do not make it clear ly known that they desire a greater degree of liberty, do not get It In Rus sia or In any other country. It It had not been for the appeala of aematvoa D The Dawdler It Bound to Fad. 1 AW l) LING la one of the chief alna of men and women that fall. Tur are only twenty four hours In the day, aud It la possible to dawdle away flvt or six of them while hardly no ticing It The dawdler commences In the morning be fore he gets up. Ilia alanu clock rlnga at 0 If the meddlesome courta continue to Interfere they will utterly ruin white- capping aa a gentlemen's pastime. ml town councils the Caar would not I have been moved to take the measures n l tn nottr ou5 rlat. which he aaya In his ukase are needed Hut Healing catnap, for a quarter of an to strengthen civic and public life. The ten Jurapa out In a hurry and proceeds to dresa. men who made the appeala can bear," 'u1 " n,ru 10 in " quarter rt Dr. Lyman Abbott may be a good nan, and doubtless he la, but he locan't welrh anywhere near SCO pounds. Concerning the "secret of old age." U Isn't a secret any longer. The ico nic have been told "Uow to Live a Hundred Years." Ktng Peter of Scrvia la busy de stroying the freedom of the prvsa In that countrT. It will probably not take him long. with equanimity the Cxar'a condero nation of their activity when they con template the results of their agitation. Although ordered peremptorily to re frain from further agitation, they may not obey. The Cuir promises an ex tension of local aelf government That Is the primary education In government which the Russians greatly need. The men who have learned to manage the local affairs of a municipality or a province are likely to be cotupeteut to take part In legislating for an empire, it la promised that the administrative authorities ahall use their discretion ary powers only "where the actual six as It would have been at six. and the result of tho If the "Star Spangled Banner doesn't ault the British members of parliament maybe they would consent to let Poet Laureate Austin dash off a few lines for Uncle Sam to sing. As it has been decided by a Penn sylvania Judge that the ben Is not an animal, the hour seems to have arriv ed for the organization of a society for the prevention of cruelty to hens. If any of our leaders have lent $3,- 000.000 on notes signed "Andrew Car negie," we advise them to communi cate with the Ironmaster at once, as the signatures may have been forged. President Haipera assertion that not enough young men are entering the ministry will be disputed by many of the older ministers. Their experi ence leads them to think there are not enough congregations. w mm ' Sir Iloward Vincent wants the peo ple of the United States to cut out part of "The Star-Spangled Banner" because it la uncomplimentary to the English. Sir Howard probably forgets that "The Star-Spangled Banner" would never have been written if the English had not gone to the trouble of furnhiblng the inspiration. Tour old friend Agulnaldo. who need to raise something quite differ ent Is now engaged in raising hemp. rice and potatoes on a little planta tion near Manila. Whether Agulnaldo has gone to farming because be needs the money or because he wants to lay a new foundation for a poltlcal career U a question remaining to be answered. Charity la symbolically represented In the figure of a benevolent man giv ing alms to the beggar who clutebe at hla skirts. Scientific charity ap proves the spirit of the picture, but not the scene It presents. Recently the secretary of the London Mendic ity Society. Sir Eric Buchanan, said that be bad never known a deserving case of street-begging. Freshmen, even In their own coun try and State, seldom receive from other members of their college so cor dial a welcome as has been accord ed to the "Rhodes Scholars" by Ox ford upper classmen. The undergrad nate weekly has this to say of the newcomers: "They are likely to prove a most healthful cure for the blase In difference which appears with ever- Increasing frequency in the Oxford college captains. All branches speak of the enthusiasm with which tho Rhodes Scholars are supporting every college Interest They contrast sharply with the apathy of many English freshmen." I loitering hat been the losa of fifteen minutes out of the day. Remembering that he Isolate, the dawdler pulls on his first garments in a great hurry, but his pace soon slack en. He yawna and stretches himself and spends half or 'three-quarter of an hour In his ablution, shaving and attirlug. At breakfast be reads the paper leisurely, and the meal take up another half hour. Then he leavea the house to go to his office, where he arrives thirty tuluutce later than he ought. Although late, he doea not plunge briskly Into bla work. There are several other papers to gUiuce through, and over these he wastes the major portion of an hour. And when, at length, he toy a. a side the paper and turns to his dultea, he does not keep at them assiduously. I Thrift Is not an Egyptian mystery known only to a safety of the State is threatened." Tli , fpw 'ored Initiates, Everybody sees In what thrift con administrative authorities remain the 1t but 001 everybody having the knowledge puta It Into Judges aa to whether the safety ot the , pracace. State U threatened. It will be In their u' aawaung two noun a aay. one wastea a twelfth of power to, arrest men arbitrarily and nl "J11" One month out of the year, one year out hold them in prison indefinitely with- ot twelve, goes for nothing. This waste, remember, la In out trial But the language of the Cxar sedition to all holidays and vacatlona. What man. having Is In the nature of an assurance that , " wtT to U1" ,n ,n world, can afford to drop a month not so many persons wiW be arrested ! out ' nl jrr? What man can afford, at the end of and Imprisoned because they are sua- I every eleven years, to cease all work for a twelve month? pectcd of political offenses. There la ! Dawdling wastes times In small portions, but the total a promise of the removal of "unneces- I enormous and costly. San Francisco Hullctln. ssry" restrictions on tue freedom of the press and of a revision of the laws dealing with the rights of all persona who do not belong to the Orthodox church. The Czar says also that "steps should be taken to assure Independence of the courts." When such steps are taken and the Judges when once ap pointed hold office during life or good behavior and are Independent of the autocracy, Russians will have gained a degree of personal security they do not have now. The conclusion which many j will draw from a perusal of the Czar'a ukase Is that he ia granting little to bis subjects; that some of the conces sions be does make are accompanied by limitations and qualifications which make them of little value, and that the Russian government remains about as autocratic as ever. Nevertheless the reactionaries In Rnssia are displeased because the Czar has done so much, i They would rather that be had uegn-' tived every prayer for reform, and bad proclaimed that Improvement Is Impos sible. On the other band, the liberals, though thankful for what they have been promised and seeing In It a prom ise of brighter days for Russia, are disappointed because some of the re forms they begged for have been ig nored. It may appear to some that tSe policy of the Czar has been a vacil lating one that he has leaned first to thia side and then to that and hence it Is that be has been unable to satisfy either liberals or reactionaries. A more reasonable view of the situation Is that be is feeling bis way and seeking to strike a middle path between those who ask for more than It may be wise to grant at once and those who would concede nothing. Autocratic govern ment in Russia cannot endure forever, but it cannot be suddenly ended with out bloodshed. A gradual peaceful transition to a ment is what is most to be desired, and that may be the end the Czar has in view.- He may be of the opinion that small concessions gradually made will lower tue rising tide of discon tent, while If he were to lower the dam too much by making too many concessions the pent up waters would rush out so madly as to sweep every thing away. Navies of Today and of the Past. HKN one comes to think of It, nothing so elo quently emphasises the moaning of evolution to a greater extent than the marked changes in the complexion of the world to-day with that existent a century ago. Naval warfare and naval construction haa undergone a most com plete change. From sails to steam, from wood en hulls to steel, from two, four and eight pounders,, mere popguns, to the terribly destructive- twelve and thirteen Inch rifles, whose projectiles, weighing nearly 000 pounds, nothing can resist save the great and massive belts of steel, toughened by scientific process, which line the vitals of the big warships of to-day. So destructive. Indeed, have the big rifle guns of to-day been brought that a single cruiser of moderate tonnage and of the latest model could have, under steam, manouvered about the fleet of the great British admiral. Nelson, and destroyed every unit of It without ever coming Into striking distance of Its guns. Thaf tells the whole story of the revolution In constructing, propelling and arming warships. Let us compare the navy of England at the commence ment of the nineteenth century with that of Great Britain to-day. In 1803 England possessed 450 ships, with a ton . . i. sw-u. Aft tiiA. lUi. ftW. - ft . r t m nage or tui.uuu; gnu. i,&., wit, it.wi, m.m com ij.iui,- COO pouuds sterling. In I'.XH Great Britain has 472 ships, of a total tonnage of l,&;7.2oO, armed with 1.8U0 guns, manned by 131,000 men, and the cost of the vessels footed up to the llg total of 3iI,SV),(kX) pounds. The most remark able difference here, It will be noticed. Is In the number of guns, and the cost o the vessels. The average number of guns to each vessel has dropped from fifty-five In fft03 to fifteen In 1003, which goes to prove and accentuate the enormous Increase In the destructive power and range of the modern gun. Comparing Nelson's flagship. Victory, wttli the newest lu,uiHon battleship of the King F.dward VII. via. It will be found that while the Victory's heavlrtt shot was slaty-eight pounds, the twelve liu-h guns of tho Ktng Edward VII. will rlrt a projectile weighing U) pounds. Taking Into consideration another and decidedly Im portant element of comparison, the relative cost of ancient and modern vessel. It w ill found that a lugun warship ot Nelson's time cost (excluding armament), but C7.UU pound, while the King Edward VII., without guns aud ammunition, cost the great sum of l.VS.MS pound (over $rt,0O0,(XO), or twenty times as much as Nelson's Victory. Thus, If we have gained , greater speed, projectile power and resisting strength, we certainly have paid a largely Increased price for It. Brooklyu Time. T Ihe ttfartlctsne as of Big City. 1IKUK recently appeared In a New York news paper the account of a man having committed suicide In that city because he couldn't succeed in getting employment. We do not question the hardship. There can be no more miserable plight that, that of a man, able aud willing to work for his livelihood, friendless, adrift In a great noisy city; knowing not where to turn for shelter, food, or kindness. Indeed, It Is quite possible to under stand the ultimate surrender to despair under circum stances so Intolerable. What we do not and cannot under stand, however, 1 the persistent refusal of these unhappy waifs to leave the overcrowded town and look for oppor tunity In the rural district. No one capable of perform ing useful service, even of the humblest kind, need ever starve lu any agricultural region, it Is safe to ssy, Indeed, that no one willing to work, though temporarily unfit would be left to perish like a dog by the wayside In such a community. There is nothing aa callous and cruel as the multitude of a metropolis. Humanity prevails In wider spaces aud among less concentrated populations. A starv ing wretch would be overlooked on Broadway. Ue would attract Immediate attention In a country road. Men die In cities and their fellow-creatures neither know nor rare. Groaning under a hedgerow twenty miles away they would at once command the sympathy and ministration of every passerby. We have never been able to understand the fascination of the big. careles. thronging city for the neglected castaway. Sometime we are moved to think that such pour creatures must be mad as well a friendless. But suicide Is an tlnuial remedy for these miseries. The conditions geenrally breed thieves and tramps and mur derers. Washington Tost. 'LONDON'S POLICI FORCl. Are lMrir lli, bet Tk Cat . CtcaJld strssli. Consul General Evans prints la the Consular Report, says the New Yoik World, some astonlshlsg facta about the Loudon police force In TAtt. The metropolitan district eitcnda over a radius of fifteen uiIIm froiu Charing Cross (eiclusive or the old rlty of lioudon, wblch la sltout nu mile squsre), and embraces CMH.31 square miles. The. number of pol.ee available waa twenty-five superintend ents, 474 Inspector, 1.HM1 sergeant, and 12--1 constables (paroliuen); total, H.fCO. The pay of the force amount to 7,1 lo.m That la au average of only $ 1ST per year a man on all grades. rr0atlon eri get f.1H4 a week, patrolmen .".4i a week, rising to $7.70. But these 111 paid men "get result." The number of person arrratel In 1003 waa i:4..V4. of whom 3Jt2'i werw convicted by the law courta and UMAVt by magistrates. There were 'M case . of acquittal, bill Ignored by sessions, etc., and 217 were discharged by magistrates Only one arrested pris oner In five escaped unpunished. Moat remarkable of all Is the mur Ir record. In 1003 only seven'eett murders were committed, at compared with twenty In ll Mne persons were arrested In eight of these cases; In the remaining nine the murderers committed suicide. The number of rates of manslaughter waa twenty. two. , Tho way Ionbn policemen hniidl traffic la a wonder. Yet they canimt even arrest a dlotedleut driver. Maya Mr. Evans: "When It Is necesaary t discipline any one of the thousand or licensed omnibus drivers or conduc tors, hansom or hackney drivers, or others, they are null (led to appear at court They apiwnr, otherwise th license may be w Ithdrawn, aud If one wtlhdrawn It Is bard to get another. It la to the Interest of the !ndou o- leeman to do hi duty, bla whole duty. courteously, kindly, but firmly. In this the courta sustain the force. Th result Is a splendid street d srtpl ne. with far-reaching effect In the wsy of respect for the law." c 53i Canadian Immigration. ANAPA has been seeking settlers from this side of the line for a number of years, but has drawn most of these Immigrants from the West Now, a Canadian commissioner has been stationed In Boston, to carry ou an emigration campaign among the farmers of New England. The site Is well chosen, since for many years there haa been a westward movement from New England. The settlers rounded up by this commissioner will do something to offset the movement of French Canadians Into New England. Rut what a testimony to the friendly relations existing between the two countries Is to be found In this open appointment of a lanadlau commissioner of Immigration to serve In Boston! It Is suld that within the last fifteen months, ftO.noo peo ple from this side of the line have moved to the Dominion. Canada Is to be congratulated upon the character of this element of Its Immigrants. It draws from nowhere else a clas so well fitted to develop the Canadian public hrfds. But It would be Interesting to know how many Canadians, In the same time, bave come to this country to live. There Is a continual movement to and fro across the Itorder and there has been a Canadian loss as well as Canadian gain Ruffalo Express. Italians are Industrious and thrifty andvare as a rule excellent farmers, market gardeners and tradesmen. In the parts of the South where the Ital ians have settled they bave achieved a decided success as truck growers and In other employments, and their condition In comparison with many of their compatriots who have remained In the great cities as day laborers un der the guidance of the exacting pa drones 'is striking. If this work can be done on a large scale for all classes and races of Immigrants the gain for the country will be tremendous. The congestion in the cities will be re lieved, the slums curtailed, many bur dens lifted from the charities, the criminal class reduced and the Jail population diminished. Dynamo linn by a Windmill. At Alkoo, In Denmark, a dynamo- has been connected to a wind motor and 450 Incandescent lamps run very effectively. Difficulties as to the stead iness of such power bave been over come by an ingenious American farm er in Kansas, who has Installed a water motor or turbine, run from the tank of hla large windmill and con nected to a dynamo, thus obtaining lights for bis residence and buildings. Wind motors and dynamos were car ried on a recent Folar expedition for the same purpose. The war between Russia and Ja pan has taught many lessons in war fare, both at sea and on land. On the land it is not unlikely that the most important instruction will be In the art of sanitation. On the sea there Las been the most decisive test of n-o :ern naval architecture. -This test Beems to have established the supe riority of the battleship over other classes of war vessels, and of big tuns on such ships over smaller guns. known as the secondary battery. At the first naval battle in the present shy of orbtfaallty. Any one who has seen a thorn on a stalk knows that plants are armed against their enemies, which they have In common with all other living things. constitutional govern-1 Hut plants are not content with de fending themselves wun spines nnu thorns; they have other weapons of defense. Moreover, says John J. Ward In Harper's Magazine, many plants bave weapons of attack. Some plants, like the poison oak or ivy, have poisonous adds, which are a warning to animals to keep their dis tance. Others, like some species of cactus, have disagreeable smells, that punish the intruder for bruising them. Not only do growing things shield their lives with suits of mall, but they form alliances and protect encli other. The gorse, or furze, which Is well armed, selects the most exposed situa tion it can find, open Iientlis and stony wastes, where it fearlessly holds up its yellow blossoms for the bees to fer tllize. Straightway less . protected plants seek its shelter, and so a inutu ally protective plant army arises. Self-defense Is abundantly exhibited In vegetable life. Bometjmes, although less often, plants actually attack anl maU. A very pretty, simple example of attack Is found In the English sun dew. This Insectivorous plant grows lu bogs and on wet ground. The leaves are covered with glandular hairs, which secret a sticky fluid to entrap various small, flying Insects, which, on alighting, get entangled in the gummy slime. The hairs then bend over and pour out still further quantities of this digestive liquid, which dissolves out all the nitrogenous matter from the In sect to serve as food for the plant Nitrogenous matter Is bard to get in boggy places, and so. the plant is equip ped with this mechanical means of obtaining It The pitcher-plant attracts animal life by a sweet liquid. The Insect crawls down the pitcher, but cannot return for the passage Is barred by recurved hooks. At wonderful at any Is the American Venus' fly-trap." The lea vet are hinged at the center and close rap idly enough to entrap an insect They remain closed while the insect ttrug gles, but when It becomes eihausted they open to catch other unwary prey. Occasionally planta make allies of their enemies. A tropical acacia, known as the "buU'a-horn thorn," ac commodates and provides for an army of ants, to check the depredations of ferocious, leaf-cutting ants. The branches bear hollow thorns, where the ant garrison lives and rears Its young. The plant supplies not only lodgings, but board as well, In the form of a special honey, which makes the garrison a good breakfast, and, more wonderful still, solid food In the form of little, yellow, fruitlike 1mm! les, which are developed on the leaflets and do for dinner. When au enemy approaches the hired mercenaries drive It away Thus the plant hires and supports an army. HOD CARRIERS JOIN THE DODO. Could Do Her Part. "Bridget" said the mistress, reprov ingly, "this is absolutely the worst pie I ever tried to eat You told me you could bake as good pies as any cook In the city." The new kitchen girl placed her arms akimbo and faced her mistress defiantly. "So I can, mlm," the said. "Bo I con. But all the leddles I lver wnr ruked fur mixed the pies tblmsllves befure I baked 'em, mlm!" A Bubtltf Disitootlon. "Did the critics Ilka your perform ance of Hamletr "The critict," answered Mr. Storm lngton Barnet, "liked it But a largs number of persont who atiunie to ba critict did not" Washington Star. Phonographs, like some people, are Wheel lirlcks to Klevators Instead of Climbing: Ladder with Load. If the hodcnrrler who remarked that be bad nothing to do but carry bricks up a fourteen-story building and watch a man up there do the work was satis fied with conditions that existed In his line when that Joke was sprung several years ago, the hodcorrler of to day must be convinced that life with him Is one long drawn out dream of uninterrupted bliss. For at the present lime the hodcarrler doesn't even have to carry tip the brick. Ho, In the spirit of the Joker's argument, he has nothing at all to do. There are In Chicago at the present time about 4,000 men who make a busi ness of carrying the hod. That is, they are styled bodcurriers, and In a gen eral way the classification Is correct. but in a great number of Instances the hod is a wheelbnrrow. Modern inven tion has done away to n large extent with the old time, trough-shaped bur den loaded with bricks, which in days gone by, and even now on smaller buildings, was carted np and down lad ders. Instead of this slow process of lifting building material above the street level steam lifters are nsed, These bave been common in work on tall structures for a long time, and are now being used on smaller buildings The contrivance consists of two lifts, operated ou the same principle as an elevator, and this invention performs the heavy work which formerly was Imposed upon the hodcarrler. One man below carts the material to the lift In a wheelbarrow, while another removes It when It has been nixed to the floor on w hich the work Is being done. Ono lift Is going up while the other Is coin- lug down, and the system Is much faster and much lighter on workmen then the old plan of carrying the hod up and down n ladder. Thus It is that the old relic of early building days, with Its long handle and padded shoulder piece,' has become practically extinct around tali struc tures and has been relegated to smaller buildings lu residence districts. The hodcarrler lias lost nothing, however, through this revolution In his line of business. Hundreds of them continue to carry the hod and will as long as contractors build flat buildings and structures of the sort where height docs not require speed and distances do not prevent a laborer from bearing bis burden with satisfactory results. Many laborers who formerly carried the hod now are employed as helpers on big contracts, receiving from 23 to 35 cents an hour. Chicago Tribune. JAPAN S WOMIN IAD0RIRS ON lOKIO'S ILIYAUD RAILWAY. Ikf WOMK1 LADoaciu. The picture represents a scene which Is by no means uncommon In Japanese cities. During the construction of tho elevated railway at Toklo a great num ber of women were employed In carry Ing bricks and mortar to the masons on the, walls. The women themselves did not look upon the service ss either degrading or extra laborious, and there were more applicant for the work than could be taken. It bat probably never occurred to the Japaneae woman of the poorer classes that the' It In uny way lest capable of doing heavy work than la her husband of perform ing the duties of housemaid, which la also the custom in that remarkable) land. There Is no physical Inequality of the sexes in the Island empire. JUDGE DIMES INC LAW. Slim i nun il Prices Killing Firm. Old Joshua Martin was noted for hi ability to make a close bargain, but once in a while ho met hla match. "I say, mister," be began, as ho walked Into a barber shop one market day, while waiting to dispose of his load, "farming's mighty bad nowa days. You ought to lemme have a shave for 5 cents. Why, If I should tell you the price I had to take for my garden sass " "Mebbe," returned the barber, "bnt fact Is, I ought to charge you double price now by rights, for farmert faces are Just about twice at long at they used to be. You ought to be thankful for being let off on one fare!" Wouldn't Be Diverted. Mist Kremey (In bookstore) nave you Moore's poems? Clerk Yes, miss; I'll get 'em for you. By the wax here's a splendid story called "Just One Kiss," Mist Kremey (coldly) I want Moore. Philadelphia Ledger. Uow the world runs oil and leaves a man who does not care for Christ mas! Sir William Granthan, Judge of the KIngi Bench Division In London, is occupying the curiout position of a dis penser of Justice who is defying tha law, Blr William, at the squire of Barcombe, Lewes, wantt to build. tome new cottage of bis own design.. The Clialley rural district council re jected hit plans, so he Introduced to siu uiiAMu-iM. the president or the local government board a deputa tion of about 100 rural landowners to complain of Die 'hardships, difficulties and Impossibilities" of complying with, the rural district laws by which a landowner, whether he possesses ona acre or 1,000, cannot put up a brick on bit estate without the consent of the rural district council. He hold that it waa never intended that the ab solute powers wielded by these coun cils should be exercised by the clas of men (ten fanners, two retired tradesmen, a retired timber merchant and two clergymen)' of which this. council is composed, ' The day after the deputation bad got its answer Blr William's bricklayer and three labor er! started work on the cottages. A Chilly Proposition The man who's wrapped np in himself Whether ht's young or old, Mast find his wraps of little help, Bcause h's alwsys cold. Cincinnati Commercial Tribnne. What a different world this would ba if the rule could be reverted, and rich kin hunt for poor kin in order to help them.