f
BEAUTIFYING CITIE^
Advice to American Municipalities\ from
a French Architect.
We shall cite three well-known ex
amples showing how certain cities
' tve neglected the natural beauties
//the place and how others have
^Aurned those beauties to account,says
the Architectural Record. Let us
tike three cities which are either
traversed or bordered by rivers, New
York, London and Paris.
At New York the Hudson, an ad
mirable stream, does not contribute
in any way to the city beauty, from
the Battery to Seventy-second street.
4 Throughout this length it is without
quays or promenades; one does not
percfjye it; it is merely an instru
ment of commerce, invaded by docks,
£ges, warehouses and depots.
£ Seventy-second street, how
& banks have been adorned
jperb promenade—River
,y«h brings into relief its in
yfible beauty. The campaign
j, Lne preservation of the Palisades
. yiftokens a determination, tardily
V aroused, to preserve the natural beau
ties of suburban New Y"ork.
As for London, in the East End
the Thames is a trading center, but
higher up it would have lent itself to
and promenades. Very little, how
ever, has been done in this direction.
Some embankments have been con
structed in recent years, but through
out the greater part of the river’s
course it is disfigured by villainous
buildings, the walls of which come
down to t he very edge of the water.
Besides, the authorities have permit
ted the railroad companies to build
their sidings over the Thames itself,
and hundreds of freight wagons and
passenger cars are always to be seen
overhanging the river. Certainly
London has not known how to utilize
the natural beauties of the spot.
In Paris, on the contrary, the ut
most has been made of the river
Seine. The river traffic is consider
able, yet the construction of docks
and warehouses alongside the water
has not been allowed. Throughout
the length of the Seine within the city
limits there is a broad quay on either
bank. In many parts there is a double
quay, the lower one serving for load
ing and unloading of merchandise,
and the upper one for street traffic.
AToflg the bank of the Seine run
two rows of trees. What the munici
pal authorities wanted was a tree
lined river from one end of the cap
ital to the other. The designs for all
the bridges have also been decided
upon by them, and the railroad com
panies, before carrying their lines
across the river, have had to submit
their plans to the city engineers.
This is why the Auteuil viaduct,
viewed from a distance, recalls to
x mind the aqueducts of the Homan
Campagna. In the same manner the
city authorities have the last word in
regard to the bridges which the Met
ropolitan Railroad company is going
to throw across the Seine. In Paris
no influences in favor of private in
terests can intervene to mar what be
longs to everybody—the beauty of
the city.
ANIMALS' LONG HUNGER.
• _
Have Been Known to Survive Some
Surprisingly Extended Fasts.
How long non-hibernating mam
mals can live without food is, writes
“G. W. M.,” in the Liverpool Post,
a natural history puzzle, and an addi
tional fact to my records of such
phenomena rather tends to aggravate
the solution of the problem. 1 learn
from one of my correspondents that
a fox terrier dog, belonging to one
of the keepers of Dover Park,
chased a rabbit into a hole, and got
jammed in such a way that it could
neither advance nor retreat. Its
master, who thought it had been
stolen, passing the burrow one day,
heard a faint whine of a dog, and
found bis terrier, emaciated and
nearly dead, not having tasted food
or water for 28 days! 1 have a record
of a cat having been accidentally con
fined to a bouse cupboard press for
18 days without food or water, and it
lived for many years afterward, but
never again hunted for mice in that
particular cupboard. 1 have many
records of sheep being buried in
snow drifts for two or three weeks,
and in one ease (a Cumberland
“llerdyiek" winter of 1894-95) 27
days, and yet not killed. It must be
borne in mind, however, that under
such conditions a sheep obtains a lit
tle food and moisture, and it breathes
well enough under a heavy fall ol
snow if not frozen on the surface.
A Great Pity.
It is a great pity that some gooel
talkers have- not more to say.—Wash
ington (la.) Democrat.
. 1 W ..
IDYLLIC ISLAND LIFE.
No Drunkenness, Crime, Police or Jails
in Cocos-Keeling.
Away from the ordinary track of
ships, and blessed with a splendid
climate, are the Cocos-Keeling isl
ands, in the Straits Archipelago.
Their history is as strange and ro
mantic as their present life is curious
and unique.
In 1825, says the Pall Mall Ga
zette, a Scotch sailor named Boss
landed, and, seeing that the isles
were very good, he took possession
and settled there with his family.
The natives were gentle and teach
able, so that Boss had no difficulty
in making himself their ruler. In
1851 he hoisted the union jack as a
precaution against the visit of a wan
dering French man of war, and six
years later the isles were formally
annexed by the British government.
With rare tact and wisdom Boss de
voted himself to governing the peo
ple over whom he had so quaintly
established himself as king, and on
his decease he bequeathed his mis
sion of government and proprietor
ship of the Cocos-Keeling to his son.
The present owner and ruler of the
islands, J. G. Clunies Boss, is the
third in succession. He was studying
engineering at Glasgow when his
father’s death called him to the fore
15 years ago. Abandoning his Eu
ropean ambitions, he settled in his
kingdom, married a Cocos wile and
devoted his life to the welfare of the
natives, who arc his children rather
than subjects. The work of the
Rosses in thus ordering these East
Indian islands forms a fascinating
story, and the Cocos-Iveeling group,
though generally unknown, is per
haps the most picturesque in the
British empire. The little horse
shoe-shaped cluster of islands, three
days’ steaming south of Java, are
blessed with a perfect climate, luxur
iant soil, and man here is seen at his
very best.
The inhabitants number about GOO,
of whom 400 are Cocos born and the
remainder coolie laborers from Java.
Under the rule of the Rosses, the
only white residents, schools have
been established and all the islanders
are well educated, the schoolmaster
in-chief being A. Ross, a master of
arts of Glasgow university. Every
male is also trained to work in brass,
iron and wood, and is a skilled arti
san. Every Cocos girl similarly serves
a term of apprenticeship in Clunies
Rosvs’ house, learning sewing, cook
ing and the whole round of domestic
art under the tuition of his wife.
Formerly the Cocos' parents used to
arrange their children’s marriages,
but under the new order each man
and woman is a free agent, and
chooses a partner according to Eu
ropean usage. Marriages are cele
brated according to the Mohamme
dan law, but polygamy is prohibited,
and there have been only two di
vorces in the last 50 years. There is
neither jail nor policeman, for crime
does not exist in these islands.
Opium and alcohol are forbidden,
and the wily Chinese is also excluded.
Vaccination is compulsory, and all
sales arc made by barter, for Mr. Ross
will not allow money, holding it to
be the root of all evil.
The industries of the island con
sist in gathering cocoanuts and pre
paring their oil and copra. Beche
de mer and a bark for dying are also
exported by a chartered vessel, which
calls annually for the purpose. Pro
visions are fetched once a month
from Batavia, but rice is the only
food largely imported, for fruit
abounds in the islands, poultry is
plentiful and the sea teems with fish.
The gentle and handsome native
leads a life idyllic in graceful con
tent and happiness under the parent
al eye of Euler Boss 111. lie care
fully guards his little Utopia against
the introduction of European cus
toms with their attendant ills.
Christmas island, close by, is similarly
ruled by his brother, Andrew Boss.
Coffee flourishes there, and so do
rats and cats, almost to the extent of
a plague. Hitherto these atoms of
Britain have enjoyed serene isola
tion, but the new electric cable from
Durban to Adelaide touches at the
Cocos-Keeling and Christmas isl
ands. so that they are now linked with
the greater world, not, it is to be
hoped, to the spoiling of their arcad
ian character.
Explosives.
Thirty years ago there were only
two dozen explosive compounds
known to chemists; now there are
over 1,000.
A Mistaken Notion.
Everybody thinks he could spend
rich folks’ money to better advan
tage than they can.—Washington
Oa.l Democrat
I
GEN. BRADDOCK'S DEFEAT AT FORT DC QCKSYE.
Find Ucnt. Col. 1'ltos. Gage.
One of the darkest of the many dark pages of England's military his
tory in America was the disastrous defeat suffered by Gen. Braddoek in
his campaign against the French and Indians of the Ohio valley in 1755.
With an army of 2,000 men he reached the vicinity of Fort Du Quesne on
the Ohio on July 8. Defusing to take the advice of Col. George Washing
ton, who accompanied the expedition as a volunteer, he advanced in solid
columns with Col. Thomas Gage in command of an advance guard of 500
men. The French and Indians had prepared an ambuscade, and into this
Col. Gage marched his men. They were routed at the first volley, and
as they fell back to the main army they carried consternation to its
ranks.' Braddoek was mortally wounded, and died on July 13. Had it
not been for the ability and courage of Washington, the whole array would
have in all probability been killed or captured.
BREVITIES OF FUN.
Hicks—“I understand that Willis
has resigned his position.” W icks—
“Yes, his employer thoughtfully gave
him the opportunity.”—Somerville
Journal.
“Have you read my pathetic po
ems?” asked the melancholy bard.
“I have,” said the friend; “but where
does the pathetic part come in?’
“When 1 try to sell them. —Phila
delphia Record.
Assurance.—“Some actors are very
egotistical.” “They are,” answered
Mr. Stormington Barnes, sadly. “I
know a number of them who under
take to play ‘Hamlet' without having
seen me in the part."—Washington
Star.
“Of course,” said Xuritch, self
complacentlv, “it’s something to be
a self-made man, but then it's got its
drawbacks.” “That's so,” replied
Peppery. “You can't blame it on
anybody-else, for instance.”—Phila
delphia Press.
Bateman—“I hear that you have
been maligning me; that you have
said I was not to he believed on oath.'
Wormser—“I didn’t put it in that
bald way, but I think I did say that
you were a member of an Anglers’
association.”—Boston Transcript.
“1 don't see,” said the sensible girl,
“how you could bring yourself to
run around after that actor; such a
conceited stick as ne is. xou ro
mistaken,” replied the matinee girl.
“He’s just as modest as he can be.
Why. when 1 asked him whom he con
sidered the greatest actor in the
world, he actually blushed and re
plied that it wasn’t for him to say."
—Philadelphia Press.
A TOWN NOfODY OWNS.
The Freest Port in the World Belongs
to No Nation.
Dalny, on Talien Wan bay, North
China, is a city without a country, if
such a thing is possible. No particular
flag has more right to float above it
than another. It is the freest port in
the world. They have not even built
a custom house, and no import or ex
port duties will be collected on any
sort of goods whatever.
There is a population of 50,000
persons, mostly Chinese, but with
nearly every other nationality repre
sented.
The harbor is of >uch depth that
steamers drawing 50 feet can steam
up alongside the immense docks and
piers, which are well protected by
the breakwater. Their cargoes can
be unloaded directly into cars, which
run for 0,000 miles or more to St.
Petersburg. Five large piers are be
ing constructed of blocks of stone
and cement, each weighing from 20
to 50 tons. These piers are from GO
to 200 feet wide, and vary in length
from a quarter to a half mile. Docks
for foreign vessels will extend be
tween the piers and along the shore
for two miles. The piers and anchor
age for Chinese vessels will be in an
other portion of the bay, opposite
the Chinese city. Two enormous
dredges, brought out from Glasgow,
are pushing the work on this im
provement .—London Answers.
(
» v,t- i
THE SOCIETY COLUMN.
A Newspaper Man Complains That It Is
Too Inclusive.
“Probably the most thoroughly
abused department of any newspaper
i' that which is devoted exclusively
to happenings of a soeial nature,”
said a newspaper man. “Broader lat
itude for some reason, by a sort of
common consent among newspaper
men, is given to this department,
and almost anything, from a finished
essay to a plain old unfrilled personal,
is supposed to be allowable in col
umns devoted to social happenings.
What is a social event? Can the
definition be confined to balls, recep
tions, parties, marriages, meetings,
arrivals, departures and things of
that sort ? If it ca'n be thus confined
it isn’t. The fact is that almost any
sort of happening is now supposed to
be properly placed when it is put into
the society columns of a newspaper.
This is particularly true of the little
news batches which come in from out
of-town places. There arc a few
questions I would like to ask while
on the subject, and they seem to me
to be pertinent at this time. Is a
death a society event? Is it proper to
record the details of a funeral in the
society columns of a newspaper? Is
a birth a social event? 1 would an
swer these things negatively. Dirges
should be kept away from the giddy
whirl of things in the social world.
The sad faces ot the tunerai cortege
do not set well with the lighter gay
ety of the ballroom, the banquet and
the reception hall. All matters of
this sort should he kept separate and
distinct from society events. They
have to do with human society. They
may bo fundamentals. There are
births and deaths every day. Deaths,
of course, have a news value. News
papers should take notice of these
happenings. But why should they
be crowded into the society columns?
Newspapers might as well put indus
trial and commercial stories in the so
ciety departments as events of this
sort—and, by the way, it is no uncom
mon thing for out-of-town corre
spondents to do this very thing. 1
should like to see some definite line
drawn between the strictly social
event, in its lighter society meaning,
and those deeper fundamental so
cial happenings which are the basis
of the fabric and have nothing of that
‘airy fairy Lilian' sort of tinge which
we lind in the gayer circles.”
World’s Largest Reservoir.
One of the largest works of man’s
hands is the artificial lake or reser
voir, in India, at Iiajputana. This
reservoir, said to be the largest in the
world, known as the great tank of
Dhebar, and used for irrigating pur
poses, covers an area of vl square
miles._
History of a Life.
Some men spend half their lives in
making a reputation and the other
half in trying to live it down.—Chi
cago Daily News._
A Test.
If you think you have a will of
your own, try to stop smoking.—
Atchison Globe.
BATTLESHIPS IN WAX.
SsCrets of the Testing Tank of British
Admiralty Constructors.
One of the most important and
certainly the least known of our naval
establishments is the testing house at
Haslai, says the London Pall Mall Ga
zette. So jealously are the secrets of
the place guarded that naval officers
even arc not allowed to enter it unless
they first obtain an official permit.
These permits are but sparingly
granted, for the Britsh admiralty has
a penchant for not letting its right
hand, as represented by one branch
of the service, know what its left
hand, represented by other branches,
is doing. In this case secrecy is not
maintained without good reason, for
the testing tank, to give the place its
“veryday name, is a sort of incubator
where the ideas of naval architects
are hatched out. When the chief
constructor designs a new ship his
proposals are laid before the admiral
ty, and, if approved, a rough draft is
sent to the officials in charge of the
testing tank. Those make acomplete
new model of the proposed new man
of-war, and carry out experiments
which demonstrate to a nicety
whether a. ship of the submitted de
sign will achieve what is expected of
it.
The model is made to scale and of
para din wax, the only substance suit
able for the purpose. It is then placed
in a long tank filled with water. To
the bow of the model is affixed a
length of string having a weight hung
at the other end of it. This weight
gradually draws the model along the
tank. As it moves calculations are
made which give the speed of the ves
sel under various conditions and with
different engine powers. Stability is
also ascertained, for two guides run
on either side of the model the full
length of the tank. Careful watch is
kept to see whether the model heels
to one side or the other, and not until
it has floated the full length without
touching the guides is the stability
correct. Should the model lean to
one side or the other, the top heavy
parts are carefully shaved off until
perfect equilibruim is obtained. The
shavings are then weighed in delicate
balances and calculations made which
give to a pound the reductions in
weight which have to be made in vari
ous parts of the ship to insure herthe
right degree of mctacentric height.
When this ha6 been done the infor
mation obtained is sent up to the ad
miralty. The necessary modifica
tions are made, and the complete
plans of the ship got out. Oncr-jvga
the testing tank is called intoopera;
tion. More wax models are made and
tried, and not until the officials at
Ilaslar report that all is as desired is
the order to build the ship given.
The tauks were established as the
outcome of a series of important ex
periments in the effect of wave mo
tion upon ships. These experiments
were begun by the late Mr. Froude, a
brother of James Anthony Froude,
who made discoveries of such im
portance that the admiralty adopted
his methods of research, and set up
the establishment at Ilaslar, placing
Mr. Froude in charge of it.
A HINDOO DEITY.
General Nicholson, Hero of the Indian
Mutiny, Deified by Natives.
Though only now stops are being
tardily taken by his countrymen to
erect amonnmoi ofb Nicholson,
that hero of d. u r is as
sured of r. ii. irar itlasting
that which any broil/. marble can
give, for he has been enshrined in the
folklore or mythology of India,
None ever attained a higher ideal of
an Englishman than Brig. Gen. John
Nicholson, and to the people of In
dia he was the model of a man and a
soldier. Their devotion to him in his
life passed into adoration on his
death. At Nikal Seyn he is actually
worshiped in some villages of the
Punjab, and both there and over the
northwest border his heroic deeds
and noble life are sung to this day.
“Ahi Nikal Seyn is dead—he died be
fore Delhi! Lances of north take
vengeance for Nikal Seyn,” is thebe
ginning of the wailing recitation
which will carry his name to poster
ity.—N. Y. Commercial Advertiser.
Useless.
When a man starts in to mate a
fool of himself, do not argue with
him. It is useless.—Washington
(la.) Democrat._
Too Much Advice.
If the average man could only sell
the advice he gives away it would
keep him busy looking after his in
come.—Chicago Daily News.
No Rest for the Tramp.
'A tramp can’t understand why the
Sabbath is called a day of rest; lu
can’t rest any more on Sunday thar
on weekdays.—Chicago Daily News
r'
THE OIL OF SENTIMENT.
Keeps Machinery of Business Running
Smoothly and Prevents Hot Boxes.
“Oh, you can’t exj^ct sentiment
from a cold-blooded^fcsiness man!
It is a matter of business, not of feel
ing, with him. He hires and pays his
help. If they get their money, and
he their labor, both should be satis
fied.”
This is the way a certain person re
cently answered an indignant protest
of mine against the overbearing and
contemptuous manner employed to
ward his help by a business man of my
acquaintance.
No sentiment in business! Why,
says Everett McNeil, in the Ledger
Monthly, sentiment is the oil that
keeps the machinery of business run
ning smoothly, and prevents friction,
and hot boxes. It does more than
this: it dignifies all honest labor, and
gives joy to all worthy workers.
Without sentiment business would
be robbed of all its helpful courtesies
and amenities, and become a disa
greeable task to be got through with
as soon as possible. Even the cold
blooded business man, wrho in his
brutal selfishness treats his help as
if they w'ere machines, as if they had
no feelings to hurt nor sensibilities
to touch, expects to profit by their
sensibilities, expects courteous and
onn cirl nra tn frouImPTlf from tllOTTI.
pects to get what he refuses to give;
and is a contemptible fraud. He has
no more right to courtesy and con
sideration than have his employes;
and if he gets what he gives he has
no one to blame but himself.
The average man is^a firm believer
in reciprocity. He considers the
golden rule too good for every-day
usage, and is content to do unto oth
ers as they do unto him. He gives
his employer what his employer gives
him; machine work, if he is treated
like a machine: the helpful labor of a
human being if he is treated as a
human being should be.
“I would not take a penny from
him. He trusts me.”
“The old skinflint! If I can get
the best of him I always do.”
“Oh, I don’t mind working over
time now and then for Mr. A. He
is always so kind.”
“I am fined if I am a minute late;
but I more than make up for the Iom
during the day.”
“Old B. is like an iceberg in the
office. One can feel the chilBinthe
air the moment he opemsMthc^oon^^^
a fellow. L^can’t do my best work
for himjfw
“It is ^pleasure to work for Mr. C.
He appreciates one’s efforts, and that
makes a fellow feel like always doing
his best.”
“The old bear! Nothing evei
pleases him, so what is the use of try
ing? He is always growling.”
“Mr. D makes me feel as if his in
terests were my own; and I can’t do
too much for him, because I know he
will always treat me right.”
“Why should I take any interest
in making his life easier, or his busi
ness more successful? He doesn’t
care liow I live, so long as he gets the
work that he pays for out of me.”
The wise business man recognizes
the truth of these sentiments, and
the power of help or hurt hack of
them, lie knows that his own busi
ness success depends largi
willing helpfulness of hi,y
and understands the value of I senti
ment in securing this help. If he
makes his workmeifteel that he takes
an interest in their welfare, he knows
that he will be more than repaid by
their increased interest in the work
they are doing for him, that the way
to get the/best there is in a man out
of him is/to treat him like a brother *
man. Ol course this is sentiment;
but it is\ sentiment that pays the
business man in dollars and cents,
and ease t»f (ionscienee.
No business can be a lasting suc
cess without (he use of this oil of
sentiment; foK business without
sentiment is likc\naehinery without
oil; it will go to pieces through the
friction of its own efforts.
“Oh, you cannot expect ■
from a cold-blooded business man!”'
Yes. we can; and we do; and when
we find a business man without senti
ment, we know that he is as unwise
as he is brutal and contemptible.
A Strange Calculation.
Taking the length of the
nent railways on the surfaci
globe at nearly 60,000 geogi
miles, with a daily average
trains, it is estimated that t
loss suffered by wrear and tc
day by the metallic rails of ti
is about 300 tons. The 600
lost in the form of a fine pow
are carried back to the cart!
shape of soluble iron salts.