Centre Democrat. [volume] (Bellefonte, Pa.) 1848-1989, 1880-03-11
TIMELY TOPICS.

At Rheims 10 the largest champagne
establ blishment In France. In one vast
sub. cellar are deposited 1000. 900 bottles
of the raw whine, and In another part oil
the town are some 5000, 900 bottles.
~he wine Is treated most delicately, and
thousands of men, women and children,
very carefully trained, are employed in
the process, to complete which requires
three years
A strange disease has appeared in the
cast end of London. 1t is an affection
of the eye, known in the affected district
rs the blight" and not familiar 10 the
native oculist. IL is yirulent and
dangerous, not seldom destroying the
sight If not promptly taken in hand.
Several weeks ago there we've sixty-nine
cases of this disease in Whiteclapel
alone. The epidemic is supposed TO be
foreign importation.
A singular and yet very sensible gift
is that of Lothar Won Faber. the we'll
known German lead-pencil manufac-
turer. lie has just presented the sum
of l25, 600 marks 10 the city Of Nurem-
berg, the interest on which he requires
To be paid annually to some intelligent.
skillful, and lii ali respects worthy me-
chanic, for tie purpose of establishing
him in an independent business. The
recipient must he of respectable family.
Il resident of Nurcm berg or Stein, and
must have attended the schools in one
OF those towns.
An idea of the condition of the United
States navy is given by the report Of the
House naval committee, which says that
of tie I42 vessels Of the navy forty eight
are not capable of firing n gun, eleven
steamships are laid up for repairs and
eight others are out Of service, leaving
only sixty-nine capable of doing naval
duty. The navy is also short in guns,
having only $50 pieces in the whole
navy, of which less than forty are rifles,
all the Others being smooth bores,
which are out of all comparison with the
modern gun for effective service.
A man may be able TO keep poverty
from his Nome if he be president of n
railroad company. ii. j. Jewctt. presi-
dent of the Erie railway. has n salary of
100000 n year: Tom Scott, president OF
seven railroads. draws $lOO, 900 salary,
S24 900 from the Pennsylvania road
lone; j. w. Garrett. president of the
Baltimore and Ohio, has nominal
salary of 81. 900 year. There are to-
day fifteen general managers of railways
in the United States whose salaries run
from $4,000 20 $4,000; nine general
superintendents, with a salary OF - 900
TO $4,000 yearly, and n number OF off
GERS in the same rank who receive over
5000
IL is somewhat hard TO maintain n
free reading-room in New York. The
number Of articles stolen from the
Cooper Union is giving the managers a
great deal of trouble. Not only are the
ordinary books stolen. but il is found
next TO impossible 10 keep up the sup
ply of Bibles on the desks. as they are
stolen as fast as distributed. The brass
rods that keep the papers in place are
constantly stolen for the metal, and even
the worthless rubber checks given at
the door are stolen instead of being
given up as the person passes out. Two
years ago there were z, 1000 checks. now
there are but $50. twenty-five hundred
persons enter the free rcading-room
daily. Hei eater persons desiring TO use
this immense reading-room will be
obliged to make application for admis-
sion to the librarian.
The London Building Ne,Ds says that
the extraordinary den and for Italian
marble has raised question rs TO how
long the quarries are likel V 10 hold out
According to n report of the French
geological commission there yet remains
considerable surface and depth of the
true Pentelican marble untouched. but
no specific statements are given on this
heap. At Carrara n dreadful waste Of
material goes on. A late traveller was
assured on the spot that hundreds oftons
are needlessly thrown away through
sheer carelessness and the elumsiness OF
workmen. Much Of this exquisite ma
terial is removed in enormous masses
for the decoration of commonplace edi-
fees. The Italians are at length becom-
ing alive TO this. The luarries have
been worked almost without intermis-
sion since the days OF the Roman en-
perors. A little community of sculp-
tors is established around the auarrieS,
and the artists chisel il piled almost
side by side with the marble mason's
saw. The marble goes everywhere.
Il is the habit in Scotland as in
America TO sell insurance tickets, with
railroad tickets when the traveller de-
sires them. The cost of these insur-
ance tickets, good for one day, Is
but penny, and the company agrees
to pay certain sum i'm case OF death
within the twenty-four hours, or
certain sum weekly in case of In
Jury. 1t Is rather remarkable that there
should not be single insured person on
that fated Dundee train, but so the in
surance companies assert. This brings
up n suggestion of improvement in the
method of giving tickets for this pur-
pose. There should he some method
by which the friends of the deceased
could find out whether or not he had
been insured. Almost every one on the
train that went into the Tay might have