The intelligencer. [volume] (Lexington, Mo.) 1887-1891, 1888-06-30
WHAT Is ACCOMPLISHED EVERY
MINUTE.
IFrom the Cleveland Press. I

From the Cleveland Pressl
"Well, well, don't fret. III be there
in minute"
Bnt, my friend. q minute means Q
good deal, Notwithstanding you affect
to hold it of no consequence. Did you
ever stop to think what might happen
In minute? No. Well, while you
are numbering q minute tor yourself
and one for me, before you get ready
to sit down to the business we have Ia
hand, will amuse you by telling you
some things that will happen mean
time.
In a minute we shall be whirled
around Ou the outside of the earth by
it's diurnal motion distance OF thirteen
miles At the same time we have gone
alongwith the earth in it's grand journey
around the sun 1000 miles. Pretty
quick travelling, you say. Why that IS
slow work compared with the rate OF
travel of that ray of light which just
now reflected from that mirror and
made you wink. A minute ago that
ray was Ii ,l60, 900 miles away.
In a minute, all over the world,
about 80 newborn infants have raised
a wall of protest al the fates for thrust
ing existence upon them, while rs many
more human beings, weary with the
struggle Of life, have opened their lips
to utter their last sigh.
In minute the lowest sound your
ear can catch has been made by $50
vibrations, while the highest tone
reached you alter making 2,22s 900
vibrations.
In minute an express train goes
mile and Cleveland street car 81 rods;
the fastest trOtting horse l47 9-15 rods
and an average pedestrian Of the genus
homO has got over 10 rods.
In each minute, in the United States,
night and day, all the year round, "a
gallons of beer have gone down 10000
throats and 1880 bushels of grain have
come to bin.
If there were q box kept ut the city
hall in Cleveland into which every
minute a sum sufficient to pay the In
terest on the city debt had to be drop
ped, the sum so dropped each minute
of the whole year would be 81 cents.
How about national finances? we'll,
sir, in the same way, each minute,
night and day, by the official report for
the year 1886. the United States collect
ed $639 and spent 46l, $17s more than
utCcSshtf. mo iutCfOot ou tuO PecNS
debt was $96 minute, or just exactly
equal to the amount of silver minted in
that time.
Now in the resume of figures gave,
you will remember that they represent
so much for every minute in the year.
All the preceding figures should be 80
considered. And remember, also, that
we are talking about facts connected
with the whole United States.
The telephone ia used 595 times and
the telegraph 1856 times. OF tobacco
925 pounds is raised and part of it has
been used in making 6,672 cigars, and
some more of it has gone up in the
smoke of 2, ,292 cigarettes.
But am afraid that yOa will forget
that we are talking about minute,
sixty seconds of time. Nor Well,
then, every minute 600 pounds OF wool
grows iu this country and we have to
dig sixty-one tons of anthracite coal
and 200 tons of bituminous coal, while
of pig iron we turn out II tons and of
steel rails we turn out 8 tons.
In this minute you have kept me
waiting, Is kegs of nails have been
made, IL bales of cotton should have
come from the fields and SO bushels OF
grain gone into l49 gallons of spirits,
while 500 in gold sholild have been dug
out of the earth. In the same time the
United States mint turned out gold and
silver coin to the amount of 1921, ana
AZ acres of public domain have been
sold OF given away.