The weekly messenger. [volume] (St. Martinsville [i.e. St. Martinville] La.) 1886-1948, 1890-12-27
NOTES AND COMMENTS.

:. iouhuInS OF the imperial bank and
It's branches has caused q great scarcity
OF bullion all over Persia. No one will
accept the new bank notes, which it was
hoped would be put in circulation in.
stead OF the old silver coin, which has
been sent to India to be converted into
rupees. The Persian population is dis.
contented and commerce paralyzed.
CoNGREssMAN-ELECT HENRY PAGE, of
Somerset County, Nd, has the odd dis.
junction OF bearing a different surname
from his father. He is the son of John
w. Crisfield, a venerable lawyer, for
whom the amphibious village of Girls
held, an oyster-packing town, was named.
The son early took the name of Page to
please relative, and has always borne
1t, somewhat to the confusion of those
unacqualnted with the facts in the case.
THE project of providing a place for
accommodating 100, 900 people, is being
considered in London, England. A pro
posal is on foot to build a peoples
Temple" by covering a space wherein
at least 100, 600 could assemble for the
discussion of topics of public interest.
The building is to be made INTELLECTUALLY
beautiful, with such arrangements that
it can be subdivided when required, so
that discussion on many subjects could
be going on at the same time.
THE discovery of Professor Koch,
whatever its value may be IN cases of
consumption, is not to remain a secret.
Physicians are almost the only members
of the community who do not make
money out of their important discov.
cries. 1t is a point of honor among
them to allow the whole world to profit
by their researches when they find new
remedy for wide disease. Their reward
is in the benefit which the sick and help
less receive, and in the gratitude, which
should not be stinted, of the community
at large.
EVENTS point to the early occupation
of Turkish Armenia by Russia. The
Armenian plateau is one of the most i'm.
portant military positions in the worl
and the shortest and easiest route by
which Russia could reach India Eng.
land secured for the Armenian provinces
at the Berlin Congress local and ad.
ministrative autonomy. But England
has done nothing for the district since
then, in spite of her promises. Now
Russia threatens to take advantage of
this remissness, and the war cry ''Ar-
menia for the Armenians" may soon dis
turb the peace of Europe.
A GREEK colony of one thousand
members has lately settled itself on Canal
street in New York. The men are gene.
rally young, strong and healthy, as dark
as many Italians, but more intelligent
and ambitious. They are not, however,
from the ranks of the Greeks that we
read about in history. No incipicnt
Homer, Achilles or Phidias has yet APP
peared among them; and they contnu-
ally earn their living as peddlers of small
wares, bootbacks or BARRIERS. A large
influx from Grccian cities is predicted by
the Turkish and Greek consIls, during
the next five years.
THE fact has Just come to light in
BROOKLYN that a man who wanted to be
a policeman and was found to be under
the required height secured second OK
animation. whereupon he proved to he
tall enough to be passed. The mystery
was explained when it was ascertained
that he had half an inch of cork sewed
into the heels of his stockings. 1t is a
weakness in the Civil Service law, says
the New York Tribune, that it provides
no punishment for the fraudulent prac-
tees of which this is sample. Some
time ago in the same city one man was
found to have personated another in q
physical examination.
THE perils of the sea had another illus
tration few days ago, and not very far
from the Atlantic coast, when the steamer
Alps sighted q bark with $50 starving
whalers on board. These men were in
transit from the Azores to New Bedford,
and probably the danger of dying from
hunger and thirst when they started on
this brief voyage seemed more improb-
able to them than danger from thunder
colts. Yet q two weeks hurricane de.
aged them until their slender provisions
bad given out, and unless the fates had
sent them across the track of a friendly
steamer, another tragedy of the sea would
soon have been registered.
THE year 1892 will probably be signal
,zed in South America by most inter
.sting event in civil engineering and in
International overland commerce. This
will be the completion and opening Of
The Trans-Andine railroad, the first
across the continent of South America.
1t is 10 years since this work was begun,
and it is now confidently expected that it
will be finished by the beginning OF
1892. The road is to run from Buenos
Ayres to Valparaiso, distance of 81
niles. There are now $40 miles of it fin
shed at the Buenos Ayres end, and
.ighty-two at the Valparaiso end. OF
The remaining 149 miles about one-third
practically complete and the rails laid: