The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-03-01
ITEMS OF INTEREST.


literally tree fifty sixty years ago in the east
ern part Of Ohio to such persons as chose to
dig it where it cropped out and it was not I'M
common TO see the industr GUS citizen returning
from some hillside, his wheelbarrow laden with
enough free coal to warm him the better part Of
a week. This was in the days when eggs were
and 20 cents q dozen in Ohio and sQGirrels SO
plentiful that farmers lads killed them with
sticks as the nimble creatures Scampered along
the fences.
NEWARK. DEL. has postmaster and deputy
postmaster, and these two have administered
the Office through the political changes Of the
past eight years. When the administration is
democratic SO is the postmaster and the dep
uty Is republican When the administration is
republican the democratic postmaster and his
deputy simply change places. AS the change
cannot be made Immediately upon tue inRugll-
ration OF new President, there is a period of
some months when the citizens are In doubt as
to which officer is postmater and which is dep
uty.
THERE are some ideas in the new education"
that are Of sort to make old-timers open
their eyes in wonder, says the New York
Tribune. How many adults of the present day
know that arithmetic is no longer taught in
schools where the most advanced notions pre-
vail? The advanced educator does not believe
i1 wise to appal the youthful miad with such
word as Arithmetic" although even in the
kindergarten the teachers do not revolt from
teaching the youngsters about vertical and
horizontal lines. No arithmetic The word is
eACIuQ6d, out IL Is now lnStilled into the IN
susDectng mind of youth as humber work. ~
| Whether there is anything in a name, or rather
in change OF name, remains TO be seen. It
cannot be denied, however, that it is good
thlng to teach child learning to read, when he
comes upon q letter repeated-as, for Instance,
IN ''see"-to say, not double e." but zee"
This is both logical and rational. aud of course
II Is simpler md easier The child sees only
one letter at time, naturally, and as q matter
OF fact. there is no such thing as double o" or
any other double letter in the alphabet, except
w, which is really double " or "doubls v"
YEARS AGO, when James Monroe was Presi-
dent and John Quincy Adams Secretary of State,
an ingenious English engraver obtained permis-
sion of the two dignitares mentioned to take
the declaration of independence and eng avs it
FAC simile on copper. He carried the precious
document to the printing Office of one Peter
Force. When everything was in readiness he
placed it upon the imposing stone and laid a
sheet or India paper of the same size upon it.
This India paper was next moistened with water
in which gum arabic had been dissolved. A
heavy proof roller with weight hanging from
each end was then rolled several times over the
historic document When the India paper was
removed from the face of the instrument it took
with it at least one half of the ink used iu writ
ing and signing the document TIE document
is less than a century and a quarter years old,
and, according to the ST. Louis ReDubLic with
proper care should be almost as legibe as it was
on July 5, ;776. AS it is only eleven signatures
out OF the fifty-three can be read without a
glass, and some OF them have disappeared be-
yond recall, all on account OF the thieving trick
of a government which, when they found that
they could not keep the colonies dependent
stole the very ink from the document which de-
clares our independence.
THE highest point attained by q railroad in
the United States is in the Rocky mountains,
9,0l7 feet above tho sea- says the New York
San. Trains on the Callao- Oroya line In Peru
are now ascending to a hight as far above this
great elevation as the total hight OF Mount
Washington. In other words, when train on
the Oroya line enters the Gslera tunnel to cross
from the western to the eastern slops of the
, Cordllleras It Is more than a mile higher above
the sea than the Hottest bit of railroad track
in this country. Some stretches of track in
Mexico are also higher than any railroad in the
United States. AT present the Galera tunnel is
the highest elevation attained by any railroad
in the world. Some months ago the Sun rs-
ported that this wonderful Oroya rairoa had
at last crossed the Andes. 1t was on Sept 70
last that the first train from Calao passed
through the tunnel to the eastern side Of
the mountains. Twenty years elapsed after the
line WAS started at the sea before the CordiI,eras
were conquered; and trains have scarcely a
foot OF level grade for i06 miles until they pull
into the Galera tunnel, 1888 feet above the
sea. and emerge upon the eastern face of the
Andes. II this were not the Hottest tunnel in
the world it would still be conspicuous as a
specimen of railroad construction 1t was
driven through the rock a distance of 8, e55 feet
II train happens to stop in the tunnel, passen-
gers can hear water from the vauted roof pat.
terlng on the car tops. The melting snow that
crowns the mountain summit above it filters
through to the excavation. Two channels are
cut in the rock to carry the water out of the
tunnel. One Of them leads to the head stream
Of an Amazon tributary and the Atlantic; the
other to the Rimac river and the Pacific It is
doubtful if any other railroad for general traffic
will ever be carried 60 so great an eleva
ton. The surveys for the Pan-Ameri-
can railroad do not thus far in
dictate elevations at all approaching that
of the Oroya line. 1t will be necessary here
ana there to pass from one valley to another
separated by mountain ranges, but the highest
points along the line will not be over Z 600 feet
above the sea if the results of the preliminary
surveys hold good. South America will always
beat the rest of the world in elevated railroads.
| The South Peruvian line from Molendo to lake
Titicaca attaius hight of ID, 64l feet only q97
feet lower than the Gaera tunnel. The re-
mRrkable Chilean railroad, now nearing COM
pletion which, starting at Autofagasta runs
hundreds Of miles northeast into Bolivia has
its highest point at CaTcoto, IL 0O5 feet above
the sea; and it is a noteworthy coincidence that
the trans-South American line from Buepos
Ayras TO Valparaiso is also said to be Just II COS
feet above the sea at its highest point. These
results have been obtained by trianEulatlon.
but for ordinary purposes it may be as well 10
lop off the extra feet above II O O. Just as some
geugraphers do in the case of Mount Everest
They say that the figure 30 04 feet given as the
hight OF this Hottest of mountains implies a
refinement OF accuracy in measurement to