The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-10-13
ITEMS OF INTEREST.

The largest scheme OF co operation ever
| proposed is probably that which is now being
! considered in England and which looks to the
union OF all the coal interests in the United
! Kingdom. The plan. which has just been
| formulated after year consideration, pro-
vldes that the lessees Of all the British coal
! deposits shall combine in single union and
| divide up the profits of the operations be-
| tween the shareholders and the workmen.
| The output, it is thought will be about 49,
900 900 tons and the capitalization $500 100000.
| One OF the most unique features OF the enter
! prise Is that which provides that the price OF
| coal shall be fixed by the lord chief justice,
The cause Of death by lightning is the sud
| den absorption OF the electric current. When
| thunder cloud which is highly charged with
| positive electricity hangs over any certain
! place, the earth beneath IL becomes abnor-
mally charged with the negative electric cur
/ rent, and a man, animal or other object
! standing or lying directly beneath also par
! takes OF the last mentioned influence. II,
while the man animal or other OBJECT is In
! this condition, discharge takes place from
| the cloud above, the restoration OF the equi-
| liorium will be sudden and violent; or, in
! language that we can all understand, the
negative current from the earth will rush up
| to join the positive cloud current and In
! passing through the object which separates
| the two currents If II be an animate being,
will do so with such force as to almost invari-
! ably produce instant death
The most honorable Office in the Roman re-
public was that of consul. There were always
| two elected every year one each from the
/ patricians and plebeians. The consul must
be at least 43 years old and must have held the
| ONCE Of quaestor, aedile and praetor The
| ConSuls were the heads of the republic, dis
charging all public functions, such as receiv-
! ing ambassadors or assembling the Senate.
| Their insignia we're those of king except
| crown They were always attended each by
twelve lictors or servants, bearing the boxes
| or bundles of rods with an AK in the center.
The lictors, however, preceded only one at
time, the lictors OF the other following him.
| The year was named after them, and any
| laws passed at their recommendation also
went by their names They commanded the
armies of the republic, and when both were
| with the same army they commanded on al
| ternate days. Under the emperors the oh1ce
| became an empty honor, though surrounded
with much greater state.
Man lived on this continent earlier than or
at least as early as he lived on the European
continent. but 1t is not believed that the In
dams are descended from such early people.
The latest theory seems to be that the So
called American Indians are descended from
Chinese who in some way reached the ives
tern coast thousands Of years ago. The par
| allelisms between the customs of the Chinese
| and the ancient Peruvians are often very
| striking; the systems of government of the
| two peoples were similar; the emperor and
| the inca both claimed descent from heaven;
both countries had irrigatng canals, and In
! both countries taxes were paid in kind and
stored in public warehouses; both countries
! maintained public roads, disposed Of their
| dead with the same ceremonies and built
houses in much the same style. Humboldt
found in the Mexican calendar strong resem-
| blances to the ancient calendar used in Tar
tary India and Thibet. The skull of the
| American, except in It's greater length, great
! ly resembles that OF the Chinese.
| A successful system Of producing artificial
! ice surfaces has been inaugurated in Paris,
and available in large areas at all seasons Of
the year, says the New York Sun. AS
| explained, the machinery consists Of two am
| monia ice machines driven by Two fftyhorse
power steam engines; this Ice apparatus has
| pumps which force ammOniacal gas into
! water-cooled condensers, HQuefying the gas,
which then passes into large reservoirs,
| where II expands with the production Of cold,
| the same gas being pumped back and used
continuously. In the application of this sys-
tenn for the formation Of a skating surface, a
| rink has been constructed 6OXl30 feet, having
a floor Of cork and cement, upon this being
laid three miles OF connected iron pipe;
through this pipe eirculates solution Of
| chloride OF calcium an uncOngealable liquid,
which, by passage through spirals in the
refrigerating reservoirs, is cooled to some 5
to 20 degrees below zero. The water over the
| pipe is thus kept frozen, and daily sweeping
and flooding insure smoothness.
| Sir Henry Bessemer, the well-known In
A., ventor Of the steel process which bears his
| name, tells how he tried to construct sun
| furnace" and failed. His invention was in
| tended to revolutiontze not only the science Of
| metallurgy, but the whole world. 1t was to
| attain temperature of nearly 60 900 degrees,
and therefore fuse anything and everything,
and Sir Henry puts the blame OF its failure to
| rulnll these expectations on the stupidity of
| country lensmaker. The sun furnace" con
| sisted Of wooden building IS feet high and
| about IL feet square. A few feet from the
| ground was fixed large inclinable mirror for
| catching the rays of the sun; from this mir
rOr the rays were to be reflected onto num-
| Der OF powerful super imposed lenses above,
| which, by simple arrangement, were to
| throw the enormously concentrated rays upon
| whatever object might be In the crucble be-
| low. Such was the mighty plan but the
| manufacturer Of the upper glasses brought it
| m1serably to naught, for instead Of turning
| them out uniform he made them all different
and thus spoiled the focus. Sir henry was so
disguised and disheartened that he refused to
go over the ground again and so the pre-
tentious scheme lapsed, but the peculiar fur
mace remains to this day remarkable monu-
ment Of what might have been.
Francis Cation has collected some interest
ing facts in regard to the effect of athletics
and improved physical conditions during the
last 40 years on the physique of the middle
classes. that great and important part of the
English population which in the arbitrary
social scale of the country lies between the
artisan class on one side, and the upper ten
thousand on the other. Mr.. Gallon gives in
structive evidence of the amelioration of the
upper middle class. When he was an under
graduate at Cambridge from 1910 to 1874 saws
the Pittsburg Dispatch, although but feet
ga inches IN height, he was taller than the
majority of his fellows. In addressing them
he habitually lowered his eyes and If in a
crowd he would really see over the heads of
the people. Writing in 1898, he states that he
no longer possesses these advantages Altered
social conditions, in his opinion, have helped
to improve the bodily power and address of
this class; such conditions, for instance. as
more wholesome and abundant food better
cooking, warmer clothing, moderation in the |
use Of alcohol, better ventilated sleepinp
rooms, more change through vacations and
lastly, the healthy lives led by women in their
girlhoOd. One of the a ost striking sights In the
city of London is the nun er OF tall women that
are to be found in the fashionable parks dur
ing the season 1t is more particularly among
the women of the upper classes that the i'm.
proved conditions Of the last two generations
have left their mark. Women of feet
inches and feet inches are common, and IL |
is not very unusual occurrence to meet n !
woman Of feet 10 inches, and even !
feet A gentleman well known in London So |
ciety states that when he become of age |
twenty years ago, his sister a tall and hand
some girl, was the tallest girl among the Wis |
ting acquaintance of the family and now |
she is overtopped by nearly everyone of her !
younger lady acquRtntances. With this phys- |
ical progress there has been corresponding
moral one The youth of what is called in |
England the leisure class" is not now SO ad-
dicted to the idle habits the bad language |
I