The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-12-02
ITEMS OF INTEREST.

Gladstone is editing. 2OO.OoO letters
which he has received during his long
career, and putting them in shape for
/ publications, says the Springfield Repub-
llcan- II they are all printed they VIII
make library in themselves With an
average length of 100 words to the letter,
luy0 letters would make a good sized vol
ume and it would take 200 volumes to
contain them At the present postal rates
the postage on the letters would cost
5000 but as they run back TO times
Wnen postal rates were much higher, they
must have cost several times that.
The French mode of conducting auc-
tons is rather curious, says the New York
World. In sales of Importance the affair
IS placed in the hands of notary, who,
for the time being, becomes an auctioneer.
The auctiOneer is provided with a small
number of wax tapers each capable of
burning about five minutes. As soon as a
bid is made one of these tapers is placed
in full view of the interested parties. and
lighted. If. before il expires. another bid
is offered. it is Immediately extinguished
and fresh taper placed in its stead, and
self, when the last bid becomes irrevoca-
bic. This simple plan prevents all conten-
ton among rival bidders and affords a
reasonable time for reflection before max
ing a higher offer than the one preceding.
By this means, too, the auctioneer is pre-
vented from exercising undue influence
upon the bidders, or hastily accepting the
bid of favorite.
The population of Japan in 1894 was
1900, 600, and, including Formosa. it is now
estimated at 45,OO0,C00. The area of Japan
proper is about one-fourth larger than that
of the British islands. In poulatiou, if
China be excepted as a negligible quanti-
ty, the Japanese empire ranks as fourth
power of the world or the fifth if the colo
mics chiefly inhabited by men of Euro
pean race be included with the poulaton
of the British empire. European Russia
including Poland and Finland, has about
SO. 10000 inhabitants; the United States.
with its 70,000 600 people, comes next; then
Germany, with 1850 900. The population of
the British empire, excluding India and its
Asian. African and other possessions in
habited by alien races, is about 4S.00O,OOO.
homogeneous nation nearly as numer-
GUS as the inhabitants of the German en-
pre-, qulck-witted and of strong physique,
and moved by a common patriotic I'M
pulse, the Japanese constitute a power
that must be taken into account in the ad-
justment of the affairs of the far east.
A Chicago newspaper. the Chronicle
says that the clay tablets unearthed re-
Gently from the mines of Babylon furnish
answer TO the question, who were the first
bankers of whom we have any record?
The first name was Egibi e Sons. That
was about six hundred years before the
Christian era. and when Babylon was the
London of the world. 1t is not to be sup
posed that the Bgibs were pioneers. in
the sense that the Bank of Venice was in
medieval times. 1t is hardly conceivable
that any considerable civilization should
exist, especially of commercial charac-
ter without some sort of banking facili-
ties. In this particular case, we are told,
bills of credit, drafts, etc. in the form OF
small burnt clay tablets, each bearing the
characteristic signature of Egibi & Son,
have been found in many other parts of
Asia Minor, and it is believed that close
study will prove that some of the clay
tablets found in tombs and pyramids IN
Egypt will finally prove to be Egibi nego-
table notes. 1t would be very interesting
to know how the business was done TWEEN
ty-fve centuries ago. A bank ledger, OF
better still, day book would be especially
interesting A faithful and complete &C
count of the business of one day, If it
were a fair sample of ordinary days,
would throw flood of light upon the civil
ization of the times, near and far. A lit
erary photograph of one banking day
would be worth more than all the dreary
literature of intellectual speculation.
Much use is made in the post Office
of directory containing the names OF all
the streets in every city of the country
says the New York Tribune. This is pub
lished by the postoffice department at
Washington, and is valuable in supplying
addresses that are deficient or incorrect
From this volume it is learned that New
York has greater total of numbered
streets than any other CITY. Its highest
is 222d street. Chicagos highest is 13Sth
street, in spite of the big areas which
have been annexed to the western me-
tropolis. Brooklyn has a Tooth street.
Curiously enough, Keene, N. H., with a
population of less than ten thousand, has
a 93d street. Philadelphia does not 20
above I'D street in numbered streets.
Main is the most popular street name in
the United States; $50 cities have Main
streets. 1t is a remarkable fact that this
city. the biggest of all, has no Main
street. 1t used to have, but has no lon
en- to 375 streets. There are some 275
High streets, of which New York has
one, a short thoroughfare on the north
side. Cities to the number of 175 each
have Broadway Forty-fve cities and
towns have a street named Blaine. Gal
weston, Tex, perhaps because there are
has adorned certain of its avenues with
these names: Avenue MY. NJ, OF, and
so on TO the end of the list. Kearney.
Neb., alone has streets called X and Y
Columbia Pa. has alleys bearing each
letter of the alphabet. and Wheeling.
w. Va. numbers its alleys from First to
Thirty-third. Both Lexington. KY, ana
Washington have Tin Cup alley.
Secretary Olney has directed that the
copper plate made early in the century
of the original Declaration of Indepen-
safe in the department of state, says
Washington dispatch. The process to
which this valuable document was sub
jected in order that a fac smile might
be secured for copper plate caused tho
ink on the Declaration to fade and the
parchment to dete1orate. The public
exhibition of the DeclaratiQn of Indepen-
dence in a brilliant light for a number
of years has caused further dimness and
decay. The Declaration has been kept out
of the light and air since February 1895
and the rule that it shall not be disturbed
for exhibition purposes has been observed
impartially. In lieu of the original docls-
ment fac smile is placed on exhibi-
ton in the library of the department OF
state. The copper plate has been usec
in the office of the coast and geodetic
survey in making eectrotype copies of
the Declaration, and now that this work
has been completed the copper plate has
been returned to the department of state.
While the text of the original document
is legible, the signatures have with =
few exceptions, vanished, so the value of
the copper plate is enhanced inestimablv
All the documents on file in the state de-
partment relating to the constitution are
being printed carefully in a documentary
history. The work so far completed car
ries the narrative through the ratification
by the. several states The documents
are printed literally. All the proof is
read twice closely and thoroughly. and is
revised with scrupulous care to insure acs
curacy. Secretary Olney is determined
that everything possible shall be done 70
preserve these valuable relics
1t was my privilege, says a writer
IN the Springfield Republican, to
ten of the pathadra1s of