The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-01-31
ITEMS OF INTEREST.

ITEMS OF INTEREST.
A man in Bremen has Invented a kind
OF 'Oi bomb" for calming the waves.
which can be fred a shOEt distance.
There are small holes in them, allowing
the oil TO run out in about an hour
DR.. o S. Marsden. whose initial literary
effort. Pushing to the 'front.' published
q short time agO, has net the praise and
commentator OF reviewers Is prOprie-
tor OF a summer hotel on Rock Island
For many years in the ffties. Junius
brutuS Booth, the younger, hEed m 2
little house in san Francisco Here his
father, the elder Booth. and his brother,
Edwin. dwelt for some time Edwin Booth
IS remembered as d remarkably handsome
boy.
The earth's attraction-of gravity-is
stronger in oceanic lands than IN the
interior Of continents. a result. it Is sup
posed, Of the greater cooling Of the crust
under the seas, the average density beng
thus made greater than on land not
withstandiug the lightness OF the water
Coffee has been found by a German
investigator to possess marked germi-
Cid2l properties. Pure coffee OF the ordl-
nary strength in which IL is utilized as
hours and typhus bacilh in twenty-four
hours The anti-bacterial substances
seem TO be developed in the eoffee bean
by the roasting process
The Atlantic steamers which must
make the voyage now in seven DAYS or
under. burn from 200 to 800 tons OF coal
daily, making this item of expense over
$500 every twenty-four hours, The I'm
bria burns twelve tons Of coal per hour,
and on every vessel of her size the jour
mails and bearings of the machinery re-
day
Deposits of saltpeter that promise TO
be the most valuable in existence have
been discovered in Cape Colony. They
are claimed to be true potassium Of nj
trate. which is one of the chief ingredi-
ents of gunpowder, and is worth about $50
~, 4 - r.raa-
climate is supposed to account for. the
richness of the latest find, which. 1t is
stated. viii reduce the price of the mineral
one-half.
Mrs. Kate Chase Sprague destitute il is
said, says the New Yrk World She has
nothing but her wardrobe that she can
call her own, and that has not been re-
plenished for two years, while she is in
debt to friends for small sums of money
advanced to her. Her decline within thir-
ty years from affiuence and the highest
social position almost to actual want is
the direst of misfortunes.
The latest hygienic craze in Paris Is
the use Of porous glass for windows.
This is declared to possess all the advan-
tages of the ordinary window framing,
and. while light is as freely admitted
as through the medium of common glass,
the porous" further admits air, too. the
minute holes with which this Is inter-
sected being to fine to permit of any
draught. while they provide a healthy,
ment.
The Siberian railway has now been
| opened to Omsk, 300 miles from St. Pet
ersburg, and it is possible TO go from one
place to the other in four and a half
days. In building part of the line the
men had often to carry their food with
them, and sometimes had to be lowered
in baskets In order to prepare the track
| In draining a bog sixty miles wide both
engineers and men had 10 live in huts
built on piles, which could be approached
only in boats. Mosquitoes were so plenti-
full that the workmen had to wear masks.
of which 1000 were bought for the pur-
pose.
An ambitious plan for utilizing the
water of the SusqUehanna river as a
means Of generating electric power is
about to be carried out A certificate Of
Incorporation has recently been granted
! to the SusQuehanna River Electric Com
pany, and work is TO be commenced as
soon as the spring freshets are over. The
surveys nave already heen completed.
| IT Is proposed to dam the Susquehanna
river near COnOwingo, Md. and erect a
large electric power house similar to the
one now in operation at Niagara Falls.
/ The power obtained in this way viii be
supplied to Philadelphia, Wilmington and
Baltimore and other intermediate points.
There seems to BIZ an anti-step crusade
sweeping over the country in the matter
/ of car steps, but ii is doubtful if there
/ is more in 1t than in mere discussion,
/ says the Philadelphia Record. In cases
like the elevated railroads, where rapid
| loading and unloading is an Indispensable
condition, and where no track work or
| inspection is ever done while the train is
at the station, high platforms and no steps
make the best arrangement; but where
trains must be broken up air and steam
hose coupled, wheels inspected, and an
occasional brake shoe put on. the high
platform seems impossible. 1t was given
a long trial on what IS now the United
railroads of the New Jersey division of
the Pennsylvania railroad away back in
the sixties, and was abandoned as trou-
blesome and impraticable.
The case of Capt. Alfred Dreyfuss has
recalled the fact that Hebrews have for
years had more opportunity to serve and
advance in the French army than in any
other on the continent, save, perhaps, that
In the latter country, which is one of the
most liberal in the world, there is no
such thing as race prejudice, and He
brews have married into some of the
highest noble families. Germany and Aus
tria have not opened up the army-un-
fortunately to both-to the Hebrews, and
they are to be found almost only on the
reserve lists But in France it is differ
emit In the army at the present time there
are ten men bearing the name Bloch. five
that of Cahen or Cohen, two that of
Strauss, and four that of Lippmann. In
the general staff there is a large number
of Hebrews in places of Importance and in
fiuence. Gambetta, who was himself of
Hebrew origin, was always partial to men
of that race. The generals Cerffers de
Wedelsheim, See, and Lambert were of
his creation. In the ministry of war the
colonies Samuel and Aacharach and Cen.
Levy We're men of the greatest influence.
Some of the best officers of the foreign
Office are also Hebrews.
There can be little question, says Cas-
sier's Magazine that an electric portable
fire engine would be efficient and thor
oughly practical were the question: of
current supply settled. and were it not
that this part of the outfit, if properly
installed and used for its special ,pur-
pose only, would necessitate so great an
outlay of money. But it is not absolutely
necessary that separate plant should be
installed for the electric engine system.
Where a city or district is well supplied
with electric lighting, railway or power
mains, distributed fairly well, and all of
the same nature and voltage, these could
be used for current supply by connecting
them at intervals with suitable tap or
switch boxes which would be easily ac-
cessible. and to which the engine motor
could be connected. It would not be neces-
sary &c have these switch boxes very
close to the water plugs they could be
some distance away and the cable car
ried by the engine, would be attached to
the nearest one. The electric supply mains
and switch plugs or boxes would thus
have to be only in the principal streets