The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-11-15
ITEMS OF INTEREST.

Switzerland is, one would think. the
last nation in the world TO be exposed
10 any danger OF a naval attack or to
stand n need Of feet, and indeed, the
-AmiraI Suisse" Swiss admiraD OF
myth IN real life as the Anglo-SaXon
horse marines. Yet the Swiss government
mas JGst addressed a strongly WOrded
protest to Prime Minister Crispi com
planning that the neutrality of the small
Helvetlan republic is violated by the pres
ence on the Alpine lakes MaggiOre and
Lugano OF several Italian torpedo boats
which have been placed there for the pur-
pose Of keeping a watch on the snug
glers who infest these inland seas.
One hundred and twenty years ago, in
40. the faris Academy of Sciences with
crew lts standing reward of 100000 francs
winch had been offered for a perpetual
Hlotion machine. II was plainly stipu-
rated IN the offer that the machine should
ne seii-active; so much So at least. that
Wnen once set in motion il shall continue
70 move without the aid of external
IofceS,- AID without the loss of momen-
tum, until its parts are worn out" Dur
ing the years that the above reward was
the standing offer, thousands of men be-
came insane over the problem At last
at the time Of the date given in the OPEN
ing, the imDossibility of constructing
such q machine having been demonstra-
ted, tne offer was formally withdrawn.
NO government or society of standing
now offers a reward for such a machine
The Philadelphia Record says that an
item IN the salaries of Pennsylvania rail-
generally known to the public is a So
called premium on coal. On all the runs a
generous allowance for coal per mile is
mdQe by the cOfnDa nV.sanfl -Wfgat ever the
nremen and engineers save on this al
lOWance results in a premium for them.
portion of the saving goes to the com
pany and the remainder is divided be-
tween the employees on the engine. one
material drawback to this system is that
engineers frequently run slowly on up
grades and in going down hill they shut
md or na in
90 FOR all il is worth by its own inertia
ms severely racks the engine but the
company keeps strict tab by watching
the time between stations. and a perfect
knowledge of the grades on the road shows
pretty clearly when the engineer is abus-
ing his engine.
AT the 225th anniversary of the Green
wien Comm CONGREGATIONAL church the
other day says the New York Tribune,
some interesting facts relating to the early
history OF the society and town were
brought out. In 1850 there were twenty
male inhabitants who were taxed for
preaching and had to go to meeting or
pay ilVe shillings fine. In the old-time
services began al q. m. and lasted all
day. Worshippers brought their luncheon
with them and hot bricks. In 1891 ,ot-
terry was held for the society's benefit
mere We're leo tickets, and they were
SOFA Dy the managers and at the Dan
bury printing office. The society at the
annual meeting voted to spend 81 > on
liquor to quench the members thirst
Committeeman received an annual salary
Of from 90 cents to $3.50: the treasurer got
81 ana the man who swept out the church
received y cents. The salary of the first
settled pastor Q67S-89, was $50 with fire.
wood, or $50 without.
The growth Of the Lutheran church in
TINS country during the last few years has
been phenomenal, especially in the states
OF Wisconsin, Minnesota, North and South
Dakota, Washington. Oregon Idaho and
Montana. IL has been said, indeed. that
every fourth person one meets between
Chicago and Seattle is by birth or bap-
tism a Lutheran" Recent statistics show
that in the eight states named out of a
total commitment membership which in
cludeS all denominations, Protestant and
roman Catholic, numbering, 1,419.S95, the
Protestant bodies have a total of 766, 2l9 and
OF this number 352, 1856 are claimed by the
LuLherans. The census Of 1880 proved that
more than one-haif of the Lutheran
strength in ministers and members lies
west or Chicago. According to that census
the aggregates for the entire country were
as follows, but of course the figures are
now much larger: Ministers, 1881; organi-
cations, S,J95; church editices, 6,701; seating
capacity, 22O9,635; value of church prop
erty, S35,05D,35i communicates, 1,231,072.
The creates natural wonder in Java,
II not in the entire world is the Justly
celebrated "Gheko Kandka Gumko," or
Home of the Hot Devils known to the
world as THE Island of Fire" This geo
logical singularity is really a lake of
boiling mud, situated at about the cen
ter of the plains of Grobogana, and is
NdllttA an iSldHQ because the great en-
erald sea of vegetation which surrounds
il gives it that appearance. The 'island"
Is about two miles I'm circumference. and
is situated at a distance of almost ey-
actly fifty miles from Solo Near the
center of this geological freak immense
columns of soft hot mud may be seen
contihually rising ana falling like great
timbers thrust through the boiling sub
stratum by giant hands and then again
quickly withdrawn. Besides the phenome-
non of the boiling mud columns, there are
scores hrqhhfgg Of hot elf
that fill up like huge balloons and keep
up series OF constant explosions, the in
tensity of the decorations varying with
the size Of the bubbles In times past, so
the JaVanese authorities say, there was
tall, Spire-lke column of baked mud
on the west edge of the lake, which con-
stantiy belched pure stream of cold
water, but this has long been obliterated
and everything is now a seething mass of
bubbling mud and slime.
The California condor-a bird with a
sweep of wing 10 feet from tip to tip, and
the largest bird of flight in the world not
excepting the great Andes condor-is a
species of much interest to BIOLOGISTS from
the extreme rarity. and value of its eggs
says the San Francisco Examiner. This
condor is becoming extinct, like the great
aux; and, as if 1t had a forecast of its i'm
pending doom, 1t resorts TO the most pre-
clpltous mountain, where on some craggy
and inaccessible steep, it deposits its sin
gle egg, pale, greeniSh blue, in cave
But seven eggs are known in collections
liability of the great birds early extinc-
tom IS very great. More than 81 500 has
been paid for single eSss of the great aux
of which there are IS eggs in existence.
America can claim twO-one at Vassar
college and one al the academy of natural
sciences in Philadelphia. The latter col
lection held for many years among the
raritles an egg of the California condor
but it mysteriously disappeared a few
years ago, and it is supposed some scien-
tihc kleptomaniac thought it no sin to
transfer the treasure 10 his own collection
where he is holding it for rise in price
Information as to the nesting habits Of the
California condor has been exceedingly
limited, and until 1889, when an egg was
taken for H. r. Taylor editor of the Nj
biologist, no eggs had been taken since fine
80 s. The taking of this egg showed the
nesting time to be early in May, and that
but one egg is laid. The collector secured
the great egg after a hazardous climb
down rope, which he had fastened to a
bush on the bluff above The condOr's ego
was found lying in a hollow in a cave
with few feathers for nest The com
doris had been frightened off by the dis
charge of the collectors gun. and FORUM
ately did not return while he was in fbe
cave. He did not come prepared to % -
III