Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1896-05-14
NOTES AND COMMENTS.

Massey, or Virginia, decides tnat Wo'
men cannot, In that State, hold even
such an Office as school trustee. The
constitution provides that only voters
shall be eligible to Office.
The inventors Of Remington. Ind,
have invented glass coffin. They ex.
pect to make fortune out Of the idea,
AZ they ny there Ii yearning desire
for glass collins all over the country,
which thus far has had to go unsatis-
| fed.
The Chicago Times Herald finds that
of forty-four Governors twenty-nine
are processing Christians. OF these
ten are Presbyterians, five Congrega-
tionalists, five Episcopalians, four
Methodists, three Unitarlans, one Bap-
tist, and one Christian.
A German arithmetician has calcu-
lated that If the / ,4SO,0O0, 900 inhabit-
ants Of this globe were all enclosed In
one space just large enough to hold
them, a good bicyclist could make the
circuit of them in less than four hours.
The Isle of Man would be large enough
to hold them all.
A writer in the Popular Science
Monthly finds in teaching deaf pupils
to understand by watching the lips OF
a speaker that the forty-odd sounds In
the English language are comprehend
ed in only sixteen visible facial forms.
Profcients feel that they hear instead
Of see the words spoken.
Two children were found drifting
about alone on the schooner Robin
Hood in mid-Atlantic. Their father
had started out with them from New
foundland for Lisbon, but had died
eight days before another vessel fell in
with the Robin Hood. A sailor was
put on board, who brought schooner
and children into Cadiz.
The International Statistical Insti-
tute held at Berne, Switzerland, last
summer took steps to investigate the
desirability of all the civilized coun.
tries of the world taking "synchron-
GUS" census in 1900, that is, on the same
date. A census Of this kind, carried on
according to consistent system, would
bring more accurate results than have
ever before been attained.
The number of applications for pat
ents In England has decreased within
the past three years. In 1893 there
were 25,3S6 applications, in 1894 there
were 20, ZIG, and last year there We're
25,O67. When the present Patent Act
came into force, with its reduction Of
fees, there was sudden leap from
1893 applications in 1883 to 17,110 in
1884. Then, in 1885, there was slight
reduction of 100 but after that there
was steady increase up to 1894.
Farmers in the region about Fresno,
Cal, are almost in despair because Of
the plague of rabbits. Although many
thousands of the animals have been
killed lately in one way or another, by
poison, by shooting, and in rabbit
drives, they do not appear to decrease
in numbers. Thousands have been shot
in a day, but they come in from the
surrounding uncultivated regions to
feast on the grain fields in increasing
numbers. 1t is estimated that three
jack rabbits will eat as much grain as
one sheep. A big drive was held in
February and many thousands Of rab-
bits were killed, but month later 1t
was estimated there were 100000 on
the same ground. Another drive was
held the last of March, but already the
rabbits are swarming in again.
1t is not generally known that each
year the United States contributes
$1,000 to the support and maintenance
of an international bureau Of weights
and measures which is located near
Paris. France. Seventeen nations are
contributors to this bureau which
keeps the world supplied with accurate
metrical standards. The metric sys-
TEN is obligatory in France, Germany.
Italy, Belgium. Spain, Switzerland
Austria, Hungary, Portugal, Norway,
Peru, Servia, Venezuela and Sweden
1t is permissive in the United States,
Great Britain and Turkey. The fact
that the majority Of the nations use the
metric system is hardship on Ameri-
can and British producers, for some of
the metric countries are not willing to
enter into contracts with them because
of the inaccuracies which come by the
transference of figures from one system
to the other.
Official figures given out from Span
ish sources show the direct cost to
Spain of the military operations in
Cuba during the first year Of the insur-
rection to have been about fifty million
dollars. There are now one hundred
and thirty thousand Spanish troops
on the island, and the maintenance Of
tbs increased force will entail an ex-
penditure Of from seventy-five to one
hundred million dollars for the current
year To this direct cost must be added
the loss of revenue. Last year, the re-
ceipts from customs were about eight
million dollars below the average.
Forty towns have been wholly de-
stroyed and as many more partially so;
and the loss to individuals from the
burning of sugar plantations and to the
government in the revenue ordinarily
derived from sugar is very heavy. The
Spanish lost about four thousand men
in the first years operations. but more
than three-fourths Of this mortality
was caused by yellow fever.
As has been announced, the EXPOSE
ton of Nashville to commemorate the
centennial anniversary Of the admis-
SIGN of Tennessee as n State will not be
opened until May 1, 1897. But suitable
ceremonlals will be observed on the an
niversary. which is June 1 next. Ten