Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1897-10-14

In Mexico everything and everybody
pays direct tax. from the street por-
ter to the largest mercantile establish
ment, and the stamp-tax for documents
Is equally lucrative. Even placards
and posters must bear the stamp.
To properly comprehend the vast :.
ness and significance of the municipal
election in Greater New York, these
figures are given as authentic: Patron-
age dependent on the election, $751;
10000; jobs to be handed out, 25,O0O;
amount to be expended by new adj.
ministration during its four years in
cumbency. $30O.000.OOO.
John Miller, of Berkeley County, w.
Va, has just sold his apple crop for a
little more than $4,000. This Is the
product of thirty-four acres of noun
tain land, the assessed value of which
Is less than So per acre. AS a side Ia
sue Mr.. Miller realized between $1,000
and "a 900 from his peach crop. His
father, from much smaller apple or
chard, realized between $4,000 and
$4,000.
Women have in different centuries
achieved SO much that none need feel
afraid to attempt great things. Tho
have wisely ruled mighty nations, led
armies to victory, conducted com
merce, written learned books, edited
great newspapers, and-more wonder
full than all these-they have been the
mothers of the worlds great men
Surely this is encouragement enough
for any woman who Is ambitious.
Among the benefits expected to be
derived from the great railroad line
which the Russians are constructing
across Siberia is the opening up of ricn
sources of gold. now practically un-
utilized, in that remote country. Re-
cent surveys of the gold placers of ST.
IBERIA have shown that there is a COOL
supply of the precious metal, but that
partly on account of the severity of the
climate, and partly through lack of the
means of transportation, these stores
have hitherto remained undeveloped.
Unlike those of California, the Siber-
ian placers are found below, instead of
above, the level of the streams in the
gold-bearing valleys.
President Felix Faure is a great adj
vocate of cleanliness. A Paris CORES
pendent says that wherever the Presi-
dent goes for a week or ten days there
must be bathhouse with all modern
improvements. He refuses to stop
even over night in a house or hotel
that has no bathroom. His hobby
causes many people inconvenience, for
the bathroom is not universal ins,i
tuition in France as In this country. In
fact, the provincial French towns are
as barren of private lighthouses as
most prairie villages in this country.
Nevertheless the President holds fast
to the bathtub as a condition prece-
dent to his visit to any town Or castle
And the consequence is that the ne
elected bathtub industry is booming in
the French Republic.
There is growing movement
against the ruthless destruction If
song-birds for millinery purposes; AMI
numerous societies have been formed
to dissuade women from wearing
adornments procured in such ways.
The most noticeable attempt at legisla-
ton upon this matter is a law enacted
by the Massachusetts Legislature at it's
recent session, which makes the mere
possession of the skin or feathers Of
any bird which is now protected by
law, punishable by the same penalty,
as has hitherto been imposed for kill
ing the birds. 1t has been decided,
however, that the law appIes only 20
birds killed in Massachusetts,, and the
difficulty of distinguishing between
such birds and those killed outside the
State is likely to make the law inef-
fective.
According to the latest reports from
the Navy Department this country will
have at it's call and disposal in case
there should be war, thirty-six first
class auxiliary cruisers upon which the
navy could depend to assist in protect
ing the coast line and in preying upon
the commerce of the enemy. Experts
been engaged in drawing plans and
preparing designs whereby all these
vessels could be converted into formid-
able fighting machines upon short
notice. Guns for these vessels are
now being constructed at the Washing
ton Navy Yard under an appropriation
made one year ago. These auxinary
cruisers include many large passenger
ships and merchandise vessels, ships
of the Paris, New York, ST. Louis and
ST. Paul types, which do not at pres
ent belong to the navy.
A question now being discussed
among ethnologists is, To what extent
did the great ocean currents influence
the migration of mankind from coli
tinent to continent in prehistoric
starting near the Malay Peninsula,
and passing the seas of China AMI
Japan, crosses the Pacific to the West
ern coast of the United States, Is re-
garded by some as significant con-
corning the possibility of Asiatics hav-
ing reached America by way of the
Pacific Ocean. Other vast movements
of the waters of the sea, to which at
tention has recently been called in
with this subject, are the |
South Pacific current, which flows |
from South America toward the Poly !
nesian Islands; the Middle Atlantic |
current, which, starting near Spain |