The commonwealth. (Scotland Neck, N.C.) 1896-1929, 1897-08-12
VOL. XIII. New SerieS---Vol. 2
THE EDITORS LEISURE HOURS
Points and Paragraphs Of Things
Present, Past and Future.

The excitement over the gold finds
in Alaska continues to grow. Thous-
ands, perhaps, have recently turned
thltherward or invested there and SO
engrossing is the interest in the dlscov-
cries that some even hope that the
bringing of such large quantities. of
gold from the mines will have much
to do with settling the great gold-and-
silver question that has agitatcd our po-
lltical waters for several years.
During the reign OF Queen Victoria
England has made great progress in
many things, but in nothing more than
hygiene. A contemporary remarks:
"Owing to superior rules and regula-
tions in the housing OF the poor, in the
treatment OF the sick, in the suppress
sion of the spread OF contagious dlseas-
es, in the purlfcation of the drinking
water and in other ways, the death rate
of London is shown officially to have
decreased since 1910 from an average
of 25 per thousand to - per thousand !;
and this means an annual saving of
$4,000 lives in London alone, or a num-
ber sufficient to colonize yearly town
Of quite respectable size."
It is stated that there are over twen-
ty-three million acres of land exposed
to overflow from the mouth of the
Ohio river to the Gull of Mexico. No
lands in the world are more productive
than these. It is also claimed that by
proper cultivation these lands would
yield annually hundreds of millions of
dollars as additional wealth OF the ma
ton, and it would give employment to
hundreds of thousands of people. Some
think that the Government ought to
make sufficient appropriations to build
permanent levees along the Mississippi,
and thus render these valuable lands
available for cultivation without loss of
the. products by the overfows.
One of the important questions now
claiming the attention of city autLori-
ties, is the suppression of unnecessary
and annoying noises. To be sure, the
noises in the'cities must necessarily be
many and varied. This is natural re-
suit of massed population but Of
tentimes the city people are disturbed
and annoyed by noises wholly unnec-
essary and useless. It is to suppress
these that the authorities are now
turning their attention. In New York
there are several restrictions against
useless noises and in some places there
are restrictions against the ringing of
church bells at certain times. All of
which ought to make those who live
In the country or smaller towns feel
glad that they have so many advanta-
ges over their city cousins.
The number of the unemployed in
this country is simply astounding.
The unemployed may be found in ev
cry part OF the country. Some are so
by choice, and some by necessity. In
the cities we find larger number of
the unemployed by necessity than in
the country. The tinsel and glamour
of the city have attractions tor certain
classes of persons who seem unable to
resist them. These remain in the city In
want oftentimes when they might get
some kind OF employment in the rural
districts. But to the man who has
been born and reared in the city it
looks more like an imposslbility to
make bread in the country than 1t
does. to the man in the country to make
bread in the city.
There Is less excuse for idleness In
the country than in the city for in the
country there is always something that
may be done on the farm that will be
good investment for the coming crop.
And then there are not 80 many IN
the country looking for the same Job
as In the city. With ali the idleness
that may be observed, larger part OF
it is inexcusable, while here and there
is case tor which there is some good
excuse. But for the most part the