The herald., 1897-05-16
OFFICE OF THE HERALD.
Los Angeles, Nay Is, 1857.

OFFICE OF THE HERALD.
Los Angeles. Nay Il, 1857
The nrs loss known to have been caused
by electricity. amounted in the United
Staten for the three months ending April
10 to c034.6e1. But a. In large number Of
cases all traces Of the origin Of the fire arc
completely destroyed. and ~ in very many
instances hres Ode TO electric caupeb dre
sxtinguished At the cost Of only trlnfhg
loss. the figures quoted do not convey any.
adequate idea Of the danger OF electricity
- : lire hasard. While It cannot be stated
positively that ina recent Knoxville fire
was due. to defective wires It II very
probable from the observations ana re-
port Of the electrical engineer who has
been investigating the Knoxville electric
installations for the national board. that
such was the case. AZ in many other cities
the wiring Of Knoxville is bad generally.
ara especially 90 where the defects are
rot likely to be seen and consequently
liable to cause more damage. In eastern
cities electric installations generally are
better than in western cities. although at
the present moment in none are installa-
tions made with greater care than in Chi
cago. and even there q great deal Of un-
safe work still remains. according to the
Investigator of that city. Such is also
the case to greater or less extent with
all installations which date few years
back. And although we are improving
every day. yet until overhead wires are
abolished, cut-off switches made COM
puisory in every building where u current
II used, protective devices employed on
telephone and other signal circuits, and q
vigorous inspection made by competent
mon wherever electricity IL employed in
any form, the electric haxard must be con-
sidered dangerous one. Every year the
conditions become more complex and the
hazard more dangerous. 1t II only ques-
tion Of time when there will be an inspector
Of electric Installations in every municipal.
ity, and n these officers do their duty eff
ciently there will be . very considerable
saving to the community both in property
and lives.
The treasury department has received q
great many inquiries regarding the new
law relating to the passing of mutilated
coins. The law is an extension Of the
regulations which have been in force
against counterfeiting. 1t provides that
the passing Of mutilated or defaced coins,
or the mutilation and DETACHMENT Of coins
shall be held to be q criminal offense. pun
ishable by imprisonment Of period from
one to hve years and q fine of from 800
to $1,000. Under the law the practice of
marking coins Of gold or silver with initials
to be used as gifts il a criminal offense.
The law also drives out Of business num-
ber Of people who have been making liv-
ing by purchasing mutilated coins at re-
duction from their foce value, and plugging
up the holes SO skillfully that the original
mutilation could not be discovered.
The private bankers of Iowa have suo-
ceeded In preventing the insertion of n
provision in the state code. requiring them
to submit to examinations and to make
reports the same as state and savings
banks. The vote on the measure was 50
to sc.
The annual report of the New Jersey
state banking department shows that in
the twenty-five savings banks in the state
there are ~, ,556. 900 Of deposits belonging to
161, no depositors. Total resources of these
banks are $s,lsS.ooo.
Kansas. heavily burdened with mortgage
indebtedness, IL yet succeeding in reduce
ing that debt at a rapid rate. An elabor-
ate statement has recently been published.
showing reduction of the mortgage in
debtedness Of Kansas during the last seven
years OF 45 per cent. or over $lO5, ,00O, ,0O0
The comparison IL made between figures
Of the federal census of 1890. and reports
from the registers of deeds In thirty-eight
counties, showing the recorded indebted
ness at the beginning of the year. With
the reduction shown by these thirty-eight
counties az a basis the estimate of a ro.
duction Of $l05, 100000 is figured. 1t IL
claimed that the showing will be even much
better II the settlements by foreclosure
ana deed OF the western third of the state
were considered. According to the same
showing only 100000 900 of the Kansas
mortgage debt was held by persons outside
the state. Insurance companies doing
business in Kansas hold 81. 0.O00. 900 out Of
this $40, 900. and individual foreign cred
itors only hold mortgages amounting to
yz6. .0oo as compared with $S5. .00o. 900 held
in 1880.
The American Manufacturer saws: "oer-
man hardware manufacturers are consid-
erabIy stirred up over the account of an
interview which a representative of the
Ironmonger had recently with Shefiield
manufacturer who had just returned from
busines trip from Brazil and the Areen-
tine Republic. In this interview the shef-
held gentleman stated that the Germs
manufacturers secured most of the Brit
ish trade by fraudulently initiating Eng
lish marks and marking their goods with
English words. He further made the
sweeping assertion that 80 per cent Of the
German export trade is transacted on
false representations. Stahl und Eisen.
the leading German iron trade paper.
wakes wroth at hearing these charges,
and, after branding them as barefaced lies,
quotes the statement Of leading German
hardware manufacturer, who has branch
houses in South America. The latter deals
with tho question Of trademarks at length,
and refutes the charge that the Germans
arc the only traders who use the marks of
other countries. This gentleman declares
that the we'll known firm. Nettlefold of
birmingham, at the head Of which Joseph
Chamberlain stands. marks wood screws
Tor export In French
Real Estate Review
TbA Y.oa Anno1as v~~1x~.