The morning news., 1898-03-31
ITEMS OF INTEREST.

The little town of Backnang, in Wurt-
emberg, has a grievance against the post
office department. The name of the town
| has an Oriental sound to the officials of
| the department, and for that reason. many
letters addressed to citizens living in it
are started on the way to different coun-
| tries in Africa and Asia. An aggrieved
| burgher recently wrote to suggest that
the name be changed. He says that a
Christmas parcel-a parcel of cake and
| perishable-which should have taken two
| Gays to reach him was travelling for fif-
| teen weeks. 1t started from Cologne on
Dec. l, 1885, and before it reached its des-
| tination in 1897 it bore the postnlark of
Bagnan Palembang and Ketabang. The
| cake was never eaten
AS will have been observed bv the
newspapers of the past week or two, the
philosophers are still making gold as in
dustriously, and apparently as Successful
~ as their ancestors for centuries back
There is hardly any doubt but what the
| process of making the valuable yellow
metal has been discovered at least once
every decade for a thousand years. Yet
curlously enough, the market price of
| gold does not lessen materially The case
OF the ingenious American, who made"
gold in London some years ago, is not
l..
rowed few guineas put them in cruel
| BILE along with some secret ingredients
| ana turned out lump of gold weighing
twice as much as the original metal When
| he tried to raise 10000 to make 100000 CT
gold he was promptly clapped into jail
What Chicago will do with her "philoso-
pher" is a question of some importance.
There are three associations of LACQUER
ware makers in Kioto, Japan. The old
| est of these has 800 members, the second,
| organized in Januray, 1896, now has 12O
| members, while the third is smaller, nav
ing been started in March, 1897 This in
dustry in Kioto shows a decided decline
as compared with conditions prevailing
during the two preceding years, the mar
ket having been in a particularly languish-
ing state since last summer Last wear
the total output was over 250,OO0 yen worth,
of which about 100000 yen worth went
abroad This year, however. the produc-
ton will, it is estima ted, not exceed 100000
yen. This industry is, however, suffering
less than are many Others in Japan. Prep
aration for the domestic lacquerware ex-
hibition to be held in Kioto this spring
and for the Paris Exposition, tend to keep
the business in relatively prosperous
condition.
While all this war talk is going on,
says the Pittsburg Dispatch, it is worth
while to summon up what war has cost
man and then figure out 'if the game is
worth the candle" 1t is estimated that
since history began at least 100000 lives
have been lost through war every 100
years. Allowing thirty centuries to have
passed away since history began to take
definite form in Asia, we have a grand to-
tai of 1,200,0000O0 dead men as the result
of mere difference of opinion. To most
minds the significance of these figures is
not at once apparent. Placing the dead
side by side, and allowing two feet of
space for each, the line would be 454 4541a
miles long. Such line would reach from
the earth to the moon, around 1t and half
way back again. A Pennsylvania Rail
road train, travelling at the rate OF sixty
miles an hour without a stop along this
line would be in sight of it for 3l5 days
1874 hours. ~ Allowing the imagination TO
work freely upon this fact for a brief per-
iod might have some influence upon even
the most belligerently inclined.
The 18th of March is not wholly St.
Patrick's. says the Pittsburg Dispatch
Some celebrity attaches to the day be-
sides that contributed by the patron saint
of Ireland. According to the old Eng
nsh calendars the 18th was the day on
which Noah, his family and mena agerie
entered the ark According to medieval
legend the occasion was not a particularly
happy one for the earliest and most fa-
nous of our navigators. Noahs wife was
something of a shrew and took great de-
light in beating her spouse whenever there
was any excuse for so doing The COM
pletion of the ark Offered such opportu-
nifty She did not like the ark; in fact
was much amused by it. When Noah or
dered her to go on board, she refused,
fight began Immediately which was
stopped by her three sons, who dragged
her on board the ark. Here she fell to
beating her husband again, but by this
time Noah was mad, and he proceeded to
beat his better half black and blue. 1t
may be said in conclusion that there is not
much satisfaction TO be had in seeking
verification for this yarn in any Biblical
record.
Leather is in its ordinary state fibrous,
but these fibres cannot be laid bare either
chemically or mechanically. The fibres of
leather are lost or embedded in its ad-
hesive substance, and it would not be easv
TO separate them from it. A process. has
been patented by a French manufactures
which deals with preparing leather waste
by soaking, washing, stretching. fulling
and converting it into pulp, which Is
termed fiibroleum. L is claimed that the
texture of leather is completely trans
formed; the leather is softened and treated
so that the adhesive substances surround
ing the natural ibres are stretched into
artificial fbres then reduced to a, pulp
this latter being mixed or not with a Ger.
tain quantity of textile fbres without anv
addition of glue In order. however. to
make the pulp waterproof illuminated
colophonium Gesin) may be added to ii.
The observatory on Mount Blanc, built
by Nj. Joseph Wallet, after weatherins
some seven winters in It's present exposed
position, is to be removed piecemeal to A
new site, where it will no longer be sub
ject to certain Inconvenience, such as
being walled up by masses of snow which
threatened to crush the structure, and
occupied the energies of the staff to an
undue extent.
March, first month of spring honored
in the name of the old Roman war god.
Mars, has been unkiud to the great Hard |
ly month of the year shows such a rec
ord of mortality among the chosen of men.
The power of kings availed not against |
the touch of the icy hand, which levaled |
high and low without distinction during |
this most erratic of months. Henry VIII