The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1900-01-03
ITEMS OF INTEREST.


at Cape Town, says that johannesburg ard
Bloemfontein are practically deserted
cities Johannesburg, the largest COM
mercial center in South Africa" he adds
has, SO far as trade is concerned, ceased
to exist This once busy, busting city,
producing monthly over fifteen tons OF
gold and yearly s6OOOO,OOO worth, is silent"
Since Great Britain has to all intents ana
purposes blockaded Delagoa bay the two
republics are forced to live on their own
| resources. Their crops" says the con-
sui, ''are ready for the sickle, but cannot
be cut, as the men are off to the war.
Prices are so high that the trade papers
refrain from publishing the usual column
of market prices Large quantities or
gold en- route to seaports in this colony
for shipment to England have been taken
| by the Boers.'
Nearly everybody not engaged in jour-
| nalism believes that he could run a news
paper better than those regularly In the
business, says the Cincinnati Enquirer.
| Gen. Benjamin Harrison is not an excep-
| ton to the rule. To the conductors OF
a new daily paper, he wrote: You will
want to aid in the formation of sound
money sentiment, but will not, I hope,
| attempt to govern. Do not forget that
there are intelligent and well-meanins
people not engaged in newspaper work"
| Great truth. There are also intelligent
| and well-meaning people VINO are not en-
| gagged in the practice of law or the active
| running of politics. OF course great
| deal is to be accomplished in almost any
| sphere of human effort by self-possession
| and modesty: but cases arise in which
| it is necessary for the newspaper to use
club tactics. There are raScals who can
| be reformed only by having the political
| life battered out of them, on the same
principal that the only good Indians are
Ind rrrr{eA = n,,I
peanut politicians will run the news
| papers.
-Brander Matthews gave an interesting
account of the difference between jour
nalist and a man of letters in his adj
dress on Literature as a Profession be-
| fore the Federation of Graduate Clubs to
day, says the New York letter of the Phil
adelphia Ledger. There Is a vast differ
ence, he said between the two, although
it might be difficult at times to distinguish
the difference. 1t was considered journal
ism 10 write for a daily or weekly news
| paper and literature to write for mag
azine, but he admitted some of the poems
and prose gems were written for news
| papers, that journalism often got itself
| bound in books. There was this distinc-
! ton between journalism and literature he
| said: The former is done for the day and
the latter for perpetuity. The journalist
|
ated and reiterated, while the man of let
| tiers expressed himself once. On his main
| topic of literature as a profession Prof.
Matthews said that few men of letters
| followed their profession exclusively for a
| livelihood, for they seldom received enough
at it to live on. Other work gave them
their bread their literary work providing
| the butter" Not two dozen men in this
country followed literature alone. and
hardly score were to be found in Eng
land; yet authors now received far higher
| remuneration than ever before
Wax matches have almost entirely
supplanted the wooden matches formerly
used in Mexico, writes Vice Consul Pages
of Vera Cruz, quoted by Modern Mexico.
| Wooden matches are still made in limited
| quantities and are preferred by some but
| this preference is confined to the hot
| country and may be due, in part to tradi-
tional prejudice. 1t is said that wooden
matches are better for the hot country.
| as the wax Is liable 20 melt and become
sticky. The wax taper is less bulky
| generally has two striking ends, emits no
disagreeabe odor, and is made waterproof.
| 1t Is doubtful if a wooden match could be
made to supplant the wax, unless man.
| ifestly superior article were produced at
| a lower price. There are no matches inn
ported. White pine wood comes from the
United States and paraffin wax is fur
niShed Dy an OIL company. Boxes with
| rubber strings are now imported from
| Italy. The consumption of matches put
| up In this form is limited-about 100 gross
| a year for the Vera Cruz factory The
number of people who purchase matches
| is relatively large. very heavy per-
centage of the men smoke the consump-
| ton of cigarettes being enormous Cost
| of efficient labor in manufactures Is:
Men, 80 cents to 81 a day; women % TO so
cents In match factories. practically all
| the labor is task work. Women are en-
| ployed outside of The factory to give shape
90 the boxes. The usual work day is:
In the higher attitudes, a. m. to noon
and ! to p. M; in the hot districts, from
s TO 10 a. m. and Ii a. m. to $50 p. m.
Wood is the most economical fuel for sta
tonary engines. II is worth about 81
| (Mexican) per cord. Coal is worth IS gold
| per gross ton on board ship at Vera Cruz.
| The principal factory in Mexico-which
has branch factories in other parts of the
republics operated by French machin-
| cry, except the motor, which Is from the
| United States. II employs about eighty
| men and boys The women work a home.
| Most Mexican match factories are oper-
| ated by machinery more or less elaborate.