The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1900-03-25

has fortified 1t and established troops
there without waiting for war. me
presumption is that she VIII take me
same hostile attitude on the PERSIAN
gulf if she secures foothoio mere:
That possibility may well attract the
attention of English statesmen, no"
that the war in South Africa mas
reached, a stage which allows them a
breathing SPELL
How much money has been paid n
pensions to the army and navy since the
close Of the Civil War?
The amount paid out In pensions from
1856 to 1899 inclusive is, sfor the. nrtns,
So 33S $50, S7o5s; for the navy, SOL yol, i9s To-
TIE smallest. amount iii a ny one Sess
was in 1899, and was s153,O45, 1924 for the
army: while in4the navy it was s3,s6l,
1T. The number Of recorded pensioners in
1866 was 126. 722: the highest number roach
ed was in 1898, and was S93.il4: and II
remains at about that figure at present.
Since 1866 the expense Of the pension
bureau efor salaries, maintenances ana
expenses mas been over $40 GOO in ad-.
dition to the above sums.
What is oTI Indian population, and is
It increasing or decreasing
The annual reports of Indian agents
show that the entire Indian population is
297 ,9O5, of which number 95,6l9 wear clti-
zens dress. while 1898 wear a mixture
( of Indian and civilized clothing. those
who car read number 1851 and o3,SA can
carry on an ordinary conversation IN Eng
lish. There are % 236 dwelling-houses built
for Indians, lis; of which were built
within the last year. The number Of
births was 4237 and the deaths o.253.
Twenty-six Indians were killed by whites
and seven whites by Indians. one In
dian was killed by other Indians. The
number of Indian criminals punished was
1859. The number of Indians who are
church cmbers Is nearly g., 600
VIII the Government gain or lose by the
coinage of $780, coo, 900 in silver. authorized
by the currency bill?
When this bullion was originally pur-5
chased the Government issued treasury
silver notes to pay for 1t, and as these
notes are taken UP they Will be replaced
by the silver dollars now to be coined.
The Government bought its present stock
of silver bullion at an average of ninety
cents an ounce. Its price has since drop
ped to sixty cents an ounce, but despite
this depreciation the treasury will not lose
in the coming process. > The coinage value
of an ounce of silver is S1.29. so that, not
4, counting llc CDSl VI GiS wv
eminent realizes a gain of So cents on
each ounce Of silver to be coined.
Whence comes the drftwood that is
found on the west coast of Alaska?
A constant deposit of logs and drift
wood has been going on for hundreds of
wears. and it is due to the phenomena Of
the tides, the Pacific gulf stream. the ocean
currents and the peculiar formations of
the shore-lines at that point. According
to the Chicago Times-Herald, logs and
stimbers are readily identified there as hav-
ing come from Japan, China, India and
other localities of Asia, as well as from
California. Washington and other parts OF
the American continent. There are fine
logs of camphor tree, the mahogany, the
redwood and the pine. Some of these
from the State of Washington bear the
names of the men who felled the trees.
and the saw-muls for which they were
destined.
Is our country to renew the coinage OF
silver bullion?
Our minis will be kept busy for many
months to come now, for upon the passage
Of the currency bill the Government will
begin the coinage of about $50, 0OO.0 o0
worth of silver bullion The currency
measure authorizes the coinage of this
amount of silver bullion, purchased UNI
der the old Sherman act This metal is
now stored in the Philadelphia mint
Subsidiary coin to the value of $40. GOO
will be manufactured, and the balance OF
500 900 900 worth of silver will ba.convert-5
ed into round dollars. Director OF the
Mint Roberts, states that there IS still
a large demand for small coins. and that
he is to take advantage Of this opportunity
to supply all calls for dimes, quarters and
half dollars A big reserve stock Is also
1 - Nc Sd, = ov,oor dc
Please describe Pago-Pago harbor and
tell what the United States is doing there
for the establishent of a coaliag station?
| The harbor of Pago-Pago is an ideal one.
with a narrow and deep entrance about
| one third of e mile in width. Its dlmen-
| siGns are ons by one-fourth miles, ana
throughout its entire extent depth OF
| twenty-fcur fathoms is maintained. 1t IS
surrounded by high hills and the most
i violent storms of that latitude do not at
| feet it.
The United States intrusted to San
i Francisco firm the construction OF wharf
! eco feet in length with a face of 400 feet,
! to be built of steel. which is now under
way and will be completed in September.
/ In addition coal-sheds of corrugated STEEL
| erected and will be completed at the same
| time The work is making rapid pro-
I 49,
!: gress.
Will YOU please explain briefly the
Clark sGlontana) case?
{ Senator Clark. of Montana. is defending
j h:s seat in the United States Senate be-
/ fore a committee of Investigate ton. 1t IS
1 claimed that much money was used TO cor
rlrpt the members of the Legislature mat
elected him. and witnesses of high stand
| ing swear to that effect. Clark and ms ms
/ friends admit that much oney was USED,
i but deny that 1t was used in bribery, OF
t,lepaIlv. Thirty thousand dollars of al
legged bribery money has been turned over
/ to the Montana State Treasury unclaimed.
4 There are many who believe that Clark
! used money illegally and profuselys4to Sc: Sc
I o,ra election: and there are others who be
4 lieve that the whole invest alton was In.
sdeated and kept up by the members OF
! the DAILY faction who are violently
! opposed to Clark Both Day anu Giarh
r. wealthy and both have a large follow
4 5;nrs Clark seems to have been the more