Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-09-15
South African War is Costly Risk to
Insurance Companies.
AMERICANS BUSY SIGHTSEEING
Coal Will Be Dear and Currants
Scarce This Winter.
TIL E TORN-UP STREETS
Special Correspondence of The Evening Star.

Special Correspondence of The Evening Star.
LONDON, September f. 1900.
The annexation Of the Transvaal has
caused no stir at all in England. The
news is given in small type in all the pa
pers and buried in columns Of other war
matter A few editorials mention the fact,
but only to dismiss 1t as inevitable and
simply what was expected.
The end Of the war now seems in sight.
Almost the last stand Of the Beers has
been taken and at best only guerrilla war
fare can be continued. Interest in the con-
fiict is now confined almost wholly to those
who have friends among the troops, the
politicians and those interested in the
mines and other resources Of the country.
I was talking with an officer of yeomen
the other day. and he told me that the men
of his troop had been most anxious to go out
to South Africa and made all arrangements
to stay there, expecting to tape up" Boer
farms and settle in the land Out of over
hundred he knew we'll all but three are
back in England, swearing that they never
want to hear of South Africa as long as
they live.
They are heartily sick of the country.
and would not have taken Boer farms even
If they had been as easy to obtain as they
had supposed. Every one have seen who
has been out there is tired of 1t and heart
lily glad to be back
In general way everybody knows that
the South African war has been an ex-
ceptionally deadly one for the officers en-
gagged. but the result of working the sub
ject out is not a little astonishing 1t would
have surprised no one to be told that In
against a people, including large
proportion Of competent marksmen, the
risks of officers were twice those of the
men; but it will excite some surprise to
learn that the relations of risk were three
and half to one. The mean total Of OFF,
GERS engaged Is put down at $500, and Of
these $50 were killed or died of wounds
This yields a death rate of 72.1 per 1000.
The number of non-commissioned officers
and men who were killed or died Of wounds
was 1880 which Is equal to a death rate
Of 10 per 1000 of those engaged. The men
suffered slightly more than the officers from
disease. which slew more than the Beers,
the death rate of the former being Bis per
600 and Of the latter 1916 Taken together,
the risks of battle and of disease have been
greatly beyond precedent, and those very
cautious people, the actuaries of the In
surance companies, have been completely
deceived in their calcula atoms. They have
been accustomed to charge officers from 5
to Z guineas per cent on their war risk
premiums, whereas a premium of 10 gum
cas- per cent would barely have paid ex-
penSes when the death rate was 1927 per
1000
The totals are rather large, 2s1 officers
and $3.50 men have thus far been killed In
action; seventy-nine. and 732. respectively.
5,215 men have died from disease.
The grand total of losses from all causes,
including prisoners now in captivity and
not counting those released, is 4O,561!
The American Visitation.
London swarms with American visitors of
both sexes. They seem to have taken pos
session of the town. They are much more
numerous about places of interest than her
majestys subjects. In the streets of the
West End nearly every third person one
meets Is an American man or woman. Yes
terday afternoon six Americans descended
from an omnibus onto which 1 climbed at
Charing Cross. 1t was an ordinary expert
ence. You hear the accents of Uncle Sam
In all the shops, all the restaurants, and
very much in all the more expensive hotels.
Our country people seem to like London
nowadays much better than Paris. 1t is
more comfortable. 1t is less expensive. 1t
Is quite as full Of amusements and the
civility of the London police and of Eng
fish servants is delightful.
A Regent street shopkeeper said in an in
terview: II should say that for one Ameri-
can customer last year we have had five
this year We are already having many
customers who have been to the exhibit
ton and appear to have reserved much of
their shopping for London. Americans
have of late years gone about the English
counties good deal. Where they used to
confne their travels to Scotland and
Shakespeare's land they now have learned
to appreciate the gentle and lovely scenery
of England.
Repairs COngest Streets
Fleet street. Oxford street, Ludgate Hill,
Victoria street and other thoroughfares
which converge citywards are in a dis
tressingly congested state at the present
time. By one of those strange freaks of
officialdom not only is the Victoria en-
bankment by the Thames undergoing re-
pairs but the streets running at right
angles. which would have taken much of
It's traffic, are also closed to the public
by the road members. The post office peo-
pie have also seized upon this moment to
dig up the roads, in order to lay telephone
cable conduits, with the result that the
greater part of the traffic of London has
now to pass along the few main thorough
fares. The result can be imagined 1t
took me yesterday just half an hour to get
from Fleet street to the Mansion House.
about half a mile. AT that point my
progress seemed debarred SO effectually