The Savannah morning news., 1900-07-01
ITEMS OFF IsreREsr.

-Ex-Gov Taylor of Kegtucky will en-
gage in The insurance business In Indian
apol:s which he wiz make his home for
the future.
There is servant famine in St. Louis.
TIE state employment bureau, which is
leohed on as a last resort by most house
keepers, is more than 90 applications be-
hind with this kind of help.
PROF. William Lyon Phelps, Of Yale
University. who is wrfIhg a History of
the Drama in England In the Eighteenth
Century," will spend the summer in the
Br tish museum, collecting material for
the hook.
Gen. Lloyd w'heatoa is the only Hin
OILS man In The regulari army holding the
grade of general Gen. Whsaton was born
in Michigan, but spent his early days in
Illinois, and enlisted In the Union Army
from that state.
DIR. Max Nordau, who Is to visit Eng
land In August, has intirnated frankly to
his literary friends that he will only be
concerned during his visit with the ques-
ton which now cons flutes the chief prob
lem IN Judaism--ithe Zionist question.
In the harvest OF 1899 there were
1,265, 664 gallons Of wine produced in
France; T6sIO7, eco gallons produced in
italy. 5s4,S9s.f5o gallons prodGced in Spain,
and 15s.5050oo gallons produced in Rou-
mania. The total production of the world
is estimat ted at 3ssas 10l. 704 gallons.
The richest Chiiaman in San Francis
co and leader of his race on the Pacific
coast. is Chin Tan Sun, who is a mill
llona!re several times over. He owns part
of a gold mine. runs two or three fac
tories and conducts several fruit can
neries, besides being proprietor Of an ex-
tensive lottery.
Sir William Crookes in a recent ad-
dress before the Royal Society describes
an interesting new substance, which he
has succeeded Incorporating from uran-
ium, and which, he calls Ur x; that Is,
the unknown substance K in Ur, which
is the chemical symbol for uranium He
found that the supposed fiuorescence of
uranium was due to the presence of Ur
x. and that after the separation of the
latter uranium entirely lost this power
The new substan resembles In many
ways the two recently discovered RADIO
active bodies radium and aetintuTn
"A physiciani connected with the health
department I'M Chicago has provided for
himself and family a noise-proof house as
q protection against the street dins' whleh
persist despite the recently announced in
tehtion to enforce the antf-noise ordt-
nance. The doctors problem was to ex-
clude the noises, while admitting the air.
and he solved it, he says. by stuffing all
the cracks about the doors and windows
with strips uf Rubber, perforated with
zigzag hcles Through this the air is adj
mitted, while the noise. h is said, Is soft
ened or completely deadeped. the sound
waves dying out in repeated reflections IN
the crooked passages.
Among the exhibits by American man
ufacturers at the Paris Exposition one of
the most curious is that of artificial flies.
About fifty girls have been employed in
making them. All are distinctly young. as
the manufacturers say that the WORK is
SO trying on the eyes and requires such
dizziness and fiexibiIity of fingers that only
youth is adapted to II. Girls just out OF
school are selected for the trade and their
wages on beginning are 81 a week. The
employers estimate that che training OF
novice costs them about 81 week in
wasted material, as only the expensive can
be used. Practice on tying knots in linen
threads would not teach girl to Knot
silkworrn gut, of which the leaders are
really expert in tying the finest flies, and
an apprenticeship of three or four years
is required to attain that degree of pro-
heency. OF the simpler kinds worker
can make from a gross TO a gross and
half a day. but in the more difficult, thirty
are considered q good days work. Fine
flies ere made in England and Scotland,
but American manufacturers claim that
those made In this country are more uni
formly good. The reason they assign is
that here the work Is done in a factory
with specially trained workwomen, where
as In Europe. hymaking Is largely a home
industry! engaged In by the women for
pin money. and therefore variable In quail
ity.
There les one time OF the year when
every boy would, not object to becom-
ing a subject Of. the Chinese Empire for
Just one day. This time Is the ninth day
of the ninth month, according 90 the Chi
nese calendar. On this day a kite-fiying
festival is held. Then every Chinaman
who has any regard for his spiritual and
physical welfare and can afford a kite
and there are few. indeed, who can not
afford such an inexpensive trifle--goes to
a hill and flies his kite the whole day long.
This custom prevails more generally, Of
eoursey in the rural districts, for were the
inhabitants of a great city like Canton
or Pe9sin each to send up kite the
strings would become entangled and che
very heavens would be darkened with sucn
a collection of paper and string as never
was seen. This custom was originated
by man who had d strangely realistic
dream, in which it was revealed TO him
that some Gala nifty would befall his house
on certain day. Wishing to avoid this
unknown but inevitable disaster. he took
his family to a, neighboring hilltop and
amused the children by flying kite. wnen
he returned home that night he found that
his house had literally fallen to the
ground, thus killing oil the dogs and pigs
that had been left at home to keep house.
That set the fashion, and since then when
ever the anniversary of that day comes
round other families. remembering the
prevldential escape OF their countryman.
ny their Kites from the hills in the be-
lief that as the paper toys ascend they
Will carry eff the evil spirits that might
otherwise demolish their own houses and
bury them in the ruins should they stay
at home.
Binder the title Of "septic Skirts the
Lsncet again makes plea for the aboll-
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