The Washington times., 1901-07-30
FOREIGN TOPICS.

! FOREIGN TOPICS
One of the droll features of the late
New York-London Chamber of Commerce
kinship trust was the wholesale footing
| or roses at the close of the brilliant
| Grocers Hall banquet. Within three
minutes OF the moment the banquet COM
pany was dismissed 81. 800 worth of mag
| nihcent floral beauties disappeared from
the tables as IL by magic Distinguished
| bankers, merchant princes, trust mag
mates. and millionaires of high degree
| engaged in an unseemly scramble for the
| fragrant souvenirs. As happened in
! China, the looting was international.
| Ambassador Choate emerged with a fine
bunch. and Mr.. Carnegie and Mr.. Morgan
did not come away empty handed The
Marquis of Lansdowne. Lord Chief JUS
tice Alverstone. and other titled Britons
caught the enthusiasm OF the onslaught,
teo- An official of the London Chamber
OF Commemorative says the sole after
math of the Americans visit is the
caterers bills-points out that rose loot
ing" is an innovation at English BAN
Quets. and the noble hosts at the recent
function INDUCED in 1t only because their
American guests set such IA distin-
guished example"
Public opinion having condemned the
proposed Importation of Chinese labor in
to the Rhodesian mines, the Chartered
Company now hopes to get over its diff
culties by introducing Arab laborers on
large scale. From enquiries made at
the London offices of the company It ap-
pears that the first batch OF Arabs now at
the mines are working satisfactorily and
with contentment.
Cecil Rhodes is largely responsible for
the new arrangement, and ne has per
sonally induced the preseIt administra-
ton at Bulawayo to lend its official sup
port. 1t Is confidently noped that with
in a few days the administration will pass
labor ordinance ensuring proper treat
ment for the Arabs. Only on this under
standing has the scheme received the
practical support OF his Matesty's Gov
ernment-
The Government has Instructed its Res
ident at Alden to give every facility to
the Chartered Company's representative,
who was sent there with the object of
engaging Asiatfc labor for Rhodesia. Ov-
er go Arabs sent from Alden have already
been put to work at the mines. and the
Chartered Company received a cable from
its representative at Aden a few days ago
saying that he hoped to ship a thousand
more laborers for Rhodesia by the end Of
tions is said to be the impossibility of
obtaining sufficient native rabor in South
Africa itself
Queen Alexandra is the only woman of
royal station who holds the degree of doc
tor of music, which was conferred upon
her many years ago by the University of
Dublin. and a photograph taken In her
gown and mortar-board hat was formerly
sold in the shops. She is brilliant per-
former upon the piano, and also plays
the harp, the guitar, the banjo and sew
eral other instruments. Her first fnstruc-
tion was received in Copenhagen. where
her teacher Is still living upon pension
granted him by the royal family. After
her marriage Sir. Charles Halle became
her instructor, and gave her thorough
She is an enthusiastic disciple
of Richard Wagner and has made fire.
quent visits to Bayreuth during the opera
season. She has a personal acquaintance
with many famous singers. and 1t was
through her influence that jean de Reszke
was induced to come TO London and join
the Covent Garden Company for the pro-
duction of Tristan und Isolde and
.Siegfried." The great tenor had preju-
dice against English audiences and de-
clined a London engagement untii she
him to appear in those two operas for |
the pleasure of herself and the Wagner
admirers at London He then consented |
to come, and was rewarded with q per-
sonal interview and a letter of thanks |
from the present Queen of England.
The French administration of post and |
telegraphs, which has control also of the |
telephone facilities of the country, is per- |
suaded that the perfection of the tele- |
phone is far from being attained. and that |
in fact as a public conveyance the inven-
IT,, L. t,,{ &c t,fa
young under secretary of the
department in question. who is always
edifying his fellow citizens by some fresh |
proofs of his desire to break away from
Did bureaucratic traditions. has just taken
charge of a tract of land near the fortifi-
cations of the capital on which he pro-
poses TO build series of long, low sheds,
10 be used for making telephone expert
nents. In order to protect the establish
nent from the gaze of curious journalists
md the emulation of other cities a high
wall is already being built around the
,lace. In a years time NJ. Mougeot hopes
% be able to impart to Parisians the re-
,ults of his attempts to facilitate their
employment of the telephone on a more
uSt as well as more convenient basis.
FIRST of all. an apparatus is to be fixed
n each telephone registering the number
# conversations held through 1t month
L
'asis of each Subscribers tax, the admin
stration considering that an establish
nent which uses the instrument only two
r three times day should not pay equal
y with an office or business house which
,eeps the ''demoiselles' busy practically
II day. Once a month an employe of
he administration will call at each place ,
'here telephone Is installed and exam ,
ne the record OF the telephone meter"
ust as is done in the case of n gas or |
consumer. Secondly. the long
alked-of American invention, enabling
ne to call up by the aid of numbered ,
cEle ''demoiselles du telephone" is to
e tried and adopted II. it proves effective
'hirdly. the system In use in some Ameri-
an cities of having public telephones
here one may dispense with an ernploye
nd drop the 50-centime piece In a slot | 6
lstead of paying at a counter, as is at .
resent done. will be used. If 1t does not
ppear too expensive. These changes es-
ecially the second, will mean new era c
happiness to those ParisianS who are {
ompelled to use the telephone to any 7
reat extent the present antiquated sys- I
am having exhausted the patience of '
usiness men. g
While all Paris has been ringing with i
'aise of NJ. Santos-Dumont and his aerial
ips loud howl of disapprobation has ,
one up from the inhabitants of Passy, 6
hich lies midway between the Aero Club Z
rounds and the Eiffel Tower, and over 1
hich NJ. Santos-Dumont must pass in O
IS attempts to win the Deutsch prize ,
he motor on NJ. Santos -Dumont's ma
line when working at full speed emits
'aring, rattling sound very similar to q
lie discharge of rapid-fire gun, and as
ie trials take place between ) and
clock in the morning the inhabitants of a
asSy have been awakened each time | N
ON their early morning slumbers by ri