The Washington times., 1901-07-31
FOREIGN TOPICS.

Some impressions of England's- late
Lord Chief Justice Russell as to the
weight of evidence in the Dreyfus case
have been made public recently by the
Rev. Herbert Thurston. =. j., in an arti-
Gle In the Saturday Review" The lord
chief justice took keen interest in the
case. and attended some of the last sit
tings of the Rouen court-martial. Subse-
quently. by request, he wrote statement
Of his impressions for the late Queen Vic
toria. 1t appears that while the chief
justice considered that Dreyfus was
wrongly condemned. he believed that his
military judges, both in the first and the
final court-martial. gave their verdict
honestly according to their lights. Com
menting on the evidence, the chief JUS
tice said: IF / had been trying the case
before jury. while could not have said
that there was no evidence to be consid-
cred BY the jury. l should certainly have
toId them that 1t was a case in which II
would be utterly unsafe for them to con-
vict That there was some evidence
thlnk cannot be doubted, among other
things that as to the handwriting of the
boroereau and that as to the alleged con-
fessfon. but on both points 1t was of so
utterly unreliable character that I think
no Jury or Judge could properly have act
ed upon ii.
In consequence Of the news of renewed
disturbances in Old Servia King Alex
ander OF Servia has requested the Turk
ish Minister at Belgrade to draw the Sui
tan's attention to the occurrences there.
The worst of these outrages appears to
have taken place at Kolaschin Servian
village, which was attacked by Turks and
Albanian Bashi-BaZouks under the pre-
text that rifles were corcealed there. The
number Of killed and wounded Servians
is reported to be considerable. and the
church, the school, the old monastery of
Gratschanika. and many private houses
were ransacked. Further outrages are
reported from the village of Blatza. where
a Servian notable has been killed by an
Albanian, who is still at large, and from
Mirkowitza. where an Albanian chief,
Sulieman Agha, has seized several Ser
Wan workmen and keeps them deprived
of liberty.
From the village of Sdjnia 1t is reported
that the Albanian brigand, Mouharem.
carried off two Servian boys and some
domestic animals. and sent the ears of
the boys, which he had cut of. to the
kaimakam of Ghostivar on the following
day, defying arrest. Complaints of sim
liar outrages come from other villages In
Old Servia. In the Sandjak of Novi-Bazar
excesses of the Turkish soidiery against
the cause of WHICH is is NJ now d declared to {,
be the explosion OF "a bomb before the
house OF Turkish Bey in Sienitza, which
led TO house-to-hopse searches. and the
persecution of the Servian inhabitants
so that number OF them have fled to
Servia. H'I -
The English Government gives away
$4,000 year, more or less, to encourage
asf1v
of the telegraph service. Women enter
the service at an average age of sixteen.
After six years. when the operator has
reached the official marriageable age of
twenty-five. she is entitled to an allow
ance from the State For each year of
service she can draw one months pay.
As her salary is $25 a month she can then
claim $50. If she waits until she is
twenty-eight she can draw s400. In prac-
tice the average amount paid has been
found to be about 500
In the British Foreign Office report on
the trade of Chefoo (northern China) for
the year 1900. which has just been issued,
a rather novel item appears in the shape
of the import of aerated waters to the
value of e2,0Oo. and cigars and cigarettes
to the value of nearly 10000. Large
quantities of these luxuries found their
way to the north for the use of the for
eign troops. The ordinary native looks
with certain amount of awe on a bottle
of explosive water and does not indulge.
Cigarettes, however. are now to be found
on every hawker's STALL They are largely
made in Shanghai from American tobacco.
The pictures of female beauty enclosed
In each packet enjoy much favor. and
they have been seen adorning the stand
of a vender of religious articles at the
door of native place of worship.
Curious is the experiment which Is about
to be made by the newly constituted Insti-
tute of Animal Psychology of Paris.
1t intends to construct a sort of circus
on the grounds at Vincennes belonging
to the Museum of Natural History. where
animals taken from the Jardin des Plantes
will be reviewed In succession with the
object of studying their intellectual quail
ties. The promoters of the scheme do not.
of course, anticipate any exciting results
from the experiments on a fairly large
category of the so-called brute creation.
They expect to be rewarded for their
trouble and expense by observations on
lions. tigers, elephants, monkeys. dogs,
eats. seals, and other animals which are
gifted with certain faculties
This circus, when it has been erected
and is in fun swing. apparently will pro-
vide a good deal of interesting and in
structive amusement. 1t will not be a
tors of scientific tastes.
An automobile savings bank is the lat
est device of the ingenious French. For
some time the authorities of Mezieres
have felt that thrift among the peasants
of the Ardennes should be encouraged.
and they decided that if they would go
half way in getting at the peasants the
latter would save more money than they
electric motor-car has been built. 1t con-
tains four seats. one of which is for the
driver. The three places behind are ar
ranged around a revolving table in the
middle of the car, one at each side and
one at the rear. Writing desks are fitted
over eaeh of these seats and are devised
in such a way that they can be either
folded fiat against the sides of the car
riage. inwardly. or opened outwardly for
the use of the public. The central table
also contains desks. besides book shelves
and small metallic strongbox. The car
travels about the country. making stops
of an hour or so on prearranged days IN
different localities in the department The
passengers are two clerks of the local
treasury department and cashier They
carry with them complete collection of
savlnss-bank books, registers and forms
and the cashier is authorized to receive
moneys. BY this method tn authorities
hope to encourage the peasants to put
their money in the banks, wher. 1t will
earn interest instead of being hidden
away in stockings, as is now the almost
universal custom. If the scheme is sue
cessful it will be extended to other parts
of the country Unfortunately. the sus-
picious peasant does not regard it with
favor. Never a friend of banks, which
ire built of stone and mortar. he is still
less the friend of banks that go about the
country on wheels. He prefers the time
hOnored Dian of the wooden stocking hid