The Washington times., 1901-09-06
EORELGN TOPICS.

l
oeeh bored to open a level passage fol
tram cars from old to newer Rome. The
summit of the hill is covered by tn,
Kings palace and gardens and the exca.
vafions below have seriously damaged the
royal grounds. The soil Is subsiding tc
an alarming degree, swapping water pipes
ana sioping trees, especially some splen-
old palm trees. the roots of which are
| now exposed. /. has been found that
most OF the hill has been honeycombed
by the constructions of the ancient Ro-
| mans, fact which the engineers over
looked in boring the tunnel.
In his report on the trade of Germany
for last year Consul General Schwabach
| has supplied the British Foreign Office
| with some information about the paper
| trade of Germany. He states that the
steadily decreasing price of paper in 1899
| was followed in 1900 by general rise in
| prices. The impetus was given by the
great demand raised in the United King
dom for the daily press on account of
the Boer war. A scarcity of paper was
ieit In all paper exporting States. When
| In former years the demand increased
the supply willingly kept pace with it, but
| this year there was so much difficulty
IN obtaining the raw material that 1t was
| impossible for the supply to keep pace
| with the demand. The greater part of
| the paper manufactures, such those
| OF printing, writing, and packing paper
/ have been dependent of late years prin-
| cipaily on wood or raw material, and Ger
many cannot supply suitable wood for
these purposes in sufficient quantities.
An unusual consumption of paper in
Japan. in the United Kingdom and the
British colonies came together with the
| dearness of coal and with exceedingly
dry year in Scandinavia and the United
states. so that all paper-producing coun-
tries had to make great efforts to supply
the increased demand.
In 1900 many syndicates were formed
for the purpose of keeping up the price.
The most united of these was the News
paper Manufacturing Company. which
had general sale depot in Berlin. AT
this depot was sold the entire manu-
facture of the syndicate, which repre-
scented about 50 per cent of the entire
German fabrication. TO protect them
selves against the syndicate. the news
paper publishers of Berlin sterted a
depot in that city for the sale of printing
paper. new factories for this purpose are
also projected. But this plan promises
little relief, for the new factories WILL
scarcity of wood stuffs. The best mar
ket was the United Kingdom, which took
26I ,9ts cwts Immense quantities OF So
called '.grease-proof parchment paper
for sending victuais to the soldiers in
South Africa were also exported. Par
ticularly noticeable was the increased
exports epI & OF hne qualities OF all kinds to
graphers were. however, very dissatis-
fed with the business conditions OF the
British market for Christmas cards and
such like productions But II seems
probable that those complaints were not
general, and 1t must not be forgotten that
the best German acknowledgement
firms owe their growth and prosperity to
the British trade
The returns as to the trade in paper
goods and cardboard show that the
United Kingdom was the best market.
AS It seems probable that the woods of
Scandinavia and Finland and those of the
Erzgebirge and the Vogtland can no
longer provide sufficient wood stuffs for
the paper manufacture, return must be
made to the old raw materials of straw
and esparto grass. Esparto grass seems
not TO be so well known as it deserves to
he. 1t can be obtained in large quanti-
ties from the tablelands of Algiers, Tunis.
and Tripoli. where it grows wild. 1t can
be cultivated in any climate with very
little cost, and it is seriously intended to
plant the waste and stony mountain dis
tricts of the East Vogtlands and ErZge-
birge with esparto grass. This may In
time be a valuable substitute for the al
most unattainable wood Stuffs
While so much has been written about
the two monuments lately unveiled to the
memory of the late Empress of Austria,
very few people are aware that statue
was raised some time ago In honor of
the Inflated Archduke Rudolph on the
site of his demise. Those who are privi- |
legged to enter the gates of Meyerling,
where the hunting box has been turned |
into an asylum for aged and disabled men |
belonging to the forestry. see in the
little garden or courtyard this handsome |
erection-a masterpiece of its kind-the |
work of an eminent Bologna sculptor and |
designed by no less parsonage than her |
late Majesty herself A medallion shows |
the cold and rigid features OF the Arch |
duke as he looked on that fatal night, |
lilo 2 haf ftrrrvQ flf a n in
mothers features bends sadly over~the |
leaning gently on a broken pillar.
On the pedestal is inscribed the name and
date of the birth and death of Crown
Prince Rudolph.
The King has sanctioned Lord Curzons
scheme for the formation of an imperial
cadet corps intended TO afford orpor-
tunity for the sons of Indian princes, no.
bles and gentry TO enter on a military
career The King desires IL to be known
that he welcomed this opportunity of tes-
flying to his confidence in the loyalty OF
mis- Majestys Indian feudatories and sub
ects.
The numerous decorations recently be-
slowed by King Edward VII on the war
-iors of South Africa call attention to the
act that Commissary General Samuel j.
ribbs, of the British Royal Artillery. was
he only man VINO. during the last CEN
ury, fought in eighteen battles since the
'ear 1903 without being wounded.
General Tibbs was awarded for his
bravery the Peninsular and Waterloo
medals, with fourteen clasps. He would
ave received eighteen clasps. but no one
.ould be found who would certify that
IN these occasions he had been under
Ire The battles and sieges In which
General Tibbs was actually under fire ,
we're: Roleia August H. 1903: Talavera, !
3usaco, AIbuhera, Ciudad Rodrigo, Bada-
OK, Salamanca, Vittoria, Pyrenees, st. |
sebastian, Nivelle, Nive. Orthes, Tou-
oiIse Quatre Bras. Waterloo, Fuentes
'Onoro and Almeida.
The Duke-ef Wellington has as many
lasps to his medals as General Tibbs, !
nut did not fight in as many engagements.
General Tibbs narrowly escaped being |
ianged by the iron duke during the F.,
campaign. The duke had or
he troops to enter churches or chapels |
or any purpose excepting that for which
hey were built, under penalty of death. ,
hortly after the PRONUNCIATION Of this /,
rder General Tibbs, who was in charge
+ 4 convoy of ammunition and guns for =
y a thunderstorm and the only shelter
btainable was in a wayside chapel The
of the convoy pondered for .
moment over the matter and thought,
uined and useless. Better be hanged a
han run the risk of the troops falling a
hort of ammunition" and forthwith he \
Did the soldiers under his command to :
reak open the chapel door. Wellington r
'as furious upon hearing that his order
ad been disregarded and said, u will
hang him." However, he lis
aned to the reasoning of Lord Raglan
Tho pointed out that the battle of Sala- \
lanca would have been lost If the am +
,FtH l..