The Washington times., 1901-09-07
FOREIGN TOPICS.


meet Alexandria, Egypt with Shanghai.
Chiha' by means of a railroad. The road,
| ABOUT o,1OJ miles long, will have three divi-
| SONS The middle one. of 3,125 miles. is
already in existence in India From Alex
andria the road will run east-southeast
over the lsthmus of Sinai to Akaba, the
north emo of the bay of Akaba: from
| there almost due east to kurveit and
| Bassorah: thence through southern Per
sia to the frontier Through ,Baluchistan.
and across that STATE. which is under the
English protectorate, to connect with the
Indian railroad net. From Kunlong. the
! eastern terminus of the Indian railroad
system, the line would extend via Talifu.
/ Yunnan. Hankow. and other points on
the Yangtse to Shanghai. This would be
a southern line paralleIing roughly
| the Trans Siberian road and competing
with 1t. Its political character would be
| likely to attract much attention.
The apparent tendency of Italy to i'm
prove her relations with France and Tur-
| key naturally meets with much approba-
| tion in Russia, and the newspapers of
| that country. with suspicious unanimity.
are foreteiling a new and prosperous
| era for Italy, if she will only be sensible
and withdraw from the Triple Alliance.
The memory of Crispi is vigorously as
/ L
| hold the dead statesman responsible for
every misery which, during the last gen.
| Grafton, has afflicted 1taly-her inflated
armaments. the contraction ot enormous
debts. her social unrest the impoverish-
ment of the masses, the decline of home
| and foreign commerce, and, worst of ALL
the conclusion of an alliance with the
| Central League, instead of with her pow
| erful friend and neighbor. France. italy
| Is advised to devote herself to national
| retrenchment and reform. eschew foreign
| adventures, and. at the earliest possible
| moment, cast off the incubus of the Tri-
| pie Alliance. Russia. it Is explained, has
always regarded Italy with peculiar
| affection. and is only too eager to show
| her good will, If she will consent to a
| change of partners
There are some pleasant features for
the British Government in the latest In
dian budget. In spite of a famine which
has cost the people f50, coo, 600 and the
treasury f15,170. 600 in three years, the sur
plus for the year amounted to 81, $50. 600.
In salt. excise. customs. postoffice. and
telegraphs there was a substantial in
crease, and in railways a gain of s640,-
GOO. The alteration of the currency stan
dard has been great success, the profit
to the treasury being Cd, ,0oo, ,o0o which Is
| set apart to form the nucleus of a god
fund. and reserve in gold has been ac-
cumulated of nearly s7.09e0 091 The aver
I age income of the natives has risen from
IN rupees to 20. the cultivated area has in
creased from 1874. 900 900 acres to 217. 900 600.
while the yield of food crops, which in
| lSS1 was 100 pounds per acre. was in 1900
Sao pounds In twenty years the railway
mileage has advanced from $500 to 25 900.
| yielding profit to the State of $500 600
| year. while irrigation. though not SO
rapidly pushed on, has still advanced. In
| prosperous. though about II per cent of
the people are still, excessively poor.
Sweden promises to be the first country
to substitute electricity for steam upon a
large scale on railroad lines. Official an
nouncement has been made that, at the
next session of the legislative body, the
Government will push measure to this
end, and the movement seems likely to
carry. Sweden has not coal mines of i'm
portance. but it has an abundance of
waterfalls and cascades. Accordingly the
Government, some time ago, sent out a
party of experts who were to examine
the waterfalls and their possibilities as a
source of electrical power, and their re-
port was most favorable. The engineers
took into account only those falls which
developed an energy, of at least 1.500
horse power at low water In midsummer,
and found that these sufficed in most
places for all practical purposes. while IN
others power could be conveyed to dis
tance from very large falls. The pro-
jected change would result in the aban-
donment of long trains and the substitu-
tion of shorter ones at more frequent in
tervals-a reform which tourists would
particularly appreciate. At present the
longest electric railway.in Europe Is that
from Como to Varese, in 1taly-about
thirty-two miles. The electric power is
produced with the aid of steam. but as
soon possible the falls of the Ticino
are TO be utilized
A milk war is raging in Berlin, which
is Of Interest to all dwellers in large cities.
Two years ago an Agrarian Deputy.
whose specially is raising the prices of
agricultural products. formed union of
the dairy farmers, who pledged them
selves not TO make any. further contracts
without the consent of their central bu-
reau in Berlin This bureau now claims
that 1t represents 5000 farmers, and con-
trolls 10000 of the 100000 litres of milk
which the German capital uses every day.
1t succeeded last year in raising the
wholesale price more than quarter of a
cent per fitre. the dealers submitting, but
when the syndicate announced, not long
ago that il had determined scientific
ally" that the normal price of milk was
be IN informed that no more milk will be
supplied them after the end of September.
and they are now taking measures to get
their supplies from new and more remote
regions, where the lower price Will neu-
traliZe the higher freight rates. If they |
succeed, the syndicate Will have to con- !
vert its 10000 daily litres into butter and
cheese. which would yield only S pfen-
nigs a ,itre instead of the normal 13iR
There is much bitter feeling in Berlin |
against the syndicate, and the milk deal !
ers have issued an appeal TO the public |
to refuse to buy It's milk after the war |
has begun in earnest
Royalties are much given to the accu- |
mutation of jewels of great price, and !
they take especial care that these bau- |
bles are not stolen.
Many of the so-cailed crown jewels |
of London are paste" the real gems be- |
ing secured in strong vaults in iron |
bound boxes.
The jewels of the Russian Imperial fam |
fly form one of the most valuable collec-
tions in the world. This collection is
guarded in :. fortified castle watched I
over by q special detail of officers and /
soldiers. The Czar keeps portion of his !
own private jewels in banks in London
and Paris.
Italy are hidden away in deep vaults be
meath fort situated in a little island in
the Tiber Protected by the old and mud
dy streams overhead, and the military on
the island the jewels are beyond the
dreams of even the most daring and san
guine OF burglars.
The Prince of Bulgaria is possessed of
precious stones to the value of S5Dsl,ODo