The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-08-21
ITEMS OF INTEREST.

King oscar or sweden Is busy compll-
ing ought TO prove interesting. His
Majesty is altogether a wonderful
man and has narrowly missed being a
genius. II speaks volumes for his i'm
mense prestige and popularity that
though he is an author of acknowledge
ed eminence, his people have accorded
him the most unstinted admiration. AS
a rule IL is risky thing for a king to
WELD pen. His subjects generally
think the sword a more useful weapon
and are inclined to believe a scribbling
monarch must be a failure. Fortu-
nately the King of Sweden has many
other attractive gifts apart from his
literary skill. He is a man of immense
courage and during his lengthy con-
nection with the Swedish navy-he was
for many years practically his own
master of marine-has performed many
deeds of valor.
The latest American Invasion of
Europe is the carrying of fresh Cali
fornia fruits to London and Paris in
the face of the competition of the Span
ish and Italian fruit growers, says Sue
cess. A Valencia. Spain, paper says:
California oranges, peaches, apples
and pears reach Paris, after traversing
six thousand miles, in more appetite
her fruit-growers can only compete
with America by employing America s
improved methods of cultivation. CAL
ifornia is natural fruit garden, and
its crops are far too large to be con-
sumed in the home markets. For
years, the California orchardist has
been seriously considering the foreign
demand, and many wonderful schemes
have been devised to ship fresh fruit
Oh, Cals
orally, taken the place of the French
article, and California oranges have
been cultivated until they have reached
a state of perfection never before at
tanned.
Considerable quantities of sap
phires. rubies. emeralds, and other gem
stones have been found in Australia
during the last few years, and although
there have been comparatively few of
commercial value, their abundance nat
urally leads to the assumption that in
the near future discoveries of a supe-
rior class of stones will be made. In
New South Wales sapphires are found
in many places, mostly in alluvial de-
posits containing gold and tin; but it
is only in a few instances that the
stones possess sufficiently good color
to render them valuable as gems; the
majority of the sapphires having a
greenish- blue bottle-green tint, while
most of those which are pure blue by
transmitted light are of such a deep
shade that they appear almost black
when seen by reflected light. Sap
phires of Indifferent quality are espe-
cially numerous few miles to the east
of Inverell, in the northern part of
the state, so much so that the name
sapphire has been given to the local
ity. Rubies are frequently met with,
but specimens of the Oriental, or true
ruby, are somewhat rare. 1t is possi-
BILE, however. that crystals of suffi-
Gent size and purity to be CONNER
cially valuable may yet be discovered.
The topaz is found in many places in
New South Wales, especially in the
northern elevated regions.
Some years ago Russia student,
Leo Wiener by name, was compelled
to fee from the Cars empire in order
to escape Punishment to Siberia, says
Success. He tramped through Germany
and France, to Spain, where he took
a ship for Cuba, sailing thence to New
Orleans. The end of a series of hard
ships found him a penniless wanderer
in the streets of Kansas City. There,
with the aid of men of his own race,
iAC odPpAASQ HllllSell WITH d INQUEST STOCK
of fruit, which he sold to passersby.
Each night, when his days work was
done, he fastened to the public library,
there to pore over some English vol
ume until the lights were put out The
library attaches soon grew familiar
with the shabby self absorbed foreign
er who never missed a night, and,
through them, Wiener was brought to
the notice of the superintendent of pub
10 enh IT.
the astonfshed superintendent, that the
fruit peddler was a master of Greek
and Latin and several modern Ian
guages. Call upon me-" said he
from time to time. I think l can OBJ
tain for you position in which you
will be enabled to give, to others the
benefit of your knowledge" Wiener
went back to his peanuts and bananas
with light heart, and ere long he was
Informed that a position as a teacher
had been obtained for him in the little
college at Odessa, Mo. After a season
at Odessa, he returned to Kansas City,
to teach languages in the Central High
School. Six years later he was called
to a chair in the University of Mis-
souri,, at Columbia, and. when Har-
ward founded it's department of the
Russian language and literature, be
was placed in charge. This chair he
place among linguists.
The United States during the CEN
try just closed has been regarded as
peaceful nation, and yet over one-third
of the enormous cost of war paid by
all the nations has fallen on her, says
the Chicago Chronicle. The disburse-
ments by the United States treasury
on account of the Civil War from July
/, 1861 to June go 1879, amounted to
Sc, 1877, 243, 1856. Thomas E. Wilson, in the
Review of the Republic for March, es-
Inmates that the addition Civil War dis
bursements for debt, interest and pen
sions from June 30, 1879, to July /, 1900,
amounted to SO, 9o4. $685. 75, making a to-
tai federal expenditures of &c. 092, 0S2,-
100. The disbursements of the Confed-
crate government exceeded So, 000, 900, 900
for the mere MAINTENANCE of armies
in the field. Mr.. Wilson estimates that
the governmental expenditures on both
sides in the Civil War will, when the
books are closed, amount to ST., 772, 000,-
600, and that the individual losses dur
ing the war amounted to $50, 900, 900, 900.
Placing the cash expenditures of the
United States in the Civil War at ST.
772,000,000, in the Spanish War at $780,
100000 and in the War of 1912, the Mex
lean War and the Indian wars at $780,
5000. Mr.. Wilson makes the total con-
tribution of the United States treasury
to the war fund for the century S1S-