The Washington times., 1901-10-08
FOREIGN TOPICS.

ii'1Ihdtlonal naval and military exhibit
'ioh III brussels next year. Hitherto no
9uc' enterprise has been attempted on
.he ointment, and the almost universal
,it.ert5t M taken in naval and military mat
! tsIS py every European Power ii is
| thought, should lead to a very large at
! .tTtiudlCe from all rparts. Such an eXhibi-
| @ en,t So''u only take place in a neutral
go ui,srS ,ei,,,d ahd Belgium as central resort
roI r touflSts is the most suitable locality
ior carrying out the undertaking.
me British postodice has decided to
employ women as telephonists. In this
tney nave but followed the example of
an other administrations and private
'n'pahles. Women are pre-eminently
| successful as telephonists. No person at
an acquainted with the requirements IF
the service would hesitate for an instant
IN the choice between men and women
| LOT thls service There Is an abundance
OF evidence obtainable from all parts of
the world tc prove that women are par
ticulariy adapted by nature and social
training to perform the work of tele-
nhohy' Every European State has stated
itS telephone offices with girls.
cape Colony, New South Wales.
| ana Queensland have done the
| same and the employment of
women is extending with the extension
| OF the services. Cochin China, with its
! tihy system, has six lady telephonists
ana the japanese Government has made
ue following gratifying announceu1e Mt:
Inc number of lady telephonists. which
| at hfst numbered only a dozen, has to-
| day reached the figure of $685. and contin-
Ies 10 increase, as the Government has
utclded to extend its system to all the
| important centres of the Empire" The
Belgian Governme MT in its report on the
teIe,'Sys, OF women telephonists, says: The
telephone was introduced in 1882 and Wo-
ne. nave Deen employed since that date
% % rsiepSonlsts- They have proved to be
ps'i tIculariy apt, because the timbre of
| anrn 1r,l voice is more penetrating and more
,t oit than the voice of a man. and
5lS4. III tNnlpit more patience than men in
usaIlng with subscribers Hard-headed
Germany says that although women
titin idne tailed to give satisfaction in the
tsefeesIdph service, they are quite sat
iSIactory as telephonists'
ne ihethods of treating the female
Son,s SSorSers OF the British postofice have
OF late years and these latest scales arc
| evidence of a determination to take fIIll
aukantase 1 OF all the many economic and
social s,."ai factors which depress women's
wages. W hen women were first employed
IN lo'V, u was in order to offer some light
i reiIhuheratlVe employment to the feminine
Ie.auEes OF postal officials As the service
and ia.t tnls reason perforce disaryc AIRED.
anu each new class created has been Of
Iereu lower conditions than its preueces-
sors. The girls of the postal order branch
H. s tseeehty t,y been subjected to a reduc-
SOi Io oi lnelr minimum wage from f65 TO
100 year, and in one of the most strik
ing petitions prepared by any body of
workers they have shown by statement
" u sApehlture that the salary is quite
InIlauequate Tor Independent subsistence
But worse has followed. and a department
which Is making four millions profit per
year offers to its women telephonists a
salary which can only fifty be described
as starvation wage.
The New Zealand Government has de-
cided that swimming and Iife-savIng shall
be taught in all its schools. The Life
Saving Socfetys method having been
adopted, 1000 handbooks and charts have
been sent by order of the Government for
the use of schoolmasters. The handbook.
IN which the course of instruction is fully
set forth for the use of classes. schools
and individuals, has also been translated
into Swedish and Italian.
The request made by FareraIla CFadI
Allah). the son of the notorious Rabah,
who has been driven from his own corn-
try in Africa by the French to be made
Emir at Kuka has revealed TO the British
Foreign Office an alleged scheme Of the
French to strengthen their possessions in
the vicinity of Lake Chad FareraIla also
requests British protection. He is at pres
ert encamped right in the centre of Brit
ish territory. at Ffka, sixteen marches
northeast of the British post of Ibi on
the Benue. Last summer he sent ennis
saries down to the British, complaining
that he had been driven out of his coun-
try by the French, who had pursued him
across the French and German frontiers
for considerable distance into British
territory
Gregor, with a small escort, at once pro-
ceeded from lbi to Fika. There they were
well received and found that Fareralla
had with him a force OF 1000 men. armed
with firearms, about 80 of whom were
carrying modern rifles. His troops, it is
said are well disciplined and organized in
companies, each under its own leader. and
the names Of all the men are registered.
together with the description OF gun with
which each is armed Farerala has also
about 1,0C0 horsemen and host of bow
men and others He bitterly complained
to the British officers about being driven
from his country and asked for British
protection On the conclusion of the con-
ference Major McClntock returned to the
Benue at Yola. being accompanied part
Of the way by Fareralla. and thence pro
his mission at headquarters
Although no definite action VIII be taken
by the British Foreign Office with regard
TO Fareralla until the arrival of Sir Fred
erick Lugard. who is on his way
from Africa 1t is. nevertheless. believed
that the question is under consideration of
agreeing to Farerallas request for Brit
ish protection and of installing him at
Kuka Emir. under strict British super
vision. In this case it is thought possible
that a British officer viii be despatched
to Lake Chad and established as British
resident at Kuka.
Aside from those questions which have
caused more or less friction between the
government of the Commonwealth OF
Australia and the British Colonial Office
the New Hebrides, the immigration. and
the sugar works problems-there are 9TH
ers which deal with the constitutionality
of the federation in regard to the rela-
tions betwe.n the States themselves. The
Australian Iariiament, which is now in
the fourth month of its session, had no
sooner come to an agreement as to how
bills should be presented to the Senate
which had already passed the House of
Representatives,, than there arose the
question of State rights.
II l,a+ la