The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1902-10-02
ITEMS OF INTEREST.

friends to address him as Jim" or ''old
man" or in any other way that win
help him to forget for the time his
title.
A resident of Washington thought
Of what he considered a funny thing
and went into the Office of George E
Roberts, director of the mint. to put
his idea into practice. Mr.. Roberts.
he said. Il visited the mint in Phila
delphfa the other day and had
julep." There was a laugh. which was
heartily received when Roberts re-
piled: IF that's all you had you missed
a good thing You ought to have TAX
en- a silver fizz, too"
Perhaps the only woman coal op-
orator in the country is Mrs. lane
Shirkie of Clinton. Md. who IS both
superintendent and manager of a big
mine. She holds d certificate of MEM
bership in the National Coal Operators
Association and knows the mining in
dustry and the coal market as well as
any operator in Indiana. One hundred
and fifty men are on her pay roll. She
has an office in her residence and at
tends TO every detail of the business,
including the correspondence, pay rolls
and the shipment of every ton of coal.
Jean Jussieu, French cynic, writ
ing in the Paris Revue, expresses grave
doubts of the efficacy of the American
schools and universities. He AYERS that
the latter are governed by mere en-
dowment seekers, men of shrewd adj
dress and of high social position who
can confidently and successfully ap-
proach millionaires with requests for
additions to the great funds accumu-
lating under university control These
vast sums, M. Jessieu AYERS, are vast
ed in the construction of great build
ings and the cause of education is rot
proportionately advanced.
Mr.. Hawksley compares some of
the modern locomotives and trains to
those first used on the Stockton and
Darlington Railway in 1925 and 1926.
He speaks of the first engine built by
Robert Stevenson as weighing 1850
pounds, whereas a recent locomotive
of the decapod type, built for the At
Gibson system, has total weight of
almost 26S,000 pounds, or over Is times
the weight of it's English prototype. A
comparison also of the weights of the
earliest trains with those now being
hauled in this country would be equal
ly interesting and marked. The early
tenn of half a dozen stage coaches
drawn along an artificially prepared
track at speed of perhaps eight to
ten miles an hour. At the present
time in this country it is not uncom-
mon for a modern locomotive to haul a
freight train of 1000 or more tons at
what would have been considered a
good passenger speed three or four
decades ago.
The influence of alcoholism in the
production of phthisis is most marked
in certain occupations in towns. Some
thing more, however, than intemper-
ance is needed for the production of
phthisis. The additional element is
the saloon. Owing to the prevalent
habit of splitting on the floor the rooms
OF public saloons are very often in a
filthy condition, and such places must
be very infections. The most fatal in
fiuence at workshops is failure to re-
move the dust generated, coupled with
the habit of expectorating on the floor
Splitting in workshops should be pro-
hibited. That, of course, is easier to
state than to effect, but with a great
effort it might be managed. The first
thing is to bring home to masters and
operatives the vital necessity for this
measure. Vigorous efforts should be
made to secure a systematic wet sweep
ing of all workshop floors. Dry sweep
ing is likely to do much harm if spit
ting went on, and it would be an ad-
ditional safeguard if a disinfectant
were used.
Pope Leo XIII will on the ap-
preaching celebration of his papal ju-
bilee receive a present which so far
has never baan S11rnoSsad Soyc 4ba
New York Times. 1t is a topaz found
in the mines of Minas Geraes, in Bra
iii. This stone weighs no less than
LISA grams, but what doubles it's value
is the work which has been expended
on it. One of the most skillful lapi-
diaries in the world, the celebrated Ne
apolitan, Prof. Andrea Cartello, for
merly director of the Naples Museum,
has engraved in relief on this incom-
parable gem a figure of Christ in the
act of breaking bread at the Last Sup
per. 1t has taken Cartello ten years
of uninterrupted labor to complete this
chef d'oeuvre destined for the head of
the Vatican, and he has spent no less
than $4,000 in diamond dust to ac-
complish the work. The topaz at one
time belonged to the house of Bour-
bon. 1t passed to M. Nicolas Cartello
and Nine. Ermengarde de Cintiis Cas-
lAO, WIN OnSTeu II TO the count de
Caserta. The latter, in letter to the
Due della Tore, said that the work of
the engraving so much surpassed the
value of the topaz that he left the art
lists family full liberty to dispose of
it, but he should be happy if the Won
derfu jewel could be offered by the
faithful to the holy father. The d.
rector of the National Museum at Ma
pies, M. de Petra, expresses his opinion
as follows: This topaz is the most
exquisite example of modern times of
engraving on hard stone.' Under the
Archbishop Guistrio Adami and the
Marquis de Salice Merio Tomacelli, a
committee has been formed to offer
Leo XIII on his papal Jubilee this
jewel, worthy of any sovereign.
The statement in a London dis
patch that Mr.. Charles Rothschild, of
London, has a collection of 10000 f1eas
will be read with great interest by dis
eliminating victims of these energetic
little insects, says the Baltimore Sun.
The Rothschild fleas are under the
special care of savant, who has CLASH
fed them and burns the midnight oil
in studying their habits. This wise
man explains that the flea affords
more diverse material for the collector
than does any other living creature"
This is an observation with which
every person who has ever been sub
jected to a visit from one of these tiny
pests will cordially agree. Every ami
NAL whose acquaintance is cultivated
by this lively insect has. 1t appears