Omaha daily bee., 1902-11-29

The carrying out Of Mr.. Chamberlain
plan to visit the Uganda railway will prob
ably place In the hands Of the public more
thorough information In regard to this i'm
portant feeder to the projected Cape-to-
Cairo line than has yet been acquired.
There have been two foreign once reports
Issued within the year, neither Of which
can be considered satisfactory. The hrst
gave an elaborate description Of the line
up to Lake Victoria, which point II was
supposed to have reached December IS,
1901; the second, which has come to hand,
Indicates that there remains still another
years work to do in the construction Of
bridges and in laying the permanent way
before the line can be declared open for
trafnc. The speculation in land values,
which set in with the beginning Of the rail-
way, has not only abated, but prices have
gradually returned to a very little over
that at which they stood when the line
was commenced. Should produce come
down from Uganda in any volume, there
viii no doubt once more be a boom. Apart
from the large permanent stan employed
on the construction OF the line, who were
fed on rations imported by the administrs-
ton as part Of their pay, there were many
contractors and subcontractors who en-
ployed large numbers OF men. When these
contracts terminated the importation Of
food stuffs and provisions for the men
under them ceased. The permanent stan
OF the railway is also being considerably
reduced.
The legalizing Of the metric system Of
weights and measures is the purpose OF a
bill which Is likely to be introduced at the
next session OF the English Parliament.
This Is an old agitation in England, as
In other countries that are not already
using the new system, but in England
the movement seems recently to have
gained some force. A Parliamentary COM
mittee that investigated the matter some
years ago made a glowing report Of the
advantages of the new system, finding
that in addition to the drawback TO for
eign trade offered by the present system
its mastery in the schools Of the coun-
try required an additional years time for
study on the part of the children. Many
bankers endorse the change as doing
away with the present cumbersome sys-
tenn Of computation. Those In favor Of
the change think its Introduction, first, by
legalizing it and somewhat later by max
ing 1t compulsory, would involve. but lit
tie Inconvenience or confusion. This,
however, is regarded by many as an I'M
duly optimistic view, and 1t does seem as
II the doing away with the time hon
ored pounds, shilling and pence of the
British nation were an operation SO din
cult as to be practically impossible.
zee
Capetown, South Africa, is Just now a
lively place, where the adventurer and the
charlatan are reaping rich harvests, though
the wages for working people and artisans
are not nearly so Inflated as they always
have been in new and booming towns on the
frontiers Of civilization, and the harvests
referred to are to that extent curtailed.
But 1t is the British soldier, returning TO
the tow from the north for shipment back
to his home, that brings most Of the "easy
money" that the industrious find lying
around. Each of these soldiers reaches the
town with from 500 to 5000 in his posses
sion, and many OF them are easy prey.
Even the officers find the poor and expen-
sive hotels and similar accommodations of
the place quite luxurious after the depriva-
lions they have suffered at the front. Not !
a few Of the soldiers, robbed and rendered
destitute soon after their arrival In Cape
town, have themselves turned "sandbag-
gers' on their own account. OF course, the
merchants and hotel men are making plenty
Of money In a legitimate sort of a way,
though some OF the prices are near to rob-
berry, and everywhere the hrst-class prices
are for second class goods, service or en-
tertainment.
The Berlin Society of Business Men and
Manufacturers is an organization formed
for the purpose Of preventing unfair COM
petition in business, and laws that have !
been passed by the German Parliament to
that end are, under the watchful care of the
society, being strictly enforced. In Ger
many, 1t is stated, a bargain sale" must
actually be a bargain sale. There is a
heavy fine for the improper use of trade
marks or brands, for the disparagement of
any other business or goods, for concealing
the name Of the manufacturer OF goods, for
changing goods from one place to another
secretly OF for betraying business secrets.
1t is also a misdemeanor to falsely declare
that goods are sold of owing to an lex
piration OF lease" when really they are
articles specially bought for the reduction
SALE" or to state that goods are sold "un-
der cost price" when they are really sold
at a profit. In such matters a fine not ex-
ceeding 1915 can be imposed for the first
~offense, and the second is punishable by
imprisonment. Deception as to the quality
OF goods Is also punishable by fine.
zee
The government of France having deter
mined, by legislative enactment, to dimin.
ish, II It cannot entirely abolish the drink
ing Of absinthe, the absinthe users have de-
termined to make reprisals and they are
agitating against hat they term the opium
habit. II sbsinthe makes people silly, they
say. opium makes maniacs Of them. II alb
sinthe may affect generations to come,
opium attacks the present generation. The
vice has not taken serious hold upon Paris,
but In the southern cities, and especially
Marseilles and Toulon, 1t is alleged the
opium maniac is at large and the state of
things is equal 10 the worst corners Of any
Chinese town, there being whole streets
where opium dens are to be found In every
house. Men. women and children pass
hn,nnn .nnHnr Ahn lnHlinnnn nN fha drug L. 40 |