The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1902-01-17
FACTS IN FEW LINES

New York city has thirty Japanese
| Methodists.
1t is said that 100000 will be need
ed for the repair of our warships dur
ing the next fiscal year.
Siberian butter is now sent in large
quantities to London and Hamburg
under the label of Danish butter.
In France they have invented a
surgical sewing machine which will
mend rents in human skin at a rapid
rate.
Boston has about 1900 persons 'en-
gagged in medicine" including dentists,
veterinary surgeons, chiropodists and
the like.
A Chinese manuscript in the Paris
library proves that anaesthetics for
surgical purposes were used in China
1,70O years ago.
The largest bird of prey in the old
world is the lammergeier, or bearded
vulture, which has a wing expanse Of
nine to ten feet.
Wasps may often be observed de-
taching from fences, boards or any old
wood the fibers, which they afterward
manufacture into papier mache.
The newest slot machine dispenses
x rays to enable the passerby to see
the bones of his hand. The tube is
put in action by the usual nickel.
During a recent drought the city
council of Mexico, Mo-, reduced the sa-
loon license from 81, to $1,000. Now
there is talk of increasing it again.
The Chinese pen from time immemo-
rial has been a brush made Of some
soft hair and used to paint the curious
~ formed letters of the Chinese alpha
bet.
The latest craze among the Partisan
women is that of foxes, or, rather, fox
cubs, as household pets. They are SO
largely in request that the little crea-
lures are for sale now In the streets.
Morphine is used extensively in the
town Of Juana Diaz, Porto Rico. 1t is
estimated by the insular board of
health that out of the $500 inhabitants
1000 are victims Of this terrible habit.
Ireland is astonishing c~riminologists
by the remarkable decrease in the num-
Der Of it's criminals. The statistics for
1900, just published, show a decrease
Of 1912 per cent as compared with the
figures for 1899.
Philadelphia claims that raising the
retail license tax from $500 to S 1,1OO
has reduced the number of city saloons
from 5,773 to 1,713 since 1887 and has
knoci-ed 1000 arrests for drunkenness
from Il years record.
The election expense statement of q
woman candidate for membership on
the school board in Newburg, N. Y,
is, mo talk. no money, no promises,
no solicitation, no intimidation, no
bribery, no cigars, nc 'schooners.'"
There are 751 newspapers and peri
odicals in Sweden, including fifty-two
dailies. Stockholm has twelve dailies,
seven published in the morning and
five in the evening, which is a large
number for a city of 100000 inhabit-
ants.
OF the 10000 American soldiers who
participated in the Mexican war only
about 5000 are living. At a reunion
held in Independence, Mo-, recently
there were present forty-seven of these
veterans, whose average g was sew
enty-nine years.
A New Zealand paper reports that
Robert Louis St%evenson's grave in Sa-
moa is overgrown with weeds and is
in some danger of being lost altogeth-
er. Many persons used to visit it, but
it is said that the yearly average is
now something like six.
About 10000 passes into the Pan
American exposition. We're issued. Elk
actly S,304,073 admissions to the expo
sition were recorded, and, since many
of the passes were used several times
at least, it is seen that the free adj
missions constituted a considerable per
cent Of the whole.