The Savannah morning news., 1903-08-20
ITEMS OF INTEREST.


night.
James ]. Hill, who built successful
railroads in the northwest when every
one said he couldn't make them pay,
has had personal representative in
China looking up the chances for new
railroads there.
The Hector Macdonald memorial
fund is now approaching $4,000, and
John Bannon of Glasgow in intimating
check for Ell 900 renews his promise
to contribute a similar sum when the
next $4,000 is subscribed.
According to recent statistics on
telegraph lines of the world, published
in Berlin, Germany owns 10,22O miles
of telegraph cable, or one-twenty-
fourth of the entire system of the
world, while Great Britain owns two
thirds of the total mileage.
DR. C. NJ. Mills, curator Of the
Ohio State Archaeological society, has
discovered a prehistoric village on the
Gartner farm, a few miles south of
Chillicothe, o. He has made excava-
lions, which disclose many valuable
relics of the ancient people who wan
dered over the country ages ago.
The Italian Archaeological Mission
in Crete. headed by Signor Halbher,
professor at the University of Rome,
has just discovered near Agia
Triada painted sarcophagus of inesti-
mable value. 1t dates back to $500 B.
c., and is the oldest painting ever
found in Europe. The Cretan Chamber
has passed a vote of thanks to the Mis-
sion for it's researches at Gortina and
Festos.
The scheme formulated by Corne-
Illus Vanderbilt for the establishment
of an American art school in Paris has
fallen through owing to the procras-
tination on the part of the owners Of
the Chateau de la Muette who had
been offered $4,000, 900 francs for the
property. The chateau was once the
home of Marie Antoinette The own
ers demanded 100000 francs for the
property.
"A London paper tells this story in
connection with the sentries in front
of Buckingham palace: 1t appears
that their custom of meeting face to
face for moment and then separating
without word, having cut each other
dead, is a continual source of discom-
fort to sympathetic Americans. One
morning a visitor from the states
found it too much for him. Come,
boys" he said soothingly, make it
up"
John Waterman of Ithaca, Mich,
is proud of the fact that five genera
tons of the Waterman family have
fought for their country in five diff
ferent ways. WATERWAYS great-grand-
father served in the War of the Rev
olution, his grandfather in the War of
1872, his father fought in Mexico he
himself took hand in the Civil War
and his son Lewis is just completing
a three years enlistment, most of
which has been spent in the Philip
pines.
Sir Henry Irving has been chosen
president of the British Empire
Shakespeare Society, an organization
which aims to help the rising genera
ton mot only to study Shakespeares
works, but to love them" The Bish-
op of Ripon is one of the vice presi-
dents, and numerous notableS in the
theater world are prominently asso-
ciated. The society has about 1000
members, it's programme being lee
lures, readings and presentations of
entire plays.
M. Loubet, President of the French
Republic, is reported to have deter
mined never again to stand for office.
In a recent interview M. Abel Comba-
rieu, Secretary General to M. Loubet,
said: "At the expiration of the period
of seven years for which he was elect
ed, the President will step back into
the ranks. He is plain citizen, whom
the people have raised to office for
given time. but he would consider it
contrary to the spirit of the Constitu-
ton for him to take advantage of his
present position in order to secure re-
election"
We are told that practically all the
energy of a radioactive substance is
emitted by two sorts of rays, one of
which consists of negatively charged
particles, each having a mask of only
one thousandth of that of the atom of
hydrogen and moving with nearly the
speed of light; the other, which is by
far the more important, since it consti-
tutes about SO per cent. of the total
radiation, consists of positively charg-
ed PARTICLES whose mass Is approx
mately that of the entire hydrogen
atom whose speed is less than one
tenth of the above value. 1t is the
former sort of particles to which Thom-
SUI has given the udlllS COTPuSCleSS
which he considers to be electrons or
masses of electricity
The commission consisting of Sec
rotary Root. Senator Wetmore and
Gen. Ruggles appointed to select a
sculptor to design a statue of Gen.
Mcclellan to be erected in Washing
ton, D. c., has chosen Frederic Mac
Monies of New York. The statue
probably will be placed in the reserva-
ton south of the state department.
S. G. T. Todd, general solicitor of
the Standard Oil Company, is under
stood to receive, salary and commits
sions, $2500O0 a year. If any other
man in the country earns as much as
this in a similar way it is not gener-
ally known. ]. A. Cassatt of the Penn
sylvania gets $4,000 year, that being
the largest salary paid to any railroad
president in the country,
"A young man was recently brought
to the operating table of the st. Joseph
Hospital in Paris, suffering from a hard
growth in the stomach. An incision
was made and the surgeons discovered
eight silver spoons, a three-pronged
silver fork broken in two, the handle of
another, two bits of metal, a nail, a
needle, the handle and the blade of a
knife, a key, a portion of a comb and
several SMALL pieces of iron, the whole
weighing 230 grammes, or about a half
pound. The youth explained that he
was unhappy one day and thought TO
commit suicide. He swallowed a spoon.
AS this did not affect him he swallowed