The Savannah morning news., 1903-04-05
ITEMS OF INTEREST.

Wayland, Mass, recently at the an
nual town meeting. The citizens NOM
mating caucuses were done away with.
In lieu of these, candidates for Office
were put in nomination Independently,
on the plan that any man desiring Of
flee could file nomination papers if
able to secure twenty signatures, re-
quired by law. By this common con-
sent on the part of the citizens all can
didates filing such nomination papers
stand equal chance of election. and
the number of possible candidates is
limited only by the ability of men to
secure signatures to nomination pa
pers. In Wayland the hopeful candi-
date is surely "in the hands of his
friends
The Lord Provost of Glasgow,
whose office corresponds with that of
mayor in this country, told at din
ner recently how he was tipped" by
an American sightseer. A party of
tourists from the United States were
viewing the splendid municipal cham
bers in Glasgow and were especially
enthusiastic about the great marble
staircase. The lord provost happen
ed to pass and offered to guide them
about. While doing so he gave them
some information about the rise and
growth of his interesting city. AS he
was leaving one of the Americans
quietly slipped a half-dollar into his
hand. The provost had not recovered
from his amused establishment when
the Americans left the building.
The way in which billiard playing
is simplified by the device of Munich
professor has Astonished those who
have witnessed the test, says the Amer
lean Inventor. The sides of an ordi-
nary billiard table are provided with
six mirrors, one or more of which can
be turned down when a play is made,
and the advantage rests in the fact
that any image is reflected in the same
angle in which it falls on the mirror,
just as the billiard ball rebounds from
the cushion in the same angle as that
of striking The mirror shows at
once the different ways in which a shot
can be made. Even the tyro is said
to make difficult indirect shots as d.
rect ones, and the intricacies of the
game are quickly conquered by any
body"
Now any one who has looked at
the skeleton of a snake-and it is real
ly very beautiful object-will have
been struck by the great number of
ribs, which may be as many as 1850
pairs, says st. Nicholas. In these lay
the secret of the ability of the serpent
to do some of these wonderful things.
The lower end of each rib is connected
with one of the broad scales that run
along the under side of a snake, and
when a rib is twisted slowly backward,
it pushes on the scale, the edge of the
scale catches on the ground or what
ever object his snakeship may be rest
ing and thQ h06U of ha lie
pushed just a little bit forward. OF
course, each rib moves the body but
mere trif1e; but where the ribs are so
many, and they are moved one after
another, the result is that the snake
moves slowly but steadily ahead.
Persons troubled with Brights
disease are interested in the experience
of DR.. G. NJ. sEdebohls of New York
in the cure of chronic Bright's dis
ease by a surgical operation, says the
Baltimore Sun. The operation, which
consists, it appears, in the removal of
one or both of the kidneys, are first
performed by DR.. Edebohls with the
deliberate purpose of bringing about
cure of the disease when it had become
chronic" in January 1898. The pa
tient, a girl of 20, is now alive and
well. A table is given in the Medical
Record of March % of nine chronic
cases cured by operations. These nine
remain cured at periods of time vary
ing from one year and nine months
to over ten years after operation. Some
of the cases were far advanced. OF
eleven cases operated on in 1902 but one
died and the rest are so far doing well.
1t is deduced that chronic Bright's
disease in it's earlier stages is durable
by renal decapsulation, and the OPP
or ~ in out dc
little or no risk of life
The Philadelphia Medical Journal
deplores the increase of the cocaine
habit in Pittsburg, owing to the will
ingness of druggists to sell cocaine
without restriction for the profit that
it brings them. One, druggist Of the
Smoky City" sold "a, 900 grains which
figures out a profit for him of Sc, 120 a
year on the ruin of ignorant customers.
The drug is a deadly one, but it pro-
duces sort of exhilaration which it's
victims desire, says the Baltimore
Sun. Many patented catarrh cures
depend, says the Journal on the CO.
caine. in them for their effect. TN the
average case" says the Journal, 1.-The
symptoms of cocainiSm are ushered in
with disorders of digestion, loss of ap-
petite, salvation and emaciation. 1t is,
however, upon the central nervous SyS-
tenn that the chief pathological effects
are eXerted, and these are said to be
a degeneration similar in character to
that produced by the continuous use of
morphine. A most dramatic picture
could be drawn of the chain of symp-
toms to which the victim will soon fall
heir. Insomnia, tremors, sometimes
convulsions, Authorizations and sven
delirium and insanity are often en-
countered in conjunction with various
paresthesias." 1t is proposed to in
duce the Legislature to restrict the
sale of cocaine within safe limits, and
the Journal gives its support to the
effort Our contemporary arraigns
the retail druggist who, by dispens-
ing cocaine at a tremendous profit has
in many instances built up a thriving
business on the wrecked lives of the
victims"
Much curious and interesting
watch lore will be found in a little
book, Time and Time Tellers," by j.
w. Benson, a second edition of which
has just been issued by the authors
firm in Ludgate Hill, says the West
Minister Gazette. Among other things,
we are told about the watch of John
Milton This watch was made by Will
liam Bunting of London in 1881. 1t
was presented to Milton in the same
year, which was the date of his leav-
ing Cambridge. From that time down
to the early part of the last century
there is no record of the watch or It's
possessors, but in 1919 it was be-
queathed by the last surviving mem-