Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-03-16
OIL FAILS AS A FUEL
Result Of Experiments in
British Navy.
TESTED ON HANNIBAL
INNOVATION IN RULES FOR IN
vITATIoNs TO COURT.
Profits of Big Department Stores Con-
tinue to Increase-London
News and Gossip.
TESTED ON HANNIBAL
Special Correspondence of The Evening Star.

me Brlt1Sn admiralty, following TIC
American lead. have been making expert
ments lately with oil for fuel in the navy,
but thus far without success.
I hear that the battle ship Hannibal,
which was recently fitted for the purpose
Of experimenting with mineral oil as fuel,
has returned to Portsmouth, and that SO
far no success has been achieved. 1t is de-
clared that oil will not produce anything
like the speed to be obtained from coal,
and another serious drawback Is the great
quantity of smoke which Is emitted from
the tunnels, so black and dense, in fact, as
to be seen minutes before the ships hull
comes into sight.
The chief trouble, however. seems to be
with the unburned oil itself. The great
tendency which 1t has to percolate through
the sides of the metal storage tanks con-
stitutes danger which might lead to a ter
rible disaster. A lighted match. it is said.
may be dropped into the oil with impunity
in temperate climates, but 1t Is doubted
whether this could be done in tropical lat
itudes. In this matter of oil combustion
navies, particularly the Russian, which
claims to have adopted the fuel with the
most satisfactory results.
Interesting Court Regulations.
The regulations for the court shortly
to be held contain one most interesting in
novation, namely, that ladies sending in
their names are requested to add the names
Of their husbands. This means that hus-
bands generally are to be invited. Last
season many husbands were honored with
invitations, but it was only when their
wives made a request to that effect at the
lord chamberlains office. The regulations
are strictly designed to prevent the intru-
sion Of undesrabes. A lady must now
know personally and be responsible for
any one she presents. Moreover, 1t Is no
longer possible for the same individual to
present half a dozen ladies at one time.
No lady may now present more than one,
except 1t be her own daughter or daughter
in-law. All this has rendered impossible
the scandal which arose when payments
were made to secure the presentation of
daughters or wives of certain rich per-
sons and sometimes Americans. Some i'm
pecunious ladies of quality openly took
payment Of SO many thousands to chaper-
on young ladies during the season, and to
present them at court. In other cases
ladies making presentations had their dress
makers bills paid for them, accepted
valuable jewelry.
Young Harcourt to Run for Parliament
Surprise has often been expressed at the
apparent Discrimination of MIR. Lewis Vernon
Harcourt, Sir William Harcourt's eldest son,
to seek parliamentary honors. 1t is, there
FORE an interesting announcement that in
the case of Mr.. ]. A. Peases retirement
from the representation of the Saffron
Walden division Mr.. Harcourt, known
among his intimates as Lulu Is to come
forward as the liberal candidate. Prior to
his marriage with an American heiress Mr..
Harcourt held appointment at the head
quarters of the liberal party, and he is
therefore a well-known figure in the parlia-
mentary lobby. Though never a member
of the house, he is said to have exercised
a considerable amount of political influence
behind the scenes, and a few years ago,
when the quarrel between Lord Rosebery
and Sir William was rather acute, young
Harcourt was credited with a pretty talent
for political intrigue. He has a command
Ing presence, being tall as his father,
and he was born just about forty years ago.
His mother is an American being the
daughter of Motley, the historian.
Profits of Syndicate Stores.
Some time ago 1 wrote on the success Of
certain limited liability companies in Lon
don which dealt IN dry and other goods
and supplied general wants. The balance
sheets of four of these companies just is
sued show large profits and increasing
ones. The four companies to which re-
fer do a somewhat different kind Of busl-
ness That of Thomas Wallis & CO. is one
of the few large drapery concerns left in
the old city; that of Harrods does gen
eral store business; that of Liberty d 90.
does a West End tr?de, and that Of Plum
mer Roddis & Tyrell does a business en-
tirely the south coast. In each case
the profits for 1902 show increase. In
the case of Thomas Wallis & Co. the In
crease is slight. The profits of Harrod's
have increased from f91.,yo to over f110,-
600; Lfberty's had a surplus of fully f59,o0O,
as against little over f4S,o0O in 1901,
while that of the company doing a south
coast trade is s per cent larger than in
1901. 1t would appear that not only dad
London companies benefit from the influx
of coronation visitors, but that trade in
al, fnn II
not so bad one might judge from the
gloomy statements current last summer.
To Welcome Chamberlain Home.
A great welcome is preparing for Mr..
Chamberlain's homecoming. He will be
given dinners and receptions and will make
innumerabe speeches during the next few
weeks He has tie pleasure Of success, and
nothing succeeds like success" His trip
to South Africa has shown him to be a hui
man and powerful statesman, thorough
man of the world, and the journey will be
of great value to the government in the
settlement of the South African question
that must be faced for years to come He
IS always SO optimistic that one does not
remember his age. But the fact of the mat
ter is that Mr.. Chamberlain knows full well
what many people are apt to forget and
that is that he is reaching an age when
most men lay aside their work and depute
the task of its completion to younger men
Mr.. Chamberlain is in his sixty-seventh
year In the department over which he so
ably presdes every one is compulsorily re-
tired at the age of siXty-tye.
The man in the street is apt to forget that
the colonial secretary is old man. His
upright figure. jet black hair and clear
brain conceal that fact. A stranger who
sees him in the house with the present post
master general would certainly take the
pair for brothers instead of father and son.
But his youthful appearance does not alter
the Tact that he is the Oldest cabinet minis
ter in the house of commons.
The secret of Mr.. Chamberloin's peren-
NAL youth is a mystery. He hates ath-
letics; few persons ever saw him on the
back of a horse until he went to South
Africa. A friend of NINE who is accom-
panying him. writes me to say that he sits
his steed like a hussar. Mr.. Chamberlain
goes to bed late and gets up late, disprov-
ing the old adage that one hours sleep
before midnight is worth two afterward
I once asked one of the distinguished doc
tors in the House if he could explain how
Mr.. Chamberlain always kept 80 fit" He
replied: II can't think. 1t must be to prove
that all doctors are liars.
London's Vital Statistics.
Last week the number of births in Lon
don was nearly double that of the deaths
As this rate of increase must go on the