The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-12-17
ITEMS OF INTEREST.

"A plague of ants lately invaded an
office at Everley, England. Paper
soaked with oil of peppermint was
spread about, when the ants disappear
ed in half an hour. and although the
odor of peppermint quite evaporated
in few days, their memory was good
and they never returned.
A limited liability company was
fioated recently at Frankfurt Main
for the construction of the first section
of the BaCdad Railway from Konia to
EregH. The capital of the company is
f150, 900. of which amount % per cent.
will be paid UP upon the formation or
the company.
What is believed to be the first iron
casting made in the territory now in
Guided in the United States is pre-
served in Lynn, Mass. It's history is
well authenticated. 1t is cooking pot,
weighing a little over two pounds. 1t
was made about 1912, near Lynn, where
a small blast furnace was built in that
year. This furnace used charcoal for
fuel, with bog ore found in the mea-
dows along the Saugus river, and oys-
ter shells as fux. The furnace was
operated until 1888, with some intermis-
sions.
The Anglo-Japanese Gazette, pub
lished in London, says: Taking the
figures of exports from the United
States to Japan for last year, as COM
pared with those of 1901, an increase
of 13 per cent. is shown, while on the
other hand, Japanese imports from
Europe show a falling off. In 1881 the
United States furnished 5.72 per
cent, and last year 17.9 per cent. of the
total imports, as compared with
Great Britain's share of 52.57 per cent
in 1881, and 1853 in 1902. Japan i'm
ports large quantities of machinery of
every scription-railroad plant, We
hicles, labor-saving tools-from the
United States"
Wire drawing is of quite ancient
origin. About the year 1900 wire was
made by pulling it through draw
plates. There are descriptions eXtant
of Withdrawing machinery which were
published in the sixteenth century
and after that date it gradually took
the place of the older method of ham
nlering out the wire by hand, which
dates back to some 500 years before the
Christian era. Wire drawing has the
advantage of permitting the produce
ton of a much smaller wire than could
very process of drawing down the wire
greatly enhances its physical qualities,
increasing the tensile strength to a
truly remarkable degree.
Recently a fine old mansion was
lifted 100 feet from the banks of the
Monongahela river to the summit of the
cliffs above. The building, which is
known as the Brown mansion, has
stood for several generations at the
foot of the lofty and PERCEPTIONS cliffs
which line the river at this point. At
Browns station where this house was
located, the railway company requir-
ed for improvement purposes the
ground on which the building stood.
At the top of the cliff, 100 feet above,
is line stretch of orchard land be-
longing to the owners of the house and,
largely from sentimental reasons, it
was decided to move the building up
the face of the cliff and place it on
this elevated site. Though the build
ing is eighty-five by forty feet and
weights 800 tons, it was lifted by tim
bers and jackscrews to the top, the
cost being considerable more than the
value of the house.
Running newspaper in Russia is
pre-eminently a risky operation, says
the London Taller. The Cars gov
eminent spends more on the press cen
sorship than it does on education. and
quite recently the staff of press censors
has been increased by eight. Certain
ly the censor earns his salary in Rus
STA. Last year eighty-three newspa-
pers were suspended for periods
amounting in all to thirty-one years
and ten days, twenty-six papers were.
forbidden to accept advertisements and
w inc Cd =
threatened with Siberia if they did not
mend their ways. The censorship even
pursues the unfortunate editor after
1t elects him. One eminent conductor
of scientific journal who was dis
missed at the instance of the censor
is practically condemned to starve or
emigrate. All the papers and publish
ers in Russia are forbidden to accept
copy" from him.
"A curious parallel to the case Of the
Polish countess Kwilecka, which was
recently decided in Berlin. is furnished
by the famous Douglas case, which &C.
cupied the law lords of Scotland from
1852 to 1867. and was reheard before
the House of Lords in 1863. In that
case the allegation was that Lady Jane
Stewart (born Douglas) had, with the
conniVance of her husband. Capt.
Stewart, and some servants, presented
to her family as her own children twin
boys, who were really the offspring of
poor French parents. The suspicious
points were that Lady Jane (who did
not marry until her forty-eighth year,
was over so at the time of the chill
drens birth. that this birth occurred
abroad. and that she and her husband
were in a condition of poverty, which
rendered it extremely desirable to SUBJ
stantiate some claim upon her family.
The Scotch lords were equally divided
upon the case, and Dundas, the pres
ident, gave his casting vote against the
claim of the surviving twin. This de-
cision was highly unpopular in Scot
land. so much so that the life of Dun
das was threatened. The House of
Lords, however, reversed the decision
and Archibald Stewart, who afterward
took the name of Douglas, in due time
succeeded his uncle. became Baron
Douglas, and the ancestor of the pres
ent holder of that title and of the
Douglas estates. He was a man of the