The Savannah morning news., 1903-12-27
ITEMS OFF INTEREST.

While English unions have increased
their membership in nine years, from
1900, 900 to 100000, those of the Unit
ed States have grown from 100000 to
1000, 900.
Onions are under the ban Of the
law at Indianapolis. A judge there
holds that if family in an apart
ment house wishes to have the luscious
fruit for dinner and the other resi-
dents of said apartment house object
to the lovely odor that the party in
the first part can have an INDUCTION
served on their dinner table instead of
onions.
City Committeeman John Boyle of
Philadelphia was consulted by some
fellow Democrats as to certain can
didate for ward leadership. Mr.. Blank
is a first rate man." said one of his
callers. "Ee talks like book, as the
saying is" Mr.. Boyle responded
bluntly: I'VE don't want man that
talks like a book. The man we need
is a fellow that talks like burglar
proof safe after it has been locked up
for the night"
"A French provincial matchmaker
sent a number of his watches to teach
ers, inclosing stamps for their return
if not wanted. One teacher, who did
not want the watch sent him, refused
to return it, and suit was brought
against him, whereupon he brought a
counter suit for 20 francs damages for
annoyance and waste of time. The
court awarded him 10 francs, and in
formed the manufacturer that he
should have called for his watch.
Russia is, or will be soon, the pos
SCISSOR of the only unchanged issue of
postage stamps in the world. Until
now Hong Kong held that position. The
first Hong Kong stamps were issued in
1859, and are Identical in every respect
with those in use to-day. The head of
King Edward is, however, soon to re-
place that Of Victoria, and thence
forth the Russian issue, with the dou-
BILE eagle and shield of St. George,
which first appeared in 1S64-65,. and is
still running, will hold the longtime
record.
During a recent exercise with
searchlights on a war ship it was no.
ticed that one of the lights suddenly
began to flicker. Close attention was
given to it. and it was soon found
that the light was recording one Of
the signals of the Morse alphabet.
Subsequently it was ascertained that
two other war ships were exchanging
signals at the time by wireless tele-
graphy, and this light intercepted one
of them because 1t happened to be in
time" with the wireless apparatus.
The ship that caught the message was
not in sight of either of the others.
"A favorite method of suicide in ia
pan lately has been to leap over certain
waterfalls. So frequent have such oc-
currences become that police are now
constantly stationed in their neighbor-
hood, and notice boards are erected
bearing inscriptions in large letters, of
which the following is an example: DO
not drown yourself here! Intended
suicides are warned that heaven dis
approves of the utilization of Kegon
waterfall for the purpose. This is GER
titled to on the best priestly authority,
and serious consequences in the here
after are guaranteed. To drown here
is also forbidden by the prefectural au-
thorities."
Hungarian dentists and chemists
claim to have discovered valuable To-
cal anesthetic called "nerVocidine,"
having somewhat similar properties to
cocaine, but producing a much more
lasting anesthesia. The base of the
drug is obtained from an Indian plant,
~gasu basu," discovered by Dalma.
When ready for use this new discovery
is in the form of a yellow amorphous,
Microscopic power, readily soluble in
water. In a OIL or or per cent. solu-
ton it produces marked anesthesia of
the cornea, which is very persistent,
and when a OIL per cent solution is
brushed on the mucous membrane of
the cheek it gives the same result. Ex-
h.E rrtrv
esthesia to the parts applied for ten
days. It's general effect is that of
paralyzing poison, but it does not ap-
pear to produce the same effect by sub
cutaneous injection that it does when
applied to the surface. Although it's
effect is much more prolonged than
that of cocaine, the length of time nee
essary before this effect supervenes, the
irritation caused by the drug and the
toxic symptoms it produces do not
point to the probability of it's being
generally used-eXcept, perhaps in
dental practice.
"A system has been devised by Mr..
G. E. Kelway for warning ships at
sea of approaching danger bysequipping
lighthouses with wireless signaling APP
paratus. The ships themselves must
be fitted with a receiving apparatus
within the range of the wireless sig
nails sent out from the lighthouse.
These are to be sent out at regular in
tervals at the same times as the sound
warnings. A ship, by observing the
time that passes between receiving the
wireless signal and the sound warn
ing. is enabled at once to calculate it's
distance from the lighthouse. If the
craft now continues on its course for
a few miles and then makes a Sec
ond observation all the necessary data
for ascertaining trigonometrically, the
exact position of the lighthouse is OBJ
tanned. A special stop-watch reading
directly in distances and a special
position finder have been devised by
Mr.. Kelway for use with his system.
The system was submitted to the con-
sideration of the recent Berlin Wire
less Telegraphy Conference. 1t illus
trates one of the many ways in which
wireless biography may be made Of
service to ships.
Places of rest and refreshment are
commonly to be found at the hating
stations on the highways in the in
terror, or at the villages on the banks
of the great rivers of China, says Col
den Penny. They frequently take the
form of a small mud hut, having a
dark interior filled with smoke, tea
tables, forms and an oven, where a
cook is kept busy baking tea bread
and frying buildings for the entertain
ment of the customers, whose favorite
beverage is tea, although when times
are good and the weather cold they