The Savannah morning news., 1903-06-10
ITEMS OF INTEREST.

bOnic plague In Indla during the aIlrst
three months of the present year, ac-
cording TO official statistics, amount to
331 900. The annual mortality for the
last six years, due entirely to the pest
and not including deaths from other
diseases or from famine, is as follows:
1897, $4,000; 1898, $4,000; 1899. 1875 900;
1900, $4,000; 1901, 274,OOO; 1902, $4,000
Relations between the Sultan of
Turkey and his vassal, the Khedive of
Egypt, are strained again. The for
ner in a confidential trade has prohib-
tied any transference of property in
Turkey to members of the Khedive's
family. The Sultans encourage ac-
cuses the Khedive of supporting the
ex-State Councillor, Ismail Renal Bey,
who recently fled to Italy, and The
late Mahmud Damad Pasha'S two sons,
and generally with showing hostility
to the Sultan.
Among the many tragic and fatal
occurrences in the recent Paris Madrid
automobile race a single humorous in
cident is recorded. As one of the
cars was about to start a bailiff in
tervened on behalf of the owners
creditors. The bailiff, who was a
typical Partisan, was at first perfectly
deaf to all argument; then with due
and official ceremony he invested the
chauffer with the temporary status as
keeper" and the automobile was al
lowed to depart.
Sweden is about to follow the ex-
ample of Norway and utilize the power
of waterfalls and cataracts for the
purpose of supplying energy to cleo
trical plants The Swedish Water
falls Commission has inc praSaOfad
its report, which recommends the
Rigsdag to pass a bill authorizing the
government TO let all the state water
falls and cataracts for the purpose of
power production. The Department
of Waterfalls Commission will probably
be made permanent.
The Nationalist members of the
Paris Municipal Council have made a
great fuss because the invitation to
the council for the st. Petersburg
fetes, in celebration of the city's two
hundreth anniversary, although re-
ceived by the French government, May
4, was not transmitted to the council
until May IL. Opinion is divided as
to whether the circumstance was in
tended to bother the Nationalists who
were looking forward to the St. Peters
burg "junket" with undisguised pleas
ure, or whether it is one of the numer-
GUS signs of falling off in the Franco
Russian relationship.
The new Auer electric glow lamp,
made by a well-known German firm,
has filament of osmiun, and is said
to be economical. 1t consumes about
lie watts per candle power and lasts
800 hours. The osmium light is bril-
liant and white, giving less heat than
carbon lamp. 1t being flexible at
White heat, the lamp requires to be
suspended vertically. It is not manu-
featured for pressures of more than
AZ volts at present. Lamps for 16 volts
yield 10 to 16 candle power, and those
for 20 to 40 volts 25 to 40 candle power
For the ordinary pressures of 65 to 120
volts. and for continuous currents,
two or three lamps may be connected
together.
In 1901, according to a French
journal, the total output of coal was
S65,00O,OOO tons, and the countries yield
ing it in the order of greatest produc-
ton were the United States with $685.
100000, the British Isles with 245, 900, 900,
Germany with 1853 900, 000 Austria
Hungary with $4,000, 900, France with
30, 100000 and Belgium with $4,000, 900
tons. Italy does not figure in the list
at all, because she supplied no coal
then, but now company, the Societe
des Charbonnages des Alps, has begun
to. work rich coalfields in the most in
dustrial province of Italy 1t is an inn
portant event for the economic devel-
opment of the country, Italy has
hitherto imported 100000 tons of coal
yearly at great expense.
On the Cars fete day a Siberian
convict sent to his majesty a small
nutshell case containing a chessboard
and complete set of pieces, all exqui-
Sitely worked in miniature from bone
"A French student in the history of
mechanical devices declares in LIE
Journal that looping the loop which
is so popular in Paris, is not the re-
suit of Yankee idea" The idea"
was discussed as early as 1888 by Cla-
vieres, an engineer of the Paris Hippo
drome, and carried into execution by
him thirteen years later. Dagun, in
his "Traite de Physique" gives a pic
ture of the Centrifugal railway"
This railway was introduced at Havre,
Lyons, and Bordeaux in the early DAYS
of the last Empire, but soon went out
of fashion.
The Prussian Ministers of Educa-
ton, Agriculture, Commerce and the
Interior have sent out general ordi-
nance to all officials in their DEPART
ments to aid in the temperance move
ment. Workmen's clubs, which shall
not dispense alcoholic drinks, are to
receive special privileges from the gov
eminent. Facilities for obtaining re-
freshments, other than alcohol are TO
be increased, especially in the cen
struction of drinking fountains and
by a more plentiful supply of fresh
fruit and nom alcoholic drinks at rail
way stations and in public thorough
fares. Teachers are to instruct their
pupils about the evils of drunkenness
and government pamphlet is to he
prepared on the subject and widely
distributed.
"A discovery of considerable inter
est to British antiquaries has been
made in the River Tyne. The COM
missioners' divers, working near the
Swing Bridge at Newcastle, found a
Roman altar in the river bed. The
altar is about four feet in hight and
in good preservation. On the front of
1t. in moulded panel, is a representa-
ton of an anchor, and the dedication
reads: "Ociano Leg. VI. VI. p. F."
The translation of this r. oliver
Heslop, of the Newcastle Societies of
Antiquaries, tells us is: ITO Ocean
the Sixth Legion of the Victorious
Pious Faithful dedicate this)." The
altar is evidently one of two which
were probably in the same place of
devotions, for a counterpart of II.
found some years ago in this locality.