The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1904-04-02
ITEMS OF INTEREST.

Hudson bay is 1000 miles long and
600 milGs wide at it's northern part.
The bay is a great source of riches;
it abounds in all kinds of fish, although
the industry will remain undeveloped
as will also the oil industry from the
whales and porpoises and walruses, I'M
til it is navigated and is thus brought
within the limits of the commercial
world.
The cultivation OF coffee has been
attempted in the Mesa de- Coroneles,
forty miles from Tuxpaln, Mexico, at
an elevation of 500 to 1000 feet above
the sea level, but only in rare instances
has it been satisfactory, although the
few who have succeeded claim that it
is of superior quality, and sells from
2 to 3 cents pound more than the
grade in other and lower sections Of
Mexico.
The Canadian government has I'M
dertaken the development of the At
lantic fisheries on an extensive scale.
1t is proposed to establish an expert
mental station at Canso, where the
Nova Scotia fishermen will learn how
to catch and cure herrings under the
direction of a staff of fishery experts,
and a number of Scotch fishermen are
to be brought over and established in
Nova Scotia.
In connection with the naval con-
f1icts now proceeding in the Far East
it is interesting to recall that certain
islands off the Japanese coast are ira
ditionally haunted by the ghosts of
Japanese slain in naval battles. Even
to-day the Chousen peasant fancies he
sees ghostly armies bailing out the
sea with bottomless clippers, condemned
thus to cleanse the ocean of the slain
of centuries ago.
Japan cannot afford to surrender
Korea. 1t is historically and of ne
cessity the main artery of her vital
connection with Asia. 1t is only 125
miles across the Korean strait. And
Fusan is but ten hours away from
Shimoneski the gate of the Inland
Sea. To yield Korea to hostile
Power is to expose herself to peril
along the whole western side of her
territory. She needs Korea as a COM
mercial outlet.
The Japanese are extremely teach
able. They are ready to gain knowl-
edge from any one who possesses it,
and they further show great wisdom
in deciding how far and in what direc-
lions they can best assimilate Western
knowledge, remaining at the same time
passionately Japanese. The japanese
have decided that the English Ian
guage shall be the gateway to West
ern life and thought, and with great
foresight they give more time to the
study of English than any Western
nation gives to the study of a foreign
language.
-Manchuria corresponds in latitude
to Manitoba, North Dakota, Minnesota
and Nebraska It's area of 1862, $40
square miles is only 10000 square
miles less than the combined area of
these great grain states. II is two
and one-half times greater than Cali
fornia, and is as big as Texas, Ala
bama and Louisiana combined. In
the northern part of the province are
thousands of square miles of rich
wheat land entirely untouched. Man
churia has a possible wheat area as
great as that Of the United States.
Americans have an electric street
railway in Seoul, and a gold mine in
the north which employs fifty or sixty
foreigners and 1900 Koreans and pays
into the imperial treasury an annual
royalty of $12, 500. Americans should
have a special interest in Korea as
one of our four small Asiatic wars was
with Korea a generation ago. For
years an American was foreign adj
wiser to the Emperor, and an earnest
Korean once argued in favor of
Americas assuming a protectorate
over his land. But our chief contri-
button to Korea is neither commercial
nor political, but moral and religious.
The copyright act of Great Brit
ain brings to the British Museum so
many newspapers that a special
building is necessary to house them.
This new building at Hendon is maxi
ing such progress that it is expected
to be finished by the end of June.
The number of newspapers published
in the United Kingdom received at the
museum last year was 1922, comprls-
ing 199067 single numbers. In ad-
dition to these 221 sets containing 49,
735 numbers of colonial and foreign
newspapers were presented, and Is
sets containing l2z volumes and a.
633 numbers of current colonial and
foreign newspapers were purchased.
When the public reads that 10O,-
100000 yen has Professionally been set
apart by Japan for war purposes it
may perhaps put an exaggerated es-
innate on that amount. Although
Japan has a gold standard, the yen
is of silver currency, and huctuatas
with the price of silver so that at
the moment 100000, 900 of them means
scarcely more than 1000. 900, But