The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1904-03-12

thousand mems rings were sold ten
years ago, particularly about Christ
mas time, scarcely any are now sold,
which is pretty good evidence of a de-
caying fad which was effeminate at
its best"
TO the Dick Swivellers of this or
any other generation Japan is the land
of the blest, says the London Chron-
icle. For credit abounds there, and
cash is never demanded. In shops, no.
tells, everywhere, there are provided
proper tablets with tear-off leaves and
a pencil Instead of paying over
money the customer is asked only for
a chit-the amount of his purchase and
signature On offering to pay a barber
for a shave the answer is: 1--WE can't
bother making up cash now. Give us
a chit and wait till the end of the
month"; For the same simple chit
lodgings, meals, drinks, clothes, etc.,
may be obtained. Only the railways de-
mand cash, and among the Europeans
in Yokohama only tourists carry
money. Every one else makes his way
with chits. Two years are generally
allowed for the fulfillment of these
promises to pay, and three years are
the limit. But some keep on chitting
| for ten years. the custom is to pay up
monthly or yearly. Despite the man
fold temptations thus afforded, the
number of chits dishonered is relative
ly small
"A firm of warehousemen Of Roch-
ester, N. Y. think they have at last
hit upon a simple and effective con-
trivance for the determination of the
numberless rats that infeSt the ware
houses. This firm had tried number
of we'll known ways for killing rats,
but with no apparent effect. A clerk
in the employ of this firm, however,
conceived a plan for their destruction
| by means of electricity. A copper
plate was first placed on the floor In
one corner of the building and wire
was attached to it from the incandes-
cent light circuit. A second copper
plate was then placed on the floor al
most but not quite, touching the first
plate, and to this was connected
return wire. A piece of cheese was
then placed upon the aforementioned
copper plate, this being to attract the
rodents. They had to step on the sec
ond copper plate before they could
get to the cheese, and when their front
feet touched the first plate their hind
feet would still be on the second plate,
and thereby making complete cir
cult and killing the rat. This device
worked so we'll in its initial trial that
the firm mentioned has placed these
| contrivances all over it's warehouses.
The Great Wall of China. which
Japan asks the Chinese to guard more
safely. is quite one of the wonders of
the world, says the St. James Gazette.
It was the work of the first uni
versal Emperor" as Che-Hwang-te
was called He was a wonderfully ca
pable man. Succeeding to the throne
when only thirteen, he rapidly put the
| coping stone to the structure which
his grandfather had laboriously built
up. Having settled affairs within his
empire, he scourged his enemies be-
yond his borders. Then, to guard
against further invasion, he determined
to erect a huge barrier all along the
northern frontier of his territory. And
that was the Great Wall. 1t extends
from the Shan-hai Pass, east of Pekln,
westward to the hiau-Chia-yu barrier
gate. There is nothing else like 1t In
all the word. As the crow flies, IL
measures 1,255 miles. but following all
it's windings it runs over 1900 miles
Its proportions are terrific. Twenty
five feet broad at the base and fifteen
at the summit, it varies between Mt
teen and thirty feet in hight. The wall
is really two walls. with a stone ana
rubble buffer between them. Thus the
retaining walls, based on granite, are
of brick; between them is wedged the
solid packing.