The Birmingham age-herald., 1904-03-16
COMMENTS ON MEN AND
 MATTERS OF THE WORLD

As is perfectly natural, the public is weary of radium. While this metal Is credited with powers to perform wonders never dreamed of by any scientist in his right mind and papers have been filled with accounts of the marvellous changes 1t is destined to bring about in human affairs, radium continues to be so scarce that few people ever hope to see any of 1t, and to cap the climax the other day the price went up few more millions of dollars. The result is that no one sees any great difference in the world since radium was discovered. no one ever hopes to possess any of the precious metal, and every one is tired of having radium con- tinually dinned in his ears. Of course the day will probably come some time in the future when houses will be lighted by radium, eggs will be fried by radium, and furnaces will be warmed by radium, but that time is too far distant to inter- est earth dwellers of the present, and most of us will have to get along as best we can with the advantages we already have.
 Perhaps few people have noticed that the Chinese hold no place in the worlds fiction. There are and have been authors who wove stories about the Esquimaux. the tribes of Africa, the South Sea is- landers, the Australian bushmen, the desert Bedouins, and nearly all other peoples little known to their kinsmen in other parts of the globe. but imagination seems to halt before the impossible Chin apoo, Tho Cbinoea bara is eapsniciioile- ly absent in fiction Yet no country has a more Interesting history. perhaps, and although the great empire is certainly old enough to afford material for many thrilling stories, no one dares attempt this untried field. Somehow Caucasians are repulsed by Chinamen and 1t Is hard to associate them with anything that is romantic. Perhaps they are themselves lacking in imagination and are the most uninteresting of people, but even then some writer ought certainly to be able to spin at least one good story about the yellow empire. Yet no matter how well such a story was written. it Is very safe to assume that it would not prove popu- lar from the fact that the more advanced races are unable to prevent an involun- tary shudder when contemplating the stolid Chinaman He has little in sympa- thy with us and we have little in sympa- thy with him.
 Regardless of the fact that people ought to know better by this time delud- ed individuals continue their vain hunt for gold that is supposed to have been hidden by the Indians of this country be- fore the arrival of white men. Although not one adventurer in a thousand has his labors crowned by success the number of people thus engaged has apparently re- mained undiminished within the past ten years Most of these people are deluded by some legend or ancient drawing which leads them to believe that they have at last gotten on the track of untold wealth. The result is that they spend life time in the vain search and often leave be- hind them the same delusion as heri- tage for their children. It would appear reasonable that about all the gold mines abandoned by the American Indians have already been discovered and, and if not they will certainly be found some day in the natural course of events-that is by the merest accident, or by search based on scientific principles and not by any misguided individual who depends on a tissue of myths to lead him to the treasure F. C.