Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-02-21
London Not Sanguino Over
North Sea Inquiry Findings.
BARNACLES AND SHIPS
ORDINANCE AGAINST TRAM
WAYS ON BRIDGES AN INJUSTICE
Incidents That Marked Sale Of a
"Strad" Violin-Music Hall Man
ayers May Form League.
Special Correspondence of The Evening Star.

Special Correspondence Of The Evening Star.
LONDON. February 4, 1905.
I hear that in official quarters there are
no very sanguine expectations of the out
come of the North sea inquiry sitting in
Paris. And certainly general unofficial
opinion already discounts any national dis
appointment which may await this coun-
try. The truth is that the progress Of the
inquiry is justifying the distrust with which
many competent lawyers and politicians
viewed the submission of such q question
with it's inevitable conflicting evidence
to a mixed and tri-lingual body. A legal
friend who has just returned from Paris,
and who passed an interesting afternoon in
attending the commission the other day,
tells me that the procedure adopted is
more calculated to soothe national sus-
capabilities than to elucidate the real
truth. The atmosphere of the inquiry is
not judicial, as an English lawyer under
stands it, and there is doubt that the
English case is handicapped by the fact
that foreign conception of judicial pro-
cedure differs radically from British. More
| over, as many people foresaw from the
| first, the actual progress of the inquiry is
resulting in the British representatives hav-
| ing to defend as serious allegation what
| is regarded here as a charge pour rire
And as evidence of the Russian officers
compes it to be seriously entertained it has
| acquired a certain air of substantially.
The Russians, too, know the value of a
press campaign and have been filling
the columns of the Paris press with all
| sorts of official statements which may,
or may not prejudice the result.
| Japanese on Barnacles.
| There is no department of modern scien-
! tif1c investigation to which the japanese
| are strangers, and they are interested
| in ocean plants and shell fish. Talking on
| this subject with a highly distinguished
| Japanese public man yesterday, he remark
| ed to me that there are no finer barnacles
| in the sea than those which are found of
| the coast of Madagascar. The hesitancy
| of Admiral Rojestvensky to take his fleet
| either forward Or! backward was, he
| thought. singularly favorable to the growth
| of marine vegetation and parasitic cruSta-
| cea on the bottoms of the Russian IRON
| clads; SO that when they leave the Mala-
| gasy shore their rate of progress is likely
| to be much less than when they made their
| triumphant progress through the North
| sea.
My Japanese friend put the probable
| speed at about half that of Admiral Togos
| SQUAD rons. AS Mr.. w. T. Stead's opinion
| is that the war will last for three or four
| years longerGat least till the Russions
| had won a victory-t Is plain that Admiral
Rojestvensky, If ne persists tS IN ms pres
| tualy be able to present to the National
| history Museum at ST. Petersburg-or
| Tokyo-a unique collection of barnacles.
London TramwaYs Prescribed.
The common council Of the city of Lon
don like the house OF commons. by a re-
cent vote. will not allow the tramways to
cross the BIackfriars or the Westminster
| bridge. This is very hard on people who
do not possess carriages and horses. Be-
tween 6 and O. clock at night people stream
| over these bridges by tens of thousands
II the weather be inclement 1t is very
hard that they should be compelled to race
| 1t instead of riding in a tramcar But for
some inscrutable reason the cars are not
| TO he allowed to cross the bridges, though
| nobody would be any worse if they We're
| while in the course of the year mlIllonS
| of passengers would be benefited.
The motor omnibus Is decided and, in
| deed an unqualified success. 1t Is pleasant
| to the eye, which cannot be said or all
| motor vehicles; it is commodious, well light
| ed and comfortable. Besides, ii travels at
a greater speed than the electric trans
The old horse omnibusses, when nave
| rumbled along the streets through two gen.
| erations, are certainly doomed at last, and
no one, with their smelling oil lamps and
stuffy interiors, will regret their extinction
The only reason to regret the disappear
ance of the horsedrawn omnibus is that
it's supersession by the motor bus means
the loss of one of few remaining Cock
ney types-the bus driver.
But we shall not miss even him so much
as 1.-The hanson cabby,' whose extinction is
now threatened by the formation of motor
cab company. With all his faults, cabby is
an engaging gentleman, his ruddy face and
ready wit atoning for many lapses in his
commercial morality. Sitting on the box
| of elegant motor. in smart uniform,
and with his billy-cock replaced by chauf-
feur's cap, he will gain in dignity what he
will lose in picturesqueness; and on the
whole the change will be regretted for 1t
means the extinction of type.
But 1t has been a grievous experience for
him during the last few weeks to find his
cab outclassed and outpaced by the motor
omnibusses, and he has come to see that
If he Is to hold his own In these days Of
quick locomotfon he, too, must drive a
motor. He is. therefore, being induced to
take share in the new motor cab company,
and at the offices Of the Claimants Union a
| dummy motor is being used for his in
struction in the art of driving. Attempts
have already been made to put motor cabs
on the streets of London, but they have not
succeeded partly because cabby's prejudice
has stood In the way. and partly because
the right type OF vehicle has not yet been
evolved Now however, the motor is so
universal that with the cabman converted
to their use the present effort will prob
ably be effective.
Sale of an Old Violin.
What was described as an undoubtedly
genuine Strad was offered for sale yester-
day in a West End auction room under
|
and the violin professors of the Royal Col
lege of Music had spoken in the highest
terms of its tone and appearance, and the
fact that the prominent amateur who Is
the present owner bought it in 1886 from
Reichers, the celebrated dealer. of Berlin,
for loo. was regarded as unimpeachable
! proof of it's value ars
The instrument was accompanied by au-
thenticating documents including from
Reichers himself who declared the Strad to
be "of the best period, quite sound. and
| without cracks There was also mention
of certificate from a well-known London
dealer who is regarded as an arbiter in
these matters The auetiOneer demurred to
a request to read it, pointing out that the
certificate was in the office. open to any
body's inspection. After some pressure,
however, he read it. It's contents threw a
light ON the situation.
There is no doubt. 1t stated, that the
violin was made by Antoni Stradivari. but
the writer felt bound to qualify his opinion
with the statement that the instrument
had seriously deteriorated through inju-
diciOus usage and bad repairing, that the
varnish was not all it might be, and that
there were grave doubts as to the genuine