Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1906-05-26

OF the waterway between stettin and Ber-
lin Al an estimated cost Of 81. 10000. This
waterway Is an old canal built IN i74s. and
contains suf1eient water only for vessels
Of 10 tons burden. The interesting fea-
ture OF this improvement. which 10 to be
| secured by expenditure OF such a vast
sum Of money lies in the statement that
when completed according to the plans
provided for in the act the canal will float
vessels OF a maximum Of but 600 tons.
| Prussia is a denssly populated country,
and 1t is a high tribute to the advantages
OF water transportation that such an enor-
nous appropriation should be sanctioned
by the people for a canal with limit OF
6OO-ton vessels.
The only internal waterway Improvement
project which exceeds IT in magnitude Is
| the tl10,000,0o0 plan for the Erie canal
/ The American waterway will accommodate
/ much larger vessels than can be used on
the canal between stettin and Berlin. and
Will form connecting link for that Inn
nense water traf1c which sweeps down
| the Great Lakes. For this reason the
Prussian project can never develop into
the. magnitude possible for the Erie canal
but II demonstrates beyond question the
preference given water transportation
where II is possible to secure IT, even at
enormous cost. The advantages Of the
canal are not confined to the economies
which makes It possible in handling heavy
trafic. but a still more important sdvan-
tage lies in its immunity from control Of
J trusts or monopolies.
The many millions which are appropri-
ated for enlargement OF the Prussian canal
were contributed in the form Of taxes
by the entire people OF that country. and
the independent water highway, when COM
pleted, will be at the command Of those
people.
An anonymous writer in the English
Fortnightly Review Processes to give au-
| thentic details concerning some OF the nov
elites In the construction Of the British
battleship Dreadnought. It's storage ca
pacity for oil and coal will he says. en-
able II to steam from Great Britain to
Quebec and back without fresh supplies
He confirms the report that It will have
no watertight doors below the armored
deck. but will be fitted with lifts by which
officers and men will be conveyed over the
impossible bulkhesds. The system OF work.
ing these lifts is something tina; Is not ex-
planned. Lifts in varships (apart from
ammunition hoists) are not entirely new
The King Onward class have them for the
an action to the operating rooms below
They are ingeniously constructed to take
up the least possible. amount of room, and
have given practical satisfaction. The
writer describes the Dreadnought a. con-
sisting of five circular forts set IN its hull
or rather, with hull built around them,
each fort being heavily aImored to it's base,
and surmounted by a revolving turret,
mounting two twelve-inch guns. The ex-
act position Of the turrets is not yet known,
but 1t is understood that It will be such as
will secure the greatest possible amount
of broadside fire.
While Italy and Switzerland are shaking
hands through the great Simplon railroad
tunnel, Chile and Argentina are preparing
to do the same thing beneath the summit
OF the Andes. The first section OF the
| Transandine railroad has been finished. In
a distance of thirty-four miles this bit Of
road climbs almost one mile In altitude.
or from an elevation OF 26oo feet to over
| 1900 feet.
There will be another dizzy scramble
toward the clouds in the second section
of this unique railroad. II will be only
nine miles long, but must rise more than
5000 feet. Having been carried to a
height OF 1895 feet, OF almost two miles
the road will rise no farther, but will
pierce the summit Of the great mountain
range through a tunnel. Half this tunnel
is being constructed by Chile and half by
Argentina, the total length being two
miles.
The traveller who crosses the United
States by way OF Pixies Peak, the gorge
of the Arkansas and Tennessee pass reaches
an altitude at the latter place Of 1880
feet, which is a little higher than the new
tunnel through the Andes. when nature
threw a mountain chain like a huge back
bone down the whole Western hemisphere
1t made an immense barrier to cross. HUI
man enterprise in the United States long
| ago carried railroads over the vast Rockies,
and now it is most inspiring to know that
our southern neighbom are doing an
| equally grand thing by crossing the Andes.
Members of the German Reichatas are in
the future to receive an annual allowance
| of 5000 marks, or about $780, not in pay
ment for their legislative services. as was
recently announced, but as compensation
| for loss OF time incurred in the discharge
| OF Parliamentary duties" At the same
time $3.50 will be deducted for each day 6
absence from the sittings OF the House
1t is thought in Berlin that the law will
remove the dihiculty which has long been
experienced of providing a quorum when a
| vote on a government measure is required.
The rules OF procedure provide that a quo
rum shall consist of more than half the
! total number OF deputies-that is, 1ss the
/ total being 397. A curious circumstance
concerning the passage OF the law was that
the social democrats. who have been clam
oring for compensation for their legislative
iabors, Tefrained from supporting the meas
uTe. 1t is stated that. should their leaders
require them to obstruet legislation by be-
ing absent at a critical period their loss in
salary from the state will be made up out
OF the social democratic treasury. Thus
will be nultiisd the very object which the
government had in view in presenting the
bill.
! The information was conveyed by an
Engiishman the other day that the style
OF shaking hands at the height Of ones
head was an invention OF the English bar
maid, who, in shaking hands with her Gus
toner over the high counter, forced him to
reach up toward her elevated position. The
inventor Of this handshske. who has Iona
figured in what has been considered art