The Morris County chronicle. [volume] (Morristown, N.J.) 1877-1915, 1906-12-25
FACTS TN FEW LINES

The IaJ Mahal at Agra would cost
! $10,000000 if built today. It was be.
gun in 1920 and finished in 1913
The first plows used in this country
were made of cast iron and were OBJ
! jected to from the belief that the metal
1 poisoned the ground
/ Women comprise two-thirds Of the
I population Of Lassa, the forbidden city
/ of Tibet. and they conduct practically
all the business of the city.
Steam has not by any means made
sailing vessels obsolete. The total
number of them in the world is said
to be $4,000 as against only 10000
steamers
I A coal company at Aberdare, south
Wales, was fined recently for giving
an overweight Of coal The fact that
an error in the scales made the com
pany lose money was not considered
by the court in passing judgment.
The proposal to extend employment
in the British civil service to ex-sol-
diers and sailors Is bitterly opposed by
labor leaders. The fear il that such
men will be disposed to accept small
pay In addition to any pension they
may have and thus reduce wages.
Somebody searching the old files Of
the Lewiston (Me) journal for 1873
discovered that for that year the Lew
iston liquor agency sold 1888 worth
OF liquors. Now, in the days of en-
forcement Of prohibition, about &c.,
600 a year is spent in the same way.
A mouse caught in a trap in Rish-
ton (Lancashire) house was thrown to
dog, which would not touch it. But
the house cat picked up the mouse,
carried It to place where her kittens
were lying and has since treated it
like one of her own offspring. The
strange thing is that the cat has killed
and eaten other mice since.
From the cabinets of Naturalist r..
w. Denton of Wellesley, Mass, go
suggestions for Worth gowns, La
Fargo windows and many other re-
suits Of artistic excellence Mr.. Den
ton Is collector and dispenser Of but
terales- of the wonderfully colored
beauties Of the tropics. He has one of
the finest collections of butterflies In
the world.
Some cells are hard to kill. A fisher
man of Port Isaac, Cornwall, England,
recently cut up a large conger eel he
had caught for bait for his lobster pots
and twenty minutes afterward picked
up the head to throw it into the sea.
The jaws Of the cells head opened ana
the fsherman's forefinger was seized
between the sharp teeth. The finger
was badly hurt
Vincent E. Barnes, man Of unique
and original ideas of Springfield, Mass,
has a plan for supplying that city with
ice water. His scheme is to form a
natural ice reservoir in Little River
gorge by freezing 100000 gallons
Of water into solid mass, which
would gradually melt and supply the
Springfield people with Ice water
through the hot weather
In pipe smoking contest in Lon
don an English gardener named Cat
line made new worlds record. He
kept his old brierwood pipe lighted
for one hour and fifty-three minutes
Each of the numerous competitors
smoked his own pipe and was supplied
with one-eighth of an ounce Of tobac-
co. Forty seconds We're allowed for
up, after which no relighting
was allowed.
William Barrett Ridgely, comptroller
Of the currency since 1901, Is a human
treasure house for boarded romances
and tragedies in money He has been
educated to this business since child
hood, as his grandfather was associat-
ed with Nicholas Biddle in the old
United States bank In st. Louis, and
the Ridgelys have been men Of wealth
and power in Springfield, Ill, for sew
enty-two years.
According to many labor leaders and
economists, workers today are better
paid by from about 10 to 40 per cent
and in some cases almost as high as 20
per cent than two decades ago Their
hours are shorter. and it is asserted
they are better fed, better clothed and
better housed; that their children are
better educated; that their environ
ment is happier, and that they have
more leisure to enjoy the benefits of
all refining influences.
Jefferson Davis Eaton Of Perche,
Boone county, Mo, seldom wanders
from his own Preside. Twenty-one
years ago Mr.. Eaton went to Columbia
to secure a marriage license He got
the license and the girl and since that
time has never been away from the
farm until recently. Then he was In
Coiumbis serving on petit jury at
the circuit court. II have growing
family" said Mr.. Eaton, "and had
no business in town. Why should
go9s
Frederick CORTLAND Penfield OF New
York, former United States minister to
Egypt, writer Of books and magazine
articles, has just been notified by the
French government of his promotion
to be an officer of the Legion Of
Honor. Six years ago he won the gold
medal at the French academy. He has
received numerous European decora-
lions, the grand cross Of the Turkish
Order Of MediidIeh. grand commander
of the Egyptian degree Of Order Of
Osmanich, the Takova cross Of servia
and the grand cross of St Catharine.