The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-09-23

En,rance. Have Cost Enormous sums.
sone.imes the most insignificant pIeCe
carelessness has produced results which
-. .haken continents. The misplace
-srt OF a period was the cause, II is said:
49, Jameson raid and therefore indirectly
the cause.
at betveen the Boer Government and the
TwIaDder population q letter was sent 20
M Jameson from johannesburg, signed
~ Col. Rhodes and others.
SAoo,rdinR to the Grand Magazine tho
.5ginal contained the following sentence:
sWe feel we are justified in taking steps
a. nrevent the shedding OF blood and to
insure the protection OF our rights. II IL
nrder these circumstances that we feel
oonstralned TO call upon you TO come to our
AID should disturbance arise here. Ciroum-
.,anoes are so extreme that we cannot
avoid this step, 6c., &o.'
In the message DR.. Jameson received
Nh. full stop was placed after the word
aid. instead OF after here Thus the
nuaIifying clause was cut Oh and became
apart Of the next sentence. The Rhodesians
came instantly galloping across the frontier
on their III fateu MISSION.
Carelessness pure and simple was the
cause Of a shocking catastrophe near st.
petersburg during the army maneuvres
to,r years ago. A sham fight was in prog
r.ss. and an officer in command of a cavalry
regiment was ordered to move around the
sank Of the opposing force. Instead OF
throwing out scouts and proceeding oau-
uolsly he calmly trotted of In the direction
indicated and when the regiment reached
point where some OF the opposing force
we're supposed to be awaiting them ordered
one squadron to charge.
The troops put spurs to their horses and
raToped ~furiously forward. The result was
appalling. The supposed enemy's trenches
turned out to be a narrow but deep. swift
running river into which the whole squadron
rode at full speed. Men and horses crashed
over the almost vertical bank In a living
torrent. or more than ninety dragons
barely forty reached the opposite bank
bank alive.
One summer morning in July; 1908. the
peaceful little village Of Collonges was
startled by a huge object descending ap-
Darsntly from the skies with a terrific thud
IN the centre Of the main street. A moment
after, with a shrieking whistle, came another
OF these alarming vlsitants, which struck
the church roof, knocking a hole In It.
The terrified inhabitants fed for their
lives, pursued by shell after shell. Many
houses were struck, but by a miracle no one
was killed. Afterward 1t turned out that
this ~perilous bombardment was the result
Of a trial OF some new long range guns at
che Savatan forts. The officer in charge
bad apparently never taken the trouble
TO inquire the range Of the new weapons
and had bean firing with n rooklaaa diara- |
gard OF consequences.
In May, 1903, eleven boys on board the
training ship Cornwall, lying OF Purfeet, |
we're suddenly struck down by typhoid |
fever, and inquiry proved that the put |
break was the result Of their sleeping be-
tween fever infected blankets brought
from South Africa. In fat CONFIRMATION
Of army regulations no fewer than 2OO, 900
blankets returned from service had been
sold 70 two dealers at the Cape at five cents
each, and Of these $1,000 dozen were shipped
back TO London, those that were tainted
being unfortunately mixed with those
free from suspicion. Carelessness Of this
sort is In very truth a crime Of the deep
est dye.
While on the subject Of infection. the
American town Of st. Paul, Mimi, got an
unpleasant scare two years ago. An
English doctor was travelling across from
San Francisco to New York when, at st.
Paul, a negro porter in charge OF the travel
lsrs bag carelessly mislaid 1t.
Imagine the feelings Of the railway on
nas when they heard that among the con-
tents OF the lost piece OF luggage we're sew
eral tubes Of living plague bscini the doctor
nAd brought from lndial For some days
the whole surrounding country was in a
sate Of. s~emi-panic, but eventually the
missing bag was recovered with the tubes
intact.
Carelessness introduced the gypsy moth
INTO New England M allowed it to estab-
pAh itself there at a cost Of millions Of dol
AS 70 the people OF that section. .
C~arelessness, too, introduced the sweet
prAr into Tasmania, covering great areas
q fine grazing land with impenetrable
tmcksts; carelessness spread the black
berry over vast districts in Australia;
ea~Teiessness has damned the New Zealand
Streams with tangled masses OF giant water
cress and the Florida rivers with RATS Of
blue Powered water hyacinth.
Worse than all In It's financial effects
upon q great industry was the carelessness
which Introduced the so-called Bathurst
ourr INTO Australia. Wherever this plant
mas spread sleeps fieeces are thick with the
ciinging burrs. These spiny seed pods.
uiIioult beyond measure to get rid OF,
reduce the wool that Is full Of them to q
Of its value.
The results Of carelessneas all too often
are beyond the power OF man to remedy.
An instance in point wa the collapse Of
The Csmpanile at Venice. For twelve long
yeas before its ina collapse Signor VEN I
1rasco, an architect in municipal employ,
been urging and imploring the town
.nd Government to repair the tower before
. was too late.
But in matters Of this sort the V~enetians:
lias, too strongly resemble the Spanlards
sIh their everlasting -mahana." II is a
case OF never do to-day what can be left
lli Tomorrow. Poor Vendrasco received
nothing but jeeH or abuse, and at last, Just
: month before the day the Campanile fell,
vas snmmarily dismissed for making a last
Urgent appeal that something might be
lone before IL was too late.
Another ~irreparable loss to the art world
vas caused in the winter Of 1908 by the
,arelessness Of the owners OF the Roeso
YaLaoe, also in Venice. Because they could
a3t or would not take the trouble to find out
mo was competent to be intrusted with
ne TASK they sent ten old masters" TO be
by a totally incompetent person.
r lhese pictures included two OF the finest
,an Dycks in existence and two Guido
aenls and were all Of immense value, both
rom an artistic and monetary point Of view.
ne incompetent cleaner washed them with
hem all.
Al Official Of an American bank once
Lhe writer that il was not professional
!" lndIers who constituted the chief danger
= the banking profession. IL was rather |.
lc careless methods OF custOmara in draw =