The Brookings register. [volume] (Brookings, Brookings County, S.D.) 1903-1971, 1908-07-16

States.
Letter postage between Great Brl.
tan and the United States will be re-
duced to two cents an ounce on Octo-
Der | of this year; so announces Post
master General Meyer.
The government of China has called
Professor f. c. Parker, of the Min
nesota Experiment station, to organ
ize and conduct at Mukden, Manchu-
ria, an experiment station and school
of agriculture.
During one week ten carloads of
immigrants arrived at Belle Fourche,
South Dakota, to take up the ten
thousand acres of land upon which
the water has been turned under the
big irrigation project.
There has been an increase made
of our country's habitable area of
more than II, 900, 900 acres of land.
5000. 900 of which have been added
since the federal reclamation act was
passed in 1902. 300, 900 had been
reclaimed prior to that time from the
desert.
A five foot stratum of sulphur has
been pierced at a depth OF 3,1OO feet
by drillers who are working on a deep
well neal lola, Kansas. The mineral
is believed to be at least ninety per
cent pure; when tested it burned
nearly as well as pure sulphur.
1t is predicted that in a short time
there will be Introduced into the north
a Peruvian strain of alfalfa which has
been developed by the Department of
Agriculture. 1t grows faster than the
common kinds, and will endure more
cold and grows earlier in the spring
and later in the fall.
Lake Tahoe, situated on the bound
airy of Nevada and California in the
Sierra mountains, is said to be falling
rapidly. About a month after the dis
covery had been made the waters
had fallen six feet. 1t is a very deep
lake and is believed by some to be
situated in an extinct volcano.
There has been purchased, for AM
erican buyers in London at auction
sale, the old flag that was captured
on our American frigate Chesapeake
at the time of her famous fight with
the British ship Shannon in 1913.
$4,250 was paid for it and it is sup
posed to be for J. Pierpont Morgan.
At the same sale 81 800 was given
for the bugle through which was
sounded the order for the noted Light
Brigade in the Battle of Balaklava.
This is said to have also been pur-
chased for American buyers.
Germany, the great military power
of The world" declines to conclude
with the United States an arbitration
treaty, which has been negotiated by
us with the powers of Great Britain,
Japan, France, Italy, Spain. Switzer-
land, Mexico, Portugal, Netherlands,
Sweden and Denmark. In explana-
ton of Germany's attitude we read
that if she 'enters into a quarrel it
will be one which her people think
just and for which they will be willing
to die by the hundred thousand, and
it is in order that such sacrifices
when they are needed may not be
made in vain that her people are
willing to bear for decade after de-
cade the burden of military conscrip-
ton and of a huge standing army.
There resolve is always to be pre-
pared to make their conception of
their rights prevail. That is why
they will not trammel themselves by
arbitration treaties, or disarm, wholly
or even partially, in reliance on an
international tribunal whose consci-
ence may in Germany's opinion be
no better than her own
The railroad which is being built
over the Atlantic ocean from Key
West, Florida to Miami will be one
of the worlds wonders. 1t is said
to be one of the most extraordinary
accomplished IN the world today. 1t
is expected to be completed by the
summer of 1909. The length CT the
the whole way from Key West to
Miami are small islands. These is
lands or keys are being connected With
immense viaducts which are support
ed by huge abutments of solid con-
crete. The track will be laid on these
viaducts. There is one place where
TWO Oh the Keys are IuTcS HlllCo dpoiI
and consequently had to be bridged.
The ocean at that point is forty feet
deep; it was dredged out to solid rock,
then solid concrete foundations were
laid and the great connecting bridge
was laid. The cost of this road will
be $32, 900 900. This great work is be-
ing accomplished by Henry Flag)er
and some of his partners in the Stan
dard Oil company.
The shortage of material for cross
ties for our railroads has become so
great in our land that some time since
the officials of the Atkinson, Topeka
& Santa Fee railroad evinced the fore
thought by sending E. o. Faulkner,
who is at the head of their tie and
timber department, to the Hawaiian
Islands and Japan. He found the re-
port regarding the ohia wood in the
Sandwich Islands well founded. 1t is
being cut rapidly so as to clean the
land for sugar Plantations, so the
matter was taken up none to early
by this farseeing company. This wood
will make a good lasting tie. Mr..