Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1908-03-14
Woodstock Business cards
MOVIES FRlN WASHINGTON
Especial COrrespondenco,)

Simpllfied Talking Now'-An emort
was made recently to interest Presi'
dent Roosevelt in Esperanto, the new
universal language, by Edmond Prl-
vat, who represents the Esperanto
congress and the universal congress
of peace which met in Munich in
September. 1t is proposed to have Es'
peranto taught in the public schools.
Wants Tax on Stooks.--A bill to
tax the sale and transfer Of stocks
was introduced in the house by rep
resentatlve Hepburn of Iowa few
days ago. The tax provided for Is
fixed at so cents per hundred shares.
It does not undertake to impose tax
upon any agreement eVincing the de"
posit OF stock certificates as collater-
al security, which certificates are not
actually sold, nor upon any such stock
certificates so deposited 1t provides
that further tax shall be impounded
upon the delivery of the certificate OF
stock or upon the actual issue OF a
new certificate when the original GER
tlhcate of stock is accompanied by
the duly stamped memorandum Of
sale.
Mississippi No Slave camp.-Mr.
Humphreys of Mississippi, in the house
the other day charged that systema-
tic campaign had been waged for the
past 12 months through the press OF
the country "by those whose interests
could best be served in that way
for the purpose of discouraglng immi-
grafton to the South. Stories of peon-
age and white slavery, he said, had
been conjured up and given to the
press with sensational coloring and
the state of Mississippi, especially,
held up to the world as a slave camp.
Agents of the Italian government, he
said, had busted themselves "ln con-
cocting and circulating" these stories.
President Addresses I.umbermen.--
In receiving the members Of the Ma
tional Lumbermen's association at the
White House, recently, President
Roosevelt voiced his intense interest
in the conservation of the natural re-
sources of the country.
I'VE are on the verge of a timber
famine" he said, "and it behooves
every man who wishes to see the land
left better instead of worse for the
children who come after him, to join
the government in taking steps to
make the lumber industry permanent
industry, to perpetuate through 1t the
forests OF the country.
Admiral ION the Job."-Ever since
Sen. Hale of Maine conducted the
questioning of Washington Lee Capps,
bureau admiral and construction
chief, about the building Of American
battleships, there has been much adj
miration for the latter as an officer
who is ION the job" There have been
more or less ribald remarks on the
side about several other witnesses,
but none about Admiral Capps. Over
at the navy department, men say the
admiral has a mind that works as
regularly and as strongly as the travel
ling beam Of a steam engine. His
mein is stern and people who call to
see him are likely to feel that the at
mosphere in the vicinity is frlgid.
This is explained by the fact that
when the admiral is working he will
not allow his mind to be diverted from
the proposition in hand During Office
hours, 1t is related, he will not laugh
at a joke or listen to jeu d'esprit.
After 430 p, M, however, or before
9 "a M he Is more attentive to the
iovial triviaities of human kind and
on occasion has been known to laugh
as though his sides would split.
Navy Gunners Unsurpassed.-Four
naval officers, all experts in turret
construction and ammunition manufac-
ture recently testified before the SEN
ate naval committee in defence Of the
American navy against all forms Of
criticism. Three of the witnesses,
Prof. P. r. Alger, instructor in mathe-
matics at the naval academy and a
member of the special board on tur-
rets, Commander r. F. Fletcher, and
Lieut. Commander V. o. Chase, spoke
in detail concerning turret accidents
and the methods that have been adopt
ed to make turrets safe. None of
these officers seemed to think there
was great danger from the direct hoist,
If some changes were made to provide
more effective screening between the
ammunition handling room and the
big guns. Commander Chase defend
ed the American navy against the
criticism made by Commander Sims
that poor craftsmanship was shown
at Santiago, he declared that Ameri
can gunnery was as good as that Of
any other navy at that time, and that
at the present time there was no
navy In the world that would surpass
the American in straight shooting.
Charges Against Patent Office
Startling statements affecting the
work of the United States patent of.
fee were made in an interview last
week by Representative Currler of
New Hampshire, chairman of the
house committee on patents That the
work of the patent Office, involving
property rights worth millions OF dol.
lars is, in many cases, improperly
done; that patents have been granted
which should never have been grant.
ed, and that the Office has degenerat-
ed into a post graduate school where
the graduates of technical schools
work only long enough to perfect an
education. are some Of the charges
made by the chairman Of the commit
tee on patents. Il say these things"
declared MIR. Currier. because | know
them to be true. The trouble comes
from the fact that the force which is
charged with the tremendous duty of
passing on applications for patents
must do work in few hours which
lawyers do only in two or three weeks.
Che press of work is something fear
full. In addition to this, the force is
always changing because the salaries
are so pIufully small that they can.
not keep the men In the service