Omaha daily bee., 1909-12-24

The University Of Copenhagen. which
has been the object Of unseemly sneers
by a section Of the American press prior
its decision on Or. Cooks records, was
founded in 1873 under papal authorization
granted three years earlier. The wars Of
the reformation all but destroyed II, but It
was revived in 1889 by Christian III on
the model Of Wittenberg. The fire Of
IT'S which laid Copenhagen low destroyed
the university. 1t was reestablished by
Christian VI in 1882, and received its pres
ent organization in 17Ss. Among its famous
professors have been Holberg. oelehnsch-
lager, Rask. Madvig, Oersted and Wester-
gard. The university is divided into fac
ulties of theology, law and political
science, medicine. philosophy and natural
sciences and mathematics. Among it's fif-
teen annexed laboratories and kindred in
stitutions, is an Astronomical observatory.
The number of students Is about 1000. Its
income is derived in part from endowment
and in part from government subsidy. In
1906, it's budget balanced at 926.OOO kroner
or about S25O,OOO.
Probably no country In the world has
such stringent laws regarding the expendi-
ture OF money to influence votes in an
election than Great Britain. And they are
stringently enforced. A candidate for
Parliament and his agents must keep close
watch on, and account for, every penny
spent. The purchase OF a pint Of beer
for a voter, or the hiring of a vehicle to
CONVEY a voter to the poll may mean the
loss of a seat. But the party hacks reach
the candidates money in other ways. One
of the common methods is known as 'nurs-
ing a constituency" similar to mending
congressional fences in this country. o
an average" says an election agent, "a
candidate is required to spend $500 a year,
but many members after they have been
elected are Obliged IL they want to keep
their seats to distribute twice or thrice
hat amount The conservative member
from Exeter says that his and other
Constituencies need a relieving officer
more than a representative. LIT is not
only charities he grumbles, but l am
expected to support every kind of social
organization-foot ball and cricket clubs,
smoking concerts, swimming matches,
dances for the young and dinns<s For the
aged. l / nave a shrewd suspicion mat some
Of the associations for this, that and the
other which demand subscriptions are
simply got up for the purpose Of black
mailing me. If five individuals ask for a
sovereign ZACH and l give it to them both
they and 1 are liable to be prosecuted and
punished; but If those five individuals
form a society and extort from me a SUBJ
scription of 60 no illegal act is committed.
zee
The treasury Of st. Peters at Rome, the
richest collection Of church ornaments and
vestments in the world, although open to
the public, has hitherto been seen with diff
ficulty, owing to the very small space of
the room in which 1t was contained. Thanks
to Cardinal Rampolla, archpriest of the
Basilica, and Monsignor de Bisogno, dean
of the chapter, the treasures nave been
properly arranged behind glass in two
rooms which have been set apart for the
purpose behind the sacristy, and can now
be viewed without being taken out, almost
one by one, from the LOCKED cupboards in
which they we've stored. This is not only
an advantage to the pubic, but helps to
preserve the more ancient vestments, which
always ran some risk In being moved
Among these is the famous dalmati of
Leo III, worn at the coronation of Charlie
magne, and since enormously called the
dalmatic of Charlemagne, a marvellous
specimen of Byzantine art, which has kept
its beauty Of color for fully LOO years.
Many Of the copes and other vestments, Of
which there is a vast collection, are scarcely
less beautiful and interesting. The most
ancient treasure of all is the Crux Vati-
cana, which, according to tradition, was
given by Justinian, Emperor of the East,
and dates from the sixth century. There
are also in the treasury a wealth Of cas-
kets, chalices and other vessels, dating
from the thirteenth and fourteenth CEN
turtles, and the famous six candelabra in
silver gilt, the work of Benvenuto Cel,ini,
and two others made by Antonio Gentili
after the designs of Michelangelo. OF the
many reliquaries, most are more rich and
ornate than beautiful, but two are inter-
esting as dating back to the fourteenth
century.
In spite of the efforts to check the recess
sion Of Franco in population, statistics for
the first six months of this year. compared
with the same period of the preceding
year, show this discouraging contrast:
1903 1o0Q