Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1909-10-19
ODD ITEMS OF INTEREST.

Shanghai has it's first motor houseboat
lit is capable Of developing fourteen horse
power For the ordinary houseboats
which have been in use in China for hun
dreds of years six rowers are usually en-
ployed at 20 cents "A day each.
Milwaukee is congratuating herself on
a growth of 1881 in population since the
federal census of 1900. recent dircc-
tory canvass shows. according to the
Sentinel, that the city of famous beer has
370,246 inhabitants. The census Of 1896
gave the figures as 2S5,3l5.
| Mrs. Mary Dennehey, age 1906 who
missed her bank book, and when she
found it discovered % cents instead of 500
standing to her credit, appeared at the
| Cork police court in support OF charge
| of theft against a woman with whom she
| lodged.
| Before the draining and diking Of Eng
| land and Holland, mosquitoes, malaria
chils and fever were as bad as in oui
southern states today. Undikcd and un
drained, neither of these countries hac
risen to its high place in history, but
had been baked by malarial degeneration
New York Press.
During the last fiscal year, 4885Gi money
orders were sent to Italy from this coun-
try, amounting to 81 20, 93S57 an increase
of s., 30G, 4lS96 over the previous year. II
| is apparent. however, that this forms but
small part of the total amount sent out
| of the country annually by Italian resi-
dents Of tho United States, other agencies
| being used.
At a London dinner years ago and now
described in a book of recollections. Ed
ward King, the author. was most enthu-
siastic in his praise of Wagner, not only
as a musician, but as a poet. Il have no
doubt" he said at length, that in com
| ing time Wagner will be ranked above
Beethoven and Schiller" Il quite agree
with YOU responded l.. Alma Tadema
the famous painter, "for certainly Wag-
ner was a greater musician than Schiller
| and a greater poet than Beethoven
Plans are under way for the electrical
ton of the most important state railroads
Of Sweden. 1t is expected that the line
running from Kiruna in the iron ore fields
of Lapland, to the Norway boundary will
be the first to change from steam to cleo
tricity. The change is made necessary by
the increase of traffic over the line, which
can be handled only by doubling the
tracks if steam propulsion be still adhered
to. 1t is believed that electrifcation
would be much more economical than the
construction of double tracks.
1T is practically impossible to find a
| community in the United States" says
Nathan c. Shaeffer, state superintendent
of Pennsylvania, writing in the discus
| sion of taxation as related to public edu-
cation, published by the National Educa-
| tioral Association, that does not spend
more money for whisky and tobacco than
| for education" The report of the United
States Commissioner of education. 1907,
| indicates that there are only twice as
| many school teachers as there are bar
| tenders in the country.-American Maya
| zine.
| The difficulty of taking exercise and not
getting so thirsty as to drink enough to
| bring back all the weight that may have
| been lost has been overcome by a drink
popular with members of the Racquet
| Club. 1t was invented for the men who
| play racquetS and need refreshment but
dare not fill themselves up. 1t consists
| of the white of an egg, the juice of half a
| lemon and wineglass of settler, all
| shaken up with ice and strained. 1t is
| said to be a most satisfactory quencher
of an athletic thirst and has no bad eff
fects.-New York Sun.
Church fairs in England have adopted
| an ingenious device to render the suf-
| ferings of masculine patrons much less
! acute. The innovation first saw the light
of day at Exeter. where, by the purchase
| of what was called Immunity tickets
at a little above the ordinary price of ad-
| mission, men We're protected from the inn
portunities of women stallholders to buy
| This innovation, which was styled pre-
ferential treatment" proved a divertins
| method of obtaining increased male sup.
| port for the fete. a man, on being ap-
preached by a feminine stakeholder had
only to show his colored passport to Sc
cure complete immunity.