The Black Hills union and western stock review. [volume] (Rapid City, S.D.) 1904-19??, 1909-05-28

special agents sent abroad to gather
data to help congress redeem the
party pledge to standardize rates in
i the tariff by the difference In cost Of
production here and abroad, who has
been efficient. He sends report on
the iron and steel industry of Great
Britain. The cost of making ton
Of pig iron ranges from SO. 80 on
the east coast to $13.45 for besse-
mer on the west. 1t costs $18. 40
to produce ton Of steel rails, when
is very nearly the figure given by
Charles Schwab in his memorable let
ter to Prick. The labor cost on ton
of steel rails he gives as $1.6G.
Public school instruction in
France is supposed to be of very
high quality. Yet of the young men
examined for the French army dur
ing the past three years it is reported
that one-quarter showed by their ex-
aminations that they never heard Of
Joan Of Arc, and over half of them
knew nothing of Napolean Bona
parte. If the report is not exagger-
ated it offers proof of the contention
that examinations do not show what
a person knows. Even an illiterate
youth in the obsourist village must
have heard of the Maid of Orleans
and of the greatest of soldiers. Mil
| fon 10 foin 10 nh,
| the common ear.
Mexico went to gold basis in good
season. She has long been noted
for her rich silver mines. In fact she
is by far the greatest silver produc
ing country in the world. Her out
put OF gold has also been consider
able, though she ranks low in that
respect compared to the United
States and several other nations.
But she may do better from now on.
1t is announced that the richest pla-
Ger gold fields ever found have been
discovered in the state of Oaxaca.
The deposits are found in an area
of $4,000 acres, andif the proper
ton of gold reported shall hold out
there will be an enormous addition
to the worlds supply.
Two newspaper owners of Fort
Worth, Tex, having telegraphed
Prof. Pickering Of Harvard that the
people of Texas would undertake to
raise the $10,000,000 necessary to
test the mirror method of signal
ing to the planet Mars, as outlined
by him recently, the professor re-
piled that he would advise waiting
until further experiments were made
to determine whether Mars is actual
| ly inhabited by intelligent beings.
For this purpose he would advise
the creation of great observatory
in Texas, where he and other as
tronomers could carry on invest
cations of the whole subject. This
could be done for much less than
the sum named. Next fall when
Mars is to reach its nearest point
would be good time to take such
| observations.
The movement in some of the
churches to induce the women to
remove their hats during the SER
vices is reasonable. The things
many women wear on their heads
nowadays are so grotesque as to di-
vert the attention of the others from
the religious exercises, says the new
York Times. They are so big that
they obstruct the congregations view
Of the pulpit. They are grossly i'm
appropriate to house Of worship.
The spring hats, in fact, are the
worst examples of extravagant fancy
gone mad. They are hideous in de-
sign and monstrous in execution.
They compel the male observer to
sigh for the very big hats of last
fall. Those seemed then evils
scarcely endurable, but fashion has
brought us others that we knew not
of. These pot-like effects and in
verted baskets covered with artifi-
cial flowers and plants that seem to
have been derived from the infer
no have no beauty at all, and when
Rev. DR.. Macarthur says they make
their wearers look like gargoyles,
one infers that he does not care for
gargoyles.
With the increase of population in
South Dakota, the school lands are
steadily growing in value. The lands
are grand asset to the public school
system of the state. The time will
come when they will provide sufi-
Gent revenue for the support of the
schools, thereby placing South Dako-
ia at the head Of the procession Of
states.
Henry H. Clayton, a meterologist
who recently resigned from the Blue
i Hill Observatory. is planning to DEM
i onstrate his theory or a steady plan.
etary air current from the west to
the east at a hight Of two miles OF
more, by attempting to cross the at.
Y lantic ocean in mammoth balloon
! LAS a preliminary test he proposes to
try . balloon trip from San francisco
! to New York.