The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-03-21
VERSATILITY OF
 GROWN PRINCE Inherits Many Characteristics
 His Father MAY EVEN 0UTRIVAL HIM Organizes Indoor Skating Club in Rerlin-Rows, Sails and Is De-
 Votee of Many Other
 Manly Sports.
MAY EVEN OUTRIVAL HIM
By MALcoMB CLARKE.

prince, contrary to earlier expectations.
 has inherited very much of his father 5
 versatility. The boyish-natured, slender
 young man promises to outrival the Kali
 ser In versatility, which has made the lat
 ter the most picturesque of monarehs.
 A Widespread movement Is afoot in the
 tatherland to interest young men in out
 door sports to the extent prevailing in
 England and America.
 The crown prince has put himself at the
 head of this crusade. He has just organ ized an indoor skating club in Berlin. He has erected covered tennis court at Mon
 bi1ou palace, where he plays hard for sev- eral hours day during the cold months
 He and his wife also find time during the winter to take part in fencing classes and have induced hundreds to follow their vigorous example.
 In spring and summer the crown prince is an untiring patron of sport He rows and sails we'll is a daring and clever horseman, goes to football matches and never misses regatta or athletic exhi- bition if he thinks his attendance will en- courage popular interest in athletics gen. orally.
 At the Prussian home office, the finance ministry. and. latterly at the admiralty the prince hae proved an earnest and apt pupil and as conscientious in his duties as the most ambitious civil servant When his studies at the admiralty are ended he will be initiated Into the mystery of other great government departments.
 A few weeks ago the crown prince spent day at the Alexander -Platz. Ber- lins Scotland Yard inquiring keenly into police and detective methods. He has also found time to attend lectures on meehan- ics and engineering at Charlottenburg, Aeronautics also interest him. He has been up in the army airship twice, and has looked over the "Zeppelins" a num- Der of times at Friedrichschafen.
 l learn that the Grand Duke Dimitri Constantinovitch, who, born 49 years ago, is the youngest son of the Grand Duke Constantine, brother of the Czar's grand father, has formally decided to enter a monastery and become a monk
 He was at one time great horse lover. and as president of the managing board of imperial studs he did much to encour- age breeders to improve the national breed of Russian horses without foreign admixtures.
 The Grand Duchess Elizabeth, widow of the Grand Duke Sergius (assassinated in Moscow, 1905), sister of the Czarina. and the most beautiful woman in the Russian imperial family, now lives definitely in the religious home for women, which she es- tablished near Moscow, and dresses like
 a nun.
 According to telegrams received from
 Bukarest, the Queen of Roumania has in- itiated crusade against corsets by is- suing a manifesto to the women and girls
 of Europe, appealing to them to boycott this injurious article of dress.
 Carmen Sylvia" appeals to women's
 vanity and common sense. She points
 out that the corset disfgures their natural
 beauty besides infiicting serious injuries
 on their health. She appeals to mothers
 to instill their daughters with a profound
 dislike of the corset.
 The manifesto will be circulated in large
 numbers in dozen different languages. The international exhibition of airships. which will be opened at Frankfurt-on-
 Main at the beginning of July, promises to be an unusually interesting affair Both from Germany and foreign countries an extraordinary number of promises to take part have been received by the com ! mittee. Four immense halls will be built for the accommodation of motor balloons. From the exhibition grounds dirigibIe airships will make excursions in all di- rections, taking passengers with them Especially interesting, it is expected will | be the experiments with aeropIanes, as | all systems will be represented. For the | first time the public will be in a position | to judge their relative merits
 It is believed that about s2500 will be at | the disposal of the committee for prizes. In addition to the most modern inven- 1 tions there will be what is called the "ret- | respective department where the inven- | tions of former aviators, for example | those of Lilienthal, Kress and others, will l be exhibited. Wireless telegraphy will be | largely used, also carrier pigeons for | keeping Frankfurt acquainted with the | movements of excursionists. There will l also be an exhibition of balloon appli-
 ances and balloon motors.
 l It is announced tonight that the for | mer Prussian minister of agriculture. l Lieutenant General von Podbielsk close | personal friend of the Emperor, has ac- l cepted a salaried post as agent of the | General Electricity company. His duties | will consist of organizing and conducting l a propaganda in favor of the application | of electricity to all branches of agricul- l ture.
 | The company desires to bring about the | general introduction of electric ploughs and reaping, sowing and threshing ma
 chimes, as well as to persuade farmers to use electric light in their buildings. Russia is gradually putting on sale a new issue of postage stamps of the high ly artistic design which has always char acterized Russian stamps. stupid story has been circulating in certain papers that
 the new issue will bear the heads of va rous wearers of the imperial crown, in cluding the present Emperor.
 Such use of the imperial head is utter ly inconceivable in Russia. Postage stamps are made to be defaced, and us- ually in a very rough and ready manner. No Russian would dream of subjecting
 the effigy of the Czar to such usage as
 this. Even on the coins, hallowed by inn memorial usage of the great nations of antiquity, Russia does not use the im-
 perial head except on the pure gold and pure silver coins; the base silver and copper coins bear the Russian eagle only, and the Russian word for head in heads or tails" is always 'eagle." The new stamp issues of which several values are already on the market, are generally on a lighter ground than the
 old issues, but the colors are the same. The design is mainly heraldic and orna- mental scroll work. ribbon on the top bearing the inscription Postage Stamp and another at the bottom the value In words, with the figure indicating value dividing the words and standing out con- veniently plain.
 The stamp edging of the new issue has peculiar markings on 1t. and 1t is prettily watered Postmasters are trying to force