The National tribune., 1911-01-12

proceeded technically to explain Pren.
dent Taft. not being an expert on gun.
War and Navy Departments for eonsid-
GRAFTON. The famous inventor con:
demnsd the use Of the uiti-psrforatsd
powder OF the Army and Navy az un.
safe and dangerous. saying that 1t was
the cause Of all the sun explosions In
the. military services of this country.
gun using multi-perforatsd powder,
he said, would not last over four
rounds, and would stand at least one
chance In 10 OF bursting at the first
round II an attempt were made to IRE
for 20 minutes as rapidly as possible
with full charges with gun and powder
ct temperature of from fzB to $50 de-
grees Fahrenheit.
Brig.-Gen. William Crozier, U. 8.
Army. Chief Of Ordnance. enters into .
technical explanation of the powder
used In the American guns, and that
explanation, boiled down, means that
Sir Hiram Maxim may know all about
British guns, but he does not know
anything about American guns or Amer
lean powder. Secretary OF the Navy
Meyer grew very sarcastic in referring
to Sir Hiram Maxfm's communication,
and he says that Sir Hiram doesn't
know it all, and we will go right on
using the same powder we always have
Inc supreme Court.
The members of the Supreme Court
seem to be divided as to how they shall
wear the hair on their faces Justices
Holmes, Day and Lurton wear NOUS
taches, Justice Hughes has full beard,
Frenchily trimmed, while Justices Van
de Wander, McKenna, Harlan, White
and Lamar are smooth shaven.
In connection with the subject of the
Supreme Court it IS somewhat notable
that President Taft has within year
appointed to the Bench Associate JUS
tees Lurton. Hughes, Van de Wander
and Lamar and made Associate Justice
White Chief Justice. setting the record
for the new century. 1t is said that
only Washington has equaled this rec
ord. When the Court was instituted five
Judges, with Washington's name on
their commissions, went on the Bench
within the first year. Jackson, Lincoln
and Grant are each credited with NAM
ing five members of the Court, but
their appointments spread over their
entire terms.
Among the lawyers admitted to prac-
tice before the Supreme Court just after
the appointment OF Justice Lamar was
a relative of his, Lamar by name and
Georgian by birth. He was baptized
by the jaw-breaking name of Lucius
Quintus Circinnatus Mirabeau. He
bears the same name as the late Justice
Lamar, who hailed from Mississippi.
Mr.-Lamar IS always being called upon
to explain the why" of this extra0rdi-
nary name for an American, and in
telling the story of that name Incl
dentalIy related quite good deal Of
lieve. that the Lanars are descendants
of the Huguenots," said Mr.. Lamar.
This may be, but it is somewhat
it occurs to me, that there
should be Lamars in Florida, Cuba and
in other States and islands that once be-
longed to Spain. However, don't want
to question the assertion that the first
Lamars in this country were Hugue-
nots. Maybe they WERE 1t has been
often remarked that many of the Lamar
family bear long names. It happened
this way: Old Zachariah Lamar, who
lived in Milledgeville, Ga, and is buried
in the cemetery there. was bachelor,
and he claimed the privilege of naming
the children of his brothers. He was
an omnivorous reader of history, and
when one of his brothers had son
eorn he christened the young one Luz
cius Qufntus Cincinnatus Lamar. This
was the father OF the late Associate
Justice of the Supreme Court A BROTH
err was named Mirabeau Bonaparte La
mar
The latter went with Sam Houston
to Mexico, and was with Houston at
the battle of San Jacinto, when Santa
Ana surrendered. Houston was the
first President of the Mexican Repub-
lie, and Mirabeau Lamar was the sec
ord President
Another brother was called La Vols
err La Grande Lamar. The first L. Q. C.
Lamar was Judge in Georgia, and
noted as jurist. He committed sui
eide because. it is said, he had to pre-
side at trial of a man accused of MUIR
der, who was found guilty by jury,
and sentenced to death by him. It was
afterwards established that the accused
man was innocent, and Judge Lamar
broOded over his having sentenced the
man to death"
Society Snluggiers.
Collector Loeb is slowly. but surely,
drawing sthe net about society SNUG
glers. 1t is a well-known fact that
most of the smuggling is done by wo-
men, and women who are perfectly able
to pay the customs duties on the laces,
jewels aud other articles of virtu inn
ported from foreign countries. Col
lector Loeb is pre-eminently the right
man in the right place, and President
Taft knew just exactly what he wa5
doing when he appointed him Customs
Collector. Mr.. Loeb did not go about
his official duties with the clarion of
trumpets. changing OF bells and beating
of drums. He sat down in his official
chair. and studied the situation as it
probably has been studied by no man
before in that place. He made the ap-
palling discovery at the very outset
that polite smGgglers were losing the
United States Government millions of
dollars every year. In other words,
that the women of what is called polite
society were defrauding the Govern
ment by bringing in those articles dear
to woman's heart that can be bought
abroad for about a half as much as
they would cost here il they could not
them thru. He discovered also
that the United States was losing mil
lions every year on false valuations by
importers. and that not much of any
thing WAS grist that came to the mill
thru the Customs Collectors hands.
Then Collector Loeb got busy, and then
1t was that he began to make public the
stealings acquired by the great import
ers of the country In their evasions of
duty.