Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1911-02-02

recently have been seriously i'll with
typhoid fever, to have their semi-an-
nual examinations postponed a month.
At the government school at West
| Point when a boy was sick in the
hospital and consequently lost standing
| in his classes he never was given an
| opportunity to take his examinations
at date later than that fixed for the
quizzing of the rest of his class. The
result was that the youngster who was
| hurt at artillery drill or who had scar
/ let fever or measles or something
else, was obliged either to go before
the examiners in an unprepared con-
/ dition or to accept a leave of abb
sence for six months which meant
that on his return to the academy he
must join the class next below his
OWN other words, lose a whole
I years time and the close companion
ship Of the men with whom he had
gone through plebe camp.
Mine Fatalities Numerous.
The bureau of labor has just com
piled its statistics of the fatali-
ties in mining operations in the
| United States. The work of compiIa-
ton was one of great difficulty be-
cause of the fact that no two mining
states make statistical reports alike.
and that there are often material dis
| crepancies in official returns of the
same state for different years.
Frederick L. Hoffman did the work
of gathering the accounts of the acct
dents. The number of fatalities in
the coal mines of North America dur
ing the 2O-year period ending with
1908 was 1928, and the rate of deaths
among each 1000 employees was 81
per cent.
In the decade ending with 1906, the
! last period which figures from other
coal mining countries are available,
the fatality rate in North America was
far higher than that in any other i'm
portant coal field of the world The
rate for the United States was 313
per 1000 employees. In the United
! Kingdom the rate was 129 per 1000;
in Austria, 1.35; in France, 1.81, and
| in Prussia, 2.13.
Rates in Different Sections.
The full extent of the risk in coal
mining in North America is, however,
not clearly shown Dy these figures for
the coal fields as a whole, but consid-
GRAFTON must be given to the rates for
each geographical section. These
show that in the east central section
which comprises Kentucky, Illinois
and Indiana, the fatality rate for the
20 years ending with 1908 was only
2.25 per 1000 employees while in the
western section Colorado, New Mex
leo and Utah) it was GA per 1000 and
in the Pacific coast section wash
iIgton and British Columbia), per
1000. 1t would appear that the va
ration in the fatality rates is due to
different mining methods and to differ
ences in the coal seams.
The agricultural department is anx-
iOus because mongoose is now known
to be present in the United States.
If there is only one mongoose the dan
ger Will not be great, but the fear is
that another may come in or that the
one at present here may find a mate
whose presence in the country is as
yet unknown. There has been a ten
dency to poke fun at the anxiety of
the agricultural department people
lest a mongoose or several of them,
(nobody knows what the plural of
mongoose is) should get a foothold in
the United States, here multiply and
begin to devastate the earth. The
danger a real one, nevertheless, for
tn mongOose is a menace to agricul-
tural life. 1t preys first on rodents
and snakes whose loss can well be
sustained, but as SOON as the supply
OF this food ends it begins killing
ground nesting song birds and game
birds eating their eggs.
Mongoose a Great Peril.
Poultry yards are not safe, and as
the destroying animal multiplfes in
credfbly, it is said that whole sections
of the country can be laid waste by
it in a comparatively short time, for
with the disappearance of the bird life
the insects would increase by the bill
lions and devour the green things of
earth. Some years ago pair of mon
geese or mongooSes, or whatever plu-
raj you choose, were imported into
a West Indian island In a short
time some hundred Of square miles of
the island became uninhabitable be-
cause of the increase of insect life,
due to the killing off of the birds
which had lived On the pests The
mongoose was responsible for the dis
appearance of the bird life.
Senator Nelson w. Aldrich of Rhode
Island has said farewell to the United
States senate. He has gone south in
search of health. The Rhode Islander
wore himself out pretty thoroughly
during the hot weather tariff debate
of year and a half ago. and then
he was hurt in an accident in New
York city, an accident which apparent
Iy was not serious, but which has
brought disagreeable results in it's
train.
The senate has passed bill appro-
priating S135, 900 to construct a crypt
to contain the remains of Admiral
John Paul Jones. The story OF the
neglect with which the remains Of the
sailor have been treated have been
told time and again in the public
press. Ever since the body was brought
from France it has remained in it's
coffin behind stairway in the dorni-
tory of the Naval academy at Annapo-
lis. PROFESSIONALLY the house will
pass the senate bill and the remains
of the man who won the famous revo-
lutionary battle in European waters
will rest in a fitting crypt in the beau
tiful new cadet chapel at the govern
ment sea school.
that apparent equability of motion
which arrested so forcibly the curios-
ity of Calico, the idea had been al
lowed to escape the instant it had