Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-08-03
TAX Upon CHECKS
American Travellers in Ger
many Affected by Decision.
TICKETS WHILE YOU WAIT
Prussian State Railway Inaugurates
New Printing System.
PRIESTS SENT TO PRISON
Called Upon for Short Training,
They Insult Military Power
and Resist Orders.
BERLIN. July ~, 1912.

BERLIN. July "a, 1912
A decision of interest to American
travellers has been handed down by the
imperial supreme cour; at Leipzig, which
rules that the travellers. checks issued by
number of American institutions and
widely used by American tourists In Eu-
rope are subject to the regular stamp
tax on commercial paper when cashed
in Germany
The decision was taken in the suit
brought by the German branch of an
American expressing company to recover
$3.50 stamp taxes collected by the Ham
burg taxation authorities on travellers
checks SO cashed, the supreme court
holding with the courts of lower instance
that the so-called Checks are in reality
not checks but bills of exchange. The
company will hereafter have to pay the
stamp tax.
Prints Rail Tickets.
The Prussian state railways have in
stalled at the larger railway stations a
machine which prints railway tickets
while you wait" enabling them to dis
pense with the great stock of tickets
to all towns in the empire necessarily
kept on hand under the old system. A
turn of a large wheel to the name of
the desired station and a pressure a
lever and the ticket with it's cost plainly
printed on it drops from the machine.
BY a self-registering correction. the
ticket seller at the end of his period of
duty can tell exactly how many tickets
he has sold and the amount OF money
he is to turn over to his successor. while
formerly he had to take inventory OF
the entire stock each time he went off
duty. his successor having also TO check
nlx-in 1nti mas
an hour or more hard labor.
Cities Set Fast Pace.
German cities are in process of rapid
growth, not only in population. but also
in all sorts of public undertakings to
add to the comfort and pleasures Of
life. The rapid pace at WHICH city halls,
schoolhouses, hospitals, asylums and
parks have been built has necessarily
caused also a correspondinSly rapid in
crease in municipal Indebtedness Ac
cording to the latest statistics issued by
the Prussian government the aggregate
Indebtedness of Prussan towns of more
than 10000 inhabitants increased from
500, 100000 to SLOT. 10000, or above IS
per cent. during the five years ended
March IL. 1911. During this period the
municipal debt of cities with pOpula-
ton of 100000 or more. except Berlin in
creased from s17SO00,OO0 to 1851 100000.
The debt Of Berlin is now $103, coo, OoO
It increased only about 11.OoO.O0O in the
five years, but a further big increase is
now planned.
Priests Are Sentenced.
Four Catholic priests have just been
sentenced 20 six months Imprisonment
by the military court ut Diedenhofen
Lorraine, under peculiar circumstances
n nril hoy lad x,-ifl,
the reserves for short period of mill
reserves. but substitutes, they appeared
in body at headquarters and asked to
be excused The captain in charge curt
~ refused that request and added: AS
long as you are under my orders no God
can help you One of the priests was
also sent up to headquarters to answer
the grave charge of having. in a petit
ton to the district sergeant, used the
word request instead of beg"
Finally the four men drew up a state
ment OF their grievances and sent it to
the commanding colonel of the district,
concluding with the words: IF the mat
ter is not settled in a manner SatiSfac-
tory to us we shall feel compelled to have
it brought up in the diet" tthe new leg
islature OF .Alsace-Lorraine).
This was looked upon contrary to
military regulations. which prohibit the
handing in of joint complaints by several
persons. and the threat was looked upon
as an insult to the military power as
well as resistance to authority The
colonel carried the matter before the ap-
propriate military court. which fully sus-
tanned his view, and had no option but
to inf1ict the minimum sentence of six
months imprisonment.
Treatment for Cancer.
new treatment for cancer, which the
experimenters are careful to describe as
yet as a treatment and not as a cure"
is being tried in Prof. Czerny's Samar-
itan Hospital at Heidelberg, with results
even more favorable than were antici-
pated.
The treatment is based on discovery
made in investigating the effects of
Roentgen and radium rays upon cancer.
1t was found that these rays transformed
lecithin. phosphorized fat found in the
tissues of the body. into cholin, sub
stance we'll known to chemistry and it
was conjectured that 1t was this cholin
which broke down the cancer cells.
Experiments upon animals appeared to
confirm this theory. and fifty six patients
in the Samaritan Hospital then received
injections OF cholin. In every instance an
was noted. 1t is yet too
soon to say whether complete cures can
be effected. but the physicians in charge
are hopeful.
New Railway Traction.
A gasoline electric" street railway is
the latest improvement in railway trac-
ton in Germany. The power system con-
sists of an ordinary gasoline engine |
geared direct to dynamo, which feeds
an electro-motor connected with one of
the axles of the car The first road Of |
this kind has just been put into operation |
at GrLenau.' on the Spree above Berlin |
and IT is described as highly successful. |
Further operation, however. must be car
RED: on to test fully the financial re- |