Evening star., 1915-12-31

tanning ingredients essential in the
making of high explosives and dye
stuffs. In April the Navy DEPARTMENT
announced that the big new battleship
California. now under construction at
the Brooklyn navy yard. would be pro-
PEELED by electricity-the first on rec
lord. September it was announced that
an American chemist had discovered
way of making dyestuffs from coal tar,
which will relieve the scarcity of this
commodity occasioned by the war.
and growing belief that he had fallen
victim to the rigors of the arctic, word
came from the Canadian explorer, Ste
fansson, that he had discovered land
northwest of Prince Patrick Island.
Three famous Americans have been
awarded prizes by the directors of the
Nobel oundation-Thomas A. Edison
and Nikola Tesla shared equally in the
prize for 1914 was given to Prof. Theo-
dore w. Richards of Harvard Univer-
sity.
Aviation and Automobiling Records.
Despite the practical use made of it
by the warning European nations. it
cannot be affirmed that air navigation
has made appreciable progress during
the year. Few of the marvellous achieve
ments predicted for aircraft of the
Zeppelin type have been realized. AS
Ian offensive agent, it's performance has
not proved to be more brilliant than
that of the heavier-than- air machines.
and neither has accomplished a tithe
of what was expected. The aeroplanes
| nave done excellent service as scouting
7, and locating craft. 1t is estimated that
over 5000 of these machines are en-
ployed in aerial reconnaissance at the
present time by the fighting nations.
| While making a spectacular flight at
the San Francisco exposition, March IA,
| Lincoln Beachy the aviator, was killed by
the collapse Of his monoplane. Ensign Mel
win L. StolZ, a United States naval avi-
ator, while making a flight at Pensa-
cola, fell from his machine and was
killed. On the last day of May Ralph
de Palma made new automobile rec
ord; he drove his car at the rate of SOS
miles an hour, which was over seven
miles faster than the previous record.
In August the collapse of an army aero
plane at Fort Sill, okla. caused the
death of Capt. George H. Knox. In the
! first contest for the Astor cup, at New
York city. October 9, a new automobile
record was. made. Gil Anderson drove
his car 350 miles at the rate of 1925
miles an hour. Another army aviator,
Lieut.. Walter D. Taliaferro, was killed
during flight over San Diego bay.
October 27 Oscar A. Brindley made an
aeroplane flight along the California
coast in ten hours, making a new
| record
Important, But Briefly Mentioned.
| At New Orleans, January s, the CEN
tenary of the final battle between the
United States 'and Great Britain was
celebrated. This battle was fought
two weeks after the signing of the
treaty of Ghent, which ended the war,
l Of h irht II
America. January the London Stock
| Exchange was opened, after five
| months diScontinuance of business 1t
was practically only a nominal open
| ing, little business being done on ac-
count or the numerous restrictions. Jan
uary 10 marked a new wheat record on
| the Chicago Produce Exchange, the
| highest point reached since 1898, the
year of the famous Letter corner
| $1.45 a bushel was the top figure
| The Panama-Pacfic international ex-
| position was opened at San Francisco
February 20, with appropriate cere-
mony- The 215,ooo opening-day visi-
| tors, especially those who had seen
| other similar exhibitions. We're gem
f! orally of the opinion that it exceeded
| in architectural beauty and perfection
of detail any of its predecessors. De-
| spite the unfortunate lack of free CO.
| operation entailed by the European
war. the foreign exhibits were notably
attractive, and the completeness of the
| ShplOItdIIOn went lar toward
repairing the absence of oversee nov
elites. Contrary to the almost univer-
sal financial outcome of these NAM
moth undertakings. it is announced
that the San Francisco exposition has
considerably more than paid its way.
| On the last day of March, the gov
ernors of the New York Stock Ex-
| change removed tho restrictions i'm
posed when the exchange reopened in
| December, and business resumed its
| customary aspect. Predictions that this
| institution had reached stage of
| permanent decline, which were made
freely after the outbreak of the war,
| have not been verified. On the con-
| trary, the volume of transactions on
| change has been of unusual magnitude
| The heavyweight championship of the
world. held by the negro Jack John
son for several years, was won by Jess
| Willard in the twentysiXth round of
contest at Havana. Cuba, April 5. May
| IS a large fleet of American warships.
which for ten days had been anchored
in the North river, was reviewed by
| President Wilson and Secretary Daniels.
Open Golf Championship.
June IS the open golf championship
| of the United States was won by
jerome D. Travers, cIassed as an anna
teur. The national amateur golf cham
pionship was won, September 4, by
Robert A. Gardner of Chicago, at the
Detroit tournament. William NJ. John
ston of San Francisco won the national
| tennis championship, September Z. at
! Forest Hills, n. Y. The base ball
championship series of the American
League was won by the Boston team.
| four games to one, played with the
| Philadelphia National League team.
| A pan-American financial conference
met at Washington May "a to discuss
| the matter of promoting more salts
factory business relations between the
South and Central American republics
and the United States. The conference
| brought about SO much good feeling
and willingness to promote trade in
terests among the various countries
| that an annual meeting was planned.
July IA a nine-year controversy in
the courts and among alienists was
| brought to an end by decision of a
| New York city jury that Harry X.
/ Thaw, the Pittsburgh millionaire who
| killed Stanford White. the architect,
| is of sound mind. July 16 the Panama
| canal was traversed for the first time
| by American battleships, the Missouri,
| Ohio and Wisconsin passing through
on their way to the San Francisco eX-
position. September 20 the canal was
| closed to navigation Indefinitely on ac-
count of landslides at the Culebra cut.
On December the Oscar IL, chartered
| by Henry Ford. automobile magnate,
| J., i