Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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THE N?TIONAL BfiNK OF AUGUSTA L. C. HAYNB, Prea't F. Q. FORD, Cashier. Capital, ?250,000. Undivided Prolltl } ?110,000. Facilities of our mncnlflcent New Vault (cnntuliiinf; 410 ufo;y-Lock Box r.s. Differ ent SIMS aro offered to our patrons and tho public at $2.00 to ?10.00 per annum. THE PLANTERS LOAN AND SAVINGS BANK, AUttUSTA, GA. Pa JJ Interest on Deposits. 1 Accounts Solicited. |L. C. Hajne, President. Chas, C. Howard, | Cashier. VOL. LXVI?. NO. 44. CGCOCQCOOOCOCOCGQwGGOGCOO I This Moro Fortf ? Hard to Win. ? _ - o g Queer Defenses of Tao Natives of g ra Mindanao. o O O 00000003CQGOOOOCOOOCGCCO? In the Pi,id, Mindanr?.?, P. I.-Un doubtedly military mon, engineers and the public in general will wonder why CO CD t?3 the. Moro fort ot Pandupatan of tho Sultan of Bayan on the^Island of Min danao offered the resistance it did to the American attack, which was made ? 1 SPECIMEN OF UTTING CORAL WITH POLYPS EXPANDED j AND RETRACTED. with the assistance of a field battery. The fort looked like any other Moro fort, but the Americans lost many men in trying to get into it. Many forts, stockades and intrenched positions of the Moros had very promptly surrendered to our column in the march from the sea to the lake country In the interior. There were many fortified places, because the en tire' lake region is divided up among Sultans and Dattos, each with his following and fortification. In fact about every house is a fort. There are trenches about it and stone walls and bamboo stockades. In each house thus protected live a Datto and ills Immediate, family . and working force of slaves, who cultivate the lands Jind_ciu-o for tho Rtrifir. .orv forfiffn/l place is supplied ~with one or morel" old cannon, a few small guns and many homemade bamboo cannon, I spears, bolos, &c. Our first view of Fort Pandupatau TRENCH GROUND CSCSSSB-^xJ_J>-JvJ i occurred shortly after the taking of a large stockade in the Bayan district. The little fort, which was to cause us so much loss, looked much like any other Moro fort. In a general wa j* the fort was a square inclosure. The walls are of stone, earth and bamboo and about twelve feet thick at the hase. They are some fourteen feet high. These walls are covered with bam boo poles on the outside and also with an Immense entanglement of thorny brush both, on the ?ides and the top. This brush made the fort look easy to takBj. as the stone walls did not show. The walls of stone and loose earth neatly and tightly piled and packed have many portholes and the fighting Moro.seemed to have a cannon or a rifle at every porthole and their shoot ing proved to be effective. The Moro engineers had also con structed two trenches about the fort of considerable depth. One trench was crowded with desperate Moros who had taken the oath of their tribe to Jj TRENCH die racing tue enemy. I can certify that practically every Moro in that trench kept his oath. They fought our officers and enlisted men on the edge of the trenches, in the trenches and everywhere. It was shoot, cut, bite, throw rocks, and yell for fully thirty minutes. By that time the Moros in the trenches were all dead, but our loss was heavy. Three or four of our officers were wounded and some twenty-five of our soldiers were killed and wounded. The shooting from the fort continued all this tim?. The inner side of the walls is -several feet lower than the outer and affords a position from which the Moros could fire at our men without exposing themselves to return fire. .There were several "lantakas" or cannon . arranged to shoot from t'?*? portholes at the sides and ends. In the middle of the fort is a bamboo shack. The narrow entrance to the fort was' protected by heavy wooden barred doors during the fight. The designers of most Moro forts take the precaution to make a passage by "which the garrison can retire If need be. In this case the mode of re* heat seemed to be through an Under1 grouud passage from the fort to the lake. There was also a passage which led from the main trench. During tho first part of the fight I remember that a few Moro soldiers escaped through this trench to the open field and then ran to the bush. '.'ho cannon of the Moro fort con sisted chiefly of bronze lan takes with a bore of about an inch and a half. These cannon were slung up on beams or arranged in portholes. This crude arrangement might amuse one under ordinary circumstances. This time every piece of ordnance of the enemy was made to do such ex ecution that we cannot ridicule the devices. Of course lt was the very close rauge that made these pieces effective. When the cannon were suspended by ropes the* gunners had to maintain (he aim by holding the cannon in its proper alignment during the discharge. PRECIOUS CORAL-A BRANCH IN OUTLINE AND ENLARGED VIEW OF POLYP FULLY EXPANDED. The torch used to fire the cannon consists of a piece of native wood that burns steadily, on which are lashed pieces of bamboo sticks to pro tect the hand. Thc projectile used in these cannon consists of a series of pieces of thin bamboo or strips of leaves bound in cylindrical form about pieces of metal, glass, pebbles, ?fcc. These cartridges are about four inches long. I saw some of these projectiles with tacks, screws, slugs, &c, in them. After the battle our surgeons cut ma terials of this kind from many of the wounded. Several men and two or three horses fell into pitfalls. The depth of these pitfalls Is about seventeen feet. Om inan who fell in cut steps on the sides and thus worked his way to the sur face. Such was the fort that defied the Americans from the middle of the afternoon until daylight the next morning. About 5.30 a. m. the More Hag had disappeared and a white flag was in its place.-New York Sun. Civic Pride in Children. Our public schools stand as high ns any in the world. All that can be done along the lines for which they were in tended is well and completely done. By law children between the ages of seven and fourteen years are compelled to attend school daily. It is possible, therefore, to lay here foundations for an interest in aesthetics of life, to cre ate a widespread Interest in all that concerns the construction and decora tion of the city, and to cultivate and arouse a civic pride, which is 01 para . mount importance in all communities. lOur public school buildings should be jinade veritable temples in all that goes to influence the sensitive minds of cull* [dren.-Municipal Affairs. An Advertising Result. A lecturer on advertising says that a 'century ago a firm had to do business ?for a generation to become widely known and trusted, but by modern ad vertising methods a house can achieve the same result in a few years. Con stant advertising and honest dealing .win build up a b'gli .putation. Expensive House Decoration. In having their residence at Easton Lodge. Dunmow, redecorated, the Euri and Countess of Warwick employed IOU workmen for two months, and up wards ol' $5000 worth of gold foil was used in the grand drawing room. Three Knots an Hour. "Three knots an hour isn't such bad lime for a clergyman," smilingly said the minister to himself, just after lie had uuited the third couple.-Tit Bits. Wishbone Sweetmeat Tonics. An Eng'-isii novelty is a pair of sugar j tongs shaped like a merrythought, aud j made of solid silver. ._ I Coral Jewelry in Favor j ==*Curious Formations, j Tile decadence in the use of coral lis Hil article of personal adornment has becu very noticeable of recent years. Still, so frequent and arbitrary are the changes of fashion that it is doubt ful if many of those "who worship at its shrine have noted how completely it hos been replaced by oilier less valu able decorative substances. . My lady has simply noticed that it was not af fected by the leaders of her set. and presto, lt has been stowed away ia out of the way places. Not seen, it has been forgotten. Bat now lhere are signs in a late twirl of fashion's kaleidoscope that lt will soon again reclaim Ks old place among the highly prized contents of the jewel casket. It is perhaps not known' that while coral grows-for lt docs grow and can ? reaped Uko a crop in almost ?ill | pai ^s of the world-precious coral, or I LARVAE ESCAPING FROM MA TERNAL POLYP. that used in jewelry, is found only in tho Mediterranean, where lt is gath ered in the rocky bottom at depths of from twenty-five to sixty feet, though occurring also even down to 1000 feet. Important fisheries exist on the south ern coast of Italy, on the island of Penza, off the Gulf of Gaeta, on the ; coasts of Sicily, Corsica and Sardinia, on that of Algeria, south of Sardinia, and other places. At some of these the reefs are divided off into tt jarts, only one of which is fished annually, 1 ten years being considered sufficient for thc proper growth of thc coral. ' Collectively, corals constitute a well- 1 defined natural group of s-jveral sub- ' groups of distinctive peculiarities. 1 These, naturalists have cla^^^l?^;ovd- < ---?BHHH^.iir varu?isl heads, that to which pugmus 'coral (Corallium rubrum) belongs, being called the Alcyonaria. a name derived from Alcyone, the fabled daughter of Aeolus and wife of Ceyx. who, incon solable for the death of her husband, flung herself into the sea. In this tribe the so-called polyps, the minute animal organisms that con struct the corals, have a body of a more or less cylindrical outline, which internally is divided by longitudinal partitions into eight compartments, each of which ls surmounted by a fringed tentacle or feeler capable of being agitated in thc water. The mouth, situated in the centre of thc space surrounded by these tentacles, opens into a stomach, which, at its lower end, communicates freely with the interspaces between the eight par titions before mentioned, and these open below into a series of canals, which pervade a rather thin substance that covers the article we call coral, and are continuous with other like canals belonging to other polyps con nected with the same mass, or polyp nry, as it is called. Into this covering material or cortex the polyps are capable of retracting themselves so as to become almost In visible, but when it is taken into con sideration that in precious coral thc polyps are white and transparent, while the coral and its covering cortex . are various shades of red and pink, the beauty of a live specimen with all the polyps expanded can be imagined. Th* coral animal passes through a lifo history enlivened with variety, not unmixed with tragedy. The egss are produced annually and become at tached to the partitions which separate the cavities of the natural body. Here they develop and modify into nearly ONE OF THE DELIGH AS DEPICTED BY JOHN fi?cCUTCf?EO Tho Pirate Chieftain: "We'n sum of wild buffaloes", on one side ut an v tile natives, and iu front of us ur* brea microscopic moving larvae, covered with vitr?t?e hair?, These., rifter play ing for a limp nbout thc internal parts' of th? motlier, abandon this singular sanctuary and go out in search of ad In this pursuit many of them rome to grief bj* forming au acquain;;,ncc with oilier inhabitants of tho deep, who regard them as ii food delicacyi but tiiose thai escape, after theil' time of vagabondage^ geek out il rock or shell to which tiley become attached and then transform into polyps. Erteil of these produce from its base expan sions which, gradually growiug larger, begiu to bud ott other polyps, Protection Fot M>krkHinOil< An invention luis lately been experi mented with in the English Army known as a hyposcope. which ls a device to be applied to rifles, by means of which the marksman need not dis close or expose himself to the enemy as ho is about to lire over a protecting wall or embankment, The English Government has ordered n number of these and some excellent shootiug was recently done With one of them nt the Disley range, where five bull's-eyes were made in succession by one marks man. A number of prominent officers have become much interested In thc invention, and one, lifter seeing it in use, remarked that it about doubled the value of a soldier. The money value of a soldier to the War Office has been estimated at ?1500, and, armed with the hyposcope, he is worth $3000. The instrument is a small affair, readily fixed to tile gun, and when in position is not nt all In tho way of the marksman. In use he places thc gun over the wall or breastworks, resting the butt on his head, so that no part of the body is exposed. In this position he aims and fires. Gcncnlogicnl Chain Itecorrt. Any one who has ever made thc at tempt to trace their family record knows that there is a curious fascina tion about it, and it is with consider able pleasure that each link is discov ered which connects the present with time long past, especially if it be found that some ancestor held a prominent position in affairs, either as a states man, soldier or business mau. Numer ous devices have been thought out for the convenient recording of the names and history of these ancestors, tho chief difficulty being that lu brlugiug nil branches of an ancient family down to tile present thc branches are so numerous that it is hard to join them ?ill to the one head ?11 a form easily traceable. Pattie Williams Gee has designed a system of links and tablets which is practically limitless as to length nud number of names which may be recorded, au illustration of the idea behig presented herewith. In tracing In a direct line the tablets are connected one to the next by small cnc^???c?uyaih??T??^ at intervals around the tablet. One tablet of individual shape is provided LINKING TA.ST AND P1JESENT GENERA TIONS. to make prominent the owner's name, and each record contains space for the main facts of tho person's history. If desired a card system can be used in addition, a number on each tablet re ferring to a corresponding card, where a complete history in delail can be recorded. Usine the Ncwspupers. For years railroad lines have been advertised mostly by booklets, folders, circulars and the like, using the news papers only for time table. Recently several managers have used news paper space for display advertising, and one says that soon all the compa nies wilt reduce or abandon other forms of publicity in favor of the newspapers. There are still over twelve per cent, of Belgian soldiers who can neither read nor write. TS OF BEING A BOY, N IN J\ RECORD-HERALD CARJOOfl. mnded by perils. Behind us is a herd infrieudly shon? swanning with lios kers and deadly/reptiles." ItO??STEE STEAM SHOVEL fHE MOST WONDERFUL OF ALL THE MECHANICAL WORKMEN. rons of Earth liaised nt One scooper Large Hackets Which lill an Open Car with Great lt iptdity - Engine* Whick 1>I~, Carry and Lift. Of ail the mechanical workmen which have of late years been devised io assist human energy In performing great undertakings probably the most wonderful are the mons-Ler steam shov els. A number of these giants with their armr, of steel and tireless mus cled, have been lil service for years past, but the increasing variety of uses lo which the steam shovel has lately been adapted has directed an increas ing degree of attention to this import ant family of -time-saving and labor saving machines. Simultaneously new demands have been made upon the manufacturers, and the new recruits in the army of inanimate shovellers are ea$h fully one-third heavier and correspondingly more powerful than the oldj type. Already these machines have some surprising achievements to their credit lu making excavations for railroads and cabals. Thus far, however, one of tho principal uses of the steam shovel has been that of handling raw material, such as coke, coal and limestone; un loading from railroad cars, transferring from stock piles to furnaces, etc, Practically all of thc steam shovels hi use i throughout the country are of one general type. Inasmuch as the shovels, are designed for almost con tinuous- service at thc hardest kind of work, ind, from the nature of things and the undeveloped portion of the country; in which they are often cm ployed',t must not only be subjected to ali kines of Weather, but also receive but fie?tat care, every effort is made to have tjiem of staunch construction In shor^ras nearly unbreakable as pos sible, -jb the construction ol' thc up to-date; steam shovels there are em ployedsteel beams, steel and iron forg ings and steel plates and castines. Comparatively little cast iron is used in any.'part of thc machine, even the gearing being ci' cast sLeel and the shafting of hammered steel. Tho parts are joined with a filling of white oak. To manipulate the monster scoop that does as much shovelling as a force of 100 men naturally requires consider able power, and this is furnished by half a dozen engines. There are a pair of swinging engines, a pair of revers ing engines and a pair of thrusting en gines, sp that every met ion of the pon derous?shbvel is accurately controlled. The waiter tank connected with the shovel;jand the storage bin for fuel are of sulrjcient. capacity to enable the ]arge8t??ize 'shovel to bo in operation corr?ntipusly for fully eight hours. There jk-a wide range in the size of n-'- -_- 3--.: -. . . . i _j. ._.,_ are intended. In some instances a shovel ir. fitted with a bucket which will not hold more than one or two tons, but as a rule the capacity is such that from four to eight, tons of mater ial are lifted at every scoop of the tre mendous metal arm. Steam -shovels, in order that they may be moved quickly and economical ly from place to place, are mounted up on extra heavy ?.nicks that are of standard gauge, and. in the main, very similar to those which support the larg est freight cars. It is thus equipped to travel as the railroad cars in the load ing and unloading of which it may be engaged, or if it is desired to transfer the shovel from one place to another it may be hauled as an ordinary freight car. One of the remarkable attributes of the modern steam shovel is thc ability of the great, ungainly machine to lilt masses of material above its head, so to speak. Almost any of tho steam shovels now in use will ?*.H2? ma terial 16 or 17 feet above thc level of the rails on which the shovel stands, and some of them, which have exceptionally long arms, will lift the huge dippers 20 feet or more above the track. As might be expected, it is necessary when constructing a machine which is to perform such work as this tc provide every possible safeguard against the constant wrenching and twisting which are inevitable, particu larly when the dipper is operated rap idly. To minimize the strains it is the custom to place cushions of wood be tween the steel parts of the machine. .Probably the most interesting steam shovels in the world are -to be found on the "Mesaba Range," one of the five districts which go to make the Lake Superior mining region. Here they ren der possiblo in its present scale of mag nitude the so-called "open-pit mining, the shovelling of iron ore directly from its natu ul resting place in the earth to the railroad cars which are to carry it to market. An "open-pit" mine is nothing more or. less than an immense hole in the ground, perhaps half a mile square. Into this railroad sidings are run, as they might be into a vast quarry, and in some of these mines, where fully a million tons of ore is taken out each year, there is in opera tion simultaneously anywhere from half a dozen to a dozen of the large shovels. The type of shovel most extensively used in mining operation? is 40 feet in length and nearly 10 feet in width. The boiler is nearly 5 feet in diameter, and the boom or ann of the shovel ranges in length anywhere from 2~> to ?.0 feet. Such a shovel weighs more than many a locomotive, and costs from ?7.000 to $10.000. It is in the iron regions, previously mentioned. that the most remarkable records of rapid loading by means of steam shovels have attained . As a rule five trips of the dipper are required to fill an ordinary freight car. but so rapidly is the lonir arm raised and lowered that it is accounted slow wirk if more than five minutes be consumed in loading a car, and not frequently cars are fully loaded and pushed out ol the way of the shovel at the rale ot one every two minutes. From oigU? to a dozen men are required tc operate a shovel of fair capacity, and by steady work they can plr.ee full;. 7000 tons of oro aboard ihr- cars in r sinirle worlrine; dav. !:i order t. m~fco such a rccrrd as lids, however it ?s necessary that the men have ar opportunity to work on the side o? ? pit or mine, where lt will not often bc necessary to resort to blasting to loos- i en the ore, so that it may slide down . to the shovel, and it is further essent!?l | that a locomotive be constantly at ha<N? I to shift the cars as rapidly as they are filled, thus preventing delay. Nev/ types of steam shovels are to a consider?ibl?- extent displacing thc fam iliar locomotive Cf&tta In many manu facturing establishments. Some of the machines put to such usc arc Operated by electric motors instead of by steam. Numerous improvements have of late been made In steam shovels in general. One of Ihes? gives greater latitude of movement Lu iii? (lipper, The old-fash ioned steam shovel dipper wfts limited j to a verticlc thrust, but in the newer machines the big scoop is not only enabled to revolve in a complete circle, but the dipper ?K fitted with a sliding trolley, to which is HUHpendcd by an adjustable arm, and about which it ro tates, ?nder-rt, the present mechanism even renders it possible to remove the clipper entirely and mekfi use of the j machine as a locomotive eran??. In the new-style machine all the movements i aro controlled by lovers so arranged as I to bc operated hy one man stationed | on a platform at tho front cf the ma chine. Within the past year or two I many steam shovels have been ex- j ported to Europe, where they are com- ? lng into extensive use for raiiroad and ! canal excavation, as well as for trans- I fcrring material In manufacturing es tablishments.-Philadelphia Record. BRIDCE BUILDING Some Kcmnrkiible Strife:?ref? Tlint Carry American K*llro?:?l Truck*, At the rccnt Pittsburg meeting of the American Association for the Ad vancement of Science Professor Henry S. Jacoby, cf Cornell University, ga%e a highly lntereicing address on "Re cent progress in American Bridge Con struction," from which are selected the following facts and figures: The viaduct which carries the Chi cago and Northwestern railroad across thc volley of thc Des Moines river, at a height of 185 feet abo\c thc surface of the river, is 265S feet long. Ii: was built In 1901, is thc longest double-track viaduct in the world, provided those locate' in cities be excluded, and is an 'dmirable type of the bett modern construction. The tower spans are 45 feet long and the other spans are 75 feet long. The highest viaduct in this country, rebuilt in 1900, is located 17 milos from Bradford, Pa., where thc Eric railroad crosses the Kinzua Creek at a height of 301 feot. It has a length of 2053 feet. The longest span of any simple truss in America is that of the bridge over the Ohio river at Louisville, .erected in 1893. Its span centre to centre ot ted pins is S'll'.V? feet. Since that time several other bridges of this kind have been built which are considerably I worthy of these are the Dehawaro river j bridge on the Pennsylvania railroad, near Philadelphia, and the Mononga hela bridge of the Union railroad, at Rankin, Pa. The Delaware river bridge was erected in 189G, each one of bis fixed spans having a length of 533 feet and containing 2094 tons of steel. The Rankin bridge was erected in 1900. Its longer span has a length of 495 feet 8% indies between centres of end pins and contains 2S0O tons of steel, making It the heaviest single span ever erected. Tho channel span of the cantilever bridge over the Mississippi river at Memphis, Tenn., is the longest one of any bridge of this class in America. It measures 7901,2 feet between centres of supports. There is a bridge of this class now under construction over thc Monongahela rjver in Pittsburg, whose span is to be a little longer than that of the Memphis bridge, thc distance bc ween centres being 812 feet Another cantilever bridge Is now be ing built whico ?viii not only have a longc span than any o.ther lu this country, but longer than that of any other bridge whatsoever. It is located near Quebec, Can., and its channel span over the St. Lawrence river is to have thc unprecedented length of 1800 feet. 200 fet onger than the Brooklyn suspension bridge. The towers will have a height of 3C0 feet, above high tide. The Brooklyn bridge, completed in 1883, is still the largest suspension bridge in the world, its span being 1595% feet. More people cross this bridge than any other in any country. The new East River bridge, which is now being built, has a span of 1000 feet, 200 feet longer than the Brooklyn safe strength of over 10,000,000 pounds in tension. The first important steel bridge in the world, completed in 1874, is the arch bridge which in three spans crosses the Mississippi river at St. leonis. The Washington bridge over the Harlem river in New York City, consis's of two spans of 510 font in the clear and has the largest two-hinged arch ribs with solid web plates. Two steel arch bridges cross the Nia gara river. One of them replaced the Roebling suspension bridge in 1897. It has a two-hinged arch, with a span of 550 feet, li accommodates the two tracks of the Grand Trunk railway on the upper deck and a highway on the lower deck. The oilier replaced the Ni.igara and Clifton highway suspen sion bridge in 1893. It has a span of 840 feet and is the largcSt arch of any type in the world. M ?it ll *?..<??. Next lo being manly is to appreciate manliness. Next to being womanly is tn appreciate womanliness. There .is, indeed, a measure of the high quality in a man or woman that makes one re cognize it. when exhibited in another. It is the lack of thc high quality that makes one undervalue it as it stands out in its commendableness. In view of this truth, we must remember that we disclose" oursclv1- by our estimate of others- Sunday Schcol Times. iM?ti'?. "Don't yoi: think that anybody has rights except yourself?" "Certainly." answered tho trust mag r,?"i n. "Them are- numerous right? Which wc iio not pepse?-;. lint wc are fmthcring them in as rapidly as possi ble."-Washington Star. Large shipments of ihi best makes of wagons and buggies just received. Our stock of j ur ni. ? ture and housefurnishing is complete. Large Stock of Coffins and Caskets alwags on hand. All calls for our hearse prompt ly responded to. All goods sold on a small mar gin of profit. Call to see me, I will save you , money. G. P. CO THE ARTISTS' FAVORITE THE MATCHLESS Unsurpassed in touch, tone, workmanship and. dura rability. Sold on Factory and timan, Cincinnati, Olio. J. A. HOLLA/NB, Traveling Agent for South Carolina, NINETY-SIX, S. C. VV. J. RUTHERFORD. R. B. MORRIS. MANUFACTURERS OF Ready Roofing and Other Material, WRITE US POH BRICES Cor, FeynoMs nd Waslii Sis, - inpsta Ga. A COOKING MOLEHILL. Mvery housekeeper, if she 13 wi'il rog to admit it, has some cooking molehill out cf which she makes a mountain. Many say thal thc word "stock" In a receipt makes it impes sible to them; others go down bet?re "things in aspic;" still others trembla at a "court" bouillon," and tho simple operation of marinading discourages many others. It 19 z. good plan) to wrestle with any of these cookery problems. The marinading bath, for example, improves meat or fish that is put in,i it. If cold meat Is to be used for salad or even warmed over in a "stew," the marinade gives it a flavor that it would otherwise lack. It is merely a dressing made from three tablespoonfuls of vinegar, two of oil, a teaspoonful salt, one-quarter teaspoonful pepper, one bay leaf, a sprig of parsley, and a teaspoonful of onion juice. These proportions may be diminished or increased as needed. The meat or fish is put in this mixture for an hour or so before using, being turned several times to absorb the flavors. The cod, thus treated, then boiled, becomes a different edible, so greatly improved is its taste. It is quite worth while for housekeepers to experiment in directions that appear a little formidable, if only to discover that they aro not so herd as they seem.-New Tori-: Post. WOMAN AND THE RAT. Official advices from St. Petersburg state that in contradiction to the Hel singfors Hufvudstadtbladet the Rus sian Government does net Intend to pass over the offense of the Finntsu recruits, who have refused to present themselves for conscription under the unconstitutional military edict. But it ls difficult to sec what the Russian an the, .tics can do to punish the 5,000 young men in question. The Finnish law courts have In the most explicit terms declared that the military edict cannot have the force of law. and a short time ago the Wiborg court ac quitted the recalcitrant recruits who were brought before it. How a Heartless Man Cracked a Cruel Joke. Thc great horror that every woman is supposed to feel at the sight of a rat is more truth than imagination, as shown by a little incident that occur red at Piedmont Station when a large crowd of people were waiting for the St. John's motor. Quite a number of women were sitting on the bench wait ing for the car, when one of the men standing by determined to have some fun at their expense. Giving some of 'the bystanders a sly wink, he commenced to look in tently at the feet of the women, and after he had attracted attention of some of them, he turned to a man standing by him and said: "Is t?.at a tame rat? I never saw a wild one so tame,'' at thc same time pointing un der the bench upon which the women were sitting. The man was m the mood for a joke and was just preparing to say some thing that would tend to startle them If the rule would hold good, but his remark was needed. The women had heard tue word rat, and '.hat was enough. At first they did not seem to realize thoroughly thc great .langer that they were in, and one of them be gan to look under the seat rather cau tiously. "Where is the rat?" asked she. "Rat! Rat!" re-echoed the women, and as they commenced to realize the situation the air was soon filled with screams, and they all fled frantic ally from the place, while the m?n stood back and enjoyed a good laugh. It is useless to say how they greeted the annauncement that there was no rat, and that the scare was all im aginary."-Oregonian! in a recent test of accuracy in firing torpedoes the vessels of the torpedo boat flotilla in the North Atlantic made some remarkable hits of a float ing target 1000 yards away. As each hit would have meant utter destruc tion in time of actual war, tho import ance of these wasps of the navy is be ing heralded abroad as a valuable dis covery. It is well to shoot straight, of course, whether with popgun or with automatic torpedoes, but the nain thing in these high explosive days is to get close enough to an en <;ray to lodge a shot. Long before any torpedo boat could have approached within a thousand yards of an enemy it would have been blown out of the ivater. A "Great Man" in India. The money lender is styled in Ben gal proper mahajan-literally "great man"-though the proportion of th? confraternity who accumulate fortunes is very small. The mahajan is the Ryot's banker. Ho sweeps into his garner tho whole or Ids client's rice harvest, and doles out to him what is required for seed grain and domestic consumption. He pays rent and lends the wherewithal for marriage and fu neral expenses. In return for these services the mahajan charges his client 30 to 70 per cent. This rate may seem excessive, and lt undoubtedly cripples agriculture, Sut, on the other hand, the risks run by the banker are enormous. Ryots who are hopelessly deep in his books often flit by night to a distant village, or go over, bag and baggage, to a rival banker. Civil justice is expensive, dilatory and ve nal, and the uncertainty of ufo is great in a country where gray hairs aro seldom seen.-St. James' Gazette,