Decatur Democrat, Volume 39, Number 46, Decatur, Adams County, 31 January 1896 — Page 7

(£he DEOATUR, IND. N. BLACKBURN, ... PnwLUHBK. Gen. Mlles appears to be the kind of a •oldler who needs to take lessons In the art of not giving Information to the enemy. No failure can bo more utter than 'Utat of the parent without love, of the teacher without tenderness, of the master with sympathy, of the philanthropist without compassion. The fires in New York City last year averaged over ten a day and cost $3,110,431. It is doubtful If the lose from conflagrations In 1895 In the whole of France much exceeds these figures. Spain’s Idea of trading off defeat In Cuba for Gibraltar and a British alMance will hardly suit the Cubans when tlfty win their victory. After shaking off the grip of Spain they will submit to no more rule from Europe. The United States had but a small navy In 1812, but the havoc It created among the ships of the Mistress of the Bea was simply phenomenal. The history of the American victories on the ocean during that war reads like a roIhanca It Is often said that feelings are too , strong to be subdued by a mere effort of the will; and this is true. But that which precedes and gives rise to such feeling It is In our power to control; and, If we would be just as well as generous, we must clearly distinguish between the two. • The future Is always fairyland to the young. Life is like a beautiful and winding lane, on either side bright flowers, and beautiful butterflies, and tempting fruits, which we scarcely pause to admire and to taste, so eager * are we to hasten to an opening which we imagine will be more beafitiful still. Modern banking facilities were Illustrated in the recent transaction In the Bank of England, by which China paid to Japan an indemnity of $24,500,000 In gold. The coin would have loaded thir-ty-five wagons with a ton each, but the handling of one piece of paper sufficed to transfer the money from Clil•na’s account to the credit of Japan, the whole proceeding occupying but a few minutes. A Boston spinster who has been lecturing says the coming woman has “left the lasso of theology thousands of miles behind.” This Is In the nature of a discovery, but not quite so surprising t as the further assertion that ‘‘Women used to faint at a drop of blood; now they catch mice with their hands and dissect them afterward.” All that remains to be said Is that the new woman is a little more advanced In Massachusetts than In other parts of the country, Wisconsin began the century with a white population of 115 persons, had In 1850 a population of 805,391, and now finds, by the State census just completed that her Inhabitants number 1,937,915. Seventy-two per cent, of them were born in the United States. Even now the population of the State Is but 35.39 per square mile, or about one-seventh that of Rhode Island. The 'growth of the forty odd commonwealths forming this republic is the most Important and significant fact of the nineteenth century. One of the most remarkable things about the late Judge Thurman was his persistent cheerfulness In his latter days, when his work was done and he was simply waiting for “the pale messenger with the inverted torch.” He had no fear of death and no melancholy feeling as to his approaching departure from the scenes and associations of this life. “An old duffer like me is not much good, and my time has about come,” he said, with a smile, only a few days before he died, and he passed away like a child falling asleep. The fact that Eugene Field left an estate valued at $25,000, besides a beautiful home that had already been made the property of Mrs, Field, is extremely gratifying to the friends of the dead journalist and poet Many a lecture on his improvidence in leaving his family beggared thus loses some of its spectacular value, but the combined loss Is. Ismail. Twenty-five thousand dollars is not much, perhaps, but It Is a large sum to have been accumulated by a toller who worked for the love of bls work, and not for the remuneration. More intimate trade relations bf4ween the United States and Russia will be the result of the-establishment in New York of a branch of the Bank of Russia, and the exhibition in various large American cities of Rtlssian productions. Financial exchanges between the two countries have been difficult, and various kinds of Russian goods are sold in.this country as of,German make. The Russians would buy more freely of America# manufactured products if they could do it directly and with facility. A line of steamships between Russia and the United States is also talked of, and the Idea should be warmly encouraged. I -■! "'i— Esquimault harbor, near the City of Victoria, British Columbia, will be a Gibraltar when the British fortifications now under way are completed. They consist of three forts as strong as engineering skill can make them. Their purpose Is said to be defensive, as the/ are twenty miles from the strait that leads to I’uget Sound. The docks and facilities for coaling at the forts will be of the amplest description. Enftaßd la spending $3,000,000 at Esqui-

mault, and could not easily be dislodged In case of war. But the fort* could be quickly Isolated, and would-mean little offensively In a war with the United States. An active mind Is required In these times to keep track of all the Inventions that promise Important results. The French engineer who has succeeded in solidifying petroleum for fuel claims that he can make It as hard as anthracite coal and much easier to handle, while 8 cubic feet are equivalent to a ton of bituminous coal. The invention Is exciting much Interest In France and Englajid. An Inland route for torpedo boats along eur Atlantic coast Is a highly important aid to the defense of our seaports. A quick concentration at threatened points can thus.be effected, and a hostile whip approaching our shores will have to exercise the utmost vigilance at night or Its hull will be blown open' by a high explosive. J'he Cushing has already made several trips on Inland waters. Last spring she steamed from Norfolk, Va., to Jacksonville, Fla., with-, out going to the open sea except for a Stretch of 200 miles. It Is well to, remember, when naval affairs are undea discussion, that torpedoes have not yel been proved to be less fomnidable to ai fleet than a fleet Is to a vigorously d*> fended seaport.

A MESSAGE FROM THE GALE. Listening on the Ice-Floc to the Roar of the Coining Gale. When the swell Is heavy In the Icepack It Is often very difficult to ascertain from which direction it comes; and just as difficult as It Is, just so important may it be that it should ba found out lightly, as the safety of the ship might wholly depend upon correct judgment as to this. When the huge Ice-masses begin to move and screw and press on the sides of the vessel, rising and falling In a heavy swell, then there is only one escape; namely, to work the vessel Into the fields away from the side from which the gale blows. A mistake as to the direction of the running swell has often proved fatal, and the mistake Is easily made. And old Arctic sealer told me how, in hours of dread In the Arctic Ice-pack, he had laid his ear down to the ice-floe and listened to the roar of the coming swell—that terrible message from the furious gale—and how he thus had discovered whence the gale was pressing, and had been able to save the ship from destruction. I trfed this method, and found that It worked admirably. What is well worth noticing Is that open water nearly always is to be found in the ice-pack on one side of icebergs. The Icebergs that we met were gener-i ally in motion, carried onward by thtf ruling current; often they ran forward in the ice-fields at a speed of several knots, piling up the huge'floes befor* their cold, glittering bows; but behind’ them they left an open sheet of water large enough for any ship. Antarctica. Antarctica, whether a continent ofl an archipelago the islands of which arq united by thick.sheets of Ice, is considered to have a superficial area of 4,000,000 square miles, being, therefore,; larger than Australia. The great chain, of volcanoes in Victoria Land rise over 15,000 feet above the sea. On the South American side of Antarctica Is the active volcano of Bridgman and the large and partly submerged volcano of Deception Island, witli a crater over five mines In diameter, the walls of which, built up of alternating layers of ice and volcanic scoriae, rise 1,800 feet above the sea. Sedimentary rocks of the Eocene age, with fossil trees, were discovered in 1893 at Seymour Island; and the French ship Talisman, off the Antarctic continent many years previously, dredged fragments of roek containing a fossil plant characteristic of the Triassic rocks of Europe. Near Laurie Island, in the South Orkneys, limestone occurs. These rocks are of special Interest as confirming the theory that Antarctica is a continent rather than an archipelago, for the microcline granite, with garnet and tourmaline and the mien-schists, must have had a continental origin, such rocks being almost unknown in oceanic is) ends.—Century.

Meaning of the Word “Omaha,’’ The name “Omaha” bears testimony to the long journey of the people, and reveals some of the causes which brought about this breaking up into distinct tribes. It is composed of two words which signify “going against tho current,” or up the stream. The Om.ihas were the people who went up the stream, while the Quapaws, their next of kin, went, as their name reveals, “with the current,” or down the stream. The traditions of both these peoples say that the parting occurred during a hunting expedition, each division finally settling in the lands whither they had wandered apart. This epochal hunt must have been centuries ago, for the Quapaws bore their descriptive name in 1540, being mentioned in the Portuguese narrative of De Soto’s expedition as then living on the Arkansas River, where they dwelt until 1839, when they ceded their long-occupied lands to the United States.—Century. Vegetarian Logic. “Hullo! here, I say. You always profess vegetarianism, and yet here you are eating roast beef, and that is cen tainly flesh.” “But all flesh is grass and grass is vegetable matter. So I htiv.e-not gon« against my vegetarian principles.”Judy. > Another Complication, “Why do you look so gloomy, Tompkins? “You know my best girl Is one of those new women? Well, I’m puzzled to decide whether I ought to ask her to marry me or wait for her to propose.” —Exchange.

GOSSIP FOR THE FAIR SEI ITEMS OF INTEREST ON THE FASHIONS. A Woman’s Cat Farm—A Pretty Skating Rig—For Well-Shod Women—A New Industry for Women. A Covington (Ky.) woman has a little cat farm from which she makes conslderabe profit. She raises only Angora cats, and at present has about twenty on hand. The animals are of a high breed, and sell for an average of SSO a pair. They require a great deal of careful attention, and are raised on much the same plan as are high-bred dogs.—New York Sun. A PRETTY SKATING RIG. A pretty skating rig is in heavy, navy blue melton, with trimmings of silver fox fur. It is made in princess fashion, with the two front gores outlined with narrow bands of the silvery fur. There are two full shoulder capes of velvet, outlined witli fur, and a deep collar of fur, to turn up about the ears. The sleeves are in the bishop style, extremely large, the tops laid in wide, three-inch tucks, while the wrist is banded with narrow fur.—New York Advertiser. FOR WELL-SHOD WOMEN. There is more economy in three pairs of shoes than there is in one. Three pairs last more than three times as long, they are three times as comfortable, three times as healthy and three times as attractive. Every woman should have two pairs of stout walking shoes, so that, though the rains descend and the floods-come she will never be obliged to wear damp shoes or to hasten the drying process so that the leather will be cracked. In addition to these she should have a pair of finer shoes, which she should hold sacred to pretty gowns and festive occasions, such as teas and theatre. — New York Journal. A NEW INDUSTRY FOR WOMEN. A new industry is springing up in the South which ought to give easy and remunerative occupation to women and children. It is the gathering and baling of the mosses in which the Southern swamps abound, for shipment to Northern and Eastern nurserymen and florists. It is in large demand for packing. The gray Spanish moss has long been marketable, but this has to be cured before shipping to the mattress makers. Mosses of all kinds abound in inexhaustible quantities in the marshes of the South. Vicksburg has formed a nursery company, and a great many carloads have already been shipped.—New York Mail and Express.

ONLY SPINSTERS AND WIDOWS ELIGIBLE. l Not a little heartburning in fair bosoms has been caused among “society circles” at Warsaw owing to an exclusive rule adopted by the newly established Ladies’ Club hi that city. This aristocratic social association of Polish ladies, has had the temerity, it seems, to cut out its married sisters, only spinsters and widows being eligible for membership. There are noble matrons with marriageable daughters who are content to believe that the attractions of the club will serve the excellent purpose of ■ keeping pretty and designing young widows out of mischief. The new club premises are commodiously and elegantly arranged, and in addition to their other attractions and comforts, public readings, lectures and music will form conspicuous features of the ordinary entertainments.—London News. COULDN’T KEEP HER OUT. Newspaper women will rejoice in the news that a woman has at last been admitted to the press gallery in Washington. D, C. Under the rigid rules that govern the granting of that privilege a long controversy has gone on. On some pretext or another, the Standing Conunitttee found a weak point in the applications of women correspondents, and was thus justified in rejecting them. It remained for a Western woman to send in application that was proof, and. in the committee’s own words: “We had to grant it. The Rubicon, so to speak, has been crossed.” But if the committtee couldn’t keep her out, just ’cause she was a woman, they could vent their malice by putting her down in the Congressional directory as I. W. Ball, and not Isabel Worrell Ball. They have a faint hope that in this way it will be kept from the public.—New York Press. NEW WOMAN AS A HOUSEKEEPER. It is a mistake to suppose that the race of good housekeepers died out with our grandmothers. I know one small woman who could give some of those blessed old dames points ou housekeeping that , would make their open their eyes. It requires greater executive ability to manage a house that is dainty and artistic in all Its belongings than one wljose chief characteristics are bareness and cleanliness. Draperies and bric-a-brac and downy cushions represent work in the way of airing and dusting and beating that our grandmothers were strangers to. Not that there were.no curtains or cushions in the good old days, but they were by no means so universal ami were found principally in homes Os wealth, where there were servants galore.' The housekeeper who has inspired my present theme is what might be called A “new wonian.” She Is a physician; nhe has a commodious and elegant which Is always in perfect

order and perfectly managed; she has four young children, whose wardrobe and educations and amusements are managed with the most perfect generalship; she Is a member of Sorosls, and finds time for social pleasures as well, and, best of all, her husband, himself a professional man of note, is happy and proud of his wife. Down to the smallest detail her housekeeping is a perfect system perfectly managed. The mattn-sses of the beds are all encased in muslin slips, which are laundered with regularity; there are laundry bags tn each room for collars and cuffs and handkerchiefs; in the butler’s pantry hangs a bag of neavy linen In which is kept by Itself all soiled stable napery. Therte are silken I ags for dust cloths in some out of the way corner of earn room, and little feather bric-a-brac dusters at hand wherever needed; there are always a whisk broom and hat brush in the hall, and large and small brooms and dustpans on each floor. The library and guest-room contain materials for writing a letter, and in the latter room is also a well appointed work-basket, which enables the fortunate occupant to take the stitch in time that is popularly supposed to save nine. There are probably few working housekeepers among the now women, but in their ganks will be found a new and better class —the executive housekeeper.—-New York Herald.

• T 7 ENTERPRISING SOUTH GEORGIA > , WOMAN. There have been stories upon stories written about the new woman, but this one from Pierce county, down on the Okefinokee Swamp, introduces a new phase of woman’s achievement. Miss Lydia E. Smith, the heroine of this story, resides at Fort Mudge, on the Waycross Short Line to Jacksonville. She lives by herself on her own farm, and with the help of a hired man cultivates, harvests and markets her crops. Miss Smith is about 6 feet 6 inches high and of slender form. She is about 35 years old, one would judge from her looks, although on this point she was reticent when questioned recently by the Morning News correspondent. Miss Smith has a twenty-acre farm. She harvested jn ol " 6 than 150 bushels of corn and three liales of cotton. ■ Do you raise sugar cane?” asked the correspondent. “Yes,” said she, “and I raised on one acre last season enough cane to make 480 gallons of syrup, besides S3O worth of cane that I sold.” “A woman riding a bicycle is a sight that I saw for the first time to-day in Waycross.” said Miss Smith, “and it is a downright shame!” “Is it true that you are an expert with the rifle, and that you have killed several bears?” asked the newspaper man. “I am a good shot with the rifle," said she, “but i have never been on bear hunts, and so never had the privilege of getting a shot at bruin. Somebody has circulated that report on me because I am a woman that looks after my farm and have to ride horseback over the place with my rifle on my shoulder. I carry my rifle sometimes to kill hawks and crows. I often, come across a covey of quails or partridges, and in such an event I rarely ever fail to kill a few of them. Don’t let on to the paper that I have passed sweet sixteen,” said Miss Smith, as she took leave of the correspondent. —Savannah (Ga.) News.

FASHION NOTES. Plaids, so cut as to run diagonally, are not a fad, but they hold their respectable own as they have always done. When used, they are big with showy lines of red and blue or green with white, and they generally have a relief of darker cloth and garniture of fur or velvet. Rast belief are the roughness audrihe hairyness of winter gowning material. Practically every woman one meets is a “fuzzy wuzzy,” to use a word coined for a very different meaning by Mr. Kipling. Wide, gauntlet cuffs, deeply slashed and heavily buttoned, are common. They have a military aspect variance with puff sleeves and feather boas. The short cape is a universal favorite on account of the ease with which it goes on over big sleeves. £ a fluffy fur collar makes the outlines of the face look softer. Big buttons and enormous plaids make a little wonian look smaller. Figured stuffs, brocades, arabesques, stamped velvet and their like, are very popular.

The height of absurdity has been reached in furs. A seal cape with the complete sable animals spread over its surface suggests the hunter’s prey. Another monstrosity is a seal muff, with a small dog made of Persian lamb fastened on top witli silver chain and collar.. Among the many elegant dress trimmings shown two are especially charming. a Persian design in cream, blue and pink, with much gold thread, aud a black gimp into which are woven turquoise beads. Nothing handsomer than the latter has ever been made for trimming black gowns. A very becoming bAUpgt for an elder“jy tady is made of bladk velvet, 'rhe soft crown is Indented- in the centre, where t wo-high black ospreys are fastened with a jeweled ornament. It is trimmed with a broad band of steel and jet passementerie. The side loons

of velvet are covered with the same glittering bands, while the central one Is left quite plain. The sleeve* ?f a black serge gown were made with the seam down the outside of the arm and an insertion of plaid ribbon laid between the sections; narrow gimp hid the seams where serge and ribbon met. The same rib-, bon was used for girdle and collar. Handsomer materials are similarly trimmed, substituting velvet and jet for the trimming used on the serge. Women’s waists are generally coming to their own. The corset manufacturers and corset-fitters who have been many years in the business say ghat the sixteen-lnch and seventeen-inch corsets formerly in the market have entirely disappeared, and that for every woman who asljs for a nineteeninch corset, fifty ask- for a twenty-four inch. A fashion note of real moment is the introduction of contrasting sleeves. Plaids and brocades have already made the sleeves to bodices of a solid and neutral color. A brown silk waist has sleeves of rose-pink chine silk and an emerald green velvet supports sleeves of faille in a faded Persian effect. Ten-inch ribbons in heavy white satin or gros grain have garlands of roses looped in wide, loose, irregular designs or forgi't-me-nots in a hazy design, as though the blossoms were enmeshed in the warp-of the silk. Round waist effects and loose fronts are by no means the latest styles, but they still look well, and the very best dressmakers continue to turn them, out, secure in the knowledge that imported models are many of them according to this design. Long-wristed mousquetaire gloves of undressed kid are again very much the fashion, -being worn not only with stylish walking and visiting costumes, but at the opera and theatre. A purple ribbon has tiny apple blossoms set close together in conventional design, the phrple coming up through the pale blush tones of the blossoms with an opaline effect. White fur carriage robes enfold the blessed babies, who are wheeled out for an airing. Boer Wives.

Despite their somewhat plain appearance, the Boer vrouws of South Africa are excellent women, sharp in business matters, frill of the strongest affection for their laud and people, able and willing to endure all sorts of toll and privation, the best of wives and mothers, of sound constitution. The Boer is the “family man” personified. He has usually a large family, and it is amusing to find how, even on distant hunting expeditions, when he is in eager quest of ivory and skins he will yearn to hurry home to bis family. Tell him that you have a wife and children and you go up a hundred per cent, in his estimation. I was trekking through North Bechuanaland four years since and met with some rough Waterberg Boers. We outspanned together. had coffee and a smoke, and later on some practice with a new magazine carbine of mine. We got on very well together, but directly I happened to mention that I had a wife children, their friendliness became redoubled. I was plied with all sorts of questions ou the subject, and had in turn to submit to the several family histories of my Dutch acquaintances. farmers spent a long afternoon on my wagon as we trekked ’ slowly along; we sampled one another’s tobacco, exchanged ideas, and parted the best of friends. A curious instance of this trait in the Boer character happened at the battle of Boon Plaats in 1848, when Sir Harry Smith defeated the Boers of the Orange Free State, then known as the Orange River (British) Sovereignty. A British soldier was wounded, and about to be again shot at by the Dutch farmers. The man knew their waj's and cried out for quarter, adding that he. was father of a family. The Boers not only spared his life, but rendered him assistance, although themselves under fire. Valuable Skins. In a down-town window is displayed the skin of a musk ox, on which is a label stating that it is the most valuable kind of a skin in existence, being valued' at SI,OOO. It is the property of Mr. Heriiitin Burrell, who secured it on his trip to the Arctic regions or thereabouts last year. Witli it is a coat made of the skins pf very young calves of the musk ox species, which is valued at S4OO. The large skin is covered. with long, fine hair, beneath which is a thick coat of tine fur. the coat and overcoat being necessary to tlie comfort of ..the musk ox in his frozen home away inside the Arctic circle. These skins come high, but fortunately people don’t have to have them. Any one who goes out hunting musk ox skins will find that they will cost him more than SI,OOO a piece. besides tho discomfort of travelling it? the Arctic regions.

Odds and Ends. About twenty-two thousand vehicles pass over London Bridge every day. About 400.000 pounds of soap are used tn this country yearly. The bogs of Ireland cover 2, SOO. 000 acres. . The water frame was the invention of Wright, English, in 1709. Ellison's phonograph invented in 1577: wax and tiafoll used to record sounds.

A *2,000,000 COUNTRY HOUSE. Mansion of 200 Rooms Overlooking the Hudson. Os all the beautiful country establishments of the wealthy along the Hudson, none can rival the magnificent colonial palace of Mrs. Eliot Shepard, at Scarborough-on-the-Hudson, which has just been finished and fully furnished. The mansion, which contains in the neighborhood of 200 rooms, is built of light pressed Italian brick and terra cotta. It is situated on high ground, from which the scene is uninterrupted ou all sides for 'miles around. The view of the Hudson and Palisades is unsurpassed. » The entrance to the Shepard estate from the public highway are through two artistic gateways formed of carved stone and iron brought from France. On either side of the beautiful drives and embowered walks are fine lawns laid out with huge flower beds and shaded from the sun’s- glare by many choice American and •’'trees. Massive retaining granite walls enelrcue the estate, which without the beautiful residence would be an ideal park. The main entrance Is recessed and enriched by a portico supported by Corinthian columns, extending in height two stories, surmounted by an entablature and an attic story, the recess forming a dark background, against which the-Corinthian columns are beautifully shown. The great verandas, which nearly surround the •hotise, and the beautiful terraces will recall the old Italian villas and gardens. The entrance hall Is undoubtedly the chef d’oeuvre of the whole house. This hall and the stairway hall are of Italian marble ami hung with rare Gobelin and Italian tapestries. Beautiful staircases, with easy Landings, rise to the second floor. The balusters on the stairways were brought from France. All the principal rooms of the house, which are on the first floor, are so arranged that they can be opened into one mammoth room, which can be utilized for any purpose. The living and reception rooms are on the southwest side of the great ball. The latter room is both elegant and handsome. It is finished in Spanish cedar, and the walls are beautifully frescoed with Italian leather. The great fireplace and mantelpiece were imported from an Italian chateau. Golden wall coverings and silken tapestries of the same hue make a rich frame in the salon for .the beautiful bric-a-brac, which Mrs. Shepard collected while in Venice and the Holy Land. In the salon there is a mantelpiece over 200 years old. Mrs. Shepard’s apartments are on the second floor, as well as all other sleeping apartments. Her rooms are models of beauty. The pale tints of the cameos which adorn the ceilings are in sharp contrast to the beautiful colors of the silk embroideries, which cover litre tapestries nearly one-half of the room. On the third floor the guests’ chambers are situated. yhese are finished in white and gold, with private dres-sing-rooms and baths. Here also are situated the billiard-room, with woodwork of a dark, rich color; the floor and the ceilings are of mosaic. The mansion is lighted by electricity, there being 1.250 lights in the house. The total cost of the house and laying-out of the garden is said to have been $2,000,000. -

Pictures Inside Sheep. From the village of Coombe Bay, tvhich lies about four miles from Bath. England, comes a story of a currious freak of lightning. Near the village there is, or was, when the incident occurred, an extensive wood composed of oak and nut trees. In the centre of this wood there was a' small pasture, quite hemmed in by the surrounding grove. Here six sheep were kept by their owner. The flock Iteiug small, the pasture. only about fifty yards in extent, contained herbage sufficient for them. One day while the sheep were in the field a severe thunderstorm came on and one flash of lightning killed simultaneously every sheep in the pasture. It is to be presumed they were mourned by their owner, but no doubt considering that they might be of some profit to him. although dead, he sold their bodies to a butcher in the neighboring village of Coombe Bay. The butcher began his business by skinning the lightning-struck animals. And here the strange part of the story comes in. To the astonishment of the butcher and his assistant on the interior of each sheepskin they found printed an elaborate-and faithffll picture of the landscape surrounding the sheep pasture. These natural pictures were in no respect suggestive of impressionist daul»s. but the! trees, the -fences, the rocks and bushes were all as precisely represented as if photographed upon the skin of the animal. Every detail was exactly drawn. The sheep had been killed while huddled together in a corner, and the landscape in each case was the same, the picture being of that part of the surrounding scenery which lay in the path of the lightning flash which killed tin frightened animals. Q Growth of the Electric Railway. In 1887 there wore in the United Atqtes about thirteen electric railways of all sorts, with about one hundred ears in use. There are now of eight hundred and fifty roads of this H>. kind, over nine thousand miles of track and about“two thousand five hundred cars. The money invested in electric railways is not far from four hundred millions of dollars, and the number of employees foots up many thousands.