Democratic Sentinel, Volume 17, Number 3, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 3 February 1893 — Page 5

IN SPITE OF TARIFFS

PRICES ittfiCtlNE BECAUSE OF IMPROVEMENTS. Some 'Demonstrating that There Are Far bore Potent Influences than the TaMff "Governing the Prices of Commodities—Must Be No Delay.

Same Plain Facts. In'&'lftnantiaV' artide the New York Tribune states that “in a whole generation of continuous protective dutiesl here and continuous free trade in Great 'Britain prices of American products -have ’ been reduced almost exactly as much,- in spite of the addi-tion-of duties sakl to be intolerable to consumer, as prices have been reduced in Great Britain during the same time.” -This fact demonstrates that there are far more potent influences tharf the tariff in governing the prices of commodities—a truth which the protectionists • obstinately refuse to recognize. 'ln a well-known work Mr. David -A. Wells, the eminent ■ economist, has ■ reviewed the causes * that have produced the great revolution in trade, the results of which are recorded in statistics of prices. Chief among these causes are inventions and improvements of labor- • saving machinery,’ discoveries of new materials of manufacture, better or--ganization bt labor, and the cheapening and extension of means of transportation by land and sea. These mighty agencies for supplying the wants and increasing the comforts of mankind havcovercome in great degree the obstructive methods of tariffmongering legislation. It would be tedious to recount the labor-saving inventions and discoveries within this generation that have multiplied the products of the factory and field, and vastly cheapened their cost throughout' the world in spite of jealous tariff restrictions upon trade. In further comparing the statistics of prices, the Tribune finds that “greater cheapening of products has been realized by Americans than by the people of Germany;” and it concludes: “Though Germany has prospered greatly under protection, it has neither made such, progress in industries as this country, nor realized as great a cheapening of products to consumers.” In certain lines of industrial progress, notably in the application of chemical discoveries to manufactures, the Germans have not realized as cheap prices as have people of this country and of free-trade England. Germany has been subject to a corn law system (somewhat mitigated recently) which has much enhanced the cost of breadstuff’s and provisions to her consuming millions. In Great Britain, on the other hand, these commodities are free of tax; while in this country the McKinley duties on them, for the sake of protection, are mere futilities. This Is what serves to explain the statistical phenomenon in regard to Germany mentioned by the Tribune. It is not pretended that other commodities besides food supplies are dearer in Germany than elsewhere. Let the duties be taken off the bread and meat of tbe Germans, and the phe-nomenon-would disappear For the rest, the fact remains that the tariff makes the cost of textile fabrics of nearly every description, of many manufactures of iron and steel, of earthenware and glassware, and of various other articles too numerous to mention, much greater in this country than in Great Britain, or in Germany. While under the influence of potent agencies of modern civilization the cost of commodities has steadily declined for thirty years or more, the American people do not receive the full benefits of the industrial revolution to which they are entitled. While they supply the world with cheap food, they are obliged to pay exorbitant duties on many of the commodities which they receive in exchange. It is the mission of tariff reform to correct this evil.—Philadelphia Record.

Anti-Tariff and Anti-Monopoly.

A reform must be close at hand when the ministers of the churches dare proclaim it in unmistakable language from their pulpits. The antislavery agitation was coming in on i the homestretch before ministers, to any considerable extent, took part in ; the reform which culminated in the freeing of the bodies of the black - slaves. Now that both white and i black slaves are struggling to obtain industrial freedom from the onerous .taxes that shackle industry, cramp body and mind and lead to political . corruption, it is an augury that the industrial freedom proclamation may -soon be promulgated, to hear a ser,mon like the one preached by the JJev. John J. Peters, of St. Michael’s Church, in New York City, on Jan. 8. He condemned in strong words the politicians who steal from the ;poor; the officials who take bribes; legislatures that give away valuable franchises without compensation; the iparty papers, “to whom all that their ■worst party bosses do is right, provided only they bear the party name,” and evil in all places. “Woe,” he said, “to; the monopolies and trusts, aoal combinations, sugar trust, win-dow-glass trust, Standard Qil, men that go ,to Congress to lobby through a measure, to put a high tariff on steed tails, ,tin plate, articles,of .clothing as consumption in order that they may reap enormous profits, Joining house to house, field to field, with,the .money which they filch from the pockets of the wage earners, grind ,ing the faees of the poor. ”

Canadians Like Cheap Sugar.

Because of the repeal of the duty ,on raw sugar in the United States the Canadian Government has been .Obliged to make siinilar concessions. The opportunity of smuggling necessitated such a policy. As a result there is a shortage of revenue and an increase of Canadian debt. There is no argument for reciprocal commercial understanding hetween the two countries more impressive than the inability to maintain unequal tax rates on articles of importation. JEven our Chinese restriction law is rendered partially abortive by the failure of the Dominion to undertake a similar foolishness —Philadelphia Record.

Our Blessed McKinley Tariff.

As nearly everybody knows, the transatlantic steamship Umbria broke her shaft on her last voyage in 1895. An Officer ot the company said

a new shaft ca the other*side «ts the Atlantic, but as the tariff *tax Would be 'half of tbewUr inal <cost «of : the shaft section they would ndt’have it sent over and put ! in on tfeis -side, but would take the Umbria to Europe and have the repairsmade tbere. There were plenty of oisicbanics in New York capdble ■and 'Willing to make these ffepairs, but ! our ’tariff laws came between tlwm and their bread and butter.

The New Pia e-Glnss Trust.

The form of trust adiopted by’the manufacturers of plate glass on the last day of the old year >closely resembles that which has been used for some years by the manufacturers of steel rails, and it may be noticed that the number of factories is very nearly the same in both of these industries. There are eleven plate-glass factories, and three of these are controlled by one company. The nine companies or firms which own these eleven factories have combined by appointing an agent or commissioner who will sell all the glass iproduced by them and distribute orders among the producers. These orders will be apportioned according to the productive capacity of the several factories. The commissioner will not only regulate production but also maintain a uniform price. In this way competition both im production and in prices is suppressed. This is not the first attempt to make a combination in this industry. Ear some years the manufacturers have been experimenting with combination agreements of one kind aod another. A few weeks after the enactment of the McKinley tariff the New York Tribune directed attention to these practices in the following telegram: Pittsburg. Dec. 25. A meeting of the manufacturers and jobbers ot the plateglass trade will be held In this city In the near future. At the recent New York meeting it was decided to advance prices HU per. cent, but since then Western men have made a stand for a 25 per cent, advance. the avowed Intention of the fraternal combination is to keep plate-glass prices at the highest llgure possible, and at the same time keep them low enough to shut out all Importations

TtoiS'Object can be attained more surely by the plan now adopted than by the verbal promises of the manufacturers. When all orders must be addressed to one Commissioner, who is bound to exact a uniform price, there will be no roam for variations and secret underselling. The leading manufacturer recently said that the domestic product had come to be 90 per cent, of the entire supply. The fact that 10 percent, of the supply, if that be a correct estimate, is still imported in spite-of very high tariff duties indicates that by means of, combination agreements the selling price of domestic plate glass has been maintained far above a normal level. This may also he indicated by the large profits of the industry. The leading company paid a dividend of 34f per cent, in 1889, and the new tariff has made ithe importation of plate glass more (difficult in the last two years, although the specific duties on the leading sizes were not changed. The duties on the two specified sizes larger than 24 by 30 inches are 25 and 50 fflents a square foot, respectively, and these were equal in 1891 to 66 per oent. in the first case and 105 J per cent, in the other. Such are the imposts under the shelter of which the manufacturers combine to exact ring prices from the people who gave them ithe “protection” which they abuse. It was supposed that by means of the Federal anti-trust law the people cculd reach these unlawful associations, but the affiliation of the Harrison administrations have prevented the enforcement of the new law. The combination of plate-glass manufacturers amd many other combinations will o©.t be overlooked,, however, in the coming revision of the tariff.— New York Times.

No Delay, Trimming: or Cowardice.

Every .argument and pretext for delay in reaping the fruit of a Democratic victory, is a concession to the demands of the defeated party. Only those who .are, cowardly, or wavering, or mercenary will give to the pleas for procrastination any consideration. To atop ithe wheels of a benifleent revolution is to join the reactionists and tto‘become an enemy of progress. The .people voted for reform—not the mere idea of tariff reform, but for actual, efficient, radical reform. They voted for that method of reforming a great abuse and evil, which is to destroy it They did not vote for that spurious method of reform which would tolerate further the abuse and evil, postponing the day of reckoning and arresting final judgment The demand for reform was as emphatic in relation to the time as in relation to the principle which was to be enforced. As in many cases at law, time ie rtbe essence of the contract into which the Democratic party entered with the country in its platform and at the ballot-box.

There is no necessity nor excuse for procrastination. Two or three campaigns of education have heem fruitful. The people of this country, all men who read and vote, are as ! well instructed now on the tariff question as they will be at any time in the perceptible future. Congressional committees can find out nothing new on the subject of the tariff. A tariff commission could not extricate from any possible mass of testimony a single fact in regard to the commerce and Industries of the people which would add a ray of light to the common intelligence. Every feature of tariff legislation and its practical effects has been elaborately discussed, and no further period of deliberation Is necessary or desired. Every hour of delay beyond the period at which the new Congress can assemble and obey in its legislative capacity the mandate of the voters is an hour of cowardice. The people have no time to wait They do not propose to stand in the vestibule and cool their heads, while their representatives in the inner halls are considering the advisabibity of obeying their command, If the Democrats in Congress shall fail to administer at once and effectively the commission with which they are charged they will have disobeyed and forfeited it. this infidelity to duty they will be held accountable. No cowardice, no trim* wipg, do paltering, no delay, is tbe

‘dseunrcl mate at the ballot-box. It i>s the recorded will of the voters.'Chicago Herald.

Steel Rall Trust.

The American Manufacturer is protectionist In the strictest faith ; it is, -however, one cf the best organs of the 'iron and steel industry. From its -annual review of tbe trade for 1892, we extract tbe following:

“There was Dothing of an up and down character in tbe steel rail trade during the past year, at least so far as prices were concerned. Ever since the price of standard heavy section rails was established on a basis of S3O, Pittsburg, Feb. 1, 1891, that figure has been maintained in the face of a demand lessened by the high prices charged and with more or less friction within the Steel Rails Association over the question of the distribution of orders. There is no question but that tbe steel rail trade was much smaller than it would have been had the price been placed even arbitrarily at a lower figure, and through the rail trade alssost all other branches of trade were affected. At the beginning of the year 1892 it was predicted by parties prominent in the rail business that the requirements of that year would exceed those of 1891 by 500,000 to 750,000 tons. This was based on the expectation that the railroads of the country would make extraordinary efforts in the way of improving and increasing trackage to be able to meet the enormous traffic consequent upon the World’s Fair. While this expectation has been realized in a measure, the cause cited above has prevented its full fruition. The production of-heavy section rails in 1891 amounted to 1,089,000 tons, and for 1892 a ligtle under 1,300,000 tons, the official figures not having been announced. This shows the increase for 1892 to have been only about 210,000 tons, or far less than was expected, or at least hoped for, by the rail-makers. The association has decided to make the price of rails for the .present year on a basis of $29, Pittsburg. If this figure is adhered to, with soft steel getting nearer to S2O appareptly, and if railroads restrict purchases as much this year as last, tbe bond of union holding together the various steel rail concerns io the association will be subjected to a crucial test. It is the opinion of many that were this branch of trade placed on a footing of open competition it would be beneficial, not only to tbe steel rail business,.but the direct and moral effect on all other lines would be great.” It is expected that the next Congress will gratify the wishes of the manufacturer by putting steel rails on the free list There will then be open competion, with all of its attendant blessings to other branches of trade.

Wool-Growers Are All Right.

So it seems the wool-growers were deceived all the while when told that free wool would be the death of theni. Now that free wool is seen to be inevitable, the alarmists of other days are telling the farmer that he is all right, tariff or no tariff. The Chicago American Sheep Breeder asserts that “the most intelligent thinkers do not apprehend any such dire results as tbe calamity-criers would have us believe,”’ and says the “muttonraisers have nothing to fear,” as “the consumption of mutton is on the increase,” and “the mutton business is paying better than any other branch of live-stock raising,” so much so that sheep, “without a pound of wool,” are leaving “a golden track,” and are “mortgage-payers. ” Even more striking are the added comments of the Boston Journal of Commerce:

“Sheep husbandry and wool production! will be an important occupation in this country for generations to come, either by itself or in connection with general agriculture, whatever the tariff policy of the United States may be. The style of sheep husbandry anay change somewhat, from the merino to the English type, in case of free wool, but It is bound to play an important part in the vocation of tbe farmer. The merino sheep is but a pioneer sheep at the best, and is always succeeded by the mutton sheep with the advance of the higher forms of agriculture which accompany the progress of population. In a thickly settled locality no farmer can afford to raise merino sheep in preference to mutton sheep. These conditions affecting sheep husbandry are not disturbed by the tariff policies of the government” —New York Evening Post.

Isn’t it most singtiilar that not on* person in five h.undred ever consult* a physician except when overtaken by Illness. If every n*an and every woman, even in perfect health, would every sixty days consult a skillful physician, submitting to such examination as may be deemed necessary, the results would be most salutary in preventing the slew and almost imperceptible inroads of disease. Preventive work should be by Car the most valuable service of the true physician to any mortal. Yet all avoid consulting him except for curative treatment. Give your physieiaa * chance to keep you in good health, and not stupidly wait till you are ill, and probably hopelessly so, before you ask his professional services.

The Associated Press said recently that Yonkers would have a new carpet factory. Yonkers now has the largest carpet factory in this country; but, of course, with free wool in prospect new factories must go up to supply the great demand for carpets that will follow general prosperity and cheap carpets—but these Items are hard blows for the McKinley “demnitton bow-wow” prophets. The great and modest Sir Isaac Newton, with his vast attainments, once likened himself to a child who had only gathered a handful of pebbles on the seashore. His knowledge was very little, in his own view of It, yet his varied attainments seem almost to transcend the known capacity of man.

There are people in the United States who don’t realize that an election has occurred. Trust-makers may continue to ply their trade until next March, when the new administration will curb their powers. Good passenger locomotives which develop 1,200 horse-poyer cost about •10,000 apioce.

TOGS FOR LITTLE TOTS.

AN ARRAY OF VERY BECOMING STYLES FOR CHILDREN. The Na*Mt Skirts Are Having Their Ruffles Lined with Crinoline—ls Only We Could Dc Sure the Fad WUI Go No Fur. therl Gotham. Fashion Gossip. New York correspondence:

. ABEFUL dressing *is as evident in case of the children of t the stage as it is in their elders of the profession, the opera and tragedy queens. The initial illustration portrays a young exquisite as attired for public display, and just as mothers take pattern after the costumes of stage adults for their own r wear, eo they take ' the dress of stage

'children as models for their own little ■ones’ garb. Fashions for boys are now very handsome. Maytoe the boys don’t like their new styles as well as the mothors must, but that has nothing to do with their looking perfectly distracting. The original of the second pioturo was a boy of eight or so, sturdy and well put together. He had on his wellset curly head a visor cap of the admiral kind. His knee breech* s fitted well to his sturdy legs and a perfectly distracting “reefer" jacket finished the rig. The whole was in bright blue cloth, the buttons wore brass, and shone like the smile on the boy’s merry face. Just above the top button of the reefer a scarlet necktie showed. From the pocket in the jaoket tbe corner of a crisp handkerchief peepel, and his stockings were black and his shoes sturdy and boyish-looking. I can’t say he encouraged the admiration which his appearance created. He gave one young lady a reproving glance and then looked the other way with a smile, quite as if he were saying to himself, and meant her to know it, “You can't make any impression on me, my young person.” The little fellow just described was attired like, and looked, a little man, but many mothers prefer to dress their boys more elaborately. Such welcomed the Little Lord Fauntleroy costumes, and, now that they are out of style, they continue their rage for his sash and curls and a general notion

A MARLY GET-UP.

of picturesqueness for their small boys’ get-ups. Several little fellows have confided to me that in consequence they wish they were dead, bat they are a delight to any woman’s eyes notwithstanding. The last boy who confided in me can be seen in the third picture. He wore black velvet knee breeches, a very short Zouave sort of jacket edged around with a jetted braid, and that was worn over a shirt of fine white muslin, very lull and with a ruffle all down the front. The ruffled cuffs of the shirt turned back over the velvet sleeves. On his long wavy hair a Scotch cap was set, with a feather to delight any boy’s heart sticking up in front A bright tie was at his throat, and his stockings were silk. Yet this ungrateful small boy stood thrashing his switch about over his head and said that if his “man” did not take such awful good care of his togs, “girl things, anyhow.” he would have abstracted and buried them long ago. “And if he didn’t take such good care of me, I’d drown myself, I would, the next time ma had me put into the things. Why, there isn’t a boy on my block who will speak to me. The fellows who are got up tho same way by their mas are as ashamed as I I am, and the other fellows, of course, won’t know me. You can’t blame them, now, can you?” For Woman'* Wear. Turning from the little ones, the next picture shows a dress of white Indian erepon suitable for a young or middleaged woman, It has a bertha of mousseline de sole, embroidered with a satin stripe, plastron of white mousseline de soie. and flounce, collar and belt of maize velvet. The skirt is lined with silk or alpaca, and trimmed around the bottom with a gathered flounce of ribbon velvet to match the corselet. When skirts made of double-width material are lined with silk or alpaca, or any other lining of less width, the .lining is usually wide enough to cut the .side pieces, but not those of the front and back, A good way is to place a

MORE PICTURESQUE.

whole width of the alpaca or other lining in the middle of the front, and add a sufficiently broad piece each side. This plan uses less lining than the usual method. The flounce and balayeuse can be gathered by dividing them in quarters and then dividing the skirt in the same manner, when the fullness can be easily arranged. A» the basque

Is covered by the skirt, it is sufficient for it to be two inches to two and a half long. The plastron starts at the Bhoulder, touching the collar, anmstops half way between the collar and the top of the darts; it Is covered with pleated mousseline de sole. The crepon fronts usually finish at the plastron, but they may be continued underneath if It is wished to alter the dress at any time. A bertha of gathered mousseline de solo follows the outline of the plastron, and is continued arouud the back of the neck and down the edges of the fastening to the corselet. The military collar is of the material, and is oovered with a piece of surah on the cross. It fastens in front. The corselet is made of ribbon velvet_wound twice around the waist; or a fcMidntlon may first be made of Victoria lawn, well boned and lined on which the ribbon is as though wound round the figure;!* can be fastened under the arm at the back. The. trimming of this

DRESS OF WHITE CREPON.

dress, viz., tho collar, plastron, and bertha, may be made separately in surah and lace, so that it may be used with any plainly made dress. The sleeves are puffed. A handsome evening dress of cream crepon, witih sash of satin ribbon, is sketched in the last Illustration. The bodice is made low-neoked and fastens over the skirt. It has a basque one and one-half Inches deep on the hips, two to two and a half Inches at the bock, and about three Inches In front. It is easy, however, to alter these dimensions aor •cording to the figure, and either to lengthen or diminish the length of the back and front points. It fastens In front, the hooks and eyes being hidden by the folds. One width should be allowed for the baok and one for the front. This would be sufficient for a person of medium size, but if the stuff be very narrow the width must be augmented. The bottom of the bodloe Is oovered by a ribbon forming a sash. The sleeve lining is narrower than the material and has two seams. The bottom of the sleeve may be drawn near the arm, with a piece of elastic run through the hem: the material is out In oa»e "piece and is longer' than the lining, so that it falls over at the bottom, and it should be draped with a few stltohes. A tomad piece of elastic holds the bodice tightly on the shoulder, the sleeve being fixed on the other side of the elastio, which it entirely covers. The skirt is trimmed with a little gathered flounce, the material for which ie used double, forming a pretty heading. The newest salrte are having their ruffles lined with crinoline, .and there is certainly a welcome crispness of effeot. If only we could be sure the fad will go no further than just crispness? But fashions never stop at their first pretty effeet; they go on and on tUI the hideous exaggeration is upon us. Then we are slaves to the fashion, amfl every one forgets the start of the thing,mnd groans under .what seems an unreasonable tyr-

A HANDSOME EVENING DRESS.

anny. The exaggeration of the crispness is, of course, the awful hoop skirt and the yards and yards of stuff in skirts. Let us cling to the Empire, or, perhaps, It is better to say let the Empire cling to us. Of course, short walsis are no guarantee against hoops, for, in tact, hoops are bound to come. They came as a reaction the last time fashion took to clinging gowns for a time. So, if your mother has given you any old dresses, pause in your mad career and don’t cut up the wide skirts. Keep them a few months longer and you can wear them just as they are. At the sight of the first models jou will have to admit a charm of graciousnese in the fashion, and a suggestion of band-boxiness that is very alluring after our close-cLng ng, damp-looking notions of lato. A shabby silk petticoat can be made really swell again by running its ruffles with narrow ribbon in rainbow combinations. Not only will the rows of ribbon give fresh color, but they will lend a crispness to the skirt and to the dress over it. Copyright. 1893.

The Ice crush in the Ohio River sent $250,000 worth of coal, It is estimated, to the bottom of the turgid flood. Which Incident the thrifty gentlemen of the Reading coal combine will doubtless view as a ray of light from out the dark’ningclouds of courts. Injunctions and legislation leveled at combines in general and their own air-tight affairs in particular.

Some enterprising people propose to start, near the World’s Fair, a saloon that shall be decorated with death’s heads, skeletons, coffins and crape. The idea of furnishing a ready-made case of delerium tremens of the most somber type with every drink is certainly unique. If its novelty can obscure its idiocy it may succeed.

A KNOT AND A MILES.

How Navigators Compute Distance—- “ Dead Reckoning.*' “Will you pleaso explain the difference between a knot and a mile?'’ “What is the meaning of the term knot, as upplied to the great speed made by the City of Paris?” “19 not the term knot simply a unit for measuring the speed of a vessel at sea, and has it auytbiug to do with the actual distance that the vessel makes in a specific time?” These are only some of the questions asked by “A Subscriber,” “Constant Reader” aud scores of others whose letters arrive by each mail and each requesting a reply, some inclosing a slip of paper aud an addressed stamped envelope, some with stamps only aud mauy with neither stamps nor money, the writers having no thought that tfie answers to such correspondents involve not only expense to the newspaper of employing persons to answer these letters, but there must be added the cost of stationery, postage, etc. Some writers also neglect to givo their address, so that mauy letters cannot be answered. This latter class, no doubt, charges the editor with indifferenqe, while the fault is entirely with the writer who neglects to say to whom and where the reply is to be sent.

But wlmt is the meaning of the word “ knot ? ” It is purely and wholly a nautical term, haviug specific and direct application to the speed and distance mudo by a vessel moving in water. The word “ knot” is the mariner’s term for a nautical mile, and its use is really derived from the log-lino used by navigators of the ocean when they wish to determine the speed and the distance that the ship has probably sailed in a given time. The log-lino is an important and a very necessary part of a ship’s fittings; especially is this tho ease when, for several days at sea, the navigator is unablo because of tho sun being hidden by cl»)uds of thick weather to got a peep at it with his sextant, from which the actual position of the ship is worked out. With tho data taken by a frequent heaviug of the log (a small block or section of wood with a long line attached and run out from the stern of the vessel for a specific number of seconds) notiug the force and direction of the wind, the possible currents, or rather influences acting favorably or against the progress of the ship, the navigator is enabled to calculate very nearly, iu overcast or foggy weather, about whore Ills ship is at any hour of the day. This is called “ working out tho position of the ship by dead reckoning.”

Every one who studied the geographical table iu his curly school days will lecall that part of the sing-song recitation running like this; “CO 1-0 statute miles, or GO geographical miles equal ouo degree of lougituue at the equator.” Now, the difference between a statute mile and a nautical or geographical mile is that the latter is about BOG feet greater thau the former. There are 60 geographical miles to each degree of latitude, or to each degree of longitude at the enua tor, which degrees of miles are called “minutes" iu tho nautical vocabulary, hence the old saying “a mile a minute.” As there are #OO degrees or meridians of longitude, there are 21,000 minutes or miles in the entire circumference of the the world, at the euuutor; and it has been mathematically determined that one minute—one geographical mile—at the equatorial circle is equal to 0,080.7 feet. But it lias been the habit of mariners not to be too exact on small fractions when measuring distance ah great us a wile, consequently the practice of defiling a knqtor nautical mile us equal to 4,080 feet, instead of 0,080.7 feet, lias been generally adopted, When the nuvigator desires to make a log-line by which to ascertain tho spued mt which his vessel is making through the water,she follows the constant 6,080. Ah the number of seconds in an hour are to 6/180 feet so are the number of seconds in the time-glass (to be used) for meus-‘ uring the ship’s speed to the number of feet in each unit of measurement marked off on the log-Jine. If a half minute (GO seconds) glass hto be used, the knots must be made fiQ feet 8 inches from each other, and the number of these knots which puss from the rod over the stem while the sand is running from the top bulb to the lower bulb of the glass is equal to the number of knots or nuutical miles that the vessel would make in an hour, providing the same conditions for speed continue. For instance, if tho cn-

gines of a steamship continue to ■ make the same speed during the hour, or if the force of wind nnd spread of canvas of a sailing vussel continue the same, the number of knots on the line passing from the reel while the sand is passing through the 30-second glass, is as good an nctual measurement of the vessel’s speed through the water as could bo obtained except that the courae should bo measured by an nctual survey with instruments. If it was shown that the vessel was making ten knots, she would cover ten geographical miles, or a little more than 11$ land miles, or eleven nnd a half times 5,280 (5,280 feet being equivalent to a land mile), llcnco, to speak of the City of Paris having made 525 knots or nautical miles In 24 hours, she covers a distance of Gois land miles, as comprehended in railroad distances, or a rate of 25 land miles an hour, which is faster than many railroud trains travel. —IN. Y. Tribune.

POPULAR SCIENCE NOTES.

It is a popular test of the power of an opera or a Held glass to try to sight four of Jupiter's moons. To ascertain the limit of a small telescope, having object glasses of 2 1-4 to 2 3-4 inches in diameter, try to sight the rings of Suturn. Bio and Litti.e Telescopes. —“ Great Telescopes” was the subject of an address delivered recently before the Chicago Academy of Sciences in the Athieneum building by Professor J. E. Keeler, formerly astronomer at the Lick Observatory, now director of the Allegheny Observatory, Allegheny, Pa. A lirgc and attentive audience, composed chiefly of professors and scientists, listened to the lecture, which lasted more than two hours. “The popular idea of telescopes,” said the professor, “is wholly erroneous. There is no use of increasing the magnitude of the lenses beyond a certain size. Nothing is gained. I have frequently been able to do more and better work on a clear night with a little two-inch lens of my own manufacture than was possible on a. ‘twinkling’ night with the great Lick telescope. The only real advantage possessed by the great telescopes is a much higher resolving power—that is, through the great lenses astronomers are able to distinguish an appreciable distance between two stars so close together that they have always been regarded as one. “The Lick telescope was an experiment, and the Chicago telescope will lie a further experiment in the same line, lu atmospheric conditions Chicago will have to yield the palm to Ciliforuia, although I do not doubt that the new observatory, taking advantage of past experiments, will be the most complete and perfect in existence."

RELIABLE RECIPES.

Cohn Starch Cake. —One cup of but. ter, two cups of sugar, two and a half cups of flour, one. cup of corn starch, one scant cup of sweet milk, whites ol seven eggs, two teaspoonfuls of baking powder, one teaspoonful lemeu extract. How to Make Good Breakfast Omelets. —An omelet should be a fine golden color, light and delicate throughout, and of somewhat creamy consistency in the centre. To make an omelet of four eggs, take a French frying-pan of sheet iron, about nine inches in diameter. Beat the eggs lightly, giving them about a dozen strokes. Add a very scant half-teaspoon-ful of salt and about half a saltspooirful of white pepper—nothing more. This seasoning should be added before the eggs are Deaten. Let the pan be heating over tho fire while you are beating the ogga. Put a teaspoonful of butter in it. The moment the butter is melted and before it turns brown, pour in your omelet. With a fork, lift up the edges and

allow tho uncooked eggs on top to run under toward the centre of the pan. This will take but one moment. By this timo the omelet should be creamy in the centre and firm on the bottom. Begin to roll it from the bottom edge of the pan. There is always some difference in the heat on the sides. Let tho omelet rest for about half a minute after it is rolled, then turn it out on a hot platter and serve it. The time here given is on tho supposition that there is a brisk fire .in the range. An be iu perfection must In made very rapidly. It is a thing tossed off on the inspiration of the moment, liike the preparation of a salad, deftness of touch and light and rapid motion are of more avail than any set rules. It requires some practice to lie perfect in the making of omelets. When you have onco mastered the art you can add all sorts of minces and flavors to give variety. A lmlf-teaspoonful of chopped parsley and tarugon in equal parts and half the amount of chopped chives will make you an omelet of fine herbs. Six oysters, .scalded up in their own liquor and mixed with two tablespoon fills of well flavored cream sauce, may be poured in the centre of a plain omelet of four eggs just before it is rolled, and we have an oyster omelet. Add a tablespoouful of cheeso before the omelet is rolled, or a tablespoonful of as]>aragus tops, or of green peas, or two tablespoonfuls of minced ham or minced chicken livers, well frlod, and in either case you huvo a delightful variety of this familiar break fust (fish.

Health and Squalor.

“Appearances are sometimes deceptive and popular impressions erroneous,” said Dr. Tracy, of the Health Department, to me. “Wlmt now?” I asked.

“I had a friend, u physician from Connecticut, call on mo tho other day. On one of his tramps about town, he had strayed down in the Tenth ward, which is bounded by Division, Ilivington and Norfolk streets aud the Bowery. It is the banner tenement house ward of the city. There may lie a dozon houses in which less than three families live, but most of the dwellings are double-decked tenements, holding from twenty to sixty families to the house. Children swurin like beei, and it is probably the most densely populated spot in the United States, perhaps tho globe. My friend thought that the mortuary record must be frightful. i “When I told him it was about thomost healthful district in New York, and with nearly tho lowest death rate of any ward, he would scarcely believe me. Take the Nineteenth ward between. Fortieth and Eighty-sixth stroets, east of Sixth avenue, which is mainly filled with tho homes of the rich and well-to-do, the death rate is 21.82, while in the Tenth it is but 18.78. The death rate in the old* Ninth, or tho ‘village,’ which contains but comuauitively few tenements, is 28.84. Tho First, Fourth and Fourteeenth are the three most unhcalthfnll words in the city, tho rate being 35.02, 30.80 and 36.84 respectively. Id the’ Twelfth ward, which comprises all of. Manhattan Island north of Eighty-sixth) street, and which contains the largest population, having within its borders about 225,000 souls, the rate is 10.28.. “As I said, a casual observer would consider the Tenth ward the moit unbcalthful in the city owing to its crowded tenements and its geographical situation. The Twentv-flrst ward, bounded by Twenty-sixth street, Fortieth street, Sixth avenue and the East River, contains much of tho aristocratic quarter of the town, but the death rate is 26.00. In fact the Tenth ward, with its 00,090 Russian Hebrews and Germans, has’ the lowest death rate of any ward except the Third—a small ward, containing but 1,800 population, and whose death rati it 10.05. [New York Herald.

The Compass in t he Watch.

A few days ago I was standing by an American gentleman, when I expressed a wish to know what point was the north. He atonco pulled out his watch, looked at it, and pointed to the north. I asked whether he had a compass attached to his watch. “All watches," he replied, “are compasses.” Then he explained to me how tfiis wus. Point the hour hand to the sun, and the south is exactly half way between the hour aud the figure XII on the watch. For instance, suppose that it is four o’clock. Point the hand indicating four to the sun, and II on tho watch is exactly south. Suppose that it is eight o’clock; point the hand indicating eight to the sun, and the figure X od the watch is due south. My Amirican friend was quite surprised that I did not know this. Thinking that very possibly I was ignorant of a thing which every one else knew, and happening to meet Mr. Stanley, I asked that eminent traveler whether he was aware of this simple mode of discovering the points of the compass. He said that he had never heard of it. I presume, therefore, that the world is in the same state of ignorance. Amalfi is proud of having been the home of the inventor of the compass. I do not know what town boaists of my American friend as a citizen.—[London Truth.

It Is Good Bread.

A good deal has been said shout the wretched “ hungerbrod ’’ on whici the starving Russian peasants were led, and a great deal of sympathy has been bestowed upon them for having to eat the stuff. This, it seems, has been largely wasted. Professor Virchow has been making an analysis of this bread, and comparing it with the »rye bread commonly eaten by the lower classes of Germany, and he says that the “hungcrbrod ” is by far the more nutritious artjticle. It contains 11.79 per cent, of albumen, and 3.79 of fat, while the rye bread baked in Berlin has but 3.04 per cent, of albumen and 0.48 per cent, of fat. It appears that the Russian peasants ought not to starve if they can get enough “ hungerbrod ” to satisfy tXat* hunger— [New Orleans Picayune.