Newspaper Page Text

PART V.

EIGHT PAGES.

paradoxical though It may appear, Sweden

ixiA Norway, now that the Art of Union has

been repealed and the reparation accomplished

between these two nations, ro long known as

the Sister Kingdoms, are to-day more united than

at any time in course of the last hundred years.

The present union is no longer compulsory,

but purely voluntary on both sides, based en

tirely upon a community of interests and upon

a realization of the necessity of making common

cause against danger from without. In the

treaty of Karlstad, by which the dissolution

of the Act of Union was brought about, no

specific clause appears — at any rate in that part

of the agreement given out to the public— which

binds the two nations to act together in the

presence of any peril of foreign invasion threat

ening either of them. But the entire tenor of

the treaty, as published, bears the Impress of

the existence of an understanding on the part

Of both Sweden and Norway with regard to this

very matter, and there is- every reason to be

lieve the report current in diplomatic circles to

the effect that there are some secret paragraphs

covering just this point, which have been

purposely withheld from the people. In order

to avoid anything that might be construed in

the tight of an act of hostility against the one

great power which, above all others, consti

tutes a danger to th« independence of both king

doms. That great power is Russia. She is the

sole peril. From no other foreign government

have they anything to fear. And that is why

the treaty of Karlstad remains silent about the

arrangements which have been made with a

view to foreign invasion, since these arrange

ments could be aimed only at Russia, which

might easily find therein a cause for offence.

That the danger is a real and present

one. far more so than the general public for one

moment imagines, may be gathered from the

fact that for some weeks past the Czar, who

officially describes himself among his titles as

"Successor to the Throne of Norway," has been

rapidly pouring troops into Finland beyond any

apparent requirement even of the admittedly

troubled state of that province, which borders,

as every one knows, on Norway. Moreover, Rus

sia ha? remained ominously silent throughout

the latest phases of those differences between

Sweden and Norway, now happily settled by the

treaty of Karlstad— differences which she did

modi to promote. Indeed, for the last seventy

five years the efforts of Russian statecraft and

of Muscovite diplomacy have been directed tow

ard the fostering of trouble between the two

kingdoms, and no one can form any idea of the

amount of money which has been spent by the

Department of Foreign Affairs at St. Peters

burg in maintaining a huge horde of agents in

Norway whose one duty it was to promote Nor

wegian ill will against Sweden. They insidious

ly pointed out how much better off Norway

would be as a republic under the protection and

suzerainty of Russia than as a dependency—

that is the way in which they put — of Sweden,

and week after week newspapers printed at St.

Petersburg, with Russian money, were scattered

broadcast throughout Norway urging the people

to rise against "Swedish tyranny." and assuring

them of the! good will and the friendship of the

Czar. Quite a series of the article* of this kind

were BigDM by BJornsen, the Norwegian poet j

and author, who was a resident at th» time on

the banks of the Neva, and whose statesman

ship and political sagacity were In no sense

commensurate with his patriotism and literary

genius. How much importance Russia attached

to fostering antagonism between Norway and

Sweden may be gathered from the fact that she

detached M. Zinovieff from his position at the

head of the Asiatic division of the Foreign De

partment at St. Petersburg, where he had in his

hands all the threads of Muscovite diplomacy

and intrigue all over Asia, to take up the ap

parently subordinate and insignificant post of

Minister Plenipotentiary at Stockholm, whence,

of course, he directed the operations of all the

secret agents in Norway.

The unfortunate policy adopted by Russia

toward Finland since the accession of the pres

ent Czar served, however, to open the eyes, if

not cf the bulk of the peopJe, at any rate of

the leading men of Norway, to the value of

Muscovite pledges of autonomy to the nations

ill advised enough to accept her offers of pro

tection a.:vl suzerainty. Th^re is a large Nor

wegian and Swedish population in Finland, and

there is a good deal of maritime trade between

the grand duchy and Norway. The sympathies

of the Norwegians and Swedes in Finland could

not but be with the Finns in the latters'

struggle to retain thai self-government which

had bf-< nnlj ; romised to them: and as

they made no secret of their sentiments they

came in for mucn <">f the severity 2nd oppres

sion shown by the Muscovite authorities in the

grar.d duchy. This has contributed in no

anal] measure to modify the views of the Nor

wegians with regard to Russia, which they have

now learned to fear ouite as much as do tii'':

lea.

than ever i.= this fear justified at the

Rup?iu. compelled to renounce

the hope of naval, military and political as .

<enden<-y in the Far East, and to abandon, for

probably half a < come, every e>. ;

t;on she has had of securing an icefree i

: Qc for her trade and commerce, will

r.ow Ik- ton ed, whether she likes it or not,

to seek an outlet to the ocean elsewhere.

.". the Persian Gulf, through the Bos

pores or through one of the Norwegian har

bors on the Atiari!!.". The treaty between Eng

land and Japru, virtually bH« s Russia's way to

'i.n Per?:an Gulf, whik 11 is hopeless to i

that the clause of the Black Sea treaty closing

the l>: ■: iil ever be

abrogated, Bave In the altogether inconceivable

tality of a Muscovite victory over an

armed coalition of the majority of Bui

■ r-g'^s of a colossal nation must

Inevitably follow the line of least res

and it is certain thai tha< line is in the direc

tion of the Atlan'ir, and that if the li

■ an is forced t" seek ;t breathing '

i the out< I :i '" i an a<

. I

northern coast of Norway.

Eosaia lias on several occasions In the

nineteenth century been on the point of Invad

ing Norway. When Czar Alexander 1 acquired

the grand duchy of Finland, be found that It

was bound by a treaty, some five hundred

years old, with Norway, which designated Lyng

stuen as the end of the boundary line between

the two countries, and this treaty was confirmed

In 1823 by the St. Petersburg government, whose

plenipotentiaries offered no objection to its pro

visions. Before Emperor Nicholas I bad been

very long on the throne he made the discovery

that ail the bays and firths on th<' Russian side

of the frontier line on the Atlantic are encum

bered with ice from early in October until Jun".

while those on the Norwegian side are virtually

•*• free. He likewise ascertained that although

**** Lyngstuen referred to in the treaty of the

thirteenth century between Norway and Fin-

UniJ. is on the Art Ocean, t'.i:re \v.is mother

A. _

THE GREAT SCANDINAVIAN PARADOX.

■

Norway and Sweden Appear To Be More Firmly United Now Than They Were

Before Their Recent Separation.

Lyngstuen In Norway, near Tromsoe— the latter

being within thirty miles of the Russian border

line and of the place designated as the rail

head of the trunk railroad of Finland. In con

sequence thereof he put forward the altogether

extravagant pretension that the Lyngstuen men

tioned in the Norwegian-Finnish Treaty, and

which had been confirmed in 1826 by his govern

ment, was the place of that name in Norway

and not the one on the Arctic Ocean. This

claim, if allowed, would have given Russia no

less than five fiords and Icefree harbors on the

Atlantic— namely, Varanger, Tana, Lana. Por

sanger and Alta— as well as the towns of Vardo,

Hammerfest and Tromsoe. Of course, it was

denied by the King of Sweden and Norway.

But the matter was in no way abandoned, and

it was then that the policy was Instituted

by the St. Petersburg government of flooding

Norway with a large army of secret

agents, who in the guise of innocent tour

ists were to promote the ill will of the popula

tion against Sweden and to foster friendship

for Russia. In some cases their enthusiasm got

the better of their discretion, and thus we find

in IS4O Count Ungrern-Sternberg, of Russia, who

claims descent from one of the Biblical three

wise men of the East, asserting openly at Trom

soe that the place belonged to the Czar. Twelva

years afterward the Russians apparently came

to the conclusion that the time was ripe for

enforcing their pretensions, and with this ob

ject in view suddenly decided to abrogate an

agreement which had been in existence for a

hundred years previously, permitting the no

madic Laplanders of Sweden. Norway and Fin

land to cross their respective frontiers without

let or hindrance in order to obtain food for

their reindeer. The wealth of the Lapps con

sists mainly In their herds of reindeer, and

their nomadic existence is due to the necessity

of grazing their cattle, which renders them, of

course, indifferent to political frontiers. Rus

sia actually went to the length of pouring troops

into Finland on that occasion, with the object

of resisting any attempt of the Swedish and

Norwegian Lapps to cross the border, and re

solved to treat any trespass on Finnish terri

tory as a casus belli. Fortunately for_ Norway

and Sweden, the Crimean War broke out just

about that time, and Emperor Nicholas found

it necessary to withdraw his troops from Fin

land for use elsewhere. So acute, however, had

been the danger which Norway had incurred of

Russian invasion that in 1855 the King of

Sweden negotiated a treaty with France, and

more especially with England, whereby thess

two powers pledged themselves to maintain with

their armies and navies, if necessary thf> in

tegrity of the kingdoms of Sweden and Norway.

The object of the treaty, as stated in Article II

thereof, was to "resist the pretensions or ag

gressions of Hueeia," and in return for this

promise of protection Norway and Sweden en

gaged in Article II 'not to cede or to exchantra

with Russia nor to permit her to occupy any

part of the territory belonging to the Crown

of Sweden and Norway, nor to cede to Russia

any right of pasturage, of fishery, or of any

nature whatsoever, either on the Baid territory

or upon the coasts of Sweden and Norway."

This treaty, drawn up and devised by Lord

Palmerston, was anoounced In the speech from

the throne delivered in Parliament by the lato j

Queen Victoria on January 31, 1850, and. al- j

though little has been heard of it until a few

weeks ago, many, indeed, having forgotten or 1

ignored its existence, it still remains in force. \

The Convention of Karlstad makes it thor

oughly clear that treaties maae by the King of

•=■=£=££2==

mr .^r as t »»r^ InIMIOI , er rco », .„,*■. a,,

When the Dock Comrrns. fhnrl-s F

HMfi

prl .e. [• Murphy and some vi

prt'-es L. -""'I 111 - or a M-ord to

»" y "' 'X,, , v 'Z favoritism of th, DC* D,

;:;:;';„,■...:,'„ Z », .»» * ««>..» »

"ihow a contractor, for instance,

take 'S then later gets additional Jobs from

:? i: ;.;^^oneratthesamerat,.but^hout

, \Taln to bid for then,, •"*"* * work

:;] '! t .: -tractor gets a iur^m nun of work

r piers are such^y

•-T for Tammany is because Charles F.

1 r v mad^nnections" with the Dock De-

Minl<hy made he was a member of the Tar

n o , 1 oard under Mayor Van Wyck. It

ITany n ; I , V thai the New-York Contract

"aS , n , those oaj Company, of which Mr Mvr _

T °Z J/Wd and stomach, obtained a nuni

rihy la the head a »>,_♦ |t hag «since

1 . ..,.v« i.iw r.ite a that H n«is miih

ber ° M To nut most of its rivals out of busi

beCn aVOTa VOT ha. Mr Murphy loosened his hold on

ince he ceased to be on,

the Dock W«Soe Tammany came back into

" f MS "hr Murphy firm has been getting what

KTams Jl -- ea.sUy than in the old Van

Wytkd! BIG PEOFITS DIVEBTED.

BIG PROFITS DIVERTED.

. 1, ha « been stated that if the "Mur-

' ■' l 1:. ; t he Tammany clique of contrsc

phy ff-ms.. "■ Ti . ar « own. paid what they

rr viu i? f oT«rg^e"ty-. water front New-

Sk would h.,vp a total income from its Pier

property of $4,000,000 a year Instead of $3,250,

°°Lt»nce after instance can be given to show

1 V! vuv^v dumpUiß firm has va'A trcm

3 : <i V. t- - ~

NEW- YORK DAILY TRIBUNE. SUNDAY. OCTOBER 22. 1905.

Sweden in his capacity as monarch of both

countries remain binding upon each, the only

change made being that the one country can no

longer be held responsible for the fulfilment of

obligations incumbent upon the other country

with which it was formerly united by law.

Some twelve or fourteen years afterward,

when Russia again showed signs of proposing

to invade Norway, availing herself of tho ever

lasting Laplander grazing difficulty as a pretext

of offence, encouraged probably by the waning

health and fortunes of Napoleon 111 and by the

temporary retirement of Queen Victoria from

the active direction of the foreign policy of

England, the late King Charles of Sweden ap

pealed to old Emperor William for Intervention

in his behalf. Emperor William dispatched one

of his most trusted and capable officers, the late

John Jay's son-in-law. General yon Schweinitz,

to Norway, Sweden and Finland, for the purpose

of making a personal investigation of the stories

to the effect that Russia was preparing for a

military descent upon Norway. The general,

whose widow and son are now in this country,

the guests of the venerable Mrs. John Jay, in

AFTER THE EARTHQUAKE. HOW THE STARVING PEOPLE ARE FED AT

MONTELEONE.

There is, naturally, much terrible distress in the various towns and villages in Calabria,

where the earthquake did the most damage. Fromj.V. measures, however, were taken

by the authorities to supply the destitute inhabitants with food. Our illustration

shows the gendarmes at Monteleone distributing bread at the gates of the Prefect

ure. The loaves are being handed through the bars of the railing, in order that

there may be no rush by the crowd.

' —(The (Jraphic.

POWER OF THE DIRT TRUST.

Charles F. Mvirphy's Friends Rent Piers Cheaply from the City

While Other People Have to Pay Heavy Prices.

one-half to one-tenth what a pier was worth

as judged by the prices charged for adjoining

wharves. After Seth Low was elected Mayor

in 1001 the Tammany Dock Board, realizing that

its last chance had come, feathered the i

some of its members just about as thickly as it

was possible. On December 21, 1901. for ex

ample the board leased the dumping privileges

and the pier at West 96th-st. for thirty yea:.:

at 53.G00 a year to John J. Murphy, pr

of the New- York Contracting and Ti i<

Company. John J. Murphy is the brother of

Charley, and hi.« dummy.

This pier has been a veritable gold mine for

the Murphys. It is a half mile away fn

other pier and it Is that the profits

obtained from it average 580.000 a year. Of this

the city gets only $3,600. Like piers rent for

three to four times as much.

Another illustration of how useless it

outsiders to try to compi -^ with the New-

Contracting Company, or the "Dirt Trust," is

afforded by the way the Tammany bops got

hold of the lucrative flumping privileges at tha

foot of West 35th-st. fnr $2,000. while M H

Healy an anti-Tammany man, had to pay

$18,000 for privileges much Inferior at the t

of West 30th-st. Murphy made this grab with

the help of the present Dock Comi

B< ptember of last year, and he got the

s.,u:h side of the big 35th-st. pier, the rental

of which is valued at $15,000. Mr. Murphy row

pays less than one-seventh of this I

this is nol all. The Tammany chi<

800 feet of space along the river fro

Ssth-si foi ••?-'. I- I *"* a >"' :ir ' al "

mated to be worth $16,000. The New- York Cen

tral for its three piers and 567.8 feel of bulkhead

at the foot of 31st 32d

$61,100. In proportion to what i

Murphy pays about one-fifth the rental whl< h

the railroad company does.

PINCHING A RIVAL.

To appreciate on the other band how the Tam

many Dock Department can pinch a rival of

the 'Dirt Trust" one should compare the H< ily

30th-st. lease with the Murphy Bf»th-sL lease.

Healy got only 100 feet on the north side of a

pier, but he bad to pay $18,000 for It lei

this punishment of bi« competitor did not seem

to satisfy Murphy, for Corporation Counsel John

J. Delany began proceedings to oust Healy.

When it Is possible the Tammany Ims s works

things so that he does not ha\e to pay ;i cent

New-York, discovered that the statements were

only too well founded, and on the strength of his

reports Emperor William dispatched him, with

a strongly worded letter, to his nephew, the

C'zur, which had the effect of causing Russia to

suspend for a second time the preparations

which she was making 1 for the invasion of Nor

way.

It remains to he seen whether Russia will

make a third attempt to secure a slice of Nor

wegian territory sufficiently large to assure her

of the possession of a warm water port on the

Atlantic, agnin using the 7^app grazing rights as

a pretext. Would England in that case go to

the length of declaring war upon Russia to

preserve tho integrity of Norway? She could

not count upon the assistance of France, since

the latter is Russia's ally. Great Britain's of

fensive- and defensive alliance with Japan only

concerns Asia, am: it is more than probable that

Germany would side with Russia in any conflict

with England. There are plenty of people even

in Gr^at Britain who are of the opinion that

Russia is entitled to an outlet on the Atlantic,

who take the ground that the Russian govern-

into hi? own pocket. In March of this year Con

troller Grout learned that the New-York Con

tracting and Trucking Company had collected

from the city $5,055 79 for dumping a?hes at its

pier at 79th-st. for a period of little more than

a month, ending January 31, UM"M. The annual

rental wl ich the Murphy firm paid for the pier

was only $4,800. At another time the "Dirt

lumping at the West

79th-st. pier in one week as much as it paid

the ity in a year for its lease.

who is Murphy's right

I ibb ■ :i fight against the

Ing of ceri I hises has caused talk

that h< ■ ontracts behind them, is

: • "Dirt Trust." In

ing how the Murphy company ran up one

bill ai

"Woodbury wanted us to help him out when

• thing up. We had

ess at the 79th-st pier, but as

mted us to help him we let "him dump

■ the pier."

of the Dock Department's

• Dirt Trust" is afforded by

■ the pier at the foot of East

31st-st. For this half Murphy pays $900. The

■ for $S,OOO a year.

Th>- "Dirt Trust" now has five piers at such

low re •. uch strategic pieces on the

watei it has practically shut out all

if Its competitors have

even been forced to use the "trust's" piers, and

have had I part of their profits to

the T .

The Doi " under Tammany rule

ttended similar favors t" other companies

i,, W hlch : ;; ' 1V '' '"' en interested.

[cc Company, afterward

: . an !•■ • « !omi any, In which

Mr. Murpl I ":1"" :1 " shares of stock, is an in

•.,■ example. As soon as Tammany got

itrol of the Department of Docks after th<

election of Mayor Van Wyck, the Consolidated

v began to gel leases of pier.-- at ab

low rentals, fa March. U9K for instance.

II obtained a lease of the bulkhead between

Piera 24 and 25. North River, for 11.600 a year.

ilkhead the Old Dominion

Steamship Company paid $10,000 annually. The

Consolidated also got a Was. if the pier at West

I ,, %■■.: a year. For an adjoining pier

. Tftmm any company had to" pay $4,000 a

, )j) the Eust River the Consolidated ob

tained a !••■* " r lh ° l ' ler at lhf ' foot of 91st - st -

I ,' j, ■ o o B : . . ar AI &st 94th-s»

ment is powerless to resist popular and economic

pressure in this direction, and that It would be

a mistake to involve not only England but like

wise other of the great powers of Europe in all

the horrors of war for the sake of a small strip

of territory and an Atlantic harbor in one of

the most remote and out of the way places of

Europe.

In conclusion it may be stated that although

the people of Norway are imbued with most dem

ocratic sentiments, differing in this respect from

the Swedes, among whom the aristocratic ele

ment predominates, yet the leading men of

Christiania are virtually decided in favor of

electing Prince Charles of Denmark, the son-in

law of King Edward, as their King. They are in

clined thereto by the belief that England will be

more determined to maintain, even, at the cost

of war, the terms of its treaty of 1855. if one of

its princesses occupies the throne of Norway

and another that of Sweden. Then too. they be

lieve that a monarchy would afford a more

stable government, while th°re is a sentimental

reason, moreover, that Norway has until now

been able to boast of the oldest monarchical k<.v

ernment In Europe. EX-ATTACHE.

RA I LWAY RATE PROBLEM.

Suggestions for Solution Found in

Conditions in Germany.

Hu.;o Richard Meyer, assistant proffssir of po

litical economy in the University nf Chicago, has

written a bo^k entitled "Government Regulation of

Railway Rates," published by the MacMillan Com

pany. Taking up in detail th« conditions ::i Ci r

many. wiiere the railroads hive b^en under gov

ernmental control for a quarter nf a century, Mr.

Meyer reveals many of the obstacles which ham

per the government in its endpavor to regulate

rates in a manner acceptable t-> the various parts

of the German empire. The natural difficulties

of the task are heightened by th^ constant pres

sure exerted upon the government by onfllcting

interests— on one sfde those whose business would

be seriously affected by any reduction in the rates,

and on the other side those who are hampi i

the development of thf»ir resources by an almost

prohibitive freight tariff.

The system of tapering rates— that is. rat<-s de

creasing proportionately us the length of the haul

increases — which is universally in effect where the

railroads are in private hands, is not applied in

Germany to such an extent as to make a t'n <=

interchange of materials between dlffi

in that empire possible. As a result of this the

Industries in any particular locality an; to a great

extent protected from the competition of other

like industries in other parts of the country. In

stead of the rates being so arranged as to afford

the empire as a whole the greatest amount of

prosperity, each separate district must be regarded

as a unit and when any ciiuns'.-s In the rates are

proposed, with a view to promoting the general

welfare, a vigorous protest Is raised by those

who would be affected thereby.

Owing to conflicting Interests it has bfen found

Inadvisable to lower the rat<>s on grain trans

ported from one part of the empire to another, but

in order to meet foreign competition a substan

tial decrease was made in the charges on export

grain. As a result, since 1595, Germany has af

forded the curious spectacle of exporting each

year from its eastern provinces to Norway. Sweden

and Kngland several hundred thousand tons or

bounty fed wheat and rye, while importing at

the same time into Rhenish Prussia, over a pro

tected tariff of 35 marks a ton. nearly three mil

lion tons of wheat and rye grown in Russia and

North and South America.

The building of canals In Germany is a develop

ment of the government's anxiety to solve the

perplexing problem of reducing freight rates in a

manner acceptable to the different parts of the

country, the responsibility being thereby shifted

from the government to the private persons carry

ing on navigation on the canals and rivers. If

conditions in Germany are any criterion it would

a similar pier was rented to Hencken & Co.

for $2,000. By means of a Tammany pull

the Union Ice Company, which was also merged

later in the Ice Trust, obtained in November,

IS9S, the bulkhead in the North River between

piers 54 and 55 at a rental of $1,600 a year. An

adjoining bulkhead, however, was rented for

$3,025.

FAVORS FOR FRIENDS.

Murphy's allies in Tammany Hall have also

been treated with marked favoritism by the

Dock Department. Daniel McMahon. for exam

ple, nne of the Tammany triumvirate which

succeeded the Croker regime and who for a

time ruled with Haffen and Murphy, has made

much of his large fortune by paying "cut rates"'

for docking facilities. In the last month of the

Van Wyck administration the Dock Department

leased to McMahon a pier at the foot of West

."4th-f;t. for $1,785 a year, although the adjoin

ing pier rented for $3,500. The McMahon pier

nets a profit of about $10,000 a year. McMahon

also got the bulkhead between ")th and 5«l:h

sts. for .?300 a year for three years, or less than

a dollar a day. Under the Strong administra

tion this bulkhead was leased for $2.7."V> a year.

In contrast with the paltry sums paid by Tamm

any favorites for piers the rentals charged

some of the steamship lines seem enormous. Al

though, of course, most of the piers rented to the

big lines are superior to those in the control of

the "Dirt Trust" and the various other Tam

many corporations, yet their rental is all otit

of proportion to that paid by th» Murphy crowd.

The Allan State Line, for example, which is

threatening to go to Boston, was asked to pay

$42,000 for the southern half of a new i'he!sea

pier at West 22d-st. At the present time It

leases one-half of a pier for $40,000 a year. For

the new Chelsea piers the Dork Department

will take nothing less than $84,000 each. The

Cunard Line now pays $40,850 f>r ;t hilf pier

and $70,239 for a full pier In the Gansevoort

Market section, and the White Star Una

!>>' pnys $NT»,3TS for each of its two full pier?.

While the Dock Department has Vie»-:i so BOliC

itous about giving its favorites as much of the

waterfront as possible for the least possible

rental, it has forgotten the welfare of the gen

eral public 1 almost entirely. It hns leased so

much of the city's pier property to private cor

porationi and Tammany contractors that almost

all of the old public piers have been closed. As

a result, according to McDougal Hawkes, the

Commissioner of Docks under Mayor Low. the

cost of living in this city has been greatly in

creased.

The reason why Mr. Hawkes makes such a

Continued on fourth pase-

FINANCIAL AND

MISCELLANEOUS.

Or, Lysri's

PERFECT

Tooth Powder

Cleanses and beautifies tb*

teeth and purifies the breath.

Used by people of refinement

for over a quarter of a century.

Very convenient for tourists.

PREPARED BY

appear from the observations of Mr. Meyer that

the cries of eonflictini - which as* re

sponsible for the presf-r.t agitation for rat* legis

lation in the t'mteri States would be merely lnten

fifled by taking the qu( stion ou: of the rang* of

competitive economics and making it a matter tor

consideration on any other basis.

In his conclusion .Mr. Meyer says: "Th« prob

lem of railway rates ia fully as much the problem

of the adjustment of the conflicting Interests of

rival producing centres, markets and distributing

points, as It Is t! ■■ | roblem of the adjustment of

ti:- conflicting interests <>t the public and the rail

ways. This is sh >wn conclusively In the exwrl

ence nf the United States where it has not Infre

quently been easier to effect a compromise between

the. conl of competing: railway than

to reconcile ests of rival producing

centres, markets and distributing points. It is

shown even more conclusively by the expcrtSßOS'

of those cou which have replaced the rail

way company by the Stat^— that is. have gone

over to :!.• or State regulation

of railways The Invariable result in these own.

tries has been to transfer from the field of business

to the field of politi s fr.<> perplexing questions of

trade- rivalry anil jealousy precipitated by the

annihilation of d means of the railway.

l"nder govern i lent ownership or direction the sec

tional i recipltated by discussion of rail

way development have "ftpnnrr.^s been so flares

»ssary partially to paralyse*

the purpose of preventing them

from developing new producing regions, new mar

kets and distributing points.

"Under government ownership of railways la

Prussia, ttv moa •■ . i a^.a most ir.depen

■ ment the world has known,

the State Railway Dej irtment is not allowed to

;nake railway rai il permit the surplus

pram. timber and '>• < t siinr of eastern Germany

to move by r;;;l to the markets of the mining and

manufacturing regions ;:!or.p the Rhine, there to

with the grata, sugar and beet sugar

i in western, southwestern and central

ny."

private own< rship of railways. Mr. Meyer

says, river and canal tr.r.-.sportation in Germany

had pi he way «f the stage coach.

as In the United States. Xet .it the present day

with Its agriculture, its manufactures

and Ita trad n the waterways, not upon

the railways, - • rment made rail

way rates having n luced them to the subordinate

rat > the -river and canal boats.

In Russia there is the same paralysis Of th*

railways through trade - with the result

i:ip recourse t>> transportation by river. Upon

railway In UN ths

landed Interests of Western Russia protested that

they must not be exposed to competition from

the v.-i: npon the cheap lands of Siberia.

The government accordingly placed a prohibitive

charge upon th< carriage of this wheat so that

i- i, iis ssiblc adequately to develop th«

enormous Siberian wheat resources, Wheat is

exported frtrai Siberia only in yean of serlou*

failures in tries which ordinarily

Th( • Keel or tills is, of

course, to raise the price of breadstulfs to th«

g classes ■ Empire. In the

Interests of V.;-- landi d proprietors.

In Australia U alousiea are apparent.

and each col way refuses to co-operate with Us

neighbors in the promotion of trade and Industry.

The two most :• lonies, Victoria and

New South Wales, use railroads of different

gauge and raise materially the rates on freight

sent from '• n r. New South

Wales t connect its railway lines in the

estern port •• tb< colony with the Vic

torian M verted from Sydney

to M< Ibo

As a result of his Investigations Mr. Meyer feels

that the carriers ar<-- best qualified to adjust the

matter of rates in such a way as to meet the

necessities of commerce, subject only to the pro

hibitions that their charge 3 shall not bs unjust

or unreasonable and that they shall not unjustly

discriminate so as to Rive undue preference. or dis

advantage to persons or traffic similarly circum

stanced.

MILLION SOAP BUBBLES AN HOUB.

Big Machine Makes m Many in a Day as

There Are Children in United States.

If each boy and girl In the United Btatas

should mak<=> a bubble some day. the combined

number would hardly exceed that produced

every- day this summer at the Lewis and Clark

Exposition by a big machine on exhibition in

the Palace of Manufactures, Liberal Arts and

Varied Industries.

The soap bubble machine Is a double decked

contrivance, consisting of two beautifully deoor

ated porcelain bowls of suds, one above th»

other, surmounted by a plaster fairy. The suds

is made very strong. The bubbles are produced

by forcing air into the soapy water. A constant

flow of air is maintained through pipes, and

the bubbles constantly rise and fan In the

basins, making a most beautiful effect.

The capacity of the bubble fountain, which is

the largest ever made. is 17,000 bubbles *

minute. This means 1,006,000 an hour, or

9,504,000 during a nine hour working day.

Three-fourths of a pound of soap is sufficient to

supply the fountain for two days, making a

total of 19,008,000 bubbles.

The bubble fountain is maintained to ad

vertise a well known brand of soap. It Is, per

haps. the most interesting advertisement In the

Manufactures. Liberal Arts and Varied Indus

tries .Building at the exposition, where manu

facturers of almost every known commodity

have exhibited their wares.— (Washington Post.

HOW HE KNEW.

It was a beautiful day, without a single cloud

in the sky. The an who was buying some food

in a delicatessen store remarked on the weather.

"Yes. If* fine, but its going to rain," replied

tho dealer.

"Impossible.'' said the customer.

"11l bet you a fiver," said the dealer, 'that It

rains before the day Is over, although I hate to

take your money."

The money was put up and the customer went

away chuckling.

Before night the rain was falling in torrent*.

The man who lost the bet stopped at the delica

tessen store to ses the winner.

'How did you know It was going to rain?** he

demanded of the storekeeper. The latter

chuckled.

"See that ice chest?" he asked, pointing to a

big box In the corner.

The customer saw the ice box. It was sweat

ing bis drops of water.

"That chest,* 1 said the storekeeper. "Is my

barometer. When there is rain In the air it

begins to sweat; when ra!:i is imminent it shads

those big drops you see now. I've had it over

two years and it never yet prophesied falsely."

"Never too late to learn." sighed the customer,

"but sometimes a littlo knowledge comes hlf X '

—(Chicago Inter-Ocean.