North Carolina Newspapers

HOUSE VOTE FHVORS SHORT-LINE HOLDS REPEALS LONO AND SHORT &AUL CLAUSE OP JU8TICE ACT VOTED 102 TO ? LATE STATE CAPITOL NEWS Review of th? Latest Nswa Gathered Around the Stats Capitol That Wilt So of Intsrsst to Our Asadsrt Ovar North Carolina. Raleigh. WEATHER FORECAST. ; '<<$ ;? Movomtnta Ou i and Tholr Local Ef fects for the Cotton Statsa Janu ' ary 11 to February e, 1915. Carothsrs Observatory Forecast. Sunday, January II?The week will open cool In the South, but with tem peratures starting upward and It will be generally fair. Monday, Feb. 1; Tuesday, Feb. I, Wednesday, February I?A cool ways will lower temperatures somewhat, beginning In Western Cotton Beti Monday and crossing to tbe Eastern Belt by Wednesday. There will be frosts from this movement In Western Belt and Northern half of Middle Belt, and a generally freezing temper atore In Eastern Belt Wednesday and Thursday. Thursday, Feb. 1: Friday. Feb. 5; Saturday, Feb. <?A cool wave will overspread Western Belt late on Wed nesday, Middle Thursday and East ern Thursday and Friday. It will be accompanied by dashes of rain or snow, but soon clear and bring freez-^ Ing weather all along- the Gulf and7 South Atlantic Coasts, with heavy*, frosts. ~ Senate. A Joint bIH la the Senate by Sena tors Weaver of Buncombe and Hob good of Oniltord would prescribe a legalized primary for tbe state to In clude all parties and all offices from President down to and Including coun ty officers. It is a document for some 2o-odd pages apd 500 copies are order ed printed. Tbe Introducers of the bill admit that they are expecting amendments to except county officers In part, If not all tbe counties; and they will not venture an expression as to the lltllhood of an effort to have the bill passed with a referendum, with people to ratify It before It s effective. mere was a lively tut over me Mum bill to prevent the Bute Treas urer from giving credit on the books of the treasury to the State's Prison for more then the actual cost of main tenance and other expenses of work ing convicts on railroads In exchange lor stock. Instead of credit as is now done tor full tace-valne of stock taken for the oonvlct labor. . ? Mr. Muse first Indicated that he was willing to let his bill go to a vote without speclaKdlscusslon and abide by a roM-caH vote to show the posi tion of members; but It was close on the dinner hour and some Senators In dicated a desire to express themselves and the bill was deferred. Mr. Mum resented the charge by Senator Ward that the bill was really designed to force the violation of the state's con tract with these railroads by Indirect method when the direct bills defeat ed some days ago had fulled. Representative Reofrow offered k bill to authorUe Mecklenburg county to Issue bonds for a county iall and to provide for certain highways and bridges. A bill by Carr of Duplin would en courage race segregation. They considered the Nash bill to simplify the registration of deeds and mortgages. It came up as a special order. Senator Ward opened against it, charging that It would be not much less costly than the present system and would tend to confuse the condi tions as they now exist and are un derstood. Senator Nash said that there are now Id states that have the system that he is urging. He said K would save time and money and prevent confusion and complications. It would cut off some lawyers' fees, but would not altogether dispense with the need i Teachers' Association Conference. The legislative committee of the North Carolina Teachers' Association was In conference here with Idr. J. Y. Joyner, state superintendent of public Instruction, canvassing 'the situation as to educational legislation pending or to be introduced in the Oeneral Assembly, particularly at to thoM matters to which the Assembly stands pledged. Chief among these matters. Is that of perfecting the uniformity of certification of teachers for the pri tnnrv erf a rr> TT> QT fiAhAAt anil Klwh onh/vnl ?work. President Hill Makes Hi? Report. There was filed with Govarnor Crelit by President D. H. >1111. tbe bi ennial report of the North "Carolina College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arte. It shows that there wll lbe lire vacancies on the board of trustees to be filled. Including tbe vacancy caus ed by the death of D. A. Tompkins. The report says: "Mr. Tompkins was for many years on- the college board and. was an active member, full of Initiative and force, it was largely through his help that our textile school was started and developed." 1 ? $10 000 Simply for the Asking. It was a happy group of ladles who came out of the office of Colonel Wood, state auditor, for they had In tbeir possession a warrant for $10,000 which was appropriated In 1913 for the building of a home tor worthy women descendants of Confederate veterans. This action, following a meeting of tbe council of stajp. which had been called at the request of the ladlas who were there In the Inter est of the appropriation, the ladies could have gotten this money nearly two years ago. far a lawyer la such matter*. Sena tar* Hose, Gilliam, WhHe, Atwater supported the blH, and Senator Ward was joined In hi* opposition by Sena, tor* Haymore and other*. The blU passed 14 to I. Tbe moat notable bill passed by tba Senate waa to require tbat before being licensed ae optomeetrlsU per sons must bar# a high school educa tion, and two years la a college of optomery or under an accredited prac titioner a* preliminary training. , Houee There was no need of argument by advocates of the repeal of tbe long and short-haul clause of tjie Justice intrastate rate act la the House; that body, on the statement of Representa tive Henry A. Page that he had peti tions'signed by 14,000 clttseu* asking that this clanse be stricken from the act and the assertion that the shibrt llne railroads of North Carolina had all been seriously crippled by Its op eration, by a vote of 107 to t stralgt way passed the bill repealing this sec tion of the act and sent It to the Sen ate. There It will be met by the Mo Rae amendment to its duplicate, offer ed by Benateor Ward which would sus pend tbe olause only so lar as It shall apply to freights that are handled by short lines In conjunction with the trunk-line railroads. Representative Allen and Mints In troduced the first workman's compen sation bill of tbe session which pre scribes a basis for settlement for In jury to employee. It was referred to tbe committee on propositions and grievance*. It comprises about 30 pages and la made up, the Introducers say, from what they consider the best features of workmen's compensation acts that are In operation in a number of other states. The House received from Governor Craig the recommendation by tbe Special Commission that the State School for the Blind be removed from Raleigh to Salisbury and there was jtlso submitted to the House a propos tti irora me iowu ui xvutkiuguaiu, through W. N. Everett end other*, who would donete SO acre* of lend on either the Seaboard or the Rocking ham' Railroad as a alt* for the school, If located there. The House received with favorable report the resolution by Representa tive llason of Northampton County recommending that the cotton grow ers materially curtail their cotton crop -for the coming season. The House passed the Senate bill for women notaries after a two-hours' dlscusion, the vote being 58 to 48. Representative Smith of Cleveland got lit the first bill to amend the pro hibition law In the matter of the de livery of liquors for beverage pur poses. He Introduced a bill to pro hibit such deliveries of liquors In Cleveland County, and declares his purpose to press this through wheth er the Anti-Saloon League forces suc ceed in getting the State-wide bill through. The House voted^to allow the use of the Representatives' Hall Tebuary 2 for the ceremonies of the North Car olina Bar Association for the unveil lng of the statue of Chief Justice Ruf fln, whleh has recently been set up ie the new Admlnlstrtlon Building. The following bills passed: To make Plnkney Thompson Justice of the peace In Lincoln; to provide for Vance status; to allow Madison county to Issue bonds; to authorise Cumberland county to Issue $29,000 In bonds; to amend charter of the town of Norman; to gtvw Johnston eounty township right to Iseue bonds; to In corporate New Berlin, Columbus county; to amend charter of Wins ton-Balem; to hold stock law election In Columbus county; to permit Lum berton to Issue bonds; to regulate road-working laws In Greene county; to prevent stock running at large In Yadkin; relief to N. W. Wallace and others In Mecklenburg; to remove bodies from lands of it. O. Myers, Yarkln county; to allow commission ers of Alevander to use railroad ?i. cess for schools; to provide trial for certain contempt cases; to allow meats as part of costs In civil cases In New Hanover and other counties; to au thorise New Hanover register of deeds to collect cancellation fees; to regu late elections In New Hanover; to make women notaries public (amend ed to provide that It shall be a place of trust and profit without being held an office, and reconsidered); to auth orise state treasurer to make transfer of certain funds; to authorise Cabar I rus commissioners to convey certain I lands, . ? Patents Granted to Tar Heels Washington. ? Messrs. Davis and Davis, patent attorneys, report the erant. -to citizens of North Carolina, of the following patents: n. J. Reynolds Tobacco Compahy, Winston-Salem, trade-mark for plug and twist tobacco; James L. O. Ballard, Waderltle, car : coupling; Eld ward L. Bracy, Scotland 1 Neck, tobacco-pa cakaging machine; Charles -W. Carter, Fairfield, hinge; Ernest Hall, Kannapolls, attachment for 'looms; Frank E. Perkins, High Point, dental tool: Harry P. Robblns, Raleigh, grease-cup. Lacy Will Go Before Committee. It Is probable thait the recent sensa tional report and recommendations of the state Mard of Internal Impress ments on the methods In vogue In the state treasury In the matter of hand ling state .'finances, the borrowing of money and putting state funds on haM out at Interest In banks, will be threshed out very soon now before I the jo(nt committee on finance or be fore a sub-committee from this Joint committee. It -Is understood that Mr. I-acy will make a complete presenta tion of the case from bis viewpoints "Portland Ned" Gets Seven Yes re. Judge Connor In the federal court a few days ago sentenced "Portland Ned" alias James Johnson, to eeven years, and T. A. Conway, to five years In the Atlanta prison for the robbery of the Slier City nad Plymouth post offices. A Jury having founfl both guilty earlier In the day. Portland Ned made a statement to the court In whlcb be Insisted that much of UH black record given him by the goWrn ment detective* ae bad been detailed In the trial was ? "frame-up" agalati bias. II .1. , ... . .... . INDIAN TROOPS WEIGHING RATIONS One of the great problem* of the allied armies la the feeding of the " troops from India. Several of them are here shown In a camp near Yprea. weighing out their rations. ENGLAND DAS ARMY OF WOMEN READY FOR WAR * I Amazons Are Carefully Drilled and Trained in Use of the Rifle. TO HELP REGULAR MILITARY I" Cat* of Gorman Invasion ths Re serve Will Dlrsct Flight of Women and Children From Scene of Fighting and If Necessary Shoulder Rifle* ?r PHILLIP EVERETT 'International News Service) th^? read ,n dispatches ST:,,"- Great BrlSJ Z ^1 be^aoeri ^C?me* d?P?r?te they Amavo an """F of English ..carefu,|J' drilled and ZZl ' ! UM of the rifle com U"*6 Teutonic women Wh^t'UT *mere b**atelle Volun?.J T W?men'a Joke .rir ' 1 th0Ught 't was a a new ebullition of the 0,?ra*e"eJla??. but after a visit to Old Bedford college and a view of the determined women persnTrlnJ through their military drill? I cC^L tUt m' 'oellng. have i womt0 68 conc'uded that the *?m? w,n roab to the coast and light the moment the Germans make a tanding^ They wlI, Uke up the ^na I a? 7 0reat Br|taln b in desper tlm.Vh ? "nCh an time the reserve will simply .et ? , flm aid*d ^ vomen- skilled In ?rst aid cooking, dispatch riding on oThor?f*' tl8nalln8 and the care "At the same time the rlflo b not rW v'?rountess the w^m* -. th6 co,on"1 ,n ohief of tne women s emergency corps. "AH XaT: Hfl" arS ,PCnd,n8 time In the ZHZZu? . n"gea and ther# are some Th?~i g00d ah0t8 amon8 them. There Is no reason In the world why ? woman cannot be a. good a mjli man as a man." . Was al"? Panted out to fee by ml*. ar.?T? Phy"l0l0gical fact that women Are less suspectible to cold and wet than the stronger sex. Their bodies This I?eeLPr0teCt!d by fatty tissue. This Is seen on the bathing beach *iv? tD enJoy them" selves on chilly days when most of e men seek the clubhouse. The same condition should be true In wet damp^ trenches. It also sccepTed that a woman, once her nervousness I i*,0*?'' and her determination Is In ZTroZ 8tand mDre Phya1cal Pa,n "ih?/*^' 8ald my woman Informer, the only way the women would be Inferior to man soldiers would be In the long marches." 0ld Bodford college, which Is the headquarters of , the Women', emer Rency corps. 1 found Col. Viscountess C^stlereagh and Hon. Eveline Haver- I fleld. honorary colonel, hard at work b^memrJe7U,tS M? "airfield to remembered for her carefully or Resized remount odmp, r-hlch she built up a, the time o(Jbe Boer war. Go Through Infantry Drill. ,n^f*arly a hundred women were go ^~ugb the re*"'?r ?rm, taf? try drill They were nbt women of leisure either. Most of them had put flce?nf t" day'' t0" a,ready ln an of nee or along orne professional Una Several regular army officer;. m unl ?Uc Preaent t0 aaa,*t In the wort. The war officers at first took a contemptuous attitude towards this movement but they hpve come to see the value of It Just as the usefulness of the Boy Scouts la now generally recognized. I had an Interview with Capt Adair Roberta, the woman drill officer. "We are following the regular army rules throughout," ahe said. "No com miaalona are granted except for merit. When women are adjudged competent to tAach the drill the regular army offlcera drop out In tbelr favor. "The reaerre la strictly nonpartisan and nonaectarlan. No women of wealth are permitted to buy commis sions, although there hare been many attempts of this sort. "I can show you a titled woman and one of her servants drilling here side by side. This la not an Isolated Id stance either, there are several such." At first the fear was expressed that If woman were taught the use of a rifle, the Germans would charge "snip ing" and ferocious reprisals would be the result, but now It Is realized that the organizing of the women will pre vent, Instead of encourage, foolish In dividual action, fcuch as Is certain to take place In moments of great dan ger among an unorganized populace. The helpless rabble of Belgium, wom en and children refugees fleeing they knew not whither, will not be repeat ed In Great Britain. No woman is permitted to enter the reserve without a careful physical ex amination. Woman doctors from the city hospitals see to this In their hour off. The women of the reserve must be over eighteen and under forty years of age. Special attention has been paid to signaling practice, as this is an Im portant branch of warfare In which It Is unanimously agreed that the female sex may be of service. There are many professional woman telegraph ers in the reserve. Instruction Is given In Morse and semaphore signal ing by flags and also by sound. Other branches of instruction hi elude open air cooking, dispatch rid ing. carpentering, fencing .anX Swed ish drills. The movement Is spreading all over the Islands, rapidly overcoming the Indifference which it generally met at first. A vivid description of the condition of women In the war dis tricts of Belgium and France and an explanation of how their sufferings might have been mitigated by proper preparation and organization Is usual ly sufficient to convert every "doubt ing Thomas." Suffrsgettes In It Branches are especially active In centers where there Is a large popula tion of working girls. V Of course, there Is a large portion of the militant suffragettes. The Utter have trans ferred their energy In this direction. The suffragettes believe they cao.lby their conduct in case of an Invasion of Britain, present an unanswerable "irrgument for the ballot The sight of women drilling may be seen at many big hails In London. The majority of the women are clothed in khaki. Their sulU consist -of skirt, coat, brown shoes, spats, put tees, and hats. The cost of this uni form Is $12.50. Most of the women buy their own suits. The reserve Is so #ar entirely self-supporting. The government hail hot as yet given permission to the women to carry rifles. The women do not antici pate trouble In, this direction, how ever. They say they hope the neces sity for their shoulderlug the musket Win" never come, but If It does they will be allowed to take their places on the firing- line Just as wfves and sweethearts . of British colonists in many quarters of the earth have stood behind the stockade and fired with their men folk against the- at tacks of savages. As. a result of this movement a Ger man Invasion will find ready at hand an organization of women who will" keep their heads and who will have good health and calm nerves. These women will have learned the value of orgaitlzatlon, self-dependence, com radeship and self-control. They will co-dperafe with the military and civil authorities. _ They will direct the flight of women and children from the scene of fighting and 4o take this bur den off the government. It Is hoped that after the war the Women's Volunteer reserve will be come a great recreation blub. With this end In view a wealthy woman, has offered a large tract of land for a per manent camp and It Is believed other glfta of this character will be made. . HERE'S REAL WAR WEDDING First Actual Marriage Under Fire Oc cura In French Unas Near Arraa. Pari*.?The first marrla?e under Are haa Just occurred near Arraa. At mid day the bridegroom, Private Lenoir, emerged from the trenehea, scraped the mud off his clothing, trashed up ' and marched with a couple of soldier ctunrades to the city hall, Where be ?*R the bride, a Parisian dressmaker. who had Journeyed thither by special permit. Shells tell thick In the Til lage during the ceremony and the sub sequent mass. After the wedding breakfast Lenoir shouldered his rifle' and returned to the trenches. Qlrt Cossack la Wounded. Pe'trograd.?Among the wounded Russian soldiers brought Into the Red Cross hoapltal In Moscow this week la a strongly built girl, twenty years old, named Mary Izaakoff. She is the daughter of a prosperous LOSE THEIR SPEECH Many Soldiers in Hospitals Un able to Talk. Men Recovering From Severe Wounde Muet Be Taught Se-.Talk as Chil dren-?Cant Frame Worde? Physicians Explain Work. By KARL H. VON WIEQANO. (United Preee Stair Correspondent.) Laon, France.?Today I aaw men being taught to talk again. In the "human repair ahopa," the great Ger man field hoepltala, theee men were learning anew the uae of bralna. tongue, hande and feet. They had re ceived their baptiam of fire. Bullet, ehrapnel. broken ahell, all had done their work. And now medical aclence waa dplng Ita utmoat to restore the victims to partial normality. This Is the third time that Laon has been In possession of the Germans, first In 18M and again In 1870, but this tlme'only was the city taken with out tearful bloodshed. The main hos pital Is Improvised, a large roomy school building, well lighted and aired. In front Is a large bronze monument erected to three young Frenchman? franca-tlreurs?executed by the Ger mans In 1870 for sniping. Singularly enough this monument la unscathed. Professor Brockenbelmer, In charge, and Doctor Luetkenm cellar, chief sur geon, explained the work. They care for 8,100 severe cases, but the light wounded are given first aid treatment and sent back to the home bases, as this Is too close to the actual front to permit keeping any wounded that can be moved. More than a score of cases, French and German alike, where irepmning operations naa oeen nec cessary, were shoWn. It was a singu lar picture. Through the windows came the deep, low baas note of dis tant guns killing, smashing, tearing, maiming the human "tenpins." Here they were being patched up. Nurses sat by bedsides of friend and foe alike, bathing fevered brows and teaching pale-faced bearded men to speak the most simple words, telling them the names of objects aad putting words together into sentences. "What Is this?" asked Professor Brockenhelmer, holding a pencil be fore a bearded warrior from whose skull he had cut a splinter of steel. The lips trembled. Then came the feeble answer: "Pencil." I held out a cigarette and asked what it was. The man's Hps moved and a look came on his face which seemed to say that he knew what It was but cdtaldn't say. Then Professor Bockenheimer came to the rescue. "What do we do witbtbtsT" beaikedT An apparent tremendous mental effort and then the reply: ."Smoke." "Correct." said the professor; "now what Is ltT" This time the brain and tongue worked and the answer was' correct. "Hours have- to be spent by the -nurses teaching these n">" ?" """ agatb^~ explained the professor. "It requires unending patience and per severance." ' Many cases of plastic surgery v ere shown. Men with most of their faces smashed away were being brought back to life with parts of their bodies being grafted on to cover the terrible gaping boles. Many would be much better dead, but the doctors feel It Is their duty to sate all they can. "We do not ask the wounded whether they w int to live or die," explained Professor Bockenheimer. At the main French hospital Profes sor Manasse of Stuttgart was In charge. Here, too nurses wereiteach Ing men to talk again and terrible wrecks of bumunlty were being patched up. HIS CHRISTMAS BANQUET < ? A French sentry on duty enjoying ? toothsome morsel on Christmas eve. So Art Wo. New York.?Max Jacob* received a black eye and his clothing sustained (50 damage when two men tried to take from him |16 which he had found on the sidewalk. Jacobs escaped from the men and gave the money to the police. He Is wondering whether bon esty Is the best policy. Kussian and bofore the war was known as an expert fencer and horsewoman. When war began she offered her serv Ices and- wax accepted, with her own horse, as a' volunteer In a Cossack regiment. - - - At the front she distinguished her self on scouting duty, and later took part tlp a hotly contested charge against Prussian dragoons. In this charge she waa wounded by shrapnel She received the Cross of St Qeorge for gallantry In 'action. Her wound la not serious. BEAUTIFUL PISGAH FOREST 6CE.NC IN PI3QAH NATIONAL PARK. UNCLE SAM baa been fortunate^ enough to secure the model' forest of the United States as an addition to our group of national forests?not a play forest or a "parh," but the big Plsgah tract of #0,000 acres in North Caro lina, formerly owned by the late George W. Vanderbilt, and during the past 26 years transformed by him from a wild and partly denuded area Into a higbly productive, commercial forest, writes Guy Elliott Mitchell In the Utlca .Globe. ? ? If scientific forestry, including prac tical lumbering, timber reproduction, Are fighting and prevention of denu dation and erosion were an entirely new science in America, Uncle Sam could have no butter caample of all these things aetuslly worked out than In this magnificent Plsgah forest The area was purchased from Mrs. Vanderbilt at the nominal figure of $6 an acre, which may be consid ered a gift to the American people from Mrs. Vanderbilt of $200,000?the difference between the purchase price and that at which the Plsgah forest was offered to the government by Mr. Vanderbilt This is by far the finest forest yet acquired under the Weeks national forest act, yet the cost Is less, thanks to Mrs. Vanderbllt's generosity, than the average of all the other tracts purchase*) by the government which aggregate nearly a million acres. Precipitous and Lofty Area. The Ptsgah forest area, which Is an outlying section of the famous Van derbilt Blltmore estate, was critically examined Jy the United States govern menfln 1912 with a view to possible purchase, in conformity with the pro visions of the Weeks law, which re quires the United States geological survey to report on all areas before purchase, with respect to the effects of their forest cover on the navlga bUity of the streams, or thel^tribu taries flowing through. These inves tigations proved the value of the moun tain forests as a preventer of erosion and a retarder of the run-off storm waters that feed the French Broad river, which unites with the Holston river at Knoxvllle, to form the navig able Tennessee river. Overlooking the valleys, this area fs one of the most precipitous and lofty in the eastern United States, a dozen or more summits of the great Plsgah range rising above 6,000 feet The rainfall is heavy and the creeks and streams flow with swift currents which erode and rapidly gujly out the steep unprotected slopes, carrying down into the streams great quantities of soil and sediment from such areas as have been wastefully lumbered, cleared or burnt over. The protection of the forest oover. therefore, becomes a Vital factor In the navigability of the large rivers, as well as in the preservation of their valuable water powers. One of God's Beauty Spots. Shortly after the formal reports of the forest service and the geological survey, the Ptsgah area was visited by Secretary of Interior Lane, Secretary j c of Agriculture Houston and Represen-! tatlve Hawley of Oregon and Repre-1 I tentative Lee ot Georgia, members of tbe national forest reservation com mittee, in company with Forester Henry S. Graves and George Otis Smith, director of the geological sur vey. The party made a three days' ,. trip by autos and wagons, and every one's opinion was that not only did Blltmore constitute perfection as a mountain-woodland estate, but that Plsgah forest area was one of God's own beauty spots. Long before finishing their Inspec tion of tbe Plsgah forest the .mem bers of tbe party were agreed that Mr. Vanderbllt'B method of lumbering was true conservation. Viewed from the summits of Imposing peaks there stretched before the eyes of the visi tors Illimitable areas of forest, some of It virgin and other portions lum bered, but under suchf Judicious cut- -. ting that at any distance only Forester Graves could be certain that the lum berman had been at yrofh: to the unin itiated, the whole forest seemed prao tlcally untouched. Paradise for Birds and Animals. The wild animals and the birds of tbe southern Appalachians might well make merry could they appreciate this purchase by Uncle Sam. It Is now pro posed to make the region a game refuge for the preservation of the fauna of the eastern United States- Al ready the Plsgah forest Is well.peo pled with deer, wild turkey and pheas ants, and In the streams are brisk rain- { bow and brook trout. Fishing may be allowed, but there In this preserve our two and four footed friends at least may work out their natural destinies. Within Its boundaries they may mate, rear their little ones and enjoy life to the full, secure from the murderous crack of the high-powered rifle or the terrorizing roar of the shotgun. Indeed, the Plsgah forest Is destined to become a splendid national park, peopled with animals and birds and resplendent In livery as the seasons roll by, with the many shades of tree green, the red and pink of tbe moun- - tain laurel and rhododendron, the dwarf locust with bright, cheery-colored blos soms, tbe red, yellow and pink azaleas, tbe painted trlllium and in the fall when the fyost lightly touches growing things, the brilliant and burnished hues of the virgin Appalachian wood land. Doubtless had the late John Mulr been ot t&e East Instead of the West be would long ago have traversed afoot tbese lofty, ancient ridges and enthusiastically urged their creation Into a nation's playground, with Its dedication for all time to the American people, and also to the real native Americans?the animals and the birds. Cannibal Domain. The people of Papua, says a writer, do not take kindly to white men. They regard all strangers as more or less edible, but tbe white man Is not a desirable apecisu. He Is likely to be too strongly flavored with salt or tobacco or rum. Papuan gourmets and connoisseurs pass up the white man whenever they can.?Cleveland Plain Dealer. German Fortresses. Of tbe more Important German for tresses Mainz la regarded as the moat strategic point In the west of Europe Situated on the eastern front of the Rhine, which It dominates. It com mands alaQ the natural war to the Danube and the routes leading to tbe Elbe Valley, to Cassel and to the Black Forest. Next comes Koenlgsberg. on the Baltic, guarded on Ha eastern side by the Dleme canal. Metz, the greatest stronghold In Alsace-Lorraine. Is protected by eleven forts, and In peace time Is a center of the German army Its sister fortress. Strassbnrg, designed by Moltke, was considered by him to be Impregnable. | It Is protected by fifteen forts, con nected by citadel railways, and from It afmles ran maneuver east or west of the Rhine without Intervention. Solemnization of Marriages. Many persons believe, writes Mr. Hugo Hlrsh, Of the Brooklyn Bar, In Case and Comment, that the ceremony of marriage In order to be legal must be solemnised by a priest, minister, rabty. or other religious teacher, but this Is not to, because there are other persons mentioned in the taw who may solemnise a marriage. Indeed, In many of the states common-law mar riages, which mean simply Mfe agree ment of the man and the women to llye together as husband and wife, are still recognised. The demand for a religious ceremony, however, la not always one of creed, but Is frequently caused by a desire for the handsome, expensive and ceremonious setttng for a social function. The Lata Ones. Mrs. Crlmsonbeak?~l see In a I-ong Island factory there recently was made a candle which, if burned contin uously, would last for about, nlno years." Mr. Crlmsonbeak?"Welt, f? should think almost any husband ought to be home by that time." . . Miitletoe'a Ravages. jA Those familiar with the mistletoe only aa a Christmas decoration have no Idea of the great losass due to this parasite In the forests of the west, where It counts next to ?rs and Insects la the amount of damage done.