: "r-n JOHN DICKINSON SHERMAN 1CI10LAS II, once czar of nil the Rus sian, may or may not be dead. The same is true of his czarina, who was Princess Alix of Hesse. The same is true of his son, Grand Duke Alexis, and his four daughters. The evidence is strong that all the members of the Russian royal family were put to death by the Soviets in 1918. It is true, whatever the fate of the Russian royal family, that the Sovi ets are in possession of the Russian crown jewels. It is officially stated that this famous collection of gems and precious stones is to be sold in foreign markets "to help stabilize the Russian rouble." It is officially stated also that a "Crown Jewel Committee" is hard at work appraising the collection of gems and pre cious stones in the crown collection. Anyway, the pictures given herewith are repro ductions of official photographs of articles of jewel ry, in the collection and the committee at work. Nicholas II (1SG8-1018?), the last of the Roman off dynasty, succeeded to the throne in 189G on the death of his father, Alexander III. His reign was unfortunate from the beginning. During the coronation ceremonies at Moscow thousands were killed and injured in a panic. In the Russo-3ap anese war (190*5) Russia suffered defeat. Forced to grant various reforms including parliamenraryf government, he dissolved the first and second Dumas. Finally he abdicated both for himself and * his son and retired to his estate in the Crimea. He was arrested by the provisional government. In 1917 he and his family were taken to Tobolsk ; later they were transferred to Ekaterinburg. The subsequent fate of the royal family is not officially known. Russians have always had a liking for diamonds and the stones In the Russian crown collection are world-famous. Big stones are especially valu able as diamonds rise in value in proportion to the square of their weight ; thus a stone of three carats is worth nine times a stone of one carat. At one time' the finest deep red diamond known wag in this collection. Other precious stones are lavishly represented. There are, for example, a chain of big emeralds and a lavalliere of 225 large pearls. Photographs reproduced herewith show four of the articles of jewelry under appraisement and give an illuminating idea of the millions of dollars represented in the collection. No. 2 Is the "Imperial Russian Crown," famous the world over. Your guess is as good as any other guess as to its value in actual United States dol lars. It is said that every stone in it is without flaw and that the matching of stones is perfect. The crown weighs over four pounds and contains the world's largest ruby together with 50 thirty carat diamonds, 21 forty-five-carat diamonds and hundreds of smaller diamonds. No. 1 is the crown of the late czjirina of Russia. It is made entirely of diumonds and the matching of stones is stated to be perfect. Its value In real money is a matter of conjecture. No. 4 Is reputed to be the largest and purest aquamarine in the world. It has been valued at $500,000. The late czarina wore It occasionally as a pendant, valuing it as an heirloom that had come to her through a long line of ancestors. No. 3 shows Soviet officials at the actual work of appraising the Russian crown jewels. From left to right they are: Vladimir Sobolieff, secretary of the crown jewel committee; Director Trynitzky of the Hermitage museum at Petrograd; Prof. BJ A. Ferstmann. an expert who is said to have Just returned with a ton and a half of precious stones from an unexplored region in Russia ; M. F*arberg er, French precious stone expert, and F. Bergashev, president of the crown Jewel committee. The mem bers of the committee and the experts are under the scrutiny of guards, as thie picture shows. No. 5 Is a scepter designed for Catherine the Great and set with the famous Orloff diamond. This diamond weighs 194% carats. It Is supposed to have got its name from Count Alexis OrlofT (1736-1808), who was a leader of the revolution thajt placed Catherine the Great on the Russian throne in 1762. Count OrlofT is popularly sup posed to haye strangled Czar Peter III (1728-1762) with his own hands. By some experts the Orloff and the even more famous Koh-i-noor are parts of the Great Mogul diamond, described by Tavernler as being at the court of Aurungzebe In 1605. The Koh-i-noor weighs about *04 carats. The legend is that it once weighed 793 carats. It has been many times recut and now is in. the possession of the royal family of Great Britain. Other famous diamonds include the Regent In the national French jewels. It is sometimes known as the Pitt diamond, since the duke of Orleans, in 1717 regent of France, bought it from Pitt for $648,000. The largest diamond known Is the Cul linan diamond, found In 1005 in the Transvaal. Its original weight was 3,253 carats (about 1 1-3 lbs.) and It was cut into nine stones, the largest., of which weighs 516 carats ? the largest diamond in existence. Until recently the largest diamond known to be in this country was the Hope blue diamond, 44H carats. Mrs. K. B. McLean of Washington, D. CM wife of the newspaper publisher, bought It tn 1900 for $180,000. Recently, however, an unknown Amer ican is reported to- have bought the Florentinlan diamond. It was the largest solitaire In the col lection of the Austrian crown Jewels. Its history dates back to Charles the Brave in 1476 and It is said to be tto fourth largest diamond in the world. GOOD MDS BILL PASSES house! > I VOTE FOLLOWS TWO HOURS OF ARGUMENT ON NEW BONO ISSUE. ? ? ? ? . OTHER BILLS INTRODUCED Mothers' Aid Bill Offered in Both Branches of the General Assembly. Raleigh. 1 Laudifig the administration of the State Highway Commission and fight ing down heated opposition which .reached a climax in the final tilt be tween Representative Burgwyn, of Northampton, and Representative Ru fus A. Doughton, of Alleghany, guided the 15 million dollar good roads bill through the second reading by a vote of 87 to 14, ' Mr. Burgwyn, after two hours had passed in debate, arose to defend his position against the bill by predicting that an advalorem tax would fall on the people under the system by which these bonds were being issued, and he said he did not want to see the peo- , pie taxed further. He laid stress on J the position rf the fancier as to taxa ? tion, and asko-.d why the eastern part ! of the state, or certain sections there ' of, had not benefited from the pre ! vious bond issue of 50 millions oi dol i Jars for good roads j Mr. Bowie opposed the stand taken ! by Mr. Burgwyn and stated that it.j was not a question of taxation inas i much as the law on which the bonds j were issued made them tax-exempt i unless held in the state of North Caro I lina and that there was practically no chance whatever for taxation re curring on the people of the state by a failure of the bonds to properly func tion. Two local bills were the only other measures to get through the house on third reading in the longest ses sion since the opening of the general [ assembly. Tho senate passed the bill fostered j by the optometrical association which provided that an applicant for a state Jirense should have at least two years In an op*ometrical ooliege, and restrict j prescriptions of classes or lenses to ; lieensed ontometrists and oculists, | with certain exceptions. The bill to incorporate the towns of I Kinds' Mountain and East Kings Moun- J | tain into one city was recommended 1 favorably bv the house committee on counties, cities and towns. A bill mak'*ne an annual stat eappro priation of $50,000 a year to be used in matching appropriations from the sev eral counties for the support of needy children who have worthy mothers but have bee deprived of the support of their fathers and the general educa tion bill introduced simultaneously in both branches of the Oneral Assem bly. featured the new offerings of legis lation in the Senate. The mothers' aid bill, which is simi lar to laws already in force in forty two states, has the support of the j Board of Welfare, all the fraternal and civic organizations in the State and the State Press Association. The act makes the county juvenile court the unit for the administration of the law. with supervisory powers lodged in the State Board of Welfare. Any board of county commissioners k may make appropriation fo rany case recommended by the county juvenile court where the recommendation Is approved bv the State Board of Wel fare and the State will bear one-half of the expense up to the limit of the appropriation, with the fund of $50,000 apportioned arr^ong the counties on a per capita bar&s as far as practicable. Support under the act is limited to needy mothers of children under four teen who are morally and physically fitted to care for their children. The allowance is limited to S15 a month for the first, child. $10 a month for the second child and $5 a month for each additional child. The Senate committed the bill au thorizing the county board of commis sioners to establish county orphan ages. which passed its second reading to the commit toe on public welfare to be considered in connection with the mothers' bill. Senator Charles IT. Har-r rls. of Wake, made the motion to com mit the bill and stated that Mrs. Kate Burr Johnson. Commissioner of Public Welfare wished to be heard by the committee in opposition to the bill. Fn vorable committee report, it was learned w'M bo made on the bill to empower tho superintendents, boards of controls and doctors of state charit able and penal institutions to make sureiral operations upon Inmates re garded by them as a menace to society. Increase Shown In State Budvet. Mr. Everett made known the fact that the State's budget as prepared by the commission will total $19,000,000, an increase over that of two years ago. This budget allows for the approxi mately $2,500,000 surplus in the state treasury. The budget commission's recom mendations of two years ago were for about $1,000,000 In excess of the probable income as indicated at that time, whereas the income of the state actually created the surplus. Make Annual Gu*rci lnsr,ert., ~ United States army on., ed by headquarters 0f corps area, will spend i-uary and the early pan L North Carolina inspect in. ? al Guard, according to :i> .. , -,f'\ dera issued by Adjutant Van B. Metts. Officers of ? ?. '.. Art., Raeford. February 13, Tuesday, Co !. Inf., Parkton. February 14, Wednesday, <' 120th Inf., Wilson. February 15, Thursday, Co I Inf., Plymouth. February 1, Friday, Bat. A A., Med. Bet., 117th F. A. Cold Inspecting officer for 1*. S A , jor C. T. Marsh. * February 19, Monday, Co. K -j Inf., Concord. February 20. Tuesday. Co. K Inf., Mt. Gilead. February 22, Thursday, Co. G . 1 Inf., Winston-Salem. February 23, Friday, Co. A., l'U i." N. Wilkesboro. February 24. Saturday, Hq < > 120th *Inf., Reidsville. February 26, Monday, 2bn Ho 120th Inf., Greensboro. February 27, Tuesday, Med 120th Inf., Burlington. | February 27, Tuesday, Med. ! j l?oth Inf., Graham. j Inspecting officer for I". S. A . 1 i- ? tain Roy C. Hilton. 3 March 8, Thursday, Troop D . > il Oav., Andrews. f March 9. Friday, Co. II . 12o*h !?', i Waynesville. fl March 10, Saturday, 30th SiVntl * ? Co., Canton. March 12, Monday. Troop F . ' Cav., Vet. Co., So. 10r>, AshevilV * March 13. Tuesday, Bat. C.. 1 ? " * i ' F. A., Hendersonville, * Infecting officer for the T S A. j 1st Lieut. F. E. Betholet. i March 10, Friday, Troop O.. lr,0,h Cfv?.-.; Hq. and Hq. Det., }09th r.iv. Hickory. March 16. Friday, Troop E., 1 h Ca.; Hed. Det., 109th Cav., Lir><- 'n ton. March 17, Saturday, Howitzer Co* 120th Inf., Gastonia. Inspecting officer for the TJ. S. A, J st Lieut. H. C. Wolfe. The inspection will include a phy sical inventory of all federal property and supplies in the hands of each or ganization, it was stated, and the in i ventory will be made by the T " n 1 1 ? ? i States army inspecting officer. Th? officers are required to give credit for only such property as is submitted for their personal examination, ami they are not required to institute a search for property. Attendance upon the inspection is compulsory, according to the general order sent out, and absentees will 1)4 dealt with in accordance with the law. December Fire Loss New Record. Shot out of all bounds by the two million dollar conflagration at New Bern, official figures for Decembers fire loss confirm earlier estimates and put the loss for the Str.te at $3,I?lG.7o3. The summary of official reports of fires in the State for December shown that aside from - the abnormal loss of $2,000,000 by the New Bern con flagration of December 1, there was a further loss at other points of $1. 116,703, from a total of 173 fires with property at risk of $5,496,293, on which insurance was carried to the extent of $2,396,273. "The main loss came from fifteen fires, since the entire loss from the other 158 fires amounted to but little over $400,000. Aside from New Bern, Charlotte heads the list with two fires, totaling $300,000, the next largest being Gates ville and Spray with another $300,000. Dwellings, as usu?l, headed the list of property destroyed or damaged, the total outside the New Bern fire being 109, of which 97 were in towns and 12 in the country. The combined damage, however, was but $54,000, while the value of. the same was $473, ? 000 and the insurance $223,000. Charters are Granted, The secretary of state has issued the following charters: Beaufort Realty corporation, New Bern, general real estate business; capital stock, $100,000; p*id in $ir>, 000; O. W. Lane, W. B. Blades, J. S. Miller, all of New Bern, principal in corporators. C. H. Turner Foundry company, Statesvllle, general foundry business; capital stock, $100,000; C. H. Turner, D. C. Ritchie, W. L. Williams, all of Statftsville. Drinclpel incorporators.