A REVIEW OF SPORTS. Changes in the local Team . and Opinions Regarding Their "Worth. THE EELEASE OF GALYIN. Some Leading Features of the Recent Meeting of League Magnates. VERY BAD FINANCIAL REPORTS. Fred Johnson's Training Methods Different to the .American Style. BOB FITZSIMMONS AND CJIOTNSKI If ever anybody was between the "devil and the deep sea" the officials of the local baseball club are. If they turn to the right they are assaulted; if they turn to the left they are kicked; if they go forward a fear ful fate awaits them; if they go backward thev are jutnned on, and if they stand still they are deemed too cowardly to live. Now what are they to do? Their individuality tven in their own business is not acknowl edged, and all the factions of cranks above referred to presume to run their business lor them. Surely their lot is not a happy oae. Not many days a ago everybody who toofc any interest in the club at all were clamor ins for changes; that is, a change of play ers. "Why don't you release some of your old played-outs and get new men?" was the general cry, both among the public and writers. The club officials did this, and just a soon as they did it up went a howl be cause it was done. Another faction for months has been cry ing: "Why don't yon get a man to take sole charge of the team and let him sign and release whom he please? Too much management has ruined your club." This cry, too, was responded, to and just as soon as the man in charge begins to exercise his judgment up goes the howl again. In truth, it is only fair to state that there has been more, outside interference with the management of the Pittsburg Baseball Club than with any other club in the country. True, this shows a keen in terest in the came, but it can be carried to an unreasonable limit. The management of the club was bonnd to make changes of some kind, and changes cannot be made without releasing some bodv. Who is to be the iudge as to the pla ers to be released? The public or the mauagement? If it is the latter then surch credit mint be given for honesty of purpose and a desire to make things better. If we look at matters this way, then as suredly we'll not be disposed to say so ruanv harsh things, no matter how our favorites may fare. Tim Uclex.t-r or Old Sport Galvin. In the general shakeup, and a shakenp tha public opinion has clamored for for a Ions time, our dear old friend Galvin has been released and has gone to St. Louis. Ihereis not a person in Allegheny county regrets the departure of Jimmy more than I do. He has certainly been one of the no.! faithful and one of the best workers the club has ever had. "While scores of younger players have fallen by the wavidc unable to bear the brunt of tittle, Jimmy, like the sturdy old oak, has tuccesslullv weathered all the storm and withstood all the onslaughts that have been made on him. A more honest player or a wore generous worker never set foot in the diamond Uian Jimmy Galvin. Bat he has been released and nhat can we do about it? Nothing illegal has been done, and it would be unreasonable to say that anything unfair has been transacted." Galvin' has bettered himself financially, and the local club helped him to do this. Doubtless Captain Burns is wormng with the object of getting a good team together lor the second season ot the vear, and it is only fair to await re sults before we deal out censure all round. At anv rate I'm sure we can all wish Gal x in the best possible success in St. Louis. There is a deal of good work in Jimmy yet, nnd I will be surprised if many teams do not find it out. If the club gets Terry, Donovan and Genins and if Ehret is all "right this week ie will have almost a new team. As to what the'-e plajers will do I have nothing to ar. Terrv has been a good man and is vet capable of pitching a very e0ective game of ball, but whether he will maintain his form or not is another matter. Taking both men at their best it would seem diffi cult to choose between Terry and Galvin. I am incl'ned to favor the chances of the latter but both of them have been so long before the public that it is problematical as to whM thev" will do. The best of reports are current regarding Donovan, and it he is the player that some judges claim lie iv, he is just the man for the Pittsburg team. Genins has yet to be tneil in tin Ltngue. But what the team needs most is pitchers andthe sooner we get them the better. Mark Baldwin is "run down" at prent He tells me his arm is all neht, but that he simnly cannot com mand peed enough. "With a few days" rest he is confident of being all right again. For three or four weeks Baldwin was worked extremelv 1 ard. If he could regain his form and the other pitchers get into line depend upon it the Pittsburg team would eoou pass many teams in the race. Meeting fit tho Leagur Magnates. There was little or nothing of the sensa tional character done at the magnates meet ing Ian Mondty at New York, at least as far as is publiclv knon n. League magnates are proverbial lor their silence on vital mat ter; thev are the most evasive people under the sun, and when it is neces sary mauy of them do not stop at misrepre sentation True, they have their business interests at s.ake and often it is good busi ness policy for them to withhold certain facts from' the public. But in the instance of Monda's meeting I am informed by a gentleman who was there, that nothing was done outside what has been publicly an nounced in the iTewspapers. There was one very important fact in dorsed by all at the meeting, viz., that base ball so lar this season has been a financial failure. The Boston representatives pointed this out beyond a doubt. 01 course wet weather has had something to do with this failure, but I still cling to the notion that the 12-club League monopoly has also contributed to it. Once more I repeat that the organization is founded on a bad princi ple and th.it being so, we cannot expect good and lasting results. I have an idea that when the fall comes there will be more ot a financial failure than now and I also still cling to the notion that several mag nates .ire tiled ot the monopolistic arrange ment. The very people are finding fault with it nho have it in their power to kill it and it is nonsense talking about any ar rangement that may have been made to con tinue it lor ten years. Just as sure as we lheit v ill not fast ten jears and that is sure enough. a The season so far has been so much of a failure that the clubs have now to be levied 12f per cent on their receipts instead of 10 per cent. Thia is because notes are becom ing due relative to the Indianapolis arrange ment, and they must be met The general receipts ot the League have fallen short of erpec.ations, hence the increased levy. It is pleasurable to note that the Pittsburg club has kept np its financial lame. Had all the clubs contributed as much to the general fund as the Pittsbnrg cinb has done no extra tax would have been needed. This is one of the blessings Pittsburg receives ironi the 12-club League. At the meeting it was also decided that each club should only carry 13 men. This resolve is in strict accordance with the gen eral mechanical structure of tho League. The tendency is to kill all that old spirit of competition which has dona more than anything else to popularize baseball. Some times I am inclined to think that it has done all. It is something very curious to find nowadays that the officials of a club are not to be the sole jndges of the players they want. A gentleman outside the club is to determine this point for them. This, arrangement is based entirely on the as sumption that, the outsider knows more about what ib good for the olub than those who have their money invested in the elnb, and who manage the club. So far this ar rangement has been a iailure and it will continue to be so. "We are told that this plan ii to keep down expenses and equalize the merits of the team. The latter is almost impossible, and as far as keeping down expenses ii con cerned, that may be accomplished, but re ceipts are being kept down at the same time. The long and shore ot it Is that mechanical baseball is not designed to be successful. If it club can afford to retain 14 players why in the name of common sense should it be compelled to have only 13? Is not this mechanically weakening teams? And is not the object of all to try and make base ball better? The whole trouble is the re sult of too many clnbs being In an organi zation and the tatlenders are so far in the rear as to make their appearance in the race at all ridiculous. Combinations to further financial inter ests is all rieht if carried on within certain limits, but when it comes down to the theory of trying to make us all alike,-U is a fail ure. Uood and generous competition is tne great hope of baseball as well as many other things. .toother Flan to Curtail Expenses. " There was another plan to curtail ex penses tacitly indorsed bv the League mag nates and that was to reduce the salaries of playeis. One is forced to smile whenever the plan is mentioned because it has been dealt with so often and so foolishly that one is inclined to think there is little seri ousness about it when it Is brought to the front. Doubtless all the magnates wonld like to have the salaries of players reduced, but the truth is they cannot trust them selves. They have played fast and loose with each other on the question so often that it would be strange it they would try it again. "Why, the Eastern League and "Western League have the limitation of sal ary rule and open violations are common. -Not;ong ago the Western Xieague club signed a Pittsburg player for more than the rule would permit The player signed a contract for the limit, but had another agreement by which he was to receive cer tain "expenses!" And so it has ever been, and let me say that when most money was made in baseball there were none of these fossilized and stupid rules or limitations in existence. Everything was a contest lrom top to bottom. There was no lottery bag chances or prize-package luck. The officials of the Boston olub com plained at the late meeting that their salary list was so big that they wanted the visit ing clubs' shares of the receipts cut down. But I would like to ask if there would have been such a strong and attractive team.in Boston if the salary list had not been so big? I think there would not The best players will always command big salaries despite any rules made to the contrary. The National League was prosperous when it was unhampered. "While enemies have railed it and somewhat changed its course, its own conduct has been its most in jurious blow. It allowed three or four bankrupt clubs to take possession of it at Indianapolis, even paid these clnbs to reap the benefits of its prestige and the genius that had built it. To-day that League or the remnant of it is saddled with the evils of that serious blunder. Something About Sunday Cycling. Amid all the noise and hypocritical cant about Sunday observance it may be inter esting to mention the fact that in old con servative England the wheelmen had a gigantic Snnday service in the open air and were preached to by no less a disnitary than the Bishop of Newcastle-on-Tyne. The parade to the preaching ground was a grand afair, and a handsome sum of money in the way of collections was realized forcharits ble'purposes. There were" about.Ti.000 bi cyclists in line and after they had dis mounted they tooka very' enthusiastic part in the religions service. Here Is what an English authority says about the gather ing: "Had anyone ventured to prophesy seven or eight years ago that cycling would ever become as popular as it is at the present time, he would have been set down as a harmless lunatic. Of course, the introduc tion of the safety bicycle has had much to do with the rapid growth of cycling as a Eastime, and had this class of machine not een invented it is not too much to say that thousands who now pedal-gaily all over the country would never have known the de lights accruing from the ownership of. a 'whirling wheel." Carping critics there have always been, and we suppose always will be, who will not allow tnemsejves to see beyond their noses. Cy clists nave been subjected to as great an amount of imbecile cant as any class, but as a rule they have treated such inanity .with the contempt it deserved, and have gone on their way as if it had not been uttered. Many puritanical people there are, how ever, who have not objected to cycling on week days, but have not scrupled to pour their vials ot wrath upon those poor be nighted heathens who went in for Snnday cycling. Such persons forget that the great body of wheelmen have not the necessary time to indulge in long rides during the week, or if they have, their bodies are so wearied with arduous toil that they are compelled to rest themselves at home. Hence it naturally comes about that San day is the day for cyclists." irrd Johnson's Training Methods. Everything is going smoothly on for the battle between Fred Johnson and Dixon. Latest reports from the East have Johnson the favorite, and the contest promises to be a great one. The Englishman has quite a different method of training from methods practiced "here. He works more in a day than an ordinary American pugilist does in two daj s. An Eastern writer who recently visited Johnson thus speaks of his training method : "The work done by Johnson would break the hearts of the majority of American fighters, and some of the hardest tasks im posed upon him are those which compel him not to do certain things. There are many things he does not do which local lights of the nag do and believe nnharmfuL He has not smoked since he started to prepare for the mill, and, more than that, he will not sit in a room or in a group where smoking is being indulged in. He arises at 6 o'clocc every morning and retires at 9.30 o'clock at mgnt, and during the 15 hoars and 30 minutes nis every move is Tegniated by a timetable. Fifteen minntes before 7 o'clock in 'the morning Johnson has a cup of hot tea with an egg in it, at 7 o'clock he starts on a four-mile walk, at 8:15 he is at breakfast, at 9:30 A. M. he is taking a sweat, at noon he has a bath, and so it goes all the day. If from any cause Bowlands detains him for five minutes, Johnson re minds him that time flies, and Bennr has to get a move on him. It dinner is late or an objectionable person is near him, Johnson gives Bowlands the office and makes his escape. Not that' he is crankv, for he is not, he is simply careful. "As an evidence of the care he takes to prevent accidents may be instanced his manner of drinking his daily allowance of Bass's ale. He never uses a glass, bnt drinks from the bottle, and insists that the cork be pulled in- his presence. It is not that he is suspicious of any of those around him, or of mine host Stubenbord's hand some bartender, bnt he exercises the care because he considers an ounce of prevention worth a pound of cure." Fllzslmmont' Refasal to Fight Choynskl. Nobody conld be surprised on Thursday when they read in The Dispatch that Fitzsimmons declined to fight Joe Chovn ski for a purse ot $15,000. The Australian stated emphatically that he would not go out ot his class except to fight Corbett That may be a little surprising and the statement is sure to set almost all the patrons of box ing to talking. This statement made by Fitsslmmons to toe implies that, in his estimation, Choyn skl is a better man than Corbett, because when 115,000 are at (take Fitzisnot the man to let it no bv default if he has a chance to get it It ii likely that Fitzsim- uiuua preicn to laoe a man line oruowk u a man like Choynskl because of their differ ent styles of fighting. If in front of Choynski, the Australian wonld not be allowed a second's rest, while Corbett's is similar to that of Fitssimmons, and he, Corbett, it not the puntsher that Choynskl Is. True, many people will think that Fitsslmmons is acting Inconsistently by re fusing to meet Choynski and offering to meet Corbett if the la'iter defeats Sullivan; bnt nobody can compel the Australian to fight above 158 pounds, and when be goes beyond that he has a perfect right to suit himselt, Bnt if Corbett defeats Sullivan it would be pretty safe to bet that he would aiso aeteat jntzslmmons. There is a man who wants to fight Fitz simmons at 158 pounds, and he is Ed Smith. He made a draw with Choynski not long ago, and that ought to be sufficient guar antee of his worth to meet Fitzsimmons when the latter won't meet Choynski. I am strongly of opinion that Smith wonld give Fitzsimmons a good fight; in fact, Smith made an excellent stand against Jackson for five rounds. Smith assures me that he thinks he can defeat Fitzsimmons and is willing to fight him, the winner to take all and.the loser nothing. That surely is fair enough, and it shows that Smith does not want to make anr -monev simply on the reputation of Fitzsimmons. The matter is! worthy the attention of the Olympic Club A nother Great Disappointment. The Olympic club will have to select somebody to meet Fitzsimmons if the third fight for the September week is' to be ago. and Smith is just as likely, an opponent as. auvooay. xnere were hopes oi .rntcnara or O'Brien coming here, but since the fight be- nccu tucao two .cjiigiisiimcu n&s uceu uo clared off there is no likelihood of their coming for some time. O'Brien was over taken by "sickness," another way of statins' he had no chance to win. His backers were compelled to forfeit about 3,000. Prltchard, according to arrangement!, Ii to fig"ht Jim Hall and if these two men fight, the public will then have .some kind of an" idea as to what kind of a man Hall it He is under one of the best tutors In the world to-day-Charley Mitchell, and if he can do anything at all Mitchell will tell him the best way to doit President Noel," of the Olympic Club, ii confident that he Will secure a man for Fitz simmons to tackle during what is termed the "big week." The proposed contests between Jack McAuliflfe and Myer and between Sul livan and Corbett are going along all right, and they are likely to take place. Middle- weights of the Fitzsimmons class are not plentiful, and it will be difficult to satisfy Fitzsimmons abopt a middleweight. Could Pritohard be Induced-to oome over, aeon test between him and the Australian would certainly be an attractive one. Corbett is now in aotive training for his proposed fight, and it is safe to say that he and his party mean to fight During the last fewvdays there were one or two suspi cions features, bnt they have disappeared and I really believe that Corbett is as anx ious for the contest as Sullivan. True, it is a long way off yet, and it may be that both Corbett and Sullivan will have much trouble in training during the warm weather. In this Corbett should have much the best of it, as he is in much the better condition to start with. Pblkgle. MOBS LIQTJ0B BKM0H8TBAHCE8 Provided for by the Action or the CT.A. ' V. at Seottdale, At the sixth annual convention of the C. T. A. TJ. of the Diocese of Pittsburg, at Seottdale last Tuesday, 27 societies, . with a membership of 1,275, were represented. This showed an increase of five societies and- 461 members. J. A. "Weldon, Chief I Organizer, reported the holding of eight public meetings, at which about 3,000 pledges were administered. Among the re ports of the different committees the most noticeable was that from Joseph A. Mc Namee, Chairman of the Literary Com mittee. It showed an. uninterrupted publi cation of Total Abstinence news items and the circulation ot 1,910 -Catholic school children's pledge cards. - A resolution was adopted referring to the recommendation of the Counoil ot Balti more, urging all Catholics to quit the liquor traffic and seek a more becoming oc cupation. It urges members to go into court and remonstrate against Catholic ap plicants, this being in the judgment of the assembly the only practical way in which the suggestion of the Third Ecumenical Council can be madyeffectlve. The election for officers resulted in the choice of Bev. M. A. Lambing, of Seott dale, President; Mr. W. H. Griffin, of Pittsbnrg, Vice President; Miss Mary J. Doherty, of Pittsburg, Secretary, and Mr. J. Hensler, of Irwin, Treasurer. Messrs. W. H. Griffin, Joseph A. McNamee and Miss'N. Nenmont were appointed delegates to the National Convention at, Indianapolis In August Addresses were 'delivered by .tievs. Xiamoing, cmeeay ana Uanevin, and Messrs. "Weldon, McNamee and Sugart HE PROVOKED KTJCH LATOHTEB. A Forgetful Judge Startles an Audience on Remembering His Change." Judge Austin Yates, of Schenectady, N. Y., is one of the most absent-minded of men, says the New York Recorder. He came down here not a great while ago and visited a theater where a most emotional, sensa tional and affecting melodrama was in progress. He had a friend with him and he laid down a $20 bill at the box offie to pur chase two tickets. The man behind the lit tle hole tossed the pasteboards out and $17 in change. Intent upon what he was going to see the Jndge very naturally seized the tickets and went on his way rejoicing, leav ing the balance of the 1 20 bill behind. He and his friend had seats in the midst of a remarkably select company, the play was enjoyable, and the Judge, who is nothing if not earnest, sat there spellbound. At last the villain in the play said to one of his partners in crime, and with a hard look applicable to the stage: "How much money does the wretch want?" The word "money" brought the Judge's thoughts back to the box office and to the change he had left lying there. Forgetting where he was and thinking for the instant that the question had been applied to him, he slapped his knee and fairly shouted: "Seventeen dollars, by the Lord Harry I" The effect on, the audience can be im agined, but never described, and nothing can induce that villain to recite the lines wherein money appears, for with all an actor's superstition he imagines that the Jndge's inopportune although p at remark has given Mm bad luck forever. STAGE XIS8DJ& A AelgntngStar of Many Tear Says That No Professional Kisses From Choice. "Nobody on the stage,", said an old ac tress, who used to be a reigning star many years ago, "neither man nor woman, kisses from choice. It least I have never known it to be so. It is not a pleasant operation, no matter how much the people like one another. They are, both covered with paint, grease, and powder, and the contact of the two faces, or even the lips, is un usually unpleasant. . "Any sort of an actor or actress, if they know anything of' their art, can simulate kissing quite as effectively as if the kiss were real. No matter how much one is ex cited by the same, a kiss invariably spoils the glamour of the actress. It dispels the illusion, and brings one baek to earth. "On that gronncr alone I always object to being kissed on the stage,' even beyond the paint and grease idea,. Actresses who con sent to being kissed on the stage, must want to be kissed very badly that's experience." ' v my Wuromcns Awimroe at Mamaux ft Son'a, taBFennayenn. Tel. 187. wga WAR DANGEROUS NOW i? i I Uodern Equipments Hake a Tre mendous Killing Inevitable. FUMES TO PUT ARMIES TO SLEEP. Explosive bj Means pf Which One Mm Could Destroy a Big City. KILLING SOLDIERS THREE MILES 1WAT "Whoever It was, whether Blaine or Har rison, that kept this country out of war with Chile, the failure of a fight was a great disappointment to experts in warfare all over the world, who vainly sigh for a con flict' that will afford some sort of test ot the value of modern naval and military methods. There has been no battle on the sea since the days of wooden battleships, and rapid firing weapons, 'fish torpedoes, high ex plosives, submarine destroyers and other devices for scientific and wholesome killing have had "no chance for a practical trial. The United "States Government is taking active part particularly of late in the line of strategic ballooning in the experiments which all civilized -and Christian nations are engaged with for the purpose of dis covering more effective means for wiping out hostile armies and ' fleets. "While busy I .with smokeless powders, the chief object of wbich is to make the foe visible, the "War Department has been keeping an eye npon the "smoke grenades" that are , now excit ing attention in England. They ard filled with chemical substances which, on explo-" sion, produce clouds of dense black smoke, and are designed to be carried in advance by skirmishers and thrown so as to conceal the troops following. lilnmlnatliig Shells and Stinkpots. , Not less novel and remarkable are the Illuminating bombs which are being tested by the Italians.1 ' One of them, cast among the enemy at night,1 will burst and immedi ately light up the darkness with a power of 100,000 candles. One of the most extraor dinary of new'inventions in 'warfare is the French explosive called "melinite," which is not only effective for rending and de stroying when thrown in a bomb, bat also serves a purpose similar to That of the "Stinkpots" of long ago. These latter, sup posed to have been originated by the Sara cens during the 'Middle Ages, were utilized as late as the last century by the British, French and Spanish.' Smashed among the enemy they set free "volumes of poisonous and asphyxiating gases. - "Melinite is not only three times as pow erful as gunpowder, but it has the great ad vantage of being entirely safe to handle. Its base is a coal tar product termed picric acid, and it has about the consistency of molasses, being poured into shells and hard ening. The fumes liberated by the bursting of one of these bombs are most deadly. Not long ago,' for the purpose of- experiment, a single one was fired at a vessel on which had been placed a number of sheep- and goats. All of the animals not killed by the fragments of the exploded shell were suffo cated to death. One day a French work man, digging out of the ground a melinite bomb that had been fired three days before, was so far overcome by the ga'ses which it still! exhaled as to be with difficulty re stored. Fntting a Tf bote Army to Steep. The object of civilized warfare being not to kill but to disable or oapture the adver sary, it has been suggested that shells, In stead of being loaded with destructive and "deadly explosives, should he filled with powerful though harmless drugs, which on bursting would spread a sleep-producing vapor. Thus an entire ship s company might be plunged Into involuntary slumber by a single bomb,' and in like manner whole regiments and brigades could be forced to resign themselves to sudden and helpless repose,, to be revived later by thetr humane captors. The' somnlferons gas ought to have as nearly as possible the same specific gravity as the atmosphere so as to be dis persed in the latter and hang in a cloud J about the enemy, neitner rising in the afr nor falling to the ground. , High explosives, hitherto untried in either military or naval contests, will play a large and important part in the warfare of the future. The most powerful at pres ent known is "explosive gelatine," being 15 times as strong as gunpowder. It is made by dissolving gun-cotton in nitro-glyceriue, the preparation having the consistency of honey. Unfortunately, it is very unsafe Stuffto use in battle, because a bullet strik ing it will set it off by concussion. No ex plosive is good for fighting purposes that can be touched off by shock or otherwise than by actual contact with fire. BJUxlng Chemicals During Flight A novel kind of bomb is filled with what the inventor calls "hellofite" The two chemical ingredients, blnitro-benzole and nitric acid, are in separate glass vessels, which are broken when the shot is fired, their contents being mixed together bv the rapid revolution ot the shell and exploded bv a time fuse. "Wonderful accounts are given of the havoc created by the banting of projectiles of this description. Up to the present time no method of throwing high-power explosives from guns by means of gnnpowder has been proved successful, although one scientific gentleman has wasted $300,000 of Uncle Sam's -money in experiments, which .only resulted in burst ing many , valuable cannon. However, trials that are being conducted under Gov ernment auspices with the new mixture termed "emmenslte" seem likely to solve this '"problem. Until now only pnenmatic guns have been found available for such purposes. ri ' . Firing machines for use In war have en gaged no little attention of late on the part of , inventors. Maxim, the designer of. the famous gun, claims tq have produced' oqe which can be controlled. He declares that he can fill his aerial car with explosives and hover In, -it over the city of London, holding that great metropolis at ransom to the extent ot as many million of pounds as he chooses to mention. Holding Dp a Big City. . Thus situated he can announce his terms by dropping a small package containing a statement of them and his ultimatum of "Cash or Crash." His contrivance is a cylinder of aluminum containing a three fourths vacuum, its collapse being pre vented by strong ribs inside. It is pro pelled and steered by electric gear, and is further sustained and balanced by the wings of a great aeroplane, with an automatic ar rangement of a compensatory nature that brings the machine immediately back to the horizontal when it tends to vary therefrom. The "War Department has been recently concucting experiments with balloons for military purposes. It will exhihit at the Columbian Exposition one of its new "bal loon trains," consisting of three wagons. One 'of the wagons carries a balloon packed in a basket, while the other two convey cylinders charged with hydrogen gas. "When it is desired to send up the balloon, it is taken out of the basket, connected with one or more of the cylinders, and is' ready. JU- ; Talking to the Clouds. : It attains an elevation of 2,000 feet, re maining attached to the earth by a wire rope through which a copper wire runs. The copper wire connects a telephone in the"balloon-car with. another telephoneon the ground, so that direct communication is maintained. If desired, the telephone wire may be continued to the headquarters of the commanding 'General miles away. Meanwhile the' observers In the balloon-oar can overlook the position and intrench ments of the enemy; being a safe distance from the hostile lines. . Sketch-maps they can se'nd down by means of the wire rope. Apian recently suggested Is to send up small captive ballo'ons carrying nothing but nhotographlo cameras, ..which 'could be worked automatiealiy "front the ground. . ' ' .! They would be allowed to drift over the fortifications of the foe, eaoh one taking a series of pictures of whatever was beneath. Rapid-firing guns are attracting more at tention just now than anv other develop ment of the science ot warfare. The latest and most admirable weapon ot this sort is the invention of Mr. Maxim. It 'stands on a pivot and is ranged entirely by one man. who points the 'nicely balanced instrument in .whatever difeoiion Be desires.- He has simply to aim, inasmuch as the gun'fires it self, throwing a continual stream of projec tiles like water from a hose. A Srresm or Projectiles. The operator pulls, the trigger once, and after that each snot discharges the next one, and rifle ballets issue from the muzzle at the rate of 900 a minute. Another pattern pro jects 50 explosive shells per minute, each weighing a pound, while still another throws six 100-pound shells a minute. In order that theremay be no pause in the continu ous storm of bullets or 'shells sent forth by these astonishing machines, ammunition for them is furnished on shipboard by an end less leather band furnished at intervals with hooks, which reaches from the magazine to the main deck. By this means one man can supply a "constant stream of cartridges. The likelihood seems to be that rapid-fire guns will before long practically superceede the great cannon ot the old style, which have grown to be so gigantic as to be un wieldy. They are much cheaper also. A 111.( I.a. cor nnn T - l!r- v-wu gUU WUSiS CHJ,WU. AMI KVCrilgG IHO is only 95 shots, which means that it is worthless after it has fired that number of projectiles. "On this basis of reckoning, each shot costs about $900, without counting the powder and projectile, which cost $760 more. Sixteen hundred and fifty dollars a pop is a good deal to pay. It is true that when a missile from such a weapon hits anything the latter is likely to be seriously affected. One experimental shot with a 110- ton gun sent tne projectile through -ao inches of solid steel, 8 inches of wrought iron, 20 feet of solid oak, 5 feet of granite, 11 feet of concrete and 4 feet of brick back of all this. The striking energy of the con ical bullet amounted to 51,320 foot-tons, which was equivalent to the power necessary to lift five Riant ships- of the size of the steamer ot New York one foot out of the water. It will be remembered "that the famous "Jubilee shot," fired from a similar gun on the occasion of the Queen's jubilee, fell at a distance of 13 miles, attaining' at the highest part of- its trajectory an eleva tion of four miles. Europe Using Smaller Biflss. It is a remarkable fact that the caliber of the rifles supplied to the armies of Europe has diminished within the last four years from 45-100 to 25-100 of an inch. Several very interesting results are accomplished by this change. To begin with, owing to' the less resistance opposed by the air to the smaller bullets, they go straighter and the marksman can use his sights for point-blank range up to 500 yards. " The Improvement in accuracy is very great and the velocity of the projectile is so far increased that the latest pattern of weapon will kill a man at a distance of three miles. So much greater is the penetrating power of the smaller ballet that it will go through the bodies of four men in a row when fired from a distance of one mile. . This was ascertained by the French, who, for the purpose ot accurate experiment, stood up four dead men in a line and prac ticed npon them. Another advantage of the new departure is that one soldier can carry as many as 160 rounds of cartridges. Last, but not least, the smaller bullets are much more humane for use in war. Indi viduals wounded by them, if not killed out right, are likely to recover. During the late civil conflict in Chile an excellent op portunity was afforded for comparing the relatively slight injuries inflicted by the new-fashioned projectiles when contrasted with the wonnds caused by the ballets of. the old size. Headline Jnlea Yerne'e Idea'. - One of the most astonishing inventions of modern times is the new torpedo boat now undergoing trial at Detroit under the eyes of Government experts. Headers ot The Dispatch will remember that it fairly realizes the design of the imaginary "Nauti lus" created by the fancy of Jules Verne. It is cigar-shaped,, pointed at both ends, and has a small dome-like turret on top, through a glass In which the steersman looks alons the level of the waves. While running thus the twin screws are driven by a steam eneine. "When the vessel wishes to sink the little smoke 'stack is unshipped, and.down the cigar boat goes beneath the water, which closes over it while it pursues its way at a depth of 10 feet or more. It can staynder water for half an hour com fortably, the snpplv of air sufficing for that length ot time. While it is submerged the screws are rnn bv batteries in which elec tricity ie stored fcy the steam engine. The interior is lighted by electricity. A new kind of automatic torpedo, which does not carry men, is called the "Victoria" and has been recently offered to the British Government. Its motive power is com pressed air contained within it, and it is steered and controlled by means ot an elec tric wire from shore. It moves beneath the water, approaching the object ot its hostility unseen. If the' operator wishes to see just where it is onits course,' he touches a but ton and it jumps out of the waves like a dolphin. The torpedo most favored bv the Navy Department Is the invention of Cap tain Howell, U. S. N. described in The Dispatch. It is worked on the principle of the gyroscope, having a wheel which is spun up to a tremendous rate of speed he fore the torpedo is discharged from the gun. Owing to this device it maintains a per fectly straight course. The trouble with the celebrated Whitehead torpedo is that It is hard to guide and is very apt to go crooked. The Effectiveness of the Ram. Naval authorities assert that rams will be the most effective weapons in the naval con flicts of the future. In the building of every battleship nowadays much attention is given to-making the stem as-powerful as possible, in order that she may ram an adversary effectively. Methods of conflict on the sea are reverting, curiously enough, to those practices 2,000 years ago, when Rome, was mistress of the waves. Then vessels of war were propelled by two or three hanks of oars; -now they are driven with two or three screws. Then", as now, the most deadly blow was struck with the ram. Tlien,-as now, the commanding officer stood in a "conning tower," directing jhe movements of the ship, issuing orders for the launching of missiles against the enemy, and at the critical znoment "giving the stem" to an opposing craft. . In order to conceive the power ot a mod ern ram, imagine a ship weighing 5,000 tons driven" at a speed ot 15 miles an hour against a floating antagonist The force of the.blow can be figured out by multiplying the 'mass into the square ot the velocity. Twin screws help quick steering so much that a vessel so equipped is hard to strike, but practice in this kind' of maneuver is obtained by European officers witk twin screw launches, which, with pell-padded 'bows, rush at each other, and fight as men do with soft gloves. In Bulwers novel,, entitled "The Coming Bace," the strange people calling them selves the Vril-ya were represented as pos sessing such tremendous means of de struction, controllable by the merest in fant, that they never thought of making war among themselves, since to do so would have signified universal annihilation. One is tempted to imagine that some such state of affairs' must actuallv arise in the world before . long when nations will no longer dare to fight because of the frightful power oi their own weapons. . Bene Bache. A ?CTJLIAB CHAHGK. Two X orksnire Farms Alternate Yearly la sTring in Different Parishes. 'One'ofthe most singular.. circumstances in connection with the defining of bounda ries is mentioned in 'Blount's Ancient Tenure of Zand. -Two farms lying.in the township of Swinton, in Yorkshire, England, and be longing to Earl FitzwiUIam, change their jamb. everyyear. .. -n . .For one year from Easter Day at 12 noon till next Easter Dayrat the same hour they lie in the parish of Mexbrough, n(L then, till the Easter Dar'oilowtaa', at the same hour,' they are in the parish of Wath-upOn-Deamej'and stf alternately. EVENTS OF THE DAT. The Celebration at the Home of the Percys and Their History. HME. BEBNHAKDT'S GREAT RIVAL Dinger of a Massacre of Christians bj the Bestless Bedouins. ANNIE BESANrS DAUGHTER WEDDED pntrmsir o tb dispatch,! A week or so ago famous old Alnwick Castle, England, home ot the Percys and scene of . the cele brated capture of King "William "the Lion" in 1174, re sounded with the ac clamations of the tenantry of the great estates and a large concourse of nobility gathered to do honor to the coming of age of Henry Algernon George Percy, Lord lord WarkworVi. "Warkwortb.who will In all probability be Duke of Northumber land some day. As a matter of course, the youthful lord has really no history beyond that attending the average young man who has spent the most of his life at school, but it is always interesting to chronicle events per taining to such a powerful house as that of the Percys. Their history begins, as far as record goes, in the first quarter of the tenth century, 'when Geoffrey, son of Mainfred, a Danish chieftain, assisted Bollo in subjugating Normandy, and took a family name from the village called Percy in that principality. A de scendant was "William de Percy, who was distinguished by the euphonious title of "Alsgernon," which is at present spelled and pronounced "Algernon," mean ing William, Henry or George with the whiskers, as the case may be. The twelfth Lord Percy was made Earl of Northumber land the day King Bichard JX was crowned. It was his eldest son Harry, who" has been so widely celebrated by historians and story tellers' under the name of Hotspur. "What English boy, or American either, has not heard of.Chevy Chase? In fact the history of the-majority of the Percys reads like a wonderful story book. Certain it is, that no family name in all England recalls so much that is interesting. The. Claims of a Trunk-Maker. In reading over the accounts of the Wark worth birthday celebration it does not ap pear that any of the descendants of the famous Percy claimant, "The Trunk-maker, " were among the invited guests. Joceline, the eleventh carl, married the youngest daughter of the Earl of Southampton, by whom he had no male issne. That the name might not die oat, King Charles II. created his natural son by the Dnchess of Cleveland, Earl and afterward Duke of Northumberland, although James Percy, a trunk-maker, very generally and dearly S roved that h was the rightful heir, by escent from Sir Ingelram Percy, third son of the fifth earj. Notwithstanding the fact that Lord Chief Justice Hale announced in open court that he believed the claim to be legitimate "The Trunk-maker" was non suited, and sentenced to wear a paper placard in Westminster Hall declaring him "a false and impudent pretender to the earldom of Northumberland." Btory of Tom Brown's Tutor. It is worthy of remark that the twenty- first anniversary of a sprig. of nobility should be made the subject of mucli attention in England, while the fiftieth an niversary of the death of the "strong, true man, and wise one, too," Dr. Thomas Arnold, of Rugby, which occurred during the past week. Dr. Arno'd. should eo bv without the slichtost notice. As almost every boy knows. Dr. Arnold had chargepf the school during "Tom Brown's" attendance there. That was some time be tween 1828 and 1812. June 12 of the last named year the. beloved headmaster passed away and was buried in the chancel of Rugby chapel. A plain cross of gray marble marks the grave and a monument with his statue stands in one of the transcepts that heve been added to the structure since his death. ' But although Xhe great instructor has gone, almost all' the old cistoms of the schjol.of half a hundred veara ago remain. Regularly as ever, on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday afternoons, the cricket, foot ball or hare and hounds contests take place. The old hostility between the different forms still continue, bnt in a lesser degree, the bitter fights in which collar bones, arms and legs were often fractured having hap pily been done away with. . iTlh Rival or Bernhardt. Although It is not yet absolutely certain that Bernhardt, thn Kendals and other dramatic lights ot equal bril liancy will not visit us next year we will have at least one great foreign star among us in- the person of Mrs-Bernard-Be ere, the famous rival ot Bernhardt oh the English stage. Her ren dition of "La Jtfre. Bernara'Betre. Tosca" Is con sidered fully equal to that of the celebrated French tragedienne. Mrs. Bernard-Beere is a tall, dignified woman of handsome presence. At home she is one of the great social lights and'dnring her coming visit her first to this country, where her fame has preceded her, she will meet with as much faver in society as the Kendals, per haps more, as Mrs. Bernhard-Beere enjoys even greater social distinction in her own land than do the' famous conple who have just left us. At present she is in Australia, where she is held in high esteem. .When she reached Melbourne a few months ago portions ot the town were decorated and a chartered vessel with, city officials on board went down the bay to meet her. Whrre Mother Ere -Is Barletl. Those restless beings, the Bedouins of the El Hejas district, in Arabia, are in revolt and threatening, among others, Jeddah, or Juddah, Jiddahp Djiddah or Djeddah as you may choose to spell it one ot the prin cipal cities of the Red Sea coast, and the principal landing place of the pilgrims to Mecca. The population of the town amounts to about 30,000 souls, of varied nationalities. They are generally of most fanatical disposition, .and will slaughter their enemies, the Christians, on the slight est.provocation. The latter had a taste of their brutality In 1858, when under the fretext ot revenging a supposed Insult to he Ottoman flag, the paean population fell neon. the Christians In the town and mass. ered them almost to a man. It is feared I itiauas that in saw the Bedouin rebellion" ooatiaui jfetjI the Christian quarter of Jeddah will be the first to suffer. ' Perhaps it is, not generally known that "our Mother Eve" is supposed to be buried at Jeddah. Near what is called the Me dina gate are the Turkish barracks, and just beyond these is the famous holy place of Jeddah, surrounded by the principal ceme tery of the town. The tomb is walled, about 200 paces long and 15 broad, and is supposed to represent the dimensions of the body. At the head is a small pavilion, where gifts are received, and a little more than half way down is a tiny chapel contain ing a black stone known to the faithful as El-Surrah, the navel. This place was men tioned by Edrisi, the famous Arabian geog rapher, about 800 years ago, but aside from the black stone ' nothing else appears to be of any great antiquity. The Daughter of Annie Besant, It was not generally noted In the news papers that Miss Mabel Emily, the only daughter of Miss Annie Beg ant, was married in London a con pie of weeks ago to Mr. Ernest Scott, a yonng gentle man of decided literary attain- ments, who i s about to settle in Australia with his youn-r and pretty wife. The bride's fa in o n s mother's antipatny to es tablished forms Mm Benant. of religious belief was manifested in the wedding ceremony, being performed by ontf of the government officials at the Marylebone Registry Office, without the assistance of a minister of any denominations The bride is a beautiful girl and strongly resembles her mother in feature as well as in mental makeup. W. G. Kaufmans; THE CATHOLIC STJJCMBE SCHOOL. Leading Light of the Church Are on tha List nf Lecturers. . Among the lecturers who have volun teered tbeir services for the Catholic sum mer school at New London, Conn., mention of which was made in The Dispatch last week, are G. P. Lathrop, Or. M. Searle, C. a P.; A. P. Dough, a a P.; Eliza Allen Starr, Dennis T. O'Snllivao, a J.; E. A. Biggins, a J.; Rev. Hugh J. Henry, Cor nelius O'Leary, Charles G. Herberman, J. A. Mooney, Mary Elizabeth Blake, Thomas' J. Sbahan, P. A. Halpin, a J.; J. A. Zohm, a a C; Charles Warren Stoddard, John Walsh, H. J. Henser,M. J. Lavelle, Bishop H. Gabtiele, M. J. Morris, Rev. Robert Seton. D. D.. Rev. Walter Elliott and Rev. J. L Laughlin, D. D. The admission to the fall course Is fixed at 5, while any-set of lectures in the series may be heard for 12. New London, Conn., has been chosen as a temporary location for the school, and the commodious Opera House of that town will afford ample and airy quarters. The num ber of persons who have already signified their intention to take the course places the result of the venture beyond doubt. Many Pittsbnrg and Western Pennsylvania peo ple will take their summer outing in this way. Mr. Joseph A. McNamee has been appointed on the Committee of Arrange ments for this section of the State and is laboring bard for the success of the school. If the venture proves successful this year a permanent location will be selected and an other Chautauqua established. Bev. M. M. Sheedy, of Pittsburg, is President. THE OBIOIN OF THE TEEM STBIKE. Before the Era of Tratfo Unions It Meant to Begin or Quit Work at a Certain Time. This term seems to be one of those which, without any definite origin, such as, for in stance, the word "boycott" had, has grown into its present use by a process of adaption, the course of which waseprobably as fol lows: In all climes and ages the hours of labor in gangs or squads have been marked off by the striking of a bell or gong either by hand or clockwork. In mediaeval England the town clock, or, in the country, the monas tery bell, gave the signal for commencing or ending work, and from this arose the north and east country sayings, "I strike work at such an hour," and "I knock off" at so and so," which were in use before the davs of trade unionism. Thus the welcome Stroke wbich told that toil was over b ecame associated with the voluntary stoppage of work, and "to strike" was made synony mous with the action of putting down tools on the stroke of. the hour tor stopping. From this stage to the use of the word to express a general cessation of work for a definite object was of course only a step. That the term, as signifying the substitu tion of.'rest for action, is quite classical, and not merely trade slaug, may be seen from Milton's lines : "Waving her myrtle wand She strikes a universal peace through sea and land" AH IHTSBESTHra DIPLOMAC A Short Sketch of One of the Best.Known and Most dnred lien in Earop?. M. de Giers, the most interesting person ality in diplomatic Europe, although a Rus sian by birth, is by extraction a Swede, and commenced his public career some 33 years a;o as secretary to a Russian Consulate. The first diplomatic post occupied by De Giers was that of secretary to the Ambassa dor at Constantinople. In this position he displayed "such remarkable capacity that rapid promotion resulted. - From that time he has done nothing bnt rise, and was Minister Plenipotentiary at some five or six places before he came back for good to Russia. Iu 1876 the direction of foreign affairs in St. Petersburg was al together confided to him, although Prince Gortchakoff nominally held office for some time afterward. During the last three years of the reign of the late Czar, Alexan der II., M. de Giers was constantly at his elbow, and accompanied him on all his journeys, indeed it is a wonder that he was not with the unfortunate Erdneror when the latter was blown up by the Nihilists. His agreeable and accommodating man ners have endeared him to the present Czarina, and he is also a favorite of the Prince and Princess of Wales. The Czar rarely does anything without consulting him, and as it is known that his sympathies are vary French he is adored in Paris. BEZCHEB'S 0HLT POEM. It Was a Love Ulssive to His Sweetheart, Who Always Kept the Verses Sacred. During the days of Henry Ward Beecher's courtship it is related by his wife that he once "dropped Into poetry," and wrote a text lines of verse, teeming with affection for his1 sweetheart. But the verses were al ways kept. sa:red by Mrs. Beecher, as they are at the present day, and nothing can win them from her. One day Mr. and Mrs.' Beecher were in the office of Robert Bon ner. . - "Why don't you write a poem, Beecher?" said the astute publisher. "He. did once, ".admitted Mrs. Beecher, and immediately Mr. Bonner's eyes sparkled. "Recite it for me, won't you, Mrs. Beecher?" he asked. But the' eyes of the great preacher were riveted on his wife, and she knew that he meant silence. "Come," said the persistent publisher, 'Til give 3,000". If you will recite that poem to me," adJressing Mrs. Beecher. "Why,it ran," began the preacher's wife. "Ennice." simply said Mr. Beecher. And although Robert Bonner offered to doable the sum first offered he never got the poem-front Mrs. Beecher, and no one has slnoe bean a whit mora succaatfnj. SPREAD OF IiEPROST.: A Need of More Stringent, lawa ProTiding for Its Prevention. DANGER OP TEA7EL IN CUBA, The Disease Circulated bj Means of Paper Uonej and Otherwise. TREATMEHT OF IEPEES IN SCOTLATO Considerable is being said just now as to leprosy. Louisiana is preparing to enact a law to prevent the spread of the dread dis-1 ease, and it is a matter of congratulation to, Pennsylvania that their State Board of Health recently sent to the medical profess-' sion circulars making inquiries for the pur pose of legislation. Attention was recently called to the) actual danger of the disease getting a foot hold in Pittsburg by Dr. W. H. Daly. In a paper read before the Allegheny Medical Society, not so very long ago, be said it was needless to point oat that from Pitt.' burg alone there are at least 50 persons who visit Havana, Cuba, during every winter, and from Pennsylvania there are probably' 200. An eminent dermatologist and valued: friend. Dr. L. Duncan Balkier, of New York, had recently expressed doubts before the New York Academy of Medicine, as to the contagiousness of leprosy, and Dr. , Daly read the published paper with some), apprehension as to the effect of the ex pressions of so distinguished an authority upon the profession, and there were some statements made by the doctor that ought! to receive further discussion. Dr. Daly then went on to prove the infections char-j acter of the disease. For all practical andj hygienic purposes, he added, it is quite), needless to differentiate between contagion! and infection. Sufficient for either question, if admitted, is segregation, and otherj quarantine measures to stamp out the di ease. Flltebnrg Travelers in Danger. The laws concerning isolation of lepers in Havana are disgustingly and perilously lax, the doctor said. Many years ago there waa a wealthy leper who died in Havana and who endowed a hospital for these unfortu nate. As a part of that hospital there is a spacious shrine, or church, where inmate lepers and outside citizens meet Sunday after Sunday to worship. True, the lepers are not allowed outside the iron gratings of tho porch, but they sit inside in crowds and traffic in the-closest possible proximity, and talk at will with their friends and loungers' on the spacious steps, through the iron bars. . Little children in crowds play about these on the steps and witness the public swim-J mine of the horses in the surf in front ot, the leper hospital. During several of tha doctor s visits Dan games were in progress I before the hospital, and crowds as lookers on swarmed upon the hospital steps. Tha pnblic is admitted to worship in the lepers chnrch without restraint. "At my visits," said the doctor, "tha lepers gathered around me closely, andt ' many offered freely to exchange their small , ant futhy paper money lor silver, all will ing to snbmit to any professional examina tion in their earnest desire to get relief. It j is needless to say that the infected paper money hnds its way into the pockets or tha general public, and becomes a iertila source ot contagion and infection." Turned White by the Disease. Dr. Daly bad been interested in the estsa of Joseph Miller, one of the survivors of the massacre of the crew of the filibustering ship, "Virginias, in 1872, who was a leper inmate of the hospital. At the time of nis rescue, he was a hale and hearty dark mulatto, bnt 13 years of leprosy had turned him white; it has also made him handles, footless, sightless, noseless; it has left him. without ears; it has left him without what wonld be recognized as a human voice; it has left him a hideous, ghastly creature, without hope in life; a mere thing, whom to look at is to make the stoutest heart shudder; whom to touch is to take the greatest possible risk of a contagion that is sure to destroy. - - Whatever be the pathology of leprosy, there can be no doubt that it is a disease af fecting nutrition, and which does its deadly work by absorption or ulcerative absorp tion ot the tissues, f'or example, in the early cases there trill be seen on close in spection a slight tumefaction of the skin and cellular tissue at a point on the ear, or nose, or limb. Later on there will be ' gradually encroaching constriction at or' near the point, and a slow absorption or am putation of the member or part. In soma other early cases there is a strange altera tion in the countenance and plaques of skin on the face and body, altered and bleached, or tendered livid by detective nutrition ot local inflammation. L-proy Once K.igrd In Scotland. Latitude seems to make no difference; From the tenth to sixteenth centuries Scot land suffered. It lingered in the northern islands of Scotland long after itbad disap peared from ail other .parts of Britain. An order ot knighthood the Knights of Saint Lazarus was instituted abont the time of David I., for the care of lepers. Knights of this order are said to have been common in Scotland and France. What kind or extent of power these knights were allowed to exercise over the lepers and leper houses, is not known. Every person seized with leprosy within the walls of a town was removed at once to the hospital. II he had nothing of hfs own a collection of 20 shill ines was made for his behoof. He who shel tered or concealed a leper even for a singlo night was heavily fined. Some of tha, Scottish leper houses had large properties attached to them, and must have supported tbeir inmates in all the comforts of which, the unfortunates were capable. A Leper "Wan Considered Dead. In Scotland a leper was held to be a man dead in law. He was incapable of inherit ing, and lost all his civil privileges. On the day that he was put into the hospital the burial service was performed over him. A priest in surplice and stole went to tho lepers and began the dismissal ceremony by exhorting him to suffer with patience the plague with which God had stricken him. He was then sprinkled with holy water and conducted to the church, funeral verses being chanted. Arrived in the church, tha ordinary dress of the leper was taken off. He was then wrapped in a fnneral pall and placed corpse-wise before the altar on two trestles, while the mass for the dead was suntr over him. After this he was again sprinkled with holy water and led to ' the hospital. A clapper and "cop," or bell and dish, a stick, a cowl and a leper's dress were given him. Before leaving him the priest solemnly interdicted him from appearing in pnblic withont his leper's garb from en tering inns, mills, churches and bake houses from touching children or giving; them anything which he has touched from washing his hands or anything that per tained to him in the common fountains or streams from touching in the market the goods wbich be wished to buy with any thing but his stick from eating or drinking with any others except "lepers from walk ing in narrow paths from answering thosa , who spoke to him in the roads or streets, except in a whisper, that they might not be annoyed with his pestilent breath and, his infectious smelL Last of all, the priest closed the ceremony by. casting a shovelful of earth on the leper's body. Alfonso Will Never B?oslve a Spanking: The bringing up of the little King of Spain will probably bo a matter of serious difficulty to his royal mother and her as sistants as time goes on, for the person of a Spanish monarch is sacred, and it will be absolutely impossible to punish, the sov ereign for breaches of etiquette. V 'J 1 n .
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers