4 Mystery of the G. By Solving It Peter Joyce Cleared Himself of the Suspicion i of Murdering Peter Joyce had Just been discharged from the employ of the O. U W. Kall ay Company at Manassas Junction. There were several machine shop In the place oonneotod with the road. The company had been throwing off tts men, but In the latter part of Octo ber, 1802, there was an unexpected In crease of work, which recalled many of tn Idlo men to their post and sent skyward the hope of those who re mained. Joyce was chickling to himself over the situation when, on Oct. 21, he re reived a blue envelope. Ho took It mechanically from the paymaster's band, Mood In the doorway for a mo ment like a mnn who has been tunned from a sudden blow, and then, with an oath and some other words of which he wan scarcely conscious, turned and left the place, not observ ini the strange glances sent after htm as he went down the tracks. It was quite dark when he went out, tumbling over the rails like a drunk n man In the rain and sleet which had ibegun falling an hour before. Ho was mo full of anger and shame at the oc currence that he could scarcely see where he was going, and once he actu ally ran Into the end of a flat car, rais ing his arms only Just In time to avoid dangerous contact with the bumpers. He would not go home yet, to the dreary little room In the boarding louse ho called home. The rain and leet were far better. He crept Into a deserted coal shed and pat down upon the rough clinkers for an hour or more. Mason had discharged him, and for what? Over and over again he re viewed the man's sharp voice, tlws quick. Impetuous words, his own voice making some reply which he could not cow remember. And then the glances et the men of which he was only too veil aware as be started down the tracks. But as he was stealing along like a bunted wolf between the lines of eavlly loaded freights, he stumbled over something In his tuath. and the neitt Instant lie was kneeling above the body of the man he hated more than any one else In the whole world. He managed to drag the body from the mils where It would have been left eo that a passing train would decapi tate It, and In lens than five minutes Afterward he burrt Into the shanty of one of the night watchmen, covered with perspiration, his eyes rolling like those of a man taken in a sudden (It. "The man, Thompson, the men!" ho ' rasped aa noon as he could find his voice. "Tho man? What man?" returned the watchman. "Mason, Mason, the superintendent! Bill, what a sight!" "What do you mean, Tele? Speak at like a mnn! Accident, wrei k, lire, what la It?" Joyce staggered to his feet. "Come out with me, Dill, and see." And off they started on a run from the shanty, dodging the shifting frelcht cars ut:d moving engines with a reck- lessncsj p: c 'Iki and so made iV place whr the r to rjea of their class: ieir vy ::t in ' lo the. l:i;dy V.V.". lvi'.,,-. Thomson s over with a tro "A bid job. : a constrained you?" ironed r.r.il lo.)..cu it il.ied fare. Joyce," he began In votco. "It it Is do It was hard to speak tho words, but Joyeo understood, and In tho dim light, midst the falling sleet, ho raised his hand solemnly. "Before Clod, William, I didn't! I would not have had tho strength to do It!" Thompson stood up and rubbed his land across his eyes, a3 if trying to think of something. "Let's go had; to the shanty, Fete There's no one there, and we can talk It over together.' Once Inside the hut tho watchman 1oltcd the door, pulled down tho cur tain at the window and faced his mute. "What wo have to do must be done quickly, Pcto. Sumo one will surely te along before midnight." Again he looked over tho trembling form of Joyce doubtfully. "I only wish I knew shat to do with you, I'etc, until the clouds roll by. It looks stormy for you now, my lad With a sudden Inspiration he went to a little deek and wrote something on a sheet of paper with a pencil. "Here, Pete, take this. It's an order on the lower shops for a couple of crowbars and a coal shovel. It Is dat d five o'clock, and if any one asks me About it I will say I sent you down there about quitting time, not knowing you had been turned off. "When you get there, for the love f heaven patch up some kind of lory which will agree with mine that I will send them by the 'phone, and be careful what you say! If you ' He stopied and ran to the door lowered his light and looked out. rWheu be turned to Pete his face was white. "There's men coming up the tracks now! Here, crawl out of the window and I will shut it after you. Be quick, Feter, run, man; run for your lite! Thompson closed the window after 11m, lit his pipe and was busy sweep ing the floor when the men rushed in. At their first words he sank back in fels chair, gasping and trembling. "Where is be? Who did it? When ld It happen?" be asked. Consummate acting it waa, and not man that vent back with blm to the mm of the murder suspected that be tmA been titer before that night. The Cm 414 JMt Mjr union at first, but I X L. W. Railway. His 5uperior. stood around the body examining It with awe-struck faces. "Where's Joyce tonight?" The words wore the ones that the man had been most dreading, and in an absent minded manner he turned to the questioner. "Pete?" he replied. "Why, I sent him out on an errand to the lower yards about 6 o'clock, but I did not know the poor fellow had lost his Job until later. I would not wonder If he waa talking to the men around the shops about something to do there." We understand that Joyce made some threats tonight when he waa dis charged." How harsh and rasping the voice sounded. Pete's been there, ever since, for I talked with him over the 'phone only a minute before you came In," he said. And another thing. Look at the long red marks on the man's throat. Pete's hand could never fit those dents, not on your life." The men drew aside and stood hesi tatingly In the doorway, evidently re luctant for some reason to go out again into the darkness. In a few moments the railway surgeon camo In and ex amined the body with a puzzled look. I have seen many a man killed in my day," he said, at last, "but I never before saw a man who had been killed in the way this man was. I would have been here sooner, but as I was passing under the railway bridge at Elm s'.reot my horse shied at something I could not see, and I had to drive him back a little way, and come on foot I never knew him to act that way before." The men went away together after a while, removing the body In an ambu lance. It grew colder with tho morning hours, and Thompson, lifting some fresh coals to the stove, heard a noise at the window behind blin. With a cry of terror, he turned about to look Into the wild and panlcstruck face of Joyce, who had crept up behind the shanty and was looking In to seo whether it was snfo for him to enter. Hut his clothing was shockingly torn, his face and hands covered with blood and soot. 'Something chased me on the way bark through tho yards over the tops of the fiat cars," Joyce said. "I hid once under tho old plough near tho water tank, anil there It lost me." 'What was It?" gasped the watch man. "It's Satan himself, mil. It did not mako any noise, but It kept up with me all tho time. When I stopped It stopped, and when I began to run It would run, too. I crept under a train of boxcars, nnd there it. lost me. I could not seo It, but I heard It breath. "Merciful powers, Bill, It's time now for No. 4. Hear it whistling In tho distance? Have they struck It, oo'.' She's coming throne.!! tho yards now. Lord, see t no stream or tire, n:U what, dms Wilson whistle that way or7 that, Pill. The alarm whistle is answering him. Is It a fire?" T):i night was still Intensely dark ul not a sign of fire could bo seen a the two men stood In tho door of the shanty nnd looked out. Hut way down the lino they could hear tho ehrill blasts sounding from tho liler na It pas.se:; through the outskirts of tho place, sounding lil;o n human bring screaming in distress and mortal agony. Instantly all the tnlephonrs In tho pla;e woke, and Thompson sns busy as l.e ran to and from the freight office near by answering tho calls. 'They all think it is a fire. Pete," bo exclaimed as he came in ut hist, dripping wet "But tho yards are as black as coal; Indeed, you can't see tho s?cond line of freights from here. I neer see It worse, bents a London fojr. 'Isn't that schreci hlng awful, Pete? You can be sure that there is death nnd destruction to pay somewhere along the line." When the long night came to nn end there waa a curious crowd gathered about the superintendent's office, where a bulletin had Just been Issued. At the sight of Thomson and Pete approaching them, there was a sudden hush and the men fell back so that they could gain access to the bulletin, and many eyes were watching the men as they stood together on that morning of fate, and wultlng to see what they would do and say. "You read It, mil," whispered Pete; "my eyes are sore and I can't read." Thompson unconsciously held up his hand like a witness to the word as he read out the words: "Engineer WlUon of No. 4 killed In his cab by some mysterious agency at 3.10 this morning. Train ditched, several killed and wounded. Engineer evidently strangled. Further particu lars later on!" There were already whispers circu lating among the men that they would not work any longer for a haunted road, and they suddenly began to leave the place, while Thompson and Joyce went back to'the shanty. "Bill," said Joyce aa they entered the place, "I was the man that they suspected, and I will be the one to clear up this thing, if I die in the at tempt" "Lord. Pete, don't do it," replied the other in a panic. "Man alive, don't do it; Think of yourself, my lad!" "Thompson, tonight I shall go out alone to meet this terror! I don't want any help; for Ilk a not wt wotiM be firing into one another during the night watch. This this thing only follows up one man at a time, It seems, and I shall go." And so all day long the two men wrestled with each other upon the mat ter, but the more Thompson pleaded the more resolute became the young man at his side. Ml day there was a strange quiet prevailing about the yards, and at half-past five Joyce crept out of the watchman's place and started off down the track j alone. There was not a sound to be heard except the puffing of the switching en gines working more than a mile away, and soon these became silent Whenever Joyce came to a break in the lines of freight he would creep through the opening Inch by inch, his arms extended. At midnight he went into a deserted flagman's nous?. He unlocked the door, went In and warmed himself over the still glowing coals which had been left In the stove. Ho remnlned there for half an hour looking out of the little window, until the Increasing chill inside led him to rise to his feet, examine bis arms and then What was that which passed in front of the place? Surely that was not a whiff of smoke, a column of eoot, travelling across the rails! In an Instant he was In the open air, running swiftly alongside the course which the unexplnlnable terror wos taking, with only a single lino of flat cars between them. Not a sound reached him, while his heart beat almost to suffocation. Step by step he advanced, now stopping to look beneath the cars, now standing and listening at their sides. At last he came to an opening in a long line of freights, and there, not SO feet distant nnd made visible in the dim light which came from the lower shops, ho saw the dreadful form, Its eyes like coals of fire, standing upon the ground on the other side of the train, Its great shaggy arm reaching across the Intervening space as If searching for bis throat. Tho round of his revolver seemed to wake all the echoes of the surrounding hills, and with a shrill scream, a roar of fury, the horror leaped Into the air, over tho top of the flat car directly at his bend. lie ran through the opening between the cars, turned about and faced It again, as it ralsvl Itself for a second clutch at his tkront. Again and again he fired directly into Its eyes, and still It screamed with nn early voice as it tried with desperate energy to retell him. Even when he saw It at last begin to stagger and reel back against the side of tho flat-ears, ho drew tho hatchet hanging In his belt and struck at It repeatedly, until It lay at lant a shape less bulk at his feet. In tho morning light it was dragged hack to the company's offices and ex amined by the railway surgeon nnd other official with utmost astonish ment, It being pronounced to be somo form of great npe, neither a chimpan zee nor gorilla, which had doubtless escaped from a distant travelling show, possibly breaking out from a boxcar In which It had been transported dur ing a night ride. But the memory of Its presence In the BWltehlr.r; yaids of the G. L. W. Hallway Com; r.r.y lasted for many o month, and fur a long tlmo afterward it waa dtrtlcult to find men who were willing at any wages to work on the night force In tho vicinity of the lower shops. New York Sun. QUAINT AND CURIOUS. Australia wants nnn.poo British wives, Canada wants EO.OtiO, nnd tho Capo would liUo 30,000. It Is r.'t easy to explain why a white cat with blue eyes is deaf, but thla seems to l.o a rulo with few ex ceptions. The biggt panorama ever palntrsl was c.f London by Mr. Homer. It cov ered .lil.t'iiO .rpiare ect, nnd was ex hibited tt the Coliseum. Tho bears in Norway amusg them selves by climbing telegraph poles, nnd, so.ua' ting on tho crossbeams, swaying themselves to and fro. In many cases tho poles fall. A gentleman In Iindnn, who likes to bo a little ahead of tho fashion, has a half tone picture of his resldenco on his visiting cards. Underneath the picture are these words: "My house. Come and visit me." Icebergs In the Arctic regions nre neither so largo nor so numerous as those seen In the Antarctic seas, but they are .usually loftier and more beau tiful, with spires and domes. When the sun Bhlnes on them, they look like a fairy city. The prince of Rampore baa a pecul iar method of celebrating the blnh of a daughter to tho ruling house. He issues an edict when the daughter Is born that a sura of money be deducted from every state employe equal to one week's pay, which Is expended In pay ing for the expenses In connection with the general-rejolclngs. Army and Navy Aggregate. The standing armies of the world, and its navies, aggregate 9,300,000 men. In case of war the European na tions can raise their armies to 9,800, 000 men. Chinese soldiers get $1 per month and board themselves. Be tween 1791 and 1813 France raised armies that numbered 4.556,000 men, three-fourths of whom were killed or died of wounds and diseases contract ed in the field. Is It any wonder that the Frenchmen of today are undrf' DizedT THE WORLD'S WONDERS St. Louis Working For the Opening of the World's April 30th Next,. jQt HE first few thousand cur J loads of the twenty thou- 3 T 5 sand cars of exhibits that i will arrive nt the World's SfOr I'ti'r i" t. I,ouIb within the next few weeks have been re ceived and unloaded. Largo forces of men are employed night and dny In receiving and placing the valuable products from many nations of the world as they come In. Any one who bus not been over the World's Fair grounds cannot, with the wildest stretch of his Imagination, realize the mngnlflcenco of this Infest arid great est of Universal Expositions. With Its thousand building spread out over an nren of two siiunre miles, enclosed by six miles of fence, the great World's Pair glistens In the sun, and Is the centre of Interest to all this part of the country. The management has very consid erately arranged many of the prin cipal exhibit palaces In a compact group. While there are more than twenty-five bidding of considerable size given up to exhibit purposes, the very large buildings are some fifteen In number; eight of these, the Pnlnec of Transportation, Machinery, Elec tricity, Varied Industries, Education, Manufactures, Mines nnd Metallurgy, Liberal Arts, are situated In the nortli- ' i ft . I iff ! n $ PALACE OF MACHINERY. WORLD'S -Copyrighted, l'.ml, by the Louisinua Purchase Fxposiilnn. enstern part of the ground. The main entrance to tho Exposition will let the visitor Into the centre of this group. As each building covers from eight to fifteen acres and contains several miles of aisles, lined on either side by must Interesting exhibit, ti e visitor will see bis time slipping away with n world of thins yet remaining to be seen. The Oiivernment has spent more on this Exposition than It lias ever ex pended licfiiie. First, It gave !fr..nn i.o.xi to tin- general fund of the Exposition, upon cousidi ration that the city of St. Louis would ra!s. jiio.oiHi.nini. This nf course was promptly d me. Then, tl ( iovcrntuent appropriated nearly n million and .i half more for buildings nnd exhibits, and a few weeks ngo de cided to make a loan of S I.ii'iii.iino lo the Exposition In order to have the elaborate plans carried out to their romidrtcnrss. The Ciiivernnieiit call-1 not lose much on this Investment nt St Iotlis for the reason that St. Louis returns In Internal revenue taxes for ie Eastern half of Missouri alone, . -,.oi, ;i.(" i m year. I wish I might di scribe the great beauty of the Oovenunent imilillug. It Is 8.n feet long an l stands on a , I ne U:!are:iiu:ii "i.vmi'ic games nn broad t. rraee upon the hillside, over- () be held at tho World's Fair this looking the fraud group of exlnblt RIJSC'A'S VICE ROY. ,!lnlri.l Alrxelt-fl II !lntor Mlml, l Milliter Will mul n Milslcrflll HiiihI. Admiral E. I. Alexeleff. described by Senator lteveridgo lu his book, "The Russian Advance," as "u master mind, n master will, altogether a mas terful man," Is the subject of nn In forming article by Charles Johnston, In Harper's Weekly. Admiral Alex eleff has tolled for years at the build ing of a new region of Russian Influ ence, a region nearly ns largo ns tho combined area of France and tier many, and with a fringe of possible future acquisitions many times great er, only to see the whole of his life work threatened with dissolution. "In this llfework." says Mr. Johnston, "he has accomplished miracles almost, fac ing conditions of great and unexpect ed dllllculty, nmld surroundings alter nately picturesque with the glamor of Die Enst nnd squalid with Intrigue and physical wretchedness. Through all these difficulties Admiral Alex eleff has ncted with constant resolu tion, force, rapidity, and constructive power. Youngttti Cavalry man at Civil War, The death of Oscar Arlon Frost, nt Ottawa, brings out tho cluim for him thnt he was tho youngest cavalryman eullBted lu the Civil War. He weut Into the Third Missouri Cavalry at fourteen years of nge, and served through the war. It cannot be chilmed for Mr. Frost, though, that ho was boy. Ish in appearance. At the time of his enlistment he wos six feet tall and weighed i ISO pounds. Kansas City Journal. Night and Day ps laces. Near by are tho Government Fisheries building and sett const de fense guns. The l'Hlnee of Agriculture Is the largest of the Exposition building and stands In the central western part of the grounds, upon a high ele vation. This building covers twenty acres of ground, the equivalent of a small fiirm, nnd contains ninny thou sands of exhibit, not only from the State of the I'nlted State but from countries of the world. The Tabice of Horticulture stands directly south of the Palace of Agriculture and Is 4k by 8hi feet. The Pnlnec of Art, composed of four large pavilion. Is one of the most In teresting part of the I'nlr. The several buildings contain a total of 1:15 gal leries, filled with the priceless treas ure of Europe nnd America, gathered with grent care by discriminating committees. A nn example of the care with which these selections were inndo, Italy niny be tiiken as nn ex ample. Koine four thousand painting were offered, yet only four hundred could be selected. One of the four building of the Palace of Art Is de voted entirely to statuary. The Palace of Forestry. Fish nnd dime Is in the western part of the ground, covering four nere. The FAIR. COVERS new science of forestry has here u most Interesting exeniplilieatliin. In the central western part of the grounds are many of the Foreign !ov crninent Pavilions. Somo lllly for eign nations are tubing active part In the World's Fair, several of them spending more than a haH'-inilllon dol lars carh. 'I'h.'se are England, France, iliruiany, Frazil, Japan and China. Japan alone has brought seventy elgh; thniiMir.il exhibits. The (lis l.i.vs !; i:u the Philippine si-and-i form u vy attraciive feature of the Exposition. There are some el-.'!ity tlioi.-'an 1 of these exhibits ar ranged hi buildings n;ioii a tv. .ma lion of forty acres, lying west of I he Palace of Ag'.leuh are. About thirty acres are given up to an exhibit of the North American In dians, their Industries and borne life. A large spare Is devoted to the nerinl coi.c.iuvs;-. Here w ill lie held the Hcrio of airship trh.ls and contests, upon j which the Lx.iosiUon has plantesi t , expend SlM".'"'". Of this sum. isl M,- "on is io or given as a giana pi..r m I aeronaut who will h::U un airship ' In the onlekrst time over u fount en- "' ' "i.i e. I . ear. . ia: i;o ir.iuomi; tirtoirn y V.USIC AMD ANIMALS. Tllo Piim.i U the IHoft Sensitive lo tlie I Hllilem-c of Mrlml.v. S'omo very curious experiments have recently been curried out in the tier man Zoological Hardens In order to ascertain the actual IimIuoucc of music upon animals. The Instrument was the violin nnd Ilerr linker was the per former. Of nil the m.linals the pumn was the most sensitive to the musical lullu e'lce. Ills moods changed rapidly, ac cording to the nature of the melody, the animal frequently becoming very excited and nervous, "Just like a Frenchman," i.s the report says. Leopards were entirely unconcerned, but the lions appeared to bo afraid, al though their cubs wanted to dance when the . .usle became livelier. The hyenas were very much terrllled, but the monkeys were merely curious and the monkeys wero inerly curious. The experiments are to be continued, and with a variety of Instruments. In order to distinguish betwen the men tal states which are actually produced by tho music and tboso which uro merely the result of nn unusual ex pcrleneo. Scloutille American. Interacting. To hear the music of sweet bell and also to test solid silver, lake a solid sliver tablespoon, and tie two cords of equal length to the handle. Hold the ends of the cords to each ear, nt the same time closing tho ears with the lingers. Then by u motion of the body swing the spoon, lotting it strike the back of the chair or like wooden object. You have no Idea what sweet music you will bear. Try It, and see. Woman's Home Compunlou. ON DISPLAY to Be in Readiness Fair, on Saturday, physical culture exhibits Is situated in the western part of the grounds, and adjacent to It Is the line large ath letic field, with amphitheatre seating twenty-seven thousand people. Upon this Held the games will take place dur ing the summer. in this hniiled glance nt the Exposi tion of l'.HM, we must not forget thnt very Interesting quarter, known a the Pike. This is the amusement street of the Exposition. The visitor will certainly open his eyes In ninnzement when he see the army of amusements spread out fr hi delectation. It Is n long story In Itself, to tell what has been prepnred for hi entertainment The Pike Is considerably more Ihnn a mile long, nnd upon either side are ar ranged about fifty elaborate and ex tremely novel shows. Some of them cover as ninny as ten or eleven acres ench. The World's Fair will open on Pnt tirday. April !!, with fitting ceremon ies. I'pon that occasion nn nnthein written by Edmund Clarence Stedninn will be sung by n chorus of six hun dred voice. The music by the em inent composer. Professor John K. Paine, of Harvard University ns well ns the poem, was written especially for this occasion upon the Invitation of tho Exposition. Frank Vnnder TEN AClkES. stuekfti, director of the Cincinnati Or chestra, has written a march, and Henry K. Dudley, of New York, litis written a wait., also upon Invitation of tho Exposition, fur lis musical pro grams. Tho central feature of the Expo- sitloti. or what is Intended to be the most beautiful se.no In the whole grand 1 Idiue, is made up of Cascade Can! 'tis, the Colonade of States and the Hail of I'i stivals. The gardens wiili their cascade ami statuary, nnd the t :."eoi:i:e nrchlt 'ctural fen tuns. are nearly a half a mile from east to v.-r.t and n present an expenditure of o:.e million d di-'i-s. It Is tho most ani Mi iocs i heme .if for:, nil gardening ever un lerlakcii at an Exposition, or else whole. Tho Festival Hull. ol feet In diameter ami Jon feet high, eon tali.; the largest organ In the world, and Pas a sailing capacity for thirty !i ve litimhvd people. rriii thal'y all St. Louis l preparing to acroiamiulMte World's Fair vlsl tin -'. I he private koines will he open for lae re: L.n of guests throughout the Kp.is;,!,,ii. The prices will be from Tci". to SI..V) per day for each person fit roi.ms. Restaurant are so plcntt fill that ne'ai may be had In almost an" Ion. lily win re the victors may happen to si,.tt. N.'IAYS ANfJ DiCSSHON. Ttils IrecMrtH routes Tltclr Km Inslnn, m llfte M tiM-iiliir Activity. That the iir.vc.-ses of digestion, ns will ns mental and nn:-eular activity seem to cause the emission of N-rays, I.s the conclusion reached by M. Lam bcrt. In Franco, after a scries of In'er cstlng experiment. He believes that those cui'hv.is rays are produced by ferments, especially by these con certio'.l lu lint digestion of ulbiimlnuld matter. In bis experiments on diges tiou. say a writer lu Harper's Week ly. M. Lambert placed a small quantity of fibrin In tubes containing lu one case activated pnucroatlc Juice, and in another artificial gastric Juice made by mixing live per cent, solution of pepsin wiih n four per cent, solution of hydrochloric odd. From these tubes the N-rnys were emitted, and were detected not only by producing Increased luminescence of a phos1 pborescent screen, but also photo gruphlcully, thus removing the sub' Jectlvo element from tho experiment As n result of these experiments, M Lambert believes that In the course of digestion the tlbrln undergoes strains which ict to produce N-rays, rr)terou Yucatan. Yucatan simply bolls over with pros perlty. Her railways are paying, her banks grow fat dividends, and her multi-millionaires are buying the best there Is to bo had, whether It be lux urles for tho family or a first-class education abroad for their sous. Mexican Herald. A Machiavellian Maslut, ' Whatever Is the occasion of another's advancement Is the cause of his own dtmluutlou. From the 1'rluce. SCIENCE NOTE3. The sense of smell In the snail has been found by Emllo Yung to be lim ited, as a rule, to a distance of about six inches. Electricity la a substance; further than this It Is the only kind of sub stance, and all matter is merely aa accumulation of electric charges. The contested theory that pearls are due to a parasite In the oyster, wa first advanced by Flllppl In 1862. Sev eral recent observers have confirmed the view. Instead of being qualified to occupy only a certain class of specified posi tions, ns was found to be the case In the German postal service, women are privileged to take any position what ever, In tho telegraphic service. Owing to an Increased demand, rath er than a diminished supply, the value' of pearls on the Persian gulf has rlsetn greatly In recent years, a price of 110, 000 for a rosary of faultless pearls not being considered excessive at present. There Is a quaint little fish that. haunts the weed tracts of the gulf stream, and there builds its nest and lays Its egga like a bird rathor thaa fish. This animal Imitates In color (he weed It lives In, and constantly changes. The utlII.atlon of what formerly. were considered waBte products and the resurrection of materials from a used-up state to a new condition of servlceableness have In recent times' been developed to such a degree of completeness that we are scarcely pre pared to admit that anything Is ever Irrecoverably lost. National Banks. During the existence of tho national banking system 71 IT iiniiomil v.n,: have been organ'. '.ed, of wt b.b 1500 have been pUe -d In voluninry Hqul'la tloa. 402 In tho charge. of receivers, leaving 5213 In nctlvo operation. Tho authorized capital stock of the active associations on Ja-i. 31, R-el, wa $7(19,005,815; bonds on deposit to se cure clrcuhV.'m $310.13 J. nOO: circula tion outstdu-lii.-JC secured by boi.Os. $387,057,731, nnl circulation covc-i by deposits of lawful inuiv.-y, $J9,193 830. Under the provisions of tho act of March 14, 100O, 1211 nnttonal banking; associations, with capital of $31,568, Ouo, havo ben organized, the average capital being approximately $26,000. During the same period of 642 associa tions, with capital of $77,125,000, wero organized In conformity with the law of ISO I, tho average capital of till. clc.S3 of banks being approximately $12(1.000. The totul number of organ izations effected sinco March 11, Lion, la, therefore, shown to be 18"3. with authorized capital of $108,G93,COO, nnri bond donci'.ilt to secure circulation at date of organization, $20,341,600. Theset organizations Included 210 conversions of stato banks. 503 state and private banks liquidated for the purposo of ro- , organizing anJ 1043 primary organiza tions. in January, liiicj, mere wciu ot unit ized 36 banks, w:t:i capital of $1,8S0. 000, cf which 23, with cepital of $133, ("in, were with individual capital of less than $30,on0, and 11. with aggra vate and Individual capital, respec tively, of $l,243,(ioi). and $3:i,rifej cr over. Twenty-ono of tho banks organ ized during tilt) month were associa tions of primary orKanlzation, 13 re organizations of state or private banks nnd 2 conversions of state banking la Et.itu lions. Washington Star. Cotton-Eoarlng Trie. Tho federal department of agrlcul turo hr.s Instructed the United States consular agent nt Ruarubjaru, Mexico, lo make a thorough Investigation of the cotton tree, which flourishes in that vicinity, and report fully to V.'anh Ington. It is evidently, says tho Hous ton Post, tho object of tho department to iiuroduco the? tree Into thla country. If possible. Tho cotton tree Is said to be a na tive of tho Etate of Jabsco. which la one of tho smaller divisions of the Pa cific aldo of tho neighboring republic. According to Senor Hllnrlo Cuevas, on whoRO hacienda near Logos It Is beinj scientifically cultivated, the plant be gins bearing when five years old, and continues to bo productive for half a century or moro. In somo Instances a single tree has been known to produce as much au fifty pounds of cotton irt one season, the fibre boing very simi lar to that of tho cotton plant and adaptable to the same uses. It Is 1m muno against the boll weevil und alt other Insect pests, and under proper conditions the growing of it may bo made Immensely profitable. If the report on the tree warrants such action, the department of agricul ture will no doubt take prompt steps toward growing it In the cotton belt of this country. It is hardly likely that tho cotton plant we all know so well will be supplanted, but as a part of the campaign against the boll weevil everything should be done whlob seems to tend toward immunity from that pernicious Insect. It may be that the cotton tree will solve the problem. Stranger things have happened. New Ration for Army. Hash wtl probably be honored by governmental recognition. Commissary officers in different parts of the coun try, under orders to make experiments in the use of hash, have issued canned hash to some of the troops with most satisfactory results. It future experi ments are as satisfactory, bash will probably be introduced aa a part of the ratlou of the army. i
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers