News and Miscellany

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Washington, D. C. · Jul 16, 1914

News and Miscellany

Notes and clippings from the daily and weekly press

— The islands of the world have a total length of more than seventeen times the circumference of the earth at the equator.

— The moving picture play has captured the Orient. There are said to be now more than 100 moving picture theaters in Tokio, Japan.

— The Prussian government recently bought one gram of radium for 350,000 marks (about $90,000) in order to satisfy the growing demand for it by hospitals and medical and scientific institutions.

— The Peru Congress recently elected to the presidency of that republic Col. Oscar Benavides, leader of the revolt last February, when President Billinghurst was taken from the palace, imprisoned, and afterward sent into exile. There is some dissatisfaction over the election, and trouble is predicted for the new chief official.

— San Antonio, Tex., is to try the experiment of paving streets with mesquite-wood blocks. It is stated that millions of acres of land in southern Texas and northern Mexico are covered with a thick growth of mesquite trees. The wood, it is claimed, is of remarkable durability, and its abundance would make material very cheap for paving purposes.

— The city of Cleveland, Ohio, changed its time schedule from Central to Eastern time recently. It will be remembered that the system of standard time now in use in this country was inaugurated in 1883 by mutual agreement between railways, and it is not, therefore, officially binding on towns and cities. The reason given for the change is that an hour of daylight at evening is gained.

— A medical examination carried on by wireless over a distance of 100 miles, followed by close diagnosis and prescription for treatment, is the latest achievement with the Marconi apparatus. Just before the “Orduna,” bound for Liverpool, entered the Straits of Magellan a few weeks ago, a wireless message was received from the British steamer “Brodstone,” saying her master was ill, and asking the ship’s surgeon on board the “Orduna” to prescribe for him. Dr. Aylward agreed to do so, and then began an examination. He asked five questions, which were put and answered within twenty minutes, after which Dr. Aylward prescribed for the patient, who was at least 100 miles away.

— Reports from Canton, China, say that 10,000 persons have been drowned in the West River floods, which this year are worse than usual, and that deaths from starvation in the affected districts have been numerous.

— “ ‘Robbing Peter to pay Paul’ is said to have originated in the act of the church government of England in 1550. At that time the cathedral of St. Paul, in London, being out of repair, and no funds available, a portion of the income of Westminster, which was consecrated to St. Peter, was diverted to the repair of St. Paul’s.”

— The president of one of the largest banks in Tokio is a woman. Madam Kin Seno is a widow, and she has two grandsons who are officers of the bank, and some great-grandchildren are also in the bank with her. On the death of her husband she succeeded to the bank, and she has a recognized leading position in the financial circles of Japan.

— Herr Rudolph Martin, noted as a statistician, says the distinction of being the richest person in Germany belongs not to Frau Krupp von Bohlen, as had been supposed, but to Kaiser Wilhelm, whose fortune amounts to approximately $98,500,000. This estimate includes the vast tracts of forest lands and farms owned by the royal family.

— A wireless apparatus for firing fog guns at sea, and for other purposes, is being perfected by the Marconi Company. The tests have been in every way satisfactory. Wireless control is switched on by an official in the coast guard station, where a transmitting apparatus is set up; and the gun fired at intervals of about twenty seconds gives both loud reports and a brilliant flash.

— A new premier holds the reins of government in Japan—Count Okuma. He is seventy-seven years of age, but young enough to enter upon his duties with vim, and to sympathize heartily with the progressive spirit of the present day. Count Okuma realizes the necessity of retrenchment and economy in order to save the country from bankruptcy, and desires to reduce the almost intolerable burden of taxation, as well as to encourage commerce and industries.

— The aviator Jules Vedrines in his recent flight from Paris to Cairo, sailed over three continents—Europe, Asia, and Africa. In this famous air trip he likewise passed over the territory of seven countries; namely, France, Germany, Austria-Hungary, Servia, Bulgaria, Turkey, and Egypt. By pursuing this course the bold Frenchman gave opportunity to many persons to catch their first glimpse of a flying machine, for he went into countries where air craft had never before been used.

— Present indications, according to the United States Agricultural Department, are that the wheat crop of the country this year will amount to 900,000,000 bushels, or nearly ten bushels for every person in the country. This will be the highest record for a single year’s production, last year’s crop being 763,000,000 bushels, which was the largest ever gathered in this country up to that time. A survey of the winter wheat over the whole United States has just been completed, and reveals that 95.9 per cent is perfect.