HERE AND THERE.

Otago Witness, Issue 2969, 8 February 1911, Page 82

HERE AND THERE.

—The Liquor Traffic in Switzerland.— In 1887, by a popular vote, a form of the referendum, the Swiss people voluntarily handed over the monopoly of alcohol to the Federal authorities, who have con trolled the importation, manufacture, ami wholesale distribution of spirits—in quan titles of not less than 40 litres—since thai date. The latest statistics, from 1887 to 1909, show how the monopoly has been worked for the last 22 years, and with what good results. The loans and expenses required to establish the monopoly, amounting to £267.840, were paid off within 10 years by the Government, and the profits from the sale of good alcohol, supervised by Federal experts, amounted during the 22 years to £5,176.000. The profits were divided each year among rne cantons according to their population, and one-tenth of the revenue was applied recording to the law to counteract. alconoJism, with very encouraging results. The Government, by abolishing communal tuid cantonal duties on wines and beer, by suppressing the evil of the many small stills that existed in the country before lf>e monopoly, by increasing the taxes mi spirits to three times as much as before 1887, has carried out its original policy of supplanting the use of spirits oy that of fermented beverages, and, above all, has succeeded in reducing drunkenness and increasing the health of the iSwiss peooie. In 1904 the consumption of alcohol of 50 per cent, in Switzerland was per head 4 litres 30 centilitres, and in 1909 it nad fallen to 3 litres 72 centilitres, and is said to be gradually decreasing. —The United States Census.— The census returns (says the Washington correspondent of The Times on December 11) are complete, and were published yesterday. They show that the Continental population of the United States is 91,972,266, as compared with 75,500,000 in 1900. The total population of all territories under the American flag is estimated to be about 101,100,000. As far as the United States proper is concerned, the figure is larger than was expected. There has been a check in the decline of the decennial percentage of increase, which, since the unoccupied western territory became more or less settled has been revealed in recent enumerations. For the decade 1890 to 1900 the percentage was 20.7, as compared with 30.1 for 1870 to 1880. For the first L 0 years of this century it is 21. Immigra, tion, according to the director of the census, is largely responsible for the result. About 45 per cent, of the pojmlation will, he thinks, be found to be urban. The older agricultural states in the east, middle west, and south, such as lowa, Missouri, Kentucky, Maine, New Hampshire, Maryland, Virginia, the Carolinas, Georgia, and others, fall short of the • average growth. lowa, curiously, is the ! worst, with an actual decrease of 0.3 per j cent. New Hampshire gains only about 4 '' per cent. The newer agricultural states : show, however,-a very rapid increase. In j South Dakota, Wyoming, Nevada, California, New Mexico, and Arizona, between 50

' and 100 per cent, ; and in Oklahoma, Idaho, and Washington, over 100 per cent. In the eastern states, such as New York, Connecticut. Massachusetts, ami Rhode Island, where the growth of population surpasses an approximate average the result is entirely due to the growth of the towns. New York city is a case in point. It has grown since 1900 from 3 437,202 to 4,766,883. The towns on the Pacific coast have also grown enormously, as have the new commercial centres in the south, such as Atlanta and Birmingham. . . . „ —A Nephew of " Fighting Mac. The militarv authorities (says a Chicago telegram) are" investigating a curious case of desertion dating back to 1804 which should be of some little interest to Englishmen, as, according to the newspapers here, the deserter, John A. M'Donakl, claims to be of British parentage, and a nephew of the late General Sir Hector M'Donakl. Further, it is stated that M'Donald, who gave himself up in Chicago a few weeks ago, declared that he did so in order to obtain a clean military record. so that he could accept a commission in the British Army. The story is sufficiently remarkable. Young M'Donald came to America shortly after the Sojtrt African War. He enlisted in the Garrison Artillery, and soon earned the reou 'cation of being one of the smartest gunners on the' Pacific Coast. His record was excellent, and he was early marked dowp for a commission. In February, 1904 however, he disappeared, and nothing further was heard of him until he surrendered himself as a deserter. M'Donald said that on the night he disappeared he met some English sailors in Fort Townsend. and either oceanic drunk or was drugged. When be awoke next morning he said that he found himself on board a Japanese steamer bound for Manchuria, where war had just broken out between .Russia anc\ Japan. He declared that he had been kidnapped by the Japanese, who were in need of good artilleiwmen, and, knowing that he had already been "ticked off" as a oesexier at his regimental neadquarters, jie accepted the situation and entered the Japanese Army. He said that he served through the war, and afterwards went to South Africa, where, be said, he was offered an opportunity of taking a commission in the British Army if he could procure a " clean sheet " from the American Army. —• Wolf Hunt in a Theatre.—• The audience at a melodrama called "The Queen of the Highway," played at a Brooklyn (New York) theatre, had more excitement than they bargained for the other evening, when a live wolf .forsook its role on the stage and ran among the spectators, biting nine persons. The | wolf was one of a pair occupying a "den"' ; of painted canvas, protected by a flimsy wire screen, in which the heroine was about to be cast. The den had been wheeled on the stage, and the heroine, duly bound, had been dragged to the front by the villain and his accomplice, preparatory to her rescue by the hero at the last moment. One of the wolves, which in the meantime was being goaded to a state of proper fury by a stage hand in the wings, broke through toe wire and bounded into the auditorium. Immediately there was a wild stampede. The wolf, 'more frightened than savage, attempted to escape by one door after .•mother, but each was blocked by screaming women and struggling men. One woman, Mrs Fanny Berhaber, attempted to drive the animal back to the stage. The wolf seized her bare arm and tore it badlr. A group of scene-shifters jumped over the footlights, steed behind the wolf in a circle, and attempted to drive it back. They were joined by several policemen who had rushed in on hearing the screaming. All the policemen had revolvers, but were afraid to shoot for fear of hurting the audience. The wolf hunt was finally brought to an end. by a policeman named Cosgrove, who leaped on the frantic animal, seized it, by the throat, and threw it on the stage, where a carpenter caught it by the hind legs, and with assistance carried it ; nto the cage with its mate. Poisoned by Henbane. — Dr Philippi, a German, physician, has (says the .Geneva correspondent of the Daily Express) written an article for a medical journal at Munich describing the curious effects of poisoning by henbane at a boarding establishment at Davos. He states that some 25 persons, including visitors of varrious nationalities and employees, recently partook of horseradish at dinner. A quanttiy of the henbane root was accidentally mixed with the horseradish, and two hours later all the persons who had eatea horseradish were suffering from curious cerebral troubles. A Russian lady who always spoke German forgot that language completely: others could not stop laughing. An Englishwoman insisted on giving a lesson in her language to everybody; another woman, on her hands and knees, searched the floor for an article of jewellery which she thought she had lost; still another thought herself a statue,. and would not move. When the physician was called in haste one of the women guests greeted him as an old friend, and would not leave him. A male guest was 'engrossed in the counting of imaginary bank-notes which he snatched from the air. Another man set out to find#a chemist, but lost his memory on the way, and bought manv useless articles in a shop. One of the servants carried 20 hot-water bottles, intended for the guests, to her own room, while the proprietor of the boarding establishment took a tureen full of soup to his bedroom and emptied it oveir the pillows. Antidotes were speedily administered to the sufferers, and after a few hours they regained normal consciousness. The Oldest Newspaper.— The following is an account of the oldest newspaper in existence, taken from an article on " The New Journalism in China" in the World's Work:—ln the chronicles of the Tang dynasty (he remarks), which flourished 1 in China from

' 618 to 907 a.d., reference is found to a daring innovation introduced by certain hangers-on of the Imperial Court. Taking advantage of their opportunity for securing first-hand information, Lhese mountebanks had made a practice of parading the streets of the capital bearing placards whereon they had inscribed the august doings of the Son of Heaven and the latest news of his court. The Imperial Government never suppressed it, and these pioneers of " the fourth estate " were permitted to ply their nefarious trade unmolested. Finally it c=-arred to some journalistic genius that instead of exhibiting placards indiscriminately to the crowds, and depending upon their uncertain gratuities, the same result could be better attained by printing the news and selling copies. This scheme had at least the advantage of confining the scrutiny of Imperial doings to the educated, and the Government' had no objection to granting a franchise for the purpose. Such is the origin of the "Ti Chau," or, as it is better known, the Peking Gazette. It is undoubtedly the oldest newspaper in existence, antedating by several centuries the first journals published in Venice. Its 20 odd octave pages still make their regular appearance, filled with Imperial decrees, notices of appointments, and memorials from such high dignitaries as have been accorded the privilege of addressing the throne. These leaves pre loosly stitched together in a cover of Imperial yellow, which distinguishes the publication as the official organ of the Government. But beyond merely stumbling upon the idea, the Chinese did little, if anything, in the way of developing the art of journalism. The "Gazette had its imitators in the provincial capitals, and in these official announcements about local affairs were recorded. Of comment and criticism, there was nothing, much less anv effort in the direction of moulding public opinion or of giving general information. The thirst of Nations.— The Strassbunger Post has recently devoted space to a comparative statistical &cudy of thirst as shown by the amount of liquor consumed by the inhabitants of various European States. The task is complicated by the varieties of liquid refreshment which are met with in different countries and which are common to few. It apoears, however, that the Dane drinks on an average 104 litres of beer, very little wine, but 24 litres of brandy each year. The Swede is satisfied with 56 litres of beer and 9 of alcohol. The Norwegian is one of the most temperate of Northern nations, consuming but 31 litres of beer and 3 of brandy per head of population. The Russian takes 5 litres each of beer and vodka, whereas his ally the Frenchman needs 32 litres of beer, 10 of brandy, and 108 of wine. John Bull imbibes 6 litres of whisky or gin, 2of claret, and 152 of beer or stout. The Dutchman nests content with 38 litres of beer and of brandy. His neighbour, the Belgian, is •more capacious, being satisfied only with 221 litres of beer and. 9 of alcohol. The Austrian and the Hungarian each absorb 11£ litres of schnapps and. 16 of wine, the' former needing in addition 80 litres of beer, while 11 will suffice for the latter. Of all the inhabitants of Europe the Italian is the one who drinks least beer, a mere 2 litres, and the least alcohol, 1£ litres; he imbibes 98 litres of wine, however. As regards Germany, it would, the Hospital, from which we take these figures, remarks, be almost unjust to talk of a mean. A Heart Stimulant.— A small metal box containing an electric light globe and' a cup for holding alcohol is (says the medical correspondent of the Daily Mail) the basis of an invention which it is expected will prove of great service in the treatment of pneumonia. The apparatus is the invention of Professor Leonard Hill, of the London Hospital. "For some time," said Professor Hill, "it has been recognised that the best way to supply alcoholic stimulant to the labouring heart in pneumonia is via the lungs in the form of vapour. My apparatus arranges for a mixed vapour of oxygen, water and alcohol to 'be carried directly to the lungs, whence it reaches the heart from the pulmonary veins. Thence the stimulant is carried directly to the heart •muscle itself by the coronary arteries." Describing the need for such an apparatus, a physician stated :—" Death in pneumonia comes not because there is not sufficient undiseasad lung tissue left to breathe with, but because the heart fails. Hence the judicious administration of heart stimulants so as to tide this most important organ over until the lung symptoms subside is the chief point in treatment. By using Professor Hill's apparatus the heart can be reached by the stimulant much more accurately and quickly than if the alcohol was give in the ordinary way by drinking it." Gigantic Gates for Panama.— Ninety-two gates have (says the Pittsburg correspondent of the Standard) just been completed and shipped to Panama for use in constructing the canal. The gates are to make 46 pairs; each' gale is _B2ft high, a pair is 65ft wide and 7ft thick. Each separate gate weighs 600 tons. Twenty pains of these gates are to be at the Gatun Dam, on the Pacific ride, 12 at Pedro Miguel, and 14 at Mira flores. The purpose of the gates is to hold back water that will be 47ft deep, and in a channel 110 ft wide, and they are supposed to resist any ordinary explosion or earthquake. Inasmuch as each lock on the canal is built in duplicate, the destruction of one set of gates by more than an ordinary explosion or earthquake would cause no serious inconvenience. The total weight of the steel used in the entire 46 pairs of gates is 60,000 tons, or more than eight times as much as was used to baild the Eiffel Tower. The heaviest single pieo&*of steel used in the gates weighs 18 tons. The cost is £1,100,000 for the 46 pairs. Four hundred skilled steel-workers leave here during December for- Panama to set up the gates. The setting ip will, it is expected, begin in February.