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St. Louis and St. Paul from Southampton were placed on the shelves of the merchants in New York and Chicago within 8 and 10 days from the time they left Calais. A bale of Sea Island cotton is now put down at Liverpool or Manchester at a little more than the cost of delivering it at New York. Many facts of this nature induce British manufacturers to regard the United States as economically nearer to Great Britain by sea than Glasgow is to London by rail. (It costs the Germans only $1.67 to move a ton of wheat several hundred miles on their river routes; but thousands of tons of wheat have been transported from New York to Hamburg for $1.43 a ton. No wonder that German farmers find it almost impossible to compete with American grain. The enormous decrease in ocean freight charges is one of the most potent causes of agricultural distress in Europe. In 1879 the cost of carrying a ton of wheat from New York to Havre was $10.81. Ten years later the cost per ton was $1.94.

The remarkable decrease in freight charges within twenty years is almost wholly due to inventions and improvements in machinery. Improvements in steam engines now enable vessels bound for the Orient to go from Great Britain and the Continent direct to the Suez Canal without coaling at any intermediate port. Technical progress now makes one pound of coal furnish as much steam as three pounds twenty years ago. In other words, the cost of steam power, owing to improvements in engines, boilers and grates, has been reduced fully two-thirds. Less time is now required to build freight steamers than formerly, their carrying capacity is much greater, they travel faster and the risks of ocean traffic have been much reduced.

PASSPORTS.

Rules governing the granting and issuing of passports in the United States:

1. By Whom Issued. No one but the Secretary of State may grant and issue passports in the United States. -R. S. Secs. 4075, 4078.

A citizen of the United States desiring to procure a

passport while he is temporarily abroad should apply to the diplomatic representative of the United States in the country where he happens to be; or, in the absence of a diplomatic representative, to the consul-general of the United States; or, in the absence of both, to the consul of the United States. The necessary statement may be made before the nearest consular officer of the United States.

2. To Citizens Only. The law forbids the granting of a passport to any person who is not a citizen of the United States.-R. S., Sec. 4076. A person who has only made the declaration of intention to become a citizen of the United States cannot receive a passport.

3. Applications.-A citizen of the United States in this country in order to procure a passport must make a written application, in the form of an affidavit, to the Secretary of State. The affidavit must be attested by an officer authorized to administer oaths, and if he has an official seal it must be affixed. If he has no seal, his official character must be authenticated by certificate of the proper legal officer. If the applicant signs by mark, two attesting witnesses to his signature are required. The applicant is required to state the date and place of his birth, his occupation, and the place of his permanent residence, and to declare that he goes abroad for temporary sojourn and intends to return to the United States with the purpose of residing and performing the duties of citizenship therein. The applicant must take the oath of allegiance to the Government of the United States.

The application must be accompanied by a description of the person applying, and should state the following particulars, viz.: Age, years; stature,

nose,

plexion, -; face,

feet

-; com

inches (English measure); forehead, ; eyes, ; mouth, ; chin, ; hair, -; The application must be accompanied by a certificate from at least one credible witness that the applicant is the person he represents himself to be, and that the facts stated in the affidavit are true to the best of the witness's knowledge and belief.

4. Native Citizens.—An application containing the in

formation indicated by rule three will be sufficient evidence in the case of native citizens.

5. A Person Born Abroad Whose Father Was a Native of the United States. In addition to the statements required by rule three, his application must show that his father was born in the United States, has resided therein, and was a citizen at the time of the applicant's birth. The department may require that this affidavit be supported by that of one other citizen acquainted with the facts.

6. Naturalized Citizens.-In addition to the statements required by rule three, a naturalized citizen must transmit his certificate of naturalization, or a duly certified copy of the court record thereof, with his application. It will be returned to him after inspection. He must state in his affidavit when and from what port he emigrated to this country, what ship he sailed in, where he has lived since his arrival in the United States, when and before what court he was naturalized, and that he is the identical person described in the certificate of naturalization. The signature to the application should conform in orthography to the applicant's name as written in the naturalization paper, which the Department follows.

7. The Wife or Widow of a Naturalized Citizen.In addition to the statements required by rule three, she must transmit for inspection her husband's naturalization certificate, must state that she is the wife or widow of the person described therein, and must set forth the facts of his emigration, naturalization, and residence, as required in the rule governing the application of a naturalized citizen.

8. The Child of a Naturalized Citizen Claiming Citizenship through the Naturalization of the Father. -In addition to the statements required by rule three, the applicant must state that he or she is the son or daughter, as the case may be, of the person described in the naturalization certificate, which must be submitted for inspection, and must set forth the facts of his emigration, naturalization, and residence, as required in the rule governing the application of a naturalized citizen.

9. Expiration of Passport.-A passport expires two years from the date of issuance. A new one will be issued upon a new application, and if the applicant be a naturalized citizen, the old passport will be accepted in lieu of a naturalization certificate, if the application upon which it was issued is found to contain sufficient information as to the emigration, residence, and naturalization of the applicant.

10. Wife, Minor Children, and Servants.-When an applicant is accompanied by his wife, minor children, or servant, being an American citizen, it will be sufficient to state the fact, giving the respective ages of the children and the citizenship of the servant, when one passport will suffice for all. For any other person in the party a separate passport will be required. A woman's passport may include her minor children and servant under the above named condition.

11. Professional Titles. They will not be inserted in passports.

12. Fee. By act of Congress approved March 23, 1888, a fee of one dollar is required to be collected for every citizen's passport. That amount in currency or postal money order should accompany each application. Orders should be payable to the Disbursing Clerk of the Department of State. Drafts or checks will not be received.

13. Blank Forms of Application. They will be furnished by the Department to persons who desire to apply for passports, upon their stating whether they are native or naturalized citizens or claim through the naturalization of husband or father. Forms are not furnished, except as samples, to those who make a business of procuring passports.

14.

Address.-Communications should be addressed to the Department of State, Passport Division, and each communication should give the post office address of the person to whom the answer is to be directed.

15. Rejection of Application.-The Secretary of State may refuse to issue a passport to any one who, he has reason to believe, desires it for an unlawful or improper

purpose, or who is unable or unwilling to comply with the rules.

Section 4075 of the Revised Statutes of the United States providing that "the Secretary of State may grant and issue passports, and cause passports to be granted, issued, and verified in foreign countries by such diplomatic or consular officers of the United States, and under such rules as the President shall designate and prescribe for and on behalf of the United States," the foregoing rules are hereby prescribed for the granting and issuing of passports in the United States. The Secretary of State is authorized to make regulations on the subject of issuing and granting passports additional to these rules and not inconsistent with them.

WILLIAM MCKINLEY. EXECUTIVE MANSION, Washington, May 21, 1898.

SAFETY OF OCEAN TRAVEL.

In spite of all the perils by which the passage is menaced the steamers of the transatlantic lines are so stanchly built and so capably handled that a man is less likely to meet with accidents on board one of them than he would be in walking the streets of a crowded city. The record of 1890 shows that during that year there was no less exposure than usual to dangers; nearly 2,000 trips were made from New York alone to various European ports; about 200,000 cabin passengers were carried to and fro, in addition to nearly 370,000 immigrants who were landed at Castle Garden. Not a single accident was reported. When the yearly number of transatlantic trips is taken into consideration with the occasional disasters, rarely incurring great loss of life, the safety of a passenger on a single transatlantic passage is practically assured and the danger of going to the bottom is, in arithmetical calculation of chances, infinitesimal.

TRANSATLANTIC RECORDS.

The successive steps in the reduction of the time of

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