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liquor in the army, and called attention to the fact that the French Minister of War has sent a message to every commandant of an army corps prohibiting the sale of liquor in barrack or canteen-in camp or field. Russia has a governmental commission which recommends the prohibition of liquor selling in army canteens. Austria and Germany are trying to increase the efficiency of their troops by discouraging the use of alcoholics. She also called attention to the recent testimony given by Gen. Miles, Gen. Shafter, Gen. Daggett and others in favor of the American anti-canteen law.

Mrs. Stevens showed that insurance companies are recognizing the fact that total abstainers are by far the best risks-that the declarations of medical experts on alcohol furnish great encouragement to temperance workers, and at the Vienna Congress celebrated physicians agreed that from a medical standpoint alcohol is not a strength giver, not a food, and not even the best sort of a stimulant.

Friday afternoon the convention began to receive the reports of the national officers. That of the corresponding secretary showed that correspondence of the office this year included Cuba, Porto Rico, Manila, Mexico and Hawaii, besides the home fields. The organization is in close touch with matters in the Philippines, where much work is being done, and where, according to the boast of the "Wine and Spirit News," the liquor business has been immensely increased as a result of American occupancy.

New unions reported were 219; new members, active, 5,955; honorary, 1,555.

The treasurer's report covers only the last eleven months, but it gives receipts, including last year's balance, at $24,452.54. Expenditures, $23,916.13. Balance in hand, with every bill paid up to November 1, $536.41.

Mrs. S. L. Oberholtzer, of the Department of School Savings Banks, reported 732 public schools in the United States which have the savings banks. Last year 80,694 school children saved $182,922.07. This represents not only a saving of money, and training in the habits of thrift, but also a raising in the standard of morals. Many superintendents principals of schools in New York had written that since the introduction of savings banks into the schools the use of cigarettes had decreased 75 per cent.

and

Mrs. M. B. Horning, of the Press Department, reported marked activity in the use of the press, thirty-four states having reported this year, against nineteen in 1900; 474,042 columns have been filled with temperance news while only 30,000 were reported last year. New daily and weekly papers have joined the press ranks to the number of 104, making a total of 1,367 regular papers which now use the temperance matter edited by white ribboners. Out of the 1,000 papers published in Texas, more than one-half have regular weekly columns.

Miss Ellen D. Morris, superintendent of the Literature Department, reported 12.989,917 pages of literature actually distributed. The methods used are the mails, the wall pockets in railway stations, and personal visitation to homes, hospitals, jails, prisons, etc.

The W. C. T. U. has twelve rescue homes and in many instances the Florence Critten

den Homes, though not owned or controlled by the organization, are managed entirely by the white ribbon women. Mrs. Luke, who is at the head of this department, reported that fully sixty per cent. of the women thus rescued were leading good lives.

Mrs. E. M. Thacher reported on the 'work among soldiers and sailors: 5,097 pledges had been secured; 1,728 meetings held; 3,000 soldiers and sailors helped; 1,500 sailors visited the reading rooms; 520 attended wharf meetings; 2,500 visits were made to the sick boys in hospitals; eight loan libraries were placed on ships and four in forts. Thousands of books, papers and magazines were distributed, besides large quantities of fruit, jellies, etc.;

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MRS. LILLIAN M. STEVENS.

President National Woman's Christian Temperance Union. $3,500 have been expended in this work during the past year, with good results. There were many other reports, the most of them showing increased activity in the various departments.

The election of officers was held on Tuesday, with the following result: President, Mrs. Lillian M. Stevens; vice-president-at-large, Miss Anna Gordon; corresponding secretary, Mrs. S. M. D. Fry; recording secretary, Mrs. Clara Hoffman; treasurer, Mrs. Helen M. Barker.

The convention adjourned at the close of a large and enthusiastic meeting on Wednesday evening. The most of the business sessions were held in the First Baptist Church, but there were many overflow meetings. The next annual convention is to be held at Portland, Me.

ELIZABETH A. REED, A. M.

UNDERWRITERS' NATIONAL ELECTRIC ASSOCIATION.-The annual meeting of the electrical committee of this association arouses much interest in electrical and in insurance circles, for the function of the committee is to suggest revisions of the "Rules and Requirements of the National Board of Fire Underwriters for the Installation of Electric Wiring and Apparatus." The committee wields its present influence through the satisfactory understanding which, happily, now exists between the electrical and the insurance interests. However, the fact that the annual meeting held on December 3rd, in New York City, was but the ninth, indicates that this harmonious condition has not always existed. In reality it is less than five years since the apparent conflict of interests between the electrical contractors and operators and the insurance companies has been settled by means of conference and arbitration. As the reduction of fire risk from electric circuits is a matter which concerns not only the insurance companies, but to a much greater extent the public generally, a brief survey of the development may be of interest.

All users of electric light and power wish for their own comfort and safety to have apparatus and wiring installed in such a manner that leakage of electric current will be practically impossible, such leakage of current from wire to wire and from wires to pipes being

a

in

of

source of fire risk. There has been the past an apparent disregard these risks on the part of some architects and contractors, as well as a lack of information among the building public. This condition of affairs is, fortunately, improving and more careful specification and inspection of electrical work is now the common practice. Some of the samples of early wiring which appear during the overhauling of old structures show that there has been a great deal of ignorant work done, thus indicating that experience as to the proper methods of electrical installation is of comparatively recent acquirement. Under the old régime, with no generally accepted code of rules, the insurance inspector and the contractor were seldom agreed and the conscientious contractor did not know when his work would be "turned down" from some whim of the inspector. There was also much evasion of the inspector's eye, for in order to certainly protect the insurance companies, these guardians of their interests were often over-particular, having an exaggerated idea, in many cases, of the risks involved.

The most potent influence behind the radical improvements which have been taking place for a few years past has been the self-interest of the insurance companies in protecting themselves from unnecessary loss. An insurance company certainly has a right to refuse to take a "risk" on a building which contains extrahazardous installations, and while an electrical equipment of any kind need not and should not be such a risk, it may be one because of careless or ignorant work. As so much of the work is hidden and inaccessible it is essential that the best possible quality should be insisted upon by those most interested in the results of accident. A second influence tending toward the

improvement of methods of electric wiring, emanates from those members of the electrical profession who, aside from direct self-interest, wish to assist in improvement for its own sake. It is only when these two forces work together that the best results can be realized.

The National Electric Light Association, the society most directly interested in the development of electric wiring, many years ago formulated a set of rules for the guidance of contractors. These were not altogether satisfactory to the insurance underwriters, whose interests were not as fully considered as they may have wished, but the rules were sufficiently suggestive to start the insurance people in the right direction. In 1892, at the suggestion of Mr. Goddard of the New England Insurance Exchange, a meeting of insurance experts and inspectors was held for the purpose of formulating a systematic code of rules. The meeting recognized that the rules suggested by the National Electric Light Association were substantially satisfactory and these were adopted for purposes of discussion. At this and a subsequent meeting the Underwriters' International (later changed to National) Electric Association was formed for the purpose of uniting the experts of the various insurance associations. The organization was not intended to be authoritative, but was to be advisory in character, the National Board of Fire Underwriters being the official body representing the insurance interests of the country. An electrical committee was appointed at the meeting to make detailed study of the points upon which there was disagreement. The result of the first gathering was the recommendation to the insurance associations of the United States of a code of rules for electrical work. This code was adopted very generally during the following year. Unfortunately, electrical interests were not represented in this meeting, the attendants being insurance men only. This was the cause of a lack of appreciation of the code which afterward caused some feeling, especi ally as the larger part of the code originated with the electric light association. The exist ence of the two codes, also, was a source of much confusion, and although progress had been made there was still urgent need of a union of interests between the official insurance association and those of builders, architects and allied professions. This condition of affairs existed for over three years.

In 1896 a committee of the National Electric Light Association invited a number of associa tions and companies to send representatives to a conference in order to adopt a code which would be satisfactory to all. In response to this request a sufficient number of official dele gates attended the National Conference on Standard Electrical Rules to insure universal satisfaction with the results of the deliberations. This conference proved to be the longdesired union and by coöperation with the Underwriters' National Electrical Association a very satisfactory revision of existing rules resulted in the production of the "National Electrical Code." The detail work was carried out by what was called the "code" committee. This result was accepted with general satisfaction throughout the country. It received the official

approval of the National Electric Light Association on June 8, 1897, and of the other associations represented in the Conference at about the same time. The work of the revision of the rules from year to year, necessary to keep them in touch with the progress made in the electrical arts, was committed to the Underwriters' National Electric Association and it is the annual meeting of their electrical committee which has just occurred. The work of the "code" committee of the National Conference was so thorough that but little revision is needed to keep the code in accord with the requirements of first-class work. This revision is being carried on by the underwriters' association with satisfaction to all concerned. The list of associations approving of the National Code, as printed in each edition, is as follows: American Institute of Architects. American Institute of Electrical Engineers. American Society of Mechanical Engineers. American Street Railway Association.

Factory Mutual Fire Insurance Companies. National Association of Fire Engineers. National Board of Fire Underwriters. National Electric Light Association. Underwriters' National Electric Association. HENRY H. NORRIS, M. E., Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering, Cornell University.

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VERNE, JULES, the well-known novelist is dying in a penniless condition at his home in Amiens, France. His imaginative brain and wonderfully prolific pen brought in both money and fame for years, but the public taste is changeable and he has often said: "I amount to nothing in French literature." He is now blind, as well as ill, but his last days are comforted by the devotion of his wife and loyalty of the son who is now in England trying to raise, among the admirers of his father, money. enough to supply him with the necessaries of life.

The Verne publications were new in their field and furnished much excitement in the way of wild adventure and hairbreadth escapes. The author succeeded in holding the attention of his readers by stories in which the love motif was absent. His heroes sometimes fought each other and often conquered nature, overcoming even the laws of time and gravity.

Verne was not a traveler. He described with more or less accuracy places which he had never seen by reading up on the subject, while in relation to sites which were entirely inaccessible he gave free rein, to his imagination, and being unhampered by facts found the work much easier.

Jules Verne was born at Nantes, France, February 8, 1828. He was educated at Nantes and afterwards studied law in Paris. He seems to have had a passion for literature even in childhood. Poetry is often the first form of literary expression in individuals as well as nations and young Verne was writing verse at the age of twelve, but he was doubtless correct when in later years he described it as "dreadful poetry."

He afterward wrote a few plays, which were moderately successful, and then began a new. vein in his popular romances which claimed to be scientific.

JULES VERNE,

He was a hard worker, rising often before five in the morning and working until eleven without food; then came breakfast, which was followed by four or five hours more of work. His literary output was enormous-eighty novels in less than forty years. The most important of these are: "Five Weeks in a Balloon" (1863), "Journey to the Center of the Earth" (1864), "A Trip to the Moon" (1865), "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea" (1870), "The Mysterious Island" (1870), "Round the World in Eighty Days" (1872), "Michel Strogoff" (1876), "Le rayon vert" (1882), etc.

WAR AUTOMOBILES.-It seems that selfpropelled vehicles are to play an important part in European warfare. The vehicle has already come to be a fixture in the French army. Twenty cyclist companies are to be formed next year. The machine upon which they are to be mounted is the invention of the captain, who this year organized the first company of the kind. It can be folded and placed on the back, much after the fashion of the foot soldier's knapsack, as it weighs only 36 pounds.

Not long since, the automobile owners in France received a circular from the artillery station at Vincennes regarding the conditions upon which automobiles could be bought, should mobilization become necessary. The Minister of War in Germany is having vehicles constructed with tables upon which officers can consult their maps while on the march, and also as ambulances, and to carry guns, ammunition, etc. In the recent German military movements, automobiles, motorcycles, and bicycles entirely replaced horses in the service of the general staff. To obviate expense and delay in special construction of railroads for campaign purposes, the Ministers of War of Austria-Hungary and of Italy are having automobiles built solely for rapid mobilization. The latter has offered prizes for types fulfilling certain conditions. The Secretary of State for

War in England has offered prizes amounting
to more than $4,000 for the best self-propelled
lorry, or wagon, for military purposes.

The great objection to electric motors-that
they will not run far enough without recharg-
ing is said to be overcome. It is recorded that
recently in England a circuit of 94 miles was
run without recharging. It was done with a
battery of 42 four-plate cells, with a capacity
of 180 ampere hours. The carriage was a four-
wheel dogcart, with two motors of 2% horse-
power each. The secret of the battery which
enabled it to make such a record was that in
going down grade the motors were reversed,
thus making dynamos for charging the accumu-
lators. In this way the current was not only
saved, but a new current actually generated,
rendering the battery stronger at the bottom

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Another estimate of China's population is 402.680,000; area, 4.218,401 square miles.
The estimated population in 1900 (4,000,000) includes 150,000 Indians. Another estimate of the area is 513,938
square miles.
The Republic of Andorra, in the Pyrenees, is under the joint suzerainty of France and the Spanish Bishop of Urgel.
Population, 6,000; area,175 square miles.

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