San Marino.

The small republic of San Marino, which is located in the hills near Rimini, on the Adriatic, is unquestionably one of the oldest states in Europe. It was founded in the fourth century by a pious mason of Dalmatia, and since that time has maintained its independence against many attacks, its situation, on the slope of Mt. Titan, being practically impregnable. The total area of San Marino is 23 square miles, and its population will not exceed 11,000. It has a standing army consisting of 38 officers and 950 men; no public debt, and sufficient revenue from its exports of wine, cattle and stone to meet all expenditures.

The executive power of San Marino rests in the Great Council of Sixtu. composed of 20 nobles, 20 townsmen and 20 peasants, of whom two are elected to serve for six months as Regents, after which they are ineligible for office for three years.

The present ministry is composed as follows: Secretary of Interior, G. Belluzzi; Secretary of Foreign Affairs and Finance,, D. Fattori: Commissioner of Justice, J. Gianini; Commander of Militia, F. Gozi; Treasurer, O. Bonelli; Director of Posts, G. Bonelli; Director of Telegraphs, G. Fattori. Italy and Great Britain are the only nations which maintain diplomatic relations with San Marino.

Servia.

Capital:
BELGRADE.

The Obrenovitch dynasty, of which the
present ruler of Servia is the fifth representa-
tive, was founded by Milos Sodororic Obren-
ovitch, the leader of the Servians in their
war of insurrection against Turkey. When the
treaty of peace was signed in 1829, Obreno-
vitch assumed the title of Prince of Servia,
and in 1830 a Firman of the Sultan made this
dignity hereditary in his family. Prince
Milan, the fourth of his line, was the first to
adopt the title of King, which was done by
proclamation after the Treaty of Berlin, in
1878.

The present ruler, Alexander I., was born
August 14, 1876, and succeeded his father.
King Milan I., upon his abdication, March 6,
1889. At that time Alexander was in his

minority, so a regency was established to last until he should attain his eighteenth year. When but 17. however, he overthrew the regency and assumed the royal prerogative upon his own authority. On August 5, 1900, he married Draga Maschin, who was born September 23, 1867.

The Constitution of the Kingdom of Servia bears date of 1901, superseding those of 1869 and 1888. Undeit the executive vests in the King and a council of eight Ministers. The legislative authority is shared by

the King on one hand, and the Senate and National Assembly on the other. The Senate is composed of fifty-one members, the majority of

and the Assembly of 130 Deputies

The State religion is the Greek

is unrestricted.

Primary education in Servia is istry of Education,

The King appoints the judges, of First Instance, a Court of Ap Tribunal of Commerce. There are need for them, even the poorest

The estimated annual revenue $14,798,508. The public debt

is

A series of forts being built tect Servia's frontier.

an

Servia is principally an agricul vating his own freehold. The in Of slight importance was Karageorgevitch dynasty, which when Servia was taken under pro It was immediately suppressed, Prince Alexis Karageorgevitch, the denies that he was a party to the

In 1901 several important

King of Servia.

whom are appointed by the King, elected by the people.

Orthodox, but liberty of conscience

compulsory and free, under a Min

who serve in twenty-three Courts peal, a Court of Cassation and a no poorhouses in Servia and no people owning property.

is $14,803,614; the exper se, about $84,480,537.

and partly (9) completed will pro

tural country, each peasant cultidustries are unimportant.

alleged attempt to reinstate the has not been in power since 1858, tection of the European Powers. the leader having been killed. direct descendant of that line, ill-timed attempt.

changes were made in the Constiwhich resulted in several small By the new Constitution the power points and more clearly defined in ber Legislature was constituted, the Upper to be composed of 30 bers, to be controlled by the King,

tution, by decree of the King, revolts on the part of the subjects. of the King was increased in many others. A system of a two-cham the Lower House to be elective, appointive and 18 elective mem who maintains a certain right of veto over the Lower House. The throne was made hereditary through the female as well as the male line. The King's right of decree was much curtailed. There seemed to be an attempt to secure a more complete balance of power between the executive and legislative branches than that existing under the old Constitution.

Measures of legislation must receive the assent of both Chambers. The State Council consists of fifteen members, appointed by the King from amongst the members of the Senate. It decides complaints of injury to private rights resulting from royal and Ministerial decrees; questions of administrative competence and obligations; matters relative to departmental and communal contracts and loans, and the transfer of their real property; the appropriation of private property for public purposes; the final settlement of debts due the State, and which cannot be collected; the outpayment of extraordinary sums sanctioned by the budget, and exceptional admissions to the privilege of Servian citizenship. This body is always sitting. The National Assembly is composed of 130 Deputies elected by the people. Every male Servian, with the exception of officers and soldiers under the colors, twenty-one years of age, and paying fifteen dinars in taxes is entitled to vote. Servians thirty years of age, paying 60 dinars in direct taxes, are eligible to the Assembly, provided they reside permanently in Servia and are able to read and write.

Military service in Servia is compulsory from the age of 21 years, and when fully mobilized the army consists of about 110,245 men, formed in five divisions. Outside of the division formation are a brigade of cavalry, a mounted battery, one munition column, a body guard, six batteries of mountain artillery, besides special troops, field artillery and engineers corps. The State possesses but one steamer, which is used exclusively for military purposes.

It was reported in the Fall of 1902 that Servia was about to follow the example of Monaco and farm out the country to a gambling society. The syndicate, it was reported, had already agreed to part of the contracts, and was to pay the kingdom 25 per cent of the profits, with a guarantee of 1,000,000 francs in gold per year.

Intermittent quarrels between King Alexander and Queen Draga have occupied the attention of the royal family and nobility of Servia during the past year. The reports make both of the rulers out to be of quick temper and inclined to interfere with each other's business.

Shipping Interests of the United States.

Half a century ago American shipyards were building very nearly as many merchant vessels and of a tonnage almost as great as that of Great Britain. The Civil War put a check to this, however, and three years ago our tonnage was less than in 1861, while that of Great Britain had increased and multiplied. But in 1899 there began for this country a new era in shipbuilding. The demand for American-built vessels had so increased that the tonnage capacity of our shipyards had grown very largely. The building of our new navy was an important factor in this growth. Cramp's yard, in Philadelphia, had it not been aided by Government contracts, would probably never have reached its present importance as a builder of merchant ships. It has demonstrated its capacity for turning out as fine and as fast ships as were ever built on the Clyde.

The great yards at Newport News can build steel merchant ships in competition with English builders and still make a handsome profit. This establishment has been in existence but a few years, but it has a magnificent equipment, and is prepared to undertake work of any kind and to any extent. Roach's yard at Philadelphia, the old established, is also doing much work, and is turning out vessels equal to the best. The growth of the business of the Harlan & Hollingsworth Company, at Wilmington, Del., has also been remarkable. Here have been constructed a number of vessels for the navy and important additions to our merchant marine.

The yards at Bath, Me., too, are very busy. In 1899 they sent out the first American steel sailing ship built of American steel. It is believed that the minimum of cost at the English yards has been reached, while it is expected to decrease at the Maine yards. The cost of their product per ton is even now less than of similar work in England. On the Pacific Coast the shipbuilding industry is assuming greater proportions yearly, while the grain

and ore carrying trade on the Great Lakes keeps up a constant demand for vessels built at the Cleveland, Bay City, Duluth and other yards.

In addition to supplying our own There are now nearly a hundred shipyards in the United States. ships these yards have supplied war vessels for several foreign nations, which shows that we have reached a point in naval construction where we have nothing to fear from competition.

In the opinion of those best posted the great shipyards of the future are to build on the South Atlantic and Gulf coasts. This prediction is based on the fact that in the States bordering on those coasts there are great deposits of coal and iron, and the steel for ships can be made at a price much lower than elsewhere, while the cost of transportation to the yards will be proportionately less.

The most important event of the year in shipping circles was the consolidation of Atlantic lines under The lines included in the combination are the White Star. These lines comprise 107 ocean going The the management of Mr. J. Pierpont Morgan. American, Red Star, Atlantic Transport, Leyland and Dominion. The capitalization was fixed at $200,000,000. steamers, with a total tonnage of over 880,000 tons. "The consolidation," said Mr. American manunegotiations had covered a period of many years, and Mr. Clement A. Griscom, president of the International Navigation Company, was interested in the project as far back as 1884. Griscom, will result in better transatlantic service, steadier and more uniform rates. facturers will be able to distribute their products on through bills of lading, and avoid the expense of transshipments which they now incur. In a word, it is intended to reduce transportation charges as far as possiTo what extent these new services will be conble to everyone and to improve facilities, and the company expects to make its increased profits over the conditions of the past from economical management.

ducted by steamships built in this country and sailed under the American flag depends upon Congress."
The combine proposes one great terminal in New York for its lines, and has made a request of the Dock
Their plans include a strip of water front extending from West Houston to
Department for more room.
This would cost over $8,000,000, and authority has been
West Twenty-third street, on the North River.

given by the Legislature to the Dock Commissioners to acquire this land. Plans are also made for the construction of new docks in London.

This movement aroused much opposition in England. It was viewed as a threat to take away England's prestige on the seas. Oddly enough, two leading figures in England's fight for and against the trust were women. In favor of it was Mrs. W. J. Pirrie, whose husband is the managing director of Harlan & Wolff, who are heavy stockholders in the White Star line. While opposed was the widow of Thomas H. Ismay, who owns millions of stock and who dominates her son, Mr. Bruce Ismay, prominent in the management of

Mrs. Pirrie was threatened

the great company. It was made not only a business, but a social question. with social ostracism, but persisted in her stand and was finally victorious. A British anti-Morgan shipping combine was threatened, which was to include the Cunard and a Canadian line, backed by the Canadian Pacific Railroad. It was to be liberally subsidized by the British and Canadian Governments, and was thought by many to be essential to the preservation of the British shipping position on the North Atlantic. The scheme has not yet materialized, but may do so in time.

The United States Shipbuilding Company was organized in the Spring of 1902. Its object was to acquire the plants and equipments of the following companies: Union Iron Works, San Francisco, Cal.; Bath Iron Works and Hyde Windlass Company, Bath, Me.; Crescent Shipyard and Samuel L. Moore & Sons' Company, Elizabethport, N. J.; Eastern Shipbuilding Company, New London, Conn.; Harlan & Hollingsworth Company, Wilmington, Del.: Canada Manufacturing Company, Cardeno, N. J., and the Bethlehem Steel Company. has a capital stock of $45,000,000.

Another combination was talked of to include the Cramp works, the Newport News yards, the Union Iron Works, of San Francisco; the Columbian Ironworks, of Baltimore, and the Bath (Me.) Iron Works. These plants are the only ones in the country capable of turning out large warships, and should such a trust be formed, it would have the Government at its mercy, but it has not yet come into being.

One of the most interesting features of naval architecture of recent years has been the development of the submarine idea. The first practical boats of this class for any navy were built in this country. Many unsuccessful efforts had been made, both at home and abroad, to build and operate submarine craft, but it

The Deutschland, a Type of the Modern Ocean Palace.

remained for Mr. John P. Holland to perfect a structure which would obey man's will and sink into or float upon the water, move ahead or back, manoeuvre and sail a course by compass, and finally discharge successfully a torpedo tube of such effectiveness as to destroy the greatest battleship afloat. England and France have each devoted much attention to vessels of this class, but none of those made by them has been perfected, and the United States, which is possessed of half a dozen boats of the Holland type, is thus the owner of vessels unique among the navies of the world. Lewis Nixon, proprietor of the Crescent shipyard

(By Courtesy of World's Work.)

at Elizabeth, N. J., an acknowledged authority on such matters, asserts that these boats will practically revolutionize the principles of naval warfare. The blockading of ports, as practised under our present system, will be well nigh impossible. A few submarine boats will be able to clear any harbor of attacking ships of war. Against their stealthy attacks a battleship can have no defence but flight. A battleship cannot attack one of these naval sharks for the reason that it presents no target. It will undoubtedly be necessary to devise some type of war vessel to withstand these boats, but what this type will be no one can

yet say. At the Congress of The Hague a proposition was made to forbid, by international law, the use of submarine torpedo boats. The Holland boats are built of steel throughout, and are divided into three compartments-one for the machinery, one for the conning tower and its equipment, and one for the storage battery, water ballast and water tanks, etc. Their cost is about $170,000 each. When above water the power is derived from a 150 horse power gasoline engine; when below from a 70 horse power electric motor. The speed is about eight knots an hour when submerged, and ten when not. The armament consists of one torpedo expulsion tube and five Whitehead torpedoes, with which it is claimed five battleships can be destroyed without the exposure of the boat.

The United States to-day possesses the fastest submarine boat afloat in the Moccasin, which received its water trials in November in Peconic Bay. The Moccasin made a maximum speed of seven and twentyeight-hundredths knots on its submerged trials. This unlooked-for speed was made under the electric batteries and motor, without any assistance from the gas engine. The Moccasin made eight runs submerged, four with and four against the tide, and to the surprise of all developed a speed of five one-hundredths of a knot more than that of the Adder. One of the allegations made by those who oppose submarines is that they can be easily picked up by a battleship. This would appear to be refuted by the experience of observers on the shore stationed there to take the time of the boat, who were absolutely unable to pick up the Moccasin on its first run, although she carried a guide mast with a red flag at the head.

An action almost, if not quite, unprecedented, is that of John Jacob Astor, in giving to the public freely and without charge, the right to use his marine turbines or machines to propel vessels. Their invention, which was the only aim for years of his genius for machinery, was protected by patents in the United States, France and England. Colonel Astor relinquished in favor of everybody his title to these patents in the following letter to the editor of the Scientific American: "All my patents in marine turbines having been granted, I hereby present them to the public, in the hope that the development of the ideal turbine may be hastened thereby. The following appear to me the principal advantages: 1. Reduced weight; 2. Higher steam efficiency; 3. Higher mechanical efficiency, by reason of the reduced size enabling the ports to be fitted more perfectly, permitting the diminution of friction, and also the reduction of the leakage loss; 4. Such a turbine would seem to be particularly suitable in central station work for generating electricity. in which case the field and armature may be driven in opposite directions. This would improve the efficiency of the dynamo and increase its output for a given weight. This principle is obviously also applicable to gas engines. Further details and particulars concerning pumps, condensers, etc., may be obtained from the Patent Office at Washington by ordering a copy of patent No. 690,821, granted to me on marine turbines, or from the office of the Scientific American, No. 361 Broadway, New York City, through which agency I obtained my patents. The French patent is dated September 28, 1901; the English patent October 1, 1901." Colonel Astor's invention was inspired by the use of Parsons's in the Turbina and King Edward classes of vessels in England.

Siam.

Capital:
BANGKOK.

The reigning King of Siam is Chulalongkorn I., born September 1, 1853, who succeeded to the throne on the death of his father, Mahah Mougkut, October 1, 1868. He has two daughters, three sons, a brother and twenty halfbrothers. The royal dignity is nominally hereditary, but does not descend always from the father to the eldest son, each sovereign being invested with the privilege of nominating his own successor.

The executive power is exercised by the King advised by a Cabinet consisting of the heads of the various departments of the Government, Foreign Affairs, Interior, Justice, Finance, Public Instruction, Public Works, War, Marine, Police, etc. Most of the portfolios are held by the King's half-brothers and sons. The law of

May 8, 1874, constituting a Council of State, has now been superseded by the Royal Decree of January 10, 1895, creating a Legislative Council. The latter is composed of the Minister of State and others not less than twelve in number, appointed by the Crown. The total membership is now fifty-one.

Kedah, Patani, Kelantan and Tringgami, in the Malay Peninsula, acknowledge the sovereignty of Siam and send revenues to Bangkok. The Laos States of Chieugmai, Lakon, Nan, Lampouchi, Pree and others, stand in a similar position toward the Government in Bangkok.

The trans-Mekong portion of the State of Luang Prabang is now under French protection. The remainder is still Siamese.

The Siamese dominions are divided into forty-one provinces or districts, each having a Commissioner, deriving authority direct from the King, and having under him subordinate Governors over the various parts of his district.

The total area of Siam, exclu Mekong and the Annam Hills, now is estimated at about 244,000 miles being in the Malay Penin tion are still more imperfectly tory, and the difficulty of arriving on account of the Oriental custom latest foreign estimates give the the French annexation, as follows, mese, 1,000,000 Chinese, 2,000,000 immigrants of other nationalities 000. With the assistance of sev vances have been made in recent tice in the national courts, and in suits of foreigners against natives. tirely remodelled by a Japanese

The capital possesses the fol mal College, for training teachers, one boarding school for the sons princes and nobles, under control four Anglo-vernacular schools; one dle vernacular schools; sixty-four training school for 150 boys, at cation in the provinces is now also kok. The prevailing religion is some 5.000 temples, containing 60,

The revenue for 1901-2 was equal to about 291⁄2 cents, and the A British officer occupies the po Comptroller-General, and there are

King of Siam.

sive of the country between the acknowledged to belong to France, square miles, about 60,000 square sula. The numbers of the populaknown than the extent of terriat any correct result is the greater of numbering only the men. The population of the kingdom, before in round numbers: 2,500,000 SiaLaotians, 1,000,000 Malays, while bring the total up to about 8,000,eral Belgian lawyers, great adyears in the administraion of justhe international court, which tries The legal code is now being enlawyer.

lowing Government schools: Norestablished in 1892, 60 students; and another for the daughters of of English masters and instructors; higher vernacular school; six midaided vernacular schools, and я tached to the normal school. Eduunder the head department in BangBuddhism, and the country has 000 priests.

35,500,000 ticals, a tical being. expenditure was 38,074,288 ticals. sition of Financial Adviser and numerous other English officers

holding high positions under the Government. The financial condition is extremely favorable, the revenue being steadily on the increase, while there is no public debt.

The standing army does not exceed 5,000 men, but from 10,000 to 12,000 would be available in a short time. The navy list contains the names of 22 vessels of over 100 tons. The marine infantry numbers 15,000. At the mouth of the Menam River are the Paknam forts. The bar prevents ships of more than 13 feet draught from ascending to Bangkok.