The Great Round World and What Is Going On In It, Vol. 1, No. 54, November 18, 1897

The news of Andrée brought by the whalers turns out to be somewhat indefinite.

They say that they sighted an object which they are quite sure was the great balloon.

They state further that they heard strange cries coming across the ice-fields, which sounded to them like human voices, and they believe that Andrée and his party are stranded somewhere on an ice-floe.

Captain Sverdrup, who commanded the Fram, in which Dr. Nansen made his famous Arctic voyage, says that it is his belief that the sounds heard were made by birds or else by the packing of the ice.

In the hope that Andrée may still be alive, a relief expedition has started off from the northern coast of Norway in search of the adventurer and his companions.

There is a very interesting article in this month's Scribner's Magazine, which tells about the starting of the balloon. You should read it.

The fur seal conference has been in session in Washington for nearly two weeks.

England's representative, of course, was not present. You will remember that after several refusals and acceptances she finally decided to meet the United States in a conference to be held separately from the one which is now taking place.

Russia and Japan are well represented in this conference. Out of compliment to Mr. Foster, of the United States, who travelled to England, Russia, and Japan to obtain the consent of these various countries to the meeting, the attending delegates made him chairman of the conference.

The result of the discussions so far has been most gratifying to this country.

The Russian and Japanese commissioners are as fully convinced that the seal herd is decreasing as the Americans are, and all three countries have come to an agreement on the matter.

It has been decided to draw up a treaty between the three countries mentioned, whereby each agrees to prevent her own hunters and those of other nations from indulging in deep-sea sealing.

As soon as this document is fully prepared the conference will adjourn.

The result of the forthcoming British conference is awaited with considerable interest.

It is openly stated that there would be no trouble at all with England if it were not for the interference of Canada and the determination of the mother country to bow to the wishes of her colony.

It is indeed reported that Lord Salisbury has at last been convinced that the seals are diminishing.

Last week he sent for several of the leading fur merchants in London, and asked them to tell him the true state of the case.

According to the accounts that have reached us, one and all of these men assured him that the reports of Dr. Jordan were strictly correct, and that beyond any doubt the seals were being killed off.

Even then the Prime Minister doubted, and thinking that the merchants might be in league with the Americans, he asked suspiciously:

"If this is true, how is it that the price of sealskin is no higher now than it was when the supply of seals was abundant?"

It was not till he had been convinced that sealskin was no longer the fashionable fur, and that astrakhan had largely taken its place, that he was willing to believe them.

It is reported that Sir Wilfrid Laurier, the Premier of Canada, is coming here to be present at the next conference.

It is to be hoped that Lord Salisbury's eyes may now be opened to the true state of the case, and that he may be able to convince Sir Wilfrid that common sense demands that England and Canada shall make a similar agreement with us to that which is just being prepared with Russia and Japan.

The engineers' strike in England has not yet come to an end.

A special cablegram reports that the situation is unchanged. The Society of Engineers insists on the eight-hour day, and the masters refuse to discuss the subject until this point has been abandoned.

The chances of reaching an understanding are more remote than ever.

In the mean while there is trouble in the cotton trade.

The state of the cotton market is such that the manufacturers can no longer pay the wages they have been paying, and they have had to give notice to their hands that they must either close their mills or reduce wages.

At first it was decided that ten per cent. must be taken off the pay of the workers.

The trades unions discussed the matter with the employers, and refused to listen to such a reduction of wages.

The masters then declared that they could not continue to pay the present rate, as they would be losing money. They finally decided to give their workers a month's notice that they were going to reduce their wages five per cent.

Every one is anxiously waiting to see what the factory hands will do at the end of the month.

It is hoped that the time that will intervene before the reduction takes place will give them an opportunity to think matters over, and so avoid a strike.

Should the cotton-workers decide to strike, two hundred thousand operatives may be thrown out of work.

The manufacture of cotton goods in one of the greatest of the English industries.

Over a million men, women, and children are employed in Great Britain and Ireland, and nearly five million people are dependent for their daily bread on the wages earned in the factories.

The centre of this great industry is the city of Manchester. Here the greatest number of factories are built, and all matters concerning the cotton market are discussed and settled. Manchester—dirty, smoky Manchester, with its forest of tall chimneys pouring forth volumes of black, sulphurous smoke, holds the fate of the cotton trade in its hands.

It is quite a sight to see the Manchester factory hands rushing out of the mills, hundreds strong, at the noon hour.

Our own factory hands are, as you well know, neat, tidy, and well dressed girls. As soon as they turn off from the stream of their fellow-workers, as they leave the mills, it is hardly possible to tell whether they are factory girls, shop girls, servants, or young ladies.

The English mill girls are quite different.

They have a distinct dress which points out their occupation wherever they may be.

To begin with, they never by any chance wear hats. Winter and summer they go bareheaded.

They one and all wear short skirts which reach to the tops of their boots; these skirts are always made of cotton goods, and their boots are thick, clumpy, laced affairs, heavier than those worn by the workmen in this country—very often they have wooden soles. As you may imagine, the appearance of these girls' feet is something appalling.

The factory girl's costume is completed by an apron and a small square shawl of bright plaid, which is worn over the shoulders, or shifted to cover the head in wet weather.

They are picturesque-looking women, but the majority of them are so big and brawny and their manners are so rough that you would rather trust yourself to the mercies of a mad bull than to a crowd of angry factory girls.

On one occasion in Manchester, the agent of a patent washing-machine, wishing to advertise his goods, stationed himself outside one of the mill gates, and offered to wash the girls' greasy, oily aprons as they came out from work at noon.

Some of the girls took their aprons off, and a large crowd gathered round the machine to see what was going to be done.

The man put the garments into the machine, turned the crank, and in a minute the black and dirt were all out of the aprons.

The girls were highly pleased.

They signified their approval as the man wrung out the suds with his machine, and watched him with great interest as he carefully folded each apron, and then put them through a couple of rollers which were attached to the machine and intended to act as a mangle.

Clean, smooth, and neatly pressed, he handed each apron back to its owner and waited for their thanks. The whole business had not taken more than five minutes, and he expected to do a thriving trade in washing-machines on the spot.

He was disappointed.

No sooner did the girls get back their aprons than the trouble began.

In their ignorance they had expected that the garments would be returned to them dry as well as clean, and when they found that they were wringing wet and could not be used again for several hours, their rage knew no bounds.

They beat the man, tore his clothes, broke his machine, and ill-treated him until the men and boys from the mill, who had been watching the riot with laughter, thought it was time to interfere, and rescued the agent from the angry women.

There is nothing gentle or feminine about the English factory girl.

The Sultan of Turkey has sent a demand to the powers that the ten thousand rifles seized on board a Greek ship shall be turned over to him. These arms were taken during the early part of the blockade of Crete, and have been held by the powers.

Abdul Hamid has also issued a protest against the trial of a number of his subjects in the courts of Crete. He demands that they shall be sent over to Turkish courts and tried by Turkish judges instead of by the representatives of the powers.

He seems to be beginning his interference in Cretan matters.

A telegram from Christiania, Norway, states that news of Professor Andrée has just been brought from Spitzbergen.

The nature of the news is not given, but it has been brought by the crew of a ship which was wrecked in the Arctic Seas, and who have just made their way to Spitzbergen.

Spitzbergen is one of a group of islands in the Arctic Ocean to the north of Sweden, and east of Greenland.

We may probably soon learn the fate of Andrée and his brave followers.

G.H. Rosenfeld.

PRIZE CONTEST

There were so many competitors in the prize contest recently closed that it was impossible to decide who were the winners in time to announce their names in last week's paper. The quotation was, "The Pen is Mightier than the Sword," and Miss H.K. Peck, Crown Street, Meriden, Conn., won the first prize, and Miss E. DuBois, Greenwich, Conn., the second.

Watch for the new contest, which will begin in an early number.

LETTERS FROM OUR YOUNG FRIENDS

Dear Mr. Harison:

I have taken great interest in The Great Round World. When I was away this summer I showed your paper to a great many people, and they thought it was very nice, and they thought they would subscribe for it.

I have taken great interest in the Klondike affair. I went away this summer to Lake Hopatcong and had a lovely time, but we came home a little while ago.

Hoping your paper the most possible success,

Yours truly,B.F.South Orange, N.J.

Dear Little Friend:

We are very pleased to receive your kind letter.

Editor.

To the Editor:

I wish to call your attention to the article printed in last week's Great Round World about Austria. Your description about the Bohemians, properly called Czechs, is wrong. They are not wild, unruly, nor obstinate. In the United States there are five hundred thousand Czechs, and you never hear of them giving trouble to the Government nor any one else. Everywhere they are known as a quiet, industrious race, doing their business and offending no one. In Europe they have a great many obstacles to overcome. One of them is that the Germans are trying to crush them wherever they can. Every nation loves its tongue and wishes it to live, so do the Czechs. Because they oppose, are they to be called wild, obstinate, and ill-governed? The Czechs' language is not so difficult. I know Americans speaking the Czechs' language as well as Czechs themselves. I do not wish to discuss their rights, but I do feel that where a sad mistake has been made it ought to be rectified. Young readers must be informed correctly; and knowing it to be your aim to inform your readers so, I take the liberty of writing. I hope you will not think me prejudiced, nor that I merely write from a Czech's standpoint. An injustice has been done and ought to be righted if possible. If you wish to gain correct information, I refer you to Mr. Riis, author of "How the Other Half Lives." Also to Dr. Hall, minister of the Presbyterian Church. They have both been to Austria several times, and know a great deal about the Czechs. Hoping you will consider the matter,

I remain yours,A.B. Bazata.New York City, October 18th, 1897.

Dear Friend:

We were very pleased to receive your letter.

You have evidently misunderstood the article in question, and also misquoted it.

If you will look back at page 1,390 you will see that we do not say the Bohemians are an unruly people, but that they are wild and quickly irritated—information which you can easily verify for yourself. We had no intention of making any disparaging remarks about the race. We merely stated facts which are so well known in Europe that they have become proverbs.

In reference to the Czech language we must also differ with you. Your argument that you have friends who speak the language does not strike us as very sound. There are numbers of Europeans who have learned Chinese, but that does not alter the fact that Chinese is an abnormally difficult tongue.

If you will read our article through again you will see that your zeal for the Bohemians has made you defend them before they were accused.

We stated that the governing of Austria is a very difficult task in consequence of the three conflicting elements of which it is composed, and explained the nature and grievance of each element.

You must not let your sympathies cloud your judgment.

Editor.

INVENTION AND DISCOVERY

By means of slot-boxes one may buy gum or postage-stamps, be weighed, or have his picture taken.

A schoolboy of St. Louis has recently invented a new and practical form of this popular machine.

The Martin paper slot-box is to be used upon street cars and railway trains for the sale of daily papers.

It has separate compartments for each morning daily, with movable name-slips so that the one box may serve for the sale of both morning and evening papers.

Though small and neat, the box will hold forty-five papers.

By inserting a penny and pushing a button, any paper desired may be had. The boxes are so arranged that five cents will be necessary to work the button for Sunday papers.

The patent papers have been received, and the youthful inventor is superintending the making of the boxes. As soon as a sufficient number are ready they are to be given a thorough trial on the leading lines of cars in St. Louis.