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Page 31
Sizes not exceeding 10x15 $288,927 $190,815 66
Sizes 16 x 24 265,919 305,357 114.83
Sizes 24 x 30 346,486 440,685 127.15
All above that 477,132 626,740 131.35
----------
Total $1,563,497
We have squeezed out of the neediest, most hard-working of our
population $1,563,000 taxes on their "daylight" or window tax, which has
gone into the Treasury; but we have squeezed at least $5,000,000 more
and put it into the pockets of people who made similar glass. Our
Pan-American guests may reflect on the above statistics and come to the
conclusion that having flourishing window-glass industries may, after
all, not be the highest blessing.
I beg to assure Mr. Carnegie that I am "not" a grumbler, as I don't want
to run the risk of having the door of heaven shut in my face when he
succeeds St. Peter in office.
* * * * *
THE NATURAL-GAS SUPPLY.--At the recent meeting in New York of the
American Geological Society, Prof. Edward Orton, State Geologist of
Ohio, and a professor in the State University, in his paper answered
those who claim that the great natural gas fields of the country are
practically inexhaustible, and that nature is manufacturing the gas by
chemical combination in the subterranean cavities as rapidly as it is
consumed by man at the surface. He claimed that the supply of natural
gas in those States was not only limited, but was being exhausted very
rapidly and would be drained in less than nine years. The gas, he said,
is now being used as the basis of a varied line of manufactures, the
annual products of which aggregate many millions of dollars, and it is
driving, besides the iron and steel mills of Pittsburgh, potteries and
brick works, over forty glass furnaces and a long list of factories in
which cheap power is a desideratum. The gas is the product of ages,
which has been accumulated in the porous limestone of Ohio and Indiana.
It has been produced so slowly that when once exhausted it will take
many thousands of years for it to again accumulate in sufficient
quantities to be used, even if the elements necessary for its production
were preserved, which he thought was not at all probable. The pressure
which forces the gas out with such tremendous power that it sometimes
reaches 1,000 pounds pressure per square inch, is not due to the
pressure of the gas itself, but to the hydrostatic pressure brought to
bear by the column of salt water that enters the porous stratum of rock
containing the gas at the sea-level, and which by its weight tends to
force the gas out. To the explanation and elucidation of this
phenomenon, Professor Orton's paper was more especially devoted. The men
who are engaged in the practical development of gas and oil fields, said
he, made great account of rock-pressure. It is the first fact they
inquire after in a new gas-field. They appreciate its importance,
knowing that the distance of the markets they care to reach and the size
of the pipes they can employ are entirely dependent upon this element.
He defined the term "rock-pressure", and showed the decrease of its rate
westward. He said four hundred thousand people in Northwestern Ohio and
Central Indiana alone depended upon natural-gas for fuel and
illumination.
* * * * *
STATUE GIVING A DOUBLE IMAGE.--At the Italian exhibition in the Champ de
Mars there was a statue that attracted much attention from the visitors.
It represented Goethe's Marguerite standing before a mirror. This latter
gave by reflection the image of Faust. The artifice was well concealed
by the sculptor. In reality, it was not a double statue, but the figure
of Faust was skilfully obtained by means of the folds of Marguerite's
robe.
Marguerite holds her arms in front of her, and these same arms form
those of Faust, who holds them crossed behind his back. Faust's face is
carved in Marguerite's back hair, and the man's figure is obtained, as
before stated, by means of the folds of the woman's robe. This curious
object might inspire some of our sculptors with an analogous idea. We do
not know the name of the author of the statue, but we can say that it
was exhibited by Mr. Francesco Toso, a Venetian manufacturer of mirrors.
The statue was of wood, and of nearly life-size.--_La Nature_.
* * * * *
SITE FOE THE KAISER'S MONUMENT.--Three or four Berlin banks have secured
the preemption of all the buildings in Schlossfreiheitstrasse, with a
view to pulling them down and fulfilling the Emperor's wish to have his
grandfather's monument erected there. Only a few days ago three of the
most eminent Berlin architects declared that the place was absolutely
unsuited for that purpose. The banks are said to have agreed to pay
5,000,000 marks for the houses, and an equal amount as compensation,
and intend to form a lottery of 40,000,000 marks, with prizes to the
amount of 30,000,000.--_The London Standard_.
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