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Show FEARS FIRE FIEND TUNNELED PALACES UNCLE SAM VIGILANT IN PROTECTING HIS VAST FORESTS. System and Methods Which the Government Has Devised to Prevent Loss of Valuable Timber by Relentless Flames. Nothing roulii better call the attention of thinking people to the necessity for the preservation of our natural resources than the great forest fires which have been so widely distributed throughout the country and have played such havoc this past summer. It Ir doubtful If the losses for the year ISOS will ever be fully known, ut a conservative estimate by Dr. W. J. MctJee, erosion expert, United States department of agriculture, places the aggregate loss in all parts of the country during these months of conflagration at $1, 000,000 a day. In nearly every instance, probably 1ft every instance, these devastating fires might have been prevented if the various states- had provided an adequate number of men to patrol the woods and arrest all such fires in their Jncipiency, and if lumbermen and other users of the forest were careful to dispose of brush after logging so as to prevent the spread of fires. Uncle Sam has had a lot of work to do on his national forests in the firefighting line this year, but his 'work has shown good results. Exclusive of the salaries of forest officers, the work of putting down fires on the national forests for the year has cost the government $30,000. This means protecting approximately 168,000,000 acres. The value of the timber destroyed will not be known until the fire reports are made at the end of the year, though It is estimated that it will be larger than last year. These results have come through the increased efficiency of fire patrol and methods of fighting fire and of settlers through the and users of forests who understand that the forests are their property and that a loss from fire is a personal one. The national forests are constantly patrolled by a picked force of rangers and guards. The present summer force of such rangers and guards, whose main duty is fire patrol, is 1,351 men; the average area that each is required to protect is 121,506 acres. It is fully understood that this area is altogether too large, and just as soon as funds are available to permit of the employment of a larger force of men the area will be reduced. In order to provide rapid means of travel' between the various parts of the national forests and to facilitate the massing of large forces of men to fight fire, as well as to furnish vantage points from which the fires may be fought successfully, 160 miles of road and 3,3u0 miles of trail were built during the last fiscal year. In several cases firebreaks from 16 to 100 feet in width have been constructed, from which all timber and inflammable material is removed, to furnish obstacles to the spread of fire, or straight lines of defense in fighting the fire once started. Several miles of such firebreaks now exist in the national forests In southern California, where it is especially Important that the forest cover on the watersheds of imiortant irrigation streams be protected. Telephone lines have been constructed connecting ranger stations with the headquarters of the forest, In order that fires may be rejwirted . called Good morning, Mr. Seaver, Rangers Discovering Fire from Ridge in National Forest in Wyoming. and promptly extinguished. During the fiscal year ending June 30, 1908, 3,500 miles of telephone line were constructed in the national forests. Just as rapidly as possible, each national forest is supplied with shovels, axes and other tools, which are distributed over the forests and cabins, and tool boxes are placed at points where there is the greatest danger of fire and where they can be easily reached by trail. Field glasses are also furnished, since their use in discovering small fires at a considerable distance has proved very helpful. Upon the basis of the forest service experience on the national forests on which the total administration per acre, including fire patrol, amounts to only one cent, the whole forest area of the United States could be protected from fire at a total cost of less than $3,000,900. This would save an annual loss of $20,000,000 for timber alone, to say nothing of the enormous loss of life, the loss to new tree growth, the loss of soil fertility, the damage to river courses and adjacent farm country, and the depreciation in forest wealth and land values. book an' see if you kin find thet almanac fer Mr. Hamilton. Don Cameron Shafer, fn Puck. the city boarder, cheerily, from the veranda, as he lighted his I wonder if I could look cigar. at your almanac this morning? You farmers keep pretty well posted on the weather, I suppose? Er r r r yes, yes, I reckon we do, or ought to, said Uncle Charlie Seaver, as he set down a basket of sweet corn and reached for his tobacco box. You see that is reckon, an ala manac is handy thing to have around. We usually keep one around the house in the summer time fer you city fellers to look at. As fer Mandy and me an th children, when theyre hum, I regret to say that weve usually got our noses in one of those pesky novels that they calls or mabby sum of the those demoralizin magazines or sump-thin- . after-breakfa- Mandy, he called, EASY. st 1 lay down that Prfect Labyrinth of Underground Tunnel Whoe MysVault and teries in Many Cases Are Unsolved. passages varying from 300 to 900. Among those the area of which has been definitely ascertained are the Catacombs of St. Feliciano, extending under the whole of the Villa Malta. The Qulrlnal has Its tunnels, and so, too, has the Vatican, by moana of which Its Inmates can enter and leave the historic residence of the jontlffi without attracting any attention what- There is something always fascinat- soever. While most of the royal and imperial ing about the mysterious, and for this are endowed with reason the atory of the secret under- palaces of Europe a considerable over ground passageways which honeycomb vaults extending of exthe palaces of the rulers of Europe area, and in many instances it la These tremely ancient construction, proves Interesting reading. is any one ot tunnels are not all of ancient con- doubtful whether thereof such a vast that can toast struction, but they are still be- them which that as of cellarage ing built, as for instance the one that acreage to-da- y is now being opened under the luxurious Villa Caroline at Ostend, connectwith the royal ing that building chalet. The latter is the favorite residence of gay old King Leopold, now In his seventy-seventyear, while the Villa Caroline, it is hardly necessary to add, is the Ostend home of Caroline La Croix, Uaroness Vaughan, formerly a barmaid at the railroad restaurant at Dijon, hut now, according to some, the morganatic wife of the ruler of Belgium, and according to others merely his favorite. Underground passages and tunnels play a very important role in the existence of modern royalty, and no greater mistake could be made than to imagine that they pertain to the past, to the days when no ruler was safe from plots to either kidnap or assassinate him, and when it was a matter of vital necessity that he should possess not only secret means of escape from his palace, but also of access thereto, unseen. At Berlin the imperial box at .the opera is connected by means of a subterranean passage with the "Zeug-hauor the quarters of the main guard, where at all times a strong military force is on duty. The emperor is thus able, if he so wishes it, to reach his box at the opera and to leave the building without being observed by those loitering about the various entrances to the great metropolitan temple of lyric drama. London rivals both Paris and Rome in the extent of its subterranean mazes, with the difference that they are largely of modern origin. Rome, like Earis, is honeycombed .with subterranean passages which, according to St. Jerome, were In existence already in the earliest period of the Christian era, but which were closed up and forgotten for hundreds of years, until in the seventeenth century their existence was unexpectedly brought to light by excavations. There, too, they are uncharted, and no one knows their extent, the official figures of the mileage of these underground h - THE HANDY ALMANAC. IECRET PASSAGEWAYS IN HOMES OF EUROPES RULERS. the wondrous benefit Which science now bestows; The man who hopes to make a hit By telling all he knows Is not subjected to one-hae Of lifes delay. He tells it to a phonograph And then goes on his way. Behold lf old-tim- The crowds who are invited round To hear what he has said May list unto his voices sound While he lies snug in bed. And, should his speech contain some chaff We can be happy still. Well harken to the phonograph Or turn it off at will. Let thanks be given oer and oer For this relief immense! The fitting refuge of the bore As for the man of sense! The anecdote that bids men laugh The phrase well worn and paA Just tell it to the phonograph And let it go at that! Washingtt-- !' Star. s, . HOW TO MAKE CRIMINALS. Royal Palace at Stockholm Which Has Nearly a Thousand Subter ranean Chambers. King Gustave Adolphus occupies at Stockholm. The palace Itself Is only about 200 years old, no less than three of Its predecessors occupying the same 6ite having been destroyed by fire or razed to the ground. But the subterranean portion of the palace remains unchanged and untouched since the day when it was originally built, a Berger part and parcel of the so-call- Jarl castle, In the year 1251. There are nearly a thousand of these subterranean chambers, some of them of enormous size, and in several tiers, and it has been found so dangerous to venture far in this immense subterranean labyrinth that chains and cords have been stretched along the walls to guide the attendants, while there are some vaults that have never yet been explored, at any rate during the last hundred years. Yet it is probable that ere long they will be subjected to a searching investigation. For, according to popular belief the greater part of the enormous treasure amassed by the present kings greatgrandfather, Charles XIV., is concealed in the wall of one of these vaulted chambers beneath the palace. Next, publish his name in all the newspapers. This is for two reasons: Fir;t, to make him more of a criminal, and second, to show that the police department is doing, its duty. Next, chuck him into as unpleasant a place as can be devised. At night surround him with a choice collection of vermin. For this purpose an entomologist should be consulted. In the daytime make him work like a dog, but do not give him anything for it. Give it to some one else. Perhaps the best way to dispose of ihe surplus product is by the contract system, although there are other forms of graft nearly as good. After a few years of this he is p?oi-abla criminal. In order to test your work turn him loose without any money or any friends. Ir he comes back in a short time, you have succeeded. If not, you have failed; but it usually works. Ellis O. Jones; in Life. The making of criminals is a very important American industry. Proceed as follows: Find out something that a large number of the people desire to do and then make a law against it. The law should be sufficiently elastic to admit of exceptions when the public good or the offenders purse seems to demand it. After the law is made hire a few good policemen to lie in wait for offenders. It is necessary to catch a criminal before you can make him. Many a man has remained good all his life by not being caught. After you get hold of one he will probably tell you that he did not know the law. If he does, tell him that ignorance of the law excuses no one. If he insists, tell him that even the lawyers dont know the law, as, otherwise, there would not be so many of them. If he insists further, crack him over the head and tell him to The Hunt. Ursus at man no If has shut up. the Major Whats the matter? money Ursus Minor I see a shooting star all crack him in the head in the first t coming. New York Sun. place. , y full-fledge- d |