between stations of their fast mail trains running between Chicago and Council Bluffs. The tests were made by Mr. Robert Quayle, the superintendent of motive power, who was assisted by Mr. Percy H. Batten and Mr. Horace H. Newsom, both of whom have had considerable experience in taking records. The speed recorder used was carefully adjusted and tested in the shops, and, after being placed on the engines, was checked with a stop-watch over stretches of track that had previously been carefully measured. On many occasions a speed of 75 or more miles an hour was recorded, and on one trip a speed of 82, on another a speed of 86, and on another a speed of 89 miles per hour was attained and held for a short distance.

"On April 28, train No. 10, between Carroll and Boone, in Iowa, ran six miles, five of which were consecutive, at a speed of 76 or more miles an hour, and for one-half of a mile maintained a speed of 82 miles per hour. The speed over the five-mile stretch was as follows for the successive miles 76, 78, 8.15 (.5 of this mile being at 82), 78 and 76. On May 1 the record of April 28 was surpassed, 10.5 miles, 7.5 of which were consecutive, being run at a speed of 75 or more miles per hour. On this run a speed of 86 miles per hour was attained, but was held only for a very short distance, scarcely one quarter of a mile. The speed over the 7.5-mile stretch was at the rate of the following miles per hour for the successive miles or parts thereof, 75 (for .5 of a mile), 77, 78, 81, 84 (for 1.3 miles), 86 (for almost .25 of a mile), 83 (for .5 of a mile), 80, and 77.5. On May 10, the record of May 1 was surpassed by train No. 9. Of the 202 miles between Clinton and Boone, 82.5 were covered at a speed exceeding 70 miles per hour, 13.5 at a speed exceeding 80 miles per hour, and 4 miles at a speed exceeding 85 miles per hour, a speed of 89 miles per hour being reached and held for about one-fourth of a mile between the stations of Mt. Vernon and Cedar Rapids."

These runs were made with four cars, by locomotives having 19 by 26 inch cylinders, 80inch driving wheels, and a steam pressure of 190 pounds, the total weight of each engine being approximately 133,800 pounds.

THE "LAKE SHORE' RECORD OF 1895.

Mr. Tunell also refers to the famous run made by the special train of Dr. W. Seward Webb over the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railway on October 24, 1895. The official timekeepers of this run were Mr. H. P. Robinson, editor of the Railway Age, and Mr. Willard A. Smith, sometime chief of the transportation department at the Chicago World's Fair. Note

worthy records made on this run were as follows:

A distance of 510.1 miles at 65.07 miles an hour. A distance of 289.3 miles at 66.68 miles an hour. A distance of 181.5 miles at 69.67 miles an hour. A distance of 85 miles at 72.92 miles an hour. A distance of 71 miles at 75.06 miles an hour. A distance of 59 miles at 76.08 miles an hour. A distance of 52 miles at 78.00 miles an hour. A distance of 42 miles at 79.04 miles an hour. A distance of 33 miles at 80.07 miles an hour. A distance of 8 miles at 85.44 miles an hour.

The train was composed of two heavy Wagner parlor cars, each weighing 92,500 pounds, and Dr. Webb's private car Elsmere, which alone weighs 119,500 pounds. All the engines used in this relay race were built by the Brooks Locomotive Works, after designs furnished by Mr. George W. Stevens, of the Lake Shore Railway. The first four engines, which drew the train as far as Erie, were of the American type, or eight wheelers, comparatively light, but built for fast running. These engines weighed only 52 tons, had 17 by 24 inch cylinders, and 72-inch driving wheels. The last engine was of a different type, being a ten-wheeler, with three pairs of coupled drivers and a four-wheeled swiveling truck. It weighed 56.5 tons, its cylinders being of the same size as those of the other engines. Its driving wheels were only 68 inches in diameter.

FREIGHT RATES ON ARGENTINE WHEAT.

IT was only a few years ago that the Argentine as a serious. competitor with the United States in the supply of wheat for European consumption. The fact that among all the transoceanic sources of wheat supply for western Europe Argentina now ranks second only to the United States has attracted the attention of statisticians, and efforts have been made to ascertain the causes of this rapid and unheralded development.

The cost of transportation is, of course, one of the most important elements in the situation, but heretofore there has been no serious attempt to compare the freight rates from the farms of Argentina to European ports with those from the wheat belts of the United States to the same ports. Such an attempt has recently been made, however, by a Washington statistician, Mr. Robert R. Kuczynski, and the results of his investigation appear in the current number of the Journal of Political Economy (University of Chicago Press).

In the introductory part of the paper there is a table giving for the last two quinquennial periods the average yearly wheat crop of all the countries

between stations of their fast mail trains running between Chicago and Council Bluffs. The tests were made by Mr. Robert Quayle, the superin. tendent of motive power, who was assisted by Mr. Percy H. Batten and Mr. Horace H. Newsom, both of whom have had considerable experience in taking records. The speed recorder used was carefully adjusted and tested in the shops, and, after being placed on the engines, was checked with a stop-watch over stretches of track that had previously been carefully measured. On many occasions a speed of 75 or more miles an hour was recorded, and on one trip a speed of 82, on another a speed of 86, and on another a speed of 89 miles per hour was attained and held for a short distance.

"On April 28, train No. 10, between Carroll and Boone, in Iowa, ran six miles, five of which were consecutive, at a speed of 76 or more miles an hour, and for one-half of a mile maintained a speed of 82 miles per hour. The speed over the five-mile stretch was as follows for the successive miles 76, 78, 8.15 (.5 of this mile being at 82), 78 and 76. On May 1 the record of April 28 was surpassed, 10.5 miles, 7.5 of which were consecutive, being run at a speed of 75 or more miles per hour. On this run a speed of 86 miles per hour was attained, but was held only for a very short distance, scarcely one-quarter of a mile. The speed over the 7.5-mile stretch was at the rate of the following miles per hour for the successive miles or parts thereof, 75 (for .5 of a mile), 77, 78, 81, 84 (for 1.3 miles), 86 (for almost .25 of a mile), 83 (for.5 of a mile), 80, and 77.5. On May 10, the record of May 1 was surpassed by train No. 9. Of the 202 miles between Clinton and Boone, 82.5 were covered at a speed exceeding 70 miles per hour, 13.5 at a speed exceeding 80 miles per hour, and 4 miles at a speed exceeding 85 miles per hour, a speed of 89 miles per hour being reached and held for about one-fourth of a mile between the stations of Mt. Vernon and Cedar Rapids."

These runs were made with four cars, by locomotives having 19 by 26 inch cylinders, 80inch driving wheels, and a steam pressure of 190 pounds, the total weight of each engine being approximately 133,800 pounds.

THE "LAKE SHORE RECORD OF 1895.

Mr. Tunell also refers to the famous run made by the special train of Dr. W. Seward Webb over the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railway on October 24, 1895. The official timekeepers of this run were Mr. H. P. Robinson, editor of the Railway Age, and Mr. Willard A. Smith, sometime chief of the transportation department at the Chicago World's Fair. Note

worthy records made on this run were as follows:

A distance of 510.1 miles at 65.07 miles an hour. A distance of 289.3 miles at 66.68 miles an hour. A distance of 181.5 miles at 69.67 miles an hour. A distance of 85 miles at 72.92 miles an hour. A distance of 71 miles at 75.06 miles an hour. A distance of 59 miles at 76.08 miles an hour. A distance of 52 miles at 78.00 miles an hour. A distance of 42 miles at 79.04 miles an hour. A distance of 33 miles at 80.07 miles an hour. A distance of 8 miles at 85.44 miles an hour.

The train was composed of two heavy Wagner parlor cars, each weighing 92,500 pounds, and Dr. Webb's private car Elsmere, which alone weighs 119,500 pounds. All the engines used in this relay race were built by the Brooks Locomotive Works, after designs furnished by Mr. George W. Stevens, of the Lake Shore Railway. The first four engines, which drew the train as far as Erie, were of the American type, or eight wheelers, comparatively light, but built for fast running. These engines weighed only 52 tons, had 17 by 24 inch cylinders, and 72-inch driving wheels. The last engine was of a different type, being a ten-wheeler, with three pairs of coupled drivers and a four-wheeled swiveling truck. It weighed 56.5 tons, its cylinders being of the same size as those of the other engines. Its driving wheels were only 68 inches in diameter.

FREIGHT RATES ON ARGENTINE WHEAT. IT T was only a few years ago that the Argentine Republic gained recognition as a serious competitor with the United States in the supply of wheat for European consumption. The fact that among all the transoceanic sources of wheat supply for western Europe Argentina now ranks. second only to the United States has attracted the attention of statisticians, and efforts have been made to ascertain the causes of this rapid and unheralded development.

The cost of transportation is, of course, one of the most important elements in the situation, but heretofore there has been no serious attempt to compare the freight rates from the farms of Argentina to European ports with those from the wheat belts of the United States to the same ports. Such an attempt has recently been made, however, by a Washington statistician, Mr. Robert R. Kuczynski, and the results of his investigation appear in the current number of the Journal of Political Economy (University of Chicago Press).

In the introductory part of the paper there is a table giving for the last two quinquennial periods the average yearly wheat crop of all the countries

It

From this table it appears that Argentina's wheat crop is only 2.27 per cent., or one fortyfourth of the world's total wheat product. This fact, taken by itself, might lead the superficial reader to infer that the South American republic can never become formidable as a competitor with the United States, where 20 per cent. of the world's product is now annually raised. is only when we consider the question of home consumption in the various wheat growing countries that we can form an adequate idea of their relative importance as exporters. Argentina has, in fact, a smaller population than that of any other of the twelve countries included in the table. It has, therefore, a smaller need of wheat for home consumption. From the data obtained by the Argentine Department of Agriculture, it appears that only about 31 per cent. of the wheat crop is consumed within the country, and 9 per cent. is used for seed, leaving 60 per cent. available for export, while in the United States only about one-third of the crop can be exported. Hence the fact that the present export of wheat from Argentina is only exceeded by that of the United States and Russia. In the last decade (1891-1900) the average annual export of domestic wheat from the United States and Russia amounted to 102,000,000 bushels

gentina at 7 cents, for the Pacific coast region at 10 cents, for the wheat territory east of the Rocky Mountains at about 14 or 15 cents per bushel. If to these rates the different average ocean rates are added, the total freight rate per bushel of wheat to the English market would be from Argentina about 16 cents, and in the United States for the wheat shipped over the Atlantic ports, about 20 cents; over the guif ports, about 22 or 23 cents; over the Pacific ports, about 30

cents.

"The conclusions which might be drawn from the preceding study may be summarized as follows: It seems that the cost of hauling the wheat from the farm to the local station is considerably lower in Argentina than in the United States; that the cost of transporting the wheat from the local station to the shipping port is lower in Argentina than in the Pacific coast region of the United States, while it will be about as high as that of transporting the wheat grown east of the Rocky Mountains on a local rate to the primary market; that the ocean rates from Argentina are considerably lower than those from the Pacific coast region, and that therefore the cost of transportation from the local station in Argentina to Europe is considerably lower than from the local station in the Pacific coast region to Europe; that while the ocean rates from Argentina are higher than from the Atlantic and gulf seaports, the difference is by far not so large as the freight rate from the primary market to the ocean in the United States; that as a conse quence hereof, even if account is taken of rebates and of the existence of through rates from local stations to the ocean, the transportation from the local station in Argentina to the European market is likewise lower than from the local station east of the Rocky Mountains to Europe, and that consequently the average rate for transporting the wheat from the Argentine farm to the European market is lower than from the farm in the United States."

HOW TO SAVE A DROWNING MAN.

ARGENTINE WHEAT LAID DOWN IN EUROPE FOR LESS MONEY THAN THE NORTH AMERICAN PRODUCT.

On the subject of transportation charges, it is impossible, in the space at our disposal, to do more than quote the conclusion of the very elaborate discussion presented in the Journal of Political Economy:

"The freight rate on wheat from the local station to the ocean has been estimated for Ar

tells how to go about saving a drowning person. In the first place, he shows that the direct danger of cramp seizure is not at all so serious as swimmers suppose. Nearly every swimmer seized with a cramp could save himself if he did not get frightened. Cramp comes from going into the water when overheated, from swimming with a stomach full of undigested food, or from staying too long in the water and taking a chill. It attacks only a leg or an arm, or perhaps only a font or a hand. Any good swimmer could get

along with such a handicap if he did not get frightened; but nearly every one gets frightened, thrashes around, and fills his lungs with water.

Mr. Meffert says the great thing in trying to save a person in danger is to take one's time at the rescue. A little water swallowed by the drowning person will not hurt, and to swim right up to him invites the one great danger of his grasping the rescuer, which practically always means the death of both.

Mr. Meffert says the proper way is to swim up to the struggling man, but to keep out of the reach of his arms until he has become incapable of violent effort. If he tries to seize hold of you, the left hand should be put against his lower jaw to push him away.

When the drowning man seems to be quiet, the best way is to take him by the hair with the left hand and swim ashore with your right. If his hair is too short, then the back of his coat or shirt collar is the proper place to take hold. If there are neither clothes nor hair to afford a grip, the safest way is to approach from behind, put one of your hands in each of his armpits, treading the water meanwhile, and then pull the drowning man back until he is floating face up, at the same time bringing your feet upward and forward until they are under the other's body. Then you swim on your own back, dragging the unconscious man. This cannot be done with very heavy people, of course. In such a case the best way is to take hold of his left hand with your left hand, turn and swim, dragging him after you, but this has a danger of making it easy for him to grasp you.

THE LEGION OF HONOR.

IN

N the first June number of the Revue de Paris, M. Aulard contributes some interesting pages concerning the centenary of the Legion of Honor. This great French order, admirably named by Napoleon, was instituted by him on May 19, 1802. It was an attempt on the part of the First Consul to reconstitute at least one of the old honorable distinctions which have played so great a part in monarchic France, and it was intended to take the place-as, indeed, it has done during a hundred years of the three great French orders,-that of St. Michael, that of the Holy Ghost, and that of St. Louis. The last of these, founded in 1693, was purely military, but was only given to those who could prove themselves possessed of four quarters of nobility.

Only Catholic soldiers could receive this distinction, an exception, however, being made in favor of officers belonging to Swiss regiments. During the Revolution such distinctions were

abolished, with the one exception of the Society of Cincinnati, which had a brief run, being copied from the American military decoration of that name. Napoleon, even as First Consul, was most anxious to revive some form of honorable distinction which should replace the old cross of St. Louis; accordingly, when he considered the time was ripe, he let it be known that a new order was about to be instituted, of which the members would bear the honorable name of Legion of Honor. The proposition provoked a considerable amount of opposition, but of course there were many more who approved than who disapproved, and once Napoleon became Emperor the Legion of Honor became one of his most cherished institutions, and he reserved to himself the right of bestowing the cross," as it soon became universally known, on those who seemed to him worthy of it. Probably few people are aware that at first it was considered advisable to make the knighthood obtained by the reception of the decoration hereditary, and that not only to legiti mate children, but to natural children and even to adopted children. This absurd suggestion was soon brushed aside by the Emperor's good sense.

Under Napoleon nearly fifty thousand individuals belonging to all grades of society were enrolled in the Legion of Honor, and of this large number only fourteen hundred were civilians, the cross remaining essentially a military decoration. Napoleon founded many other orders; notably in Italy that of the Iron Crown. Yet another order of knighthood of a very exclusive character was known as the Three Golden Fleeces, and was only bestowed on the highest knights created. Yet a third order, which went by the absurd name of the Reunion, was intended to be equally suitable for bestowal on the great personages of all those countries whom the great conqueror annexed.

Now, as most people are aware, the Legion of Honor has become the one great honorific distinction possessed by France. It has rather unfortunately changed in its original character. Thus, it is bestowed as a matter of course on all those worthy civilians who have served the state and public offices for a certain number of years. Again, a great number of crosses were rightly given on the field of battle during the FrancoPrussian War, and were thus the reward for conspicuous gallantry in action. Occasionally a signal act of personal courage, such as the saving of a number of persons from drowning, will secure some modest village hero the much-coveted decoration. A very limited number of French women have been given the cross; of these, perhaps, the best known outside the limits of her own country was the late Rosa Bonheur.