Chapter 2

They ask that no structure may be higher than 165 feet. This will allow for twelve and thirteen stories. It was proposed to run up some offices that would be twenty-two stories high, and it was this that frightened people into action on the subject.

The Board of Trade and Transportation does some very good work for the citizens of New York.

It is made up of men who have large business interests in the city, and they watch all the bills that are sent up to Albany, and all the work done by the Mayor and Aldermen, and take notice of every part of the city's government, to make sure that the best interests of the citizens are being cared for.

This Board is of the greatest service to all New Yorkers. The business interests of a city demand that all the roads shall be kept in good repair, that the ways of reaching the city shall be many and easy, and that the fares shall not be too high.

Over all these matters, and a great many more which we have not space to write about, the Board of Trade and Transportation watches faithfully and untiringly.

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There was a meeting of the George Junior Republic Association the other day. Many interesting things were spoken of in regard to the settlement at Freeville.

You may not perhaps know what a wonderful association this Republic is.

The Junior Republic was started in 1890 by Mr. William R. George.

This kind-hearted man read a story in a newspaper, about a ragged boy in City Hall Park, eagerly watching a little yellow spot on the grass which he hoped was a dandelion. It told how, after a weary waiting until the policeman's back was turned, the boy dashed under the forbidden rail, stooped for the prize, only to find that it was a bit of orange peel.

Mr. George was touched by the story of the boy's disappointment; the more he thought of it, and of the longing of a city child for the trees and flowers of the country, the more he grieved that so many little ones never had a chance of seeing the green fields, and enjoying the wonders of Nature.

The result of it all was, that Mr. George collected twenty-two poor little ragged lads, and gave them a two weeks' outing at Freeville that summer.

From this beginning, the whole wonderful plan of the Republic shaped itself in his mind.

He thought that if he could get hold of the rough children of the streets, who have no kind parents to care for them, and use the summer holiday to influence them to good actions, he would be doing a great work for them.

He felt that the best way to bring this about was to put them in a miniature world of their own, where they would have the same trials and temptations as in their city homes, but with the advantage of having some one at hand to show them the right way.

His plan was to form a genuine republic, to which boys and girls would be equally welcome as citizens. The plan has been carried out, and the Junior Republic is a great success.

It is an absolute republic, with a government like our own. It has its President, its Senators and Congressmen, and so forth.

Mr. George is the President; the boy and girl citizens form the Congress, the Cabinet officers, the Judge, and the police.

The Constitution of the United States, and the laws of New York State, are followed as closely as possible, and other laws are made to regulate the particular needs of the Republic.

All citizens, boys and girls, are required to work. Nothing is given away in Freeville. The young citizens are paid for their work, and have to support themselves on their earnings.

The boys and girls who will not work get no food.

In all large cities and communities, the people who have money are obliged to pay a certain sum to help others who have none. Therefore men and women who do not work because they are old or ill, are provided with food and shelter from the money, or taxes, that the well-to-do have to pay.

In Freeville it is different. All the citizens are young and healthy, and able to work, so a law has been passed that no laws shall be made to raise money to keep the idle. No money is set aside to keep paupers, and those who do not work cannot eat. The result is, that there are no paupers or tramps in Freeville.

The way the children earn their money, is by working from eight-thirty till noon every day at farming, landscape gardening, carpentry, cooking, millinery, and sewing.

They are paid according to their skill, and are divided into three grades; unskilled, medium, and skilled labor.

The children naturally try their best to improve, so that they may get higher wages, and thus they gradually progress, and learn their trades.

They are paid every Saturday, like regular laborers, and out of the money they earn, they pay for their board and lodging through the week.

There is a bank in which the thrifty can put their savings, and when they go back to the city they draw these savings out.

The money used is not regular money, but Freeville money, made of cardboard, and at the end of the holiday the children are not given United States money for their savings, but the value of their little hoard in vegetables, fruit, and clothing.

This summer outing teaches the rough boys of the city what their duties in life are, and shows them, better than words could do, that the boy or man who wants to be happy must work honestly and obey the law.

Freeville has its boy policemen, who arrest all evildoers; its jail, where the offenders are locked up; and its gang of convicts, who are only given bread and water, and prison fare, and are kept at work the whole day, instead of from eight-thirty till noon.

The records of the Republic show that boys who have gone into Freeville rough and bad, and have commenced their citizenship with idling and thieving, have in a few weeks become law-abiding citizens.

So successful has this summer Republic been, that Mr. George has made up his mind to keep it going the whole year round.

Over two hundred children were housed there last summer, and thirty-four boys are passing the winter there.

Through the generosity of some wealthy people, a farm of forty-eight acres has been bought for the Republic, and this spring and summer it is intended to make room for a much greater number of "citizens."

The Republic is supported by subscriptions, and the treasurer wants to raise ten thousand dollars, to carry out the many fine ideas Mr. George has in mind for this summer.

England, Germany, and Japan have made inquiries into the work at Freeville, and Mr. George hopes that republics may be started in other countries.

Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and Illinois are starting republics of their own, and Mr. George has had word from the Junior Republic of California, that the plan is in working order there, and doing exceedingly well.

GENIE H. ROSENFELD.

THE SCHUBERT CENTENNIAL.

A Schubert celebration was held in Vienna on the hundredth anniversary of the great composer's birth, which occurred on January 31st.

Concerts of Schubert music were given, and an exhibition of his manuscripts and letters.

An old battered piano which he had used was also shown. This is the only article which belonged to him that is known to exist, as he died in extreme poverty. It seems sad that his genius was not properly appreciated until after his death, and that he who was to give so much to the world of music should have been denied all but the barest necessities.

We publish an account of his life, written especially for THE GREAT ROUND WORLD.

FRANZ SCHUBERT.

Eighteen hundred and ninety-seven is the centennial year of Franz Schubert, the great composer, who was born in Vienna on the 31st of January, 1797. He was of humble lineage. His father, who also bore the name of Franz, was the son of a peasant, who studied in Vienna, and became assistant to his brother, a schoolmaster. He married Elizabeth Vitz, who had been in service as a cook in Vienna. Franz Peter Schubert was the thirteenth of a family of fourteen children, nine of whom died in infancy. His love of music was apparent when he was very young. A relative often took him to visit a pianoforte warehouse, and there, and on an old worn-out piano at home, the child studied his first exercises without a master. At the age of seven he had a teacher, Michael Holzer, who used to cry out, "When I wish to teach him anything, he always knows it already." When he was eleven years old he was employed as a solo singer and violin player in a church. A little later his father succeeded in getting him a position in the Emperor's Chapel, and he thus became a pupil in a music school, which was called the "Convict."

It seems that the boys at the Convict endured many privations. The practice-room was unbearably cold in winter, and the young students were allowed to go without food for eight hours and a half, between a "poor dinner and a wretched supper." When he was about fifteen, Franz wrote to his brother, explaining his position, his hungry longing for a roll or an apple, and concluded in these words: "I rely on the teaching of the Apostle Matthew, who says, 'Let him that hath two coats give one to the poor.' Meanwhile I trust you will listen to the voice which unceasingly appeals to you to remember your loving, hoping, poverty-stricken--and once again I repeat poverty-stricken--brother Franz."

His earliest composition for the piano is dated April, 1810. It was his habit to date all his pieces. In March, 1811, he composed a long vocal piece, "Hagar's Lament over Her Dying Son." His boy friends at the Convict were devoted to him, and were eager to play, sing, or copy any of his compositions. One of them, Josef Spaun, who was several years older than Schubert, and better off, helped him to procure all the music paper he needed.

His first mass, in F, was composed and performed in 1814. It is said to be the most remarkable first mass ever produced, excepting Beethoven's in C. In 1815, when he was only eighteen years old, he composed the music for more than a hundred songs. The fine song, the "Erl King," was written in this year, and many of his boyish songs are among his finest productions. When he died in 1828, he left more than 1,100 compositions, the greater number of which had not then been published.

In his lifetime, some of his songs were sold for a few pence, and he lived in poverty nearly all his days. Yet publishers have grown rich by the sale of his compositions, and his work is a delight to the world. The house in which he was born is marked by a marble tablet, and costly memorials have been raised in his honor. Some words that he spoke in the delirium of his last illness made his brother Ferdinand believe that he wished to be buried near Beethoven. This wish was fulfilled, and his grave lies near that of the great musician, for whom from his early boyhood he always had a profound reverence and admiration.

M. BOURCHIER SANFORD.

INVENTION AND DISCOVERY.

There has lately been patented in England a system for making buttons, combs, brush-handles, billiard balls, and such like articles out of milk.

The bone buttons and articles of that kind, which we have been using up to the present time, have been made of refuse from the slaughter-houses. This new process will only require milk.

Any one who knows anything about dairy work knows what loppered milk is. It is the thick soured milk that one finds under the butter cream.

This loppered milk is made into cottage cheese, and many people, in making their cottage cheese, stand it for a moment on the fire to thicken.

Woe to the dairy wife who lets it stay too long!

It becomes like little knobs of rubber, that nothing will soften. When one tries to bite it one's teeth rebound. It is the toughest kind of material.

Mr. Callander, the Englishman who invented the milk buttons, must have had an encounter with some of this cottage cheese, and his trouble in chewing it must have made him wonder whether it wasn't intended for something else instead of food.

He has found a means of making the loppered milk so solid, that three days after he has mixed it with some ingredients, the secret of which he will not tell, it is like celluloid, and is ready to be cut.

It has a glossy surface, and is of a creamy color.

It is said to be less brittle than bone or celluloid, and not likely to chip. Any one who has eaten cottage cheese that has been too long on the stove will believe that the new substance has powers of resistance that are quite unequalled.

G.H.R.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.

The Editor is pleased to acknowledge the letters from John Russell and Fred S. Hall, and to know that THE GREAT ROUND WORLD is enjoyed by them.

It is difficult to answer Fred's inquiry, as to where we get our news. The only true answer is, from all over and everywhere. The Editor has eyes and ears open all the while to gather interesting facts for the paper's young readers.

The Editor was pleased to receive the pleasant letter from I.L.G. Rice. The suggestion of an article on "Casting and Founding" is good, and will be adopted at the earliest possible moment.

I.L.G. Rice must, however, bear in mind that expansion is thoroughly understood by scientists, and that Dr. Moissan was not doing the rough work of a foundry, but conducting a most delicate experiment, in which he brought into play all the scientific knowledge available.

DEAR EDITOR:--I have been thinking that I would write you and tell you how much I like THE GREAT ROUND WORLD. It interests me very much. I have looked for salt in the streets, but have not seen any.

It was funny that the bottle that Mr. McCoy threw into the water made such a journey.

I must stop now, but I still remain,

Your affectionate reader, NEW YORK CITY. JOHN F. RUSSELL, JR.

DEAR EDITOR:--I am very much pleased with your book, THE GREAT ROUND WORLD. My father wrote you to-day. I am very much interested in it.

I want to ask you a few questions.

Can you tell me where you get your news? I see you say that Maceo was shot, after all. Do you think United States will declare war with Spain? Could you send me a copy of THE GREAT ROUND WORLD about the time the news of Maceo's death was first heard of, if you have a spare one?

I must close now. Please direct the letter to

NORTH ADAMS, MASS. FRED S. HALL.

DEAR EDITOR:--Our teacher has been receiving all of THE GREAT ROUND WORLD papers, and she reads to us every morning.

We like the paper ever so much, and have learned a great deal about both the Cuban war and our government. She also read us the little note you had printed in the back, saying you would answer (and be glad to) any question we might ask.

We pupils do not understand about the new platform at the end of Brooklyn Bridge, and I am going to ask a few questions. Will the platform carry you down as well as up? How many will it carry? About how large is it? Is there more than one? If so, please tell me how many.

From your friend, CHEYENNE, WYO. ELSIE K. (age 11).

DEAR ELSIE:

In reply to your letter about the Brooklyn Bridge.

It is only arranged to save people climbing up-stairs. It is easy enough to go down-stairs, but it is the climbing up that people dislike, and the new elevator is to save this trouble.

It will take up three thousand passengers an hour, and if it is the success it promises to be, six of these lazy-man's staircases will be put into use.

It is the same size as the staircase of which it is to take the place.

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=HISTORIES. UNITED STATES=

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=History and Manuals of Vertical Writing=

By JOHN JACKSON

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Theory and Practice of Vertical Writing, $1.25 Teaching of Vertical Writing, .50

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John Jackson, the originator of this system of vertical writing, is the only teacher who has had the years of practice in teaching it that make these the standard manuals for teachers and students. The adoption of vertical writing abroad and in this country is largely due to his persistent work and the marvellous results of his teaching. His series of copy-books were the first to be used in this country, and are considered by experienced teachers, who are not to be misled by mere beauty of engravers work, to contain the only practical well-graded course of instruction leading from primary work to the rapid and now justly celebrated =telegraph hand=--for these books are the only ones containing copies in this rapid writing. The telegraph hand is the style used by the best telegraph operators in the country--and these writers are universally acknowledged to be the most rapid writers, and writers of a hand which of necessity must be most legible.

* * * * *

Copy-Books (10 numbers), 96 cents per dozen Copy-Pads (8 numbers), 96 cents per dozen

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Sample sets to teachers (post-paid), 75 cents

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=WILLIAM BEVERLEY HARISON 3 and 5 West 18th Street, New York City=

SIMPLE LESSONS IN THE

STUDY OF NATURE

By I.G. OAKLEY

This is a handy little book, which many a teacher who is looking for means to offer children genuine nature study may be thankful to get hold of.

Nature lessons, to be entitled to that name, must deal with what can be handled and scrutinized at leisure by the child, pulled apart, and even wasted. This can be done with the objects discussed in this book; they are under the feet of childhood--grass, feathers, a fallen leaf, a budding twig, or twisted shell; these things cannot be far out of the way, even within the stony limits of a city.

Nor are the lessons haphazard dashes at the nearest living thing; on the contrary, they are virtually fundamental, whether with respect to their relation to some of the classified sciences, or with reference to the development of thought and power of expression in the child himself.

The illustrations are few, and scarcely more than figures; it is not meant to be a pretty picture-book, yet is most clearly and beautifully printed and arranged, for its material is to be that out of which pictures are made. It will be found full of suggestions of practical value to teachers who are carrying the miscellaneous work of ungraded schools, and who have the unspeakable privilege of dealing with their pupils untrammelled by cast-iron methods and account-keeping examination records.

=_Sample copy, 50 Cents, post-paid_=

* * * * *

=WILLIAM BEVERLEY HARISON 3 & 5 W. 18th St. · · · New York City=

=KLEMMS'=

=RELIEF PRACTICE MAPS.=

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=LIST OF MAPS.=

Small size, 9-1/2 x 11 { Plain, 5 cents each. { With Waterproofed surface 10 " "

Europe, Asia, Africa; North America, South America, East Central States, New England, Middle Atlantic States, South Atlantic States, Palestine, Australia.

Large size, 10 x 15 { Plain, 10 cents each. { With Waterproofed Surface, 15 " "

United States, British Isles, Roman Empire, Western Europe, North America, South America, Asia.

(POSTAGE ON SINGLE MAPS, 5 CENTS.)

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"I would advise =Sunday-school teachers= to use, in connection with the lessons of 1897, =Klemm's Relief Map of the Roman Empire=. Every scholar who can draw should have a copy of it. Being blank, it can be beautifully colored: waters, blue; mountains, brown; valleys, green; deserts, yellow; cities marked with pin-holes; and the journeys of Paul can be traced upon it."--MRS. WILBUR F. CRAFTS, _President International Union of Primary Sabbath-School Teachers of the United States_.

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=DESCRIPTION OF THE MAPS.=

These maps are made in two forms, both with beautifully executed relief (embossed)--the cheaper ones of plain stiff paper similar to drawing paper (these are to be substituted for and used as outline map blanks), the others covered with a durable waterproof surface, that can be quickly cleaned with a damp sponge, adapted to receive a succession of markings and cleansings. Oceans, lakes, and rivers, as well as land, appear in the same color, white, so as to facilitate the use of the map as a =_geographical slate_=.

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=WILLIAM BEVERLEY HARISON _3 & 5 W. 18th St. ··· New York City_=

EXTRA EYES

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Have you ever seen the beautiful colors in a fly's wing? or the hole through a hair, or the little seed babies in the different seeds? Probably not unless you have some extra eyes to see them with. We call these EXTRA EYES, MICROSCOPES, Microscope is a name made from two Greek words, MICROS, "small," and SKOPEIN, "to view," and is an instrument to look at small things.