tuted, the prospect of immense fortunes in gold and diamond mines within a State renders the isolation of said State impossible. To hope for it is useless, for it is useless to expect of human nature that for the realization of which human nature was never calculated. Art, too, by her marvellous development of means of conveying intelligence to all parts of the world, and her scarcely less marvellous means of transportation, has combined to annihilate national isolation. With the possibility of isolation practically eliminated, the Boer becomes, nolens volens, a factor in the world struggle, or, if you please, a competitor in the world game of national competition on the basis of the survival of the fittest. It will of course be understood that other things than force are elements in national fitness to survive. Yet one thing is necessary, here as in the animal and vegetable world; namely, the power of adaptability to environment. In this the Boer has shown neither aptness nor inclination. Instead of utilizing the forces amidst which he finds himself,that is to say, instead of becoming a part of the liberal movement,- he chooses to be crushed by it. He represents ideas which the political evolution of the last two centuries has outgrown; in other words he is a representative of the seventeenth century, and the world has moved past him without his having realized it. True, he loves liberty; but even this sentiment is cramped and narrow; it is a liberty for a class and is not broadly altruistic.

I said that he was unprogressive. But who is to determine what constitutes progress? While this is a very difficult question theoretically, we may safely say that for practical purposes it is a majority of those who exert a dominant influence

upon world movements. But granting that the Boer is unprogressive, what follows? Simply this- that he soon becomes an inferior person. And he has read history to little purpose who has not discovered the inevitable result of an inferior person or race coming into contact with a superior. The Spaniard lost his empire because he lived in the past, learned nothing from experience, took no account of forces about him, absolutely refused to extend political privileges to those whom he ruled, until the irresistible current of reform swept him from a continent of which he formed no part and on which he had become an anachronism.

The American Indian has almost disappeared, or rather has been forced off from a stage upon which he had ceased to play a useful part, for the reason that he would not bring himself into harmony with the prevailing forces of civilization; that is, he would not adjust himself to his changed environment. However much we may pity the sad fate of the American Indian, however much we may admire his love of liberty and fighting qualities, yet those claims must perforce give way to the higher considerations of social advantage. The Tagalog is face to face with this universal law; and he will be fortunate or unfortunate in proportion as he adapts himself to, or hinders, social progress. The Chinaman must learn the same lesson. The Jap has already learned it. It is not necessary to multiply examples.

We notice now the additional fact that the usefulness of the British as a factor in promoting civilization and advancement is amply attested by experience. In India and in Egypt their justification for their political control is found not in the metaphysical refinements of international law, but in their achievements,-achievements such as force favorable testimony from unwilling witnesses. It is upon this record of their ability to bring order out of chaos, to establish security under the law, to reorganize and revivify social forces, to quicken the general intelligence and aspirations of their subjects, and thus to develop their country's resources, in short, to place things in a better condition than they find them, it is upon these grounds that we base a reasonable faith that the results will justify the means.

I am aware that force is a harsh means for reconstructing society in accordance with the law of social advantage. And I lament the fact that it ever should be necessary to resort to force as a means for securing social ends. Yet, however much I may regret that it should be so, a candid view of the facts of history compels me to conclude that a resort to force frequently has been, is, and for some time will continue to be necessary, in order to remove impediments from the path of social progress.

It is perchance within the sphere of possibilities that the Boer might have been induced to make concessions which would, for the present at least, have averted war. However that may be Omniscience alone can answer. This

much is certain, that as yet he has made none which might reasonably be hoped would render peace permanent; for the suffrage rights conceded to the Outlanders amounted to practically nothing, as they could only vote for members of the Lower House; and the Upper House, whose members must be burghers of the first class and elected by burghers of the first class only, practically controlled all legislation. Had the suffrage been extended to the Outlanders in a way that would be effective, they would soon have ousted the Boer peaceably, as they outnumber him two to one, and the proportion is constantly increasing. The Boer knew this full well and has emphatically refused to submit to it, and, knowing the tenacity of his nature, we may well consider his refusal as final. And knowing also the

nature and traditions of the British it was reasonably sure that they would not submit long to taxation with practically no representation (and it may be mentioned in passing that the Outlanders, of whom the British are a majority, pay nine tenths of the taxes). Remembering the further fact that matters have been and are moving at a tremendous rate in Africa, there is little that is substantial upon which to base a conclusion that a settlement could reasonably be hoped for; and hence it was only a question of time when the curtain should rise upon the drama now being enacted. The means, like the end, must be justified, if justified at all, by the use made of the trust imposed upon the successful party by reason of victory.

AURORA, ILL.

EDWIN MAXEY.

T

HERE is one branch of the United States Treasury Department about which there has been a great deal of talk and criticism, and of which little is known to the general public. This is the Architect's Office, a most important branch of the civil service, where is employed executive ability and architectural skill of the highest order, notwithstanding the fact that it has been often Isaid that it is difficult to obtain skilful draftsmen for the office because better salaries can be gotten outside of the government service. This is an erroneous idea, for, outside of the position of Chief Architect and Chief Executive of the Architect's Office- whose salaries $4,500 and $3,500 respectively the employees of this division of the Treasury Department are better paid than are others in the same work elsewhere, the salaries in the drafting department ranging from $1,000 to $2,000 per year.

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The methods of work in this important department are interesting. When the government desires to construct a postoffice, custom-house, court-house, assayoffice, or less important structures which come under the care of the Treasury Department, the building site is selected by a government agent, and, after Congress has made an appropriation for the purpose, a design of the intended structure

is drafted and submitted to a board consisting of the Secretaries of the Treasury and Interior and the Postmaster General. This design being approved, drawings are made in duplicate, and specifications compiled for the use of bidding contractors, and, after the work is advertised, the contract is awarded to the lowest responsible bidder. When all the preliminaries are arranged, the Secretary of the Treasury appoints a superintendent of construction, whose duty it is to see that the plans are properly executed, and the work of building begins. As this progresses the contractor can call on the government each month for pay to the extent of ninety percent of the value of the work completed, the money being payable on vouchers duly signed by the superintendent of construction and approved by the Secretary of the Treasury.

Plans and drawings for government buildings are all made in the Treasury building at Washington, after Congress has made appropriation for the purpose, for the garment must be cut according to the amount of cloth.

The draftsmen, to the number of forty, work in a large room 60 feet wide by 150 feet long, filled with rows of tables, some of which are separated by high partitions. The room is lighted by a glass roof, covered on the under side with wire

netting, and by electricity. In this room are made drawings of the building to be erected, as it will appear when finished, as well as separate drawings of the different structural sections. These designs are made on heavy white paper in sheets from two to four feet square, which are held in heavy wooden frames so that they can be kept perfectly smooth. After the original drawing is finished it is given to the tracer, who places over it a transparent sheet of white oiled paper and reproduces each line, mark, and figure.

While the building is in course of erection its progress is followed by the supervising architect, and full-sized drawings of its various parts are made at the Department as guides for the workmen. The oil-sheet tracings (used principally in preliminary work by bidding contractors in making their estimates) are, when finished in the drafting-room, taken to the photographing department of the architect's office- which is on New York Avenue opposite the New Corcoran Art Gallery — and there duplicated.

This process-the invention of the foreman of the photographing division, Mr. C. R. McBlair- - is very simple, being performed without the aid of the camera. It consists in the transference, by means of chemicals, of the oil-sheet tracings to a heavy, white, prepared paper. This paper, being sensitized, is hung up in a warm room, where it soon takes on a deep lemon-yellow color. It is then taken to a room opening out upon a roof, and, with the transparent tracing sheets laid smoothly upon it, is put into an upright wooden, glass-faced frame about four feet square, mounted upon wheels, and rolled out upon the roof, where unobstructed sunshine can be found. Here it is left, inclined at an angle to suit the sun's altitude, until the print is made.

When the yellow paper is first taken from the frame the lines of the drawing appear on it only as a lighter shade than the receiving ground. It is now taken down stairs, where it is immersed in large

iron photographic bath pans containing a chemical solution. After remaining there a short time the light yellow lines of the drawing become a deep black; and when the paper is taken from the bath, hung up, and dried, the work of making the duplicate is finished. As the printing frame is so large, a number of small tracings can be reproduced at one process.

Besides making duplicate drawings (from fifty to sixty copies of each being made) as above described, the photographic department also makes photographed copies of perspectives of government buildings and of originals of important papers that have to be taken out of the Treasury Department for any purpose.

Altogether there are 125 employees in the Architect's Office,- not a large force when we consider the amount of work done by this branch of the Treasury Department. The government owns a number of buildings in every State and Territory in the country, and, besides constructing them, must also keep them in repair.

The Treasury Department now has under its care 390 structures of various kinds, some of them being splendid specimens of architecture, the cost of which runs up into the millions, and some of very ordinary construction, costing only a few thousands. Of the former the New York city court-house and post-office cost over $8,500,000; similar buildings at Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Louisville, Kentucky, cost over $4,600,000, $1,500,000, and $1,100,000 respectively. The customhouse and post-office at Cincinnati cost $5,088,582; while those at New Orleans and St. Louis cost $4,221,824, and $5,686,854 respectively. The Treasury building at Washington cost $6,470,090.88. The total expense for government buildings runs far up into millions of dollars, and this outlay will, in the not distant future, be vastly increased when Congress is called on for appropriations for buildings and repairs in Hawaii, Porto Rico, and the Philippines.

BROOKLAND, D.C. JAMES EASTUS PRICE.

W

E HAVE fought the sharpest and most successful war since Cæsar wrote to Rome: "Veni, Vedi, Vici.» Yet, while rejoicing in our glorious victories on sea and land, I do not hesitate to say that the true glory of nations springs, not from war, but from peace; that it is not the sword, but the pen, which perpetuates the fame of kingdoms and republics. The allaccomplished Cæsar triumphed over Europe, Asia, and Africa, but it was his incomparable pen that preserved the glory won by his sword.

"Vain was the Chief's, the Sage's, pride,
They had no poet, and they died!
In vain they toiled, in vain they bled,
They had no poet, and are dead."

China, the oldest of existing nations, might have heroes as glorious as any that illumine the pages of Roman and Grecian history, but China had no Homer, no Virgil, no Livy, to transmit her deeds to the world.

Who has conferred more true glory upon Germany, -Frederick the Great by his wars, or Goethe by his poetry; Mozart by his genius, or Bismarck by his blood and iron; Schiller by his dramas, or the present William, who—

"Plays such fantastic tricks before high heaven As make the [nations] laugh? »

name,

Which gave more glory to the Roman the bloody victories of Marius or the literary laurels of Virgil? The political independence of Greece perished more than two thousand years ago, but she still lives in her incomparable literature. When she fell before the invincible legions of Rome, she conquered her conquerors by her poets, her philosophers, her sculptors. The exquisite grace of Grecian art and literature softened the manners and polished the language of the fierce warriors of Rome. To this influence the world is indebted for the polish of Cicero, the grace of Horace, the ease of Virgil, and the general excellence of the writers of the Augustan age, to which all succeeding literatures have looked back with admiration and despair.

Poetry has thrown a halo and a glory and a brilliancy around the commonplace Marc Antony, and he will live for all time as a romantic hero because Shakespeare has waved his magic wand over him.

Rome conquered the world. Her irresistible legions carried the Roman name to the ends of the earth. The mighty empire that seemed imperishable fell at last; the stupendous power which held the world in its iron grasp lost its grip: its conquests fell from her one by one; the barbarians overran the fairest portions of the empire, until, finally, the most magnificent political fabric ever reared by human genius and valor fell to rise no

more.

For a thousand years after the fall of the Roman empire a pall covered the fair face of Europe. During that baleful period the sword was mightier than the pen. The gentle arts of poetry and painting were lost to the world. The pen and pencil were deemed fit only for clerks and monks, while the sword was regarded as the only weapon for the hands of knights and gentlemen.

Standing on the Palatine Hill amid the crumbling ruins of the Palace of the Cæsars, recalling the thrilling associations of that historic spot, we remember that the pen of Tacitus has preserved for all time the Annals of the imperial masters of Rome. Wandering in the Forum, around which cluster so many associations of Republican Rome, we cannot help recalling the memorable scene when Evander showed neid all the prospective splendor of imperial Rome, and declared that the time would come when herds of cattle should wander over the Forum, while dirt, desolation, and neglect should disgrace the hallowed spot where Cicero's eloquent voice was once heard proclaiming the power, the majesty, and the freedom of the people of Rome. That time did arrive, and until recently herds of cattle did wander over the Forum and graze amid the decaying splendor of ancient Rome. The Forum is no longer a cattle-market, but it is a mass of awe-inspiring ruins, yet no student of history can approach that venerable spot unmoved by the thoughts that must arise when standing in the very place where the foundations were laid of Roman greatness; where was formed that precious gift to posterity, the Roman law, which has been pronounced a gift quite equal in value to the splendid legacy of Greek literature.