real number of soldiers engaged in the war did not exceed the original thirty thousand named. He made close inquiries, and found that there was so much foundation for this statement, that he called General Gomez to him, and said that the list must be reduced to its proper limits, as he only had authority to pay thirty thousand men.

Without hesitation, General Gomez admitted that the lists had been doctored (falsified), and asked for two days to revise them.

This work seems somewhat difficult of accomplishment, for after some ten days of revising, General Gomez makes the list thirty-two thousand, while Major-General Brooke, who has meanwhile been making independent inquiries, has a much smaller estimate of the men to be paid. The Governor-General thinks it will not be right to commence the distribution until the lists are straightened out; meantime the annoying delay continues.

General Gomez has fresh trouble of his own on hand. He recently formed a Junta of Cuban generals to assist him in the work of paying off the army, and to advise him on all important points. He issued a proclamation announcing the formation of this national society, and stated that he was as devoted as ever to the cause of Cuba's freedom, and urged all patriots to work to prove themselves capable of governing themselves.

Having made these announcements, he met his friends in the Junta, and passed a resolution that twenty-four of the generals who had opposed him should be removed from active service and that their

The Cuban Troops Not Yet Paid 639

escorts and aides should not be paid out of the fund. Among the men who have thus been put under the ban, are such patriots as Sanguily, Rivera, Lacret, and Vidal. Of course this action raised a tempest of opposition and made a large new crop of enemies for Gomez.

In other respects matters are settling down peacefully. The planters have taken heart since the time of paying their mortgages has been extended; the authorities are reforming the laws, and making them fairer toward accused persons.

A report from Colonel Tasker H. Bliss, who represents the Treasury Department in Havana, seems to show that while they were in office the Spanish customs officials made an excellent harvest from the duties.

The present tariff is sixty-two per cent lower than it was under Spanish rule. In spite of this fact, and the further fact that the people have been so impoverished by the war that they are importing much less than formerly, the customs receipts in Havana have been a million dollars a month. Under Spanish rule they were only seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars a month. It has been estimated that the officials ought to have turned in twenty-eight million dollars a year to their government, but nine millions a year appears to be all they accounted for.

It is small wonder that ruin overtook Spain when some of her sons retained Crown money in such an unwarranted manner.

As soon as the Filipinos learned the results of the first negotiations by their envoys,

The
Philippines.

they sent the same parties back to General Elwell S. Otis to make another appeal, which differed very slightly from their first proposals.

General Otis refused this request as absolutely as he had the first one, but a further conference was held between the Filipino emissaries and the President of our Philippine Commission.

The result of this meeting has not been made public, but the authorities have stated that it was highly satisfactory, and promised a speedy settlement of the difficulties. It was rumored that at this meeting Aguinaldo's envoys were willing to acknowledge the sovereignty of the United States.

The American forces have made great advances during the past few days. On May 2 General Lawton's division captured Balinag and the villages in its vicinity, and pursued and scattered 1,600 insurgent troops. By this victory General Lawton opened communication with General Hale's forces.

May 4 General Lawton's division pushed still farther ahead and drove the enemy northward, while the troops under General MacArthur met the enemy about four miles south of San Fernando. The Filipinos were commanded by General Luna in person, but they were driven from their trenches and defeated. On the same day the town of San Tomas was also taken.

May 5 General MacArthur occupied San Fernando, which the rebels had made their seat of government after the flight from Malolos.

Smokeless Powder

641

THE GREAT ROUND WORLD goes to all civilized countries on the globe, and to some that are uncivilized. The following shows how an American lady abroad appreciated "the little newspaper." She wrote from Nice:

Please send Mrs. -'s copy of THE GREAT ROUND WORLD henceforth to Street, New York. She finds it extremely interesting, and it was extremely valuable to her while on her dahabeah on the Nile during the past winter.

If you are going abroad you can have the paper follow you by sending 2 cents per week for foreign postage.

EASY SCIENCE 80

Smokeless Powder.

SMOKELESS POWDER has come to stay. Over twenty years ago powders that were smokeless were used in shotguns in Europe. They were what were known as "wood powders;" the substance was chiefly nitratated wood pulp, and while the results were in most cases superior to those from black powder, they were far from being perfect compositions. The principal trouble was caused by the drying out of the moisture, with consequent increase of pressure.

As promised, THE GREAT ROUND WORLD to-day gives an article on Smokeless Powder. It was written by Mr. Arthur Savage, General Manager of the Savage Arms Co., of Utica, N. Y. Parents will appreciate the caution he gives concerning the use of suitable powder by the little fellows who delight to use guns. EDITOR.

To-day there are hundreds of different smokeless powders manufactured for different purposes, from the powder adapted for use in the thirteen-inch guns on battleships (the projectiles from which will penetrate thirty-seven inches of solid steel) down to the quick-acting powders for the twenty-two caliber rifles used by the callow youth on innocent robins.

The forms of these powders take many shapes; the larger grains being principally prismatic and cubical, while the finest powder for the smallest arms is very similar in form to fine black powder, but of different color. The "high velocity" smokeless powder for rifles is made in four different forms. First, in strings or cords cut to the length of the powder chamber, as the English cordite; second, these cords cut up into little sections; third, in small squares, being sheets pressed and cut up with a sharp tool; and fourth, in irregular grains similar to black powder, but of a more rounded shape.

While smokeless powder has many advantages over the well-known black, there are conditions which have to be carefully followed to get the best results. Among the peculiarities of several classes of rifle powders is the fact that when the bullet is not inserted in the shell, no ignition of the powder takes place, although the primers used are unusually powerful.

These new substances of destructive force require confinement, and it is just because of this condition that so many sportsmen unfamiliar with the new explosives get into trouble with their arms. The bore of shotguns being relatively large to that of rifles, and without grooves, necessitates a powder composi