The Handy Cyclopedia of Things Worth Knowing / A Manual of Ready Reference

by Joseph Triemens

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used above the 130-foot level, 19,163; total weight
stone used in work, 81,120 tons.

The largest State in our grand republic is Texas, which contains 274,350
square miles, capable of sustaining 20,000,000 people, and then it would
not be more crowded than Scotland is at present. It has been estimated
that the entire population of the globe could be seated upon chairs
within the boundary of Texas and each have four feet of elbow room.

The Mississippi River, from the source of the Missouri to the Eads
jetties, is the longest river in the world. It is 4,300 miles in length
and drains an area of 1,726,000 square miles. The Amazon, which is
without doubt the widest river in the world, including the Beni, is
4,000 miles in length and drains 2,330,000 square miles of territory.



THE SINGLE TAX.

This idea was first formulated by Mr. Henry George in 1879, and has
grown steadily in favor. Single-tax men assert as a fundamental
principle that all men are equally entitled to the use of the earth;
therefore, no one should be allowed to hold valuable land without paying
to the community the value of the privilege. They hold that this is the
only rightful source of public revenue, and they would therefore abolish
all taxation--local, state and national--except a tax upon the rental
value of land exclusive of its improvements, the revenue thus raised to
be divided among local, state and general governments, as the revenue
from certain direct taxes is now divided between local and state
governments.

The single tax would not fall on all land, but only on valuable land,
and on that in proportion to its value. It would thus be a tax, not on
use or improvements, but on ownership of land, taking what would
otherwise go to the landlord as owner.

In accordance with the principle that all men are equally entitled to
the use of the earth, they would solve the transportation problem by
public ownership and control of all highways, including the roadbeds of
railroads, leaving their use equally free to all.

The single-tax system would, they claim, dispense with a horde of
tax-gatherers, simplify government, and greatly reduce its cost; give us
with all the world that absolute free trade which now exists between the
States of the Union: abolish all taxes on private issues of money; take
the weight of taxation from agricultural districts, where land has
little or no value apart from improvements, and put it upon valuable
land, such as city lots and mineral deposits. It would call upon men to
contribute for public expenses in proportion to the natural
opportunities they monopolize, and make it unprofitable for speculators
to hold land unused or only partly used, thus opening to labor unlimited
fields of employment, solving the labor problem and abolishing
involuntary poverty.



THE MYSTERIES OF HYPNOTISM.

A Compend of the General Claims Made by Professional Hypnotists.

Animal magnetism is the nerve-force of all human and animal bodies, and
is common to every person in a greater or less degree. It may be
transmitted from one person to another. The transmitting force is the
concentrated effort of will-power, which sends the magnetic current
through the nerves of the operator to the different parts of the body of
his subject. It may be transmitted by and through the eyes, as well as
the finger tips, and the application of the whole open hands, to
different regions of the body of the subject, as well as to the mind.
The effect of this force upon the subject will depend very much upon the
health, mental capacity and general character of the operator. Its
action in general should be soothing and quieting upon the nervous
system; stimulating to the circulation of the blood, the brain and other
vital organs of the body of the subject. It is the use and application
of this power or force that constitutes hypnotism.

Magnetism is a quality that inheres in every human being, and it may be
cultivated like any other physical or mental force of which men and
women are constituted. From the intelligent operator using it to
overcome disease, a patient experiences a soothing influence that causes
a relaxation of the muscles, followed by a pleasant, drowsy feeling
which soon terminates in refreshing sleep. On waking, the patient feels
rested; all his troubles have vanished from consciousness and he is as
if he had a new lease of life.

In the true hypnotic condition, when a patient voluntarily submits to
the operator, any attempt to make suggestions against the interests