ALABAMA 



133 



ALADDIN 



chief diplomatic issue confronting the United 

 States was whether or not Great Britain was 

 responsible for the damage done by the Ala- 

 bama and other cruisers fitted out in British 

 ports. After considerable useless negotiation 

 the issue was submitted to arbitration (see 

 WASHINGTON, TREATY OF). The arbitrators 

 were five in number, one appointed by the king 

 of Italy, one by the President of Switzerland, 

 one by the Emperor of Brazil, one by Great 

 Britain and one by the United States. Charles 

 Francis Adams was the American representa- 

 tive, and Sir Alexander Cockburn, Lord Chief 

 Justice of England, represented Great Britain. 

 The arbitrators met at Geneva, Switzerland, 

 on December 15, 1871, and on September 14, 

 1872, signed the final award. The decision held 

 Great Britain responsible for losses caused by 

 the Alabama and several other ships, and or- 

 dered the payment of $15,500,000 by Great 

 Britain to the United States in settlement of 

 all claims. This money was afterward distrib- 

 uted to the individuals who had actually suf- 

 fered losses. 



ALABAMA, UNIVERSITY OF, a non-sectarian, 

 coeducational institution under state control. 

 The seventy-two sections of land which formed 

 the basis of its original endowment were do- 

 nated by Congress in 1819, the year of Ala- 

 bama's admission to the Union. In 1884 an 

 additional grant of seventy-two sections was 

 made as compensation for the destruction of 

 the university buildings by Federal troops in 

 1865. The leases of this land, much of which 

 is coal-bearing, bring an annual return of ap- 

 proximately $50,000, which amounts to one- 

 third of the income of the institution. In 1907 

 the legislature appropriated $400,000 for the 

 construction of three new buildings, and also 

 increased the annual appropriation for mainte- 

 nance to $25,000. The legislature of 1911 ap- 

 propriated an additional $300,000. 



first classes were held in 1831, and the 

 ; il attendance is now about 1,500. Except 

 iti the professional schools, in \\lnrh the annual 

 fees range from $25 to $75, tuition is free to 

 residents of Alabama. The teaching staff in- 

 cludes about 150 members, and the library con- 

 tains 35,000 volumes. The school of medicine 

 is located at Mobile, but the other departments 

 arts and sciences, education, engineering, law 

 and the summer school are at Tuscaloosa. 



The institution has for many years been fur- 

 ni -h inn a large percentage of the public pro- 

 fessional men of Alabama. Within recent yean 

 it has been striving to take the lead in the 



industrial development of one of the poten- 

 tially richest sections of the country. Its loca- 

 tion in the so-called "Birmingham district" 

 gives to it a strategic opportunity to perform 

 this function. G.HJ>. 



ALABAS'TER, the name given to a special 

 kind of gypsum, which has a pure white color, 

 and is so soft that it can be scratched with the 

 finger nail. It was a favorite material used by 

 the ancients for statues and columns, and for 



FORMS OF OLD ALABASTER VESSELS 



the manufacture of vases and ornaments. Ala- 

 baster is found in many parts of Europe, but 

 the best variety is found in Italy and in some 

 parts of England. Vases, clock-stands, statu- 

 ettes and other ornamental articles are made 

 of the finest grade of alabaster. This is some- 

 times called in England potters' stone, because 

 it is also used for moulds in potteries. From 

 inferior grades the cement known as plaster of 

 Paris is made. 



The chief center of the alabaster industries 

 is Florence, Italy, where many exquisite works 

 of art are made from a form of alabaster winch 

 is found in caves in the form of stalactites and 

 stalagmites (see STALACTITE). This kind of ala- 

 baster is very hard and brittle, which make 

 carving and polishing delicate operations. 



ALADDIN, a lad' in, one of the most popular 

 of all the heroes of legend. He appears in 

 of the tales of the Arabian Nights, in which, 

 from dire poverty as the son of a poor widow, 

 he advances to wonderful wealth, because of 

 the possession of a magic lamp and ring which 

 he gains through his uncle, a wicked magician. 

 Both the lamp and the ring, when rubbed, 

 bring to his aid po\\. n'ul urnii, who are forced 

 to do his bidding. Through his wealth he wins 

 as a bride the daughter of the emperor of 

 China, and for her he orders the slaves of the 

 lamp to build in one night a gorgeous palace. 



