LHASA 



3398 



LIBERAL PARTY 



Ley den jar has a definite capacity, depending 

 on the thickness and quality of the glass and 

 the surface of the tin foil; the charge of elec- 

 tricity is not in the coatings, but in the glass 

 itself. 



A number of Ley den jars may be connected 

 either in parallel or series (see ELECTRICITY) 

 to form a battery. This is a satisfactory form 

 for small wireless stations, but the battery of 

 Franklin panes is more usual because it occu- 

 pies less space. g, y jy, 



It is often en- 

 closed in a 

 wooden box con- 

 taining oil or wax 

 to prevent leak- 

 age of the charge. 



The spark given CONDENSER FOR WIRE- 

 nff hv a ron LESS TELEGRAPHY 



A battery of Franklin 



denser is not con- panes, so called in honor of 

 tinuous. If you Benjamin Franklin, 

 hit a punching bag it will bound back and 

 forth several times with gradually lessening 

 force. The discharge of electricity from a con- 

 denser acts in a similar fashion, the first out- 

 ward rush being quickly followed by several 

 inward and outward rushes of decreasing in- 

 tensity, forming the high frequency oscillations 

 which are the source of the waves used in wire- 

 less telegraphy. The movement in each direc- 

 tion requires from one one-thousandth to one 

 ten-millionth part of a second. C.R.M. 



LHASA, or LASS A, lah'sah, the capital of 

 Tibet and the holy city of the Tibetans, is also 

 known as "the Forbidden City," for no Euro- 

 pean since 1846 has succeeded in reaching its 

 sacred temples. Lhasa proper is a closely- 

 packed assemblage of stone and brick dwellings 

 and shops, interspersed with many temples. 

 Outside the wall which surrounds the city are 

 about fifteen monasteries scattered through the 

 suburbs and over the plains. Paper, oiled or 

 plain, serves as windows for the curiously- 

 constructed dark houses, the light for which at 

 night is furnished by torches or primitive 

 lamps fed with vegetable oil. The women, 

 who go about with perfect freedom, stain their 

 faces with black spots. Besides being the great 

 religious center of the Buddhist faith, Lhasa 

 is important as a trading center, being the 

 terminus for caravans to and from India, Kash- 

 mir, Burma, China, Mongolia and Turkestan. 

 Tea, silks, carpets, rice and tobacco are the 

 chief articles of commerce. The resident popu- 

 lation, not including the garrison and the 

 monks, is about 15,000, although this number 



is greatly increased by a floating population of 

 pilgrims and traders, ranging from 40,000 to 

 80,000. 



LIBAU, le'bou, in Russian, LIBAVA, is a forti- 

 fied Baltic seaport in the southern part of the 

 province of Courland, Russia, near the German 

 border. The city is divided into a new town 

 and an old town. The old town, fortified by the 

 Livonian Knights in 1301, is typical of the Mid- 

 dle Ages, with narrow, crooked streets and tall, 

 dark houses and old walls, but the new town is 

 a beautiful section, with broad streets and fine 

 squares, great business blocks, crowded docks 

 and rows of warehouses. The harbor of Libau 

 is excellent, and for pleasure-seekers there is a 

 good beach. Libau is chiefly important as a 

 naval station and commercial port, for besides 

 its manufactures of farm machinery, flour, 

 arms, sails, ropes and furniture, there is a large 

 inland trade in grain, flax, linseed oil and 

 petroleum. In the German invasion of 1915, 

 Libau, after several bombardments, both by 

 land and by sea, fell to the Germans, who 

 appropriated for their own use the great ship- 

 building yards and gun factories (see WAR OF 

 THE NATIONS). Population, 1913, 90,400. 



LI 'BEL, in law, a false statement expressed 

 either in print or in writing, which tends to 

 reflect on a person's reputation, or exposes him 

 to hatred, contempt or ridicule. Spoken words, 

 however much they may defame, are classed 

 as slander, and as they are not so permanent a 

 record as written words, the offense is not so 

 great as in libel. Libel is also considered to 

 show greater enmity on the part of its author. 

 The exhibition of a libelous picture is an act 

 as criminal as a false statement in print. If 

 the libel is seen but by one person other than 

 the person libeled, publication is held to have 

 taken place. In the United States and Canada 

 a libel is ground for civil action in court for 

 damages, and if malicious it is an indictable 

 offense punishable by imprisonment, the term 

 of w T hich is fixed by statute. 



LIB'ERAL PARTY, in Great Britain, Can- 

 ada and Australia, the name of the political 

 organization which opposes the Conservative 

 party. It was the successor in England of the 

 Whigs, and developed rapidly in the colonies, 

 appealing to the people as the party of liberal 

 ideas, supporter of the principle of political 

 freedom and pledged to progressive legislation. 

 About 1850, when the party was assuming defi- 

 nite standards, it was stated, "A Liberal is he 

 wjio looks forward for his principles of govern- 

 ment; a Tory (Conservative) looks backward." 



