lished, and their accessibility by electric roads is tending to make Akron attractive as a summer resort. The industries of the city include a great variety of manufactures, among which may be mentioned printing and lithographing, iron, steel, sewer pipes, rubber, pottery, and agricultural implements. The mayor's term of office extends over two years, as does that of the board of city commissioners, a bi-partisan board which controls the executive power. The city council is made up of sixteen members, two from each ward. The board of education is elected, and has full, independent power in all school matters, including the power of taxation. The city's annual income amounts to about $910,000; expenditures to $700,000, of which $260,000 is spent in construction and other capital outlay, and $440,000 in maintenance and operation. The chief items of expense are: police department. $30,000; fire department, $55,000; and schools, $135,000. Akron is the seat of Buchtel College, an institution under Universalist control. The city maintains a hospital and library. Pop., 1870, 10,000; 1890, 27,601; 1900, 42,728, Consult S. A. Lane, Fifty Years and Over of Akron and Summit County (Akron, 1892).
AKSAKOFF, Sergei Timofeyevitch (1791-1859). A Russian writer, born in the Government of Ufa. He was educated at the University of Kazan, and held office on the legislative commission at St. Petersburg from 1807 to 1812. His works include the serio-humorous Observations on Angling (1847), Memoires of a Huntsman in the Government of Orenburg (1852), with their continuation, Tales and Memories of a Huntsman (1855), and The Family Chronicle (1856), by some considered his best work, of which a second part appeared as Bogrov's Childhood (1858). A selection from his shorter writings was published in 1858.
AKSAKOFF, ak-sii'kof, Ivan Sergeyevich (1823-86). A Russian writer and leader of the Panslavists, born in the Government of Ufa. He studied in the school of jurisprudence and graduated in 1842. afterward entering the Moscow division of the Senate. In 1848 he entered
the service of the ministry of the interior, as a
"specially commissioned officer." He left this
service in 1852 for journalistic work, becoming
editor of the Moscow Sbornik (Miscellany), which
was suppressed, the editor being put under
special surveillance and forbidden ever to be the
editor of a paper again. He was commissioned
by the Geographical Society to study the fairs of
Ukrayna, and his report received the medal of
the Geographical Society, the .cadeniy of Sci-
ence .also recognizing its value by awarding to
its author one-half of the Demidoff prize. In
185.5-56 he was in Bessarabia in command of the
Serpnkhoflf detachment of the Moscow levy dur-
ing the (himean War. He established the Den,
a weekly paper published from 1861 to 1865,
and the Moskra, .a daily paper, which was estab-
lished in 1867. This latter sheet was suppressed
three times by the Government within twenty-
two months, these suppressions aggregating
thirteen months of that period. During its sup-
pression, the .1?o.s/,ric/i was published in its place,
ostensibly under another editor. AksakofT was
the leader of the Panslavist party in Russia,
and, as a, chairman of the Slavic Philanthropic
Society, worked incessantly in the interest of
a united state of all the Slavic nations. During
the Russo-Turkish War he became the recognized
leader of all those influences that brought about
the War of Liberation of the Balkan Slavs, and
his speeches in support of this cause had a
world-wide circulation. On July 4. 1878, during
a session of the Slavic Philanthropic Society, he
made an impassioned speech, in which he ar-
raigned the Russian diplomats, charging them
with vacillation and treaclierous submission in
the presence of the other members of the Berlin
Congress there sitting. He called upon the Em-
peror to fulfill his promises of "carrying this
sacred undertaking to its very end." and demand-
ed the rescue "of Russian glory, honor, and con-
science that were being buried at the Congress."
The Moscow Slavic Committee was suppressed,
and Aksakoff was banished from Moscow, but
was permitted to return in December of that
year. From 1880 until his death he published
the weekly Rus in the interests of the Slavophil
party. In December, 1885, he marie a bitter
attack on Russian diplomacy in Bulgaria, with
the result that an official reprimand was issued
against his paper for "discussing current events
in a tone inconsistent with true patriotism."
Aksakofi' replied in an even more pointed article,
in which he defined true patriotism. He took
the rebuke very much to heart, however, and his
death on February 8, 1886, is supposed to have
been hastened by the effect which the reprimand
produced U()ou him. He was the iK'st known
poet of the Slavophil cause. His complete works
were published posthumously.
AKSHEHR, llc'sheHr (Turk. White Town,
ancient Gk. '}n-/ ofir/'Amv, Philomclion). A city in
the Turkish vilayet of Konieh, Asia Minor, situa-
ted on the Scutari-Konieh line, south of the Lake
of Akshehr (Map: Turkey in Asia, D 3). It
lies at the foot of the Sultan-Dagh in a fruitful
and well-watered region, and has a considerable
trade and manufactories of carpet. Pop., about
15.000.
AKSU,;ik-soo'. A tow^^ of Eastern Turkestan.
It is situated in 41° 7' N. lat. and 81° E. long.,
260 miles northeast of Yarkand, west of the
River Aksu. at an altitude of over 3000 feet
(Map; Asia, H 4) . It is surrounded by a strong
wall and is of considerable strategic importance.
It is a meeting place for the caravans from Rus-
sia, China, West Turkestan, Kashmir, and India.
Tlie inhabitants are engaged chietly in the manu-
facture of metal ware, cotton goods, and har-
ness. In 1718 Aksu was nearly destroyed by an
earthquake. In 1807 it was taken by the Khan
of Kashgar. but was recaptured by the Chinese
in 1877. Its population is estimated at 40,000.
AKYAB, ȧk-yäb′. A town of Burma, India.
The chief seaport of the district of Akyab or Arakan proper, and the capital of the province of Arakan (Map: Asia, J 7). It is situated on the eastern side of the island of Akyab, at the mouth of the Kuladan River, in lat. 20° 7′ N., 190 miles southeast of Calcutta. The houses are well built, the streets broad and regular, and it has a fine and well-protected harbor. Its chief article of export is rice. The United States is represented by a consular agent. Its rise from a fishing village dates from its choice as a port and the capital of the province in 1826. Pop., 1891, 38,000.
AL, äl. The article in the Arabic language. The pronunciation of the initial vowel is vague, so that the article vacillates between al and el. Before dentals, sibilants, and liquids, the l sound
