4
THE ROCK ISLAND ARGUS, SATURDAY. MAT 17.
THE ARGUS.
PubllsW daily at U4 Seeonfl av
ua. P.oek I-,lnl III. (Entered at tha
poatoffio aa Mcon3-clais mattar.)
Back Isiaaa Ktaber of tka Aaaactafte
Pi
BY THE J. W. POTTER CO.
TERM8 Ton cer.ta per week, by car
rier, la Rock Island.
Corapiaicta ot delivery aerrlca should
t made to tho circulation department,
whfcn ctou!J also be notified In every
instance wbere ft la deaired to hare
taper discontinued. a-carriers' hava bo
authority la tte premisea.
AH comtasnfc-s Hons r.f argumentative
ebaraeter. eoirrical or rellinoua. njat
hare real nam attaeatd for public - ' i
lion. Nj euro, artlclee will be printed
irnr Acuta as sigiftturea.
Teieshonca in all departments: Cen
trsl Union. West 148. 1145 and J145.
Saturday, May 17, 19ft.
It looks as if Huerta was shaping
tip to get hurt.
Secretary of the Navy Daniels' sub-
stltution of "left" for "port" is another
administration knock on the cup that
cheers.
Scon the picnic basket will come to
Increase our sylvan Joys and decrease
our digestion. Nature has its little
Joker in every bill of health.
Austria is now in a position to con-1
ier upon us so.a.er. wno starxea to
ciean up me Montenegrins tne :n
elgnla of the ordr of the double cross.
Recent developments indicate 'hat
some of New York's police inspectors
will not live hereafter in the style to
which they have become accustomed.
Huerta says lie will smash the reb
els in a month,. Perhaps he has ob-
talnod a promise from them to stay :
In cne place long enough for that pur-
pose.
-.. r
Bryan has eclipsed his own pre-
Tlous record. Three thousand miles i
for one speech was as big and import-
nt a task as 3.000 miles of tpcech
making.
Chicago is considering the possi
bilities of putting a few whales in
Lake Michigan, whichafter all, would
Vi a pretty gjod way of getting rid j
of the town Jonahs.
"There is no mere pttient. courte
ous, long-sufft'ilng Individual than the
New York policeman proper," says a
New York nev. t paper. Cut now many
of them are rrcper?
It htm renamed for a democratic
administration to make big business
come to time by warning it not to
l educe wagec out of revenge for the
paseae of tho Underwood tariff bill.
I ...v
Guatemala agrees to pay British sub-
uaicia i w uiiun.u -
Jects a i lnim amounting to $10,000,000. j
As a cruiser was on the way with an
ultimatum the Uritili style of dollar ;
diplomacy seems to be in working
shape. I
. . .
Senators Cumtnons. Ken; on
and ;
Borah and Governor Hadley were wise
to hark back to the nursery rhyme:
"Ncr ail '.he kind's Ucrfeg nor all the
king's men cou'.d put ilumpty Dumpty
together agi'.n."
The poor stockholders of the White
. Scar steamship line will only receive a
. dividend of 80 per cent this year, which
ls but one-luiif of what was paid last
' year. This ls owing to the loss of the
tteimer Titanic. The widows and or
phans cf tha poor lc.tims who lost
their llvts in this at1, fvii disaster have
not declared a cent of dividend.
Illinois will be lifu d out of tlie mud
and given aurh improvements ia the
hlgh-Aays as will redeem the s;ate
from tiisgmcc and ridicule only by
roncrted prorf:(iur uiiinfliienrpd hv
selfishness arid narrowness, as will
sustain the legislature in artton of
What other states
1 pracurai nature.
l nae cone su ccsrji., Illinois can uo
' sad must do. But if anything is t j be
done, tetty fault-fluding. narrowness of
spirit &nd such otLfer luetics as only
fci'lder and delay, mart i put aside.
Tbt woy to 4ift Illinois o.it of the mud
is (a doing something, not in fussing.
THOMrso.N OX THKJOR. .
State's Attorney . Floyd E. Thomp
son, as will be noted elsewhere, has
made a deuced move to se that the
coun'y of Rock Uland recover and
receive the portion that is due from
every property holder in cqui'-abie tc
,
It win c roca..ed mat aurmg me
campaign or last ui.. tax aocgmg
was an issue. Wh le Mr. Thompson
made no ereclfiC r'eUg'a as to w hat
'laws he would enforce, his pcsit.on
was that of strictly ar.a consisienuy
msintatnir.g that he would to the ut
most iuf bis ability, in the eveJt of his
election, see that all laws were re
spected, end th'.s without b ag or preju-
dice, dtser'.minatlca or favor. to make a trip w Iti.ia reasonable limits
To hia attentiou now has been at a moment's notice. Davenport has
brought, not only the condition of olln 0f turh committees in connection
county finances, but what is to a large wit h the Greater Davenport organiza
extent the cause of the low ebb. He tion. In that city all the secretary has
has made an investigation, as his a. nse j to do is to call up on the phone a
of duty and swora obligation demands j number of men who are notified to be
and requires. He has found condi -ii a certain city the following morn
tiens to exisi where the law has been j ;n;, end it does not matter whether It
repestedly scd wilfully violated, net j to Chicago. Des Moines, Springfield or
only by tax payers fa the form of their , Dubuque cr Burlington. They are
returns to the assessor, but by the as- j there. It is this disposition that is mak
se ssors w ho bave made the returns. . Ir.g for Davenport's wonderful no-
J Ha has -discovered that affidavit re
t qu rfd by the law are mlfsicg. that
the law has been defied, and penalties
I ignored.
He has carcf-U.y one into the tta:-
utes and has notified the assessors of
the county of the provisions, require
ments and penalties, and given warn
ing to the full extent of his power and
ability as the representative of the
people he proposes now to go.
Penalties will he enforced as they ap
ply both to property holders and as
sessors where sworn statements are
not made as to actual valuation, to
the end that Rock Island county shall
receive that which uaeJer the law is
coming to it, and the more fortunate
as well as the man of moderate means
shall share alike In the proportion that
is due.
In these days of tjie income tax,
wherein it is sought by the nation to
secure from every man his Just part in
the cost of running the government,
accordingly as he has been favored or
possessed
in abundance of this
world's goods. State's Attorney Thomp
son's more will be taken, not only as
timely, but absolutely fair and in l'pe
with his solemn pledges and sworn
duty.
THE .NEED OF IMPROVED WAT.
ERWAY9.
It is gratifying to know that as a
result of the efforts made at Spring
field this week, in which Rock Island
and Moline played no small part, there
exists perhaps a better prospect than
ever has before for the proper rehabil
itation of the Illinois and Michigan
, Th(PB ,s , the
state of Illinois, through its executive
and legislative departments, will rea
der the aid that is essential to the re-
i building and enlargement of this
i water course so essential to the main
: tenance of the connecting link -be-jtween
the great lakes and nature's
great inland commercial artery the
Mississippi river.
It is believed that wholly within the
ilaw and court mandates such relief
and in he strictest sense it, is relief
will be given by the state of Illinois
to the furtherance of such plans and
propositions as will make the Illinois
ana Michigan canal an institution of
inestimable value to the state, finan
cially and otherwise, available for the
uses for which it was designed and
constructed many years ago.
In a wcrd, the Illinois and Michigan
canal must be brought up to date. It
must be made to correspond with tne
Hennepin canal in order to carry the
shipping that Is now available for it.
The BlggeBt shippers of the country
demonstrated last year that they are
ready with the tonnage to he assigned
to the canal, and that shipments will
increase as the canal is made ready to
take care of the business.
The need of improved waterways is
so apparent that it, seems hardly nec
essary f comment. Illinois has a
wonderful advantage in this respect, in
the possession of the Illinois and Mich-
igaa canal representative of millions !
in value as a state asset, to say i
.,m f mmori v..i,, i
and it is so plainly the iuty of the.
state to take care of it and improve
it, that neglect in this reepect has
gron to be almost a crime.
WANTED MIXCTB MEN.
I What Rock Island needs ia minute !
men men who stand ready upon short
i notice to eo to the front for Rock Is-i
llnH'. lo,ro.C Ti.or hov hot In.
land s interests. Tlaere have been in-
- --
numerable instances in support of this i
contention. One was afforded the pres-
eit week, when a hurry-up notice was
sent out by the heads of the Rock Is- i
land club, the Business Men's assocla-;
tion and the Fifty Thousand club for
representative men to go to Spring-
i field to work in behau of important
j projects pending before the legislature.
; Some difficulty was experienced in get
ting men to go. In tae majority cf
cases "business reasons'' was the ex
cuse plead. Nevertheless a represea-
tstive delegation responded and some-'""
! thing was accomplished. The men
Iviho went put iu good licks and withal
. had
a pleasant experience ana a good
! time.
I Cut largely it was the same old
I crowd that always goes to the front,
the same men for the most part who
I for years have been making trips in
1 thrt interest of Kock Island, i'. matters
, no
what the occasion, whether it be
uie success 01 caseuai: oi a Dig
' fur
factory project cr some public project
; of vi,al concern.
' The business men and other citi-
I el13 of Rock Is'-and must get away
' frcm the idea thai they can put aside
these calls tc duty on the ground that
their own business keeps them at
, heme
They must learn to make' some
i-acTuu-e wuerc iub iia: 01 iuc
j whole community is at stake some
f?cr:Hce of time, of personal in'erest.
: of conve nience.
j No good of a wholesome, lasting kind
was ever accomplished without sacri
I fice and even hardship, so that the bus
incs man or citizen who fails to re
'spond where asked to give a few days
'and a little money for the sake of the
entire city is not contributing his
share to the making of a greater Rock
Island. If every man declined to make
; such sacrifi.,"on the ground tbat he
couid not eret awav from nia bur.neaa
. El. business mieht be reelected bv
' h's abserce. there would be nobody to
'to out cn these exDecuions that so
0f,n mean much to a ritv. Pirknpss
1 aioce should be a valid excuse where
men fail to respond under such cir
cumstances. In many of the wideawake cities ot
today there are organisations com -
pesed of citizens, who stand medged
I buiiditg.
j Rock Island needs the spirit of the
minute men more men who stand
ready to go to the front whenever c
1 caeion ws.rrtnu.
The Genial Cynic
7 CHARLES GRANT MILLER.
EGOTISM.
The ego of each one of us that greedy, insistent,
insatiable and domineering instinct which says and
reiterates that the best is none too good for us is re
sponsible for much of the misery of mankind.
Lovers get on in such glorious happiness because
each immoderately praises the otter. The happiness
fo often fades after marriage because then eacb,
praises himself.
Many marriages are failures for no other reason
than the insatiate egotism of bothparties, which de
mands and keeps on demanding consideration, diplom
acy, flattery, yet never proffering aught in return.
The pessimist does not exist who is not surcharged
with egotism.
He takes himself as the standard of measurement
In weighing what little else there is of the world, and
in his mind it does not nearly come up to the mark.
In our friends we expect the highest attainments,
constancy, devotion, ideal sentiment, as well aa sympathy and material as
sistance. Yet we seldom stop to question whether we deserve these things.
Truly astonishing, when we come to think of it, is the natural, inborn
and rooted egotism of most poor mortals.
Half our troubles,, failures and sorrows are due to the fact thai we
think the universe was designed to fit nicely down around ourselves, rather
than we to fit ourselves into it.
CAPITAL COMMENT
BY CLYDE H. TAVENNER.
CONGRESSMAN' FROM THE FOUR
TEENTH DISTRICT.
(Special Correspondence of The Argus.)
Washington, D. C, May 15. While
digging back through the Congres
sional Record the other day. on one
of the faded pages
I came across the
only speech ever
made on the floor
by James MacKen
zie, a democratic
represen tatlve
from Kentucky, in
1880 and 1881.
MacKemie was a
famous character
in those days. His
speech brought
him fame and the
soubriquet of "Qui
nine Jim." s
The. story of
"Quinine J I m"
MacKenzie is
worth telling now,
because it gives a
good idea of how
much reliance can
be placed on the
CLYDE H.
TAVENNER .
statements of manufacturers that low
tariff rates are ruinous to them.
Until the late 'TO's, quinine had .al-
wa Dornc neav larltl mougn
not Pund ot lhe barl1 as rown
ln country. As a result the retail
price was very high $3 and $4 an
ounce, and sometimes going up as
high ss $7.50 an ource.
At Euch prices the poor could not
afford to buy quinine. In the south
malaria raged. The people were shak
ing with ague, but they could not af
ford to buy enougn quinine to cure
thempelves.
The high protective tariff had built
UP extensive quinine manuiactur-
DUIUCSB
i j
There were five firms'
of chemists manufacturing the drug,
an(1 one 0j them, a Philadelphia firm,
wag tne largest producer of quinine
ja tne worid.
School Children's
I ' AH
terested in prison reform, I am won
In the school savings banks now in system, inaugurated in 1SS5, was ; derfully impressed by what I have
operation in 1,143 public schools in gradually taken up in all the public j Been in this inftutlon. You have
the L'nited tatos OUD1I3 have derjosit-' scnools of Island cit?" and il ls ' evidently succeeded in convincing the
States pupil3 have deposit-
i ed savings amounting to nearly $3,-
- "
' 500,000, a large proportion of which
; might in the ordinary course of juvi-
nils events have gone for cheap candy
and perlups for cigarets. The chil -
dren who made tiiese deposits have,
first of all. learned the meaning of
thrift; many of them have been en -
abled to pay their way through trade
schools, academies or collegss: many
' nave had the gratification of helping
their parents in times of need; girls
nave f0un(j the means to buy their
own clothing or gifts for others, and
hovs have accumulated monev enouEh
j lo "tart small business ventures. The
BChocls savings banks system, origi -
nj,tiDg in Franco, was brought to the
i United States from Belgium by John
Thlry. a native of that country, who'
, became a school commissioner
( j6iaci city. New York.
j Through his instrumentality
j
of
the
EDUCATIONAL NOTES
The Chicago board
has established two
of education
'naturalisation
schools. open four nights a w eek, to
furnish Instruction to applicants for
! citisenship
This year's session of the Maine leg
islature enacted a law prohibiting se
cret societies in the public schools.
! AnoOier act removes Jan
1 from the
list of holidays.
Y. W. C. A. representatives in and
1 about Augusta, Ga, are working for a
! pub'ic library in that city. A city of
over 41,000, Augusta is not yet provid
ed with a free public library. 1
Technical schools giving courses in
architecture will have a special ex
hlhlt r Ihtk Tr.trntirial T?ui1Hin o-r.
hlbitlon in Leipzig this summer, ac- j seU BCbol Mcitsd reat ierest by ;
cording to information received at the l presenting a series of pictures illus
United States bureau of education. trating the progress of aviation from
j the earliest days to the present. In
Magdeburg. Germany, is to have a ' Prussia the minister of public instruc-
school for the special training of wo-1 tion has approved the use of the cine- i
men and girls as shop clerks. The
city of Berlin has already provided
such training by means of a special
course for salesgirls in the new con-
( tinuation school.
f-orresnondecce courses la health
The appeal of the poor for cheaper
quinine was finally heard by congress,
and in 1879 the ways and means com
mittee met on a proposition to put qui
nine on the free list.
The representatives of the wealthy
Philadelphia chemists appeared and
declared that free quinine would de
stroy their business. Congress decid
ed that it was better for the quinine
manufacturers to be forced out than
for the people to die for want of cheap
medicine. Quinine went on the free
list.
The Philadelphia firm promptly
closed up its factory for just two
weeks. Then, having made good its
threat to close, it reopened and con
tinued to do business at the old stand.
The price of quinine dropped from
$3.63 an ounce in 1879 to $3.03 in
1880 end $"2.47 in 1881, with the Phila
delphia manufacturers still managing
to exist at these prices.
Then the republicans got control of
congress, and a new tariff bill put
quinine back on the dutiable list.
When the item was reached in the
house, it was the occasion for "Qui
nine Jim's" first, last and only speech.
"The ague stricken people of this
country will call this congress ac
cursed if the tax on this drug is re
stored," he declared. "If you re-enact
this tax you lend yourselves to the
spread of malaria; and I want every.
man who desires to promote the es-!
taDiisnment or pestnouses ana iever
hospitals, who wants to add rack and
pain to beds of sickness, who wants to
appear as the confederate of death, to t
record himsplf in favor of the restora
tion of the duty cn quinine."
That speech defeated the tax on
quinine. The republican house left it
on the free list, and it has been there
ever since. Quinine has steadily fall-
en in price. In recent times it has
been as low as 33 cents an ounce. The
Philadelphia firm is still in business,
and has made millions out of the in
creased demand for quinine.
Savings $3,500,000
j now in operation in schools in nearly
every state m the union. Mr. 1 niry
. died in 1911. leaving the literature of
j the school savings banks system and
! t'i1"- leadership in the movement f or
i,s further extension to Mrs. Sara L.
! Oberholtser of Philadelphia, who had
heen associated with him since 18S9.
i - yrs - unernoitzer is a native 01 renn-
sylvania, of old Quaker ancestry, and
has been identified with public work
from her youth. Pennsylvania, Mas
sachusetts, Connecticut and New York
have been most active in developing
the school savings system. Since
! 1S93 the pupils in 265 schools in Penn-
j sylvanla have deposited $1,778,728.13
i California has more recently awak
j ened to the advantages of this prac-
tical instruction in thrift. Oakland in
1910 established the system in 40 pub-
lie schools, while last year San Fran
cisco and Berkeley adopted it in 90
and 11 schools, respectively.
( w ill be one of the features of the ;
1 health instruction bureau to Jie cstab- j
lished at the University of Wisconsin, j
w hich aims to reach the people of the
whole state with available information
on preventable disease, infant mortal
ity, rural hygiene, and other subjects
A special course in picture framing
is given in the Amelia high school,
Amelia, Va., and during the past year
or two more than a thousand neatly
framed pictures have gone from the
school manual training shop into the
pupils' homes.
Tbe use of moving pictures in
tfle
schools is spreading rapidly in Eu -
: rope. Recently a professor in a Brus-
matograph in all the higher schools of
me cuumrt, uuu uie omciai programs'
give lists of films for geography, his- j
tory and science. The expense of thi3 !
material ia met by appropriations' from i
the government and municipalities !
mi by srivata aubacxiqUou.
I
T:
My pa is not a millionaire.
He's never been elected yet
To any office anywhere,
There's lots of things that we can't get:
Ma often wishes we could buy
The costly things the neighbors do;
The price of llvln'ls bo high
We have to skimp to worry through,
I guess my pa was never meant
To be a leader !n the strife:
Ma says he'll not be president.
Nor get ahead muf h in this life.
But he can make a whistle, though.
Just (nra a piece of willow tree;
I wtsh that you could see the bow
And arrow that he fixed for ma.
My pa gets paid so much a week, ;
Because he doesn't own a store;
Ma says if he was not so meek
And mild he might he-drawln' more;
We have no car nor runobout.
And nearly always have to save;
Ma's heart is often full of douht.
But pa keeps hopin" and is bravo.
Sometimes I help him in the yard
When he . comes home on Saturdays;
I'm sofry he must work aa hard.
And wtsh that he could get a raise;
Moxt all the time ma needs a lot
Of thinRs we can't afford1, and which
The neighbors nearly all have got,
Becauee they managed to get rico.
My pa sometimes takes me away
Out In the country frr fresh ate:
We build dams In the streams and play
That both of t;s are hoys, out there;
Ma says that pa. Inng, long ago.
Just got to he a mere machine;
i wouldn't want to trnd-him
though.
For any pa I've ever seen.
"It's always tha
unexpected that
happens, you
know," she said.
"Not always,"
he replied. "When
I was calling on
Dorothy Gads
worth last night
I expeced her fa
ther to come down stairs about mid
night and make a fuss. He did."
All Busy. .
"Ah," said tht man who was in-
; convicts that idleness is one of the
i worst sins in the list. I noticed that
j nearly every man was busy writing."
j "Yes," replied the warden, "they
1 all expect to ha able to produce
1 poems which will result in pardons."
j
j Industry.
"Alas," he sighed. "I have not aone
What no one else might do;
The little triumphs. I bave wan
Ton thousand others might
gained
If they had ventured, too."
have
Yct he was destined, after all,
To dazzla with the few;
The ta'ent he possessed was small,
But while more gifted men caroused
He bravely dared to do.
The Bright Sid.
"Pennington ia one of the most per
sistent optimists I ever met."
"Yes, he i3 always looking on the
bright side of things. He told me the
other day that whiles he regretted the
serious i!!ness of his wife he would,
if she were taken frcm him, have
enough good hair to stu5 a mat
tress." Better World.
The world is growing better, growing
brighter, day by day;
You may doubt, but I can prove it. for
the bands no longer play
That old . piece, about HcGinty, who
got too far from shore,
And who ever hears them blaring
forth "A Hot Time" any more?
"What did your wife say when that
fire broke out in the room across the
hall from your, on the tenth floor
cf the hotel?"
: 'Rh sa!H- 'There f!eorare Ham-
j mersley I told you something was go-
ing to happen because you itsisted on
starting away from home on Friday.'
Esfere and After.
"Before marriHce I used to sit np
until lcldnJsbt wishir.g be would go
borne."
"Yes?"
"Yes. and firre we are married I sit
op until mid j'.sttt wisbinz that he
1 would come home." Houston Post
fQPl
The Daily Story
TWO FIGHTS FOR A BRIDE BY OSCAR COXr
Copyriffnic 7 Associated Literary Bureau
John Murdock. landlord of the Ant-' costume for a fight. Tbe guardian toon
Icrs inn. was standing on bis porch ; no notice of him. but caught the girl
ready to welcome the first summer DT n arm aci began to pull her to
Tisitor when the first summer visitor wrd the door, when the groom at
came down upon him with a rush. She tracted his attention by n blow on the
was a young lady about twenty years 1 3a,v- Th otur dropped the girl and
of age mounted on a horse whose eyes! nent Ior his assailant like a bull after
were aflame, nostrils ' wide open and' a red cloth.
eldes covered with foam. Dashing up Tne flSat lasted ten minutes. The
I to where Murdock stood, she looked at 1
the oDen door of the inn as if exnectin i
some one to come out to meet htr.
Not seeing any one, she fired a volley
of questions at tbe landlord:
"Is there a gentleman here waiting
for me?"
"No'm."
"Has he been here?"
"No'm."
"Have you had any word from him?"
"So'm."
"Then I am undone."
Murdock stood gaping at her. Pres
ently she spoke to him again:
"Are you married?"
"No'm."
"Would you have any objection to
marry me?" .
"I wouldn't be fit."
"Never mind that Answer my ques
tion." "Really married?"
"Yes, really married, but not to llTe
with me. No; yon won't do. Go find
me a husband."
She gave him her hand that be might
help her off her horse, threw the rein
over a hitching post and directed him
to bring any man in the place who
was not married, together with a par
son, if he could find one, and be quick
about it. She would give tbe groom
$500. While speaking 6he kept looking
up the road in the direction from which
she had come, and when she bad fin
ished she listened.
The landlord put on his bat to go
across lots to a house where he knew
of a single man that needed money
badly. Those were the days wheu 1
everybody "biked," and a young fel
low got up in a short oat. knicker
lockers and woolen stockings came
pedaling along tbe road.
"I say, young. fellow." said the land
lord, "are you married?" i
"No." '
"Would you like to make some mon
ey that way?"
"What way?"
"By marrying a girl."
"What girl?"
"She's rieht over there nt my bouse.
Come and bave a look at her."
"I don't mind."
The landlord went back by the short
cut to the house, and the biker ped
aled there by tbe road. The young
I lady was out on the porch staring up
the road. Turning, she saw tbe land
lord and the bicyclist coming.
"Hurry up!' she called.
"This young man" the landlord be
gan. 4
"Yes. I know. Where's the parson?"
"I'll get him as soon as"
"Get him now. Don't waste a mo
ment. Oh. dear! I'm afraid we'll be
too l.-tte."
The landlord hurried away ajrain.
The girl turned toward the young man.
"You're going to marry me. and I'll
pay you $r00 for doing it."
"Not without some show of an ex
planation." "We enn't be married till the parson
conies, so I'll give you what you ask. j
! I'm an orphan. My guardian managed
! to Rrt hold of me after father's death
I and tried to persuade me to marry
him. I've been his prisoner for
months. I have been told that as a
married woman I'll have a better
cbaijoe to tisht him under the . law.
and I want a husband to protect me
that Is, I wanted one und expected to
meet one here, but he has disappointed
n;e. Mv guardian has doubtless dis-
j covered my escape and is liable to be
here nt any moment. Hist: Is that
! wheels? No. When ha comes I wish
i tn be a wife, and I hope you'll have
I the pluck to prevent his dragging roe
J bacl; to that horrid"
' She stopped short, seeing the land -
1 lord coming with a man in white neck-
tie.
"Come Inside." she added.
The four of them went inside. Then
the groom to be said; j
"I'm ready to help you out of a
sernpe. but not for pay. And I insist !
on sipnin-r away any claim to what!
you possess before the-'marriage."
"Well, hurry up." j
"Give me writing materials." )
Tbe landlord pointed to the office
fO'.infer. where th"re were pens and ;
psper. and the young man sisrned away
the girl's fortune. Then he stood up
beside her. and they were married. The
groom lifted bis bride's hand to bis j
lips in a courtly manner and kissed It. 1
"Are you a gent'eman?" she asked !
with some surprise.
"Don't I look like one?"
"Not In those clothes. 'You under
stood, didn't you. before the ceremony
; tbnt all I wont of you is to get rid of
. my p)arrtian AVe are not t0 ,lr( to.
get her."
"Certainly not."
"Oh. heavens: Here he comes."
A galloping horse came clattering
down the road, dragging a buggy after
It In tha hii?frv wn n man rimTvHat
hote) djor ca,d f '
1
. vonDe WOman-a lnnatle-haa e.
caped. Seen anything of her?'
"There's a young lady here
She's
Just been married."
Married"
The man Jumped from his buggy, ;
bnrried into the hotel snd confronted ,
the wedding party. i
"Edith," be said. "I'm astonished. !
Com home with me."
"This young lady." said tbe groom,
"is my wife, and she goes wbere aba !
chooses." i
She ll go with me." j
Tbe new a.-rival was a large man. tbe '
grooia rather slender and lift above ;
the medium height. The latter threw
off hi coat aid stood Ja aa appropriate )
Fuaraian. tnou?:n ne naa plenty or mus-
cle Kue,r nothing about boxing. Tho
groom, on the contrary, bad evidently
been taking lessons in that art. for he
kept out of the way of his opponent's
blows and now and again got in one
himself.
Tbe others stood looking on. the girl
with intense eagerness, for she felt
that her fate depended on the result
of the struggle. Once back in her
guardian's bands, he might defy tbe
law. Every time he made a lunge for
her husband she gasped, and every
time her husband got In a blow she
danced for Joy. The landlord, fearing
that the woman was really a lunatic,
did not care to mix himself up In the
matter, and tbe parson was a man of
peace.
Evidently the younger contestant
was in training for some athletic
event, or perhaps his devotion to his
wheel gave him endurance, for as bis
stouter opponent lost bis wind the oth
er gained his own. But matters were
still undecided when the latter got In
a blow under the chin that threw his
antagonist backward. He fell on the
floor and, hitting bis head against an
oaken chair. lay quiet.
"Come," said tbe wife; "let us be off
before be gets on his feet again."
Leaving the fallen man to the care
of tbe landlord and the parson, the
groom lifted his wife on to her horse,
and, getting on "fiis bicycle, in this in
congruous fashion they rode away.
"Isn't this too ridiculous for any
thing?" said the bride. "If It were not
a matter possibly of life or death with
me I believe I should laugh."
"A prancing steed and a bike with a
croak in the rear wheel aren't a well
matched Feam. are they?"
They bad not gone far before a horse
man was seen galloping toward them.
When they met he reined in and they
also stopped.
"I feared I would be too late." said
the newcomer.
"You are too late," said the girl.
"What do you mean?"
"In order to escape my guardian I
was obliged to take a husband. This
gentleman kindly offered to help me
out."
"Maud," exclaimed the man, "you
don't mean to tell me that you are
married:"
"Married not fifteen minutes ago.
Why were you not at the Antlers when
I arrived?"
"I thought I had plenty of time."
"What you thought doesn't help
matters. Had it not been for this uen
tleinan my husband I would now 1h
going back to my place of imprison
ment" "You must set a divorce."
"If I do I don't know that I'll marry
you."
"Maud!" reproachfully.
"See here," interrupted the groom,
"where do I come in In this business?"
"You don't come in at all." said the
other man angrily. "You go out."
"Perhaps I shall, but I've licked one
man for my bride, and before h give
j her up n, ,'lck nnothcr."
..We. see nhout tnat..
said the other
savagely, throwing himself off his
horse. He was angry with himself for
having been too late, and a man angry
with himself is prone to he angry with
every one else. He stalked up to the
groom, who was standing by his wheel,
and. shoeing bis fist in his face,
growled:
"You'll help annul this marriage or
I'll break every bone in your body."
"Harry:" exclaimed Maud. "You are
1 acting like n fool. You -can't
! about an annulment that way."
! But before the last word was sioken
1 Harry and tlje Impromptu husband
j were pummcling each other numercl-
I fully. Harry, whose tardiness had oc-
curred from having stopped at n road
house to refresh liimself,was by no
means In tbe condition of bis enemy
and was knocked out in half the time
required to do the guardian. After a
fall he tried to rise. but. failing, sat iu
the road covered with dust and blood,
the hitter from bis nose.
"Now. my deir wife." said tbe hus
band, "consider yourself free to gr
with this gentleman or with me.
Which do you prefer?"
She looked at the, spectacle slttinjfln
the road, then at her rbamplbn.
"You for the present at least."
Again the bicyclist mounted bis
wheel, and the two. leaving the rtiscotn-
1 fited man. proceeded on their weddlnz
j journey. Looking back, they sow him
limping toward his horse.
I The Improvised husband turned out
! to be a wealthy young man who was
about entering upon his world's work.
After a season he and his wife agreed
to stop certain annulment proceedings
that had been started ar5 went on a
new wedding tour. But this time It
was not in tbe ridiculous fashion of a
borne and a bicycle. Tbey took a par
tor car.
May 17 in American
History.
1774 A Continental congre formal
ly proposed at a uieHiog of patriots
In Providen'-e. R. I.
18C;t Battle at t!;e crossing of P.iu
Black river. Mis. Falling to re
pel t!rant' advance, the Confed
erate burned the bridge and re
treated to their fortified line.
18T.V-John Cabell Breckinridge, sol
dier, former vice president and
southern I ipmocratlc nndidsite -sotd
to Lincoln in 1H00, died; bora
' 1821.
VI