QEVENTEEN Millions Ex pected at the Polls?Why Nine Million Citizens Quali fied by Age and Sex Will Not Vote?Line of Voters at Polls Would Stretch Diagonally Across Continent From Point of Florida to Northwest Cor ner of Washington?Farm er Vote the Largest?How Other Occupations Rank? 700,000 Candidates in the Field This Fall, One for Every Two Dozen Voters? One m Fourteen Voters Is of Tender Sex?Methods and Paraphernalia to Be Used in the Balloting. BT JOHN ELFRETH WATKINS. TBSDAY next, fo: the first time in 1 istory, our ever} county from ocean to ocean, from Canada to Mexico and the gulf, will vote for President of these I'nlted States. No terri tory now remains in all of tliis vast continental stretch. Seventeen millions of voters will proba bly participate in this our thirty-second ? luadrennial battle of the ballots. Should all of these be drawn up single tile in a straight. comract line, whose leader stood at the threshold of a voting: booth in the north westernmost corner of Wasihngton state, the last man would be found some where down in the tip of Florida's petrn sula. Four jears ago junt 14,SS8.4-t^ Americans voted for President. Since then suffrage has been given to 8W),WJ0 more of our women?in California and Washington? 170.000 males of voting age have been admitted to statehood in Arizona and New Mexico, and the country ha.- profit ed. through its steady increase oi' popula tion. by about 2,500.000. who in their states are qualified, by age and sex. to vote. Allowing for the usual proportion who will be absent from the'pulls and yet for a reasonable co-efficient of expansion to cover eftet ts of tae extraordinary heat of this campaign, we arrive at the grand total given? 17.ven dependable in years past. For ?CUuiiple, the only previ ous campaign it. vhich Col. Roosevelt w as a presidential candidate?the spirited contest of 1!*M?failed to bring out as man> vote s, by several hundred thousand, as had eitner of the two previous McKin lcy-LJrvan campaigns. That of Roose velt against i'arker was, however, the only presidential campaign since reeon strm tion which failed to show an increase in the popular vote. The 'laft-Biyan 'ampaign brought out over one and a third million more votes than the Rocse \ eit-ParKer contest, wnich nad persuaae i to ti?e polls less \oies than bad turned out in the previous AicKinley Itiyan battle. Why millions qualified by age and sex to vote fa l quaorennialty to show up at in- polls is a mystery which always vexes the politician atid puzz.es the stat -tician. The director of the census has just supplied me with j-ome newly com puted figures which throw some light ;:pon the problem. He finds that in the ?ist census year, 1WO, th?*i>' were in con :inental United States L'c.'HHU.Il males of v "ting age, and in the ,present woman i?frage states, including /California and V. -isbington. l.Md.lCi women of voting ge. Allowing for an increase of popu lation in the pasi two years, the total of ; lie.-, figurt-.s grown to 29,.V?),0(X>. I >e lifting about 11 per cent of those who -tr;! "'t vote because they fail to receive ? |>roi?-r naturalization papers, we have ?'i ir.urf than men and women ? h ified by age and citizenship to vote th^ presidential contest Tuesday. \bout n.rf million of these will remain way from the po Is. Why? To l.eg;r< v.itn. tberrs are Just about an ? en 100.000 male ei'izetis of voting age the District of Columbia who are dis franchise*] merely because they are resi dents of that l>istr;ct. A trifle over a fouith of these (1KMH)0) are negroes. Then there art- about .'JliO.OuO negroes in Louis iana and North Carolina who are dis franch sed by the "grandfather clauses'' <>f the constitutions of those states, and tens ff thousands of negroes are dis qualified- ii South Carolina and Missis sippi by the educational requirement that each vote: must be able to read and un derstand the constitution of the state. Thousands of white as wel' as colored citizens are barred by such educational tests nnt only in the south, b it in Maine. Delaware. Arizona and California, where the voter must be able to read the Con stitrtion in Knglish and write his name; in Wyoming, where he must meet the former of these qualifications; in Con necticut. where he must read the Eng Hsh language: in New Hampshire, where be must wt ite as well as read it, and in Massachusetts, where he must read and write some language, even if not that of tht- land of iiis adoption. Tens of thousands of our citizens are also barred from the polls this autumn because they are lunatics, idiots, pau pers or persons with criminal records. Throughout the country are 180.000 In dians and Mongolians who cannot vote, the former because they have not yet severed their tribal relations, and th* latter because our federal laws l?ar the yellow races from naturaliza tion. Many other citizens cannot go to the polls Tuesday because they have not met certain state requirements as to paying taxes. Seven states bar sol diers and sailors of the federal estab lishment. * * ik Probably the largest proportion of those who. although otherwise quali fied. will find the polling places closed against them Tuesday are citizens who have oeen unable to register as voters or who have lately removed to a new community and have not as yet estab lished a residence therein for a suf ficient time to meet the requirements of the election laws. These laws vary greatly, requiring a state residence of from six months to two years, a county residence of from twenty days to one year and a town or precinct residence of from ten days to a year. Hut all of these disqualifications, when taken together, can hardly be ac cepted as accounting for the absence from the polls of half the voters who quadrennially remain away. it may be reasonably predicted, then. that about 5.000.000 fully qualified vot ers will remain away from the ballot boxes Tuesday. Some of them will be unable to go to the polls because of age or illness, but the greater propor tion will absent themselves because indifferent as to their country's destiry. The 432.000 voters who refused to go to the polls in the Roosevelt-Parker election after they had east their bal lots in the McKinley-Bryan campaign of four years before just aliout equaled all of the male citizens of voting age then in the state of Kansas or in the citv of Philadelphia. If all of Kansas or Philadelphia had been disfranchised that year there would have been a great hullabaloo, but our old friend General Apathy, unnoticed, performed a task of equal magnitude. In New York state the official count of noses in 1010 showed 2,836,773 males of voting age. but in the election for governor the same year almost exactly half of these voted?1.437.010. Two years before 1 .?>'<*, of them had voted for Preoident. m * * Of our citizens qualified by age and sex to vote this year, one in fourteen is a woman. Had California ani Washing ton not given our sisters suffrage in the past year the proportion of women' would have been only one in eighty. In none of the six equal suffrage states are there nearly as many woman as man voters. The men of voting age in these common wealths are in the majority by about r>K8,?0L\ L.ess than half of our possible voters are native whites of native parentage, a sixth are native whites of foreign or mixed parentage, a ninth are natural ized immigrants and over a thirteenth are negroes. In nine of our states there are 60,Oft ? aliens who can vote, although, they have taken out only their "first papers," in which they have merely declared their intention to become citizens. In Indiana alone there are 14,000 of these entitled to suffrage; in Missouri 10,500 and in Nebraska ln.Oim. The fact that we have among us this fall nearly three and a quarter million possible voters of foreign birth caused the campaign managers to systematize the canvass of this vote as never before, and raeh one has been bombarded with lit erature printed in his foreign tongue. In New York city alone there are :?n.o naturalized male immigrants of voting age. and only 210,000 American-born males of native parentage and of votin-r age. Indeed, of possible voters in out metropolis the American-born are out Typ i c aiTPqjui. me^L acx. liumbere.l two to.one b\ the naturalized foreigners and those of foreign parentage. The possi'ble naturalized vote in New York city is as great as the possible total vote of Boston and Cincinnati com bined. Glancing over our great army of citi zens of voting age, we lind the largest class to consist of farmers. and others engaged in agriculture of one kind or another. There are about ten millions of these, and tile next greatest element, nu merically, is the. labor-vote.* There are about 9,000,000 laborers ? in'- the country, but a large proportion . o'f itftese*. a*e women who cannot vote.- Next *rank the business men, then those of the clerical elass, by which I tnenn, not preachers, but clerks, bookkeepers, stenographers, etc., and. lastly, the professional class, who cau enlist a force or but 1,00i;,000. So you can see pretty clearly that in the choice of our next President, the farmers,- mechanics and laborers will r?vi*;' v i \ Ml "Voting >iachi>te. ? have a far bigger say than the business men. offlce-workers, lawyers, doctors, preachers, teachers and writers. You will be surprised when I tell you that if all the candidates who are run ning for office this fall were lined up, as we did our voters, there would lie 700,<>00 of them in the procession, and they would stretch 132 miles, or the dis tance from New York to Springfield. Mass. Thero are five parties in the fle'.d this year, and in addition to their na tional and state candidates at least four of them will have various tickets in each of the 3,000 counties of the country, each of which is divided into various town ships. boroughs or cities, with" their own tickets for local offices. In other words there is in the land one candidate for each two dozen voters expected at the polls. ? * * Even though our election morals are not yet what they should be, our elec tion manners have vastly improved since the days when the typical polling place, either a rumshop or a convenient room adjoining, was the scene of constant brawling and disorder; where bribery and Intimidation were at the height of effectiveness, because every one could see how his neighbor voted. Indeed, within the memory of men still alive, our election etiquette had not in many places progressed far beyond Its standard over 2,000 years ago. when the Roman his torian, Dion, complained: -When the people insisted upon giving their v'otes, the youag patricians hinder ed and took the urns lorum." The accompanying etching is from an old painting in the Philadelphia historical society depicting a seen* it disorder be fore a polling place in front of our cradle of liberty. Independence Hall, in ISIS, the year that James Monroe was first elected. In those days candidate*? furnished their own ballots and their henchmen hung about the polling places to press them or. voters and see that they were deposited In the open ballot boxes. In some of our states elections- were conducted by yea and nay vote in the early days, and lit Kentucky this .system wag legal for local elections until only twenty-one years ?go. In Jackson county, that state, it used to he the custom to elect a sheriff by ar ranging the friends wn wardrobe and figur< out how many or how few new a-tides of wearing apparel he hiinc-if r: mi bu>. In other wor?ls. this is the -? a.-on of men's fall shopping, and so con -?antly ehanging ar< the styles of !at^ T'-iat in most instances it will be necessary m buy a complete new fail outfit. \N ith 'Ins fact realized. the average man will ' rst ask himself the question. "H?iw ?!. i.-ii e and fi; the purse of the man with ?? salary of *1??> a month, and. finally. > >?:! li*; the most expensive and exclusive ? ?f haberdasher?"??s and outfitters where .? e kept ( lothe.s and othi r articles for vie man win? need not be so particular iiimut the pri- e. In all the shops, irrespect:vc of their l>rn?-s. tiie faet was borne in thi;t there is . ft'- oj no excuse lor any on?* not appear i.jr well dress: 1 Naturally, in the eh? :? per eent cheaper, or more. Nat rallj. t'i ? more expensive garments prob ahly will wear longer. Perhaps, too. they hu' a distinctive "touch" la' kins in t ?? les- exp>ns:v>* ones but the fact rem iin thai, tor all the high cost of living, it i ? asils possible for the man of moderate -alary to be well dressed from head to foot without straining his income T.icre are many th n>cs which the man v 1th a salary of only Sl,*> a week will see when he sets out to buy his fall outfit which he will like to have but can't afford. There are certain things, bow ever. which he absolutely m ist have, and fl-st among these is an overcoat. Visit ing the various shops, he will be confront ed l?y a bewildering variety of styles. He will be shown one of the loose, round shouldered short "rag'.an" coats, de cidedly English In styl< . and shaped, when worn. like an inverted cone. If he wishes a pronounced English type lie may have ? cli a ? oat in large checks or plaids, or In r> dai k red. purplish brown, or a dark gre^n. If he be conservative in his tastes 1 ?? may have the same coat in moflest gray, dark blue?almost any other color known to man. Kut while English styles are perhaps SUGGESTIONS FOR THE MAN WHO MAKES? I IKTKKN IXM.I.AKS A WKEK. 1 ... $15.00 One Mil t of i lotlim 17.So Si\ slilr: < il ev? rydav ami - ilres*! .?.2H Kullf Heekt'e- 1.0ft SbocM :t-5" Six paint of nicli^ TliriH' suit* ?>f underwear 4.5n Hat 2M Total Wft.'d n\i; 111 iMiIJUltCS A Mo.NTII. Overcial - *25.on Two suit/ of clothes 4.YOO Si:. ->ii i 11? if i veryday. - fire Five II' ckli?? s.5o .Y.'iO 4.no Six |u*iis ? I -in !.n I two si 11^' n>r.-.- ??iili-- ?>i" uinl'-rwear ? II;. I ?-i.tjn (JinV; - - 1 .? I J > ill AIinmio K?>K llll. MAN WHO CAN AJ-FOUI? T<> SI'K.M i. I M ,-rci i;i I *40.111 Thre. Mill- <>l c'otlii-*.. loYOo on.. <|r>.> i ici ? oi uiailmt. ?; silk'. IliLlKi i in" :i I>?-< k 11'-? Tmii l.ai - of . . . . o.i ? 11 -*/> it |mi "I S. vi'ii underwear.. 'I \mi hats . Two |?.i|- of pin is . . . . ? ?IJ< T..|jil ir..?fo lii.mt 9.00 . 2H.OH >.oo a.0. and more still buy ore costing For this last named price th? buyer will get a coai guaranteed to .keep its appearance and shape through out the entire winter, and. more im portant still, to keep him warm. Ho. with $ir> expended foy an overcoat, the buyer begins to look about for a fall su t Having just expended an entire week's salarv lie will, of necessity, look out for a suit that is serviceable, of good appearance, yet cheap, and lie will find what he is seeking?for the busiest sec tion of Pennsylvania avenue has a num ber of stores that make a specialty, of catering to just such men.' Indeed, he may buy his siiit in the same establish ment where he KOt his overcoat. Ah iu the ca>f of the outer garment, i here are all styes of suits, from the extreme English cut, with its narrow shoulders and its glove-fitting body, through the semi-Knglish. to the middle styled suit that Is fashionable yet not aggressively so. Any ore of these suits may be bought, in almost any pattern, for as low as Then comes a bit better quality for ?10?still better for ?12.50?and so on up the scale of prices until the buyer is shown a suit at ?17.5> which the haberdasher man is willing to Kuarantee. This one he buys, picking out a color that will match his Qvercoat-7-or mayhap he has bought the suit first, in which case it is the overcoat which must match. Then come h'hirts?and here the man with only $15 a week find a field stupen dous in its bigness. Probably he wiil not confine his trade for these articles to one store, but will buy from several. Prob ably he will buy six shirts, four for every day wear and two for ''dress." For his every day s*hirts lie will find good serv iieable shirts at ??!) cents ea.-h. Kor hts dress shirts he may pay *1, or it' lie be ext?t particular lie may pay $1.5<> each for th< in. Perhaps he will buy one of each. Then with his expenditures for shirts totaling S5.2ft lie will remember that the ties he wore list fall have be come lather frayed. Besides* the styles have changed?for wlilje the knit ties, so popular one year ago. are still being worn, fashion has all but counted their death knell, their place being taken by semi-flowing siiks. Ties are the one article of wearing ap parel which permit a man to add a t< uch of co'or and individuality to his appearance?consequently, they run tne entire gamut of color, texture, material and price, ranging from 10 cents, for cheap cotton material, the "right side" ol which i>' made to give a feeble ap-_ pearance of silk by chemical process, to" tlie soft neckwear'of Persian silk, which may cost *?">. But the man with $15 a week will find plenty of ties, not of the finest quality of silk perhaps, but silk for all that, at a cost of only 25 cents each. Naturally thesie will wear out quickly, but a man soon wearies of his ties and buys a new assortment anyhow. So the buyer invests in four of the twenty-five cent cravats, and goes' away well sat isfied. Then comes the search for shoes and socks. The shoes are easy. He can get a good, serviceable pair, heavy enough for most kinds of weather, yet not^too lieavy to answer the ordinary social re quirements, for JS5.30. If It wefe 'summer he probably would pay at least 25 cents a pair for his socks, but it is fall, and he wears high shoes, which, hiding his hose, makes them less important. Be sides, the tliip and more expensive ma terial used in summer is not required now. So lie looks for a heavier and cheaper grade, lie finds it in socks sell ing two pairs for a quarter, and invests 70 cents for six pairs. Forty-three dollars and fifty-one cents have, r.ow been expended but only the underwear remains to be bought, and if one does not wish especially heavy under wear, he can secure it at as low as 50 cents a garment. More probably, how ever, h? will want better material, for good underwear is quite as essential if not more so than an overcoat. So he will probably buy underwear that costs 75 cents a garment?three suits of it. for a total expenditure of Two dollars will go for a fall hat-and if the buye. knows where to go he will get a splendid hat for that amount. ? Counting in 10 cents for car fare from his home to the shopping district and re turn, tlie man with the fifteen-dollar-a week income starting out with $50 will return home with only "!* cents, but he will be completely outfitted from head to foot, and h>s clothes, while not expensive, will nevertheless be uniformly good. The average man with an earning ca pacity of $100 per month will probably allow just about the amount of one month's salary for his fall wardrobe. In buying lie will be shown identically the same styles and patterns looked over by the fifteen-dollar-a-week man?but the quality will be better. Also, he will buy more la visibly. The average one-hundrtd-dollar-a month man, for instance, will buy two suits of clothes, one for "everyday" and one for "dress." His everyday suit will Probably cost him S2i> and the other per haps .<2.". -aithough he may pay only SI-S and $*-2.5-1, respectively. Hike the other, he, too. will probably buy six 'shirts, some for everyday and some for, dress, but he will probably pass by the sixty n:ne-cent shirts and pai ?1 for those In tended for everyday wear. Then probably he will buy another shirt for $2. 'The sixth shirt more than likely will be or" silk, but if he Is a careful buyer it will cost him but If he lias eveninir clothes lie probably will buy tw-o stiff shirts?but these will cost him but $1.."?0. The overcoat that the one-hundred-dol lar-a-month man buys will probably cost him about i??2."> at the outside. He may pay cents a pair for hif hosiery, but it is more probable that he will buy six pairs at '-!?"> ?-ents each, and two pairs of siik Hose for dress, at 5o cents each. He will find shoes that satisfy both Jiis eye ard his purse for $4 a pair, .and his hat. like that of the fifteen-dollar-a-week man, should not cost him more than $2? $:{, accorlirp to hat dealers, usually be ing the outside limit. He will ivuuue -three suits 'Of under wear, and'these will cost him $.1 pe!? gar ment?or $#. For this price he -will get underwear a Jajge portion of.wMsh is wool, not too heavy, but warm and lasting?.underwear that ought to last through two winters, , Neckties will almost complete the ovjt? fitting of the injln' with >UH> a month, and in buying the*e he will probably ex ercise more painstaking care than In all his other purchases put together. In the bt-ginning ae wil1 probably buy three ties of "standard" colors, plain blue, plain black and plain brown. These will ctet him 50 cents each. Then probably he will pick out some flowered design of more expensive material, paying *1 for it?and the average man, according to the dealers, usually goes to the neck wear counter, buys one. tie, then sees an other that catches his fancy.' and' Winds up by buying that.' too. So the total cost of neckwear fer the -n?aj\ ? YLith an income of $100 a month will.be $5.50? and with ltfs' assortment; ;-?? will have plenty-of variety. Last comes the i>urchase of a pair of gloves, costing probably II..TO. and if the man be married his outfit will have been completed, at a total cost of $100 even. If he is a single man. perhaps he will spend another dollar, or mayhap a bit more, and buy a cane?but this will de pend largely, on his walk of life. For in stancc, if he is a newspaper man, or a young practicing attorney, he probably will. If he is in the government employ, he probably won't. For the man who is especially particu lar about his dr??ss. and-who need not be too careful about price, there are shops galore where everything Is o? the finest possible material and where the cost is proportionate. In the beginning, the over coat which such a man will buy may cost Lini anywhere from thirty to fifty dollars ? forty dollars, according to the dealers, being the average price paid. Then comes the clothes. Probably there will be three suits, which will cost on an average of $'!."> each. Like both I is less fortunate brothers, the man who need not pay too much atten tion to price will buy two kinds of shirts hut instead of buying six he will buy :? dozen. Six of them will probably be of madras and will cost $2 each. The other six will be of silk, and will probably cost on an average of $4 each. He will also probably buy a down pairs of. socks?and probably all will be of silk, sotpe costing .50 cents per pair, the rest costing Si per pair -total -5D." ' * riuch 'a man will probably buy-two pairs of shoes?and they will probably cost him $0 per pair. He is also likely to buy two hats, one of which will be imported and will cost $4, and the other, a "knock about" hat costing $3. His . underwear will be half silk, and-will cost him $2 pefc, garment. Being fastidious, he will want' a daily change?:hence he will buy seven suits at a total cost of $28. He will buy not less than two pairs of gloves, paying $2 a pair for them, and he may buy a dozen ties, the cost, of which WW range from $1 to $-"> each.?perhai* *1."> wouljl be a fair total for the lot. Finally he will buy a cane which will cost him about &">. Altogether such, an outfit wilL have cost a total of but . to the man who can afford. to spend., this; njuch.it". .wQl be worth" every* certt* of It?aafi' imfre.* " THE SEASON OF FEEAK. SETS. OKT be siirprised if. in. the near single vote in the United States Senate is "future ' vou se.- some frtle'k- hlatorv- but the "remarkable part of the ruture. you see some matter lies in the fact that the man who coated, s.Ik-hatted person of jq^ paid his bet?and is still paying it. dignified mien down on hts ne now past seventy and a man of hands and knees in the middle wealth and prominence in his section, but of Pennsylvania avenue, solemnly rolling his hafr hangs far below his shoulders. a neanut in the direction of the river bInct* the day tH* vote of the Senate was a peanut in tne oirecuon nit n ci announced he ,,ag never had it eyen su front. For thi?s is the. season of frc^k much as trimmed. election bets, and nin*? chapcas to one There is a certain young practicing at the dignified looking person will be mere- torney in Washington who, it is safe to lv one of those who lost, and is 'paying s*>\ positively wiH not make a freak bet "} ., of any kind, either on the coming election ? , . . . ' or on anything else. He made one four Some day some historian with the time years ago, and that's the reason. and the. inclination, will probably get on At that time the attorney was new to tbjp trail of the freak bet and traceit Washington. He had come up from tjjie back to its origin. It is probable, how- south to take a final year in law at one Tint his task will be elirantic and of tho local universities, and he was a evei, that his task will be gigantic, ana red.hot democrat in general and an ar that it will take>hlm back to the eailiest dent Bryanite in particular. He was ab days of the world. The custom of solutely certain that the Xebraskan would wagering mere money or other valuables defeat Taft?and, strange to relate, he on.-some uncertain result is in itself shared a bachelor apartment with another , - ,, , ? . . student from Connecticut, who was a thousands of years old, but compared to dyed-in-the-wool republican. Both wanted the freak bet it is a mare youngtser. to bet on the election, but, being students. Vreak bets were probably made before neither felt that he could afford to risk there was any such thing as money. money. So they took it out in political * * arguments lasting far into the night, until both all but ran out of words. There are all sorts a-nd varieties of freak bets, some-of which are repeated year after year, all over the country. Of ?tne night ,the demo^ (llon'? these, the non-hair-cutting bet in which with a extolling the "peer person. making the wager agree not to ^ one" and Predicting all sorts of dire cut their hair lor a stipulated length of lhin*s due to befa11 the republican stand time if they lose is, perhaps, the most ard bearer. The member of the Jeffer commo.n.. Usually the time agreed on is sonian party sang this- song over and three or four months-or occasionally one over again, while -his apartment mate year. There is one Instance, however, glowered at him. J ou II sing a different where the bet was carried to an un- s?nK after election night," the latter said equaled extreme. finally. Many ye?rs ago, when President An- "Oh, no," returned the other, cheer drew Johnson was facinsr impeachment fullv; "Instead vou'll sing this song your iuv>ceedings there was a young manJiV- se,f -. }le pausedi ,hHI a bri&h, id? mg m southern Gwrgia who was bitter ^ , in his hatrfd of the chief executive. A struck him. ' Make you a bet, he re frier.1 of his was enthusiastic 111 the marked, succinctly?"If democracy wins President's support, and the two had you ptart at midnight on the night after many arguments, which grew more and he election and walk up and down all more neateu. '?He's going to be kicked out of^office? the halls of this building, singing my cam and he'll get just what lie deserves," paign song for two hours. If the t3. O. P. one would say. wins I'll do the walking and I'll sing "He's a victim of abuse, misander- . stan<1in^ and ignorance." the other would a";''. nf? >uU ^. - reply heatedly. "They'll never impeach The democrat lost. but was game. him. They won't dare." ? ? 2.V Jol?? * *1*1 slnR- he Daily the arguments continued, until asked. The other pondered a moment, finally the "one favoring- impeachment th^n smiled. ^ ou begin at midnight, suggested a wager. "Tell you what," mused. * At that time e\er>body will said he, "If they impeach Johnson, you probably be asleep. Let's let them have let your hair grow without cutting it for sweet slumber You walk up and down five years. If they don't impeach him, and sing "Rock-a-hye. Haby." " T'll never have my hair cut again as The democrat did it. All through the long as I live?that's giving you odds? apartment house he walked, singing the will you take it?" same song over ard over again, and when The other would and the bet was made, he tried to lower his voice to what he m ... called k a gentle croon there stood his * * apartment mate, inexorably ordering him How both.the .wagerers got the best of 'Vs a^Jul^of 'tliat wager seventeen ten run* "0i\ their money and how Preal- ants of that apartment house threatened dent Jbfin'ebn escaped* imf>e'achment by *a to* ha^c the midnight" warbler arretted'for disorderly conduct and the.agent a.?ked him to move. * Always in making a freak bet the prin cipals try to hit upon that which will makt! the loser the more ridiculous?each, of course, being sublimely confident thai It will be the other who loses. A bet thai approaches close to the quintessence of absurdity uas made in Washington, just before the congressional election two years ago. on the question of whether or not the House of RepresentativeE would be republican or democratic. Shortly before 5 o'clock on the evening that the bet was to be paid a man in evening clothes, white gloves and operd hat rode up to t ie corner of Connecticut avenue and K street in a big automo bile. got out, dismissed the chauffeur and began walking slowly up the avenue. An other man dressed in an ordinary busi ness suit, who had been waiting on the corner, followed him about ten feet l>e liind. The man in the evening clothes walked a few steps, then t>ank to his hands and knees, where he appeared to pluck something from the sidewalk and put it In his mouth. Then he rose, walk ed a few feet farther and repeated the performance. Th? man in the business suit still remained a discreet distance be hind him. A crowd soon began to congregate and follow the man :n the evening clothes. Utterly oblivious to them, he continued to pluck invisible things from the sidewalk and eat them. Finally, one of the mor? curious in the crowd summoned his courage and walk ed up to the peculiar one. "What's the matter." he asked. "Nothing," replied the latter; "nothing at all I'm merHv picking some of these strawberries. Havt some, won't you? Help yourself." The questioner drew ha< k, grinning, and the grin grew still wider when the man in the business suit tapped his fore head significantly. For two blocks the man in the even ing clothes continued to pick his straw berries-. from the sidewalk, the crowd growing larger and larger. Some of then* sought information from the man in the business suit. "Don't worry." the latter explained. "He's a little off. but per fectly harmless. I'm his keeper?he won't hurt you?don't be afraid." But evidently some of them wer* afraid, for pretty soon one of those in the crowd departed and returned with a policeman, who, certain that he had to deal with a maniac, gripped hhi dnt> tightly and looked resolute. It took many minutes to persuade lilm that the man in the evening clothes was not at all craxy, but was merely paying an election bet lost to the man In the business suit? and when the bluecoat finally became convinced that this was ? the case it re quired still more persuasion to keep hjm frpm arresting them both - for'disorderly conduct.'" But he 'didn't.